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This Saturday the Guilderland Public Library will kick off their 4-part series The Art of Being Super.
I hope and plan to do a weekly preview for each session:
This Saturday Charles Barnett III will be discussing the world of graphic novel art.
Complete list of Barnett’s Creative Credits
To help the library promote their event, Ispoke to Philip Berardi, Librarian, and Programming & Public Services who is spearheading this series.
Briefly describe what the “Art of Being Super” program is about?
The Art of Being Super is a series that highlights writers and artists who have been and still are influential in the comics industry. We wanted to create an opportunity for fans to interact with these creators in a setting more conducive to personal conversations and learning. Each of our presenters brings a different take on the comics industry and the majority of the presenters will be leading “hands on” programming where participants are encouraged to design elements of a successful comic or bring their own.
What was the inspiration for the “Art of Being Super” program?
The inspiration for this series originated around the time of the release of Marvels Secret Wars and DC’s Convergence when we were planning our superhero-themed summer reading program. We already knew that we wanted to host a series that would be accessible to persons young and old and seen comics as the perfect medium to embody this. After contacting several local creators, we realized that the general feeling towards libraries and library programming on their part was very positive. By working with these individuals, we were able to create a structure for the series while having access to resources not otherwise available to us.
What if any has been your experience with comics been?
My personal experience with comics has been somewhat of a roller coaster lately. I feel like the quality of publications have been all over the place however I love some of the DC supporting character publications like Harley Quinn and Batgirl and the Marvel reboot after Secret Wars is looking very interesting. At the moment, I’m reading Sex Criminals, Saga, and Posehn’s Deadpool.
When did you first start reading what was the first comic you remember reading?
The first comic series I remember reading was Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. I was probably 7 or 8 at the time.
In your opinion as a fan and as a librarian, what is it about the comic medium that is most appealing or interesting?
I love the intrinsic appeal graphic novels have to its audience. Aside from this there is a “visual literacy” involved in the reading process of graphic novels which extends beyond word recognition within text bubbles to sequential art. Readers are forced to integrate text and pictures into an understandable whole. That and I love the characters!
What recommendations if any would you give someone interested in comics read as a gateway?
Start with a subject you are interested in, don’t pick something just because it is popular at the moment. There are graphic novels on all subjects fictional and otherwise. Show some love to the indie titles.
Looking at your list of guests how important was getting local creators involved?
We felt that finding local guest creators was incredibly important. There is an incredible wealth of talent and creativity in the Upper-Hudson and Mid-Hudson region and we wanted to showcase some of that.
The four sessions you are presenting cover the foundations of the comics industry, based on the success of the programming any chance of more sessions like this and if so what would be some of the topics that you think would be of interest?
Community support is such a critical deciding factor when planning programs. We are always trying to find ways to introduce people to programs they may have an interest in while “pushing” others into trying programs they may not have ever sought out otherwise. I would absolutely love to be able to host more programming in this vein.
Without saying too much: Star Wars.
Any information about the first session you would like to talk about or mention to those who may be interested in checking the session this Saturday?
Pre-register! Pre-register! Pre-register! The first 50 people who pre-register for any of the 4 programs will receive a limited edition print which features artwork associated with all four creators which can be brought to each event for signing.
In relation to the first event, bring your artwork with you as Charles Barnett III will work with participants and their art.
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Unfortunately, I am unable to attend but it sounds like an exciting program and if you do attend leave a comment about your experience
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7 years ago
(CNN) – While Democratic opponents have been pounding Mitt Romney to provide a greater window into his personal finances, a smattering of conservative Republicans have recently joined the chorus calling for the presumptive GOP nominee to release more years of his tax returns.
Former speechwriter to President George W. Bush Matthew Dowd and conservative columnist George Will have joined the new-found conservative refrain.
- Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker
- Check out the CNN Electoral Map and Calculator and game out your own strategy for November.
On ABC’s This Week Will said that the campaign “must have calculated that there are higher costs in releasing them.”
Dowd, who is also a commentator on ABC’s This Week, agreed.
“There’s obviously something there, because if there was nothing there, he would say, ‘Have at it,’” Dowd said Sunday.
“I do not know why, given that Mitt Romney knew the day that [John] McCain lost in 2008 that he was going to run for president again that he didn’t get all of this out and tidy up some of his offshore accounts and all the rest,” said Will.
Appearing on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” last week, former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour said he’d go further than the financial disclosures required by law – and further than Romney has gone in releasing his taxes.
So far, Romney has released tax returns from 2010 and promises to provide the following year once prepared. Romney did release an estimate of his 2011 tax returns in April after filing for an extension with the IRS.
Democrats, led by Obama’s campaign, have pushed for Romney to release more years of returns. On Sunday, Bill Kristol had a similar message, saying Romney is “crazy” not to release more tax returns as soon as possible.
"He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy," Kristol said on "Fox News Sunday." "You gotta release six, eight, 10 years of back tax returns. Take the hit for a day or two."
Romney, appearing on Fox News, said the Obama campaign wants to “make a mountain” out of the issue and distract from the economic failures of his administration, pointing to prior candidates, like Sen. John McCain, who released only two years of returns in 2008.
Former RNC chairman Michael Steele and Alabama governor Robert Bentley have agreed with the small, but growing gaggle of Republicans urging Romney to action in releasing his taxes.
“If you have things to hide, then maybe you’re doing things wrong,” Bentley said of Romney’s taxes at the National Governor’s Association last week. Bentley later clarified his remarks, saying he was not insinuating that Romney was hiding anything.
The tax debate became a thorn in Romney’s side in January during the Republican primary when fellow presidential contenders called on the former businessman to release more returns as April’s tax filing deadline was fast-approaching.
Former contender Rick Santorum released four years of tax returns as he, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Romney were in a heated primary battle earlier this year. Both have since endorsed Romney and not commented on state of his taxes.
The news media, hungry for transparency, has relentlessly hounded Romney to release his tax returns since the issue arose during the primary.
Romney’s father, George Romney, set the precedent for presidential candidates, releasing 12 years of tax returns during his unsuccessful run for the White House in 1968.
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Runs Created was one the first sabermetric statistics I took it upon myself to learn about. After all, it was one of the first statistics developed by Bill James himself. I am also pretty sure RC is the formula written on a whiteboard in Moneyball (the most influential Brad Pitt movie I have ever seen). Anyways, Runs Created is not discussed much because there are other, more sophisticated alternatives – wRC, wRC+, etc. I still appreciate RC because of its simplicity, and it is can still be used as an effective tool for measuring the efficiency of offensive production.
That is precisely what I set out to do. The question I sought to answer with this study is, “which teams were the most efficient in scoring runs?” A pretty basic question — which I decided to complicate. Using team statistics from last year, I calculated the Runs Created for each team’s offense. The largest separation between Runs Created and actual runs scored came from the San Diego Padres, who scored 686 times, despite “creating” only 621.38 runs.
While ranking in 19th in total runs, the Padres were actually incredibly efficient. I discovered this after trying to develop a way to measure offensive efficiency. To do so, I created the Runs Conversion Rate (RCR). While relatively rudimentary, this ratio between runs scored and Runs Created provides, in my mind, a good measurement for the efficiency of offenses.
Run Conversion Rate = Runs Scored / Runs Created
The purpose of this, again, is to gauge the overall efficiency of offenses. All I really did was give a fancy name to the margin of error of Runs Created. However, what I sought to do was use this statistic in a different way — to examine which teams made the most of what they produced (efficiency), and which did not. Think of this article as a new way of looking at an old statistic, not me trying “discover” a new stat. Below is a table, sorted by runs scored (i.e. from most productive offenses to least productive). Green values represent teams in the top 10 of a category, and red the bottom 10.
2016 Run Conversion Rates TEAM Runs Created Runs Scored Run Conversion Rate Red Sox 905.26 878 0.970 Rockies 856.84 845 0.986 Cubs 790.93 808 1.022 Cardinals 784.92 779 0.992 Indians 770.06 777 1.009 Mariners 769.39 768 0.998 Rangers 755.83 765 1.012 Nationals 752.18 763 1.014 Blue Jays 759.72 759 0.999 D-Backs 775.15 752 0.970 Tigers 791.98 750 0.947 Orioles 768.79 744 0.968 Pirates 724.74 729 1.006 Dodgers 709.32 725 1.022 Astros 727.58 724 0.995 Angels 700.20 717 1.024 Giants 725.10 715 0.986 Twins 742.03 690 0.930 Padres 621.38 686 1.104 White Sox 713.38 686 0.962 Reds 699.02 678 0.970 Royals 685.69 675 0.984 Rays 701.08 672 0.959 Brewers 694.02 671 0.967 Mets 707.39 671 0.949 Marlins 695.80 655 0.941 Athletics 655.47 653 0.996 Braves 671.35 649 0.967 Yankees 690.17 647 0.937 Phillies 617.22 610 0.988
After looking at the table, I noted a few observations to be made: teams ranked top 10 in scoring and top 10 RCR last year were, for the most part, the best teams in the league, the two highest-scoring teams did not score as many runs as they could have, and some teams capped out their production, albeit not a high level of scoring.
First, let’s look at the teams who ranked top 10 in scoring and top 10 in RCR in 2016: the World Champion Chicago Cubs, the American League Champion Cleveland Indians, the Seattle Mariners (second in AL West), the Texas Rangers (AL West Champs), the Washington Nationals (NL East Champs), and the Toronto Blue Jays (AL Wild Card). All these teams were both productive and efficient. Both are key indicators of good ball clubs. They created an equal balance of the two, and, outside of the Mariners, played postseason baseball.
While the last paragraph was basically a no-brainer, this is where the study got interesting. The Boston Red Sox scored 878 runs last year — short of their roughly 905 “created” runs. According to their RCR, they were only 97% efficient. So, what does this mean? The Red Sox, while more productive than anyone else, did not hit their ceiling. They came close (RCR of 0.970), but still only ranked in the middle third of offensive efficiency. What if the post-Ortiz Red Sox put up around the same numbers they did last year, but became more efficient in doing so? In my opinion, the AL East should be scared. Other teams falling into the top 10 scoring, middle 10 RCR category are the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies certainly receive a boost in production because they played 81 games in Coors Field. The Cardinals and Diamondbacks, like the Red Sox, scored often, but not as often as they could have. So maybe their problem is not a low ceiling, but rather getting away from their floor troubles them.
Our third group of relatively important teams in this study are those who ranked in the middle 10 in scoring and top 10 in RCR: the Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels, and the San Diego Padres. Essentially, these offenses were middle of the road in terms of productivity, but scored as many runs as possible given their level of production. The Angels, ranked in the bottom 10 in Runs Created by their offense in 2016, but were second in RCR, scoring 2.4% more runs than they “created.” The only team ahead them were the lowly San Diego Padres, who turned in 10.4% more runs. The Dodgers, who won 91 games in a comparatively weak NL West division, were middle-of-the-road in terms of offensive production, and came in third in terms of RCR. These teams were ruthlessly efficient, milking the most out of what their offense provided.
I do not know what qualities are common in high-RCR teams. Maybe a high average with runners in position, a low number of runners left on base, or maybe just plain luck. That could be the topic of an entirely different study, perhaps.
To sum things up, a high RCR was a common denominator in the teams who saw great success in 2016, and I would like to think it is useful in measuring the efficiency of teams’ offenses. It will be exciting to see who will rise in 2017 as the most potent offense. For me, it will be just as exciting to see who is the most efficient.
FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.com were instrumental in the production of this article. Theodore Hooper is an undergraduate student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He can be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodore-hooper/ or on Twitter at @_superhooper_
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Why isn't HTTPS everywhere yet?
Encryption. We all like it and want more of it. Why isn't HTTPS everywhere yet?
Is it certificates?
The first and most commonly cited barrier to HTTPS everywhere is the cost (both time and effort) of obtaining, configuring, presenting and maintaining a valid certificate. You must find a certificate authority, prove your identity, pay for a certificate, set it up on your server (you probably need to have a dedicated IPv4 address to support old clients that don't do Server Name Indication, but that's a different issue) and renew it before it expires.
Most proposals for "opportunistic" encryption are targeted at this level of the problem, and amount to: "The NSA is recording all of our traffic, so why don't we just encrypt even if we don't have a certificate?" The goal of such proposals is to raise the cost of passive bulk surveillance, not to address more sophisticated or targeted attacks by active network attackers.
I appreciate the spirit of this solution, but I have come to believe it is actually targeting the wrong obstacles. First, because this flavor of OE lacks authentication even when it appears to succeed, it doesn't offer any guarantees that other resources can build meaningful security contracts with. Since users and resource authors who also care about active attackers can never rely on it, even optimistically, it doesn't remove any obstacles or provide a meaningfully improved upgrade path to a Web that is comprehensively secure against both active and passive adversaries. Second, I don't think the certificate problem is actually the biggest challenge blocking HTTPS everywhere anymore.
The fine folks over at Let's Encrypt already realized that the certficate problem is mostly amenable to automation, and that automating the issuance, installation, configuration, deployment and renewal of certificates and TLS on a relatively few of the major servers+platforms can cover a substantial supermajority of the Internet. This is amazing work, and while there is still much of that race left to be run, I think we can optimistcally call it a solved problem.
Now we have a certificate, we can turn on HTTPS, right?
Well, maybe. But probably not. If all of the HTML resources you serve have subresources (images, scripts, etc.) loaded from the same host AND you used only relative urls (e.g. "/foo.jpg" instead of "http://example.com/foo.jpg") then you are good to go! Otherwise things are probably broken for you at your "https://" URLs.
Wait, what? HTTPS is supposed to be good. Why is everything broken?
It's broken because you almost certainly have Mixed Content in your pages.
What is Mixed Content and why should I care?
Mixed Content is the term that has arisen out of practice for the situation when a document loaded over https includes content loaded over http.
Consider the following set of resources, where you are the operator of "OriginA". Green circles represent resources avialable over both https and http schemes, red circles represent resources only available over http schemes. Dashed lines represent subresource includes made with an http scheme. Solid lines represent subresource includes made with an https scheme. Assume that all links are absolute, not relative. A red "X" indicates a resource load that will fail.
Now let's say you acquire a certificate and turn on https for OriginA. What does the resource graph look like now?
If you haven't updated absolute links in the HTML document, it will still be attempting to load all of its resources with an http scheme. Most web browsers block such loads or give negative UI feedback when they occur, and they have been getting more and more strict about it over time. The HTML resource at OriginA will be broken because attempts to load the three JS resources it depends on will be blocked, and it will be marked with a mixed content warning for the JPG, even if we didn't have the JS resources. Note that even though some resources are available over https, because the existing links use the http scheme, they will still fail.
Why do browsers block mixed content loads? Why can't I as a site operator make that decision?
In most of the Web security model, Origins (the scheme+host+port tuple of a URL) are authoritative for their own information. A document loaded from HTTPS can navigate the user to an insecure destination with sensitive data in the GET string or fragment, it can POST or postMessage() to insecure schemes or origins, and an https resource can receive GET, POST or onMessage() from documents loaded over http. So, if we don't have formal information flow controls on the Web, why is Mixed Content Blocking a thing? If I can POST, why can't I XHR?
It turns out there is one formal security property that browsers try to enforce on documents. That is a property first formulated as "Tranquility" by Bell and LaPadula in their 1973 integrity model. In simple terms, the tranquility enforced by web browsers is that a secure document will not become insecure while you are interacting with it.
Among all the complexity and potential pitfalls of Web security, browsers have come to the conclusion that there is only one semi-reliable and usable security indicator: the URL bar and HTTPS lock. If you type "https://" into the address bar, or at any point check to see if there is a lock icon for the document you are interacting with, the browser has made you a promise that the content is protected from threats involving a hostile network. Another way to look at it is that, the browser is conveying a promise to the user from the site operator which it is unwilling to let it reneg on. Site operators may also expect and rely on browsers to fulfill this promise, so one typo or missed link by a single developer somewhere doesn't undo all the hard work they've done to provide a secure experience for their users.
If your https document were to load a script, perform a fetch or even load an image over http, that promise would be broken. How broken and what the exact consequences would be might vary widely, but the browser isn't in a position to know, and doesn't want to impose the burden of that subtlety on the user, so they simply block. This is done not only to protect users who wouldn't otherwise be aware that, e.g., a webmail application which shows https in the address bar but includes script over http isn't safe to use in a coffeeshop in the hacker part of town, but also to highlight the same issue to content authors who might themselves otherwise miss this subtle point.
This is a good thing for users, but it puts site operators newly in posession of a certificate in a bit of difficulty when it comes to turning on https. All of their HTML resources which reference insecure content are going to break outright or alarm some population of users, either by showing a warning or simply not showing the lock they expect for https. This dependency problem, I assert, is the real cost barrier we must surmount in order to move the rest of the Web to 100% HTTPS.
Fixing Mixed Content
As soon as you have to fix Mixed Content, the cost of migrating to HTTPS starts to get real. Much more so than any kind of server configuration or acquisition of a certificate, removing mixed content is expensive and not always well-suited to automation because it often requires understanding all the possible content served by a host, modifying it (conditionally) and (possibly most expensively) testing to verify that everything works.
For a complex site, it's not as simple as running s/http/https/g across all of your resources, on disk or with a mod_rewrite rule. You might encounter http-schemed resources in many places: static content, dynamic content generated on the server, on the client, stored in databases (on the server or client), retrieved from other third party redirects, etc.
A new specification under development, (and already supported by Chrome and Firefox) Upgrade Insecure Requests, aims to ease this burden by automatically upgrading http subresource fetches to https, along with same-origin navigations.
Before
After Upgrade-Insecure-Requests
Upgrade-Insecure-Resources has helped OriginA here. One of its HTML resources is now free of mixed content because all of the link schemes have been transparently upgraded and all its remote dependencies are available over https. However, we still have one broken resource because the JS dependency from OriginB is still not available over https. This illustrates why, until all of their dependencies have upgraded to https, many sites are reluctant to offer any of their own content over https, to avoid presenting users with broken experiences and worrying error messages.
This leads to the unfortunate circumstance that the least accountable actors at the end of long dependency chains can hold back progress for everyone upstream. Cyclical dependencies (as certainly exist in the large scale structure of the web) can create deadlocks which totally prevent upgrades without coordination.
None of these sites can turn on https
To make matters even worse, it is not trivial to even determine if your dependencies are ready! Once you go HTTPS, errors will just start happening for your users, and you have no obvious way to catch them in advance. (A " default-src https: " Content Security Policy directive can tell you when things actually broke, but you can't easily compose it with an optimistic upgrade to test without actual breakage.)
For modern applications with complex client-side logic, serving large user bases, and using things like Real-Time-Bidding advertising networks, the difficulty of creating a reasonable simulation of traffic and user experience for test purposes is quite real. Just the set of domain names you reference may be emergent runtime behavior with substantial variance over time.
Breaking the deadlock
What we lack is an intermediate state between http and https. Ideally, such a state would have the following properties:
Allow secure origins which depend on resources you serve to retrieve them in way which does not violate their secure tranquility. Do not force resources to make premature or unverified guarantees of secure tranquility / lack of mixed content. Be extremely low-cost and low-risk to deploy; ideally requiring zero content-level changes, only server configuration updates. (including possibly adding one or more http headers) Allow detection of dependencies which would violate secure tranquility / produce mixed content errors without negatively impacting the user experience.
Click on the figure below to see how introducing an intermediate state (indicated with blue) with these properties can break an upgrade deadlock cycle.
First, OriginB turns on "https-transitional" mode. This means that is resources are still not available at URLs with an https scheme, but are optimistically available over TLS with the full guarantees, including a valid certificate. This is essentially zero-cost for OriginB because it makes no new guarantees to users or browsers about the security state or tranquility of its own resources.
Now that OriginB's resources are available via "https-transitional", OriginA turns on https. It has an HTML file with an http dependency on the JS file at OriginB. A browser that knows about "https-transitional" can try to initiate a TLS connection to OriginB and ask for the resource with its original http scheme. If this optimistic upgrade fails, it would be treated as insecure and trigger mixed content blocking, so we haven't reduced the guarantees to users of OriginA. If it succeeds, all of the standard guarantees required for OriginA to be secure and tranquil are met, and no mixed content warning or blocking would be triggered, even though the reference to the JS file at OriginB still used the http scheme.
Now that OriginA has upgraded, OriginC can upgrade, too. OriginB still has a dependency to OriginD which is only http, so it can't yet go to https, but by turning on transitional mode, it has unblocked upgrades for A and B, without creating any negative user experiences for its own users due to mixed content from D. Without the transitional state, none of these sites could have upgraded.
The interesting bit here is the link from OriginA's HTML resource to OriginB's JS resource. It needs to satisfy all the properties of TLS - but whether it remains an http scheme that is transparently upgraded during the fetch from OriginB, or whether it is upgraded at OriginA before a fetch is even attempted depends on how this transitional state might be implemented.
How could we introduce this state?
A first take, just to break resource dependency deadlocks without introducing documents with mixed content into the world, would be to enable https with a server filter that returns a 404 whenever it would otherwise return a Content-Type of text/html. In fact, it's probably a surprisingly good approximation, modulo some edge cases involving CORS. Of the four properties we are interested in, this even gets us a pretty good take on three of them.
What is missing is the 4th property - the ability to detect the state of your own dependencies so you can know when it's OK to flip the "real https" switch. What if browsers could do Content-Security-Policy-Report-Only with "upgrade-insecure-requests" for http documents?
attempt to upgrade if upgrade fails fall back to http fetch fire a report
Is it possible we don't need anything more than that? Basically this configuration, with Upgrade-Insecure-Requests implied for A, B, and C?
Enter the <iframe>
Unfortunately, no, just filtering HTML resources from being offered over standard https isn't enough; it fails with HTML to HTML dependencies from iframes. This is actually quite common for advertising.
What we need to unblock a dependency tree for iframes is also optimistic secure tranquility. That is, we must be able to attempt to optimistically load an HTML resource with a TLS upgrade, and enforce tranquility on it, but only from a secure, framed context. The key to why this is OK is that a non-upgraded document would already be broken when loaded in this way, so we aren't introducing any new breakage or mixed content experiences for users of OriginB.
https-transitional with ALPN and HTTP Alt-Svc
ALPN allows a client interacting with a server over TLS to indicate a different application layer protocol it wishes to use.
Let's imagine a new ALPN protocol type: "https-transitional". A server which sees a client request for that understands it as: "connect me to the resources and configuration served over http, but over TLS, not the https site, please". (The state of firewalls and other middleboxes effectively prevents the the introduction of a new port with any expectation of wide compatbility.) As described by the HTTP Alt-Svc draft, a full and successful TLS connection must be completed, and the server must present a certificate which matches the original http hostname. Unlike the ALt-Svc mechanism, resources fetched as transitional will behave slightly differently.
A resource fetched over "https-transitional" will have the following properties in the user agent:
A resource fetched over "https-transitional" should not be blocked as mixed content if the responsible document's settings object restricts mixed content.
The settings object for a document fetched over "https-transitional" should not restrict mixed content.
Unless any ancestor frames of the document restrict mixed content, in which case it must restrict mixed content, and upgrade-insecure-requests is automatically impled.
Upgrade-Insecure-Requests would be modified in the following way:
When encountering a subresource with an http scheme to be upgraded, connect to the https endpoint of the server at the indicated Origin, and add the new "https-transitional" ALPN protocol, as preferred, in addition to the standard http/spdy/h2 protocol that would ordinarily be used.
If a server understands the "https-transitional" ALPN negotiation, respond on that protocol and deliver the http resource over TLS.
A server which does not understand the "https-transitional" protocol will respond with the resource from the https site, if available.
Mixed Content blocking would also be modified. User agents do not currently automatically attempt to upgrade http -> https in contexts where mixed content is blocked because there is no explicit guarantee that the resources at both schemes are semantically equivalent. The "https-transitional" scheme does explicitly make the equivalency guarantee, so a user agent can always automatically attempt to upgrade any request which would be blocked as insecure mixed content to "https-transitional" without any hint from the server.
Servers could also advertise the availability of transitional mode with the HTTP Alt-Svc header. If a user agent has seen an Alt-Svc advertisement for an Origin that is still fresh, it can always make the upgrade, even for navigational requests, giving the benefits of opportunistic encryption against passive adversaries.
When a document has been loaded in transitional mode, the user agent should attempt to upgrade all resources which would have been blocked as mixed-content, as if upgrade-insecure-resources had been set, but must silently retry over http if the upgrade fails. It must report an error on the console in such cases and SHOULD provide a means for sites to request reports similar to (or re-using) the Content Security Policy mechanism. This will allow operators to understand, from genuine user traffic, whether all of their dependencies are upgradable, as part of a transition to full https.
The above figure represents the implications of these rules. Resources loaded from OriginA which iframe resources from OriginB will never have mixed content warnings because OriginB supports transitional mode. However, if resources from OriginB are loaded in iframes from documents that block mixed content, and depend on resources which cannot be upgraded, (such as the JS resource on OriginD) those fetches will silently be blocked to maintain the tranquility of the ancestor resources. This partial breakage is still preferrable to the current state where the initial load from OriginA would have been completely blocked. A resource loaded as a direct navigation from OriginB which depends on the same non-upgradable resource at OriginD would not have see the load blocked becuase it does not inherit a tranquility contract from a frame ancestor.
Performance Impacts
For https resources, this proposal shouldn't introduce any new latency compared to using Upgrade-Insecure-Requests. The ALPN negotiation makes it totally transparent. Browsers will be attempting TLS first, anyway, and it won't require any additional round trips to determine if https-transitional is supported.
Locking down
At some point, sites will still want to abandon plaintext http. A load from an https context will never fail down to plaintext or an unauthenticated connection, but optimistic upgrades are not, by themselves, enough to stop an active network attacker from forcing a downgrade back to an unecrypted connection for navigations or top-of-window resources loaded transitionally. During the transitional period, it's an explicit goal to never break if the upgrade can't succeed. How do we get from transitional to finally secure, especially if the existence of transitional is a means to avoid sites having to change the scheme of every http link out there? Related to this, we also eventually want to be able to enforce tranquility on upgraded resources to stop those same attackers.
We can start with some design patterns from HTTP Strict Transport Security, which was invented to solve this problem for HTTPS sites that wanted to fully deprecate HTTP, as well as the Alt-Svc header mentioned earlier.
The first thing a site could do is set the freshness of its Alt-Svc advertisement to "infinite". This would be a signal to user agents which understand it to never attempt a plaintext connection to that Origin again - only use https-transitional and https, forever. User agents might, as they do today, allow sites to opt-in to a preload of this setting. After doing this, a service could continue to offer service over plaintext for legacy clients, or it could turn it off if it determines that traffic is acceptably low.
The next thing is that content served with transitional mode needs a way to opt-in to tranquility. This is also probably best handled by an HTTP header. Setting the "tranquil" bit would imply at least that the document's setting object should restrict mixed content. It might even allow such a resource to be eligible to be same-origin with https content, though that requires additional analysis, and probably would be a different flag, so sites can make appropriate transition of cookies, local storage and other Origin scoped state on the client. A tranquil resource might also be eligible to get the "lock" or whatever other secure UI treatement is applied to https.
Eventually, if penetration of transitional mode is sufficient, user agents could start dropping support for http. Perhaps first as a user preference flag, then with a compatibility list enabling a few laggard sites to still use plaintext, then with a big, interstitial warning. As flag days go, this would be much less painful than the current possibilities, because the process of readying your site for the transition could be almost entirely automated, with little or no risk of breakage. Many sites would probably stay at the transitional state indefinitely, but users would still be getting all the benefits they expect from TLS today.
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We have all heard that drinking a glass of red wine in moderation may be good for our health. But now, researchers have found that drinking wine may also reduce the risk of depression, according to a study published in the journal BMC Medicine.
Researchers from Spain analyzed 2,683 men and 2,822 women over a 7-year period from the PREDIMED Trial - a study that conducts research around nutrition and cardiovascular risk.
All participants were between 55 and 80 years of age, with no history of depression or alcohol-related problems when the study began.
They were required to complete a validated 137-item food frequency questionnaire annually in order to assess their alcohol intake, and their mental health and lifestyle was analyzed throughout the study period.
Two to seven glasses of wine a week 'may reduce depression'
The findings of the study revealed that those who drank moderate amounts of alcohol (5 to 15 g a day) were less likely to suffer from depression.
Researchers say that drinking 2 to 7 glasses of wine a week may reduce the risk of depression.
Additionally, those who drank a moderate amount of wine on a weekly basis (two to seven small glasses a week), were found to have an even lower risk of depression.
The researchers say these results remained the same even when accounting for lifestyle and social factors, such as marital status, smoking and diet.
However, further findings suggest that wine consumption exceeding seven glasses a week could increase the risk of depression. The study authors add that greater alcohol consumption was more frequently attributed to males, with 88% drinking more than 15 g of alcohol each day.
"Unipolar depression and cardiovascular disease are likely to share some common pathophysiological mechanisms. Moderate alcohol intake, especially alcohol from wine, has been repeatedly reported to be inversely associated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Some of the responsible mechanisms for this inverse association are likely to be involved also in a reduced risk of depression."
Rates of depression may be 'under-estimated' in heavy drinkers
Previous research from the PREDIMED trial has suggested that low-moderate amounts of alcohol could protect against heart disease , and the study authors say the process may be linked:
Although the study authors say there are many strengths for this study, including the large sample size, they warn of some limitations.
"We are not exclusively using a clinical diagnosis of depression. Probably, we are achieving a high specificity at the expense of losing sensitivity," say the researchers.
"Moreover, there is a possibility that patterns of alcohol consumption may be associated with decisions to seek care. If heavy drinkers were less likely to seek medical care, this could result in the rates of depression being under-estimated among heavy drinkers."
Previous research has suggested that wine consumption could promote many other health benefits. A study from the University of Leicester last year found that a chemical in red wine, called resveratol, could help to prevent cancer.
Other research from the University of Barcelona suggested that compounds found in wine may even protect against severe sunburn.
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Riot police called in as violent clashes break out across France after far-right National Front win dramatic gains in local elections
Far-right National Front has beaten governing Socialists in key elections
National Front president Marie Le Pen says party moved to a 'new level'
Riot police have clashed with demonstrators outside regional town halls
Police in holiday towns of Frejus and Beziers report outbreaks of violence
French President Francois Hollande now expected to reshuffle government
Fights started outside French town halls tonight as they came under the control of the far-right National Front for the first time following dramatic gains in local elections.
Exit polls suggested that the anti-immigration and anti-Europe party had roundly beaten the governing Socialists in a number of key constituencies.
'Demonstrators are trying to get at the Front representatives and starting fights,' said a police spokesman in Frejus, the picturesque Mediterranean town which is hugely popular with British tourists.
Riot police are tonight guarding the offices of David Rachline in Frejus, one of the areas where the right-wing National Front have won local elections
There are reports of fights breaking out between demonstrators following heavy defeats in the local elections for France's ruling socialists
The town of Frejus and Beziers in the south of France are now expected to sign in their first National Front mayors following the elections
Frejus and nearby Beziers are now expected to have National Front (FN) mayors sworn in, along with around five other towns, following a nationwide drubbing for President Francois Hollande's Socialists.
Riot police were also out in force in other parts of the country as anti-fascist demonstrators threatened FN candidates with violence.
It meant further humiliation for Mr Hollande, whose disastrous tax and spend policies have led to economic stagnation, so opening the electoral door to the FN, which is regularly accused of being racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Muslim.
David Rachline, who is expected to become the FN mayor of Frejus, is a former head of the party's youth movement, and still just 26.
Mr Rachline said: 'The political establishment has failed the people - it has ruined the town and filled its pockets.
'You can't talk about a protest vote any more - the Front's scores show that people are backing its ideas.'
In a deeply humiliating blow for the Socialist government, finance minister Pierre Moscovici was unseated from the town council in Valentigny in the Doubs department.
In a dire night for French President Francois Hollande the conservative UMP party have also made gains, including for Roger-Emile Lombertie who was elected in Limoges
Another UMP candidate, Christian Estrosi, celebrates winning his election at campaign headquarters in Nice
Mr Moscovici, who was tasked by Mr Hollande with leading the French economy out of recession, is deeply unpopular with the French people.
There were also gains for the UMP conservative opposition, as Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the spokesman for Mr Hollande's government, said: 'These are bad results for the Left. Disappointing.'
The FN took 50.26 per cent of the vote in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont last Sunday, giving it an instant majority and meaning it already has its first mayor there.
As polls closed in the two round municipal elections tonight the FN said it was on track to claim 1,200 municipal council seats.
'We have moved on to a new level,' said Ms Le Pen. 'There is now a third major political force in our country.'
The Socialists only consolation they have provided Paris with its first ever female mayor.
Anne Hidalgo is expected to beat her conservative rival, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet in the French capital.
Miss Hidalgo claimed 54.5 per cent of second round votes in the capital, comfortably beating her centre-Right rival, who won 45.5 per cent.
Marie Le Pen, National Front president, says the party has moved 'on to a new level'
Socialist President Francois Hollande is expected to announce a government reshuffle in response to dire results
The Spanish-born civil servant hailed a 'great victory' even before the full results were announced.
Mr Hollande's response to the expected nationwide drubbing is said to be a major reshuffle, replacing Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault with Interior Minister Manuel Valls.
The despairing Mr Hollande is also expected to bring his former girlfriend, Segolene Royal, back into government.
This is now possible because Mr Hollande's ex-first lady, Valerie Trierweiler, who hates Ms Royal, has disappeared following the President's alleged affair with the actress Julie Gayet.
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David Cameron has now laid out his plan to reform the European Union – or, rather, to weaken Britain’s role in the union to please his own backbenchers. What Labour must now do is lead, not follow, laying out an alternative programme of reform and build the case for this with the British public and our partners in Europe.
A sensible package of progressive reforms which get the best deal for the British people while also raising the profile and level of debate about Europe in this country should broadly fall into three categories.
First, democratic reform.
Tory Eurosceptics bemoan the lack of national parliamentary oversight of EU legislation while conveniently overlooking the fact that it is entirely at the discretion of the government to change this. Meanwhile, the role of our democratically elected members of the European parliament who have co-legislative powers at the European level is ignored or misunderstood by both the media and the public. And the European commission, the most powerful arm of European ‘government’, has extremely limited democratic accountability. Three ways we could address these problems are:
– A greater role for the British parliament
A beefed up role for the European select committee in the House of Commons, more parliamentary debates on EU matters before and after ministers attend European council meetings and the right of MPs to scrutinise and vote on the appointment of our EU commissioner. All of this could be implemented by members of parliament without any agreement at EU level.
– A stronger role for MEPs
750 elected parliamentarians representing half a billion citizens across a continent which just 60 years ago solved its disputes on the battlefield now come together in common cause to make life better for all Europeans. This is a remarkable achievement and the only institution of its kind in the world. MEPs have never been more powerful but, perversely, turnout at European elections is in decline and you would be hard pressed to find anyone on the street in Britain who could name their representatives.
We need to do more to raise the profile of MEPs nationally and strengthen their role at the European level as the only truly democratic branch of European governance. We could start by looking at how MPs and MEPs can work more closely together. There is no connection between MPs debating European issues in parliament and MEPs making laws in Brussels. MEPs do not even have passes to access Westminster. Surely this can be improved. Giving MEPs more resources to effectively communicate with the millions of people they represent in giant constituencies is one way to increase their profile locally, but there is also an onus on the media to treat MEPs in the same way as MPs. When was the last time you saw an MEP (other than Nigel Farage) on Question Time? In Brussels, MEPs should have a bigger role in holding to account the other institutions.
– Improved accountability of the commission and other institutions
First off, let’s give MEPs the power to veto individual commissioner appointments and drag representatives of the council, the European Central Bank and others before them. Second, let’s give the commission a directly elected president. This is the most powerful individual position in the EU and there is no democratic accountability. Our own party and others should take seriously the selection of candidates for the top job, with political group candidates chosen openly and democratically through member party primaries and then a direct election at the same time as European elections.
Second, institutional reform.
To the very few people who spend any time thinking about such matters, the EU can seem like a confusing and tangled mess. It is not immediately clear who is in charge, some of its practices seem baffling and it is far removed from our daily lives. We need to bring Europe closer to its citizens and stop it shooting itself in the foot with actions which make no sense. A fine example is the monthly travelling circus of thousands of MEPs and staffers to Strasbourg at a cost of €200m per year. This costly and indefensible waste must end. MEPs should have the power to decide where they sit and they have chosen overwhelmingly time and time again to sit in Brussels.
In the United Kingdom we need to take the distribution of European funding out of the hands of the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions and give it to local authorities who can better determine priorities and more effectively administer the process. At the moment this process is heavily managed by central government and the UK has been criticised for unacceptable delays in starting the 2014-20 programme of EU investment. As the most visible example of Europe’s benefit to our communities, the process of administering and distributing EU funding must be devolved and improved.
Better communication
The EU has a big communication problem. It is not helped by our hostile media but the media is not solely to blame.
There is currently some vitally important work taking place at the European level on trade negotiations, the energy union, the digital single market and reforming the banks – all areas where action at a European level is necessary to achieve real change and lasting benefits. But most ordinary people have no idea what is going on, with the exception of the public outcry about TTIP – largely the result of extremely poor communication and a lack of transparency on the part of the European commission.
Subsidiarity is an important principle of the EU but many of its functions are centralised in Brussels or at a national level. One example is the communications budget which is used to promote the work of the EU and communicate its role to citizens. Part of this budget could be decentralised to local and regional authorities who can spread that message more effectively at a local level.
Cameron wants to focus on scapegoating EU migrants for all our nation’s ills and cutting red tape for businesses. We need to be unashamed in making the positive case for freedom of movement and exposing the real motivators of Cameron’s drive to reduce EU ‘bureaucracy’ – his desire to roll back the vital social protections and rights enjoyed by all EU citizens. He cannot be allowed to go unchallenged as he attempts to undermine some of the fundamental pillars on which the EU was founded. We should be arguing for more protections for Europe’s citizens, not less. Initiatives like the maternity leave directive – supported by Labour MEPs last month – are just one example of ways the EU can raise the bar and strengthen the rights of working people across the continent.
An alternative, Labour case for reform should make clear the benefits our membership brings while laying out a series of practical, hard-headed reforms which bring the union closer to the people it represents and is relentlessly focused on improving their lives.
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Kevin Peel is a councillor on Manchester city council. He tweets @KevPeel
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Photo: Kalypso Nikolaidis
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Attorney General Brian E. Frosh on Wednesday declined Gov. Larry Hogan’s directive to intervene in a federal case about the constitutionality of a huge cross-shaped war memorial in Bladensburg, drawing a sharp rebuke from the governor.
Hogan had directed Frosh weeks ago to file a brief about the 40-foot memorial on public property, known as the Peace Cross.
Hogan said the 92-year-old cross to honor World War I veterans does not imply the government’s endorsement of Christianity, as a federal court had found last month, and Maryland should defend the monument.
Frosh responded to Hogan’s request on Wednesday by saying it’s not the appropriate time in the appellate process to file an amicus brief. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing whether the full circuit will review the ruling by a three-member panel. Hogan called Frosh’s response a “dereliction” of his duties.
In his letter, Frosh, a Democrat, also escalated a long-simmering dispute with Hogan, a Republican, over when Maryland’s most powerful officials should involve the state in federal lawsuits.
In his letter, Frosh questioned why Hogan wanted intervention in this case but would not publicly weigh in on various lawsuits Frosh had unilaterally filed against the Trump administration.
Frosh wrote that as the Peace Cross case moves forward in the appeals process, he would “certainly consider your input and interest in this important, symbolic issue.”
He criticized Hogan for not responding to actions taken by the Trump administration “that hurt Marylanders in very practical, concrete ways every single day.” Frosh listed five examples, including environmental regulations, the travel ban, and subsidies for health insurance policies.
Hogan responded with a letter renewing his request and chastising Frosh for waiting until the filing deadline to say he did not plan to honor the governor’s request.
“It is fundamentally inconsistent with your constitutional and ethical duties to the state to wait until the day of the deadline to suggest that you do not intend to perform as instructed,” Hogan wrote. “Your failure in this instance is a dereliction of these duties and a disservices to all Marylanders.”
Frosh’s spokeswoman Raquel Coombs said the deadline was for a review of the ruling, not to weigh in on the case.
Last month, a panel of three 4th Circuit judges reversed a lower court ruling about whether the Peace Cross violated the constitutional separation of church and state.
In a 2-1 ruling, the judges wrote that the monument at a busy Prince George’s County intersection “aggrandizes the Latin cross” and “excessively entangles the government in religion.”
The cross is on public land and has been maintained with $117,000 in taxpayer money.
Hogan, who grew up in Prince George’s and said he drove past it thousands of times, called the reversal “an affront to all veterans.”
The cross was completed in 1925, and was designed and paid for by families of county residents killed during World War I. Families said it was designed to mimic the simple white crosses under which their loved ones were buried in Europe.
The monument honors the 49 residents who died, and it is inscribed with the words “valor,” “endurance,” “courage” and “devotion.” It sits at the busy intersection of Route 450 and Alternate U.S. 1.
In 1960, a state commission, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, assumed ownership of the cross.
The American Humanist Association, an atheist group that advocates for the separation of church and state, sued to take down the cross and called it an unconstitutional endorsement of Christianity.
ecox@baltsun.com
twitter.com/ErinatTheSun
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A Cadbury advertisement for Bliss — a "dreamy chocolate truffle" — includes the tagline, "Move over Naomi, there's a new diva in town." So… there can be only one pampered brown thing in the UK at a time? And is the company really comparing Naomi Campbell to a chocolate bar?
That's how Ms. Campbell sees it. The supermodel is threatening to sue Cadbury. In a statement, Campbell fumed:
"I'm shocked. It's upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me, but for all black women. It is insulting and hurtful."
Well… Your mileage may vary, as they say. It's definitely not cool for a major corporation to trade on Naomi's name and history of diva behavior to sell their product. Not illegal, but kind of a dick move and been there/done that joke. But when it comes to chocolate and black people, one person's offensive statement is another person's city nickname.
Parliament Funkadelic released the album Chocolate City in 1975, but chocolate as a descriptor for black people has a rich (heh) history. That said: Like many slang terms, just because a black person uses it doesn't mean a non-black person (or major corporation) can use it. Phrases like "sexual chocolate" and "chocolate love" are fun for a minute, but stop and examine what they do. Comparing a black person to chocolate reduces an entire race to a skintone. It diminishes a complex human being to a dainty treat created for pleasure. On a planet with a history of enslaving and buying and selling black people as chattel, using the word chocolate as a descriptor is objectification, pure and simple. It hasn't been that long since black people were considered pieces of property; there are plenty of slave receipts still in existence — paper documents with dollar values placed on human beings, alongside comments on the health, strength (and sometimes teeth) of the person being sold. Most black people are no longer enslaved, but we are by no means free of objectification. So if Naomi — or any other black person — finds chocolate offensive, that's her —and their - prerogative.
The upside? Cadbury claims the ad is no longer running. And states: "We would never produce any type of marketing we felt might cause offense to any section of society." Or, perhaps, do so, generate buzz, and then pull the campaign?
Advertisement
Naomi Campbell Rips Cadbury Ad Likening Her to a Chocolate Bar [AdWeek]
Naomi Campbell calls Cadbury's Naomi Campbell ad racist [Copyranter]
Naomi Campbell In Race Row Over Cadbury Chocolate [Independent]
Naomi Goes Loco On Cocoa [NY Post]
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Labor leader Bill Shorten has branded outspoken Liberal senator Cory Bernardi a member of "team idiot" for trying to weaken race hate laws during a national security crisis.
The conservative senator has joined forces with Liberal colleague Dean Smith, Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm and Family First's Bob Day in an attempt to revive dumped government plans to change a contentious section of the Racial Discrimination Act.
Under a private bill, co-sponsored by the four senators, the words "offend" and "insult" would be struck from section 18C of the act.
Senator Day said the changes had been revived because the Muslim community had not joined "Team Australia" in the fight against home-grown extremism.
Mr Shorten called on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to pull Senator Bernardi into line at a time when Australians were fearful of the Islamic State terror threat.
Liberal senator Cory Bernardi. (AAP) ()
The senator's support for changing race-hate laws on top of his call to ban the burqa from Parliament House was "dramatically unhelpful to maintaining calm".
"If we want to starve extremists of oxygen, this country doesn't have time to play cheap rabble-rousing games," Mr Shorten said.
"We need unity in Australia at the moment, we don't need people who should know better fuelling and fanning the flames of intolerance."
Mr Shorten lumped Senator Bernardi into "team idiot", with George Christensen, another Liberal and a burqa-ban advocate.
"I don't know what book they're reading from, but it's not any book I want to pick up," he said.
Mr Abbott cited the need to get everybody on "Team Australia" as the reason for dumping a government plan to change the act.
"When the Muslim community didn't come on board with his Team Australia project, I would have thought all bets are off," Senator Day told ABC radio.
© AAP 2019
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How Jeremy Clarkson's career on Top Gear came to an end
Jeremy Clarkson's contract will not be renewed after an "unprovoked physical attack" on a Top Gear producer, the BBC's director general has confirmed.
Tony Hall said he had "not taken this decision lightly" and recognised it would "divide opinion".
However, he added "a line has been crossed" and he "cannot condone what has happened on this occasion".
Clarkson was suspended on 10 March, following what was called a "fracas" with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon.
The row, which took place in a Yorkshire hotel, was said to have occurred because no hot food was provided following a day's filming.
There cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another dictated by either rank, or public relations and commercial considerations Lord Hall, BBC director general
An internal investigation began last week, led by Ken MacQuarrie, the director of BBC Scotland.
It found that Mr Tymon took himself to hospital after he was subject to an "unprovoked physical and verbal attack".
"During the physical attack Oisin Tymon was struck, resulting in swelling and bleeding to his lip."
It lasted "around 30 seconds and was halted by the intervention of a witness," Mr MacQuarrie noted in his report.
"The verbal abuse was sustained over a longer period" and "contained the strongest expletives and threats to sack" Mr Tymon, who believed he had lost his job.
'Extraordinary contribution'
Mr Tymon did not file a formal complaint and it is understood Clarkson reported himself to BBC bosses following the incident.
After that, the BBC's director of television, Danny Cohen, felt he had no choice but to suspend the presenter pending an investigation.
The decision caused an outpouring of support from Top Gear fans, with more than a million people signing an online petition to reinstate him.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Director General Tony Hall: Clarkson "crossed a line"
Announcing his decision, Lord Hall said Clarkson's dismissal was unavoidable.
I am well aware that many will be sorry his involvement in the show should end in this way Oisin Tymon
"For me a line has been crossed. There cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another dictated by either rank, or public relations and commercial considerations."
However, he added: "This decision should in no way detract from the extraordinary contribution that Jeremy Clarkson has made to the BBC. I have always personally been a great fan of his work and Top Gear."
In a statement, Mr Tymon thanked the BBC for a "thorough and swift investigation into this very regrettable incident".
"I've worked on Top Gear for almost a decade, a programme I love," he continued.
"Over that time Jeremy and I had a positive and successful working relationship, making some landmark projects together. He is a unique talent and I am well aware that many will be sorry his involvement in the show should end in this way."
North Yorkshire police have asked to see the BBC's internal report, saying it will be "assessed appropriately and action will be taken... where necessary".
Responding to the news, Prime Minister David Cameron said he believed that "if you do something wrong at work there can be consequences" and that "aggressive and abusive behaviour is not acceptable in the workplace".
Analysis: David Sillito, Media correspondent
Image caption Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have presented Top Gear together since 2003
Jeremy Clarkson took a slightly dull and failing car programme and turned it in to the biggest factual TV show in the world.
But this sacking has nothing to do with style, opinions, popularity - or even his language on the show.
It's about what stars are allowed to get away with off screen, a topic that's been top of the agenda for the BBC in recent months.
The corporation has had to overhaul all of its policies and attitudes towards bullying and harassment, and a long verbal tirade and a physical assault would have crossed the line for any member of staff.
Clarkson may be popular with the audience, and the BBC really did not want to lose him, but this was a star who admitted he was on his final warning and a corporation that was under intense scrutiny over what its top talent can and cannot get away with.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption James May: 'Dropping Jeremy Clarkson is a tragedy'
Top Gear, which is one of BBC Two's most popular programmes, will continue without Clarkson, who will now become the subject of a bidding war by other broadcasters.
The magazine show is one of the BBC's biggest properties, with overseas sales worth an estimated £50m a year for the corporation's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.
Top Gear stats 350 million Top Gear's estimated worldwide audience 1977 Top Gear began as a local show on BBC Midlands
170 plus episodes in its current format (since 2002)
3 million YouTube subscribers
1.7 million global circulation of Top Gear magazine Getty Images
Gutted at such a sad end to an era Richard Hammond
Whether Clarkson's co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond will remain on the show has yet to be confirmed.
All three had their contracts up for renewal this year, with Clarkson's due to expire at the end of March.
Hammond tweeted: "Gutted at such a sad end to an era. We're all three of us idiots in our different ways but it's been an incredible ride together."
May also updated his Twitter profile to say: "Former TV presenter".
Lord Hall said he had asked BBC Two controller Kim Shillinglaw to handle "big challenge" of renewing Top Gear for 2016, and to investigate how the channel could broadcast the last three episodes of the current series, which were pulled when Clarkson was suspended.
Meanwhile, Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, has rubbished press speculation that he was to join the show.
"Not only is it not true, it's absolute nonsense," he told his listeners on Wednesday morning.
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The Language Council of Sweden has dropped the term "ungoogleable" from its list of new words, following pressure from Google to adapt its definition to something more flattering for the company. According to Sveriges Radio, Google wanted the meaning of the term ogooglebar — which describes something "that you can't find on the web with the use of a search engine" — to be altered so that it would only describe searches performed using Google's own search, something that the Language Council was not willing to do.
Language Council head Ann Cederberg said engaging Google's lawyers took "too much time and resources," prompting it to remove the phrase from its 2012 list of new words. But that won't be the last you hear of it. Cederberg is well aware that "ungoogleable" is already a popular word in Sweden, and Google will not be able to stop locals from using it. It's an unfortunate position for Google to be in; despite wanting to become the brand most associated with web searching, the company has fought to protect its name so that it can avoid it becoming a generic trademark, something that zipper, escalator, and aspirin have all fallen foul of.
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Fairfax Media redundancies: 30 more journalists go as media giant continues job cuts
Updated
Up to 30 Fairfax journalists across Sydney and Melbourne have lost their jobs, after the company failed to meet its targeted job cuts through voluntary redundancies, and decided to move to forced redundancies.
Katelin McInerney from the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) said the exact number of those forced into redundancy was still unclear, but it was understood to be between 20 and 30 journalists.
The media firm announced earlier this year it would be cutting 120 jobs across its publications, but Ms McInerney said this was later negotiated down to 82, when the company was able to find savings.
She said staff were called into meetings today by management, and told they were being made redundant.
Ms McInerney said Fairfax staff members who applied for voluntary redundancies were informed if their applications were successful on Friday.
It included reporters and production staff from the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age and Fairfax's business titles, including the Australian Financial Review.
Ms McInerney said the staff were reeling.
"Understandably they are very shocked and very upset," Ms McInerney told the ABC.
"We've been talking to the company for the last week or so putting pressure on them to come to the table to broaden this process outside of just news.
"But unfortunately, the company has taken the step today of making journalists redundant as opposed to looking elsewhere for savings, which is a very disappointing move."
Bulk of jobs go from business publications
Ms McInerney said the bulk of the sackings appear to have come from Fairfax's business titles.
"Sadly, we are seeing content makers, the frontline staff who produce the news, we are seeing those positions going as a result of these forced cuts."
She said the cuts were across the board, with senior journalists among those losing their jobs.
"These are people who have been with the company for a significant amount of time and have a number of years service under their belt," Ms McInerney said.
"It's terribly disappointing and upsetting for existing staff."
She said the redundancies raised "serious questions" about quality and the ability of staff who remain behind "to continue to produce the calibre of coverage that the Fairfax titles are renowned for".
Journalists may challenge redundancies
She said it was unclear whether the workers would challenge the redundancies and staff would hold a meeting at 11:00am tomorrow in Sydney and Melbourne to discuss their response to the company's move, and decide the next step.
"We'll have to wait and see where that goes tomorrow," she said.
Ms McInerney said it was unclear when the redundant workers would have to "leave the building", but said it appeared "the company is moving to push people out the door quite quickly".
She said some applications were knocked back.
"The company has always said they want the right skills to stay within the company," Ms McInerney said.
She said people were told of the forced redundancies in individual meetings or in phone calls today.
The ABC contacted Fairfax Media for comment but it declined.
Topics: print-media, unions, sydney-2000, melbourne-3000
First posted
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Bulls defense falters in preseason loss to New Orleans
hello
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, center, if fouled on the way to the basket by Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, left, while guard Jimmy Butler, right, defends during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game, Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, in Chicago.
It's way too soon to know if the Bulls' new breakneck pace will continue or even succeed into the regular season. The Bulls have been reaching some high numbers, though, with new coach Fred Hoiberg in preseason.
On Monday at the United Center, the defense wasn't up to the task. The Bulls dropped to 2-2 in preseason by losing 123-115 to the New Orleans Pelicans, letting a 20-point lead slip away.
The Bulls scored 66 points in the first half, but gave up 69 in the second half.
"I think we rely too much on our offense," Jimmy Butler said. "That can't happen. Obviously. It's preseason, everybody's learning. I just think whenever we're scoring the ball well in the first half, we think that we're going to continue to make shots and then we don't have to guard."
Rookie forward Bobby Portis led the Bulls with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Doug McDermott had 17 points, Tony Snell 15, Pau Gasol 14 and Aaron Brooks 13.
The Bulls couldn't keep up a fast start from 3-point land. They were 7-for-12 from 3-point range early in the second quarter, but went 4-for-20 the rest of the way.
The biggest problem on defense was fouling. New Orleans went to the foul line 37 times. Chicago native Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 26 points.
"I thought we stopped doing what got us that lead," Hoiberg said. "We were getting our, running, getting open shots. Then our pace went bad and we obviously didn't stop anybody in that second half. They had that big run and we just seemed to quit playing. You've got to develop a killer mentality. If you get the lead up to 20, push it up to 30.
The Bulls played without Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson on Monday. Snell turned his right ankle late in the game and walked through the locker room with the aid of a single crutch after the game.
The Bulls' offense was fairly ordinary outside of a five-minute stretch late in the first quarter. They scored 25 points in a 5:19 span, which included 3-pointers by Gasol, Brooks and McDermott. Portis and Brooks scored 11 points off the bench in the opening quarter.
A question Hoiberg needs to answer is whether he needs to find time in a crowded frontcourt rotation for rookie Bobby Portis. The 6-11 forward from Arkansas hasn't played a bad game yet in preseason. He's quickly become a fan favorite with his hustle and does some good things defensively.
"We'll see," Hoiberg said. "We've got four games to get everything figured out. We'll get the rotation figured out. It may be an evolving thing. It may not be the final rotation right at the beginning of the season. Everybody's going to have to be ready to play. Everybody's going to have to sacrifice to get where we want to be."
• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.
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Emojing has already replaced texting as the go-to zero-effort communication tool of youngsters everywhere, and all those emoji version of popular songs and TV shows are about a lot more elaborate thanks to huge unicode update.
250 new emoji have been added to unicode standard 7.0 that is used to standardize the presentation of text across different platforms like iOS, Android, and Windows, and while it’s still up to software makers to actually implement the new standards, you can expect them to land on iOS pretty soon.
According to the Unicode Consortium which dictates the standards, the new set of emoji characters are mostly derived from characters that have been widely used in Wingdings and Webdings font, that include a middle finger and the Vulcan Salute.
The new emoji still don’t contain racially diverse humans, but they did manage to pack in four new rockets, seven airplanes and 16 leaf configurations to the delight of botanists everywhere.
Emoji characters have been supported on OS X since Lion was released, while iOS has always supported the characters and the upcoming iOS 8 release will make emoji more prominent as the international keyboard button is replaced with a smiling emoji.
Apple says it’s been working with the Unicode Consortium to add more racial diversity to the emoji set, but it looks like those updates won’t make it into the standard early enough for iOS 8. The current standard mostly features white people, and the only persons added to the new character set is a “Man In Business Suit Levitating” and a “Sleuth Or Spy.”
Source: Unicode Inc
Via: The Verge
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BlackBerry shares jumped more than 10 per cent Friday after the release of a quarterly financial report showing the smartphone company's revenue was above expectations and its loss was far less than anticipated.
The company's stock closed at $12.03 in TSX trading, up $1.14 from Thursday's close.
BlackBerry's revenue was $557 million US, which was $64 million above the general estimate and up from $548 million US a year ago.
Its net loss was $89 million US or 17 cents per share under standard accounting rules. After adjustments, BlackBerry's loss was $15 million US or three cents per share — far less than estimates.
Analysts had projected that BlackBerry would report an adjusted loss of 14 cents per share and $489 million US of revenue for the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters.
Chief executive John Chen says the company saw higher revenue across all areas of its focus, including software, and it will increase spending on the launch of the newest BlackBerry smartphone — the first with an Android operating system.
Chen said the new Priv device has been well received since it was launched in November, late in the company's third quarter ended Nov. 28, but the company did not provide any device sales figures to gauge its performance.
"Numbers will tell us but the initial 30 days, so to speak, has been quite positive, and I don't want to over hype that situation," Chen told analysts Friday.
Hardware revenues, which account for device sales, dropped to $214 million from $361 million a year ago.
Software and services revenue more than doubled to $154 million from $57 million a year ago, as BlackBerry shifts its primary focus to driving recurring subscriber fees from its business clients.
"BlackBerry has a solid financial foundation, and we are executing well," Chen said in a statement before a conference call.
"To sustain our current direction, we are stepping up investments to drive continued software growth and the additional Priv launches. I anticipate this will result in sequential revenue growth in our software, hardware and messaging businesses in our software, hardware and messaging businesses in Q4."
Chen has said previously that BlackBerry needs to sell five million phones in the current fiscal year to break even.
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Voices Racism is not dying – it’s adapting
The terror attack on a church in Charleston, US, on June 17 by the 21-year-old Dylann Roof that resulted in the deaths of nine African-Americans is a stark reminder of the realities relating to global racism and white supremacy.
Racism is not dying. In the US it is no longer just the sheet-wearing Ku Klux Klan member, in South Africa it is not and has never been only the AWB.
It has been convenient to present racism as the bad behaviour of certain white people, when really all white people are complicit, intentionally or not – because white supremacy exists for their benefit.
Even worse are the white people who, because they have black lovers or don’t use the n- or k-words, think they are exempt from racism. They are perhaps the most dangerous kind.
Racism is also 21 years old, has black friends like Roof did, probably even dates or has sex with black people and yet still believes in the tenets of white supremacy. Roof demonstrates what many antiracism activists and ordinary black people suffering minor aggressions and violence related to racism have been saying – which is that racism has evolved.
Racism, like all structures of oppression, has simply shifted and adapted to racist societies that have not undone the very core structures of racism. The consequence of this is that, because there have been changes in power or representation, it is often assumed that systems of oppression have also been changed.
Millennials are not any less racist based on their age and class. The notion that they are has largely been a projection of society’s hopes and dreams without interrogating what growing up in an increasingly white supremacist and capitalist society means.
Ending white supremacy is ultimately the work of white people. Black people can push, march, write, agitate, shout back and have political and economic power, but all of these things still cannot protect them from the violence of an antiblack world.
White people everywhere must be ready and willing to undo that which they benefit from, which is harder than just writing the odd Facebook status or preaching about how good a person you are.
Racism is not dying. It is adapting and will continue to do so while we keep the same buildings and hope that filling them with people who are younger, better travelled, educated – or whatever we keep telling ourselves – will fix the buildings themselves.
Racism cannot be wished away or simply bred out. To believe that it can be is wishful thinking.
Follow me on Twitter @GugsM
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Indian children walking tall: Study shows teenagers are 2 inches taller than in 1992
If you have noticed your young one to be a few inches taller and a few kilos heavier than what you were at his or her age, don't be surprised. Indian kids today are taller and heavier than what they were 20 years ago.
On average an 18 year old child belonging to an upper income family is about 4.5 centimeters (about 2 inches) taller and about 4 kilograms heavier than in 1992, researchers from the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) and All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have reported.
The study results have been published in the National Medical Journal of India. Height and weight of children across the socio-economic spectrum have registered an increase but the hike is sharper in children belonging to upper income groups.
The average height of boys has increased by 2 inches while their average weight has increased by more than 6 kg
This has emerged in the nationwide study covering over 1.06 lakh boys and girls in the 5-18 years age group in 19 cities all over the country. One of the key factors for the changing physical parameters of Indian children is improvement in their nutritional status.
It is also an indicator of overall development and improvement in facilities such as sanitation, transport and hygiene.
The absence of infectious diseases also contributes to weight gain because any episode of infectious disease causes loss in weight. It has been observed that children worldwide have become taller and heavier in the past few decades.
In the developed world, the trend of an increase in height plateaued after the 1960s but it continues in the developing world with varying degrees.
The study is the first such conducted at the national level, the researchers said. The last study done in 1992 had a much smaller sample size and it was spread over 12 cities only.
The median height of a 12-year-old boy in 1992 was 145.8 cm (about 4 feet 9 inches) compared to 150.1 cm (4 feet 11 inches) now. An 18 year old boy now has median height of 174.3 cm (5 feet 9 inches) compared to 169.8 cm (5 feet 7 inches) in 1992.
The median weight of a 12-year-old boy has gone up from 34.8 kg in 1992 to 41 kg now. It is up from 58.6 kg in 1992 to 66.2 kg for an 18 year old.
Similarly, the median height of a 12-year-old girl changed from 146 cm (4 feet 9 inches) to 149.8 cm (4 feet 11 inches), while for an 18-year-old girl the change is from 157 cm (5 feet 2 inches) to 158.5 cm (5 feet two-and-a-half inches).
The average height of girls has increase by 0.5 inches, while their weight has increased by more than 7 kg
The mean weight of a 12-year-old girl rose from 35 to 41.9 kg. The change for an 18 year old girl is 48.4 to 55.6 kg.
Out of 1,06,843 children who were evaluated, 42 214 children (19 303 boys, 22 911 girls) were from the lower socioeconomic strata and 64 629 children (34 411 boys, 30 218 girls) were from the upper socioeconomic strata.
School fee was taken as a proxy for socio-economic status of the children. 'India is undergoing a major transition and this study provides a clear evidence of this,' said Dr Raman Kumar Marwaha, who led the study.
Measurement of height and weight is frequently used by doctors and health workers as a tool to define children's nutritional status and to assess their growth.
The data is also used by health policy makers to target special nutrition programmes.
That's why growth charts for children need to be updated regularly. A significant difference was observed in heights and weights of children belonging to upper and lower income families across all age groups.
'Children from upper income strata were taller and heavier, not only when compared with those belonging to the low income groups, but also when compared with the combined lot', Marwaha said.
While improving physical parameters augur well for Indians, the increase in weight may be a cause of worry for a small segment of the kids' population because it will give rise to overweight and obesity.
Height and weight are used to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) – an index of obesity. If the new values are used, a lot more Indian children will get categorised as overweight and obese.
If the BMI of a person is 25 or more, he or she is considered overweight and if it is 30 then the person can be called obese as per international norms.
For Indians, various agencies, including the World Health Organisation, have suggested lower cutoff because Indians have a different body make-up and a propensity for central obesity even with a lower BMI.
An Indian should be considered overweight at BMI of 23, it has been suggested.
'In this study, 13 and 15- year-old girls (and 14 and 16-year-old boys) have already reached the overweight and obese categories as per the current definition for adult Indians,' said Dr Vijayalakshmi Bhatia of the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS).
'If we use current international BMI definitions and use data from our study, we would end up accepting overweight children as 'normal' at all ages,' Marwaha said.
Otherwise, he said, about 20 per cent children would be categorised as overweight and obese, which is a significant number. Childhood obesity heralds early onset of metabolic disorders in adulthood.
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 01/29/2009
andare over - this time for good! - Anything Hollywood
Megan Fox does NOT want to follow in the footsteps of Angelina Jolie - Celebitchy
Kim Kardashian defends Jessica Simpson's weight gain - Celebrity Smack
Kelly Clarkson is back at the top - Daily Stab
Leighton Meester likes her men "dark and bad" - Gabby Babble
Video: Bruce Springsteen still not happy with President Bush - Geno's World
Paris Hilton seems to have forgotten something - Gone Hollywood
Check out where Hef's twins have been hanging out - Hollywood Backwash
Britney Spears tour rehearsal photo - Hollywood Crap
Did Tony Romo cheat on Jessica Simpson? - Hot Momma Gossip
Misha Barton caught kissing a girl (photo) - Pop Crunch
See where Jessica Alba is hiding her tattoo - The Blemish
Photo: Wenn
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WETASKIWIN, Alta. — Lawyers for three teens who shot at a house on an Alberta reserve, killing a five-year-old boy sleeping in his bed, argue their clients’ tragic childhoods in a desolate community should be considered before punishment is handed out.
They told a sentencing hearing Wednesday that violence was a way of life on the Samson Cree First Nation, one of four reserves in the community Hobbema, about an hour’s drive south of Edmonton.
All three came from homes filled with fighting, drinking and drugs. They were neglected and spent time in and out of foster care. Then they joined gangs.
Crown prosecutor Trent Wilson acknowledged the oldest youth in the case has talked about how he felt compelled to join a gang because violence was everywhere. But he said their sad childhood stories are no excuse for killing little Ethan Yellowbird.
“Not everybody who has a troubled background becomes a thug,” he said. “These guys had choices.”
Court has heard the three teens — 13, 16 and 17 at the time — were hanging out with one another one night in July 2011. They came up with a plan to walk to a nearby house and shoot it up.
The oldest teen fired one shot above the home, then passed on the gun to the two other boys and walked away. They each fired two bullets at the house. One passed through the wall above Ethan’s mattress and struck him in the head.
Ethan’s father, his girlfriend and their one-year-old child had all been sleeping in a bed next to Ethan. They woke up to screams and blood.
The teens picked up the shell casings outside, dropped them into a hat and ran off. They broke the rifle into two pieces and hid them outside near some tree stumps.
They were arrested six months later. In November, they pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
A motive for the shooting has not been revealed in court, but Ethan’s family said they’ve heard enough rumours to believe it was a retaliatory attack — for what, they don’t know.
On Wednesday, for the first time in court, the three teens stood up and spoke. They each repeated the same word: “Sorry.”
“I’d like to apologize to the family we’ve hurt,” said one of the boys, nodding towards Ethan’s relatives sitting in the court. “I’d like to say sorry to you guys. Truly, I’m sorry.”
The other two teens mumbled their words. Ethan’s mother, Ashley Yellowbird, said outside court she was disappointed those two turned their backs on everyone in the courtroom as they were speaking.
She said she was surprised by the apologies but doesn’t necessarily believe them. “They’re the only ones who know if they’re really sincere or not.”
Provincial court Judge Geoff Ho said he needs time to consider the difficult case and will be ready to sentence the teens May 10.
The Crown asked that all three serve the maximum youth sentence for manslaughter — two years in custody followed by one year of supervision.
Wilson said the shooting was planned and deliberate. It was carried out in the dark of night and the teens should have known they would kill someone, he said.
“Justice requires there be a real penalty imposed.”
The defence lawyers all asked for different sentences for their clients, ranging from six months in open custody to one year in a young offender’s centre.
Laura Stevens, who represents the oldest youth, said it’s tragic that violence, neglect and deprivation are so common for aboriginals growing up in Canada. She told the judge her client’s troubled upbringing must be taken into account.
“How does a kid like that even have a chance?”
The boy — now 19 — fired a shot that didn’t hit the house but takes responsibility for his actions that night, she said. It was his idea to target that home.
“He acknowledges it might never have happened if he hadn’t gone.”
The teen has a young son of his own now and understands the pain Ethan’s family must be going through, Stevens said. She added he is done with the gang and wants a fresh start in Edmonton. He doesn’t plan to ever go back to the reserve.
Glen Allen said his client, the youngest teen, also doesn’t want to be in a gang anymore. But the judge noted bad behaviour by the teen while in custody. And corrections staff found gang writings in his room.
Allen said his client was just 13 when the shooting took place. His age and poor upbringing made him an “ideal candidate” for gang recruitment.
He said the teen realizes he will never be able to live on the reserve again. It’s just not safe.
Ethan’s grandmother, Debbie Buffalo, said the defence lawyers painted an inaccurate picture of the community. She said there are recreation programs and loving families. If the teens feel it’s not safe, it’s because of what they’ve done.
“A lot of people in the community are angry because a little boy got killed.”
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DUBLIN (AP) -- Ninety-two years after they clinched Olympic gold, U.S. rugby players will be defending their title at the 2016 Games in Rio.
USA's men's and women's teams both qualified for the Olympic debut of rugby sevens at next summer's Games after winning the NACRA North America Rugby Sevens titles on Sunday.
The last time rugby featured at the Olympics - in the 15-a-side version of the game - was in Paris in 1924, when the United States won gold. They also won the Olympic title in 1920.
World rugby president Bernard Lapasset said ''having both teams competing on sport's biggest stage will take our exciting game to new audiences and inspire new participants. It could be a game-changer.''
Seven-a-side rugby will feature at the 2016 Olympics for the first time.
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It seems so strange, twenty-seven years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, to be living through a new Cold War with (as it happens, capital...
http://humansarefree.com/2017/01/the-utter-stupidity-of-new-cold-war.html
It seems so strange, twenty-seven years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, to be living through a new Cold War with (as it happens, capitalist) Russia.
The Russian president is attacked by the U.S. political class and media as they never attacked Soviet leaders; he is personally vilified as a corrupt, venal dictator, who arrests or assassinates political opponents and dissident journalists, and is hell-bent on the restoration of the USSR.(The latter claim rests largely on Vladimir Putin’s comment that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was a “catastrophe” and “tragedy” — which in many respects it was. The press chooses to ignore his comment that “Anyone who does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, while anyone who wants to restore it has no brain.”It conflicts with the simple talking-point that Putin misses the imperial Russia of the tsars if not the commissars and, burning with resentment over the west’s triumph in the Cold War , plans to exact revenge through wars of aggression and territorial expansion.) The U.S. media following its State Department script depicts Russia as an expansionist power.That it can do so, so successfully, such that even rather progressive people — such as those appalled by Trump’s victory who feel inclined to blame it on an external force — believe it, is testimony to the lingering power and utility of the Cold War mindset.The military brass keep reminding us: We are up against an existential threat! One wants to say that this — obviously — makes no sense! Russia is twice the size of the U.S. with half its population. Its foreign bases can be counted on two hands. The U.S. has 800 or so bases abroad.Russia’s military budget is 14% of the U.S. figure. It does not claim to be the exceptional nation appointed by God to preserve “security” on its terms anywhere on the globe.Since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the U.S. has waged war (sometimes creating new client-states) in Bosnia (1994-5), Serbia (1999), Afghanistan (2001- ), Iraq (2003- ), Libya (2011), and Syria (2014- ), while raining down drone strikes from Pakistan to Yemen to North Africa.These wars-based-on-lies have produced hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, millions of refugees, and general ongoing catastrophe throughout the “Greater Middle East.” There is no understating their evil.The U.S. heads an expanding military alliance formed in 1949 to confront the Soviet Union and global communism in general. Its raison d’être has been dead for many years. Yet it has expanded from 16 to 28 members since 1999, and new members Estonia and Latvia share borders with Russia.(Imagine the Warsaw Pact expanding to include Mexico. But no, the Warsaw Pact of the USSR and six European allies was dissolved 26 years ago in the idealistic expectation that NATO would follow in a new era of cooperation and peace.)And this NATO alliance, in theory designed to defend the North Atlantic, was only first deployed after the long (and peaceful) first Cold War, in what had been neutral Yugoslavia (never a member of either the Warsaw Pact nor NATO), Afghanistan (over 3000 miles from the North Atlantic), and the North African country of Libya.Last summer NATO held its most massive military drills since the collapse of the Soviet Union, involving 31,000 troops in Poland, rehearsing war with Russia.(The German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier actually criticized this exercise as “warmongering.”)Alliance officials expressed outrage when Russia responded to the warmongering by placing a new S-400 surface-to-air missiles and nuclear-capable Iskander systems on its territory of Kaliningrad between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic coast.But Russia has in fact been comparatively passive in a military sense during this period.In 1999, as NATO was about to occupy the Serbian province of Kosovo (soon to be proclaimed an independent country, in violation of international law), nearby Russian peacekeepers raced to the airport in Pristina, Kosovo, to secure it an ensure a Russian role in the Serbiam province’s future.It was a bold move that could have provoked a NATO-Russian clash. But the British officer on the ground wisely refused an order from Gen. Wesley Clark to block the Russian move, declaring he would not start World War III for Gen. Clark.This, recall, was after Bill Clinton’s secretary of state, Madeleine Albright (remember, the Hillary shill who said there’s a special place in hell reserved for women who don’t vote for women) presented to the Russian and Serbian negotiators at Rambouillet a plan for NATO occupation of not just Kosovo but all Serbia.It was a ridiculous demand, rejected by the Serbs and Russians, but depicted by unofficial State Department spokesperson and warmonger Christiane Amanpour as the “will of the international community.” As though Russia was not a member of the international community!This Pristina airport operation was largely a symbolic challenge to U.S. hegemony over the former Yugoslavia, a statement of protest that should have been taken seriously at the time.In any case, the new Russian leader Putin was gracious after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 , even offering NATO a military transport corridor through Russia to Afghanistan (closed in 2015). He was thanked by George W. Bush with the expansion of NATO by seven more members in 2004.(The U.S. press made light of this extraordinary geopolitical development; it saw and continues to see the expansion of NATO as no more problematic than the expansion of the UN or the European Union.)Then in April 2008 NATO announced that Georgia would be among the next members accepted into the alliance.Soon the crazy Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili, emboldened by the promise of near-term membership, provoked a war with the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, which had never accepted inclusion of the new Georgian state established upon the dissolution of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991.The Ossetians, fearing resurgent Georgian nationalism, had sought union with the Russian Federation. So had the people of Abkhazia.The two “frozen conflicts,” between the Georgian state and these peoples, had been frozen due to the deployment of Russian and Georgian peacekeepers. Russia had not recognized these regions as independent states nor agreed to their inclusion in the Russian Federation.But when Russian soldiers died in the Georgian attack ion August, Russia responded with a brief punishing invasion. It then recognized of the two new states (six months after the U.S. recognized Kosovo).(Saakashvili, in case you’re interested, was voted out of power, disgraced, accused of economic crimes, and deprived of his Georgian citizenship. After a brief stint at the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University — of which I as a Tufts faculty member feel deeply ashamed — he was appointed as governor of Odessa in Ukraine by the pro-NATO regime empowered by the U.S.-backed coup of February 22, 2014.)Sen. John McCain proclaimed in 2008: “We are all Georgians now,” and advocated U.S. military aid to the Georgian regime. An advocate of war as a rule, McCain then became a big proponent of regime change in Ukraine to allow for that country’s entry into NATO.Neocons in the State Department including most importantly McCain buddy Victoria Nuland, boasted of spending $ 5 billion in support of “the Ukrainian people’s European aspirations” (meaning: the desire of many Ukrainians in the western part of the country to join the European Union — risking, although they perhaps do not realize it, a reduction in their standard of living under a Greek-style austerity program — to be followed by NATO membership, tightening the military noose around Russia).The Ukrainian president opted out in favor of a generous Russian aid package. That decision — to deny these “European aspirations” — was used to justify the coup.But look at it from a Russian point of view. Just look at this map, of the expanding NATO alliance, and imagine it spreading to include that vast country (the largest in Europe, actually) between Russia to the east and Poland to the west, bordering the Black Sea to the south.The NATO countries at present are shown in dark blue, Ukraine and Georgia in green. Imagine those countries’ inclusion.And imagine NATO demanding that Russia vacate its Sevastopol naval facilities, which have been Russian since 1783, turning them over to the (to repeat: anti-Russian) alliance. How can anyone understand the situation in Ukraine without grasping this basic history?The Russians denounced the coup against President Viktor Yanukovych (democratically elected — if it matters — in 2010), which was abetted by neo-fascists and marked from the outset by an ugly Russophobic character encouraged by the U.S. State Department.The majority population in the east of the country, inhabited by Russian-speaking ethnic Russians and not even part of Ukraine until 1917, also denounced the coup and refused to accept the unconstitutional regime that assumed power after Feb. 22.When such people rejected the new government, and declared their autonomy, the Ukrainian army was sent in to repress them but failed, embarrassingly, when the troops confronted by angry babushkas turned back.The regime since has relied on the neo-fascist Azov Battalion to harass secessionists in what has become a new “frozen conflict.”Russia has no doubt assisted the secessionists while refusing to annex Ukrainian territory, urging a federal system for the country to be negotiated by the parties. Russian families straddle the Russian-Ukrainian border.There are many Afghan War veterans in both countries. The Soviet munitions industry integrated Russian and Ukrainian elements.One must assume there are more than enough Russians angry about such atrocities as the May 2014 killing of 42 ethnic Russian government opponents in Odessa to bolster the Donbas volunteers.But there is little evidence (apart from a handful of reports about convoys of dozens of “unmarked military vehicles” from Russia in late 2014) for a Russian “invasion” of Ukraine.And the annexation of Crimea (meaning, its restoration to its 1954 status as Russian territory) following a credible referendum did not require any “invasion” since there were already 38,000 Russian troops stationed there.All they had to do was to secure government buildings, and give Ukrainian soldiers the option of leaving or joining the Russian military. (A lot of Ukrainian soldiers opted to stay and accept Russian citizenship.)Still, these two incidents — the brief 2008 war in Georgia, and Moscow’s (measured) response to the Ukrainian coup since 2014 — have been presented as evidence of a general project to disrupt the world order by military expansion, requiring a firm U.S. response. The entirety of the cable news anchor class embraces this narrative.But they are blind fools. Who has in this young century disrupted world order more than the U.S., wrecking whole countries, slaughtering hundreds of thousands of innocents, provoking more outrage through grotesquely documented torture, generating new terror groups, and flooding Europe with refugees who include some determined to sow chaos and terror in European cities?How can any rational person with any awareness of history since 1991 conclude that Russia is the aggressive party?And yet, this is the conventional wisdom. I doubt you can get a TV anchor job if you question it.The teleprompter will refer routinely to Putin’s aggression and Russian expansion and the need for any mature presidential candidate to respect the time-honored tradition of supporting NATO no matter what.And now the anchor is expected to repeat that all 17 U.S. intelligence services have concluded that Vladimir Putin interfered in the U.S. presidential election.Since there is zero evidence for this, one must conclude that the Democratic losers dipped into the reliable grab bag of scapegoats and posited that Russia and Putin in particular must have hacked the DNC in order to — through the revelation of primary sources of unquestionable validity, revealing the DNC’s determination to make Clinton president, while sabotaging Sanders and promoting (through their media surrogates) Donald Trump as the Republican candidate — undermine Clinton’s legitimacy.All kinds of liberals, including Sanders’ best surrogates like Nina Turner, are totally on board the Putin vilification campaign.It is sad and disturbing that so many progressive people are so willing to jump on the new Cold War bandwagon. It is as though they have learned nothing from history but are positively eager, in their fear and rage, to relive the McCarthy era.But the bottom line is: U.S. Russophobia does not rest on reason, judgment, knowledge of recent history and the ability to make rational comparisons.It rests on religious-like assumptions of “American exceptionalism” and in particular the right of the U.S. to expand militarily at Russia’s expense — as an obvious good in itself, rather than a distinct, obvious evil threatening World War III.The hawks in Congress — bipartisan, amoral, ignorant, knee-jerk Israel apologists, opportunist scum — are determined to dissuade the president-elect (bile rises in my throat as I use that term, but it’s true that he’s that, technically) from any significant rapprochement with Russia.(Heavens, they must be horrified at the possibility that Trump follows Kissinger’s reported advice and recognizes the Russian annexation of Crimea!)They want to so embarrass him with the charge of being (as Hillary accused him of being during the campaign) Putin’s “puppet” that he backs of from his vague promise to “get along” with Russia.They don’t want to get along with Russia. They want more NATO expansion, more confrontation. They are furious with Russian-Syrian victories over U.S-backed, al-Qaeda-led forces in Syria, especially the liberation of Aleppo that the U.S. media:(1) does not cover having no reporters on the ground, and little interest since events in Syria so powerfully challenge the State Department’s talking points that shape U.S. reporting,(2) misreports systematically, as the tragic triumph of the evil, Assad’s victory over an imaginary heroic opposition, and(3) sees the strengthening of the position of the Syrian stats as an indication of Russia’s reemergence as a superpower.(This they they cannot accept, as virtually a matter of religious conviction; the U.S. in official doctrine must maintain “full spectrum dominance” over the world and prohibit the emergence of any possible competitor, forever.)* * *The first Cold War was based on the western capitalists’ fear of socialist expansion. It was based on the understanding that the USSR had defeated the Nazis, had extraordinary prestige in the world, and was the center for a time of the expanding global communist movement.It was based on the fear that more and more countries would achieve independence from western imperialism, denying investors their rights to dominate world markets. It had an ideological content. This one does not.Russia and the U.S. are equally committed to capitalism and neoliberal ideology. Their conflict is of the same nature as the U.S. conflict with Germany in the early 20th century. The Kaiser’s Germany was at least as “democratic” as the U.S.; the system was not the issue.It was just jockeying for power, and as it happened, the U.S. intervening in World War I belatedly, after everybody else was exhausted, cleaned up.In World War II in Europe, the U.S. having hesitated to invade the continent despite repeated Soviet appeals to do so, responded to the fall of Berlin to Soviet forces by rushing token forces to the city to claim joint credit.And then it wound up, after the war, establishing its hegemony over most of Europe — much, much more of Europe than became the Soviet-dominated zone, which has since with the Warsaw Pact evaporated. Russia is a truncated, weakened version of its former self.It is not threatening the U.S. in any of the ways the U.S. is threatening itself. It is not expanding a military alliance. It is not holding huge military exercises on the U.S. border.It is not destroying the Middle East through regime-change efforts justified to the American people by sheer misinformation. In September 2015 Putin asked the U.S., at the United Nations: “Do you realize what you’ve done?”Unfortunately the people of this country are not educated, by their schools, press or even their favorite websites to realize what has been done, how truly horrible it is, and how based it all is on lies. Fake news is the order of the day.Up is down, black is white, Russia is the aggressor, the U.S. is the victim.The new president must be a team-player, and for God’s sake, understand that Putin is today’s Hitler, and if Trump wants to get along with him, he will have to become a team-player embracing this most basic of political truths in this particular imperialist country:Russia (with its nukes, which are equally matched with the U.S. stockpile) is the enemy, whose every action must be skewed to inflame anti-Russian feeling, as the normative default sentiment towards this NATO-encircled, sanction-ridden, non-threatening nation, under what seems by comparison a cautious, rational leadership?* * *CNN’s horrible “chief national correspondent” John King (former husband of equally horrid Dana Bash, CNN’s “chief political correspondent”) just posed the question, with an air of aggressive irritation:“Who does Donald Trump respect more, the U.S. intelligence agencies, or the guy who started Wikileaks [Assange]?”It’s a demand for the Trump camp to buy the Russian blame game, or get smeared as a fellow-traveler with international whistle-blowers keen on exposing the multiple crimes of U.S. imperialism.So the real question is: Will Trump play ball, and credit the “intelligence community” that generates “intelligence products” on demand, or brush aside the war hawks’ drive for a showdown with Putin’s Russia?Will the second Cold War peter out coolly, or culminate in the conflagration that “Mutually Assured Destruction” (MAD) was supposed to render impossible?The latter would be utterly stupid. But stupid people — or wise people, cynically exploiting others’ stupidity — are shaping opinion every day, and have been since the first Cold War, based like this one on innumerable lies.
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Is steam power in your future? Issue #43 • January/February, 1997
If you’re thinking steam is old-fashioned, consider this: Almost a century ago, steam cars and ships attained speeds and efficiencies which are still difficult to attain, even with today’s modern internal combustion engines.
Steam is one of the most powerful and the most dangerous forms of independent energy. It is so powerful that here at Tiny Power, makers of steam engines, at least once a week we get a call from someone who is going to save the world with steam. Usually, it takes only a few minutes of conversation to reveal that the caller needs more education in the basics of steam engineering.
This article is an attempt to answer some of the many questions people have about steam. And I guess the first question is: can it save the world, at least as far as your personal energy needs are concerned? That depends.
For the initial investment in this most labor intensive form of home power, you could probably buy a diesel generator and 5-10 thousand gallons of fuel with no significant changes in your lifestyle. If you plan to burn wood, you should know that it is a very established science to gasify wood and burn it in an internal combustion engine. This may be a more practical application for you.
If you have a need for large quantities of controllable heat, say to heat a large home, chicken house, or even a kiln, steam plants excel in that the waste heat (exhaust) of a steam engine will give you excessive amounts of BTUs to play with.
What is steam?
What is steam? “Water gone crazy with the heat” is as good an answer as any. Water will actually turn into steam in a vacuum if its temperature maintains 40 degrees F. Conversely, at a pressure of 3200 lbs. per square inch, and a temperature around 720 degrees, steam becomes “supercritical” and actually has a density the same as water. Modern steam systems run at these pressures because steam, which is a ‘super-radiant’ gas, absorbs and gives up heat much faster than water.
Only “dry” steam produces usable work. Steam is a dry, clear, tasteless gas. The cloudy stuff you can see coming out of a kettle is actually just water vapor and has no use for our needs because if you can see it, all the work has gone out of it.
One of the small, high-quality steam engines made by the author’s company, Tiny Power, Inc.
Once water is turned to steam, you can raise the temperature of the gas and store more energy/work in it. We call this “superheated” steam and though it is a desirable condition, it is seldom used in small-scale steam plants.
What we want to do with steam is extract work from it. Work is best described as the movement or change of velocity of mass. It takes energy to do work. To impart energy to a mass is one thing, and to transmit and use that energy is another. Water, in the form of steam, is an excellent medium to transmit energy.
Water is a practical, safe and effective non-organic chemical that will readily absorb and transmit energy. To understand how this happens, try to think in differentials, i.e., differences in temperature, differences in pressure, or more specifically, differences in volume. As steam goes from one volume to another, work is done. An example of this is a piston going down in a cylinder creating more space or volume (expansion). As volumetric changes occur, temperature and pressure changes must also occur. These are laws of nature that you cannot change. We have units to measure the properties of mass. Generally, pressure is measured in pounds per square inch, volume in cubic feet, and temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. (I ain’t metric yet, folks.)
At this point, let me introduce you to the British thermal unit (Btu). It’s the United States unit of measure, which is similar to the metric system’s calorie. It is nothing but a unit of heat. One Btu is the amount of heat required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. Conversely, if a pound of water drops one degree, it releases one Btu.
When any fuel is burned, it gives off energy in the form of heat, and that heat can be measured in either Btu’s or calories. We’ll use Btu’s. An example is oak wood, which has 6-11 thousand Btu’s per pound. Consider it as potential energy or energy waiting to happen. When oxidized (burned), it releases energy, and if we make steam with that energy, we can use the steam to transmit that energy somewhere else to do useful work.
Steam launch Santa Cruz II, Echo Lake, California
Other sources of Btu’s can be a hot spring or solar. Remember, what we are looking for is a difference in temperatures; the higher we can raise the temperature of water, the more work we can get out of the water. Unfortunately, the less the difference in temperature is, the greater the volume of water must be. For example, one pound of steam at 800 degrees has a certain amount of work in it; to produce the same amount of work at 400 degrees, you need a much greater amount of water.
So, we take one pound of water from 60 to 212 degrees and it takes 152 Btu’s. (212 – 60 = 152) Now we add one more Btu and it all turns to steam at atmospheric pressure. Right? Wrong!
Raising water temperature is easy; changing water to steam is a whole ‘nother ballgame. It takes a lot of energy to change the physical state of matter. Remember, it is not wasted here; rather it is stored.
To convert one pound of water from 212 degrees water to 212 degree steam (still one pound by weight) at atmospheric pressure takes another 970 Btu’s. If we contain all of this, as in a boiler, we get a pressure differential (inside vs. outside). That pound of water, at 212 degrees, had occupied only .2 cubic feet. The steam at 212 degrees and at atmospheric pressure (or 14.7 lbs. per square inch) will occupy 27 cubic feet.
Now, if that steam isn’t allowed to expand into those volumes because it is contained, we get an increase in pressure. It is this pressure that we will use to do our work.
What type of boiler?
The container in which we will make our steam is called a boiler. There are basically three types of boilers.
The Fire Tube boiler. This is the oldest, simplest, and the one that creates the steadiest production of steam. It is also the most dangerous (tends to blow up). Therefore, no more on this one. Forget it, nada, no way, etc. Paste this sticker on your brain: There is a stick of dynamite in a gallon of water.
The Water Tube. This is more efficient, safer, common, easy to build, etc. Basically, the design incorporates a series of tubes that stem downward from a drum and surround the combustion chamber (firebox). Steam is then drawn off the top of the drum where it is routed to its intended use by a pipe. (See figure 1.)
Figure 1. Water tube boiler
A common example of these types is a home heating boiler. Big ships and power plants use these designs as well. We have one in our 23′ steamboat that burns wood, and it works rather well. Let me interject here that if you burn solid fuel (wood or coal), you will attend your boiler at all times. If you can’t, just drop the whole idea. If you can, be prepared for perpetual bliss.
The basic layout is as illustrated in the figure. Do not, by any means, use this illustration to design your own boiler. If you had to educate yourself by reading this article, you cannot, will not, and shall not build one of these. Remember, death is final (and painful).
There are countless plans available that are approved, certified, and well tested. Steam is definitely a ‘finalized’ science. If you look in the yellow pages, you will find certified boilermakers who will do the job right. Technically, you are breaking the law by building a non-certified boiler.
Monotube or flash boilers. This by far is the most efficient, lightest, and safest boiler. It is easy and inexpensive to construct. They work best on continuous, steady operation. However, with little reserve capacity, they are sensitive to fluctuations in fuel and water supplies, not to mention loads. The most common versions are portable steam cleaners. Modern motels use a variation as water heaters.
A bigger steamboat
Basically, they consist of one continuous coil of tubing or pipe in various configurations. Hence the name “Monotube.” If we can provide exacting control of our fuel/water supply, then we have the ideal home-power boiler. Gas and liquid type fuels are the ideal type of fuel for monotubes because they are easy to regulate. And yes, there are approved designs out there for monotubes, and a professional can build them rather cheaply.
Combustion facts
A given amount of fuel needs a given amount of air to burn—no more and no less. It also needs the right amount of space to burn. Not enough air and you get incomplete combustion. Too much air and you’re heating air.
Also, if we make the air meet the fuel too quickly, we get too hot a flame. That’s bad because at temperatures over 1800 degrees, the nitrogen in air and some other chemicals start to oxidize. Not only is that poisonous, but it is wasted energy.
Combustion space is important because too little and we snuff the flame. Hold a lit candle so the flame touches an ice cube and if you look real close, there is an invisible layer of gas insulating the flame from the surface. That layer is unburned gases like carbon monoxide and is caused because the surface temperature was below the ignition temperature of the burnable gases. The rule is: Flame shall not touch metal.
Also, too much space and we can lose our coefficients of radiation. Generally speaking, a boiler gets 60-70% of energy transfer from radiant energy, rather than hot gases.
One-half scale steam tractor
The idea here is to gently unite air and fuel together and give it plenty of space or time to do its thing. There are set formulas for all of these factors, and your boiler builder will know what to do once you tell him what your needs are.
Enormous torque
Now that we have our steam, let’s use it. We extract the work from steam by allowing it to expand in a controlled environment such as with a piston in a cylinder or a nozzle in a turbine.
Turbines are nice, and I have one myself, but in home scale sizes, they are very inefficient. It’s just a matter of physics and costs. I know there are plenty of folks out there that will argue this point, but if they can come up with an efficient, home-scale turbine and sell it at a reasonable cost, I’ll buy it.
So, we’re stuck with the piston (reciprocating) engine. Take heart. They work, they last, and they’ve been around for a long time. Steam engines are quiet, heavy, long lasting, and if modern, easy to maintain (our larger models use sealed ball bearings).
You can find plenty of used engines at old shipyards, refineries, ancient factories, mines, and railroads. Or you can buy a new one.
Consider steam engines akin to a fast acting hydraulic cylinder with an automatic valve. The ram is connected to a crank which turns and gives useful work. It is important to note that most steam engines are designed to take steam on both sides of the piston, which makes it a “single-stroke” engine. That also makes piston engines produce enormous torque at almost any rpm. You can figure this torque by taking the square inches of the piston, multiplying that by the average cylinder pressure, and multiplying that figure by the length of the stroke measured in feet divided by 2. An example would be: A single cylinder engine has a bore of 3 inches and a stroke of 4 inches and runs at 100 lbs of average cylinder or “mean” pressure. A three-inch piston has approximately 7 square inches (3 x 3 x .7854) and a stroke of .33 feet. (4/12). 7 x .33 = 2.31. Times that by 100 pounds pressure x 2.31 = 231 and divide that by 2, and you get 115.5 foot-pounds of torque. In reality, however, there are friction and efficiency losses.
Efficiencies are measured by how much steam/water an engine consumes to do a given amount of work. This is usually measured in pounds of steam/water per horsepower hour. In English, that means that for every horsepower produced for one hour, a certain amount of steam/water will pass through the engine.
Our shop unit has been in use for the last 18 years producing 4000 watts an hour. It consumes about 250 pounds of water (that has been turned to steam) in one hour. 750 watts is considered one horsepower, and when you figure efficiency losses, that works out to about 47 pounds per horsepower hour (250 lbs divided by roughly 5.3 horsepower). Put another way, for every horsepower the engine produced, we evaporated 47 pounds of water to steam and passed it through the engine.
There are engines that are much more efficient, but they cost a lot more than you want to pay. Efficiency is nice, but if the fuel is free, why should you care? Because the less wood you burn, the less you have to cut. I’ve used as much as a cord of wood in 10 days, and for me that’s too much work.
All that brings us back to the question of why steam vs. other forms of independent energy? Because, if you have a use for large quantities of heat, the exhaust from the engine will give you just that.
Steam engines and boilers are usually most efficient at full settings, all valves open, full fire, etc… so that brings us to the next subject:
AC vs. DC
In a home setting, electricity is the most common form of energy. Therefore, a steam engine/generator proves to be the most practical application.
Generators are either A.C. or D.C. and both have their applications. At Tiny Power’s shop, our 4kw Winco is A.C. Unfortunately, A.C. requires precise speed controls in the form of a delicate governor and heavy flywheel. I would suggest that most folks should use D.C. instead. D.C. is easier to make, control, and most importantly, you can store it. By making D.C. electricity and storing it, the steam system can run at max capacity for a short period (most efficient) rather than idle along all day (inefficient). It is practical because you can make your electricity early, then get on about your business.
This steamboat, with its typical power plant,
was used in the movie Maverick
I ran a 1kw D.C. steam power plant as a tourist attraction here in Branson, Missouri, for a time and fell in love with high voltage D.C. The system ran lights and motors at 120 volts. The only drawback is D.C. is hard on contacts and switches. You have to buy those expensive switches and breakers that are rated for D.C.
Steam for home power
Tiny Power has 13 different models of engines plus accessories, and we cater mostly to hobbyists such as retired machinists and steamboaters worldwide. However, our heart still yearns towards self-sufficiency.
I myself am in the process of starting another company devoted to steam as a home power. I won’t put it on the market until the system is foolproof, efficient, and affordable.
The following design will show a practical concept of a home-scale steam generator system. It is not an actual blueprint and I assume no liability for anyone who uses it as such. For those folks who think they are going to use their woodstove to make steam, please do the following: put me in your will, send the kids to live with grandma, give fair warning to the neighbors, and pay off your ocean-front property in Arizona.
Let us start with needs. Our home will need 2400 watt/hours of electricity per day. Since we only get 75% from a battery of what we put into it, we need to put in 3200 watt/hours (2400 / .75 = 3200). Even though 750 watts = 1 horsepower, there are inefficiencies in generators, belts, etc. A safe figure is a 30% loss, so 3200 watts over 70% efficiency = 4266 watts (3200 / .70 = 4571). Round up to 4600. Our horsepower requirement then is 4600 watt/hours divided by 750, which is 6.1 horsepower (4600 / 750 = 6.1).
Using 47 lbs of steam per horsepower hour to be consumed by our engine, we take the 6.1 and multiply it by 47 and we get 286.7 or basically 287 pounds of steam/water is required.
We’ll say that 1200 Btu’s per pound of water/steam will be required to turn the water to steam at our working pressure of 120 psi. So, 287 pounds of steam/water x 1200 Btu’s = 344,400 Btu’s are required (287 x 1200).
Our boiler is 70% efficient, so 344,400 Btu’s divided by 70% gives us the figure of 492,000 Btu’s actually required (344,400 / .70 = 492,000).
Our wood contains a heat value of 7,000 Btu’s per pound, so we need 70.3 pounds of wood (492,000 / 7,000 = 70.3). Let’s spread the load over two hours, and we can see that we will burn 35.2 pounds of wood an hour (70.3 / 2 = 35.2), or about 35 pounds. To put that in perspective, that is a hefty armload of wood.
Remember, these are “real world” figures and are dramatically different from what some pink-hands so-called “educated” type will come up with.
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If you follow the illustration in Figure 2, notice the direction of flow of fuel and water. This is a monotube design and will use electric pumps and blowers, giving easy control.
It will burn wood gas from “digesters” which heat the wood to ignition temperature but starve it for oxygen. This unburned gas is then mixed with heated air and burned at the base of the boiler. The combustion gases pass over the tubes of water and then over the air heater and on out the exhaust stack.
The water will enter the outside coil, pick up heat, go into the heat exchanger (desuperheater) and into the separator. Steam will exit the top of the separator and into the inner coil which acts as a superheater. The excessively hot steam will pass through the desuperheater, releasing some Btu’s into the incoming water. The now “tempered” steam will head towards the engine, where it will do its work. The engine exhaust will travel into a coil which is inside the large tank and release its remaining heat into the water. Having done that, our steam will have condensed into water and is forced through a vacuum pump which exhausts into the “hotwell.” From this point, it is pumped back to the boiler via a high pressure feed pump to start all over again.
Getting educated
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting educated before you tinker. Large sawmills usually have a power plant, and engineers are congenial folks who always want to show off their “baby.” Tour old ships or refineries, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. You’ll get more from somebody if you ask questions than if you try to tell them what you know.
The ultimate education is to attend a steam club show. There are literally thousands every year. Chances are you are less than an hour’s drive from one. Make sure you bring the kids. The shows are definitely a family affair. Any hobby shop should be able to tell you where one is in the area.
Also, check out the various publications available. There are several magazines about steam engines. All have a large classified ad section. We strongly recommend one called The Steam Show Directory listing over 500 steam shows in this country and Canada.
Welcome to the fraternity.
For further reading
Live Steam
P.O. Box 629
Traverse City, MI 49685
(Steam engines of all kinds, on the Web, too)
Model Engineer
4314 W. 238th St.
Torrance, CA 90505
(Premier model making magazine, covers toy steam engines too)
Modeltec
P.O. Box 1226
St. Cloud, MN 56302
(All kinds of working models—steam, gas engines, hot air, etc.)
Steamboating
Rt. 1, Box 262
Middlebourne, WV 26149
(For the steamboat connoisseur, all sizes, great reading!)
Iron Men Album
P.O. Box 328
Lancaster, PA 17608
(Old steam tractors and stationary engines, large classifieds)
Engineers & Engines
1118 N. Raynor Ave.
Joliet, IL 60435
(Loaded with old engines and machinery, large classifieds)
Steam & Gas Show Directory
P.O. Box 328
Lancaster, PA 17603
(Lists all shows in Canada and U.S. This is a ‘must have’)
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Source: dogboxstudio/Shutterstock
There's ample evidence that eye contact is highly compelling: We're more attuned to faces whose eyes are trained on us than faces whose eyes are looking elsewhere. Even newborns pay more to faces with eyes gazing directly at them than to faces with eyes looking off in the distance.
You probably already know this if you've tried to read in a coffee shop and suddenly "felt" the stare of a stranger. (You look up, look back at them, and they usually look away. Unless they're trying to hit on you, in which case they ask what you're reading, whether you come here often, what you're drinking, or where you're headed next, and you spend the next 45 minutes trying to end the conversation so you can finish that chapter.)
The impact of someone else's eyes can work for or against our ability to stay focused. In many cases, us-directed gazes boost our ability to process information related to faces (i.e., concluding that a person is male or female) and enhance our memories of whoever was looking at us. Eye contact can also improve in general: A classic 1980 study by James P. Otteson and colleagues in found that young students whose teachers made eye contact with them during lectures had improved recall of verbal material after the class.
However, when we're trying to focus on something other than a person's face or the information they're trying to deliver, eye contact can distract us from non-facial information processing tasks (like that book you were trying to read...).
Other people's eyes also affect our self-awareness: Several studies demonstrate that feeling looked at inclines people to become more attuned to their own body's physiological responses (heart rate, sweating, and breathing) as well as how they might be perceived by others (e.g., "Does s/he notice I have a toothpaste stain on my t-shirt?"). Mere images of eyes (paintings or pictures rather than an actual person) have even been found to make us act in a prosocial or reputable manner—and such images trump reminders that peers are present and/or will be judging us.
Additionally, we like people (and animated characters) more when these others appear to engage us through eye contact—provided the eye contact is offered in a non-threatening situation. Being gazed at by a potential mate has also been found to increase our attraction to them, as long as that potential mate also looks relatively happy.
In a recent review of the many powerful effects eye contact has on our behavior, , and arousal levels, researchers Laurence Conty, Nathalie George, and Jari K. Hietanen explain that "direct gaze has the power to enhance the experience that the information present in the situation is strongly related to one's own person." They believe that the self-referential information processing brought about by feeling looked at "acts as an associative 'glue' for perception, , and ." This can serve to enhance memory and make us behave more altruistically, they explain, by heightening "the salience of concerns about being a target for others' social evaluation and, consequently, concerns about one's self-reputation." (We do the right thing because we assume we're going to be judged, we're being watched, or we just like the person whose gaze looks warm, and we'd like to be nice to them out of sheer for being favorably noticed.)
The researchers believe that eye contact can and should be used "for therapeutic purposes." They note "that the use of eye contact during therapeutic processes increase the patient’s appraisal of the therapist’s interpersonal skills and effectiveness." Given eye contact's ability to enhance memory for specific context-specific material, they have a hunch eye contact may be particularly helpful for people with Disease (AD), which, they write, "is characterized not only by memory impairments, but also by psycho-behavioral anomalies that necessarily appear at some point of the disease and impoverish the patient’s relations with others. Interestingly, the processing of eye direction as well as eye contact behavior seems to be preserved in patients with AD. This predicts that the W.E. [Watching Eyes] effects may also be preserved and may therefore be stimulated to improve the quality of social exchange of these patients."
Precautions should be observed, however, in subjecting people with certain diagnoses to excessive eye contact. The gaze of others can trigger intense feelings of shame and other negative self-evaluations in socially individuals, for instance. And people who meet the criteria for borderline are more apt to perceive negative emotions in others' facial expressions, potentially inclining them to interpret a kind or innocuous gaze as a threatening (or judgmental) stare.
Additional work suggests that when being confronted or challenged by someone, eye contact can serve to enhance perceived . In fact, a study investigating the role of eye contact in persuasion found that direct gazes impaired actors' ability to change others' opinions, contrary to the assumption that eye contact always works in favor of increasing warm feelings between two people.
Research has shown that most people are comfortable with approximately 3.2 seconds of eye contact from a stranger—but more if that stranger seems trustworthy, and even more if that stranger later becomes a .
Eye contact can have a memory-boosting, prosocial, and stimulating effect as long as it's wanted by the person being looked at. If you're trying to use eye contact to your advantage, pay attention to the cues coming from the person you're staring at: If they're returning your gaze, lighting up, becoming more talkative, or straightening their posture or relaxing as you look into their eyes, you're doing great. But if they're shying away, acting nervous, looking annoyed, or they keep trying to turn their attention back toward the book you just distracted them from reading, it's probably a good idea to look (and possibly, go) away.
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Meet This Japanese Metal Band And The Gifs That’ll Make You Go “What!?"
By Woodrow Whyte
Literally, what is happening?
Unless you're a big metal fan, you probably haven't heard about BABYMETAL. But trust us, they're about to BLOW. YOUR. MIND.
Mixing traditional Japanese idol culture, J-pop and heavy metal music, BABYMETAL are real confusing. Like, they're cute, but they're also really freaking us out? We're not sure whether we should be singing "Kumbaya" with them round a campfire or running into the trees. These GIFs pretty much sum it up.
At first we're all like 'Awww cute!'
But then we're like 'are you children of the devil?'
They seem so sweet and innocent playing around on stage.
But then they look like they're psyching themselves up to perform an exorcism.
We're pretty sure they're just regular girls living out their dreams.
But the backing band are giving us nightmares!
Their shows look pretty awesome though.
And we can't deny the girls have got moves!
But don't be fooled. They could beat your ass any day.
They primarily stick to peaceful activities.
But watch your back. And make sure you give them chocolate, if they ever ask.
Ultimately we've got a lot of love for Su-metal, Yuimetal and and Maometal. Even if they give us the creeps sometimes. Pro tip: "Gimme Chocolate!!" is a super good soundtrack for cleaning your room or screaming into the void. Trust us.
We're not the only ones who don't know what to think. Check out these YouTubers' reactions!
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The impeccably neat lines of shorthand are familiar, the voracious gathering up of fact, incident, anecdote and sightings of pretty women even more so. Samuel Pepys’s other diary, kept 14 years after the last line was ruled on his first – arguably the most famous journal in the world – with a sad declaration that due to his failing eyesight he would never write another, goes on display next week in a major exhibition celebrating Pepys’s life and work at the Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.
“Many people have no idea that this later diary even exists,” said Robert Blyth, co-curator of the exhibition. “He only kept it for a few months, and it’s mostly taken up with work matters – but it’s our boy all right, he cant help himself, there’s no mistaking him.”
Pepys was sent to Tangier, Morocco, in 1683 as the most senior civil servant in the navy. The city had been claimed by England since 1661 as part of the dowry that came to Charles II with Catherine of Braganza, but far from being a colonial boom town it had become a nightmare, costing a fortune to maintain. With its inadequate harbour and almost useless walls, fortified at huge expense but overlooked by the surrounding hills, and garrisoned by grumbling soldiers and populated by their discontented families, the enclave was constantly under threat of being reclaimed by the Moroccans.
In addition, Blyth said, it had become infamous for gambling, drunkness and debauchery. The eventual solution was drastic: Tangier was abandoned, the houses torched, the fortifications blown up.
Pepys recorded all the bureaucracy of the preparations, but also noted the governor’s wife in church, “a lady I have long admired for her beauty but she is mightily altered. And they do tell stories of her on her part, while her husband minds pleasure of the same kind on his”.
Everything new interested him. “Here I first observed crawling upon the site of the church windows some lizards and sticking in the windows to bask themselves in the sun. And at noon we had a great locust of a sudden on the table; and this morning in my chamber the most extraordinary spider ever I saw, at least ten times as big as an ordinary spider.”
The famous early diary came to an end on 31 May 1669. Pepys sadly recorded another busy day – up betimes, work meetings, dined at home, boat up the Thames to Whitehall via an encounter with an old amour (“Je did baiser elle”) and finally with his long-suffering wife and a friend to walk in the park and a merry evening at The World’s End pub, “and so home late”.
Then he laid down his pen after chronicling the death of Cromwell, the restoration of Charles II, the great plague and the fire of London, as well as his new brown suit, his jealousy over his wife’s dancing master, the fate of his parmesan cheese, and his inability to keep his hands off the female staff, in six volumes and 1.25m words. As he wrote: “And thus ends all that I doubt I shall ever be able to do with my own eyes in the keeping of my journal, I being not able to do it any longer, having done now so long as to undo my eyes almost every time that I take a pen in my hand.”
Mapping London's great plague of 1665 Read more
He feared he was going blind – but in fact his eyesight lasted, as the exhibition demonstrates, through many more adventures, honours, love affairs and acquisitions. He died in 1703, aged 70, leaving his library of thousands of volumes, the movable book cases he designed himself – the earliest recorded in England – and the diary first to his nephew, and then to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where they remain.
The Tangier diary has come to Greenwich on loan from the Bodleian library in Oxford, but the earlier diary cannot leave Magdalene under the terms of the bequest.
Co-curator Kristian Martin’s hero is a Cambridge undergraduate, poor John Smith, who in the early 19th century was set the appalling task of transcribing the entire early diary. Smith assumed it was written in code, and managed to crack it by comparing an account of the escape of Charles II from the battle of Worcester with a text published from Pepys’s later longhand version.
A year later, somebody broke the news to Smith that Pepys had actually written in a shorthand system devised by Thomas Skelton, and that the text book from which he learned it was on a shelf over his head.
Samuel Pepys, Plague, Fire, Revolution; National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London; 20 November – 28 March
• This article was amended on 17 November 2015, to identify the exhibition item illustrated in the photograph.
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Small businesses are more likely to hire disadvantaged job hunters since a 90-day trial period was introduced in 2011, research shows.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has released a research report evaluating the short-term results of changes to the Employment Relations Act and the Holidays Act in 2011.
Legislation changes included allowing employers to use a trial period of up to 90 days for new staff, the ability for employees to cash in up to one week of annual holidays, and changes to union access and problem-resolution processes.
The changes were designed to lower employers' compliance costs, resolve problems faster and reduce confusion.
A national survey of employers found that 72 per cent of those which used trial periods had not dismissed an employee during that time, while 27 per cent of employers had dismissed at least one worker during the trial period.
The report said smaller employers were most satisfied with the 90-day trial because they faced greater risks and costs when recruiting.
Larger employers benefited less, mainly because they had more robust recruitment processes and greater resources to manage risk, it said.
Under the 90-day trial, about one third of employers said they hired staff they would not have otherwise taken on.
Some employers were now also more prepared to give jobs to groups they would not have previously considered.
Changes to the Holidays Act had partially met objectives and had minimal impact on firms' costs, the report said.
Employers and unions said the ability to allow cashing up to occur and to transfer public holidays was sensible.
But some employers said the Holidays Act provisions were difficult to apply in some cases, such as for people with variable work hours or shifts.
Changes to union access and communication during collective bargaining had little impact on employers and unions and did not increase the number of problems reported.
MBIE spokeswoman Abby Johnston said while it was too soon to assess the full impact of the changes, there were indications that some were working as intended.
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Hogle Zoo lion picks Super Bowl winner ABC 4 News Vulcan picking the Super Bowl winner [ + - ] ABC 4 News Vulcan picking the Super Bowl winner [ + - ] Video
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC 4 Utah) - Hogle Zoo's lion Vulcan picked the winner of the Super Bowl Thursday morning.
For the past seven years Eli, a big male orangutan from Hogle Zoo had been predicting the outcome of the Super Bowl - and he had been right every single time!
After he passed away in September 2014, Vulcan is now taking his place in deciding which team will win the big game.
Thursday morning he entered his enclosure and was faced with two paper mache helmets - one for the Seattle Seahawks and one for the New England Patriots.
The lion made his choice for winner by charging the New England Patriots helmet first. If his judgement is as reliable as that of Eli, the Patriots will win the big game. We will find out this Sunday.
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Two men were playing Pokemon Go Monday at a Colorado Springs park when they were swarmed by police.
"The one cop had his rifle on us, and I saw a cop car across the street with a couple cops with rifles on us. I was like, 'Aw, man, please just be good, don't do anything stupid,'" said Kevin Davenport, one of the men involved in the incident.
Davenport, along with Jaryd Lazar, never expected to see police officers while they were playing Pokemon Go. Both men had been livestreaming themselves playing video games for years. Monday was no different.
"We were just walking around [Monument Valley Park]," Lazar said. "I'm hearing on my Twitch channel that somebody is saying to start watching my channel in, like, five minutes. I thought somebody was just gonna come say 'what's up,' like a random viewer."
But it was police who showed up instead.
"We sit down at a bench. ... We see a cop car roll up, cops get out of the car, and take their guns out. I'm like, 'Yo, are they pointing their guns at us?' And yeah, they were. And they said, 'Nope, stop,' so we stopped, put our hands up, told us to back up," Lazar said.
It didn't take long for all involved to realize it was a prank.
"I offered to give [officers] a little information about what was happening because I kind of knew, considering it happens to other streamers all the time but more in their homes. You get someone's address and you swat them. I never thought it would happen in a park," Lazar said.
But that's exactly what happened: somebody phoned in a fake threat and gave the descriptions of Lazar and Davenport. Known as "swatting," it's a practice where suspects call in a fake scare and have police respond.
"The suspect has an AK-47 or an AR. He says he's planted remote bombs in the park and wants to kill cops."-Police dispatch tape
"We stopped, put our hands up, they told us to back up...I told them what was going on, I told them, 'This is what happens, you can look it up online,'" said Davenport. "They essentially held on to us for a second, talked to us, and let us go.
"It ended up all good. The cops were really nice about it."
"The cops were super cool," Lazar said. "They were really nice about everything once they got all the information and stuff."
The men said through their experience of seeing other gamers "swatted" online, the suspects can be hard to find, but they're hoping police can catch the person responsible.
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Cowboys' rookie guard has moxie Garrett approves of Arkin's aggressive style.
David Arkin (left), a fourth-round pick from Missouri State, goes through drills with Phil Costa on Sunday. David Arkin (left), a fourth-round pick from Missouri State, goes through drills with Phil Costa on Sunday. Photo: John Davenport/jdavenport@express-news.net Photo: John Davenport/jdavenport@express-news.net Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Cowboys' rookie guard has moxie 1 / 4 Back to Gallery
Dallas Cowboys rookie guard David Arkin has made his share of mistakes at training camp, but most of his miscues elicit only a shrug from coach Jason Garrett.
That's typical of Garrett, who doesn't mind when youngsters screw up if it's clear they're trying to do the right thing.
And nearly all of Arkin's errors fit that description.
“We like his aggressiveness,” Garrett said of the fourth-round pick from Missouri State. “He plays with great intensity. He's physical. That's what we saw on tape, and he's shown that in training camp.
“What we really like about him is he makes aggressive mistakes. Often times, he's not blocking the right guy, but he's getting after him, not hesitating.”
Carrying 307 pounds on a 6-foot-5 frame, Arkin is a tad undersized for an NFL interior lineman. He said that fact has a lot to do with his tenacity.
“That's just the way I have to play to be successful,” said Arkin, 23. “If I'm not being aggressive, I'm not going to be successful. That's the way I was taught to play. I'm not the biggest, strongest, fastest guy, but I've got some good athleticism.
“If I just play hard, that's one thing I've got in my pocket.”
With veteran Montrae Holland day to day with a back injury, Arkin has been logging reps with the first team at both right and left guard. He started at right guard in the Blue-White scrimmage Sunday, but the Cowboys have since moved him to left guard so he could be paired with veteran tackle Doug Free.
The move also allowed veteran left guard Kyle Kozier to slide to the right side and help first-round tackle Tyron Smith with protection calls. With Holland expected to miss the preseason opener against Denver on Thursday, Arkin is expected to start at left guard.
No matter where Arkin lines up, the Cowboys know he's going to hustle.
“What happens a lot with the younger guys is they're not sure, so they come off the ball slowly,” Garrett said. “They're hesitant. They're indecisive. And you really don't get a chance to see them as players.
“(Arkin) has done a really nice job of firing off of the ball and blocking the guy (while thinking), ‘Oh, it's the wrong guy, but they've got 11, we've got 11, I'm getting after this guy.' We like that about him.”
The Cowboys have seen the same aggressiveness from Smith. During the scrimmage, both rookies held their own against the first-team defense.
“Both of those guys have a long way to go,” Garrett said. “It's still early for them, but it was nice to see them in that situation. Neither of them has backed down, and they're blocking some very good, veteran players. You just want to see them keep coming, because if they keep going about it that way — and obviously (offensive line coach) Hudson (Houck) does a great job coaching them — they'll continue to grow.
“They might be striking out every so often, but they're stepping back in there and taking a swing the next time up.”
One big difference between the two: Smith is from Southern Cal, while Arkin hails from a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division-I AA) school.
“(Arkin) is a smaller school guy, so the hump for him is big, but it's big for anybody,” Garrett said. “He still has a lot to learn. He doesn't know what he's doing yet, both from a scheme and technical standpoint. But he's going about it the right way, and he's grown a lot just in the (12) practices we've had here.
“There is a lot we are throwing at him. From an offensive standpoint, the looks on defense are difficult. Then blocking the guys is difficult. But he's hanging in there and fighting.”
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A 12-year-old kid is probably getting his crops slashed and burned by his mum after he racked up $1,400 in Farmville purchases, draining his own savings and running up charges on her credit card.
Farmville is free to play but using real dollars, players can purchase items that give them in-game advantages, like barns, tools, and crops. Reports CNN:
“When I asked him why he did it he said that they had brought out ‘good stuff that I wanted,’ ” the mother…told the newspaper.
She didn’t blame Facebook or Zynga, makers of Farmville, Mafia Wars, and other popular Facebook games, but does think there should be better fraud detection mechanisms to prevent tykes from using their parents’ real money to buy virtual goods.
“I do think they need to shoulder some responsibility in this business and put systems in place to stop this happening again,” [she said], “The fact that he was using a card in a different name should bring up some sort of security and the online secure payment filter seems to be bypassed for Facebook payments.
FarmVille user runs up £900 debt [The Guardian] (Thanks to Lina!)
RELATED: Mafia Wars CEO Brags About Scamming Users From Day One
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Unlike other diaspora communities in the Chicagoland area, and by extension the United States, the Urdu-speaking diaspora (encompassing North and Central Indian Muslims and Pakistani Muhajirs) lacks in attempting to preserve their mother tongue. While other communities have established schools dedicated solely to teaching American-born generations their mother tongue, no such examples exist among Urdu-speakers in Chicago to the likes of the Greek and Iranian diaspora. This could be attributed to various factors including a greater desire to assimilate due to the hegemonic dismissal of languages besides English in the West, or simply being unaware exactly how to implement the system. There could very well be several factors playing at once, and many seem to be a continuation of various ways Urdu has been viewed and understood as a language by its native speakers over the centuries.
With its earliest found written poetry dating to the 13th and 14th centuries, Modern Standard Urdu has cycled through a half-dozen names in 800 years, its current name being popularized by the British in the 19th century in place of the then more popular Hindi and Hindavi. Leading Urdu linguists and theorists argue this emphasis to promote the names Hindustani and then Urdu over others was a conscious attempt by the British to differentiate between Hindi as spoken by Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus. Such a differentiation is present in the works of the early East India Company linguist John Gilchrist where he creates a Hindu vs. Muslim Hindavi vs. Hindustani/Urdu dichotomy which did not exist in the minds of the natives at the time. This was reinforced by the Hindi-Urdu controversy of the late 19th century by which Modern Standard Hindi and Urdu became realities divided on religious lines. Urdu now became the sole property of North Indian Muslims and subsequently all Indian Muslims in attempt to concoct an ethnonational group necessitating its own homeland.
The language to become the national language of Pakistan was thus politically conceived, rendering it relevant only in the context of politicization with the demands of a specific group, initially to link Urdu’s future with state patronage. The turn of the 20th century saw regulation of government jobs being open to those who read Hindi/Urdu in the Devanagari script. The new government practice only increased the new Muslim elite’s association with Urdu to the extent it was claimed Urdu was being “served” for its “progression” (Urdu ki khidmat/taraqqi). “Have you ever heard of a sailor claiming he is serving a boat or a river?” Ajmal Kamal aptly asks about the unprecedented concept. This newfound desire to serve Urdu was intricately linked to the political and economic success of a religious group confined primarily to one Indian province and one would assume less importance would be given to the language when no longer relevant to one’s Muslim identity.
While new desire to serve Urdu boomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries linked to political rights and a newly contrived identity, the decades and centuries prior to the 1870s show widespread discomfort and even contempt of the language. One of the names used for Urdu in the 18th and 19th centuries was Rekhta: literally meaning a mixture. Initially the name of a genre of poetry where Persian was written in a Hindi template or vice versa, it later became the name of the language in which such poetry was written. This shows the lowly status Urdu held with respect to Persian in the eyes of the native elite where the language was viewed as inferior, as if it fell from heavenly status. Proper contempt was expressed by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his peers at Aligarh who viewed Urdu as unfit for scientific, progressive thought. In order for the Indian Muslims to progress, Sir Syed claimed, they must unlearn the “looseness of expression” inherent to Urdu. English thus became the epitome of an academic language to emulate, replacing Persian a proper century before the diaspora phenomenon.
Urdu’s being considered an unacademic language is further evident in its formal instruction being established by the British at Fort William College. It was the establishment of the Fort William College which popularized modern Hindi and Urdu prose on the lines of John Gilchrist’s differentiation between Hindi and Hindustani where Hindustani/Urdu was clearly favored with more texts produced in its Persianized method. Previous Urdu prose was not written in such language, its purpose was to rather present information to the public in simple discourse as exemplified by the 18th century Karbal literature. The establishment of such institutions, however, never rendered Urdu education popular. According to Sir Syed, many of his peers disliked reading Urdu and thus disliked government schools which only taught Urdu and not Persian or Arabic.
A similar indifference to the teaching of Urdu exists among the diaspora where Urdu classes are offered in mosque Sunday schools. Students of such Urdu classes at a predominantly South Asian mosque of Chicago state their instructors and parents did not emphasize the Urdu curriculum to the extent Islamic history and jurisprudence were, in fact it was expected by some that the younger generation would learn Urdu through listening to religious speeches in the language. Such expectations are a common feature of native speakers in the diaspora where the onus is placed on the newer generation to absorb the idiomatic expression in a society worlds apart from the native land. This resembles a continuation of Urdu’s not being formally instructed prior to the British; while Arabic and Persian both had curricula upheld for centuries in the Subcontinent, Urdu’s lack of a standardized curriculum remained in the diaspora. While such absorption was and is possible in the Subcontinent, it becomes difficult when not entrenched by Urdu-speakers and its culture.
One early example of students being encouraged to learn Urdu is that of Shah Waliullah urging his sons to learn idiomatic Urdu to easily address the Delhi public – his sons subsequently wrote the first complete Urdu translations of the Qur’an. Many religious elites truly regarded Urdu as a language to be stooped down to; letters survive of savants apologizing for writing in Urdu for the purpose of explaining that which would typically be expounded on in Persian. English had already replaced Persian as the academic language in North India prior to the creation of Pakistan, yet an abundant mass of religious literature was written in Urdu throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The mass publication of religious literature in Urdu was propagated by reformist clerics belonging to the Deoband, Ahl-e-Hadith, and Barelvi movements, including thousands of polemical works within and beyond sectarian boundaries, further solidifying Urdu’s association with the Indian Muslims.
Urdu’s relevance to a Muslim identity has diminished within the diaspora, however, as Urdu-speaking Muslims often find themselves in multiethnic and multinational mosques where English becomes more important as a unifier. Even attendees of predominantly South Asian mosques do not confer importance to Urdu when it comes to imagining their place in the United States as Muslims in an era where it is taught that their Muslim identity must precede or even erase any other identity. This scene is worlds apart from the state of the youth in Karachi surveyed by Ali Kamran Chishti at multiple universities on whether they primarily identify themselves as Muslim or Muhajir – 73% of adult students identified themselves as Muhajir first and Muslim second. While Muhajirs in Karachi do not find their strong ethnolinguistic identity to compromise their religiosity, it has become commonplace among Urdu-speaking youth in the diaspora to identify themselves as first and foremost Muslim.
Sources:
Faruqi, Shamsur Rehman. 2003.”Long History of Urdu Literary Culture, Part 1: Naming and Placing a Literary Culture.” In Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Kamal, Ajmal. December 2014. “اچھی اردو بھی کیا بری شے ہے” Tanqeed.
Rahman, Tariq. 2011. From Hindi to Urdu: A Social and Political History. New York: Oxford.
Rahman, Tariq. 2000. “The Teaching of Urdu in British India.” Annual of Urdu Studies.
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Mikel Arteta: Agent rejects Athletic Bilbao link
Mikel Arteta's agent has rejected talk linking the Arsenal midfielder with a possible move to Athletic Bilbao.
Reports emanating from Spain have claimed Bilbao are lining up a move for Arteta as a replacement for Ander Herrera following his departure to Manchester United.
Arteta's long-term future at Arsenal has been the subject of speculation, with the 32-year-old entering the final year of his contract and as yet no talks over a new deal.
However, Arteta's agent Inaki Ibanez insists talk of a move to Bilbao is wrong and that the playmaker has no interest in leaving Arsenal.
Asked about interest from Bilbao, Ibanez told El Mundo Deportivo: "This is totally false. Mikel has no interest in leaving Arsenal."
Arteta, who was born in San Sebastian, spent one season with Bilbao's rivals Real Sociead in 2004 before moving to England with Everton.
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Image copyright AFP
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have laid out their visions for the US economy and, unsurprisingly, they are very different.
Mr Trump is focusing on cutting taxes, eliminating regulation and ending trade deals.
Mrs Clinton, on the other hand, wants to raise taxes on the wealthy, increase spending on job training and lower taxes on companies that hire more Americans.
Here are some of the ways they differ.
Taxes: Slash v spend
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Donald Trump presented his economic policy in Detroit
Mr Trump favours cutting taxes for everyone and reducing the number of tax brackets from seven to three. He would reduce the top rate of tax to 33% from 39.6%.
Mrs Clinton would keep taxes the same for most Americans but add an additional bracket for the highest earners. The income from that would be used to pay for programmes like free university education for students from low- and middle-income families.
Her campaign is calling the higher taxes on the wealthy - 4% on people who earn more than $5m - the "fair share surcharge".
Clinton tax brackets Trump tax brackets Earnings under $9,275 - pay 0% Earnings under $29,000 - pay 0% $9,275 to $37,650 - pay 15% $29,000 to $54,000 - pay 12% $37,650 to $91,150 - pay 25% $54,000 to $154,000 - pay 25% $91,150 to $190,150 - pay 28% Over $154,000 - pay 33% $190,150 to $413,350 - pay 33% $413,350 to $415,050 - pay 35% $415,050 to $5,000,000 - pay 39.6% Over $5,000,000 - pay 43.6% (new bracket)
Both candidates have proposed closing tax loopholes that typically favour the rich.
Mr Trump proposes a child care deduction that would cover the average cost of child care, while Mrs Clinton favours limiting the number of deductions taxpayers can claim at 28%.
Tax deductions allow people to subtract some of the income they are taxed on - effectively lowering which bracket they fall into. They typically favour the rich who can take more, while the 43% of Americans who currently pay no income would be unaffected by the change.
Mr Trump also proposed eliminating the estate tax or "death tax" completely. The tax only applies when a family member passes on more than $5.45m worth of assets to an individual or $10.9m to a married couple.
The Republican candidate said he would also reduce the US corporate tax rate to 15% from the current rate of 35%, one of the highest in the world.
Mr Trump's campaign said the plan would reduce the amount of income the government collected by $4.4tn over a decade. This is far below the $9.5tn calculated by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in August. The Center said Mrs Clinton's plan would add $1.1tn in revenue over the next 10 years.
Neither candidate has proposed significant reductions in spending on public pension and healthcare programmes like social security, Medicaid and Medicare. The funding needed for those is expected to balloon over the next decade and its unclear where the money to pay for them will come from without tax increases.
An analysis performed by Tax Foundation last month found that while Mr Trump's plan would lower taxes for all Americans it would lower them most for the highest earners.
New trade deals
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Both Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton have voiced opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Mr Trump has done his best to capitalise on the discontent around trade deals.
His economic proposal suggests renegotiating trade deals using "negotiators whose goal will be to win for America". He has not spelt out what that "win" looks like, but he has promised to step away from deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) if a good deal cannot be reached.
Mr Trump has also promised to get tough with countries that violate trade agreements, applying new tariffs and pursuing cases against them in the World Trade Organization. He has specifically said that he will label China a "currency manipulator".
Tariffs
Mr Trump has called for a 35% tariff on Mexican goods and a 45% tariff on Chinese goods.
That would mean a $100 television from Mexico would cost $135.
This could encourage US consumers to buy more products made in America, but it would also likely encourage Mexico to place an import tax on US goods, making it hard for US companies to sell their goods abroad. Mexico purchased $267.2bn in US goods in 2015, making it the second largest export partner for the US.
Mrs Clinton has said these tariffs will lead to a trade war making it harder for the US to compete on a global stage.
Clinton has gone back and forth on trade. She previously supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) but has said in her campaign that she doesn't think it's the best deal for America.
Her plan focuses more on increasing production in the US by offering tax incentives to companies that build there rather than barring imports out. While she has criticised some trade deals, she hasn't ruled out signing new ones if elected.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A giant cargo ship at the port of Los Angeles
Trump on trade
Renegotiate trade deals to favour the US
Walk away from trade agreements if a good deal can't be reached
Add tariffs on some of the America's largest trading partners including Mexico and China
Clinton on trade
Changed her mind on TPP, which she helped negotiate
In 2007 criticised trade deal with South Korea, then supported it as Secretary of State
Supported Nafta but has since been critical of it
Who's hiring?
Both candidates have promised to put Americans back to work, though unemployment has hovered around a low 4.9% since the beginning of the year.
Mr Trump's employment plan focuses on encouraging more businesses to open in the US. He has suggested that investing in infrastructure, cutting the trade deficit, lowering taxes and removing regulations will make it easier for companies to hire.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Hillary Clinton touring a factory in Nevada. She has called for increasing tax incentives for companies the hire more US workers.
Mr Trump has focused mostly on increasing manufacturing jobs, which have declined by around 5 million since 2000. Much of that decline has been caused by improvements in technology, however, not outsourcing.
He has promised to create 25 milli on jobs over 10 years and achieve annual economic growth of 3.5%. US GDP growth reached 2.4% in 2015.
Mrs Clinton's policy for jobs growth is a little more specific. She has called for increasing jobs training - in part paid for by tax revenue from wealthier Americans. She has pushed for infrastructure spending and investment in new energy to lift the number of jobs in those sectors.
Some room for agreement
Despite their many areas of disagreement, there a few things both candidates are pushing for.
Ending corporate inversion - or transactions where US companies move their corporate headquarters abroad to avoid US taxes
Eliminating carried interest tax - a tax that mostly benefits hedge fund investors
Opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Mr Trump has not addressed how he will pay for these cuts, other than saying the changes will boost the economy and that will increase the tax base.
Mrs Clinton has said most of her spending increasing will be covered by tax increases, but it is unclear if those numbers entirely match up.
She will give her own economic policy speech on Thursday.
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Some 90 millimetres of rain has fallen in areas of the west coast of Sweden on Saturday and water levels are continuing to rise.
"This Is probably the worst we have experienced in many years," said Rolf Olausson at Strömstad emergency services.
Northern Bohuslän has suffered most from the heavy rainfall which pushed from the North Sea on Friday and Saturday night.
A number of buildings have been evacuated in the small town of Skee close to Strömstad.
"The people in their houses were completely surrounded by water and were unable to go anywhere. There is no point pumping out the water as it is filling up all the time," Olausson said.
The emergency services are also concerned about an old stone bridge over Vättlandsån in Skee which they fear may be swept away in the flood waters.
"The water is now gushing under, over and on the sides. If it would collapse then we would get an underwater levy and that would not be good at all," Olausson said.
Several roads in the area are completely closed and there have been reports of three incidents of drivers needing help to get out of their cars which had become stuck in the floods.
"In one case we had to deploy rescue divers when the water rose to over a metre. It's pretty extreme" said Kim Selland at the road authority in Gothenburg.
According to Selland the water is now starting to spread out along the E6 motorway.
"The water has nowhere to go. Levels are rising, reaching now the major roads that are usually located higher up from the ground. Soon there will not be a road that is not waterlogged. It is beginning almost to resemble Venice," he said.
Rail services have also been hit with a report that ten people had to be evacuated from a train which was forced to stop along the Munkedal-Stromstad route after an embankment became flooded.
The Swedish meteorological authority SMHI has maintained a class 2 warning for minor waterways in the area. Forecasts indicate that the peak will be reached at some point over the weekend.
According to Therese Fougman at SMHI, more rains could however fall during Sunday and Monday.
"But then it'll be small amounts, maybe five to ten millimetres."
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An open letter to Rohit Sharma from a frustrated fan
Nishit Kunal FOLLOW TOP CONTRIBUTOR Feature 6.34K // 21 Dec 2014, 02:04 IST SHARE Share Options × Facebook Twitter Flipboard Reddit Google+ Email
Rohit Sharma should practice before he preaches
Dear Rohit Sharma,
India lost yet another Test match and like many other Indians I was also hoping that this new-look Indian team would do something great. Maybe not win, but at least show that they have the ability to play the longest format of the game for five days.
I will be wrong if I say that there were no bright spots, for Murali Vijay with his century showed that he is most technical player in the team who at least knows where his off stump is and can play for long hours despite the heat. Other players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane have also impressed. Umesh Yadav has also done well with the ball.
But then when it comes to you I would frankly say that you have been a disappointment. It is very difficult to point out where you commit a mistake ,thus undoing all the good work done by some of the guys who come before you.
It is certainly a crime when a batsman who is settled and has gone into his 30s and 40s suddenly makes the mistake of not converting them into a century or if not at least get those crucial 80s which would certainly help the team from a number 6 batsman’s point of view. To make matters worse, you seem disinterested at times and some of those lazy shots which lead to your dismissal is testimony to the fact.
You may have made unbreakable records. Two double-centuries in limited over format, two back to back centuries on debut series clearly showcases your talent. An average a shade under 40 is not bad but it's not great either, considering the kind of talent you are or at least what you have been projected as.
You have done nothing significant after those two Test centuries against West Indies and getting a 70 something against South Africa. You should be dropped because when you have played for almost close to a decade you are expected to be a regular member of the team by now. You are expected to carry one of the batons of being one of the pillars of Indian batting. But you haven't.
When you came into the international fray, there were lot of talk about you being very talented. You did disappoint us then, but you found support in your captain MS Dhoni, who trusted you and you got a longer rope. I would only request you that to not expect the same thing in the longer format. Dont expect that you will be given a longer rope in favour of other proven performers just because the media has termed you as a special talent.
On top of that, you go around sledging people and worse, you pick the wrong guys. You picked up your old IPL teammate Mitchell Johnson and asked him how many wickets he had picked and you got trolled for the last two days. Not only did he hit an 88 but came back to take your wicket and send you back for a duck. If it makes you feel even worse then even Umesh Yadav scored more runs than you
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Please learn to practice before you preach. You may have scored two double centuries and that is something you must cherish your whole life but your real ‘talent’ will be measured only when you show the world that you can score runs not only in the subcontinent but also outside the subcontinent – in any format. It is only then that you will transcend from the category of a talent to the category of a legend, a match winner.
At 27 time may slowly be ticking away fot you. Remember 2007, when you made your debut, there was a certain Virat Kohli who was leading his under-19 team to a World Cup victory, and today he is not only a regular member but India’s best batsman and future captain. The Rahanes and Pujaras were not even in contention back then but somehow today they are considered more reliable than you.
Rohit Sharma, either you perform and live up to the name you have acquired thanks to media and your captain, or perish among the list of one-time wonders. There are many who are not in the India squad because we all have a secret preference for talent over performance.
Hoping for you to turn things around.
Yours Sincerely,
A Frustrated Cricket Fan.
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According to information I’ve been sent, Charter Arms is set to reintroduce a version of the Undercover revolver called the Old Glory.
The Charter Arms Old Glory is a five shot revolver chambered for the classic .38 Special cartridge. The gun is +P rated, so full power self defense loads are perfectly fine in this handgun.
The Undercover is a 16 ounce revolver similar in size to the J-frames from Smith & Wesson. It has an exposed hammer and can be manually cocked for single action fire if desired.
Barrels are 2″ long and have a full-length underlug to protect the ejector rod. Sights are fixed: a front ramp with a notch in the rear of the top strap.
This version of the gun – the Old Glory – sports a semi-custom finish of red, white and blue. The stars and stripes of the finish are clearly designed to mimic those of the flag of the United States of America.
The MSRP of the gun will be $469.67. Currently, I do not know if this will be a limited edition run, or something that could be in the company catalog for years to come. It is my understanding that this gun used to be sold by Charter Arms prior to the most recent gun buying frenzy. If it is reintroduced, it would be another sign that the market is returning to a more normal posture.
Charter Arms make revolvers with a wide range of finishes including pink, green, lavender, gold and others. Some of the more interesting colors are the Tiger Stripe-style finish available on the .44 Special Bulldog and the Cougar finish on the Undercover Lite.
I’ve had the chance to shoot a number of the company’s revolvers in the past. Generally, I’ve been pleased by them. [note: You can read my review of the Off Duty revolver here.] I’ve found the triggers tend to arrive a little heavy and gritty, but smooth out pretty quickly.
I have seen a number of the company’s guns at my local dealer with some minor imperfections that should have been caught in final inspections before leaving the factory. I suppose that is the same with many companies, but if at all possible, I would suggest trying to find one at a local dealer to inspect before laying down your money.
If you are looking for a revolver sporting the American flag, I would suggest you consider this one. The finish isn’t for me, but it might be for you.
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They're called "humble beginnings" for a reason. The foundation of so many of the world's greatest dishes—from chicken fricassee to jambalaya—is merely a group of un-fancy vegetables that disappear, practically or literally, once they have performed their part. They subsume themselves to the flashier, more obvious members of the company.
The seafood and saffron might be the stars of a paella Valenciana, but what's flavoring all that creamy rice? It starts with something called sofrito, the Spanish mixture of onion, garlic, and tomatoes gently sautéed in a slick of olive oil. As difficult as it is to see in the finished product, you'd definitely miss it more than those clams if it were taken away.
From France's mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery) to Germany's Suppengrün (carrot, celeriac, leek) to the famous Holy Trinity of Cajun cooking (onion, celery, green bell pepper), almost every cuisine in the world starts with a common simple, balanced, vegetable base.
What do these groups of produce have in common? At the most basic level, they begin recipes—from soups to curries to roasts—and lend them flavor. They also often come from a category of vegetables and herbs called aromatics. In the Western world, these might include garlic, onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns, while in Asia you might find green onions, ginger, garlic, and warm spices. Finally, they're almost always sautéed to gently tease out flavors that permeate the rest of the dish. Sofrito and its Italian counterpart, soffritto, literally mean to stir-fry.
In his recent book Cooked, author Michael Pollan spends some time chopping onions and pondering these "unprepossessing" herbs and vegetables, which are most often used in one-pot dishes like braises and soups. "Homely in the best sense," he writes, "pot dishes are about marrying lots of prosaic little things rather than elevating one big thing. In fact, it is the precise combination of these chopped-up plants that usually gives a pot dish its characteristic flavor and cultural identity."
These recipe starters are an ancient and intuitive part of the cooking process, and as such, they completely defy recipization. So don't get stuck on specifics. Even France, perhaps the most rigidly traditional culinary culture among us, doesn't always use the same proportions of onion, carrot, and celery to execute a dish (case in point: the oh-so-French beef bourguignon is made with carrots, onions, garlic, and thyme—no celery needed).
But to start you off, here are some distinctive groupings of aromatics in Western cuisine that are sure to evoke the flavor of certain parts of the globe.
Mirepoix, France
The mirepoix of French cooking is the trio of aromatics you'll hear about most. Salon even published a little fiction about this traditional blend of onion, carrots, and celery in 2000. In the story, Dr. Mirepoix's neighbor invited him over three times: to flavor a bone stock, to accompany potatoes and a roast chicken, and to make a vegetable stock. That's actually a pretty good summation of mirepoix's role.
Mirepoix vegetables are often finely chopped and sautéed, but they can just as easily be used whole or roughly chopped in slow-simmered stocks or braises. When chopping, it helps to be particular about the uniform tiny dice of mirepoix, ensuring even cooking, whether you are planning on simply sweating them, or deeply browning them for a sweeter, heartier flavor. Check out our guides to cutting carrots, onions, and celery.
Recipes with Mirepoix:
Battuto or Soffritto, Italy
Italian Battuto—as the Italian flavor base is called before it is cooked and becomes a soffritto—is kissing cousins to France's mirepoix. It starts with the same foundation of onions, carrots, and celery. Parsley leaves, garlic, and fennel, or sometimes finely diced cured meats like pancetta or prosciutto scraps can find its way into the mix. Of course, every Italian grandmother has their own recipe, and is likely to tell you that all the others are wrong. Just ask Sue Veed about her family's recipe.
Recipes with Battuto:
Sofrito, Spain
After the sixteenth century, Catalonia in particular embraced that New World fruit, the tomato, and incorporated it—along with bell peppers—with chopped sweet onions and garlic to make sofrito. But the medieval recipe book, Libre de Sent Sovi, proves that in medieval times, the Catalans used what they grew locally to make what is referred to in the 1324 tome as "sofregit." Because very Old World-style dishes ignore the existence of tomato and bell pepper and call for the sweet onions, leeks, carrots, and salt pork of the 1300s, "sofrito" can be a fairly loose term to a Spaniard preparing a meal..
From the Mexican-American border to the tip of Argentina, and on all of the islands in between, Latin America has taken the Spanish sofrito and adapted it to its local offerings. Cuban sofrito tends to look like the Holy Trinity, but with more garlic, while Ecuadorians begin a meal with freshly toasted cumin, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and sweet cubanelle peppers.
Recipes with Sofrito:
Suppengrün, Germany
In case the umlaut doesn't make it clear, this is Germany's answer to mirepoix. Literally meaning "soup greens," suppengrün typically consists of carrots, celery root, and leeks. Sometimes onions, parsnips, and potatoes are thrown in, and often these are sold pre-bundled in the market, ready to take home, chop, and sweat out in the pot for a stew.
Recipes with Suppengrün:
Włoszczyzna, Poland
The Polish włoszczyzna—the translation of which is fantastic: "Italian stuff"—is another variety of soup vegetables with a similar lineup to the suppengrün. Even heartier than the others, a włoszczyzna is likely to focus on cabbage as a primary ingredient.
Recipes with Włoszczyzna:
Holy Trinity, United States
Ah, Cajun and Creole cookery—that French-derived cuisine, unbounded and filled with Louisiana salt air and cayenne spice. At its core you find the Holy Trinity, a foundation for the best eating in New Orleans.
You don't find as many regional variations within the Holy Trinity; this aromatic grouping doesn't change much. The official trio is onion, celery, and green bell pepper. Often, by adding a bit of flour and whisking, a roux is built right on top of these sweet and colorful aromatics to form the base of gumbo, étouffée, and other famous Cajun and Creole dishes.
Recipes with the Holy Trinity:
Recaíto, Puerto Rico
Many dishes in Puerto Rico begin with the perfumed flavor of culantro. Also called "blessed thistle," the long, jagged-edged leaf herb has a similar taste to cilantro. For this Caribbean island's sofrito, known as recaíto, culantro leaves are minced down to confetti size and joined by ajices dulces, small but essential chilies in Puerto Rican cuisine. Add onions, cubanelles, garlic, and cilantro, and you have a mild, bright-green paste that packs stews and rice dishes with a fresh herbal punch.
Recipes with Recaíto:
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This article was originally posted at Scientific American. It’s reprinted with permission.
The sun strikes every square meter of our planet with more than 1,360 watts of power. Half of that energy is absorbed by the atmosphere or reflected back into space. Seven hundred watts of power, on average, reaches Earth’s surface. Summed across the half of the Earth that the sun is shining on, that is 89 petawatts of power. By comparison, all of human civilization uses around 15 terrawatts of power, or one six-thousandth as much. In 14 and a half seconds, the sun provides as much energy to Earth as humanity uses in a day.
The numbers are staggering and surprising. In 88 minutes, the sun provides 470 exajoules of energy, as much energy as humanity consumes in a year. In 112 hours — less than five days — it provides 36 zettajoules of energy – as much energy as is contained in all proven reserves of oil, coal, and natural gas on this planet.
If humanity could capture one tenth of one percent of the solar energy striking the Earth — one part in one thousand — we would have access to six times as much energy as we consume in all forms today, with almost no greenhouse gas emissions. At the current rate of energy consumption increase — about 1 percent per year — we will not be using that much energy for another 180 years.
It’s small wonder, then, that scientists and entrepreneurs alike are investing in solar energy technologies to capture some of the abundant power around us. Yet solar power is still a minuscule fraction of all power generation capacity on the planet. There is at most 30 gigawatts of solar generating capacity deployed today, or about 0.2 percent of all energy production. Up until now, while solar energy has been abundant, the systems to capture it have been expensive and inefficient.
That is changing. Over the last 30 years, researchers have watched as the price of capturing solar energy has dropped exponentially. There’s now frequent talk of a “Moore’s law” in solar energy. In computing, Moore’s law dictates that the number of components that can be placed on a chip doubles every 18 months. More practically speaking, the amount of computing power you can buy for a dollar has roughly doubled every 18 months, for decades. That’s the reason that the phone in your pocket has thousands of times as much memory and ten times as much processing power as a famed Cray 1 supercomputer, while weighing ounces compared to the Cray’s 10,000-pound bulk, fitting in your pocket rather than a large room, and costing tens or hundreds of dollars rather than tens of millions.
If similar dynamics worked in solar power technology, then we would eventually have the solar equivalent of an iPhone — incredibly cheap, mass distributed energy technology that was many times more effective than the giant and centralized technologies it was born from.
So is there such a phenomenon? The National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy has watched solar photovoltaic price trends since 1980. They’ve seen the price per Watt of solar modules (not counting installation) drop from $22 dollars in 1980 down to under $3 today.
Is this really an exponential curve? And is it continuing to drop at the same rate, or is it leveling off in recent years? To know if a process is exponential, we plot it on a log scale.
And indeed, it follows a nearly straight line on a log scale. Some years the price changes more than others. Averaged over 30 years, the trend is for an annual 7 percent reduction in the dollars per watt of solar photovoltaic cells. While in the earlier part of this decade prices flattened for a few years, the sharp decline in 2009 made up for that and put the price reduction back on track. Data from 2010 (not included above) shows at least a 30 percent further price reduction, putting solar prices ahead of this trend.
If we look at this another way, in terms of the amount of power we can get for $100, we see a continual rise on a log scale.
What’s driving these changes? There are two factors. First, solar cell manufacturers are learning — much as computer chip manufacturers keep learning — how to reduce the cost to fabricate solar.
Second, the efficiency of solar cells — the fraction of the sun’s energy that strikes them that they capture — is continually improving. In the lab, researchers have achieved solar efficiencies of as high as 41 percent, an unheard of efficiency 30 years ago. Inexpensive thin-film methods have achieved laboratory efficiencies as high as 20 percent, still twice as high as most of the solar systems in deployment today.
What do these trends mean for the future? If the 7 percent decline in costs continues (and 2010 and 2011 both look likely to beat that number), then in 20 years the cost per watt of PV cells will be just over $0.50.
Indications are that the projections above are actually too conservative. First Solar corporation has announced internal production costs (though not consumer prices) of $0.75 per watt, and expects to hit $0.50 per watt in production cost in 2016. If they hit their estimates, they’ll be beating the trend above by a considerable margin.
What does the continual reduction in solar price per watt mean for electricity prices and carbon emissions? Historically, the cost of PV modules (what we’ve been using above) is about half the total installed cost of systems. The rest of the cost is installation. Fortunately, installation costs have also dropped at a similar pace to module costs. If we look at the price of electricity from solar systems in the U.S. and scale it for reductions in module cost, we get this:
The cost of solar, in the average location in the U.S., will cross the current average retail electricity price of $0.12 per kilowatt hour in around 2020, or 9 years from now. In fact, given that retail electricity prices are currently rising by a few percent per year, prices will probably cross earlier, around 2018 for the country as a whole, and as early as 2015 for the sunniest parts of America.
10 years later, in 2030, solar electricity is likely to cost half what coal electricity does today. Solar capacity is being built out at an exponential pace already. When the prices become so much more favorable than those of alternate energy sources, that pace will only accelerate.
We should always be careful of extrapolating trends out, of course. Natural processes have limits. Phenomena that look exponential eventually level off or become linear at a certain point. Yet physicists and engineers in the solar world are optimistic about their roadmaps for the coming decade. The cheapest solar modules, not yet on the market, have manufacturing costs under $1 per watt, making them contenders — when they reach the market — for breaking the $0.12 per Kwh mark.
The exponential trend in solar watts per dollar has been going on for at least 31 years now. If it continues for another 8-10, which looks extremely likely, we’ll have a power source which is as cheap as coal for electricity, with virtually no carbon emissions. If it continues for 20 years, which is also well within the realm of scientific and technical possibility, then we’ll have a green power source that is half the price of coal for electricity.
That’s good news for the world.
Photo: Evening sun by dingbat2005, on Flickr
Sources and further reading:
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2016 ended in disappointment for Toronto FC after losing the MLS Cup on penalties. So their looking for redemption in 2017.
Justin Morrow steps up to the penalty spot, lines up to take the shot and HE…….HITS THE CROSSBAR!!!! And that’s the heartbreak Toronto FC fans will remember most about last season. The shot that could have changed it all.
Consequently Seattle would convert on their next penalty, and win the 2016 MLS Cup. While that was heartbreaking the Reds will be looking for redemption this season.
A Recap of Toronto FC’s 2016
Record: 14-9-11
Finishing Position: 5th by MLS, 3rd in Eastern Conference
Post-Season: MLS Cup Finalists
After a long wait, in 2015 Toronto made their first playoff appearance. So in 2016 much more was to be expected, and they delivered. While they battled a little bit of inconsistency throughout the season, Toronto went on a run to the MLS Cup Final. But losing to the Seattle Sounders on penalty shots at BMO Field.
Offence isn’t an issue when you have the likes of Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore roaming the pitch. While the team scored 51 goals last season, it was a step down from the previous year. Toronto finished the season with 53 points, a franchise best, and their second straight playoff appearance.
Transfers out
Will Johnson (Orlando City FC – Free Transfer)
Damien Perquis ( Nottingham Forrest – Free Transfer)
Mark Bloom (Atlanta United – Trade)
Josh Williams (Columbus Crew – Draft)
Daniel Lovitz (Free Agent)
Transfers in
While keeping basically the same team in tact from 2016 Toronto FC, just added more talent to an already potent lineup. An attacking option and another defender were key areas that needed to be addressed and they did that.
Victor Vazquez (Cruz Azul – Free Transfer)
Sergio Camargo (Syracuse – Superdraft)
Brandon Aubrey (Norte Dame – Superdraft)
Armando Cooper (Toronto FC – Permanent deal)
Chris Mavinga (Rubin Kazan – Free Transfer)
Predicting the Toronto FC’s starting XI for opening weekend
After making it all the way to the MLS Cup Final, there shouldn’t be many changes. With the additions of Vazquez and Mavinga, Vanney has a few options at his disposal. They should line up in their 3-5-2 formation from last season
2017 Predictions
After a very successful 2016 many fans are hoping for a repeat. If Altidore can play a full season and repeat his playoff performance, then Toronto FC is in for a good season. The addition of Vazquez will prove to be the missing piece. Toronto finishes tops in the Eastern Conference. And they make it all the way to the MLS Cup again!
Predicted Finish: 1st in the Eastern Conference
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President Donald Trump has an…interesting conception of how health insurance works.
In a new interview with the New York Times, Trump defended his knowledge of health care and the Senate’s chaotic attempts to pass a Republican health care bill to repeal (and, perhaps, replace) Obamacare. (On that front, the situation has been changing almost hourly over the past three days, but GOP leaders reportedly plan to hold a vote on some version of the bill next Tuesday. A Congressional Budget Office score of a new version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act was just released Thursday, projecting that 15 million more people would be uninsured next year compared with Obamacare and 22 million more would lack coverage in 2026.)
But in one eyebrow-raising moment, Trump told the Times that health insurance costs about $1 per month when you’re young. “Because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan,” he said.
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There are several issues with that statement. For one, private health insurance definitely does not cost $12 per year at any age. (The government Medicaid program is only allowed to have nominal premiums, but that’s limited to the poor and disabled.) During the first two months of open enrollment for Obamacare in 2017, the average monthly premium for an individual insurance plan was $393. For 18-to-24-year olds, that figure was $219 per month. Now, that’s before federal subsidies kick in (and the vast majority of Obamacare enrollees receive those subsidies)—but even with the most generous subsidies, monthly premiums likely wouldn’t be much less than $80 to $100, even for younger, less medically costly Americans.
So what if Trump was talking about employer coverage, which is a far larger market that typically carries lower premiums? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), the average single employee contribution toward a employer-sponsored health plan in 2015 was $1,255, or about $105 per month. Employers on average kicked in another $4,708 toward workers’ health coverage over the year.
The numbers are clearly a far cry from Trump’s assertion. But, furthermore, the president’s framing that paying just a little into the private insurance system provides some sort of bulk benefit later on in life is also a misreading of how health insurance works. The setup that Trump describes is more akin to a hybrid of term life insurance and whole life insurance.
“[Y]ou know, a lot of the papers were saying—actually, these [Senators] couldn’t believe it, how much I know about it. I know a lot about health care,” Trump told the Times.
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The Grand Theft Auto series has been the poster child for What’s Wrong With Video Games for more than a decade, portraying a series of homicidal anti-heroes shooting and carjacking their way across US city stand-ins. But the games also are weirdly moral—you shoot people and the cops chase you, for example—and this includes drinking. When GTA IV protagonist Niko Bellic, an Eastern European mercenary, bellies up to a Liberty City watering hole, he gets plastered—and when he stumbles outside, the "camera" is woozy, the game controller shudders, and you have trouble keeping Niko upright. If you get behind the wheel, it’s even worse, as it’s nearly impossible to stay on the road without smashing into streetlamps, cars and pedestrians.
Bryan Le is a staff writer for The Fix. Hunter Slaton is The Fix's Rehab Review editor.
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With Destiny 2 finally out on the PC and looking pretty fantastic, Bungie has put up a blog post and developers update video looking ahead to the future of the game. The post also includes at early look at the upcoming 1.0.6 patch, scheduled to drop next week, and a list of known issues that have come up since the PC release.
"We've been playing the game in the wild for seven weeks, and like the Destiny experiences that have come before, we're always thinking about where the game is heading next," game director Christopher Barrett said. "We're still planning when a bunch of the improvements listed below are going to make their way into the game, but we wanted to let you know what we're up to."
Barret said Bungie is currently focused on:
New systems and rewards to give our most engaged players additional, optional pursuits.
Better incentives for players who complete challenging Prestige activities.
Better rewards and replay value for strikes, adventures, and Lost Sectors.
Private matches for the competitive community (we are targeting early 2018).
Crucible tuning like adjusted Supremacy scoring and better spawning rules.
Better incentives for completing Crucible matches (and penalties for quitting competitive games).
Continued improvements to Iron Banner and Faction Rallies, including uniqueness of rewards.
Changes to make the mod economy more interesting and impactful.
Ongoing improvements to Exotics, including adjustments to reduce instances of duplication.
New ways to spend surplus currency and materials (looking at you Legendary Shards).
An emote interface that allows players to equip Salty, Spicy Ramen, Six Shooter, and Flip Out all at the same time.
It's all good stuff, but better Prestige incentives and mod economy improvements are particularly noteworthy because they will impact (and, hopefully, meaningfully extend) the endgame, which as console players can tell you feels a little lacking right now. The return of private matches will also resonate with the PvP crowd, and signals that even though Bungie may not be aiming for a place on the competitive scene right now, it hasn't entirely forgotten about it either.
On the "we know and we're working on it" front, the update also notes that Destiny 2 will not run on CPUs that don't support SSSE3, and while the studio is trying to fix crash issues experienced on processors below the minimum spec, the bottom line is that they aren't officially supported and so there are no guarantees. (Bungie didn't say so but I think the implication is that instead of waiting for a fix, you should think about upgrading your rig if you want to play the new hotness.)
It's also attempting to address a problem with crashes in mission six on AMD Vega GPUs. The Buffalo, Trumpet and Chive error code articles have been updated in the knowledge base, and Bungie is aware of problems with missing Clan Rosters and Beta participant emblems.
Finally, the 1.0.6 patch will be rolled out next week, with a fix to an emote issue and "several Crucible changes that affect scoring and spawning." Full patch notes will be released alongside the update, but you can get a preview of what's coming below.
General:
Fixed an issue with collision detection on the Bureaucratic Walk emote
Fixed an issue causing players to encounter empty public spaces too often in free roam
Crucible:
Updated Mercy Rule settings to allow Mercy to activate slightly later in the match, allowing a wider range of scores to trigger it.
Clash
Reduced score limit to 50 (was 75)
Control
Reduced score limit to 90 (was 100)
Reduced influence that enemy-controlled zones exert over the spawning system
Survival
Reduced round time limit to 2 minutes (down from 3)
Reduced life count to 6 (down from 8)
Supremacy
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Bloomberg news, and the DNC, are piling on to Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan over GOP candidates’ reluctance to provide any details of their proposed $5 trillion tax cut for the rich.
Romney and Ryan have both repeatedly claimed that the tax cut will be paid for by closing “loopholes” and removed deductions. But they won’t say which loopholes and which deductions, nor will they promise not to eliminate the home mortgage interest deduction that so many Americans rely on.
During the vice presidential debate, both ABC’s Martha Radditz and VP Joe Biden couldn’t get Paul Ryan to say whether the home mortgage deduction was safe. That’s because it’s not.
RADDATZ: Can you declare anything off-limits? RYAN: Yeah, we’re saying close loopholes… RADDATZ: Home mortgage deduction? RYAN: … on high-interest people. RADDATZ: Home mortgage deduction? RYAN: For higher-income people. Here… BIDEN: Can you guarantee that no one making less than $100,000 will have a mortgage — their mortgage deduction impacted? Guarantee? RYAN: This taxes a million small businesses. He keeps trying to make you think that it’s just some movie star or hedge fund guy or an actor…
It’s not surprise that Ryan and Romney don’t want to talk about the details of their tax plan, because the non-partisan Tax Policy Center determined that the plan is “mathematically impossible.” While Romney and Ryan point to “six studies” that prove their plan will work. Except that the six studies aren’t really studies and they don’t prove anything. Even Fox News was incredulous over the lack of any proof that this tax cut can work:
It seems that Ryan and Romney don’t have the details because there aren’t any. Mitt Romney has both claimed that the $5 trillion tax cut will cut taxes for everyone AND not cut taxes for the wealthy. So which is it? No one has a clue because Romney has claimed both things to be true.
Romney talking about his $5 trillion tax cut in one debate: “Cut taxes for the rich? That’s not what I’m gonna do.” Romney talking about his $5 trillion tax cut in another debate: “We’re gonna cut taxes on everyone across the country by 20%, including the top one percent.”
Bloomberg reminds us that George Bush’s tax cuts were going to help focus on the middle class and pay for themselves. In fact, they did the opposite:
The desire for specificity is hardly unreasonable. Running in 2000, George W. Bush insisted that his proposed tax cut would be a boon to the middle class. Experts demurred, arguing that the top 1 percent of income earners would reap a windfall. Like Romney, Bush declined to show his math. In the end, his 2001 tax cut delivered almost half of its benefits to the top 1 percent and initiated Bush’s march toward a trillion-dollar deficit.
Maybe the details of Romney’s tax cut are hiding with his tax returns. And Jimmy Hoffa.
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MEN 3WAY BAG is rated 5.0 out of 5 by 3 .
Rated 5 out of 5 by Anonymous from Great all round bag I travel a bit for business overnight and have been looking for a bag that fits my clothes, laptop, runnings shoes, runnings gear etc and this is perfect. the bag is like a tardis. ie. looks sleek and small but fits a whole heap of stuff in it
Rated 5 out of 5 by davethefave from Great bag! Love the versatility of this bag. Material is great, size is good. There is one main zippered compartment, the two on the front, and two meshed pockets inside the big pocket, so don't expect to fit A TON of stuff in here, but it holds enough for me! Love this bag so much. Got rid of the rest of my bags.
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Anyone that’s tried The Lab, the free mini-game collection from Valve that’s available on Steam, knows that Longbow is one of the standout experiences. Standing atop a castle wall, you shoot down wave after wave of little stick figures as they go running by. Some of them wear armor to take more hits as the number of enemies slowly grows over the course of the waves.
The mechanics are fluid and easy to pick up and learn with enough finesse to feel just about as accurate as the real thing. The only problem is that it’s a single map, it’s dead simple, and it lacks gameplay diversity. That’s where QuiVr, from Blueteak, comes in.
QuiVr first hit the scene several months ago as a free alpha demo. You could take on some waves of enemies and engage in some simple multiplayer, there were a few points to move around the map, but that’s all that it really offered. Now in Early Access, the list of features is much longer. For starters, the play space is dramatically increased which not only adds to the variation in strategies, enemies, and overall gameplay, but also adds to the amount of space you have to defend.
Since enemies still descend upon you in waves, it’s important to be aware of your surroundings. You’ll have to fight them back as they progress while also moving up in the world to secure new gates and push back the flood of enemies. In this way it feels like part wave shooter, part tower defense game, with a unique combination of elements. That should help fend off the VR users that commonly cry out in contention of games being “just another wave shooter”.
The archery motion of grabbing an arrow, docking it, and pulling back the bow string is addictive and natural. Over time, you’ll get into a rhythm and it feels amazing to learn the trajectory of your shots. Early Access has also added lite progression elements between both single and mutliplayer, allowing you to earn new customization options and small abilities throughout the waves.
Blueteak even posted a link to a full, 5,000+ word game design document right on the Steam page. Additionally, the game receives so many updates that if you go a day or two without checking in on progress, you’ll probably have missed something. I’ve frankly never seen a developer post so many updates with such consistent frequency. When a user complained about being harassed in an online game, the team was very quick to respond.
The community has responded to these efforts and the Early Access version of the game sports a “Very Positive” designation on Steam, with only 2 of its 54 reviews listed as negative. According to the content of the Steam reviews, online comments, and gamers in general, it seems as if a lot of the people that are paying for Early Access now have previously played the free Alpha demo beforehand. With QuiVr, Blueteak is demonstrating that the concept of making a good product, listening to your fans, and communicating with the public is a solid way of honing in on what people want.
QuiVr is one of the most promising VR games we’ve seen emerge in Early Access thus far. By staying open and communicative with the fans, Blueteak is a prime example of how to do this style of modern indie game development correctly. Instead of nickel-and-diming users for small additions, or exploiting a new industry full of naive consumers, the developers are instituting meaty updates and waited to charge players until they had a product that was actually worth paying for.
If you’re interested in being a part of QuiVr’s development as it evolves through Early Access, you can buy into the experience on Steam right now for $19.99 with a 20% discount until 1/2/16, bringing the price down to $15.99. It currently features official support for both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift in standing and room-scale configurations with motion controllers being required.
Tagged with: longbow, QuiVr, The Lab, wave shooter
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Thanks to a deal done with landfill operators, the environment minister is set to receive a ‘free’ gift of at least 16m tonnes of greenhouse emissions cuts
The environment minister, Greg Hunt, is set to receive a free “gift” of at least 16m tonnes of greenhouse emission cuts, bringing him closer to Australia’s 2020 emissions reduction target and helping to explain his supreme confidence that Australia can meet it.
In August Hunt announced a deal he had done with landfill operators who had charged upfront gate fees for their expected liability under the former government’s carbon tax and were left with a windfall gain upon its repeal.
The announcement concentrated on promises by landfill operators to refund some of their $100m windfall to local councils (the local government association was also part of the deal) and to invest some of it in greenhouse reducing activities.
Questions over Direct Action as Greg Hunt reveals Paris target needs industrial emissions cut Read more
But the landfill operators also promised to buy “high quality units” with a portion of the money – estimated by Australian Landfill Owners Association chief executive Max Spedding to be somewhere between $10m and $20m. These units would be given to the federal government to help meet Australia’s greenhouse targets.
In its fine print, the deal said landfill operators could “purchase high quality abatement credits – to be determined by agreement with the minister for the environment.”
While the former Abbott government was reluctant to allow international permits to be used towards Australia’s emission reduction targets, the deal did not spell out that the purchased permits would be international units. Most assumed they would have to be, but interviewed by Guardian Australia on Wednesday Hunt was still refusing to confirm this.
“Landfill will be a matter for the individual companies involved, it is a matter for them what high quality units they will buy,” he said.
He confirmed the government would determine what “high quality” meant but said “I am not going to speculate about it in any way shape or form.”
But Spedding was clear the companies only ever intended to buy international permits – certified emission reductions or CERs, generated under the international clean development mechanism.
Coalition’s climate policy 'best and most efficient' in the world, says Greg Hunt Read more
“It was always intended that we would buy international units. That was always the plan. None have been transferred yet but some companies have already bought and others are in the market.”
Transpacific Cleanaway has announced it bought $3m worth of permits for 80 euro cents each.
CERs sell for about 30 to 40 cents, if issued during the Kyoto Protocol period up to 2012, or about 80 cents if issued in the current commitment period. Even if all the landfill operators bought permits at 80 cents, the government could receive around 16m units, saving it from finding 16m tonnes of greenhouse gas abatement.
This is a significant amount. The first auction under the $2.5bn emissions reduction fund paid $660m for 47m tonnes of abatement at an average of $14 a tonne.
Adding to the government’s confidence that the 2020 target can be met is the constant downward revision in projected greenhouse emissions, reducing the quantity of abatement they are required to buy.
In 2012 the promise to reduce emissions by 5% of 2000 levels by 2020 was calculated to require the cumulative reduction of 755m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In 2014 new government calculations reduced that figure to 421m tonnes. In March that figure was revised again, to 236m tonnes.
But according to energy market analysts Reputex, even the 236m tonnes is a huge overstatement, and the actual greenhouse gas reductions that have to be achieved by government policy could be just 50m tonnes or even less.
Reputex has predicted the second emissions reduction fund auction, to be held on 4 and 5 November, might see up to $1bn worth of contracts entered into for the delivery of emissions reductions from land-use and high emitting companies.
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Thoughts on Nomenclature in Fictional Worlds
eric_honour Blocked Unblock Follow Following Sep 6, 2016
Reading Polygon’s overview of Obsidian’s Tyranny made me realize something that particularly bugs me about lots of fantasy worlds. The way that the terminology works sounds clunky and too much like it comes from our world. For an example from the article, the term “archon” implies that the developers are bringing some Greek in (even if they incorrectly pluralize it “archons” — as I recall it really should be “archontes”). And that’s all well and good, but having a villain named “Kyron” then makes me want to link that back to καιρός, which doesn’t quite seem to make sense. (Or maybe they were thinking of this guy, who’s also called “Cyrus”, which is a less villainous-sounding name).
But its not just the mixed level of attention to detail in etymology, it’s also the way that unit types sound. “Stoneshield”, “Crescent Runner”, “Iron Walker”… somehow these just scream “I’m designing a video game!” rather than sounding like naturally applied terminology. I’m not sure how to bridge that gap (or if it even needs bridging — they are designing a video game).
I’m having a bit of trouble identifying what exactly bothers me about these names. It might be that they’re too categorical — but I understand that real historical militaries did have different troops with different roles, and they were called by different names.
Maybe it feels to me that the names are too clever? It seems like most historical unit designations have typically been very straightforward — “cavalry” just means “horses”, “hoplite” referred to the sort of shield with which they were armed. (Also, making unit types proper nouns feels wrong to me.) If I’m right that that’s what’s bugging me, I’d propose new names more along these lines:
- “Stoneshield” becomes either “shield” or “tower”.
- “Crescent Runners” would simply be “javelins”.
- “Iron Walkers” would be something more like “iron men”, or simply “armor”.
- “Oath Bound” would actually just be “scout” or “assassin”. If armies have non-oathbound scouts or assassins, then it’d just be an adjective, eg “twelve oathbound assassins”.
- “Earthshakers” actually is probably about right, though to me that’d probably read more as an adjective applied to mages generally. (I’m not sure enough about the way that magic is handled with the game or the world to be able to evaluate this one as much, but it’s odd to me that the list given in the article lists only this one magical niche.)
This is something that turns me off about a lot of fantasy. It’s also something that I can see is difficult to navigate — having multiple names for things is more realistic, but also can feel like it’s overwhelming the reader. Real-life historical names are full of metonymy and misapplication and the shifting sands of living language, and that’s a level of complexity that might not even be advantageous to a fictional world. But not even making the attempt feels sort of lazy.
Finally, invented terminology can be really hit-or-miss for different people. What sounds “silly but plausible” to me might sound unbearably twee to someone else. I might be bothered by accidental faux amis that are untroubling to someone else. The degree to which these sorts of things can end up bothering me might be more a flaw in me as a reader than in any given writer whose invented terminology I just can’t stand.
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Image copyright Getty Images Image caption People in rural areas continue to prize boys over girls
Police in China have detained 75 people in connection with a widespread network that illegally determined the gender of unborn babies.
The illegal service - aimed at expectant parents wanting male children - smuggled fetal blood samples to Hong Kong for gender testing, officials say.
It operated across much of China and brought in $30m (£25m).
Despite decades of campaigning, Chinese families, particularly in rural areas, continue to prize boys above girls.
At least 300 people were involved in the illegal service, the authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang said.
The size of the operation and the money involved reveal the desperation of the parents who wanted the service, BBC Asia Pacific regional editor Celia Hatton says.
China ended its one-child policy last year, which was seen as contributing to the gender imbalance in China.
But Chinese population officials this week warned that that imbalance, 113 boys for every 100 girls, would remain for years to come.
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Manitoba's PC government voted against an NDP bill to ban pill presses on Thursday — the day after the MLA who introduced it attended the funeral for a cousin who recently died from an overdose of illicit drugs.
NDP MLA Matt Wiebe introduced the bill last November. It would have limited the ownership and possession of pill presses in the province, which can be used to to illegally manufacture pills containing fentanyl and carfentanil. The bill would have allowed only pharmacists and other authorized people to possess the presses.
The bill took on added personal significance with the death of his cousin.
"We are still grieving. It is a a lot to take in. It's not new that she had issues with her addictions, but we think that this helps to highlight how important it is that the province take whatever steps it can now to address this issue … and hopefully make some positive changes that will save some lives," Wiebe told reporters after the vote.
Wiebe says the issue has also came to him from other families who have lived similar experiences.
"When they came into contact with fentanyl and carfentanil, that's what ended up being the fatal decision in their lives. And it's heartbreaking for all those families, and my family is just one of those families that's being affected," Wiebe said.
He said the proposed legislation was "just one small step" that the PC government could have taken to address the opioid crisis.
Last year, there were at least two dozen opioid-related deaths reported in Manitoba.
PCs want Canada-wide ban
"It is frustrating. Quite frankly, it's surprising," Wiebe said.
"This has been modelled on a bill that was introduced in Alberta by a Conservative opposition and an NDP government that worked together and passed this bill unanimously. We feel this is a model we could have followed here," Wiebe said.
Wiebe says the NDP's bill would have worked in conjunction with coming federal legislation.
"What we are talking about is giving law enforcement and first responders the ability, once they find a pill press, to proactively act and shut down these illicit drug labs," Wiebe said.
Manitoba Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen has previously said he would prefer to see a national ban on pill presses, as opposed to a provincial one.
Goertzen said a Canada-wide ban would be more effective because the presses are available across the country.
Wiebe admitted restricting pill presses isn't a complete solution to the opioid crisis, but says the government should take any action it can.
"It's distressing that the Pallister government refused to pass this bill to help keep pill presses out of the hands of dealers," Wiebe said.
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Aran Mylvaganam's story.
By Sue Bolton, Melbourne
Green Left Weekly -- This year is the 15th anniversary of the Nargar Kovil school massacre in Tamil Eelam, the Tamil area of Sri Lanka. On September 22, 1995, the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) bombed Nargar Kovil Maha Vidyalayam schoolyard, which was crammed with 750 children on their lunch break. Reports of the number of children killed vary from 26 to 70.
Twelve of the children killed were six or seven years old. One hundred and fifty were injured, including 40 seriously. Twenty-two children had their limbs amputated. Ten of the amputees were under 12.
The bombing was part of a carpet-bombing campaign carried out by the Sri Lankan military at the time. Just three months before, the SLAF bombed a church at Navaly, killing 147 Tamil men, women and children seeking refuge from the military offensive.
Aran Mylvaganam, a survivor of the Nargar Kovil school massacre who became a refugee in Australia, organised a commemoration in Melbourne on October 10, 2010. Mylvaganam was a student at the school, aged 11, when the bombing occurred. His brother was killed in the bombing.
A year later, Mylvaganam came to Australia to seek asylum. He was locked up in Sydney’s Villawood detention centre as an unaccompanied minor.
Mylvaganam organised the event with a new group he has started, Free Tamil Eelam. Several survivors of the massacre attended.
As well as commemorating the school massacre, speakers represented other struggles for national self-determination. Sharon Firebrace spoke about the Indigenous struggle in Australia. She was joined by Alex Whisson from Australians for Palestine, and Hidayet Ceylan, who spoke about the Kurdish struggle in Turkey.
Mylvaganam said it was important to develop solidarity between national self-determination struggles.
Whisson said Israel armed the Sri Lankan military for its war against the Tamils, and described the takeover of Palestinian land — a process similar to what is happening to Tamils today.
Ceylan’s description of the forced assimilation of Kurds in Turkey had strong parallels with the forced assimilation of Indigenous Australians.
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City residents will have first choice on programs offered in city centres starting Dec. 10 for swimming lessons and Dec. 11 for everything else.
That means people who live outside city limits will have to register for what's left after Winnipeg residents get first dibs on programs.
New residency rules in the city's winter Leisure Guide impose restrictions on out-of-town registrations for the first time, making them wait a week after registration opens before they can sign up for classes and programs.
Non-Winnipeggers who flock to sign their kids up for skating, swimming or just about anything else at city community centres got yanked to the back of the line Friday.
Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/11/2013 (1914 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/11/2013 (1914 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Non-Winnipeggers who flock to sign their kids up for skating, swimming or just about anything else at city community centres got yanked to the back of the line Friday.
New residency rules in the city's winter Leisure Guide impose restrictions on out-of-town registrations for the first time, making them wait a week after registration opens before they can sign up for classes and programs.
That means people who live outside city limits will have to register for what's left after Winnipeg residents get first dibs on programs.
City residents will have first choice on programs offered in city centres starting Dec. 10 for swimming lessons and Dec. 11 for everything else.
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It will be Dec. 17 before registration opens for residents from satellite communities.
The news is tough to swallow for some outside Winnipeg.
"It's discouraged me from registering, honestly," said Andrea Braz, of St. Andrews, who has in the past enrolled seven-year-old son Miguel in a swimming program at Seven Oaks pool.
Braz has in the past lined up at Seven Oaks on registration day while her mother worked the phones, just to get a spot on the first day of registration.
"If you're not on the phone or logged into the website, there's no way," Braz said, noting that after a week the number of spots and programs available would be "slim pickings."
"I'll never get a spot," she said.
Currently, residents with addresses outside city limits pay 20 per cent more per program, per child. That won't change, even with the restrictions on registering.
Shelly Marques, also of St. Andrews, understands why city taxpayers would get first crack at city programs and facilities. "That's definitely a valid argument," she said.
But Marques, a mother of two, added, "There are so many things that are interesting for me and my kids (in the Leisure Guide). There aren't the same amount of programs out here or in Selkirk. It's a challenge."
The city offers hundreds of classes but swimming and skating lessons will be impacted the most because they are the most popular.
The city's reasoning is it's city residents who pay the taxes that build the centres, so they deserve to be first in line for the services.
"It's to provide Winnipeggers the first opportunity to register for programs before registration opens up for non-residents," said Dan Prokopchuk, the city's manager of community development and recreation.
"I'm told it was an administrative decision to give first preference to people who are residents as opposed to people who live outside of Winnipeg," said St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes, chairman of the city's protection and community services committee.
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"Certainly this wasn't something that came before me as committee chair."
What it means is simple, said Shawn Wilkinson, recreation director for the RM of Springfield. Commuters will have to wait until it's too late to sign up.
He said the rule change will disappoint a lot of parents who rely on city pools for swimming lessons.
"A lot of our parents register for swimming lessons and this means it would be tight for Springfield residents to get in," Wilkinson said. "I'm not surprised. I understand how hard it is to get into the swimming lessons and I understand how the city would want to serve its residents first.
"It is what it is."
alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
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Joe Oliver, the current finance minister who's running for re-election in the Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence, has been criticized for his absence from the Conservative campaign trail — even as figures were released showing Canada dipped into a recession for the first half of this year.
Today's new job statistics might have prompted another round of searching for comment from the minister. (Tony Clement, his cabinet colleague responsible for the Treasury Board, issued a statement instead, on the government's behalf.)
But the lost minister has been found — he's in Turkey for a G20 economic meeting.
Oliver issued a statement Thursday confirming that he was taking part in the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors to promote collaboration "during this time of heightened global fragility." The two-day meeting in Ankara begins Friday.
"During a period of global economic uncertainty, including a dramatic decline in oil prices and market turmoil in emerging economies, it is important that Canada and our G20 partners remain committed to policies that will create jobs and economic growth. I will be meeting with my G20 colleagues this weekend in Turkey, as we work together to achieve these objectives," the statement said.
"Canada plays a central role in G20 discussions as co-chair of the working group responsible for economic growth strategies. In this capacity, we will continue to work with G20 members to strengthen their action plans to support stronger global economic performance."
Oliver's predecessor Jim Flaherty left the campaign trail in 2008 for a similar meeting.
Oliver responded to the news that Canada was technically in a recession on Tuesday with a single tweet, prompting questions online, some using the hashtag #WheresJoe on social media.
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For the accelerated patent examination program also known as PPH 2.0, see Patent Prosecution Highway
Mottainai written on a truck, followed by the sentence "I strive towards written on a truck, followed by the sentence "I strive towards zero emission
Mottainai is a term of Japanese origin that has been used by environmentalists. The term in Japanese conveys a sense of regret over waste; the exclamation "Mottainai! can translate as "What a waste!" Japanese environmentalists have used the term to encourage people to "reduce, reuse and recycle", and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai used the term at the United Nations as a slogan to promote environmental protection.
Usage and translation [ edit ]
Mottainai is a Japanese term conveying a sense of regret concerning waste.[1] The expression "Mottainai!" can be uttered alone as an exclamation when something useful, such as food or time, is wasted, meaning roughly "what a waste!" In addition to its primary sense of "wastefulness", the word is also used to mean "impious; irreverent" or "more than one deserves".[2]
Mottainai in Japanese refers both to physical waste and to wasteful action. MacQuillan and Preston propose a more elaborate translation that conveys a sense of value and worthiness as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that which is worthy".[3]
History [ edit ]
Modern Japanese environmentalism [ edit ]
In November 2002, the English-language, Japan-based magazine Look Japan ran a cover story entitled "Restyling Japan: Revival of the 'Mottainai' Spirit", documenting the motivation amongst volunteers in a "toy hospital" in Japan to "develop in children the habit of looking after their possessions," the re-emergence of repair shops specializing in repairing household appliances or children's clothes, the recycling of PET bottles and other materials, the collection of waste edible oil, and more generally the efforts to stop the trend of throwing away everything that can no longer be used, i.e. the efforts of reviving "the spirit of mottainai".[4] In that context, Hitoshi Chiba, the author, described mottainai as follows:
“ We often hear in Japan the expression 'mottainai', which loosely means 'wasteful' but in its full sense conveys a feeling of awe and appreciation for the gifts of nature or the sincere conduct of other people. There is a trait among Japanese people to try to use something for its entire effective life or continue to use it by repairing it. In this caring culture, people will endeavor to find new homes for possessions they no longer need. The 'mottainai' principle extends to the dinner table, where many consider it rude to leave even a single grain of rice in the bowl. The concern is that this traditional trait may be lost.[4] ”
A modern observance that practices mottainai[clarification needed] is the yearly festival of Hari-Kuyō, or the Festival of Broken Needles.[citation needed]
At the Opening Ceremony of the Science and Technology in Society Forum in 2005, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stated: "In Japan, there has long been a spirit characterized by the word mottainai, which could be translated as 'don't waste what is valuable'."[5]
Use by Wangari Maathai [ edit ]
mottainai in an environmental protection campaign Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai has used the wordin an environmental protection campaign
At a session of the United Nations, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai introduced the word mottainai as a slogan for environmental protection.[6] According to Mizue Sasaki,[7]
Dr. Maathai, brandishing a t-shirt emblazoned with the word MOTTAINAI, explained that the meaning of the term mottainai encompasses the four Rs of reduce, reuse, recycle and repair ... [and] made the case that we should all use limited resources effectively and share them fairly if we are to avert wars arising from disputes over natural resources.
Maathai has worked to popularize the word mottainai in places outside Japan.[8] At the 2009 United Nations Summit on Climate Change, she said "Even at personal level, we can all reduce, re-use and recycle, what is embraced as Mottainai in Japan, a concept that also calls us to express gratitude, to respect and to avoid wastage."[9]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]
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There was a certain point last night — when a six-foot-tall private-party planner in a bustier and feather headdress was clenching my shoulder and threatening me — that I wondered why I ever even wanted to follow along on a tour of the fancy camps of Burning Man.
Burning Man is, after all, about building a city, which they call Black Rock. In that city, some people were building walled-off empires on its outer rings. Rich people do as rich people do.
But there is something about the way a new fleet of wealthy have descended on Burning Man that is inducing anxiety among Burners, a community that bans all money and branding (people tape over even small logos). The so-called “turnkey camps” — tight circles of trailers, or sometimes just large black-tarp walls that hide overstaffed luxury playpens — are distinctly different from the rest of Burning Man, a festival with a heavy emphasis on giving and work.
During a five-minute walk this morning, Burners in various camps offered me plums, coffee and homemade pita-and-cheese sandwiches. Campers constantly brag about how much work they put into their decor, erecting full bars or elaborate hammock-atop-hammock arrangements on site. Many of this year’s new camps are both private and prefab, and that is very difficult for some Burners to accept. It has been part of the conversation here all week.
Let it be said: All of Burning Man is a show of wealth. Tickets are $380, sure, but many of the art cars — immensely decorated buses and trucks — cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not to mention the neon furs, the metallic leggings and the lights (there were side-of-the-road hawkers at the gate who tried to sell me a rainbow stole for $80).
Standing near a party bus one night around midnight, Ryan Parks, a young entrepreneur covered in LEDs, explained the situation: “This is the height of excess,” he said, indicating the neon and fire-spewing art cars around us. “We go to the desert, where people die, to build shit we burn. The Maslow hierarchy of needs has been met by our ancestors — so we can make art cars and websites. It’s wasteful but plants the seeds of possibility of whole new worlds.”
It’s not about tech money, because that’s nothing new. Annie Harrison — an early Burner and former writer for Wired magazine — told me, “I came out here in ’95 to cover the tech scene. It was tech-reporter catnip! Mostly stories about the lasers from Lawrence Livermore. I took a picture of a guy lighting a cigarette off a laser that my editor loved.”
But something new is happening at Burning Man: There’s now a rich neighborhood.
While some power players, like Bob Pittman, station their camps openly at the center of the fray, others have created a fascinating ring of power: K Street Black Rock.
K Street Black Rock is at the perimeter of the city, which is built in the form of concentric semicircles. A long, obscure stretch far from the center, no one bikes all the way out there unless they have to.
“We’ve put our hand out to the turnkey camps and asked them to live by the principles. We can’t force them. But we asked, and I think they understand,” said Burning Man co-founder Will Rogers, who sat in a folding chair by his RV, a tattered bandana around his head. “After the first dust storm, we’re all the same color.”
In my event calendar, I noticed something called “Turnkey Camp Invasion,” described as a parade to test the hospitality of the fanciest camps. When I arrived at the meeting spot, a funky bar in a quiet neighborhood along E street, the bartenders told me the organizer hadn’t been able to make it to Burning Man because he couldn’t take the time off from work.
But the group — a dentist, a Google employee, a lawyer, some eccentrics — still gathered. We figured that, no matter what, it was a nice night for a bike ride.
“Okay, we want to make sure we don’t get the people who fund the art, though,” said a blonde woman wearing a headscarf and a sash of fake ammo. “How can we tell which is turnkey and which isn’t?”
“Listen, we’re not burning down their RVs, for god’s sake,” said David Grosof, who wore glow sticks fashioned into glasses. “If we’re friendly, they’ll invite us in. It’ll be fun.”
I stood next to a Google employee named Greg: “The nanosecond I heard about this turnkey tour, there was no way I wouldn’t do it.”
What if it’s Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s camp?
“That’d be awesome! We’d sip a martini and have some caviar, no doubt,” Greg said.
Grosof had a more philosophical take.
“We are so very careful, no one can sell a hot dog for money, but it’s okay to have a staff and bodyguards and cooks?” he said. “What is the difference between commodity product and commodity service?”
When we reached K Street, one of the “invaders” asked a man who was walking by whether he had seen these fancy camps. Oh yes, he had, he said. Many. They set up 20 matching RVs here or there, and there’s one just right up the street.
We got to the escarpment, a daunting wall of RVs. The entry was covered by gauzy drapes. As they billowed in the wind, we could see inside: A crystal chandelier, glass refrigerators full of champagne, a dining-room table to seat maybe 16, and half a dozen very beautiful women in lingerie, serving cocktails. One of them saw the group.
She stormed outside, furious. The invaders responded defensively, saying they had just wanted to see. Some wanted to debate. She wanted everyone to keep walking. The group milled outside, debating whether to try again, or give up and go to a normal camp for a drink.
One of the turnkey residents, red-haired and slightly overweight, came out in a white shirt and cargo shorts. The party planner quickly ran back inside, brought him a red-silk Chinese robe, and helped him put it on. He thought someone’s headlamp was a camera, and started to scream at them. The event planner saw me taking notes and a picture of the scene, and came at me. “I don’t like you,” she said loudly, grabbing my shoulder. Someone next to me told her that she didn’t need to be a bitch. The man in the silk robe started jumping up and down, ready to throw a punch.
And then, because no one really wanted a fight and the whole scene was ridiculous, it calmed. The Googler hopped on his bike and sped off. The dentist shook his head and adjusted his EL-wire. And I went off with a friend to a fire-dancing camp run by some Santa Cruz Burners — I gave them the ginseng candies that I carry in my bag. We ordered vodka and orange juice, but they poured us Coke and Fireball.
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Black Lives Matter is a statement of fact and a petition to those who refuse to acknowledge its truth. In this election, there is one candidate who agrees, and one candidate who doesn't know that the answer to his question "What do you have to lose?" is Black lives.
“It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”—Frederick Douglass
Once again we find ourselves in anguish over yet another string of extinguished black lives. We oscillate between boiling rage and compensatory desensitization on a daily, if not hourly basis.
At the macro level, we experience the continued assault on Black life much the same as individuals process the five stages of grief. Initially there’s denial that these horrors keep happening in spite of our continued outrage, followed by the righteous anger that seemingly nothing has changed.
Next there’s bargaining by which we convince ourselves that “if only he/she had just…” they might have gone home to their families, even when we’ve repeatedly seen that compliance and innocence aren’t always lifesavers.
It is acknowledgement of this reality that then moves us into the depression stage, bordering on apathy and disengagement from a society that refuses to rehabilitate itself. Ultimately when we reach the depths of our despair, the human spirit somehow propels us towards acceptance and resolve to move forward.
It is precisely this immutable spirit that gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement and all other civil rights movements that preceded it.
When the last of our tears dry up and the raucous street protests dissipate, we are called to take determined action. History teaches us that rallies and riots must necessarily become votes and legislation. The March on Washington is only half of a story that also includes passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, and has yet to be completed.
With each storm comes change, or as Frederick Douglass said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
In these perilous times it now becomes our duty to move from anguish to action, and affect meaningful change. As we stand on the precipice of electing our next president, we must do so by electing the candidate whose policy proposals reflect the advancement of our most cherished civil rights causes, and Black lives.
In this election that means a choice between Hillary Clinton, whose first major policy speech of the 2016 campaign was a call to overhaul our criminal justice system, and Donald Trump, who is currently proposing a nationwide “Stop and Frisk” policy specifically targeted at Black Americans. It is a choice between a president who is supportive of the progress that has been made to reduce discriminatory drug sentencing disparities, and a president who chose a running mate who thinks there is “far too much talk” about racism in policing.
To once again answer Donald Trump’s question about what Black voters stand to lose by supporting him: Black lives.
It is precisely the risk of ever more extinguished Black lives that propelled the very “Mothers of the Movement” to the DNC convention stage to endorse Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party on behalf of their murdered sons and daughters. They did what Mamie Till did in 1955 to alert America and the world to the need for the very policy changes Black voters organized into fruition just ten years later. As Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sabrina Fulton, so succinctly stated, “This isn’t about being politically correct, this is about saving our children.”
In spite of their immense grief, fear, anger, and depression, they moved from anguish to necessary action. We must follow their lead. The mere fact that Black women in particular so strongly support Hillary Clinton, and have comprehensively drawn a connection between her success, our civil rights, and the safety of our families, should tell you all you need to know about how much Black voters recognize the urgency of this moment in our history.
The time for action is now; let’s reap the whirlwind.
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Les raboteurs de parquet English: The Floor Scrapers Artist Gustave Caillebotte Year 1875 Medium Oil on canvas Dimensions 102 cm × 146.5 cm ( 40 1⁄ 8 in × 57 5⁄ 8 in) Location Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Les raboteurs de parquet (English title: The Floor Scrapers) is an oil painting by French Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte. The canvas measures 102 by 146.5 centimetres (40.2 in × 57.7 in). It was originally given by Caillebotte's family in 1894 to the Musée du Luxembourg, then transferred to the Musée du Louvre in 1929. In 1947, it was moved to the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, and in 1986, it was transferred again to the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, where it is currently displayed.[1]
Caillebotte’s originality lay in his attempt to combine the careful drawing, modeling and exact tonal values encouraged by the Académie with vivid colors, bold perspectives, keen sense of natural light and modern subject matter of the Impressionist movement.[2] Painted in 1875, this work illustrates Caillebotte's continued interest in perspective and everyday life. In the scene, the observer stands above three workers on hands and knees, scraping a wooden floor in a bourgeois apartment—now believed to be Caillebotte's own studio at 77, rue de Miromesnil, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. A window on the back wall admits natural light. The workers are all shown with nude torsos and tilted heads, suggesting a conversation.[4] Caillebotte’s interest in the male nude, set in a modern context, has been linked to his presumed homosexuality, however it was part of a larger trend, not necessarily limited to homosexual artists, that was first introduced by Courbet in a painting of two wrestlers (Szépmüvézeti Museum, Budapest). This is one of the first paintings to feature the urban working class.[6] It reintroduces the subject of the male nude in the painting, but in a strikingly updated form. Instead of the heroes of antiquity, here are the heroes of modern life—sinewy and strong—in stooped poses that would appear demeaning if they did not convey a sense of masculine strength and honest labor. There is a motif of curls in the image, from the wood shavings on the floor, to the pattern of ironwork in the window grill to the arched backs and arms of the workers. The repetition in the image, with the three workers engaged in different aspects of the same activity but having similar poses, is similar to works by Caillebotte's contemporary, Edgar Degas.
1876 version of the same subject by Caillebotte
Despite the effort Caillebotte put into the painting, it was rejected by France's most prestigious art exhibition, the Salon, in 1875. The depiction of working-class people in their trade, not fully clothed, shocked the jurors and was deemed a "vulgar subject matter".[6] He was hurt by this rejection, and instead showed it at the second exhibition of the Impressionists, with whom he had already associated himself, in 1876. He presented it alongside some of his other works, including a second, different version of Raboteurs from 1876, and his earlier work Jeune homme à sa fenêtre (Young Man at His Window) The images of the floor scrapers came to be associated with Degas's paintings of washerwomen, also presented at the same exhibition and similarly scorned as "vulgar".
The painting divided opinion in Parisian art circles. Among the detractors, Emile Porchoron, a critic of Impressionism, damned Caillebotte with faint praise: "the least bad of the exhibition. One of the missions Impressionism seems to have set for itself is to torture perspective: you see here what results can be obtained." Émile Zola praised the technical execution, but then called it "an anti-artistic painting, painting as neat as glass, bourgeois painting, because of the exactitude of the copying." Louis Énault was not troubled by the depiction ("The subject matter is certainly vulgar, but we can understand how it might tempt a painter") but did find fault with the image's fidelity to the scene: "I only regret that the artist did not choose his types better... The arms of the planers are too thin, and their chests too narrow... may your nude be handsome or don't get involved with it!"
The painting received praise from many critics, though. Regarding the Salon rejection, poet and critic Émile Blémont called the decision "[a] very bad mark for the official jurors". Maurice Chaumelin compared Caillebotte favorably to his contemporaries, writing that the work showed that he was "a realist just as raw, but much more witty, than Courbet, just as violent, but altogether more precise, than Manet." Philippe Burty made comparisons to an even earlier generation of artists: "His pictures are original in their composition, but, more than that, so energetic as to drawing that they resemble the early Florentines."
Cultural depictions [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
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High heels may improve a woman's sex life, a new study has found — but not in the way you might imagine.
The effect of heels on the male libido is well-known, but this research looked at the physical benefits of high heels for women. Dr. Maria Angela Cerruto, a urologist at the University of Verona, Italy, found that the tippy-toe posture of heels can tone a woman's abdomen and pelvic floor.
If true, not only will a nice high-heeled shoe attract the man, it may keep him, too.
While high heels are more commonly linked with problems of posture and bunions, Cerruto defends one of her own favorite articles of fashion.
"Like many women, I like high-heeled shoes; they make you appear more slender and taller," she says.
And she is pleased to have shown they can be good for you, too.
In a study to be published in the journal European Urology, Cerruto presented the results of her tests on 66 women under the age of 50.
She found that if they stood with their feet at a 15-degree angle to the ground (the equivalent of a 3-inch heel) the electrical activity in their pelvic muscles was less — indicating the muscles were more relaxed with higher heels, thus improving their strength and ability to contract.
"We now hope to prove that wearing heels during daily activity may reduce the need for pelvic exercises," says Dr. Cerruto.
Exercise — Step by Step
That would be great news for most women, who not only struggle with regular exercising, but who are also supposed to remember to do their "Kegels" — named after the doctor who first established the regimen in 1948 — or pelvic floor gymnastics.
According to the Mayo Clinic Web site, "pregnancy, childbirth, excess weight, chronic coughing and just getting older can all take a toll on your pelvic floor muscles." The guide recommends regular exercise of those muscles, adding that this can also be "helpful to women who have persistent problems" reaching sexual gratification.
If wearing heels is enough to keep your pelvic floor toned, many lovers of flats might consider stepping up. Marina Sapia, a new mother in Rome, lit up at the news that wearing heels would do it. "I don't wear heels, because I am so tall, but I might start, if this is true," she told ABC News.
And designers of high-heeled fashion welcomed the news that their creations might finally be considered healthy.
Manolo Blahnik, a shoe designer specializing in sexy high heels, told the Daily Mail that this was "wonderful news."
"When you put on a high heel, it makes life more exciting," Blahnik claims.
"It's a way to appeal to the male species, to attract," he added, "and it works. I have men who tell me that heels have saved their marriage."
He complains of being "hounded for years" about how bad it was for the posture, but found it puzzling. His mother wore them until she was 87 with no ill consequences.
How High Is Too High?
But even Blahnik admits that there is such a thing as a heel that is too high.
"I think there's a limit, though. Anything over four-and-a-half inches is just too much. You can't walk properly; it's no longer elegant."
But in fact, even four-and half inches is too high to be healthy. A limited height — practical — is the key. "Moderately high heels," Cerruto calls them.
The news of high-heel benefits for the pelvis intrigues Sabrina Saudelli, a Rome beautician.
"It makes sense that heels are good for abdominal and pelvic muscles," she thinks. "To counter the lean forward, you tighten the abdominal muscles and push the pelvis under."
An advocate for wearing heels in general, Saudelli claims "a small heel is actually good for the posture, much better than ballerina flats." But truly high heels, and especially a wobbly stiletto, is bad for the back and a risk for twisted ankles.
"Once you go over three inches regularly," she adds, "your posture and back are going to suffer."
So for all their sex appeal, stilettos, sadly, don't count.
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We hope you used up those frequent flier miles which are now a General Unsecured Claim on thee company and will likely result in an exchange rate of 1 million miles for one round trip flight...
AMR CORP. FILES BANKRUPTCY IN NEW YORK
AMR, HOLDING COMPANY FOR AMERICAN AIRLINES, FILES CHAPTER 11
AMR COPR. LISTS DEBTS OF $29.5 BILLION IN BANKRUPTCY FILING
AMR HAS $4.1B IN CASH
AMR TO START FURTHER TALKS WITH UNION TO CUT LABOR COSTS
*AMR NAMES THOMAS HORTON CHAIRMAN, CEO; GERALD ARPEY TO RETIRE
Full press release:
AMR Corporation ("the Company"), the parent company of American Airlines, Inc. ("American") and AMR Eagle Holding Corporation ("American Eagle"), announced that in order to achieve a cost and debt structure that is industry competitive and thereby assure its long-term viability and ability to continue delivering a world-class travel experience for its customers, the Company and certain of its U.S.-based subsidiaries (including American and American Eagle), today filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
AMR's Board of Directors determined that a Chapter 11 reorganization is in the best interest of the Company and its stakeholders. Just as with the Company's major airline competitors in recent years, the Chapter 11 process enables American Airlines and American Eagle to continue conducting normal business operations while they restructure their debt, costs and other obligations.
American Airlines and American Eagle are operating normal flight schedules today, and their reservations, customer service, AAdvantage® program, Admirals Clubs and all other operations are conducting business as usual. Likewise, throughout the Chapter 11 process, American and American Eagle expect to continue to:
Provide safe and reliable service;
Fly normal schedules;
Honor tickets and reservations, and make exchanges and refunds as usual;
Fully maintain AAdvantage frequent flyer and other customer service programs, and ensure all AAdvantage miles and elites status earned by members remain secure and intact;
Provide Admirals Club access and similar amenities to members and eligible customers;
Remain an integral member of the oneworld® alliance, of which American is a founding member, and continue its codeshare partnerships;
Provide employee wages, healthcare coverage, vacation, and other benefits, without interruption; and
Pay suppliers for goods and services received during the reorganization process.
These filings have no direct legal impact on American's operations outside the United States.
Thomas W. Horton, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of AMR and American Airlines, said, "This was a difficult decision, but it is the necessary and right path for us to take - and take now - to become a more efficient, financially stronger, and competitive airline.
"We have met our challenges head on, taking all possible action to secure our long-term position. In recent years, even as the airline industry faced unprecedented challenges, American strengthened our domestic and global network; fortified our alliances with the best partners around the world; launched a transformational fleet deal that will give American the youngest and most efficient fleet in the industry; and invested in our product, service and technology to build a world class customer experience.
"But as we have made clear with increasing urgency in recent weeks, we must address our cost structure, including labor costs, to enable us to capitalize on these foundational strengths and secure our future. Our very substantial cost disadvantage compared to our larger competitors, all of which restructured their costs and debt through Chapter 11, has become increasingly untenable given the accelerating impact of global economic uncertainty and resulting revenue instability, volatile and rising fuel prices, and intensifying competitive challenges.
"Our Board decided that it was necessary to take this step now to restore the Company's profitability, operating flexibility, and financial strength. We are committed to working as quickly and efficiently as possible to appropriately restructure American so that it can emerge from Chapter 11 well-positioned to assure the Company's long term viability and its ability to compete effectively in the marketplace," Horton stated.
Horton continued, "Throughout the restructuring process, as always, our customers remain our top priority and they can continue to depend on us for the safe, reliable travel and high quality service they know and expect from us. We intend to maintain a strong presence in domestic and international markets, including our cornerstones in Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, New York, Miami and Los Angeles. As we and all airlines routinely do, we will continue to evaluate our operations and service, assuring that our network is as efficient and productive as possible.
"Achieving the competitive cost structure we need remains a key imperative in this process and, as one part of that, we plan to initiate further negotiations with all of our unions to reduce our labor costs to competitive levels."
"American Airlines has a strong, proud history and we will have a successful future. Working through this difficult, but necessary action and process, I am confident we will succeed in enhancing our reputation as a global leader known for excellence and innovation, a travel partner customers seek out, and a carrier that serves communities throughout the world," Horton concluded.
The Company has approximately $4.1 billion in unrestricted cash and short-term investments. This cash, as well as cash generated from operations, is anticipated to be more than sufficient to assure that its vendors, suppliers and other business partners will be paid timely and in full for goods and services provided during the Chapter 11 process in accordance with customary terms. Because of the Company's current cash position, the need for debtor-in-possession financing is neither considered necessary nor anticipated.
American is filing motions today with the Court seeking interim relief that will ensure the Company's continued ability to conduct normal operations, including the ability to:
Provide employee wages, healthcare coverage, vacation, and other benefits without interruption;
Honor pre-petition obligations to customers and continue customer programs including American's AAdvantage frequent flyer program;
Pay for fuel under existing fuel supply contracts, and honor existing fuel supply, distribution and storage agreements; and
Assume and honor contracts relating to interline agreements with other airlines.
As announced separately today, the Board of Directors of AMR Corporation appointed Horton Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, succeeding Gerard Arpey, who informed the Board of his decision to retire. Horton will also succeed Arpey as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Airlines and will retain the title of President.
AMR's lead counsel is Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and its financial advisor is Rothschild, Inc.
More information about American Airlines Chapter 11 filing is available on the Internet at AA.com/restructuring. Information for suppliers and vendors is available at (866) 736-9011 or (703) 286-2757, or by sending an email to amr.supplier@aa.com.
AMR will be filing monthly operating reports with the Bankruptcy Court and also plans to post these monthly operating reports on the Investor Relations section of AA.com. The company will continue to file quarterly and annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will also be available in the Investor Relations section of AA.com.
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‘CONSIDER THIS A WARNING’
Portland State University’s student media are covering the riots against President-elect Donald Trump in their city, and someone apparently doesn’t want the attention.
Mike Bivins, who writes for the Pacific Sentinel campus magazine and has been on a tear with video from the protests, got a threatening letter that ended:
STOP FILMING. CONSIDER THIS A WARNING.
His colleague at the Vanguard student paper, Andy Ngo, posted the flyer that Bivins received. It pretty baldly demands that student journalists stop reporting – which might incidentally help police identify suspects – and start advocating for the protesters’ causes.
Media colleague @itsmikebivins warned not to record violent anti-Trump protests. At least 1 media crew attacked last night #PortlandProtest pic.twitter.com/fVKgaLHKO5 — Andy C. Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) November 13, 2016
Bivins said he got the same flyer as a direct message on Twitter, just in case the paper version wasn’t convincing enough.
@MrAndyNgo that flier also came through my direct messages :-/. It's definitely dangerous out there. — Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) November 13, 2016
Bivins said he also got the warning in person before someone decided to reinforce it with paper and digital copies.
I wasn't gonna mention it, but at the outset of the Pioneer Square march masked protesters warned me not to film them. #PortlandProtest — Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) November 13, 2016
As Ngo’s tweet referenced, the Portland Police Department said protesters had “attacked a film crew” overnight on Saturday.
Some protesters attacked a film crew. Bottles being thrown at police. Distractionary "bang" devices being used to effect arrests. — Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) November 13, 2016
Ngo told The College Fix in a Twitter message that the Vanguard hasn’t received any anonymous warnings like Bivins did.
Much of the violence in Portland has been blamed on the region’s anarchists – the Pacific Northwest has a vocal and protest-happy anarchist population – so it seems plausible that these are threats from anarchists, particularly given their police-specific demands.
Here’s one scene Bivins captured where protesters actually followed police as they were leaving.
Riot police literally marched away and protesters followed. Situation escalating. #PortlandProtest pic.twitter.com/XWzX4VHvif — Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) November 13, 2016
And some run-of-the-mill wanton destruction.
Watch your back, Mike. Some people haven’t learned the message that photography is not a crime.
h/t Creative News Junkie
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IMAGE: Alex Tihonovs/Shutterstock
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Assistance to torture regimes violates US & international law
London, UK – 24 February 2014
Guest post by Daniel Wickham
The top ten recipients of US foreign assistance this year all practice torture and are responsible for major human rights abuses, according to the findings of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other leading human rights organisations. This may be in violation of existing US law, which requires that little or no aid be provided to a country which “engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, including torture.”
A report released by the Congressional Research Service lists the following countries as the largest beneficiaries of US government-provided aid planned for 2014:
1. Israel – $3.1bn
2. Afghanistan – $2.2bn
3. Egypt – $1.6bn
4. Pakistan – $1.2bn
5. Nigeria – $693m
6. Jordan – $671m
7. Iraq – $573m
8. Kenya – $564m
9. Tanzania – $553m
10.Uganda -$456m
All ten have been accused of torturing people in the last year, and at least half of them are reported to be doing so on a massive scale. In Afghanistan, for example, a UN report that torture in prisons continues to be “widespread”, with over half of the 635 detainees who were interviewed claiming to have been abused. According to Amnesty International, torture is also “widespread” in Uganda and remains “common” practice in Iraq.
Elsewhere, in Kenya, Human Rights Watch claim that “police in Nairobi tortured, raped and otherwise abused and arbitrarily detained at least 1,000 refugees between mid-November 2012 and late January 2013.” Tanzanians “at most risk of HIV” also face “widespread police abuse” – including torture – and are “regularly raped, assaulted and arrested.”
The worst abuses in detention, however, are alleged to be happening Nigeria, where in addition to the “widespread” use of torture, nearly a thousand people died in military custody in the first six months of 2013. A senior officer in the Nigerian army, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that “about five people, on average, are killed nearly on a daily basis.” According to the Associated Press, “if the number is accurate, Nigeria’s military has killed more civilians than the (Boko Haram) militants did” in the same six month period.
The “abysmal” human rights situation in Egypt, whose government still receives half a billion dollars in foreign aid annually from the United States, is also a pressing concern. According to Tayab Ali of ITN solicitors in London, “the evidence suggests that Egypt’s military regime has carried out crimes against humanity on a horrendous scale, including murder, persecution, torture and enforced disappearances.” At least 1,300 protesters have been massacred and anywhere between 3,500 and 21,317 Muslim Brotherhood supporters arrested since the elected government of Mohammed Morsi was overthrown in a coup d’etat in July.
Although the crackdown shows no signs of letting up, with dozens more killed on the anniversary of the Egyptian uprising in January, the United States is on course to increase its support for the military regime after Congress passed a new bill which will allow the US to restore the full $1.5bn in foreign assistance which is traditionally provided.
Israel, the top recipient of US military aid, has also been accused of committing major human rights abuses over the last year, including the torture of Palestinian children. A recent report by the Public Committee against Torture in Israel described how detained children “suspected of minor crimes” have been sexually assaulted by Israeli security forces and kept in outdoor cages during the winter.
It found that “74% of Palestinian child detainees experience physical violence during arrest, transfer or interrogation.” This would appear to back up the claims of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which last year reported that “Palestinian children are systematically subject to degrading treatment, and often to acts of torture” by the Israeli military and police.
Likewise, in Jordan and Pakistan, torture is practiced with “near-total impunity.” The Pakistani authorities have carried out particularly egregious human rights abuses in the province of Balochistan, where 160 people have been extra-judicially killed and 510 “disappeared” over the last year. According to reports from the country’s most widely read English-language newspaper, at least 592 mutilated dead bodies have now been found since January 2010. The United States, however, has kept silent on the mounting evidence of atrocities and continues to provide over a billion dollars in foreign assistance annually, making it Pakistan’s “largest donor of development and military aid.”
A number of other recipients of US foreign assistance are also alleged to practice torture systematically. In Bahrain, for example, Amnesty International report that “children are being routinely detained, ill-treated and tortured”, while in Mexico and Ethiopia, torture is described as “widespread.” Controversially, the Obama administration has also recently restored military aid to Uzbekistan, where the UN claim torture is practiced in its “worst forms.” In one particularly horrifying case, a man was actually boiled to death in an Uzbek prison for allegedly being a member of an Islamist group.
In spite of this, the United States remains a signatory of the United Nations Convention against Torture, which it ratified in 1994. However, the fact that the top ten recipients of US foreign assistance all practice torture raises serious questions about the Obama administration’s stance on human rights. If the United States wants to be taken seriously on these issues, a serious re-evaluation of its foreign assistance programme is needed. At a minimum, the Obama administration should respect existing US law by placing conditions, such as an end to the practice of torture, on the provision of military aid to foreign governments, which will hopefully then push those governments towards reform and a greater respect for human rights.
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Barbara is a passionate writer and animal lover who has been professionally blogging for over 10 years and counting.
A mother named Emma went shopping at a Tesco grocery store in Norfolk, England, back in 2016
Emma spotted an aisle with no line, so she walked over with her groceries and started laying items on the conveyor belt.
“The guy on the till said hello and started scanning my items as I was still putting them on the belt the other end,” she said. “You can imagine the pile of stuff that was waiting for me when I went to go pack.”
Emma says the cashier, Rob, repeatedly counted out her shopping bags, squashed her loaf of bread and recounted her change multiple times.
Based on his behavior and her own knowledge, Emma could tell Rob had autism.
When Emma returned home, she took to Facebook and posted about her experience on Tesco’s public profile. This way, everyone at Rob’s company would know about it, including his boss.
But trust me, this is not the negative type of rant many people expected to find.
Emma hopes this story will remind people to be patient with others and not be so quick to judge them.
[H/T: Facebook / Emma Shawcross]
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IBM has discovered a new financial malware that is targeting banks with a full bag of tricks for AV detection. Back in 2009 Trusteer, now a part of IBM, discovered Silon, a financial malware that was defrauding online banking customers protected by two-factor authentication systems left and right. In 2010 and 2011, the malware underwent two major updates and continued to do well. Lately, its numbers have been in decline, causing us to wonder whether Silon’s perpetrators were taking a long vacation in prison.
Alas, it is not so. In July 2012 we discovered a new financial malware that, upon closer investigation, contained some behaviors identical to those exhibited by Silon. After some internal debate, we decided to name it “Tilon.”
Tilon: The Newest Threat
So, what does Tilon do? Tilon is a financial malware that employs the Man in the Browser (MitB) approach. It injects itself into the browser and then fully controls the traffic from the browser to the Web server, and vice versa. It has an impressive list of supported browsers, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. It then captures all form submissions (“form grabbing”) from the browser to the Web server, logs them and sends them to its command and control (C&C) server, thereby gaining access to all login credentials, transactions, etc. More interestingly, perhaps, it controls the traffic (Web pages) from the Web server to the browser, and through a sophisticated “search and replace” mechanism, it targets specific URLs and replaces both large and small parts of the pages with its own text.
All of this is pretty standard MitB malware practice today, and Tilon merely provides more or less what Silon did back in 2009 and what Zeus, SpyEye, Shylock and others are capable of today. What is most impressive about Tilon is the breadth of evasion techniques it employs to avoid detection and scrutiny and to survive attacks by security products. Some of the evasion techniques we are aware of include:
Tilon will not install properly on a virtual machine. This is a standard practice by some malware these days, as virtual machines are typically used by researchers, not genuine users. Tilon goes one step further, however, and instead of terminating the installation or running idly (both are suspicious behaviors to a small degree), it installs a fake system tool scamware. So, the Tilon dropper is likely to be dismissed as yet another fake system tool, keeping its malicious nature concealed.
Tilon installs as a service with a genuine-looking name and with a random executable name. Again, this prevents it from standing out to random scrutiny. Once run, the service injects malicious code into various native Windows processes, then terminates itself, so no malware process is found in memory thereafter.
Inside one of the Windows native processes, Tilon starts a watchdog thread that monitors its service entry in the registry and its executable file on disk. If these are tampered with, Tilon restores them within 3 seconds. This mechanism resists removal by many security products.
Tilon has a very peculiar way of hooking browser functions, which is the standard implementation of the two MitB concepts — form grabbing and HTML injection. Most malware families replace the first five bytes of the functions they hook with “JMP stub,” where “stub” is the malware code that implements the hook logic. Tilon takes a completely different approach. Once it injects into the browser, it first installs an exception handler for the process (Fig. 1). Then, it overwrites only the first byte of the hooked function with the byte 0xFA, which is the x86 opcode for the Clear Interrupt Flags (CLI) instruction (Fig. 2). This instruction is privileged, so when the CPU attempts to run it in user-space, an exception will be thrown. The exception handler installed by Tilon catches this exception, and it proceeds to run the hook logic and yields execution to the original hooked function thereafter. This unorthodox hooking technique is likely used to evade security products that look for “traditional” hooking techniques on browser functions.
Fig. 1: Installing the exception handler
Tilon mutates, we discovered, and it has already mutated once around the end of July or early August. The mutation was around how the random file names are generated, randomizing more parts of the file name.
Detecting Tilon
The net result is very low AV detection of the Tilon dropper (four out of 41 AV engines. These results were obtained on Aug. 8 for sample MD5 92613662ac735c91e7e25b16237c3ac5).
Moreover, the ones that did detect the dropper as malicious categorized it as a “fake system tool” instead of as financial malware (Fig. 3). It should be noted that the Microsoft Threat Encyclopedia contains an entry about a malware called “Win32/Enchanim.gen!B,” which may actually be the initial variant of Tilon. The details in the Microsoft site are too light to know for certain. We aren’t familiar with any specific name for the second variant of Tilon. As the VirusTotal results indicate, it’s not detected as financial malware at all.
There is, however, some good news. IBM’s products are doing well against Tilon. IBM Security Trusteer Pinpoint Malware Detection detects Tilon, while IBM Security Trusteer Rapport prevents its installation, detects its presence in the browser and removes it from already infected machines.
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Why can’t a table have two clustered indexes?
The short answer? A clustered index is the table. When you define a clustered index on a table, the database engine sorts all the rows in the table, in ascending or descending order, based on the columns identified in the index definition (the key columns). The clustered index is not a separate entity like it is with other index types, but rather a mechanism for sorting the table and facilitating quick data access.
Suppose you have a table that contains data about the company’s sales transactions. The Sales table includes such information as the order ID, line item ID, product number, quantity, order and shipping dates, and so on. You create a clustered index based on the OrderID and LineID columns, sorted in ascending order, as shown in the following T-SQL code:
1 2 CREATE UNIQUE CLUSTERED INDEX ix_oriderid_lineid ON dbo . Sales ( OrderID , LineID ) ;
When you run the statement, all rows in the table are physically sorted, first by the OrderID column and then by the LineID column, but the data itself remains a single logical unit, which is the table. For this reason, you cannot create two clustered indexes. There can be only one table and that table can be sorted in only one order.
Given the many benefits of clustered tables, why even bother with heaps?
You’re right. Clustered tables are great, and most of your queries will probably perform best of your tables are configured with clustered indexes. But in some cases you might want to leave the table in its natural state, that is, as a heap, and create only nonclustered indexes to support your queries.
A heap, as you’ll recall, stores data in an unspecified order. Normally, the database engine adds the data in the order the rows are inserted into the table, although the engine likes to move rows around on occasion to store them more efficiently. As a result, you have no way to predict how the data will be ordered.
If the query engine must find data without the benefit of a nonclustered index, it does a full table scan to locate the target rows. On a very small table, this is usually not a big deal, but as a heap grows in size, performance is likely to quickly degrade. A nonclustered index can help, of course, by using a pointer that directs the query engine to the file, page, and row where the data is stored-normally a far better alternative to a table scan. Even so, it’s still hard to beat the benefits of a clustered index when weighing query performance.
Yet heaps can help improve performance in certain situations. Consider the table that has a lot of insert activity, but few updates and deletes, if any. For example, a table that stores log data is likely restricted mostly to insert operations, until perhaps the data is archived. On a heap, you won’t see the type of page splits and fragmentation you would with a clustered index (depending on the key columns) because rows are simply added to the end of the heap. Too much page splitting can have a significant effect on performance, and not in a good way. In general, heaps make insert operations relatively painless, and you don’t have to contend with the storage or maintenance overhead you find with clustered indexes.
But the lack of updates and deletions should not be the only considerations. The way in which data is retrieved is also an important factor. For example, you should not use a heap if you frequently query ranges of data or the queried data must often be sorted or grouped.
What all this means is that you should consider using a heap only when you’re working with ultra-light tables or your DML operations are limited to inserts and your queries are fairly basic (and you’re still using nonclustered indexes). Otherwise, stick with a well-designed clustered index, that is, one defined on a simple ascending key, such as the ubiquitous IDENTITY column.
How do I override the default fill factor when creating an index?
Overriding the default fill factor is one thing. Understanding how the default fill factor works is another. But first, a step back. The fill factor refers to the amount of space an index uses on a leaf node before flowing over to a new page. If the fill factor is set to 90 , for example, the index will use up to 90% of the page and then flow on to the next.
By default, the fill factor on a SQL Server instance is set to 0 , which is the same as setting the fill factor to 100 . As a result, all new indexes will automatically inherit that setting, unless you specifically override the behavior or you change the default. You can change the default in SQL Server Management Studio by modifying the server properties or by running the sp_configure system store procedure. For example, the following T-SQL sets the default fill factor to 90 (after switching to the advanced options):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options' , 1 ; GO RECONFIGURE ; GO EXEC sp_configure 'fill factor' , 90 ; GO RECONFIGURE ; GO
Once you’ve reset the fill factor, you must restart the SQL Server service. You can then verify whether the default has been updated by again running sp_configure , only this time without specifying the fill factor value:
1 2 EXEC sp_configure 'fill factor' GO
The command should return a value of 90 . As a result, all new indexes will now use this fill factor. You can verify the change by creating an index and then retrieving its fill factor:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 USE AdventureWorks2012 ; GO CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX ix_people_lastname ON Person . Person ( LastName ) ; GO SELECT fill_factor FROM sys . indexes WHERE object_id = object_id ( 'Person.Person' ) AND name = 'ix_people_lastname' ;
In this case, we’re creating a nonclustered index on the Person table in the AdventureWorks2012 database. After we create the index, we can retrieve its fill factor from the sys.indexes table. The SELECT statement should return 90 .
However, suppose we drop the index and re-create it, only now we provide a specific fill factor:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX ix_people_lastname ON Person . Person ( LastName ) WITH ( fillfactor = 80 ) ; GO SELECT fill_factor FROM sys . indexes WHERE object_id = object_id ( 'Person.Person' ) AND name = 'ix_people_lastname' ;
This time around, we add a WITH clause and fillfactor option to our CREATE INDEX statement and specify the fill factor as 90 . As you would expect, the SELECT statement now returns the value 90 .
So far, this should all be fairly straightforward. Where you could get stung in this whole process is if you create an index that uses the default fill factor, assuming that you know how it’s been set. For example, someone could have mucked around with the server and done something dumb like set the fill factor to 20 . In the meantime, you continue to create indexes assuming that the default is still 0 . Unfortunately, you have no way of knowing the fill factor when you create the index unless you specifically retrieve that value afterwards, like we did in our examples. Otherwise, you have to wait until the performance starts steadily degrading and you realize something is wrong.
Another fill factor issue you should be aware of has to do with rebuilding indexes. As with creating an index, you can specify a fill factor when you rebuild it. However, unlike index creation, the rebuild does not use the server default, despite how it might appear. Rather, if you don’t specify a fill factor, SQL Server uses the index’s fill factor as it existed before the rebuild. For example, the following ALTER INDEX statement rebuilds the index we just created:
1 2 3 4 5 6 ALTER INDEX ix_people_lastname ON Person . Person REBUILD ; GO SELECT fill_factor FROM sys . indexes WHERE object_id = object_id ( 'Person.Person' ) AND name = 'ix_people_lastname' ;
When we retrieve the fill factor this time, it shows as 80 , because that’s what we assigned to the index the last time we created it. The server default is out of the picture.
As you can see, overriding the default fill factor is no big deal. The bigger trick is knowing what the default is and when it’s applied. If you always specify the fill factor when creating and rebuilding indexes, than you always know exactly what you’re getting. Then only thing you have to worry about is someone once again mucking around with the server and creating a maintenance place that rebuilds all the indexes with a ridiculously low fill factor.
Can you create a clustered index on a column with duplicate values?
Yes and no. Yes, you can create a clustered index on key columns that contain duplicate values. No, the key columns cannot remain in a non-unique state. Let me explain. If you create a non-unique clustered index on a column, the database engine adds a four-byte integer (a uniquifier) to duplicate values to ensure their uniqueness and, subsequently, to provide a way to identify each row in the clustered table.
For example, you might decide to create a clustered index on the LastName column of a table that contains customer data. The column includes the values Franklin , Hancock , Washington , and Smith . You then insert the values Adams , Hancock , Smith , and Smith . Because the values in the key column must ultimately be unique, the database engine will modify the duplicates so that the values look something like this: Adams , Franklin , Hancock , Hancock1234 , Washington , Smith , Smith4567 , and Smith5678 .
On the surface, this might seem an okay approach, but the integer increases the size of the key values, which could start becoming an issue if you have a lot of duplicate values and those values are being referenced by foreign keys and nonclustered indexes. For this reason, you should try to create unique clustered indexes whenever possible. If not possible, at least go for columns that have a high percentage of unique values.
How is a table stored if a clustered index has not ben defined on the table?
SQL Server essentially supports two types of tables: a clustered table, that is, one on which a clustered index has been defined, and a heap table, or just plain heap. Unlike a clustered table, data within a heap is not ordered in any way. It is essentially a pile of data. If you add a row to the table, the database engine simply tacks it at the end of the page. When the page fills, data is added to a new page.
In most cases, you’ll want to create a clustered index on a table to take advantage of the sorting capabilities and query benefits they can deliver. (Consider what it would be like to find a number in a phone book if it were not sorted in any way.) However, if you choose not to create a clustered index, you can still create nonclustered indexes on the heap. In such cases, each row in the index includes a pointer that identifies the row being referenced in the heap. The pointer includes the data file ID, page number, and row number for the targeted data.
What is the relationship between unique and primary key constraints and a table’s indexes?
Primary key and unique constraints ensure that the values in the key columns are unique. You can define only one primary key on a table and it cannot contain null values. You can create multiple unique constraints on a table and each one can contain a single null value.
When you create a primary key constraint, the database engine also creates a unique clustered index, if a clustered index doesn’t already exist. However, you can override the default behavior and specify that a nonclustered index be created. If a clustered index does exist when you create the primary key, the database engine creates a unique nonclustered index.
When you create a unique constraint, the database engine creates a unique nonclustered index. However, you can specify that a unique clustered index be created if a clustered index does not already exist. For all practical purposes, a unique constraint and unique index are one in the same.
Why are SQL Server clustered and nonclustered indexes considered B-tree indexes?
A basic SQL Server index, whether clustered or nonclustered, is spread across a set of pages, referred to as the index nodes. These pages are organized into a hierarchical B-tree structure. At the top sits the root node, at the bottom, the leaf nodes, with intermediate nodes in between, as shown in the following illustration:
The root node represents the main entry point for queries trying to locate data via the index. From that node, the query engine negotiates the hierarchy down to the appropriate leaf node, where the actual data resides.
For example, suppose your query is looking for the row that contains the key value 82 . The query engine starts at the root node, which points to the correct intermediate node, in this case, the 1-100 node. From the 1-100 node, the engine proceeds to the 51-100 node, and from there, goes to the 76-100 leaf node. If this is a clustered index, the leaf node will contain the entire row of data associated with the key value 82 . If this is a nonclustered index, the leaf node will point to the clustered table or heap where the row exists.
How can an index improve performance if the query engine has to negotiate through all those index nodes?
First off, indexes do not always improve performance. Too many of the wrong type of indexes can bog down a system and make query performance worse. That said, if indexes have been carefully implemented, they can provide a significant performance boost.
Think of a big fat book about SQL Server performance tuning (the printed version, not the ebook variety). Imagine that you want to find information about configuring the Resource Governor. You can thumb through the book one page at a time, or you can go to the index and find the exact page number where the information is located (assuming the book has been properly indexed). Undoubtedly, this could save you a considerable amount of time, despite the fact that you must refer to an entirely different structure (the index) to get the information you need from the primary structure (the book).
Just like a book’s index, a SQL Server index lets you perform targeted queries instead of scanning all of a table’s data. For small tables, a full scan is usually not a big deal, but large tables spread across many data pages can result in excessively long-running queries if no index exists to point the query engine in the right direction. Imagine being lost on the LA freeways at rush hour without a map, and you get the idea.
If indexes are so great, why not just create them on every column?
No good deed goes unpunished. At least that’s how it works with indexes. Sure, they’re great as long as all you run are SELECT statements against the database, but throw in a lot of INSERT , UPDATE , and DELETE statements, and the landscape quickly changes.
When you issue a SELECT statement, the query engine finds the index, navigates the B-tree structure, and locates the desired data. What could be simpler? But that all changes if you issue a data modification statement, such an UPDATE . True, for the first part of the UPDATE operation, the query engine can again use the index to locate the row to be modified. That’s the good news. And if it’s a simple update and no key values are involved, chances are the process will be fairly painless. But if the update forces a page split or key values change and get moved to different nodes, the index might need to be reorganized, impacting other indexes and operations and resulting in slower performance all around.
Same with a DELETE statement. An index can help locate the data to be deleted, but the deletion itself might result in page reshuffling. And as for the INSERT statement, its the sworn enemy of all indexes. You start adding a lot of data and your indexes have to be modified and reorganized and everybody suffers.
So the way in which your database is queried must be uppermost in your thinking when determining what sort of indexes to add and how many. More is not necessarily better. Before you throw another index at a table, consider the costs, not only on query performance, but also on disk space, index maintenance, and the domino effects on other operations. Your index strategy is one of the most important aspects of a successful database implementation and should take into account a number of considerations, from index size to the number of unique values to the type of queries being supported.
Does a clustered index have to be created on the primary key column?
You can create a clustered index on any qualified columns. True, a clustered index and primary key constraint is usually a match made in heaven, so well suited in fact that when you define a primary key, a clustered index is automatically created, if one doesn’t already exist. Still, you might decide that the clustered index would be better matched elsewhere, and often your decision would be justified.
The main purpose of a clustered index is to sort all the rows in your table, based on the key columns in your index definition, and provide quick and easy access to the table’s data. The table’s primary key can be a good choice because it uniquely identifies every row in the table, without the need for additional data. In some cases, a surrogate primary key can be an even better choice because, in addition to being unique, the values are small and added sequentially, making the nonclustered indexes that reference those values more efficient as well. The query optimizer also loves such an arrangement because joins can be processed faster, as can queries that in some other way reference the primary key and its associated clustered index. As I said, a match made in heaven.
In the end, however, your clustered index should take into account a number of factors, such as how many nonclustered indexes will be pointing to the clustered index, how often the clustered key values will change and how large those key columns are. When the values in a clustered index change or the index doesn’t perform well, all of the table’s other indexes can be impacted. A clustered index should be based on relatively stable columns that grow in an orderly fashion, as opposed to growing randomly. The index should also support the queries most commonly accessing the table’s data so they can take full advantage of the data being sorted and available in the leaf nodes. If the primary key fits this scenario, then use it. Otherwise, use a different set of columns.
If you index a view is it still a view?
A view is a virtual table made up a data from one or more other tables. It is essentially a named query that retrieves the data from the underlying tables when you call that view. You can improve a view’s performance by creating clustered and nonclustered indexes on that view, just like you create indexes on a table, the main caveat being that you must create a unique clustered index before you can create a nonclustered one.
When creating an indexed view (also referred to as a materialized view), the view definition itself remains a separate entity. It is, after all, merely a hard-coded SELECT statement stored in the database. The indexes are a different story. Whether you create a clustered or nonclustered index, the data is persisted to disk, just like a regular index. In addition, when the data in the underlying tables change, the indexes are automatically updated (which means you might want to avoid indexing views where the underlying data changes frequently). In any case, the view itself still remains a view, but one that just happens to have indexes associated with it.
Before you can create an index on a view, it must meet a number of restrictions. For example, the view can reference only base tables, not other views, and those tables must be within the same database. There are lots more restrictions, of course, so be sure to refer to the SQL Server documentation for all the sordid details.
Why would you use a covering index instead of a composite index?
First, let’s make sure we understand the differences between them. A composite index is simply one in which you include more that one key column. Multiple key columns can be useful for uniquely identifying a row, as can be the case when a unique cluster is defined on a primary key, or you’re trying to optimize an often-used query that references multiple columns. In general, however, the more key columns an index contains, the less efficient that index, which means composite indexes should be used judiciously.
That said, there are times when a query would benefit greatly if all the referenced columns were located on the same leaf nodes as the index. This is not an issue for clustered indexes because all data is already three. (That’s why it’s so important to give plenty of thought to how you create your clustered indexes.) But a nonclustered index includes only the key column values in the leaf nodes. For all other data, the optimizer must take additional steps to retrieve that data from elsewhere, which could represent significant overhead for your most common queries.
That’s where the covering index comes in. When defining your nonclustered index, you can include columns in addition to the key columns. For example, suppose one of your application’s primary queries retrieves data from both the OrderID and OrderDate columns in the Sales table:
1 2 3 4 SELECT OrderID , OrderDate FROM Sales WHERE OrderID = 12345 ;
You can create a composite nonclustered index on both columns, but the OrderDate column only adds overhead to the index and serves no purpose as a key column. A better solution is to create a covering index with OrderID as the key column and OrderDate as the included column:
1 2 3 CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX ix_orderid ON dbo . Sales ( OrderID ) INCLUDE ( OrderDate ) ;
This way, you avoid the disadvantages of indexing a column unnecessarily, while still benefiting your query. The included column is not part of the key, but the data is still stored in the leaf nodes. This can improve performance without incurring more overhead. Plus, there are fewer restrictions on columns used as included columns, compared to those used as key columns.
Does it matter how many duplicate values a key column contains?
Whenever you create an index, you should try to minimize the number of duplicate values contained in your key columns, or more precisely, try to keep the ratio of duplicate values as low as possible, when compared to the entire set of values.
If you’re working with a composite index, that duplication refers to the key columns as a whole. The individual columns can contain lots of duplicates, but duplication across the columns should be at a minimum. For example, if you create a composite nonclustered index on the FirstName and LastName columns, you can have multiple John values and multiple Doe values, but you want to have as few John Doe values as possible, or better still, only one John Doe .
The ratio of unique values within a key column is referred to as index selectivity. The more unique the values, the higher the selectivity, which means that a unique index has the highest possible selectivity. The query engine loves highly selective key columns, especially if those columns are referenced in the WHERE clause of your frequently run queries. The higher the selectivity, the faster the query engine can reduce the size of the result set. The flipside, of course, is that a column with relatively few unique values is seldom a good candidate to be indexed.
Can you create a nonclustered index on a subset of data in your key column?
By default, a nonclustered index contains one row for every row in the table. Of course, you can say the same about a clustered index, given that the index is the table, but in terms of a nonclustered index, the one-to-one relationship is an important concept because, since SQL Server 2008, you’ve been able to create filtered indexes that limit the rows included in the index.
A filtered index can improve query performance because it is smaller and includes filtered statistics, which are more accurate than full-table statistics, resulting in better execution plans. A filtered index also reduces storage and maintenance costs. The index is updated only when the applicable underlying data changes.
In addition, a filtered index is simple to create. In your CREATE INDEX statement, simply add a WHERE clause that defines the filter conditions. For example, you can filter out all null values from your index, as shown in the following statement:
1 2 3 4 CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX ix_trackingnumber ON Sales . SalesOrderDetail ( CarrierTrackingNumber ) WHERE CarrierTrackingNumber IS NOT NULL ;
You can, in fact, filter out any data not relevant to your most critical queries. Be aware, however, that SQL Server places a number of restrictions on filtered indexes, such as not being able to create a filtered index on a view, so be sure to check out the SQL Server documentation.
Also, it might have occurred to you that you can achieve similar results by creating an indexed view. However, a filtered index has several advantages, such as being able to reduce maintenance costs and improving the quality of your execution plans. Filtered indexes also permit online index rebuilds. Try getting that with an indexed view.
Further reading about SQL Server Indexes
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On Ballot Bowl, Jim Acosta reported on an appearance by Sen. John McCain at his former high school in Virginia in which a student asked McCain to clarify why he was visiting the school if not for political reasons. Acosta claimed that the student "apparently ... started heckling the senator" and twice referred to her as a "heckler." In fact, the question came during a question-and-answer session, and, according to a transcript of the event, McCain called on the student.
During the April 5 edition of CNN's Ballot Bowl, host Jim Acosta reported on an April 1 appearance by Sen. John McCain at his former high school -- Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia -- in which 16-year-old student Katelyn Halldorson asked McCain to clarify why he was visiting the school if not for political reasons. During his report, Acosta claimed that Halldorson "apparently ... started heckling the senator." Additionally, Acosta twice referred to the high school junior as a "heckler." In fact, as both The Wall Street Journal and the Politico noted, Halldorson's question came during a question-and-answer session. Indeed, according to a Federal News Service event transcript retrieved from the Nexis news database, McCain called on Halldorson during what the school's headmaster described at the time as a "question and answer session."
From an April 1 Federal News Service transcript of the Episcopal High School event:
MR. [F. ROBERTSON] HERSHEY [Episcopal High School headmaster]: Senator McCain, your comments have special meaning to all of us here today. And before we begin the question and answer session which you've been so nice to offer, I wanted to introduce you to the students who are behind you. They're behind you in more ways than one; they're behind the entirety of Episcopal High School. The students here are those who've accepted leadership positions as monitors or as members of the honor committee and also students and faculty who participated in our mission trip to the Dominican Republic. So I just wanted to acknowledge them to you, and -- (applause). Senator McCain will now take some questions. [...] Q If you could -- sorry. If you could list five values that you took from Episcopal, what would they be? SEN. MCCAIN: The honor code, academic excellence, athletic excellence, friendship, and frankly, a clear -- a clearer definition of the goals that we set for ourselves in our lives. And there's a young lady right back behind you that also -- yes, ma'am? Q I think, judging by the amount of press representatives here and also by the integration of your previous political endorsements in your earlier personal narrative, we can see that this isn't completely absent -- political motivation isn't completely absent, yet we were told that this isn't a political event. So what exactly is your purpose in being here? Not that I don't appreciate the opportunity, but I'd just like some clarification. SEN. MCCAIN: I knew I should have cut this thing off. (Laughter.) This meeting is over. (Laughter.) This is an opportunity and part of a series of visits that I'm paying. We started in Mississippi, where my family's roots are back to the middle of the 19th century, to here. We're going from here to Pensacola, Florida, and to Jacksonville, Florida, and a couple of other places where -- we're going to Annapolis, where I obviously attended the Naval Academy. And it's sort of a tour where we try to not only emphasize the values and principles that guided me and, I think, a lot of this country in the past, but also portray a vision of how I think we need to address the challenges of the future. And a lot of that is in retrospect, but a lot of it is also advocacy and addressing certain challenges that face the nation. I hope that attendance here was not compulsory. If it was, then you -- I apologize for -- if you were -- if you were not -- unwillingly in attendance here. But I -- and also, very frankly, it's great to come back to -- as you heard me say in my prepared remarks, to a place that had such an impact and that I admire and respect so much. And with that, I would like to say thank you all, good luck, God bless you, and thanks again. (Applause.)
In an April 5 Wall Street Journal article, reporter Laura Meckler noted McCain's appearance at the high school and wrote: "In a question-and-answer session at his former high school, Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., junior Katelyn Halldorson said that students had been told the visit was 'not a political event' and yet, she said, it appeared obvious that it was. 'So what exactly is your purpose in being here?' she asked." Similarly, Politico senior political writer Jonathan Martin wrote in an April 1 blog post: "After taking a range of routine questions about what he learned here, what he was most proud of, why Woodberry [Forest School in Orange, Virginia, Episcopal's athletic rival] hadn't produced any presidential nominees and who he liked in the Final Four, McCain took his final question from a young lady. Taking note of the many cameras present, this student said the event had been billed as non-political."
On Ballot Bowl, Acosta said McCain "visited ... Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, where apparently a student there started heckling the senator, and John McCain then had to respond. So here's John McCain responding to what appears to be a student heckler earlier this week in Alexandria, Virginia." After airing video of McCain's answer, Acosta stated: "So there you have it. John McCain, who is no stranger to incoming fire, able to handle that heckler there in Alexandria, Virginia." By contrast, The Wall Street Journal reported that McCain "stammered through a reply but never fully answered her question."
Media Matters for America previously noted that while CNN reported on McCain's April 1 event at Episcopal High School, it wasn't until two days later that any report on the network mentioned Halldorson's question to McCain, despite having extensively reported on students' questions to Chelsea Clinton about the Monica Lewinsky scandal. CNN aired a report on Halldorson's question during The Situation Room on April 3.
From the 2 p.m. ET hour of CNN's Ballot Bowl on April 5:
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This video inspired countless parodies, and for good reason — it's full of simple, striking, memorable images. Miley's video for "We Can't Stop" is also iconic, but this edges it out in how it somehow manages to be a bit playful and silly without getting in the way of the song's earnest emotion.
This is a remarkably faithful remake of Martin Scorcese's hugely underrated After Hours in which all three members of the band appear as various characters in the movie.
G-Dragon is known for making the most flamboyant and weird videos in K-Pop, and this delightfully weird video is his best yet.
Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster is joined by fellow comedians Jon Benjamin and Jon Glaser in this video about a group of aging dudes reliving their punk rock glory at a DIY venue in Brooklyn. It's hilarious, unless you're actually an aging dude, and it's incredibly sad.
Kanye West spent the better part of 2013 being edgy and provocative, but who knew his most daring move would be a video featuring his fiancée, Kim Kardashian, that's so sentimental and kitschy that people instantly assumed he was either joking or had lost his mind? New York's art critic Jerry Saltz described the clip as a prime example of what he calls "The New Uncanny," but the video might be even better if you assume that West doesn't intend it to be ironic, and this is his way of telling us that he thinks of the often lewd "Bound 2" as being a genuinely romantic and sweet song.
Even if you're totally sick of this one by now, you're probably grateful that at least now we all know what the fox says.
The opening song from Disclosure's album Settle feels like an ecstatic religious experience, so it makes a lot of sense that Bo Mirosseni took this idea to its logical, ridiculous conclusion in this video.
"Google Google Apps Apps" seems incredibly bizarre on the surface, but Persia and Daddies Plastik's over-the-top jokes are basically a colorful, danceable delivery system for a scathing critique of tech companies rapidly gentrifying San Francisco.
Arcade Fire put out four very serious and classy official music videos this year, but as good as those are, they just don't approach the unlikely pathos of this clip made from old Seinfeld footage by the makers of the hilarious Seinfeld2000 Twitter account.
What's more remarkable about this video: watching Janelle and Erykah have fun, or the art direction, which makes the most of simple black-and-white patterns? It's really hard to say.
Lyrics videos have come into their own over the past two years, but Vampire Weekend really committed to the form this year with clips for "Step" and "Ya Hey" that weren't just a stopgap until the "real" video came along — they were the official videos, and perfectly captured the atmosphere of the songs while doing their basic function of showing you the words. "Ya Hey" is the better of the two, but only by a bit. The shots of the band and weird folks in robes spraying champagne on top of a Manhattan skyscraper is one of the most evocative images of the year.
Pen$acola's clip for the Scottish pop trio is a dizzying kaleidoscopic swirl of geometric designs, echoed images, and digital distortion. It perfectly captures the energy of the song while also hinting at the emotional distress at the core of it.
Tyler, the Creator's "Tamale" is a clever critique of what censors will or will not allow. He blurs out an extended scene with a disclaimer claiming that it's blurred "because people aren't ready to have intelligent conversations before they judge," but then cuts to a shot of him using an enormous bikini girl's ass as a trampoline because "this shit is allowed."
This is the video where Mumford & Sons proved they have a sense of humor, or at least that they're willing to be good sports while Jason Sudeikis, Ed Helms, Will Forte, and Jason Bateman goofed on their whole earnest old-timey shtick.
Lady Gaga's comeback video is exactly what you want from a Gaga clip: gleefully pretentious, visually thrilling, and overloaded with references to high and low art.
The video for "The Wire" is a fantastic showcase for the Haim sisters' considerable charm, and it's evidence that if they ever get sick of being a rock band, they could comfortably transition into becoming sitcom stars.
Lamar+Nik's video for country singer Samantha Crain's "Never Going Back" is lovely and technically inventive — all 3,800 frames of the video were printed out and animated like a cross between a flip book and tumbling dominoes.
David Dean Burkhart has made dozens of wonderful unofficial videos out of old footage for indie acts this year. It's hard to pick just one of his clips, but this one for an album track by Cults is sexy, exciting, and incredibly stylish.
Steve Grand's "All-American Boy" is notable for being the first openly gay country music video, but even without that novelty factor, it'd still be a very poignant clip about the doomed romance of two ultra-hot dudes.
The key to appreciating this delightful K-Pop video is to watch it with the English subtitles. Just do it.
Eric Wareheim's video for "Wishes" is extremely surreal, with the guy who played Leland Palmer on Twin Peaks leading some kind of mystical pep rally. It's extremely weird, but also somehow incredibly sad.
Rihanna's video for "Pour It Up" may be the most overtly feminist statement of the singer's career — it deliberately subverts the male gaze, and makes her both an observer and participant in its display of feminine sexuality and athleticism.
Japanese singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu looks like the happiest person in the history of the world in this video in which she is the only human being in a colorful, surreal, and hyperactive fantasy world. The art direction of this clip is just astonishing.
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Mel Kiper has bestowed upon his first official NFL mock draft of the year and his pick for the Eagles should be a familiar name for anyone who has been paying attention to other early mocks, Boston College LB Luke Kuechly. Here's what he had to say.
The Eagles were really weak up the middle in 2011, and Kuechly is the top interior linebacker available in the draft. Since Brian Dawkins departed, safety has also been a perpetual question mark, so I could see that being considered here. But in Kuechly you get a player who can fill a massive void in the defense. He's a guy who can come in and start immediately; he's got exceptional instincts, is a very good athlete, demonstrates great form and can fly around making tackles in the middle of the field. He's just a machine. Last year, few teams were forced to utilize lesser talent at linebacker than Philly, and Kuechly can help fix that problem.
This reminds me of the year when every mock drafter on earth had the Eagles taking CB Jimmy Smith...
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Red Hat is buying Ansible, a startup backing a hot set of software tools that developers and IT folks use to build and deploy applications efficiently.
As part of the deal, about 50 Ansible employees will join Red Hat, which offers the Linux operating system to enterprise customers as well as a slate of developer tools including JBoss, which is used to develop and integrate business applications. The news is not all that surprising given that Ansible was founded by Red Hat (RHT) veterans Said Ziouani and Michael DeHaan.
Ansible’s goal is to provide commercial support and handholding to business customers who want to use Ansibleworks, an open-source tool that competes with Opscode Chef and Puppet Labs’ Puppet and SaltStack. In the open-source world, the software itself is free of charge, but companies often pay vendors for commercial support and maintenance. Business customers like to be able to show their partners and compliance officers that they are using “supported” software, a tendency which has been key to Red Hat’s success in the Linux realm.
“Devops” tools like Chef, Puppet, and Ansible aim to streamline the development and deployment of applications by ensuring that programmers or developers, who write the software code, and the operations or IT people, who must deploy the resulting code, work in concert instead of at cross-purposes as has been the case in the past.
Terms were not disclosed although VentureBeat, which broke the news Thursday night, reported it to be worth $100 million.
Follow Barb Darrow on Twitter at @gigabarb. Read her coverage at fortune.com/barb-darrow or subscribe via her RSS feed.
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KIEV (Reuters) - International monitors in eastern Ukraine said that armed people fired into the air when they tried to approach a group of howitzers near a separatist-controlled village, in an area from which such weapons were supposed to be withdrawn under a ceasefire agreement.
A special mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement which was reached by Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists in September.
Both sides were required to withdraw a wide range of weapons from a contact line to secure a fragile peace process, urged by leaders of Germany, France and Russia.
The mission said in a statement that the incident took place on Saturday at a field in the vicinity of Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR)-controlled Yurivka, 26 km (16 miles) south-west of Luhansk. The SMM had observed 12 towed howitzers there, evidence of violation of the agreed withdrawal line.
“When the SMM further continued driving towards the howitzers and was at 80-100m distance, one of the armed individuals released a burst of fire into the air with an automatic rifle and another individual pointed his automatic rifle at the SMM,” it said in the statement.
The monitors left the area and there was no injury or damage to either staff or their vehicles.
The ceasefire agreement requires both sides to provide the international monitors with full access to any places they need to verify a pullback of weapons.
“The SMM addressed the incident with senior LPR members, who acknowledged the seriousness of the incident, and said that they would examine it and inform the SMM accordingly,” the mission said.
The ceasefire deal aims to end the conflict in which more than 8,000 people have been killed since fighting between Ukrainian troops and rebels seeking independence from Kiev erupted in April 2014.
Although the guns have been mostly silent since early September, Kiev and separatists continue to report casualties.
Ukraine’s military spokesman said on Sunday one Ukrainian soldier had been killed in clashes with separatists in the past 24 hours. On Saturday, Kiev also reported one casualty.
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North could welcome back a host of players this week, with a number of injured stars to face fitness tests.
Director of Football Geoff Walsh said Ben Jacobs, Luke McDonald and Sam Wright could all be in contention for selection at either VFL or AFL level, pending tests this week.
“It’s a nice prospect to see a few of these guys close to a return after some time on the sidelines,” Walsh told NMFC.com.au.
“However, we certainly won’t be rushing in anyone unless they are fully fit and ready to go. All our players listed as ‘test’ will have to be medically cleared before they are selected in the senior side or line up for Werribee.
“With our main training session taking place on Wednesday, we’ll have a clearer picture once we see how everyone pulls up on Thursday before we name our team to face Hawthorn.”
Meanwhile, Walsh said it was still a “wait and see” prospect for Ben Brown and Scott Thompson.
“We will give them both as much time as they need this week to prove they are ready to go,” Walsh added.
Brown (knee) and Thompson (adductor) were unable to play out the game on the weekend, however early scans showed no structural damage.
For more NMFC injury news and the full injury list, visit the Anytime Fitness Health Hub
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Image copyright Reuters Image caption Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (pictured) gave a warning about climate change
The late rapper Tupac Shakur, 1960s protest singer Joan Baez and grunge legends Pearl Jam have all entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
They were inducted alongside the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Journey and Yes during a concert in New York.
However, it was not just a celebration: a number of artists chose to use the occasion to make impassioned pleas and remember lost friends.
Tupac's award was collected by his friend, fellow rapper Snoop Dogg.
Folk singer Baez - as known for her activism as her singing - made a rallying call for resistance in the face of "the new political cultural reality".
The 76-year-old, who admitted most younger people had never heard her work, made a return to the spotlight this week when her song Nasty Man went viral.
Baez - imitating Donald Trump's particular way of speaking - told the audience gathered at Brooklyn's Barclays Center: "Let us together repeal and replace brutality and make compassion a priority. Let us build a great bridge, a beautiful bridge, to welcome the tired and the poor."
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Folk singer Joan Baez (pictured) urged people to resist the "new political cultural reality"
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder tackled climate change, saying: "We cannot be the generation that history will look back upon and wonder, why didn't they do everything humanly possible to solve this biggest crisis of our time?"
Snoop Dogg was on hand to collect Tupac's trophy, more than two decades after he was shot dead in Las Vegas.
Calling Tupac "the greatest rapper of all time", he recalled how they were just "two black boys struggling to become men", adding: "To be human is to be many things at once: strong and vulnerable, hard-headed and intellectual, courageous and afraid, loving and vengeful, revolutionary and, oh yeah... gangsta!"
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Snoop Dogg paid tribute to his friend, the late Tupac Shakur
Tributes were also paid to 1986 Hall of Fame inductee Chuck Berry. who died last month aged 90, with ELO playing one of his best known hits - Roll Over Beethoven.
Meanwhile, Nile Rodgers - lead guitarist of disco band Chic - was recognised for his contribution to production.
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The Virginia Supreme Court ruled this morning that the University of Virginia does not have to release certain emails sent…
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled this morning that the University of Virginia does not have to release certain emails sent to and from a former professor.
The American Tradition Institute (now the Energry and Environmental Legal Institute) requested emails under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act from Michael Mann, a climate scientist and then-professor at UVA, in 2011. He intervened in the case at the trial level, alleging that the university was not sufficiently representing his privacy and academic freedom rights in a controversy surrounding climate change research.
In April 2013, a Virginia court determined that Mann's emails were exempt from disclosure under VFOIA's exemption for public university documents "of a proprietary nature," holding that "proprietary" meant "a thing owned or in the possession of one who manages and controls" it.
ATI appealed the lower court's decision, and the Reporters Committee (joined by 17 media organizations) submitted an amicus brief, arguing that the decision set forth too broad an interpretation of "proprietary," and would actually exempt any university record from VFOIA. Specifically, ATI argued, "proprietary" should mean information that provides its holder with a commercial or competitive advantage.
The Virginia Supreme Court today upheld the lower court's definition of proprietary, but made clear that the exemption should be read narrowly and in the context of six other things a public university must prove in order to withhold information under that exemption, concluding that "competitive disadvantage is the overarching principle guiding application of the exemption."
"Defining the statutory term 'information of a proprietary nature' is only one of the requirements for establishing the exemption. There are seven statutory requirements under [the code]," the court wrote.
The state supreme court also agreed with the lower court that state agencies may charge VFOIA requesters for the time it takes to do a review of requested documents to see if any exemptions apply. The court said such redaction review was covered in the statute because the law allows agencies to charge for the cost of "searching." Both ATI and the Reporters Committee had argued that the state, not the requester, should bear the cost of reviewing documents for possible exemptions.
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Solar Impulse 2 began the continental American leg of its round-the-world flight on Monday morning — part of an attempt to become the first solar-powered plane to circumnavigate the globe.
Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg have been taking turns flying the plane since it took off from Abu Dhabi last spring.
The Phoenix-bound flight took off from Moffett Airfield in Mountain View, California. The plane has a huge wingspan, stretching wider than that of a Boeing 747. The top of the wings are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries onboard the aircraft.
At night, the plane runs on stored energy.
The technology behind the solar-powered plane is groundbreaking, and its creators hope it will be a global example of the power of alternate and sustainable energy sources.
According to a mission statement on the Solar Impulse 2 website:
"The two record-breaking solo flights of André Borschberg from Nagoya to Hawaii and Bertrand Piccard from Hawaii to San Francisco give a clear message: everybody could use the same technologies on the ground to halve our world’s energy consumption, save natural resources and improve our quality of life."
Borschberg tweeted video of his final preparations before the flight took off on its 16-hour journey to Phoenix. He was also at the controls during the longest stretch of the journey so far: last summer's five-day trip from Japan to Hawaii. Borschberg said he did yoga and meditated to keep himself alert.
This sunshine reminds me of the good old days when I relied on #Si2 solar power for 117 hours last year pic.twitter.com/vcee7tKxp6 — André Borschberg (@andreborschberg) May 2, 2016
"We have demonstrated it is feasible to fly many days, many nights, that the technology works," said Borschberg at the time.
The Solar Impulse 2 will make two more stops in the United States after Phoenix, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Europe or northern Africa, according to the team's website.
Performing the final checks of #Si2's electrical systems with the #Monaco Mission Control Center before takeoff pic.twitter.com/pajP2kzsqA — André Borschberg (@andreborschberg) May 2, 2016
The plane restarted its round-the-world journey last month, flying from Hawaii to California in a risky, three-day, nonstop flight.
The flight was initially going well last year, making stops in Oman, Myanmar, China, Japan and Hawaii. But it was unexpectedly halted last summer due to technical difficulties. When the plane landed in Hawaii in July, it was forced to stay in the islands after the plane's battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan. The team was delayed in Asia, as well.
When first attempting to fly from Nanjing, China to Hawaii, the crew had to divert to Japan because of unfavorable weather and a damaged wing.
Additional information from the Associated Press.
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It's Time For Baseball To Stop Wasting Fans' Time
Enlarge this image toggle caption Ross D. Franklin/AP Ross D. Franklin/AP
As a fan, there are always things I wish the various sports would do to improve themselves. For example, I wish more football coaches would go for it on fourth and short yardage; I wish NBA referees would stop giving breaks to superstars; I wish they'd get rid of the goons and the fighting in the NHL.
But most of all, as we begin a new season, I just wish they wouldn't take so long between pitches in baseball games.
Look, I know some folks like punts and field goals, and charity for superstars, and goons and fights. But have you ever heard one person — one human being — say, "Boy, I wish they'd take a little more time out there between pitches?" No, no one. Ever.
In fact, baseball would move along just fine, if they'd only enforce a rule — No. 8.04 — that is already on the books, which says that when the bases are empty a pitcher has to deliver the old horsehide within 12 seconds after the batter gets into the box. We just need a clause added to that rule that the batter has to get into the box pronto and stop fiddling with his batting glove.
The worst thing that ever happened to baseball was batting gloves — because unlike all the other gloves in the world, which people just put on and forget about, baseball batters seem to be born with a compulsion to monkey around with their batting gloves. Batting gloves, to baseball players, are like texting to teenagers.
But baseball can never bring itself to correct itself. Meanwhile, in the midst of the current lockout, the NFL just went about its business and made a major rule change about kickoffs. Baseball and the United States Senate are the two institutions that give "tradition" a bad name.
The main problem baseball has, besides indecisive leadership, is that it firmly believes that clocks are pornographic. It is the catechism that only baseball is pure, because it is timeless. Hey, baseball: Love may be eternal, and a diamond is forever — but nine innings is just about right for 2 1/2 hours.
It's all the more important now to put a clock on the batter, and another one on the pitcher, because more and more relief pitchers are used in games, and that takes up additional time. And modern strategy encourages batters to take more pitches.
Okay, maybe 12 seconds is too short. College baseball has a new rule that the pitcher absolutely must throw the ball within 20 seconds. Now, isn't that reasonable?
Certainly, a batter can sufficiently caress his batting glove, and a pitcher can find the seams on the baseball, in 20 seconds. For goodness' sake, it's just the two of them. Twenty-two football players manage to jump all around, and get a play off in 30 seconds.
Please, baseball. You're boring us. Time is of the essence. Success goes hand and glove with ... hands and gloves.
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Obama’s response to the GOP plan could give the immigration debate some momentum. W.H. open to GOP immigration plan
President Barack Obama signaled in an interview Friday that he could accept the terms of an immigration plan proposed by House Republicans — while indicating in a separate appearance later in the day that he would not rule out executive action if Congress fails to act.
In a Google Hangout hosted by the White House, Obama was optimistic about the chances of immigration reform passing Congress, saying that it was his “firm belief” that lawmakers could get it done this year.
Story Continued Below
The House Republican leadership released a one-page memo outlining its immigration ideas on Thursday afternoon, and those standards showed that the party is “moving in the direction of the principles that I have laid out since the time I first ran for this office,” Obama said during the virtual chat.
( Also on POLITICO: Obama: Ready to ‘look at all options’ on immigration)
Obama’s positive response to the Republican proposal — which was circulated at a GOP retreat this week — could give the immigration debate some momentum. Reform has basically stalled since last summer, when House Republicans failed to move following Senate passage of a comprehensive bill that approved a 13-year pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.
The new GOP proposal calls for giving those undocumented immigrants a way to become legalized, but rejects a new pathway to citizenship for them. It doesn’t mention whether those immigrants could obtain green cards and eventually citizenship by using existing channels, such as marriage or sponsorship by an employer.
In a CNN interview airing Friday, Obama didn’t reject that approach out of hand.
“If [Speaker John Boehner] proposes something that says right away, folks aren’t being deported, families aren’t being separated, we’re able to attract top young students to provide the skills or start businesses here and then there’s a regular process of citizenship, I’m not sure how wide the divide ends up being,” Obama said in the interview, which was taped Thursday. The president emphasized that he did not want to prejudge the details.
( POLITICO's full coverage of immigration)
Later, during the Google Hangout, the president said he will give House Republicans the next few months to develop legislation that reflects those principles.
But Obama added: “If at some point we see that it’s not getting done, I’m gonna look at all options to make sure that we have a rational, smart system of immigration.” The comments came in response to a question about whether he would act unilaterally to stop deportations.
President Barack Obama and his aides have previously ruled out that option multiple times, despite coming under pressure from some advocates to use his executive power to halt deportations. For instance, in an interview with Univision and Telemundo last year, Obama — when pressed on the deportations issue — declared: “I’m not a king.” And when he was interrupted by an activist urging him to halt deportations in San Francisco last fall, Obama emphasized that the U.S. is “a nation of laws,” adding: “the easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws.”
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New Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond action figures revealed
Ahead of New York Toy Fair this weekend, DC Collectibles has revealed (via USA Today) some of their latest offerings for their line of six inch Batman: The Animated Series figures, which they’re expanding to include The New Batman Adventures as well as Batman Beyond!
Among the new figures revealed include six-inch versions of villains The Joker, Harley Quinn, Firefly, Scarface and Talia al Ghul along with an oversized version of Clayface. In addition, a figure of Detective Harvey Bullock and Anti-Fire Suit Batman were announced with all of these set to debut in September.
The New Batman Adventures-inspired a “Girl’s Night Out” pack features five new figures, including Poison Ivy, Batgirl, Supergirl, Harley Quinn and Livewire, and will also debut this September with an $80 price tag. Furthermore, a “Tales of the Dark Knight” pack featuring Batman, Carrie Kelley Robin and Mutant Leader was revealed, which will debut in October for $70.
The Batman Beyond three-pack is set to debut in January of 2017 and will feature old Bruce Wayne, Terry McGinnis Batman and Ace the Bat-Hound for $50. A special holiday-themed Joker figure, including a Santa hat, Christmas tree and candy canes, will also make its way into stores at the end of the year.
The big kahuna, however, is the giant Batwing that will be released in October. Running for $100, the vehicle holds two figures and features light-up headlights, breaks and engine.
Check out all the figures in the gallery below!
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It’s quite some while ago that I published my last deck article so here is a fresh one. In this one I want to cover the main (tier1) archetypes that are viable in the set 5.2 metagame. There are definitely many other great decks around which can beat the proposed decks, but I wanted to break it down to the very best and kind of wrap up the set 5 meta, since I don’t think there will be another mini-set for set 5. The proposed decks are mostly variants from the Solforge World Championship 2015 top 8. As always I will add this decks to my main decklist article and keep it up to date.
One more mention should go to the 5 strongest cards in the current meta. You can comment if you think this list is accurate and I would be happy if you would list the top 5-10 in the comments.
Malice Hermit acts as board wipe and huge threat – probably the best creature around even without any poison synergy. He is a great comeback/stall card for AU and even has some neat Yeti synergy in UT.
Dendrify – Probably the best removal in the game right now. It’s a great underleveled play, while leveling well (since the lvl3 version is free) and synergizes well with Oreian Justicar and Herald of Destruction.
Herald of Destruction – This card counters a whole archetype while preseting a huge threat for all other archetypes, since it can deal tons of damage out of nowhere. It has also finally made UT a viable archetype and has to be played by AT to be able to keep up with Spiritstone Sentry.
Spiritstone Sentry – Spiritstone Sentry is one of the best cards, because there are actually quite a few board wipes in the game (Malice Hermit, Brimstone Tyrant, Ambriel’s Edict) and this can make you immune against them along with a great synergy in UN decks.
Shardplate Behemoth – Best underdrop in the game while usually still presenting a threat when left unblocked. I guess I don’t have to say more about him.
NU Broodstone
3 Dysian Broodqueen
3 Malice Hermit
3 Shardplate Behemoth
3 Spiritstone Sentry
3 Weirwood Patriarch
2 Aetherphage
2 Thundersaur
1 Varna, Immortal King
3 Dendrify
2 Dysian Siphon
2 Lysian Shard
2 Scythe of Chiron
1 Howl of Xith
This archetype was already strong in set 5.1 and got the nice little addition of Varna, Immortal King in set 5.2. You could probably play 2 copies of him, but with so many Oreian Justicar and Herald of Destruction in the current meta – having him as a one of seems to be alright. This version of the deck is very close to Stillhadalldeez deck, who made the top 4 in the 2015 Solforge World Championship. I added Aetherphage instead of Soothsayer Hermit – he is definitely a much needed meta call and is one of the reasons why he lost the semi-finals against an AU leveling deck. I know that Suruzal can do amazing things in this deck, but as mentioned above – there exist many hate cards against revival effects and therefore I added a Dendrify and a Howl of Xith in that slots.
Must Level: Malice Hermit; Dysian Broodqueen
Good Match-up: AT Goodstuff
Bad Match-up: UT Herald Bomb
Date Added: 10.06.2015
AU Next Level
3 Esperian Sage
3 Ironmind Acolyte
3 Malice Hermit
3 Oreian Justicar
2 Shardplate Behemoth
2 Aetherphage
1 Oros, Deepwoods Chosen
1 Nova, Grove Queen
1 Killion, Infinity Warden
3 Ambriel’s Edict
3 Dendrify
3 Energy Surge
2 Lucid Echoes
This archetype evolved out of the Malicious Gnomes deck and is way more competitive and very good in the current metagame. It’s a quite greedy AU deck and therefore hard to pilot, but once you have mastered it the deck can be a beast and many decks have already adapted and are using Aetherphage to be able to disturb this deck. This version is a mix of Captain78 and Kyle Duncans version from the recent WC. Captain78’s version even made it into the finals! Your must levels are Malice Hermit and the Energy Surges. Once you got them leveled (and hopefully also have an active Lucid Echoes) this deck is usually able to stall the game until you can play your Nova, Grove Queen lvl4 and win the game this way. Captain78’s version used 2 Glowstride Stag instead of the Aetherphage, but I think currently Aetherphage is a great meta call and let’s you stand a chance against Shockfinity (another control deck that can get it’s combo usually before PL4). Btw. isn’t it great this deck plays 3 Forgeborns and each as a 1 of?
Also be aware that Oreian Justicar is a must level agianst the UN Broodstone decks! Otherwise that deck will overwhelm you pretty fast.
Must Level: Energy Surge; Malice Hermit
Good Match-up: UN Broodstone
Bad Match-up: AT Aggro, AN Soulshatter
Date Added: 10.06.2015
UT Herald Bomb
Preconstructed Core:
3 Herald of Destruction
3 Malice Hermit
2 Windspark Elemental
2 Lysian Shard
New Cards:
3 Phytobomb
2 Weirwood Patriarch
3 Uranti Warlord
(3 Shardplate Behemoth / Swampmoss Ancient)
2 Shardbound Invoker
2 Aetherphage
3 Dendrify
(2 Botanimate / Metamorphosis)
This deck is one of most explosive archetypes of the current metagame and made it’s way into the recent WC finals. What is really nice about this archetype that you can get the most important legendaries for this deck in the preconstructed deck Blistering Chaos. Apart from that deck you only need Shardplate Behemoth as legendary which has a nice budget replacement in the form of Swampmoss Ancient.
The game plan is to level every Herald of Destruction that you can get, while keeping the board clear. If you have a Herald of Destruction and play Phytobomb, the Herald of Destruction deals damage equal to its attack for every token it generates for your opponent. E.g. a Herald of Destruction 3 deals 36 damage to your opponent when you play Phytobomb and your opponent has three open lanes. If you also have a Windspark Elemental the damage even gets doubled.
Dendrify/Botanimate is in the deck to deal with huge threats (e.g. Thundersaur), while Malice Hermit acts as your board wipe. I should also note that Dendrify can deal damage to your opponent (while killing the token) if you have a Herald of Destruction on the board.
Must-level: Herald of Destruction; Malice Hermit
Good Match-up: NU Broodstone, Slow Decks
Bad Match-up: AT Goodstuff
Date Added: 16.04.2015
AT Goodstuff
3 Nexus Aeronaut
3 Oratek Explosives
3 Relic Hunter
3 Borean Windweaver
3 Brimstone Tyrant
3 Frostmane Dragon
2 Oratek Battlebrand
3 Rage of Kadras
Flex Slots:
3 Herald of Destruction
2 Windspark Elemental
2 Korok, Khan of Kadras
It might be debateable if AT Goodstuff should still be among the best decks, but in the constructed queue you can find UT Herald Bomb often enough for AT earning it’s spot here. Right now AT is all about choosing the right flex slots. Most AT version loose to the UN Broodstone deck and while that matchup is still challenging there is a good chance you can win that matchup with my proposed list.
Right now I run 3 copies of Herald of Destruction and 2 Windspark Elemental. Because the Alloyin count is quite low in this version Burnout might even be better than Oratek Battlebrand – I’m just so used to Battlebrand that I don’t want to miss it (although you will likely miss an allied trigger once in a while). Herald helps you against UN and Windspark Elemental just gives you a great finisher potential with Brimstone Tyrant, Rage and Explosives.
Must-level: Frostmane Dragon, Nexus Aeronaut
Good Match-up: UT Herald Bomb
Bad Match-up: UN Broodstone
Date Added: 10.06.2015
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A mail carrier who was fired after being convicted of drunken driving and losing his driver's license for three years isn't eligible for unemployment compensation, a Commonwealth Court panel ruled Tuesday.
Judge Julia K. Hearthway concluded in the state court opinion that it is Scott Ratkovitch's own fault that he lost his job. And the nature of his firing amounts to willful misconduct, she found.
Hearthway's ruling also highlights a U.S. Postal Service policy that can spare some letter carriers from losing their jobs when they lose their driver's licenses. The service allows carriers whose licenses are suspended for drunken driving or other reasons to hire another licensed person to drive them on their routes.
However, they can only use a designated driver for up to a year. The policy enabled Ratkovich to keep his job for a year after losing his license, but the Postal Service canned him at the end of that grace period, court filings show.
In appealing the denial of his unemployment comp, the New Castle man challenged the willful misconduct finding. The state Unemployment Compensation Board of Review found that his loss of license amounted to willful misconduct because he needed a valid driver's license to perform his mail carrier job.
Ratkovich claimed the willful misconduct finding should have been overturned because he was not on duty and was driving his private car when he got the DUI.
"Incidents leading to the loss of driving privileges that are the fault of the employee can constitute willful misconduct, regardless of whether the incident occurred in the employer's vehicle or the employee's personal vehicle," Hearthway countered. She added that Ratkovich's conviction "made the execution of his work duties impossible."
The judge also rejected Ratkovich's arguments that the Postal Service should have extended his designated driver grace period to cover the full three years of his license suspension, or transferred him to a job that didn't require driving.
"The fact that (Ratkovich) can imagine employer responses to his willful misconduct other than termination does not render him eligible for (jobless) benefits," Hearthway wrote.
Clerk shot outside convenience store can get workers compensation for injuries, Pa. court rules
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Engineers at mission control celebrate getting the first signal back from Spirit. Image: NASA/JPL
Dr. Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the science instruments on both Mars Exploration Rovers reacts to the images of Spirit leaving its lander. (Image and caption: NASA)
This pic was snapped as the rover came down to land at Gusev crater. Image: NASA/JPL
From left: Dave Lavery, program executive for Solar System Exploration at NASA Headquarters; Dr. Ed Weiler, associate administrator, Office of Space Science, NASA Headquarters; Pete Theisinger, (former) Mars Exploration Rover project manager and JPL lab director; and Dr. Charles Elachi celebrate the success of Spirit's landing and transmission of first images.(Image and caption: NASA)
The first color image from Spirit. Image: NASA/JPL/Cornell
Spirit used its two offset cameras to take its first 3-D pic of the Martian surface. Image: NASA/JPL
The Mars Exploration Rover team looks at some of Spirit's first images in 3-D. (NASA)
An early image showing streaks or tails of loose debris in the Martian soil, revealing the direction of prevailing winds. Image: NASA/JPL/Cornell
An animation shows Spirit standing up on its landing platform, ready to get rolling. Image: NASA/JPL
Spirit practices stowing and unstowing its arm. Image: NASA/JPL
Spirit takes its first overhead shot, showing the rover ready to roll down from its lander to the Martian surface. Image: NASA/JPL
It took many people to assemble, test and launch Spirit and Opportunity. Pictured here in JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility is just part of the team of engineers and technicians who were critical to the success of the mission. The team surrounds Spirit and Opportunity, with their predecessor, Sojourner, in the middle. (Image and caption: NASA)
Entry, descent and landing manager, Rob Manning (facing camera), hugs Richard Cook, the current Mars Exploration Rover project manager after Opportunity's successful landing at Meridiani Planum, Mars. To their right, Miguel San Martin, member of the attitude control systems team, cheers the victory. (Image and caption: NASA)
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Experienced knife users know how to get the most performance and control out of their knives. For most cutting chores, the closer the material being cut is to the “heel” of the blade (the part of the sharpened edge closest to the handle), the more leverage and control the user will have.
So how much blade is just enough? The answer to that question is Spyderco’s Enuff series—a family of three knives that share a common handle, overall size, and sheath design, but offer distinctly different blade styles. Enuff blade shapes include a clip point, a leaf-shaped blade, and a sheepfoot, all with a 2.75-inch blade length that provides outstanding cutting performance in an amazingly compact package.
All three Enuff knives feature skeletonized full-tang construction for strength and light weight. The blades are ground from VG-10 stainless steel, a workhorse material that offers a superior balance of cutting performance, corrosion resistance, edge retention, and ease of sharpening. The clip point and leaf-shaped blades are both plain edged and full-flat ground to yield exceptional edge geometry for precision cutting chores and point utility.
The sheepfoot Enuff is saber ground and features a straight SpyderEdge cutting edge that is ideal for safely cutting seat belts, webbing, rope, and similar materials in the high stress of a critical incident.
All three Enuff knives feature identical scales injection molded from durable fiberglass-reinforced nylon. The scales are contoured to provide a hand-filling grip and boast Spyderco’s signature Bi-Directional Texturing™ pattern.
The knives in the Enuff series also use the same injection molded polymer sheath design. It features two “ears” at the mouth that snap around the leading edge of the handle scales to hold the knife securely in place when sheathed. Spyderco’s angle-adjustable G-Clip attachment supports both belt carry and clip-style inside-the-waistband carry.
The Enuff series is a truly unique concept in fixed-blade knives that sets a new standard for compact yet full-service cutting utility.
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Four-time and current Monster Energy Supercross Champion Ryan Dungey made it official at a press conference today at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California: effective immediately, he has retired from professional supercross and motocross racing. He will not compete in this summer's Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, and will not renew his contact for 2018.
In today's press conference, Dungey admitted that while physically he's in the best shape of his life, and his bike and equipment are totally capable, mentally, he struggled this year. He says that for the first time, he had to talk himself into going to the races--his heart wasn't in it anymore.
Dungey: “It's hard to believe that this day has come but after a lot of thinking and praying over the last several months, today I announce my retirement from racing professional Supercross and Motocross. This decision has not been an easy one. I've achieved more than I ever could have imagined or dreamed of and for all of this I am incredibly humbled and honored. I've gone as hard as I can for as long as I can but the reality is that our sport is tough, the seasons are long and it takes a huge amount of sacrifice, hard work and discipline to stay on top. Physically I feel that I’m in the best shape of my life, race craft-wise I’m in the best shape of my life and I have the equipment to win, there’s no doubt about that. However, this year I have struggled mentally. I have always raced because I love it and want so badly to win, but this season was just different for me. Getting my head into the game each week just wasn’t the same and lining up and being able to focus like I always had in the past was just different. I never thought I would get to a place where I had to talk myself into starting a race but that’s how it was for me - and the truth is that bothers me a lot. I could easily take the paycheck and just race to finish but that’s not who I am and not how I want to race, nor be remembered. I said on the podium in Las Vegas a week and a half ago that this championship win meant the most out of all my Supercross titles because the truth is, I had to fight the hardest for this one. Not necessarily because of the battles on the track, though those were good and tough, but because I had to mentally push myself like never before to get it done. And to come out on top and hold onto the championship title for the third year in a row is an unbelievable blessing that I’m incredibly proud of.
"I love racing and I love our sport but I just feel it in my heart that I am ready to step away now – happy, healthy and feeling totally blessed. I've accomplished everything that I set out to do and so much more. Although I'm taking a step back from racing, I still plan to be involved in the sport and continue to try to make it better in any way that I can. This sport has blessed me beyond belief and I'll forever be grateful for the memories I've made and friendships I've developed along the way. As this chapter of my life comes to a close, I’m excited to see what the next chapter has in store for me.”
Stefan Pierer (CEO KTM GROUP): “For six years Ryan has been a part of the KTM family, beginning in 2012 when he came to KTM following Roger De Coster. Since then, Ryan has written a very important part of our history and together with Roger they brought KTM to the pinnacle of the sport worldwide. Ryan is outstanding. His performance and his personality brought KTM to the next level and we thank him for that. We are wishing him all the best for the next step and we are very happy to look for his next ambitious goals in the KTM family.”
Pit Beirer (KTM Motorsports Director): “First of all I would like to congratulate Ryan for this amazing 2017 Supercross title. It was a tough fight but at the end he took the title home to our KTM family and it just makes us really, really proud. It’s nice for our Company to work with an athlete like Ryan, who brings always 100 percent for the brand. Ryan made history for KTM – he won the first Supercross race for us and the first Supercross title, and together with the U.S. team they’ve been the game changers. I’m looking forward to working with Ryan in the future to keep our first-class team on the same position and look for young riders, which I’m sure he will give us the right hand.”
Roger De Coster (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager): “It has been an honor to work with Ryan for over ten years together. In that time he never failed to end a championship on the podium and I can say that I have never worked with a rider who took his job so seriously. This is the end of an era but we know Ryan will stay involved with our team although it is not completely defined yet. He has already begun helping Marvin prepare for the Nationals and we are excited to continue our relationship with him. We wish Ryan and Lindsey all the best for their future."
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Democratic National Convention business may be booming in Center City, but that’s not the case for restaurants and shops close to all the action at the Wells Fargo Center.
For two days in a row, customers have been replaced by DNC protestors supporting Bernie Sanders along S. Broad Street.
“There was really no problems at all, they passed through without any difficulties,” said S. Broad resident Michaela Vasos.
But businesses are left feeling a different kind of burn.
“We were open, then the protestors came, the Bernie protestors, and we had two tables and after that everybody started calling, and cancelling and we closed,” said John Varalli, who owns Scannicchio’s Restaurant at Broad and W. Porter. “We opened at four and we closed at 6.”
Varalli is closing the BYOB through Wednesday at a loss of thousands of dollars.
“This is the time of the year where you’re looking to make your few extra dollars, and it hurts when you lose it like this,” he said.
Beach Tanning South Philly plans to stay open throughout the convention, but road closures, parking restrictions, and the threat of protestors are keeping customers away.
“It’s an inconvenience for everybody,” Vasos said. “For business, for clients, customers, residents, everything. All on a whole, it’s been a little taxing.”
Vasos said instead of encouraging small businesses on Broad to close during the convention, the city should be doing more to help them benefit from the influx of visitors.
“They don’t do anything to promote the business down here or help the business owners,” she said. “They’re all mom and pops, sole proprietors just trying to make a living.”
Varalli hopes to open back up for dinner on Thursday, which is the last night of the convention.
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This March will go down as the coldest in over 20 years and the snowiest in over five decades.
Regan National Airport recorded an average temperature of 42.5 degrees this month, 4.2 degrees below average. Last week, Dulles International Airport recorded a record low of 15 degrees; it was the coldest day for the last week of March ever recorded at Dulles, Storm Team4 meteorologist Tom Kierein said.
The frigid weather made the month the coldest the D.C. area has seen since 1993.
We've also seen more measurable snow than normal with five snow days this month, making it the snowiest March in 54 years.
We won't have to worry about any snow as we enter the first week of April. The area will see temperatures in the mid-60s, which is above average. There is, however, a chance for some April showers Thursday into Friday.
By the way, the last time we saw an inch of snow in April was 1924.
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The above chart, produced by HowMuch.net, maps the distribution of U.S. foreign military financing to countries around the world. The size of the nations on the map are scaled according to how much they received this year through this program, which is run out of the State Department.
It shows the disproportionate extent to which Israel and Egypt account for some $5.6 billion in U.S. assistance doled out this year, despite the emergence of other threats — the rampages of Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, for example, or the endurance of the Taliban in Afghanistan, or China's expansionism in the South China Sea.
To be sure, foreign military financing is just one of a number of American programs providing military assistance abroad, and does not reflect, for example, the U.S.'s substantial commitments to South Korea and Afghanistan, countries that have seen many years now of U.S. military engagement and support.
The high level of assistance provided to Israel and Egypt is, of course, a legacy of long-standing U.S. policy in the Middle East, but one that has come under recent scrutiny.
On a trip to Washington this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed with President Obama the terms of a new 10-year military aid package that the Israelis hope could eventually reach up to $50 billion. The renewal of ties comes in the face of conspicuous animosity between the two leaders, who have sparred over the collapse of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians as well as the White House's diplomatic overtures to Iran's theocratic regime.
[Obama and Netanyahu stress 'shared interests' at White House meeting]
Egypt, meanwhile, has drifted into authoritarianism since a 2013 coup toppled its democratically elected Islamist government; hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters were slaughtered, while thousands of supposed dissidents have been detained or disappeared. The worrying state of human rights in Egypt and the country's shrinking political freedoms have not stopped U.S. arms shipments, though.
Just this summer, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo celebrated the arrival of new military aid to the Egyptian regime in tweets.
Just delivered 5 M1A1 Abrams tank turrets to Egypt this week, w/ 14 more coming this month http://t.co/VEPkXiQJxV pic.twitter.com/9US4FDZ2iu — US Embassy Cairo (@USEmbassyCairo) August 4, 2015
The US delivered 8 new F16s to the Egy Air Force this week - watch them fly over Cairo! #تحيا_مصر https://t.co/5CjJw7xqOh — US Embassy Cairo (@USEmbassyCairo) July 31, 2015
This post has been updated.
Read more:
Administration concedes Mideast peace is beyond reach on Obama’s watch
The politics of restoring Egypt's military aid
Today's coverage from our correspondents around the world
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With Valentine's Day fast approaching it's about time (presuming you haven't begun already) you started planning the presumably stunning, beautifully romantic gift you will be sending to the object of your desires next month. To assist in your preparations, we've made your job slightly easier by hand-picking for you a selection of cards - naturally all angled at the more geeky section of society given that you're currently on the internet, and all users of the internet are geeks, right? - to accompany the main present.
Enjoy.
Source: Ironic Sans
Above: Let Darwin spread the love with this fantastic card, courtesy of the folks at Ironic Sans.
Source: Pop + Shorty
Above: For the web designer in your life. Available to buy from Pop + Shorty.
Source: Present and Correct
Above: Perhaps the only Valentine's card on Earth for the wordsearch aficionado. Available from P&C.
Source: James Stowe
Above: Just one of many lovely Star Wars-themed Valentine's cards created by James Stowe.
Source: 4 Color Rebellion
Above: What could be more romantic to a Nintendo-obsessed geek? Designed by 4 Color Rebellion.
Source: DIY Life
Above: If you're willing to put in a little more effort, this geeky, pulsating, touch-activated LED Valentine's card will dazzle like no other. Follow the instructions over at DIY Life.
Source: Who Ate My Crayons
Above: Says its creators, "Because even "IT" folks need love.
Source: HawkGerber Ink
Above: "Has your love reached a dynamic equilibrium? You don't have to be a chemistry geek to feel the love." Designed by HawkGerber Ink.
Source: Polite Dissent
Above: For the breathless, loved-up Watchmen fans. Courtesy of Polite Dissent.
Source: Up and Up Creative
Above: The perfect declaration of love for any font-geek. Available to buy at Etsy.
Source: Earmark
Above: "So maybe you're not the cheerleader and he's not the quarterback. Happiness is happiness, no matter who you are!" From Earmark.
Source: Niftyknits
Above: For hardcore Trekkies only - for only they would appreciate the romantic reference on this card. Available to buy here.
Source: HijiNKS ENSUE
Above: The only Valentine's card worth buying should you happen be in love with a sibling who also understands Star Wars. By Hijinks Ensue.
Source: Storeyshop
Above: In this Twitter-soaked day and age, there's no greater come-on than "DM ME". Buy one for the love of your life at Etsy.
Source: Lush Designs
Above: Simple, unmistakably geeky, and romantic. Available to purchase courtesy of Lush Designs.
Source: Able and Game
Above: Sometimes love will see us embarking on previously unthinkable journeys. Designed by Able and Game.
Source: 4/Four
Above: For the romantic physicist. Buy one from 4/Four.
Source: ShopGibberish
Above: Chemistry geeks need no longer search for a Valentine's card. Iodine and Uranium have rarely been so romantic. Designed by ShopGibberish.
Source: PaperWheel
Above: It's probably not true as we all know how strong one's love for their smartphone can be, but still, it's a nice sentiment. Buy one for your beau at PaperWheel.
Source: Jacks of Science
Above: Valentine's cards don't come much nerdier. Higher resolution image available at Jacks of Science.
Source: Geoff Stearns
Above: Courtesy of Simpsons fan Geoff Stearns, a reconstructed copy of the card given to Ralph by Lisa Simpson.
Source: 4 Color Rebellion
Above: A clever romantic spin on Tetris. Courtesy of 4 Color Rebellion, who have a larger version.
This article was written by Shaun Usher, a blogger from Manchester. The views expressed in it are his and do not necessarily match those of Free Dating.co.uk.
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TJI, the acronym for Turbulent Jet Ignition, has been a hot topic on the Formula One power unit front in recent months. With parts of the combustion concept still shrouded in secrecy, Nicolas Carpentiers provides you with illustrations and explanations on this pre-chamber technology.
THE QUEST FOR EFFICIENCY
When it comes to increasing the performance of a combustion engine, several parameters can be adjusted and factored in. That’s only in absolute terms though, since the Formula One technical regulations define a strict frame about what can be modified on the 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged power units.
For instance, improving the filling of the combustion chamber could theoretically lead to an increase in the mass of the fuel-air mixture. However, current engine rules come with restrictions on fuel (100kg per race), fuel flow (100kg/h) and injection pressure (500bars). But while fuel flow is limited, this is not the case for the richness of the fuel-air mixture as we shall see later on.
On the other hand, the fuel’s specific energy (J/kg) can be adjusted. Although the rulebook strictly defines grand prix fuel and keep its composition fairly close to the commercial fuels, Total (for Renault), Shell (for Ferrari), Mobil (for McLaren-Honda) and Petronas’ (for Mercedes) F1 products remain quite unique.
“The regulations establish broad guidelines in terms of fuel because it cannot be too removed from the one used in regular road-going cars, but then we are free to play on the proportions,” Total’s assistant scientific director Philippe Girard told F1i.
The compression ratio is a third variable engineers can look at, which is the pressure inside the cylinder. It can change depending on temperature, load demand, whether there is a turbocharger or not. In absolute terms, engine efficiency improves along with the increase in compression ratio: the higher the pressure of the fuel-air mixture, the stronger the power it releases. But there are physical limits: above a certain pressure, the engine runs the risk of failing. That’s why it is tricky to increase the compression ratio in turbocharged units, because of the higher mechanical constraints turbocharging imposes on mobile engine parts (pistons, bearings, crankshaft, etc.) as well as fixed components (crankcase, cylinder head, etc.).
ARTE POVERA
Above all, F1 power unit manufacturers look for ways to increase the compression ratio (and make it close to levels seen on diesel engines). Indeed, a higher compression ratio means more power while it also helps fend off the back pressure generated by the turbine, which propels both the compressor and MGU-H. One can notice there the sophisticated compromises F1 engineers must make on the current breed of hybrid plants. The internal combustion engine (ICE) must be properly turbocharged so it can deliver mechanical power and release hot gasses to the turbine; the latter feeds energy both to the ICE and MGU-H, which must recover energy without hurting the overall efficiency, etc. In order to increase the compression ratio, engine suppliers can for instance modify the shape of the piston heads as well as the combustion chamber.
A fourth variable that can theoretically come into play is the richness of the fuel-air mixture, i.e. the combustible/combustive proportion. The more fuel you add, the more power you get. But given the fuel limit imposed by the regulations, fuel can only be injected sparingly. What’s more, the way the MGU-H harvests energy means the biggest amount of exhaust gas possible needs to be sent to the turbine. In other words, for the hybrid V6 unit to be the most efficient overall, the ICE needs to produce plenty of exhaust gas all the while using the least fuel possible, which means working as a lean-burn engine. This is why manufacturers look to decrease the richness of the fuel-air mixture and establish lean-burn – if not ultra lean-burn – conditions, though we have yet to be given exact figures.
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YF-12A While the A-12 was being tested and refined, US officials mulled over two major issues concerning it. The first was whether to publicly disclose the OXCART program. The Department of Defense had grown concerned that it could not overtly explain all the money the Air Force was spending on its versions of the A-12. At the same time, some CIA and Pentagon officials recognized that crashes or sightings of test flights could compromise the project. With a turning radius of no less than 86 miles at full speed, the A-12 overflew a vast expanse of unrestricted territory. Soon after the first flights in April 1962, CIA and the Air Force changed the program’s cover story from involving an interceptor aircraft to a multipurpose satellite launch system.[1]
In late 1962 and early 1963 the Department of Defense considered surfacing the YF-12A to provide a cover, reasoning that divulging the existence of a purely tactical aircraft would not reveal any clandestine collection capabilities. Voiced principally by CIA officials and James Killian and Edwin Land of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB), the contrary argument—disclosing any version of the A-12 would compromise its design innovations, enable the Soviets to develop countermeasures, and destroy its value for reconnaissance—prevailed for the time being. The surfacing issue lingered, however, because OXCART technology would be useful for the Air Force’s supersonic B-70 bomber then under development, and for the proposed commercial supersonic transport that Congress was thinking about subsidizing. President Kennedy told CIA and the Pentagon to develop a plan for surfacing the OXCART program but to wait further instructions before proceeding.
By early 1964 the argument for disclosure had become persuasive. More A-12s were arriving at the test site and making more flights. The aircraft’s existence probably would be revealed eventually under circumstances the US government could not control, such as a training accident or equipment malfunction, or through a news leak. Commercial airline crews had sighted the A-12 in flight, and the editor of Aviation Week indicated that he knew about highly secret activities at the Skunk Works and would not let another publication scoop him. A key factor was that the Soviets’ TALL KING radar would be able to identify and track the A-12 despite its small, nonpersistent radar return. Finally, the White House’s reluctance to resume flights over Soviet territory would soon force a change in the A-12’s mission. Instead of flying over denied areas to collect strategic intelligence, it would most likely be used as a quick-reaction surveillance platform in fast-moving conflicts—a tactical function the Air Force should carry out, not CIA.[2]
On 29 February 1964, the National Security Council decided to surface OXCART. Later that day, the White House announced the successful development of an advanced experimental aircraft, the A‑11, which has been tested in sustained flight at more than 2,000 miles per hour and at altitudes in excess of 70,000 feet. The performance of the A-11 far exceeds that of any other aircraft in the world today. The development of this aircraft has been made possible by major advances in aircraft technology of great significance for both military and commercial applications. The A‑11 aircraft now at Edwards Air Force Base are undergoing extensive tests to determine their capabilities as long-range interceptors.[3]
For security reasons, the Air Force’s YF-12A interceptor was surfaced, not the A-12, and it was referred to as the A-11, at Kelly Johnson’s suggestion. None of the aircraft were already at Edwards, so two had to be rushed from the test site to support the cover story. Johnson recalled that “the aircraft were so hot that when they were moved into the new hanger the fire extinguishing nozzles came on and gave us a free wash job."[4] Testing of the A-12s continued at the secret facility; CIA’s involvement in the project remained classified, although it was widely assumed.
Surfacing the “A-11” unexpectedly embroiled program managers and technicians in a debate over using an OXCART aircraft to publicly set a world speed record. The presidential announcement stated that “[t]he world record for aircraft speed, currently held by the Soviets [1,665 mph], has been repeatedly broken in secrecy by the…A-11. The President has instructed the Department of Defense to demonstrate this capability with the procedure which, according to international rules, will permit the result of the test to be entered as a new world record.” CIA leaders strongly opposed using any of the A-12s to attempt this aeronautical feat. Of the four aircraft used in test flights, only Article 121 had reached the cited speed. Using it in the record trials would set back the testing schedule, jeopardize the aircraft, and undermine the security of the program because the differences between the CIA and Air Force versions would be noticed, and the record would have to be set under the auspices of an uncleared international aviation organization.[5]
Consequently, the A-12 was kept out of the competition. No YF-12As were put forward right away because managers of that program were concentrating on armaments rather than speed. At the time, the interceptor had not flown above Mach 2.6. A plane was not ready for the speed trial for over a year. Then on 1 May 1965, a YF-12A set speed and altitude records of 2,070.1 mph and 80,257.65 feet—the first of many for OXCART aircraft.
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Footnotes
1. Scoville to Joseph Charyk (Undersecretary of the Air Force), “Interdepartmental Cover Support for Project OXCART,” 29 May 1962.
2. McCone untitled memorandum to DDCI Marshall Carter, 10 February 1964; “Briefing Note for the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence…Factors Influencing Decision to Surface the A-11,” 10 March 1964.
3. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-64, 1:322-23.
4. Johnson, “History of the OXCART Program,” 15-16.
5. Jack C. Ledford (Director, OSA) memorandum to Wheelon, “Effect on OXCART Program if Aircraft S/N 121 is Used for Speed Record Attempt,” 19 August 1964; Ledford memorandum to McCone, “Effect of Using OXCART 121 for Speed Record Attempt,” 20 August 1964; Carter letter to Deputy Secretary of Defense Cyrus R. Vance, 24 August 1964; Cunningham memorandum to McCone, “Establishment of World Record of Aircraft Speed by the A-11,” 28 April 1964.
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The best stories by Katherine Mansfield
The New Zealand-born writer Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) was one of the pioneers of the modernist short story in English, taking her cue from Russian writers like Anton Chekhov. Below we’ve given a brief beginner’s guide to five of Mansfield’s very best short stories, with links to where each of them can be read online.
‘The Garden Party’. This 1920 story centres on the annual garden party held by the Sheridan family at their home, in New Zealand, Mansfield’s country of birth. One of the Sheridan children, Laura – a young woman on the cusp of adulthood – is looking forward to the party and is keen to become involved in the preparations. However, while the Sheridans are preparing for their party, news arrives that a working-class man who lives in the poorer part of the village has been tragically killed when his horse reared up and threw him from his cart. Laura, filled with sympathy for the dead man and his family, pleads with her mother and siblings to cancel their garden party in light of the tragedy. How can they hold a garden party, with music and guests and laughter, when a family nearby are in mourning for the death of their husband and father? The end of the story poses more questions than it answers, especially concerning Laura’s complex response to the man’s death. We’ve analysed this story, probably Mansfield’s best-known work, in a separate post.
‘The Daughters of the Late Colonel’. This 1922 story focuses on two sisters, whose father has recently died. It’s largely plotless: the sisters make arrangements for the funeral, recall a visit from their nephew while their father was still alive, and wonder whether to fire their maid. Part of the power of the story is its understated switching between moments of comedy (their nephew, Cyril, trying to make their irascible and hard-of-hearing father understand what he is saying) and pathos (the two unmarried and middle-aged sisters cut an almost tragic figure).
‘Bliss’. One of Mansfield’s earliest great short stories, published in 1918, ‘Bliss’ focuses on a young wife and mother, Bertha Young, on the day she organises a dinner party for friends. Her new friend, a beautiful socialite named Pearl, attends the party, and – as with Laura in ‘The Garden Party’ – Mansfield subtly hints at a complex range of emotions and moods felt by her female protagonist. Does Bertha fancy Pearl? Will she ever truly desire her husband? But at the end of the dinner party, and the end of the story, Bertha will learn something which will throw her whole world into disarray. And you’ll fancy a bowl of tomato soup by the time you’ve finish reading, too…
‘Prelude’. Like many of Katherine Mansfield’s best short stories, the plot of ‘Prelude’ is gossamer-thin and light as anything: essentially, the twelve short scenes in this story follow one family, the Burnells, as they prepare to move out of their house. Its title and multi-part structure may be a nod to T. S. Eliot’s modernist poem ‘Preludes’, published in book form a year before Mansfield’s story was published in 1918 – but Mansfield’s portrayal of a family saying goodbye to their home is a prime example of her own individual impressionistic style.
‘At the Bay’. Modernists liked setting their narratives over the course of just one day: Virginia Woolf wrote two novels like this (Mrs Dalloway but also, less famously, Between the Acts), while James Joyce’s Ulysses remains the most famous ‘one-day novel’. ‘At the Bay’ is Mansfield’s best-known take on this one-day span. Like ‘Bliss’, this story sees the female protagonist, Beryl Fairfield, making friends with a woman, Mrs Harry Kember, who is considered ‘fast’ and ‘disgraceful’ by the other people at the bay. The story is worth reading for its insight into feminine consciousness (and, indeed, the unconscious – Beryl has some vivid and memorably described dreams).
All five of these classic Katherine Mansfield stories are included in this excellent selection, Selected Stories n/e (Oxford World’s Classics) . Discover more about female modernist writers with our pick of Woolf’s best novels and essays, our reappraisal of May Sinclair’s fiction, our introduction to the work of pioneering writer George Egerton, and our discussion of Dorothy Richardson’s ‘stream of consciousness’.
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Russian human space flight in the 2010s
A broad look at strategies and directions of the Russian manned space program from 2010 to 2020.
The Russian strategy in manned space flight and the status of its major components as of 2013. (Clickable)
Previous chapter: Russian space program during 2010s
Continuing a tradition started in 2009, the Russian space agency, Roskosmos, used a biannual Moscow air and space show, MAKS-2013, in August, to present a broad outline of its strategy for human space exploration. This time, a roadmap extending three decades into the future appeared in the form of an oversized poster strung like a sail above a crew module of the next-generation spacecraft. It illustrated an already familiar scenario of expanding human exploration from the International Space Station, ISS, to a habitable outpost at one of the Lagrangian points near the Moon. The itinerary would then split into two possible routes: one leading to the Moon and followed by visits to asteroids at the turn of the 2030s and another -- heading to the same destinations but in a reverse order. Both routes would ultimately lead to Mars around 2040.
Despite this two-option concept having been on the table since at least 2011, Russia and its key partners in manned space flight failed to single out a joint project. In August 2013, Russian officials said that NASA had been reluctant to lead a big international space venture and Roskosmos could only hope to reach an agreement on any strategy in 2014.
According to US officials, NASA had many reservations about getting into another complex and costly project with Russia. In addition to a rocky ride during the development of the ISS in the past two decades, the overall atmosphere of US-Russian relations was now clouded with deep divisions over major geopolitical issues, such as Syria and Iran. As a result, both sides were chartering "going alone" strategies in manned space flight, while continuing snail-pace consultations on a potential joint program within the International Space Exploration Coordination Group, ISECG. This group was officially established in 2007 and by 2013 involved 14 space agencies.
Items on the menu
At MAKS-2013, Roskosmos presented a "wish list" of spacecraft and hardware to achieve its ambitious goals in space. The most immediate items on the agenda included three new modules designed to dramatically expand the Russian segment of the ISS. As of 2013, the 20-ton Multi-purpose Laboratory Module, MLM, was scheduled for launch in 2014, followed by the Node Module, UM, within a year. The Node Module could also serve as the basis for a large airlock studied by the agency's key manned space flight contractor -- RKK Energia.
The development of the first in the pair of planned Science and Power Modules, NEM-1, had also started. Sporting a drastically new architecture, NEM-1 would house a state-of-the-art science lab and provide the Russian segment with an independent source of power. That feature could become critical if Roskosmos was ever to fulfill its promise to split the Russian segment from the rest of the ISS at the end of the station's service life in 2022-2028. In 2013, Russian space officials still maintained that the newest modules of the Russian segment could eventually become the nucleus of the next-generation outpost in the Earth orbit within the OPSEK project, later renamed the Russian Orbital Station, ROS.
Finally, RKK Energia was also studying an experimental inflatable module, which if funded, could also be added to the Russian ISS segment or to a future space station.
Going to Lagrange?
By the beginning of 2012, a man-tended platform at a Lagrange point was endorsed by the head of the Russian space agency as a stepping stone to the Moon. To reach both destinations, Russia would have to develop a manned transport spacecraft capable of flying beyond the Earth orbit. As a result, in the spring of 2012, Roskosmos urgently ordered RKK Energia -- to re-tailor its all-but-ready design of the next-generation spacecraft, PTK NP, for deep-space missions.
In addition, a super-heavy launch vehicle with a payload of 70 tons would be required for sending PTK NP into deep space. During 2012 and 2013, the Russian space industry made several proposals for such a rocket within Sodruzhestvo, Energia-5K and STK projects, and Roskosmos promised to start a formal competition to choose a winning architecture for the giant rocket within months.
To build a launcher with a payload of 80-tons to low Earth's orbit by 2028 would require 700 billion rubles with a possible 30 percent increase based on previous experience with programs of this scale. The production plant in Vostochny would probably be required as well.
Mars receding
During 2010s, prospects for human mission to Mars, that had been 20 years away for much of the Space Age, now receded ever farther. In August 2011, Nikolai Panichkin, a deputy head of TsNIIMash research institute, told journalists that planners from his organization, traditionally responsible for Russia's long-term planning in space, had scheduled an expedition to Mars in 2040 or 2045, thus pushing this milestone as far as 34 years away. At the same time, a lunar landing was not expected before 2030. Still, Russian officials at RKK Energia insisted that Mars had remained the ultimate goal of the Russian space program in the next half a century.
In April 2013, the head of Roskosmos Vladimir Popovkin told the official newspaper of the Russian Duma (parliament) that the agency's latest conceptual designs envisioned assembling a 450-ton Mars-bound expeditionary complex out of four or five components with a mass ranging from 90 to 112 tons and delivered to the low Earth orbit by future super-heavy launchers. In addition to record-breaking payload capabilities, these powerful rockets could be propelled by winged first-stage boosters, which would fly back to Earth and land on a runway like an aircraft. At the MAKS-2013 air show, Russia's prime aviation research center, TsAGI, demonstrated two scaled prototypes of fly-back boosters, which had already gone through the rigors of wind tunnel testing.
As an even more significant step toward making the mission to Mars possible, Moscow-based Keldysh research center claimed major progress at MAKS-2013 in the development of a nuclear-powered and electrically propelled space tug. The project, first approved by then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009, would revolutionize space travel, enabling long-haul ferry flights around the Solar System for very large payloads, including habitable modules.
Russian cooperation with its ISS partners
On January 28, 2014, speaking at the Korolev Memorial Symposium in Moscow, the head of Roskosmos Oleg Ostapenko energetically reconfirmed the strong Russian interest in cooperation with NASA on manned missions to asteroids, as well as expeditions to the Moon and to Mars. "I am confident that we can resolve all the challenges (of such missions) at much larger scale than other countries and I don't have a slightest doubt about it," Ostapenko said, "What's important is to concentrate our efforts correctly."
It was unclear, whether this was a message directed at NASA or at the Russian government or at both. In any case, this optimism looked completely unfounded just weeks later in the wake of Russian Anschluss of Crimea, followed by a bloody conflict in Ukraine.
International cis-lunar station
Despite the politics, in November 2014, the heads of agencies involved in the ISS program agreed to begin a joint study of a possible cooperative project which would lead human space missions into deep space. The effort centered on a NASA-led man-tended platform in the cis-lunar space, which could be used as a "proving ground" for US missions to Mars and as a way station for the exploration of the Moon by other partners.
During 2016, the international team made significant progress in formulating the final architecture and the assembly schedule of the cis-lunar outpost, which could lead to full-scale development in 2017 or 2018. However, unlike all other partners, Roskosmos remained uncommitted about its contribution into the program besides a small airlock module and provisional flights of the PTK/Federatsiya spacecraft beginning in 2027.
The agency's own strategic resarch arm, TsNIIMash, concluded that a direct flight to the Moon would be a simpler, cheaper option than building a cooperative cis-lunar platform. That is despite the fact that Russia's own independent efforts to go beyond low Earth orbit has been hitting one obstacle after the other in the mid-2010s. The Russian next-generation spacecraft capable of deep-space missions still remained largely on paper with its first launch delayed from 2018 to 2023 or 2024, at the earliest.
Also in 2016, after a year-long study, the six-launch lunar expedition scenario based on the Angara-5V rocket was deemed to be unworkable, while the funding for the super-heavy launcher, which could dispatch the lunar expedition in a single shot, was not expected to come around until the second half of 2020s. Whether the overall political situation played any role Roskosmos' reluctance to cooperate with NASA remained unclear.
Downsizing and delaying the program during mid-2010s
In December 2014, a group of officials lead by Yuri Koptev from the United Rocket and Space Corporation, ORKK, began another review of the manned space efforts, including the proposals for a super-heavy rocket. The review has continued within the Scientific and Technical Council, NTS, at Roskosmos after restructuring of the agency into the State Corporation in January 2015. (744)
Critics noted that the manned program expenditure exceeded 50 percent of the agency's budget. By taking obligations on the manned space flight, everything else had to be of a secondary importance, critics charged.
As of 2016, the Moon still remained the ultimate goal of the Russian space program. However, according to industry sources, there were serious doubts about Roskosmos' ability to fund both the manned lunar program and the development of the Russian orbital station to succeed the ISS. As of the end of 2016, the lunar exploration effort still retained its highest priority status as mandated by the Kremlin in 2013 during the high time for oil prices.
Up to six billion rubles were reportedly spent on the Russian lunar program as of September 2017, Roskosmos sources said.
Russian cosmonauts to stay in Baikonur for the time being
On May 22, 2017, President Putin endorsed a politically sensitive proposal from Roskosmos to base the next-generation manned spacecraft, PTK Federatsiya, in Baikonur rather than in Vostochny, at least for the ship's initial launches which would now switch from Angara-5P to the yet-to-be developed Soyuz-5 rocket. All manned missions from Vostochny were deferred until the arrival of the superheavy rocket, which was not expected for at least a decade. That plan would allow the Russian government to slash funding for the 10-year-long cosmodrome development program, which was approved in 2017 after several delays. By Sept. 13, 2017, Roskosmos received the final draft of a government decree approving that strategy.
Russia to support ISS extension, jumps on cis-lunar bandwagon!
By August 2017, Roskosmos also decided to reexamine once again, the level of its engagement in the cis-lunar station project. The State Corporation re-staffed its team at the consultations of the ISS Exploration Capabilities Study Team, IECST, which was working on various technical aspects of the program. At the latest meeting of the team, Roskosmos officials were jointed by experts from the TsNIIMash research institute, Russia's leading evaluation and certification center in space technology, and from RKK Energia, the nation's prime contractor in human space flight.
In 2017, publicly released NASA renderings of the cis-lunar station depicted a "notional" design of the airlock (center), instead of the Russian-built airlock module, which had been studied for that role by the ISS partners at the time.
At the time, the Russian team did not present any new proposals, but the Russian-built airlock module remained on the table as an option, even though, contemporary NASA's renderings of the cis-lunar outpost were depicting a notional US-based design of the airlock that had no real engineering foundation behind it.
Also, in the middle of August, the head of Roskosmos Igor Komarov hosted a meeting of Russian space officials on the nation's future strategy for the manned space program. The gathering was expected to work on a crucial plan to extend the life of the International Space Station, ISS, until 2028 from the currently planned deadline of 2024. At the same time, the meeting reportedly also considered Russian options for the participation in the NASA-led cis-lunar project and, possibly, reviewed a concept of the Russian Earth-orbiting space station, ROS, intended to succeed the ISS. By that time, the TsNIIMash research institute estimated that the funding of the ROS in parallel with the lunar program would not be possible. As a result, Roskosmos made a decision to side with the cis-lunar station project led by NASA.
However, as US-Russian relations continued to deteriorate at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, Roskosmos began considering alternative scenarios to cooperation with the US, including the possibility of joining a Chinese space station slated for orbital assembly during the 2020s. In April 2018, Head of Roskosmos Igor Komarov abruptly cancelled his visit to the 34th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, reportedly as a result of the latest US sanctions against Russia. Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, currently leading the development of the Russian human space flight strategy, represented Roskosmos at the Space Symposium, which saw the participation of heads of other space agencies.
Russia considers cooperation with China in human space flight
The worsening of the Russian-Western relations in the mid-2010s, prompted Moscow to consider new strategies in human space flight, independent of the existing partnerships with NASA and Europe. Because the "going alone" strategy could be too expensive, the Russian government looked at a potential partnership with the only other country pursuing a full-fledged human space effort -- China.
(INSIDER CONTENT)
Rogozin's stance: Will US-Russian cooperation continue?
Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov (center) visits Control and Test Station, KIS, at RKK Energia on Aug. 31, 2018. He is accompanied (right to left): Roskosmos head Dmitry Rogozin, Director General at RKK Energia Sergei Romanov, a former cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and Acting Deputy Director at Roskosmos Nikolai Sevastyanov.
The appointment of the controversial former Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to lead Roskosmos, raised new concerns about the prospects of the US-Russian cooperation. Rogozin famously proposed NASA to use a trampoline to get its astronauts to the ISS, when the US-Russian cooperation came under a serious strain in the wake of the Crimean crisis. However, during his first interaction with foreign partners in the new capacity of the Roskosmos head, Rogozin apparently took a friendly stance. Top managers from NASA, the European Space Agency, ESA, and the German Space Agency, DLR, met Rogozin in Baikonur for the launch of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft to the ISS on June 6, 2018. The group included NASA's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier and the Director General of the European Space Agency, ESA, Johann-Dietrich Wörner.
Two days later, Roskosmos issued a statement declaring Rogozin's principal committment to a broad international cooperation in space. The press-release specifically singled out the development of the joint lunar orbital station, LOP-G, as a platform for the human exploration of Mars and for the eventual creation of lunar infrastructure.
On June 24, 2018, in an interview with the official RT TV channel, Rogozin once again reiterated the desire of Roskosmos to continue cooperation with the US in human space flight, including the joint exploration of the Moon. He cited technical risks associated with lunar missions as a reason to preserve the US-Russian ties.
On Sept. 12, 2018, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, recently appointed to oversee the defense and space industry, also echoed the Russian interest to cooperate with other countries in the exploration of the Moon.
However, in January 2019, NASA had to cancel planned Rogozin's visit to the US due to pressure from the members of Congress.
Planning activities in 2018 for human expeditions to the Moon
(INSIDER CONTENT)
During 2018, space officials in Russia and the US accelerated work on gathering political support, lining up funding and engineering efforts for preparing the return of humans to the surface of the Moon.
Russian space leaders to discuss cooperation with US on the Moon
(INSIDER CONTENT)
Captains of the Russian space industry are gearing up for a major summit to form the national strategy toward cooperation with the United States on human lunar missions. A series high-level meetings will try to resolve a number of political, financial and technical questions facing Roskosmos as it tries to calibrate its program relative to NASA's own effort to explore the Moon.
Read more on the subject at:
Read about many other space developments in Russia
in a richly illustrated, large-format glossy edition:
An overview of Russia's major research and development projects in manned spacecraft during 2010s:
Pros and cons of possible goals and destinations in manned space flight:
Goal or destination Pros Cons Maintaining the International Space Station Enables largely flat budgets Can hardly be justified with onboard science; faces end of service life by mid-2020s Building a man-tended platform in the Earth orbit Enables to cut budget (?) Dead-end strategy which can hardly be justified with onboard science Missions to asteroids Flexible and potentially affordable (?) goal, providing experience for further manned missions Can be accomplished more effectively with unmanned spacecraft Lunar Orbital Station Might be achievable with projected budgets and international participation Makes little sense without a lunar exploration program to follow A men-tended platform at the lunar Lagrange point Might be achievable with projected budgets and international participation Makes little sense without a lunar exploration program to follow Lunar base An ambitious, long-term goal Might be unaffordable under current budgets and without a broad international agreement to share costs Expedition to Mars An ambitious, long-term goal Unaffordable under current budget and without a broad international agreement to share costs
Estimated annual funding required for an ambitious cooperative manned project (as of beginning of 2012):
Contributor Percentage Amount USA (NASA) 37 percent $1.5 billion Russia (Roskosmos) 22 percent $0.9 billion Europe (ESA) 16 percent $0.6 billion Japan (JAXA) 10 percent $0.4 billion Canada (CSA) 5 percent $0.2 billion Others (possibly Brazil, India, South Korea) 10 percent $0.4 billion Total 100 percent $4.0 billion
Next chapter: Russian policy in launch vehicle development during 2010s
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Even in the truly bizarre lineup of guests at the Roast of Rob Lowe, one non-comedian, non-actor, magnet-of-hate, Ann Coulter, really had trouble selling her “sense of humor” to the crowd. Coulter has since claimed credit for writing most of her own jokes, which is a bold move considering Lowe put it mildly when he quipped, “After seeing your set tonight, we’ve seen the first bombing you can’t blame on a Muslim.” The show’s writer, Mike Lawrence, confirmed that his team didn’t contribute much to Coulter’s speech (which he described as “The perfect trio of comedy: racism, homophobia and Mike Pence”) during a Facebook Live event, but that didn’t mean he didn’t offer her a few lines. Since the conservative pundit didn’t perform any of his material, Lawrence, who was also the first place winner of the 2016 Roast Battle, used a hand puppet named “Coultergeist” to recite the very on-brand zingers the In Trump We Trust author turned down:
1. “Peyton Manning is a model citizen and his forehead is a model for the wall that Trump’s going to put between the U.S. and Mexico.”
2. “Ralph Macchio’s first-ever credit was in the movie Up the Academy, playing a character called Chooch Bambalazi. Are you serious? Even Donald Trump thinks it’s too racist to call a wop Chooch Bambalazi.”
3. “That would be like if Jeff Ross’s first credit was a character called Mosha Gefilte Fish Streisand Ziegmilliaberg. And before you ask Jeff, I wouldn’t fuck you with Hillary Clinton’s dick.”
4. “Rob Lowe is like America: He hasn’t been great since Reagan was president, and unemployment is becoming more and more of a problem for him.”
5. “Giving you a roast is the worst decision Comedy Central’s made since they replaced Jon Stewart with a South African child. That’s a Trevor Noah joke, the one immigrant I’m most excited to see deported. Am I white, people? Am I white?”
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“Imagine if the lies of governments had been properly challenged and exposed as they secretly prepared to invade Iraq – perhaps a million people would be alive today,” says John Pilger.
This is a transcript of John Pilger’s contribution to a special edition of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ program, on January 2, 2014, guest-edited by the artist and musician PJ Harvey.
A recent poll asked people in Britain how many Iraqis had been killed as a result of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The answers they gave were shocking.
A majority said that fewer than 10,000 had been killed. Scientific studies report that up to a million Iraqi men, women and children died in an inferno lit by the British government and its ally in Washington. That’s the equivalent of the genocide in Rwanda. And the carnage goes on. Relentlessly.
What this reveals is how we in Britain have been misled by those whose job is to keep the record straight.
The American writer and academic Edward Herman calls this ‘normalizing the unthinkable.’ He describes two types of victims in the world of news: ‘worthy victims’ and ‘unworthy victims.’
‘Worthy victims’ are those who suffer at the hands of our enemies: the likes of Assad, Qadaffi, Saddam Hussein. ‘Worthy victims’ qualify for what we call ‘humanitarian intervention.’
‘Unworthy victims’ are those who get in the way of our punitive might and that of the ‘good dictators’ we employ. Saddam Hussein was once a ‘good dictator,’ but he got uppity and disobedient and was relegated to ‘bad dictator.’
When I traveled in Iraq in the 1990s, the two principal Moslem groups, the Shia and Sunni, had their differences, but they lived side by side, even intermarried and regarded themselves with pride as Iraqis. There was no al-Qaeda, there were no jihadists. We blew all that to bits in 2003 with ‘shock and awe.’ And today, Sunni and Shia are fighting each other right across the Middle East. This mass murder is being funded by the regime in Saudi Arabia, which beheads people and discriminates against women. Most of the 9/11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia. In 2010, Wikileaks released a cable sent to US embassies by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. She wrote: ‘Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, al Nusra and other terrorist groups . . . worldwide.’ And yet the Saudis are our valued allies. They’re good dictators. The British royals visit them often. We sell them all the weapons they want.
I use the first person, ‘we’ and ‘our,’ in line with newsreaders and commentators who often say ‘we,’ preferring not to distinguish between the criminal power of our governments and us, the public. We are all assumed to be part of a consensus: Tory and Labour, Obama’s White House, too.
When Nelson Mandela died, the BBC went straight to David Cameron, then to Obama: Cameron, who went to South Africa during Mandela’s 25th year of imprisonment on a trip that was tantamount to support for the apartheid regime, and Obama, who recently shed a tear in Mandela’s cell on Robben Island – he who presides over the cages of Guantanamo.
What were they really mourning about Mandela? Clearly not his extraordinary will to resist an oppressive system whose depravity the United States and British governments backed year after year. Rather, they were grateful for the crucial role Mandela had played in quelling an uprising in black South Africa against the injustice of white political and economic power. This was surely the only reason he was released. Today the same ruthless economic power is apartheid in another form, making South Africa the most unequal society on earth. Some call this ‘reconciliation.’
We all live in an information age – or so we tell each other as we caress our smart phones like rosary beads, heads down, checking, monitoring, tweeting. We’re wired; we’re on message; and the dominant theme of the message is ourselves. Identity is the zeitgeist.
A lifetime ago in Brave New World, Aldous Huxley predicted this as the ultimate means of social control because it was voluntary, addictive and shrouded in illusions of personal freedom. Perhaps the truth is that we live not in an information age but a media age. Like the memory of Mandela, the media’s wondrous technology has been hijacked. From the BBC to CNN, the echo chamber is vast.
In his acceptance of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, Harold Pinter spoke about a ‘manipulation of power worldwide, while masquerading as a force for universal good, a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.’ But, said Pinter, ‘It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest.’
Pinter was referring to the systematic crimes of the United States and to an undeclared censorship by omission – that is leaving out crucial information that might help us make sense of the world.
Today liberal democracy is being replaced by a system in which people are accountable to a corporate state and not the other way round, as it should be. In Britain, the parliamentary parties are devoted to the same doctrine of care for the rich and struggle for the poor. This denial of real democracy is an historic shift. It’s why the courage of Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange is such a threat to the powerful and unaccountable. And it’s an object lesson for those of us who are meant to keep the record straight. The great reporter Claud Cockburn put it well: ‘Never believe anything until it’s officially denied.’ Imagine if the lies of governments had been properly challenged and exposed as they secretly prepared to invade Iraq – perhaps a million people would be alive today.
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United Future leader Peter Dunne is all smiles in this photo, but he wasn't so happy following a fiery radio interview on Friday morning.
United Future leader Peter Dunne has clashed with a radio host in a fiery on-air interview, being labelled a "childish moron" after abruptly hanging up.
Sparks flew during Dunne's interview with Newstalk ZB Christchurch host Chris Lynch about "jihadi brides" on Friday morning.
Prime Minister John Key on Tuesday said New Zealand women were known to have taken part in "weddings" before heading to Islamic State (Isis) stronghold Syria, which pointed to the fact they were going as jihadi brides.
SUPPLIED Newstalk ZB Christchurch host Chris Lynch said of Peter Dunne: "Childish and foolish - what a moron."
Key's remarks came after SIS director Rebecca Kitteridge told Parliament's intelligence and security committee there had been a rise in the number of young New Zealand women heading to Iraq and Syria.
However, Dunne has questioned the claims, saying the allegations could be aimed at "softening up" the public before an independent review into spy agencies is released.
The Internal Affairs Minister told Lynch he had not cancelled the passports of any women, while "the mere act of marriage" did not constitute an offence under the Passports Act.
"As has been widely reported, the numbers involved are very small and frankly I think the whole issue is in danger of being completely overblown."
When Lynch pressed Dunne, asking whether he would change the law, he responded: "You're trying to make a story where none actually exists and I think that's the whole point of this."
In return, Lynch accused Dunne of being "very defensive" over the issue, saying: "I'm just trying to have a conversation - there's no need to take such a defensive...there's no need to be flippant."
NEWSTALK ZB Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne and Chris Lynch have a fiery conversation over the threat Jihadi Brides face to New Zealand.
READ MORE:
* Dunne questions jihadi bride claims
* Jihadi brides claims 'ludicrous'
* The 'Jihadi brides' story explained
* Kiwi Jihadi brides on the rise
* US case suggests growing interest in extremism
* Kiwi father of 24 killed fighting Isis
* Kiwi cash helping Islamic State
As the two tried to talk over each other, Dunne said "it would be nice...if a person asking a question listened to the answers" and accused Lynch of having an agenda against him.
"I am defensive because I suspect your motives: I have seen various blog comments you've made about me in the past which have been far from complimentary.
"You've called me foolish, you've called me out of touch, you've called me all sorts of things, and I suspect you'll do so after this interview."
Lynch bit back, calling Dunne "childish" and saying he was taking the interview too personally.
In response, Dunne repeated his comments about jihadi brides before cutting the call short by hanging up.
Lynch had the last word, on-air at least, concluding: "Childish and foolish - what a moron."
However, the scrap has continued online, with Dunne taking to Twitter to call Lynch a "rude and ignorant person", as well as "an obnoxious piece of work".
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poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201610/3528/1155968404_5159815510001_5159792723001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Bono fires Trump at U2 show
U2 frontman Bono has some questions for Donald Trump, so he sought answers from sound bites of the Manhattan billionaire at a recent show.
A video posted to the band’s Facebook page makes no secret of Bono’s distaste for the Republican presidential nominee. In it, Bono engages in a back-and-forth with Trump, who is referred to only as “candidate,” using clips of the reality TV star’s speeches for his answers.
Story Continued Below
“I’m really rich. Turned out, I’m much richer than anybody ever knew. Billions and billions and millions of dollars,” Trump says on a massive video screen above the stage, clipping together statements from multiple speeches. With his band playing behind him, Bono replies “and, and, and your point is?”
On-screen Trump repeats his line about being rich, prompting Bono to ask, “Well, look, we’re very glad for you, candidate. Sincerely, we are. Only real question we have for you this evening: What is your vision for this great nation?” That is followed by Trump’s oft-repeated pledge to build a wall along America’s southern border and force Mexico to pay for it, prompting Bono to ask if Trump’s wall would be “like the Berlin Wall? Like the Great Wall of China?”
“Now candidate, you understand it’s not just Mexican people who are going to have a problem with this great wall of yours. It’s everyone who loves the idea of America. Like the Irish, for example. Or the French. Or the Brazilians,” he said, half asking, half singing as he quoted and paraphrased Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus,” which is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. “Everyone who loves the idea of America, everyone who believes what they read at the foot of the bottom of the Statue of Liberty. Give me your tired. Your poor. Your huddled masses, yearning to break free. Give me your tired. Your poor. Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.”
Bono continues his exchange with video Trump, asking the GOP nominee if he means “all of us” when he said of undocumented immigrants, “if I win, they’re going back.” The clip of Trump promising that they’re going back plays again, to which Bono says, “Now, candidate, good people are not going to stay silent while you run off with the American dream. All right, candidate? You hear me, candidate? You’re fired.”
The video continues on, with Bono asking the video monitor if Trump was talking about band members The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton when he said, “You know what they used to do guys like that? They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks.”
The clip finishes with footage of Trump repeating “build that wall” over and over, with Bono speaking over it — “and inside, it’s America. Fortress, fortress America" — as the band plays the song "Bullet the Blue Sky."
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Warning: Batman v Superman spoilers follow.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice boasts the first live-action film appearance of Wonder Woman, a heroine who's been around for 75 years.
The key word there, though, is "appearance."
Throughout the film's 2-hour-and-33-minute run time, Gal Gadot's heavily hyped Wonder Woman only appears onscreen for about 7 minutes. (I know because I watched the movie with a stopwatch in hand.) Half of that paltry screen time comes during the big final fight scene, in which Wonder Woman only says 3 lines of dialogue.
In fact, she gets just 20 lines total in the film. Oh, and every line she speaks is to Batman.
Batman V Superman is far from a feminist movie. Of its seven named female characters (only one of whom isn't white), three die onscreen. The film doesn't even come close to passing the lowest bar of equality, the often-discussed Bechdel Test. In the movie, a named woman speaks to another woman only once; when she does, she's talking about a man.
Of course, nobody really expected this movie to be particularly empowering. The title clearly states who its main players are; neither of those male heroes is known for having tons of lady friends.
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Image: Warner Bros.
But knowing that the film would feature Wonder Woman, a symbol of female liberation created by the nephew-in-law of feminist icon and the founder of Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger, gave us hope — especially when she was featured prominently in BvS's marketing materials.
That hope is dashed when you realize that Wonder Woman exists in this movie solely to serve as Batman's Manic Pixie Dream Amazon. She's just a woman who catches his eye at a fancy party, an enigma who opens his eyes to the possibilities of metahuman partnership and a team of heroes.
It's not all bad, though. Gadot steals the few scenes in which she appears — and she's the best part of that final fight, especially when she shows the sheer joy Wonder Woman takes in battle. Her facial expressions speak a thousand words. But all of this comes from Gadot, not from Batman v Superman's script or its male filmmakers.
When Wonder Woman is silenced, the patriarchy wins. At least her long-awaited solo movie is hitting theaters next year — where presumably, Diana will have a lot more to say.
Have something to say about this review? Share it in the comments.
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I was very excited to try out this sheet mask – not only is it super cool and unique, but it is the first asian beauty item that I have received for free in order to try out and review on my blog. I entered a contest on Mishe Beauty to try out several different products and was really excited when the company emailed to let me know that I had been selected to try out the Mediheal AirGuard Foilab Sheet Mask.
The product arrived in the mail a few weeks ago. I was very under the weather so I wasn’t able to review it right away, and I finally got the chance to do so today.
Right away I was really excited because I have never tried a foil mask before. I have seen a few pictures of them on the internet and had my fingers crossed that I would be able to try this one out. I was excited to see that it was “waterful” which means hydrating, because it is the middle of summer and I have been spending a lot of time in the sun. My skin needs all the hydrating it can get.
When I took the mask out of the packet I was surprised to see that it was in two pieces. I have been wanting to try a split mask for a while, but thought that I would need to cut one of my own in order to do so. Masks tend to fit my face pretty well so I haven’t needed to do it, but they never fit my boyfriend or my friends.
I was also very confused about how to put it on my face. I wasn’t sure if I needed to peel anything off, so I fumbled around with it for a while before I finally realized what to do.
I had a lot of fun putting this on. I was not able to get off the couch so I did it blind and adjusted using my phone. I did think it was a bit of a strange fit and had a hard time straightening it out to try to make it look nice.
I enjoyed the fact that even looking super goofy I looked adorable.
I had a hard time looking cute in this mask, maybe because my hair was wet, but I did have a lot of fun trying it on and taking pictures. It’s very fancy and cute! I texted my boyfriend and he called me a beautiful robot.
I didn’t care much for the serum. It had the standard chemically smell that a lot of masks have and it started to sting my face after a few minutes. I was worried that I might have an allergic reaction, so I probably need to check out the ingredient list and see if there is anything in it that might have caused that reaction. My skin was fine when I took the mask off, but it was not the most enjoyable sheet mask experience I have had.
The mask does contain “70% Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate.” I hadn’t heard of this before but a quick google suggests that it is a fermented fungus and is very common in asian skincare products. Apparently it is very good at moisturizing and locking that moisture in.
One of the coolest things about it is that the silver side felt dry, but when I took it off my skin was very moist from the serum. The material kept the moisture in so that it would absorb rather than evaporate.
All-in-all, I really enjoyed trying out this mask. The main draw is how cute and unique it is, but the mask itself was pretty nice. If you’d like to try it out feel free to check out the Mishe Beauty website. You can also apply for any of their ongoing campaigns and maybe receive a product to try yourself.
Do you think you’ll try one of these masks out? Do you have any other questions? I still want to try the gold version, it’s so beautiful!
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At this point if you dip a sterilized teaspoon in to the liquid and taste it, it should be slightly sweet which is great.
We are going to make a Yeast Starter, Using a sterilized jug half fill it with liquid from the fermenter, let it cool to the working temperature of your yeast, which should be between 18 - 25 degrees C but check your yeast for its working temps. if you are going to use bakers yeast then a temp of about 22 degrees C should be good enough.
You should also be allowing your fermenter to cool to the same temp at this point as well, it will cool slower than the jug because of the volume.
stir your yeast in to the jug and let it sit until the fermenter has reached the working temp of the yeast, then pour it in and give it a good stir, try and get some air in there with it if you can this will help the yeast get going before it gets in the main fermenter and should speed things up a little.
At the start of the instructable I mentioned I made a mistake, and it was at this point I made it, normally i fill a fermenter up to about 2 inches from the top. this is not normally a problem for a sugar wash, and you can sometimes get away with it on an All grain as well. Now I am not sure if it was the fact that i was using an ale yeast or that I over filled the fermenter but at this point I popped the lid on, with an airlock in it, and went to bed. woke up the next day and the airlock is bubbling nicely, it takes a little while to get going. So I left it and went out for the day, I come back about 8 hours later and the fermenter has exploded. What happened was a foam or cap had formed on the top, which is normal, and this got sucked/pushed up in to the airlock which is called puking, this blocked the airlock. Pressure built up and the lid popped open spilling a foamy mix of potatoes all over the work area and all over my air-con unit. I was too busy cleaning it up to take a lot of pictures but I have some of the cap and a little of the mess from half way through cleaning it up. DO NOT PUT THIS BACK IN THE FERMENTER if this happens to you. You risk infecting the stuff in the fermenter.
I then had to split the the wash/mash in to 2 fermenters with airlocks to avoid this happening again.
if you have a big fermenter and there is a lot of room at the top you wont have to split it, if you are using a 25L fermenter like mine then I would advise you split it in to 2 fermenters.
this mistake cost me about 2L or more of the wash which now wont become vodka :-(
I was using an ale yeast, ale has a lot of foam on it, and the yeast produces that foam, i suspect that if I had used another yeast such as a wine yeast EC-1118 or bakers yeast then it may not have been too much a problem. But if you are going to try this your self I would split it away to be safe.
Note on bakers yeast
if you are using a bakers yeast you may get some strange odors coming from the airlock, I have had some bakers yeasts smell like rotting eggs. this does not mean your mash or wash has gone bad this just means the yeast is producing sulphides which stink. keep a note of that yeast and don't use it again.
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UPDATE: A deal reached between BP and four environmental groups suing the company over the burning of endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico will see biologists monitor future oil burns and save as many turtles as they can.
The two sides involved in the litigation presented the agreement to US District Judge Carl Barbier on Friday, Reuters reports.
William Eubanks, an attorney for the environmental groups, told AP Friday that the deal will see “biologists or other trained observers … present whenever oil is burned.”
The controlled oil burns in the Gulf have been on hold due to inclement weather. The agreement states that the observers will be in place before the controlled burns resume on July 6. The environmental groups have agreed to withdraw their request for a restraining order stopping the burns, but have reserved the right to bring the request back if BP and the Coast Guard don’t fulfill their side of the bargain, Bloomberg news service reports.
ORIGINAL STORY FOLLOWS BELOW
The Associated Press reports, “A federal judge says a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit that accused BP of killing turtles as it burns oil from its blown-out Gulf well.”
“US District Judge Carl Barbier said Friday that lawyers would be in court later in the day to announce details,” the AP articles adds.
“The Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network say they’ll file suit against BP as well as the US Coast Guard under the Endangered Species Act,” Democracy Now! reported earlier this week.
A RAW STORY article on sea turtles being burned alive has gone viral over the Internet, receiving over 17,000 Facebook links.
Daniel Tencer reported,
A rare and endangered species of sea turtle is being burned alive in BP’s controlled burns of the oil swirling around the Gulf of Mexico, and a boat captain tasked with saving them says the company has blocked rescue efforts. Mike Ellis, a boat captain involved in a three-week effort to rescue as many sea turtles from unfolding disaster as possible, says BP effectively shut down the operation by preventing boats from coming out to rescue the turtles.
“They ran us out of there and then they shut us down, they would not let us get back in there,” Ellis said in an interview with conservation biologist Catherine Craig. Part of BP’s efforts to contain the oil spill are controlled burns. Fire-resistant booms are used to corral an area of oil, then the area within the boom is lit on fire, burning off the oil and whatever marine life may have been inside. “Once the turtles get in there they can’t get out,” Ellis said.
(Original AFP story follows)
Turtle eggs to be rescued from Gulf of Mexico spil
MIAMI  In an ambitious and unprecedented plan to save wildlife, volunteers in coming weeks will move tens of thousands of turtle eggs from oil-soaked Gulf of Mexico beaches to safety on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
The eggs, which could number some 70,000, will be carefully hand-picked, placed in special containers, and in driven in temperature-controlled FedEx trucks starting in mid-July, according to the company and rescue officials.
“There are about 700 nests in Florida and the affected area, and the number of eggs in each it can be anywhere to a 100 to a 128 per nest,” said Patricia Behnke, with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The eggs “will be incubated in a storage unit, a private facility close to Cape Canaveral,” on Florida’s Atlantic coast. she said.
After a 50-60 day incubation period the hatchlings “will be taken out to the beach at night and released into the sea, probably in an area in mid-eastern Florida coast,” Behnke said.
The whole process it could last up to four month, she said.
“A plan like this is absolutely unprecedented and it would not be the choice of our scientists,” she said.
However the hatchlings are at great risk staying on the oil-soaked Gulf of Mexico beaches and within reach of ocean water polluted by oil and chemical dispersants, she said.
Staff with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are also participating in the egg rescue.
NOAA warned of the risks of damaging the eggs, but said in a statement that taking no action “would likely result in the loss of all of this year?s northern Gulf of Mexico hatchlings.”
Florida beaches have the highest concentration of turtle nests in the United States, many of them located in the oil-stricken northwestern panhandle area.
This egg moving plan “applies to nests deposited on Florida panhandle and Alabama beaches during the 2010 nesting season only, as it is this year?s cohort in the Northern Gulf area which is at the highest risk for encountering oil after entering the ocean,” said Barbara Schroeder, NOAA Fisheries national sea turtle coordinator.
Animal welfare groups on Wednesday sued BP for burning endangered sea turtles and asked a federal court to stop “controlled burns” in the Gulf.
“It is horrifying that these innocent creatures whose habitat has already been devastated by the oil spill are now being burned alive,” Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) President Cathy Liss told the court in Louisiana.
An estimated 430 sea turtles from endangered species have died so far in the oil spill, according to animal welfare groups.
The lawsuit filed by AWI, Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and Animal Legal Defense Fund said BP was violating the Endangered Species Act and other laws with their “controlled burns” in the Gulf of Mexico.
They asked the court for a temporary restraining order to stop all burning activities “until… mechanisms are implemented that will prevent any additional sea turtles from being burned alive.”
“Endangered sea turtles, including the Kemp’s Ridley, one of the rarest sea turtles on Earth, are caught in the gathered oil and unable to escape when the oil is set ablaze,” the animal welfare groups said.
(with AFP report)
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Once one of professional wrestling’s biggest stars, the man known as “The Ultimate Warrior,’’ has died, according to news reports and a statement from World Wrestling Entertainment.
Jim Hellwig died Tuesday night after collapsing at an Arizona hotel, Time reported.
He was 54 years old.
No information has been released on the cause of Hellwig’s death.
“The Ultimate Warrior’’ was a high-energy wrestling star during parts of the 1980s and 1990s, often performing (as both friend and foe) with famed wrestler Hulk Hogan.
After an extended time away from the WWE, Hellwig last week was inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame, and appeared at Wrestlemania XXX Sunday in New Orleans.
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Here’s a clip from his appearance on the April 7 episode of Monday Night Raw:
Reaction on Twitter came from some of the industry’s biggest names, including Hogan:
RIP WARRIOR. only love. HH — Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) April 9, 2014
WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon also expressed sympathy on Twitter:
We are all so sad that the Ultimate Warrior has passed away. Our heart is with his wife Dana and his two daughters. — Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) April 9, 2014
Longtime wrestler and current WWE executive Paul Michael Levesque, who performs in the ring as “Triple H,’’ also shared his thoughts:
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South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham denounced President Obama Wednesday for saying Iranian hardliners and his Republican critics had made "common cause."
In an interview on "The Hugh Hewitt Show," Graham called Obama "delusional, naive and uninformed," adding that the nuclear agreement is a bad deal because "nobody" thinks the president will "use military force to stop the Iranians."
"Senator, how long have you served in the uniform of the United States?" Hewitt asked Graham.
"I retired last month after 33 years," the 2016 Republican presidential candidate responded.
"So you've just been compared to the Iranians chanting 'death to America' by the president of the United States," Hewitt said. "What do you think about that?"
"It just shows you how delusional, naive and uninformed our president is about the world," Graham replied. "This is the man who tells you Iran, the deal with Iran is good."
"At what point and time will we all realize he doesn't know what he's talking about?" Graham asked. "There are no hardliners and moderates division inside of Iran's government. The moderates were killed in the streets in 2009, while Obama sat on the sidelines and did nothing."
"If you ratify this deal, and you don't change it over time, Iran's going to have a nuclear weapon, a missile to deliver it and money to pay for it," Graham explained. "That President Obama has grossly mishandled the Mideast from ISIL down to Iran, and we need a commander in chief who can straighten this mess out."
Graham said that while Obama's track record on the Middle East is "horrible," with the Iran deal "the worst is yet to come."
"The ayatollah runs everything. You know why they call him the supreme leader? Because he is," Graham said.
"You know why the deal is so bad?" Graham asked. "The Iranians understand that Barack Obama would never use the military option in their wildest dreams. They don't worry about Obama hitting them after Assad. Nobody believes he's going to use military force to stop the Iranians."
Obama made the comparison Graham was criticizing in a speech to promote the Iran nuclear deal Wednesday.
"It's those hardliners chanting 'death to America' who've been most opposed to the deal," Obama said. "They're making common cause with the Republican caucus."
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CPU National/Regional Qualifying Standards
SubJunior Male - 370
Junior Male - 420
Open Male - 450
M1 Male - 385
M2 Male - 365
M3 Male - 320
M4 Male - 290 SubJunior Female - 290
Junior Female - 345
Open Female - 390
M1 Female - 335
M2 Female - 290
M3 Female -260
M4 Female - 220
SubJunior Female - 260
Junior Female - 310
Open Female - 350
M1 Female - 300
M2 Female - 260
M3 Female -230
M4 Female - 200 SubJunior Male - 330
Junior Male - 385
Open Male - 400
M1 Male - 345
M2 Male - 335
M3 Male - 290
M4 Male - 250
Points to Remember
You must have qualified within the previous 24 months from the date of the intended Nationals.
Before going to nationals for the first time, you must lift at one of the three regional championships, within two years of that first nationals.
You must satisfy your provinces additional requirements to be qualified for each Nationals.
A lifter who achieves a National qualifying standard is then eligible to compete at any chosen weight class at the National Championships.
All age categories begin on January 1 of the year the lifter reaches the minimum age limit (with the exception of sub-junior which begins on the day the lifter turns 14). For example, a lifter become a Master 1 on January 1 of the year they turn 40. Similarly, a Junior ceases to be a Junior on Dec 31 of the year they turn 23.
A lifter can qualify for a higher level meet in their next age category within the 12 month period before meeting the minimum age requirement for the class they will compete in, but cannot claim awards in that category at that qualifying meet. For example, a lifter who turns 40 next year can qualify for next years Master Nationals at any time during THIS year, but would only win "Open" awards at that meet.
If you achieve the qualifying total for Equipped nationals, you are automatically qualified for Classic (unequipped) nationals.
Bench-Only qualifying lifts can come from other Bench-Only contests or from the Bench Press portion of a regular Powerlifting contest. For parapowerlifters not considering competing Internationally the Classic weight classes and qualifying standards apply. For Parapowerlifters wanting to go to International events check the Minimum Qualification Standards and weight classes.
Select your parameters and the required qualifying total will be shown. Developed by Ryan Stinn.To Qualify for an IPF Classic Worlds team, aka "International A team" a lifter must have acheived a minimum Wilks total as below.For all other international events, such as North American Championships, Commonwealth Championships, etc, the "International B Team" standard must be met.
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