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A redditor going by the name of morphinapg has designed a mockup of the PlayStation 4 next-gen console based on close up images from the teaser video, released just a couple of days ago—and again yesterday before the Xbox One event. He explains that he first started studying the images from the teaser and the one thing he deduced was that the top of the console was made of at least three materials: a black glossy material, a dark grey matte, and a light grey glossy material. It became clear later on that the rest of the console was covered in dark grey matte. He further explains how he put the rest of the thing together, such as where the fan placement, and the ventilation shafts would be. From what I can tell, the image looks fairly close to what's depicted in the teaser trailer. Though with that said, the artist's impression could be completely wrong and the PlayStation 4 may look nothing at all like what he's envisioned. It's hard to say what it actually looks like, so we'll have to find out when they reveal it for real on June 10 at E3 2013.
I used a Divine Orb on it, which worked as expected, but still gave me fairly low phys rolls. This is the one you see in the first image, with 27% explicit local crit. So later I bought a few more Divine Orbs to get it higher. After spending the last one I thankfully ended up with a good phys roll, however to my dismay the Tora crit affix seemed to have changed brackets, as it was now 18%! See second image. I'm a sad panda at the moment; I know I can fix this by getting Tora to level 8, however that'll take me a long time, and there's no level 8 crafting service in HC at the moment. :-/ EDIT: It's been confirmed that the different Master crafting options are supposed to be separate mods, see suffix page: Before: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- After: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I crafted the below Harbinger Bow using the transmute + augment + regal method, then added Tora's top local crit chance mod (21-27% IIRC).I used a Divine Orb on it, which worked as expected, but still gave me fairly low phys rolls. This is the one you see in the first image, with 27% explicit local crit. So later I bought a few more Divine Orbs to get it higher. After spending the last one I thankfully ended up with a good phys roll, however to my dismay the Tora crit affix seemed to have changed brackets, as it was now 18%! See second image.I'm a sad panda at the moment; I know I can fix this by getting Tora to level 8, however that'll take me a long time, and there's no level 8 crafting service in HC at the moment. :-/EDIT: It's been confirmed that the different Master crafting options are supposed to be separate mods, see suffix page: http://www.pathofexile.com/item-data/suffixmod Last edited by Bezier on Sep 16, 2014, 6:58:51 AM
BGI Cutting-edge gene-editing techniques have produced an unexpected byproduct — tiny pigs that a leading Chinese genomics institute will soon sell as pets. BGI in Shenzhen, the genomics institute that is famous for a series of high-profile breakthroughs in genomic sequencing, originally created the micropigs as models for human disease, by applying a gene-editing technique to a small breed of pig known as Bama. On 23 September, at the Shenzhen International Biotech Leaders Summit in China, BGI revealed that it would start selling the pigs as pets. The animals weigh about 15 kilograms when mature, or about the same as a medium-sized dog. At the summit, the institute quoted a price tag of 10,000 yuan (US$1,600) for the micropigs, but that was just to "help us better evaluate the market”, says Yong Li, technical director of BGI’s animal-science platform. In future, customers will be offered pigs with different coat colours and patterns, which BGI says it can also set through gene editing. With gene editing taking biology by storm, the field's pioneers say that the application to pets was no big surprise. Some also caution against it. “It's questionable whether we should impact the life, health and well-being of other animal species on this planet light-heartedly,” says geneticist Jens Boch at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Germany. Boch helped to develop the gene-editing technique used to create the pigs, which uses enzymes known as TALENs (transcription activator-like effector nucleases) to disable certain genes. How to regulate the various applications of gene-editing is an open question that scientists are already discussing with agencies across the world. BGI agrees on the need to regulate gene editing in pets as well as in the medical research applications that make up the core of its micropig activities. Any profits from the sale of pets will be invested in this research. “We plan to take orders from customers now and see what the scale of the demand is,” says Li. Animal models Compared to rats or mice, pigs are closer to humans physiologically and genetically, making them potentially more useful as a model organism for human disease. However, their larger size means that they cost more to keep and require bigger drug doses when they are used to test a pricey experimental medicine. Bama pigs, which weigh 35–50 kilograms (by contrast, many farm pigs weigh more than 100 kilograms), have previously been used in research. To make the smaller, gene-edited micropigs, BGI made cloned pigs from cells taken from a Bama fetus. But before they started the cloning process, they used TALENs to disable one of two copies of the growth hormone receptor gene (GHR) in the fetal cells. Without the receptor, cells do not receive the ‘grow’ signal during development, resulting in stunted pigs. Show stealers BGI BGI then created further micropigs by breeding stunted male clones with normal females. Only half of the resulting, naturally conceived offspring were micropigs, but the process is more efficient than repeating the full cloning procedure, and avoids potential health problems associated with cloning. Among the 20 second-generation gene-edited pigs, BGI has observed no adverse health effects, says Li. He says that the micropigs have already proved useful in studies of stem cells and of gut microbiota, because the animals' smaller size makes it easier to replace the bacteria in their guts. They will also aid studies of Laron syndrome, a type of dwarfism caused by a mutation in the human GHR gene. The decision to sell the pigs as pets surprised Lars Bolund, a medical geneticist at Aarhus University in Denmark who helped BGI to develop its pig gene-editing programme, but he admits that they stole the show at the Shenzhen summit. “We had a bigger crowd than anyone,” he says. “People were attached to them. Everyone wanted to hold them.” They could meet a preexisting demand. In the United States, for instance, reports have surfaced of people who wanted a porcine lap pet, but were disappointed when animals touted as 'teacup' pigs weighing only 5 kilograms grew into 50-kilogram animals. Genetically-edited micropigs stay reliably small, the BGI team says. Pig problems But gene editing will not solve other drawbacks of pet pigs, says Crystal Kim-Han, who runs a rescue operation for abandoned pigs near Las Vegas, Nevada. For instance, if the animals are locked up in an apartment with no place to root or dig, they can become destructive. She also expects micropigs to have additional medical problems, similar to pets created by selective breeding. “What happens down the road when these animals need care?” she asks. Some researchers think that dogs or cats will be next up for genetic manipulation. Scientists and ethicists agree that gene-edited pets are not very different from conventional breeding — the result is just achieved more efficiently. But that doesn’t make the practice a good idea, says Jeantine Lunshof, a bioethicist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, who describes both as “stretching physiological limits for the sole purpose of satisfying idiosyncratic aesthetic preferences of humans”. Dana Carroll, a gene-editing pioneer at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, adds: “I can certainly imagine resistance to manipulating dogs, even though all of the current breeds are the result of selective breeding by humans.” Daniel Voytas, a geneticist at the University of Minnesota in Saint Paul, hopes that any buzz over gene-edited pets does not hamper progress in developing gene-editing techniques for alleviating human disease and creating new crop varieties. “I just hope we establish a regulatory framework — guidelines for the safe and ethical use of this technology — that allows the potential to be realized," he says. "I worry that pet mini pigs distract and add confusion to efforts to achieve this goal."
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli authorities approved on Wednesday a major expansion of a Jewish settler enclave in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem, issuing building permits for 176 new housing units. The construction, which a Jerusalem municipal spokeswoman said was approved by the city’s planning committee, was swiftly condemned by the Palestinians as a violation of international law. Construction of the new units will nearly triple the number of settler homes in the Nof Zion settlement, which currently has 91 dwellings and is surrounded by Palestinian houses in the Jabel al-Mukaber neighborhood. The area is located in territory that Israel captured and annexed in a 1967 Middle East war and which Palestinians seek as part of a state they want to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. “We are unifying Jerusalem through actions on the ground,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement about the settlement’s expansion. Israel’s claim to all of Jerusalem as its capital has not won international recognition, and many countries regard the settlements it has built on occupied land as illegal and obstacles to any future land-for peace deal. Israel disputes this. Wasel Abu Yousif, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, called the construction plans in Jabel al-Mukaber “a challenge to all the calls by the international community” to halt settlement building. Last week, Israel announced approval for the construction of several hundred additional homes for settlers in the West Bank, drawing condemnation from Palestinians and the European Union. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have not been held since 2014, with settlement building one of the issues that led to their collapse. Some 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas that are home to more than 2.6 million Palestinians. (This version of the story corrects the name of settlement, paragraph 3)
Sakho joined Liverpool from Paris St-Germain for around £18m in September 2013 Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho has turned down moves to West Brom and Stoke City after being told he can leave on loan. The 26-year-old France defender is free to resume his career after a doping case against him was dismissed by Uefa. Sakho also was sent home from the club's pre-season tour of the USA following allegations of indiscipline. He has been told that he is not currently part of Liverpool's first-team plans by manager Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool are hopeful Sakho will find a club before Wednesday's transfer deadline as it has been made clear he will have to move to get games. The club have also agreed to sell forward Luis Alberto to Lazio, while defender Andre Wisdom is set to move to FC Red Bull Salzburg on a season-long loan. Subscribe to the BBC Sport newsletter to get our pick of news, features and video sent to your inbox.
The French manufacturer returned to F1 as a works team last year following a protracted takeover of Lotus, and finished eighth in the constructors' championship having only scored points in three grands prix. It has set its sights on moving up to fifth this year with its RS17, and Palmer and new teammate Nico Hulkenberg finished the first week of running at Barcelona sixth and eighth in the combined order. After setting the third-fastest time on Thursday on soft tyres - ahead of Haas and Force India on super-softs and Sauber and McLaren on ultra-softs - Palmer said its form was not expected, even within the clouded nature of testing. "It's a pleasant surprise at the moment," he said. "We still don't really know [the true order], obviously we've got a lot to come next week, but I'm sure everyone's got a lot. "I think we've had quite a strong week, performance-wise, but we don't really know what everyone else is doing yet and we don't know what everyone's going to bring, updates next week and in Melbourne as well. We'll have to wait and see." Renault's mileage on the opening day was limited by the lifespan of prototype versions of brake ducts, and the time to fly in and fit replacement parts cost it nearly all of the second morning as well. Despite also losing time on the third morning when he spun, Palmer was encouraged by what he found in the new car. "We didn't really get any really clean runs in the first couple of days, it was not a lot of performance running, just trying to build some miles on it," he said. "I get the feeling that the car feels good, we've made a lot of gains pace-wise, on the timing sheets we look alright. We've got a lot more to come. I feel like we're in a good position."
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York has also started a proactive stool-banking study. Most of the subjects are patients with leukemia. Before stem cell transplants, patients receive antibiotics and chemotherapy, often wiping out their microbiota. Dr. Eric Pamer, a physician and scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering, has discovered that the diversity of the microbiota just after the stem cell transplant predicts well-being and survival. After excluding death from leukemia recurrence, those with the least diverse microbiomes after surgery were five times less likely to remain alive three years later, when compared with those with the most diverse. “We often wipe out the flora,” Dr. Pamer told me. “It should become a routine part of practice to restore the flora.” It’s “very reasonable,” he added, to apply this principle to everyone who receives broad-spectrum antibiotics, not just leukemia patients, although the idea needs testing. In mice, simply caging an antibiotic-treated animal with a nontreated one will restore its microbiota. Mice are “coprophagic,” though. They eat one another’s feces. People don’t — or so we like to think. In reality, for much of our evolution, we shared more of our microbes. This pre-sanitary past was disease-ridden, but it may also have enabled acquisition of health-promoting microbes. One recent study in Papua New Guinea found that, in an environment with fewer sanitary amenities, people’s microbes seemed to recover naturally from antibiotics. Shouldn’t we have a more precise microbiota-recovery protocol? I called up Mark Smith, founder of a nonprofit stool-banking organization called OpenBiome. Years ago, as a doctoral student at M.I.T., he’d watched a friend spend a year and a half sickened by C. difficile. Antibiotics failed to help and, at wits’ end, the friend finally gave himself a stool transplant, in his own apartment, with stool donated from his roommate. It worked. Dr. Smith couldn’t understand why this highly effective treatment for a widely recognized scourge was relegated to D.I.Y. Lack of banked, screened fecal material, he discovered, was one hurdle. So he started OpenBiome, which screens donors and banks stool for use by medical professionals. Business is booming, he told me. This month, he started a pilot self-banking program called “PersonalBiome.” One complication: If he stores your stool, you can generally withdraw it only to treat C. difficile, not for preventive “reconstitution.” That’s because stool is regulated as a drug and not, as with embryos or blood, a tissue, which makes its use more complex. Ultimately, my son got ear tubes, tiny chalice-shaped pipes of plastic through his eardrums that, by allowing drainage and aeration of the middle ear, prevent ear infections. The tubes have helped with the immediate problem. But I still fret about what we may have done to his microbes.
County to host 'green' festival at Hartwood When the first-ever Allegheny Green & Innovation Festival ends Saturday evening, little should be left for trash collectors. Recycling of all cans, bottles and plastic containers will be part of an effort by Allegheny County and the more than 70 groups and organizations involved in the free festival at Hartwood to make it a "zero-waste" event. If you go: Allegheny Green & Innovation Festival Hours for programs and demonstrations at the Allegheny Green & Innovation Festival are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in Hartwood park. Displays and earth-friendly food booths will be set up near the Hartwood Amphitheater, east of Middle Road, in the Hampton portion of the county park. Entertainment on the amphitheater stage will begin at 12:15 p.m. with music for children by Kelsey Friday and continue until 8:15 p.m. with Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers as the closing act. Other performers are folk rocker Greg Joseph at 2 p.m., acoustic-blues band The Turpentiners at 3:45 p.m. and rock-lyrical musicians The Long Time Darlings at 5:30 p.m. The Houserockers set will begin at 7 p.m. Admission and parking are free. More information: www.alleghenycounty.us/greenfestival/ or 412-350-2528. "Residents will have the opportunity to learn how to live a 'greener' lifestyle and see demonstrations of innovative technology developed right here in southwestern Pennsylvania," County Executive Dan Onorato said in a statement. The resource-saving technology and activities will include "Reuse-a-palooza" children's activities, displays of electric-powered and self-steering vehicles, energy-saving robots and a book swap sponsored by the Allegheny County Library Association. Many exhibits have been designed to interest both young people and their parents, according to Darla Cravotta, the county's special projects coordinator. The "Bugmobile," for example, has been crafted from -- what else? -- a Volkswagen Beetle. Adults and children will be able to interact with the car, asking questions and getting answers about what Ms. Cravotta described as "integrated pest management." "Kids will learn about what insects are good for the environment and why we don't want to kill them," she said. "Grown-ups will learn techniques for handling lawn and garden insect problems that are safe and friendly to the environment." The festival is part of the county's Green Initiative, a multiyear effort to reduce the size of the carbon footprint produced by the county's 139 buildings and its vehicle fleet. Other elements have included an energy audit, the planting of a roof garden on the County Office Building and the hiring of Jeaneen Zappa as sustainability manager. The emphasis will be on green-living demonstrations, Ms. Cravotta said. "Green living," or a "sustainable lifestyle," refers to efforts to maximize the use of recyclable materials and minimize the amounts of energy and other natural resources used for daily life. "Reuse-a-palooza," for example, is a hands-on program for children that encourages them to make use of recycled objects in their playtime activities, Ms. Cravotta said. Designed by Creative Reuse Pittsburgh, the program makes use of materials such as leather, paper, tubing, fabric, carpet samples, wooden rods, plastic foam shapes and bubble wrap donated by local companies. Teenagers from Pittsburgh-area 4-H clubs will set up displays on unusual aspects of agriculture. They plan to bring llamas and information on the use of robots in agriculture. Apiarists from Burgh Bees will bring a beehive, and members of the Pittsburgh Poultry Association will answer questions about raising fowl in suburban and urban areas. At least two aspects of the festival will require visitors to do more than be passive observers, county spokeswoman Megan Dardenell said. Visitors are asked to bring a nonperishable donation for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and used books to trade or give away. The slogan for the Allegheny County Library Association's book swap is "Bring a book, leave a book; need a book, take a book," Ms. Dardenell said. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University will display two examples of innovative and potentially "green" transportation technology: the BowGo pogo stick and a self-directing SUV called Boss. The BowGo, developed by Ben Brown, a project scientist in CMU's Robotics Institute, holds an unofficial world record for a pogo stick high jump: 8 feet, 7 inches. The high-tech device fits in with the festival theme for several reasons. "It's an example of local innovation, it's human-powered locomotion and it's efficient," Mr. Brown said. Similarly, Boss, named for General Motors researcher Charles Kettering, "highlights the innovation that has been going on locally on the automobile front," CMU professor Raj Rajkumar said. The SUV Boss uses electricity to run the computer, lasers, radar and cameras that allow it to determine its position, identify obstacles and chart its path. That makes it a good candidate for development as a hybrid or electric car, he said. First published on August 13, 2010 at 12:06 am
A Bill For Legalizing Marijuana In Massachusetts By Zachary Babin - March 7, 2016 BOSTON (AP) — Supporters and foes of legalizing marijuana in Massachusetts are gathering to discuss a proposal that would allow residents 21 or older to legally possess up to 1 ounce of the drug. A legislative panel weighed the proposal on Monday. It would also create a 3.75 percent state excise tax on retail marijuana sales that would be assessed on top of the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax. Supporters have collected enough signatures to move the proposal to the November ballot if lawmakers opt against debating and voting on it. Also Monday, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, along with Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey and Democratic Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, wrote a letter in The Boston Globe arguing that young people are more likely to use marijuana when it is legal.
"How can we communicate?" the alien being asks Captain James Kirk in a vintage edition of Star Trek. "My thoughts . . . you are hearing them? This is interesting." Kirk can hear them because he's got a handy little voice translation gizmo, just perfect for communication with extraterrestrials, and apparently an inspiration for the Pentagon. The government is now testing something like this gadget to aid US forces in Afghanistan. One of the biggest challenges for troops in that region is the language barrier. To overcome this problem, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been evaluating a trio of new, portable handheld devices that record and then transmit voice translations of that country's two most popular languages. How do they work? Project manager Craig Schlenoff explains: "An English speaker talks into the phone. Automatic speech recognition distinguishes what is said and generates a text file that software translates to the target language. Text-to-speech technology converts the resulting text file into an oral response in the foreign language. This process is reversed for the foreign language speaker." The users can both speak into one device, or call each other on their own copies of the handheld. Afghanistan has two official languages: Pashto and Dari—respectively spoken by 35 and 50 percent of the populace. Then there are the Turkic languages: Uzbek and Turkmen, spoken by another 11 percent. And a small but not insignificant portion of the country speak Baluchi, Pashai, or Nuristani. These TRANSTAC devices ("spoken language communication and TRANSlation system for TACtical use") are intended to fill the enormous communications gap that US forces presently face. Local human translators are in short supply, and take huge risks when offering their services. "And, sometimes, translators may have ulterior motives," warns Brian Weiss of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is running the program for DARPA. In the past, soldiers have tried to make do with microphones hooked up to software empowered portable computers. But those arrangements are pretty clunky. The Pentagon tested voice devices shown in this YouTube video which indeed look like handheld mobile phones. So far they can hear and understand Pashto, Dari, and Iraqi Arabic. There are already a wide variety of speech-to-speech translators out there, but these DARPA machines are clearly pushing the envelope in terms of functionality. At least that's the hope. NIST has tried these gadgets out in about thirty situations, including vehicle check points, building inspections, and Afghani-US military training events. The exchanges have been filmed, and a team of judges are evaluating the results.
In movies, lip reading always seems like a secret code that can be cracked with a little practice. On-screen lip readers catch every word of conversations taking place across a room. In reality, it’s a little more complicated. By some estimates, only about 30 percent of speech is visible by looking at people’s lips, and things like dim lighting, laughter, hand gestures, and accents can make it even more difficult. A short film called “Can You Read My Lips?” explains just how hard it is to communicate in a world without sound. Rachel Kolb, who has been deaf since birth, stars in and narrates the video, based on her essay, “Seeing at the Speed of Sound.” “The human face isn’t a book and lip reading isn’t reading,” she explains. Try to figure out what people are saying without listening to the sound in the video above. Banner image screenshot via Vimeo
Woolworths is pushing back to defend its turf against Amazon. Credit:Louie Douvis Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci said the company would monitor Amazon's prices on products that Woolworths also sells, and take that into consideration when setting its own prices. "We track pricing against all of our competitors… making sure our customers get a good deal every time they shop at Woolworths, so it'll be part of our price tracking no doubt," Mr Banducci said. Mr Cairns said Woolworths recognised Amazon was a "formidable competitor", and was preparing for that challenge by improving its own online and delivery services. That included opening up to four new "dark stores", which are closed to customers and are used solely to pack and ship online home deliveries. Woolworths already has one dark store in Mascot, Sydney, and will be opening another in Sydney and one in Melbourne early next year. "By the end of 2018 we'll have about five dedicated dark stores to be able to deliver to customers and improve our performance," Mr Cairns said. He said Woolworths was improving its online fulfilment options, introducing "click and collect" to all its supermarkets. It was also trailing one-hour home delivery. "We should give customers options as to how they interact with us – do they want to come into the stores, do they want delivery, do they want to pick up," Mr Cairns said. "If we do that and we do that effectively then we are in a position to compete much more effectively with Amazon." Woolworths has combined its online team and its 10 million strong loyalty business to create a platform that will let it better personalise offers to customers. The supermarket currently sells about 6.5 million items a week online. 'Cut their own throat' Mr Cairns also warned suppliers that they risked "cutting their own throat" by selling their products to Amazon, because it could lead to other retailers dropping those products. "If they go onto Amazon, then Amazon cuts the prices substantially," Mr Cairns said. "What that forces other retailers to do is to reflect on whether they should be stocking the brand if they can't do it and make money. "They can end up cutting their own throat. Before they step into the breach, they should perhaps consider what the long-term ramifications are." Pokies promise The company was grilled by shareholders over the more than 12,000 poker machines held through its hotels business, which generated 10 per cent of Woolworths' earnings from its continuing business. Woolworths is the single largest owner of poker machines in Australia. Mr Cairns said the company would consider gambling reform advocates' calls for $1 bet limits, $200 ATM daily withdrawals limits at venues, and cutting opening times from the 20 hours a day currently in many venues, and would compile data to assess those proposals. "The first thing is to get the data, and the next logical step would be to say, if we trial this, does it actually reduce the incidence of problem gambling?" he said. "If there's a compelling analysis coming out of that, then we've committed to coming back and reporting them." Woolworths' food sales jumped 4.9 per cent in the first quarter, pulling ahead of rival Coles which saw 0.3 per cent growth in the same period. Loading The result was driven by a jump in transaction numbers and shoppers buying more on each visit, Woolworths said. Woolworths has spent more than $1 billion cutting prices and improving service to regain competitiveness with Coles and fend off low-cost challenger Aldi.
A few months ago, StreetEasy put out a study on the New York City neighborhoods where recent college graduates can actually afford to live. The real estate site took a look at median entry-level income for jobs in New York to determine the neighborhoods with the most budget-friendly housing options. It's not just you -- it really is more expensive to live in New York City than ever before. Rents hit an all-time high in July in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, while rental discounts fell sharply, StreetEasy said Wednesday. Median rents hit $2,980 in Manhattan, $2,453 in Brooklyn and $1,996 in Queens, the real estate service said in its monthly report. The Most Affordable NYC Neighborhoods for Recent Grads The most expensive single region was downtown Manhattan, while the cheapest (relatively speaking) was south Brooklyn. "While welcome news for landlords, renters planning on signing a new lease before summer ends should expect limited negotiating power and will need to act fast," StreetEasy senior economist Grant Long said in a statement. This Is What an $85 Million Manhattan Penthouse Looks Like In Manhattan, rents rose in every neighborhood except midtown and the Upper West Side. Prices rose everywhere in Brooklyn except the northwest section and Prospect Park. Queens rents rose across the board, with no year-over-year declines. The report also noted a sharp decline in discounts and other concessions, falling to a two-year low in Manhattan in particular. Bon Jovi Drops Asking Price for Stunning West Village Duplex
Last fall, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory ecosystem scientist Trevor Keenan had the kind of high-profile, global-scale research results that scientists dream of: He found that plants had absorbed more carbon dioxide than expected between 2002 and 2014. Some blogs cited his paper while falsely implying that climate change had slowed or stopped. Keenan was generally pleased with the media coverage his Nature Communications paper got, most of which conveyed his caveat that increased carbon uptake by plants will not stave off long-term climate change. But he also noticed that some blogs and media outlets cited his paper while falsely implying that climate change had slowed or stopped. The popular U.S. right-wing website Breitbart embellished upon the unexpected nature of the results by describing Keenan and his colleagues as “amazed” [Williams, 2016]. “It’s everybody’s fear that their results will be used as something that they’re not,” Keenan said. However, he said he felt there was little he could have done to prevent the misleading reports and hoped they would have limited impact. Such an attitude didn’t sit well with Keenan’s friend and colleague Thomas Crowther who has since moved from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology in Wageningen to ETH Zurich in Switzerland. Crowther thought Keenan should have more explicitly framed his finding as a temporary fluctuation in a long-term trend to prevent misinterpretations of his paper, Crowther said in an interview. Climate skeptics are “increasingly in power and making decisions about the world. And I would like to give them as little ammunition as possible,” Crowther explained. Keenan noted, however, that those skeptics’ “arguments are not based on logic but on passion.” “You’re not going to change their minds,” he said. For years, climate change doubters have sought to discredit climate science with niche websites like Climate Depot and blogs like Watts Up With That? that are devoted to the topic of global warming (see https://history.aip.org/climate/20ctrend.htm#S6). They have also issued misleading think tank reports, some dating back to the 1980s [Oreskes, 2011]. Climate science skepticism “has become weaponized on a mass scale,” said climate modeler Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Today, however, the rise of well-funded “alt-right” websites like Breitbart and an elaborate fake news ecosystem supercharged by social media has climate skepticism reaching a general audience. As a result, many climate scientists find the broader media landscape becoming a minefield. Climate science skepticism “has become weaponized on a mass scale, when before it was more of a boutique industry,” said Gavin Schmidt, a climate modeler and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. As a result, some researchers have begun to shy away from the public eye. These scientists worry that biased reporters could twist their findings to add to misinformation about their field and make them targets of unwanted attention or even attacks. Others, however, say that developing a thick skin can make the hostile environment tolerable. Some are using the same modern communication tools deployed by fake news purveyors to counter the influence of those deceptive voices. A few even are taking the battle to the hard-core skeptics, challenging them on their own turf. An Industry of Confusion Blogs that distort climate science have thrived for more than a decade. In an extreme trend a few years ago, the United Kingdom even saw a rash of fake meteorological forecasts. Those appear to be on the wane, however, as audiences have wised up to the tactic, according to Adam Scaife, head of monthly to decadal prediction at the Met Office Hadley Centre in Devon. The blogs often follow a standard playbook, said Jeff Harvey, an ecologist at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology who has studied how climate skeptic bloggers operate. Typical tactics, he explained, include trying to discredit all of climate science by focusing on a niche issue such as polar bear habitat and citing one or a small number of supposed “experts” (who are often not actually experts in the relevant field) to provide a veneer of authority. What’s new is that these writers are moving beyond blogging into increasing use of the conventions of mainstream journalism. The daily news mix at well-funded, ideology-driven sites such as Breitbart and Infowars in the United States and conservative tabloids in the United Kingdom often includes stories on high-profile climate science papers, reports, and other developments. However, the media outlets that publish these stories may not follow journalistic practices that guard against biased or inaccurate reporting. A recent example was a Breitbart story that featured a paper in Nature Communications by University of Southampton, United Kingdom, geochemist Gavin Foster. Breitbart gave its story the headline “Scientists Warn of Climate Apocalypse: CO 2 Emissions Will Send Earth Back to ‘Triassic Period’” [Williams, 2017]—sensational, perhaps, but not inaccurate. After describing the study, however, the writer segued into an extended discussion about the supposed unreliability of climate proxies such as those that Foster had used, which included carbon deposits in ancient ice, sediments, and fossils. Next, the writer referred back to Breitbart’s prior coverage of Trevor Keenan’s alleged amazement at his finding of a larger than expected uptake of carbon dioxide by plants. The article ended with a quote from William Happer, a physicist who disagrees with the scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change. (Happer has been floated as a possible science adviser to Donald Trump.) Although appearing in Breitbart surprised Foster, who was not interviewed for the article, he said he actually welcomes the coverage, even if he disagrees with the way the outlet framed his results. “I think it’s great that these sorts of outlets picked up the story,” he said. “It means the people you need to convince are actually reading it.” Climate skeptics have also mastered social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which makes sharing misleading stories as easy as clicking a mouse. Through these channels, they can even incite more-respected institutions to amplify a message. For instance, many were appalled late last year when the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology tweeted a Breitbart article, which itself cited an article in the U.K.-based Mail on Sunday that falsely claimed that global temperatures had “plummeted.” Predict and Prepare Increasingly aware of outlets ready and waiting to distort climate science findings, many researchers are devising tactics to counter the threat. One is to predict and prepare for misleading stories. “It’s great that these sorts of outlets picked up the story. It means the people you need to convince are actually reading it.” For example, many expect the fake news industry to pounce if, as seems likely, the average global temperature dips this year compared to last because the powerful El Niño that gave 2016 temperatures an extra boost has waned. (According to a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate outlook, 2017 looks on track to be the second-warmest year on record.) To get out in front of potentially misleading stories, the United Kingdom’s Met Office publicly released a prediction at the end of 2016 that 2017 would probably be a bit colder; Schmidt made a similar forecast in an article for the website FiveThirtyEight. Scientists plan to point back to these predictions to show that a cooler 2017 is consistent with the consensus view. “Making these forecasts well ahead of time gives us a sound foundation to go back to, when people talk about these small fluctuations from one year to the next,” Scaife said. Expanding the media’s focus from global temperature to metrics such as sea level and land and sea ice, some of which fluctuate less on an annual basis, could also help bolster the case that global warming is a one-way trend, added Deke Arndt of NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information in Asheville, N.C. These indicators are “all singing the same song, even if they hit different notes from year to year.” Directly confronting misleading coverage is another tactic that at least one climate change research organization in the United Kingdom has tried, with some recent success. On 5 February 2017, the UK’s Mail on Sunday published an article entitled “Exposed: How World Leaders Were Duped over Global Warming.” Once again, Breitbart covered the Mail story and the House Science Committee tweeted Breitbart’s coverage. Bob Ward, the policy and communications director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment in London, then lodged a formal complaint of inaccurate reporting. In July the UK’s Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO) ruled in Ward’s favor, and the Mail on Sunday article now carries a long preamble summarizing IPSO’s findings of inaccuracies. A Tough Choice The new media environment can be particularly challenging for young scientists, who need to promote their work but often receive little media training or guidance. When the journal Global Change Biology accepted Martijn Slot’s recent paper on tropical forests’ ability to acclimate to higher temperatures, he thought about having a press release written. Slot, a plant physiologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama City, is a postdoc who hopes to eventually land a permanent research job; he could certainly have used the recognition. But having seen findings like his get twisted to make climate change seem less dire, he said he decided to let the paper appear without fanfare. “I don’t want to be misrepresented,” he said. “The nuance of your science [can get] lost, it becomes a one-liner, things get taken out of context; people can run with it.” Abigail Swann, an assistant professor of atmospheric science and biology at the University of Washington in Seattle, shares Slot’s worries. Several of her team’s recent results could, in the hands of someone looking for fodder to create confusion, be used to make deforestation appear beneficial. For example, a modeling study Swann and her colleagues published in 2016 found that forest loss in the southwestern United States and the Amazon could actually cause trees to grow faster in the southeastern United States and eastern South America. “It’s a difficult line to walk,” she said. “You could try to construe this as that trees are bad in some way.” Instead of shying away from press exposure, however, Swann has armed herself with talking points on non-climate-related benefits of trees—that forests are essential for protecting local biodiversity and water sources, for example. She said that so far, to her knowledge, only one right-wing newspaper in Australia has written a misleading article about her work. Having seen findings like his get twisted to make climate change seem less dire, he said he decided to let the paper appear without fanfare. Some scientists also try to head off misleading coverage by putting their own interpretation forward for the public. Foster, for example, published an essay in the online venue The Conversation on the same day his Nature Communications paper came out. “We thought [the study] might have some press interest, and we wanted to lay out [our case] in easy language for people,” he said. Although the essay didn’t prevent Breitbart’s misleading report, it gave interested readers Foster’s side of the story in a readily understood form. Developing a Thick Skin Climate scientists who insert themselves into the public dialogue need to be prepared for uncomfortable interactions, say some veterans of the fray. Nearly every climate researcher interviewed for this article had received angry or unsettling emails. In the spring of 2016, Swann endured a lecture from a customs official dismissive of climate change. Scaife collects in a binder his letters from those who think that human-induced climate change is a hoax. Michael Mann, a well-known climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University, has even received death threats. But most say that with a thick skin, the online smears are tolerable. “People have to understand it’s not personal,” Schmidt said. “You’re just a name that can be used to make a political point.” A few, such as Harvey, even dive into debates in the comments sections of blogs. He described the experience as “a basic street fight or mud wrestling match” and said that he doesn’t expect to convert those who vehemently deny climate change. But he has also found that many blog readers are genuinely confused and appreciate an expert’s perspective. “I’ve met some very good people on these blogs,” he said. “People have written me emails afterwards and thanked me personally for teaching them about a process that they didn’t understand. And I thought, I’m doing my job as a scientist.” —Gabriel Popkin (email: [email protected]), Freelance Science Journalist Editor’s Note, 2 October 2017: This article has been updated to remove text involving a blogger’s comments on a source’s research. Eos could not verify these comments.
Aaron Brown has built water heaters for schools in Costa Rica and done charity work all around the world. But the Metropolitan State University of Denver professor says some of the most rewarding work he’s ever done is happening right now in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood. “You don’t have to go to far off places to help people — there are plenty of things to do right here,” Brown said. “With this project you feel a lot more rewarded and you see a direct, very local benefit.” Brown, who teaches mechanical engineering at Metro State, is working with students, as well as a local nonprofit organization, Revision International, to build solar powered furnaces for homes in the neighborhood. With empty soda cans as one of the main parts of the design, the furnaces cost around $30 to make and are expected to save about the same amount in monthly energy costs. In November, the group installed two of the heaters in homes, with more installations scheduled for later this month. And while it’s possible to “upgrade” the units — spending another $20 for an acrylic cover, $2 for a thermostat or $2.50 for a shower curtain to drape around it — that almost defeats the purpose of providing reliable and inexpensive energy, Brown said. An initial effort, undertaken with graduate students at the University of Colorado Boulder, yielded a furnace that cost about $60. But Brown thought the price could be lowered. That was the challenge he posed to his students at Metro State, tasking them with making the units faster, cheaper and more efficient and reliable. “You have to be really creative,” said Richard Anderson, a Metro State senior who’s part of the project team. “Right now, the unit will last for about a winter without any maintenance. If you bumped up the cost to about $100, it would last three or four times longer. But you’re talking about soda cans and computer fans that you can buy six for $10 on eBay and you’re supplying heat to an entire house.” Anderson said the electricity used by the fans costs about two cents a day. Cool air is drawn into the unit’s base and then heated as it travels up through drilled holes in the 144 aluminum cans, which have been heated by the sun. The air then exits through ventilation holes at the top of the unit. While there has to be a supplemental source for heat at night, the units can reach about 170 degrees during the day. In one of the units installed in November, Anderson said, a room that was about 60 degrees increased to 90 degrees within 20 minutes. “There was a little boy who was going to be sleeping there. He was going, ‘I’m going to be so warm tonight,'” Anderson said. “That was just so cool — it’s really exceeded my expectations.” The success has helped temper some of the initial skepticism from some members of the neighborhood. Even though the idea of inexpensive heat came from area residents, there were doubts that the unattractive, simple contraptions would actually work. Brown and Joseph Teipel, the director of operations and co-founder of Revision, held a series of meetings in the community. And while Revision had previous successes there in areas like backyard gardens and urban farms, some people were still leery. “You talking about soda cans being glued together, so it’s not something that just comes to people’s minds,” Teipel said. “But the initial installations were key. Now that they’ve seen it and see how well it works, they’re really excited.” When Revision started its backyard gardening initiative in 2009 there were seven families involved. By the end of 2013 there were 200 families, and Teipel said another 100 are expected to join this year. The plan for the heaters is for Brown and Revision to show residents how to build them themselves and install them in their homes. “We’d love to see this grow just like the farming did, where the people take over and it just grows,” Teipel said. Brown said there’s no reason why the project can’t spread beyond Colorado. He’s already talked with people in Chicago and recently corresponded with a woman who’s connected to refugee camps in Syria. “It would certainly help them,” he said. “It’s just a simple, inexpensive technology.” Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292, acotton@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/ anthonycottondp
CLOT x Converse One Star Releases On September 14th 3.32 / 5 14 VOTES This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. The opinions and information provided on this site are original editorial content of Sneaker News. Classic skate models are having quite the time in 2017 right now. Vans has revamped their iconic offerings like the Sk8-Hi and Old Skool through high fashion collaborations with Fear of God’s Jerry Lorenzo and Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld while Converse is making major moves with their ever-present Converse One Star. Fresh off of Tyler, The Creator’s numerous pastel renditions of the grunge classic, the Converse One Star will get a Yin & Yang themed upgrade from Chinese creative agency turned sneaker specialists CLOT. The CLOT Converse One star has a more detailed preview here featuring bolstered hairy suede in black and white while the Analects of Confucius are featured on the midsole. Check out more detailed shots of the CLOT Converse One Star below and grab your pair from select retailers on September 14th. CLOT x Converse One Star Release Date: September 14th, 2017 AVAILABLE AT Nike $110 Color: Black/White Style Code: 159248C-030 Source: Fullress
Last year, I brought two new Roborovski hamster pups into our home. They looked identical at the time, so I named them both Hamtaro. (Fast forward the 1.5 years Iâ€™ve owned them, and one has grown significantly tubbier than the other… So I’ve nicknamed her Hamtaro Grande.) Hamtaro y Hamtaro Grande After having the Hamtaros home for about a week, one thing became extremely clear: they run all the time. At least, thatâ€™s how it feels when I’m trying to sleep through their squeaky wheel. https://vine.co/v/OdDFHVbtQBb That’s Hamtaro on the wheel, and Grande on the ground So back in January, curiosity led me to start researching my hamsters on The Internet. Confirming my suspicion, I read that Roborovski hamsters in particular are one of the most active hamster breeds in the world, and run “an equivalent of four human marathons each night on averageâ€. So this got me wondering: Could it be possible that my Roborovski hamsters are really running the hamster equivalent of four marathons a night? â€¦And if they are, what does that mean? I mean, what even is the â€œhamster equivalentâ€ of a marathon? Fast forward a few months, and I ran into my friend Kevin at CRASH Space. He showed me a project he was working on in an effort to encourage his lazy cat Toonces to exercise more. Kevin had modded his cat’s wheel with a little fin and a distance sensor to create a pedometer, and was uploading his cat’s daily progress to Strava. (Needless to say, Kevin’s ungrateful cat has yet to thank him for his efforts.) Feeling inspired by my friend’s dedication to his cat’s personal health and fitness, I thought back on the claims The Internet had made about my hamsters, and decided to put them to the test with some citizen science. Here’s how it works: Mod the Hamster Wheel to Allow for Safe Tracking Luckily, I had already done the work to mod my wheel back in January. Back then, I had two goals in mind: Silencing the incessant squeaking of constant running that was keeping me up at night. (The ballbearings that are designed to play a video tape smoothly allow for relatively frictionless â€”and therefor nearly silentâ€” rotation. ) Provide a surface external to the cage to attach other apparatuses safely outside of hamster reach. (The VCR head has an axel that can reach through the cage bars, allowing me to mount the head itself to the outside of the cage.) https://vine.co/v/OXtKh7d0a0Y Notice that the VCR head spins on the outside when they run on the inside You can see detailed instructions on how to mod your own hamster wheel here. Build a Device to Record Hamster Data The hamstrometer itself is essentially just an ethernet-connected pedometer. (If youâ€™re following along with hopes of building your own, know that there are a million versions of these online, just in case the method Iâ€™m using doesnâ€™t work for your needs.) https://vine.co/v/enpFetTQD75 Notice the magnet stuck to the wheel, spinning past the sensor on the circuit Iâ€™m a huge fan of open source, so I made a personal choice to opt for open source solutions in my design whenever possible. You can download the Fritzing model for this circuit on github Hereâ€™s my parts list: Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi Periphreals (In an effort to cut down on waste, I got all of mine second-hand out of the CRASH Space junk bins): monitor, mouse, ethernet cord, hdmi cable, power cord (taken from an old modem), usb cord Sticky-backed Breadboard Hall Effect Sensor Rare Earth Magnet LED (optional: for notification and debugging) Jumper Wires The primary functionality in the circuit is happening between the rare-earth magnet and the hall effect sensor. Hall effect sensors sense the presence of a magnetic field, and are therefore capable of counting rotations once we have mounted the rare-earth magnet to the rotating portion of the VCR head on our hamster wheel. https://vine.co/v/enpWQaTTF5V The LED lights up whenever the magnet is near the sensor The Hamstrometer, dominating my entire dinner table The logging of our rotation data and any additional calculation is handled by the Raspberry Pi. After observing my hamsters’ behaviour, I determined that they generally tend to wander on and off of the wheel several times within a very short timespan. Because of this, I decided to record their data in “sprints”. Whenever the sensor senses the presence of the magnet, it considers this to be the start of a new sprint. Each consecutive time it senses the magnet after that initial pass, it logs the current timestamp. It will continue to record as long as it senses the magnet. If 5 seconds go by without any activity, it terminates the sprint and logs the sprint data to a SQLite database. Measure and Calculate Distances The claim made by The Internet is that my hamsters run, on average, the equivalent of four marathons a night. So the in order to determine if this is true, we first have to ask ourselves: What is the “hamster equivalent” of four human marathons? To determine this, I decided it would be fair to assume that if it takes a human X human-sized strides to run a human-sized marathon, then it must therefor take a hamster X hamster-sized strides to run a â€œhamster marathonâ€. So in order to solve this problem, I had to answer a few other questions first: Q: How far does a hamster run in one wheel rotation? Knowing all of this, there was one last measurement to take. The hamstrometer is recording rotations of the wheel, so we need to ensure that we are converting properly between wheel rotations and feet. I measured the diameter of my hamster wheel, and it is 0.5 ft. 0.5 ft X PI = ~1.5 ft A: The distance a hamster runs in one wheel rotation is 1.5 ft Q: How long is the average human stride? Luckily, this data is readily available all over the internet. I chose to go with the value of 2.2 ft, as that was quoted as being the average female humanâ€™s stride length, and my hamsters are ladies. A: The average female human stride length is 2.2 ft How long is the average Roborovski hamster stride? This one was a bit harder to figure out. It appears that the internet has significantly less data on the average stride of a female Roborovski hamster just lying around for the taking. I started crafting ideas for tests, and threw a few of them out on twitter to see if any would stick. @electricatz instead of ink (which means you have to find a non-toxic one) you could use water + food dye â€” codebear (@codebear) July 9, 2015 The community was full of suggestions! We all chatted back and forth about the pros and cons of the various ideas, how much work they would require, how accurate they might be, and how irritated my hamsters might be by the whole ordeal. Then one of us came up with the perfect idea: @electricatz Make a cage with a glass floor. Put a 1″ scale measure on underside. Point camera up at their walking. Analyze. â€” Zed (@zedshaw) July 9, 2015 Brilliant! This would enable us not only to see the steps the hamsters took very clearly, but is also unobtrusive to the hamstersâ€™ normal lifestyle. Luckily, the bottom of my hamster cage is translucent plastic, so an extra pane of glass wasnâ€™t necessary. With a ruler, a pen, and some tape, I graphed and labeled the WORLD’S MOST SOPHISTICATED HAMSTER STRIDE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM! BEHOLD And voila! After filming them and playing the footage back in slow-mo, I was able to get several measurements of hamster strides, and take the average. https://vine.co/v/evu6QqaEgXP A: The average stride length of my Roborovski hamsters is 0.166 ft. Q: How many human strides are in one mile? A: There are 2,400 human strides in one mile. Q: How far does a hamster travel in 2,400 strides? A: A hamster travels 400ft in one mile. Q: How long is four hamster marathons? A: Four hamster marathons is 41,950ft long. Upload and Tracking the Data I’ve been using ThingSpeak to host my data. ThingSpeak is an affordable and open source platform for hosting your IoT data. There is an api you can plug directly in to your project to upload your data, generate CSV files, and graph your data in near realtime. The code I wrote for this project is in Python, with the exception of the database and tables, which are supported by SQLite. You can find the code I wrote for this project here on Github, available under the GPL-3.0 license. Analyzing the Data I tracked my hamsterâ€™s activity for one month straight, and (spoiler alert): not one time did they make the cut. …wow. Perhaps this is because my hamsters are getting old? Perhaps domesticated Roborovskis donâ€™t perform as well as they do in the wild? Or maybe mine are just …really lazy? OR MAYBE THE INTERNET WAS LYING ALL ALONG?!?!?!?!!? Who knows. Whatever the reason is, it looks like it’s time to schedule some meetings about how to increase hamster engagement on the wheel platform. So… What’s the low-hanging fruit here? But really, I probably shouldn’t be so disappointed that they didn’t make the 4 marathons / day marker. I mean, these are still pretty impressive numbers for a creature that maxes out at about two inches long: Definitely farther than I run each day, that’s for sure.
Io is the closest thing we have to hell in our Solar System, a Jovian moon that features hundreds of active volcanoes and expansive lakes filled with lava. New observations suggests that the largest of these lakes, Loki Patera, produces enormous waves that repeatedly flow around the molten surface. Thanks to a rare orbital alignment between Europa and Io, an international team of researchers has identified and tracked a pair of lava waves as they coursed around Loki Patera, which is larger than Lake Ontario, and with a surface area of 8,300 square miles (21,500 square km). The most likely explanation for this apparently periodic wave action is an overturning circulation pattern, in which cool surface crust slowly thickens and sinks, pulling nearby crust along with it in a wave that spreads across the surface. These findings are set to appear in the May 11 edition of Nature. Advertisement Back in the 1970s, scientists began to suspect that Io—Jupiter’s fourth largest moon—featured a tumultuous and dynamic surface. When the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes visited the Jovian system in the late 1970s, these suspicions were confirmed, revealing Io as the most volcanically active object in the Solar System. This tortured moon is embroiled in a gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter and other Jovian satellites, causing intense tidal heating within its interior. One of the most curious things to come out of our observations of Io is the periodic brightening seen at Loki Patera every 400 to 600 days. The two prevailing theories include eruptions, which spread lava flows over a large area, or overturning waves of lava. The new study, led by researchers from UC Berkeley, would seem to suggest it’s the latter. Advertisement On March 8, 2015, Europa passed in front of Io from the perspective of Earth, gradually blocking out light from the volcanic moon. In stark contrast to Io, Europa is covered in ice, which reflects very little sunlight when viewed through infrared wavelengths. This rare event was not lost on the researchers, who were hoping to track this eclipse and measure the heat emanating from volcanos on Io’s surface. To do so, they used the twin 8.4-meter (27.6-foot) mirrors of the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory (LBTO) in the mountains of southeast Arizona. As Europa eclipsed Io, LBTO captured the incoming infrared light. Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF Advertisement “This took a while, so the heat radiating from the large expanse of Loki Patera was gradually reduced as the patera was covered by Europa, and then gradually revealed as Europa moved on,” said co-author Ashley Davies of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena in an interview with Gizmodo. “The subtle variations in thermal emission as Loki Patera was covered and then revealed allowed us to map the temperatures on the surface.” This data was sliced into one-eighth-second intervals as the limb, or edge, of Europa slowly advanced across Io. The researchers compiled a two-dimensional thermal map showing the temperature distribution along the patera, and at a resolution better than 6.25 miles (10 km). Analysis of the data showed that the surface temperature of Loki Patera steadily increased from one end to the other, suggesting that lava had overturned in two waves that swept from east to west at a rate of 3,300 feet (1 km) per day. Observations also showed that the overturning was initiated at different times on the two sides of the cool island at the center of the patera, hinting at complex geological process beneath the surface. In this video, the lower panels show the intensity of Loki Patera over time as it’s covered and uncovered by Europa. The animation shows Europa sweeping across the patera and obscuring different portions of its floor. (Credit: Katherine de Kleer/UC Berkeley) Advertisement “The velocity of overturn is also different on the two sides of the island, which may have something to do with the composition of the magma or the amount of dissolved gas in bubbles in the magma,” lead study author Katharine de Kleer said. “There must be differences in the magma supply to the two halves of the patera, and whatever is triggering the start of overturn manages to trigger both halves at nearly the same time but not exactly.” “The ‘overturning lava waves’ phrase needs some explanation,” said Davies. “These aren’t (as far as we know) waves as found in the oceans of Earth (that is, think of ships bobbing up and down). Rather we have a crust forming on a lava lake...which, as it cools, thickens. Eventually, the crust density causes the crust to sink, and this systematic crust sinking propagates in a ‘wave’ across the entire lava lake.” Advertisement Fascinatingly, as the crust breaks apart, it’s possible that magma spurts upward in fire mountains, similar to what’s seen on a much smaller scale in lava lakes here on Earth. Looking ahead, the researchers are hoping to make more observations to confirm the patera is indeed a lava-filled lake, to confirm the cyclical nature of its overturning waves, and to possibly capture similar events in other pateras. Thankfully, the researchers won’t have to wait terribly long. The next occultation event between Europa and Io is scheduled for 2021. “It will be fascinating to see what is happening then, and if our model explains any new results,” Davies told Gizmodo. “Also, there are other hot spots (active volcanic centers) in the LBT dataset still awaiting analysis.” Advertisement Still, Davies said, in the long run “what we really need is a spacecraft mission dedicated to examining Io’s volcanism, to look at Loki Patera up close, to establish without any doubt what is happening there.” [Nature]
Disclaimer: I do not own the series Naruto or any of the characters or concepts within it. I don't own Onimeno-sensei either; he's from another series entirely, and is merely twisted around to fit the premise of this story. O The Eyes Have It Chapter 1: Evidence O Looking back, later on, Sakura would be embarrassed to admit that it actually took a little while for her to notice that anything was amiss. In her defense, it was a very gradual process, in the beginning. It was a process that had begun months, possibly even years, before it manifested on a visible level. As it was, when her attention was finally drawn, there was a scant month and a half left until her Genin Exams. It went a little something like this. Sakura woke up with the sun, glaring blearily at her balcony door from beneath her thick comforter. After about fifteen minutes of trying and failing to continue snoozing, she reluctantly crawled out of her warm little nest and slowly ambled to the bathroom for her daily ablutions. After a nice, hot shower, she toweled off and wiped some of the steam off of the mirror. She blinked. After a moment of quiet stillness, she robotically dressed herself and went down to eat breakfast. Her mother noted the girl's preoccupied expression, but simply chalked it up to the various miniature crises that came with the territory of being a girl on the cusp of being a teenager. Her father had gotten in late the night before from a mission, and was too busy sleeping it off to form any conclusions about his child's state of mind. When she finished eating, Sakura went back upstairs, brushed her teeth, and stared deep into the mirror. She rinsed her mouth out, not breaking her one-girl staring contest, then calmly placed a hand firmly over her own mouth and let the scream she had been repressing bubble out. Each of her pupils had a small, all but negligible milky white dot in its center. O That afternoon, Sakura didn't even try to hang back and talk to her teachers about the material, or try to garner Sasuke's attention. No, she had far more important matters to attend to, and very little time in which to attend to them if she wanted to keep her parents from asking questions she didn't have answers for. She made her way towards the hospital at a pace that was just barely capable of being called casual. "I need an examination," she told the nurse manning the reception desk. "Do you have an appointment?" The nurse asked with a pretty, pleasant smile. Sakura shook her head. "Um, no. No, I…" she faltered. "It's sort of a…sudden development, I guess you could say." She gestured discretely to her eyes. The nurse leaned forward after a moment, her expression sharpening into something more professional. For a terrible moment, Sakura was struck with the mortifying thought that she might have imagined the entire thing and was about to be offered an entirely different 'examination' than the one she had originally come for. Her irrational fears were assuaged once the nurse's expression lightened with understanding and she sat back. "I see!" The lithe brunette grabbed a spare sheaf of paper and scribbled room number on it, before attaching it to a clipboard full of paperwork. "You should head straight up there, sweetheart. The doctor will help you fill out what you need to after he gets a closer look at you." Sakura nodded, mumbling her thanks and hugging the clipboard to her chest. She resumed her just-shy-of-panicked pace through the hallways and went up the stairs at a run until she reached her destination. She was brought up short by the name emblazoned on the door. "Onimeno…?" She frowned, feeling a trickle of apprehension. "What kind of name is that for a doctor?" "My kind of name," growled a voice behind her. Sakura whirled around, and it was only years of etiquette from her mother and observation lessons at the Academy that kept her from outright staring at the man scowling grumpily down at her. He was incredibly tall and muscular, easily dwarfing her slight frame and making the normally spacious hallway seem stiflingly small. His skin was deeply tanned and peppered with the odd scar, evidence of some amount of field experience, if not an outright career as a shinobi. His hair was a dark crimson, messy, and almost unmanageably long, spilling carelessly over his rumpled white coat and nearly obscuring his nametag completely. But most striking were his eyes: they were bright scarlet and cat-slit, and Sakura kind of wanted to cower until they went away. His name suited him perfectly. But Sakura was a good girl, and less than two months away from acing her Exams, so she smiled prettily and bowed. "Good afternoon, Onimeno-sensei. My name is Haruno Sakura. The nurse at the front desk referred me here." "Did she now," he drawled, tilting his head to study her. He caught the way she kept her eyes riveted to the floor, the way she tilted her head so her long forelocks drifted over her face, the deathgrip she had on the clipboard in her arms. Her smirked, revealing an unnaturally sharp set of fangs, and prowled—that was really the only word for it—towards his workspace, unlocking the door and kicking it open. "Well then, let's get you examined, Patient Number 719." Sakura blinked, before scowling slightly. "My name is Ha—" "Your name," Onimeno told her slowly, as if speaking to…well, to a child. "Is not something I really give two shits about. Odds are, I might never see you again after today. It's easier for all parties involved if I just call you Patient Number 719, so deal with it." Sakura felt her protests die when that fiery glare was turned upon her, and meekly slunk into the room. Unlike the examination rooms she was used to, this room was outfitted with a large black chair instead of a paper-coated table. Sakura hesitantly settled on the imposing work of black leather as Onimeno threw himself down onto a rolling stool and picked up a clipboard of his own. He kicked at the wall, sending himself sailing over her way, and stopped far too close for comfort. Sakura's apprehension only mounted when her leaned forward, catching her chin between two heavily calloused fingers and forcing her to meet his burning, hellish gaze. "Twitchy little thing, aren't you?" he rumbled, though there was an amused, approving edge to it. "Good. Might save your life someday." Sakura blinked, then quickly resolved to try her best not to when his scowl deepened and an irritated snarl echoed out of his throat. She didn't have much of a choice, and was forced to stare directly into his eyes, which actually made not blinking easier. It was a paralyzing experience. Her muscles locked up, to the point where her lungs contented themselves with shallow, soft breaths. After what felt like an eternity, he released his grip on her chin and turned away, quickly scrawling something on his clipboard as she blinked rapidly and tried not to gasp for air. "Well," he mused, not looking at her. "It looks like I was wrong. You and I will be seeing quite a bit of each other in the future, 719." "And…why is that?" Sakura asked, inwardly wondering why he couldn't use her proper name if that was the case. He looked up, idly tapping his pen against his clipboard. "Tell me, 719, what do you know about doujutsu?" "They exist," Sakura told him after a brief pause, her mind rocking and reeling with the implications. "And that the Sharingan and Byakugan fall under that classification." "Of course." Onimeno rolled his eyes and muttered something vulgar under his breath. "Well, moving away from the extremely condensed and unhelpful definition you're aware of, doujutsu actually covers a much broader spectrum. There are various branches, covering minor doujutsu, catalyzed doujutsu, illusive doujutsu, immutable doujutsu, induced doujutsu—which is a misnomer, those are temporary effects generally caused when idiots dick around with genjutsu techniques way out of their leagues—and various others." "The Sharingan would be catalyzed, right?" Sakura asked, thinking of her fathers stories about the pinwheel-eyed police force that had kept order inside the village during her childhood. "Since it can be activated and deactivated. And the Byakugan would count as…" She frowned, her brow furrowing in thought. "The Byakugan is technically immutable, phenotypically at least," Onimeno explained, serious and straightforward for possibly the first time in their brief acquaintance. "But mechanically, it's catalyzed. I have a traditionally immutable doujutsu," here he tapped his cheek, just below his eye. "Which means that it's always active, all the time. It lets me see chakra currents, which is how I landed this cushy job." "So…what do I have?" Sakura asked, both anticipating and dreading the answer. "From what I can tell from the developing chakra pathways that are beginning to settle, you have an emerging immutable doujutsu. It hasn't reached its stable form yet, so there's no way to tell exactly what it does. We'll need to schedule some regular appointments," he reached over and tugged her clipboard away from her chest, flipping through it and circling various blanks while scribbling out others. "And you'll need to fill out the marked areas and file all this at the Hokage's Tower, so arrangements can be made to accommodate your new circumstances." He handed the paperwork back to her, as well as his pen. "I see," Sakura said hollowly, beginning to fill out the necessary information without really reading it. "And…this will be public knowledge?" Her stomach clenched at the thought of telling her parents or her classmates. It wasn't a bad thing, by any means, but…having eyes that would warp and mutate with time wasn't something that many people would be able to swallow gracefully. Perhaps it was silly of her to feel that way, but the jeers of 'Bill-Board Brow' still haunted her. "Hell no," Onimeno told her flatly. There was something almost like compassion softening his demonic gaze. "It's a shitty idea for a ninja to wave around a weapon that they have no clue how to use. Until those eyes of yours are fully developed with a tested, confirmed and documented use, the only people who absolutely have to know about this are you, me, Hokage-sama and your jounin instructor. Everyone else, and I do mean everyone else, can be informed at your discretion and your discretion alone." "That will be a little difficult, won't it?" Sakura asked, even as relief welled up. "Since it's going to be an immutable doujutsu, I mean." Onimeno scoffed and wheeled closer, bringing his hands together in a seal. "Spare me, 719. You think doujutsu users haven't figured out a way around that over the centuries we've been around? There's a low-chakra intensive bastard cousin of the henge that is used most of the time. Now watch closely, because I'm only doing this once and I don't want you badgering me with any stupid questions." Sakura watched and memorized, focusing on her strength—learning—and carefully bottling up the panic and exhilaration and fear roiling through her to deal with later. Onimeno caught that too, but said nothing. The knowing look in his frightening eyes had yet to leave. O Chapter Word Count: 1,861 Total Word Count: 1,861 Targeted Word Count: 1,667 Well, here it is! The beginning of my FaNoWriMo project: a slightly more realistic take on the 'Sakura unlocks a brand new blood-limit!' storyline. As the summary might suggest, this will not be a tale of sudden superpowers and curbstomping all enemies in her path. This is going to be an irritating, sometimes emotionally draining experience for our girl. Hopefully, you guys will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed planning it out! As always, reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome. Thank you all for reading!
THERE’S always debate around babies and breastfeeding, but model Sarah Stage set the media into meltdown when she shared shots of her seemingly small belly in the last stages of her pregnancy earlier this month. Experts and parents around the world have clamoured to compare themselves to her and share their thoughts about her size. Some have even gone so far as to express strong concerns about the health of her baby, and bizarrely, even Sarah’s ability to produce breast milk! “These days it’s seems like everyone has something to say, especially on social media. Most are very positive and I try to ignore any negative comments. My doctor says the baby is healthy and that’s all that matters to us,” she said at the time. I never thought I’d compare myself to a supermodel, but I have some idea of how Sarah feels as I’ve experienced similar reactions myself since announcing two weeks ago that I’m expecting twins. After many requests, I was excited to share my first ‘side’ pregnancy shot on social media, a few weeks into my second trimester. I had some supportive and lovely responses from people. I also had hundreds of comments expressing surprise and concern I’m not showing more, given I’m now in my fourteenth week. Some have been quite hurtful and not the sort of thing you’d want to read in the earlier stages of your pregnancy. I’ve had everything from “It can’t be healthy not showing yet with twins” to “You’re putting your babies’ lives at risk by training during your pregnancy”. I’m the first to admit I was at least twice this size at the same stage of my first and second pregnancies. The difference is that I’m eating more healthily and exercising three times a week this time around — including weight training now that I’ve had clearance from my doctor to resume my previous program. My doctor says the babies and I are both healthy and that is good enough for me. I expect it will take longer for me to ‘pop’ this time around because of the work I’ve done on my abdominal muscles. Am I concerned? Not at all! The only thing on my mind is two healthy babies. That’s why I want to stay as active as I can to have the most positive delivery and recovery possible. I’m going to work hard to make it a very different experience to my first pregnancies where I gained 28 kilograms and felt so weak during the delivery I was hardly able to actively participate. We know women who stay in their healthy weight range recover more quickly after delivery. The babies themselves also benefit, with studies showing they cope with labour better than those with mothers who remained inactive through their pregnancy. Research has also shown active pregnant women experience less swelling, insomnia, anxiety, depression and gestational diabetes. When I saw Sarah’s pictures I thought they were beautiful, and I loved seeing such a high profile female stay so active during her pregnancy. Rather than pull expecting mothers down, why don’t we celebrate them for promoting a healthy lifestyle throughout their pregnancy? A healthy pregnancy will look different for every woman. Let’s not compare ourselves to others, but find our own version of healthy. Sophie Guidolin is a personal trainer, nutritionist, fitness model and author. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram or visit her website.
As I mentioned earlier, John Cornyn asked Eric Holder whether Aaron Swartz was prosecuted because of his FOIAs. Second, was the prosecution of Mr. Swartz in any way retaliation for his exercise of his rights as a citizen under the Freedom of Information Act? If so, I recommend that you refer the matter immediately to the Inspector General. I have shown earlier how, during the period when the Grand Jury was investigating Swartz, Swartz was FOIAing stuff that the prosecutor seems to have subpoeaned as part of a fishing expedition into Swartz. I have also shown that a FOIA response he got in January 2011 suggests he may have been discussed in a (presumably different) grand jury investigation between October 8 and December 10, 2010. And Jason Leopold has also pointed to some interesting coincidences in Swartz’ FOIAs. But there’s a series of FOIAs Swartz submitted that almost certainly pissed off the government: he FOIAed tapes that would have had Bradley Manning, describing in his own words, how he was being treated at Quantico. On December 23, 2010, David House blogged about the treatment Bradley Manning was being subjected to at Quantico (which has since been deemed illegal). On December 27, Swartz asked for the following in FOIA from the Marine Corps: Any records related to Bradley Manning or his confinement in Quantico Brig. In particular, please process as quickly as possible a request for the government-curated audio tapes created in Quantico brig visitation room #2 on December 18 and December 19 2010 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm. These tapes may also contain a recording of David M. House; I have permission from David House under the Privacy Act to request these records. The timeline that ensued is below, with other significant dates included. Of particular interest? The Secret Service didn’t get warrants to investigate Swartz immediately after his initial arrest, in spite of the fact Secret Service Agent Michael Pickett offered to get a warrant on January 7. In fact, Secret Service didn’t get warrants until February 9, over a month after his initial arrest. (Update: See this post for more on the delay.) That’s the day Swartz FOIAed the Army Criminal Investigative Service for the tapes on Manning’s treatment. More odd still, the Secret Service didn’t immediately use the warrants to obtain the hardware seized in his arrest; the warrant to search his hardware expired and Secret Service eventually got a second one. But Secret Service did search Swartz’ home two days after they got that warrant, on February 11–two days after he asked ACIS for the tape that would have Manning describing how he was being treated. Suffice it to say that Swartz was pursuing the same information that got State Department Spokesperson PJ Crowley fired just as USSS intensified its investigation of him. While I don’t think Swartz’ pursuit of details on Manning’s treatment would be the only reason they would deal with him so harshly, the Obama Administration clearly was dealing harshly with those who were critical of the treatment of Manning. Update: This post has been updated for accuracy. December 23, 2010: David House blogs about Manning’s treatment, effectively fact-checking DOD’s claims. December 27, 2010: Swartz FOIAs the recording of House’s visit to Manning, which would have captured Manning describing in his own words how he was being treated. December 29, 2010: Initial response on Manning brig FOIA. January 4, 2011: MIT finds Swartz’ computer. Secret Service takes over the investigation. January 6, 2011: Swartz arrested. January 7, 2011: Twitter administrative subpoena to several WikiLeaks team members revealed. January 17, 2011: Protest outside of Quantico for Manning. January 18, 2011: Manning placed on suicide risk. January 20, 2011: Swartz’ Manning brig FOIA transfered to Quantico CO. February 1, 2011: Quantico tells Swartz Manning brig FOIA needs to go to Army Criminal Investigative Service.
Making Your Own Delegates Joe Spadafora Blocked Unblock Follow Following Feb 13, 2017 If you’ve spent some time working in iOS in Swift, you may have noticed that you see the word Delegate everywhere. Delegation is a powerful pattern that can be really useful, and it’s easier than you might think to create your own delegates. In thinking about delegates, a good way to explain them might be a metaphor of a wedding. At a wedding, there’s a ceremony, some sort of music and dinner gets served. If we made a class to model that, it might look something like this. So, we’ve got all the basics covered, but this code isn’t reusable. In a real wedding, sometimes everything comes with the venue, but other times it’s provided by outside vendors. That’s exactly the same function a Delegate does for us. In Swift, starting with a protocol for your delegate is a good idea, since it lines up well with the function of a delegate. Let’s start by making our protocols. Protocols are a cool way of saying that anything that conforms to this protocol will implement the stuff here. It’s basically swift’s way of saying, “Hey, I promise that if you meet a Insert name of Protocol here, that it will be able to do X, Y, Z .” The rest of the program or class can then depend on the delegate to definitely have those features. So, like I said, to “Delegate-ize” our class, we need three delegates, Ceremony, Music and Food. So, our Music Delegate needs to be able to play music and take song requests and return true or false that they will be accepted. Our food delegate needs to provide some sort of food, and our ceremony delegate is responsible for performing the vows. First let’s make the ceremony delegate and modify the venue class. Okay, we added the CeremonyDelegate protocol, and modified the class. Basically instead of just having it say “Do you, do you?” we can set it up so that the ceremony can easily be provided just by replacing the delegate instead. So, now, maybe we could have the guy from the princess bride as the officiant. Cool. Let’s add the other two delegates: So, with all that finished, we change our wedding venue class to this: We now have 3 delegates who are going to handle all of the different functions, just like in a wedding we might have a caterer, a DJ and an officiant. Instead of hard-coding in all of the default values, we are going to defer to our delegate to handle all of the different delegate functions. Let’s put all of this to some good use now by adding a MusicDelegate and a FoodDelegate . Since we now have classes that conform to all of the different delegates, we can now put them to use. Now, immediately there are a few benefits to doing this in our code. Classes can become reusable and more generic when we split out the code that handles the heavy lifting for specific features. Splitting some of the logic out of the main class allows for smaller classes as the different responsibilities are separated out and each delegate is only responsible for some of the code. Having code with a distinct concrete job makes it easier to reason about the code and to modify. Making a delegate can make it easier to change your code later. For example, let’s say you were using something like Parse or Firebase as the backend for your app, but later decide to roll your own server. If you’ve made a NetworkServiceDelegate , then all you have to do is make your new network code conform to the new delegate protocol and won’t have to modify the rest of the code. To see how it all works, try copying the code below into a playground and messing around with it. This is just a silly example, but imagine this could be a table that is re-usable for different types of media like videos with a MediaDelegate, responsible for returning information about / presenting media. You can easily change the behavior of a class without having to completely all of the logic that handles it. This is exactly how UITableViews/UICollectionViews work with their delegates and data sources and we can harness this power ourselves. Hopefully this helps give you some ideas about the delegate pattern and some thoughts about how you might be able to use it. What are some other ways that you use the delegate pattern in your programming?
Thomas Piketty seems to have stirred up a new Red Scare. His new book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, is being hailed as the most important book of the decade, even the century. The French economist’s 696-page tome is sold out on Amazon, where it’s the No. 1 bestseller. Backed by centuries of data, Piketty posits that unregulated capitalism naturally widens the wealth gap between rich and poor, and will continue to do so. Returns on capital, such as real estate or stocks, grow faster than the larger economy, so the wealthy accumulate more wealth over time while the working classes divvy up a shrinking share of the pie. "This is the central reason why we had so much wealth concentration in the past," Piketty told HuffPost Live last week. "In the 20th century we forgot about this because there were several very unusual events that made this different. But in the future, there are reasons to believe we might return to this inequality.” Needless to say, conservatives are panicking, looking for any way to refute Piketty’s work. “Good luck with that,” New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote on Thursday. "The really striking thing about the debate so far is that the right seems unable to mount any kind of substantive counterattack to Mr. Piketty’s thesis." But thanks to the free market of ideas that is Amazon's product review section, some game-changing rebuttals have trickled down: "History has proven, again and again, that such people are not only wrong on the facts, but completely diabolical." "...both Piketty and Krugman are amateurs" "That is why we must always defend our Constitution and the freedom that brave patriots fought and died for." "GO AFTER HIM, LIBS!!!" "He belongs in the heap of child molesters in my book." "Only uneducated ignorant people would like this" "More hypocrasy from the leftist, socialist, French" "To bad they turn their backs on the truth and worship this garbage." "The only people who would like this trash is liberals" "Piketty can go to H&ll as can Marx, Lenin, Obama, etc." "This book could have been written in one sentence. 'Make everyone poor so we can all be equally miserable.'" "If Liberals weren't so dangerous to America we could just continue to LAUGH at them." "Not worth reading post kindergarten." "You want to fail, read this book!! I would not waste my money or my time on this book! I saved you from both!" "Don't waste your time, this is pure Marxist leftwing garbage. Income inequality BS."
IT IS the morning of November 9th, the day after the election, and America is waking up to find out who is the new president. The result turns on the vote in North Carolina, where the ballot papers are being recounted. Even when the tally is in, the result will be in doubt. North Carolina’s new voting laws are subject to a legal challenge, which could take weeks for the courts to resolve. Both sides complain that the election is being stolen; the acrimony, sharpened by allegations of racial discrimination, makes Florida’s hanging chads and the Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of George W. Bush in 2000 seem like a church picnic. This is not as fanciful as it sounds. America organises its democracy differently from other rich countries. Each state writes its own voting laws, there is no national register of eligible voters and no form of ID that is both acceptable in all polling booths and held by everyone. Across the country, 17 states have new voting laws that, in November, will be tested for the first time in a presidential contest. In several states these laws face legal challenges, which allege that they have been designed in order to discourage African-Americans and Latinos from voting. It is past time to start worrying about where these challenges might lead. Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. The X factor The new laws date largely from a Supreme Court decision in 2013. Before then, many states in the South, and a couple elsewhere, that had spent much of the 20th century finding ingenious ways to prevent minorities from voting, had to clear any changes to their voting laws with the Justice Department or a federal court. Three years ago, the Supreme Court ruled the country had “changed dramatically” and that the formula for choosing which states were covered was outdated. That allowed all the states to write laws unsupervised. Handed power over the rules for electing themselves, Republican politicians in southern statehouses have, unsurprisingly, tilted them in their own favour. Early voting, which non-whites (who lean Democratic) are keen on, has been restricted. Another change has been to limit the kinds of ID that are acceptable at a polling station. In Texas student IDs are out, handgun licences are in. The authors of these laws protest that they have nothing to do with race or political advantage and claim that they are necessary to guard against voter fraud. Yet there is scant evidence of fraud. To claim otherwise is cynical and corrosive. In the 12 years before Alabama passed its new voter-ID law there was one documented case of impersonation. The second argument made, in southern states, is that the new voting laws merely bring them in line with those elsewhere in the country, some of which do not allow early voting at all. This is true, but tantamount to an admission of guilt: politicians in some safely Democratic districts in the north have not been above fiddling with election rules and redrawing district boundaries to protect incumbents either. Indeed, it is an argument for a more general change. The worst of all the arguments for the new voting laws is that casting a ballot should not be made too easy, because if people are not clever enough to understand the rules governing elections they should not be entrusted with choosing the government. Any political party that hopes for lower turnout has lost its way. William F. Buckley, a conservative pundit, once wrote that he would rather be governed by the first 2,000 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than by 2,000 members of Harvard’s faculty. Republican lawmakers must decide whether they still believe in the good sense of those they aspire to govern, or whether they lost that faith somewhere on the way to the statehouse. The new voting laws suggest the Supreme Court underestimated the grip the past still has on the present. Were politicians really concerned about voter fraud they would hand over the running of elections and voter registers to non-partisan bodies. Unfortunately, this will not happen. Why disarm when you have all the bullets? As a second best, therefore, the courts should expedite cases on voting laws to reduce the chances of legal challenges after the election.
Dead fish started washing ashore in Vietnam in April after Taiwanese firm Formosa released contaminated waste into the ocean (AFP Photo/) Hanoi (AFP) - Vietnam is investigating new mass fish deaths along its central coast, an official said Friday, months after a major steel plant was blamed for a toxic leak that wiped out tonnes of marine life in the fishing hub. Public anger has mounted in Vietnam since dead fish started washing ashore in April after the Taiwanese steel firm Formosa discharged contaminated waste into the ocean, causing the worst ecological disaster in decades. Formosa was eventually slapped with a $500 million fine following weeks of rare protests in the authoritarian country. The government is now looking into new reports that boats were seen dumping sludge into waters off of Thanh Hoa province south of Hanoi, where some 50 tonnes of dead fish washed ashore earlier this month. Officials initially blamed the deaths on blooming red algae. "An investigation into the cause of the fish deaths is being carried out by experts from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources," Cao Thanh Tho, head of aquaculture in the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development department, told AFP. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said it was analysing waste samples "to determine if there is any link with the fish deaths", with results expected by September 20. Meanwhile, dead fish, including large carps, also started showing up along the Thu Bon River in central Quang Nam province this week, with state-run Thanh Nien newspaper reporting residents saying the waterway has turned black in recent days. A Quang Nam official told AFP an investigation was under way. Earlier this week another Taiwanese firm, Header Plan, was fined more than $9,000 for dumping waste into a canal in Vietnam's southern Dong Nai province, where residents have complained increasing pollution in recent years.
Victory for Martinez's men would have handed city rivals Liverpool the initiative in the title race, leading to suggestions of mixed emotions in the Goodison Park stands on Saturday. There was little evidence of this when the ground erupted to acclaim Ross Barkley's sensational opening goal and, although leaders City took charge through Sergio Aguero and an Edin Dzeko brace, Romelu Lukaku's 65th-minute header set up a breathless finale. Defeat ended Everton's hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification, but Martinez was pleased to end a memorable home campaign with his team's fighting qualities on full display. "I think everyone that watched the game understood straight away that if anyone questioned our integrity - not just as a football team but as a football club - they had not reason to do it," he said. "The effort, the character of the players, the intention of winning the game was clear for everyone to see from the first second until the last. "The way we celebrated Ross Barkley's goal is as big a roar as you got at Goodison for the whole season. "So I'm proud of the football club that we were very much a team wanting to win. "I think it's clear that we tried absolutely everything to beat this Man City side." Aguero's goal was his 17th in the Premier League this term and the mercurial Argentine's injury curse struck again in the act of scoring. He hobbled out of the action to be replaced by midfielder Fernandinho and, paradoxically, Martinez felt City's loss of their talisman had a greater impact on his own side as Yaya Toure was pushed into an advanced role to influence proceedings. "I do think that the injury to Sergio Aguero affected us more than it affected them," he explained. "In many ways it was a fascinating tactical games and we tried absolutely everything. "In the last 20 minutes we gave a proper, proper go. We showed an incredible bravery in everything we tried to do from the first second to the last. "We tried to win a football game and I think it's fair to say that we didn't deserve to lose the game."
LONGYEARBYEN, Norway (CNN) -- A vast underground vault storing millions of seeds from around the world took delivery of its first shipment Tuesday. Dubbed the "Doomsday Vault," the seed bank on a remote island near the Arctic Ocean is considered the ultimate safety net for the world's seed collections, protecting them from a wide range of threats including war, natural disasters, lack of funding or simply poor agricultural management. Norwegian musicians performed Tuesday as part of an elaborate opening ceremony marking the opening of the vault, located 130 meters (427 feet) inside a frozen mountain. Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, placed the first seeds inside the vault, followed by other dignitaries. The inaugural shipment represent 268,000 distinct samples of seeds, with each sample containing a hundred-plus seeds and originating from a different farm or field around the world. In all, the shipment of seeds secured in the vault Tuesday weighed approximately 10 tons, filling 676 boxes. The shipment amounts to a 100 million seeds in total, ranging from major African and Asian food staples like maize, rice, and wheat to European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and potato, according to the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which is paying to collect and maintain the seeds. Watch as "Doomsday" seed vault opens » Eventually the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, as it is officially known, will hold as many as 4.5 million distinct samples of seeds -- or some 2 billion seeds in total -- encompassing almost every variety of most important food crops in the world, the Global Crop Diversity Trust said. Don't Miss Web site: Svalbard Global Seed Vault The Norwegian government paid to build the vault in a mountainside near Longyearbyen, in the remote Svalbard islands between Norway and the North Pole. Building began last year. The United Nations founded the trust in 2004 to support the long-term conservation of crop diversity, and countries and foundations provide the funding. "The seed vault is the perfect place for keeping seeds safe for centuries," said Cary Fowler, executive director of the trust. "At these temperatures, seeds for important crops like wheat, barley and peas can last for up to 10,000 years." The vault's location deep inside a mountain in the frozen north ensures the seeds can be stored safely no matter what happens outside. "We believe the design of the facility will ensure that the seeds will stay well-preserved even if such forces as global warming raise temperatures outside the facility," said Magnus Bredeli Tveiten, project manager for the Norwegian government. The vault sits at the end of a 120-meter (131-yard) tunnel blasted inside the mountain. Workers used a refrigeration system to bring the vault to -18 degrees Celsius (just below 0 degrees Fahrenheit), and a smaller refrigeration system plus the area's natural permafrost and the mountain's thick rock will keep the vault at at least -4 C (25 F). The vault at Svalbard is similar to an existing seed bank in Sussex, England, about an hour outside London. The British vault, called the Millennium Seed Bank, is part of an scientific project that works with wild plants, as opposed to the seeds of crops. Paul Smith, the leader of the Millennium Seed Bank project, said preserving the seeds of wild plants is just as important as preserving the seeds of vital crops. "We must give ourselves every option in the future to use the whole array of plant diversity that is available to us," Smith told CNN. The idea for the Arctic seed bank dates to the 1980s but only became a possibility after the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources came into force in 2004, the Norwegian government said. The treaty provided an international framework for conserving and accessing crop diversity. Svalbard is designed to store duplicates of seeds from seed collections around the world. The Norwegian government says it has paid 50 million Norwegian Kroner ($9.4 million) to build the seed vault. E-mail to a friend CNN's Becky Anderson contributed to this report. All About Norway
Transcript: Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling Rick Perry: Texas' Lonely Ranger Rick: Hi-yo, Horse, my ownership of which is unregulated! Rick: My state of Texas is a fiercely independent land, and we don't take kindly to guv'mint regulations! Why, we don't even have a fire code! BOOM Rick: Ah, another fertilizer plant explosion! The sweet music of the free market! WOMEN'S HEA Rick: Hold on! What's this? An abortion clinic! Why, they have almost spotless safety records! Rick: Well, we've got to protect Texas's little ladies! Comply with these new regulations, or I'm gonna shut yer abortion clinic down! Woman: ...and the regulation smokescreen to get only goal is to close so expensive to most clinics will no clinics in Texas. Rick: Well, you ladies sure can talk a blue streak, but I'll protect y'all anyway! WINK Next in The Lonely Ranger BACK-ALLEY ABORTIONS Woman: AAAUGH! Rick: "The louder they scream, the more we know that we are getting something done." - Rick Perry
What kind of coup was that? The Turkish military has long had a well-deserved reputation for effective coup-making. The fiasco of last week will surely kill that reputation, possibly for good. Turkey’s past coups each had unique characteristics. At first glance, it is the May 1960 takeover that has most in common with the recent drama. It too was conducted against the backdrop of a polarized political system against an entrenched and ever more authoritarian and corrupt single-party (Democratic Party) government that had nevertheless enjoyed impressive electoral popularity. The government then had been in power for a decade and seemed bent on moving the country away from the secularist principles laid down by the republic’s founder, Kemal Ataturk. Like the recent coup attempt, the 1960 military intervention was instigated by elements outside the formal chain of command — largely by colonels rather than the top brass — and its leaders promised a renewed democratization drive, as did the “peace at home council” set up in the early hours of July 15. Still, the 1961 constitution that resulted from the 1960 coup remains Turkey’s most liberal ever. There the comparison ends. Within days of the ousting of the civilian government in 1960, the Turkish high command had effectively taken full control, although it was led by army chief General Cemal Gursel rather than the chief of the general staff, who was put under arrest. This ensured military unity and the loyalty of the lower ranks. Furthermore, the 1960 coup-makers neutralized any likely source of opposition and swiftly rounded up the civilian leaders, notably, prime minster Adnan Menderes (who was later executed) and president Celal Bayar. In this fiasco, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his minsters remained at large. Erdogan even managed to fly from the holiday resort of Marmaris, land his jet at Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport, and take charge of events. Although Erdogan’s claim that his Marmaris hotel was bombed after he had left it remains unsubstantiated at the time of writing, there were clashes at the hotel that clearly came too late for the coup plotters to capture him. Erdogan and the country’s religious leadership called for people to take to the streets and oppose the tanks, which they did, easily outnumbering the absurdly small huddles of scared conscript soldiers, many of whom clearly had little stomach for violent confrontation with civilian crowds. Soldiers were soon surrendering, although around 50 civilian deaths did result from the night’s confrontations. Reports suggested that the conscript soldiers and junior officers thought they were on a military training exercise. Other than Chief of the General Staff Hulasi Akar, who was briefly detained but reappeared again within hours, the service chiefs almost immediately declared their opposition to the coup and even mobilized some forces against those of the coup leaders, leading to violent exchanges around the military’s headquarters and the presidential palace in Ankara. During the night, a few broadcasting stations were briefly occupied or closed by small numbers of soldiers, but for the most part, the media spent the night filming, reporting, and commenting on the unfolding drama. In short, this was an epically botched coup, an amateur affair that would scarcely be credible as a plot for a comic novel based in a newly independent African republic in the 1960s. The coup leaders, some of whom seem to have been very senior, made little attempt to grasp or neutralize the levers of power. They entered the fray relying largely on what appears to have been a pitifully miniscule force of confused, disoriented, and uncommitted troops and units. In the early hours of the next day, eight of the coup leaders fled to Greece in a police helicopter and asked for asylum. It is surprising — and also disturbing in a way — that such senior officers in one of NATO’s largest militaries could be found so lacking. Is This the Turkey We Know? Yet perhaps more importantly, the Turkey of 2016 is not the Turkey of 1960, or even of 1980 or 1997, when the last two military coups occurred. Unlike in 1960, when there was considerable support for the military takeover from the secular establishment, this misadventure was condemned by all the opposition political parties, including the Kurdish People’s Democracy Party, or HDP. This does not imply support for Erdogan and his ruling party or even an overwhelming faith in Turkish democracy. Rather, it is an indication that Turks of all political persuasions shudder at the thought of a return to the 1980s, when the military arrested half a million people, incarcerated political figures, journalists and activists in their tens of thousands, and executed or otherwise “disappeared” them in their hundreds. Turkey still suffers the burden of the illiberal constitution of 1982, which all would like to revise despite the almost complete absence of consensus on what to replace it with. These were dark days, and few Turks hanker for their return. Furthermore, past military interventions solved few of the country’s persisting problems, such as the role of religion in a nominally secular political system, the Kurdish issue, and the weak rule of law and autonomy of institutions. The 1997 “soft coup” took the form not of a military takeover, but of intense pressure on the Islamist-led government that resulted in its resignation. This eventually led to the emergence of a far more formidable Islamist-oriented party, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by disciples of Necmettin Erbakan, who was ousted as prime minister in 1997. What is the point of all this military intervention? Turkey is a far more sophisticated society than it was under earlier periods of military rule: more educated, travelled, networked, diverse, and consumerist. Its economy is liberal, dynamic, and complex. Its engagement with the rest of the world is far more extensive. Most can see that modern Turkey, for all its drawbacks, cannot seriously be run by a bunch of Colonel Blimps. Many Turkish officers recognize that. The Turkish military has also changed — or, rather, has been politically weakened and discredited in its own eyes as well as that of the public and political classes. The Turkish General Staff issued its so-called “e-memorandum” of 2007 in an attempt to forestall the elevation of one of the AKP’s leaders, Abdullah Gul, to the presidency. Prime Minister Erdogan responded to this effort by calling an immediate general election that raised the party’s share of the vote from the 34 percent gained in 2002 to nearly 47 percent, and then he installed Gul as president on the back of this resounding demonstration of popular legitimacy. Still more dramatic were the so-called Ergenekon, Sledgehammer, and related trials of Turkey’s so-called “deep state.” These trials followed waves of arrests of military officers as well as intellectuals, activists, politicians, journalists, bureaucrats and the like that began in 2008 and resulted in the imprisonment of hundreds of military officers, many of them senior and including former Chief of the General Staff Ilker Basbug, who was sentenced to life imprisonment. As the trials proceeded, many more senior officers tendered their resignation, but the palpably fabricated charges were made to stick in any case. Though all the verdicts were annulled and the military officers released from jail in early 2016, in itself a move probably best seen as part of the ongoing struggle between Erdogan and the Gulenists, the formerly prestigious, respected, and overbearing Turkish military command seemed to have been reduced to less than a shadow of its former self. Its hitherto formative guardianship role in the country’s domestic politics seemed utterly at an end. This too makes the July 2016 events seem so odd and so unexpected. Why Try for a Coup? This brings us to the issue of motivation behind the recent fiasco. Upon his arrival at Istanbul airport from Marmaris, President Erdogan made it amply clear that, as far as he was concerned, the coup attempt was masterminded by Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish cleric living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. Gulen presides over a vast though shrinking network of businessmen, journalists, intellectuals, and professionals of all kinds, the tentacles of which extend to commerce, education, charities and the media. Gulen’s followers are apparently inspired by his thinking, which posits a kind of long march through the institutions by relatively tolerant, modern, technocratic Muslims who will thereby be well positioned to benignly subvert the state so that it might become more reflective of the piousness of Turkey’s masses, yet also more attuned to the exigencies of the modern world, both at home and abroad. It was allegedly Gulenist lawyers and policemen who provided the momentum behind the demolition of the deep state and the weakening of the military’s political power. This very much suited the ruling AKP too, fearful as it was of a military coup against its hold on office. In retrospect, we can see that the ruling party’s alliance with the Gulenists — or rather Erdogan’s alliance with them — was simply one of convenience. When a group of Erdogan associates, including his own son, were subjected to the attention of Gulenist law enforcement officers in December 2013, accused of extensive and mind-boggling corruption, Erdogan decided that the network — or hizmet as it self-defines — now constituted a major threat to his hold on and enjoyment of power. He has been relentlessly purging supposed Gulenists from public office ever since, accusing them of having established a “parallel state.” The police and judiciary have lost tens of thousands of alleged sympathizers to the purges. The foreign, interior, and other ministries have been hit too, as have pro-Gulen media outlets, such as the Zaman newspaper, educational establishments, academics and businesses — the allegedly Gulenist Bank Asya was seized by government regulators in early 2015, for example. The July 2016 coup attempt has offered Erdogan the opportunity to tackle what he clearly sees — or claims to see — as Gulenist circles in the upper echelons of the military. It is they who are accused of having led the coup attempt, and within a day of its crumbling, nearly 3000 officers had been taken into custody. They include the chiefs of Turkey’s second and third armies and a former chief of the air force. Erdogan insists that the coup attempt’s timing was triggered by the fact that the presence of “parallel state” circles within the military establishment was due to be discussed at a national security council meeting slated for early August. If true, perhaps these officers panicked when contemplating what was in store for them. Yet well nearly 3000 judges were also forced from office and ordered detained on July 16, including at least one constitutional court lawyer and 140 appeal judges. It is already evident that the crackdown is extending beyond the military, although the justification offered is the same — the need to defeat the Gulenist “parallel state.” At the time of writing, academics, and journalists seem also to be in the firing line. Whether they are all Gulen followers, and whether, if so, they act under orders and as a single force, remains unproven and implausible. It seems more likely that the affair was engineered by a group of officers disaffected with Turkey’s domestic and foreign policy trajectory under Erdogan, For the president and his followers, such questions matter little. This is an opportunity — given by God, according to Erdogan during his tirade at Ataturk airport on the morning of July 16 — to destroy this source of opposition to his rule. Turkey’s Future, Past, and Present In the past, the Turkish military has justified its political interventions on the basis of its “guardianship role” of Turkish secularism and the unitary nature of the state. We do not know what the motivation was on this occasion, but if Erdogan is to be believed, then this adventure was inspired by a religiously based bid for political power. If Erdogan is proven correct, it would amply demonstrate how far Turkey has come over the past few decades. Turkey’s secularists no longer have the military as their ultimate protector. Under Erdogan, who will protect them or anyone else he deems a threat to his rule? He already presides over a supine media, whose journalists and proprietors have been purged, intimidated, bought, or bought out. Academics and intellectuals are scared, as the government takes ever greater and more pernicious control over universities and even thought itself. Where government agencies have not been brought directly under the president’s sway, such as the intelligence agency (the MIT), they have been stuffed with Erdoganistas — as in the police and judiciary — or bypassed — as with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More and more decision-making power concentrated is in the hands of Erdogan and his gang of advisors. Even the AKP has been rebuilt in his own image, and it now consists of MPs and regional mayors that owe their positions to his patronage. The party’s big hitters and founders, such as Abdullah Gul and Bulent Arinc, have long since departed. Gone, too, are the more moderate and centrist characters initially drawn to the new beginning that the AKP seemed to offer Turkey back at the turn of the century. More recently, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who has been credited (debited) with re-engineering Turkish foreign policy for the past decade or so, was unceremoniously dumped from office just a few months back. Little now stands in Erdogan’s way. The next few days, weeks, and months will tell us what he intends to do with the unprecedented power and opportunity he now has at his disposal. In Turkey’s conspiracy theory-loving culture, some are even speculating that the whole fiasco was staged by Erdogan in order to engineer justifications for what he is now about to inflict on those he sees as his enemies. In any case, he seems to find power irresistible. It is at least possible that things could soon be as bad for democracy, freedom, and the rule of law in the country as they were in the aftermath of the 1980 coup. Turkey seems to have no good choices. Thus far, Turkey’s allies have rallied round in support of civilian rule in Turkey, and given Erdogan the benefit of the doubt once again. But problems loom, not least in the context of Ankara’s war with the PKK and the battle against the Islamic State. But one foreign policy problem is already firmly on the agenda. Turkey’s foreign minister has declared that only an enemy of Turkey would give shelter to Fethullah Gulen. It is the United States that gives such shelter. John Kerry has indicated that, if evidence that Gulen ordered the coup attempt is furnished, he could conceivably be extradited. Is it likely that Turkey has such evidence to hand? Is it likely that Gulen ever gave such an order or was behind other plots of which he has been accused? Who knows, but it seems unlikely and Gulen is vehemently denying any involvement and indeed condemning the coup attempt. Kerry has also hit back against allegations, notably from Turkey’s labor minister, that the United States was somehow behind the coup attempt. The American attachment to the rule of law might soon come up against the almost complete indifference to it by one of its key allies. It could be interesting to watch. Bill Park is Senior Lecturer in the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London, and Visiting Scholar at TOBB-ET University, Ankara. He is a council member for the British Institute at Ankara, a member of the editorial board of Mediterranean Politics, and sits on the international advisory board of Turkish Studies. He frequently appears on the media, and is regularly consulted on Turkish affairs by a number of U.K. and other governmental and non-governmental institutions.
The Poehler family is expanding their footprint on NBC. The network, which carries the Amy Poehler-starring comedy series Parks & Recreation, has acquired the U.S. broadcast rights to Welcome To Sweden, a half-hour comedy series from Poehler and her brother Greg, which was originally commissioned by Sweden’s TV4 as the network’s first-ever English-speaking series. The deal with NBC was made by Entertainment One, which handles the show’s worldwide rights. Filmed in Sweden, New York and Los Angeles, Welcome To Sweden is a fish-out-of-water comedy created by Greg Poehler based on his true life story. It is about a New York accountant, Bruce, played by Poehler in his acting debut, who falls in love with a Swedish girl, Emma (Josephine Bornebusch) and follows his heart to Sweden. Lena Olin co-stars as Emma’s mother Viveka, and Illeana Douglas and Patrick Duffy play Bruce’s parents. Making cameo appearances are Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Aubrey Plaza and Gene Simmons. “This show is a ‘first’ on so many levels,” said eOne TV’s EVP Global Production Carrie Stein. It’s the first English-language comedy for TV4; the first television show Greg Poehler has ever created and starred in and executive produced with his sister Amy; and it’s the first time NBC has been involved with a comedy shot in Stockholm with a large Swedish cast. The reason this comedy has attracted all these people is because its theme is universal — love conquers all…even if it means moving to Sweden.” Welcome To Sweden is a co-production between eOne, TV4, FLX and Syskon. Executive producers include Amy Poehler and Greg Poehler; Fredrik Arefalk for TV4; Stein for eOne; and veteran Swedish TV helmer/creator Felix Herngren for FLX.
“The present situation in Petrograd is reducible to a simple formula. The Provisional Government has insufficient force at its disposal here to maintain office; the Bolsheviks have insufficient to impose their authority.” So reports Our Special Correspondent in that city as the fate of the putsch by the latter appears to be hanging in the balance (see page 7 ). Also on this page is the “fearless, outspoken, useful, and stimulating address” delivered by David Lloyd George in Paris. For once the use of the superlative – “one of the most remarkable speeches the nations at war have yet heard” is not hyperbole, as the Prime Minister is remarkably critical of the governance of the war to date in front of his Allies whilst explaining why at this juncture the new war council has been set up, especially as he had been part of this governance overseeing “disasters and blunders." - A gardener’s case that he is the rightful Marquis of Waterford comes into the courts – page 3 - Hall Caine explains in a letter on page 5 how his role as controlling cinema propaganda, as reported on November 10, will work - Bread in America comes under Government control – page 6 - Also on the food front details of the new voluntary rationing scheme appear on page 7 - More news from Palestine from W. T. Massey on page 8, but oddly given the resumption of fighting reported the previous day nothing from Passchendaele - A drastic new comb-out for military service is promised by Sir Auckland Geddes in a speech reported on page 9 - The St. Andrew Society (Glasgow) takes issue with the donation of Chequers being described as for the use of the “Prime Minister of England” – page 9
by MARIO LEKOVIC Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle accepted the "Next Century Conservation Plan," which is designed to make Cook County a national leader in urban conservation. The plan sets goals and priorities to be implemented over the next 25 years and calls for the Cook County Forest Preserve District to develop annual operational plans, set targets and refresh the plan every 5 years. County board commissioners double as forest district commissioners. The conservation plan has four priorities, restoring native landscapes, making the preserves more inviting, accessible and engaging, demonstrating and expanding the economic benefits of the preserves, and ensuring future leaders sustain the focus on conservation and accountability. "The forest preserves are one of the most important assets of Cook County, and ensuring that they thrive as a source of beauty, inspiration, economic vitality and health is critical to the success of our region," Preckwinkle said in a statement. The forest preserve district was created in 1913 with the mission of protecting and preserving nature and providing education, pleasure and recreation to the public. Experts estimate that about 3,000 of the approximately 69,000 acres of preserves are in good ecological health, which means they have a good mix of native plants and appropriate conditions to furnish habitat for native species. The conservation plan calls on the district to commit to restoring 30,000 acres over the next 10 years. Preckwinkle also announced several that the district will implement a network of 6,000 volunteers who will work to restore habitat in the Chicago and Calumet region, create a Conservation Corps to provide work-force training to youths and unemployed individuals while increasing the capacity of the preserves for ecological restoration and protection of up to 21,000 acres of additional open space over the next 25 years, and provide critical habitat, buffers or connections for trails identified as unprotected by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and Chicago Wilderness. Preckwinkle also asked the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways to examine access to the preserves as it begins its long-range transportation plan to ensure that the preserves are more accessible via public transportation, biking and walking. About 7 percent of Cook County residents have good public transit access to the preserves.
O ver the course of its first 19 years, Columbus Crew SC has been blessed to have some talented players don the black and gold uniforms. Striker Brian McBride, goalkeeper Brad Friedel, defender Frankie Hejduk and striker Stern John all played for Columbus in MLS alongside successful careers in Europe. As Crew SC prepares to embark on the club’s 20th season, the next star has emerged in midfielder Wil Trapp. Here with the lowdown on the young American is Patrick Murphy. Wil Trapp: The Basics Name: Wil Trapp Date of Birth: 15th Janurary 1993 Age: 22 Position: Midfield Club: Columbus Crew SC Nationality: American Who is Wil Trapp? Unlike the club’s previous stars, Trapp is one of the city’s own. Born and raised in the Columbus suburb of Gahanna, Trapp has been a fan of the Black and Gold since he was young, attending matches when his busy soccer scheduled allowed. Trapp was a member of the Crew SC’s Academy, captaining his team at the U-16 and U-18 level. He was named the Crew Soccer Academy Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010 and was a member of the 2012 U-19 NYSA National Championship team. The midfielder attended Gahanna Lincoln High School where he led the team to the state championship in 2009. He also won the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year and NSCAA National High School Player of the Year award in his senior season. Trapp has represented the United States on the youth level with the U-14, U-15, and U-18 national teams as well as captaining the U-20 team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2013. After his youth career, Trapp elected to go to college and played for the University of Akron for two years. He finished his career with the Zips starting all 45 games and registering one goal and eight assists from a central midfield position. Trapp signed a Homegrown contract with Crew SC in December 2012 and made his professional debut on 6 July 2013. Since that match, the 22-year old has become a mainstay in Columbus’ midfield, appearing in 44 out of a possible 50 games and earning his first cap for the United States Men’s National Team in January. With the 2015 season on the horizon, Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter will once against look for Trapp to control the midfield and build off the success of his first two seasons with his hometown team. Playing style At 5-foot-8, 150-pounds, Trapp is not going to dominate the midfield with his physicality. Although he has demonstrated the capability to battle in the center of the pitch, Trapp uses his smarts and technical ability to regulate the midfield for Crew SC. In Berhalter’s system, Trapp is required to do much of the defensive work. As the wing backs push forward offensively, the halfbacks slide out and Trapp fills in the middle, creating a back three. This requires constant awareness from the youngster to know when he needs to drop in, but also when to step back into the midfield in order to prevent a counter-attack through the centre of the park. To take this in a different direction, this 2014 @tempofreesoccer table is why Trapp is The Truth. pic.twitter.com/ZrlJiMe0Yk — Will Parchman (@WillParchman) February 13, 2015 Trapp is also an important cog in the Black and Gold’s possession game. For such a young player, Trapp has great field vision and his passes are normally precise. Although he prefers the short, quick passing game, the midfielder has the ability to put a long ball on the foot of an attacker. But his consistency with these types of passes remains a work in progress. Although he doesn’t shoot often (just 19 career shots), Trapp has the ability to score from the outside of the box. His only professional goal came when he was allowed too much space before unleashing a rocket shot from distance that skimmed across the pitch and into the bottom corner. What are people saying about him? Former US Men’s National Team player and current U.S. U-20 head coach Tab Ramos praised Trapp’s performance with the team in the 2013 U-20 World Cup. “From the beginning, Wil was one of those guys who fit into the puzzle,” the coach said at the time. “He continued to get better camp after camp and as time went by. He’s one who connects everybody together. He’s one of those players who makes everyone around him better. “Since I took over the U-20 national team, it’s been one of the important things to me, having players who are comfortable with the ball. Wil is certainly one of those players that no matter what situation you get him the ball in, he can get out of it and he can make it better.” Former Arsenal great and France legend Thierry Henry had nothing but praise for Trapp after Crew SC defeated his New York Red Bulls side 3-1 last season, despite the midfielder not being involved in any of the goals. “Wil Trapp was outstanding today,” Henry said after the October 19th match. “I know [Federico] Higuain usually gets all the [credit]. Their striker will get [some] I’m sure because he scored two goals and [Ethan] Finlay wasn’t bad either, but Wil Trapp is the key of that team and today, given the tempo of that team, bringing the ball out of the back, Higuain doesn’t have to drop and get the ball. He will get it in good positions because Wil Trapp does his job. He brings the ball out for them and it’s difficult to stop. “They carried on trying to pass the ball from the back, from the goalkeeper, very composed too. Every time trying to find Wil Trapp and he was trying to pass the ball to his midfielders. He did it. We couldn’t find a solution and that’s why we lost the way we lost.” How far can he go? As Trapp’s play continued to improve in 2014, Crew SC fans began to wonder how long the local product would remain in Columbus and Major League Soccer. The 22-year old’s position in the Black and Gold’s midfield is cemented and he will continue to play and grow. He fits perfectly into what Berhalter wants from his central midfielder and the only injuries or suspensions will keep him from earning more playing time. Trapp’s debut for the national team wasn’t a major success, playing just 31 minutes in an unfamiliar position. But it showed he is in the future plans of head coach Jürgen Klinsmann. Trapp is already being projected as a member of the 2018 US World Cup team, but he must continue to improve to achieve that dream. As he continues to play for the US men’s side, his exposure overseas will grow and likely attract the interest of European clubs. As long as Trapp is somewhere he can play regularly, he will continue to develop. The danger could be if he elects to make a move to Europe, only to get lost on the bench like many American players in recent years. Are you a Trapp believer? Who’s your choice for best young player in MLS? Let us know on Tiwtter: Patrick Murphy is a new contributor to Just Football specialising in MLS and the Columbus Crew. You can find more of his work online at his Crew SC-related blog, The Massive Report. You can also follow Patrick on Twitter @_Pat_Murphy_
YouTube has faced its fair share of copyright controversies, one even more absurd than the others. In what appears to be an indirect censorship effort, a company claiming to represent the German National Library is now claiming copyright on the 87-year-old Nazi anthem, taking down a historical documentary in the process. When it comes to Nazi propaganda, Germany has an extensive censorship track record. After the Second World War it was policy to ban all Nazi propaganda, most famously Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Even today the issue is still a hot topic. For example, earlier this week our attention was drawn towards a rather unusual censorship effort on behalf of the German National Library. Represented by BR:Enter Music, the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek sent a takedown request to YouTube, targeting the historical 2006 documentary You Don’t Know Hitler. The film in question serves as a reminder of the horrors Hitler brought forth. It is composed of historical material and other propaganda footage, including clips from Leni Riefenstahl’s 1935 film Triumph of the Will. The content that triggered the takedown request is a version of the infamous Horst Wessel Lied, also known to a wider public as the Nazi Anthem. According to the claim, the library owns the right to the recording. Update: September 26 The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek informed us that, contrary to what the takedown message states, the reporting agency doesn’t work on their behalf. “BR:enter does not represent DNB,” they informed us. Documentarian and filmmaker James K. Lambert informs TorrentFreak that this is not the first time that his film has been targeted, but usually these claims are dropped when he protests them. “The complete film has been posted for nearly four years and I periodically get claims against me from companies who say they own this sound recording or that image. These false claims were always dropped once I pushed back.” Copyright claim This time, however, that was not enough. The National German Library insists that the film infringes on their rights and as a result the filmmaker has been slapped with a copyright strike. “According to BR Enter, DNB owns the ‘sound recording’ rights to this track, ‘Version 11’ specifically, which is allegedly the version I used in my film when I extracted it from the Nazi propaganda documentary, Triumph Of The Will.” While it seems strange that the German state would own the rights to a 87-year-old song it didn’t produce, the issue is a bit of a minefield. Over the years, Germany has indeed obtained the copyrights to a lot of Nazi propaganda, some of which are still enforceable today. On the other hand, there is a long history of denying Nazi copyrights or permitting its use, starting with the US Government which sanctioned it in Frank Capra’s counter propaganda series Why We Fight. What’s clear, however, is that after all these years Nazi copyrights are still being enforced. This is something Lambert is fiercely protesting. According to the documentarian, people have the right to see history for what it was. “Nazi propaganda is part of the criminal record of their Crimes Against Humanity; they are not marketable commodities that should exclusively belong to anyone,” Lambert tells us. To get his documentary reinstated Lambert submitted a counter-notice which he documented in detail in a lengthy blog post. According to Lambert the song he used is in the public domain and even if it isn’t, it would fall under fair use. TorrentFreak contacted both BR:Enter and the National German Library several days ago asking for comment on the issue. However, at the time of publication we have yet to hear back. (see update above). Lambert hopes that his counterclaim will be accepted and that the documentary will be reinstated soon. For the future, he hopes that YouTube will improve its processes so it can better deal with these fair use cases, keeping the rights of documentarians in mind. “This matter should never have reached this absurd point. YouTube should not have given unquestioned deference to BR Enter Music’s claim against me and my documentary should not have been taken down from YouTube. “I hope this counter-claim will finally resolve this matter and restore the video to my channel because I am completely within my rights to have made this film and to publicly show it to others,” Lambert concludes. For those who are interested, Lambert’s documentary You Don’t Know Hitler is still available on Vimeo. Update September 27: The copyright claim has been lifted.
By Colleen Long Associated Press NEW YORK — An SUV driver who was beaten bloody by a group of angry motorcyclists after he'd run a biker over wept as he testified Monday that he was scared to death during the melee. "Complete fear. For my life, for my wife's, for my daughter's," Alexian Lien told a judge, speaking at length for the first time publicly about the September 2013 fracas. In this Feb. 27, 2014, file photo, Wojciech Braszczok, center, is led into the courtroom while covering his face in New York. (AP Image) Related article Official: Undercover cop present at violent bike rally Lien was testifying at the trial of undercover detective Wojciech Braszczok and co-defendant Robert Sims, who are charged with assault and other crimes following a motorcycle rally that devolved into pandemonium and became a highway horror story to millions who saw a helmet-camera video posted online. Braszczok, who was off duty when he participated in the rally gone wrong, was accused by Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass of failing to act as a police officer. Braszczok reached into a broken window on the SUV, then stood by and eventually drove off as others pulled Lien from the car and attacked him, prosecutors said. "Not only did he fail to protect and serve, he cast his lot in with the assailants," Steinglass said. Defense attorney John Arlia said Braszczok was acting as a cop afraid of blowing his deep cover. He denied Braszczok took part in any assault. Braszczok should have told his colleagues that he'd seen the assault, but he was afraid of losing his job, Arlia said. "But that does not make him a criminal," he said. Sims' lawyer Luther Williams didn't give an opening statement, but has said his client was working with police and helped save the life of the biker struck by Lien. The defendants decided to have a judge, not a jury, determine the outcome. Eleven men were indicted after the melee; the others have pleaded guilty to charges including assault and riot and face sentences of probation to two years in prison. Some of the road encounters were caught on video and posted online. On the witness stand, Lien said he, his wife and their toddler were headed to New Jersey for some shopping for the couple's anniversary. But when they hit Manhattan's West Side Highway in their blue Range Rover, they crossed paths with hundreds of bikers. Some were popping wheelies and slapping the tops of cars they passed. One motorcyclist tried to block other cars from going north to allow the bikes to pass, but Lien said he was "annoyed" and wanted to get on with his day, so he kept driving. As the bikes whizzed by, his wife tossed a half-eaten plum and later a water bottle at the bikers, he said. Tensions rose. A motorcyclist knocked off his rear-view mirror, and Lien was eventually forced to a stop as some bikers got off their rides and approached his car. "And as they're around my car, I feel it being hit, being kicked," he said. "I'm horrified at this point, and I recall asking my wife, 'What do I do? What do I do?' " he recounted through tears. "She says, 'Just go! Just go!" "And I make a hard right because I see there's an opening and I ... I just go." He said he knew he had hit someone. "But I just wanted to escape the situation," he said. Bikers followed him off the highway, eventually pulling him from the SUV and attacking him in front of his wife and daughter. Lien needed at least 20 stitches on his face and suffered some permanent, visible scarring, Steinglass said. Lien was not charged. The biker Lien hit, Edwin Mieses, was paralyzed. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press
Hobbling on crutches, Wolfpack wing Liam Kay worked his way down the east stand of Lamport Stadium to mingle with fans after Toronto's weekend win over the Coventry Bears. Kay injured his ankle in a three-try performance in the 54-12 victory. But the English back wasn't about to disappear into the dressing room after Saturday's final whistle. "I've always done it," Kay said of greeting fans post-game. "All the boys have always done it. "I'm not one to be selfish and keep my time to myself. I'll always go and thank the fans, because they've come out to watch us. The least that me and all the boys can do, despite having injuries, is go round and thank them all. We'll go over to the beer tents after and we'll spend some more time with them there and go to the Brazen Head Pub [a nearby Irish watering hole where Wolfpack fans gather] after. "That's just what rugby league is." Community involvement Wolfpack players posed for selfies, signed autographs and gratefully took a sip of any beer that was passed their way as they worked their way around the beer tents and stands. The visiting Coventry team joined them in mingling. The Wolfpack aren't the only sports team to bond with fans. Pro lacrosse and minor league hockey are among sports that have long made a point of making players available after games. But the Toronto rugby league team sees the interaction as an important part of its mission in introducing the sport to North America. The Wolfpack drew an announced attendance of 7,236 Saturday, following crowds of 6,281 and 7,144 for the first two home games. Kay says those numbers are better than some of the teams in the English top tier get. But he admits to being worried during the pre-game warm-up for the May 6 home opener when he looked around and saw the stands were almost empty. "I was thinking 'There's no one here.' And then all of a sudden, 6,000, 7,000 people turned up and it was quite a surreal moment," he said. "It's quite a new game to a lot of them," he added. "Maybe some don't know the actual rules properly, I just think it's amazing they still come out and support us." 'Honest, hard-working people' Toronto coach Paul Rowley, a former England hooker, is big on character in his squad. In assembling the Wolfpack, he said he looked for "good players and good people." Ego is frowned upon. While his squad has Australian, Samoan and Tongan flavours, the bulk come from the north of England. "These lads, they're very, very honest people, hard-working people," said Rowley. "And that's rugby league players in general. They're really hard-working. They have a huge amount of humility and you've see Liam walk around the pitch because it's his duty to go and shake that youngster's hand and make his day. "And that's how you get your next generation of Toronto rugby players, because that moment will stick with that young child and he wants to play rugby and so on and so forth." Wolfpack back Ryan Brierley gave his game shoes away to a young fan at the last home game, Rowley noted. "He's had to go out and buy another pair of boots for the game." "If there's a pound in their pocket, they'll give it to you," Rowley added. "We're dealing with good people." The fully professional Wolfpack, rugby's first transatlantic team, have started in the third tier of English rugby league with an eye to winning promotion all the way to the Super League. They have made short work of their semi-pro opposition so far and that will likely continue Saturday when the Wolfpack play at the South Wales Ironmen (0-9-0). On the injury front, Kay is expected to be out two to three weeks with a high ankle sprain. Forward Adam Sidlow (hamstring) will be out three weeks. Toronto is really the Wolfpack's home away from home given most of the players have homes in the north of England and the team has its training base there. But players like Kay and Tom Dempsey, born in Australia to a mother from Edmonton, like what they see in Toronto. "I can't wait to get back and I've not even seen the majority of it yet," said Kay, who was Rowley's first signing. "Like Liam said, I honestly don't really want to go back for England for two weeks," added Dempsey. "I'd rather stay here."
Breaking Bad creator spoke during a panel in LA and revealed how fans of the show are at the heart of his creative decisions Better Call Saul's Vince Gilligan: 'We want to reward the fans' The creator of Better Call Saul has promised to “reward” fans by staying true to the canon established by Breaking Bad. “The folks who watch this show … they deserve to be rewarded for their strict attention,” creator Vince Gilligan told an audience at the Cary Grant Theater in Los Angeles, at a panel screening of the penultimate episode on Thursday night. The Breaking Bad spinoff stars Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill, the loose-with-the-law attorney who eventually transforms into Saul Goodman, an ambulance-chasing criminal lawyer. The prequel series begins six years before Breaking Bad, focusing on the lawyer’s pre-Goodman life in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Has Better Call Saul lived up to expectations? Read more After a screening of episode nine, Gilligan was joined by co-creator Peter Gould and cast members Odenkirk; Jonathan Banks, who plays Mike Ehrmantraut; Michael McKean, who plays Jimmy’s older, more successful brother Chuck; Rhea Seehorn, who plays Jimmy’s friend Kim Wexler; Patrick Fabian, a partner at Chuck’s prestigious law firm; and Michael Mando, who plays Nacho Varga. During the panel, Gilligan, who wore a yellow shirt printed with the license plate, “LWYRUP”, said he didn’t know the timetable for Better Call Saul yet. He suggested it could overlap with the Breaking Bad years, or tell more of Jimmy’s life after Walter White. “Do we spend some time during the period, the epoch, of Breaking Bad? Do we show what happened in between the scenes of Walt and Jesse? Is there more to tell in the Omaha years? These are all questions we do not have answers to yet,” he said. The opening scene of the series, shot in black and white, shows Jimmy living undercover in Omaha, Nebraska, as a manager at Cinnabon. After his shift, he returns home to drink alone and watch his old lawyer ads. What’s certain, Gilligan said, is that fans can expect to see their favorite Breaking Bad characters return when the time is right. Gilligan added: “I think it would be a shame if we get through, knock on wood, a healthy number of seasons of Better Call Saul without seeing those gentlemen or without seeing the wonderful actresses. The trick is to not overdo it. The trick is to not stunt it.” Like all spinoffs, the show faced a challenge in carving its own identity after the success of Breaking Bad, but it has received positive reviews since its debut in February. Gould said the show has evolved from what he envisioned as a half-hour “out-and-out” comedy into something much richer. “I did not visualize how deep these actors were going to dig into these characters,” Gould said. “And that raised our game.” Asked if the show was bound to Breaking Bad, Gilligan said the show is beholden to its fans. “The fans who pay strict attention, we want to honor them for that. We want reward them for that,” Gilligan said. “We will make mistakes. There’s no doubt about that, but we intend not to. We intend to keep them to as small a number of mistakes as possible.” Pimento airs in the US on 30 March on AMC and in the UK on Netflix
Real men who pack up corporate headquarters and move offshore don’t do safety tests. Safety is only for lilly-livered liberals who bother to care about human life and the environment. Safety is simply not macho enough for Halliburton. Halliburton Co. acknowledged late Thursday that it skipped doing a critical test on the final formulation of cement used to seal the BP oil well that blew out in the Gulf of Mexico. The company, which was BP’s cementing contractor, said that BP at the last-minute increased the amount of a critical ingredient in the cement mix. While an earlier test showed the cement was stable, the company never performed a stability test on the new blend. The cement’s failure to prevent oil and gas from entering the well has been identified as one of the causes of the April 20 disaster.
? Supporters of a “religious freedoms” bill said Tuesday it would protect religious beliefs, but opponents said the measure would allow widespread discrimination against gays and lesbians. Lori Wagner, of Lawrence, said she and her wife “will become the victims of real and legally sanctioned discrimination,” if House Bill 2453 becomes law. Wagner was married in 2012 in Iowa, which recognizes same-sex marriages. The bill, heard in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, says no individual, business or religious group with sincerely held religious beliefs can be required by any government agency to provide services, facilities, goods, employment or employment benefits for a same-sex marriage or domestic partnership. Supporters of the bill said the bill was needed to provide legal protection for wedding-related businesses, such as florists and photographers, who refuse to work at same-sex weddings or ceremonies because they held religious beliefs that same-sex marriage was wrong. Robert Noland, with the Kansas Family Policy Council, said Kansans shouldn’t be compelled to do something their religion said they shouldn’t do. Michael Shuttloffel, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, said, “Do we really believe mom and pop businesses should be shut down because they won’t compromise their sincere religious beliefs?” But opponents of the bill said the proposal was much broader than applying only to wedding-related situations. State Rep. Emily Perry, D-Mission, questioned whether under the bill a police officer could cite religious reasons and refuse to render aid during a domestic disturbance that involved a same-sex couple Micheline Burger, with the Mainstream Coalition, said that the bill would allow a waiter to refuse to serve a same-sex couple. “This allows anyone in a private business or governmental entity, if you have religious beliefs that are sincerely held, to discriminate against anyone,” Burger said. She said the arguments for the bill were the same as those who in the past opposed marriages of blacks and whites or Jews and Catholics. State Rep. Charles Macheers, R-Overland Park, introduced the bill, saying it would “protect religious freedoms on both sides of the marriage debate.” But Tom Witt, executive director of Kansas Equality, said the bill was a pre-emptive strike to “maintain discrimination” against gays and lesbians if Kansas’ ban on same-sex marriage is ruled unconstitutional as similar bans have been struck down in Oklahoma and Utah. A fiscal note on the bill said it would cost $275,000 through July 2015 to defend legal challenges that would arise from the measure. It also said the court system would have trouble with a provision in the bill that says courts must decide within 60 days whether the claimed protection applies.
IAEA visit coincides with planned debate in Iran's parliament over cutting flow of crude to Europe in retaliation for sanctions UN nuclear inspectors began a critical mission to Iran on Sunday to investigate allegations that the country has a secret atomic weapons programme. The three-day visit comes amid escalating western economic pressures and warnings about safeguarding Gulf oil shipments from possible Iranian blockades. The findings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team could greatly influence the direction and urgency of US-led efforts to rein in Iran's ability to enrich uranium, which Washington and its allies fear could eventually produce weapons-grade material. Iran has refused to abandon its enrichment programme, saying it only wants the material to generate electricity and for medical research. The IAEA team is likely to visit an underground enrichment site near the holy city of Qom, 80 miles south of Tehran, which is carved into a mountain as protection from possible airstrikes. Earlier this month, Iran said it had begun enrichment work at the site, which is far smaller than the country's main facilities but is reported to have more advanced equipment. The UN delegation includes two senior weapons experts – Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa – suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations that it seeks to build nuclear warheads. In unusually blunt comments ahead of his arrival, the IAEA's deputy director general Herman Nackaerts – who is in charge of the agency's Iran file – said he wanted Tehran to "engage us on all concerns". Iran has refused to discuss alleged weapons experiments for three years, saying they are based on "fabricated documents" provided by a "few arrogant countries" – a phrase authorities in Iran often use to refer to the US and its allies. "So we're looking forward to the start of a dialogue," Nackaerts told reporters at Vienna airport. "A dialogue that is overdue since very long." In a sign of the tensions that surround Iran's nuclear intentions, a dozen Iranians carrying photos of assassinated nuclear expert Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan were waiting at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport early on Sunday. Iranian state media say that Roshan, a chemistry expert and director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, was interviewed by IAEA inspectors before being killed earlier this month in a targeted bomb attack – part of what Tehran says is a covert Israeli-led campaign of sabotage and killings. Roshan was at least the fourth member of Iran's scientific community to be killed in apparent assassinations. The IAEA said it did not know Roshan and has never talked to him. The UN team will be looking for permission to talk to key Iranian scientists suspected of working on a weapons programme. They also plan to inspect documents related to nuclear work and secure commitments from Iranian authorities to allow future visits. It is unclear how much assistance Iran will provide, but even a decision to enter into a discussion over the allegations would be a major departure from Iran's frequent simple refusal to talk. Iran has also accused the IAEA in the past of security leaks that expose its scientists and their families to the threat of assassination by the US and Israel. The visit coincides with a planned debate in Iran's parliament over whether to cut the flow of crude oil to Europe with immediate effect in retaliation for sanctions. The EU last week announced an embargo on Iranian oil that is set to take full effect in July. The head of Iran's state oil company said on Sunday that pressures on Iran's oil exports – the second biggest in Opec – could drive prices as high as $150 a barrel. "It seems we will witness prices from $120 to $150 in the future," Ahmad Qalehbani was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying. He did not give a timeframe for his prediction, nor any other details. The price of benchmark US crude was $99.56 per barrel on Friday. About 80% of Iran's foreign revenue comes from exporting around 2.2m barrels of oil a day. Oil prices have been driven higher in recent weeks by Iran's warnings that it could block the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf, the export route for around 20% of the world's oil. Last week, the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln entered the Gulf along with French and British warships in a show of strength against any attempts to disrupt oil tanker traffic.
Many media outlets have criticized Today show host Matt Lauer for treating Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump differently when he moderated NBC’s Commander-in-Chief Forum earlier this month. Whether consciously or not, Lauer behaved toward the presidential candidates in a way that was consistent with much of the research about gender stereotypes and discrimination. Specifically, he interrupted Clinton more often than Trump, asked her more challenging questions, and questioned her statements more often. These differences in the treatment of men and women are robust, research shows. Both men and women, not just men, reduce women to stereotypes and discriminate against them. For example, studies have found that assertive women are judged more negatively than assertive men, and that when arguments or ideas are put forward by leaders, they are more likely to be viewed more negatively if the leader is a woman rather than a man. Or take the issue of interruption. In a well-known study conducted back in 1975, sociologists Don Zimmerman and Candace West of the University of California, Santa Barbara systematically examined interruptions by men and women during conversations. They visited various public places, from coffee shops to drugstores, and surreptitiously recorded any two-person conversations they overheard. Their final sample was rather small (31 dialogues in total), but the results are still worth noting: In mixed-sex conversations, men were responsible for all but one of the 48 interruptions they overheard. These findings have been replicated in more recent research. In a 2014 study conducted by linguist Adrienne Hancock of George Washington University, 40 people (men and women) were recruited to engage in two short conversations, one with a man and one with a woman. The results? Women were interrupted significantly more often than men. If a man’s conversational partner was female, he interrupted her, on average, 2.1 times over the course of a three-minute dialogue; if his counterpart was male, however, that number was 1.8 times. Women, too, were less likely to interrupt men than women. They interrupted an average of 2.9 times if their partner was female and just once, on average, if their partner was male. Such differences in the treatment of men and women are often rooted in unconscious biases that all of us fall prey to. Unconscious bias is rooted in our perceptions of others, which can harden into stereotypes and prejudice over time. Bias becomes the lens through which we process information and make decisions. We generally think of skin color, gender, nationality, and age when we consider bias, but unconscious prejudice can affect how we view many other characteristics, including aspects of people’s appearance (height and weight) and personality (introversion and extroversion). In one well-documented experiment, described in Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In, Harvard MBA students evaluated the same case study of a successful entrepreneur. Half the class read a version in which the entrepreneur was male; the other half read a version in which the entrepreneur was female. The students who read about the male entrepreneur identified him as having positive traits, such as leadership and direction, while students who read about the female entrepreneur characterized her as being bossy and overly direct. The responses reflected the students’ hidden biases about how male and female leaders should act. We may think that we ourselves are immune to such bias, but we aren’t. (If you are unconvinced, try taking an online Implicit Association Test to learn how persistent these biases can be.) Do we hire or promote people who look like us? Do we talk to men and women differently? Do our stereotypical views affect the job assignments and opportunities we give to our staff? The likely answer to all of these questions is yes. We are subject to bias even in high-stakes situations, as in the case of the Commander-in-Chief Forum. In fact, given the anxiety and stress such events inspire, we are even more likely to fall prey to biases in high- rather than low-stakes situations — despite the common belief that we’ll work harder to avoid being biased in stressful situations. Under stress, the brain processes information less rationally, thus increasing our likelihood of relying on stereotypes and heuristics. For instance, in research I conducted with Alison Wood Brooks of Harvard Business School and Maurice Schweitzer of Wharton, we found that when people feel anxious, as compared to when they are in a neutral emotional state, they are unable to evaluate the quality of the information that they receive from others or see potential conflicts of interest, and this is costly to their decisions. What we can do to prevent these widespread biases from affecting what we say and do? First, we need to be aware of these biases and how they operate. And we need to have the humility to recognize that they affect us in the same way that they affect other people. There’s some compelling evidence, in fact, that the more convinced we are of our own objectivity, the more likely bias is to creep in and influence our judgment and decisions. Second, we can try to train our brain to make counter-stereotypical associations. Exposing people to counter-stereotypic examples of group members is one way to accomplish such type of training. In one experiment, for example, people showed measurably less implicit bias toward Asian Americans after they watched The Joy Luck Club, a movie that offered a nuanced portrait of Asian immigrants to the United States. Third, we can try individuation, which involves seeking specific information about members of a group to which we don’t belong to learn about their preferences and common behaviors, as well as the specifics about their ways of thinking. This tactic allows us to recognize people based upon their personal attributes rather than based on stereotypes about groups to which they belong. Fourth, we can try to take the perspective of those with whom we interact. Ask yourself what your perspective might be if you were in the other person’s shoes. By doing so, you can develop a better appreciation of that person’s concerns. Perspective taking raises our level of empathy for others and debiases our thoughts about them. In the process, stereotyping is likely to dissipate.
Ha-Joon Chang is one of the world’s best-known and most influential economists. A native of South Korea, he is the author of a series of international best-selling books that have inspired a new generation to rethink economics by challenging economic orthodoxy. Last year, Chang was voted one of the top 10 world thinkers by readers of the U.K.-based Prospect magazine. His books, including Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism, and 23 Things They Don’t Teach You About Capitalism, have been translated into dozens of languages. He has also advised numerous U.N. agencies, institutions, corporations, NGOs, and governments on economic policy. Chang teaches economics at Cambridge University in England. NACLA’s Dan Beeton recently caught up with him in Washington, D.C. when Chang was promoting his latest book, Economics: The User’s Guide (Bloomsbury). Dan Beeton: The so-called “pink tide” of left-leaning governments that have emerged in Latin America over the past 15 years have often pursued economic policies that go against the so-called Washington Consensus neoliberal policies of reduced social spending, privatization, trade liberalization and so on. How would you characterize these countries’ progress? Do you think there are success stories here that other countries might want to ponder? Ha-Joon Chang: In the 80s and 90s, all the Latin American countries followed the Washington Consensus policy and throughout those decades Latin America hardly grew at all—despite all the promises that if you follow these policies you’ll grow fast and foreigners will invest. Those promises haven’t been kept and a lot of countries got disillusioned, and from the late ‘90s to early 2000s started electing governments that departed from the Washington Consensus policies. Now, the degree of departure varied across countries. At one extreme you have countries like Chile or Colombia, which basically still follow the neoliberal policies but did small things to modify the worst features by, for example, introducing some degree of capital control, and expanding some social policies. At the other extreme, you have Venezuela, which basically tried to find its own model, although not necessarily successfully. But in the middle we have countries ranging from Brazil to Bolivia that are trying different things, but even within the spectrum. Brazil while doing a lot of non-orthodox things, more or less maintains the orthodox version when it comes to macroeconomic policy. But in terms of social policy and industrial policy, in the last decade it has significantly departed from the Washington Consensus. A lot more state intervention. That’s right. At the other end of the spectrum, you can talk about countries like Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador which did more radical things to change. I think on the whole the departure has been a success. Of course you cannot attribute the growth acceleration entirely to policy changes, because a lot of it was thanks to a commodity boom due to China’s super-growth. But there were clear results in other areas, like social policy , conditional cash transfers. I have some problem with those, but still, for the first time in probably five centuries, income inequality has fallen in Brazil—although only slightly—and I think you have to give credit to these policy changes. And having seen some results here, these countries are pushing in the non-orthodox direction even more. Chile’s now got significant left-wing presence in politics; even Colombia’s kind of moving away from the standard right-wing tradition; Argentina, thanks to its struggle with the vulture funds, has to do things differently; Ecuador and Uruguay have been slowly but surely moving further and further away from the Washington Consensus. I think the next decade will see even more departure from these policies. But at one level I’m concerned because, basically, this Chinese commodity boom has meant that these countries could grow quite quickly without upgrading their production structures. They know they have to upgrade and start doing difficult things, but the pull is too strong. If you look at the actual structures, Ecuador is still very, very dependent on oil; Brazil’s dependence on commodities has probably increased. So they have to face the fact that this commodities boom is not going to last forever. Even if it did last for a significant period, unless you use the proceeds from the commodity exports during that period to build your manufacturing base, when it finally ends after – I don’t know – 20 years or whatever, you’ll have no engine of growth for the future. So they need to find new markets? Yeah, new markets, but where? Other potential new markets are also countries dependent on primary commodities, so they need to begin to think about new things to produce. Some countries lack the capabilities to do so, but there are some Latin American countries where they have very well-trained scientists and engineers and could develop new activities. Unfortunately, there’s too much ideological obsession that governments shouldn’t do too much industrial policy, while the political power of commodity interest is too strong. Commodity producers really do not want industrial development in the same way that Southern plantation owners didn’t want it in America in the 19th Century. So, this isn’t going to be easy, but that’s what they have to do. The BRICS recently announced they would create new institutions: the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, and the New Development Bank. This has elicited much commentary and analysis, with some economists suggesting that these new institutions could offer important alternatives to the IMF and World Bank, which routinely condition lending on the adoption of neoliberal economic policies. Do you share this assessment? How significant do you think these institutions may be? Well [that] depends on how much money’s there. In the end, money’s what makes those institutions like the World Bank and IMF powerful. Of course, it’s not just that they’re owed money; they’re even more powerful than the money they have because the powerful countries that control these organizations will add money only if the IMF gives its seal of approval. So it’s not just money—it’s also soft power. A BRICS bank may have an equal amount of money as the World Bank, but if the other potential public and private funders do not agree with its assessment, its power will be weaker than that of the World Bank. In general, yes, having more alternatives gives weaker countries more bargaining power. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, countries in Latin America and Africa had to listen to the IMF and World Bank because they were the only banks in town, so to speak. Now there’s another bank called “China”; there might be another bank called “BRICS.” If you have alternatives, you can play them against each other and get better terms. I think this way at least some African countries have already benefitted from the presence of China—if not the forthcoming BRICS bank—because the Chinese, when they lend money, they don’t put all those conditions that the World Bank and the IMF place on their loans. So, yes, I think on the whole it’s a good thing. How important they will be depends on two things: A) How much money they have, and B) how much ideological influence they’ll have on the rest of the world. That will be a slow process because the financial world is so dominated by the Anglo-American money logic. But even there, some private sector investors are smart enough to know that these orthodox policies do not necessarily produce growth. So they figure out that maybe this BRICS bank is going to do will make the borrowing country grow faster. It’s not a completely one-sided game, but the market ideologies are so strong that it’s going to be some time before the BRICS bank will have the influence that is commensurate to its financial power. There has been a lot of news and commentary over Argentina’s battle with vulture fund debt holdouts, and a U.S. court’s ruling in favor of the vulture funds. Do you think Argentina has pursued a wise course, economically, by first defaulting on its debt, in 2002, and continuing to stand up to the vulture funds? Well, I really hope it keeps fighting, because it’s really making people reassess the nature of the global financial system. The ideal scenario would be that this makes countries agree that we need to introduce some kind of international bankruptcy law. Because in domestic bankruptcy, the exact proportion differs across countries, but typically if 75% to 80% of the creditors agree to have a haircut, then the remaining 20% or 25% have to accept it. They cannot sue the company later. But in the international case, there’s no such law, which is what allows these vulture funds to play this game. So [economist] Mark [Weisbrot] was saying that–because it’s not realistic to talk about getting the international bankruptcy law—now countries will want to issue sovereign bonds in countries like Belgium or Britain where that kind of thing wouldn’t be allowed. This has become such a scandal that even Martin Wolf of the Financial Times is now on the side of the Argentinians. So yes, it’s tough for Argentina, but they have to fight this for the rest of the world. In your latest book, Economics: The User’s Guide, you proclaim that there is no “right” way to do economics, that no school of economic thought has all the answers – and you systematically describe the strong points and shortcomings of each major school of economic thought. Are we witnessing a new era, where this idea is becoming more widely accepted, perhaps as in Latin America? Do you talk to economic policy makers who are deliberately taking ideas that work from different schools and applying them in practice? Yeah, you know of course some policy makers, especially the ones you found in many Latin American countries in the 1990s were totally driven by ideology – the same story as some of the Korean policy makers in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. On the other hand, many policy makers are very pragmatic. They’ll do whatever policy they think is right without really bothering about whether the idea came from Keynes, or Marx, or Adam Smith. So in that sense we actually have more hope with policy makers because professional economists are hide-bound by their ideology. Many of them would not accept some argument not because they didn’t agree but because it doesn’t fit into their ideology. Policy makers are less like that, so we have more hope with them. Indeed, Latin America itself has great intellectual traditions in economics – the Latin American structuralist school, dependency theory even. Especially if you go to countries like Brazil you have people doing research with many different theoretical heritages. Brazil has lots of post-Keynesians. At the moment the BNDES is run by these academic industrial economists who are influenced by Schumpeter and the Latin American structuralist school. So they think very differently. In that sense, the region doesn’t lack those alternative traditions to draw from, and this in a way is why I am predicting the region will move further and further away from the Washington Consensus, because they can generate their own, new economic ideas. Of course, subject to the political configurations, subject to external conditions – I’m not saying this is totally predictable. But having seen the development of some of these orthodox policies, they can now kind of push forward much. Of course, it depends on the country. Some countries do not have enough people with this kind of economic background, but one thing that the Latin Americans are good at is continental solidarity. So I’m sure they can help each other, with countries like Brazil and Argentina lending some economists to help Paraguay, or wherever those capacities are lacking.
It seems like such a simple concept, but for some irrational reason, a lot of people still don't get it. Here's another example of what happens when you give police permission to search your house for drugs: After being told the deputies were looking for evidence of illegal activity, Cantres-Soto said, "You can search my whole room. I go to college and I don't have anything to worry about. You can search everything." That's exactly what they did and it didn’t work out so well for this guy: He remains held in the Osceola County Jail in lieu of $8,000 bail on charges of Possession with Intent to Sell Crack Cocaine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Did he think that agreeing to the search would somehow stop them from searching? A lot of people worry that refusing the search will make police suspicious, but so what? Which is worse: making police suspicious or just giving up and going straight to jail? Remember that there's more to the matter than just what takes place at your doorstep. Unless they have a search warrant or probable cause, police need your permission to make the search hold up in court. It's true that police sometimes search despite your refusal, but if you end up in front of a judge, the question of whether you agreed or not is a big issue. You've got no case if you gave permission, but your lawyer can often get the charges dropped if you said no to the search. Our prisons are filled with people who didn't understand this distinction. If you're not convinced yet, maybe this will help:
John Clark LeClair (born July 5, 1969) is an American retired professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. With the Flyers, LeClair became the first American-born player to score 50 goals in three consecutive NHL seasons while playing on the Legion of Doom line with Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg. LeClair was a member of the Montreal Canadiens' Stanley Cup winning team in 1993. Early life [ edit ] LeClair was born on July 5, 1969 in St. Albans, Vermont, a town close to the Canada–US border. He is the son of Robert "Butch" LeClair, a manager of a paint store, and Beverly (Clark), a surgical nurse.[1] LeClair has three older sisters, Mary Kay, Nancy and Susan, and a younger brother, Joseph.[2] While familiar with the game of hockey, LeClair's father Butch had never actually played the sport himself. Until the 1960s, there was no organized hockey in the Saint Albans area. Despite this, LeClair took notice and asked his father for a pair of hockey skates at the age of six. Butch recalls how the kids in the area first played: At first, they played in an old railroad shed. Then they got a bunch of people who signed a note and built Coote Field Arena. It was just a metal shack with a lunch bar and an old tractor to scrape the ice. It was kind of primitive, but it worked very well. It produced some good hockey.[2] Richard Benoit, the father of John's friend Jeremy, created a homemade rink for the kids in his backyard by flooding his volleyball court. Benoit added boards around the edge and installed lights so they could play at night. There was also a shack complete with a heater for the kids to go to warm up if needed.[2] High school and college years [ edit ] When LeClair was a freshman at Bellows Free Academy, he didn't make the very competitive high school team. So, he continued to play in community leagues. In his sophomore year, LeClair made the team and earned attention. "We'd be dumping the puck in (during a line change), and there would be John, in the corner on his knees and hands, five against one, somehow getting the puck out of the corner," recalls Luke Cioffi, a teammate and childhood friend of LeClair's.[2] Soon, the young LeClair was attracting attention. College scouts began to take notice when he participated as a junior in Hockey Night in Boston, a showcase for young talent. LeClair decided to pursue college, and he was accepted at the University of Vermont (UVM).[2] At UVM, LeClair's college career was hampered by injuries. Over the course of his sophomore and junior years, he appeared in only 28 games. After missing the first month of his senior season due to meningitis, he finished the season strong with 25 goals and 20 assists in only 33 games.[2] Playing career [ edit ] Montreal Canadiens [ edit ] LeClair was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens with the 33rd pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft after graduating from Bellows Free Academy (B.F.A.) High School in St. Albans, Vermont. One of the most highly recruited hockey players in New England, LeClair put his NHL aspirations on hold to attend the University of Vermont on a full scholarship. His fans didn't have to wait long to see him score in his first collegiate game. After the final game of his senior year he signed with the Canadiens and, less than a week later, played and scored in his first NHL game. As a member of the Canadiens, LeClair was on the Stanley Cup-winning team in 1993, where he scored two overtime game-winning goals during the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals. Philadelphia Flyers and the Legion of Doom [ edit ] On February 9, 1995, a Montreal team desperate to salvage a difficult season traded LeClair, along with Éric Desjardins and Gilbert Dionne to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Mark Recchi and Philadelphia's 3rd round choice in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft (Martin Hohenberger). LeClair gelled immediately with new line-mate Eric Lindros and quickly became one of the NHL's most feared goal scorers. With the Flyers he played left-wing on the famed "Legion of Doom" line, centered by Lindros and Mikael Renberg on right-wing. The trio was not only effective at scoring but they were also a dominant physical presence on the ice. In 1998, LeClair became the first American-born NHL player to record three consecutive 50-goal seasons and the second Flyer to do so, behind Tim Kerr. Following the 1997–98 NHL season, LeClair had two consecutive 40 goal seasons. LeClair played for the Flyers for 10 seasons and was one of the most productive players in franchise history, scoring 333 goals and an additional 35 in the playoffs, statistics good enough to place him in the top 10 Flyers' career goal scorers. Pittsburgh Penguins [ edit ] LeClair playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2006–07 season. On July 23, 2005, as a result of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement which finally introduced a salary cap to the NHL, the Flyers were forced to part ways with their longtime alternate captain, and they bought out LeClair's and teammate Tony Amonte's contracts to create cap space.[3] Rumors had LeClair going to the Boston Bruins or perhaps the Toronto Maple Leafs. Instead, LeClair signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins on August 15, 2005.[4] LeClair had a fairly successful season in Pittsburgh during the 2005–06 NHL season, finishing fourth on the team in scoring as he passed the 400-goal mark and had his ninth 50+ point season. After struggling early in the 2006–07 season, LeClair was released by the Penguins on December 14, 2006. Other information [ edit ] LeClair is president of the John LeClair Foundation which awards grants to non-profit Vermont organizations that sponsor programs for children. He currently divides his time between Haverford Township, Pennsylvania and his hometown of St. Albans, Vermont. LeClair was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame in 2014. Awards and honors [ edit ] College [ edit ] International [ edit ] Professional [ edit ] Career statistics [ edit ] Regular season and playoffs [ edit ] International [ edit ] Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1988 United States WJC 7 4 2 6 12 1989 United States WJC 7 6 4 10 12 1996 United States WCH 7 6 4 10 6 1998 United States OG 4 0 1 1 0 2002 United States OG 6 6 1 7 2 Junior int'l totals 14 10 6 16 24 Senior int'l totals 17 12 6 18 8 All-Star Games [ edit ] Year Location G A P 1996 Boston 0 1 1 1997 San Jose 2 1 3 1998 Vancouver 1 0 1 1999 Tampa Bay 0 0 0 2000 Toronto 0 0 0 All-Star totals 3 2 5
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators reportedly issued a subpoena to President Donald Trump’s campaign last month, requesting Russia-related documents from over a dozen top officials, reports the Wall Street Journal. The subpoena, issued in mid-October, reportedly requested documents and emails with keywords related to Russia but didn’t compel any officials to testify before Mueller’s grand jury, an unnamed source told the Journal. This is the first report of Mueller compelling the Trump campaign to hand over information. Jorge Silva / Reuters President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin attend a photo session at a summit in Vietnam on Saturday. Earlier this year, U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia sought to interfere with the U.S. presidential election to help Trump win. Since May, Mueller, a former FBI director, has been leading an investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Trump has repeatedly denied that his team colluded with Russia to win the election.
Set Theme: Creator \| Set Sub-theme: Expert \| Set Name: Volkswagen Beetle \| Set Number: 10252-1 \| Pieces: 1167 \| Set Year: 2016 First introduced by German auto-manufacturer Volkswagen in 1938, the Beetle [a.k.a. "bug"] has since become - at least in the United States - an icon for 1960s beach and surf culture. It's sleek, simple design and, most importantly, its affordability made it a hit with the middle-class '60s youth generation in the U.S. An economic boom during the 1960s in the U.S. allowed for many teenagers to own their own automobile - a luxury virtually unknown to previous generations. You can guess what those teenagers wanted. They wanted bugs. Fifty years later, the Volkswagen Beetle is just as groovy as it's always been, and LEGO certainly thinks so too. LEGO has now given us two Beetle models in less than ten years. Unfortunately, LEGO's previous attempt to provide us with a VW Beetle set was, in my opinion, far from groovy [why two colors of blue!]. Luckily, thanks to this 2016 updated and revamped version of the LEGO Beetle, LEGO Beetles have another shot at matching the groovy, iconic, beach-boy-song-inducing visual that is the classic 1960s Volkswagen Beetle. So, the question is - are LEGO Beetles finally groovy too? THE SET First of all, the Volkswagen Beetle is a Creator Expert offering. Expert is a label given to Creator sets which involve building techniques which are a bit more complex than your average non-expert LEGO system set, so it's safe to assume heading into the build that a number of inventive, complex, and enlightening building techniques are likely to be used during the construction of the set. This is certainly the case with the Beetle model. You can think of the model as a foundation with many mini-builds attached to it. Once completed, these compiled mini-builds end up looking like a Beetle. As a result, it's an incredibly satisfying and remarkable build. Each section of the Beetle is built as a separate one-piece build and then attached to the model using various hinging methods. This leaves you with a child-like sense of excitement during the construction of each one-piece build because you're not entirely sure which piece of the model you're constructing or how it will even attach to the model once it's complete. If you're looking for some new, inspiring construction techniques, you'll certainly enjoy this set.
Artwork Details Title: X-23 by Jay Anacleto Artist: Jay Anacleto (Penciller) Media Type: Pencil Art Type: Commission For Sale Status: NFS Views: 3,789 Likes on CAF: 1 2 Favorited on CAF: 2 Comments: 13 Added to Site: 4/1/2014 Comic Art Archive: Description Pre-con commission sketch for ECCC 2014 on X-men #1 blank. CGC SS 9.8. I've admired Jay's artwork for a while, so naturally I was very excited when Doug and Kirk presented me with a rare opportunity to get a sketch cover done by Jay in his studio to be picked up at ECCC where he was scheduled to appear. I let Jay choose between X-23 and Domino for the subject of the drawing and he chose the former. Needless to say, I'm very happy with the result. Many thanks to Doug, Kirk and of course Jay! P.S. The lighting in the photo doesn't do the drawing any justice, but it'll have to do until the book comes back from CGC. Edit: This cover was voted 2014 Sketch Cover of the Year on the CGC boards. :) Social/Sharing Share this item on a blog/forum/website To share this item on your favorite blog, forum or website, just copy the html from the box below. X-23 by Jay Anacleto Click Here to visit my Art Gallery on comicartfans.com! [ click to close ]
The history of soccer in Philadelphia is long and rich, but it cannot be told without some understanding of football’s prehistory. The 13 original Laws of the Game, approved at the Freemason Pub in London on Dec. 8, 1863 — and which form the basis of association football, or soccer — were the codification of the evolution of football games that had been a part of British cultural life for centuries. The football-rich history of Britain meant that early British settlers in Philadelphia brought football with them. But they brought football to a land whose original inhabitants already had their own versions of the game. And so, the first football players in America were the Native Americans. But the football games played by Native Americans and Philadelphia’s early European settlers were not soccer. Indeed, even after 1863, years would pass before the continuing evolution of the Laws of the Game would result in a sport that resembles soccer as it is played today. Early football games in Britain Football’s recorded history in Britain stretches back to the Roman occupation, which began in 43 CE. But, as British football historian Percy Young describes,when the Romans brought the game of Harpastum with them, “It may be assumed that those of the Britons and Celts who then made up the native population were, from time to time, involved in the Roman game. At the same time it may safely be assumed that the native population had evolved their own kind of ball-play, just as when English colonists desirous of exporting football to America found that the indigenous Indians had a football game of their own already firmly established.” Accounts of “a game of ball” can be found in Nennian’s Historia Britoniam, written in the ninth century before the Norman Conquest. A more precise description from 1175 recounts an example of Shrovetide football. That football was commonplace in early medieval England is evidenced by the number of contemporary legal documents, court cases, and denunciations of the game. The reasons for this are simple: football could be extremely violent and result in serious damage to property, as well as injury and even death for its participants. Thus, football for many represented a clear threat to public order. This could only be because football, whether it was the country football of rural towns or the street football of emerging urban areas, had become a recurrent and popular fixture of British folk life. Numerous royal, municipal, and ecclesiastical proclamations restricting or banning the game were issued. Edward II banned the game as early as 1314. Further proclamations by Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Edward IV, Henry VII, and Henry VIII give some idea about how ineffective such bans proved to be against so ubiquitous a pastime with such strong cultural roots. Royal proclamations against football were not restricted to England: James I banned football upon his return to the Scottish throne in 1423. Provincial towns attempted bans between 1450 and 1650, often at the direction of royal decrees. Clergy were barred from playing football as early as 1364. But as with royal and municipal attempts to restrict football, the effectiveness of ecclesiastical bans was often in question: the Feast of St. Catherine the Martyr was celebrated with a game of football on the grounds on Bicester Priory in Oxfordshire during the 14th century. Young even suggests that the first professional football game took place on St Catherine’s Day (November 25), 1425 because the prior sanctioned the gift of four pence to the football players. The connection of football with religious holidays and feast days would continues to the present day in Britain in the tradition of Shrovetide games. As such, football games were a mark of celebration of important days on religious calendar. While football in Britain would experience repeated attempts to restrict its various forms until the formalization of standard rules in the mid 19th century, it would also move from its folk roots into higher culture with abundant references to it in the songs, poems, plays, literature, and memoirs of the day. This was not only because figures as diverse as Oliver Cromwell and Charles II either played or supported the playing of the game. Indeed, while on the football field, class difference might be forgotten, even at this early date. The football of the time can thus be thought of an expression of emerging democratic values. How the game was played What might a game of football looked like in England before the codification of the Laws of the Game? “Folk football” describes a wide range of local-based playing traditions and so no single set of rules can be described. In more rural towns, the playing area might be a mile or more long and encompass fields and streams as well as the town. In more urban areas, the field of play would be restricted by available green space, or a game might simply be played in the streets. The number of players participating would likely be restricted by the size of the playing area: hundreds of players per side or a few as ten, twenty or thirty. Hence such football being referred to as “mob football.” A football game might pit town against town, married men against single men, or trade against trade. Teams could be dressed in the same color to identify themselves or they might wear the same hats. The players would more likely be young males because of the violence and risk of injury associated with the game. The goals might be a stream or tree, or some landmark in town. Scoring first might win a game, or a team might have to score a set number of goals or simply have the most goals at the end of the game, which might last all day with a break for food and drink. Short of outright murder, it seems that pretty much everything — kicking the ball, handling the ball, kicking and handling opponents — was considered fair play. Perhaps the earliest account of how a football game was actually played comes from an account published sometime after Henry VI’s death in 1471: The game at which they had met for common recreation is called by some the foot-ball game. It is one in which young men, in country sport, propel a huge ball not by throwing it into the air but by striking and rolling it along the ground, and that not with their hands but with their feet. A game, I say, abominable enough, and in my judgment at least, more common, undignified, and worthless than any other kind of game, rarely ending but with some loss, accident, or disadvantage to the players themselves…What then? The boundaries had been marked and the game started, and, when they were striving manfully kicking in opposite directions, and our hero had thrown himself in the midst of the fray, one of his fellows, whose name I do not know, came up against him from in front and kicked him by misadventure, missing his aim at the ball. While the writer of this account describes the violence attendant to the football of the day, he also notes some important aspects of the game: it is a organized activity with two opposing sides, no use of the hands is allowed, and the field of play is clearly marked by boundaries. Francis Willughby’s Book of Games, written around 1660 (Willughby died at the age of 36 before the book was completed), contains diagrams indicating the placement of goal markers. In addition to containing a proscription against kicking an opponent above the shin, it also included what might be the first primer on how to foul an opponent entitled “Tripping of Heels.” Using a ball made of an inflated bladder sewn into “the skin of a bull’s cod,” Willughby describes the game is played in a long street, or a close that has a gate at either end. The gates are called Goals . . . The ball is thrown up in the middle between the goals . . . the players being equally divided according to their strength and nimbleness . . . players must kick the ball . . .and they that can kick the ball through their enemies goal first win. They usually leave some of their best player to guard the goal while the rest follow the ball. Willughby gives us a description of the ball and the goals, describes efforts to make teams of equal strength for a more interesting match, specifies the requirement that the ball must be kicked, provides an idea of how a game was won, and relates the use positional players “to guard the goal.” He also describes Willughby doesn’t provide a fixed number for how many players would be on each side but the description of players being “equally divided according to their strength and nimbleness” suggests an evolution away from the wild play associated with folk football to something more refined and “sporting.” A later example of this trend can be found in poem published in 1720 by the Irish poet Matthew Concannen called A Match at Foot-ball that describes a game of six-a-side. Exactly what version of football was played by British colonists in Philadelphia would likely depend upon the moment as much as whatever version of the game was most familiar to them. Most likely, rules would shift according to who organized a particular game, who was playing, and where the game was being played. Native American football Accounts of Native American football can be found in the first histories of the Jamestown and Massachusetts Bay colonies. In some respects, Native American football games would be familiar to colonist who brought with them their own football traditions, with each side having scores, if not hundreds, of players engaged on massive fields of play that might be a mile or more in length, with melees featuring plenty of physical — if not physically damaging — contact, and different rules in terms of handling and/or kicking of the ball. As was the case back in Britain, how Native American football games were played varied. Around Jamestown, the first Secretary of the Colony, William Strachey, wrote in The Historie of Travaile into Virginia Britannica (1612) of “a kind of exercise” among the Native Americans: They have the exercise of Football, in which yet they only forcibly encounter with the foot to carry the Ball the one from the other, and spurn it to the goal with a kind of dexterity and swift footmanship, which is the honor of it. In Relation of Virginia (handwritten manuscript published in 1872), Henry Spelman, who spent a year-and-a-half beginning in 1609 in bonded servitude with the Powhatan’s in order to become an interpreter, describes, “They [the Virginia Indians] use beside football play, which wemen and young boyes doe much play at. The men never. They make ther Gooles as ours only they never fight nor pull one another doune.” William Wood, who was an early settler on the North Shore of Massachusetts where Pasuckquakkohowog — “they gather to play football” — was played, wrote in New England Prospect (1634) with admiration of “the swift footmanship, their strange manipulation of the ball and their plunging into the water to wrestle for the ball,” but was disdainful of the Native Americans’ technique and tactics. Displaying what would come to be an all-too-familiar English arrogance about all matters football, Wood claimed “One Englishman could beat ten Indians at football.” Such contempt illustrates an important fact: while Native Americans had their own forms of football, their influence on the football played by early colonists in America was nil. Although Philadelphia was founded in 1681, Dutch, Swedish, and English colonists had explored, traded, and farmed along the Delaware since 1609. There they encountered members of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware tribes. The Lenapes had their own version of football, which was called Pahsahéman. Knowing exactly when the Lenapes began to play Pahsahéman is difficult: theirs was an oral tradition so contemporary accounts about their culture were written by Europeans who made little or no distinction between the various tribes in a given area. Describing Delaware or closely related tribes that were living just north and east of the main body of Lenape, an account from 1656 says that “Their Recreations are chiefly Foot-ball and Cards, at which they will play away all they have, excepting a Flap to cover their nakedness.” Some scholars have suggested that the Lenape learned their game of football from the Shawnee, who moved into Lenape territory near the Delaware River in Southeastern Pennsylvania beginning around 1692, but descriptive accounts of the football games of either tribe in that time period are sorely lacking. Existing accounts of Lenape football come from after they were pushed out of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Details of how Pahsahéman was played are thus based on accounts from Lenape who settled in Oklahoma or Ontario rather than those who lived in the area around Philadelphia. Did early colonists in the Philadelphia area witness the Lenape playing football? Did they play football with the Lenape? As of this writing, I have not found accounts of either. While it seems likely that early settlers would have witnessed Native American football, the possibility that they engaged in football games with the Native Americans seems less likely. Deciding what rules would govern the contest would be difficult given the language barrier. More to the point, the violent play inherent in the tradition of how the English played football meant there was the real possibility that a game could result in serious offense. Why risk inflaming the passions of a people who already had plenty of reason for grievance against European settlers? Indeed, an account from Henry Morgan published in Richard Hakluyt’s The Principal Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and Discoueries of the English Nation (1589–1600) of an football game in 1586 between Native Americans and British explorers before the beginning of permanent settlement in North America describes, Diverse times they [Native Americans] did wave us on shore to play with them at the football, and some of our company went on shore to play with them, and our men did cast them down as soon as they did come to strike the ball. And thus much of that which we did see and do in that harbor where we arrived first. What may have been the first international friendly in the New World wasn’t so friendly. While we do not know if Philadelphia’s early British settlers played football with the Lenape, what is more certain is that the colonists brought their own games of football with them. However, carving a new civilization out of the primordial wilderness of the Americas meant little time for the playing of football — there was simply too much work to be done. Some colonists also brought religious ideas with them that made them to look unfavorably upon such game playing, especially on Sundays. Football games were thus likely to be infrequent in the early colonial period. As communities in colonies that were founded by religious orders such as the Puritans and the Quakers became more settled, and attitudes toward forms of leisure such as football were diluted by the arrival of new colonists from different backgrounds and traditions, games of football became more commonplace. When it was played, football followed the rough and violent style of play the colonists would have known back in Britain. Melvin I. Smith describes in Evolements of Early American Foot Ball (2008), “[B]y the end of the eighteenth century, the kicking game of foot ball was somewhat of a gang-fight centered around a ball.” The playing of soccer football was still a long ways away. The series continues later this week.
Several months ago we published a list of irreverent Photoshops depicting the then-presidential candidate Donald Trump as a bald man in several humiliating contexts. We understood that these images were a bit crass and promised to remove them if Trump were to win the election, as a sign of respect for the office of the United States presidency. True to our word, we tried to take these pictures down as soon as Trump was elected, but unfortunately we haven’t been able to figure out how to delete this article from our website. Once content is published to our homepage, it seems to be stuck there. Though we cannot delete the bald Photoshops, we have been able to stretch out Donald Trump’s face all wide so that you can’t even tell he’s the one in the pictures. We hope this serves as an adequate temporary solution until we find a way to take these unbecoming images down completely. 1. At the current time, we are comfortable posting this picture with the caption “My bald spot is absolutely yuge” alongside it, but should Trump assume the esteemed office of president in the fall, we would immediately remove it. Advertisement We apologize that we weren’t able to remove this disrespectful picture of our president-elect completely, but we did what we could and stretched it out all wide. You can barely tell it’s Donald Trump. 2. Regardless of whatever political views you hold, it is disrespectful to show a picture of the commander-in-chief along with a caption like “So this is what that pile of straw on his head is for.” Advertisement We’re talking with our programmers now to figure out a way to delete these images from the web. Hopefully they will develop a method for doing so in the near future. In the meantime, we have preserved the dignity of President-elect Trump by stretching his face out and making his eyes huge. Nobody will be able to recognize that the man in this image is our new president. 3. Of course, it would still be fine to disagree with President Trump if you don’t support his policies. A healthy democracy allows dissent and debate. However, implying that the president wears a toupee when there is no evidence that he does is a crass breach of proper decorum. Advertisement The presidency is the most hallowed office in our nation, and it is worthy of reverence and decorum at all times. Ideally, this image of Donald Trump’s toupee flying off in the wind would no longer be on our website. Since this is currently impossible, we’ve used the magic of Photoshop to make his head very tall and thin. His identity is obscured. This bald man could be anybody. 4. No matter who is president, you address them as “Sir,” not “Donald the Hutt.” We would quickly remove this if the American people choose Trump on November 8. Advertisement This degrading Photoshop of President Trump’s face on Jabba the Hutt’s body is immature and degrading, and we’d remove it if we could. Since we currently don’t know how, we’ve at least given him a tie to wear to imbue him with the poise and decorum the presidency confers on all who hold that hallowed office. 5. Comparing President Trump to Adolf Hitler would remain a valid political commentary, but making him bald in addition is completely uncalled for. If Donald Trump is elected, we promise to restore his normal hair to this image. Advertisement Now that the American electorate has chosen Donald Trump to lead our nation, this image depicting him as a bald Adolf Hitler has become an unsubtle and tactless political statement that does not meet our exacting editorial standards. We’ve given President-elect Trump his hair back in an effort to restore his dignity. 6. For now, let us enjoy this humorous Photoshop and its accompanying caption, “I am going to build a wig, and Mexico is going to pay for it.” During a Trump presidency, it would no longer have a place in the national discourse. Advertisement All right, that’s all of them. We’ve stretched out President-elect Donald Trump’s face all wide so that nobody will know that he is the bald man in this picture. Hopefully, we’ll find a way to remove these pictures from our website, but until then, this will have to do.
Double Dragon is one of the most iconic games ever made, and while the series is best known as side-scrolling beat ’em up, there was actually a legit Double Dragon fighting game based in the 1994 movie. Released for the Neo Geo CD, the movie-based fighting game was actually a well-developed and fun game that even The Angry Video Game Nerd (James) can’t help but praise. It’s apparently one of his favorite fighters of all time. Now, James is no fighting game aficionado, but he is a gaming enthusiast who knows a thing or two about good and bad video games. Watch him play and critique the obscure Double Dragon fighting game… Are you old enough to remember Double Dragon? Do you have any fond memories of the series? Let us know in the comments below.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A Tennessee high school has called off the rest of its basketball season after three of its players were arrested on charges of raping a teammate in an apparent hazing incident. Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith said Wednesday he was taking this “very unusual step” with Ooltewah High School “so that the criminal justice system can work the way we expect.” Gatlinburg police said three teens face aggravated rape and aggravated assault charges in connection with injuries to a teammate, who underwent surgery after being assaulted while attending a basketball tournament. Tennessee law defines aggravated rape as a rape in which the defendant either has a weapon, causes bodily injury or is aided or abetted by another. None of the teens has been named because they’re all juveniles. Smith said he canceled the rest of the season because he was concerned public speculation about the case “could threaten the integrity” of the investigation. “This decision is not a reflection upon the coaching staff,” Smith said. “Indeed, law enforcement officials have to date found no evidence any adult acted improperly. Likewise, this decision is not meant to punish the boys on the team who are innocent of any wrongdoing and simply want to play high school sports. Ooltewah athletic director Jesse Nayadley told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that the three players have been dismissed from the team, and Smith told the paper that they are treating this as a “very serious long-term suspension matter.” The Hamilton County district attorney’s office and the sheriff’s office are investigating whether an “ongoing pattern of assaults” may have been committed “under the guise of hazing.” The district attorney’s office said in its release that nobody has reported any criminal behavior in Hamilton County by anyone associated with the team thus far. Gatlinburg isn’t in Hamilton County. Curtis Bowe, an attorney representing Ooltewah coach Andre Montgomery, issued a statement this week saying that “the issue affecting our community is not hazing or bullying” and instead “is the unilateral decision of three individuals charged with a sexual offense.” A group of more than 120 Ooltewah High School alumni signed a letter requesting that an outside authority investigate the Gatlinburg incident. In the letter, they said that “we depend on you to create the right atmosphere for students. Instead of burying this incident of rape and assault, we ask that you address it head-on and as transparently as possible within the confines of the law.” “I was just really upset that this type of sexual violence could occur at my high school,” Regina Baucom, who wrote the letter, said in a phone interview. “My high school was a very sleepy, kind of happy place, as I remember it. This type of violence against a child anywhere is very upsetting.”
(CNN) The White House and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis are speaking out against a congressional proposal to create a new "Space Corps" dedicated to fighting future wars outside the earth's atmosphere. The debate over setting up a new military space branch under the umbrella of the Air Force is heating up on Capitol Hill, and the House could vote this week on whether to launch the proposal. Ahead of the possible vote, the White House said creating a space corps was "premature at this time." Mattis, in a letter to Rep. Mike Turner -- an Ohio Republican leading the congressional effort against the Space Corps -- said he was opposed to adding "additional organizational and administrative tail" to the Pentagon. "At a time when we are trying to integrate the Department's joint warfighting functions, I do not wish to add a separate service that would likely present a narrower and even parochial approach to space operations," Mattis wrote. The idea for a Space Corps was proposed last month by Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House armed services strategic forces subcommittee. Rogers argues it's necessary for the US military to have a dedicated space force to stay ahead of rivals Russia and China, because the Air Force has made space a second priority behind more traditional air needs. "They use space as a pay for," Rogers told CNN. "And if we segregate the space professionals away from the air dominance professionals, that money pot goes with the space professionals. That's what this all boils down to." Rogers' proposal was included in the armed services committee's version of the National Defense Authorization Act, a massive $696 billion defense policy bill that's on the House floor this week. He had the support of armed services chairman Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry and the panel's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state. Air Force leaders immediately came out against the idea, expressing concerns about a new military branch within the Air Force in the same vein that the Marine Corps is within the Department of the Navy. But the opposition from the White House and Mattis specifically raises the profile of the administration's push to stop it. Turner, another senior Republican on the panel, is leading the House effort to scuttle the creation of a Space Corps, and he's proposed an amendment to the defense policy bill to study the issue first before moving forward with it. "Restructuring the bureaucracy to the grave extent of creating another service branch is extreme," Turner told reporters. "For the House itself and for the enormity of this task, there's a lot more work that needs to be done for us as a body to deliberate and undertake this." The Space Corps debate makes for a rare instance in the House where the dispute cuts across party lines, and a vote on the issue is likely to make for strange bedfellows in the House. The House rules committee is considering Wednesday whether to allow a vote on Turner's amendment. It's one of more than 400 amendments that have been filed to the NDAA. Turner has launched a whip operation to drum up opposition to the measure, getting House appropriations committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen and House intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes on the record opposing his amendment. Turner also went to a meeting of the House Freedom Caucus on Tuesday to pitch his opposition to the Space Corps. Mattis' letter weighing in on a specific amendment is also a rare step for a defense secretary to take while a bill is on the floor, which Mattis acknowledged in his letter. "I do not routinely comment on potential floor amendments to pending legislation; however, this particular issue warrants a response," Mattis wrote. At the same time, if the House votes in favor of establishing a Space Corps, it makes the idea more likely to become a reality. That's because a vote by the full House will strengthen the chamber's hand in conference committee negotiations with the Senate, which had no similar proposal in its version of the defense policy bill.
How will spiral review impact long-term retention for your students’ learning? Spiral review can have a major impact on long-term retention. Cognitive scientist Jerome Bruner wrote decades ago (1960), “Even the most complex material, if properly structured and presented, can be understood.” You can take a basic skill such as spelling the long A sound with the vowel digraph ai. Teach it two different ways: A 15-minute mini-lesson followed by a 15-minute written practice. A series of five 3-minute spiral review sessions spread over several weeks. Results of Spiral Review The 15-minute mini-lesson will likely result in an immediate and clear understanding of the spelling pattern. And students will be able to show mastery on the written task. However, you will find that students do not apply the skill in their writing 6 months from the date of the mini-lesson. This is because of a lack of long-term retention and recall. The result is the commonly heard, “I taught this, why don’t they get it?” I taught this, why don't they get it? The answer, long-term retention & spiral review. Click To Tweet On the other hand, the spiral review approach of five, 3-minute spiral review sessions will increase long-term retention and recall. Five spiral review sessions will give students more learning opportunities and chances to deepen their long-term retention and application. And they will take less overall instructional time (15 minutes vs. 30 minutes in the first example). Don’t believe me? Read this case study of students who achieved greater than 200% growth in daily spiral review. Students in the spiral review will not come away with a clairvoyant understanding after the first session. But their surface-level knowledge will deepen with each re-occurring spiral review. Also, their ability to retain and recall the knowledge in the long-term will improve. Why does spiral review improve long-term retention, recall, and application? Learning is spread over time. Spiral review uses multiple exposures. The structure of the learning slowly progresses from simple to complex. Time to process the learning is increased. Time to attempt application of the learning is increased. Re-occurring spiral review is an opportunity for feedback and relearning. A properly structured spiral review can increase long-term retention and application. Click To Tweet Properly Structured for Long-Term Retention Bruner’s quote from above assumes a few critical pieces are in place. The curriculum scope and sequence must be “properly structured” to optimize long-term retention and recall. Current research affirms this idea. Here a few findings from a recent article on ERIC. Spiral review should be designed so that: The student revisits a topic, theme, or subject several times. The complexity of the topic or theme increases with each revisit. New learning has a relationship with old learning with an opportunity to add to the previous learning. This is what we aim to do with our spiral warm-ups (browse our word study scope and sequence here). Each unit builds on the previous. There are ample opportunities to build long-term learning and revising in the spiral reviews. And… We are developing more spiral review than just word study. In 2018, you will see the complexity increase from word knowledge to more advanced reading skills. But we’ll share more on that later. Please download this review to see the theory and empirical strengths and weaknesses of spiral review. Download the Article (PDF)
Operation “Weeping Angel” … This incredible breach of American’s privacy is Developing and unfolding as we write this. Refresh this page for live updates and additions. This has to be one of the largest privacy breaches in world history. The CIA, working with British spy agency MI5, have developed a back door for a smart TV that allows government snooping while the television is turned off. And that may now include live video streaming of your living room and office. Or you think it is turned off. It is actually in fake “dummy” off mode that allows government agencies worldwide to snoop on your conversations. Dubbed “Weeping Angel,” the program employs what is termed the ” Fake-Off mode” and saves the audio files — and now possibly video as well — of your conversations and then a computer algorithm analyzes them for target or hot words. If your conversation mentions keyword like “bomb” or “assassination” or “Allah” your audio files are flagged for HUMINT analysis by CIA analysts and worldwide spies depending on how far reaching this technology is. In a 2014 document detailing future and improvements to the program, CIA officials said they planned to add a feature where the Agency could capture video and video snapshots of people through their televisions. This would put the federal government and the CIA right in your family room and office. The CIA calls this technology a SmartTV Implant. The existing audio technology alone — absent the even more invasive video features — would seem to break several federal laws, including the tenet that the CIA does not conduct domestic spying within the borders of the United States. The target television manufacturer for the technology is Samsung smart TVs and while it has been known publicly that snooping is enabled via certain Samsung models it was never known that there was a fake off mode where conversations could be recorded while the owner thought the appliance was shut off. Enter Weeping Angel. The program allows federal agents to control your television set remotely while you believe it is shut off, including these elements disclosed in a previously classified CIA documents released by Wikileaks:
As you continue reading, keep these figures in mind -- and don't forget the package discount. It's a real discount -- a real savings -- to you. But, the way some dealerships present their "numbers" (their pricing information), that discount can get lost in the shuffle. Let me give you an example. Let's say you're looking for a truck, and you find a Chevrolet Silverado that's just perfect. It's a two wheel drive Extended Cab with a regular bed, cloth interior, and the 5.3L V-8. When you're out on the lot you look at the window sticker and see that the MSRP is $33,995. You look at a few other trucks that day but this one stands out so you come back later and test-drive it. You vaguely recall it has a price around $34K. But you've also been looking at trucks all day, and all kinds of numbers are floating around in your head. After the test drive, you go inside with the salesman and he comes over and sits down with a piece of paper in his hand that shows you the "out the door" price for the truck, along with a detailed breakdown of how they got there: the MSRP of the new truck, the discount, or "Customer Savings," the rebate, the Selling Price, the value of your trade-in, the fees, the taxes, the amount of your pay-off, various amounts of money down, your monthly payments, etc., etc. That's a lot of numbers on one piece of paper. And generally, what happens is, the customer focuses in on one or two key numbers that are most important to him, such as the trade-in value, or the discount, or the payments, which is completely understandable. But you need to stop and look at where the dealer began. Because at some dealerships, they will not be starting at MSRP. They will be starting at a number that is actually HIGHER than MSRP and showing you a "discount" you have already received. In this particular case, you were shown a discount of $1,500 and a rebate of $5,000, which totals $6,500 off, resulting in a Selling Price of $28,995. $6,500 off. That's a pretty good deal, wouldn't you say? And if they've given you a fair amount for your trade you may be tempted to take it. But wait a minute. How much has the dealer really discounted the truck? Remember I said that the Optional Package Discount is already built into the price of the vehicle? If you look at the window sticker I've reproduced above, you'll see that General Motors has already given the customer $1500 off the price. The actually MSRP of this vehicle, including the $1500 discount, is $33,995. But on the paper the salesman presented, it shows an MSRP of $35,495. How can that be? Again, go back to your window sticker, which you probably last saw five or six hours ago. The MSRP is $33,995 -- which includes the $1500 Optional Package Discount. All the dealership has done is added back the manufacturer's Option Package Discount and left in Destination (which they can't waive) to show you a starting point of $35,495. And then they've taken off $1500 which actually takes you right back to MSRP. In defense of the dealership, they're not lying. And if you question them, they're likely to say, "Hey, we're not trying to fool anybody. It's right there on the window sticker, Mr. Customer." And they would be right. The discount is printed right there on the window sticker, for all the world to see. You are in fact getting a $1500 discount, because of the options on that truck. If you tried to buy the same type of truck with those same options at a different time of year, when the manufacturer wasn't offering that discount, your MSRP would be $1,500 higher. So it's a real discount. But it's coming from the manufacturer, not the dealer. So essentially the dealer hasn't discounted the truck a penny. General rule of thumb: always read the window sticker carefully and note any manufacturer discounts, or "package discounts." And make sure you start any negotiation at the actual MSRP listed on the bottom of the sticker. Good luck!
About the author (NewsTarget) The first part of this article began a series of questions and answers aimed at introducing vitamin D and describing its importance to health. This part continues the series with a focus on sources of vitamin D, along with information on appropriate dosing.The body can make its own vitamin D following exposure to UVB radiation from the sun. Adequate exposure typically requires around 15 to 20 minutes of midday sunlight, 2 to 3 times per week. However, this particular ultraviolet light is not available during the winter months at some latitudes, while other latitudes offer a year-round supply. The greater the distance from the equator, the less UVB there is. Another factor to consider when it comes to sun exposure is skin pigmentation. Those with darker skin will require a longer duration of exposure to sunlight, compared to those with lighter skin.Remember to protect your skin if you are going to be in the sun for prolonged periods of time. Sensible sun exposure must be balanced against the harmful effects of sunburn.Supplementation can provide an optimal amount of vitamin D for those unable to spend sufficient time in the sun. There are also dietary sources of vitamin D, but it's practically impossible to get enough from food alone. Some examples include fatty fish, egg yolks and fortified milk. To reach even bare minimum levels would require drinking around 20 glasses of milk every single day.The two forms of vitamin D available as supplements are ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). Fungi, plants and invertebrate animals make ergocalciferol. Cholecalciferol is produced in the skin of vertebrate animals, including humans. There is only a slight difference in molecular structure between these two compounds. Still, that small difference has a significant impact on biological activity. In humans, vitamin D3 is much more effective, and safer, than vitamin D2. Therefore, if you supplement, be sure that you are taking vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol.Estimates from current research show that a healthy individual uses around 4,000 IU of vitamin D per day. The dose needed to satisfy daily demand varies depending upon sun exposure factors, age and weight. Generally, older people need more than younger people, and those who are overweight need more than those who are normal weight.Fortunately, there is a wide gap between the level of supplementation that will guarantee optimal vitamin D status and the level that could lead to toxicity. Research has shown that vitamin D toxicity may occur following long-term intake of around 40,000 IU daily; whereas, toxicity is unlikely with a daily intake of 10,000 IU or less. While it is true that most individuals do not need a dose of 10,000 IU per day, it's good to know that vitamin D has such a wide margin of safety.The only way to be certain of vitamin D status is to measure the blood level of 25(OH)D, also known as calcidiol. Experts recommend having at least one test every year. It is also advisable to check a few months after beginning regular supplementation, especially when taking 5,000 IU per day or greater. Additionally, anyone taking extremely high doses for an extended period should be aware of the signs and symptoms of vitamin D toxicity. These may include nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness, kidney stones, and arrhythmias, along with elevated blood levels of calcium, liver enzymes or cholesterol.Vitamin D CouncilDr. Michael F. Holick on Vitamin DWikipedia, "Vitamin D"GrassrootsHealthSunlight, Nutrition And Health Research CenterJeremiah Smith is a licensed and practicing pharmacist with a strong interest in nutrition and natural medicine. He is driven by a thirst for knowledge and a passion for helping others achieve optimal health . Smith writes articles on a range of topics related to wellness. You can visit his website at ( http://www.anewvision.info/
the Ubuntu developers don't agree with its direction either and are thinking on going back to Nautilus 3.4.x for Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal. Nautilus is causing a lot of controversy lately: Linux Mint is forking it, SolusOS has added some patches to make it more usable, anddon't agree with its direction either and Nautilus 3.4.x Update: Nautilus 3.5.x has been removed from Ubuntu 12.10 and Nautilus 3.4.2 is now used as default in the latest Ubuntu 12.10 Beta 1. In a comment on a Launchpad In a comment on a Launchpad bug posted yesterday, Sebastien Bacher , software engineer at Canonical, has said that Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal might go back to Nautilus 3.4, even though Nautilus 3.5.x is already in the Quantal repositories: [...] we are looking at going back to nautilus 3.4 for quantal but it's good to have a good view of the issues with the new version Pantheon Files, used by default in elementary OS Luna, a Marlin fork In a later comment, he also adds his personal opinion, saying that he's leaning toward shipping Nautilus 3.4.x on the CD for Quantal, but shipping 3.6.x in the archive too. And that's not all, Sebastien also says that Ubuntu might decide to either follow GNOME or join efforts with the Marlin or Nemo teams and use one of these by default in Ubuntu, instead of Nautilus: In a later comment, he also adds his personal opinion, saying that he's leaning toward shipping Nautilus 3.4.x on the CD for Quantal, but shipping 3.6.x in the archive too. And that's not all, Looking around us "elementary os" has its own filemanager (marlin, written in vala), "mint" just started their own project "nemo" which is a fork of nautilus 3.4 ... we might decide to follow GNOME, try joining efforts with the marlin or nemo team to maintain a full featured file manager or maintain our own filemanager (less likely at this point, that's not a topic which was raised before) Ubuntu might even follow GNOME with one cycle delay, for instance, using GNOME 3.4 on Ubuntu 12.10 (this won't happen with Ubuntu 12.10, it's just an example): Further more, in a message posted on the Nautilus mailing list , Sebastien Bacher says that, for instance, using GNOME 3.4 on Ubuntu 12.10 (this won't happen with Ubuntu 12.10, it's just an example): [...] The way GNOME is currently working though is making difficult for us (Ubuntu) to take decisions on what to do. We traditionally have the Ubuntu Developer Summit at the start of our cycle (which is start of the GNOME cycle as well) and we plan work for the next release. At the time of UDS none of the nautilus changes that happened this cycle were announced so we didn't discuss that topic, but we got quite surprised by the new direction nautilus is taking (while we were already on the 3.5 serie) and we are trying to ponder what to do next. The lesson that we learned this cycle is that GNOME is not planning their work enough in advance or communicating enough for us to keep basing our distribution on the current unstable GNOME versions. If that situation doesn't change we might well start following GNOME with one cycle delay (i.e building our next version on the current stable rather than following the current unstable), we can't really build a solid product on shifting code where the direction is not communicated in advance. The issue is not specific to nautilus though and this list might not be the best place to discuss that...
Though there is nothing inherently wrong with any kind of emotion, some of them can lead to major amounts of distress when left unchecked. Thankfully, there are a number of mental health techniques you can use and lifestyle changes you can make to control and overcome these negative feelings. Sometimes, you can try your best to control your emotions and still feel overwhelmed by them. Working with a licensed mental health professional can help you discover unhelpful emotional responses, and learn new, healthy ways to process your feelings. Learning to become more positive in your outlook takes time and practice, but it can also enhance your resilience to uncertain or upsetting emotions and experiences. At the end of each day, write down 1 or 2 positive things that happened, even if it was just a good song that you heard on the radio or a funny joke. Journaling about your emotions can help you learn to identify your feelings. It will also help you learn to recognize what may trigger certain emotions and will help you recognize helpful and unhelpful ways of dealing with them. Figuring out where your emotional turmoil stems from gives you the power to confront and overcome the beliefs that are causing it. Take a step back from the situation and objectively identify negative beliefs, like fear or inadequacy. What is causing those toxic feelings? What can you do to confront and overcome them? If you experience chronic lack of emotional control, try looking deeper into your personal history to find its origins. Knowing where your emotional turmoil comes from can help you figure out how to accept it and heal from it. The core principle of mindfulness is accepting the experience of the present moment without resistance or judgment. That’s easier said than done, but you’ll find that as you practice mindfulness techniques, they will become new “habits” that your brain adopts. When you’re in a hard situation, repeat some supportive phrases to yourself, like: Meditation is a great way to relieve anxiety and depression, while improving your ability to deal with stress. Regular mindfulness meditation can also help you regulate your emotions. You can take a class, use an online guided meditation, or learn to do mindfulness meditation on your own. Cultivate a focus on beauty and calm appreciation of the world around you to work into your daily self-care routine. This focus on the gratitude and physical senses can also help you calm down in the moment, when you’re feeling stressed or out of control. Experiment with a few different techniques, like: Getting exercise, especially calm and repetitive exercise like swimming, walking, or running, can help to calm your mind and your senses. You can also try exercises like yoga or Pilates, which focus on stilling the mind through soothing, stretching exercises and breathing techniques. ” These statements feel blaming and can lead to feelings of frustration and anger that things aren’t the way you want them to be. When you notice yourself using “shoulds, “oughts,” or other expectant words or phrases, stop and remember that nothing and no one is perfect. Challenge yourself to embrace imperfection and accept things the way they are right now. No situation has only one side. Asking others to share their thoughts can help you understand their perspective and create an equal dialogue. Active listening can help also calm down your own emotions, giving you control over them and putting you in the right mental space to put their ideas to use. This type of communication helps you express your emotions without blaming or belittling others. Before you say a sentence that could come off as blaming or judgmental, stop yourself and restructure it into an observation or a statement of opinion. Learning to communicate assertively is a way to express and control your emotions while creating change in an undesirable situation. It's okay to say state your opinion or say no to things that make you uncomfortable or that you simply don't have time for, as long as you do so clearly and tactfully. Sometimes the best reaction is walking away and avoiding your triggers altogether. If a situation can be reworked relatively easily and without hurting others, do what you can to remove yourself from it and your negative feelings. If you feel yourself reacting to strong emotions in a way that’s typical for you, stop yourself. Take a moment and think about what would happen if you tried the opposite of your usual reaction. How would the outcome change? If it would become positive or productive, try that new method instead of your old one. If you feel angry, you might clench your jaws and tense up. Taking a few deep breaths and relaxing your muscles is an easy and effective way to dial down strong feelings, which can stop you from doing something you might regret later. If you can tell that someone is bothering you just to egg you on, take a deep breath and stay calm. Speak calmly and refuse to let them get to you. When you maintain your cool, the person egging you on will become frustrated and eventually stop. Your triggers are the activities, people, places, things, or events that consistently bring out particular emotions in you. Once you know your triggers, you can plan for them and mentally prepare yourself. Defensiveness not only leads to out of control emotions, it also makes people see you as too emotional. You may feel defensive if you feel stressed, frustrated, or personally attacked. However, it's important to listen to the opinions of others, especially if they're given constructively, without taking them personally. You can cope with defensiveness by reducing the threat in the situation and remaining curious about the thoughts of others. Here are signs of defensiveness: When you’re ready to decide on a course of action, make sure it’s a conscious choice, not a reaction to another, competing emotion. Think about how you want to resolve this situation and why. What values of yours does this response represent? Does it make sense rationally, too? Sometimes, you may feel out of control emotionally because you can’t see how to control the situation around you. This can lead to “ruminating,” a “broken record” thought loop where you obsess about the negative thought or feeling in an unproductive, usually vague, way. Break this cycle by focusing on any specifics of the situation that you can address. Bottling up or ignoring your emotions will not make them go away. They will bubble up and resurface later, so it's important that you let yourself feel your emotions. However, you don't have to ruminate on them. Instead, set aside a block of time, such as 15-30 minutes to get out your emotion. Learning to pinpoint and name your emotions can give you control over them when you feel like they’re running wild. Take a few deep breaths, then force yourself to look straight at the things you’re feeling, even if it’s painful. Then, ask yourself what the source of that emotion is, and if it’s covering up for something else that you’re afraid to confront. " Fill it with happy memories, such as photos and mementos, like a ticket stub to a favorite concert. Print out inspirational quotes you enjoy to add to your book or box. Include a gratitude list or journal, as well as items you find comforting. For example, your box could also contain a funny book, a few candies, a nice mug, and a box of tea. Pull out your book or box when you're feeling emotional. Choose a place, real or imagined, that you find tranquil and soothing. Close your eyes and imagine it, creating as many details as you can, while breathing slowly and evenly. Let out the tension in your body and let the calmness of your safe place quiet your thoughts and emotions. Do a scan of your body and see where you’re holding your stress, then force yourself to relax that area. Unclench your hands, relax your shoulders, and let the tension out of your legs. Roll your neck and shake out your fingers. Releasing physical tension can go a long way towards steadying your mind. Losing control of your emotions can often come with a loss of self and place; you get wrapped up in your emotions and lose awareness of where you are. To counter this, force yourself to notice things directly around you or physical sensations you’re experiencing. When your emotions get away from you, your breathing will often get out of control as well, compounding your feelings of stress and anxiety. Cut off this spiral when you feel it happening by taking several deep breaths to calm down your mind and body. If you can, try a purposeful deep breathing technique for the most effective solution. The first step to gaining control of your emotions is to recognize when they’re out of control. Ask yourself what this feels like physically and mentally, then work to identify it in the moment. Catching your emotions when they start to spiral requires mindfulness and conscious, rational thought; just the recognition alone will start to ground you in the present moment. To gain control of your emotions, take a moment to take a deep breath, hold it for 2 seconds, and then exhale. Keep breathing like that until you start to calm down. You can also try focusing on something around you, like the way something looks or smells, which can help bring you back to the present so you're not caught up in your emotions. If you're feeling overwhelmed, try doing the opposite of what you'd normally do, like walking away or not saying anything at all.
Sepang revamped its track ahead of this weekend and one of the changes included making the final corner off camber to improve drainage – and make the turn tougher. That has led to drivers needing to take a different approach to the corner than in the past, and the number of errors made there throughout the weekend has teed up the prospect of similar drama in the race. Sergio Perez said: “It is a difficult last corner. In the past you just saw people doing a normal line but, if you go too much on the inside now, on the exit you are off camber which hurts a lot the traction. “So I think it is going to be a difficult corner and you will see people make mistakes at that corner because it is a tricky one.” Daniel Ricciardo thinks that the nature of the camber there – which means cars get washed out towards the kerbs, means that switch-back moves could become a big feature. “It is an interesting one,” explained the Australian. “Because it is wide you can still dive to the inside, but then the track falls away, so if you stay shallow you will start washing out because you will get a bigger gradient on the off camber. “I think you will probably see scenarios where people go and dive on the inside, and then you will get switch-back and people cutting back across. So there will be a bit of cat and mouse. “Hopefully it means a few more exciting racing manoeuvres, and fortunately there are some other good places you can pass, which is good. But the last corner is interesting – yeah!" Valtteri Bottas reckoned the key to successfully defending there was in being consistent each lap. “It is so easy to lose 0.1 or 0.15 seconds – by locking up and going sideways. "The main thing there will be trying to be consistent, and for sure it can create some overtaking if you make a mistake there or the guy in front of you does. “But it is definitely not one of my favourite corners. It is not an enjoyable corner, it is very tricky. But it is the same corner for everyone and it can create some opportunities.”
In March 2012, Valve’s Dota 2 was played by almost 300,000 people at the same time, edging ahead of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to become the game with the most concurrent users on Steam ever. At that time Dota 2 was still in beta. Since then, the number of simultaneous Dota 2 players has peaked at 500,000. It’s the second most popular game on the streaming service Twitch.tv, just behind League of Legends, but since its release from beta it’s grown over 500% on Twitch in terms of number of minutes watched. In 2013, Dota 2 won IGN’s best overall multiplayer game award, among with many other trophies. What’s the secret behind Dota 2’s success? Futhermore, should you play it? Dota 2 originated as a popular mod of Warcraft III; where instead of managing a whole army, players controlled a single hero in a five-against-five battle to destroy their enemy’s base. The many competing versions of Dota contained hundreds of different heroes, each with four different abilities and hundreds of different items they could buy over the course of the game. Eventually, these versions were condensed by the developer Guinsoo into one mod, called Dota All-Stars, and later balanced by the legendary anonymous developer, Icefrog. Since then, Guinsoo has gone on to work on the hugely popular Dota-like game, League of Legends, while Icefrog has worked on Dota 2 with Valve. The original Dota is a game that, quite frankly, should never have been successful. Not only did players have to be familiar with the abilities of every hero – a daunting task of memorization – but the unorthodox uses of the Warcraft III engine caused a variety of frustrating interactions and bugs that also had to be memorized. Certain items would cancel the effects of other items or, worse still, cause a hero’s basic attack to stop working. Some abilities made heroes immune to being stunned or slowed by other heroes – except for certain stuns or slows that, due to the Warcraft III engine, had to be coded in a slightly different way, and worked just fine. It was a game with a learning cliff, not a learning curve. Among its players, the ridiculous difficulty of the original Dota bred a cult-like devotion to the game. Having invested so many hours in learning all the basic knowledge, players didn’t want to think they’d wasted their time – and, thanks to the work of Icefrog, Dota All-Stars was actually very fun to play. Previous versions of Dota had been grossly unbalanced, with certain overpowered heroes always winning, but Dota All-Stars managed, somehow, to make a game with hundreds of heroes and items fair. However, while the game was balanced for experienced players, it didn’t seem that way for many beginners. Dota players tended to look down on beginners who constantly complained that particular heroes or items were overpowered. In fact, the heroes who dominated beginner games were actually quite weak at higher levels of play, and many of the heroes who beginners dismissed as useless were very strong. Online games of Dota on Warcraft III’s Battle.net often tried to discourage beginners from joining, since one bad player could ruin the game for their whole team. Even worse, players could leave any time they wanted, which meant that everyone remaining either had to play with uneven teams or restart the entire game. It was an environment that bred a terrible community: unfriendly to new players, harshly critical of unsuccessful teammates, and full of games where players would abandon as soon as one team gained a minor advantage. In Dota 2, the graphics received a serious update, and Warcraft III’s primitive item shop system was replaced with a shop actually designed for Dota. However, when it came to gameplay, the developers of Dota 2 were in a tough position. All the quirks of the Warcraft III engine that confused new players – turn rates, units blocking other units – had become part of the game. Heroes were built around these things, and ‘streamlining’ the game would destroy the careful balance that was arguably its best attribute. In the end they compromised: ‘fixing’ some of the worst bugs, but leaving most of the mechanics in place. Where Dota 2 differs substantially from Dota All-Stars is in its approach to the community. In Dota 2, abusive players can be muted for a period of time as punishment, and players who leave games are sent to the low-priority pool to play with other leavers. The matchmaking system organizes players into games with players of the same skill level, to stop experienced players being matched up with total beginners. While the nature of Dota 2 still makes for plenty of abrasive encounters, it’s no longer the lawless wasteland that was the Dota All-Stars community. One final reason for Dota 2’s popularity is the thriving professional scene. The top teams of Dota All-Stars migrated to Dota 2 almost instantly, as well as many top players from Dota-like game, Heroes of Newerth. Valve’s annual Dota 2 tournament, The International, has grown year on year, both in terms of prize money and community interest. In 2013, The International saw a prize pool of over 2.8 million dollars, the largest prize pool in electronic sports history (beating out League of Legends’ two million dollar prize pool). Throughout the year, other tournaments – WPC-ACE in China, MLG Columbus in America – have featured prizes in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many Dota 2 players actually watch more games than they play. What makes competitive Dota 2 so entertaining to watch is the wide variety of strategies teams use. The International 2012 was dominated by ‘Chinese Dota’, a strategy based around defensive play and earning more money than your opponent, but in the semi-finals fan favourites Na’Vi took out a massive upset win against Invictus Gaming by playing very aggressively. The decisive moment of that game is just called ‘The Play’ by Dota fans – not just a well played fight, but proof that the defensive Chinese juggernaut could be defeated. In 2013, the dominant strategy was avoiding fights by attacking multiple areas of the enemy base at the same time, derisively called ‘rat Dota’ by fans who found it less exciting to watch. The finals of The International 2013 saw a clash between the masters of rat Dota, The Alliance, and the more aggressive team, Na’Vi. The best of five match progressed to a full five games, the last of which was about as close as it’s possible for a game to be. In the end, The Alliance took home almost one and a half million dollars. Despite Valve’s efforts, Dota 2 is still a difficult game to get into, but it’s worth it if you’ve got the time to spend learning. As the game grows, more and more people are making the investment of effort. Like Dota All-Stars, Dota 2 is free to play – even more so than League of Legends, which requires you to spend money or time before you can play many of the champions. If you’re looking for a team-based game that rewards careful strategy and daring plays, it’s hard to do better than Dota 2. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Tumblr Pinterest
VY Canis Majoris (abbreviated to VY CMa) is an extreme oxygen-rich (O-rich) red hypergiant (RHG) or red supergiant (RSG) and pulsating variable star located at 1.2 kiloparsecs (3,900 ly) away from Earth in the constellation of Canis Major. It is one of the largest known stars by radius, and is also one of the most luminous and massive red supergiants, as well as one of the most luminous stars in the Milky Way. VY CMa is a single star with a large infrared (IR) excess, making it one of the brightest objects in the sky at wavelengths of between 5 and 20 microns (µm) and indicating a dust shell or disk heated by the star.[14][15] It is about 7001170000000000000♠17±8 times the mass of the Sun ( M ☉ ). It is also surrounded by a complex asymmetric circumstellar envelope (CSE) caused by mass loss from the star itself. It produces strong molecular maser emission and was one of the first radio masers discovered. VY CMa is embedded within the large molecular cloud Sharpless 310 (Sh2-310), one of the largest star-forming H II regions with a diameter of 480 arcminutes (') or 681 ly (209 pc).[16][17] The radius of VY CMa is about 1,420 times that of the Sun ( R ☉ ), which is close to the Hayashi limit and corresponds to a volume about 3 billion times bigger than the Sun. A hypothetical object travelling at the speed of light would take 6 hours to travel around the star's circumference, compared to 14.5 seconds for the Sun.[18] If placed at the center of the Solar System, VY CMa's surface would extend beyond the orbit of Jupiter, although there is still considerable variation in estimates of the radius, with some making it larger than the orbit of Saturn.[4] Observational history The first known recorded observation of VY Canis Majoris is in the star catalogue of the French astronomer Jérôme Lalande, on 7 March 1801, which lists it as a 7th magnitude star. Further 19th- and 20th-century studies of its apparent magnitude suggested that the star had been fading since 1850.[19] Since 1847, VY Canis Majoris has been described as a crimson star.[19] During the 19th century, observers measured at least six discrete components, suggesting that it might be a multiple star. These discrete components are now known to be bright areas in the surrounding nebula. Visual observations in 1957 and high-resolution imaging in 1998 showed that there are no companion stars.[19][20] VY CMa was also discovered to be a strong source of OH (1612 MHz), H 2 O (22235.08 MHz), and SiO (43122 MHz) masers emission, which is typical of an OH/IR star.[21][22][23] Many molecules, such as HCN, NaCl, PN, CH, CO, CH 3 OH, TiO, and TiO 2 , have also been detected.[12][24][3][25][26] The variation in VY CMa's brightness was first described in 1931 when it was listed (in German) as a long period variable with a photographic magnitude range of 9.5 to 11.5.[27] It was given the variable star designation VY Canis Majoris in 1939, the 43rd variable star of the constellation Canis Major.[28] Surroundings WFPC2/ HST image showing the asymmetric nebula surrounding VY CMa, which is the central star VY Canis Majoris is surrounded by an extensive and dense asymmetric red reflection nebula with a total ejected mass of 0.2-0.4 M ☉ and a temperature of 800 K based on a DUSTY model atmosphere that has been formed by material expelled from its central star.[14][29] The diameter of the inner shell is found to be 0".12, corresponding to 140 AU (0.0022 ly) at a distance of 1.2 kpc, whereas that of the outer one is 10", corresponding to 12,000 AU (0.19 ly).[29] This nebula is so bright that it was discovered in 1917 with an 18 cm telescope, and also contains condensations that were once regarded as companion stars.[20] It has been extensively studied with the aid of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), showing that the nebula has a complex structure that includes filaments and arcs, which were caused by past eruptions; this structure is similar to that of the nebula surrounding the post-red supergiant (Post-RSG) or yellow hypergiant (YHG) IRC +10420. The similarity has led astronomers to propose that VY CMa will evolve blueward on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (HR diagram) to become a yellow hypergiant, then a Luminous blue variable (LBV), and finally a Wolf–Rayet star (WR star).[20][14] Map of the giant molecular cloud Sharpless 310 and its surrondings Observations combining Hubble Space Telescope data with that obtained from the Keck Telescope, located in Hawaii, it was possible to make a three-dimensional reconstruction of the material surrounding VY CMa. This reconstruction showed that VY CMa's mass loss is much more complex than expected for any red supergiant or hypergiant. It became clear that the bows and nodules appeared at different times; the jets are randomly oriented, which leads us to believe that they derive from explosions occurred in active regions of the stellar photosphere. The spectroscopic data showed that the jets move away from the star at different speeds, indicating that they occurred at different times and originate from different areas of the surface of VY CMa.[30] Multiple asymmetric mass loss events and also the ejection of the outermost material are deduced to have occurred within the last 500–1,000 years, while that of a knot near the star would be less than 100 years. The mass loss is due to strong convection in the tenuous outer layers of the star, associated with magnetic fields. This is similar to the sunspots and coronal ejections of the Sun but on a much larger scale.[10][31][30] Distance VLBA used to derive VY CMa's 2011 distance estimate In 1976, Charles J. Lada and Mark J. Reid published observations of the bright-rimmed molecular cloud Sh2-310, which is 15' east of VY Canis Majoris. At the edge of the cloud bordered by the bright rim, an abrupt decrease in the CO emission and an increase in brightness of the 12 CO emission were observed, indicating possible destruction of molecular material and enhanced heating at the cloud-rim interface, respectively. Lada and Reid assumed the distance of Sh2-310 is approximately equal to that of the stars, which are members of the open cluster NGC 2362, that ionize the rim. NGC 2362 has a distance of 7000150000000000000♠1.5±0.5 kiloparsecs (kpc) or roughly 7003489000000000000♠4,890±1,630 light-years (ly) as determined from its color-magnitude diagram.[32] VY CMa is projected onto the tip of the cloud rim, suggesting its association with Sh2-310. In addition to that, the velocity of Sh2-310 is very close to the velocity of the star. This further indicates the association of the star with Sh2-310, and consequently with NGC 2362, which means VY Canis Majoris is at the same distance.[33] A more recent measurement of the distance to NGC 2362 gives 1.2 kpc or about 3,910 ly.[34] Stellar distances can be calculated by measuring parallaxes as Earth orbits around the Sun. However, VY Canis Majoris has a small parallax due to its great distance, and standard visual observations have a margin of error too large for a hypergiant star with an extended CSE to be useful, for example, the Hipparcos Catalogue (1997) gives a parallax of 7000178000000000000♠1.78±3.54 milliarcseconds (mas), yelding a distance of 7019173353366526826♠561.8 pc (7019173352748741287♠1,832.34 ly).[35] The parallax of VY CMa can be precisely measured with high accuracy from the observation of masers using a long baseline interferometry. In 2008, observations of H 2 O masers using VERA interferometry from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan give a parallax of 6991426636039376392♠0.88±0.08 mas, corresponding to a distance of 7019351767244287259♠1.14+0.11 −0.09 kpc (about 7019351939173580005♠3,720+360 −300 ly).[36] In 2012, observations of SiO masers using Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) from Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) independently derived a parallax of 6991402395355320915♠0.83±0.08 mas, corresponding to a distance of 7019370281309776063♠1.20+0.13 −0.10 kpc (about 7019369914561477909♠3,910+423 −326 ly).[11] These new distance estimates imply that either Sh2-310 is less remote than usually estimated or that VY CMa is a foreground object.[16] The Gaia mission should provide visual parallaxes with sufficient accuracy to constrain the distance to VY CMa, but the data release 2 value of 3007712990300783154♠−5.92±0.83 mas is not meaningful.[37] Variability VY Canis Majoris is a variable star that varies from an apparent visual magnitude of 9.6 at minimum brightness to a magnitude of 6.5 at maximum brightness with an estimated pulsational period of 956 days.[2][9] In the General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS) it is classed a semiregular variable of sub-type SRc, indicating a cool supergiant,[2] although it is classed as a type LC slow irregular variable star in the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) Variable Star Index.[9] Other periods of 1,600[38] and 2,200[20] days have been derived. VY CMa is sometimes considered as the prototype for a class of heavily mass-losing OH/IR supergiants, distinct from the more common asymptotic giant branch OH/IR stars.[39] Spectrum The spectrum of VY Canis Majoris is that of a high luminosity M class star. The hydrogen lines, however, have P Cygni profiles fit for Luminous Blue Variables. The spectrum is dominated by TiO bands whose strengths suggest a classification of M5. The H-alpha (H α ) line is not visible yet and there are unusual emission lines of neutral elements such as sodium and calcium. The luminosity class as determined from different spectral features varies from bright giant (II) to bright supergiant (Ia), with a compromise being given as M5eIbp. Early attempts at classification were confused by the interpretation of surrounding nebulosity as companion stars.[40] The derived spectral class varies depending on the features examined. The spectral features also vary noticeably over time. It is considered to be unambiguously cooler, and thus redder, than M2, and is usually classified between M3 and M5. Classes as extreme as M2.5 and M5 have been given.[4] The luminosity class is likewise confused and often given only as I, partly because luminosity classes are poorly defined in the red and infrared portions of the spectrum. One study though, gives a luminosity class of Ia+ which means a hypergiant or extremely luminous supergiant.[41] Physical properties VY Canis Majoris compared to the Sun and the Earth’s orbit A very large and luminous star, VY CMa is among the most extreme stars in the Milky Way and has an effective temperature below 4,000 K (3,730 °C; 6,740 °F). It occupies the upper-right hand corner of the HR diagram although its exact luminosity and temperature are uncertain. Most of the properties of the star depend directly on its distance. Luminosity The bolometric luminosity (L bol ) of VY CMa can be calculated from Spectral energy distribution (SED) or bolometric flux, which can be determined from photometry in several visible and infrared bands. Earlier calculations of the luminosity based on an assumed distance of 1.5 kpc gave luminosities between 200,000 and 560,000 times the Sun's luminosity ( L ☉ ).[14][42][32] This is considerably very close or beyond the empirical Humphreys-Davidson limit. One study gave nearly one million L ☉ at a distance of 2.1 kpc (6,800 ly).[43] In 2006 a luminosity of 430,000 L ☉ was calculated by integrating the total fluxes over the entire nebula, since most of the radiation coming from the star is reprocessed by the dust in the surrounding cloud.[31] More recent estimates of the luminosity derive values below 350,000 L ☉ based on distances below 1.2 kpc.[3][36][44] Most of the output of VY CMa is emitted as infrared radiation, with a maximum emission at 5–10 μm, which is in part caused by reprocessing of the radiation by the circumstellar nebula.[31][10] Many older luminosity estimates are consistent with current ones if they are re-scaled to the distance of 1.2 kpc.[36] Despite being one of the most luminous stars in the Milky Way, much of the visible light of VY CMa is absorbed by the circumstellar envelope, so it cannot be seen with the naked eye and needs a telescope to be observed. It would be a naked eye star if no light was absorbed.[12] Mass Since VY CMa has no companion star, its mass cannot be measured directly through gravitational interactions. Comparison of the effective temperature and bolometric luminosity of VY CMa compared to evolutionary tracks for massive stars suggest an initial mass of 7001250000000000000♠25±10 M ☉ for a rotating star with a current mass of 15 M ☉ , or 32 M ☉ for a non-rotating star with a current mass of 19 M ☉ ,[3] and an age of 8.2 million years (MYr).[11] Older studies have found much higher initial masses (thus also higher current masses) or a progenitor mass of 40 - 60 M ☉ based on old luminosity estimates.[14][45] Mass loss Image taken by the ESO 's Very Large Telescope showing the asymmetric nebula around VY CMa using SPHERE instrument. The star itself is hidden behind a dark disk. Crosses are artifacts due to the characteristics of the instrument. VY CMa has a strong stellar wind and is losing a lot of material due to its high luminosity and relatively low surface gravity. It has an average mass loss rate of 6996600000000000000♠6×10−4 M ☉ per year, among the highest known and unusually high even for a red supergiant, as evidenced by the extensive circumstellar envelope.[38][29] It is consequently one of most important stars for understanding the high-mass loss episodes near the end of massive star evolution.[46] The mass loss rate probably exceeded 6997100000000000000♠10−3 M ☉ /yr during the most violent mass loss events.[29] Temperature The effective temperature of VY CMa is uncertain but as the spectrum of VY CMa varies, then also the temperature may vary. Early estimates of the temperature of VY CMa assumed values below 3,000 K based on a spectral class of M5.[42][43] In 2006, Dr. Philip Massey used a MARCS model atmosphere to directly determine the temperature of VY CMa and calculated that the effective temperature of VY CMa is as high as 7003365000000000000♠3,650±25 K, corresponding to a spectral class of M2.5,[4] although VY CMa is usually considered as an M4-M5 star. Adopting the spectral class of M4-M5 with the temperature scale proposed by Emily Levesque gives a range of between 3,450 and 3,535 K.[47] Size The calculation of the radius of VY CMa is complicated by the extensive circumstellar envelope of the star and also VY CMa is a pulsating star, so its size changes with time. Earlier direct measurements of the radius by Monnier et al. at infrared (K-band = 2.2 µm) wavelength gave an angular diameter of 6992906601583674834♠18.7±0.5 mas, corresponding to radii above 3,000 R ☉ (2.1×109 km; 14 au; 1.3×109 mi) at an assumed distance of 1.5 kpc, considerably larger than expected for any red supergiant or hypergiant.[42] However, this is probably larger than the actual size of the underlying star and the angular diameter estimate appears exceedingly large due to interference by the circumstellar envelope.[31][10][3] In 2006–2007 radii of 1,800 - 2,100 R ☉ have been derived by Humphreys et al. from the estimated luminosity of 430,000 L ☉ and temperatures of 3,200 - 3,535 K.[31][10] On 6 and 7 March 2011, VY CMa was observed by Wittkowski et al. using VLTI/AMBER interferometry with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in a range of 2.20–2.25 μm. The size of VY CMa was calculated using the Rosseland Radius, the location at which the optical depth is 2⁄ 3 ,[48] with two modern distances of 7000113999999999999♠1.14+0.11 −0.09 and 7019370281309776063♠1.20+0.13 −0.10 kpc.[36][11] The angular diameter of VY CMa was directly and precisely measured at 6992547839459653776♠11.3±0.3 mas based on a PHOENIX atmosphere model, which corresponds to a radius of 7003142000000000000♠1,420±120 R ☉ at a distance of 7019361024277031661♠1.17+0.08 −0.07 kpc. The high spectral resolution of these observations allowed the effects of contamination by circumstellar layers to be minimised. An effective temperature of 7003349000000000000♠3,490±90 K, corresponding to a spectral class of M4, was then derived from the radius and a luminosity of 7005270000000000000♠270,000±40,000 L ☉ which is based on the distance and a measured flux of 6987630000000000000♠(6.3±0.3)×10−13 W/cm2.[3] Most radius estimates of the VY CMa are considered as the size for the optical photosphere while the size of the star for the radio photosphere is calculated to be twice that of the size of the star for the optical photosphere.[5] Despite the mass and very large size, VY CMa has an average density of 5.33 to 8.38 mg/m3 (0.00000533 to 0.00000838 kg/m3), it is over 100,000 times less dense than Earth's atmosphere at sea level (1.2 kg/m3). Largest star VY Canis Majoris has been known to be an extreme object since the middle of the 20th century, although its true nature was uncertain.[40][49] In the late 20th century, it was accepted that it was a post-main sequence red supergiant. Its angular diameter had been measured and found to be significantly different depending on the observed wavelength. The first meaningful estimates of its properties showed a very large star, well in excess of a thousand R ☉ .[50][51] In contrast to prevailing opinion, a 2006 study, ignoring the effects of the circumstellar envelope in the observed flux of the star, derived a luminosity of 60,000 L ☉ , suggesting an initial mass of 15 M ☉ and radius of 600 R ☉ based on an assumed effective temperature of 3,650 K and distance of 7019462851637220078♠1.5 kpc. On this basis they considered VY CMa and another notable extreme cool hypergiant star, NML Cygni, as normal early-type red supergiants.[4][52] They assert that earlier very high luminosities of 7005500000000000000♠500,000 L ☉ and very large radii of 2,800 - 3,230 R ☉ [14][53] (or even 4,000 R ☉ [20]) were based on effective temperatures below 3,000 K that were unreasonably low.[4] Almost immediately another paper published a size estimate of 1,800 - 2,100 R ☉ and concluded that VY CMa is a true hypergiant. This was based on the most recent temperature calibrations, giving an effective temperature of 3,450 - 3,535 K, and a luminosity of 430,000 L ☉ based on SED integration and a distance of 7019462851637220078♠1.5 kpc.[31] Since then, the size of VY CMa has been calculated more accurately to be somewhat lower, for example 1,420 R ☉ ,[3] while larger sizes have been published for a number of other galactic red supergiants such as Westerlund 1-26 and UY Scuti. Despite this, VY Canis Majoris is still often described as the largest known star, sometimes with caveats to account for the highly uncertain sizes of all these stars.[54][a] Another recent estimate based on the Wittkowski radius and the Monnier radius derived an average size of 2,000 R ☉ .[26] Evolution VY Canis Majoris is a highly evolved star with an age less than 10 MYr although some older authors argued that it would rather either be a very young protostar or a massive pre-main sequence star with an age of only 1 MYr and also a circumstellar disk around the star.[15] It has probably evolved from an O9 main sequence star with a radius of 5 - 20 R ☉ .[32][55][30] The star has evolved rapidly because of its high mass. The time spent to the red hypergiant phase is estimated to be between 100,000 and 500,000 years, and thus VY CMa had left its main sequence more than a million years ago.[11][30] The future evolution of VY CMa is uncertain, but like the most cool supergiants, the star will certainly explode as a supernova. It has begun to fuse helium into carbon, whereas a main sequence star fuses hydrogen into helium. In 2009, Nathan Smith of the University of California, Ken Hinkle and Nils Ride of the Lund Observatory have used the PHOENIX near-infrared spectrograph on Gemini South to study the geometry and kinematics of the active circumstellar envelopes of two large supergiant stars: Betelgeuse and VY Canis Majoris. These two stars are losing huge amounts of mass in their "last gasps" and could explode as a supernova at any time now although the stars like VY CMa (>15 M ☉ ) are too massive to produce type II-P supernovae at red supergiant stage and will probably evolve to higher temperature, likely producing a different type of supernova explosion.[56][3] It is also expected that VY CMa will explode in the next 100,000 years.[54] VY CMa has been discovered to be very unstable, having a prodigious mass loss rate. In this case, the CO emission is coincident with the bright KI shell in its asymmetric nebula. VY CMa will produce a moderately luminous and long-lasting type IIn supernova (SN IIn), or even a hypernova or superluminous supernova (SLSN) comparable to SN 1988Z (or possibly a type Ib supernova), but it is unlikely that the supernova would be extremely luminous like SN 2006tf or SN 2006gy. The explosion can be associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and it will also produce a shock wave of a speed of a few thousand kilometers-per-second that could slam into the surrounding envelope of material and detectable interaction with the surrounding envelope for about a decade after the explosion. This demonstrates that LBVs, such as Eta Carinae, are not the only progenitors of SNe IIn or HN, but it stressed the requirement that these types of supernovae increased episodic mass loss just prior to the explosion. For a star as massive as VY CMa, the remnant would be likely a black hole rather than a neutron star.[56] Notes ^ Alcolea et al 2013 refer to VY CMa as having the highest radius "among well-characterised stars in our galaxy", referring to the Wittkowski et al. 2012 value of 1,420 R ☉ which is based on the distances from Choi et al. 2008 and Zhang et al. 2012 plus an angular diameter. Several red supergiants (or hypergiants) are possibly larger, although they could have less accurate radius estimates. References Further reading
Leftover pizza can be a dicey proposition. With rare exception, any pie worth eating is going to be best very soon after it leaves the oven, its stock falling rapidly with its temperature. The thinner the crust—and the more delicate the balance of toppings—the truer this holds. So when it’s time to take a crack at those last few slices you couldn’t finish the night before (because you were saving room for beer, of course), your options are pretty limited. Microwaved pizza is both a soggy mess and an insult to common decency, so unless you have a toaster oven, you might be better off just eating it cold. Besides, some people even like cold pizza: So in the spirit of inquiry, we present this survey of some of Portland’s popular delivery and take-out joints with one question in mind: how do their pies fare out of the fridge the next day? Because we here at Eat Beat are kindhearted souls who care deeply about leftover optimization, we have eaten a lot of cold pizza in the last few weeks. Some of it was great; some was terrible. Much of it was eaten for breakfast. Before we dive head first into the world of congealed cheese and crust-related jaw fatigue, some notes are in order: First, we only included pizzas that bear some resemblance to your average delivery pie, which means many perennial Portland favorites like Ken’s, Pyro, and Dove ViVi aren’t on this list. I could get into why (larger ratio of crust to toppings, whole different game when cold) but trust me, you don’t really want me to. Secondly, the pizza pedant might point out that there was no topping consistency on the pies we tried, making any objective standard for our assessments hard to come by. It’s a fair point, to which I offer this slight cop-out of a response: we already ate more cold pizza than anyone ought to, can’t we at least be afforded some variety? Besides, objectivity in pizza is nonsense—you can’t use science to judge art. Our Favorites ♦Pronto Pizza, 16050 SE 82nd Drive, Clackamas Out of the box: The crust is generally great, with a bit more bready of a taste than some might be used to, but the cornicione (that’s end crust for you plebeians) is strangely inconsistent: in some places it’s massive and fluffy, a few inches tall, whereas in other places it’s more reasonably sized and sports excellent char. It seems like they have some oven issues that need addressing, but the toppings are excellent and applied with a deft hand. Out of the fridge: Cold, it turns out that the only topping not so deftly applied is the cheese—there’s simply too much of it. That said, this is a fantastic cold slice: the toppings, particularly the veggies, have melded in flavor and the crust tastes a bit like good sourdough. ♦Sizzle Pie, Various Locations Out of the box: This was pretty droopy pizza, as if the crust was almost too thin. The grease from a slice of Pepperoni almost soaked straight through the crust. Less greasy slices avoided this issue, and sported a crust with some pleasant yeasty sourness and good chew. Out of the fridge: The crust was much denser, but still fairly easy to bite, and its pleasant flavors remained. Most slices had a bit too much congealed grease for my tastes, but if that’s your thing, I won’t judge. ♦Apizza Scholls, 4741 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Out of the box: You’ve heard it before and it’s still true; they’re pretty much the best in town. Even after a short walk through sub-freezing temperatures to my car and a ten minute drive home, it was fantastic. The cornicione was perfectly crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and the toppings are applied with craft and restraint. Out of the fridge: A slice is significantly harder to bite through. But that crust! It’s still tasted amazing, the deep char giving it a whole other flavor dimension. If by some absurd effort of self control you don’t eat the whole pie hot, then you won’t be too saddened the next day. The Rest of the Pack ♦21st Century Pizza, 1221 SW Jefferson St. Out of the box: What most people probably expect from delivery pizza. Thick, chewy crust with little char or coloring, toppings and cheese that seem to want to slide right off. The sauce wasn’t half bad though. Out of the fridge: It tasted much more like sauce, a sign of low-quality cheese. But it’s low quality cheese that actually sticks to the pie when cold, so there’s that. If someone forces some of this pizza upon you, go home and stick it in the fridge—you might be much happier. ♦Baby Doll Pizza, 2835 SE Stark St. Out of the box: This was pretty close to perfect pizza. The edge crust was crispy and charred on the outside with an airy interior and impressive hole structure. The bottom had some excellent char, the sauce added a bit of sweetness without being cloying or unbalanced, and the toppings were just right. Out of the fridge: Like Apizza, it was much harder to bite through. The cornicione was particularly tough, and just not quite as good as Scholls’—you’re more likely to just be kicking yourself for not having gorged the night before. ♦Hammy’s Pizza, 2114 SE Clinton St. Out of the box: I’ll be honest, this pizza had way more going for it than I expected. Sure, the crust was pretty tasteless, but it sported decent char, and the cornicione had remarkably crispy outsides with a nicely pliant, airy interior. The sauce was too sweet for my tastes, though, and the cheese didn’t really cling to the pie. Out of the fridge: It was actually better. The crust tasted more like something, and was easy to eat despite the charring. Per the suggestion of the nice lady at the counter the night before, I dipped a barbecue chicken slice in some ranch dressing, and you know what? I didn’t hate it. Sue me. ♦Hotlips Pizza, Various Locations Out of the box: I don’t know how you under-season pizza crust, but Hotlips does it expertly. I’ve never had a slice of cheese pizza that tasted so much like sauce and so little like cheese or crust. Out of the fridge: The crust was even more bland. They weren’t skimpy with the bacon on a bacon/potato pie though, which was a saving grace for this cold slice. ♦Lonesome’s Pizza, 300 W Burnside Out of the box: I was disappointed to see the pizza from this late-night joint bearing the crosshatching that comes from being cooked on a grate, and as I expected, the crust was extremely chewy and soft. But it tasted surprisingly good for having no char to speak of. This is probably the best the grate-cooked pizza can be, and I could already tell it was going to be great cold... Out of the fridge: ...It wasn’t quite as great as I’d thought. I’m not the pizza whisperer I thought I was, as the crust was much tougher than I’d expected and even chewier, like it had compacted overnight. Still though, If you wake up at noon the next day with the remnants of this 3 AM delivery awaiting you, you won’t be too bummed about it. ♦Rovente’s Pizzeria, Various Locations Out of the box: Though the crust was very dense and chewy, it couldn’t withstand the deluge of toppings. This was basically a gussied-up Costco pie, which wouldn’t be a bad thing if I didn’t suspect that Costco was better. Out of the fridge: The classic “supreme” slice (three different meats, veggies) was actually better cold; the flavors seemed to have meshed over night and the crust didn’t fall apart. ♦Straight From New York, Various Locations Out of the box: This suffered from the same structural issues that Rovente’s pizza, but the crust that didn’t fall apart tasted like good bread. Their red sauce essentially tasted like marinara; some people might like that, but I’m not one of them. Out of the fridge: The crust turned rock-hard when cold, resembling in both taste and texture the outer crust on a piece of slightly stale ciabatta. But it didn’t matter, because it was completely overwhelmed by overbearing toppings. I didn’t know anything could make me not like cheese as much as this cold slice could. ♦Pizza Nostra, 4831 NE Fremont St. Out of the box: Honestly, the most remarkable thing about this place is that they somehow scored the “www.portlandpizzadelivery.com” URL. Out of the fridge: This was a hearty cold slice, but which I mean it had a lot of toppings to overpower a simultaneously soft, dense, and tasteless crust. ♦Pizzicato Pizza, Various Locations Out of the box: The remarkably high quality toppings on these pies would be applied much too liberally if the crust was any better. But without much chew and too dense a cornicione, I don’t mind the crust not being the focus. Out of the fridge: The cold crust was both tastier and easier to bite through, but the abundance of toppings made for a slice that ate more like some sort of bread-based casserole. That said, not a bad option at all: a potato and prosciutto slice made for a surprisingly comforting breakfast.
Suppose the worst happens, and the next terrorist attack hits Washington hard, taking out the president and the vice president. What happens next? New Yorker writer Jane Mayer’s new book, The Dark Side, opens with a shocker. Apparently sometime in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan issued a “secret executive order” that in the event of the death of the president and the vice president “established a means of re-creating the executive branch.” Reagan’s order violated the express terms of the Constitution and governing statutes. Does a similar order exist today? We aren’t told. But we do know that Dick Cheney participated in the secret “doomsday” exercises under the Reagan order, and given his central role at present, it is imperative for Congress to find out. Congress last considered the problem of a dual vacancy in the presidency and the vice presidency when Harry Truman was in the White House. In the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, lawmakers stipulated that if both positions are empty, power passes first to the Speaker of the House or, if she, too, does not survive, to the president pro tem of the Senate. But relying on James Mann’s earlier book Rise of the Vulcans , Mayer reports that Reagan “amended the process for speed and clarity … without informing Congress that it had been sidestepped.” We don’t know how. But if the order bypasses the speaker and the Senate president pro tempore in favor of an official in the executive branch, we have a recipe for a constitutional crisis. With al-Qaida back in business in Pakistan and terrorist incidents proliferating around the world, this is no time to ignore that grim risk. A coup by the executive branch would be especially devastating at a time at which Democrats control the House. In the scenario I’m envisioning, Nancy Pelosi would assert her claim as acting president under existing statutes while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, or some other executive official, would simultaneously assert her competing authority under the executive order. When confronting these competing claims, it would be the military that would call the shots. As the Washington Post reported three years ago, the Pentagon has “devised its first-ever war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country.” In acting on these plans, would the Joint Chiefs choose to recognize the constitutional authority of Pelosi as commander in chief? Or would they respond to the commands of the executive official presiding over the “doomsday” crisis center at some “undisclosed location”? To ask the question is to answer it: The whole point of these “doomsday” exercises is to assure instant obedience to the will of the executive on the other side of the hot line. We are staring at a clear and present danger to the republic. Where does the Bush administration figure into all of this? Since Sept. 11 , the question of presidential succession has been a preoccupation of some of the most responsible statesmen in Washington. Most notably, James Baker joined the late Lloyd Cutler to chair a bipartisan AEI-Brookings Institution commission on the subject. But their recommendations went nowhere in Congress, and I have always wondered why the Bush administration was content to remain on the sidelines. After all, the administration is certainly serious about terrorism. Why, then, didn’t it take energetic steps to make much-needed revisions to the law of presidential succession inherited from the days of Harry Truman? Despite the administration’s repeated acts of lawlessness, I must confess to a certain naivete. It never occurred to me that Bush didn’t care how Congress responded to the problem because he had issued a secret executive order that took the law into his own hands. After all, when he issued a public directive on the matter on continuity in government in 2007, he explicitly pledged to act “consistent[ly]” with the Presidential Succession Act. At the same time, however, his directive refers to a secret appendix. And as Ron Rosenbaum pointed out in Slate, even members of the House Committee on Homeland Security have been denied access to the document. The committee, and Congress, should not take “no” for an answer. But they should also move beyond the appendix and demand to know whether investigative reports of a secret succession order are well-founded. If Reagan did issue an illegal order, Congress should publicly determine how subsequent administrations dealt with it. Perhaps President George H. W. Bush or Bill Clinton expressly repudiated the order. Or perhaps they reaffirmed it, thereby laying the foundation for President Bush, with the encouragement of Vice President Cheney, to do the same—through a process entirely independent of the administration’s formal directives on the subject. In any event, it is time for Congress to find out. Even if Reagan’s initial illegal order has been rescinded, Congress must deprive it of all value as a precedent. Lawmakers should pass legislation that expressly nullifies all secret orders, present and future, through which the president asserts the imperial privilege of naming his own successor. We must decisively repudiate these illegal moves before they explode in our faces.
Hollande unmoved after anti-gay marriage rally Posted France's ruling Socialists have refused to back down on laws to legalise gay marriage and adoption, a day after hundreds of thousands of people marched against the plans in Paris. Despite the massive turn-out in Paris on Sunday - 800,000 according to organisers, 340,000 according to police - a statement from president Francois Hollande's Elysee Palace after the rally made it clear he would press ahead with the reforms. The government plans to put the proposed legislation to parliament on January 29. "This is a bill that strictly takes nothing away from anyone, which does not do away with the words father and mother...," justice minister Christiane Taubira told French television channel TF1. Once again, she ruled out a referendum on the issue which she argued would in any case be unconstitutional. But the head of the centre-right opposition UMP party's parliamentary group, Christian Jacob, insisted a referendum was perfectly feasible. "The president of the republic can at any time decide to submit a question to referendum: I don't think there is any appeal against that," he said. UMP leader Jean-Francois Cope meanwhile announced a special convention on the issue of the family for January 24, at which the issue of gay marriage would be discussed. "This is an important test for Francois Hollande because you can see very clearly that there are millions of French people who are very concerned about this reform," he said. Mr Cope was among those who took part in Sunday's protest, along with many other senior UMP figures. Opponents of the bill had travelled from all over France for a demonstration supported by the centre-right opposition, the Catholic Church and France's five million strong Muslim community. Neither the government's apparent determination nor the grim winter weather appeared to dampen the spirits of the protesters. Giant marches converged near the Eiffel Tower having set off from three different starting points. Many of the protesters were accompanied by children, some of whom brandished placards exclaiming: "Born of a man and a woman." Despite months of well-attended protests however, opinion polls have shown consistently that most voters support the right of homosexual couples to marry, while a narrower majority favour granting them adoption rights. AFP Topics: lgbt, government-and-politics, world-politics, community-and-society, marriage, family-and-children, france
When policy makers disparage Kissinger in private, they tend to do so in a manner that reveals how much they measure themselves against him. The former secretary of state turns 90 this month. To mark his legacy, we need to begin in the 19th century. In August of 1822, Britain’s radical intelligentsia openly rejoiced upon hearing the news of Robert Stewart’s suicide. Lord Byron, the Romantic poet and heroic adventurer, described Stewart, better known as Viscount Castlereagh, as a “cold-blooded, … placid miscreant.” Castlereagh, the British foreign secretary from 1812 to 1822, had helped organize the military coalition that defeated Napoleon and afterward helped negotiate a peace settlement that kept Europe free of large-scale violence for decades. But because the settlement restored the Bourbon dynasty in France, while providing the forces of Liberalism little reward for their efforts, Castlereagh’s accomplishment lacked any idealistic element, without which the radicals could not be mollified. Of course, this very lack of idealism, by safeguarding the aristocratic order, provided various sovereigns with the only point on which they could unite against Napoleon and establish a continent-wide peace—a peace, it should be noted, that helped Britain emerge as the dominant world power before the close of the 19th century. One person who did not rejoice at Castlereagh’s death was Henry John Temple, the future British foreign secretary, better known as Lord Palmerston. “There could not have been a greater loss to the Government,” Palmerston declared, “and few greater to the country.” Palmerston himself would soon join the battle against the U.K.’s radical intellectuals, who in the early 1820s demanded that Britain go to war to help democracy take root in Spain, even though no vital British interest had been threatened—and even though this same intellectual class had at times shown only limited enthusiasm for the war against Napoleon, during which Britain’s very survival seemed at stake. In a career spanning more than two decades in the Foreign Office, Palmerston was fated on occasion to be just as hated as Castlereagh. Like Castlereagh, Palmerston had only one immutable principle in foreign policy: British self-interest, synonymous with the preservation of the worldwide balance of power. But Palmerston also had clear liberal instincts. Because Britain’s was a constitutional government, he knew that the country’s self-interest lay in promoting constitutional governments abroad. He showed sympathy for the 1848 revolutions on the Continent, and consequently was beloved by the liberals. Still, Palmerston understood that his liberal internationalism, if one could call it that, was only a general principle—a principle that, given the variety of situations around the world, required constant bending. Thus, Palmerston encouraged liberalism in Germany in the 1830s but thwarted it there in the 1840s. He supported constitutionalism in Portugal, but opposed it in Serbia and Mexico. He supported any tribal chieftain who extended British India’s sphere of influence northwest into Afghanistan, toward Russia, and opposed any who extended Russia’s sphere of influence southeast, toward India—even as he cooperated with Russia in Persia.
Screen Capture and Video Editing on elementary OS My video editing needs are pretty basic these days. I make the odd, very brief tutorial video. I used to make a lot of product videos for my old company back in my OS X days and was very familiar with all the tools of the trade. I was never more than a hobbyist but I got by. Since being on Linux full time for the last couple of years, I haven’t had much cause to create or edit video beyond simple screen capture and upload to YouTube. Recently, however, my kids and I started talking about doing a little more with my YouTube channel, and for that I’d need to get back into some more advanced editing. The search for a capable, yet easy to use toolset was on. Screen Recording Firstly, I looked for screen recording software. Remember, I have used Linux off and on for over 11 years, so I was already familiar with the Kazam and the likes. That’s where I started. As it says on the tin… Kazam is a simple screen recording program that will capture the content of your screen and record a video file that can be played by any video player that supports VP8/WebM video format. Kazam was the first screen recording software I tried again, having been one I used many years back. It was solid and very user friendly but I was able to get it to crash a few times (though not repeatedly). I also found the keyboard shortcuts to be a bit peculiar, in particular, Super + Control + f for finish recording as opposed to Super + Control + s for stop. Overall, the use of the Super seemed counter intuitive: Start Recording: Super+Control+r Pause/Unpause Recording: Super+Control+p Finish Recording: Super+Control+f Show Kazam: Super+Control+s Quit: Super+Control+q By default, Kazam will output as .mp4 as opposed to .ogv but this doesn’t concern me. Overall Kazam is useful enough for me to keep around, and is generally more feature rich, but I think the screen recording software I’ll rely on more often is recordMyDesktop. recordMyDesktop is a desktop session recorder for GNU / linux that attemps to be easy to use, yet also effective at it’s primary task. As such, the program is separated in two parts; a simple command line tool that performs the basic tasks of capturing and encoding and an interface that exposes the program functionality in a usable way. recordMyDesktop is not going to win any awards for style, but it is a very usable application that does exactly what it is supposed to do and does it very well. I’ve yet to have any complaints about this solid little utility. Keyboard shortcuts, which make more sense to me, are as follows: Start Recording: Control+r Pause/Unpause Recording: Control+Alt+p Stop Recording: Control+Alt+s Show/Close Preferences Window: Control+p Hide Main Window: Control+h Open Save File dialog: Control+s Quit: Control+q Video Editing I am completely new to the world of Linux video editing and was surprized to find out that there are a number of options. Most of them completely ill suited to my own needs so it was a bit of a slog to download several options, launch, test, learn, fail. Ultimately I settled on two applications that were closest to the tools I remembered using on Mac OS. I have mixed feelings about what I should really say here. At time of writing, the version of OpenShot that comes in the AppCenter (aka the Ubuntu repositories) is version 1.4.3, and it is a steaming pile of turd. However, after a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013, Jonathan Thomas developed and eventually released version 2 of the OpenShot Video Editor. At time of writing, OpenShot 2.2 is available, but in order to get you have to install it via OpenShot’s PPA or download and AppImage. If we are going to tout elementary OS (or Linux in general) as a replacement to Mac or Windows, then I think adding PPA’s is likely not right. So, OpenShot as you would find it in the AppCenter is completely unusable. OpenShot via PPA’s? I have no idea and never will. Moving on. KDEnlive, often pronounced KAY-DEN-LIVE, is a solid video editor that comes with a healthy spread of tools, effects and features to make any enthusiast video editor happy. Kdenlive is an open source video editor. The project was started around 2003. Kdenlive is built on Qt and the KDE Frameworks libraries. Most of the video processing is done by the MLT Framework, which relies on many other open source projects like FFmpeg, frei0r, movit, ladspa, sox, etc… Our software was designed to answer most needs, from basic video editing to professionnal [sic] work. At first blush, KDEnlive looks a bit out of place, being that its UI looks more akin to an old Java application than a native GNOME app. This can be attributed to the fact that it is actually built for KDE and uses the the QT framework. Not that said combination can’t make for completely native looking GNOME apps, it’s simply that the developers haven’t bothered to do so. The whole look of the application can be modified with themes but that is easier to do on a KDE system than it is Ubuntu or elementary OS, and that isn’t really a sticking point for me. What matters most to me is that KDEnlive edits video, can handle transitions and effects and doesn’t crash. Win! Summary The two screen recording applications I will keep in my toolbox for screen recording are Kazam and recordMyDesktop, both of which perform well and serve different needs for me. As for video editors, the only one I can recommend using with very very limited experience thus far is KDEnlive. The video above was shot on elementary OS, using Kazam for the screen recording, edited in KDEnlive with audio recorded in Audacity. Share this: Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has been investigating alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo) A Washington, D.C., federal grand jury on Friday approved the initial charges stemming from the investigation led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, CNN reported. The charges remain sealed by a federal judge, according to CNN. It remains unknown what those charges are but individuals could be taken into custody as soon as Monday, the network said. The Justice Department in May appointed former Mueller, a former FBI director, as a special counsel for the investigation into possible ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives, and Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election. Deputy Attorney General Ron Rosenstein signed the order appointing Mueller shortly after Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James B. Comey. Both Republicans and Democrats met Mueller’s appointment with praise at the time. Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.
(FILES) This file photo taken on April 29, 2013 through a car window shows the Zhuzhou Baimalong Labour Camp in Hunan province. China's top legislative committee formally approved a loosening of the country's hugely controversial one-child policy on Saturday and abolished "re-education through labour" camps, state media reported.The decisions were taken by the standing committee of the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament, at the conclusion of a six-day meeting, according to Xinhua news agency.The widening of existing exceptions to the one-child policy will allow couples where either parent has no siblings to have two children, reforming the strict family planning policy imposed more than three decades ago to prevent overpopulation in the world's most populous nation.The abolition of re-education through labour, known as "laojiao", will see existing inmates freed, Xinhua said."Their remaining terms will not be enforced anymore," it quoted the NPC resolution as saying.China argues its one-child limit kept population growth in check and supported the country's rapid development that has seen it soar from mass poverty to become the world's second-largest economy.But enforcement of the policy has at times been excessive. The public was outraged last year when photos circulated online of a woman forced to abort her baby seven months into her pregnancy.Now China faces looming demographic challenges, including a rapidly increasing elderly population, a shrinking labour force and male-female imbalances.China's sex ratio has risen to 115 boys for every 100 girls, while the working population began to drop last year, Xinhua said earlier.The birth rate has fallen to about 1.5 since the 1990s, well below the replacement rate, it added.While the easing of the one-child policy - estimated to apply to around 10 million couples - has been welcomed, critics say that the state has retained the principle of deciding itself how many children people should have.Provincial congresses and their standing committees will decide on implementing the new policy "based on evaluation of local demographic situation and in line with the law on population and family planning as well as this resolution," Xinhua said, citing the resolution document.The one-child policy reforms are expected to come into force in the first quarter of 2014, according to a senior official from the National Health and Family Planning Commission, Xinhua reported last week.The approval to end the labour camps, introduced more than half a century ago, closes the curtain on a dark aspect of the country's modern history long criticised by human rights groups and which Chinese authorities admit is no longer viable.China began re-education through labour in 1957 as a speedy way to handle petty offenders. But the system - which allows a police panel to issue sentences of up to four years without trial - soon became rife with abuse.State media have cited the development of China's legal system as making the camps "superfluous", with their "historical mission" having come to an end.A UN report published in 2009 estimated that 190,000 people were held in the camps.But campaigners have questioned whether the move to shutter the camps is simply a cosmetic change and are closely watching whether they are substituted with new forms of control.The decisions came just days after the standing committee had expressed support for them and following promises by the ruling Communist Party at its Third Plenum meeting last month. Legislative approval was formally required to put them into effect.The Third Plenum meeting has historically been an occasion for the ruling party to expand reforms, and was the first such gathering since Xi Jinping took over as head of the party in November last year as part of a once-a-decade change in power. The party also pledged at the meeting to reduce the scope of the death penalty "step by step" - China is the world's biggest judicial executioner - accelerate reforms to the household registration system and loosen controls on the economy by giving markets a "decisive" role in the allocation of resources.
San Diego is not waiting for Washington to get its act together on climate change. The southern California city is moving forward with an ambitious plan to run on 100% renewable energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2035 – and it’s doing so in a bipartisan manner. Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer endorsed the Climate Action Plan that was unanimously approved by the Democrat-dominated city council in December. Renewables, including solar and wind, would be increased to achieve the target. San Diego already places second in the nation for solar power with solar installations growing 76.6 percent in two years to 189 megawatts of installed photovoltaic capacity at the end of 2015. Related: Vancouver will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy The plan also includes an initiative to increase the urban tree canopy to 35 percent by 2035 – perhaps even more important than the clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions targets because trees sequester carbon. More climate scientists are recognizing the importance of restoring ecosystems to draw down atmospheric carbon in order to reverse global warming and protect biodiversity. Restoring water cycles, soil, grasslands, wetlands and forests could remove gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere, returning the atmosphere to pre-industrial levels of safety and stability, according to Biodiversity for a Livable Climate. Other targets include recycling or composting 90 percent of all solid waste and cutting car trips by half by 2035. To reduce private automobile use, the city would make major investments in public transportation and bicycling infrastructure. The city would also make half of its vehicles electric. Related: San Diego is building a massive $1 billion desalination plant to fight severe drought “Today, we are faced with an issue that affects us all. Our city’s responsibility is to ensure a clean, sustainable San Diego for generations to come,” Faulconer wrote in his introduction to the Climate Action Plan. “San Diegans from different backgrounds are coming together to proactively address environmental concerns, strengthen our economy and improve our quality of life.” It might be surprising to some that a Republican mayor is leading the effort to address global warming, considering that the two GOP presidential frontrunners deny climate change, but while the Republican leadership openly dismisses the scientific consensus of man-made global warming, conservative voters are increasingly at odds with their political party. According to a new survey from researchers at Yale and George Mason universities, 47 percent of conservative Republicans believe that global warming is a threat – a 19 percent increase over the past two years. There is even some progress on Capitol Hill as the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus held its first meeting last week. Related: Stanford: California Can be Powered by 100% Renewable Energy by 2050 San Diego shows that bipartisan climate solutions are achievable and that the United States can be even more ambitious than the rest of the world. Unlike the Paris climate agreement, the San Diego climate targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are legally binding. In going 100 percent renewable, San Diego joins a growing list of cities around the world committing to powering their economies completely with clean energy. They include Vancouver, San Francisco, Sydney and Copenhagen. + San Diego Climate Action Plan Via Climate Action News Images via Flickr and Clean Tech San Diego
Venmo Creator Is Building Samantha from 'Her' We don't want to wait for the future. We want something like the OS from Her today." "Mobile devices are extremely powerful, but apps are a crude method of interaction," Lessin and Kortina said in a statement . "In sci fi, people just talk to machines like they talk to people. That is the future.We don't want to wait for the future. We want something like the OS from Her today." "After interacting with Fin for a few weeks, I've been surprised to find that it does not feel like software. Fin feels like a person - actually, it feels like a multiplicity of people, almost like a city… Fin grows and learns. Fin has an opinion. Fin surprises me and challenges me. Talking to Fin is a real conversation, not just a query and response or command dispatch." As of now, there's no corroboration that they have created a human-like operating system, as the project is still in its initial stages and searching for engineers. And it's unclear whether the above quotation is a description from the innovators themselves, or whether it's a response from a tester. But either way, the project looks extremely promising, and could potentially bring us an AI that has her own emotions, agenda, and goals, a la Samantha. It's also interesting that the prototype appears to be a "multiplicity of people," rather than a single person. The above clip from Her sees Samantha address the central conflict of the film: Theodore is limited to a decaying human body while she can exist in many locations and have many different experiences at once. In this sense, Her may not only be insightful about the nature of human relationships, but about the future of AI as well. Via As of now, there's no corroboration that they have created a human-like operating system, as the project is still in its initial stages and searching for engineers. And it's unclear whether the above quotation is a description from the innovators themselves, or whether it's a response from a tester. But either way, the project looks extremely promising, and could potentially bring us an AI that has her own emotions, agenda, and goals, a la Samantha.It's also interesting that the prototype appears to be a "multiplicity of people," rather than a single person. The above clip from Her sees Samantha address the central conflict of the film: Theodore is limited to a decaying human body while she can exist in many locations and have many different experiences at once. In this sense, Her may not only be insightful about the nature of human relationships, but about the future of AI as well.Via Quartz In the 2013 film Her, which stars Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson, a lonely man falls in love with a sentient operating system named Samantha. Now, Samantha might just become a reality, as Andrew Kortina, the co-founder of Venmo, and Sam Lessin, a former executive at Facebook, have teamed up to create an artificial intelligence that explicitly models itself after fictional AIs like Samantha.Siri can occasionally seem like a "real person," mostly as a result of funny answers that have been programmed into her operating system by flesh-and-blood humans, but most of the time she only barely understands what we're talking about. In creating the Fin Exploration Company, Lessin and Kortina aim to create an AI that can not only spit out a humorous one-liner in response to existential questions, but will have feelings, thoughts, and existential crises of its own. They're aiming to create a mechanical human being, essentially like every fictional AI ever, and according to their statement, their initial prototype is already a huge step towards that goal:
**** In the summer of 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower flew to Geneva for the first summit meeting of the Cold War. Two and a half years into his presidency, Eisenhower was not sure who was running the Soviet Union. Was it Nikolai Bulganin, the chairman of the Council of Ministers? Tall and smiling, Bulganin seemed relatively benign. (With his goatee and white suit, Bulganin bore a striking resemblance to Colonel Sanders of the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain.) Eisenhower hoped the real power lay with Georgy Zhukov, the Red Army field marshal who had been Ike's comrade in arms in World War II. Having seen so much war, Zhukov hated it as much as Ike did. But when Ike sent his son John, an army major, out to do a little informal spying at "tea" (cocktails), John reported back that Zhukov seemed subdued and shaken. "Things are not as they seem," Zhukov whispered John Eisenhower. Eisenhower found out who was really in charge four days later when he unveiled his major peace initiative, called "Open Skies," to allow the Soviet and American reconnaissance planes to freely fly over each other's territory. The idea was to reduce the threat of surprise attack, the great fear of the new nuclear age. After the speech, a short, round man came straight for the American president wagging a stubby finger and saying, Nyet, nyet, nyet. "Open Skies," said Nikita Khrushchev, the Communist Party chairman, was just a chance for the Americans to peer into Russian bedrooms. In his diary kept at Geneva, British Foreign Secretary Harold Macmillan wrote, "Khrushchev is a mystery. How can this fat, vulgar man with his pig eyes and ceaseless flow of talk really be the head -- the aspirant Tsar -- of all these million of people of this vast country?" The French foreign minister described Khrushchev, as "this little man with his fat paws." Khrushchev seemed to be equal parts bluster and insecurity. He worried to his son Sergei that he was not properly dressed for dinner at the summit and that he had arrived in Geneva in a plane that was smaller than the planes of the western leaders. Eisenhower reserved his judgment of Khrushchev, or at least concealed it from others. He did not believe in showing his cards until he absolutely had to. At West Point, young Eisenhower had skipped cadet dances to play poker. (He later bought his fiance, Mamie, her wedding dress with his card game winnings.) He was so good at poker he had to give it up--he had won too much money from his fellow officers, and his reputation as a card shark was hurting his career. He continued to play bridge, however. He was not much fun to play with, recalled his son John, who finally quit playing with him because he found his father too humorless and demanding as a partner. Ike's famous, sunny smile was to some degree a façade. Eisenhower was "far more complex and devious than most Americans realize," recalled his vice-president, Richard Nixon, in his memoirs. (Nixon added, "in the best sense of those words.") When I interviewed John Eisenhower, a retired ambassador, brigadier general and professional historian, then in his mid-80s, the son pondered his famous father, with whom he had a loving but complicated relationship. He said Ike seemed evenly balanced between open warmth and cold-bloodedness. He thought for a moment and said, with a slight smile, "Make that 75 percent cold-blooded."
Click here to read larger image. Some years ago, my Dad’s uncle, Art Berkell, passed away, leaving behind a lifetime of clutter for us to deal with. I grabbed what I thought I could use; filing cabinets, a desk, lots of Kodachrome slides. I trucked it off to storage and figured, like everyone else who rents a space to keep crap, that I’d bring it all home when I had the room. Many years went by, and I finally decided to either donate the stuff or chuck it. Filing cabinets just don’t hold the same fascination for me in the computer-age world that they once did; they’re just big steel boxes that take up room, so they were the first items on the chopping block. There was still some stuff in the drawers, though, so I emptied it into a box and brought it home to parse through, just in case there was anything important in there. Most of it was garbage—travel receipts, tax snippets, business cards, forms—but one thing caught my eye: a folder with a name scrawled on it in Uncle Art’s handwriting: Joe Flynn. I know “Flynn” is a fairly common Irish name, but there was an actor named Joe Flynn who did a lot of television and Disney movies in the 60s and 70s, so my curiosity was piqued. To my surprise, the folder indeed contained clippings of the actor, and correspondence and old legal papers indicating that Uncle Art had been a plaintiff in a lawsuit against Mr. Flynn. There was also a pack of matches labeled “Joe Flynn’s Personal Eggs,” featuring a caricature of the actor, as well as a snapshot of a delivery truck painted in a similar fashion, and other related clippings. I’m thinking, what the hell was this? My family has been here in L.A. for 90 years, we’ve crossed paths with lots of interesting people, but of all the stories I’ve heard, I never remembered anyone referencing Joe Flynn. I picked up the phone and called my Dad, and asked if he remembered any kind of connection between his uncle and the actor. He immediately replied, “Oh, that’s that goddamn egg thing.” He went on to tell me what he remembered about “Joe Flynn Personal Eggs.” Apparently, Flynn, an Ohio native, had a few chickens in his backyard. On Sunday mornings in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he would go out to the henhouse and personally select a giant basket of fresh eggs for breakfast. His neighbors and actor friends would crowd around the table for omelettes and scrambles, which Joe gleefully served with a flourish. It was a fun, invitation-only affair, like an exclusive poker circle, and a great way to recover from a long night of partying. Unfortunately, everything changed when actor Wally Cox slipped up and told his friend Marlon Brando about the breakfasts. Brando immediately called Flynn and demanded to be included. Soon, Sunday mornings weren’t enough; he started showing up at Flynn’s door at all hours, demanding his “personal” eggs. In desperation, Flynn offered to always have a bowl of freshly scrambled eggs on hand, ready to be delivered, by driver, whenever Marlon was hungry… if only Marlon would stop haunting his kitchen in the middle of the night. This arrangement worked for a short time, but Brando soon insisted that Flynn cater to his friends as well, as a premium for his “continued best-friendship.” By this time, Flynn was spending a good portion of his week cracking and freezing tupperware bowls full of eggs, and he finally announced that he would start charging people for his “personal egg” services. As my Dad remembers it, Flynn figured people would stop pestering him for eggs if he put a price on them, but because he priced them so reasonably, the plan backfired. Flynn was forced to lease a separate property in Van Nuys in order to raise enough chickens and eggs to keep up with the increasing demand—which is where dear old Uncle Art enters the narrative; with his older brother Al, he held the deed to the vacant lot on Orion Avenue where Flynn moved his operation. Legal correspondence regarding the Orion Ave. property sent to my great uncle, Art Berkell, found in the filing cabinet. Click here to read larger image. Facing rising costs (and apparently prodded by Brando), Flynn decided to sell his eggs, pre-scrambled and frozen, to the general public. He bought ad space, had his promotional materials printed, and built a small cinder-block warehouse curbside on the Orion Avenue lot. The public wasn’t buying, though, and after struggling along for several years, a tired and disgusted Flynn was on the verge of shuttering the whole operation when everything changed in the spring of 1962. Producer Ed Montagne (The Phil Silvers Show) contacted Flynn and offered him a significant part on the new sitcom McHale’s Navy as Captain Binghamton, the role for which he is probably best remembered. The show was a moderate hit, and Flynn quickly realized his egg endeavors could benefit from his newfound notoriety. Click here to read larger image. This is where the story gets a little strange and spotty; I’ve had to fill in some blanks with conjecture. Apparently, not content to simply deliver eggs to his customers, Flynn envisioned installing a strange, compressed nitrogen-powered “personal egg tank” in people’s houses, which would be topped off weekly (or even daily) with liquid eggs from his own fleet of delivery trucks. He invested a large chunk of his acting salary into inventing such a system, and by the mid-to-late 1960s had actually installed it in a number of homes around the Valley. From what I can gather, most of the people who bought into the service were other celebrities, not surprising considering the price of installation was equivalent to building a new swimming pool. Brando himself had a “deluxe” tank with a dedicated faucet installed in the kitchen of his Mulholland Drive home that dispensed not just eggs, but also a pre-mixed egg-flour batter for baking. As the returns diminished from their friendship, Flynn, in a brazen attempt to exploit their association, published a bizarre, full-page ad featuring Brando’s likeness and apparent endorsement—without Brando’s permission. The copy I obtained was printed in a business monthly published by a local Chamber of Commerce, but I was told that it popped up in a number of Los Angeles area publications and circulated for roughly a year before Brando found out, and he was livid. Legend has it that Brando ordered his handyman to fill his “personal egg tank” with cement so that it could never be used again. According to a long-time realtor who knows the property well (and for obvious reasons shall remain anonymous), the apparatus was still embedded in the wall of Brando’s former home as recently as 2009. Threats, attorneys, lawsuits and more threats followed, and Flynn’s erstwhile egg empire cracked. By this time, sadly, Flynn had grown obsessed with eggs. He refused to give up on the idea of installing egg tanks and selling liquid eggs, often referencing “my contribution to science” and “ending world hunger via eggs” as reasons to push ahead with his dream. In complete denial about his crumbling business, he continued to implore his famous friends to install his dangerously unstable delivery system, to uniformly disastrous results. This, I’ve gathered because of the numerous cancellation requests and angry demands for refunds scattered amongst the other papers, mostly dated around the same time my family was suing to evict him (and his chickens) from their property. Dad says Uncle Art (Uncle Al had died in 1969) was particularly pissed because Flynn never obtained the proper permits to raise livestock in what was a mostly residential neighborhood, and as the property owner, he was forced to deal with numerous fines and complaints from various city agencies. He ultimately won the court case, but Flynn dragged the eviction out long enough where Art was unable to make plans for the property, and he just dumped it on the market it in disgust. I’m pretty sure it’s all apartments now. A coy letter from Jayne Meadows cancelling “personal eggs” for herself and husband Steve Allen. Click here to read larger image. After weeks of further research, and asking my poor father an awful lot of questions, I was unable to find any trace of “Personal Eggs” after 1972, where the trail ends deep in the Los Angeles court system microfiche. Sadly, there is no reference to it on Flynn’s Wikipedia or IMDB page. As for Flynn himself, in the summer of ‘74 he was found naked and dead at the bottom of his swimming pool—some say under mysterious circumstances—at the age of 49, and his dream of pre-scrambled eggs for the hungry masses apparently died with him. There is no record of Marlon Brando attending the funeral. Click here to read larger image. An angry letter from actor Bobby Troup. Click here to read larger image.
This article is about the World War I military campaign. For the World War II military campaign, see Battle of the Caucasus . For the 19th century Russian invasion, see Caucasian War The Caucasus Campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dictatorship and the British Empire as part of the Middle Eastern theatre during World War I. The Caucasus Campaign extended from the South Caucasus to the Armenian Highlands region, reaching as far as Trabzon, Bitlis, Mush and Van. The land warfare was accompanied by the Russian navy in the Black Sea Region of the Ottoman Empire. On February 23, 1917, the Russian advance was halted following the Russian Revolution, and later the Russian Caucasus Army disintegrated and was replaced by the forces of the newly established Armenian state, comprising Armenian volunteer units and irregular units which had previously been part of the Russian Army. During 1918 the region also saw the establishment of the Central Caspian Dictatorship, the Republic of Mountainous Armenia and an Allied intervention force, nicknamed Dunsterforce, composed of troops drawn from the Mesopotamian and Western Fronts. The Ottoman Empire and the German Empire had a hot conflict at Batumi with the arrival of the German Caucasus Expedition whose prime aim was to secure oil supplies. On March 3, 1918, the campaign terminated between the Ottoman Empire and Russia with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and on June 4, 1918, the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Batum with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. However, the armed conflicts continued as Ottoman Empire was still engaged with the Central Caspian Dictatorship, Republic of Mountainous Armenia and Dunsterforce of the British Empire until the Armistice of Mudros was signed on October 30, 1918. The Armenian Genocide was carried out during the course of the campaign. Background [ edit ] The main objective of the Ottoman Empire was the recovery of territory in the Caucasus, including regions captured by the Russian empire as a result of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78. The strategic goals of the Caucasus Campaign for Ottoman Forces was to retake Artvin, Ardahan, Kars, and the port of Batum. A success in this region would mean a diversion of Russian forces to this front from the Polish and Galician fronts.[7] A Caucasus Campaign would have a distracting effect on Russian forces. The plan found sympathy with Germany. Germany supplied the missing resources and the Ottoman 3rd Army's manpower was used to achieve the desired distraction.[8] War Minister Enver Pasha hoped a success would facilitate opening the route to Tiflis and beyond with a revolt of Caucasian Muslims.[7] The Ottoman strategic goal was to cut Russian access to the hydrocarbon resources around the Caspian Sea.[9] Russia viewed the Caucasus front as secondary to the Eastern (European) front. The Eastern Front had the most Russian manpower and resources. Russia had taken the city of Kars from the Turks in 1877 and feared an Ottoman advance into the Caucasus aimed at retaking Kars and the port of Batum. In March 1915 the Russian foreign minister Sergey Sazonov stated in a meeting with British ambassador George Buchanan and French Ambassador Maurice Paléologue that a lasting postwar settlement demanded full Russian possession of Constantinople (the capital city of the Ottoman Empire), the straits of Bosphorus and Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, southern Thrace up to the Enos-Midia line as well as parts of the Black Sea coast of Anatolia between the Bosphorus, the Sakarya River and an undetermined point near the Bay of Izmit.[10] The Russian Tsarist regime planned to replace the Muslim population of Northern Anatolia and Istanbul with more reliable Cossack settlers.[11] The British worked with Russian revolutionary troops to prevent Enver Pasha's goal of establishing an independent Transcaucasia. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was in the proposed path of Ottoman ambitions, and owned the exclusive rights to work petroleum deposits throughout the Persian Empire except in the provinces of Azerbaijan, Ghilan, Mazendaran, Asdrabad and Khorasan.[9] In 1914, before the war, the British government had contracted with the company for the supply of oil-fuel for the navy.[9] Forces [ edit ] Ottomans [ edit ] The Ottomans had one army based in the region, the 3rd Army. In 1916 they sent reinforcements and formed the 2nd Army. At the beginning of the conflict, the combined forces of the Ottomans ranged from 100,000 to 190,000 men. Many were poorly equipped. Russia [ edit ] Before the war, Russia had the Russian Caucasus Army stationed here, with 100,000 men under the nominal command of the Governor General of the Caucasus Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov. The real commander was his chief of staff General Nikolai Yudenich. At the onset of the Caucasus Campaign, the Russians had to redeploy almost half of their forces to the Prussian front due to the defeats at the Battle of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes, leaving behind just 60,000 troops. However, This Army had lots of Armenian support. It had Armenian generals Nazarbekov, Silikian, and Pirumov who stayed in Caucasia. The Russian Caucasus Army dissipated in 1917 as the regular Russian regiments deserted the front line after the revolution. By 1917, when the Russian Caucasus Army disintegrated, there were 110,000–120,000 soldiers of Armenian ethnicity.[12] This number approached to 150,000 for the total Armenians (including other Allied forces) for Near East where opposing to Ottoman forces.[13] Armenia [ edit ] In the summer of 1914, Armenian volunteer units were established under the Russian Armed forces. It was initially established as detachment units (rather than part of Russian Caucasus Command) under the Viceroyalty of the Caucasus. These forces were commanded by Andranik Ozanian. Other leaders included Drastamat Kanayan, Hamazasp Srvandztyan, Arshak Gafavian, and Sargis Mehrabyan. An Ottoman representative Karekin Bastermadjian (Armen Karo) was also united to this force. Initially they had 20,000 men, but throughout the conflicts it was reported that their number increased. At the turn of 1916, Nikolai Yudenich decided to either merge these units under the Russian Caucasus Army or dismantle them. The Armenian national liberation movement commanded the Armenian Fedayee (Armenian: Ֆէտայի) during these conflicts. These civilian forces generally organized around famous leaders, such as Murad of Sebastia (Armenian: Սեբաստացի Մուրատ). These were generally referred to as Armenian partisan guerrilla detachments. Boghos Nubar, the president of the Armenian National Assembly, declared to Paris Peace Conference, 1919 that they accompanied the main Armenian units. The Russian defensive line from Van to Erzincan was organized through these units. In December 1917, The Dashnaks of the Armenian national liberation movement through the Armenian Congress of Eastern Armenians established a military force. The corps realigned themselves under the command of General Tovmas Nazarbekian. Drastamat Kanayan was assigned as a civilian commissioner. The frontline had three main divisions: Movses Silikyan, Andranik Ozanian and Mikhail Areshian. Another regular unit was under Colonel Korganian. The line from Van to Erzincan was organized through these units. It was mentioned that Adrianic had 150,000 men.[14] After declaration of the First Republic of Armenia Nazarbekian became the first Commander-in-chief of the whole Armenian state. By the beginning of 1918, the Armenian National Army (made up of 17,000 former troops of the Russian army augmented by 4,000 local volunteers) numbered some 20,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, according to Allen and Muratoff. Contrary to initial Turkish opinion, the Armenian force was actually rather well-equipped and trained. The infantry were made up of veteran soldiers of the Druzhiny units which had fought alongside the Russians for almost four years, and the Armenians were allowed to recover the best of the equipment left behind by the decaying Russian Army. Alternative estimates given by the Ottoman Army state that the Armenian army numbered 50,000 men by the beginning of 1918, while post-war Russian sources put Armenia's strength as two veteran rifle divisions, three brigades of volunteers, and one brigade of cavalry.[15] Others [ edit ] Lionel Dunsterville was appointed in 1917 to lead an Allied force of under 1,000 Australian, British, Canadian and New Zealand troops, accompanied by armored cars. Operations [ edit ] 1914 [ edit ] Battles of 1914 On November 1, in the Bergmann Offensive, Russians crossed the frontier first. They planned to capture Doğubeyazıt and Köprüköy.[8] The official Russian declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire came on November 2.[16] The established force for this goal was 25 infantry battalions, 37 cavalry units and 120 artillery guns. It had two wings. On the right wing, the Russian I Corps crossed the border and moved from Sarikamish toward the direction of Köprüköy. They reached Köprüköy on November 4. On the left wing, the Russian IV Corps moved from Yerevan to Pasinler Plains. The commander of 3rd Army, Hasan Izzet was not in favor of an offensive action in the harsh winter conditions. His plan was to remain in defense and launch a counterattack at the right time. This was overridden by the War Minister Enver Pasha. On November 7, the Turkish 3rd Army commenced its offensive with the participation of the XI Corps and all cavalry units. This force was supported by a Kurdish Tribal Regiment. The cavalry failed to execute the encirclement and the Kurdish Tribal Regiment proved to be unreliable. The Russians gained territory after the withdrawal of the 18th and the 30th Divisions. Ottoman forces managed to maintain their positions at Köprüköy. By November 12, the Turkish IX Corps with Ahmet Fevzi Pasha had reinforced the XI Corps on the left flank. The 3rd Army began to push the Russians back with the support of the cavalry. The 3rd Infantry Regiment managed to invade Köprüköy after the Azap Offensive between November 17 and 20. By the end of November, the front had stabilized, with the Russians clinging to a salient 25 kilometers into the Ottoman Empire along the Erzurum-Sarikamish axis. There was Russian success along the southern shoulders of the offensive where Armenian volunteers were effective and took Karaköse and Doğubeyazıt.[17] Doğubeyazıt was the northern neighbor of Van Province. Ottoman casualties were high: 9000 killed, 3000 taken prisoner and 2800 deserters. During December, Nicholas II of Russia visited the Caucasus Campaign. The head of the Armenian Church, along with the president of the Armenian National Council of Tiflis, Alexander Khatisyan, received him: From all countries Armenians are hurrying to enter the ranks of the glorious Russian Army, with their blood to serve the victory of the Russian Army... Let the Russian flag wave freely over the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, Let your will the peoples [Armenian] remaining under the Turkish yoke receive freedom. Let the Armenian people of Turkey who have suffered for the faith of Christ received resurrection for a new free life...[18] — Nicholas II of Russia On December 15, 1914, at the Battle of Ardahan, the city was captured by the Turks. This was an operation commanded by the German Lt. Col. Stange. The mission of Stange Bey Detachment was to conduct highly visible operations to distract and pin down Russian units. Stange Bey's initial mission was to operate in the Chorok region. The unit was materially assisted by the rebellious Adjars of the country, who seized the road. Later Enver modified the original plan toward supporting the Battle of Sarikamish.[19] Stange Bey Detachment was ordered to cut the Russian support link to Sarikamish-Kars line. On January 1, this unit was in Ardahan. On December 22, at the Battle of Sarikamish, the 3rd Army received the order to advance towards Kars. In the face of the 3rd Army's advance, Governor Vorontsov planned to pull the Russian Caucasus Army back to Kars. Yudenich ignored Vorontsov's wish to withdraw. He stayed to defend Sarikamis. Enver Pasha assumed personal command of the 3rd Army and ordered it into battle against the Russian troops. 1915 [ edit ] Battles of 1915, 1916 On January 6, the 3rd Army headquarters found itself under fire. Hafiz Hakki Pasha ordered a total retreat. On January 7, the remaining forces began their march towards Erzurum. The resulting Battle of Sarikamish became a stunning defeat. Only 10% of the Army managed to retreat back to its starting position. After this, Enver gave up command. The Armenian volunteer units were definitely a factor in their defeat, as they challenged the Ottoman operations during critical times,[20] and his experience may have been one of the catalysts that led the Three Pashas, of which one was Enver, to their decision to conduct the Armenian Genocide only a few months later.[21] After his return to Constantinople, Enver blamed this defeat on Armenians living in the region actively siding with the Russians .[22] On January 18, 1915, the Lt. Col. Stange's Turkish unit was recalled from the area around Ardahan. It was to stay behind the lines in the region; only on March 1, 1915 did it regain its initial position. In February, General Yudenich was praised for the victory and promoted to commander-in-chief of all Russian troops in the Caucasus. The Allies (British and France) asked Russia to relieve the pressure on the Western front. In return, Russia asked the Allies to relieve pressure in the Caucasus by a naval attack. The resulting operations in the Black Sea gave the Russians some respite to replenish their forces. Additionally, actions at the Battle of Gallipoli which aimed at capturing the Ottoman capital helped the Russian forces on this front.[8] On February 12, the commander of the 3rd Army Hafiz Hakki Pasha died of typhus and was replaced by Brigadier General Mahmut Kamil Pasha. Kamil faced the daunting task of putting the Ottoman army back in order. The military planners back in Istanbul were scared of the Russians advancing deeper into the mainland. During March the strategic situation remained stable. The completely devastated 3rd Army received new blood through reinforcements from the 1st and 2nd Armies, although these supplements were not stronger than a division. The Battle of Gallipoli was draining every Ottoman resource. Meanwhile, the Russians were holding the towns of Eleşkirt, Ağrı and Doğubeyazıt in the south. Military action never escalated above small-scale skirmishes—the Ottomans simply did not have enough forces to secure the whole East Anatolian region. Siege of Van , Armenian troops holding a defense line against Ottoman forces in the walled city of Van in May 1915 On April 20, the resistance at the city of Van began. The Armenian defenders protecting 30,000 residents and 15,000 refugees with 1,500 able bodied riflemen who were supplied with 300 rifles and 1,000 pistols and antique weapons. The conflict lasted more than three weeks until General Yudenich's force came to rescue them. General Yudenich began an offensive (May 6) moving into Ottoman territory. One wing of this offensive headed towards Lake Van to relieve the Armenian residents of Van. A brigade of Trans-Baikal Cossacks under General Trukhin, and some Armenian volunteers advanced towards Van.[23] On April 24, Interior minister Mehmed Talat passed the order of April 24 (known by the Armenians as Red Sunday), claimed that the Armenians in this region organized under the leadership of the Russians and rebelled against his government. He claimed the defense of Van from Ottoman massacres to be an example. This was the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. On May 6, the Russian advance began through the Tortum Valley towards Erzurum. The Ottoman 29th and 30th Divisions managed to stop this assault. The Ottoman X Corps counter-attacked the Russian forces. But on the southern part of this advance, Ottoman forces were not as successful as they have been in the north. On May 11 the town of Manzikert had fallen. On May 17, Russian forces entered the town of Van. On May 21, General Yudenich arrived in the city, received the keys to the city and citadel and confirmed the Armenian provisional government in office, with Aram Manukian as governor. The Fedayee turned over the city of Van. With Van secure, fighting shifted farther west for the rest of the summer.[23] Ottoman forces continued to be pushed back. The region south of Lake Van was extremely vulnerable. The Turks had to defend a line of more than 600 kilometers with only 50,000 men and 130 pieces of artillery. They were clearly outnumbered by the Russians. The region was mountainous, thus difficult to attack or defend. Rafael de Nogales Méndez , a Venezuelan officer who served in the Ottoman army, participated in the Siege of Van and after the war wrote one of the best accounts of the battle and its aftermath. On May 27, during the Russian offensive, the interior minister of Talat Pasha ordered a forced deportation of all Armenians out of region with the Tehcir Law to the Syria and Mosul. By June 13, Russian units were back to their starting line. On June 19, the Russians launched another offensive; this time northwest of Lake Van. The Russians, under Oganovski, launched an attack into the hills west of Manzikert. The Russians underestimated the size of the Ottoman army, and were surprised by a large Turkish force which counterattacked. Russian forces began to march from Manzikert towards Mush. However, they were not aware of the fact that the Turkish IX Corps, together with the 17th and 28th Divisions was moving to Mush as well. Although the conditions were extremely difficult, the Turks were executing a very efficient reorganization. 1st and 5th Expeditionary Forces were positioned to the south of the Russian offensive force and a "Right Wing Group" was established under the command of Brigadier General Abdülkerim Paşa. This group was independent from the Third Army and Abdülkerim Paşa was directly reporting to Enver Paşa. The Turks were ready to face the Russian attacks. On September 24, Grand Duke Nicholas was promoted to being in charge of all Russian forces in the Caucasus. In reality, he was removed from being Supreme Commander of the Russian Caucasus Army which was the highest executive position [actual conduct of the war] for the Caucasus Campaign. His replacement was General Yudenich. This front was quiet from October till the end of the year. Yudenich used this period to reorganize. Around the start of 1916, Russian forces reached a level of 200,000 men and 380 pieces of artillery. On the other side the situation was very different; the Ottoman High Command failed to make up the losses during this period. The war in Gallipoli was sucking all the resources and manpower. The IX, X and XI Corps could not be reinforced and in addition to that the 1st and 5th Expeditionary Forces were deployed to Mesopotamia. Enver Pasha, after not achieving his ambitions or recognizing the dire situation on other fronts, decided that the region was of secondary importance. As of January 1916, Ottoman forces were 126,000 men, only 50,539 being combatants. There were 74,057 rifles, 77 machine guns and 180 pieces of artillery. Ottoman force in Caucasus Campaign was big on the paper, but not on the ground. The Ottomans assumed that the Russians would not bother to attack. This assumption turned out to be false. 1916 [ edit ] In early January, Yudenich secretly left his winter quarters and marched towards the major Ottoman fort at Erzurum. The winter is not normally a time for military activity in this part of the world. The bitter cold and terrible roads contributed greatly to the annihilation of Enver Pasha's 3rd Army in the previous year. The Russian General Yudenich viewed this as an opportunity to take the Ottomans by surprise. The Russians achieved total surprise and destroyed an Ottoman division that was in winter quarters in the Battle of Koprukoy (January 10–18). On February 16, Mahmut Kamil was forced to order the 3rd Army to retreat from the city, as Yudenich had a numerical advantage over the Ottoman army. The difference was not big enough to be decisive, so Yudenich's plan was to attack the center of the Ottoman defenses, with the key attack falling in a weakly held sector. While diversionary attacks held the attention of Mahmut Kamil near the Deve-Boyun ridge, Russian forces broke through at Forts Kara-gobek and Tafet.[25] The result was that both rings of the cities' defenses had been penetrated. In April, the Caucasus army moved in two directions from Erzurum. Part went north and captured the ancient port city of Trabzon. The other part moved in the direction of Mush and Bitlis .These units pushed the 2nd Army deep into Anatolia and defeated the Turks in the Battles of Mush and Bitlis (March 2 – August 24), driving the Ottoman army before it. Bitlis was the last defence point for the Ottoman Army to prevent the Russians from moving into central Anatolia and Mesopotamia. During July, General Yudenich then countered the Ottoman attack with an offensive of his own towards Erzican. This was the Battle of Erzincan (July 2–25). On July 2, Erzincan was captured. The Ottoman offensive against Trabzon was halted as they tried to stabilize their front lines to prevent the Russians from entering Anatolia and Mesopotamia. After their defeat, the Ottoman Army gave Mustafa Kemal the organization of the defense of the region in August. The region was controlled by the 2nd Army. When Mustafa Kemal was assigned to his post, the enemy forces were in constant advance. Fighting around the east side of Lake Van continued throughout the summer but was inconclusive. In the earlier periods of the campaign, the XVI Corps managed to take Bitlis and Mush. Ahmet İzzet Paşa decided to attack one week after the conclusion of the Russian offensive. A military force was gathered and sent marching along the coast. The Second Army advanced on August 2. While Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich was in the north and pushing the Ottoman 3rd Army, the Ottoman 2nd Army was in the south facing the insurgency and the second branch of the Russian army under General Tovmas Nazarbekian and a detachment of Armenian volunteer units led by Andranik Ozanian. After fighting from 1–9 August 1916, the Ottoman Army was overwhelmed and the entire region fell to the Russian Empire and Armenian volunteers, and thus an assault on Van was prevented. The area of Russian occupation of that region in summer 1916 (Russian map). By the late September, the Ottoman attack ended. The cost for the 2nd Army was 30,000 killed and wounded. The Russians strengthened their lines. They were strong enough to respond with counteroffensives in two weeks after the launch of the Ottoman offensive. The Russians held up the advance. From September towards the Russian Revolution, the Russian Navy still dominated the Black Sea. The rest of the year 1916 was spent by the Turks making organizational and operational changes in the Caucasian front. Fortunately for the Ottoman commanders, the Russians were quiet during this period. The winter of 1916–17 was extremely harsh, which made fighting nearly impossible. 1917 [ edit ] The military situation did not change during the spring of 1917. The Russian plans for a renewed attack never substantiated. Meanwhile, Russia was in political and social turmoil. It was also influencing the army ranks. The chaos caused by the Russian Revolution put a stop to all Russian military operations. The Russian forces began to conduct withdrawals. Neither the Russian soldiers nor the Russian people wanted to continue the war. The Russian army slowly disintegrated. Starting from the spring of 1917, the situation was completely disadvantageous as a renewed typhus, scurvy and similar problems resulting from hygiene and food, became very common in the Caucasian army.[26] Until the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Ottoman Empire's possible operation in Caucasia could not be imagined. After the Battle of Sarikamish, the Ottoman units were "almost always" in a disastrous situation trying to hold onto regions in the occupied Ottoman lands. The Ottoman forces could not take advantage of the chaotic situation during 1917, as their units were not in good shape. Enver moved five divisions out of the region because of the pressure from the British in Palestine and Mesopotamia. On March 1, the order "Number–1" published by Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies included paragraphs envisioning democratization of the army. This written command enabled military units to elect their representatives. On March 9, 1917, a Special Transcaucasian Committee was established with Member of the State Duma V. A. Kharlamov as the Chairman to replace the Imperial Viceroy Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856–1929) by the Russian Provisional Government as the highest organ of civil administrative body in Transcaucasia. The new government reassigned General Yudenich to a position in Central Asia. General Yudenich retired from the army following the assignment. During the summer, during the occupation of Turkish Armenia the Russians sponsored a conference to consider emergency measures and adopted plans to form a twenty-thousand-man militia under Andranik to be ready in December 1917. Civilian commissioner Dr. Hakob Zavriev promoted Andranik to Major General. The 1st brigade of Andranik's division was composed of the Erzinjan and Erzurum regiments. The 2nd brigade was composed of the Khnus and Alashkert regiments. The 3rd brigade was of the Van and mounted Zeytoun regiments. An Armenian mother beside the corpses of her five children On September 14, 1917, the Russian army in the region, which was about to completely disintegrate, lost commanding authority, and the tendency of the villagers for plundering had increased. Towards the end of autumn, the Chief General of the Caucasus Front Przhevalskii had already ordered the establishment of national Armenian and Georgian forces within the Army to slow down the disintegration. The problems of demobilization of Russian Army (on all fronts Russians had the same problems) would in a way bring the end of the Russian government and help the Bolsheviks to come into power easily. In November 1917, the first government of the independent Transcaucasia was created in Tbilisi as the "Transcaucasian Commissariat (Transcaucasian Sejm)" replaced "Transcaucasian Committee" following the Bolshevik seizure of power in St. Petersburg. Transcaucasian Sejm was headed by a Georgian Menshevik Nikolay Chkheidze. But Transcaucasian Sejm did not stop the degradation of forces in the region into smaller national forces. While Armenians sending representatives to Transcaucasian Sejm, at the same time the Eastern Armenian leaders at Erivan tried to established an Armenian Army Corps. Armenians had planned to keep their existence based on a political strategy in the way of being supporting the Allies and Russia and to establish their national army with Russian support.[27] General Nazarbekov was selected as the Commanding Officer. Erivan assigned 1st Division under General Christophor Araratov into 1st Erzurum and Erzinjan regiment, 2nd Khnus Regiment, 3rd Yerevan Regiment, and 4th Erzinjan and Yerevan Regiments. Erivan also assigned Colonel Movses Silikyan to 2nd Division with 5th Van Regiment, 6th Yerevan Regiment, 7th and 8th Alexandropol Regiments. The Chief of Staff of the Armenian Corps was General Vickinski. The divisions which comprised four regiments each, had also three regular and one depot regiment. Their total strength was 32,000 enlisted men. Besides these regular structures able men were also armed. A 40 to 50 thousand strong force formed from this armed civilian population. Baku alone, Russian army left 160 cannons, 180 machine guns, and 160 million cartridges to Armenians.[28] On October 23, during the October Revolution the Ottoman Third Army was protecting the 190 km area from Munzur Mountains to the Black Sea with 66 battalions consisting of 30,000 combatants each, 177 machine guns, and 157 cannons. The number of machine guns, of animals, supply, transportation and clothing were all problematic. Russia had strengthened Erzurum and Trabzon. Russia had 9; the Ottomans had 3 planes. The Russian forces were in a line from the west of Trabzon, along the Erzincan-Kemah passage, passing through south of Tunceli and Murat waters to Lake Van and to Baskale". On this line, the Russian army against the Third Army had 86,000 combatants and 146 cannons. The situation was a stalemate.[29] On December 5, 1917, the armistice of Erzincan (Erzincan Cease-fire Agreement) was signed by the Russians and Ottomans in Erzincan. It ended the fighting between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.[30] Between December and February 7 the regiments of the Armenian Corps were immediately hustled off to the front. They created a spectacle en route, for, to the amazement of the homeward-bound Russian soldiers, they were moving toward, not away from, the forward lines. Russian soldiers left equipment and guns to the newly constructed Armenian national army soldiers. After the nationalization (or "democratization" in some sources) of these left over forces throughout 1917, there was no effective Russian military force by the end of 1917 in the region. At the turn of 1918, Allied Powers, Cossacks in the south, Georgians, Pontic Greeks, and Armenians were willing to build a resistance line against the Ottomans through gathering in the region. In case of an agreement between Russia and Ottoman Empire, this was the only strategy to continue fighting against the Ottomans.[31] The Armenians that kept their position in the region after the withdrawal of the Russian soldiers from the Caucasian front had taken support of 1 million rubles from Britain.[32] 1918 [ edit ] Battles of 1918 The Bolshevik revolution left Russia's vast southern territories unguarded, except for a few thousand Armenian volunteers equipped with castoff Russian arms, commanded by Tovmas Nazarbekian and an even smaller force of refugees from western Anatolia led by Andranik Ozanian, spread along a line extending from Yerevan to Van and Erzinjan. The Third Army's offense headed by Vehib Pasha began on February 5. The Ottoman forces moved through east of the line between Tirebolu and Bitlis and took Kelkit on February 7, Erzincan on February 13, Bayburt on February 19, Tercan on February 22, the Black Sea port of Trabzon on February 24. The incoming sea-borne reinforcements began to debark at Trabzon. Manzikert, Hınıs, Oltu, Köprüköy and Tortum followed over the following two weeks. By March 24 the Ottoman forces were crossing the 1914 frontier into what had been Russian Empire territory.[33] During 1918 General Andranik made it possible for the Armenian population of Van to escape from the Ottoman Army to Eastern Armenia. He and his troops fought between Mountainous Karabagh and Zangezur where the Republic of Mountainous Armenia was declared. On March 3, the Grand vizier Talat Pasha signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Russian SFSR. Bolshevik Russia ceded Batum, Kars, and Ardahan, which the Russians had captured during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). The treaty also stipulated that Transcaucasia was to be declared independent. In addition to these provisions, a secret clause was inserted which obliged the Russians to demobilize Armenian national forces.[34] Collection of civilian corpses from Erzinzan Then a peace conference between The Ottomans and a delegation of the Transcaucasian Diet convened on March 14. Enver Pasha offered to surrender all claims in the Caucasus in return for recognition of the Ottoman re-acquisition of the east Anatolian provinces as agreed to at Brest-Litovsk.[35] On April 5, the head of the Transcaucasian delegation Akaki Chkhenkeli accepted the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as a basis for more negotiations and wired the governing bodies urging them to accept this position.[36] The mood prevailing in Tiflis was very different. Tiflis acknowledge the existence of a state of war between themselves and the Ottoman Empire.[36] On 14 April, the Ottomans with 10,000-12,000 troops[37] captured the port of Batumi and its garrison of 3,000 troops after two days of light fighting.[38] On April 23, 1918 the Ottomans laid siege to the fortress city of Kars, now under the effective control of Armenian and non-Bolshevik Russian troops. The fortress had been strengthened considerably by the Russians since its capture in 1877, and the garrison was strong and well-stocked. The garrison numbered some 10,000 men, and they had at their disposal 154 fixed artillery pieces, 67 reserve artillery pieces, 46 fortress machine guns, 20 reserve machine guns, and 11,000 rifles.[39] Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic foreign minister Akaki Chkhenkeli had previously ordered the city to surrender at first contact with the Ottomans, doing so without the notice of the Armenian members of his coalition government; while not followed, the order threw the defenders into confusion and partly caused the exodus of thousands of civilians before and during the siege. Independent of this, it was clear to all involved that the Armenians, surrounded, outnumbered, and cut off from relief, could not hold the city indefinitely. As a result, the garrison scrambled for a way to negotiate their way out without having to fight for the city. The Ottomans agreed to let the garrison peacefully exit the city, but only if they would surrender the entire fortress and its armory intact. General Nazarbekov, the Armenian Corps Commander based in Yerevan acting through a French intermediary, agreed to the surrender of the city and its garrison on April 25, 1918. At the same time the batteries surrounding the city were occupied and in the evening a regiment from the Ottoman I Caucasian Corps entered into the city and took it under control. The Ottomans obtained 11,000 rifles, 2 million bullets, 67 cannons, and 19 machine guns from the surrender.[40] On May 11, a new peace conference opened at Batum,[35] at which the Ottomans extended their demands to include Tiflis as well as Alexandropol and Echmiadzin. The Armenian and Georgian members of the Republic’s delegation stalled. The Ottoman army moved once again on May 21, leading to the Battle of Sardarapat (May 21–29), the Battle of Kara Killisse (1918) (May 24–28), and the Battle of Bash Abaran (May 21–24). Although the Armenians managed to inflict a defeat on the Ottomans, the Armenian army was scattered. Meanwhile, there was a fruitless German-mediated peace conference between the Ottoman and Transcaucasian governments at Batumi, which closed on May 24, 1918. Two days later, Georgia withdrew from the federation and declared itself a separate republic, encouraged by the German mission led by Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein and Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg: the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia was proclaimed, formalized by the treaty of Poti, which Ottoman expansion.[clarification needed]On the same day the First Republic of Armenia declared its independence, followed by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. On June 4, the First Republic of Armenia was forced to sign the Treaty of Batum. However under the leadership of Andranik Ozanian Armenians in the mountainous Karabag region resisted the Ottoman 3rd army throughout the summer and established the Republic of Mountainous Armenia.[41] In August, they set up an independent government in Shusha, the administrative center of the region. In June, German troops arrived to compete with the Ottomans for Caucasian influence and resources, notably the oilfields at Baku.[42] Early in June, the Ottoman army under Vehip Pasha renewed its offensive on the main road to Tiflis, where they confronted a joint German-Georgian force. On June 10, the 3rd Army attacked and took many prisoners, leading to an official threat from Berlin to withdraw all of its troops and support from Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman government had to concede to German pressure and to halt, for the moment, a further advance into Georgia, reorienting its strategic direction towards Azerbaijan and Iran.[43] A Georgian delegation composed of Chkhenkeli, Zurab Avalishvili, and Niko Nikoladze, went to Berlin to negotiate a treaty — which was aborted by the German collapse in November. Kars shopping district Enver Pasha had created a new force in March, named the Army of Islam, although it only had somewhere between 14,000 and 25,000 men. All were Muslims and most spoke Turkish. In July, he ordered them into the Centrocaspian Dictatorship, with the goal of occupying Baku, which they took from the British in September. In October, Ottoman troops pursued General Andranik's Armenian forces into mountainous Karabagh and Zangezur. The conflict was fierce, but indecisive. The Armenian militia under Andranik's command decimated an Ottoman unit trying to advance to the Varanda River. The armed conflicts between these units continued until the Armistice of Mudros was signed on October 30. By then the Ottomans had re-captured all the territory which they lost to the Russians in Eastern Anatolia. The Armistice enabled General Andranik to create a base for further advancing eastward and to form a strategic corridor extending into Nakhichevan.[44] Casualties [ edit ] Russian casualties are hard to estimate. There were 50,000 irrecoverable losses in the period of June–September 1916 alone, mostly from non-combat causes.[3] The Ottomans took 15,728 Russian soldiers prisoner up until the collapse of the Russian Empire: 9,216 in the Caucasus and 6,512 in Romania.[45] Ottoman casualties are also cryptic, but clearer. Using records from the Ottoman Archives, American historian Edward J. Erickson was able to estimate Ottoman losses in this campaign by battle/phase. Not including non-combat deaths/injuries or non-critical wounds, Ottoman battle casualties were as follows:[46] Northeastern Frontiers 1914: 11,223 (1,983 KIA, 6,170 WIA, 3,070 POW) Sarikamis 1915: 40,000 (23,000 KIA, 10,000 WIA, 7,000 MIA) Tortum/Van/Malazgirt 1915: 58,000 (19,000 KIA, 38,000 WIA) Eliskirt Valley 1915: 10,000 (4,000 KIA, 6,000 WIA) Koprukoy 1916: 15,000 (4,000 KIA, 6,000 WIA, 5,000 POW) Erzurum 1916: 15,000 (4,000 KIA, 6,000 WIA, 5,000 POW) Trabazon/Lazistan: 9,000 (3,000 KIA, 6,000 WIA) Bayburt/Erzincan 1916: 34,000 (5,600 KIA, 13,400 WIA, 17,000 POW) 2nd Army Offensive 1916: 30,000 (10,000 KIA, 20,000 WIA) Armenia/Azerbaijan 1918: 4,500 (1,500 KIA, 3,000 WIA) Prisoners of war (unassigned): 9,010 A total of 235,733 permanent casualties (83,083 killed, 113,570 critically wounded, 39,080 prisoners). Disease deaths overwhelmingly outnumbered combat deaths for Ottoman forces however, with over twice as many Ottoman troops dying of disease in the war than combat. Assuming the same trend held true in the Caucasus, Ottoman disease deaths would number ~ 170,000, and total deaths would number ~253,000. Additionally, total woundings were x2.5 greater than critical ones overall. If this average also held true in the Caucasus, total wounded would number 284,000.[47] Altogether, total Ottoman losses would be around 576,000 (284,000 dead, 253,000 wounded, 39,000 prisoners), over a third of total Ottoman casualties in World War I. Historian Uğur Ümit Üngör, the author of Confiscation and Destruction: The Young Turk Seizure of Armenian Property, noted that during the Russian invasion of the Ottoman Empire, many atrocities were carried out against the local Turks and Kurds by the Russian army and its Armenian volunteer units.[48] A large part of the local Muslim Turks and Kurds fled west after the Russian invasion of 1916.[49] Armenian Genocide [ edit ] During the Caucasus Campaign, Ottoman Armenia was depopulated of much of the entire Christian Armenian population as part of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian population was either forced on long death marches to camps in the middle of the Syrian desert to die of disease, abuse by guards, massacres, Kurdish raids along the way, and starvation or, if they refused, be indiscriminately massacred. Both scenarios accomplished the goal of the Ottoman Turks, removal of Armenians from their homelands to continue their occupation of Western Armenia. The ethnic cleansings and massacres resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians, with other estimates being between 800,000 and 1,800,000, the destruction of thousands of years of Armenian heritage in the form of monasteries, churches, cemeteries, houses, schools, and other buildings, a massive expansion of the Armenian diaspora in countries like France and the United States, and the continuous 100-year long contention between the modern day states of Turkey and Armenia.[50][51] Aftermath [ edit ] Place of Dunsterforce forces after Armistice The Ottoman Empire lost the war to the Allies, but the borders in the Caucasus were not settled. Two years after the armistice, a peace treaty was signed between the Allied and Associated Powers and Ottoman Empire at Sèvres on August 10, 1920. Territorial disputes [ edit ] After the war, The Georgian-Armenian War 1918 soon followed over the Javakheti and Lori provinces, with Armenia gaining the latter. Armenia and Azerbaijan engaged in the Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918–1920) over Karabakh and Nakhichevan, with Armenia losing both due to Soviet intervention in favor of the anti west Turkish National Movement. The Turkish–Armenian War of 1920 resulted in the occupation/depopulation of even more Armenian land. Sovietization of Caucasus [ edit ] On April 27, 1920, the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) received a notice that the Soviet army was about to cross the northern border and invade the ADR. In the west, there was a war over Karbakh with Armenia; in the east, the local Azeri communists were rebelling against the government; and to the north the Russian Red Army was steadily moving southward having defeated Denikin's White Russian forces. ADR officially surrendered to the Soviets, but many generals and local Azeri militias kept resisting the advance of the Soviet forces and it took a while for the Soviets to stabilize the newly proclaimed Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. On December 4, 1920, the government of the First Republic of Armenia effectively surrendered. On December 5, the Armenian Revolutionary Committee (Revkom) made up of mostly Armenians from mountainous Karabakh entered the city. On December 6, Felix Dzerzhinsky's dreaded secret police, Cheka entered Yerevan, thus effectively ending all existence of the ADR.[52] The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed, under the leadership of Aleksandr Miasnikyan. On February 25, 1921, the Soviet destruction of the Democratic Republic of Georgia happened. On October 23, 1921, the end of hostilities came with the Treaty of Kars. It was a successor treaty to the earlier Treaty of Moscow of March 1921.[53] and was ratified in Yerevan on September 11, 1922.[54] The Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Kars, which was a treaty between the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which had declared Turkey a republic in 1923, and representatives of Bolshevist Russia, Soviet Armenia, Soviet Azerbaijan, and Soviet Georgia (all these states formed part of the Soviet Union after the December 1922 Union Treaty) in 1921.[53][54] See also [ edit ] References [ edit ]
On Saturday, Italy's Inter will play in the final of the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi. While the tournament may currently be seen as a diversionary exhibition for FIFA, its predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup, achieved a level of notoriety in the 1960s, particularly following an infamous game between Milan and Estudiantes in 1969 that resulted in broken bones, red cards and mass arrests. It was a battle that established the Argentinean club's formidable reputation for anti-futbol, and damaged the competition's integrity. • Forum: Does the Club World Cup matter? The history of the Intercontinental Cup in the 1960s is a troubled one. Violence marred clashes between the champions of Europe and South America in 1967, as Celtic battled Racing Club, and 1968, when Estudiantes fought out a bad-tempered fixture against Manchester United. But it was the following year that brutality, intimidation and outright warfare reached a violent crescendo. It was, as the Guardian reported, "the culmination of all that is evil in international club soccer." In order to contextualise the events of 1969, we must first look at how aggression brewed in the previous two instalments of the now defunct competition. Firstly, in a play-off in Montevideo following a 2-2 aggregate draw over two legs, Celtic were drawn into a rancorous encounter against Racing Club of Argentina. Armed police entered the field of play, six players were dismissed, the last of which, Bertie Auld, refused to leave the pitch, while Celtic goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson was also knocked out by a missile. "I would like to come back here for another go," said leader of the Lisbon Lions, Jock Stein, and though Celtic would not return to the competition, British-Argentinean hostilities resumed the following season. In 1968, Manchester United - champions of Europe following their victory over Benfica at Wembley, ten years on from the Munich Disaster that cut the Busby Babes down in their prime - would face the notorious Estudiantes. Coached by Osvaldo Zubeldia, and boasting future World Cup-winning coach Carlos Bilardo and Juan Sebastian Veron's father, Juan Ramon Veron, amongst their playing staff, the Argentinean side cultivated a reputation for uncompromising play as they enjoyed sustained domestic and continental success, winning the Copa Libertadores on three occasions. Their tie against United would degenerate into a predictably ill-tempered affair. After the first leg - a 1-0 win for the South Americans - The Guardian's match report carried the headline: "Estudiantes' way to success: intimidate and destroy". The second leg, which saw George Best and Luis Medina red carded for fighting and Denis Law require four stitches for a gash on his leg, was described as a "disgusting spectacle of butting, spitting and cold, brutal, cynical fouls". But the orgy of violence instigated by Estudiantes proved pragmatic as they took the title. United manager Matt Busby insisted that "the Argentineans should be banned from all competitive football. FIFA should really step in" - and the club did pull out of a subsequent tour to England to play Birmingham and Arsenal, ostensibly following instructions from influential figures in Argentina - but Estudiantes instead returned to defend their title the following year and, with grim predictability, subscribed to a similarly cynical methodology. Their opponents in October 1969 would be the Milan side coached by Nereo Rocco, one of the founding fathers of catenaccio, and boasting as its star player Gianni Rivera, a playmaker nicknamed 'Ragazzo d'Oro' ('Golden Boy') thanks to the alchemy he weaved in the Rossoneri side. After a 3-0 win for Milan in the first leg in Italy though, golden skills were met with leaden brutality in the return fixture. Battle was begun even before kick-off, as Estudiantes booted balls at the Milan team as they warmed up and hot coffee was poured on the Italians as they emerged from the tunnel - a variation on the medieval theme of boiling oil from a castle rampart from a team that seemed determined to drag football firmly back into the dark ages. When what could loosely be described as a 'game' did kick off, it was said the Chilean referee habitually turned a blind eye to early indiscretions, while Milan players claimed one opponent even jabbed them with a needle. As Giovanni Lodetti said: "When you had the ball, someone would arrive and hit you." Milan striker Pierino Prati was the first serious victim of Estudiantes when he was knocked unconscious, though despite suffering from mild concussion and amnesia he continued for a further 20 minutes. Estudiantes goalkeeper Alberto Poletti also punched Rivera, but the most vicious treatment was reserved for Nestor Combin - an Argentinean-born striker, who had faced accusations of being a traitor as he was on the opposite side of the continental divide. Combin was kicked in the face by Poletti and later saw his nose and cheekbone broken by the elbow of Ramon Aguirre Sanchez. Bloodied and broken, Combin was asked to return to the pitch by referee Rocco but fainted, and was carried away on a stretcher. It was, quite unbelievably, while lying prone on tarpaulin that Combin was arrested by Argentine police on a charge of draft dodging, having not undertaken military service in the country. The player was forced to spend a night in the cells, eventually being released after explaining he had fulfilled national service requirements as a French citizen. Estudiantes won the game 2-1 after responding to an opening goal from Rivera, meaning that Milan took the title 4-3 on aggregate. However, the result was rendered almost immaterial as intense recriminations soon followed. It was less a game, more, as Gazzetta dello Sport put it, "Ninety minutes of a man-hunt". The Argentinean press did not attempt to gloss over the outrages committed, with one paper splashing with "The English were right" - a reference to Alf Ramsey's famous description of the Argentina national side as "animals" during the 1966 World Cup. Assailed from both internal and external media, and bruised by criticism from an increasingly disaffected public, the Argentinean Football Association (AFA) took stern action. In fact, the punishments meted out were unprecedented, and no doubt inspired by the intervention of Argentina's President, military dictator Juan Carlos Ongania, who after summoning Estudiantes delegate Oscar Ferrari demanded "the severest appropriate measures in defence of the good name of the national sport. [It was a] lamentable spectacle which breached most norms of sporting ethics". The AFA read between the lines and responded accordingly. Goalkeeper Poletti - who, as well as kicking Combin, had clashed with spectators - was given a life ban, Suarez was suspended for 30 games and from internationals for five years and Eduardo Manero was banned for 20 games and from internationals for three years. All three guilty parties were arrested, with Poletti and Manera condemned to 30-day jail terms. It was rumoured that a hard-line approach had been taken to enhance Argentina's hopes of winning the right to host the 1978 World Cup, which they duly did. Retribution, for whatever reason, had been swift, public outrage sated, but resentment lingered in the Milan camp. As Lodetti explained, when the Milan players boarded their plane to fly home: "We all made the gesture of the umbrella ['up yours'] towards Argentina". Meanwhile, by sticking two fingers up to football themselves with their brutal approach, Estudiantes had firmly ensured a place in the pantheon of the game's most reviled teams. What happened next? The reputation of the Intercontinental Cup was damaged so severely that subsequent European Cup holders often refused to take part, including Liverpool in 1977 and 1978 and Nottingham Forest in 1979. Estudiantes returned to the final the following season after winning the Copa Libertadores once again, but were defeated by Feyenoord and would not return to the pinnacle of the South American game until 2009 when, complete with Juan Sebastian Veron in midfield, they lost to Barcelona in the final of the Club World Cup.
Orlando City players Albert Dikwa and Tommy Redding have been identified as two of the top young talents in America. For the second consecutive year, the United Soccer League has compiled a list of the top 20 young players that have competed in the USL this season. Dikwa enters the list as the 11th ranked U-20 prospect; Tommy Redding was ranked 19th. Whether it be for OCB or Orlando City, these two rising stars have already made names for themselves playing on the biggest stage in American professional soccer. USL has released only half of its “20 Under 20” list. Stay tuned to find out if any other Orlando City youngsters make the cut. Albert Dikwa has registered 3 goals this season for OCB. His energetic,attacking style of play puts opposing defenses under pressure for the full 90 minutes. Dikwa’s ability to press high and cause turnovers in the opposition’s half has been a huge part of what Anthony Pulis and OCB have been trying to do this season. He is also a highly technical player who is capable of combining in and around the box to create goal scoring chances. At age 19, the Cameroon international has shown his sky-high potential and will look to build on his impressive 2017 season so far. Tommy Redding has been a rock at the back. The 20 year old has impressed on many levels of competition this season; including a stint with the U-20 USMNT during their run at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. His ability to consistently win both aerial and ground duels is one of his standout qualities as a defender. The Oviedo, FL native also possesses quality decision making on and off the ball. Redding is the youngest player to ever feature in a MLS match for Orlando City. A Homegrown Player, Tommy Redding has developed with the Club and is now considered a first choice center back by Jason Kreis.
BISMARCK, N.D., May 4 (UPI) -- Oklahoma has 20 percent more rigs in active service than North Dakota as shale activity in the United States evolves, state data show. XTO Energy, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, is the largest operator of active wells in North Dakota, with 14 percent of the 86 active wells in the state at the heart of the nation's oil boom. Overall, the number of rigs in service in North Dakota is down 7.5 percent since the start of April. Last year, XTO said it owned 531,000 net acres in North Dakota and gross production in February 2014 was 44,516 barrels of oil per day. Federal data show state oil production in February 2014 was 953,000 bpd, about 24 percent below the current rate. The low price of oil is forcing energy companies to spend less on exploration and production in an effort to control costs. Continental Resources, the No. 2 well operator in North Dakota, last year said its acreage in the so-called SCOOP basin in Oklahoma was a "significant" part of its growth strategy. Energy consultant Wood Mackenzie said the Oklahoma shale area was on par with the Eagle Ford basin in Texas and Bakken with production expected to pass 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2020. Data from oil field services company Baker Hughes show 108 active rigs in Oklahoma and all of them are exploring for oil. Oklahoma is the No. 5 oil producer in the nation. Wood Mackenzie said investments in the region should top $4 billion for 2015.
@LeonHWolf oh dear god please no — Domenic (@Domenic_Re) June 8, 2016 Happy Hump Day, everyone: Laura Ingraham: "Trump has the magic sauce." — Christine (@cmdeb) June 8, 2016 "Trump has magic sauce, and he just has to serve it up in a provocative and pleasing way." – Laura Ingraham on #SpecialReport — Cotton McKnight (@17ebivor) June 8, 2016 … Oh, it’s so. It’s very so: @oliverdarcy @BuzzFeedAndrew she said it on the Special Report panel — Christine (@cmdeb) June 8, 2016 Just listen for yourself: Laura Ingraham talks about Trump's magic sauce. https://t.co/P2uUkU5Xk8 — Ben Howe (@BenHowe) June 8, 2016 Get that outta here. @BenHowe I can no longer make fun of Chris Mathews "tingle". — HICKORY (@claydirtman) June 8, 2016 Aaaand I just heard about Trump's "magic sauce" and I'm ready now to headbutt a landmine. — Justin (@MCCountChill) June 8, 2016 @LeonHWolf this will haunt my dreams. — Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) June 8, 2016 @BenHowe Oh this is terrible. — RP Kallio (@ryankallio) June 8, 2016
In a disturbing move that could have worrying implications for wider ExJW and anti-cult activism, it appears that Facebook has just shut down a pivotal activist Facebook page. The page in question is that of AvoidJW. For those not familiar, AvoidJW is the pseudonym for an exJW activist who has collected and hosted online an extensive library of Watchtower publications, letters and internal documents. Many of these documents expose how Watchtower is failing to act on child abuse, is misleading the public about shunning, and demonstrate how financially and mentally controlling the organisation really is. In other words, the site is a vital tool for exposing human rights abuses. Unsurprisingly, AvoidJW has become a pivotal resource for the ExJW community, and for legal and journalistic professionals who wish to cut past the wall of silence that Watchtower often throws up over issues like child abuse and shunning, and access information that sheds light on what is really going on behind the religion’s closed doors. His online presence spans his original website, his twitter account and his Facebook group. At least it used to. Facebook has shut him down. Why is Facebook banning ExJW activists? When I first heard of this, I thought that perhaps there was some copyright claim involved. Yet it appears that the reason Facebook has cited is not that of copyright violation, Astonishingly, it appears that the group was shut down under the vague and sweeping generalisation of “hate speech.” I spoke to AvoidJW to try and find out what had happened. Firstly he set out why he created the website and what his goals are with his online presence; When I started AvoidJW in October 2014, I had no idea what the site was going to be. I just knew that people needed to “avoid” JWs if they wanted to have a happy life without having the religion interfere with their families. At that time, I didn’t even know there were secret documents in terms of guidelines, handbooks and policy letters. I just thought that the religion was harming people through over-reaching interference. It wasn’t until March 2015 that I discovered secret documents. It was then that I realised what direction I needed to go with the website: bring transparency to a highly secretive and extremely controlling organisation. So hardly the profile or goals of a rage fuelled, screaming hate preacher. Moving on, I asked about the circumstances leading up to the ban. How was AvoidJW first notified by Facebook? Was there a phonecall? A web chat? A detailed email allowing him to respond? Astonishingly, no. He told me that Facebook pulled the plug on a vital ExJW resource with basically no warning and little explanation; “Facebook just gave a broad statement saying it broke one or more of its terms of service. “It didn’t cite a specific reason when deleting the page but when they initially suspended the page the reason given was “hate speech.” Hate Speech is a term usually reserved for people who actively call for the killing or abuse of others, such as extremist Islamist clerics who call for terror attacks, or race hate groups who call for exterminations and ethnic cleansing based on skin colour or racial background. I challenge anyone to look through the AvoidJW website and find anything close to that kind of rhetoric. In fact, you can even look through the Facebook group, which is still viewable via the Google cache. It seems that an appeal to common sense should have resolved this issue, but what options are open to a Facebook group once they have been shut down without notice? AvoidJW explained his experience as follows; The “appeal process” is a joke. You are told that to appeal, click this button. So you hit the “appeal” button at the bottom of the warning. When you do that, another message pops up. “You have appealed on [date]. We’ll take another look.” That’s as much of an “appeal” that you get. Astonishingly, in their appeal review, Facebook confirmed the original decision to shut the page down over accusations of “Hate Speech. AvoidJW was not contacted for his side of the story, or to give information to assist the appeal. Everything took place behind closed doors without his input and, eight hours later, a vital resource for recovering cult victims and anti-cult activists was gone. Was Watchtower involved? The appeals process gave no transparency as to the source of the complaint, and no indication if Facebook was acting of its own accord or in response to complaints from a third party. AvoidJW, however, says he is fairly certain of what prompted this event: I believe it was a result of Watchtower complaining to Facebook They are working hard to get avoidjw offline. They are regularly checking out stats on http://Alexa.com. We are the top ranking exJW site in searches according to Alexa. If people can do a search online for a JW publication and arrive at AvoidJW, this is a huge problem for Watchtower. If they can remove our social network presence, this has a knock on effect on our search rankings. I asked further about the Alexa rankings, and why he suspects that Watchtower might have been involved in this incident. JW org have a paid subscription to Alexa. They use it all the time. Do a search for Alexa on JW org and you’ll find that they even wrote an article about how well they are ranking on there. Someone with a paid subscription to Alexa is regularly analysing AvoidJW’s ranking on the internet with typical JW terms. I believe it is JW org. Without conclusive proof it’s hard to be certain. However I can confirm that Watchtower do pay attention to exJW sites like AvoidJW and JW Survey. We ourselves have been subjected to Watchtower legal threats in the past after hosting their secret internal documents online, as documented here and here. It makes sense that AvoidJW, who has a far more extensive collection of confidential and embarrassing Watchtower material, would be firmly placed in their crosshairs. Whilst AvoidJW has so far been able to stay ahead of Watchtower’s legal arm, it has certainly not been for lack of trying on Watchtower’s part. It’s certainly possible that Watchtower made a “hate speech” complaint to Facebook, and that Facebook then acted without any analysis or reasonable effort to get AvoidJW’s side of the issue. Of course, this may have just been the result of a lone JW registering a complaint without any official Watchtower involvement. But even if that was the case, we arrive at the same disturbing conclusion. A religious group able to enforce blasphemy law and silence critics, with Facebook complicit in the act. Is Facebook becoming a blasphemy enforcer? This follows a worrying trend of behaviour from Facebook: It has recently come under fire for shutting down the pages and accounts of vulnerable Ex Muslims on similar dubious “hate speech” grounds, although it later backtracked in the face of a huge public outcry. And recent concerns have been raised about claimed collaboration with the Government of Pakistan to remove “blasphemous content.” Whilst these allegations may just be hot air from the Pakistani officials, Facebook have yet to deny this, which is extremely worrying, especially as blasphemy and apostasy carry the death penalty in that country. Thankfully, AvoidJW has been able to set up a new group, with the collaboration of fellow activists at JWAwake, so his hard work and activism can continue on the social medial site. Nonetheless, the entire incident is very disturbing. The irony is that, if anyone is committing online “hate speech” in this dispute, it’s Watchtower, with its calls for shunning of those who leave the faith, its demonisation of those who criticise its doctrines and its praise of genocide for non-believers at Armageddon. Frankly, I don’t support Facebook banning either ExJW or Pro-Watchtower pages, and I don’t like the casual way accusations of “hate speech” are being casually thrown around nowadays, but the appalling lack of ethical clarity here is dreadful. Facebook appear to have become, either by lazy moderation or deliberate choice, Watchtower’s attack dog. This is why I am such a strong advocate for free speech, barring actual direct incitement to violence. It’s very tempting to shut down speech or opinions you disagree with, or that you feel are dangerously wrongheaded, but the trend of censorship always has a way of backfiring, and this is a perfect example. Challenge speech you don’t agree with. Debate ideas you think are wrong. Expose and ridicule something you perceive to be “hate speech.” But when we give authorities the power to crush speech we dislike, sooner or later those authorities always come for our speech too. Facebook has a huge amount of power in the matter of online free speech, and to see it slipping more and more into the role of a religious policeman is extremely disturbing. Follow me on twitter @covertfade. Follow JW Survey on twitter @jwsurveyorg. Follow AvoidJW on twitter @avoidjw.
At the same time, much of corporate America is trying to persuade the Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court ruling that allows the I.R.S. to demand even more specific information from companies. That case involves Textron, a military contractor that made liberal use of tactics the I.R.S. deems to be illegitimate tax shelters and that has repeatedly gone to court to contest past I.R.S. audits. The I.R.S. asked to see spreadsheets prepared by the company in calculating its tax reserves, documents that included the company’s assessments of its chances of prevailing if the I.R.S. challenged it. “Textron apparently thinks it is ‘unfair’ for the government to have access to its spreadsheets, but tax collection is not a game,” wrote Sandra L. Lynch, the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in a decision rejecting Textron’s arguments. “Underpaying taxes threatens the essential public interest in revenue collection,” she added. “If a blueprint to Textron’s possible improper deductions can be found in Textron’s files, it is properly available to the government unless privileged.” She went on to conclude it was not privileged because the documents in question had been prepared in the normal course of business to aid Textron’s auditors in assessing the reasonableness of the tax reserves the company put on its books. That decision came in a 3-to-2 vote, when the circuit court overturned a contrary decision by a three-judge panel of the same court. In appealing to the Supreme Court, Textron and its allies, including groups of corporate lawyers, corporate financial executives and corporate tax executives, argue that the decision, if permitted to stand, could allow other lawyers to get access to documents in which company lawyers assessed the need to establish litigation reserves in other cases. They argue those are lawyer work papers that litigants should not have. "This case presents an issue of exceptional practical importance,” said Kannon K. Shanmugam, a partner in Williams & Connolly, which is representing Textron. “We believe that the issue has significance outside the specific context of tax-related work papers, that the lower court incorrectly narrowed the privilege, and that this case warrants Supreme Court review." Advertisement Continue reading the main story The legal case may turn on arcane determinations of what constitutes a document prepared for litigation, which normally cannot be subpoenaed by the opposite side. The companies would like a broad definition, providing a privilege for any document about anything likely to be litigated. Textron pointed to its long history of fights with the I.R.S. as evidence that it had every reason to expect more litigation. Judge Lynch, in her ruling, said “the work product privilege is aimed at protecting work done for litigation, not in preparing financial statements.” Photo “I.R.S. access serves the legitimate, and important, function of detecting and disallowing abusive tax shelters,” she added. Some accountants say privately that they think the I.R.S. may be seeking to require documents to be submitted with tax returns partially to offset the damage that could come from an adverse Supreme Court decision in the Textron case. The I.R.S. proposal, on which it is seeking comment from companies, builds on an accounting rule adopted in 2006 requiring companies to disclose more information on the size of “uncertain tax positions” that might or might not withstand I.R.S. scrutiny. 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. Because the numbers disclosed under that rule are aggregate figures, they provide little help to the I.R.S., aside from indicating which companies may be more aggressive in claiming doubtful tax benefits. In its initiative, which the I.R.S. hopes will be effective for tax returns filed in 2011, the government is seeking information that companies compiled in preparing that information. The I.R.S. wants companies to file, within their tax returns, a list of areas subject to doubt and the maximum amount that might be involved. It argues that since they already prepare the information, there would be little if any cost involved to do so. The I.R.S. is not seeking the company’s estimate of how likely the government would be to prevail if an issue were litigated. But just knowing how much is involved could give the I.R.S. a roadmap in deciding what to audit. “This I.R.S. initiative is significant as another milestone in the current global trend by tax regulators toward increased oversight and their interest in sharply escalating compliance, efficiency and transparency among corporate taxpayers,” said Hank Gutman, director of KPMG’s Tax Governance Institute and a former chief of staff to the Joint Committee on Taxation. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gutman organized a Web conference on the topic this week, at which Mr. Williams spoke. Companies have until March 29 to comment on the I.R.S. plan, and there will no doubt be efforts to persuade the service to drop the idea or at least to scale it back. As now written, it would cover any corporate taxpayer with at least $10 million in assets. Under a 1984 Supreme Court case, involving the accounting firm Arthur Young, a predecessor of Ernst & Young, the I.R.S. now has a right to see auditor work papers. But it has largely declined to exercise that right unless it sees signs of noncompliance, as it says it did at Textron. The Supreme Court could rule for Textron without overturning the Arthur Young case, but the current court, which has shown significant sympathy for corporate positions, could possibly deal the I.R.S. a serious blow if it did revisit the issues supposedly settled by the Young case. If the I.R.S. prevails, either in the case or in imposing its new requirement, it would be easier for the tax collectors to attack companies suspected of underreporting taxes, a problem Judge Lynch said “is likely endemic.” In an era of large government budget deficits, the incentive to aggressively enforce tax laws may be greater than ever. For corporate America, that could be painful. “This scenario clearly underscores that in the more assertive regulatory environment, the financial penalties and reputational risks of tax noncompliance are going to be high for a company,” Mr. Gutman said. It could also increase support for a real simplification of corporate taxes, which are now burdened by thousands of special provisions, often enacted by Congress to benefit one company that had the ear of a legislator. If that happened, Textron might someday be able to file a tax return that is significantly smaller than the “more than 4,000 pages” in the 2001 tax return that is the subject of the court case. It might also lead to much lower costs for companies in calculating their taxes, and reduce the need to calculate the “uncertain tax positions” at the heart of the new I.R.S. proposal.
An Open Letter to Louis C.K. about accepting Bitcoin a guest Jan 29th, 2014 989 Never a guest989Never Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up , it unlocks many cool features! rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint HTML 2.60 KB An open Letter to Luis C.K. (Posted on twitter and reddit to help gauge community interest) Hey you should add bitcoin as a payment option! Overstock.com added it recently and made an extra 130k in the first day of accepting it. http://www.businessinsider.com/overstock-bitcoin-2014-1 •1- its easy to set up. If YOU know how to make a website YOU can add bitcoin as an option •2 - The fees for accepting bitcoin are much lower than paypal or other credit card companies •3 - you can use something like coinbase or bitpay to accept bitcoin and convert instantly to USD if you don't care to keep them as bitcoin. •4 - if you do keep your money as bitcoin ... right now is like a stock in some ways. I owned around $500 worth of them less than a year ago that are now worth just under $5000. It also could go down like a stock so I wouldn't suggest doing this with a huge amount of money unless you like to gamble. I know it sounds like I'm trying to whore my services but I'm not. I don't even do web stuff really but I'm telling you.... The news eats up who accepts bitcoin right now. Currently there are only a few well know companies accepting bitcoin so even something like your release on http://louisck.com/ available being available on bitcoin would be huge. Seriously, stay up tonight and add bitcoin!. There are several more qualified than me to help you with it so just call one of your web buddies up that know a little bit about it and ask them if its worth adding. If they have never heard of bitcoin and don't think its a good idea then I'm an absolute liar and should be killed for wasting these electrons and your time. Here's some links to get you started: https://www.google.com/search?q=accept+bitcoin https://coinbase.com/merchants http://bitpay.com If you can't get anyone to help you but need some direction call me at any hour. (I live in the US but I just started my day at midnight tonight) My number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thats not the point though. I'm happy to help and would love to brag I was a reason you started accepting bitcoin p.s. - Love your stuff. I'll be buying the new movie bitcoin or not! ________________________________________________________ William Downes - Animator / iOS Lover / Bitcoin Enthusiast My Demo Reel - Http://tinyurl.com/wildgfx (i work for crypto!) A private direct chat to my iphone - http://gliph.me/aDW ________________________________________________________ I love bitcoin tips Bitcoin: 1FCmfke28oSjJA7VCMLFnoCxqSQaGRaW7b Litecoin: LVABNAWia83o6EcM8L17kf7s3X7uqTyUuf RAW Paste Data An open Letter to Luis C.K. (Posted on twitter and reddit to help gauge community interest) Hey you should add bitcoin as a payment option! Overstock.com added it recently and made an extra 130k in the first day of accepting it. http://www.businessinsider.com/overstock-bitcoin-2014-1 •1- its easy to set up. If YOU know how to make a website YOU can add bitcoin as an option •2 - The fees for accepting bitcoin are much lower than paypal or other credit card companies •3 - you can use something like coinbase or bitpay to accept bitcoin and convert instantly to USD if you don't care to keep them as bitcoin. •4 - if you do keep your money as bitcoin ... right now is like a stock in some ways. I owned around $500 worth of them less than a year ago that are now worth just under $5000. It also could go down like a stock so I wouldn't suggest doing this with a huge amount of money unless you like to gamble. I know it sounds like I'm trying to whore my services but I'm not. I don't even do web stuff really but I'm telling you.... The news eats up who accepts bitcoin right now. Currently there are only a few well know companies accepting bitcoin so even something like your release on http://louisck.com/ available being available on bitcoin would be huge. Seriously, stay up tonight and add bitcoin!. There are several more qualified than me to help you with it so just call one of your web buddies up that know a little bit about it and ask them if its worth adding. If they have never heard of bitcoin and don't think its a good idea then I'm an absolute liar and should be killed for wasting these electrons and your time. Here's some links to get you started: https://www.google.com/search?q=accept+bitcoin https://coinbase.com/merchants http://bitpay.com If you can't get anyone to help you but need some direction call me at any hour. (I live in the US but I just started my day at midnight tonight) My number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thats not the point though. 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By Grant Larson Athletics Communications FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The Colorado State Rams wrapped up their seventh practice of spring on Tuesday, their first opportunity back on the field following Saturday’s scrimmage. With just two practices this week before another scrimmage on Saturday, head coach Mike Bobo looked for increased focus and intensity at practice and was pleased with what he saw. “I thought the guys responded the right way, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Bobo said. “It was competition that I like to see. I expect to see that everyday, and it was disappointing that I did not see that on Saturday to the level that I expected. It was addressed, and the guys came out, competed and showed a little fight. They responded well today." One player who has consistently raised the competitive level of practices in his first spring with the program is Tennessee transfer Preston Williams. Despite not being able to play until the 2018 season per Division I transfer rules, Williams’ drive and demeanor have already made an impact in Fort Collins, and Bobo has taken notice. “The thing about Preston Williams that I am impressed with is that we cannot get him off the field,” he said. “He loves playing football and loves competing. Here is a guy who does not really know the offense, but anytime a coach needs a receiver, he is sprinting on the field. That is what you want out of everybody. I am glad he is on this football team. He is playing a role right now. He is making us better defensively and making us question things we are doing as far as coverage." One of Bobo’s many goals this spring ball was establishing depth as a team, most notably on an offensive line that graduated three starters. “We are trying to find a two-deep,” Bobo said. “We talked about it this weekend, possibly starting to move (offensive linemen) around a little bit and have them play some different positions. That is what spring is about—learning some new stuff. We’re trying to find 10 guys. I would say we have seven right now, maybe eight.” Thursday’s practice will officially put the Rams past the halfway point of spring ball, being the eighth of fifteen allotted sessions. Follow @CSUFootball on Twitter and check CSURams.com for exclusive coverage and content. Weather Permitting Tuesday marked the second straight practice—and third of the last four—to be held in the Indoor Practice Facility, as the Rams have been at the mercy of the unpredictable Colorado weather this spring. The team is expecting to be on the practice fields Thursday and Saturday with sunny weather in the forecast. Clyburn Still Adjusting After missing all last season because of blood clots, senior linebacker Deonte Clyburn continues to readjust to the speed and intensity of college football, and Bobo was pleased with the way No.12 responded today following the scrimmage on Saturday. "I thought I saw (Clyburn) step up and play better today,” Bobo said. “He did not have a good scrimmage Saturday. He is a little bit rusty, but we know he’s going to be rusty.” Clyburn ranked fourth on the team with 74 tackles during his junior season in 2015, including seven tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and two forced fumbles.
LA Galaxy forward Robbie Keane was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 20 of the 2015 MLS season. Keane notched his second straight hat trick in MLS play in the Galaxy’s 5-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday night, which included the MLS debut of former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard. The forward now has nine goals scored on the season, tied for fourth in MLS. The four career hat tricks tie former LA Galaxy players Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones for the most in LA Galaxy history. After falling behind 2-0, Keane started the comeback in the 30th minute after Gerrard earned a penalty. The Irish International stepped up to the spot and calmly placed the ball into the bottom right corner. Gerrard then went on to notch his first MLS goal to level the score at 2-2 in the 37th minute. In the second half, the star duo combined to take the lead. The Galaxy earned a free kick just outside the box on the end line that Gerrard stepped up to take, and the English icon sent a low cross into the box that Keane flicked on past San Jose 'keeper David Bingham to go up 3-2 in the 64th minute. After Bingham tripped LA midfielder Baggio Husidic inside the box, the reigning league MVP buried his second penalty kick to complete the hat trick in the 80th minute. The LA Galaxy return to MLS action Saturday night when they travel to BBVA Compass Stadium to take on the Houston Dynamo (9 pm ET, MLS LIVE). The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from NASR. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
Privacy Shield was always lipstick on a pig. Now two leading US NGOs are suggesting it’s time the European Commission fired up a big pan of bacon… With a few months to go until a scheduled European Commission review of the so-called Privacy Shield transatlantic data transfer framework, two US NGOs have weighed in with devastating warnings that America isn’t keeping its side of the deal. Privacy Shield is the hastily-cobbled together fudge that was cooked up between the European Commission and the US authorities after the long-standing Safe Harbor data transfer regulations were struck down as inadequate by the European Union’s highest court. With US firms needing to maintain/restore confidence among non-US customers about data handling in the post-Edward Snowden/NSA revelations climate, Privacy Shield was a hurried attempt to paper over the cracks. It’s been widely criticised by data protection experts and authorities, even among the Commission’s own working parties, and is due to come under its first review in September. As that date draws nearer, the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), which specialises in data protection issues in digital marketplaces, and Access Now, which “defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world”, have both criticised Privacy Shield as being not fit-for-purpose, with the former calling for it to be scrapped completely. The CDD pulls no punches in a letter to Bruno Gencarelli, Head of Unit at the Directorate-General Justice and Consumers at the European Commission. Executive Director Jeffrey Chester calls for the Commission to look to the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to provide more robust protection: EU citizens and consumers who deal with companies enrolled in the Privacy Shield program confront a serious erosion of their data protection and privacy rights. The rights of EU citizens under the Privacy Shield program are not equivalent to how they would be protected by EU law. We urge the Commission and EU Data Protection Authorities to suspend the Privacy Shield in light of its lack of any policies, rules, or enforcement that would provide meaningful adequacy or equivalency. The Commission should insist that US companies targeting EU citizens or consumers must operate under the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) framework. He adds: CDD calls on the Commission to terminate the Privacy Shield agreement and to call on the US to enact privacy rules that meaningfully reflect the principles and policies of the forthcoming GDPR. Companies participating under the “cover” of the Privacy Shield are able to use programmatic and other automated and data- driven decision-making and practices that effect EU citizens’ and consumers’ ability to obtain financial services, health information, and buy products and services fairly. The failure of the US to have its own effective legal privacy framework, the lack of oversight and enforcement by the Commerce Department and the FCC, and the failure of Privacy Shield participants not only to disclose their practices but also to ensure that they fully respect the EU approach to data protection, are among the reasons why the Commission must act now to protect the public. Archer says that CDD looked closely at the activities of a number of major US companies who have publicly signed up to and endorsed Privacy Shield. Its conclusions should not make for happy reading in Brussels. They include: The absence of an effective legal framework to protect consumer privacy in the US, with inadequate enforcement of the weak policies in place and an overall failure to address the dramatic growth of data practices. Political opposition from the Congress and the White House to having effective data-protection rules. The CDD cites the March 2017 decision by President Donald Trump, backed by Congress, to overturn the Broadband Consumer Privacy Rules, adopted by the Federal Communications Commission introduced by President Obama in October 2016 Permissible use of far-reaching data use practices that operate on an ineffective “Notice and Choice” framework, while key EU data policies, such as on purpose limitation, sensitive data, are ignored. Problems with the Privacy Shield website and submissions, which the CDD argues is indicative of “overall disregard for its operations and impact on the public”. It states: Submissions by Privacy Shield applicants are full of typos, broken links, and sloppy data entry. The website itself is not designed to be user friendly in terms of its search functions. It suggests that no one at the Commerce Department or the FTC ever actually reviews what is being posted and the claims that are made. Ombudsperson concerns Access Now isn’t quite as robust in its critique, but does cite in its own letter to Gencarelli: developments that call into question the validity of the Privacy Shield, including changes to US surveillance law, implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, and Trump administration policies that show disregard for human rights globally. Access Now calls on the Commission to take into account: A claimed dysfunction of the US Privacy Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). The issuance of US executive orders that disregard the rights of anyone outside the US. Ongoing expansion of US surveillance authorities, willful misuse of surveillance programs, reneging on transparency promises, and the impending review of Section 702 of the US FISA Amendments Act. Active debate on circumventing the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty system. Lack of adequate redress mechanisms in the Privacy Shield itself. The Trump administration’s threat to leave the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. The repeal of broadband privacy regulations previously issued by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The NGO also points to next year’s implementation of GDPR as a critical factor, with Fanny Hidvegi, European Policy Manager at Access Now, stating: EU officials made concessions on the high level of privacy and data protection rights of Europeans when they adopted Privacy Shield. The Privacy Shield fails Europeans because it fails to provide effective individual redress mechanisms or independent oversight. To avoid further legal challenges, the Commission must improve the framework to meet the standard of the GDPR. Access Now also has concerns about one of Privacy Shield’s supposed biggest selling points – the creation of an independent ombudsperson in the US to address concerns and complaints. But the NGO states bluntly: Essentially, the Ombudsperson mechanism is inadequate to provide protection that is essentially equivalent to that prescribed by EU law. This assessment is based on a number of arguments: The location of the Ombudsperson mechanism under the US Secretary of State cannot be considered adequately independent from the intelligence community and free from influence. Privacy Shield does not provide safeguards or details on how the independence of the intelligence community may be guaranteed. It does not meet the Court of Justice of the European Union’s requirements for the independence and impartiality of the oversight and redress mechanism. The Ombudsperson position is a political appointment subject to presidential discretion (with the confirmation of the U.S. Senate). A person in this role can be terminated at any time without a cause or obligation to substantiate the decision. The role has not been filled with a permanent appointment. With the incoming Trump administration in January, the post remained unoccupied until April. At that point, Judith Garber, who rejoices in the title of Acting Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Environment, and Science, was appointed as a temporary and unconfirmed holder of the position. Access Now says this has worrying implications, arguing that the current absence sets “a troubling precedent against having the role permanently filled”. My take September’s review of Privacy Shield and all its naked inadequacies can’t come soon enough. We’ve consistently referred to this flimsy PR exercise as being akin to lipstick on a pig. I’m certainly hoping we hear the comforting sizzle of bacon in the pan before September is out. Image credit - eBay
CLEVELAND, Ohio - "Trainwreck," the comedy starring Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Tilda Swinton and LeBron James, debuted at SXSW over the weekend. The movie is already earning rave reviews, especially for James' performance. When word of the film's existence spread late last year, it was thought James would be a glorified cameo. It turns out the basketball star is a major part of the ensemble. "It's not just a cameo," director Judd Apatow told USA Today. "He's actually a large part of the movie." A work-in-progress version of "Trainwreck" premiered to a sold out crowd at SXSW on Sunday. USA Today film critic Mike Snider calls James' performance "revelatory." In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Schumer, who wrote the film, and Apatow talked about James' presence on set, which drew other celebrities like Chris Rock. "Chris Rock was pitching jokes for LeBron, all of which are in the movie, all of which killed," Apatow told EW. "There is a run where he says, 'You have to be careful because you don't want a baby mama,' and he goes on this run about how you handle your baby mama because before you know it, you have to buy her a pantsuit line." The Daily Beast calls James' work "stellar," while Cinema Blend says James is the "Trainwreck's" "secret weapon." Huffington Post even went as far as to label James a movie star. The general public will have to wait until July 17, when the film opens, to see James' performance. Let the anticipation begin.
If you don’t know the names, Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz, Lydia Schatz, or Michael Pearl’s book, To Train Up A Child , you should. Kevin and Elizabeth are the names of two parents convicted, respectively, of murder and manslaughter in the case of their 7 year-old daughter Lydia. Pearl is the self-proclaimed minister/author of a book which teaches the biblical foundation and moral virtue of hitting kids. We need to know their names because they are part of real problem – the problem of sacralizing child abuse, of beating children as a religious act. Hitting kids is bad enough, but when people hide behind scripture to justify it, it is especially grotesque – it scars the children, and it scars the tradition which justifies it. Tragically, this is going on, it must be stopped, and it is precisely those of us for whom the Bible is a sacred and life-centering text that must take the lead in stopping it. As is always the case, it is those closest to a tradition that should bear the greatest responsibility for it when it is being abused. We cannot simply distance ourselves from “those crazy people”, because “those crazy people” are using the same books we hold dear to commit atrocities, so who better than those who turn to (some of) the same books, to take on the responsibility of addressing the abuses committed in their name? The notion of hitting children should simply be repugnant to people, and the scientific evidence against the practice is overwhelming. Kids who are hit, fare no better, and often fare far worse than children who are not. Of course for some biblical literalists that argument will not suffice. The literalists will quote chapter and verse beginning with Proverbs 13:24, One who spares the rod, hates his child. (The commonly heard, “spare the rod, spoil the child”, by the way, does not actually appear anywhere in the Bible – it’s an expression based on this verse.) But, as I often wonder with such approaches to the Bible, why are such literalists not stoning those who they deem to be Sabbath violators as is demanded by Exodus 31:15, for example? The answer, of course, is that they don’t want to kill people for violating the Sabbath, but for whatever reason, actually want to hit kids and delight in finding a biblical “justification” for it. Prosecutors in the case against the Schatz’s could not make an additional case for legal liability against Michael Pearl, whose book was among those found on the Schatz’s shelves and which appears to have served as an inspiration to them in “understanding” the religious value of corporal punishment. Frustrating as that may be, that is probably as it should be given the importance of freedom of expression and the chilling effect upon it were it possible to hold Pearl legally culpable for the death of Lydia Schatz. Legal liability and moral responsibility however, are two different matters and there is no doubt that Pearl bears a measure of the latter whether he realizes it or not. Of course, the real challenge is not to Michael Pearl, it is to the rest of us, especially those who own Pearl’s book, believe, or teach, that hitting kids is a religious act. This is no longer a phenomenon about which any of us can plead ignorance, and we all bear a measure of moral responsibility for every slap and punch. There is no way to bring Lydia Schatz back, or to undo the damage to her still living siblings, or any of the other children who are beaten in the name of God. We can however do everything in our power to put a stop to the practice. For the sake of these kids and for the sake of the traditions we hold dear, that is what we must do.
A dmit it. One of the main reasons you love hunkering down Sunday night in front of the T.V. is to gawk at all the supernaturally beautiful bods on HBO’s True Blood. Sure, there are always outrageous, intriguing storylines playing out and all kinds of magic going on, but there’s something about Alexander Skarsgård’s sculpted abs and Anna Paquin’s pert boobies that keep ya coming back for more. Plus, there’s no shame in going to bed before the workweek while visions of supple bums dance in your head. In order to get maximum sexytime out of your True Blood-inspired dreams, we’ve come up with this hot and handy quiz to tell you which duo you should get down and Transylvania-dirty with. 1. What’s your menu of choice when watching True Blood? a) Bacon-wrapped filet mignon. b) Absolut Vodka martinis, big ol’ meatballs, and something sticky for dessert. c) Beer! d) A big tub of Blue Bell ice cream. e) Comfort food and maybe a cosmo. 2. Complete this sentence. “I like to ___________ while ___________” a) Imagine what it’s like to be a bird, listening to relaxing music. b) Engage in bondage practices, having sex. c) Chill with my friends, learning new things. d) Ignore sexual tension, hanging with my BFF. e) Be fabulous, being fabulous. 3. Do you like animals? a) I love animals so much. They’re so cute and cuddly and fun! b) Mmm. Red Meat. c) I’ve always wanted a golden retriever. d) Dogs are man’s best friends. e) They can be lot of hassle. 4. Describe an ideal date. a) A group date. b) A trip to the museum to see the ancient Swedish bloodletting exhibit. c) A wild college party d) Girls’ night out. e) Sunday brunch followed by Sinful Sundays 2-4-1 drinks at a gay bar. 5. What do you do after watching True Blood? a) Curl up in bed with my sexy other half. b) Hit the club scene. Lets RAGE! c) Find an after party. Who’s got beer? d) Call my BFF to discuss the episode in detail. For hours. While giggling. e) Get a little high. Watch some porn. See what happens next, biatch. 6. What frightens you? a) Going to the doctor or dentist. b) Not a lot scares me. c) Becoming a loser. d) Dying alone. e) Super AIDS. 7. Do you enjoy traveling to exotic, primitive, potentially dangerous locations? a) Only if I have the right vaccinations. b) All the time! c) I’m more of a homebody. Malaria sounds awful. d) If I go with a friend, maybe. e) Hell to the no. Scroll down for results…! Mostly As: Luna and Sam You’re cute. You’re cuddly. You’re hella fierce. You should hop in the sack with sultry shifters Luna and Sam. Yowza. Mostly Bs: Eric and Pam Dang, you’re quite the naughty minx! Eric and Pam are the vamps for you. Be prepared for a wild night, you sexy fangbanger, you. Mostly Cs: Jessica and Jason You have simple, but select tastes that have matured like fine cheese. You desire the beautiful things in life, but your ‘no muss, no fuss’ attitude dictates that overly complicated, ancient vampires and unpredictable werewolves are not your style in the sack. Prepare to get freaky with Bon Temps’ sexiest young duo! Yeehaw! Mostly Ds: Tara and Sookie Face it: Guys are overrated and you’ve always wondered what it’d be like to steal a kiss (or more) from your best gal pal… Test the Sapphic waters with a sexy dream about Tara and Sookie. Watch out for fangs and fairy wings! Mostly Es: Lafayette and Steve Newlin Why, hello, hotness. Like the devil-may-care Lafayette and the ever-evolving Steve Newlin, it’s very hard to put you in a box. One day you feel like screwing a vamp, the next you want to go to church. Go for the Lafayette/Newlin combo; They’re like fire and ice. Naughty and nice. Crazy cultist and wise witch. Just like on True Blood — with these two — anything is possible. Anything.
Afghanistan has signed a peace agreement with Hezb-i-Islami, paving the way for the armed group's commander, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, to make a political comeback despite allegations of war crimes during the 1990s. Government officials praised Thursday's agreement in the capital Kabul as a step towards peace, while critics said it opened the door to one of the most infamous figures in Afghanistan's civil war to play a role in the country's already divisive politics. "I hope that this is the beginning of a permanent peace in our country," said Sayed Ahmad Gilani, head of the government's High Peace Council and one of the signatories of the agreement, according to Reuters news agency. The deal with the largely dormant Hezb-i-Islami marks a symbolic victory for President Ashraf Ghani who has struggled to revive peace talks with the more powerful Taliban fighters while, at the same time, attempting to reintegrate other controversial military figures into society by granting immunity for past crimes. Thursday's agreement grants Hekmatyar amnesty for his offences and the release of certain Hezb-i-Islami prisoners. The government also agreed to press for the lifting of international sanctions on Hekmatyar, who was designated a "global terrorist" by the US for his suspected ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Once branded the "butcher of Kabul", Hekmatyar was a prominent anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s who stands accused of killing thousands of people when his fighters fired on civilian areas of the capital city during the 1992-1996 civil war. Neither Hekmatyar nor Ghani were present at the signing ceremony on Thursday. Al Jazeera's Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kabul, said the government hopes the peace deal "paves the way for future peace with the Taliban". "That it will be a template for future peace with the Taliban. Afghans will be watching very closely in the coming weeks and months how this deal is implemented," Glasse said. "This is not just a peace deal between Hezb-i-Islami and the government of Afghanistan," Mohammad Amin Karim, head of the group's delegation, said at the ceremony. "It is a beginning of a new era of peace all around the country," he said, according to the AFP news agency. The agreement will come into force when it is formally signed by Ghani and Hekmatyar, the government said, though no date has been set. The current security situation in Afghanistan is unlikely to see much change as a result of the deal, said Timor Sharan, a Kabul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group. "The deal will have little impact on the dynamics of conflict," Sharan told Reuters. "The government's rationale is that by luring Hekmatyar on board, other insurgent groups might be encouraged to consider peace too."
All right, all right, we’ve all had our bit of fun. I admit it was good sport to ridicule the Conservative government, the government that has run seven straight deficits, for bringing in legislation that would make it harder for governments to run deficits. It was too easy to point out that the same government that now proposes to bind itself to balance the budget every year also passed legislation requiring elections to be held on a fixed schedule, only to throw it over at the first opportunity. Fish in a barrel would make a more elusive target. But we already knew the Harper Conservatives were shameless hypocrites. What about the legislation itself? No doubt it is intended to appeal to the base in an election year, to reassure them of the government’s fiscal conservative bona fides, as every armchair strategist noted. But how does it stand up on its merits? Not well, in the all-but-unanimous view of the commentariat. “Balanced-budget legislation is a singularly futile undertaking,” despaired the Globe and Mail, in its singularly overwrought style. “It’s either a symbolic and empty gesture, or a binding commitment that should never be made.” It’s “nothing more than a political gesture,” agreed the Toronto Star, finding “loopholes big enough to allow the government to do pretty much what it wants” in legislation it has not yet seen — though like the Globe it was simultaneously convinced that it would be even worse if it did work, in as much as “it aims to tie the hands of future elected governments.” And so on. “You can’t legislate responsibility,” writes the National Post’s Tasha Kheiriddin. “You can’t bind future generations of legislators.” Or rather, you can, frets the Globe’s David Parkinson, “hamstringing future governments from using their fiscal levers to stabilize a wobbling economy.” Etc. etc. etc. Reading these sages, one is inclined to ask: to what laws, pray, would these criticisms not apply? It binds future Parliaments? So does any law. It’s ineffective, rather, because it can just be revoked at any time? That’s true of any law, too. All laws bind future Parliaments until they are revoked. They are not permanently binding simply for being passed by Parliament; neither does the possibility of their repeal render them futile, meaningless gestures. The notion that law consists of only those two options, starkly opposed — or either of them — makes one wonder what they think the law is for generally. Do we imagine that every time a government passes a law, it is deciding the matter for all future governments? Do we suppose that every time a law is amended or repealed, it proves the vanity of lawmaking as a practice? The truth, obviously, is somewhere in between. Rather than hold out one or both of these false opposites as being the inevitable result of any given law, most of us understand that legislation is a temporary guide to government behaviour, not a permanent injunction — a back brace not a straitjacket. It is the same false opposition that suggests constraining governments to act within the law is either unnecessary — because governments that desired to behave a certain way would do so anyway — or ineffective, because if they did not they would simply find a way around it. Most of us would recognize this as rubbish if it were said about any existing law, knowing the law exists not to take the place of political will but to give form to it, and to buttress it against the temptations of the moment. So why the hysteria about balanced-budget legislation — especially legislation that, so far as we know anything about it, would not actually mandate balanced budgets? The Finance Minister, Joe Oliver, was quite clear on this. Not only was there the usual disclaimer about “extraordinary circumstances” of recession, war or natural disaster, but even in normal times, if a government were determined to go into deficit it could. The consequences? The finance minister “would be required to testify before the House of Commons Committee on Finance and present a plan with concrete timelines to return to balanced budgets.” OH MY GOD HE’D BE REQUIRED TO TESTIFY. There’s also that bit about freezing operating spending and cutting ministers’ pay five per cent, but the principle is clear: it would not ban deficits, but only make them embarrassing. I don’t see anything there that is unduly restrictive — and because of that, I think the chances of any government wanting to be seen to repeal it are slight: if you can’t even accept that mild limitation on your spending habits it doesn’t speak well of your commitment to fiscal sobriety. So, again: why all the commotion? One part of it may be a suggestion that it is somehow improper to extend the reach of law into the field of economics. But we do that all the time — every time a tax bill is passed, or a budget, we are entrenching a particular view of economic policy in law. Either a subsequent government sees fit to change it, or it doesn’t: the world does not end either way. One is left with the strong impression that the basic objection — beyond those who are simply opposed to balanced budgets in and of themselves — is that this involves a departure from the status quo. I recall the same protests being voiced over free trade agreements, or the Bank of Canada’s inflation targets, previous efforts at legislating economic policy, once controversial, that are now the norm. I guarantee you: if governments did not conduct tax policy through legislation, but simply sent out the bailiffs to seize people’s money, and if it were proposed that henceforth they should have to set out how they intended to raise revenues — how much, by what means, for what purpose etc. — in writing, and stick to it, we’d hear all of the same complaints, from the same people, that we’re hearing now. But eventually they’d get over it. National Post
To execute any search or seizure, a police officer must reasonably suspect that a crime has been or is being committed based on the facts available to him at the time he executes the search or seizure. Under this standard, searches can be lawful even if the officer is mistaken in his understanding of the facts before him, as long as his understanding led him to reasonably suspect criminal activity. But what if the officer is mistaken about whether a particular activity is actually criminal? Nicholas Heien was driving with a broken taillight in North Carolina when he was pulled over by police who mistakenly believed that state law required two working taillights. Upon receiving consent to search the car—note: you don’t have to agree to such requests!—police found cocaine and charged Heien with drug trafficking. At his trial, Heien sought to suppress the evidence arising out of the search by arguing that the officer never had the reasonable suspicion necessary to pull his vehicle over because having one broken taillight is not illegal. The trial court ruled against him, but the appellate court found a Fourth Amendment violation and reversed. The North Carolina Supreme Court reversed in turn, by a 4-3 vote, holding that an officer’s understanding of the state’s taillight requirements could form the basis for reasonable suspicion because that understanding, while incorrect, was reasonable. There is considerable disagreement among state and federal courts, so the U.S. Supreme Court took the case to resolve the issue. In a brief filed jointly with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the ACLU, and the ACLU of North Carolina, Cato argues that the approach taken by the North Carolina Supreme is inconsistent with the logic that applies to factual mistakes committed by law enforcement and erodes civil liberties, all while undermining police authority and safety. The allowance for mistakes of fact in police evaluation of suspicious conduct is justified because facts can be ambiguous and unique to each circumstance, and officers must make quick evaluations based on their own observation and expertise. In contrast, the law is the same regardless of the particular circumstance to which it is applied, and can be ascertained long before the officer needs to enforce it. Officers have no specialized expertise in evaluating law, while ambiguities in the criminal code are typically resolved (by courts) in favor of criminal defendants, or struck down for vagueness. The burden placed on citizens by our accommodation of officers’ mistakes of fact is justified as a means of avoiding the social cost of unlawful conduct. Lawful conduct imposes no such cost, however, so excusing mistakes of law serves no social purpose. The North Carolina ruling opens citizens up to searches based on all kinds of lawful conduct, as long as law enforcement can have a “reasonable” misapprehension of the law in a given area. To avoid the intrusion of police searches, people will need not only to avoid appearing to participate in criminal activity, but also to avoid appearing to participate in innocent activity which police could construe as criminal. The result is a system in which “ignorance of the law is no excuse” for citizens facing conviction, but police can use their own ignorance about the law to their advantage. Officers are therefore disincentivized from knowing the law, which undermines public confidence in their authority and encourages citizens to dispute it during police encounters—putting both parties in greater danger. The U.S. Supreme Court should make clear that law enforcement mistakes of law preclude lawful searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court will hear the case of Heien v. North Carolina this fall
In a development that’s likely to make you feel older than MySpace, what may be one of the watershed moments early in the era of the viral Internet has just passed it’s 10-year anniversary, and the Twitterverse has been having fun remembering. It’s now more than a decade since Congolese job hopeful Guy Goma found himself offering his not-so-expert analysis of a legal dispute between Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) and Apple Corp, The Beatles’ record label, over trademark rights. Goma, after arriving at the BBC’s West London headquarters for an interview for a job in the IT department on May 8, 2006, was mistaken for a studio guest, British technology journalist Guy Kewney, and ushered all the way into a live BBC News 24 studio. Looking baffled and nervously eying the cameras, the wrong Guy proceeded to have a go at answering presenter Karen Bowerman’s questions about the future of downloading. Ten years on, his answers seem actually quite prescient. (Remember, this was 2006, the same year Facebook became available to anyone other than college students, and the year before Netflix began streaming video into people’s homes.) “Actually, if you can go everywhere you’re gonna see a lot of people downloading through Internet and the website, everything they want,” he said, adding: “It is going to be an easy way for everyone to get something through the Internet.” Write to Simon Lewis at simon_daniel.lewis@timeasia.com.
Buy them all and save! Nine hand-painted canvas banners inspired by the Great Houses of Westeros: Stark, Baratheon, Lannister, Targaryen, Martell, Greyjoy, Tully, Tyrell and Arryn, featuring the sigil of each house and your choice of either the house motto or house name (ie, "Winter is Coming" or "House Stark."). They're painted to look weathered and aged, as if they've been hanging in your castle for generations. For just the sigil centered on the banner, select the "Sigils Only No Text" option. For the house words (ie "Winter is Coming") above the sigil, select the "House Motto Only" option. For the house name above the sigil, select the "House Name Only" option. For the house name on top with the words below the sigil, select "Name Top Motto Below" option. For the house words on top with the name below, select "Motto Top Name Below" option. Detailed photos of a few banners are included. To see detailed photos of each, view my other listings. At the top and bottom are wooden dowels with round ball finials, painted metallic gunmetal, silver, black and gold, with coordinating aluminum wire hangers. The canvas area of the banners measure approximately 11x20 inches, with the total dimension including rods and the wire hanger measuring approximately 13x26 inches. These items are made to order and hand-painted, so no two are exactly alike. * * * * * * Please Note * * * * * * Custom orders are my specialty. Take a look through my sold items to get an idea of what else I can paint. If you have an idea, send me a request and we'll see what we can put together. Custom designs, custom wording or custom colors may involve additional charges. Most items ship within one week via United States Postal Service. Choose from First Class (if applicable), Priority Mail or Express Mail options. Insurance included for all items.
When I first learned programming in the mid 90s, everyone told me to learn Java, since it would be the wave of the future. Java imposes a performance penalty compared to traditional compiled languages like C, C++, Fortran and Pascal, because its code is translated into bytecode that runs in a virtual machine. The feeling at the time was that the extra processing and memory required to run the Java virtual machine would make little difference in the long run since computers were forever getting faster and more powerful. A few more iterations of Moore’s Law would obviate the need for compiled languages, since the difference in speed would soon be imperceptible to most humans. Java was considered the best language, because it was designed to “write once, run anywhere,” which seemed wise considering how the world was moving from minicomputers with terminals to networked personal computers (PCs). When I first arrived at university, the entire campus ran on VAX terminals, although some students brought their own PCs to use in their dorm rooms. By the time I graduated 4 years later, almost the entire campus had switched to networked PCs. I had a job staffing the college computer lab and I fondly recall the excitement on campus when PCs replaced the monochrome VAX terminals with their pea green screens. There was a raging debate at the time whether PCs should use an operating system from Microsoft or Apple. My friends in the computer lab predicted with all the confidence of sages that Java was the future since it could be used to create desktop applications that would run in Windows 95, Mac OS 7 or even Solaris. Everyone knew at the time that desktop applications running on PCs was the future of computing and we all wanted our software to be able to escape the clutches of Microsoft, who was the geek’s great Satan. The geeks who hung around the UNIX lab gave me some odd advice which I thought was really strange at the time. They told me to learn Perl or Python as my first programming language, since it would make me even more productive. I dismissed these people as weird oddballs, but their arguments in favor of interpreted languages were very similar to the arguments I heard in the PC lab in favor of Java. They told me that computers were getting faster and faster, so why worry about performance, but they said that the flexibility of interpreted languages would make me far more productive as a programmer. Since I have always been a contrarian, I bucked all the trends and decided to learn C as my first programming language. Everyone told me that C was a hard language to learn, especially for someone who didn’t have an instructor to guide me. Besides, object oriented programming and graphical interfaces were the wave of the future, so it was pointless to learn C, but I wanted to get as close to the bare metal as possible so that I could figure out how they actually worked. Over Christmas break in 1995, I worked my way through the New C Primer Plus by Micheal Waite and Stephen Prata, with just a pencil and paper to write out sample programs since I didn’t have a C compiler at the time. For me it was like reading philosophy–purely theoretical ideas that tickled my imagination and were fun to ponder. The book had whole chapters on pointers, memory allocation and bit fiddling—none of which have I ever used, but I recall being thrilled to learn how computers work at the lowest level. I remember being fascinated by an algorithm in the book that converted numbers from binary to decimal and back again. A couple years after I graduated from college, everyone started talking about programming for the web. Those interpreted languages that the geeks in the UNIX lab had told me to learn were suddenly the wave of the future. Perl, PHP, Python and Ruby were the languages that everyone wanted to learn. Having looked at HTML code in web pages which was generated by these languages, web programming didn’t seem that interesting to me. However, when I eventually decided to learn a new language after C, I chose PHP because it seemed to be the language that everyone was learning to do web programming and its syntax was close enough to C to make it easy to pick up. JavaScript was a concept that blew my mind the first time I saw it. In 1997, a friend of mine who was studying computer science at graduate school showed me a Scheme interpreter that he had written in JavaScript. I had no idea that it was possible to do anything so advanced inside of a web browser. JavaScript had seemed like just a toy to change HTML code on the fly, but my friend showed me that it was a full language in its own right. The predictions of the geeky prognosticators in the mid-90s have come to pass over the last 2 decades. Code run in virtual machines did become the dominant way to program desktop applications on the PC, as most applications programmers chose Java, C# or Visual Basic, as their preferred languages over the traditional compiled languages of C and C++, while other compiled languages such as Pascal, Ada, Fortran and Cobol have largely disappeared outside of some recondite niches. Desktop application programming was followed by a wave of web programming based on interpreted languages, such as Perl, Python, PHP and Ruby. Something strange, however, has happened recently which has bucked the trend toward greater levels of abstraction from the hardware through virtual machines and interpreted languages. Programmers are increasingly focusing on code that requires less memory and fewer processing cycles. This renewed focus on better performance and efficiency was caused in part by the surge in mobile devices and the need to program for devices that have fewer resources to waste and need to conserve battery power. Most of the programming of apps for Apple mobile devices is done in Objective-C, which is generally compiled to be as efficient as possible. For Android devices, Google created Dalvik, a Java virtual machine that was much leaner and required fewer resources than the standard Java virtual machine from Sun. The second cause of this renewed focus on efficiency in software was the rise of giant web companies like Google and Facebook, which spend hundreds of millions of dollars building their own server farms. An inefficient desktop application makes little difference on a PC, but an inefficient web service can cost a company like Google or Facebook millions of dollars in extra hardware, so it pays for these companies to develop software which uses as little RAM and as few processing cycles as possible. These companies even design the motherboards and power supplies of their servers, so they will use less energy to save money. The third cause for greater efficiency in software has been the growing recognition that Moore’s Law is starting to falter. The traditional tick-tock cycle where Intel introduced a shrink in node size every two years has now become a tick-tock-tock cycle every three years. It has become harder and harder for the silicon industry to keep shrinking its process tech and each new generation of process tech is no longer bringing dramatic falls in the cost per transistor. The expected roll out of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithiography at 13.5 nm wavelengths has taken years longer than expected. The industry has been forced to keep using deep ultraviolet (DUV) excimer lasers with a 193 nm wavelength. In order to overcome the fact that the amplitude of the wave is so much larger than the line widths of the circuits, the silicon fabs have resorted to costly measures such as immersion lithiography at 32nm node sizes and lower, double patterning at 16/14nm, and triple patterning at 10nm. In addition, the silicon fabs have employed new materials such as hafnium and germanium with a high-K dielectic and silicon on insulator (SOI) in order to keep shrinking the node size, plus they developed non-planar transistors known as Fin Field Effect Transistors (FinFET). As the node sizes keep shrinking, the costs of new silicon fabs are skyrocketing and the cost of overcoming current leakage and quantum-mechanical effects at the nanoscale will become ever greater. Given the increasing costs, many chip companies such as GlobalFoundries are choosing to skip the 10nm node and go straight to a 7nm node size. Semico estimates that the cost of designing a system on a chip (SoC) rose 89% between the 28nm and 14nm nodes and will rise another 32% at 10nm, plus another 45% at 7nm. Gartner is even more pessimistic, estimating that a SoC, which cost $30 million to design on a planar 28nm node, now costs $80 million on a FinFET 14nm node. Gartner predicts that the same SoC will cost $271 million at a 7nm node size and $500 million at 5nm. Some in the silicon fab industry are now saying that node sizes will not able to shrink to 5nm or smaller node sizes due to the effects of quantum tunneling, so the industry will have to go vertical with 2.5D or 3D packaging. Others are saying that 5nm will be possible using finFETs with new materials, gate-all-around FETs with nanowires, or nanosheet FETs, but it will be very costly and few will be able to compete at the scale required. Only 4 companies (Intel, TMSC, GlobalFoundries and Samsung) can compete at the current 14/16nm node size, and it is unclear whether GlobalFoundries will be able to raise the kind of capital needed to survive in the future. Samsung estimates that its 10nm fab in Pyeongtaek City, South Korea will cost $14 billion to build and TMSC predicts that its 5nm fab in Taiwan will cost $15.7 billion. Given these rising costs of manufacturing silicon chips, it is highly questionable whether the cost per transistor can continue falling like it has for the last 4 decades. There may be an occasional break-through in process tech to lower the costs, but the relentless march of the past is likely to become sporadic advances in sputters and spurts, as the industry runs into thorny obstacles that require years of R&D to overcome. What the rising cost of silicon also means is that hardware in the future will cost more than what many futurists expected. The costs of developing ASICs (i.e. custom chips) will be prohibitively expensive for many applications, so device makers will have to either design their chips with larger node sizes such as 28nm or use generic chips in low-end devices, which will increase their costs. There will still be smart homes hooked into a smart electric grid, but the toaster and the coffee machine may be left off that grid, because the chips will cost too much for such lowly devices and the chips running the lights, air conditioner, washing machine and car charger will have less memory and fewer processing cores than the sanguine futurists once predicted. The Internet of Things (IoT) will certainly happen, but it will be rolled out more slowly and with fewer devices than once thought. Many thought that smart watches would be the next big wave of the future after smartphones, but the high cost of cramming advanced processing in such tiny spaces has limited the demand for smart watches. Rather than a multi-functional device running a full operating system, most of the so-called “smart watches” being sold today are fitness gear with fixed functionality and limited extendability. Much of the future innovation in the IoT will have to come not from more powerful hardware, but from efficient software with a smaller footprint. The kind of low-level programming that was so valued in the early days of computing will be coming back into vogue as more and more programming will be done on devices with 8 and 16 bit processors and a couple hundred megabytes of memory. Most of the focus in computer science for the last couple decades has been on employing greater levels of abstraction over the hardware to make programming safer and easier with fewer lines of code. There are signs, however, that the tide is now shifting toward software requiring less memory and consuming fewer processing cycles. A decade ago, much of the innovation in programming was taking place in interpreted languages and frameworks designed principally for the web such as Ruby on Rails and jQuery. Most efforts to improve performance were focused on measures such as Just in Time (JIT) compiling and opcode caching to make interpreted languages run faster. Today, the innovation is taking place in compiled languages, which strive to be just as fast and resource-efficient as C/C++, but without their downsides. A whole plethora of new languages have appeared on the scene, such as Go, Swift, Rust, Julia and Nim which seek to improve on hoary C, which is showing its age as a language designed 45 years ago. Go was designed by a team in Google that included Dennis Richie and Ken Thompson, who were the original designers of C. They created a programming language which is based on parallelism and safety. Go is simpler in syntax than C/C++ and employs automatic garbage collection like Java, but with better performance. The language isn’t low-level enough for operating systems and device drivers, but it is finding a large number of uses, including running Google Web Services. Swift is designed to replace Apple’s Objective-C. Unlike Go, it incorporates more of the features from higher-level languages. It also has automatic freeing of memory, but it uses resource counters to determine when to free the memory, rather than a garbage collector which imposes a performance penalty. The most interesting of these new languages in my opinion is Rust, which was designed by the Mozilla Foundation in order to develop a new web browser engine based on safety and parallelism. Instead of a garbage collector or resource counter, Rust uses a novel concept of ownership to determine when to free memory. Only one variable at a time can own a piece of memory, so memory is automatically freed once its variable goes out of scope. This same concept of ownership is used to eliminate concurrency bugs with data races and sharing resources across different processing threads. Rust strives to give the programmer all the control of C/C++, but with greater safety and many features of high level languages such as closures, pattern matching, generics, loops with automatic iterators, and traits without the overhead of classes and inheritance. The Rust designers describe these features as “zero-cost abstraction,” meaning that they want to give programmers features from high-level languages, but without the performance cost of that abstraction. Unfortunately, the safety, control and abstraction of Rust do come at a cost, not in terms of performance which rivals C, but in terms of the work of the programmer. Whereas Go and Swift are easier to learn and the syntax is simpler than C/C++, Rust has a very complex syntax and is much harder to learn in my opinion. Writing code in Rust forces the programmer to do a lot more mental work from the outset and type more code to do the same thing as Go or Swift. There are few books on the language and the online documentation is often spotty in its explanation, so you have to rely on its avid community for help and advice to learn the language. Unlike Go and Swift, Rust development is a community-driven affair, which partially explains the passionate way programmers have embraced the language. Despite its steep learning curve and complex syntax, Rust is rated by Stack Overflow’s 2016 Developer Survey as the programming language with the highest percentage of users who want to continue using it. The language with the second highest percentage is Swift and Go is the fifth highest. The people who have learned how to program with these new compiled languages appear to highly appreciate them and want to keep using them. Percent of developers who are developing with the language or tech and have expressed interest in continuing to develop with it. Source: Stack Overflow 2016 Developer Survey. According to RedMonk, which ranks the popularity of programming languages according to the amount of code posted on Github and the number of questions on Stack Overflow, Rust leaped from number 47 to 26 in the list of languages between June 2016 and January 2017. This stellar rise in popularity follows the trend set by Apple’s Swift whose ranking similarly rose from number 68 to 22 between June 2014 and January 2015. Go rose less dramatically from number 34 in January 2013 to number 15 in June 2015. Among the programming languages tracked by RedMonk, the only languages which have dramatically improved their rankings over the last 5 years have been Go, Swift, Rust and TypeScript. During the same time period, the popularity of ASP, Assembly, ActionScript and Perl have declined, but the rest of the programming languages in the top 20 have seen remarkably little movement in their popularity. Interpreted languages and languages that run in virtual machines will continue to comprise the majority of programming in the future, but the rise of new compiled languages indicates that attitudes are changing and programmers are increasingly worried about speed and resource efficiency. Part of the popularity of these languages is due to the fact that they are being used in place of C, C++, and Objective-C, but none of these traditional compiled languages have seen a drop in their rankings. Swift may eventually replace Objective-C, but it is also gaining new adherents outside the Apple ecosystem. Apple open sourced the language and ported it to Linux and BSD and is in the process of porting it to Windows. Go is gaining traction as a language for desktop applications, but it is also being used in the backend to provide REST or web services, whereas Java, Perl, Python, PHP or Ruby would have been chosen 5 years ago for that task. It is a sign of the times that Dropbox chose to reimplement its site in Go and program some of the most mission-critical bits in Rust. It is not surprising that Go and Swift are proving to be very popular, since they sport a simpler syntax, provide automatic memory management and are better designed for concurrency compared to C/C++/Objective-C. What is surprising, however, is the fact that Rust is so beloved by its users, considering how difficult it is to learn and the amount of extra mental work the language requires from the programmer to keep track of ownership, borrowing, lifetimes and distinguish between the stack and the heap. Perhaps Rust’s popularity among its users is due to the fact that using Rust in the first place is a self-selecting process. It attracts the kind of programmers who don’t mind the hiccups of playing with cutting edge tools and spotty documentation and enjoy the challenge of learning new concepts. The high popularity of Go, Swift and Rust among their users will probably fall to some degree once these languages start to be used by less adventurous programmers, who are directed to use them by management, rather than discovering the languages themselves. The rise of Go, Swift and Rust is a sign of the growing recognition that Moore’s Law is sputtering out and we will need to live in a world of limited resources. We don’t have the luxury of solving all problems by simply throwing more hardware and costly layers of abstraction at it. Instead, we need leaner code that consumes as little memory and processing cycles as possible, while still providing safety and concurrency. This is a brave new world for many programmers, since it requires learning new skills and new ways of thinking, but it also makes the ability of programmers more important than ever to get the most functionality out of limited hardware. Advertisements
Role Models helmer David Wain has signed on to direct NBC‘s single-camera comedy pilot Old Soul, co-created by Amy Poehler and starring Natasha Lyonne. The Uni TV-produced project, which Poehler co-created with Josh Bycel and Jonathan Fener, centers on a reformed wild child Nadia (Lyonne) who has a business caring for the elderly and feels she has more in common with her colorful old clients than she does with people her age. Old Soul reunites Wain with Poehler — his Lionsgate feature They Came Together starring Poehler and Paul Rudd just premiered at Sundance. Wain, repped by WME, Principato-Young and attorney Rick Genow, executive produces Adult Swim’s Newsreaders as well as Childrens Hospital, which he also directs. In another NBC comedy pilot director hire, Robbie Duncan McNeil (Chuck) is set to helm single-camera project Mason Twins, from Casey Wilson, June Diane Raphael, Stacy Traub and ABC Studios. Having been estranged for 15 years, fraternal twins Pender and Lizzie Mason reconnect after Lizzie’s perfect city life has fallen apart and she returns to her suburban town to find that her sister hasn’t matured past her teen queen days. McNeil is with WME.
\| By Off the keyboard of Anthony Cartalucci Follow us on Twitter @doomstead666 Friend us on Facebook Published on Land Destroyer on September 1, 2014 Discuss this article at the Geopolitics Table inside the Diner September 1, 2014 ( Tony Cartalucci – NEO ) – After provoking what is increasingly a devastating and expanding conflict in Ukraine, NATO appears to be out of options as its proxy regime loses its grip on both its military campaign against its own population in eastern Ukraine, as well as political control in the capital of Kiev itself. However, despite the turn of events, with NATO apparently rudderless, those seeking to undo and reserve the damage the West has created in Eastern Europe must not become complacent.NATO still possesses several options with which it can respond to its deteriorating proxy regime and the eroding of its interests both in the region, and around the world. Propaganda Retrenchment Before Aggressive Military Aid As the West has done in Syria, it now seeks to do in Ukraine – a complete retrenchment of the official narrative regarding the nature of the ongoing conflict. Previously, the Western media has gone through great lengths to obscure overt Nazism running throughout both the political front it is propping up in Kiev, as well as across the irregular forces sent alongside what remains of Ukraine’s national army. Western media outlets have briefly touched on the issue in attempts to mitigate and manage growing public concern. Regarding the formation by the Interior Ministry in Kiev of a battalion of Nazis – the Azov Battalion – the BBC would publish, “Ukraine conflict: ‘White power’ warrior from Sweden,” the Telegraph would publish, “Ukraine crisis: the neo-Nazi brigade fighting pro-Russian separatists,” and Al Jazeera would publish, “Driven by far-right ideology, Azov Battalion mans Ukraine’s front line.” Each would in turn, admit that literal Nazis are fighting on behalf of the NATO-backed regime in Kiev – with the regime itself raising ultra-right, Neo-Nazi battle formations. But each would also attempt to downplay the implications and role of Nazism within the ongoing conflict. That was until Foreign Policy magazine published its article, praising what it called, “fascist defenders of freedom.” It’s article titled, “Preparing For War with Ukraine’s Fascist Defenders of Freedom,” claims: The Azov Battalion — so named for the Sea of Azov on which this industrial city is located — is one of dozens of volunteer battalions fighting alongside pro-government forces in eastern Ukraine. After separatist troops and armor attacked from the nearby Russian border and took the neighboring town of Novoazovsk, this openly neo-Nazi unit has suddenly found itself defending the city against what Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called a Russian invasion. Pro-Russian forces have said they are fighting against Ukrainian nationalists and “fascists” in the conflict, and in the case of Azov and other battalions, these claims are essentially true. Effectively, Foreign Policy finally admits that indeed, warnings that NATO was backing literal Nazis in Ukraine were more than mere “Kremlin propaganda,” but rather the unequivocal truth. Foreign Policy would continue by reporting: Besides a strong defense, Ukraine needs the support of the West to defeat the invaders, Odnorozhenko argued. He called for the Europe and the United States to take a more aggressive stance on Russia and begin shipping weapons to Ukrainian pro-government forces. And that is precisely what the United States and Europe are attempting to do – begin shipping more weapons and other forms of lethal aid to continue propping up the regime in Kiev. By embracing the Nazi militants fighting on behalf of Kiev, and simply claiming Russia is “worse,” the West can repeat the strategy it used in Syria after it became apparent that militants fighting the government in Damascus were hardcore terrorists driven by sectarian extremism and aligned to Al Qaeda. In fact, it was also Foreign Policy who, in mid-2012, published an article titled, “Two Cheers for Syrian Islamists: So the rebels aren’t secular Jeffersonians. As far as America is concerned, it doesn’t much matter.” The FP article also attempted to create a narrative that portrayed the Syrian government as a more pressing issue than revelations that NATO-backed militants were sectarian extremists, not the “pro-democracy freedom fighters” they were portrayed as being during and directly after the so-called “Arab Spring.” Foreign Policy would also create an array of excuses explaining why militants were extremists – a strategy expected to play out again as Kiev’s Nazism continues to emerge into greater public view. By embracing and excusing two abhorrent ideologies and the heavily armed militant groups espousing them, NATO is able to continue backing both terrorists in Syria and Nazis in Ukraine. With the burden of covering up Nazism in Ukraine “off NATO’s chest,” it can commit to a more aggressive strategy of arming and aiding them. Direct NATO Intervention The self-destructive fleeing forward of the West generally takes the form of political destabilizations, terrorism, false-flag attacks, incremental mission creep, and covert proxy wars. What it has learned from Russia in both 2008 in Georgia and again this year in Crimea, is that direct, unpredictable, bold moves can pay off. NATO recently has been very public in stating it has no intention of intervening in Ukraine. Since NATO perpetually keeps the threat of military intervention “on the table” for all other conceivable conflicts across the planet, it is strange that both it, and its proxy regime in Kiev, have gone through extra efforts to insist such a scenario in Ukraine is neither desired, nor even “on the table.” With NATO building up troops in Eastern Europe, and its attempts to lull Russia into a false sense of security, planners in Moscow, eastern Ukrainians confronting NATO-backed troops on the battlefield in Ukraine, and in theaters across the region, sudden NATO intervention must be accounted for, as well as a swift counterstroke to disrupt what will be a precarious proposition for Western interests unaccustomed to such a risky move, and merely depending on shock, awe, and surprise to follow it through. Incremental Escalation Barring a negotiated settlement brokered by Kiev that sees its forces withdrawn from eastern Ukraine and contested provinces forfeited to rebels, it is likely NATO will continue incremental escalation combining both an increasingly aggressive strategy of arming and aiding Kiev’s forces regardless of their overt Nazism, as well as an incremental NATO build-up along Ukraine’s borders and covertly within them. Whether NATO commits to a more desperate strategy entirely depends on whether or not this incremental escalation can continue at a quicker pace than the regime in Kiev can collapse. With NATO and the special interests driving its agenda failing in Ukraine and floundering in Syria, the West has exhibited signs of dangerous desperation causing lapses in judgement and an overall lack of deep, coherent, strategic planning. It has gone from forcing its enemies to react to its provocations in 2011, to a series of backpedaling reactions in the face of formidable counterstrokes made in return ever since. An enemy that is desperate, is an enemy that is dangerous. Feeling it has nothing to lose, it may commit to an increasingly reckless strategy of provocations in hopes that its enemies’ caution and reason force them to back down. Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
The holidays can be a challenge for us simple living people. The pressure to buy gifts for an endless list of people is real, and it’s conflict with personal values of trying not to consume “stuff” can be stressful. But you can make choices to make your holidays simpler. Through some careful planning ahead of time, your holidays can be stress-free and focused on what matters most. Below are my tips on how to create a simple holiday gift shopping season. Don’t Be a Grinch Most importantly of all, don’t be a grinch. The holidays are an opportunity to enjoy time with friends and family, as well reflect on the past year. It’s NOT a time to get on your high horse about your simple lifestyle. It’s important to understand that not everybody shares your values. Don’t judge other people for what they do for the holidays, and hopefully they will do the same to you. Suggest Simple Gift Exchanges It’s good to plan ahead of gift giving to set expectations. My wife has a large family: 14 adults and 5 children in the mix currently. Buying gifts for everybody is expensive and difficult. While in the past we have bought everybody gifts, it’s become less and less feasible as more significant others and children join the family. To help bring the focus of the holidays back to enjoying each other’s company, and less on gifts, we’ve opted to doing simple gift exchanges. Here are a just a few ideas you can suggest to your friends/family. Adults Draw a Name and Kids Get a Gift – We usually suggest that the adults draw a name to buy a single gift for another adult, and anybody can buy a kid a present if they want. It’s fun to have the kids open presents, and us adults don’t leave empty handed. Kids Only – If you are going to a holiday party where the adults don’t care about gifts, you can always suggest gifts for the kids only. This is a fun way to still includes some presents for the kids, who get the most excited, but save on buying needlessly for adults. Limit Spend ($20 per person) – In the case where you are buying a gift for everyone at a holiday party, you can try to communicate a limited spend to the group before. This could help limit the financial impact a party can have. But to be honest, this is not one of my favorite options, as it puts an unnecessary dollar value on something that is supposed to be a nice gesture. No Gifts – My favorite holiday get togethers are the ones where we can just bring ourselves. Having a gift-free holiday party is a great way to focus on your relationships, save some money, and reduce consumption. I usually just offer to bring food or drinks to a holiday party. Budget and Save Never buy gifts that you can’t afford. If you can’t pay cash for a gift without it effecting your other financial obligations, then don’t purchase it. Always pay cash, and always plan for gifts in your budget. My wife and I make a spreadsheet every November that lists everybody that we are going to purchase a gift for. We then estimate how much money we think we are going to spend for each person. Once we have our total, we then go back to our monthly budget and allocate that amount. Simple Gift Ideas For Adults Sharing gifts with adult friends and family is a great way to show appreciation for your relationship. No matter how much you spend on somebody, it truly is the thought that counts. I try to focus on simple gifts that are useful or improve somebody’s life. Restaurant Gift Cards – I know many people say that gift cards are lame, but I really enjoy sharing a favorite restaurant. It’s a great way to support a local business, as well as gift a nice dinner to a friend. Alcohol – Being somebody that enjoys craft beer, I like to gift mix-and-match six packs. I also have friends that are into other alcohol, like wine, bourbon, or scotch, and they too like to gift their favorite drinks. For non-drinkers, quality coffee and tea are options as well. Concerts/Trips – If you have a good understanding of a person, gifting an experience like a concert or trip is a fun alternative to a product. My wife and I have done this often for birthdays and holidays, as we both don’t have many material needs. Favorite High Utility Items – “Socks for Christmas again!?” As a kid it wasn’t very fun to get gifts like socks, but as an adult, I love getting some nice wool socks as as present. My other favorite items to gift are water bottles (Hydro Flask), cook ware, and comfy blankets. Do you have favorite items that you like to gift people? Simple Gift Ideas For Kids I have two goals when getting gifts for kids: 1) do not burden their parents with more plastic garbage in their home; 2) give the kid something that is meaningful. Experience – About 30 minutes south of where we live is a very cool cave system. There are guided tours that take you deep into the cave, as well as explain the history of the area. For Christmas two years ago we gifted a trip down to the cave, as well as lunch out with us to our nine year old nephew. We put rock candy and a note in the box for Christmas – he loved it! We’ve done other experience gifts like museum trips, zoos, and laser tag. Mini Vacation – If you are close with a kid, another fun gift is a mini vacation. We used to spend a weekend with our nieces and nephews from out of town. It was nice break for the parents, and was special for the kids to get our full attention for a weekend. Favorite Toys – If I’m going to purchase a physical “toy” for a kid, I try to find something similar to a favorite toy from my childhood. This way I can share with them something that brought me joy. Clothing – Parents love when people gift useful clothes for their kid. The question becomes, does the kid? If you know the kid will get excited with the clothing, or if they are young enough to not care what gift they get, then I think it’s great to gift a useful article of clothing. Aftermath The aftermath of holiday gift giving can feel like a hangover for simple living people. Thankfully you budgeted cash for the holiday purchases, so the main stress is what to do with all this “stuff”. My wife and I do a quick inventory of items that we received as gifts, and then plan to either keep, return, or donate. We do this right away, so that unwanted items don’t sneak their way into our basement or closet. What’s left are the items or gifts that we are excited to have in our lives. With some planing, you can take control of the holiday shopping and gift giving season. Please share your tips or suggestions on how to keep holiday shopping simple below in the comments!
Russia started attacking ISIS and the Al Qaeda linked Jihadists less than two weeks ago. Iraq and Afghanistan have already asked for Putin’s help. The world has caught on to the fact that the US funded both Al Qaeda and ISIS. It has been against American law since 9-11-2001 for Americans to give aid to Al Qaeda. Yet our State Department has been buying white 4 wheel drive Toyota trucks with US Special Forces style gun mounts that wound up with ISIS in Iraq. Yesterday while Russia was bombing ISIS and other Jihadist terrorists, two US F-16s bombed a Syrian power station near Aleppo killing innocent civilians just like they did at that hospital in Afghanistan. Humorists seized the obvious fact that Russia has rescued us from the evil ISIS Boogeyman so why not fire the TSA gropers, bring back the Bill of Rights and get rid of the jerks in law enforcement who think 911 gave them the right to abuse the public? There are a series of memes below capitalizing on that theme. I would hope you share your favorites. But I also want to challenge you to create some new memes. Post them in the comments section so we can learn from each other and see what works best. This tyranny has to go. The middle class will be destroyed if we don’t. Working people and pensioners in America could soon be dying from starvation. Here are a few suggestions: Catherine Austin Fitts said Wall Street stole $40 trillion and will steal tens of trillions more. Can anyone in Washington say Enough? Who Dares to Say No to Bankers? In the 1930s 3 million Americans starved to death. We now have more bank fraud and more Unpayable Debts but we also have 2 1/2 times as many people. Message to the Bankers: We are not willing to starve to death for you again. Suggest other wording and other themes. We need to get a creative spark going before someone in Washington does something Crazy. Here are several memes driving the same point home to different audiences. I selected the first because I remember a story in the news about a California Sheriff’s Department that put video cameras in the girls shower at the high schools to protect them from terrorists. And another about a school in Pennsylvania that used the camera on student lap tops to spy on teenagers in their bedrooms. Years ago parents would have said No. But this fear of ISIS and of the National Security State that rose up after the Oklahoma City bombing and 911 has crippled our national psyche. The government is spying on us 24/7 but they do not seem to be able to catch either terrorists or criminals. I have heard so many stories about cops kicking women who are 6 months pregnant and about people being shot dead because they had a power tool in their hands working in their yard or on their cars. Enough with those police training programs in Israel teaching cops to treat Americans like Palestinians. I normally don’t watch TV news but I saw a story about a pervert who attempted to grope a couple of 14 year-old girls at their school. The cops caught him. What the local station needed was an editorial saying that if that man had gotten a job for the TSA he could have groped those young girls, their sisters and their mothers. Did you ever wonder why there is so much Internet crime from ransom ware to Identity theft? Did you ever ask yourself why the NSA doesn’t track down cyber criminals? Did you ever stop to wonder why the Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful seizure of our papers does not seem to apply to our computers? I heard an interview over Internet radio with an American who was fluent in German and had worked as a translator for the government before going into business. The image of Americans has been so degraded by Presidents Bush and Obama that he decided years ago that when he travels to Europe to tell people he is a German. We need to end the tyranny before we are all ashamed of ourselves and of our country. Zacarias Moussaoui was waterboarded 183 times but did not confess. The American interrogators got their knowingly false confession but only after they threatened to torture his children. I can remember a time when it was illegal to torture children and also illegal to use those confessions as evidence in a trial. No more. It is time to get our pride back. I am fortunate that I do not go to school in the modern era. I can remember studying American history and the Bill of Rights. What do they do nowadays? Tell the students that people who believe in the Bill of Rights are racists and homophobes? Finally, I want to give credit to Mike Rivero at http://www.whatreallyhappened.com who posted these memes. They need to be shared. The map below might indicate the original author actually lives in the East Bay across from San Francisco. I was born in Oakland but grew up in San Francisco. I did not create these memes. Please feel free to use the comments section below to contribute more memes and other satires to take down the tyranny.
FILE PHOTO - Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) - China hopes that Australia acts and speaks with caution on the South China Sea and that its words and actions on the matter match each other, a senior Chinese officer told the visiting head of the Australian Defence Force. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally, has previously drawn criticism from China for running surveillance flights over disputed islands in the South China Sea and supporting U.S. freedom of navigation exercises there. However, Australia has not conducted a unilateral freedom of navigation voyage of its own. Meeting in Beijing, Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Fan Changlong told Australia's Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin that China hopes to push forward the healthy and stable development of bilateral military ties, China's Defence Ministry said late on Wednesday. China "hopes that on the South China Sea issue the Australian side can speak and act cautiously, and that its words and deeds match", the ministry paraphrased Fan as saying. He did not elaborate. China claims almost the entire South China Sea where about $5 trillion sea-borne trade passes annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on parts of the sea, which is believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas. China has been angered by U.S. freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea, while China's building of artificial islands there including new airstrips has rattled nerves around the region. China says much of the building and reclamation work it has been doing in the South China Sea is to benefit the international community, including for civilian maritime navigation. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, through which ships carrying about $5 trillion in trade pass every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, which is also believed to be rich in energy resources and fish stocks. In July, an arbitration court in the Hague said China's claims to the waterway were invalid, after a case was brought by the Philippines. Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull discussed the South China Sea with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, stressing the importance of complying with international law. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)
Ongoing Engine Failure Investigation Forces Orbital Sciences to Delay Upcoming ISS Resupply Flight a Second Time Orbital Sciences Corp. has again delayed the next scheduled launch of their Antares rocket on the company’s second NASA-contracted resupply flight to the International Space Station (ISS), pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation into why an Antares AJ26 engine scheduled to fly an ISS resupply flight next year failed during customary acceptance testing (also known as “hot-fire” testing) at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on May 22. The next mission, designated Orb-2, is now scheduled to fly from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility MARS Pad-0A no earlier than July 1. That date is, however, only a planning date to give engineers more time to determine the cause of May’s engine failure; a new firm date will not be established until more progress is made by the investigation team. “On May 22 an acceptance test of an Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ26 rocket engine used in the Antares launch vehicle first stage terminated prematurely, resulting in extensive damage to the engine. All other elements of the Orb-2 mission are prepared to move forward, including the Cygnus spacecraft, which is fueled and, except for late-load cargo, is packed with its manifest of ISS cargo,” explained Orbital in a statement released earlier today. “Engineering teams from Aerojet and Orbital are still examining the data collected from the test to determine the cause of the failure.” Antares has flown flawlessly on all three of its missions since 2013, but the liquid kerosene- and liquid oxygen-powered AJ26 engines Orbital Sciences uses to launch Antares skyward have failed in testing before, most recently in June 2011 when an engine caught fire on the Stennis E-1 Test Stand due to leaking kerosene in an engine manifold. The engines are actually modified Russian NK-33s, reconditioned by Aerojet Rocketdyne specifically for Antares. A U.S.-built version of the AJ-26 engine is currently being developed in a strategic partnership between Aerojet and Teledyne Brown for NASA’s future Space Launch System (SLS). It’s important to note that the engines themselves, built by Kuznetsov Design Bureau, are 40 years old, and they are no longer in production. Aerojet purchased 40 of the engines in the 1990s and can supply enough to Orbital to support Orbital’s contractual obligation for ISS resupply flights for NASA, for now, but without a replacement engine the Antares may not survive to fly into the next decade. In an effort to secure future exclusive business with Antares Aerojet president William Boley offered to restart engine production with Kuztnetsov last year, with the goal of producing four to six new engines annually in time to support NASA’s future CRS-2 contract (delivery of the new engines would need to start in 2016 to support that). How those talks have gone in the time since is unclear at this time. The only current alternative to launch the Antares is the controversial Russian-made RD-180 engine United Launch Alliance (ULA) currently uses on their Atlas-V rockets. However, ULA holds exclusive rights in the U.S. to buy the RD-180 and has a reputation for anticompetitive practices, and Orbital’s requests for support from the Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Congress were all met with roadblocks and silence. Other possible alternatives include the RD-181, RD-191, and RD-193, but those are either still in development or not yet approved for export (the RD-191 is being developed for Russia’s Angara rocket). Although no more information is available from Orbital at this time, it is safe to assume that Antares will not fly until the investigation determines the cause of the failure in May, or at least determines it was not a manufacturing or mechanical defect. The engines on the Antares rocket currently waiting to fly the next ISS resupply mission went through the same mandatory testing some time ago to ensure nominal performance and acceptance for use. Both engines (Antares requires two AJ26s) passed with flying colors. When ready, Orbital will launch Antares from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to deliver over 3,600 pounds of cargo and supplies to the ISS with their unmanned Cygnus spacecraft—the second of eight such scheduled flights for Orbital under a $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. Cygnus will remain at the ISS for 40 days before burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere with over 3,500 pounds of garbage. The mission will also mark the third ISS flight for Orbital and the fourth flight of their Antares rocket (third flight for Cygnus). AmericaSpace will provide full on-site coverage of the launch when it occurs. Want to keep up-to-date with all things space? Be sure to “Like” AmericaSpace on Facebook and follow us on Twitter: @AmericaSpace
New York 1952 Dear Pat: I have decided for this, my book, East of Eden, to write dedication, prologue, argument, apology, epilogue and perhaps epitaph all in one. The dedication is to you with all the admiration and affection that have been distilled from our singularly blessed association of many years. This book is inscribed to you because you have been part of its birth and growth. As you know, a prologue is written last but placed first to explain the book's shortcomings and to ask the reader to be kind. But a prologue is also a note of farewell from the writer to his book. For years the writer and his book have been together—friends or bitter enemies but very close as only love and fighting can accomplish. Then suddenly the book is done. It is a kind of death. This is the requiem. Miguel Cervantes invented the modem novel and with his Don Quixote set a mark high and bright. In his prologue, he said best what writers feel—the gladness and the terror. "Idling reader," Cervantes wrote, "you may believe me when I tell you that I should have liked this book, which is the child of my brain, to be the fairest, the sprightliest and the cleverest that could be imagined, but I have not been able to contravene the law of nature which would have it that like begets like—" And so it is with me, Pat. Although some times I have felt that I held fire in my hands and spread a page with shining—I have never lost the weight of clumsiness, of ignorance, of aching inability. A book is like a man—clever and dull, brave and cowardly, beautiful and ugly. For every flowering thought there will be a page like a wet and mangy mongrel, and for every looping flight a tap on the wing and a reminder that wax cannot hold the feathers firm too near the sun. Well—then the book is done. It has no virtue any more. The writer wants to cry out—"Bring it back! Let me rewrite it or better—Let me burn it. Don't let it out in the unfriendly cold in that condition." As you know better than most, Pat, the book does not go from writer to reader. It goes first to the lions—editors, publishers, critics, copy readers, sales department. It is kicked and slashed and gouged. And its bloodied father stands attorney. EDITOR The book is out of balance. The reader expects one thing and you give him something else. You have written two books and stuck them together. The reader will not understand. WRITER No, sir. It goes together. I have written about one family and used stories about another family as—well, as counterpoint, as rest, as contrast in pace and color. EDITOR The reader won't understand. What you call counterpoint only slows the book. WRITER It has to be slowed—else how would you know when it goes fast? EDITOR You have stopped the book and gone into discussions of God knows what. WRITER Yes, I have. I don't know why. Just wanted to. Perhaps I was wrong. SALES DEPARTMENT The book's too long. Costs are up. We'll have to charge five dollars for it. People won't pay $5. They won't buy it. WRITER My last book was short. You said then that people won't buy a short book. PROOFREADER The chronology is full of holes. The grammar has no relation to English. On page so-and-so you have a man look in the World Almanac for steamship rates. They aren't there. I checked. You've got Chinese New Year wrong. The characters aren't consistent. You describe Liza Hamilton one way and then have her act a different way. EDITOR You make Cathy too black. The reader won't believe her. You make Sam Hamilton too white. The reader won't believe him. No Irishman ever talked like that. WRITER My grandfather did. EDITOR Who'll believe it? SECOND EDITOR No children ever talked like that. WRITER (Losing temper as a refuge from despair) God damn it. This is my book. I'll make the children talk any way I want. My book is about good and evil. Maybe the theme got into the execution. Do you want to publish it or not? EDITORS Let's see if we can't fix it up. It won't be much work. You want it to be good, don't you? For instance the ending. The reader won't understand it. WRITER Do you? EDITOR Yes, but the reader won't. PROOFREADER My god, how you do dangle a participle. Turn to page so-and-so. There you are, Pat. You came in with a box of glory and there you stand with an armful of damp garbage. And from this meeting a new character has emerged. He is called the Reader. THE READER He is so stupid you can't trust him with an idea. He is so clever he will catch you in the least error. He will not buy short books. He will not buy long books. He is part moron, part genius and part ogre. There is some doubt as to whether he can read. Well, by God, Pat, he's just like me, no stranger at all. He'll take from my book what he can bring to it. The dull witted will get dullness and the brilliant may find things in my book I didn't know were there. And just as he is like me, I hope my book is enough like him so that he may find in it interest and recognition and some beauty as one finds in a friend. Cervantes ends his prologue with a lovely line. I want to use it, Pat, and then I will be done. He says to the reader: "May God give you health—and may He be not unmindful of me, as well." John Steinbeck During the nine months of 1951 that saw him working on his novel, East of Eden , author John Steinbeck began each day of writing by penning, in his notebook, a brief letter to his editor and good friend, Pascal "Pat" Covici . Early-1952, with the book finished, Steinbeck wrote him a final letter — a dedication to Covici in which he spoke of the frustrations and insecurities faced by an author during such a process. It can be read below.
Bitcoin has become big business in 2017 – and Sweden has taken its place at the forefront of the technological revolution.The entire country is something of a hotbed for cryptocurrency innovation at the moment, with data centres being set up for mining in the north and payment solution company Plingpay establishing itself as a 'bitcoin blockchain bridge' in Malmö in the south. “We’re seeing a lot of interest from foreign companies interested in setting up cryptocurrency operations in Sweden”, says Tomas Sokolnicki, Head of Data Centers by Sweden, a company which strives to attract foreign investors to bring their business to Sweden. So, why all the activity in this Scandinavian country? One reason is due to the natural conditions found in Sweden. As Bitcoin mining requires lots of processing power which, in turn generates heat, data centres tend to be located in cooler climes. Hydroelectric power generation also invokes less of a cost in Sweden, hence the eagerness for miners to set up in the country. "Blockchain is like any software program, it needs to run on computers somewhere," says Anne Graf, who runs a colocation centre in Boden, in the north of Sweden."The Hydro66 data center has access to huge amounts of green electrical power at a great price, which makes it attractive for blockchain as it tends to require a lot of power." Another reason is the Swedish government's attitude towards cryptocurrencies. While many other western governments have been reluctant to embrace Bitcoin, or even hostile towards it, lawmakers in Sweden have actively embraced new technologies – there's even talk of the country's central bank introducing an 'e-krona' in the next few years. While this would be a complement to cash, the usage of which is declining in Sweden, it could use the same blockchain technology Bitcoin relies on.

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