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&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span id="selection-marker-1" class="redactor-selection-marker" data-verified="redactor"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; Rachele Schulist wants runners to know that "the idea that you have to look a certain way and be thin to be a fast runner is bullshit." Based on her own personal experience, which she detailed in a powerful message on Instagram , Schulist has learned that being unhealthy does not make for a sustainable college career in distance running.The Michigan State All American began her post with two side-by-side images: one being her finish at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the second being her finish at the 2016 NCAA championships."Left: NCAA 2014. Right: NCAA 2016. Look at the picture on the left. If in your mind this is what a 'good' or competitive distance runner looks like, please, keep reading," Schulist began the post.In 2014, Schulist finished fourth and helped lead the Spartans to the program's first ever NCAA team title. It was a breakthrough year for the sophomore, who captured top five finishes in every race that season and earned her first All American honor. But as dominant and thrilling as her race results appeared, Schulist admitted that she was in truth, "very unhealthy" and "not happy.""My coaches warned me about the consequences of running in this unhealthy state, but seeing as my running was going well I ignored them and figured they were wrong," she wrote.Schulist's body began to break down in the fall of 2015 when she learned that she had a stress fracture. She spent the majority of the fall and winter recovering from her injury, and didn't race until February of 2016 when she opened up with a 9:44 indoor 3K. But as injuries often result, the mental battle of recovery proved to be even tougher for Schulist."Even though I knew being too small is not sustainable, it was hard for me to believe that I could achieve success and be the runner I used to be without it, and I allowed myself to believe this for the better part of this season…..I allowed this lie to dictate my running, and my running suffered as a consequence," Schulist wrote.During the early portion of the 2016 cross country season, Schulist finished 19th at the Roy Griak Invitational and a disappointing 134th at the Wisconsin Invitational. The Wisconsin performance was a hard blow for Schulist to accept as she had once finished second at the same meet. At this point in the season and one day before the Big Ten Conference Championships, Schulist was overcome with doubt in her ability, but an impactful meeting with her coach Walt Drenth helped bring her out of the hole of self-doubt."My coach could tell from my race plan that I was not mentally engaged and the night before Big Tens called me in to talk," Schulist wrote. "He asked me at what point was I going to draw a line in the sand and put an end to whatever was holding me back from running the way I know I can. So I did.""I made myself just let go. I let go to the insecurities and lies I was telling myself because I know who I am and what I stand for. And I stand for doing what is right and what is healthy," she wrote.Schulist went on to place ninth at Big Tens, fourth at the NCAA Great Lakes Region, and 12th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships--just 12 seconds shy of her 2014 performance, but more importantly, while running in her healthiest state.Read Schulist's full account of her journey on her Instagram post
To many fans worldwide, and especially in the Southern United States, Ric Flair is the greatest wrestler to have ever lived. With a career that spanned from the early 1970s to the late 2000s, his ability to remain in the limelight is unparalleled. He is a 16 time World Champion across the NWA, WCW, and WWE. Down South in the NWA, he was the answer to Hulk Hogan for so many years throughout the 1980s. While Hogan relied on his look, and superior marketing by Vince McMahon, Flair was setting arenas from Texas to Florida to the Carolinas ablaze with his supreme interviews, amazing in-ring performances, and one of a kind swagger that came to be known as Styling and Profiling. Conversely, a part of his career that is kind of just mentioned in passing, or not as celebrated, was when he did the unthinkable, and jumped to the WWE in 1991. After years of clashing with WCW/NWA upper management, he brought the Big Gold Belt to WWE with him. He remained there until January of 1993, and his tenure was filled with perplexing decisions as well as memorable moments. Not only was it a strange time for Flair, it was a strange time for WWE. Not only was there a steroid cloud hanging over WWE, it was a period of transition. However, from the minute The Nature Boy walked in the company he was treated as a big deal. While Flair had a run in the 2000s that is remembered with reverence, the far more interesting one is his not as talked about 1991-1993 journey.
Egypt has established a joint military council to discuss launching “major military manoeuvres” in Saudi Arabia. Other Gulf states will also take part in the military exercises according to a joint statement issued after talks in Cairo. The Saudi Defence Minister, 30-year-old Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, arrived in Egyptian capital Cairo on Tuesday in his first official visit to the key North African ally since assuming his role in January 2015. The visit came as Egypt continues to support Saudi Arabia in a three-week old military campaign in Yemen that aims to return President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi to power. At least four Egyptian warships are known to have travelled south to the Gulf of Aden, and have been shelling the strategic port city of Aden from the sea. Residents of Aden warned of a humanitarian disaster in the city as fighting intensified and the town was effectively cut off, with fears of dire food and water shortages leading to large numbers of civilian deaths. The Bab al-Mandab Strait, a causeway that connects the Persian Gulf to Egypt’s Suez Canal via the Red Sea, lies just off the coast of Yemen. Egypt has expressed fears that Houthi fighters could close the channel amid unrest that has seen Hadi flee to Riyadh from Yemen and militants take control of key state institutions. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said that securing the waterway is “a battle of life or death for Egypt". Days after joining the military coalition, Sisi warned that any closure would have a negative impact on the country’s struggling economy, which is propped up by large cash injections from the Gulf and particularly Saudi Arabia. Some 3.4 million barrels of oil are thought to pass through the strait daily and Egypt, a strong regional ally of Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, reiterated on Tuesday that the security of the Red Sea is a “red line”. The announcement of joint Egyptian and Gulf military manoeuvres comes on the back of intense speculation surrounding the presence of Egyptian troops inside Yemen. Local news sites have reported over the past week that up to 2,000 Egyptian ground troops are already stationed inside Yemen to support the Saudi-led airstrikes. However, Egypt denied the reports on Tuesday, but confirmed that they are prepared to send ground forces “if necessary”. A spokesperson for the Saudi-led campaign, dubbed Operation Decisive Storm, said he was unable to comment.
CAIRO—Once shrouded in mystery, the pyramids of Giza are now believed to be the earliest known attempt at camping out, a team of archeologists reported Monday. "It appears that around 400 BC, the pharaohs of Egypt began packing up all of their earthly possessions for some recreational camping on the banks of the Nile," said Dr. Tarek Hilal of Alexandria University, noting that the pyramids' dense outer walls and sharply angled faces would have been perfect for keeping rain out. "Furthermore, it seems that the extensive hieroglyphics showing spirits embarking on a journey to the afterlife was their way of telling spooky ghost stories." Despite the remarkable discovery, Hilal and his team are still unsure why so many ancient Egyptians decided to remove their inner organs before getting inside their stone sleeping bags at night. Advertisement
Autopsy at Hotel-Dieu by Henri Gervex When Italian authorities confirmed that James Gandolfini had just died in Rome of an apparent heart attack in 2013, many reports in American media fronted the fact that Gandolfini’s body would be autopsied, “as required by Italian law.” They emphasized this news for understandable reasons—an autopsy on someone who died in medical care seemed unusual. In the United States, we usually don’t autopsy people unless the cause of death is mysterious or foul play is suspected. In fact, we autopsy less than 5 percent of all deaths. So why would you want to do an autopsy on someone when the cause of death seemed pretty clear? Heart attacks are obvious, right? You would do so because while death and taxes may be the only sure things in life, the actual why and how of any given death is often uncertain, even when doctors think otherwise. The sad fact is that despite medicine’s many modern wonders—the tests, the drugs, the scans that show fibers the size of a hair—the cause of death that American doctors provide for death certificates are dead wrong about a fifth of the time. How do we know they’re wrong? Because of so-called autopsy studies. In an autopsy study, researchers perform or collect data from post-mortem dissections of large numbers of dead people; determine definitively why they died; and then compare those findings to the causes of death listed on those people’s medical or death records. These studies reliably find something rather shocking: about 15 to 30 percent of the time, the diagnoses at time of death are wrong—and 5 to 10 percent of the time, that diagnostic error probably helped kill the patient. This is why Italy required Gandolfini’s autopsy: So the doctors and family would know with certainty why and how he died. As it happens, heart attacks and pulmonary embolisms—clots in a lung—present very similarly: Both cause chest pain, shortness of breath, panic, and can kill you within an hour. Doctors thus often think someone died of a heart attack when they actually died of a pulmonary embolism—so often, in fact, that most pulmonary embolisms are not diagnosed unless an autopsy is done. (We know this, of course, only because autopsy studies showed us it was so.) This isn’t just arbitrary hindsight information. The discovery of an embolism on the autopsy table can provide vital health-risk information for the rest of the family. A victim’s brother, for instance, might have a chest angiography done to look for fluid in his lungs, and if it’s there, start heparin therapy that could save his life. About 15 to 30 percent of the time, the diagnoses at time of death are wrong—and 5 to 10 percent of the time, that diagnostic error probably helped kill the patient. Alas, we’re missing most such learning opportunities these days, because the routine autopsy has pretty much died. Fifty years ago, American hospitals autopsied almost half of all deaths. Every doctor had done them, learned from them, and took their presence for granted. It’s hard to overstate how much we learned from making autopsies routine back then. The list of ailments they discovered runs long, from sudden infant death syndrome to Alzheimer’s, Legionnaire’s disease to toxic-shock syndrome. In the summer of 1999, for instance, four New York City residents died of a lung ailment that the treating doctors diagnosed as St. Louis encephalitis. The New York City medical examiner’s office, an ardent autopsy advocate, insisted on autopsying them anyway—and identified the first known U.S. victims of West Nile virus. Doctors, meanwhile, learned humility. If you’re a doctor, it’s one thing to know, as an abstract fact, that 10 or 20 percent of patients who seemed to die of heart attack actually died from pulmonary embolism. It is quite another to have a pathologist dissect one of your patients and tell you No, this woman you took care for 25 years, and whose husband you pass on the street each day, did not die of heart attack; she died of a pulmonary embolism, and that’s probably why she complained of shortness of breath when you examined her three months ago. An angiogram might have spotted it. My father, a surgeon, trained and practiced in the era of high autopsy rates. Once when I was reading The Maltese Falcon, he remarked that surgery was much like detective work: You get a bunch of clues, must decide which to follow, and eventually commit to a decisive line of action. I opined that while that was true, probably no one ever said anything as dramatic as what Sam Spade says at the book’s crucial moral moment. “I bet,” I said,“ that no one ever says, ’I won’t take the fall for you.” “The hell they won’t,” my father said, shocking me, for he never cursed in my presence. “You screw up a case up good enough, the pathologist will tell you precisely that.” She died of a pulmonary embolism, and that’s probably why she complained of shortness of breath when you examined her three months ago. We now autopsy fewer than 1 in 50 deaths in the U.S, missing 49 out of 50 chances to learn something new. The rates have dropped for a number of reasons, but primarily because the government stopped requiring them for hospital accreditation in 1970. This will almost certainly remain the case. Congress could change this quickly if it made Medicare payments or hospital accreditation depend on autopsy rates of, say, 25 percent. But no one seems to take interest in such regulation. Thus when doctors make diagnostic mistakes in a dying patient, we usually get no chance to learn from it. Instead, we bury it. But what about the fancy scans? Can’t they tell? Not really; not always; and sometimes not even with causes of death you’d think would show up easily in a good scan. Doctors take far too much confidence in scan results, feeling they see everything with certainty. They don’t. As a Florida coroner told me a few years ago, “We get this all the time. The doctors get our report and call and say, ‘But there can’t be a lacerated aorta. We did a whole set of scans.’ “We have to remind them that we held the heart in our hands.” David Dobbs writes on science and culture for The New York Times, National Geographic, and other publications, and is working his fourth book, The Orchid and the Dandelion (Crown). He keeps his blog and other work at Neuron Culture. This article was originally published on Facts So Romantic in June, 2013.
During the last Ice Age the global average temperature was only about 5°C cooler than now. Since man began farming, the average temperature has stayed within a 1-2°C range. With a business-as-usual approach, the Earth’s temperature is predicted to rise 4°C by 2100. What is the hot-house equivalent of glaciers reaching all the way to Kentucky? The Earth Day: Climate Action initiative (edca2014.org, @EDCA2014) is working to bring climate change to the fore on Earth Day by organizing rallies and educational events around the country. In this, our inaugural year, we have seven events planned in Michigan, including a large rally on the campus of the University of Michigan and educational events in Jackson, Chelsea, Saline, Ypsilanti, Brighton and Canton. Earth Day: Climate Action is a project of Clean Water Action Michigan, Organizing for Action Michigan and Ann Arbor 350, in partnership with the Earth Day Network (earthday.org). For more info or to volunteer, contact info@edca2014.org. More about our events below the fold. Our currently scheduled events all feature either professors from the University of Michigan or presenters trained by the Climate Reality Project: “The Climate Reality Project is dedicated to unleashing a global cultural movement demanding action on the climate crisis. Despite overwhelming international scientific consensus on climate change, the global community still lacks the resolve to implement meaningful solutions. The Climate Reality Project exists to forge an unwavering bedrock of impassioned support necessary for urgent action, and to ignite the moral courage in our leaders to solve the climate crisis.” Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Campus This event will open with a presentation by Prof. Knute Nadelhoffer on the science and projected impacts of climate change. Prof. Richard Rood will then discuss the impact of a warming Arctic on the jet stream and the Arctic Oscillation, especially the role of blocking patterns in causing droughts, floods, heat waves, and cold snaps. A third speaker will address the dangers of sociopolitical unrest posed by climate change. Finally, State Representative Jeff Irwin will address the political challenges of fighting climate change. Where: The Ingalls Mall of the University of Michigan campus, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Date: Tuesday, April 22 Time: 5:00PM - 6:30PM Ypsilanti, MI: Prof. Gretchen Keppel-Aleks, University of Michigan Prof. Gretchen Keppel-Aleks will present "The science of climate change": In the talk, Prof. Keppel-Aleks will examine the science behind the greenhouse effect and climate change. She will also explore the observational and modeling tools that scientists use to understand the climate system. Finally, she will discuss strategies to alleviate the human causes of climate change. Prof. Keppel-Aleks is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan in the Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences department. Her research focuses on using observations of atmospheric CO2 to understand the global carbon cycle and, in particular, how climate variability affects the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems. She completed her PhD in environmental science and engineering at Caltech. Chelsea, MI: Eric Harrington, Climate Reality Project In anticipation of Earth Day 2014, on April 21st (7:00-8:30 pm in the McKune Room of the Chelsea District Library), Eric Harrington will speak about the climate change issue in a presentation entitled “Our Chaotic Climate Future.” He will discuss the current global situation, and also bring it closer to home with information on the effects of climate change on the Great Lakes and the State of Michigan. His presentation is based on the work of the Climate Reality Project, founded by Al Gore following the release of his movie and book “An Inconvenient Truth.” Brighton, MI: Prof. Christopher Poulsen, University of Michigan Jackson, MI: Peggy Coyle, Climate Reality Project Canton, MI: Bill Richardson, Retired EPA scientist, Climate Reality Project Saline, MI: William Gittlen, MD, Climate Reality Project
JACKSON, MI – Ray Binschus had two daughters, worked as a machine operator and enjoyed his frequent visits to the golf course. "Oh, there were lots of good times, lots of them. He was one to have good times, and when you did, he'd put a smile on your face," Binschus' wife, Karen, said this week. Clearly distraught, Karen Binschus was sitting on a sofa on her enclosed front porch. Her hands were shaky and tears came easily to her eyes. Workers at Cascade Falls Park found Ray Binschus' body May 28 on the ninth green of the park's short golf course, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office reported. As of Wednesday, June 4, investigators did not have a coroner's report on the death, but there is no reason to conclude it was anything other than a suicide, Sheriff Steve Rand said. Binschus, 49, is believed to have used a rifle to shoot himself in the chest, the sheriff said. He received the gun from his grandfather when the older man died. "I didn't even know it worked," Karen Binschus said. Recently, Ray Binschus' father died and he and his wife were having financial difficulties. All was not perfect, she said. But she had no answers. She did not see this coming and he left no note. "I just can't believe he did that. I just can't," she said. "I don't know. I just don't get it. I'm not ever going to get it." The pair married in 1996. They have two daughters, ages 16 and 20. "I've never been in love with another man in my whole life," Karen Binschus said. For about the last three years, Ray Binschus worked at United Metal Technology Inc. on Monroe Street and he was looking to start a new job, she said. His world revolved around his family, she said. "Always, the kids and me come first." She called him a "damn good man," a guy who put groceries in older women's cars. Every weekend, he golfed. His brothers would accompany him, eating breakfast at Karen and Ray Binschus' house before going to the course. He would golf at the Cascades, she said. "He loved that."
Who in the world are the women of the alt-right? And how can they be leaders in a movement that hates women? Contrary to popular perception, many women were present at the recent “Unite the Right” white supremacist march in Charlottesville this past August. The following are ten leading alt-right and far-right conservative women, including founding neo-Nazi and KKK leaders, who are helping to spread the alt-right’s propaganda. 1. Lana Lokteff aka Ringleader and Holocaust Denier #1: Credit: YouTube Screencap / Red Ice Tv Lana Lokteff is the alt-right’s head honcho, married to Red Ice Media Creation’s founder, Henrik Palmgren. Lokteff’s brand of alt-right feminism opposes Marxist lefties who welcome immigrants, and instead advocates for white, heteronormative households where women accept their role as the inferior sex. In Lokteff’s opinion, feminism, by focusing on a woman’s autonomy, is “self-centered” and has destroyed white communities. An American of Russian descent, Lokteff divides her time between the U.S. and Sweden and hosts the popular Radio 3Fourteen, named after her birthday on March 14 (she’s a pagan and a Pisces). 2. Ayla Stewart aka Queen of the Alt-Right Mormons: Credit: Youtube Screencap / Red Ice Media Although Mormons are typically known for moderate stances on immigration, Ayla Stewart represents a dangerous new movement of Mormons who are joining the alt-right. She is a self-professed former feminist-pagan who wrote for Sage Woman and social justice warrior with a Master’s degree in women’s spirituality, before she was baptised as a Mormon after writing a thesis on home births in Mormon and Amish communities. Stewart is representative of alt-right women who embrace “radical traditionalism,” preferring homeschooling, conservative Christian values, and even cloth diapers and grassfed meats. All of that sounds pretty harmless until you stumble across her “white baby challenge,” in which she essentially asks Twitter followers to pop out white babies as a way to fight “black ghetto culture.” 3. Cecilia Davenport or the Red Piller: Credit: Twitter screencap / @cwdaven Cecilia Davenport is a featured alt-right author who frequently tweets fangirl photos of Richard Spencer, president of the white supremacist National Policy Institute. She has also worked with another blogger to teach readers how to “red-pill” women who are reluctant to join the movement. Red-pilling is a slang term that refers to a scene in The Matrix where Neo swallows a red pill and sees things as they really are. Davenport suggests red-pilling tactics like intentionally triggering the fear of assault by immigrants because “women are more emotional than rational.” 4. Bre Faucheux, former SJW: Credit: Youtube Screencap / Bre Faucheux A former social justice warrior-turned-alt-right podcaster, Faucheux has self-published fantasy fiction and is the host of 27Crowd Radio. Her current concerns include tackling “globalism and mainstream media lies.” She’s also busy fighting the fair fight against liberals, because apparently the lefties are doing “everything they can to bring about the fall of western civilization in the name of ‘progress.'” 5. Mary Grey (not her given name): Credit: Youtube Screencap / Red Ice Media Mary Grey is a pro-white Christian nationalist who co-hosts “Good Morning White America” with her husband. Seyward Darby’s description of the podcast in Harper’s notes that the two speak cheerfully, which aligns with Grey’s attempts not to appear an “evil racist.” She recently self-published a children’s book that defends Trump’s plan for a wall, titled, you guessed it, “Walls and Fences.” Grey and her husband have been guests on Lokteff’s Radio 3Fourteen podcast. Let’s not forget the white supremacist women of the past, including the Nazis and the KKK. 6. Gertrud Scholtz-Klink aka the Perfect Woman Nazi: Credit: Wikimedia The British Press once called her “The Perfect Woman Nazi,” which is not a compliment. Scholtz-Klink was a devout Nazi from age 20 to 90 and the leader of the Nazis’ women’s organization. Her duties included indoctrinating new members and teaching them to value being housewives and birthing children. Although the Nazis didn’t allow women to have any political power, she was still a figurehead for the movement. 7. Mary Elizabeth ‘Bessie’ Tyler aka The CEO: Credit: Wikimedia Multiple divorcée Tyler was the WKKK’s CEO equivalent in the 1920s. Her achievements included being a member of the anti-immigration Daughters of America, creating a women’s chapter of the KKK and later embezzling Klan money. Her leadership backfired when she was arrested for “disorderly” behavior: drinking whiskey and sleeping with fellow member Edward Clarke while both were married to other people. She later somehow parlayed the negative publicity into increased Klan membership. 8. Helen Andelin or Anti-Feminist #1: Credit: Youtube Screencap / Roger Lucas Author of the “trad wife” Bible (an alt-right term, short for “traditional wife“), Andelin was a Mormon housewife who saved her marriage by becoming the perfect submissive woman. The anti-feminist manifesto “Fascinating Womanhood,” includes memorable gems like, “As you express confidence in him, he will become that greater and better man. Your home will be happier and he will have more incentive to create a happier marriage and family life.” She wrote the book after she successfully saved her failing 20-year marriage. The book went on to sell over 2 million copies and the movement is still alive today (unfortunately). Other practically alt-right, definitely racist and sexist women in the media: 9. Tomi Lahren aka White Power Barbie: Credit: Youtube Screencap / Fox News One of Trump’s most vocal supporters who has been nicknamed conservative media’s “White Power Barbie,” the racist Tomi Lahren still somehow doesn’t consider herself a part of the alt-right. She called the movement “disgusting,” in an interview with the New York Times. However, she has no problem taking down Beyonce, Barack Obama or equating the Black Lives Matter movement with the KKK. She was fired from Glenn Beck’s “The Blaze” for being pro-choice, and has recently become a contributor at Fox News. Her latest opinion is that she’ll keep covering the Hillary emails until the apparently equally distracting Russia investigation is dropped (how are those two issues equal?). Lahren is criticized for changing her views depending on who she’s pandering to. 10. Kayleigh McEnany, or the ‘Die Hard Trumper‘: Credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr McEnany has been compared to Tomi Lahren, except that she has a brain. A Christian conservative with a Harvard law degree, McEnany was recently appointed the RNC’s national spokesperson after suddenly departing from her job as a conservative commentator at CNN. She was criticized for her propaganda-like news piece on August 6, in which she exaggerated Trump’s achievements over the week. It might seem hard to spot them, but according to white power leader Richard Spencer, women make up about a fifth of the movement’s followers. These women have reverted to traditional gender roles, believing men should be “protectors.” They want traditional homes, white babies and white communities that are free of genetically inferior immigrants. But the fact is that becoming an anti-feminist and playing subordinate to a white man is easy. The United States privileges straight white men. It’s much easier to be a housewife advocating for a white ethnostate than to stand in solidarity with people of color and fight back against years of systemic oppression.
For many in the IT industry, the dream is to set up a tech start-up and grow it into the next Google or Apple. Individual start-up scenes are thriving in EMEA, but from staffing to rent, exit potential to government support, there are huge differences between countries. But which country is right for your fledgling tech company? ZDNet examines some of the major hubs in the region, and what each can bring to the start-up table. A few years ago, when East London's rents meant would-be start-up CEOs could get office space for cheap not far from where they lived, near bars and coffee shops and 'edgy' street art, something of a tech cluster began to form. In 2010, the government got wind of the burgeoning start-up scene and rallied it into a press opportunity , rechristening the area Tech City and talking loudly about how the area had potential to one day rival Silicon Valley. Tech City may be an artificial construct – tech businesses were in the area before the government turned a grassroots movement into a bandwagon – but there's no denying the area is having a moment. It's now ranked as one of only two European start-up hubs among the top 20 worldwide, and the only one in the top 10, according to recent research by Startup Genome and Telefonica (PDF). "The start-up scene - if you compared it to, say, 2006 - is leaps and bounds different now. Six years ago, there wasn't the volume of service providers familiar with the kinds of deals that were being done, there wasn't enough acknowledgement of entrepreneurs, there wasn't enough media, there wasn't enough of co-location of start-ups so they could leverage each other learnings. Even though there were start-ups being created, the ecosystem wasn't as mature," Carlos Eduardo Espinal, partner at Seedcamp, says. The Tech City area – also known as Silicon Roundabout thanks to its proximity to the Old Street roundabout - is now home to several hundred fledgling tech businesses (although exactly how many hundred varies depending on who you listen to – figures from 200 to 600 have emerged ), as well as hundreds more digital outfits, including online marketers, social media gurus and web designers. "The start-up scene - if you compared it to, say, 2006 - is leaps and bounds different now" — Carlos Eduardo Espinal, Seedcamp A Petri dish for start-up talent There's a lot of young, enthusiastic digital and tech types who both live and work in the area, providing a ready workforce and something of a tech social scene - networking events and talking shops like the Silicon Drinkabout are all held on a regular basis. For those that like a pint and an idea-swapping session, that's all there to be had. (Although I've yet to meet a Tech City start-up worker who has actually admitted to going to one – East Londoners are too cool for networking.) When 10gen opened its first EMEA office, it decided to set up shop in Tech City, drawn by the community meet-ups, the proximity of customers, and the mix of people on its doorstep. "You can get talented people throughout London because people will commute in, but the advantage of Tech City is that it's self-selecting: you're getting people here who want to be involved in start-ups and want to be involved in new technology, and want to innovate. And that's not just from a tech point of view, it's also graphic design, media and all those other areas. The area is a magnet for that," Alvin Richards, 10gen's technical director for EMEA, says. Among the more familiar digital names around Tech City are the likes of Mind Candy (the company behind the tween entertainment juggernaut Moshi Monsters), gadget vendors Firebox, custom printers Moo, and enterprise collaboration platform and G-Cloud favourite Huddle. The big boys move in Thanks to David Cameron's PR blitz – which shone a spotlight on the area if little else – the neighbourhood's profile has been raised no end, and it's now attracting technology's bigger boys: Amazon , Microsoft, Twitter and Google have all opened offices there. "There just isn't enough space - once you get into that middle space, you're moving out, basically" — Tom Adeyoola, Metail But while the boom in tech companies - particularly at the larger end of the scale - moving to Tech City has helped cement its reputation as a serious contender for Europe's start-up capital, it has also caused a shortage of office space and had a knock-on effect on the cost of rent, potentially putting off the small businesses that made the area desirable in the first place. Retail start-up Metail saw the price of office square footage rise by 50 percent in little over a year. "If you're a company that has grown beyond being five to 10 people, the next phase is a 2,000 square foot office, and there just aren't any in the area... Several other people I know, also looking in the sweet spot of 2,000 to 3,000 square feet, have all left the area. There just isn't enough space - once you get into that middle space, you're moving out, basically," Tom Adeyoola, CEO of Metail, says. One option for the office-less is the growing number of co-working spaces and start-up hubs that have sprung up in Tech City areas aimed at London tech start-ups, including White Bear Yard, the Trampery and Tech Hub. There's also Google's Campus: opened in May , the seven-storey centre provides office space to start-ups, hosts events and holds mentoring programmes where Googlers share the benefit of their experience. Read this Is Poland the best place to start your start-up? For those wanting to set up a tech company, there's a lot to consider. ZDNet takes a look at some of the major start-up hubs in EMEA and what each can bring for those wanting to get their own IT business off the ground. Next up: Central and Eastern Europe. Read More For those that have, or want, to look beyond Tech City, there are shared working spaces elsewhere in the city – Innovation Warehouse, for example. And, for those looking beyond London, there's also the possibility of Cambridge – arguably the UK's second tech city - less than an hour away by train. "We have kept our technology operations in Cambridge and not merged our offices because there's a better talent pool up there. Cambridge is definitely cheaper [for hiring staff], and we can great really great talent out of the universities. The closeness to universities is key for talent acquisition, and Silicon Roundabout doesn't have that connection," Adeyoola says. For those with hiring on their mind, Tech City has made moves to ease the recruitment process, with the area recently getting its own jobs fair, the Silicon Milkroundabout and, while it may not have Cambridge on its doorstep, there's no shortage of solid local universities: Goldsmiths, UCL, Kings, City or Imperial, for example. The latter two have their own incubator spaces – and they've got no shortage of company: there are a clutch of incubators focused on London, including the Telefonica-backed Wayra academy, which opened its London HQ doors earlier this year. Seedcamp is also a regular fixture in London, and mobile giant Vodafone has plans to establish its own start-up zone. A growth in funding Funding for start-ups in London has "evolved tremendously" over the last handful of years, according to Eileen Burbidge, a VC at Passion Capital. "There's a lot more early-stage capital available for start-ups now than there ever has been. And there are more options – there are definitely, in quantitative terms, more early-stage investment firms than there were two years ago or even a year ago. I also feel like there are more business angels who are available too, and they're not just old-school business angel types who are looking for a place to put their money, but people who have been part of the first wave of entrepreneurship in the late 1990s and early 2000s and who want to be involved, give strategic advice and counsel, and also put in money," Burbidge says. Efforts have also been made by government to make things more welcoming for any UK start-up getting a sniff of success. The coalition is looking at relaxing the rules for businesses wanting to float in the country. There are also tax breaks for investors stumping up seed funding and tax relief for SMEs on R&D expenditure. "There's a lot more early stage capital available for start-ups now than there ever has been" — Eileen Burbidge, Passion Capital The government is also keen to attract overseas start-ups, and recently introduced the entrepreneurs' visa, which allows entry into the country for would-be business owners that already have £50,000 in funding from UK VCs, government departments or seed funds. However, for all its buzz and bluster, there have been few exits from Tech City: while TweetDeck joined Twitter last year in a £25m takeover, other buyouts among companies of any size have been hard to come by in the area. (Exits the size of Cambridge-based Autonomy, bought by HP in 2011 for £7.1bn , are rather the exception than the rule.) But with the London tech scene maturing nicely, and the first wave of internet entrepreneurs now looking to reinvest their exit money elsewhere, even the smaller exits have a part to play. "Successes even in the small or mid-range are also important because those often don't take as long – compared to something like Autonomy, where people built the business over more than a decade," says Burbidge. "Sometimes smaller and mid-range exits are actually more important to get the ecosystem percolating and people moving through it, so with something like Tweetdeck – it wasn't a huge exit but there was a decent-sized team, you saw someone could start something, get it to a nice user base and then sell it - it's a great case study." Read this Is Sweden the best place to start your start-up? For those wanting to set up a tech company, there's a lot to consider. ZDNet takes a look at some of the major start-up hubs in EMEA and what each can bring for those wanting to get their own IT business off the ground. First up: Sweden. Read More While the UK is currently undergoing the same economic crisis as many other countries in Europe, it still remains the "favoured destination" for VC funding, according to Dow Jones VentureSource's third quarter figures. Companies in the UK raised €301m through 59 deals during the quarter and, while VentureSource didn't break down how much of that was for tech start-ups, around one-third of funding in Europe is spent on IT – the only industry that saw year-on-year funding growth (although it's worth noting that both the volume of deals and the value of funding is down year on year in the UK. Questions have also been raised over whether there's enough funding available for deals in the under-£2m range). And while comparing the flow of funding from the UK and the US – or even Europe and the US – is like comparing a minnow and a blue whale, London has links to US VCs, and has the advantage of the shared language and a relatively short hop to the East Coast. While Berlin , the only other European start-up hub to make it into the global top 20 globally, is closing the gap, London still remains the region's number one. "In recent years London has burst onto the scene and has become the most successful start-up ecosystem in Europe, producing the largest output of start-ups in the European Union by far. But its output is still 63-percent lower than Silicon Valley. London looks to be well positioned for continued growth as the leading start-up ecosystem in Europe, and first choice for fast growing US start-ups to establish their European headquarters," Startup Genome and Telefonica's report said. Or, as Seedcamp's Espinal puts it, "London is establishing itself clearly as an epicentre for the tech community globally and will only get stronger."
Photography by Deneka Peniston and Erik Bardin for Okayplayer. “All of it really is one; it comes from one place. You can call jazz the great-grandfather of hip-hop: it might speak differently, it might dress differently, but that’s your son.” Igmar Thomas succinctly summarized what makes “A Journey Through The Legacy Of Black Culture” so beautiful and important. Accompanied by the Revive Big Band, Thomas took audience members through the past and present of black American music at Central Park’s SummerStage this past Sunday. Beginning with a selection from the 1800s, Revive guitarist Marvin Sewell played a blues arrangement that set off the evening’s festivities. Through his melancholy guitar strums, Sewell slowly created a sonic narrative for those in attendance. You could imagine a black blues singer crooning underneath a night sky, his only catharsis his guitar and his voice. For a moment, he turns his troubles into melodies, escaping the harsh realities of the world through the blue notes played. This is what he looks most forward to every day: this moment that gives him the strength to rise another day. From there the Revive Big Band went into a gospel selection sung by Taharqa Patterson, transforming the SummerStage into a Sunday morning church service. Following that was a dixieland jazz arrangement honoring the “jazz ambassador of the world” Louis Armstrong, with trumpeter Nicholas Payton leading the Revive Big Band. Payton served as an integral part to the creation of “A Journey Through The Legacy Of Black Culture,” not only performing alongside the Revive Big Band but having inspired Igmar to explore the idea of black American music in the first place. “There is no such thing as a ‘jazz’ anything,” Payton wrote in a response post to a previous piece he had written titled “On Why Jazz Isn’t Cool Anymore.” “What the above listed share in common is that they are Black Americans, not jazz musicians, and their music is indicative of the Black experience — which is multidimensional.” Personal opinions of what jazz is and isn’t aside, Payton is right in that the artists he references in the piece (Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Billie Holiday, Ornette Coleman, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson) are black, and therefore are brought together through their respective black experience. Sure, a genre might be used to categorize them from one another, but they all come from the same place. Following the dixieland jazz arrangement was “Infant Eyes,” a song inspired by iconic jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Special guest Esperanza Spalding took the stage to perform the ballad alongside one of the band’s saxophonists, the two taking melodic cues from each other to create one of the more memorable performances of the night. “We premiered this show in DC on Juneteenth,” Thomas told the audience before getting into a medley of Ray Charles songs. Commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, Juneteenth serves an important moment in black American history. Choosing Ray Charles to follow up the statement was fitting, as Patterson returned to the stage to do “I Got A Woman,” which then led into a rendition of Kanye West‘s “Gold Digger.” With the night sky finally settling in the Revive Big Band neared towards the end of their concert. The ensemble went into a medley of James Brown songs, with Patterson channeling the “Godfather of Soul” and doing a lively performance of “Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud.” With the audience predominantly black the declaration resonated with joy and pride. This moment transcended performance, reflecting a time in which police officers are fatally shooting black people, and the Black Lives Matter movement is simply trying to remind people of black humanity. Being black in America isn’t easy, but time and time again we overcome and survive. Seeing Patterson cut a step and then some onstage as horns blew triumphantly served as a testament to that. The grand finale of the entire set included Spalding and Bilal, with the former playing bass and the latter singing. The performance was an incredible way to end the night, as every member of the group got the chance to solo. To truly try and encapsulate all of black American music into a few hours would be a noble feat. “A Journey Through The Legacy Of Black Culture” built a repertoire that satisfied and surprised most of us in attendance, sending us on a journey that was not only cohesive but entertaining. And more importantly the presentation served as a response to a problem that black culture has endured since its beginnings: appropriation. The response wasn’t as explicit as it was implicit — this will always be black culture, and black culture will continue to change as time goes on because that’s what makes it so beautiful. Hopefully Thomas and the Revive Big Band continue to experiment on their concert and bring even more artists into the mix (their DC show featured Talib Kweli and Ravi Coltrane). But this was a nice and refreshing treat, the performance teaching us the rich history of black music in the United States, and getting us to shake our asses too. Videographer + Editor: Frankie Leroux.
Tuesday, May 21st 2013 / Gaming Day Ten With The Oculus Rift - Mars City Today I wanted to try out a few more demos but after looking through most of the lists of what was available to download I have to say I was a little disappointed that most of it looked either pretty basic, or doesn't quite have proper support for the Rift yet. I did manage to try a few small demos but in the end I had another 10 minutes on Doom 3, now in Mars City just after all hell breaks loose.The day started with my kids wanting to have a go on the Oculus Roller Coaster, so I let the two oldest have a go. I'm not even sure how much of the 3D effect they really see since their IPD will be below the default but they seem to like what ever it is they see.After work, I had a go on the roller coaster too and I have to say it's not as extreme as I was expecting. I went round a few times then put in the console command 'slomo 2' to speed time up and run the roller coaster at double speed. This did enhance the falling sensation but still felt quite comfortable. I have to admit I haven't tried it standing up ;-).Next I downloaded a very small demo simply called Sci-Fi Corridor. It's a Unity demo someone built a while back to demonstrate their modelling and texturing skills, it makes a good little Rift demo because it's relatively small but packs plenty of small 3D detail which you can look at from all angles.Unfortunately there are few visual bugs, and it is after all a very limited demo so once you've been in it for a minute that's about it.Then I loaded up Doom 3 BFG and continued on from my save. The aiming feels a bit weird since it's different than in Half-Life 2, you have to aim vertically using your head, but horizontal aiming is done with a combination of head movement and mouse movement. It also seems as though the laser sight does not always line up with where you're shooting.One of the things that was pretty cool with Doom 3 at release was it's scripted sequences with lots of things moving about. This bridge sequence looks pretty cool, especially in VR.Here's a shot of the health dispensers, which at the time were cool because of the interactive screen but Half-Life 2's blows them away. The moving parts all whizzing around on Half-Life 2's health dispensers look so cool in VR!Just round the corner was this very subtle bit of detail but it actually looked pretty cool with the Rift on:I was pleasantly surprised when faced with having to climb a ladder in Doom 3 BFG, it doesn't suffer from the same odd warping I've seen in Half-Life 2 where the ladders seem to curve above my head.For those people who have said they did not notice the lack of depth on walls, here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. If I walk another foot away I can see the depth of the normal map and it looks ok, but from just the right angle it looks like a completely flat wall with a texture painted on it.This dead guy that falls down above your head looked pretty cool so I thought I'd show you this.And finally, after encountering about 5 of these things I finally managed to get a shot of one of the monsters as it was attacking me. Kept scrambling for my screenshot key and in the end just rebound it to Q to make it easier to reach from my WASD keys :)For the next few days I will be posting much smaller updates as I want to get back on track with my work on my own game(s)! I intend to try out some more Doom 3 tomorrow but want to see if my old d1e1m1 map will work in Doom 3 BFG:Also, if anyone wants to check out all the screenshots I've been posting in Oculus native resolution on your Rift, here's a full gallery of them all:
You must comply with a new law that was just passed, but doing so means you are probably violating one of our patents. So you might as well pay up now. This is essentially what a demand letter sent by MyMedicalRecords, Inc., an electronic health records provider with numerous broad patents, could have said in its letter to a youth treatment center in Oakland. We received this letter on Trolling Effects in December 2013. It falls in the category of threats from patent holders who decide to go after companies for abiding by new rules or regulations—doing so, they allege, infringes one or more of their patents. Late last month, Judge Otis Wright of the Central District of California invalidated five claims in one of MyMedicalRecords’ patents in a case involving Walgreens, Quest Diagnostics, WebMD, and more. Wright’s decision [PDF] is one of many new cases that have implemented the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Alice v. CLS Bank, a groundbreaking decision that basically says: you can’t make an abstract idea patentable by simply adding “do it on a computer.” In the case, MyMedicalRecords asserted a patent that covered a method of providing online personal health records in a private, secure way. Wright rightfully found that “the concept of secure record access and management, in the context of personal health records or not, is an age-old idea,” and is therefore abstract. Now, according to the “Mayo test” that Alice deemed courts should use, an abstract concept could be patentable if it’s associated with some sort of “inventive concept” that goes beyond just the abstract idea. In the case of MyMedicalRecords’ patent, though, the additional claims fell flat, involving only “routine, conventional functions of a computer and server.” Under Alice, this patent is as good as gone. What about the other patents MyMedicalRecords mentioned in its demand letters and lawsuits? Those—all similar to the recently invalidated one—are in a precarious position right now. This recent decision sets a strong precedent that should make the company think twice about going after any other healthcare providers, who now have strong ammunition to fight back against infringement claims. This is great news, but it only comes after the initiation of a lawsuit against some deep-pocketed defendants who had the ability to fight back. This is a luxury that many recipients of MyMedicalRecords’ letters simply don’t have. For that reason, strong patent reform is critical. We need a faster, cheaper way of challenging broad, vague, heavily abused patents like this—and we need to make sure they don’t get issued in the first place.
Nintendo's 3DS, which hits shelves on March 27, is a pretty stellar handheld device. From its physical design to the build-in software, from its spectacular in-game visuals to the glasses-free 3D, I feel confident in saying that the 3DS is easily Nintendo's best handheld to date. It almost every way it exceeds the capabilities of the original Nintendo DS and the DSi. The keyword here is "almost," because there's one area where the 3DS can't quite compare to the DS: playing DS games. Nintendo has kept its long-standing tradition of handheld software backwards compatibility with the 3DS. That current DS software library you have doesn't have to get tossed aside for the new hotness. You can play your current DS games right on your new handheld. But as I found out, it's not an optimal experience, so you're probably not going to want to. Last night, I decided to finally crack open my copy of Pokémon Black and take it for a whirl. Given that I've been carrying my 3DS everywhere (I'm earning coins for my steps, everyone!), it seemed like a given that's the handheld I'd play it on. Immediately after popping it in, I noticed something was off. The images on the screens -- both top and bottom -- looked blurry, the colors muted and dull. Concerned it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, I popped the same cart into my DSi XL. My suspicions were confirmed: it looked a hell of a lot sharper on the older handheld, the colors deeper and the image crisper. [Note: All images were taken in the same lighting conditions with the same camera on the same settings. I did my best to take images that would demonstrate how it looks when using the handhelds. It should be noted that the differences -- which are visible here -- are more pronounced when viewing in person.] Pokémon Black on the 3DS (default) Pokémon Black on the DSi XL A few Twitter complaints later, I learned that you can force Nintendo DS software to display in their native resolution by holding down "Start" and "Select" when launching the software from the Home screen. Nintendo explains this in the 3DS manual, too. "Nintendo DS/Nintendo DSi titles have a lower screen resolution than Nintendo 3DS software and are stretched to fit the Nintendo 3DS screen," it explains in a note found under the "Starting the game" section on page 31. Fair enough, so I gave it a go. The good news is that the game does look markedly better, at least in terms of that "blurry" effect I was getting on the default stretched setting. The colors, however, still looked dull to me. Pokémon Black on the 3DS forced to display original screen size ratio As you can imagine, you also end up wasting a bit of the 3DS screen when not stretching the image. The problem is that it's a rather significant loss. The 3DS screen is already pretty tiny as it is (at least compared to the DSi XL, for sure), and forcing the original screen size ratio dips dangerously close to Game Boy Micro territory. [Note: I've marked where the 3DS screen is with white and the displayed DS software image in red to better demonstrate.] Dale North (who has been using a Japanese 3DS since the handheld's launch) says he's never noticed the problem until I brought it up. "I mean, I've played maybe 20 or more DS games just to try them out," he says. "Never ever noticed. Ever. Like, never thought of it." Hey, maybe it's just me, but I figured if you had intended on trading in that old DS for the latest and greatest, you'd probably want to know. The Nintendo 3DS is a remarkable machine; that's definitely going to be reflected in my final review (which will be coming later this week -- along with game reviews of every launch title we can get our hands on -- with help from Dale North). For fans who like their gaming on the go or have had longtime love affairs with Nintendo's portables, owning this is inevitable. You just might not want to get rid of your old Nintendo DS just yet. You are logged out. Login \| Sign up Click to open photo gallery:
The man who calls himself Nicholas Trainer-bees is becoming something of a legend among both beekeepers and cannabis enthusiasts. He claims he has trained his bees to make honey from weed. That’s because he’s been able to do what many have talked about, but no one has been able to pull off. Nicholas is a 39-year-old man who lives in France. In addition to being a beekeeper, an artist, and a locksmith, he’s also an outspoken supporter of marijuana. For the past few years, he’s been trying to figure out how to combine his love of cannabis with his love of bees. And now, it looks like he’s figured it out. He managed to train his bees to make honey after gathering resin from cannabis plants. Check out the video below of his bees flocking to some sweet juicy cannabis flowers. “I have trained bees to do several things, such as collect sugar from fruits, instead of using flowers,” Nicholas said. “The aim arose for me to get the bees to obtain this resin.” By using what he calls “a training technique whereby the bees collect the resin and use it in the beehive,” Nicholas and his bees have created the world’s first batch of “cannahoney.” How Cannabis Honey Is Made: Since this is such a new phenomenon, nobody’s had a chance to test this new honey to see how much of the first cannabis makes it through to the final product. But Nicholas says that his bees’ cannahoney brings together the health benefits of both honey and marijuana. In fact, the idea of trying to get bees to make honey out of cannabis originally came from his personal experiences using marijuana for medicinal purposes. He said that as a child he got into a lot of trouble at school because he’s hyperactive. Eventually, he dropped out. But he soon discovered that cannabis could help him cope with his condition. Recognizing that honey is another all-natural substance with tons of potential health benefits, Nicholas decided that honey and cannabis would be the perfect things to combine. Before he obtained his first results, some people dared to say that marijuana was harmful to bees. He was entirely convinced that was not the case, but he had to wait two years until the project was well consolidated. And then he was able to demonstrate that the plants had no adverse impact on the insects. “The bees that produce the cannahoney are not affected by cannabinoids because they do not have an endocannabinoid system,” he explains. If cannahoney lives up to its name, it could essentially be the first-ever all-natural cannabis edible. And since Nicholas reports that his bees will take to virtually any strain, there are limitless possibilities for creating different kinds of cannahoney.
Get the biggest politics stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Theresa May has buried a long-awaited report that's feared to expose Saudi funding of British extremism for 'national security reasons'. There is an outcry after Home Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed the Prime Minister had blocked the report - instead publishing a brief summary that claims most terror funding comes from within the UK. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said: "This decision is utterly shameful. I believe that sunlight is the best disinfectant." Green Party leader Caroline Lucas accused the government of trying to "fob us off", adding: "The Government's refusal to publish this report, and this utterly vague statement, are completely unacceptable. "The statement gives absolutely no clue as to which countries foreign funding for extremism originates from - leaving the Government open to further allegations of refusing to expose the role of Saudi Arabian money in terrorism in the UK." The report was commissioned by David Cameron in 2015 and was widely expected to embarrass Britain's Saudi allies. (Image: Getty) After last month's London Bridge terror attack Jeremy Corbyn claimed Saudi Arabia had "funded and fuelled extremist ideology". Labour's leader added it was time for "difficult conversations" with the oil-rich Gulf state, which Tory ministers say is a key ally in the fight against terror in the region. And Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry said "the funding of some of our mosques and the connection in relation to some very rich Saudi Arabian business people" should be looked at. But Ms Rudd said: "Having taken advice, I have decided against publishing the classified report produced during the review in full. "This is because of the volume of personal information it contains and for national security reasons." (Image: Getty) The government has previously been accused of reluctance to criticise Saudi Arabia and has separately continued arms sales to the country, which were ruled legal by the courts despite fears they are used to kill civilians in Yemen. Today's 585-word summary by Ms Rudd does not single out any individual country. Instead it says Islamist extremist organisations are receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, mainly made up of small, anonymous public donations from UK-based individuals. It adds: "For a small number of organisations with which there are extremism concerns, overseas funding is a significant source of income. "However, for the vast majority of extremist groups in the UK, overseas funding is not a significant source. (Image: Getty) "Overseas support has allowed individuals to study at institutions that teach deeply conservative forms of Islam and provide highly socially conservative literature and preachers to the UK’s Islamic institutions. "Some of these individuals have since become of extremist concern." Other findings include that some Islamic organisations of concern are posing as charities to increase their credibility and to take advantage of Islam's emphasis on charity. Ms Rudd said the donors may not know or support the organisations' full agenda. Senior MPs in the Privy Council, including Jeremy Corbyn , will be able to review the classified report but not reveal its contents.
Please understand that I’m not making any kind of criticism of her when I say that JK Rowling has abandoned the real world. When you have one billion dollars, it’s not really something you need any more; there’s no real need to explain why she chooses to live with magic instead. If nothing else, she inhabits herself. In Edinburgh’s rain-splattered streets familiar beings are at work. The troll in chains, for instance, grunting behind the wheel of the bus, pressed into its dreary service shuttling endlessly from Hanover Street to Holyrood and back by a simple first-year spell, Instrumentio, for the manipulation of hyponoiacs – because why else would the Lothian number 6 have ploughed so carelessly into that puddle just as she was walking past? You might think that Ocado being out of smoked salmon for three weeks running is a supply-chain problem, another of those market inefficiencies that together determine the course of our lives, but she knows better: when she scans down her receipt to see it replaced by mackerel again, she knows it’s an infestation of nifflers, scurrying rapacious all along the warehouse floor, snuffling up anything that looks like it might be valuable, cramming thick slices of translucent rippling salmon into their always-hungry bellies. When helicopters thrum overhead to ruin her sleep at three in the morning, JK Rowling knows that a werewolf’s on the loose; when politically engaged young people mass in front of Parliament she sees the crowded hoods of the Dementors, and shivers. Things continue to work after their usual fashion; it’s house-elves in their willing legions that stitched all her clothes together, and worryingly megarhinic goblins judiciously sliding banknotes to her through the cash machine. She’s grateful for the advice of Hagrid and Dumbledore and all the others as they follow her around this greyed-out half-world, she’s glad that she’s not like all the boring and stupid people, that she has an active imagination and a rich inner life. Of course she knows that all these wizards and griffins are just stuff that she made up, that none of it is really real, that she prefers living with them because she can control it all to the last detail, while even one billion dollars won’t let you rearrange the universe at will. But things aren’t always so clear. She’s sure, occasionally, that Harry had always been there, telling her what to do. He told her to write the book. Then she went back into the house and wrote, It was nearly midnight, and Harry Potter was lying on his stomach in bed. It was not nearly midnight. Harry Potter was not lying on his stomach in bed. This is about JK Rowling’s political interventions, of course, her pathological tendency to justify vague and insipid reaction by pointing out that some fictional wizards she thought up inside her own head also share her views, her apparent inability to think about the real world without first mapping it onto the one she invented. JK Rowling has variously pissed off Scottish nationalists and the Palestine solidarity movement and the Labour left, wielding a Dumbledore hand puppet that repeats everything she says in a slightly lower voice, but she’s also pissed off a significant number of her own fans, and that’s where you have to start. In 2007, Rowling was widely celebrated for announcing that her character Dumbledore was gay, despite the fact that there’s nothing to suggest this in the text itself, where she had an opportunity to actually advocate for queer issues; this year, when she told her fans that their personal theories were all incorrect and another character, Sirius Black, was not gay, they were outraged. We grew up with these characters, they insisted, we decide how to read them. JK Rowling is over, they declared, as if she hadn’t already been dead since Barthes. (Or longer: there’s a reason every testament is final, why God never actively intervenes in the world once His holy book is set down, why the medieval Kabbalists had to invent reader-response theory and the Catholic Church headcanons.) What’s clear is that absolutely nobody involved has ever read a word of Derrida. There are many definitions of deconstruction, none of them particularly good, but you could do worse than to describe it as a mode of reading that refuses to forget the textuality of the text, the fact that it’s a series of marks on a material substrate that were written and which can be read, copied, misunderstood, ignored, or destroyed, that before it conjures up a private universe it exists as a shared object in this one. As a sop to her LGBT+ critics, Rowling shortly afterwards revealed that in her books lycanthropy is actually a metaphor for AIDS. Her position on all this is clear: she came up with these stories, she owns them, and long after they’ve slipped into the wider discourse they still remain essentially hers, essentially private. On Twitter, her header image was briefly two lines of text reading ‘I know what Dumbledore would do. Deal with it.’ The true text of Harry Potter is not on the printed page, but between her ears, to be altered whenever she wants; in her Platonist cosmology fictional events have a shining reality that is all their own, which emanates from out her mouth. She’s following the fandom-headcanon model of literary theory, but here hers is the largest, most bloated head, and the only one that counts. It’s impossible to read this denial of the text anything other than an abrogation of her rights and duties as an author. Sometimes dedicated fans whip themselves up into such a frenzy over their favourite culture-commodities that they act as if the stories were real, centring themselves in a private world that does not belong to them, and JK Rowling does the exact same thing. As soon as she moves to keep hold of her creation, it gains a terrifying, spectral autonomy. JK Rowling is not the author of the Harry Potter books; she is their biggest fan. It’s in this context that Rowling’s bizarre forays into politics, her marshalling of the powers of literary enchantment for the most banal and miserable of mundane causes, start to make a kind of sense. When she stridently opposed the academic boycott of Israel called for by Palestinian civil society, she did so through a lengthy exegesis on the moral message of her own books, eventually concluding that BDS is wrong because the magical wizards wouldn’t like it. (To be fair, she admits that Harry might have started out with natural pro-Palestine sympathies, but maintains that by the end of the last book he would have grown up and learned to accept that Israel has a right to exist.) When Britain voted to leave the European Union, her public response was that she’d ‘never wanted magic more,’ presumably so she could cast a spoiling spell on millions of ballots. Her opposition to the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn seems to be based on the usual confused half-ideas about electability, as if the party’s right wing and its generic brand of watered-down Toryism hadn’t shown itself to be a losing proposition twice in the last decade, but it’s mostly supported by the fact that, as she insisted, ‘Corbyn. Is. Not. Dumbledore.’ Which is true: Jeremy Corbyn simply isn’t as good as the wise old magician who doesn’t exist, having shown himself to be entirely incapable of casting even the most basic of spells, and utterly failed to function as a universally adored avatar of infallible good; he’s capable of occasionally holding views contrary to those of JK Rowling even when she doesn’t want him to, and he didn’t even have the good grace to give her one billion dollars. None of this is, strictly speaking, analogy; in almost every case she’s responding to other, lesser fans to say that their analogies are inadmissible. In analogy a fictional scenario acts as a map for real events; something intersubjective and mutually agreed upon can explicate (or, if you know how to do it right, confuse) an objective situation. For Rowling, the situation is reversed: real events are trespassing on her characters, the real world is only an imperfect map for Harry Potter. Rowling’s politics didn’t create those of the Harry Potter fantasy – she is, remember, not an author but a fan. Instead, the books themselves distilled all the latent fascism out of the political mainstream, boiling the discourse into a heavy green slime, and she drank it all down in one gulp. People sometimes try to play a fun game in which they match the Hogwarts houses to political ideologies, usually ending up with a ranked list of what ideas they like and don’t like (Gryffindors are nice social liberals like me! Donald Trump is a Voldemort!). This is the wrong way of looking at it; any division into types must itself exemplify a particular type, so that the four together express a single Weltanschauung. Gryffindor are fascists according to fascist ideology itself, the ideal-ego of the fascist subject: a natural elite, strong, noble, honourable, yellow-haired, and respectful of difference, but only within strict limits. Slytherin is the same figure as she appears to the outside world, her negative aspects projected onto a despised other. Hufflepuff is the fascist’s ideal ordinary political subject, dull and stolid, but essentially good-hearted; Ravenclaw is the indeterminate other that resists assimilation into this conceptual matrix, the thing that constitutes the order through its exclusion, the figure that in the early twentieth century was identified with the body of the Jew. Harry Potter is a profoundly reactionary fable; its fantasy isn’t really about dragons and broomsticks but the tired old fantasy of the British class system. Harry Potter is the petit-bourgeois boy who goes to a magical Eton (one that, incidentally, runs on actual slave-labour), faces a few tribulations along his way, but eventually finds himself admitted to the ranks of the aristocracy. The central moral dilemma is one of inequality – what do you do when you have one class of people who, by dint of their extraordinary powers, are innately superior to the society surrounding them? (This goes some way to explaining its popularity: Harry Potter is a book for people who are very pleased with themselves because they love books and love to read, without any judgements on what’s being read; it was never for children and always for the bored 29-year-old human resources workers they would grow into. To read Harry Potter uncritically is to adopt the posture of a Hufflepuff.) The crude, cartoon fascism of Voldemort and the Death Eaters answers that they must rule, killing and enslaving the lesser races. The good characters, meanwhile, want the wizarding world to coil up into its own superiority and seethe in its own ressentiment; every adult is seemingly employed by a government bureaucracy whose sole purpose is to maintain a system of magical apartheid. But remember that these are not actually opposing factions, only varying perspectives of a single ideological object; the difference between Dumbledore and Voldemort is as illusory as that between white nationalism and white supremacism. When JK Rowling announces what Dumbledore would do, she’s announcing the politics of the entire work, its good and evil figures all rolled into one. This is what fandom-hermeneutics fails to understand: you can’t introject a single character sliced off from its text; you can only swallow the whole thing. When JK Rowling ventriloquises her friendly wizard to say that Palestine solidarity or socialism make the Hogwarts man feel very sad, watch her head spin round to reveal the pale leering mouth of the Dark Lord.
The TV broadcast of the 2014 Academy Awards Sunday night was predicted ahead of time to have a huge impact on Twitter. However, no one expected that the social network would briefly go down thanks in part to one post that has already gone down in history as the most retweeted message ever. Oscar TV host Ellen DeGeneres decided early in the show to go into the audience at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles that was filled with major movie actors. She whipped out a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (in a rather obvious bit of product placement) and got Bradley Cooper to take a selfie of her and lots of other A-list celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey. Brad Pitt and more. If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap — Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014 DeGeneres then quickly posted that image on her Twitter account and the retweets began immediately. Within minutes the post would set a new Twitter record, blowing away the previous retweet holder which was set in 2012 by President Barack Obama’s “Four More Years” message. That got 781,000 retweets but Ellen's Oscar selfie has already gone over 2 million as of this writing. Source: TheEllenShow on Twitter \| Image via Ellen DeGeneres
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In an effort to bridge the homework gap, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools announced that 5,000 students will receive free Wi-Fi hotspot devices and high-speed wireless internet service this fall. In a press release, CMS officials said ninth graders who don’t have internet connectivity at home will receive the devices with 3 GB of data per month of high-speed internet and unlimited 2G speed at no charge. Officials cited research that indicates at least 70 percent of teachers assign homework that requires internet access despite the fact that 5 million U.S. families with school-aged children don’t have home internet. The technology donations are part of a national project by wireless carrier Sprint and the Sprint Foundation Over the next five years, Sprint pledges to donate wireless devices and service to over 1 million students nationwide. CMS is one of more than 118 districts in 32 states participating in the nationwide rollout. West Charlotte High School was chosen as the pilot school for the project and distributed 250 mobile hotspot devices in January. “This technology will extend the learning process beyond the classroom and increase student engagement,” said Dr. Clayton Wilcox, CMS superintendent. “CMS is excited to see what our students create and learn with access to this state-of-the-art technology over their four years in high school.” Other North Carolina districts participating include Guilford, Forsyth, Cumberland, Buncombe, Nash, Rockingham, and Pitt counties. Copyright 2017 WCNC
Temporary tattoos are getting the high tech treatment with a new product that transforms them into multifunctional on-skin user interfaces. DuoSkin, created at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Media Lab in partnership with Microsoft Research, allows people to control their mobile devices, display information, and store data all while looking stylish with a metallic like tattoo on their skin. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, a PhD Student at the MIT Media Lab and lead researcher on DuoLink, explains their tech tattoos are intended to be accessible to anyone. They use gold leaf as the conductive material producing a “durable, skin friendly and inexpensive” product. The circuit can be designed with any desktop graphics creation software and crafted with a vinyl cutter. Electronic components, including NFC chips, are added before the tattoo is applied to a person’s skin through water transfer. The electronic tattoo has three functions – input, output, and communication. It can be used to control devices, acting similarly to a button or trackpad. It can also display information by changing color based on body temperature. Thirdly, the tattoo can hold data that can be read by other devices through NFC wireless communication. LEDs can also be added to enhance the aesthetics, something which is important to Kao and the team. Kao explains that in developing DuoSkin she drew inspiration from the affordable and accessible fashion culture of her home country, Taiwan, where people often change their style. She envisions this technology being available in tattoo parlors in the future, allowing users to create “an extension” of themselves.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt and Saudi Arabia have discussed holding a “major military maneuver” in Saudi Arabia with other Gulf states, the Egyptian presidency said, after the two countries discussed the progress of a Saudi-led campaign against Shi’ite militias in neighboring Yemen. Egyptian naval and air forces are already participating in the campaign against Houthi militias in Yemen, and Cairo has said it would supply ground forces “if necessary”. Earlier on Tuesday, it denied reports that it had already sent troops to Yemen. Egypt said the topic of maneuvers in the Saudi kingdom was discussed during a meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Cairo on Tuesday. “It was agreed to form a joint military committee to discuss the implementation of a major strategic maneuver in the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the participation of a joint Arab force which includes troops from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states,” the Presidency statement said. It said the security of the Gulf region and the Red Sea was a “red line” for Cairo. The statement gave no timings or details of what the maneuvers would entail. The meeting also discussed the latest developments in the Yemen campaign, the statement said.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption George Weah was a top footballer, before turning his hand to politics One of Africa's all-time greatest footballers is set to clinch a new title - president of the west African nation of Liberia, his native country. George Weah rose from humble beginnings in a slum to play for some of Europe's best teams, garnering an array of footballing accolades along the way. He then turned his sights on politics and, after a number of failed attempts, won elected office as senator in 2014. He is now gearing up to take over the top job. Profile: Who is George Weah? Not many former sports stars have made it as far as Mr Weah, but it's not uncommon to see them joining the political fray - often assisted by an established public presence and, perhaps, by the ambition and drive that helped them succeed in the sporting arena. Here is a handful of examples from around the world. One of the first to spring to mind may be Imran Khan, who enjoyed an illustrious career playing for Pakistan's national cricket team between 1976 and 1992, and leading it to its only World Cup victory in 1992. He then took to philanthropy and politics, launching his own political party in 1996. He first won a seat in the National Assembly in 2002 and his party was established as a serious political force in 2013 elections. Image copyright AFP Image caption Imran Khan founded a leading opposition force in Pakistan after setting down his cricket bat Wrestling in a new ring Among the best-known examples in the US is Jesse "The Body" Ventura, a Navy Seal and Vietnam veteran who shot to fame as a wrestler and commentator in the 1970s and 1980s. He went on to become a city mayor in Minnesota before creating a political shockwave in 1998 when he unexpectedly defeated both Republican and Democratic candidates to become state governor. Arnold Schwarzenegger experienced his first success as a bodybuilder in his native Austria, before he moved into roles in action films. He won Mr Universe at 20 and went on to win the Mr Olympia title seven times, and remains the best-known name in the industry. He served as Californian governor from 2003 to 2011. In American football, Jack Kemp was a 1960s star quarterback who went on to serve in Congress for 18 years as a Republican and became a conservative hero to the Reagan wing of the party. Image copyright AFP Image caption Jack Kemp (R) ran a serious campaign for the vice-presidency with presidential candidate Bob Dole in 1996 He made unsuccessful attempts to run for both the presidency and vice-presidency but did serve as housing secretary in the cabinet of George Bush Senior. On the Democrats' side, the best-known example may be Bill Bradley, star basketball player with the New York Knicks who went on to become senator for New Jersey for 18 years. Off the ball in Brazil Politicians have also emerged from Brazilian football. Romário was Fifa's World Player of the Year in 1994 but also earned an image as a bad boy. His reinvention as a politician came with the birth of his sixth child, who had Down's Syndrome - first as a disability campaigner, then as elected congressman. He remains in office today. Sócrates played football for Brazilian clubs and its national side for more than a decade from 1974, earning 60 caps for Brazil and captaining the much-admired (though ultimately losing) national squad for the 1982 Fifa World Cup. Image copyright AFP Image caption Socrates' intellectualism and political activism earned him the nickname "The doctor of the ball" Unusually for a footballer, he also earned a degree in medicine and was known for his outspoken political views and intellectualism, earning him the sobriquet Doctor Sócrates. Sócrates did not seek elected office but his influence extended far beyond the football pitch when he co-founded the Corinthians Democracy movement in opposition to the military government and publicly demanded direct presidential elections. Athletes switching tracks Athletes are fairly well-represented in politics, including some of the few women to have made the switch. In the UK, Sebastian (now Lord) Coe went from leading track-and-field athlete to Conservative politician and life peer in the House of Lords, while former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell was once known as "the fastest white man on the planet" and held the British 100m record. Tanni Grey-Thompson won 16 medals as a Paralympian and her activism within sport also saw her appointed a life peer in 2010. Mexican Ana Gabriela Guevara is a 400m runner-turned-senator, while Kenyan long-distance runner Wesley Korir - winner of the 2012 Boston Marathon - is now a member of parliament. Boxing clever Image copyright AFP Image caption Boxer Manny Pacquiao from the Philippines is now packing a punch in politics Boxing has also packed a punch in the world of politics. In the Philippines, legendary fighter Manny Pacquiao first won election to congress in 2010 and is a senator today, while in Ukraine three-time world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko is mayor of Kiev.
Blockchain experts are preparing government agencies and big businesses for what they believe will be one of the most revolutionary technologies of our time. The technology, which bears resemblance to the file-sharing application Napster, enables people to swap information without an trusted intermediary. The most high profile example is the bankless and borderless currency Bitcoin, which is based purely on parties agreeing to the value of the coin. The engine behind Bitcoin is a ledger system called Blockchain. Each time a transaction occurs, a multitude of files or "nodes" throughout the Internet are updated. READ MORE: * Air New Zealand to explore blockchain with Swiss travel platform Winding Tree * Kiwis embrace blockchain, despite bitcoin bottleneck 123RF Blockchain is the engine beneath the virtual currency Bitcoin. Unlike Napster, however, there is no company in the middle. Blockchain has so far proved impossible to hack and now government agencies like the Ministry of Health and the NZ Qualifications Authority are exploring its possibilities. Phil Williams, an advisor to the Edmund Hillary Foundation, is co-ordinating a white paper to urge the Government to bring in blockchain-friendly regulations. He says the Health Ministry is unlikely to put actual health records on "the chain" but it would be a brilliant way of linking records scattered in multiple places. It's an amazing technology, he says, that could eventually form a gateway for whole industries, enabling "vastly more efficient transactions" between different companies. SUPPLIED Mark Pascall: Blockchain will enable "a world where control moves to the individual." Mark Pascall, of business consultancy Blockchain Labs NZ, says that until Blockchain's emergence, governments and agencies were reliant on centralised databases to store information. Under the new technology, individuals can determine who gets access to their details. He says that in a short space of time, Blockchain has become one of the most potentially world-changing technologies, alongside the Internet, nanotech, genetic engineering and AI. "Blockchain is in the top five, I'd say,"' Pascall says. Big businesses are also locking onto Blockchain's potential. Air New Zealand recently announced that it was looking at it for a variety of uses including cargo and baggage tracking, retail, distribution, and loyalty programmes. Webjet is experimenting with it to document hotel bookings. The ASX has announced it will use it for its trading records. And Auckland-based power company Vector has been trialling a blockchain system to help keep track of transactions among communities which buy and sell their own power. Pascall says he knows of about 10 other New Zealand businesses exploring the technology. "The technology will evolve and mature," he said, noting that at the moment Blockchain costs considerably more to implement than a traditional database. But smaller businesses can tap into this new technology as well. "All individuals can get involved in some of these international projects, open-source endeavours where people all over the world are contributing, and also they can buy tokens or get given tokens for their involvement. "Ideally if that project succeeds, the token value will go up and I can swap it for dollars later on. That's one way to get involved, or for a business to potentially ICO [raise money through an initial coin offering] and create new disruptive business models." In the meantime, Williams and others are urging the Government to help New Zealand become a leader rather than a follower in Blockchain. About 30 entrepreneurs or experts have recently come into the country under a newly-created innovation visa, and half a dozen of them were Blockchain-related, he says. Williams, who works for Orion Health, notes that other jurisdictions are pushing hard to capture these experts. "The gates are wide open at the moment and if we can attract great thinkers from abroad and also grow our own skills here through a focus on understanding, maybe additional training as well, then we have a huge role to play in ... global transformation. Why does blockchain work? Essentially blockchain relies on a world that polices itself rather than a middle-man. While that may seems scary, there are already many examples of this collaborative concept at work. TradeMe to a large degree relies on traders to be honest and deliver items, academics crowdsource information, and Wikipedia relies on the public at large to keep its information honest. When Bitcoin emerged several years ago, it was clear the technology that underpinned it could be used for many things other than currencies. There are now at least 700 blockchains but only a few have become well used, Ethereum being one of the best known. New companies are also fundraising through ICOs or "initial coin offers" which, like a sharemarket float, give people a slice of the new venture. Williams says Blockchain will in the first instance be useful for companies wanting to make their processes more efficient. But the real revolution will be come when new ways of applying it are invented. "They [the chains] enable new networks of value to be exchanged in society that actually don't exist at the moment. So entirely new economies could spring up." Pascall believes that blockchain will ultimately lead to greater globalisation. "In a global village with a database which no single government can control, then we move to a world where control moves to the individual."
Danny Sullivan, Creative Commons With the latest update for Android, Google is now blocking Facebook users from loading their friend contacts to their phone's address book. Google claims the block is because Facebook won't let Android users export contacts from the phone. Last year a similar controversy broke out when Google blocked Facebook users from searching their Gmail contacts for new friends on the social network. The Gingerbread update is only available for the Nexus S and Nexus One phones for now, and will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks. If Facebook contacts are important to you, then you may want to skip the update for now until the issue is resolved. Here's a breakdown of the three major features in the release: No more Facebook integration. Before now, you could use the Facebook App to pull your friends' info directly to into your address book, just like you can on iPhone.
Once again teasing a possible run at the leadership of the federal Conservative party, television star Kevin O'Leary appeared at the Manning Centre conference in Ottawa on Friday and vowed to be Finance Minister Bill Morneau's "worst nightmare." "Our financial policy in this country... is broken," he said to applause, after claiming the Canadian engineering students he speaks to regularly are planning to leave the country on account of high taxes and a low dollar. O'Leary, former star of CBC's Dragons' Den and current star of ABC's Shark Tank, was on stage as part of a session dedicated to potential leadership contenders at this year's edition of former Reform party leader Preston Manning's annual gathering for Canadian conservatives. The flamboyant entrepreneur ripped the Ontario government's budget and its plans for a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He said the Canadian energy sector had collapsed because of bad financial policy and said he had "wept" upon hearing a presentation to investors in New York by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. In a discussion with Manning after his speech, O'Leary also described Notley as "an incompetent." Pipeline referendum promised On other matters of current debate, O'Leary said he'd hold a national referendum on pipelines and would have the government pursue a better, "market" deal with Bombardier, the aerospace firm that he later deemed "the worst-managed aerospace company in the world." Businessman and TV commentator speaks to reporters at the Manning Centre Conference in Ottawa. 1:40 O'Leary, who drew several rounds of applause, said he would dedicate himself to holding the federal and provincial governments to account. "What I'm going to be doing with this platform and why I'm here today is I've decided that in every government policy or government spending from now on, I'm going to spend a tremendous amount of energy exposing it to the public and showing them where it's broken," he explained. "I hope to make this a nightmare for politicians that think they can continue wastefully spending our money." Though still non-committal about his political aspirations, O'Leary vowed he would pursue Justin Trudeau's government as it tables its budget next month. He said he had recently met Finance Minister Bill Morneau, at a corporate social event, and warned him directly. "I said, 'Listen Bill, I don't like deficit spending. I'm going to be your worst nightmare. I'm going to tear that budget to pieces.' "
“How can we have a dialogue when they are threatening us?” Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, the foreign minister and a member of the royal family, asked Friday night at a news conference. Photo On Sunday, Bahrain was returning to a level of normality, with schools restarting, traffic returning and shops reopening. Indeed, in an overnight report posted on the official Bahrain News Agency, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa said that a “fomented subversive plot,” brewing for 20 or 30 years, had failed. But many Shiites stayed home from work in protest of recent events, some checkpoints and curfews remained and a sense of political paralysis prevailed. No political dialogue seemed likely soon. For government supporters here, it was the way protesters blocked the financial district that was especially worrisome. They say they worry mostly about what happened to Lebanon. Beirut was once the financial capital of the Middle East. Then sectarian tensions among Sunnis, Shiites, Christians and Druze, exacerbated by meddling of foreign powers, broke out in the mid-1970s, leading to civil war. Not only did the country tear out its own heart, the financial business there pulled out and never returned. Today, much of that business is here in Bahrain. Downtown Manama has mushroomed. Bahrainis worry that if Sunni-Shiite sectarianism grows out of control, the financial business will again pick up stakes and move to the waiting competitors, Dubai and Qatar. Urgent measures were therefore needed, the government’s defenders say, and they are grateful they were taken. The demonstrators, they argue, had allowed their cause to be taken over by hard-liners inspired by — or linked to — Iran. No evidence of such links has been presented, and Shiite leaders here deny that they are doing Iran’s bidding. Still, the walls of some Shiite mosques in Bahrain bear portraits of Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah spiritual figures, and ties to Iran run deep among many Shiites in the country. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The takeover of Salmaniya Hospital by the military especially shocked the world. But Hala Mohammed is a Sunni doctor at the hospital and said that in recent weeks it had turned into a mini-Pearl Square with tents and radical posters. Photo “The doctors who supported the protesters were suddenly issuing decrees on behalf of the entire medical community,” she said. “They had politicized a medical institution. The government didn’t occupy it, it freed it and I am grateful.” Rana Abdulaal said that many Sunnis like herself had felt imprisoned in their homes for the past month. She said she expected the Shiite opposition to accept offers to begin a dialogue with the government, but it instead refused to join one. “If the government had not acted, there would have been a civil war,” she said, with Sunnis marching on Pearl Square. What also troubles Mr. Abdulmalik, the banker, is the way in which Bahrain has been grouped recently in discussions abroad with Libya and Yemen. The elite here think of their country as more like the Persian Gulf’s version of Singapore — a liberal, sophisticated place that is culturally far more open than its neighbors. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. On Saturday afternoon, Mr. Abdulmalik led two visitors around Muharraq, the original capital of Bahrain, a warren of lovely alleys and 200-year-old homes being gracefully restored as museums and cultural spaces, because his company supports these projects. By chance, the country’s culture minister, Sheika Mai bint Mohammed al-Khalifa, was at one of the houses. Ms. Khalifa wears her shoulder-length hair uncovered and was in trousers and sneakers in the Abdullah Al Zayed House, the home of the first newspaper publisher in the gulf, being restored by her foundation. “Bahrain has always been open, and we don’t want to see it turned into another Iran,” Ms. Khalifa said. In the nearby cultural center her foundation runs, philosophers, poets and thinkers from around the world have taken part in a weekly lecture program. But the program and others like it have ground to a halt because of the recent troubles; a large meeting that Bahrain was planning to host has been suddenly moved to Paris. Much of the push for democratic reform here, as elsewhere in the region, has come from economic hard times. Bahraini supporters of the government note that in this country there is free education, free medical care, heavily subsidized housing as well as no taxes. Budgetary troubles meant home construction was delayed, pushing some of the poor to join the demonstrations. “The last few years were very difficult because of the financial crisis,” said Mr. Abdulmalik, the banker. “But that crisis was not so bad because we were dealing with facts. In the last month, we have been dealing with emotions. I told the demonstrators, ‘This country is developing, and you will stifle it.’ Something had to be done, and it was.”
But I also think that Trump's move may have a silver lining. American diplomats insisted for many years that the two-state solution remained a viable option, even while the rest of the world knew this was merely a ruse intended to give Israel time to create more facts on the ground. This, despite the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hardly played along, making it rather clear where he stood. By moving to crush any lingering Palestinian hopes for a national capital in East Jerusalem, America and Israel may say they are still open to a two-state solution, but in reality they are really signaling that that the two-state solution is pretty much dead. They broadcast that the occupation of Palestinian land, and the dispossession of the Palestinian people, will (and should) be accelerated. This makes the issue more complicated for me. I am with those who believe the only possible solution for Israelis and Palestinians is, contrary to the two-state option, something that we might call the one-state solution. Some one-staters advocate for a unitary, secular state, where all, Jewish, Muslim and Christian citizens, are equal before the law. (Think of is as a non-confessional democracy on the model of the United States). Others propose a binational confederation in which Palestinians and Israelis enjoy extreme autonomy but pool certain functions of the state — defense, for example, or foreign affairs. All of these potential solutions seem farfetched, and perhaps unrealistic. But all of these are more moral, and more sustainable, than the unfolding tragedy that is the status quo. Moreover, none of these are really that new, either. So when I advocate for a one-state solution, I’m merely asking for two-staters to be honest about their politics. Of course, killing off the diplomatic process very likely isn’t going to be good for Palestinians — or Israelis. But what is the point of investing all of one’s political energies in a ruse? Because that’s all the two-state solution ever was. Even the most generous offers extended to Palestinians never afforded them the possibility of a viable and sovereign state. Even the most generous Israeli and American offers still assumed a bisected Palestinian state, a West Bank riven by an expanded Jerusalem, Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan River Valley, implicit control of Palestinian borders and a defense force essentially limited to a robust police department. That is not, by any definition, an independent country. It’s a slightly more autonomous colony. Ultimately, the two-state solution sounded nice on paper, but partition hardly ever ends well—look at India and Pakistan or, well, Israel and Palestine. The British made conflicting promises to Zionists and to Palestinians, the consequences of which are with us until this moment, and likely for many years to come.
If you’re like me, “God’s will” has been the focus of much prayer, angst, hope, and confusion. I’ve often wondered if I had found it, missed it, or generally screwed it up. So I’m very grateful for these words from Mandy Meisenheimer, challenging myths that I’ve often believed about God’s will: Seeking God’s will used to be so simple in my mind. “God must have better plans for you.” “Everything happens for a reason.” “God shut those doors. It wasn’t supposed to happen.” It was so simple that these pithy, reductionist sayings didn’t seem bizarre to me at all. But when we choose to see God’s will in everything while ignoring the futility and despair of this life, we miss God’s will entirely and we lose sight of the hope of the gospel itself. These are eight myths that I have identified in my life about God’s will and God’s involvement: 1. High school students should know what God’s will is for their lives and choose a college major accordingly. The decisions we make during our early adulthood (career, marriage, etc.) alter the courses of our lives. But to expect that an 18-year-old would have the perfect life mapped out for himself/herself places too much responsibility, expectations, and false hopes on a young student, setting him/her up for failure and disappointment. Those dreams look different in ten years, for better or for worse. And there is nothing sacred about the age of 18 in the determination of one’s destiny. Mostly likely, the 18-year-old will get it wrong a few times. 2. God’s plan for me is my vocation. God’s will is about loving God and loving others. Only in a position of privilege can a person have the notion that work should be some romantic expression of his/her gifts and talents. 3. If you are bored with your job, it must not be your calling, or God’s will for your life. The gospel does not promise the actualization of our full potential. Many martyrs have died without being able to make a living performing in a band or writing a ground-breaking novel. We tend to believe the myth that our fulfillment in life involves labor which is creative, stimulating, and success-generating. But the idea that God’s will must involve following one’s dreams contradicts Scripture and disrespects the millions of impoverished people around the world who labor in harsh circumstances every day to provide for their families. 4. Some people have high callings. God’s will does not have a front row and a back row. Missionary martyr is not first place; suburban housewife or husband is not number 53. Finding wholeness and love in this life is all there is. There isn’t a bonus level with ninja powers. 5. If God does not want me to do something, God will close the door. If God always were to “shut doors” on disobedience, then there would be no abuse, no lies, no bank robberies, or littering. God does not close doors to prevent all bad things from happening. And the converse is also a myth: If all the doors are opening for me, it must be God’s will. Shouldn’t we beware of the illusion of orchestration through circumstances? Sometimes the best things are ruined and all the doors are shut in our faces. Sometimes the worst things open up for us with ease. 6. If something goes wrong, what you are doing must not be God’s will. Resistance is not an appropriate gauge of the righteousness of a decision, nor is a “sense of peace”. Sometimes resistance proves to us that we are following Jesus. And sometimes resistance happens because this planet is a tough place to live. 7. Everything that happens to me is part of God’s plan. Things happen to us that are contrary to God’s will. A person neglects or abuses a child. A drunk driver has an accident. God does not cause these things. What if you were supposed to get that job and someone lost the paperwork because this world is a dark place? What if your child was supposed to thrive at birth, but humans don’t always do their jobs perfectly? What if what happened wasn’t truly meant to be? Is that okay? Can futile, awful things happen in this world? 8. Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous. Why don’t we put our faith in the Holy Spirit working within us much more than the signs and wonders without? Why do we look for confirmation of God’s will in tealeaves and toast crumbs? Are we really going to take this or that highway because someone had a bumper sticker that seemed like a “God thing”? Why does this seem more like voodoo and less like faith? One of the most amazing, gospelly books in the Bible, Ecclesiastes, sets us free from the pursuit of meaning in all things. Nothing is new under the sun. Everything is a chasing after the wind. The wisdom in this poetry can set us free from seeing our lives through a Jesus-crystal ball. Sometimes bad things happen and that’s the way this world works. This fallen, dark, corrupt world gets it wrong. Why does that surprise us? Why do we need to explain it away? The answer I have found to all of these myths is in one statement: This too shall be redeemed. We do not have to find meaning in every event, every change, every decision, every slight, every loss, every win. We find meaning in watching it all be redeemed in time. Eventually. Perhaps at the end of all things when things are made whole again. adapted from Things I Want the Internet to Know Mandy Meisenheimer is the Director of Children and Youth at West End Collegiate Church in Manhattan. She also writes curriculum and reflection guides for books and short films. Mandy and her husband live with their two young children in the Bronx, New York. Follow her on Twitter. [ image: Ivana Vasilj ]
Critical vulnerability in the Xen hypervisor The critical elevation privilege vulnerability has been corrected in the hypervisor Xen. This gap allows to gain control over the host server. Seven years this problem is present in the Xen code base. The developers of the Xen hypervisor released nine security patches, eliminating multiple vulnerabilities in the server software. One of the flaws could allow an attacker to gain control over the host server. We are talking about the vulnerability CVE-2015-7835 (XSA-148), by which the paravirtualization guest can manage memory OS of the host and other virtual machines. The problem was discovered by engineers Alibaba, which recently joined the development of Xen. The vulnerability is due to the fact that in the MMU code for x86 version of Xen there is the following line: if (unlikely (l2e_get_flags (nl2e) & L2_DISALLOW_MASK)) L2_DISALLOW_MASK defined as: #define L2_DISALLOW_MASK (base_disallow_mask & ~ _PAGE_PSE) base_disallow_mask defined as: base_disallow_mask = ~ (_PAGE_PRESENT \| _PAGE_RW \| _PAGE_USER \| _PAGE_ACCESSED \| _PAGE_DIRTY \| _PAGE_AVAIL); According to the developers of the operating system Qubes, this problem is the most dangerous vulnerability in Xen Project’s history. An attacker can bypass security checks and gain the right to read and write to the memory of the host server, and also compromise all virtual operating systems on target system. The vulnerability is manifested in Xen 3.4 (32-bit and 64-bit x86 systems) and newer releases (ARM systems are not susceptible). We recommended all users of Xen to apply the patch or install updates as soon as possible (currently available only for Qubes OS: 4.4.3-8 and 4.1.6.1-23 packages). Another option is to run paravirtualized operating systems in full virtualization mode (HVM). Amazon has announced that its cloud services are not affected by this issue. Rackspace, IBM / Softlayer and Linode also already fixed this problem before its public disclosure. The developers also eliminated 8 denial of service vulnerabilities affecting x86- and ARM-version of Xen. A remote user can use these flaws to carry out DoS-attacks. Multiple vulnerabilities in Xen Danger: High Availability of correction: Yes The number of vulnerabilities: 9 CVE ID: #1 CVE-2015-7812 (XSA-145) #2 CVE-2015-7813 (XSA-146) #3 CVE-2015-7814 (XSA-147) #4 CVE-2015-7835 (XSA-148) #5 CVE-2015-7969 (XSA-149) #6 CVE-2015-7970 (XSA-150) #7 CVE-2015-7969 (XSA-151) #8 CVE-2015-7971 (XSA-152) #9 CVE-2015-7972 (XSA-153) Vector of operation: Remote Impact: DoS-attack, Privilege escalation Affected versions: Xen 4.4.x and later Description: #1 CVE-2015-7812 – Host crash when preempting a multicall. The vulnerability is caused due to an error in the multicall functional. A remote user can cause denial of service. #2 CVE-2015-7813 – various unimplemented hypercalls log without rate limiting. A vulnerability is caused due to an error in hypercall HYPERVISOR_physdev_op. A remote user can cause denial of service. #3 CVE-2015-7814 – Race between domain destruction and memory allocation decrease. A vulnerability is caused due to an error in XENMEM_decrease_reservation. A remote user can cause denial of service. Note: Vulnerabilities #1 – #3 affects only ARM-systems. #4 CVE-2015-7835 – Uncontrolled creation of large page mappings by PV guests. The vulnerability is caused due to an error bypass security restrictions in validator table entries 2 level. This can be exploited to elevate privileges. #5 – #9 This vulnerabilities is caused due to errors in the following components: #5 [CVE-2015-7969] XEN_DOMCTL_max_vcpus; #6 [CVE-2015-7970] Mode Populate-on-Demand; #7 [CVE-2015-7969] hypercall XENOPROF_get_buffer; #8 [CVE-2015-7971] HYPERCALL_xenoprof_op and HYPERVISOR_xenpmu_op; #9 [CVE-2015-7972] mode Populate-on-Demand. This can be exploited to carry out DoS-attacks. Note: Vulnerabilities #4 – #9 affects only x86 systems. Links: http://lists.xenproject.org/archives/html/xen-announce/2015-10/ http://lists.xenproject.org/archives/html/xen-announce/2015-10/msg00003.html
The Logan Act (est. 1799): a single federal statute making it a crime for a citizen to confer with foreign governments against the interests of the United States. Specifically, it prohibits citizens from negotiating with other nations on behalf of the United States without authorization. This week, New York Post columnist Amir Taheri made the claim that while in Iraq this summer, Barack Obama privately tried to convince Iraqi leaders to wait until a new administration is in place before beginning a draw-down of American troops. According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July. “He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington,” Zebari said in an interview. Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops – and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its “state of weakness and political confusion.” The Obama campaign issued a denial: …Obama’s national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said Taheri’s article bore “as much resemblance to the truth as a McCain campaign commercial.” In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a “Strategic Framework Agreement” governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office, she said. Let’s compare two key sentences from the articles linked above: “He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington.” asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington.” In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a “Strategic Framework Agreement” governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office, she said. It seems to me that the Obama campaign essentially confirmed what Taheri’s public source said. Let’s look at the Constitution. Article Two, Section Two: The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session. Article Two, Section Three: Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States. Nothing in Article One, which covers the duties of Congress (both House and Senate), says anything about senators engaging foreign policy unbidden by the president – even those running for president. And somehow I doubt President Bush called him up and asked him to take over Condoleezza Rice’s job for a day. But my plebian education may be impeding my interpretation of both Obama’s denial and the Constitution. See, I didn’t go to Columbia or Harvard – like Sarah Palin, I graduated from a state university, so I may not be educated enough to figure it out. I do still have all my teeth, however, so that’s one thing going for me. Last year, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Israel and then to Syria, where she told Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel was ready for peace talks with that nation. It came as a huge surprise to Israel’s prime minister, whose office said that “what was discussed with the House speaker did not include any change in Israel’s policy, as it has been presented to international parties involved in the matter.” At the time, critics suggested that Pelosi had violated the tenets of the Logan Act, which is a felony. But the mainstream media avoided the topic like a hot potato and nothing was ever done about it – President Bush being too nice a guy as usual? The cynic in me can’t help but believe that Obama wanted the Iraqis to hold off on sending American troops home until – presumably – he is in the Oval Office next January and can take credit for “bringing the troops home” as per his campaign platform. It’s nice to know he’s thinking of keeping one of his many campaign promises, but a little disconcerting to think that he’d try to undermine the current president in the process. Charlie Gibson asked Sarah Palin if she’d ever met any foreign heads of state, to which she answered no. Will he ask Barack Obama what he talked about with the foreign heads of state he’s met? Or is he satisfied with questions like whether Obama will debate with McCain at a town hall? Not only should the media be making more of a fuss about this, but so should the Bush administration. Seals and fancy planes aside, Barack Obama is not yet President of the United States. And if this is how he thinks foreign policy should be conducted – on the sly – is he really the man we want officially directing such policy for the next four to eight years?
Former Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, an adviser to Donald Trump Donald John TrumpREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails Trump urges North Korea to denuclearize ahead of summit Venezuela's Maduro says he fears 'bad' people around Trump MORE who was rumored to be on his list of possible running mates, called on Muslim leaders to condemn the attack in Nice, France. ADVERTISEMENT “The radical Islamist ideology is alive, well and kicking,” Flynn said in an interview with “Fox and Friends” Friday morning. “In the last 24 hours I have called out for the leaders of Iran — [Ayatollah] Khomeini — and the leaders of the Muslim world, and I can tick them off if you want, there’s a bunch of countries with a bunch of so-called leaders, to step up and call this what it is. They know they have a problem inside of their own system.” Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's supreme leader, died in 1989. He was replaced by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At least 84 people were killed when a French man originally from Tunisia plowed through crowds of people in Nice, France, on Thursday during Bastille Day celebrations. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Stormcall - Book One of the E.M.F. Chronicles Rated 4.00 / 5 based on 1 reviews Join the adventures of Mark Prior, a twenty two year old Brit, in an incredible journey across Europe as he uncovers, alongside his friends, a hidden and primeval power. Follow the story of the four friends as they release the blue lightning, trapped inside a forgotten relic from a time long lost, and witness their change from young university graduates to beings of extraordinary power. More When twenty-two year old Mark Prior jumped at the opportunity of joining his friends on a backpacking holiday around the Aegean islands, he never imagined that they'd come across a forgotten relic that would change their lives forever. The mysterious island of Samothrace is the group's first stop and the epicenter of secrets where the blue lightning is harbored, hidden deep within its ancient mountain. Who are the enigmatic Order of Knights, known as the Clergy, that are sworn to protect the world from this primeval and forgotten power? What is their connection to their adversaries, a vagabond group of misfits calling themselves the Organization? Join the adventures of Mark, Alice, Telemachus and Jose as they unleash an ancient power, designed to bestow the wielders of the blue lightning with extraordinary abilities. Witness their story as they realize the consequences of their discovery with half of the world's secret services hot on their heels. Stormcall is the first installment of the E.M.F. Chronicles, a five-part series of suspenseful action adventures with a strong science fiction edge. Follow the life of each character in a tale of friendship, camaraderie and conflict, from the green slopes of mount Saos to the magical circle of stones in Glastonbury. T.A. Marks' remarkable book will keep you guessing, from start to finish.
Politically-charged speeches were the order of the day at this year's Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards, with many attendees choosing to speak out against President Trump's controversial immigration ban. Yet that wasn't the only talking point at the Los Angeles ceremony, which also saw some more light-hearted moments, the odd surprise - and more than one fashion catastrophe. Here are seven things that grabbed our attention. 1) Nicole Kidman's dress Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Kidman was up for a supporting actress award but lost out to Fences' Viola Davis The Oscar-winning star of Moulin Rouge turned heads on the red carpet by wearing two of them on her shoulders. The Australian actress - who was up for an award for her work in Lion - frocked up in a green Gucci gown adorned with feathered parrot heads. The dress saw her crowned by some media as the worst-dressed star at the event and quickly had people squawking in the Twittersphere. "Every night in America should end with Nicole Kidman in a bird dress," wrote Vanity Fair columnist Richard Lawson. Will someone try to top her bold fashion choice at Hollywood's next awards bash? After all, toucan play at that game. 2) Winona Ryder's face Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Ryder was among those recognised for their contribution to sci-fi series Stranger Things Stranger Things actor David Harbour gave an impassioned speech when the show won its best ensemble award, calling on his fellow "craftsmen and women" to "battle against fear, self-centredness and exclusivity". But his thunder was stolen somewhat by the facial expressions sported by his co-star Winona Ryder as she stood beside him. Initially surprised at the weight of her prize statuette, the 45-year-old went on to emote delight, amazement and confusion before raising her fist in what appeared to be a mock salute. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The faces that launched a thousand gifs "Next time Trump gives a speech, make Winona Ryder stand next to him and translate for all of us through her facial expressions," wrote the TV critic Emily Nussbaum. Harbour himself made reference to his co-star afterwards, describing the memes and gifs she had unwittingly generated as "epic". 3) Westworld's snub Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Newton had been nominated for a best actress prize for her work in Westworld Stranger Things's success came at the expense of another highly regarded sci-fi show that had also begun the evening with three nominations. The TV makeover of Michael Crichton's Westworld ended up a bridesmaid though, missing out in all three categories in which it was shortlisted. As well as missing out on the outstanding ensemble in a drama series prize, the show was also pipped to a stuntwork prize by Game of Thrones. Thandie Newton, meanwhile, had to applaud politely when fellow Brit Claire Foy received the best actress in a drama series award. But the 44-year-old made light of being passed over, posting a humorous picture on Twitter of herself necking a bottle of champagne. Image copyright @thandienewton 4) William H Macy's shock Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Macy previously won a SAG award for his Shameless role in 2015 Even William H Macy was surprised when he beat Transparent's Jeffrey Tambor to the award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series. "I'm shocked," the Shameless star told the audience. "I'm probably not as shocked as Jeffrey, but I'm pretty shocked." Macy went on to "thank President Trump for making Frank Gallagher" - the debauched single father he plays in the Showtime TV series - "seem so normal". Felicity Huffman, Macy's actress wife, tweeted a picture of her own delight at her husband's third SAG win. Image copyright @FelicityHuffman 5) Ryan Gosling's bow-tie Meryl Streep got a shout-out on Sunday from The Crown award-winner John Lithgow, who dedicated part of his acceptance speech to praise her for her much-publicised Trump tirade at the Golden Globes. "I would like to honour... a great and underrated actress who somehow managed to speak my exact thoughts three weeks ago at another awards ceremony, and that's Meryl Streep," said the 71-year-old. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Meryl Streep adjusts Ryan Gosling's tie at the Screen Actors Guild awards Streep - who was up for the best actress prize for her role in Florence Foster Jenkins - got additional love after photos were taken of her reaching over to straighten Ryan Gosling's dickie bow. "Having Miranda Priestly voluntarily fix your outfit is the equivalent of being touched by an angel," gushed In Style's Olivia Bahou - a reference to Streep's magazine editor role in The Devil Wears Prada. 6) Manchester's disappointment Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Lucas Hedges and Casey Affleck were both nominated for their work in Manchester by the Sea Manchester by the Sea - a cheery tale about a janitor coping with a series of tragic bereavements - had gone into Sunday's awards with the most nominations - four in all. Yet Kenneth Lonergan's film went away empty-handed when Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges and Michelle Williams were all beaten in their respective awards categories. The film also missed out on the outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture prize - the SAG equivalent of a best picture award. Affleck's failure to win the best actor award - a prize won by Denzel Washington instead - was one of the bigger upsets of the night. Not everyone was sad to see Ben Affleck's little brother miss out for once following a string of successes at other awards ceremonies. though: "Denzel winning over Casey Affleck at the SAG Awards is the best thing I've heard today," wrote one Twitter user. 7) Lily Tomlin's speech Image copyright Reuters Image caption Dolly Parton presented Lily Tomlin her lifetime achievement award Veteran actress Lily Tomlin made a topical reference to "alternative facts" - a phrase that has become common usage since its coinage by top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway - as she collected a lifetime achievement award on Sunday. "Did you hear the Doomsday Clock has been moved up to two-and-a-half minutes before midnight?" she told a whooping audience at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium. "This award came just in the nick of time." The 77-year-old went on to offer such safe words of actorly advice as "don't be anxious about missing an opportunity" and "don't leave the house when you're drunk". "Live your life so that when you are being honoured for your achievements, the people called upon to make laudatory remarks can feel reasonably honest about their comments,'' she went on. "Otherwise, in these times, all their words or phrases might be perceived as alternative facts - or worse yet, fake news.'' Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
A bingo-style homework project in which pupils are asked to look out for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters and references in TV shows has been developed by education experts. The game, proposed by the Sex Education Forum, encourages children as young as 11 to analyse how same-sex relationships are portrayed by the media. It involves a card with 12 squares to be crossed off, for example if a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender character is shown during an episode of any show. The bingo card in the Sex Educational Supplement (volume one, issue three) being used as homework It is one of a series of teaching resources developed by the forum, which is funded by members including the Church of England, the NSPCC and local councils. But campaigners last night dubbed it an ‘inappropriate’ homework topic and said it would not be supported by many parents. Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, said the game promoted an ‘unhealthy obsession with sex’. He added: ‘This activity encourages pupils to focus on sexual characteristics and behaviour to the exclusion of everything else. ‘It also gives disproportionate attention to lifestyles and sexual feelings which are very much in the minority.’ The forum has launched the game in the latest edition of its termly e-magazine for teachers, which focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues. In a section on Key Stage Three (ages 11 to 14), it recommends ‘media bingo’ as a homework activity, using a card with 12 squares. These are: straight women visible; lesbians visible; bisexual women visible; straight men visible; gay men visible; bisexual men visible; trans men visible; trans women visible; bisexual people talked about; trans people talked about; same-sex relationships talked about; opposite-sex relationships talked about’. The magazine says: ‘Ask pupils to pick a programme and see if they can cross any of the items off the bingo card in one episode. ‘When pupils bring their bingo cards back ask them if anyone got a full card. Did anyone get only one box? Brooke Vincent (left) currently plays lesbian character Sophie Webster alongside Amy Kelly (Maddie Heath) in Coronation Street. Pupils are asked to pick a programme and see if they can cross off ant items on bingo card ‘What did they notice about visibility/invisibility? Were same-sex and opposite sex relationships treated in similar or different ways?’ Lucy Emmerson, coordinator of the Sex Education Forum, said: ‘Young people have repeatedly said that discussion about same-sex relationships and transgender people is often completely absent in school sex and relationships education. Getting pupils to think about characters they know from soaps, TV and films is a useful way to open up discussion.’ The Sex Education Forum is based at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), a charity which receives government money for specific projects but not for the forum or e-magazine. Members of the forum – such as the Church of England’s education division, Methodist Church, Brighton and Hove City Council, Brook and the National Secular Society – pay £120 a year for subscription including VAT.
Who are you and what do you do? How did you get into this line of work? What is your favourite beer, wine or spirit? What do you think makes a great beer? What was your first drink and where were you when you had it? What drink can you no longer face having had one too many? What is your favourite style of beer? If you had to pick, which would be your top three beers in the whole world? What is the silliest thing you’ve done whilst drunk? What is the best part of your job? You are stuck on a desert island, what three things are you taking with you? What was the inspiration for starting the brewery? Where do you see, or hope to see, the brewery in 5 years time? Out of all the beers you brew, which is your favourite? Why is that? Originally Posted on Feb 03, 2016Are you curious to know about the people behind the beers you buy? Or perhaps you want to know what inspires brewers to brew and beer bloggers to blog? Our “Q&A” posts are a light hearted way of getting to know people working in, and connected to, the beer and alcohol industry.Today’s post features Ringwood Brewery.Ringwood Brewery was founded by Peter Austin in 1978, a man who is revered as “the father of British Micro-brewing”. Ringwood Brewery’s first brewhouse was in a former bakery in the old station yard brewing Best Bitter and Fortyniner for a handful of local customers. 1979 saw the production of Old Thumper, which has since become the flagship brew. In 1986, having outgrown the Minty’s yard premises, the brewery moved to its present site, ironically the location of the old Tunks’ Brewery which ceased trading in 1821.Today the brewery is able to produce circa 40,000 barrels of its renowned and distinctive beers. In addition to Best, Fortyniner, and Old Thumper, we now brew the blonde Boondoggle and the deliciously warming XXXX Porter.My name is Alex Harrison, and I am the marketing manager for Ringwood and Brakspear Breweries.I joined Marston’s as a graduate in 2012 and moved down to Ringwood in 2013.I love tasting all manner of alcoholic drinks and I’m a big fan of gin and tonic. When it comes to beer, probably the best I have been lucky enough to try was Westvleteren 12A passionate brewer and good company!Miller Genuine Draft in Scotland for my sins.TequilaQuadruples, but I’m always happy to try any new beers.Westvleteren 12, Mooi and Meedogenloos Ringwood XXXX porter,I would rather not say!Looking at NPD and bringing a new beer from the drawing board to into a pub/bottle!The complete works of Shakespeare, a distillery and a boat!Peter Austin set up Ringwood, one of the first microbreweries. At that time, brewing was dominated by six giant national brewers, which were converting their pubs to keg beers and taking over and closing many of the remaining independent breweries.I would love to see an increase in capacity, maybe even a small 3 barrel plant!XXXX Porter, our Winter beer, it is just so well balanced and rich.Thank you to Alex and Ringwood Brewery for taking the time to take part.You can view and buy beers from Ringwood Brewery here.
When you buy a Ferrari, you have certain expectations. Like, for example, the expectation of traveling unreasonably fast, of achieving ridiculous speeds in a ludicrously short period of time, and of looking good in the process. You expect leather, style, the whole lot. And you pay for it up front, oh boy do you pay for it. You buy at the top of the market, but you know what you’re getting. You know where this is going of course. You can read the title. But, for fun, let’s pretend you didn’t read the title! It’s David Price. I’m talking about David Price. Now act surprised. Spit milk out your nose or drop something breakable. Eww gross and/or you should be more careful! Now, Ferraris: when you pay for something that expensive, you have certain expectations. But if you bought a Ferrari, wrote a check, and put the key in it to drive it off the lot and the thing sputtered and jerked and then the windshield wipers exploded, you’d ask for your money back. And you’d probably get it too, but baseball players aren’t like that. The Red Sox aren’t getting their money back, even though David Price’s windshield wipers have most definitely detonated. But this isn’t about money. Or at least it’s not about monetary specifics. It’s about a team that needs an ace, finally buckling down and buying/convincing one to take their money, and what they got in return. So let’s start by saying immediately right now that what they got in return is an ace. David Price is still an ace. He’s been an ace in the very recent past and even though his performance this season hasn’t measured up to what he, we, and the Red Sox would like, the chances are incredibly good he’s still that guy and not the one we’ve seen in 2016. What’s more, as I attempted to point out on Twitter after Price’s 3.2 innings in which he gave up eight runs, two of which came on homers, he’s not the only big name pitcher who has struggled through this season’s first month. ERAs David Price: 6.65 Zack Greinke: 5.25 Chris Archer: 7.32 Adam Wainwright: 8.27 Justin Verlander: 7.16 Corey Kluber: 6.16 — Matthew Kory (@mattymatty2000) April 21, 2016 The Red Sox are hoping to get 3- plus starts out of Price this season so if he figures things out and starts getting better results, this will be but a cold weather blip on the chart. However, since this is all we have to go by now, those four starts loom large, like exploding windshield wipers when you first start your new car. Whoah! What the heck was that! Price’s start yesterday was particularly disconcerting as it came against a Rays team that, in 14 prior games, had managed to score more than three runs just three times. That’s 11 times they scored three or fewer runs, twice they scored five, and once they managed seven. Yesterday the Red Sox $200 million ace gave up eight in less than half a game to that team, a team that most average starters should hold down. So yes, as I said, disconcerting. Let’s look a bit closer and see if we can figure out what’s making the Ferrari’s wipers blow up. The first thing that jumps out at me is Price’s velocity. Compared to other Aprils it’s down across the board. Now, his cutter averaged between 88 mph and 90 mph overall last season and it’s averaging 89 mph so far this season. So, okay, fine. Same with the curveball, more or less. It’s at 79 mph so far and it was right there at the end of last season as well. Price’s fastball is the slowest it’s been since a single game last April where it averaged 92.66 mph against the Yankees. The fastball though, that’s down, period. Price’s fastball is the slowest it’s been since a single game last April where it averaged 92.66 mph against the Yankees. But the games bookending that one each featured significantly faster speeds of 94.88 and 95.49. Also, we’re talking about one game versus an average of four. Price hasn’t averaged above 93.5 mph in a start yet this season and yesterday his high, not his average, his high, was 95.3. This isn’t entirely unexpected. He is 30 years old and pitchers lose velocity as they age. It is also April, a month when pitchers are still getting warmed up internally and when the weather is cooler than normal and that inhibits velocity as well. So the elements are working against Price, but even taking all that into account, Price’s velocity is down further than you would hope. Now Price can absolutely be successful with lower velocity. It’s not like 93.5 mph is slow. It’s just not 95.5 mph. There is just slightly less margin for error. When you’re throwing 110 the batter has no time to react and so it almost doesn’t matter where the ball goes. It can go right down the middle and the batter won’t stand a chance. Slow down to 80 mph and the location becomes vital. If you don’t paint the black with a 80 mph fastball it’s getting smoked. Price has taken a step away from ‘who cares where it’s going’ and towards ‘location is vital.’ Even so, as Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal pointed out on Twitter, Price has still been getting a ton of swings and misses. In fact, he’s one of the leaders in that category throughout baseball: Price has 12 swings and misses on his first 42 pitches — 28.5 percent. He came into today at 25.2 percent, sixth-best in baseball. — Brian MacPherson (@brianmacp) April 21, 2016 That would seem to point towards some high level of effectiveness, even given the decreased velocity. So what is the problem then? Let’s look at yesterday’s strike zone plot (from brooksbaseball.com). Look at the pitches in the middle of the plate. That will work some of the time, and it did work some of the time, but look at the general plot of the pitches. There are comparatively few on the corners and the majority of the pitches are up. Further, there are almost none in the bottom left corner of the plot and only a couple on the bottom right. Lastly, look below the zone. Just one pitch is just underneath it. Then look above the zone. There are eight or nine pitches (about an eighth of the total pitches he threw) floating nebulously above the zone. Plainly, Price was getting his pitches up, and he wasn’t able to hit his spots. The combination of lower velocity, more pitches in the middle of the zone, and fewer on the edges was doom for Price, even against a light hitting team like the Rays. The good news is Price should be able to improve his command. This type of command isn’t typical of the kind David Price has displayed throughout his career. Perhaps there’s a mechanical adjustment that needs to be made or perhaps the ridiculously long replay reviews at the end of the second inning were indeed a factor. There are any number of excuses at the ready. Maybe most importantly Price has shown an ability to make adjustments throughout his career, an aspect of his pitching and personality that helped make the Red Sox more comfortable giving him the huge contract they did. It’s tough when you only have four games to go on. In July maybe this will be a silly blip, a speed bump coming out of the dealer’s lot. The Red Sox hope so. But right now Boston is 2-2 in games Price has started and they’ve scored seven and eight runs in the two loses. That shouldn’t happen. When you score that much with your $200 million ace on the mound, those need to be wins. So far, four starts into the season, David Price has failed at his job. It’s a tough job with huge, maybe unreasonable expectations to be sure, but when you’re a Ferrari, when you’re as top of the line as they come, that’s not just what’s expected of you, it’s what’s required. Photo by Kim Klement/USA Today Sports Images
A MAN REPORTED that a man fired shots at him at about 10:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, in the 3400 block of North Kenton Avenue, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The 71-year-old man reported that as he was retrieving items from his vehicle, he saw two men standing on the railroad tracks and one of them pointed a gun at him and fired two or three shots in his direction, according to police. Officers discovered .22 caliber shell casings, police said. A MAN WAS arrested on domestic battery and aggravated assault charges following an incident at about 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at a home in the 4600 block of North Kenton Avenue, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. A 35-year-old woman reported that during an argument, her boyfriend put her in a headlock, stomped on her left foot and pressed a sword to her neck, threatening to kill her, according to police. The suspect was identified by police as Jerry W. Ferguson, Age 43, of the Kenton address. A MAN REPORTED that he was robbed at about 3:20 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in the 3800 block of North Avondale Avenue, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The 31-year-old man reported that as he was getting out of his car, a man placed a gun to his back and took $775 from him, according to police. A TEENAGER reported that he was robbed at about 9:45 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, in the 4600 block of North Elston Avenue, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The 16-year-old teen reported that two men approached him and that one of them took $5 and a bus pass from him, according to police. A MAN REPORTED that he was robbed at about 10:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 25, in the 4500 block of North Spaulding Avenue, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The 18-year-old man reported that a man displayed a handgun and took debit and identification cards from him, according to police. A MAN REPORTED that he was robbed at about 9:25 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, in the 3100 block of West Lawrence Avenue, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The 28-year-old man reported that as he was getting into his car, a displayed a handgun, ordered him to get out of the car, took $500 from him, pushed him to the ground and kicked him in the head and the shoulder, according to police. EMPLOYEES reported that the Value Most Liquor store, 3263 N. Pulaski Road, was robbed at gunpoint at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The employees, age 40 and 43, reported that three men entered the store and one of them displayed a handgun, a second man armed with a tire iron took $200 from the cash register and the third man took six bottles of alcohol valued at $153, according to police. The 40-year-old man reported that he followed the men to the street and that as they were fleeing in a red sport utility vehicle driven by a fourth man, he fired nine shots at the car breaking the rear window, police said. AN EMPLOYEE reported that the Albany and Elston Liquor store, 3457 N. Albany Ave., was robbed at gunpoint at about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The employee reported that three men entered the store and that one of them displayed a handgun and took $300 and his wallet, according to police. A WOMAN reported that she was robbed at about 9:40 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, in the 3600 block of West Belmont Avenue, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The 42-year-old woman reported that a man took her bag containing $40 in cash, a phone charger and chips, and candy and snacks valued at $15, according to police. A MAN REPORTED that he was robbed at about 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, in the 3600 block of West Addison Street, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The 53-year-old man reported that two men asked his gang affiliation, pushed him to the ground and took $30 and a bus card from him, according to police. A WOMAN reported that her home in the 4100 block of North Lawndale Avenue was burglarized at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The woman reported that she heard a noise in the basement and discovered that a side window had been broken and that $1,000 was missing, according to police. A WOMAN reported that her home in the 3500 block of North Kilpatrick Avenue was burglarized between 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27, and 1:30 a.m. the following day, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The woman reported that when she returned home she discovered that the front door had been forced open and that jewelry, a mink coat valued at $4,000, a checkbook and $2,000 in cash were missing, according to police. A MAN REPORTED that his home in the 3200 block of North Kenneth Avenue was burglarized between 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, and 1:30 a.m. the following day, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The man reported that when he returned home he discovered that a window was open and that a watch valued at $20 and $1,500 in cash were missing, according to police. A MAN REPORTED that his home in the 4900 block of North Sawyer Avenue was burglarized at about midnight Saturday, Jan. 23, according to 17th (Albany Park) District police. The man reported that when he returned home he discovered that the front door was unlocked and that a television set, an Xbox 360 video game console, four controllers, video games and a laptop computer were missing, according to police. LINCOLNWOOD A WOMAN was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following her arrest at about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, in the 6900 block of North Lincoln Avenue, according to Lincolnwood police. Officers stopped a vehicle that was speeding and swerving, and the driver was arrested after she failed sobriety tests, according to police. The suspect was identified by police as Isis Cabrera, age 25, of the 7100 block of West 73rd Place. AN EMPLOYEE reported that Smart Security Solutions, 3514 W. Devon Ave., was burglarized between 4:30 p.m. and 8:40 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27, according to Lincolnwood police. The employee reported that when he arrived at the business he discovered that the front and back doors were open, that a generator had been moved, and that a Asus tablet touch laptop computer and a laptop bag valued at $450 were missing, according to police. AN EMPLOYEE was arrested after he allegedly stole items from the Carson Pirie Scott store in the Lincolnwood Town Center, 3333 West Touhy Avenue, during the period between Jan. 8 and Jan. 21, according to Lincolnwood police. Video surveillance footage shows the employee conceal merchandise valued at a total of $2,094 and leave the store without paying for the items on nine separate days, according to police. The employee said that he had stolen items valued at approximately $9,599 from the store since July of 2015, police said. The suspect was identified by police as David M. Jendrycki, age 58, of the 5600 block of North Bernard Street.
Cliff Wu, the president of SAS Institute Inc Greater China region, a US-based company which is one of the largest providers of data processing and business analysis services in the world. China has been undergoing strategic transformation from high-speed growth to the new normal and structural adjustment. It may be a great shock for the traditional IT industry, but not for our company, which is focusing on data analysis exploration and application. On the contrary, we are quite optimistic about the market outlook, and predict more business opportunities here. The State Council issued an action plan to promote the application of big data last year, and more government agencies are establishing big data platforms this year. For companies, when the overall economy is facing a slowdown, they will consider whether to use data from their own companies or outside data from social media to analyse and apply for more opportunities instead of using traditional ways, such as opening more outlets. With its years of accumulation, China has played an important role in maintaining stability and growth in the global economy. Ralf W Dieter, CEO of Dürr AG, one of the world's leading mechanical and plant engineering firms. China is and remains Dürr's most important single market worldwide. That is why we are investing in the construction of a new site in Shanghai that will offer testing and training facilities. At €25 million, this is the largest single investment our company has made in China. The Dürr Group now employs around 3,000 staff there, mainly in the Shanghai area. But other sites are also expanding. We strongly believe that the Chinese government will successfully facilitate the transformation process from a production and investment-oriented economy towards a service and consumer-driven economy. Our machinery and systems are used, in particular, in the automotive and furniture industries, both of which are consumer-oriented industries. Market experts anticipate growth rates of around 6 per cent in the next few years. In the automotive industry as well as in the furniture industry, the focus is on flexibility, automation and highly efficient production. This is where our strengths lie. We also believe that our customers’ investments in environmental protection will increase substantially. As a leading provider of exhaust-air purification systems, for example, we can help our customers comply with the increasingly stringent emissions limits that the government has specified as part of its national action plan for the prevention and control of air pollution. Thomas Seiler, Chief Executive Officer of u-blox AG, a global leader in wireless communications and positioning semiconductors and modules for the industrial, automotive and consumer markets. China forms a strong market for our company with many potential opportunities for expanding our business. Our business is driven by mobility. The ever-growing number of people becoming mobile and being more extensively mobile are the reasons for continual expansion of demand for our products. Also the trend towards more intelligent products and Intensive use of cloud data will expand the market potential in China. We believe that the Chinese market will expand for our products in 2016 by a similar extent as in the years before. Laurent Guyot, chairman & CEO of Thales China, a world leading electrical systems and service provider for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security industries. These are a few examples of our tangible actions for China’s growth. We consider a bright future. We estimate China will build half of the future metro networks worldwide and that there will be approximately 300 new aircraft in the country every year. China is strategic for Thales’s development. We set the aim of “developing Thales in China being Chinese” through a strategy of having a trusted and innovative partner. Looking forward to 2016, Thales will definitely strengthen its investment in the aerospace and ground transportation industries and to develop more local strategic partnerships. Thales is determined to contribute to the rising Chinese aircraft industry. We are committed to Avic (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) and Comac (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) and will continue to provide state-of-the-art solutions to Chinese airlines. “One belt, one road” is now a development strategy and framework for China. Along with Chinese transport partners, Thales is looking for sustainable services for both the mainland and overseas needs for a stronger industrial co-operation. We hope our customers and partners will collaborate and innovate together with Thales in China to achieve mutual benefits and make the world safer, together, everywhere. Chen Wei, Greater China region president of Avaya, a global provider of business communications and collaboration systems and services. In the 2015 fiscal year ending 30 September, Avaya achieved remarkable year-on-year sales growth in the Greater China region despite market challenges. Given the whole economic and IT environment in China, I greatly appreciate my team for its achievements. I believe we still have many market opportunities here. The key point is how we can seize them and how we perform in transitions. One of the focuses of the year is that we will expand our cloud services, such as video and contact centre. We believe that the carrier of business communications, including the call centres, will move more and more from desktop to mobile phones. Key factors such as big data, social media, the internet of things and mobility are driving digital transformation of enterprises. Stephen Phillips, chief executive of China-Britain Business Council, the leading organization helping UK companies growing and developing their business with China There is a tremendous opportunity for British businesses with relevant skills to collaborate on the upgrading of China’s economy – including technological expertise, management experience or education programmes to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. The 13th Five-Year Plan will focus on social fields such as education, healthcare and the environment, where the UK has a huge amount of experience that companies can share with China. We are seeing a lot of activity between UK and Chinese companies and universities in these fields. The UK's capabilities correspond very closely with China's aims under Made in China 2025 (upgrading and technological innovation) and the Belt and Road initiative (UK-China partnerships in countries around the world) and wider trends such as urbanisation, so we are very excited about the possibilities for co-operation. There is huge scope for UK companies to work with Chinese partners at home or in third markets. Britain has a very welcoming, open environment for Chinese investors – as shown by the increasing activity in fields such as nuclear, telecoms and financial services. UK companies are also experienced in working under models such as public-private partnerships (PPP) – which China is very interested in as it transforms. This article was originally produced and published by China Daily • Read more about Chinese current affairs at China Watch
Toshiba may not survive its deepening crisis. The Japanese conglomerate said Tuesday that there is "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue as a going concern after it reported huge losses. Toshiba has been hammered by the collapse of its American nuclear business, Westinghouse Electric, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. last month. After twice missing deadlines, Toshiba (TOSBF) reported a net loss of 648 billion yen ($5.9 billion) for the quarter ended in December. But in an unprecedented move for a major Japanese company, Toshiba filed the report without the approval of its auditors. Japanese regulators must now decide whether to accept Toshiba's earnings report. If not, shares in the ailing company could be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Here's where things stand: Delayed earnings and delisting threat The refusal by auditor PwC Aarata to give its seal of approval is another embarrassing blow for Toshiba as it tries to persuade investors that it can find a way out of its crisis. Westinghouse suffered billions of dollars in losses due to cost overruns and construction delays at nuclear plant projects in Georgia and South Carolina. The unit's bankruptcy means Toshiba will eventually be able to remove it from its accounts. But dumping Westinghouse could drag Toshiba to a net loss of 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) for the fiscal year that ended in March. Related: Westinghouse Electric is filing for bankruptcy PwC refused to sign off on the earnings report because it is still studying the results of investigations into Westinghouse's takeover of nuclear construction company CB&I Stone & Webster in 2015, Toshiba said Tuesday. But the company says it has no reason to believe that losses tied to Westinghouse will have any financial impact beyond fiscal year 2016. Toshiba CEO Satoshi Tsunakawa said he considers the investigation to be over. Regulators in Japan will have to decide if the disarray means Toshiba, one of the country's best known multinational corporations, should suffer the humiliation of having its shares taken off the stock exchange. Selling off the crown jewels To try to repair its balance sheet, Toshiba is now selling a majority stake in its prized computer chip business. Tsunakawa has said he expects the unit to fetch at least 2 trillion yen ($18 billion). Taiwan-based Foxconn, one of Apple (AAPL)'s biggest suppliers, has offered as much as 3 trillion yen ($27 billion), according to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Toshiba declined to comment on the reports, and Foxconn didn't respond to a request for comment. Related: Toshiba chairman steps down as company takes $6.3B hit from nuclear business But the Japanese government is keen to keep the memory chip business in the country, according to local media, and has called on Japanese companies to club together to buy a stake. Toshiba said Tuesday that the sale of the chip business and other assets would enable it to stay financially sound. What happens to Westinghouse? Westinghouse's bankruptcy filing has raised questions about what will happen to the storied U.S. company. Toshiba's majority stake in Westinghouse will be sold. That will happen under the supervision of the bankruptcy court "and we will not be involved in that," Tsunakawa told reporters last month. The sale process could fuel concerns in the U.S. government, which reportedly wants to ensure domestic nuclear capabilities don't end up being bought by a Chinese firm. Westinghouse is already building reactors in China. Buying the struggling American company could provide China with technology it needs to become a leading player in nuclear power. -- Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo contributed to this article.
Image caption Sexual preference, past relationships and finances can all be part of the background checks A growing number of Indians are hiring private detectives to check up on a prospective bride or groom's character, sexual history and finances before marriage. Agencies say they've seen a huge rise in pre-matrimonial investigations to check a suitor's background, because more people are meeting online and families are less involved. "It's not spying, we just wanted to know about my sister's boyfriend before she married him," says Anita (not her real name). She hired a private investigator to verify her now brother-in-law's background. Her sister met and fell in love with him at work, but Anita and her parents wanted to "authenticate" his family's status and finances before the wedding went ahead. She enlisted the services of one of India's many pre-matrimonial detective agencies, which spent a month drawing up a report into his earnings, family history and past relationships, among other things. "He told us he was from a good family, but we needed to ensure he was telling the truth. "Earlier in India with arranged marriages which were set up by the family, relatives would know about a partner, but now you don't know if he's married or has children or whatever, so we needed to hire someone to check all this," says Anita, adding her still-happily-married sister never knew about the detectives. Anita turned to the services of Veteran Investigations, a Mumbai-based agency which has been carrying out "pre-matrimonial" checks for more than 40 years. PRE-MARRIAGE CHECKS Average length of a case is 12-25 days Costs 25,000 - 40,000 Indian rupees ($512 - $820) Methods include surveillance, disguises, social network tracking, befriending social circle The vast majority of enquiries come from parents who want to assess the "character" of their future son-in-law, says Rahul Rai, who runs the agency. "When we talk about character it could be some personal habits they have, it could be their lifestyle - maybe he's involved with someone, maybe he's into prostitution, maybe he's a drug addict. "Some have very specific requests like checking the sexual preference of someone, if they have doubts." Finances and relationships The nature and scope of investigation depends on the moral or cultural values of parents. Someone from a more traditional Indian family might want to check up on whether a bride or groom drinks or smokes. The most important thing is to maintain a safe distance at all times. They can never know you're watching them Jay Prakash, Private detective Others might be keener to learn whether there are any past relationships, something which can still be frowned upon in India. Conducting a review of a groom's financial dealings and business assets is also common. Mr Rai usually assigns a team of two or three people to every case. Research is a mixture of discreet enquiries through the social circle, online searches and on-the-spot surveillance. "The most important thing is to maintain a safe distance at all times. They can never know you're watching them," says Jay Prakash, one of Mr Rai's detectives. Mr Prakash, a softly spoken and casually dressed 31-year-old, laughs off any comparisons with James Bond, but his job involves spying on people, sometimes for hours on end. Mr Prakash - who has been doing the job for seven years - might end up watching a groom at a coffee shop, a hotel or a bar. There, on the request of the concerned parents, he might be asked to collect details on the man's drinking habits and the company he keeps. Image caption Rahul Rai runs Veteran Investigations, which has been doing wedding checks for 40 years Gadgets are often used to collect evidence of indiscretions. Mr Rai's team use spy cameras hidden in watches, key chains, lockets and shirt buttons. It is normal practice for Mr Prakash to wear disguises. He dresses as beggars, watchmen and drivers to gain access to a subject's house and life. There is no limit to what persona he might take on. Prakash once posed as a pimp, after the parents asked for a "honey trap" test. Investigations Mr Rai has worked on have yielded some interesting findings. In one case the groom was already married to a number of women, a fact discovered after weeks of covert surveillance. In another, a family's financial claims were found to be false. "They didn't own the business they said they did, so the marriage was cancelled," he says. Other claims are harder to verify. "We were spying on one boy and our investigation concluded he was gay. The family were asking for proof, but to prove someone's sexual preference is very difficult. We did give it a try but couldn't provide documentary evidence. The couple got married in the end but later divorced." A growing number of cases also concern the character of the would-be mother-in-law, says Usha, a private detective with Mumbai's Venus Detective agency. PRE-MATRIMONIAL CHECKS Does the partner drink? Has he/she had a serious relationship before? Do they take drugs? What is their sexual preference? Is the family as rich as they say they are? What is the mother-in-law like Source: BBC In India, it is still common for the bride to live with her in-laws. "We study the mother-in-law," says Usha. "How many times does she get angry, how many times does she throws the vessels out, how many times does she go shopping, what does she spend her money on. We understand everything about her and then put it in writing." Pre-matrimonial investigations are increasingly common. There are around 15,000 such companies offering across India, conducting an average of 50-100 investigations a month during peak wedding season, says Kumar Vikram Singh, chairman of the Association of Private Detectives of India (APDI). That amounts to one million active cases during this period, a growth of 300% in the past five years, he says. More Indians are choosing their own partner online, instead of having an arranged marriage through their parents, Singh says. As the internet spreads throughout India, people in smaller cities and towns are meeting through the web rather than family connections. Image caption Usha says she often investigates the character of mothers-in-law The private investigation business is not regulated in India. "It is neither legal nor illegal," says Rai, who adds a bill has been going through the Indian parliament for some time in an attempt to create a set of guidelines for the industry. Mr Singh denies this practice amounts to any sort of spying, and says in the Indian cultural context it is perfectly ethical. "The matrimonial concept is very different from the Western one. You are sending your daughter to someone's house, so you need to find out where she is going. "There is an acceptability, not defined in the law books, that each family will carry out their own investigation with their own methodology and find out information about each other." I'll never know 100 per cent whether it was a detective, but I have my suspicions Manish But not everyone is supportive of the practice. For some the idea of these checks amounts to an unnecessary invasion of privacy. Manish, whose name we have changed, suspects he may have been the subject of such enquiries. Friends of his were approached by a very old acquaintance who was extremely curious about his past relationships. "One of my old friends was asked whether I had a girlfriend at college, by someone they barely knew. I did have one in the past, but didn't want it to affect my wedding. I'll never know 100 per cent whether it was a detective, but I have my suspicions." Manish believes this level of investigation is unwarranted and can lead to a sense of mistrust at the beginning of a marriage. Both Mr Rai and Usha say they have yet to be found out, but the watertight nature of such investigations could be open to question given cases like Manish's. Both detectives say they've never been wrong about a prospective partner, even if some parents are in denial about the findings. "We can't predict the future of the marriage," says Usha, cautiously. "Some parents expect us to know how the marriage is going to work out. That we can't do, we can only give a present report." More from India Direct
MSNBC has been crazier than usual lately, and that’s saying something, but check out this slimewad tweet about a new ad for Cheerios: https://twitter.com/msnbc/status/428695592047759360 The right wing will “hate” the biracial family depicted in the Cheerios ad? Um, first of all, they really have short memories over at MSNBC, don’t they? This is from the same network that mocked Mitt Romney's family for adopting a black baby. https://t.co/kknAwLGtHb — Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 30, 2014 Insanity at MSNBC is nothing new, but that’s big time douchebaggery even for them. This really a tweet from MSNBC. Good lord they're awful: https://t.co/ve2ainN6WB — Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) January 30, 2014 Can't wait for @MHarrisPerry to demand a retraction and apology for this Hilterific @msnbc tweet https://t.co/zuoi8DQ02y #NotHoldingMyBreath — Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) January 30, 2014 Lean forward? @msnbc: Maybe the rightwing will hate it, but everyone else will go awww: the adorable new #Cheerios ad w/ biracial family. — Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) January 30, 2014 i like how @MSNBC has positioned itself politically as socialist, and tone-wise, as seventh graders with impulse control problems. — Everyone's Famous (@AceofSpadesHQ) January 30, 2014 Imagine if Fox News tweeted something like what @msnbc just did. Obama would have a press conference about it ASAP. — Young Conservatives (@YoungCons) January 30, 2014 @msnbc you disgrace a once great news network. How @NBCNews puts up with your racism is beyond me. #MyRightWingBiracialFamily — Simon Conway (@SimonRadio1776) January 30, 2014 Not that MSNBC will pay attention to anything that blows their false narrative to smithereens, but non-libs have been tweeting some wonderful family photos to counter MSNBC’s hateful lies and smears: Hi @msnbc cretins: I am "rightwing" & my kids are biracial. Take your self-righteous hatred & shove it. RT if you agree! — Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) January 30, 2014 Happy New Year @msnbc, no champagne 4 wife cause shes expecting our 1st BIRACIAL CHILD! @TwitchyTeam @michellemalkin pic.twitter.com/7qsGPtGZ7o — Mike B. Cavazos (@MikeBCavazos) January 30, 2014 “Bigoted, sanctimonious pricks” about says it. Actor Nick Searcy joined the fray to counter MSNBC’s disgusting comment: You mean @MHarrisPerry will hate it, @msnbc! Right wingers like me are LIVING IT! pic.twitter.com/g8LRpQFKNj — Yes, Nick $earcy! (@yesnicksearcy) January 30, 2014 This request will most likely be met with crickets: Hey, coward who published racist, sanctimonious @msnbc tweet smearing conservatives & "rightwing" biracial families: Show yourself. Own it. — Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) January 30, 2014 We’ll wait… * Update: This post has been updated to include additional tweets. * Update: MSNBC has deleted its tweet. Here is a screencap for posterity: *** Update: MSNBC has apologized. Earlier, this account tweeted an offensive line about the new Cheerios ad. We deeply regret it. It does not reflect the position of msnbc. — MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 30, 2014 We are deleting the earlier offensive tweet. It does not reflect msnbc's position and we apologize. — MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 30, 2014 Update: So, MSNBC apologized for the tweet, but what about the article that claimed there was “conservative backlash” against an earlier Cheerios ad featuring the biracial family? No apology. The sentence was just quietly deleted from the MSNBC website. See the original smear here.
"Superfish was previously included on some consumer notebook products shipped in a short window between October and December to help customers potentially discover interesting products while shopping. However, user feedback was not positive, and we responded quickly and decisively:" Superfish has completely disabled server side interactions (since January) on all Lenovo products so that the product is no longer active. This disables Superfish for all products in market. Lenovo stopped preloading the software in January. We will not preload this software in the future. "We have thoroughly investigated this technology and do not find any evidence to substantiate security concerns. But we know that users reacted to this issue with concern, and so we have taken direct action to stop shipping any products with this software. We will continue to review what we do and how we do it in order to ensure we put our user needs, experience and priorities first." "To be clear, Superfish technology is purely based on contextual/image and not behavioral. It does not profile nor monitor user behavior. It does not record user information. It does not know who the user is. Users are not tracked nor re-targeted. Every session is independent. Users are given a choice whether or not to use the product. The relationship with Superfish is not financially significant; our goal was to enhance the experience for users. We recognize that the software did not meet that goal and have acted quickly and decisively." "We are providing support on our forums for any user with concerns. Our goal is to find technologies that best serve users. In this case, we have responded quickly to negative feedback, and taken decisive actions to ensure that we address these concerns. If users still wish to take further action, detailed information is available at http://forums.lenovo.com."
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The Reilly Center will enter its 50th season of operation when the St. Bonaventure basketball teams take to the court this fall, but Bob Lanier Court will have a completely new look. The court has a fresh appearance for its 50th anniversary with a total re-design. The court was completely sanded down before work began on implementing the new design. The update to the court was, in part, necessary because the paint was last done in 2007. DeClerck Flooring Company, which painted the previous design, strongly recommended that the floor be completely sanded for its long-term preservation. "We could not be more pleased with the redesign of Bob Lanier Court," St. Bonaventure Director of Athletics Tim Kenney said. "As part of the scheduled maintenance to preserve the wood floor, we were able to repaint it in a way that truly reflects the brand of St. Bonaventure University. We cannot thank DeClerck enough for the fantastic job that they did for us and we are sure that our fans will love the new look come basketball season." The areas inside the three-point lines are stained for a dark brown look with gray marking the three-point lines as well as around the key. The inside of the key is stained white for a noticeable contrast in colors. The floor itself will be noticeably lighter from past years, allowing for all of the court lines and logos to be well defined. At center court, the Bonnies "shield" logo with updated colors will take center stage for all fans in the arena and viewers watching at home. Another change will be found on the baseline where "St. Bonaventure" now shines through in natural wood with the University's brown painted around the lettering. Click the photo below for a photo gallery of the re-design process as well as a time lapse video of the work. Season tickets for both the Bonnies men's and women's basketball seasons are available now. For information on season tickets, call 716-375-2500 or visit GoBonnies.com/Tickets
There are many theories to explain government. Most are nothing but scams, justifications, and puffery. One tries to put something over on the common man… the other claims it was for his own good… and the third pretends that he’d be lost without it. Most are not really “theories” at all… but prescriptions, blueprints for creating the kind of government the “theorist” would like to have. Not surprisingly, the blueprints flatter his intellect and engage his imagination. The “social contract,” for example, is a fraud. You can’t have a contract unless you have two willing and able parties. They must come together in a meeting of the minds — a real agreement about what they are going to do together. But what is the “social contract” with government? There was never a meeting of the minds. The deal was forced on the public. And now imagine that you want out. Can you simply “break the contract”? You refuse to pay your taxes and refuse to be bossed around by TSA agents and other government employees. How long will it be before you are put in jail? What kind of contract is it that you don’t agree to and can’t get out of? They can dress it up… print out a piece of paper… have a solemn ceremony in which everyone pretends it is a real contract. But it’s not worth the paper it’s not written on. Also, what kind of a contract allows for one party to unilaterally change the terms of the deal? Congress passes new laws almost every day. The bureaucracy issues new edicts. The tax system is changed. The pound of flesh they got already wasn’t enough; now they want a pound and a half! Here are the critical questions: Why do we let other people tell us what to do; are we not all equal? What is the purpose of government? What does it cost, and what benefits does it confer? The Metaphor Doesn’t Work A theory should explain something without reference to something else. That is, a metaphor doesn’t work. It’s just a description. If you say that government is a kind of “social contract,” you are merely describing how it seems to you… or what you think it might be comparable to. Let’s try a simpler insight: Government is a natural phenomenon, an expression of power relationships, in which some people seek to dominate others by force. These dominators gather “insiders” together so that they can take money, power and status away from other people, the “outsiders.” Many people think that government provides some service. That is true, but it is incidental. Governments often deliver the mail. But they don’t have to. They would still be governments even if they didn’t control the postal service. And what if they didn’t have a department of inland fisheries, or a program to teach Democrats to count to 20? They would still be in the government business… and still have their helicopters, chauffeurs and expense accounts. But if they lost control of the police or the army, it would be an entirely different matter. Force is the essence of government, not a decorative detail. Without armies and police, they would no longer be governments, but voluntary associations like the Kiwanis Club or the Teamsters union. Government Is a Fact In 2012, the U.S. faced a major presidential election. Several men and women came forward offering to take charge of the U.S. government. What exactly were they going to take charge of? Government is a fact. It exists. It is as common as stomach gas. It is as ubiquitous as lice and as inescapable as vanity. But what is it? Why is it? And what has it become? We know very little about the actual origins of government. All we know, and this from the archeological records, is that one group often conquered another. There are skeletons more than 100,000 years old showing the kind of head wounds that you get from fighting. We presume this meant that “government” changed. Whoever had been in charge was chased out or murdered. Then someone else was in charge. Tribal groups, or even family groups for that matter, probably had “chiefs.” They could have been little more than bullies… or perhaps respected elders. Programmed by Evolution Over the millennia, there were probably as many different examples of primitive “government” as there were tribes. Some elected their leaders. Some may have chosen them randomly, for all we know. Many probably simply conferred leadership by consensus. Some probably had no identifiable leaders at all. But it seems to be a characteristic of the human race that some people want to be in charge… and many people want someone to be in charge of them. In adversity, there was probably an advantage to having a leader. Hunts were often collective enterprises. There were also group decisions to be made… about how food was stored or rationed out, for example… that would affect the survival of the whole group. Under attack from another group, a strong, able leader could make the difference between life and death. We can guess that people enter into leader/follower roles today because they are programmed for it by evolution. Those who can’t or won’t be… well, perhaps they died out many millennia ago. We don’t have to look back to the last glacial period to see what happens in small political units. We can see them today. They are all around us. Every church has its governing board. Every community has some form of government. Every corporation… group… club… every place where humans get together seems to develop rules and power relationships. Leaders arise. Informal groups typically yield to the strong personality. Juries try to control it. Families resist it. Dinner parties try to avoid it. But that’s just the way it is. Some people seek to dominate. Others like being dominated. Trouble is, there is usually more than one person or one group that wants to do the dominating. This leads to conflict. Treachery. Murder. Rivalry. And elections. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re talking about the origins of government and trying to guess what they were like. A Matter of Scale On a small scale, we conclude, governments are both extremely variable in form… and extremely limited in scope. That is, how much governing can you get away with in a small group? Not much. You can boss people around, but they won’t take too much bossing. And there is always a rival bosser who is ready to topple the big boss if he should lose his popular support. In a tribal setting, we imagine that the strongest, fiercest warrior might have been able to set himself up as the governing authority. But he could be stabbed in the back as he slept… or even shot with an arrow in a “hunting accident.” Even in the best of circumstances, his reign wouldn’t last much longer than his own strength would. In a small town, government proceeds tolerably well. There is not much distance between governors and the governed. The latter know where the former live… and how they live… and how little difference there is between them. If the governors overreach, they are likely to find themselves beaten in the next election… or in the middle of the street. But as the scale increases… as the distance between the governed and the governors increases… and as the institutional setting grows and ages… government becomes a bigger deal. More formal. More powerful. It can begin governing more grandly. Higher up on the Ladder The first large-scale, long-term government we know about was in Egypt. After the unification of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms in about 3,150 B.C., the Dynastic Period began. It continued for two millennia, not ending until the Romans conquered Egypt in 30 B.C. We don’t know exactly how government worked during those many centuries, but we know that a theory of government arose out of them. At the time, it was not considered a theory at all, but a fact. The ruler was divine. A god. As a theory, it is a good one. It answers the question: Why should you take orders from another human being? In Ancient Egypt, the question didn’t arise. Because Pharaoh was not another human being. He was something else. Precisely what he was… or what people thought he was… is not clear. But the archeological record shows that he was treated as though he were at least a step or two higher up on the ladder than the rest of us. If not a full god, he was at least a demigod… on the mezzanine between Earth and heaven. Regards, Bill Bonner Article originally posted here.
Was Napoleon poisoned? For decades, scholars and scientists have argued that the exiled dictator, who died in 1821 on the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, was the victim of arsenic, whether by accident or design. The murder theory held that his British captors poisoned him; the accident theory said that colored wallpaper in his bedroom contained an arsenic-based dye that mold transformed into poisonous fumes. The evidence behind both theories was that scientists had found arsenic in hairs from Napoleon’s head, which diminished the idea that he had died of stomach cancer. Arsenic is highly toxic, and its poisoning symptoms include violent stomach pains. “There is nothing improbable about the hypothesis of arsenic poisoning,” wrote Frank McLynn in “Napoleon: A Biography” (Arcade, 2002). “Science gives it rather more than warranted assertibility.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story But now, a team of scientists at Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics in Milan-Bicocca and Pavia has uncovered strong evidence to the contrary. They conducted a detailed analysis of hairs taken from Napoleon’s head at four times in his life — as a boy in Corsica, during his exile on the island of Elba, the day he died on St. Helena, at age 51, and the day afterward — and discovered that the arsenic levels underwent no significant rises.
Izvor: Tanjug/ Tanja Valič Udruženje Ateisti Srbije najoštrije je protestovalo zbog, kako navodi, kršenja Ustava Srbije i unošenja verskih običaja samo jedne verske zajednice, Srpske pravoslavne crkve, u ustanove Vojske Srbije. "Dužni smo da reagujemo na to što se Uskršnji običaji unose, ni manje ni više nego u Generalštab Vojske Srbije, čime se Vojska Srbije pretvara u vojsku jedne verske zajednice - pravoslavne, i samo jednog naroda - srpskog", piše u saopštenju Ateista. Oni su reagovali na današnju posetu premijera Aleksandra Vučića i predsednika Republike Srpske Milorada Dodika Generalštabu, tokom koje su sa načelnikom Generalštaba Ljubišom Dikovićem proslavili Uskrs i tucali se uskršnjim jajima. Ateisti navode da je u pitanju i kršenje Zakona o Vojsci Srbije, jer se tako šalje poruka građanima koji nisu Srbi pravoslavne vere, da "Vojska Srbije nije njihova vojska, a da Srbija nije sekularna republika svih svojih građana". "Uskrs je porodični praznik, pa tako svoje obrede i tucanje izvolite obaviti u privatnosti svojih domova, izvan institucija države. Neka gospodin Diković skine uniformu i tada se slobodno tuca sa Vučićem i Dodikom, bez da to radi ispred Vojske Srbije i u ime pripadnika te iste vojske", poručili su iz udruženja. Oni su zatražili da "nepristojni činovi nametanja običaja jedne verske zajednice" prestanu u svim institucijama države, od Predsedništva, preko opština i ministarstava, pa do Vojske Srbije, bolnica i škola. "Proslavljajte vaše praznike, slobodno i neometano, ali ne u ime svih građana i ne na način kojim namećete svoja verska uverenja ili sujeverja svim građanima", dodali su Ateisti u saopštenju.
by Is Obama Protecting A Secret Underground Base Under The San Gabriel Mountains? This week, some people cheered and others booed as Obama signed off on creating the San Gabriel Mountain National Monument. While most of the debate has been over access to the area, what restoration work will be done and so on, my question has been much more simple. What is Obama really doing by turning the San Gabriel Mountains into a protected area? Most people would agree that everything that Obama (or any other president) has done, has been part of a master agenda. But what does creating a national monument do for that agenda. My first though of course is that it is a way to limit access and goings on in the San Gabriel Mountains, while establishing a base close to LA. Another point to consider on why this would be a good base location, is that it is in close proximity to the supposed underwater base off the coast of Malibu. What if the base under the San Gabriel Mountains is the point where an underground tunnel from the base links up with the tunnel system that is thought to run across our country. What Evidence Do We Have Of An Underground Base In The San Gabriels? While we don’t have any direct evidence of a base under the San Gabriels, we do have one account of people hearing what sounds suspiciously like tunneling operations under those hills. This happened some time ago, so a complete base would be real possibility by now. In April 1973, students camping in the San Gabriel Mountains on the western edge of the Mojave desert “felt uneasy” and then saw a giant man-like creature. Researchers from the UFOResearch Institute were called in. They discovered the sound of geared machinery and what might be compared to a hydroelectric plant coming from “beneath the forest floor”. Sounds of operating machinery have been recorded coming from mines in the area after midnight. The site The Truth Denied, references another underground base in the area. On Hwy 14 towards Edwards A.F.B. after Palmdale, one turns off and after taking several streets to 170th street, north on 170th St. to the Rosamond-1 70th intersection, the second and lower and better maintained dirt road will take you west, and if you take a right going north at the power lines and up to the hilltop you will see the top of an underground NORTHOP facility; Technology for the elite’s secret projects. This area was very active in the 1970s. Northrop’s facility is near the Tehachapi Mtns. It has been reported to go down 42 levels. It is heavily involved with electronics and hi-tech aerospace research. Lets also not forget that it is in close proximity to Edwards Air Force Base which is already reported to have an underground base. An underground base that extends as deep as two miles below the earth and is a join human – alien complex. Furthermore it is rumored to have a tunnel running out to Area 51 and another to Catalina Island. A tunnel from Edwards AFB to Catalina Island would run directly under the San Gabriel Mountains. Regardless of any lack of evidence, what else would prompt the POTUS to declare this a National Monument? A base makes perfect sense, particularly if they are trying to use it as a base to surveille Los Angeles. I can see several reasons for having a base overlooking the 15 million people that live within 90 minutes of the San Gabriel Mountains. Why Do You Think Obama Declared The San Gabriel Mountains A National Monument? Was it purely a conservation move, or is Obama working under orders from higher up to lock down control of the San Gabriel Mountains and ensure that there is no more expansion into them, and potentially exposing an underground base there? This could just be a sincere and innocent act or it could be all part of a greater scheme. Post your comments below, and if you have any evidence to there being a base under the San Gabriels, be sure to let us know. You can either comment below or send us an email telling us what information you have!
ADVERTISEMENT American International Group (A.I.G), the recipient of the largest federal bailout ever, is suing the U.S. for a tax overpayment, according toThe insurance giant, which collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis, says it is owed $30.2 million in interest after overpaying its taxes in 1991.A.I.G. also says it didn’t pay enough taxes in 1997, 1998 and 1999, and that the $30 million figure takes both the over and underpayments into account.According to Bloomberg, A.I.G. says its appeal for a refund has been before the IRS since 2007, and a lawyer for the company said it filed suit in federal claims court in Washington because the statute of limitations on the claim was set to run out.A.I.G. initially received $85 billion in bailout money, a sum that eventually swelled to $182 billion. The federal government also still holds a healthy majority of the company’s shares.
Apple Sued Slow Your Roll ... Not Our Old iPhones!!! Apple Sued Over Slowing Down Older iPhones When New Models are Released EXCLUSIVE Apple's admission to slowing down older iPhones isn't sitting well with one California man ... so he's going after the tech giant on behalf of all his fellow outdated iPhone users. A new class action suit has been filed by Stefan Bogdanovich, an L.A. man who, like millions of other people, uses an iPhone ... but not an iPhone 8. He claims Apple's tactic of slowing down older iPhone models causes users to suffer -- specifically those with the 7 or 7s -- and take a hit to their wallets. Bogdanovich claims Apple's decision to slow the operation of older phones to save battery life was never requested or agreed upon ... and it lowers the value of their phones. He also believes -- like many other users -- that it's just a ploy by Apple to get folks to buy the newest iPhone. He wants Apple to stop slowing down older phones and get some payback for damages.
This week, communities around O’Hare International Airport will decide whether to OK a controversial Fly Quiet plan that spreads around the pain of nighttime jet noise by alternating which runways are used for arrivals and departures from week to week. But even if approved, the plan would be a while in coming and would not last forever. The plan could take as much as a year, and would last only about two years, before the opening of a major new east-west runway in late 2020. Bensenville Village Manager Evan Summers said his western suburb would still hear a lot of noisy nighttime jet traffic under the plan, which does not go as far as he would like. But he said the plan will be better than the current situation, which puts the roar of jets over an area of Bensenville 24 hours a day. “This allows everyone to share some of the noise,” Summers said. The plan would put about 74 percent of the traffic on parallel or east-west runways, and 26 percent on diagonals, which would direct more traffic to the northeast and southwest, according to the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission, made up of more than 50 municipalities and school districts around the airport. The plan takes into account construction on the diagonal runways, which will reduce their use. The idea is to both parcel out the roar of jets and make it more predictable. For example, in Week 1 under the plan, arrivals would come in from the west and departures leave toward the east, while on the second week, arrivals and departures would go northeast. The plan has an eight-week rotation, with six different configurations of traffic flow. Versions of rotation plans were tested in 2016 and again this year — the most recent test was from late July through early October and is essentially the same as what is now under consideration. If you live east or west of the airport and wondered why nights got noisier as they got colder, the reason is that the test stopped. The O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission will vote on the plan Friday. If approved, the city’s Aviation Department will develop a schedule for the runway rotation and submit it to the Federal Aviation Administration for approval. Then comes a long wait — the FAA’s environmental review process could take a year. If that’s approved, the interim plan will be in place until east-west Runway 9C-27C opens in November 2020, at which point O’Hare neighbors have to come up with other ideas. The O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission’s Ad Hoc Fly Quiet Committee voted last month to recommend the plan to the full membership. It probably has the votes to pass, but that depends on who shows up to the meeting, said Summers. “It’s going to be close,” Summers said. “The challenge for me is getting the votes there.” “We know the status quo is hurtful to our community,” said Chicago Ald. John Arena, 45th. “It means every single night residents in our ward (are) going to hear planes going overhead.” Not everyone is happy about the plan. Des Plaines would hear more jet traffic at night because of greater use of diagonal runways, which could be used more than 26 percent of the time under the rotation plan, said Des Plaines Ald. Malcolm Chester. “It takes the planes off of them and puts them on us,” said Chester, referring to the plan’s intent to reduce night jet traffic east and west of O’Hare — Des Plaines is north. He noted that pilots often do not want to use the diagonals, which are the oldest and shortest at the airport. Chester concedes that the votes are there to pass the proposal, because there are more commission members affected by east-west traffic than by diagonal runways. He said he hopes those who oppose the plan get a chance to be heard. Elmhurst also objects to the plan, which “does not represent a fair balance,” said city manager Jim Grabowski in a statement. “There are three other parallel runways that can be better utilized to balance runway rotation,” he said. Residents of communities around the airport have complained for decades about jets roaring over their heads, disrupting sleep and rattling pictures on walls. Complaints have increased in recent years after the city began shifting traffic from the diagonal runways to new parallel east-west runways, which concentrate more traffic over the city's North Side and the western suburbs. The city got about 5 million noise complaints last year and is on track to have 5 million this year. Airports favor parallel runways, rather than runways that crisscross, because they enhance safety, efficiency and on-time performance, according to FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro. O’Hare has been eliminating diagonal runways that cross other runways, favoring more parallel, east-west runways instead. Runway 15-33, formerly known as 14R-32L, which runs northwest and southeast, will be decommissioned in the spring of next year to accommodate construction of the western portion of Runway 9C-27C, so it will not be used for the Fly Quiet plan. Another diagonal runway closed in 2015. Fair Allocation in Runways, or FAiR, a group that represents city and suburban residents, said in a statement that to provide true periodic noise relief for communities east and west of the airport, diagonal runway 15-33 must be spared. “Without diagonal runway 15-33, the overnight rotation plan is unsustainable,” said FAiR member Al Rapp, who nevertheless thinks the plan will pass. “Without it, it’s junk.” The FAiR statement said the runway is the only diagonal that can handle heavy jet traffic, and that the main reason it is going away is because of the Illinois Tollway’s plans to build western access into O’Hare. “I think the city is sitting back and enjoying the suburbs going after each other,” Rapp said. Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Lauren Huffman said the interim Fly Quiet plan is “a critical part of the CDA’s mission to be a good neighbor and reduce noise exposure for the communities most heavily impacted as O’Hare’s airfield modernization continues.” Mount Prospect Mayor and ONCC Chair Arlene Juracek said the plan represents “an equitable balance of impacts to communities surrounding O’Hare.” CTA public hearing The proposed 2018 CTA budget contains the first fare hike since 2009 — a quarter a ride. If you want to comment, there will be a public hearing Dec.12, at 6 p.m. at CTA headquarters, 567 W. Lake St., on the second floor. You can also send your thoughts to assistant board secretary Gregory Longhini by mail at CTA, P.O. Box 7567, Chicago, IL 60680-7567; by email at glonghini1@transitchicago.com; or via fax at 312-681-5035. For more information, visit www.transitchicago.com. The board will vote on the budget Dec. 13, so get your opinions in by noon that day.
Burden of Proof 'The Death of Innocence': John and Patsy Ramsey Speak Out About the Murder of JonBenet Aired March 20, 2000 - 12:30 p.m. ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, CO-HOST: John and Patsy Ramsey speak out about the murder of their daughter JonBenet, a police investigation which focused on the family and the media frenzy which they say impeded the search for their daughter's killer. Today on BURDEN OF PROOF, "The Death of Innocence." ANNOUNCER: This is BURDEN OF PROOF, with Greta Van Susteren and Roger Cossack. VAN SUSTEREN: Hello and welcome to BURDEN OF PROOF. Roger is off today. More than three years after the murder of their younger child, the parents of JonBenet Ramsey remain under an umbrella of suspicion, according to Boulder police. But John and Patsy Ramsey say they have their own suspicions that an intruder killed their daughter. Their new book, "The Death of Innocence," is described as the untold story of JonBenet's murder. The Ramseys say the exploitation of their family compromised the pursuit of truth and the failure to investigate people outside the family allowed the killer to walk free. Joining us today from Atlanta is Pam Paugh, who's the sister of Patsy Ramsey. In Denver, we're joined by Greg Walta, who's the attorney for retired homicide detective Lou Smit. Also in Denver, Adams County District Attorney Bob Grant. And in here in Washington, John Vaterlas (ph), former federal prosecutor David Schertler, and Thomas Alston (ph). And in our back row, Bryce Whittaker (ph), Kenneth Jackman (ph) and Angela Glen (ph). Pam, let me go first to you. The book, "The Death of Innocence," written by your sister and brother-in-law, why did they write it? PAM PAUGH, SISTER OF PATSY RAMSEY: Well, Greta, first of all, I think it was time. Obviously once the grand jury was finalized and they came back with no indictment against the appropriate killer or killers, I think it was clear that it was time for Patsy and John to speak out. We have known all along that evidence existed of an intruder, even the evidence that is out today vis-a-vis the "Newsweek" article and Lou Smit. There is more on top of that, and we know that we must find this killer. And, secondly, I think that Patsy and John felt somewhat that the public did want to know them as people instead of the suspected suspicious murderers that they had been portrayed to be unfairly. And so they were trying to give the public a glimpse of who they really are and what they've been through. VAN SUSTEREN: Greg, you represent Lou Smit -- Smits. What does he bring to this case? Who is he? GREG WALTA, ATTORNEY FOR LOU SMIT: Lou Smit may be the most experienced homicide detective in the state of Colorado; certainly one of the most effective ones. I headed the state public defender system for four years here, saw homicides investigated across the state, and Lou Smit's in a class by himself. He's just the best. VAN SUSTEREN: Now, was he assigned to this investigation? WALTA: No, he wasn't. Lou was retired at the time because his wife was suffering from cancer and he was called by Alex Hunter to try to bring the investigation together. I think Alex recognized that Lou has tremendous courage and ability and wanted him to come out there and take over the investigation. VAN SUSTEREN: Who did Lou -- did Lou think someone other than the Ramseys committed this murder? WALTA: When Lou was first brought into the case, he thought probably the Ramseys were the guilty parties. But as he started following the evidence, he became more and more convinced that an intruder was in the house that night and did the killing. VAN SUSTEREN: What happened to him in the sense as it relates to the investigation? He's no longer on the investigation. WALTA: No, after about 18 months, Lou became frustrated. He felt like the blinders were on in terms of the police department, that they had focused on their suspects and were bending the evidence in an effort to indict the Ramseys. He felt that they were ignoring intruder evidence and just didn't want to be part of it. VAN SUSTEREN: Bob, I know that you can't discuss the evidence of the case, but tell me this: What is the status of the investigation? BOB GRANT, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO: Well, despite everybody's books and revelations, the investigation is still ongoing. There is still forensic analysis going on. The investigation is not going to be put to rest until somebody's brought to the bar of justice. VAN SUSTEREN: Bob, is it actually funded so that it's an active investigation? because a lot of these investigations cost a lot of money. I mean, is it funded? GRANT: It's an ongoing investigation within the Boulder Police Department and the Boulder County District Attorney's Office. So, yes, it's funded. It's funded by the usual government sources of funds. It's not an outside-funded investigation, no. VAN SUSTEREN: Bob, is someone -- are there actually detectives who are assigned full time to this investigation right now? GRANT: Yes. VAN SUSTEREN: And how many are assigned so that I get some idea of how big this investigation is? GRANT: I don't -- I can't answer that question, Greta. I know that there are four detectives that are still extremely concerned about completing this investigation, and I know that there are at least two detectives that are still, on a daily basis, doing work. VAN SUSTEREN: Dave, of course, you know, we're 1,500 miles away or more from Colorado. It's hard to predict, but what do you make of the fact that we're now -- this homicide occurred December of '96 and still no answer? DAVID SCHERTLER, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, I mean, it starts to look pretty pessimistic in terms of being able to solve the case. In fact, we used to say that most homicide cases were solved within the first 48 hours. What you're faced with now -- and I'm not sure whether Bob would agreement, but he's got a lot of experience -- they've exhausted all the evidence that they have available to them. To solve a case at this point, after 2 1/2 years or 3 years since the murder occurred, generally the way you solve those cases is if the actual murderer confesses to a person who then calls the police and gives them a tip about who did it. That's the one way you might solve this case. I just don't see any other way. VAN SUSTEREN: Bob, what do you make of the criticism that has been lodged in this investigation against the police, that they decided on December 26 who did it, that they believe the Ramseys did, and that the investigation, in essence, stopped there -- the police simply went out to try to prove the Ramseys did it and they didn't look in other directions? GRANT: Well, you know, part of what has hampered this case investigation has been the incredible intense media scrutiny -- worldwide media scrutiny. When the case was not solved, clearly the police are going to be the brunt -- bear the brunt of that circumstance. Sure, there's been a lot of criticism, and some of it deserved, but I don't know a police department or a police investigation that hasn't done something wrong during the course of an investigation. That's not going to stop them or deter them from following the evidence and making sure that they do everything they can to see that there is a resolution and that the killer of this little girl is brought to justice. VAN SUSTEREN: Greg, what about that criticism? Does your client, Lou Smit, share that criticism, that the police focused on the Ramseys and looked no other place? WALTA: Yes, I think he does. He feels fairly strongly about that, feels like once they found the note, once they found that it had been written in the home, they concluded that the Ramseys did it and really got tunnel vision. VAN SUSTEREN: Pam, what's life been like for your sister and brother-in-law over the past 3 1/2 years? PAUGH: Does the term hell on Earth make it succinct enough for you, Greta? It's been a nightmare, a living nightmare. VAN SUSTEREN: Are they doing anything to pursue the intruder theory or are they waiting for the police to do something? PAUGH: Yes and yes. We are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to find JonBenet's killer. There are numerous lead that come in daily and we turn those over to our investigators and so forth. We have piles and piles of leads and tips that need to be further looked into, even to the point that we can as citizens with our private investigators. And therein lies the gap right now for us. VAN SUSTEREN: Do those tips get transferred -- do you give those tips to the police? PAUGH: I'm not really involved in actually handing over things, but I guess my question is, how do we go from knowing that we have this information to get someone in an authority capacity to act on it? VAN SUSTEREN: All right, we're going to take a break. Up next, if an intruder broke into the Ramsey home on Christmas day, he or she would have had hours to stake out the house before the family returned. Is this when a ransom note was written? Stay with us. (BEGIN LEGAL BRIEF) In a television interview Sunday, Independent Counsel Robert Ray said he has not ruled out filing criminal charges against President Clinton. Ray says he's bringing in investigators from the FBI and other agencies to help him make a decision. (END LEGAL BRIEF) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAN SUSTEREN: Good news for our Internet-savvy viewers: you can now watch BURDEN OF PROOF live on the World Wide Web. Just log-on to cnn.com/burden. We now provide a live video feed, Monday through Friday, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. If you miss that live show, the program is available on the site at any time via video-on-demand. You can also interact with our show and even join our chat room. John and Patsy Ramsey say an intruder broke into their home on Christmas night, 1996, and killed their daughter. Skeptics claim there are too many evidentiary matters which dispute the intruder theory, including the unusual amount of money in the ransom demand, the long ransom letter, and the fact that JonBenet's favorite blanket was found lying at her side. Greg, your client who investigated this case, Lou Smit, believes there was an intruder as well. What is the evidence that he points in the -- that he suggests points in the direction of an intruder? WALTA: Well, there have been a lot of false leaks on this issue, one of the most outrageous ones is that the house was surrounded by snow with no signs of disturbance, in fact, most sides of the house were free of snow; and on the side of the house where Lou thinks entry was made, there was a window that was wide open. In fact, it was the first photo the police took because they thought it was that significant. The window also had a black scuff mark on the wall underneath it. A suitcase had been moved from another room and placed against the wall as kind of a stepping-stone, and the debris from the window well had been disturbed and, there was a good deal of debris, styrofoam peanuts and leaves on the floor of the basement beneath this window. Lou is convinced that there was an entry made that night through that window. VAN SUSTEREN: What about DNA that was found -- I have read that DNA was found under JonBenet's fingernails, which indicates that it was a man not John Ramsey; is that right? WALTA: That's true. There were other signs of an intruder, there was a fresh footprint in the basement; there was a fresh palm print on the door where she was found; there was a styrofoam peanut found next to her, out of the window well apparently. And then there was DNA under her fingernails, which is common when somebody is strangled. They struggle and scratch the intruder or the assailant. That was found and there was DNA found in her panties, none of that belongs to any of the Ramsey family; it is male DNA; and it is a certain sign of an intruder. VAN SUSTEREN: Bob, what does the autopsy, which is now in the public domain, so I suspect that you are free to talk about it, what does it say is the cause of death? the official cause of death of this child? GRANT: Well, Greta, I haven't answered those questions in the past and I'm not going to answer them now. Let me say this, there is an important thing to understand here... VAN SUSTEREN: Let me just interrupt you, we are having a little technical problem. Let me go to Pam. Pam, what do -- do your brother-in-law and sister have a sort of a universe of people who they think are suspects the police should follow? PAUGH: Well, in our minds, there has always been a university of people, because as Patsy and John have said many times, we would like to believe that we don't personally know anyone in our circle of friends who would commit this heinous crime, or who would hate us enough to want to destroy us by taking our beautiful JonBenet. But we do have, based on tips, leads, evidence, et cetera, we do have in our minds a rather short list of a dozen or so suspects that we feel should be looked into far beyond asking the question just where were you that night, and do you have the alibi of a spouse or something such as that. These are suspects with clearly historical things in their lives that could lead potentially up to the psychological ramifications that it would take to commit this sort of crime. VAN SUSTEREN: Dave, I mean, I think what is most curious to me is the presence of DNA, assuming it to be correct, under JonBenet's fingernails that are not her fathers and they have unable to link it to someone. What do you make of that? SCHERTLER: Well, you know, obviously, that's exculpatory for the Ramseys. And it does seem to add some plausibility to this outside intruder theory, if the DNA doesn't match. The theory would be that in the course of a struggle, she had somehow scratched her assailant, and got this DNA under her fingernail, and if that DNA doesn't match any of the family members, then it seems point to somebody from the outside. VAN SUSTEREN: Well, you know what is so curious, Dave, is the fact that, you know, it seems at this point that because the Ramseys were there, although they seem likely to be the only suspects, of course they are under the umbrella of suspicion because they were these. If I were there, I would be under this umbrella of suspicion. But the one thing that I haven't seen is the evidence which points towards a motive for them or evidence linking them, you know, that's come out of that investigation, at least that we know? SCHERTLER: Well, I think that's one of the big problems here, you don't have any kind of history of abuse of this child that we can look at or point to, that you do have I think in other cases where children are killed. You know, the problem here is that the evidence is sketchy and it's conflicting, nobody can rule out the possibility of an outside intruder, in fact, that seems somewhat plausible. On the other hand, nobody has a plausible theory as to why the Ramseys would do this, or if they did it, who and how it was done. Under that circumstances, you could never bring a case and prosecute a case. VAN SUSTEREN: Greg, the Ransom note has sort of a peculiar figure of $118,000, which is the amount that John Ramsey was getting in a bonus that year. However, the -- John Ramsey has been excluded as the writer of that note. And I understand Patsy Ramsey has virtually been excluded as well. What -- Greg, what does your client make of the amount. Is that the least bit curious to him in the ransom note? WALTA: Yeah, there are a lot of curious things in this case that point every which way. It's far from a crystal clear case no matter how you cut it. VAN SUSTEREN: Is there -- There was a baseball bat that was found. What does your client -- Where was that baseball bat found? And how does your client believe that relates to this case? WALTA: It was found in the bushes outside the house. There were some fibers on it that connected it to the near crime scene, but again, there's not the additional evidence, DNA material and other things, that you might expect to find on a bat that was used to strike a blow to the head. There was a crushing blow to the head in this case. VAN SUSTEREN: But Greg, what about fingerprints on a baseball bat? WALTA: No fingerprints that I'm aware of were found on that bat. VAN SUSTEREN: Take a break. Up next, Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter won't pursue reelection. But is the JonBenet Ramsey case over? Stay with us. (BEGIN Q&A) Q: On this day in 1863, Justice Stephen J. Field was sworn-in as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Why did President Abraham Lincoln nominate Field, who was a Democrat? A: Because of Field's staunch support of the Union cause. (END Q&A) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAN SUSTEREN: Last October, District Attorney Alex Hunter announced the conclusion of a grand jury investigation of the JonBenet Ramsey murder. The probe didn't result in any charges, but Hunter vowed to, quote, "continue to follow the evidence in this case, as long as there is work to be done." Bob, let me ask you about your governor, Governor Bill Owens, last fall, made some statements. He said that the Ramseys should come back to Colorado and quit hiding behind their attorneys. And he's now saying that he thinks that this book is part of some orchestrated campaign. Do you think that the governor's statements are, perhaps, over the line in terms of fairness; this is an ongoing investigation? GRANT: Well, the governor of this state, like the governor of most states, they're politicians; they are not criminal justice professionals; they are not investigators. His statement was a political statement. I think it was unfortunate that it was made; I think it was unfortunate.... VAN SUSTEREN: Dave, what is your reaction to a governor making statements? SCHERTLER: A governor has no business making statements like this. You know, you and I both know that the criminal justice system is supposed to work based on the evidence that's submitted to whether it's a grand jury or a trial jury. A governor or a public official has no business making comments like that that clearly insinuate his belief that the Ramseys are responsible. VAN SUSTEREN: Pam, do you have the sense that your sister and brother-in-law think that Colorado has been fair to them overall? I don't mean the citizens of Colorado, but the governor, the district attorney and the police? PAUGH: Well, of course not. And I think the statement was just made; he is a political machine, and that's just about all he's good for. What he didn't say during that little fiasco on TV was that there was an open letter sitting on his desk at that very moment, which said: We want to come. Let us come. Let us continue to work in any capacity that we can. Help us, give us more investigators, not another team of sharp-minded prosecutors. And, of course, he chose not to do that because that wasn't in, politically, in his best interest. VAN SUSTEREN: Pam, there has been some -- there have been statements in the media -- and I want you to correct them if they are wrong -- that there's been no cooperation from John and Patsy. Have they cooperated with the investigation? If so, how? PAUGH: Well, they have cooperated fully since the morning of the 26th of December, 1996. There are even some illegal cooperative issues that went on, such as the police interviewing Burke without the knowledge of his parents, without the permission of his parents, without the presence of an attorney to protect his rights as a minor. But we have continued to cooperate. Only when it was made clear that they were going to continue going down a one-road path, not completely investigating any other possible suspects, including all of us, and that they were going to continue to leak false information that they knew would breed and spawn innuendo and speculation, only then did we decide this is not just, this is not in the pursuit of the killer of JonBenet Ramsey. And at that point, you have no other choice but to take your attorney's advice and sit on the sidelines. VAN SUSTEREN: That's all the time we have for today. Thanks to our guests, and thank you for watching. Next Monday, John and Patsy Ramsey will be taking your questions live on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, 6:00 p.m. Pacific. And join us tomorrow, as we continue our look at "The Death of Innocence." Our guest will be the Ramsey's attorney, Lin Wood. Join us then, for another edition of BURDEN OF PROOF. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com Search CNN.com CNNSI.com CNNmoney.com The Web
Potatoes are facing a 'fight for relevance', the Potato Council warns, as sales fall by more than 8% in a year British consumers are going off potatoes, in part because of an increasing taste for rice dishes and fajitas, new figures show. Sales of fresh potatoes slumped by more than 8% during the past year as shoppers opted for alternatives. The trend is worrying the Potato Council, which represents growers and has warned that their crop faces a "fight for relevance" as shoppers switch to other staples, or buy smaller retail packs and smaller salad potatoes. It is urging retailers to take urgent steps to arrest the decline through recipes and in-store promotions that emphasise cooked meals rather than the raw ingredient. Caroline Evans, head of marketing and corporate affairs at the Potato Council, told the Grocer magazine: "It's good that people are not actively rejecting the category. People still like potatoes, but the challenge is that we need different approaches for the whole supply chain. "Shoppers need distractions and better signposting. A lot of shoppers make an emotional connection when they see a potato in its prepared form, rather than as a raw vegetable." She said the growing popularity of curry and fajitas – and the national drive to reduce food waste – were also factors in the declining sales of fresh potatoes. The volume of fresh potatoes sold fell by 8% over the year to May, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel, yet 90% of consumers who were buying less were not aware that they had cut back. Total annual potato sales are worth £2.3bn a year, excluding crisps and snacks, with fresh potatoes accounting for £1.4bn. The retail potato market is dominated by the supermarkets, with the top five accounting for more than 77% of sales. Fresh organic potatoes have fared particularly badly. Following a recovery in 2013, sales have declined again and in the last quarter reached one of the lowest volumes recorded since 2010. Tinned potatoes show continuing volume growth.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Four-fifths of candidates for the body that will choose Iran’s next Supreme Leader have withdrawn or been disqualified including a grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini close to reformist politicians, in a setback to President Hassan Rouhani. Hassan Khomeini, 43, a grandson of Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, talks to journalists after he registered for February's election of the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body that chooses the supreme leader, at Interior Ministry in Tehran December 18, 2015. REUTERS/TIMA The 12-member Guardian Council, a clerical body that oversees elections and legislation, approved just 166 of the 801 candidates for the Assembly of Experts, electoral commission spokesman Siamak Rahpeik was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA on Tuesday. The disqualifications, a week after thousands of parliamentary candidates were similarly excluded, are a blow to Rouhani, who is signing business deals in Europe this week after pushing through a nuclear deal with world powers. Back in Tehran, hardliners who opposed his diplomatic opening are manoeuvring to exclude his allies from the upcoming elections and check his ambitions to carry out domestic reforms. Among those excluded was Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the Islamic Republic’s first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, his son Ahmad said on Instagram. Hassan Khomeini, the first member of his family to stand in elections, is seen as politically moderate and is popular among Iran’s beleaguered reformists. Elections to the 88-member Assembly of Experts fall on Feb. 26. The Assembly oversees the activities of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and will choose his successor if the 76-year-old cleric dies or becomes incapacitated during its eight-year term. Elections to the 290-seat parliament are being held on the same day. Last week, the Guardian Council disqualified more than 7,000 of the 12,000 parliamentary candidates, including almost all reformist candidates and many moderates. Rouhani, who hopes his moderate allies can wrest control of the two assemblies from hardline factions, criticized the disqualification of parliamentary candidates and may also oppose the mass exclusion of Assembly of Experts candidates. But Khamenei, who outranks the president, called for candidates to be strictly vetted, and Guardian Council Chairman Ahmad Jannati assured him the council would “not be affected by any pressure”. “The message to Rouhani and many others is that there are thick red lines at the heart of the establishment,” said Hossein Rassam, former political adviser to the British Embassy in Tehran. The Guardian Council, which is dominated by hardliners, can disqualify candidates on a diverse range of technical and ideological grounds including gender, level of education, and commitment to Islam and the constitution. REVOLUTIONARY LEGACY Ahmad Khomeini said his father, a 43-year-old mid-ranking cleric, had been disqualified on the grounds of his religious credentials despite the testimony of dozens of senior religious figures. Hassan Khomeini said he would issue a response in the coming days. Khamenei initially approved Khomeini’s candidacy, but warned him not to damage the family name. Khomeini’s grandfather led Iran’s 1979 revolution and founded the Islamic Republic. He died in 1989 and was succeeded by Khamenei. Despite his revolutionary lineage, Hassan Khomeini is politically moderate and close to several reformist politicians who were sidelined after disputed presidential elections in 2009. He formed an informal alliance of political moderates with Rouhani and former president Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Rouhani and Rafsanjani are also candidates for the Assembly of Experts and were approved by the Guardian Council. But the exclusion of the charismatic Khomeini, with his unique revolutionary legacy, is a major blow to the moderate movement. With so few candidates approved, conservatives appear likely to stay firmly in control of both parliament and the Assembly of Experts. “The tiny faction led by Rafsanjani, who once used to lead the assembly, will not be able to have a big say,” Rassam said. Rafsanjani was ousted as the Assembly’s chairman last year in favor of Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, a hardliner. Hardliners have thwarted Rouhani’s attempts to push through domestic reform since his election as president in 2013, including proposals to codify political crimes and prevent the security forces from policing religious adherence.
It's a tough life, or as Kevin Pietersen says: "Living the dream" Retired, ignored by the selectors and even exiled - what happens to the cast-out cricketers? Well, they enjoy the high life; a world of sea, sun and sand, luxurious hotels, private planes, nightclubs and golf. Lots of golf. The catch? They still have to play some cricket along the way. Welcome to the life of a Twenty20 specialist, probably the best job in the world. Globetrotting Pietersen has played T20 cricket on five continents July in the Caribbean, winter in South Africa and Australia and then spring in Dubai and India, perhaps even a summer in England. A T20 specialist racks up plenty of air miles as they jet around the world playing in the Caribbean Premier League, Ram Slam, Big Bash, Pakistan Super League, Indian Premier League and the T20 Blast. Money, money, money T20 pays very well Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen is the 12th most expensive IPL player ever, once bought for $1.55m (£1.1m) Each tournament he plays earns him another six-figure salary and that is before sponsorship and stints doing commentary and television. "What some of us are doing now is the easiest gig in the world," he wrote in the Telegraph last year. "You turn up for a franchise, are well remunerated and then move on to your next contract." Lifestyle When they are not thrilling the crowds on the pitch, T20 players make sure they enjoy themselves off it. With a round of golf. Pietersen plays golf all over the world And plenty of relaxing. Pietersen and former England team-mate Luke Wright catching some rays KP takes a dip Maybe see a whole new country and a bit of culture. West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle takes a tour of Sydney Harbour Plus a bit of quality family time. Pietersen and his son Dylan And even meeting a celebrity. Former Australian cricketer Brett Lee and tennis star Novak Djokovic Driving fast cars. Chris Gayle and his motor Partying T20 cricket is all about team bonding.... The Melbourne Stars squad ...and a night out is always on the cards. Former England stars Darren Gough, Simon Jones and Pietersen enjoying the Dubai nightlife with ex-South Africa batsman Graeme Smith and Brett Lee When one bottle won't do World-class competition But of course it is all about the cricket. Kevin Pietersen played in front of 80,000 at the Melbourne derby at the MCG in January. Pietersen has recently reached three finals; at the Big Bash, Ram Slam and Pakistan Super League (though he lost all three). While Chris Gayle hit the joint fastest ever half-century, needing just 12 balls to reach 50 in January. So in summary.... Have you added the new Top Story alerts in the BBC Sport app? Simply head to the menu in the app - and don't forget you can also add alerts for the Six Nations, cricket scores, your football team and more.
A Republican bill that would change John Doe criminal investigations is "creating exceptions in the law for politicians." Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature are pushing a bill that would change the state’s so-called John Doe law, which allows for criminal investigations -- like two that were related to Gov. Scott Walker -- to be done in secret. On Oct. 20, 2015, GOP Rep. David Craig of suburban Milwaukee insisted on a radio talk show that the changes made by his bill would not exempt politicians in any way from John Doe investigations. But later that day, during debate on the Assembly floor, Democrats repeatedly said just the opposite. "We are creating exceptions in the law for politicians," said state Rep. Chris Danou of Trempealeau. Is Danou right? What a John Doe is John Doe investigations are done to determine whether a crime has occurred and, if so, by whom. Unlike standard criminal investigations, law enforcement officials in a John Doe have special powers. They can compel the testimony of reluctant witnesses under oath and issue subpoenas requiring witnesses to turn over documents. Another key difference is that a judge overseeing a John Doe can -- and typically does -- order that the proceedings be done in secret, unlike the vast majority of court proceedings. Scott Walker In May 2010, when Walker was Milwaukee County executive, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, a Democrat, launched what would become a nearly three-year-long John Doe targeting Walker’s aides and associates. Six people, including three county executive employees, one Walker appointee and a major Walker campaign contributor, were convicted of a variety of crimes. In August 2012, weeks after Walker won a historic recall election to remain as governor, Chisholm opened another John Doe. It focused on whether the Wisconsin Club for Growth and other conservative groups illegally coordinated with Walker's campaign. Later, the probe was expanded to four other counties and former federal prosecutor Francis Schmitz, who has described himself as a Republican, was added as a special prosecutor. In July 2015, the state Supreme Court shut down the investigation, saying the governor's campaign and the groups had not violated campaign finance laws. Walker and other Republicans have described the probe as a political witch hunt, and the bill to make changes in the John Doe process was largely prompted by that probe. Proposed changes Under current law, any crime may be investigated under a John Doe proceeding, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Council. But under the bill, the crimes that could be investigated with a John Doe proceeding are limited to certain felonies. Those include murder, rape, armed robbery and numerous other serious crimes, as well as lesser crimes of a violent nature. Republicans argue that the bill limits what crimes a John Doe proceeding can be used to investigate, not who can be investigated. That’s true; there’s nothing in the bill that says politicians are exempt. But the proposed restrictions mean a John Doe investigation could no longer be used to look into a variety of political crimes. News reports have been clear on this. For instance, a John Doe could no longer be used to investigate allegations of bribing public officials, using elected office for personal gain and corruptly influencing legislation, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Political corruption charges are exempted, noted the Wall Street Journal. The bill would end John Doe probes into political misconduct, said the Associated Press. To be clear, political crimes wouldn’t be the only ones exempted. If the bill became law, authorities would no longer be able to use a John Doe to look into crimes such as identity theft, mortgage fraud, dealing small amounts of heroin and cocaine, or theft reaching into the millions of dollars. But the political focus of the proposed changes has always been clear. Indeed, when Craig introduced the bill in February 2015, he said it would mean John Doe investigations could not be conducted for most political crimes. Prosecutors should use standard investigations or launch grand jury probes to look into those types of allegations, he said at the time. Wisconsin's grand jury law is rarely used and Democrats argue it would be costly and inefficient to use for political crimes. Craig’s bill was approved by the Assembly on the day of the floor debate and was adopted by the Senate the next day. Walker’s spokeswoman has said the governor would evaluate the legislation, but added he supports "common-sense reforms that protect free speech and ensure transparency and accountability" for John Doe investigations. Our rating Danou said a Republican bill that would change John Doe criminal investigations is "creating exceptions in the law for politicians." The bill would not exempt politicians from John Doe investigations, which under current law can be conducted for any crime. But the bill does create an exception in that John Doe probes could no longer be used to investigate political corruption. For a statement that is accurate but needs clarification, our rating is Mostly True.
After WarpStock Europe, ArcaOS, the new OS/2 distribution previously codenamed Blue Lion, is scheduled for release in Q4 2016. Image: iStockphoto/olgaIT Representatives of Arca Noae, the organization behind the revival of OS/2, gave presentations at WarpStock Europe—the annual convention of OS/2 users, developers, and enthusiasts—about the status of the Blue Lion project first announced on TechRepublic last November. While IBM stopped principal development of OS/2 with the release of Warp 4 in 1996, maintenance releases continued until 2001 as enterprise deployments necessitated continued support for the platform. From 'Blue Lion' to ArcaOS 5.0 When the Blue Lion project was announced at the American WarpStock in October 2015, the name was only temporary. Following the close of events at WarpStock Europe, Arca Noae managing member Lewis Rosenthal noted in an interview that the final product name for the new OS/2 distribution is ArcaOS 5.0. The significance of the version number relates to IBM OS/2 4.52—the last maintenance release of the platform released by IBM in 2001. ArcaOS 5.0 is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2016, but Blue Lion remains as a code name, in much the same way "Wily Werewolf" is the code name of Ubuntu 15.10. SEE: OS/2: Blue Lion to be the next distro of the 28-year-old OS (TechRepublic) The Arca Noae team is not stopping there, however. A roadmap is still being constructed for future releases of ArcaOS, with version 5.1 bringing support for additional languages. At present, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Dutch are prioritized for version 5.1, though Rosenthal noted that plans are still being finalized and other languages are likely to be included in that release—tentatively planned for 2017. ArcaOS will be sold in two different editions. ArcaOS Commercial Edition is intended for mission-critical environments, and includes 12 months of updates and priority support. ArcaOS Personal Edition will include six months of updates and support, and will be offered at a lower price. The included software and features between the two editions is completely identical. Because ArcaOS includes software from third-party vendors, pricing information is not yet available as negotiations with vendors are ongoing. Users with existing Arca Noae software subscriptions will be eligible for a pro-rata discount. ArcaOS includes a superset of the currently available software and driver package sold by Arca Noae for existing OS/2 installations. This software includes support for modern ACPI versions, USB 1.1 and 2.0, AHCI support needed for Serial ATA disks, the Multimac driver suite for network cards (wireless support is forthcoming), and Uniaud, an ALSA-compatible sound driver. ArcaOS will also support CUPS, as well as Kerberos authentication. For systems running on modern processors, a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) kernel is available, in addition to the classic Warp kernel, though this is not available as a unikernel design. As OS/2 is a 32-bit OS, there are structural limitations to achieving full RAM support, though support has been added for creating RAM disks up to 4 GB. Replacing the OS/2 Installer Seasoned veterans of the OS/2 ecosystem know the pains of trying to install the operating system. Under the best of circumstances, IBM's OS/2 installer makes the Gentoo Linux installer look intuitive. Relative to the rest of OS/2, the installer has aged poorly—it requires booting from floppy disks before the installation CD can be read. Floppy disk drives have been effectively dead for 15 years, and finding a notebook computer with an optical drive is becoming an increasingly difficult task. With the software package from Arca Noae, as well as ports of popular open source packages from netlabs.org, among many others, OS/2 is still a perfectly usable system when already installed. The goal of ArcaOS is to make Blue Lion as easy to install on modern, commercially-available hardware, as any modern Linux distribution is. While there are some encumbrances to that goal—UEFI being a particularly large one—most of the work necessary to reach that goal is to replace the installer. SEE: VirtualBox 5.0: Performance upgrades and paravirtualization, scaling, USB 3.0 device support (TechRepublic) For that reason, most of the work is going into the installer and preboot environment, which can be invoked in the same way a rescue partition works in Linux. For installation, the new installer is capable of using a network connection to download the latest packages from Arca Noae, using the standard yum/rpm package format, allowing updates to be installed along with the rest of the OS. Additionally, the installer is being designed around the ability to boot directly from optical media, as well as from a USB stick, and research is ongoing for network installations. Current Status Since late last year, internal alpha builds of ArcaOS have been spun on a roughly weekly basis, according to Rosenthal. These builds are ISOs that must be manually installed—not live system images—though as the majority of the work for ArcaOS is in the installer, extensive testing of installation media can only be a good thing. What's your view? Have you used OS/2 as your primary operating system in the past? Does your organization have an active OS/2 deployment? Does this article about OS/2 bring back fond memories of IBM-produced ThinkPads? Share your thoughts in the comments. Executive Briefing Newsletter Discover the secrets to IT leadership success with these tips on project management, budgets, and dealing with day-to-day challenges. 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New understanding of how fish use a “sixth sense” to detect flows of water helps resolve a long-time mystery about how the creatures respond to their environment. “We identified a unique layout of flow sensors on the surface of fish that is nearly universal across species, and our research asks why this is so,” explains Leif Ristroph, an assistant professor at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and one of the study’s authors. “The network of these sensors is like a ‘hydrodynamic antenna’ that allows them to retrieve signals about the flow of water and use this information in different behaviors.” It’s well known that fish respond to changes in their fluid environment. These include avoiding obstacles, reducing swimming effort by slaloming between vortices, or whirlpools, and tracking changes in water flow left by prey—even without the aid of vision. Along their sides To explore how fish exploit flow information, the research team focused on a fish’s “lateral line”—a system of sensory organs known to detect both movement and vibration in the water that surrounds them—with particular consideration to the line’s sensory-laden canals that open to the environment through a series of pores. They specifically focused on the placement of these canals along the body, noting that their location can help explain how a fish’s sixth sense functions. For instance, the concentration of these canals at the heads of blind cave fish seems well-suited for detecting obstacles. To test their theory, the researchers created a plastic model of a rainbow trout that replicated the location of the fish’s canals and included illuminated markers used to detect the speed of surrounding water. In their experiments, the model fish was put through a series of tests the replicated real-life aquatic conditions—changes in water flow that altered water pressure or mimicked the presence of “prey”—and examined where the canals were located in relation to strongest changes in water pressure. The results show that, as predicted, the canal system is concentrated at locations on the body wherever strong variations in pressure occur. Just as the shape of a TV or radio antenna is designed to detect electromagnetic signals, the fish’s canal system is like an antenna laid out on the body surface and configured to be sensitive to pressure changes. The trouble with live fish The team’s use of finely detailed models—developed with the help of a taxidermist who made custom molds from real trout—made it possible to record this data for the first time. [related] “You can’t put pressure sensors on a live fish and have it behave normally,” Liao says. “This was a creative way to use engineering and physics techniques to answer biological questions you can’t answer otherwise.” The study’s other authors are James Liao, an assistant professor at the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, and Jun Zhang, a professor of physics and mathematics at NYU and NYU Shanghai. The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy supported the work. Source: NYU
Bad news from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency: North Korea has developed a “miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles.” The Hermit Kingdom is not alone in its nuclear pursuits. Russia and China have also committed to exploring new weapons capabilities, and Iran still harbors nuclear aspirations. In the United States, however, attempts to modernize our nuclear arsenal face tremendous resistance. The scale, scope and capacity of the Russian and Chinese nuclear modernization programs far outstrip current U.S. efforts. Failing to modernize our aging warheads and platforms carries tremendous risk that goes well beyond those posed by not “keeping up with the Joneses.” ADVERTISEMENT U.S. nuclear weapons are old. The warheads are based on 1970s designs, and they have not been physically tested in a quarter of a century. The nuclear triad of bombers, submarines, and long-range missiles is long in the tooth, as well. The Minuteman long-range missiles were deployed in the 1970s. B-52 bombers, introduced in the 1950s, are so old that occasionally a grandson jockeys the same tail number that his grandfather flew. Even our newest systems, the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines and B-2 bombers, are more than two decades old. The nuclear triad is the bedrock of U.S. strategic deterrence and a core component of U.S. security assurances to over 30 allies around the world. It must be modernized — regardless of the fate of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, also known as New START. The centerpiece of the Obama administration’s failed Russian “reset” policy, New START has not served the strategic security interests of the United States. It called for — and delivered — disproportionate reductions to the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. Moreover, the Russians have flagrantly violated the spirit of the treaty, deploying more than 200 nuclear warheads more than the treaty permits. (Nothing new there. Russia is also violating several other arms control agreements, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.) Former officials of the Obama administration, who had a hand in the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, now recognize that the strategic environment has become significantly more dangerous since that review was concluded. The review was based on two questionable assumptions: that Russia was no longer a threat and that Russia (or any other country, for that matter) would not be a major adversary in the future. But much has changed since those calculations were made. Russia, for example, has annexed Crimea, sent troops into Ukraine and propped up Bashar Assad in Syria. China has become more aggressive and belligerent in the South China Sea. And then there’s North Korea. No one can know the future, of course. International developments have a way of taking the United States by surprise. And this unpredictability is precisely why the U.S. must maintain a credible, viable and robust nuclear deterrent. Modernization is essential because the determined efforts of Russia, China and even North Korea leave the United States at risk of losing its competitive edge and thus its strategic deterrent. Both Moscow and Beijing reportedly include nuclear warhead testing as components of their modernization programs. And both are likely pursuing innovative design and development work to create warheads capable of generating special effects, such as enhanced radiation or electromagnetic pulse. Robust modernization programs also mean that their warhead workforce and production facilities remain skilled, capable and agile. This is another area where the United States risks falling behind. U.S. scientists and nuclear engineers primarily focus their work (and thinking) on warhead maintenance and life extension programs — a different set of skills than actually designing and building new warheads. The former attempts to sustain what is already known, while the latter explores new possibilities and leads to new designs and potential uses — critical things to know if only to know what to defend against. At present, the U.S. national laboratories are doing little to improve their understanding of foreign nuclear weapon designs. Those limited efforts should be expanded. Not only would it educate the current and upcoming generation of nuclear weapon designers, it would help ensure that the next generation tasked to certify our nuclear stockpile reliable has the experience and know-how of designing, building and testing actual warheads. It made no sense for the French, British and Americans to remain committed to horse cavalry while the Germans were developing mobile tank warfare. So, today, it makes no sense for the U.S. to remain committed to merely certifying vintage nuclear weapons while our competitors race forward with new research and development efforts. U.S. nuclear weapons policy must evolve as the nuclear threat evolves. Making changes to the U.S. nuclear posture as the threat environment grows more challenging will ultimately put the United States and its allies in a better strategic position. Congress and the Trump administration must not waver in their support for the U.S. nuclear modernization program. Michaela Dodge is a senior policy analyst specializing in missile defense and arms control in the Center for National Defense at The Heritage Foundation. The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.
Does this dish have a weird Chinese name? In preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games, the Chinese government has recommended new English translations for more than 2,000 traditional Chinese dishes to appeal to Western tourists. The menu items in question include “bean curd made by a pockmarked woman,” “ants climbing a tree,” and “chicken without sexual life.” Where did these unusual names come from? Stories of a recipe’s creation, its physical appearance, or a description of its ingredients. The same naming conventions are common in Western cuisine; the Chinese simply employ them more dramatically. The difficulties of direct translation contribute to the awkwardness. “Bean curd made by a pockmarked woman,” a combination of ground pork, tofu, and Sichuan chilies, is named for its legendary origin. In the most colorful version of the tale, a widow was forced to live on the outskirts of Chengdu on account of her dermatologic flaws. One evening, a pair of travelers who were caught in a rainstorm took shelter in her home. The dish she prepared for them was so delicious that her house became a regular stop for travelers to Chengdu. Other versions describe the woman as the wife of a restaurateur or a grandmother with a street-food stand. “Ants climbing a tree” describes the classic Sichuan dish’s appearance—the bits of minced pork clinging to bean thread noodles recall insects moving through a tree’s branches. Similarly, a Huaiyang dish called “lion’s head” comprises a large pork meatball stewed in a broth with cabbage and other vegetables. The meatball and cabbage appear as a lion’s head and mane. Even when the name of a dish simply describes the ingredients, the language is often much more vivid than a Western gourmand would expect. “Chicken without sexual life” (often translated as the far less awkward “virgin chicken”) refers to a young bird weighing between 12 and 20 ounces. The French call it a “poussin;” in English, it’s a “spring chicken.” (The phrase “She’s no spring chicken” appeared in the United States no later than 1906 to describe a woman past her prime.) The Chinese name makes explicit the chicken’s raison d’être: It will be slaughtered for meat before it can lay eggs. In fact, only a few of the 2,000 dishes on the government’s translation list would raise a Western eyebrow. And Western fare has its own abstruse names. Hush puppies, or deep-fried cornbread batter, were used either by fisherman, Civil War soldiers, or runaway slaves to quiet barking dogs. In the English dish “toad-in-the-hole,” sausages partially submerged in Yorkshire pudding resemble peeking amphibians. When Napoleon defeated the Austro-Hungarian army in Marengo, Italy, in 1800, his famished troops scavenged the town for ingredients. The fruits of their pillaging supposedly composed the original chicken Marengo. Chinese cuisine does have more of these colorful names, but that may be a result of its focus on traditional dishes. Chinese-restaurant patrons don’t need to be told the main ingredients for centuries-old specialties. In contrast, many Western restaurants formulate entirely new recipes, making explicit description more important. Some chic Asian eateries, however, do label modern recipes with pseudo-traditional metaphorical names. The Tung Lok Group, a Singapore-based chain, offers menu items such as “night is in the air” and “pillow talk.” Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer. Explainer thanks Jennifer 8. Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles.
(CBS) Always one to speak his mind, current Patriots and former Bears tight end Martellus Bennett has offered a new criticism on why teams weren’t successful during his three years in Chicago. In a clip of a profile teased by ESPN’s E:60 that focuses on outspoken brothers Martellus and Michael, a defensive lineman for the Seahawks, Martellus is quoted as calling the Bears of yesteryear that he played with “bitches.” “We just had a bunch of bitches on the roster,” Martellus said. “That’s why we didn’t win games, and coaches liked the bitches.” Not surprisingly, Martellus offered a critique of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler that wasn’t glowing. “Some guys that you want to be the leader, that’s not the guy that’s a leader,” Martellus said. “Everyone in the locker room knows that this is not the leader, but this is what you want the face of the team to look like.” Volume up on Michael and Martellus Bennett 👆🏼🔊 pic.twitter.com/iNDj763RnC — E:60 (@E60) October 11, 2016 Bennett played in Chicago from 2013-’15, making the Pro Bowl in 2014, when he had his best season with 90 catches, 916 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Chicago traded him to New England last March. Bennett has 21 catches for 314 yards and four touchdowns in five games this season. The Bears went 8-8, 5-11 and 6-10 in Bennett’s three seasons in Chicago.
More than 200 soldiers from the New York Army National Guard departed Monday for a nine-month mission to Ukraine. The soldiers — most of whom are from 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment, stationed at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station in Niagara Falls, New York — will join the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, according to a press release from the New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs. Also deploying with the group are soldiers from the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team headquarters and other National Guard units from across New York. The training group teaches tactics and staff work to five Ukrainian army battalions at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, near Yavoriv, Ukraine. They are joining troops from Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland and the United Kingdom on the training mission. “While this mission to provide training and support for Ukraine’s armed forces supports our Army’s engagement in Europe, our real success will be built on the efforts of our Army Guard soldiers and leaders who again answer the call,” said Col. Dennis Deeley, commander of the training element. The training will focus on defense and security missions, according the press release. Other units are also working to modernize the Ukrainian Army’s doctrine. The ultimate goal is to mirror the training U.S. Army units receive at places like the National Training Center at Fort, Irwin, California, prior to combat deployments, according to the press release. The soldiers flew to Fort Bliss, Texas, Monday. They will then continue to Germany for a month of pre-deployment training at the 7th Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area, according to the press release. The New York National Guard soldiers will replace those from the Oklahoma National Guard’s 45th Brigade Combat Team who have been in Ukraine since January.
GETTY Saudi Arabia are reportedly backing fundamentalist Islamic groups in Germany AT LEAST 10,000 Islamic extremists living within Germany are being supported by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, a shock new report has claimed. The number of fundamentalists swearing allegiance to the Salafi group in Germany is on rise and Gulf countries have been accused of increasing their support to the terror cell. We don't want terrorism in Germany… and we don't want to export terrorism Thomas de Maiziere German media claimed Berlin’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) have accused Saudi Arabia and Kuwait of funding religious groups and conversion groups, as well as financing the building of mosques and backing hardline imams. According to a report drafted by the agencies, missionary groups including the Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad al-Thani Charitable Association and the Saudi Muslim World League are involved in a "long-running strategy to exert influence" by Gulf nations. GETTY Salafi group member Sheikh Issam Saleh speaks during a press conference in Gaza city In addition to this, the Kuwaiti Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS), an NGO banned by the US and Russia for alleged links to terrorist group Al-Qaeda, has also been blamed for the rising support for fundamentalist Salafi groups in Germany. RIHS and the Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad al-Thani Charitable Association have denied the allegations. Saudi ambassador Awwas Alawwad also rejected the claims, saying his country has “no connection with German Salafism”. The news comes after religious group Die Wahre Religion were banned in Berlin following raids of their offices in cities across Germany. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said: "The translations of the Quran are being distributed along with messages of hatred and unconstitutional ideologies…Teenagers are being radicalised with conspiracy theories. GETTY The report suggests mosques in Germany are receiving funds from key figures in Saudi Arabia "We don't want terrorism in Germany… and we don't want to export terrorism." Salafism is an ultra-conservative movement within Sunni Islam which aspires to emulate the ways of the Prophet Mohammed. Typically dressed in traditional white robes with long beards and flowing head scarves, followers of the 100-year-old school of thought see Salafi Islam as the purest form of the religion.
Looking for a last minute treat? Christmas White Trash is the perfect treat to make. Calls for few ingredients takes fifteen minutes to make and looks impressive when packaged in cute treat bags. I am going stop baking and go ahead and post my Christmas White Trash recipe. I have had several requests for the recipe, and it is so quick and easy to make. This trash is an all time family favorite. I make it for, Valentine's Easter , and whenever there is something to celebrate. The basic recipe for the trash is the same each time. I just change the color of the M&Ms for what we are celebrating. For Valentine's, I use the cute pink, red, and white M&Ms. This makes a great treat to give as gifts in little holiday bags also. Christmas White Trash Ingredients: 24 oz. vanilla flavored candy coating (white chocolate almond bark) 6 cups Kellogg's Crispix cereal 3 cups Christmas shaped pretzels 16 oz. M&M Peanut Butter Chocolate Candies, or Peanut Chocolate Candies, or Plain Chocolate Candies in Christmas Colors Directions: In a medium microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate almond bark in the microwave for 2-4 minutes at 30 SECOND intervals until chocolate is melted; set aside. In a large bowl, add cereal, pretzels, and M&Ms. Pour melted chocolate over the cereal mixture. Using a large spatula to fold all together making sure not to break up the cereal too much. Once all the mixture is coated really well with the chocolate, pour out onto a table lined with waxed paper or two large sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Once cooled, break up into piece and store in an airtight container or bag up in gift bags. Looking for more recipes? Use the search bar in the top right hand corner or click on My Recipe Box in the top menu. Disclosure: The following contains affiliate links. More Recipes!
Introduction And Specs Totally Revamped For 2014 - Lenovo's 14-Inch ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook Totally Revamped For 2014 - Lenovo's 14-Inch ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2014 Specifications & Features Processor: Operating System: Graphics: Memory: Display/Resolution: Camera: Storage: Integrated Communications: Connectors: Keyboard: Audio: Battery: Case Material: Software: Weight: Price: Windows 8.1 Pro Intel HD Graphics 4400 8GB DDR3L 1600MHz 14-inch IPS WQHD (2560X1440) with mutli-touch, 300nits 720p HD camera 128GB SSD Intel Centrino Wireless-AC 7260 + Bluetooth 4.0 USB 3.0 (x2), mini-HDMI 1.4, Ethernet 4-in-1 card reader Lenovo OneLink Volume and display lock Headphone/mic jack 5-row with Trackpoint plus Adaptive backlit Keyboard keys 2 x 1 Watt Dolby Home Theater v4 8 Cell 45 Watt-hour - up to 9 hours battery life, Rapid Charge Top: Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Bottom: Magnesium Aluminum Alloy Lenovo Companion, Lenovo Support, Lenovo Quick Control Lenovo ThinkVantage Tools, Lenovo QuickSnip QuickCast, rara music, Zinio, Hightail, eBay Microsoft Office trial Desktop Toasts ForCriticalUpdates Nitro Pro 8, Skitch Touch Absolute Data Protect, Reading List, Norton Internet Security 2.8 lbs (Non-Touch), 3.15 lbs. (Touch Screen) Starting at $1299 $1579 as configured and tested Intel Core i5-4200U (3MB Cache - 1.6 - 2.6GHz)Windows 8.1 ProIntel HD Graphics 44008GB DDR3L 1600MHz14-inch IPS WQHD (2560X1440) with mutli-touch, 300nits720p HD camera128GB SSDIntel Centrino Wireless-AC 7260 + Bluetooth 4.0USB 3.0 (x2), mini-HDMI 1.4, Ethernet4-in-1 card readerLenovo OneLinkVolume and display lockHeadphone/mic jack5-row with Trackpoint plus Adaptive backlit Keyboard keys8 Cell 45 Watt-hour - up to 9 hours battery life, Rapid ChargeTop: Carbon Fiber Reinforced PolymerBottom: Magnesium Aluminum AlloyLenovo Companion, Lenovo Support, Lenovo Quick ControlLenovo ThinkVantage Tools, Lenovo QuickSnipQuickCast, rara music, Zinio, Hightail, eBayMicrosoft Office trialDesktop Toasts ForCriticalUpdatesNitro Pro 8, Skitch TouchAbsolute Data Protect, Reading List, Norton Internet Security2.8 lbs (Non-Touch), 3.15 lbs. (Touch Screen) Lenovo also offers 128GB or 256GB SSD options as well as 4GB or 8GB DDR3 1600MHz configurations for the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. In addition, you also get the latest Intel Centrino 7260 Wilkins Peak 2 AC wireless and Bluetooth 4.0 radio in this new ThinkPad, along with a native RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet dongle. In terms of brand recognition, Lenovo's ThinkPad probably has some of the best "brand equity" of just about any notebook line in the history of Windows PCs. A favorite among IT managers for their rugged reliability, especially in business environments, Lenovo's ThinkPad brand, previously acquired from IBM, helped propel the company towards the number one PC market share position that it enjoys today. Over the years, the ThinkPad has evolved dramatically as well, shape-shifting from squarish, utilitarian designs of the past, to new innovative, mechanically-gifted incarnations like the ThinkPad Yoga we recently reviewed.And while even these newer ThinkPads are usually "dressed for business," it could be said that Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon series cuts through the stuffy facade, offering something for the conference room or coffee shop with a sleeker physique and sports car-like good looks. The original ThinkPad X1 Carbon was initially released back in 2012 and at the time, its carbon fiber-infused chassis offered a rare combination of build quality and light-weight durability that Lenovo could still call a "ThinkPad" but with a style and feel all its own.New for 2014, Lenovo has completely revamped the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, from the 4th generation Intel Haswell Core series processor under its hood, to its new higher density carbon fiber-filled polymer skins, a higher resolution display and even some major upgrades to the keyboard area. The previous generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon scored itself a HotHardware Editor's Choice award. Let's see if the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon has what it takes to earn that accolade again.First, we'll go hands on with a video preview and then we'll dig into design, software and performance specifics in our full detailed review on the pages ahead...Scanning through the high level specs, you'll note the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon has been upgraded with Intel's latest Core i5-4200U Haswell dual-core with integrated Intel HD 4400 graphics. This change alone offers the machine significantly better graphics performance, power efficiency and battery life.Lenovo now also offers a high resolution 2560X1440 multitouch IPS WQHD display in this 14-inch machine, in addition to the standard 1600X900 display option. We of course opted for the WQHD version panel which also has brighter output at 300nits.
The cancer drug paclitaxel just got more effective. For the first time, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have packaged it in containers derived from a patient's own immune system, protecting the drug from being destroyed by the body's own defenses and bringing the entire payload to the tumor. "That means we can use 50 times less of the drug and still get the same results," said Elena Batrakova, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. "That matters because we may eventually be able to treat patients with smaller and more accurate doses of powerful chemotherapy drugs resulting in more effective treatment with fewer and milder side effects." The work, led by Batrakova and her colleagues at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy's Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, is based on exosomes, which are tiny spheres harvested from the white blood cells that protect the body against infection. The exosomes are made of the same material as cell membranes, and the patient's body doesn't recognize them as foreign, which has been one of the toughest issues to overcome in the past decade with using plastics-based nanoparticles as drug-delivery systems. "Exosomes are engineered by nature to be the perfect delivery vehicles," said Batrakova, who has also used this technique as a potential therapy for Parkinson's disease. "By using exosomes from white blood cells, we wrap the medicine in an invisibility cloak that hides it from the immune system. We don't know exactly how they do it, but the exosomes swarm the cancer cells, completely bypassing any drug resistance they may have and delivering their payload." Paclitaxel is a potent drug used in the United States as a first- and second-line treatment for breast, lung and pancreatic cancers. It can have serious and unpleasant side effects, such as hair loss, muscle and joint pain and diarrhea, and it can put patients at greater risk of serious infection. In their experiment, Batrakova's team extracted exosomes from mouse white blood cells and loaded them with paclitaxel. They then tested the treatment -- which they call exoPXT -- against multiple-drug-resistant cancer cells in petri dishes. The team saw that they needed 50 times less exoPXT to achieve the same cancer-killing effect as formulations of the drug currently being used, such as Taxol. The researchers next tested the therapy in mouse models of drug-resistant lung cancer. They loaded the exosomes with a dye in order to track their progress through the lungs and found that the exosomes were thorough in seeking out and marking cancer cells, making them a surprisingly effective diagnostic tool in addition to being a powerful therapeutic. "Accurately mapping the extent of tumors in the lungs is one of the biggest challenges in treating lung-cancer patients," said Batrakova. "Our results show how powerful exosomes can be as both a therapeutic and a diagnostic."
Laura Hamilton, an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Merced, began studying a group of college women and their families back in 2004, embedding herself in the dormitory of a midwestern college and later writing about her qualitative research in two books, Paying for the Party and Parenting to a Degree. As Hamilton explained in a 2016 Atlantic article adapted from the latter book, involvement by the parents varied. Some parents, often those without college experience themselves, had a hands-off approach to their kids’ higher education, while other parents were more involved. Among the most highly involved parents, some helped their kids navigate the school bureaucracy so they could later enter into graduate programs or a solid entry-level job requiring a degree. Others were highly involved with their daughters’ social lives, assuring that they were well-positioned to find wealthy husbands. “The Mrs. degree is alive and well,” Hamilton told me. While some parents might focus on career goals for their children and others care more about their daughters’ social lives, there is no question that parents’ involvement in the lives of their college-aged kids as a whole has intensified—at least among middle-class and wealthy families whose children attend selective colleges. According to Harlan Cohen, the author of The Naked Roommate: For Parents Only: A Parent’s Guide to the New College Experience, smartphones and social media have enabled parents to stay more hands-on. Cohen, who has worked with college administrators at over 500 colleges and meets regularly with parents as part of his research, added that it’s not unusual for parents to send their kids a wake-up call in the morning to ensure that they make it to their early classes. Stacy, for her part, communicates with her daughter at least three times a day. Parenting involvement is certainly also driven in part by the rising cost of college tuition. The full cost of attendance at most selective private universities can run around $65,000 per year—a nearly $260,000 four-year bill for parents whose children do not qualify for merit or need-based aid. Between 1995 and 2015, the average tuition at national private colleges jumped 179 percent. Out-of-state tuition and fees at public institutions rose by 226 percent over that same period of time. College is often the biggest expenditure that parents will ever make for their children; they want to make sure that their money is being well spent. Few people would spend $260,000 without expecting some oversight. What’s more, many parents have a deep fear that their children will be unable to find work after graduation and remain dependent upon them during their 20s. To avoid this fate, some choose to oversee their kids’ academic choices. After all, the “kid in the basement” bogeyman isn’t entirely irrational: Navigating college has become more complicated than ever before, especially at large public colleges where there can be multiple specialized schools and hundreds of majors. Mistakes—such as choosing a major that doesn’t correspond to locally available careers—can be very expensive if they lead to additional time in school.
A Baltimore County councilman is proposing a moratorium on new housing in part of Perry Hall until the county pays for a number of projects, including building an elementary school and designating land for a new high school. Councilman David Marks, a Perry Hall Republican, said the Honeygo area of Perry Hall is growing faster than the region's roads, schools and services. He said legislation is a way to nudge the county into funding needed projects. "Those projects are things for which there's universal support. I just think they need to get done," Marks said. Marks is facing a challenge in winning enough support to get the bill to pass, and the measure has come under criticism from home builders and County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's administration. The measure was initially scheduled for a vote Monday, but Marks said he'll take more time to negotiate details of the bill. He plans to withdraw it Monday, then immediately re-introduce an identical bill, which would likely be scheduled for a vote in May. That maneuver buys him more time to work on the details. "It just gives us more time … I'd rather get this right than rush the legislation through," Marks said. Marks said the bill will technically be an update of the county's Honeygo plan, a 1990s blueprint for growth in the community that's north of White Marsh. Under the initial proposal, new projects could not go forward in Eastern Honeygo -- between Cross Road and Philadelphia Road -- until a 700-seat elementary school opens. School system officials currently are deciding where to put the new school, which could open for the 2017-2018 school year. In Western Honeygo -- between Cross Road and Belair Road -- projects could not be built until the county sets aside land for a middle school and a high school, until the county finishes widening Cross Road and until the proposed Angel Park is built. Community groups have raised $800,000 for the park near the Perry Hall Library and $600,000 more is needed. Marks said the middle school and high school are not included on the school system's long-range plans, but he believes they'll be needed sooner rather than later. "It's not in the current plan and what I'm trying to do is push them to put it in … I wanted to light a fire right now," he said. Marks' efforts have drawn significant attention, with dozens of people packing into a small room to lobby on the bill during a Baltimore County Council work session in Towson last week. An online petition promoting the bill quickly drew more than 500 supporters. Representatives from Kamenetz's administration said the bill would force the county to spend money on buying land for schools that may not be needed. "We believe it creates an unwarranted moratorium," said Jeff Mayhew with the county's Department of Planning. He said that while some schools in Honeygo are overcrowded, there are enough seats to go around overall in the Northeastern part of the county for the foreseeable future. It would make more sense, Mayhew said, to redistrict students to alleviate overcrowding in Northeastern schools. Fred Homan, Kamenetz's chief administrative officer, said if money is spent on securing land for Northeastern schools, other projects may suffer, such as upgrading other schools or adding air conditioning to old schools. "The longer-term issue will steal money from a shorter-term problem," he said. Through a spokeswoman, Kamenetz declined to comment on the bill, but said he's been working with school officials on overcrowding issues and will have an announcement about school construction when he unveils his budget on April 14. Developers and home builders aren't fans of Marks' bill, either, because they don't want to be shut out of building in a popular area. "It forces the county to spend money that's not in the budget, and it effectively creates a building moratorium," said Michael Harrison, vice president of government affairs for the Maryland Building Industry Association. "We're concerned about the precedent it would set." Beyond Honeygo, Harrison is worried other council members would write similar bills to slow or halt development in other parts of the county. They could create "artificial hurdles that are impossible to meet to shut down development," he said. Harrison said developers and builders have no control over how the county spends money and could be stuck in limbo while waiting for the county to act. "What he wants is beyond our control," Harrison said. Abby Beytin, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, said she thinks the bill should be expanded to cover the whole county. "We've been playing catch-up forever … We can't keep leaving the infrastructure behind," she told council members. Perry Hall Improvement Association President Dennis Robinson thinks the bill is a good way to make sure that infrastructure keeps up with development. A Perry Hall resident for 10 years, Robinson has seen the Honeygo area grow with young families. Though he's glad a new elementary school is in the works, it's not coming fast enough. "Without a shovel in the ground, it's only benefiting kids that aren't even born yet and that's an issue," he said in an interview. Robinson said his group is not anti-development. "Growth is inevitable, but whatever growth is going needs to be responsible and sustainable," he said. pwood@baltsun.com twitter.com/pwoodreporter
This article was written on an older version of FileFront / GameFront Formatting may be lacking as a result. If this article is un-readable please report it so that we may fix it. Posted on November 5, 2013, Ryan Visbeck State on StarCraft: WCS 2013 Grand Finals Starts Nov. 9 State on StarCraft is a weekly column on Game Front by Ryan “State” Visbeck, a pro StarCraft 2 player. Each week State brings you his unique perspective on all things StarCraft, including tips, tricks and stories from the front line of competitive play. NOTE: “State” is officially sponsored by Game Front. The Grand Finals of the 2013 World Championship Series starts Nov. 9. This Friday, 16 of the world’s best gamers will compete at BlizzCon for $250,000 and the ‘World Champion’ title for 2013. Though BlizzCon is only a few days away, the final player has yet to be decided. Last week, we touched on the tiebreaker scenarios that may define this year’s Global Finals. Following IEM New York, two players on the bubble—Kim “Revival” Dong Hyun and Johan “NaNiwa” Lucchesi—have been neck-and-neck for the final slot at BlizzCon. Revival’s Top 2 finish in WCS Challenger League last week tied him and NaNiwa for 16th place in the WCS Global Standings. Tuesday, both players will compete in a best-of-five series at the Blizzard offices in Irvine, California. The winner will qualify for BlizzCon. The loser will watch from the sidelines. The second tiebreaker scenario was between Korean players Han “aLive” Lee Seok and Jung “Mvp” Jong Hyun, who last week were tied for 13th place with 3600 WCS Points. Just like Revival, aLive placed in the Top 2 of his group—sweeping it with a 4-0 map score—and inched his way past Mvp to secure the 13th seed at the Global Finals. With that victory, aLive will now face the reigning WCS America champion Choi “Polt” Seong Hun in the first round at BlizzCon. Mvp—who many fans predict to be the favorite this weekend—will face Brood War legend Lee “Jaedong” Jae Dong instead. NaNiwa and Revival play their best-of-five tiebreaker Tuesday at 11:00 AM PST. That series, as well as the WCS Global Finals, can be watched live on Blizzard’s official WCS portal. I’m really looking forward to BlizzCon this weekend! I’m already thinking of ways to share the experience with you guys. Let me know what kind of coverage you’d like to see from me at BlizzCon! This week’s replay pack features five Stargate-focused PvZ games from the Korean server. Enjoy! Check back every week for a new State on StarCraft post from Ryan “State” Visbeck!
LEWIS CENTER, Ohio – While prolific scorers Bradley Wright-Phillips and David Villa dominated the headlines late last year during their Golden Boot chase, one of the most prolific scorers in the league stayed largely under the radar for an underperforming Columbus Crew SC squad. Striker Ola Kamara finished tied for fifth on last season’s scoring charts, ranking only behind superstars Wright-Phillips, Villa, Sebastian Giovinco and Ignacio Piatti — and he did it with a major handicap. Kamara started his season from scratch in mid-May when Columbus traded away Kei Kamara after his infamous dust-up with teammate Federico Higuain. Before his first start on May 14, Kamara had played just 50 MLS minutes, and had dealt with injuries that exacerbated an already abbreviated preseason. After two scoreless first starts, Kamara hit his stride. He registered a hat trick in a 4-3 win over Real Salt Lake on May 28, kicking off a scorching streak of ten goals in eight starts. He would finish the season with 16 goals in just 1,859 minutes. His mark of .77 goals per game was good for third-best of anyone with more than five goals, trailing only Wright-Phillips, New York City FC’s Frank Lampard and teammate Adam Jahn. But despite the promise of an entire schedule of matches and a full preseason, Kamara isn’t thinking about how many goals he can score this year. Instead, he said he’s only worried about helping Crew SC improve from a disappointing 8-14-12 season. “I haven’t focused that much on how many goals it should be,” he said. “It’s more about Columbus and how we can get to the playoffs. You always want to score a lot of goals. As a striker you love scoring goals, and I do. But right now I’m focused on [getting in] shape.” To that end, Kamara believes getting in shape early is a key to repeating his success. The striker wasn’t signed by Columbus until February of last season, joining camp late and playing catch-up while dealing with multiple injuries. Now under better circumstances, he believes he can continue to improve. “I felt like I didn’t get to show my top level last year,” Kamara said. “I think that’s the preseason stuff. It took a while to get in and there was an injury and I never got that practice of games and then a big load came [in May] and I was tired. But just because you’re more fit, it doesn’t mean more goals. Last year the goals were coming, but hopefully this year the goals are still coming and I’m more fit.” Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter cited Kei Kamara’s 22-goal season in 2015 and his two strikers’ goals-per-90-minutes rate last year as a reason why any in-form Columbus forward could challenge for the Golden Boot if the team is clicking. But Kamara gave a quick “no” along with a smile at the notion that he could challenge for the prize. “You see the strikers we have in this league,” he said. “There’s David Villa, and BWP was incredible last year as well. You never know. But I’m not going for the Golden Boot.” But the striker believes he can improve, and says he feels stronger physically and more skilled in the final third. He said he hopes “this is my best season yet.” “Maybe I’ll get some respect as well,” he added with a grin.
ICAR Canned Beef Monument The monument, fallen into decay and decrepitude ICAR Canned Beef Monument Artist Nebojsa Seric Shoba Year 2007 ( ) Medium Steel Location Sarajevo Coordinates Coordinates: If there is another siege, I would rather die than eat ICAR. Anonymous citizen of Sarajevo[1][2] The ICAR Canned Beef Monument is a public outdoor sculpture in Sarajevo. History [ edit ] A memorial to the food aid delivered during the Siege of Sarajevo, the inscription on the plinth is "Monument to the International Community by the grateful citizens of Sarajevo". However, this is actually ironic and sardonic; in the opinion of the monument's creators, the aid was of the wrong kind: barely-edible canned food (some left over from the Vietnam War and over 20 years expired, some consisting of pork for this half-Muslim country, and in popular legend refused by dogs and cats) instead of weapons.[3][1][4] The sculpture is located on a walking path that runs behind the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina toward the Miljacka River. Designed by Nebojsa Seric Shoba,[5] it is an outsized representation of a can of beef (a common food supplied during the siege by international organizations),[1] done in painted steel on a marble plinth.[6] It was dedicated on April 6, 2007.[3] Since its dedication it has become scarred with graffiti and some paint has peeled.[7] See also [ edit ]
Image: Sarah Jeong I woke up yesterday to find that a string of mysterious credit card payments had wiped out my checking account. I spent the next few hours as a prisoner of the phone tree, being interrogated on the transactions that I wanted answers about. No, I did not have a Banana Republic credit card. I didn't have a Capital One credit card either. And I had no idea who Michael was, or what he was doing with all my money. The woman on the other end of the phone flagged transaction after transaction. For each one, she read me a long, pre-written paragraph of instructions and disclaimers—verbatim, even if she had repeated the same words just before. "Okay, so," I said, when she was finally done. "It looks like this person is paying off credit cards through the web. What… am I supposed to do about that? What information do they have that lets them do it?" "It looks like they have your routing number and account number," she told me. "You should close this account and get a new one." I thanked her and hung up. Then my head exploded. These things clearly only exist to torment me. I cannot count the number of times I've freely given out my routing and account numbers—in emails, in webforms, in paperwork. This is because it's necessary for other people to know my routing number and account number in order for them to send me money. But apparently, with that same information, they can also snatch money straight from my account. What kind of insane system is this? There's two factor authentication, there's one factor authentication, and then there's this, which I think I can call zero factor authentication. Like any journalist who reports on security and privacy, I am an exceedingly paranoid person. This is not the same thing as careful or secure. I know just enough about computers to be dreadfully afraid, but I'm not knowledgeable or disciplined enough to actually take care of myself. I live day-to-day in a permanent miasma of fear, calculating my risk every time I download an app, connect to a new wifi network, or visit a site with an out-of-date HTTPS config. Then I just go ahead and do it. I take the sticker off my webcam so I can video conference with editors, and then forget to put the sticker back on for days. I turn on OTR and then neglect to double-check fingerprints. At night I run through these personal failings in my head, self-flagellating while envisioning the worst-case scenarios. In my head, a ticker moves closer towards my own personal information-armageddon. I live in a world where the NSA secretly compromises encryption standards, where the FBI remotely hacks computers in the Tor network, where hackers hold the contents of your hard drive for ransom. And meanwhile, my bank is treating my routing and account numbers like "Open Sesame"—magic words that work whether you're trying to get into the cave, or get out of the cave. We are shambling through a broken world, relying on the fact that most people aren't scammers and thieves. There is literally nothing I can do about this random person who has my routing and account number, other than close my account down. This morning I got hit with another charge—to the same Banana Republic credit card that got flagged as fraudulent yesterday. How is this for real? After shutting down my account, I will get to embark on the delightful task of updating my information with a bunch of companies that have direct deposit (hello, VICE Media!) set up with me. Once again, the magic words get dispersed far and wide—irrevocable credentials without any form of authentication. Tonight, I'm not going to lie in bed and recount all my security failings. I am simply going to nestle under the covers and seethe. This is why I fucking hate security, computers, and the entire goddamned banking system. These things clearly only exist to torment me.
In a shocking move made at the end of season three, Louie show runner; director; actor; writer Louis C.K. requested more time during the series hiatus to work on taking the off-beat comedy in a new direction. FX agreed, and now it’s been over a year and a half since last anyone saw of the series, and this Monday will mark its return to the network. The big question of course is, was the break worth it? Was giving C.K. all the extra time he wanted to re-tool the show a smart move by FX? Judging by the first four episodes, the answer is yes. In its first three seasons, while at times brilliant, Louie did start to become formulaic. C.K. would do some stand-up, spend time with his kids, navigate the insane (and dramatized) nature of New York City, go to bed and do it all over again the next day. In many ways, those first three seasons were Louie exposing the working-class world of Hollywood glamour. Yes, Louis C.K. is a big deal, but even he must deal with the everyday mundane of life that many people his age do. While season four at times does keep on that path, what’s changed is the way C.K. has dared to portray himself moving forward. Whether it's meeting a new friend in Florida, getting a shot at Late Show or dealing with the death of an acquaintance, Louie has always been a machine based in reaction. How does he react to the new friend? How does he react the possibility of working for CBS ? How does he react to the dead acquaintance? Little in the series was C.K. ever the instigator of an event. Of course there are absolutely moments in the first four episodes where Louie reacts to a crazy scenario, but those moments are now balanced with ones where he makes a choice that leads a moment he caused. Season four isn’t C.K. reacting to the world as he sees it; it’s the world reacting to him. What makes the idea even better is the reactions are not always the ones you’d expect the lead of a series to want to portray. Louie has always been C.K.’s personal expression and outlet for the bizarre. But where it always felt like there were times C.K. would pull back at the last minute so the audience wouldn’t feel negative while watching the show, that idea has been scrapped completely, and now the show has become C.K. with no filter, just like the famed stand-up act that got him to where he is in the first place. In a way, the construction of season four is much like the process C.K. once described in relation to his stand-up after being inspired by George Carlin. By doing away with the things he deemed safe and easy, it forced him to go deeper as an artist. It forced him to explore ideas he wouldn’t have dreamed of exposing to the world in previous material. This is what’s happened with the FX series. The time off forced C.K. to take a step back and do away with things on the series that had become formulaic. What remains now is a show that drives right at the soul of what makes C.K. tick, and it’s a fascinating thing to behold. Louie premieres May 5th at 10pm on FX
Alabama Football Spring Practice Day 1 Alabama running back Bo Scarbrough (9) works through drills during Alabama's first spring football practice, Friday, Mar. 13, 2015, at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com ORG XMIT: ALBIN401 (VASHA HUNT) Alabama freshman running back Bo Scarbrough suffered a knee injury near the end of the Tide's scrimmage Friday afternoon, coach Nick Saban announced. Saban was unsure of the extent of the injury immediately following the scrimmage. "You've got to take MRIs and do all those things, so I don't speculate on these kind of injuries," Saban said. "We'll see, and we'll let you know when we find out." A prized member of last year's recruiting class, the versatile 6-foot-2, 240-pound Scarbrough was expected to factor into Alabama's offense this season. Scarbrough ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash, bench pressed 405 pounds and and recorded the best broad jump on the team at 10-feet, six inches during the Tide's spring testing, according to a source. Scarbrough ran for 36 yards on 16 carries Friday prior to getting hurt. The injury further depletes a once deep unit. Altee Tenpenny transferred following last season. Tyren Jones was suspended indefinitely and later dismissed. Now, Scarbrough's status is uncertain following the injury. Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake are the only two running backs on the Tide's roster that carried the ball more than twice last season. Three of the four healthy running backs on Alabama's spring roster are walk-ons. The other -- DeSherrius Flowers -- is a true freshman. Five-star running back Damien Harris will arrive during the summer. "Bo was doing pretty well," Saban said Friday. "But we've had a lot of injuries, suspensions, and lost some people at that position. So what seemed like a pretty strong position depth-wise has gotten a little thin."
A complete guide to selling your free BCash for Bitcoin Disclaimer The price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are highly volatile. It is common for prices to increase or decrease by 100% in a single day. Although this could mean potential huge profits, this also could mean potential huge losses. Only invest money which you are willing to lose. I cannot and will not help you decide if selling BCash for Bitcoin will be financially beneficial in the long term. All steps are taken at your own risk. If you don’t want to sell, you’re not required to do any action. You do not need to “claim” your BCash, since you already have it. However, it still advised to follow steps 1 and 2 to move your BCash to a new address. This guide assumes you had Bitcoins in your possession prior to the hard fork, and you know the private key for those Bitcoins. If you had Bitcoins in an exchange site, it’s up to them to decide whether to give you BCash or not. Table of contents Step 1 - Secure your Bitcoins why? When you redeem your BCash, you’ll possibly expose your seed or your private key. To make sure your Bitcoins don’t get lost or stolen, it is highly recommended to move them to a new Bitcoin wallet. Redeeming BCash will require you to install a BCash wallet. This wallet is relatively new, and may contain unknown bugs or other issues. By moving your Bitcoins to a new address, you no longer risk losing them. Simply put, you’re going to empty both Bitcoin and BCash from the old address - Bitcoin first. how? If you’re using a wallet like Electrum, you must create a new seed, keep it safe and don’t share it with anyone. Once you have your new wallet, send your Bitcoins to the new wallet. If all you have is a private key, you can import it to a wallet and send the Bitcoins to a new wallet via the supported wallets. For example, in the online Blockchain Wallet, you’ll need to create an account, go to Settings, Addresses, and then Import Addresses. Paste your private key, and you’ll then be able to Spend the address balance to a new one of your choice. Note: Using Blockchain Wallet itself with a seed isn’t considered the most secure by some, but here we’re only importing an address and then spending it immediately. Step 2 - Install a BCash wallet and import your old Bitcoin address why? To send your BCash to an exchange site you’ll have to use a wallet that supports the BCash network. You cannot do that with a regular Bitcoin wallet. how? Warning: Running both Electrum and Electron Cash on the same machine is a bad idea Support for BCash isn’t huge. The most obvious way to do this currently is with Electron Cash. Electron Cash isn’t related to Electrum, and we can’t be completely sure what’s inside of those binaries. While there is no evidence that Electron Cash has any malicous code in it, it may be buggy or unstable, and we don’t want to take that risk. It is therefore advised to run Electron Cash in a Virtual Machine. Once you install the wallet, import your old Bitcoin address with the private key. If you have the Electrum seed phrase for your old Bitcoin wallet, you can use the seed phrase instead of the private keys, to create your new Electron wallet. If the wallet shows the transaction to the new Bitcoin address, it’s probably listening to the Bitcoin network instead of the BCash one. Go to Tools, Network, and you will see a list of servers. Right click on the server that contains cascharia.com or criptolayer.com and choose Use as server. You should then see your BCash balance, and you should be able to spend your BCash. Hardware Wallets Using the original ABC wallet ABC is the original name of BCash. See the instructions to compile and use the full wallet. Step 3 - Send the BCash to an exchange of your choice why? There’s no magic that transforms BCash into Bitcoin. You’ll need to sell it on an exchange site. how? The following exchange sites support BCash deposits: Exchange Minimum Confirmations for BCash deposits (the fewer the better) Verification required for BTC withdrawals Bitfinex 12 None Bittrex 10 Personal information and 2-step-verification is required. Withdrawal is limited to 3 BTC per day. Bter 3 Passport photo is required. Withdrawal is limited to 1 BTC per day. HitBTC 2 None Kraken 20 Personal information and mobile number are required for Bitcoin withdrawals. Poloniex 6 Personal information, mobile number, ID and photo are required for Bitcoin withdrawals above 2000 USD. ViaBTC 20* Personal information and mobile number are required for Bitcoin withdrawals. Coinbase 6 Coinbase will lock in the price for you when you buy/sell, but it can often take up to a week to transfer funds to/from your bank account. * In ViaBTC you can sell BCash after 1 confirmation, but you must wait for 20 confirmations to withdraw the Bitcoins Kraken is the most trusted and oldest exchange of the exchanges listed above. If you don’t want to wait for 20 confirmations (which could take more than 12 hours), HitBTC is the quickest way to get your Bitcoins. In HitBTC, simply register and go to Account, find the BCC Bitcoin Cash row and click the plus icon (“Fund”). You’ll receive a BCash address and you’ll need to send your BCash to that address. You can do that with Electron Cash. Once you make the transaction you can see it at the bottom of the page (should be instant). After 2 confirmations, your balance will update. You can check the blocks being mined on BlockDozer or Blockchair. Once your balance updates, make sure to move your BCash from the Main Account to the Trade Account. This can be done in the same page, in the BCC Bitcoin Cash row. Step 4 - Sell the BCash for Bitcoins Each exchange site has its own interface and it should be pretty straightforward. In HitBTC, simply navigate to Exchange, choose BCC on the table to the right (“Instruments”), and fill the fields under Sell BCC (Limit). Step 5 - Withdraw your free Bitcoins to your new Bitcoin address why? Your Bitcoins aren’t yours if you don’t own the private keys. You should only leave Bitcoin in an exchange site if you’re actively trading it. If you’re not, do not leave it in the exchange site. Exchange sites are being hacked day and night and people lose their Bitcoins because of this mistake. how? More detailed instructions will follow, but feel free to send the free Bitcoin to the new address you created in Step 1, or use another new address if you like.
After being forced to relocate their iconic food truck this spring, Brian and Lisa Wood got an opportunity they couldn't resist, and are turning Big Ass Sandwiches into a brick-and-mortar restaurant this June. The couple just signed the lease on a space at 5663 NE Glisan (near Providence Portland Medical Center), which was until recently the second location of Tarboush Lebanese restaurant. The flagship location on SE Hawthorne is still open. Wood says the restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and will definitely have the truck's core menu of truly big-ass, french-fry-stuffed hot sandwiches. But they'll be expanding the options to include cold deli sandwiches slathered in homemade sauces, "regular-ass" sandwiches with the fries on the side, and a selection of salads, soups, homemade mac and cheese, and their beloved meatball marinara served with pasta instead of tucked between bread. To drink, they'll have wine and local craft beers on the six taps. "And we're working with a bartender friend who's helping us to create some signature cocktails," says Lisa. Although they're still finalizing plans and details, she says they'll likely offer happy hour and might even have monthly, ticketed, multi-course dinners on the weekend. Decor-wise, Lisa says the old 36-seat Tarboush space is practically turn-key, and includes a bar and sidewalk seating. "The guy we're getting it from did a ton of work so it's really beautiful already. Mostly we're going to hang up six years of Big Ass Sandwich memorabilia to make it feel like ours." Lisa says the cart was always intended as a launch pad for a restaurant, but they could never find the right location. "We've looked at a lot of spaces over the years, but you've got to have the right thing." This space practically fell in their laps. "It couldn't be more perfect," she says. "And the history of that place is really great. One of the reasons why we added the cold sandwiches is because the place used to be something called the Sandwich Depot and Deli. It was really beloved in the neighborhood, so we feel honored to bring that back a little bit." Big Ass Sandwiches (opening mid to late June): 5663 NE Glisan, Portland. Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, closed Monday.
If Democrats want to reclaim power in 2020, they need to do more than simply recapture the presidency. They'll also need to win back Congress — a feat that, in turn, requires them to rectify the Republican gerrymandering that has effectively shut them out of the House of Representatives. The good news for Democrats is that party leaders are very much aware of this problem. Advertisement: In July, party leaders and operatives met with donors in Philadelphia to launch a new political organization that would focus on winning important state legislative and gubernatorial races in 2018 and 2020. The goal is to elect enough Democrats to prevent the party from being vulnerable to future gerrymandering. President Obama has already pledged his support to the group and promised to campaign on behalf of the Democratic candidates it chooses to back. The stakes here couldn't be higher. Because they invested millions of dollars in crucial state elections during the 2010 midterms, the Republican Party was able to gerrymander congressional districts so that the GOP could control the House, even in years when they didn't win the most popular votes. More than half of America's congressional districts (55 percent) are in states that were drawn up specifically to benefit Republican candidates; only 10 percent exist in states that were controlled by Democrats. This explains how Republicans made gains in House races during the 2012 election despite losing their combined popular vote that year and how they wound up with 57 percent of House seats in 2014 despite only earning 52 percent of the popular vote. It also explains the ongoing discrepancy within the South between the number of votes received by Democratic congressional candidates and the actual number of Democratic congressmen who were elected. While a third of West Virginia's voters supported a Democratic candidate in 2016, no Democrats were elected there this year; while nearly 40 percent of congressional votes in South Carolina went to Democrats, only one Democrat was elected among the state's seven representatives (14 percent); and while 47 percent of North Carolinians voted for a Democratic congressional candidate, only three Democrats represent the state's thirteen congressional districts (23 percent).
German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and European Central Bank board member Joerg Asmussen during parallel events in Berlin on Monday (18 March) tried to blame each other for an unprecedented eurozone bailout deal demanding small savers in Cyprus to take losses on their bank deposits. "The levy on deposits under €100,000 was not an invention of the German government," Schaeuble said during a conference on taxation. He insisted that the "configuration" he and the International Monetary Fund were defending was to tax only deposits above €100,000 - to a much higher rate than what was finally agreed. "The figures we have come up with are at the lower limit. If another configuration was chosen, touching only deposits above €100,000, the result would have been different and we would not have had these problems," Schaeuble said. Cypriot bank customers over the weekend flocked to ATM machines to withdraw their money after news about the bailout terms reached the country. Schaeuble defended the deal however as being in line with EU law, even though deposits under €100,000 should be fully guaranteed. "Of course deposits of up to €100,000 are guaranteed, but the state has to be solvent to do so," Schaeuble said, noting that the Mediterranean island has been "practically cut off from financial markets." On Sunday in an interview aired on public tv ARD, Schaeuble directly blamed the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the Cypriot government for involving tax small savers. "Those who did not want a bail-in were the Cypriot government, also the European Commission and the ECB, they decided on this solution and they now must explain this to the Cypriot people," Schaeuble said. ECB board member Joerg Asmussen, a former deputy finance minister in Germany and member of the Social-Democratic opposition party, meanwhile rejected Schaeuble's accusations. Speaking at a parallel event on Monday in Berlin, Asmussen said: "In the last days it was not the ECB that pushed for this special structure that was chosen, it was the result of the negotiations in Brussels. Yes, we provided technical input, as always, but we didn’t insist on this structure." He said the government in Cyprus is free to adjust how much small savers have to pay in comparison to wealthier bank customers, as long as the overall contribution (€5.8 billion) stays the same. The Cypriot government is currently considering a new model on how to divide the tax burden among small savers and richer ones, with a key parliament vote delayed for until Tuesday and banks closed for the rest of the week in order to prevent a bank run. Asmussen also warned that panic from Cyprus could spread to other eurozone countries "that are currently trying to end their programmes, namely Ireland and Portugal." "One should not, through the wrong actions in Cyprus, put in risk what has been achieved at high political and financial risk in the eurozone in recent years," Asmussen said. According to the Wall Street Journal, Asmussen was the one who in the early hours of Saturday threatened to cut off Cyprus' two largest banks from the ECB's emergency funding if a deal was not achieved. "Cypriot banks have access to emergency liquidity of the Cypriot central bank, in line with rules of the eurozone. All Cypriot banks are supplied with emergency liquidity," Asmussen noted on Monday.
It’s bewildering how many devoted fans are out there of late guitar and American music icon Jerry Garcia that never saw him play a single show. Yet they know all about the live music of Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band. They can explore the evolutions and changes in form, structure, and exploration. This is of course due to the tireless efforts of band insider sound technicians and the extended taper culture that surrounded. While other artists might have formidable archival releases, few parallel the breadth and expansiveness of the Jerry Garcia catalog. Indeed his playing was remarkable enough for investment into not only re-listening but also re-mastering and releasing of these musical documents. The GarciaLive release series, now in its ninth volume, continues to stretch its bounds with a never-before released lineup of Jerry Garcia and his musical soul-brother, organist/co-bandleader Merl Saunders, bassist and longtime cohort John Kahn, multifarious virtuoso Martin Fierro on saxophone & flute, and Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann. GarciaLive Volume Nine: August 11, 1974, Keystone Berkeley is like nothing you’ve heard previously from the Jerry Garcia catalog. It’s remarkable how the supple drumming of Bill Kreutzmann varies the groove entirely, compared to Garcia’s previous collaborator Bill Vitt and future associate Ron Tutt, (which completed the jazzy quintet Legion of Mary.) The Keystone Club in Berkeley, California was indeed a musical temple for Garcia, who took focused artistic musings away from the monstrous Grateful Dead organization and tour. Multiple other releases (and bootlegs) from the Keystone exist, but none have prepared listeners for GarciaLive Volume Nine. From the first few notes of the opening stanza of “That’s What Love Will Make You Do,” there’s an apparent ease from the band, which is embarking on a session-oriented groove. Jerry was learning much from Merl, who exposed him to the vast catalog of funk, soul, and Motown. Those songs stayed with Garcia for the rest of his musical life. Martin Fierro’s original composition “La La,” followed, demonstrating the compositional brilliance of the late flautist who went on to play in numerous incarnations with Garcia (and later the great Bay Area rock band Zero.) “La La,” began with a lovely flute theme that carried out further and further into the depths of reflexive fusion jam-lets. Garcia embraces Fierro’s melodic intuitions, and Kreutzmann gave the groove wings to fly off into obscurity. It’s probably the highest of highlights, just two songs in. “It Ain’t No Use,” a bluesy hit from Jerry Williams is given an expansive workout featuring noteworthy organ solos from an inspired Saunders. “Mystery Train,” takes off with the powerhouse rhythm section of Kahn/Kreutzmann. Aggressively pleasurable and relentless, this band rocked just as hard is it grooved. The almost an hour-long first set was just four songs, and the band took a short set break only to come back with an extensively jammed and poised rendition of Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come.” These earlier performances of the anathematic archetypal Reggae hit took their time compared to sped-up later Garcia Band renderings and yet again, Kreutzmann’s pacing, rigorous yet gentle, created a noticeable shift, inspiring all to take the jam to unusual places. An ultra-rare cover of the Four Tops’ hit “Ain’t No Women (Like The One I’ve Got),” instantly clicked with Garcia & Saunders. Garcia once noted, later in his career, that Saunders taught him...music. Playing those soul-oriented tunes would change the dynamics of Jerry’s sound from then on. “It’s Too Late,” a downtrodden blues ballad originally by Chuck Willis is proof that Garcia was developing his vocal range and style during this pivotal creative period. Junior Walker & The Allstars, “(I’m A) Roadrunner” would become a frequently played favorite of Garcia’s. That peppy rendering augmented by Fierro’s precise saxophone pulsations display the band at its finest. The encore that evening was a spirited rendering of The Band’s beloved classic, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” Much truer in pacing of (The Band drummer/singer) Levon Helm’s original recording than Garcia’s eventual leisurely-paced performances, it’s a remarkable time capsule of a song that inspired his entire generation. The tune would eventually become a dynamo staple of Garcia’s repertoire. Fans of Jerry Garcia need to get there hands on this release, which becomes available July 28 th (Round Records/ATO), as part a yearlong celebration in honor of what would have been Jerry’s 75th birthday. This is like nothing you’ve ever heard before, with crystal-clear transfer. You’ll be taken from your living room back to the intimate confines of the Keystone, Berkeley, for a night of infinite possibilities.
Mona Lisa is not Mona Lisa: On Da Vinci’s Life, Sexuality, and Inspiration. Barabeke Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 5, 2017 In this article I will take you deep inside Leonardo’s life, psychology, sexuality, and art. Aside from trying to establish the real identity of Mona Lisa and what she meant for Leonardo, I will also reveal who was the model Da Vinci used for St. Anne, who he used for his Christ (Salvator Mundi), and suggest that two paintings currently not attributed to Da Vinci have been likely painted by him (at least in part). I will provide you with plenty of visual evidence in support of my theory. My work is not academic, it was originally published on my Instagram in five posts that are less detailed and accurate. I am just an obscure Italian artist with no reputation to defend, which gives me freedoms others can’t easily take. This doesn’t mean I haven’t been diligent in my research: to my best knowledge the historical reconstruction I present here is accurate. We all recognise Leonardo as a great genius but we seem to struggle to understand him as a man and an artist. Let’s make this effort. 1. The Naked Mona Lisa It all started when I saw this painting, Monna Vanna, also known as «Naked Mona Lisa», which to my eyes was a work by Leonardo, attributed in recent times to a certain Salai (although it is accepted that Leonardo contributed at least in part to it). «Monna Vanna» (or «Nude Mona Lisa»), currently attributed to Salai (Gian Giacomo Caprotti). Salai was a disciple of Leonardo, son of a farmer who worked on Da Vinci’s family land. Leonardo took him home when he was just ten, as his servant, and they lived together for the rest of Da Vinci’s life. Salai is a nickname Leonardo gave him which stands for «little devil» (he was apparently ill-tempered as a child). His real name was Gian Giacomo Caprotti. I am not sure why this Naked Mona Lisa, whose preparatory sketch was recently recognised as Leonardo’s, is attributed to Salai. No known signed painting from Salai exists (apart from one exception I will discuss later), no record of art commission for him was ever found, and when at the French court with Leonardo he was registered as «servant» and receiving 1/4 of the salary of the other «gentleman» who was always by Leonardo’s side, Francesco Melzi, who joined the Italian master at the age of 14. 2. Leonardo’s Sexuality What we know for sure about Leonardo’s sexuality is that when he was a young artist working for Verrocchio someone anonymously denounced him for sodomy (big deal at the time) along with other guys. It ended up in nothing, for bureaucratic reasons perhaps facilitated by the influence of the father of one of the guys (Tornabuoni, connected to the Medici family). We also know that Leonardo never married and never seem to have manifested interest in women. Freud wrote a book about Leonardo in which he analysed a recurrent dream the artist claimed to have since birth. In this dream there was a bird of prey (a «nibbio») coming to his cradle and using its tail to open his mouth and ramming its tail inside of it. Freud’s interpretation: it was a dream about oral sex, with the tail symbolising a penis. Freud went deeper than that and also saw in that bird of prey a symbol of divine motherhood, going as far as suggesting that Leonardo had a strong drive to be a mother. Leonardo was indeed a motherly figure for his disciples, when they were sick he would be by their side, personally taking care of them. Some believe that his love for Salai was just platonic. Religious sources in particular don’t seem to like to associate an artist who could deliver such heavenly beauty with sex, especially if homosexual. The sketch from Leonardo below, found in 1991, kind of smashes their puritan view. The subject is Salai posing like St. John Baptist (for which he was the model) with an erected penis. «L’angelo incarnato», Leonardo Da Vinci, c. 1513–1515 It is widely recognised that Leonardo, often surrounded by young, beautiful, and androgynous guys, chose his disciples based on their aspect rather than their skills. Vasari describes Salai as «a graceful and beautiful youth with curly hair, in which Leonardo greatly delighted» and Melzi as «very beautiful and very much loved young man». Was Vasari being sarcastic and subtly alluding to Leonardo’s sexual preferences? It appears that few decades after the death of Leonardo, at the time Vasari wrote, the gossip about his sexuality was stronger than today. In 1563 Giampaolo Lomazzo (quoted by Vasari in his chapter about Leonardo) wrote an imaginary dialogue between Leonardo and Fidia in which Leonardo praises homosexual love. Lomazzo also makes Leonardo speak about Salai «who more than anyone else in life I loved, and I loved many». Fidia asks directly whether he sodomized Salai, to which Leonardo replies: «Yes, and so many times! Consider that he was a very beautiful young man aged 15”. I think it’s probable that Leonardo, after being accused of sodomy, became more prudent in living his sexual life (although as seen there was very explicit gossip about him not long after his death). Leonardo must have decided that the best way to live his love and sexual life freely was to take home some young guy he fancied as his searvant/scholar, infusing in him his wisdom and sense of beauty, shaping him into becoming a great mirror for him, and a perfect lover. Or at least I believe he had a similar ambition, possibly inspired by the Ancient Greek ideal of love between teacher and student (in real life I suspect that the guys, Salai in particular, had considerable power over him). It’s hard for me to understand how today there are still people not accepting Leonardo’s homosexuality. And those who accept it (the majority to be fair) tend to minimise its importance. As I’ll try to show Leonardo’s love for Salai was not a small detail to hide under the carpet, it was at the foundation of his art and therefore essential to better understand some of his works. 3. A Spiritual Love The love Leonardo had for Salai was in my view beyond homosexual. I believe he saw in his pupil an incarnation of divine beauty, the more dark, sensual, and mysterious side of it. What I am suggesting is that Leonardo, when painting a sacred figure, used Salai as his model in more occasions, also for females, because Salai connected him to that mystery. Lot has been speculated around the mysterious figure of St. Anne in Leonardo’s cartoon (now in London’s National Gallery) but to my knowledge it has never been suggested that she could have been modelled after Salai. Salai’s face compared to St.Anne’s in Leonardo’s cartoon. In the comparison above between St. Anne and Salai the resemblance of the face is striking. That character speaks of the mystery of the divine, which in Leonardo’s mind as I suggest was associated to his beloved Salai. He was his gateway to sacred beauty. To reinforce my theory that St. Anne is in reality Salai I made a further comparison between his face and other versions of St. Anne made by Da Vinci. Salai (3rd face) compared with other St. Anne faces by Leonardo (first two are mirrored). Going back to the previous picture, notice how both characters have a finger pointing upwards, which is a recurrent theme in Leonardo’s works. The general consensus is that it has a religious meaning (i.e. coming of Christ, heavenly will), which I dispute. If it truly had a conventional religious meaning for Leonardo, then he was quite a blasphemous man for associating it with an erected penis. Leonardo was not an artist that would paint something just to please conventions, plus that gesture was rather unconventional in art. We know he was into riddles and hidden messages, it must have had a special meaning for him. For what I observed (please correct me if I am wrong) the few characters Leonardo ever painted with the finger pointing upwards all look like Salai, exception made for one of the apostles in the last supper (possibly St.Thomas), but that was an earlier work. I suggest that in Leonardo’s mind the secret meaning of that finger pointing upwards could have been: «I am an angel coming from the sky, I am a messenger of divine beauty and love, I am Salai». 4. Leonardo’s Muse In my elaboration below I compare Salai (left, as St. John) with a sketch for the Naked Mona Lisa recently attributed to Da Vinci (right). Her figure perfectly coincides with the Naked Mona Lisa I showed you earlier, currently attributed to Salai. St. John the Baptist by Leonardo (left), Christ head currently attributed to Salai (center), sketch for Monna Vanna/Naked Mona Lisa by Leonardo (right). We consider Salai as painter who could produce remarkable works but as previously said no signed painting nor record of art commission for him was ever found. One painting signed Salai actually exists, a Christ figure that recently emerged. It was purchased by Caprotti (same surname as Salai), an Italian entrepreneur who donated it to Pinacoteca Ambrosiana before his death. Mr. Caprotti from Esselunga («Long S») fiercely tried to convince the Pinacoteca that the author of that Christ was in reality Leonardo and not his namesake but they didn’t believe him. After all the name Salai is painted on a corner, why doubting the authorship? Let’s go back to the pic. Look at the face of that Christ you can see emerging in the middle, it’s the one from Caprotti’s Christ. Doesn’t it look a lot like Salai? According to Pinacoteca Ambrosiana that is the face of Salai, so we should be safe in this interpretation. What a powerful personality this Salai must have had, painting a portrait of himself as Jesus Christ! Don’t you find it strange that an artist with similar mastery and ego is mostly remembered for his lovely curly hair of which Leonardo was fond? There is obviously another explanation: Leonardo painted that Christ, at least in part, and used once again Salai as model for his sacred figures. The reason why it’s signed Salai might be that Leonardo needed to justify his constant presence and their graceful dynamic, therefore he led some people to believe that Salai was an artist from his school (which he was but differently from Melzi it’s dubious that he ever produced anything masterful). Signing some work as Salai, even if the quality of the work was mostly dependant on Leonardo’s hand, was a good cover. Let’s not forget that if their homosexual relation was proved they would have been sentenced to death. Vasari’s memories seem to support this version when he says that Leonardo «taught him (Salai) many things about art, and some works which in Milan are attributed to Salai were in reality retouched by Leonardo». Like Mr. Caprotti I see Leonardo’s hand in that Christ, which to my knowledge is the only existing work signed Salai. If there are works from Leonardo’s disciples where the Master’s hand is most likely to be present, those are the ones from Salai because he was his favourite lover (and probably not a great painter). But there is more. Let’s have a look at Salvator Mundi, attibuted to Da Vinci, which I compare here to Caprotti’s Christ. It’s evident that Salvator Mundi was also modeled after Salai, which to my knowledge no one has suggested so far. Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi (left) compared to the Christ that Pinacoteca Ambrosiana recognises as a self-portrait by Salai. 5. Mona Lisa is not Mona Lisa On the picture below you can see a comparison between Salai as a young man and Mona Lisa. Also in this case the resemblance is striking: same nose and same mouth, and also the eyes and the shape of the face are similar. It is so evident that I am far from being the first to suggest that Mona Lisa in reality is Salai (although I reached this conclusion independently and only later discovered that others were suggesting it). Salai as a young man (left), Louvre’s Mona Lisa (right), a mix of them with 50% transparency (center). We call it Mona Lisa because Vasari mentioned it as a commission from the husband of Lisa Gherardini. But if you ask Louvre whether the painting they have is Mona Lisa they will tell you they cannot be sure. The portrait of Lisa Gherardini was probably left unfinished (as reported by Vasari) and subsequently lost, although according to Vasari it reached the king of France. It wouldn’t be the the only painting from Leonardo that disappeared there, also his Abduction of Proserpina and Leda Standing vanished. It is today accepted by most critics that Leonardo painted two Mona Lisa: a younger one (Isleworth or Earlier Mona Lisa), and the Louvre one. I believe there is at least a third one, the Naked Mona Lisa I have shown at the beginning. They all were modelled after Salai, but I don’t exclude that Salai’s face was mixed with Da Vinci’s. Isleworth Mona Lisa or Earlier Mona Lisa. Most critics attribute it to Leonardo. For more info visit monalisa.org It is uncertain whether the Louvre painting was commissioned by anyone, it is something Leonardo brought around with him and Salai most likely inherited. There is an historical witness, Antonio De Beatis, secretary to Cardinal Luigi of Aragon, who reports their meeting with Leonardo in France on 10 October 1517. The old Da Vinci showed him three paintings: One of certain Florentine lady, painted from the model, at the request of the late Magnificent Guiliano de’ Medici, another of St. John the Baptist, young, and one of the Madonna with the child sitting on the knees of St. Anne, all three being of a rare perfection and thoroughly finished. The first painting De Beatis mentioned is very likely to be what today we call Mona Lisa. Leonardo told him that it was commissioned by Giuliano de’ Medici but there are no other historical records supporting this claim. Plus, if it was commissioned by one of the Medici family, why was it in Leonardo’s hands along with the other two paintings? Those three masterpieces that have been shown in France all have something in common if we follow my interpretation: they all use Salai as a model. Before his death, Leonardo most likely gave those paintings to Salai. There are records of Salai giving four paintings to the king of France few months later (before June 1518) receiving a huge amount of money in return. They must have been the paintings De Beatis saw, as a matter of fact after Leonardo’s death they were all with the King of France. In Leonardo’s will, written one year later, there is no mention to those paintings that for sure were with him two years earlier. Salai didn’t inherit much from Leonardo compared to Melzi, which seems strange considering how strong was their bond. But as mentioned Salai made a fortune for himself the year before thanks to those masterpieces. I suggest the reason why Leonardo gave them to Salai was because in his mind they belonged to him more than anyone else because he was the muse and subject for Mona Lisa, St. John, and St. Anne. What we call Mona Lisa is in my view the most powerful expression of the divine Leonardo was capable of, achieved through minimal use of symbolism and gesture, infusing in one enigmatic dark lady the wholeness of a feminine Trinity in which the child was Salai (perhaps also Leonardo), the mother was Leonardo, and the more mysterious witchy side (which Christians in their patriarchal version of the Trinity call Holy Ghost) was again Salai. This vision brings my mind back to Leonardo’s cartoon. It’s like Mother Mary and St. Anne (who almost appear as one body with two heads) completed their fusion and absorbed also Baby Jesus to become one: Mona Lisa. “Holy Trinity”, Barabeke, 2017. I created this to illustrate my spiritual interpretation above described, mixing Mona Lisa with St.Anne, Virgin Mary, and the Child from Leonardo’s Cartoon at National Gallery. Through Salai Leonardo was able to achieve a miraculous unity which is what makes Mona Lisa (which Leonardo kept on evolving as a subject throughout his life) one of the greatest achievements in art. I don’t think Leonardo rationalised it exactly in these terms, that’s my psychological and spiritual interpretation of it five centuries later. But I think it’s safe to assume that the subject which today we call Mona Lisa had particular artistic and spiritual value for him. He developed it for a couple of decades (see earlier and naked versions) and kept it for himself along with St. John and St. Anne, all as suggested based on Salai. We are speaking of some of the greatest paintings of his time, Leonardo would have had no problem in selling them to kings, but he preferred to keep them. Leonardo didn’t care much about fame and fortune, he was more concerned with knowledge and perfection in art. He was a man who would buy caged birds just to free them and chose not to eat meat centuries before vegetarianism and animal rights became a topic in the west (not even saints were doing that at the time). He lived his sexuality freely in an age in which he could receive a death sentence for it. He was an enlightened man who lived by his own natural philosophy and didn’t follow conventions. While I accept that my interpretation is in some points quite original, all the evidence I have shown should strongly suggest that Salai was for Leonardo more than a lover: he was his muse. Sacred subjects like St. John, St. Anne, Christ, and Mona Lisa (I consider her the most spiritual of the pack) appear to have been all based on him, irregardless of gender. Salai may have not been a great painter himself but he indirectly had a profound influence on Leonardo’s art. Without him Mona Lisa may have never been painted. My inquiry continues on my website, where you’ll find the appendix to this article: Why Mona Lisa cannot be Lisa Gherardini.
Computers have often been used as fictional objects in literature, movies and in other forms of media. Fictional computers tend to be considerably more sophisticated than anything yet devised in the real world. This is a list of computers that have appeared in notable works of fiction. The work may be about the computer, or the computer may be an important element of the story. Only static computers are included. Robots and other fictional computers that are described as existing in a mobile or humanlike form are discussed in a separate list of fictional robots and androids. Literature [ edit ] Before 1950 [ edit ] 1950s [ edit ] 1960s [ edit ] 1970s [ edit ] 1980s [ edit ] 1990s [ edit ] 2000s [ edit ] 2010s [ edit ] Todd , a computer that grows exponentially until it is indistinguishable from God in Mind War: The Singularity [5] by Joseph DiBella (2010) , a computer that grows exponentially until it is indistinguishable from God in by Joseph DiBella (2010) SIG , a secretive and manipulative computer that is developed on present-day Earth in the Darkmatter [6] trilogy by Scott Thomas (2010) , a secretive and manipulative computer that is developed on present-day Earth in the trilogy by Scott Thomas (2010) Archos , a human-created computer in the novel Robopocalypse which becomes self-aware and infects all computer controlled devices on Earth in order to eradicate humankind (2011) , a human-created computer in the novel Robopocalypse which becomes self-aware and infects all computer controlled devices on Earth in order to eradicate humankind (2011) Digiwrite , a fiction-writing system, also known as Sheherezade, created by MIT researcher Duke Lovelycolors in Paul Nash's novel Whispering Crates [7] (2012). Its success at generating best-sellers in multiple genres creates problems for its users, and the line between fiction and reality becomes blurred when it infects one of Duke's other projects, the CIA's HOUND database. , a fiction-writing system, also known as Sheherezade, created by MIT researcher Duke Lovelycolors in Paul Nash's novel (2012). Its success at generating best-sellers in multiple genres creates problems for its users, and the line between fiction and reality becomes blurred when it infects one of Duke's other projects, the CIA's HOUND database. ELOPe , a sentient artificial intelligence built by the world's largest Internet company in Avogadro Corp (2011) and A.I. Apocalypse (2012) by William Hertling , a sentient artificial intelligence built by the world's largest Internet company in (2011) and (2012) by William Hertling Lobsang , an AI who claims to be the reincarnation of a Tibetan bicycle repair man in The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Steven Baxter (2012) , an AI who claims to be the reincarnation of a Tibetan bicycle repair man in by Terry Pratchett and Steven Baxter (2012) The Red , a rogue cloud based AI that uses Linked Combat Squad members to further its global agenda in Linda Nagata's The Red trilogy , a rogue cloud based AI that uses Linked Combat Squad members to further its global agenda in Linda Nagata's trilogy Dragon, a sentient artificial intelligence in Worm that is both a better person than most humans and has restrictions intended to make going rogue flat impossible. Said restrictions mostly frustrate her ability to help. Only a handful of individuals know she is an AI. Unsorted [ edit ] Solace, the distributed intelligence in some of the stories of Spider Robinson Film [ edit ] 1950s [ edit ] The MANIAC , the computer used by the "Office of Scientific Investigation" in the movie The Magnetic Monster (1953) , the computer used by the "Office of Scientific Investigation" in the movie (1953) NOVAC (Nuclear Operative Variable Automatic Computer), a computer in an underground research facility in Gog (1954) (Nuclear Operative Variable Automatic Computer), a computer in an underground research facility in (1954) The Interocitor , communication device in the film This Island Earth (1955) , communication device in the film (1955) The Great Machine , built inside a planet that can manifest thought in Forbidden Planet (1956) , built inside a planet that can manifest thought in (1956) EMERAC , the business computer in Desk Set (1957) , the business computer in (1957) The Super Computer , in The Invisible Boy (1957) , in (1957) SUSIE (Synchro Unifying Sinometric Integrating Equitensor), a computer in a research facility in Kronos (1957) 1960s [ edit ] 1970s [ edit ] 1980s [ edit ] 1990s [ edit ] 2000s [ edit ] 2010s [ edit ] Radio [ edit ] 1970s [ edit ] 1980s [ edit ] 2000s [ edit ] Television [ edit ] 1960s [ edit ] 1970s [ edit ] 1980s [ edit ] 1990s [ edit ] 2000s [ edit ] 2010s [ edit ] Comics/graphic novels [ edit ] Before 1980 [ edit ] Orak , ruler of the Phants in the Dan Dare story "Rogue Planet" (1955) , ruler of the Phants in the story "Rogue Planet" (1955) Brainiac , an enemy of Superman, sometimes depicted as a humanoid computer (1958) (DC Comics) , an enemy of Superman, sometimes depicted as a humanoid computer (1958) (DC Comics) Batcomputer , the computer system used by Batman and housed in the Batcave (1964) (DC Comics) , the computer system used by Batman and housed in the Batcave (1964) (DC Comics) Cerebro and Cerebra , the computer used by Professor Charles Xavier to detect new mutants (1964) (Marvel Comics) and , the computer used by Professor Charles Xavier to detect new mutants (1964) (Marvel Comics) Computo , the computer created by Brainiac 5 as an assistant, which becomes homicidal and attempts an uprising of machines (1966) (DC Comics) , the computer created by Brainiac 5 as an assistant, which becomes homicidal and attempts an uprising of machines (1966) (DC Comics) Ultron , AI originally created by Dr. Henry Pym to assist the superpowered team the Avengers, but Ultron later determined that mankind was inferior to its intellect and wanted to eradicate all mankind so that machines could rule the Earth. Ultron created various versions of itself as a mobile unit with tank treads and then in a form that was half humanoid and half aircraft, and then it fully evolved itself into an android form. (1968) (Marvel Comics) , AI originally created by Dr. Henry Pym to assist the superpowered team the Avengers, but Ultron later determined that mankind was inferior to its intellect and wanted to eradicate all mankind so that machines could rule the Earth. Ultron created various versions of itself as a mobile unit with tank treads and then in a form that was half humanoid and half aircraft, and then it fully evolved itself into an android form. (1968) (Marvel Comics) Mother Box, from Jack Kirby's Fourth World comics (1970–1973) (DC Comics) 1980s [ edit ] 1990s [ edit ] 2000s [ edit ] Computer and video games [ edit ] 1980s [ edit ] Benson , the sardonic 9th generation PC from the video game Mercenary and its sequels (1985) , the sardonic 9th generation PC from the video game and its sequels (1985) PRISM , the "world's first sentient machine" which you play as the protagonist of the game A Mind Forever Voyaging by Steve Meretzky published by Infocom (1985) , the "world's first sentient machine" which you play as the protagonist of the game by Steve Meretzky published by Infocom (1985) Mother Brain , from Metroid (1986) , from (1986) GW , designed to control all of the world's media, from the video game series Metal Gear (1987) , designed to control all of the world's media, from the video game series (1987) Mother Brain , from Phantasy Star II (1989) , from (1989) Base Cochise AI, a military AI project which initiated nuclear war and is bent on exterminating humanity, from a 1988 cRPGWasteland and its 2014 sequel, Wasteland 2. 1990s [ edit ] 2000s [ edit ] 2010s [ edit ] Board games and role-playing games [ edit ] A.R.C.H.I.E. Three , the supercomputer that arose from the ashes of nuclear war to become a major player in the events of Palladium Books' Rifts , the supercomputer that arose from the ashes of nuclear war to become a major player in the events of Palladium Books' The Autochthon , the extradimensional AI which secretly control Iteration X, in White Wolf Publishing's Mage: The Ascension , the extradimensional AI which secretly control Iteration X, in White Wolf Publishing's The Computer , from West End Games' Paranoia role-playing game , from West End Games' role-playing game Crime Computer , from the Milton Bradley Manhunter board game , from the Milton Bradley board game Deus , the malevolent AI built by Renraku from Shadowrun role-playing game who took over the Renraku Arcology before escaping into the Matrix , the malevolent AI built by Renraku from role-playing game who took over the Renraku Arcology before escaping into the Matrix Mirage , the oldest AI from Shadowrun , built to assist the US military in combating the original Crash Virus in 2029 , the oldest AI from , built to assist the US military in combating the original Crash Virus in 2029 Megara , a sophisticated program built by Renraku in Shadowrun , who achieved sentience after falling in love with a hacker , a sophisticated program built by Renraku in , who achieved sentience after falling in love with a hacker Omega Virus , microscopic nano-phages that build a singular intelligence (foreign AI) in the Battlestat1 computer core and take over the space station in the board game by Milton Bradley , microscopic nano-phages that build a singular intelligence (foreign AI) in the computer core and take over the space station in the board game by Milton Bradley Zoneminds, a collection of malevolent AIs that have enslaved humanity in the GURPS "Reign of Steel" campaign setting Unsorted works [ edit ] Computers as robots [ edit ] Norman, the "CPU" of all the robots in the Star Trek (TOS) episode "I, Mudd" Also see the List of fictional robots and androids for all fictional computers which are described as existing in a mobile or humanlike form. See also [ edit ] Further reading [ edit ] . 196212.pdf. "Fictional Computers And Their Themes". Computers and Automation. XI (12): 59–60, 62, 64, 66. Dec 1962.
Say what you will about Steve Bannon, but at least he knew firing an FBI director currently investigating your associates was a bad idea. Not so for the President of the United States, Donald Trump, or, if reports are accurate, the Son-in-Law-in-Chief Jared Kushner, who apparently championed Trump's move to fire James Comey while his department was conducting the Russia investigation. Bannon's 60 Minutes interview touched on a number of topics—but not, crucially, issues like Bannon, Trump, and Breitbart News' ties to the shadowy billionaires the Mercers. The former White House chief strategist seemed to confirm to Charlie Rose that he'd opposed Comey's firing and that it had led directly to the installment of Robert Mueller as Justice Department special counsel. That part didn't make it on the broadcast, and made news after people discovered it in the "overtime" segment online: 2. WATCH: Bannon says firing of Comey was the biggest mistake in modern political history. Also, he refuses to answer if Kushner was for it. pic.twitter.com/d0zcZgowd1 — Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 11, 2017 "The biggest mistake in modern political history," is high praise for a president who could tweet his way into a world war before breakfast. But there's no doubt the decision was catastrophically bad from Trump's point of view, as he traded out an investigation conducted under his appointees at the Justice Department—Jeff Sessions and Rod Rosenstein—for an independent probe spearheaded by a relentless, widely respected, and undeniably competent former FBI director. Time will tell if the decision proves a good one for the country. Bannon displayed some common sense here, but his reactionary style still shone through the interview. In true Breitbart style, Bannon could not physically bring himself to confirm that the media's reporting on his position towards the Comey firing was accurate. He also kept up the charade of refusing to confirm details of conversations he had with the president while essentially confirming those details. And of course, he couldn't resist slipping another shiv into Jared Kushner, his Day One-enemy in the White House who parlayed his marriage into a job as Secretary of Everything—and outlasted Bannon in the process. This White House is a cartoon high school—except the rich jocks have ethno-nationalists to contend with.
FBI Director James Comey was on the Hill again, digging himself a deeper hole of bottomless federal corruption as he faced an oversight hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee. His prepared statements served to block any chance of reopening the case surrounding Hillary’s blatant illegal email debacle regardless of the mounting evidence that was raised after Comey shut the case back in July of 2016. Breitbart reported “ When President Obama nominated Comey to become FBI director in 2013, Comey promised the United States Senate that he would recuse himself on all cases involving former employers. But Comey earned $6 million in one year alone from Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin became a Clinton Foundation donor that very year. Comey served as deputy attorney general under John Ashcroft for two years of the Bush administration. When he left the Bush administration, he went directly to Lockheed Martin and became vice president, acting as a general counsel. According to records, Lockheed Martin is also a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, which paid Bill Clinton $250,000 to deliver a speech in 2010.
Digital Ocean needs to start showing outages on their status page Jon Abrams Blocked Unblock Follow Following Apr 6, 2014 I recently signed up with Digital Ocean on their $5/month plan to rent an instance (aka droplet) for the purpose of hosting a couple web sites. I’ve heard good things about them and the price and specs were right. For the past two weeks I’ve been rather pleased with the product. It has a great UI and my instance seemed to be performing just fine, that is, until this morning. Today I woke up to discover that my sites were down and I couldn’t ssh into my instance. I first assumed I must’ve done something wrong to my instance the night before, so I went to restart it via the web portal, but the restart request just stayed there, spinning. The next step I took was to check out Digital Ocean’s status page. Whenever I have an issue with any other service, such as github, I check their status page since it tells me if there’s a problem going on with them, and I should just wait patiently. But alas, Digital Ocean’s status page said all was good. So I filed a support ticket. Unsurprisingly, it turns out there’s a problem with my “physical node” and they’re working to fix it. In other words, the real machine my virtual instance was running on has issues. Ok then, while they’re fixing it, and my web app is having some serious downtime (it’s been a few hours, and it’s still down) I asked if they could update their status page, perhaps to inform other customers of the issue. This is the response I got: Hello there, This appears to be an issue with the hypervisor that your droplet is hosted on, so we will not be updating our status page for this droplet. I will escalate this to my engineering team to resolve for you. -Tim I take that to mean that if the problem only affects a few customers (the number affected isn’t given) then they don’t update their status page. I think this is a mistake. IMO a status page should be a public record of all the times your service has experienced a catastrophic failure, even for a small number of customers, if not also small hiccups like packets loss or lag. It tells your customers that you’re serious about reliability and performance. It allows potential customers to be able to judge you fairly, and see for themselves if your claims to reliability and performance are true. It also saves affected customers time since they don’t need to open support tickets if they see that the service is experiencing issues. If the service still wants those tickets opened, they can mention that on the status page. I recommend that Digital Ocean changes their policy in this regard by opening up and letting everyone know that they’re serious about reliability. Update: Yay, my droplet is back online! Unfortunately, their status page still doesn’t record any issues.
Bullets. Famously dangerous. Usual helloU advice would be to not get shot by them, and that advice still remains. However, if the choice arises to be shot by either a R.I.P bullet, as shown above, or a normal one, run. Failing that, choose the normal one. Why? Well look at it! Produced by Georgia based, G2 Research, the Radically Invasive Projectile (R.I.P) has been branded as the world’s deadliest bullet. It’s set to take the world of law enforcement and personal protection by storm after it was unveiled at the Las Vegas Shot Show last year. Cliff Brown, G2 Research President, had this to say: “this bullet is designed to take out all your vital organs…inferior bullets won’t be a problem anymore. I wanted to create a round that would work well against a home intruder — there were so many stories out there about a woman trying to defend her home and having to shoot someone five or six times and they’d still come after her, we wanted to create an effective one-shot manstopper.” Lovely. Have a look at this promotional video if the pictures aren’t terrifying enough for you… “The last round you’ll ever need” And here we are prancing around with no rounds like a pack of idiots! Tell us what you think in the comments. Good bullet? No bullet is a good bullet? Could your gran make a better bullet than that? Let us know!
NCO Journal staff report A new Master Leader Course pilot begins this week as part of a revamping of NCO education and professional development. “As you may or may not know, the Master Leader Course is now official,” said Command Sgt. Maj. David S. Davenport Sr. of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, speaking Oct. 14 during a forum at the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition. The first pilot of the course for sergeants first class is now being taught at Fort Bliss, Texas. The new course will eventually be required for promotion to master sergeant and is part of a renewed emphasis across the Army on NCO education. There’s a push to eliminate the current backlog of over 14,000 NCOs who have not gone to their required professional military education, or PME, Davenport said. “Deferments are causing a huge disruption,” Davenport said. In the future, instead of just saying that an NCO can’t go to school due to an operational conflict, commanders will need to say when that NCO can go to school, Davenport said. PME requirements for promotion will no longer be waived for NCOs, he said, beginning next year. Enforcing education requirements comes as a widening of STEP, which stands for selection, training, education and promotion. It was first used to require master sergeants and first sergeants to attend the Sergeant Major Academy to get promoted and now it’s expanding to all NCO ranks. It’s simple, but everyone must understand, Davenport said, “You will not be promoted until you attend the appropriate level of PME.” Other upcoming changes include: Establishing the NCO Professional Development System (per HQDA EXORD 235-15 Renaming of the Warrior Leader Course to Basic Leader Course Using a Digital Job Book that documents all training for Soldiers as part of the Digital Training Management System, or DTMS Redesign of the Sergeant Major Academy Establishment of the Institution for NCO Professional Development, or INCOPOD Development of an Executive Leader Course for command sergeants major Publicizing more broadening opportunities for NCOs Providing a “Digital Rucksack” to students that includes course materials, apps and technical manuals Requiring Army Service School Academic Reports or DA 1059s to include date of a Soldier’s last physical fitness test, along with a height and weight statement The effective date of the last change and others may be determined by a proponency conference taking place this week, Davenport said. The changes will be “revolutionary,” not just “evolutionary” like past changes to NCO professional development, said Davenport and retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston, who served as moderator for the panel discussion. “Noncommissioned officers and their Soldiers must be ready to perform (their) missions in an increasingly complex world in which they find themselves today,” Preston said. “This is an opportunity for the NCO Corps to take charge of NCOES, of how we educate our non-commissioned officers,” said retired Command Sgt. Maj. John D. Sparks, who is now director of TRADOC’s Institute for Professional Development. “You’ve got to own NCOES,” Sparks told NCOs in the room about rebalancing the NCO Education System. “Training is the fulcrum for manning and equipping,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Schroeder of U.S. Army Forces Command. “We must develop systems and policies” that enable PME to sync with deployments and operational missions, Schroeder said. He and retired Lt. Col. Ernie Boyd of FORSCOM discussed the new Sustainable Readiness Model, or SRM, which will be used for Army Force Generation. Many broadening opportunities for NCOs exist in the Army today that are not used to full advantage, Sparks said. Davenport said there will be a “shaking up” of broadening opportunities, to ensure all of the opportunities are widely known. “We’ve got to define what broadening is,” Schroeder said, explaining that the term is used for everything from fellowships to drill instructor assignments. A “hybrid solution” needs to be developed to meet both operational and educational requirements, Schroeder said. More frequent classes might be one solution, he said. Leveraging technology might be another, Davenport suggested. One thing is certain, Schroeder said: “We can’t go back to where we used to be. We can’t continue to do business as usual.” The solutions can’t be made “in a stovepipe,” Schroeder said, and must be discussed “across our staff sections.” While G3 (operations and training) is usually the proponent for schools, G1 (personnel) and other sections also need to be involved. More guidance on NCO professional development is expected in December, Davenport said, with a third fragmentary order to be released in the spring.
I have been putting together a new talk about Composer, and that means looking around the community, doing loads of research and trying to identify the items that need to be covered in a talk. Mostly I have been trying to identify things that people do on a regular basis that according to composer internals is either wrong or not ideal. One such thing that I have found is the proper selection of versions, and that also led me to find a new feature in composer that makes everyone’s life so much easier. So let me break this down. Version selection First we need to define how to properly set the version of a library you need. I’ll consider you already know about semantical versioning and its dynamics. vendor/package: * So this is a NOPE right off the bat. As it turns out this has 2 flaws: first it will grab any version, meaning if the library breaks BC, your library will go along with it. Second it makes Composer turn into (even more) of a power hungry CPU and memory muncher, since it wides the “search scope” for the Version Resolver to work. Sounds bad right? So this is a NOPE right off the bat. As it turns out this has 2 flaws: first it will grab any version, meaning if the library breaks BC, your library will go along with it. Second it makes Composer turn into (even more) of a power hungry CPU and memory muncher, since it wides the “search scope” for the Version Resolver to work. Sounds bad right? vendor/package: 1.2.* This one is not bad, however a point release does not break BC, so you should be able to move to 1.3 without issues, this does not allow that. Fine in this case, but it gets complicated once you have two libraries with the same requirements you now blocked the download of v1.3, which the second library may need. This one is not bad, however a point release does not break BC, so you should be able to move to 1.3 without issues, this does not allow that. Fine in this case, but it gets complicated once you have two libraries with the same requirements you now blocked the download of v1.3, which the second library may need. vendor/package: >= 1.2 Once more this bites the dust with semver since it leaves you wide open to get v2.0 which very likely will make you unit tests turn red. Once more this bites the dust with semver since it leaves you wide open to get v2.0 which very likely will make you unit tests turn red. vendor/package: 1.0.0 This is the most restrictive of all, it will keep you locked on this version and will probably not play nice with any other library using this dependency. This is the most restrictive of all, it will keep you locked on this version and will probably not play nice with any other library using this dependency. vendor/package: ~1.2 This is what you are looking for, its called the tilde, and it means “Next Significant Release”, its internally expanded to >=1.2.0,<2.0.0 meaning all the non-BC breaking releases before the next significant release, which will be 2.0.0. You can also be more specific with ~1.2.3 this will basically always be the lower end of the match. Update: Keep in mind that the number of dots will define which level of release you wish to grab, i.e ~1.2.3 expands to >=1.2.3, <1.3, restricting you to patch updates. One option you have is to use ~1.2,>=1.2.3. Using the tilde operator gives you the best chance to avoid conflicts with other libraries, which means you will play nice and also avoids you having to update your composer.json file everytime another library releases a new version. Adding new dependencies and Install instructions With Composer gaining more and more traction we seem loads of libraries out there using and supporting it. However since not everyone is familiar with composer (yet!) we often end up with loads of install instructions on how to install libraries via composer. The most common of those unfortunately goes something like: Install this library using Composer, please add this to your composer.json file { "require": { "vendor/package": "" } } Now, this is a problem for 2 reasons. One, you have to edit the composer.json file, and two: to avoid editing this all the time developers usually pick “” which we already learnt was a no-no. Also people don’t seem to agree on these instructions to no two are the same. It just so happens there is a better, faster way to do this, which even comes with a few perks. And it fits in a single line you can copy/paste to your console and run: composer require vendor/package That’s it, simple as, well this. This will obviously done one thing, it will open your composer.json file and add this requirement in there for you, now messing with the file. Now some of you will be telling me i did not add the version to it, like so: composer require vendor/package:~1.2 And this is where Composer blew me away a few weeks ago. I did not, and i should not. Turns out composer figures that part out for you (meaning it identifies the latest version available) and also binds it properly using the proper tilde operator. How awesome is that? composer require vendor/package Using version ~1.0 for vendor/package Disclaimer: if you know you need a version and its not the latest, then yeah, stick to the previous option. Campaign: PRs for a better Composer Ecosystem So this month we are in the middle of #hacktoberfest, promoted by Digital Ocean, so you all want to stack up those Open Source contributions right? Here is my idea, let’s send a PR to every package that has the old composer.json instructions and send them an updated version with the new recommended install method. It would look something like: To install this library, run the command below and you will get the latest version composer require vendor/package Feel free to add composer.phar if you feel the need. If you want to hear more, come see me talk at php[world]. How about it? Let’s fix the internet and revolutionize composer installs! Add links to your PRs in the comments! Share this: Reddit Pocket Facebook Twitter Google LinkedIn
consumerist via Flickr The idea that banks have to talk about bonuses with any specificity to anyone other than individual employees or in generalities to anyone other than a small group of shareholders is a rather recent one. Only since the peak of the most recent boom has the size and structure of bonuses been of widespread interest. And it was only during and after the financial crisis that this interest turned from detached wonder to focused criticism. So it is not surprising that when banks talk about bonuses they tend to use a relatively small number of tropes to deflect attention away from just how much money they are paying their employees. One topic banks love to talk about, and reporters love to write about, is stock. There's been a flurry of high-profile coverage recently abut employees getting paid in equity. It is hard to find a public statement from a bank on bonuses that does not refer in some way or another to equity compensation. But when you hear things like "most bonuses will include an equity component" or "we have created a long-term incentive by paying bonuses in stock", you should take those statements at face value. Even if most bonuses do include some equity, they key issue is how much. It is now common practice at banks for the senior-most executives to be compensated largely if not almost exclusively in stock, but what about more junior employees? Or even those just below the cut-off to be considered listed corporate officers whose compensation packages are required to be disclosed? These employees often receive a token number of shares, making up a tiny portion of overall compensation, but allowing the bank to include the employee as one who received some form of compensation in stock. We've heard of employees getting as few as 9 shares. And yet those employees still get counted as having received a portion of their bonus in equity. Take this into account when you hear that some astronomically high percentage of employees were paid in stock. The second major item to pay attention to is vesting period, because it's the only way to tell precisely how long-term, if at all, the stock that's been given actually is. In terms of the duration of the incentive, stock with no vesting period or a ridiculously short one of something like 30 days functions identically to cash. And yet, many banks provide stock with almost no vesting period and pretend that it is somehow different than cash. Stock does of course have the ability to appreciate in value, which cash does not, but now you get into an argument about the cost that shareholders bear when companies give away loads of stock. And as Warren Buffett said on this subject, stock options are either an expense or they not. Applying his statement to the same topic in a different context, if a bonus seems too big, adding equity doesn't make it just right.
Director John Carpenter has paid tribute to “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, the wrestling legend and actor who died on Thursday night at the age of 61. “I’m devastated by the passing of my friend Roddy Piper,” wrote the Halloween and Big Trouble in Little China filmmaker. “Great wrestler, underrated actor, dear friend. Rest in peace, Rod.” Carpenter cast Piper in his 1988 sci-fi movie and political allegory They Live. Piper plays a construction worker who discovers that America is in fact ruled by aliens. After learning the truth, a shotgun-wielding Piper marches into a bank and announces what has over time become of the most famous and beloved lines in genre cinema: “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass—and I’m all out of bubblegum.“ “What to say? Rest in Peace, Roddy,” Carpenter wrote in a subsequent tweet. “I’ll miss you, my friend.” I'm devastated by the passing of my friend Roddy Piper. Great wrestler, underrated actor, dear friend. Rest in peace, Rod. — John Carpenter (@TheHorrorMaster) July 31, 2015 What to say? Rest in Peace, Roddy. I'll miss you, my friend. — John Carpenter (@TheHorrorMaster) July 31, 2015 Related Stories •Wrestler ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper dies at 61 •Remembering Roddy Piper’s rowdy film career •Photos: Stars we lost in 2015
Top diplomats from India and China will hold the sixth Strategic Dialogue in Beijing on Monday to take stock of the status of bilateral relations and explore new initiatives to improve ties. Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, who arrived in Beijing Saturday, will co-chair the talks with her Chinese counterpart Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin. Officials said the two sides will review the entire range of bilateral relations, including plans for leadership-level visits in the second half of this Year of India-China Friendly Exchanges. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei has said the two sides will have in-depth exchanges on bilateral relations, high level exchanges, practical cooperation, international and regional issues of mutual concern. After the talks, Singh will call on Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. A host of issues, including mutual concerns over stability in the war-ravaged Afghanistan after the draw-dawn of the US-led NATO troops by the end of this year besides India's growing disquiet over USD 35 billion trade deficit, would figure during the talks. Like India, China too is concerned over the return of Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan which could have a destabilising effect on its Muslim Uygur Xinjiang province which is experiencing a spat of terrorist attacks. India was expected to flag its concerns once again on trade deficit and see major opening for IT and Pharmaceutical products in Chinese markets besides investments from China. Singh along with her Chinese interlocutors was also expected to finalise plans to hold the year-long Glimpses of India festival all over China. The Indian Embassy here has drawn out an ambitious plan to hold events showcasing India's cultural prowess besides business and investment opportunities as part of year of friendly exchanges initiative being observed this year. The dialogue is being held amid the general elections in India and Chinese official media highlighted the pre-poll surveys projecting a new government with the likelihood of the opposition BJP taking over power under the leadership of Narendra Modi. Chinese officials say BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Modi is a known face in Beijing as he had visited China twice scouting for investments for Gujarat, which has bagged big Chinese investments. Officials say the strategic dialogue between the two foreign ministries is a stock taking exercise of the status of bilateral ties, which showed upswing in the past few years and got a fillip after the new leadership headed by Xi Jinping took over power last year. First Published: Apr 13, 2014 21:07 IST
Liberals Losing Ground to Leaderless Conservatives Trudeau’s net favourable score now only +1 Toronto, March 9th – In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ amongst 1,340 Canadian voters, the gap between the Liberals and the Conservatives amongst decided and leaning voters has shrunk to just four points. The Liberals (39%) and the Conservatives (35%) are both down since January, three percentage points, and one percentage point respectively (January 22nd: 42% / 36%). The NDP (15%) and BQ (7%) have made the biggest gains this month, each rising three percentage points (January 22nd: 12% / 4%). The Green Party (4%) saw its support decline one point (January 22nd: 5%). The Liberals (42%) have widened their lead in BC, now topping the Conservatives (31%) by 11. In the Atlantic region, the Liberals (59%) have seen a considerable decrease in support, losing 7 points (January 22nd: 66%), which contrasts a Conservative (30%) rise in the Maritimes of nine points (January 22nd: 21%). In Québec, both the Liberals (38%) and Conservatives (17%) are down since January (January 22nd: 42% / 21%). Their loss accounts for a 10% gain for the BQ, which sees its support rise to (27%) (January 22nd: 17%). In Ontario, the Liberals (42%) and Conservatives (39%) are down since January (January 22nd: 42% / 39%), with the NDP (16%) the main beneficiary of this decline, rising six points (January 22nd: 10%). In the prairies, the Conservatives (42%) have seen their support dip slightly (January 22nd: 42%) as have the Liberals (29%) (January 22nd: 34%). Once again the NDP (25%) is the prime beneficiary of these declines, rising 7 points (January 22nd: 18%). Despite falling support, Liberals maintain majority If an election were held today, the Liberals would win 174 seats, the Conservatives 120, the BQ 23, the NDP 20, and 1 for the Green. The biggest change since we last examined the Federal landscape is an increase of 19 seats for the BQ, and 5 for the NDP. The Liberals lose 13 seats, the Conservatives are down 11 with the Green Party unchanged. (January 22nd: Liberals 187, Conservatives 135, NDP 15, BQ 4, Green 1) Trudeau net favourable down, Mulcair up, Ambrose unchanged Justin Trudeau’s net favourable score (approve minus disapprove) now rests at +1, down five points (January 22nd: +6). His approval rating rests at (45%). He remains popular with those aged 34 and under (49%) and females (51%). While Trudeau is still popular with the majority in the Maritimes (57%), his approval in the Atlantic provinces is down sixteen points (January 22nd: 73%). Rona Ambrose’s net favourable score is now higher than that of Trudeau at +5, with a (31%) approval for the Interim Conservative Leader. Tom Mulcair has seen both his favourable score (+5) and his approval rating rise (34%). The increase in his favourable score is +8 (January 22nd: -3). Trudeau is still the choice of almost 4-in-10 for best PM Trudeau is still seen by the plurality of voters as the best choice for PM (37%). For the third month in a row, none of these (19%) is the choice of the second most respondents. “Right now, both opposition parties have no permanent leader, so Justin Trudeau should be able to navigate past his opponents to drive his message, but it isn’t resonating. Of particular concern to Liberal partisans should be his precipitous drop of approval in Atlantic Canada, which has been a region of strength for the Liberals in the last few elections,” said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
And now, another wholly organic email chain from the Around The League team: You guys are probably just sitting around right now, making lunch plans and updating your Pinterest pages. Time to get back to work. I have a question for you, and I want it answered immediately. Who is the best team still alive in the postseason? Obviously I could wait three weeks and see for myself Super Bowl Sunday, but I'm impatient and I want answers now. Get to it. GR: An organic email chain started by a superior feels somehow less organic. But I will answer it anyway because I want to stay employed. On a neutral field, the 49ers are the most complete. I trust their passing game more than Seattle's and San Francisco doesn't have a huge weakness like the respective defenses of Denver and New England. They also have more pleated khakis. CW: Gregg stole my answer. I believe the 49ers are the most complete team in the league, but all analysis goes out the window in CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks on their home turf are the best team in the NFL. Don't sleep on the Broncos. The only team to hold them under 400 yards this season was just dispatched in Denver yesterday. MS: The 49ers have won me over. Schein: So we meet again ... Adam Schein says Jim this time, with the NFC at stake -- it's personal every time. says Jim Harbaugh vs. Pete Carroll isn't just personaltime, with the NFC at stake -- it's personaltime. READ I get the CenturyLink heat, but no team in the league has won more games on the road this season than San Francisco. They didn't mind doing business in frigid Lambeau or dropping a hammer in Carolina. Harbaugh's a freaky man, and the 49ers are peaking at the right time. I like this defense against a 'Hawks offense generating 8.3 fewer points and 98.5 fewer yards over the past five weeks. #UpsetSpecial DH: OK, so Gregg and Marc have the Niners. Wess has the Niners, Seahawks and Broncos in a harmonious three-way tie (I think). Henry seems to be slowly coming unhinged in his windowless corner office. As for me: I guess this is where I'm supposed to pick the Patriots and write about how they're a team of destiny and #BostonStrong and all that. But I can't. I think they're the fourth-best team remaining, and I don't think it's that close. The Seahawks have the most talent. They have the best record. They have the home field. This will carry the day. KP: This is ridiculous. I'm getting a sick feeling we are all following the Pleated Piper to our ultimate doom over a CenturyLink cliff. However, as hopped up on cold medicine as I currently sit, I'm in no condition to resist the dulcet tones of Jim Harbaugh. I've been all over town the last month babbling about how the 49ers have been the most balanced NFL team since Michael Crabtree's return. Of course, you wouldn't know this, given the long road of corn fields and mountain ranges that separate us. I would gladly return to those Chicago pubs to provide witnesses to stated ravings, if necessary. Now, I want to see Dan be brave. GR: This organic email chain is a disaster on the level of the Browns' coaching search. I blame Handsome Hank. MS: I'm not sure it's FBI-raid level ugly, but there's a stink to this conversation. CW: Nuance is out, simple is in. The Broncos are better than the Patriots. The Seahawks at CenturyLink are better than any team in the league. The Seahawks are better than the Broncos on a neutral, cold-weather field. The Seachickens are the best team in the playoff field. GR: Well ... the Cardinals were better than Seattle at CenturyLink. Silver: A scintillating Sunday slate Bitter rivals facing off in one game; Manning-Brady XV in the other. Michael Silver can't wait till Championship Sunday. Bitter rivals facing off in one game; Manning-Brady XV in the other.can't wait till Championship Sunday. READ That game is instructive because I think the 49ers are built similarly on defense. I know that this last weekend was largely about running and defense, but it's hard for me to see the team with the worst passing game in the Final Four as the best team. CW: If we're going by the "one game in the past in instructive" theory, the Seahawks were 29-3 better than the Niners at CenturyLink. HH: I ask a simple question to three so-called experts, and wind up with three totally different answers. I have, however, learned something from this exchange: » There's a guy called Kevin working on Around The League content. Nice to meet you, Kevin. » The Patriots aren't anyone's pick as the best remaining team. This tells me they will likely be holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy when the blizzard settles at the end of the game in New York a few weeks from now. » Organic email exchanges are the best way to distract Dan from 're-pinning' his favorite kitchen interiors on Pinterest. I guess I'll just have to wait until Super Bowl Sunday to get a decent answer. Thanks for trying. GR: I hate you all. MS: THIS HAS TOTALLY SPILLED OFF A CLIFF. DH: The latest "Around The League Podcast" broke down all four Divisional Round games and looked ahead to a monster Conference Championship weekend.
Ontario’s firefighters say that since they’re often first on the scene, it only makes sense for them to be equipped to deliver more emergency medical care. While that sounds perfectly logical to some, many municipalities and paramedics are hopping mad. They call the proposal a brazen attempt to protect incredibly costly firefighter salaries at a time of dwindling fires. Last year, the Ontario Professional Fire Fighter’s Association proposed that the province change the rules to let firefighters perform some of the duties of paramedics. Since then, the association has modified their plan, now saying that firefighters who are or were fully licensed paramedics should be allowed to use those skills if they’re the first to arrive on scene. Association president Rob Hyndman says the idea is to better serve the public and save the province some money: The provincial government helps fund local emergency medical services along with municipal governments. The auditor general has repeatedly found the cost of ambulance services in the province are increasing rapidly, Hyndman says. “We’ve got to be aware that not only is [firefighting] a better service delivery model but it’s more financially sustainable.” The claim that allowing “fire medics” to provide emergency care when they’re first on scene will save money and provide better care is hotly contested by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the majority of paramedics in the province. “The one common thread between last year’s proposal and the OPFFA’s newest one is that it will mean more work for members of their union,” says Corey Nageleisen, member of the CUPE Ambulance Committee of Ontario. “It doesn’t seem like a good use of taxpayer dollars.” Nageleisen warns that given the long shifts firefighters work—24 hours, in contrast to the 12-hour shift Nageleisen had worked the day before speaking with TVO.org – public safety could actually be put at risk by overly-tired firefighters attempting to administer medical care. “When crime goes up we pay more for police. When fire risk goes up we spend more on fire service. EMS calls are going up, so we pay more for firefighters? It doesn’t make sense.” The argument between essentially two different organized labour unions would be just that except that the demand for emergency services in Ontario has changed dramatically over a generation and promises to keep changing. While firehouses and pumper trucks were built throughout the 20th century to ensure the fastest possible response times, fires are on the decline and make up a shrinking share of actual fire service calls. A 2013 City of Toronto report found that actual structural fires made up about one fifth of total calls. Meanwhile, an aging population means a growing share of calls are being made for emergency medical services. In other words, firefighters and police are increasingly being called to provide services that paramedics normally would. Paramedics argue they are better trained to handle medical emergencies than other first responders, and that it is much more cost effective to send a two-person ambulance than a four-person fire truck to help someone in distress. Historically, paramedics have not received the same level of funding as fire and police services. For Nageleisen, that makes any proposal to let firefighters do the work of paramedics tantamount to an insult. “When crime goes up we pay more for police. When fire risk goes up we spend more on fire service. EMS calls are going up, so we pay more for firefighters? It doesn’t make sense,” he says. The provincial government said it will spend a year consulting on the idea, and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Eric Hoskins says the government’s primary focus will be on public safety. That’s disconcerting to some municipalities who fear “public safety” will be an excuse for a cash-strapped provincial government to saddle them with new costs: the province pays grants to cover some of the price of paramedic response, but cities carry the burden of fire service. Shifting EMS work from paramedics to firefighters would, absent any other changes, end up shifting some of the cost of health care from the province to cities. At this year’s annual meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, outgoing president Gary McNamara warned that police and fire service payrolls are already straining municipal budgets, and adding paramedic services to the fire payroll would make matters worse. “Police and firefighters are the most highly-paid employees we have, and they should be. But we can’t pay them increases at the expense of other services that keep our communities safe and healthy,” McNamara said. Of particular concern is that, if the province allows the hypothetical use of firefighters as paramedics, municipalities could be forced into it by the binding arbitration that governs police and fire labour negotiations. Hoskins has said, both at this year’s AMO meeting and when speaking with TVO.org, that isn’t the government’s intent. “We have suggested that, if this is considered, it would be opt-in by municipalities,” Hoskins says. “This isn’t something we would want to impose.” Update: An earlier version of this article gave the impression Rob Hyndman of the firefighters' association cited the auditor general's findings that ambulance services in Ontario were not always meeting their response time targets. Hyndman was actually referring to the auditor general's findings that the cost of ambulance service was increasing rapidly. TVO.org regrets the error.
Story highlights 8 countries are now affected The new restrictions take effect Oct. 18 Washington (CNN) The Trump administration has unveiled new travel restrictions on certain foreigners from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen as a replacement to a central portion of its controversial travel ban signed earlier this year. The new restrictions on travel vary by country and include a phased-in approach beginning next month. "Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet," President Donald Trump tweeted just after his administration released the details of the restrictions Sunday night. Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet.https://t.co/KJ886okyfC — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017 In a statement Sunday night, the White House called the new restrictions a "critical step toward establishing an immigration system that protects Americans' safety and security in an era of dangerous terrorism and transnational crime." "We cannot afford to continue the failed policies of the past, which present an unacceptable danger to our country," Trump said in the White House statement. "My highest obligation is to ensure the safety and security of the American people, and in issuing this new travel order, I am fulfilling that sacred obligation." Read More
Duignan launched an impassioned speech against the five-year deal on The Sunday Game after the Kilkenny-Waterford game last weekend was not broadcast on free-to-air TV. McKenna, speaking on The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk, said that it was unfair that the Offaly legend's view went unchallenged on the show and that he was watching the third Lions Test against New Zealand on Sky the morning of Waterford's win. He also said that people afraid of missing the game could have seen the game on Sky for a one-off payment of €10. “Michael’s entitled to his opinion. I think the issue we take very much is that that piece lacked balance," he said. “Michael is an employee of RTE, he’s paid to be an analyst. Is it particularly fair that that comment is allowed to carry without counterpoint to it? "You can get a Sky Now product, you could have seen that game for €10 if that was your real intent. The irony is that Michael tweeted the day before about sitting down to watch the Lions match, so he has Sky, so it seems to be a curious position to have taken." Duignan made the point that the GAA didn't need the money but McKenna argued that the GAA had to create an environment where they could raise funds for the association. “With GAAGo, we sell subscriptions, and Sky give us the match coverage free. RTÉ are a 50% shareholder in that. Anyone watching the game in Auckland would have had to pay the subscription, and pay the subscription to RTÉ and ourselves as the other shareholder. It’s a complicated issue," he added. “We get about €2.5m from government every year to run our games, but with sponsorship and everything else, we need that have games development officers, to put investment into Tullamore in Offaly, the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Croke Park and so on. In total, we would reinvest 92% of all the income we get in. It’s not as though there’s massive shareholders sitting in Croke Park and running away off with it. It’s about creating a small economy which is the GAA in order to look after ourselves. "Matches must have a value for a pay-to-see service to buy them, and obviously the Waterford game had huge value. That was selected at the start of the year. Nobody knew what that game would be. It just happened to be one of the greats. “I think (the Sky deal) is working very well for us. We have a five-year deal. Does anyone really know where the business will be in five years’ time? You wonder will there be this big broadcasting activity that is RTÉ, even in ten years’ time. The whole model is changing. Big audience models are changing.” Online Editors
John Moore/Getty The world is no better prepared for the next global health emergency than it was when the current Ebola epidemic began nearly two years ago, a panel of health experts warns. The problems that hampered the response to the Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 11,000 people, have not been solved, the group warns in a paper published on 22 November in The Lancet1. The panel, convened by Harvard University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, comprised more than 20 physicians, global health experts, lawyers and development and humanitarian specialists. Meanwhile, the outbreak stubbornly hangs on: on 20 November, hopes that it might be declared over by year's end were dashed by reports of new infections in Liberia, which has twice been declared Ebola-free. “We're closer, but we're not yet ready for another outbreak of this magnitude,” says epidemiologist David Heymann at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a report author. Wide reforms The report comes from one of four major Ebola review panels that are expected to call for an overhaul in the way that the international health community prevents and responds to outbreaks; others have been convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations and the US National Academy of Medicine. It lays out ten recommendations for better preventing, detecting and responding to outbreaks; for speeding research on diseases that cause them; and for reforming the global systems that manage them. Like previous analyses, the latest report singles out the WHO for failing to alert the world to the severity of the outbreak early enough, and recommends several reforms to the agency's structure, including changing the way it declares and responds to health emergencies and narrowing the scope of the WHO’s activities, which far outstrip its budget. But the committee says that the blame is not solely on the WHO. It calls for steps to bolster international research and development on emerging diseases between and during outbreaks, including negotiating agreements ahead of time on how to share data and samples and on how to conduct ethically sound clinical trials during outbreaks. And it recommends that those agreements ensure that affected communities gain access to the benefits of research. Ethical disputes, disorganization and bureaucratic barriers delayed research on experimental interventions during the current outbreak until it was largely too late to test them. The report also calls for a dedicated research fund aimed at interventions for neglected diseases that afflict the poor, which generally hold little potential for profit. ‘Noble ideals’ Although there is consensus that the WHO is not up to the task of managing global outbreak response, long-term observers of the agency are doubtful that most of the report's suggested reforms will be adopted, because of resistance from the 194 member states that govern it. Health-security specialist Adam Kamradt-Scott at the University of Sydney in Australia says that the report's ideas for WHO reform represent “noble ideals”, but are unlikely to be passed. He wishes that the report had laid out more realistic recommendations. “It is genuinely disappointing that there are so few practical suggestions that take account of the very real political constraints that the WHO currently confronts,” says Kamradt-Scott. “I honestly doubt that many of these recommendations will be acted upon.” But physician Ashish Jha, co-chair of the report panel, is hopeful that the scale of this epidemic will serve as a wake-up call. “We have a horrific human casualty that should spur us on,” Jha says. “We have to engage in a sustained effort for as long as it takes to make sure the world is better prepared for the next pandemic.”
In Jason DeParle’s New York Times article today, it appears that some folks are claiming that the inequality that Occupy Wall Street has called attention to is a thing of the past and of no concern, all because income inequality declined during the recession between 2007 and 2009. Bunk! That decline is the result of the stock market decline and the very same trend occurred in the early 2000s recession only to end with inequality reestablishing and exceeding its previous heights by 2007 (as DeParle quoted Jared Bernstein saying in the article. Go Jared!). Wage and salary data show wage inequality rising from 2009 to 2010 (recovering more than a third of lost ground), suggesting that it is too early to shed crocodile tears for the top 1 percent. Regardless of last year’s trend, it remains the case that income inequality in 2009 was still substantially greater than it was in the late 1970s. Moreover, the conclusion that a lion’s share of income gains accrued to the top 1 percent or even the top 0.1 percent, while income growth was modest for the bottom 90 percent (as Josh Bivens and I recently wrote) remains absolutely true. As Josh and I explained, there are three dynamics at play in the shift of income up to the top 1 percent and the top 0.1 percent. First, there’s the shift upwards in the distribution of wage and salaries, which also reflects the “realized option income” provided to CEOs that are counted as wage income. Second, there’s the shift upwards in the distribution of capital income (capital gains, interest, dividends): According to the Congressional Budget Office, the top 1 percent reaped 57 percent of capital income in 2007, up from 38 percent in 1979. Last, there is a shift toward greater capital income and proportionately less labor compensation since 1979. What’s happened to these dynamics in the recession? We know the stock market declined more than a third from 2007 to 2009 (judged by the NYSE and the S&P indices) and the realized capital gains at the top fell over 70 percent (according to the IRS data for those with incomes $500,000 or more, which I will refer to as those with top incomes). Though capital gains comprised 36 percent of top incomes in 2007, the stock market decline and an even far greater drop in capital gains meant that capital gains contributed only 16 percent of their income in 2009. That explains a lot of the fall in inequality between 2007 and 2009. However, the 20 percent gain in the stock market in 2010 should have helped top incomes recover a bunch of lost ground, don’t you think? I would expect gains in the stock market and realized capital gains to fare better than real wages over the next few years, fueling greater inequality. We also know that corporate profits are now substantially greater than they were before the recession. In fact, as Heidi Shierholz and I wrote in August, “In 2010 the share of corporate income going to profits was 26.2%, the highest share since the years during World War II, when national policy used wage and price controls to consciously suppress wage growth.” So, it seems that one of the dynamics causing greater inequality is certainly going strong. I (along with research assistant Nicholas Finio) have been tracking the trends in top wages using the historical data produced by Wojciech Kopczuk, Emmanuel Saez, and Jae Song for 1979 through 2004 (developed with access to Social Security earnings microdata) and updating their analysis using wage data published by the Social Security Administration. These wage data are available for 2010 so we can get a look at part of the overall income picture to see how quickly, if at all, income inequality is recovering lost ground. As the graph shows, the share of wages earned by the top 1 percent fell from its historic high in 2007 of 14.1 percent to 12.2 percent in 2009. That is what the top 1 percent’s share of wages was back in 2003 in the last recession and what it was in 1996, seemingly reversing more than a decade of wage inequality. However, the top 1 percent’s share of wages was just 7.3 percent in 1979 so the drop by 2009 was nowhere close to reversing the three-decades growth of wage inequality. Click to enlarge In 2010, the wages of those in the top 1 percent grew 6.8 percent in inflation-adjusted terms while those in the bottom 90 percent saw their real annual earnings fall 0.7 percent. Consequently, the top 1 percent’s share of wages grew to 12.9 percent, the same as in 2004, and recovered more than a third of the loss from 2007 to 2009. The shift in wage distribution has mostly occurred among the top 5 percent and hasn’t really trickled down to the bottom 90 percent, whose wage share in 2010 was 61.5 percent. That puts the bottom 90 percent’s wage share back to where it was in 2006 when it was the lowest in any year (dating back to 1937). Note, that the bottom 90 percent had 69.8 percent of all wages in 1979; so there certainly has been a tremendous growth of wage inequality since 1979 despite whatever drop there’s been in the recession. Clearly, this much ballyhooed reversal of wage inequality hasn’t meant much to the vast majority. The graph puts this in terms of the actual growth of wages for the top earners (those in the top 0.1 percent and top 1 percent) and for the vast majority, the bottom 90 percent. Between 1979 and 2007, the wages of the top 1 percent grew 156 percent, far better than the 17 percent growth obtained by the bottom 90 percent. Even with the fall in wages for those at the top between 2007 and 2009, their wages were still 116 percent higher than in 1979 while the wages in the bottom 90 percent were just 16 percent greater. In 2010, the top 1 percent had strong real wage gains and ended up 131 percent above 1979 wage levels while those in the bottom 90 percent lost ground and had wages 15 percent ahead of their 1979 levels. Click to enlarge The idea that income inequality is a thing of the past or has reversed itself is simply not true. Inequality did fall from 2007 to 2009, but remained way above the inequalities that prevailed 30 years ago. Everything we know about trends in 2010 shows inequality is recovering lost ground. I would bet that further ground will be recovered in 2011 and ensuing years and it’s just a matter of how quickly this occurs. You can bet that the income growth at the top will be far stronger than that of the vast majority over the next several years. Of course, these trends in inequality are not dictated by a law of nature or economics, and they won’t be reversed until policies are shifted to make that happen.
Exhuming a Lost Breton Poet on Armistice Day Being humbled by Yan Ber Calloc’h, a voice snuffed out by The Great War Jared Spears Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 10, 2017 In the Schwarzman Library’s Map Room, in midtown Manhattan, the book was presented snug in a cardboard box. I was told that it was to be read in this room only. I took a seat across from the wood-carved globe around which the rooms’ tables and shelves seemed to orbit. Some series of events found me in the gilded austerity of the New York Public Library’s Map Room that day. Yet, from the presentation of the box it began to dawn on me: I am intruding. The cumbersome stiffness of the box unfolding disturbed the room’s hush. When the book within my hands let out its first spine-crack, it set my shoulders shuddering. Having pried open the spine, yellowed pages at once fell out of place. Bits of binding collected in a pile of dust inside the cardboard shell underneath. Photo by Author Uneasy with my own fumbling indelicacy, I cringed. Who was I to soil this edition, century-old and sufficiently precious as to be interred here, summoned only on request, kept strictly to these stifling confines? Some scholar or laureate would surely be more worthy. One who actually knew Breton, or could at least read the French translation fluently. By the flagging of the fabric that dangled from the cover, and the faded gilding of the name “Calloc’h,” I estimated ten, perhaps a dozen perusals remained before these leaves crumbled to oblivion. Nevertheless, the trespass had been committed. It was now incumbent on me to glean something. I pressed on. Yan Ber Calloc’h was a poet of the Breton tongue. “Born amidst the sea,” he was a son of a fisherman, a man of Armor. Absolute in his faith, he aspired to priesthood before The Great War came. Breton poet Yann Ber Calloc’h. He named his book “Ar an deulin.” In French, “À genoux.” Genuflection? No. These words were purged under machine-gun fire; their truth laid bare before the terror of the trenches. Yan Ber Calloc’h kept in his Breton to an older, more guttural faith. “Ar an deulin” can be read simply, “On your knees.” The editor’s preface describes “their magnificent language, old perhaps but still noble and vigorous as ever,” Calloc’h and his generation of Bretons kindled hope of a revival, inspired by fraternal Celts across the Irish Sea. All of which I’d known already. But then I read: Blind night arrives — envelopes the houses, the countryside, the sea. Your churches, when the night falls, grow gentler. And I recognize a poet. And when I read: Imram — this feeling we’ve arrived at is an old thing, the ancestors knew it. When they grew weary of some horizon, they cast their barques out the sea And they rowed. I recognize a spirit kindred to my own. In a letter from the front at Ardennes dated September, 1915, Calloc’h confided: The forest is splendid. The dead leaves portend of reverie; the green speak of hope, and of la Celtie… And then I read: If by chance I don’t come back, it will be a burden what falls to you. In April 1917, Yan Ber Calloc’h died, killed in battle by the enemy. “He lives and breathes in each of these pages,” according to the editor’s preface. Dead leaves crumbling in living hands. And then I read: Celt of Scotland, where are you? And you, Celt of Ireland? And where are you, Celt of Cymru? O Celt of Bretagne, my own blood, where have you gone? “Mort pour la France,” they would have cried in response. Yet elsewhere Calloc’h, writing of his fallen compatriots, committed too his own eulogy: Reflect that we are fallen, not for the Liberty or Justice of the Republic of France, laughable as the German Empire, but for the redemption of our land, moreover for the beauty of the world. I reinterred the leaves. Three thousand miles across Saint Brendan’s Sea — unknowing, unworthy — the burden fell to me. I am duty bound now, I carry forward the songs of this soldier-poet, warrior-priest. Ar an Deulin. On Your Knees.
1. Martin Braithwaite Christensen, to give him his full name, was born in Esbjerg in Denmark in June 1991, making him 26. 2. He’s has a reputation as a pacey, lively striker who also likes to come in off the flanks. 3. Standing just short of six feet tall, Martin is no stranger to the north east having once had trials with Newcastle United. 4. As a young player he made his mark with his hometown club, Esbjerg fB, making his debut in 2009 going on to score 17 goals in 88 games before moving to Toulouse in 2013. 5. Martin helped his team win the Danish title in the 2011-12 season while the following season, 2012-13, was also a memorable one as he played in every league game and helped the club win the Danish Cup. On the back of that he was called into the national team. 6. By then he had already played for Denmark’s Under-17s, Under-19s and Under-21s 7. It was while he was away on international duty than an offer came in from Toulouse and a move to the south of France was made in August 2013. 8. In four seasons with the Ligue 1 side, he never played fewer than 36 games in a season, making close on 150 appearances and scoring 40 goals. 9. He is an international team mate of Viktor Fischer and both players also spent a small amount of time with FC Midtjylland. 10. Martin currently has 16 caps after turning down the opportunity to play for Guyana, the country of his father’s birth. 11. His most recent international was in June when he set up Kasper Dolberg to score the final goal in a 3-1 win over Kazakhstan in a World Cup Qualifier in Almaty.
asm.js Working Draft — 18 August 2014 Latest version: http://asmjs.org/spec/latest/ Editors: Abstract This specification defines asm.js, a strict subset of JavaScript that can be used as a low-level, efficient target language for compilers. This sublanguage effectively describes a sandboxed virtual machine for memory-unsafe languages like C or C++. A combination of static and dynamic validation allows JavaScript engines to employ an ahead-of-time (AOT) optimizing compilation strategy for valid asm.js code. Status This specification is working towards a candidate draft for asm.js version 1. Mozilla's SpiderMonkey JavaScript engine provides an optimizing implementation of this draft. Changelog 18 August 2014 better "putting it all together" example 23 July 2014 formatting cleanups added variadic function types to the Global Types section 22 July 2014 clarified formal structure with explicit validation rule names moved function table validation from annotations section to validation section separated case and default validation rules eliminated unused expected case type parameter corrected type checks to subtype checks in AdditiveExpression, BitwiseXORExpression, BitwiseANDExpression, BitwiseORExpression, and ConditionalExpression 8 July 2014 minor editorial bugfixes non-function foreign imports are mut tightened the language on linking restrictions 7 July 2014 added 32-bit floating point types renamed doublish to double? for symmetry with float? separated heap access checking into a separate validation section separated load and store types for heap views added Math.fround and singleton fround type added a Float Coercions section added uncoerced CallExpression nodes to Expression for float coercions added float coercions to initializers, return type annotations, and legal function calls added restriction preventing float coercions of FFI calls added float support for operators and Math functions added float to legal result types for ConditionalExpression added variadic Math.min and Math.max eliminated the allowance for 1-byte views to elide their index shift (to future-proof for large heaps) simplified and generalized link-time restrictions on heap size 12 December 2013 return type of Math.abs is signed 11 October 2013 unsigned is not an extern type added missing ! operator to UnaryExpression operators added note about ~~ to Unary Operators section added note about parenthesis agnosticism to Syntax section added note about ASI to Syntax section added -NumericLiteral cases everywhere function calls require explicit coercions eliminated type unknown , which is no longer needed return type of integer % is intish Table of Contents 1 Introduction This specification defines asm.js , a strict subset of JavaScript that can be used as a low-level, efficient target language for compilers. The asm.js language provides an abstraction similar to the C/C++ virtual machine: a large binary heap with efficient loads and stores, integer and floating-point arithmetic, first-order function definitions, and function pointers. Programming Model The asm.js programming model is built around integer and floating-point arithmetic and a virtual heap represented as a typed array. While JavaScript does not directly provide constructs for dealing with integers, they can be emulated using two tricks: integer loads and stores can be performed using the typed arrays API; and integer arithmetic is equivalent to the composition of JavaScript's floating-point arithmetic operators with the integer coercions performed by the bitwise operators. As an example of the former, if we have an Int32Array view of the heap called HEAP32 , then we can load the 32-bit integer at byte offset p : HEAP32[p >> 2]\|0 The shift converts the byte offset to a 32-bit element offset, and the bitwise coercion ensures that an out-of-bounds access is coerced from undefined back to an integer. As an example of integer arithmetic, addition can be performed by taking two integer values, adding them with the built-in addition operator, and coercing the result back to an integer via the bitwise or operator: (x+y)\|0 This programming model is directly inspired by the techniques pioneered by the Emscripten and Mandreel compilers. Validation The asm.js sub-language is defined by a static type system that can be checked at JavaScript parse time. Validation of asm.js code is designed to be "pay-as-you-go" in that it is never performed on code that does not request it. An asm.js module requests validation by means of a special prologue directive, similar to that of ECMAScript Edition 5's strict mode: function MyAsmModule() { "use asm"; // module body } This explicit directive allows JavaScript engines to avoid performing pointless and potentially costly validation on other JavaScript code, and to report validation errors in developer consoles only where relevant. Ahead-Of-Time Compilation Because asm.js is a strict subset of JavaScript, this specification only defines the validation logic—the execution semantics is simply that of JavaScript. However, validated asm.js is amenable to ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation. Moreover, the code generated by an AOT compiler can be quite efficient, featuring: unboxed representations of integers and floating-point numbers; absence of runtime type checks; absence of garbage collection; and efficient heap loads and stores (with implementation strategies varying by platform). Code that fails to validate must fall back to execution by traditional means, e.g., interpretation and/or just-in-time (JIT) compilation. Linking Using an asm.js module requires calling its function to obtain an object containing the module's exports; this is known as linking . An asm.js module can also be given access to standard libraries and custom JavaScript functions through linking. An AOT implementation must perform certain dynamic checks to check compile-time assumptions about the linked libraries in order to make use of the compiled code. This figure depicts a simple architecture of an AOT implementation that otherwise employs a simple interpreter. If either dynamic or static validation fails, the implementation must fall back to the interpreter. But if both validations succeed, calling the module exports executes the binary executable code generated by AOT compilation. External Code and Data Within an asm.js module, all code is fully statically typed and limited to the very restrictive asm.js dialect. However, it is possible to interact with recognized standard JavaScript libraries and even custom dynamic JavaScript functions. An asm.js module can take up to three optional parameters, providing access to external JavaScript code and data: a standard library object, providing access to a limited subset of the JavaScript standard libraries; object, providing access to a limited subset of the JavaScript standard libraries; a foreign function interface (FFI), providing access to custom external JavaScript functions; and (FFI), providing access to custom external JavaScript functions; and a heap buffer , providing a single ArrayBuffer to act as the asm.js heap. These objects allow asm.js to call into external JavaScript (and to share its heap buffer with external JavaScript). Conversely, the exports object returned from the module allows external JavaScript to call into asm.js. So in the general case, an asm.js module declaration looks like: function MyAsmModule(stdlib, foreign, heap) { "use asm"; // module body... return { export1: f1, export2: f2, // ... }; } Function parameters in asm.js are provided a type annotation by means of an explicit coercion on function entry: function geometricMean(start, end) { start = start\|0; // start has type int end = end\|0; // end has type int return +exp(+logSum(start, end) / +((end - start)\|0)); } These annotations serve two purposes: first, to provide the function's type signature so that the validator can enforce that all calls to the function are well-typed; second, to ensure that even if the function is exported and called by external JavaScript, its arguments are dynamically coerced to the expected type. This ensures that an AOT implementation can use unboxed value representations, knowing that once the dynamic coercions have completed, the function body never needs any runtime type checks. Putting It All Together The following is a small but complete example of an asm.js module. function GeometricMean(stdlib, foreign, buffer) { "use asm"; var exp = stdlib.Math.exp; var log = stdlib.Math.log; var values = new stdlib.Float64Array(buffer); function logSum(start, end) { start = start\|0; end = end\|0; var sum = 0.0, p = 0, q = 0; // asm.js forces byte addressing of the heap by requiring shifting by 3 for (p = start << 3, q = end << 3; (p\|0) < (q\|0); p = (p + 8)\|0) { sum = sum + +log(values[p>>3]); } return +sum; } function geometricMean(start, end) { start = start\|0; end = end\|0; return +exp(+logSum(start, end) / +((end - start)\|0)); } return { geometricMean: geometricMean }; } In a JavaScript engine that supports AOT compilation of asm.js, calling the module on a proper global object and heap buffer would link the exports object to use the statically compiled functions. var heap = new ArrayBuffer(0x10000); // 64k heap init(heap, START, END); // fill a region with input values var fast = GeometricMean(window, null, heap); // produce exports object linked to AOT-compiled code fast.geometricMean(START, END); // computes geometric mean of input values By contrast, calling the module on a standard library object containing something other than the true Math.exp or Math.log would fail to produce AOT-compiled code: var bogusGlobal = { Math: { exp: function(x) { return x; }, log: function(x) { return x; } }, Float64Array: Float64Array }; var slow = GeometricMean(bogusGlobal, null, heap); // produces purely-interpreted/JITted version console.log(slow.geometricMean(START, END)); // computes bizarro-geometric mean thanks to bogusGlobal 2 Types Validation of an asm.js module relies on a static type system that classifies and constrains the syntax. This section defines the types used by the validation logic. 2.1 Value Types Validation in asm.js limits JavaScript programs to only use operations that can be mapped closely to efficient data representations and machine operations of modern architectures, such as 32-bit integers and integer arithmetic. The types of asm.js values are inter-related by a subtyping relation, which can be represented pictorially: The light boxes represent arbitrary JavaScript values that may flow freely between asm.js code and external JavaScript code. The dark boxes represent types that are disallowed from escaping into external (i.e., non-asm.js) JavaScript code. (These values can be given efficient, unboxed representations in optimized asm.js implementations that would be unsound if they were allowed to escape.) The meta-variables σ and τ are used to stand for value types. 2.1.1 void The void type is the type of functions that are not supposed to return any useful value. As JavaScript functions, they produce the undefined value, but asm.js code is not allowed to make use of this value; functions with return type void can only be called for effect. 2.1.2 double The double type is the type of ordinary JavaScript double-precision floating-point numbers. 2.1.3 signed The signed type is the type of signed 32-bit integers. While there is no direct concept of integers in JavaScript, 32-bit integers can be represented as doubles, and integer operations can be performed with JavaScript arithmetic, relational, and bitwise operators. 2.1.4 unsigned The unsigned type is the type of unsigned 32-bit integers. Again, these are not a first-class concept in JavaScript, but can be represented as floating-point numbers. 2.1.5 int The int type is the type of 32-bit integers where the signedness is not known. In asm.js, the type of a variable never has a known signedness. This allows them to be compiled as 32-bit integer registers and memory words. However, this representation creates an overlap between signed and unsigned numbers that causes an ambiguity in determining which JavaScript number they represent. For example, the bit pattern 0xffffffff could represent 4294967295 or -1, depending on the signedness. For this reason, values of the int type are disallowed from escaping into external (non-asm.js) JavaScript code. 2.1.6 fixnum The fixnum type is the type of integers in the range [0, 231)—that is, the range of integers such that an unboxed 32-bit representation has the same value whether it is interpreted as signed or unsigned. 2.1.7 intish Even though JavaScript only supports floating-point arithmetic, most operations can simulate integer arithmetic by coercing their result to an integer. For example, adding two integers may overflow beyond the 32-bit range, but coercing the result back to an integer produces the same 32-bit integer as integer addition in, say, C. The intish type represents the result of a JavaScript integer operation that must be coerced back to an integer with an explicit coercion (ToInt32 for signed integers and ToUint32 for unsigned integers). Validation requires all intish values to be immediately passed to an operator or standard library that performs the appropriate coercion or else dropped via an expression statement. This way, each integer operation can be compiled directly to machine operations. The one operator that does not support this approach is multiplication. (Multiplying two large integers can result in a large enough double that some lower bits of precision are lost.) So asm.js does not support applying the multiplication operator to integer operands. Instead, the proposed Math.imul function is recommended as the proper means of implementing integer multiplication. 2.1.8 double? The double? type represents operations that are expected to produce a double but may also produce undefined , and so must be coerced back to a number via ToNumber. Specifically, reading out of bounds from a typed array produces undefined . 2.1.9 float The float type is the type of 32-bit floating-point numbers. 2.1.10 float? The float? type represents operations that are expected to produce a float but, similar to double? , may also produce undefined and so must be coerced back to a 32-bit floating point number via fround. Specifically, reading out of bounds from a typed array produces undefined . 2.1.11 floatish Similar to integers, JavaScript can almost support 32-bit floating-point arithmetic, but requires extra coercions to properly emulate the 32-bit semantics. As proved in When is double rounding innocuous? (Figueroa 1995), both the 32- and 64-bit versions of standard arithmetic operations produce equivalent results when given 32-bit inputs and coerced to 32-bit outputs. The floatish type, like intish , represents the result of a JavaScript 32-bit floating-point operations that must be coerced back to a 32-bit floating-point value with an explicit fround coercion. Validation requires all floatish values to be immediately passed to an operator or standard library that performs the appropriate coercion or else dropped via an expression statement. This way, each 32-bit floating-point operation can be compiled directly to machine operations. 2.1.12 extern extern 2.2 Global Types Variables and functions defined at the top-level scope of an asm.js module can have additional types beyond the value types. These include: value types τ; ArrayBufferView types IntnArray , UintnArray , and FloatnArray ; types , , and ; function types ((σ, …) → τ) ∧ … ∧ ((σ′, …) → τ′); variadic function types ((σ, σ … ) → τ) ∧ … ∧ ((σ′, σ′ … ) → τ′); ) → τ) ∧ … ∧ ((σ′, σ′ ) → τ′); function table types ((σ, …) → τ)[n]; the special type fround of Math.fround ; and of ; and the FFI function type Function . The "∧" notation for function types serves to represent overloaded functions and operators. For example, the Math.abs function is overloaded to accept either integers or floating-point numbers, and returns a different type in each case. Similarly, many of the operators have overloaded types. The meta-variable γ is used to stand for global types. 3 Environments Validating an asm.js module depends on tracking contextual information about the set of definitions and variables in scope. This section defines the environments used by the validation logic. 3.1 Global Environment An asm.js module is validated in the context of a global environment . The global environment maps each global variable to its type as well as indicating whether the variable is mutable: { x : mut imm γ, … } The meta-variable Δ is used to stand for a global environment. 3.2 Variable Environment In addition to the global environment, each function body in an asm.js module is validated in the context of a variable environment . The variable environment maps each function parameter and local variable to its value type: { x : τ, … } The meta-variable Γ is used to stand for a variable environment. 3.3 Environment Lookup Looking up a variable's type Lookup(Δ, Γ, x) is defined by: τ if x : τ occurs in Γ; γ if x does not occur in Γ and x : mut γ or x : imm γ occurs in Δ If x does not occur in either environment then the Lookup function has no result. 4 Syntax Validation of an asm.js module is specified by reference to the ECMAScript grammar, but conceptually operates at the level of abstract syntax. In particular, an asm.js validator must obey the following rules: Empty statements ( ; ) are always ignored, whether in the top level of a module or inside an asm.js function body. ) are always ignored, whether in the top level of a module or inside an asm.js function body. No variables bound anywhere in an asm.js module (whether in the module function parameter list, global variable declarations, asm.js function names, asm.js function parameters, or local variable declarations) may have the name eval or arguments . or . Where it would otherwise parse equivalently in JavaScript, parentheses are meaningless. Even where the specification matches on specific productions of Expression such as literals, the source may contain extra meaningless parentheses without affecting validation. Automatic semicolon insertion is respected. An asm.js source file may omit semicolons wherever JavaScript allows them to be omitted. These rules are otherwise left implicit in the rest of the specification. 5 Annotations All variables in asm.js are explicitly annotated with type information so that their type can be statically enforced by validation. 5.1 Parameter Type Annotations Every parameter in an asm.js function is provided with an explicit type annotation in the form of a coercion. This coercion serves two purposes: the first is to make the parameter type statically apparent for validation; the second is to ensure that if the function is exported, the arguments dynamically provided by external JavaScript callers are coerced to the expected type. For example, a bitwise OR coercion annotates a parameter as having type int : function add1(x) { x = x\|0; // x : int return (x+1)\|0; } In an AOT implementation, the body of the function can be implemented fully optimized, and the function can be given two entry points: an internal entry point for asm.js callers, which are statically known to provide the proper type, and an external dynamic entry point for JavaScript callers, which must perform the full coercions (which might involve arbitrary JavaScript computation, e.g., via implicit calls to valueOf ). There are three recognized parameter type annotations: x:Identifier = x:Identifier \|0; x:Identifier = + x:Identifier ; x:Identifier = f:Identifier ( x:Identifier ); The first form annotates a parameter as type int , the second as type double , and the third as type float . In the latter case, Lookup(Δ, Γ, f) must be fround . 5.2 Return Type Annotations An asm.js function's formal return type is determined by the last statement in the function body, which for non- void functions is required to be a ReturnStatement. This distinguished return statement may take one of five forms: return + e:Expression ; return e:Expression \|0; return n: - ? NumericLiteral ; return f:Identifier ( arg:Expression ); return; The first form has return type double . The second has type signed . The third has return type double if n is composed of a floating-point literal, i.e., a numeric literal with the character . in its source; alternatively, if n is composed of an integer literal and has its value in the range [-231, 231), the return statement has return type signed . The fourth form has return type float , and the fifth has return type void . If the last statement in the function body is not a ReturnStatement, or if the function body has no non-empty statements (other than the initial declarations and coercions—see Function Declarations), the function's return type is void . 5.3 Function Type Annotations The type of a function declaration function f:Identifier ( x:Identifier… ) { x:Identifier = AssignmentExpression ; … var y:Identifier = - ? NumericLiteral Identifier ( - ? NumericLiteral ) , … … body:Statement… } is (σ,…) → τ where σ,… are the types of the parameters, as provided by the parameter type annotations, and τ is the formal return type, as provided by the return type annotation. The variable f is stored in the global environment with type imm (σ,…) → τ. 5.4 Variable Type Annotations The types of variable declarations are determined by their initializer, which may take one of two forms: n: - ? NumericLiteral f:Identifier ( n: - ? NumericLiteral ) In the first case, the variable type is double if n's source contains the character . ; otherwise n may be an integer literal in the range [-231, 232), in which case the variable type is int . In the second case, the variable type is float . Lookup(Δ, Γ, f) must be fround and n must be a floating-point literal with the character . in its source. 5.5 Global Variable Type Annotations A global variable declaration is a VariableStatement node in one of several allowed forms. Validating global variable annotations takes a Δ as input and produces as output a new Δ′ by adding the variable binding to Δ. A global program variable is initialized to a literal: var x:Identifier = n: - ? NumericLiteral ; var x:Identifier = f:Identifier ( n: - ? NumericLiteral ); The global variable x is stored in the global environment with type mut τ, where τ is determined in the same way as local variable type annotations. A standard library import is of one of the following two forms: var x:Identifier = stdlib:Identifier . y:Identifier ; var x:Identifier = stdlib:Identifier .Math. y:Identifier ; The variable stdlib must match the first parameter of the module declaration. The global variable x is stored in the global environment with type imm γ, where γ is the type of library y or Math. y as specified by the standard library types. A foreign import is of one of the following three forms: var x:Identifier = foreign:Identifier . y:Identifier ; var x:Identifier = foreign:Identifier . y:Identifier \|0; var x:Identifier = + foreign:Identifier . y:Identifier ; The variable foreign must match the second parameter of the module declaration. The global variable x is stored in the global environment with type imm Function for the first form, mut int for the second, and mut double for the third. A global heap view is of the following form: var x:Identifier = new stdlib:Identifier . view:Identifier ( heap:Identifier ); The variable stdlib must match the first parameter of the module declaration and the variable heap must match the third. The identifier view must be one of the standard ArrayBufferView type names. The global variable x is stored in the global environment with type imm view. 5.6 Function Table Types A function table is a VariableStatement of the form: var x:Identifier = [ f 0 :Identifier , f:Identifier , … ]; The function table x is stored in the global environment with type imm ((σ,…) → τ)[n] where (σ,…) → τ is the type of f in the global environment and n is the length of the array literal. 6 Validation Rules To ensure that a JavaScript function is a proper asm.js module, it must first be statically validated. This section specifies the validation rules. The rules operate on JavaScript abstract syntax, i.e., the output of a JavaScript parser. The non-terminals refer to parse nodes defined by productions in the ECMAScript grammar, but note that the asm.js validator only accepts a subset of legal JavaScript programs. The result of a validation operation is either a success , indicating that a parse node is statically valid asm.js, or a failure , indicating that the parse node is statically invalid asm.js. The ValidateModule rule validates an asm.js module, which is either a FunctionDeclaration or FunctionExpression node. Validating a module of the form function f:Identifier opt ( stdlib:Identifier , foreign:Identifier , heap:Identifier opt opt opt ) { "use asm"; var:VariableStatement… fun:FunctionDeclaration… table:VariableStatement… exports:ReturnStatement } succeeds if: f, stdlib, foreign, heap, and the var, fun, and table variables are all mutually distinct; the global environment Δ is constructed in three stages: the global declarations are validated in an empty initial environment Δ 0 , producing a new global environment Δ 1 ; the types from the function type annotations in the fun declarations are extracted using Δ 1 , and then added to Δ 1 to produce Δ 2 ; the types of the function tables in the table declarations are extracted using Δ 2 , and their types are added to Δ 2 to produce the completed global type environment Δ. for each fun declaration, ValidateFunction succeeds with environment Δ; for each table declaration, ValidateFunctionTable succeeds with environment Δ; and ValidateExport succeeds for exports with environment Δ. The ValidateExport rule validates an asm.js module's export declaration. An export declaration is a ReturnStatement returning either a single asm.js function or an object literal exporting multiple asm.js functions. Validating an export declaration node return { x:Identifier : f:Identifier , … }; succeeds if for each f, Δ(f) = imm γ where γ is a function type (σ,…) → τ. Validating an export declaration node return f:Identifier ; succeeds if Δ(f) = imm γ where γ is a function type (σ,…) → τ. The ValidateFunctionTable rule validates an asm.js module's function table declaration. A function table declaration is a VariableStatement binding an identifier to an array literal. Validating a function table of the form var x:Identifier = [ f:Identifier , … ]; succeeds if: the length n of the array literal is 2 m for some m ≥ 0; for some m ≥ 0; Δ(x) = imm ((σ,…) → τ)[n]; and ((σ,…) → τ)[n]; and for each f, Δ(f) = (σ,…) → τ. The ValidateFunction rule validates an asm.js function declaration, which is a FunctionDeclaration node. Validating a function declaration of the form function f:Identifier ( x:Identifier , … ) { x:Identifier = AssignmentExpression ; … var y:Identifier = - ? NumericLiteral Identifier ( - ? NumericLiteral ) , … … body:Statement… } succeeds if: Δ(f) = imm (σ,…) → τ; (σ,…) → τ; the x and y variables are all mutually distinct; the variable environment Γ is constructed by mapping each parameter x to its corresponding parameter type annotation (annotations must appear in the same order as the parameters) and each local variable y to its variable type annotation; for each body statement, ValidateStatement succeeds with environments Δ and Γ and expected return type τ. The ValidateStatement rule validates an asm.js statement. Each statement is validated in the context of a global environment Δ, a variable environment Γ, and an expected return type τ. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, a recursive validation of a subterm uses the same context as its containing term. 6.5.1 Block Validating a Block statement node { stmt:Statement… } succeeds if ValidateStatement succeeds for each stmt. 6.5.2 ExpressionStatement Validating an ExpressionStatement node cexpr:CallExpression ; succeeds if ValidateCall succeeds for cexpr with actual return type void . Validating an ExpressionStatement node expr:Expression ; succeeds if ValidateExpression succeeds for expr with some type σ. 6.5.3 EmptyStatement Validating an EmptyStatement node always succeeds. 6.5.4 IfStatement Validating an IfStatement node if ( expr:Expression ) stmt 1 :Statement else stmt 2 :Statement succeeds if ValidateExpression succeeds for expr with a subtype of int and ValidateStatement succeeds for stmt 1 and stmt 2 . Validating an IfStatement node if ( expr:Expression ) stmt:Statement succeeds if ValidateExpression succeeds for expr with a subtype of int and ValidateStatement succeeds for stmt. 6.5.5 ReturnStatement Validating a ReturnStatement node return expr:Expression ; succeeds if ValidateExpression succeeds for expr with a subtype of the expected return type τ. Validating a ReturnStatement node return ; succeeds if the expected return type τ is void . 6.5.6 IterationStatement Validating an IterationStatement node while ( expr:Expression ) stmt:Statement succeeds if ValidateExpression succeeds for expr with a subtype of int and ValidateStatement succeeds for stmt. Validating an IterationStatement node do stmt:Statement while ( expr:Expression ) ; succeeds if ValidateStatement succeeds for stmt and ValidateExpression succeeds for expr with a subtype of int . Validate an IterationStatement node for ( init:ExpressionNoIn opt ; test:Expression opt ; update:Expression opt ) body:Statement succeeds if: ValidateExpression succeeds for init (if present); ValidateExpression succeeds for test with a subtype of int (if present); (if present); ValidateExpression succeeds for update (if present); and ValidateStatement succeeds for body. 6.5.7 BreakStatement Validating a BreakStatement node break Identifier opt ; always succeeds. 6.5.8 ContinueStatement Validating a ContinueStatement node continue Identifier opt ; always succeeds. 6.5.9 LabelledStatement Validating a LabelledStatement node Identifier : body:Statement succeeds if ValidateStatement succeeds for body. 6.5.10 SwitchStatement Validating a SwitchStatement node switch ( test:Expression ) { case:CaseClause… default:DefaultClause opt } succeeds if ValidateExpression succeeds for test with a subtype of signed ; ; ValidateCase succeeds for each case; each case value is distinct; the difference between the maximum and minimum case values is less than 2 31 ; and ; and ValidateDefault succeeds for default. Cases in a switch block are validated in the context of a global environment Δ, a variable environment Γ, and an expected return type τ. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, a recursive validation of a subterm uses the same context as its containing term. Validating a CaseClause node case n: - ? NumericLiteral : stmt:Statement… succeeds if the source of n does not contain a . character; character; n is in the range [-2 31 , 2 31 ); and , 2 ); and ValidateStatement succeeds for each stmt. The default case in a switch block is validated in the context of a global environment Δ, a variable environment Γ, and an expected return type τ. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, a recursive validation of a subterm uses the same context as its containing term. Validating a DefaultClause node default : stmt:Statement… succeeds if ValidateStatement succeeds for each stmt. Each expression is validated in the context of a global environment Δ and a variable environment Γ, and validation produces the type of the expression as a result. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, a recursive validation of a subterm uses the same context as its containing term. 6.8.1 Expression Validating an Expression node expr 1 :AssignmentExpression , … , expr n :AssignmentExpression succeeds with type τ if for every i < n, one of the following conditions holds: expr i is a CallExpression and ValidateCall succeeds with actual return type void ; or is a CallExpression and ValidateCall succeeds with actual return type ; or ValidateExpression succeeds for expr i with some type σ; and ValidateExpression succeeds for expr n with type τ. 6.8.2 NumericLiteral Validating a NumericLiteral node succeeds with type double if the source contains a . character; or validates as type double ; if the source contains a character; or validates as type ; succeeds with type fixnum if the source does not contain a . character and its numeric value is in the range [0, 2 31 ); or if the source does not contain a character and its numeric value is in the range [0, 2 ); or succeeds with type unsigned if the source does not contain a . character and its numeric value is in the range [231, 232). Note that the case of negative integer constants is handled under UnaryExpression. Note that integer literals outside the range [0, 232) are invalid, i.e., fail to validate. 6.8.3 Identifier Validating an Identifier node x:Identifier succeeds with type τ if Lookup(Δ, Γ, x) = τ. 6.8.4 CallExpression Validating a CallExpression node succeeds with type float if ValidateFloatCoercion succeeds. 6.8.5 MemberExpression Validating a MemberExpression node succeeds with type τ if ValidateHeapAccess succeeds with load type τ. 6.8.6 AssignmentExpression Validating an AssignmentExpression node x:Identifier = expr:AssignmentExpression succeeds with type τ if ValidateExpression succeeds for the nested AssignmentExpression with type τ and one of the following two conditions holds: x is bound in Γ as a supertype of τ; or x is not bound in Γ and is bound to a mutable supertype of τ in Δ. Validating an AssignmentExpression node lhs:MemberExpression = rhs:AssignmentExpression succeeds with type τ if ValidateExpression succeeds for rhs with type τ and ValidateHeapAccess succeeds for lhs with τ as one of its legal store types. 6.8.7 UnaryExpression Validating a UnaryExpression node of the form - NumericLiteral succeeds with type signed if the NumericLiteral source does not contain a . character and the numeric value of the expression is in the range [-231, 0). Validating a UnaryExpression node of the form + cexpr:CallExpression succeeds with type double if ValidateCall succeeds for cexpr with actual return type double . Validating a UnaryExpression node of the form op: + - ~ ! arg:UnaryExpression succeeds with type τ if the type of op is … ∧ (σ) → τ ∧ … and ValidateExpression succeeds with a subtype of σ. Validating a UnaryExpression node of the form ~~ arg:UnaryExpression succeeds with type signed if ValidateExpression succeeds for arg with a subtype of either double or float? . 6.8.8 MultiplicativeExpression Validating a MultiplicativeExpression node lhs:MultiplicativeExpression op: * / % rhs:UnaryExpression succeeds with type τ if: the binary operator type of op is … ∧ (σ 1 , σ 2 ) → τ ∧ …; , σ ) → τ ∧ …; ValidateExpression succeeds for lhs with a subtype of σ 1 ; and ; and ValidateExpression succeeds for rhs with a subtype of σ 2 . Validating a MultiplicativeExpression node expr:MultiplicativeExpression * n: - ? NumericLiteral n: - ? NumericLiteral * expr:UnaryExpression succeeds with type intish if the source of n does not contain a . character and -220 < n < 220 and ValidateExpressionexpr with a subtype of int . 6.8.9 AdditiveExpression Validating an AdditiveExpression node expr 1 + - … + - expr n succeeds with type intish if: ValidateExpression succeeds for each expr i with a subtype of int ; with a subtype of ; n ≤ 220. Otherwise, validating an AdditiveExpression node lhs:AdditiveExpression op: + - rhs:MultiplicativeExpression succeeds with type double if: the binary operator type of op is (σ 1 , σ 2 ) → double ; , σ ) → ; ValidateExpression succeeds for lhs with a subtype of σ 1 ; and ; and ValidateExpression succeeds for rhs with a subtype of σ 2 . 6.8.10 ShiftExpression Validating a ShiftExpression node lhs:ShiftExpression op: << >> >>> rhs:AdditiveExpression succeeds with type τ if the binary operator type of op is … ∧ (σ 1 , σ 2 ) → τ ∧ …; , σ ) → τ ∧ …; ValidateExpression succeeds for lhs with a subtype of σ 1 ; and ; and ValidateExpression succeeds for rhs with a subtype of σ 2 . 6.8.11 RelationalExpression Validating a RelationalExpression node lhs:RelationalExpression op: < > <= >= rhs:ShiftExpression succeeds with type τ if the binary operator type of op is … ∧ (σ 1 , σ 2 ) → τ ∧ …; , σ ) → τ ∧ …; ValidateExpression succeeds for lhs with a subtype of σ 1 ; and ; and ValidateExpression succeeds for rhs with a subtype of σ 2 . 6.8.12 EqualityExpression Validating an EqualityExpression node lhs:EqualityExpression op: == != rhs:RelationalExpression succeeds with type τ if the binary operator type of op is … ∧ (σ 1 , σ 2 ) → τ ∧ …; , σ ) → τ ∧ …; ValidateExpression succeeds for lhs with a subtype of σ 1 ; and ; and ValidateExpression succeeds for rhs with a subtype of σ 2 . 6.8.13 BitwiseANDExpression Validating a BitwiseANDExpression node lhs:BitwiseANDExpression & rhs:EqualityExpression succeeds with type signed if ValidateExpression succeeds for lhs and rhs with a subtype of intish . 6.8.14 BitwiseXORExpression Validating a BitwiseXORExpression node lhs:BitwiseXORExpression ^ rhs:BitwiseANDExpression succeeds with type signed if ValidateExpression succeeds for lhs and rhs with a subtype of intish . 6.8.15 BitwiseORExpression Validating a BitwiseORExpression node cexpr:CallExpression \|0 succeeds with type signed if ValidateCall succeeds for cexpr with actual return type signed . Validating a BitwiseORExpression node lhs:BitwiseORExpression \| rhs:BitwiseXORExpression succeeds with type signed if ValidateExpression succeeds for lhs and rhs with a subtype of intish . 6.8.16 ConditionalExpression Validating a ConditionalExpression node test:BitwiseORExpression ? cons:AssignmentExpression : alt:AssignmentExpression succeeds with type τ if: τ is one of int , double , or float ; , , or ; ValidateExpression succeeds for test with a subtype of int ; ; ValidateExpression succeeds for cons and alt with subtypes of τ. 6.8.17 Parenthesized Expression Validating a parenthesized expression node ( expr:Expression ) succeeds with type τ if ValidateExpression succeeds for expr with type τ. Each function call expression is validated in the context of a global environment Δ and a variable environment Γ, and validates against an actual return type τ, which was provided from the context in which the function call appears. A recursive validation of a subterm uses the same context as its containing term. Validating a CallExpression node f:Identifier ( arg:Expression , … ) with actual return type τ succeeds if one of the following conditions holds: ValidateFloatCoercion succeeds for the node; Lookup(Δ, Γ, f) = … ∧ (σ,…) → τ ∧ … and ValidateExpression succeeds for each arg with a subtype of its corresponding σ; or Lookup(Δ, Γ, f) = … ∧ (σ 1 ,…,σ n ,σ … ) → τ ∧ … and ValidateExpression succeeds for the first n arg i expressions with subtypes of their corresponding σ i and the remaining arg expressions with subtypes of σ. Alternatively, validating the CallExpression succeeds with any actual return type τ other than float if Lookup(Δ, Γ, f) = Function and ValidateExpression succeeds for each arg with a subtype of extern . Validating a CallExpression node x:Identifier [ index:Expression & n: - ? NumericLiteral ]( arg:Expression , … ) succeeds with actual return type τ if: the source of n does not contain a . character; character; Lookup(Δ, Γ, x) = ((σ,…) → τ)[n+1]; ValidateExpression succeeds for index with a subtype of intish ; and ; and ValidateExpression succeeds for each arg with a subtype of its corresponding σ. Each heap access expression is validated in the context of a global environment Δ and a variable environment Γ, and validation produces a load type as well as a set of legal store types as a result. These types are determined by the heap view types corresponding to each ArrayBufferView type. Validating a MemberExpression node x:Identifier [ n: - ? NumericLiteral ] succeeds with load type σ and store types { τ, … } if: Lookup(Δ, Γ, x) = view where view is an ArrayBufferView type; type; the load type of view is σ; the store types of view are { τ, … }; the source of n does not contain a . character; character; 0 ≤ n < 232. Validating a MemberExpression node x:Identifier [ expr:Expression >> n: - ? NumericLiteral ] succeeds with load type σ and store types { τ, … } if: Lookup(Δ, Γ, x) = view where view is an ArrayBufferView type; type; the element size of view is bytes; the load type of view is σ; the store types of view are { τ, … }; ValidateExpression succeeds for expr with type intish ; ; the source of n does not contain a . character; character; n = log 2 (bytes). A call to the fround coercion is validated in the context of a global environment Δ and a variable environment Γ and validates as the type float . Validating a CallExpression node f:Identifier ( cexpr:CallExpression ) succeeds with type float if Lookup(Δ, Γ, f) = fround and ValidateCall succeeds for cexpr with actual return type float . Alternatively, validating a CallExpression node f:Identifier ( arg:Expression ) succeeds with type float if Lookup(Δ, Γ, f) = fround and ValidateExpression succeeds for arg with type τ, where τ is a subtype of floatish , double? , signed , or unsigned . 7 Linking An AOT implementation of asm.js must perform some internal dynamic checks at link time to be able to safely generate AOT-compiled exports. If any of the dynamic checks fails, the result of linking cannot be an AOT-compiled module. The dynamically checked invariants are: control must reach the module's return statement without throwing; statement without throwing; all property access must resolve to data properties; the heap object (if provided) must be an instance of ArrayBuffer ; ; the heap object's byteLength must be either 2 n for n in [12, 24) or 2 24 · n for n ≥ 1; must be either 2 for n in [12, 24) or 2 · n for n ≥ 1; all globals taken from the stdlib object must be the SameValue as the corresponding standard library of the same name. If any of these conditions is not met, AOT compilation may produce invalid results so the engine should fall back to an interpreted or JIT-compiled implementation. 8 Operators 8.1 Unary Operators Note that the special combined operator ~~ may be used as a coercion from double or float? to signed ; see Unary Expressions. 8.2 Binary Operators 9 Standard Library 10 Heap View Types View Type Element Size (Bytes) Load Type Store Types Uint8Array 1 intish intish Int8Array 1 intish intish Uint16Array 2 intish intish Int16Array 2 intish intish Uint32Array 4 intish intish Int32Array 4 intish intish Float32Array 4 float? floatish , double? Float64Array 8 double? float? , double? Acknowledgements Thanks to Martin Best, Brendan Eich, Andrew McCreight, and Vlad Vukićević for feedback and encouragement. Thanks to Benjamin Bouvier, Douglas Crosher, and Dan Gohman for contributions to the design and implementation, particularly for float . Thanks to Jesse Ruderman and C. Scott Ananian for bug reports. Thanks to Michael Bebenita for diagrams.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, an appointee of President Obama's, has been fired by the Trump administration. In a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services said Murthy had been asked to resign, and that he would be replaced temporarily by Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, the current deputy Surgeon General. “Today, Dr. Murthy, the leader of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, was asked to resign from his duties as Surgeon General after assisting in a smooth transition into the new Trump Administration," the statement said. "Dr. Murthy has been relieved of his duties as Surgeon General and will continue to serve as a member of the Commissioned Corps," the statement continued, adding that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price "thanks him for his dedicated service to the nation." ADVERTISEMENT Murthy had been surgeon general since 2014 and his sudden departure surprised employees at HHS, The New York Times reported. Murthy called gun violence a health threat to the United States, however, which had won him opposition from the NRA.
COMMUNITY NEWS Rice Medical Center Greenspoint Spring Branch Cypress-290 Tomball Kingwood Bellaire The Woodlands Beaumont Conroe Magnolia Missouri City Katy Sugarland Meyerland Pasadena Baytown Galveston Brazoria County Christians in Nigeria in danger of being killed for their faith by Joseph Ernest July 14, 2010 NewscastMedia -- Christians residing in Nigeria are fearful of being killed for their beliefs and the group Release International has called on the new Nigerian president to ensure that the lives of Christians will not endangered. The Plea comes as a result of armed men in military uniform whom Partners of Release say shot seven Christians in cold blood on July 3, who lived in Kirachi Dawai Chawai, Kaduna state. It was 8:30 p.m. in the evening when gunmen surrounded the village and started spraying it with bullets. A mother of six and a primary school teacher were killed on the spot, the other five were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. Sources from Partners of Release say that the following day, militants with guns and machetes raided Ganawuri village near Jos, which is a neighboring state with Plateau state. In March, Christians in Jos were victims of a brutal rampage by militants who went on a killing spree leaving 520 people dead including women and innocent children. Partners of Release says that these murderous ambushes are suspected to be from Fulani militants of the Kaduna region. Release International CEO Andy Dipper, has made an investigative trip to Nigeria and has said, "We’re appalled to hear of yet more violence against Christians, who have been warning for some time now that they feared further attacks. We appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration to take firm action now to ensure that the military and police carry out their full responsibilities and protect Christians properly. We acknowledge it is a huge task – but enough is enough." The new president, Goodluck Jonathan, was sworn into office in May and is from the south, which is considered to be the Bible belt of Nigeria. Add comments >> Search

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