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Tracking Mali’s desert elephants near Timbuktu
The soldiers mounted up onto their troop carriers and heavy support wagons as we prepared to go out into the Malian desert and carry out our first anti poaching mission just South of Timbuktu. With a sense of urgency we left behind a skeleton guard and drove out of camp onto the potholed road under a scorching sun. A sun which having already been up for a few hours by 9 am, was chastising us for loitering.
We were in Mali as part of the Mali Elephant Project. This a project run by the WILD Foundation and the International Conservation Fund of Canada, and in partnership with Chengeta Wildlife who are providing critical combat tracking tactics for a brand new anti poaching unit. Lead by Rory Young, an expert tracker and combat tracking trainer, the team is providing ‘in ops’ training to this new unit.
Turning off the road, we passed beneath one of the towering monoliths which break up this Sahel semi-desert landscape and continue into the interior.
For some reason, this landscape reminds me of the Lord of the Rings… The dark Lord Sauron at the centre of his dark mountain and little Gollum and his servants scampering around the crags and planning to cause mayhem and chaos… anyway, I digress.
Amidst the arid ground, we started moving in and out of swamp land, mostly dry and parched, though we could see where the water had been above the black clay-based soil for weeks at a time during the wet season. It transformed this part of the desert into aquatic swamp land; a life-giving source for the grass, trees, and of course, the elephants.
The column stopped in a stand of trees and after taking up defensive positions, I took the opportunity to get out and have a scout around with some of the forest guards.
As we moved slowly through the area, we found them. Our first glimpse of elephant activity — footprints the size of craters. For many of the soldiers and forest guards, this was the first time they had seen such colossal footprints; so deep and so unbelievably wide. They were much bigger than the Southern African savanna elephant I was used to.
We discussed the differences between the rear footprints and the forefoot prints — the number of toes on each, which direction the elephant bull was walking, his speed, and lastly, how to tell his mental state. Was he anxious or was he just going about his day in typical elephant fashion? Questions are always great in the wilderness as they require answers and this comes from taking a closer look and investigating. For a photographer, the simplicity of this edict is perfect.
We ended up lining up for an impromptu photo shoot with bums in the footprints as we posed. This is what makes wildlife and conservation come alive. Enjoying moments like these is what makes tracking fun and taking the time to relax from the rigours of war and appreciate the simple beauty and magnitude of the present.
It was soon nearing lunch time and the hottest part of the day, so we set about laagering up in a glade to seek a bit of shelter from the scorching noon heat. Here the men cooked lunch and rested underneath vehicles and in any bit of shade available. We drank fresh Tuareg tea brewed by the one of the forest rangers, Azimud, and relaxed in a smattering of shade.
The tea comes in a shot glass, has a lot of sugar and the correct way to drink it is to sip it, with pinkie up. I feel honoured when I see Azimud coming with his little teapot and shot glasses and after weeks in the field with this team of men, one comes to miss these small moments.
Before the sun went down we had to make a decision whether to stay and laager up in the desert or head back to a more secure camp, but travelling at night was definitely not on the cards. With a constant source of tea we would be alright I figured!
We wanted to stay out, however it is a real threat staying in an area with little security and a relatively small number of men. Despite this, we had the element of surprise on our side and it would have taken a formidable number of troops (at least three times our number) to mobilize against us, but that would take more than a few hours to organise.
With ISIS and Al QAEDA running about causing mayhem, it is something which needs to be taken seriously and there have been cases where these “laagers” have been attacked at night by a lone gunman, so perimeter security is vital.
As the heat of the day abated with the setting sun, I took a moment to think about how much I have to be thankful for. To be in a position where I might be doing some good as part of a team of dedicated people who have given their lives over to studying and protecting these elephants.
Against all odds
That night at about 3 am when the temperature drops a few degrees, just before the dawn covers the land in its glow, I crawled into the bivvy bag Rory lent me and wrapping my turban around my head, trying to keep warm. The standard sleeping position in Mali for us on the ground is the fetal position, with a bivvy bag on top and a hand under our head. There are no pillows and it’s comfortable.
With the sun rising over the desert behind the OC’s wagon, the radio transmitter communicating in Morse code, the camp came to life. Hot tea was brought to us — it always feels somewhat of an honour.
Information was coming in that three bulls had ransacked the granary of a local farmer so we went to investigate. Loading up, we looked quite impressive as an anti-poaching unit. Something that seems to come easily to these troops and forest guards is the notion that when dealing with the community it is from the point of view of a guardian. They are there to help and offer assistance. It is with deference a people’s respect is earned and with it a willingness to act and do the right thing. Naturally, the farmer was upset and after discussion with him and elders in the community, we set off in the general direction the elephants were headed.
We soon picked up the trail and it was time for the men to show their combat tracking skills. The last thing we wanted was to run into an elephant unprepared. The tracking team kept on the tracks, at times with Rory having to assist and point out signs which are easily missed.
Suddenly the lead tracking team crouched down, eyes on. I moved across from the scope team I was with. The men were whispering excitedly, pointing, with the biggest, broadest smiles and eyes full of wonder.
There they were, moving slowly like ephemeral ghosts through the undergrowth… the stark monolithic cliffs reaching up to the sky in the background. This is Mali. Elephants meandering through this area of the Sahel, oblivious to the war waging around them. Behind me the military men stood transfixed. The Officer in charge murmured, “How can anyone kill a beast as magnificent as this?”
Two days tracking and we were now spending precious moments with them. Moments which I knew would be over soon. I was trying to drink in all the details. The small tusks, the massive grey and wrinkled bodies. The power of their trunks as they tore down branches. The way they stuck together in a group, exactly like three old men after a lifelong friendship.
This is the Africa I love and for a moment it took my mind away from the fact there are men out there who see only dollar signs when they look at these beasts. The men who will kill mercilessly to earn an easy dollar. Right then it was just me and the elephants and I truly believe every person recedes inwardly and reflects on their souls when in the presence of such greatness.
About Nigel Kuhn:
Born in Zimbabwe, Nigel finished his schooling there and attended selection for a front line infantry regiment in the British army. Upon successful completion, he joined the Royal Green Jackets for just under four years. He saw service in Kosovo in ’99 and Bosnia in 2001.
After leaving the army Nigel successfully completed an honours degree in photography, new media and journalism at the London College of Music and Media.
He returned to Africa and completed a year of professional guides training in South Africa in the FGASA system. After moving back to Zimbabwe Nigel successfully started two anti-poaching operations, which are still yielding results despite present politics.
Nigel first started working for Chengeta Wildlife after meeting Rory Young in Harare; he saw his first operation in Malawi, and now finds himself in Mali. To add value to his work in Mali and additional anti-poaching work in West Africa, Nigel is in the process of learning French in a small town in France.
For more information about our community conservation and anti-poaching efforts:
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In this updated and expanded edition of The Magic Way, Juan Tamariz teaches you not just great tricks, but a way to make every trick you do better and more magical.
From the moment it appeared in 1987, The Magic Way was recognized as one of the world's great books on magic. It has been long out of print and highly sought after. This new edition of The Magic Way brings to magicians everywhere the magic and remarkable thinking of one of our greatest living magicians. Over a period of five years, Juan Tamariz has corrected, revised and updated his classic text. This newly translated edition of that revised work might have been called The Magic Way Repaved.
The Magic Way is an in-depth study of how any magic effect may be improved until its method becomes so impervious to discovery that audiences simply relax happily into the experience of the impossible. Tamariz's "Theory of False Solutions and The Magic Way" is explained more clearly and fully than ever before, with detailed examples. These examples are not just exercises constructed to illustrate a point. Tricks and full routines taken from Juan Tamariz's working repertoire are explained in depth, and then meticulously analyzed to show how his theory is applied. You will gain new performance pieces, polished by a master, and something even better: a new tool that will allow you to make every trick you do more amazing. That is why The Magic Way has earned its reputation as a book no serious magical performer should be without.
In The Magic Way, Juan Tamariz teaches in full some of his most prized tricks and routines. Among them are...
The Tamariz Ambitious Card routine
His Magazine Test with Spirit Slates
His remarkable Oil and Water routine
Nineteen additional and original Oil and Water sequences
And Juan's version of Al Koran's "Miracle Divination", in which, under the fairest-seeming conditions, someone freely thinks of a card in the deck and, without touching the cards, the performer swiftly and unerringly names the one thought of.
All these effects pull audible gasps from the public and magicians, and they have been perfected through hundreds, if not thousands of performances. And while teaching them, Tamariz carefully shows how his "Theory of False Solutions" works. It is really much more than a theory. It is a well-considered plan for making any magic effect more baffling, and its secret more impossible to discover. For those who desire to get maximum entertainment and astonishment from their magic, studying The Magic Way may be the most valuable resource you will ever find. It is also a highly remarkable exploration of how one of the world's unquestioned masters of magic thinks and approaches every trick he does. The title really reflects the contents perfectly. This book is...
THE MAGIC WAY
Pages: 296 - 7.5" x 10" - Hardcover - photo-illustrated
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How an Inuit community on the north coast of Greenland is pulling together to save their village and way of life.
Editor's note: This film is no longer available online
Niaqornat, a remote Inuit village on the Greenland coast has 59 inhabitants, but the fish factory, the main source of employment, was forced to close.
The ice is melting due to climate change and the government no longer wants to subsidise the ship which brings food supplies. Young people are leaving to seek work so the village is at risk of being abandoned.
Teenager Lars surfs the internet and can not wait to escape, but most do not want to leave their homes and way of life. It is a film about a tiny community pulling together to save their village despite the odds being stacked against them.
FILMMAKER'S VIEW
By Sarah Gavron
It is an alien place at first look; a hunting settlement, only reached by helicopter, or boat when the ice breaks up, without running water, or vegetation. The Inuit village of Niaqornat is perched on the edge of a vast landmass, surrounded by imposing icebergs, shards of the receding inland glacier - a remnant of the Ice Age.
Other films of Greenland have mostly focused on nature, or the social issues of the cities. We wanted to tell the story of the people we met in the settlement, revealing their resilience, wit and determination.
As we began filming, the population of 59 dropped and the village faced potential closure. We chart their lives across the arctic seasons, as they fight to keep their traditions, battle with the dangers of thinning ice, whilst finding an identity in the modern world.
Niaqornat is a place of extremes - we move from midnight sun to midday darkness, the young craft shaman symbols and also surf the internet, but at its heart this is a story of traditional communities the world over. Our intention is to place the viewer on the inside, to open up the question of whether these communities can survive.
Recently it has been all over the news that scientists are stunned by Greenland's ice sheet melting over a far larger area than expected. Almost the entire ice cover of Greenland has experienced some melting at its surface during 2012, usually only half of the ice sheet melts naturally during an average summer. This further highlights the precarious existence of Niaqornat and makes it clear that Greenland is now the heartbeat of our planet. I hope that Village at the End of the World connects the audience to this global story.
FILMMAKERS' Q&A
Al Jazeera: Why did you decide to make a documentary about Greenland?
Sarah Gavron "It is an alien place at first look; a hunting settlement, only reached by helicopter, or boat when the ice breaks up, without running water, or vegetation."
Sarah Gavron: I have always been fascinated by stories from the Arctic. David (my partner and co-director/ cinematographer) had filmed there and crossed the inland ice on a five week trek. We decided to go on an adventure together and spend time in the isolated communities around the edge of the polar ice cap. When we first stepped off the helicopter in Niaqornat I felt I was in the remotest spot on earth; a village of 59 people and 100 sledge dogs living in a lunar landscape surrounded by majestic icebergs.
But Niaqornat is changing; in Summer the ever receding glacier scars the ground, hunting quotas have harmed livelihoods and the fish factory has been closed. If the population falls below 50 the government talks of relocating the villagers to a city. While alien and particular the story of this village also connects with the global narrative of small communities struggling to survive the world over. In Village at the End of the World I was determined to let the inhabitants speak for themselves, I wanted the audience to understand their lives and see the close relationship they have to their extreme environment.
David Katznelson "As an adult I decided to travel to Greenland and discover it for myself. What I found challenged my preconceptions. I became fascinated by the country and its people."
David Katznelson: I am Danish, and as Greenland was once a Danish colony and is still closely tied to Denmark, I grew up hearing a lot about Greenland on the news. Most of the stories focused on social issues. As an adult I decided to travel to Greenland and discover it for myself. What I found challenged my preconceptions. I became fascinated by the country and its people and I wanted to make a film that showed another aspect to this country - that told the story of people in the villages.
What were some of the challenges you faced during the making of the film?
Gavron: Language was the biggest challenge during filming. We had some fantastic translators, but Greenlandic is structured in such a different way from European languages. And the inhabitants' lives are ruled by the weather - which is unpredictable. So you make an arrangement to go and interview a hunter, but then the ice has melted and he is off to catch a whale ... And of course Greenland is a long way to go to film. A country without roads, we had to take three planes and two helicopters to reach the village from the UK.
Katznelson: Yes, I would agree with Sarah, only a few of the villagers spoke Danish. We would ask questions and often not hear the translations of the answers until we were back in the UK. Greenlandic is a very complex visual language, so doing on the spot translations just slowed down the flow of filming too much. As a result we discovered gems in the interviews that we hadn't been able to follow up. So we would have to re-interview ... We had a tiny crew of never more than two or three - a project intended to take one year, took three. I worked on fiction films in between trips to Greenland - but it was always good to go back to it.
How does making a documentary differ from making a fiction film?
Gavron: Ultimately I am interested in people, in human stories - so that connects the two forms. But in drama it is all about creating the semblance of truth. In documentary you start with a true story but you still have to construct a compelling narrative. In an observational documentary like this one you are filming and simultaneously thinking about how to turn what might be a quite random occurrence into a scene. Situations change and develop as you are shooting which means the story you originally wanted to tell might unravel before your eyes. By the time a fiction goes into production there is a script that often has taken years to write and the story is fixed. With a factual film the editing room is where you find yourself writing the final draft, delving into hours of footage to discover what the story is that you have captured. Both fiction and documentary are extraordinary. I think making documentaries reminds you of the resilience of human nature.
Katznelson: The difference is huge between this documentary and the fiction projects I have worked on. I travelled to Niaqornat between shooting episodes of Downton Abbey. Having two days earlier worked with a camera and lighting team of twenty and lots of equipment, where I sat by the monitor while others did the hard work, I found myself in a completely remote place with only a tiny digital camera, a light weight tripod and a microphone. I had to deal with everything. It was strangely liberating to be on my own in minus 30 degrees...
What do you hope the audience will take away from Village at the End of the World ?
Gavron: I hope they see a story that connects to the global narrative. I want to move people - we set out to raise some questions - not answer them. I hope it does that. And I hope there is a few laughs in there as well.
Katznelson: I hope people will respond to the place and people as Sarah and I have. It made us reflect a lot on our own lives and it challenged many of our ideas. Denmark is ahead of England in terms of preserving C02 use and it has made me want to bring some of the Danish way of life here - more cycling, solar panels. In Niaqornat they hunt seals but the seals live freely and the hunters only catch what they need and then use every part of it, whilst we eat factory chickens and waste enormous amounts of food. I would say that actually seeing the weak ice was a real wake-up call about the effect our lives are having on that part of the world - the locals respond in a very pragmatic way - the ice is dangerous so they cannot hunt as they have been doing for thousands of years, they do not necessarily question why. But beyond that as we all know the disappearance of the ice has massive consequences for countries all over the world.
Source: Al Jazeera
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Streaming accounted for 45 percent of revenue, up from 35.64 percent a year ago.
With streaming leading the charge, Universal Music Group enjoyed a 15.6 percent increase in revenue to €1.382 euros ($1.49 billion) for the second-quarter period ending June 30, 2017, the company announced Thursday. That’s up from from the €1.196 billion ($1.328 billion) the company produced in the first half of the corresponding period a year ago.
Within that, operating income increased by 47.8 percent to €170 million ($183.3 million) from €115 million ($127.7 million) in the second quarter of 2016. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) totaled €177 million ($190.8 million), an increase of 38.3 percent from the €128 million ($142.1 million) produced in the second quarter of last year.
With two solid quarters behind it this year, UMG's half-year numbers also showed big improvements. In the first six months of 2017, revenue grew nearly 15 percent to €2.66 billion ($2.98 billion) from €2.315 billion ($2.57 billion); while operating income was €311 million ($335.3 million), a 43.3 percent increase over the €217 million ($240.9 million) garnered in the first half of 2016. Moreover, UMG's EBITDA totaled €329 million ($354.7 million), a 36.5 percent increase from the €241 million ($267.5 million) gathered during that same period.
Of its total revenue, the recorded music operation generated €2.14 billion ($2.31 billion), a 16.9 percent (15.6 percent on a constant currency basis) increase over the €1.843 billion ($2.033 billion) that operation produced in the first half of 2016. Likewise, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) jumped 10.8 percent to €400 million ($431.2 million) from €361 million ($400.7 million); but merch and other revenue sources stayed practically flat at €135 million ($145.5 million), versus €134 million ($148.7 million).
(Currency translations in this story use an average of one euro to $1.078 for 2017; and an average of $1.11 for 2016, as noted in their press release today and the one depicting last year’s mid-year numbers.)
The company said that its recorded music best sellers this year included new releases from Drake and Kendrick Lamar, the 50th Anniversary edition of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, as well as carryover sales from The Weeknd and soundtrack releases from the movies Moana and La La Land.
On a song basis, the company noted the success of Luis Fonsi’s "Despacito," featuring Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber, which has become the most-streamed song of all time with over five billion streams across all streaming platforms.
Breaking out recorded music at the six-month mark, digital totaled €1.315 billion ($1.417 billion) a 27.1 percent increase over the €1.04 billion ($1.148 billion). Digital splits into €962 million ($1.037 billion) from streaming and €353 million ($380.5 million), versus €653 million ($724.8 million) for streaming last year in the corresponding period; and €382 million ($424 million). That means that downloads fell 10.3 percent, while streaming was up a whopping 47.3 percent. Finally, licensing and other revenue totaled €342 million ($368.7 million), up 10.7 percent from the €309 million ($343 million) tallied in the first half of 2016.
As a percentage of recorded music revenue, streaming accounted for 45 percent of revenue, up from 35.64 percent last year, while physical was 22.6 percent, down from 26.64 percent; downloads was 16.5 percent, down from 20.85 percent; and merch and other was 16 percent, down from 16.9 percent.
Breaking out the recorded music operation another way, this time by territory, North America grew by 27.6% to 1.023 euros ($1.1 billion) from 802 million euros ($890 million), while Europe was up 2.14% to 674 million euros ($726.6 million) from 659 million euros ($731.5 million); Asia grew by 21.4% to 278 million euros ($300 million) from 229 million euros ($254.2 million); Latin America grew by 21% to 75 million euros ($80.9 million) from 62 million euros ($69 million) while the rest of the world grew by 13.8% to 91 million euros ($98.1 million) from 80 million euros ($88.8 million).
As a percentage of recorded music revenues, this year North America accounted for 47.8%, versus 43.8% in the first six months of 2016; Europe fell to 31.5% from 26%; Asia grew to 13% from 12.5%; and Latin America grew slightly to 3.5% from 3.4%; while the rest of the territories, which accounted for 4.25% of revenue, down from 4.4%.
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President Donald Trump’s approval rating ― now 41 percent, according to HuffPost Pollster’s average, and 38 percent according to Gallup ― puts him about where Gallup measured President Richard Nixon in July 1973, after months of Senate hearings into the Watergate scandal. Those numbers, however, represent far different political trajectories for the two presidents.
Gallup
For Nixon, the approval rating constituted a major, if gradual slide. He began his second term in 1973 with a robust 68-percent approval in Gallup’s tracking.
Even four months later, after the vast majority of Americans had heard about Watergate and two of the president’s top aides had resigned, Nixon’s approval stood at 48 percent ― higher than Trump has achieved at any point in his presidency, according to Gallup. It wasn’t until partway through the widely televised Watergate hearings that Nixon’s ratings collapsed into the low-30s.
A 2014 Pew Research post by Andy Kohut charts Nixon’s decline in the court of public opinion:
Pew Research
Trump’s approval ratings, by contrast, are only modestly lower now than they were in the weeks after he was sworn in. His ratings in Gallup’s tracker have thus far remained mired between the high-30s and mid-40s for most of his time in office
One major difference in views of the two presidents has to do with partisanship. From the beginning of Nixon’s term through today, presidential approval has grown increasingly polarized, leaving little common ground between the president’s party and his opposition.
During Nixon’s first quarter in office, Republicans were 32 points more likely than Democrats to approve of him, according to Gallup. In Trump’s first quarter, the gap was 78 points.
That, combined with Trump’s weak performance among independents, has kept his ratings historically low, despite strong support from the GOP.
While questions have been raised in Washington about Trump’s firing of FBI director James Comey, and about the broader investigation surrounding possible ties between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government, they’ve so far failed to gain much traction across that political divide.
That means the controversies have yet to take any significant toll on Trump’s already-low ratings.
In recent polls, voters who backed Hillary Clinton in last year’s election have universally expressed concerns about Comey and the Russia allegations, while Trump voters have generally shrugged off the issues. The rest of the nation ― including non-voters and third-party supporters who may potentially be persuadable ― often have failed to tune in. In a recent survey, nearly half of Americans who didn’t vote for either Clinton or Trump said they weren’t sure if Trump made the right decision firing Comey.
The most profound dip in Trump’s ratings so far, by all accounts, had nothing to do with Russia, potential scandals, or any of the other unflattering process stories that have surrounded his administration.
Instead, it came in late March, on the heels of the GOP’s failed attempt to pass an unpopular health care bill. Many Americans took that issue personally. As the debate over the bill raged, health care shot up to the top of their list of political concerns. Crucially, it also managed to turn off even the president’s base, at one point registering less than 50 percent support among Trump supporters.
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Category: Folklore Hits: 27319
Bats
“Suspicions amongst thoughts are like bats amongst birds, they ever fly by twilight” Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Of all the creatures associated with the night, perhaps the most misaligned and misunderstood is the Bat. Fictional characterizations in modern culture, in movies and on TV, have given the bat an evil and sinister reputation, but such could not be further from the truth. In Tonga and ancient Babylonia bats were considered physical manifestations of the Souls of the Dead. In China and Poland they were symbols of Happiness and Long life, and to the ancient Mayans they symbolized Transformation and Rebirth. So what better time than this Samhain to consider the characteristics and teachings of the Bat?
Myths and Folklore
Perhaps because of their nocturnal habits and ability to navigate in the dark, or simply because they appear to be both animal and bird at the same time, bats have long been associated with deity, supernatural forces and the occult. In the mythologies of differing cultures bats symbolize both good and evil, life and death. In China many legends associate bats with good fortune. To them, a group of five bats represented the five causes of happiness: wealth, health, long life, virtue and a natural death.
In South America among an ancient Mayan cult of the Quiche, located in the jungles of what is now Guatemala, Camazotz was a minor deity associated with bats. He was the God of the Caves and is described as having the body of a human with the head and wings of a bat. According to the Mayan sacred book of initiation rites Popul Vuh, he resided in the Bat-house located in the Underworld, a labyrinth of caves through which huge bats flew. While legends differ, he was responsible for the seventh test of initiation undertaken by the Mayan Hero Twins, the mythical Mayan ruling deities.
In ancient Greece and Rome, it was thought that sleep could be prevented either by placing the engraved figure of a bat under the pillow, or by tying the head of a bat in a black bag and keeping it near to the left arm. On the Ivory Coast, even today, many think that bats are the spirits of the dead, and in Madagascar, they are assumed to be the souls of criminals, sorcerers and the unburied dead. In medieval Europe, bats were commonly thought to be witches’ familiars. In France 1332, Lady Jacaume of Bayonne was publicly burned simply because bats were seen to fly about her house and garden.
Also in Europe, in the Tyrol regions of Austria, it was believed that if a man wears the left eye of a bat on his person, he may become invisible, and in areas of central Germany, if he wears the heart of a bat bound to his arm with red thread, he will always be lucky at cards. It was commonly thought that witches used the blood of bats as an ingredient when making flying ointment, and further, to boost the powers of their magickal brews and potions. To the Gypsies, who were equally ostracized as witches, bats were seen as the bearers of good luck; they even prepared small bags containing dead bat bones for children to wear around their necks as charms.
In folklore, to wash your face in bat’s blood will enable you to see more clearly in the dark. To keep a piece of bat bone in your pocket will ensure good luck. Powdered bat’s heart will staunch bleeding or stop a bullet, and bullets from a gun swabbed with a bat’s heart will always hit their target. To put bat’s blood into someone’s drink will make him or her more passionate, and you can stimulate a woman’s desire by placing a drop of bat blood under her pillow. To prevent baldness or your hair greying, you should wash the hair in a concoction of powdered bat wings and coconut oil. The list of folklore concerning bats is endless, and even Shakespeare got in on the act. In his famous play Macbeth, he had his three witches adding “wool of bat” to their hellbroth, and in The Tempest (Act I, Scene 2) he had Caliban place a curse on his master Prospero, which included the line:
“All the charms of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you!”
Bat as a Totem Animal
The bat as a totem animal is a symbol representative of transition and rebirth. A bat appearing in your life could mean that some aspect of your life is coming to an end, and rather than fear the change, you should embrace the transition and look forward to some kind of new beginning. It's a time for serious self-examination and self-evaluation. This may sound easy to do, but for most people change is a frightening experience. Bat’s appearance is there to help you soar above your fears by getting rid of those things in your life that are no longer needed. Only by facing the darkness of your uncertainties can you progress and find light in new beginnings.
To many misinformed people, the bat is a symbol of death, but try to embrace the positive powers of the bat. Bats typically live in deep underground caves, which symbolically is the belly of the Mother (Earth), and from these womb-like caves they emerge each evening at dusk - reborn. To a shaman the appearance of a bat does not signify actual or physical death, but more the death of old fears or the old ways of doing things that no longer serve you. By learning from the bat you can fly through any darkness into the light, be transformed, reborn and free.
“For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all” - Aristotle (384-322 BC).
Bat Facts
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera of which there are 17 families divided into 2 suborders – the larger Megabats and the smaller Microbats. Only one of these families includes Megabats (of which there are more than 150 species); the other 16 families are all Microbats containing another 850 species or more. Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight, and are so prolific that the two orders together make up nearly one quarter of the world’s mammal population.
Bats are the most widely distributed group of mammals in the world. The ability of flight has enabled them to disperse and take up residence in most all countries, except for the Arctic, the Antarctic and a few isolated oceanic islands. Bats are more prolific in warmer countries however, such like Indonesia, home to about 175 species of bats, Venezuela to about 154 and Mexico to some 137. Central and South America is thought to be home to almost one third of the world’s total bat population. Sadly, as widely distributed as bats are, some species have drastically declined and many are now endangered.
The Megabat family includes some of the largest bats known; one such is the Giant Flying Fox of Africa, India and Malaysia (so called because of its fox-like face). The biggest Flying Foxes are found in Java and achieve a wingspan of 1.8 m (6 ft), a body length of 55 cm (22 in) and weigh up to 1.5 kg (3.3 lb). Flying Foxes are also known as Fruit Bats, because their main diet consists of fruit and flowers. Of the Microbat families, the smallest bat is the Kitti’s Hog-nosed bat (also called the Bumblebee bat), which is found only along the River Kwai in western Thailand. It measures only 3 cm (1 in) long and weighs about 2 g (0.07 oz), making it one of the smallest mammals living today.
Aside from their size, Megabats and Microbats are different in many ways. Megabats have large eyes and mostly fox-like faces; while Microbats have small eyes and often elaborate facial structures. There is a myth that all bats are blind, but this is not true. Megabats see relatively well and rely on smell and vision to find their food, while Microbats have poorer eyesight and use a unique method of echolocation to orient and detect their food and prey. Echolocation is a high-frequency pulsing sound emitted by the bat that bounces back to its ears from surrounding surfaces thus giving away the location and relative distance of objects and prey within its environment. It’s a bit like the way sonar works in submarines. In this way bats are able to manoeuvre and navigate at night in almost total darkness.
Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. Their wings consist of a thin, fleshy membrane supported near the leading edge by the greatly elongated bones of the forelimb and second finger, and towards the tip and rear by the third, fourth, and fifth fingers. It is further attached along the bodyline of the trunk and extends back between the hind limbs and tail. The thumb of the hand is free and has a sharp hooked claw to help in climbing. Their feet have five digits or toes, which are also equipped with sharp hooked claws, but these are used to help suspend the bat upside-down when roosting.
Most all bats are nocturnal. During the day they roost and rest in a variety of places, but commonly in dark caves and crevices, hollow trees or in shaded foliage, beneath rocks or bark and in abandoned buildings. Some Megabat species in warmer countries roost in more exposed areas where large colonies of bats can be seen hanging upside down from branches of trees. Being nocturnal gives bats many advantages, like reduced competition for insects and other food, freedom from attack by predators, and protection from overheating during the day which bats are especially susceptible to due to the size of their wings in relation to their body size. In countries where winters are cold bats will migrate to warmer climates or hibernate.
Female bats birth only one pup a year, which when born clings to the mother bat during flight and feeds from her milk. After approximately four months the pup learns to fly on its own. For many bat species mating takes place before hibernation, during which time the female stores the sperm in her genital tract throughout the winter and on awakening in spring uses it to fertilize her eggs.
For their diets, most Megabats feed on fruit, flowers, pollen and nectar, while Microbats also feed on insects, fish, frogs and other small creatures. A single Microbat can eat something like 3,000 insects in one night, and there is one species, the Vampire bat, that also feeds on the blood of other mammals. It is the Vampire bat, perhaps more than any other bat, that is responsible for fuelling the imagination of writers and film makers with fear and revulsion, and as a result, given the whole bat population such an evil and sinister reputation (more on this later).
Bats perform a vitally important ecological role in nature. Many rainforest trees depend on bats for pollination and seed dispersal, which is particularly important in facilitating regrowth after forest clearances. Similarly, many tropical plants depend on bats for the distribution of their seeds. It is estimated there are some 300 bat-dependent plant species yielding more than 450 economically valuable products. Some of these products include: Chewing gum, tequila, sisal, medicines, dyes and fuel. Even the bat’s waste matter, ‘guano’, is utilized as a valuable fertilizer. Some bats are the keystone species on which whole ecosystems depend for their survival.
Vampire Bats
Perhaps the most influential source for popularizing contemporary fears and dread about bats was the fictional bestselling book called “Dracula” (written by the Irish author Bram (Abraham) Stoker (1847-1912) and first published in 1897). In it, he personalized the characteristics of the Vampire bat into what are now the traditional scary blood sucking Vampire legends. Such did his book inspire the imaginations of other writers; it led to a whole plethora of similar stories and films on the subject.
In truth, there are only three species of Vampire bats that feed on the blood of other mammals (usually cattle, horses and large birds such as fowl). However, despite what popular legend would have us believe, bats do not suck blood. Bats have very sharp needle pointed teeth with which they make small incisions on the backs of large prey, and then lap at the resulting blood droplets. Most Vampire bats are quite small, commonly only 7 to 9 cm (2.75 to 3.5 in) long, and at best could manage to take only a tablespoon of blood each night from its prey, hardly enough to cause death by doing so.
One of the biggest fears people have concerning bats is Rabies. Rabies is a virus transmitted among animals, and sometimes humans, when bitten by an already infected carrier. However, a study conducted by the University of Florida has shown less than one-half of 1 percent of all bats have rabies. So in truth, the conclusion is that a human is more likely to be bitten by an unvaccinated rabid dog than by a Vampire bat. Far from being monsters, Vampire bats in general are sociable creatures, caring towards other members of their colony. They take part in mutual grooming, and will even take care of another’s abandoned young when unable to feed, this they do by regurgitating and sharing the blood they have collected for themselves.
Interestingly, new medical studies of a clot-dissolving substance found in Vampire bat saliva, could soon be used to benefit human Stroke victims.
© 2010-2018 crystalwind.ca. All rights reserved.
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The government plans to install in airports over the next two years 950 body scanners in a calculated over-reaction to the Christmas Day bomber's attempts to light his shorts on fire, (all after federal counterterrorism officials had begged off revocation of the bomber's VISA despite him being a terror suspect, and despite the fact that he was allowed to get on the plane without a passport with the aid of a still unknown person).
Apparently not only will the scanners allow complete strangers to clearly see the naked bodies of your children and make them easy prey to any pedophiles who wish to infiltrate the TSA, but they're also going to cause delays to travelers.
According to an article in USA Today titled, "Airport scanners stir fears over security lines" (not "Airport scanners stir fears over loss of privacy...or civil liberties") the new full body scanners take at least five times longer to scan a single passenger than a standard metal detector would. So by simple logic passengers should expect it to take five times longer to get past security and therefore plan to be at the airport five times earlier than they would have been before. All in the name of protecting them from any future bombers that the FBI might purposely allow onto their flights in a mystifying counter-terrorism strategy that screams of criminal incompetence or...dare I say... a possible "inside job".
In a society of mostly vigilant, informed citizens in which a mainstream media puts more energy into spotlighting threats to freedom and the dangers of expanding federal power, and less into fear-mongering and reinforcing the message that an, (at best), incompetent bureaucracy knows better than you, such a point would be minor. However, the society described above hardly exists in America today, so despite everything else, the threat that the body scanners pose is re-framed as one of personal annoyance rather than personal dignity.
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That the body scanners may cause delay is something that the TSA has noted, though a spokesman said the scanners will not "significantly increase" checkpoint lines.
Previously the public was assured that the body scanners couldn't record the images of passengers. Then it was revealed and confirmed surprisingly by CNN that body scanners could record the images while in "test mode". This week an Indian film star claimed that fans working at Heathrow airport printed out a naked scanner image for him to sign. Heathrow responded by saying his story was "factually incorrect" since the scanners couldn't record or print images, which challenges CNN's story and makes the picture below of a printed body scanner image all the more baffling.
(Image by Unknown Owner) Details DMCA
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One of the greatest advocates for the use of body scanners is former Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, who's title seemed to give his opinion credibility to safety conscious citizens until a New York Times editor's note revealed that Chertoff's consulting company represents Rapiscan-- a manufacturer of the scanners. Since people in government using their connections and influence to make money for themselves and their friends, even if it's at the expense of liberties (and in the case of Cheney and Haliburton, people's lives) has become an acceptable form of corruption by a weary and apathetic public, the authority behind Chertoff's recommendations is still superficially maintained by the opinion-shepherds on TV.
Often those who challenge the invasion of their privacy by machines like the body scanners are reassured that if they have nothing to hide then they have nothing to worry about. In the case of the body scanners nearly everyone who gets on an airplane, (with the exception of exhibitionists), has something to hide.
Forgetting for a moment the issue of the naked body images, the scanners show such personal accessories as back braces, maxipads, adult bladder control pads,and apparently fake breasts, according to Politics Daily author, Sandra Fish, who's article also relates that a friend of herswas forced to lift his shirt to reveal his colostomy bag to TSA screeners. Elderly travelers, who often face the stigma and ridicule of a youth obsessed culture, will now also face having to reveal the intimate details of their failing health to complete strangers or announce their personal ills before an audience of onlookers in order to avoid having to show what's concealed beneath their clothes. While some may argue it's a personal choice for an individual to fly, that presents quite a dilemma to a liberty-conscious 75 year old wanting to visit family in another state, having to decide between personal humiliation or a 26 hour bus ride, or 18 hour train ride.
Though, unlike the privacy issues, airport delays can be alleviated for the individual by reading a book or chatting with a friend, it is likely to be one that will be the most vocalized once the scanners are in place and part of the surveillance grid. In a society of fast food, high speed internet, and cell phones, the common annoyances that come with traveling are usually the most harped upon.
But if the technology advances and Chertoff's clients can figure out how to make the process of subjugation more timely and efficient, protests will most likely die down and America will timidly draw yet another line on the floor as it's backed further into the corner.
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Been forever since I've did some old fashion good spriting. These are based off the Twitch Plays Pokemon: Randomize Alpha Sapphire run!There's nothing much to say about these sprites other than you have NO IDEA how hard it is to custom sprite a Glaceon... That thing took forever to get right with it's head thingies. Along with that, Mr.Pringles will give me nightmares and a good laugh in both spriting and drawing. All sprites are 100% custom made from scratch, except maybe for Mrs.Pringles who the only thing I carried over was her 2 jelly tentacles. The rest were all custom made from there. If I knew more about the team while being in the run, I would have done more. I really like that lanturn.Enjoy~Sprites made by No permission needed, but please give credit.~Pokemon (c) Game Freak & The pokemon Company
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UPDATE: Jude Travis L. Francis has accepted the resignation of Leslie Anderson, effective immediately.
A Superior Court judge's law clerk who is under fire for comments she made on Facebook about the death of Trooper Anthony Raspa was suspended with pay Tuesday.
According to a report from the Press of Atlantic City, Leslie Anderson, a law clerk for Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Travis L. Francis, posted her comments on the News 12 New Jersey Facebook page in response to a report about Raspa, who was killed over the weekend in an on-duty crash with a deer.
Anderson's comments have since been removed. One of her comments, however, was captured on screenshot and posted on Facebook.
"Not that sad, and certainly not 'tragic,'" Anderson wrote. "Troopers were probably traveling at a dangerously high speed as per usual. Totally preventable. At least they didn't take any of the citizens they were sworn to serve and protect with them."
In another post, reported by the Press of Atlantic City, Anderson described the praise Raspa was receiving by other commenters for his service as "absurd" and "nonsensical."
"The 'victim's' employment as a state trooper is irrelevant to the circumstances, other than the fact that he injured a fellow trooper and destroyed state property as a result of his recklessness. He wasn't running into a burning building or otherwise acting within the course of his employment at the time of the accident. The outcry and 'thank yous' are absurd, nonsensical, and completely unwarranted. There are people in this country and around the world dying for much less. There is nothing 'tragic' about this. Get over yourselves and your sense of entitlement, people," Anderson said.
She mourned the loss of the deer in another.
"Nonetheless, I agree that it is sad and heart wrenching for the family members left to suffer the consequences of the Trooper's recklessness -- especially for the deer family who lost a mommy or daddy or baby deer," Anderson wrote.
Winnie Comfort, director of communications for the New Jersey judiciary system, told NJ Advance Media Tuesday that Anderson was suspended for two weeks with pay, pending an outcome of an internal investigation.
"It would be premature for me to suggest anything that they will find until after the investigation," Comfort said.
Comfort said she did not know when the posts were made.
She said Francis would not have any comment on the matter.
Raspa was killed Saturday morning when the Crown Victoria patrol car he was driving struck a deer and then veered off into the trees off of Interstate 195 shortly before 1 a.m. in Upper Freehold, authorities have said.
A funeral for Raspa is scheduled for Thursday morning at Saint Matthais Church in Somerset.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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The other night, I was in a recently-opened cigar bar in Washington, and immediately noticed something about the wait staff. They were not merely polite and attentive. They were my new best friends.
It started with handshakes at the door by both a male greeter and hostess. They asked how I was feeling, how my day had been. The chitchat continued as the hostess escorted me inside. My friend had not yet arrived, so I ended up at the bar, where both bartenders introduced themselves with a handshake and inquired about my mood and what I thought of the place. They produced the different drink menus with a flourish. Later, on the way out, the host/greeter shook my hand and asked for my assessment of the place and my plans for the evening.
There's a term for this, coined in this essay by Paul Myerscough: "affective labor." He focuses on the terrifying obsession with it at Pret-a-Manger, the takeaway food chain:
Pret workers aren’t supposed to be unhappy. They are recruited precisely for their ‘personality’, in the sense that a talent show host might use the word. Job candidates must show that they have a natural flair for the ‘Pret Behaviours’ (these are listed on the website too). Among the 17 things they ‘Don’t Want to See’ is that someone is ‘moody or bad-tempered’, ‘annoys people’, ‘overcomplicates ideas’ or ‘is just here for the money’. The sorts of thing they ‘Do Want to See’ are that you can ‘work at pace’, ‘create a sense of fun’ and are ‘genuinely friendly’. The ‘Pret Perfect’ worker, a fully evolved species, ‘never gives up’, ‘goes out of their way to be helpful’ and ‘has presence’. After a day’s trial, your fellow workers vote on how well you fit the profile; if your performance lacks sparkle, you’re sent home with a few quid.
Timothy Noah of The New Republic sees this as an artifact of our second Gilded Age, trappings of extreme wealth being granted to the harried middle- and upper-middle classes, creating the illusion of having all your needs attended to:
As income inequality reorients the consumer marketplace toward luxury services for the rich, like "destination clubs" and "concierge medicine," consumer expectations change and trickle down. The new services "set the standards for lower-cost versions" that cater to the merely affluent. Pret shops are typically located in neighborhoods that bustle with busy professionals whom Pret fusses over like the maître d' at Alain Ducasse. The more the rich get used to fawning service, the more the rest of us—or rather, the rest of us who can afford to buy a sandwich rather than brown-bag it from home—find we rather like it, too. Eventually everybody will have to act like a goddamned concierge. I don't want to believe this, but I fear it may be true.
You've probably noticed this too – everywhere. At some point a year or two ago, the staff at my local Giant supermarket started randomly greeting me and asking if everything was all right, if I had found everything I needed, if there was anything they could do to make my shopping experience more pleasant.
This is absurd. The more ubiquitous this type of enforced bonhomie becomes, the more obvious its basic insincerity and falseness also becomes. It places demands on workers in the service sector, who must be on at all times, conveying emotional signals they probably don't feel. (And discriminates against those who don't convey them well.) It also places subtle new obligations on customers. If you're an introvert like me, finding yourself suddenly obliged to make idle conversation and somehow reciprocate the boundless enthusiasm coming at you, it can be uncomfortable.
America is obsessed with Downton Abbey. If we must embrace the customs of an unsustainably stratified society (and I'm not saying we must), why not adopt the highly competent yet emotionally reserved ethos of the Downtown staff instead? They get the job done without hugging you.
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. My Forbes blog page is here.
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Rafael Cruz Remembers Life in Cuba
To shed some light on the death of Fidel Castro, I did an interview with Senator Ted Cruz's father Rafael, who lived under the oppressive regime of the Cuban dictator. Have you ever had experiences in which you felt as though your government was taking unfair advantage of you, and it seemed as though you had no power to do anything about it? Have you written your congressman, senator, or county commissioner several times and only received form-letter responses? I suppose that everyone has felt that way from time to time. On the other hand, after you've finished complaining, did you ever feel that your life was threatened? If not, you've never lived under a dictatorship.
As Americans, we take freedom for granted because we've always had it. That's why it's important for us to hear from those who have lived in places where freedom doesn't exist. "I was 17 years old when I spoke out publicly against the corrupt regime of Fulgencio Batista," said Rafael Cruz, who was born in Cuba. As a result of his opposition to the brutal tactics being used against his people, he became a recipient of that brutality. Rafael was arrested, thrown in a cell, and repeatedly beaten by prison guards. "Every four hours, they'd come back in my cell to beat me again," he said. "The pain became so unbearable that I lost feeling in my arms and legs," he added reflectively. About a year later, with the help of his parents, he was able to flee the autocratic island and he found his way to Austin, Texas. Fearing that he might be robbed before he got away, his mother had sewn $100 into his underwear to give him a start in his new country. Although he didn't speak English, he had a voracious appetite for education and a strong work ethic. "I used to go to the movies to listen to the actors speaking English and watch carefully how they formed the words," Rafael said. "In those days, you could stay in the theater to see the movies over and over, so I would spend as many hours as possible, absorbing the words and speech patterns until I was able to grasp the language." He also carried an English dictionary with him all the time and constantly studied it. He got a job washing dishes and worked seven days a week to pay for a college education at the University of Texas, where he met his future wife. They both had a natural aptitude for mathematics, so they immersed themselves in technical fields of study. Soon after graduating, they started their own business, doing seismic data processing for oil companies. From this very inauspicious beginning, they raised a son who became the state solicitor general, representing Texas in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Among General Ted Cruz's victories was the defense of the Ten Commandments monument that stands on the state capitol grounds. Cruz won a 5-4 decision of the high court. He also defended the Pledge of Allegiance and won a unanimous decision after a federal court of appeals ruled against the words "one nation under God." Their son went on to defeat Texas lieutenant governor David Dewhurst in the GOP primary in 2012, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in the general election. To recap, the son of a Cuban immigrant, who fled a dictatorship to find freedom in America, raised a son who became a member of the most powerful legislative body in the world and who became a frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. During a lunch meeting at my home, the senior Cruz also talked about the Fidel Castro regime, which came to power in 1959 after a revolution that drove Batista into exile. Sadly, they replaced one dictator with another. "Castro rations food, clothing, and all the other things we take for granted here," Rafael said. "The people are allowed to buy a pound of meat per month. If you violate the rules, you get thrown in prison for years." He related a story about a friend from Cuba who visited Texas a few years ago and went to dinner at a restaurant. "When he saw the size of the steak on his plate, he began to cry," Rafael said. "'This amount of meat would feed my family for a month.'" When Rafael Cruz speaks at Republican gatherings in Denton County, Texas and across the United States, his passion for this country is palpable. "Except for the Bible, the two greatest documents ever written are the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence," he says, with fingers jabbing at the air. Perhaps we shouldn't be blamed for not cherishing our freedom because we've always had it, much like people who have always been rich; hence, they can't relate to being poor. Those who often forget how great this country is should spend an hour with Rafael Cruz to get an idea of how lucky they are.
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3/3 A "gentrification is death" sign was left at the crime scene. (Screenshot via NBC 10)
3/3 A "gentrification is death" sign was left at the crime scene. (Screenshot via NBC 10)
2/3 Black Bloc protesters, who always dress in black and have been identified as anarchists and Antifa, gather at May Day protests on May 1, 2017, in front of City Hall. (Hayden Mitman)
2/3 Black Bloc protesters, who always dress in black and have been identified as anarchists and Antifa, gather at May Day protests on May 1, 2017, in front of City Hall. (Hayden Mitman)
1/3 Geoffrey Suchocki, left, and Patricia Monahan were arrested for participating in widespread vandalism in Philly along with a group of so-called anarchists. (PPD)
1/3 Geoffrey Suchocki, left, and Patricia Monahan were arrested for participating in widespread vandalism in Philly along with a group of so-called anarchists. (PPD)
May Day was marked by peaceful protests in Center City and South Philly, but hours later, a group of 30 to 50 individuals claiming to be anarchists allegedly caused more than $100,000 worth of damage while vandalizing developing blocks near Northern Liberties, police said.
The group, made up of individuals wearing all black, is "believed to be associated with the anarchist protesters ‘Summer of Rage,’” a police report stated.
They left signs reading “Gentrification is death, revolt is life," and they smashed the windshields of luxury cars and splashed paint on the buildings, NBC reported.
Two suspects were arrested by highway patrol officers who spotted them running away a few blocks from the crime scene.
One of them, Geoffrey Suchocki, 45, of Doylestown, had a backpack that contained “a mission statement on how to disrupt capitalism,” according to police, as well as a black scarf, a mask and a device used for shattering windows.
Suchocki and Patricia Monahan, 28, of Rhawnhurst, who had a black scarf around her neck, were both arrested and charged with causing and risking a catastrophe, criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy and related offenses, police said.
Police said the group descended around 9:15 p.m. on the 1500 block of North Second Street and the 1500 block of North Phillip Street, in an area just above Northern Liberties lately referred to as Old Kensington.
“Windows were shattered, and paint covered the side walls and sidewalks of several of the listed properties,” the police report stated. “Security cameras were ripped off buildings; windshields were shattered on several vehicles within a three-block radius.”
A property manager of the new buildings alerted police.
Earlier on May 1, a fire torched new apartments being constructed by developer Ori Feibush in Point Breeze, who has also been a target of numerous anti-gentrification protests.
The Philadelphia office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ruled that blaze to be caused by arson, Billy Penn reported. The fire remains under investigation.
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The force will today unveil plans to train 800 extra officers to use the electrical firearm on top of the 600 already equipped to carry them, bringing the total to 1,400.
They will also upgrade to a newer model of the weapon capable of firing two separate 50,000 volt shots without reloading.
It comes after what Chief Constable Dave Thompson described as the ‘deadly and determined threats’ facing unarmed officers and cited recent terror attacks.
Speaking at a public consultation, he said: “We have seen recent events, particularly in the UK’s changing security landscape, where we have seen unarmed officers facing deadly and determined threats.
“We have seen it very recently with the death of Keith Palmer guarding the gates of Parliament – but also in the London Bridge attack we again saw the injuries inflicted on a British Transport Police officer.
“So there is a context at the moment where, both in terms of protection of our officers but also our ability to intervene and protect the public, we are having to strike that balance to say do we have the balance right at the moment?
“There is a big debate about the real challenges that an unarmed police service faces in the current threats and our need to ensure we can protect the public as well as our officers.”
The force will move from the current X26 Taser to the newer X2 model, which has been in use in the US since 2011.
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The X2 model allows two separate shots to be fired in quick succession. The X26 has a 60 per cent failure rate when being fired for the first time and takes around five seconds to manually reload with a new cartridge to fire a second shot.
It has two lasers and a larger 11.6mm electric barb, up from 9mm on the older version. This means it is more accurate and effective at attaching itself to the target and delivers a more effective shock.
Enhanced digital technology means more data can be recorded from the X2 and it is hoped it will link with body-worn cameras which are being rolled out to officers.
The new model was approved by the Home Secretary Amber Rudd earlier this year.
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Temporary Inspector Chris Coughlin, the force’s deputy chief firearms instructor, said: “There has been a load of research done around why and how we should do this. It comes down to assessing the current threat and crime hotspots – the busy areas.
“Roughly at the moment we have around 600 Taser officers trained, some of those are firearms officers – some are specialist Taser officers. We are looking at an uplift in the region of another 800 on top of that.
“Alongside that there is a training programme to enable us to do that.”
Training for new officers takes 18 hours over three days. Those already trained on the X26 Taser who will convert to the X2 will undertake two days of training. All Taser-trained officers carry out refresher training of six hours every year.
Mr Thompson said: “A very small proportion of our officers are armed and that is something we think is very important that continues.”
Temp Insp Couglin added: “Over the last three years, Taser use is pretty much the same. What we have noticed is that the use of firing is steadily reducing. Roughly about 20 per cent of the time we use it, we are firing it.”
In 2016, West Midlands Police officers deployed Tasers on 854 occasions but only fired them 162 times.
Ex-Villa legend Dalian Atkinson died after being shot with a Taser in Telford by West Mercia Police last year.
PC Keith Palmer was stabbed at the gates of the Houses of Parliament by Midlands terrorist Khalid Masood in March.
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Gates to stay as Pentagon chief: reports Agence France-Presse
Published: Tuesday November 25, 2008
Print This Email This WASHINGTON (AFP) Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to stay in his job when president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January, with an announcement expected next week, reports said late Tuesday.
Politico.com, ABC News and CNN said the highly regarded Gates would stay at the Pentagon at least for president Obama's first year and execute the Democrat's signature policy of withdrawal from Iraq.
"It is a done deal," ABC cited a source close to the process as saying, and said the formal announcement would be made by Obama's transition team after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.
Aides to Obama told AFP they could not immediately confirm the reports.
Politico said Gates would be part of a raft of national security positions announced next week, including former NATO commander General James Jones as national security adviser.
Quoting unidentified officials, it said Susan Rice, a senior foreign policy adviser to Obama, would be nominated as US ambassador to the United Nations and retired Admiral Dennis Blair would become director of national intelligence.
Politico added that former deputy national security adviser James Steinberg would be named deputy to Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, with both diplomatic jobs also to be announced next week.
The selection of Gates, who has won bipartisan praise as a member of President George W. Bush's cabinet, would allow Obama to make good on his pledge of staffing his own cabinet with at least one Republican.
"The appointment has substantial advantages for Obama, who now can keep his pledge of drawing down troops in Iraq with the aid of an architect of the Bush administration's successful troop 'surge' strategy," Politico said.
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What mayors told Washington: Members of the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors took a simple message to lawmakers in Washington this week: “We’re not a special interest group.” Instead, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu says, “we’re the best partner that they have to deliver to our identical taxpayers services that are much, much needed.” The group focused that message on three top priorities for cities and the federal government alike: tax reform, infrastructure and health care. Politico reports:
But the conference has seen some promising signs in recent weeks. The failure of the GOP “skinny repeal” was cheered by the conference, and the mayors and Trump administration both agree on the necessity to rebuild the country’s infrastructure. … Mayors also pushed for the federal government to entrust more resources and support directly to cities to combat national problems like the opioid crisis, because they say cities are better suited to adapt to the specific concerns of their community than a slower moving federal program.
Say what?: The U.S. Department of Justice stirred some confusion Thursday by singling out four cities with threats of withholding crime-fighting funds if they don’t give the feds access to illegal immigrants in jails. But those cities—Baltimore, Albuquerque, Stockton, and San Bernardino—don’t operate their jails (their counties and states do) and none has declared itself a “sanctuary city.” (Los Angeles Times, AP)
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Zookeepers at the Moscow Zoo have developed a special system to get their gerbils to hibernate for winter, according to news agency Interfax.
In order to get the rodents to hibernate, they starve them in a dark fridge until they are left completely without hope.
“Do you know how our gerbils in the zoo are put to sleep? Just in a normal fridge! In order to get them to hibernate, we have to put them in extreme conditions: we put them in there in the dark without any noise and where the temperature is only about 2-3 degrees; at which point they start to despair and fall into a state of hibernation. They need to sleep for their health, and the breeding period only happens after hibernation,” said a representative of the zoo in a press release.
The zookeepers emphasized that if the animals have access to food or materials that could be used to build a nest, they will not hibernate but instead hope for something more to come along.
First published in Russian by Gazeta.ru
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All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
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In all, you should expect to get a month's use out of each device before you have to recharge. In the case of the mouse, the Lightning port's location on the bottom side means you can't use it while it's rejuicing. But, because the keyboard's and trackpad's charging ports are each tucked away on a back edge, you can indeed use them while they charge. Accordingly, the new peripherals come with a Lightning cable in the box. As before, too, they ship pre-paired with your system, but if you're using them with an older machine, they'll automatically pair when you connect to the iMac via a Lightning cable for the first time. In fact, I had to do this with the Trackpad, which came in a separate box, as if I had bought it separately.
Speaking of the sort, the keyboard and mouse come in the box by default, with the Trackpad offered as an upgrade option on the configure-to-order page. If you're the owner of an older iMac and want to swap in the new peripherals, they cost $99 for the keyboard, $79 for the mouse and $129 for the trackpad.
Keyboard
Without that battery compartment, too, Apple was able to make each of these devices lighter and, in the case of the trackpad and keyboard, thinner as well. Because the keyboard is now missing that cylindrical battery barrel, it has a slimmer design and lies at a flatter angle. I found it comfortable to type on, although I don't recall having any complaints about the previous design, and unfortunately I don't have an older keyboard lying around that I can use for comparison purposes.
Additionally, the keyboard's footprint is 13 percent smaller than before, yet despite that the individual buttons are actually larger now, with the Function row in particular reaching the same vertical height as all the other buttons. You'll also find the key spacing is more in line with what we saw on the 12-inch MacBook. Lastly, Apple says it reengineered each of the keys, adopting a refined "scissor" mechanism to help the buttons move up and down in an even, reliable way. All told, Apple is promising 33 percent better key stability, which is to say even if your finger strikes the corner of the key instead of the center, it'll be that much more likely to register as a "normal" press.
For my part, I was always able to hit the button I meant to, even without looking. I generally made few typos, too, though occasionally a key would still fail to register my press -- a problem I've noticed on flat, shallow keyboards in general. Perhaps in a future update, Apple will adopt the same underlying keyboard mechanism in use on the 12-inch MacBook.
Magic Mouse 2
Like the iMac itself, the new Magic Mouse is difficult to tell from its predecessor, at least at a quick glance. As before, the mouse has a glassy white surface that responds not just to button presses, but also to multitouch gestures, similar to what you'd otherwise do on a trackpad. Look closer, though, and you'll see that while the Magic Mouse 2 is as thick as before, it's noticeably lighter, thanks to the lack of AA batteries inside. Apple also redesigned the feet on the bottom for smoother gliding. As I said about the keyboard's flatter angle, the new foot design here works, but I also had no complaints about the glide factor on the previous model; the old version also worked well on a variety of surfaces.
If anything, the rechargeable battery is a bigger deal than the new feet. In particular, the mouse has a quick-charging feature that allows it to regain nine hours of use after just two minutes of charging. That's important, since the mouse can't be used while it's charging, the way the keyboard can.
Ultimately, whether you choose the mouse or trackpad boils down to personal preference. Personally, I've always been a mouse person: Mice are comfortable to rest my hand on, and I enjoy the tactile feedback of pressing a button (as I've argued before, Apple's pressure-sensitive Force Touch trackpads don't quite feel like the real thing). That said, the button on the Magic Mouse is a little noisy; if that annoys you, using the Magic Trackpad with tap-to-click enabled could be a good alternative.
Magic Trackpad 2
As I hinted earlier, I'm not a huge fan of the Force Touch trackpads on MacBooks; I miss the tactile feel of being able to press a button on the old touchpad. But, I enjoy Force Touch a good deal more on the new Magic Trackpad. I'm going to chalk that up to ergonomics: According to Apple, the underlying technology here is the same as on the MacBook, which means there's nothing different going on under the hood. In case you need a refresher, there are four pressure-sensitive force sensors plus a so-called Taptic Engine that uses vibrating feedback to simulate the feeling of a button press (neither the Magic Trackpad nor MacBook touchpad really have a button; both feel like stiff pieces of glass when powered off). As on the MacBook, you can use a long-press, or "Force touch," to do everything from peek at files in Finder to quickly fast-forward movies in iTunes.
For people who already own one of the new Force Touch-enabled MacBooks (or even a Force Touch gadget like the Apple Watch or iPhone 6s with its 3D Touch screen), these gestures and tricks will all seem familiar. If you found them useful before, that may well convince you to use the Magic Trackpad instead of the mouse. If, like me, you think Force Touch is a little gimmicky in OS X, it comes down more to ergonomics.
Indeed, that's why the trackpad has enormous appeal for me. The second-gen Magic Trackpad has 29 percent more surface area than the original, and you obviously get way more space than you would on a Magic Mouse or MacBook touchpad. I find the increase in surface area alone makes Force Touch easier to use here than on a laptop. Also, when the pad is placed farther away from the keyboard (as opposed to right below it), that has an effect on where I rest my hand, and it puts my wrist in a more natural position. Between that and the quieter "button" feedback I'd otherwise get on the Magic Mouse, I ended up getting a lot of use out of the trackpad -- even if I'm otherwise indifferent to Force Touch.
Performance
Geekbench (multi-core) Xbench Blackmagic (average read/write speeds) iMac (2015, 21.5-inch, 3.1GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, Iris Pro 6200 Graphics) 11,331 (32-bit) / 12,679 (64-bit) 654.01 95.2/93.2 MB/s iMac with Retina display (2014, 27-inch, 3.5GHz Core i5, 8GB RAM, 2GB AMD Radeon R9 M290X) 11,344 (32-bit) / 12,394 (64-bit) 643.65 659.0/311.5 MB/s Mac Pro (2013, 3.7GHz Intel Xeon E5-1620, 16GB RAM, dual 2GB AMD FirePro D300 GPUs) 12,650 (32-bit) / 14,207 (64-bit) 601.98 918.6/761.2 MB/s iMac (2013, 27-inch, 3.4GHz Core i5, 8GB RAM, 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M) 10,920 (32-bit) / 11,867 (64-bit) 539.73 667.9/318.1 MB/s iMac (2012, 27-inch, 3.4GHz Core i7, 8GB RAM, 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX) 13,045 (32-bit) 560.44 409.6/320.1 MB/s iMac (2012, 21.5-inch, 3.1GHz Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M) 12,577 (32-bit) 531.91 409.6/320.1 MB/s
While the 27-inch models received an upgrade to Intel's new sixth-gen Core processors and fresh AMD R9 M300-series graphics, the 21.5-inch version runs fifth-gen CPUs with up to Intel Iris Pro 6200 graphics. This would make sense, since Intel doesn't yet seem to have any sixth-gen desktop chips that work with Iris Pro; as of this writing, the list is limited to five fifth-gen processors, all of which were released not long before the refreshed iMac came out. (Which is to say, these processors aren't exactly old, per se.) What's vexing is that until today, Apple was in fact selling the 21.5-inch model with an optional NVIDIA graphics card, so this would seem to represent a change of heart. Aside from trying to keep the smaller model affordable for casual users, I imagine the company is trying to incentivize folks to pay more for the bigger version -- and it's betting power users will be willing to do just that. That's a shame, because a 4K display is probably at its best with a dedicated GPU.
The unit I've been testing is one of the higher-end 21.5-inch configurations, one with a 4K screen, 3.1GHz quad-core Core i5-5675R processor, 8GB of 1,867MHz DDR3 RAM and Intel Iris Pro 6200 graphics. Performance was fine for web browsing and light multitasking, with benchmark scores that matched the flagship 5K iMac I tested last year. The 802.11ac wireless radio also delivered fast speeds, although I admittedly spent most of my time with an Ethernet cable plugged in the back. I did unfortunately encounter the occasional bout of sluggishness. One time, for instance, Spotlight search paused before displaying results, leaving some artifacting on the screen. I also sometimes found that if I tried to do something immediately after boot-up -- say, open a file in Finder -- I'd be met with a short delay. In moments like this, I felt as if I hadn't fully regained control of the system, even though the desktop appeared to have loaded. Thankfully, at least, hiccups like these were the exception, not the rule.
If you're not careful, you also might end up with frustrating disk speeds. Even on my review unit, which would cost $1,499 at retail, I have just a traditional hard drive, one that spins at a modest 5,400 revolutions per minute. (Seriously, what year is this?) I routinely waited through a lengthy startup of around 47 seconds, with the machine taking seven seconds just to show the splash screen. In contrast, an iMac with a Fusion Drive that I tested last year (and the year before that), booted up in just 15 seconds or so. What's more, in the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, the new iMac rarely broke 100 megabytes per second on either read or write speeds, not even when I simulated the lightest-possible workload. That would be fine for basic use, like email and Facebook, but people who intend to use their 4K iMac to do things like edit 4K video shot on their new iPhone 6s might be disappointed.
From Apple's perspective, the company is doing shoppers a favor by offering Fusion Drives on more configurations, and charging less for an up-sell. Specifically, the company is now offering them standard in models starting at $1,999, and upgrading to one on the configure-to-order page now costs $100, down from a range of $200 to $250 in the last generation. This is a step in the right direction, and I get that Apple wants to keep the iMac's starting price down to lure in more budget-conscious shoppers, but at least make Fusion Drives standard on some of the more expensive configurations, like the $1,499 sku I tested. To me, this feels like the "16GB iPhone" debate, redux: 5,400 rpm hard drives are about as passé as 16GB of storage is on flagship phones, and in both cases, the rest of the industry has moved on.
Configuration options
Both the 21.5- and 27-inch iMacs have the same starting prices as before, with the smaller model going for $1,099 and up and the bigger one priced from $1,799. Starting with the 21.5-inch size I reviewed, the base-level specs include a dual-core 1.6GHz Core i5 processor, a 1,920 x 1,080 display and integrated Intel HD 6000 graphics. The next model up, a $1,299 configuration, steps up to a 2.8GHz quad-core Core i5 processor and Intel Iris Pro 6200 graphics. Finally, there's the high-end unit I tested, which for $1,499 brings a 3.1GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, that 4K Retina display with the expanded color range and the same Iris Pro 6200 graphics as on the model just below it. Regardless, each of these comes standard with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB, 5,400 rpm hard drive.
From there, you have some configuration options. You can double the RAM to 16GB regardless of the model you buy. There's also a quad-core Core i7 CPU available, but it's only offered as an upgrade option on the top-end $1,499 edition. Throughout, too, you can swap in different storage solutions, although your options get more plentiful as you step up to the $1,499 configuration. For instance, on the $1,099 model you only have the choice of upgrading to a 1TB Fusion Drive or a 256GB SSD. With the $1,299 version, your choices include a 2TB Fusion Drive and either 256GB or 512GB of solid-state storage. It's only on the $1,499 configuration that you can choose any of the above.
While I have you here, let's go over what you get on the 27-inch version -- after all, many of you will want the same color range as on the unit I reviewed, just with more screen real estate and stronger performance. As I said, the larger iMac starts at $1,799, a price that includes a 3.2GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, a 2GB AMD R9 M380 GPU and a 1TB hard drive spinning at 7,200 rpm. If you step up to the $1,999 model, you get the same CPU, but a slightly faster GPU (a 2GB R9 M390) and a 1TB Fusion Drive instead of a traditional HDD. Finally, the highest-end $2,299 model has a slightly faster 3.3GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, AMD R9 M395 graphics with 2GB of video memory and a 2TB Fusion Drive. Across the board, you get a 5K (5,120 x 2,880) display with the expanded P3 color range and 8GB of memory.
Real quick, the 27-inch iMac has some up-sell options of its own. The two higher-end configs can be had with a 4.0GHz quad-core Core i7 processor, while a 4GB AMD R9 M395X GPU is offered on all three models. More RAM -- 16GB or 32GB -- is also an option across the board. You will find that storage options vary somewhat: the entry-level $1,799 model can be had with a 1TB, 2TB or 3TB Fusion Drive or a 256GB or 512GB SSD, while the two higher-end configurations add a 1TB SSD option. (You can't upgrade to a 1TB Fusion Drive on the two more expensive models; just 2TB and 3TB.)
The competition
The upgraded iMac doesn't have much competition, especially for the smaller 21.5-inch model. If you're OS-agnostic enough to consider a Windows machine, I'd normally point you toward Dell's premium XPS line. The problem, though, is that as of this writing, the XPS 27 listed on Dell's site runs fourth-generation Core processors, compared with sixth-gen in the refreshed 27-inch iMac. Meanwhile, Dell's XPS 18 is actually a battery-powered, portable all-in-one, putting it in a different category altogether than the iMac. If you're in the market for a 27-inch machine, the XPS 27 has a Quad HD screen, and starts at a more reasonable $1,700, but I suggest waiting for Dell to refresh the internals. It's a similar story with Lenovo: The 23.8-inch A540 and 27-inch A740 listed on the company's site could in theory make decent alternatives, but as of this writing they're being sold with fourth-gen Intel CPUs.
If anything, your best alternative might come from HP. The company just last week unveiled a pair of refreshed Envy-series all-in-ones, with 23.8- and 27-inch Technicolor-certified screens, optional 4K resolution and sixth-gen Core processors. Like the iMacs, too, they support up to 16GB of RAM and your choice of an SSD, HDD or hybrid disk. They're not on sale yet, but they will be soon: Look for them on November 1st, starting at $1,000 for the Envy 24 and $1,200 for the 27.
Wrap-up
The iMac is still the best all-in-one, with an attractive (if predictable) design, near-standard 4K and 5K screens, and even better color accuracy than before. The 21.5-inch version is in some ways the more interesting of the two models, as this is the first time the smaller Mac has been offered with a Retina display. That's good news for people who are willing to pay a premium for a sharper screen, but don't quite have the desk space for the bigger 27-inch model. In addition to the computer itself, the peripherals come close to stealing the show: They're finally rechargeable, for one, and the keyboard in particular takes up less space, despite having larger buttons. The Magic Trackpad now supports Force Touch too, so if you happen to enjoy those pressure-sensitive gestures on the MacBook Pro, Apple Watch or iPhone 6s, you can now have the same experience here.
As you can see, then, the iMac mostly hits the right notes, although I wish Apple were more generous with the other specs -- besides display quality and resolution, that is. The 21.5-inch version is no longer offered with discrete graphics, not even on the 4K edition, which seems like a mistake. Meanwhile, hybrid Fusion drives only come standard on machines priced from $1,999. Again, I love the improved screen, but having faster storage for the money and the option of more robust graphics would have improved my boot time and maybe eliminated the few hiccups I experienced. It's great that more iMacs now have 4K and 5K panels, but until Apple redesigns the hardware, which has looked the same for several years now, the best thing the company can do is double-down on performance.
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Thousands of people were left without power as high winds whipped the Chicago area. Alex Maragos reports. (Published Friday, Feb. 19, 2016)
Powerful winds mixed with unseasonably high temperatures in the Chicago area Friday left more than 191,000 people without power.
ComEd reported high winds knocked down power lines across the area, prompting thousands of customers to lose power.
Additionally, O'Hare saw 224 cancelled flights and 828 delays, according to FlightAware. No Midway flights have been abandoned, though 26 have been delayed.
Early morning clouds departed for an extremely windy and warm day with mostly sunny skies. The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory that was soon upgraded to a High Wind Warning. The warning went into effect at 9 a.m. and will remain until 6 p.m.
Byron Miranda Jumps to Aid of Woman Blowing Away in Chicago Winds
Chicago Samaritans, including our own Byron Miranda, jumped to the aid of a woman nearly being blown away in the dangerous winds tearing through the city Friday afternoon. (Published Friday, Feb. 19, 2016)
Winds could be strong and potentially damaging, NWS warned, with gusts reaching upwards of 50 mph. Some minor property damage is possible and driving will be more difficult, especially for larger high profile vehicles.
The record high for Feb. 19 was set back in 1930 at 65 degrees, which is not out of the question for Friday with projected highs in the low to mid 60s across the metro area.
Friday night the winds will calm slightly and temperatures turn much cooler.
As for the weekend ahead, Saturday will be mostly sunny, breezy and not as warm – but still well above average – with afternoon highs in mid 50s.
Sunday could see a few spotty showers, with cloudy skies and more above-average temperatures. Highs in the mid to upper 40s before air turns colder and the chance of flurries returns overnight.
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A view of a home for sale in Detroit in a file photo. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - GMAC, the troubled automobile lender, may receive a $7.5 billion infusion from the U.S. government as early as next week, the Washington Post reported in its Saturday edition, citing unnamed sources.
The funds for GMAC would come as part of an Obama administration package that aims to revive the nation’s financial system even after it found that major banks need less financial aid than expected, the Post said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Reuters Television on Friday that the administration will provide substantial support to GMAC, a vital provider of financing for buyers of U.S.-made cars.
“It’s likely, again, that GMAC will need to take additional capital from the government and we’ll be prepared to provide that,” Geithner said in the interview.
The Treasury and U.S. banking regulators say GMAC needs to raise $11.5 billion to fill a capital hole it could face if the economy were to deteriorate further.
GMAC, the former financing arm of General Motors Corp., has taken $5 billion from the government already. In addition, the Treasury has lent GM $884 million to support GMAC’s lending activities.
Under the restructuring of Chrysler Corp., GMAC is assuming the business of Chrysler Financial. When the Obama administration announced Chrysler’s bankruptcy filing on April 30, it said it would offer support to GMAC, including necessary capital, to allow it to finance Chrysler’s sales.
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ESPN Aaron Hernandez has been charged with six counts including murder in the death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd.
He was arrested this morning and taken from his house in handcuffs at 8:45 a.m. The New England Patriots cut him a few hours later.
This afternoon he was arraigned in Massachusetts court and charged with murder, as well as five gun-related charges.
He is being held without bail.
The prosecution says they have constructed a web of surveillance footage that has allowed them to track Hernandez and Lloyd's movements from Boston to the crime scene in Attleborough, Massachusetts on the night of the killing.
Hernandez and his lawyer CSNNE According to the prosecution, Hernandez "orchestrated the execution" of Lloyd along with two associates.
They say Hernandez and two associates drove Lloyd to an industrial park within a mile of Hernandez's house.
Lloyd was let out of the car and shot multiple times, the prosecution says, including twice when he was on the ground.
When Hernandez and the two men got home, the prosecution says they walked to the basement and turned the home surveillance system off.
As for evidence, they claim that Hernandez left chewed gum at the crime scene. They also cited tire tracks at the crime scene that matched a rental car in Hernandez's name as evidence.
They claim there was a shell casing left in his rental car. The casing was thrown away by the rental agency, but later recovered. It matched the casings at the scene of the crime.
The motive, according to the prosecution, stems from an ambiguous-sounding beef between Hernandez and Lloyd at a nightclub a few nights earlier.
Lloyd send his sister two text messages reading, "NFL" and "just so you know" before he was murdered.
Lloyd's body was found in an industrial park less than a mile from Hernandez's house on June 17.
Hernandez's lawyer called the evidence "circumstantial."
The next day Hernandez was questioned and his house was searched by police after a car rented in his name was tied to the case.
As the investigation continued, more connections between Hernandez and the alleged murder came to light. FOX 25 in posted reported that Hernandez was with Lloyd and two friends at a bar hours before the murder.
ABC reported that the security system at Hernandez's house was intentionally destroyed before police could get to it. He also reportedly handed in a smashed-up cell phone when police asked for it.
The prosecution says 6 to 8 hours of surveillance footage were missing from the home security tape.
The Bristol district attorney said Hernandez and Lloyd previously spent time together because their girlfriends were sisters.
The murder weapon was not found.
Here he is arriving in court:
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Disc jockey Daniel "DJ Dan Dub C" Milowicki was arrested for alleged sex crimes. NBC10's Drew Smith reveal why prosecutors are worried about more possible victims. (Published Wednesday, April 8, 2015)
Authorities say a suburban Philadelphia photographer and disc jockey has been charged with sexually assaulting a young woman after luring her to his home for a supposed modeling photography session.
Prosecutors in Chester County say Daniel Milowicki of West Chester and Coatesville works as a self-employed photographer and DJ for weddings, parties and other events who calls himself "DJ Dan Dub C." They allege that he assaulted a woman he met on the Internet after posting an ad for petite models. He then put her in a cage in his basement and threatened to release a recording of the assault online if she didn't "subject herself to another photo shoot with additional sex acts," said investigators.
Milowicki's website calls him "West Chester Pa.'s best disc jockey." Besides weddings, "DJ Dan" also performed at high school dances and children's birthday parties, said investigators.
"This defendant is a classic sexual predator," said District Attorney Thomas Hogan. "He chose his profession, photographer and DJ, to give him easy access to his targets. He progressed from possession of child pornography, to creating his own clandestine pornography, to a sexual assault. His behavior steadily escalated from passive viewing to an aggressive attack."
ChesCo Police Arrest Wedding DJ for Child Porn
Police in Chester County arrested self-employed DJ and photographer Daniel Milowicki on sex assault and child porn charges after he allegedly lured a young woman to his home under the pretense of a modeling session. (Published Wednesday, April 8, 2015)
Pennsylvania State Police also found numerous up-skirt recordings, some that show the defendant setting up the recording devices, investigators said.
The 28-year-old faces more than 300 felony counts, many involving child pornography. He also faces drug charges after police say they found drug materials in Milowicki's home. He posted bail and was out of jail after posting $25,000 bail, according to court records.
Court documents don't list an attorney who could offer comment on the charges; a person who answered the phone at the number on his website hung up. Also, no one answered the door at either of his homes Wednesday.
Hogan stated concern over there possibly being more victims since "DJ Dan" had access to so many young people.
"People who had contact with this defendant should report any concerns to law enforcement immediately,” said Hogan.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Leftist Mauricio Funes of El Salvador's former Marxist rebel FMLN party has won the country's presidential election. He defeated his conservative rival, the Arena party's Rodrigo Avila, who has admitted defeat. Arena had won every presidential election since the end of El Salvador's civil war 18 years ago. Addressing jubilant supporters, Mr Funes said it was the happiest day of his life and the beginning of a new chapter of peace for the country. Branded by his opponents as a puppet of Venezuala's President Hugo Chavez, Mr Funes vowed to respect all Salvadorian democratic institutions. The FMLN won 51.3% of the vote against Arena's 48.7%, Reuters news agency reported. Break with tradition "This is the happiest night of my life, and I want it to be the night of El Salvador's greatest hope," said Mr Funes. Mauricio Funes is the first FMLN leader who has not been a combatant "I want to thank all the people who voted for me and chose that path of hope and change." His FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) party was founded by Marxist guerrilla fighters from the civil war. The conflict ended in a UN-sponsored peace accord in 1991, after the loss of some 70,000 lives over less than two decades. Mr Funes, a former television journalist, marks a break of tradition for the party as he is the first of its leaders not to have been a combatant in that war, says the BBC's Stephen Gibbs in El Salvador. He stressed his moderate policies during his campaign and says he intends to maintain good relations with the United States. He strongly rejected suggestions put forward by his political opponents that El Salvador under his watch would become a Venezuelan satellite state. Supporters of Mr Avila, a former police chief, dismissed the FMLN as "communists". Mr Funes will take over a country plagued with problems, our correspondent notes. El Salvador has one of the world's highest murder rates. It has also been badly hit by the world economic downturn, with remittances from Salvadorians living abroad falling dramatically.
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Peter Hershey photo
By
The Supreme Court of India quashed the claim of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government that ‘right to privacy is not a fundamental right.’ The nine judge bench unanimously pronounced that ‘right to privacy is a natural right and protected under Article 14 and 21 as fundamental right.’ The Supreme Court in its verdict said, “One’s sexual orientation is undoubtedly an attribute of privacy.” This gives a new hope to the already flawed 2014 verdict that criminalizes homosexual sexual activities under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.
Since the verdict of ‘right to privacy’ pronounced that ‘the privacy of the home must protect the family, marriage, procreation and sexual orientation which are all important aspects of dignity,’ it is very important that even though only a minority is affected by Section 377, right to privacy cannot be denied just because only a small fraction of the population is affected.
Though because of the current affairs, we have looked through the lens of ‘right to privacy,’ the better angle from which we have to view Section 377 is from ‘right to equality’ and ‘right to life and personal liberty’ enshrined in Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
India is the largest democracy in the world, we are proud of our diversities. But are we really proud of gender diversity that exists in our country? Adults belonging to the LGBT community exercise their rights to vote to elect their representatives so that they can be protected by law from discrimination. If the equality before the law is just for the majorities, then the fundamental right itself is flawed. People will start losing faith in the Constitution.
It is surprising how the archaic colonial laws are preserved to deprive the free individuals to exercise what they want in their personal spheres – which do not even cause harm to anybody. If the rightists are concerned about cultural homogenization from the West, we do not need to emulate practices from the West, but we do need to think about the survival of our people – the LGBT community.
Political parties claim for inclusive development. But ‘inclusive’ is a very vague term – whom to include? And why to include? It seems like the government in power wants to selectively include certain groups or sections of people that will serve their political interests in the name of ‘inclusive development.’ If India wants to progress, we need to sensitize our people about homosexuality. The start has been insane – some treated it as a disease and some treated all homosexuals as criminals in the eyes of law.
Even if the Supreme Court decriminalizes Section 377 and the political system legislates to protect the LGBT community, it will only serve as a deterrent for millions of people to discriminate to the LGBT community for the fear of law. Therefore, care should be taken in building educational curriculum at the school level as well higher studies so that students get the awareness. Deterrent through law will only serve temporarily. Until the mentality of the people changes, it will remain as a half won victory.
As a citizen of this country, every individual has the right to live with dignity. The LGBT community has been cruelly mocked, assaulted and at times vandalized, even after 70 years of Independence. But the proud community has never surrendered. It is their strength and support from various NGOs and individuals that has kept this movement alive. The fresh verdict from the Supreme Court has opened doors to the community.
Kingson Chingakham is a citizen journalist based in Delhi, India. He is currently pursuing M.A Political Science from the University of Delhi. Politics and Society are his core interests. He has recently started contributing stories to Indian media houses. He aims to become a Political Journalist in the near future.
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By EZ Angler Staff –
The classic image of bass fishing is waking up at the crack of dawn and hitting the water just as the morning sun begins to fill the sky. Or exploring the banks of a riverbed on a warm sunny afternoon.
However, some bass enthusiasts have discovered the night holds a special fishing experience – offering another layer of intrigue, excitement and heart pounding bass activity. This is especially true during the summertime months.
Imagine grabbing your gear and creeping out into the night out onto your favorite water. The only light coming from the moon and stars above, or a street lamp off in the distance or the light brought with you to assist. Sounds from different parts of the lake indicate lunkers are about.
Bass Activity
A fundamental reason why bass fishing at night during the summer months can prove to be a kind of fisherman’s jackpot has to do with the habits of the bass themselves.
Bass prefer to stay cool, so they tend to head for the deepest waters that they can find during the intense heat of midday and afternoon. The deeper down in the pond the fish are lurking, the more difficult they are to catch and reel in. This can lead to slow afternoons of sitting in the sweltering heat and catching very few bass. However, during the cool nighttime hours, bass come more readily into shallower waters and flats to feed. This makes targeting them quite a bit easier. The lack of activity (boating, skiing, swimming) on the lake at this time helps.
During the summer evenings, hungry bass are known to prowl waters after dark that they typically don’t explore during the daylight. This includes less covered areas, so don’t expect your day hot spots to necessarily have the same activity.
Creatures of the Night
So how the hell is it that bass can locate prey in dark conditions. We know bass are visual, but bass primarily h un t by sight and sound. This allows bass to sneak up on targets. As a matter of fact, their ability to feed at night so effectively can be attributed to a vibration detection organ within – the lateral line. Lateral lines are normally found running lengthwise on each side, from near the gills to the base of the tail. This fascinating organ allows bass/fish to detect not only prey but water pressure and depth.
In case you didn’t know, bass also have an internal ear structure that allows them to hear from far away. This makes noise and vibrating lures an awesome selection for nighttime bass fishing.
Grandmother Moon Fishing tales surround the moon with magical effects on bass and increasing activity. There are many anglers who prefer various moon phases, such as half-moon and full-moon lit nights. But based on reported experiences by many pro anglers, increased summertime moonlight did not always result in greater catches. Some report that full moons actually created greater difficulty in catching bass. The EZ Angler’s thinking is just get out whenever you can and enjoy some gold old night time fun. We will get more into moon cycles in other articles. Generally when bass fishing at night you’re targeting actively feeding bass, so this is a good time to try those faster moving reaction baits.
Also try:
Jigs are very effective for night fishing. We would recommend a 3/4 ounce – the weight is enough to fall quickly and provides a good feel so you can tell when there is activity no matter the water condition. Buzz-baits are also good for night time bass fishing.
Texas Rigs also work well. This is where the use of scents can have an impact. However, as always, you should keep an open mind. If one type of lure isn’t working, try something else. A cool advantage of night fishing is that as fishing fans flock to lakes and streams all over the country, all too often the peace and quiet of the sport becomes quite elusive as multiple sportsmen jockey for position on the same water. The summertime crowds can take away a lot of the fun of fishing. If you choose to fish at odd times of the night, it is likely that you will never run into the problem of overcrowding. Because only a small percentage of bass fishermen hit the water in the dark, you should have no trouble finding a pond or a lake offering plenty of solitude and a supply of fish that is all yours for the taking. Be Prepared
Although nighttime bass fishing can be much more rewarding than trying to snag these elusive creatures during the day, there are some disadvantages to night fishing that you should prepare for. Many sportsmen are surprised when they first go night fishing by the insane amount of insects hovering about, especially our friend the mosquito. Be sure to pack some bug repellent to help you emerge from your night on the water without falling prey to mosquitoes and other warm weather pests. Mosquitoes can literally drive you off the water if you are not properly prepared. Always consider your safety. Spending time in a boat when visibility is low because of the lack of light can be more dangerous than boating during the daytime, so make sure to take all of the necessary precautions to protect yourself and your fishing companions.
As best practice, wear your PFD especially important if fishing by boat so you are easy to locate in the dark should your boat capsize for instance If taking a canoe, kayak or boat a mounted light fitted on your vessel is a good idea. It’s also a good idea to bring back-up flashlights. If one fails, you don’t want to cut your experience short because you have no source of light. Warning devices such as a flare or flare guns are also a good idea if a distress signal needs to be sent especially when venturing into deep remote waters.
It is strongly encouraged to tell someone where you are going in case something should go wrong and you fail to return.
And always check the weather. There is nothing worst the getting caught in the middle of a lake in the middle of the night only to see a lighting strike flash across the sky.
There are a many reasons why night fishing for lunkers is a great idea, so if you haven’t tried, get your gear and go creep out into the night for a new kind of fishing experience. Here is a great little video to get you in the mood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?wmode=transparent" width="400" height="450" >
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A common theme uniting many conservative economic plans is that policymakers in recent years have somehow hamstrung the ability of American business to make profits. This theme comes up most clearly when conservatives decry a “regulatory onslaught” and when they call for a cut in corporate income tax rates to make U.S. corporations more internationally “competitive.”
However, the claim that American business is suffering seems awfully hard to square with the data. The figure below shows pre- and post-tax profit margins in the U.S. non-financial corporate sector. The profit margin is the share of unit prices that is claimed by profits rather than employee compensation or other business costs like depreciation. Both pre- and post-tax margins have been extraordinarily high in recent years, with each reaching their highest levels since the mid-to-late 1960s. In other words, there is little need to increase our coddling of corporate profits.
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In July 2013, just 36 percent of Americans age 16-24 not enrolled in school worked full-time, 10 percent less than in July 2007. It’s no secret that young people are struggling economically, but my analysis of Friday’s BLS release sheds light to what extent. The fact that so many young people are not realizing their true earnings potential in these formative years could have serious long-term consequences.
Friday’s numbers are the latest sign the recovery is passing young Americans by. The below chart shows the share of young Americans not enrolled in school working full-time fell with the recession and have yet to return to 2007 levels. This is true even if we divide it by age – that is, for both young Americans age 16-19 and age 20-24 not enrolled in school in July.
While the initial drop in full-time employment is not surprising, what is startling is that is that either age group is showing much, if any, improvement since the recovery began four years ago. The same trend holds even if we look at months where more students are enrolled in school (i.e., January). The non-recovery is also true if we look at total employment and overall labor force participation.
What’s more, education matters in how likely young people are to work full-time. As shown in the next chart, for those with less than a high school diploma, 14 percent worked full-time, compared to 66 percent with a Bachelor’s degree or higher. This re-emphasizes the importance of higher education in successfully finding full-time work in today’s economy.
Of the 17 million Americans age 16-24 not enrolled in school or working full-time in July 2013, 5.6 million were working part-time, 3.2 million were unemployed – a 17.1 percent unemployment rate – and another 8.4 million were not in the labor force altogether.
Together, these charts suggest the problem facing young Americans is structural. If worsening labor market conditions were a temporary effect of the recession, we would have expected to see improvement with the recovery. Instead, young Americans appear stuck in their post-recessionary state.
What could be behind the stubborn labor market for young Americans? One explanation is the Great Squeeze, which I’ve written about before. The dearth of middle-skill jobs is forcing workers unqualified for today’s high-skill, high-wage jobs to take lower skill jobs for less pay, squeezing those with less education and experience down and out of the workforce.
The struggles facing young Americans should not be ignored. It’s clear the policies in place now to prepare and integrate young Americans into the workforce are not sufficient. If we are serious about moving from a slow-growth economy to a high-growth economy, it’s something policymakers will have to address.
Note: For those interested in the effect of rising college enrollment on overall labor force participation of young people, there are several points to consider. One, in July most college students are not enrolled, and would be counted here. Second, the number of young Americans age 16-24 not enrolled in school and not working continues to rise. In July 2007 labor force participation for this group was 73.3 percent; in July 2013 it was 68.8 percent. Third, college enrollment has actually been falling for the last two years, with the decline actually accelerating. Finally, many college students also work. According to the same BLS data 42 percent of people age 16-24 enrolled in school also were in the labor force in July 2013.
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Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Gene Wilder.
Gene Wilder was born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 11, 1933. He graduated from Washington High School in Milwaukee in 1951 and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1955. He spent the next year studying theater at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, United Kingdom. He was then drafted into the Army on September 10, 1956.
Gene was assigned to the medical corps and trained at Fort Sam Houston. After training, he was assigned to the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology at Valley Forge Army Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where he worked as a paramedic. During those years he began taking acting classes at Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City. He was honorably discharged in 1958. In 1959, at the age of 26 he adopted the name Gene Wilder as his stage name.
Over the next several decades, Gene directed and stared in films, stage plays, commercials, television shows, wrote screenplays, several novels and a memoir. His film career began with a minor role in the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde. His first major role was in Mel Brooks’ 1968 film, the Producers. However, he is most known for his work in films such as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
At the age of 8, Gene became interested in acting after he discovered he could make his mother, who was struggling with rheumatic heart disease and had recently suffered a heart attack, laugh.
Gene lived in Stamford, Connecticut with his wife until his death on August 28, 2016, at the age of 83, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
We honor his service.
Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? You’re in luck! VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service..
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much of the information as you can put together with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating for how to create the best submission.
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The Supreme Court is presently hearing several public interest petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Ministry of Finance notification number S.O. 3407(E).
Issued on November 8, 2016, the notification declared that 500 and 1000 rupees notes ceased to be legal tender as of midnight on that day. This “demonetisation” notification permitted unlimited deposit of the now illegal 500 and 1000 Rs. notes by people into their bank accounts, and over the counter exchange of the notes upto a limit of Rs. 4,000, subject to review after 15 days. The notification also imposed limits on both ATM and bank withdrawals of cash. Since then, the government has through executive order made many changes to the applicable limits. The Preamble to the notification stated that the objective of the notification was to eliminate fake currency used for financing terrorism and to address the problem of “unaccounted money” in the economy.
According to some estimates, 86% of Indian currency was in the now illegal Rs. 500 and 1000 notes. Since 68% of all transactions in India are cash transactions, drastically restricting the use of 86% of the currency has predictably thrown the country into a state of chaos. Notwithstanding the government’s efforts to ensure that banks can service the currency needs of the people, endless queues at banks, reports of slowdown of trade and business in the economy, and more than 50 reported deaths have led many to question the wisdom of this move and its efficacy in achieving its objectives vis-à-vis the costs to the people and abridgement of their rights. The Supreme Court likely will not entertain arguments regarding the efficacy of demonetisation since it has repeatedly expressed its deference to the government on policy matters. It must however decide the legality of this move. The demonetisation notification is illegal because it goes beyond the scope of what is permitted under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, (“RBI Act”), the stated source of authority for the notification. There is also a prima facie case of direct and indirect abridgement of fundamental rights to movement (Article 19(1)(d)), trade or business (Article 19(1)(g), livelihood and in certain cases life (Article 21), the right to equality (Article 14), and the constitutional right to property (Article 300A).
It is clear that section 26(2) of the RBI Act empowers the government to demonetise, that is, to declare any series of notes as illegal tender. Therefore, that part of the notification which merely declares that “Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000” notes cease to be legal tender is permissible under section 26(2). In fact, the government twice before, in 1946 and 1978, carried out demonetisation lawfully, with the same goal of addressing unaccounted money. But neither the RBI Act, nor the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, empower the government to impose restrictions on cash withdrawals or deposits in the manner it has been done, and to discriminate between holders and non holders of bank accounts, as the present notification has done. Such actions require an authorising legislation, either an Act of Parliament or an Ordinance. Both in 1946, and in 1978, similar actions were authorised by an ordinance. The failure to issue an ordinance to provide the legal basis for the demonetisation notification this time renders the demonetisation exercise illegal. Even if the act of demonetisation is severed from the restrictions placed on people’s access to their cash and bank accounts, the latter stipulations are both illegal and unconstitutional on several counts.
First, Article 13 of the Constitution provides that the state shall not pass any law or issue any notification that violates the fundamental rights of the people. In Madan Mohan Pathak v. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that “public debts” are property and “the extinguishment of such a debt owing from the state amounts to compulsory acquisition of that debt”. Such compulsory acquisition must be for a public purpose and upon payment of compensation. In Jayantilal Ratanchand v. RBI, in the context of the 1978 demonetisation, the Supreme Court held that insofar as the demonetisation wiped out the RBI’s debt to the bearer of notes declared illegal, it constituted compulsory acquisition of property. Under Article 300A, the state may deprive an individual of property only pursuant to the authority of law, that is, by an Ordinance or an Act of Parliament. The Supreme Court has held that even a temporary deprivation of property can constitute deprivation within the meaning of this provision. The government’s failure to issue an Ordinance (since Parliament was not in session at the time of the demonetisation) to extinguish its debt to the people thereby depriving them of their property impermissibly violates Article 300A. Of course, even if the demonetisation had been sanctioned by an Ordinance, the Court would investigate if it met a public purpose and whether those who were deprived of their property were reasonably compensated. Here the Court would likely hold in light of Jayantilal that the Ordinance fulfilled a public purpose but there is a strong claim that the rationing of currency done by the government constitutes a form of creeping expropriation for which there has been no compensation, and that might nevertheless violate Article 300A.
Second, the extraordinary hardship caused by the demonetisation ordinance has impacted fundamental rights to trade, business and livelihoods of vast sections of the population and even the right to life of those who have died. While the government may “reasonably” restrict the rights to trade, business and livelihood of the people in the interests of the “general public”, the burden is on the government to show that such restrictions are reasonable. The test of reasonableness is whether the measure was necessary to achieve the government’s objectives, and whether less risky, less harmful alternatives were available. In Saghir Ahmad v. State of UP, the Supreme Court held that the reasonableness of a law must be assessed in terms of its “immediate effects” on the affected population. Unlike the 1978 demonetisation exercise that impacted only 1% of currency held, the 2016 demonetisation measure insofar as it impacts an estimated 86% of total currency has had severely punitive effects on many sections of the population, daily wage earners, those without bank accounts, those dependent on the informal cash economy for the major source of their trade and livelihood. The notification is unconstitutional for violating their fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 21.
The notification also discriminates between holders and non-holders of bank accounts. While the government may argue that such a classification is necessary to achieve their objectives of eliminating unaccounted money, insofar as the government failed to ensure that 100% of the population had bank accounts prior to the issuance of this surprise notification, the classification may be assailed as arbitrary and violative of the right to equality under Article 14.
We live in a country governed by the rule of law, and not by the rule of men. The objectives of the demonetisation notification may be laudable, whether the notification will achieve those objectives is debatable. But, as it exists, the demonetisation notification is illegal and unconstitutional.
Dr Namita Wahi has explained the legality of demonetisation in greater detail in an episode of the CPR podcast ThoughtSpace here.
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Princeton’s endowment, built up over more than two centuries with gifts from alumni, parents, and friends, has a history of exceptionally successful management with steady longterm growth. Managed by the Princeton University Investment Company (Princo), the endowment comprises more than 4,000 individual invested funds. Payout from each endowed fund may be spent, but the original gift principal of the fund typically will remain intact in perpetuity.
The University’s first scholarship fund was endowed by James Leslie of the Class of 1759 in 1792; since then, thousands of generous donors have established endowed funds in support of the University’s mission. These funds are at the foundation of Princeton’s capacity to conduct groundbreaking research, preserve and transmit knowledge, and provide an extraordinary education to talented young men and women—both now and in the future. They are essential to keeping Princeton at the leading edge of teaching and learning as costs increase, knowledge expands, new technologies are invented, and international competition increases.
Princeton has one of the highest endowments per student in the country. It subsidizes every student—educational expenditures are approximately double the University’s tuition.
As of March 31, 2018, the endowment was valued at $24.6 billion.
The total return on Princeton’s endowment is estimated to be over 12 percent per year over the 25-year period ending June 30, 2018.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What does Princeton’s endowment support?
Although only a relatively small portion of the endowment can be spent each year, its payout provides the largest portion—nearly 54 percent in FY 2017-18—of Princeton’s operating budget revenues. Furthermore, endowment payout provides almost 80 percent of the University’s scholarship budget and has allowed Princeton to make significant improvements in its financial aid policies, including the shift to a noloan policy for undergraduate financial aid packages. It also supports fellowships, professorships, teaching programs, research initiatives, and other programs specified by donors. Fiscal year 2018’s balanced operating budget totaled $2.1 billion.
How is the endowment invested?
Princeton’s investment strategy balances risk and reward by apportioning the funds in the endowment into a variety of asset classes, including public and private equities, real assets, fixed income, and cash, all of which behave differently over time.
How does the University determine how much of the endowment can be spent?
The University has a spending framework that determines how much of the endowment is spent each year and how much remains in the endowment for the future. The spending rule stipulates that the amount of payout distributed per unit of endowment will increase each year by a specified standard percentage, provided that spending remains within a specified range as a percentage of market value. That annual growth percentage currently is 5 percent, a level that reflects expectations about the University’s likely average inflation rate and projected long-term investment performance. This means that in both weak and strong markets, and regardless of how much of a year’s earnings take the form of dividends, interest, or capital appreciation, the amount of spending per unit of endowment each year will be 5 percent more than the previous year, unless the trustees approve a change in the payout per unit.
What is the “spending rate”?
The spending rate is the amount of endowment payout per unit divided by the market value per unit at the beginning of the fiscal year. Princeton’s policy does not stipulate a specific spending rate. As of July 1, 2017, the target spending rate range is between 4 percent and 6.25 percent. The University, in conjunction with the Trustee Committee on Finance, reviews its spending to determine whether adjustments in payout are required. The trustees periodically adjust the payout up or down to optimize the spending rate. Such adjustments have occurred seven times over the last twenty years.
What is the Infrastructure and Administrative Charge (IAC)?
Income from endowed funds strengthens the University’s permanent financial foundation to support activities related to Princeton’s teaching and research mission. While fund distributions provide resources for the direct costs of these activities, the University incurs their associated indirect costs, such as facilities and maintenance, administrative services, compliance and risk management oversight, technology infrastructure, and systems needed to carry out the endowed purposes. To defray a portion of the indirect costs of endowed activities, an annual Infrastructure and Administrative Charge (IAC) has been assessed since its first authorization by the Board of Trustees in FY2012, as allowable by New Jersey law. In addition, the University assesses an Endowment Services Charge that helps cover the administrative costs related to managing the endowment.
The IAC rate is 8.0% of total distributed payout for each eligible fund, and may be adjusted periodically. The IAC ensures that the purpose of the endowed funds can be fully realized and sustained in perpetuity.
Where can I learn more about the endowment?
Each winter, Princeton releases a Report of the Treasurer, which includes a financial statement overview from the Controller, a report on investments from Princo, and consolidated financial statements. In addition, the Office of Finance and Treasury has a website: https://finance.princeton.edu/
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OMG! We’re ruined! Alberta’s fiscal future is down the toilet! Bob Rae, Bob Rae, Bob Rae! Aaarggghhhh! Deficit! Debt! Doom! Pass the smelling salts! Our great-grandchildren who don’t even exist — what will they think of us?
That’s the chorus I’m seeing in online commentary ever since Alberta’s first NDP government brought down its budget Tuesday. Just who are these people, though, who are complaining that Premier Rachel Notley’s budget will be the ruination of us all?
I wonder if they are the same ones who have spent the years since the Klein era lamenting equally loudly that services were cut, hospital beds eliminated, a hospital blown up, a cancer centre deferred ad infinitum, roads not built, nurses fired, teachers laid off, schools not repaired, and on and on.
Had Notley opted to cut services, these folks would be griping about that instead. She can’t win for losing. Most galling is the naysayers’ attitude toward civil servants. Lay them off! Cut their salaries! Would those clamouring for salary cuts and layoffs volunteer to give up their own jobs and take pay cuts? Not likely. They’d rather insist that others lose their jobs, as if those other people, just because they work in the public service, aren’t real people with families to support, mortgages to pay and food to put on the table.
There also appears to be zero recognition that the current public-sector salaries are the result of bargaining with previous Tory governments. You don’t just go in and break legal contracts that were signed in good faith by both sides.
Notley inherited a huge mess and she could either perpetuate the mess or fix it. She has wisely opted to fix it
Notley inherited a huge mess and she could either perpetuate the mess or fix it. She has wisely opted to fix it. Let’s not forget that the new Tom Baker centre was promised to Calgarians by successive Tory governments who dithered on it for a decade. Notley is going to build it.
Remember those heady days when Ralph Klein was crowing about slaying the debt? At what cost, fellow Albertans? Did amnesia arrive along with the flu this fall? It was at the cost of schools, health care, infrastructure maintenance and construction, and services to the most vulnerable — children, the sick, the elderly, the disabled and the poor.
Let’s drop the obsession with what future generations will think of us if we don’t focus exclusively on the twin monsters of debt and deficit. Rather than worry about people who are not yet born, and who will anyway be subject to the unknown whims and policies of the government of their day, why don’t we focus on providing services to people who are alive now?
We, the Albertans of today, are the future generations for the folks who lived here in, say, the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. When was the last time anyone grumbled about the fiscal state the Albertans of those times left us? Who’s even aware of what those long-ago governments presented in their budgets?
All Klein did when he cut back spending and services to slay the debt was to lay the groundwork for the catch-up game the Notley government must now play. Klein wasn’t leaving a debt-free paradise to future generations; he was leaving them a province in which deep cuts to services and spending were going to hamstring them in terms of education, timely health care and crumbling infrastructure.
As Finance Minister Joe Ceci: “We believe Albertans want their services, their hospitals, their schools, their human services protected. To do that … it’s going to take some borrowing …”
Right on, Joe. It’s not rocket science. In a welcome change from good old boy conservative tradition, the NDP has opted not to further deprive people of those services.
Wildrose Leader Brian Jean says the Notley budget is a “complete fantasy.” Wrong, Brian. Given the long-term fallout, which Notley must now deal with, it’s obvious that the notion of a debt-free paradise with zero repercussions for its citizens was the real fantasy all along.
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The markets are gung-ho about the shift to the goods and services tax (GST). One factor driving this optimism is the anticipated shift of business from small, unorganized firms in some sectors to organized ones. Since the latter are already in the formal economy, comply with regulations, are generally larger in size and pay taxes, the switch will be much easier for them, which will ultimately translate into increased market share.
Analysts have been preparing lists of companies that will benefit in sectors such as apparel, tiles and sanitaryware, plywood, textile, footwear, electrical equipment and appliances, and plastics and packaging. All these sectors have a high composition of unorganized firms (see chart).
For example, analysts expect the share of the informal segment in the tiles industry to decline from 40% currently to 20%. Similarly, nearly 60% of the ready-mixed concrete market is unorganized. In the light electrical segment, more than 35% of the businesses are in the informal sector. Certainly, this augurs well for larger companies in the organized sector. This also comes at a time when volume growth has just recovered from the effects of demonetisation and corporate India is desperate for a much-awaited earnings recovery.
But the gain in market share of listed companies means a corresponding fall in the share of units operating in the informal economy. GST is sure to take a toll on the financial health of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in these sectors. Economists say that the informal or unorganized sector accounts for nearly 50% of India’s gross domestic product and is responsible for more than 80% of total job creation in the country.
Many of the firms operating in this part of the economy make profits largely due to tax evasion and non-compliance with regulatory norms, which allows them to offer products at comparatively lower prices. However, in the GST-era, it will be a struggle for survival for such firms because they will be faced with taxes, lower margins and a sharp spike in the cost of compliance. Some firms in the unorganized sector may go under, while others could find their profits curtailed. To be sure, in some instances the two sets of companies cater to different customers, but there is always some overlap. And it is not just the manufacturers in the informal economy who will suffer but also the smaller dealers and wholesalers.
The economics of logistics under the GST regime also favour large companies in the organized sector.
A final decision on e-way bills, which will have a significant impact on the logistics sector and logistics cost of manufacturers, is pending. When implemented, this should result in a decline in transit time due to elimination of multiple checkpoints and consolidation of warehouses. This will aid large companies that operate across India and offset some of the cost advantages that regional and small firms, usually those in the unorganized sector, enjoy.
The point is that the squeeze on the informal economy may well lead to job losses, which could then start hurting demand. So while companies in the organized sector could benefit, there could be distress in the informal economy. Indeed, the situation could be a repeat of what happened during demonetization, when the informal sector was the hardest hit.
The move to the new tax regime has the potential to cause immense disruption to the shadow economy that is the source of livelihood for many, although it is nobody’s case that firms that survive by flouting regulations and evade taxes continue to do so.
With the 1 July deadline around the corner, there are many SMEs who are ill-prepared for the transition. Those of them who fail to make it on time will be out of business, thus leading to increase in unemployment, at least initially, caution analysts.
The switch to GST will increase the size of the formal part of the economy and increase productivity, but it will also extract a cost from the most vulnerable firms and workers.
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As the Foo Fighters proved with their album Wasting Light, the garage doesn't stop being a place of creativity for musicians. It's a sanctuary for most of us. It's where we get our start as musicians and truly hone our chops. The new signature instruments from Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel and Taylor Hawkins are all based on early guitars and drums from their garage days that helped pave their musical paths. These instruments pay homage to the originals that created a signature sound and helped develop their personalized sounds. Although most of us won't sell millions of records like the Foo Fighters, they continue to make music that inspires us, moves us and reminds us that even from the humble beginnings of a garage band can come first-class musicianship and worldwide success.
Flip on any rock station right now, there's a good chance you'll hear a Foo Fighters song. You'll probably know the words, and before long you'll be screaming your lungs out and banging your head. For nearly two decades they've packed arenas around the world and topped the charts, cranking out hook-heavy rock anthems with distortion-drenched guitars and bold, brassy basslines. In late 2012, Fender teamed up with bassist Nate Mendel and guitarist Chris Shiflett to recreate the instruments that give them their distinct sound. We sat down with both at the band's base of operations, Studio 606, and talked about their new signature Fender instruments, their evolution as musicians and how they spend their time when they're not selling out stadiums with the Foo Fighters.
Jump To:
Chris Shiflett & Nate Mendel
Taylor Hawkins
Musician's Friend: Tell us a little bit about your relationship with Fender and how your signature P Bass and Tele Deluxe came to be?
Nate Mendel: The P Bass that this signature model is based on was my first real instrument after the gear that I had when I was first starting out-a 1971 P Bass. It has a weird neck that Fender did for six months or so in '71, which is halfway between a Jazz Bass and a P Bass neck. It's really fast, but it wasn't as thin as a Jazz neck so it was easier for me to play than a P Bass neck. I figured out pretty quickly that I just stumbled on the right combination for playing punk rock bass, and used it almost exclusively up until the 2000s.
I got the idea to approach Fender and say, "Hey, maybe we could do one that other people could buy that would be based on this."
Chris Shiflett: Well, it's a long tale, but I traded somebody for an old Tele Deluxe. I think it's a '72. I made a record a few years ago called Chris Shiflett and the Dead Peasants, and I used it a ton on that. But that music was a lot more jangly, not like Foo Fighters.
For Foo Fighters I really need humbuckers. So I got some parts and just assembled a version of a Deluxe with humbuckers in it. I used that when we made the last Foo Fighters record and when we were touring. I actually loved it so much I made another one.
Then I got a call one day from Nate White over at Fender and he said, "Hey, I notice that you've been using the parts guitar. Would you want to just make a signature model?" So of course I jumped at the chance.
MF: What are some of the key features aside from the humbuckers in the Tele and the special neck in the P Bass?
CS: I think the main differences between, say, an old '72 Deluxe and mine are the humbuckers, a four-bolt neck, rosewood fretboard, the jumbo frets, and the color.
NM: The neck is going to be the main thing but there's the Badass Bass Bridge and Quarter Pounder pickups. I used a swamp ash body, which is not what was on the original. I don't really like the look of new instruments so we found a way to distress the hardware, lacquer and paint in a way so it looks like an older instrument, but without the artificial feel. I wanted it to be an instrument that people could pick up and make their own.
MF: Chris, you're involved in a number of projects. What are some of the gear adjustments you make between those different projects?
CS: With Foo Fighters, I pretty much just play my signature model now because I designed that guitar to be exactly what I needed.
For Chevy Metal (Shiflett's side project with fellow Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins), I got an EVH 5150 combo, one of the small ones. And I have a Strat with a humbucker in it and a Floyd Rose. You kind of don't want anybody to see you playing it [laughter], but it's perfect for that. Because we were doing all these Van Halen songs, I had to get something with a Floyd Rose. But I could not figure out how to work that thing for so long. [laughs] I couldn't even figure out how to tune it. I had to watch somebody on YouTube explain it.
For the Dead Peasants, we've been doing old honky-tonk covers for the last year or so. It's all Buck Owens and Merle Haggard and stuff like that. I use an old- fashioned Tele with a single coil pickup in it through an old Deluxe Reverb. There's something about a Tele through a Deluxe Reverb. They're just made for each other.
MF: Is there any new gear in that you guys are really into?
NM: I've played Ashdown amps for a long time-the AMB 400, which was a solid-state/tube combo. On the last tour I switched over to their all-tube head, and it's great. It's the closest thing I've found to an early-'70s (Ampeg) SVT.
MF: Those vintage SVTs are hard to take on the road, huh?
NM: Impossible. You switch one tube and oh-now it's just a modern amp.
CS: Probably the newest thing that I've added to my rig is a Friedman Brown Eye.I just love that amp; I can't rave enough about it. It's just outstanding. It's bold and it gives you a little more leeway. Plus there's a lot of definition.
MF: When you go into the studio to make a Foo Fighters record, do you experiment with different amps and sounds, or just dial in a few tones and say, "This is what I want for this record?"
CS: I think we experimented more on the last album than I really remember doing before. We always have a bunch of amps and pedals and different guitars. And from song to song it's going to call for different things.
We made that last record on tape, and I hadn't made a record on tape in a long time. The only records I ever made on tape were back in the days when you had half a day to do all your guitar tracks, so there was no experimentation. It was just getting something that works, and going as fast as you can. So it's nice to be able to have the time to enjoy it.
MF: Nate, when you record in the studio do you use a combination of direct and miking your amp?
NM: It's funny, I'm putting a studio in my house now and recording some stuff on my own, so for the first time in my life I'm paying attention to that stuff. I never did before. It was like, you write the songs with your friends in a practice space or whatever and then you go into a studio and you let professionals handle how it's recorded.
Nine times out of 10 the bass sound that I heard in the control room I didn't like, but I trusted these guys. I've come to realize that it's not the instrument solo that's really important, it's how it fits in the mix.
MF: How is your home studio coming together?
NM: I'm trying to figure out whether the room's going to be able to get drum sounds that can work. So at the very least I'm using it for demoing, and then hopefully something that's releasable. I want to be able to have people come over and hang out and have a barbecue and then go make a song. That's what I want it to be. Who cares what happens to it? Let's just make music and record it.
CS: I have a Digi 002 at home, a drum set, some amps, mics and a little mic pre. It's funny, I was just thinking about this on the drive in. I have never spent enough time really getting to know how to operate Pro Tools, and every time I do, which is pretty infrequently, it just gets in the way of being creative. The thing that I use more than anything else is the Voice Memo on my iPhone.
MF: Chris, you've been with Foo Fighters since '99 and Nate, you've been with the band since the beginning. What are some of the ways your playing has evolved?
CS: The longer you play with the same group of people, the more comfortable you get and the more you all know each other. If you want to see something funny, watch us playing "Learn to Fly" on Saturday Night Live. It's right when I joined the band. It's the most horrendous thing you've ever heard. I didn't know what to do with myself on stage. A few years ago I made the conscious decision that I can't really play very well if I'm jumping around, so maybe I should just chill out and try to actually play the song the best I can. I'd like to think that I maybe settled down a little bit.
NM: I came in from Sunny Day Real Estate, where I had a lot of free reign to write whatever kind of bass line I wanted, because the guitar players were just layering these kind of soundscape guitar bits that weren't very riffy. So a lot of times the drummer and I could lay down the foundation, almost like you would with a different genre of music, like R&B or something like that. But not at all like that. [laughs] I liked trying to make things interesting and melodic. So I would concentrate on making a melody rather than a rhythmic foundation.
I came into Foo Fighters with that mentality. I remember hearing the first album and my thought was "I can do a lot with this," because the bass was just all root notes. So I thought it'd be this wide-open thing.
Then the next eight years or so was basically a process of me figuring out that that was not at all the approach in this band. So I just concentrated on really locking in with Taylor and being more of a propulsion kind of bass player.
MF: Do you guys have any advice to bands that are still trying to make a name for themselves, hammering it out in the garage?
NM: Not to get mired in recording- after talking about making my own home studio that seems hypocritical. [laughs] I've spent time playing with other people and working on songs and every time somebody has just the germ of an idea, it's like, "Let's record that." And then what you have is this huge backlog of recordings. I think that can turn into a real mess pretty quickly. Write the song. Remember what it is. Use a dry-erase board if you have to, and play it. Have the song sorted out so it sounds good, and then record it.
It's a pretty small piece of advice, but from what I've seen it could be something that people need to hear.
CS: I wish somebody had given this advice when I was in high school and playing in garages, although we probably wouldn't have listened. [laughs] I wish my band had been a cover band in high school. That's the smartest thing you could do. I have so much fun learning other people's songs now. You learn so much from actually sitting down and playing your favorite songs. You can see how they're constructed. You learn the craft and what the mechanics are behind it.
Musician's Friend: Tell us how your new Gretsch signature snare drum came about.
Taylor Hawkins: Gretsch came to me and said "Do you want to do a signature snare?" And I was like, "Well, I guess." I didn't really have a "signature" snare, but I did find one that I liked that I used all the time. So basically we modeled it after that. I just liked the way it sounded. They sent me a couple of prototypes based on that snare. Well, me and my drum tech, Yeti. His name's actually Chad, but we call him Yeti because he's a big man, big dude.
MF: What is it about Gretsch drums that you like? What made you decide to switch back in 2007?
TH: I used them in the studio all the time, whenever we would do session work or something. There are all these different people that do drum rentals for albums, basically a bunch of older, classic kits-'60s Ludwig kits, Gretsch kits, that kind of thing. So I just found that I kept using these Gretsch kits. I liked the way they sounded. Phil Collins plays Gretsch. I always thought that was cool. But I just kept going back to Gretsch every time we would record. So I was like, f**k it man, why don't I just play Gretsch?
MF: Do you experiment a lot when you go in to record or do you find your sound and just roll with that?
TH: It depends. When we did our last record I was just one of three drummers in the room. There was Butch Vig, who's a drummer and a producer, Dave Grohl, who's the guitar player, singer, writer and, first and foremost, a drummer, really. So I'll tell them if I'm hearing something. There have been times where I've said, "Let's try this" and it really works. But when you're a drummer and you're in the studio, for the most part your job is to make the songwriter happy and somehow get to his vision. When your chief songwriter is a drummer as well, he's even got a slightly more in-tune version of what he might want to hear.
MF: How does your setup in Foo Fighters differ from Coattail Riders or any another project you're a part of?
TH: That usually comes down to economics to a certain degree, because with Foo Fighters I can bring anything I want. I can bring f*****g timpani drums. You can do anything within reason.
When you're doing something like the Coattail Riders or other little things I do for fun on the side like Chevy Metal, I usually go really small. Small four-piece drum kit, two crashes and a ride, maybe a cowbell. I always like to have a little something to kind of throw people's ear off for a second. Some little bit of color.
MF: Somewhere between when Wasting Light came out and when you were doing Sound City Players you decided to go without the bottom head on your toms.
TH: That was kind of a progression. When I started the Wasting Light tour, it was kind of like Neal Peart's kit. My main toms had bottom heads and the other ones were just concert toms. I got a perverse sort of humor out of it because most people look at them and go, "Why are you doing that?"
But I will tell you our sound engineer, he loves it because it basically subtracts one element of the tuning process. A lot of times when you're out there line-checking you're going "duum, duum," and you're getting a "wwwrrrrm." You have to adjust and tweak and tune the bottom head. Maybe the bottom head's too loose, whatever. I don't know s**t about tuning. I wish I did, but I still don't after all these years. I'm too ADD for it. I'm like, "All right, f****r. Just crank it up. Let's go." Sound City I did it and made all the other drummers play it. I know all the other drummers and they all kind of laughed. They just know it's me, you know.
A lot of my favorite drummers came from a period where they were playing concert toms and I like the way those drums sounded. I love Phil Collins' drum sound. And I'll tell you, you sit behind them sometimes and you go, "These sound like s**t," but then you go out in the house and they just cut through. Just one note and it's all punch. When you've got walls of guitars and difficult rooms, big echo chambers and s**t, what you really need the most is just a direct punch. So they really work that way.
MF: Because you were playing behind, what, four guitar players at a time for Sound City? And in Foo Fighters you've got three.
TH: Dave likes to add a guitar player every tour. [laughs]
MF: Right before you joined Foo Fighters you played with Alanis Morrissette.
TH: I did? [laughs]
MF: What were some of the adjustments you had to make with that transition, if any?
TH: When you're a kid-I don't know about everybody else, maybe only I was like this-but when I first started playing drums I set my drum set up like Roger Taylor. I wanted to be Roger Taylor. I wanted to wear my hair like Roger Taylor. I wanted to BE f*****g Roger Taylor. After that, I discovered early U2, the first couple of U2 records, War, October, Boy. I wanted to be Larry Mullen, Jr. I set my drums up like Larry Mullen, Jr. I played-thought I played-like him. Then I wanted to be Stewart Copeland somewhere in there. Set my drums up like Stewart Copeland. Played like Stewart Copeland. That's the one that really fit me personally. I mean, I'm not by any means as creative or as amazing as Stewart Copeland, but that was probably the one that stuck with me the most.
After that I got into Neal Peart. I set my drums up like Neal Peart. Tried to play like Neal Peart. My point is I tried to be all these drummers for a year or whatever and then I would get into something else. Then in high school I discovered Jane's Addiction and they saved rock and roll, man. They're like amazing musicians, yet they'll f*****g burn your house down, too. And they looked like freaks. Your parents would hate this band. They're everything rock and roll should be. So I wanted to be Stephen Perkins. I got into that sort of syncopated, tribal-y kind of funk thing.
That kind of spread over to when I joined Alanis. With Alanis I adopted that sort of style for her music, which actually fit good because her music was sort of dance-y or had like-I don't know what you would call it. Hip-hoppy little drum beats under her poetry and whatever.
After that I joined the Foo Fighters and it was just so completely the other way around. It's like one second you're doing funky, syncopated little groovy beats. Next thing you know you're doing slamming, fast-paced straight, tight, crisp punk rock-pop. At first it was a major adjustment. But Dave had the foresight to know that I could eventually get there and make it comfortable, but it took me a long time. It's funny, though, when you look back at all of the things that you loved and you tried to be when you were a kid, all of that's in there somewhere, rolled into one with whatever natural instincts I have. I think that's what everybody is to a certain degree.
I'm still such a super fan. I still get really excited about a drummer and almost try and see what I can steal off him, you know what I mean? I see Jon Theodore play drums and I'm just like, "I'm going to steal something. Sorry, bro." [laughs] "I don't know what I'm taking, but I'm taking something." The guy from The Killers (Ronnie Vannucci Jr.), I love him. I think he's a great drummer. He's like the new Bun E. Carlos to me. You don't really hear it on the records, either. They're buried under a lot of keyboards. But when you see him play live, you're like, "Oh, you're great."
MF: Do you have any advice for those bands still jamming in the garage, hoping to get a name for themselves?
TH: One thing I always tell kids starting bands is learn as many songs as you can and play live as much as possible. Write songs all the time and keep writing and learn that craft, but part of learning that craft is learning other people's stuff. I remember seeing this picture of these lists of songs that Van Halen used to have in their practice room, because they played everybody's backyard party and shit back in the early '70s. They would do everything from current rock hits, Deep Purple or whatever, to Frank Sinatra songs. You can imagine David Lee Roth doing that. They would do them their own style and they literally had like 350 songs on the wall. That's how they got so good, I think, because they were just playing all that.
If I could go back to my 13-year-old self right now I'd say, "Keep working on songs with your buddies. They're going to be really bad. They're going to be lame. You don't know s**t about anything yet, but you can learn the craft and while you're at it, learn every song that's on rock radio right now and then go learn some of your parents' old songs. Learn all the stuff so you can play every dance, every birthday party, every Bar Mitzvah, every whatever." That's how you get good.
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With data becoming ever more abundant, this should be the golden age of the social sciences. And yet they seem to be suffering two mirror-image nervous breakdowns”the Replication Crisis and the Repetition Crisis.
Outright made-up-data fraud is hardly unknown in academia, but the double disasters have more to do with shortcomings in how contemporary researchers analyze relatively honest data. I suspect that the systemic failures stem more from researchers being allowed both too many and too few of that evocative (if actually rather dry) technical term: “degrees of freedom.”
One cause of the Replication Crisis has been that analysts grant themselves excessive post hoc liberties to crunch the numbers however many ways it takes to find something”anything”that is “statistically significant“ (which isn”t the same as actually significant) and thus qualifies as a paper for publish-or-perish purposes. Hence, social scientists seem to be coming up with a surplus of implausible junk science findings on trivial topics, such as “priming” (the contemporary version of subliminal advertising), which then routinely fail to replicate.
In contrast, in what I”ll dub the Repetition Crisis (a.k.a. the Explanation Crisis), academics hamstring the interest and usefulness of their findings by ruling out ahead of time any explanatory factors other than the same tiny number of politically correct concepts that were exhausted decades ago.
“In 2016, blaming white privilege for everything you don”t like isn”t quite as lame as blaming the Bavarian Illuminati, but the gap is closing.”
Why a Repetition Crisis? Dissident social psychologist Jonathan Haidt of NYU’s Stern School of Business, author of The Righteous Mind, pointed out in a freewheeling interview with John Leo how the ever-growing list of sacred cows in American life restricts what social scientists can allow themselves to discover about important issues:
For many years now, there have been six sacred groups. You know, the big three are African-Americans, women and LGBT. That’s where most of the action is. Then there are three other groups: Latinos, Native Americans…and people with disabilities. So those are the six that have been there for a while. But now we have a seventh”Muslims.
One could argue that there are more sacred groups than seven, but Haidt’s next point was illuminating:
Something like 70 or 75 percent of America is now in a protected group. This is a disaster for social science because social science is really hard to begin with. And now you have to try to explain social problems without saying anything that casts any blame on any member of a protected group. And not just moral blame, but causal blame. None of these groups can have done anything that led to their victimization or marginalization.
For example, in discussing crime or poverty, social scientists are allowed to imply that the dirt that white people live upon is inherently magic while the dirt under black people is obviously tragic. But anything smarter and more interesting could get them furiously denounced by angry know-nothing students (or Watsoned out of their jobs if they lack tenure). So it’s safest just to blame everything and anything on white people.
Still, as the generations roll by, that’s increasingly sounding like a senile conspiracy theory. In 2016, blaming white privilege for everything you don”t like isn”t quite as lame as blaming the Bavarian Illuminati, but the gap is closing.
As the range of acceptable insights narrows, boredom stalks the social sciences.
Haidt notes:
Anthropology and sociology are the worst”those fields seem to be really hostile and rejecting toward people who aren”t devoted to social justice.
Today, for example, it seems astonishing that 60 years ago cultural anthropologists like Margaret Mead could be celebrities. The educated public now assumes that cultural anthropologists are pedantic and petulant, best avoided.
It’s not surprising, therefore, that many social scientists try to sidestep the Repetition Crisis by avoiding important issues in favor of marketing-research-like problems, which in turn worsens the Replication Crisis. (The central distinction between science and marketing research is that the latter doesn”t strive to discover permanent truths: That, say, Bill Cosby was good at advertising Jell-O Pudding Pops in 1979 is good enough for marketing research. If you want to know whether to hire Cosby in 2016, marketing researchers would be happy to take your money.)
One cause of the Replication Crisis is the social-science version of the Hollywood excuse “We”ll fix it in post.” As postproduction computer-generated imagery has gotten cheaper, movie directors have become more likely to rationalize on-set flaws in dialogue, acting, or their own direction with the reassurance that the scene can always be salvaged in postproduction by computer wizardry.
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The national outcry over the suicide of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn, along with the rise of hit TV shows Orange is the New Black and Transparent, has brought more awareness to the unique challenges facing transgender Americans — a segment of the population that's widely marginalized and misunderstood.
The recent speculation by media outlets about whether Bruce Jenner, the head of the Kardashian family and former Olympian, is transitioning has only inflamed misconceptions about gender identity.
People who identify as transgender — or trans, for short — relate to a gender different than the one assigned to them at birth. In 2011, nearly 700,000 people in the US identified as transgender, according to a study from the Williams Institute at UCLA.
Over the past few weeks, I've spoken with dozens of transgender individuals, their friends and family, and LGBT advocates about issues facing trans communities, including widespread ignorance about their lives. Here are 11 common myths they cited as most pervasive.
Myth #1: Transgender people are confused
Trans people aren't misleading others or unsure about their gender. They're certain about their gender identity and firmly reject the gender designated to them at birth.
This misconception is "baffling to a lot of trans people," Mara Keisling, a trans woman and executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said. "We realize we're among the few people who are really approaching things with full integrity and full transparency. We're saying, 'This is who I really am.'"
Myth #2: Transgender people are alike
Trans communities are as diverse as any other group, filled with people of various socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds, with varied personal challenges and life experiences. Although trans people face similar societal pressures and forms of discrimination, how they handle and respond to these issues varies from person to person. But Keisling says the view that trans people are homogeneous is something she hears far too often as an advocate for transgender equality.
Myth #3: All trans people medically transition
Not everyone who is transgender prioritizes or desires procedures, such as hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries, required for a full medical transition. While some undergo medical transitions for cosmetic, psychological, or health reasons, many won't because they can't afford it, face some other obstacle, or simply don't want to.
Myth #4: Children aren't old enough to know their gender identity
A recent study from the TransYouth Project found that transgender children as young as five years old respond to psychological gender-association tests, which evaluate how people view themselves within gender roles, as quickly and consistently as those who don't identify as trans.
"I always knew," said Jordan Geddes, a 26-year-old trans man in Columbia, Maryland. "But I grew up and had the whole world telling me I'm wrong. At that point [as a child in the 1990s], there was no visibility whatsoever about trans issues. My parents just assumed I'm a very butch lesbian."
Myth #5: Transitioning is as simple as one surgery
Transitioning is a long, complicated process that involves far more than medical procedures. Trans people also have to go through personal, legal, and social changes — and some may go through some of these changes but forgo medical transition.
Trans people individually decide how they'll express their gender identity in different public and private settings. They may decide to be fully open with some people but cautious with others. Some trans people will also undertake legal changes, such as changing a name or switching a gender marker on a driver's license. And those who are willing and can afford it will go through medical procedures, including hormone therapies, multiple types of physical surgeries, or only some of the medical options.
Kortney Ziegler, a 34-year-old trans man in Oakland, California, described his transition as a journey. "I use that word — journey — because it contrasts from a definitive time stamp," he said. "It's not that simple for a lot of people."
Myth #6: Transgender people are mentally ill
Some — but not all — trans people experience gender dysphoria, a state of emotional distress caused by dissatisfaction with the gender designated to them at birth and how it conflicts with their gender identity. This is a temporary, treatable condition — not a permanent mental disorder that all trans people struggle with for their entire lives.
"I used to have a horrible relationship with my mother," said Katherine, a 34-year-old trans woman in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Since I started transitioning, it's been very positive, because she's seeing I'm happy now for the first time in my life. Because she's seeing the happiness in me, I guess we now have a closer bond."
Myth #7: Transitioning is cosmetic, not medically necessary
Transitioning can help treat severe gender dysphoria, which can contribute to mental health issues common in trans communities.
"Just the gender dysphoria led to some very serious depression," said Leah Roukema, a 19-year-old trans woman in London, Canada. "Talking to a lot of trans people in my community, I've realized it's a very common thing both pre- and post-transition. Just about everyone has had some sort of run-in with depression."
Medically transitioning can be a lifesaving treatment for trans people coping with these types of mental health issues. A 2014 study by the Williams Institute and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention found that 46 percent of trans men and 42 percent of trans women have attempted suicide at some point in their lives, compared to 4.6 percent of the general US population.
Myth #8: All trans people make up a third gender
Some people don't identify as male or female, falling outside of conventional gender roles. People who associate with non-binary gender roles might identify as trans, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, something else entirely, or some or all of the above.
But many trans people explicitly identify as either male or female.
Emily Prince, a 30-year-old trans woman in Alexandria, Virginia, recently struggled with the misconception about trans people's gender identity while signing up for a therapy program. "The first line of the form asked for sex with three options: male, female, and transgender," she said. "Right there, we already have an issue. I'm a woman. I'm not some third sex. There are some non-binary people who don't fit into male or female, but you don't describe all trans people in that way."
Myth #9: Sexual orientation is linked to gender identity
Sometimes trans people retain their sexual orientation through the medical or social transition: they are attracted to men, women, or both before and after the process. Others experiment with sexual partners of different genders. Some begin to identify with a different sexual orientation altogether. It varies.
"Before I transitioned, I was a straight male. Now, I'm a woman and still prefer women," said Lily Carollo, a 22-year-old trans woman in Burbank, California. "But people assume I'm attracted to men. People ask if I have a boyfriend and what I look for in a man. It's a really uncomfortable position to put me in."
Myth #10: Drag queens are transgender
Drag shows have little to do with gender identity. LGBT group GLAAD explains that "transgender women are not cross-dressers or drag queens. Drag queens are men, typically gay men, who dress like women for the purpose of entertainment. Be aware of the differences between transgender women, cross-dressers, and drag queens. Use the term preferred by the individual."
Myth #11: Trans-inclusive health benefits are expensive
The cost of health plans doesn't increase much, if at all, if they include trans-inclusive health benefits.
The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy group, estimates that trans-specific treatments can cost between $25,000 to $75,000, which is minimal compared to other health-care needs. And very few patients require these treatments, since trans people make up less than 1 percent of the population, making the one-time cost relatively small for major health providers.
These treatments can also save health insurers money in other areas, since some trans people may be less likely to struggle with gender dysphoria, depression, and other mental health issues after medically transitioning.
When San Francisco began to offer trans-inclusive health coverage to its employees in 2001, the city applied a small surcharge to all employers enrolled in its health plan. But the city ended up using just $386,000 of the $5.6 million raised by the surcharge — a cost so low that it eventually dropped the additional charge altogether.
"[D]espite actuarial fears of over-utilization and a potentially expensive benefit," San Francisco's Human Rights Commission noted, "the Transgender Health Benefit Program has proven to be appropriately accessed and undeniably more affordable than other, often routinely covered, procedures."
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NewsAbortion
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 22, 2016 (LifeSiteNews)—The Planned Parenthood baby parts videos show “a glimpse of hell,” a veteran pro-life activist who has photographed and buried the remains of aborted babies throughout her life told LifeSiteNews in an exclusive video interview.
“Those videos captured for all posterity…the very way the abortion staff talks about the unborn, the way that they handled the unborn in the backrooms of their very own clinics,” Dr. Monica Miller, the director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and the author of Abandoned: The Untold Story of the Abortion Wars, told LifeSiteNews. “They will never be able to run from those images.”
See a preview of the full interview below:
The footage showing the “cold, impersonal way” abortion workers talked about the bodies of the aborted children in front of them as they were “literally rummaging through the body parts and holding up legs and holding up spinal columns and holding up intestines,” “kind of shattered me emotionally,” said Miller.
“I thought it was like a glimpse of hell,” she said. “I think my heart froze even after I’ve already seen with my own eyes, touched with my own hands, and literally spent hours, countless hours, photographing very up close and personal, the remains of aborted babies.”
In Abandoned, Miller recounted her first-hand experiences rescuing, photographing, and burying the discarded bodies of unborn children killed by abortion. Miller recorded many images of abortion victims available on the Internet today.
Victims of abortion “have a right to be seen,” Miller told LifeSiteNews.
“It’s a lie to cloak the truth about the humanity of the unborn child,” she said. “That photo is not just the photo of a hand of an aborted baby, that photo is the hand of a someone that we don’t know,” a person who was treated with unspeakable violence, a baby who has a “right to be seen.”
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Miller strongly responded to the claims people sometimes make that showing images of abortion victims is an affront to the unborn victims’ dignity.
“If we hide the photos, if we don’t show them, or we restrict…their visibility, I think that is the denigration,” said Miller. She likened hiding images of the violence that abortion causes to telling people to think about Jesus, “who sacrificed His life for the sake of the whole world,” but never to think about the cross, or to only imagine a sanitized version of it.
The whole practice of abortion denies the existence of children in the womb, Miller said, and photos of aborted children prove that abortion kills human beings.
“In a photo, that abortion victim is speaking the truth of his or her existence,” she continued. “The truth of what happened to me. They have a right to speak who they are. And we need to be confronted by the tragedy.”
See the moving full, 19-minute interview below:
Miller told LifeSiteNews that over the past 20 years, she has noticed a “very big change” in the Catholic Church’s approach to pro-life activists seeking funerals for aborted children recovered from abortion facility trash receptacles.
In Abandoned, Miller detailed various obstacles pro-life activists faced during the 1980s in working with local dioceses to provide funeral Masses and burials to the remains of unborn children recovered from garbage holders outside abortion facilities.
But “bishops are more sensitive about the issue of abortion” now than they were at the dawn of the pro-life movement, Miller said.
In 2008, when aborted babies were discovered in a trash bin in Michigan, “the Archdiocese of Detroit was very welcoming, very cooperative, and very sensitive,” Miller said. She noted that then-Auxiliary Bishop John Quinn personally officiated at two of the burials.
What struck Miller about burying the bodies of aborted babies was that this was the first work of mercy ever done for them, she told LifeSiteNews.
“In the Christian religion, there’s seven corporal works of mercy and the seventh—and I always find this to be a little ironic—the seventh corporal work of mercy is to bury the dead,” she said. “The last work of mercy to bury the dead was the first work of mercy that these babies knew.”
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In sifting through the facts about the gun debate, beware of the misleading use of statistics.
Take for example, "fact" number five on the main Vox card on this issue. It contains a chart from Mother Jones, which is presented to make the case — as Mother Jones puts it — that " People with more guns tend to kill more people — with guns." Or as Vox puts it, "More guns, more violence." Both statements are false, but this chart at least seems convincing.
But then, look more carefully at what the chart says — "gun deaths." Not all of those deaths are "violence." This is a bait and switch.
Now look at this chart. Each state is again represented as a dot, but this measures the gun murder rate in the 48 states that submitted timely FBI reports for 2014 (Alabama and Florida did not). The number of gun murders per 100,000 residents is plotted against each state's gun ownership rate as found in a 50-state study for the publication Injury Prevention.
That looks a lot like a shotgun blast, because at least in 2014, the statistical case that high state gun ownership translates to more gun homicides was non-existent. This is what happens when you just look at the relevant numbers instead of cherrypicking whatever numbers tell the story you want. There's no significant statistical correlation here, whether or not you choose to include D.C. (the outlier, way up above the others). And in fact, when you just look at last year's gun homicide rate by state (calculated from FBI and Census data), you see that many of the states that they claim have low "gun death" rates actually have comparatively high rates of gun murders. New Jersey, for example, had a much higher gun murder rate than Idaho and Vermont.
I haven't taken the time yet to calculate rates for every year going back a decade — perhaps for another day — but I have the raw totals and there isn't anything in the numbers that suggests a five-year average would change much.
So now you see why Vox, Mother Jones and others deliberately confuse the issue of gun violence by including gun deaths that don't involve violence: because their cherrypicking makes it seem like people in states with high gun ownership are more likely to shoot other people, when in fact it just isn't so. Perhaps there's another argument to be had about suicide, but it's a very different sort of debate. When most people think about gun control, they're worried about whether it can help stop them from being shot, not about whether it will prevent them from having a gun in case they become incredibly depressed and decide to end it all.
In short, there isn't a good case in the state data for limiting gun ownership on the basis of gun murder rates. But if Mother Jones wants to make the case that gun ownership should be limited for paternalistic reasons because it makes suicide more likely, perhaps they can publish that argument instead, alongside their advocacy for physician-assisted suicide.
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Mike Person is the son of a coach; he won awards for his weight-room ethic and was voted a team captain. Last year, he played left tackle, but projects as a guard. He didn’t allow a sack last year.
Not only did Person not give up a sack, but quarterback Denarius McGhee said he wasn’t hit in the back all year. On the conference call, Person said he was in Billings, Montana for the awarding of the Little Sullivan, which is given to the state’s best amateur athlete. Person will find out later tonight if he won the accolade.
The 49ers told Person he’d compete for a center/guard position and will obviously be pitted against fifth-round pick Daniel Kilgore.
Person’s mother, Shelley, went into the hospital shortly after Person’s freshman season and died suddenly. They never pinpointed the cause of death. Coaches said it was tough for Person during Senior day at Montana State at the end of the season.
Person seems to fall in line with the rest of the team’s picks all of who seem to be of high character. Also, at under 300 pounds, he’s another lighter linemen, much like Kilgore.
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Most polymers -- materials made of long, chain-like molecules -- are very good insulators for both heat and electricity. But an MIT team has found a way to transform the most widely used polymer, polyethylene, into a material that conducts heat just as well as most metals, yet remains an electrical insulator.
The new process causes the polymer to conduct heat very efficiently in just one direction, unlike metals, which conduct equally well in all directions. This may make the new material especially useful for applications where it is important to draw heat away from an object, such as a computer processor chip. The work is described in a paper published on March 7 in Nature Nanotechnology.
The key to the transformation was getting all the polymer molecules to line up the same way, rather than forming a chaotic tangled mass, as they normally do. The team did that by slowly drawing a polyethylene fiber out of a solution, using the finely controllable cantilever of an atomic force microscope, which they also used to measure the properties of the resulting fiber.
This fiber was about 300 times more thermally conductive than normal polyethylene along the direction of the individual fibers, says the team's leader, Gang Chen, the Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering and director of MIT's Pappalardo Micro and Nano Engineering Laboratories.
The high thermal conductivity could make such fibers useful for dissipating heat in many applications where metals are now used, such as solar hot water collectors, heat exchangers and electronics.
Chen explains that most attempts to create polymers with improved thermal conductivity have focused on adding in other materials, such as carbon nanotubes, but these have achieved only modest increases in conductivity because the interfaces between the two kinds of material tend to add thermal resistance. "The interfaces actually scatter heat, so you don't get much improvement," Chen says. But using this new method, the conductivity was enhanced so much that it was actually better than that of about half of all pure metals, including iron and platinum.
Producing the new fibers, in which the polymer molecules are all aligned instead of jumbled, required a two-stage process, explains graduate student Sheng Shen, the lead author of the paper. The polymer is initially heated and drawn out, then heated again to stretch it further. "Once it solidifies at room temperature, you can't do any large deformation," Shen says, "so we heat it up twice."
Even greater gains are likely to be possible as the technique is improved, says Chen, noting that the results achieved so far already represent the highest thermal conductivity ever seen in any polymer material. Already, the degree of conductivity they produce, if such fibers could be made in quantity, could provide a cheaper alternative to metals used for heat transfer in many applications, especially ones where the directional characteristics would come in handy, such as heat-exchanger fins (like the coils on the back of a refrigerator or in an air conditioner), cell-phone casings or the plastic packaging for computer chips. Other applications might be devised that take advantage of the material's unusual combination of thermal conductivity with light weight, chemical stability and electrical insulation.
So far, the team has just produced individual fibers in a laboratory setting, Chen says, but "we're hoping that down the road, we can scale up to a macro scale," producing whole sheets of material with the same properties.
Ravi Prasher, an engineer at Intel, says that "the quality of the work from Prof. Chen's group has always been phenomenal," and adds that "this is a very significant finding" that could have many applications in electronics. The remaining question, he says, is "how scalable is the manufacturing of these fibers? How easy is it to integrate these fibers in real-world applications?"
This work, which also included Chen's former graduate students Asegun Henry and Jonathan Tong, was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy's Office of Basic Energy Sciences.
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• Zenit St Petersburg player had to borrow pair of boots • ‘I had none of the clothes that I needed,’ says midfielder
Artur Yusupov called up by Russia after staying in same hotel as squad
The Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Artur Yusupov has been called up to Russia’s Euro 2016 squad after staying in the same Monaco hotel while on holiday.
“This is just the way it happened. After being on holiday for 14 days, of course I am going to be a bit out of shape,” the 26-year-old said. “I don’t really know what sort of physical condition I will be in.”
Yusupov, who won the first of his two caps in November 2015, took part in Russia’s first training session in Paris in borrowed boots after the squad flew to the French capital late on Sunday.
“I was supposed to fly back to Moscow today,” Yusupov said. “I didn’t even have my football boots with me and none of the clothes that I needed.”
Yusupov will replace Igor Denisov who has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury. The 32-year-old Dynamo Moscow midfielder, who has 54 caps, damaged a hamstring during Russia’s 1-1 draw with Serbia in a friendly on Sunday in Monaco.
Russia open their European Championship against England in Marseille on Saturday.
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"A year ago, all the talk was Obama could never win with high unemployment," the AFL-CIO's political director, Mike Podhorzer, wrote in a recent memo. "The early conventional wisdom went further, writing off working class voters, asserting that the only path available to President Obama was upscale voters in states like North Carolina." Instead, the demographic that should have been Obama's greatest weakness may be the one that saves the election for him.
Indeed, if the manufacturing states of the Upper Midwest end up forming a surprising electoral-vote firewall for Obama, insulating his reelection bid from potential losses in Florida, Virginia, and Colorado, he will owe a debt of gratitude to the unions, who have been working doggedly, and largely under the radar, on his behalf. In the last four days of the presidential campaign, the AFL-CIO says its 128,000 volunteers will have knocked on 5.5 million doors, made 5.2 million phone calls and passed out 2 million leaflets in six targeted states. In Ohio alone, the union has 20 staging areas from which to make those calls and send crews out to knock on doors.
On Saturday morning, Tim Burga, the wiry president of the Ohio AFL-CIO, stood under an alphabet soup of signs, unions being second only to the military in their zeal for acronyms: AFSCME for Obama-Biden, NATCA, TWU, AFT, UFCW. Like a boxer entering the ring, he had taken off his mustard-colored work jacket, revealing a black IUPAT tee beneath.
"We've been active for a good long time now," Burga said. "We need to leave it all on the field now for the next four days. Walk till our feet are hurting. Talk till our throats are scratchy. Go to the work sites, pull every last vote out that we can pull out." The 40 or so union members in the low-ceilinged back room, a group long on pot bellies and mustaches, nodded approvingly. There was also a woman in a T-shirt reading "Kicking Ass for the Working Class."
"And when we do that," Burga continued, "we're going to say to America: 'Ohio won this election! Labor won this election, and we did it for the working people!' Are you with me?" "Yeah!" the group shouted.
The unions' effort is much bigger than four years ago, Trumka says, because of the campaign-finance changes stemming from the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court, which made it legal for unions to engage in political communication with the general public, not just their own members. "Trust me, it's a horrible, horrible thing, and it's corrosive to democracy," Trumka says of Citizens United. "The only good thing it did is, it gave us the ability to do a super PAC so that we could talk to nonunion workers."
The organizing effort in Ohio got a jumpstart a year ago, when the state's Republican governor, John Kasich, attempted to pass changes to collective-bargaining rights. Labor revolted against the legislation, known as Senate Bill 5, and staged a referendum to repeal it that ended up passing with 62 percent of the vote. The success of that effort laid the groundwork for this year's political mobilization on behalf of Obama, Senator Sherrod Brown (who is also favored to win, despite having tens of millions spent against him by the Chamber of Commerce and other interest groups), and other Democrats.
"Trust me, Citizens United is a horrible, horrible thing, and it's corrosive to democracy," Trumka says. "The only good thing it did is, it gave us the ability to do a super PAC."
I spent a couple of hours Saturday afternoon walking a mixed-race, working-class neighborhood on the east side of Columbus with Diana Vernon, a sunny 51-year-old head cook for a suburban school district. Canvassing is thankless work -- hours on your feet, trudging from door to door to remind people to vote, almost none of whom are home -- yet Vernon does it almost every weekend, and last week spent a full day in the rain distributing literature for a union-backed ballot measure.
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Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) on Friday called on her colleagues across the aisle in the House and Senate to step up their criticism of President Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE as the investigation into possible collusion with Russia evolves.
"It's amazing that we have members of Congress who are defending and protecting this president. I am surprised," Waters said Friday.
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"And here they are in the face of growing evidence that there have been contacts with, perhaps collusion with, and obstruction of justice by this president -- they're willing to defend him. And I don't know if they're just scared of him, if they're frightened, if they don't have the guts to stand up," she continued. "What is wrong with them, I just don't quite understand."
Waters comments come after Trump Jr. released a chain of emails that revealed he met with the Kremlin-linked lawyer to receive information that “would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.”
In the emails, Trump Jr. is told it is very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."
The White House and some Republican lawmakers have defended the meeting. Waters criticized that defense, calling for the "courage" to stand up to Trump.
"If they don't have the courage to recognize that something is wrong," Waters said. "If they can't even recognize that, and say, 'Well, that doesn't seem right,' then they have shown that they don't have courage."
"I'm not saying that they have to come to the conclusion that they should be impeached for example," she continued. "But I am saying that they should have the sense to say this is unusual, this is extraordinary."
Waters concluded by saying she believed the ongoing investigation into Russia will offer more evidence to impeach Trump.
"I think there's growing evidence that [Special Counsel Robert Mueller is] going to have the information that leads to impeachment. That's what I believe. They can delay it in their minds all they want."
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Image caption Dame Helen sported a T-shirt on Monday promoting As One in the Park
Dame Helen Mirren has defended scolding a group of drummers for interrupting her West End play The Audience, saying she had been "steaming" with rage.
"If they make the same noise, I would say the same again," she said.
The incident took place on Saturday after a parade promoting a gay and transgender festival stopped outside London's Gielgud theatre.
Participants were stunned when Dame Helen emerged, dressed as the Queen, and told them to be quiet.
"I was very cross," the actress told reporters on Monday. "I had just spent five or 10 minutes on stage trying to allow the audience to hear what I was saying, which was impossible."
She admitted she had been "very cross" and "very upset" and had used strong language to put her point across.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption As she arrived at the theatre on Monday, Dame Helen was asked if she would do the same again
In a conciliatory gesture to the festival's organisers, the 67-year-old wore a T-shirt promoting the As One in the Park event, to take place at London's Victoria Park on 26 May.
The back of the shirt featured a picture of a drum, followed by the words: "Yes please! Just not outside a theatre!"
"The irony is, I love drumming and I love drummers," Dame Helen said outside the Gielgud on Monday.
"In another situation I would have been out here enjoying it with all the punters. Unfortunately I was having to do a play at the same time."
The Audience imagines the private meetings between Queen Elizabeth II and her prime ministers over the decades. It reunites Dame Helen with playwright Peter Morgan, who also wrote 2006 film The Queen.
Dame Helen, who won an Oscar for her performance in that film, was crowned best actress for her latest regal portrayal at this year's Laurence Olivier Awards.
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The 2015 Octo British Grand Prix MotoGP is scheduled to be held from 28 August to 30 August 2015 on one of the most prestigious venues dedicated to motorsport, Silverstone. It will be the 12th round of MotoGP championship. If you are a MotoGP enthusiast, but are unable to experience the live action because of internet geo-restrictions, get Ivacy now and get easy access to channels to live stream 2015 Octo British Grand Prix MotoGP conveniently on your smart devices.
MotoGP Highlights of 2014
Currently the defending champion on this circuit is Marc MARQUEZ of Repsol Honda Team leading with 25 points. On second place, is Jorge LORENZO of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team with 20 points, while on the 3rd place, with his sheer motivation is Valentino ROSSI also from Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team with 16 points. This year, everyone is again all fired up to fight for the number 1 spot on this circuit!
2015 BRITISH MOTOGP GRAND PRIX Race Schedule
Circuit Details:
Surprisingly, Silverstone is hosting this year’s British MotoGP and the next two seasons as well, as Donington Park calls off the deal because of some financial issues. But nevertheless, everyone is once again very excited to be back at Silverstone for this huge event. Check out the details related to this track:
Channels on internet broadcasting MotoGP 2015
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See below for a rather breathtaking "Round-up of Problems Facing Voters Nationwide", such as registration backlogs, illegal voting roll purges, deceptive practices and dirty tricks, etc., now plaguing American voters across the country with just 17 days left before our country's biggest election ever.
All of that, while Fox "News" (whose asked me to come on live tomorrow, Sunday, at 2:40pm PT, btw, along with my old friend John Fund "for balance") continues to misreport, alarm and deceive their viewers in regard to the GOP's phony ACORN "voter fraud" fraud. Unfortunately, it's not just Fox who is irresponsibly and dangerously misreporting that scam --- though they seem to have made a small cottage industry out of it of late --- CNN and MSNBC have been filed loads of equally inaccurate and misleading reports on it as well.
But take a look at the "Round-up" below, sent this afternoon via email by the 866ourvote.org Election Protection coalition of non-partisan election watchdogs. And keep in mind that their summary below doesn't even mention the myriad electronic voting issues we've been reporting here of late --- touch-screen votes flipping, paper ballot electronic tabulators that can't count correctly or that add thousands of "phantom votes" or that drop thousands of real ones etc. --- cropping up, yet again, across the country...
STATE OF THE VOTE: 17 DAYS TO GO
A Round-up of Problems Facing Voters Nationwide
Voter registration application backlogs.
The unprecedented registration and get-out-the-vote efforts by both parties, along with the historic nature of this election, promise to elicit a record number of voters on Election Day. Mountains of new voter registrations are causing backlogs in voter data entry - which partisans are using as reasons to keep these applicants from making it onto the rolls, as we've just seen in Ohio. Backlogs often force local election offices to send out verification and polling place information late or not at all.
In Colorado: election officials are struggling to verify thousands of voter registration forms before October 20 when early voting opens. In Georgia: a week ago, in DeKalb County about 30,000 registrations were sitting in boxes waiting to be entered. In New York, in Dutchess County, officials are telling voters that if their backlogged registrations aren't processed in time, they should request a court order to vote. In Alabama, a controversy is raging over who can be registered, contributing to the backlog of requests.
Allegations of voter registration fraud.
The recent controversy over ACORN 's voter registration program emphasizes the critical need for a comprehensive system to handle the quadrennial crush of registration applications. We currently have effective systems in place for flagging duplicate and ineligible applications, but the burdens created by this deadline-driven process could be eliminated with smart, federal voter registration reform.
Several opinion writers and editorial boards across the country have weighed in on the issue, skeptical of the partisan nature of the allegations. Many offer a pragmatic approach to dealing with these accusations, including articles in the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, GateHouse News Service and the Baltimore Sun.
No match, no vote.
Under our current patchwork of election laws, each state (and sometimes each county) has a different way of comparing voter lists to state databases to make sure rolls are "clean" and updated, These matching requirements could mean that a simple misspelling or misplaced hyphen could knock tens of thousands of eligible voters off the rolls.
In Florida: a controversial "no-match" law has taken effect, calling into question the validity of several thousand voters' registrations filed after September 8. In Ohio: the United States Supreme Court rejected attempts by the Ohio Republican Party to require that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner provide access to a database of voters whose registration information does not match state records. The decision protects 200,000 newly registered Ohioans. The Social Security Administration has sent requests to six states - Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio - asking that they investigate whether improper social security number checks are being run on newly registered voters.
In Arizona, a disabled veteran filed a lawsuit saying he was deprived of his right to vote last year because the military ID he presented did not include his address. Although he should have been allowed to file a provisional ballot, poll workers forbid him from doing so.
Poorly designed application forms.
About 6,400 new voters in Colorado may not be allowed to cast regular ballots on Election Day because they failed to check a box on a voter registration form. Voting rights groups have asked the state to accept registration applications that contain all necessary identifying information, but lack a checkmark in a superfluous box. Currently, the state is considering these applications "incomplete."
Earlier this month, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to reverse her ruling and direct election boards to accept absentee ballots that lacked one checkmark on ballot applications sent from Republican John McCain's campaign.
Purging.
The true impact of purging legitimate voters from the polls may not be known until people are turned away on Election Day, but we already know of instances where purging is taking place. For example, in Michigan, a federal judge ordered Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land to restore more than 1,500 Michigan voters to the rolls who were illegally purged based on undeliverable mail or because they applied for a driver's license in another state.
In Georgia, a coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, claiming her office is possibly purging thousands of voters based on challenges to citizenship although federal law prohibits such activity less than 90 days before the election.
Deceptive practices.
Following allegations that a Michigan Republican county chairman said the party will challenge the voting status of homeowners facing foreclosure, officials in Ohio, Maryland, Illinois, Nevada and elsewhere were forced to quickly reassure their constituents that foreclosure does not exclude voters from participating in the election. In Indiana, Marion County GOP Chairman Tom John said he would not rule out challenging the votes of individuals whose homes had been foreclosed.
Students are also the victims of misinformation and deceptive practices. Students at Drexel University in Pennsylvania reported seeing flyers around campus that warned students that police would be at the polls on Election Day, arresting anyone with a prior offense, including unpaid parking tickets. Old Dominion University students registered to vote in Virginia received questionnaires from Norfolk election officials asking for tax, driver's license and vehicle registration information. This came on the heels of similar misinformation by the local election board in Blacksburg, which warned that Virginia Tech students could lose scholarships and impact their parents' tax status if they registered at their campus address.
Lack of standard rules confuse voters.
Georgia residents who mailed in their voter registration applications received official letters that incorrectly stated ID requirements.
These are just a few examples of the many problems facing voters in the days leading up to Election Day.
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8. The Casting Of Tobey Macguire
Like I said before; Andrew Garfield is a good Peter Parker and a really enjoyable Spider-Man, but Tobey Macguire was better. He was a nerd! A true nerd! He was fit for the character to the tee and transformed into a superhero throughout, the same was not true for Andrew Garfield, he wasn’t a nerd; he was a rebel. In The Amazing Spider-Man, Garfield’s Parker was only nerdy because writing and bullying made him so, it didn’t seem like Peter Parker should be disliked by everyone and he probably shouldn’t be.
Tobey Macguire really embodied what we all think of Peter Parker and it was true in all of Raimi’s world. Garfield shed his nerdy status in TASM2 and was almost a heartthrob, it was almost like watching Spider-Man fused with The Notebook, with the only thing making him somewhat nerdy was the fact that he was super romantic.
We lost what made Peter Parker such the lovable loser that we wanted to cheer for and what we gained was a Peter Parker that has everything that we want, we shouldn’t want to be Peter, we should want to be Spider-Man!
7. Norman Osborn
Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin was a perfect casting and the way that Raimi used Norman’s relationship with Peter as an arc to use as a subplot in his sequel was awesome!
We were introduced to Norman as being pushed out of his own company and in a last ditch effort to get his ground breaking super solider serum up and running he rushes himself to human trials and injects the serum, throwing his mind into a frenzy and slowly becoming evil. The eventual split between his psyche and scenes where he speaks to himself in his mirror are so great and are acted perfectly.
Norman Osborn was a shadow in The Amazing Spider-Man universe; only appearing in a few scenes to help set up Harry’s transformation into The Green Goblin and existing behind the scenes in most of the first Amazing Spider-Man. The reason why Raimi’s Osborn worked more, was that Peter and Norman had direct contact and their stories directly effected each other in the same way. Webb’s Osborn was only a weak old man, dying, who wanted to live. It was boring.
6. Peter’s Relationship with The Osborns
Taking a little from the previous reason, The Osborn Family that exists in Raimi’s universe was the source for the villainy, as it should be. The same goes for The Amazing Spider-Man, but in Raimi’s films we were introduced to these characters early on and they were allowed to develop through writing and story telling at a proper pace. We were witness to Peter and Harry as good friends in high school all the way till after, and through college.
That made the events in Raimi’s films hit harder when it came to Norman dying during his fight with Spider-Man, which was really his own fault, but “Don’t tell Harry”, and when harry finds the Goblin gear at the end of the second Spider-Man, he becomes the dark version of himself that he could have avoided if he could understood that his father had become evil and lost his mind. This should begin a great rivalry, if Raimi didn’t botch Spider-Man 3.
The problem with Webb’s Osborn family was that Harry didn’t even come into the picture until the second film and we had to catch up on his and Peter’s relationship through quick dialogue in a couple scenes before Harry began his decent into darkness and transformation into The Goblin. When Harry asks for Spider-Man’s blood to try and cure a family disease that Norman had succumbed to before he could be cured, Peter says no because he didn’t want to risk killing his best friend.
The moment has no weight behind it and the emotion that is conveyed plays as more hollow than anything. We don’t have the history between Peter and Harry to make it relevant to us and the same comes with the death of Gwen Stacy.
That moment could have hit so much harder than it did if we had the proper history and weight behind Peter and Harry’s relationship, but we are given a Peter Parker that… really doesn’t seem to care his best friend murdered his girlfriend, just that his girlfriend is dead.
5. The Inclusion Of J. Jonah Jameson
Yes! J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson was another perfect casting in Raimi’s Spider-Man films, and it was a legendary performance. Simmons really becomes the character in his hilarious and raging glory, yelling about Spider-Man to all of his writers and publishers, in fact, the scenes inside of the Daily Bugle where some of the funniest in Raimi’s films, adding to it’s comic-y nature and appeasing fans alike. The inclusion of this iconic character was key and so perfectly cast that I think Marc Webb is scared to follow Simmons up with a new Jameson in his Spider-Man universe.
Jameson was hinted to in TASM2 a few times, as was the Daily Bugle, but that’s two films now where Webb has not included the iconic rantings of Jonah Jameson, which would provide for perfect banter between Garfield’s witty Spider-Man. Webb’s films have suffered as a result, really heavily relying on Garfield and Emma Stone for comic relief (another reason why it came off as a romantic comedy) and not being able to split the load effectively.
4. Origin
Spider-Man’s origins are important and Raimi did it all good, but Webb not only did the exact thing in his first film, but kind of re-did it in his second. A hero’s origin is important, it provides the base for the rest of the film and whatever sequels take.
In Raimi’s film, Spider-Man makes his choice to stay away from Mary-Jane because she could be hurt, but in Webb’s film, Spider-Man begins his life as a hero by, yes saving the day, but he ignores a dead man’s wish for the safety of his daughter because he was dating her for a little while? We are given a Spider-Man that appeals too much to teenage audiences, rather than a Spider-Man that should appeal to fans of all ages while being a story with teenagers.
3. Timing
Spider-Man was released in 2002 with it’s follow up being released in 2004. These are the two movies we’ve been looking at from Sam Raimi, but the third was released in 2007. The Amazing Spider-Man was released just five years after Spider-Man 3 and it was just too soon. We were subjected to the same origin as I stated before and it just felt rehashed.
We weren’t ready for a Spider-Man reboot, we were ready for a continuation of the Spider-Man we had seen in the first two Raimi films; a reboot was unnecessary so quickly, the character wasn’t missed enough yet, the story wasn’t old. Webb is trying way too hard with his films, and Raimi failed because he tried to pack his third effort with too many villains, a trend that is becoming too popular.
2. Story
The overall story of Marc Webb’s version of Peter Parker has centered on his relationship with Gwen Stacy and the lack of relationship with his birth parents.
Yeah, he has to tackle being Spider-Man too, but that’s never really a big issue. Everything I’ve said before comes into this point as one melting pot. Webb’s Spider-Man doesn’t really center on it’s titular character, and it’s not that amazing. The action is really on point, and when Spider-Man is on-screen he owns it.
Maybe the reason that Spidey was absent in most of the second film was the fact that Peter wasn’t focusing on the responsibilities of being Spider-Man and was letting his human relationships hamper that, letting the death of Gwen Stacy really spark him into becoming the Spider-Man we will know and love, but why the hell did is it going to take me the duration of 2 films and the wait for a third to see that? We should be treated to a Spider-Man we love right away, and we weren’t.
We’ve been witness to a trial and error session by Sony and Webb that will continue because people will keep spending money on them, the studio has the benefit of allowing entire movies of exposition for their upcoming universe because they know more films are coming.
Raimi’s story centered on Peter and his relationship with Spider-Man as the main relationship, all the others were sub-plots that began and weaved their way in and out of Peter/Spider-Man’s life as tests throughout both movies and even into the third (albeit, crappy), but we understood why those relationships worked and ended up how they did, because we actually witnessed them happen; not informed with a few sentences of dialogue.
1. Peter Parker
Peter Parker is Spider-Man and vice versa, but there is a way you have to handle Peter Parker the human. We all know that Spider-Man will be quick witted, hilarious, and entertaining; while always knowing that Peter Parker is going to be the dorky alter ego. I touched on this before, but the depiction of Parker by Macguire and Garfield are drastically different.
Macguire played his character as, simply put, a nerd. He was the perfect outcast in a high school setting, he was bullied and always looked at the prettiest girl in school and envied her boyfriend. He was everyone of the normal dudes in high school that always longed after the popular life, but in TASM it wasn’t the case.
Yeah, ok. Peter Parker was bullied and messed with in TASM but why? He was cool! Watch the film again and tell me that i’m wrong. What, is he a nerd because he has glasses? As I said before he was a rebel, he had a sense of humor and immediately earned the attraction of the girl he wanted, and sustained her love through two movies.
We felt for Peter in the first Raimi films because of Macguire’s look and the way he was written, but there was never any reason to cheer for Peter in Webb’s films because he was just kind of taking care of business.
Macguire’s Spider-Man is more memorable than Garfield’s in the sense that he is a little more of an underdog, and reminds us of us all at one point or another. Webb’s Peter Parker is more of someone we might want to be; a little bit badass, and in my opinion, past experience resonates better with someone than something they might not know.
Author Bio: Nick LaMacchia is from Buffalo, NY. While currently residing in Portland, OR, he is writing a sci-fi trilogy of novels, with the first being published late in the year. He’s obsessed with film, football, hockey, Batman, and real chicken wings from his hometown.
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As the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs came to an end on Wednesday night leading into Thursday morning, many memorable moments stood out to us all. I took the time to decide on my top five moments of the NHL Playoffs first round.
5. The Ginette Reno Experience
Her singing career started at the age of 13 and for decades she became a household name in the province of Quebec. She was a hit in the Montreal-made movie Mambo Italiano and she also appeared in television. But when Ginette Reno stepped out onto the Bell Centre ice to sing the Canadian National Anthem, none of that mattered. It was all about that particular moment. Her beautiful voice echoed through the arena and it sent waves of goosebumps. With that, the Canadiens drew inspiration and won their two home games to sweep the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rene Bourque, who scored eleven seconds into game three, personally requested to bring back Ginette. When she did, she once again lit up the Montreal crowd and as she stepped off the ice she gave her hand to a smiling Daniel Briere. He then went on to open up the scoring by putting the Habs ahead early in the first period.
4. Mikael Granlund’s Sensational Overtime Goal
It doesn’t happen every day when a player takes matters into his own hands and does all the work himself to score in overtime. What fans have grown accustomed to is a gritty, crash-and-bang play or a tip-in point shot. In game three, Mikael Granlund tore the building down in Minnesota with a dazzling goal that will go down as THE goal in the first round, maybe in the entire 2014 Playoffs. As Granlund turned around the net, he would be pinned for a brief second before spinning the other way and making a bee-line for the net. In his journey towards the slot, Granlund was muscled down but kept his eyes on the prize and the puck on his stick and in desperation, Granlund fired a shot while going down and put it past Semyon Varlamov. The Xcel Energy Center went absolutely bonkers after the goal and brought new life to the team after they lost their first two games of the series. The Wild would go on to win in 7.
3. The City of Columbus
For some reason when you think of the loudest arenas in the NHL, Columbus doesn’t seem to come up. This post-season, that all changed. Every game was a battle for the Blue Jackets and they were the ultimate underdogs in a series against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yet no matter how wide the lead was in favor of the Penguins, Columbus managed to chip away at the lead and come back. The fifth line — the Columbus crowd — was there every step of the way and the Nationwide Arena became one of the loudest arenas this year. Their pre-game parties were a riot and the general feel was outstanding. One thing that stands out the most was the realization of their dedication. With half a period left in regulation and down 4-0 in game six, nobody left. Nobody gave up on the team and instead stuck around and watched in anticipation. At 4-1, they cheered. At 4-2, they erupted. At 4-3, there was now belief that it was happening again and the arena was buzzing and rocking. Unfortunately for them, the team fell short but in a moment of true passion, the Columbus crowd frantically cheered their team in defeat. They lost the battle of the playoffs but their never die mentality won the crowd and the nation over.
Our video is of the Columbus Crowd on Mike Foligno’s game winning goal in game 4, when they went absolutely wild for the first home playoff win in franchise history.
2. St. Louis Déjà-Vu?
I’m sure everyone knows by now what the term “Déjà-Vu” means. It’s that feeling you get when you’ve been somewhere before or you’re going through a course of actions or a set of dialogue that has happened in the past already. For the St. Louis Blues, it was an all too painful past to have to re-live and yet, they did exactly that. Just one year ago, in the 2013 Playoffs, the Blues took a 2-0 series lead against the Los Angeles Kings. They did the same against the Chicago Blackhawks this year. Vague? Okay, maybe but how about Steen scoring back-to-back game winning goals in game one? Oh yeah, Jackman also scored the game winning goal in game two, just like he did last year. But wait, there’s more! Last year in game three, the Blues out-shot the Kings by 9 and got shut out. This year? Out shot by 9 and shut out by the Blackhawks. Okay, getting weirder now, the Blues blew a 3-2 lead in game four last year and eventually lost 4-3. Can you believe they blew a 3-2 lead in game four this year and eventually lost 4-3? Now here’s the kicker, and this one gets a little too specific. Last year in game five, Alex Pietrangelo scores the game-tying goal, his first of the playoffs, assisted by Schwartz. The Blues eventually go on to lose in overtime, 3-2. This year? The. Same. Scenario. This can’t just be some coincidence. This is stars and planets aligning, Hockey Gods getting a good laugh, some higher power out there just trying to mess with hockey fans. Game six went a little differently but those first five games is something straight out of the Twilight Zone.
1. The Kings Overcome The Odds
Overcoming a 0-3 series deficit is likely one of the most amazing feats to pull in any sport. In the NHL, it has only happened once in the history of this league. In 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs became the first to do it, winning four straight against the Detroit Red Wings to take the series in seven. 33 years later, the New York Islanders become the second team to go the distance, putting away the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1975 Quarterfinals. The most recent occurrence and the last time it happened was during the 2010 Eastern Conference Final when the Philadelphia Flyers overcame a 0-3 deficit against the Boston Bruins. Four years later and we now have the shortest amount of time between two historical comebacks. After going up in the series 3-0, the San Jose Sharks were finally putting to rest the choker label. Joe Thornton was leading his team, Patrick Marleau was doing well, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, EVERYONE was clicking! This was the year. Then their grip started to slip. They lost game four… then game five… then game six. Heading back to San Jose for a decisive game seven, all momentum was on the side of the Los Angeles Kings and when Anze Kopitar put the Kings up by a score of 2-1 late in the second period, they never looked back. Jonathan Quick had become the goaltender we all knew he was and the team in front of him begun to play with confidence once again.
So what’s your top five? Agree with any of the five mentioned above or is one in there that you disagree with and have one of your own to replace it with. Let me know in the comments below or via Twitter using the hashtag #LWOS.
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A federal appeals court has just ruled that police can knock on your door and kill you, even if they’re in the wrong place. The ruling stemmed from an incident in 2012, where a Lake County Florida deputy, randomly knocking on doors with an armed brigade of deputies behind him, shot and killed a man who did nothing wrong other than answer his door for the police.
According to reports, Deputy Richard Sylvester was in pursuit of a motorcycle that had fled from another jurisdiction. Sylvester claimed that he believed that the subject on the motorcycle was armed and dangerous, despite not having personally contacted the driver. No information about a weapon had been provided in any other part of the police documentation. Sylvester saw the motorcycle parked in an apartment complex, and instead of taking other routes to identify and apprehend the driver, he began banging on doors in the vicinity.
Sylvester started banging on door 114. Andrew Scott and his girlfriend, Amy Young, were inside playing video games. Another deputy had reportedly been informed by a neighbor that the motorcycle didn’t belong to Scott, but allegedly, Sylvester didn’t receive the memo. Sylvester pounded on the door, like cops usually do. Frightened by the banging on his door and the lack of announcement or identification from the police, he grabbed his gun. When he answered the door, he saw the police drawing down on him and he proceeded to back up into his apartment. As he did this, Deputy Sylvester unloaded his weapon into Scott, killing him.
Despite the facts of the case, all legal attempts to seek justice against Deputy Sylvester and the Lake County Sheriff have been thwarted. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit found that Sylvester was in fact protected by qualified immunity. They stated that they couldn’t establish that he had violated any established law. And this is how murders by police fall through the cracks. The decision by the court was in fact split, with four justices dissenting.
The dissenting opinion wrote:
“First, under no standard was it reasonable for the police to kill Mr. Scott when he answered the knock at the door to his home. He was not suspected of any crime (much less a violent crime) and he was standing inside his own house without threatening them. Second, the police were not engaged in a permissible “knock and talk” when they killed Mr. Scott. Their aggressive tactics crossed far over the line from a consensual visit into a warrantless raid. When it upheld these rulings by the District Court, the panel (and now a majority of this Court) gave a pass to dangerous, unconstitutional police actions in a way that makes it more likely that tragic police shootings will continue to occur.”
Unfortunately, the majority findings with Sylvester put an end to any hope that the family of Andrew Scott could ever achieve justice. Police will certainly refer to this case as an example of the war against cops and how police need to be able to defend themselves against violent criminals. The circumstances in this case were the result of shoddy police work and the quick-to-shoot mentality that much of America’s police forces embody.
The ruling by the court flies in the face of the second amendment and the right to bear arms, especially in one’s own home, and brings us one step closer to a fully-fledged police state.
Sources: The Free Thought Project.
This article (Cops Can Kill You Even If They’re in the Wrong Home, Says Federal Court) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com.
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The Islamic Party of Britain is a defunct political party in the United Kingdom that was active from its formation in 1989[1] until 2006. The IPB was opposed to both capitalism and communism. David Musa Pidcock, a Sheffield man who converted from Roman Catholicism to Islam while working as an engineer in Saudi Arabia, founded and led the party.[1] The IPB published a quarterly magazine entitled Common Sense.
The party entered the 1992 general election, standing three unsuccessful candidates in the constituencies of Bradford, a city with a large Muslim minority, and one in London constituency Streatham.
Founding [ edit ]
The Islamic Party of Britain was founded in September 1989, by Muslims who had grown dissatisfied with the Labour party, a party that traditionally gains the support of Muslims in Britain. Many Muslims were unhappy with the Atheism of Neil Kinnock, the Labour leader, and wanted a party that would cater specifically for the needs of Muslims. Many also felt that both Labour and the Conservatives had not done enough to help Muslims in the controversy over Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses'. [2]
Performance [ edit ]
The Islamic Party never achieved a seat in either house of Parliament. Pidcock represented the party in the Bradford North by-election, 1990, earning 800 votes (2.2%), finishing fourth of ten candidates.[3]
In the 1992 General Election, the party stood candidates in each of the three constituencies in the City of Bradford. All of them finished last, with Pidcock in Bradford West doing the best, with 471 votes (0.96%).[4] It also stood a candidate in Streatham, coming fifth of seven.[5]
Relations with other parties [ edit ]
In its first year, Pidcock claimed that his party was planning co-operation with the ecologist Green Party.[1]
Members of the party have supported the Respect Party; one of their leading members, home affairs spokesman Mohammad Naseem, stood for and funded the party.[6]
Policies [ edit ]
The party believed in equal treatment under the law regardless of an individual's status, income or ethnicity. The IPB argued that religion is the most important thing in life.[7] It called for reform of the British banking system to make it interest-free and Islamic, and for increased trade with the Islamic world.[1] At one time, the party answered questions sent in by readers.[8] When answering one question, the party argued that homosexuality needed treatment, was not to be tolerated and that homosexuals should be put to death for a "public display of lewdness",[9] a policy that was condemned by Peter Tatchell.[6]
See also [ edit ]
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Hollywood’s elite just got together to pat themselves and the back and scold the rest of American for electing Donald Trump. But legendary actor Denzel Washington had a harsh dose of reality for his more entitled colleagues.
People like Meryl Streep and Jimmy Fallon like to see themselves as the pinnacle of our society. But Washington said they’re wrong. It’s average Americans who make America great.
The same average Americans who voted for Donald Trump because they are sick and tired of the elitist attitude of people like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Meryl Streep, etc.
At a roundtable discussion with other actors, Washington told his Hollywood colleagues to get off their high horses.
“…people say: ‘Oh, the difficulty of making a movie.’ I’m like, listen, send your son to Iraq–that’s difficult. It’s just a movie. It’s like, relax. I don’t play that precious nonsense.”
Rather than seeing themselves as entitled to tell the rest of American what to do, Washington said fellow actors should be on their knees thanking Americans for the chance to do what they do.
“Making a movie is a luxury,” he stressed. “It’s an opportunity, and most importantly, it’s a gift. Obviously, everybody here is talented enough to do that, but don’t get it twisted. It’s just a movie. It ain’t that big a deal.”
Finally, some truth from Hollywood.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. senators reached an agreement on Monday on legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia, including a provision that would prevent the White House from easing, suspending or ending sanctions without congressional approval.
The agreement, to be filed as an amendment to an Iran sanctions bill, is intended to punish Russia over issues including its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and support for the government of Syria in that country’s six-year-long civil war. [L1N1J41LS]
The Iran bill is due come up for a vote as soon as this week.
Besides the provision setting up a process for Congress to review changes in sanctions, the measure would put into law sanctions previously established via presidential executive order, including some on certain Russian energy projects and debt financing in some industries.
It would impose new sanctions on Russians found to be guilty of human rights abuses, supplying weapons to Syria’s government and conduct cyber attacks on behalf of Russia’s government, among others.
The measure also would allow new sanctions on Russian mining, metals, shipping and railways.
The legislation is backed by both Republicans and Democrats, and is expected to easily pass the Senate.
It was introduced amid an intense focus in the U.S. capital on relations with Russia, and investigations by the Department of Justice and congressional committees of whether Russia sought to influence the 2016 U.S. elections to help elect Republican President Donald Trump, and whether Trump associates colluded with Moscow as it sought to influence the election.
To become law, the legislation would have to pass the House of Representatives and be signed into law by Trump. If Trump objected, some of its backers said they expected enough congressional support to override a veto.
“These additional sanctions will ... send a powerful and bipartisan statement to Russia and any other country who might try to interfere in our elections that they will be punished,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
National flags of Russia and the U.S. fly at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Russia has denied attempting to interfere in the U.S election, and Trump has dismissed any talk of collusion.
The measure also authorizes “robust assistance” to strengthen democratic institutions and counter disinformation in European countries that might be targeted by what the legislation’s sponsors described as Russian aggression.
In December, the final full month of President Barack Obama’s administration, Washington sanctioned Russian businessmen and companies for Moscow’s role in Ukraine via executive order.
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This afternoon, the OHL announced the nominees for their 2015-16 end of season awards. Among the nominees were Maple Leafs prospects Mitch Marner of the London Knights and Travis Dermott of the Erie Otters. Both players have had great seasons and have a legitimate chance of winning.
A second round selection in last year’s draft, Dermott is nominated for the Max Kaminsky Trophy that honors the league’s top defenceman. After a slow start to his season, Dermott caught fire in December and from the time he returned from the World Juniors he helped carry Erie to the best record in the league. Dermott should probably be viewed as one of the favorite for the award.
Everyone knows how dominant Mitch Marner has been for the second straight season in the OHL, and now the league is recognizing it. Marner is one of the nominees for the Red Tilson Trophy that is given to the league’s most outstanding player. While he has had an incredible year in London, Marner is probably an underdog for the award given the season Kevin Labanc has had in Barrie.
Here is the list for every nominee for each 2015-16 year end award.
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Jon Stewart hosted his last episode of the Daily Show on August 6, the same night as the first GOP Presidential debate. The irony of Stewart’s departure coinciding with such a newsworthy debate wasn’t lost on his many fans. So now, they’re circulating an online petition to bring back the iconic satirist to the election scene.
© AP Photo / Victoria Will/Invision/AP Jon Stewart Leaving "The Daily Show"
For 16 years, four nights a week, audiences in the United States and worldwide tuned into Comedy Central to watch Jon Stewart make politics funny. And while that may not sound all that difficult, given how current events often very easily lend themselves to comedy, Stewart’s tenure in the Daily Show as a “fake” reporter has been credited with not just revolutionizing satire, but also transforming the more traditional news sphere.
Known for his clever and witty remarks on the state of current affairs, Stewart frequently exchanged jabs with politicians and news personalities alike, holding them accountable in ways that professional reporters didn’t. For the younger and more politically disenchanted generation, he became the "most trusted newscaster in America."
And that’s exactly why Mariel Waters started a petition to get the former Daily Show host to moderate one of the presidential debates ahead of the 2016 general election.
"Over the last 16 years, Jon Stewart has played an influential and iconic role in covering US politics and media," the Change.org petition said. "We believe he should continue that tradition as a moderator at one of the 2016 Presidential debates."
Not surprisingly, the petition was quick to gain momentum. In just two weeks, it amassed over 150,000 signatures, accumulating 1200% more since Wednesday, according to the website. The goal is to reach 200,000 signatures in total.
Even Democratic presidential hopeful, Martin O’Malley, signed his name, expressing his eagerness to participate in a debate moderated by Stewart.
"A Jon Stewart-moderated debate would be more informative than the Trump-dominated GOP sideshow that’s going unanswered, so he’s game," O’Malley’s spokesman told the Washington Post.
The Change.org petition has also inspired a #WeWantJon hashtag on Twitter, with many taking to the social media platform to encourage others to sign.
— Rob Emslie (@robemslie) August 20, 2015
— Jordan Olsen (@jordan_olsen26) August 20, 2015
Others noted Stewart would be a welcome change to the debates.
— April Rae Mallord (@AprilRaeMallord) August 21, 2015
Though Stewart isn’t exactly a journalist – he has distanced himself from the classification – the satirist has played such an influential role in political discourse that even his critics would be hard-pressed to negate it.
"Jon Stewart is more than qualified to tackle the moderating job," the petition noted. "Mr. Stewart has interviewed 15 heads of state, 22 members of the United States Cabinet, 32 members of the United States Senate, 7 members of the United States House of Representatives, and a score of other political leaders from this country and around the world while establishing himself as the most trusted person in (satirical) news."
Add to that the fact that Stewart has also received two Peabody awards for the Daily Show’s coverage of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, and the idea of the late-night show funnyman as a serious presidential debate moderator becomes even more appealing.
Meanwhile, whether or not petition voters will get to see him on the debate table, Jon Stewart will be back in the spotlight on Sunday night to host the WWE’s SummerSlam. It may not be the role the Change.org petition had in mind for him, but at least it’ll give his more ardent fans hope that the comedian isn’t going anywhere just yet.
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Superstition SuperFest 2019
December 7th, 2019 - 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Mesa Community College
1833 W. Southern Ave, Mesa, AZ 85202
Grand Prize Drawing Winners
First Prize: Yaesu FT-991A: Kristen Robbins KG7BGK
Second Prize: Icom IC-7300: Joann Donaldson KF7UBX
Third Prize: Icom IC-7100: Paul Edwards WE7RBE
Door Prize Drawing Winner!
Yaesu FT-70DR: Orion Thrower KE7VLC
Hourly Prize Drawing winners!
9am - Blake Gonterman KJ7AUQ - Box# 1 - Approx. Value $448.21
10am - Jeff Harris K2DFE - Box# 3 - Approx. Value $464.25
11am - Duane Zimmerman KB7RJ - Box# 2 - Approx. Value $443.00
12pm - Alven Brite N7GVF - Box# 4 - Approx. Value $693.14
Fox Hunt Winner!
Baofeng UV-5R: Byon Garrabrant - N6BG
Activities
VE Testing - $15.00 Fee - Registration 8:00 - 9:00 Testing begins @ 9:00 AM.
Participants Must Pre-Register for testing at the times listed above.
VE Testing is being sponsored by the MCC Amateur Radio Club.
Testing will take place in building TC-50 and classroom 415
and classroom Bring the appropriate information with you for testing. Information maybe found on the ARRL Website @ http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session
For additional information or questions contact Fred Bollinger, AB7JF @ 480-242-8606
ARRL card checking will be available.
Special Events Station - K7A Commemorating The USS Arizona
GOTA Station- Make contacts around the world with an experienced Extra Class Operator.
Fox Hunt and Prize
Great Food, Drinks and Food Court will be available
Live sixties and seventies music by John J. - KD8PC
The ARCA Meeting will take place from 12:00 to 1:00 in building TC-50 and classroom 414.
Presentations
Presentation will take place in building TC-50 and classroom 414
and classroom Introduction To Mesh Networking - Steve Estes KB7KWK - 9:05am to 9:25am.
Mesh Networking Antennas and Equipment - Larry Fort AB7C - 9:30am to 9:55am.
Mesh Networking Services and Equipment - Gary Hinton AC7R - 10:00am to 10:25am.
Mesh Networking and Video - Rod Fritz WB9KMO - 10:30 am to 11:00am.
Stealth Antennas - Andy Keels KD4ABB - 11:00 am to 11:30 am.
Tailgaters/Commercial Vendors
Tailgate - $10.00 per space and includes 2 paid admissions, can start setting up at 6:00 am Saturday
Commercial Vendors - Start setting up at 6:00 pm Friday evening. Contact our SuperFest Chairman @ chairman@superstitionsuperfest.org for more information.
Event Admission
$5.00 per person, children 12 and under free. Includes one door prize ticket.
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This Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, shows a jacket once worn by a Holocaust survivor in the Queens borough of New York. A woman hunting for bargains at a tag sale on July 4, 2015, found the jacket hanging in the back of an upstairs bedroom closet and bought it. She then donated it to the Kuperferberg Holocaust Center at Queensborough Community College, where it is the centerpiece of an exhibit about the life of the man who wore it, the late Ben Peres. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman)
The blue and gray stripes struck Jillian Eisman like a lightning bolt.
She was rummaging through a packed closet during a Long Island tag sale when she immediately recognized the symbol of horror and hate: a jacket worn by a prisoner at the Nazi Dachau concentration camp during World War II.
"I knew exactly what it was, even before I saw the numbers (84679 on the chest)," said Eisman, who purchased the jacket for $2 at the sale last year and donated it to the Kupferberg Holocaust Center in New York City.
Curators there not only put the jacket on display, but also unearthed the story of the person who wore it: a teenager forced to make munitions for the German war effort, spent four years in a relocation camp and then came to America, never telling his children much about Dachau or that he kept the jacket.
The story of Benzion Peresecki - who later became Ben Peres - is told in extraordinary detail, thanks largely to the serial number and careful records that he kept and that his daughter found long after he died.
"It was known to us that my father and grandmother had both been in the Holocaust," said Lorrie Zullo, who was 13 when her father died of a stroke in 1978. "We knew he had a brother who had been killed. But he did not talk about it much."
Her brother, Michael Peres, who was 15 when their father died, said: "He wanted to protect us as kids. He saw people die every day."
Holocaust historians say jackets such as the one saved by Peres are fairly rare, since most of the clothing worn by concentration camp prisoners was burned because of lice and other potential diseases. Also, most freed prisoners didn't want to keep reminders of their horrifying ordeal.
Cary Lane, curator of the exhibit, said Peresecki was spared when Nazis invaded his Lithuanian homeland because he was 15; all Jews 16 and older, including his father and 17-year-old brother were executed. The stocky, 5-foot-4 teenager was put to work making munitions, and years later wrote about beatings he suffered as a prisoner.
"When Ben was liberated, I think there was a conscious effort on his part to document and hold onto things, which not only proved his suffering, but also symbolically for himself, were evidence of his own survival," Lane said.
Peres spent four years in a "displaced persons" camp, where he was reunited with his mother and earned a high school equivalency diploma. Eventually making his way to the United States, he lived in several New York City locations with his mother and his wife. He received a degree from Cooper Union in Manhattan and worked as a mechanical engineer.
He raised his family on Long Island and frequently took them on vacations; most photos of him taken in those years show him with a broad, happy smile.
"He was affectionate, loving," his daughter said. "He was kind of the glue of the family."
Zullo said she was "flabbergasted" when she heard that the jacket had been found hidden in a closet in the house where she was raised. "I didn't even look through it before the sale," she said.
"What are the odds of someone finding it and recognizing it for what it is and then actually donating it to where it should have gone?"
Eisman, whose 24-year-old brother, Joshua Birnbaum, was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, said she feels "everything happens for a reason."
"There is a reason why I was supposed to be in that house. ... There is a reason why I was friends with someone who worked at a Holocaust museum. What are the chances of that? It is difficult to say everything is a coincidence."
Copyright Associated Press
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The US economy is poised on the edge of a recession, despite strong intervention by the US central bank and Treasury. ECONOMIC GROWTH
In the past few years the US economy has been growing strongly. But recent troubles in the housing and credit markets have hit it hard, with growth slowing sharply at the end of 2007. Economic forecasts suggest that the US growth in 2008 could be negative, with a mild recession in the first half of the year, and only very slow growth in 2009. INFLATION
The US economy is also facing significant inflationary pressures because of record oil prices which have pushed up the price of petrol and heating oil. While the US central bank, the Fed does not have an explicit inflation target, inflation above 2% is normally enough to set off the danger signals. UNEMPLOYMENT
The economic slowdown has led to gradual rise in unemployment rate, and the economy has been losing jobs in the last few months. Unemployment was already higher than it was at the end of the last boom in the l990s. BUDGET DEFICIT
The US Treasury has begun paying out over $100bn in tax rebates to help boost economic growth. But the package will double the size of the US deficit, which will also be hit by the economic downturn. In the longer term, costs will rise as more people claim social security and Medicare payments as the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement. COLLAPSING HOUSE PRICES
At the root of the problems in the US economy is the collapse of the housing market as foreclosed properties and unsold new build homes flood the market. Nationwide, US house prices are dropping for the first time since the Great Depression, and the rate of contraction is still accelerating. And with people unable to borrow more against the value of their homes, it also has an impact on the real economy.
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Rivals on the GOP re-branding tour
They “hate” and “despise” the Alaska governor, Limbaugh said, and the “listening tour” is nothing more than “an early campaign event” for the presidential elections of 2012.
He went on to call Palin “the most prominent and articulate voice” for American conservatism.
Limbaugh, then, presented himself as Palin’s bodyguard, and attacked her potential rivals for the GOP’s presidential nomination in 2012 (or after). Both Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney were blasted by the conservative talk radio hurricane. “They want you to forget about Reagan,” Limbaugh said in response to Bush’s remark that conservatives have to stop hoping for something that once was, and look towards the future instead.
But Romney is drawing more attention for what he said about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential candidate last year and a possible competitor for the 2012 nomination.
On CNN on Sunday, Romney was asked about Time magazine including only two high-profile Republicans-- Palin and radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh-- on its list of "The World's Most Influential People."
"I think there are a lot more influential Republicans than that would suggest," Romney said.
"But was that the issue on the most beautiful people, or the most influential people?" he continued. "I'm not sure. If it's the most beautiful, I understand. We're not real cute."
“I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recently, photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be.”
...Although Prejean said the pictures were taken when she was 17, others have alleged that they seem to have been taken after she underwent breast-enhancement surgery six weeks prior to the Miss USA pageant. That surgery was paid for by the Miss California pageant.
Rush Limbaugh doesn't get much right but when he's barking about GOP inside baseball he knows what he's talking about. He's been dismissive of the Republican insiders rebranding tour-- never an admirer of voter participation in governance, he says its a waste of time to talk to common people-- but now he really has something to use to rile up the dittoheads: Jeb Bush, Eric Cantor , Mitt Romney and the rest of the insiders hate Sarah Palin -- and for the same reasons the libruls do.Willard fundamentally disagrees with Limbaugh on the listening session stunts. Straying from right wing doctrine , he offered the bold assertion that "Listening to people can make a difference."Actually in 2002 Romney was the only non-entertainment figure who made it tomagazine's "50 most beautiful" list (at #44 ), beating out Debra Messing, Jill Hennessy and Rashida Jones, though not in the same league as Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, and Cindy Crawford.Romney's campaigns have always tried to substitute the votes of smitten women for what he loses from people who won't vote for the... well, you know... the Mormon thing . And why will he do so well with the gals? Well, he always has. In fact in 2002, when he was running for governor of Massachusetts, he did an ad strolling down the beach shirtless-- which I guess he equates with Sarah Palin shooting wolves with an AK-47 out of a helicopter.But it goes beyond that. His 2007 campaign worked to further exploit what they call his "sensational good looks.": "In this media-driven age, Romney begins with a decisive advantage. First, he has sensational good looks.magazine named him one of the 50 most beautiful people in America. Standing 6 feet, 2 inches tall, Romney has jet-black hair, graying naturally at the temples. Women-- who will play a critical role in this coming election-- have a word for him: hot." And it wasn't even just Ann Coulter and other Republican women who were drooling. Gay GOP hearts were all aflutter over all 6'2" of shirtless Willard too. Jim McCrery (R-LA) and Denny Hastert (R-IL), two fine Republican closet queens, were all goo-gah over Mitt. He was always terrible on women's issues and even worse on gay rights but his condescending campaign staff thought gays and women were so shallow that they'd vote for him because... he has nice teeth? I guess he doesn't like the competition from Palin. Others think both Palin and Romney should just give it up already and make room for the new superstar in the Republican Party firmament, Carrie Prejean, the homophobic warrior du jour and sore loser in this year's Miss America pageant. In fact the same dribbling perverts who were so excited about Palin will really be able to get behind Prejean-- especially now that her Christian beavershots are showing up all over the Internet. She says the nudes were taken when she was just a child and that she will redouble her efforts to spread hatred, divisiveness, bigotry and the rest of her bizarre interpretation of Jesus' religion. She claims that everybody does those kinds of photos, although the judges say they go beyond what's permitted and would have disqualified her from competing in the Miss California pageant if she had been honest about her activities.
Labels: Limbaugh, Mitt Romney
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Designer Angela Jansen of Design Academy Eindhoven recently collaborated with engineer Ger Jansen on a pair of skeuomorphic LED lamps that they're currently selling as Light Light. Their website knowingly notes that "It is uncommon for engineers to find good domestic applications for their technology... and it is likewise rare for designers of consumer objects to embrace cutting-edge technology wholeheartedly." Which, of course, is "perhaps what makes the cross-pollination of ideas between Angela Jansen and Ger Jansen so remarkable."The Light Light series creates an incredible visual conversation piece. It is like an optical illusion, yet one that is kind to the eyes and easy on the mind. Once you know how it works, it is still fascinating to behold. It is timeless, classical and, at the same time, contemporary.
Bombastic copy aside, the products speak for themselves. A handcrafted wooden base complements the semi-conical "lampshade" of the "Silhouette," while a glass base underscores the modern form of the cylindrical "Eclipse." Both of the lamps themselves are covered with matte black fabric, while the lighting element consists of LEDs and mirrors (the new 'smoke and mirrors,' as it were), and are activated via touch dimmer.
Some assembly required (illustrated below, not above):
In short, Light Light is (the first?) commercially available electromagnetic levitation—as in MagLev, like the high-speed trains—application for household lighting, developed (and patented) by Ger Jansen. Requisite video below:
Again, per the designers: "...this handcrafted lamp can be dimmed but never ignored. It's what's missing that makes it so special. This is definitely a case of 'less is more.'"
Any way you slice it, Light Light is a pretty sweet:
More videos here.
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This year marks the 100th anniversary of George Orwell's birth, and the writer who best explained the power of language on politics would be amazed what can be done with the Internet.
On February 17 a front page news analysis in the New York Times bylined by Patrick Tyler described the global anti-war protests as the emergence of "the second superpower".
Tyler wrote: "...the huge anti-war demonstrations around the world this weekend are reminders that there may still be two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world public opinion."
This potent phrase spread rapidly.
Anti-war campaigners, peace groups and NGOs took to describing the global popular protest as "the second superpower" [Greenpeace release]. And in less than a month, the phrase was being used by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. [Financial Times - reg req'd].
And a week ago, a Google search for the phrase would have shown the vigorous propagation of this 'meme'.
Rub out the word
Then came this. Entitled The Second Superpower Rears its Beautiful Head, by James F Moore, it was accompanied by a brand new blog.
The details need not detain us for very long, because the consequences of this piece are much more important than its anodyne contents.
It's a plea for net users to organize themselves as a "superpower", and represents a class of techno-utopian literature that John Perry Barlow has been promoting - the same sappy stuff, but not as well written - for the past ten years.
Only note how this example is sprinkled with trigger words for progressives, liberals and NPR listeners. It concludes - if you can find your way through this mound of feel-good styrofoam peanuts - "we do not have to create a world where differences are resolved by war. It is not our destiny to live in a world of destruction, tedium, and tragedy. We will create a world of peace".
In common with the genre, there's no social or political context, although the author offers a single specific instruction that is very jarring in the surrounding blandness: we must co-operate with The World Bank. Huh?
It's politics with the politics taken out: in short, it's "revolution lite".
Now here's the important bit. Look what the phrase "Second Superpower" produces on Google now. Try it!. Moore's essay is right there at the top. And not just first, but it already occupies all but three of the first thirty spots.
The bashful Moore writes: "It was nice of Dave Winer [weblog tools vendor] and Doc Searls [advertising consultant] to pick up on it, even if it's not really ready for much exposure." No matter, Moore is an overnight A-list blogging superstar, at his very first attempt.
Although it took millions of people around the world to compel the Gray Lady to describe the anti-war movement as a "Second Superpower", it took only a handful of webloggers to spin the alternative meaning to manufacture sufficient PageRank™ to flood Google with Moore's alternative, neutered definition.
Indeed, if you were wearing your Google-goggles, and the search engine was your primary view of the world, you would have a hard time believing that the phrase "Second Superpower" ever meant anything else.
To all intents and purposes, the original meaning has been erased. Obliterated, in just seven weeks.
You're especially susceptible to this if you subscribe to the view that Google's PageRank™ is "inherently democratic," which is how Google, Inc. describes it.
And this Googlewash took just 42 days.
You are in a twisty maze of weblogs, all alike
All a strange coincidence, no doubt, but the picture darkens when you look at a parallel conversation taking place elsewhere, whose hyperlinks contributed to the redefinition, and help explain how this semantic ethnic-cleansing took place so quickly.
Moore's subversion of the meaning of "Secondary Superpower" - his high PageRank™ from derives from followers of 'A-list' tech bloggers linking from an eerily similar "Emergent Democracy" discussion list, which in turn takes its name from a similarly essay posted by Joi Ito [Lunch - Lunch - Lunch - Segway - Lunch - Lunch - Fawning Parody] who is a colossus of authority in these circles, hence lots of PageRank™-boosting hyperlinks, and who like Moore, appeared from nowhere as a figure of authority.
Lunchin' Ito's essay is uncannily similar to Moore's - both are vague and elusive and fail to describe how the "emergent" democracy might form a legal framework, a currency, a definition of property or - most important this, when you're being hit with a stick by a bastard - an armed resistance (which in polite circles today, we call a "military").
As with Moore, academic and historical research in this field is vapored away, as if by magic.
However, we have an idea of how this utopian "democracy" might look, if we follow the participants of Lunchbox's mailing list. These participants are quite clear about how they define democracy:
"Democracy can function perfectly well without people painting their faces and blocking streets," writes one contributor.
42 Days
Orwell would be amused, indeed.
"Words define action," sums up Alan Black. Black helps organise San Francisco's annual LitQuake event and is holding a festival to commemorate Orwell's centenary in the city in June.
"Newspeak was one of the planks of the totalitarian regime. Big Brother was constantly redefining history and redefining words - he knew people respond to key words," he says. "It's interesting that they've identified that the only way to oppose the one superpower comes from the people, and sought to redefine that."
But the real marvel is that they did it with so few people. Pew Research Center's latest research says the number of Internet users who look at blogs is " so small that it is not possible to draw statistically meaningful conclusions about who uses blogs." They peg it at about four per cent. But we're looking at a small sub-genre of blogdom, the tech blogs, and specifically, we're looking at an 'A list' of that sub- sub-genre.
Which means that Google is being "gamed" - and the language perverted - by what in statistical terms in an extremely small fraction indeed.
That was enough to make a "meaning" disappear.
Googlewash
Writing about Google's collusion with the People's Republic of China to block access to mainland users, censorship researcher Seth Finkelsetein observed:
"Contrary to earlier utopian theories of the Internet, it takes very little effort for governments to cause certain information simply to vanish for a huge number of people."
Rub out the word 'government', and replace it with 'weblog A-list'. In this case a commons resource, this very potent and quite viral phrase, was created by millions of people. But it was poisoned by a very select number of 'bloggers'. Possibly a dozen, but no more than 30, we'd guess.
Who is poisoning the well?
The phrase "greenwash" will be familiar to many of you: it's where a spot of judicious marketing paint is applied to something decidedly rotten, transforming it into something that looks as if it's wholesome and radical new, but which is essentially unchanged.
This is the first Googlewash we've encountered. 42 days, too.
What else is coming down the pipe? ®
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Greg Poelzer is a professor at the University of Saskatchewan and current Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholar.
Former Saudi Arabian oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani famously warned his fellow oil producers in June, 2000: "Thirty years from now, there will be a huge amount of oil – and no buyers. … The Stone Age came to an end, not because we had a lack of stones, and the oil age will come to an end not because we have a lack of oil."
Anyone attending U.S. President Barack Obama's GLACIER Conference (Global Leadership in the Arctic: Co-operation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience) left with the profound sense that Sheik Yamani may well be right. The driver is the emerging political consensus among the leading economies of the world that we must address global climate change and dramatically reduce greenhouse-gas emissions – not later, but now.
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Make no mistake: The consolidation of a political consensus is real and rapidly gaining strength. For more than two decades, global warming has been debated publicly, but with modest practical effect. Pope Francis's encyclical released in June sought to break the logjam of inaction in advance of the upcoming United Nations COP21 meeting to secure an international agreement on climate change.
This past week's GLACIER Conference had the same intent: to consolidate the expectation of more action, less talk. On barely a month's notice, the United States organized a meeting of high-level officials from about 20 countries, including China and India. Even the Netherlands and South Korea sent their foreign ministers. This underscored the importance of the issue. Notably, six of the eight Arctic Council states sent their foreign ministers; two, Canada and Russia, did not.
Canada needs to pay urgent attention to the rapidly shifting global politics. Internationally, we are perceived to be laggards on climate change. Fossil fuels will be in global demand for the foreseeable future – the transition to a zero-carbon future will not occur overnight. Exporting petroleum and reducing carbon emissions are not incompatible. Norway, Europe's largest oil producer, has done so. In fact, Norway is a net exporter of renewable energy, mainly from hydro, but increasing from wind production, as well.
Canada's inaction to work with our trade partners on carbon-emissions reductions is hurting the Canadian economy. No major pipelines – much safer and less carbon-dioxide-intensive than rail – have been approved. Oil shipped by rail has displaced agricultural products, further hurting the Canadian economy. And much of the oil has to be sold at landlocked prices. Even Canada's petroleum sector is calling for carbon pricing. As Sheik Yamani forecast, "I am a Saudi and I know we will have serious economic difficulties ahead of us." Without a radical change in energy and climate change policy, so, too, will Canada.
That the United States chose to host the meetings in Anchorage, Alaska, was no accident: Climate change affects the Arctic hardest. The real message, however, was global. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry identified the need "to factor carbon dioxide and its cost into the actual accounting of business and of our economies." And he emphasized (are you listening, Canada?), "Energy policy is the solution to climate change."
The closing address by Mr. Obama was bold, blunt and unequivocal about his administration's resolve to reduce dramatically the United States' use of fossil fuels. He implored other countries, calling on a spirit of co-operation, to do the same. Mr. Obama laid down a challenge to the entire world. Will Canada respond? Can we afford not to?
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Hello and welcome to the 17th installment of the SWD .
Military events are listed below by the governorates:
Aleppo:
It looks like TFSA ‘s operation to capture Manbij has started with them taking villages of Tal Turin and Al Qarah from SDF west of Manbij. With these advances TFSA is now at the outskirts of Arima, very important village which SDF can’t afford to lose. There were little reports of SDF engaging TFSA during latter’s attacks, it could mean that they are retreating to better defended positions.
Unconfirmed reports also claim that TFSA captured villages of Abu Hayj and Madiq Bughaz. Clashes on western Manbij front took place in villages of Kirhoyuk, Bughaz, Abu Hayj and Hutah, new statement by Hawar Kilis operations room claimed that in clashes in Hutah 7 SDF members were killed, full statement can be found here. Turkish army Maroon Berets are allegedly taking part in the advances against SDF .
More rumors are being spread among pro- TFSA sources suggesting that double offensive against SDF might be happening. Capability of TFSA to launch even one successful operation against SDF was question by many, if they manage to pull off two of them successfully it will be nothing short of impressive, however, it is important to note that TFSA is backed by both Turkish army and air force.
However, attacks by TFSA still haven’t managed to make SDF stop their offensive to Al-Khafsa, today SDF captured Maqbarah, Abu Mandil, Maqta Hajar as Saghir and Abu al Khaf from IS. It is still unclear if SDF ‘s operation is in coordination with SAA or they are just trying to block the latter’s movement towards Al-Khafsa. Airstrikes by Turkey were reported on Menagh airbase and Tal Rifaat and shelling by artillery around western Manbij area.
Turkey threatened today that they will close Incirlik airbase, currently used by US-led coalition if they do not supporting SDF . Turkey has said the same thing multiple times in the past, but this time it may mean it as operations against SDF are expected to intensify in the near future.
SAA Tiger Forces didn’t make any significant advances against IS today and just took control of Janeh Saleh.
UN Human Rights Council released 37 page special report accusing both rebel and government forces of committing war crimes in East Aleppo and criticizing them both on how poorly they handled the situation, full report in multiple languages can be found here.
Map showing situation in eastern Aleppo after gains made by TFSA against SDF . Source: @archicivilians
Homs:
Big advances were made today by SAA in an effort to capture Palmyra again, areas captured today include; Palmyra triangle, Jabal Hayyal, Jabal Tar, Palmyra castle and Qatari villa. Unconfirmed reports / rumors claim that SAA took control of Amiriyah, Palmyra airport and has entered 1st neighborhoods of Palmyra.
With high ground captured around the city, it is only a matter of time before Palmyra is captured, IS used the same tactic when they captured Palmyra in December of 2016. Let’s just hope that this time Palmyra is liberated for good and never falls to IS again.
Map showing situation in Palmyra after the latest advances. Source: @miladvisor
Iraq:
Iraqi army continues making progress in the western outskirts of Mosul taking control of Badoush prison and clash with IS in Badoush village. It is expected that Iraqi army continues pushing to the west in order to tighten the siege of Mosul.
On the southern outskirts of Mosul, Iraq Joint Operations officially announced Al-Mamun apartment complex completely liberated. In the city of Mosul itself, clashes are happening near Al-Dawasa in the vicinity of government complex and in Wadi Hajar district which is reportedly 75% liberated.
After PMU captured a handful of villages near Tal Afar, reports are coming that preparations are done for the attack on the town itself.
US officials stated that the new version of Donald Trump’s infamously known “Muslim Ban” will not include Iraq, previous version of the ban was nullified by a federal judge.
Latest map of Mosul. Source: @NinevehMC
Greater map of Mosul area showing location of Badoush prison. Source: @loomisroberto
On the 28th of February 2017 CJTF-OIR has conducted 15 strikes in Syria. CJTF-OIR ‘s main focus in Syria at the moment is still Raqqa where they did 9 strikes supporting SDF ‘s operation against IS destroying two wellheads, two fighting positions, an oil storage tank, an IS-held building, an IS headquarters, a tunnel, a vehicle and a vehicle bomb.
Other areas where strikes occurred include Deir al-Zour and Palmyra destroying nine oil refinement stills, two barges, a watercraft, a vehicle & an oil tanker truck and five tanks, respectively. Full report on CJTF-OIR strikes conducted in both Syria & Iraq can be found here.
Intellectual credited property used may vary from an edition to edition.
Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section below, constructive criticism is welcomed.
For those of you interested, you can follow me on my personal, biased twitter @joskobaric where I occasionally tweet some things.
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The Avengers should be as necessary to you this weekend as breathing, if:
– You saw and enjoyed the Marvel Universe films of the past five years — like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America.
– You read and enjoy superhero comic books.
– You have a fucking pulse.
If two of these things apply, you’ve probably already seen it. If all three do, you saw it last night at midnight like the rest of us.
I don’t know if the rest of you were as incredulous as I was five or six years ago when the first rumors and words about an Avengers film were being bandied around the net.
Multiple, individual Marvel U films? Sure.
A culminating film that totally banked on the success and buildup of its independent predecessors, that tied together films with totally different production lines, budgets, and creative teams into one coherent whole, that retained the spirit and essence of the five films, and still had the voice and creative signature of its own writers and directors? How could this fucking exist, in Hollywood?
It did. It does. It’s a miracle on the screen that reminds us that the high-spirited fun of comic book movies can live and thrive alongside the 2000’s popular and dark, Nolan-esque adaptations. And more: that we need that contrast, and that it’s very welcome in a summer that might otherwise be dominated by the Dark Knight.
Every review I’ve read of this film either breaks down the plot for its readers, or specifies cameos and character arcs, or actually spoils some of the witty lines that had my midnight audience rolling and applauding in surprise.
Fuck that.
I’ve been reminded by Joss Whedon and Zak Penn just how incredible the surprise can be, of a well-placed quip, of a classically executed callback you didn’t see coming, of the importance of balance in an ensemble cast. Why would I spoil those surprises, and that pacing? You’re going to go see this film. Let me help you understand how you’ll enjoy it, instead of telling you what you’ll enjoy and stealing those moments from the screen.
This is the collective sequel to Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. The Avengers knows this, and expects you to know it. And thank goodness for that.
Deftly placed lines or sparse flashbacks will reorient you to where a team member’s story was left at the end of his or her film, but it’ll be up to you to remember their real motivations, inner conflicts and feature-length histories to have true appreciation of everything this new film has to offer.
Like The Two Towers and Return of the King did a decade ago, this film charges ahead with new content and new problems, building on its prequel material, and expects you to keep up, offering exactly the amount of help you’d need to keep up with its pace. It’s artful and exciting, the economy of dialogue and editing that’s at work in this marvel.
A fairly dark introduction, thematically and visually, is consciously contrasted against the assembly and first test of the Avengers team on screen; bright, colorful, like comic panels exploding to life on-screen. You’ll curse the plague of 3D as many early dark, grey and brown scenes are made even darker by those infernal fucking glasses, but the voice of the film will sing clear through it, rest assured.
The traps this film was assuredly going to fall into, that it avoided or outright destroyed:
– Every character matters. Balance. You’ll find yourself unable to disagree; even Avengers addendums Black Widow and Hawkeye who guest-starred in Iron Man 2 and Thor make perfect, clockwork sense here. Simple, straightforward stories that bind themselves necessarily into the larger Avengers plot, and field performances on the team that earn their memberships over tenfold. When you realize at the film’s end that, relatively speaking, the team member that may have been least essential on the field was Captain America, you know you have a team of truly mighty heroes.
– Dialogue black holes of exposition, technobabble and strategizing. Every time you think it happens, the problem is subverted, by humor or interrupting surprise. Joss knows how to avoid losing an audience’s interest by self-reflexively calling attention to the very apathy that might set in when words encumber a scene. He makes fun of it. He plays with it. He breaks it, and builds it up again with a simpler reconstruction of meaning, so that everyone is always caught up, minute to minute.
– Bourne-Hunger-esque Shaky Cam, Close-Up-Riven, Nausea Overload. No. Even with a layer of unnecessary 3D casting a hazy blanket of claustrophobic magnification over the film image, the sense of spacing and composition in every shot, and every action sequence is obvious. With rare, specific exceptions, you can always tell what’s happening on the screen by virtue of liberal use of longer takes and longer shots. Bless these decisions; they make almost every single frame of action rendered on screen pop the way a panel in a comic book would. Phenomenal.
Lest this sound like a corporate-bought drool spread of the film, let me put my thinker’s cap on and tell you where this film could’ve been stronger. These paper cuts on the film’s meaty flesh knock it down from a 100 to a 99, at worst.
– The Villainous Presence. If you know what the Avengers are about, or have even just seen a trailer, you know that in many ways, their first obstacle is always themselves. That is, the logistical and emotional problems of cramming this many egos and powers into one team and asking them to push in the same direction. If you’re as content with this problem being The Avengers’ main villain as the film itself seems to be, then we’re golden. If you’re looking for external antagonism, in Loki, and the various other forces that mass against the team, this is where you’re going from 100 to 99.
It’s all great, and the enemies all have their moments, whether in Tom Hiddleston’s second, venomous, scene-stealing turn as Loki (surprising everyone like me who never thought he’d make an adequate first super-villain for such an immense film), or the sheer destructive power of the ‘army’ that you’ve seen decimating Manhattan in every trailer for the film. The only problems: this army is faceless and derivative, leaving all villainous presence to Loki. They end up registering as an intense physical challenge for the team to deal with, an extraordinary trial by fire to test their teamwork, but nothing more.
Loki then only stumbles as a character when you realize that neither Thor nor this film properly address what the limits of his powers and abilities are. You’ll often wonder why some battles go the way they do, or why a character winds up where they wind up; Loki’s positioned as a demigod like Thor (or is it full god?) but what he’s strictly capable of is more…fluid. And when an enemy’s abilities, cinematic or literal, aren’t strictly established, it becomes harder to properly appreciate the results of a conflict; was he truly just knocked out in that scene, or is he immortal and just going to get right back up?
The wonderful thing is, you can turn off the part of your brain that even thinks about all this, just fully embrace the man’s scathing wit and poetic drama and just go with it. It’s a comic book movie!
– Soundtrack. Yeah. It’s a comic book movie. A Hollywood blockbuster. But damn if Nolan’s Batman trilogy hasn’t proved that the biggest of the big can still have a distinct aural signature, a tempo and a fever that can be felt like a pulse. The Avengers gets a serviceable orchestral backdrop that guides your emotional journey appropriately; no surprises, save just one that immediately pops into memory and offered hope for more. For viewers that have seen the film, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The scene in question was earlier, and both violins and an eye were involved. That was some kind of reverberating majesty that I didn’t think would happen in a Marvel Studios film. Good show. Kudos also for the moments where silence let the dialogue sing out and stand on its own.
Wait. We’re still in the negatives column of the review, right? Shit.
And finally, a comment that I don’t know how to slot in.
– Fan-service. Nerdgasmic, overzealous, Whedon-doused Fan-service. This is an enormous, marvelous massive YES in the positives column for me, and I trust, for all the members of Spaceship Omega-Level.
Come to think of it, I don’t know who it would be a negative for. The newcomers in the audience may not understand why a particular battle-technique, or line of dialogue, or sudden character appearance is turning the audience around them into slavering, pants-shitting, exacerbated applause machines. So it shouldn’t bother them, unless they don’t like being in on the joke.
And why should it bother us? Maybe, just, that we’re so aware of the film trying to endear itself to us with every bit of fan-service, even when it doesn’t have to, and can just rest on the immense strength of its strong, cinematic laurels.
No, I’ve decided. Every bit of it deserved to be in there. Those moments, lifted as they may be from the comic canon or even the popular culture that the funny books have seeped into, and easy as they may have been to insert into this spectacle, they were necessary. They were almost baked into the promise of The Avengers made years ago by Hollywood. If we didn’t get them, we’d be here bitching that we didn’t get them.
There’s a hardcore minority out there already pissed that the film doesn’t house an essential bit of dialogue that might be as essential to the Avengers as the word “bub” was to Wolverine. All I can say is, we’re in it for the wrong reasons if we have to get our pants in a bunch over that, in the face of so much else, so much else, that this film does right.
Go see it. Don’t leave for a piss-break; every single scene manages to be indispensable. Don’t miss a line; everything that deserved a third-act callback, got a third-act callback. Don’t fucking leave early; the mid-credits and post-credits sequences are both incredible in their own ways.
Do ensure that you’ve seen the preceding Marvel universe films before coming into this one. Do spend the hour after the film recalling and reciting the innumerable, truly innumerable classic lines of hilarious dialogue. Do attempt to prepare for the artistry in edging that is the Hulk’s withheld, restrained and then ultimately orgasmic appearance.
And do appreciate that this is the most sheer fun a comic-book film has ever been, or likely will be for years to come, and be grateful that Hollywood allowed a master of television and just one major feature film — Serenity — to marry his sense of wit, pace, character and storytelling to the one of the biggest film franchise events in history.
It is un-missable and unforgettable, and should be respected for the absolute triumph of marketing might and risky power playing that brought it into existence, nevermind the fact that it’s a damned well-made film.
Assemble!
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Discovered 1930s Notes and Bonds
July 2005
The Federal Reserve is aware of several scams involving high denomination Federal Reserve notes and bonds, often in denominations of 100 million or 500 million dollars, dating back to the 1930s, usually 1934. In each of these schemes, fraudulent instruments are claimed to be part of a long-lost supply of recently discovered Federal Reserve notes or bonds.
Fraudsters often falsely claim that the purported Federal Reserve notes or bonds that they hold are somehow very special and are not known to the public because they are so secret. Fraudsters have attempted to sell these worthless instruments, or to redeem or exchange them at banks and other financial institutions, or to secure loans or obtain lines of credit using the fictitious instruments as collateral.
The Federal Reserve has never issued any bonds or notes with coupons attached. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is not aware of any currency or debt stockpile of large denomination Federal Reserve notes from the 1930s and warns that any institution that pays out on such a claim does so at its own risk.
It should also be noted that the largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate featuring the portrait of President Wilson. These notes were printed from December 18, 1934, through January 9, 1935, and were issued by the Treasurer of the United States to Federal Reserve Banks only against an equal amount of gold bullion held by the Treasury Department. The notes were used only for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks and were not circulated among the general public.
Fraudulent Federal Reserve Note Schemes
SR 03-14, July 16, 2003
Below we have provided images of various fraudulent Federal Reserve Notes or Bonds
Sample Fraud 1 ›› (jpg - 177 kb)
Sample Fraud 2 ›› (jpg - 225 kb)
Sample Fraud 3 ›› (jpg - 177 kb)
Sample Fraud 4 ›› (jpg - 243 kb)
Sample Fraud 5 ›› (jpg - 251 kb)
Sample Fraud 6 ›› (jpg - 259 kb)
Sample Fraud 7 ›› (jpg - 111 kb)
Sample Fraud 8 ›› (jpg - 155 kb)
Sample Fraud 9 ›› (jpg - 149 kb)
Sample Fraud 10 ›› (jpg - 152 kb)
For more information about the legitimate Federal Reserve note denominations, visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's website, www.moneyfactory.com.
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In December 2014, 29-year-old pro runner Stephan Shay started living out of Lolita, a 1966 Cortez camper he’d restored. “I definitely did research. I had a plan,” he says. “I had a romantic idea of what it could be like and, for the most part, it’s come to fruition.”
Raised roaming the woods and fields of northern Michigan, Shay graduated from Brigham Young University in 2009 with a degree in kinesiology and a decent distance-running resume. In 2010, he ripped an impressive 1:02 half-marathon, and a few months later, a 28:41 in the 10,000 meters—good enough to land him a Saucony sponsorship. A 2:16 marathon in 2012 was followed by injury, surgery, and a frustrating two-year recovery. Out of necessity, he became a 9-to-5 guy, which made high-level racing difficult.
Then, starting in November 2014, he arrived at a crossroads: his girlfriend decamped to medical school on the East Coast; he was laid-off from his job; and his brother, with whom he’d been living with in Huntington Beach, moved to Pasadena. That's when he found Lolita. He bought the 18.5-foot vintage rig for $5,100, promptly tore out the damp shag carpeting, installed hardwood floors and an Edison lamp, then painted and sanded the body. He was living in the camper within a few weeks.
“I’ve never been in debt, always lived pretty cheaply, and had money saved up from working and from Saucony, so this venture was virtually risk free,” says Shay. “[A lot of people] thought, ‘He’s just doing this to pursue his running goals. He’s not being responsible.’ But it’s the exact opposite. I was able to buy the van and put about $10,000 into restoration without using up my savings, and I’ve banked the $1,000 per month I would have paid for a studio. I don’t want to give the impression that kids should give up their job and go live in a van for the romance of it. You need to be financially stable. If it doesn’t work out, you don’t want to be flat on your ass.”
Since January 2015, Shay has cobbled together a pretty satisfying life, with a solid work-life-training balance (two part-time jobs plus running 85 to 90 miles a week). And he constantly fields questions about Lolita. “This guy came up to me and said, ‘Man, I saw that bus from down the street and I had to tell you, I’m so jealous. You have this freedom.’ This guy was driving a Maserati and telling me I was lucky!,” he says.
While he doesn’t sugarcoat the details, Shay can’t hide his delight about waking up in El Moro Canyon with a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean, or talking about the people he’s met during weekend excursions. The overwhelming interest he’s received in van life led him to start Epoch Restorations and Adventures, a company that restores vintage RVs.
He's also pressing every bit out of his body, putting in tough 20-milers before the February Olympic Trials Marathon, in Los Angeles.
“I’m able to save money, and the lifestyle may turn into a career for me. But I really like the adventure part of it,” he says. “That’s what life’s about: seeing what comes your way and not being afraid of failure.”
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Rita Mingo
For the Calgary Herald
With a welcoming pat on the shoulder from running back Jon Cornish during Wednesday’s practice, Garry Williams is now pumped for his first taste of CFL action.
“It’s unfortunate how I got the job,” said Williams, “but I’m ready for it. I’ve been preparing myself since Day 1 that, if anything happened, you’re going to be up, so my mind’s right.”
After a series of injuries in Monday night’s tilt with the Toronto Argonauts, the Calgary Stampeders’ offensive line will undergo yet another makeover in time for their game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday at McMahon Stadium.
Veteran left tackle Edwin Harrison and right tackle Dan Federkeil suffered broken legs three minutes apart in the second quarter of the game, as did receiver Simon Charbonneau-Campeau in the third. Harrison and Charbonneau-Campeau both underwent surgery on Wednesday and are likely out for the season.
Federkeil, meanwhile, won’t have to go under the knife and may be back before season’s end.
“We’re confident with the five guys we’re putting out there and the sixth guy we’ll determine that shortly,” said offensive line coach Pat DelMonaco, who, along with Williams could turn to international Andre Ramsey and nationals Paul Swiston, Derek Wiggan and possibly 2015 top draft pick Karl Lavoie, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury.
“We have Garry and Rams there to fill the void and we’ll see how tomorrow’s practice goes,” head coach/GM John Hufnagel said of the left tackle position. “We only really have one day of full-speed practice and we’ll make a decision.”
At Wednesday’s abbreviated workout, Williams manned left tackle, next to Shane Bergman at left guard, centre Pierre Lavertu, second-year man Brad Erdos at right guard and Spencer Wilson at right tackle.
If necessary, defensive lineman Quinn Smith is the next guy in line for O-line duty (where he filled in admirably on Monday night), followed by Junior Turner.
“The biggest thing is the guys competed,” DelMonaco said. “Guys had to move around, shuffle around. Spencer played three spots, Erdos played two spots. Guys had to talk, make sure they weren’t just worried about themselves. We handled it well as a group. I think we did what we needed to do.
“We work with Quinn before pre-practice every day for 10 minutes. Quinn was ready. The guys that are still on the field are doing a great job communicating with him. Quinn did a great job; he did exactly what we expected him to do.”
Williams comes to the Stamps with an abundance of time in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, appearing in 41 games and making 21 starts from 2009-14. That, in itself, is a huge benefit.
“It’s an advantage,” the 28-year-old agreed. “It’s a different league, different rules, but I have that experience in my background that helps me out, helps me understand the game.
“I’ve been learning stuff, I understand the system. Now I just have to go out and play. Coach is getting our mind ready, we just have to get ourselves prepared go out there and play the game.”
The plethora of injuries is something Williams has witnessed before.
“I’ve seen a team lose three centres, but not both tackles,” the 6-foot-3, 315-pounder said. “It hurt, it really hurt, but we had guys come out and step up and we got the victory.”
Three centres??
“I don’t know,” he chuckled, “but I’ve seen it.”
There isn’t a lot of time to prepare for the next opponent, so everything just goes into fast-forward.
“Garry’s been doing really well,” said DelMonaco. “I know he’s had a little bit of a calf thing and that’s what has kept him out of some things for us. But he’s been progressing really well.”
As for the receiver position held by Charbonneau-Campeau, perhaps rookie national Lemar Durant will get into his first CFL regular-season game. Or, it could be international Kamar Jorden, who appeared in one game in 2014.
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Manchester United are hoping Paul Pogba’s acquisition for a world-record £89.3m represents the beginnings of a power shift whereby they no longer have to accept that the world’s top footballers consider the Spanish giants a more attractive proposition.
As Pogba clocked into Old Trafford for his first day as the most expensive footballer in the world, the club’s hierarchy are heralding his arrival as hard evidence that the Glazer family, for all the criticism and hostility they still attract, have re-established United at the front of the transfer market, capable of showing the same kind of financial muscle as Real Madrid and Barcelona and willing to take them on in a way that did not always happen in previous years.
José Mourinho: United’s jealous rivals could never have done Paul Pogba deal Read more
The decision-makers at Old Trafford hope it will change the dynamic between Europe’s superpowers given that Pogba’s signing has been described as a watershed moment, being the first time in the modern era that one of the world’s more coveted players has preferred Manchester when an alternative offer was proposed by Madrid, a club who famously tend to get their own way when there is a player they want at the Bernabéu.
Pogba was offered the choice of either club and United know from past experience that La Liga’s top clubs are generally considered more attractive than those in the Premier League given the number of players such as Ronaldinho, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale who have turned them down in the past to move to Spain, as well as Cristiano Ronaldo’s determination to wear Madrid’s colours when he was part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.
Madrid have spent several months trying to persuade Pogba to do the same and the fact that the Champions League winners had Zinedine Zidane, one of the legends of French football, attempting to win over a current France international has merely heightened United’s satisfaction after a drawn-out process that involves three years of background work from Ed Woodward, the club’s executive vice-chairman.
Woodward set out early in his reign, having taken the role in 2013, to develop a strong working relationship with Mino Raiola, Pogba’s notoriously difficult adviser, and there is little doubt he has used that to good effect during an extensive period of negotiations that has brought two of the agent’s other clients, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, to Old Trafford this summer.
Raiola, to use Ibrahimovic’s description, is “completely fearless and prepared to pull any number of tricks”, and his involvement goes a long way towards explaining why it has taken so long for United to negotiate a way through the various complexities of Pogba’s five-year contract, including a separate image-rights agreement plus all the various tax issues and the agent’s multi-million-pound fees, widely understood to have set a record within his own profession. Raiola and his lawyer, Rafaela Pimenta, have been formidable opponents like no others United have encountered in recent years.
In comparison the negotiations between United and Juventus have been relatively straightforward. The structure of the deal was argued out in the course of two meetings between Woodward and Andrea Agnelli, the Juventus president, both of which were strategically held away from Turin and Manchester to avoid more publicity. The two clubs get on well and United were led to believe from an early stage that Juventus were willing to do business as long as the price was right.
David de Gea’s decision to remain in Manchester, heavily influenced by Louis van Gaal’s departure and the arrival of José Mourinho, has further strengthened United’s position bearing in mind Madrid’s long-standing desire to recruit the Spain international goalkeeper. The defender Eric Bailly’s arrival from Villarreal means United have signed all four of their transfer targets before the season starts, in stark contrast to some of their more disappointing summers since Ferguson’s retirement, and the fact that has happened when the club cannot offer prospective new signings Champions League football is being seen within Old Trafford as a significant victory. That does not lessen any embarrassment about the fact they let Pogba leave as a free agent four years ago – his grievances at the time relating to his lack of first-team opportunities and the relatively low pay on offer – and some awkward questions clearly remain now new information has emerged about United’s scouts encouraging the club to re-sign him within 12 months of his move to Juventus.
However, the decision not to offer Pogba better pay in 2012 was taken by a different regime, with David Gill as chief executive and Ferguson the manager, and the player clearly does not hold a grudge. On the contrary it is said not to have featured at all in any of the discussions. United have seen it as an advantage that Pogba still has friends at the club as well as in the city.
Stormzy and laundry ladies: the new face of transfer announcements Read more
What United have been able to offer is a stable environment, a serial trophy-getter as their manager and a newly assembled side that will begin the season as genuine candidates for the Premier League title.
While Madrid have a formidable pull of their own, as the 11-time European Cup winners, the feeling at Old Trafford is that several factors made this a rare defeat for the Spaniards. First there is the fact that Pogba would have been joining a club who are facing the probability of a one-year transfer ban. The presidential elections tend to create more instability at the Bernabéu and Pogba, as Mourinho has alluded to, would inevitably have been in Ronaldo’s shadow. It also helped United’s cause that the player is fond of Manchester, knowing better than to be put off by the traditional lines about damp weather and the lack of a beach.
For United that means a happy ending to a chase that might never have been necessary had Pogba’s first spell with the club not unravelled so acrimoniously.
Ferguson once claimed the Frenchman had left Old Trafford “not showing us any respect at all” and the lingering bad feeling certainly counted against Pogba when David Moyes was in charge.
Pogba was available for £65m at the time but Ferguson’s successor was led to believe the player might always have a restless streak. What did it say for his personality, Moyes wondered, that he wanted to leave Old Trafford at the age of 19 and had spent much of his time at Juventus apparently contemplating another transfer?
Van Gaal was another admirer but decided the money would be better spent elsewhere whereas the difference is that Mourinho, having tried unsuccessfully to sign Pogba for Chelsea last summer, was absolutely adamant that this was the player he wanted more than anybody else.
“He looks like a kid who is back to his old school finding people he cares about and who love him a lot,” Mourinho said of his new player. “After a couple of days he will feel like he never left the club.”
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Malaga vs Barcelona – Tactical Analysis
January 14, 2013
Malaga and Barcelona clashed at La Rosaleda last night in the first of three games in ten days for the clubs with the sides meeting in the forthcoming Copa del Rey tie.
The first blow in this triple header went to Barcelona. Given the display that Barcelona produced, few would now bet against a clean sweep of three successive victories against the Andalusian’s.
Line Ups
There were two changes to the Malaga side following their 1-0 loss away to Deportivo. Jesus Gamez was replaced by Sergio Sanchez at right back and the defensive midfielder Jeremy Toulalan came in for the more offensive Portillo in midfield.
Pellegrini chose to use a double pivot in midfield to try and compete against Barcelona.
There was just one change to the Barcelona side that had dispatched Espanyol so convincingly last week with Mascherano replacing Puyol in central defence.
Iniesta continued in the attacking left hand position with Cesc accommodated in midfield. The Malaga Approach
“We need to start the game convinced Barça can lose. We will have to play a great game. If we still lose, fine.”
Pellegrini The Chilean was quite clear pre-match what he expected from his side and they tackled the challenge with the style we have come to expect from a Pellegrini side with a twist. With Roque Santa Cruz as the central striker, Malaga had a physical reference point in attack who could be used to hold the ball up and win aerial battles.
It worked to a degree. Santa Cruz won a number of headers and was able to retain a presence in attack but his skills were diminished when he moved wide lacking the pace and mobility of a Saviola.
Furthermore, he never managed a header in the opposition box. He was operating deep and looking to find Joaquin and Isco from flick-ons. Isco had one of his quietest games of the season whilst Joaquin offered a number of surging runs but lacked quality in the final third.
The remainder of the Malaga team had a familiar look to it. Although employing a double pivot of Toulalan and Camacho, the home side still maintained their customary short passing game.
During the defensive phase, the side dropped back to a 4-4-1-1 with Santa Cruz left upfield and supported by Isco. Joaquin was always prepared to join them. The remaining seven players performed the defensive function. By leaving players in attack, Malaga prevented Barcelona from becoming encamped in their half of the pitch, always weary to the threat posed by los bocquernos.
The effort required to sustain a challenge against Barcelona inevitably took it’s toll and tiredness set in enabling Barcelona to dominate much of the second half.
The Midfield Battle
The game opened with both sides seeking to impose their style on the opposition. Both teams were pressing the opposition goalkeeper when in position forcing long kick outs. With the quality on both sides, winning the midfield battle would be key. Early on Malaga competed well and forced Barcelona back. It is unusual to see a Barcelona side defend with the entire team back but that occurred during the first half.
The diagram below shows the average positions for the players with Malaga in blue and Barcelona in red:-
The Malaga players are clustered vertically whilst the Barcelona midfield and full backs are positioned horizontally. With Messi drifting laterally in front it creates ideal passing triangles.
The position of Dani Alves is extremely high, almost level with Pedro. Iniesta and Cesc are side by side, ready to swap places as the situation develops.
Sanchez was often isolated at right back with Joaquin further forward and cutting inward. Such a move simply aided Barcelona’s left.
Left, Left, Left
Against Espanyol, the interplay and positional changing of Iniesta and Cesc was a key component of the victory. These players linked yet again against Malaga to provide Barcelona with an alternative to the reliance upon the right side of the team where Pedro, Messi, primarily, and Alves operate.
The above heat map shows the tendency for attacks entering the penalty area to be on the left hand side. It’s a theme that has been developing recently and only looks like increasing further through the combination play of Iniesta, Cesc and Alba.
The lack of penetration on the right is heightened by the tendency for Pedro to drive diagonally inward and act as a No9 when required. It leaves Dani Alves alone to patrol the right flank.
Iniesta has previously spoken of not fully enjoying the wide left role but there is now a major difference with the interchanging:-
“Playing at different position? Main thing is you feel good. We try to switch positions, the team does well, that’s what matters.”
Iniesta
The Goals
With the game finely balanced although Barcelona were enjoying more possession, the opening goal would be pivotal. That it arose via a defensive blunder considering the quality on offer was a surprise. Camacho hit a back pass to Cabellero failing to see that Messi was some way behind the Malaga defence. The forward was able to intercept the pass and round Cabellero before slotting home.
Fabregas scored shortly after half time. As with all Pellegrini teams, Malaga hold a well organised defensive line and attempt to stay relatively high rather than falling back. This time however, Weligton dropped deeper than his team mates and Fabregas was able to run in behind Sanchez for the second goal. The real moment of genius here though was the chipped pass from Messi, weighted perfectly for Fabregas to run onto.
The goal was further evidence of the positional changes which Barcelona can now utilise. Iniesta was supposedly on the wide attacking left position, but at the goal he was in a central position and Cesc Fabregas was wide on the left. The constant movement and interplay making it increasingly difficult for opponents to successfully defend. This level of understanding comes to fruition after a considerable time period. It’s not easily learned.
The second goal killed the game to a certain extent. Barcelona dominated possession and Malaga only offered minimal threat sporadically, both teams sensing that the contest was over. It led to a situation of less pressure for Barcelona and some fantastic midfield passing movements helped by their horizontal positioning noted above.
Barcelona now also possess the ability to attack teams quickly during transitions. The qualities have always existed but are now being employed. In the 63 minute, Barcelona attacked swiftly following a Malaga corner with Pique leading the break. This has been an underused weapon within the arsenal for some time but there are signs it is being used more frequently now.
The third and final goal for Barcelona was an individual effort from Thiago. Collecting a throw in on the right, he easily evaded poorly attempted tackles from Iturra and Camacho before drilling the ball low past Cabellero.
Barcelona has now gone nine games home and away without defeat against Malaga with Messi scoring ten goals in his last ten games against los bocquernos.
Buonanotte scored a consolation goal, a lovely free kick curled over the defensive wall. It was a deserved goal considering their efforts.
Conclusions
Malaga suffer back to back league defeats and, more importantly, become caught up in a battle to secure the final Champions League berth. Whilst the loss was disappointing, Dimechelis was quick to recognise the superiority of Barcelona:- “Honestly, in the second half Barcelona made me want to applaud them.”
An unprecedented league campaign for Barcelona thus far. Eighteen wins and a solitary draw in their nineteen matches to date. Vilanova has already acknowledged that a repeat of such form in the second half of the season is unlikely but given their recent form, could Barcelona at least remain unbeaten for the duration of the season?
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(CNN) — It's like a scene out of "The Terminator."
Rows upon rows of giant robot arms weave in and out of a tightly packed assembly line of unpainted car skeletons. There are no humans in sight -- just huge machines working in jerks and spasms, but quickly, each massive arm doing something different.
Some spew sparks and fire, some brush, some drill. Others wipe or probe with their strangely shaped tips.
From a second floor glass bridge inside Toyota's Motomachi plant, our tour group stares down at production lines on either side of us, noses pressed to the glass.
"Ninety-six percent of the production process is completed by robots," says our guide, who may or may not be a robot herself, if her monotone delivery is a hint.
"Thirty workers take care of the robots. They have an average life of 10 to 12 years." The robots, that is. This giant factory full of giant robots produces cars for the world's best selling automaker -- Toyota sold 9.98 million vehicles in 2013
'We need to talk about your TPS reports'
Studied at universities and schools around the world, the Toyota Production System is considered by many to be the most well-run and efficient self-correcting production system in the world
Although Toyota has been remarkably transparent about its renowned system -- opening its plants to anyone who wants to observe or study them -- emulators (automotive and beyond) have struggled to match its remarkable success.
"Many companies have focused on tangible 'artifacts' of the Toyota approach," says Steven Spear, senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-author of the Harvard Business Review article "Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System."
"Very few have recognized and incorporated the high speed learning dynamic that is essential. The differential results between the tool-oriented imitators and the behavior-oriented emulators are profound."
The company itself officially explains its system this way: "The practical expression of Toyota's people and customer-oriented philosophy is known as the Toyota Production System (TPS). This is not a rigid company-imposed procedure but a set of principles that have been proven in day-to-day practice over many years."
Future on display
Located two train rides and a short cab trip from Nagoya, the tour begins at the Toyota Kaikan Museum, a bland-looking building at the automaker's headquarters.
While 50% of the company's 69,000 employees are located in this area, between the train station and Toyota's headquarters there's hardly anyone in sight.
The building's exterior looks pure, corporate generic. Inside its glass doors, however, things get futuristic. Hologram engine displays, alien-like vehicles and Formula 1-winning cars glisten on the floor.
Fascinating as they all are, one exhibit demands my attention -- a slender, blue and white robot that starts playing the trumpet.
I'd heard about this robot, with its piston-powered lungs and rubber lips; I wasn't prepared for how stirring its music would be.
The notes are tender, the vibrato, achingly human. If I were a musician, I think, I'd be worried about the future of my profession. Alongside the trumpet-playing robot is a scaled-down replica of the Toyota Production System, a safety simulator that works like an arcade game and a new Lexus bike.
Auto pilgrims
After the museum, it's time for the Motomachi plant tour, located 15 minutes away. We're taken there, of course, on a Toyota bus.
All phones and cameras are left behind in lockers. No pictures allowed. The tour is well off Japan's mainstream tourist path -- most visitors have to travel several hours out of their way to get here.
There are nine people in my English-language tour group -- a mix of nationalities. All are rapt with attention throughout the tour.
Henk van Brummelen, a traveler from Holland, arrived on the train from Tokyo the same morning. He tells me he once ran a chocolate factory in Holland that adopted the Toyota Production System; he's always wanted to check out the production line in person.
"It's so amazing to see how calm and easygoing the atmosphere is in spite of the incredible quality control," he says.
Three Australian engineers who are backpacking through Japan say the Toyota stop is a priority of their trip.
During the bus ride, our guide tells us a quirky fact about Toyota's name.
Although the founding family's name was Toyoda, the name of the company was switched to Toyota as the latter requires eight strokes to write in Japanese, and eight is considered a lucky number.
Mama
The welding factory is the site of the Terminator-like scene of robotic arms working as fire and sparks shoot over car frames.
This plant produces 70,000 cars per year, or approximately 400 per day. That breaks down to a vehicle being completed every 135 seconds. More than 30,000 parts go into each car, and the plant houses 760 robots.
After the welding plant, many more human workers fill the assembly line. We walk through a series of bridges above the workers, who glance up occasionally and smile at us while working on car guts.
Constant "ding dong" sounds chime in the background, making us feel like we're in a giant video game arcade. These sounds are actually part of a "Just in Time" pull system. They signal that something has gone wrong or a problem has been detected and a worker has called for a supervisor.
Yet the lines keep moving quickly.
Another geeky fact shared by our guide: Toyota invented a "doorless system," meaning they take the doors off the cars so that workers can get in and out of the car more quickly to assemble parts. The doors are re-attached later in the assembly line.
At the end of the tour, we play a series of timed games meant to demonstrate the remarkable skills required of Toyota's plant workers. One involves looping ropes on pegs, and screwing and unscrewing bolts. Another feels like a less-colorful version of Hungry Hungry Hippos. The entire tour takes two and half hours.
When it's time to head back to the museum and visit the gift shop, I find a large display featuring boxes of car-themed curry, of all things.
I buy one, of course -- at least under factory conditions, everything Toyota produces looks incredible.
Touring Toyota
Recommended itinerary from Nagoya Station: Take the JR Tokaido Line, New Rapid service bound for Toyohashi, departing 8:45 a.m., arriving 9:18 a.m. at Okazaki.
Transfer to Aichikanjo Line, local service bound for Kozoji, departing 9:27 a.m., arriving 9:59 a.m. at Mikawa-Toyota Station.
From Mikawa-Toyota Station take a taxi to Toyota Kaikan Museum.
Total travel time: 90 minutes.
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The election of Pope Francis, in 2013, had the effect, among other things, of displacing the painful story of priestly sexual abuse that had dominated public awareness of the Church during much of the eight-year papacy of his predecessor. The sense that the Church, both during the last years of Benedict and under Francis, had begun to deal more forcefully with the issue created a desire in many, inside and outside the Church, to move on. But recent events suggest that we take another careful look at this chapter of Church history before turning the page. During the past week, a German lawyer charged with investigating the abuse of minors in a famous Catholic boys' choir in Bavaria revealed that two hundred and thirty-one children had been victimized over a period of decades. The attorney, Ulrich Weber, who was commissioned by the Diocese of Regensburg to conduct the inquiry, said that there were fifty credible cases of sexual abuse, along with a larger number of cases of other forms of physical abuse, from beatings to food deprivation. The news received widespread attention not only because of its disturbing content but because the director of the Regensburg boys' choir from 1964 to 1994 was Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of Joseph Ratzinger, who became Benedict XVI. Joseph Ratzinger was the Archbishop of Munich from 1977 until 1981, when he went to head up the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which establishes theological orthodoxy and was also one of the branches of the Church that dealt with priestly sexual abuse. The developments in Germany raised the question of what the two Ratzinger brothers knew about the abuse in the Regensburg choir. Most of the sexual abuse took place, apparently, at a boarding school for elementary-grade students connected to the choir. The chief culprit, according to Weber, was Johann Meier, the boarding school’s director from 1953 until 1992. The composer Franz Wittenbrink, a graduate of the school, told Der Spiegel magazine, in 2010, when the abuse scandal became public, that there was “a system of sadistic punishments connected to sexual pleasure.” At that time, Georg Ratzinger, who was on the three-person supervisory board of the elementary school, acknowledged that some choirboys had complained about the punishments they received at the school. "But I did not have the feeling at the time that I should do something about it,” he told the Passauer Neue Presse, in 2010. “Had I known with what exaggerated fierceness he was acting, I would have said something.” In fact, accusations of abuse surfaced and were investigated in 1987, but no one saw fit to remove Meier from his post until the year of his death. When asked at his press conference last week whether Georg Ratzinger had been aware of the abuse, Weber replied, "Based on my research, I must assume so." He estimated that a third of the students in the choir had suffered some form of abuse. Georg Ratzinger has said that he routinely slapped choirboys when their performance was not up to snuff, standard treatment until Germany banned corporal punishment, in the early eighties. So far, the Regensburg diocese has offered compensation of twenty-five hundred euros for each victim.
In the early nineties, a monk who worked at the Vatican told me, "You wouldn't believe the amounts of money the church is spending to settle these priestly sexual-abuse cases." He was not exaggerating. By 1992, Catholic dioceses in the U.S. had paid out four hundred million dollars to settle hundreds of molestation cases. These financial settlements were reached largely to keep the victims quiet: in almost all cases, the documents were sealed and the victims signed a non-disclosure agreement. Given the enormous amounts of money involved, the men running the Vatican were well aware of the problem. The basic outlines of the sex-abuse scandal were already evident that year when Jason Berry, an American journalist, published his first book, “Lead Us Not Into Temptation.” (While the “Spotlight” team at the Boston Globe is rightly getting its moment of glory, praise is also due to Berry, whose pioneering work on the subject, a decade earlier, was done with far less institutional support.) As Berry reported, Ray Mouton, a lawyer whom the Church hired in 1985 to defend a pedophile priest in Louisiana, warned that, if the Church did not adopt a policy for helping victims and removing pedophiles from the ministry, it could face a billion dollars in losses from financial settlements and damage awards in the next decade. It turned out that Mouton had actually underestimated the financial cost of the crisis. By 2006, the Church had spent $2.6 billion settling sexual-abuse cases, as Berry wrote in the 2010 edition of “Vows of Silence,” his second book on the pedophile crisis, which he co-authored with fellow-journalist Gerald Renner. Most cases of abuse were handled (or not handled) by local bishops and archbishops, but some were adjudicated by Cardinal Ratzinger’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The most prominent of these cases was that of Father Marcial Maciel, a favorite of Pope John Paul II and the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, a powerful Mexican religious order that, at its pinnacle, included eight hundred priests, fifteen universities, and a hundred and fifty prep schools, as well as a lay movement with a reported seventy thousand followers. In the seventies and eighties, former members of the Legionaries reported that, as young boys, they had been sexually abused by Maciel. As the Church later acknowledged, the complainants were highly credible and had no ulterior motives: they were not seeking monetary compensation or notoriety. They followed Church procedures by filing formal charges through ecclesiastical courts in Rome, but nothing was done. In fact, Pope John Paul II called on Maciel to accompany him on papal visits to Mexico in 1979, 1990, and 1993. When one of the former Legionaries expressed his frustration, in the lawsuit, about the Church’s inaction, Berry and Renner reported in their book, the Legionaries' own canon lawyer, Martha Wegan, who made no secret that her first loyalty was to the Church, replied, “It is better for eight innocent men to suffer than for millions to lose their faith.” Cardinal Ratzinger reopened the case against Father Maciel in 2004, and, when he became Pope, in 2006, he acknowledged the validity of the claims, forbidding Maciel to continue his ministry and limiting him to a “life of prayer and penitence.” The Vatican found Maciel guilty of "very serious and objectively immoral acts . . . confirmed by incontrovertible testimonies" that represent "true crimes and manifest a life without scruples or authentic religious sentiment." Though the sexual-abuse crisis reached its peak in the public sphere during Benedict XVI’s papacy, the single figure most responsible for ignoring this extraordinary accumulation of depravity is the sainted John Paul II. In the context of his predecessor’s deplorable neglect, Pope Benedict gets slightly higher marks than most. In 2001, he acted to give his office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, jurisdiction over all sexual-abuse cases, and soon he began to push the Maciel investigation, despite considerable Vatican opposition. After ascending the throne of St. Peter, he became the first Pope to kick predator priests out of the Church: in 2011 and 2012, the last two full years of his papacy, the Church defrocked three hundred and eighty-four offending priests. That said, it was too little, too late. As the second-most-powerful man in John Paul II’s pontificate, Ratzinger had more ability to know and to act than almost anyone. The actions he finally did take were largely dictated by a series of embarrassing scandals: his move to take control of pedophilia cases in 2001 closely followed scandals in the U.S., Ireland, and Australia, and staggering financial settlements for American plaintiffs. The decision to reopen the case against Maciel would almost certainly not have happened without the courageous reporting of Berry and Renner. And the zero-tolerance policy that led to the systematic defrocking of abusive priests happened only after the annus horribilis of 2010, in which a new sexual-abuse scandal seemed to explode every week and loyal parishioners left the Church in droves.
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By Elisinio Castillo
Sullivan Barrera, one of the best contenders in the light heavyweight division, acknowledged that his team is in serious discussions which are aimed at securing a clash against Sergey Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) before the end of 2017.
"We are in negotiations with Main Events to possibly face Kovalev this November at Madison Square Garden," Barrera (20-1, 14 KO) said to George Ebro.
"I am preparing for whoever, Kovalev or Adonis Stevenson. I trust the work of my manager Luis Molina and we hope that something good will happen in my career in the coming months. ''
Both Barrera and Kovalev are promoted by Main Events.
After losing by way of unanimous decision against current IBF, WBA, WBO world champion Andre Ward in March 2016 - Barrera was able to rebuild his career in style with victories over Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, Paul Parker and Joe Smith Jr. - and all three contests were televised on HBO.
These victories reaffirmed Barrera's place among the best 175-pounders at the moment and has paved the way for a fight against Kovalev, who is still considered a force in the division.
"I'm in a moment of my career where I'm only interested in big fights," Barrera added. "I would love to face Kovalev. A victory over him would be important not only in the personal pride section, but also because of the possibility that it would open me up to continue growing in the sport. I just hope the negotiations will come to fruition.''
Kovalev is also looking to rebuild his career after back to back defeats to Ward. He lost what some felt was a controversial twelve round unanimous decision to Ward last November at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Kovalev exercised the option for an immediate rematch, which took place in June, and this time saw Ward win by way of a TKO at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay.
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President Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2013. (Evan Vucci/AP)
A few weeks back, some striking poll numbers were making the rounds: Many Republicans suddenly said they liked Russian President Vladimir Putin — 35 percent, in fact.
It wasn't hard to draw the line between Putin's rising approval among Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump's positive words about him — not to mention the intelligence community's conclusions that Russia tried to help elect Trump. Partisanship, it seemed, had turned a very controversial foreign leader who has been accused of human rights abuses into something of an icon for pro-Trump Republicans.
But Republicans aren't the only ones moving in a more polarized direction on Russia. New data show increasing polarization on both sides when it comes to Russia and — in some pretty remarkable findings — when it comes to Israel, too. Foreign policy appears to be far less immune from partisan politics than it once was.
The new Pew Research Center survey shows Democrats, whose president in 2012 scoffed at Mitt Romney's suggestion that Russia was the United States's “No. 1 geopolitical foe,” suddenly view it as a much bigger threat. While in April, just 37 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters viewed Russia's “power and influence” as a major threat to the United States, today that number has risen to 67 percent. Meanwhile, the number has dropped slightly among Republicans, from 46 percent to 41 percent.
You can see the growing gap below:
The numbers confirm something we've noticed before: While Republicans suddenly do like Putin better — Pew's poll shows his approval among GOP-leaning voters rising from 11 percent two years ago to 27 percent today — their overall view of Russia hasn't changed much. A study from the Chicago Council of Global Affairs showed it last month. Now a Pew poll shows it.
Democrats, though, have changed their view of Russia substantially. Suddenly, Russia is a very partisan issue on which both sides have shifted.
But it's not the only one. Pew's new data also show unprecedented polarization when it comes to another top foreign policy issue: Israel. Similar numbers of Republicans and Democrats have sympathized more with Israel than with the Palestinians dating back to the late 1970s. Today, though, 74 percent of Republicans sympathize more with Israel, while just 33 percent of Democrats do the same.
And perhaps most notably, for the first time this century — if not ever — Democrats are now about equally split between sympathizing more with Israel (33 percent) and with the Palestinians (31 percent).
The change across the political spectrum is clear when you look at the chart below. The biggest shifts over the last 15 years have occurred among conservative Republicans, who have drifted toward a more pro-Israel view, and liberal Democrats, who have drifted more toward the Palestinians. The most politically polarized are driving the change.
While conservative Republicans favored Israel by a 44-point margin in 2001, the margin is now 70 points. And while liberal Democrats favored Israel by 30 points at the turn of the century, they now favor the Palestinians by 12 points.
The causes could be many. Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama haven't exactly been buddies, and Pew's data shows Democrats' views of Netanyahu are pretty dim. Perhaps that has depressed support for Israel among Democrats.
And Democrats will argue that their shifting views of Russia are more legitimate than Republicans' — especially given that Russia may just have exerted some real influence on an American election. That raises very significant questions about Russia's “power and influence” that the intelligence community is still trying to answer.
But it's also true that the polarization we've seen in these Russia numbers is completely unsurprising in the context of modern American politics. You take a foreign policy issue that isn't inherently partisan, inject it into a political campaign, and suddenly we all start taking sides.
While partisan politics are supposed to stop at the water's edge, that increasingly doesn't appear to be the case — at least when it comes to these two very important foreign countries. And I wouldn't expect it to shift back anytime soon.
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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 14, 2016) – Shooting 68.3 percent from the floor and outscoring Horizon League foe Detroit Mercy by 19 in the second half, the ETSU men’s basketball team rolled to its second win of the season 107-78 Monday evening inside Freedom Hall.
The Buccaneers (2-0) were led by a career-high 27 points from senior guard T.J. Cromer (Albany, Ga.), while junior transfer Devontavius Payne (Carbondale, Ill.) collected 18 points. In addition, senior posts Isaac Banks (New Orleans) and Hanner Mosquera-Perea (Istmina, Colombia) netted 12 and 10 points, respectively, with Banks going a perfect 6-of-6 from the field.
“I’ve never had a team shoot like that in back-to-back games at any level,” said ETSU head coach Steve Forbes, whose team has eclipsed 60 percent shooting from the floor in both games this season and nearly bested the ETSU single-game record for shooting percentage (68.8 percent) on Monday. “It’s hard to be unhappy with another 30-point win, but we need to be more consistent defensively and with our effort.”
It was hard to find any disappointing statistics for ETSU. The Bucs outscored the Titans 56-24 in the paint, 47-21 in bench points, blocked six shots, and dished out 21 assists on the night. The only issue for the Bucs were 15 turnovers, most of which came in the early part of the game.
In the first half, the Titans hung around thanks to those untimely turnovers and the Bucs’ off-the-mark shooting from beyond the arc. However, after holding a slim one-point lead at 22-21, junior guard Julian Walters (Madison, Wis.) ignited ETSU by coming off the bench to hit back-to-back 3-pointers and make it 28-21 in favor of the Bucs with six minutes left before the half.
From there, the Bucs lead grew to as many as 12 before ETSU ultimately took a 43-33 advantage into the halftime locker room. In the first half, ETSU shot 68 percent from the floor and was led by 13 points from Cromer.
Much like the Bucs’ opener against Fordham on Friday night, ETSU raced out of the gates offensively in the second half and never looked back. While the Titans did pull to within six at 48-42 early in the half, a 12-4 run at that point and another 16-0 surge midway through the half made it 84-62 in favor of the Bucs with seven minutes left in regulation.
The Bucs’ run was highlighted by multiple dunks from players such as Desonta Bradford (Humboldt), the outside shooting of Payne, and the high percentage shooting of inside players like Banks, Mosquera-Perea, and junior forward David Burrell (Milwaukee). Mosquera-Perea also picked up his second straight game with four blocks, while Cromer added to his offensive night with a game-high six assists.
The Titans, who dropped to 1-1 on the year, were led by a team-high 25 points from guard Josh McFolley, while fellow guard Jaron Williams added 16 in the losing effort.
The Bucs will now hit the road for four straight games, beginning Sunday at UNC Wilmington. For more on ETSU men’s hoops throughout the 2016-17 season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s hoops link.
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“No father, no parent ever wants to see their son, their daughter, anybody go to jail,” the elder Mr. Pogan said. “He’s a young kid. He can start his life again and do what’s right by everybody like he’s always done. There was no malice in his heart that night.”
The man on the bicycle, Christopher Long, was not in court on Wednesday, and efforts to reach him in the evening were unsuccessful.
Mr. Pogan was on the job for only about 10 days when he encountered Mr. Long on a July evening in 2008 as Mr. Long was riding through Times Square as part of a Critical Mass bike rally.
Photo
Mr. Pogan’s complaint alleged that Mr. Long knocked him to the ground by intentionally steering his bicycle into him. But video footage of the episode, which was widespread on the Internet, showed that Mr. Pogan remained on his feet, while Mr. Long flew to the pavement. In April, a jury convicted Mr. Pogan of filing a criminal complaint that contained false statements.
Mr. Pogan was acquitted of falsifying the arrest report and a lesser charge of assault, but he still could have been sentenced to four years in prison.
Ryan Connors, an assistant district attorney, said in court on Wednesday that Mr. Pogan deserved jail not only because he lied about the confrontation with Mr. Long, but also because he failed to accept responsibility.
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“In his own version he is blameless,” Mr. Connors said. “It is the New York Police Department who did not teach him not to lie. “The entire public of New York County is the victim in this case because the inherent fairness of the judicial system was called into question,” Mr. Connors added.
In a tearful statement read in court, Mr. Pogan pleaded for mercy, telling the judge that he was refreshing his certification as an emergency medical technician.
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“I would ask you to spare me from jail time because I feel that I have a lot of people in this world that I can still help,” Mr. Pogan said. “My family raised me to help people, and that is what I would like to continue to do and put this nightmare behind me and prove to you I am a highly productive member of society.”
Mr. London framed his client’s wrongdoing as a simple mistake. Mr. London asked Justice Wiley to consider the message of the 180 letters submitted in support of Mr. Pogan.
“The theme that comes through is that he cares for other people, he puts other people ahead of himself,” Mr. London said. “This is an individual whose family, whose life, whose upbringing has been about helping other people.”
And, Mr. London added, what better punishment for someone like this than to make him perform community service?
But for Justice Wiley, not even that was necessary.
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In retrospect the choice of Thomas Hart Benton to paint a mural for the Truman library seems a natural fit. Both Benton and Truman were natives of the State of Missouri. Benton, like Harry Truman, had politics in his blood, since he was the son of a U. S. congressman and was named for his great-uncle, the first U.S. senator from west of the Missouri River. They were both ardent Democrats. They both knew the history of their state inside out. They were both great readers of history.
But for months—for months that stretched into more than a year—Harry Truman resisted the notion of having Benton make a painting for the Truman Library. He had some old grudges to work through.
At stake were some matters of artistic taste, but more than that, there was the issue of Truman’s personal loyalty to the notorious political boss of Kansas City, Boss Tom Pendergast, who had been responsible for Truman’s entry into politics.
After the failure of Truman’s haberdashery store in the old Muehlbach Hotel, it was genial and corrupt Boss Tom Pendergast who engineered Truman’s election as county judge for Jackson County in 1922. Despite the title “Judge,” this was an administrative rather than judicial position, and it set the stage for Truman to lead a successful, widely acclaimed campaign to transform and improve Jackson County with new roads and public buildings. Truman never relinquished his loyalty to Pendergast even after he was publicly disgraced. When Pendergast died, Truman, then president of the United States, was the only politician to attend his funeral. “He was my friend,” Truman replied, when asked to explain his decision.
With regard to Benton, Truman’s key stumbling block was Benton’s mural of 1936 for the state capitol. Truman felt that Benton had libeled his native state—and had deliberately ridiculed his old political mentor.
The idea for the Missouri Capitol mural had been cooked up late one night at a hotel party in Jefferson City, when after plentiful drinks Benton persuaded two state legislators that the building needed a Benton mural. Shortly afterwards an appropriation was passed in the state legislature to pay for the painting. Remarkably, no limits were set on Benton’s choice of subject matter. Consequently, Benton was able to focus not on heroes and heroic events, but to produce “a social history of the State of Missouri.”
In Benton’s hands, “a social history” opened with a scene of a fur trader selling whiskey to an Indian, and went on to show Mormons being tarred and feathered, slaves being whipped, Jesse James robbing a bank, and Frankie shooting Johnny in a St. Louis saloon. It closed, perhaps most shockingly off all, with a scene of Boss Tom Pendergast, sitting in a nightclub with two of the trustees of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. This was not just providing a critique of the past—it was hitting close to home. For years Truman believed that Benton had put the figure there without Pendergast’s knowledge. In fact, he had made it with Pendergast’s approval and had sketched Pendergast from life.
In the opening week, the mural drew 50,000 spectators, but Missouri boosters were horrified and a bill was introduced in the state legislature to have it whitewashed. The intensity of the controversy about what Benton had painted is suggested by an editorial in the Tula Tribune on January 27, 1937, which focused particularly on the likeness of Pendergast:
Conspicuous in the picture is the acknowledged portrait of T. J. Pendergast, the Democratic boss of Kansas City whose organization votes dead men, who manipulates to steal government itself. In the picture Pendergast is seated at a table with representative citizens who are taking their orders from this hijacker of government … Shame on you, Thomas Hart Benton, shame on you, and shame on whomever, representing Missouri’s government, paid $16,000 to buy this picture of infamy.
As it happened, the bill to have the painting whitewashed was sidelined, and thus the mural was still intact in 1939, when Pendergast was sentenced to 15 months in Leavenworth Penitentiary. To celebrate this event, some wag sneaked in and painted jail stripes and a jail number on the likeness in Benton’s mural. Harry Truman is said to have supposed—erroneously—that Benton himself added this embellishment as a publicity stunt.
For years Truman felt resentful towards Benton. He specifically denounced the statehouse mural as “a horror,” and in 1941, when a film agent showed him a Benton painting of Burt Lancaster in the title role of The Kentuckian, Truman reacted with distaste. “Both of my grandfathers were from Kentucky as were both of my grandmothers,” Truman wrote. “All of the four had brothers and sisters most of whom I saw when was a child. They did not look like that long-necked monstrosity of Mr. Thomas Hart Benton’s.”
In the early ’50s, the television newscaster Randall Jessee, who was a friend of them both, asked Truman if he’d like to meet Benton and his wife, Rita, at a dinner party at Jessee’s home. “We’ll, he’s the fellow who made a mistake in painting those murals about Mr. Pendergast down at Jefferson City,” Truman replied. “I’ve got a long memory, you know, and I don’t know whether we’ll get along or not.”
Fortunately, both Benton and Truman had mellowed quite a bit by 1957, when Benton was approached by two representatives of the Truman Library—David Lloyd, a rising young lawyer, and Wayne Grover, archivist of the United States—about the possibility of Benton taking on a major mural project for the building, which had been completed a few years before. At the time Benton was still at work on another large mural for Robert Moses, for a power dam in Massena, New York, but he readily assented.
They all celebrated with a couple of highballs. But the highballs were premature.
Not long afterward, Truman visited Benton’s Kansas City studio and listened carefully while Benton explained his plan. Truman made no firm commitment, however, either then or at later meetings at the Truman Library, when they discussed what might be the possible subject matter for such a painting.
In fact, this proved a second stumbling block. Truman was an avid reader of history, and an admirer of Thomas Jefferson, who had engineered the Louisiana Purchase. He sketched out a sequence of events from Jefferson’s administration to his own, which while reasonable in verbal terms was an unmanageable mass of subject matter for a painting. When Benton protested that the subject was too large, the president said laughing, “Well, what the hell is it you can paint?”
Rising to the bait, Benton proposed portraying Truman’s hometown, Independence, which was also the site of the Truman Library, as it looked in 1821 when it served as the starting point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail. He also agreed to write out a program for his mural, and even went to the trouble of creating a clay model of a preliminary design, which Truman studied carefully. Fortunately, Truman had made it clear that he himself didn’t want to be included in the mural, which made it possible to create a scene set in the past.
It’s said that Benton realized that he would probably get his way and be permitted to carry out the project when Harry Truman opened a desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. “I hear you like this,” Truman said. The ice, as it were, had broken.
“They had good times together,” Benton’s sister Mildred recalled. “They both liked the same kind of whisky, and I expect Tom was pretty moderate when he drank with Mr. Truman.”
The contract for the mural was signed in June 1958, but Benton didn’t begin painting until a year and a half later, which he devoted to careful research, including tracking down Pawnee and Cheyenne models to the parts of Oklahoma where they lived, so that he would represent historically accurate physical types. The broadcaster Randall Jessee and his wife served as models for the pioneer couple in the center of the design.
No small task for a man then in his seventies, the final mural takes up 495 square feet and contains more than 40 figures, as well as assorted animals, wagons, steamboats, teepees, houses, costumes, and tools—all rendered with careful historical accuracy. One of the major artistic problems was to find a mode of perspective rendering which would not look distorted when the mural is seen from the side or an odd angle. Benton’s solution was to use a dramatically forced bird’s eye perspective, which does not neatly align with the architecture, and which consequently does not look noticeably skewed when you change your viewpoint. Both technically, and with regard to historical research, the painting was a tour de force.
With exquisite tact, Benton invited Truman himself to apply the first brushstrokes to the mural—a patch of blue sky—and by the time the project was complete, Truman had done a complete turn-around. The artist who had formerly been the creator of “monstrosities” had become, in Truman’s words, “The best damned painter in America.”
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Okay, so I had to go to out of town to help my mom and take all the grandkids to see her. She has stage 4 cancer and while we all had a wonderful time together the cancer made the trip have a hard truth behind it that will play out someday. I spent my birthday traveling back to get everyone home in time for school and just in time to take my wonderful companion to the hospital for gallbladder surgery. I spent the day today being her rock and support and making sure I gave her the care she deserved. Finally when the kids were all fed and she was at peace resting this eavining I brought the package I had gotten in the mail and laid it out on the bed for her to share in the fun of opening it.
I sat down on my bed and had no idea what a treat was in store. It was a kind and uplifting experience. It was a feeling of someone I dont even know taking the time to send gifts with care and thought and effort. It was for me the ultimate feeling of what redditgifts are all about. It was a lesson for me in what really matters about this process and a reminder of the real reason why I enjoy this. It was everything I needed to rekindle my sense of childlike joy and to make the world seem close and caring. Thank you redditgifter and thank you redditfgifts. I have attached photos of the whole wonderful process of opening the gifts. The first photo shows the three wrapped gifts. Each had a great note about the thought and research the gifter put into each gift and noted the order to open. I have included photos. Please read each. They are wonderful. The first photo is all together (including an envelope with gift reciepts incase needed. They were not!)
The first gift was a card game, Star Fluxx. I dont have it and love it. Perfect game for a sci fi geek and gamer. She researched me well.
The 2nd gift is so cool. I have friends that we play a big live game of Betrayl of House on the Hill every Halloween. This game, "Are you a Werewolf?" is such a game played in big groups up to 16 players. What is so cool is that I have some dear friends that rave about this game and I have always wanted to play it. That was not posted anywhere so she is a mind reader. Spooky :-)!!!!
The last wrapped gift was because she had noticed I was interested in wine but knew little about it, a pocket wine book with huge amounts of info on wine. Inside was a special over the top extra gift, a gift card from PA Wine & Spirits to buy some wine. I want to use the book and go find some new wine and broaden my horizons. Ummm I still dont know how this redditgifter did this. She is not from PA and got me a gift card from PA and knew that in PA you can only buy wine at state stores? Wow!!! Amazing!
My last photo is of the box and my cat sacked out on the bed. As I type this the kids are all asleep. I feel really good about the trip to see my mom with the good lifting above the sad. My gal has fallen asleep with an ice pack on her tummy resting finally after a day of surgery.... and for me, I am sitting on my bed with visions of suger plums in the form of unwrapped gifts, caring thoughtful notes from a stranger, and a much needed warm spot in my heart! Thank you Redditgifter!!!!
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There have now been more games released on Steam in the first 20 weeks of 2014 alone, than during the entirety of 2013, spelling out the real need for indie developers to properly market their games.2014 has seen a huge influx of new titles released on the popular PC games platform, thanks in part to the hundreds of games that have been recently accepted onto the platform via the Greenlight process.As a result, the number of games released each month via Steam has increased each month during 2014, and judging by daily release figures during May, this trend is set to continue.What this means is that, while in 2013 your new release might have shown up on the front page of Steam for a few days, you're likely to see your game drop off the front page within 24 hours of you releasing it. (And notably, the front page of Steam now automatically defaults to "Top Sellers" instead of "New Releases.")Of course, Valve has said that it plans to get rid of Greenlight entirely, and instead convert Steam into an open platform where any developer can publish their games, with Steam users acting as the curators, empowered with the ability to make their own web-based Steam storefronts.Whatever form Valve ends up implementing, there will certainly be increased competition for those people releasing games on the platform, and even less potential front-page promotion for your game. Gamasutra talked to numerous affected parties about the influx of new titles releasing for Steam this year, to find out just how heavily developers are being affected.
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If you want to pay a tribute to great artists of old, why not get help from mechanics? That’s what Freddy Fabris did to get a unique twist on the works of Renaissance painters. The mechanics, clad in overalls and tools in hand, posed in an auto-shop. The result is interesting and instantly recognizable.
“For many years I wanted to pay homage the great Renaissance masters,” Fabris wrote on Huffington Post. “Translating painting into photography was a challenge I looked forward to. I wanted to respect the look and feel of the originals, but needed to come up with a conceptual twist that would create a new layer to the original. To take them out of their original context, yet maintain their essence.” Freddy Fabris was born in New York, raised in Buenos Aires, and has worked with the advertising industry for 16 years. More info: fabrisphoto.com (h/t: huffpost)
Read more
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo
The Anatomy Lesson by Rembrandt
A series of Rembrandt-inspired portraits
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If you liked the intense competition of the Pan Am Games, you'll love what the Parapan Am Games have in store, organizers say.
More than 1,600 athletes from 28 countries will compete at the Games, which run Aug. 7-15, in 15 different sports. But unlike the Pan Am Games, every competition in Toronto will be a Rio 2016 Paralympic qualifier.
"The competition will be fierce," said Saad Rafi, TO2015's chief executive officer.
So far, Rafi said, about 50,000 of the 200,000 tickets have been sold and many Torontonians have indicated their interest in the Games.
And, Rafi said, 70 per cent of the volunteer workforce who helped run the Pan Am Games have already agreed to come back.
While sports fans will recognize most sports like swimming, cycling and wheelchair basketball, there are also several to discover, including five-a-side soccer and Goalball, both of which are played by visually impaired athletes.
Canadian athletes entering the Games are expected to perform well, with some well-established stars like swimmer Benoit Huot ready to compete.
And, in addition to the sports themselves, the Panamania festivities will continue with free shows by The Roots, Janelle Monáe, Jann Arden, Chromeo and many more.
The CBC's Marivel Taruc has more on the Parapan Am Games in the video above.
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President Obama doesn’t like leaks and he doesn’t like scandals. In recent weeks he’s had plenty of both. We should not be surprised, then, that the Administration is once again using its government apparatus the “Chicago way” to stifle whistleblowers. It’s most recent victim: Aurelia Fedenisn.
As Accuracy in Media recently reported, Fedenisn broke the story that high-level State Department employees stifled eight inquiries into alleged illegal behavior by its employees, including an ambassador who has been accused of pedophilia and picking up prostitutes. The investigations that were covered up also include allegations of sexual assault and drug purchases. In addition, they showed a long-time Clinton loyalist Cheryl Mills interceding in Obama’s nominee for Iraq ambassadorship, Brett McGurk. These revelations could have a dire effect on Hillary Clinton’s presidential chances. Clinton’s reputation has already been hurt by the Benghazi scandal, according to a Bloomberg News poll.
What happens when you threaten the reputation of the Obama Administration and its subordinates? Strong-arm tactics emerge quickly. After all, the State Department found it difficult to give security clearances to attorneys who wanted to represent the Benghazi whistleblowers when they went before Congress. “Former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova said today that the State Department is denying clearances to attorneys who want to represent Benghazi whistleblowers—even though one of the attorneys already has a current Top Secret security clearance,” reported CNS News in April.
“At least four State Department and CIA employees are being intimidated and blocked from cooperating with a congressional investigation into the deadly terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year, according to an attorney for one of the officials,” reported CNN that month. “The officials consider themselves whistleblowers and feel threatened with career damage if they decide to give testimony to Congress, according to Victoria Toensing, an attorney for one of the State Department officials.”
Given how the Administration has pursued national security leaks, this is unsurprising. After all, this is the same government whose Justice Department subpoenaed two months of Associated Press call records in response to a leak, and the same DOJ that named James Rosen as a “co-conspirator” and a “flight risk” for reporting classified information about North Korea. The DOJ even went to three different judges until it found one willing to give them the search warrant without requiring that they notify Rosen about it.
It seems par for the course, then, that Fedenisn is being treated like a criminal by the State Department after revealing its misdeeds under Clinton’s leadership. Her attorney, Cary Schulman, told The Cable, a blog on the Foreign Policy magazine website, that “Fedenisn has paid a steep price” for her watchdog revelations. “They had law enforcement officers camp out in front of her house, harass her children and attempt to incriminate herself,” Schulman told John Hudson.
“After the CBS News made inquiries to the State Department about the charges, Schulman says investigators from the State Department’s Inspector General promptly arrived at Fedenisn’s door.” They “talked to both kids and never identified themselves,” says Schulman.
The officials even tried to get her to sign a document that says she stole the material. “Schulman says the purpose of the visit was to get Fedenisn to sign a document admitting that she stole State Department materials, such as the memos leaked to CBS,” reports Hudson. “Schulman says it was crucial that she didn’t sign the document because her separation agreement with the State Department includes a provision allowing disclosures of misconduct” (emphasis added). None of the documents released were classified; they were drafts of a report that in later iterations had been scrubbed of all references to the eight investigations.
CBS News has a video of the visit, where an unnamed official holding a bunch of papers asks for the “recording device” to be switched off so he can talk to her. “Ma’am, I can’t discuss it with you with the recording device on,” said the unnamed man on camera. Just “Two hours after CBS News made inquiries to the State Department about these charges, investigators from the State Department’s Inspector General showed up at her door,” reported CBS News at the time.
Hudson quotes Kel McClanahan, “a D.C. attorney who has represented several agency whistleblowers,” as saying that “This type of intimidation technique is all too common when an agency wants something from you that it is not entirely confident it can get without your cooperation, and more often than not people who don’t know any better fall for it.”
The threats don’t stop there. Schulman, Fedenisn’s attorney, “also said that officials from the Inspector General’s Office told him they’d be having a ‘no kidding get together with the [Department of Justice],’ implying to him that they would push criminal charges if his client didn’t cooperate.”
Apparently, the Administration would rather go after the whistleblowers than those who have committed real crimes.
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Another judge of Delhi High Court today recused from hearing a PIL seeking court-monitored probe by an SIT into the tapping of phones of high-profile people and some union ministers allegedly by corporate major Essar.
Justice V Kameswar Rao, who is heading the vacation bench before which the matter was listed, opted out of hearing the matter as his wife was a shareholder in one of the companies against whom the petition has been filed.
"My wife has some shares and mutual funds in one of the companies. It would be appropriate that I recuse," Justice Rao said.
The bench also comprising Justice I S Mehta, thereafter, listed the PIL by advocate Suren Uppal for July 11 before another bench.
Essar has denied allegations of wrong doings.
On June 24, Justice A K Pathak of another vacation bench had recused from the matter on account of personal reasons.
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A man who police say opened fire on two passing vehicles Sunday morning was later shot and wounded by officers.
Police say 26-year-old Kody Conley pointed a gun and fired at the eastbound vehicles stopped for a red light at the intersection of North 24th and Cuming streets just after 6 a.m. One of the vehicles was struck three times, the other was hit twice. The occupants were not injured.
The incident was recorded on surveillance video (see photo). As Conley ran, he pointed his gun at a third occupied vehicle traveling east on Cuming.
A police officer at 22nd and Cuming was flagged down by the victims. Other officers were dispatched to the area. Conley was spotted near 28th Plaza south of Burt Street and continued running east towards the Creighton University campus. Several officers caught up to Conley as he fled into a corridor on the south side of the Criss Health Sciences Building.
When the officers confronted Conley, he was armed with the handgun. Two officers opened fire, hitting Conley, who was taken to CHI Health Creighton University Medical Center. Conley is in stable condition and is expected to recover.
A .22-caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. The revolver was reported stolen in January.
During the pursuit of Conley, Creighton issued this alert to students. "An incident...has been reported at the Criss Complex on the Creighton University campus. Avoid the area and seek secure location."
"To hear something like that, it's such a small university where everyone here is so close," said student McKynzie. "Fortunately we're lucky enough to have public safety and the Omaha Police Department here to protect us."
The officers who opened fire have been identified as 26-year-old Austin Taylor, a two-year veteran assigned to the Uniform Patrol Bureau Northeast Precinct, and 43-year-old Aaron Anderson, a 12-year veteran also assigned to the Uniform Patrol Bureau Northeast Precinct. Both have been placed on paid administrative leave.
Per OPD policy, any officer who discharges their firearm resulting in injury or death is placed on paid administrative leave pending the Officer Involved Investigations Team and Internal Affairs Unit investigations.
In 2008, when Conley was 18 years old, he was arrested for robbery. Police say he and two other teens held up three convenience stores in five nights. He was sentenced to three years' probation.
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WASHINGTON -- They're called opposition "trackers," and politicians don't always like them. Trackers show up outside campaign events and fundraising receptions, ask the pols uncomfortable questions and shoot video -- occasionally getting a squirm-worthy clip for YouTube or a commercial.
This is the rough and tumble of campaigning, and any veteran campaigner expects it. But there is a code: No touching by either side. No shoving. No grabbing the video camera in anger by a politician or staffer.
A campaign aide to Josh Mandel, the Ohio treasurer mounting a rematch campaign against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, may have stepped over that line Wednesday by pushing against a tracker's camera and putting her hand over the lens.
This might normally be a ho-hum event but for the fact that Mandel himself was accused in his 2012 campaign against Brown of grabbing a video tracker's monopod, a device that holds the camera steady, in a public elevator. The incident started a minor flap.
Mandel denied doing anything inappropriate in 2012, but a Columbus Dispatch politics reporter witnessed the incident and reported it. As for the Wednesday incident, Mandel's campaign spokeswoman said the tracker from the Ohio Democratic Party, not a campaign aide, was out of bounds.
"Who knew the Ohio Democrats were more dramatic than the Kardashians?" Erica Nurnberg, Mandel's campaign spokeswoman, said.
So what happened?
Video shot by Juan Nino, a 24-year-old tracker for the Ohio Democratic Party, shows Nino trying to ask Mandel questions. This occurred as the candidate exited an SUV and walked into a building in Eastlake, where a "roundtable discussion and lunch" in support of Mandel's candidacy were being held.
The tracker asked questions about a new super PAC, Rev 18 (shorthand for Revolution 2018) that's supporting Mandel's Senate bid -- a super PAC formed in part by controversial "alt-light" bloggers who spread inflammatory stories during the 2016 presidential election.
"Pizzagate" blogger helps form super PAC that will back Josh Mandel
The stories pertained to "Pizzagate," a false conspiracy in which a Washington, D.C. pizza parlor was accused of hosting a pedophile ring. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for president, was accused in this false tale of having connections to the operation. A 29-year-old North Carolina man was sentenced to four years in prison for traveling to the pizza parlor and firing a military-style rifle after reading the fake reports about the pizza parlor.
The tracker Wednesday wanted to know whether Mandel would reject Rev 18's endorsement. Mandel, getting out of the SUV, didn't answer.
Instead, a female aide walked up to the tracker, put her hand over the camera lens and pushed it lightly. The sound of her hand smacking against the lens can be heard on the tracker's video. She held her hand briefly over the lens in an apparent attempt to stop the filming.
Mandel meantime walked toward the building while the tracker asked Mandel, "Do you stand with Mike Cernovich?"
Cernovich, an author and blogger who helped build support for President Donald Trump's election victory, is a founder of Rev 18. Cernovich has said he uses Internet trolling and conflict to build influence. In 2016, Cernovich helped spread the Pizzagate story.
Mandel didn't answer the question about Cernovich. The tracker than asked, "Do you think date rape is real?"
It was a reference to Cernovich's past claims that date rape is a fiction because while some men use sleazy tactics to get a date into bed, it can't be rape, he said, if there isn't physical force.
Mandel didn't answer this either. He opened a building door, entering the offices of Trust Technologies, where the event was being held. The tracker followed him in but was asked to leave by a company official. Video shows the tracker left as instructed.
Jake Strassberger, spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party, called it "completely inappropriate for candidates or staffers to get physical with anyone."
"This is the same type of behavior we saw from Josh in 2012 when he accosted a tracker in an elevator," Strassberger said. "It would be unacceptable in any other campaign or work setting, but lacking professionalism seems to be a job requirement for Josh's staff."
Mandel's campaign takes the opposite view: The tracker had no right to be there in the first place.
By standing outside the headquarters of Trust Technologies on Curtis Boulvard, the tracker was trespassing, said a statement from Bill Kilroy, the company's CEO and a sponsor of the Mandel event. The Mandel campaign sent Kilroy's statement to cleveland.com.
"After being asked repeatedly, the Ohio Democrat's tracker refused to leave my private property, out of a concern for the safety for my employees, I notified the proper law enforcement officials that this individual was trespassing and they told him to leave and took down a report," Kilroy said. "In my 25 years being involved in politics, I have never seen anything like this and I was startled by the incident."
An incident report from the Eastlake Police shows police were called about "a tracker who has been showing up at all of their political events trying to get a rise out of a candidate and has been following them all around." According to the complaint, police were told the tracker "has been kicked out and keeps reentering."
Strassberger, of the Ohio Democratic Party, said the claim that the tracker kept reentering was untrue. He left when told and then waited on public property, Strassberger said.
As for the police response, the Eastlake report says, "Male was advised to leave and he did."
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Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
BRUSSELS -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revelled in a long-awaited moment Sunday -- signing Canada's free trade deal with the European Union, but not before recognizing the challenges ahead to bring it fully into force.
Trudeau expressed hope that the so-called provisional application of the deal -- approval only by the Canadian and European parliaments but not Europe's 28 states and myriad regional governments -- might happen within months.
That, said Trudeau, would result in 98 per cent of the deal coming into force. That's much higher than the 90-per cent estimate that most European and Canadian officials have said would accompany provisional application of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, known as CETA.
Trudeau had initially expected to sign the deal in Brussels days ago, but the restive Belgian region of Wallonia nearly killed it because its opposition to the pact's investor-state dispute settlement mechanism gave it a veto under Belgium's complicated constitution.
After seven arduous years of negotiation, Trudeau joined presidents of the European Council and European Commission, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, and signed the massive 1,600-page pact and its accompanying strategic partnership agreement.
The road to full ratification remains long. After Trudeau and his EU counterparts took a moment Sunday to revel in the milestone, the prime minister was willing to acknowledge it would take more than ceremony to fully ratify the deal.
"The work is only just beginning right now," Trudeau said.
"It's not just signing the accords, as difficult and important as that is. It's about the followup, that we continue to demonstrate and give tools to small and medium sized businesses."
Trudeau didn't betray a hint of bitterness towards the socialist regional government of Wallonia, led by Paul Magnette, which picked up the anti-CETA baton that had flourished previously in France, Germany and Austria.
The latest obstacle to CETA was removed Friday when Wallonia officially voted to withdraw its opposition to the deal, paving the way for Trudeau's trip.
"The fact that throughout people were asking tough questions of a deal that will have a significant impact on our economies, and giving us the opportunity to demonstrate that that impact will be positive, is a good thing," Trudeau said.
"That is what a democracy is: we need to have a whole chorus of different voices, able to share their concerns."
Trudeau also praised the support he received from the government of Quebec's Liberal Premier Philippe Couillard, who was in Brussels along with one of his predecessors, Jean Charest, one of CETA's early boosters.
International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland called it a great day for Europe.
More than a week ago, Freeland walked out of talks in Belgium, saying it appeared the EU was incapable of signing an agreement.
"OK we did it!" she blurted out during a photo opportunity following the signing ceremony.
The deal's supporters say it will boost trade by billions through cuts in tariffs across a broad swath of sectors including agriculture, pharmaceuticals and the auto industry.
But opposition among anti-trade activists and left-wing political parties in some European countries has been fierce and nearly blocked the deal. On a sleepy Sunday morning in the largely shuttered EU capital, Trudeau's entourage was greeted by a small but vocal group of protesters at the European Council.
Trudeau acknowledged the discontent but said political leaders had to work to overcome it.
"That leadership that we were able to show between Canada and Europe is not just something that will reassure our own citizens but should be an example to the world of how we can move forward on trade deals that do genuinely benefit everyone," Trudeau said.
With the Liberals and Conservatives both favouring the deal, its approval will sail through Parliament.
But Europe is another matter.
The European Parliament must approve CETA. Before leaving Brussels, Trudeau met with its leader, Martin Schulz, the German social democrat.
Trudeau thanked Schulz for his leadership on CETA and said he wanted to "thank him in advance" for the work he will do to get it "ratified quickly."
The European Parliament's approval is expected by many to come in early 2017.
But the deal must be ratified by the EU's 28 countries and several more smaller regional governments such as Wallonia. That process could take years, and could be derailed.
Gus Van Harten, an Osgoode Hall law professor who specializes in trade, said he believes the European Parliament will likely approve the deal, but the foreign investor protection mechanism will likely pose problems in the future. That's because national and regional governments have the ability to block it, ending the provisional application of the deal.
"The inclusion of the foreign investor protection system in the CETA was a dubious decision and political gamble from the start, and it has now blown up in a lot of faces," said Van Harten. "CETA as a whole remains in jeopardy regardless of signature."
Sunday was not the first time Brussels witnessed the pomp and circumstance of a CETA signing ceremony.
In October 2013, former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper flew to Brussels with great fanfare and signed an agreement in principle with European Commissioner Jose Manuel Barroso.
In September 2014, Harper hosted Barroso and at another signing ceremony in Ottawa to mark the end of negotiations.
But while they were celebrating in Ottawa, the seeds of discontent with the investor protection chapter were flowering in Germany. After the Liberals won power a year later, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel -- a major opponent of that chapter -- would find himself working with Freeland to strengthen that section of the agreement.
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Global depression. Climate chaos. Billions starving. Why?
Most of the world’s problems today can be traced back to a single cause. Greed.
For decades, the rich went on a feeding frenzy. They piled up profits galore. They devoured the world’s resources and ignited global warming. They grabbed more and more wealth for themselves at the expense of everyone else.
One per cent of the UK population now own 34 times as much wealth as the bottom 50 per cent. Never in human history has so much been owned by so few.
How the rich caused the slump
With more cash than they could ever dream of spending, the rich went on a gambling binge. Instead of using their wealth to create jobs and fuel the real economy, they squandered trillions in the casinos of global capitalism.
Greed has also corrupted the political system with politicians pocketing expenses for everything from 32-inch TVs to having their moats cleaned and making money playing the property market.
Now the orgy of greed has turned sour. But who will pay the price?
The Scottish Socialist Party has launched a European-wide Make Greed History Campaign. The reckless rich caused this crisis – and they must foot the bill.
Why we need a wealth tax to create jobs
In Europe today, the wealthiest one per cent of the population own liquid assets worth $10 trillion dollars.
A modest, one-off wealth tax of just 10 per cent would generate a trillion dollars to create eight million jobs across Europe.
Scotland’s share of that tax would amount to £6.5 billion – enough to create and sustain 80,000 jobs over the next three years, with an average annual salary of £25,000.
We could build tens of thousands of new homes to rent. We could reduce class sizes by employing thousands more teachers and learning assistants. We could insulate every home in Scotland.
Call it a ``wealth tax'', call it a ``crisis tax'' – or even call it a ``greed tax''. It would be a mighty step out of recession, paid for by those who caused the crisis.
The Scottish Socialist Party stands for a green socialist Scotland in a green socialist Europe, an independent socialist Scotland.
Sign up now to support the SSP's campaign to Make Greed History.
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Introduction
Haunted hostelries are a recurring theme in paranormal lore, their eerie environments often inspiring the works of famous novelists. Cornwall's famous Jamaica Inn inspired the Daphne du Maurier novel of the same name, whilst across the Atlantic, the Stanley Hotel, located in the Rocky Mountains, served as inspiration for Stephen King's 'The Shining'. The UK seems especially blessed, or cursed, depending on how you look at it, with tales of haunted hostelries, and one of the most notorious of these can be found close to the Welsh-English border, in south east Wales.
History
Image: Andy Dolman via Creative Commons Licence
Image: Andy Dolman via Creative Commons Licence
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem - William Wolfgang Claret
The Ghosts
Conclusion
The ancient Skirrid Inn lies at the foot of the Skirrid Mountain, in the small village of Llanfihangel Crucorney , just off the main road between Abergavenny and Hereford. The Skirrid is believed to be Wales's oldest pub, and is amongst some of the oldest in the UK. It is also reputed to be one of the UK's most haunted locations. According to historical records, the inn has been providing its patrons with hospitality, and no doubt, a few heart-stopping moments, since at least 1104 - the era of the Norman conquest - and possibly, even earlier.The inn has a fascinating history, and is said to have played host to many historical figures. In the early 1400's, Owain Glyndwr, Wales's most famous opponent of English rule, is believed to have spurred on his rebels at the inn's courtyard, and indeed, numerous English kings are also reputed to have stayed at the inn - but presumably not at the same time.Much of the inn's ancient construction remains. The building's exposed oak beams are said to have been fashioned from ancient ships' timbers, and many of its wooden window frames are considered to be of original construction, along with one of the inn's wooden doors. The Skirrid's dining room houses some authentic sixteenth century wooden panelling.The Skirrid Inn has a fascinating, though very bloody history. Between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries, it served as a court room. During this era of British history, harsh sentences, including the death penalty, were meted out to murderers and petty criminals alike. More than 180 individuals are believed to have been executed by hanging at the Skirrid Inn, during its days as a courtroom. The inn's first floor is believed to have housed the courtroom, and a holding cell for prisoners was located half way up the stairs. The former cell is now a store room.In 1685, during an exceptionally bloody period in the inn's history, 180 insurgents from the Monmouth Rebellion were hanged at the Skirrid. The hangings were ordered by the notorious George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem, more popularly known as 'Hanging' Judge Jeffreys The Catholic King James II sent the judge to Wales to mete out harsh punishment to supporters of the Duke of Monmouth's failed Protestant rebellion. The rebels were executed by hanging from a beam beneath the Skirrid's staircase. The rope marks are said to be preserved in the wood of the beam.Many believe that the Skirrid's bloody history has left the inn with a whole host of non-paying guests, none of which show any signs of wanting to leave.Although there is no documentary evidence that he ever sat in person at the Skirrid's courtroom, Hanging Judge Jeffreys is rumoured to stalk the upper floors of the Skirrid Inn, no doubt looking for felons to condemn to death. One such felon, a sheep rustler named John Crowther, has reportedly put in many appearances throughout the inn. The malevolent presence of Judge Jeffreys' hangman has also been reported, along with those of several other hanged felons.Not all the Skirrid's reported spirits are criminal or malevolent in nature. They include a local clergyman, Father Henry Vaughn, whose presence has been reported as friendly and harmless. Fanny Price, who worked at the inn during the 18th century, is said to be very active throughout the Skirrid. It is believed Fanny died of consumption in 1873, aged just 35. She is reportedly most active in Room 3. Other ghostly occurrences include sightings of a spirit dubbed the White Lady, the sound of soldiers in the courtyard, the rustling of an unseen lady's dress, a powerful scent of perfume, and glasses flying off the bar unaided by human hands. An estimated ten to fifteen glasses are broken in this way every week. In fact, glasses began to fly around the bar as a former landlady, Heather Grant, negotiated a potential sale of the inn.Visitors, often totally unaware of the inn's haunted history, have reported a variety of disturbing phenomena. On more than one occasion, guests have complained of feeling as if they were being strangled, shortly before the appearance of welts on their necks, resembling rope burns. Other guests have become overwhelmed with dizziness, nausea or fear on the stairs, or complained of a palpable but invisible presence passing them at the same spot.In recent times, eight late night drinkers at the bar reportedly witnessed a bizarre phenomenon, flying money. Some paper notes, weighted down by coins, levitated and drifted around the whole bar. The notes allegedly hovered briefly in mid-air, before crashing to the floor.The inn also experiences peculiar knocking sounds, with doors either slamming shut spontaneously, or shaking violently before flying open unaided. Unexplained footsteps have been heard all over the Skirrid, and numerous cold spots felt, for which no logical cause has been found.
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One exception is sure to worry antismoking activists: Mr. Zeller said the agency was asking for public comment on whether premium cigars — hand-rolled with a tobacco leaf as a wrapper — should be placed in a special separate category not subject to F.D.A. authority. The cigar industry has lobbied Congress furiously for exemption to the rules, garnering some support from both Democrats and Republicans.
The new regulatory proposal is open to public comment for 75 days, and then the agency will make final changes, a process that will take months.
Under the new rules, companies would no longer be able to offer free samples, and e-cigarettes would have to come with warning labels saying that they contain nicotine, which is addictive. Companies would also not be able to assert that e-cigarettes were less harmful than real cigarettes unless they got approval from the F.D.A. to do so by submitting scientific information.
In the proposed restrictions on sales to minors, vending machines in public places where minors are allowed would no longer be able to carry them. A ban on Internet sales to minors, already in place for cigarettes, would extend to e-cigarettes and cigars.
E-cigarette consumption is rising fast, and in the absence of federal regulations, many states have already passed laws that ban e-cigarettes from public places, regulate their sale, and in some cases tax them. More than half of states already enforce bans on their sale to minors.
Under the new rules, companies would have to apply for F.D.A. approval for their products, but would have two years after the new rules are finalized to do so. Companies can keep their products on the market in the meantime. Eventually, the companies would have to adhere to F.D.A. standards for manufacturing their products, not unlike how drug companies and food companies do now, but the agency has yet to write those rules.
Some experts have cautioned that too high a regulatory bar could stifle smaller e-cigarette producers and help deep-pocketed tobacco companies, which have also gotten into the e-cigarette business. Innovation to make e-cigarettes better would also slow if regulations were too burdensome, they say. Meeting such requirements includes the expenses of application costs, user fees that industry pays the agency, and assembling a scientific case to show that a product should be approved.
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Whatever the relationship between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Nathan Jacobson, the high-flying Canadian businessman now a fugitive from U.S. justice, one thing is certain: they certainly didn’t just run into each other at a “community event” as the PMO claims.
Jacobson had an intimate relationship with several senior Harper cabinet ministers, paid off a CSIS agent while doing business in Russia, and apparently finessed a secret settlement out of the Canadian government under the Liberal administration of Jean Chretien even though the government denied ruining Jacobson’s business interests abroad.
Notwithstanding the Harper PMO’s ludicrous official line that “the prime minister may have met with Mr. Jacobson at a community event, as he meets thousands of Canadians from all walks of life each year,” perhaps they would be good enough explain this: who is the man standing between the prime ministers of Canada and Israel and how did he make his way into the inner sanctums of the current government?
For a prime minister who has lived through the murky departure of Arthur Porter, his handpicked chair of the Security and Intelligence Review Committee, and who also hired convicted felon Bruce Carson as a senior policy analyst and troubleshooter, it is a momentous question.
Porter left office under a cloud after his dealings in Africa with an arms dealer were revealed, and now faces a police investigation from his days at the McGill Hospital Health Centre and a billion-dollar contract the hospital awarded to disgraced Canadian engineering firm SNC Lavalin Group Inc.
Carson was a lawyer who had been jailed and disbarred for multiple counts of fraud, a criminal past that, according to his own lawyer, was fully disclosed to the government during a security check before joining the inner circle of the PM’s staff.
And so, to Nathan Jacobson: For a man with a devastating secret, the Winnipeg-born businessman lived like a male version of Cinderella – until the legal clock struck midnight.
He was rich, powerful, funny, generous, and very well-connected. The Jewish community never had a more dedicated son. Well known for his philanthropy, Jacobson and his wife Lindi were staunch backers of Israel. After high school in Winnipeg, Jacobson spent six years in the Israeli Defense Forces.
The couple were major sponsors of an event in September 2007 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the “re-unification of Jerusalem.” Jacobson was also a sponsor of the Maccabi Tel Aviv football club, a franchise that Gerald Schwartz of Onex Corporation once considered buying. (It was ultimately acquired by two Russian oligarchs in December 2007. Ironically, they were associated with the Russian defence corporation Rosoboronexport, Syria’s top weapons supplier.)
In October, 2010, when the Royal Winnipeg Ballet celebrated its 70th anniversary with performances in Israel, two of the major funders of the tour were Gerald Schwartz and Nathan Jacobson.
Even Jacobson’s anonymous philanthropy sometimes drew attention. A visitor to his ancestral home, Pavolitch in western Ukraine, admired how the Jewish cemetery there had been restored and noted the local talk about the modest benefactor whose name doesn’t appear at the site. “The renovations were done there a couple of years ago by a guy named Nathan Jacobson…”
The blogger posted photos of the restored graveyard on the internet. On the chain-link fence around the burial ground was a sign that read, “The cemetery is renovated by descendants of the Jews buried here, in their blessed memory.” The blogger got this response from a native son of Winnipeg who knew Jacobson from childhood days: “He’s about 10 years older than me and grew up around the corner … Nathan is an apparently successful international-man-of-mystery kind of guy.”
Not badly said.
Jacobson’s business acumen and philanthropy made him legendary in both Canada and Israel. He was honoured at the 38th Annual Sports dinner in Winnipeg on June 23, 2010. “Nathan lives in Herzylia, Israel and is the current International Ambassador of Jerusalem,” a local paper gushed. Eleven hundred people attended the event, including the Israeli ambassador who flew in to the evening.
There were glowing profiles in the Winnipeg Jewish Review, a favorable notice in the Jewish National Fund of Canada newsletter, and praise in newspapers like the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz for his entrepreneurial brilliance.
Jacobson was busy in the world of the boardroom too, holding positions on the Jewish National Fund, Meir Hospital and the Ukrainian Jewish Congress. He also sat on the Board of Tel Aviv University and personally funded two faculty recruitment chairs at TAU, bringing over young researchers from Toronto. One of his fellow board members was Sheldon Adelson, a casino magnate and, according to Forbes, the 12th richest person in America.
The two men shared the same working-class roots as descendants of immigrants from the Ukraine and both were self-made tycoons. The businessmen have given generously to a variety of charitable causes and shown unwavering loyalty to the staunch right-wing policies of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and to neo-conservative causes in their own countries.
Adelson, for example, has worked ceaselessly to have convicted spy Jonathan Pollard released from a U.S. prison, lobbied Washington to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and championed former GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich after he declared the Palestinians to be an “invented people.”
In the current U.S. election, Adelson has promised “limitless” funding to defeat the Democrats. He may be the only political donor in history to have given $10 million to political activists who also happen to be billionaires themselves. Charles and David Koch, the recipients of the contribution, and whose own companies have annual revenues of $100 billion and estimated personal net worths of more than $30 billion each, have dedicated the donation to taking down Barack Obama through their action committee, Americans for Prosperity.
If Romney and the GOP couldn’t imagine a better supporter than Sheldon Adelson, Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party would have trouble finding a more dedicated backer than Nathan Jacobson.
Jacobson not only shared their conservative ideology, but put his money where his political heart was; from 2007 to 2011, he made the maximum donation to the party, and also gave to several individual Conservative riding associations.
The love did not go unrequited. Jacobson was a fixture at major events involving senior Harper cabinet ministers.
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Data temperature in Btrfs
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Linux, like most other operating systems, has long tried to keep frequently-accessed data in main memory. The cost of fetching a page from disk is high, so every I/O operation which can be eliminated by keeping data in a faster location yields a significant performance improvement. Recently, there has been an increasing level of interest in adding more levels of cache; the result has been patches like bcache zcache , and more. The latest contribution in this area is a set of patches aimed at enabling multi-level caching within the Btrfs filesystem.
The patches, posted by Ben Chociej, are not a complete solution at this time. This code, instead, is meant to add the infrastructure needed to determine which data within a filesystem is "hot"; other work, to be done in the near future, will then be able to make use of this information to determine which data would benefit from being hosted on faster media - on a solid-state storage device, perhaps. The copy-on-write nature of Btrfs, along with its built-in volume management code, should make the implementation of this functionality relatively easy. We should find out in "a few weeks," when the first of these patches is promised; meanwhile, there is some interesting instrumentation work to look at.
These patches work by hooking into the small number of places in Btrfs where new I/O operations are initiated. Each of these places gets a call to:
void btrfs_update_freqs(struct inode *inode, u64 start, u64 len, int create);
Where inode is the inode for the file being operated on, start is the beginning offset (in bytes), len is the number of bytes being transferred, and the mildly confusing create parameter is nonzero iff the operation is a write. This function maintains two red-black trees; the first, which is filesystem-wide, tracks the "hottest" inodes. For each inode, there is another tree tracking the hottest parts of the file. For each tree, the btrfs_update_freqs() call will update the stored parameters with the passed-in values.
The code tracks six independent parameters: the number of reads, a running average of the time between reads, and the time since the last read - along with the same information for writes. In the end, that information gets passed to a piece of deep magic called btrfs_get_temp() which boils those numbers down to a single "temperature" value. Your editor would love to simply provide the formula which is used, but it's not that simple - there's a lot of trickery with magic constants and various provisions against integer overflow problems. For those who would like to figure it out for themselves, here's the source for btrfs_get_temp() .
There are three new ioctl() operations added by the patch set. To get the heat information for a specific file, BTRFS_IOC_GET_HEAT_INFO may be used. There are also BTRFS_IOC_GET_HEAT_OPTS and BTRFS_IOC_SET_HEAT_OPTS for querying and setting the state of heat tracking and (someday) migration of data based on the measured temperature data. A debugfs interface is also provided for those who would like to look at all of the data collected by this instrumentation.
There has not been a huge response to this patch set so far. The biggest complaint should be somewhat predictable: this capability looks like something which would be useful for many filesystems, so implementing it just for Btrfs looks like working at the wrong level. The virtual filesystem (VFS) layer is well placed to track I/O operations and could manage this kind of data collection. The VFS could also, perhaps, use this data to make better decisions on which pages to keep in the page cache. But, as long as the data is locked up within Btrfs, the VFS layer cannot use it, and it cannot be used to benefit any other filesystems.
The response to this complaint is that only Btrfs has the multiple device support needed to make use of this data. Dave Chinner finds that justification unconvincing, saying:
Why does it even need multiple devices in the filesystem? All the filesystem needs to know is the relative speed of regions of it's block address space and to be provided allocation hints.
There is often a degree of tension between those who would add features to specific filesystems and those who would rather see that functionality done at the VFS level. As a general rule, widely-useful features benefit from being done in the VFS, where they are more widely used and more closely scrutinized. But, often, an individual filesystem implementation can serve as a useful proof of concept and a place where important lessons are learned. All of which is to say that "hot data tracking" will likely make it into the kernel at some point, but it's not clear whether what is merged will resemble the current patches or not.
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Branislav Ivanovic has called for Roberto Di Matteo to be appointed as Chelsea's permanent manager irrespective of results between now and the end of the season. Since taking over from André Villas-Boas on an interim basis in March, Di Matteo has presided over 10 victories and four draws and led Chelsea to the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League. A feeling persists that Roman Abramovich is eager to hire a manager with a greater roll of honour and Di Matteo must win both trophies to have any chance of convincing the owner to look no further.
Ivanovic believes Di Matteo has shown he can deliver success. "In football it's very difficult to look far in the future but at the moment and for the last two months if you ask us, we'll tell you he is our manager and he deserves this job," the defender said. "He is a great manager and we enjoy working with him. If we win these two finals, I hope he will stay with us, but I also hope it doesn't matter on these results."
Ivanovic praised the way that Di Matteo has salvaged Chelsea's season after Villas‑Boas's ill-fated reign, suggesting that the Italian rejuvenated the players by liberating them from the constraints of the over-prescriptive Portuguese and letting them to play to theirs strengths. "The first couple of games were the most important for him and for us," he said. "We started to play to win: it didn't matter how. He gave us a bit more confidence and allowed us to feel the game a little more when we're on the field. Once we got more confidence, he built on this base.
"His tactics are more natural. He organised our team and players to get the best from the players. He does not try to put a strategy on the players, he does the opposite: his approach is that if the players have these qualities, then we must do everything to show these qualities.
"He's great for us and we really enjoy working with him. He was a great player not a long time ago so he feels football here and knows what's going to happen and when he has to be strong in the dressing room and make us quiet and more focused. Everything about his football is great."
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Joe Flacco's phone started buzzing a little bit before noon Sunday. As teammates pulled on their pads and bobbed their head to whatever music was bumping in their headphones, the Ravens quarterback interrupted his pregame routine to answer the call he had been waiting for.
It was his wife, Dana, who was at a hospital in New Jersey. She had just given birth to their son, Daniel, and wanted to let Flacco know that both she and their second child were safe and sound.
The cellular reception in the locker room, deep in the bowels of M&T Bank Stadium, was spotty, but Flacco heard exactly what he needed before jogging out on the field for pregame warmups.
From that point on, it was business as usual for the quarterback, who overcame a scoreless first half to lead two second-half touchdown drives in a 14-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Flacco, who threw for 211 yards and a touchdown, said it was a day that he would never forget.
"No doubt about it. Anytime you have a child, it's one of your best days," Flacco said. "The game didn't go exactly how we wanted it to, but that's how we've won football games around here. We're able to win like this, and sometimes you have to do it in an ugly way."
Flacco admitted that he couldn't help but think about his newborn baby as he stood on the sideline between possessions. But he said he was able to keep his mind from wandering while he was on the field. The talented Browns front seven, which sacked him twice, made sure of it.
Flacco completed just six of his 13 passes in the first quarter and went into halftime with 109 yards on 12-for-21 passing. The Ravens trailed, 6-0, at the start of the third quarter, but Flacco steered the Ravens on a 80-yard scoring drive, handing the ball off nine times on the 12 plays, including the 5-yard touchdown run by running back Bernard Pierce that put the Ravens on top, 7-6.
In the fourth quarter, he moved the Ravens down the field again with third-down completions to wide receivers Brandon Stokley and Marlon Brown before connecting with Brown for a 5-yard touchdown pass.
Flacco finished the game 22-for-33 with a 94.4 quarterback rating.
"That's Joe. There's nothing that can get to that guy," said wide receiver Torrey Smith, who led the Ravens with seven receptions and 85 receiving yards. "We were all happy. It was kind of like baby watching. We were happy for him and he just went out and played well, like Joe does."
The Ravens knew Sunday morning that Dana was in labor, a week earlier than expected. Flacco was on the phone all morning, sending text messages to family and keeping in touch with his wife, who gave birth to their oldest son, Stephen, last June.
Coach John Harbaugh said that Flacco approached him at breakfast and told him that Dana was in the delivery room. Flacco had been conspiring with a couple of teammates to tell Harbaugh that he was going to leave the team immediately and drive to New Jersey, But Flacco didn't follow through with the joke.
"I'm so glad he didn't do it," Harbaugh said. "He would have had me hook, line and sinker and in the boat. To play with that on your mind, I think obviously says a lot, and we appreciated that."
He also joked, "Congratulations to Dana. She's getting the job done on her own out there."
After the win, Flacco quickly showered and changed into his clothes. He was only at his locker stall for a few minutes, but several teammates stopped by to congratulate him before he walked out of the stadium, got in his truck and drove up to New Jersey.
"I can't wait to go back and see him," Flacco said.
As Flacco embarked on the drive back to New Jersey, his teammates marveled at his poise.
"He was actually surprisingly calm," Pierce said. "Me on the other hand, I might have been freaking out a little bit. But he was actually really calm."
Added tight end Ed Dickson: "For him being here, as a leader, we respect him for that."
Flacco didn't let his teammates down, shaking off a slow start to play mistake-free football in a critical win for the Ravens, who couldn't afford to start the season 0-2.
"Even though we didn't have a great first half, he came out and he stayed with it, he stuck with it," cornerback Lardarius Webb said. "That's just what we need out of Joe. Now, he can go be with little Daniel."
mvensel@baltsun.com
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Fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race were shocked when Katya sashayed away in the latest episode. She gave it her all, but her Hello Kitty creation and fla-zay-da runway look sunk the Russian ship. Katya gives Daily Xtra the tea on her character, her lip sync and her upcoming shows in Toronto.
Daily Xtra: Let’s talk about the creation of Katya. She’s Russian and a bit rough around the edges. How did she evolve?
Katya: I went to art school and studied video and performance art. I had been taking Russian language classes. Katya was born in my senior show based on my Russian language teacher. She was a nut. She was such a typical Russian. She came to class dressed as a hooker and was blunt and abrasive. So I hosted a show as her. It incorporated elements of drag and cross-dressing. From there, I started [hanging out in an] alt scene in Boston. I only performed Russian songs and spoke in a thick accent. People were always surprised that I wasn’t Russian. I basically spent five or six years only listening to Russian songs.
What was it like being cast on RuPaul’s Drag Race?
Oh my god. I thought I was Skyping in to do another interview. There were a lot of hoops to jump through to be on the show. I was really nervous but I was trying my best to be a personable reality TV personality. Then they said there’s a message from Ru and I fucking flipped out. It was so cool, and one of the moments I’ll never forget. You can’t tell anybody, which is so hard because when I found out I was reaching the phone to tell everybody but then they said you can’t tell anybody.
You had to lip sync very early on in the competition; how did that feel?
I’m kind of a dramatic person and everything is so heightened when you’re there. Your whole life is the show. Nothing else is going on because you have no contact to the outside world. That day was the worst day of my life. It really was. I went there to win. I knew I was going to fuck it up (the spoken lip synching during the Glamazonian Air[ways] challenge). I thought, they are just going to send me home. It was humiliating. Then all of a sudden I’m killing this lip sync, but I thought a winner doesn’t lip sync in episode 2.
You talked pretty openly about your self-doubts, and not feeling good enough to compete on the show at times. What kind of pressure cooker is the show?
I don’t have any boundaries. I’m horny for honesty. God forbid if you go on a date with me. I like making people uncomfortable by saying honest things. There’s something about the show that brings out everything that you’re dealing with. Your shit deals with you. It’s the right condition for this to happen. It’s the isolation, number one. All you do is think about yourself. I’m not a big TV watcher so that was something I didn’t know. When we were there we found out Robin Williams died and I thought, “What? There’s an outside world?” The hardest thing was the isolation, which meant constantly thinking about yourself. I’m not really that competitive. I was so naïve, thinking I’ll just go there and have my talent shine and that will be enough. Pollyanna what are you thinking? I learned a shit ton about myself. A lot of the girls are very guarded, but girl, when I walked in there to do my interviews they had to shut me up. Some girls blame the editing but I thank the editing. I gave them so many Laganja moments, but watching the show, that’s me! That’s 100 percent who I am. If people don’t like me, that’s me! That is my character.
Do you have a favorite challenge? Favorite outfit?
The John Waters challenge. When we found that out about this challenge, I thought there is no way I’m not going to kill this. If I fuck up a John Waters challenge, I need to go home immediately. Katya is filthy and irreverent. The ugliest dress runway was also the best. I was so feeling myself that day with my dress and disgusting wig. It’s such a disappointment when people aren’t willing to be ugly. I loved Violet in this challenge too. I think she is the most visually intelligent person the show’s ever had.
I also loved the conjoined twins challenge. It was such a fun episode. It was the episode where I was like “I can’t wait to watch this.” I also think it was the best RuPaul’s Drag Race trope ever! I love that the previously eliminated girl had to fight to stay and she had to earn it. It was also the best makeover episode ever. It was a win win win win win situation! Everyone gets more screen time and the runway was hysterical.
What did you feel about the new format of Untucked?
I thought, “this is cool.” I liked it being “realer” and more behind the scenes and intimate. But I thought, throw us a bone. No gold bar? Untucked used to be like doing an entire other show and you’re still on the main stage. Watching the show is a little frustrating. I went to school for editing so some of it is strange but nothing anyone ever said to me offended me. I know what I signed up for.
You’re from Boston — what makes a Boston queen different?
I have a hard time describing Boston drag. Boston doesn’t have a big drag infrastructure. We have no pageant scene and we don’t make any money. If you’re a working drag queen, you never really make money. Boston does have a cool alt scene. Everyone’s doing weird shit, and not Whitney Houston or Britney. There’s also a big burlesque scene. In Boston, queens like myself can have a big loyal following and there I could be as weird and stupid as I wanted to be.
Any Drag Race Ru-grets?
(Long, long, long laughter) . . . No. When I got home, I was like so glad to be back. The whole experience was so intense and you’re so tired and you just go fuck somebody and then sleep for three days. Then you can’t believe that just happened. Going back to normal life was so surreal. Then you start to comb through each day and challenge. This experience is basically the genesis of a web series called Ru-grets, which details what I would have done differently.
How has your life changed since the show?
Oh my god! It’s insane. I travel around and get paid 10 times to do a fraction of what I used to do. I have big time self-esteem issues and I didn’t know if I would be liked. The fans are a lot of kids and they get it. They get my sense of humor and they are totally on board. It’s so fucking great. They call me mom. They are always saying, “Break my legs mom” or “Burn down my Bar Mitzvah mom.” I never thought it would happen. It’s so motivating. When you’re a creative person and you want to produce work, you can get lazy. Sometimes you think, what’s the point? If my YouTube videos don’t go up immediately, fans are like “where are the videos mom?” It’s nice.
Has there been a singular moment that’s made you aware of the power and reach of Drag Race?
After the scene where I confided in Miss Fame about my anxiety and issues with substance abuse, so many people were saying I inspired them. I was really uncomfortable watching that scene back, but it was really an authentic moment. The show doesn’t make you do anything you don’t want to. I got so many messages from people, saying [they] have big time anxiety and substance abuse issues. The response to that has been so great. I had to watch it in a viewing party, which was tough but I know that conversation helped.
Where do you watch the show?
I do viewing parties. Most of them are in Boston at Jacques (Cabaret). I’ve been on the road the last few weeks. I was talking to Pearl about this actually. She watches it under her covers, peeking out from a hole. I obviously have to rewatch it later. It’s nerve wracking, but I know what’s happening. It’s so great to watch with people who are rooting for you.
What’s ahead for Katya?
I’m planning a web series and a one-woman show. Of course, there will be more traveling and sweating on people in public. I’m trying to get in touch with myself, trying to get more connected to my core . . . Pilates classes.
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Ultimately, it’s a young person’s game, being in a band. That’s not to say it can’t work outside of youth, but if we want to identify the perfect preconditions for forming a band, we have to zone in on the period between late teens and early twenties. This is the optimum time — the point at which family has all but receded into the distance and the idea of starting one of your own couldn’t be further from your thoughts. If you know the right people, this family-sized space can be filled by a band. Because, at that age, a band is a family too. Indeed, a family is what it has to be if it’s to withstand the confined spaces of transit vans, communal changing rooms and hot smelly rehearsal rooms. It’s going to be tense at times, but then, that’s the tension we’re paying money to see, funnelled into a hungry five-headed engine. That tension — along with the new-found camaraderie and the magic you make together — is precisely what makes you exciting.
If you’re smart, you realise that it won’t be like this forever. If you’re really smart, you know that you need to start planning an escape route RIGHT NOW. This feels kind of unjust in a way. Why can’t you sit back and enjoy your moment? When the demands on your time and attention are unprecedented, why should you worry yourself with what might happen next? In fact, the reasons are happening all around you. The extra leg room. The superior hotel rooms. The passing of time. The fact that, almost by stealth, you wake up one morning and there’s no real reason for your group to exist beyond mere expediency. Now, I’m not knocking expediency. Expediency is what makes most people go to work in the morning. And, if you’re not careful — when a few years pass and, in between albums, it suddenly feels weird to go to the pub with your band mates — you might find that cold hard expediency is suddenly the only glue keeping your band together.
Not for the first time, it’s worth turning to The Beatles to see how, at least for a short time, they did it. When the manual was still being written, it seems that they worked all of this stuff out for themselves. Playing live was something that you had to do when you were trying to make it. Indeed, playing live was pretty much all you did when you were trying to make it. But, by 1966, The Beatles were all in steady relationships, scattered around different parts of London and the commuter belt. Were they to try and draw upon the same energies that propelled them to superstardom, they would surely find that the tank was close to empty. Revolver was the record that effectively saw them deassemble and reassemble as a studio collective. An ever-shifting and adapting collective that existed to solve the problems presented to them by their increasingly ambitious songs. The Beatles were the first band to realise that you can never go back — not even when you embark on a project called Get Back, conceived to try and help you do just that.
On Sunday evening, when Radiohead’s ninth album A Moon Shaped Pool became available to buy, I looked at the options on their website and wondered, on Twitter, whether I should by the £60 edition or the £20 one. Misunderstanding my badly-worded tweet, several people replied, thinking that I was asking which Radiohead album — of all their albums — I ought to buy first. Several people suggested that I needn’t concern myself with anything beyond OK Computer. For these people, I suspect that there’s something unbeatable about listening to a band that can still just about summon the live power of their early ascent — not just that, but also the knowledge that what they’re hearing will be replicated in a fairly straightforward way when they go and see them live. It’s possible that, in 2016, they might pine for this version of Radiohead, that they just wanted them to stay this way forever.
But, like we said, life isn’t like that. In order to survive and avoid becoming their own tribute band, Radiohead have had to find a different way of being Radiohead. That painful metamorphosis is now the stuff of legend: in particular the protracted genesis of 2000’s Kid A, which entailed long periods of inactivity from members who wondered if there would even be a role for them in the band by the time the record was finished. As Thom and Jonny fiddled around with laptops in one studio, poor old Colin Greenwood described what it was sometimes like for the others: “We had this sense of duty that you should sort of hang around, which was probably not necessary at all. Sometimes it was a bit like two years of intense manual reading. You felt like an underpowered middle manager for, I dunno, a shoe company, who the bosses are trying to edge out. So they tell you they’re moving you to Tokyo and you have to learn Japanese in a week, or else. And you’re on the language course, and you haven’t got a hope in hell, but you have a go.”
That different way of being Radiohead is well represented by the publicity image that emerged last week with the announcement of A Moon Shaped Pool. Whether by accident or design, five separate mugshots side-by-side underscored the sense that, these days, Radiohead is as much a workshop as a band — a Radioheadphonic workshop, if you’ll allow me that — of musicians who seem happy to reconvene from time to time as long as their shared history and intersecting curiosities continue to produce great work.
Until the release of their previous album, it seemed barely conceivable that their instincts would sell them short. But King Of Limbs was a bewildering miscalculation: four songs — Lotus Flower, Codex, Give Up The Ghost, Little By Little — that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best that any other Radiohead album had to offer, alongside four songs that sometimes left you wondering if the balance of power within Radiohead had tipped too far towards Thom Yorke’s increasing love for introspective electronic mood pieces. Everything that was wrong with The King Of Limbs seemed to reach its apogee with Feral, a song which sounded less like Radiohead than a Chris Morris pastiche of “difficult” Radiohead. It was hard not to listen with a straight face and feel like someone somewhere was laughing at you.
We might never know why Radiohead’s hitherto sure step abandoned them for that record, but last year, on Christmas Day, they offered us a reminder that, their facility for divining a breathtaking melody, was still very much intact. It turned out that they had been approached to provide a theme song for the most recent James Bond movie Spectre. Here it was, free to download — an aquarian fever dream, blown into the blue by a string arrangement which nodded to past Bond themes whilst at the same time taking the scenic route around anything that might be termed pastiche. The unspoken punchline to the joke, of course, was that someone chose Sam Smith over this. Never mind. Here you go. Merry Christmas.
If that led you to imagine there are plenty more where that came from, you’ll have wasted no time in downloading A Moon Shaped Pool. Even before the melodies start to burst open in your mind like popping corn in a pan, the first thing you notice is the degree to which Thom Yorke has reintegrated into the band. Perhaps the creative offload afforded by recent solo album Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes is a factor here. You have to wonder, also, if Jonny Greenwood’s snowballing reputation in the film scoring fraternity is now really starting to flex some muscle in the group. Perhaps the most immediate case in point is The Numbers, a soft-focus, slo-mo collision of gauzy ensemble playing suddenly brought into sharp relief by a string and piano arrangement which recalls those on Movements — the magnificent 1970 instrumental album by Scottish composer Johnny Harris. Elsewhere, other cinematic echoes abound, a bit of Bernard Herrman here, a garnish of Michael Nyman there. Over the sound of Thom singing, “This is a low flying panic attack”, Burn The Witch eschews anything you would recognise as guitar or keyboard, instead favouring a string section whose brittle mechanical motions are just as suited to a Hammer House of Horror version of Titanic in which the band’s playing is somehow what’s making the boat sink, as they are to the song’s accompanying ‘Camberwicker Man’ animation.
It is, you’ll be unsurprised to learn, not an album for moments of shared joy and and carefree abandon. Unless you didn’t get around to sleeping last night, there are other albums you will probably prefer to play in the daytime. Like much of In Rainbows before it, it’s a record that seems better suited to the soft unknowable recesses of the human brain than a computer hard drive — indeed, on the rare occasions when Radiohead’s music hasn’t worked, it’s because it never quite seems to leave the latter. Burn The Witch notwithstanding, this entire album — co-produced once again by Nigel Godrich — feels like it’s fashioned from living tissue. On the drumless Daydreaming, the piano is slightly distorted so it sounds fuzzy around the edges, occasionally breaking into more intricate detail, before returning into the sparse simplicity of the opening verse. Thom’s default is a subdued somnambulant sigh, barged into touch by the occasional stab of strings. Similarly bereft of percussion, Glass Eyes sees him navigate a melody of unearthly beauty, supported by more strings and a glassy electric piano. Desert Island Disk is no less exquisite — a sparse (mostly) acoustic rumination which seems to take its cues from the neon-bathed small hours intimacies of One World-era John Martyn. But it’s for Present Tense that he reserves a performance of unparalleled prettiness, spinning out a 4am fever dream over what may well be the most anxious samba you’ll ever hear.
It’s on Identikit, Ful Stop [sic] and Decks Dark that — by virtue of playing together in a studio, seemingly at the same time — Radiohead come closest to sounding like “the old Radiohead”. And yet, perhaps the best thing about all three songs is that they’re not interested in relying on old tricks. Sonic catharsis among musicians of a certain age can be an undignified business. But that’s not what’s happening here. When Radiohead are on this sort of form, they exhort you to reappraise everything you think you know about what happens when white middle-aged, middle-class British men with wives and children make music together. At times, they call to mind the egoless virtuosity of revered sessioneers such as Keith Mansfield, Mike Vickers and Brian Bennett at their mid-70s peak, helping each other out on KPM library albums to imaginary espionage thrillers and, never less than fully aware of how improbable they look on the rare occasions they step out to play live.
Measured out by Colin Greenwood’s bright bustling bassline and a celestial burst of vocals (celestial backing vocals are all over this record, by the way) Identikit benefits from stabs of analogue synths and a scratchy hair-shirt guitar display from Ed O’Brien or Jonny Greenwood (I guess we’ll know which one if they play it live). Of all the songs, perhaps Decks Dark is the most emblematic of the album title, and the least complicated moment on the record: a lunar lullaby which sounds like it was improvised amid the low-lit pastel colours of a windowless space. As such, it couldn’t be more different to the Ful Stop — the one song that will surely get even the most reluctant of pulses racing. Not for the first time on a Radiohead record, you can hear the amount of turntable miles notched up in the company of Neu! and early Kraftwerk. It’s such a hard thing to do well, this. After all, a metronomic groove still has to groove. What remains truly exciting when men try to play like machines is imminent release implied by restraint; the chaos that discipline strives to keep at bay. And, at around 3:17, when Thom’s vocal gradually fades up and the guitar enters the picture, surrender has rarely sounded so sublime.
Unlike every Radiohead album that has preceded it, there have been no tales suggesting that these songs had a difficult gestation. And that feels oddly consistent with the way A Moon Shaped Pool plays out here. It’s as though they’ve allowed themselves to cast aside the superstitious self-doubts that threatened to derail them at so many previous junctures and just do the work, knowing that if they do, the results will be anything but workmanlike. And in this spirit of new-found detente with their doubting interior voices, the most unlikely things have fallen into place, not least a suitable arrangement for True Love Waits — a song they first played 21 years ago, when touring The Bends. Indeed, to apprehend the distance they’ve travelled, this is precisely where we need to go. Any band at the beginning of their journey, wondering how the hell they can survive long enough to create a comparable body of work, should listen to the earliest version they can find, all the better to hear the new one and see the hopes and fears of young love framed in the amber of human experience. This is how you do it.
#radiohead #amoonshapedpool #musicwriting #review #recordreview #albumreview
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Journalist Glenn Greenwald, known for his work with Edward Snowden, highlighted the hypocrisy of Democrats over government leaks on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday morning.
Under former President Barack Obama, Greenwald noted that Democrats hated government leaks, but explained that it's an entirely different story now that President Donald Trump is in office.
Greenwald pointed to fellow panelist Carl Bernstein, known for his work in the Watergate scandal, as reason why it's important for government employees to give journalists critical information the public needs to know that might not be exposed otherwise.
The "problem," Greenwald went on to explain, is that Democrats, under Obama, have unleashed a "war" on government leakers.
Greenwald said:
If you look at the last eight years, there has been a very concerted war on not just sources and whistleblowers, but also journalists, implemented by not Donald Trump but by the Obama administration. More sources prosecuted under the 1917 Espionage Act than in all previous administrations combined. Journalists such as James Rosen at Fox News and Jim Risen at The New York Times and those of us who worked on the Snowden reporting constantly threatened with prosecution or having our phone records subpoenaed and the like. And Democratic officeholders in D.C. were virtually unanimous in the idea that people who leak information that’s classified are villains, they’re traitors, they oughta go to prison.
However, now that Trump is in the White House, Democrats have completely flipped their position on government leaks, Greenwald said, which has allowed Trump to declare his hatred for leakers as well.
"This framework has been created, both rhetorical and legal, over the last eight years that says that people who leak classified information regardless of how important that information is, ought to be punished, and that's the rhetoric and framework Donald Trump is seizing on," Greenwald said.
"It's the reason why it's been so damaging to have watched Democrats, who suddenly love leaks now that it's helping them, weigh such an aggressive war on journalism and investigative reporting over the last eight years," he explained.
Watch Greenwald's comments below:
.@ggreenwald: "There has been a "concerted war" on whistleblowers and journalists "by the Obama administration" https://t.co/fTuZKMCG1g — CNN (@CNN) February 19, 2017
Government leaks have been a huge problem for Trump in the opening weeks of his presidency. Details from classified documents and phone conversations have been routinely leaked, which many believe lead to the ousting of Micheal Flynn, who served as the national security adviser for a mere three weeks.
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Facebook accidentally shared 6 million users' email addresses or telephone numbers due to a software bug, the company announced Friday.
The breach was caused by an unfortunate combination of Facebook's "People You May Know" and "Download Your Information" features. "People You May Know" offers friend suggestions based in part on other users' uploaded contact lists or address books; "Download Your Information" offers a downloadable version of your Facebook Timeline archive.
When some users downloaded their Facebook archives with "Download Your Information," the archive included contact information for second-tier connections with whom Facebook thought those users might want to connect but who hadn't yet received or approved a friend request from that user. Translation: Data breach.
Facebook says for every email address or phone number lost in the breach, each individual piece of information was included in an archive download "only once or twice." Facebook has no evidence there was any malicious exploitation of the bug before it was found and the service was deactivated.
SEE ALSO: How to See When Someone Unfriends You on Facebook
A security researcher found the bug and reported it to Facebook, which shared details about it on its Facebook Security page, posted in full below. Facebook says it's notifying government regulators to the problem.
All affected Facebook users will be notified via email. Have you received an e-mail about the data breach from Facebook? Are you concerned about the breach? Tell us in the comments.
At Facebook, we take people’s privacy seriously, and we strive to protect people’s information to the very best of our ability. We implement many safeguards, hire the brightest engineers and train them to ensure we have only high-quality code behind the scenes of your Facebook experiences. We even have teams that focus exclusively on preventing and fixing privacy-related technical issues before they affect you. Even with a strong team, no company can ensure 100% prevention of bugs, and in rare cases we don’t discover a problem until it has already affected a person’s account. This is one of the reasons we also have a White Hat program to collaborate with external security researchers and help us ensure that we maintain the highest security standards for our users. We recently received a report to our White Hat program regarding a bug that may have allowed some of a person’s contact information (email or phone number) to be accessed by people who either had some contact information about that person or some connection to them. Describing what caused the bug can get pretty technical, but we want to explain how it happened. When people upload their contact lists or address books to Facebook, we try to match that data with the contact information of other people on Facebook in order to generate friend recommendations. For example, we don’t want to recommend that people invite contacts to join Facebook if those contacts are already on Facebook; instead, we want to recommend that they invite those contacts to be their friends on Facebook. Because of the bug, some of the information used to make friend recommendations and reduce the number of invitations we send was inadvertently stored in association with people’s contact information as part of their account on Facebook. As a result, if a person went to download an archive of their Facebook account through our Download Your Information (DYI) tool, they may have been provided with additional email addresses or telephone numbers for their contacts or people with whom they have some connection. This contact information was provided by other people on Facebook and was not necessarily accurate, but was inadvertently included with the contacts of the person using the DYI tool. After review and confirmation of the bug by our security team, we immediately disabled the DYI tool to fix the problem and were able to turn the tool back on the next day once we were satisfied that the problem had been fixed. We've concluded that approximately 6 million Facebook users had email addresses or telephone numbers shared. There were other email addresses or telephone numbers included in the downloads, but they were not connected to any Facebook users or even names of individuals. For almost all of the email addresses or telephone numbers impacted, each individual email address or telephone number was only included in a download once or twice. This means, in almost all cases, an email address or telephone number was only exposed to one person. Additionally, no other types of personal or financial information were included and only people on Facebook – not developers or advertisers – have access to the DYI tool. We currently have no evidence that this bug has been exploited maliciously and we have not received complaints from users or seen anomalous behavior on the tool or site to suggest wrongdoing. Although the practical impact of this bug is likely to be minimal since any email address or phone number that was shared was shared with people who already had some of that contact information anyway, or who had some connection to one another, it's still something we're upset and embarrassed by, and we'll work doubly hard to make sure nothing like this happens again. Your trust is the most important asset we have, and we are committed to improving our safety procedures and keeping your information safe and secure. We have already notified our regulators in the US, Canada and Europe, and we are in the process of notifying affected users via email. We appreciate the security researcher's report to our White Hat program, and have paid out a bug bounty to thank him for his efforts.
Image via iStockphoto, pearleye
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
In the wake of last week’s Jay Bruce trade, the Reds recalled Scott Schebler from Triple-A Louisville. In his first start since his return to the big club, Schebler went 3-5 and absolutely destroyed a baseball for a walk-off home run to beat the Cardinals. The next night, Schebler—playing in Bruce’s old right field stomping grounds—leaped high above the fence to rob a home run. In his third game, he collected a double and a couple of runs scored.
Hey, that was a fun time, wasn’t it? For those of us still in shock about the Bruce trade, it permitted an opportunity to dream a little bit. After all, Schebler had been killing the ball in Louisville after the Reds sent him down in early May. He was the International League’s Player of the Month in July, and had posted a Triple-A batting line of .311/.370/.564 with 13 home runs, 18 doubles, and 8 triples in 75 games. He came to the big leagues and immediately made an impact.
Forget Jay Bruce!
Well, maybe not. Since those early heroics, Schebler has struggled mightily. In his last seventeen at-bats, he hasn’t collected a single hit and, even worse, he has struck out eight times. In the big leagues this year, he’s hitting .185/.242/.337.
So what can we make of Scott Schebler? Does he have a chance to be a long-term starter for the Reds? Is he destined to be a fourth outfielder? Is he just a power bat for the bench? A stop-gap until top prospect Jesse Winker gets to town?
Yes.
What I mean, of course, is that Schebler could end up being any one of those. The jury really is still out, and we’ll need to see a lot more of Schebler on the major league level before we really know what his career will be like. But I have some suspicions.
What do we know about Scott Schebler? He was drafted by the Dodgers in the 26th round of the 2010 draft. He was a big-time athlete in high school, setting track records in the 55-meter dash, the long jump and the 800-meter relay, while also playing basketball, football, and soccer. He moved on to Des Moines Area Community College, where he played one year before being drafted.
Minor league prospect guru John Sickels had this to say about Schebler last fall:
Certainly there was nothing wrong with his performance for DMACC: he hit .446/.529/.877 with 20 homers, 30 walks, and just 25 strikeouts in 204 at-bats that spring. The draft slot was a bit misleading; it cost $300,000 (sixth round money) to keep him from fulfilling his junior year commitment to Wichita State University. Scouts were attracted to Schebler’s power potential and decent speed but had questions about his swing mechanics. Schebler’s big breakout occurred in 2013 when he hit .296/.360/.581 with 27 homers, 140 wRC+, and 16 steals for Rancho Cucamonga in the California League. Of course, that’s the Cal League, but he maintained the production with a .280/.365/.556, 28 homer, 154 wRC+ line with Double-A Chattanooga in 2014. 2015 was another matter: he slumped to .241/.322/.410 with 13 homers and a wRC+ of just 91 for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
For Chattanooga in 2014, Schebler led the Southern League in total bases, triples, and home runs. At that point, Schebler was ranked as high as #6 on Dodger prospect lists (Baseball America ranked him eighth in the system). He was a legitimate prospect.
Then 2015 happened. That performance in his first exposure to Triple-A was where Schebler’s prospect status started to dim, and that’s likely why the Reds were able to acquire him in the Todd Frazier deal (along with Jose Peraza).
After a strong spring in 2016, Schebler was named to Cincinnati’s Opening Day roster. He was expected to platoon in left field with Adam Duvall, and manager Bryan Price stuck with that plan for about a month. During that month, Duvall hit well, beginning a stretch that would see him land in the All-Star Game. Schebler, on the other hand, tanked, hitting .188/.246/.344 in 27 games.
Schebler was summarily demoted to Louisville. As his former platoon partner took the Queen City by storm, Scott Schebler traveled down I-71 to Louisville…
…where he proceeded to pound baseballs into oblivion. By the time he was recalled to Cincinnati, Schebler had established himself as perhaps the best hitter in the International League. Which left us all to wonder? Which is the real Schebler, the 2015 version or the 2016 version?
Well, I wouldn’t bet the ranch that Schebler will ever hit .311/.370/.564 in the majors like he did at Louisville this year. But the more I look at his numbers, the more I think he can be a decent big league hitter.
The thing that impresses me about Schebler is that he has steadily improved his strikeout rate and walk rate as he has advanced through the minors. In fact, that sub-par season at Oklahoma City actually saw Schebler post career-bests in both those categories. When you consider that his peripherals looked pretty good (and he performed well in a very short stint with the Dodgers in September of last year), it makes me wonder if 2015 wasn’t just an outlier. It was his first taste of Triple-A, and he was nearly three years younger than the average age in that league. His second helping of Triple-A tasted much better.
(For what it’s worth, at Louisville this year, Schebler improved his strikeout rate a touch more (down to 18.5%), but his walk rate took a slight dip.)
What I really like about Schebler is his athleticism. He has shown that his power is real, but he isn’t a prototypical slugger. He had 27 triples across two levels in 2013-14 (the same two years that he hit 56 home runs). He has nine triples so far this year. The guy can run.
Unfortunately, that athleticism doesn’t necessarily translate into great defense. Almost every scout has rated his defense as strictly average, thanks primarily to a below-average arm. But he can play all three outfield positions at least passably. He isn’t going to kill the Reds in the field.
Where he can help the club is with that left-handed power bat. Can he make enough contact to be a good big league player? Only time will tell.
Frankly, there is a lot to like about Schott Schebler. He’s only 25 years-old, so his prime years are still ahead. I don’t think it’s completely out of the question that Schebler could put together a similar career path to some other Reds who were a little older when they first established themselves in the big leagues. Guys like Todd Frazier or Chris Sabo.
I’m not predicting that, and it’s pretty, pretty, pretty unlikely that he’ll make multiple All-Star teams like those guys. It’s unlikely that he’ll ever make one All-Star team. But the same could have been said for Adam Duvall, too. We can dream, right?
More likely, Schebler has a real chance to be an average major league starter for the next four years, a #5 hitter who can hit homers and drive in runs. The worst-case scenario is that he’s a decent fourth outfielder who can hit some pinch-hit bombs.
I’ll say this: in my opinion, Scott Schebler is a much better bet to be a valuable contributor to the next good Reds team than Adam Duvall. If the choice is between Duvall and Schebler for the third outfield spot beside the ever-improving Billy Hamilton and Jesse Winker, give me Schebler please.
Better yet, give me Yasiel Puig. But that’s a different column for a different time.
—
Chad Dotson is a contributor to Nuxhall Way, ESPN’s SweetSpot blog, and the founder of Redleg Nation. You can follow him on Twitter at @dotsonc.
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1 Understand the risks associated with this method. While some people have reported successfully changing their stuck pixels' statuses by putting pressure on them or using heat, doing so is more likely to harm your screen than it is to fix it. The other issue with this method is that it will often void your warranty. While some people have reported successfully changing their stuck pixels' statuses by putting pressure on them or using heat, doing so is more likely to harm your screen than it is to fix it.
2 Turn on the computer and LCD screen. Your screen must be on for this method to work.
3 Display a black image. It is imperative that you are showing a black image and not just a blank signal, as you need the back-lighting of the LCD to be illuminating the back of the panel.
4 Find a narrow object with a blunt, narrow end. A Sharpie marker with the cap on, an incredibly dull pencil, a plastic stylus, or the end of a makeup brush would all work for this. Before you proceed further read the warnings at the end of this article. Physically rubbing your monitor might make things worse. A Sharpie marker with the cap on, an incredibly dull pencil, a plastic stylus, or the end of a makeup brush would all work for this.
5 Wrap the end of the object in a cloth. This will prevent the hard surface of the object from scratching up your monitor. If the object is capable of poking through the cloth, it's too sharp. Find a different object. This will prevent the hard surface of the object from scratching up your monitor.
6 Use the rounded end of the object to gently press the stuck pixel. You should see a light white rippling effect appear around the point of contact. Try to apply pressure only to the stuck pixel and not the surrounding area. You should see a light white rippling effect appear around the point of contact.
7 Remove the object after a few seconds. If the pixel is still stuck, you can repeat the pressure, or proceed with using heat; if it isn't stuck, however, shut down your monitor immediately and leave it off for at least one hour.
8 Dampen a washcloth with hot water. If you can, heat water on the stove until it's just beginning to show air bubbles at the bottom of the container (around 190 degrees Fahrenheit), then put the washcloth in and dump the hot water over the washcloth.
9 Cover your hands. You don't want to burn your fingers in the next steps, so use oven mitts or a heavy-duty washcloth.
10 Seal the hot washcloth in a plastic sandwich bag. This will protect the monitor from moisture. Make sure the seal is completely closed.
11 Hold the bag against the stuck pixel. Applying light pressure in this manner should loosen the pixel's internals, potentially unsticking it in the process. Make sure not to hold the bag against the pixel for more than a few seconds at a time. Applying light pressure in this manner should loosen the pixel's internals, potentially unsticking it in the process.
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The official website for the Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry anime film revealed on Wednesday that theaters showing the film will give viewers a free booklet while supplies last. The booklet contains the rough storyboards for the film that original manga creator Hiro Mashima drew. Mashima drew 193 pages of storyboard for the film (pictured below), and is also serving as executive producer. Mashima also drew rough sketches for the characters and the key visuals for the film, which feature Natsu half transformed into a dragon.
Starting in the movie's second week on May 13, each filmgoer will receive one of three randomly distributed character bromide photos of Natsu, Lucy, or Sonya, complete with a reproduced signature of the respective character's voice cast member.
The film's second promotional video debuted last month. The film will open in Japan on May 6.
The tagline in the visual reads "That power … is it hope or destruction…?"
The cast includes:
Tetsuya Kakihara as Natsu Dragneel Aya Hirano as Lucy Heartfilia
Rie Kugimiya as Happy
Yūichi Nakamura as Gray Fullbuster
Sayaka Ohara as Erza Scarlet
Satomi Satou as Wendy
Yui Horie as Charles
Makoto Furukawa as King Animus, the king of Stella kingdom.
Aoi Yūki as Sonya, an aide to King Animus
Jiro Saito as Zash Caine, the minister of state of Stella Kingdom
Those who purchase advance tickets for the film will receive clear files with Hiro Mashima's special illustration of Natsu. Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine originally published the illustration. Advance tickets with the clear file are now on sale at select theaters, Animate stores, and 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan.
Tatsuma Minamikawa (episode director for Aldnoah.Zero, Attack on Titan, Haganai NEXT) is directing the film at A-1 Pictures. Shoji Yonemura is returning from the previous two television anime series to write the script, Yuuko Yamada (chief animation director for Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East, Persona 3 the Movie #3 Falling Down) is the character designer and chief animation director, and Yasuharu Takanashi is returning from the previous anime series and Fairy Tail Zero to compose the music. GAGA is distributing the film.
Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine had announced in May 2015 that Fairy Tail was getting a second anime film.
The manga follows the adventures of world's most notorious mage guild, Fairy Tail. The manga already inspired two television anime, several previous original video anime projects, and spinoff manga. The franchise's first anime film, Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess, opened in Japan on August 18, 2012.
The television anime series also revealed last March that a new project is in the works.
Del Rey published the first 12 volumes of the original manga in North America, and Kodansha Comics resumed publishing the manga in English with the 13th volume in 2011. Crunchyroll streamed the second television anime into several countries as it aired in Japan, and Funimation has been releasing DVD/Blu-ray Disc sets.
Source: Anime! Anime! (Kōtarō Nakase)
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Over the last couple of weeks, people have been flying drones over Pinewood Studios, where Star Wars Episode VII is being filmed. That made waves last week, but, perhaps most interestingly, the studio ordered a "DroneShield" back in June anticipating the drone problem.
The captured footage shows what looks to be a half-finished Millennium Falcon and two X-Wing fighters parked out near Britain's Greenham Common. Footage like this was bound to pop up at some point, mostly because you can't keep damn near anything secret these days, especially not a brand new Star Wars movie.
Pinewood appeared to know that, too. Motherboard has exclusively gotten its hands on an order form that shows the company ordered one "DroneShield," a product that can supposedly detect the presence of drones nearby.
According to the company, a DroneShield can "provide advanced warning of helicopters and drones commonly used by paparazzi and media. Alerts are sent by email or SMS and can be linked to alarm and security response teams and data collected is preserved for subsequent legal proceedings."
To be completely honest, I have no idea how well the product works—I was supposed to test it out one day last year, but a last-minute scheduling conflict happened, so I haven't seen it in action. Beyond that, flying a drone in many places isn't illegal, so it's unclear what the studio would do if it detected a drone.
Last tweet for the night. I spotted this at the weekend whilst #flying over Greenham Common. #StarWarsEpisodeVII pic.twitter.com/ypCNrZVDxl — FlyMAC (@FlyMAC_Popham) September 9, 2014
In any case, the folks over at DroneShield say that Pinewood Studios never actually got the product: The State Department keeps close tabs on products like these that are shipped overseas, and a rep at DroneShield told me the company's export application never went through. So, no DroneShield to protect against Star Wars leaks.
"We weren't able to ship overseas because our ITAR (export) application, filed in May, hadn't been approved," the rep told me in an email. "It is now September and it STILL hasn't been approved."
According to the rep, the company has orders from at least 20 overseas companies, but it still doesn't have permission to ship the DroneShield. A request for comment from Pinewood Studios wasn't immediately returned.
Still, it's probably safe to say they aren't too stoked that photos of the set are being leaked. The fact the company foresaw this problem in the first place, suggests, at the very least, this is something major studios are worried about happening more often.
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In an editorial published September 16, the Los Angeles Times declared that states attempting to nullify unconstitutional acts of the federal government were “states of denial.” The very idea that states can “decide for themselves whether federal laws are unconstitutional” is, the paper insists, “rejected even by many legal scholars who support states’ rights.”
Articles such as this one are probably what made Thomas Jefferson declare, “I have given up newspapers in exchange for Tacitus and Thucydides, for Newton and Euclid; and I find myself much the happier.”
That said, the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times not only lacks basic understanding of fundamental principles of constitutional construction, but they hide their ignorance in a cowardly fashion behind the skirts of “scholars,” apparently afraid to come out and make statements of supposed constitutional certainty on their own.
To its credit, the article does make a bold statement so incredible and so detached from reality that it deserves reprinting here. The Times says, without qualification whatsoever, that state legislators violate [their oath of office] when they attempt to nullify duly enacted federal laws.”
With that statement in mind, one wonders if the Times will make the same accusation of all those federal lawmakers and President Obama who violate the oaths they have taken to be bound by the Constitution and to protect it from enemies foreign and domestic.
Moreover, will the Times call out these elected officials for their disregard of the very clear constitutional limits on their power? It only stands to reason that if an attempt to enforce constitutional limits on power is a violation of the oath of office, then overt acts to exceed those limits are even more unforgivable offenses against it.
While not bothering to quote any of the “many legal scholars” who purportedly advocate for states’ rights but reject nullification, the Times begins its brief condemnation of nullification by countering the “imaginary authority” asserted by states who take on the federal government with the so-called Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the Constitution.
Despite its misreading of this provision, the Supremacy Clause (as some wrongly call it) of Article VI does not declare that federal laws are the supreme law of the land without qualification. What it says is that the Constitution "and laws of the United States made in pursuance thereof" are the supreme law of the land.
Read that clause again: “In pursuance thereof,” not in violation thereof. If an act of Congress is not permissible under any enumerated power given to it in the Constitution, it was not made in pursuance of the Constitution and therefore not only is not the supreme law of the land, it is not the law at all.
Constitutionally speaking, then, whenever the federal government passes any measure not provided for in the limited roster of its enumerated powers, those acts are not awarded any sort of supremacy. Instead, they are “merely acts of usurpation” and do not qualify as the supreme law of the land. In fact, acts of Congress are the supreme law of the land only if they are made in pursuance of its constitutional powers, not in defiance thereof.
Alexander Hamilton put an even finer point on the issue when he wrote in The Federalist, No. 78, “There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the constitution, can be valid.”
To highlight the “constitutional defect” of nullification, the LA Times points to the recent failure of the Missouri state senate to override the state governor’s veto of a bill nullifying the federal government’s attempts to unconstitutionally infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms as protected by the Second Amendment.
As reported by The New American, the state senate fell one vote short of overturning Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of the Second Amendment Preservation Act, a measure passed by an overwhelming majority of state legislators in both houses.
The LA Times is correct in describing this turn of events as “shocking,” although not in the way it meant it. What is shocking is that when their constituents needed them to stand in defense of their constitutionally protected rights, state legislators could not muster the courage to uphold the oath they swore to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, choosing instead to bow to the pressure of special interest groups.
Something most, though not enough, Missouri lawmakers understand is that the federal government is the creature of the states, not their creator. The states provisionally delegated a portion of their sovereignty to the federal government and they specifically enumerated that authority in the Constitution.
Federal exercise of power, as understood by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, is legitimate only if those powers were granted to the federal government by the people and listed specifically in the Constitution.
In the Virginia Resolution, Madison described any attempt by the federal government to act outside the boundaries of its constitutional powers as a “dangerous exercise,” and reminded state legislatures that they were “duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil.”
Considering, then, that the Second Amendment to the Constitution explicitly forbids the federal government from infringing on the right of citizens to keep and bear arms (“shall not infringe"), any movement by Congress or the White House in that direction certainly passes Madisonian muster for state nullification.
Not to mention the fact that the black letter of the Tenth Amendment explicitly reserves to the states (and to the people) the full panoply of all powers “not delegated to the United States by the Constitution.”
Emulating the buffet-style approach to the Constitution taken by most organs of the Establishment media, the LA Times completely ignores the Tenth Amendment, while decrying the potential for “clear violation of the 1st Amendment” in Missouri’s failed gun grab nullification.
The tone of the Times editorial suggests that there are no limits on the ability of states to disregard bills passed by the federal government. This is not so. In fact, the proper application of the principle of nullification prevents a constant clash of powers.
Nullification is not the right of states to nullify any federal act. Rather, it is the right to choose to not enforce any federal act that fails to conform to the constitutionally established limits on its authority. Nullification presupposes that there are myriad (albeit limited) areas over which the Constitution has given purview to the federal government: defense, naturalization, foreign relations, interstate commerce, etc.
When Washington decides to go walkabout, however, and starts legislating (or issuing edicts, in the case of President Obama) in areas not within its constitutional boundaries (healthcare, education, gun ownership), the states retain the right to check that usurpation by refusing to afford such acts the power of law. Conversely, it would be a usurpation on the part of the states should they attempt to disregard federal laws that are constitutionally sound.
Crisis averted.
Those of us engaged in the struggle to force the federal beast back inside its constitutional cage are not nuts, and we are not feverish. Nullification is not based on some “imaginary authority” and it will not fade away, so long as the federal government insists on trampling the rights of the people of the United States.
We, with Jefferson and Madison, declare our “warm attachment to the Union of the States.” Our devotion to the Constitution and to the rule of law compel us to “watch over and oppose every infraction of those principles which constitute the only basis of that Union, because a faithful observance of them can alone secure its existence and the public happiness.”
Regardless of the opinions of the Los Angeles Times and others in the mainstream media, Missouri, Texas, Minnesota, and other states struggling to protect citizens from the ravages of ObamaCare and other unconstitutional federal acts do not stand alone in their efforts to resist the tyranny of the federal government. Millions of Americans — lawmaker and citizen alike — are awakening and realizing that the endurance of our union depends on its being moored once again to the firm and timeless principles of federalism and state sovereignty.
Photo: AP Images
Joe A. Wolverton, II, J.D. is a correspondent for The New American and travels frequently nationwide speaking on topics of nullification, the NDAA, and the surveillance state. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Otto Frederick Warmbier (C), a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo release
Otto Warmbier, the University of Virginia student imprisoned by North Korea who remains in a coma since his release this week, was active at the campus Hillel and cared deeply about the Jewish community, its rabbi recalls.
Warmbier, 22, a Cincinnati native, was traveling on a student tour of North Korea last year when he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for stealing a propaganda poster.
After international outrage and over a year of imprisonment, North Korea released him this week, saying his health had deteriorated severely. Warmbier’s doctors say he is unresponsive and has suffered extensive brain damage.
Rabbi Jake Rubin, the University of Virginia’s Hillel director, told JTA in an email that it was another overseas trip that sealed Warmbier’s connection to the Jewish community.
A 2014 Birthright mission to Israel, where Warmbier received a Hebrew name during a hike to Masada, left a strong impression on the young man. Following the trip, he became involved with the Jewish community on campus.
Birthright offers free trips to individuals who identify as Jewish, have at least one Jewish birth parent or have completed Jewish conversion. Rubin did not answer a question about Warmbier’s Jewish background.
The rabbi described Warmbier as “a beloved member of our Hillel community.”
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“He was a regular at Bagels on Lawn, celebrated Shabbat and holidays at Hillel, and even led a seder for other students that focused on issues of environmentalism and sustainability,” Rubin wrote.
During that seder, Warmbier and another student used the Passover ritual as a way to introduce issues related to climate change.
“What are the ten plagues of climate change? How can washing our hands remind us of the importance of water conservation? Throughout the Seder, we asked participants to reflect on how the story of the Exodus and the Seder traditions relate to environmental challenges,” Lia Cattaneo, who led the seder with Warmbier, wrote in a 2015 blog on the Hillel website.
Rubin recalled the joy that infused Warmbier’s day-to-day life.
“In the simplest interactions Otto always found something of interest and would make you smile,” he wrote. “At every stop on Birthright he would try some kind of new food, strike up a conversation with someone new, or find some unique thing to bargain for. He loved life and it was infectious.”
Beyond Hillel, Warmbier was a leader on the University of Virginia campus, Rubin said. Warmbier served on the student council’s sustainability committee and spoke with a Tel Aviv councilman, Etai Pikas, about environmentalism in Israel.
“The opportunity to hear from the man voted one of Israel’s 100 Most Influential People on his work and passion was truly remarkable,” Warmbier wrote of the meeting in a blog for Hillel published in 2015.
Rubin described Warmbier as a person who “was always full of life, intellectually curious, and cared deeply for his friends and community.”
“He was always interested in learning more about the world and the people around him. He put everyone at ease with his humor and genuine interest for others,” the rabbi added. “Otto was a leader at UVa and we are fortunate that he is a member of our community.”
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Employees of The Guardian newspaper could face criminal charges over their role in publishing secrets leaked by Edward Snowden, Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer has signalled.
Cressida Dick, an assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard, confirmed for the first time that detectives were examining whether staff at the newspaper had committed an offence.
She also told MPs that her officers are looking at potential breaches of a specific anti-terrorism law which makes it unlawful to communicate information about British intelligence agents. The offence carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Mr Snowden, who worked as a contractor for the US National Security Agency, stole 58,000 documents containing names and other personal details about British intellience operatives, as well as information about this country’s spying techniques and capabilities.
Security service chiefs have expressed concern that lives would be put at risk if the information fell into the wrong hands, and warned that terrorists and criminals are learning how to avoid detection thanks to articles which The Guardian has published based on Mr Snowden’s disclosures .
Miss Dick told the Commons’ home affairs select committee: “It appears possible, once we look at the material, that some people may have committed offences.
“We nees to establish whether they have or haven’t. That involves a huge amount of scoping of material.”
Asked by Michael Ellis MP if her team was investigating possible offences under a section of the Terrorism Act 2000 which makes it illegal to “elicit, publish or communicate” information about members of the intelligence services, Miss Dick said: “Yes, indeed, we are looking at that as a potential.”
Details of Scotland Yard’s inquiry emerged as The Guardian’s editor confirmed his newspaper had sent unredacted copies of the highly classified documents to other news organisations abroad.
Alan Rusbridger said: “In stuff that was transmitted we did some cleaning up but we did not clean up every one of the 58,000 documents.”
Mark Reckless MP asked the journalist: “Can I ask why you did not redact those names?”
Mr Rusbridger replied: “There were 58,000 documents.”
The editor also confirmed that a “small amount” of classified material was sent to journalists in the US using the courier company Federal Express.
The Guardian editor told MPs that only 1 per cent of intelligence files leaked by Mr Snowden have so far been published by his newspaper.
He insisted he and his colleagues were “patriots” after he was asked by Keith Vaz MP, the committee chairman, whether he “loved this country”.
The editor said The Guardian was not a “rogue newspaper” and other editors of other international titles had decided to publish details from the leaked files.
Mr Ellis suggested to Mr Rusbridger that communicating the files to other individuals and organisations had been a criminal offence.
“You may be a lawyer, Mr Ellis, I’m not, so I will leave that with you,” the editor replied.
He confirmed The Guardian had paid for flights taken by David Miranda, the partner of former Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, who was stopped carrying copies of the files through Heathrow airport in August. Mr Rusbridger said Mr Miranda had been working as an “intermediary”.
Earlier this year Andrew Parker, the MI5 director general, warned in a speech that revealing details about the work of GCHQ, the government listening post, was a “gift to terrorists”.
And last month Sir John Sawers, the MI6 chief, said terrorists were “rubbing their hands with glee” at the Snowden disclosures. He said: “What I can tell you is that the leaks from Snowden have been very damaging, they have put our operations at risk. Al-Qaeda is lapping it up."
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “Nothing we’ve heard today from Alan Rusbridger changes the facts or the Government’s position.
“The Guardian’s publication and non-secure storage of secret documents has had a damaging effect on our national security capabilities.”
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