Prompt: Bikes like the new Yeti SB5c pack a ton of technology, and usually carry a price tag to match. Lots of folks write to us criticizing the crop of new bikes that are, admittedly, pushing the price envelope at five, seven, even ten thousand dollars. Is that a bad thing for consumers? Not at all, I say. Every time we feature an expensive bike, component or widget, some portion of readers complain vehemently about the asking price of that wonder-product. In fact, some of you even get downright angry and spiteful. Not only is that negativity unwarranted, the position of

the complaint is incredibly shortsighted. Here’s why: These bold, expensive, technologically innovative products are the bicycle industry equivalent of Ferrari or Lamborghini from the automotive world. Do people complain about how expensive those cars are? No. If they can afford to buy them, they do. Those of us who can’t afford to plunk down for a 918 Spyder lust to experience the mind-bending performance. But, most of us will not have that opportunity, so we live vicariously through the media that affords us those opportunities; words, photos and video. That’s part of the job here at Dirt Rag. More importantly, these super-bikes and über-products are driving technology that will eventually trickle down for all of us to enjoy. Look at products like Shimano’s 10-speed Deore group and SRAM’s X7 group. Ridden one of these groups lately? Both the brakes and drivetrain work better than they have any right. All of the technologies in this group trickled down from XX1 and XTR. If these companies would have listened to the peanut gallery about those groups being too expensive, we wouldn’t have such damn good budget parts. And it’s not just parts. Walk into a bike shop today and a $1,500 bike is far more advanced and capable than a $1,500 bike from 10 or even five years ago, even when adjusting for inflation. From handlebar tips to tires on the ground, each piece has improved significantly. Not to mention the consumer’s ever-expanding choices. Shopping in that price range today? You have a wider selection than ever. Everyone loves to hate on the price of SRAM’s 11-speed one-by drivetrains. But when this one-by technology trickles down to the X7 pricepoint in some unknown number of years, the same folks who complained about the price of the XX1 group will buy and enjoy


Prompt: A Northwest Portland psychiatrist who the state has reprimanded for wrongly prescribing drugs says he plans to open a facility in the city and charge fees to help patients end their lives under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act. Stuart G. Weisberg has mailed invitations to local doctors and politicians inviting them to a July 21 "presentation" at the deluxe El Gaucho restaurant in downtown to unveil his new business, End of Life Consultants LLC. Weisberg did not return calls Wednesday seeking more information on his venture, which apparently would be the first of its kind in the nation. Weisberg filed

incorporation papers with the state June 2. In the invitation to the July 21 dinner at El Gaucho, Weisberg said he has invited Jack Kervorkian, the Michigan pathologist who provided the drugs and the means for terminally ill people to kill themselves and served a prison sentence for his actions. On the website for End of Life Consultants, Weisberg said he has obtained a Portland property that he calls "The Dignity House" where his patients under the Death With Dignity law can receive the medicine and die there. The website promises an address and photos next month. Officials at nonprofit organizations that work with patients under Oregon's assisted-suicide law expressed surprise at the little information they could glean about Weisberg's proposal. The doctor has not spoken with anyone at the Death With Dignity National Center or Compassion & Choices of Oregon. Last year, doctors helped 59 people to die in Oregon under the law. "Never heard of him," said George Eighmey, executive director of Compassion & Choices of Oregon, which assists more than 90 percent of Oregonians who die under the law. Eighmey said the only place akin to what Weisberg proposes is Dignitas in Switzerland. And Eighmey said he does not believe Weisberg's services would be necessary anyway. "Ninety-eight percent of the people who receive the medicine under the Death With Dignity Act take the medicine at home," he said. "It's going to be highly unlikely that people are going to use his service. And we don't charge. He charges $5,000." The website lists a host of fees, including a mandatory $600 for the stay at Dignity House and a mandatory $600 for "End of Life Camera," which will record the patient's last hours. Optional fees include $400 for End of Life Catering, $400 for End of Life Security


Prompt: WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump will ensure American veterans have convenient access to top quality health care services, indicated Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), a former commander at the fabled Navy SEAL Team Six during an interview with Breitbart News Saturday host Matt Boyle on Sirius XM Patriot Radio Channel 125. Medical centers operated by President Barack Obama’s Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have come under fire in the last year for keeping long wait lists of veterans in need of essential care. Some veterans died while waiting for care. Congress’s only Navy SEAL veteran, who spent 23

years of his life defending the United States, recently came out in support of Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee. “I strongly endorse Donald Trump because we need a president that will put our veterans in front of the line rather than watch them die while in line,” declared Zinke on Breitbart News Saturday. “There’s a difference and the VA is broke.” “We need a businessman [like Trump] who’s not going to accept business as usual in Washington,” added the Montana Republican. The problem with the Veterans Health Administration hospitals is “layers of bureaucracy getting into a system” that treats veterans “as a number” rather than human beings, pointed out Zinke, adding, “Not every veteran clinic is bad.” In October, Trump unveiled a plan to reform the veterans health care system. “We’re going to take care of those wounded warriors and we’re going to take care of our vets better than anybody,” proclaimed the Republican candidate when announcing his proposal in Norfolk, VA, home to a sizable military population. “The plan will ensure our veterans get the care they need, wherever and whenever they need it,” he added. Early this week, VA Secretary Robert McDonald drew sharp rebukes from Democrats and Republicans alike for downplaying the fatal impact of the wait times at VA medical centers by comparing them to lines at Disney theme parks. Trump condemned McDonald for making those comments. “I don’t agree with 100 percent of what Donald Trump says, but I agree…100 percent [that] we need to shake it up,” said Rep. Zinke, who served as deputy and acting commander of U.S. Special Forces in Iraq. “The status quo is not working and I believe that Donald Trump is going to be a phenomenal president.” Republicans “had 17 candidates [at the beginning of the presidential election]


Prompt: A state of emergency has been declared on the Vanuatu island of Ambae, as the volcano that towers from the island's centre continued to erupt, forcing thousands to flee their villages. The volcano - known as Monaro - has been rumbling for weeks, but its activity increased rapidly on Saturday, when it started belching ash across much of the island, blanketing villages and crops in the north and south. Photo: Vanuatu Disaster Management Office That prompted authorities to evacuate half the island's population - at least 5000 people - from the north and south of the island, sending them to

the east and west. "It's quite a serious emergency," said Manuel Amu, the chairman of the island's disaster committee. "Moving people from their communities into an area with very limited houses and very limited resources like food and water. It's really a challenging issue. "At the moment the volcano has blown up ash and dark smoke, with a little bit of lava," he said in an interview. New Zealand scientists were monitoring the volcanic activity with an Air Force Orion due to fly over Vanuatu today. GNS vulcanologist Steve Sherburn told Morning Report recent photographs showed it could have a devastating impact on the island. "There's now a cone in the lake that's completely isolated from the water. So it means the eruptions will be dry and therefore will produce a lot more ash. "And this is where we are going to get the impact on people living downwind and [their] agriculture." The country's Geohazards Department on Saturday raised its alert for Ambae from level three to four, which is classified as a "moderate eruption state." According to a department spokesperson, the volcano's activity had not changed on Monday, with no increase nor decrease in the intensity of the eruption. Photo: Vanuatu Disaster Management Office However, earlier in the weekend authorities swung into action to relocate thousands of people from the remote villages scattered across the rugged, bush-covered 400 square kilometre island, which sits between Santo and Pentecost about halfway up the Vanuatu archipelago. Several ships had been deployed around the coast to pick up evacuees - as many as 1000 people on one journey, said Mr Amu - and cars and trucks packed to the hilt made their way across the island's narrow, winding and bumpy tracks to safety. Peter Korisa, the operations manager at the National Disaster Management


Prompt: It used to be that the only people who could officiate your wedding ceremony in Washington, D.C. were representatives of religious groups: The officiant is any District of Columbia Judge or anyone who is authorized by a religious organization to officiate marriages, such as a minister, priest, rabbi or imam, so long as he or she is registered with the Marriage Bureau to officiate marriages. Humanist and Secular Celebrants did not count, so atheists were pretty much left in the dark. They could fake it and get a religious person to solemnize their vows… or they could just have a

court wedding. Back in February, D.C. City Council member (and candidate for Mayor) Tommy Wells tried to change that when he introduced a bill that would create “one-day officiant permit[s]” that didn’t require a religious organization to sponsor you. Today, Mayor Vincent Gray signed that bill, the Marriage Officiant Amendment Act Of 2013, into law. The act will grant bestow temporary “Civil celebrant” status on secular Americans who perform marriage ceremonies. The registration fee to obtain that status would be $25 or less and would expire after the couple filed for a marriage license. “The tide of history is turning in the direction of marriage equality, and not just in regard to who may get married to whom, but also to who is empowered to perform the marriage itself,” said Ronald A. Lindsay, the group’s president and CEO. “CFI has long championed the rights of nonreligious couples to have the choice of a wedding officiant that reflects their values and worldview, without being forced to compromise those principles with a church-affiliated ceremony or a pro forma act by a government functionary. Secular Celebrants, officially empowered to solemnize marriages, offer that choice, and give atheist, agnostic, and humanist couples the chance to have a truly meaningful ceremony.” The Center For Inquiry sees this as a “key milestone in the march toward full social equality for America’s fasted-growing belief group: the nonreligious.” Because the license is only temporary, though, some have argued that this bill doesn’t really offer the equality it suggests: “It still treats secular, nonreligious persons as second class,” [Steven Lowe, a board member of the Washington Area Secular Humanists], who previously presented testimony to the Council about the bill, said. “We would prefer that D.C. treat secular marriage officiants equally to religious ones and grant them the option of


Prompt: By Stephanie McMillan (July 2012; last edited 3/30/2013) Individualism is the ideology of competition, of capitalism. It consists of prioritizing one’s perceived immediate personal interests above collective interests, and being blind to the fact that one’s long-term personal interests actually correspond to the interests of the whole. This leads people to behave in ways that are detrimental to the collective, and ultimately to each individual as well. Under capitalism, society does not meet the needs of the people, and we are structurally prevented from meeting our needs collectively. Capitalism’s engine is competition. There is competition between classes as well as

within classes. Within the working class, the capitalist system pits each person (or family) against all others in a struggle for survival. Humans are social animals who, before agriculture arose and society was divided into classes, lived in bands. Our species evolved with a natural tendency to cooperate. But when people living under capitalism attempt to express this tendency, they are sharply discouraged. For example, when strangers spontaneously assist one another after a disaster, they are quickly dispersed and ordered to leave this task to the state. The capitalist class holds ideological hegemony (dominance and control) over the whole society. They exert constant pressure to shape our ideas, thoughts, and emotions in ways that serve them. Therefore, unless we make a conscious contrary effort, the ideologies that serve this dominant class are spontaneously felt as “normal” or “natural.” Individualism is a powerful ideological weapon that the capitalist class (the bourgeoisie) uses to crush the subjectivity of the working class (the proletariat), and thus to prevent the potential liberation of the world from capitalist rule. Individualism is promoted and fortified by every possible cultural and economic means. We are indoctrinated from birth. Parents are compelled to teach their children to survive in the competitive framework (which they have no choice about living in) by “getting ahead,” to “look out for number one,” to put oneself in the best position possible (i.e., through education, or seeking a rich mate) to accumulate wealth for personal security. Individualism is the ideology of the petit bourgeoisie (those who circulate capital by selling either services or goods, who tend to aspire to belong to the ruling class). It manifests itself as the striving for market power, for personal advancement, for comforts, for security and stability within the framework of the system. In contrast, proletarian ideology seeks


Prompt: When I arrive on the set of Wong Fu Productions’ first feature film in Pasadena, CA, they’re in the middle of shooting one of the most emotional scenes in the movie. Everyone, from the production crew to the hair and makeup artists, is speaking in hushed tones — even though the action is taking place in a separate room. That’s because we’re actually shooting in the Wong Fu Productions office, where a corner of the space (which, on a normal day, looks like a typical workspace with desks and computers) has been transformed into a mock college dorm room, complete

with actual walls, a microwave, a bed, and other furnishings. The door to the room has been propped open to leave room for the camera, and also to prevent the set from becoming too hot. “The way we do things is pretty unconventional,” says Philip Wang, who cofounded Wong Fu with college friends Wesley Chan and Ted Fu. “I like to say it’s resourceful.” The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now For Wong Fu, which got its start in 2003 and quickly gained a strong following with the growing popularity of its YouTube channel (which now has over 2 million subscribers), a long day of shooting is nothing new. What’s different this time around is the length of time spent on one particular project. “Now, we just kind of have this mentality of like, ‘Hey, it’s just like we’re just making 20 shorts, all in a row,’” Wang says. “We do that anyways throughout a year. Now it’s just condensing it all into one.” Wong Fu is in a unique position as an independent production company for a few reasons: The trio had already begun to make popular videos before YouTube came along — videos were passed around through download links on their website and fans’ instant messenger profiles — and were able to take advantage of the viral potential afforded them by the new platform. Notably, they also feature a primarily Asian-American cast in their shorts; they attribute much of their success to a largely Asian-American viewership eager to see themselves represented in the media. Wong Fu produces character-based short films, which Wang believes is distinct from the typical viral videos that attract views through shock value or cuteness. In March, Wong Fu raised $358,308


Prompt: A photo taken on February 26, 2015 in Paris, shows two 7-meter high vertical axis wind turbines generating 10,000 kwh, installed on the second floor of the Eiffel tower. (JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP/Getty Images) In the global effort to fight climate change, cities have some of the greatest potential– and the greatest imperative — to make a difference. With an increasing global migration into the world’s urban areas, which are expected to support at least two-thirds of the total human population by 2050, experts have argued that cities have no choice but to transition toward low-carbon systems if they’re going to remain

sustainable. Energy will need to be a primary focus of that effort. From the expansion of renewable energy sources to the adoption of cutting-edge energy efficiency and storage technologies, cities have the opportunity to drastically reduce their carbon footprints. This is the focus of a new paper, published Thursday in the journal Science, that discusses the ways cities can integrate renewable energy, as well as energy-saving technologies, into the urban landscape. This can be a challenge, given that cities — with their closely packed buildings and dense populations — don’t always lend themselves to traditional renewable techniques. It’s not exactly practical to fit an acres-long solar panel array in the middle of Shanghai, for instance, or to place a 200-foot-tall wind turbine in downtown New York City. But with a little creativity, researchers are developing new ideas and technologies specifically designed for city life. In the new paper, authors Daniel Kammen and Deborah Sunter of the University of California Berkeley have evaluated some of the most promising of these. Here are a few of the innovative solutions that may help cities lead the ongoing fight against climate change and the march toward a low-carbon society. See-through solar cells Although many forms of renewable energy may be useful for different cities around the world, solar is likely to have the most traction in the future. “In essentially every setting, solar — even in places that don’t seem as ideal as tropical sunny cities — is arguably the lead,” said Kammen, director of UC Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. “And that’s just because there’s now so many ways to deploy solar.” Traditionally, solar panels have been limited to the roofs of buildings, where there’s space available and they’re likely to get the most sun. But now, researchers have developed transparent solar


Prompt: Here’s the thing you’ve got to love about modern calligraphy: you can implement any change — any calligraphy variation — and you’ll still be correct. While there is, more or less, “right” and “wrong” in traditional calligraphy styles like Spencerian and Copperplate, modern calligraphy embraces change. The most popular calligraphy worksheet on TPK is the Kaitlin, which was used on the invitation suite above. I would imagine its popularity can be attributed to two things: A. it’s pretty and B. I’m always going on and on about how low-maintenance it is {and it is!}. Because it’s the calligraphy style I

see people rocking the most on Instagram, I thought I would use it as the guinea pig for today’s calligraphy variations. Variation 1: Thicken Downstrokes This is the simplest calligraphy variation. To create it, start with any word written in Kaitlin style calligraphy {or any style of calligraphy, for that matter}. I chose to write my name. Next, thicken the downstrokes by adding another stroke to the right of the original downstroke. {If you’re not sure what a downstroke is, visit the Faux Calligraphy Tutorial.} Make sure the stroke you are adding blends seamlessly into your original downstroke. Once you’ve filled in your downstrokes, you’re finished! It can be beneficial to beef up your downstrokes if you really need a word or a sentence to stand out. To this end, words with thick downstrokes are wonderful on everything from posters to gift tags! Variation 2: Minimize Letter Size and Lengthen Connection Strokes Another way to switch up Kaitlin style calligraphy is to connect small letters with long, flowing strokes. While regular Kaitlin calligraphy utilizes relatively long connection strokes, it’s hard to notice said strokes because the size of the letters balances them out. However, if you make a conscientious effort to write small letters and maintain a connection stroke length of around 1.5 cm, you’ll be rewarded with a unique, pleasing effect. This is an easy-to-follow concept that I delve into a bit more in the Style Variation Add-On Worksheet, which I’ll talk more about later in this post. Variation 3: Switch Up Your Angle The angle of original Kaitlin style calligraphy as taught in the Learn for a Latté set is relatively relaxed. Don’t get me wrong: it’s got a slant, but the slant isn’t severe. You can switch up your Kaitlin style calligraphy {or any style of calligraphy}


Prompt: When Trevor Noah started hosting The Daily Show last September, he was just some young, hilarious correspondent from South Africa given the tall order of replacing Jon Stewart. Not quite a year later, Noah is drawing millennial viewers to The Daily Show and delivering night after night of sharp political thought and satire. With The Daily Show’s entire staff headed to Cleveland and Philadelphia for the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention, respectively, Noah is set to take his hosting abilities to an even bigger stage. While other shows have teams reporting live, The Daily Show is the only

one that will actually be fully broadcasting from the conventions, making Noah and company the best sources for all your boots-on-the-ground “what the fuck is going on” needs—assuming that what you need isn’t straight news coverage. With the RNC kicking off next week in Cleveland, The A.V. Club talked to Noah about what he’s learned from the U.S. political process, and whether America is really going to hell in a handbasket. Advertisement The A.V. Club: What’s most interesting to you about covering the conventions? Why is it important to you that The Daily Show is going? Trevor Noah: What’s most interesting to me is just going to be seeing the chaos up close, especially on the Republican side. We’ve heard a lot about the Never Trump movement, and we’ve heard a lot about the establishment quickly planning a clandestine takeover, so it’ll be interesting to be there live and see if anything happens as it happens. It’ll also be fun to see people—I mean, Ted Cruz said that he’s going to be speaking, so it’ll be interesting to see how these people perform up close in a really scrutinized environment. So I’m excited for that. Advertisement I think the most intriguing part of it for me is taking The Daily Show there, because we get to experience all of the material firsthand. Generally, our show is resigned to reporting on the news, whereas here we get to be there when the news is being made, which I think will be an exciting change for us. AVC: How much access is the RNC giving you? TN: Well, we do have our press passes, so we’ll see how far they let us go within that access. But we are allowed to be there, and we’ll see what happens. The worst that could


Prompt: The Oklahoma State Penitentiary, nicknamed "Big Mac",[3] is a prison of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections located in McAlester, Oklahoma, on 1,556 acres (6.30 km2). Opened in 1908 with 50 inmates in makeshift facilities, today the prison holds more than 750 male offenders,[1] the vast majority of which are maximum-security inmates. Construction and early years [ edit ] Before Oklahoma became a state in 1907, felons convicted in Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were sent to the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing, Kansas. At statehood, Kate Barnard became Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections. During the summer of 1908, Barnard

arrived unannounced at the Kansas prison to investigate widespread complaints she had received about mistreatment of Oklahoma inmates. She took a regular tour with other visitors first, then identified herself to prison officials and asked that she be allowed to conduct an inspection of the facility. Barnard discovered systematic, widespread torture of inmates.[4] Upon her return to Oklahoma, Barnard recommended that all Oklahoma inmates be removed from the Lansing facility and returned to the state. Governor of Oklahoma Charles N. Haskell supported Barnard's proposal, and within two months of Barnard's visit to Kansas, on October 14, 1908, two groups of 50 offenders each were sent by train to McAlester.[4] The inmates were temporarily housed in the former federal jail in the town. Under direction from Warden Robert W. Dick, they built a stockade to house themselves on a 120 acres (0.49 km2) plot northwest of McAlester, which was donated to the state by a group of McAlester citizens.[5] The remaining Oklahoma inmates in Lansing were moved to the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth until the state could build adequate facilities to house them all. The next spring, in 1909, the Oklahoma Legislature appropriated $850,000 to build the permanent facility. Construction began in May 1909 on a prison designed after the Leavenworth facility. The state purchased about 1,556 acres (6.30 km2) surrounding the original plot of land. Using prison labor, the West Cellhouse and Administration Building were completed first; the Rotunda and East Cellhouse came later. The steep hills and grades required more than 6,250 cubic yards (4,780 m3) of concrete and more than 2,000,000 cubic yards (1,500,000 m3) of rocks and soil to be moved for the prison's walls alone.[5] The F Cellhouse was added in 1935, and later the New Cellhouse was constructed. A shoe manufacturing plant and a tailor


Prompt: And yet no one knows whether women will show up for Ms. Sandberg’s revolution, a top-down affair propelled by a fortune worth hundreds of millions on paper, or whether the social media executive can form a women’s network of her own. Only a single test “Lean In Circle” exists. With less than three weeks until launch — which will include a spread in Time magazine and splashy events like a book party at the foundation offices of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg — organizers cannot say how many more groups may sprout up. Even her advisers acknowledge the awkwardness of a

woman with double Harvard degrees, dual stock riches (from Facebook and Google, where she also worked), a 9,000-square-foot house and a small army of household help urging less fortunate women to look inward and work harder. Will more earthbound women, struggling with cash flow and child care, embrace the advice of a Silicon Valley executive whose book acknowledgments include thanks to her wealth adviser andOprah Winfrey? “I don’t think anyone has ever tried to do this from anywhere even close to her perch,” said Debora L. Spar, president of Barnard College, who invited Ms. Sandberg to deliver a May 2011 commencement address about gender in the workplace that caught fire online. (Ms. Sandberg, who will grant her first book interview to the CBS program “60 Minutes,” declined to comment for this article.) Despite decades of efforts, and some visible exceptions, the number of top women leaders in many fields remains stubbornly low: for example, 21 of the current Fortune 500 chief executives are women. In her book, to be published by Knopf, Ms. Sandberg argues that is because women face invisible, even subconscious, barriers in the workplace, and not just from bosses. In her view, women are also sabotaging themselves. “We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in,” she writes, and the result is that “men still run the world.” Ms. Sandberg wants to take women through a collective self-awareness exercise. In her book, she urges them to absorb the social science showing they are judged more harshly and paid less than men; resist slowing down in mere anticipation of having children; insist that their husbands split housework equally; draft short- and long-term career plans; and join a “Lean In


Prompt: "Sea elephant" redirects here. For the superfamily of sea slugs, see Pterotracheoidea Elephant seals are large, oceangoing earless seals in the genus Mirounga. The two species, the northern elephant seal (M. angustirostris) and the southern elephant seal (M. leonina), were both hunted to the brink of extinction by the end of the 19th century, but the numbers have since recovered. The northern elephant seal, somewhat smaller than its southern relative, ranges over the Pacific coast of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The most northerly breeding location on the Pacific Coast is at Race Rocks, at the southern tip of Vancouver

Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The southern elephant seal is found in the Southern Hemisphere on islands such as South Georgia and Macquarie Island, and on the coasts of New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina in the Peninsula Valdés. In southern Chile, there is a small colony of 120 animals at Jackson Bay, Admiralty Sound (Seno Almirantazgo), Tierra del Fuego.[1] The oldest known unambiguous elephant seal fossils are fragmentary fossils of an unnamed member of the tribe Miroungini described from the late Pliocene Petane Formation of New Zealand.[2] Teeth originally identified as representing an unnamed species of Mirounga have been found in South Africa, and dated to the Miocene epoch;[3][4] however Boessenecker & Churchill (2016) considered these teeth to be almost certainly misidentified odontocete teeth.[2] Elephant seals breed annually and are seemingly faithful to colonies that have established breeding areas.[5] Description [ edit ] Elephant seals are marine mammals classified under the order Pinnipedia, which in Latin, means feather or fin footed.[6] Elephant seals are considered true seals, and fall under the family Phocidae.[7] Phocids (true seals) are characterized by having no external ear and reduced limbs.[7] The reduction of their limbs helps them be more streamlined and move easily in the water.[6] However, it makes navigating on land a bit difficult because they cannot turn their hind flippers forward to walk like the Otariids.[6] In addition, the hind flipper of elephant seals have a lot of surface area, which helps propel them in the water.[6] Elephant seals spend the majority of their time (90%) underwater in search of food, and can cover 60 miles a day when they head out to sea.[7] When elephant seals are born, they can weigh up to 80 pounds and reach lengths up to 4 feet.[7] Sexual dimorphism is prominently seen


Prompt: Not much will have changed when Beavis and Butt-head returns to MTV in the fall after nearly 15 years off the air. But while the boys may still be clad in their AC/DC and Metallica shirts, they’ve got an whole lot of ammunition at their disposal when it comes to pop culture, including Jersey Shore and Twilight. Writer-creator Mike Judge and executive producer Van Toffler offered a glimpse Friday at the Television Critics’ Association summer press tour at what could be expected from the animated hit. 1. Judge was nervous about including Jersey Shore in Beavis and Butt-head and watched

MTV’s reality hit at Toffler’s recommendation. “It was paydirt,” Judge said, confessing that he’s now “hooked” on the Jersey crew. Toffler, meanwhile, doesn’t expect the housemates to ask for additional compensation when they appear in clips on the animated series. “I’d be scared to think of them with more money than they already have,” Toffler said, noting that he expects the gang to love being subjected to the Beavis and Butt-head treatment. STORY: ‘Beavis and Butt-Head Returning to MTV’ 2. Time stands still. Judge said he wanted new episodes to be topical – Twilight and vampire humor is included in the new trailer – but that there won’t be a specific instance where the series acknowledges the nearly 15-year gap between new episodes. “I wanted to make it not feel too forced; to make it as seamless as I could to what it was how ever many years ago,” he noted. 3. There’s plenty of ammunition for the boys to riff on. Judge said targets in the new episodes include UFC fights, Internet stuff and ... movie reviews. “We have a think where they’re kind of like Siskel & Ebert,” he said. 4. The animation process has been updated. When the original series aired from 1993 to 1997, Judge noted that Beavis and Butt-head — like The Simpsons and King of the Hill – was hand inked and painted onto cells and shot on film. That’s all been digitized now. “It still looks crappy,” Judge joked. “But I like the way it looks.” “It’s high-def, there are some differences.” STORY: ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ Riff on ‘Jersey Shore’ in MTV Series Relaunch (Video) 5. The boys will still be watching music videos. MGMT, Deadmau5 and Tbaby’s “It’s So Cold in the D” will be among the artists Judge noted will be


Prompt: By By Ralph Lopez Feb 21, 2013 in World The Newtown, Connecticut Town Clerk is seeking to deny newspapers from viewing public record death certificates of Sandy Hook victims, according to the Newtown Bee. The New York Post, the Connecticut Post, the Associated Press, the Hartford Courant, and other media have put forth requests for official death certificates of Sandy Hook victims, "that would provide the press and public with limited directory information from death and marriage records, but would withhold the actual death and marriage certificates." Death certificates are part of vital public records, which also include birth and

marriage certificates. They are public domain documents used, ultimately, to determine official recognition of presence or past presence in civil society. They also serve as a mechanism for upholding the integrity of information in which there is a public interest, as it relates to voting, citizenship, and receiving public benefits. Abuses of voting processes involving voters who, unbeknownst to the public, are actually dead, are legendary. Death certificates typically contain little information about manner of death beyond categories such as "natural cause," "homicide," "accident," "suicide," or "other." News organizations utilize such records in crime reporting as a standard part of normal, often tedious, fact-checking procedures. Death certificates also contain the sworn statement of the medical examiner. The Newtown Bee stated: "Ms Aurelia said she has received requests for death certificates and other proprietary information from the New York Post , the Connecticut Post , the Associated Press and the Hartford Courant among others." "Some are also requesting all my e-mail correspondence and text messages related to 12/14," she said." According to the Newtown Bee, Assistant Town Clerk Renee Weimann said "I feel it’s my responsibility to protect these victims. They’ve been through enough.” Last December 14th, 20 children and 8 adults died in a shooting rampage by alleged shooter Adam Lanza. Ms Aurelia and members of her staff testified in favor of such a bill at a hearing of the state's Public Health Committee last February 20th. The law would also exclude members of the public who are not "immediate family/authorized agency/attorney" from viewing the records, according to the Newtown Bee. The Bee reported that the media and other sources have been making the requests under existing Freedom of Information Act laws. Media can take local, state, and federal government agencies to court over failure to comply with requests for


Prompt: So a couple of months ago Douglas Atkin, head of Community and E-staff Member at AirBnB, took to the stage of the Le Web conference in London (video) to announce the formation of Peers: “a grassroots organization that supports the sharing economy movement.” I like grassroots organizations and I like the co-operative impulse, but this… Well here is his speech in its entirety (in italics) with comments from yours truly. I joined AirBnB about four months ago, but I’m going to talk about a different organization. He means Peers. In fact I’d like to talk about a movement for the

sharing economy. By “a movement” I mean exactly that. I mean huge numbers of people, with a shared identity, mobilized to take action to do two things: to grow the peer sharing economy, and to fight for their collective interests against unfair and unreasonable obstacles. A grassroots organization with 40 corporate “partners”, with unspecified but significant funding, formed with guidance from a set of high-profile “thought leaders”, without local chapters, and with nothing much for the grassroots to do, but with an Executive Director on day one. Andrew Leonard from Salon has been following the story, and tells us that funding comes from “mission-aligned independent donors”. So that’s wealthy backers with a financial interest in the sharing economy. This is not grassroots, it’s astroturf. If there is one thing that makes me angry, it is people appropriating the language of collective and progressive politics for financial gain. And that’s one thread of what’s going on here. As we shall see. It does seem that Executive Director Natalie Foster’s heart is in the right place, but that’s one of the tragedies of the sharing economy: well-intentioned people end up contributing to immiseration and injustice when they think they are doing the opposite. So what we’re talking about here is not just people sharing their skills, or their apartment, or their car, but also their collective power to expand the sharing economy together, and to stand up against entrenched interests who stand unfairly in their way. So “people power” if you like, or more accurately “peer power”. And what we’re not talking about here is venture capital. Going through Crunchbase tells me that the total funding for the 40 partners is over $600M. AirBnB has received $120M, including funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, Ashton Kucher. You know, people standing up against


Prompt: Watch Coach Bloomgren's Introductory Press Conference / Photo Gallery Contact: Chuck Pool , Rice Athletics (cpool@rice.edu) HOUSTON-Rice Director of Athletics Joe Karlgaard announced Tuesday that Stanford Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Mike Bloomgren has agreed to a five-year contract to become the 19th head football coach at Rice University. "The football program is important to our university and this community. Mike Bloomgren is a bright, driven, and relentless coach who fits perfectly with our vision for championships on the field, scholarship in the classroom, and service to others. I'm grateful to President Leebron for his support and assistance in

recruiting the Bloomgrens to Rice. I can't wait for Mike, Lara, Tyler, and Parker to join us in Houston." "I am excited and humbled to lead the football program at Rice," Bloomgren said. "In my seven years at Stanford, I have seen firsthand how elite college athletics and academics can not only coexist, but thrive together. I want to create an environment at Rice where every player's dreams are realized on and off the field" Bloomgren comes to Rice after seven seasons with the Cardinal, first as the offensive line coach (2011-12) and then assuming the reigns of Stanford's pro style offensive attack in 2013, setting the stage for one of the most successful decades in the program's rich history. Stanford has won eight or more games in each of his seasons and reached the Pac-12 Football Championship four times, winning three titles. Prior to 2017, Bloomgren had coached 12 NFL Draft selections and 11 All-America selections at Stanford, including 2015 Outland Trophy winner Joshua Garnett and NCAA all-purpose yardage record holder Christian McCaffrey. The 2017 campaign has seen running back Bryce Love nearly match McCaffrey's production on his way to being named a finalist for both the Heisman Trophy and Doak Walker Award. Love burst out of the gate with 180 yards on 13 carries against Rice in season opener in Sydney, Australia and completed the regular season with 1,973 yards on the ground, second only to McCaffrey's school-record 2,019 in 2015. Bloomgren's 2016 unit ended the season on a six-game winning streak in which the offense produced 290.5 rushing yards/game, the most by any Power 5 program over that stretch. McCaffrey, the eighth overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, earned All-America honors for the second straight season and was an All-Pac-12 first team running


Prompt: Review Article 1Department of Molecular Physiology, Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster, Schlossplatz 8, 48143 Münster, Germany 2Unit for Drug Discovery, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Science, University of São Paulo, 1374 Prof. Lineu Prestes Avenue, 05508-000 São Paulo, SP, Brazil 3Bernhard-Nocht-Institute, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, 20259 Hamburg, Germany Received 14 February 2014; Revised 28 May 2014; Accepted 29 May 2014; Published 15 July 2014 Academic Editor: Nongyao Sawangjaroen Copyright © 2014 Dana Ditgen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work

is properly cited. Abstract Helminths are the largest and most complex pathogens to invade and live within the human body. Since they are not able to outpace the immune system by rapid antigen variation or faster cell division or retreat into protective niches not accessible to immune effector mechanisms, their long-term survival depends on influencing and regulating the immune responses away from the mode of action most damaging to them. Immunologists have focused on the excretory and secretory products that are released by the helminths, since they can change the host environment by modulating the immune system. Here we give a brief overview of the helminth-associated immune response and the currently available helminth secretome data. We introduce some major secretome-derived immunomodulatory molecules and describe their potential mode of action. Finally, the applicability of helminth-derived therapeutic proteins in the treatment of allergic and autoimmune inflammatory disease is discussed. 1. Introduction During the last centuries living conditions in western countries changed extremely and social and economical structures shifted dramatically. As a suggested consequence of the resulting improvements in hygiene, antiparasite treatments, and the reduced exposure to pathogens and childhood infections, the occurrence of chronical inflammatory diseases and allergies increased rapidly [1, 2]. In 1989, David Strachan was the first one to link these two developments and enunciated the “Hygiene Hypothesis.” According to this thesis, the observed increases in certain inflammatory disorders were due to the decreased early-life exposure to microorganisms and other eukaryotic infectious agents including helminths [3]. Worm-like parasites that belong to unrelated phyla, namely, the plathelminthes (trematodes and cestodes) and the nematodes, were already present in early Hominidae. This long coexistence between humans and helminths must have had a fundamental impact on the constitution and regulation of the immune system [4–6]. As an advancement of the “Hygiene Hypothesis,” the “Old


Prompt: Image copyright AP Image caption The Greek coastguard said it had tried to save the migrants The UN has called for an inquiry after a boat carrying migrants capsized while being towed by a Greek coastguard vessel, leaving up to twelve dead. Two bodies were found but a further 10 people were missing after the incident near the island of Farmakonisi on Monday. Sixteen people were rescued. The coastguard says it judged it safer to keep migrants on their own boat than to take them aboard in bad weather. Greek officials say panicking migrants caused the boat to capsize themselves.

According to reports, two migrants fell or dived overboard and others rushed to one side of the boat to rescue them, causing the boat to tip. The deaths of a woman and a child have been confirmed. One non-government organisation, Pro Asyl, accused the Greek authorities of trying illegally to prevent the migrants, believed to be 26 Afghans and two Syrians, landing in Greece. "It is highly likely that this action by the Greek coastguard was an illegal push-back operation rather than a rescue at sea," said Karl Kopp, the NGO's director of European affairs. Another NGO, Ecre, said: "Survivors tell that they were crying out for help, given that a large number of children and babies were on board." Greece is one of the main destinations for clandestine migrants and refugees seeking to enter the EU, through its land or sea borders. Correspondents say there has been a sharp increase in sea-borne refugee traffic over the past year because of stricter controls on the Greek-Turkish land border to the north and the ongoing war in Syria. 'More bodies' In a statement on Tuesday, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said it was "dismayed" at the events off Farmakonisi. It quoted survivors on the island of Leros as saying the Greek coastguard had tried to tow the boat towards the Turkish coast at high speed when it capsized. "UNHCR is urging the authorities to investigate this incident and how lives were lost on a boat that was under tow," said Laurens Jolles, its southern Europe regional representative. "In addition survivors need to be quickly moved to the mainland so that their needs can be better looked after." Responding to the UN on Wednesday, the Greek coastguard insisted it had been trying to tow the boat, which had broken down, to Farmakonisi


Prompt: VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict may change rules governing the conclave that will secretly elect his successor, a move that could move up the global meeting of cardinals who are already in touch about who could best lead Catholics through a period of crisis. The Vatican emblem is seen from inside the Vatican state February 20, 2013. Pope Benedict's shock resignation has robbed Italians of the one element of certainty in a time of deep doubt, with the country beset by graft scandals and heading for an election that will not bring the radical change so many crave. REUTERS/Alessandro

Bianchi The Vatican appears to be aiming to have a new pope elected and then formally installed before Palm Sunday on March 24 so he can preside at Holy Week services leading to Easter. The rule changes could mean that the conclave in the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will choose the next leader of the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church, might be able to start before March 15, which is currently the earliest it can begin. Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said on Wednesday that Benedict, who will lose all power when he abdicates on February 28, was considering issuing a “Motu Proprio,” a personal document which has the force of Church law and addresses a specific need. A 1996 apostolic constitution by Pope John Paul stipulates that a conclave must start between 15 and 20 days after the papacy becomes vacant, meaning it cannot begin before March 15 under the current rules given Benedict’s date to step down. Some cardinals believe a conclave should start sooner than March 15 in order to reduce the time in which the Roman Catholic Church will be without a leader at a time of crisis. Benedict’s papacy was rocked by scandals over the sex abuse of children by priests in Europe and the United States, most of which preceded his time in office but came to light during it. His reign also saw Muslim anger after he compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over his rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church’s business dealings, his butler was convicted of leaking his private papers. Benedict and his predecessor made sure any man awarded a cardinal’s red hat was firmly in line with key Catholic doctrine supporting priestly celibacy and Vatican authority and opposing abortion, women priests, gay


Prompt: Donald Trump's government published for the first time Monday a list highlighting the nationalities of immigrants who were charged or convicted of crimes but were released by local authorities. The report puts pressure on so-called sanctuary cities, highlighting jurisdictions that release immigrants who might be subject to deportation instead of transferring them into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The report, called the " Weekly and Declined Detainer Outcome Report," lists 206 declined “detainers,” or immigrants who were marked by ICE for possible deportation but who were released by law enforcement between January 28, 2017, and February 3,

2017. That’s out of a total 3,083 detainers issued throughout the country during that same period. ICE requests that law enforcement hold these individuals for 48 hours before being released in order “to allow DHS to assume custody for removal purposes.” Nearly 70 percent of the immigrants on the list are from Mexico. More than 95 percent are from Latin American countries, according to a Univision analysis of the data. After Mexico, Honduras is the most frequent country of origin. The immigration status of detainers is not listed. Most detainers have only been charged with a crime, not convicted: of the 206 on the list, 116 are pending charges. Among common criminal charges are domestic violence, driving under the influence of alcohol, assault, robbery and sexual assault. There are also immigrants on the list charged with drug possession, resisting an officer and prostitution. Texas appears most frequently on the list, with nearly 150 cases of denied detainers in the one-week period reported. Travis County, Texas, home of the city of Austin, accounted for 142 (nearly 70 percent) of those charged with crimes and released. On Monday, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the report “deeply disturbing” and highlighted the “urgent need for a statewide sanctuary city ban in Texas.” Last month, Abbott pulled state funding for Travis County programs after Sheriff Sally Hernandez, a Democrat, said that she would only honor detainer requests from ICE agents on a limited basis, as reported by The Texas Tribune. “Texas will act to put an end to sanctuary policies that put the lives of our citizens at risk,” Abbott wrote in a statement Monday. Other jurisdictions listed in the report are in California, Colorado, Florida, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, among others. The list is a product of Trump’s Executive Order 13768,


Prompt: A four-year old Texas boy found wandering across the border in Mexico this winter finally returned to the United States. Authorities believe his mother traveled from El Paso to Juarez to purposely abandon the child. Over the weekend, the El Paso Police Department announced that the youngster found in the Mexican state of Chihuahua returned to the United States on Friday night. The four-year-old remained in the custody of social services in Juarez for more than four months. The police department tweeted they placed the little boy into the care of Child Protective Services (CPS). Since then, though, it appears

authorities reunited the child with his father in El Paso. CAP – 4 year old boy found in Juarez was returned to the United States & CPS Friday evening. dp — EL PASO POLICE DEPT (@EPPOLICE) July 1, 2017 Breitbart Texas reported that Mexican police found the boy wandering alone on the streets of Juarez on February 22. They suspected the child, purportedly named “Luis,” was American because of his command of the English language. Months later the El Paso Police Department identified the four-year-old as a U.S. citizen. In fact, detectives in the south Texas border city only first learned about the boy in late May when an El Paso police supervisor in the Crimes Against Persons unit attended an Amber Alert seminar in Mexico City and heard about the child’s situation. Subsequently, on June 3, El Paso police issued a media alert about the unidentified boy. His mother, Ruby Esmeralda Gonzalez, 25 viewed photographs of her son on El Paso TV news broadcasts and then contacted police to report her child as a kidnapping victim. An ensuing police investigation revealed Gonzalez crossed over the U.S.-Mexico border and into the city of Juarez on February 22 where, allegedly, she left her child in a dilapidated and deserted building. Gonzalez then returned to El Paso on the same day. According to KVIA, a Juarez cab driver actually found the boy who was alone, scared, and hungry. The cabbie contacted local police who then took the child into custody. When investigators examined “Luis,” they noticed bruises on his head, legs, and buttocks. Current El Paso jail records show that police arrested Gonzales on June 5 on one count of child abandonment with imminent danger and booked her into the El Paso County Detention Facility on a $10,000 bond. On June 13,


Prompt: Syrian refugees are warning others to avoid the Hungarian border with Serbia after images emerged of the aftermath of an alleged dog attack on multiple people. The attack is alleged to have been carried out by dogs owned by Hungarian border control police. It is unclear when the attack took place, but the images began appearing online on August 27. Hundreds of refugees have shared the images of the attack on dozens of private Arabic-speaking refugee Facebook groups, Vocativ discovered. The images, showing body parts with bloody, and sometimes deep, wounds, have caused hundreds of mostly Syrian refugees to warn

one another against using Hungary’s border with Serbia to travel deeper into Europe. Hungary shares borders with several other countries, including Romania, and Croatia. Refugees, and human rights groups, have repeatedly complained of Hungarian police harassment at the border with Serbia. Reuters reported that the brother of a man who drowned while swimming to Hungary via the Tisza river in June claimed police sent attack dogs, threw rocks, and sprayed gas when they reached the Hungarian side, forcing them to turn around. A police spokesperson said at the time that police only use “humane treatment” to deter refugees. Hungary built a fence on its border with Serbia and Croatia last year, spanning more than 300 miles. The fence has helped create a drop in refugees arriving in Hungary, from 400,000 in 2015, to under 18,000 this year, Al Jazeera reported. Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced plans last week to build a “massive defense system next to the existing line of defense” as well as increasing the number of police stationed at the border. Warning: Some of the images below include graphic details. Facebook Facebook “There’s new, not surprising barbaric behavior from Budapest, although this time is even more barbaric,” wrote one user on a closed Facebook group for refugees. “The Hungarian security forces used every violent means they have against the refugees, including women and children. They tried to cross from Serbia to Hungary but they were beaten, attacked by police dogs sent at them and now the wounded are in Belgrade (Serbia) receiving medical treatment.” The user also complained of the “media’s silence” in response to the incident, and added: “Stay away from Hungary, brothers. The road is closed, don’t torture yourself.” Another asked: “How much more do we have to warn you of the smugglers ‘promises’…” They claimed:


Prompt: At the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Obama urged rejection of policies that ‘target people because of religion’ – now congregants are anxious the ban is exactly that Every March since 2014, the Islamic Society of Baltimore has organized a minor pilgrimage for as many as 60 of its congregants to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holy city for Muslims and birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. This year, the trip was canceled amid fears that Donald Trump’s travel ban on certain Muslim-majority countries might bar re-entry even to those who call the United States their home. Washington state seeks to expand travel

ban injunction to cover revised order Read more “With the community being comprised of a large number of immigrants, we felt it was important to put things on hold until we had more clarity,” said Saad Malik, a member of the Baltimore area mosque who helps facilitate the annual event. “It was better to be safe than sorry.” On the Friday before the second version of Trump’s travel ban was to take effect, congregants shuffled in and out of the three-story prayer space in suburban Baltimore. It seemed a distant memory to many that one year ago, at the height of a Republican primary season overrun by hostile rhetoric against Muslims, Barack Obama chose the community for his first visit to a US mosque as president. Although it took Obama until the last year of his presidency to finally mark the occasion, many who attended now look back upon the encounter almost wistfully. Dr Ed Tori, who serves on the Islamic Society of Baltimore’s leadership committee, recalled it as “an epic speech that really energized our local community”. In recent months, following Trump’s election, he has instead wondered what fate awaits the 3,000 who worship at the mosque and estimated three million Muslims in the US. “Could it get as bad as us wearing yellow Ms on our shirts and having to go to a camp? Yeah, it could get that bad,” he said. “But I hope that our legal system and the checks and balances and the surrounding community would prevent that.” Inside the Islamic Society of Baltimore, classrooms have emptied for the weekly service. A loudspeaker carries the sermon of an imam who encourages attendees to be the best version of themselves and give back to their communities. In February 2016, it was the president who offered such


Prompt: By Scott Stewart Over the past few weeks, I've had people at speaking engagements ask me if I thought the Islamic State or some other militant group is using Ebola as a biological weapon, or if such a group could do so in the future. Such questions and concerns are not surprising given the intense media hype that surrounds the disease, even though only one person has died from Ebola out of the three confirmed cases in the United States. The media hype about the threat posed by the Islamic State to the United States and the West is almost

as bad. Both subjects of all this hype were combined into a tidy package on Oct. 20, when the Washington Post published an editorial by columnist Mark Thiessen in which he claimed it would be easy for a group such as the Islamic State to use Ebola in a terrorist attack. Despite Thiessen's claims, using Ebola as a biological warfare agent is much more difficult than it might appear at first blush. The 2014 Outbreak In the past, there have been several outbreaks of Ebola in Africa. Countries included Sudan, Uganda, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and several comparatively small outbreaks occurred in Gabon as well. In most cases, people who handled or ate animals infected with the disease started the outbreaks. "Bushmeat," or portions of roasted meat from a variety of wild animals, is considered by many to be a delicacy in Africa, and in a continent where hunger is widespread, it is also a necessity for many hungry people. After several months of medical investigations, epidemiologists believe the current outbreak most likely began when a two-year-old child in Guinea touched or perhaps ate part of an infected animal such as a bat or monkey. The source of the disease means it is highly unlikely that some malevolent actor intentionally caused the latest outbreak. Besides the fact that the current outbreak's cause has been identified as a natural one, even if a transnational militant group such as the Islamic State was able to somehow develop an Ebola weapon, it would have chosen to deploy the weapon against a far more desirable target than a small village in Guinea. We would have seen the militants use their weapon in a location such as New York, Paris or London, or against their local enemies


Prompt: From Marathon Man to Forrest Gump, we complete a circuit of the best running-themed films. What's your favourite? Let us know below Since the moment Eadweard Muybridge captured a man sprinting in 1887 runners have worn a path across the cinematic landscape. Whether on the pristine oval of an Olympic running track, a dusty patch in a prison rec yard or the damp tarmac of a rural country road, film has documented the sweat and solitude of running in all its pain and glory. Here are 10 of the best. Reading this on mobile? Click here to view the video

Opening with the sound of Tom Courtenay's feet thudding against a bleak rural lane, Tony Richardson and Alan Sillitoe's 1962 British New Wave classic is one of the most poetic running films in cinematic history. As Colin Smith, a petty delinquent, Courtenay gives a compelling perfomance in this class-conscious commentary on late-50s British society. After being sent to a reformatory for his part in a bakery robbery, Smith turns to long-distance running to escape the drudgery of his confinement. His talent is spotted by the governor who offers the promise of early release if he runs for the reformatory in a race against a public school. In the final, stunning denouement, Smith's freedom and independence are resolved by his race performance in the most unpredictable way. Marathon Man Reading this on mobile? Click here to view the video "Is it safe?" Probably not when you have a Nazi war criminal drilling holes in your teeth. Dustin Hoffman plays Columbia grad student and running obsessive Thomas "Babe" Levy, who is hounded by Laurence Olivier's sinister Dr Christian Szell over a briefcase of missing diamonds. An early scene shows Hoffmann pushing himself around Central Park. All that training and his ability to recall the feats of Ethiopian Olympic legend Abebe Bikila winning in Rome and Tokyo give him the endurance to escape his tormentors. Director John Schlesinger intercuts footage of a petrified, bloody Hoffman with the placid Bikila from the Tokyo Olympiad official film to striking effect. Forrest Gump Reading this on mobile? Click here to view the video After childhood sweetheart Jenny Curran (Robin Wright) leaves Tom Hanks's sweet Forrest Gump halfway through Robert Zemeckis's Oscar-laden drama, he sets off on an epic run lasting three years, two months, 14 days, and 16 hours. More than your average Sunday morning wheeze-fest.


Prompt: Despite media figures from the three broadcast networks asserting that because of the extensive media presence on his trip to the Middle East and Europe, any "mistake," "gaffe," or "misstatement" by Sen. Barack Obama would be amplified and could have vast negative consequences, none of the networks' evening news programs has reported on Sen. John McCain's recent misstatements regarding a nonexistent Iraq-Pakistan border and the timing of the Anbar Awakening. None of the three broadcast networks' evening news programs -- ABC's World News with Charles Gibson, the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, and NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams

-- has reported on Sen. John McCain's recent misstatements regarding a nonexistent Iraq-Pakistan border and the timing of the Anbar Awakening. In contrast with the networks' ignoring McCain's misstatements in their nightly news broadcasts, both of which have been made during Sen. Barack Obama's trip abroad, media figures from each network warned of what they said would be the great impact of any "mistake," "gaffe," or "misstatement" by Obama during his trip. For instance: In advance of Obama's trip, ABC News chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos said during the July 18 edition of ABC News' Good Morning America that in his trip Obama has "got to show he can do the job. And above all ... not make any mistakes on this trip. A gaffe could be a killer for Obama." Stephanopoulos went on to say that the "McCain campaign is very frustrated by this" because "[a]ll three evening news anchors going over to -- on this foreign soil with Barack Obama." He added, "I think they will look to take quick hits every day and, of course, pounce on any mistake that Barack Obama makes. That would be the big opening for the McCain campaign." On the July 18 edition of the CBS Evening News, senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield said that the "saturation coverage" of Obama's trip "has already led the conservative blogosphere to offer blistering critiques of a liberal media slavishly treating Obama as a pop star, but of course, Katie [Couric], the sheer presence of media in no way guarantees favorable coverage. In some ways, it makes the possibility of a misstep that much more dangerous." In response to anchor Katie Couric's question, "What do you think is the biggest potential landmine for him," Greenfield responded: "You know, I think it's everything from an untoward photo


Prompt: Dodd-Frank curbed lending and contributes to the ongoing decline in the home ownership rate, but the lending that Dodd-Frank prevents is the toxic lending that caused the housing bubble and crash that pummeled the home ownership rate. For nearly 100 years, Presidential administrations crafted housing policies to maximize the rate of homeownership and the rate of home price appreciation. Both Democrat and Republican administrations touted homeownership as the best investment a middle-class family could make, and home ownership became synonymous with the American Dream. We reached peak American Dream in the early 00s. At the time, the surface conditions appeared

great: house prices appreciated rapidly, mortgage equity withdrawal fueled an economic boom, subprime lending provided homeownership opportunities to nearly everyone, and record numbers enjoyed the American Dream of homeownership. Unfortunately, it was all an illusion. The “innovative” loan products turned out poisonous to millions of borrowers who subsequently lost their homes in foreclosure. In a surprising example of legislators devising an intelligent law that actually fixes the problem, Congress enacted Dodd-Frank, which prevents lenders from making bad loans to unqualified borrowers. Homeownership is not right for everyone, a lesson most policymakers learned from the housing mania. As a society we can’t achieve 100% homeownership, and we shouldn’t pursue policies that seek to maximize homeownership. Many Americans are better served by the freedom of movement that accompanies renting; young people in particular may want to move for career advancement. Further, many Americans lack the financial management skills necessary to sustain homeownership. Those who lack these requisite skills must be excluded because if lenders bestow homeownership to those unable to sustain it — which they did during the housing mania — the result is a heart-wrenching price crash and 10 million foreclosures. During the housing boom, everyone was able to ignore the reality that homeownership is a privilege and not a right. Everyone considered themselves a homeowner, even those who didn’t pay for their houses. Diana Olick, Thursday, 28 Apr 2016 After gains in the second half of 2015, the homeownership rate fell to just 63.6 percent, seasonally adjusted, in the first quarter of this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Homeownership hit a high of 69.4 percent in 2004, during one of the biggest housing booms in history. That was also when mortgage lending was arguably at its loosest level in history. The homeownership rate is now just one-tenth of


Prompt: Days after making all of us *facepalm* by pointing out that 32% of all Americans think the Syrian crisis is part of the “End Times,” LifeWay Research has published another result from the same poll and this one’s equally disturbing if not worse: LifeWay Research asked four questions about mental illness as part of a telephone survey of 1,001 Americans conducted Sept. 6-10, 2013. Thirty-five percent agree with the statement, “With just Bible study and prayer, ALONE, people with serious mental illness like depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia could overcome mental illness.” … Evangelical, fundamentalist, or born-again Christians (48 percent)

agree prayer can overcome mental illness. Only 27 percent of other Americans agree. When I think about how many other obviously ridiculous things evangelicals believe with no evidence whatsoever — Jesus rose from the dead, people choose to be gay, Sarah Palin would have made a great Vice President — their gullibility here shouldn’t surprise me at all. But 27% of everybody else? For shame, non-evangelical Americans… God can’t heal you (even if He makes you feel better) and the Bible doesn’t contain any magic words. There’s always an uproar, and rightfully so, when Christian Science parents pray for their children’s life-threatening illnesses instead of taking them to a doctor. So where’s the uproar here? Mental illness should be treated no differently from other kinds; those who have it deserve care from experts, not imaginary friends. Even Pastor Rick Warren said as much after his son committed suicide several months ago: In spite of America’s best doctors, meds, counselors, and prayers for healing, the torture of mental illness never subsided. Today, after a fun evening together with Kay and me, in a momentary wave of despair at his home, he took his life. Yes, the Warrens prayed. But they also did things that actually had a chance of helping their son. That they couldn’t save his life isn’t a knock on professional help (or the Warrens themselves), but a reminder that mental illness is not a problem that can be so quickly or easily treated. Ed Stetzer, the president of LifeWay Research, adds that this position — that Jesus and the Bible alone can cure things like depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia — is one Christians would be wise to avoid: … he worries some Christians see mental illness as a character flaw rather than a medical condition. Christians will


Prompt: Stop calling vegan food “cruelty-free” Like us on Facebook: Guest Post by Dr. Frances McCormack ———————————————————————– Sometimes it’s easy to compartmentalise ethical issues and to forget that abstaining from one moral wrong doesn’t eradicate all others. Many vegans proudly proclaim that their food is “cruelty-free” as though issues of justice and injustice begin and end with our use of nonhuman animals. What is probably an innocent shorthand for “no nonhuman animals were exploited to make this”, though, can appear as a complete disregard for the fact that many of the foods that we commonly consume are products of forced labour,

human trafficking, exploitation and suffering. Certainly, there are more issues surrounding nonvegan consumption, and in no way can nonvegans hold the fact that food production systems are exploitative over us as a “gotcha”. Nor does the enormity of the exploitation in which the nonvegan participates by way of their food choices mean that we, as vegans, don’t have to try harder or do better. Cashews are often processed by people who receive caustic burns from the acids that lie between the two layers of the hard shell of the nut. Some cashews are produced in forced-labour camps where the workers are beaten and shocked into harvesting, cleaning, and preparing a vegan staple. Much of the chocolate that we consume is the product of child labour, with reporters finding children as young as five using dangerous tools to harvest cocoa beans. Workers on coffee farms are often housed 40 to 60 to a room without sanitation, working without a signed contract and not receiving a minimum wage. Farm workers are frequently exposed to toxic chemicals, endangering their health and those of their families. And, in fact, an estimated sixty percent of child labour worldwide takes place in the agriculture sector. When we talk about cruelty-free food, then, we’re ignoring the fact that food production is bound up with many forms of injustice. At the very least, we ought to find another shorthand to convey the idea that our food does not contain animal bodies or products. But if we really take seriously the idea of living in a way that minimises harm, then we are morally obliged to educate ourselves on the human rights issues involved in food production, to support ethical and fair-trade companies where we can, and to learn more about where our food choices come from and how


Prompt: — Impacts from diverting traffic would be “overall negligible” – report. — Sight loss charity says shared areas should not be used. — Boardwalk option would include walking/cycling conflicts. An alternative solution for the Liffey Cycle Route, Option 8, will cost up to €3 million extra than the ‘safer’ Option 7, which diverts cars off Ellis Quay. Both options strive to solve the issue of dealing with walking, cycling, buses and general traffic at pinch-points on the north quays near Smithfield. The Dublin City transport committee on May 3 agreed to request that Dublin City Council management prepares a report

on the environmental, financial, and traffic impacts of both Option 7 and 8, by October at the latest. Brendan O’Brien, head of technical services in the transport section of the council, said “The boardwalk is probably to going to add €2.5 to €3 million onto the cost of the project.” He said that the a proposed shared surface between the James Joyce Bridge and the Rory O’More Bridge would include a painted line on the surface separating walking and cycling. This would mean that there would be a 2 metres wide two-way cycle lane against the quay wall, with a 0.85 metre footpath surface between the cycle route and the traffic lane. Both areas would be sub-standard compared to widths outlined in Irish design guidance. The details are outline in a draft drawing available on the council’s website. O’Brien said Option 7 is “a much better option” with less conflicts, but said Option 8 was designed to offer “a way forward.” The boardwalk design would also include cutting into the structure of the James Joyce Bridge. Because of the two proposed boardwalks, Option 8 would likely require an Environmental Impact Assessment, research to test the strength of the quay wall, flood modelling work, and will require a foreshore licence which would need to be approved by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Councillor and groups have mixed reaction Cllr Ray Mc Adam (FG), who was a guest at the meeting, said he did not believe option 7 was the correct route to take. He said: “I understand that it is a significant cycling project, but it is much more than a cycling project, if Option 7 was advanced it would represent a significant change to the management of traffic in this city.” Cllr Mannix Flynn (independent) said he


Prompt: The 11-time winner is calling time on his F1 career after Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and was centre stage at a special team farewell party hosted in the Yas Marina paddock on Saturday night. After deputy team principal Claire Williams paid tribute to the contribution he had made since joining the outfit in 2014, she announced that as well as presents of a photo album and specially-commissioned cartoon illustrating his career, he will be given his Brazilian GP chassis. The car featured a unique rebranding from title sponsor Martini, which replaced its name with 'Massa' on the car. Right

time As Massa struggled to hold back the tears after being told of the gift, he told team members, rival drivers, media, friends and family that he had huge gratitude for everything Williams had done for him but was even more convinced he was quitting F1 at the right time. "I am so proud of my career, everything I passed through, difficult moments, and great moments," he said. "I think it is a good time, so I am really happy with my decision. "It is very difficult to decide or stop, because we are young and you need to decide something in the moment that you are still fit. To keep doing and keep working for very long, I am really sure I chose the right moment to do that." Final emotions Massa secured a slot in Q3 in his final qualifying – and he was clearly delighted about the opportunity to show well after ending up 10th on the grid. "Definitely it is a good thing, so definitely it is always good to be quick," he explained. "It is my last qualifying so it is good to finish with a good performance. "I had quite a good qualifying. I am happy. So my last real qualifying of my career in F1, and it is always good to be quick. "I am not stopping because of the speed. I am stopping because of other things – it is a nice gift. I am concentrated and ready for the race tomorrow and hopefully things will be even better tomorrow." Massa insisted he was heading into Sunday's race with no feelings of sadness at all, having been overwhelmed by the support he has received in recent weeks. "I am not sad. I am happy for my decision anyway," he said. "It is


Prompt: The long-standing Freda Meats factory on Front Street in Pennsport could become a a mixed-use project with 48 apartments, a ground-floor parking garage, 4 townhouses and 30,000 sq. ft of commercial space. While the concept of transforming this Pennsport block is huge in itself, the major part of the project is a 120 ft. tall LED billboard that would be placed on the roof, in replacement of the outdated and just-too-short to be seen from I-95 structure currently on top of the warehouse. At Tuesday night’s Pennsport Civic Association meeting, the room of 50 area residents expressed concerns mainly about

the massive billboard that they believe would affect the neighborhood’s view, even more so than the existing Chickie’s and Pete’s billboard. Throughout the presentation it was emphasized by the development team that without this billboard, the project will not happen. The proposed development is a five-story structure that would take the place of the meat company’s former facility. Since there are still existing residential structures on the Howard Street-side of the facility, along with a pocket park on Reed Street, the developers plan to build around those things, with the addition of four townhouses with two car parking garages along Howard. The apartments with the ground floor parking garage would be accessible through an entrance on Front Street. The current plans include a mix of one bedroom, one bedroom with den and two bedroom, “market rate” apartments that would be between 1,000 and 1,300 sq. ft. There will be 48 parking spaces in the garage for the apartments, along with another 8 commercial parking spaces. On the north-side of the development, there would be a separate building with 30,000 sq. ft. for commercial spaces. The 8,000 sq. ft. ground floor space could become an anchor location for a Memphis restaurant looking to come to Philadelphia (Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, could it be you?). Architect Brian Newswanger also mentioned the possibility of a gym or a grocery store for the ground floor space. The upper-level commercial spaces would be for use as offices. The problem residents had with the project was not about the apartments, townhouses and commercial space this project would bring to the neighborhood in an attempt to “reconnect to the waterfront”, but instead was related to the “eyesore” on the rooftop. The current billboard on the Freda building is 58.5 ft. tall, so the proposed development would


Prompt: For other uses, see Californication 1999 studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication is the seventh studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released on June 8, 1999,[2] on Warner Bros. Records and was produced by Rick Rubin. Californication marked the return of John Frusciante, who had previously appeared on Mother's Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, to replace Dave Navarro as the band's guitarist. Frusciante's return was credited with changing the band's sound altogether, producing a notable shift in style from the music recorded with Navarro. The album's subject material incorporated various sexual

innuendos commonly associated with the band, but also contained more varied themes than previous outings, including death, contemplations of suicide, California, drugs, globalization, and travel. Californication is the Chili Peppers' most commercially successful studio release internationally, with over 15 million copies sold worldwide,[3] and more than 6 million in the United States alone.[4] As of 2002, the album had sold over 4 million copies in Europe.[5] The record produced several hits for the band, including "Otherside", "Californication" and the Grammy Award-winning "Scar Tissue". Californication peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The record marked a significant change in style for the band: Rolling Stone's Greg Tate noted that "while all previous Chili Peppers projects have been highly spirited, Californication dares to be spiritual and epiphanic".[6] Another critic, Billboard's Paul Verna, mentioned that the album brought out "the group's softer, melodic side," as opposed to their previous six albums.[7] Background [ edit ] In 1984, the Red Hot Chili Peppers started off as a "funk-punk band, driven by Kiedis's exuberant rapping and Flea's manic slap-bass" (Sanneh, 2002). Guitarist John Frusciante, who had joined in 1988 at the age of 18, left the band in the middle of a 1992 tour that promoted their critically acclaimed album Blood Sugar Sex Magik.[8] It took over a year for the band to find a new guitarist with whom to record officially. Dave Navarro, formerly of Jane's Addiction, was invited to join the Chili Peppers after Arik Marshall, who had finished the remaining tour dates for Blood Sugar Sex Magik, was fired.[9] Navarro influenced the band's ensuing album, One Hot Minute, by incorporating various elements of heavy metal and psychedelic rock,[10] which was something for which the Chili Peppers had not previously been notable. Compared to Blood Sugar Sex Magik, One Hot Minute


Prompt: Shortly after making bond on a 2003 drug case, Leonard Gipson filed a complaint with the Chicago Police Department alleging Sgt. Ronald Watts framed him because he'd refused to pay "protection" money. It was an allegation being made with alarming frequency by those living in the South Side housing projects where Watts and his tactical team regularly patrolled. But like the others, Gipson's complaint went nowhere. Four months later, with his drug case pending, Gipson was visiting his girlfriend in the Ida B. Wells complex when he again ran into Watts, who had been notified of the complaint against him.

"Let me see if you can bond off on this," Watts said to Gipson before handcuffing and planting 28 grams of heroin on him, Gipson alleged in a court filing. After two years in jail awaiting trial, he pleaded guilty on the advice of his attorney, who noted it was his word against the police. On Tuesday, a court petition filed on behalf of Gipson and 14 others seeks to overturn their criminal drug convictions, alleging that Watts and his crew framed all of them between 2003 and 2008. Watts and an officer under his command were sent to federal prison in 2013 for stealing money from a drug courier who'd been working as an FBI informant. Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune In 2013, former Chicago police Sgt. Ronald Watts — who had operated for years amid a lengthy police Internal Affairs Division probe as well as investigations by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and FBI — was sentenced to 22 months on relatively minor federal charges. In 2013, former Chicago police Sgt. Ronald Watts — who had operated for years amid a lengthy police Internal Affairs Division probe as well as investigations by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and FBI — was sentenced to 22 months on relatively minor federal charges. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune) Since last year, the Chicago Tribune has written several front-page stories detailing the mushrooming scandal over Watts' nearly decadelong run of corruption. Five people have had their convictions thrown out, and two officers who alleged they were blackballed for trying to expose Watts' corruption years ago won a $2 million settlement to their whistleblower lawsuit. Watts has repeatedly been accused of forcing residents and drug dealers alike to pay a "protection" tax and putting bogus cases on those who refused to play ball. In case


Prompt: Hollywood's highest profile feminist gets smacked around by film critics for some surprising reasons. It isn’t easy being a woke celebrity. You try. And you try. Yet it’s never good enough. Katy Perry attempts to turn her grrrl power shtick into a political movement and gets popped by a withering op-ed in The Daily Beast. Will Ferrell does everything humanly possible to support progressive causes. What happens next? he gets dubbed a racist for a comedy co-starring a black superstar. And now there’s Amy Schumer’s “Snatched.” The new comedy stars the uber-progressive comic and Goldie Hawn in a mother-daughter adventure.

Schumer’s influence on the film is palpable. She didn’t just famously nix a gun-laden sequence (she’s for gun control in real life). The screenplay also has her fingerprints all over it. RELATED: Incurious Media Ignore Amy Schumer’s Toxic Brand Her character notices, and mocks, how a tribal family in Colombia treats women like second-class citizens. There’s plenty of female empowerment chatter through and through. And it’s the women who must save themselves. It wasn’t enough, apparently. Here’s The New York Times “destroying” the film’s lack of insensitivity. “Snatched” is one of those movies that subscribes to a dubious homeopathic theory of cultural insensitivity by which the acknowledgment of offensiveness is supposed to prevent anyone from taking offense. The idea is that if you use variations on the phrase “That’s racist!” as a punch line a few times, nothing else you say or do could possibly be racist. Including, say, populating your movie with dark-skinned thugs with funny accents and killing a few of them for cheap laughs. TheWrap.com hints at outrage but doesn’t go the full scold: The trip is a trap, however, and the women are summarily kidnapped, thrown into a dingy cell, and held for ransom by a ruthless sort named Morgado (Oscar Jaenada), who — if we’re keeping tabs on Hollywood’s representation of foreign lands — is the first native character, and one of the only ones, with more than three lines. The Hollywood Reporter hits harder: There’s one extremely bizarre gag involving the manual extraction of a tapeworm, and also some unfortunate cultural stereotyping in the form of gun-toting Colombians with long hair and sinister teeth…. [Director Jonathan] Levine … isn’t a deft enough director to overcome the optics of yet another film about white characters finding themselves thanks to their experience in a problem-plagued developing


Prompt: Coming into the rep round I was so disappointed about this being the last City Country clash that I was starting to wonder whether we really needed a rep round at all. After two nights of international rugby league, I'm convinced it needs to be a permanent fixture on the calendar -- to ensure the game's development, and for the sheer entertainment it provides. Daniel Tupou Brendon Thorne/Getty Images If the game is going to grow internationally we need to allow the so called minnow nations -- Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Lebanon and Malta -- these

opportunities to come together, to pick the best players from the NRL and Super League, and compete against each other in front of a passionate crowd. I think the key to improving the quality of these games is to continue to allow players who are not picked for Australia or New Zealand to play for the countries to which they have blood ties with no fear of losing the ability to play State of Origin or for Australia or New Zealand down the track if that is what they want to do. The problem has long been that young players of Polynesian heritag, or players who could otherwise represent the smaller nations, grow up in Australia with State of Origin their ultimate goal. The old system meant they would give up their hopes of playing State of Origin, and all the status and financial rewards that go with that, if they threw on a Tonga or a Samoa jersey, for example. In a World Cup year those rules are relaxed to ensure all the minnows are as strong as they can be, and I think those allowances need to stay. PNG fans Brendon Thorne/Getty Images The atmosphere at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday was just incredible. The singing, the tribal dances, the colours, the chanting; it was like an English football match at times. There are so many people in our community who identify with the nations represented, and the passion they feel for their teams was evident through the afternoon and into the night. On Friday night, after playing his 50th Test for Australia, Cameron Smith said that wearing the green and gold was the pinnacle for him as a rugby league player. For a time, there was some doubt over whether the green and gold was as important to


Prompt: BOSTON — Perhaps you've heard of Heejun Han, the 22-year-old Korean American from Flushing, Queens, who also happens to be a semi-finalist on American Idol Season 11. To many, he may seem an unlikely star. He's known for his likable personality, but also for shaking his arms before each performance to get the nerves out. Idol judge and Aerosmith leading man Steven Tyler said Han's song selection on Tuesday night — Robbie Williams' "Angel" — was a miss. But when he opens his mouth to sing — that’s when US pop star Jennifer Lopez gets a little teary. His voice

on Tuesday was "smooth as silk," J Lo said. His initial performance “really impressed and shocked” another judge, music producer Randy Jackson. Even Tyler said previously he thought Han “could be the next American Idol.” Han isn’t the first Asian American to be on American Idol, but the overwhelming love and attention he’s getting on camera and off makes it seem that way. Most talented Asian-American singers have struggled to break into the US music scene. But even as Asian Americans have trouble getting the attention of US music producers — a problem many artists blame on racial barriers — imported K-pop, or Korean pop music, is growing in popularity in the US. K-pop groups have landed on stages like Madison Square Garden and the Letterman show, while most Asian-American artists are self-supported, reaching their audience primarily through YouTube. And many more Asian Americans are making the reverse journey to Asia in search of opportunities to perform. K-pop’s American secret Consider Korea's infatuation with singer Ailee and the more veteran Jay Park, who rank No. 7 and No. 9, respectively, on the “K-pop Hot 100” Billboard music chart. What do these two singers have in common? Both are from the US; Ailee is a New Jersey native, and Jay Park is from Seattle. The trend is nothing new, according to Oliver Wang, a music journalist and assistant professor, who teaches pop culture at California State University Long Beach. “When I was in college in the early ‘90s, people would talk about the LA Boyz who found far greater fame and success in Taiwan than they did here,” Wang, 39, said. LA Boyz, a Taiwanese-American boy band formed in 1992, brought American hip-hop from Los Angeles to Taiwan. Solid, a Korean-American trio, did the same but with R&B in Korea, becoming


Prompt: MSNBC in I want them to hear directly from their ommander n I their I them to Imagine if American troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan were formally charged with raping 3,374 local women a year in places like Fallujah, Baghdad, and Kabul.The international outcry would make the one that followed Abu Ghraib look like the mewling of a kitten. Scandal and dishonor would follow the perpetrators to the end of their days and be written tens of pages deep into Google, as well as the history books. The secretary of defense and the president would take abrupt and decisive

action to restore order in the ranks and reassert a demand for moral conduct and respect for the rights of women. The courts martial would flow.Instead, because Americans troops stationed around the world are charged with sexually assaulting fellow Americans who are also members of the Armed Forces, rather than civilians, their crimes have for too long been swept under the rug of national security and chain of command.Of 3,374 reported cases of sexual assault in 2012, only 238 convictions were handed down, according to the annual Department of Defense report to Congress released Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Pentagon's anonymous surveys of members of the military led it to estimate that more than 26,000 women and men were sexually assaulted in the U.S. Armed Forces last year. That number represents a sharp jump from the previous year's estimate of 19,000 assaults. (In the wake of the growing attention to the problem of military sexual assault, thanks in part to the release of the documentary Invisible War last year, some of that increase may be due to greater willingness of assault survivors to speak up about what they've experienced -- something the Pentagon says it wants them to do.)The basic problem with the military justice system in cases of sexual assault -- as outlined in horrific detail by the military women and experts featured inand by members of Congress during hearings -- is that it combines the dynamics of the workplace with the problem of crime investigation. A woman who is assaulted and wants redress has to report the crime to her commanding officer -- her boss -- and press charges against one of her colleagues in the military, often someone who also works for her boss, all the while continuing to live near her attacker in a thick soup of overlapping


Prompt: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consensus may be hard to find in Washington these days, but many corporate executives and economists seem to agree on one point: the biggest risk to the world’s largest economy may be its own elected representatives. Down-to-the-wire budget and debt crises, indiscriminate spending cuts and a 16-day government shutdown may not be enough to push the U.S. economy back into recession. But Washington’s policy blunders in recent years have significantly slowed economic growth and kept roughly 2 million people out of work, according to recent estimates. Steep spending cuts are a big reason. But the governance-by-crisis also

may be prompting businesses to sit on their cash rather than building new factories, buying more equipment and hiring more workers, some economists say. “Increasingly I’m of the view that the reason why our economy can’t kick into a higher gear is because of the uncertainty created by Washington,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. Congress on Wednesday voted to re-open the government and extend its borrowing authority through February of next year. But the deal did nothing to resolve the underlying disputes that led to the crisis in the first place - leading many to fear that the standoff may play out again in a few months. The plan sets up a forum to try to forge a more permanent budget deal, but few expect it to succeed. “We have crisis after crisis after crisis and it has a corrosive impact on the economy,” said Greg Valliere, an analyst with Potomac Research Group. “If you’re a business, how do you make plans in this environment?” Leading chief executives agree. “Most CEOs I speak to in the United States say they’re seeing a slowdown in business because of this,” said Laurence Fink, the CEO of giant asset manager BlackRock Inc, in an interview on Wednesday. “I was on a conference call with many of them, and I heard across the board, a slowdown from the American consumer because of this narrative, so it’s having an impact on our economy already - and it’s going to have an impact on job creation at a time when we need more job creation.” Not all economists agree that the political circus in Washington is hurting the economy in a measurable sense. While worries over the debt ceiling have pushed up the government’s borrowing costs over the past week, those increases are