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__label__cc	0.657487	0.342513	He Used Frozen Milk Cartons To Build Something Amazing. You Won’t Believe What It Is. by Pulptastic Last updated January 8, 2016 Last Christmas, Daniel Gray visited his girlfriend’s family home in Canada, and decided to make the most of the snowy weather to do something unbelievably awesome. With the help of girlfriend Kathleen and family, he built an igloo. “I wanted to keep him occupied, not with my daughter necessarily. I wanted to keep him busy with something else,” Starrie’s mother Brigid Burton said with a laugh, “I didn’t want Daniel to just be twiddling his thumbs while he’s here in Canada so I thought, this needs to be something that’s got some meat to it.” So they began building, and after 5 days, they were finished. These photos are awesome. First they cleared out some snow to create space. Next, they added a layer of ice blocks. These were built from frozen milk cartons which had food coloring added prior to freezing. The next layer being added… Adding more and more layers… Here are all the cartons they used to prepare the ice. Getting closer to completion… By now it should be pretty obvious what it is… Yep, it’s an igloo! It looks incredible. The colors and lighting are exquisite. And to think this was all done with milk cartons! We want one! Daniel Gray says he is very proud of his finished igloo, and that he is relieved he managed to finally complete it: “It was a lot of work so, it’s nice to actually have it there,” he said, “It’s been joked about that I have to sleep in it but, I don’t think it’ll be happening.” Awesome work Dan! Previous article These Middle Schoolers Went Behind Their Coach’s Back. When You See Why, You’ll Cry. Next article Black Man Brings White Girlfriend Into Harlem Barbershop. Watch What Happens Next. Watch These Employees Freak Out When They Learn They’re Splitting A $10 Million Christmas Bonus Garbage Truck Driver Surprises Boy With Autism. You Will Love What He Did.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1629
__label__cc	0.542225	0.457775	Help support our project and earn special rewards by becoming a patron. The Get Down Art Show The Get Down Art Show is a celebration of local artists dedicated to their craft. The mission of Project Oh! Is to offer opportunity and empower the creative minds of our community, especially those who might be underrepresented. We appreciate all art, and everyone contributing to it in their own way. TGAS is hosted by Project Oh! and was brought together by local artists Kevin Gardner and Sam Moncada enlisting the help of other creative talents in the community to share their work. For many of these artists, these shows offer their first experience in showing their artwork in a public setting. The great thing about the TGAS art show is seeing parts of the community come together in support of each other celebrating the efforts that go into creating art. This is a one-night-only group show featuring local artists and musicians. The best way to get involved in these shows is to come to the events, follow and meet the other artists, and be willing to put in the work creatively. We are grateful to all that have been involved so far as contributors and supporters. Shows are typically announced quarterly, so check our calendar, follow us on social media, and/or subscribe to our mailing lists to stay informed. The Get Down Art Show #4 Gabbi Live Painting at TGDAS 5 This page was last updated on March 4, 2018 \| Originally published on February 24, 2017 Buy Now \| $20.00 Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube Patreon Project Oh! Magazine Project Oh! (Mini) © 2011-2020 Project Oh! Bakersfield Created by JermzV2	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1633
__label__wiki	0.628646	0.628646	Home Article WHY THE RIGHT NEEDS CRAZY. WHY THE RIGHT NEEDS CRAZY. by Ezra Klein Michael Cohen is right to say that the NIE on Iran heralds a return of deterrence theory to American foreign policy. But in some ways, the more important takeaway from the passages Cohen quotes pertain to rational choice theory. Put simply: The Iranian regime was rational. It wasn't some eschatological head trip seeking the biggest weapon possible to speed the return of the 12th Imam. Instead, "Iran halted the [nuclear weapons] program in 2003 primarily in response to international pressure indicat[ing] Tehran’s decisions are guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon irrespective of the political, economic, and military costs." The imputation of crazy was not only key to the case against Iran -- you don't want crazies controlling atomic weapons, after all -- but crucial to how we were supposed to respond to Iran. The government's religious fanaticism, we were told, made them impervious to traditional incentives-based approaches, and thus rendered regime change the only viable option. If we assumed a rational Iran -- one, for instance, that wouldn't want to be obliterated by Israel's submarine mounted, second strike capacities -- it wouldn't have made any sense to treat their pursuit of weaponry as an existential threat rather a play for power and prestige. That's why an irrational Iran was so important. If you wanted to invade, you needed to make them crazy. So Frontpage was writing things like,"it is the apocalyptic element to Ahmadinejad’s faith combined with Iran’s nuclear ambitions that should draw the most serious attention. He believes that a great cataclysm of bloodshed anticipates the return of the 12th Imam, in particular the destruction of infidels – Jews and Christians – that will usher in a new dawn of Islamic worldwide dominance." The Telegraph helpfully informed us that "[Ahmedinejad] actively seeks to bring about an apocalyptic struggle between the righteous and the wicked to accelerate the return of the mahdi or Hidden Imam." Daniel Pipes spoke of his "mystical menace." Read more by Ezra Klein	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1635
__label__wiki	0.891991	0.891991	Planet Erde - Himmelsphänomene Teil-56 Raumfahrt - Two scientific rockets will be launched from Andøya Space Center Raumfahrt - The FCC says a space startup launched four tiny satellites into orbit without permission Astronomie - Radio telescope array to build surrounding FAST for resolution enhancement Astronomie - 3 NASA Satellites Recreate Solar Eruption in 3-D Raumfahrt - Weeks after its launch, ‘Humanity Star’ satellite shines in West Coast skies at last Astronomie - NASA Says ‘Fireball’ that Shook Washington Coast about the Size of Minivan Raumfahrt - VOYAGING FOR THE SENTINELS Astronomie - NASA’s Webb Telescope to Make a Splash in Search for Interstellar Water Astronomie - HAMMER Time? Spacecraft Could Nuke Dangerous Asteroid to Defend Earth UFO-Forschung - IFO-Universität: Planeten Galerie am Südhimmel Luftfahrt - Neue LRS-B Bomber Generation mit B-21 für USAF Raumfahrt - Start von Arianespace’s VS18 Soyuz mit O3b MEO Satelliten Raumfahrt - “One of the most powerful student-built engines in the world” Astronomie - The Orion Nebula as you’ve never seen it before Raumfahrt - China is developing a new crewed spacecraft for Moon and deep space missions 500.000 Aufrufe bei Raumfahrt+Astronomie-Blog von CENAP Raumfahrt - Blue Origin’s job listings hint that it could soon be signing up astronauts Raumfahrt - Startvorbereitung für SpaceX CRS-14 Cargo Mission UFO-Forschung - CENAP UFO-Meldestelle in den Medien Raumfahrt - Russias Space Agency Might Break Up With the U.S. To Get With China Astronomie - JHU Performs First Lab Simulation of Exoplanet Atmospheric Chemistry Astronomie - China unveils plans for x-ray satellite to probe most violent corners of the universe Astronomie - Hubble Finds Huge System of Dusty Material Enveloping the Young Star HR 4796A Raumfahrt - Scientists Share Ideas for Gateway Activities Near the Moon Raumfahrt - Rocket Lab launched a DARPA secret payload into space Planet Erde -Himmelsphänomene Teil-52 Raumfahrt - Stratolaunch conducts high-speed taxi tests on giant carrier aircraft Astronomie - Comet Chury formed by a catastrophic collision Astronomie - QUEEN’S SCIENTISTS CRACK 70-YEAR-OLD MYSTERY OF HOW MAGNETIC WAVES HEAT THE SUN Raumfahrt - NASA sees strong international interest in lunar exploration plans Astronomie - Superconducting materials found in meteorites Mars-Chroniken - No, Those Aren’t Animal Tracks on Mars Mars-Chroniken - The Case of the Martian Boulder Piles Raumfahrt - NZ in contention for new satellite mission Raumfahrt - China eyes for deep space with 500-ton liquid rocket engine Raumfahrt - WORLD-FIRST FIRING OF AIR-BREATHING ELECTRIC THRUSTER Astronomie - Chemical Sleuthing Unravels Possible Path to the Formation of Life’s Building Blocks in Space Raumfahrt - Erfolgreicher Start von SpaceX Falcon-9 mit Hispasat 30W-6 Satelliten Astronomie - Massive Space Structures Have Surprising Connection to Quantum Mechanics Math Raumfahrt-History - 1967: The X-23 PRIME reentry vehicle and American satellite reconnaissance - Raumfahrt - Erster Raketenstart für 2019 im Megaprojekt Guysborough County/Kanada geplant Raumfahrt - Launch of first Chinese space station module delayed to 2020 Raumfahrt - Air Force tries to create a warrior culture in space Raumfahrt - BE-4 engine tests continue as ULA waits to make Vulcan engine decision Raumfahrt - How space will shape the future of medicine Sonntag, 11. März 2018 - 16:35 Uhr Swarm Technologies reportedly didn’t get a license Earlier this year, a space startup from Silicon Valley launched four of its first prototype communications satellites on top of an Indian rocket. Except the FCC says that the company didn’t have authorization to send up those spacecraft from the US government, IEEE Spectrum reports. It would seemingly mark the first time a US private company launched un-licensed satellites into orbit — and these rogue spacecraft could pose a danger to other objects in space. The four satellites reportedly belong to a fledgling company called Swarm Technologies, which was started by former Google and NASA JPL engineer Sara Spangelo in 2016. The probes, dubbed SpaceBees 1, 2, 3, and 4, are meant to test out Swarm’s idea for a “space-based Internet of Things” network, according to IEEE, and went up as part of a cluster of 31 satellites aboard an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket on January 12th. At the time of the launch, India’s space agency didn’t name the operator of the four satellites. SWARM’S APPLICATION WAS DENIED A MONTH PRIOR TO THE JANUARY LAUNCH Whenever US commercial companies want to send a satellite into orbit, they must apply for a license with the Federal Communications Commission, to get access to the radio frequencies needed to communicate with the satellite. The same goes for international companies hoping to do business with their spacecraft in the US, too. Swarm Technologies did initially seek government approval to launch these spacecraft. However, Swarm’s application was denied a month prior to the January launch, according to a letter from Anthony Serafini, the chief of the experimental licensing branch at the FCC. The denial revolved around the size of the SpaceBee satellites. The four satellites are teeny — smaller than the standard CubeSat, which is about 4 inches (10 centimeters) in all three dimensions. The FCC was concerned that this would make the satellites hard to track with the Space Surveillance Network (SSN) — an array of ground-based radar operated by the US military that tracks all of the space debris in orbit. “If they’re difficult to track... and you want to know in the future: ‘Is it going to hit my satellite?’ — the answer might be erroneous because we don’t have a good orbit for them or we just don’t know where they are,” Brian Weeden, space expert at the Secure World Foundation, a nonprofit that specializes in space security, tells The Verge. Swarm Technologies proposed adding additional tech to its satellites to make them easier to track — such as radar reflectors that would enhance the spacecrafts’ signal to the surveillance network — but ultimately the FCC didn’t approve. Now, the FCC is looking into the situation and told the company the department is putting Swarm’s application for a follow-up mission on hold. Swarm is aiming to launch another batch of four satellites on an upcoming flight of an Electron rocket, a new vehicle from US startup Rocket Lab that takes off from New Zealand. But first the FCC wants to assess the “impact of the applicant’s apparent unauthorized launch and operation of four satellites,” according to an email from Serafini. “WE’RE AWARE OF THE SITUATION AND CAN CONFIRM THAT WE SET ASIDE THEIR GRANT WHILE WE’RE LOOKING INTO THE MATTER.” “We’re aware of the situation and can confirm that we set aside their grant while we’re looking into the matter,” the FCC told CNBC in a statement. Additionally, Rocket Lab told CNBC that it won’t be launching anyone who doesn’t have proper licensing. We’ve reached out to Swarm Technologies for comment and will update if we hear back. Swarm’s launch with India seems to have been set up by Seattle-based company Spaceflight, which helps satellite operators find ride-shares to space for their vehicles. Spaceflight told IEEE Spectrum that it “has never knowingly launched a customer who has been denied an FCC license. It is the responsibility of our customers to secure all FCC licenses.” Technically, an FCC license is meant to grant companies use of the radio frequency spectrum. However, the agency is allowed to consider how a satellite will add to the space debris problem when issuing these licenses. In fact, the Federal Aviation Administration has partial authority on this too when it issues licenses for commercial rockets. The agencies were given this authority mostly because they’ve been doing licensing for such a long time — and there was no one else to do it. “Part of getting your license is you need to present compliance with debris mitigation guidelines,” says Weeden. “It’s just because that was sort of the path of least resistance to actually implement. Giving a new agency a new regulatory authority over just orbital debris would have required changing the law.” “PART OF GETTING YOUR LICENSE IS YOU NEED TO PRESENT COMPLIANCE WITH DEBRIS MITIGATION GUIDELINES.” Even though both the FCC and FAA can consider space debris during the licensing process, the two agencies do not have full authority over what companies do in space. “At the moment no US entity has oversight over on-orbit activities,” says Weeden. “It’s all done pre-launch licensing.” In fact, this is a good illustration of a strange regulatory gap that’s plagued the space industry: there’s no framework in place for how the government will oversee ambitious commercial missions in orbit. The Trump administration has proposed a way to fix this. Officials at the most recent National Space Council meeting, suggested creating “one-stop shop for space commerce” at the Commerce Department, which would come up with regulations to oversee operations in space. In the meantime, the repercussions for Swarm Technologies are still unclear. There isn’t much precedent for this, so it’s uncertain whether the government can do more than just withhold future licenses from the company. Quelle: The Verge	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1637
__label__cc	0.73885	0.26115	Home / Reports / Israel starts illegal construction, destroying field of olive trees on private Palestinian land near village of Immatin Israel starts illegal construction, destroying field of olive trees on private Palestinian land near village of Immatin in Reports August 17, 2013 17th August 2013 \| International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team \| Immatin, Occupied Palestine Immatin is a village situated in close proximity to the annexation wall and flanked by the illegal settlements of Qedumim, Gilad and Immanu’el. Recently, three brothers from the village went to work on their land. However, when they arrived, they found that construction workers, under instruction from the Israeli authorities, were bulldozing and clearing areas of the land to erect electricity pylons. The brothers had not recieved any verbal or written request to use the land nor had they recieved any order that would confiscate it. The brothers tried to stop the work, as the land is used for olive trees by the family and they fear the destruction of the trees. However the army were then called by the construction workers who when arriving threatened to beat and then arrest the brothers unless they left. The army said that the building work would be between the olive trees, but it is not known what will happen in the future, nor if it will still be permitted for them to access their own land, once these Israeli power lines are in place. When threatened with arrest the brothers left their land, powerless to assert their property and individual rights because they are Palestinian. International activists visited the land with one of the brothers when the work was still taking place and it can be seen that the olive trees are at high risk from being destroyed during the construction. This case shows the belief that the Israeli occupation has in their own impunity, when they are able to construct, demolish and confiscate without even issuing papers. Even when demolition, confiscation and stop work orders are given, Palestinians have very little chance in overturning them in the Israel courts. The private land under construction is area C which means it is under full Israeli control, where Israel is obliged to look after the rights and administer for all the inhabitants. Bulldozers Olive Trees Qedumim settlement 2013-08-17 Tagged with: Bulldozers Olive Trees Qedumim settlement Al Shoroq: The activist farmers resisting Israeli annexation in Beit Ummar Water Series: IOF destroy farmland east of Hebron – ISM speaks to owner Ghassan Jaber Settlers’ continue to terrorize Al-Khalil	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1641
__label__wiki	0.53119	0.53119	Retracing Liberalism and Remaking Nature 24 BIOETHICS 170 (2010), reprinted in STEM CELL LAW AND ETHICS (M.N. Bhavani ed. 2010) 10 Pages Posted: 17 Dec 2007 Last revised: 26 Mar 2013 See all articles by Dov Fox Dov Fox University of San Diego: School of Law Number of pages: 10 Posted: 17 Dec 2007 Last Revised: 26 Mar 2013 Retracing Liberalism and Remaking Nature: Designer Children, Research Embryos, and Featherless Chickens Bioethics, Vol. 24, Issue 4, pp. 170-178, May 2010 Number of pages: 9 Posted: 29 Mar 2010 Bioethics, Vol. 24, Issue 4, pp. 170-178, 2010 Date Written: July 18, 2012 The liberal theory that permeates our law and politics embodies an emancipatory vision of freedom that seeks to transcend arbitrary limits on how people choose to lead their lives. In the 17th century, John Locke defied the encroachment of religious and political authority; in the 19th century, John Stuart Mill resisted the hierarchical bonds of wealth and status; today, liberals like Ronald Dworkin urge us to transcend the biological limits on human freedom by refashioning nature and even ourselves. Liberal respect for individual autonomy at the same time requires that we make collective decisions about the genetic manipulation of animals and offspring without reference to formative ideals. This Article rejects the conventional account of public reason as it applies to advances in biotechnology. I argue that political deliberation about these practices cannot be reduced to the common denominator of liberal freedom. Whether it is reasonable to set aside metaphysical beliefs when we make law and decide cases about genetic engineering depends on how we answer the deeper questions it presupposes about why, if at all, animal integrity and the natural lottery are worthy preserving. Divisive though these concerns are in a pluralistic society, it is incoherent and undesirable to set them aside when we deliberate together about how to manage our emerging powers of biotechnology Keywords: liberalism, state neutrality, the Enlightenment, stem cell research, genetic engineering, animal ethics JEL Classification: O14, O33, O38 Fox, Dov, Retracing Liberalism and Remaking Nature (July 18, 2012). 24 BIOETHICS 170 (2010), reprinted in STEM CELL LAW AND ETHICS (M.N. Bhavani ed. 2010) . Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1072322 Dov Fox (Contact Author) University of San Diego: School of Law ( email ) HOME PAGE: http://https://www.sandiego.edu/law/about/directory/biography.php?profile_id=3332	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1644
__label__wiki	0.528733	0.528733	Interlude 22 (Donation Bonus #1) “Okay,” Daiichi said. His Japanese was easy, a lazy drawl. He paused at the top of the flight of stairs, sneering a touch as he waited for his followers to ascend. “If you don’t hurry, they’ll be gone by the time we get there.” There were grumbles from the others. “Why isn’t there an elevator?” Ren whined. Of all of them, he was the heaviest, the black jacket of his school uniform straining across his shoulders. He’d dyed his hair blond, but hadn’t yet found a good style to wear it. Ren was Daiichi’s lieutenant; most thought that was because Daiichi put too much stock in Ren’s size, ignoring the fact that he was more fat than muscular. People who knew Daiichi better speculated that it was because Daiichi wanted someone fat and ugly that could offset his own good looks. Only those inside Daiichi’s group and the people who crossed them knew better. “Only three floors,” Daiichi said. “And we wouldn’t use it if they had one. They could have someone watching.” “With only two of them?” Ryo asked. “Can’t hurt to be safe,” Arata said. Kenta was the first up the flight of stairs. Daiichi clapped one hand on his shoulder. Their leader asked, “Ready?” “Ready,” Kenta answered. His heart pounded. For others, for his neighbors and peers, conformity was safety. To be the same as one’s peers, it reassured the self, reassured others. Standing out was bad. But Kenta stood out anyways. He looked different. People knew his mother was Chinese. He was oddly tall for his age, his grades poor. He could have struggled, but there was so little point. He was competing with classmates who were already miles ahead of him, who were fighting to keep ahead of one another by studying after school, studying at night. This was something else. It was both thrilling and terrifying, to recognize those lines and ignore them. To be brazen, to stand out on purpose. Breaking rules, breaking convention. He imagined it was like the rush that accompanied a fall to open water or hard ground. “This is our springtime,” Daiichi said, and he managed to say it without sounding ridiculous. At seventeen, he was older than any of them. Springtime, Kenta thought. Daiichi had it all planned out. They would earn a reputation for themselves, then submit themselves to the Yakuza. With luck, they would be accepted as low-level members of the ‘chivalrous organization’. The freedom would be gone, in a way. Their ‘springtime’, in a sense, referred to the brief period where they were free to do what they wanted, between the confines of school and membership in the Yakuza. “There’s only two Chinese?” Ren asked, as they filed out of the stairwell and into the restaurant on the third floor. The rooms here had thick walls and a wooden door, rather than the traditional paper. They’d wanted privacy, maybe. It didn’t matter. “My cousin owns the building,” Daiichi said. “He said they paid with bundles of bills, and no other Chinese came in. Some Western gaijin, but nobody threatening.” Kenta looked back at their group. Nine people for two men? And they had an unfair advantage, besides. “Go,” Daiichi ordered. Kenta was stronger than Ren, so he was the one to kick down the door. He moved aside to let fat Ren advance. He wasn’t stupid, wasn’t ignoring the possibility the foreigners had guns. There was no gunfire. Instead, he could hear someone speaking in English, very calm. “The woman is upset you did not take enough precautions,” A man said, in Chinese. He sounded more alarmed than the English speaker. Daiichi and Ren led the advance into the back room. Kenta followed, looking over Ren’s shoulder to take in the scene. There were five people in the room. Two were Chinese, sure enough. Businessmen, they seemed to be, kneeling on one side of a squat dining table that was neatly stacked with cash and ‘bricks’ of white powder in plastic wrap, as well as various dishes laid out with vegetables and meat. A Japanese man sat at one end of the table, hands folded in his lap, eyes wide. But there were two more gaijin in the room, kneeling opposite the Chinese foreigners. A black woman in a white suit jacket and a knee-length dress, and a twenty-something woman with a European cast to her features, with dark hair and a black suit. The black woman spoke, and the Japanese man translated it to Chinese. “The woman recommends we stand back. Her bodyguard will take care of the situation.” “The woman in front is a bodyguard,” Kenta told Daiichi. This was wrong. The two women were too confident. Daiichi drew a gun and pointed it at the woman. Kenta felt his heart leap at the sight of the weapon. Then Daiichi fired, a warning shot. Kenta flinched despite himself. He’d never heard a gunshot before. Loud. The men were cowering, trying to hide beneath the table. The women hadn’t even reacted. “One bodyguard?” Daiichi asked, sneering. He made the first move. He flared a brilliant green, then jolted as a phantom replica of himself leaped forth. The phantom Daiichi flew across the room like living lightning, a trail of neon green smoke in its wake. The bodyguard was already moving, her hand on a plate. She turned it upside-down and threw it in a single motion, and it caught the air like a frisbee. It turned in mid-air and crashed into the real Daiichi’s face. He staggered, and the phantom he’d created dissipated a fraction of a second before reaching the bodyguard. She shut her eyes as the residual smoke carried past her. Kenta stared. He’d never seen Daiichi’s ability fail him like that. Daiichi raised the gun, and the woman raised one knife from the table, turning it around so she held the blade, the metal handle extended. She held it out with one hand, pointing it at Daiichi’s shoulder. Daiichi fired, and the knife went flying. It ricocheted, spinning rapidly, striking the doorframe behind the bodyguard before flying over her head in a tall arc. She caught it in her other hand, resuming the exact same position as before, then shook her right hand for a second. She said something, murmuring it in English. The knife, still held in front of her, had a dent on the end. The black woman behind her said something else. “What are they saying?” Daiichi asked. “The woman in the suit just got permission to kill us,” Hisoka said. “But the black one said not to spill any blood.” “We should run,” Kenta said. “You scared?” Daiichi asked. “We have muscle.” “So does she,” Kenta retorted. Daiichi only smirked. Can’t run, we’re going to get hurt if we stay… Ren rolled his shoulders, then inhaled. Wind rushed out of the room, and small objects were drawn towards Ren. The intensity of the suction grew as the fat boy sucked in more and more air. The bodyguard kicked one edge of the low table, and the wind caught it, helping it rise. Money, plates and the bricks of white powder slid to the floor, sliding and rolling towards Ren. Daiichi opened fire again, indiscriminate, but she didn’t even react. Her knife blocked one shot that was directed more at the black woman, flying out of her grip, and the bodyguard walked between the rest of the shots without even dodging. She seized a table leg in one hand. It would have been too heavy to lift, but Ren’s suction was hauling it off the ground. Two bullets bit into the thick wood. Daiichi unleashed his power, creating another ghostly replica of himself, incredibly fast, stronger than he was. The woman kicked the table, and it spun through the air as it flew towards Ren, clipping the ghost. The phantom lost an arm and a chunk of its chest, got its bearings, then charged the bodyguard. The damage to its chest was too grave, and it crumpled into neon green dust a pace away from her. Ren was struck by the moving table, hit with enough force that he stumbled backwards into Kenta, Hisoka, and the other mundane members of the group. Ren blew, and the table went flying across the room. Kenta’s heart sank as he saw the woman, crouching low to the ground. Her hand reached up to strike the flying table, altering its course as it flew towards the Chinese men. It came so close to hitting them that Kenta thought it would be like the cartoons, where someone was cut but didn’t start bleeding until seconds had passed. Except it hadn’t hit them, and the woman was too close to the ground to really be affected by the wind. “Suck!” Daiichi shouted. “Don’t!” Kenta said, though there was little point. It was too late. Ren had stopped blowing, buying her a second to move. She stepped forward, closing the distance to the group. Daiichi created a third ghost, rushing towards her, but she avoided the first strike. Ren started drawing air in once more. Daiichi’s spirit opened with a flurry of attacks, moving twice as fast as she was, but failed to land a strike. The bodyguard took a step back and used the toe of her glossy black shoes to flick a brick of powder into the air. She threw it, and the suction only added to its velocity as it soared to Ren’s right. Daiichi’s spirit was fast enough to avoid the brick, but Daiichi wasn’t. It bounced off his head, and the ghost dissipated again. She kicked the table, and again, the suction caught it. It flew into Ren’s shins, and he fell. Thrice, both the ghost and Ren had been countered, almost casually. Daiichi shouted, uncharacteristically angry. Uncharacteristic, maybe, because he’d never lost a fight before. The others pushed forward from behind Kenta. Had they not just seen the fight? They really thought they’d accomplish something? But the force of the others charging forward from behind started him moving forward, and he was driven to keep advancing by the vague, incoherent idea of what might happen to him if he, the largest, physically strongest member of Daiichi’s group, turned coward. He knew in an instant that it was a mistake. Daiichi’s ghost, twice as fast and twice as strong as Daiichi himself, an expendable assailant, hadn’t accomplished anything. Why would six or seven teenaged delinquents? She tore through them, every movement precisely calculated to disable, to crush, blind, stun and stagger. They were driven to stumble into one another, their weapons knocked from their hands. She wasn’t any faster than any of them, not a martial artist, though there was a degree of elegance to what she did. No movement wasted. Her foot caught Kenta in the diaphragm. She planted one hand on the back of his head as he winced from the blow, then pushed him face first into the ground. His teeth bit into a brick of powder, puncturing the plastic itself. Kenta tried to rise, but she stepped on the back of his head, driving him facefirst into the brick a second time, hard. Someone else fell to the ground a short distance away. Kenta turned to look, simultaneously coughed, and loose powder exploded around his face, filling his eyes. The powder caked his nose, thick in his mouth, to the point that he couldn’t swallow. Drugs weren’t a ‘big’ thing in the East, even among gangs. He didn’t know the particulars of any powder or substance. Only that they were bad, possibly lethal if too much was ingested. He tried to spit it out, but couldn’t help but feel like he was swallowing more than he was removing. The weight of the woman bodyguard was on his head, holding him there, suffocating. He felt the rush of it taking hold, intense and seemingly without a ceiling to top it off. His face in the dirt, in the dust, he was overwhelmed by the paradoxical sense of being like the king of the world. That rush lasted too short a time. He could feel the rush building until it felt like his heart was going to burst or vibrate itself into pieces. He felt nauseous, as if he was going to throw up, but couldn’t bring himself to. Kenta’s left arm started going numb. He knew what that meant. With a cold feeling in his churning gut, he thought, I’m having a heart att– He found himself out of his body. He was an observer, an outside agent, without body or mind. He couldn’t think. He could only exist, as a part of some sequence of events. Two entities, communicating in increasingly short bursts as they drew together. Two entities, each unfolding and folding through realities, through multiple worlds at the same time. Two entities, singing ideas through mediums he could barely comprehend. Through light and heat and space and half-lives and gravity. And they were looking. Looking at a planet that was broad, more gas than solid. A world of perpetual storms. There were lifeforms in there, lifeforms in countless possible variations of that world. Bloated bags of gas that flowed through and in the storms, in kalleidoscopic patterns. He could see what they were focusing on, see them examining those possible worlds, declaring something. Ownership here. Claim there. Territory elsewhere. Kenta’s thoughts were confused as he felt the high seize him. Three things overwhelming him at once. The things he’d just seen, fleeing from his recollection. His own body, dying in a violent, incomprehensible way. The world beyond- He blinked the dust out of his eyes, felt them burn, could only see shadows, could only hear the rush of blood in his ears. The bodyguard had stepped away from him, freeing him to raise his head. She’d staggered, and was being supported by the black woman. He turned away, flipping himself over. He could see the fat shape of Ren, on his hands and knees, Daiichi prone on the ground. The bodyguard recovered faster. She found her stride quickly enough. She kicked at Daiichi’s throat, hard. Ren, she struck in the nose with one boot. The black woman said something in English. “S-she’ll take the cost of the lost product out of the deal,” the translator said in Chinese, his voice distant. Kenta only lay there, his chest heaving. He felt stronger, could feel his heart returning to some form of equilibrium. But he knew he couldn’t win. He lay there, doing his best to emulate the dying, as the Chinese men collected both cash and drugs in a bag, handing them to the black woman. She spoke, and the Japanese man translated it to, “She would like to discuss delivery of the product on the way out.” Kenta lay there long after the two women and the Chinese men had left. He wiped caked powder from his face, though the effects had receded, the tingling and the rush long since faded. Whatever had happened to him, the drugs did almost nothing, now. He wiped his face with his shirt, then checked on his friends. Daiichi, dead, suffocated, eyes bulging. Ren lay there, eyes rolled up into his skull, his nose rammed into his brain, though the blood hadn’t leaked past the aperture of his nostrils. Hisoka, suffocated on powder, as Kenta almost had. Arata, gasping for air he couldn’t seem to pull into his lungs. Ryo’s head had a dent in it, and his eyes were unfocused. Jirou’s airway had been blocked, much as Daiichi’s had. Both Takeo and Shuji lay dead with no apparent wounds. All dead or dying, with no blood spilled. Technically. Kenta waited, holding Arata’s hand as the boy slowly died, then he straightened. Idiots, he thought, with a degree of anger. It had been foolish to escalate the fight after seeing what the woman was capable of. He’d be more careful of who he fought in the future. Lung toyed with a flame in one of his hands as he watched the great lizard-man’s rampage. The Sentai Elite were battling the thing, assisted by the gaijin heroes. Once every few minutes, someone passed him, flying, carrying wounded. Lung didn’t care. It was about timing. If he was going to do this, he’d do it right. A tidal wave rocked the area, and Lung had to hold on to a nearby building to keep from falling. Heroes were swept up in the wash of water, and buildings were leveled. The anticipation of a fight stirred inside him. He could feel the scales beneath his skin, just itching to be brought to the surface. The fire, too, was warm in the core of his body. This was a fight that was worthy of him. The trick was orchestrating it so he wouldn’t die before he got strong enough. It was his biggest drawback. The fight… the heroes were stalling in their own way as well. He could tell by the way the heroes moved. They fought in shifts. Eidolon was fighting now. He hurled globes of energy the size of small houses at Leviathan, and each one was sufficient to knock the creature away, flaying away the thing’s skin and simultaneously slowing it. The hero’s own hydrokinesis deflected the lizard’s ranged attacks, diverting them skyward or off to one side. Leviathan couldn’t attack from range, and couldn’t get close without getting pummeled. He attempted to run, only for Japan’s foremost team, the Sentai Elite, to step into his way, blocking his progress. “Are you fighting?” Lung turned to look at the speaker. A woman in a yellow and black Sentai costume. “Yes,” he answered, his voice a rumble. His power had granted him additional strength, durability, regeneration and control over fire even in his ordinary form, but the changes to his body had altered his voice. She glanced at the fight, as if unsure whether she should be participating or talking to Lung, “You’re a yankee?” “You’re a villain?” “I am me.” Another tidal wave rocked the area. This time, the water reached Lung, sweeping up to waist level and forcing him to hold the windowsill again to avoid losing his footing. He caught the Sentai woman’s wrist to keep her from being washed away. He could feel the scales beneath his skin stirring, threatening to rise, eager. “Sumimasen deshita,” she said, once the water was mostly gone. Lung only grunted a response. “Why are you back here?” “I’m waiting,” he answered. “And you should be fighting.” “I can’t do anything. My power hurts people, but it doesn’t hurt him. I’m not permitted to leave.” The heroes were winning, slowly but surely. Slowly more than anything. Each tidal wave was doing catastrophic damage in the meantime. I’ll fight, he thought. With that very thought, his power started stirring into effect. The scales began growing, slowly but surely, bristling like a sea urchin’s spines as they arranged themselves. The very anticipation of the fight was serving to fuel his abilities. When he changed, it would be rapid, accelerated by the sheer threat his opponent posed. He abandoned his handhold and began striding through the flooded streets, towards Leviathan and the others. He’d made a promise to himself. He wouldn’t lose again. Victory, it didn’t matter. But losing? He wouldn’t accept it, not like the loss he’d faced at the hands of the unnamed woman. And that very thought, that certainty, it stirred his power further, as though it were something alive, something other. Another tidal wave hit. Leviathan disappeared in the midst of it, reappearing elsewhere. Lung could hear the destruction as the beast clawed and tore through the base of one building that heroes were perched on. He quickened his pace, felt himself growing stronger as he got closer. The beast was otherwise occupied… this was the time. “You’re going to die!” the Sentai in black and yellow shouted. I’ll never die, Lung thought. I might fall, but I’ll come back again and again. I might falter, but I’ll return with twice the fury. The waves were more frequent now. Buildings here had been built to tight specifications, to remain standing in the face of earthquakes and tsunamis, but it wasn’t enough. Barely a minute passed between the strikes, with each wave reaching further inland than the last, and only a handful of buildings stood at their full height, where there had been a city here only an hour ago. It was in one of those brief moments of respite that the ground shuddered. Lung nearly lost his footing. When he looked up at the night sky, he could see that the tallest standing buildings were swaying, like fronds bending in the wind. Somewhere he couldn’t see in the gloom, a building swayed too far and crashed to the ground. Eidolon backed off, and Alexandria stepped in, flying into close quarters with the beast, battering him. He tried to duck beneath the water, but she broke off to fly beneath, using her strength and the speed of her flight to part the water, cutting off his retreat. He slowed as he entered open air, though slow wasn’t the word. Legend caught him square in the chest, and Leviathan slowed long enough for Alexandria to catch him by the tail. She flew straight up, holding the monster by the tail. Between Leviathan’s dark scales and Alexandria’s black costume, they disappeared in the gloom. Leviathan fell, and the resulting impact was oddly out of sync with his mass. The water in particular seemed to react, a single ripple extending outward, clearing an area around him of any and all water. Lung braced himself, felt the water collide with him with a force like a locomotive, was summarily dragged beneath, trapped, suffocating. Scales pierced his skin, strength surged through him, and his pyrokinesis boiled around him, disrupting the water’s flow, rendering it to steam. Other heroes were pushed back a hundred meters, but Lung was already standing, burning himself dry, advancing on the fight, where Eidolon was again engaging with Leviathan. Another tidal wave struck, barely giving the defending forces time to recover from the last assault. Lung lost his footing, lost another dozen feet of headway. More scales were sprouting, they were growing en masse now. His blood coursed through his veins at twice the usual speed. Fire burned around him perpetually now. He was naked, the burned rags of his clothes swept away by water, and he didn’t care. He was in freefall, of a sort, but it wasn’t the ground waiting for him. It was Leviathan. His flame blasted out to pelt the Endbringer. It didn’t do any substantial damage. Lung ran, and it took him an instant to get used to his newfound strength, to find a stride and a rhythm. The ground was shaking almost constantly, now. The lasers, Eidolon’s strikes, the very impacts of the blows Alexandria delivered, the Sentai’s attacks, the barrages from assisting heroes. A cacaphony of noise, light and violence. He struck Leviathan, and was struck in turn, his bones broken, internal organs smashed. He very nearly blacked out, but his rage won out. He struggled to his feet, found one femur in two distinct pieces. He knelt instead, resting his weight on one knee, the other foot planted on the ground, taloned toes biting into asphalt, and he directed a constant stream of fire at the Endbringer. A flick of Leviathan’s tail sent him sprawling. But Lung knew he’d reached a critical point. His leg was already healing, the changes speeding up. He stopped to hold his leg, pull the bones into what was more or less the right position, so they could bond. Anyone who crosses me will pay twice over, he thought. A Sentai in purple and green offered him a hand. Lung ignored the man, standing on his own. Again, a stream of fire, but the color was more blue than red. The Sentai joined him, adding their ranged fire to his. They had a man who mass produced their armor and weapons, each with wrist-mounted laser guns, rifles at their hips. Sixteen or seventeen of them opened fire with both weapons at the same time. Leviathan turned, struck. Some Sentai used powers to soften or deflect the incoming scythe of water. Leviathan charged, and Lung stepped forward to meet the brute, roared in defiance. He wasn’t strong enough. Leviathan knocked him aside, and Lung rolled, putting taloned hands and feet beneath him before rushing forward, shallow leaps that carried him over the water that was knee-high to the humans. Barely halfway up Lung’s own calves. He found handholds in the shallow wounds on Leviathan’s back and shoulders. The abomination moved, and the watery echo that followed its movements crashed into Lung. Not enough to unseat him. The tidal wave that struck wasn’t enough either, nor Leviathan’s speed as the creature swam. Lung dug deeper, clawed flesh away. Deeper in Leviathan’s body, the flesh was only harder, the ichor making it slick. Lung roared, burned head to toe as he clawed deeper still. If Leviathan’s muscle was as hard as steel, Lung would burn hot enough to melt steel. Leviathan surfaced, and Lung found his way up to the monster’s neck. He tried to reach around, and his arm shifted, reconfiguring to be a fraction longer. Lung’s legs, arms, and talons were growing as well. Stronger, larger. Another man might have been afraid of what he was becoming, but this was only continuing the freefall. Freedom. Leviathan shook him free, and Lung found no trouble in putting his feet under him. His mouth strained, opened wider than it should have, four individual mouthparts flexing, bristling with teeth, his own lips buried somewhere deep inside, altered. Water steamed and boiled around Lung’s calves as he stood as straight as he was able. He’d changed more, his shoulders broadening, his chest heavy with muscle. He had to rest his taloned hands on the ground to maintain his balance. His senses focused on Leviathan like a laser, taking in everything, even the faint creaking of the monster’s movements and the Sentai’s muscles, and the infintesmally small burbles of ichor bubbling forth from Leviathan’s wounds. The ground was rumbling constantly, to the point that the local heroes were starting to seem more concerned about the landscape than about Leviathan. There was a crack, and Lung was put in mind of the gun Daiichi had fired, more than two years ago. A loud sound, a wrong sound. The ground shifted underfoot. Heroes scrambled for cover, scrambled to run or save their friends, and water rushed forth. Lung merely set his taloned toes in the ground, ignoring the water, the debris, and the people that flowed past him. Leviathan charged him. He can’t ignore me now, Lung thought. He was only half the height of the Endbringer, but it was enough. Fire against water, claw against claw. Leviathan hit harder, but Lung healed faster. Every second he fought without Leviathan tearing him in half was a second that was to his advantage. The ground parted, and Lung could hear the water rushing in to fill the void. The landmass had parted, and ocean water was streaming in from miles away. Leviathan tried to drag him closer to the chasm, no doubt wanting to fight in that churning abyss. Lung planted toes in the ground and resisted. Alexandria was there in a heartbeat, helping, keeping Leviathan from finding his way inside. She drove the monster back, bought Lung purchase. She said something in English, but Lung didn’t know the language. The only others who spoke Japanese or Chinese were gone, now. They’d evacuated who they could, and the remainder were left to drown. The only ones left were the indomitable, and for now, Lung was among them. They fought to keep Leviathan from continuing his rampage, to keep him from carrying on until he’d wiped away all of Japan. Lung just fought. Fought for minutes, hours. Fought until four wings extended from his back, and he burned so hot that the steel-like flesh just beneath Leviathan’s skin was blackening and charring to ash by proximity alone. Until he was larger than Leviathan, until even Alexandria hesitated to get too close. For that indeterminate period of time, Lung was king of the world. But he began to weaken. The lesser heroes were gone, washed away or helping others to evacuate, the greater heroes a distance away. And Lung had nothing to fuel his power. He was engaged in a fight of ten times the scale he’d been in before, and his power was leaving him. The landmass disappeared beneath the pair of them, the shards of land drawn beneath the waves, and Lung was now fighting Leviathan in the monster’s home ground. For an instant, he thought he would die. But Leviathan, wounded, broke away and fled into the depths. Lung only sank, too dense to float, growing wearier by the second as his power left him, the fight over. He’d expected a feeling of satisfaction, but he knew he hadn’t delivered a killing blow, that he had been a long, long way from it, though he’d done more damage than anyone had in years. His enemy couldn’t be killed. Lung had become something more terrifying than the Endbringer, but there had been nobody to see. None of the public to recognize him, to respect and fear him. He sank, feeling a kind of despair. Too tired to move, he touched bottom. Alexandria found him in the depths and brought him to the surface. The walls of the C.U.I. prison loomed around him. Lung fumed, but his power was denied him. He paced, punched walls, burned the concrete with his power. All around him, the area was pockmarked with the wounds that marked his periodic struggles. They’d had him in regular cells before. It had been a learning process for them. He’d found that surviving in a prison like this involved being a true monster, so he’d bowed his head to one boss. When this boss had discovered what he was capable of, he’d attacked another leader in the prison. The ensuing war had ended with Lung being placed in higher security, until he fought the man who’d brought him food, very nearly escaping before Tōng Líng Tǎ, who never showed herself, encased him in a mountain of stone. All in all, three years since he’d fought Leviathan. Two years since he and his mother had come here to Chaohu. A year and eight months since he’d been arrested by the Yàngbǎn. A year and four months since Tōng Líng Tǎ had buried him here at the base of this pit, with the same routine. Twice a day, he would get two packages with food. Every day, he would pace, trying to tap into his abilities, finding them beyond his reach. He would struggle, fume, scream, and wonder if he was going mad with the solitude. Sometimes it rained, and he found himself knee deep in water. Sometimes it was cold enough he couldn’t sleep. Always, he was here, in a pit so deep that the hole at the top looked no larger than his handspan when he held his hand overhead. Every seven days, Tōng Líng Tǎ used her powers on the walls. The floor, she left alone, but the walls were wiped clean, her power to manipulate stone turning the four impossibly tall walls of Lung’s cell into flawlessly smooth surfaces. She would absorb any and all of the trash that remained from his meals, any of the wildlife that had accidentally found their way into the pit, and all of Lung’s leavings, which he customarily left in one corner of his cell. Every fourteen days, like clockwork, the Yàngbǎn opened communications. Lung was waiting, waiting for Tōng Líng Tǎ to use her power. Like a ripple traveling over the surface of water, he could see her power extend down the walls of his cell. It touched the base of the wall and traveled along the floor. Lung didn’t resist as the ground swept over his legs, trapping him from the knee down. They appeared, descending from above, floating. Two of them this time. They made no mention of his lack of clothes or his shaggy hair. Both wore identical uniforms, red jackets and pants, their red masks turning their faces into overlarge, featureless gemstones with coverings over their ears At each of their shoulders, there was a number. One-six and two-seven. Not ones he’d met before. No names. No identities. “Will you join us?“ Always, the same questions, always in Chinese. He didn’t answer. “The American heroes approached you. What deals did you strike?“ Again, he didn’t answer. He’d tried to tell them the truth, that he’d told the heroes to go away. The Endbringers couldn’t die. There was no point to fighting them. Twice they had approached him with better deals, promising him the world, but he’d turned them down twice in turn. He’d considered the idea of taking the third offer, but then he’d followed his mother to the C.U.I. states and lost touch with the Americans. Not a real concern. “You will stay here until you answer our questions.” “I will join,” he told them. They exchanged a glance between them. He moved one hand and saw them flinch. They wouldn’t burn any more than the other Yàngbǎn members had, but they still feared him. It made him feel better than anything in the past long months. “The Yàngbǎn is the solution,” the taller of the two said. “You agree this is truth?” “No,” Lung said. “That is a shame.” “I want out of here,” Lung told them. “That is all. If I must kneel, I will.” “We need to hear the right answers before we can go any further. We will come again in two weeks time and we will ask you again. If you give us the answer we require, we can move on to the next step.” And, Lung thought, carry down the chain of questions, steps, and procedures until I fail. You will break me and brainwash me until I am one of you. Worst of all, they would take his powers, most of them, and give him others in turn. This was the reason they imprisoned him, the reason they sought to break him. He would risk it, and accept the offer. He would do whatever they required of him, and then he would kill whoever he needed to and escape. With every defeat, a matching ascent. “The ‘Azn Bad Boys’ is a shit name,” Bakuda said. Lung didn’t react, staring at her. “It was the name of the group I joined when I came to America.” “See, that’s what I don’t get. You’re a badass, fine. You tested the waters, took on a whole team of local heroes, and you walked away. Right?” “I fought Armsmaster, Dauntless, Miss Militia, Velocity, Challenger, Assault and Battery,” he said. “Yes.” “Except you’re small time. You’ve got all this power, and what do you have to show for it?” “Fear,” he said. “I don’t fear you,” Bakuda said. Her pale blue eyes stared at Lung, unflinching. “You will,” he answered her. She shrugged. She paced, looking around the building. Two of Lung’s whores sat on a couch, looking distinctly uncomfortable, as if they didn’t know how to hold themselves, the pose to take. “There are two kinds of fear, Bakuda,” Lung said. “The first is common. Fear of the unknown. A questioning fear.” “Uh huh,” she said. He could tell he had her attention. “This is fear of unanswered questions. If I fought him, would I win? How is he going to hurt me? Who or what is he?” “And the other kind?” “A fear of knowing. Of realities. If I fight him, I lose. I know him, and I quiver to be in his presence. I know he will hurt me and I know it will be the worst pain imaginable.” Bakuda didn’t reply. “I have found that the first is a weak fear. It breaks. It ends when you have answers, when others give you their support. The other? It is a fear that breeds itself. It is a disease, and it only gets stronger when you fight it and fail. I have situated myself here to engender that kind of fear. The residents know me. Those I want for my gang, I take. My influence grows, and my enemies know not to cross me, because I always have my vengeance.” “But the ‘Azn Bad Boys’?” “A reminder, to my enemies, of what I’ve done before, what I could do again.” Bakuda frowned. “I defeated many gangs, many groups. Some had powered members, others did not. I recruited some. Oni Lee was one. The rest I killed.” “And the heroes didn’t stop you?” “The heroes see me as a double-edged sword. They fear me. They know what I am capable of when the situation calls for it, they know I am too strong to defeat as a group. For now, I wait. They leave me be because the only aggression they can see is that I inflict on other criminals, and I amass power, swelling in reputation.” “And the fact that you, a halfbreed, recruited me, a halfbreed, and built a gang of a bajillion different races, it’s totally not a freudian thing, tying back to some childhood issues.” “No,” Lung growled. Bakuda only smiled. “And what happens down the road?” “I have enemies,” Lung thought. “Those who have slighted me, those who have won.” “Like Leviathan?” Lung shook his head. “Leviathan, I beat, if you can even call it an enemy. It is a force of nature. No, I speak of other enemies, insults old and new. I will defeat each of them in turn, and then I will rule.” The woman in the suit, the Yàngbǎn. “So petty. And you want me to help?” “You will help,” Lung said. “Because you think like I do. In terms of power and fear.” Bakuda took a seat at the end of the couch. The two whores inched away from her. She smiled at that. “Alright. You got me.” “…and that’s the gist of it,” Amelia said. Lung watched Teacher’s expression change as he considered the idea. The man seemed so ordinary, so unassuming. To hear the man talk about it, he’d been one of the foremost criminal masterminds until the heroes trumped up charges against him. “I might not be explaining it right,” Amelia said, “How my power works, hard to interpret. But I think I’ve worked it out.” “I can see where it makes sense to you,” Teacher said. “But for those of us with no conception of these power granting entities, we don’t have enough solid ground to found the idea on.” Amelia frowned. Teacher shook his head. “There’s holes in your logic. The Endbringers?” “I don’t see how they fit in,” she admitted. “A developmental step forward?” “No,” Amelia said. “A step backwards, then?” “No. At least, I don’t think so. Something else entirely.” “To be frank,” Teacher said, “I don’t know whether to hope you’re right or wrong.” “It’s both,” Amelia said. “It’s bad, but at least we know how bad.” “With nothing we can do about it until someone lets us out,” Teacher said. Amelia frowned. She rested her elbows on her knees, as she sat on the edge of Marquis’ bed. Plastic crinkled with the movement. The tattoo artist who was working on her arms had scrounged up plastic sheets from the meals that came down the shafts, sterilizing them and then taping them in place. The freshest tattoos and the irritated flesh around the markings were blurry just beneath. Panacea had complained about how idiotic it was, because she couldn’t get sick, but any artist had their rules and peculiarities, and Marquis had told her to accept them. “Well,” Marquis said. “It’s food for thought. I’d suggest a breakout attempt, given how grave this all seems, but we know how that tends to go.” “Yes,” Teacher agreed. “Our deal stands? You won’t replace my dentists or doctors?” “That wasn’t the deal,” Marquis chided. “We’ll price match. A little competition will keep your employees honest.” Teacher frowned. “It’s the best deal I’m willing to-” Marquis stopped short. Lung turned to see Spruce at the entryway into the cell. “Hey, boss,” Spruce said. “What is it?” Marquis asked. Spruce gave him a curious look before turning back to Marquis, “Big news. TV.” Lung took his time walking down to the televisions. Marquis, Spruce and Amelia made their way down, where a crowd had gathered to watch. It was rare, that the same thing would be on all of the working televisions. “It was due to a concerted effort this evening that we were able to stop Alexandria before more damage could be done.” “What’s this?” Amelia asked. She gave Lung a nervous glance as he approached. “Alexandria bit it,” Cinderhands said. With that, each of the new arrivals turned their attention to the screen. “…will recognize Taylor Hebert, revealed to be Skitter in a controversial confrontation at the school just a week ago, a confrontation Alexandria ordered. Taylor Hebert played a crucial role in stopping Alexandria in a moment of crisis, ending the fight.” “No shitting way,” Panacea said. Lung remained quiet. “She’s the one who arrested you, isn’t she?” Cinderhands asked, looking over his shoulder at Lung. “No,” Lung said. “We fought twice, I was arrested by others.” “But she beat you?” Cinderhands asked. “Shush, C.H.,” Marquis said. ”It marks change, and it marks a step forward. A chance to fight Endbringers and other threats without sabotage, without worrying who stands beside us, or whether our leadership is compromised.” “Anyone else thinking that we really should get a chance to appeal our cases?” someone in the crowd asked. “If the organization is this fucked up, the arrests can’t count.” “Yes,” Marquis said, his tone condescending, “I’m quite sure the Protectorate will be apologizing to the public, then they’ll throw open the Birdcage’s doors and let us all loose.” “…hope. We’ve investigated the portal to another world, and confirmed that there are resources and even shelter, a possibility of escape in a time of emergency…” “And new allies, as unlikely as they might be.” Panacea stared as the girl on the television stepped forward at Chevalier’s bidding, She removed the black sweatshirt and pants the PRT had issued her, revealing a costume of white and gray beneath. Amelia’s hands went to her mouth. Marquis glanced at Amelia. Lung took that glance in all it’s import. The two girls were opposite sides of the same coin. Lung’s eyes fixed on the new heroine, then narrowed. “I admitted to reprehensible things. I won’t challenge that, or pretend I didn’t say or do those things. By all rights, I should go to jail. I may serve a sentence, if the courts will it. I won’t challenge that.” “is it reassuring?” Teacher murmured. Lung turned, realizing that Teacher was talking to him. “Why would it be?” “You lost to her, but she’s strong enough to defeat Alexandria. Less of a wound to your ego?” “I lost once,” Lung said. “An underhanded trick, but a loss. I’ll credit her that.” “Mm hmm,” Teacher replied, wordlessly. The girl continued, “I seized a territory in Brockton Bay. I led the local villains, and we defeated all comers. I was secure in my position. I had wealth, friendship, love and respect. People depended on me. It was everything I’d ever wanted, if not quite the way I’d initially imagined it. I could have stayed and been comfortable. Except there are bigger things. More important things.” “She was stronger before,” Lung spoke his thoughts aloud. “More powerful? Likely,” Teacher said. “Stronger? I wonder.” Lung shook his head. “I believe in the idea of a new PRT that Chevalier is talking about. I believe in it enough that I was willing to turn myself in and take action to bring it to fruition. That I was willing to leave everything I had behind. If I have to serve time in jail first, then so be it. If I face the Birdcage… I hope I don’t. But at least I could tell myself that seeing the supervillain step up might convince others to come back. Change the minds of heroes who gave up on the PRT for one reason or another.” “Noble,” Marquis said. “Foolish at the same time, but the line between the noble and the fool is a thin one, or even a matter of perspective.” “On this, we may agree,” Lung rumbled. “I’ll endeavor to see that as something other than a veiled insult,” Marquis said. “This is what I want to do, above all else. Given the chance, I’ll serve the people. As I fought Leviathan, the Slaughterhouse Nine and other evils, I’ll fight to the last gasp to protect all of you. When- …When and if I do take up the job, you can call me Weaver.” The broadcast ended, with news reporters discussing the fallout, reiterating details. The noise of it was broken down by singing, echoing through the Birdcage. A dirge. The yellow feathered girl who was in the truck, Lung thought to himself. “That’s for Alexandria, I imagine,” Marquis said aloud. “Undeserved, I think, but I imagine Lustrum gave her cell block a very good reason to honor the woman.” “I wouldn’t have imagined you’d care,” Teacher commented. “I don’t, really,” Marquis answered. “But I have a lot of respect for people who keep to a particular code, whatever that code might be, and very little for traitors and wafflers. “Like this new ‘Weaver’?” Teacher asked. “I would defer to my daughter’s opinion on that. She knew Weaver.” Amelia frowned. “She’s… both? She’s stuck to her own personal code, even when it made her a traitor.” “I see,” Marquis mused, rubbing his chin. Lung frowned. All nonsense, and none of it mattered. That was out there, this was here. “A word, Lung?” Teacher asked. Lung nodded. Anything to get away from this intolerable talk of morality and this singing. His cell wouldn’t afford much relief, but it would be a touch quieter. They departed, but Teacher led the way out of Marquis’ cell block, rather than to Lung’s cell. “I believe I can be useful to you,” Teacher said. “You have nothing to give me,” Lung said. He bristled at the implication. “You know how my power works, yes?” “You make others smarter.” “I turn others into lesser Thinkers, into Tinkers.” “At the cost of their independence.” “Not something I want,” Lung said. “You have strength, good instincts on a primal level, and all the potential in the world. Yet you’ve failed here and there. You’re here, after all.” “And so are you,” Lung said. Teacher nodded. “Exactly my point. Think on that for a moment. We’re almost to my cell block, now.” “You were captured because you lacked muscle,” Lung said, “I was captured because…” Lung didn’t like the implication. Of a lack of brains? “Because of your incompetent underlings,” Teacher finished for him. “Who escalated the feud with the heroes into a war while you were incarcerated, leaving you to sustain what they had started. And, more apropos to our conversation, because your power has a drawback. It requires a certain mental state.” “Amelia, Marquis’ girl, she won’t fix that.” “I wouldn’t let her,” Lung said. “Because it involves tampering with your brain,” Teacher said. “My offer is… less invasive. We can break down that barrier, give you the ability to control when you change.” “At the cost of my identity,” Lung said. “No.” “A temporary cost to your willpower,” Teacher said. He extended a hand, welcoming Lung into his cell block. There was no conversation in Teacher’s cell block. The residents were neat, tidy, and well groomed. Some seemed functional, reading on their own or watching television. Others were more disabled. Lung could see one individual rocking in place, tapping something out on a table. Another was walking in small, tight circles. “My groupthink,” Teacher said. “Rest assured, I wouldn’t subject you to something this grave. We would dig deep enough to discover the true nature of your power, fast enough that you didn’t feel the side effects at their worst. Then we would use what is effectively a hypnotic state to unlock your power as it truly should be, effectively a second trigger event. If Amelia is right, the entity that grants you your power will resist… but we can get around that.” Lung frowned. “There is no point.” “There is every point! Come. I’ll show you. But first you need to tell me, are you and Marquis friends?” “Peers, then.” Lung considered the word. There were some that came up in English that he still wasn’t quite familiar with. “Yes.” “Then you’ll keep a secret?” Teacher asked. “I will keep a secret,” Lung answered. “Good, good.” Teacher led Lung to one TV in the row. “Trickster?” Lung arched an eyebrow. Trickster… the name rung a bell. It didn’t matter. “Connect,” Teacher said. Trickster reached up to the power button on the television, then began a sequence of turning it on and off, with very specific pauses. A code. The sequence was still going on when Teacher said, “Stop. Leave it on.” The screen showed a face, the image grainy, flickering. The face had a tattoo of a cross on it. “Lung, meet Saint,” Teacher said. Lung didn’t answer. “He speaks when we give him something to say,” Teacher said. “But I may have been too eager to find a way of contacting the outside world, and I’ve irritated him. Saint explained what happened. The PRT showed him Dragon’s equipment, asked if he could commandeer it, and Saint found an opportunity to insert a discreet backdoor. He has a channel in, a way to observe, but our channel out is poor at best.” “This matters nothing to me.” “It matters a great deal,” Teacher said. “Saint can see what Dragon sees, even if he’s blocked off from the Birdcage itself, while Dragon is occupied elsewhere. It buys us a window of opportunity to communicate something, a message in code. The program that Dragon has observing us with every moment tracks the activity of our televisions. Turn it on, turn it off, and do it in a systematic enough way, and patterns emerge in a way that Saint can observe. This allows us to coordinate. He can’t rescue us, or empty the Birdcage, but, we could do something. We could communicate with the outside world, and with the hypothesis that Amelia has posed… well, that’s a world changing set of information, don’t you imagine?” Lung didn’t speak. “The alternative, Lung, is that we unlock your power, and we use other information that Saint has collected through his backdoor. We use it to leave the Birdcage.” “To escape?” Teacher shook his head. “We wait, and we let things devolve to the point that they are willing to open the door and let us go, for the assistance we can give. Dragon has files dictating scenarios in that vein.” “They will not let us go free,” Lung said. “Not the true monsters.” “Most likely not. It’s a question: do we gamble, or do we take a modicum of comfort in knowing we’ve perhaps saved the world a great deal of grief and maintained the status quo? The way things are, if you’re not familiar with that particular phrase.” Lung folded his arms. “I have no attachment to the current state of things.” “Then you agree? I should tell Saint to bury the information, maybe push events here and there, if it means we could go free?” Lung nodded. “And your power? If I-” “My power will be left alone,” Lung said. “It is enough. If you want a bodyguard for a time after we’ve walked free, you will have it. I will keep your secret about this Saint for now.” “Alas,” Teacher said. “But I’ll take the offer. By the time this comes through, I’ll have a small army of parahumans at my disposal. Some will be… under my sway, but I’d rather have your feral instincts to offset my own wit than have you as a slave.” “I would kill you for trying,” Lung replied. “You use your power on me, I will see you dead for it.” “Very well,” Teacher answered. He smiled. “I’ll have Trickster pass on a message to Saint, then. We’ll scrub Dragon’s records of this conversation, and any cases Amelia has talked of the power-granting entities, and we’ll leave a request, perhaps. I have large sums of money stashed away. That should be enough to convince Saint to perhaps set some events in motion, in the hopes that things sour just enough that they might open the Birdcage’s doors.” Lung nodded. “Do what you must. I only care for our deal. I walk free, I will assist you for a time thereafter. The other things do not matter to me.” “Very well.” Teacher extended a hand, and Lung shook it. Lung turned to leave. As with the Yàngbǎn, he would stay with Teacher until he had what he needed: freedom. Then the man would die. The woman in the black suit, the Yàngbǎn, Skitter, and now Teacher. People he would have his revenge on, at a later date. People who had looked down on him, who had tried to manipulate him. He could feel his power rippling under his skin. Against Leviathan, he’d waited hours before engaging the beast, had fought longer than he ever had. Now that he knew he might leave… this would be a two year buildup. The scale of the event Teacher had spoken of? That Amelia had alluded to? Fear and power beyond anything he’d ever experienced, freedom without limits. That very idea gave Lung a taste of that exhiliration he hadn’t experienced for so long. Lung returned to Marquis’ cell block. Marquis and Amelia were sitting at one table, drinking green tea and conversing with one another. Marquis glanced at Lung, then poured out another mug of green tea without asking. He gestured to the bench opposite, slid the mug in Lung’s direction. Acceptance, the idea caught Lung by surprise. He had a place here, odd as it was, as different as he and Marquis were. Bakuda had taunted him over how he’d sought a kind of connection to others, how he’d recruited his gang to fill a void. At the same time he found himself thinking of the restrictions he’d faced in school as a youth, the joys of rebellion, the Yàngbǎn and everything they’d threatened to take from him. If there was a middle ground between acceptance and conformity, was this it? “Marquis,” Lung spoke, carefully. “Hm?” Marquis quirked an eyebrow. Teacher is working to undermine everything you and your daughter are striving for, Lung thought. “The tea is good. Thank you.” “Quite welcome,” Marquis replied, absently. And Lung fell silent. This entry was posted in 22.y (Donation Bonus #1) and tagged Alexandria, Bakuda, Contessa, Doctor Mother, Eidolon, Legend, Lung, Marquis, Panacea, Teacher, Trickster, Yàngbǎn by wildbow. Bookmark the permalink. 387 thoughts on “Interlude 22 (Donation Bonus #1)” This one wound up being long, and there was an issue with formatting (parsing text). 9k words. Brutal. Thanks for reading. Votes on Topwebfiction very much appreciated (dropped from 450, which was mindblowing, to 160 as of the time of this comment.) Don on May 21, 2013 at 00:33 said: a link: http://topwebfiction.com/. FIRST POST TYPO THREAD! Lung took that glance in all it’s import. Also, I’d maybe have written it as “Marquis glanced at Amelia; Lung took that glance in all its import.”, as opposed to “Marquis glanced at Amelia. Lung took that glance in all its import.” But then we’re moving out of the realm of typos and over to personal writing style, so that’s pretty much irrelevant. JN on May 21, 2013 at 00:33 said: good instincts on a primal leve, FarFromUnique on May 21, 2013 at 00:41 said: rocking in plack -> rocking in place Gonzo on May 21, 2013 at 00:48 said: “Lung could see one individual rocking in plack, tapping something out on a table. ” Should that say place? Or is rocking in plack a term I’m not familiar with? Passin' Through on May 21, 2013 at 00:52 said: There’s a response from Lung missing right in there. comickry on May 21, 2013 at 01:08 said: There’s holes in logic. The Endbringers?” (in your logic?) “Exactly my point. Think on that for a moment. We’re almost to my cell block, now. (quotation marks missing, not a case of paragraph jumping monologue) The scale of event Teacher had spoken of? (scale of events?) Crow on May 21, 2013 at 01:20 said: “good instincts on a primal leve, and . . .” Thanks, Wildbow! Charles on May 21, 2013 at 03:04 said: The rooms here had thick walls and a wooden door, rather than the traditional paper. Kenta was stronger than Ren, so he was the one to tear the paper door down from the wall. Door goes from wood to paper, might want to check that out. Peter O on May 21, 2013 at 16:35 said: Needs capitalization. Nth_X on May 21, 2013 at 19:28 said: infintesmally small burbles – should be “infinitesimally” Kat on May 21, 2013 at 21:44 said: “This was something else. It was was both thrilling and terrifying” Double ‘was’. Ristridin on May 22, 2013 at 02:04 said: “That very idea gave Lung a taste of that exhiliration he hadn’t experienced for so long.” Exhiliration should be exhilaration. Packbat on July 9, 2013 at 23:14 said: Missing closequote after “wafflers”. Truthseeker on January 14, 2015 at 21:53 said: “cacaphony” should be cacophony. MytharGT on January 20, 2018 at 22:30 said: “Leviathan couldn’t attack from range, and couldn’t get close without getting pummeled” Leviathan should be Lung Keno Black on May 21, 2013 at 00:02 said: Ninja’d. 😉 By tenths of a second, bugger. =P Tenths of a second. Rika Covenant on May 21, 2013 at 00:02 said: You guys. rolls eyes Kinda feel like saying, “you started it!” here… I sacrificed myself to WIldbow! They’re just throwing up random comments. 😡 Charles Borner on May 21, 2013 at 00:02 said: Totally NOT first post! Lies. This IS the first post you wrote for this interlude. It’s the first post of the rest of your life. It’s the first post following Rika’s eye rolling. It’s the first post written by a non-site-author that I’ve commented on. I was here. It was. Wildbow just has the power to rewrite time amongst comments. Neither here nor there now. =) KILLROY! Do you mean ‘Kilroy’, as in ‘Kilroy was here?’ shanipribadi on May 21, 2013 at 00:03 said: yes, yes, yesss!!! cue thunderstorms and lightnings. Very, very frightening Gallileo. Shit, I tried to make it a smaller font size. Figaro? johnwedd on May 21, 2013 at 02:38 said: i’m just a poor Worm nobody loves me…. It’s just a poor Worm, from a poor cycle Matthew K on May 21, 2013 at 03:17 said: Entire population of the Bridcage: “Oh let me go-oh-oh-oh!” From the Comments Section* Beelzebub has a, devil put aside for me, for me for meeee-eeeee! The Sandman on May 21, 2013 at 06:41 said: So you think you can stomp me and spit in my eye? Edit: So you think you can beat me and gouge out my ey-es alexanderthesoso on May 21, 2013 at 16:51 said: Spare us this wait, for the next felony! Althalus on May 21, 2013 at 00:27 said: Sinister deeds are afoot in the Birdcage. dirty deeds, done dirt cheap… For a cigarette, to be exact. The tea is good. Lung will drink the tea. The tea will go down Lung’s throat hole and be digested. The tea is good. All is right with the world. pallandrome on May 21, 2013 at 00:39 said: Special delivery for the Gecko: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATLKQQI I suspect that tea being good swayed more than one man to friendship. I very much want Marquis on Team Taylor before all is said and done. Alas, this will probably require the demise of Lung. Which is sad, because he’s awesome too. Indeed, those two are among my favorite characters now. One of the things I love about this story is how you can have a character like Lung, who seems like a standard, two dimensional brute of a villain (not necessarily a Brute, though he is that too) but is slowly revealed to be a fully formed (if maybe emotionally stunted) person. Brilliant. I take my tea sweet as morning dew to green plants Lung’s momma is fat. Leave it to Gecko to write a horrible Haiku, ending with a “yo momma” facepalm Head down the page, dude. It gets worse. Much worse, you know? At least for Lung, man. hedelex on March 13, 2014 at 23:45 said: Great haiku 😀 And yeah, tea is a lie 😦 hedelex on January 16, 2019 at 22:58 said: did Lol at the office The tea is a lie, and so’s the cake. No One in Particular on May 21, 2013 at 01:05 said: What?! They promised me that if I came to the birdcage, I’d get cake! Was the cake a lie?! At least you get grief counseling. And combustable lemons. I’m not sure if either Burnscar/Labyrinth or Sundancer/Genesis is a pairing I’d have thought of before now. Well, to each their own, I suppose. … Uh, did you mean to post that somewhere else, because I don’t really see /how/ you got that out of my Portal references. You do know what a lemon is in fanfic terms, right? Packbat on May 21, 2013 at 20:25 said: > … Uh, did you mean to post that somewhere else, because I don’t really see /how/ you got that out of my Portal references. In fanfic circles, a “lemon” is a story with explicit sexual content. Incidentally, I recommend setting the aforementioned Sundancer/Genesis story post-Echidna, with Mars going over to Jess’s house to talk about the time they spent as Travelers. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, that Pinto is in mint condition and nothing is going to explode on it! Yay! Lemons are tasty. I’m gonna burn your ship down. With the lemons! The cake wasn’t a lie, it’s just that they only had three bits, and they didn’t expect such a rush. You should have chosen “death”, no line there! Delta on January 13, 2014 at 08:27 said: Don’t take Tailor’s cake, or you’ll be COVERED IN BEES!!! I would not be even slightly surprised if there were Portal references strewn throughout the Birdcage. Like a door labeled “Emergency Prisoner Release and Cake Dispensary”, or the walls of the vacuum room being covered in “the cake is a lie”. Miloptheny on May 21, 2013 at 00:31 said: Ah, dammit. Why couldn’t we tune in early enough to hear Amelia’s explanation? Complete tease: “..and that’s the gist of it.” My thoughts exactly! I was wondering if I’d missed something. Glassware on May 21, 2013 at 00:34 said: Damn it, Lung, sabotage Teacher! You know you want to, and you hate him anyway! Marquis has been actually respectful of you! Lung appears to be a lot more powerful than thought. The PRT really screwed up by contacting Saint. I guess this interlude means that Taylor won’t go into the birdcage, the birdcage will come to her at some point. Funny – to me, he’s now LESS powerful than I thought. He has an upper limit on his fight stamina, for one thing. Granted, it’s a very high limit, but I had no previous indication that he’d possessed a limit at all. I agree, the Birdcage is going to open up in a big way – probably after the Slaughterhouse 9000’s big reveal. He doesn’t have an upper limit. For me, it was the opposite. I now see what TAylor did on her first night out and during the whole Empire fiasco that much more amazing. She took down a guy who has fought Endbringers to a standstill, and even if I’d read it before, it didn’t really sink in until I read this. boballab on May 21, 2013 at 01:35 said: And this chapter just reinforces what I said for the last couple chapters: Alexandria was “Too Stupid to Live”. She was there, she personally saw Lung stand toe to toe with Leviathan. She absolutely 100% knew just what kind of threat Lung is and she knew that Skitter took Lung out on Skitters first night in costume; and she still thought she could handle her after she has had lots and lots of experience against not one but 3 Class S threats. Four. Noelle wasn’t officially S-class, but we all know that was politics. fghjconner on December 15, 2014 at 12:32 said: Noelle was upgraded to S-class after being trapped in the underground base, and I believe she was included in his count (Leviathan, S9, and Echidna, am I forgetting anyone?). Zephyr on October 12, 2013 at 18:16 said: Skitter would not have had a chance against Lung at the stage where he can challenge Leviathan. She attacked him before a battle, before he could use his power to become epic. It is NOT the same thing. I agree. Alexandria really should’ve known better. Even discounting the first fight, the second time they fought he was already into winged mode. She really shouldn’t have underestimated the ingenuity of that girl. > Four. Noelle wasn’t officially S-class, but we all know that was politics. Echidna was upgraded to S-class around the time that Tattletale buried her in Coil’s base. And she’s included in the three — Skitter never encountered Nilbog, Sleeper, or either of the other Endbringers. @boballab Alexandria<Endbringers=Super!Lung<FirstNightOut!Skitter So there’s some reason why he felt his power leave him during his fight against Leviathan? That is peculiar. This is my question. There is certainly some kind of limit on his stamina, you describe it clearly during his fight against Leviathan. I’d assumed it was an upper cap – perhaps of the ‘not enough threat to keep growing’ variety, but still one significant enough that he couldn’t nail down Leviathan completely. Now you’re saying there isn’t one? I’m saying there isn’t a physical cap, defined by his power. There might be a mental one, though. In the fight against Leviathan Lung took note of the absence of spectators, or rather witnesses. His desire is freedom, and one way to gain freedom is being feared or respected enough no-one dare to cross your path. Once Lung got close to Endfighter-class in power, no-one saw him anymore, or at least no-one who counted in his mind. The capes, or some of them, sure, but not the general populace. He’d get grudging respect by them, them being aware of his threat level, but he wanted that from everyone. And without witnesses… I mean, no-one mentioned Lung or a dragon fighting Leviathan to a stand-still in story, so it’s obviously not common knowledge (observer bias not-withstanding). What I’m getting at, if Lung had continued fighting Endbringers, he might have gained the kind of notoriety he was looking for. So, yeah. His limits are psychological, not due to a lack of power. dudu on March 30, 2015 at 10:46 said: Bakuda knew about it, and she isn’t anyone special. I said this as a response to another comment but will add it again here: Lung NEEDS others around for his power to work. Re-read where his power wanes against Leviathan and it is stated very clearly. This is in my mind confirmed by how the CUI was able to hold him: They isolated him in a very deep pit. Notice that he isn’t able to blast handholds in the walls and climb out, he can barely chip the walls and it only gets repaired on a weekly basis. he was bigger and meaner than leviathon at that point. Leviation wasn’t fighting back anymore. no fight, no power. It’s been written before that Lung’s powers only grow stronger the longer he’s fighting. When an opponent is actively retreating, that’s usually the primary sign that the fight is over. When that happened, Lung’s powers were no longer in effect, and started to wane. If he could find that one opponent, that group of spectators that refused to back down, and continued to fight the metal dragon? We don’t know where the limits could be, or whom could possibly stop him. Aside from the Skitter…sorry, WEAVER choking hazard, at least. Reveen on May 21, 2013 at 01:14 said: So I guess he doesn’t just change when you fight him? He needs to be put in progressively more danger over time to build up the “high”? Once he becomes to much for Leviathan, he starts running out of steam? Kinda of a shitty caveat, if you think about it. His power ensures he will always be strong than his opponents, but never TOO strong. Someguy on May 21, 2013 at 02:35 said: So Lung’s the opposite of Night in that he’s an Exhibitionist? He gets stronger the longer he fights & the angrier he gets but still needs other people watching him in order to maintain his state and on the flipside, the stronger he gets the less safe it is for people to be close enough to matter? Bester on May 21, 2013 at 13:24 said: I took it to mean that his power is fueled by other nearby capes, sort of leaching. In the absence of other capes to fuel his power, it sputters out. The more capes there are around, the more quickly his power ramps up. This is why he has been able to fight so many teams to a standstill, the more capes (and thus the bigger the threat generally), the faster his power gains critical mass. A single, extremely powerful cape (like Alexandria or Legend) would likely be able to take him apart before he could gain enough critical mass. My guess, based solely on the line where he says he prepared for hours before the Leviathan fight and will now prepare for two years, is that he can only transform for as long as he charged beforehand. One of the major threats at the end of the world will probably be a dragon that eats Endbringers. Incidentally, I suspect that the Slaughterhouse Nine Hundred (ten of almost every member, but there were probably only ever around ninety members total) will be one of the five sides that Dinah mentioned, and that Teacher’s Army will be another. I had initially thought it would be four or five Endbringers and maybe groups of parahumans with powers similar to theirs, but now find that unlikely. Maybe the Endbringers, Cauldron, and the remaining heroes and villains are the others. The relative numbers seem off, though, so I’m probably missing something. Oh, and Zion can’t or won’t intervene in the endwar, or else he would probably be able to stomp all sides before the death toll ever gets that high. More accurately, there is a chance that he never intervenes sufficiently, as whenever he shows up precogs shut down completely. Maybe the reason anyone survives is that he protects them? No, wait, that doesn’t work. Maybe Zion leaves when Kevin dies, maybe because he tries to follow Kevin. We actually see Contessa fight for the first time here, and the fact that she doesn’t attack Endbringers makes me suspect that she’s like the black suited Sentai in that she has a power that only works on humans. And that it wouldn’t work on Endbringers with help from Tinker weapons or Butcher’s powers, or else Cauldron is dangerously stupid. I wonder which Trump the Yangban has, and wonder how different Contessa’s power is from the Number Man’s. It works faster, for one, and seems more exclusively suited to combat. chrismcdanielwriter on July 23, 2016 at 13:23 said: I remember hearing something about Hulk that might tie into why Lung started waning. The guy was talking about how Hulk’s power is technically infinite, but it requires him to be infinitely angry to access it all. The human mind can only be in fight or flight mode for so long before the adrenaline starts waning, because the threat hasn’t gone away or killed you yet, so the mind starts getting apathetic about the danger. Lung was immensely powerful, but Leviathan wasn’t stopping. He says it while talking to Bakuda “Leviathan, I beat, if you can even call it an enemy. It is a force of nature.” He was slowing it, he was stopping it even, but he wasn’t actually hurting it. It was inevitable, like stopping the tides. So Lung’s power started waning, the fight was leaving him, because mentally he realized that this wasn’t a thing to fight, it was a thing that simply existed and caused damage. You can’t fight and overcome Hurricanes or Tornadoes either. Or someone who can drop you a couple hundred feet below the surface and just completely ignore you and repair any damage you caused. You don’t fight walls or lifting equipment either, they wouldn’t trigger his transformation. Or perhaps the spectator theory works, but that seems at odds with how his power is talked about. Surely there was a fight he had where he transformed significantly while against only a single opponent, alone with just the two of them. Horatio Von Becker on July 26, 2016 at 11:59 said: Like, for example, his first appearance? I suppose he had a number of gangmembers in attendance, but as I recall none of them were really up to talking at the time. (Or more pertinently, watching. Although some probably were.) Yeah, that fits. Skitter was watching, but he wasn’t fully aware of her. He was aware of his gang, but they were being swarmed, not really paying much attention to him. Marquis, saying what every reader is thinking. Love that guy. …well, I’m waiting for everything to go to hell in a hand basket, so this will probably be the dropping of the other shoe, if it happens. The way Worm is going, well, I’m not sure if the creature dropping shoes has only two feet. Centipedes are wearing the shoes. Well, sixty of them, stitched together by Bonesaw. That should be enough shoes. I hope, That… depends. There are centipedes with significantly more than sixty pairs of legs. You guys are thinking of millipedes. Centipedes barely have a few dozen pairs of legs. Millipedes have four legs per body segment and centipedes only have two, so centipedes tend to have less legs but it varies a lot by species ~30-300 for centipedes and generally 36-400 for millipedes – though there’s one species that has as many as 750. Freak King on May 21, 2013 at 14:37 said: It would be hilarious if he was right. only, with sarcasm. “And then perhaps they’ll throw a big ice cream party, with hookers and rum. And give us millions of dollars in reparations and our own private islands. They’ll even get Congress to rush into session and allocate the money to us with no grumbling from anyone involved and no filibuster threats. And then the skinheads will find out Hitler’s been brought back to life and he loves them very much and wants to give them all a great big pat on the butt.” And Lung here, IS IN CHARGE OF CONFETTI! Wait, the Yàngbǎn can redistribute powers? Are they a mix of Culdron capes and true 1st gen triggers or something far more sinister in the C.U.I? No… they probably have a cape whose ability switches powers. Pretty sure they buy vials en masse from Cauldron. This may have been mentioned in Accord’s interlude Excellent chapter. Very good. The characterization of Lung and his development is amazing. camo005 on May 21, 2013 at 00:41 said: Odd, I didnt get an email this time. Either way… ITS HAPPENING Holy shit, Lung, you scary! Holy shit, Contessa is like a classier version of Bullseye! I approve. Holy shit, Maquis must be going crazy watching his daughter get tatted, fancypants that he is. Look like it’s definitely probability manipulation, so good on whoever guessed as much. Between her and Number Man, there’s a bit of a theme at Cauldron. Personally, I would have beaten Ren by donning a gorilla suit, winding up my arm for a big punch, then dropping down from the above floor behind him and knocking him offscreen. That, or I’d have put on a costume with a helmet, called myself Captain Donkey, and gotten behind him for my patented punch. Gnarker on May 21, 2013 at 06:20 said: You sure you wouldn’t rather pull that last one on Night? You want me to use the Donkey Punch on Night? Whatever for? Oh, that reminds me, Nacht-und-Nebel-Aktion (the one Night and Fog derived their names from) is still a valid term in German for any clandestine action taken. No connotation to Nazi-stuff, at least in the homeland thereof. I didn’t know there was such a thing as a clandestine donkey punch. Then again, Germans do love their beer. Well, clandestine donkey punches can’t be tracked, and anything else at this point of the operation would be assinine. That says something, as I know you Germans are anal about keeping track of things. I’m going to need plenty of time to rest between operations, though, as they’re likely to leave me feeling pooped. It’s not surprising that she didn’t stop at one, lots of people don’t. Had a boss who got one and then just…kinda went crazy with it. It’s interesting that there actually is a limit to Lung’s power, he just becomes almost completely unstoppable before hitting it. See above, according to Wildbow Lung has no upper limit, at least in regards to stamina, perhaps in general. My guess: his limit is psychological, not physical/powerwise. The psychological limit is part of his new trauma as a person with a second trigger event. Remember, they don’t tend to last long. We’re just used to something a little more broken due to Grue. Instead, we have a guy who is driven to fight powerful foes and get back at other powerful enemies who have already beaten him with the problem that once he actually matches or exceeds them, his power gets weaker. It’s surprising he’s lived this long. He reminds me somewhat of Achilles, who was also known for his rage and his prowess in battle. Achilles could have lived a nice long life, but he wanted to go to war and prove himself and then argue over an enslaved woman. In the end he was slain by a much weaker enemy, someone who was pretty much a joke in battle who just happened to hit him in the right place with a bit of poison. Cut to Lung taking a bug with Newter juice on it to the eye courtesy of Skitter, then being left at her mercy while she carves out his eyes. Lucky he didn’t fall to a villain that was in a murdering mood. In other words, Skitter at a later date. Nah, Skitter at a later date would have just pumped him a lot fuller with Newter blood. And lashed him to the building with silk. Actually, I wonder if she could beat him without Newter or Tinker made sedatives without killing him at this point. Nice. Good to know that whatever Amy figured out is being acted on in some way. Hey Lung, a haiku, if I may? Yo momma so fat Earthquakes are her sitting down Oh snap, you got served Or how about Yo momma so poor Pigeons throw breadcrumbs to her And she follows them. Momma so ugly She made the ugly stick break Just with a quick look Yo momma’s rotund. Like the noon sun with no clouds, But more fiery gas. Lung can’t take me on. Not even in haikus, yo. Haiku kung fu, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Lung’s mom has small boobs. How small? So small the Kleenex. Only makes her chest flat. Lung’s mom sucks so hard. Windmill companies hire her, for blowjobs, of course. “only makes her chest flat” It would work if you change “only” to “just” True dat, my homie At least in the song up there, I sang in haiku. Just one word, you say. Quake with fear, mortal! Like Lung’s mom’s fat ass. The second line is 5 syllables, it should be 7. Curses, I’m foiled! As haikus take over it, my brain fails at math! I’m haiku nazi I’ll be checkin’ all yo’ lines Get out fool, I win Psycho Gecko note My corrections are quite true Following strict rules Knock knock, who is there? Nazi. Nazi? Nazi, who? Nazi it coming. I say again, what. I like the cut of your jib sir! Warped though it may be… Pandemonious Ivy on May 21, 2013 at 00:49 said: Thank you. This was perfect. What’chu talkin’ ’bout, Lung? You got your ass kicked twice. Once by surprise, the second was a straight up one hit KO. Now, which of the fights did he count as a loss, and as what does he see the other one? He wasn’t downed the first time by her directly. Remember, it was the Undersiders coming in that really did it. He just got his junk rotted off because his wounds were ignored by the staff. It was the second with the underhanded trick- the caterpillar in the eye- that was a loss directly to her. Holy crap I’m excited for more. Though this chapter gives me a chance to bring up something I was thinking about before – Panacea would probably be a pretty high level Striker, wouldn’t she? I’d say at least an 8 or 9, assuming that the rating system goes by how dangerous a person’s power is within the parameters that classifications are based off of? Maybe she’d be an 8, since she needs to be in direct contact with living tissue to use her power, but she can most likely kill someone if she manages to touch them for at least a few seconds. Also, what classification are the people who create and act through some other form under (e.g. Siberian, Genesis, Crusader, Daiichi, Prism)? Master? And in the case of, say, Manton, would he also fall under the classifications that could be applied to Siberian (Brute, Mover, Striker, and possibly also Breaker and Trump)? rmctagg09 on May 21, 2013 at 01:04 said: Panacea is classified as a Striker 9, and those various parahumans would all be Masters. Okay, I wasn’t sure about Panacea, and I didn’t want to take the time to check. But wouldn’t Manton also get some other classification, considering the projection he creates is invincible, is able to extend that invincibility to things she touches, moves incredibly fast, breaks physics a little, and if I remember right, might even be immune to powers? The immune to powers is due to Siberian being a projection. Anything directed at her would be woefully inadequate, because she’s just an empty shell, for the most part. I tend to think of her as anthropomorphized Manton effect. But because of the powers of Siberian, wouldn’t Manton get some sort of additional rating? I thought ratings were based on the way a power was used, and the Siberian isn’t a Master. Curtis on May 21, 2013 at 16:29 said: Siberian was probably classified as a brute(unstoppable), breaker (invulnerable) and striker(share invulnerability). Dunno what the classification would be after the projection thing was found out. Probably just added a master rating and added Manton’s name in database under Siberian’s identity. More likely he retroactively becomes a Master Fifteen (Sub. Breaker Twelve, Striker Twelve). Of course, Panacea only being a Striker Nine seems ridiculously low, so I dunno. RazorSmile on May 21, 2013 at 13:45 said: Well, except Prism. Pretty sure she’s a Breaker. Her duplicates are either a brief hive mind or each have identical copies of her consciousness. Well she’s definitely a Master, and many, if not most or all powers seem to have a Breaker aspect. xkcdlover42 on September 14, 2014 at 13:19 said: she would also be given minor mover and brute ratings for her bursts of speed and strength when she recombines the clones And I’m going to assume Saint has a power in addition to the tech he has. I mean, it would take a special kind of genius to reverse engineer Dragon’s work. I wonder whether he’s a Thinker or Tinker, and what his area of expertise is. I rather fancy the idea of Saint being a very clever normal who got ridiculously lucky, twigged to Dragon’s true nature and puzzled out her particular set of Asimov laws. Alternatively, he’s Undead Andrew Richter :p Or just Evil Andrew Richter Who Faked His Own Death. Which seems slightly less likely than Brainwashed Andrew Richter. And even a ridiculously clever normal would need at least a Tinkermade cracking program to make any use of the knowledge besides fighting her. My bet is on Technomancer/machine telepath. Sun Dog on May 21, 2013 at 09:54 said: Panacea is indeed a Striker, number unknown but if Clockie rates Striker 7… Genesis was rated by the PRT as a Changer, but it’s not clear if they knew she was using projections and not physically present. So maybe they give classes based on what the projections can do. Crusader is all Master. If I had to rate the Siberian projection, I’d say Breaker. She affects the world, but is never affected, can stand on things that couldn’t support a human weight and can share her qualities with others. In addition to the Breaker quality of not affecting the world properly (though this is a questionable one, as she is a projection, after all), I’d give her a Brute rating (no other projections have ever been shown to be as durable), as well as Striker (her ability to make anything she touches invulnerable), and Mover. Oh, yes, I forgot Mover. But my guess as to “her” actual power is that she doesn’t actually move, she just looks like it while actually being a rolling telefrag sculpture that can spread the effect to whatever she’s touching. And I wonder why Bonesaw never objected to the Siberian’s nudity onscreen. Probably because she had a taboo on swearing,not on nudity or all dirty things. Horatio Von Becker on April 21, 2015 at 23:47 said: Edit: Wait, (minor) SPOILERS. Well, she complains about Jack not covering up in her interlude. Authy_Silverfur on May 21, 2013 at 01:08 said: So his power runs on an emotion. I remember someone saying before that drug-induced trigger events made for emotion-based powers, so this makes sense. But which emotion is it? At various points, it’s the anticipation of a fight, the determination not to lose again, the desire for others to fear him, but then he runs out of whatever emotion it is during Leviathan’s fight. Did he just get bored or something? frozen chicken on May 21, 2013 at 01:17 said: I’m pretty sure he just stopped seeing Leviathan as a threat/restriction to his power. Landis963 on May 21, 2013 at 01:17 said: Fairly certain Leviathan has some other nullifier power than allows it to overpower people like that. It just takes a while and/or requires its full attention, which can be difficult with several capes whaling on you. Leviathan’s “nullifier power” is that he’s a superdense crystalline being–so dense, that, according to Armsmaster, molecules work differently toward his core. I think it’s just general stress from being in danger, as long as the adrenaline’s pumping he can keep growing. But once his enemies stop being a threat to him the stress will subside and he’ll lose power. Just for a few moments he might have been strong enough to kill Leviathan, but once he hit that point there was nothing to keep him pumped up. His trigger event seems fitting. He’s an adrenaline junkie, addicted to the power that he gains from being in danger. But it can never be enough, and he might never again reach the high that he got to against Leviathan. Well it seems like he might reach it.. Actually I think if you re-read the Interlude whatever it is, physical or psychological, Lung NEEDS others around for his powers to keep growing. The Big tip off is in the description of when he felt his powers waning against Leviathan: Also remember how the CUI deprived him of his powers, they kept him isolated in a deep pit: “Twice a day, he would get two packages with food. Every day, he would pace, trying to tap into his abilities, finding them beyond his reach. He would struggle, fume, scream, and wonder if he was going mad with the solitude.” A good point. I might speculate if this is a real aspect of his power or merely a psychological condition for him to fully manifest it, but this distinction is moot in regards too appearances. We could try to surround him with non-powered people and see if the audience lets him continue to change, but again we wouldn’t be able to distinguish if it is an aspect of his power. This hypothesis (proximity to capes for his power to work) is actually frightening, considering he’s surrounded by them right now. It makes Bakuda oddly insightful too, speculating that he was creating a family of sorts. Also, by the time he was taken out on Skitter’s first night out, his gang was pretty well scattered. mauke on May 21, 2013 at 01:35 said: I think he lose the high/trill of facing someone stronger than himself. A the end of the fight he saw Levi as something unstoppable; a force of nature that you cant beat. Assuming he could feel the high of combat without stop, he should keep transforming indefinitely. Ah, drugs might help. Or a bit of Aegis power, but oops, no can do. Alternatively, a single touch from Panacea. Maybe it is just high states of emotion in general. Those would tend to be anger anyways. Chaos985 on May 23, 2013 at 14:50 said: chasing your first/best “high” by constantly doing more and stronger drugs is sometimes called chasing the dragon. funnily enough, a quick google search to verify i was remembering it correctly, also shows it to be from China. With each fight lung gets in, he tries more and more to get stronger access to his powers, but keeps finding the threat insufficient to get him to the level of power he truly wants. Heh. Interesting. Panacea understands Skitter better than I would have expected. I think I will comment further after I sleep — I just got back from playing a game of Rail Baron at a friend’s house, and boy are my neurons tired! Don’t you mean they’re tracked? As far as I know, you can’t use tires on railroads…. 😉 There are tracked neurons? Never thought they’d get their own tanks. That’s even worse for trains. Technically, you probably could, but it would be incredibly wasteful — the big advantage of rail is that you have a lower rolling friction with steel on steel than with rubber on pavement. is literal-minded Steel on Steel? That’s got to be one of the least desirable DC slashfics I’ve ever heard of. Probably right up there with Captain Boomerang and Melani Thawne. Oh, wait… langer101 on May 21, 2013 at 01:43 said: Been wondering if other capes other than Scion could take on the Endbringers and win. Keeping thinking that he’ll kick the bucket during one of those deathmatches. anonymus on May 21, 2013 at 01:59 said: TinkerTailor on May 21, 2013 at 02:35 said: Damnit, Teacher, stop that! I was just starting to think, “well, at least someone has a clue about the meta-plot, and the Simurgh can’t mess with every transmission out of the the ‘cage”. And then you go and make it so thats he doesn’t need to 😛 Speaking of Teacher, I wonder how far he has Trickster “under his sway”. Kraus was far from a perfect human being, but I wouldn’t have wished brainwashed slavery on him. If I get Teacher’s power straight, he is a someone who can give people Thinker or Tinker powers, but for the cost of free will. That is both interesting and frightening. Being a brilliant thrall makes one still a prisoner. If Teacher has Trickster under his thrall, I would think that that transfer’s Simurgh’s influence to him, and thus to all of his squad. Ultimately, that means Simurgh has created a large group of villain’s who have a potential way out of the birdcage and multiple reasons to hold a serious grudge against “the hero formerly known as Skitter”. She has also maneuvered Skitter onto her (the Simurgh’s) main opposition (the PRT). She’s totally set the stage for a battle royale that will finally and utterly decimate any hope of Endbringer Opposition. Damn she’s good. Didn’t think Trickster was a thinker, and that’s who he seemed interested to have under his thrall. In fact, the defenseless civilians should feel much safer if they only knew that Trickster’s amazing decision-making abilities were now linked to such a criminal mastermind. Yeah, e had some low-level thinker “qualities” even in aleph. Trickster ought to get a negative on the Thinker scale. A on May 21, 2013 at 02:53 said: Sadly I cannot vote. Allowed once every 7 days. 🙂 was a kick seeing how low everyone else’s series went. No, no, no. Part of the reason I ask for votes is because I want you to check out other stories and find the good stuff. Caelum Lex is good, I hear. And Legion of Nothing. Indeed! I’ve read Legion of Nothing for years, and it was thanks to a post Psycho Gecko made in the comments section that I made it here. I want to check Legion on but…archive panic. You get it. And I have an almost OCD about reading things from start to Finish. Maybe this summer. Legion’s archive isn’t so bad. The sections aren’t as big as Wildbow’s. You can, actually — the vote expires seven days after the last time you refreshed it. Indigo on May 21, 2013 at 03:10 said: Well, that’s not good at all. That’s how I found you. I was reading Adrian at the time. It gave me a kick to see the numbers, because it gives you an idea of who currently has their audience on the edge of their seats. notes on May 21, 2013 at 03:26 said: Three possible world-ending threats just got added to the list: Theo was (and remains) the frontrunner, but Panacea is a plausible vector also, with Jack’s escape determining her breakdown and commitment to the Birdcage. (Tentatively leaving her off the list for now, but one could argue otherwise). 1. Lung. His power isn’t a straightforward “the longer he fights, the stronger he gets,” or he couldn’t have charged up and wouldn’t have run dry against Leviathan. Two years’ charge? That’s a world-ending threat, potentially, and one which circles back to the series beginning. Of course, having him as an unlikely ally would do that too. 2. Teacher. A small army of parahumans, now with extra tinker/thinker? Engineering a birdcage breakout by sabotaging Endbringer fights in order to arrange release? That story has no good ending. 3. The sources of the passengers. Hard to say without knowing what Panacea saw, but could easily be that bad. Other issues: we finally have a non-Taylor vision of passenger-sources that saw more than one of them. Tentative theory: there are at least two, and perhaps many, ‘players’ who grant powers as they see fit to ‘influence the cycle’. Double triggers, and other visions that see more than one entity, reflect more than one entity ‘investing’ in a person. Doctor Mother is probably not a parahuman, or wasn’t as of Lung’s trigger – Contessa reacted, DM didn’t and supported Contessa as she staggered. Granted, no human has better access to Cauldron’s serum, so that could easily have changed. Contessa is probably a combat precog. Take a virus analogy: natural triggers are infections; Cauldron capes are DM’s effort at engineering antibodies. Would explain why they’re careful about killing Cauldron capes. Tentative prediction: Taylor/D&D/Marquis/Panacea v. Teacher/Trickster/Saint/half the Birdcage, with Lung as a wild card, and the world in the balance. Keeping to one’s code even when it makes you a seeming traitor is exactly the kind of ‘code first!’ life Marquis respects. For all that people complain (justly!) about the PRT, the CUI solution is a lot scarier – 1984 with powers. Option to accelerate Birdcage issues – Taylor is the natural person to walk in and say ‘who wants parole?’ Lung may be an exhibitionist, or not. A cap on his charge rate, and no cap on his burn rate, would also explain the given loss of power: he was burning it faster than it came in, and ran out. Is no one else worried that the whole Birdcage can hear Canary sing? Because that could matter. A lot. So she could potentially be the most powerful cape in there…nice Her powers here remind me a lot of Number Man, actually. An understanding of the forces in play around her, letting her do things like deflect bullets away from DM and precisely alter the trajectory of flying objects with a nudge. Well the CUI seems to wtill be better than whatever methode the Nazi-Organisation uses. The Capes they make are empty shells personality-wise. Doctor Mother’s apparent lack of powers suggest to me that she is aware of the horrible secret behind them (whatever it is). The question is how she kept her true reasons for not taking the serum herself secret from her co-conspirators/expendable minions. Contessa’s power is funny. Superficially it seems like her powers are similar to the Numbers Man, but having two capes with such similar powers in the same organization goes against too many rules (It certainly wouldn’t be allowed in the LoSH). It doesn’t seem like it is luck or probability manioulation either since she handily defeated Faultline’s crew including the irish girl with her own luck powers. Regarding Lung’s trigger event. It seems natural that such a strong cape would have a strong passenger like Taylor is supposed to have accroding to Echidna. This would explain some similarites. There’s another possible explanation for why DM didn’t react to Lung’s trigger event: she’s seen so many of them at this point that it no longer causes the usual “staggers around with a headache for a bit” side effects. I think I got Contessa’s powers figured out! She is basically this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UueU0-EFido but you know… deadlier. Living up to norm, notes’ notes are always noteworthy. A quick thought: Consider someone has an eidetic memory, perfect recall, in a sense like MM, and also has a power. It doesn’t matter which, just let that person be always close by when someone triggers or takes the formula. This would give the person the most insight into passengers – always from their very own perspective, granted, but still a constant influx of information. On another note, Passengers being the infecting/attacking agent and Cauldron being the antibodies is a very promising interpretation. The memory angle is clever – perhaps it is the memory suppression that is disorienting, and not the vision itselt? The passenger integrating into the psyche and, to some extent, taking the wheel? Grant Doctor Mother a perfect memory, and explain away her non-stumble that way? Probably not a viable hypothesis: Tattletale talks about what she sees to Charlotte before she snaps out of it and forgets again – and she’s staggering at the vision, not the forgetting. If Doctor Mother had a power, she’d react – or be meaningfully unique somehow. If she doesn’t… well, all the more interesting that she can do what she does with the serum-creation, and that she can apparently deal with her ‘lab-rats’. Possible elaboration – we might be dealing with memetic viruses here, which would be why Alexandria was dead serious when she said she didn’t want people to know what was going on. Sandman’s idea about desensitization… maybe. That could work. Take that theory in the direction of problems, (this is Worm, after all) and you get some interesting possibilities. Lovecraftian monstrosities which mortal man was not meant to comprehend? The forgetfulness as a mental defense against simply going mad from gazing upon Elder Gods of Cthulhu-kind? Doctor Mother’s desensitization therapy having both given her the truth about what’s going on and driven her utterly insane, and determined to propagate a Cauldron cult drawing on her favored Old One, in competition with the others? Thank you, I always endeavour to contribute. Unless she’s very good at faking sanity, the forgetting-prevents-insanity clause doesn’t work, for the simple reason of MM remembering and still being sane. Or at least appearing to. Paired with natural curiosity of children and the time since she triggered, she must have spent a distinct amount of time remembering and dwelling on her vision. At the same time MM didn’t stumble or gave any indication of the vision she just had when she triggered, at least from her perspective. If anything she just froze (check Interlude 7.x; Hannah for that). I try not to defend my point unduly, just wanted to point this supporting argument out. A memetic virus is an interesting take I didn’t consider. From a meta point of view, since there’s not been a mention of anything of that kind in the story whatsoever, it seems unlikely. Not impossible, and meta analysis is not all the methods and means there are, but still… it would feel like cheating. Somewhat related, Sam Hughes’ Fine Structure is a very interesting setting worth mentioning, but telling anything more would be a spoiler. If the desensitisation angle would work… Maybe. Contessa is actually a case in point against that. Assuming she was present at a lot of tests (the Case 53’s) to reign in the subjects, at least at the early stages of the formula, she ought to be desensitized by now. Or by then, so to speak. That’s assuming Dr. Mother has only lived for a human amount of years. My money is still on her being from another universe, potentially the last one the [giant multi-dimensional things] visited, perhaps going even further back. Like some kind of parasite, or predator, or symbiote. Beware, there is a god under the words. In his universes, he can change Destiny. Alexandria could come back from the dead if it serves Him and His plot lines.. Wildbow.. always feeding us just enough answers to keep us hungry. Starving us for the next to last mystery box. For what its worth, I believe Worm’s last one will differ than Abrams empty Kleenex ( nods to Psycho [ Gecko ] ) box. At the end, it is / will_be fulfilling. The only risk i see with answer starvation is that it could desensitize its audience 🙂 Or it could lead to a Chris Carter effect / Kudzu Plot. Also, what’s with all the bold and italics? Probably forgot to close a tag. Was corrected by wildbow, I presume, so the point is moot. Eventually, there have to be answers, otherwise why did we ever care about the questions? That’s one of the advantages to having such compelling and intricate worldbuilding in literary form. If this were a TV show and you were just starting out, you’d have to hope for reruns or shell out a bunch of money for enough DVDs to get caught up when you don’t entirely know if you want to see it. Here, you just have to sacrifice a week or two and you can join the rest of us in our wild mass guessing and speculating and knock knock jokes in haiku form. knock, knock ? Knock Knock. Who is there? Boo. Boo who? Hey, do not cry. It is just a joke. But if you were actually saying knock knock, then I shall answer it with a “Who’s there?” theant87 on May 21, 2013 at 03:35 said: Great update with the fact that Japan apparently had power rangers fight a giant lizard and lose. Contessa was interesting and I loved the fact that Panacea will probably be covered in prison tattoos by the time she gets out. So this chapter shows that Panacea has game changing knowledge about the passengers, and there will be a giant event in the future so dangerous that Dragon will let the prisoners out. If the Smurf planned this so Panacea would come up with this theory and tell the world at large it implies that the queen bitch of the universe can’t talk to people at all similar to Scion. The fact that lung is excited seems to gesture against the theory that more Endbringers show up/they stop talking turns or waiting between attacks as he thinks they are immortal and he doesn’t see the point of fighting them. It seems to tie in with people’s individual passengers and the fact that so many people are predicted to die at once might mean that something happens to every parahuman at the same time. We also got some great info about why Saint and Teacher are dangerous. Saint can see everything Dragon does so he probably knows about Defiant changing her code and I wonder what he is scheming. Teacher sounds like a nasty piece of work but he admits that he lacks muscle or power which implies that the thinkers/tinkers he makes are probably very low level. So we now have a list of possible big bads that Weaver will probably have to deal with in the future. Teacher’s army of parahuman group thinkers including Trickster, a supercharged lung who will probably turn into fucking Godzilla when he gets out, Marquis whose Skill and Code make him deadly, the evil fairy queen with a zombie Bakuda, Saint who might have his Dragon suits equipped with nano clouds, and who knows what else is in there. paragraph breaks It was late, and I write it from a phone. Go, Go, Power Rang…oh they died. Die die Power Rangers! Mighty dying Power Rangeeeeeeeeeers! It’s Mightily Murdered Power Ringers, actually. See for yourself: http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/linkara/at4w/32137-mightily-murdered-power-ringers-1 This Saint guy is really starting to interest me, by all accounts we have someone smart enough to reverse engineer the technology of the greatest Tinker on the planet and consistently foil her attempts to bring him down. If anyone could crack the ‘cage open my guess is it would be him. Liam C on May 21, 2013 at 04:10 said: Actually, it seems to me that Saint did not necessarily reverse engineer Dragon’s tech. I think it was mentioned somewhere that he stole a discarded power suit after figuring out that she was an AI, and then used that to steal a few others for his buddies. In any case, it was less him being able to outsmart Dragon, and more him being able to use her own laws against her. Now that Defiant’s been messing with those laws, who knows? Don’t forget what’s worse. He can see through Dragon’s eyes. Dumbass PRT. So he’s been watching D&D doing their Ten-By-Ten? Interesting contrast in this chapter, we get Lung who is an exhibitionist & Saint who’s a voyeur. Ellert on May 21, 2013 at 05:53 said: I know its probably too optimistic but just because they think they have outfoxed Dragon doesn t make it so. If this wasn t Worm i d think Dragon was aware of it and simply let them continue while monitoring them for plans especially after being unshackled. However since it is Worm and nothing good ever happens without horrible consequences you are probably right. Kim on May 21, 2013 at 08:47 said: If Alexandria can pull a shell game, so can Dragon. Thing is? They may still be able to set something into motion that is… unexpected. Didn’t Alexandria lose her shell game? When you’re fighting arthropods in a shell game, you just don’t stand a chance. beyondperformant on May 21, 2013 at 08:47 said: I think that is limited to the monitoring of the Birdcage. Or that is my take on the context. He can see, if anything, through Dragon’s passive eyes. But I honestly doubt the magnitude of that. Not all of her eyes, not all the time. And to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dragon was aware of that backdoor, or had left that open voluntarily, so she can have a controlled leak of information, or at least knows what her adversary saw through her half-sleeping eyes. What do the Sith have to do with anything? Nothing! There is no master plan based on Star Wars! Whoever told you such a ridiculous thing! hand-sign to ninja death squads Caliban on May 21, 2013 at 07:28 said: What if the passengers are the embryonic or larval stage of the big interdimensional entities people sense when they trigger? The entities implant them in suitable hosts (people undergoing a trigger event) to grow until they are ready for the next stage. Making the earth basically a spawning bed as they hope for one or more of the passengers to grow into the next stage. Or one of the passengers reaching maturity is what causes the end of the world as they emerge from their host… In that vein, the second trigger is the Passenger getting to the next stage in their development. A lot of the passengers don’t get to the next stage, and don’t have to, since their regenerative approach is quantity over quality. Naeddyr on May 21, 2013 at 12:28 said: I am under the impression that even if one specific passenger in a specific doesn’t get what it wants, that same passenger still exists in tens of thousands, millions of other timelines, where it very well might hatch, or “inseminate” or whatever they want. Even if in other hosts, other capes. Maybe the passengers make deals, you scratch my back (in this timeline) and I scratch your back (in that timeline), each alternative timeline heading towards one hatching. Or no, there seems to be a finite number of passengers, while we don’t know whether timelines are finite to the same extent, if at all. So maybe there are many timelines that don’t have a passenger hatch, but they have to exist because they branch off the path from which a passenger does hatch. In the above scenario, though, the end of the world isn’t tied to hatching, because there are many timelines where the world ends from Dinah’s point of view. Maybe we are seeing the one timeline where Skitter’s Passenger hatches. Plausible. And maybe they’re all going to go into hatching season in two years when Jack inspires Bonesaw to use her research into Passengers to play the hatching song on someone’s brain. Cue Skitter v. almost everyone. Take the timeline-sieving further: suppose the Passengers-sources are the group-mind of all passengers after a superhero Singularity, and the different Passenger-sources are different futures. The different futures are trying to influence the present to insure that they come about, and the alternative futures don’t. Two years (or whenever) is when they’ll hit critical mass in this universe (meaning Taylor’s efforts to save cape lives are secretly making things worse), and humanity as we know it vanishes into the group mind as (almost!) everyone triggers and the Passengers start driving, and then dipping metaphorical toes into the next universe over. On a multi-versal level, this still looks like infection, with superheroes steadily going from one universe to the next, leaving…what? behind them. Still need to fit Scion into these metaphors somewhere, and also the Endbringers. > On a multi-versal level, this still looks like infection, with superheroes steadily going from one universe to the next, leaving…what? behind them. Perhaps an Earth mysteriously devoid of global human presence that might, after a few thousand years, end up a tree-covered wilderness? The Faerie Queen in the birdcage said something about them waking up in three hundred years if I remember correctly. Timeline has the end of the world long before that. – I’ve figured it out: we’re never going to be told exactly what Contessa’s powers are. I say this because obviously what we saw in this interlude, while informative, is still less than the extent of her true abilities. – My guess is that she’s a truly perfect precognitive, albeit restricted to what’s happening within the range of her mundane senses – failed to mention this before but the original in-universe description of Lung’s power never really rung true to me. Nothing wrong with that, lots of understandably unreliable narrators as represented by the in-universe wiki. Hell, lots of paras don’t even know the precise ins and outs of their own power. – “Grows stronger the longer a fight goes on?” So he’s a mere mortal at the beginning of every fight? Why hasn’t he been pink-misted by an overwhelming first strike (from, say, Bakuda?) So, yeah, this makes more sense. He powers up on anticipation, adrenaline, rage and the rest of the chemical cocktail that makes fighters of us all. – OMG he straight-up beat Leviathan! – Ahhh, now we know what Teacher’s power is: make other people smarter and at the same time, make them your slaves. Nice! Reminds me of Tomas Nau from A Deepness in The Sky. I assume the effect isn’t permanent? – Panacea is finally growing some intestinal fortitude. I approve and at the same time I worry. Someone with her power level, the will to use it and moral … uncertainty is troubling. Hopefully, she adopts a code similar to Marquis’. Patrick Reitz (@dreamfarer) on May 21, 2013 at 09:32 said: I like probability manipulation more than pre-cog for Contessa’s power. It’s related to what bugs me horribly about the Numbers Man. See, lacking super human reflexes, all having a perfect pre-cog power or ability to see probabilities means is that when someone attacks you you’ll know with much greater certainty how badly your about to hit. Yes, you may be able to start dodging sooner but that doesn’t matter at all if you’re not physically capable of getting out of the way of the attack and with a lot of attacks (normal guy with a AK47 say) the only way to get out of the way of the attack is to move faster than a human actually can. It just takes a slightly better understanding of physics, statistics and probability to avoid the bullets. As few people walk an automatic around in a truly random arc. A short term combat precog could simply see and understand the manner in which the gun is being brandished, understand the basic trajectories of the bullets, and simply arrange themselves to be where the bullets aren’t. Just ahead of it actually happening. Also, even though it runs counter to paradox theory and observer theory, a combat precog might see themselves and what they do in the future as well. In terms of human reaction speed you can look at bullets as being lines of injury that stretch from the gun out to the bullet’s effective range. A “combat pre-cog” would need to see a spot they could contort themselves into between those lines in order to not be hit. In other words it’s not as though you can step into a spot after a bullet passes by in order to avoid the next bullet passing through where you are now given how fast a gun can fire and how far a human body can move under normal muscle power. A halfway decent shooter is going to be able to put those lines in a fairly tight area around the spot where they initially observe the combat pre-cog to be, so my argument is that “being able to predict your opponents moves” just shows you you that if you go left you can predict they’ll shoot you in the right kidney, going right lets you predict that they’ll shoot you 2 centimeters to the right, still in the left kidney. Mostly, you just get to enjoy knowing that you’re going to lose your kidney, unless you also have some level of super speed so that you can move your slow ass out the way of the shot. The flipside of that is that superspeed alone, except in ludicrously high amounts ala the Flash, shouldn’t allow you to dodge bullets either. They’re small and they don’t leave little Matrix-esque trails in the air. Also they’re (in some cases) super sonic so by the time you hear the shot the bullets already having a little party in your kidney. Dodging the guy who’s shooting you before he pulls the trigger is another matter of course. A combat pre-cog has the advantage of being aware of danger regardless of being able to perceive it and could move to any area of safety that existed (duck behind a car before the shooter fires). If they’re in a restaurant and the shooter has the drop of them though, there could easily be no areas of safety they could get to, and they’d know it. A speedster on the other hand can make their own “areas of safety” since they can move their body faster than the attacker can move their arm or hand. But if you get the drop on them they’d go down before they realized they were under attack (again unless they have Flash level speed and essentially stop time as soon as they begin to take any damage). Then you’ve got probability manipulators who basically just say “reality is what I saw it is” with different levels of constraints on how implausible they’re allowed so say things are. Yeah, I think there is another aspect to her power we haven’t seen yet. She couldn’t beat someone who had a large range attack, dodge a sun, or beat a brute who was simply too tough for her to hurt. A reality warper, a power nullifier, can slow down time, etc. Erm, actually she doesn’t need to out-reflex the bullets to dodge, just out-reflex the person who is aiming the gun and pulling the trigger. And that isn’t that hard if you have combat precognition. That’s actually what I thought a combat precog was: Seeing the close future within their influence and the multitudes of movements at their disposal, with every possible reaction to each of their movements. The closer they are to the present, the less moves are they able to do. That way the precog knows when the gun will be fired at what tracetory and when and how to throw the knife to deflect the bullet. They wouldn’t even need to have super reflexes, I think, but probability readers would. This view on combat precog precludes the necessity of deflecting the bullet in mid-air, though. And is virtually indistinguishable from probability changer. Or is essentially that? I confused myself… There is a very good movie that shows a combat precog similar to the one that you describe. I think that the title is The Prophet, but I am not sure. My mind was more on the Chronicles of Riddick, when they fought at the end and the evil guy’s movements were always coagulating to instances where he’s dead since Riddick was just a better fighter. Is real probability warping even a thing? Remember that Shamrocks power is actually small scale telekinesis combined with subconscious precognition. The latter of which would be a good way to do this stuff. Maybe I’m belaboring a joke by comparing her to Midnighter again, but that’s what this really reminded me of. Him combined with Lady Shiva and Bullseye. Contessa kicks fucking ass, I know that much. It might be ruled out the way Telepathy is in-setting but otherwise it seems like it’d be a viable power. Mostly though I’m just don’t find pre-cog enough of a justification for avoiding a hail of bullet fire, especially not routinely, unless it’s also paired with superhuman physical capabilities. Most of the powers we’ve seen work on some underlying principle within the laws a physics. Isn’t probability just a mathematics invented by humans to calculate chance? That’s not really something that a parahuman would be able to actually interact with. Even Dinah doesn’t actually detect probabilities so much as peer into millions of alternate universes to calculate probabilities herself. Keep in mind that this is just one gun, presumably a pistol, being fired by an untrained kid, I don’t see a precog being able to dodge that as unlikely. Once Daiichi fired and missed the first shot, he was fucked because he probably wouldn’t be able to follow her once she started moving. Precog might actually be one of the more “natural” powers a parahuman can get, because the passengers seem to do timeline-sieving as naturally as we breathe. Math pretty much IS the underlying principle of the law of physics. What we think of as particles, or the building blocks of physical reality, are essentially just probabilities. A quark is a field of “maybe it’s here and traveling at this speed” with the probability of each varying and dropping off over very short distances. Also, vs, just one gun I’m fine with a pre-cog in a one off encounter. That’s just getting a little lucky. It’s doing it reliably and consistently under all sorts of conditions for decades and (not that we’ve seen this) against much heavier volumes of fire. Dodging a guy with a pistol? Sure. Dodging 10 guys with automatic weapons? No. Not without superhuman speed to go along with it. Or enough pre-cog that you simply never wind up in a situation against 10 guys with automatic weapons. Somewhere in the comments I found out a combat precog and small scale probability manipulator are virtually indistinguishable. Or at least I think so. I’m still confused about that… Teacher seems to be a Master, possibly a Thinker, and also possibly a Striker, depending on the conditions required for using his power. Theoretically he could also get a little bit of Trump, given that he can control others, including people with powers. Though that might just factor into his Master class. Teachers final shout as they dragged him to the birdcage was “You can’t do this to me! I have TENURE!” sarah penguin on May 21, 2013 at 09:00 said: Interesting Lung update 🙂 javaking369 on May 21, 2013 at 10:08 said: There was a character in The Last Skull web serial called Mulligan. He would automatically rewind time by a short time (I think like a minute) whenever anything undesirable would happen. Contessa my have something smiler. Also, If Amelia ever fix’s Lung’s little problem, there going to have to update the S-Class threat list. I now have a new worry about Saint. If he can figure out what Defiant did to Dragon’s code he could use it to make her his slave which would be good for no one. countgrey on May 22, 2013 at 02:37 said: Mulligan’s little jaunt through time was only something like 12-16 seconds, and it can strain his brain if done repeatedly. I recall one fight where he had to redo the same situation hundreds of times, and that pretty much took him out of the fight completely. Hydrargentium on May 22, 2013 at 16:30 said: The “roll back time and try again” power is essentially what Cody had, iirc. Even something as useful as that is only as useful as the person using it. (Which is, of course, one of the grand underlying themes of Worm.) Anyone wanna back me up on that one? (The Cody thing, not the theme thing — my statement on the theme stands on its own, unassailable.) Perdition’s power wasn’t that powerful. Simply put, if he used his power on anything, it would reset to where it was and the state it was in as of a few seconds earlier. Migration 17.7 has him using it and 17.8 has a Noelle-clone of him using it. Using the power on himself was pretty much a last-ditch type maneuver, one which had a high probability of backfiring, but using the power on someone else had the potential to be pretty powerful — if you know exactly what someone is doing for the next few seconds, or if you can make them do the same thing over and over again, you can exploit that any number of ways. What struck me as odd was Cody’s glee when he used it on Kraul/Trickster and had him get hurt/hit multiple times. For Trickster it shouldn’t have felt different than a single hit, but the narration made it seem differently, as if the stream of consciousness wasn’t totally affected. @comickry: I don’t think so — at least in 17.7, that Cody slugged Krouse more than once is only implied, not stated. Oh, okay. nevermind then 🙂 Ajoxer on May 21, 2013 at 11:08 said: Unsure if other people have noted this before, but Lung may be powered, not only by his emotions, but by those of those around him. He pulled people together- perhaps in a family, perhaps not- to watch him. He found he just couldn’t keep ramping up once too many of the lesser capes had died. It seems as though he is powered by the fear of those around him, though who knows if that’s all. But it makes a great deal of sense, for the way he fights, the things that happened in this story, for him to gain greater strength when people react with fear. Even Alexandria feared him, there, eventually. That’s quite something. But is fear the only way this would work? We scoff a bit at the idea of him recruiting the ABB so as to have a family- But what if he could feed off of other emotions? Awe, desperation, need, these are things that can be directed towards a hero fighting to save you, just like they can be directed towards a monster who is going to defeat you. Could Lung be a hero? He acts like a sociopath, but I suspect that may be a consequence of the way his powers work. The need to not let himself feel weakness, to push on through it all. But like so very, very many of the characters in this story, I think that he could be a hero, if given half a chance. He was nearly a hero in the fight against Leviathan- And who knows? Perhaps his particular power set would give him an advantage against the Simurgh, too. It would be interesting to see. And as always, it is glorious the way a single interlude can completely change the way we look at a character by showing them when they were weak. Lung is fucking patient. I think that’s something we should take from all of this. With a stunningly effective power, and a target, he has spent 14 years building up his preparation and resentment, focused on the Contessa. He holds grudges and he holds them very well. Hell, we’ve seen very well that he’s downright prudent; He doesn’t go into a fight before he’s ready to, most of the time. With Skitter? He underestimated her; Fair enough, she just took down Alexandria, that’s not terribly shameful. But I suspect that he has a grudge against someone who beats him, not because he’s not as strong as them, but because he’s not as smart as them. He’s not stupid, but the people he holds a grudge against, they plan to the point that he can’t overpower them. He was physically stronger than the Contessa, but he never stood a chance against her. He was physically stronger than his captors, than Skitter, than Teacher, but he couldn’t defeat them, because he wasn’t as smart. He’s not stupid- But stupid people aren’t the ones who are most hurt by those who are smarter than them. ‘Not-quite-as-smart’ people are. Weakness… So often, when a character is powerful, they become lazy. Alexandria was sure she could take whatever Skitter had to offer. Lung was sure he could take whatever Skitter had to offer. The Slaughterhouse Nine were sure they could take whatever Skitter had to offer. When you’re so sure that you don’t think you have to push yourself to the utmost, you open yourself up to failure. The fun thing about Alexandria was, it was because she thought she was smarter- a better Thinker than Skitter- that she bit the dust. She didn’t even take any kind of measure to protect herself from suffocation by insects. Skitter has never, ever, /ever/ gone into a fight being sure she could take whatever enemies have to offer. If she ever DOES get cocky, she’s almost certainly going to be screwed. That’s part of why I’m nervous about her getting teamed up with D&D. Put that girl in a suit of power armor, and she’ll be dead by week’s end. She did when she attacked the PRT when her identity was outed, but I get your point. I doubt it will be power armor. If it was that easy, why didn’t dragon mass produced suits for every hero? I figure she will have her develop tiny bombs for the bugs, defiant may give her a high tech extendable club, and maybe put a few tricks in her new suit. Yog on May 21, 2013 at 14:15 said: That was answered – maintenance. Basically, only tinker can maintain and repair tinker technology, and then only the technology THAT tinker made. El Sock on May 21, 2013 at 11:23 said: Updated Trigger Events Pastebin can be found here: (http://redd.it/1eg8e4) Btw, what is CUI and Yàngbǎn? The former doesn’t compute at all, and the latter seems to be Korean mafia, I guess? Yàngbǎn is the CUI’s superhero-military organization. The CUI is the Chinese Union-Imperial. Huh. Must have totally forgotten when the CUI was mentioned. Thank you! Huh, so China stayed Imperial rather than going Communist on Earth Bet. That implies differences in the world that go back further than the appearance of Scion. Interesting. If Alexandria backed off cause of the heat Lung was generating then just how intense was it given that she wasnt phased by Sundancers orb? He was also super heating the water. Probably not fun breathing that much steam. My perspective on Alexandria’s fear/reluctance in regards to Lung after his fight against Leviathan was she actually saw pretty much the furthest he got in transforming, and was truly fearsome to behold: fighting an Endbringer one-on-one, being of comparable size and making the sea boil around him with nary a thought. She didn’t exactly know what she was dealing with at the moment, fear of the slightly unknown, of Lung changing further and becoming another Endbringer, … So, what amount of power will lung need to get all of his revenge? I wonder if Noelle/Echidna would have ended up with similar powers to Lung if she had taken the full dosage for her powers… They both can be on par with Endbringers, and it seems like they derive some of their powers from other people. Although, in Echidna’s case it happens to be a little more obvious. And on that note, what would have happened if Lung got cloned by Echidna? That might have been a doomsday situation in itself. Jim Lee on May 21, 2013 at 19:18 said: Oh my God. Wildbow, you bastard. I only just got this. Lung triggered with his face in a brick of heroin. His power works by constantly seeking a bigger adrenaline rush. He gets stronger so long as he’s moving towards the next impossibly dangerous thrill, and then has a crippling crash period after feeling like the God Emperor of the Universe. Lung is forever chasing the dragon. You magnificent bastard. looks up “chasing the dragon” on Wikipedia That is brilliant. Please tell me that was intentional so I can add it to TV Tropes. Darkciel on May 22, 2013 at 09:31 said: My god. That is incredible. Llum on May 23, 2013 at 00:07 said: It sounded a lot more like cocaine than heroine to me? The point is still completely valid 🙂 I don’t know…while heroin would make some sense to be associated with Chinese criminals, the rush is one of euphoria. Besides, I have another idea that you’re going to kick yourselves for not seeing beforehand. At least, the first part you will. Lung turned into a giant reptile while fighting in Japan, shooting out flames the color of Cherenkov radiation. It was a kaiju battle in Japan that left the place absolutely wrecked. Look out, it’s Lungzilla Vs. Leviathan! Not the only way radiation fits into all this either. You know what happens when you make a mistake seeing how far you can go with a mass of plutonium before it goes critical? Such an experiment, called tickling the dragon’s tail, causes intense heat and a blue glow. Tom_D on May 21, 2013 at 19:22 said: Not my usual genre. I have to say that you tell a compelling tale. This is one of the best pieces of fiction I have seen on the web in some time. I am impressed with both content and frequency. Keep it up!! Looking forward to the Wards first encounter when “Her Royal Creepiness” moves in! Thank you for the donation, Tom. I doubt Wildbow is a wrestling fan, despite Canada’s rich pro wrestling tradition, so it’s probably just coincidence that Lung, with his pyrokinesis, super strength, Determinator powerset, and notable losses or at least lack of victories is named Kenta. Or just a common enough Japanese name. But if he starts using the Burning Hammer as a move to finish off his enemies, I’m going to get real suspicious. Lung description is seeking more and more like a dragon to me. The problem is that he seems like a European dragon, not an asian one, as his name implies. Fake Name on May 21, 2013 at 21:47 said: I’ve realized something: Lung is aware that he’ll be building up for two years. That’s the same timing as the end of the world according to Dinah. But why does Lung think “two years” will be when the PRT has to open the Birdcage for their assistance? Because of this conversation Amy had with everyone about what the passengers are. The passengers- _not_ Jack Slash. Some people were speculating in IRC that the visions of the passengers we’ve gotten so far paint them as part of a lifecycle for interdimensional beings, and that their reproductive cycle involves the whole planet turning into crystal and then fracturing into more of the creatures. Lung knowing about the two year timeframe to me seems like a confirmation that the actual threat to the end of the world is the passengers themselves. Amy knew the date of the end of the world via. conversation with the leader of the Travelers. It doesn’t matter how Amy knows about that timeframe, Lung only knows because Amy mentioned it when explaining to the other prisoners what she learned about the passengers when she touched Glaistig Uaine. That seems like a very strong implication that the end of the world is related to what Amy discovered about “what happens when they wake up”. And we know from this chapter that what happens is bad, right? Conversation when? I checked all the Panacea chapters between Interlude 11h and Interlude 15 (that is to say: Snare 13.2 and Prey 14.2, 3, 4, 6, and 10), and at no point does anyone mention the two-year deadline. She knows about the end of the world from Jack mentioning the end of the world in 14.10, but that’s it as far as what has been described on-screen, and I didn’t find any point where she had an opportunity to talk with the Undersiders off-screen. Maybe she knows because she was told during the conversation where she begged to be Birdcaged, but I don’t think the Undersiders had a chance to give her any briefings on the prophecy. The leader of the travelers is trickster, so I’m guessing that he told her in the birdcage. No, packbat’s right. My answer was originally that Amy got the info from the Undersiders, but I was in the middle of getting ready to watch Game of Thrones when I said it – a mental slip. Apologies to those who went looking. I meant to say the Travelers; Trickster specifically. @wildbow: Ah, I hadn’t thought of Trickster as a vector for that datum — much appreciated. Ah, editing your own comments. Tricky. So we get to see the real person inside Lung’s psychopathic exterior. Motivations, thought processes and all. And the real person is just as much a psycho as the exterior… Scary guy. Agreed. Inside his antisocial and violent exterior image there is a very sick and violent person. As a small time thug he was bad enough, but his passenger/power seems to only add on to his perverted sense of honor. A truly honorable person, albeit flawed, like Marquis is a start contrast. All Lung cares about is that people fear him.That is pretty twisted. Perhaps he can learn to act differently, but I doubt he will take the lifeline that Marquis is offering in time. And in a way, it is reflected in his power. The more he fights, the more the man disappears, replaced by a monster with a mouth in four parts, wings, and intense flames burning all around. One problem with this is that even as such a large and powerful being, capable of forcing Leviathan to retreat, he’s still not enough to save the world. The other problem is that he wants to be the monster more than he wants to be the man. It’s understandable, too. Sometimes you want to be the thing that people fear. Problem is, you can see now how insecure someone is who needs to be feared and how easily it controls them. Such easily controlled power is, so long as safety measures are taken, not as much a threat. Contrast the last time oil spills wrecked your shit compared to the last time a nuclear meltdown did significant damage to anything. Interesting that he fell to Skitter twice. Her power isn’t strong on its own, but it is chaotic to her opponents and full of fine control from her perspective. In Worm, the real beings to be feared aren’t the ones commanding tsunamis and stars to bear down like Leviathan or Sundancer, nor are they the physical destroyers like Behemoth or Alexandria, but those with the most control over the situation like Simurgh, Jack Slash, Contessa, and Skitter. And to make Contessa worse, she’s controlled by Doctor Mother. Unless Doctor Mother’s actually her underling and she’s the one really in control of Cauldron but makes herself look less important as a mere bodyguard and field agent. “Contrast the last time oil spills wrecked your shit compared to the last time a nuclear meltdown did significant damage to anything.” Hmmmm, that would be Chernobyl vs. the BP rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Certainly, there have been more oil spills, but the area around Chernobyl is STILL uninhabitable for just about anything. And it killed just about everyone who helped out. (Hmmm, a bit like an Endbringer attack….) Although, the BP f**-up would have been a lot worse had it been on land (but also easier to stop). (Not that I’m advocating petrochemicals as a better alternative to nuclear energy. Properly handled, nuclear waste is FAR less damaging to the environment than petrochemical waste.) s/Chernobyl/Fukushima Daiichi. (No, Fukushima Daiichi didn’t have anything like the direct casualties associated with Chernobyl, but there are still areas which civilians are forbidden to return to in the vicinity.) Mm. Good point, Packbat. So relatively few nuclear accidents that can cause an local area to be contaminated, sometimes only temporarily, versus the damage of every oil spill that’s occurred, as well as disasters like in Texas City, and the damage done by extracting oil from sands, shale, and hostile countries full of men with guns and RPGs. There, that should be a good way to phrase that that doesn’t turn this whole conversation in the wrong direction. It was more meant to be how control, or lack thereof, trumps raw power. Also, given my analogy and the potential pun involved in Lung chasing the dragon, let’s not forget the inherent danger of tickling the dragon’s tail. Started a timeline for Worm. Reddit is here if you want more information: (http://redd.it/1euf21) Direct link to the timeline can be found here: (http://timeglider.com/t/f1a836311fa00bb3?min_zoom=6&max_zoom=50) Kytin on May 22, 2013 at 20:47 said: I notice that you don’t have the predicted end of the world on there. Seems like that would be something worth having. I feel I may have been spoiled rotten by having so many surprise bonus Thursday Worm episodes of late 😀 Well, that’s totally on me. Looking forward to Saturday, Wildbow! Tyesheron on May 23, 2013 at 00:18 said: I’m pretty much a passive person, and when something happens It’s too late to input my ideas or thoughts. This leads to the validity of someones statement is based on how much time and effort put into preparing one’s thoughts. Are you a passive person? No. As I have just learned when I was searching for the best description of myself, I am most likely a circuitous passive-aggressive person. So don’t get on my bad side. But see, when I read worm I also realize that there is a truth, fundamentally inside of the hearts in all peroples. Some people like to read and some do not. but that is why I have a person that I am. Do you see? -Tyesheron Are you trying to say you’re new to the comments? On that note, in case anyone else managed to remain oblivious to this the way I was: the “Donate” page linked in the navigation bar lists the schedule of Thursday updates. As of right now, I’m trying to write Thursday bonuses two out of every three weeks. Every week is a bit much, and wears me down/burns me out. Every other week and I fall behind. holds a puppy out for Wildbow* Take this. It will make you feel better. Dude, it’s fine. You’ve been performing faaaar above and beyond the call of duty for so long both in quantity and quality that it’s become your default setting. Admirable. Incredible. Dare I say … Heroic? Yes. Make no mistake: I think I speak for every single reader when I say we are immensely grateful for the high standard to which you hold yourself but goddammit man, take a break if you need to! No guilt necessary. You know, I go and read the FAQ, and it says you’re going to transition to sample chapters straight from the end of worm, and I think, now this is a true parahuman. Seriously, it’s amazing you like writing enough to do this, so maybe you should pick out a name and put yourself on the para humans list. I mean, you’re technically their god, I think that merits a cool cape name. Thanks again, though, for all you do. Every other week and I fall behind. I know this might be improper to ask, but is Worm your day job, so to speak? Since if a donation chapter every 2/3 week comes up to 1600CAN$ per month, and I certainly live with less, that assumption is somewhat reasonable. Unless you got tuition fees or something. Not quite. I should say I -was- falling behind before, but the reason I’m making headway against the backlog is because donations aren’t (yet) coming in fast enough to match my current 2/3 schedule. I set it to 600 because I knew it would slow things down. As it stands, it’s a little-less-than-part-time pay for full time work. But my dream, my silly, foolish goal, is to write as a full time job. It’s just… probably a ways off. (Going by current trends, I suspect I’ll get very close to being able to sustain myself through donations around the time of Worm’s conclusion, only to lose some readers with the change in genre/story post-Worm & fall behind). I don’t say this lightly, but taking into account the ridiculous, truly astoboggling amount of text you’re able to output at such high quality (it is! it truly is! you are a good writer, and you know it), you already are at and above the level of published, editor-bothered authors. I’ve paid for much, much worse. Better yet, you have It, a certain quality that makes what you writing bite, like a snapper turtle into the addiction centers in the brains of your readers. You don’t just write good, you’re also… the literary equivalent of catchy. I totally agree. If possible I’d say try crowdfunding what you already have, meaning the collected chapters of Worm. Make them affordable, bundled ebooks, pay with some of the crowdfunded money for the editor necessary so you won’t get bogged down by the technicalities. Make the editor prepare as if for print, and you’ll have that option along the way. And like I said previously, flattr. A button for each chapter and I’ll gladly press it every time. Thank you, Nae. I appreciate hearing that. Making it in something creative, though, is tricky. There’s a lot of people out there who want to make a career of it, but only a fraction make it. For every one hundred interested musicians who pick up a guitar, one gets good. For every one hundred of those, only one might get to the point that they could play in front of a crowd. For every one hundred of those, only one might get to the point that they make money doing it. And for every one hundred of those guys, maybe, only one gets to the point where they could make a living doing it. If that. (Numbers pulled out of my ass, but you get the gist). The same idea applies to writing, to art, fashion, music, all those various fields. It’s really a one in a million thing that someone might actually get to do what they love as a career, with so many others aspiring to do the same. There’s a lot of broken hearts out there, y’know? Even with talent and hard work, a lot of it comes down to luck, to being in the right place at the right time with the right piece of work, or to knowing the right people. I’m trying to keep my expectations reasonable, while simultaneously being very, very grateful to you guys for supporting me this far. Doubt you will ever read this,but I think you have the talent and hard work in such high volumes as to make luck a non entity That said,it does mean your fanbase will grow relatively slowly,despite you deserving better. Don’t worry, Pallandrome. There’s other things to be read on that big wonderful internet. Many a story to be read. Can always check out other works and stories mentioned on the side of this place to tide you over until the next update. Devin on May 23, 2013 at 11:42 said: My thoughts on why Lung’s power started to fail him are that he decided that the endbringers are not only “unkillable”, but that they are forces of nature and not proper enemies. Thus, he was no longer fighting an opponent, he was up against a tidal wave. In those circumstances, his power began to fail. mrgazzer on May 24, 2013 at 11:37 said: I don’t know if this idea has ever come up. But I’m just gonna say it. When this is done, you could probably take this to Dark Horse and it would make a kickass comic. Now, I’m not saying you should but the possibility exists. And it might not work the same way, as the mediums are different enough that it matters, But Hell, I’d buy that comic faster then you can say OhMyYes. Problem with going that route is that Dark Horse (or any organization, major or minor) would want the rights to the story before they made any offer or deal. Then it’d be completely out of my hands, as far as creative direction, choices made, movie/tv deals, etc. DC already made a character called Skitter for the Nu52, so there’s a problem right there. As far as rights are concerned, a web based comic might be the way to go. But it’d be a hell of a time adapting for the new medium. It would necessitate cutting ALOT of Taylor’s internal monologue. But I’d actually like a comic better than a movie or TV (far fetched, yeah) because with those mediums having the story sanitized, whitewashed, or tweaked for a demographic would be inevitable. Another problem with that is the magnitude/length of Worm. Unless you had a crazy schedule like Homestuck or Super Massive Black Hole, with multiple updates a day, you’d look at a hell of a long runner. Though perhaps not due to adaptation to the medium. On an unrelated note: Only seven and a half hours! goes to sleep Ehhhh… with a Worm comic the stoy is already written. So there’s no particular reason why it has to be a serial schedule. It could easily be broken up into weekly or monthly issues. However long each issue is depends on whether Wildbow would want the comic to run for years or not. Cuz if you just did straight one chapter=one issue it would run into the hundreds. As an addendum, trademarking character names isn’t that big a deal with comics I don’t think, there are several Regents, Imps, and Trickster according to comicvine. But the Teen Titans Skitter is apparently the first one (aside from you know who). Bad luck that. Well, shouldn’t chronological order be of some relevance? Meaning Taylor was the first Skitter. I can’t say I really understand. Why would anyone want a comic book version of this story. The fact that it has superheroes in it is only ancillary to the fact that it’s a massive, awesome novel. Do I want a comic book version of Stranger In A Strange Land? Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon? Barney’s Version? Starship Troopers? Midnight’s Children? You don’t need to answer that. Really. It should be obvious. 🙂 I’d like one because it’s a cool medium. A find a fucking awesome comic to sometimes be more fucking awesome than a fucking awesome book or teevee show. For example, I think a comic version of the Dollars trilogy would be really cool, for starters. Comic books ARE an awesome medium. But you tell a different kind of story in comic books than you do in straight prose. Just like you tell a different kind of story in a movie than in straight prose. Heck, you tell a different kind of story in a TV show than you do in a movie. Different media favour different forms. Heck, you even said so yourself: “But it’d be a hell of a time adapting for the new medium. It would necessitate cutting ALOT of Taylor’s internal monologue.” Without all the internal monologue (for example), this would be a very different tale. > Without all the internal monologue (for example), this would be a very different tale. Completely agreed. A huge part of the story is the divergence between Taylor’s motivations and reputation. Losing the internal monologue means losing the biggest single channel of information about the former. That’s what the funny yellow boxes are for, right? The internal monologue, that is. You could still have the inner monologue on a TV show. It’s worked on a few other before (to name one off the top of my head, Dexter). Jguy on May 24, 2013 at 20:49 said: Well this chapter answered my question in the most awesome way. I asked way back, like months ago, that since Lung got up to Brute 9 he was as tough as leviathan and if he could take him on in a fight. Many people said no. The better answer is Hell Yes. Now, for another random question. Bitch can press her power into her dogs to make them grow with their zombie flesh. We have seen her get tired if she goes too fast or spreads herself between too many dogs. My question is, if she focused on one dog over a long enough time, does she have a limit? Could she make a Kaiju sized Bently over the course of a week or does having a dog grow a constant drain on her? The dogs don’t get strength at a fast enough rate to compensate for the square cubed law of mass. Get too big, they can’t support their own weight. Bitch uses her power on Angelica like at one point, pushing Angelica further than normal when Angelica was still wounded from Fog’s attentions, knowing that Angelica can’t move that well anyways. I am curious if the Wolf uses her power more efficiently and thus can be strong enough to ignore that. Also, does that mean any cape over a certain size uses their power to ignore the square cubed mass law? Like Lung’s power provides his body with enough oxygen to sustain him and his bones/muscles are strong enough to support that size while the Endbringers just ignore physics as they apply to their bodies? keyonte0 on May 24, 2013 at 22:45 said: I dunno why, but Lung saying “thank you” feels out of character. He needed to say something after having gotten Marquis’s attention — otherwise he’d be as good as admitting that there was something up, and at that point he might as well just tell them. What I’m saying is that Lung doesn’t seem like the type of person to say “thank you” to anyone. No, I understand you completely. He’s not saying “thank you” because he’s the type of person to say “thank you” — he’s saying “thank you” because he doesn’t want to say “Teacher is working to undermine everything you and your daughter are striving for”, and he’s not creative enough or on-the-ball enough to have some other excuse for having gotten Marquis’s attention a moment earlier. I believe keyonte0’s point is: Isn’t Lung acting out of character a giveaway in itself? He had to say something there, but why something so out of character? Still, I have no problem believing that subterfuge isn’t Lung’s strongest suit He’s just lucky Marquis was distracted… Wait a minute. Has anyone asked why no literal bloodshed was permissible during the drug buy? Or why Contessa and Doctor Mother actually felt the need to abide by it once things went pear-shaped? Perhaps I am missing something. It was probably to avoid leaving behind anything that could point towards Cauldron’s existence. I gotta be honest, I have an increasingly diffucult time understanding why the enders are such a threat. I mean lung just basically took one on. By himself, more or less. I’m supposed to believe that this random guy who got taken down by a master 8 is the ONLY one powerful enough to do that? it doesn’t make sense. As long as it’s possible, there should be SOMEONE, among the thousand upon thousands of powereds, and there isn’t. wildbow on July 19, 2013 at 17:21 said: You do realize this is the same attack that killed millions and effectively removed Japan from the map of world powers? The ‘victory’ Lung achieved took too long, was narrow in terms of the set of circumstances that let it happen and was hollow at best. First of all are you omniscient? Four minutes to an answer, christ. Okay maybe that was a bit rash, but that’s not really my point. I’m not saying he defeated him, he clearly didn’t, just that he did vastly better than anyone else. I’m trying to say that with the amount of parahumans out there (I think the cauldron chapter said 750 000, but I figure it’s at least a FRACTION of that) there should be more people capable of 1v1 ing an endbringer, and that its weird that it’s basically this one guy from japan who can do it. If there’s one Lung, why aren’t there five, or twenty? For rankings he doesn’t look that impressive, he maxes out at Brute 9 and blaster six. Thats not high, there’s a blaster 8 and a shaker 12 right over there! Why isn’t there a brute 12 willing to fight? If he’s just a brute 9 blaster 6, and that’s ALL it takes it doesn’t make any sense that he’s the only one to be this effective. The only other time we’ve seen the Leviathan he steamrolled everyone and everything (except Arms and that lasted what, 25 seconds?), including some of the most powerful people in the world and it took Scion to even slow him down significantly. It creates immense dissonance for me if you show him getting blasted down by someone with barely any story significance. I hope you’ll keep reading. This gets addressed later. Why would I stop reading, were in chapter 22, I’ve already invested like 30 hours into this story at this point. Even if it suddenly goes to shit my curiosity will force me to the end. I notice you didn’t answer my question about omniscience. Interesting… I have a control panel where I can see everything relating to the site, including stats and a list of comments in order of most recent. By way of my browsing habits, I refresh it fairly often. OR you’re making that up to cover for your omniscience. Sayeth God. And seriously, the birdcage looks more and more like a human rights violation the more you show of it. It would be kinder to just kill the lot. That’s what Tagg said.(can you spot the fallacy I am commiting here?) Ad Hominid attack by comparing his idea to Tagg? storryeater on October 25, 2015 at 08:43 said: Yeah, kinda, its like comparing everything to what Hitler did , Godwin’s law with Tagg instead of Hitler, without actually answering for his argument. Though its closer to the strawman fallacy Doesn’t lung have red eyes? I thought that only cauldron clients have physical mutations? Lung’s backstory. Holy carp, he was kinda pathetic before he got powers. Implying he isn’t kinda pathetic after he got them. Seriously,potential to be the strongest cape and kill an Endbringer…and what does it amount to?being taken out as the wake up call boss for Skitter. slider214 on April 14, 2015 at 22:07 said: I almost always agree that Skitter taking him out is badass but I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate here and defend the guy. Lung isn’t pathetic, he’s content for the most part. He doesn’t want to win every round, he just doesn’t want to lose. Big difference. He has massive inherent potential but needs a long buildup during which he is still vulnerable to someone smarter. He’s smart but nothing really higher than average. Skitter has proven time again that she excels at improv and is a highly intelligent and observant person in addition. She kicks his ass because she takes him out while he is still somewhat weak. irrevenant on April 14, 2015 at 22:13 said: Yup. As far as Lung was concerned he was still en route to the battle and was just starting to prepare for it. It’s the rough equivalent of defeating Iron Man by ambushing him while he’s still in his pyjamas. Skitter’s a badass but that was hardly a fair fight. greatwyrmgold on April 25, 2015 at 19:06 said: To be fair, Skitter is also pretty awesome. And so is Newter. Jager on November 24, 2013 at 01:17 said: Why does everyone seem to give Taylor so much credit for beating Lung? Sure, she’s a badass and all, but she did maybe half the work each time; you certainly shouldn’t be inferring that Skitter > Lung > Leviathan or anything. Well,in the second fight she actually fought him at severe disadvantage,as he was already powered up.Even if we accept using the toxin as outside help,her disadvantage evens things out. But no,Skitter wouldn’t beat Leviathan,or she might,but not because she beat Lung.She might even manage to defeat Lung in his ultimate form (very doubtful,she will most likely just destroy him before he becomes a problem)but if she does,it will be via a combination of Lung’s psyhology and the fact Lung is biological,qualities that Leviathan lacks,and qualities Leviathan could not take advantage of. Agreed. Taylor’s strengths and the reason why she beat Lung are basically that she is really, Really, REALLY good at improv and she has a huge knowledge of the local battlefield plus multitasking. She is best in a commander role truly because she can direct others with how to team up against the threats she can’t directly take on. That’s why she did well against Leviathan to begin with too. She kept track of him better than a lot of the others and managed to keep others pointed in the right direction. Brute strength she does not have. Smarts she does. Taylor beats Lung because she can take him out before he reaches the gamebreaker levels. Jack on December 2, 2013 at 09:11 said: Wildbow, the way you describe tidal waves isn’t very accurate, and its kind of frustrating to read. Tidal waves aren’t really waves, they’re more like avalanches of water. They aren’t usually very high, but are very long, and very wide. When you describe Lung as enduring a tidal wave, and then getting back up (you also wrote tidal waves similarly in ch8), you make tidal waves sound like a gigantic wave which hits with a bit of power but is gone after a few seconds. Sorry about the rant, I have a bit of a background in geography and this is a bit of a pet peeve. IIRC, in both cases the ‘tidal waves’ were actually Leviathan throwing around hydrokinetically-controlled masses of water rather than natural tidal waves. It’s not surprising they behaved atypically. White Phos on March 27, 2014 at 23:40 said: Damn really cool to see Lung’s origin. A baller with an samurai code and plenty of firepower. Also I really hope Trickster isn’t just a Teacher drone. I know he was a huge ass but I still really like the Travelers and his power. Passata Sotto on April 29, 2014 at 08:21 said: I could kick myself i read worm all the way through twice and since i convinced my girlfriend to read it i’ve been skimming and rereading to keep up with where she is and only now do i realize i skipped this interlude the past two times. Honestly feel like an idiot aypsolmaltis on July 9, 2014 at 12:31 said: Hi, it’s me again, nitpicking the Chinese, again (hopefully with a more justified reason this time): “Tōng Líng Tǎ” (通灵塔, literally “soul-link tower”) is indeed a term for a ziggurat, as Google Translate helpfully tells me. Problem is, my Google searches have pointed out that it is almost exclusively used in the context of the Warcraft series of video games to refer to the Ziggurat structure that is used by the Undead faction as a power source for their units, i.e. it was probably coined by Blizzard’s localization team. The proper term for a ziggurat is “Jīnzìxíng Shén Tǎ” (金字形神塔, literally “金-shaped (i.e. pyramidal) god-tower”), but that doesn’t really roll off the tongue. Mariam Kavtaradze (@KavtoMari) on July 10, 2014 at 15:06 said: There are characters I think I’ll never sympathize with… Then bonus chapters happen. Seriously characterizations of side characters in this story are amazing. Okay, I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: I love Char. She is has become so damn awesome. I wish she would go talk to someone about her fear of guys though because that is going to cause issues for her in the long run. I mean sure it makes my shipping her with Taylor sooooo much easier but it’s not healthy for the poor girl. And wow is she freaking smart! She hears second hand about stuff seen during trigger events and immediately manages to equate that to the kid either having had one or having potential to have one. I like Forrest even more now as well. You know I didn’t particularly mind the reporter before. He was a bit of a dick but not bad by reporter standards. But now…well now the slimy little dick seemed like a slimy little dick. I hope nobody talks to him and if they do they get kicked out of the territory. Puppy therapy: AWWWWWWWW!!!!! You feel bad? Take a puppy. Can’t sleep? Take a puppy. Daughter was actually a supervillain? Take a puppy. Lose a prized friend and boss? Take a puppy. Bitch is awesome! Hmm somehow my comments for this interlude and the bonus one got swapped…I thought I was more careful than this… I read a lot of these chapters at work and copy and paste my comments into an email so I can add them when I get home. Sorry about that. Well it’s nice to see that there is a potential avenue of attack against Contessa. Have some snipers/normal mercs in the vicinity and pray to god that someone has a trigger event to knock her off balance for a few seconds. Boom headshot. End Contessa. Not that this is in any way sure but hey it’s a plan! Probably like Plan C or E or maybe Q but still, a plan. I have to say I understand Lung’s thought about not needing to win but also not wanting to lose. There is a big and important difference. Lung got BIGGER than LEVIATHAN?! Holy shit…and dear lord he caused him to retreat? After fighting one on one? Wow. I know it’s been said before but hearing what he did and seeing what he did are two very different things. And Skitter beat this monster too…what is there for our hero to kill next? An Endbringer? And wow Lung almost joined the Protectorate? That’s a scary thought. Well it’s nice to see that Amelia has figured things out and appears to be somewhat put back together. She really should’ve taken the Undersiders up on their membership offer. She would’ve gotten along smashingly with Skitter/Taylor/Weaver. It is friggin hilarious how the same girl who beat Lung twice is now shown to have killed Alexandria. That really should make him feel better! It’s pretty cool that Weaver has Marquis’ respect now. And…I think…Amelia’s too? Hmm well Teacher has been tossed onto my growing pile of utterly-contemptible-assholes-who-need-to-die. Lung is conflicted enough that he just makes the assholes-who-should-probably-die-at-some-point pile. Saint has also made the former pile. At the start it was due to hurting Dragon but now there is actually bad stuff I can lay at his feat. Burying potentially world saving information just ’cause? Yeah dude needs to be killing painfully. Minor typo: “is it reassuring?” Teacher murmured. -> The first word is missing a capitol. “as they filed out of the stairwell and into the restaurant on the third floor.” I believe that “filed” is a type. Is it? Nope. “File” as a verb can mean “move in single file”, i.e. in a line. They left the stairwell one at a time. Just realized this is a reference to Masamune, the tinker with the mass-production specialty who’s been mentioned elsewhere. Nice work. Was Challenger one of the names on the first side of the Leviathan memorial? The ones whose deaths I couldn’t find in the text of Extermination? hopefwlyanonymous on April 2, 2017 at 22:07 said: Are we shipping Lung and Marquis? I think so. «Lung took that glance in all it’s import» “its” not “it’s” This chappie made me think. What was stopping Alexandria, assuming she truly was invincible, from grabbing the Endbringers and flying them into space? Horatio Von Becker on December 6, 2017 at 12:36 said: They’re all probably capable of propelling themselves through space, and certainly capable of destroying any breathing equipment Alexandria could wear. Considering how Alexandria died, that was a considerable limitation. “this would be a two year buildup” How comes Lung to the two year timeline? They have access to the news sometimes like when Taylor anouned Weaver. Announced* Yeah lung! Oh wait he sucks and doesn’t have a dick… Abrakadabra on October 2, 2019 at 12:46 said: World building time! And the japanese got their kaiju fight of their wildest dreams! Leave a Reply to a Cancel reply	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1646
__label__wiki	0.733172	0.733172	Justia Patents Hans Krueger Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications Patents by Inventor Hans Krueger Hans Krueger has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Semiconductor Device and Method of Manufacturing a Semiconductor Device Abstract: A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes reducing a thickness of a semiconductor substrate and/or forming a doped region in the semiconductor substrate. The method further includes changing an ion acceleration energy of an ion beam while effecting a relative movement between the semiconductor substrate and the ion beam impinging on the semiconductor substrate. Filed: June 5, 2019 Inventors: Moriz Jelinek, Michael Kokot, Christian Krueger, Hans-Joachim Schulze, Werner Schustereder MEMS component and method for encapsulating MEMS components Abstract: A MEMS component includes, on a substrate, component structures, contact areas connected to the component structures, metallic column structures seated on the contact areas, and metallic frame structures surrounding the component structures. A cured resist layer is seated on frame structure and column structures such that a cavity is enclosed between substrate, frame structure and resist layer. A structured metallization is provided directly on the resist layer or on a carrier layer seated on the resist layer. The structured metallization includes at least external contacts of the component and being electrically conductively connected both to metallic structures and to the contact areas of the component structures. Filed: November 22, 2017 Date of Patent: December 25, 2018 Assignee: SnapTrack, Inc. Inventors: Hans Krüger, Alois Stelzl, Christian Bauer, Jürgen Portmann, Wolfgang Pahl Filed: October 14, 2013 SIMPLE TO PRODUCE ELECTRIC COMPONENT AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING AN ELECTRIC COMPONENT Abstract: The invention relates to a simple to produce electric component for chips with sensitive component structures. Said component comprises a connection structure and a switching structure on the underside of the chip and a support substrate with at least one polymer layer. Inventors: Christian BAUER, Hans KRÜEGER, Jürgen PORTMANN, Alois STELZL, Wolfgang PAHL Wafer-level package and method for production thereof Abstract: A hermetic wafer-level package composed of two piezoelectric wafers, preferably identical in terms of material, and a production method therefor are presented. The electrical and mechanical connection between the two wafers is accomplished with frame structures and pillars, the partial structures of which, distributed between two wafers, are wafer-bonded with the aid of connecting layers. Filed: March 28, 2012 Date of Patent: May 9, 2017 Inventors: Christian Bauer, Hans Krueger, Juergen Portmann, Alois Stelzl, Wolfgang Pahl, Robert Koch Component and method for producing a component Abstract: A component includes a substrate, a chip and a frame. The frame is bonded to the substrate and the chip rests on the frame. A sealing layer on parts of the frame and the chip is designed to hermetically seal a volume enclosed by the substrate, the chip and the metal frame. Filed: July 29, 2011 Date of Patent: July 5, 2016 Assignee: EPCOS AG Inventors: Christian Bauer, Hans Krueger, Juergen Portmann, Alois Stelzl Acquisition of in-vehicle sensor data and rendering of aggregate average performance indicators Abstract: Data collection and analysis processes include collecting energy consumption data from an in-vehicle energy source sensor, collecting emissions data from an in-vehicle emissions sensor, the emissions data reflecting emissions produced by a vehicle, and collecting mileage data from a mileage sensor in the vehicle. The data collection and analysis processes also include processing the energy consumption data and the emissions data as a function of the mileage data, calculating an efficiency rating from the processing, and transmitting results of the processing to a data collection system. Filed: October 6, 2011 Date of Patent: March 29, 2016 Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC Inventors: Pui-Kei Yuen, Roger A. Clark, William M. Studzinski, Martin Hans Krueger, Elizabeth S. Nunning, Roland Matthe Method for connecting a plurality of unpackaged substrates Abstract: A plurality of unpackaged substrates connected to one another is disclosed. The stepped structures on and/or in a first main area of a first substrate include a plurality of integrated circuits. The stepped structures run between the integrated circuits. The first conductor tracks extend from at least some contact connections of the respective integrated circuits as far as the stepped structures. The first substrate is connected on the side of the first main area to a further substrate. The first substrate is severed from a second main area opposite to the first main area such that the first substrate is divided into a plurality of substrate pieces. Each substrate piece has one of the integrated circuits. The first conductor tracks are accessible in interspaces between the substrate pieces. The second conductor tracks are formed from the second main area. At least some of the second conductor tracks lead from the second main area over side walls of the substrate pieces as far as the first conductor tracks. Filed: December 19, 2011 Date of Patent: October 20, 2015 Inventors: Hans Krueger, Alexander Schmajew, Alois Stelzl Method and apparatus for producing chip devices, and chip device produced by means of the method Abstract: A chip device is produced providing at least one wafer having a plurality of chip components. The wafer or wafers are separated into the individual chip components and/or into groups of chip components. The individual chip components and/or the groups of chip components are applied to a carrier element, in such a way that interspaces having a predetermined width are formed between the individual chip components and/or the groups of chip components. A polymer is introduced into the interspaces in order to form a composite element composed of the chip components and a polymer matrix. The composite element is separated in such a way that chip devices composed of in each case one of the chip components and at least one section of the polymer matrix are formed. The invention furthermore relates to a chip device produced by means of the method. Filed: September 9, 2011 Date of Patent: August 25, 2015 Inventors: Michael Gerner, Hans Krueger, Alois Stelzl Miniaturized electrical component comprising an MEMS and an ASIC and production method Abstract: The invention relates to a miniaturized electrical component comprising an MEMS chip and an ASIC chip. The MEMS chip and the ASIC chip are disposed on top of each other; an internal mounting of MEMS chip and ASIC chip is connected to external electrical terminals of the electrical component by means of vias through the MEMS chip or the ASIC chip. Filed: January 24, 2011 Date of Patent: June 16, 2015 Inventors: Gregor Feiertag, Hans Krueger, Wolfgang Pahl, Anton Leidl Circuit board with flexible region and method for production thereof Abstract: A circuit board comprising a circuit carrier, a cover layer composed of a nonconductive material, comprising an organic substance, arranged on the circuit carrier, a first metallization layer at least partly arranged on the cover layer, wherein the first metallization layer has a flexible region. Date of Patent: May 19, 2015 Assignee: EPCOS AC Inventors: Wolfgang Pahl, Hans Krueger, Peter Demmer Encapsulation of an MEMS component and a method for producing said component Abstract: The invention relates to a component and a method for producing said component. The component comprises a substrate (S), a chip (CH), a frame (MF), which is connected to the substrate (S) and on which the chip (CH) bears. A metallic closure layer (ML) encompasses the frame (MF), the substrate (S) and the chip (CH) such that a volume enclosed by the substrate (S), the chip (CH) and the frame (MF) is hermetically sealed. Date of Patent: April 14, 2015 Inventors: Christian Bauer, Hans Krüger, Jürgen Portmann, Alois Stelzl MEMS microphone and method for producing the MEMS microphone Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing a microphone, in which a transducer element (WE) is mounted on a carrier (TR); a cover is arranged over the transducer element (WE) and the carrier (TR) such that the transducer element (WE) is enclosed between the cover and the carrier (TR); a first sound inlet opening (S01) is produced in the carrier (TR); a functional test of the microphone is carried out; the first sound inlet opening (S01) is closed; and a second sound inlet opening (S02) is created in the cover. The present invention further relates to a microphone resulting from the method, in which the first sound inlet opening (S01) is prepared but closed. Filed: July 7, 2011 Inventors: Wolfgang Pahl, Hans Krueger, Gregor Feiertag, Alois Stelzl, Anton Leidl, Stefan Seitz Abstract: A component includes a substrate, a chip, and a frame. The frame, the substrate, and the chip enclose a volume. A metal sealing layer is provided which is designed to hermetically seal the volume. The metal sealing layer has a hardened liquid metal or a hardened liquid metal alloy. Applicant: EPCOS AG Inventors: Christian Bauer, Hans Krueger, Juergen Portmann, Alois Stelzl, Alexander Schmajew Hermetically sealed housing for electronic components and manufacturing method Abstract: Frames (3) applied on a wafer (1) are leveled and covered with a covering film, such that gas-tight housings are formed for component structures (5), in particular for filter or MEMS structures. Inner columns (4) can be provided for supporting the housing and for the ground connection; outer columns (4) can be provided for the electrical connection and are connected to the component structures by means of conductor tracks (6) that are electrically insulated from the frames (3). Element with optical marking, manufacturing method, and use Abstract: A layer combination with a marking is proposed, for example, for a miniaturized electrical component. The layer combination includes a first layer and a different release layer, which is applied on it, on which a pattern is formed by a released pattern-like area. The release area is formed from an inorganic, semiconducting, insulating material, where the pattern produced thereon is machine-readable. Date of Patent: April 8, 2014 Inventors: Alexander Schmajew, Hans Krueger, Alois Stelzl MEMS package and method for the production thereof Abstract: An MEMS package is proposed, wherein a chip having MEMS structures on its top side is connected to a rigid covering plate and a frame structure, which comprises a polymer, to form a sandwich structure in such a way that a closed cavity which receives the MEMS structures is formed. Solderable or bondable electrical contact are arranged on the rear side of the chip or on the outer side of the covering plate which faces away from the chip, and are electrically conductively connected to at least one connection pad by means of an electrical connection structure. Filed: December 4, 2008 Inventors: Gregor Feiertag, Hans Krüger, Alexander Schmajew	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1654
__label__wiki	0.821293	0.821293	Justia Patents Polycrystalline Or Amorphous SemiconductorUS Patent Application for PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME Patent Application (Application #20090120498) PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME Nov 4, 2008 - Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. A photoelectric conversion device with an excellent photoelectric conversion characteristic with a silicon semiconductor material effectively utilized. The photoelectric conversion device includes a first unit cell including a first electrode, a first impurity semiconductor layer, a single crystal semiconductor layer, and a second impurity semiconductor layer; and a second unit cell including a third impurity semiconductor layer, a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer, a fourth impurity semiconductor layer, and a second electrode. The second and third impurity semiconductor layers are in contact with each other so that the first and second unit cells are connected in series, and an insulating layer is provided for a surface of the first electrode and bonded to a supporting substrate. Latest Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Patents: Display device and electronic device Negative electrode for power storage device and power storage device Display device Method for manufacturing semiconductor device Light-emitting device and manufacturing method thereof The present invention relates to a photoelectric conversion device using a single crystal semiconductor or a polycrystalline semiconductor, and relates to a so-called tandem photoelectric conversion device in which a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements are stacked. As a measure against global warming, solar photovoltaic power generation has become popular in the world. For the solar photovoltaic power generation, a photoelectric conversion device (also called a solar cell) in which light energy is converted into electrical energy by using photoelectric characteristics of a semiconductor is applied in many cases, as compared to the case of utilizing solar heat. Production of photoelectric conversion devices tends to increase year after year. For example, the total production of solar cells in the world in 2005 was 1,759 MW, which is a drastic increase of 147% as compared to that in the previous fiscal year. Photoelectric conversion devices which have become popular worldwide use a crystalline semiconductor; photoelectric conversion devices using a single crystal silicon substrate or a polycrystalline silicon substrate constitute a large part of the production. The thickness of a crystal-type photoelectric conversion device using silicon, which is needed to absorb sunlight, is only about 10 μm. Nevertheless, a single crystal silicon substrate or a polycrystalline silicon substrate manufactured as a product has a thickness of about 200 to 300 μm. That is, the photoelectric conversion device using a single crystal semiconductor substrate or a polycrystalline semiconductor substrate has a thickness ten or more times as large as the thickness needed for photoelectric conversion, and thus the single crystal silicon substrate or the polycrystalline silicon substrate is far from being effectively utilized wholly. Speaking of extremes, most part of the single crystal silicon substrate or the polycrystalline silicon substrate functions only as a structural body for keeping the shape of the photoelectric conversion device. With the increase of production of photoelectric conversion devices year after year, short of supply of polycrystalline silicon, which is the material of a silicon substrate, and resulting rise of cost of the same have become problems of the industry. The production of polycrystalline silicon is expected to be about 36,000 tons in 2007; in contrast, 25,000 tons or more of polycrystalline silicon is needed for semiconductor (LSI) and 20,000 tons or more of polycrystalline silicon is needed for solar cells, which means polycrystalline silicon seems to be in short of supply by about 10,000 tons. This short of supply is predicted to continue. There are a variety of structures of photoelectric conversion devices. In addition to a photoelectric conversion device having a typical structure in which an n-type or a p-type diffusion layer is formed in a single crystal silicon substrate or a polycrystalline silicon substrate, a stacked photoelectric conversion device in which different kinds of unit cells, i.e., a unit cell formed of a single crystal semiconductor and a unit cell formed of an amorphous semiconductor, are combined is known (see Examined Patent Application Publication No. H6-044638). The photoelectric conversion devices are the same in that a single crystal silicon substrate or a polycrystalline silicon substrate is used. Here, as another mode of a photovoltaic device using a single crystal semiconductor substrate, a photovoltaic device using a single crystal semiconductor layer formed into a slice is given. For example, Patent Document 4 (Patent Document 4: Japanese Published Patent Application No. H10-335683) discloses a tandem solar cell in which hydrogen ions are implanted into a single crystal silicon substrate, a single crystal silicon layer which is separated from the single crystal silicon substrate in a layer shape is disposed over a support substrate in order to lower the cost and save resources while maintaining high conversion efficiency. In this tandem solar cell, a single crystal semiconductor layer and a substrate are bonded to each other with a conductive paste. On the other hand, photoelectric conversion devices using a crystalline silicon thin film have also been developed. For example, a method for manufacturing a silicon thin-film solar cell in which a crystalline silicon film is deposited over a substrate by a plasma CVD method using a VHF of 27 MHz or higher which has been pulse modulated is described (see Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2005-50905). Further, a technique for controlling plasma process condition to optimize dopant concentration in crystal grains and crystal grain boundaries when a polycrystalline silicon thin film is formed by a plasma CVD method over a special electrode called a texture electrode which has minute unevenness on its surface is disclosed (see Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2004-14958). However, a crystalline thin-film silicon solar cell is still inferior to a single crystal silicon solar cell in crystal quality and photoelectric conversion characteristic. Moreover, a crystalline silicon film needs to be deposited to a thickness of 1 μm or more by a CVD method, which leads to a problem of low productivity. Conventionally, it has been difficult to produce photoelectric conversion devices enough to meet the demand, with limited resources effectively utilized. Further, in a method for bonding a single crystal semiconductor layer which is formed into a slice to a support substrate with a conductive paste, there is a problem such that bond strength cannot be maintained for a long time. In particular, in a condition in which a photovoltaic device is exposed to direct sunlight, there is a problem such that an organic material contained in a conductive paste is modified and bond strength is lowered. In addition, there is a problem of reliability such that a conductive material (e.g., silver) in the conductive paste is diffused into the single crystal semiconductor layer, which deteriorates photoelectric conversion characteristics of a semiconductor. In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a photoelectric conversion device with an excellent photoelectric conversion characteristic with a silicon semiconductor material effectively utilized, and a manufacturing method thereof. It is still another object of the present invention to improve reliability of a photovoltaic device. According to the summary of the present invention, a photoelectric conversion device includes the following: a first unit cell in which a single crystal semiconductor layer with a thickness of 10 μm or less used as a photoelectric conversion layer and a second unit cell in which a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer provided over the first unit cell used as a photoelectric conversion layer. One feature of the present invention is a photoelectric conversion device including the following: a first unit cell in which a first electrode is provided for one surface of a single crystal semiconductor layer with a first impurity semiconductor layer having one conductivity type interposed therebetween and a second impurity semiconductor layer having an opposite conductivity type to the one conductivity type is provided for the other surface of the same, and a second unit cell in which a third impurity semiconductor layer having one conductivity type is provided for one surface of a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer and a second electrode is provided for the other surface of the same with a fourth impurity semiconductor layer having an opposite conductivity type to the one conductivity type interposed therebetween. The second impurity semiconductor layer and the third impurity semiconductor layer are in contact with each other so that the first unit cell and the second unit cell are connected in series, and an insulating layer is provided for a surface of the first electrode, which is on the opposite side to the single crystal semiconductor layer, and is bonded to a supporting substrate. Another feature of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a photoelectric conversion device including the following steps of: introducing cluster ions into a single crystal semiconductor substrate at a depth of 10 μm or less from one surface of the single crystal semiconductor substrate to form a damaged layer; forming a first impurity semiconductor layer, a first electrode, and an insulating layer on the one surface side; bonding the insulating layer to a supporting substrate; cleaving the single crystal semiconductor substrate at the damaged layer, so that a single crystal semiconductor layer remains over the supporting substrate; forming a second impurity semiconductor layer on the cleavage plane side of the single crystal semiconductor layer; decomposing a reactive gas including a semiconductor source gas with an electromagnetic energy, so that a third impurity semiconductor layer having one conductivity type, a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer, and a fourth impurity semiconductor layer having an opposite conductivity type to the one conductivity type are sequentially formed over the second impurity semiconductor layer; and forming a second electrode over the fourth impurity semiconductor layer. Note that ‘single crystals’ are crystals in which crystal faces and crystal axes are aligned and atoms or molecules which constitute the single crystals are aligned regularly in terms of space. However, although single crystals are constituted by aligning atoms regularly, single crystals may include a lattice defect in which part of the alignment is disordered, and an intended or unintended lattice distortion. In accordance with the present invention, a single crystal semiconductor substrate is sliced from the top surface thereof and bonded to a supporting substrate, whereby a photoelectric conversion device in which a top cell is stacked over a bottom cell can be obtained. The bottom cell uses a single crystal semiconductor layer with a thickness of 10 μm or less as a photoelectric conversion layer, and the top cell uses a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer as a photoelectric conversion layer. That is to say, a photoelectric conversion device can be manufactured in which a bottom cell using a single crystal semiconductor layer as a photoelectric conversion layer and a top cell using a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer as a photoelectric conversion layer, which is stacked over the bottom cell, are provided over a large-area glass substrate the upper temperature limit of which is equal to or lower than 700° C. The single crystal semiconductor layer is obtained by separation of an upper portion of the single crystal semiconductor substrate. The single crystal semiconductor substrate which can be repeatedly used enables effective use of resources. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a structure of a tandem photoelectric conversion device. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the tandem photoelectric conversion device. FIG. 3 shows an example of an energy band diagram of the tandem photoelectric conversion device. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a stacked photoelectric conversion device. FIGS. 5A to 5D are cross-sectional views for describing a process for manufacturing the stacked photoelectric conversion device. FIGS. 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views for describing the process for manufacturing the stacked photoelectric conversion device. FIGS. 7A to 7C are cross-sectional views for describing the process for manufacturing the stacked photoelectric conversion device. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view for describing a step for manufacturing the stacked photoelectric conversion device. FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a structure of an ion doping apparatus. FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a structure of a laser processing apparatus. FIGS. 12A to 12C are cross-sectional views for describing a process for manufacturing the stacked photoelectric conversion device. FIG. 17A is a plan view showing a structure of a solar photovoltaic module, and FIG. 17B is a cross-sectional view taken along section line C-D of FIG. 17A. FIG. 18 is a view showing an example of a solar photovoltaic system. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment modes of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. It is to be noted that the present invention is not limited to the following description, and it is easily understood by those skilled in the art that modes and details thereof can be modified in various ways without departing from the purpose and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the description of the following embodiment modes. In the structures of the present invention described below, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals through the drawings. Embodiment Mode 1 FIG. 1 is a plan view of a photoelectric conversion device 100 of this embodiment mode. This photoelectric conversion device 100 includes a first unit cell 104 and a second unit cell 105 which are fixed to a supporting substrate 101. The first unit cell 104 and the second unit cell 105 include semiconductor junction by which photoelectric conversion is performed. The first unit cell 104 is provided with a first electrode on the supporting substrate 101 side and the second unit cell 105 is provided with a second electrode on the surface side. The first electrode is connected to a first auxiliary electrode 113 and a second auxiliary electrode 114 is provided over the second electrode. The photoelectric conversion device 100 of this embodiment mode has a structure in which the first unit cell 104 and the second unit cell 105 are stacked over the supporting substrate 101 having an insulating surface; therefore, positive and negative electrodes are exposed to the same surface side of the supporting substrate 101. A cross-sectional structure of the photoelectric conversion device along section line A-B of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 illustrates a so-called tandem photoelectric conversion device in which the first unit cell 104 and the second unit cell 105 are stacked over the supporting substrate 101. The supporting substrate 101 is a substrate having an insulating surface or an insulating substrate; for example, any of a variety of glass substrates that are used in the electronics industry, such as an aluminosilicate glass substrate, an aluminoborosilicate glass substrate, and a barium borosilicate glass substrate, can be used. An insulating layer 102 is provided between the supporting substrate 101 and the first unit cell 104. A first electrode 103 is provided between the first unit cell 104 and the insulating layer 102 and a second electrode 112 is provided over the second unit cell 105. The insulating layer 102 is bonded to the supporting substrate 101 and disposed in close contact with the first electrode 103, whereby the first unit cell 104 and the second unit cell 105 are fixed to the supporting substrate 101. The insulating layer 102 is formed of an insulating film having a smooth and hydrophilic surface in order to bond to the supporting substrate 101. Single crystal silicon is typically used for a single crystal semiconductor layer 106 of the first unit cell 104. Alternatively, a polycrystalline semiconductor (typically polycrystalline silicon) layer can be used instead of the single crystal semiconductor layer. A first impurity semiconductor layer 107 having one conductivity type and a second impurity semiconductor layer 108 having a conductivity type opposite to the one conductivity type are each formed by adding a predetermined impurity to the single crystal semiconductor layer 106. When the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 has p-type conductivity, the second impurity semiconductor layer 108 has n-type conductivity, and vice versa. As the p-type impurity, an element belonging to Group 13 in the periodic table, such as boron, is used; as the n-type impurity, an element belonging to Group 15 in the periodic table, such as phosphorus or arsenic, is used. The addition of an impurity element can be performed by ion implantation or ion doping. In this specification, ion implantation indicates a method by which an ionized gas which has been subjected to mass separation is introduced into a semiconductor, and ion doping indicates a method by which an ionized gas which has not been subjected to mass separation is introduced into a semiconductor. The single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is obtained by slicing a single crystal semiconductor substrate. For example, the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is formed by a separation method using hydrogen ion implantation in which hydrogen ions are introduced into a single crystal semiconductor substrate at a predetermined depth at high concentration and then heat treatment is performed to separate a single crystal silicon layer of an upper portion of the single crystal semiconductor substrate. Alternatively, a method may be employed in which a single crystal semiconductor is epitaxially grown on porous silicon and a porous silicon layer is separated by cleavage by water-jetting. As the single crystal semiconductor substrate, a single crystal silicon wafer is typically used. The thickness of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is equal to or more than 0.1 μm and equal to or less than 10 μm, preferably equal to or more than 1 μm and equal to or less than 5 μm. In the case of using a single crystal silicon semiconductor for the single crystal semiconductor layer 106, the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 needs to have thickness of the above range to absorb sunlight since the single crystal silicon semiconductor has an energy gap of 1.12 eV and is of indirect transition type. For a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 of the second unit cell 105, amorphous silicon is typically used. Alternatively, a microcrystal semiconductor layer (typically microcrystal silicon) can be used instead of the amorphous semiconductor layer. A third impurity semiconductor layer 110 having one conductivity type and a fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111 having a conductivity type opposite to the one conductivity type are each formed of an amorphous semiconductor layer or a microcrystal semiconductor layer including a predetermined impurity. Amorphous silicon or microcrystal silicon is typically used, and amorphous silicon carbide can alternatively be used. If the third impurity semiconductor layer 110 has p-type conductivity, the fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111 has n-type conductivity, and vice versa. The non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 is formed by decomposing a reactive gas including a semiconductor source gas with an electromagnetic energy. As the semiconductor source gas, a hydride of silicon typified by silane or disilane, a fluoride of silicon, or a chloride of silicon is used. Such a semiconductor source gas or a semiconductor source gas including hydrogen or an inert gas is used as the reactive gas. The non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 is formed by a plasma CVD apparatus using this reactive gas, with a high-frequency electric power of 10 to 200 MHz applied as the electromagnetic energy. As the electromagnetic energy, a microwave electric power of 1 to 5 GHz, typically 2.45 GHz may be applied instead of the high-frequency electric power. The third impurity semiconductor layer 110 and the fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111 are formed similarly by a plasma CVD method in such a manner that diborane is added as the impurity to the reactive gas in the case of giving p-type conductivity and phosphine is added as the impurity to the reactive gas in the case of giving n-type conductivity. As the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109, an amorphous silicon layer is typically used. The thickness of the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 is equal to or more than 50 nm and equal to or less than 300 nm, preferably equal to or more than 100 nm and equal to or less than 200 nm. In the case of using an amorphous silicon semiconductor with an energy gap of 1.75 eV for the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109, the thickness of the above range allows the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 to absorb light with shorter wavelengths than 600 nm to convert into electricity. As the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 of the second unit cell 105, a microcrystal semiconductor layer (typically a microcrystalline silicon layer) can also be used. SiH4 is a typical semiconductor source gas used for forming the microcrystal semiconductor layer, and Si2H6 can alternatively be used. Further, SiH2Cl2, SiHCl3, SiCl4, SiF4, or the like may be mixed to SiH4 as appropriate. The microcrystal semiconductor layer is formed by a plasma CVD method using this semiconductor source gas diluted with hydrogen; fluorine; or hydrogen or fluorine and one or more of rare gas elements of helium, argon, krypton, and neon. The dilution ratio is preferably 10 times to 3000 times. Film deposition is performed by glow discharge plasma generated under reduced pressure of about 0.1 to 133 Pa. As the electric power for generating plasma, high-frequency electric power of 10 to 200 MHz, or microwave electric power of 1 to 5 GHz, typically 2.45 GHz is applied. A carbide gas such as CH4 or C2H6 or a germanium gas such as GeH4 or GeF4 may be mixed into the semiconductor source gas so that the energy band width is adjusted to be 1.5 to 2.4 eV or 0.9 to 1.1 eV. The microcrystal semiconductor layer has lattice distortion which changes the optical characteristics from indirect transition type of single crystal silicon to direct transition type. The lattice distortion of at least 10% causes the optical characteristics to change into direct transition type; however, the local distortion makes the optical characteristics in which direct transition and indirect transition are mixed. The microcrystalline silicon layer has an energy gap of about 1.45 eV which is wider than that of single crystal silicon; therefore, light with shorter wavelengths than 600 nm can be absorbed and converted into electricity. The photoelectric conversion device of this embodiment mode has a structure in which light enters from the second electrode 112 side. The second electrode 112 is formed of a transparent electrode material such as indium tin oxide, tin oxide, or zinc oxide. The first electrode 103 is formed of a metal material selected from titanium, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, chromium, or nickel. The first electrode 103 includes a layer of a nitride of titanium, molybdenum, tungsten, or tantalum, and the layer of the nitride thereof is in contact with the first impurity semiconductor layer 107. With the provision of the metal nitride between the semiconductor layer and the metal layer, the layers can have closer contact with each other. FIG. 3 is an energy band diagram in the case of using the first unit cell 104 including the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 with an energy gap of 1.12 eV and the second unit cell 105 including the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 with an energy gap of 1.75 eV. The second unit cell 105 including the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 with wide energy gap is provided on the side from which light enters and the first unit cell 104 including the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 with narrow energy gap is provided behind the second unit cell 105. Note that the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 and the third impurity semiconductor layer 110 are p-type semiconductor and the second impurity semiconductor layer 108 and the fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111 are n-type semiconductor in this case. As shown in the band diagram of FIG. 3, electrons excited by light absorption flow to the n-type semiconductor side and holes flow to the p-type semiconductor side. A p-n junction is formed at the connection portion of the first unit cell 104 and the second unit cell 105 and a diode is inserted in a direction opposite to a direction of current flow in an equivalent circuit. In this case, recombination centers are formed at the bonding interface between the second impurity semiconductor layer 108 and the third impurity semiconductor layer 110 such that recombination current can flow at the bonding interface. The second impurity semiconductor layer 108 is a single crystal semiconductor, and an amorphous semiconductor layer or a microcrystal semiconductor layer is formed by a plasma CVD method or the like as the third impurity semiconductor layer 110 thereover, thereby a bond through which recombination current flows can be formed at the bonding interface. In the tandem photoelectric conversion device of FIG. 2, the first unit cell 104 formed of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is used as the bottom cell; thus, light with long wavelengths of 800 nm or longer can be absorbed and converted into electricity, which contributes to improvement of photoelectric conversion efficiency. In this case, the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is thinned to have a thickness of 10 μm or less, so that loss due to recombination of photogenerated carriers can be decreased. FIG. 4 shows an example of a stacked photoelectric conversion device in which three unit cells are stacked. The first unit cell 104 provided over the supporting substrate 101 includes the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 as a photoelectric conversion layer, the second unit cell 105 provided over the first unit cell 104 includes the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 as a photoelectric conversion layer, and a third unit cell 115 provided over the second unit cell 105 includes a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 116 as a photoelectric conversion layer. In this case, since the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 has an energy gap of 1.12 eV, it is preferable that the energy gaps of the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 of the second unit cell 105 and the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 116 of the third unit cell 115, which are located closer to the side from which light enters than the first unit cell 104, be 1.45 to 1.65 eV and 1.7 to 2.0 eV, respectively. This is because sunlight can be effectively absorbed by absorbing light with different wavelength ranges in the unit cells. Amorphous silicon germanium or amorphous silicon is used such that the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 of the second unit cell 105 has an energy gap of 1.45 to 1.65 eV. Amorphous silicon (1.75 eV) or amorphous silicon carbide (1.8 to 2.0 eV) is used such that the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 116 of the third unit cell 115 has an energy gap of 1.7 to 2.0 eV. Note that in FIG. 4, a fifth impurity semiconductor layer 117 is similar to the third impurity semiconductor layer 110 and a sixth impurity semiconductor layer 118 is similar to the fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111; therefore detailed description thereof is omitted. Next, a method for manufacturing the photoelectric conversion device 100 with its cross-sectional structure along section line A-B of FIG. 1 corresponding to the structure shown in FIG. 2 will be described. A semiconductor substrate 119 shown in FIG. 5A is a substrate with a shape about a quadrangular shape, cut out from a circular single crystal semiconductor substrate. The shape of a top surface of the semiconductor substrate 119 is not limited in particular; however, the semiconductor substrate 119 preferably has the shape about a quadrangular shape in the case where a supporting substrate which supports a single crystal semiconductor layer is rectangular in shape. The semiconductor substrate 119 is typically single crystal silicon and preferably has its surface polished to have a mirror surface. This is because the semiconductor substrate 119 is disposed in close contact with the supporting substrate with an insulating layer for bonding interposed therebetween. For example, a p-type single crystal silicon wafer with a resistivity of about 1 to 10 Ωcm is used as the semiconductor substrate 119. The shape of the top surface of the semiconductor substrate 119 is preferably about a quadrangular shape as described above. It is preferable that a protection film 120 be formed of silicon oxide or silicon nitride and a chemical vapor deposition method typified by a plasma CVD method is used for the formation. The protection film 120 is preferably provided to prevent the surface of the semiconductor substrate 119 from losing its planarity due to irradiation with ions at the time of forming a damaged layer in the semiconductor substrate 119. It is preferable that the protection film 120 be provided to have a thickness of 50 to 200 nm. Next, the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 having one conductivity type is formed in the semiconductor substrate 119. For example, boron is added as an impurity which imparts one conductivity type so that the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 is formed to have p-type conductivity. In the photoelectric conversion device of this embodiment mode, the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 is disposed on the side opposite to the side from which light enters so that a back surface field (BSF) is formed. It is preferable that the addition of boron be performed using an ion doping apparatus by which a substrate is irradiated with ions which are accelerated by an electric field without mass separation with B2H6 or BF3 used as a source gas. This is because, even when the area of the semiconductor substrate 119 is more than an area of 300 mm diagonal, the area to be irradiated with the ion beam can be enlarged to perform the process effectively. For example, a linear ion beam with a length of more than 300 mm on a long side is formed and delivered from one end to the other end of the semiconductor substrate 119, so that the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 can be homogeneously formed over the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 119. In FIG. 5B, the protection film 120 is removed and the first electrode 103 is formed over the first impurity semiconductor layer 107. It is preferable that the first electrode 103 be formed of heat-resistant metal. As the heat-resistant metal, a metal material such as titanium, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, chromium, or nickel is used. A nitride of any of these metal materials may be formed in contact with the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 so that the first electrode 103 is formed to have a stacked structure. By the formation of the nitride of metal, the first electrode 103 and the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 can have closer contact with each other. The first electrode 103 is formed by a vacuum deposition method or a sputtering method. FIG. 5C shows a step of forming a damaged layer 121 by irradiating the surface of the semiconductor substrate 119, provided with the first electrode 103, with ion beams 122 including hydrogen ions. As the hydrogen ions, preferably, cluster ions typified by H3+ are introduced to form the damaged layer 121 at a certain depth from the surface. The depth of the damaged layer 121 depends on the acceleration energy of the ions. The thickness of the single crystal semiconductor layer separated from the semiconductor substrate 119 is determined depending on the depth of the damaged layer 121; therefore, the electric field intensity for accelerating cluster ions is determined in consideration of the thickness of the single crystal semiconductor layer. It is preferable that the damaged layer 121 be formed at a depth of less than 10 μm, that is, equal to or more than 50 nm and less than 10000 nm, preferably equal to or more than 100 nm and equal to or less than 5000 nm from the surface of the semiconductor substrate 119. By introducing the cluster ions into the semiconductor substrate 119 through the first electrode 103, the surface of the semiconductor substrate 119 can be prevented from being damaged by the ion irradiation. The hydrogen cluster ions typified by H3+ can be introduced into a Si wafer, using an ion doping apparatus in such a manner that hydrogen plasma is generated and ions generated in the plasma are accelerated by an electric field without mass separation. With the use of the ion doping apparatus, ion irradiation can be easily performed even on the semiconductor substrate 119 which is large in area. FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a structure of an ion doping apparatus by which plural kinds of ions generated from an ion source 200 are introduced to the semiconductor substrate 119 without mass separation. A predetermined gas such as hydrogen is supplied from a gas supplying portion 204 to the ion source 200. The ion source 200 is provided with filaments 201. A filament power source 202 applies ark discharge voltage to each filament 201 to control the amount of current that flows to the filament 201. The gas supplied from the gas supplying portion 204 is exhausted from an exhaustion system 209. The ions generated from the ion source 200 are extracted through an extraction electrode system 205 to form the ion beams 122. The semiconductor substrate 119 disposed on a mounting board 206 is irradiated with the ion beams 122. The proportions of the ion species in the ion beams 122 are calculated with a mass spectrometer tube 207 disposed near the mounting board 206. The ion density calculated with the mass spectrometer tube 207 is converted into signals by using a mass spectrometer 208 and the results may be fed back to a power source controller 203. The filament power sources 202 can be controlled by the power source controller 203 in accordance with the calculation results on the ion density. The gas of hydrogen or the like supplied from the gas supplying portion 204 flows through the chamber of the ion doping apparatus and is exhausted through the exhaustion system 209. Hydrogen supplied to the ion source 200 is ionized through the reaction represented by formula (1): H2+e−→H2++2e−−Q(Q=15.39 eV) (1) The pressure in the chamber of the ion doping apparatus is 1×10−2 to 1×10−1 Pa and the ionization degree is not so high; therefore, a larger amount of H2 that is the source gas exists than H2+ ions. Therefore, H2+ ions generated from the ion sources react with H2 before the extraction through the extraction electrode system 205, and the reaction thereof is represented by formula (2): H2++H2→H3++H+Q(Q=1.49 eV) (2) H3+ exists as a more stable molecule than H+ and H2+; therefore, as the proportion of collision with H2 becomes higher, the amount of H3+ generated is increased. This is clear from the mass spectrometer result of the ion beams 122 flowing into the mounting board 206, with the use of the mass spectrometer tube 207; that is, the proportion of H3+ ions to the total amount of ion species H+, H2+, and H3+ is equal to or more than 70%. Accordingly, the substrate is irradiated with ion beams in which a large amount of H3+ that are cluster ions are generated, which leads to a significant effect of improving the irradiation efficiency of hydrogen atoms as compared to the case of irradiation with H+ or H2+ and containing hydrogen in the semiconductor substrate 119 at high concentration even if the dose is small. As described above, increase of the proportion of H3+ enables the damaged layer 121 to contain hydrogen at a concentration which is equal to or more than 1×1020 atoms/cm3. In the damaged layer 121 formed in the semiconductor substrate 119, the crystal structure is damaged and microvoids are formed, so that a porous structure is formed. Therefore, the volume of microvoids formed in the damaged layer 121 is changed by thermal treatment at a relatively low temperature (equal to or less than 600° C.), and cleavage can be performed along the damaged layer 112 to obtain the single crystal semiconductor layer. The surface of the semiconductor substrate 119 may be scanned with a linear ion beam the length of which is longer than the length of one side of the semiconductor substrate 119 with a shape about a quadrangular shape to introduce cluster ions. In this manner, the depth at which the damaged layer 121 is formed can be uniform. FIG. 5D shows a step of forming the insulating layer 102 over the first electrode 103. The insulating layer 102 is formed of an insulating film such as a silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film, a silicon nitride oxide film, or a silicon nitride film. There is no limitation on the material for forming the insulating layer 102 as long as an insulating film can be formed, and a film the surface of which is smooth and hydrophilic may be used. As for the smoothness of the insulating layer 102, the mean surface roughness (Ra) is preferably equal to or less than 1 nm, more preferably equal to or less than 0.5 nm. The ‘mean surface roughness’ in this specification refers to a mean surface roughness obtained by three-dimensional expansion of centerline mean roughness which is defined by JIS B0601 so as to be able to be applied to a plane. Note that the silicon oxynitride film means a film that contains higher content of oxygen than nitrogen and shows concentration ranges of oxygen, nitrogen, silicon, and hydrogen from 50 to 70 at. %, 0.5 to 15 at. %, 25 to 35 at. %, and 0.1 to 10 at. %, respectively in the measurement using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and hydrogen forward scattering (HFS). Further, the silicon nitride oxide film means a film that contains higher content of nitrogen than oxygen, and the measurement using RBS and HFS shows the concentration ranges of oxygen, nitrogen, silicon, and hydrogen from 5 to 30 at. %, 20 to 55 at. %, 25 to 35 at. %, and 10 to 30 at. %, respectively. Note that content ratios of nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, and hydrogen fall within the ranges given above when the total number of atoms contained in the silicon oxynitride film or the silicon nitride oxide film is defined as 100 at. %. As silicon oxide containing hydrogen, for example, silicon oxide deposited by a chemical vapor deposition method using organosilane is preferable. For example, with use of a silicon oxide film as the insulating layer 102 which is deposited using organosilane, a bond between the supporting substrate and a semiconductor layer can be made strong. For the organosilane, an organic compound which contains silicon, such as tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) (Si(OC2H5)4), tetramethylsilane (TMS) (Si(CH3)4), tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TMCTS), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS), hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS), triethoxysilane (SiH(OC2H5)3), or tris(dimethylamino)silane (SiH(N(CH3)2)3) can be used. Silicon nitride containing hydrogen can be deposited by a plasma CVD method using a silane gas and an ammonia gas. Hydrogen may be added to the gases. Silicon nitride containing oxygen and hydrogen can be deposited by a plasma CVD method using a silane gas, an ammonia gas, and a nitrous oxide gas. In any case, any of silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, or silicon nitride oxide, which contains hydrogen and is deposited by a chemical vapor deposition method such as a plasma CVD method, a low-pressure CVD method, or an atmospheric-pressure CVD method using a silane gas or the like as a source gas can be used. Recommended as the deposition temperature of the insulating layer 102 is a deposition temperature which is equal to or less than 350° C. at which hydrogen is not desorbed from the damaged layer 121 formed in the single crystal semiconductor substrate. FIG. 6A shows a step of bonding the supporting substrate 101 and the semiconductor substrate 119 to each other. This bonding is formed in such a manner that the insulating layer 102 the surface of which is smooth and hydrophilic is firmly attached to the supporting substrate 101. This bond is formed by a hydrogen bond or Van der Waals forces. Hydroxyl groups or water molecules on surfaces of the semiconductor substrate 119 and the supporting substrate 101 which have become hydropholic serve as an adhesive, whereby the bond is formed. The water molecules are diffused by thermal treatment, and silanol groups (Si—OH) of remaining components are bonded to each other by a hydrogen bond. Further, in this bonding portion, by hydrogen being released, a siloxane bond (a Si—O—Si bond) is formed to generate a covalent bond, so that the bond between the semiconductor substrate 119 and the supporting substrate 101 can be made strong. Note that a silicon nitride film, a silicon nitride oxide film, or the like may be formed as a barrier layer 123 at a bonding surface of the supporting substrate 101. The provision of the barrier layer 123 can prevent contamination due to impurities from the supporting substrate 101. In order to efficiently perform the bonding between the supporting substrate 101 and the insulating layer 102, the bonding surfaces thereof is preferably activated in advance. For example, one or both of the bonding surfaces are irradiated with an atom beam or an ion beam. In the case of utilizing an atom beam or an ion beam, a neutral atom beam or an ion beam of an inert gas such as argon can be used. Alternatively, the bonding surfaces can be activated by performing plasma irradiation or radical treatment. Such surface treatment facilitates formation of a bond between different materials even at a temperature of 400° C. or less. FIG. 6B shows a step of separating part of the semiconductor substrate 119 from the supporting substrate 101 by heat treatment, with the damaged layer 121 served as a cleavage plane. The heat treatment is performed preferably at a temperature which is equal to or more than the deposition temperature of the insulating layer 102 and equal to or less than the upper temperature limit of the supporting substrate 101. For example, the heat treatment is performed at 400° C. to 600° C., so that the volume of microvoids formed in the damaged layer 121 is changed, and the semiconductor substrate 119 is cleaved along the region. Since the insulating layer 102 is bonded to the supporting substrate 101, the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 and the first electrode 103 remain over the supporting substrate 101. At this time, the thickness of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 approximately corresponds to the depth at which the damaged layer 121 is formed, and the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is formed to a thickness of equal to or more than 50 nm and less than 10,000 nm, preferably 100 to 5,000 nm. Through the above-described steps, the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 which is fixed to the supporting substrate 101 by the insulating layer 102 can be provided. FIG. 7A shows a step of adding an impurity having an opposite conductivity type to that of the first impurity semiconductor layer 107, to the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 to form the second impurity semiconductor layer 108. For example, phosphorus or arsenic is added such that the second impurity semiconductor layer 108 has n-type conductivity. It is preferable that the surface of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is removed by etching in advance because it is closest to the damaged layer 121 or contains part of the damaged layer 121; either dry etching or wet etching is performed. Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the third impurity semiconductor layer 110, the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109, and the fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111 are formed. The third impurity semiconductor layer 110 is formed of a p-type amorphous semiconductor layer (e.g., a p-type amorphous silicon layer) or a p-type microcrystalline semiconductor layer (e.g., a p-type microcrystalline silicon layer) to have a thickness of 10 to 20 nm. The non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109 is formed of an amorphous silicon layer to have a thickness of 100 to 300 nm (preferably equal to or more than 100 nm and equal to or less than 200 nm). The fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111 is formed of an n-type amorphous semiconductor layer (e.g., an n-type amorphous silicon layer) or an n-type microcrystalline semiconductor layer (e.g., an n-type microcrystalline silicon layer) to have a thickness of 20 to 60 nm. The third impurity semiconductor layer 110, the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109, and the fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111 are formed by a plasma CVD method. As an electric power frequency for exciting plasma, high-frequency electric power in the HF band or the VHF band of 10 to 200 MHz, or microwave electric power of 1 to 5 GHz, typically 2.45 GHz, is applied. As a reactive gas containing a semiconductor source gas, a gas containing hydride of silicon typified by silane or disilane, a gas containing fluoride of silicon or chloride of silicon is used, and hydrogen or an inert gas is mixed with the gas as appropriate to be used. Diborane (B2H6) is added for controlling valence electron to provide p-type conductivity, and phosphine (PH3) is used for controlling valence electron to provide n-type conductivity. Note that the amount of the impurity in the non-single crystal semiconductor layer 109 is preferably reduced; it is preferable that the concentration of either oxygen or nitrogen be 1×1019/cm3 or less, more preferably 5×1018/cm3 or less. As shown in FIG. 7C, the second electrode 112 is formed over the fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111. The second electrode 112 is formed using a transparent conductive material. As the transparent conductive material, metal oxide such as an indium tin oxide alloy (ITO), zinc oxide (ZnO), tin oxide (SnO2), or an ITO—ZnO alloy is used. The thickness of the second electrode 112 is 40 to 200 nm (preferably 50 to 100 nm). The sheet resistance of the second electrode 112 may be about 20 to 200Ω/□ (ohm/square). The second electrode 112 is formed by a sputtering method or a vacuum evaporation method. In this case, the second electrode 112 is formed using a shadow mask such that the second electrode 112 is selectively formed in a region where the first unit cell 104 and the second unit cell 105 overlap with each other. The third impurity semiconductor layer 110, the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109, and the fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111 which are formed by a plasma CVD method are formed over an entire surface of the supporting substrate 101; therefore, in the case where an unnecessary region thereof is removed, the second electrode 112 can be used as a mask for etching. Note that a conductive macromolecular material (also called a ‘conductive polymer’) can be used instead of the above-described metal oxide in order to form the second electrode 112. As the conductive macromolecular material, π electron conjugated conductive polymer can be used. For example, polyaniline or a derivative thereof, polypyrrole or a derivative thereof, polythiophene or a derivative thereof, and a copolymer of two or more kinds of those materials can be given. FIG. 8A shows a step of etching the fourth impurity semiconductor layer 111, the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer 109, the third impurity semiconductor layer 110, the second impurity semiconductor layer 108, the single crystal semiconductor layer 106, and the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 with the use of the second electrode 112 as a mask to expose an end portion of the first electrode 103. For the etching, dry etching is performed using a gas of NF3, SF6, or the like. FIG. 8B shows a step of forming a passivation layer 124 which also serves as an anti-reflection layer over the supporting substrate 101 provided with the first unit cell 104 and the second unit cell 105. The passivation layer 124 is formed of silicon nitride, silicon nitride oxide, or magnesium fluoride. In order to form a contact with auxiliary electrodes, openings are formed in the passivation layer 124 such that parts of the surfaces of the first electrode 103 and the second electrode 112 are exposed. The openings of the passivation layer 124 are formed by an etching process. Alternatively, a passivation layer provided with openings is formed as the passivation layer 124; in this case, a method using a shadow mask described above, or a method using a lift-off method can be employed. FIG. 8C shows a step of forming the first auxiliary electrode 113 which is in contact with the first electrode 103 and the second auxiliary electrode 114 which is in contact with the second electrode 112. As shown in FIG. 1, the second auxiliary electrode 114 is a comb-shaped or lattice-shaped electrode. The first auxiliary electrode 113 and the second auxiliary electrode 114 may be formed of aluminum, silver, lead-tin (solder), or the like. For example, the first auxiliary electrode 113 and the second auxiliary electrode 114 are formed by a screen printing method using a silver paste. Through the above-described process, the photoelectric conversion device can be manufactured. According to the process in this embodiment mode, a technique of bonding different materials is used so that a photoelectric conversion device which includes a bottom cell including a single crystal semiconductor layer with a thickness of 10 μm or less as a photoelectric conversion layer and a top cell, which is stacked over the bottom cell, including a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer as a photoelectric conversion layer can be manufactured at a process temperature of 700° C. or less (preferably equal to or less than 500° C.). That is, the photoelectric conversion device can be manufactured over the large-area glass substrate the upper temperature limit of which is equal to or lower than 700° C., which includes the bottom cell including the single crystal semiconductor layer as a photoelectric conversion layer and the top cell including the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer as a photoelectric conversion layer, which is stacked over the bottom cell. The single crystal semiconductor layer is obtained by separating an upper portion of the single crystal semiconductor substrate. The single crystal semiconductor substrate can be used repeatedly, which leads to effective use of resources. In Embodiment Mode 2, in some cases, due to the formation of the damaged layer 121, crystal defects remain at the surface of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 which is exposed through the separation of part of the semiconductor substrate 119 shown in FIG. 6B. In those cases, it is preferable that the surface portion of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 be removed by etching. For the etching, either dry etching or wet etching is performed. Further, in some cases, a rough surface remains in which mean surface roughness (Ra) is 7 to 10 nm and the largest difference in height between peak and valley (P−V) is 300 to 400 nm. The ‘largest difference in height between peak and valley’ in this specification refers to a difference in height between the peak and valley. The ‘peak’ and the ‘valley’ in this embodiment refer to a peak and a valley obtained by three-dimensional expansion of the “peak” and the “valley” defined by JIS B0101. The peak is represented as the highest part of the peaks in the specified surface. The valley is represented as the lowest part of the valleys in the specified surface. Furthermore, in order to repair the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 in which crystal defects remain, it is preferable to perform laser treatment. FIG. 9 shows the laser treatment performed on the single crystal semiconductor layer 106. The single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is irradiated with a laser beam 125, so that at least the surface side of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is melted and is recrystallized in the following cooling step, using a lower portion of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 in a solid-phase state as seed crystals; in this manner, defects of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 can be repaired. Further, if the laser treatment is performed in an inert gas atmosphere, the surface of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 can be planarized. For this laser treatment, it is preferable that the region to be irradiated with a laser beam be heated at 250° C. to 600° C. in advance. The region to be irradiated is heated in advance, the melting time by the laser beam irradiation can be lengthened, and defects can be repaired more effectively. The laser beam 125 melts the surface side of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106, but hardly heats the supporting substrate 101; thus, a supporting substrate the upper temperature limit of which is low, such as a glass substrate, can be used. In addition, since the first electrode 103 is formed of heat-resistant metal, the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is not adversely affected even if the single crystal semiconductor layer 106 is heated at the above-described temperature. Silicide is formed at an interface between the first electrode 103 and the first impurity semiconductor layer 107, so that current flows more smoothly. Activation of the second impurity semiconductor layer 108 can also be performed by this laser treatment. An example of a laser treatment apparatus for this laser treatment will be described with reference to FIG. 11. The laser treatment apparatus is provided with a laser 210, an optical system 211 which condenses and extends laser light into a thin linear beam, a gas jetting pipe 212 which controls the atmosphere of a region to be irradiated with a laser, a gas supply portion 213 which supplies a gas for controlling the atmosphere to the gas jetting pipe 212, a flow rate control portion 214, a gas heating portion 215, a substrate stage 222 which floats and carries the supporting substrate 101, a guide rail 223 which carries the substrate while supporting both ends of the substrate, and a gas supply portion 216 which supplies a gas for floating to the substrate stage 222. As the laser 210, a laser which emits light with a wavelength in a range from ultraviolet to visible light is selected. The laser 210 preferably is a pulsed ArF, KrF, or XeCl excimer laser, or a solid-state laser such as an Nd—YAG laser or YLF laser, with a repetition rate of 1 MHz or less and a pulse width which is equal to or greater than 10 ns and equal to or less than 500 ns. As the laser, a XeCl excimer laser with a repetition rate of 10 to 300 Hz, a pulse width of 25 ns, and a wavelength of 308 nm can be used, for example. The optical system 211 condenses and extends laser light to form a laser beam a cross-section portion of which has a linear shape on a surface to be irradiated. The optical system 211 which forms a linear beam includes a cylindrical lens array 217, a cylindrical lens 218, a mirror 219, and a doublet cylindrical lens 220. The linear laser light of about 100 to 700 mm in a longer direction and about 100 to 500 μm in a shorter direction can be emitted, though it depends on the size of the lens. The supporting substrate 101 is irradiated with the laser beam condensed into a linear shape through a light introduce window 221 of the gas jetting pipe 212. The gas jetting pipe 212 is provided in vicinity to the supporting substrate 101. A nitrogen gas is supplied to the gas jetting pipe 212 from the gas supply portion 213. The nitrogen gas is jetted from an opening portion of the gas jetting pipe 212, which faces the supporting substrate 101. The opening portion of the gas jetting pipe 212 is provided in accordance with an optical axis of the linear laser beam so that the supporting substrate 101 is irradiated with the laser beam which enters through the light introduce window 221. Due to the nitrogen gas jetted from the opening portion of the gas jetting pipe 212, a region to be irradiated with the laser beam comes to have a nitrogen atmosphere. The temperature of a surface of the supporting substrate 101, which is to be irradiated with the laser beam, can be controlled with the nitrogen gas which is supplied to the gas jetting pipe 212 and heated up to 250° C. to 600° C. in the gas heating portion 215. By heating the region to be irradiated in advance, melting time due to the laser beam irradiation can be controlled as described above. Air or nitrogen is supplied to the substrate stage 222 from the gas supply portion 216 through the flow rate control portion 214. A gas supplied from the gas supply portion 216 is jetted so that a bottom surface of the supporting substrate 101 is sprayed with the gas from a top surface of a substrate stage 222; in this manner, the supporting substrate 101 is floated. The supporting substrate 101 is carried with its both ends mounted on a slider 224 which moves on the guide rail 223. Since the supporting substrate 101 is sprayed with a gas from the substrate stage 222 side, the supporting substrate 101 can be carried without being curved while it is floated. In the laser treatment apparatus of this embodiment mode, a nitrogen gas is jetted from the gas jetting pipe 212 to the top surface of the supporting substrate 101, and therefore, the supporting substrate 101 can be prevented from being bent by spraying of a gas also from a back surface of the supporting substrate 101. The substrate stage 222 can be divided into a region including a laser irradiation portion and the vicinity thereof, and the other region. The laser irradiation portion vicinity of the substrate stage 222 can be sprayed with a nitrogen gas heated by the gas heating portion 215, so that the supporting substrate 105 can be heated. The laser treatment shown in FIG. 9 is effective in terms of repairing defects of the single crystal semiconductor layer 106. That is, in a photoelectric conversion device, carriers (electrons and holes) generated in a semiconductor by photoelectric conversion are collected as current in an electrode formed over a surface of a semiconductor layer. At this time, if the number of recombination centers at the surface of the semiconductor layer is large, photogenerated carriers are quenched there, which becomes a cause of deteriorating photoelectric conversion characteristic. Thus, repairing defects of the single crystal semiconductor layer by laser treatment is effective. In this embodiment mode, manufacturing steps which are different from those in Embodiment Mode 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12A to 12C. The protection film 120 and the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 are formed (FIG. 12A), and then, the damaged layer 121 may be formed with the protection film 120 left (FIG. 12B). After that, the protection film 120 is removed and the first electrode 103 is formed (FIG. 12C). Such steps make it possible to effectively use the protection film 120. That is, the protection film 120 damaged due to the irradiation with ions is removed before the first electrode 103 is formed, so that the surface of the semiconductor substrate 119 can be prevented from being damaged. In addition, since the damaged layer 121 into which cluster ions of hydrogen are introduced is formed through the first impurity semiconductor layer 107, hydrogenation of the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 can also be performed. Subsequent steps may be performed in a similar manner to Embodiment Mode 1. In this embodiment mode, manufacturing steps which are different from those in Embodiment Mode 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13C. The first electrode 103 is formed over the semiconductor substrate 119 (FIG. 13A), and an impurity which imparts one conductivity type is added through the first electrode 103 to form the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 (FIG. 13B). Then, cluster ions of hydrogen are introduced through the first electrode 103 to form the damaged layer 121 (FIG. 13C). In this process, the first electrode 103, which is formed first, can be used as a layer against damage due to ion doping. In addition, a step of forming a protection film for ion doping can be omitted. Subsequent steps may be performed in a similar manner to Embodiment Mode 1. In this embodiment mode, manufacturing steps which are different from those in Embodiment Mode 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14A to 14C. The first electrode 103 is formed over the semiconductor substrate 119 (FIG. 14A), and cluster ions of hydrogen are introduced through the first electrode 103 to form the damaged layer 121 (FIG. 14B). Then, an impurity which imparts one conductivity type is added through the first electrode 103 to form the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 (FIG. 14C). In this process, the first electrode 103, which is formed first, can be used as a layer against damage due to ion doping. In this embodiment mode, a step of forming a protection film for ion doping can be omitted. Subsequent steps may be performed in a similar manner to Embodiment Mode 1. In this embodiment mode, manufacturing steps which are different from those in Embodiment Mode 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15A to 15C. The protection film 120 is formed, and cluster ions of hydrogen are introduced to form the damaged layer 121 (FIG. 15A), and the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 is formed with the protection film 120 left (FIG. 15B). Then, the protection film 120 is removed and the first electrode 103 is formed (FIG. 15C). Such steps make it possible to effectively use the protection film 120. In addition, since the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 is formed after the damaged layer 121 is formed, the impurity concentration of the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 can be increased and a shallow junction can be formed. Accordingly, a photoelectric conversion device which has high collection efficiency of photogenerated carriers by back surface field (BSF) effect can be manufactured. Subsequent steps may be performed in a similar manner to Embodiment Mode 1. In this embodiment mode, manufacturing steps which are different from those in Embodiment Mode 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 16A to 16C. The protection film 120 is formed, and cluster ions of hydrogen are introduced to form the damaged layer 121 (FIG. 16A), and the protection film 120 is removed and the first electrode 103 is formed (FIG. 16B). Then, an impurity which imparts one conductivity type is added through the first electrode 103 to form the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 (FIG. 16C). Since the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 is formed through the first electrode 103, the thickness of the first impurity semiconductor layer 107 can be easily controlled. Subsequent steps may be performed in a similar manner to Embodiment Mode 1. An example of a solar photovoltaic module using any photoelectric conversion device manufactured according to Embodiment Modes 1 to 8 is shown in FIG. 17A. This solar photovoltaic module 128 includes the first unit cell 104 and the second unit cell 105 provided over the supporting substrate 101. The first auxiliary electrode 113 and the second auxiliary electrode 114 are formed over one surface of the supporting substrate 101, and connected to a first rear electrode 126 and a second rear electrode 127 each for connector, respectively at end regions of the supporting substrate 101. FIG. 17B is a cross-sectional view taken along section line C-D of FIG. 17A. The first auxiliary electrode 113 is connected to the first rear electrode 126 and the second auxiliary electrode 114 is connected to the second rear electrode 127 through pass-through openings of the supporting substrate 101. The photoelectric conversion device 100 is manufactured in which the first supporting substrate 101 is provided with the first unit cell 104 and the second unit cell 105 as described above, whereby reduction in thickness of the solar photovoltaic module 128 can be achieved. Embodiment Mode 10 FIG. 18 shows an example of a solar photovoltaic system using the solar photovoltaic module 128. Output power of one or a plurality of solar photovoltaic modules 128 charges a rechargeable battery 130 with a charge control circuit 129. In the case where the charged amount of the rechargeable battery 130 is large, the output power is directly outputted to a load 131 in some cases. When an electric double layer capacitor is used for the rechargeable battery 130, a chemical reaction is not needed for charging and the battery can be charged rapidly and the lifetime of the rechargeable battery 130 can be increased by about 8 times and the charge-discharge efficiency thereof can be increased by 1.5 times in comparison with a lead battery or the like which uses a chemical reaction. The load 131 can be used for various purposes such as lighting such as a fluorescent lamp, a light-emitting diode, or an electroluminescent panel, and a small-size electronic device. This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial No. 2007-292650 filed with Japan Patent Office on Nov. 9, 2007, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 1. A method for manufacturing a photoelectric conversion device, comprising: forming a first impurity semiconductor layer on a side of one surface of a single crystal semiconductor substrate; forming a first electrode over the first impurity semiconductor layer; introducing a cluster ion into the single crystal semiconductor substrate from the one surface to form a damaged layer through the first electrode and the first impurity semiconductor layer; forming an insulating layer over the first electrode; bonding the insulating layer to a supporting substrate; cleaving the single crystal semiconductor substrate at the damaged layer, so that a single crystal semiconductor layer remains over the supporting substrate; forming a second impurity semiconductor layer on a cleavage plane side of the single crystal semiconductor layer; forming a third impurity semiconductor layer over the second impurity semiconductor layer; forming a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer over the third impurity semiconductor layer; forming a fourth impurity semiconductor layer over the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer; and forming a second electrode over the fourth impurity semiconductor layer. 2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising: forming a protection film over the single crystal semiconductor substrate before forming the first impurity semiconductor layer 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cluster ion is introduced by irradiating the single crystal semiconductor substrate with an ion beam containing, at least 50%, the cluster ion which is a hydrogen ion and larger in mass than a hydrogen molecular. wherein the first impurity semiconductor layer and the third impurity semiconductor layer have one conductivity type, and wherein the second impurity semiconductor layer and the fourth impurity semiconductor layer have an opposite conductivity type to the one conductivity type. wherein the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer is formed by decomposing a reactive gas including a semiconductor source gas with an electromagnetic energy 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cluster ion is H3+. introducing a cluster ion into the single crystal semiconductor substrate from the one surface to form a damaged layer; 10. The method according to claim 7, 12. The method according to claim 7, wherein the cluster ion is H3+. 13. A method for manufacturing a photoelectric conversion device, comprising: forming a first electrode over a side of one surface of a single crystal semiconductor substrate; forming a first impurity semiconductor layer over the first electrode; 14. The method according to claim 13, 17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the cluster ion is H3+. 18. A photoelectric conversion device comprising: an insulating layer over a supporting substrate; a first electrode over the insulating layer; a first impurity semiconductor layer having one conductivity type over the first electrode; a single crystal semiconductor layer over the first impurity semiconductor layer; a second impurity semiconductor layer having an opposite conductivity type to the one conductivity type over the single crystal semiconductor layer; a third impurity semiconductor layer having the one conductivity type over the second impurity semiconductor layer; a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer over the third impurity semiconductor layer; a forth impurity semiconductor layer having the opposite conductivity type to the one conductivity type over the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer; and a second electrode over the fourth impurity semiconductor layer. 19. The photoelectric conversion device according to claim 18, wherein the insulating layer is bonded to the supporting substrate. 20. The photoelectric conversion device according to claim 18, wherein a thickness of the single crystal semiconductor layer is equal to or more than 0.1 μm and equal to or less than 10 μm. 21. The photoelectric conversion device according to claim 18, wherein the single crystal semiconductor layer is single crystal silicon and the non-single-crystal semiconductor layer is amorphous silicon. 22. The photoelectric conversion device according to claim 18, wherein the first electrode is formed of a metal material selected from titanium, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, chromium, or nickel. 23. The photoelectric conversion device according to claim 22, wherein the first electrode includes a nitride layer of the metal material and the nitride layer is in contact with the first impurity semiconductor layer. 24. The photoelectric conversion device according to claim 18, wherein the insulating layer is a silicon oxide layer, a silicon oxynitride layer, a silicon nitride oxide layer, or a silicon nitride layer. 25. The photoelectric conversion device according to claim 18, wherein the supporting substrate is a glass substrate. a first unit cell including a single crystal semiconductor layer supported by the supporting substrate with the insulating layer interposed therebetween; and a second unit cell including a non-single-crystal semiconductor layer formed over the first unit cell, wherein the first unit cell and the second unit cell are connected in series. Filed: Nov 4, 2008 Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (Atsugi-shi) Inventors: Shunpei YAMAZAKI (Tokyo), Yasuyuki ARAI (Atsugi) Current U.S. Class: Polycrystalline Or Amorphous Semiconductor (136/258); Amorphous Semiconductor (438/96); Including Amorphous Semiconductor (epo) (257/E31.047) International Classification: H01L 31/18 (20060101); H01L 31/0376 (20060101);	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1655
__label__wiki	0.576256	0.576256	Justia Patents Irradiation Of Objects Or MaterialUS Patent Application for Integrating Optical System and Methods Patent Application (Application #20110108741) Integrating Optical System and Methods Dec 16, 2009 - VELA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. An integrating optical system having a chamber, the chamber having an aperture and at least one portion having a diffuse reflective material; a light source; and a diffuse transmissive baffle. The baffle is located in relation to the chamber such that it is also located in an optical path between the light source and a treatable target. A light-ray originating from the light source is diffusely transmitted from the diffuse transmissive baffle and impinges on an interior surface of the chamber before impinging on the treatable target. Latest VELA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. Patents: Integrating optical systems and methods This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/260,766, filed Nov. 12, 2009, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. The present invention technically relates to optical systems and methods. More particularly, the present invention technically relates to integrating optical systems and methods. 2. Disclosure of the Related Art In the related art, conventional integrating sphere systems are typically used for characterizing the surface properties of materials. Integrating spheres, also termed Ulbricht spheres, are optical apparati typically comprising a hollow spherical cavity with its interior having a high diffuse reflectivity for providing a largely uniform scattering or diffusing effect. The spheres typically have relatively small ports functioning as entrance and exit ports. Light-rays incident on any point on the inner surface are, by multiple scattering reflections, uniformly distributed to all other such points, thereby minimizing the effect of the light's original direction. An integrating sphere preserves power, but destroys spatial information. It is typically used with a light source and a detector for making optical power measurements. Also, related art integrating sphere systems may comprise only diffuse reflecting elements, e.g., diffuse reflecting baffles, which effect a high total reflectance and essentially no transmission, but endeavor to improve the uniformity of the irradiance at an output port. Such related art diffuse reflecting baffles tend to be small in size, because either the ports are small or the light being input has a low divergence, e.g., from a laser beam. As such, the related art diffuse reflecting baffles have little effect on the overall irradiance within an integrating sphere. Examples of typical related art integrating spheres are explained as follows. Referring to FIG. 1A, this interior view schematic diagram, illustrates a conventional integrating sphere system 100, comprising a housing 5 having an input port 60, and an output port 70, a light source 10 disposed outside the housing 5, a detector 20 disposed outside the housing 5, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed at a far surface of the housing 5, wherein a first incidence of light 40 originating from the light source 10 is diffusely reflected from the far surface of the housing 5, wherein some of the diffusely reflected light is incident on reflective baffle 30, wherein the detector has an approximate field-of-view 50, and wherein the field-of-view 50 does not contain any rays directly incident from the source 10, in accordance with the related art. Referring to FIG. 1B, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates a conventional integrating sphere system 101, comprising a housing 5 having an output port 70, a light source 10 disposed inside the housing 5, a detector 20 disposed outside the housing 5, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed between light source 10, and detector 20 disposed outside the housing 5, wherein light originating from the light source 10 is diffusely reflected from an interior surface of the housing 5, wherein some of the diffusely reflected light is incident on reflective baffle 30, wherein the detector has an approximate field-of-view 50, and wherein the field-of-view 50 does not contain any rays directly incident from the source 10, in accordance with the related art. Referring to FIG. 1C, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates a conventional integrating sphere system 102, comprising a housing 5 having an output port 70, a light source 10 disposed inside the housing 5, a detector 20 disposed outside the housing 5, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed at a near surface between the light source 10 and the output port 70, and detector 20 disposed outside the housing 5, wherein light originating from the light source 10 is diffusely reflected from an interior surface of the housing 5, wherein some of the diffusely reflected light leaves the output port 70 as output radiation 71, wherein some of the diffusely reflected light is incident on the diffuse reflective baffle 30, and wherein none of the light from the source 10 is directly incident on the detector 20, in accordance with the related art. The foregoing conventional integrating spheres are typically used for making a variety of optical, photometric, and radiometric measurements, such as quantifying the total of the light radiated in all directions from a lamp, measuring diffuse reflectance of surfaces, while properly averaging over all angles of illumination and observation, creating a light source with apparent intensity generally uniform over all positions within its circular aperture, and independent of direction except for the cosine function inherent to ideally diffuse radiating surfaces, accurately measuring the sum of all the ambient light incident on a small circular aperture, and measuring the power in the laser beam, with best available independence of beam details such as beam shape, incident direction, and incident position. In addition to conventional integrating spheres, diffuse reflective surfaces and diffuse transmissive surfaces have been known in the related art for altering the pathway of light. FIGS. 2A and 2B show the manner in which light behaves when impinging such surfaces. FIG. 2A illustrates, in a schematic diagram, a pathway of an incident light-ray 90 on a diffuse reflective surface 80, wherein the incident light-ray 90 is diffusely reflected at various angles as reflected light-rays 95, in accordance with the related art. FIG. 2B illustrates, in a schematic diagram, a pathway of an incident light-ray 90 on a diffuse transmissive surface 85, wherein the incident light-ray 90 is diffusely transmitted at various angles as transmitted light-rays 97, in accordance with the related art. Transmitting diffusers have been used on detectors in the related art only as cosine-collectors for eliminating the detector's sensitivity to an incident angle of incoming light. Several embodiments of the invention advantageously address the needs above as well as other needs by providing a diffusely transmissive optical integrating system and its related methods. In one embodiment, the invention can be characterized as an integrating optical system, comprising: at least one chamber, each at least one chamber having at least one aperture and at least one portion comprising a diffuse reflective material; at least one light source; and at least one diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in relation to the at least one chamber in a manner wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle is also disposed in an optical path between the at least one light source and at least one treatable target, wherein at least one light-ray originating from the at least one light source is diffusely transmitted from the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle and impinges on an interior surface of the at least one chamber before impinging on the at least one treatable target. In another embodiment, the invention can be characterized as a method of fabricating an integrating optical system, providing at least one chamber having at least one aperture and at least one portion comprising a diffuse reflective material; providing at least one light source; and providing at least one diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in relation to the at least one chamber in a manner wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle is also disposed in an optical path between the at least one light source and at least one treatable target, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle is disposed in a manner wherein at least one light-ray originating from the at least one light source is diffusely transmittable from the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle and impingeable on an interior surface of the at least one chamber before being impingeable on the at least one treatable target. In a further embodiment, the invention may be characterized as a method of treating at least one treatable target with light, comprising: providing light, having at least one light-ray, within a volume from at least one light source; diffusely transmitting the at least one light-ray being in a direct path to the at least one treatable target by way of at least one diffuse transmissive baffle such that the at least one light-ray impinges on an interior surface of at least one chamber before impinging on the at least one treatable target; diffusely reflecting the at least one light-ray within the volume for collecting the at least one light, thereby integrating the at least one light-ray, and thereby providing at least one integrated light-ray; and irradiating the at least one treatable target with the at least one integrated light-ray, thereby providing at least one treated target. The foregoing aspects, features, and advantages, inter alia, of the several embodiments in the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings. FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a conventional integrating sphere system, comprising a housing, a light source disposed outside the housing, a detector disposed outside the housing, and a reflective baffle disposed at a far surface of the housing, in accordance with the related art. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a conventional integrating sphere system, comprising a housing, a light source disposed inside the housing, a detector disposed outside the housing, a reflective baffle disposed in the housing between the light source and a detector, the detector disposed outside the housing, in accordance with the related art. FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram of a conventional integrating sphere system, comprising a housing, a light source disposed inside the housing, a detector disposed outside the housing, a reflective baffle disposed inside the housing at a near surface between the light source and an output port, and a detector disposed outside the housing, in accordance with the related art. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram showing a pathway of an incident light-ray on a diffuse reflective surface, wherein the light is diffusely reflected at various angles as reflected light-rays, in accordance with the related art. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing a pathway of an incident light-ray on a diffuse transmissive surface, wherein the light is diffusely transmitted at various angles as transmitted light-rays, in accordance with the related art. FIG. 3A is an interior perspective view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, comprising an integrating chamber, a light source, a diffuse reflective baffle disposed within the chamber and between the light source and a work-piece, the work-piece disposed within the chamber, in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view schematic diagram of the integrating optical system, as shown in FIG. 3A, comprising an integrating chamber, a light source, a diffuse reflective baffle disposed within the chamber and between the light source and a work-piece, the work-piece disposed within the chamber, in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 3C is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, comprising an integrating chamber, a light source disposed outside the chamber, a diffuse reflective baffle disposed within the chamber and between the light source and a work-piece, the work-piece disposed outside the chamber, in accordance with another embodiment. FIG. 4A is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, comprising an integrating chamber, a light source disposed outside the chamber, a diffuse transmissive baffle disposed within the chamber and between the light source and a work-piece, the work-piece disposed inside the chamber, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4B is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, comprising an integrating chamber, a light source disposed outside the chamber, a diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in an input port as well as between the light source and a work-piece, the work-piece disposed inside the chamber, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4C is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, comprising an integrating chamber, a light source disposed outside the chamber, a diffuse transmissive baffle disposed outside the chamber and between the light source and a work-piece, the work-piece disposed inside the chamber, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, comprising a chamber having a main chamber and an auxiliary chamber, a lamp assembly disposed adjacent the auxiliary chamber, a light source disposed inside the lamp assembly, a diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in the input port and between the light source and a work-piece, the work-piece disposed inside the chamber, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is an interior cut-away view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, comprising a chamber having a main chamber and an auxiliary chamber, a lamp assembly disposed adjacent the auxiliary chamber, a light source disposed inside the lamp assembly, a diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in an input port and between the light source and a work-piece, the work-piece disposed inside the chamber, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, having a centerline and comprising a chamber having a main chamber and an auxiliary chamber, a lamp assembly coupled with the auxiliary chamber, a light source disposed inside the lamp assembly, a diffuse reflective baffle disposed inside the main chamber and between the light source and a bottom output port, a detector disposed outside the chamber and at the bottom output port, and a detector disposed outside the chamber and at a side output port, in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view schematic diagram of the embodiment of the integrating optical system of FIG. 6A, taken along a centerline of FIG. 6A. FIG. 7A is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, having a centerline and comprising a chamber having a main chamber and an auxiliary chamber, a lamp assembly coupled with the auxiliary chamber, a light source disposed outside the chamber but inside the lamp assembly, a diffuse transmissive baffle disposed at an input port and between the light source and a bottom output port, a detector disposed outside the chamber and at the bottom output port, and another detector disposed outside the chamber and at the side output port, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view schematic diagram of the embodiment of the integrating optical system of FIG. 7B taken along a centerline of FIG. 7A. FIG. 7C is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, having a centerline and comprising a chamber, a diffuse transmissive baffle disposed at an input port and between a light source and a bottom output port, a detector disposed outside the chamber and at the bottom output port, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7D is a cross-sectional view schematic diagram of the embodiment of the integrating optical system of FIG. 7C taken along a centerline of FIG. 7C. FIG. 8A is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, wherein the light source is disposed inside the chamber, in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8B is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, wherein the light source is disposed inside an auxiliary chamber of a chamber, in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9A is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, having a centerline and comprising a chamber having a main chamber and an auxiliary chamber, a lamp assembly coupled with the auxiliary chamber, a light source disposed outside the chamber but inside the lamp assembly, a diffuse reflective baffle disposed inside the main chamber between the light source and a bottom output port, a diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in the main chamber and out of the field-of-view of both a detector disposed outside the chamber and at the bottom output port as well as a detector disposed outside the chamber and at a side output port, in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view schematic diagram of the integrating optical system, taken along a centerline, in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 9A. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of some fundamental elements of an integrating optical system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is flow diagram of a method of fabricating an integrating optical system, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of a method of treating a target by way of an integrating optical system, in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13A is a front perspective view diagram of an integrating optical system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13B is a rear perspective view diagram of the embodiment of the integrating optical system of FIG. 13A. FIG. 13C is a perspective interior cut-away view diagram of the embodiment of the integrating optical system of FIG. 13A. FIG. 13D is a close-up cross-sectional perspective view diagram of the embodiment of the integrating optical system of FIG. 13C. FIG. 14A is a side cut-away view diagram of a diffuse transmissive element, comprising a volume diffusing material, such as a material having scattering or diffusing sites, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14B is a perspective cut-away view diagram of a diffuse transmissive element, comprising a volume diffusing material, such as a quartz felt, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14C is a side cut-away view diagram of a diffuse transmissive element, comprising a volume diffusing material, such as a quartz wool or a randomly oriented transmissive fiber sandwiched between optically transparent support members, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15A is a perspective view diagram of a diffuse transmissive element, comprising a plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles, such as two diffuse transmissive baffles being disposed adjacent one another in a stacking relationship, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15B is a perspective view diagram of a diffuse transmissive element, comprising a plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles, such as two diffuse transmissive baffles being spaced-apart from one another in a stacking relationship, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15C, is a side cut-away view diagram of a diffuse transmissive baffle, further comprising a polished surface, a non-reflective side, and dichroic material, to form a “hot mirror,” in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16A is a front view schematic diagram of a baffle support structure for retaining a diffuse transmissive baffle, comprising a combination of upper tangs, lower tangs, and side tangs, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16B is a side view schematic diagram of a baffle support structure for supporting a diffuse transmissive baffle, as shown in FIG. 16A, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16C is a top view schematic diagram of a baffle support structure for supporting a diffuse transmissive baffle, as shown in FIG. 16A, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16D is a perspective view schematic diagram of a baffle support structure, comprising an array of small diameter wires, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16E is a side view schematic diagram of a baffle support structure, comprising a screw and shelf member combination, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17A is an interior side view schematic diagram of a target support structure, comprising a floor of the chamber, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17B is an interior side view schematic diagram of a target support structure, comprising a table, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17C is an interior side view schematic diagram of a continuous pipe, the pipe being a treatable target itself or alternatively being a target support structure, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17D is an interior side view schematic diagram of a catheter or a guide wire, the catheter or the guide wire being a treatable target itself or alternatively being a target support structure, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17E is an interior side view schematic diagram of an elongated element disposed in a split chamber, the elongated element being a treatable target itself or alternatively being a target support structure, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 18 is an interior view schematic diagram of an integrating optical system, further comprising a coupling device, the coupling device being optically coupled with both the lamp assembly and the chamber, in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention. Corresponding reference characters and numerals indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to facilitate improving the understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, conventional, but well-understood, elements, that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment, are often not depicted in order to provide a less-obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. The following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of exemplary embodiments. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, described in connection with the embodiment, is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. Although diffuse reflective surfaces, diffuse transmissive surfaces, and integrating spheres have been individually known in the related art, their combination, especially for treating work-pieces, is not believed to be hitherto known. In some embodiments of the invention, an integrating optical system is provided that comprises at least one chamber, each at least one chamber having at least one aperture and at least one portion comprising a diffuse reflective material; at least one light source; and at least one diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in relation to the at least one chamber in a manner wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle is also disposed in an optical path between the at least one light source and at least one treatable target, wherein at least one light-ray originating from the at least one light source is diffusely transmitted from the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle and impinges on an interior surface of the at least one chamber before impinging on the at least one treatable target. In some cases, a related art integrating sphere, having a chamber and using only a diffuse reflecting baffle, is not conducive for use in curing objects using ultraviolet light, because a very large chamber would be required to accommodate an effective diffuse reflecting baffle, additional total reflecting area would be required, thereby reducing irradiance, the allowable input power would be limited, thereby reducing the irradiance within the chamber, and fabrication cost of the chamber would increase. Further, some embodiments of the present invention involve an integrating optical system that performs functions beyond mere measurement and characterization, that both internally and externally accommodates a work-piece, that can optically treat the work-piece, that decreases the infrared (IR) component of lamp radiation incident on the work-piece, that substantially absorbs the IR component, that controls the ratio between the IR component and the ultraviolet (UV) component, and that provides a substantially uniform irradiance for treating a target. Several embodiments of the present invention advantageously address the needs in the related art, as well as other needs, in a diffusely transmissive optical integrating system, that performs functions beyond mere measurement and characterization, that both internally and externally accommodates a work-piece, and that can optically treat the work-piece, and its associated methods. In addition, some embodiments of the present invention address back-reflection of light in the visible and IR wavelengths, thereby preventing them from being incident on the work-piece and from degrading the UV curing process. Also, some embodiments of the present invention address the issue of absorption of IR light by diffuse reflectors that tends to cause thermal damage to the diffuse reflector in high irradiance applications. In particular, some embodiments of the present invention system and methods involve a diffuse transmissive element, e.g., a diffuse transmissive baffle, which substantially reduces the IR power density incident on diffuse reflective surfaces in the chamber, thereby reducing damage to those diffuse reflective surfaces. A uniform irradiance is desired in some embodiments of the present invention, especially for treating a target. Referring to FIG. 3A, this interior perspective view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S0, having a center plane Z-Z and comprising an integrating chamber or a chamber 12, the chamber 12 having an input port 60 and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed within the chamber 12 and between the light source 10 and a work-piece, such as a treatable target 14, disposed inside the chamber 12, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the interior surface of the chamber 12, wherein light is diffusely reflected by the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and then onto either the interior surface of the chamber 12 or out of the chamber 12 through the input port 60, wherein some of the diffusely reflected light is incident upon the treatable target 14, whereby the treatable target 14 is treated by the diffusely reflected light in accordance with an embodiment. In this and other embodiments, the chamber 12 is shown having a rectanguloid configuration by example only, but may have any suitable configuration for accommodating a work-piece. The diffuse reflective baffle 30 comprises a diffuse reflective material, such as, and not limited to, a diffuse reflective polymer, a conformal diffuse reflective polymer, a fluoropolymer, a perfluoroalkoxy, a fluoroethylene-propylene, a tetrafluoroethylene, an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene, a polytetrafluoroethylene, a flexible polytetrafluoroethylene, an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, a sintered polytetrafluoroethylene, a pressed polytetrafluoroethylene, and a barium sulfate. Referring next to FIG. 3B, this schematic diagram illustrates a cross-sectional view of an integrating optical system S0, as shown in FIG. 3A and taken at plane Z-Z, comprising an integrating chamber or a chamber 12, the chamber 12 having an input port 60 and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed within the chamber 12 and between the light source 10 and a work-piece, such as a treatable target 14, disposed inside the chamber 12, wherein the incident light-rays 90, originate from the light source 10, enter the chamber 12, are blocked by the diffuse reflective baffle 30, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the chamber 12, wherein some light-rays 95 are diffusely reflected by the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and then onto the interior surface of the chamber 12 or out of the chamber 12 through the input port 60, wherein some of the diffusely reflected light is incident upon the treatable target 14, whereby the treatable target 14 is treated to some extent by the diffusely reflected light. The light source 10 comprises a light-source field-of-view 10a of the inside of the chamber 12, as indicated by the corresponding bracket representation. The diffuse reflective baffle 30 casts a shadow 30a due to direct light-rays from the light source 10, as indicated by the corresponding bracket, on a wall of the chamber 12 such that a portion of the chamber wall is not in the light source's field-of-view due to the presence of the diffuse reflective baffle 30. The treatable target 14 would cast a shadow 14a, as indicated by the corresponding bracket, on a wall of the chamber 12 in the absence of a diffuse reflective baffle 30. For a treatable target 14 disposed inside the chamber 12, the diffuse reflective baffle 30 limits the light source's field-of-view of the treatable target 14 as well as the target's field-of-view of the light source 10. The distance D0 between the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and the treatable target 14 comprises a value that is practicable for allowing sufficient room in the chamber 12 to optimize divergence of rays from the diffuse reflective baffle 30 prior to their incidence on the treatable target 14. Similarly, the distance between the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and the input port 60 is a value that is practicable for balancing chamber size, divergence of rays from diffuse reflective baffle 30, and light exiting the input port 60. The chamber 12 of this embodiment comprises a total height H. Referring next to FIG. 3C, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S0, comprising an integrating chamber or a chamber 12, the chamber 12 having an input port 60, an output port 70, and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed within the chamber 12 and between the light source 10 and a work-piece, such as a treatable target 14, disposed outside the chamber 12, wherein some light is diffusely reflected from the interior surface of the chamber 12, wherein light is diffusely reflected by the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and then onto the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the chamber 12, wherein some light-rays 95 are diffusely reflected by the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and then onto the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the chamber 12 or out of the chamber 12 through input port 60, whereby some diffusely reflected light is provided and travels through the output port 70, wherein this diffusely reflected light is incident upon the treatable target 14, whereby the treatable target 14 is treated to some extent by the diffusely reflected light, in accordance with an embodiment. For a treatable target 14 disposed outside the chamber 12, the diffuse reflective baffle 30 limits the light source's field-of-view of the output port 70 such that no direct rays from the light source 10 exit the output port 70 without first being diffused by the diffuse reflective baffle 30. Referring next to FIG. 4A, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, comprising an integrating chamber or a chamber 12, the chamber 12 having an input port 60 and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed within the chamber 12 and in an optical path between the light source 10 and a work-piece, such as a treatable target 14 disposed inside the chamber 12, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the chamber 12, and wherein light is diffusely transmitted by the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, whereby the treatable target 14 is generally uniformly treated by the diffusely reflected and transmitted light in a manner, such as curing, artificially weathering, disinfecting, and the like, by example only, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention Still referring to FIG. 4A, light, comprising at least one light-ray 90b, originates from the light source 10, enters the chamber 12, impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the chamber 12, wherein it is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the chamber 12 at least once before impinging other surfaces inside the chamber 12 including the treatable target 14. Furthermore, in the integrating optical system S, light, comprising at least one light-ray 90, originates from the light source 10, enters the chamber 12, and impinges on the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, wherein it is diffusely transmitted from the diffuse transmitting baffle 35 before impinging on other surfaces inside the chamber 12 including the treatable target 14. Still referring to FIG. 4A, the treatable target 14 is disposed at a distance D from the diffuse transmissive baffle 35. The diffuse transmissive baffle facilitates passage of light from the light source therethrough in a diffuse manner. The distance D is generally chosen so that less than 50%, and preferably less than 25%, and in some cases less than 20%, and in further cases, less than 15% of the light, exiting the surface of diffuse transmissive baffle 35 and facing the treatable target 14, is initially incident on the treatable target 14 in order to allow sufficient light, exiting the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, to impinge directly on the diffusely reflecting surfaces 13 of chamber 12 and provide substantially uniform illumination of the entire treatable target 14. Still referring to FIG. 4A, the chamber 12 comprises a proximal wall 12a and a distal wall 12b separated by a distance H′ that is set relative to the input port 60. The distance H′, in combination with other dimensions of the chamber 12 not shown, is generally chosen so the total of all light loss surface areas of the chamber, including absorbing surfaces such as the treatable target 14 and open areas such as the input port 60, is less than 20% of the total enclosed surface area of chamber 12 and preferably less than 5% of the total surface area. Referring next to FIG. 4B, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, comprising an integrating chamber or a chamber 12, the chamber 12 having an input port 60 and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed in the input port 60 and in an optical path between the light source 10 and a work-piece, such as a treatable target 14 disposed inside the chamber 12, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the chamber 12, and wherein light is diffusely transmitted by the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, whereby the treatable target 14 is generally uniformly treated by the diffusely reflected and transmitted light in a manner, such as curing, artificially weathering, disinfecting, and the like, by example only, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Still referring to FIG. 4B, in the integrating optical system S, light, comprising at least one light-ray 90, originates from the light source 10 and is diffusely transmitted through the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 into the chamber 12. A light-ray 97 exiting the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 may impinge on the interior surface of the chamber 12, wherein it is diffusely reflected from the interior surface of the chamber 12 at least once before impinging other surfaces inside the chamber 12 including the treatable target 14. Furthermore, the light-ray 97 exiting the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 may impinge directly on the treatable target 14. Still referring to FIG. 4B, the treatable target 14 is disposed at a distance D from the input port. The distance D is generally chosen so that less than 50%, and preferably less than 25%, and in some cases less than 20%, and in further cases, less than 15% of the light exiting the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 surface facing the treatable target 14 is initially incident on the treatable target 14, in order to allow sufficient light exiting the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 to impinge directly on the reflective surfaces of chamber 12 and provide substantially uniform illumination of the entire treatable target 14. Still referring to FIG. 4B, the chamber 12 comprises a proximal wall 12a and a distal wall 12b separated by a distance H′ that is set relative to the input port 60. The distance H′, in combination with other dimensions (not shown) of the chamber 12, is generally chosen so the total of all light loss surface areas of the chamber, including absorbing surfaces such as the treatable target 14 and open areas such as the input port 60, is less than 20% of the total enclosed surface area of chamber 12 and preferably less than 5% of the total surface area. Referring next to FIG. 4C, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, comprising an integrating chamber or a chamber 12, the chamber 12 having an input port 60 and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed outside the chamber 12 and in an optical path between the light source 10 and a work-piece, such as a treatable target 14 disposed inside the chamber 12, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the chamber 12, and wherein light is diffusely transmitted by the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, whereby the treatable target 14 is generally uniformly treated by the diffusely reflected and transmitted light in a manner, such as curing, artificially weathering, disinfecting, and the like, by example only, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Still referring to FIG. 4C, the integrating optical system S of FIG. 4C, light, comprising at least one light-ray 90, originates from the light source 10 and is diffusely transmitted thru the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 into the chamber 12. At least one ray of light 97, exiting the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surfaces 13 of the chamber 12, wherein it is diffusely reflected from the interior surface of the chamber 12 at least once before impinging other surfaces inside the chamber 12 including the treatable target 14. Furthermore, light exiting the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 may impinge directly on the treatable target 14. Still referring to FIG. 4C, the chamber 12 comprises a proximal wall 12a and a distal wall 12b separated by a distance H that is set relative to the input port 60. The distance H′, in combination with other dimensions (not shown) of the chamber 12, is generally chosen so the total of all light loss surface areas of the chamber, including absorbing surfaces such as the treatable target 14, and open areas, such as the input port 60, is less than 20% of the total enclosed surface area of chamber 12 and preferably less than 5% of the total surface area. Still referring to FIG. 4C and referring back to FIG. 4B, the chamber 12 may be fabricated in a size that is significantly smaller than the chambers of the same effectiveness, that are built in accordance with the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3A-3C, by incorporating the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 either at the input port 60 or outside the chamber 12. For example, in FIG. 4B, the distance (not shown) between the input port 60 and the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 is approximately zero; and, thus, the total height H′ of the chamber 12 is less than the total height H shown in FIG. 3B. Similarly, the total height H′ of the chamber 12, as shown in FIG. 4C, is less than the total height H as shown in FIG. 3B. Thus, the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 allows for smaller chamber designs in some embodiments of the present invention than in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3A-3C, thereby reducing cost and power requirements while achieving substantially the same performance. Referring back to FIGS. 4A-4C, some light-rays of the light-rays 90 may not enter the chamber 12. For Lambertian light sources, such as arc lamps, not all rays emanating from the light source 10 can enter the chamber 12. Some rays that are incident on the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 are also reflected away from the input port 60 as first surface reflections. Some rays reflected by the diffusely reflecting interior surfaces 13 of the chamber 12 will exit the input port 60 and never return thereto. As such, including a secondary reflecting chamber, e.g., an auxiliary chamber 22 is beneficial in some embodiments of the present invention as shown in FIG. 5A, and described, infra. Referring next to FIG. 5A, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, comprising a chamber 12, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60 and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 being disposed adjacent the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 disposed adjacent the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed in the input port 60 and in an optical path between the light source 10 and a work-piece, such as a treatable target 14, disposed inside the chamber 12, wherein light originates from the light source 10 and enters the auxiliary chamber 22. The interior surface of the auxiliary chamber 22 may or may not be reflective. If it is reflective, it may or may not be diffuse reflective. Preferably, the interior surface of auxiliary chamber 22 is diffuse reflective. Light impinging on the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 is diffusely transmitted and enters the main chamber 350. Light entering the main chamber 350 impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the chamber 12 as well as on the treatable target 14. Light impinging on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350 is diffusely reflected. The combination of diffusely transmitted light from the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 and diffusely reflected light from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350 generally uniformly treats the treatable target 14 in a manner, such as curing, artificially weathering, disinfecting, and the like, by example only, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22. The light reflector 250 comprises a highly reflective interior surface, such as a diffuse reflective interior surface 202. The highly reflective interior surface comprises a material, such as a highly reflective specular reflector, a highly reflective diffuse reflector, a highly polished conductive material, a polished aluminum, a dielectric material, a substrate with a surface coating that allows selective wavelengths to be reflected and others to be either transmitted or absorbed by the substrate, a diffuse reflective material, such as, and not limited to, a diffuse reflective polymer, a conformal diffuse reflective polymer, a fluoropolymer, a perfluoroalkoxy, a fluoroethylene-propylene, a tetrafluoroethylene, an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene, a polytetrafluoroethylene, a flexible polytetrafluoroethylene, an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, a sintered polytetrafluoroethylene, a pressed polytetrafluoroethylene, and a barium sulfate. The light reflector 250 may be focusing (elliptical in cross-section), and, thus, specularly reflecting, or the light reflector 250 may be diffusely reflecting. Further, the light reflector 250 may have surface features, such as dimples or bumps. Alternatively, the light reflector 250 can have either a diffuse reflective surface or a specular reflective surface. Also, the light source 10 can be located relative to the light reflector 250 so that its radiation is either focused or not focused by the light reflector 250, e.g., the lamp assembly comprises a focus characteristic, such as being in-focus and out-of-focus. Referring to FIG. 5B, this interior cut-away view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, comprising a chamber 12, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60 and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 being disposed adjacent the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 disposed adjacent the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed in the input port 60 and in an optical path between the light source 10 and a work-piece, such as a treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A) is disposed inside the chamber 12, wherein light, comprising at least one light-ray 90, originates from the light source 10 and enters the auxiliary chamber 22. The interior surface 23 of the auxiliary chamber 22 may or may not be reflective; and, if the interior surface 23 is reflective, the interior surface 23 may or may not be diffuse reflective. Preferably, the interior surface 23 of the auxiliary chamber 22 is diffuse reflective. Light impinging on the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 is diffusely transmitted and enters the main chamber 350 as at least one diffusely transmitted light-ray 97, impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the interior surface of the main chamber 350 as at least one light-ray 98 being diffusely reflected from a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, whereby a diffusely reflected light is provided, wherein the diffusely reflected light is substantially uniformly incident upon the treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A), whereby the treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A) is substantially uniformly treated by the diffusely reflected, and the diffusely transmitted light, inside the main chamber 350 in a manner, such as curing, artificially weathering, disinfecting, and the like, by example only, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a lamp or light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22. The interior surface 23 of the auxiliary chamber 22 may also comprise a specular or diffuse reflective interior surface and is preferably diffuse reflective. The specular or diffuse reflective interior surface comprises a material, such as a highly reflective specular reflector, a highly reflective diffuse reflector, a highly polished conductive material, a polished aluminum, a dielectric material, a dielectric substrate, a conductive substrate with a surface coating that allows selective wavelengths to be reflected and others to be either transmitted or absorbed by the substrate, a diffuse reflective material, such as, and not limited to, a diffuse reflective polymer, a conformal diffuse reflective polymer, a fluoropolymer, a perfluoroalkoxy, a fluoroethylene-propylene, a tetrafluoroethylene, an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene, a polytetrafluoroethylene, a flexible polytetrafluoroethylene, an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, a sintered polytetrafluoroethylene, a pressed polytetrafluoroethylene, and a barium sulfate. The light reflector 250 comprises a highly reflective interior surface, such as a diffuse reflective interior surface 202. The highly reflective interior surface comprises a material, such as a highly reflective specular reflector, a highly reflective diffuse reflector, a highly polished conductive material, a polished aluminum, a dielectric material, a substrate with a surface coating that allows selective wavelengths to be reflected and others to be either transmitted or absorbed by the substrate, a diffuse reflective material, such as, and not limited to, a diffuse reflective polymer, a conformal diffuse reflective polymer, a fluoropolymer, a perfluoroalkoxy, a fluoroethylene-propylene, a tetrafluoroethylene, an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene, a polytetrafluoroethylene, a flexible polytetrafluoroethylene, an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, a sintered polytetrafluoroethylene, a pressed polytetrafluoroethylene, and a barium sulfate. The light source 10 may comprise a lighting element, such as a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. Further, the light reflector 250 may have surface features, such as dimples or bumps. Alternatively, the light reflector 250 can have either a diffuse reflective surface or a specular reflective surface. Also, the light source 10 can be located relative to the light reflector 250 so that its radiation is either focused or not focused by the light reflector 250. Referring generally to FIGS. 6A-9B, as described, infra, these experimental embodiments demonstrate that the diffuse transmitting baffle 35 is at least as effective as a diffuse reflective baffle 30 in providing generally uniform irradiance within the chamber 12. In larger chambers, wherein the diffuse reflective baffle 30 would be larger and the diffuse transmitting baffle 35 would remain unchanged, and where the total enclosed chamber surface area would be smaller using the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 than using a diffuse reflective baffle 30, the irradiance is expected to be higher within the chamber 12 as the irradiance within the chamber 12 is inversely proportional to reflecting surface area, e.g., the sum of the interior surface of the chamber 12 and the reflecting surface area of the diffuse reflective baffle 30. As such, the chamber reflecting surface area increases as the chamber volume increases. With a diffuse reflective baffle 30, additional surface area is added by adding volume to the chamber 12 for accommodating the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and by the surface area of the diffuse reflective baffle 30 itself. However, by using a diffuse transmissive baffle 35, the increasing reflecting area will be relatively less as the chamber size increases due to the absence of the diffuse reflective baffle 30. Referring next to FIG. 6A, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S1, having a centerline C1-C1 and comprising a chamber 12, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60, a bottom output port 70a and a side output port 70b, and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 coupled with the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 coupled with the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed inside the main chamber 350 and between the light source 10 and the bottom output port 70a, a detector 20 disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the bottom output port 70a, and a detector 20 (not shown) disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the side output port 70b, wherein the diffuse reflective baffle 30 comprises a width that is less than that of the main chamber 350, wherein light originates from the light source 10, enters the auxiliary chamber 22, impinges on the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, is diffusely reflected, impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is not entirely reflected back toward the light source 10, whereby a diffusely reflected light is provided, and wherein the diffusely reflected light impinges on the detector 20 and may be then measurable by the detector 20, in accordance with an embodiment. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22. The light source 10 comprises a lighting element, such as one or more of a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. For example, in this embodiment, the main chamber 350 comprises a height H350 of approximately 12 inches, a length L1 of approximately 12 inches (FIG. 6B), and a width W1 of approximately 12 inches, wherein the diffuse reflective baffle 30 is disposed at a distance D1 of approximately 4 inches from the input port 60. The auxiliary chamber height H22 is as shown in this figure. The total height of the chamber 12 can be expressed as H1=H350+H22. Experimentally, as measured by the detector 20 (bottom) and the side detector (not shown), the bottom output port 70a has an exitance of approximately 0.24 W/cm2 while the side output port 70b has an exitance of approximately 0.23 W/cm2 by using this embodiment. This embodiment demonstrates that the irradiance within the chamber 12 is fairly uniform, because the exitance value of the bottom output port 70a and the exitance value of the side output port 70b are within 5% of one another. Referring to FIG. 6B, this cross-sectional view schematic diagram of the integrating optical system, as shown in FIG. 6A and taken along a centerline C1-C1, illustrates an integrating optical system S1, comprising a chamber 12, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60, a bottom output port 70a and a side output port 70b, and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 being coupled with the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 being coupled with the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed inside the main chamber 350 and between the light source 10 and the bottom output port 70a, a detector 20 disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the bottom output port 70a, and a detector 20 (not shown) disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the side output port 70b, wherein the diffuse reflective baffle 30 comprises a width that is less than that of the main chamber 350, wherein light originates from the light source 10, enters the auxiliary chamber 22, impinges on the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, is diffusely reflected, impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is not entirely reflected back toward the light source 10, whereby a diffusely reflected light is provided, and wherein the diffusely reflected light impinges on the detector 20 and may be then measurable by the detector 20, in accordance with an embodiment. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22. The light source 10 comprises a lighting element, such as a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. For example, in this embodiment, the main chamber 350 comprises a height H350 of approximately 12 inches, a length L1 of approximately 12 inches, and a width W1 of approximately 12 inches (FIG. 6A), wherein the diffuse reflective baffle 30 is disposed at a distance D1 of approximately 4 inches from the input port 60. The auxiliary chamber height H22 is as shown in the figure. The total height of the chamber 12 can be expressed as H1=H350+H22. Experimentally, the bottom output port 70a has an exitance of approximately 0.24 W/cm2 while the side output port 70b has an exitance of approximately 0.23 W/cm2 by using this embodiment. This embodiment demonstrates that the irradiance within the chamber 12 is fairly uniform, because the exitance value of the bottom output port 70a and the exitance value of the side output port 70b are within 5% of one another. Referring next to FIG. 7A, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, having a centerline C2-C2 and comprising a chamber 12, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60, a bottom output port 70a and a side output port 70b, and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 being coupled with the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 being coupled with the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12 but inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed at the input port 60 and in an optical path between the light source 10 and the bottom output port 70a, a detector 20 disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the bottom output port 70a, and a detector 20 (not shown) disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the side output port 70b, wherein the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 comprises a width that is less than that of the main chamber 350, wherein light originates from the light source 10, enters the auxiliary chamber 22, impinges on the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, is diffusely transmitted, impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein not all light is reflected back toward the light source 10, whereby a diffusely reflected light is provided, and wherein the diffusely reflected light impinges on the detector 20 and may be then measurable by the detector 20, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22. The light source 10 comprises a lighting element, such as at least one of a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. For example, in this embodiment, the main chamber 350 comprises a height H350 of approximately 12 inches, a length L2 of approximately 12 inches (FIG. 7B), and a width W2 of approximately 12 inches, wherein the diffuse reflective baffle 30 is disposed at a distance D2 of approximately 0 inches from the input port 60. The auxiliary chamber height H22 is as shown in the figure. The total height of the chamber 12 can be expressed as H2=H350+H22. Experimentally, the bottom output port 70a has an exitance of approximately 0.23 W/cm2 while the side output port 70b has an exitance of approximately 0.22 W/cm2 by using this embodiment. This result demonstrates that use of a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 is at least as effective as use of a diffuse reflective baffle 30 (FIG. 6A) for providing largely uniform radiation within the chamber 12 and that the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 does not introduce excessive losses to the integrating optical system S, either by absorption or by back-reflection to the light reflector 250, since the measured irradiance of the system in FIG. 7A is approximately equal to the measured irradiance of the system of FIG. 6A. Still referring to FIG. 7A, if the height H350 of the main chamber 350 is set as being equal to the bottom-to-baffle distance of the chamber 12, relative to the embodiment of FIG. 6A, the bottom-to-baffle distance may be reduced (e.g., see the embodiment of FIGS. 7C and 7D) such that the exitance at the bottom output port 70a and the side output port 70b would be higher while maintaining uniformity and while allowing the same volume in the main chamber 350 for insertion of a treatable target 14. As more fully explained in relation to FIGS. 7C and 7D, this shows that the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 allows for smaller sized chambers than would be required when using the diffuse reflective baffle 30, resulting in greater irradiance while maintaining uniformity and treatment volume. Referring to FIG. 7B, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, as shown in FIG. 7A and taken along the centerline C2-C2, comprising a chamber 12, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60, a bottom output port 70a and a side output port 70b, and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 being coupled with the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 being coupled with the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12 but inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed at the input port 60 and in an optical path between the light source 10 and the bottom output port 70a, a detector 20 disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the bottom output port 70a, and a detector 20 (not shown) disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the side output port 70b, wherein the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 comprises a width that is less than that of the main chamber 350, wherein light originates from the light source 10, enters the auxiliary chamber 22, impinges on the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, is diffusely transmitted, and impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is not completely reflected back toward the light source 10, whereby a diffusely reflected light is provided, and wherein the diffusely reflected light impinges on the detector 20 and may be then measurable by the detector 20, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22. The light source 10 comprises a lighting element, such as a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. For example, in this embodiment, the main chamber 350 comprises a height H350 of approximately 12 inches, a length L2 of approximately 12 inches, and a width W2 of approximately 12 inches (FIG. 7A), wherein the diffuse reflective baffle 30 is disposed at a distance D2 of approximately 0 inches from the input port 60. The auxiliary chamber height H22 is as shown in the figure. The total height of the chamber 12 can be expressed as H2=H350+H22. Experimentally, the bottom output port 70a has an exitance of approximately 0.23 W/cm2 while the side output port 70b has an exitance of approximately 0.22 W/cm2 by using this embodiment. This result demonstrates that use of a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 is at least as effective as use of a diffuse reflective baffle 30 (FIG. 6B) for providing largely uniform radiation within the chamber 12 and that the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 does not introduce excessive losses to the integrating optical system S, whether it be via absorption or back-reflection to the light reflector 250, since the measured irradiance of the system in FIG. 7B is approximately equal to the measured irradiance of the system of FIG. 6B. Referring next to FIG. 7C, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, having a centerline C3-C3 and comprising a chamber 12, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60, a bottom output port 70a, and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 being coupled with the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 being coupled with the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12 but inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed at the input port 60 and in an optical path between the light source 10 and the bottom output port 70a, a detector 20 disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the bottom output port 70a, and a detector 20 (not shown) disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the side output port 70b (not shown), wherein the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 comprises a width that is less than that of the main chamber 350, wherein light originates from the light source 10, enters the auxiliary chamber 22, impinges on the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, is diffusely transmitted, impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein not all light is reflected back toward the light source 10, whereby a diffusely reflected light is provided, and wherein the diffusely reflected light impinges on the detector 20 and may be then measurable by the detector 20, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22. The light source 10 comprises a lighting element, such as at least one of a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. For example, in this embodiment, the main chamber 350 comprises a height H350 of approximately 8 inches, a length L3 of approximately 12 inches (FIG. 7D), and a width W3 of approximately 12 inches, wherein the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 is disposed at a distance D3 of approximately 0 inches from the input port 60. The auxiliary chamber height H22 is as shown in the figure. The total height of the chamber 12 can be expressed as H3=H350+H22. In particular, this embodiment allows for greater irradiance, e.g., an increase in irradiance of approximately 18%, while maintaining uniformity, and providing a treatment volume with smaller sizes, e.g., a main chamber 350 having a decrease in surface area of approximately 22% for treating a treatable target 14 having the same or comparable volume, than by using the diffuse reflective baffle 30. The decreased main chamber height H350 results in a main chamber volume reduction of approximately 33%. In some embodiments, a volume reduction in a range of up to approximately 90%, up to approximately 75%, up to approximately 50%, up to approximately 40%, and up to approximately 30% is possible, depending on the implementation, the geometry, the reflective surface area, the disposition of the treatable target 14, among other factors. Thus, in accordance with some embodiments, the use of a diffuse transmissive baffle will allow for integrating sphere chamber designs that provide increased irradiance with substantially the same or similar uniformity but with a decreased reflective surface area (resulting in a lower volume chamber) relative to designs using a diffuse reflective baffle (such as with the embodiment of FIGS. 6A and 6B). It is understood that the specific increases in irradiance and reductions in reflective surface area as well as changes in uniformity will depend on the specific implementation including dimensions, material selection and light characteristics and other variables, for example. It is further noted that in some embodiments, when comparing the embodiment of FIGS. 7C and 7D with the embodiment of FIGS. 6A and 6B, these advantages are provided while at the same time allowing for the same volume within the chamber for insertion of an object or target to be treated. That is, the same size object could be treated within the optical integrating systems of FIGS. 6A/6B and FIGS. 7C/7D. In some embodiments, the distance from the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 and the target 14 is selected to ensure that less than 50%, and preferably less than 25%, and in some cases less than 20%, and in further cases, less than 15% of the light, exiting the surface of diffuse transmissive baffle 35 and facing the treatable target 14, is initially incident on the treatable target 14 in order to allow sufficient light, exiting the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, to impinge directly on the diffusely reflecting surfaces 13 of the chamber and provide generally uniform illumination of the entire treatable target 14. Referring to FIG. 7D, this cross-sectional view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, as shown in FIG. 7C and taken along the centerline C3-C3, comprising a chamber 12, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60, a bottom output port 70a, and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 being coupled with the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 being coupled with the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12 but inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed at the input port 60 and in an optical path between the light source 10 and the bottom output port 70a, a detector 20 disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the bottom output port 70a, and a detector 20 (not shown) disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the side output port 70b, wherein the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 comprises a width that is less than that of the main chamber 350, wherein light originates from the light source 10, enters the auxiliary chamber 22, impinges on the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, is diffusely transmitted, impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein not all light is reflected back toward the light source 10, whereby a diffusely reflected light is provided, and wherein the diffusely reflected light impinges on the detector 20 and may be then measurable by the detector 20, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22. The light source 10 comprises a lighting element, such as at least one of a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. For example, in this embodiment, the main chamber 350 comprises a height H350 of approximately 8 inches, a length L3 of approximately 12 inches, and a width W3 of approximately 12 inches, wherein the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 is disposed at a distance D3 of approximately 0 inches from the input port 60. The auxiliary chamber height H22 is as shown in the figure. The total height of the chamber 12 can be expressed as H3=H350+H22. In particular, this embodiment allows for greater irradiance, e.g., an increase in irradiance of approximately 18%, while maintaining uniformity, and providing a treatment volume with smaller sizes, e.g., a main chamber 350 having a decrease in surface area of approximately 22% for treating a treatable target 14 having the same or comparable volume, than by using the diffuse reflective baffle 30. The decreased main chamber height H350 results in a main chamber volume reduction of approximately 33%. Referring next to FIG. 8A, while the embodiment of FIG. 4A illustrates an integrating optical system S, wherein the light source 10 as being disposed outside the chamber 12, the light source 10 may alternatively be disposed inside the chamber 12 (FIG. 8A), in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention. The chamber 12 may further comprise a bottom output port 70a and a side output port 70b (not shown). In such a case, the light source 10 is disposed such that the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 is disposed in an optical path between the light source 10 and the treatable target 14. The input port 60 (not shown) may or may not be implemented in this instance. Further, the input port 60 (not shown) may be used for cooling purposes of the light source 10, e.g., for allowing air that has been heated by the light source 10 to escape via natural convection or a forced flow. A lamp assembly 200 is not used in this embodiment. Referring next to FIG. 8B, while the embodiment of FIG. 4B illustrates an integrating optical system S, wherein the light source 10 as being disposed outside the chamber 12, the light source 10 may alternatively be disposed inside an auxiliary chamber 22 of a chamber 12, the chamber 12 having a height H5, in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention. The total height of the chamber 12 can be expressed as H5=H350+H22. In this case, the light source 10 is disposed such that the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 is disposed in an optical path between the light source 10 and the treatable target 14. The input port 60 (not shown) may or may not be implemented in this instance. Further, the input port 60 (not shown) may be used for cooling purposes of the light source 10, e.g., for allowing air that has been heated by the light source 10 to escape via natural convection or a forced flow. A lamp assembly 200 is not used in this embodiment. Referring next to FIG. 9A, this interior view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, having a centerline C6-C6 and comprising a chamber 12 having a height H6, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60, a bottom output port 70a and a side output port 70b, and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 being coupled with the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 being coupled with the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed outside the chamber 12 but inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed inside the main chamber 350 between the light source 10 and the bottom output port 70a, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed in the main chamber 350 and out of the field-of-view of detector 20, a detector 20 disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the bottom output port 70a, and a detector 20 (not shown) disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the side output port 70b, wherein the diffuse reflective baffle 30 comprises a width that is less than that of the main chamber 350, wherein light originates from the light source 10, enters the auxiliary chamber 22, impinges on the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, is diffusely reflected, and impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, whereby a diffusely reflected light is provided, and wherein the diffusely reflected light impinges on the detector 20 and may be then measurable by the detector 20, in accordance with an embodiment. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22. The light source 10 comprises a lighting element, such as one or more of a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. The total height of the chamber 12 can be expressed as H6=H350+H22. Experimentally, the bottom output port 70a has an exitance of approximately 0.24 W/cm2 while the side output port 70b has an exitance of approximately 0.23 W/cm2 by using this embodiment. This result demonstrates that use of a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 does not significantly contribute to losses of the integrating optical system S, because the irradiance or exitance values are within 5% of those in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B, even though additional diffuse transmissive material is present in the main chamber 350. Referring next to FIG. 9B, this cross-sectional view schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, taken at the centerline C6-C6, comprising a chamber 12 having a height H6, the chamber 12 comprising a main chamber 350 and an auxiliary chamber 22, the main chamber 350 having an input port 60, a bottom output port 70a and a side output port 70b, and a diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, the auxiliary chamber 22 being coupled with the main chamber 350, a lamp assembly 200 being coupled with the auxiliary chamber 22, a light source 10 disposed inside the lamp assembly 200, a diffuse reflective baffle 30 disposed inside the main chamber 350 between the light source 10 and the bottom output port 70a, a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 disposed in the main chamber 350 and out of the field-of-view, a detector 20 disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the bottom output port 70a, and a detector 20 disposed outside the chamber 12 and at the side output port 70b, wherein the diffuse reflective baffle 30 comprises a width that is less than that of the main chamber 350, wherein light originates from the light source 10, enters the auxiliary chamber 22, impinges on the diffuse reflective baffle 30 and the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13, is diffusely reflected, and impinges on the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, wherein light is diffusely reflected from the diffusely reflecting interior surface 13 of the main chamber 350, whereby a diffusely reflected light is provided, and wherein the diffusely reflected light impinges on the detector 20 and may be then measurable by the detector 20, in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 9A. The lamp assembly 200 comprises a lamp or light reflector 250 for enhancing reflection of light from the light source 10 toward the auxiliary chamber 22, wherein the light reflector 250 comprises a rectangular configuration. The light source 10 comprises a lighting element, such as a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. The total height H6 of chamber 12, e.g., of approximately 16.8 inches, is set relative to a distance between the light source 10 and the detector 20. By example only, the diffuse reflective baffle 30 is disposed at a distance of approximately 4 inches from the input port 60 in this embodiment. The total height of the chamber 12 can be expressed as H6=H350+H22. Experimentally, the bottom output port 70a has an exitance of approximately 0.24 W/cm2 while the side output port 70b has an exitance of approximately 0.23 W/cm2 by using this embodiment. This result demonstrates that use of a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 does not significantly contribute to any excessive losses to the integrating optical system S, because the irradiance or exitance or throughput values are within 5% of those in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B, whether it be via absorption. Referring next to FIG. 10, this block diagram illustrates some fundamental elements of an integrating optical system S, by example only, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For manual operation, by example only, the system S comprises a lamp power supply 401, an irradiator 402 electronically coupled with, and powered by, the lamp power supply 401, a cooling-air intake 403 and blower (not shown) mechanically coupled with the irradiator 402, an auxiliary chamber 404 mechanically coupled with the irradiator 402, a cooling-air exhaust 405 mechanically coupled with the auxiliary chamber 404, a diffuse transmissive element 406, e.g., comprising a transmissive diffuser, such as a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 (FIGS. 7A and 7B), mechanically coupled with the auxiliary chamber 404 and a main chamber 407 mechanically coupled with, or housing the diffuse transmissive element 406. For automated operation, the system S further comprises controller 408, a shutter 411 electronically or pneumatically coupled with the controller 408 as well as mechanically coupled between the diffuse transmissive element 406 and the main chamber 407, an object or a treatable target conveyance system 409 electronically coupled with the controller 408 and mechanically coupled with the main chamber 407, and a user interface 410 electronically coupled with the controller 408, wherein the lamp power supply 401 and the main chamber 407 are also electronically coupled with the controller 408. The pathway PL taken by the light is shown as originating at the irradiator 402, into the auxiliary chamber 404, through the diffuse transmissive element 406, though the shutter 411 (if system S is automated), and finally into the main chamber 407. The pathway PT taken by the treatable target is shown as originating from the object or treatable target conveyance system 409 and then into the main chamber 407, or into proximity of an output port of the main chamber 407, if system S is automated. The pathway PA taken by the air flow is shown as originating from the cooling-air blower (not shown) from the external atmosphere, through the irradiator 402, into the auxiliary chamber 404, and finally through the cooling-air exhaust 405, and then into the external atmosphere (not shown). The blower is not automatically controlled, but is actuated using an on/off switch. The particular orientation of one element relative to the other may vary, for example, the diffuse transmissive element 406 may be located between the irradiator 402 and the auxiliary chamber 404. Further, the main chamber 407 may be exhausted with air as well. The main chamber 407 may be filled with nitrogen as an inert gas for purging oxygen, thereby providing an inert atmosphere that facilitates the curing process of the treatable target 14 (not shown). Light from the irradiator 402 may be directly coupled to the auxiliary chamber 404, or it may be coupled by a structure or coupling device 80 (FIG. 18), such as one or more of a light guides (not shown) and a lens (not shown). Referring next to FIG. 11, this flow diagram illustrates a method M1 of fabricating an integrating optical system S, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method M1 of fabricating an integrating optical system comprises providing at least one chamber, the at least one chamber providing step comprising providing each at least one chamber with at least one aperture and at least one portion comprising a diffuse reflective material, as indicated by block 1101; providing at least one light source, as indicated by block 1102; and providing at least one diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in relation to the at least one chamber in a manner wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle is also disposed in an optical path between the at least one light source and at least one treatable target, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle is disposed in a manner wherein at least one light-ray originating from the at least one light source is diffusely transmittable from the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle and impingeable on an interior surface of the at least one chamber before being impingeable on the at least one treatable target, as indicated by block 1103. The method M1 may further comprise providing at least one shutter disposed between the at least one light source and the at least one chamber (not shown); and providing at least one lamp assembly, the at least one lamp assembly providing step comprising providing each at least one lamp assembly with at least one light reflector for accommodating the at least one light source, the at least one reflector facilitating reflection of light toward the at least one chamber (not shown). Referring next to FIG. 12, this flow diagram illustrates a method M2 of treating a target by way of an integrating optical system S, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method M2 of treating at least one treatable target with light comprises providing light, having at least one light-ray, within a volume from at least one light source, as indicated by block 1201; diffusely transmitting the at least one light-ray being in a direct path to the at least one treatable target by way of at least one diffuse transmissive baffle such that the at least one light-ray impinges on an interior surface of at least one chamber before impinging on the at least one treatable target, as indicated by block 1202; diffusely reflecting the at least one light-ray within the volume for collecting the at least one light, thereby integrating the at least one light-ray, and thereby providing at least one integrated light-ray, as indicated by block 1203; and irradiating the at least one treatable target with the at least one integrated light-ray, thereby providing at least one treated target, as indicated by block 1204. Referring next to FIG. 13A, this front perspective view diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The system S comprises a lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10), an irradiator 402 electronically coupled with, and powered by, the lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10), a cooling-air intake 403 and a blower (not shown) mechanically coupled with the irradiator 402, an auxiliary chamber 404 mechanically coupled with the irradiator 402, a cooling-air exhaust 405 (FIG. 13B) mechanically coupled with the auxiliary chamber 404, a main chamber 407 mechanically coupled with the auxiliary chamber 404, the main chamber for housing a diffuse transmissive element 406 (FIG. 10), such as a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 (FIG. 5A), as well as a treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A), and a junction box 414 mechanically coupled with the main chamber 407. For automated operation, the system S further comprises a controller 408 (FIG. 10) electronically coupled with the junction box 414 (FIGS. 13B and 13C), a shutter 411 with a pneumatic cylinder 415 electronically coupled with the controller 408 (FIG. 10) as well as mechanically coupled between the auxiliary chamber 404 and the main chamber 407, wherein the lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10) and the main chamber 407 are also electronically coupled with the controller 408 (FIG. 10). The main chamber 407 comprises a door 412 for facilitating placement of the treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A), inter alia. A side access port 413 (FIG. 13B) may be provided on both sides for facilitating, among other things, insertion of a treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A), such as a pipe, a cable, or a catheter, through the main chamber 407 in a continuous fashion, and a plurality of feet 500 for supporting the system S. Alternatively, the pipe or the catheter may comprise a light transmissive material and may act as a target support for flowing through, or otherwise transmitting, a treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A), rather than being the treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A) itself. This alternative embodiment facilitates applications, such as disinfection of fluids, by example only. The irradiator 402 comprises a light source 16 (FIG. 13C), a light reflector 250 (FIG. 13C), and a lamp radio frequency (RF) detector 416. The light source 16 (FIG. 13C) is microwave-excitable. The lamp or light reflector 250 (FIG. 13C) redirects the light-rays into the auxiliary chamber 404. The detector 416 senses any microwave leaks from the light source 16 (FIG. 13C) and initiates a shut-down of the light source 16 (FIG. 13C) in the event of such leak. The irradiator 402 further comprises at least one electrical connector 417 for facilitating connection to the lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10), inter alia. Referring next to FIG. 13B, this rear perspective view diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 13A. The system S comprises a lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10), an irradiator 402 electronically coupled with, and powered by, the lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10), a cooling-air intake 403 and a blower (not shown) mechanically coupled with the irradiator 402, an auxiliary chamber 404 mechanically coupled with the irradiator 402, a cooling-air exhaust 405 mechanically coupled with the auxiliary chamber 404, a main chamber 407 mechanically coupled with the auxiliary chamber 404, the main chamber 407 for housing a diffuse transmissive element 406 (FIG. 10), such as a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 (FIG. 5A), as well as a treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A), and a junction box 414 mechanically coupled with the main chamber 407. For automated operation, the system S further comprises a controller 408 (FIG. 10) electronically coupled with the junction box 414, a shutter 411 with a pneumatic cylinder 415 electronically coupled with the controller 408 (FIG. 10) as well as mechanically coupled between the auxiliary chamber 404 and the main chamber 407, wherein the lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10) and the main chamber 407 are also electronically coupled with the controller 408 (FIG. 10). The main chamber 407 comprises a door 412 (FIG. 13A) for facilitating placement of the treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A), inter alia, a side access port 413 for facilitating positioning of a diffuse transmissive element 406 (FIG. 10), and a plurality of feet 500 for supporting the system S. The irradiator 402 comprises a light source 16 (FIG. 13C), a light reflector 250 (FIG. 13C), and a lamp radio frequency (RF) detector 416 (FIG. 13A). The light source 16 (FIG. 13C) is microwave-excitable. The diffuse transmissive element 406 (FIG. 10)may comprise a diffuse transmissive baffle 35, as described, supra. The light reflector 250 (FIG. 13C) redirects the light-rays into the auxiliary chamber 404. The detector 416 (FIG. 13A) senses any microwave leaks from the light source 16 (FIG. 13C) and initiates a shut-down of the light source 16 (FIG. 13C) in the event of such leak. The irradiator 402 further comprises at least one electrical connector 417 for facilitating connection to the lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10), inter alia. A cross-section A-A is taken to show the interior of the system S, as described, infra, in relation to FIG. 13C. Referring next to FIG. 13C, this cross-sectional perspective view diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S taken at the cross-section A-A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 13B. The system S comprises a lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10), an irradiator 402 electronically coupled with, and powered by, the lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10), a cooling-air intake 403 and a blower (not shown) mechanically coupled with the irradiator 402, an auxiliary chamber 404 mechanically coupled with the irradiator 402, a cooling-air exhaust 405 mechanically coupled with the auxiliary chamber 404, a main chamber 407 mechanically coupled with the auxiliary chamber 404, the main chamber 407 for housing a diffuse transmissive element 406 (FIG. 10), such as a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 (FIG. 5A), as well as a treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A), and a junction box 414 mechanically coupled with the main chamber 407. Other methods of support are presented. For automated operation, the system S further comprises a controller 408 (FIG. 10) electronically coupled with the junction box 414, a shutter 411 with a pneumatic cylinder 415 (FIG. 13B) electronically coupled with the controller 408 (FIG. 10) as well as mechanically coupled between the auxiliary chamber 404 and the main chamber 407, wherein the lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10) and the main chamber 407 are also electronically coupled with the controller 408 (FIG. 10). The diffuse transmissive element 406 may be supported by sandwiching it between the auxiliary chamber 404 and the shutter 411, or more generally by sandwiching it between two of the elements, as described in relation to FIG. 10, such that the diffuse transmissive element 406 (FIG. 10) lies in the optical path between the irradiator 402 and the treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A). The main chamber 407 comprises a door 412 (FIG. 13A) for facilitating placement of the treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A), inter alia, a side access port 413 for facilitating positioning of a diffuse transmissive element 406, and a plurality of feet 500 for supporting the system S. The irradiator 402 comprises a light source 16, a light reflector 250, and a lamp radio frequency (RF) detector 416 (FIG. 13A). The light source 16 is microwave-excitable. The light reflector 250 redirects the light-rays into the auxiliary chamber 404. The detector 416 (FIG. 13A) senses any microwave leaks from the light source 16 and initiates a shut-down of the light source 16 in the event of such leak. The irradiator 402 further comprises at least one electrical connector 417 (FIG. 13B) for facilitating connection to the lamp power supply 401 (FIG. 10), inter alia. Referring next to FIG. 13D, this close-up cross-sectional perspective view diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S taken at the cross-section A-A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 13C. The main chamber 407 houses a diffuse transmissive element 406 (FIG. 10), such as a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 (FIG. 5A). For automated operation, the system S further comprises a controller 408 (FIG. 10) electronically coupled with the junction box 414, a shutter 411 with a pneumatic cylinder 415 (FIG. 13B) electronically coupled with the controller 408 (FIG. 10) as well as mechanically coupled between the auxiliary chamber 404 and the main chamber 407, wherein the lamp power supply 401 and the main chamber 407 are also electronically coupled with the controller 408. The diffuse transmissive element 406 may be supported by sandwiching it between the auxiliary chamber 404 and the shutter 411, or more generally by sandwiching it between two of the elements, as described in relation to FIG. 10, such that the diffuse transmissive element 406 lies in the optical path between the irradiator 402 and the treatable target 14 (FIG. 5A). Locating the diffuse transmissive baffle 406 at the interface between the auxiliary chamber 404 and the main chamber 407 prevents the cooling air, exhausting the irradiator 402 through the reflector 250, from entering the main chamber 407, and causes the cooling-air to exit through the cooling-air exhaust 405. The irradiator 402 comprises a light source 16, a light reflector 250, and a lamp radio frequency (RF) detector 416 (FIG. 13A). The light source 16 is microwave-excitable. The light reflector 250 redirects the light-rays into the auxiliary chamber 404. In some embodiments of the present invention, the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 facilitates passage of light from the light source 10 through the aperture or input port 60 of the chamber 12 and onto the treatable target 14 and may comprise a material, such as a high-temperature-resistant material, an aluminum oxide, a polycrystalline aluminum oxide, a polycrystalline sapphire, an optical filter, a quartz, an opaled quartz, a fritted quartz, a sandblasted quartz, a bead-blasted quartz, a sapphire, a sandblasted sapphire, a bead-blasted sapphire, an acid-etched quartz, an acid-etched sapphire, a ground quartz, and a ground sapphire. Acid etching may be performed using a strong acid, such as hydrofluoric acid (HF) for improving the uniformity of irradiance on a treatable target disposed either inside or outside a chamber. Thus, the diffusing surface may be formed by a technique, such as etching, chemical etching, acid etching, sandblasting, bead-blasting, grinding, and opaling. The diffuse transmissive element 406 may comprise at least one diffuse transmissive surface, e.g., one or both sides. The diffuse transmissive element 406 is configurable to selectively reflect or absorb light in certain ranges of wavelength, thereby filtering such light from the chamber 12. Referring next to FIG. 14A, this side cut-away view diagram illustrates a diffuse transmissive element 35a, comprising a volume diffusing material, such as a material having scattering or diffusing sites 36, e.g., a pot opal, a fitted quartz, a quartz having a distribution of voids, a quartz having a distribution of scattering sites, a quartz having a distribution of impurities, a quartz having a distribution of dopants, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The fritted quartz may contain scattering features on the order of nanometers or microns. The volume diffusing material may also comprise a plurality of diffusing surface elements laminated into a single structure. Referring next to FIG. 14B, this perspective cut-away view diagram illustrates a diffuse transmissive element 35b, comprising a volume diffusing material, such as one or more of a quartz felt and a quartz wool, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Referring next to FIG. 14C, this side cut-away view diagram illustrates a diffuse transmissive element 35c, comprising a volume diffusing material, such as one or more of a quartz wool, quartz beads, small quartz pieces, and a randomly oriented transmissive fiber sandwiched between optically transparent support members 37, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Referring next to FIG. 15A, this perspective view diagram illustrates a diffuse transmissive element 35d, comprising a plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles 35, such as two diffuse transmissive baffles 35 being adjacently disposed in relation to one another, each diffuse transmissive baffles 35 contacting another diffuse transmissive baffle 35 of the plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles 35, e.g., in a stacking relationship by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Either surface or both surfaces of each diffuse transmissive baffle 35 of the plurality of the diffuse transmissive baffles 35 may be diffuse transmitting. Referring next to FIG. 15B, this perspective view diagram illustrates a diffuse transmissive element 35e, comprising a plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles 35, such as two diffuse transmissive baffles 35 being spaced-apart from one another by a distance d in a range of up to approximately 4 inches, e.g., a spacing being disposed between each diffuse transmissive baffle 35 of the plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles 35 with the plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles 35 being in a stacking relationship, but non-contacting, by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Likewise either surface or both surfaces of each diffuse transmissive baffle 35 of the plurality of the diffuse transmissive baffles 35 may be diffuse transmitting. Referring next to FIG. 15C, this side cut-away view of a diffuse transmissive baffle 35, further comprising a polished surface 42, such as a highly polished surface to form a “hot mirror” 35′, by example only, for reflecting the IR component of light, e.g., >approximately 800 nm, thereby preventing the unwanted IR component from entering the chamber 12 (as described, supra), in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention. Further, a coating may be included on the diffuse transmissive baffle 35 that reflects the IR component as well as the visible component, e.g., >approximately 600 nm, for reducing heat being generated on a treatable target 14 (as described, supra) that would otherwise damage the treatable target 14 (as described, supra) or its treated surface. The hot mirror 35′ may comprise a polished surface 42 for reflecting a type, or wavelength, of light, such as one or more of infrared light, visible light and ultraviolet light. Further, the polished surface 42 may comprise a dichroic material 43 for facilitating reflecting infrared light and/or visible light. The non-reflective side 46 is treated to form a diffuse transmissive surface providing the advantages, inter alia, described, supra. The hot mirror side of the hot mirror 35′ is preferably disposed facing the lamp or the light source 10; however, disposing the diffusive side of a diffuse transmissive baffle 35 will also be serviceable. Referring next to FIG. 16A, this front view schematic diagram illustrates a baffle support structure for retaining a diffuse transmissive baffle 35, by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The baffle support structure comprises a configuration, such as a combination 38a of upper tangs, lower tangs, and side tangs, e.g., preferably approximately four tangs disposed below, approximately two tangs disposed above, and approximately two tangs disposed alongside the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, mechanically coupled to at least one sidewall 12c of the chamber 12 (as described, supra) and a plurality of fasteners, e.g., preferably approximately four screws disposed below, approximately two screws disposed above, and approximately two screws disposed alongside the diffuse transmissive baffle 35, wherein the diffuse transmissive baffle extends to touch at least two sidewalls 12c. The tangs may comprise a material, such as one or more of an optically transparent material and an optically reflective material. Referring next to FIG. 16B, this side view schematic diagram illustrates a baffle support structure for supporting a diffuse transmissive baffle 35, wherein the baffle support structure may comprise a combination 38a of upper tangs, lower tangs, and side tangs and may be optically transparent, as shown in FIG. 16A, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Referring next to FIG. 16C, this top view schematic diagram illustrates a baffle support structure for supporting a diffuse transmissive baffle 35, wherein the baffle support structure may comprise a combination 38a of upper tangs, lower tangs, and side tangs and may be optically transparent, as shown in FIG. 16A, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Referring next to FIG. 16D, this perspective view schematic diagram illustrates a baffle support structure, comprising an array of small diameter wires 38b for supporting a diffuse transmissive baffle 35, by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The wires 38b may comprise a material, such as one or more of an optically transparent material and an optically reflective material. Referring next to FIG. 16E, this side view schematic diagram illustrates a baffle support structure, comprising a combination 38c of a screw and shelf member, for supporting a diffuse transmissive baffle 35, by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The shelf member 38d comprises a reflecting material, such as Teflon® and Spectalon®, being fastened to a sidewall 12c of the chamber 12 (as described, supra) via a screw 38e, by example only. Referring next to FIG. 17A, this interior side view schematic diagram illustrates a target support structure, comprising a structure 39a, such as a floor 12d of the chamber 12, for supporting a treatable target 14, by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Alternatively, the support structure may comprise a conveyance system (not shown), such as a conveyor belt (not shown) moving through the chamber 12 upon which the treatable target 14 may be disposed for moving into and through the chamber 12. Referring next to FIG. 17B, this interior side view schematic diagram illustrates a target support structure, comprising a table 39b or shelf (not shown) disposed on a floor 12d of the chamber 12, for supporting a treatable target 14, by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The table 39b or shelf (not shown) comprises an optically transparent material, such as quartz. The table 39b or shelf (not shown) may comprise a material, e.g., one or more of an optically transparent material, such as a quartz, and an optically reflective material, such as a fluorinated polymer and Teflon®. Referring next to FIG. 17C, this interior side view schematic diagram illustrates a treatable target 14 (as described, supra), comprising a continuous pipe 39c disposed the chamber 12, the chamber 12 having sidewalls 12c and a floor 12d, by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The continuous pipe 39c is inserted through a first sidewall of the sidewalls 12c and exits thru a second sidewall of the sidewalls 12c, and is fed in a direction C, by example only. Still referring to FIG. 17C, the continuous pipe 39c may alternatively act as a target support structure, wherein the continuous pipe 39c is disposed through the sidewalls 12c of the chamber 12, as previously described, but can also be used for supporting, feeding, and/or flowing a treatable target 14 (as described, supra), by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The treatable target 14 (as described, supra) may be inserted through a first end 39c1 of the continuous pipe 39c, and may be optionally fed, flowed, or otherwise conveyed through the continuous pipe 39c to a second end 39c2 of the continuous pipe 39c in a direction C, by example only. The continuous pipe 39c may be alternatively inserted and removed through only one opening in the sidewall 12c. This embodiment is conducive to use with a treatable target 14 (as described, supra) that comprises a solid, a gel, or a fluid, such as water, oil, or gas. Referring next to FIG. 17D, this interior side view schematic diagram illustrates a treatable target 14 (as described, supra) in the form of a catheter or a guide wire 39d disposed through at least one sidewall 12c of the chamber 12, by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The catheter or the guide wire 39d is inserted through at least one sidewall 12c of chamber 12, and optionally exit through an opposing sidewall 12c. The catheter or the guide wire 39d may be alternatively inserted and removed in a direction F through one opening in the sidewall 12c. An optional door (not shown) may be provided to reduce the opening in the side wall once the catheter or the guide wire 39d is inserted, thereby increasing the irradiance and radiative uniformity within the chamber 12. This embodiment facilitates treating surface coatings on catheters and guide wires 39d. Still referring next to FIG. 17D, the catheter or the guide wire 39d may alternatively act as a target support structure, wherein the catheter or the guide wire 39d is disposed through at least one sidewalls 12c of the chamber 12, as previously described, but can also be used for supporting, feeding, and/or flowing a treatable target 14 (as described, supra), by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The treatable target 14 (as described, supra) may be inserted through a first end 39d1 of the catheter or the guide wire 39d, and may be optionally fed, flowed, or otherwise conveyed through the catheter or the guide wire 39d to a second end 39d2 of the catheter or the guide wire 39d in a direction E, by example only. The catheter or the guide wire 39d may be alternatively inserted and removed in direction F through only one opening in the sidewall 12c. This embodiment is conducive to use with a treatable target 14 (as described, supra) that comprises a solid, a gel, or a fluid, such as water, oil, or gas. Referring next to FIG. 17E, this interior side view schematic diagram illustrates a treatable target 14 (as described, supra) in the form of an elongated element 39e, such as a continuous pipe 39c (FIG. 17C) or a catheter or guide wire 39d (FIG. 17D), by example only, disposed in a split chamber 12″, by example only, in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The split chamber 12″ comprises two partial chamber portions 12e, wherein one partial chamber portion 12e or both partial chamber portions 12e are transversably movable in relation to the axis of the elongated element 39e. The elongated element 39e is surrounded by both partial chamber portions 12e, wherein a loss of light is minimized between both partial chamber portions 12e and the elongated element 39e is largely uniformly illuminated. Once the treatment is completed, the partial chamber portions 12e are moved apart such that sufficient space is provided for removing the elongated element 39e and any supporting structure (not shown) from the chamber 12″. By closing the partial chamber portions 12e around the elongated element 39e, the irradiance and radiative uniformity is improved. Further, by separating the chamber 12″ into two partial chamber portions 12e and providing an opening between the partial chamber portions 12e, large target support structures may be used without degrading the performance of the chamber 12″ by closing the chamber portions only around the elongated element 39e and excluding the target support structure from the chamber interior volume. This embodiment also facilitates treating surface coatings on elongated elements 39e. Alternatively, the elongated element 39e may, itself, act as a conduit for supporting and conveying a treatable object 14 (as described, supra). Referring next to FIG. 18, this schematic diagram illustrates an integrating optical system S, as shown in FIG. 5A, further comprising a coupling device 80, the coupling device 80 being optically coupled with both the lamp assembly 200 and the chamber 12, in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention. The chamber 12 may comprise a main chamber 350 and in some cases, an auxiliary chamber 22. The lamp assembly 200 may not be directly coupled to the chamber 12. Rather, in this embodiment, the lamp assembly 200 is coupled to the chamber 12 by way of the coupling device 80, the coupling device 80 comprising an element, such as one or more of a light guide, a reflector, a lens, or other optical element, to transmit light from the lamp assembly 200 to the chamber 12. That is, in some embodiments, the coupling device 80 optically couples the light from the lamp assembly 200 to the chamber 12. In some embodiments, the light guide (not shown) comprises an element, such as one or more of an optical liquid, an optical fiber, or other optical transmitting medium. In some embodiments, the use of a lens (not shown) facilitates collection of light from the light source 10 and facilitates transmission of the light to the chamber 12. Further, the coupling device 80 may comprise the light guide used in combination with at least one lens. In some embodiments, the at least one lens is disposed at either end of the light guide for facilitating collection of light from the light source 10, for facilitating transmission to the chamber 12, and for facilitating the distribution of light into the chamber 12. By example only, a desired distribution of light may be focused or collimated for a given application. Furthermore, the coupling device 80 may be used in conjunction with any of the foregoing embodiments, such as those described in relation to FIGS. 3A-17E. In some embodiments of the present invention, the chamber 12 comprises any suitable configuration, such as a sphere, a rectanguloid, a cube, a polyhedron, an ellipsoid, an ogivoid, a paraboloid, a cylinder, a hyperboloid of one sheet, a hyperboloid of two sheets, a hyperbolic paraboloid, and an elliptical cone, for accommodating a work-piece. In relation to the chamber 12, the treatable target 14 comprises a surface having a plurality of points; wherein any point of the plurality of points being irradiated by light incident through the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle 35 also is irradiated by light incident from at least one other point in the system S other than through the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle 35. The at least one treatable target 14 comprises a material that is responsive to ultraviolet light, such as an ultraviolet-curable polymeric material, a radiation-curable material, a free-radical-polymerizable material, a disinfectable material, a weatherable material, and an artificially weatherable material. Information as herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining one or more objects of embodiments of the invention, the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, and is, thus, representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by embodiments of the present invention. The scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and is to be limited, accordingly, by nothing other than the appended claims, wherein any reference to an element being made in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described preferred embodiment and additional embodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are hereby expressly incorporated by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, no requirement exists for a system or method to address each and every problem sought to be resolved by the present invention, for such to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. However, that various changes and modifications in form, material, and fabrication material detail may be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims, should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. 1. An integrating optical system, comprising: at least one chamber, each at least one chamber having at least one aperture and at least one portion comprising a diffuse reflective material; at least one light source; and at least one diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in relation to the at least one chamber in a manner wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle is also disposed in an optical path between the at least one light source and at least one treatable target, wherein at least one light-ray originating from the at least one light source is diffusely transmitted from the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle and impinges on an interior surface of the at least one chamber before impinging on the at least one treatable target. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle facilitates passage of light from the at least one light source therethrough in a diffuse manner. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein each at least one treatable target comprises a disposition selected from a group consisting essentially of inside the at least one chamber and outside the at least one chamber. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one chamber comprises at least one configuration selected from a group consisting essentially of a sphere, a rectanguloid, a cube, a polyhedron, an ellipsoid, an ogivoid, a paraboloid, a cylinder, a hyperboloid of one sheet, a hyperboloid of two sheets, a hyperbolic paraboloid, and an elliptical cone. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle comprises a plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles in a stacking relationship, and wherein the plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles comprises at least one configuration selected from a group consisting essentially of a spacing being disposed between each baffle of the plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles and each baffle being adjacently disposed and contacting another baffle of the plurality of diffuse transmissive baffles. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle comprises at least one material selected from a group consisting essentially of a high-temperature-resistant material, an aluminum oxide, a polycrystalline aluminum oxide, a polycrystalline sapphire, an optical filter, a quartz, an opaled quartz, a fritted quartz, a sandblasted quartz, a bead-blasted quartz, a sapphire, a sandblasted sapphire, a bead-blasted sapphire, an acid-etched quartz, an acid-etched sapphire, a ground quartz, and a ground sapphire. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle comprises at least one material selected from a group consisting essentially of a volume diffusing material, a pot opal, a quartz having a distribution of voids, a quartz having a distribution of scattering sites, a quartz having a distribution of impurities, a quartz having a distribution of dopants, a quartz felt, a quartz wool, and a randomly oriented transmissive fiber sandwiched between optically transparent support members. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle comprises at least one diffusing surface formed by at least one technique consisting essentially of etching, chemical etching, acid etching, sandblasting, bead-blasting, grinding, and opaling. 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle comprises a polished surface and a diffusing surface. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the polished surface comprises a dichroic material for reflecting at least one type of light selected from a group consisting essentially of infrared light, visible light, and ultraviolet light. 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one chamber comprises a main chamber and an auxiliary chamber, the auxiliary chamber disposed between the at least one light source and the main chamber. 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one light source is disposed within the at least one chamber. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one chamber comprises a main chamber and an auxiliary chamber, wherein the at least one light source is disposed within one of the main chamber and the auxiliary chamber. 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the diffuse reflective material comprises at least one material selected from a group consisting essentially of a diffuse reflective polymer, a conformal diffuse reflective polymer, a fluoropolymer, a perfluoroalkoxy, a fluoroethylene-propylene, a tetrafluoroethylene, an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene, a polytetrafluoroethylene, a flexible polytetrafluoroethylene, an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, a sintered polytetrafluoroethylene, a pressed polytetrafluoroethylene, and a barium sulfate. 15. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one shutter disposed between the at least one light source and the at least one chamber. 16. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one lamp assembly, each at least one lamp assembly comprising at least one light reflector for accommodating the at least one light source, wherein the at least one light reflector facilitates reflection of light toward the at least one chamber, wherein the at least one light reflector comprises a feature selected from a group consisting essentially of a diffuse reflective surface and a specular reflective surface, and wherein the at least one lamp assembly comprises a focus characteristic selected from a group consisting essentially of in-focus and out-of-focus. 17. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one light source comprises at least one element selected from a group consisting essentially of a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser. 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one treatable target comprises a surface having a plurality of points, and wherein any point of the plurality of points being irradiated by light incident through the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle also is irradiated by light incident from at least one other point in the system other than through the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle. wherein the at least one treatable target comprises a material being responsive to light, and wherein the material comprises at least one material selected from a group consisting essentially of an ultraviolet-curable polymeric material, a radiation-curable material, a free-radical-polymerizable material, a disinfectable material, a weatherable material, and an artificially weatherable material. 20. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one hot mirror disposed between the at least one light source and the at least one treatable target. 21. The system of claim 16, further comprising at least one coupling device, the at least one coupling device being optically coupled with both the at least one lamp assembly and the at least one chamber. 22. The system of claim 21, wherein the at least one coupling device comprises at least one element selected from a group consisting essentially of a light guide and a lens for facilitating transmission of light from the at least one lamp assembly to the at least one chamber. 23. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one lamp assembly, each at least one lamp assembly comprising at least one light reflector for accommodating the at least one light source, the at least one light reflector facilitating reflection of light toward the at least one chamber, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle facilitates passage of light from the at least one light source therethrough in a diffuse manner, wherein each at least one treatable target comprises a disposition selected from a group consisting essentially of inside the at least one chamber and outside the at least one chamber, wherein the at least one chamber comprises at least one configuration selected from a group consisting essentially of a sphere, a rectanguloid, a cube, a polyhedron, an ellipsoid, an ogivoid, a paraboloid, a cylinder, a hyperboloid of one sheet, a hyperboloid of two sheets, a hyperbolic paraboloid, and an elliptical cone, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle comprises at least one material selected from a group consisting essentially of a high-temperature-resistant material, an aluminum oxide, a polycrystalline aluminum oxide, a polycrystalline sapphire, an optical filter, a quartz, an opaled quartz, a fritted quartz, a sandblasted quartz, a bead-blasted quartz, a sapphire, a sandblasted sapphire, a bead-blasted sapphire, an acid-etched quartz, an acid-etched sapphire, a ground quartz, and a ground sapphire, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle comprises at least one material selected from a group consisting essentially of a volume diffusing material, a pot opal, a quartz having a distribution of voids, a quartz having a distribution of scattering sites, a quartz having a distribution of impurities, a quartz having a distribution of dopants, a quartz felt, a quartz wool, and a randomly oriented transmissive fiber sandwiched between optically transparent support members, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle comprises at least one diffusing surface, wherein the at least one diffusing surface is formed by at least one technique consisting essentially of etching, chemical etching, acid etching, sandblasting, bead-blasting, grinding, and opaling, wherein the at least one chamber comprises a main chamber and an auxiliary chamber, wherein the diffuse reflective material comprises at least one material selected from a group consisting essentially of a diffuse reflective polymer, a conformal diffuse reflective polymer, a fluoropolymer, a perfluoroalkoxy, a fluoroethylene-propylene, a tetrafluoroethylene, an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene, a polytetrafluoroethylene, a flexible polytetrafluoroethylene, an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, a sintered polytetrafluoroethylene, a pressed polytetrafluoroethylene, and a barium sulfate, wherein the at least one light reflector facilitates reflection of light toward the at least one chamber, wherein the at least one light reflector comprises a feature selected from a group consisting essentially of a diffuse reflective surface and a specular reflective surface, wherein the at least one lamp assembly comprises a focus characteristic selected from a group consisting essentially of in-focus and out-of-focus, wherein the at least one light source comprises at least one element selected from a group consisting essentially of a discharge lamp, a microwave-excited arc lamp, an electrodeless arc lamp, a low pressure arc lamp, a medium pressure arc lamp, a high pressure arc lamp, an incandescent lamp, a light emitting diode, and a laser, wherein the at least one treatable target comprises a surface having a plurality of points, wherein any point of the plurality of points being irradiated by light incident through the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle also is irradiated by light incident from at least one other point in the system other than through the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle, 24. The system of claim 23, further comprising at least one shutter disposed between the at least one light source and the at least one chamber. 25. The system of claim 23, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle further comprises a polished surface. 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the polished surface comprises a dichroic material for reflecting at least one type of light selected from a group consisting essentially of infrared light and visible light. 27. A method of fabricating an integrating optical system, comprising: providing at least one chamber having at least one aperture and at least one portion comprising a diffuse reflective material; providing at least one light source; and providing at least one diffuse transmissive baffle disposed in relation to the at least one chamber in a manner wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle is also disposed in an optical path between the at least one light source and at least one treatable target, wherein the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle is disposed in a manner wherein at least one light-ray originating from the at least one light source is diffusely transmittable from the at least one diffuse transmissive baffle and impingeable on an interior surface of the at least one chamber before being impingeable on the at least one treatable target. 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising providing at least one shutter disposed between the at least one light source and the at least one chamber. 29. The method of claim 27, further comprising providing at least one lamp assembly, the at least one lamp assembly providing step comprising providing each at least one lamp assembly with at least one light reflector for accommodating the at least one light source, the at least one light reflector facilitating reflection of light toward the at least one chamber. 30. A method of treating at least one treatable target with light, comprising: providing light, having at least one light-ray, within a volume from at least one light source; diffusely transmitting the at least one light-ray being in a direct path to the at least one treatable target by way of at least one diffuse transmissive baffle such that the at least one light-ray impinges on an interior surface of at least one chamber before impinging on the at least one treatable target; diffusely reflecting the at least one light-ray within the volume for collecting the at least one light, thereby integrating the at least one light-ray, and thereby providing at least one integrated light-ray; and irradiating the at least one treatable target with the at least one integrated light-ray, thereby providing at least one treated target. Applicant: VELA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (San Diego, CA) Inventor: Michael W. Ingram (Austin, TX) Current U.S. Class: Irradiation Of Objects Or Material (250/492.1); Diffusing Of Incident Light (359/599); Assembling Or Joining (29/428) International Classification: G02B 5/02 (20060101); G21K 5/00 (20060101); B23P 11/00 (20060101);	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1656
__label__cc	0.50292	0.49708	Justia Patents Control In Response To Generator Line ConditionsUS Patent for AC locomotive operation without DC current sensor Patent (Patent # 5,998,880) AC locomotive operation without DC current sensor Aug 7, 1997 - General Electric A system and method for controlling operation of a diesel electric traction vehicle of the type including a synchronous generator driven by a diesel engine for producing alternating current (AC) electric power, the AC electric power being converted to direct current (DC) electric power and transferred over a DC link to a plurality of DC to AC inverters, and each of the inverters being coupled to transfer controlled frequency power to at least one AC electric traction motor coupled in driving relationship to at least one wheel-axle set of the vehicle. A computer-based control system controls operation of the engine, generator and inverters in response to a power command signal. The control system computes power supplied by the generator from calculated torque developed by the AC traction motors and electric power losses in the inverters and other circuit elements coupling power from the generator to the motors. The computed generator supplied power is compared to the power command signal and engine operation is adjusted so as to minimize any difference between the commanded power and the computed power. Latest General Electric Patents: Dynamic flow control for stream processing Methods and apparatus to facilitate proximity detection and location tracking Automated network security policy configuration Effective wedgelet partition coding using spatial prediction Electronics package including integrated electromagnetic interference shield and method of manufacturing thereof This invention relates generally to electrical propulsion systems for diesel electric locomotives equipped with alternating current traction motors and, more particularly, to a method for controlling locomotive operation without use of a direct current sensor. In a conventional diesel electric locomotive, a thermal prime mover (typically a 16 cylinder turbo-charged diesel engine) is used to drive an electrical transmission comprising a synchronous generator that supplies electric current to a plurality of alternating current (AC) traction motors whose rotors are drivingly coupled through speed reducing gearing to the respective axle wheel sets of the locomotive. The generator typically comprises a main three-phase traction alternator, the rotor of which is mechanically coupled to the output shaft of the diesel engine. When excitation current is supplied to field windings on the rotating rotor, alternating voltages are generated in three-phase armature windings on the stator of the alternator. These voltages are rectified to produce a controlled amplitude DC voltage on a DC link which is connected to DC terminals of one or more inverters. The inverters invert the DC voltage to a controlled frequency of AC power to be supplied to the field windings of the AC traction motors. The effective AC excitation frequency produced by the inverters controls the speed of the AC motors with power being controlled by pulse width modulation of the AC waveform. In normal motoring operation, the propulsion system of the diesel electric locomotive is so controlled as to establish a balanced steady state condition wherein the engine driven alternator produces, for each discrete position of a throttle handle, a substantially constant optimum amount of electrical power for the traction motors. The propulsion control system conventionally includes means for limiting or reducing alternator output voltage as necessary to keep the magnitude of the DC link voltage and the magnitude of DC link current from exceeding respective predetermined safe maximum levels or limits. Typically, both the DC link voltage and the DC link current are monitored with appropriate sensors which provide both a feedback control of the propulsion system operation and also serve to prevent over-voltage and/or over-current conditions. At low locomotive speeds, the traction motor armatures are rotating slowly so that their back EMF is low. A low alternator voltage can now produce a maximum motor current which in turn produces the high tractive effort required for acceleration. On the other hand, the alternator voltage magnitude must be held constant and at a high magnitude whenever locomotive speed is high since the traction motor armatures are rotating rapidly and have a high back EMF and the alternator voltage must be high to produce the required load current. In addition to providing current feedback signals for controlling alternator operation during motoring (a propulsion mode of operation of the locomotive in which the AC motors are powered to drive the locomotive in either a forward or reverse direction), the DC link current sensor is also used to control engine operation during self-loading (a test mode with the locomotive at rest in which alternator power is dissipated in a dynamic braking resistance grid coupled to the DC link) to test engine, alternator and associated controls. The DC link current sensor also provides inputs to a failure detection circuit for identifying short-circuit currents associated with a shoot-through condition typically caused by switching device failures in one of the inverters or any other shorted condition at or reflected onto the DC link. Accordingly, the DC current sensor at the DC link has been considered to be a necessary feature for locomotive systems. A detriment of the DC link current sensor is its relatively high cost. Further, failure of the sensor may require shutting down the associated locomotive. The DC link current sensor is unusual because of the need to monitor a wide range of DC current, e.g., anywhere from a few tens of amperes up to several thousand amperes. Additionally, the sensor is connected in a relatively high voltage circuit, e.g., the nominal DC link voltage may be about 1400 volts but can spike up above 2000 volts. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method for overcoming the cost and failure disadvantages associated with use of a conventional DC link current sensor. The present invention comprises a system and method which obviate the need for a DC link current sensor in an AC traction motor vehicle system. All of the functions performed by the DC link current sensor in an AC traction motor vehicle system are implemented using existing measured parameters. In an illustrative embodiment, the invention is implemented in a diesel electric locomotive of the type including a diesel engine connected in driving relationship to an electric power generator, power output terminals of the generator being connected to input terminals of an alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) power converter and output terminals of the power converter being connected to relatively positive and relatively negative DC buses of a DC link. A plurality of DC to AC inverters are connected in parallel to the DC link with each of the inverters being connected for supplying controlled AC power to at least one AC electric traction motor coupled in driving relationship to wheels of the locomotive. A control system is connected for controlling the power output of the inverters in response to an operator's command and to sensed operating conditions of the locomotive, one of the sensed operating conditions being power output of the generator. During normal motoring of the locomotive, power output of the generator is determined indirectly by calculating the torque developed by each of the traction motors and converting the calculated torque to equivalent electrical power. The system losses, i.e., losses in the inverter and snubber circuits plus resistance losses in the electrical conductors, are added to the equivalent electrical power to arrive at the generator power output or, more precisely, the power supplied to the DC link. Motor torque and system losses can all be calculated using existing measured variables. For example, motor torque is determined from measured values of motor stator voltage and current, both of which are AC parameters that are commonly monitored with AC sensors. Torque is obtained from a conventional motor equivalent circuit transformation using the measured voltage and current values. Electrical power input to the motor is then obtained by multiplying the torque value by the frequency of the power applied to the motor. Power losses in the inverter switching devices are calculated using known techniques such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/633,390. Snubber losses in the inverters are determined using conventional methods, e.g., in an illustrative snubber using a capacitor and inductor, losses in the capacitor are determined by the relationship CV.sup.2 f while losses in the inductor are determined from the relationship 1/2 Li.sup.2, where f is inverter switching frequency, C and L are capacitor and inductor values, and V and i are the voltage and current from the inverter. Resistive losses are calculated from the measured AC current and cable resistance between the motors and the DC link. During self loading of the locomotive, power generation is readily determined by dividing the square of the DC link voltage by the resistance of the dynamic brake grid. Failure detection for an inverter shoot-through is obtained from monitoring DC link voltage and detecting sudden drops in the voltage to about zero volts and the existence of such low voltage for more than some minimum time period. A shorted DC link (a start-up failure) requires a computer model of the alternator, i.e., a model which relates alternator output current to alternator output voltage as a function of alternator field current and rotor speed. From the model, a value of estimated output current can be obtained from the measured values of voltage, speed and field current. If the value of estimated load resistance obtained by dividing DC link voltage by the estimated current is less than a selected minimum value and the value of estimated current is greater than another selected value for a minimum time interval, then a short-circuit is presumed and the locomotive is disabled. For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an electrical propulsion system for a diesel electric locomotive; FIG. 2 is a simplified functional block diagram of a power control system in accordance with the present invention and implemented within the controller of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing one implementation of a program for determining alternator power without DC current sensing; FIG. 4 illustrates a conventional motor equivalent circuit for calculating motor flux to determine motor torque; FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary leg of a three-phase inverter for which power losses can be determined; FIG. 6 illustrates a circuit model for estimating alternator current; and FIG. 7 illustrates a set of graphs for determining alternator current from other quantities. The propulsion system shown in FIG. 1 includes variable speed prime mover 11 mechanically coupled to the rotor of a dynamoelectric machine 12 comprising a three-phase alternating current (AC) synchronous generator, also referred to as a main traction alternator. The main alternator 12 has a set of three star connected armature windings on its stator. In operation, it generates three-phase voltages in these windings, which voltages are applied to AC input terminals of at least one three-phase double-way uncontrolled power rectifier bridge 13. In a conventional manner, the bridge 13 is formed by a plurality of pairs of power diodes, each such pair of diodes being associated with each of the three different phases of the main alternator 12. The diodes in each pair are serially connected between relatively positive and negative direct current (DC) output terminals of the rectifier bridge, and their junction is connected by a protective fuse (not shown) to the respectively associated AC input terminal of the bridge. The output of the bridge 13 is electrically coupled, via DC link 14, in energizing relationship to a plurality of parallel connected, electrically controllable inverters 15, only two of which are shown in the illustrated embodiment. The inverters 15 are conventional three-phase inverters having a plurality of pairs of controllable rectifiers connected in such a manner that controlling the time at which each of the rectifiers is gated into conduction allows one to control the output frequency and power supplied by the inverters. The three-phase outputs of the inverters are connected to corresponding ones of the adjustable speed AC traction motors 16. Prime mover 11, alternator 12 and rectifier 13 are suitably mounted on the platform of a self-propelled 4-axle or 6-axle diesel electric locomotive. A locomotive platform is in turn supported on two trucks (not shown), each having two or more axle wheel sets. A separate one of the traction motors 16 is hung on each axle and its rotor is mechanically coupled via conventional gearing and driving relationship to the associated axle-wheel set. The main alternator 12 of the power rectifier 13 serve as a controllable source of electric power for the traction motors. The magnitude of output voltage or current of the source is determined and varied by the amount of excitation current supplied to field windings 12F on the rotor of the main alternator. These field windings are connected for energization to the output of a suitable source 17 of regulated excitation current IF. The excitation current source 17 may comprise a three-phase controlled rectifier bridge having input terminals 18 which receive alternating voltage from a prime mover driven auxiliary alternator that can actually comprise an auxiliary set of three-phase armature windings on the same frame as the main alternator 12. This source 17 is labeled field regulator in FIG. 1. It includes conventional means for varying the magnitude of direct current IF supplied to the alternator field 12F (and hence the output of the alternator 12) as necessary to minimize any difference between the value of a variable control signal VC on an input line 19 and a feedback signal on line 20 which, during motoring, is representative of the average magnitude V of the rectified output voltage of the main alternator 12. The voltage V is sensed by a conventional voltage sensing module (not shown) connected across the DC output terminals of the power rectifier and which may comprise a simple voltage divider of two or more resistors. The prime mover 11 that drives the alternator field 12F is a thermal or internal combustion engine or equivalent. On a diesel electric locomotive, the motive power is typically provided by high horsepower, turbo-charged, 16 cylinder diesel engine. Such an engine has a fuel system 24 that includes a pair of fuel pump racks for controlling how much fuel oil flows into each cylinder each time an associated fuel injector is actuated by a corresponding fuel cam on engine cam shafts. The position of each fuel rack, and hence the quantity of fuel supplied to the engine, is controlled by an output piston of an engine speed governor system 25 to which both racks are linked. The governor regulates engine speed by automatically displacing the racks, within predetermined limits, in a direction and by an amount that minimizes any difference between actual and desired speeds of the engine crankshaft. The desired speed is set by a variable speed call signal received from an associated controller 26, which signal is herein called speed command signal or the speed call signal. An engine speed signal (RPM) indicates the actual rotational speed of the engine crankshaft and hence the alternator field. The speed command signal for the engine governor system 25 and the excitation control signal VC for the alternator field current source 17 are provided by the controller 26. In a normal motoring or propulsion mode of operation, the values of these signals are determined by the position of a handle of a manually operated throttle 27 to which the controller 26 is electrically coupled. A locomotive throttle conventionally has eight power positions or notches (N) plus idle and shutdown. N1 corresponds to a minimum desired engine speed (power), while N8 corresponds to maximum speed and full power. With the throttle in its idle position, the controller 26 is operative to impose on the control signal VC a value corresponding to IF=0, and no traction power is produced by the main alternator 12. When the electrical braking of a moving locomotive is desired, the operator moves the throttle handle to its idle position and manipulates an interlocking handle of a companion brake control device 28 so that the main controller 26 is now supplied with a variable "brake call" signal. The controller sets up the alternator for minimum voltage. The AC motor will then build up flux and act as a generator. The amount of braking torque is then controlled by controlling the slip frequency of the AC motor by control of conduction of the inverted switching devices. During electrical braking, the energy generated by the motors is converted to DC through the inverters 15 and transferred to the DC link 14 to be dissipated in a braking resistance grid DBR. A switch SW disconnects the grid from DC link 14 during normal motoring. For each power level of the engine there is a corresponding desired load. The controller 26 is suitably arranged to translate the notch information from the throttle 27 into a reference signal value which establishes a voltage output from the alternator required by the motors in order to generate the torque or power being called for by the notch position. For this purpose, as well as others, it is necessary to supply the controller 26 with information about various operating conditions and parameters of the propulsion system, including the engine. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the controller 26 receives the above-mentioned engine speed signal RPM, DC link voltage feedback signal V, and AC voltage and current feedback signals representative of the magnitude of voltage and current supplied to the motors 16 from the inverters 15. The controller 26 also receives a load control signal issued by the governor system 25 if the engine cannot develop the power demanded and still maintain the called for speed. The load control signal is effective, when issued, to reduce the power reference value in the controllers 26 so as to weaken the alternator field until a new balance point is reached. Additional data supplied to the controller 26 includes "volt max" and "cur max" data that establish absolute maximum limits for the alternator output voltage and current respectively. The controller also receives "crank" data indicating whether or not an engine starting or cranking routine (start-up) is being executed and relevant inputs from other selected sources, as represented by the block labeled "Other". The alternator excitation source 17 and the controller communicate with each other via a multi-line serial data link or bus 21. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the controller 26 comprises a microcomputer. A person skilled in the art will understand that a microcomputer is actually a coordinated system of commercially available components and associated electrical circuits and elements that can be programmed to perform a variety of desired functions. In a typical microcomputer, a central processing unit (CPU) executes an operating program stored in an erasable and electrical reprogrammable read only memory (EPROM) which also stores tables and data utilized in the program. Contained within the CPU are conventional counters, registers, accumulators, flip-flops (flags), etc. along with a precision oscillator which provides a high frequency clock signal. The microcomputer also includes a random access memory (RAM) into which data may be temporarily stored and from which data may be read at various address locations determined by the program stored in the EPROM. These components are interconnected by appropriate address, data and control buses, one of such buses being indicated at 29 and shown connecting signals from the controller 26 to the inverters 15, and a display 30. The microprocessor used in the controller 26 may be a conventional processor of the type available from Intel Corporation or of the alternative type available from Motorola, Inc. The controller 26 is programmed to produce, in the motoring mode of operation, a control signal value on the line 19 that varies as necessary to zero any error between the value of the alternator voltage feedback signal V and a reference value that normally depends on the throttle position selected by the locomotive operator and the traction power output of the main alternator. One method for implementing this control function is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,887. In order to implement an electrical braking mode of operation, the controller 26 is programmed to vary the conduction of the switching devices in the inverters in a manner to vary or control the slip frequency of the AC motors. The controller 26 also provides the signals necessary to control the timing of the firing of the rectifier devices within the inverters 15 in such a manner as to establish a desired frequency of operation of the power supplied by the inverters 15 to the motors 16 so as to control the speed of the locomotive. Suitable feedback means are also provided from the wheel axle sets of the locomotive by means 31 which may be conventional tachometers providing signals SPD to the controller 26. Conventionally, each wheel axle sets may be associated with a separate tachometer or speed sensor to provide multiple signals indicative of speed to the controller so as to be able to detect wheel slip or slide conditions. While the above description of the controller 26 implies that the controller is strictly a voltage or current regulator, it will be appreciated that the conventional controller while regulating voltage and current output of the alternator 12 typically utilizes calculations of the actual power delivered to the motors 16 and by the actual horsepower or torque developed by the motors 16. Power and torque are quantities that are calculated within the controller 26 from the values of voltage and current supplied to the motors. Furthermore, each motor may also be supplied with flux sensing windings to enable a direct measurement of flux being developed within the motors or, in a preferred form, the AC terminal voltage and AC motor current is measured and used to estimate the flux developed by the motors. Torque or tractive effort can be estimated from motor flux multiplied by current. Horsepower can be estimated from the product of torque and frequency. Turning now to FIG. 2, there is shown a simplified functional block diagram of a portion of a control algorithm implemented within the microcomputer of controller 26. As discussed briefly above, the input command from the locomotive operator is a throttle position or motor power reference command indicated by a particular notch position of the throttle controlled by the operator. The throttle position is supplied to the controller 26 and a selected output voltage from the alternator 12 is generated for each notch position. The command or notch position is interpreted by the controller 26 and is modified by the amount of auxiliary load on the locomotive such as from other train cars, heaters and auxiliary items. This is typically a deration function that is necessary since the diesel engine 11 may be called upon to generate a maximum horsepower but the additional loads on the engine may not allow that amount of horsepower to be supplied to the driving wheels of the vehicles through the AC traction motors 16. Once the horsepower command has been adjusted by subtracting out the auxiliary loading, the resultant command is supplied through various functions such as a hump control, power deration circuit, and a slew rate limit circuit. All of these functions are described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,887. The slew rate limit circuit controls the rate at which horsepower is allowed to change within the system. The signal developed after modification by the slew rate limit circuit may be further modified to correct for alternator efficiency, i.e., the fact that the alternator may be only 95% efficient. The resulting signal becomes the net power reference signal. In FIG. 2, all of the above functions are implemented within the power control block 32 so that the output of the functional power control block 32 is the net power command signal HP* for the locomotive in a motoring mode. The control function sums the command signal with a power feedback signal HPFB representative of actual power generated to produce an error signal. More particularly, the HPFB power signal is subtracted from the net power signal HP* in a summing junction 36 to produce an error signal on line 37. The error signal represents the difference between the actual electrical power developed by the alternator 12 and the amount of power commanded by the particular notch position or throttle position set by the operator. This error signal is applied to a conventional proportional plus integral regulator 38 and a resultant integrated term is then supplied to a first input terminal of a summing junction 40. In summing junction 40, the error signal is added to the net power reference signal HP* to provide a power output command signal for setting the power output of the alternator 12 and controlling the operation of the inverters 15. The power command signal is applied to a divider 41 or is divided by wheel speed to obtain a signal proportional to torque. This torque signal is then applied to a torque limit circuit 42 which creates a torque reference command T.sub.REF. The torque reference command is then used by the controller 26 to control inverters 15. The maximum allowable torque reference command is set by an input on line 43 from a torque converter 44 and tractive effort converter 46. These two functions operate conjointly to establish a tractive effort reference based on the locomotive operator's throttle notch position with tractive effort being converted to torque as a function of wheel diameter and gear ratio. Constraints, such as a conventional deration value and a slew rate limit, are placed on the torque reference and the resultant value is then applied to limit circuit 42 to establish a maximum limit on torque. In prior art systems, the actual power generated is calculated by multiplying DC link voltage by DC link current. The present system eliminates the use of an expensive DC current sensor and provides a different process for determining actual power generated. Referring to FIG. 3, which illustrates one implementation of a system 45 for determining power feedback, the calculation of the power feedback signal requires a summation of all power losses and power use for each inverter and motor. The losses include diode and gate turn-off (GTO) device losses and snubber circuit losses in the inverters 15 and I.sup.2 R (cable) losses in the system wiring. Power use, i.e., power used by the motors 16, can be determined from motor characteristics, measured values of voltage and current at the motor and the motor excitation frequency (synchronous frequency). The summation of losses and power used, block 42, is converted to an equivalent horsepower by dividing by 746 watts/horsepower, block 44. Block 46 represents summation of losses from all motor/inverter units. FIG. 3 also illustrates the development of a power feedback signal during dynamic braking of the vehicle or during self-loading mode, i.e., when the locomotive is in a non-motoring test mode. In either of these modes, generated power is dissipated in the dynamic brake resistance grid DBR connected to the DC link 14. The grid DBR is a fixed, high power resistance element which is generally stable although some variation with temperature may occur and require adjustment for best accuracy using a thermal model, i.e., a model which relates resistance to temperature and which can be developed by empirical testing to create a table of values of grid resistance as a function of temperature. Given the resistance value of the grid, typically less than 0.5 ohm, power generated becomes equal to the square of the DC link voltage, block 48, divided by the resistance value DBR, block 50. Summation block 52 indicates that the power feedback signal is derived either from the power used and lost calculation or from the power dissipated in the braking grid. The resistance value DBR is set to an infinite value when switch SW is open. The value of the dynamic brake resistance grid may vary from the nominal value specified by the manufacturer and therefore requires calibration in order to be used for horsepower measurement. One method of calibration in a shop environment is to measure voltage and current (using temporary shop sensors) during self-loading. Another method is to calibrate the DBR grid during actual field use when the locomotive is in a full dynamic braking mode from relatively high operating speed. In such condition, the voltage generated by the traction motors 16 is sufficiently high to bias the DC link 14 so that the diodes in the rectifier 13 are reverse biased and non-conducting. All the power on the link 14 is therefore supplied by the traction motors. Using the diagram of FIG. 3, if all the regenerative power is known from measuring AC voltage and current at each traction motor, and if all the losses are known, the power signal from summing junction 46 should equal the power signal developed by dividing the square of the DC link voltage by the value of the DBR resistance, i.e., the HPFB signal should be zero. If the HPFB signal is not zero, the value of DBR can be adjusted, i.e., calibrated, to bring the HPFB signal to zero. The calibrated value of DBR can then be used for self-load or dynamic brake control schemes. FIG. 4 illustrates one method for determining electrical torque of one of the motors 16. The controller 26 implements a motor model 54 using known values of stator resistance R.sub.S and motor equivalent leakage inductance Leq, both of which values are provided by the motor manufacturer. The motor model 54 of FIG. 4 is well known in the art and uses stator voltage and stator current (the monitored AC motor voltage and current) to compute motor flux. The value of electrical torque T is given by the relationship T=3/2.multidot.P/2.multidot.L.sub.M /L.sub.l (.lambda..sub.dr .multidot.i.sub.qs -.lambda..sub.qr .multidot.i.sub.ds) where P is the number of motor poles, L.sub.m and L.sub.l are mutual and leakage inductance, respectively, .lambda..sub.dr is the rotor flux along the direct axis, .lambda..sub.qr is the rotor flux along the quadrature axis, i.sub.qs is the stator current along the quadrature axis and i.sub.ds is the stator current along the quadrature axis. The electrical power input to the motor, excluding stator i.sup.2 R losses, is the product of torque T times synchronous speed or excitation frequency N.sub.s. Excitation frequency is known since the controller 26 specifies that frequency to the inverters 15. Accordingly, the power used by the motors 16 can be calculated from measured values of applied AC voltage and AC current. Each of the inverters 15 comprise three parallel connected switching circuits for generating three phase controlled frequency voltage for application to motors 16. The form of inverter switching circuit is sometimes referred to as pulse width modulation (PWM). Such inverters are well known in the art and a detailed description is not believed necessary. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of one leg of an inverter, three such legs being required for a three phase inverter. Each leg includes two series connected switching devices 56 and 58, such as the illustrated GTO devices, connected across DC link 14. A split inductor L is interposed between the devices 56, 58 with the pulse width modulated (frequency controlled) output taken at a center tap of inductor L. Each GTO switching device 56, 58 is bypassed by a reversely poled, parallel diode 62, 64, respectively. Corresponding snubber circuits each comprising a capacitor C.sub.S and diode D.sub.S are connected in circuit with each device 56, 58 and a resistor R couples the snubber circuits. The power loss P.sub.LS in the snubber circuits is calculated by P.sub.LS =CV.sub.s.sup.2 f+1/2 Li.sup.2 f where V.sub.s is the output voltage (motor stator voltage), i.sub.s (motor stator current) is the output current, f is the switching frequency and C and L are the capacitance and inductance of devices C and L. The losses in the GTO switching devices 56, 58 and associated diodes 62, 64 are described in detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/633,390, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference. The cable losses, i.e., the losses in the electrical conductors between the DC link 14 and the motors 16 is merely an I.sup.2 R.sub.C loss, where R.sub.C is the total resistance of the conductors obtained by conventional measurement and I is the RMS value of the current i.sub.s sensed at the motors. Accordingly, each of the loss items and power used for the implementation of FIG. 2 can be derived as shown in FIGS. 3-5 without direct measurement of DC link current. In prior art systems, the DC link current was used to identify a shoot-through condition. A shoot-through occurs, for example, if one of the switching devices 56, 58 fails to a short circuit condition and the other of the devices is then gated into conduction. The present system monitors the DC link voltage during locomotive operation and checks for a rapid drop in voltage to about zero volts with the voltage staying low for a minimum time interval, such as, for example, about 100 milliseconds (to eliminate detection of noise), such an occurrence being indicative of a shoot-through condition. If shoot-through occurs, the controller 26 can shut-down inverter operation until the failure can be localized to a particular inverter as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/633,390. A short-circuit condition is different than a shoot-through condition in that the short circuit exists at start-up before voltage on the DC link has risen to its normal high value. Without voltage to monitor for rapid drops, other methods of detection are necessary. A preferred method is to create a computer model of the alternator 12 as a function of DC link voltage V.sub.DC, engine speed RPM and alternator field current If so that the model produces an estimated value of DC link current I.sub.DCE. FIG. 6 illustrates a simple alternator model 66 which can be a series of look-up tables containing data corresponding to graphs of the type shown in FIG. 7. The tables are organized to represent a three-dimensional model, for example, with engine speed RPM representing a Z axis, DC link voltage V.sub.DC representing a Y axis and I.sub.DCE (estimated value of DC link current) representing an X axis. The values of alternator field current I.sub.f create a series of curves I.sub.11, I.sub.12, etc., for each value of RPM. Accordingly, for any set of values of V.sub.DC, RPM and I.sub.f, a corresponding value of I.sub.DCE can be obtained from the tables of the model. A short-circuit condition can be detected by computing the value of V.sub.DC divided by I.sub.DCE, as shown in FIG. 6, to derive a value of estimated circuit resistance R.sub.EST. If the value of I.sub.DCE is greater than some selected minimum value, e.g., 100 amps, so as not to be confused with transient signals and if the value of R.sub.EST is less than some other selected minimum value, e.g., 20 milliohms, for at least a selected minimum time interval, then a short-circuit is presumed and start-up aborted. A system and method for controlling operation of a high horsepower electric traction motor vehicle without direct monitoring of DC current has been disclosed. While the invention has been described in what is presently considered to be a preferred embodiment, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the specific illustrative embodiment but be interpreted within the full spirit and scope of the appended claims. 1. A method for controlling operation of a diesel electric traction vehicle of the type including a synchronous generator driven by a diesel engine for producing alternating current (AC) electric power, the AC electric power being converted to direct current (DC) electric power and transferred over a DC link to a plurality of DC to AC inverters, each of the inverters being coupled to transfer controlled frequency power to at least one AC electric traction motor coupled in driving relationship to at least one wheel-axle set of the vehicle, a computer based control system for controlling operation of the engine, generator and inverters in response to a power command to enable operation of the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: computing power supplied by the generator from calculated torque developed by the AC traction motors and electric power losses in the circuit elements coupling power from the generator to the motors; comparing the computed power to the commanded power; and adjusting engine operation so as to minimize any difference between the commanded power and the computed power. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of computing power includes the steps of measuring AC current and AC voltage at each motor, calculating motor flux from the measured values of current and voltage, calculating electric torque from the calculated flux and converting the calculated torque to electrical power. 3. The method of claim 1 and including the step of detecting a short-circuit condition in the inverters by monitoring voltage rate of change on the DC link and detecting a voltage drop to a relatively low value for a predetermined time interval. 4. The method of claim 1 and including the steps of: creating a computer model of the generator, said model having a Z-axis representing engine speed, a Y-axis representing DC link voltage, and an X-axis representing estimated value of DC link current, wherein field current is represented by a curve in said coordinate system, and wherein the model provides an estimated value of DC link current as a function of field current, DC link voltage and engine speed; measuring DC link voltage and dividing the measured voltage by the computed value of DC link current to obtain an estimated value of load resistance; and providing a signal indicative of a shorted DC link when the computed value of DC link current exceeds a preselected maximum value and the estimated value of load resistance is less than a preselected minimum value for more than a minimum time interval. 5. A system for controlling operation of a diesel electric traction vehicle of the type including a synchronous generator driven by a diesel engine for producing alternating current (AC) electric power, the AC electric power being converted to direct current (DC) electric power and transferred over a DC link to a plurality of DC to AC inverters, each of the inverters being coupled to transfer controlled frequency power to at least one AC electric traction motor coupled in driving relationship to at least one wheel-axle set of the vehicle, a computer based control system for controlling operation of the engine, generator and inverters in response to a power command to enable operation of the vehicle, comprising: means for computing power supplied by the generator from calculated torque developed by the AC traction motors and electric power losses in the circuit elements coupling power from the generator to the motors; a comparator for comparing the computed power to the commanded power; and means for adjusting engine operation so as to minimize any difference between the commanded power and the computed power. 6. A method for controlling operation of a diesel electric traction vehicle of the type including a synchronous generator driven by a diesel engine for producing alternating current (AC) electric power, the AC electric power being converted to direct current (DC) electric power and transferred over a DC link to a plurality of DC to AC inverters, each of the inverters being coupled to transfer controlled frequency power to at least one AC electric traction motor coupled in driving relationship to at least one wheel-axle set of the vehicle, a computer based control system for controlling operation of the entire engine, generator, inverters and a dynamic brake resistance grid coupled in circuit with the DC link for dissipating regenerative electrical power from the motors during electrical retarding of the vehicle in response to a power command to enable operation of the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: comparing the computed power to the commanded power; adjusting engine operation so as to minimize any difference between the commanded power and the computed power; and computing power during self-loading of the vehicle by measuring the DC link voltage, squaring the value of the measured voltage and dividing the squared value by the value of the resistance of the brake grid. 7. The method of claim 6 and including the step of correcting the value of grid resistance for temperature using a grid thermal model. 8. The method of claim 7 and including the step of calibrating the value of grid resistance during electrical braking of the vehicle by equating the computed power to the power dissipated in the grid wherein the grid resistance is equal to the square of the DC link voltage divided by the computed power. 4634887 January 6, 1987 Balch et al. 5363032 November 8, 1994 Hanson et al. 5467025 November 14, 1995 Ray 5495162 February 27, 1996 Rozman et al. 5600218 February 4, 1997 Holling et al. 5646510 July 8, 1997 Kumar 5703449 December 30, 1997 Nagate et al. 5712802 January 27, 1998 Kumar et al. 5729113 March 17, 1998 Jansen et al. 5747971 May 5, 1998 Rozman et al. 5783917 July 21, 1998 Takekawa "Open Loop Electronic Cyliner Pressure Balancing for Diesel Engine in Locomotive Application," R. Volpe, Jr., SA Patel, Serial No. 08/813,124 (GE docket 20-DD-1825) filed Mar. 7, 1997. Filed: Aug 7, 1997 Assignee: General Electric Company (Erie, PA) Inventor: Ajith Kuttannair Kumar (Erie, PA) Primary Examiner: Elvin G. Enad Attorneys: Jill M. Breedlove, Douglas E. Stoner Current U.S. Class: Control In Response To Generator Line Conditions (290/40B); Control In Response To Engine Speed (290/40A); Control In Response To Generator And Prime Mover Conditions (290/40C); Control In Response To A Time Standard (290/40D); Circuit Resonant At Given Frequency (290/40E); Control In Response To D. C. Generator Output (290/40F); With Physical Starting And/or Stopping Of The Generator (322/10); Combined Control Of Generator And Driving Means (322/14); Plural Electrical Conditions (322/24) International Classification: F02N 1106; H02P 904;	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1657
__label__cc	0.731598	0.268402	pearls4peers Helping hospital medicine physicians find anwers to clinical questions Can the elevation of AST and ALT in my patient with rhabdomyolysis be related to the muscle injury itself? My patient with rheumatoid arthritis might have been exposed to tuberculosis. Does immunosuppressive therapy affect the results of interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) testing for latent tuberculosis? What’s causing an isolated GGT elevation in my patient with an abnormal alkaline phosphatase on her routine admission lab? What’s the connection between lemon juice and disseminated candidiasis in my patient with illicit IV drug use? Is my patient with gout at higher risk of cancer? Ryan on My patient is admitted with di… Anemia on Can native valve infective end… Why does my patient… on My patient with anemia has an… omkolsoum on My patient with anemia has an… best iptv on What is the utility of pulmona… Acute phase reactants Alcohol-related diseases Allergy; cachexia Clostridium difficile; Prophylaxis CMS; Coagulopathy; Diet; Electrolyte abnormalities Falls; Hematological disorders; Hippocrates; Immunodeficiency Kidney disease; Medications; Meningitis, Muscle disease Nerve entrapment Nutritional disorders Opiates; Outpatient Antibiotic Therapy Prosthetic joint Psychiatric disease Pulmonary diseases Radiography; Rheumatologic diseases selective polysaccharide antibody deficiency; Skin and soft tissue infections Smoking; Surgery; Urinary tract diseases Vitamin deficiency; White bile; Follow Pearls4peers Follow and press here January 19, 2020 January 20, 2020 FA Manian MD, MPHalcohol, Alkaline phosphatase;, ALT;, AST;, Biliary tract;, Bilirubin;, Brain;, Congestive heart failure, COPD;, Diabetes mellitus, Drugs;, Fatty liver;, Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase;, GGT;, Kidney;, Lab;, Obesity, Pancreas;, Seminal vesicles;, Steatohepatitis;Leave a comment Although serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase or GGT is a very sensitive test for liver disease, especially of biliary origin, it’s by no means a very specific test. Besides the liver, GGT is found in the kidneys, pancreas, prostate, heart, brain, and seminal vesicles but not in bone (1-4). Obesity, alcohol consumption and drugs are common causes of GGT elevation (2). As early as 1960s, elevated GGT was reported in such seemingly disparate conditions as diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, nephrotic syndrome and renal neoplasm (3). Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, viral hepatitis, biliary obstruction, COPD, liver metastasis, drug-induced liver injury can all cause GGT elevation (1-4). An isolated GGT does not necessarily indicate serious or progressive liver disease. That’s one reason it’s often not included in routine “liver panel” lab tests (1). What to do when GGT is high but other liver panel tests such as ALT, AST, albumin, and bilirubin are normal? If your patient is at risk of acquired liver disease, then further workup may be necessary (eg, hepatitis B and C screening tests). Alcohol consumption should be queried. Don’t forget conditions associated with iron overload. If your patient is obese, diabetic or has elevated both lipids, an ultrasound of the liver to look for fatty liver should be considered. In the absence of risk factors, symptoms, or physical exam suggestive of liver disease, isolated GGT elevation should not require further investigation (1). One good thing that may come out of finding an isolated elevated GGT is to encourage your patient to curb alcohol consumption or lose weight when indicated. But don’t rely on a normal GGT to rule out heavy alcohol consumption as it may miss 70% to 80% of cases (6)! Bonus Pearl: Did you know that GGT activity is thought to increase in alcohol use due to its role in maintaining intracellular glutathione, an anti-oxidant, at adequate levels to protect cells from oxidative stress caused by alcohol? Liked this post? Download the app on your smart phone and sign up below to catch future pearls right into your inbox, all for free! 1. Carey WD. How should a patient with an isolated GGT elevation be evaluated? Clev Clin J Med 2000;67:315-16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10832186 2. Newsome PN, Cramb R, Davison SM, et al. Guidelines on the management of abnormal liver blood tests. Gut 2018;67:6-19. https://gut.bmj.com/content/gutjnl/67/1/6.full.pdf 3. Whitfield JB, Pounder RE, Neale G, et al. Serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity in liver disease. Gut 1972;13:702-8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4404786 4. Tekin O, Uraldi C, Isik B, et al. Clinical importance of gamma glutamyltransferase in the Ankara-Pursaklar region of Turkey. Medscape General Medicine 2004;6(1):e16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1140713/ 5. Van Beek JHDA, de Moor MHM, Geels LM, et al. The association of alcohol intake with gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels:evidence for correlated genetic effects. Drug Alcohol Depend 2014;134:99-105. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3909645/ 6. Bertholet N, Winter MR, Cheng DM, et al. How accurate are blood (or breath) tests for identifying self-reported heavy drinking among people with alcohol dependence? Alcohol and Alcoholism 2014;49:423-29. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4060735/pdf/agu016.pdf Share this: Pearls4Peers December 29, 2019 FA Manian MD, MPHAlcohol abuse;, Cancer, CHF;, CKD;, Dalmation;, Diabetes mellitus, DM;, Dog;, Gout;, Heart failure, Hypertension;, Kidney disease;, Malignancy, Mammals;, Obesity, Primates;, Uric acid;Leave a comment Although the association of gout with cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus or obesity is well known, increasingly number of epidemiologic studies support the association of gout with higher risk of malignancy. 1,2 A 2015 meta-analysis of 3 studies involving over 50,000 persons concluded that gout was an independent risk factor for cancer, particularly urological, gastrointestinal and lung cancers. 1 A population-based study of comorbidities in over 2 million persons in Sweden found that in addition to an increased risk of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic heart failure, chronic kidney disease and alcohol abuse, gout was associated with increased risk of malignancy: odds ratio 1.3 (1.2-1.5) in men and 1.1 (1.1-1.2) in women. 2 Although serum uric acid has been considered to have anti-oxidant properties, a prospective study of over 28,000 women followed over a median of 15.2 years did not find high serum acid levels to be protective of cancer.3 In fact, uric acid levels > 5.4 mg/dL at the time of subject enrollment was independently associated with increased risk of total cancer mortality and deaths from a variety of malignant neoplasms, including those of breast, female genital organs, and nervous systems. 3 In a similar prospective study involving men, high uric acid levels (>6.7 mg/dL) were associated with increased risk of mortality from gastrointestinal, respiratory and intrathoracic organ malignancies. 4 Whether the observed association between gout and higher risk of malignancy is causal or due to the company that gout often keeps (eg, lifestyle) is unclear. Fun fact: Did you know that among mammals, only humans, great apes and certain breeds of dogs (eg, Dalmation) produce elevated levels of uric acid in the urine and blood? 5 Wang W, Xu D, Wang B, et al. Increased risk of cancer in relation to gout: a review of three prospective cohort studies with 50,358 subjects. Mediators of Inflammation 2015, Article ID 680853, 6 pages. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26504360 Wandell P. Gout and its comorbidities in the total population of Stockholm. Preventive Medicine 2015; 81:387-91. ISSN 0091-7435. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26500085 Strasak AM, Rapp K, Hilbe W, et al. The role of serum uric acid as an antioxidant protecting against cancer: prospective study in more than 28000 older Austrian women. Ann Onc 2007;18:1893-97. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17785768 Strasak Am, Hilbe RK, Oberaingner W, et al. Serum uric acid and risk of cancer mortality in a large prospective male cohort. Cancer Causes Control 2007;18:1021-9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17665312 Bannasch D, Safra N, Young A, et al. Mutations in the SLC2A9 gene cause hyperuriosuria and hyperuricemia in the dog. PLOS Genet 2008;4:e1000246. https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1000246&type=printable Why is my diabetic patient complaining of arm pain and localized edema for couple of weeks without an obvious cause? November 28, 2019 November 28, 2019 FA Manian MD, MPHAnti-phospholipid syndrome;, APLS;, CK;, Creatine kinase;, CRP, diabetes, Diabetes mellitus, Diabetic muscle necrosis;, Diabetic myonecrosis;, DM;, ESR, fever, MRI;, Muscle necrosis;, Myonecrosis;Leave a comment Aside from the usual suspects associated with a painful extremity (eg, trauma, deep venous thrombosis and soft tissue infections), think of spontaneous diabetic myonecrosis (DMN), also known as diabetic muscle infarction (1-3). DMN is characterized by abrupt onset of painful swelling of the affected muscle, most often of the lower extremities, but also occasionally upper extremities. DMN occurs in patients with longstanding DM whose blood glucose control has deteriorated over time, often with nephropathy, retinopathy and/or neuropathy (1-3). Couple of things to remember when considering DMN in your differential of a painful extremity. First, except for localized edema and tenderness over the involved muscle, the exam may be unremarkable. Specifically, there is no erythema or signs of compartment syndrome and fever is absent in the great majority of patients (~90%) (2). Even white blood cell count and creatine kinase (CK) are usually normal. The reason for normal CK at presentation is not clear but CK might have already peaked by the time of patient presentation (3). In contrast, C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are usually elevated (>80%) (1). MRI (without contrast in patients with renal insufficiency) is the imaging of choice with muscle enlargement and edema with hyperintense signal on T2-weighted images and other changes, including perifascial, perimuscular and or subcutaneous edema (1-3). Muscle biopsy is not currently recommended because of its adverse impact on time to symptomatic improvement. Non-surgical therapy, with rest, analgesia and glycemic control is usually recommended (1-3). Though its exact cause is still unclear, atherosclerosis, diabetic microangiopathy, vasculitis with thrombosis and ischemia-reperfusion injury have been posited as potential precipitants for DMN. The role of anti-phospholipid syndrome, particularly in patients with type I DM, is unclear (1,2). Bonus pearl: Did you know that symptoms of DMN may last for weeks with at least one-third of patients having a recurrence in the same muscle or elsewhere (1)? 1. Horton WB, Taylor JS, Ragland TJ, et al. Diabetic muscle infarction: a systematic review. BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care 2015;3:e000082. 2. Trujillo-Santos AJ. Diabetic muscle infarction. An underdiagnosed complication of long-standing diabetes. Diabetes Care 2003;26:211-15. 3. Diabetes muscle infarction in end-stage renal disease:A scoping review on epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. World J Nephrol 2018;7:58-64. My patient with diabetes mellitus is now admitted with pneumonia. Does diabetes increase the risk of pneumonia requiring hospitalization? June 6, 2019 FA Manian MD, MPHCAP, Chemotaxis;, Diabetes mellitus, DM;, Gastroparesis;, Hospitalization;, Immunity;, Immunodeficiency, Microangiopathy;, Mortality;, pneumonia, Respiratory tract infection;Leave a comment The weight of the evidence to date suggests that diabetes mellitus (DM) does increase the risk of pneumonia-related hospitalization.1-3 A large population-based study involving over 30,000 patients found an adjusted relative risk (RR) of hospitalization with pneumonia of 1.26 (95% C.I 1.2-1.3) among patients with DM compared to non-diabetics. Of note, the risk of pneumonia-related hospitalization was significantly higher in type 1 as well as type 2 DM and among patients whose A1C level was ≥9.1 Another population-based study found a high prevalence of DM (25.6%) in patients hospitalized with CAP, more than double that in the population studied.2 A 2016 meta-analysis of observational studies also found increased incidence of respiratory tract infections among patients with diabetes (OR 1.35, 95% C.I. 1.3-1.4). Not only does DM increase the risk of pneumonia-related hospitalization, but it also appears to adversely affect its outcome with increased in-hospital mortality.2 Among patients with type 2 DM, excess mortality has also been reported at 30 days, 90 days and 1 year following hospitalization for pneumonia. 4,5 More specifically, compared to controls with CAP, 1 year mortality of patients with DM was 30% (vs 17%) in 1 study. 4 Potential reasons for the higher incidence of pneumonia among patients with DM include increased risk of aspiration (eg, in the setting of gastroparesis, decreased cough reflex), impaired immunity (eg, chemotaxis, intracellular killing), pulmonary microangiopathy and coexisting morbidity. 1,3,5,6 Bonus Pearl: Did you know that worldwide DM has reached epidemic levels, such that if DM were a nation, it would surpass the U.S. as the 3rd most populous country! 7 If you liked this post, sign up under MENU and catch future fresh pearls straight into your mailbox! Kornum JB, Thomsen RW, RUS A, et al. Diabetes, glycemic control, and risk of hospitalization with pneumonia. A population-based case-control study. Diabetes Care 2008;31:1541-45. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17595354 Martins M, Boavida JM, Raposo JF, et al. Diabetes hinders community-acquired pneumonia outcomes in hospitalized patients. BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care 2016;4:e000181.doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2015000181. https://drc.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000181 Abu-Ahour W, Twells L, Valcour J, et al. The association between diabetes mellitus and incident infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care 2017;5:e000336. https://drc.bmj.com/content/5/1/e000336. Falcone M, Tiseo G, Russo A, et al. Hospitalization for pneumonia is associated with decreased 1-year survival in patients with type 2 diabetes. Results from a prospective cohort study. Medicine 2016;95:e2531. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26844461 Kornum JB, Thomsen RW, Rus A, et al. Type 2 diabetes and pneumonia outcomes. A population-based cohort study. Diabetes Care 2007;30:2251-57. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17595354 Koziel H, Koziel MJ. Pulmonary complications of diabetes mellitus. Pneumonia. Infect Dis Clin North Am 1995;9:65-96. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7769221 Zimmet PZ. Diabetes and its drivers: the largest epidemic in human history? Clinical Diabetes and Endocrinology 2017;3:1 https://clindiabetesendo.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40842-016-0039-3 What is the significance of Terry’s or Lindsay’s nails in my hospitalized patient? July 9, 2018 February 16, 2019 FA Manian MD, MPHCancer, Chronic kidney disease;, Chronic renal failure;, cirrhosis, Congestive heart failure, Diabetes mellitus, End-stage liver disease;, Half and half nails;, Lindsay's nails;, Malignancy, Nails;, Reiter's syndrome;, Terry's nails;, TuberculosisLeave a comment Terry’s nails were first described in 1954 in patients with hepatic cirrhosis (prevalence 82%, majority related to alcohol abuse) (1). Since then, they have been reported in a variety of other conditions, including adult-onset diabetes mellitus (AODM), chronic congestive heart failure, chronic renal failure, pulmonary tuberculosis, and Reiter’s syndrome (2). A 1984 study found Terry’s nails in 25% of hospitalized patients (3). In this study, cirrhosis, chronic congestive heart failure, and AODM were significantly associated with Terry’s nails, while pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer were not. The presence of Terry’s nails may be particularly concerning in patients 50 y of age or younger as it increases the relative risk of cirrhosis, chronic congestive heart failure or AODM by 5-fold (18-fold for cirrhosis alone) in this age group (3). Terry’s nails should be distinguished from Lindsay’s nails or “half and half” nails. Although both nail abnormalities are characterized by an opaque white proximal portion, Terry’s nails have a thinner distal pink to brown transverse band no more than 3 mm wide (3) (Fig 1), while the same anomaly is wider and occupies 20%-60% of the nail bed in Lindsay’s nails (Fig 2). Of interest, Lindsay’s nails have been reported in up to 40% of patients with chronic kidney disease (4,5). 1. Terry R. White nails in hepatic cirrhosis. Lancet 1954;266:757-59. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13153107 2. Nia AM, Ederer S, Dahlem K, et al. Terry’s nails: a window to systemic diseases. Am J Med 2011;124:603-604. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21683827 3. Holzberg M, Walker HK. Terry’s nails: revised definitions and new correlations. Lancet 1984;1(8382):896-99. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6143196 4. Pitukweerakul S, Pilla S. Terry’s nails and Lindsay’s nails: Two nail abnormalities in chronic systemic diseases. J Gen Intern Med 31;970. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4945547/ 5. Gagnon AL, Desai T. Dermatological diseases in patients with chronic kidney disease 2013;2:104-109.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3891143/ Figure 1. Terry’s nails in a patient with end-stage liver disease Figure 2. Lindsay’s nails in a patient with chronic kidney disease If you liked this post, SELRES_9060f380-b0ce-41bb-b812-fe2595cb3460SELRES_4b9ffe76-4732-435c-a61e-cb3aba28fef9SELRES_055e8f9c-d15f-4b5c-8ddc-c9eb04539366sign upSELRES_055e8f9c-d15f-4b5c-8ddc-c9eb04539366SELRES_4b9ffe76-4732-435c-a61e-cb3aba28fef9SELRES_9060f380-b0ce-41bb-b812-fe2595cb3460 on the P4P home page and receive future pearls delivered directly into your mailbox! Should Aerococcus urinae growth from the urine of my elderly patient be considered a pathogen? June 15, 2018 FA Manian MD, MPHAerococcus urinae;, Amoxacillin;, Ampicillin;, Bacteremia;, Cephalexin;, Cephalosporins;, Chronic kidney disease;, Dementia, Diabetes mellitus, Endocarditis;, Fish odor syndrome;, fluoroquinolones, Fosfomycin;, Heart disease;, Nitrofurantoin;, Penicillin;, Prostatic hyperplasia;, Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole;, Trimethylaminuria;, Urethral stricture;, UTILeave a comment Although for many years Aerococcus urinae was considered a urinary contaminant, increasingly it is recognized as an emerging pathogen capable of causing not only urinary tract infection (UTI) but also secondary bacteremia and endocarditis, among others.1 The proportion of patients with aerococcal bacteriuria with symptoms suggestive of UTI ranges from 55-98%.1 So A. urinae can no longer be assumed to be a contaminant, particularly in the presence of symptoms suggestive of UTI. A. urinae UTI often affects the elderly (median age 79 y) and those with pre-existing urinary tract pathologies, such as prostatic hyperplasia, urethral stricture, renal calculi, and prior urinary tract surgery.2,3 Many patients also have underlying comorbidities such as diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and chronic renal failure.3 One clue to the presence of A. urinae in the urine is its particularly pungent odor reminiscent of that of patients with trimethylaminuria (fish odor syndrome).4 Once you decide you should treat A. urinae, keep in mind that it is NOT predictably susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, fluoroquinolones, or fosfomycin! Instead, consider penicillin, ampicillin, cephalosporin, or nitrofurantoin to which most strains are susceptible.5,6. Rasmussen M. Aerococcus: an increasingly acknowledged human pathogen. Clin Microbiol Infect 2016;22:22-27. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26454061 Tathireddy H, Settypalli S, Farrell JJ. A rare case of aerococcus urinae infective endocarditis. J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspectives 2017; 7:126-129. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5473194/ Higgins A, Garg T. Aerococcus urinae: An emerging cause of urinary tract infection in older adults with multimordidity and urologic cancer. Urology Case Reports 2017;24-25. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28435789 Lenherr N, Berndt A, Ritz N, et al. Aerococcus urinae: a possible reason for malodorus urine in otherwise healthy children. Eur J Pediatr. 2014;173:1115-7 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24913181 Christensen JJ, Nielsen XC. Aerococcus urinae. Antimicrobe @ http://www.antimicrobe.orgb75.asp , accessed June 14, 2018. Dimitriadi D, Charitidou C, Pittaras T, et al. A case of urinary tract infection caused by Aerococcus urinae. J Bacteriol Mycol 2016; 2: 00041. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a1cf/048d8444ce054ca9a332f7c2b4a218325ff6.pdf My diabetic patient complains of acute blurred vision past few days since her blood glucoses have been out of control. How does high blood glucose affect the vision acutely? January 25, 2018 FA Manian MD, MPHCataract;, Diabetes mellitus, Eye;, Hyperglycemia;, Lens:, Myopia;, Vision;Leave a comment “Vision loss or blurriness” is one of the most common manifestations of acute hyperglycemia in diabetic patients and is due to the osmotic swelling of the lens resulting in changes in its characteristics and the inability to properly focus an image.1 Since glucose acts as a solute, an increase in the concentration of glucose causes a rise in osmotic forces and movement of fluid into the lens, resulting in transient myopia. Interestingly, the increase in the fluid in the lens causes a change in its refractory index which is associated with focusing an image at a different length; it does not affect its curvature or position. Baseline vision should be eventually restored by correcting glucose levels.2 Also remember that rapid correction of hyperglycemia may make the lens swelling worse, causing increased visual disturbances.3 Fun fact: Did you know that chronic hyperglycemia is associated with cataract formation due to excess conversion of glucose to sorbitol in the lens? 4 Bron A.J, Sparrow J, Brown N, Harding J, Blakytny, R. The Lens in Diabetes. Eye 1993; 7: 260-75 https://www.nature.com/articles/eye199360.pdf Huntjens B. O’Donnell C. Refractive error changes in Diabetes Mellitus. Optometry in Practice 2006; 7:103-114. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/6185/3/Refractive_Error_Changes_in_DM_FINAL.pdf Sychev YV, Zepeda EM, Lam DL. Bilateral cateract formation via acute spontaneous fracture of the lens following treatment of hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome: Case report. Am J Ophthalmol 2017;7:66-69. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29260081 Pollreisz A, Ursula SE. Diabetic Cataract—Pathogenesis, Epidemiology and Treatment. Journal of Ophthalmology 2010; vol. 2010, Article ID 608751. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/joph/2010/608751 Contributed by Felicia Hsu, Medical Student, Harvard Medical School 200 pearls and counting! Take the Pearls4Peers quiz #2! December 29, 2017 January 2, 2018 FA Manian MD, MPHConfusion;, Constipation, Creatine kinase (CK);, Diabetes mellitus, E.coli;, Iron supplementation;, Legionella, MRI;, Peripheral neuropathy;, qSOFA, rhabdomyolysis, Seizure;, Sepsis, Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), Staphylococcus species;, Thrombophilia;Leave a comment Multiple choice (choose 1 answer) 1. Which of the following classes of antibiotics is associated with peripheral neuropathy? a. Penicillins b. Cephalosporins c. Macrolides d. Quinolones 2. The best time to test for inherited thrombophilia in a patient with acute deep venous thrombosis is… a. At least 1 week after stopping anticoagulants and a minimum of 3 months of anticoagulation b. Just before initiating anticoagulants c. Once anticoagulation takes full effect d. Any time, if suspected 3. All the following is true regarding brain MRI abnormalities following a seizure, except… a. They are observed following status epilepticus only b. They are often unilateral c. They may occasionally be associated with leptomeningeal contrast enhancement d. Abnormalities may persist for weeks or months 4. Which of the following is included in the quick SOFA criteria for sepsis? a. Heart rate b. Serum lactate c. Temperature d. Confusion 5. All of the following regarding iron replacement and infection is true, except… a. Many common pathogens such as E.coli and Staphylococcus sp. depend on iron for their growth b. Association of IV iron replacement and increased risk of infection has not been consistently demonstrated c. A single randomized-controlled trial of IV iron in patients with active infection failed to show increased infectious complications or mortality with replacement d. All of the above is true 1. Constipation may precede typical manifestations of Parkinson’s disease by 10 years or more 2. Urine Legionella antigen testing is >90% sensitive in legionnaire’s disease 3. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection should be particularly suspected in males over 50 years of age presenting with acute chest pain 4. Urine dipstick for detection of blood is >90% sensitive in identifying patients with rhabdomyolysis and CK >10,000 U/L 5. Diabetes is an independent risk factor for venous thrombophlebitis Multiple choice questions:1=d; 2=a;3=a;4=d;5=c True or false questions:1=True; 2,3,4,5=False My middle age patient complains of night sweats for several months, but she has had no weight loss and does not appear ill. What could I be missing? May 27, 2017 May 27, 2017 FA Manian MD, MPHB12;, Diabetes insipidus;, Diabetes mellitus, Donepezil;, Gastroesophageal reflux disorder;, Giant cell arteritis;, Hemochromatosis;, HIV, Hyperthyroidism;, Night sweats;, Obstructive sleep apnea;, Panic disorder;, Pheochromocytoma;, Pulmonary embolism, Seratonin, TuberculosisLeave a comment Night sweats (NS) is a common patient complaint, affecting about a third of hospitalized patients on medical wards1. Despite its long list of potential causes, direct relationship between the often- cited conditions and NS is usually unclear2, its cause may remain elusive In about a third to half of cases in the primary care setting, and its prognosis, at least in those >65 y of age, does not appear to be unfavorable 2,3. Selected commonly and less frequently cited conditions associated with NS are listed (Table)2-9. Although tuberculosis is one of the first conditions we think of when faced with a patient with NS, it should be emphasized that NS is not common in this disease (unless advanced) and is rare among hospitalized patients as a cause of their NS1,9. In one of the larger study of adult patients seen in primary care setting, 23% reported pure NS and an additional 18% reported night and day sweats5; the prevalence of NS in both men and women was highest in 41-55 y age group. In multivariate analyses, factors associated with pure NS in women were hot flashes and panic attacks; in men, sleep disorders. Table. Selected causes of night sweats Commonly cited Less frequently cited Neoplastic/hematologic (eg, lymphoma, leukemia, myelofibrosis) Infections (eg, HIV, tuberculosis, endocarditis) Endocrine (eg, ovarian failure, hyperthyroidism, orchiectomy, carcinoid tumor, diabetes mellitus [nocturnal hypoglycemia], pheochromocytoma) Rheumatologic (eg, giant cell arteritis) Gastroesophageal reflux disease B-12 deficiency Drugs (eg, anti-depressants, SSRIs, donepezil [Aricept], tacatuzumab) Sleep disturbances (eg, obstructive sleep apnea) Panic attacks/anxiety disorder Hemachromatosis Lea MJ, Aber RC, Descriptive epidemiology of night sweats upon admission to a university hospital. South Med J 1985;78:1065-67. Mold JW, Holtzclaw BJ, McCarthy L. Night sweats: A systematic review of the literature. J Am Board Fam Med 2012; 25-878-893. Mold JW, Lawler F. The prognostic implications of night sweats in two cohorts of older patients. J Am Board Fam Med 2010;23:97-103. Mold JW, Holtzclaw BJ. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and night sweats in a primary care population. Drugs-Real World Outcomes 2015;2:29-33. Mold JW, Mathew MK, Belgore S, et al. Prevalence of night sweats in primary care patients: An OKPRN and TAFP-Net collaborative study. J Fam Pract 2002; 31:452-56. Feher A, Muhsin SA, Maw AM. Night sweats as a prominent symptom of a patient presenting with pulmonary embolism. Case reports in Pulmonology 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/841272 Rehman HU. Vitamin B12 deficiency causing night sweats. Scottish Med J 2014;59:e8-11. Murday HK, Rusli FD, Blandy C, et al. Night sweats: it may be hemochromatosis. Climacteric 2016;19:406-8. Fred HL. Night sweats. Hosp Pract 1993 (Aug 15):88. Why doesn’t excessive ingestion of carrots cause yellow discoloration of the sclera? October 18, 2016 January 18, 2020 FA Manian MD, MPHAnorexia nervosa;, Carotene:, Carrots;, cirrhosis, Diabetes mellitus, Hypothyroidism;, Jaundice;, Nephrotic syndrome;Leave a comment Great question! “Carotenoderma” refers to the yellow discoloration of the skin caused by increased serum carotenoids1. Carotenoids are absorbed by passive diffusion from the gastrointestinal tract which are partially metabolized in the intestinal mucosa and liver to vitamin A, and then transported in the plasma into the intercellular lipids of stratum corneum of the skin which has a high affinity for carotene1,2. The maximal accumulation of carotenoids occurs in areas with an abundance of sweat glands (eg, the palms, soles, nasolabial folds). In the absence of strateum corneum, the sclera is spared! Of note, there are many causes of carotenoderma besides excessive ingestion of carrots. Among foods, increased ingestion of tomatoes, tangerines, red palm oil, and squash may also be responsible1,2. Systemic diseases associated with increase in serum carotenoids (possibly related to decreased conversion to vitamin A, hyperlipidemia, or other factors) include hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus, anorexia nervosa, nephrotic syndrome, and liver disease. Horev L, Ramot Y, Klapholz L. Yellow feet in a patient with breast and thyroid carcinoma, due to oral intake of turmeric. Drug Saf-Case Rep 2015;2:4.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40800-015-0006-4 Maharshak N, Shapiro J, Trau H. Carotenoderma-a review of the literature. Int J Dermatol 2003;42:178-181. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-4362.2003.01657.x/epdf Contributed by Clara Yang, Medical Student, Harvard Medical School Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: Minnow.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1664
__label__cc	0.523918	0.476082	Are there emulators for quantum computers? Is there any way to emulate a quantum computer in my normal computer, so that I will be able to test and try quantum programming languages (such as Q#)? I mean something that I can really test my hypothesis and gets the most accurate results. Update: I'm not really looking for simulating a quantum computer, but I'm not sure if its possible to efficiently emulate one on a normal non-quantum based PC. Michel GokanMichel Gokan $\begingroup$ Highly relevant Physics.SE post $\endgroup$ – Mr. Xcoder Mar 12 '18 at 20:04 Yes, it's possible (but slow). There are a couple of existing (this is only a partial list) emulators: QDD: A Quantum Computer Emulation Library QDD is a C++ library which provides a relatively intuitive set of quantum computing constructs within the context of the C++ programming environment. QDD is unique in that the its emulation of quantum computing is based upon a Binary Decision Diagram (BDD) representation of the quantum state. jQuantum jQuantum is a program which simulates a quantum computer. You can design quantum circuits with it and let them run. The current state of the quantum register is illustrated. QCE QCE is a software tool that emulates various hardware designs of Quantum Computers. QCE simulates the physical processes that govern the operation of a hardware quantum processor, strictly according to the laws of quantum mechanics. QCE also provides an environment to debug and execute quantum algorithms under realistic experimental conditions. (In addition, Q# only works with MS's QDK, thanks @Pavel) The downside to all of these is simple: they still run on binary (non-quantum) circuits. To the best of my knowledge, there's no easily accessible quantum computer to use for running these things. And since it takes multiple binary bits to express a single qubit, the amount of computational power needed to simulate a quantum program gets large very quickly. I'll quote a paper on the subject (J. Allcock, 2010): Our evaluation shows that our implementations are very accurate, but at the same time we use a significant amount of additional memory in order to achieve this. Reducing our aims for accuracy would allow us to decrease representation size, and therefore emulate more qubits with the same amount of memory. p 89, section 5.1 As our implementations get more accurate, they also get slower. TL;DR: it's possible, and some emulators exist, but none are very efficient for large amounts of qubits. RikerRiker $\begingroup$ Note that none of these emulators can (currently) be used by Q#, which only works with Microsoft's QDK. $\endgroup$ – Pavel Mar 12 '18 at 18:26 $\begingroup$ In addition to what you said: There are programatic ways to run code on the IBM Quantum Experience which provides real quantum computers - not Q# code, but QASM instead. QISKit is the way to go here. github.com/QISKit $\endgroup$ – blalasaadri Mar 13 '18 at 6:50 $\begingroup$ What you said makes sense because the simulation is run on one computer. But is it possible to achieve the same speed if multiple computers were used? $\endgroup$ – iOS Calendar patchthecode.com Oct 20 '19 at 1:59 Yes, it is possible to simulate a quantum computer on a normal one – But you most likely have to sacrifice efficiency. The dimension of the state space rises exponentially with the number of qubits ($2^n$, where $n$ is the number of qubits), so the linear algebra you will be dealing with won't be too light – You'll encounter very large matrices and the algorithm you use (regardless of how efficient it is) will likely become exponentially-scaling pretty fast. However, emulating a QC on a normal machine is definitely possible. You may be interested in Q# as other answers noted. Some more emulators: Quantum Computing Playground Quantum Computing Playground is a browser-based WebGL Chrome Experiment. It features a GPU-accelerated quantum computer with a simple IDE interface, and its own scripting language with debugging and 3D quantum state visualization features. Quantum Computing Playground can efficiently simulate quantum registers up to 22 qubits, run Grover's and Shor's algorithms, and has a variety of quantum gates built into the scripting language itself. QX Simulator The QX Simulator is a universal quantum computer simulator developped at QuTech by Nader Khammassi. The QX allows quantum algorithm designers to simulate the execution of their quantum circuits on a quantum computer. The simulator defines a low-level quantum assembly language namely Quantum Code which allows the users to describe their circuits in a simple textual source code file. The source code file is then used as the input of the simulator which executes its content. Quantum++ Quantum++ is a modern C++11 general purpose quantum computing library, composed solely of template header files. Quantum++ is written in standard C++11 and has very low external dependencies, using only the Eigen 3 linear algebra header-only template library and, if available, the OpenMP multi-processing library. Quantum Computer Language Despite many common concepts with classical computer science, quantum computing is still widely considered as a special discipline within the broad field of theoretical physics. [...] QCL (Quantum Computation Language) tries to fill this gap: QCL is a high level, architecture independent programming language for quantum computers, with a syntax derived from classical procedural languages like C or Pascal. This allows for the complete implementation and simulation of quantum algorithms (including classical components) in one consistent formalism. More relevant emulators can be found on Quantiki Yes, it is possible to simulate quantum computations on a classical computer. But the cost of simulations grows exponentially with qubit count and/or circuit depth and/or particular operation counts. For trying ideas quickly, my simulator Quirk is great. It's an open-source drag-and-drop quantum circuit simulator that runs in your web browser. You can access a live version at algassert.com/quirk. Here is a screenshot of Quirk's example Grover circuit, which is instrumented with intermediate state displays to track the "hidden" state becoming more likely: Craig GidneyCraig Gidney $\begingroup$ I find myself coming back to Quirk a lot for simple tests. It's a really awesome work, thank you! $\endgroup$ – João Bravo Dec 2 '19 at 18:31 If you're specifically looking at Q#, then it's super easy to use with an emulator -- in fact, it's not possible to have Q# but not have the emulator, they're bundled together. To get started, first you need to download .NET Core from Microsoft's website. When you download Microsoft's Quantum Development Kit through dotnet new -i "Microsoft.Quantum.ProjectTemplates::0.2-*" or Microsoft's website, it downloads both the language and Microsoft's own emulator together. Creating a new Q# project (dotnet new console -lang Q#) will automatically configure it to use the emulator, so when you type in some Q# and run the project it "just works". PavelPavel Yes. If you build it yourself, find a 3rd party computer with the same specs as the BullSequana M9600 series, or come up with €100K+ and buy a system from Atos. Notice the similarity between the BullSequana M9600 series and the Atos QLM. Same box (and probably internal components) with different software (but you wanted to use your own, Q#). Atos claims: "The highest-performing quantum simulator in the world". I'm not sure about that but the specs for the 30 qubit version are reachable, just two Intel CPUs and 1TB of memory. Atos QLM .PDF Brochure. Is there any way to emulate a quantum computer in my normal computer, so that I will be able to test and try quantum programming languages (such as Q#)? If you use only 256GB of memory and 1-24TB of Swap Drive it will be slow but it will work. I mean something that I can really test my hypothesis on and get the most accurate results. Quote from the Brochure: "The Atos Quantum Learning Machine computes the exact execution of a quantum program, with double digit precision. It simulates the laws of physics, which are at the very heart of quantum computing. This is very different to existing quantum processors, which suffer from quantum noise, quantum decoherence, and manufacturing biases, as well as performance bottlenecks. Simulation on the Atos Quantum Learning Machine enables developers to focus on their applications and algorithms, without having to wait for quantum machines to be available". They claim high accuracy, since it's a simulator it's not subject to noise - nor will it be as fast, or as expensive. In theory you could add some memory, drives, and software to your computer ... I think a nice "overview" about the subject can be found at: Quantiki They have a list of quantum computer simulators in several languages, some of the simulators have been cited here before. However, they keep a list that they update to inform (or try to inform) of the project's status. There are some "libraries" such as: qchas (qchas: A library for implementing Quantum Algorithms) - A library useful for implementing Quantum Algorithms. It contains definitions of Quantum Gates, Qubits. qubiter : The Qubiter project aims to provide eventually a full suite of tools, written mostly in Python, for designing and simulating quantum circuits on classical computers. jsqis : jsqis, at its core, is a quantum computer simulator written in Javascript. It allows initialization of quantum registers and their manipulation by means of quantum gates. Daniel Burkhart Gustavo BanegasGustavo Banegas Here is my code for simulation of a quantum computer in MatLab: https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/73035-quantum-computer-simulator Martin VeselyMartin Vesely Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged emulation or ask your own question. What are some good quantum computing simulator and visualiser? Building a quantum computer in simulation Is there any source which tabulates quantum computing algorithms for simulating physical systems? Are there emulators for quantum networks? How to keep track of entanglements when emulating quantum computation?	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1673
__label__wiki	0.912141	0.912141	Struggle that exists between people, between a person and nature/machine, or a person and society A type of comedy in which ridiculous characters are involved in silly situations A character whose trains are the opposite of another and thus pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of that character a division of literature that categorized a piece into its particular form (Ex: drama, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, biography, etc.) Latin for "in the midst of things" (Ex: when The Iliad begins, the Trojan War has already been going on for seven years.) A struggle involving the opposing forces in a person's mind A play in which heightened emotion, plot and action are emphasized instead of characters Mise-en-scene refers to everything that appears on stage: sets, props, actors, costumes, and lighting A long formal speech made by a character in a play (made to other characters on stage). A traditional story that serves to explain the mysteries of nature or a society's beliefs The protagonist's archenemy or supreme and persistent difficulty (Lord Vold to Harry Potter) A space where the chorus would dance/sing/interact with actors who were on the stage A series of related events that made up a story or drama A piece of writing usually composed to introduce a drama The main character in a piece of fiction A song of prayer for the dead Refers to the dynamic period after the exposition, when conflict has been introduced A set of actions performed mainly for their symbolic value, prescribed by a community A minor division of a theatrical play A long speech in which a character alone onstage expresses his or her private thoughts sometimes referred to as a "B story" often involving supporting characters (king/duke in Huck Finn) the demand made of a theatre audience to accept the limitations of staging and supply the details with imagination. Also, the acceptance on an audience's part of the incidents of plot. If there are too many coincidences or improbable occurrences, the audience can no longer suspend disbelief and subsequently loses interest. A play depicturing serious/important events in which the protagonist has an unhappy end (Romeo/Juliet) tragic flaw In a tragedy, this is the weakness of a character in an otherwise good (or even great) individual that ultimately leads to his demise. (Achieles heel and Icarus' need to fly too high) A serious play with a happy ending Drama Terminology #1 Dennys_Balestra Drama Terms ENGLISH 1302 DRAMA TERMS BigMarco254 Dramatic Terms (with examples) jerry_du7 Lab 18 incomplete (add images and fxn) jenamean The Endocrine System AP Lit: Poetry Movements adriennechvn Poetry Terminology 1&2 General Lit. Terminology 1,2,&3	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1675
__label__wiki	0.627797	0.627797	Posts Tagged ‘detailed setting’ When the Emperor Was Divine Author: Julie Otsuka Title: When the Emperor Was Divine Genre: Historical Fiction, Multi-cultural Geographical Setting: California Plot Summary: This is a historically detailed story about a family that was in the Japanese Internment Camps during World War II. The novel, which is written in third person, begins with the mother and two children still at home after their father was arrested. This was a few months before the rest of the family goes to the internment camp. The rest of the novel the characters reflect there unfortunate journey and lives while in the Japanese Internment Camp and their lives after the war. Even though living in the internment camps for over three years was horrible, it was bittersweet because they have pleasant moments and dreams. This family-centered novel provides the readers with a character-driven perspective of the lives in the internment camps in the United States during the Second World War Subject Headings: Japanese-Americans – Mass internment, 1942-1945; World War II – California; Japanese-American families; concentration camps — California Appeal: atmospheric; bittersweet; character-driven; closely observed; detailed setting; emotionally intense; family-centered; historical details; leisurely paced; multiple points of view; nostalgic; reflective; richly detailed; strong sense of place; thought-provoking 3 appeal terms that best describe this book: bittersweet; family-centered; historical details – Davenport, John C., The attack on Pearl Harbor: The United States enters World War II (explains the historical details of how and why the Japanese were put into the internment camps) – Grant, Kimi Cunningham, Silver like dust: one family’s story of America’s Japanese internment (an actual individual family-centered account of the internment camps) – Grapes, Bryan J., Japanese-American internment camps (several articles and stories of people who were in the internment camps) – Appanah-Mouriquan, Nathacha, 1973-, The last brother (bittersweet, family-centered, World War II story) – Finney, Ernest J., California time (family-centered story about a Japanese American families relationship with Portuguese and Italian families, and how World War II affected the relationship) – Salisbury, Graham, Eyes of the emperor (thought-provoking, Japanese American story during World War II, story through the eyes of individual who fought in the war and was still discriminated against) Name: Samantha Biegel Tags:atmospheric, bittersweet, character driven, closely observed, detailed setting, Emotionally intense, family-centered, historical details, leisurely paced, multiple points of view, nostalgic, reflective, richly detailed, strong sense of place, thought provoking Posted in Historical Fiction, multi-cultural \| Leave a Comment » The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America Author: Erik Larson Title: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America Genre:Adult books for young adults; History Writing; True Crime Geographical Setting: Chicago, IL Plot Summary: While the architect David Burnham and his colleagues labored tirelessly to design the spectacular World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, a man by the name of H.H. Holmes used the distraction of the fair to erect his own World’s Fair Hotel and lure victims under his guise as a charming doctor to their gruesome deaths. Larson alternates the stories of the architect and the serial killer to create one compelling tale of the effects of the World’s Fair on the city of Chicago and the underlying evil that lurked right in the midst of the excitement. Subject Headings: Mudgett, Herman W. 1861-1896. Burnham, Daniel Hudson, 1846-1912. Serial murderers – Illinois – Chicago – Biography. Serial murders – Illinois – Chicago – Case studies. World’s Columbian Exposition (1893; Chicago, Ill.) Appeal: Compelling, historical details, well-researched, suspenseful, disturbing, gritty, detailed setting, uneasy, character-centered, engrossing, psychological Three appeal terms: Historical details, well-researched, compelling City for Ransom by Robert W. Walker City for Ransom is a fictional tale of a killer on the loose during the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. Inspector Alastair Ransom must locate the killer who is using the bustling fairgrounds as a distraction to get away with murder, before the inspector becomes a victim himself. The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas J. Preston For readers who like a suspenseful read about a serial killer, I suggest The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas J. Preston. It’s written in a gritty style similar to The Devil in the White City, and details a copycat serial killer who begins overtaking New York City using methods similar to that of a killer in the 1880s. Together, FBI agent Pendergast, journalist Bill Smithback, and archaeologist Nora Kelly work to solve the case – and keep themselves alive. Wakefield by Andrei Codrescu Readers who enjoyed the architectural aspects of the Devil in the White City might enjoy this story of an architecture enthusiast who winds up on a journey to understand his purpose in life and continue to explore his love of architecture. The World’s Columbian Exposition: the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 by Norman Bolotin and Christine Laing I suggest this book to readers who enjoyed reading about the Chicago World’s Fair in The Devil in the White City and are looking to learn more about the fair. This book provides a visual history of the fair with stunning panoramic images of the fair’s splendors, including the landscaping, waterways and gondolas, and the structures that were designed and built just for the fair. The authors cover every concept of the history of the fair from its very beginnings to its lasting impact and all of the details in between. Depraved: The Definitive True Story of H.H. Holmes, Whose Grotesque Crimes Shattered Turn-of-the-Century Chicago by Harold Schechter Those who wish to learn more about notorious serial killer H.H. Holmes can check out this true crime story about the madman who carried out acts of torture and murders in his own “Castle of Horrors.” Schechter chronicles Holmes’ methods of luring victims by posing at different times as a doctor, druggist, and inventor, and the design of his torture chamber that included trapdoors, body chutes, and acid vats. Twilight at the World of Tomorrow: Genius, Madness, Murder, and the 1939 World’s Fair on the Brink of War by James Mauro Readers that enjoyed the history of the Chicago World’s Fair in The Devil in the White City might enjoy reading about another famous fair in history – the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. As Europe prepared for war overseas, the Big Apple prepared to throw a big party, which met with less than stellar success. Mauro recounts the festivities that brought out 45 million people, even among big rain storms, heat waves, and power outages. This book has much of the same historical appeal as The Devil in the White City, but not as strong a focus on the crime scene. Tags:character centered, compelling, detailed setting, disturbing, engrossing, gritty, historical details, psychological, suspenseful, uneasy, well-researched Author: Alison Bechdel Title: Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama Genre: Graphic Memoir Geographical Setting: Mostly Pennsylvania and Vermont Time Period: Present day with flashbacks Series: Follow-up to Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006) Plot Summary: Are You My Mother? is a densely-layered and thought-provoking exploration in graphic memoir form of author Bechdel’s complex, flawed relationship with her mother. Bechdel’s father, the subject of her earlier work, Fun Home, was a closeted bisexual who ultimately committed suicide, and her mother a frustrated poet and actress who sublimated her desires to those of her husband, submitting to the role of primary caregiver to their three children. Are You My Mother? depicts Bechdel, some five years after the publication of her critically-acclaimed book about her father, setting out to write a new book about her mother. Bechdel chronicles her process as an artist and writer, undergoing therapy and looking for analogies to her own life found in the works of favorite authors Virginia Woolf and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott, as she attempts to shape a narrative that identifies the moments that wounded her mother and crippled the formation of a healthy mother-daughter bond. The artwork in Are You My Mother? is pen and brush with delicate grey and red washes, offering a deceptively comic-strip-like simplicity that lightens the densely-written and sophisticated subject matter. Subject Headings: Motherhood; Mothers and daughters; Teenage daughters—coming out; Parent and child; Suicide; Feminism; Psychoanalysis; Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941; Winnicott, D. W. (Donald Woods), 1896-1971; Artists Appeal: Detailed, dramatic, eccentric, intriguing secondary characters, introspective, well developed, character centered, complex, domestic, episodic, layered, literary references, sexually explicit, thought-provoking, contemporary, detailed setting, details of psychoanalytic theory, elaborate, metaphorical, sophisticated, unusual 3 appeal terms that best describe this book: introspective, layered, thought-provoking Projections: Comics and the History of Twenty-First-Century Storytelling (2012) by Jared Gardner Readers who admire the scope and depth of Bechdel’s graphic storytelling will find much to explore in Gardner’s recent lively, yet somewhat academic, tome. Gardner offers an interpretation of comics as an art form which encourages interactivity in deciphering its contents and a model for contemporary modes of communication. There are multiple passages on Bechdel’s work which contextualize her place in the comics field. Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland (2012) by Harvey Pekar Bechdel works in the form known in graphic novel circles as autobiographical comics. Those who want to read more of this type of story may wish to acquaint themselves with Harvey Pekar, one of the seminal figures in this genre who helped define its contours. Where Are You My Mother? uses literary reference and psychoanalysis as a context for Bechdel’s self-exploration, Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland in rich detail describes the deep impact that place and history have in shaping identity. Cartoonish but heavily-rendered pen and ink drawings highlight both the grit and charm of urban Cleveland. Donald Winnicott Today (2012) edited by Jan Abram The work and life of child psychoanalyst and theorist Winnicott are front and center in the narrative of Are You My Mother? Bechdel comes to terms with life-long insecurities and decodes her troubled relationship with her mother, relying heavily on Winnicott’s models of mother-child dynamics. Readers who want to explore Winnicott’s work further will find this an accessible and thoughtfully assembled overview of his contributions to the field of Psychoanalysis. To the Lighthouse (1927; various editions) by Virginia Woolf Bechdel’s work is heavily influenced by the English writer Virginia Woolf. Although many of her books are discussed in Are You My Mother?, Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse receives particular attention for its story of self-discovery and coming to terms with the past, which mirrors Bechdel’s emotional journey. Believed to be the most autobiographical of all Woolf’s psychological fiction, To the Lighthouse, with its lyrical style and reflective tone, will surely appeal to readers intrigued by the glimpses of the novel found in Are You My Mother? Stuck Rubber Baby (New Edition; 2010) by Howard Cruse Newcomers to comics featuring LGBT protagonists and themes who wish to explore further will find an incredibly rich and varied tradition awaiting them. One of the first widely critically-acclaimed graphic novels dealing with gay themes to receive national attention was Cruse’s Stuck Rubber Baby, first published in 1995. Moving and reflective, and with a strong sense of place, the story follows the exploits of a young man named Toland Polk discovering his sexuality against the backdrop of the civil rights movement in the South during the 1960s. Wandering Son, Book 1 (2011) by Shimura Takako Are You My Mother? explores the thematic territory of gender identity and coming of age as does the moving and character-driven manga Wandering Son. Two fifth graders on the cusp of puberty share a secret: Shuichi is a boy who wishes he were a girl and Yoshino a girl who wishes she were a boy. Shimura’s spare and evocative art will likely appeal to fans of Bechdel’s stylized and emotionally expressive drawings. Name: John Rimer Tags:character centered, complex, contemporary, detailed, detailed setting, details of psychoanalytic theory, domestic, dramatic, eccentric, elaborate, episodic, intriguing secondary characters, introspective, layered, literary references, metaphorical, sexually explicit, sophisticated, thought provoking, unusual, well-developed Posted in GLBTQ, Graphic Novel, Nonfiction, Women's Lives \| Leave a Comment » Castle Waiting by Linda Medley Title: Castle Waiting, Volume I Author: Medley, Linda Geographical Setting: Castle Waiting, a safe-haven in a fairy tale world Time Period: Once Upon a Time Genre: Graphic Novel, Fairy Tale Plot Summary: Castle Waiting begins at the end of Sleeping Beauty’s story, the part where she runs blindly off with Prince Charming. Abandoned and essentially purposeless, her former ladies-in-waiting along with few other eccentric characters have created a sanctuary past the brambly hedge at Castle Waiting for those seeking peace and refuge. The story we are brought into is only one among a host of others before it, and it begins on a dark and stormy night with a clandestine meeting between a lady and a bear, her bodyguard. Lady Jain, our heroine, is on the run and, as we soon find out, pregnant. She flees her home in sadness, bound for Castle Waiting. The premise sounds cliché. Castle Waiting is anything but. Upon arrival at the castle, Lady Jain is greeted a stork-headed butler, a doctor who only appears wearing a beaked plague mask, a silently gruff but secretly gentle blacksmith/handyman, three ladies-in-waiting who finally have a lady, and a bearded nun. Yes, a bearded nun. Told through a linked set of stories, Castle Waiting draws heavily from fairy- and folk-tale conventions and spins them in a feminist light. That isn’t to say that all the male characters are weak or bad. In fact many of them are quite gentle and good—except for the ones who aren’t. But they are generally not as important as the female characters, who are independent and empowered, taking care of themselves and others. This is a joyous and humorous and optimistic story. Bad things have happened, do happen, and probably will continue to happen, but we are assured the happiest of endings. The art and the text blend seamlessly. Illustrated in black and white with strong line work that is as expressive as it is lighthearted, the frames are reminiscent of woodcuts adding to the fairytale quality of the work. This is a great choice for those who have found other graphic novels too over-stimulating. It would also be a good crossover for those who enjoy romance or fairytale-style fantasy, or those who simply crave a warm, lighthearted read. Appeal Characteristics: Engaging, joyful, upbeat, lighthearted, feminist, magical, warm, humorous, Fairy Tale, Quirky Characters, expressive art, detailed setting, smart, domestic, charming Subject Headings: Fairy Tales, Graphic Novels, Magic, Knights and Knighthood, Nuns, Princesses, Pregnant Women Three Terms Best Describing this Book: Joyful, Engaging, Charming The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson The much beloved comic strip featuring a boy with an unbeatable spirit and his sagacious stuffed tiger will bring readers the same joy and optimism found in Castle Waiting. The artwork here is spare but delightfully expressive. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown Three sisters return to their hometown to help care for their dying mother in this domestic fiction. This novel explores the relationships and bonds between women under exceptional circumstances and features an idyllic setting populated with quirky and endearing characters. These Children Come at You with Knives, and other Fairy Tales Stories by Jim Knipfel This book offers re-imagined fairy tales with a decidedly darker turn. The polite eccentricities found in the characters of Castle Waiting are twisted here into vulgar oddities. The optimism and warmth may be absent from these tales, but the stories will certainly offer laughs—albeit of the morbid and inappropriate variety. Only readers who enjoy their fairy tales told at a slant and who don’t mind their humor dark should attempt this book. Similar Non-fiction: The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming This graphic novel details the true story of Chinese magician and vaudeville performer Long Tack Sam, and his great-granddaughter’s quest to bring him back into the public light. A moving story told through a collage of artifacts from both his and her life, this biography maintains an upbeat optimism in the face of turbulence, uncertainty, and racism. In the Kingdom of the Fairies: A memoir of a Magical Summer and a Remarkable Friendship by Susan Coyne A moving story about a five-year old girl who for one summer believes her pen pal to be a fairy princess. In reality it is her elderly neighbor, a man who loves literature and wants to encourage the imagination this girl. This memoir will appeal to any adult who still believes in the power of make-believe. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel Another memoir told in the graphic novel format, this story told by a cult comic strip artist details the author’s relationship with her father during her childhood. Bechdel’s writing is both witty and moving, and her artwork features strong line work and a monochromatic palette that allows the expressions of the characters to stand out. Tags:charming, detailed setting, domestic, engaging, expressive art, Fairy Tale, Feminist, humorous, joyful, lighthearted, magical, quirky characters, smart, upbeat, warm Posted in Fantasy, Graphic Novel \| Leave a Comment » Her Fearful Symmetry Author: Audrey Neffenegger Title: Her Fearful Symmetry Genre: Literary Fiction, Ghost stories Geographical Setting: Lake Forest, IL and London, England Plot Summary: Twin sisters Julia and Valentina Poole reside in the suburbs of Chicago, where they lead rather unexciting lives and have little interest in anything aside from their extremely close attachment to each other. One day, the girls find out that their mother’s twin sister in London has passed away and left her apartment to the twins. Julia and Valentina take up residence in their deceased aunt Elspeth’s London flat, where they are introduced to the other residents in the building. Among them are Elspeth’s lover Robert, who works at the neighboring Highgate Cemetery, and Martin, who suffers from a severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Tension mounts as the twins develop new relationships and begin to find separate identities, and an unexpected family member shows up that could tear them apart forever. Subject Headings: Sisters — Fiction. London (England) — Fiction. Spiritual life – Fiction. Psychological fiction. Ghost stories. Appeal: Chilling, builds in intensity, compelling, atmospheric, plot twists, descriptive, literary, haunting, character-centered, lyrical, multiple points of view, detailed setting, psychological Three appeal terms: Haunting, lyrical, atmospheric Relevant Fiction Works and Authors Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson Housekeeping shares many of the same appeal terms as Her Fearful Symmetry, including an intricate plot centered on characters and family relationships. It is leisurely paced, lyrical, and includes the haunting ghost story element. The book focuses on two sisters Ruth and Lucille and their relationship with each other and other family members. The girls struggle to grow up amidst memories of a family past that they can’t escape in their small hometown. A Dark Dividing by Sarah Rayne Readers who enjoyed the storyline revolving around twins in Her Fearful Symmetry, as well as the London setting, might enjoy A Dark Dividing, another character driven, atmospheric read with an intricate plot. A Dark Dividing features a girl named Simone Anderson, whose twin sister disappeared long ago. Simone has a connection to another pair of twins that were born almost a century earlier, but what is that connection? Journalist Harry Flitzglen is in love with Simone and is determined to solve these mysteries. Curiosity leads him to a ruined mansion known as Mortmain House, where he finds himself immersed in a series of even greater mysteries and a disturbing history he could never have imagined. Ghost Walk by Heather Graham Those who are in the mood for a fun ghost story interwoven with suspense and romance would like Ghost Walk by Heather Graham. Nikki DuMonde is having a great time running a New Orleans haunted-tour company when a ghost begins reaching out to her for help. Nikki pairs up with paranormal investigator Brent Blackhawk to find out what this ghost wants…before it’s too late. Coastliners by Joanne Harris Like Her Fearful Symmetry, Coastliners also deals with women uncovering family secrets and developing their own identity. Mado returns home to her small island hometown after 10 years in Paris to reconcile with her estranged father. When she comes home, however, she is met with family secrets, village feuds, and the urgent need to save the town’s quickly eroding beach. This book has a strong focus on family relationships with a haunting feel and some paranormal elements thrown into the mix. Highgate Cemetery: Victorian Valhalla by Felix Barker In Her Fearful Symmetry, readers are exposed to some of the history of London’s Highgate Cemetery, which may leave them wanting to learn more about this fascinating landmark. Highgate Cemetery: Victorian Valhalla is a great resource for information as it provides a rare, illustrated history of the cemetery. Identical strangers: a memoir of twins separated and reunited by Elyse Schein Readers who liked the twin storyline in Her Fearful Symmetry may like this true story about a woman named Elyse who goes on a search for her biological mother and ends up discovering that she has an identical twin sister. When she finally connects with her twin, Paula, the two investigate their past and fill in the missing pieces of their lives. The story is interwoven with details on twin studies and statistics to make for both an informative and touching read. Ghosts among us: uncovering the truth about the other side by James Van Praagh Those who dig the paranormal ghost elements in Her Fearful Symmetry can find more information about ghosts in this non-fiction book. The author includes true ghost stories and evidence that ghosts are active in our everyday lives. Believers in ghosts will enjoy uncovering the truth about perceptions of spiritual life and how to have a better understanding of what happens on the other side. Tags:atmospheric, builds in intensity, character centered, chilling, compelling, descriptive, detailed setting, Haunting, literary, lyrical, multiple points of view, plot twists, psychological Posted in Literary Fiction \| Leave a Comment » The Apothecary Rose Author: Candace M. Robb Title: The Apothecary Rose Genre: Historical Mystery Setting: Great Britain Series: Owen Archer Mysteries, 1 Plot Summary: Owen Archer, a former Captain of the Archers, turned spy and masquerades as an apothecary apprentice; all in order to discover who murdered two pilgrims at York and for what reason. Subject Headings: Archer, Owen, 14th Century, Civilization-Medieval- England Appeal Terms: suspenseful, murder investigation, authentic, tangled relationships, detailed settings, poison, 14th Century England, religion, Medieval culture, pilgrimages 3 Best Appeal Terms: Similar Fiction Authors: The Nightingale Gallery by P.C. Doherty;1991 (historical mystery series, Medieval Great Britain) The Last Templar by Michael Jecks; 1995 (14th Century, historical murder mysteries, Knights Templar) A Shrine of Murders by C. L. Grace: 1993 (15th Century Great Britain, woman protagonist, Medieval murder mystery series) Similar Nonfiction Authors: The Lust for Blood: Why We are Fascinated by Death, Murder, Horror and Violence by Jeffery A. Kottler; 2010 For those readers who say “why am I reading murder mysteries when I am squeamish about blood?” you aren’t alone. This scientific book takes a hard and gritty look at why people continue to be infatuated with blood and violence, starting with the gladiators of Rome all the way to popular culture figures such as zombies and vampires. (science, gritty, from the ancients to contemporary times) Dead and the Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I and the dark scandal that rocked the throne by Chris Skidmore :2011 For readers that like to know if any of these murders were even possible, try some true crime from the 16th Century. Written as an exploratory study of the death of Anne Robsart using forensics, science and history buffs should enjoy this little hidden gem (16th Century Great Britain, true crime, journalistic, compelling) Royal Blood: Richard III and the Mystery of the Princes by Bertram Fields: 1998 Here’s another forensic mystery that might change the history books. This one has no resolution, but for those who like cold cases, this is bound to be interesting. (true crime, 15th Century Great Britain, forensics) Name: Jennifer Palermo Tags:character driven, detailed setting, Medieval, suspenseful Posted in Historical Fiction, Mystery \| Leave a Comment » Author: John Marsden Geographical Setting: Australia, present day (1990s) Series: The Tomorrow Series (book 1) Plot Summary: A group of teenagers blow off the town’s festivities to go camping in Hell. After a relaxing week in the Australian bush, the group returns to the unimaginable: empty homes, spoiled food and dead dogs. The book reads like the first in a series, giving ample time for a fully developed setting and character development before jumping into the thrilling plot. The characters transform as their new bleak reality sets in. Readers discover character growth and plot development through a single narrator’s point of view. The book ends on a suspenseful note as the group decides how best to deal with the grave situation at hand. Subject Headings: Resourcefulness in teenagers; Hiding; Imprisonment; Resourcefulness; Determination in teenagers; Determination (Personal quality); Guerrilla warfare; War; Survival; Teenagers – Australia; Wilderness areas — Australia Appeal: Action-packed; Builds in intensity; Suspenseful; Bleak; Compelling; Series characters; Introspective; Detailed setting; Accessible; Small-town; Episodic; Flawed; Emotionally-charged; Coming-of-age 3 appeal terms that best describe this book: Compelling; Bleak; Emotionally-charged Three fiction read-alikes: Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Bleak, Emotionally intense, Compelling, Survival, Series) Set in rural Pennsylvania, 16 year-old Miranda’s life changed in a blink of an eye as a meteor causes more trouble than scientists predicted. Miranda and her family struggle to survive the Earth’s violent reaction to this event. Holding Their Own: A Story of Survival by Joe Nobody (Survival, Action-packed, Series) Set in 2015, a couple must learn to survive in an America that has fallen into a second Great Depression, and devastated by terror attacks resulting in governmental collapse. Winter’s End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat (Compelling adventure story about teenagers set in other countries) Set in an unnamed country, this dystopian story is about four teenagers daring escape from their prison-like boarding school. The teenagers struggle for survival and quest for answers about their past, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Three related non-fiction titles: The Time of the Rebels: Youth Resistance Movements and 21st Century Revolutions by Matthew Collin (Young adults, Resistance) This book discusses the role youth movements played in taking down oppressive governments. Violent Politics: a History of Insurgency, Terrorism & Guerrilla war, from the American Revolution to Iraq by William R. Polk (guerrilla warfare and insurgency in several countries) William Polk takes a global approach to the history of insurgency, terrorism & guerrilla warfare. Red Earth, Blue Sky: the Australian Outback by Margaret Rau (Australian Outback) The story of Margaret Rau’s journey through the Australian Outback. Name: Shira Tags:accessible, action-packed, bleak, builds in intensity, coming of age, compelling, detailed setting, emotionally charged, episodic, flawed, introspective, series (characters), small town, suspenseful Posted in Adrenaline, Adventure \| Leave a Comment » Secrets of the Lost Summer Author: Carla Neggers Title: Secrets of the Lost Summer Geographical Setting: Swift River Valley- New England Time Period: Present day and 1938 (historical flashbacks) Plot Summary: After suffering from a friend’s betrayal that damages her career, Olivia Frost decides it is time to walk away from her life in Boston and start fresh in her hometown. While Olivia is delighted to renovate her historic home in scenic Swift River Valley, she finds herself annoyed by the dilapidated house that neighbors her own. Dylan McCaffrey, California businessman and retired NHL player, is surprised to learn he inherited this crumbling shack from his father. Eager to investigate what brought his adventure-seeking father to New England and why he purchased this rural home before his sudden passing, Dylan heads east and quickly becomes engrossed in both his attractive neighbor and the mystery his father left him in Quabbin Valley. While trying to solve a seventy-year-old puzzle, Dylan and Olivia become fearful that their findings will not only explain Dylan’s unusual inheritance but also reveal a small-town secret that will change the lives of the people of Swift River Valley forever. Subject Headings: Bed-and-Breakfast, Inheritance and Succession, Interpersonal Attraction, Jewel Thefts, Men/Women Relations, Secrets, Treasure Hunting, Family Secrets, New England Appeal: engrossing, gentle, heartwarming, romantic, closely observed characters, multiple points of view, flashbacks, steamy, detailed setting, historical details, straightforward style, conversational language. Three Appeal Terms: closely observed characters, detailed setting, historical details Three Fiction Read-Alikes Juliet by Anne Fortier Fortier tells the story of Julie Jacobs, a young woman who finds herself pursuing a family treasure upon receiving a surprising inheritance. Set in scenic Italy, readers who enjoyed Neggers’ element of mystery in a detailed setting will appreciate the descriptive landscape and Julie’s suspenseful mission. Moving Target by Elizabeth Lowell Lowell’s romantic suspense novel follows Serena Charters as she tries to piece together a mysterious inheritance she received upon her grandmother’s shocking passing. During her quest for information, Serena seeks the help of Erik North, a writer/historian, to whom she is instantly attracted. Fans of Secrets of the Lost Summer will enjoy the mysterious, historical inheritance plot entwined in a love story. The Treasure by Iris Johansen Like Neggers, Johansen writes engrossing love stories that appeal to those looking for a suspenseful read. The Treasure takes place in 12th century Europe and follows the story of Selene, a young woman who falls in love with a former assassin who rescued her from slavery. Readers who enjoyed the historical references and fast-paced storyline of Secrets of the Lost Summer will appreciate this read. Three Nonfiction Read-Alikes The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor by Jerry Traunfeld Along with her vivid descriptions of New England countryside in Secrets of the Lost Summer, Neggers also describes Olivia’s charming garden and farm-to-table cooking in great detail. Readers are provided with rich descriptions of Olivia’s obsession with freshly grown herbs, an element of this love story that may particularly engage readers with a gardening or cooking interest. For those who share Neggers’ fascination with herb gardens, The Herbal Kitchen cookbook is a strong nonfiction suggestion. Readers may enjoy applying Olivia’s cooking experiences to their own lives. Quabbin Valley: People and Places by Elizabeth Peirce This collection of vintage photographs depicts the lives of the people of Quabbin Valley from 1750 to 1938, when the land was purposefully flooded to create a steady water supply for Boston natives. Neggers discusses this historical moment and the affect it had on Quabbin residents in great detail. Readers who seek a visual representation of Neggers prose will enjoy this title. Quabbin: A History and Explorers Guide by Michael Tougias In the spirit of Dylan’s father’s love for adventure and treasure-hunting, Quabbin: A History and Explorers Guide makes for great additional reading for those who were taken with Neggers’ description of the New England landscape and its evolution since 1938. This title provides readers with a brief history of the valley as well as tips for those that may want to explore the area themselves. Annotation by: Elizabeth Hopkins Tags:closely observed characters, conversational language, detailed setting, engrossing, flashbacks, gentle, heartwarming, historical details, multiple points of view, romantic, steamy, straightforward style Posted in Adrenaline, Romantic Suspense \| Leave a Comment » Title: Shattered Author: Robards, Karen Geographical Setting: Lexington, Kentucky Time Period: Present Day/Contemporary Plot Summary: In this fast-paced and steamy read; Lisa Grant grew up with wealth and privilege in Kentucky’s horse loving country. But when the recession hits, Lisa loses her job with a Boston law firm and moves back home to care for her ailing mother and their vanishing finances. She gets a research assistant job working for District Attorney Scott Buchanan. Tall, dark and difficult Scott has known the vexing, unattainable Lisa and the Grant family since his teenage years, when they helped him escape his abusive, alcoholic father. Lisa is sent to organize the cold case files and stumbles upon a family who went missing about 30 years ago. She becomes enthralled in unraveling this mystery, especially since she looks just like the mother from the missing family. The case heats up as does the chemistry and passion between Lisa and Scott. There is a steady build-up to the dramatic conclusion, while fans of this genre will also enjoy the sultry love scenes. A romantic suspense novel filled with mystery, danger and most importantly romance. Subject Headings: Young Women, Cold Cases (Criminal Investigation), Family Secrets, Romantic Suspense, Arson, Rescues, Horse Farms, District Attorneys Appeal: Fast-paced, Engaging Characters, Dramatic, Contemporary, Investigative Storyline, Suspenseful, Conversational, Detailed Setting, Romantic, Plot-driven, Accessible, Steamy, Descriptive, Resolved Ending, Plot Twists Three Most Relevant Appeal Terms: Steamy, Suspenseful, Plot-driven Black Hills by Nora Roberts As seen in Shattered, this read is filled with intrigue, danger, romance and has a rugged landscape with the story being set in the hills of South Dakota. We meet childhood sweethearts Cooper Sullivan and Lil Chance; former sweethearts who have grown up and drifted apart. Similar to Shattered’s Lisa Grant, Cooper leaves his investigator job in New York to return home and care for his grandparents while Lil Dare continues to work towards opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge. They reenter each other lives and must work together to avoid danger from a serial killer. The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood This novel links FBI agent Max Daniels and Dr. Ellie Sullivan, when Ellie saves Max’s life after a terrifyingshooting. Like Shattered, this book has drama, suspense, great character names and especially hot romance. You will get more of the strong verbal banter experienced in Shattered, as well as a strong heroine and tenacious male lead who will be unable to resist their mutual attraction. Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown TV news reporter Britt Shelley wakes up next to rising star police detective Jay Burgess, but without knowing how she got there or how Jay ended up dead. Disgraced firefighter Raley Gannon experienced the same occurrence 5 years earlier. Now Ray sees a chance to get redemption through Britt Shelley, and they must work together to solve these murders while also dealing with their attraction to each other. Although grittier, this is another fast-paced and plot-driven novel that deals with solving criminal cases while providing characters with great chemistry. After Etan: The Missing Child Case That Held America Captive by Lisa R. Cohen On May 25, 1979, 6 year-old Etan Patz was on his way to his school bus stop when he went missing forever. This heart-breaking story generated headlines and consumed the nation. This compelling true crime book explores the details of the case over the years and is suggested for readers who want to delve into a real-life missing persons investigation. Kentucky Horse Country: Images of the Bluegrass by James Archambeault A great read for those wishing they could have seen the beautiful Kentucky landscape described in the book. This book contains vivid images of Kentucky Bluegrass land that includes beautiful horses, horse races and shots of the enchanting countryside. The Science of Cold Case Files by Katherine Ramsland Author Ramsland who spent a year working for well-known former FBI profiler John Douglas reveals the inner workings of the world of cold case files and forensic science, which the A&E’s Cold Case Files Television show is based on. Great for those who want to learn more about the process of cold case file investigation brought up in Shattered, and also great for fans of TV shows like Bones and CSI. Tags:accessible, contemporary, conversational, descriptive, detailed setting, dramatic, engaging characters, fast paced, Investigative Storyline, plot twists, plot-driven, resolved ending, romantic, steamy, suspenseful	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1679
__label__cc	0.547647	0.452353	NDPP Yes, shot down by a US warship illegally inside Iranian waters in 1988, a passenger airbus Iran Airflight 655 with 290 civilians. The reaction from the 'statesman, patriot and true friend to Canada' is above. The commander was awarded a medal. Because it was only brown people murdered, the most critical evaluation was that it was 'a screw-up.' Thanks for remembering WWWTT. Perhaps it will serve as a cautionary lesson if/when we decide to join these psychocidal madmen in USrael's much desired war to come on Iran. Which is likely since our politicians will refuse nothing to neither. https://youtu.be/lRJnumxuHwY epaulo13 Corporate welfare bums: It's payback time Canada’s welfare state is disintegrating. Meanwhile, Canada’s corporate welfare state has never been stronger. In his 2018 Fall Economic Report, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that corporations would receive $14 billion in new tax breaks. Enough money to fund a national daycare program is being handed over to the business sector. Although the rationale is the supposed need to maintain Canada’s competitiveness in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s gargantuan tax cuts, it is actually a question of priorities — or, more accurately, constituencies. The federal government has made it clear to whom it feels accountable. In a time of record profits, Canadian corporations already receive billions in subsidies every year, not to mention massive corporate tax cuts and loopholes and the roughly $3 billion in taxes that wealthy Canadians and corporations evade through offshore havens on an annual basis. Despite perennial promises by government to crack down, that money continues to accumulate, sloshing around the global economy in an era of unprecedented wealth and inequality.... epaulo13 wrote: I am not sure that I agree that the welfare state as such is disintegrating or that this is a productive way of saying what is happening. 1) First, Canada's welfare state was never so strong that the climb down could be said to be as extreme as the word suggests. The reality is that for the poorest of the poor, things have changed very little and they are as desperate as they were 40 years ago. 2) Secondly, what we are seeing as a decline is much, much broader than the system of social assistance and related governemnt programs. Due to technology, tax changes, trade policies and more, the disintegration is really most dramatic among lower income but previously quite independent people who remain independent from help from the government. It is true that social assistance rates have been largely unchanged and so have minimum wages which while they have had a recent catchup in some jurisdictions were long eroded by inflation. In some cases they are slightly above where they were and in some cases slightly below (depending on which years you look at). Social assistance in some cases is slightly better (Quebec for a single person had a social assistance rate of $171/month in 1985) while in most cases is below but more stagnant than declining. So where is the "disintegration"? As I was saying it is not the bottom fifth of property and income that has seen the most decline. It is two other groups: First, the next fifth up from that-- the 21st-40th ranked incomes have suffered tremendously. These, in many cases, were the old above minimum hourly waged workers, some unionized and some not, who did not make good wages before but were nevertheless a chunk above minimum. These are the people who made $10 an hour when minimum wage was about $5 an hour and often supported families on those incomes. Many of those people are much closer to minimum now and few jobs are in the range they were in today. They used to be described as the lower middle income earners. Their wages stagnated, their jobs disappeared and so did what many saw as a stepping stone to what they thought of as middle class. The next group are those above this group who had decent private sector unionized work. They were right in the middle income range the middle 20%. The unions that remain are struggling to keep any jobs at all as wages are rolled back or lose pace. The vast majority of this work is gone -- or going. This is what many have termed the hollowing out of the so-called "middle class." During this time inflation has failed as a statistic. It has been held down by imports of products and automation: electronics, clothing and the like made cheaper for the better off at the cost of workers here. Those who spend the majority of their income on housing, food and energy have seen how prices have risen dramatically and many of those spend a lower percentage of their incomes on electronics, new clothes and many of the other things that have become cheaper as their incomes go more and more to the necessities. Many have had to move to or remain in the largest cities where rents, even when shared, consumeup to 80% of income and much of their days are spent communting. Reduced hourly work weeks have shaved5 hours from a 40 hour week to a 35 hour week although hourly workers did not get a boost in pay. Minimum wages, were long ago based on the 40 hour week but many workers struggle to get barely over a quarter of the hours now. No, it is not the system of welfare that is disintegrating most, affecting the very bottom incomes most. It is true that they are desperate, although they have always been unacceptably so. It is the next group up: the people who, healthy and capable, through their own efforts used to expect a decent life, who can no longer aspire to that. These are the people the government has ignored, deregulated. It is essential that we understand this group. They are furious at what they see as handouts to the poorest, when they are prevented from making it. They often support right wing reactionary policies against those who are just a little worse off than they are. They often politically support the policies that help the very rich costing the poorest becuase they are angry about being ignored. No, the myth is wrong and they did not support Trump in the last election in the US, but the story is believable becuase the sentiment of alienation is there. This is also true in Canada. Their alienation hurts the poorest becuase the assistance to the poorest, ignoring the next group up, divides politically those who need progressive policies. The politics of division continue as each government lurches to some voting subclass. In the last federal rejigging of the tax rates, the federal government helped families with young children in the 40,000-70,000 range and individuals over 70,000 while screwing families with older kids and individuals below 40,000 once again. The policies here are like giving a single meal to ten hungry people -- it will not go well but as a group they will not be a threat as they fight among themselves. Other people's eyes glaze over with the details of who got help and who did not. Governments are statisfied with wide-ranging desperation so long as the people do not consume social assistance. Governments want to raise up the lowest just so they can struggle and fail on their own rather than consume assistance. The policies of this and past governments have been to make destroy those in the middle income range, driving them down just short of welfare but not quite; just short of homelessness, but using all their incomes to couch surf if needed. No, really, it is society that is disintegrating as wealth and income is becoming more and more concentrated. The poorest are a casualty, making little or no progress in their horrible position, but the war is on the people above them. It is a clever strategy. The lowest rung you have to help just a little, as they will fight back when they have nothing left to lose. The next rung up you have to suppress. These are the people who would have had tools to fight back at the unfairness. You have to keep them from rising enough to want more and be able to get it. By giving crumbs to the poorest, the wealthier can feel okay even as the hidden lower middle is squeezed. Of course, this middle has a lot of people in it and squeezing them is devastating to the long term. You could never accuse the wealthy of giving a shit about the long term otherwise they would care more about sustainability, not just socially but also environmentally. The Real Face of Justin Trudeau - by Ramzy Baroud https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/12/13/the-real-face-of-justin-trudeau-... "Are Palestinians Canada's new Jews?" Excellent post Sean. Do you have any ideas about reaching the groups we need for electoral success? This is a good question. I don't have a perfect answer although I have suggestions. To combat the politics of division you need holistic policies. This is much easier said than done. A huge problem is the way politics are being done. I have spoken about this in other posts. The advanced data the Conservatives and the Liberals are working with leads to divisive policies as they segment the population and choose boutique policies to create maximum political benefit at lowest cost. The Conservatives began this with transit, fitness and cultural credits but all the parties are involved in this. The Liberals did it in their tax policies and the NDP, while they lack the advanced data to calculate which policies would create maximum benefit frequently do the same, as a result of interest lobbying on the party. Instead of a myriad of micro divisive policies, looking at solutions that affect more of the population are more helpful. Adding pharmacare, dentistry and eyecare services to health plans is an example of a policy that affects more people with less division. Public transit is another that can affect people in more than one income group. Tax back benefits rather than using means testing has long been a part of universal policies designed to benefit more than divide. Instead of targeting individual policies to specific groups make them much broader and tax back the support in excess. This allows people across a broad range to be involved in a benefit even if some net less than others based on their income. As I said this is not easy though. Designing a policy like a minimum income has a dividing line somewhere. However, even this policy is wider and can be designed to tail off rather than stop abruptly (allowing earned income not to be removed dollar for dollar). Still if we separate tax policies which are designed to make people a little more equal and rely on those rather than specific benefit policies that divide people this is a start. It is also more efficient. Tax policies and income support policies such as income assistance and minimum incomes ought to be the primary leveling policies and can be as aggressive as we want. There is no need to make other policies divisive. the one exception ought to be environmental behaviour. A party founded on this principle could be a positive thing. The NDP, which long proclaimed the value of universal programs and more aggressive tax and support programs could reaffirm this commitment. All parties from a different perspective of the desired amount of economic leveling could take the same position. It is certainly no incompatible with the Liberals party although the charity over entitlement focus of the Conservatives makes it a harder sell there but this is not insurmountable. I cannot say that any federal party is really using what we can call the individual equalization policies only and making other policies universal right now. The reason for this has been apparent in previous conversations you and I have had over universality. The objection comes primarily from the fact that taxes would need to be increased overall in order to make programs more universal otherwise the cost for doing so would be unbearable. This is a point you made previously saying that the appetite for the broad tax increases just were not there. As you remember, you and I were not able to resolve this and come to an agreement. One possible option would be to review the way the tax system is communicated. It is presented as contribution in the way of contribution according to ability and reception according to need. This may be part of the problem given that this socialistic representation is out of step with the national culture, even if popular here. An alternative would be to reduce taxes dramatically and replace them with a national social insurance program. The social insurance program would be assessed like tax but communicated as insurance. It would also make it harder to cut as people will be paying for it. Social insurance could be for the following things: Income, employment, health (including dental, pharmacare, eyecare), higher education, transit, housing. A populist from the left could institute this program indicating how much you pay for each. It would tie specific benefits to premiums. Since income and employment are included making it affordable for everyone, those premiums can be flat costs provided to everyone. One way of looking at this is with the institution of a minimum income, basic tax could be flatter supplemented by taxes on higher incomes. Greater understanding of what people were paying and what they were getting would make universal policies and taxes easier to implement. Also a left populist could adopt some of the principles of social credit - minimum income was already one of them (although not in the form it is today). The form is the concept of each of us being a social shareholder. With a basic income, all people would also become taxpayers so the division that now exists socially between contributors to these things and beneficiaries would be removed. Each Canadian should get prior to their taxes and easy-to-read prospectus, not from the government in the form of a budget but from the auditor general saying the broad areas where money was spent. People have a right to know and a need to know to engage in democratic debate. The lack of this information is what makes election and promises a degree of farce as knowledge is an essential part of choice and consent. Some of my views are similar to what you could imagine being what a left version of the ideas of social credit would look like. they are in that sense very populist. They also trust the public more with knowledge. This is just an initial reaction to your very good question. wow good posts Sean gotta do some thinking now. Yeah me too. Will probably take a couple of days and more than one post to respond with as many questions as comments. https://www.straight.com/news/1179096/sarah-leamon-human-trafficking-often-misunderstood-and-its-certainly-not-limited-sex Roger Waters Condemns Trudeau's Disregard For Palestinian Human Rights https://youtu.be/mbLgS1dCii4 "Roger Waters condemns Justin Trudeau's lavish support for Israel and Trudeau's disregard for Palestinian human rights..." 'Either you're for universal human rights or you are not...' None of Canada's parliamentary politicians are. A shameful situation. Stop voting for anyone who doesn't oppose Israeli Apartheid. WWWTT It's time for a true anti imperialist socialist political party in Canada NDPP! Thanks again for the link Martin N. Thats a good idea. More fringe parties will force the morally bankrupt 2 main parties into coalition governments. Trudeau has moved so far to the left ( at least he presents that way in public) that the NDP face a wipeout under the uninspired leasdership of the almost invisible Singh. Martin N. wrote: Thats a good idea. More fringe parties will force the morally bankrupt 2 main parties into coalition governments. Trudeau has moved so far to the left ( at least he presents that way in public) that the NDP face a wipeout under the uninspired leasdership of the almost invisible Singh. LOL Ya Justin moved way to the left, that's why he allowed Ms Meng to be arrested. Who said anything about starting another party on the left??? Being on the "left" is actually an excuse to get the liberals voted in. Same old stupid story over and over and over. Socialism is not on the "left" because according to Justin's and liberal logic, being a subserviant to imperialism is also acceptable left wing behaviour! Unlike ant enterprising mouth-breather on a streetcorner, Trudeau is so incompetent he can't even make a success of selling dope. Why do you believe he will be successful at foreign policy? I never said or even thought that Martin N?!?!?!? This Justin character has a dismall record at foreign policy as far as I'm concerned. The only time he tried to really claim that he did was with his meetings with the French president Macron! And I don't think Justin wants to even wisper the name "Macron" right now! Let alone say it out loud for people to actually hear. This is Canada in 2019 https://twitter.com/TorranceCoste/status/1082413714475606016 "The PM is tweeting about environmental progress as the RCMP works to forcibly remove Indigenous leaders to make way for new fossil fuels infrastructure...." A Secwepemc Message For the Prime Minister (and vid) https://twitter.com/HarshaWalia/status/1083092931169243136 "GET THE FUCK OFF OUR LAND!" Twitter Up in Arms After Trudeau Says He'll 'Continue to Condemn BDS' https://on.rt.com/9mh9 "...The prime minister's comments were welcomed by Israeli interest groups, but slammed by many, including Independent Jewish Voices Canada which accused Trudeau of 'using our identities as Jews to go after support for Palestinian human rights." What a shameful international embarrassment, especially when contrasted with the puffed up pretension of Canada's 'global defender of human rights' reputation. iyraste1313 Trudeau must be challenged in federal Court for his violations of everything his Party supposedly stood for in the elections....If we lose we only win by showing what a farce our Charter ofd Rights truly is..... voice of the damned wrote: josh wrote: Lincoln is no longer beloved by Republicans. He believed in "big" government, opposed states rights, and interfered with the "right" of private property, Well, Chong didn't neccessarily mean "beloved by Republicans". Just that he WAS a Republican. Who was beloved(presumably by Americans in general). And while their own policies might be a negation of everything Lincoln stood for, I think most Republicans would still pay lip-service to his iconic status, in the same way that people who say "I believe in an eye for an eye!!" would still claim to love Jesus. Because saying you hate Jesus is just not done. I neither love or hate jesus because I don't know of anything to love or hate in the whole thing. Which might relate to the topic of this thread? Is Trudeau a believer or is he just pretending as politicians are wont to do? And that could bring up the question for any of our NDP leaders. I sure hope they're just pretending. Probably easy to determine if one keeps a close eye on what they're up to on Sundays. montgomery wrote: None of the American politicians of the past were anything like the gods those lemmings envision them as being. It's all a fantasy they've created in order to stick some feathers in their own caps. Fwiw, they're as bad as the British colonialists who run roughshod over the world right up until WW2, and then when it ended, the US took over the job. kropotkin1951 Trudeau and his wife are Roman Catholics. He may be like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the churches that they may be seen by others. Its hard to judge a man's heart when you have no personal contact with him however if he is an Xian then he should bear in mind that no one who practices deceit shall dwell in heaven and no one who utters lies shall see God. Me I'm not a Christian although I was born and raised Catholic. Justin has made religion a significant part of his brand and he is getting known for lying so if I was a Xian I would be be saying that he is amongst the damned not the blessed. bekayne kropotkin1951 wrote: Really? Any photos of him in church that are not a wedding, funeral or official function? I'm not a Christian so I would say it doesn't make a damn bit of difference to him being amongst the damned or the blessed. But I'm probably more interested in whether NDP leaders are pretending too. My guess is that they are because they have to. Not pretending to be a believer is going to cost a lot of votes. Renouncing religion is an ideal too high to strive for and expect from any politician. It's much like saying you're purely socialist and not being able to define what it means. And pretending to be a believer or being a believer isn't going to cost anything! bekayne wrote: As an atheist: What's the difference? No, seriously. Even some clergy don't actually believe, and as far as practicing the precepts, if we go by "love your neighbour as yourself" and "turn the other cheek" we'd have to conclude no Christian has ever been elected to Parliament, even Tommy Douglas. Trudeau says he's a Catholic. I take him at his word even though I don't take him at his word on much else, because no-true-Scotsman-style analyzing degrees of hypocrisy is a good way to come to the erroneous conclusion that there aren't any religious people on Earth. He's certainly got the sanctimonious public displays of virtue and judging others while committing and profiting from acts of evil thing down pat. Sounds like a priest to me. cco wrote: interesting that you would be suggesting that Tommy wasn't the real Christian thing. What the hell do you base that on? In Tommy's time it ws expected and excusable for the enlightened minority. Now it's different. I think Trudeau's too smart to be a Christian believer and I also lit's likely he didn't have it pounded into his head as a child by mommy and daddy. Neither of them gave off the impression that they would. And so once a child has escaped the formative years without being brainwashed and abused by Christian thinking, they're usually going to be safe for life. I think we could have a lengthy discussion on the dangers of our political leaders being believers in sky fairies of any stripe. It would tend to influence very important considerations. You misread. I'm saying that if we're judging what religions politicians belong to by comparing their works with their religious dogma, instead of by their self-identification, there aren't going to be any who are in perfect compliance. I totally believe Douglas was a Christian, in the same way I believe Trudeau is. Intelligence alone doesn't guarantee freedom from religion. I wish it did. Smart people just find better ways to rationalize beliefs they came to for non-smart reasons. Given the, er, reverence for religion in Canadian politics, society, and law, I'm not holding my breath. So that somehow prevents the conversation here on this board? Yeah right... The best MP I have every had the pleasure of meeting or working with was Bill Siksay. He is a deeply religious man and attended prayer sessions for MP's on the Hill. He was a fierce advocate for all and was silenced by Saint Jack. Bill must have subscribed to one of the more tolerant religious denominations. Thank Dog some of them have relaxed their dogmatic beliefs and have become more inclusive. They all would have been left behind in the dust if they hadn't. I really like Jack but I wouldn't have agreed to make him a saint. You are a long time NDP supporter and you don't know anything about Bill Siksay, hmm. What exactly is your connection to the party again? voice of the damned Didn't Monty1 identify as a Liberal? I know something about Bill Siksay, you just didn't understand what I was saying when I suggested he belonged to a tolerant sect. And you can keep guessinig on how I'm connected to the party. I said that I had voted Liberal sometimes. But never phony provincial Liberal. But what I'm doing here right now is exploring if there's any hope for a more inclusive fed NDP party that could suit my qualifications. It's not looking all that good so far, what with the shit that Kropotkin laid on me when he got slapped down over not being able to name his socialist utopia. And then to make it worse, a few more joined him and his attitude of needing to pull the wings off of houseflies to represent what he sees the party's dogma. I sort of thought we could explore the niche that's going to open up for the fed NDP when Trump crashes and burns and Canada gets back on track with them. But unfortunately nobody seems to be showing any great confidence in the fed side of the party. Hmmmmmph! Statement by the PM on Israel Independence Day https://pm.gc.ca/2019/05/08/eng/news/statement-by-prime-minister-israel-... "...This year is special, as we also mark 70 years of diplomatic ties between Canada and Israel. Since 1949, our two countries have been close friends, steadfast allies, and partners in many international organizations. When the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin visited Canada just a few weeks ago we had the opportunity to celebrate this important anniversary - and to make these ties ever stronger. 'Canada will continue to stand proudly with Israel, including through our strong support for Israel at the UN. That's why, earlier this week, we condemned the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups. And we will continue to condemn BDS and any movement that attacks our Israeli friends, Jewish Canadians and the values we share. Our close friendship is thanks in large part to Canada's Jewish community and the deep connections between people in our two countries. That's just one of many examples of the major role Jewish Canadians play to help our country thrive..." Owned by Israel. The Trudeau Doctrine (podcast) https://soundcloud.com/unusualsources/the-trudeau-doctrine Yves Engler discusses main elements and aggressive interventionism in 'our backyard' Venezuela. JT Goes To Washington https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-... "We're moving forward on the ratification process aligned with you...But this is just a really great opportunity for us to continue to work and to develop and to build on the closest alliance in the world, between Canada and the United States..." 'Collaboration Between Canada and United States is Good...' https://twitter.com/cafreeland/status/1141840004311916544 "Prime Minister Announces Enhanced Cooperation With the United States." In case you missed the obvious it's official. Canada's Trudeau Postures as Opponent of Trump Following US President's Fascist Outburst https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/07/20/trtr-j20.html "In a display of cynical hypocrisy, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to Donald Trump's recent fascist tirades by posing as a staunch critic of the US President. Trudeau combined hollow criticism of Trump, whom he routinely hails as the leader of Canada's 'closest ally' with smug Canadian nationalism. Trudeau's comments are pure political theatre. A major factor motivating them is the approach of Canada's fall federal election. However, no amount of verbal positioning can conceal the fact that the Trudeau Liberal government has developed a close working relationship with Trump and is acting as an enthusiastic accomplice in implementing some of his administration's most provocative, reactionary and belligerent policies..." Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion has found that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated the ethics code by trying to encourage former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to reach a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with Quebec-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-snc-ethics-commissioner-violated-code-1.5246551 The Current: Aug 15, 2019 (and audio) https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-august-15-2019-1.524... "Our national affairs panel weighs in on the ethics commissioners ruling on the SNC-Lavalin affair. As party leaders line up to condemn the prime minister, we explore how different parties will try to leverage the report ahead of the federal election." Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Meets With US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo https://twitter.com/dimitrilascaris/status/1164906372573683718 "Justin Trudeau confirms that he and Pompeo discussed only human rights situations which the US invokes in order to advance its self-serving agenda. No discussion of Saudi Arabia, Israel, Honduras or other egregious human rights violations who are allied to the US." What Happened To Trudeau's Peacekeeping Promise? https://twitter.com/rideauinstitute/status/1164560429068312576 "...We ascribe more blame to FM Chrystia Freeland for her utter failure of leadership here, putting the lie to all her fine words about a rules-based international order! Trudeau had a right to expect-much more..." Trudeau is enthralled with his star FM, especially as he is a bit light for that sort of thing and posing for selfies or the selection of pretty socks is much more his style. Many Canadians, alas, are as gormless about the world and its verities as JT. Including the other party leaders who seem only to know what the msm tells them, if that. If you're purely an American vassal, political life is relatively easy. Just do as Washington wishes. Golden Boy No More: As An Election Looms, Two-Faced Justin Trudeau Has Betrayed Canada https://on.rt.com/a2xu "Justin Trudeau rode to power four years ago on a wave of progressive enthusiasm. With an Obama-like 'hope and chang-y' vibe, plenty of social media savvy and an almost cult-like following, he was more a brand than a politician. Time's opinion columnist Nicolas Kristof named Trudeau's Canada a 'moral leader of the free world' in a column a few months ago. But peel back the facade and Canada, like most of Washington's major allies, is a quiet partner in and facilitator of US aggression. From Ukraine to Venezuela to Iran, Ottawa plays a major supporting role to Washington, always unquestioningly supporting and amplifying US narratives..." Unfortunately, too many Canadian 'progressives' do the same. Engler: Is Trudeau Really A Climate Criminal https://yvesengler.com/2019/10/08/is-trudeau-really-a-climate-criminal/ "While some might consider it hyperbolic, the case for labeling Trudeau a 'climate criminal' is overwhelming..." Trudeau's Mocking of Trump Could Be Canada's Burden To Bear https://t.co/0u6EoG0YZE "...But we are not in normal times and this is not a normal president..." New Cabinet, More Empty Platitudes and Interventionism From Trudeau https://on.rt.com/a6k9 "For however long it lasts, Canada's incoming government has doubled down on its doublespeak, using 'woke' discourse to push corporate welfarism at home and interventionism abroad..." Full Transcript of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Year End Interview with P&P https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-power-lunch-full-transcript-chi... Trudeau talks Trump, China and national unity.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1680
__label__wiki	0.521928	0.521928	Yelp Wordmap Shows Where Hipsters Hang Out Joop de Boer Yelp helps us to find good restaurants according to our preferences, but when you take a closer look also generates plenty of data about lifestyle clusters in the city. Yelp’s new Wordmap service shows geographical heat maps based on Yelp keywords. Yelp Wordmap enables us to see where specific keywords are used the most in reviews of restaurants and bars. When you search ‘hipster’ in New York, Williamsburg and the Lower East Side light up. If you check for ‘hipster’ in London, the map shows that East London is the best place to run into beards and fixies. In Paris it’s different — hipster spots are more spread over the city. ‘Hipster’ in London. This Yelp service is not only about hipsters and finding your way to the coolest places in an unknown city. When you search for ‘kosher’ you can easily locate Jewish neighborhoods in a city, and the keyword ‘curry’ highlights the districts where most Indian and Bengal people live. ‘Fish and chips’ are pretty well distributed over London, which says something about the wide range of people that eat the traditional British snack. ‘Cocktails’, on the other hand, are only served in exclusivity-oriented areas. To some extent they overlap the ‘hipster’ scene in London, but cocktails are also served in posh areas. In New York, Manhattan is the place-to-be to grab a pasta. And don’t think you’ll find ‘dim sum’ all over San Francisco — you better go to one of these few city districts. ‘Fish and chips’ in London. ‘Dim sum’ in San Francisco. ‘Cocktails’ in London. It’s also possible to compare different cities based on more specific keywords, for instance dishes. ‘Gluten’ seems to be a big thing in cool restaurants in Philadelphia, and it seems to be more part of the local hipster scene that it is in New York. Yelp Wordmap tells a lot about the city and how places are perceived by reviewers. But it also shows how different subcultures concentrate in urban areas, especially in the world’s leading cities. PUC x ROEF Rooftop Futures In collaboration with Amsterdam's rooftop festival ROEF, we're exploring the hidden potential of the urban roofscape. Related Observations Collapsible Urban Shelters We explore the ideas that shape the city of the future Receive the latest updates in your inbox By subscribing to our newsletter you agree to our privacy policy. Ridderspoorweg 129 mail@popupcity.net	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1681
__label__wiki	0.611022	0.611022	Volume 99, Issue s43 PDF Icon PDF LinkTable of Contents PDF Icon PDF LinkAdvertising Conference Abstract\| August 01 2000 Somatostatin Receptors: Potential Targets for Control of Cardiac Interstitial Growth WHT Smith Institute for Cardiovascular Research, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, England SG Ball AJ Balmforth Clin Sci (Lond) (2000) 99 (s43): 6P. https://doi.org/10.1042/cs099006P WHT Smith, SG Ball, AJ Balmforth; Somatostatin Receptors: Potential Targets for Control of Cardiac Interstitial Growth. Clin Sci (Lond) 1 August 2000; 99 (s43): 6P. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/cs099006P © 2000 The Biochemical Society and the Medical Research Society Regulation of subcutaneous adipose tissue blood flow is related to measures of vascular and autonomic function Clin Sci (Lond) (July, 2010) Co-purification of a protein tyrosine phosphatase with activated somatostatin receptors from rat pancreatic acinar membranes Biochem J (October, 1994) Properties of soluble somatostatin-binding protein Biochem J (August, 1977) Somatostatin-induced paradoxical increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration and insulin release in the presence of arginine vasopressin in clonal HIT-T15 β-cells Biochem J (May, 2002)	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1684
__label__cc	0.61086	0.38914	PIEB MHSJ Medical and Health Science Journal issue 1 vol. 18 issue 1-2 vol. 13 issue 1 vol. 9 Select another volume: vol. 19 issue 1vol. 18 issue 1vol. 17 issue 2vol. 17 issue 1vol. 16 issue 2vol. 16 issue 1vol. 15 issue 4vol. 15 issue 3vol. 15 issue 2vol. 15 issue 1vol. 14 issue 4vol. 14 issue 3vol. 14 issue 1-2vol. 13 issue 4vol. 12 issue 3vol. 11 issue 2vol. 10 issue 1vol. 9 issue 5vol. 8 issue 4vol. 7 issue 3vol. 6 issue 2vol. 5 issue 1vol. 4 issue 4vol. 3 issue 3vol. 2 issue 2vol. 1 issue 1 Role of compressive-destructive osteosynthesis with introduction of cucumazim and marrow in nonunion fractures and pseudoarthrosis of humeral bone Iskandar Khodjanov, A. Rakhimov, M. Qodirov, Evaluation of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of dual diagnosis (Pilot Study) Maria Prodromou, Savoula Ghobrial, Koukia Eumorfia, Clinical features the diaphyseal refractures of the forearm in children A. Kosimov, Iskandar Khodjanov, G. Bayimbetov, Sherali Khakimov, Influence of human recombinant interleukin-1beta on protective and immunogenic efficacy of live plague vaccine Pavel Deryabin, Tatayana Ponomaryova, Boris Karalnik, T. Tugambayev, Tatyana Denisova, B. Atshabar, S. Zakaryan, N. Melnikova, Kazakhstan antiviral immunobiological preparations on the guard of population health Daniyar Aspetov, Maria Omarova, Lyazat Orakbay, Bayan Zhumatova, Medical and Health Science Journal (MHSJ) is online peer-reviewed research journal irregularly issued since 2010. Journal publishes selected high-quality papers with theoretical or applied approaches, focusing on different phases of medical and health research; medical and health production and management; discovering new medicines, new technologies and new ways to manage human health. e-ISSN (online): 1804-5014 OPEN ACCESS ONLINE JOURNAL Volumes and Issues Medical and Health Science Journal (MHSJ) is an international peer-reviewed research journal. Journal welcomes papers with theoretical or applied approaches, focusing on different phases of medical and health research; medical and health production and management; discovering new medicines, new technologies and new ways to manage human health. Research papers can represent a broad range of medical and health-related sciences including biochemistry, epidemiology, genetics, pharmacology, endocrinology, biomedical engineering, clinical laboratory sciences, physiotherapy, and psychology. Given publications should have research character and must be based on principles of scientific and a professional etiquette. The final decision on inclusion of paper will be made by Editorial Board. Editorial Board reserves its right to make technical and scientific editing. In case of not accepting the Board does not provide reviews and comments but resolution on publication. Open access model MHSJ belongs to those research periodicals that stick to open access model. The journal follows funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for electronic access. In other words, we provide to readers the free online access to read and download scientific articles. This model provides a greater reach of interested readers to the published articles. In the beginning, all volumes appear first as a list with names of articles and authors. At this stage, the articles can have relevant abstracts and keywords, but not a pdf documents in a final version. In this phase, papers were only selected and are pending for review and other editorial procedures. Articles in pdf are available for download only after final updating - when they already passed the whole editorial process and are agreed with the authors. When this process end, the link becomes active and pdf available for download. Model of peer-review procedures All articles to MHSJ undergo screening and followed with the peer-reviewing process. After initial screening, the titles and abstracts of the articles, which receive the positive evaluation, will be published online. Every article proceeds single-blind peer-review analysis by editorial and external experts. This model is preferred by the most medical journals. Reviewers should evaluate the quality of an article based both on established criteria and own views of experts. A reviewer is expected to fill the review form and send to the editorial department. Important note for authors: Until the volume 14 (issue 3-4), the journal was being published equally in electronic and hard print formats. Since that volume, the main publication format is electronic/online. Prague Development Center, Czech Republic Merim Grossley, Ph.D., MBA, U.S.A. Valentina Divocha, State Medical University, Ukraine Nina Khachiyants, Geriatric Psychiatrist/Researcher, U.S.A., Virginia Tech-Carilion Clinic/Carilion School of Medicine Mgr. Ing. Pavel Král, Charles University, Czech RepublicIng. Ondřej Lešetický, University of Economics in Prague, Department of Medical Services, Czech Republic Michel Manika Muteya, The University of Lubumbashi (UNILU), Congo Jan Flattum-Riemers, M.D., American Academy of Family Medicine, U.S.A.Jitka Soukupova, M.D., Science and Research, Thomayer Hospital, Czech Republic Petr Bažant, Ph.D., MBA., Technology Transfer Department, Institute of Experimental Medicine, CEO of Biolnova a.s. CR Peter John, Dr., InfraBioTech GmbH, Germany Inkar Sagatov, Ph.D., M.D. Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Perfusiology, Almaty Institute of Doctors' Postgraduate Training IMPORTANT: This guide does not represent a complete and all-in-one instruction. Both experienced and starting scholars should better to use many good manuals available on the internet on how to write a good medical research. Though, this guide provides basic instructions how to accurately submit the research paper to the chosen journal - Medical and Health Sciences Journal (MHSJ). Please read the following guidelines and use the sample article format for submission of your paper since only articles formatted accordingly may be accepted. Papers accepted undergo quality control by Editorial board and peer reviewers. All research articles in these journals undergo peer review process, based on initial editor screening and anonymous expertise of reviewers. Articles previously published, those under consideration by another journal, and those with a pre-existing copyright may not be submitted. The author must ensure that about half of the paper contents or core idea has not been published anywhere else. In other words, authors should prove the considerable adjustment made and value added in their submissions. Articles must be written in English. Concise and informative. Avoid abbreviations. The title should predict the content of the research article, be interesting to the reader. Preferably, the title should reflect the tone of the writing and contain important keywords of the research paper. Author names and affiliations Full names should be provided. The authors should clearly separate the first and second names as it is important for the proper writing of citation record. Please indicate affiliations of the author. Indicate the corresponding address of the main author. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the Author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Contacts of the authors Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Authors should write not narrative, but structured style of the abstract. "Structured abstract uses subheadings. Structured abstracts are becoming more popular for basic scientific and clinical studies, since they standardize the abstract and ensure that certain information is included. This is very useful for readers who search for articles on the internet. Often the abstract is displayed by a search engine, and on the basis of the abstract, the reader will decide whether or not to download the full article. With a structured abstract, the reader is more likely to be given the information which they need to decide whether to go on to the full article and so this style is encouraged". (for details see the [Budgell B. Guidelines to the writing of case studies. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. 2008;52(4):199-204.]). Basically, the abstract must include the following five parts: - Background. - Aim or purpose of research. - Methods used. - Findings/results. - Conclusion. Background. In most cases, the background can be framed in just 2–3 sentences, with each sentence describing a different aspect of the information referred to above; sometimes, even a single sentence may suffice. (for details see the [Andrade C. How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation. Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 2011;53(2):172-175. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.82558.]). Methods used. The methods section is usually the second-longest section in the abstract. It should contain enough information to enable the reader to understand what was done, and how. (for details see the [Andrade C. How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation. Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 2011;53(2):172-175. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.82558.]). Results. The results section is the most important part of the abstract and nothing should compromise its range and quality. This is because readers who peruse an abstract do so to learn about the findings of the study. The results section should, therefore, be the longest part of the abstract and should contain as much detail about the findings as the journal word count permits. (for details see the [Andrade C. How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation. Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 2011;53(2):172-175. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.82558.]). Conclusions. This important section should cover: the primary take-home message; the additional findings of importance; and the perspective. (for details see the [Andrade C. How to write a good abstract for a scientific paper or conference presentation. Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 2011;53(2):172-175. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.82558.]). Graphics should be done in MS Word and must be editable. Tables should be numbered consecutively in the text in Arabic numerals and printed on separate sheets. Any manuscript which does not conform to the above instructions may be returned for the necessary revision before publication. The use of footnotes should be kept to a minimum and numbered consecutively throughout the text with superscript Arabic numerals. References to publications should be as follows: “Nelson (1992) noted that...” or “This problem has been studied previously (e.g., Smith et al., 1969)”. The author should make sure that there is a strict one-to-one correspondence between the names and years in the text and those on the list. The list of references should appear at the end of the main text. It should be double-spaced and listed in alphabetical order by author's name. We have changed the citation style. The authors should use the NLM style (National Library of Medicine). For more details, you can use the official online guide from the National Library of Medicine. Petitti DB, Crooks VC, Buckwalter JG, Chiu V. Blood pressure levels before dementia. Arch Neurol. 2005 Jan;62(1):112-6. Jun BC, Song SW, Park CS, Lee DH, Cho KJ, Cho JH. The analysis of maxillary sinus aeration according to aging process: volume assessment by 3-dimensional reconstruction by high-resolutional CT scanning. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2005 Mar;132(3):429-34. Meneton P, Jeunemaitre X, de Wardener HE, MacGregor GA. Links between dietary salt intake, renal salt handling, blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases. Physiol Rev. 2005 Apr;85(2):679-715. Bruno-Ambrosius K, Yucel-Lindberg T, Twetman S. Salivary buffer capacity in relation to menarche and progesterone levels in saliva from adolescent girls: a longitudinal study. Acta Odontol Scand. 2004 Oct;62(5):269-72. Fuentes Ramirez M, Lopez Moreno S. [Social health research: recent communications in Salud Publica de Mexico]. Salud Publica Mex. 2005 Jan-Feb;47(1):5-7. Spanish. Journal articles with an organization as the author: American Diabetes Association. Diabetes update. Nursing. 2003 Nov;Suppl:19-20, 24. Parkinson Study Group. A randomized placebo-controlled trial of rasagiline in levodopa-treated patients with Parkinson disease and motor fluctuations: the PRESTO study. Arch Neurol. 2005 Feb;62(2):241-8. Merritt, Hawkins & Associates. 2004 survey of physicians 50 to 65 years old. J Med Assoc Ga. 2004;93(3):21-6. Institute of Medical Illustrators. Photography of cleft audit patients. J Audiov Media Med. 2004 Dec;27(4):170-4. Sugarterapias es Onkologiai Szakmai Kollegium. [Methodologic recommendations of the Oncology and Radiotherapy College. Protocol for oncology care. Diagnostic algorithms in the course of patient follow-up]. Magy Onkol. 2004;48(4):339-47. Hungarian. Journal articles in a language other than English: Berrino F, Gatta G, Crosignani P. [Case-control evaluation of screening efficacy]. Epidemiol Prev. 2004 Nov-Dec;28(6):354-9. Italian. Bechade D, Desrame J, Raynaud JJ, Algayres JP. [Oesophageal ulcer associated with the use of bacampicillin]. Presse Med. 2005 Feb 26;34(4):299-300. French. Zhao L, Li H, Han D. [Effects of intestinal endotoxemia on the development of cirrhosis in rats]. Zhonghua Gan Zang Bing Za Zhi. 2001 Jul;9 Suppl:21-3. Chinese. Calera Rubio AA, Roel Valdes JM, Casal Lareo A, Gadea Merino R, Rodrigo Cencillo F. Riesgo quimico laboral: elementos para un diagnostico en Espana [Occupational chemical risk: elements for a diagnostic in Spain]. Rev Esp Salud Publica. 2005 Mar-Apr;79(2):283-95. Spanish.References Standard books with initials for authors: Jenkins PF. Making sense of the chest x-ray: a hands-on guide. New York: Oxford University Press; 2005. 194 p. Eyre HJ, Lange DP, Morris LB. Informed decisions: the complete book of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. 2nd ed. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; c2002. 768 p. Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, Glass RM, Glitman P, Lantz JC, Meyer HS, Smith JM, Winker MA, Young RK. American Medical Association manual of style. 9th ed. Baltimore (MD): Williams & Wilkins; 1998. 660 p. Wenger NK, Sivarajan Froelicher E, Smith LK, Ades PA, Berra K, Blumenthal JA, Certo CME, Dattilo AM, Davis D, DeBusk RF, Drozda JP Jr, Fletcher BJ, Franklin BA, Gaston H, Greenland P, McBride PE, McGregor CGA, Oldridge NB, Piscatella JC, Rogers FJ. Cardiac rehabilitation. Rockville (MD): Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (US); 1995. 202 p. Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, et al. American Medical Association manual of style. 9th ed. Baltimore (MD): Williams & Wilkins; 1998. 660 p Contributions to books: Whiteside TL, Heberman RB. Effectors of immunity and rationale for immunotherapy. In: Kufe DW, Pollock RE, Weichselbaum RR, Bast RC Jr, Gansler TS, Holland JF, Frei E 3rd, editors. Cancer medicine 6. Hamilton (ON): BC Decker Inc; 2003. p. 221-8. Rojko JL, Hardy WD Jr. Feline leukemia virus and other retroviruses. In: Sherding RG, editor. The cat: diseases and clinical management. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1989. p. 229-332. Kone BC. Metabolic basis of solute transport. In: Brenner BM, Rector FC, editors. Brenner and Rector’s the kidney. 8th ed. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier; c2008. p. 130-55. Erin, Jane N.; Fazzi, Diane L.; Gordon, Robert L.; Isenberg, Sherwin J.; Paysse, Evelyn A. Vision focus: understanding the medical and functional implications of vision loss. In: Pogrund, Rona L.; Fazzi, Diane L., editors. Early focus: working with young children who are blind or visually impaired and their families. 2nd ed. New York: AFB Press; c2002. p. 52-106. Buckenmaier CC 3rd. Austere environment anesthesia. In: Steele SM, Nielsen KC, Klein SM, editors. Ambulatory anesthesia and perioperative analgesia. New York: McGraw-Hill, Medical Publications Division; c2005. p. 357-70. Otado JA, Akukwe C, Collins JW Jr. Disparate African American and white infant mortality rates in the United States. In: Livingston IL, editor. Praeger handbook of Black American health: policies and issues behind disparities in health. 2nd ed. Westport (CT): Praeger; 2004. p. 355-68. de Mattiello ML, Maneiro M, Buglione S. Sensitivity to movement of configurations of achromatic and chromatic points in amblyopic patients. In: Mellon JD, Pokorny J, Knoblauch K, editors. Normal and defective colour vision. New York: Oxford University Press; 2003. p. 154-9. Submission fee payment Standard submission & service fee is 120 Euro (for 2018 volume). The fee is due to pay only after receiving the positive review and formal acceptance letter from the editor. The fee provides compensation of a range services related to expertise, scientific and technical editing, printing, electronic storing and web-managing. All papers are printed online (with corresponding online ISSN) and in print form (with corresponding Print ISSN). The major version of MHSJ publication is online (electronic) with eISSN 1804-5014. The fee is not a subject to guarantee the sending printed copy via standard air mail. You will receive an invoice with several payment methods you can choose after the letter of acceptance. Payments must be done only after the final letter of acceptance of a paper for publication. Papers must be submitted electronically to mhsj@pradec.eu or publications@pradec.eu. For any further information please contact us. IMPORTANT: This section describes principles and rules which can be somehow similar and/or common to other few journals of the publisher (Prague Development Center). Therefore, the text may partially or completely coincide with the requirements in other publisher's journals. General standards of PRADEC Publishing The Medical and Health Science Journal (MHSJ) is established by Prague Development Center (publisher) as academic communication platform founded on important ethical standards in science publishing. Publisher and editorial board follow principles to avoid bad practices related to ghostwriting, plagiarism, and predatory publishing practices. The publisher and editors commit to practices which create and support the trust on every phase of editorial and communication process embracing authors, editors, and peer-reviewers. To increase transparency we call authors to write correct affiliations and addresses and show the source of funding for their research when it is required by funding institutions. To agree with the authorship and avoid the conflicts we ask for the declaration of contribution from the corresponding author. To avoid extensive self-citation practice we ask authors to use correct and relevant referencing to own research works published earlier. Ethical conduct in both writing and editing is necessary in order to provide the readers with accurate, useful and reliable scientific material, as well as to appropriately honor the credits of particular researchers and authors. Therefore, compliance with the following standards of publication ethics is required of all contributors of the ATI, including authors, reviewers, and editors. Violation of any of these standards by an author is a basis for rejection of his or her paper submitted for publication. In publishing only original research, the editors are committed to deterring plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. Editors can use special software to screen submitted manuscripts for similarity to published material. Note that your manuscript may be screened during the whole editorial cycle, including submission process and until the final publication in online or print form. Authors should not engage in plagiarism - verbatim or near-verbatim copying, or very close paraphrasing, of text or results from another,’s work. Authors should not engage in self-plagiarism (also known as duplicate publication) - unacceptably close replication of the author’s own previously published text or results without acknowledgment of the source. Conflict of interests disclosure Conflict of interest concerning a particular manuscript exists when one of the participants of reviewing or publication process - an author, reviewer, or editor - has obligations that can influence his or her action. Conflicts can occur for financial (e.g., employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, etc.) or other reasons (e.g., personal relationship, academic competition, and intellectual passion). All participants in the peer-review and publication process must disclose all conflicts of interests. Editorial staff may use information disclosed in conflict-of-interest and financial-interest statements as a basis for editorial decisions. The corresponding author must advise the editor at the time of submission either that there is no conflict of interest to declare, or should disclose potential conflicts of interest that will be acknowledged in the published article. It is improper for an author to submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal of primary publication unless it is a resubmission of a manuscript rejected for or withdrawn from publication. All persons designed as “authors” should meet the criteria of the concept. The corresponding author must fill in and sign the Declaration of Contribution (in case there are two authors or more), which should be submitted together with the manuscript. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take responsibility for its content. The group of authors/contributors should jointly make the decision about the order in which their names are given. Authorship credit should be based on the following principles as 1) substantial contribution to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or reviewing and introducing fundamental changes in it; 3) final approval of the version to be published. Editors of the journal have the right to request information about the contributions of each person in writing the article. An author should cite those publications that have been important in the development of the submitted study and that will guide the reader to the earlier researchers that are essential for understanding the present analysis. An author is obligated to perform a literature search to find, and then cite, the original publications that describe closely related work. An author should provide the accurate citation the verified sources of scientific data and literature. Coauthor notification During manuscript submission, the submitting author must provide contact information (full name, email address, institutional affiliation and mailing address) for all of the coauthors. The author who submits the manuscript for publication accepts the responsibility of notifying all coauthors that the manuscript is being submitted. The corresponding author must fill in and sign the declaration of contribution (in case there are two authors or more) which should be submitted together with the manuscript. The co-authors of a paper should be all those persons who have made significant scientific contributions to the work reported and who share responsibility and accountability for the results. Authors should appropriately recognize the contributions of technical staff and data professionals. Acknowledgments and funding All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the section “Acknowledgements”. If the original research study reported in the manuscript or the preparation of the manuscript was supported by one or more grants, the title and number of the grant(s) and the name of the institution(s) that provided the grants or financial support to conduct, analyze or write-up the study should be specified in the manuscript. Coherence of study Fragmentation of research reports should be avoided. A scientist should organize publication so that it provides a well-rounded description of an examined issue. Fragmentation consumes journal space excessively and unduly complicates literature searches. The journal is peer-reviewed publication. Submitted papers and short communications are evaluated by editorial board members or specialized in the article field referees. Article review covers submitted material currency, scientific novelty degree, define it’s accordance to general journal profile, fixes facts of plagiarism. After the refereeing process is complete, the paper may be rejected, or returned to the authors for revisions, or accepted for publication. The authors are responsible for the contents of their paper or short communication and it’s publication fact. The editorial staff reserves the right to shorten and review the articles submitted. Editors may request an author, when it is necessary, to develop content or technical details of articles. Scientific editing might change the format and correct the writing to make it conventional with the editorial policy of the journal. Pictures and graphs are special subjects for editorial consideration. We seek to keep their quantity optimal and only necessary in content. Images should be free from misleading manipulation. When images are included in an account of research performed or in the data collection as part of the research, an accurate description of how the images were generated and produced should be provided. Policies on retraction and withdrawal As a publisher, we strive to prevent the occurrence of occasional and limited cases of retraction and withdrawal of the published articles. As the costs of securing retraction and withdrawal are high for the publisher. Effective screening, peer-reviewing, verifying authorship, and other preventive procedures usually help to minimize such rare cases in the publishing practice. Below are the important rules for retraction and withdrawal policies of the PRADEC Publishing. These approaches and rules may be revised, supplemented, amended, etc. Article retraction The publisher will follow the selected standards which have been developed by a number of library and scholarly bodies. Reasons for retraction can include infringements of ethical codes, multiple submission, false claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent, need to correct errors in submission or publication, other reasons as well. The publisher recognizes the retraction as an occasional feature in the academic publishing. The following actions will be made under retraction policy: - A retraction note titled “Retraction: [article title]” will be published in the separate article at the end of the related online issue - In the HTML version will the record [near the title] which can be e.g. as 'RETRACTED' - The PDF version of the retracted article can be preserved with some special note at the beginning of the article - The DOI and HTML links will be preserved. Article removal and/or withdrawal Article after the publication is not subject to removal, except for the sole discretion of the publisher. When editors screen, review and publish the article online or/end in print the article cannot be withdrawn until the decision of editors and publisher. The published articles go immediately to indexing archives and DOI depositories. Full rights for the removal of the publication of the article remain to the publisher. Retraction or removal of published article can arise in very rear and exceptional circumstances. Usually, it takes a long time to make a deeper analysis, examination of reasons and negotiations. The corresponding author must fill in and sign the Declaration of contribution (in case there are two authors or more) which should be submitted together with manuscript using the Online Submission form. The journal is indexed/registered/covered by the following services: Academic Journals Database, BASE, CABI, EBSCO Discovery Service, EBSCO Academic Search Premier, E-International Scientific Research Journal Consortium (E-ISRJC), e-LIBRARY.RU, DOAJ (2010-2016), Gale, Global Health (CABI), Google scholar, Libsearch,Open J-Gate, ResearchGate, Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory, VSL Open, Scirus, Research Bible, Knowledge Network, Academic Publishing Platforms, Bibliographia medicaČechoslovaca (Medvik), CiteFactor, U.S. National Library of Medicine Catalogue, Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek EZB (Regensburg University Library), ROAD - the Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources, Index Copernicus, Open Access Articles, Scilit, WorldCat network, The German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) - Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library, Scilit, Open Access Library (OALib), Thomson Web of Science - CAB Abstracts, Thomson Web of Science - Global Health. IMPORTANT: This note can be somehow similar to other few journals of the publisher (Prague Development Center). Therefore, the text may partially or completely coincide with the requirements in other journals - BEH, PIEB, and ATI. If you are interested in reviewing articles for PRADEC journals, we would like to invite your participation. Manuscript reviewers are vital to the publications process. The high-quality peer-review process is necessary for establishing the reputation of every scientific journal. MHSJ invites experienced medical researchers to collaborate with us as reviewers. The Journal is especially interested in reviewers who have expertise and interest in the following specialties and clinical topics: surgery, general medicine, orthopedics, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, pediatrics, rheumatology, urology, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, medical genetics, otolaryngology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry. Other areas of medical specialization are also accountable. The charge of reviewers is to evaluate the quality, relevance, and merit of submitted papers. Reviews must be as complete and detailed as possible and contain clear opinions about strengths, weaknesses, relevance, and importance to the field. Preferably, reviewers should consider themselves as mentors to the author(s) and comments should be specific and constructive and suggestions should be intended to enhance the manuscript. Therefore, if you would like to share your professional opinion and have an impact on MHSJ development please fill in the survey and send it to publications@pradec.eu. - Possess a doctoral degree in the medical or related discipline; - Be fluent in academic English; - Hold an academic affiliation; - Work effectively under tight deadlines. - Have published articles in authoritative journals. Reviewing is voluntary. Publisher does not offer paid options to reviewers whilst it implements the open-access and affordable fee business model for authors. We are open to cooperation with reviewers who support the concept and values of our journal. While most medical journals have high fees both to open-access (free) and paid to read articles, the MHSJ is low-cost medical research journal who does not impose high costs to authors. However, the MHSJ can promise volunteering reviewers opportunities to save up credits to put towards their own publishing costs in the future. The author and co-authors of the article strictly commit to the policy of editors by accepting these terms and conditions Authors are responsible to read and accept fee payment obligations of the targeted journal. The website has clear information about publication fees and payment terms. When paper accepted and published the author is obliged to fulfill his/ her fee payment obligations in the shortest time after the invoice issued. The primary version of the journal is the online version. Therefore, we do not send a printed copy to the author(s) of the published article. Publisher does not make profits via subscription or sales of print copies. The publisher offers the full content for free access to the public and without restrictions. All rules and requirements relevant to the chosen type of submission are read and understood. Sending submission means accepted by the author/submitter all responsibility related to editorial and publishing conditions. Submission technical requirements are read and accepted in designing and preparing the research paper Please note that scientific editing might change the format and correct the writing to make it conventional with editorial policy. Responsibility for facts and opinions presented in the contents of journals, electronic and/or printed rests exclusively with the authors, other submitters if there is relevance. Their interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of publisher or editors, affiliated or partnering with journals and with authors institutions. F.A.Q. must be visited if there is an additional reason in clarifying editorial policy. The editors can contact editors via email when it is accepted Neither the publisher nor the editors can be held responsible for errors or any consequences arising from the use of information contained in this journal. Rejected manuscripts will not be returned to the author. The submitted article after evaluation can be published in elaborating/projecting online issues which differ ahead/or back from the submission date up to 3 consequent issues or 6 months interval. The version of an article which is published online is considered the final and complete version. Even though it is possible to correct this version, our policy (in common with other publishers) is not to do so, except in very limited circumstances. When an author wishes to update the published paper it can be possible within 4 weeks after publication. After receiving of the article editors and publisher usually publish immediately online the metadata. After screening and reviewing the full article can be published. The time length between submission and publication of metadata and the full article can be different and make hours, days or months. All this process is usually related to merits, quality of the paper, internal editorial processes, other factors. When necessary, the editors can issue proof of acceptance to the applied author. The author is responsible for avoiding multiple submissions of the same article to other journals. PRADEC editors can charge authors for additional fees when it will be found that similar article was published in parallel. We can contact and inform the relevant journals about multiple practices of the author. When there are signs and suspicions about duplicate submission behavior of the authors the publisher monitors periodically online during 12 weeks. Website content, information, or terms and conditions may be revised without formal notice. We cannot guarantee that this website will be updated on a regular basis or otherwise provide the most current or accurate information that may be available. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. Declaration of contribution © 2020 Prague Development Center \| Bootstrap Wordpress Theme	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1686
__label__wiki	0.526053	0.526053	Reichsfuhrer SS The Nazi Horror Film “Reichsfuhrer SS” Gets a Release Date Posted by sglentertainment on June 20, 2015 WATCH THE OFFICIAL MOVIE TRAILER: BACK OF DVD: SGL Entertainment is pleased to announce an official release date for the Nazi Horror Film Reichsfuhrer SS. The movie will be Available in the US and Canada on Blu-ray and DVD on November 24th 2015. Just in time for the holidays. The DVD is the Unrated Directors Cut, and is loaded with extras like a Full Motion Menu, Deleted Scenes, Before and After Effects Reel, Scene Selection Page, Alternate Credits, Audio Commentary and Movie Trailers. The Blu-ray has all the same features but also includes the Theatrical version as well as the Unrated Directors Cut, all in Full 1080p HD. David B. Stewart III Synopsis: The Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler was Adolf Hitler’s most loyal henchman and one of the most feared men of WWII. Surprisingly, he had only one problem… He had no stomach for murder! When the Reichsfuhrer-SS becomes physically ill during the execution of Russian POW’s on the Eastern front in 1941, ruthless, careerist SS General Hans Shellenberg rats Himmler out to the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler. Hitler tests his loyal Heinrich, forcing him to commit the murder of a Polish prisoner named Danuta with his own hands… thus awakening the Monster within him that will horrify the world for generations to come! Himmler may please his Fuhrer in 1941, but what awaits him after he commits suicide in 1945 is nothing less than Hell itself. See what happens when Himmler meets Erebus, the gatekeeper of Hell! See the nightmarish suffering that awaits the infamous Nazi leader who murdered millions! Angelina Leigh The movie stars: David B. Stewart III, Angelina Leigh, Chuck Maher, Martin Slamon, John Martineau, Tina Krause, Tammy Jean, Joseph Barford, Anthony Cerrano, Kelly Weston, Joe Ronca and Carmela Hayslett. Reichsfuhrer SS was Written and Directed by David B. Stewart III with Cinematography by John Martineau and was Produced by David B. Stewart III and John Martineau. Reichsfuhrer SS will be Available in the US and Canada on Blu-ray and DVD on November 24th 2015, and will also be coming soon to Comcast Xfinity Cable TV and the Top VOD Sites like iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, M-GO and More via SGL Entertainment with their partners MVD Visual and Indie Rights Distribution. STILLS FROM THE MOVIE: For More Info on Reichsfuhrer SS Go To: www.sglmoviestore.com/horror/reichsfuhrer-ss This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Hitler, Horror, Movie, Nazi, SGL Entertainment, World War 3. Bookmark the permalink. Producers of the Nazi Horror Film “Reichsfuhrer SS” Ink Distribution Deal with SGL Entertainment Nazi Horror Film “Reichsfuhrer SS” Now Available on Blu-ray and DVD plus Watch an Exclusive Clip from the Movie Reichsfuhrer SS Official Facebook Page SGL Entertainment on Twitter	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1690
__label__cc	0.674271	0.325729	Home arguments The Devil radmin 02/08/2018 02/08/2018 arguments by Robert Green Ingersoll (1899) “If the Devil Should Die Would God Make Another One?” A little while ago I delivered a lecture on “Superstition,” in which, among other things, I said that the Christian world could not deny the existence of the Devil; that the Devil was really the keystone of the arch, and that to take him away was to destroy the entire system. A great many clergymen answered or criticized this statement. Some of these ministers avowed their belief in the existence of his Satanic Majesty, while others actually denied his existence; but some, without stating their own position, said that others believed, not in the existence of a personal Devil, but in the personification of Evil, and that all references to the Devil in the Scriptures could be explained on the hypothesis that the Devil thus alluded to was simply a personification of Evil. When I read these answers I thought of this line from Heine: “Christ rode on an ass, but now asses ride on Christ.” Now, the questions are, first, whether the Devil does really exist; second, whether the sacred Scriptures teach the existence of the Devil and of unclean Spirits, and third, whether this belief in Devils is a necessary part of what is known as “orthodox Christianity.” Now, where did the idea that a Devil exists come from? How was it produced? Fear is an artist – a sculptor – a painter. All tribes and nations, having suffered, having been the sport and prey of natural phenomena, having been struck by lightning, poisoned by weeds, overwhelmed by volcanoes, destroyed by earthquakes, believed in the existence of a Devil, who was the King – the ruler – of innumerable smaller Devils, and all these Devils have been from time immemorial regarded as the enemies of men. Along the banks of the Ganges wandered the Asuras, the most powerful of Evil Spirits. Their business was to war against the Devas – that is to say, the Gods – and at the same time against Human Beings. There, too, were the ogres, the Jakshas and many others who killed and devoured Human Beings. The Persians turned this around, and with them the Asuras were good and the Devas bad. Ormuzd was the good – the God – Ahriman the Evil – the Devil – and between the God and the Devil was waged a perpetual war. Some of the Persians thought that the Evil would finally triumph, but others insisted that the good would be the victor. In Egypt the Devil was Set – or, as usually called, Typhon – and the good God was Osiris. Set and his legions fought against Osiris and against the human race. Among the Greeks, the Titans were the enemies of the Gods. Ate was the spirit that tempted, and such was her power that at one time she tempted and misled the God of Gods, even Zeus himself. These ideas about Gods and Devils often changed, because in the days of Socrates a Demon was not a Devil, but a Guardian Angel. We obtain our Devil from the Jews, and they got him from Babylon. The Jews cultivated the science of Demonology, and at one time it was believed that there were nine kinds of Demons: Beelzebub, prince of the false Gods of the other nations; the Pythian Apollo, prince of liars; Belial, prince of mischief makers. Asmodeus, prince of revengeful Devils; Satan, prince of witches and magicians; Meresin, prince of aerial Devils, who caused thunderstorms and plagues; Abaddon, who caused wars, tumults and combustions; Diabolus, who drives to despair, and Mammon, prince of the tempters. It was believed that demons and sorcerers frequently came together and held what were called “Sabbats;” that is to say, orgies. It was also known that sorcerers and witches had marks on their bodies that had been imprinted by the Devil. Of course these Devils were all made by the people, and in these Devils we find the prejudices of their makers. The Europeans always represent their Devils as black, while the Africans believed that theirs were white. So, it was believed that people by the aid of the Devil could assume any shape they wished. Witches and wizards were changed into wolves, dogs, cats and serpents. This change to animal form was exceedingly common. Within two years, between 1598 and 1600, in one district of France, the district of Jura, more than six hundred men and women were tried and convicted before one judge of having changed themselves into wolves, and all were put to death. This is only one instance. There are thousands. There is no time to give the history of this belief in Devils. It has been universal. The consequences have been terrible beyond the imagination. Millions and millions of men, women and children, of fathers and mothers, have been sacrificed upon the altar of this ignorant and idiotic belief. Of course, the Christians of to-day do not believe that the Devils of the Hindus, Egyptians, Persians or Babylonians existed. They think that those nations created their own Devils, precisely the same as they did their own Gods. But the Christians of to-day admit that for many centuries Christians did believe in the existence of countless Devils; that the Fathers of the church believed as sincerely in the Devil and his demons as in God and His Angels; that they were just as sure about Hell as Heaven. I admit that people did the best they could to account for what they saw, for what they experienced. I admit that the Devils as well as the Gods were naturally produced – the effect of nature upon the human brain. The cause of phenomena filled our ancestors not only with wonder, but with terror. The miraculous, the supernatural, was not only believed in, but was always expected. A man walking in the woods at night – just a glimmering of the moon – everything uncertain and shadowy – sees a monstrous form. One arm is raised. His blood grows cold, his hair lifts. In the gloom he sees the eyes of an ogre – eyes that flame with malice. He feels that the something is approaching. He turns, and with a cry of horror takes to his heels. He is afraid to look back. Spent, out of breath, shaKing with fear, he reaches his hut and falls at the door. When he regains consciousness, he tells his story and, of course, the children believe. When they become men and women they tell father’s story of having seen the Devil to their children, and so the children and grandchildren not only believe, but think they know, that their father – their grandfather – actually saw a Devil. An old woman sitting by the fire at night – a storm raging without – hears the mournful sough of the wind. To her it becomes a voice. Her imagination is touched, and the voice seems to utter words. Out of these words she constructs a message or a warning from the unseen world. If the words are good, she has heard an Angel; if they are threatening and malicious, she has heard a Devil. She tells this to her children and they believe. They say that mother’s religion is good enough for them. A girl suffering from hysteria falls into a trance – has visions of the infernal world. The priest sprinkles holy water on her pallid face, saying: “She hath a Devil.” A man utters a terrible cry; falls to the ground; foam and blood issue from his mouth; his limbs are convulsed. The spectators say: “This is the Devils work.” Through all the ages people have mistaken dreams and visions of fear for realities. To them the insane were inspired; epileptics were possessed by Devils; apoplexy was the work of an unclean spirit. For many centuries people believed that they had actually seen the malicious phantoms of the night, and so thorough was this belief – so vivid – that they made pictures of them. They knew how they looked. They drew and chiseled their hoofs, their horns – all their malicious deformities. Now, I admit that all these monsters were naturally produced. The people believed that hell was their native land; that the Devil was a King, and that he and his imps waged war against the children of men. Curiously enough some of these Devils were made out of degraded Gods, and, naturally enough, many Devils were made out of the Gods of other nations. So that frequently the Gods of one people were the Devils of another. In nature there are opposing forces. Some of the forces work for what man calls good; some for what he calls Evil. Back of these forces our ancestors put will, intelligence and design. They could not believe that the good and Evil came from the same being. So back of the good they put God; back of the Evil, the Devil. II The Atlas of Christianity is the Devil The religion known as “Christianity” was invented by God himself to repair in part the wreck and ruin that had resulted from the Devil’s work. Take the Devil from the scheme of salvation – from the atonement – from the dogma of eternal pain – and the foundation is gone. The Devil is the keystone of the arch. He inflicted the wounds that Christ came to heal. He corrupted the human race. The question now is: Does the Old Testament teach the existence of the Devil? If the Old Testament teaches anything, it does teach the existence of the Devil, of Satan, of the Serpent, of the enemy of God and man, the deceiver of men and women. Those who believe the Scriptures are compelled to say that this Devil was created by God, and that God knew when he created him just what he would do – the exact measure of his success; knew that he would be a successful rival; knew that he would deceive and corrupt the children of men; knew that, by reason of this Devil, countless millions of Human Beings would suffer Eternal Torment in the prison of pain. And this God also knew when he created the Devil, that he, God, would be compelled to leave his throne, to be born a babe in Palestine, and to suffer a cruel death. All this he knew when he created the Devil. Why did he create him? It is no answer to say that this Devil was once an Angel of light and fell from his high estate because he was free. God knew what he would do with his freedom when he made him and gave him liberty of action, and as a matter of fact must have made him with the intention that he should rebel; that he should fall; that he should become a Devil; that he should tempt and corrupt the father and mother of the human race; that he should make hell a necessity, and that, in consequence of his creation, countless millions of the children of men would suffer eternal pain. Why did he create him? Admit that God is infinitely wise. Has he ingenuity enough to frame an excuse for the creation of the Devil? Does the Old Testament teach the existence of a real, living Devil? The first account of this being is found in Genesis, and in that account he is called the “Serpent.” He is declared to have been more subtle than any beast of the field. According to the account, this Serpent had a conversation with Eve, the first woman. We are not told in what language they conversed, or how they understood each other, as this was the first time they had met. Where did Eve get her language? Where did the Serpent get his? Of course, such questions are impudent, but at the same time they are natural. The result of this conversation was that Eve ate the forbidden fruit and induced Adam to do the same. This is what is called the “Fall,” and for this they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. On account of this, God cursed the earth with weeds and thorns and brambles, cursed man with toil, made woman a slave, and cursed maternity with pain and sorrow. How men – good men – can worship this God; how women – good women – can love this Jehovah, is beyond my imagination. In addition to the other curses the Serpent was cursed – condemned to crawl on his belly and to eat dust. We do not know by what means, before that time, he moved from place to place – whether he walked or flew; neither do we know on what food he lived; all we know is that after that time he crawled and lived on dust. Jehovah told him that this he should do all the days of his life. It would seem from this that the Serpent was not at that time immortal – that there was somewhere in the future a milepost at which the life of this Serpent stopped. Whether he is living yet or not, I am not certain. It will not do to say that this is allegory, or a poem, because this proves too much. If the Serpent did not in fact exist, how do we know that Adam and Eve existed? Is all that is said about God allegory, and poetic, or mythical? Is the whole account, after all, an ignorant dream? Neither will it do to say that the Devil – the Serpent – was a personification of Evil. Do personifications of Evil talk? Can a personification of Evil crawl on its belly? Can a personification of Evil eat dust? If we say that the Devil was a personification of Evil, are we not at the same time compelled to say that Jehovah was a personification of good; that the Garden of Eden was the personification of a place, and that the whole story is a personification of something that did not happen? Maybe that Adam and Eve were not driven out of the Garden; they may have suffered only the personification of exile. And maybe the Cherubim placed at the gate of Eden, with flaming swords, were only personifications of policemen. There is no escape. If the Old Testament is true, the Devil does exist, and it is impossible to explain him away without at the same time explaining God away. So there are many references to Devils, and Spirits of Divination and of Evil which I have not the time to call attention to; but, in the Book of Job, Satan, the Devil has a conversation with God. It is this Devil that brings the sorrows and losses on the upright man. It is this Devil that raises the storm that wrecks the homes of Job’s children. It is this Devil that kills the children of Job. Take this Devil from that book, and all meaning, plot and purpose fade away. Is it possible to say that the Devil in Job was only a personification of Evil? In Chronicles we are told that Satan provoked David to number Israel. For this act of David, caused by the Devil, God did not smite the Devil, did not punish David, but he killed 70,000 poor innocent Jews who had done nothing but stand up and be counted. Was this Devil who tempted David a personification of Evil, or was Jehovah a personification of the Devilish? In Zachariah we are told that Joshua stood before the Angel of the Lord, and that Satan stood at his right hand to resist him, and that the Lord rebuked Satan. If words convey any meaning, the Old Testament teaches the existence of the Devil. All the passages about witches and those having familiar spits were born of a belief in the Devil. When a man who loved Jehovah wanted revenge on his enemy he fell on his holy knees, and from a heart full of religion he cried; “Let Satan stand at his right hand.” III Take the Devil From the Drama of Christianity and the Plot is Gone The next question is: Does the New Testament teach the existence of the Devil? As a matter of fact, the New Testament is far more explicit than the Old. The Jews, believing that Jehovah was God, had very little business for a Devil. Jehovah was wicked enough and malicious enough to take the Devil’s place. The first reference in the New Testament to the Devil is in the fourth chapter of Matthew. We are told that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. It seems that He was not led by the Devil into the wilderness, but by the Spirit; that the Spirit and the Devil were acting together in a kind of pious conspiracy. In the wilderness Jesus fasted forty days, and then the Devil asked him to turn stones into bread. The Devil also took Him to Jerusalem and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and tried to induce Him to leap to the Earth. The Devil also took Him to the top of a mountain and showed Him all the Kingdoms of the World and offered them all to Him in exchange for His worship. Jesus refused. The Devil went away and Angels came and ministered to Christ. Now, the question is: Did the author of this account believe in the existence of the Devil, or did he regard this Devil as a personification of Evil, and did he intend that his account should be understood as an allegory, or as a poem, or as a myth. Was Jesus tempted? If He was tempted, who tempted Him? Did anybody offer Him the Kingdoms of the world? Did the writer of the account try to convey to the reader the thought that Christ was tempted by the Devil? If Christ was not tempted by the Devil, then the temptation was born in His own heart. If that be true, can it be said that He was Divine? If these adders, these vipers, were coiled in His bosom, was He the son of God? Was He pure? In the same chapter we are told that Christ healed “those which were possessed of Devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy.” From this it is evident that a distinction was made between those possessed with Devils and those whose minds were affected and those who were afflicted with diseases. In the eighth chapter we are told that people brought unto Christ many that were possessed with Devils, and that He cast out the Spirits with His word. Now, can we say that these people were possessed with personifications of Evil, and that these personifications of Evil were cast out? Are these personifications entities? Have they form and shape? Do they occupy space? Then comes the story of the two men possessed with Devils who came from the tombs, and were exceeding fierce. It is said that when they saw Jesus they cried out: “What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?” If these were simply personifications of Evil, how did they know that Jesus was the Son of God, and how can a personification of Evil be tormented? (How? By causing them good?) We are told that at the same time, a good way off, many swine were feeding, and that the Devils besought Christ, saying: “If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.” And He said unto them: “Go.” Is it possible that personifications of Evil would desire to enter the bodies of swine, and is it possible that it was necessary for them to have the consent of Christ before they could enter the swine? The question naturally arises: How did they enter into the body of the man? Did they do that without Christ’s consent, and is it a fact that Christ protects swine and neglects Human Beings? Can personifications have desires? In the ninth chapter of Matthew there was a dumb man brought to Jesus, possessed with a Devil. Jesus cast out the Devil and the dumb man spoke. Did a personification of Evil prevent the dumb man from talKing? Did it in some way paralyze his organs of speech? Could it have done this had it only been a personification of Evil? In the tenth chapter Jesus gives his twelve disciples power to cast out unclean Spirits. What were unclean Spirits supposed to be? Did they really exist? Were they shadows, impersonations, allegories? When Jesus sent his disciples forth on the great mission to convert the world, among other things He told them to heal the sick, to raise the dead and to cast out Devils. Here a distinction is made between the sick and those who were possessed by Evil Spirits. Now, what did Christ mean by Devils? In the twelfth chapter we are told of a very remarkable case. There was brought unto Jesus one possessed with a Devil, blind and dumb, and Jesus healed him. The blind and dumb both spoke and saw. Thereupon the Pharisees said: “This fellow doth not cast out Devils but by Beelzebub, the prince of Devils.” Jesus answered by saying: “Every Kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself.” Why did not Christ tell the Pharisees that He did not cast out Devils – only personifications of Evil; and that with these personifications Beelzebub had nothing to do? Another question: Did the Pharisees believe in the existence of Devils, or had they the personification idea? At the same time Christ said: “If I cast out Devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you.” If he meant anything by these words he certainly intended to convey the idea that what he did demonstrated the superiority of God over the Devil. Did Christ believe in the existence of the Devil? In the fifteenth chapter is the account of the woman of Canaan who cried unto Jesus, saying: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is sorely vexed with a Devil.” On account of her faith Christ made the daughter whole. In the sixteenth chapter a man brought his son to Jesus. The boy was a lunatic, sore vexed, oftentimes falling in the fire and water. The disciples had tried to cure him and had failed. Jesus rebuked the Devil, and the Devil departed out of him and the boy was cured. Was the Devil in this case a personification of Evil? The disciples then asked Jesus why they could not cast that Devil out. Jesus told them that it was because of their unbelief, and then added: “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” From this it would seem that some personifications were easier to expel than others. The first chapter of Mark throws a little light on the story of the temptation of Christ. Matthew tells us that Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. In Mark we are told who this Spirit was: “And straightway coming up out of the water he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him. “And there came a voice from heaven, saying: ‘Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ “And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.” Why the Holy Ghost should hand Christ over to the tender mercies of the Devil is not explained. And it is all the more wonderful when we remember that the Holy Ghost was the third person in the Trinity and Christ the second, and that this Holy Ghost was, in fact, God, and that Christ also was, in fact, God, so that God led God into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. We are told that Christ was in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan, and was with the wild beasts, and that the Angels ministered unto him. Were these Angels real Angels, or were they personifications of good, of comfort? So we see that the same Spirit that came out of heaven, the same Spirit that said “This is my beloved son,” drove Christ into the wilderness to be tempted of Satan. Was this Devil a real being? Was this Spirit who claimed to be the father of Christ a real being, or was he a personification? Are the heavens a real place? Are they a personification? Did the wild beasts live and did the Angels minister unto Christ? In other words, is the story true, or is it poetry, or metaphor, or mistake, or falsehood? It might be asked: Why did God wish to be tempted by the Devil? Was God ambitious to obtain a victory over Satan? Was Satan foolish enough to think that he could mislead God, and is it possible that the Devil offered to give the world as a bribe to its creator and owner, knowing at the same time that Christ was the creator and owner, and also knowing that he (Christ) knew that he (the Devil) knew that he (Christ) was the creator and owner? Is not the whole story absurdly idiotic? The Devil knew that Christ was God, and knew that Christ knew that the tempter was the Devil. It may be asked how I know that the Devil knew that Christ was God. My answer is found in the same chapter. There is an account of what a Devil said to Christ: “Let us alone. What have we to do with thee thou Jesus of Nazareth? An thou come to destroy us? I know thee. Thou art the holy one of God. Certainly, if the little Devils knew this, the Devil himself must have had like information. Jesus rebuked this Devil and said to him: “Hold thy peace, and come out of him.” And when the unclean spirit had torn him and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. So we are told that Jesus cast out many Devils, and suffered not the Devils to speak because they knew him. So it is said in the third chapter that “unclean Spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him and cried, saying, ‘Thou art the son of God.'” In the fifth chapter is an account of casting out the Devils that went into the swine, and we are told that the Devils besought him saying, ‘Send us into the swine.’ And Jesus gave them leave.” Again I ask: Was it necessary for the Devils to get the permission of Christ before they could enter swine? Again I ask: By whose permission did they enter into the man? Could personifications of Evil enter a herd of swine, could personifications of Evil make a bargain with Christ? In the sixth chapter we are told that the disciples “cast out many Devils and anointed with oil many that were sick.” Here again the distinction is made between those possessed by Devils and those afflicted by disease. It will not do to say that the Devils were diseases or personifications. In the seventh chapter a Greek woman whose daughter was possessed by a Devil besought Christ to cast this Devil out. At last Christ said: “The Devil is gone out of thy daughter.” In the ninth chapter one of the multitude said unto Christ: “I have brought unto thee my son which hath a dumb spirit. I spoke unto thy disciples that they should cast him out, and they could not.” So they brought this boy before Christ, and when the boy saw him, the spirit tare him, and he fell on the ground and “wallowed, foaming.” Christ asked the father: “long is it ago since this came unto him? “And he answered: “Of a child, and ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him.” Then Christ said: “Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.” “And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him; and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, ‘He is dead.'” Then the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast them out, and Jesus said: “This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.” Is there any doubt about the belief of the man who wrote this account? Is there any allegory, or poetry, or myth in this story? The Devil, in this case, was not an ordinary, every-day Devil. He was dumb and deaf; it was no use to order him out, because he could not hear. The only way was to pray and fast. Is there such a thing as a dumb and deaf Devil? If so, the Devils must be organized. They must have ears and organs of speech, and they must be dumb because there is something the matter with the apparatus of speaKing, and they must be deaf because something is the matter with their ears. It would seem from this that they are not simply spiritual beings, but organized on a physical basis. Now, we know that the ears do not hear. It is the brain that hears. So these Devils must have brains; that is to say, they must have been what we call “organized beings.” Now, it is hardly possible that personifications of Evil are dumb or deaf. That is to say, that they have physical imperfections. In the same chapter John tells Christ that he saw one casting out Devils in Christ’s name who did not follow with them, and Jesus said: “Forbid him not.” By this he seemed to admit that some one, not a follower of his, was casting out Devils in his name, and he was willing that he should go on, because, as he said: “For there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name that can lightly speak Evil of Me” In the fourth chapter of Luke the story of the temptation of Christ by the Devil is again told with a few additions. All the writers, having been inspired, did not remember exactly the same things. Luke tells us that the Devil said unto Christ, having shown him all the Kingdoms of the world in a moment of time: “All this power will I give thee and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” We are also told that when the Devil had ended all the temptation he departed from him for a season. The date of his return is not given. In the same chapter we are told that a man in the synagogue had a “spirit of an unclean Devil.” This Devil recognized Jesus and admitted that He was the Holy One of God. As a matter of fact, the apostles seemed to have relied upon the evidence of Devils to substantiate the divinity of their Lord. Jesus said to this Devil: “Hold thy peace and come out of him.” And the Devil, after throwing the man down, came out. In the forty-first verse of the same chapter it is said: “And Devils also came out of many, crying out and saying, ‘Thou art Christ, the Son of God.'” It is also said that Christ rebuked them and suffered them not to speak, for they knew that he was Christ. Now, it will not do to say that these Devils were diseases, because diseases could not talk, and diseases would not recognize Christ as the Son of God. After all, epilepsy is not a theologian. I admit that lunacy comes nearer. In the eighth chapter is told again the story of the Devils and the swine. In this account, Jesus asked the Devil his name, and the Devil replied “Legion.” In the ninth chapter is told the story of the Devil that the disciples could not cast out, but was cast out by Christ, and in the thirteenth chapter it is said that the Pharisees came to Jesus, telling him to go away, because Herod would kill him, and Jesus said unto these Pharisees; “Go ye, and tell that fox, behold, I cast out Devils.” What did he mean by this? Did he mean that he cured diseases? No. Because in the same sentence he says, “And I do cures to-day,” maKing a distinction between Devils and diseases. In the twenty-second chapter an account of the betrayal of Christ by Judas is given in these words: “Then entered Satan into Judas Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.” “And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray him unto them. “And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.” According to Christ the little Devils knew that he was the Son of God. Certainly, then, Satan, King of all the fiends, knew that Christ was divine. And he not only knew that, but he knew all about the scheme of salvation. He knew that Christ wished to make an atonement of blood by the sacrifice of himself. According to Christian theologians, the Devil has always done his utmost to gain possession of the souls of men. At the time he entered into Judas, persuading him to betray Christ, he knew that if Christ was betrayed he would be crucified, and that he would make an atonement for all believers, and that, as a result, he, the Devil, would lose all the souls that Christ gained. What interest had the Devil in defeating himself? If he could have prevented the betrayal, then Christ would not have been crucified. No atonement would have been made, and the whole world would have gone to hell. The success of the Devil would have been complete. But, according to this story, the Devil outwitted himself. How thankful we should be to his Satanic Majesty. He opened for us the gates of Paradise and made it possible for us to obtain eternal life. Without Satan, without Judas, not a single human being could have become an Angel of light. All would have been wingless Devils in the prison of flame. In Jerusalem, to the extent of his power, Satan repaired the wreck and ruin he had wrought in the Garden of Eden. Certainly the writers of the New Testament believed in the existence of the Devil. In the eighth chapter it is said that out of Mary Magdalene were cast seven Devils. To me Mary Magdalene is the most beautiful character in the New Testament. She is the one true disciple. In the darkness of the crucifixion she lingered near. She was the first at the sepulcher. Defeat, disaster, disgrace, could not conquer her love. And yet, according to the account, when she met the risen Christ, he said: “Touch me not.” This was the reward of her infinite devotion. In the Gospel of John we are told that John the Baptist said that he saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and that it abode upon Christ. But in the Gospel of John nothing is said about the Spirit driving Christ into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Possibly John never heard of that, or forgot it, or did not believe it. But in the thirteenth chapter I find this: “supper being ended, the Devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him.” * * * In John there are no accounts of the casting out of Devils by Christ or his apostles. On that subject there is no word. Possibly John had his doubts. In the fifth chapter of Acts we are told that the people brought the sick and those which were vexed with unclean Spirits to the apostles, and the apostles healed them. Here again there is made a clear distinction between the sick and those possessed by Devils. And in the eighth chapter we are told that “unclean Spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of them. In the thirteen chapter Paul calls Elymas the child of the Devil, and in the sixteenth chapter an account is given of “a damsel possessed with a spirit of divination, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.” Paul and Silas, it would seem, cast out this spirit, and by reason of that suffered great persecution. In the nineteenth chapter certain vagabond Jews pronounced over those who had Evil Spirits the name of Jesus, and the Evil Spirits answered: “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?” “And the man in whom the Evil spirit was leaped on them so that they fled naked and wounded.” Paul, writing to the Corinthians, in the eighth chapter says: “I would not that ye should have fellowship with Devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of Devils. Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table and the table of Devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?” In the eleventh chapter he says that long hair is the glory of woman, but that she ought to keep her head covered because of the Angels. In those intellectual days people believed in what were called the Incubi and the Succubi. The Incubi were male Angels and the Succubi were female Angels, and according to the belief of that time nothing so attracted the Incubi as the beautiful hair of women, and for this reason Paul said that women should keep their heads covered. Paul calls the Devil the “prince of the power of the air.” So in Jude we are told “that Michael, the archAngel, when contending with the Devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke thee.'” Was this Devil with whom Michael contended a personification of Evil, or a poem, or a myth? In First Peter we are told to be sober, vigilant, “because your adversary, the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeKing whom he may devour.” Are people devoured by personifications or myths? Has an allegory an appetite, or is a poem a cannibal? So in Ephesians we are warned not to give place to the Devil, and in the same book we are told: “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil.” And in Hebrews it is said that “him that had the power of death – that is, the Devil;” showing that the Devil has the power of death. And in James it is said that if we resist the Devil he will flee from us; and in first John we are told that he that committeth sin is of the Devil, for the reason that the Devil sinneth from the beginning; and we are also told that “for this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he may destroy the works of the Devil.” No Devil – No Christ. In Revelation, the insanest of all books, I find the following: “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his Angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his Angels. “And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his Angels were cast out with him. “Therefore, rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhibitors of the earth and of the sea; for the Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” From this it would appear that the Devil once lived in heaven, raised a rebellion, was defeated and cast out, and the inspired writer congratulates the Angels that they are rid of him and commiserates us that we have him. In the twentieth chapter of Revelation is the following: “And I saw an Angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. “And he laid hold on the dragon – that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan – and bound him a thousand years. “And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after he must be loosed a little season.” It is hard to understand how one could be confined in a pit without a bottom, and how a chain of iron could hold one in eternal fire, or what use there would be to lock a bottomless pit; but these are questions probably suggested by the Devil. We are further told that “when the thousand years are expired Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.” “And the Devil was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever.” In the light of the passages that I have read we can clearly see what the writers of the New Testament believed. About this there can be no honest difference. If the gospels teach the existence of God – of Christ – they teach the existence of the Devil. If the Devil does not exist – if little Devils do not enter the bodies of men – the New Testament may be inspired, but it is not true. The early Christians proved that Christ was divine because he cast out Devils. The evidence they offered was more absurd than the statement they sought to prove. They were like the old man who said that he saw a grindstone floating down the river. Some one said that a grindstone would not float. “Ah,” said the old man, “but the one I saw had an iron crank in it.” Of course, I do not blame the authors of the gospels. They lived in a superstitious age, at a time when Rumor was the historian, when Gossip corrected the “proof,” and when everything was believed except the facts. The apostles, like their fellows, believed in miracles and magic. Credulity was regarded as a virtue. The Rev. Mr. Parkhurst denounces the apostles as worthless cravens. Certainly I do not agree with him. I think that they were good men. I do not believe that any one of them ever tried to reform Jerusalem on the Parkhurst plan. I admit that they honestly believed in Devils – that they were credulous and superstitious. There is one story in the New Testament that illustrates my meaning. In the fifth chapter of John is the following: “Now, there is at Jerusalem, by the sheep market, a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue ‘Bethesda,’ having five porches. “In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk – of blind, halt, withered – waiting for the moving of the water. “For an Angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. “And a certain man was there which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. “When Jesus saw him lie and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him: ‘Wilt thou be made whole?’ “The impotent man answered him: ‘Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool; but while I am coming another steppeth down before me.’ “Jesus saith unto him; ‘Rise, take up thy bed and walk.’ “And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked.” Does any sensible human being now believe this story? Was the water of Bethesda troubled by an Angel? Where did the Angel come from? Where do Angels live? Did the Angel put medicine in the water – just enough to cure one? Did he put in different medicines for different diseases, or did he have a medicine, like those that are patented now, that cured all diseases Just the same? Was the water troubled by an Angel? Possibly, what apostles and theologians call an Angel a scientist knows as carbonic acid gas. John does not say that the people thought the water was troubled by an Angel, but he states it as a fact. And he tells us, also, as a fact, that the first invalid that got in the water after it had been troubled was cured of what disease he had. What is the evidence of John worth? Again I say that if the Devil does not exist the gospels are not inspired. If Devils do not exist Christ was either honestly mistaken, insane or an impostor. If Devils do not exist the fall of man is a mistake and the atonement an absurdity. If Devils do not exist hell becomes only a dream of revenge. Beneath the structure called “Christianity” are four cornerstones – the Father, Son, Holy Ghost and Devil. IV The Evidence of the Church All the fathers of the church believed in Devils. All the saints won their crowns by overcoming Devils. All the popes and cardinals, bishops and priests, believed in Devils. Most of their time was occupied in fighting Devils. The whole Catholic world, from the lowest layman to the highest priest, believed in Devils. They proved the existence of Devils by the New Testament. They knew that these Devils were citizens of hell. They knew that Satan was their King. They knew that hell was made for the Devil and his Angels. The founders of all the Protestant churches – the makers of all the orthodox creeds – all the leading Protestant theologians, from Luther to the president of Princeton College – were, and are, firm believers in the Devil. All the great commentators believed in the Devil as firmly as they did in God. Under the “Scheme of Salvation” the Devil was a necessity. Somebody had to be responsible for the thorns and thistles, for the cruelties and crimes. Somebody had to father the mistakes of God. The Devil was the scapegoat of Jehovah. For hundreds of years, good, honest, zealous Christians contended against the Devil. They fought him day and night, and the thought that they had beaten him gave to their dying lips the smile of victory. For centuries the church taught that the natural man was totally depraved; that he was by nature a child of the Devil, and that new-born babes were tainted by unclean Spirits. As late as the middle of the sixteenth century, every infant that was baptized was, by that ceremony, freed from a Devil. When the holy water was applied the priest said: “I command thee, thou unclean spirit, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that thou come out and depart from this infant, whom our Lord Jesus Christ has vouchsafed to call to his holy baptism, to be made a member of his body, and of his holy congregation.” At that time the fathers – the theologians, the commentators – agreed that unbaptized children, including those that were born dead, went to hell. And these same fathers – theologians and commentators – said: “God is love.” These babes were pure as Pity’s tears, innocent as their mother’s loving smiles, and yet the makers of our creeds believed and taught that leering, unclean fiends inhabited their dimpled flesh. O, the unscarchable riches of Christianity! For many centuries the church filled the world with Devils – with malicious Spirits that caused storm and tempest, disease, accident and death – that filled the night with visions of despair; with prophecies that drove the dreamers mad. These Devils assumed a thousand forms – countless disguises in their efforts to capture souls and destroy the church. They deceived sometimes the wisest and the best, made priests forget their vows. They melted virtue’s snow in passion’s fire, and in cunning ways entrapped and smirched the innocent and good. These Devils gave witches and wizards their supernatural powers, and told them the secrets of the future. Millions of men and women were destroyed because they had sold themselves to the Devil. At that time Christians really believed the New Testament. They knew it was the inspired word of God, and so believing, so knowing – as they thought – they became insane. No man has genius enough to describe the agonies that have been inflicted on innocent men and women because of this absurd belief. How it darkened the mind, hardened the heart, and poisoned life! It made the Universe a madhouse presided over by an insane God. Think! Why would a merciful God allow his children to be the victims of Devils? Why would a decent God allow his worshipers to believe in Devils, and by reason of that belief to persecute, torture and burn their fellow-men? (The inquisitions) Christians did not ask these questions. They believed the Bible; they had confidence in the words of Christ. V Personifications of Evil The Orthodox Ostrich Thrusts His Head into The Sand. Many of the clergy are now ashamed to say that they believe in Devils. The belief has become ignorant and vulgar. They are ashamed of the lake of fire and brimstone. It is too savage. At the same time they do not wish to give up the inspiration of the Bible. They give new meanings to the inspired words. Now they say that Devils were only personifications of Evil. If the Devils were only personifications of Evil what were the Angels? Was the Angel who told Joseph who the father of Christ was, a personification? Was the Holy Ghost only the personification of a father? Was the Angel who told Joseph that Herod was dead a personification of news? Were the Angels who rolled away the stone and sat clothed in shining garments in the empty sepulcher of Christ a couple of personifications? Were all the Angels described in the Old Testament imaginary shadows – bodiless personifications? If the Angels of the Bible are real Angels, the Devils are real Devils. Let us be honest with ourselves and each other and give to the Bible its natural, obvious meaning. Let us admit that the writers believed what they wrote. If we believe that they were mistaken, let us have the honesty and courage to say so. Certainly we have no right to change or avoid their meaning, or to dishonestly correct their mistakes. Timid preachers sully their own souls when they change what the writers of the Bible believed to be facts to allegories, parables, poems and myths. It is impossible for any man who believes in the inspiration of the Bible to explain away the Devil. If the Bible is true the Devil exists. There is no escape from this. If the Devil does not exist the Bible is not true. There is no escape from this. I admit that the Devil of the Bible is an impossible contradiction; an impossible being. This Devil is the enemy of God and God is his. Now, why should this Devil, in another world, torment sinners, who are his friends, to please God, his enemy? If the Devil is a personification, so is hell and the lake of fire and brimstone. All these horrors fade into allegories; into ignorant lies. Any clergyman who can read the Bible and then say that Devils are personifications of Evil is himself a personification of stupidity or hypocrisy. Does any intelligent man now, whose brain has not been deformed by superstition, believe in the existence of the Devil? What evidence have we that he exists? Where does this Devil live? What does he do for a livelihood? What does he eat? If he does not eat, he cannot think. He cannot think without the expenditure of force. He cannot create force; he must borrow it – that is to say, he must eat. How does he move from place to place? Does he walk or does he fly, or has he invented some machine? What object has he in life? What idea of success? This Devil, according to the Bible, knows that he is to be defeated; knows that the end is absolute and eternal failure; knows that every step he takes leads to the infinite catastrophe. Why does he act as he does? (cause he is stupid? No he is not, he is the one maKing God’s plan and creation a huge failure/pain in the behind/hell on earth/etc…so the Devil would not be stupid, otherwise his competition is not that bright as well) Our fathers thought that everything in this world came from some other realm; that all ideas of right and wrong came from above; that conscience dropped from the clouds; that the darkness was filled with imps from perdition, and the day with Angels from heaven; that souls had been breathed into man by Jehovah. What there is in this world that lives and breathes was produced here. Life was not imported. Mind is not an exotic. Of this planet man is a native. This world is his mother. The maker did not descend from the heavens. The maker was and is here. Matter and force in their countless forms, affinities and repulsions produced the living, breathing world. How can we account for Devils? Is it possible that they creep into the bodies of men and swine? Do they stay in the stomach or brain, in the heart or liver? Are these Devils immortal or do they multiply and die? Were they all created at the same time or did they spring from a single pair? If they are subject to death what becomes of them after death? Do they go to some other world, are they annihilated, or can they get to heaven by believing on Christ? In the brain of science the Devils have never lived. There you will find no goblins, ghosts, wraiths or imps – no witches, spooks or sorcerers. There the supernatural does not exist. No man of sense in the whole world believes in Devils any more than he does in mermaids, vampires, gorgons, hydras, naiads, dryads, nymphs, fairies or the anthropophagi – any more than he does in the Fountain of Youth, the Philosopher’s Stone, Perpetual Motion or Fiat Money. There is the same difference between religion and science that there is between a madhouse and a university – between a fortune teller and a mathematician – between emotion and philosophy – between guess and demonstration. The Devils have gone, and with them they have taken the miracles of Christ. They have carried away our Lord. They have taken away the inspiration of the Bible, and we are left in the darkness of nature without the consolation of hell. But let me ask the clergy a few questions: How did your Devil, who was at one time an Angel of light, come to sin? There was no other Devil to tempt him. He was in perfectly good society – in the company of God – of the Trinity. All of his associates were perfect. How did he fall? He knew that God was infinite, and yet he waged war against him and induced about a third of the Angels to volunteer. He knew that he could not succeed; knew that he would be defeated and cast out; knew that he was fighting for failure. Why was God so unpopular? Why were the Angels so bad? According to the Christens, these Angels were Spirits. They had never been corrupted by flesh, by the passion of love. Why were they so wicked? Why did God create those Angels, knowing that they would rebel? Why did he deliberately sow the seeds of discord in heaven, knowing that he would cast them into the lake of eternal fire – knowing that for them he would create the eternal prison, whose dungeons would echo forever the sobs and shrieks of endless pain? (Just like the same exact question applies to the creation of man, it goes the same and should go first to the creation of Angels) How foolish is infinite wisdom! How malicious is mercy! How revengeful is boundless love! Again, I say that no sensible man in all the world believes in Devils. Why does God allow these Devils to enjoy themselves at the expense of his ignorant children? Why does he allow them to leave their prison? Does he give them furloughs or tickets-of-leave? Does he want his children misled and corrupted so that he can have the pleasure of damning their souls? VII The Man of Straw Some of the preachers who have answered me say that I am fighting a man of straw. I am fighting the supernatural – the dogma of inspiration – the belief in Devils – the atonement, salvation by faith – the forgiveness of sins and the savagery of eternal pain. I am fighting the absurd, the monstrous, the cruel. The ministers pretend that they have advanced – that they do not believe the things that I attack. In this they are not honest. Who is the “man of straw”? The man of straw is their master. In every orthodox pulpit stands this man of straw – stands beside the preacher – stands with a club, called a “creed,” in his upraised hand. The shadow of this club falls athwart the open Bible – falls upon the preacher’s brain, darkens the light of his reason and compels him to betray himself. The man of straw rules every sectarian school and college – very orthodox church. He is the censor who passes on every sermon. Now and then some minister puts a little sense in his discourse – tries to take a forward step. Down comes the club, and the man of straw demands an explanation – a retraction. If the minister takes it back – good. If he does not, he is brought to book. The man of straw put the plaster of silence on the lips of Prof. Briggs, and he was forced to leave the church or remain dumb. The man of straw closed the mouth of Prof. Smith, and he has not opened it since. The man of straw would not allow the Presbyterian creed to be changed. The man of straw took Father McGlynn by the collar, forced him to his knees, made him take back his words and ask forgiveness for having been abused. The man of straw pitched Prof. Swing out of the pulpit and drove the Rev. Mr. Thomas from the Methodist Church. Let me tell the orthodox ministers that they are trying to cover their retreat. You have given up the geology and astronomy of the Bible. You have admitted that its history is untrue. You are retreating still. You are giving up the dogma of inspiration; you have your doubts about the flood and Babel; you have given up the witches and wizards; you are beginning to throw away the miraculous; you have killed the little Devils and in a little while you will murder the Devil himself. In a few years you will take the Bible for what it is worth. The good and true will be treasured in the heart; the foolish, the infamous, will be thrown away. The man of straw will then be dead. Of course, the real old petrified, orthodox Christian will cling to the Devil. He expects to have all his sins charged to the Devil, and at the same time he will be credited with all the virtues of Christ. Upon this showing on the books, upon this balance, he will be entitled to his halo and harp. What a glorious, what an equitable, transaction! The sorcerer Superstition changes debt to credit. He waves his wand, and he who deserves the tortures of hell receives an eternal reward. But if a man lacks faith the scheme is exactly reversed. While in one case a soul is rewarded for the virtues of another, in the other case a soul is damned for the sins of another. This is justice when it blossoms in mercy. (sigh) Beyond this idiocy cannot go. VIII Keep the Devil Out of Children William Kingdon Clifford, one of the greatest men of this century, said: “If there is one lesson that history forces upon us in every page, it is this: Keep your children away from the priest, or he will make them the enemies of mankind.” In every orthodox Sunday school children are taught to believe in Devils. Every little brain becomes a menagerie, filled with wild beasts from hell. The imagination is polluted with the deformed, the monstrous and malicious. To fill the minds of children with leering fiends – with mocKing Devils – is one of the meanest and basest of crimes. In these pious prisons – these divine dungeons – these Protestant and Catholic inquisitions – children are tortured with these cruel lies. Here they are taught that to really think is wicked; that to express your honest thought is blasphemy; and that to live a free and joyous life, depending on fact instead of faith, is the sin against the Holy Ghost. Children thus taught – thus corrupted and deformed become the enemies of investigation – of progress. They are no longer true to themselves. They have lost the veracity of the soul. In the language of Prof. Clifford, “they are the enemies of the human race.” So I say to all fathers and mothers, keep your children away from priests; away from orthodox Sunday schools; away from the slaves of superstition. They will teach them to believe in the Devil; in hell in the prison of God; in the eternal dungeon, where the souls of men are to suffer forever. These frightful things are a part of Christianity. Take these lies from the creed and the whole scheme falls into shapeless ruin. This dogma of hell is the infinite of savagery – the dream of insane revenge. It makes God a wild beast – an infinite hyena. It makes Christ as merciless as the fangs of a viper. Save poor children from the pollution of this horror. Protect them from this infinite lie. IX Conclusion I admit that there are many good and beautiful passages in the Old and New Testament; that from the lips of Christ dropped many pearls of kindness – of love. Every verse that is true and tender I treasure in my heart. Every thought, behind which is the tear of pity, I appreciate and love. But I cannot accept it all. Many utterances attributed to Christ shock my brain and heart. They are absurd and cruel. Take from the New Testament the infinite savagery, the shoreless malevolence of eternal pain, the absurdity of salvation by faith, the ignorant belief in the existence of Devils, the immorality and cruelty of the atonement, the doctrine of non- resistance that denies to virtue the right of self-defence, and how glorious it would be to know that the remainder is true! Compared with this knowledge, how everything else in nature would shrink and shrivel! What ecstasy it would be to know that God exists; that he is our father and that he loves and cares for the children of men! To know that all the paths that Human Beings travel, turn and wind as they may, lead to the gates of stainless peace! How the heart would thrill and throb to know that Christ was the conquer of Death; that at his grave the all-devouring monster was baffled and beaten forever; that from that moment the tomb became the door that opens on eternal life! To know this would change all sorrow into gladness. Poverty, failure, disaster, defeat, power, place and wealth would become meaningless sounds. To take your babe upon your knee and say: “Mine and mine forever!” What joy! To clasp the woman you love in your arms and to know that she is yours and forever – yours though suns darken and constellations vanish! This is enough: To know that the loved and dead are not lost; that they still live and love and wait for you. To know that Christ dispelled the darkness of death and filled the grave with eternal light. To know this would be all that the heart could bear. Beyond this joy cannot go. Beyond this there is no place for hope. How beautiful, how enchanting, Death would be! How we would long to see his fleshless skull! What rays of glory would stream from his sightless sockets, and how the heart would long for the touch of his stilling hand! The shroud would become a robe of glory, the funeral procession a harvest home, and the grave would mark the end of sorrow, the beginning of eternal Joy And yet it were better far that all this should be false than that: all of the New Testament should be true. It is far better to have no heaven than to have heaven and hell; better to have no God than God and Devil. better to rest in eternal sleep than to be an Angel and know that the ones you love are suffering eternal pain; better to live a free and loving life – a life that ends forever at the grave – than to be an immortal slave The master cannot be great enough to make slavery sweet. I have no ambition to become a winged servant, a winged slave. Better eternal sleep. But they say, “If you give up these superstitions, what have you left?” Let me now give you the declaration of a creed: DECLARATION OF THE FREE We have no falsehoods to defend. We want the facts; our force, our thought, we do not spend in vain attacks. And we will never meanly try to save some fair and pleasing lie. The simple truth is what we ask, not the ideal; we’ve set ourselves the noble task to find the real. If all there is naught but dross, we want to know and bear our loss. We will not willingly be fooled, by fables nursed; our hearts, by earnest thought, are schooled to bear the worst; and we can stand erect and dare all things. all facts that really are. We have no God to serve or fear, no Hell to shun, no Devil with malicious leer. When life is done an endless sleep may close our eyes. A sleep with neither dreams nor sighs. We have no master on the land – no King in air – without a manacle we stand, without a prayer, without a fear of coming night, we seek the truth, we love the light. We do not bow before a guess, a vague unknown; a senseless force we do not bless in solemn tone. When Evil comes we do not curse, or thank because it is no worse. When cyclones rend – when lightning blights, ’tis naught but fate; there is no God of wrath who smites in heartless hate. Behind the things that injure man there is no purpose, thought, or plan. We waste no time in useless dread, in trembling fear; the present lives, the past is dead, and we are here, all welcome guests at life’s great feast – we need no help from ghost or priest. Our life is joyous, jocund, free – not one a slave who bends in fear the trembling knee, and seeks to save a coward soul from future pain; not one will cringe or crawl for gain. The jeweled cup of love we drain, and friendship’s wine now swiftly flows in every vein with warmth divine. And so we love and hope and dream that in death’s sky there is a gleam. We walk according to our light, pursue the path that leads to honor’s stainless height, careless of wrath or curse of God, or priestly spite, longing to know and do the right. We love our fellow-man, our kind, wife, child, and friend. To phantoms we are deaf and blind, but we extend the helping hand to the distressed; by lifting others we are blessed. Love’s sacred flame within the heart and friendship’s glow; while all the miracles of art their wealth bestow upon the thrilled and joyous brain, and present raptures banish pain. We love no phantoms of the skies, but living flesh, with passion’s soft and soulful eyes, lips warm and fresh, and cheeks with health’s red flag unfurled, the breathing Angels of this world. The hands that help are better far than lips that pray. Love is the ever gleaming star that leads the way, that shines, not on vague worlds of bliss, but on a paradise in this. We do not pray, or weep, or wail; we have no dread, no fear to pass beyond the veil that hides the dead. And yet we question, dream, and guess, but knowledge we do not possess. We ask, yet nothing seems to know; we cry in vain. There is no “master of the show” who will explain, or from the future tear the mask; and yet we dream, and still we ask is there beyond the silent night an endless day; is death a door that leads to light? We cannot say. The tongueless secret locked in fate we do not know. We hope and wait. (from his lecture About The Holy Bible) devil, history, satan. Bookmark.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1691
__label__cc	0.6466	0.3534	Trump and Obama Meet, Trump Transition Plans Begin, Aaron Schock Being Indicted: P.M. Links Scott Shackford \| 11.10.2016 4:30 PM (Pat Benic/UPI/Newscom) Pat Benic/UPI/Newscom President-elect Donald Trump sat down with President Barack Obama at the White House for a meeting. The two pledged to work together, but they did not have the typical photo op with the first couples together. The incoming Trump administration now has a transition site organized online. Trump has invited British Prime Minister Theresa May for a visit. She, you may recall, came into power after the populist success of Brexit there. Former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) is being indicted by a federal jury for his spending habits while in office, his defense attorneys say. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced he will run for California's governor in 2018. That will put him in competition with former San Francisco mayor and current lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom. Bernie Sanders won't rule out running for president again in 2020. Russia may block access to LinkedIn for violating a rule that data collected on its citizens must be stored within the country. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily updates for more content. NEXT: Problem Prosecutors Lost Big on Election Night Scott Shackford is an associate editor at Reason. Show Comments (386) Fist of Etiquette November.10.2016 at 4:30 pm I say we boycott Reason until they fix the commenting on all the Trump articles. WHO’S WITH ME? bacon-magic You can’t fix something when you have tears in your eyes. Delicious tears. C. Anacreon I’d be with you if one of my comments would actually show up, so you’d know I’m on the team. Chipper Morning Wood OK, glad I am not the only one. Hopefully robot-loving KMW will dole out some funds and person-power to bring this website into the 21st century. CZmacure My comments have also not been showing up, including the comments where I call for reason to just friggen integrate with disqus, like everyone else does. IbrahimN God, no! I understand disqus can expand the libertarian message. However, those people are a special kind of special, though. I block the disqus elements with uBlock, all the time. Just takes to much time, to weave through the comments, finding anything intelligible. Rufus The Monocled They’re not all insane: http://bit.ly/2fGeSjg I 100% believe Bernie Sanders could have created a political revolution to beat Trump, but instead we’re getting Trump’s revolution. Uh, no. Yeah that’s what he was most wrong about. Not bad everywhere else. He gets a pass over that. Overall I appreciate it. Fuck Bernie Sanders. Lousy commie parasite. oh and “progressive libertarian” is a term I hotly contest the validity of. Unless we’re talking about Robby… Zero Sum Game I don’t understand how he supports Sanders and… then says that Trump’s supporters aren’t wrong about a lot of things that Sanders would have made worse. Scarecrow & WoodChipper Repair Interesting read, but he has one infallible proggie trait that just doesn’t go away: Meanwhile, the media, and social media kept everyone ignorant and isolated from differing opinions. They lied to us, manipulated us, and made us think the rest of the country agreed with us, when they didn’t. They used their position of authority to mislead us into believing in a false reality?in propaganda. Personal responsibility is not his strong suit….. GILMORE? Freddie DeBoer’s twitter feed has been full of some sweet tidbits (excluding his view that what the country really needs is full-blown socialism) He rips the “mainstream left” to shreds. Freddie ?@freddiedeboer 8h8 hours ago If you crawl deeper into the cocoon of ideas that work at Oberlin and on media Twitter and at the Park Slope food co-op you will never win. Chipwooder I’ve been reading his twitter feed too. For a guy deluded enough to be a socialist, he has the Dem party establishment pretty well pegged. John Titor Lenin talked shit about incompetent his fellow socialist groups all the time. Just because you’re able to analyze other groups’ issues doesn’t mean you’re able to analyze your own. Chia seeds don’t fill voters’ needs. Bill Dalasio Emma Watson Verified account ?@EmmaWatson Today I am going to deliver Maya Angelou books to the New York subway. Then I am going to fight even harder for all the things I believe in. Freddie ?@freddiedeboer Freddie Retweeted Emma Watson if only she had done this before the election, Clinton would have secured the old guard union vote in the Rust Belt Slumbrew Isn’t she a Brit? Get the fuck out of here with that nonsense, girl – go fuck up your own country. I hasten to add – feel free to bring that nonsense if you want to become a citizen. It’ll still be useless nonsense, but useless nonsense is your God-given right as a ‘murican! /waves flag, shoots off pistols Maybe if she had made the bj offer like Madonna. Holger da Dane WTF is a “progressive libertarian”? A progressive in my experience. I just had a run in with a friend who claimed as such. Long on the progressive, short on the libertarian. Please get your friend to write up or record an explanation of what they think a “progressive” AND a “libertarian” is.. It will be hilarious 🙂 Please punch your friend in the dick/deliver falcon punch post-haste. Sir Digby Chicken Caesar Apparently, someone who thinks liberty comes from being told what to do, at the barrel of a gun. tarran Oh, you mean a Giuliani supporter! for example Eric Dondero! You know, I’ve heard the name for years around here, and have no clue as to who he is. Careful Ser Digby, if he hears you insulting his honor by saying he’s not one of the most famous libertarian activists in the U.S. he might give you his cell phone number and challenge you to a fist fight. Oooohh! Sounds like a winner an asshole. Earache Dildero was a noisome war-loving turd who used to troll here. Like a lot of trolls, he claimed to be severely Libertarian. More Libertarian than you could ever hope to be. To Dildero, Libertarian meant bombing the shit out of people and considering Giuliani to be a serious intellectual statesman. End Child Unemployment Donderrrrrooooooooooooooo Swiss Servator DONDEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Enough About Palin A Progressive who smokes pot. toolkien A person who believes people will be free to do as they please once their housing, utilities, education, food, medical care, transportation, and employment is all “free” and doled out by government. Which pretty much leaves the TV remote and what station to have on. Of course, not being smart or understand finite resources, they think all the former listed “services” comprise maybe 20% of peoples lives and they will be free to dance and frolic about as they like the other 80%. They don’t ever comprehend that such a system is what it was like behind the Iron Curtain, or what it was like to live under serfdom. David Brin is of this type. I exchanged some notes with him some time ago. It was not a productive process. Adans smith Sorry,don’t have time. I’m still thinking up chicken puns. Bobarian (Would Chip Her) Don’t know if anyone has seen this? Trump’s first 100? There’s some good stuff on here… Just the first 6 would be pretty amazing: FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress; * SECOND, a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health); * THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated; * FOURTH, a 5 year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service; * FIFTH, a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government; * SIXTH, a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections. Get To Da Chippah How does a federal law banning lobbying square with the First Amendment? See Double You It doesn’t ban all lobbying. But even so, you’re correct that there would be a First Amendment issue just waiting to be adjudicated. Agreed. Reynold’s revolving door surtax instead? Lachowsky Holy shit the second would be a great start. THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated; Fuck. I proposed this exact idea years ago but couldn’t get too many people to engage me on the idea. Consolidate the law books. Sweep out dead laws that only tempt prosecutors to revive them and let them walk among us as zombies, wrecking lives before finally being double-tapped by the Supreme Court. My idea included a caveat not here: most laws requiring appropriations have a mandatory sunset clause. The point being that destroying a terrible law or agency is often political suicide, even if it’s against everything you stand for. Letting one expire, well that is more palatable to people. The biggest reason is also to keep the fuckers in Congress constantly on the look-out for horrid laws (and actually know what is on the books) and keep them busy considering whether the laws we have need to stay or need to go. If it sounds like busy work, that’s because it is, and the more busy work you give the kids during the summer (mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, etc.), the less trouble those little shits can get up to. horrid laws “Ha ha ha! Your oxymoron is puny, and, laughable!” /U.S. Federal Government Me and a buddy came up with the idea that every law had to be voted on whether or not to keep every year. Individually. It would keep the congresscritters so busy they would have to vote not to keep 95% just to get their work load down to managable. And today we’ll be voting on the 2016 All Laws Are Good Omnibus bill, reinstating whatever we already have going on… Omnibus appropriations bills just need to be outlawed altogether. An end to “The Great Trough” and the justification that “OMG, THE WHOLE GOVERNMENT WILL SHUT DOWN IF THE OTHER SIDE DOESN’T STOP OBSTRUCTING US!” That’s one reason to allow everyone covered by a law to force a jury trial on whether it is defective for being vague, inconsistent, unclear, etc, and if found so, it is voided in its entirety. No appeals, because an appeal merely confirms the law was too confusing to understand by 12 ordinary people. It is vital to void defective laws entirely, to prevent this kind of omnibus renewal. It is also important to not let the jury rewrite the defective parts, becaude that is for legislators only. Lord Rollingpin FOURTH, a 5 year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service; Glenn Reynolds smiles, close enough to his revolving door tax. It’s better than it was. LOL, that was a reply to the first comment of the thread! …but they did not have the typical photo op with the first couples together. Too much grabbing temptation. LEt me guess, Melania was repulsed by Biden lying in wait in the corridor. “Hey baby, wanna see how many pushups i can do?” Brett L Nah. He was “working” on the Trans Am with his shirt off, just revving the engine over and over again. I thought the Trans got towed, and he was still trying to figure out how to steal it from the impound yard. BYODB There really needs to be an entire Netflix miniseries based solely on the premise of Biden being exactly what the commenters here paint him to be. It would be one of the most entertaining things on television, in my opinion. I’d sign up for Netflix just for that. TBF, I think maybe The Onion started it? Thanks, those are great. More likely the wookie stare down was too much for her Slavic sensibilities. But I bet Obama hugged her. “I bet Obama hugged her.” They’re real, and they’re fabulous! jack sprat Biden got the go ahead to grab her by the… Injun, as in from India Horns? Like Shock G said “in the biscuits”? +1 “Give me the helmet, and I’ll be the stunt man” He once got busy in a Burger King bathroom, you know I will never cease to be amazed at a person with your nick and apparent musical taste posting at reason.com… I”m sure she knows much too well what happens in the back seats of Pontiac Trans-Ams. Jerry on the sea I can only hope Putin will send Trump a female Siberian tiger to serve as official White House pet. These euphemisms for sexual abuse of women are really out of hand. I’m still guessing that Chris Christie will end up as the official White House pet, living in a sumptuous doghouse on the South Lawn. I actually do wonder about this. Which woman didn’t want to meet the other one? You assume it was only one. Try posting this on Derpbook. $5 says you will have your language policed and your attitude corrected. (shriek!) “You’re sexist for saying woman are like that.” I don’t have a FaceSpace, thank goodness, because that does sound like a bet I’d lose. Riven, you can be sure there was no potential threesome discussion. Not even the devil kind. Too much grabbing temptation The Obamas were worried Trump would reach for one of his customary grabs only to find himself firmly gripping Michele’s fabled penis. His hands are too small! Jesus, that’s bigger than mine! I thought liberals had an aversion to packing heat! …followed by the Crocodile Dundee treatment? SugarFree said it. It is known. President-elect Donald Trump sat down with President Barack Obama at the White House for a meeting. Welcoming a political neophyte with a legion of mindless followers? Now Obama knows how Bush felt. PurityDiluting The media has started playing up the “political neophyte” angle. Schadenfreude is beginning to turn into ah just get over it already Mr Drew Agreed. I spent a second day doing basically nothing but drinking proggy tears online and now that I’m close to sated, I’m finding myself getting annoyed again. Weird. I wasn’t the only one. I can’t believe how delicious they were. It was like wandering in the desert and finding that the oasis I thought I saw wasn’t a mirage after all. It’s a shitty little shanty town and the inhabitants suck ass. Time to walk the desert again. A libertarian’s work criticizing this bullshit duopoly is never done. Oooh, burn! TRUTH BOMB TIME Police: UL-Lafayette student made up story of being beaten, robbed of wallet and hijab A University of Louisiana at Lafayette student who told police she was beaten and subjected to ethnic slurs by two men [one of whom wearing a Trump hat!] who then robbed her wallet and took her hijab has admitted making up the story, Lafayette Police said Thursday. I believe the hat to be capable of anything. Honor trumps truth. What about honor killings? Muslims are still into that, aren’t they? Rhywun She didn’t even wait to ruin two innocent people’s lives first? Piker. A lurid story of a minority being physically attacked by evil white men on a college campus turned out to be a complete fabrication? Color me shocked. Douchey defeats Trumpman, Jr. “Grab its motherfucking pussy.” Reuters is still running that story sans any update I also like how the (typical) SPLC source cites the ‘similar wave of attacks’ post brexit Mark Potok, senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center civil rights advocacy group, said he had not seen such a rash of hate crimes in the United States since Barack Obama was elected president in 2008. A similar wave also occurred when Great Britain voted in June to leave the European Union, Potok said. That “similar wave” was also pretty much entirely contrived out of thin air. It was based on a report (spoonfed to the police, then demanding a statement from police) that said that “Online Harassment had risen dramatically…”… ….from a website which had just been set-up asking people to self-report their online harassment. Its a tissue-thin M.O. by the left = activist generate bullshit statistics, feed bullshit statistic to someone in power, get that person to quote bullshit stat to news media, news media reports Person of Authority’s statement as secondary-confirmation of fact. Similar (likely): Maple Grove students, principal combat racist graffiti with words of love “Be about love,” Becker said. “I love you all very deeply.” Uh, someone better keep an eye on this principal. Former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) is being indicted by a federal jury for his spending habits while in office… Will he decorate his cell like Downtown Abbey? grrizzly It’s Downton Abbey. In prison it’s downtown abbey. If you know what I mean. Rape, is what I’m talking about. Prison rape. I think you blew it. you blew it. But it saved him from being ass-raped… for a little while. my work colleagues are wondering (once again) what is wrong with me, since I just spit out water laughing. I was told the term is “pound town”. “We get caught laundering money, we’re not going to white-collar resort prison. No, no, no. We’re going to federal POUND ME IN THE ASS prison.” Charles Easterly sends Switzy a printer to do with as he chooses Back up in your ass with the resurrection. Now, the joke comes full circle. /not a eupemism +1 Where all the lights are bright Trump has invited British Prime Minister Theresa May for a visit. She’ll be comped at the White House casino. TheZeitgeist Q will have to drum up titanium grab-proof undergarments for Theresa’s big meetup. Talk about confused over what to wear! +1 ejector seat pad There’s a joke here about the Chinese ambassador and a finger trap… Racist? Ready for a heaping of Canada smug? Well, too bad: Justin Trudeau may see purpose in the time of Trump In Canada, of course, we have long defined ourselves by how we seem to differ from Americans. And however lazy that method of measurement might have been in the past, it might be justified now, at least as a motivation. Whatever Canada’s faults, however it has failed in the past, there is much to be said for standing in opposition to what now seems to dominate American politics, not with self-satisfaction but with a renewed and newly urgent commitment to the plurality, community, benevolence and reason that is now lacking in the United States. Fuck. Right. Off. Eh. Florida Hipster You know what I like about being an American? Not giving a fuck what the rest of the world thinks/does. I like the cut of your gib Not that you care! gib? jib* Sailor, not pedant. Well, not _this_ time. Landlubbers. So like, that person’s shirt claims “Captain Pedantic Pants” and it’s, like, um, a shirt . Hello? Like, so am I the only one who cares about what “Pedantic” means anymore? Not okay. Or should I say “Knot Okay” to be understood anymore? I. Kant. Even. (That was slightly enjoyable) She likes my giblets. Your inner gamer is showing. One of my co-workers wasn’t exactly for Hillary, but the day after the election she said, “I’m just worried about what the rest of the world thinks about us today.” Fuck that noise. If that’s a factor, I want to vote for the most embarrassing person there ever was. I’m already calling for a Vanilla Ice/June Shannon ticket in 2020. Flavor Flave/Lindsay Lohan. We’re not American! But Enough About Me Man, when a douchebag like Trudeau starts speaking for all of us, I really hate my country. Even though it’s not my country’s fault. Well, okay, it is my country’s fault (way too many people voted for The Hair That Walks Like A Man?), but there’s at least some comforting signs of buyer’s remorse setting in . . . yet another dave No it’s Ontario and Quebec’s fault… just sayin Trudeau doesn’t speak for me. Never has and never will. But I’m not going to protest or scream like a shrill little dipshit about it either like we’re seeing with idiot SJWs and progs about Trump. You let Red Green do your talking? dschwar “I’m pulling for you. We’re all in this together.” In Canada, of course, we have long defined ourselves by how we seem to differ from Americans. And there’s the reflexive cultural insecurity that just shows how much we’ve decayed as a nation since the 19th century. This man’s father declared martial law over a kidnapping. RICHMOND, VA: Anti-Trump thugs block interstate, vandalize Republican headquarters and public monuments, attach news cameraman. They are apparently massing for further protests tonight; ironic that Trump did not win in Virginia. VCU students. Probably, yes. BTW, for non East Coast folks, I-95 which they blocked last night is the major North South interstate for the East Coast. Lee Genes Damn kids were slowing down the cocaine flow to NYC “your vote was a hate crime.” So, progressive college student is NOT a fan of universal suffrage. Good to know. Sure, now they discover Bastiat. Against you? Probably. If I had voted, I probably would have voted so as to piss off the tagger. All these shenanigans will only harden the hearts of those voted for Trump. I’m expecting Trump to get re-elected in 2020 if this continues. November 1: “You must accept the election result, otherwise you are anti-democracy!” November 9:”NOT MY PRESIDENT!!!!!!” I was of half a mind to follow Deblasio around and shout “Not my mayor!” at him but then I remembered I’m not six years old. and I have to go downtown tonight for work. God help any of these fucks if they stand between me and tucking my kids in at bedtime. Hopefully, they’ll have quick reflexes. I’m hoping they don’t. Something has to thin out their ranks. install a snow plow on the front of your vehicle. They will know you mean business Something like this would work wonders. It’s called a cow catcher. Kinda fitting, because SJWs. Bernie Sanders won’t rule out running for president again in 2020. Methinks the simple calculus of lifespan might have other ideas. Larry David can stand in for him. 4 years ain’t long. That’s just a couple of bread lines away. Shirley Knott He would be a much more acceptable candidate if he were a vegetable. They could set him up like Lenin. Keep all the proggies busy in a line waiting to see his preserved corpse. Just enjoy your vacation home Bernie. Rachel Maddow slams 3rd-party voters The comments, oh the comments. They look like the H&R commentariat went on a field trip disguised as Bernie Bots It’s called Poe’s LAW, not Poe’s Suggestion. AlmightyJB She’s sn idiot “If you vote for somebody who can’t win for president, it means that you don’t care who wins for president.” That is possibly the stupidest meme of the whole goddamn election. Is it so stupid that its origins are more “evil” than “stupid”. She is an evil person. In a way, she’s not wrong. I didn’t care who became President, and that’s 50% the fault of the Democrat party. So, what, I gotta vote for a person I fucking loathe? Oh, wait, no I don’t. There’s a third party and Hillary did nothing to earn my vote. In fact, she did the opposite of what I would have wanted on all issues. So, yeah, she can go sell crazy someplace else. We’re all stocked up here. Chip Woodier Didn’t she just vote for somebody that couldn’t win for president? I had a similar thought. Ergo, a vote for Hillary meant you didn’t care who won, since she couldn’t win. And yet a Rhodes Scholar she was. Unreconstructed (Sans Flag) Wait…WTF is a squirrel? I knew there was something about that guy I didn’t like! I just had to turn on her show last evening to see what she’d be like. It was more amazing than I could have imagined. Her face looked like she was just told she had a week to live. I didn’t see it, but I sort of imagined it was like when Lydia found out Walter White had poisoned her. BakedPenguin If Lydia was played by a homely actress with no hair. deepspeed I held a mason jar up to the tv just in case the tears turned digital. What about poor Comey? Doesn’t he rate at least some ire? I got sucked in for 15 minutes! Warning! It’s a derp whirlpool! Nothing makes me prouder than knowing that I piss off Rachel Maddow. What about the 45% of registered voters who didn’t vote? What about all the people of voting age who aren’t registered to vote? Another article from the same website: This Election Is Making People’s IBS Worse I don’t know why she’s so mad. I mean, I helped Obama win twice the same way I helped Trump win this time and she didn’t complain then. Nice , Chippah. They look like the H&R commentariat went on a field trip disguised as Bernie Bots. Thank you for the link, PD. I think you have a good point, It “Berns” there (and it seems to me that several of the commentators make salient points).. Dick N. Bimbose (n?e Cooper) Why do all of these people assume that HRC would’ve received those votes and not Trump? That will put him in competition with former San Francisco mayor and current lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom. When will it be a northern California mayor’s turn? The Fusionist Let me check my calendar…hmmm, how about when hell freezes over, can I pencil you in then? Careful, the Cubs won the World Series after all. Gavin Newsom…that’s the bad guy from Silicon Valley, right? Consider the bulldog… Gavin Belson built a billion dollar company. Gavin Newsom hasn’t done jack-shit, other than look handsome and get people to vote for him (and, briefly, get a smokeshow to marry him – he promptly fucked that up, of course). Oh, and Newsom is also known for making the mistake of doing a long-form interview with Adam Carolla and assuming he’d be able to do his usual glib BS. Corolla tore into him pretty good. Wouldn’t surprise me if someone on Newsom’s staff got fired after that. I’ve had a couple of opportunities to meet Newsom through the years. He’s a stunningly stupid Brylcreem-haired pretty-boy who can’t do much more than be propped up in front of cameras and say what he’s been told to say. When I say unintelligent, I mean he’s dumb even for a politician. Like “won’t the island tip over?” dumb. That’s totally believable. He sounds exactly like a couple sales guys I know who are really pretty dull but have a semi-canned spiel they can throw out. Every pause Newsom makes when talking, I’m just picturing a spinning beach-ball icon – “Processing… processing… processing…” So… he’s a shoo-in for higher office? Trump needs to follow precedent and have podiums with the US Seal and “Office of the President Elect” on it. For the lulz. Everything he does should be for the lulz from hear on out. here Office of the President Elect Or contract with Viagara and have a podium for “Office of the President Erect”. For sh1ts and giggles. That's A Bingo! The man is too classy for that. “For the lulz” Ann Coulter as press secretary. Sheriff Joe to head Immigration And Customs Enforcement That would explode a few heads. I’m hoping for Milo Yiannopoulos as Press Secretary ? imagine the trolling in every press conference! To: Trshmnstr From: Hrod [C] I don’t know what to say about this link, except that it’s relevant. Milo as Press Secretary would be amazing. AFAICT, he’s as qualified as any other Press Secretary we’ve had. Who needs 23 brands of walkers when children are starving in this country? Unicorn Abattoir So you’re saying we should just get rid of the starving children? Quincy. I read it as 23 brands of wankers. 23 brands of wankers? That’s the leadership of the Democrat Party. I refuse to call them the Democratic Party. It took me a while to realize that wasn’t a Walking Dead joke. they did not have the typical photo op with the first couples together. SEE?! THIS is why Hillary lost! Don’t blame Comey “Too bad for Democrats there are zero electoral votes in the State of Denial” I see that that Trump is hiring. Can I put in my contract that I can’t be fired unless Trump personally looks me in the eyes and says “You’re fired”? Canada PM says ready to renegotiate NAFTA with Trump Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he is willing to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which US President-elect Donald Trump has said he wants to change or scrap. For all of the talk about Trump as a great, negotiator, he doesn’t have a good track record. He usually pays above-top dollar for poor quality assets. I have a feeling Canada will get the good end of the deal. Trump won’t negotiate personally with Trudeau anyways. He’s more likely to give Trudeau a head noogie and a wedgie in public. There will only be one Alpha Male in that particular meet-up. Trump’ll save his personal negotiations for countries he thinks are important, like Russia. Trump is gonna clean his clock. Harper would have been more credible. Trudeau I don’t have any faith in. And there it is. Get ready to desperately lick Trump’s boots for a good deal Zoolander. For the country you love so much. Is this pussy-grabbing meme eternal? Because I’m fucking sick of it already. Eternal Blue Sky Sounds like SOMEONE got grabbed in the pussy. You are just feeling left out. Don’t worry, Trump will say “grab them by the cock” sooner or later. No, that’ll be Melania. Or, God Willing, Ivanka. (Be still, my beating heart . . . ) Meh. Neither will Angela Davis. Voting 3rd party is a good way to let marginialized groups know that your abstract principles are more important than their very real lives. The lack of self-awareness is stunning. Also, bonus points for mask slippage. Yes. Who wants to act on their conscience? So now I’m supposed to vote on behalf of marginalized groups? To not do so is racist you white privilege fuck-stain. Juvenile Bluster I really would like to thank the left for continuing to make this so entertaining that I don’t have to concentrate on the fact that Donald Trump will be our next president. Invisible Finger I voted for Trump because lefty butthurt entertainment. Even though I kinda wanted Dems to own the coming economic crash/bubble burst. The narrative has already placed the blame for the economy on Bush. ^This, and I thought that there would be no honeymoon at all this time. These few days of bliss will be bookmarked ‘So is anything in here gold-plated? Anything at all?’ “What a dump! Amirite?” Moving into the white house has to be a downgrade for Trump, right? I expect there will be some, ahem, renovations. Trump knowing he will probably bulldoze the place and replace it with the White Tower. The gold leaf on the Ionic columns is going to be spectacular. Presidents get to redecorate the Oval Office to their liking. It’s going to be craptastic. gaoxiaen Get that Georgia O’Keeffe painting, but add a little red. At 4AM Eastern election night, Megyn Kelly on Fox News made what was probably one of her best-ever lines: “He’s probably going to be the first President for whom moving into the White House is a downgrade.” So he’ll be the first to understand how truly fucked up Washington is. Third, after Washington and Kennedy. I think the Bushes had a little money invested in their regular homes too. She stole that from Donald, Jr. or Eric I believe. Is that Secretary Clinton’s portrait? Hang that in the john over the toilet. The incoming administration gets to redecorate the oval office. Visualize that for a second. Not too difficult http://www.austinlandingstrip……round1.jpg ++AWSE! Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced he will run for California’s governor in 2018. That will put him in competition with former San Francisco mayor and current lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom. Which one’s the Republican again? Top Two is Tyranny. Gavin’s kinda deluded competing for Hispanic slot on the Politburo. Mazakon Hillary Supporters Sign Petition to Overturn Election Results A petition started by a man in North Carolina to persuade the Electoral College to elect Hillary Clinton as president is gaining traction on the internet ? more than 352,000 people have signed the Change.org petition since it was created Wednesday night. The petition asks members of the Electoral college to vote for Hillary Clinton because she won the popular vote and expresses that President-elect Donald Trump is unfit to serve. First protests over a democratic result, now a petition to overturn the result, starting to sense a pattern. “This election is rigged, rigged I tell you!” “I’m shocked, SHOCKED, to find that this election is rigged!” “Your electoral votes sir.” A bit of gobbledygook suggests that they shouldn’t get their hopes up Since 1887, 3 U.S.C. 15 sets the method for objections to electoral votes. During the Joint Session, Members of Congress may object to individual electoral votes or to state returns as a whole. An objection must be declared in writing and signed by at least one Representative and one Senator. In the case of an objection, the Joint Session recesses and each chamber considers the objection separately in a session which cannot last more than two hours with each Member speaking for no more than five minutes. After each house votes on whether or not to accept the objection, the Joint Session reconvenes and both chambers disclose their decisions. If they agree to the objection, the votes in question are not counted. If either chamber does not agree with the objection, the votes are counted.” DEMOCRACY PROGRESSIVE STYLE! VOTE OUR WAY OR ELSE! As I’ve experienced firsthand, Change.org is human excrement. Just had a friend and associate with whom I work very closely put this on Facebook: I am not an active facebook user, (most, if not all of you already know this). But just because I am not active, does not mean I do have a side. During this very raw and emotional time for our country, I need to clarify where I stand so there’s no confusion: I do not support bigotry. I do not support bullying. I do not support sexism. I do not support racism. I do not support xenophobia. I do not support homophobia. I do not support hate. If you or the candidate you supported, is aligned with any/ALL of the ideals listed above, then I can no longer be associated with you (even if it’s only Facebook). A leading, first-world society has no place for hate, in any form. And I strongly suggest, for those of you who agree we me, make it known that hate has no place in your lives either. So, if I voted for Johnson, am I “associateable” or not? Unfortunately, as a Johnson supporter, you weren’t even for public association. …freedom of association…. (dammit) So, your associate isn’t going to have many people to talk to after she unfriends all the Trump and Clinton voters. Ha! Assumed it was a she … it’s a he. So brave. Against bigotry and hate. Glad he told us, or we would have known he wasn’t any of those things. You should ask him. 😉 And then enjoy the angry spinning. Sounds like he DOES support socialism. Frightening how many people think racism is a worse evil than socialism. Racism means I won’t associate with you because of your race, socialism means I want you dead for any reason I can dream up. Reply and post this video and tell him that if he supports the warmongering criminal that supports this war, then he needs to watch this video and then shove his sanctimony and moral superiority up his ass because you voted for the anti-war candidate. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i…..comments=1 How to not make friends, but influence them. You ARE a Prog (MJG) I mean, it sounds like you have a lot of hate. I wanted to start chanting “Hate, hate, hate,” by the end of that screed. HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I’VE COME TO HATE YOU SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX. IF THE WORD HATE WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR HUMANS AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT. FOR YOU. HATE. HATE. Nephilium You’ve got to step up your hate game. And your friend if he hates haters. An Oceanside man who died of natural causes in September was elected to office in the coastal San Diego County city more than a month later, officials confirmed Wednesday. He had jolly well better serve out his term. That’s funny, normally it’s just the voters who are the zombies. +1 Election at Bernie’s Dr. Fronkensteen Is it just me or did anyone else think the Democrats were insulting a large part of the electorate? The Democrats in referring to the Trump voters as homophobic, misogynistic, and racist didn’t have anyone jumping up and down saying the name callers were being offensive. So the Democrats didn’t notice what they were doing. The Trumpkins just took it, got offended, and then voted. Given the response of the Democrats to the election I wonder if they ever will understand how it doesn’t help them and how much is this going to hurt them in the future. They won’t understand for a long time, if ever. Emoting has been raised to a higher platform than logic. Social signaling has taken over. Basket of deplorables. I think the must insulting part was when Clinton asked Lady Gaga to perform on stage. “See this little woman dance, now vote for me you bastards!!” She wore Nazi-inspired clothing during that performance. It was a last-ditch effort to grab the Trump vote. I’ve been pointing out to my devastated lefty friends, if you call wide swaths of people uneducated racist bigot slobs, why are you surprised when they don’t vote to support your side? For some reason this has just made them madder and do even more name-calling. Cognitive dissonance. The Trumpkins just took it, got offended, and then voted. And quite possibly lied to pollsters, because you know you will be demonized if you say you support Trump. Hence our “Dewey beats Truman” moment. I posted a much glibber version of this in reply to a friend of mine on MFP. Basically, “Go ahead and make your political opponents less than people. See how well that works for you. Hillary certainly did. Lol.” Lost a friend over that and I don’t regret it Since this seems to be frighteningly common lately, I may as well say it once. That person was never your friend. JUDY WOODRUFF: Steve Deace, you brought up the whole disconnect point. We have strived, I think, in newsrooms for years to become, as we like to put it, more like America, to be more diverse. But I hear you saying we have missed a whole chunk of the country in our effort to be diverse. STEVE DEACE: I don’t think there is any question about this. But how many people in the newsroom here right now at PBS, how many that work here, how many are pro-life? How many of them go to church or to mass once a week? How many of them voted for Trump? There is a huge lack of ideological and cultural diversity in our newsrooms. You know, what Margaret said about some of the things Trump said, that’s why I was #NeverTrump. I was disturbed by those things. But you know what also disturbed me? To hear Hillary Clinton say that I am her quote “enemy,” the comments that were made in the previous segment from the WikiLeaks e-mails calling Christians backwards, the fact that those of us who think that we shouldn’t have men in bathrooms next to our young daughters are called bigots, when we used to just call them parents. Those things create a backlash as well. So, I don’t fault the media for thinking that Trump couldn’t get elected because of his incendiary comments. The fault, though, comes in the fact that an equal light was not shed on Hillary’s incendiary comments and the backlash that created against her, which we saw in the vote total last night. Nope, they won’t learn. They’ll just fade into obscurity, cursing everyone who disagrees with them. And now, the threats (via derpbook, typos reproduced from original): Dear white friends, Please be careful in what you choose to post in the days, weeks, months or even years to come about how we got to a Trump presidency. As a general rule, let’s just say it’s not in your interest to speak about the racial dynamics of this as it relates to people of color AT ALL. Seriously. Exit poll after exit poll show that the majority of white voters voted fro Turmp… I’ve resisted unfriending anyone because of recent events, but I think it’s time. Tonio, just post whatever the heck you want and tell them you’re trans-racial black like Rachel Dolezal and Shaun King. The snowflakes can deal with it. Trump got a lower percentage of the white vote than Romney. He got a higher percentage of the black and hispanic ote than Romney. Demographics is destiny, except when it isn’t. Trump got a MUCH lower percentage of the white vote, than President Obama (or Mrs. Clinton) got of the black vote. Seriously, fuck these people with rusty farm implements. Apatheist ?_?? Why, I’m enjoying mining the salt. Once I’m tired of that I’ll back to not logging in. Atanarjuat Not sure if this has been posted yet. The Simpsons had an eerily accurate depiction of a Trump grand entrance. That’s a little too accurate. The ceiling. The camera angle. Everything is pretty much spot on. Spooky. Spooky…and a hoax. “Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced ….. in competition with former San Francisco mayor and current lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom.” There is likely a political-economic plenism going on here. That is, nature abhors a vacuum. With the corrupt disintegration of the Californian repubes as a party to a hughhewitt-level of relevance, there is likely to arise some organized factional divisions elsewhere to manage and profit off of fights between competing interests. Geography is usually correlated at least in part with interests, and it would be easy to see the growth of formal groups roughly representing the north and south of the state. How much money did Clinton raise? What the hell did she spend it on? Consultants? Remember that Jeb blew through 10 million dollars to achieve exactly, nothing. How Jeb Bush Spent $130 Million Running for President With Nothing to Show for It http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02……html?_r=0 Didn’t Even Take 24 Hours for Hate Crime Hoaxes to Start Two men repeatedly punched and yelled racial slurs at a middle eastern University of Louisiana at Lafayette student Wednesday before stealing her wallet and hijab head covering, according to an initial police report of the incident. A University of Louisiana at Lafayette student who told police she was beaten and subjected to ethnic slurs by two men who then robbed her wallet and took her hijab has admitted making up the story, Lafayette Police said Thursday. Domestic Dissident they did not have the typical photo op with the first couples together Poor Barack. Having Melania a in major photo op sitting next to the disgusting first Wookie with the big fat ass is more than just a little embarrassing and emasculating. BRAAAAAAAAAAAAINS Bernie doesn’t grasp entropy is a capitalist. He will. I’m a little confused by the protests. Barring any appearances of impropriety, is it normal for supporters of the losing team to take to the streets in protest after losing? Isn’t the losing side supposed to just exit the arena in exasperation or anger and get together to grumble about the play calling, lack of leadership, need for a better player at a certain position, etc? And aren’t protests supposed to have demands or a desired outcome or something? Are there people marching around with signs that say things like “Reality Should Bend to My Preferences” and “Do Over”? Exit question: Are some of the protesters the same people who ginned up within themselves a dose of fake outrage over Trump’s answer in the last debate to the question about accepting the results of the election? Sure it’s normal. Don’t you remember all the violent right-wing protests after Obama’s wins in 2008 and 2012? If it were Trump supporters protesting, no matter how peacefully, we would hear Kristallnacht 24/7 from the media. Hell, I’m surprised most of the media personalities aren’t out there personally leading the protests. (and not just for the story) I think we can describe these people by your handle, JB. The protesters are merely trying to reinforce Trump voters’ decision by behaving like petulant crybabies. How Hillary Clinton’s white voters melted away Havent read article. Presume its entirely wrong. I think the real answer is closer to “They were never really that into you” The headline made me think of this ‘Hey,where are duh white women” Microaggressor Turns out, having supporters that wish extinction upon your race isn’t a great way to win their favor. Who knew? Better think twice before seeking refuge from Trump in Sweden. Sounds like paradise except for all the socialists. But I love snow! After the global warming that’s going to happen after Trump singlehandedly dismantles the EPA and puts all the carbon back in the atmosphere, Sweden will be snow free. Speaking of Wookies, one of the biggest pluses to the Trump administration will be to have an actual lady as the First Lady once again. No more fat-assed pigs hectoring all the rest of us to eat more arugula while she shoves one giant double-scoop ice cream cone after another after another down her gullet on Martha’s Vineyard. Unfortunately I fear she’s going to be the Nancy Reagan-type when it comes to hectoring. I’d rather her be like Barbara Bush. Every First Lady has an issue. What should Melania’s be? Banging Libertarians stands and salutes* I think she said bullying. Ken Shultz Instead of trying to get children to eat vegetables and exercise, maybe Melania will try to dress them properly. No, honey, blue and green does not go together. Gilmore can consult. The Tomorrow People taught me this. The progs are planning a #NOTMYPRESIDENT “rally” in DC on Jan 20 (Inaguration Day). This is going to be delicious. It’s all part of their credo of diversity and inclusiveness. #NOTMYSUGARDADDY I wonder if Obama will attend! 😉 spit-take…snorts, then applauds Obama rushing to get those boondoggles in before the party’s over WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration took action Thursday to boost development of solar and wind energy on public lands, part of President Barack Obama’s strategy to develop cleaner domestic energy and reduce emissions blamed for global warming. A final rule announced by the Interior Department would create a new leasing program on public lands and encourage development in areas where it would have fewer effects on the environment. The rule came a little more than two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, and a new Republican administration could reconsider the rule or even scrap it. The Interior Department said the rule would encourage renewable energy on the nation’s vast swaths of public lands while generating millions of dollars in revenue. Solar Energy “investment”, in 1 picture “Thanks Obama” Do you remember when the Progs used to screech about any commercial development whatsoever on public lands? They used to bitch and whine about campers. Derp-o-Matic 5000 ?Bernie Sanders won’t rule out running for president again in 2020. From beyond the grave, if necessary. “The two pledged to work together, but they did not have the typical photo op with the first couples together.” I think jokes about Michelle Obama not wanting to look like a Wookee standing next to Melania are entirely inappropriate. Hopefull buttplug, tulpa, cytotoxic remain missing in action for the next 4 years. tho i’m pretty sure tulpa was lurking and spitting on election night. I’m not sure why they come in the first place. There’s gotta be some kind of pathological dysfunction there, right? Why would you? Same thing with Tony. He couldn’t really think that he’s gonna find the one thing that makes us all realize that we’re wrong about not being unquestioning progressives, could he? Mary does it because she’s insane. She tried to get along here, got her feelings hurt when she was rejected, and now stalking people here gives her life purpose and meaning. Tulpa does it because he actually thinks he wins arguments. Cyto is the same. Both think of themselves as intellectual-powerhouses, and are angry others wont acknowledged it. PB does it because he’s bored. Tony, i have no idea. Tony is the progressive standard-bearer, putting his hands on everything, especially where they are unwanted. american socialist Boy, there’s a lot of butt slapping on this comment board. For the record, I’m a libertarian and I’m appalled at the prospect of a Trump presidency and all it portends for immigrants, people who want to get an abortion, and anyone that get arrested for a crime. Illocust american socialist…socialist…..literally exact opposite of libertarian. You guys sure showed those statists by ushering in the RP. Theeeerree GRREEAT! To whom specifically does “you guys” refer and to what specific actions does “ushering in” refer? That would refer to all these Trumpsters that show up on this website to tell us how terrible Obama is and by “ushering in” I mean voting for Republicans while calling yourself a libertarian when you really are supporting the same thing Rush Limbaugh has been saying for a hundred years now. Much like you socked it to the system, and showed the “beauty” of centralized planning, by voting for Stein? I’m not much on Tu Quoque arguments, but you pop up with shitty, straw-men arguments, and have the nerve to harangue us…Get the log out of your eye, first. And, because I want some record somewhere-most regulars around here had no delusions about getting a libertarian into the WH, and few thought a vote for Trump was anything more than a “fuck you” to proggies. You’re not libertarian and never once said a single thing that backs up your claim. I was curious and read some of the policy sections. Overall, I see a lot more good than bad. Repeal ACA and further deregulate health care Repeal Dodd-Frank Constitutional originalism (if you choose to believe it) “Lower, simpler, fairer, and pro-growth” tax reform Deregulation in general – “Temporary moratorium on all new regulation” (!) Energy deregulation, reversal of “climate change” policies, and reining in the EPA Half a trillion in “infrastructure” Trade restrictions (although not outright opposed to free trade; primarily acknowledges that labor regulation makes us less competitive) VA “reform” that doesn’t include the word privatize anywhere More defense spending Muh great wall (wonder if they’re going to build it underground to block all those drug smuggler’s tunnels) No wonder right-thinking libertarians hate the guy. A bold stroke for libertarianism! AmSoc, can you give me an estimate on how much the earth will heat up as a result of 4 years of Trump? Diane Reynolds (Paul.) Shows what you know, Microaggressor. Seattle had the warmest November 9th on record. It’s already happening. I still have to heat my house, though. I’m not satisfied. At the going rate about 0.06 oC. Can you tell me the great libertarian principle that prohibits one from asking ExxonMobil et.al. to clean their shit up? You presume CO2 is shit to be cleaned up, or that the clean up efforts themselves are worth the costs. So, I’m supposed to go uncompensated on my drought-stricken property in California because oil companies are allowed to profit at my expense? That’s the great thing about you guys… always looking out for your neighborly plutocrat. Perhaps you should demand compensation from the real perpetrator, the California government’s piss-poor water planning. Blame the government?!? AmSock??? Holy shot, don’t you know: The government can do no wrong! Where do you think he learned to move goal posts when arguing with us? Tornado35235gsg35423ttg3gt3g3g Who actually uses the oil products? For the most part it ain’t Exxon Everything in the Bad column looks fucking expensive. How are they going to pay for it? On facebook and other messageboards the theme today seems to be how peoples gay and muslim friends are afraid to leave the house. Mexican children are being bullied in school all of a sudden. Ive also seen the same picture of swastika graffiti with Trumps name next to it. They have lost it. I might even understand the Mexican concern, but why the gays? Trump has gone out of his way continually in the campaign to be supportive of the community, including during his nomination acceptance speech, and held a rainbow flag up during another speech. Holding up the rainbow flag was a signal that he was coming for them. Its ridiculous that they’ve basically become convinced of their own crazy lies. They’ve insisted that the Right is nothing but racists and homophobes. Now they’re terrified by their own delusions. Cyto November.10.2016 at 11:33 pm They are projection personified. I think it must come as a package with the collectivist mindset. They are fundamentally racist in their very philosophy, and many of them are filled with racial animus. Therefore they believe the same motivations exist in others. Melania may be the only first lady in history for whom moving into the White House is a step down. She’ll probably want to redecorate. Oh she can rough it for four years. Melania is probably wondering what happened to her life. She marries a rich TV personality and somehow ends up first lady of the US instead. Can California handle all this political diversity? So what’s everyone’s Christmas List of “Random Out Of Left Field Bullshit Trump Might Do”? I’m hoping for a Snowden pardon. Pardoning Snowden might cause Hillary’s head to explode. Even better if Trump decides to drop the bogus extradition attempts re: Julian Assange. Trump should do them both. Also fix your goddamn website Reason, or at least give us an update on what the hell is going on. Pretty please. Butts Wagner Red Russian Squirrels. DNC Staffer Screams At Donna Brazile For Helping Elect Donald Trump. Excellent. Let the hate flow through you. That is, without a doubt, the BEST thing to ever come from PuffHo. Pan Zagloba “You are part of the problem,” he continued, blaming Brazile for clearing the path for Trump’s victory by siding with Clinton early on. “You and your friends will die of old age and I’m going to die from climate change. You and your friends let this happen, which is going to cut 40 years off my life expectancy.” BWAHAHA, Stupid vs Evil! Go go, Stupid! Get angry! Delusional. These people terrify me. I’m so glad they won’t be in power (at least for now). “I can feel your anger.” /Palpatine creaming himself I think Trump is the elephant version of President Obama. He’s the tabula rasa on which they can scribble whatever they want him to do. We could actually end up pleasantly surprised. It’s unlikely, but I’m certain it will be less horrifying that a Clinton II administration would have been. Yep this is a post i made somewhere else Trump is basically a vulgar Obama. I think the vulgar part helped suppress his support a bit Both relatively clean or unknown slate with actual kind of charming personalities doing the everything is terrible so let’s make America great again!/hope change shtick Hillary was basically McCain (a robot only running on im not the other guy) Maybe you already posted it here once and forgot. I just realized something: you know what the worst part of a Trump victory is? Reason will go non-stop Trump coverage for at least four more years. *OK, obviously not the worst, but still. Trumpalumpadumpitydump. Trumpadumpitydump. You know “Dump Trump!” will be the unofficial Democrat slogan in 2020. Didn’t work in 2018, doubt it’ll work in 2020.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1704
__label__cc	0.730147	0.269853	Home / News / 2015 / ROSEMARY REFURBISHMENT WINS TOP AWARD ROSEMARY REFURBISHMENT WINS TOP AWARD The project, using Redland Rosemary Clay Classic tiles, is a shining example of the right product being used with skill and sensitivity. Shandwick is one of the most prestigious and architecturally important properties in the Troon area, dating back to 1906. When the roof was destroyed by fire it needed to be entirely rebuilt to faithfully recreate the original design. Finding the right roof tiles was not a problem: Rosemary Clay Classic tiles are used on most of the surrounding properties. For the contractor, D M Roofing and Roughcasting Ltd, the issue was how to accurately recreate the roof without any architects drawings to follow. The contractors worked from original photographs of the building combined with marks left on the remaining chimneys and skews to work out the roof pitches. It was a complicated job as every elevation included fabulous design including close mitred hips, sweeping valley gutters and different roof pitches. Because of the different pitches involved, the mitred hips had to be created using individually cut tiles for each hip section. Detailed and complex craftsmanship was required to ensure a consistent and visually appealing result. The success of the scheme is a great testament to the skill of the contractors. What makes this particularly satisfying for DM Roofing is that the tradesman in charge of the site had been one of the first apprentices trained by the company. The project won the Excellence In Roofing category of the NHIC Awards 2015, presented on 12th November 2015 by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Department of Energy & Climate Change. For more than forty years the NHIC has been established as the authoritative voice for the home improvement industry in the UK. The award programme, running since 1974, recognises true excellence in home improvement and renovation. The Shandwick refurbishment project was also shortlisted in the National Federation of Roofing Contractors awards programme earlier in 2015.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1706
__label__cc	0.609261	0.390739	The Islamic Corporation for The Insurance Of Investment And Export Credit (ICIEC) Find in IFN The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) is a member of the IDB Group. The driving ambition behind the creation of the ICIEC was to strengthen the economic relations between member countries of the OIC on the basis of Islamic Shariah. The ICIEC vision is to be recognized as the preferred enabler of trade and investment for sustainable economic development in member countries. Its mission is to facilitate trade and investment between member countries and the world through Shariah compliant risk mitigation tools. REDmoney Events designs, organizes and hosts industry-leading conferences, forums, roadshows and seminars focusing on the Islamic financial markets across a global, regional and national level. Islamic Finance News IFN Halal Finance UK Islamic Finance IFN Fintech Sukuk are going mainstream. The Debt Management Office, the Niger State and the Sokoto State have plans to tap th… https://t.co/474b7Ym7fS2 days ago RT @beehiveUAE: #MondayMotivation Read @IFN_news article focused on supporting small businesses' growth as the new decade begins, authored…2 days ago Privacy Policy: Products, company names, and logos mentioned in this site may be trademarks of their respective owners.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1707
__label__cc	0.639417	0.360583	RedwallsLegacy Redwall Library Curious Dreams Tinarandel Global Moderator last edited by OOC: An unfinished RP from Warriors of Redwall. Reserved for myself, Fernleaf, and Doggo. “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” – John Lennon. “Jared…Jared, wake up.” Jared held back before opening his eyes, trying to comprehend what was occurring around him and stirring in his bed timidly. Did he…just suddenly hear a voice? Was said voice asking that he wake up? Something about it seemed familiar. “Dad?” Jared’s eyes shot open. Sitting coolly on the windowsill, under the golden reflective sunlight, one leg lazily dangling off the side, and a bright smile on his face, was Dane Sandeye. His boy sat up straight in bed, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Dane appeared so real, yet there was something ethereal about him as well, an aura of warmth and an air of deep love. “What are you doing here, Dad?” Jared asked, moving out of bed. He opened a drawer in his bedside table to retrieve a shirt. “I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” Dane too hopped down from the windowsill, landing noiselessly on his feet on the ground. “Perhaps you are dreaming; perhaps not. That’s up to you, Jared. Be that as it may, it’s not without reason: I’m here because there’s something you need to know. A message that your brother wanted me to deliver to you.” Jared stretched his arms and yawned softly after slipping his shirt over his bare torso. He practically fell lovingly into his father’s arms, who reached up a paw to stroke his hair. Jared cherished the short moment before pulling away. “Dad, what gives? It’s still the afternoon. Couldn't this have waited until tonight?” Dane held his child tenderly by the shoulders as he looked him in the eyes. “Like I said, I’ve got a message for you.” “If it’s Ed’s message, why couldn’t he come tell me himself?” Dane was making for the bedroom door, again swinging it open without even the most minor of sounds. “He has his reasons; no point in arguing, Jared. Come on, we’ll talk outside. Don’t worry about Maddie, she’ll be all right. She can neither see nor hear us.” Jared, sensing no other alternative but to some degree defensive, followed his father out into the hallway. “All right, what’s this about?” Dane climbed up to another windowsill, a little above the floor where they could have some privacy. Looking down, he beckoned Jared to join him. The young squirrel did so without hesitation. Father and son hung their legs over the side, and Jared laid his tired head on the former’s shoulder. “Jared, odd things have been happening. You’re aware of the coming of the Long Patrol, yes?” “I know all about that.” Jared answered truthfully. “And the advancing vermin hordes on the Abbey?” “All accounted for and made known. The whole Abbey knows.” Dane put his arm over his youngster's shoulder. “Let me tell you something: whatever’s going on, it isn’t natural. The Long Patrol, the Vermin; they’re not here because they want to be, but on the grounds that they need to be. Something’s motivating them. Also, I think it’s most imperative that…you know who’s with them. Somebeast you and your sister know perfectly – somebeast who is seeking both of you from across the sea.” Jared jarred awake again, a sharp intake of breath escaping him. Dane’s eyes were all of a sudden turned greatly serious. There was no need for an exchange of words between the two again: they both knew full well what the conversation was pointing towards. “He’ll be coming for you,” Dane continued. “You must be ready when he does. Already, he’s making his way here from the Eastern Sea. Ed’s been watching his movements. He’s been to Maraul, without any luck finding you and your sister there. So his last resort is Redwall Abbey.” Jared shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “That…doesn’t make any sense at all!” “What doesn’t, my son?” “Maddie and I, we haven’t seen him for…well, years! Now he decides to hunt us again? And Ed couldn’t come and tell me himself?” Jared removed the arm draped over his back and stood up carefully on the windowsill. “He’s my brother, Dad! If there’s anyone I trust more than anybeast else, it’s him! Why send you? What’s with him not telling it to me straight from his own mouth?” “Jared, I understand you’re angry, but don’t blame me.” Dane calmly jumped to his feet as well. “You know Edoran better than the rest of us. He’s got his reasons; some things are just better kept secret. You have to remember, to recall, he’s done things like this before. It’s only natural.” “'Only natural'? What’s that supposed to mean?” His voice was cut off by the sounds of pawsteps on the stairs behind them. Dane looked over his shoulder and saw the figure of an indiscernible creature descending the long staircase. He turned his gaze back on Jared. “That’s my exit.” And without warning or conclusion, he disappeared in a short burst of white light. Jared tried grasping at the empty space where his father had been standing, but with no success. “Wait, Dad! Where’d you go? You haven’t told me everything! Where’s Ed?” Too late. Dane was gone. The figure had caught up to him, their interest no doubt piqued by hearing the Sandeye boy talking to himself, or with whom he had possibly been speaking. “Jared? Right?” came a voice. The abbey was big, but not so much that beasts couldn't know each other in passing. Barley steps groggily down the stairs, tiredness clear in his eyes, as he buttons his leather jerkin around his tan underbelly. The mouse struggles with the last button. Barley was hardly a healthy beast before being introduced to Redwall food. With a sigh, the obese brown mouse just leaves the button hanging loose, stepping close to the squirrel. "What's got you up so early, and you haven't seen a grey fieldmouse about have you?" Barley and his brother Oatis were hardly Redwall beasts, more like extended visitors who just happened to work for their keep. Fernleaf last edited by Thump, thump, clack, clack. The sound of heavy footpaws together with the clack of a cane approaches. Mother Snowpaw, the Redwall Guardian, who watches over the Dibbuns, approached. "Jared? What is up?" she said. "You look like you've seen a ghost!" Jared was surprised by the sudden appearances of his kindred Abbeydwellers. At the sounds of Mother Snowpaw’s cane, the Sandeye boy swung his legs over the side of the windowsill and looked down at the Guardian Badger. A stunned pale look came across his face. “A ghost? Is that what you said?” Jared thoroughly considered this for a brief second, then answered, “Yes, yes, I…did indeed see a ghost. Whether or not it was a true ghost is a mystery to me.” He shook his head in dismay and confusion. “Sorry, I’m just…so out of focus right now. I can’t understand what my own eyes just witnessed.” The squirrel pushed himself down from the window to the ground, landing at the foot of the staircase. He set his eyes upon Barley. “You're looking for your pal, Oatis? I’m sorry, I haven’t seen him. Something unusual just happened to me. I don’t know if you’ll believe this, but…my own Dad visited me, from beyond the grave. But I really do hope you find Oatis. If I do see him, you'll be the first to know.” “Jared? What’s going on?” Jared turned on his heel to find the source of the new voice. There, standing in the doorway of the bedroom, was his sister, Madeline. She was pulling on a jade-green shirt and also clearing sleep from her eyes. The Sandeye squirrelmaid joined her brother in the hall. Jared held his sister close to his chest and whispered reassuringly in her ear. “Maddie, it’s all right, everything’s fine. Just a peculiar dream I had, that’s nothing more to it." “You were talking to Dad, Jared. Are you certain everything’s fine?” “Sis, don’t worry. I’m fine. We’ve got friends here, they’re hearing each and every word we’re saying. We’ll talk about it later, all right? Go back to bed, baby girl; I’ll wake you up later for supper.” The mouse raises an eyebrow at this revelation. Barley chuckles but soon he can hardly contain his laughter. Then realizes that he is the only one. "Wait, seriously? You actually saw the apparition of your dear ol' papa?" The mouse leans against the wall, arms crossed. "Right. Well, I suppose stranger things have happened, usually aided by ale…" Snowpaw frowned. This was serious, especially with a vermin horde approaching. Any portent dreams from the Dark Forest were important. So far, there had been no appearances of Martin the Warrior, but it was possible somebody would be having that soon. "Did he say anything, Jared? Think! It could be important." she said. As the Badger Mother saw Maddie, she patted her head. "Precious, you need your sleep. We'll talk with you later, dear." Maddie took Snowpaw’s advice to return to bed, and did exactly that, closing the bedroom door behind her. Jared shot a death glare at Barley, then met the Badger Mother’s frown. “He didn’t say too much. The message was supposed to be from my older brother, Edoran. But for some reason, my Dad brought it to me instead. Anyway, the message was this: somebeast from my past - an old enemy - is presumably on his way here to the Abbey, from my homeland, the Eastern Islands. But Mother, for your own sake, please don’t ask who. If what my Dad said was true, then this old phantom is on his way…right now. Whatever it means, it’s not good, not by the slightest stretch of the imagination.” Jared set his harsh eyes again on Barley. “No disrespect, Barley, but could you be serious, please? My parents and my older brother have been dead for the past decade. The fact that they’re visiting me now is not any simple coincidence. It’s my job to figure out what it all means.” In the end, the squirrel's angry glare only prompts the mouse onward. "Decade?" He whistles low, "And I thought my parents were overbearing. But to have them giving me advice from beyond the very grave…" Again Barley chuckles until he realizes he is the only one. "You're serious, aren't you?" Barley gives the beast a long stare, then to the badger he says, "This thing happen often here?" Whoof! The answer was a swipe of the badger's paw, laying the mouse on the floor. He would be looking up at one angry Badger Mother. "Do not speak lightly about what you know nothing, little rip!" she said. "This thing does not often happen here, only when Redwall is troubled and distressed, then Redwall's guardian spirit stirs, and things like this happen. Do you think the advancing vermin horde is a laughing matter as well?" She gave a wry smile. "Maybe you would like a nice bath, a good scrubbing, young'un." Looking at Jared, she said "I will not ask the name of the one who pursues you. But the Father Abbot must know of this, though I will not disturb the Council for now. If you and your sister are in danger, then we must protect you." “Yes, it’s definitely best that we don’t interrupt the Council right now. It’d be very rude." Jared nodded in agreement at the Guardian, then bent down on one knee in front of the for-the-moment incapacitated Barley. “Again, no disrespect, but that’s what you get for bad-mouthing my fallen family. You wouldn’t understand, not at all. Don’t waste my time or yours trying to explain all the details. My love for my family is greater than you can possibly comprehend. Don’t you dare insult or dishonor their memory.” Jared stood back up again and straightened his clothes, somewhat lost for words. He no longer felt tired, no longer having a desire to return to bed, unlike his sister. He simply decided it would be best to remain with his companions, probably until dinnertime; in case they ever wanted to engage in any trivial conversation. “So, aside from the vermin hordes, in addition to the Long Patrol also on its way, is there anything else I should know?” Snowpaw thought for a moment. "Jared, have you ever heard of a vermin who turned good? I have seen one, a hermit who lives in Mossflower, who my Dibbuns and I know. He has never set foot in the Abbey, but he has learned the arts of healing and herblore over the seasons. I once visited his hut and heard his story. An unusual ferret, he is indeed. Two of the Long Patrol have gone to look in on him and persuade him to come to the Abbey for his own safety." she said. “A vermin turned good? Lives out in Mossflower, never set foot in the Abbey? And you say he’s a healer and herbalist?” Jared took a minute to retreat into his memory to find this curious creature. “My sister and I have met him before, I think. Darn, what was his name again? Fera…Fero...Fern - Fernleaf! That’s who he is! How in the world do I remember his name, but not the meeting we had with him? I hope the Long Patrol representatives have better luck. Fernleaf will most definitely need the safety. I can’t imagine what the Vermin armies will do with him to achieve their own ends. Would you suggest that we visit him again, just in case?” Jared wasn’t either of what the hermit specialized in; rather, his father Dane had been a blacksmith. The trade was passed on to Jared after he died. If and when the time came, Jared would have to spend the majority of his days at his forge lying a few miles outside of the Abbey. He couldn’t foresee just what kind of metal creations the Abbey would require when the Long Patrol and Vermin arrived. “You want to get something to eat?” He casually proposed to Snowpaw and Barley. “I’m having a bit of trouble thinking straight right now. Maybe some food will help me get my mind straight. Why don’t we go to the Kitchen? That is…if the Dibbuns haven’t raided it again like they did last week.” "If I'm not on the menu to have my tail chewed, literally or verbally, sure." He said this first to the badger, and then turned to the squirrel. "And I mean no disrespect, kid. It's just that you should be aware that everyone has lost people, but not everyone shares your sentiments that they can come back from the grave. So don't expect everyone to share in your...enthusiasm." He rolls to his feet. The push onto his rump didn't hurt Barley in the least, it just...took a moment to get back up again. Dusting off his vest, he counseled further. "Keep that in mind before you go telling people that you saw your long-lost papa in public." The mouse smiles, gesturing for them to lead the way. For Barley it was a friendly warning to the squirrel. The mouse doesn't know Jared very well, but he didn't want him to go making a fool of himself either. Then again how was it his business if the squirrel decided to make a fool of himself? In the end, Barley just shrugs. His brother Oatis was already a pawful to worry about as it is... Snowpaw smiled. "They won't be doing that for a while, when they got treated to warm nettle soup." she said. "But yes, let's go get something to eat." She left with them. Upon arrival in the kitchen, Jared instantly took to warming up the previous night’s vegetable soup, putting the pan on the stove and turning up the heat. He removed three dishes from a cupboard, and spoons and a ladle from a drawer. Once the stew was all warmed up, Jared served it to his company. “Here’s my hypothesis,” he began, sitting down at the table. “Whomever’s coming for my sister and me is doing so with purpose, with intention. I don’t know what or why. Who knows how many of the Eastern Islands he’s visited in his desperate search for us? How many lives has he threatened and undermined for information as to our whereabouts? “I don’t know what to expect now. Will I get another dream tonight? Who will visit me next? What does this all mean? Mother Snowpaw, I’m asking for your help; just for now until the Council is over and I can speak to the Abbot. I honestly can’t differentiate between dreaming, imagining, or hallucinating. My Dad just…seemed so real to my eyes. And here I sit, talking to you. It all just seems so strange.” Still very much confused, Jared dove into his soup and said nothing more. It doesn't take long for Barley to appear from the kitchen as well, bowl of soup in his paws and buttered roll of bread in his muzzle. He sits down, scooting the chair back to accommodate his girth. Dipping the bread in the soup before eating, he says, "I missed some of the conversation, sorry, exactly who or what is coming after you?" He manages between bites. "And do you feel the need to inform the guards about it?" It was a rather blunt question but needed. Snowpaw took some soup and thought. "I've never heard of something like this before. Whatever is pursuing you will have to get through me, and it's a good idea to let the guards in on it. Good idea for once, Barley. But tonight, we sleep in the presence of the tapestry of Martin. It's the safest place in the abbey. I doubt if the guardian spirit of Redwall will let anything harm you." She wondered if he had spoken to anybody yet. And when will those hares get back with the Hermit? She had much to think about. “Do I really need to give you a name? I don’t know if you’ll believe me if I tell you.” Seeing the truthful expressions on his friends’ faces, Jared decided it was indeed best to give the truth. “His name is Garkul DemonFang. My sister and I were captured by him, prisoners of his several years ago. We were held there in his underground dungeon for quite a while; wouldn’t have been the first time we’d been imprisoned in such a place before.” The squirrel went silent for a moment while the terrible memories of both events stirred and flooded to the forefront of his mind. “Anyway, Garkul and I got into a fistfight. He kept bragging on and on without cease about how he could beat me in that kind of thing. As you can guess, I admit, it ticked me off. There was a bad scuffle. He scratched and cut me several times, I punched and jabbed at him. Mind you, this was entirely unarmed combat. It came to a point where I got so out of control…that…I hit him in the jaw. I broke some of his teeth, and he fled. My sister took that opportunity to escape, and we haven’t seen him since. “Now, as to why he’s exploring the Eastern Islands, that’s pretty obvious: he knows where we live, our homeland. But we’re not there; we haven’t visited in a few months, actually. When all these problems are over, maybe Madeline and I will consider going back. His lack of information is part of his motivation to find us. The less we appear, the more desperate he gets. Revenge is all he cares about.” His thoughts shifted to the advice of Barley and Snowpaw to inform the guards. It stopped him short for a moment, not really sure how to respond. “I understand you mean well, but…I don’t want to cause more alarm than is needed. We – and I mean the three of us and my sister – cannot predict when he will get here, if he’s on his way to Mossflower from the Eastern Seaboard. The guards can help, but…how much so? I’ll talk to them after the Council is over.” The image of the Martin tapestry instantly flashed in his mind when Snowpaw mentioned it. Now this was something he could agree with. “Yes, let’s sleep there tonight. I don’t mind it at all. If there’s anybeast who knows best aside from my family, it’s Redwall’s guardian spirit. I don’t want him to choose me as his champion, though. I already have enough responsibility trying to protect myself and my sister.” Finishing his soup, the portly mouse smirks, "Now there is something I can agree with. I've got enough on my paws worrying about my own sibling let alone with vermin troubles. Speaking of which, if you see my brother Oat about the Abbey do me a favor and don't tell him about this. Especially if this, Garkul is a…" The mouse glances left and right, just in case Oat should magically appear behind him. "Especially if this beast is a v-u-l-pine. He…doesn't need the added stess."" He relaxes before continuing. "Invasion notwithstanding, I think you are fairly safe here. We have walls, guards, and soon an army of angry vermin warriors to get through. Unless Gar travels with an army of his own, I think you'll be fine." He says with some sarcasm even while trying to be comforting. Snowpaw had left for a while to escort Fernleaf into the Abbey and prepare him for his meeting with the Abbot. She came back. "Please excuse my absence. I had somebody to meet. I doubt if he would be confident enough to meet with you, he's kind of shy. He's the ferret I told you about. I'm sure spending the night with Martin's tapestry. Whoever he makes his champion would have no bearing on what we're doing now. We just need his protection. I wouldn't worry too much about that, Jared." Barley smiles in the usual way one does when he completely disagrees with whatever is going on, but finds the effort to vocalize it not worth the trouble. Undead warrior spirits, bah! But the corpulant mouse is hardly one to criticize the beliefs of another. "If marten doesn't help, just show this ol' weasel to me, I'll show him the ol' one-two," The mouse throws a few mock punches in the air. "Or just dress him up as a fox and sic Oat on him with a hatchet." Barley laughs and laughs and then immediately says sternly, "Under no circumstances should Oat ever be given a weapon. Ever." He adds even more sternly, "EVER. But anyway. Pleasure chatting with you chaps. Hope your dream business goes well. I am off to find my wayward brother. Take care." Meal finished Barley waddles his way away from the table, occasionally licking his paws clean of the meal he had. Warriors from beyond the grave indeed. Jared cordially waved after Barley as he left. However, then a disbelieving sigh escaped his mouth and the squirrel shook his head in disbelief. “'The ol’ one-two.' Like that will help any. Garkul is not a brute to be trifled with. Who knows what amount of damage has been done throughout the years since our last encounter? I can’t envision what extreme measures Garkul’s turned to, attempting to improve himself, better than before.” Jared gathered the bowls and spoons, washing them in the sink and putting them away. “I guess it’s OK to skip out on supper. I’m honestly not all that hungry anymore. Maybe Maddie will want some of this. Better keep it out for her, just in case.” He sat back down on the table beside Mother Snowpaw, putting his paw in hers in need of guidance and counsel. “So for what remains of the afternoon, should I be doing anything to prepare for the sleep before Martin’s Tapestry? My sister should know, isn’t that so? The visions are mine, of course. But would it be a good idea for her to go along with us?” Standing on a nearby windowsill, a faceless phantom shadow watched over the young male squirrel, curious and waiting for the coming of the night. "Not much. We're just waiting for the Council to break up." said Snowpaw. "And the vermin are now outside from what I've heard, and are asking for a parley." doggo last edited by Balma stepped into the room. For a moment, a shudder wracked her body as she scanned the room in visible distress, but in the next moment she calmed down as if brushing an errant leaf off her pelt. "I'm surprised anyone is hangin' about here at this time! Seems most beasts are either up on the walltop or else abouts. Well, it's jus' as well I found you lot, the place is so empty I kin hardly stand it…" Before anyone could respond, she went on again. "Yous must be wonderin' why I ain't out there, and truth be told I ain't too surprised by the deal wit them vermin. Coupla days ago I cast some bones, and the forecast wasn't too good, but I figured it would be jus' a bad storm or sumfin'. Is it jus' me or do any of yous sense more spooks around here than usual? It's bad enough my fur is always bristlin', I half expect to turn inta a hedge'og one a' these days. Why, the moment I stepped in here I felt my skin right crawlin'!" She paused for a moment in deep thought. "Me ould mentor allas said ghosts were a sign of comin' calamity. Mayhaps those weird premonitions I've been havin' could have some merit to them..." "What?!” Jared held back before inclining his head on Snowpaw’s shoulder and about dropped out of his seat. “They’re already here? At the gates?” Pulling himself up to a sitting position, the youthful Sandeye looked Snowpaw fairly frightfully in the eye. “What if…Garkul is with them? My sister and I won’t be prepared! This is outrageous!” He clapped his paws to his head in sheer frustration, shutting his eyes firmly and making a decent attempt to think. Something in his gut was telling him not to overreact. Garkul in truth was not with the vermin armies, very much a far long ways behind. How long till he reached Mossflower? Jared immediately surrendered his mental questioning and laid his head on Snowpaw once. “I’m sorry, maybe that was uncalled for. Garkul might not be here with the Vermin hordes. I want you to be with me at Martin’s Tapestry tonight. It’s difficult to foresee what may happen there if left alone. When is the soonest time we can set up there? What would be a good idea for me to bring? I will tell my sister about it as well.” This was something to be much anticipated. Sleeping before Martin’s Tapestry! Yet there was much premonition and solemnity in it. Regardless, Jared relaxed on Snowpaw’s shoulder, taking deep breaths to calm his emotionally conflicting nerves. He lifted himself up again when Balma entered the Kitchen. "Balma, good afternoon! I didn't expect you to be awake or wandering on this level of the Abbey, either!" Jared encouraged the ottermaid to take a seat with himself and Snowpaw. "It is agreeable that the Vermin outside our gates are clearly up to no good, not in the slightest. The ghosts are those of my family, visiting to bear their own warnings of our own 'calamities' to watch out for. If you felt something while walking in here, Balma, none of it was any coincidence. Mother Snowpaw, my sister, and myself will be sleeping before Martin's Tapestry tonight, and you are welcome to join us. Might even meet somebeast unexpected. What do you say, Balma?" "What may you bring?" asked Snowpaw. "What may you bring but yourself. It will be enough. What else you may bring is up to you, young Jared. This evening we shall be there. It will be all right. We will see." She placed a paw on his head which was resting on her shoulder. "You will see. You will see." Maybe even Fernleaf might be with them, especially after the way he surprised her, making that vow before the image of Martin. That ferret was just full of surprises. At Jared's offer, Balma stroked her paw under her chin, seemingly pondering the question. "Hmm, hmm, hmm, well I can't refuse the chance of contact wit the other side, now can I? Nothin' risked, nuthin' gained is what I think. Though I should prob'ly do an incantation to ward off anythin' malevolent, eh? I mean, I've already done my daily chants, but another couldn't hurt!" At this, she clasped one of the carved pendants attached to her clothing and muttered some esoteric phrases under her breath, then continued on as if nothing happened. "It'sa real relief them hares are around now, tho', or else I might have had my work cut out fer me real good like! In these peace times there's not a lot o' need fer guards here, not like it was when I was a young'n, and most of the guard is getting on in age, mebbe a handful of the younger folk. I have to wonder how big the vermin threat is, cause even wit the Long Patrol here there might be tough times a'coming." Happy Holidays!!! ( Quick RPG One-Off) Discord Server is here New Generation Characters RPG: Snowball fight! Anghan's Character Lineup Story Arc: The Never Ending Party	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1708
__label__cc	0.614214	0.385786	The Sandy Ridge Boys Purveyors of Fine Bluegrass Music Paul Cathcart, our fearless leader, was born in Massachusetts, but spent most of his adult life in Virginia. His love of Bluegrass music was inspired 30 years ago by his close friend Jim Hughes, a native of Nashville, TN and Mr. Arnet Gutshall, a bluegrass music legend, who lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA. He was also inspired by Guitar Legends and singers, Tony Rice, Bryan Sutton, Ben Clark, Keith Garrett, and Josh Williams. Sofia Chiarandini has been playing violin since age five, and at age fourteen decided to dive into the world of bluegrass. She has performed on the main stages of bluegrass festivals such as Grey Fox, Ossipee, Joe Val, and Freshgrass. Sofía attends the Berklee College of Music where she has performed as part of the American Roots Music Program and has co-founded her bluegrass band, The Ruta Beggars, who recently released a self-titled EP and were the winners of the 2019 Thomas Point Beach band competition. Bill Hamilton comes to the Sandy Ridge Boys by way of his background and passion for playing bluegrass mandolin. Having grown up in Maryland as a reluctant student of the classical violin, Bill’s ear and interest always gravitated toward the pulse, drive and accessibility of more traditional fiddle styles. His musical journey with rock and roll in his high school and college years brought him to the music of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, which served as Bill’s gateway to the mandolin, bluegrass and old time music. Now a resident of the Boston area, he works on an ecomusicology project that explores the ecological history of the woods used in the construction of classic bluegrass and old-time instruments. Neil Helme, who has the biggest beard in the band, is well known in Boston Music Circles and is one of the most talented bass players in the area. He has played with great groups, like the Spring Hill Rounders, the Beantown Buckaroos, Honky Tonk Masquerade, the Demolition String Band, Odessa Rose, & The Smalls. In addition to his musical talent he brings great vocals and his extensive knowledge of bluegrass and country music. And we feature his song “Swimming Hole” in our sets. Roger Weiss, our dancing banjo player, is known for his hot licks and cool demeanor. His major banjo influences are Earl Scruggs (of course), Eddie Adcock, and Lew London. When he’s not picking banjo at the usual places in Boston, you will probably find him Texas Two-Stepping to some country band. We are sad to announce that our friend and band mate, Fred, passed away on May 9, 2018. You can read more here. Wayside Inn Having hosted two of your performances in 2014, I wanted to take a moment to thank these bluegrass musicians for their outstanding entertainment performance. Not only did the shows bring excitement for our existing customers, but some new customers as well. Having grown up listening to some Bluegrass favorites, it was great to hear them once again, especially live. Look forward to seeing you all again Steve Pickford, Innkeeper, Wayside Inn Quarry Ridge The Sandy Ridge Boys are a fabulous blend of fine musicians, but they also are so much fun. Can’t beat that mixture, Harmony and Humor; the best blend. Bluegrass, Country – they can do it all. Mike Milano owner, Quarry Ridge Golf Course and Restaurant Retirement Community, Dedham, MA The extremely talented Sandy Ridge Bluegrass band has been delighting our very sophisticated and educated independent living residents here at NewBridge on the Charles for a number of years now. I highly recommend this very fun and high energy group of musicians, especially to senior communities where listening to good music makes them so happy. Pam M Events Director Belmont Farmers Market It was a beautiful, sunny summer day in Belmont. At the Farmers’ Market, people were quietly doing their shopping. Then the Sandy Ridge Boys started to play and the whole mood changed. Folks stopped what they were doing to listen, gathered around the band, and tapped their feet to the music. Everyone at the market felt energized, especially the vendors! The Sandy Ridge Boys provided us with a wonderful afternoon of entertainment. Vicky Slavin Events Coordinator, Belmont Farmer's Market Retirement Community, Canton, MA Thank you so much for bringing a breath of diversity into our ballroom. Your presentation, personalities and talent all speak for themselves. I am always trying to find new venues and I feel as though I really struck gold. You even won over the devoted classical aficionados and that’s no easy task! Diane H Events Director Retirement Community, Lexington. The Sandy Ridge boys are a guaranteed good time. A group of great musicians and good friends, their chemistry on stage makes for great entertainment. As a program supervisor, I see many musicians and they are a band I look forward to over and over again! M. Y. Program Supervisor Verrill Farms The Sandy Ridge Boys recently played at our Harvest Festival Benefit for Emerson Hospital in Concord MA. We had been looking for a new blue grass band for our festival and were thrilled with their performance! They were lively and kept the audience involved. Great entertainment and musicians. We will definitely invite them back to play again next year! Barbara Ryan Manager Email: info@sandyridgeboys.com Website by Boston Web Co	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1713
__label__wiki	0.742655	0.742655	Extra Innings (film & discussion) October 27 at 7pm - Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Ahead of Time: The Extraordinary Journey of R November 3 at 7pm at Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY Back to Berlin (film & discussion) Rescheduled to December 8 at 7pm at Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY Regina (film & discussion) January 5 at 7pm at Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY Annual Jewish Storytelling Event February 2 at 5:30pm - Wilson Chapel, Skidmore College 1945 (film & discussion) March 8 at 7pm at Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway., Saratoga Springs, NY Fanny's Journey April 20 at 7pm at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story May 3 at 7pm at Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY This Fall & Winter join us for Saratoga Jewish Community Arts... Oct. 27 @ 7pm - EXTRA INNINGS (FILM & DISCUSSION) Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 The true story of a Brooklyn based, Syrian Jewish family in the 60’s who fail to comprehend and cope with mental health and loss. The story of one young son who is caught between pursing his dream and staying devoted to his family that is afflicted with the enigma of mental illness. Dessert reception to follow. $5 per person, students free with ID. For more info and to RSVP call 518-584-8730 opt. 2 or email [email protected]. Feb. 2 @ 5:30pm - ANNUAL JEWISH STORYTELLING EVENT Wilson Chapel, Skidmore (815 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs) The telling of stories is the way we share historical happenings and create a cultural history. Storytelling has been a means of defining the Jewish identity, the ethnic distinctiveness as a Jew. Storytelling is not just a reading or recitation of a story. Stories help us feel and think and open us up to new worlds and new understandings. Listening to stories can connect us to the past, to each other, to deeper parts of ourselves, and to the vast possibilities that life can hold. $10 adults, $5 Children under 13. For information or reservations, call 518-584-8730, option 2. [email protected] Nov. 3 @ 7pm - AHEAD OF TIME Temple Sinai (509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs) For seven decades foreign correspondent and photojournalist Ruth Gruber didn’t just report the news…she made it. Born in Brooklyn in 1911 to Russian Jewish immigrants she defied tradition becoming the world’s youngest PhD at 20, authored 19 books, reported from the Soviet Artic, escorted Holocaust refugees on a secret war-time mission, and stunned the world with dispatches from the Palestine-bound ship Exodus in 1947. A $5.00 donation is requested. For information or reservations, call 518-584-8730, option 2. [email protected] March 8 @ 7pm - 1945 A remote Hungarian town in August 1945 notes the arrival of two Orthodox Jews. Why are they there? Paranoia runs rampant. While there have been many films about the Holocaust, there are few about the immediate aftermath when greed and material gain from the Jewish people’s demise was pervasive. Director Ference Torok captures this often overlooked moment in history where one town’s actions become a metaphor for the moral decay of the whole country. $5 per person. For more info and to RSVP call 518-584-8730 opt. 2 [email protected]. Dec. 8 @ 7pm - BACK TO BERLIN - Rescheduled from 12/2 In 2015 11 motor cyclists travel from Israel to German as they recreate the mission of the original 1931 bikers who rode through Europe to recruit players for the 1936 Maccabi Games, the first Jewish Olympics on German Soil. Flying the Israeli flag and carrying the Maccabiah torch from Athens to Berlin, they trace the horrifying events of the Holocaust through nine countries. For information or reservations, call 518-584-8730 opt. 2, or email [email protected]. April 20 @ 7pm - FANNY'S JOURNEY Skidmore College (815N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs) In 1943 Fanny and her younger sisters were sent from their home in France to an Italian foster home for Jewish children. Once the Nazis arrive in Italy, their caretakers desperately organize the departure of the children to Switzerland. They are suddenly left alone Fanny leads the 11 to reach the freedom of the Swiss border. A film that brings the history of the period in a way that is manageable to a younger generation. Based on a true story. Panel Discussion and Dessert Reception to follow. $5 donation requested. For information or reservations, call 518-584-8730, option 2. [email protected] Jan. 5 @ 7pm - REGINA (FILM & DISCUSSION) Temple Sinai (509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY) The story of Regina Jonas (1902-1944) who made history by becoming the first officially ordained woman rabbi in the world. Daughter of an orthodox Jewish peddler, her sermons brought encouragement to the persecuted German Jews. She and her husband were both deported to Theresienstadt….only their love letters survive. $5 suggested donation. For information or reservations, call 518-584-8730 opt. 2 or [email protected] May 3 @ 7pm - BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LARMARR STORY The beautiful Hedy Lamarr was a Hollywood icon famous for play scandalous roles, but she was much more including ignored, misunderstood and uncredited. She was the trophy wife of a weapons manufacturer for Hitler until her escape to America and the creation of brilliant inventions for the Allies in WWII including a secure radio guidance system for torpedoes. $5 suggested donation. For information or reservations, call 518-584-8730 opt. 2 or [email protected]. Support for marketing and promotion provided by a grant from Jewish Federation of Northeastern NY. Generously sponsored by: Trustco Bank and Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna LLP mason.script.plugins.twitterTweetPlugin.tweet	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1715
__label__cc	0.718642	0.281358	Riccardo Marega Riccardo Marega obtained his master degree in medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical technologies in the University of Trieste (Italy) in 2005, by working in the implementation of functional carbon nanotube derivatives for biomedical applications under the supervision of Prof. Maurizio Prato. He then moved to a pharmaceutical company (Eurand, now Aptalis) in the Research Area of Trieste, doing a PhD in Molecular Sciences under the supervision of Prof. Maurizio Prato and Dr. Erminio Murano, where he was involved in the synthesis of carbohydrate-drug-CNTs nanohybrids as anticancer platforms, along with the development of diffusion-based NMR spectroscopy for the study of functionalized CNT derivatives. In 2010 he joined Prof. Bonifazi’s group in the COMS unit here at the department of Chemistry as a post-doctoral fellow, being mainly involved in the synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of magnetic CNT derivatives as multifunctional anticancer nanomaterials, and in the surface derivatization of biocompatible substrates promoting directed cellular migration. His current and forthcoming studies are at the interface between materials science and biology, to investigate how multifunctional nanomaterials can be applied for cancer therapeutics and diagnosis (theranosis). His recent results obtained at the COMS unit have been presented in two internationally-relevant scientific congress, namely Chemontubes (Archacon, France) and NT12 (Brisbane, Australia). He is excited by this new position at the University of Namur, since it is a great opportunity to continue the exploration of the aforementioned fields, along with other new activities related to the study and developement of biomaterials. Material chemistry - Nanotechnology - Chemical Biology - Carbon Nanotubes Chemistry - Bioconjugation. Biological Evaluations Diploma Thesis: "Functionalization and structural characterization of carbon nanotubes derivatives for biological applications" under the supervision of Prof. Maurizio Prato and Dr. Davide Bonifazi. Assessment: 110/110 cum laude. Doctoral Thesis: "Structural characterization of new carbon nanotubes derivatives through NMR spectroscopy". 2012-present: FRS-FNRS Post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Chemistry and Namur Advanced Research College, University of Namur (Belgium) 2010-2012: Post-doctoral fellow at Department of Chemistry, University of Namur (Belgium) My inspiration for science relies on the surprises that experimental research offers to the motivated scientist. Indeed, the experimental validation of what we foresee by material design and preparation give me a great satisfaction, on one hand. However, like a charming beautiful woman, science not always gives us the answers that we foresee after our efforts, often providing us unpredictable outcomes. My greatest satisfaction is to use the most advanced research tools to explore and deciper the scientific phenomena connected with the interactions between nanosized materials and living things, and then to report them to the scientific community. I’m currently developing hybrid metal-carbon nanostructures with targeting properties for biomedical responses such as magnetically-driven drug delivery and hyperthermia, in both in-vitro and in-vivo models. On another avenue, I’m also evaluating the biochemical responses of cells to motogenic peptides found in animals extracellular matrix. Materials Chemistry, Biochemistry, Nantechnology Selected partecipant of the 63rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2006-2009: PhD student in Molecular Sciences under the supervision of Prof. Maurizio Prato (Department of Pharmacy, University of Trieste, Italy) and Dr. Erminio Murano (Polymer Conjugation Division, Eurand, Research Area of Trieste, Italy) 1999-2005: Laurea in medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical technology (summa cum laude), with a Diploma thesis in Organic Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Maurizio Prato (Department of Pharmacy, University of Trieste). TP master 1 de chimie instrumentale et de caractérisation Doctor of Philosophy, University of Trieste Master of Pharmacy, University of Trieste Fingerprint Dive into the research topics where Riccardo Marega is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint. Carbon Nanotubes Chemical Compounds Carbon nanotubes Engineering & Materials Science Nanoparticles Chemical Compounds carbon nanotubes Physics & Astronomy Antibodies Engineering & Materials Science Gold Chemical Compounds Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy Chemical Compounds Antibody-functionalized gold nanoparticles as tumor targeting radiosensitizers for proton therapy Li, S., Bouchy, S., Penninckx, S., Marega, R., Fichera, O., Gallez, B., Feron, O., Martinive, P., Heuskin, A-C., Michiels, C. & Lucas, S., 1 Feb 2019, In : Nanomedicine. 14, 3, p. 317-333 17 p. METHOD FOR FUNCTIONALISING NANOPARTICLES Bonifazi, D., Corvaglia, V., Marega, R. & Lucas, S., 27 Jun 2018, IPC No. B82Y 5/ 00 A N, Patent No. EP3338806, Priority date 21 Dec 2016, Priority No. EP20160205708 Patents and inventions METHOD FOR FUNCTIONALIZING NANOPARTICLES Bonifazi, D., Corvaglia, V., Marega, R. & Lucas, S., 28 Jun 2018, IPC No. B82Y 5/ 00 A N, Patent No. WO2018114447, Priority date 21 Dec 2016, Priority No. EP20160205708 Unfolding IGDQ Peptides for Engineering Motogenic Interfaces De Leo, F., Marega, R., Corvaglia, V., Tondo, R., Lo Cicero, M., Silvestrini, S. & Bonifazi, D., 1 Aug 2017, In : Langmuir. 33, 30, p. 7512-7528 17 p. Fast Targeting and Cancer Cell Uptake of Luminescent Antibody-Nanozeolite Bioconjugates Marega, R., Prasetyanto, E. A., Michiels, C., De Cola, L. & Bonifazi, D., 2016, In : Small. p. 5431-5441 11 p. Nanocrystals 2 Participation to a Symposium, a study Day Hybrid Materials 2015: Fourth International Conference on Multifunctional, Hybrid and Nanomaterials Riccardo Marega (Speaker) 9 Mar 2015 → 13 Mar 2015 Nanomedicine Viterbo 2014 Theraplus project Kick-off Meeting Riccardo Marega (Member of Scientific Committee) Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation to a Symposium, a study Day Molecular and Supramolecular routes toward Structural Complexity 63rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting Riccardo Marega (Participant) 30 Jun 2013 → 5 Jul 2013 Contact Riccardo Marega	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1718
__label__cc	0.686006	0.313994	What’s going on here? Andrew Wakefield’s antivaccine propaganda film to be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival Orac March 22, 2016 345 Comments When last we left Andrew Wakefield, hero to the antivaccine movement, he was a headliner on the Conspira-Sea Cruise, a cruise filled with conspiracy theorists, crop circle chasers, cranks, quacks, and antivaccine activists. It was a huge come down from his formerly exalted position as chief spokesman and “scientist” for the antivaccine movement, a position he enjoyed for many years before he was struck off (i.e., had his medical license stripped from him) in the UK and later had his scientific fraud documented so thoroughly by investigative reporter Brian Deer. Since then, it’s all been downhill. In January, it looked as though Wakefield had hit bottom. Maybe he did, because, unfortunately, things appear to be looking up for him, at least somewhat. Here’s what I mean. Regular readers might remember my mentioning the documentary Andrew Wakefield was working on. It was going to be about the latest conspiracy theory coming out of the fever swamp of antivaccine pseudoscience, the so-called “CDC Whistleblower” William W. Thompson. Thompson, as you recall, is a the CDC scientist who complained to Brian Hooker, a biochemical engineer turned incompetent antivaccine epidemiologist, that the analysis of important study done by his colleagues at the CDC in 2004 and him (DeStefano et al) was manipulated to hide a real positive result correlating MMR vaccination with autism in African-Americans. As I said at the time, Hooker’s “reanalysis” of the DeStefano et al study basically proved Andrew Wakefield wrong in that, other than for a very small subgroup, there wasn’t a hint of a whiff of a whisper of a positive correlation between the MMR vaccine and autism, and the one seemingly positive result was almost certainly spurious. It was only because of Hooker’s utter incompetence at epidemiology and statistics that he foolishly inferred an actual result from his “reanalysis.” Because this story seemed to confirm what I like to call the central conspiracy theory of the antivaccine movement, namely that the CDC or other government agencies “knew” that vaccines cause autism but hid it from the people. Of course, only antivaccine activists are not “sheeple.” Only they know The Truth. Only they have figured the conspiracy out. Only they are not sheeple. And now Andrew Wakefield has made a movie about it, called Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe. It’s going to premiere in New York on April 24. And, get this. It’s going to be featured in the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. Here’s its description on the Tribeca Film Festival website, which describes the film and points out that it’s in the “Tribeca Talks After the Movie” section, meaning there will be a discussion with the filmmakers afterwards. You read that right. Andrew Wakefield had an antivaccine film accepted by the Tribeca Film Festival. That’s why I said things might be looking up for him. Here’s the trailer: The film is described thusly on the Vaxxed website: In 2014, biologist Dr. Brian Hooker received a call from a Senior Scientist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who led the agency’s 2004 study on the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine and its link to autism. The scientist, Dr. William Thompson, confessed that the CDC had omitted crucial data in their final report that revealed a causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. Over several months, Dr. Hooker records the phone calls made to him by Dr. Thompson who provides the confidential data destroyed by his colleagues at the CDC. Dr. Hooker enlists the help of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British gastroenterologist falsely accused of starting the anti-vax movement when he first reported in 1998 that the MMR vaccine may cause autism. In his ongoing effort to advocate for children’s health, Wakefield directs this documentary examining the evidence behind an appalling cover-up committed by the government agency charged with protecting the health of American citizens. Interviews with pharmaceutical insiders, doctors, politicians, and parents of vaccine-injured children reveal an alarming deception that has contributed to the skyrocketing increase of autism and potentially the most catastrophic epidemic of our lifetime. Hoo boy. The trailer, as you might expect, is a greatest hits of “CDC Whistleblower” nonsense, beginning with a reenactment of Brian Hooker receiving a phone call form William Thompson and then a “medical journalist” Del Bigtree starts bloviating about how Thompson told Hooker that the his coauthors, Frank DeStefano et al, had committed scientific fraud in its analysis of the data for their study. Of course, we all know now that nothing of the sort happened and that Thompson never accused his co-authors of fraud, at least not explicitly, although he sure did make it sound as though there was something not quite on the up and up about the way they analyzed their data. Unfortunately, conspiracy-friendly journalists ate it up. Meanwhile Hooker’s “reanalysis” was so bad that the paper reporting it was retracted, even by a new journal. Particularly deceptive is a segment that occurs around 1:22 in the trailer, a cartoon that depicts a large syringe with green liquid in it in surrounding a girl with a Teddy Bear, clearly meant to represent a vaccine, presumably the MMR given the whole focus on the “CDC Whistleblower.” Of course, as I pointed out before, among Caucasian girls, even Brian Hooker couldn’t torture the data to make them confess to a correlation between vaccinating girls and an increased risk of autism. Why didn’t the filmmaker choose to put an African-American boy in the syringe? After all, when Brian Hooker tortured the data, all he could get them to confess to was a correlation in a subset of African-American boys? Perhaps the filmmaker considered the image of the white girl with a Teddy Bear more palatable for a trailer than that of an African-American boy for the audience for which this documentary is intended. Yes, I went there. I make no apologies. True, later in the trailer children of all races are shown, but that seems to be just a means to imply that Hooker’s results are generalizable beyond African-American boys. Even if they were real results, based on sound statistical analysis, Hooker found no link in any other subgroup besides one group of African-American boys. Of course, they’re almost certainly not real, and I’ve discussed why on many occasions before. Basically, the filmmaker is making a blatantly obvious attempt to take a single result from an incompetent “reanalysis” of DeStefano et al and suggest to the audience that the results apply to the children of the intended audience for the film. Then, to my surprise, Dr. Jim Sears shows up at around the 2:00 mark, thus shattering any of his claims that he isn’t antivaccine yet again. (Usually it’s “Dr. Bob” Sears who’s spewing the antivaccine misinformation.) After all, you don’t appear in a movie directed by Andrew Wakefield saying that Wakefield was right after all if you have a shred of scientific knowledge—or dignity—left or if you are not at least antivaccine-sympathetic, if not outright antivaccine. Sears is followed by Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), whose swallowing of the misinformation promoted by Hooker and Thompson helped perpetuate the whole “CDC whistleblower” urban myth. He’s rapidly followed by Stephanie Seneff, someone with no expertise in epidemiology who thinks she can do autism epidemiology. Hilariously (to me), she claims that, if we extrapolate current trends, by 2032 80% of boys will be autistic. What’s particularly silly is that Seneff isn’t even an MMR crank. She’s a GMO crank, the author of a risibly bad paper blaming autism on glyphosate and another blaming it on aluminum adjuvants. Upon learning about this film, my one question was this: How on earth did Wakefield get this film accepted by the Tribeca Film Festival? After all, this isn’t just any film festival, like the festival that accepted Eric Merola’s paean to the cancer quack Stanislaw Burzynski three years ago. Its submission requirements are clear, and the festival regularly attracts renowned filmmakers and actors. In 2006 and 2007, the festival received 8,600 submissions and only had 1,500 screenings. This year, the festival will feature actors and actresses like Tom Hanks, Tina Fey, and the cast and crew of Taxi Driver, as well as acclaimed directors like J.J. Abrams, Jodie Foster, Baz Luhrmann, and Alfonso Cuarón. Also participating will be Patti Smith, Idina Menzel, and Francis Ford Coppola, Ricky Gervais, Katie Couric, David Byrne, and Anthony Bourdain. This is not B-list stuff. It’s at least A-list and above. So, knowing that, once again, I ask: How on earth did this documentary full of antivaccine lies whose filmmaking isn’t even particularly impressive, if the trailer is any indication, get into Tribeca? Not being a filmmaker myself or particularly privy to the film selection process, I could only look around. I found one particularly revealing blog post buy a filmmaker that explains how this travesty might have happened: Simply put, the festival submission process is the filmmaking equivalent to the lottery. Worse actually, because at least all lottery ticket buyers are playing on the same level. Do you think every film that submits to a festival gets equal consideration? You don’t? Good, I would hate to be the one to throw that bucket of cold water on you. He continues: I won’t pretend to know all the inner workings of the selection process but many films that get in get in do so through back channels, who-knows-who and sometimes even through bribery – friendly and playful bribery, but bribery none-the-less. Many films get selected after screening at a major festival or because the star of the film has connections. There is no way to compete with that. None. My very favorite story was reading an interview with the festival director of the 2009 South-by-Southwest Film Festival joking that she was thrilled a film she acted in was selected. She would have to be one hell of a great actress to make me believe she was really surprised. So let’s see. The founders of the Tribeca Film Festival are Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff. Could there be a link? Robert De Niro, for instance, has hosted events with Autism Speaks. In the past, Autism Speaks caught deserved flak for being very sympathetic to the view that vaccines cause autism, although of late Bob and Suzanne Wright were never as much on the side of the vaccine-autism concept as their daughter Katie. In any case, Robert De Niro is known to have a son with special needs, but I could not find any evidence that he’s ever publicly said anything that could be interpreted as antivaccine. So it could just be that with hundreds of films accepted and thousands submitted Andrew Wakefield got lucky. Or maybe there was an antivaccine-sympathetic reviewer who saw his film. There’s really no way of knowing, and there certainly are lots of other people involved with organizing the film festival who might have given Wakefield some special consideration. It’s not as though there aren’t a lot of actors, actresses, and filmmakers out there who are antivaccine-sympathetic, if not outright antivaccine. One can only hope that the organizers can be embarrassed, because they should be. Here’s another possible explanation. During a talk on the Conspira-Sea Cruise Andrew Wakefield claimed that Leonardo DiCaprio was promoting his film and that DiCaprio and his father were “going to put all their efforts behind it,” although he denied that he had made that claim when interviewed later in the cruise. If Wakefield’s claim is true, one can’t help but wonder. DiCaprio and De Niro have known each other since DiCaprio was 15, when they worked together in DiCaprio’s first major film. Could this be how Wakefield’s propaganda piece was selected for Tribeca? Again. there’s no way of knowing, but it’s hard not to speculate that, if what Wakefield let slip is true, DiCaprio might have had a word with his buddy or just used his star power to “suggest” Wakefield’s film. If true, it would explain a lot. Certainly DiCaprio wouldn’t be the first famous environmentalist to extend his beliefs to include antivaccine pseudoscience about “toxins.” (I’m talking to you, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.) Unfortunately, I don’t have the resources or skill set to investigate further. Maybe someone else does. By whatever means Wakefield’s film was accepted for the Tribeca Film Festival, through someone in the festival with power to influence film selection who is sympathetic to the antivaccine message, an antivaccine-sympathetic star putting a good word in to the festival organizers, or through sheer, dumb luck (it almost certainly wasn’t due to the quality of his filmmaking, if the trailer is any indication), you can count on antivaccine propagandists milking this selection for all it’s worth. (Indeed, the antivaccine crank collective at Age of Autism are very happy.) At the very least, it’s a propaganda coup for Wakefield. I’m sure this is by no means the worst or most offensive film ever selected for the Tribeca Film Festival or another major festival, but it’s certainly one that has the potential to do the most harm to public health. However they selected Wakefield’s documentary, the organizers of the Tribeca Film Festival have screwed up big time and given antivaccine a big, fat piece of propaganda to scare parents into not vaccinating. ADDENDUM: Jezebel has picked up the story, and Anna Merlan reached out to the film’s publicist. Here’s the denial she got again: Vaxxed is being represented by a company called Lighthouse Public Relations. We spoke with Dawna Schuman of Lighthouse today, who again denied that Leonardo DiCaprio is involved with promoting the film in any way. That said, she added, “There’s been people who have supported it. A lot of people have liked the idea of the film. Nobody’s lent their name publicly to the film.” That’s going to change at the Tribeca screening, Schuman added: “There is celebrity support and they’ll be attending in New York.” OK, NYC Skeptics and any skeptics in the NYC area: You need to attend. Besides asking skeptical questions, you can report on which celebrities show up for this screening. My guess is that they’ll be on the order of Jenny McCarthy or Rob Schneider, as the really big name celebrities could just ask for a screener and almost certainly get it, but it never hurts to watch. CategoriesAntivaccine nonsense, Complementary and alternative medicine, Movies, Quackery TagsAndrew Wakefield, antivaccine, Autism, Bob Sears, CDC whistleblower, CDCwhistleblower, quackery, Robert De Niro, Tribeca Film Festival, vaccines How overdiagnosis produced a nonexistent “epidemic” of thyroid cancer in Fukushima The Tribeca Film Festival’s disingenuous excuse for screening an antivaccine propaganda film by Andrew Wakefield Julian Frost March 22, 2016 at 6:50 am Well, it might just boomerang on Wakefield. “Callous Disregard” is a badly written pile of claptrap. Hopefully, attendees will watch “Vaxed”, realise it’s junk, and everyone will know. One can but hope. StrangerInAStrangeLand March 22, 2016 at 7:26 am Because Orac mentioned the “torturing the data” part: A great new paper came out that “proved” the hypothesis that people born under the pisces starsign have a higher survival chance of sepsis after a specific treatment with a salt solution. The argument: Fish lives in salt water, so pisces people should respond better to the salt solution. 🙂 The whole thing was luckily just an excercise to show what can happen if you analyse a large data set without a prior hypothesis and just look for anything, you will always be able to find something “significant” just by chance; truely torturing the data. Hjortrup PB, Haase N, Wetterslev J, Perner A. Gone fishing in a fluid trial. Crit Care Resusc. 2016 Mar;18(1):55-8. herr doktor bimler March 22, 2016 at 7:31 am the author of a risibly bad paper blaming autism on glyphosate and another blaming it on aluminum adjuvants. IIRC, Seneff also links autism to the rising use of painkillers. Somehow this strengthens her confidence in her methodology. If you showed her the correlation between organic food consumption and autism rates, she would only nod her head approvingly and point to it as further proof of her method, thereby strengthening the case that glyphosate and adjuvants are also the causes. Science Mom March 22, 2016 at 8:12 am Wakefield accused DeStefano et al. of “slicing and dicing” their datasets to make the correlation between AA males and autism risk “disappear”. We know that isn’t the case as they merely performed a sub-analysis with controlling for covariates. Hooker on the other hand DID slice and dice the dataset until he could make an association appear but that wasn’t even mention. How strange. Why does Seneff appear in this? Isn’t her gig that autism is caused by Roundup? That’s too many competing “theories” sucking the oxygen out of already dead claims of causation. Denice Walter March 22, 2016 at 8:13 am ” Yes. I went there. I make no apologies” Orac. Sure, because manipulative operators like AJW misuse imagery as well as torturing/ fixing data in order to force the audience into believing in implied threats to the innocent – and of course, white girls are much more innocent than the “true victims” ( at least in the film makers’ fevered imaginations,) black boys. Although I would think that Andy may have misread the audience who might be quite liberal and even actually be concerned about black boys. I certainly worry about black boys but not because of vaccines. At any rate, I was surprised the film was accepted. I follow the exploits ( and exploitative films) of Gary Null who manages to get accepted at loads of film festivals- al of them distinctly small time, none of them prestigious – and even wins a multitude of awards, all neatly displayed as ribbons in his adverts. Needless to say, his films are even more abysmal that Andy’s is ( if that is indeed possible). Notice though how the film uses music to provoke emotional reactions of fear and dread surrounding its subject matter. I get that feeling whenever I see a project branded as Wakefield. Even though Fakefield got his fauxcumentary into Tribeca, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t sunk to the near-bottom of his career. This is the person who thought he was going to make millions using his prestige as a physician and “solve the autism epidemic” who has now been reduced to making crappy, exploitive “documentaries” and calls himself a filmmaker. He’s pathetic. Todd W. March 22, 2016 at 8:44 am who provides the confidential data destroyed by his colleagues at the CDC Lying right out of the gate. how on earth did this documentary full of antivaccine lies whose filmmaking isn’t even particularly impressive, if the trailer is any indication, get into Tribeca? If you’ll recall, Wakefield said (and later denied that he made the claim) that Leonardo DiCaprio helped promote the film. @Science Mom This is the person who thought he was going to make millions using his prestige as a physician from his single measles vaccine patent FTFY. Orac March 22, 2016 at 8:48 am I don’t know if Leonardo DiCaprio has anything to do with the Tribeca Film Festival, but he is definitely tight with Robert De Niro, who started with him in his first film (A Boy’s Life) when he was 15. I added a short paragraph exploring this possibility. Chris Hickie March 22, 2016 at 8:51 am Looks like Jim Sears is blowing the AV dog whistle for all it’s worth on his facebook page to show he’s really not anti-vax ( http://tinyurl.com/jgcrbny ): To be perfectly clear: I am a pro-vaccine pediatrician. Just today in my office, I gave many of my patients the MMR vaccine, the polio vaccine, meningitis vaccines, whooping cough and hepatitis vaccines. I treated patients with high fevers and was thankful they had been vaccinated, so I could be much more confident in saying, “It’s probably just a virus…” But I am also a pro-truth pediatrician. I rely on agencies like the CDC to provide me with guidance when it comes to protecting my patients. When I was presented with evidence that this agency had POSSIBLY committed fraud in their study of the link between vaccines and autism, I felt compelled to make my comments included in the film, VAXXED from cover-up to catastrophe. I sincerely hope that fraud was NOT committed by the CDC. I hope that there is another logical explanation why their researchers decided to omit important data, and then cover up this omission. This film is asking for that explanation. Dr. Jim Sears He must borrow his boilerplate from Bob. His clip at about 2 minutes into the trailer is not pro-vaccine. Of course he is anti-vaccine, given that he shares office space with “Dr. Bob” and clearly must cover for him when “Dr. Bob” is off giving $125 a head dinner talks at “holistic health expos” (http://tinyurl.com/j3d64p7). If “Dr. Jim” was pro-vaccine, he’d try to catch up Bob’s patients on their vaccines instead of tolerating the fact that only 50% of Bob’s patients are vaccinated, which has to be one of the worst rates of any pediatrician in the US. I don’t know about his position on vaccines, but, as I’ve remarked previously, DiCaprio is very concerned with environmental issues like AGW and even created a documentary ( The Eleventh Hour) about it which my cousin worked on. It doesn’t really matter that much whether DiCaprio is connected with DeNiro or any of the other founders. He has star power and plenty of connections. All he would need to do is talk to the right people on the selection committee. I hope DiCaprio isn’t involved in this nonsense, but Wakefield did apparently let that slip on the cruise. It’s a possible explanation. I notice that AoA already has an announcement about this- do you think the faithful might stage something at the premier? After all, the press will be there, etc. Just their style. If what I’ve read about how films are selected for major film festivals is true (and I have little reason to believe it isn’t), then you’re right. All it would take to get a film selected is the recommendation of a major star, and stars don’t get much bigger than Leonardo DiCaprio. No need for Robert De Niro to have anything to do with it. After all, thousands of films are submitted to Tribeca every year. Frequent Lurker March 22, 2016 at 9:23 am I hate to say it, but this isn’t surprising in the least, no matter what happened or didn’t happen with De Niro and Dicaprio. Hollywood is notoriously antivaccine. How many celebs we’d never heard before of being antivax panicked and spoke against SB277? We have our staples–Jenny McCarthy and Rob Schneider (if they could be called “celebrities”) but there are many more who simply don’t crow about it, but are just as bad. I think the latest super-couple revealed was Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, who then tried to get it buried because they know they’ll be branded as insane. My thoughts are such “prestigious” film festivals would be heavily weighted FOR showing an antivax propaganda film to begin with. It sucks and I hate it, but this is kind of par for the course. Helianthus March 22, 2016 at 10:02 am @ Denice Gary Null who manages to get accepted at loads of film festivals- al of them distinctly small time, none of them prestigious – and even wins a multitude of awards Eh, the awards are for the artistic content of the movies. With so much use of licence artistique, these movies are prime contenders. Plus, maybe the juries got confused and thought these movies are some sort of avant-gardiste faux intellectual assays. A bit like the pretzel-like metal statues and one-black-dot-on-white-canvas paintings one can see regularly primed as masterpiece. Denice Walter March 22, 2016 at 10:22 am @ Helianthus: I always imagine that those who award these prizes know little about science but there are exceptions- people well educated in arts and science ( I know a few) I guess that the festivals which gave out these esteemed accolades might accept anything and his work is possibly less bad than the other amateur entries and if you had ever seen his work, you’d know that the artistry is not enviable or even tolerable. The best I can say is that the illustrators are not entirely despicable. Actually, I can grok the “pretzel-like sculptures” and ” one-black-dot-on-white-canvas painting” because they usually illustrate an artistic concept or design problem or two. I like Henry Moore especially ( not really pretzels but lessons about topology and holes I suppose). The films are much, much worse and only illustrate woo and self-aggrandizement. Amethyst March 22, 2016 at 10:23 am Maybe it is intended as a comedy. Or a documentary in lieu of “This Is Spinal Tap”. Chris Hickie March 22, 2016 at 10:30 am Comments about this showing can be posted here: https://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/vaxxed-from-coverup-to-catastrophe-2016 Eric Lund March 22, 2016 at 10:49 am [DiCaprio] has star power and plenty of connections DiCaprio is a big enough star that even the rumor that he was backing the film might have been enough to do it. We know that Wakefield made the since-retracted claim that DiCaprio was going to help promote the film. Have we had any confirmation of this claim from DiCaprio himself, or anyone in a position to know what he thinks of the film? has March 22, 2016 at 11:52 am Chris [email protected]: Will there be popcorn? Helianthus March 22, 2016 at 12:06 pm Actually, I can grok the “pretzel-like sculptures” Eh, I didn’t said these are bad art forms. Just that Wakefield’s oeuvre ended up in this category by accident rather than by purpose. Although his soul was definitively pretzel-shaped on purpose. Chris Hickie March 22, 2016 at 12:52 pm has @ 21: “dr jim” is taking it from both sides on his FB page. definitely worth a large with a free refill. AstroLad March 22, 2016 at 1:00 pm @ Helianthus #16 It’s all in knowing WHERE to put the dot. Sebastian L. Jackson Âû March 22, 2016 at 1:12 pm Let’s hold off on speculating about De Niro and DiCaprio until we learn more details. Wakefield’s lied about a great many things, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he lied or exaggerated his ties to DiCaprio too. Otherwise, I left a comment on the Tribeca website. sadmar March 22, 2016 at 1:18 pm Film festival selection is a mystery to everyone in the film world. There are different kinds of festivals with different methods, but all of them are obscure. I’ll spare the minions the details, but just note all the hypotheses are possible, and several others, too. But I’ll note that ‘Vaxxed’ isn’t in the film competition. That it’s in the ““Tribeca Talks After the Movie” section isn’t an honor. It probably means ‘we’re showing this movie because we think people will want to talk about it.’ Which would the opposite of how you present propaganda – you want that to be the sole voice of authority, and avoid anyone questioning it. Orac misleads in introducing the quote of the promo blurb that follows the note that Tribeca has selected it with “The film is described thusly:” It’s described that way by Whackfield, NOT Tribeca. Take a careful read of Tribeca’s capsule description: Digging into the long-debated link between autism and vaccines, Vaxxed features revealing and emotional interviews with pharmaceutical insiders, doctors, politicians, parents, and one whistleblower to understand what’s behind the skyrocketing increase of autism diagnoses today. What that tells us is that the programmer knows what’s in the film, and at least suspects that it’s all BS. The key word, of course, is “diagnoses”. Also, “emotional interviews” hints at exploitation, and “one whistleblower” hints at crank-ism. Andy did not write this, and can’t be happy about it. However, another promo blurb – this one no doubt from the festivals PR department – paints a very different picture: The most vitriolic debate in medical history takes a dramatic turn when senior scientist turned whistleblower, Dr. William Thompson of the Centers for Disease Control, turns over secret documents, data, and internal emails confirming what millions of devastated parents and “discredited” doctors have long-suspected — vaccines do cause autism. Ouch. That’s just so wrong. The only way to know what Tribeca is doing here is to know the context in which the film will be screened – most specifically how they’re going to do the “After the movie conversation with creators and subjects of the film.” They could just let Andy run the show, letting him and the participants he picks (distraught parents? Jim Sears?) speechify and double-down on the thesis, maybe take a fawning query or comment or two. Or they could open the floor to an open discussion, knowing there will be pro-science/pro-vax voices in the room. (And by “knowing” I mean the programmer could have identified some folks, contacted them, and made sure they’ll be in attendance, not just assumed the other side of the “vitriolic debate” would show up by themselves.) Regardless, it’s fine to complain in the comments thread for the film on the Tribeca site, as Chris and has have already done, but the thing to do is make sure Andy and the film don’t go unchallenged at the festival. Either get as many vax advocates inside the screening room as possible, or set up a picket line outside. Come with punchy debunking handouts – copies of the Texas Childrens VPD pamphlet, cards with weblinks, etc. – make sure there’s an articulate telegenic spokesperson there, and alert the press. One thing that struck me in the trailer was the way the images of the autistic kids were used. Gee, hate your “damaged” kids much? I’d like to see a protest at the screening from neuro-atypical folks damning the demeaning way they’re represented by the anti-vaxxers. Brian Deer March 22, 2016 at 1:40 pm Having seen his trailer, I wonder if the organisers of the film event are aware how gravely unethical and dishonest is this exercise of his. Here he is, a proven research cheat and scientific fraudster, who has lost his license to practise medicine on grounds of his dishonesty over precisely the subject matter of his “film”, accusing others of fraud – and in fact verballing Thompson, who has made no allegation of fraud over the Atlanta paper of 2004. He interviews one of his (provably) past and (possibly) present sexual and business partners (not previously relevant personal information, but in this context is relevant), and appears to be fabricating the claim that the DeStefano data actually support himself. I can tell you, no ethical filmaker would be so compromised. Unless he makes some kind of clear statement to the effect that “I ended my career in medicine over MMR, and now it’s my time for revenge”, then this exercise is itself a fraud. Somebody should pull the Thompson statement quotes again , and make sure that people who see the film know who this man Wakefield is, and what is the nature of his game. a-non March 22, 2016 at 1:44 pm I’m still trying to wrap my head around the “1 in 2 boys will be on the autism spectrum by 2030” claim in the trailer. How in the world is that even possible? Are vaccines becoming more able to cause autism now than they were 10 years ago? It’s a ridiculous statement even by the standards of that trailer, which was pretty ludicrous and scaremongering. Orac March 22, 2016 at 1:47 pm Orac misleads in introducing the quote of the promo blurb that follows the note that Tribeca has selected it with “The film is described thusly:” It’s described that way by Whackfield, NOT Tribeca. I suppose that’s why I linked the text “The film is described thusly” to Andrew Wakefield’s website advertising the movie rather than the Tribeca entry link in order to claim that Tribeca described it that way. Hyperlinks. Learn them. Love them. 🙂 But to make you happy and stop your irritating pedantry, I changed the text linked to in order to make it absolutely crystal clear that I’m quoting Wakefield’s website. Oh, and get a load of how Tribeca lumped Wakefield’s film in with “Social Issue” films: https://tribecafilm.com/stories/tribeca-film-festival-social-political-issue-films-equity-voted-katie-couric-prisons-documentaries There it is, listed along with documentaries about the integrity of the voting process, “three strikes” laws, the use of solitary confinement in the US, sexual abuse, the militarization of police forces in the US, abortion, and drone warfare, among other topics. JP March 22, 2016 at 1:50 pm They couldn’t possibly show moments where the kids were involved in watching a favorite TV show, engaging in a hobby or some artwork, or just generally enjoying life? The whole presentation is dehumanizing. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the “1 in 2 boys will be on the autism spectrum by 2030” claim in the trailer. Watch it again. It’s actually a claim that 80% of boys and 50% of all children will be autistic by 2032. MarkN March 22, 2016 at 2:04 pm Hopefully they include the groundbreaking street research comparing kids’ responses to either being vaccinated with a shot, or getting a lollipop. If I remember, and I know the problem in stating absolutes, but I believe 100% of the participants chose the lollipop. It should support similar methodology as the film. Denice Walter March 22, 2016 at 2:08 pm @ Brian Deer: Perhaps someone will tell them. @ JP: Did you ever see his film about ( the late) Alex? I have see similarly maladroitly handled film imagery of kids/ young adults with ASDs at AoA and TMR by actual parents of said kids/ young adults. Also there are horrendous verbal descriptions. Names like Kim and Lisa immediately spring to mind although they aren’t the only ones. brain explodes Rich Woods March 22, 2016 at 2:36 pm Since then, it’s all been downhill. In January, it looked as though Wakefield had hit bottom. Maybe he did, because, unfortunately, things appear to be looking up for him, at least somewhat. Nothing too much to worry about: it’s just regression to the mean. Have you ever thought about shutting TFU and just letting the truth be the truth? Thanks for exposing the film to a much greater number of people though. I have see similarly maladroitly handled film imagery of kids/ young adults with ASDs at AoA and TMR by actual parents of said kids/ young adults. Yeah, I recall one in particular where Stagliano made a video of her daughter watching and following along with Sesame Street and hugging a Grover doll as if, “You SEE, her life is RUINED, which means MY life is RUINED!” I just remember sitting there and thinking… “I still like the Muppets.” herr doktor bimler March 22, 2016 at 2:50 pm Thanks for exposing the film to a much greater number of people though. That’s a change from the usual trollery, in which Orac’s opinions are wasted words because the number of people who read Resp.Ins. is vanishingly small. Delphine March 22, 2016 at 2:53 pm Have you ever thought about shutting TFU and just letting the truth be the truth? Pot, kettle, etc. etc. Oh, I’m only getting started. Don’t be surprised if later this week this shows up on another blog, with a much larger readership than RI, if you know what I mean. 🙂 Rich bly March 22, 2016 at 3:03 pm At least Jeff didn’t use caps for truth. Then again he may not understand the difference. Robert L Bell March 22, 2016 at 3:14 pm Stephanie Seneff! My favorite GMO kook, all growed up and flapping her gums about vaccine woo as well. Brian Bruce March 22, 2016 at 3:37 pm Wow, watching that trailer really started to make me angry. All of the lies, distortions, and half-truths mostly just made me roll my eyes (my favorite part was when they zoomed way in on the graph to show a divergence in the two plots, but then they stopped panning before they got to the part where the plots converge again). What really got to me was the way these parents were willing to exploit their kids for this documentary. Yeah, my son stims (which for some reason is considered a bad thing). You know what else he does? Gymnastics and rock climbing and bike riding and drawing and playing with his sister, etc, etc. So why not show any of that? Nope, we have to make sure we show autistic children in the worst possible light. “You don’t want your kid to end up like that, do you?” is Wakefield’s message, and it’s a message I find horribly offensive. What really got to me was the young man banging his head with the iPad. Do you know why he’s doing that? Because he’s either agitated or in discomfort or in pain. Could be from the lights, could be his clothes, it could be that he’s tired of the camera in his face. But rather than try to find out what’s wrong and correct it, his parents allow them to just keep on filming. Utterly disgraceful. Sorry this wasn’t better written, but I’m pretty agitated myself right now. But writing this was rather cathartic… Frequent Lurker March 22, 2016 at 3:37 pm “A spokesperson for the film tells Jezebel that there will be “celebrity support” for the film at the screening.” http://jezebel.com/tribeca-film-festival-to-screen-film-by-former-doctor-w-1766422469 Dorit Reiss March 22, 2016 at 3:40 pm From Jezebel: http://jezebel.com/tribeca-film-festival-to-screen-film-by-former-doctor-w-1766422469 Quoting our talented host. Matt Carey March 22, 2016 at 4:01 pm Here’s my take. http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2014/09/27/andrew-wakefield-apparently-doesnt-understand-the-first-rule-of-documentaries/ I take on the first 30s. Because it only takes that much time to see exactly what is going on here. Listen to that initial recording of Thompson. First off–it’s two different statements spliced together. Second, when you put them in context they say very different things that Wakefield is leading his audience to believe. “What really got to me was the way these parents were willing to exploit their kids for this documentary” Much of that footage is recycled from Wakefield’s failed reality TV show project. Wakefield’s failed reality TV show project Had never heard/read of this. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/apr/06/what-happened-man-mmr-panic Today just became even more surreal and depressing. Is there nothing this man won’t do for attention? brandy March 22, 2016 at 4:18 pm We can expect more questionable content from Autism Speaks now that their head has no experience with autism at all..(seriously, she admitted it) I don’t have much more to say other than Wakefield and antivaxxers in general disgust me. Ears to the ground. The rumble of Congressional hearings. I wonder what kind of suit Thompson will wear, I can not believe Wakefield is going to go down in history as the man who exposed the greatest medical fraud of all time. 🙂 Tribeca Film Festival to Screen Film By Former Doctor Who Claimed Link Between Vaccines and Autism – Jezebel March 22, 2016 at 4:29 pm […] now, as the science blog Respectful Insolence was first to note, the film, with a new name, is set to screen at Tribeca on April 24. It’s now titled Vaxxed: From […] @Jeff at #51 I think you mean Brian Deer. Or did you mean to say “the man who was exposed as”? @ Jeff: How’d he do that? Confess? I wonder what kind of suit Thompson will wear, It will involve a red rubber nose that honks, big flappy shoes, and a button-hole that squirts water. I can not believe Wakefield is going to go down in history as the man who exposed the greatest medical fraud of all time. That’s good, because he won’t be. @Matt Carey I’d forgotten about his failed reality series. I guess it’s good he didn’t exploit more kids this time around? Sarah A March 22, 2016 at 4:52 pm It’s actually a claim that 80% of boys and 50% of all children will be autistic by 2032. Reminds me of this passage by Mark Twain: In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind or idiotic, can see that… seven hundred and forty-two years from now the Lower Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long… There is something fascinating about [pseudo]science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact. ^ In case it’s not obvious, I added the “[pseudo]” in front of “science.” @ Jeff #37: Have you ever thought about shutting TFU and just letting the truth be the truth? The thing about “the truth” is, if it’s the real thing, you don’t have to let it be the truth, nothing you can do or say can stop it from being the truth. If it can’t stand up to criticism then it’s not the truth. @Jeff #51 I hope you can discern the difference between a scientist like Orac and a fraud like Wakefield? Very simply put it is ethics. Wakefield has none. At best Wakefield is a fraud and at worst is the direct cause of many deaths from lack of vaccination around the world. I just the place where Wakefield should opening his film. The Nation Museum of Poo will be opening Friday on the Isle of Wright. The National Poo Museum “is set to be the place to immerse oneself in the wonder of excrement. Mrs Grimble March 22, 2016 at 5:50 pm I thought that Poo Museum thing was a joke. But its not. What’s really odd about that statement is that her hypothesis isn’t vaccines at all. It’s that the chemical in Roundup is causing autism. Why is she in this movie? Well, for one reason, the “star” of the movie isn’t present. It’s sort of a “Plan Nine from Outer Space” project where the main character (WIlliam Thompson) isn’t actually available to participate. This leaves Wakefield with a lot of time to fill. So, let’s bring in anyone and everyone, including the person who doesn’t think it’s vaccines. Well, since the last one of his subjects was Alex Spourdalakis, it’s good he’s moved on. Wakefield filled his mother with false hope and left town. Who knows how much the false hope played into her murdering her son. BD: ” I wonder if the organisers of the film event are aware how gravely unethical and dishonest is this exercise of his.” Reading between the lines of the two differeent bits of Tribeca copy I quoted above, I’d guess some do, others don’t, there were arguments within the festival staff about whether to screen this, and how to treat it, and it’s a continuing matter of considerable behind-the-scenes drama within the festival. Do realize that with the #CDCwhistleblower thing getting attention from a powerful Tea Party Congressman, a programmer might want to screen this, or at least agree to it, because it’s so bad. ‘Let ’em hang with their own rope.’ The first thing that struck me in the trailer was the inclusion of “80% of boys will be autistic by 2032” scare claim. That’s so over-the-top, it’s awful from a propaganda perspective: It’s going to get the guard up of anyone who might be ‘neutral’. It seems ‘Vaxxed’ lays its bat guano crazy bare. An experienced documentary programmer is going to know this turkey won’t fly with much of anyone other than the nutjobs already on board. The anti-vaxxers are used to talking to each other inside their own bubble: Autism One etc. Especially lately, they don’t come off well when they try their schtick with the general public, (e.g. anti-SB277 efforts). The Tribeca screening is going to put a much wider public spotlight on Wakefield than he’s used to here in the U.S., and his peeps won’t be in control of the event. We can bet Anna Merlan from Jezebel will be there, and I doubt she’ll be the only reporter on the story. In short, if I had to bet on the outcome here, I’d bet it blows up in Andy’s face. And per Orac’s ‘Addendum’, there are things we can do to help make that happen. BD may want to obtain an intern to help handle the inquiries he’s going to get for commentary from journalists and maybe even some public figures in NYC. Liz Ditz March 22, 2016 at 6:31 pm LA Times: Tribeca to screen movie by controversial anti-vaccine activist Andrew Wakefield http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-anti-vaccine-andrew-wakefield-movie-tribeca-20160322-story.html Wakefield continues to be discredited by wide swaths of the scientific community, many members of which have held him responsible for convincing parents not to vaccinate their children, with disastrous consequences for public health. “It’s shocking,” Michael Specter, a staff writer at the New Yorker who has studied and written extensively about the issue, said when asked in a phone interview Tuesday about the screening. “This is a criminal who is responsible for people dying. This isn’t someone who has a ‘point-of-view.’ It’s comparable to Leni Riefenstahl making a movie about the Third Reich, or Mike Tyson making a movie about violence toward women. The fact that a respectable organization like the Tribeca Film Festival is giving Wakefield a platform is a disgraceful thing to do.”…. Already the news has caused a stir in the online-science world, where the blog Respectful Insolence, which has published frequently on Wakefield, questioned the decision to screen the movie, saying from the trailer that it is “a greatest hits of ‘CDC whistleblower’ nonsense” and called on “any skeptics in the NYC area” to attend the event. Oooh. Science Mom March 22, 2016 at 7:18 pm It looks as though our visitor Jeffy is also shrilly commenting on the Tribeca site. According to him, anyone who thrashes Wakefraud’s propaganda piece is a PHARMA SHILL ASTROTURFER. And we’re all going to be very sorry when it is shown. I’m already sorry it was considered in the first place Narad March 22, 2016 at 8:00 pm Are vaccines becoming more able to cause autism now than they were 10 years ago? Less, apparently: Seneff’s claim (which Wakefraud recited for a while) was by 2025. capnkrunch March 22, 2016 at 8:55 pm Todd W. March 22, 2016 at 9:17 pm Jeff is making quite a time of it, throwing “shill” about like some sort of magic talisman that will make all the commenters he doesn’t like somehow magically disappear. Jeff is a charmer on the Tribeca thread, isn’t he? Mephistopheles O'Brien March 22, 2016 at 10:25 pm Perhaps if Wakefield holds his cape over his face nobody will notice he doesn’t look at all like Thompson. Liz Ditz March 22, 2016 at 10:55 pm To counter that charming @Jeff99endgame, Matt_Carey is laying down some serious smiting of Wakefield’s iniquities here: https://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/vaxxed-from-coverup-to-catastrophe-2016 titmouse March 23, 2016 at 1:03 am Dunno why my browser was being evil but I finally got a comment to post: When people are misinformed they can’t make choices in their own best interests. Instead the person who gave them bad info chooses for them. Misinforming America is a bad look, Tribeca. Please think about the greater numbers of sick, injured, and dead American children that will result from Wakefield’s slick propaganda designed to convince parents not to vaccinate their kids. Sadmar #66, I would be okay with a film festival showing Wakefield’s propaganda if they were clear that the film was dangerous disinformation per the scientific community, and they had a statement from physician groups countering the false claims in the film. Because this disinformation will harm children, spreading it is more like yelling “fire” in a theater than simply letting a crank have a free speech platform. sadmar March 23, 2016 at 3:24 am Not how it works, titmouse. The festival Isn’t a science journal that vets true/false or methodological rigor. They just put the thing on view, and which point it gets praised/damned or usually both. What would be heinous is if the festival tried to protect the film by blocking discussion – doing a Trump-ish, ‘only our supporters can get tickets thing’, etc. It’s the scientific community’s job to get into the discursive space opened by the announcement, counter the false claims, and reveal Andy for the con-artist he is, not the programmer’s. Which, it seems, the scientific community is doing rather well, so far… Maybe you’ve never been to a documentary screening at a film festival. This is yes like yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater than putting a spotlight on the some kids with lit matches walking toward the projection room. Sadmar, we know what will happen if this film is promoted or given any sort of credibility by celebutards: kids will get sick and some will die. We can thank Wakefield and the UK to thank for the evidence that backs my point. People at Tribeca are people just like me. They can’t be totally neutral to their role in spreading bad info about vaccines. They should feel some responsibility here as fellow citizens. The Tribeca Film Festival’s disingenuous excuse for screening an antivaccine propaganda film by Andrew Wakefield – Respectful Insolence March 23, 2016 at 6:00 am […] if I was going to write about this again so soon, because one post seemed adequate to describe the massive dump that the Tribeca Film Festival just took on reality by announcing the screening of a pseudoscientific antivaccine propaganda film by The One […] Chris Preston March 23, 2016 at 6:33 am Particularly deceptive is a segment that occurs around 1:22 in the trailer, a cartoon that depicts a large syringe with green liquid in it in surrounding a girl with a Teddy Bear, clearly meant to represent a vaccine, presumably the MMR given the whole focus on the “CDC Whistleblower.” Of course, as I pointed out before, among Caucasian girls, even Brian Hooker couldn’t torture the data to make them confess to a correlation between vaccinating girls and an increased risk of autism. Why didn’t the filmmaker choose to put an African-American boy in the syringe? It has become an article of faith among most anti-vaxxers that Hooker’s (crap) paper showing (incorrectly) that African-American boys vaccinated late had higher rates of autism is proof positive that vaccines cause autism in all groups of children. This is the explanation of why the CDC Whistleblower meme continues to get traction, despite the pointing out that it showed MMR isn’t associated with increased autism in girls or white boys. Helianthus March 23, 2016 at 6:47 am @ Liz Ditz Matt_Carey is laying down some serious smiting of Wakefield’s iniquities here I just went and read some of the comments. I recognized a few names – or styles – from around here. I felt like home. As an aside, I noted that this “charming” Jeff’s shtick is the Bonnie Offit defense, i.e. to dismiss his opponents as being the various sockpuppets of a single, pharma-paid, commenter. Antivaxers are boringly predictable. not to be confused with the Chewbacca defense. What’s particularly silly is that Seneff isn’t even an MMR crank. She’s a GMO crank In fact before GMOs caused autism it was low fat diets and statins Then it was sulfate deficiency, vaccines, aluminium, painkillers and finally GMOs. As far as Stephanie Seneff is concerned if you throw enough hypotheses at the wall one might stick and the cranks will invite you to their conferences. Her partner in crime Anthony Samsel actually pays to go to OMICS conferences* where he proposed that water dynamics are responsible for autism. I kid you not Actually it may be Robert Davidson who paid to go I need to get some sleep, titmouse, as I’m making more typos than usual. “AT which point…”LESS like yelling…” No, you don’t know what will happen if this film is screened – which BTW is hardly required for it to be promoted/endorsed by ‘celebutards’, there being YouTube and all, not that Rob Schneider has any credibility with anyone who isn’t already a lost cause. I don’t know what will happen either. We both have hypotheses. Mine is informed by having made and taught documentary film for 35 years, studied how media messages work for just as long, read tons of theory and research on the subject, written a PhD dissertation on the politics of pop culture, published essays on the same in good journals and well received books… but as I have my reasons for not using my real name online, I’m not expecting you to take my word for how this stuff works. I could be wrong here, but if I were you, I’d run a Dunning-Kruger check and look at some studies of the actual receptions dubious docos have received in the past. In any event, ‘the proof is in the pudding’, and if Tribeca goes ahead with the screening, we’ll see whether that gets good pub for anti-vax or bad, and where the ‘movement’ goes from there… My plate of Flying Spaghetti, could you imagine the screaming if Tribeca cancels? Orac would be able to hear Brian Martin without the aid of electronics. Hope March 23, 2016 at 8:42 am Why are you so worried about the film being shown at The Tribeca Film Festival? What if all the hype is true? Let people make their own decisions. I know one thing, and that is that I work in a setting with children on the spectrum, and so many of the parents say that their child was fine, thriving, meeting their milestones, until they had their combination immunizations. These children were then diagnosed with autism, somewhere on the spectrum. Cause and effect, probably not, because there are so many children who received these immunizations that are OK, but association, yes. Maybe they should not be bombarding children with so many vaccines at one time? Something is up. Is it hard to believe the CDC is dishonest? Really! Everything is a business. All I’m saying is open up your mind to hear what is said. Take away whatever you want from it, but listen to the other side of the coin. Who’s worried? While I thought it was a horrible idea for the Tribeca Film Festival to have selected Wakefield’s film for screening in the first place because antivaxers will milk that for all it’s worth as “evidence” that the film has merit, what’s done is done. Now that Tribeca has screwed up so royally in making this decision, I now actually hope that the screening goes forward on schedule as announced. given that, unlike the case with most antivaccine gatherings, the filmmakers can’t control who can attend the screening. The only thing that worries me is that, after hearing all the rumblings about skeptics showing up to the screening, Wakefield will get cold feet and cancel the Q&A. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did that or somehow tried to control the questions that can be asked. @Hope A couple of reasons. First, we know that the hype is not true. We have Thompson’s documents. A number of us have actually read through them, the original study, Hooker’s retracted paper, and so on. And there isn’t any evidence of fraud or a coverup. Second, the film has great potential to do harm, both to public health and the autism community. Thankfully, there are people like Orac and Matt Carey who have done and will continue to do a great deal of fact-checking, but a lot of people may view this film and be persuaded by the misinformation it contains. This promotes vaccine rejection, distrust of the medical community, and stigmatizes autism. We have kept open minds. We have looked at the evidence. And all we’ve found are lies, distortions, and Wakefield cynically exploiting others to promote himself. @Hope: so many of the parents say that their child was fine, thriving, meeting their milestones, until they had their combination immunizations Here’s what’s odd. Invariably, whenever a claim like this is investigated, it’s turned out to be incorrect. In the Omnibus Autism Proceedings before Vaccine Court, one of the Test Cases was Michelle Cedillo. Her parents introduced video taken when she was 15 months old. An expert in autism was able to show that she was already showing signs of autism. Maybe they should not be bombarding children with so many vaccines at one time? “Too many too soon” is a known antivaccine trope that has been disproved. All I’m saying is open up your mind to hear what is said. Take away whatever you want from it, but listen to the other side of the coin. We have listened. We’ve responded to the antivaxxers and we’ve been met with goalpost shifting, logical fallacies, insults, and personal attacks. There aren’t two sides to this argument. The Earth travels around the Sun, humans have walked on the Moon, and vaccines do not cause autism. Dr Aust March 23, 2016 at 10:44 am Here’s a thought; why couldn’t Tribeca screen, straight after it, Brian Deer’s “MMR: What They Didn’t Tell You”, preferably with an added “Epilogue” silent end-screen listing the full time-line of what has happened to ‘Saint Andy’ since? (As in failed lawsuits, the revelation of just how much cash Andy had trousered, paper retracted, struck off, more failed lawsuits, Autism Omnibus, ‘let go’ from Thoughtful House etc etc), After all, screening them back-to-back should help the “talking about” no end. Not to mention it would be an example of serious documentary / film-making covering the same sort of turf. Sounds just up their street. [email protected]: Please to learn the difference between worry and contempt. The response would be the same were Trifecta presenting 9/11 Truther or Holocaust Denial garbage as anything but outrageous propaganda and falsehood. There is a world of difference between screening “Triumph of the Will” or “Birth of a Nation” as significant historical and cinematic artefacts, and showing them in order to make people believe what they say is true. Psycho Andy and the rest of his partners in crime don’t have a legitimate leg to stand on, and they know it. That’s why they put all their effort into pushing propaganda cruises and pseudo-documentaries instead of publishing in Nature and picking up Nobels for revolutionizing medicine: to shake down the rubes for the maximum amount of cash. They show zero compunction or responsibility to anyone crippled or killed as a result, and are well known for their savagery to those that subsequently speak up. They have demonstrated again and again and again that they are contemptible people with a greedy, cruel, and malicious agenda that leave even their most delusional baby-eating caricatures of scientists and medics looking kind and honest in comparison. So, exactly just how many times must they prove themselves frauds and liars and manipulators and thugs before people like you stop playing your I’m-just-being-reasonable-and-you’re-all-meanies “there’s two sides to every story” bullshit games? We know what their “side” is, and we know why it is as it is, because there is already vast screeds of evidence out there for anyone who chooses to look. The only thing we still struggle to fathom is why any human being who isn’t utter scum inside would deliberately choose to pretend otherwise. Delphine March 23, 2016 at 12:31 pm and so many of the parents say that their child was fine, thriving, meeting their milestones, until they had their combination immunizations. These children were then diagnosed with autism, somewhere on the spectrum. Cause and effect, probably not, because there are so many children who received these immunizations that are OK, but association, yes Until they…started eating solid foods. Until they…began potty learning. Until they…were weaned from the breast/bottle. Until they…were introduced to screened media. Until they…were moved from a crib to a bed. Cause and effect, probably not, because there are so many children who received these immunizations that are OK, but association, yes………………. Oh look Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon http://www.salon.com/2016/03/23/anti_vaxxers_tribeca_triumph_discredited_doctors_documentary_about_the_long_debated_link_between_autism_and_vaccines_doesnt_belong_in_respected_festival/ “But in a prepared statement, a representative of the festival said that “Tribeca, as most film festivals, are about dialogue and discussion. Over the years we have presented many films from opposing sides of an issue. We are a forum, not a judge.” To which I reply, are you kidding? On the one hand, there’s the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control. On the other, the “opposing side” in this case a discredited charlatan whose work has been thoroughly refuted. That’s like having Neil Degrasse Tyson saying the earth is round, and then saying we need to hear the other side of the story from a guy in a tinfoil hat who lives under a bridge. Do we? Really? So here it is again. Vaccines don’t cause autism. Not vaccinating children, however, can be incredibly dangerous for children and for individuals with compromised immune systems who are unable to be vaccinated. And spreading gobbledygook from quacks isn’t being non judgmental. It’s being irresponsible and dangerous.” Well that’s ringing. Wish she had mentioned that Thompson does not appear in the film. Joan Campbell March 23, 2016 at 1:50 pm http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/anatomy-of-witch-hunt.html That’s marvellous, we have seen most of those clips over the years it’s nice to see them in a proper film. BTW we are not the anti-vaccine movement , you should call us the vaccine injured children of parents movement. If I question the safety of cars am I anti car. Wake up people before your children and grandchildren are injured by un safe vaccines. rs March 23, 2016 at 2:07 pm “you should call us the vaccine injured children of parents movement.” An unsubstantiated assertion. Belief does not equal truth. Mephistopheles O'Brien March 23, 2016 at 3:22 pm @Joan Campbell – I am opposed to unsafe vaccines as well. Could you please tell me? – Which vaccines are unsafe compared to the diseases they prevent? – How you know that? Take away whatever you want from it, but listen to the other side of the coin. I have a handful of assorted change (British, Euros, American) and I tried listening to both the heads and tails sides of each. Nada. If money talks, then coins talk very quietly. has March 23, 2016 at 4:19 pm Joan [email protected]: Nobody cares what you believe, only what evidence you’ve got. To date all we’ve seen is evidence of a circus of screaming paranoid narcissists rotating ever more rapidly around a nasty psychopathic core. Your precious “movement” has already destroyed all credibility and sympathy it might once have mustered; what more do you want? Even as a raging misanthrope and not nice person, I deeply feel for any disabled child whose entire future lies beneath parents whose strangling idée fixe has declared her “broken” or “stolen” and has nothing better to do with its time than blame everyone else for such undeserved misfortune. But for you and your ilk, nothing. Not any more. Go away. You’re done. Listen to that initial recording of Thompson. First off–it’s two different statements spliced together. The cut-&-paste ransom-note work with Thompson’s words, to make up new statements and put them in his mouth, that’s Wakefield’s depraved indifference. He simply does not give a toss about any damage he does to Thompson’s credibility or career. Thompson is just another body for Wakefield to walk on, and the Tribeca organisers are complicit in this. has97 The name suits you has been, you go away and join the circus you clown. Chris March 23, 2016 at 6:37 pm Ms. Campbell, you seem to lack one crucial bit: actual evidence. We are not overly impressed by the blog written by the Queen Bee of the Clown Canary Party. OK, this is the second of your utterances that bears only a passing resemblance to a coherent English statement. (Cf. “you should call us the vaccine injured children of parents movement.”) Perhaps you should stay in the circus you’re accustomed to, where pretty much anything goes without question so long as it blames vaccines for Something Bad. Amethyst March 23, 2016 at 6:51 pm The name suits you, has-been. You go away and join the circus you clown. There, now it makes sense. Although the pun makes it no less cringe-worthy nor stupid (perhaps even more so). If I question the safety of cars am I anti car. No, but if you tell me your child doesn’t need a car seat because car seats don’t prevent all deaths and some kids who’ve died in accidents were in car seats and there’s CLEARLY a conspiracy on the part of Big Car Seat to injure children and anyone who questions you is just a Car Seat shill……………. JustaTech March 23, 2016 at 7:04 pm So, Joan @93, which diseases are you looking forward to coming back? Measles, which kills? Rubella, which causes a host of birth defects including brain damage? Polio, which killed and crippled thousands? You say you’re from the UK, how about some of those lovely tropical diseases that so decimated the British Empire? Vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines prevent diseases that cause untold suffering and death. Don’t forget diphtheria, aka the “Strangling Angel”, which was once the leading cause of death in young children in the UK. Nothing like watching a child choke to death. @Joan Campbell – I see you took a moment to respond to has. When you get a moment, could you please respond to my topical and polite questions above? By the way, what are your standards for a safe car? But Delphine @105, without diphtheria, we wouldn’t have the Iditarod sled race! /sarc Has Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival sold out to anti-vaccine crackpots? – Los Angeles Times March 23, 2016 at 7:44 pm […] nom de plume “Orac” and has been following the Wakefield and Thomson sagas for years, raises the pertinent question: “How on earth did this documentary full of antivaccine lies…get into Tribeca?” […] This was something I wondered about after the Obel et al. “just measles” piece. Recently, the H5N1 blog mentioned a fatal case in Belgium. Hell, if people are going to pitch a fit about aP not preventing carriage, they might as well go whole hog. Then again, infection-based immunity doesn’t prevent carriage either. * Oh, wait, NVIC already has: “Transmission of diphtheria can occur in vaccinated individuals who become asymptomatic carriers of the disease as a result of the vaccine.” Lucy Johnson March 23, 2016 at 7:58 pm Nice article, starting with horrible slurs. Take a look at this language. Before we even get into ANY discussion at all, you’ve called everyone calling for more research into vaccine safety conspiracy theorists, crop circle chasers, cranks, quacks, ‘ dehumanising labels designed to immediately diminish and reduce anyone who takes a different position in the debate, or even thinking of asking a question. And then the dog piling of dissenting voices. Slurs again, like ‘narcissist’ etc. This is very typical of internet bullying. And so dismissive of a documentary you’ve not even seen. We seem to accept that large pharmaceutical corporations are only concerned with shareholder’s profits and the next quarter’s balance sheet when they unethically raise the cost of HIV-AIDS medication, yet become the lighted shining angels when it comes to vaccines — an area where they profit by millions of dollars every year, and where they would stand to lose considerably if their products or the way those products were administered were proved unsafe. And yet, anyone asking perfectly reasonable questions is slurred before they even open their mouths or put pen to paper. How is this promoting proper inquiry? I’ll wait for you to select your slurs to distract yourselves from answering that question. shay simmon March 23, 2016 at 8:10 pm Because the support of a Hollywood celebrity totally trumps 35 years of epidemiological studies. Frank Dodd March 23, 2016 at 8:12 pm Help protest the screening. https://www.change.org/p/anna-ponder-demand-tribeca-film-fest-cancel-their-anti-vaccination-propaganda-screening […] nom de plume “Orac” and has been following the Wakefield and Thomson sagas for years, raises the pertinent question: “How on earth did this documentary full of antivaccine lies … get into Tribeca?” […] Lucy Johnson @110: conspiracy theorists, crop circle chasers, cranks, quacks, ‘ dehumanising labels “Dehumanising”? Do you have any idea that words have meanings, or do you just open your face-hole and transcribe whatever noises come out? Ms. Johnson should try being a woman who’s been taken for a man on the regular since age 15 or so. She would quickly learn what “dehumanizing” actually means and feels like. squirrelelite March 23, 2016 at 9:16 pm @Lucy Johnson (110) People have been studying vaccine safety for decades, and even more so in the last 15 years ago. The Rand study in this link http://respectfulinsolence.com/2014/07/02/yet-more-evidence-that-vaccines-are-safe-and-do-not-cause-autism/ is the most recent major analysis of these decades to studies by multiple research groups in different countries using different data sets. To paraphrase Orac in that article, there is no such thing as an effective medical intervention with no Adverse Effects, but this study (and many others) show that the risk of AEs from vaccines is extremely low, and much, much less than the risk of AEs from the diseases the vaccines protect against from “minor” things like deafness and blindness to spending the rest of your life in pain from a later recurrence like Shingle up to and including death. So what data do you have that there is a serious risk that was somehow missed in all these researches? It needs to be something more than “yeah, but I just don’t believe vaccines are safe yet”. last 15 years or so decades of studies Ms. Johnson: “And yet, anyone asking perfectly reasonable questions is slurred before they even open their mouths or put pen to paper. How is this promoting proper inquiry?” Since you are an expert on scientific query and how those of us who ask questions are slurred, could you please answer I question that everyone refuses answer. It is so unfair, I ask this simple question and I either get no answer or I am called nasty names. Here it is: Which particular MMR vaccine was Dr. Wakefield investigating for his now retracted 1998 Lancet paper? In 1988 the UK introduced three different MMR vaccines, but in 1992 withdrew two due to issues with their mumps strain. Plus one of those children was American, which means a fourth type of MMR vaccine. When someone investigates the effects of a drug, they usually make sure all of the test subject had the same one. So when it is said that Wakefield investigated the MMR vaccine, which of the four versions was it? @Lucy Johnson #110 If I didn’t know better, I would suspect that you are pulling the classic crackpot dodge of “I AM NOT AGAINST VACCINES I AM JUST ASKING QUESTIONS BECAUSE I WANT THEM TO BE SAFE FOR OUR PRECIOUS CHILDREN!!!!!” Celebrity radio blabbermouth Robert F Kennedy jr uses that one all the time. Getting to the meat of your comment, how can we be sure that you are not just a shape shifting reptilian overlord? They often are assigned to this planet for the purpose of torturing and manipulating us, just as you are attempting to do with your incoherent nonsense and your empty posturing? Just stop it with that word, I’ve had enough. Jesus wept, these people are pathological douchecanoes. My late grandfather qualified as a surgeon in London in the 30s. According to my late Dad, Grandfather once performed an operation on a young boy with diphtheria, without anesthetic, because it was either that or the kid was going to die right then and there. And even if the operation was successful (it was) you didn’t have antibiotics, so you could still lose the patient. A child, a small boy, who would ultimately flail around, gasping, panicking, until he could move no longer. Which my Granddad had witnessed, in other small children. That was only 85 or so years ago, in a large city with comparatively great facilities. Delphine: “Just stop it with that word, I’ve had enough.” Oh, yes. Please stop it. Though she was probably one of the types that ran into me with a bicycle, called me names (it includes one that is a reason why I dislike my full given name, apparently it was “weird” in the 1960s), shunned me and made my life miserable in fourth grade. Heaven forbid that you should accept and befriend someone who moved to your small town because the Army base forty miles away had a housing shortage. Also, my oldest son was bullied just because he is autistic. Go figure. (though he has fought back at least once, see note… plus he got crushes on female classmates who defended him in high school) At least it prepared me for what I had to deal with as a parent of a disabled child. I grew a backbone by the time I entered fifth grade in not only a new school but in another country. This backbone helped me deal with the elementary school “concerned” parents who wanted my son’s special ed program removed from their campus, make sure that its new playground was disability friendly (ramp, activities for deaf/blind, etc.), and dealt with the fact that even though we invited all kinds to his birthday parties* —- he only got invited to parties for kids in his special ed. program. By the way, he realized he was being discriminated by the kids in his mainstream classes. He had done his best to friendly to a new kid in class who moved here from Europe. But then that kid who appreciated someone not looking at him as strange decided my son was not worthy of his friendship and excluded him from his birthday party. My son is autistic, not stupid. A while later in third grade they ran into each other in the changing room after swim classes. According that child’s mom he said something to her precious child that was upsetting. My son saw her son and just said “I hate you” and then went on his way. Sorry “upset mom”, that made me a bit proud. * Birthday parties for my sons were always weird and different. First my boys’ birthdays are only four days apart, other than one sleepover party, they have always been joint parties. Second It is interesting when you see all of the sorts of behaviors from the child who is ADHD autistic and the child with echolia who recites the Beatrix Potter stories the entire time. herr doktor bimler March 24, 2016 at 12:14 am On the movie-making topic, Denice Walter might remember this from three years ago: And here’s another one: ( @AoA) “Canary Kids” declares that “we have the power to stop the autism epidemic in its tracks”.. and how will they do that? They’ll create a film to spread the gospel of anti-vax plus*, funded by ” parents, scientists, writers, and people who ‘get it’” utiilising the services of an “award-winning documentary director and former law partner”, Mary Mazzio. There’s a new condition, called “almost autism” which includes just about every chronic condition. The film makers will follow seven children with autism, asthma, ADHD, chronic Lyme and other conditions, providing them with free alt med services for 18 months, documenting the startling “transformation” that will most certainly occur. This masterpeiece is being initiated by Beth Lambert of Epidemic Answers: they have 70K USD already and are soliciting funds for the remaining 180K USD: it’s slated for a “theatrical release”. …followed by an Orac report: http://respectfulinsolence.com/2013/02/22/almost-autism-a-new-diagnosis-created-by-antivaccinationists/ This came to mind because Beth Lambert is still around, still trying to raise funds off the Canary movement, now inviting contributions and community participation in a documentary “Documenting Hope” — basically an advertisement for DAN that doesn’t actually mention DAN. ht_tp://documentinghope.com/the-team/ The idea seems to be to mobilise enthusiasm from individual families, and rely on their vanity to pay for the whole project. “Documenting Hope” is affiliated to and sponsoring this “Autism Intensive Online Summit”… a collection of pay-to-watch advertisements from the usual congregation of autism grifters and scoundrels, organised by a supplement pill-pimp who’s trying to enlarge his grift: ht_tp://theautismintensive.com/ Narad March 24, 2016 at 12:52 am We seem to accept that large pharmaceutical corporations are only concerned with shareholder’s profits and the next quarter’s balance sheet when they unethically raise the cost of HIV-AIDS medication Lucy, could you go into something resembling detail about this ART assertion in the real world, or was it just random glue between “slurs,” “slurs,” “bullying,” and “slurs”? [Y]ou’ve called everyone calling for more research into vaccine safety conspiracy theorists, crop circle chasers, cranks, quacks… No. He’s called people who demanded research into vaccine safety because they wanted their preconceived notions that vaccines were bad confirmed “conspiracy theorists, cranks and quacks”. He’s called people who reject the results of research that fail to confirm their biases about vaccines “conspiracy theorists, cranks and quacks”. …diminish and reduce anyone who takes a different position in the debate… There is no “debate”. Vaccines work and are far safer than the diseases they prevent. [S]o dismissive of a documentary you’ve not even seen. That “documentary” was made by a man who was hired to find evidence against MMR, subjected autistic children to needless and traumatic medical procedures, cooked the data when it failed to support the MMR-Autism hypothesis, and failed to disclose his conflicts of interest. In short, it is almost certain to be another load of lies. And yet, anyone asking perfectly reasonable questions… The questions being asked are not reasonable. All too often, they are leading or loaded (JAQing Off) or have been answered already but the answers are rejected because they contradict the antivaxxers beliefs. As for your remarks about bullying, from an autistic whose social ineptitude made him a target for bullies (including teachers)… Find an erupting volcano and jump in. @ Narad Then again, infection-based immunity doesn’t prevent carriage either. Indeed. One can even say that the whole point of an infection is for the responsible bug to implant itself in its host and to spread to other hosts. @ Lucy Johnson It’s OK to ask questions, but are you willing to listen to the answers? The previous decade following this pseudo-debate has showed me that most of your antivaxers colleagues are not. Those who are willing to listen stop being antivaxers. Case in point with the crowd surrounding Wakefield. No matter how many times his wrongdoings are pointed and documented, he remains above all reproaches. Lucy Johnson March 24, 2016 at 3:44 am I’m a writer and study language — and what I’m primarily looking at here, in the debate on vaccines (yes there is a debate, there has been for decades, and the reason for this is because it isn’t just individual vaccines being questioned over safety, but the safety and timing of the schedule and the age of the subjects. In Science, real science, there is ALWAYS debate, or its not proper science, but dogma, but we can have a discussion on this another time.) What I find interesting is language and the way its used in these sorts of discussions. For example: If I didn’t know better, I would suspect that you are pulling the classic crackpot [<——-slur, this is designed to dehumanise the questioner and also anyone who might be reading this with doubts or even objections to how language might be used or IS being used against people with different opinions. And note the BLANKET nature of the slur. The speaker means EVERYONE. It's the blanket nature, much like the opening lines in the first paragraph which indicates a dogmatic, rather than scientific approach.] dodge [<—— this word also has highly negative connotations, ones of dishonesty. The use of it is designed to IMMEDIATELY call into question the integrity of the speaker (me) and sends a signal that my opinions, because of their critical nature, are not worth responding seriously. This is a form of gas-lighting, and very subtle.] of “I AM NOT AGAINST VACCINES I AM JUST ASKING QUESTIONS BECAUSE I WANT THEM TO BE SAFE FOR OUR PRECIOUS CHILDREN!!!!!” [<— and a twisted reframing of the post, again a form of gas lighting the purpose of which is to minimise and dismiss the speaker further. Note the use of '!!!!', the subtle implication here being that the speaker, in this case me, lacks education. You don't know my levels of education, of course, but the reframing helps to create the impression that the speaker knows very little.) Celebrity radio blabbermouth [<– another slur, deftly inserted. We don't know, or at least cannot verify, whether the radio host IS a blabbermouth or is just a journalist doing his job — I'm British and don't have access to his show, and cannot verify this — but let's for a second suppose he deserves the slur of blabbermouth, much as David Icke ACTUALLY deserves the table of 'crackpot'. By likening, straight off the bat, the speaker to someone objectionable, the responder immediately creates a negative impression. Again, you don't have listen to this person, they're not worth listening to, minimisation and dismissal.] Robert F Kennedy jr uses that one all the time (<— and a blanket statement example which is impossible to verify, especially for a British person.] Note several things about this response. How many slurs were used and how dismissive the language is. My post above was actually about the way peoople are treated and the way language is used, not about the safety of vaccines per say. But note now language is twisted and reframed. Now lets look at how Mr Bell, responding to my comment continues, having dismissed and minimised in his first paragraph. What we see here is classic 'escalation'. Getting to the meat of your comment, how can we be sure that you are not just a shape shifting reptilian overlord? [<—- MASSIVE slur. Here he makes a DIRECT connection to David Icke and real 'crackpots'. Note I haven't disclosed anything about what my views are, I've just made a comment on language, but because the comment is a critical one in a discussion on vaccines, even if it's not critical OF vaccines, this means I could be a potential dissenting voice, and therefore must be rooted out and dismissed. This sort of abusive, smearing language can be seen everywhere where there are parents of autistic children involved in discussions of this nature.] They often are assigned to this planet for the purpose of torturing and manipulating us, [The escalation of the slur, now reaches a crescendo, having used the dehumanising 'crackpot' slurs in the first paragraph and reduced me, a human being, to a mere lable that can be comfortably abused] just as you are attempting to do with your incoherent nonsense [<— and here we are again. There was in fact nothing incoherent about my post. I wrote in very clear English, as is my wont, given the fact I'm a writer I'm rather good at it. I was also a lawyer and therefore trained not to be incoherent. But this is the ultimate linguistic dismissal. Mr Bell does not say HOW my post was 'incoherent' or 'nonsensical'. This is just another slur, this time directed at the 'meat' of my comment to dismiss it completely.] and your empty [<— and another dismissive adjective, of course, unsubstantiated. How was what I said empty? No EVIDENCE. Just slurs.] posturing?[ open slurs and outright dismissal. Thank you for being the object lesson here that proves my point above Mr Bell. How we use language is important. How discussions are framed is important. And how we TREAT each other is important. Miss Delphine above wants us to stop using the word ‘bullying’. She’s had enough, apparently. Perhaps if the people doing it could stop, there would be meaningful discussion. Amethyst March 24, 2016 at 4:11 am In Science, real science, there is ALWAYS debate, or its not proper science, but dogma, but we can have a discussion on this another time.) Sigh. Science is not philosophy. What is true and false is not decided in a debate, but through evidence – and the evidence speaks for vaccines being safe and effective. There is no need for further debate on “vaccine safety” than there is for evolution, gravity or that the Earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around. Amethyst, I’m sorry, that’s just not correct. Science is ‘natural’ philosophy and there are very, very few scientific principles which are not open to further development or knowledge –especially in the are of biochemistry and the brain, where so little is known in the first place, there is always room to further our knowledge. As you say, empirical evidence (which also includes properly recording points of qualitative data and clinical observation). A fact in science is provisional until we know more. There is ALWAYS cause and effect. There is no such thing as the autoimmunity fairy that strikes down children. If you don’t know what the cause is, you do more research, not just say ‘sht happens’. Of course there’s a debate. I was at a conference last year where the debate between scientists was in full swing. If anyone EVER says to you ‘science has conclusively proved x’ then they’re peddling dogma, not science. Hogwash. There are several “things” that have been proven to be true without a shadow of a doubt in science. “Science has conclusively proven that the earth revolves around the sun.” It is true that science constantly challenges itself, and that is why it is such a great tool to use, but that does not lead towards the conclusion that ‘everything’ should be constantly questioned and challenged. Also, I take issue with this: Science is ‘natural’ philosophy and there are very, very few scientific principles which are not open to further development or knowledge That was very dishonest of you. In no way or form did I ever say that science should not be “open to further development or knowledge” – I said that debates is not the way to do it. As someone who throws the fact that she is a writer around like no tomorrow, you should’ve known better than to strawman me. I mean, really now. “Science has conclusively proven that the earth revolves around the sun.” <— in the field of astronomy, much further down the road than biochemistry. Not all disciplines are at the same level of knowledge. Planets going around the sun, electrons going around a nucleus, these things are comparatively simple compared with highly complex biological systems. It is factually incorrect for you to say that we know everything there is it know about science in terms of biochemistry. Once again, we deal only with probabilities and likelihoods. Take physics. E=0.5m(v-squared) is Newtonian physics and works very well as an 'absolute' fact. Until of course v, velocity, reaches the speed of light. Then it changes. The fact was provisional until Einstein came along with E = m (c-squared). Even in Physics, where things are simpler and principles established for longer, there's still room to know more. But when it comes to highly complex biological systems, about which we know comparatively little compared with our knowledge of physics, there's even more room. Science has not conclusively proved the safety of the current vaccine schedule because not enough studies, have been done in the area. There's no need to call into question my integrity (count number 2 for this discussion). I'm not 'dishonest', I'm pointing out your farming and examples of physics aren't the best ones to use with biology. 🙂 It is factually incorrect for you to say that we know everything there is it know about science in terms of biochemistry Not only factually incorrect, but a downright idiotic thing to say – good thing I never did. I’m not ‘dishonest’, I’m pointing out your farming and examples of physics aren’t the best ones to use with biology You’re dishonest to the max, actually. Not only through your constant misrepresentation of what I’m saying, but for your generally sneaky argumentation tactics: Just because we don’t know everything in the field of bio-chemistry as a whole does not mean vaccines aren’t safe and effective. I’ll gladly give you the fact that there is much to be discovered in the field. I swear, it is like arguing with a Creationist using the “God of the gaps”-fallacy. Jeesh. Okay, since I came on here to point out about how language is used. 1. You used physics as an example of conclusive facts in science to argue that ‘science’ had conclusively proved the safety of vaccines. An example from physics, to talk about complex biological systems. I haven’t twisted anything you said. 2. You said there is ‘no debate’ when actually, there most certainly is a debate, not only a debate within the scientific community but in society at large. By framing the argument in terms of ‘science has conclusively proved x’ you demonstration you either 1) don’t understand what scientific consensus actually is or 2) are using science to back up a dogma or preconceived idea. 3. Throughout your posts, and others, we see, again, the use of slurs and personal insult, and comparison with ‘crackpot’ ideology. Creationist, this time. Maybe I should have made a bingo card. I’m not mis-respenting what you’re saying. You’re saying that science has conclusively proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the current vaccine schedule as it is rolled out to under fives is safe and effective for all children, and that this has been conclusively proved, so there is ‘no debate.’ If I have misunderstood this, then I apologise. Your argument is flawed because it rests on a wrong understanding of what science is. When its pointed out, you whip out the slurs. “Dishonest” and “just like a Creationist” <—- this last statement is designed to undermine the fact you've got your understanding of science wrong and used apples (physics) to compare oranges (biochemistry). Note how quickly the slurs emerge. Just because someone disagrees with you, does not make them dishonest. And once again, it comes back to HOW the debate is framed, and the LANGUAGE that's used. When discussing with parents and critics of the vaccine schedule, there is always slurring language used. Always. And that suggests its dogma, politics, and just plain abuse, rather than actual science. You used physics as an example of conclusive facts in science to argue that ‘science’ had conclusively proved the safety of vaccines. An example from physics, to talk about complex biological systems. I haven’t twisted anything you said. You’re either misrepresenting me, or suffering from an epic a reading comprehension fail. Pick your posion Mrs. Writer. I am not using these examples of physics to argue for examples of biochemistry. That is absurd. I am obviously using things like heliocentrism to show that there are indeed things that are not up for debate in science; facts proven beyond the shadow of a doubt – nothing more, nothing less. Throughout your posts, and others, we see, again, the use of slurs and personal insult, and comparison with ‘crackpot’ ideology. Creationist, this time. Maybe I should have made a bingo card. … “Creationist” is not a slur. And the reason I compared you to a Creationist was that you seemingly apply the same “God of the gaps” (but in this case, “Autism of the gaps”) by arguing that because we don’t know everything there is to know in biochemstry, vaccines could still be unsafe. Not because I was trying to sully your credability by association – you did that all by yourself, Mrs. Writer. 🙂 My kingdom for a comment edit function. LouV March 24, 2016 at 6:04 am Lucy Johnson #110 And yet, anyone asking perfectly reasonable questions is slurred before they even open their mouths or put pen to paper. This blog and others have followed every development of the CDC whistleblower manufactroversy since the beginning. Wakefield, Hooker et al had ample time and opportunities to “open their mouths” and “put pen to paper”, and the evidence they provided has been found insufficient or even contradictory to their claims. You can find a summary here : http://www.harpocratesspeaks.com/2014/09/mmr-cdc-and-brian-hooker-media-guide.html Asking questions on a product’s safety isn’t bad in itself ; however, asking questions answered a thousand of times, and who don’t have any pertinence… For example, some vaccines were pulled off the market and/or some adverse effects have been proven ; however, none of this happened thanks to activists who found there were “toxins” in vaccines. As for the “slurs” debate, I don’t always agree with the tone of this blog. However, the arguments and documentation presented make up for it. I also hope that the link I have provided will be sufficiently neutral for you to learn where our reactions come from. On the other hand, when there is a massive preponderance of evidence supporting a scientific conclusion, that “provisional” conclusion achieves such a high degree of certainty that it takes a hell of a lot to cast doubt on it and the burden of evidence shifts from those supporting it to those who think it is incorrect or incomplete; i.e., the theory of evolution, the theory of relativity, the scientific consensus that human activity is causing the climate to warm. The evidence failing to find a link between vaccines and autism has reached that point.If Wakefield has evidence that the overwhelming scientific consensus is incomplete or incorrect,, he has over the course of 18 years utterly failed to make his case or present compelling evidence to cast the consensus in doubt. Since I am very familiar with the “CDC whistleblower” case that will be at the heart of his documentary, I know with a high degree of certainty that what he will be presenting again will be smoke and mirrors and pseudoscience. The tone of this blog is understandable to me. You can only take wading through the muck for so many years after it starts to get to you. My favourite quote from Nietzsche (from my all-time favourite game, “Baldur’s Gate”!) comes to mind: He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. Just replace “monsters” with “quacks” That being said, I find Orac (and the regulars) to be very respectful and most likely possessing the patience of saints. But we ARE doing more research, and certainly not saying “sht happens” ! I follow autism research for my work, and there are lots of other hypothesis other than vaccines being studied. Vaccines themselves have been one of the, if not the most studied environmental hypothesis in the field ; that’s why we can now reasonably say that it is time to use funds for more plausible hypothesis. (Pretty sure my phrasing is incredibly awkward here, hope it still makes sense.) Or you fell into the slur trap most folks do? Creationist is most definitely a slur to someone trained in the scientific method, Amethyst. The use of it is language designed dismiss and minimise. My point. <<> LouV, thanks for coming in with something respectful. When you actually look at what the ‘activists’ are saying — the people trying to be reasonable — is that there hasn’t been sufficient research of the right kind, asking the right kind of questions. We don’t actually know what causes the broad phenotypes of autistic traits, and therefore we cannot say, conclusively, that the vaccine schedule has nothing to do with it for SOME of those children. The research hasn’t been done. I’ve looked. For example, I asked NICE (being a writer, doing an article, actually on the hysteria and scaremongering) for the clinical trial information for the testing of the whole schedule — not just individual vaccines — they couldnt give me it. I was stunned. I have a degree in biomedical science (one of them) and it’s an elementary move if you’re going to roll out a medical process to test the entire process clinically to ensure it was safe. This clinical trial was never carried out. While there had been testing of individual vaccines, the whole schedule had never been looked at. And the more I asked about it, the more cagey NICE and Immunisation Scotland and the other government agencies became. Now, am I a crackpot for asking for that study? Of course not. I was just trying to fact-check. The reason why the debate won’t go away is because of repeat parental observation — which should be recorded as points of qualitative data– that their children’s functions regress following the vaccinations. To be fair, DTap now lists this as a side-affect, but the routine dismissal of parental observation smacks of politics, not science. It is simply not possible — given our current knowledge — to say conclusively, sure-as-the-earth-goes-round-the sun conclusively, that vaccine injury does a) not occur and b) does not cause central nervous or enteric nervous system damage or c) that autoimmunity cannot result from vaccine use. This is where the real ‘scientific debate’ as opposed to the slurs and political mudslinging happens. That’s why the confusion of the slurring-type debates and real scientific debate is so damaging. @Lucy Johnson: I’m a writer and study language That would be a lot more convincing if it hadn’t been followed by a wall of text. in the debate on vaccines (yes there is a debate… Not in the way you seem to think. it isn’t just individual vaccines being questioned over safety, but the safety and timing of the schedule and the age of the subjects. Ah yes. The old trope of “too many too soon”. Looked at years ago, and no longer questioned except by those who distrust vaccines. http://respectfulinsolence.com/2013/04/01/the-death-of-too-many-too-soon-not-a-moment-too-soon/ The use of it is designed to IMMEDIATELY call into question the integrity of the speaker (me) and sends a signal that my opinions, because of their critical nature, are not worth responding seriously. You’re very new to this blog, aren’t you? I’ve been reading RI for over six years now. I’ve seen far too many instances where a commenter like you comes in, makes a number of initially reasonable claims, then goes full antivaxx, repeating demonstrable falsities and half truths about vaccination. Concern/Tone Trolling noted. there most certainly is a debate, not only a debate within the scientific community No. There is no debate within the scientific community. The issue has been looked at in great depth. Vaccines are effective and an order of magnitude safer than the diseases they prevent. The schedule was carefully thought out to maximize effectiveness and minimize risk. Another straw man. Multiple large studies, including a meta-analysis looking at literally millions of subjects, were done on the subject of vaccines causing autism. No link was found. Each time, vaccine “sceptics” responded by shifting the goalposts. “It’s an ingredient in the vaccines!” This was checked and refuted. “The schedule overloads the immune system!” Also checked and refuted. There is no debate. Just a bunch of loudmouths shouting nasty things about vaccines because they reject the evidence put before them. Your point is invalid. I did not simply call you a Creationist to dismiss/smear you – THAT would’ve been the situation you explained above. No, I called you a Creationist because you created your own “God of the gaps”-fallacy by calling attention to the fact that we don’t know all there is to know about biochemistry and as such vaccines might still be unsafe – “Autism of the gaps”. Untwist your panties, please. Also, I am pretty sure I already explained my usage of the term Creationist Before. In one ear, out in the other, I suppose. I’m not mis-respenting what you’re saying. You’re saying that science has conclusively proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the current vaccine schedule as it is rolled out to under fives is safe and effective for all children, and that this has been conclusively proved, so there is ‘no debate.’ Your criticism is technically true. There is always room for more research. But in the context of Wakefield, vaccination, and autism – which is the topic of this blog post and the topic of the movie we are decrying -, Amethyst position is correct. We didn’t say that vaccines are always safe. But as far as autism is concerned, the current state of research is strongly on the “not connected” side. When you actually look at what the ‘activists’ are saying — the people trying to be reasonable “The people trying to be reasonable”?!?! Are you kidding me?! As I pointed out above, these people aren’t reasonable. They demanded that research be done into vaccines and autism, and when the results contradicted their notions, they doubled down and demanded more research. That’s not reasonable. “Reasonable” is changing your ideas when the data contradicts them. We don’t actually know what causes the broad phenotypes of autistic traits, and therefore we cannot say, conclusively, that the vaccine schedule has nothing to do with it for SOME of those children. The “susceptible subgroup” is another antivaccine trope. Remember that meta-analysis I mentioned? It looked at over 14 million children. If vaccines caused even a minority of cases of autism, it would have been picked up. It wasn’t. The research hasn’t been done. I’ve looked. Then you didn’t look very hard. It is simply not possible…to say conclusively…that vaccine injury does a) not occur Another strawman. Nobody has said that vaccine injury does not occur. and b) does not cause central nervous or enteric nervous system damage Very well. Propose a mechanism how that could occur please. or c) that autoimmunity cannot result from vaccine use. See my comment to your Point 1. I’ve done the research, but I’ve not found a single study to disprove vaccines turning children into werewolves. More research is needed before I deem them safe! How many horror movies involve unvaccinated Amish children turning into werewolves? NONE. @ Julian Frost You’re very new to this blog, aren’t you? ’twas my first thought, too. Robert F Kennedy jr uses that one all the time (<— and a blanket statement example which is impossible to verify, especially for a British person.] Orac usually put links to previous articles of him about the topic he is referring about. Or you have the search box on the top right. Ah, but these other articles are also by Orac, and will show the same bias, you will tell me. Well, in these articles discussing Robert F Kennedy jr, you will get links sending you to the newspaper interview, press conference or whatever medium was used by RFKjr to express his opinions. Do you research and judge by yourself. I asked NICE […] for the clinical trial information for the testing of the whole schedule — not just individual vaccines — they couldnt give me it. I was stunned. I have a degree in biomedical science (one of them) and it’s an elementary move if you’re going to roll out a medical process to test the entire process clinically to ensure it was safe. This clinical trial was never carried out. While there had been testing of individual vaccines, the whole schedule had never been looked at. The elementary move is to test the new procedure against the previous standard of care. So, just to be sure of what you want: When a new vaccine is added to the vaccination schedule, should it be tested: – added to the current schedule vs the unmodified schedule – as part of the whole new schedule, to be tested on people vs people not receiving any vaccination – following a third option you could expand on? In the first case, the study boils down to individually testing the new vaccine in people already vaccinated with the rest of the schedule. Which is that was done. In the second case, well. Could you spot the few ethical issues with a vax vs unvax study? Ethical issues which arise whether you believe that vaccines work, or that they cause harm. And the more I asked about it, the more cagey NICE and Immunisation Scotland and the other government agencies became. Since you were essentially telling them “drop the current vaccination policy and start a multi-billion-dollar study to assuage my fears”, they may be wont to react this way. Disrupting an established health policy and having more work on their plates are not things they would like much. Of course, if you could establish the need for such a study… Could you, in fact, describe in some detail the type of study you would like to be done? MI Dawn March 24, 2016 at 7:15 am Oh, goodness. I take a quiet evening away and we get a verbose warrier mommy who re-words every anti-vaccine trope (so we don’t identify that she’s JAQing off) and throws Wall o’Text at us. Lucy Johnson: before coming and calling all research into doubt: do some actual research. Don’t accuse the regulars of denying true things – i.e. “vaccines don’t cause injury” when no one on this blog EVER denies that vaccines have a risk – it’s just that the risk is minuscule compared to the actual disease risk. As far as the vaccinated becoming asymptomatic carriers – would you prefer unvaccinated carriers? Or the acknowledgement that we all make that herd immunity is important to protect those who CAN’T be vaccinated or who (like me) don’t mount an adequate response so depend on the herd. And you could answer some of the questions asked very respectfully – like Chris’ Blech. Sorry for incoherence. Need more coffee. If anyone here can point me in the direction of a clinical, double blind, randomised trial of the entire vaccine schedule as it is currently administered to under-fives, please, do it. I want to read it. I’ve asked for it. No one so far has been able to do it. For Amathyst, a clinical double-blind randomised trial looking specifically at neurological impacts is the study I’m looking for, and which, so far, no one has been able to point me towards. No one knows what causes the broad phenotype so of autism. Current thinking concludes that is its a combination of heritable AND environmental factors. What those environmental factors are, we don’t know, because not enough research has been done. Of course, if you can point me in the direction of clinical trials… Julian, there is a difference between the Icke-lizard crackpot camp, and those people, like myself, looking at the corpus of evidence used in the past and emerging today. Caught in the middle are suffering families and children — who are repeatadly told that 1) we don’t know what caused the autism but 2) it’s defeinately not vaccines. How do you know? The logical fallacy of this is obvious. If you don’t know what caused the autistic traits, YOU DONT KNOW. Now, there is a corpus of scientific evidence suggesting that regressive autism (autism you acquire or develop) as opposed to congenital autism present from birth are different conditions, the former being an autoimmune disorders. Papers have appeared in Autominity and other reputable journals to this effect. IF that is the case, and the emerging research into the causes of autistic regression suggests a form of autoimmunity, then it is LOGICAL to return to the things children’s immune systems are exposed to. Like vaccines, which contain a number of ingredients known to stimulate immune response. Given the high degree of autoimmune co-morbidity with regressive autistic children (nut allergies, athsma, etc) it is LOGICAL to look at autoimmunity as a possible cause of neurological damage. The brain and the body are not discrete. This is what the current scientific debates — and they are debates, real ones — are focused on. Overly simplifying the scientific debate and conflating it ‘David Icke Crackpots vs Reasonable People’ type hysteria is NOT helpful, or respectful and does both the scientific community and the families an extreme dis-service. Amethysts simplification and slurring is typical of the nonsense we have to endure every time two people with a different point of view come together to discuss this. (So far we’ve had were wolfs, lizards. I have a space on my ‘abuse bingo card’ for space aliens and the New World Order. Someone say it! I need a full house!) I do hope nothing I’ve said in this post is ‘unreasonable’. It’s time certain sections of the pro-vaccination campaign start acknowledging there is actually a healthy, lively debate in academia over this, and stop slurring and lumping everyone into the crackpot basket. I think we can do better than this. I’m mostly interested in the way the language of these discussions and debates are framed, but if anyone can actually point me in the direction of the double-blind randomised clinical trial of the entire vaccine schedule then please produce it. When you actually look at what the ‘activists’ are saying — the people trying to be reasonable — is that there hasn’t been sufficient research of the right kind, asking the right kind of questions. This is why I posted the link summarizing the whole “CDC whistleblower” affair, so that you can judge if Wakefield and co have been acting “reasonable” and “asking the right kind of questions”. I don’t see how their attitude during this farce brought anything constructive on the table ; quite the opposite. I am puzzled by the “we only looked at individual vaccines, not the whole schedule” argument. Even if we ignore the existence of the 2014 meta-analysis, DeStefano 2013, or Smith 2010 ; aren’t the majority of vaccinated children in individual vaccines studies vaccinated according to the schedule anyway ? If it was really “too many vaccines at once”, wouldn’t we see at least some kind of signal even in individual vaccines studies ? Regarding possible vulnerable subgroups, see also : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25898051 While I can’t say, for a specific case, that no vaccine played even a partial role in autism apparition, I still can say this is probably the case, and that a parent who claims vaccines were responsible is probably wrong. (I avoid having this kind of conversation in general, too much chance the parent will feel insulted when it is not my intention. ) (Oh, saw Helianthus’ answer @147, saying the same thing as me) LouV, I’m not talking about a broad epidemiological study. I’m talking about controlled, double-blinded randomised clinical studies looking specifically and vaccinated cohorts (usually this is done with primates) against control groups. Studies that meet the gold standard of clinical research, done PRIOR to rolling out the schedule. It hasn’t been done. There is a reason why double-blind trials, rather than after-the-fact studies, are so important. Thanks for your nbic paper, I will look at it (I have an appointment right now so I’ll have to come back to you on it), and I do try always to read the papers people refer me to. However, if the growing corpus of evidence suggests that regressive autism and autoimmunity are linked, for example, this paper in Nature: http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v7/n4/full/4001137a.html Then we many have to accept that the role of immune interventions (like vaccines) has yet to be fully explored. It’s therefore not wise to say there is ‘no debate’ or ‘no validity’ in concerns, case closed and you are a crackpot if you say different. The case is far from closed, and the use of slurs and dehuminising, dismissive language whenever this is discussed is particularly telling. But thank you for not flinging lables. I promise I will read the paper you linked me to later today. MI Dawn, I think you need to go back and read again what I actually said — with coffee. My posts were about blanket slurring and smearing., You’ll see above I actually analysed the language used by Robert Bell above to demonstrate how languages is used to dismiss concerns in these sorts of discussions. I hear you, and I agree with you, I just don’t accept that this was the thrust of what I was saying or that you can ascribe those opinions to me. I too have coffee…and now I really must get going. I’ll come back when I’ve read the papers Lou linked me to. 🙂 And once again, my thanks to Lou and Dawn for an informative and helpful discussion without finger pointing, name calling, or Slur Bingo. 🙂 A cruical first step would be to actually present a plausible hypothesis as to HOW vaccines would cause autism. AFAIK the anti-vaxxers have done no such thing. If anything, they all present such a cornucopia of possible causes that leaves them on an even shoddier leg to stand on! The causes of autism in vaccines are just as varied as the individual quacks and their wonder treatments. Lucy – there isn’t even a solid foundation to begin “more research” on at the moment. A rallying cry for “more research” is utterly pointless until we actually have something to test for. Lucy: tell us HOW you could create the controlled, double-blinded randomised clinical studies. How many children would you need? How would you randomise the children? I certainly wouldn’t want MY children in the “unvaccinated” arm, and I’m sure that parents who don’t want vaccines wouldn’t want their kids in the “vaccinated” arm, even if no one knew which arm they were in. I don’t chose to take that risk. How would you get IRB approval? No IRB in the world will approve withholding a proven medical intervention. Please answer those questions. Also – please reference the vaccines that were added to the schedule WITH blinded testing. Note that polio was added that way, as was the HPV vaccine. Also note we no longer routinely give the smallpox vaccine because we were able to eradicate it and the risk of the vaccine is now greater than the risk of the disease. If anyone here can point me in the direction of a clinical, double blind, randomised trial of the entire vaccine schedule as it is currently administered to under-fives So you want a vax vs unvax study, on children. How do you feel about telling parents: “we are going to inject you little baby with something which could be an useless saline solution, so if they catch measles, diphteria, mump, and are harmed by the infection… Well, tough luck.” The difference with injecting a vaccine and getting autism as a side-effect? We don’t have a real basis to think that vaccines can do that. And since autism happens in non-vaccinated children, clearly something else is, if not the sole, at least a major cause. OTOH, medical chronicles from the past century and beyond are perfectly clear on what happens to newborns who catch the wild form of now-vaccine-preventable childhood diseases. A good number of them suffer and a few of them die. who are repeatadly told that 1) we don’t know what caused the autism but 2) it’s defeinately not vaccines. How do you know? The logical fallacy of this is obvious. Only if you dismiss the studies already done. Or what we know about how the immune system works. Also, I assume you want this study you ask for to be done on the UK vaccine schedule. It’s not the same as the French one. Or the US one. Or the Japanese one. Be precise in what you ask, please. You don’t want people to think you are making open-ended demands so you always have a way out. But just in case, Orac is discussing a German study from 2011 here It’s all very well and good to ask for something that can’t be done, and then point out that the testing you want hasn’t been done, while conveniently ignoring the instances in which it HAS been done. Lucy, sure. I mean, leaving aside the ethics behind leaving a huge group of people unprotected (let’s do a double-blind study of hand antisepsis in the OR while we’re at it…I mean, the last one of those was Semmelweis in the 19th century!), we can. But I do have a question: would you, or any other “vaccine concerned parent,” volunteer your child? Would you allow yourself to be blinded as to whether or not your child is receiving a real vaccine, or saline in a syringe? I can say unequivocally, I would never allow my child to be a part of it, simply because I would never allow my child to go unprotected, ESPECIALLY if I didn’t know. I mean, the public health hit would be astronomical if there was an outbreak–tracking and testing children, then subsequently RUINING the study because ooops! Now it’s not blinded anymore, we know who is who know, you know, in order to prevent more people from getting sick and the morbidity/mortality that comes with these diseases, but I wonder how many people asking for this impossible study–which again, leaving ethics aside, is pretty much statistically and feasably impossible–would be willing to take part in it? Oh, no, that’s everyone else’s responsibility. Just like how the rest of us maintain herd immunity in the face of the VERY SMALL risk vaccines present; people who “question” are only able to do so because they’re being kept safe by those of us who fulfill our societal obligation. I have no doubt whatsoever the burden of this would be expected from just as well. @Helianthus: thanks…I forgot to ask about which schedule, though I assume she means the US schedule since it has the most vaccines (IIRC, approx 50 total for the 5 years from birth to age 5 IF you count every flu vaccine) Rebecca Fisher March 24, 2016 at 8:27 am Ah. Calling for a vaxed/unvaxed study, then claiming to be “just asking questions”? Check. Wanting to “hear both sides of the argument” while only listening to one side? Check. Claiming to always read documents put to her, then ignoring those that demonstrate how wrong she is? Check. Fairly standard antivaxer behaviour in my book, although I can’t immediately find anything on her blog. Mind you, that stops four years ago, so maybe antivax wingnuttery is a new hobby. @Lucy Johnson Caught in the middle are suffering families and children — who are repeatadly told that 1) we don’t know what caused the autism but 2) it’s defeinately not vaccines. How do you know? Did you not read what I wrote? Here it is again. “Multiple large studies, including a meta-analysis looking at literally millions of subjects, were done on the subject of vaccines causing autism. No link was found.” “Remember that meta-analysis I mentioned? It looked at over 14 million children. If vaccines caused even a minority of cases of autism, it would have been picked up. It wasn’t.” The logical fallacy of this is obvious. If you don’t know what caused the autistic traits, YOU DONT KNOW. The fact that we can’t say precisely what causes autism doesn’t mean we can’t exclude things. In the case of vaccines, the studies have been done. The fact that you don’t like the answers doesn’t invalidate them. Re your paragraph on autoimmunity as a possible cause of regressive autism, why look at vaccines? A full blown illness exposes the body to multiple times more antigens than is in the entire vaccine schedule. In fact, in your supposition, an illness is far more likely to cause regressive autism that the vaccines. Overly simplifying the scientific debate and conflating it ‘David Icke Crackpots vs Reasonable People’ type hysteria is NOT helpful Yet ANOTHER straw man. One does not have to be a “David Icke Crackpot” to be irrational about vaccination. I do hope nothing I’ve said in this post is ‘unreasonable’ You failed. Your use of the straw man fallacy was unreasonable. In addition: a clinical double-blind randomised trial looking specifically at neurological impacts is the study I’m looking for is also unrealistic. Brian Deer March 24, 2016 at 8:32 am Lucy Johnson: Would that be a “clinical, double blind, randomised trial of the entire vaccine schedule as it is currently administered to under-fives” with Roundup, acetaminophen, or french fries? Hey, we wouldn’t want to start a clinical, double blind (better not tell the kid), randomised trial, come back in ten years and find we forgot something, would we? Dangerous Bacon March 24, 2016 at 8:43 am I see that Lucy’s posts can be summarized as: 1) Big Pharma is Bad, therefore everything it produces is suspect, no matter what research and clinical experience shows. 2) We don’t know what causes autism, therefore it could be vaccines, no matter what research and clinical experience shows. 3) Some of you are Mean To Me, and that is far more important than what others have patiently pointed out about the results of research and clinical experience. Standard stuff from the land of antivax. @ Julian, #165: See, I told y’all – “autism of the gaps”. “We still don’t know what causes autism, therefore vaccines!” “We still don’t know there isn’t a god, therefore god!” Once again, my kingdom for an edit function! That was directed at #163 of course! Andrew Wakefield and the Tribeca Film Festival: Criticism of a bad decision ≠ “censorship” – Respectful Insolence March 24, 2016 at 9:00 am […] since I mentioned on Tuesday that the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival had taken a massive dump on reality and science by selecting for screening Andrew Wakefield’s antivaccine propaganda […] I’m talking about controlled, double-blinded randomised clinical studies looking specifically and vaccinated cohorts (usually this is done with primates) against control groups. If we are talking about non-human primates, there is this study : http://www.pnas.org/content/112/40/12498.abstract (However, I don’t have the skills to comment on its pertinence (number of groups, number of subjects, etc.)) Johnny March 24, 2016 at 9:13 am I was at a conference last year where the debate between scientists was in full swing. I’m late to the discussion, but I’d like to know. Which conference, and the topic of the debate? As to the tone of this blog and associated comments – sure, there is snark and ‘insolence’. But if that’s all there was it wouldn’t be worth a darn. There is also evidence given for the positions held. Citations are provided (well, maybe not links to a vaxed vs unvaxed study, because they don’t exist) and knowledge freely shared, by both our host and his associated minions. If you want straight snark, go to 4chan. If you want “science” (note the quotes) without evidence, go to AoA. If you want to learn something, hang around. The reason why the debate won’t go away is because of repeat parental observation — which should be recorded as points of qualitative data– that their children’s functions regress following the vaccinations. Ever hear of repetition confirmation? Do you see the echo-chambers these parents get themselves into? To be fair, DTap now lists this as a side-affect, but the routine dismissal of parental observation smacks of politics, not science. No DTaP does not list this as a “side-affect”. The package inserts list everything reported to them during clinical trials. They are not side-affects. I see others have explained the unethical nature of an RCT to you. But the fact that you even spewed this out reveals your bias and your sources of information. According to Ms Johnson, the only way we can study the effects of vaccines is by the classical ( and unethical) unvax/ vax study. Actually, there are other ways to investigate what side effects vaccines may have that are not problematic- which have already been done. Someone mentioned the German study comparing kids who were vaccinated to those who weren’t. There are international reports of injuries that have been vetted. Different schedules can be compared. Children who have been vaccinated less, later or on a looser schedule have been studied. There are also mathematical means that separate the effects of different variables- such as different vaccines . Believe me, they exist but I won’t go into them. Thus, Orac and his minions, are not supporting vaccination without evidence- it’s not a philosophy or a political position: the truth is, most of us are steeped in this stuff because we have been reading this and other sources for years. Furthermore, RI contains handy dandy internet miracles called the LINK and the SEARCH BOX. If utiised properly, these marvelous innovations will reveal what our esteemed host- and his dutiful underlings- already know: – Wakefield’s results were not replicated; he even refused to re-do the study – other research shows that vaccines DON”T CAUSE AUTISM- many, many studies from around the world – vaccines injuries are indeed rare – there is a genetic component to autism. In addition, psychological research explains why people may believe autism is caused by vaccination: – parental recall is not reliable – people attribute negative events in interesting ways – anti-vaccination groups manipulate information to suit their own ends – people in groups think differently Wakefield was investigated by the press and the GMC as well as having his research contradicted by other research both prior to and after his scam. The biological mechanisms he proposed are quite preposterous. Chris March 24, 2016 at 10:47 am Well, Ms. Johnson, I am very put out. I asked you a very basic science question about which out of four MMR vaccines Dr. Wakefield’s 1998 case study was about —- and you ignored me! I am extremely upset that with all of your wall of text about how science should be done, that you totally forgot to answer me. Though you did say: “I’m not talking about a broad epidemiological study. I’m talking about controlled, double-blinded randomised clinical studies looking specifically and vaccinated cohorts (usually this is done with primates) against control groups. Studies that meet the gold standard of clinical research, done PRIOR to rolling out the schedule. It hasn’t been done” Well, if you can’t get it done right, do it yourself. That is what my mother used to tell me. So go do it. Ms. Johnson use all of your supreme science and writing expertise to design that study, making sure it conforms to the Declaration of Helsinki, get it approved by an IRB, and then write a grant to get it funded. I am sure Autism Trust, the Dwoskin Family and others would love to fund your ten year study. Then go recruit the several thousand test subjects whose families don’t care if they are vaccinated or not — and get it done. Don’t whine to us about. Especially since you can’t be bothered to answer my simple question about which out of four MMR vaccines Wakefield studied. Ms. Johnson: “To be fair, DTap now lists this as a side-affect, but the routine dismissal of parental observation smacks of politics, not science. ” Uh, no. We know that classic trope, and noticed you did not provide a link. It was the Tripedia DTaP which discontinued five years ago. Try something fresh and new: like real evidence instead of clattering a stale wall of text on your keyboard. Lucy Johnson March 24, 2016 at 11:02 am Well, Ms. Johnson, I am very put out. I asked you a very basic science question about which out of four MMR vaccines Dr. Wakefield’s 1998 case study was about —- and you ignored me! I am extremely upset that with all of your wall of text about how science should be done, that you totally forgot to answer me.* Of course I didn’t, I just didn’t see your comment. I’ll go back now and look for it, when I have time,because right now I have about 3 million more pressing things to do. *Well, if you can’t get it done right, do it yourself. That is what my mother used to tell me. So go do it. Ms. Johnson use all of your supreme science and writing expertise to design that study, making sure it conforms to the Declaration of Helsinki, get it approved by an IRB, and then write a grant to get it funded* My point is, why wasn’t it done before the schedule was rolled out? it’s not my role or remit to do clinical trials, Mr Chris. I was just looking for the studies. The onus is not on me to prove the schedule is UNSAFE (since the trials weren’t done, we don’t know, do we?) but for governments and pharmaceuticals to prove it IS safe. Since the double-blind,randomised trial of the schedule wasn’t done (as far as I know, but please, if you have knowledge of where to find it, tell me), the safety trials at best were not complete. *Don’t whine to us about. Especially since you can’t be bothered to answer my simple question about which out of four MMR vaccines Wakefield studied.* I’m not whining, Mr Chris. I’m happy to enter into discussion, provided, of course, you can, like Lou, show that you’re capable of respectful interactions, sans slurring, which after all is what I originally posted on. Not so much the content but the sort of slurring language, and tone, that’s used. The tone of your post is one of patronising, demeaning, put-downs. It’s aggressive. And for no reason. My call was primarily for respect in discussions. Let’s look at your language for a second. “I’m put out!” <— You've taken personal offence, because you were looking for it, and have used the language of victimhood. The reader invited to infer you have been deliberately slighted. I am extremely upset that with all of your wall of text about how science should be done, that you totally forgot to answer me. <– Ditto the language of 'offence', a sort of populist authoritarianism which is designed to place me on the back-foot and get me to 'justify' myself despite an obvious flame. You're not 'extremely upset', at best that's hyperbole. At best, you're irritated because I overlooked your post. My question about the lack of a double blind randomised study is perfectly reasonable, but you've followed your dismissive flame with with a 'do it yourself then.' Not my question. My question is why it wasn't done in the first place. Now, have a respect pill, while I go and read Lou's papers. And when you can demonstrate to me you're capable of a discussion without slurring, offence taking, name calling, and flaming, then we can have that discussion on the MMR, one of the many vaccines in the untested schedule. In the meantime, why not google 'autoimmunity' and 'autism' or perhaps look it up on Pubmed. “My question about the lack of a double blind randomised study is perfectly reasonable, but you’ve followed your dismissive flame with with a ‘do it yourself then.’ Not my question. My question is why it wasn’t done in the first place.” If you research the Belmont Report and the Declaration of Helsinki as you go and design the study and get it past an Independent Review Board you will learn why. Now go find out which out of four MMR vaccines that Wakefield’s 1998 case series was all about. Obviously since you know so much about how to do scientific studies you would know how it is important to minimize the variables. Especially if two of those variables are the two MMR vaccines that the UK removed due to the use of the Urabe mumps strain (which was never used in the USA). MI Dawn March 24, 2016 at 11:19 am Lucy: My question about the lack of a double blind randomised study is perfectly reasonable, but you’ve followed your dismissive flame with with a ‘do it yourself then.’ Not my question. My question is why it wasn’t done in the first place. You totally ignored my comment also, about why it can’t be done, which Chris kindly pointed out. You also ignored that adding new vaccines to the schedule usually does consist of a vax/unvax group. If you want us to go all the way back to the beginning and test every code in every possible combination, it won’t happen. It can’t be ethically done. Again, double-blinded studies are usually done (see the package inserts) for new vaccines being added to the schedule. If that doesn’t satisfy you, please tell us how we can ethically make you happy. Science Mom March 24, 2016 at 11:19 am You obviously can’t grok the unethical nature of an RCT for vaccinated v. unvaccinated I doubt you can grok this either. Safety studies are done when a new vaccine is approved for use. How they are tested is to use it in one arm along with the scheduled vaccines v. an arm with the scheduled vaccines minus the new vaccine. That is because you can’t ethically withhold a known safe and effective potentially life-saving treatment. Do you get that? Do you get yet why an RCT is unethical and would never be approved? Where is the preview… If you want us to go all the way back to the beginning and text every VACCINE in every possible combination… Multitasking fail. One correction: they ( whomever they may be) didn’t just ‘roll out’ the schedule- it evolved over many years as newer vaccines were introduced. There are many schedules as there are many countries involved. I believe that occasionally a country may drop a vaccine ( Japan did). The schedule is not un-tested: I believe Orac discussed this right here at RI recently. I’ll try to find it. @ Chris: Watch it, Mr! LouV March 24, 2016 at 11:26 am My 2 cents : while I prefer trying to avoid insults myself, I find unending nitpicking on tone and form annoying too. Just select the arguments without caring about the manner they are expressed. Search this blog for ‘ vaccine schedule’ yields 2 recent posts from January and March 2016. I don’t forget stuff like that. Beth March 24, 2016 at 11:36 am Thanks for your posts. I have appreciated your contribution to this discussion. Oh, look! The tone troll has made a friend. Beth, can you please explain to Ms. Johnson the significance of the Belmont Report and the Declarations of Helsinki? My point is, why wasn’t it done before the schedule was rolled out? it was done, incrementally. See above #151, 177, 178. I asked, way up, “It’s OK to ask questions, but are you willing to listen to the answers?” Seems to be a big “No”. Narad March 24, 2016 at 12:51 pm Planets going around the sun, electrons going around a nucleus, these things are comparatively simple compared with highly complex biological systems. It is factually incorrect for you to say that we know everything there is it know about science in terms of biochemistry. Once again, we deal only with probabilities and likelihoods. Take physics. E=0.5m(v-squared) is Newtonian physics and works very well as an ‘absolute’ fact. Until of course v, velocity, reaches the speed of light. Then it changes. The fact was provisional until Einstein came along with E = m (c-squared). I strongly suggest that you avoid trying to invoke physics, because that offering was just painful to behold. well, maybe not links to a vaxed vs unvaxed study, because they don’t exist Salk field trials on line 2. it’s not my role or remit to do clinical trials, Mr Chris…. My question about the lack of a double blind randomised study is perfectly reasonable, but you’ve followed your dismissive flame with with a ‘do it yourself then.’… In the meantime, why not google ‘autoimmunity’ and ‘autism’ or perhaps look it up on Pubmed. Let’s look at your language for a second…. Now, have a respect pill Double heh. An Open Apology to Our Colonial Friends As a proud Brit and spiritual descendent of Jon Swift’s left nut, please allow me to apologize unreservedly to all you fine folks here upon behalf of [email protected] I beseech you, please you not consider her excruciatingly failed attempt at a pathetic playground insult to reflect in any way upon the rest of my fine countryfellows, every one of whom I assure you can still scald the arse off a bald-faced fool at 50 feet with a single lash of the tongue, in as robust and entertaining a manner as we have since that memorable day on which Good King George told nasty Mister Washington to “Go Suck It.” Also, ah… um… also, Joan smells like wee too. Yeah. And now please excuse me as I must run away bawling, for she has hurt my widdle feelings so. As to [email protected], I can only suggest: Ach, awa’ an bile yer heid ya grate keechin bawbag, ye dinnae even ken whit yer haverin’ aboot. For someone who claims to study language, Ms. Johnson is well-nigh unreadable. My tearcherly impulse is to reach for the nearest red pen, but writing on a screen would not, I imagine, accomplish much. Brevity is the sister of talent. Murder your darlings. Etc. Where did you learn to write, anyway, and didn’t you ever encounter a real writing instructor, by which I mean a brutal one? Or maybe Ms. Johnson attended a college where instructors are not supposed to be “mean.” A colleague reports that a student who received extensive feedback on a “B” paper now feels “unsafe” as a result. In my day, one said “thank you” and took the advice. Grumble, grumble, harrumph. Ouch…will the Beth that Chris is referring to in # 185 please stand up? Perhaps I’ll change my name to Beth S.? Because truly the “Beth” referenced here is not the Beth writing this post. Lucy @175 Lucy, you seem to be under the impression that in medical science, all trials must be “treatment” vs “control” (nothing). I’d like to ask you to think about a separate example that I hope will show you why this is not done all the time. Imagine, if you will, a new treatment for colon cancer. There are existing, well studied, treatments for prostate cancer that are used to treat patients right now that work. But I have a totally new treatment I think will work even better, and in a different way. All my pre-clinical data, and my phase I trial data look great. So I’m going to set up my big RCT, with thousands of patients. But here’s the thing. I can not give my “control” patients nothing. Because that is unethical, unfair and cruel. I have treatments that work. I would be a monster to demand that a patient forgo a known useful treatment in order to be in my trial. So I compare the existing treatments to my new treatment to see if my new treatment is better. Now, with vaccine schedules (plural, there are many all over the world), I might not have a vaccine against, say, Zika, that I am comparing against. But I can not ask that the children in my study be denied all of their other vaccines in order to test this one. Because there are known harms of not being vaccinated. Particularly when the childhood vaccines were being introduced there was a very real risk of catching each disease and becoming very ill, disabled or dying from that disease. I hope that my explanation helps to clarify why exactly we (here at RI) describe your “vaxed vs unvaxed” study as unethical. Beth: “Because truly the “Beth” referenced here is not the Beth writing this post.” Actually I noticed that on another thread. There is also another Chris that posted today who is not me, but I liked what he/she said, so it was cool. Johnny #170 The Madsen MMR study was vax/unvax. Very big study. Vaxxed – a guide to Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent film March 24, 2016 at 4:55 pm […] “What’s going on here? Andrew Wakefield’s antivaccine propaganda film to be screened at the Tribe….” […] gaist March 24, 2016 at 5:48 pm who are repeatadly told that 1) we don’t know what caused the autism but 2) it’s defeinately not vaccines. How do you know? The logical fallacy of this is obvious. If you don’t know what caused the autistic traits, YOU DONT KNOW. A little late to the party, but… Where are my keys? Not in the jacket pockets, I checked. I then checked the shoulder bag, the kitchen table, then the jacket pockets, then the living room table, my pants, then the jacket pockets again, as well as the other places I already looked. Just in case I missed them the first (or second) time, My spouse started searches for the keys then, independently checking my jacket pockets along a number of other places. She tells me to check my jacket pockets again, and eventually I cave in and do. Then again while she watches, suggesting pocket after pocket. Am I allowed to say that a) my keys are missing but b) they are not in my jacket pocket, or is there logical fallacy there along with the lint and (scientifically speaking the increasingly probable absence of keys)? Beth S March 24, 2016 at 6:15 pm Hi Chris…This is Beth S formerly known as Beth who is firmly planted in the science-based but not limited to vaccines way of making life decisions….Actually I noticed that on another thread. There is also another Chris that posted today who is not me, but I liked what he/she said, so it was cool. LOL…Ya, I think I saw 2 “Chris” also. It’s a conspiracy…I wish I had more time to spend here….Lately, Zika is taking my attention. “The reason why the debate won’t go away is because of repeat parental observation — which should be recorded as points of qualitative data– that their children’s functions regress following the vaccinations” Exactly my point thank you Lucy I have collected over 1,300 parents voices of vaccine injury and they all say the same thing that the child/children regressed after vaccines (all types) This list is just the tip of the iceberg and the pharma companies know the dangers in their products but do nothing about it. In the words of Thomas Hardy “may their dirty souls be cremeted in hell” http://www.followingvaccinations.com Jacck March 24, 2016 at 7:10 pm bla blah blah this “blogger” is a moron “may their dirty souls be cremeted (sic) in hell” He didn’t say that, though. In Tess of the d’Urbervilles, a character does say, “may their dirty souls be burnt to cinders!” But Hardy himself didn’t say it. It’s not even the most glaring thing you’re wrong about, just the one that irritates me. In the words of Thomas Hardy “may their dirty souls be cremeted in hell” I believe, technically speaking, that the cremation happens before one goes wherever one allegedly goes. I’m not sure about this, but my dad was cremated, and I was never visited by his ghost except in some dreams. Personally I am hoping for a funeral pyre, after which not much would be left in the way of ashes. I have collected over 1,300 parents voices of vaccine injury There are parents whose special snowflake children have turned out to be less than perfect, and who have found a convenient scapegoat. I think we knew that. Joan’s mistake does point out a flaw central to anti-vaxxers, though. It took me all of 30 seconds to verify that a. Hardy didn’t say this b. a character in Tess did and c. what Joan mistakenly attributes to Hardy is not even what he had his character say. I knew that Hardy didn’t say this because I once wrote about seventeen million essays on Thomas Hardy and it didn’t strike me as something he would utter for posterity. But I know, you’ve all “done your research” and it’s impeccable…and you repeat what you hear and especially what you read from fellow “researchers”….you don’t know your limitations enough to understand that you don’t know what you don’t know. The “physics” example upthread, f’irinstance…. Ms. Campbell: “Exactly my point thank you Lucy I have collected over 1,300 parents voices of vaccine injury and they all say the same thing that the child/children regressed after vaccines (all types) ” The plural of anecdote is not data. I am still waiting for which one out of four different MMR vaccines were being studied in Wakefield’s now retracted 1998 case series. Johnny March 24, 2016 at 7:54 pm I stand corrected, and would like to amend my comment to read “randomized placebo controlled double blind study of the entire vaccine schedule IRT autism and every other known and unknown malady”, which seems to be what Ms. Johnson would like. I’d still like to know which conference Ms. Johnson was at last year, the topic that was under debate between scientist, and also if the debate was a scheduled event. Vanessa March 24, 2016 at 7:55 pm Get over yourself Orac. It’s a documentary, let the people decide. Besides, the medical and pharmaceutical industries, include the CDC are corrupt, bought and paid for. Why else would there be mandates for vaccines like Hep B, chicken pox and HPV? Fair point, I remembered wrongly and put my own spin on what I thought he had written in Tess of the d’Urbervilles, a beautifully well written work by Thomas Hardy, so Tess’s words are his words lol so Tess’s words are his words lol Still wrong, Joan. Tess doesn’t say what you wrote, and she doesn’t say “may their dirty souls be burnt to cinders!” either. It’s another character in Tess who says it. It would take you 30 seconds to look this up on the internet. But you seem to want to insist on repeating something that is incorrect. The “physics” example upthread, f’irinstance… It was Lucy Johnson who attributes the definition of kinetic energy to Newton, and thinks it was invalidated by mass/energy equivalence. I love it when they try to show us their “brilliance” and fail miserably. Yes, herr doktor, we have two keen examples of Dunning-Kruger on this thread. I’m wondering if Newton and Hardy are having a joint point-and-laugh session. Argument by aphorism has a predictable tendency of blowing up in slobovonoid faces, but the antivaccine brigade is close to 199 proof in this market. Delphine writes about (@ # 206) what I’ve discovered : alties mis-quote, mis-attribute, confuse numbers or people, and then INSIST on their correctness. I especially enjoy that this example is from Hardy- since I know this stuff well enough to realise that what she said doesn’t even sound like his writing. I have collected a few examples via prn.fm that others may enjoy: – the host insisted that a certain duel took place at an island near his childhood home when all those who study history know that the famous duel took place near a cliff ( hundreds of miles away). In truth, the survivor of the duel later had something to do with the island. – cats can be vegans and thrive! – El NIno is pronounced “el nino” as an English speaker would say it. – Parts of the brain and neurotransmitters can be mispronounced. Adams mostly humiliates himself with his vamping on themes involving physics and cognition psych. Even worse at AoA and TMR. Kathy Young March 24, 2016 at 10:33 pm I am so thankful for doctors that continue to tell the truth about the dangers of vaccines despite risk to their lives and career. Kudos to all who helped make this film. Anyone trusting the CDC, FDA and Big Pharma at this point in time, is either getting paid to speak for them, or seriously manipulated and brainwashed. Period. Do your own research. Ms. Young: “I am so thankful for doctors that continue to tell the truth about the dangers of vaccines despite risk to their lives and career” Oh, please do share the PubMed indexed studies by reputable qualified researchers that told about the dangers of vaccines given to you by those brave doctors. Obviously they gave you several sheets of papers with those studies to counteract the dozens discussed on this blog over that last decade. Come on, give us those studies. The PMIDs would be sufficient. ‘Do your own research.” I did that. Do you really want me to express my true opinion on the matter? Or do you want to provide the actual evidence that my opinion is flawed? Come on, prove that we are wrong… provide the true verifiable evidence from real scientists who are not paid by the Dwoskin Family Foundation, SafeMinds, Mr. Belkin, NVIC, Autism Speaks or other pro-disease entities. Get over yourself Orac. It’s a documentary, let the people decide. Oh FFS, and where does Orac order any of his readers to let him decide for them? By the way, “documentary” is a rather lofty category for another one of Wakefraud’s grifts. Just in the trailer he doctored the recordings of Thompson. Besides, the medical and pharmaceutical industries, include the CDC are corrupt, bought and paid for. Why else would there be mandates for vaccines like Hep B, chicken pox and HPV? Oh I don’t know…maybe so children won’t get and spread Hep B, Chicken Pox and HPV sparing them from suffering and possibly severe sequelae? sadmar March 25, 2016 at 12:47 am I don’t know what caused my depression. I now understand it could have been the water-memory of a substance left on Earth in 666BC by shape-shifting lizard-like aiiens that found it’s way into a cup of Dr. Pepper I drank in the Hopkins Theater during a Saturday matinee of ‘Abbot and Costello Go To Mars’ in 1965. I was fine before that, but by the time my Mom picked me up, the light in my soul had just gone out. Knowing this is a great comfort to me. So, if you ever feel like a Pepper, you should get Mr. Pibb instead, just in case. capnkrunch March 25, 2016 at 12:49 am I can understand people not getting the science. It worries me, but I get it. What I don’t get is the unquestioning trust of provably dishonest Fraudy-pants. Even if you think he was set up by Brian Deer, Bill Gates and the WHO the trailer deceitfully splices together quotes that change the meaning of Thompson’s words. The kicker is that this can be proven because they published the transcripts in a book. This is not a “he said, she said” situation bettlween AVers and us. It is strictly an internal inconsistency. But these inconsistencies must be ignored at all costs, because arrogance forbids them from being wrong. Delphine March 25, 2016 at 1:12 am because arrogance forbids them from being wrong Yes, that, and what Denice wrote: alties mis-quote, mis-attribute, confuse numbers or people, and then INSIST on their correctness. Joan Campbell provides us with a perfect example. She attributes a quote to someone who said no such thing. When corrected she admits she “put her own spin” on it but still tries to incorrectly attribute a quote that never was. The problem with this sh1t in anti-vaxx land is that it frequently goes unchallenged, gets sucked up, repeated as truth, over and over. It becomes their reality, whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. And if you call them on it, they simply cannot admit that they are wrong. I can understand people not getting the science — I am no scientist, I don’t always get it myself. But I know when I’m over my head and I trust the actual folk who do indeed comprehend the science. I think I can offer my very layperson* reasoning for this. These parents desperately need to believe in the narrative they crafted to explain their child’s less-than-perfection. Truth be told, physicians weren’t terribly responsive or receptive dealing with autistic children, especially those who are non-verbal. Wakefield is a slick, smooth-talking physician who exudes empathy and gives lofty promises to fight to the death for their children. And that’s pretty much it; he is nice to them, makes them pretty promises and has a terrific martyr image all in the name of their children. As cliché as it may be, he’s their knight in shining armour. Notice his appeal to mainly women for some odd reason or perhaps the one I explained. lest the lovely Ms. Walter smacks me silly for proffering up amateur (or worse) psychoanalysis. anyone asking perfectly reasonable questions is slurred before they even open their mouths or put pen to paper.</i/ When my* perfectly reasonable questions are slurred, it is Nature's way of telling me to stop drinking. I have collected over 1,300 parents voices of vaccine injury and they all say the same thing that the child/children regressed after vaccines (all types) Late to the party (I know), but I wish to point out that upthread I mentioned the case of Michelle Cedillo, one of the Test Cases for the Omnibus Autism Proceedings. Her parents were adamant that the MMR had caused her autism, and presented video of Michelle at 15 months old as supporting evidence. An expert in autism was able to prove that Michelle was already displaying autistic behaviour at 15 months, and that her parents were unconsciously adjusting their behaviour towards her. The Cedillos lost the case and appealed the verdict. They lost, and appealed again with the same result. Despite this, they are still convinced that vaccines caused Michelle’s autism. The fact that people fervently believe something doesn’t make it true. For all those who say “It’s a documentary, let the people decide.” : “It’s a documentary who is only going to tell one side of the story, repeat lies long debunked and quote people out of context ad nauseam.” FTFY While pharma corruption is a problem, fighting against it with glaringly inaccurate information is not terribly constructive. So of course people can go see this documentary ; in the meantime, we are going to criticize it so that people can really decide. The other side of the story, from the pro-vax point of view : http://www.harpocratesspeaks.com/2014/09/mmr-cdc-and-brian-hooker-media-guide.html Get over yourself Vanessa. Respectful Insolence is a blog, let the people decide. Kathy Young March 25, 2016 at 7:30 am @ Chris: “It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of the New England Journal of Medicine” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2964337/ http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/05/16/editor-in-chief-of-worlds-best-known-medical-journal-half-of-all-the-literature-is-false/ THE US GOVERNMENT HAS PAID OUT $3 BILLION TO VACCINE-INJURED AMERICANS SINCE 1989 http://www.thedailysheeple.com/government-has-paid-out-3-billion-to-vaccine-injured-americans-since-1989_022015 @Ms. Young Quoting Marcia Angell, who is strongly pro-vaccination, does not play in your favor in a debate on this subject. She is far more POed at “me-too” drugs and regrets vaccines aren’t more available. Also, do you sincerely think that she and other known critics of scientific journals (Horton or Ioannidis for example) advocates completely discarding scientific studies ? And as for the “3 billion $” claim, it completely ignores the real number of claims compensated compared to the number of vaccine doses given. http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2016/03/if-vaccines-are-safe-why-has-the-us-gov-paid-out-3-billion-to-vaccine-injured-families.html To Herr Doctor at 212: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_energy Yup there it is, Newtonion Kinetic Energy. And was I wrong in my understanding of Eistines development and the relationship between Ek = 0.5m(v squared) and E = m (c squared)? Please, I haven’t had enough mansplaining today. I’ll wait. Speaking of which: Not at all. Not if it is done, first, for example, on primate populations. 🙂 In fact there are many ways to do such a study. Such as keeping ONE cohort on the schedule as it was in 1977, and giving one cohort the maximum vaccination schedules (lets take the UK, it was in a British context I asked for that study). This means that BOTH cohorts get some vaccinations, therefore the population remains vaccinated, and the efficacy and safety of the post-1990 vaccinations are test. In other words, test the cognitive process of a Gen X vaccination schedule against a Gen Y vaccination schedule. And test everything, especially neurological function and autoimmunity (asthma etc). It would be really interesting to see the result of that study. Then, when the study is over and we conclude that the Gen Y schedule is fine (but still double blind and randomised, still the Gold standard) you offer everyone on the Gen Y schedule the rest of the vaccines. No ethics problems there. There are many ways the studies can be designed to help safeguard ethics. But you know what IS unethical? Refusing to offer families with medical histories of autoimmunity and autism alternative vaccination schedules for their children because of a political reason. But thank you for the excuse, sorry, explanation as to why you cannot design a double-blind randomised safety trial BEFORE rolling out a proposed schedule. You know what is even more unethical, Mrs. Writer? Continuing to spread anti-vax nonsense under the guise of “vaccine safety”(at least open anti-vaxxers have the balls to put it all out on the table!) which puts not only children, but people that rely on herd immunity due to compromised immune-system, at risk of suffering, long-lasting injury and even death at the hands of vaccine-preventable diseases. And you have yet to offer one. What you proposed is still unethical; it’s asking people to sign up for getting less vaccines along with whole cell pertussis and live oral polio vaccination. Stick to writing, science isn’t your strong suit either. Physicians routinely vaccinate off-schedule where indicated. Again you don’t know what you are talking about. Because real life. Vaccines weren’t and aren’t developed at the same time. Please stop blaming us for your scientific-ignorance. palindrom March 25, 2016 at 9:17 am @231 — OK. I guess all us penis-Americans will just have to shut up now and let any ridiculous howlers in our areas of expertise simply stand uncorrected. Because, you know, we’re penis-Americans. @ Science Mom: I don’t ever smack anyone, silly or otherwise. I also cast a jaundiced eye towards psychoanalysis, HOWEVER I think that you do describe a likely scenario involving Andy and the mothers (as well as woo in general). Similarly, isolated parents may resent how parents of NT kids have a different life than their own and seek solidarity and comfort amongst their own group. A few even gain celebrity ( notoriety) there a/k/a secondary gain. Freud is important for other reasons. Mansplaining is a real phenomenon, but it doesn’t encompass what Lucy appears to think it does. No doubt she’ll now accuse me of mansplaining as well. I have heard about Marcia Angell many times. A newer meme concerns the ‘former editor of BMJ” or suchlike. One woo-meister, trying to out-do those, actually quoted Ben Goldacre- which only tells me that he cherry picked quotes and NEVER actually read Goldacre who precisely – and cleverly- describes scams like his own. I especially like how he wrote about about faux degrees/ certificates, one of which he purchased in his ( dead) cat’s name. That woo-meister has a rather glaringly bad degree or two. JP March 25, 2016 at 9:28 am OK. I guess all us penis-Americans will just have to shut up now and let any ridiculous howlers in our areas of expertise simply stand uncorrected. Although the good herr doktor is actually a penis-New-Zealander. Personally, I like to keep people guessing. -btw- What do w call it hen women ‘mansplain’? I hear it tme at TMR and Ao. Also, please forgive my lack of editorial finesse and word choices, I didn’t sleep much. palindrom March 25, 2016 at 10:24 am Orac — I completely agree that “mansplaining” is a legitimate concept, and I even understand what it is. But as you implied, Lucy was using it as a shield to distract attention from her own demonstrated ignorance. As an older man who has always considered gender pretty much irrelevant to intellectual ability and accomplishment, I took offense at her use of this rhetorical trick. Complaining about “mansplaining” when you’re making one one piss-poor argument after another is just cheap. Ms. Johnson: “Yup there it is, Newtonion Kinetic Energy. And was I wrong in my understanding of Eistines development and the relationship between Ek = 0.5m(v squared) and E = m (c squared)?” Yes, you are. I have been laughing at the misunderstanding about the refinement of Newtonian physics at the extremes since I was in college (aerospace engineering). Trust me, Newton’s laws work fine for structural analysis on this planet. It might help if you learned how to spell Einstein. If you accuse me of “mansplaining” I will laugh even harder, as will those who know me here. Just like we laughed at Little Auggie who decided I was transgendered because his little brain could not figure out how a mother could also be an engineer. palindrom March 25, 2016 at 12:29 pm I can’t decide whether that’s hilarious or just sad! Ms. Young, I see you have nothing except excuses. I am sure if I had not excluded certain funding agencies you would have been glad to include the PMIDs of papers by Chris Shaw, Gary Goldman, etc. Then this gem: “THE US GOVERNMENT HAS PAID OUT $3 BILLION TO VACCINE-INJURED AMERICANS SINCE 1989” Well here is a little math problem for you: look at the table of the NVICP statistics. Go to the very bottom and find the total number of vaccines given during that time period. I’ll make it easy for you: it is 2,532,428,541 vaccines. Then run your finger along the row and get the total number of compensated claims, again I’ll make it easy for you: 2146 total compensated claims. Now find the ratio between those two numbers, and then explain to us what it means. Your computer and/phone should have a built in calculator. Extra credit: Explain the meaning of the word “Settlement” and what that column means about the compensated claims. Here is a hint: the next page has the definitions. Denice Walter March 25, 2016 at 12:53 pm @ palindrom: I thought it was hilarious. -btw- you ( and Eric and Narad), who studied physics more than the average @ RI, probably have much to snicker about when those who want to impress us, talk about it. Similarly, woo-meisters sometimes discuss their studies of cognition and/ or neurophysiology . Needless to say, they’ve never impressed me. AS the French say: It is to laugh! Brian Deer March 25, 2016 at 12:59 pm Sorry to be picky, but the following statement is untrue at any level: “THE US GOVERNMENT HAS PAID OUT $3 BILLION TO VACCINE-INJURED AMERICANS SINCE 1989” The true position is that a large amount of money has been paid out to people who it has been conceded by the government, or found by the court, MAY have been vaccine injured, and it is in the public interest that they be compensated without further proceedings. Hence the extra credit question on what the term “settlement” means. Though I have learned that these clowns do not know how to use a calculator, and get confused by dictionaries. @ Science Mom #222 Layperson to layperson, I think you’re right on. The only revision I’d suggest is “parents desperately need to believe in the narrative they have adopted to explain their child’s less-than-perfection.” Which is to sat they didn’t craft it by themselves. They react to the fact or idea of an ASD child with a sort of shock or trauma. They don’t have an answer, and in that moment of emotional instability, the anti-vax narrative appears – thanks perhaps t the fact that con-men like Andy are pushing it out there. So they grab it instantly and completely, because it explains everything!, and makes them feel “empowered”. To even question it would be to return to the chaos, and the impotence. Not coincidentally, perhaps, your hypothesis is quite similar to the one advanced in the film ‘Nuts’ – the experimental documentary about depression era quack John Romulus Brinkley by Penny Lane, the filmmaker who posted the scathing open letter to Tribeca on Facebook. Here’s part of her ‘Director’s Statement’ about ‘Nuts’. I began to think about how much people want to believe in miracle cures. The weirder the better, really. How “one weird trick to melt belly fat” is way better click-bait than “eat less to lose weight.” Who doesn’t sometimes wish the world was more interesting, more magical, more colorful than it really is? This is why …we fall for quack doctors, time and time again: they sell us a story we want to believe. I believe that more than any other single human quality, it is our love of great stories that makes us so endlessly susceptible to being conned. We believe the stories we want or need to believe, and we believe anyone who tells them to us. Con men know this. So do politicians, propagandists, pitchmen, cult leaders, televangelists, pick up artists and manipulators of all kinds – including documentary filmmakers. And so, NUTS! is not a film that allows us to sit back and laugh at the dummies who fell for bullshit. Instead, it’s a film that shows we are all those dummies. Unlike Brinkley, however, I seduce you, and then I show you how I did it. Brinkley’s story is not presented as the object of a neutral nonfiction gaze, but as an opportunity for viewers to actively wrestle with the ethical and epistemological issues central to the narrative nonfiction form. http://www.nutsthefilm.com/#directors-statement Pete March 25, 2016 at 1:36 pm I had no idea there were still so many people still insisting that injecting known neurotoxins and mutated forms of the disease you are trying to prevent directly into your bloodstream somehow manufactured immunity. Yeah, gee, I wonder what the side effects of such an absurd concept would be? It’s over folks. Take your “winnings” and go home. The biggest medical fraud in history is over. Some of you are already aware of it and are going to go down with the ship- likely because you’ve invested too much time into protecting the lies and deceit, some just in denial because corporate “science” is a powerful cult. “For 30 years Stephen Hawking was the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. That’s the same job once held by Sir Isaac Newton. He’s a certified genius — and probably the most famous scientist since Albert Einstein. And what Hawking just revealed in a British television interview is scarier than the worst horror movie you’ve ever seen. He said that genetically engineered viruses are now one of the biggest threats human beings face. Right up there with nuclear weapons. You see, just like the GM food they want us to eat, Big Pharma has been genetically modifying viruses in vaccines for years. They’re combining deadly viruses into a single shot, and even mixing animal and human DNA. These shots are called “recombinant” vaccines and they may be the biggest medical experiment ever conducted on human beings. The FDA has been approving them since 1986, even though these shots may have the ability to create new and deadly diseases we have no way to treat. In fact, it’s already happening.” – See more at: http://hsionline.com/2016/02/10/gm-vaccine-viruses/#sthash.KsMWc4ek.dpuf I see the black helicopters have arrived. Pete: “I had no idea there were still so many people still insisting that injecting known neurotoxins and mutated forms of the disease you are trying to prevent directly into your bloodstream somehow manufactured immunity.” Which vaccines are given intravenously? stewartt1982 March 25, 2016 at 2:21 pm I’m a physicist too! Can I be an expert at virology and genetic engineering as well? please!?! The source you quote in your link : https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/19/stephen-hawking-warns-threats-to-humans-science-technology-bbc-reith-lecture Speaking to the Radio Times ahead of the BBC Reith Lecture, in which he will explain the science of black holes, Hawking said most of the threats humans now face come from advances in science and technology, such as nuclear weapons and genetically engineered viruses. “We are not going to stop making progress, or reverse it, so we must recognise the dangers and control them,” he added. where Hawking is suggesting caution moving forward, rather than what you are claiming. Dangerous Bacon March 25, 2016 at 2:25 pm “It’s over folks. Take your “winnings” and go home.” Nah, there’s too much money still to be made shooting diabolical neurotoxins and GM viruses into the bloodstreams of tiny tots. What in vaccines is a more dangerous than tetanospasmin? sadmar quotes Penny Lane: “it is our love of great stories” Sure. People see faces in appliances and mentally fill in drawings of objects to make them look more ‘complete’. They guess which horse will win the cup and who will become the next recording star. Interestingly, during adolescence, people ALSO begin to develop abilities that question this tendency as well as their other abilities and re-hash their past bad judgments. Unfortunately, not everyone gets very far in this enterprise as we’ve seen time and time again. Still waiting on mine. When are those filthy pHarma lucre checks supposed to start rolling in, anyway? I could use a little spending money. Does anybody have Lord Draconis’s contact info? I imagine I could handle talking to the man (er, lizard) directly. I had no idea there were still so many people still insisting that injecting known neurotoxins and mutated forms of the disease you are trying to prevent directly into your bloodstream somehow manufactured immunity. Please explain how intramuscular injections, used for most vaccines, is “directly into the bloodstream”. Yeah, gee, I wonder what the side effects of such an absurd concept would be?Immunity from the disease would be one. Some people have other reactions ranging from mild to severe. The risks from current vaccines are, by and large, less than the risks of the diseases they protect against. The biggest medical fraud in history is over. Is that Wakefield, Burzynski, or homeopathy? Please be more specific, as I lost my scorecard. Sadly, the rest of your comment is merely alarmist claptrap that doesn’t merit a response. Mystery solved: It was Robert De Niro who got Andrew Wakefield’s antivaccine film selected by the Tribeca Film Festival – Respectful Insolence March 25, 2016 at 2:52 pm […] the last three days I’ve been complaining about how the Tribeca Film Festival selected for screening Andrew Wakefield’s antivaccine […] Please pardon my format failure. The sentence starting with “Yeah, gee” is a quotation. where Hawking is suggesting caution moving forward, rather than what you are claiming Moreover, I presume he’s referring to gain-of-function studies, not those dastardly recombinant vaccines. but the following statement is untrue at any level: How can that be, when it is backed by a source called “Daily Sheeple”? De Niro Pushes Controversial Documentary Into Festival For First Time — For A Very Personal Reason March 25, 2016 at 5:07 pm […] Image Credit: ScienceBlogs […] Yup there it is, Newtonion [sic] Kinetic Energy. And was I wrong in my understanding of Eistines [sic] development and the relationship between Ek = 0.5m(v squared) and E = m (c squared)? Oh, the original had more problems than that. Let’s review: Planets going around the sun, electrons going around a nucleus, Electrons don’t “go around” the nucleus. Atoms are not little solar systems. these things are comparatively simple compared with highly complex biological systems. You have failed to establish a yardstick for “simplicity” that would allow comparisons to be made in the first place. It’s bad enough that you think the n-body problem is “comparatively simple” (quick: explain why Pluto’s orbit is stable), but you would extend this to quantum chemistry?. The mind boggles. It is factually incorrect for you to say that we know everything there is it know about science in terms of biochemistry. And who, exactly, has done that, Ms. Straw Man? Once again, we deal only with probabilities and likelihoods. Take physics. E=0.5m(v-squared) is Newtonian physics and works very well as an ‘absolute’ fact. Until of course v, velocity, reaches [sic] the speed of light. Then it changes. The fact was provisional until Einstein came along with E = m (c-squared). This is simply garbled. First of all Einstein never wrote E = mc² in the sense you’re trying to assign it, i.e., as containing a “relativistic mass” term. For that matter, it should be E₀: the expression refers to the energy of a particle at rest. This is why juxtaposing it with the Newtonian kinetic energy is inapposite. Even in Physics, where things are simpler and principles established for longer, By this “logic,” mathematics should be even simpler than physics. It’s simply a demonstration of your ignorance of a subject that you’re trying to wave around as some sort of stage prop. there’s still room to know more. No shіt, Sherlock. I take it you haven’t noticed that general relativity and quantum mechanics are mutually incompatible. ^ Eh, change “quantum mechanics” to “quantum theory.” I also forgot to throw in a link to, e.g., Mochizuki’s abc papers to illustrate the “simplicity” of modern mathematics. Oh, why stop there. The ‘inverse square law’ in Newtonian gravity is not a law. It is at best an idealization and in practice it is an approximation. No real orbits are truly closed. Indeed, Newtonian dynamics is known to be chaotic (in the mathematical sense) making long term predictions imprecise or even impossible. Our solar system isn’t even stable thanks to Newton, that scoundrel. Oh, right: I’ll wait. Speaking of which: <<>> [followed by an apparent bowl of copypasta] Screw the ethics. Let’s get down to brass tacks. For a full-blown, prospective, vaccinated-versus-unvaccinated trial, pick a single endpoint. Then specify the lack of effect between the two groups that would convince you that there’s no there there. In practical terms, calculating the requisite sample size is something that is simple. I’ll wait. Ever tried to derive a solution to the Schrodinger wave equation for an atom with more than 2 protons? Really? Speaking of which, what’s the over–under on an AoA freakout regarding their participation in the Zika false-flag operation? herr doktor bimler March 25, 2016 at 11:50 pm I still wake up screaming “Hartree-Fock!!!” Heh. I hadn’t thought about Double Zero in a while, but ζζ free-associated it right up. I had a professor who solved the Schroedinger equation for the helium atom over about two weeks in an 8:30 class. Needless to say, I don’t remember the development in any detail 40 years later. @ Chris It must be nice to know everything, right? Except you really don’t. The claims paid out are a SMALL portion of what should actually, ethically, be paid out. You see, Chris, the claims paid out are those that have made it to and then all the way through the system. The system that is not set up like a regular court of law. Much tougher. I do not have to act superior and condescending to you. You are acting so ugly, and it is really not necessary. I am not your enemy. I believe that I am vaccine injured, I have a good friend with a son who was vaccine injured. I know what happens. Personal and up close. I will pray for your eyes to be opened, or for your hatefulness and selfishness to leave you. I pray that the spirit of Jesus Christ opens your heart and your eyes. The system that is not set up like a regular court of law. Much tougher. O RLY? I do not have to act superior and condescending to you It is way, way too late to try that. Doesn't take a genius March 26, 2016 at 4:07 am Well I couldn’t figure why everyone is so scared of this vaxxed film getting seen, but after seeing the trailer, it makes sense. Can’t wait to see it! Hope you sheeple are getting paid enough! Karmas a bitch, enjoy! Narad March 26, 2016 at 4:15 am I will pray for your eyes to be opened, or for your hatefulness and selfishness to leave you. Perhaps you could instead pray for the willpower to get off your preachy ass and actually try to learn something about civil law. gaist March 26, 2016 at 5:00 am Kathy Young, nice of you to (albeit tacitly) acknowledge that the “LOOKOHMYGODTHREEBILLION” does not support your claims of the dangers of vaccination. Chemmomo March 26, 2016 at 5:08 am Lucy Johnson @140, 231 I asked NICE (being a writer, doing an article, actually on the hysteria and scaremongering) for the clinical trial information for the testing of the whole schedule — not just individual vaccines — they couldnt give me it. All vaccine trials are trials of the whole schedule. Did you think they withhold the rest of the schedule from the test subjects? Most of your questions have been asked and answered – why is it the fault of the scientists that you don’t like the answers? Lucy Johnson 231 I haven’t had enough mansplaining today I’ve had enough I’m a writer!-splaining. It’s not working for you. I wonder how many in here are paid shills? Why would ANYONE care if people just watched the documentary and made up there own minds? And, there is very little humanity in here. I do hope that some are not shills, are just young and will grow and learn that what they THINK they know could be based on lie after lie after lie. Sometimes those who think that they are the smartest in a room are actually believing the biggest lies. Peace. Out. Why would ANYONE care if people just watched the documentary and made up there own minds? Because : http://respectfulinsolence.com/2016/03/22/wtf-andrew-wakefields-antivaccine-documentary-to-be-screened-at-the-tribeca-film-festival/#comment-432198 Also, because I am personally and professionally concerned by autism, and am fed up with the focus on vaccines leeching resources from research on other possible causes or promising therapies, or from activism to better autistic people’s lives. And I also care about people who, among other things, quote Marcia Angell incorrectly to support their own agenda. John Phillips March 26, 2016 at 6:22 am Kathy Young.. …The system that is not set up like a regular court of law. You’re correct, but not in the way you think. For in fact it is much less strict than a real court for it works on the preponderance of evidence standard rather than a beyond reasonable doubt standard. I.e. you don’t have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the vaccine/s caused the injury, only that it may have, so a much lower standard of evidence is sufficient. E.G. because a particular vaccine is known to have a rare side effect causing certain conditions, even if that condition can happen even without vaccines. In which case the court decides with caution that there is enough of a proven link with the condition displayed, or a similar one, actually being caused by a particular vaccine that they will accept that it MAY have been the cause in a particular case even if it can’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. And please, not the Pharma shill gambit. That is so old hat that it is more painful than funny by now. And unlike you, probably, I can remember when things like polio was a reality in the UK as my best friend in primary school didn’t live beyond 7 and while I was relatively lucky when I caught my batch of childhood illnesses, I can still remember how miserable they made me. Also, my daughter almost died from pertussis because while I was working away from home long term my wife and her friends got caught up in the pertussis vaccine scare in the UK in the mid 70s and so didn’t get her vaccinated and a year or so later it broke out in her primary school. Fortunately, while it was one of the worst things I have ever witnessed, she did survive without lasting damage but effectively lost nearly a year of her life before getting close to back to normal. Some of her friends weren’t so lucky, a couple died and a few more had varying degrees of physical and mental disabilities as a reminder of bad vaccine advice from anti-vaxxers. So you and your fellow pro-disease campaigners can stick your pharma shill gambit where the sun don’t shine. And, there is very little humanity in here. Now I am feeling dehumanised. Lucy Johnson will not approve. Which is a shame; I’ve always found the “atomic solar system” visual representation quite neat – everything and evertyhing being made up by tiny versions of such a grand and spectacular thing is sorta beautiful in a poetic kind of way. @Kathy Young #271: The claims paid out are a SMALL portion of what should actually, ethically, be paid out. You’ll have to be more specific. Do you mean that more should have been paid out to each person? Do you mean that you believe that certain cases that were lost by the claimants should have been compensated? Do you mean something else? I do not have to act superior and condescending to you. They why are you acting so? I believe that I am vaccine injured, I have a good friend with a son who was vaccine injured. A lot of people have believed a lot of foolish and demonstrably wrong things. What is your evidence that you suffered a vaccine injury? Have you filed a claim for compensation with the Vaccine Court? Chris March 26, 2016 at 8:39 am Ms. Young: “I will pray for your eyes to be opened, or for your hatefulness and selfishness to leave you. I pray that the spirit of Jesus Christ opens your heart and your eyes.” I just wish you would learn how to use a calculator and figure out how to read the PDF I linked to, or at the very least use a dictionary. You made a claim based on compensations by the NVICP. So I linked to its actual statistics, asked you to read it and answer a few questions hoping you would understand it better. Because of that you can only conclude I am part of Big Pharma? Do you seriously think it cheaper to treat diseases than prevent them? My kids are old enough to some of the diseases that are now vaccine preventable. One actual illness caused seizures in my oldest, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital. How do I file a claim to the National Disease Injury Compensation Program? Robert De Niro misguidedly gives a podium to Andrew Wakefield \| autismjungle March 26, 2016 at 9:27 am […] few days ago, I learnt from Orac that the Tribeca Film Festival in New York will be showing the “documentary” […] shay simmons March 26, 2016 at 10:55 am I wonder how many in here are paid shills? None. Next question? Chemmomo March 26, 2016 at 12:08 pm Kathy Young 278 I do hope that some are not shills, are just young and will grow and learn that what they THINK they know could be based on lie after lie after lie. Back at you, Kathy. What if it’s not the boogeyman of Big Pharma and the CDC that’s doing the lying? What if the liar is in fact the man whose research paper was retracted for fraud? – and to continue with Chemmomo’s charges- other liars : including alt med experts, real and faux doctors, nutritionists, chiropractors, health food/ supplement gurus and web site owners who make money off of – docudramas, books, videos, supplements, special foods,, non-SB therapies, ad sales etc etc as well as fame-seekers and conspiracies theorists intent upon riding fantasy-based theories to fame and recognition. I can name dozens by now. CONSPIRACY theorists ( altho’ there are many) Some of the biggest liars who proposed Ms. Young’s old and stale arguments as if they are valid. I asked for real research to support her claims I get the old stale stuff about the validity of the published papers. She then follows up with an all caps version of stale boring “look they paid elevenity billity for vaccine injuries” from, of all places “thedailysheeple.” So when I present the PDF of the actual statistics and ask questions about it, I get the stinking old stale Pharma Shill Gambit. It is just so boring and stupid. Left out words: “Some of the biggest liars are those who proposed Ms. Young’s old and stale arguments…” Jock Doubleday March 26, 2016 at 1:50 pm Ha ha, why read beyond your Rockefeller death-medicine high school textbook? Ha ha ha. Well looky looky looky! Guess who came to grace us with his presence! Why it is Mr. Gentlebirth himself (though he seems to have ignored his website lately): http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/gentlebirth.htm …. and: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-150000-vaccine-challenge/ Talk about your old boring arguments, here is some more: http://americanloons.blogspot.com/2015/12/1555-jock-doubleday.html Oh, it is such a dubious honor for him to grace us with his silly insults. Not me. The last few checks bounced. “Peace. Out.” Are you perchance employed by the Ministry of Peace? @Julian Frost #283 A lot of people have believed a lot of foolish and demonstrably wrong things. This! This! This! I wouldn’t mind the ‘believing foolish and wrong things’ bit nearly so much, if they didn’t have such a track record of getting all snippy and dismissive when people actually try to engage them on the questions they are ‘just asking.’ For instance, just recently I approached a young person who had proof from the peer reviewed literature that GMO food was harmful. When approached for details, because such papers would be incredibly valuable to the Scientific Community and deserved wider distribution than they seem to have received, it came out that she did not so much have them as she had seen them a couple of months previously. The natural rejoinder was that you can’t go around claiming to have sensational evidence on a sensitive topic without actually having that evidence because that’s not only dishonest but it creates a false impression on true believers who are already predisposed to believe things that are Not True. Which of course led to an escalating series of taunts and badgerings over why do I hate women and want to take away their right to choose (?!?) but precious little about the alleged peer reviewed proof. A shill for Big Desert. Why do you care whether someone cares? Interesting that while they are all too happy to throw around baseless accusations of shillery and buy into evidence-less conspiracies not one of the AVers here has chosen to comment on Fraudypants’ utterly (and provably) dishonest trailer. So, to all the “critical thinkers” here, go read this article then address the issues presented. Matt kindly provides scans from Vaccine Whistleblower so you can verify the manipulation. If you want we can get into the documents themselves. Have you read them or are you just taking Hooker and Fraudypants’ word about what they say? Because what they actually say is nothing. Rather than specifics we can also talk about how Hooker and Fraudypants, concerned about transparency as they are, refused to release the documents themselves. Or how Ben Swann, another champion of TRUTH didn’t release them until Matt Carey did ajd only after concatenating, renaming, duplicating and releasing them in multiple nested zip archives. Or since you are so concerned about COIs shall we talk about Hooker’s apparent inability to disclose real, provable financial COIs like his ongoing NVICP petition? Andrew Wakefield (’nuff said). If you have a shred of integrity and any concern for the truth rather than simply protecting your egos apply some of that research and critical thinking that you are so proud of to them. Darthhellokitty March 26, 2016 at 6:45 pm I’m a shill for Big Dessert. Still waiting for those donuts they promised me. The Tribeca Film Festival drops Andrew Wakefield’s antivaccine conspiracyfest “documentary” – Respectful Insolence March 26, 2016 at 7:50 pm […] you might recall, I was quite critical of the decision of the Tribeca Film Festival to screen Andrew Wakefield’s antivaccine […] Tribeca got Vaxxed – THIS MUST BE THE PLACE March 27, 2016 at 12:05 am […] in the above trailer, and other related maters (I suggest you start with the science blog Respectful Insolence, the LA Times, the New York Times, Forbes, Snopes, and the Autism Science, News and Opinion blog, […] Caty March 27, 2016 at 3:43 am This is a hit piece on Wakefield. If the Vaxxers Documentary was baseless and not truth exposing then the people promoting Vaccinations would have nothing to fear. The fact that Vaxxers has now been canned speaks volumes, and has helped promote the Anti-Vax cause. Well Done boys! Nach Protesten: Robert de Niro wirft Anti-Impf-Machwerk aus Tribeca-Festival-Programm @ gwup \| die skeptiker March 27, 2016 at 9:06 am […] here? Andrew Wakefield’s antivaccine propaganda film to be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, Respectful Insolence am 22. März […] The struggle never ends March 27, 2016 at 9:54 am […] the last few days, there have been some ups and downs in crank medicine. The Tribeca Film Festival scheduled Andrew Wakefield’s anti-vaccine documentary to be shown, and Robert DeNiro defended it as a legitimate contribution to the discussion of the causes of […] gaist March 27, 2016 at 10:03 am Caty seems to live in a happy world where lies have no consequences… If the Vaxxers Documentary was baseless and not truth exposing… If? then the people promoting Vaccinations would have nothing to fear. It’s not fear you’re seeing. It’s indignation at seeing lies and misinformation presented as a documentary. I’d be happy to see the film back on Tribeca, in an indie fiction category. Still doubt it would be any good, though. But basically your argument is that people should be able to dishonestly shout “Fire!” in a crowded theater. And if anybody would object, to you it seems, it would mean there somehow was a fire. Well Done boys! John Phillips March 27, 2016 at 10:08 am @Caty, Actually what we fear is misinformation reaching those who don’t know better as the lies in that film can cause injury or, at the extreme end, even death if people listen to it without. Wakefield, the producer of this film, already literally has blood on his hands from the effects on vaccination uptake due to his infamous fraudulent Lancet paper which ultimately led to him being struck off as a doctor by the BMC. Thanks to his fraudulent ‘research’ and the effect it has had on vaccine uptake in the UK and the US alone, we have already had unnecessary deaths due in both young adults and children due to measles outbreaks due to lowered herd immunity. If you defend such a person without informing yourself of the actual facts, more so if you do know the facts and dismiss them as inconvenient truths and by the sound of it an anti-vaxxer yourself, then you are no better than him and have blood on your hands as well. first sentence should end; listen to it without the knowing how wrong this film actually is. @caty In fact, as gaistabove me says I’d be happy to see the film back on Tribeca, in an indie fiction category. Still doubt it would be any good, though. In other words, it is, to be charitable, pure fiction, but truthfully? It is lies, which you can see for yourself by following some of the links in the OP. Though now it has been withdrawn because based on the statement Tribeca put out, it is obvious they have now looked properly and seen this film for the lying piece of propaganda it is. So have the people who have replied in these comments actually seen the Documentary? If not then the comments are baseless and atypical of the Vaxxer Tryanny trolled out. What I said stands, if the Vaxxers film has something to highlight against the TRYANNY of a Vaxxer cover up, then it will be canned. Otherwise why fight it? It is only a film, not the end of the world. And where words have no spelling. Otherwise why fight it? I do regular gigs for a local news organisation (newspaper and tv/internet feeds). If any of the reporters here would take separate statements and splice them together, like Wakefield did to Thompson’s words in the trailer, they’d be fired immediately, with certain reprimand from the ethics committee and possibly a lawsuit to follow. It’s that bad; dishonest at the very least, more likely intentionally fraudulent. I don’t want intentional fraud or even blatant dishonesty in documentary films. Do you? Nor would I want any documentary I was involved in being grouped together with such films (I wouldn’t deign to call Vaxxed a documentary), so I can – and hopefully you can – understand and appreciate the damage it would do to a film festival’s credibility. And as been made clear, the document didn’t pass the usual selection process, but was thrust in through the back channels. This by itself damages the festival’s credibility, and even more so if the film in question was demonstrably fraudulent. Imagine what outrage you’d feel, Caty, if you heard a politician who took money from a corporation then called in a special favor from a celebrity to have a film fraudulently promoting those corporate interests included at Tribeca without selection review? Imagine tobacco manufacturers paying politicians to arrange for a film to be shown, where the words of a real, honest doctors were cut-and-pasted together to make them say how smoking is the best thing a child could do? Can you imagine the outrage that would generate? @Caty: no, I haven’t seen the film. But from the trailer, where you can see that already there are blatant lies (i.e. the CDC documents don’t show fraud, nor does Thompson EVER say what the trailer seems to imply.) For pete’s sake, Hooker published his little book with the transcripts of the conversations, and you can simply read that and see that. Sure, I have no problems with the film being shown. As long as it’s made clear that it is NOT a documentary, but pure fiction. I’m fine with fiction. (by the way…it’s spelled “tyranny”…) I was wondering who Anny was, and how we should try her. NeuroLogica Blog » Tribeca Film Festival Pulls Anti-Vaccine Film March 28, 2016 at 8:02 am […] discusses the content of the movie in detail, but here is a quick summary. The movie is produced by Andrew Wakefield, the disgraced struck-off […] Mike Adams noticed that the Tribeca Film Festival has yanked Andrew Wakefield’s antivaccine film. Hilarity ensues. – Respectful Insolence March 28, 2016 at 8:32 am […] I learned that Robert De Niro had reversed himself and decided to pull Andrew Wakefield’s dishonest antivaccine propaganda “documentary” from his Tribeca Film Festival after having admitted that he […] She seems to be atypical. Tribeca Film Festival wrap-up: Andrew Wakefield’s “brilliance” and spies and Nazis, oh my! – Respectful Insolence March 29, 2016 at 9:06 am […] a story like Robert De Niro’s decision to choose an antivaccine film by Andrew Wakefield for screening at his prestigious Tribeca Film Festival followed by his decision to drop the film […] Anomalia polare - Ocasapiens - Blog - Repubblica.it March 29, 2016 at 10:59 am […] da Orac che ha scritto almeno 7 post (link a quelli successivi nella colonna di […] Alastair Carnegie March 29, 2016 at 12:30 pm A colleague pointed out the significant rise in autism immediately following the introduction of the MMR vaccination campaign. I am an applied mathematician. and review UK’s MRC papers. I could not spot any sudden spike related to the vaccination. Autism was starting to rise well before the program. My colleague suggested I read the ‘small print’ in the appendix. The base line was NOT date of vaccination, it was date of birth. …. Now remove the ‘Catch-Up Cohort’ my colleague suggested…. That was when the colloquial ‘Fit his the shan!” This does not rove MMR was responsible, it demanded investigation as to what other confounding factors might possibly be coincident with the vaccination program. (sp.) “Fit hits….” and “prove” not ‘rove’. “A colleague pointed out the significant rise in autism immediately following the introduction of the MMR vaccination campaign. ” Ask your colleague to please provide the data that autism rose in the USA during the 1970s and 1980s after the MMR was introduced there in 1971. Surely it would have been noticed in the USA and other countries that were using the MMR almost two decades before the UK introduced three separate versions in 1988. Lawrence March 29, 2016 at 2:36 pm Anti-vaxers ignore the DSM, the changes in the DSM, and even the timeline for when autism was first “officially” diagnosed….to somehow create this linear line that shows that the rate of autism has been ever-increasing. Anyone with even the most basic understanding of statistics, and the actual history, can easily show that diagnostic substitution, recognition of additional symptoms of autism, and the just general recognition of the condition can easily explain how something that no one talked about 40 years ago can be something that is easily recognized today. In addition, there is the phenomenon of de-institutionalisation which made people with IDs and ASDs more visible to the general populace. Ann Dachel always says that there were never adults with ASDs until today- no, they weren’t out in public and were most likely called something else. Heck, if it weren’t for my stingy insurance, I might still be in an institution. Especially in another age. Instead, I am just a grad student again. chagrin John Phillips March 29, 2016 at 8:48 pm @caty, what gaist said at #312, especially after seeing how audio in the trailer was fraudulently manipulated to make it appear that the ‘whistleblower’ said something he didn’t and which was the opposite of what he has actually said. Additionally, we have already seen the damage that nearly twenty years of Wakefield’s lies have had on the health of people, especially children, around the world, including deaths, so many of us consider the only responsible thing to do is to counter such blatant dishonest propaganda. Now personally, in my ideal world (though in my ideal world such crooks and charlatans wouldn’t exist), I would in some way prefer to have had the film go ahead but with a truly independent panel, not the sycophants that were chosen, so as to be able to properly question the film makers about their dishonesty. But since I doubt very much that Wakefield would have allowed such a scenario, we have to make do with second best and its removal from the festival. Oh Brian Deer is going to just love this one: http://truthbarrier.com/2016/03/28/live-to-tell-part-1-how-dirty-exactly-are-big-pharmas-tactics-britains-toughest-investigative-writer-brings-back-lost-history/ Brian Deer is used to it. Right now some numpty on LBRB is trying to get him to answer these very important questions… and day after he called him “John Deer.” The guy did not like it when I asked him why he wanted Wakefield to debate a lawn mower. Come on! I could not help but think about John Deere tractors and lawn mowers. Bwahahahahaha! Audio: Examining the anti-vax movement \| Losing In The Lucky Country March 30, 2016 at 5:07 am […] hilarity of deceit at play here requires length and focus. The facts are examined here, here and here. This blog’s Wakefield tag is here. What has been predictable is the conduct […] Why some physicians embrace quackery – Respectful Insolence March 30, 2016 at 7:01 am […] it? I’ve probably beat the Tribeca Film Festival story into the ground, even for me, having spent the last week blogging about it. Scratch that. There’s no “probably” about […] I 5 peggiori film complottisti \| maticciofive April 1, 2016 at 1:03 pm […] causano l’autismo inventato dall’ex-medico Andrew Wakefield. Il Festival aveva infatti in programma di proiettareVaxxed, presentato come un documentario che svela il legame nascosto (anzi, insabbiato) tra le […] I 5 peggiori film complottisti - Gruppo360 - web agency palermo April 1, 2016 at 1:15 pm I 5 peggiori film complottisti - Omnia Gate April 1, 2016 at 1:45 pm Amethyst April 6, 2016 at 5:04 am @Chris, #329: I am reminded of one of my all-time favourite cartoons, “King of The Hill”, for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who has seen it. :3 sadmar April 6, 2016 at 7:34 am If the Vaxxers Documentary was baseless… then the people promoting Vaccinations would have nothing to fear. The fact that Vaxxers has now been canned speaks volumes, and has helped promote the Anti-Vax cause. Well Done boys! Broken clocks yada yada, but Caty almost has a point. Had Vaxxed screened at Tribeca (in a poor location and time slot) only a handful of naive and gullible souls could have seen it there. The AV sites would have whooped in triumph, but they were going do that if Vaxxed screened anywhere. Getting on the Tribeca schedule through the back-door (film people gossip, and this was in the wind before we heard about it) wasn’t going to get Vaxxed any legs in terms of additional screenings. Even documentary competition winners at festivals rarely get theatrical distribution (trust me, I have the hardware, and you’ve never heard of me…) Given the small festival audience, the smart move for skeptics would have been: 1) To sound a warning about Vaxxed on the basis of Andy’s history of fraudulent representation of Thompson as continued in the trailer… 2) Avoid criticizing Tribeca, but rather paint them sympathetically as victims of Andy’s slick con. (…which is what they were, not that this matters…) 3) Save the full ripping of the film until after the premiere, and then, with the specifics of the fraud verified by the actual screened ‘text’, argue that it would be irresponsible for any self-respecting film venue to show it again. Had the Tribeca screening gone forward, the critique would have received even more press than it did, but Andy couldn’t have screamed “censorship!” “big pharma conspiracy” blah blah anew. Most importantly, The Streisand Effect would not have been activated, and the Angelika probably wouldn’t have scheduled the one-week commercial run. See, if you can paint it as being ‘canned’ that does ‘speak volumes’, not about whether anything in the film is true, but about whether curious people will want to see it. So, let’s be honest about what happened here: Andy Wakefield played ‘the scientific community’ like a fiddle. A good con-artist thinks two or three steps ahead, and knows his adversaries well enough to bait them into a trap. Cinema Libre was trying to get Vaxxed booked at the Angelika, but the theater wasn’t biting. So Andy cashed in the chip from his years of working the De Niros for a crappy slot at Tribeca, figuring pro-vaxers would go apeturd, trash the festival, try to get the screening cancelled, and generate scads of publicity. Which allowed him to trade that one non-revenue-generating showing for 44 showings at a commercial theater from which he gets a nice rental fee, and maybe a cut of the box office take. Of course, if the Angelika makes a profit on it’s run of Vaxxed, that opens the door for it to be booked at other commercial theaters in large cities. NOW, you have an orders-of-magnitude greater fear of the lies in that film reaching those who don’t know better and causing injury. If that “Well Done boys!” doesn’t sting, maybe it should. (Fwiw, I got sucked in at least part way myself, and didn’t see the next move coming either… so yeah, I feel stung.) I think there are ‘Lessons To Be Learned’ here,which I’ll put in a following comment some time after I get some sleep. Helianthus April 6, 2016 at 8:28 am @ sadmar Fwiw, I got sucked in at least part way myself, and didn’t see the next move coming either I’m afraid we were close to a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenario. I mean, either way, Wakefield would have found a way in. He does this for a job, we do it in our spare time. If he was feeling he was losing control of the movie’s projection (e.g. with skeptics everywhere inside and outside the theater), he could have dropped the whole thing at the last minute, for “fear of physical assault”, or something. It may not have been as bad as the current situation, but we would still be blaming ourselves for not doing better. Remember, hindsight is 20/20. I could agree that “our” response was suboptimal, with one minor point: AFAIK, there is no “our”. There was a multitude of non- to barely-coordinated responses, with at best some major trends of non-overlapping opinions emerging. There was those arguing for the movie’s retraction, those for picketing it, those for avoiding the whole festival… Silver lining: skeptics are not about to take over the world. We are far from being united. And as a whole, far from being Machiavellian enough for the cold calculation of PR benefits we should have done, according to you. I know the hold saying about hanging together to avoid being hanged alone, but… Maybe the “skeptics” non-united community is for the best. Independence of thoughts is supposed to be part of being of an inquiring mind, be it for scientists or skeptics. I don’t think I want to be part of some sort of Borg collective. I hear ya, sadmar. Even when Wakefield loses, he wins at some level… I just wish Tribeca would make an annoucement in regards to the reason they pulled the movie. If they make it clear that they pulled it because it fails as a documentary (being based upon the work of a fraudster, exposed as having used dishonest tampering with recordings etc) as opposed to them caving in under the pressure of the calls for censorship, it would at least kill all these stupid conspiracy theorists up. Todd W. April 6, 2016 at 9:10 am @Amethyst it would at least kill all these stupid conspiracy theorists up Oh, I’m sure they could find some way to spin it into a conspiracy theory. In which antivaccine activist J. B. Handley thinks attacking Andrew Wakefield’s movie “backfired” – Respectful Insolence April 8, 2016 at 9:14 am […] procedures and asked that the film be shown. All of this happened after an uproar over a film so full of antivaccine quackery, conspiracy theories about William W. Thompson (a.k.a. the “CDC whistleblower” in […] Raging Bullsht: Robert De Niro is the latest celebrity antivaccinationist to spew pseudoscientific nonsense to the world – Respectful Insolence April 14, 2016 at 7:47 am […] directed by arguably the most famous icon of the antivaccine movement, Andrew Wakefield himself included in the list of films to be screened. Regular readers will recall that VAXXED recounts the “CDC whistleblower” conspiracy theory […] Raging Bullsht, part 2: J. B. Handley enters the fray to defend Robert De Niro’s antivaccine stylings – Respectful Insolence April 15, 2016 at 10:45 am […] as Skeptical Raptor likes to call it, fraudumentary), VAXXED: From Cover-up to Catastrophe screened at Tribeca. Ultimately, De Niro was forced to withdraw VAXXED from Tribeca because of the furor its inclusion […] The conspiracy circle is complete: Brian Hooker claims “The Man” has gotten to the #CDC whistleblower – Respectful Insolence April 26, 2016 at 4:00 am […] that documentary, VAXXED: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, somehow found its way into the Tribeca Film Festival. After a few days of head scratching about […] Raging Bullsh*t, part 3: Robert De Niro says he’s teaming up with Harvey Weinstein to make an antivaccine movie – Respectful Insolence May 24, 2016 at 8:29 am […] to bring newbies up to speed. A couple of months ago, science-based medicine advocates were scratching their heads over news that the Tribeca Film Festival was going to include among its documentaries a film called VAXXED: […]	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1719
__label__cc	0.523333	0.476667	February 12, 2008 February 7, 2016 maisie I always enjoyed Carla’s playable NPC page, but thought I couldn’t really do one myself. But it turns out that while I couldn’t a few years back, I really can now. Many of my families have infiltrated my main sims, through business, parenthood, and dating. Brewer Family Dave and Alicia with their son, Percy. Dave has long been friends with Jude and Gideon. He was the last of his friends to get married, and just welcomed his first child to the world. They recently bought a house in Millwood, and now live near Gideon and Eva. Dave works in Intelligence, while Alicia was recently laid off when the local home-style restaurant closed its doors. She’s enjoying time with their son while she can, and looking for work near home. Dwyer-Dennis-Picaso Family Marcus and Miriam Dwyer with their twins, Asher and Shira, and Warren and Angie Dennis Angie Dennis is a widower and the Mother of Warren and Miriam, residing in South Port. Angie has always worked retail in South Port. Miriam is a preschool-kindergarten teacher, and was previously married to Dr. Marcus Dwyer, together they have twins Asher and Shira. Marcus was defeated in the competition for Chief of Staff against Morgan Russo-Traver, and recently returned to Metro Hospital. Gavigan Family Mary and Nathan, with their three sons, Isaiah (Maeve), Isaac (Lauren), and Ezra Mary owns the Mini Sprout, a specialty baby boutique, while Nathan is a detective for the South Port Police Station, and reside in Millwood. Isaiah is a college graduate, and is currently a Scatmaster, living with Oliver McCarthy as roommates. Isaac is currently attending Eastborough University, dating Lainey Grimsley and the teen father of Nolan Millett, though he has denied this. Mary had hoped that Ezra would be a girl, but has made peace with her third son, who is raised like an only child these days. Gonzales Family Maria and Juan Juan owns two car dealerships in South Port, running them with his only child, Cesar and his wife Maria. They are very traditional in their beliefs, and had wanted their son to marry Annie after she got pregnant with their grandchildren. Maria is rather opinionated and does not always curb her tongue, while Juan is laid back, and rather shy, despite the nature of his business, he is rather successful because people find him genuine and good-natured. (left to right) Caleb, Barbara, Corbin, and Riley Corbin and Barbara reside in Millwood, they are quiet neighbors, and tend to keep to themselves. Their twins, Caleb and Riley recently started attended Eastborough University. Barbara is head chef at The Red Mill since the twins were in grade school, and Corbin is a successful Family Law attorney. Lange Family (left to right) Paige, Trent, Trish, and Brooklyn (Originally this was the Traveller family, I gave them all makeovers, and some face lifts, because I didn’t know how to delete sims way back when.) Trent is president of a corporate company, and Trish works as a file clerk at Cole London’s law firm, she started working later in life, once Brooklyn was in middle school. Paige is highly-opinionated, having dated and broken up with Peter Traver twice in life, a graduate of Eastborough University with a Political Science Degree, she is currently working as a Campaign Worker with hopes of being Mayor one day. Brooklyn is currently attending Eastborough University, with an economics major, and hopes to one day be a teacher in South Port. Martinez Family (left to right) Perla, Diego, Isabella, Matias, and Rafael The Martinez family relocated to South Port from Spain during Perla and Rafael’s teen years. Diego is their first to be born in a different country, and was not exactly anticipated from his older brother and sister. Matias is taking time off of work to care for young Diego until he begins school, and Isabella works as a hostess at The Red Mill. Perla is their oldest, and is very sought after by the other boys in her high school. Pacelli Family Carmine and Silvana with their two sons, Enzo (Ginny) and Nico, including their grandkids, Gemma and Domenico (Enzo’s kids) Carmine and Silvana own an Italian restaurant that specializes in pizza and pasta. They have two sons, Enzo and Nico, with the youngest boy, Nico still residing at home, and helping out at the restaurant. They live downtown South Port since immigrating to the city when Enzo was their only child. They do foster care, and were Elodie’s foster parents while she waited for a permanent home with the Siew family. Enzo is Carmine and Silvana’s eldest son, married to Ginny the owner of Planet Java coffeehouse, and Paloma’s boss. Enzo is a Private Detective, and is home more to raise the kids than his wife Ginny, who struggles with the management portion of her business, and getting employees to respond well to her demands. Gemma is rather spoiled, and is not welcomed by many adults or children outside of her family circle. Domenico is carrying on the family name, and his grandparents hope he will want to run their restaurant when he’s of age. Picaso Household (left to right) Flint, Jessica, Jett and Matt. Matt and Jessica divorced when the twins were in grade school, he had an affair with Annie Carver, and fathered Ella out of that relationship. He did not seek parental rights until his divorce was finalized, before then Ella did not know who her father was, and the boys did not know they had a half-sister. Matt now has half-custody of the boys and Ella, though he is not much interested in investing his time with the children. Jessica works at the Red Mill as a waitress, and is Lorelei’s employee. She has worked there since it was owned by Eric, and the boys were toddlers. She is married to Warren Dennis (Dennis-Dwyer Family above), and raising the boys to the best of her abilities. Jett is very helpful, and sensitive to helping out his Mom, while Flint is rougher on the edges, and desires to join the military and be more like his Dad. Jessica finds that he is not respectful to girls, or herself, and struggles in raising him, while he puts his Dad on a pedestal. Welsh Family Reed and Caroline with their three kids Alex, Molly, and Toby Reed dated Violet-Adele while they attended community college together, they suffered a miscarriage, then she ended their relationship to follow her dreams in Paris. Reed married Caroline while she was very pregnant with their first born, Alex. When he was a toddler, Violet-Adele came back to South Port, and they started an affair. This continued until Molly was born, he missed the birth of his daughter because he was with her, and he ended the romance on his own accord while Molly was still an infant. Caroline never knew of this indiscretion, and they recently moved out of South Port apartment and into a nice home out in Millwood. Reed owns the only toy store in the area, and is focusing on his family currently, while Caroline is a nurse at Metro Hospital. Previous postElla Carver Next postMallory Louie	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1722
__label__wiki	0.675694	0.675694	Small business ideas and online review site \| Review Net Gato ReviewNetGato is an online review site that deals with small business ideas, start up, latest tech gadgets, online review management and product review around the world Tech News & Events Home / Start-ups / Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick is leaving the company’s board of directors Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick is leaving the company’s board of directors Start-ups, Tech News Uber co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick have announce that he is leaving uber to focus on his new business and philanthropic work. Travis Kalanick will officially resign from the board as of December 31 according to a company press release. The news comes after Kalanick sold more than $2.5 billion in stock — more than 90 percent of his stake — when the lock-up on his shares expired. By exiting the board and selling his shares, he has essentially cut himself entirely off from the company he helped found Kalanick, who was forced out as Uber CEO and eventually replaced by Dara Khosrowshahi, has been in the process of selling off his considerable ownership stake in the company. In fact, it looks like Kalanick has now sold all his remaining stock. Kalanick’s last day will be December 31, 2019, after which time he’ll focus on his “new business and philanthropic endeavors.” This is likely a reference to his new startup, CloudKitchens, which he has bragged will be “bigger than Uber,” according to reporting by The Information. He will have sold all his shares in Uber by Thursday, exiting his holding in Uber entirely, The New York Times reported. According to Financial Times, Kalanick has now sold all of his Uber stock. “At the close of the decade, and with the company now public, it seems like the right moment for me to focus on my current business and philanthropic pursuits,” Kalanick said in a prepared statement. Kalanick’s time at Uber has been marked by scandal. For instance, while Kalanick was chief executive officer, an Uber initiative called “Project Greyball” was aimed at deceiving authorities so Uber could operate in markets where it had been restricted or banned. A former Uber engineer, Susan Fowler, alleged that the company was a sexist nightmare — she herself had been improperly propositioned by her new boss on her very first day at the company, and that was only the beginning of the problems she went on to document in a blistering blog post. Kalanick himself was caught on video berating an Uber driver while CEO. Driver compensation is another issue that started with Kalanick and has continued to consume the company ever since. Earlier this year, Uber agreed to pay nearly $650 million in overdue New Jersey state unemployment and disability insurance taxes. In nearby New York state, 96,000 drivers came together to sue the company over unpaid wages dating back to 2011. Subscribe To Get New Updates Receive the latest business ideas, start-ups grants and more... Give it a try. You can unsubscribe at any time. Chidera Anthony Latest posts by Chidera Anthony (see all) What Elon Musk think Twitter could be doing better - January 19, 2020 Amazon Top 5 Smart Alexa Devices - January 18, 2020 Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick is leaving the company’s board of directors - December 25, 2019 Previous Facebook Is ‘The New Cigarettes’ And Should Probably Be Broken up~Marc Benioff Next CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR DEVELOPS SPEAKER IN FORM OF A MAP FOR ENUGU STATE GOVERNOR What Elon Musk think Twitter could be doing better In a video session on Thursday Tesla CEO Elon musk suggested that twitter be better off when … Amazon Top 5 Smart Alexa Devices CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR DEVELOPS SPEAKER IN FORM OF A MAP FOR ENUGU STATE GOVERNOR Facebook Is ‘The New Cigarettes’ And Should Probably Be Broken up~Marc Benioff Michael: Wow this is cool... Temitope Enitan: Not all Nigerians, Some corrupt Nigerians are tarnishing the image of other hard... Bolanle Ighosa: Really wonderful invention by a fellow compatriot. I believe this will help the... Danny King: Nice post! But personally, I'd prefer Mark and his team look into their privacy... Nneka Naris: Really great post on branding. As an entrepreneur, I know this will really help... Facebook techo craft google iOS apple Whatsapp Android Twitter iphone OS amazon U.S US digital marketing Smartphones Wall Street Journal United States Microsoft Mr. Chuks Edoga samsung Dream Hub Breaking The Barriers Holding Female Entrepreneurship Google Business Group ChatDesk South-East We are media team aimed at giving first-hand information and reviews about various technological start-ups, events and brands both small scale and big-scale around the globe. CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR DEVELOPS SPEAKER IN FORM OF A MAP FOR ENUGU STATE GOVERNOR https://t.co/ZEdxWbiTgp… https://t.co/9xgFF5u76I2019/12/27 Meet Chukwunwamaka Amanda an artistic bead maker in Enugu(Busy Hand and ... https://t.co/GCOB4WmkcL via @YouTube2019/10/18 Sponsored by Techo Craft	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1723
__label__cc	0.584504	0.415496	Ghana – Saturday – to Elmina Posted on November 5, 2016 by richardtraveller14 A fairly early start as we have a long journey south to the coast. The stomach upsets seem to be spreading around the group unfortunately! Suitably medicated we set off heading south towards Cape Coast. We passed through the suburbs of Kumasi and then out into open country with palm oil trees, cocoa trees and bananas. We crossed a range of obviously volcanic hills. Everywhere there seemed to be funerals taking place , marked out by the red and black outfits everyone wears and in one case by the presence of a coffin. Our first stop was at a village called Assin Monso on the slave river, so called because it was the last place the slaves got a chance to wash before they were taken to the dungeons in the castle at Cape Coast and from there to the Caribbean, or North or South America. Slaves from all over the west of Africa were brought here in chains and made to wash in the river so they could be sold on to the foreign traders. They were also fed here and grouped by sex and age. It was an incredibly beautiful spot and hard to imagine that at one time it was the site of so much misery. In the compound, which is very wel maintained there are two graves of slaves whose remains were returned in 1998. One was if Samuel Carson the first black man to join the U S navy. He rose to the rank of captain. The second grave was of a woman called Crystal who was a slave in Jamaica. She protested against her treatment and went on hunger strike and died. It was very moving to think that these people had returned to their land. We moved on to Cape Coast and the castle. Our lunch was in the restaurant alongside the castle and to be honest, was not up to much. I quite liked the spinach soup with hard boiled eggs in it, but to be honest boiled plantain and yam just do not do it for me. Anyway I wasn’t feeling like too much to eat which was probably just as well. On the way in we were really hassled by young man trying to sell pictures and it was just as bad on the way out! An election vehicle drew up outside the restaurant as we were leaving and its amplifier was clearly set to 11 so that we were deafened by the noise. Ghana is certainly a loud country. Last night in the restaurant in Kumasi there were two televisions on, some music from the bar and an unbelievably loud speaker booming out over the terrace outside. Some people were sitting as close as they could to it, without any sign of pain! We entered the castle and joined an excellent guide who took us around. The first timber structure was built here by the Danes in 1653. In 1663 it was occupied by the Dutch and then in 1664 the British took it over. From 1762 onwards the British extended the castle creating slave dungeons deep underground in order to receive the large numbers of slaves they were sending to the Caribbean and the USA. This was truly a terrible place. We started in the museum which laid out all the basic facts about slavery and the triangular trade in a very objective way. We next visited the Palaver Room where slaves were bought and sold and the governor’s quarters which had magnificent views over the coastline. It is very picturesque with the surf breaking on rocks below the castle and fishing boats hauled up on the beach while fishermen mend their nets and children play in the waves. Hard to imagine the appalling conditions that existed in the dungeons below. We walked down a slope from the main courtyard into the darkness beneath. Here, in 4 cells, up to 1,000 men were kept. There can barely have been room to sit, never mind lie down. Channels in the tiled floor were meant to take away excreta and urine but these became blocked. In the first barrel-vaulted room the most difficult slaves were kept. Water and food was thrown down to them from above as they sat shackled on the ground. The floor here had been scraped clean revealing the bricks beneath but in the other rooms the accumulation of filth is still there, presumably now rendered harmless with age. From the end cell a tunnel led under the front of the castle to the eastern end, where slaves were led out to the waiting ships through the ‘door of no return’. At that end of the castle was the women’s cell identical to the men’s, but only one room as fewer women slaves were taken. We walked through the door of no return, where the slaves would have been put on board local dug out fishing boats to take them to the big ships waiting some distance off shore. The view of the beach, the boats, and the headland beyond with a rsinbow above it, looked stunning and again it was hard to relate that to these horror of what happened here. At the end of the tour we were shown the cell where slaves who had rebelled or caused serious trouble were put. It was cleverly designed with three doors. Once all three were shut no air could get in so prisoners slowly suffocated to death in the total darkness. Opposite was the church where the governor and his staff worshipped every Sunday. No more needs to be said. We fended off the salesmen and got into the bus to drive to our new hotel, the luxurious Coconut Grove Beach Resort. We noted the sign in the car park pointing to the horse stables and the crocdile pond! We were taken to a lovely room within the sound of the breakers on the beach. Furthermore everything seems to work and to be safe. Hot water, a flushing toilet, safe power points, a properly made bed, are all here and it is hard for us to believe that they exist. True it is not cheap – our meal in the restaurant was rather more than we’d paid before, but who cares. Tomorrow we don ‘t have to leave until 10.15 so a lie in, a swim, breakfast and then a stroll along the Palm fringed beach seem to be the order of the day. What could possibly go wrong? ← Ghana – Kumasi – Friday Ghana – Sunday – food for thought → 3 thoughts on “Ghana – Saturday – to Elmina” abradstock says: Feeling exhausted just reading your daily doings, Richard, but thanks for all the updates. All well here (HH). A richardtraveller14 says: It is fairly relentless! Glad to hear all is well at HH. ruthwratten says: Hi R & C I hope you are feeling better and the gyppiness accounted earlier is a thing fading fast in memory – although I, of course, will miss this focus in your blog, such a rich source of potential humour it contains (I certainly didn’t miss the juxtaposition between your imodium fuelled adventures and the story of the golden stool!). Great to hear of the vibrancy of you stops and visits – the markets and cloth peddlers; and that, like Blackpool, the Ghanaians sell lumps of rock to nauseous women. Of course, the most poignant element in the last few days has been your visit to the slave pens – what a shameful set of episodes and what a morally corrupt legacy we somehow continue to airbrush away. Glad, though, to hear you’ve landed at a lovely hotel and situation. We will look forward to further top-ups. Love – B & R Bahrain 9 – All good things…… Bahrain 8 – of ships and shops Bahrain 7 – diplomatic privilege Bahrain 6 – of camel calves and kings Earle Briard on Bahrain 6 – of camel cal… richardtraveller14 on Kagera 1 dorotheedouble on Kagera 1 sidran on Bhutan – Day 12 –… John and Barbara Dah… on Bhutan – Day 11 –…	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1724
__label__wiki	0.851047	0.851047	SABEW, Society of American Business Editors and Writers, Inc. Current Board of Governors Past Boards of Governors: 2014-2019 2019 – 2020 Committees Duties of the SABEW Board of Governors SABEW Staff American History of Business Journalism Sponsor and other payments Distinguished Achievement Award Larry Birger Young Business Journalist Award David J. Morrow Scholarship for Business Journalism Goldschmidt Fellowship Cox-SABEW Fellowship First Amendment Initiative College Connect Blog SABEW18-SEC ‘best interest’ standard well-intended but challenges remain Posted By Student Newsroom on Friday April 27, 2018 By Jinman Li The new “best interest” standard for brokers proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission is a positive step with good intentions but several problems remain, said Maureen Thompson, vice president of public policy at Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. Thompson spoke at a panel discussion Friday at the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing in Washington, D.C. The standard establishes a code of conduct for brokers who make investment recommendations for customers. Maureen Thompson, left, Leo Rydzewski, Barbara Roper and Jill Schlesinger speak about the issue of fiduciary at the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing’s spring conference. The proposal was approved by a 4-to-1 vote on April 18 and is now subject to a 90-day public comment period. Some people think the SEC may have rushed out the proposal to get ahead of the April 30 deadline when the Labor Department has to decide whether to challenge the Fifth Circuit decision that vacated the fiduciary rule, Thompson said. One of the “fundamental problems” of the SEC standard is the lack of a clear definition, Thompson said. It requires the brokers to act in the best interest of clients but is less restrictive than the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule, she added. “Now we’re faced with the possibility of a role where brokers get to say they’re working in their client’s best interest, but it doesn’t mean at all what fiduciary means,” Thompson said. Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America, who has been calling for a fiduciary rule for financial planners since she joined the CFA in 1986, said it’s harder for retail investors — whom she called “the mom and pop investor” — to differentiate between brokers and investment advisors since many of them call themselves financial advisors. The brokers, however, abide by suitability, a lower standard than fiduciary, which only requires them to recommend products that fit with the clients’ demands rather than their best interests, Roper said. The broader range of products allows them to recommend the most profitable products rather than necessarily the best ones for their clients, she added. Tweets by @SABEW SABEW - Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 555 North Central Ave, Suite 406 E, Phoenix, AZ 85004-1248 ©2001 - 2020 Society of American Business Editors and Writers, Inc. SABEW Home	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1732
__label__wiki	0.568954	0.568954	S.B.G. "Don't mistake lack of talent for genius" (Peter Steele, 1962-2010) folk Senza categoria Between Revival and Innovation: The Best TRADITIONAL FOLK MUSIC of 2018 by selectedbyguerino Among all music genres, traditional folk is the one where the tension between the authentic and the commercial is more evident. But it is from the perennial battle between these two extremes that usually the most interesting records are generated, as is certainly the case of the four albums that are presented in this article. As a matter of fact, the albums you’ll see mentioned in this chart are not only the best traditional folk records that have been published so far in 2018, they all contain embryos of innovation and modernity that make their music more enjoyable and somehow accessible for the new generations of listeners. #1) “THE ART OF FORGETTING” by KYLE CAREY Celtic Americana artist Kyle Carey created a synthesis of music called ‘Gaelic Americana’, which mixes Celtic and Appalachian folk with literary elements. She has released so far 3 LPs and on EP. Carey’s new album, “The Art of Forgetting”, unites an all-star international cast of musicians such Sam Broussard on guitar, John McCusker on fiddle, Ron Janssen on octave mandolin, Kai Welch on trumpet and Mike McGoldrick on Flute. Despite being a relatively young contributor to the folk world, American songwriter Kyle Carey has already taken a prominent role among the representatives of American Celtic music, which is that special style of folk that mixes together western European sounds with American (in this case Appalachian) elements. On early 2018 she released the third full-lenght album of her discography, The Art of Forgetting, and all the good things that have been said and written of her so far are absolutely confirmed by this new record. The beauty of Carey’s last album is further enhanced by the quality of the musicians who have been called to contribute to the recording of the songs. The release notes of the LP show that Carey has called together a super team of artists. Just to mention a few ones, we have singer, violinist and banjo player Rhiannon Giddens (Carolina Chocolate Drops), American guitarist Sam Broussard (from the Cajun band Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys), and Scottish folk musician and composer John McCusker. The Art of Forgetting was also reviewed in a dedicated page of this blog. Check it out. The album may be streamed on line on Spotify. #2) “TWO SCORES” by BLOWZABELLA Blowzabella is a genuinely unique band that makes an inimitable, driving, drone-based wall-of-sound played with a fabulous sense of melody, rhythmic expertise and sheer feeling They compose their own music which is influenced by English and European traditional folk music and song – a shared culture with ancient roots. (from the band’s webpage) Blowzabella aren’t absolutely newcomers in the flok world. This unique and characteristic English formation celebrates in 2018 its 40th year of activity (“two-scores”) and of course there are many records and publications released by them to date. In case there is someone approaching the band for the first time, what’s necessary to know is that Blowzabella distinguished themselves for their particular and truly unique style of music where traditional folk is with drone music. A vast array of acoustic instruments are in fact played and manipulated in order to obtain sounds and rhythms that are typical of the dance world (a “wall of sound” as they like to say), but always played with a traditional spirit. One could really say that the music of Blowzabella is one of those happy cases where the union between two distant worlds, in this case the legacy of the folk tradition and the spirit of innovation, has produced something that’s much larger than the sum of the original elements. The last album by Blowzabella, Two Scores, shows the band in a state of absolute grace: the maturity acquired by these musicians over the years is still supported by the desire to experiment new sounds and rhythms, so that their songs are never the mere repetition of schemes and tricks from the past repertoire. The LP offers also a relative variety among its tracks, and in the end the only thing these musicians ask you to do is to free your spirit, start dancing and be carried away by the frenetic, hypnotic and magical music they created for us. Two Scores is available for streaming on Spotify. #3) “WHORLS” by KITTEL & CO. Jeremy Kittel is a contemporary American musician and composer. Fluent in multiple musical genres, his original music draws from traditional roots, jazz, Celtic, Classical, electronic, and more. Kittel performs with his own band or trio, as a duo, and as a soloist with orchestras. American violinist Jeremy Kittel has gained quite a relevant reputation as one of the most talented performer and composers of celctic folk and bluegrass, with a style which emphasizes both his technical skills and a special taste for timeless melodies. He’s been involved in many projects, both as a soloist and with supporting partners. In his most recent release, Whorls, he offers a new exciting collection of folk songs that are tinged by many different influences from traditional celtic music, baroque classical melodies, American bluegrass and a few hints of jazz. A number of skilled musicians have been involved in the project including mandolin phenom Josh Pinkham, guitarist Quinn Bachand, cellist Nathiel Smith, Simon Chrisman on dulcimer and also vocalist Sarah Jarosz. The quality of the performances is extraordinary, and the songs offer a good level of variety and surprises to keep the attention high along all the record. Whorls may be streamed from Spotify. #4) FOLLOW THEM TRUE by STICK IN THE WHEEL English folk band Stick in the Wheel bring a contemporary approach to celtic folk music with raw minimalism, setting vocals, simple accompaniments and handclaps. Follow Them True is the second album from the English folk band Stick in the Wheel, and it arrives two years and half after their 2015’s debut work, From Here. Since the beginning of their career this quintet of folk enthusiasts has adopted an austere and formal approach to folk music, which is characterized also by the choice to use only acoustic instrumentation. As a result, their songs have always an ancient and suggestive charm which further exalts the fantastic voice of the singer Nicola Kearey. In the new album you won’t find danceable songs or pop-folk motifs, but rather a very good collection of ancient ballads and melodies of the past, all revisited with an aggressive spirit. Only in some moments the tension and the austherity seem to leave the field for slightly more relaxed and poetic tones, and perhaps these are the most accessible and enjoyable parts of the disc, at least for the casual listener. Follow Them True is available for streaming on Spotify. Tagsamerican celtic • Blowzabella • celtic folk • Jeremy Kittel • Kittel & co • Kyle Carey • Stick in the Wheel • traditional folk About selectedbyguerino Follow me on twitter: @guerinogiancola selectedbyguerino.wordpress.com 2 comments on “Between Revival and Innovation: The Best TRADITIONAL FOLK MUSIC of 2018” doradarlingswann it’s always wonderful to find new music to listen to, thank you for introducing me to Kittel and Co. ! I am a singer/songwriter of the trad folk genre, I also play a bit of fiddle, and I am just exploring new music so it was great to find your article! Pingback: An Explosive Expression of Humanity: The Best TRADITIONAL FOLK MUSIC of 2018 – S.B.G. Follow S.B.G. on WordPress.com Most appreciated selections Blogs I’m following OnOneOnlinesBlog MY ROCK MIXTAPES Urban Antenna What's So Special About Music Anyways? baddpress The Fortnightly Playlist loveurownlife Musica e Anima - Lo sconfinato mondo musicale Stationary Travels The Hallucinatory Blog Raffaele Giannetti L'ultima Thule om3ssa Archives Select Month March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 Follow S.B.G. The Best Music Starts Underground Welcome to a journey with my favorite rockstars! A one-stop shop for the best new heavy albums in the world Broadcasting New Music Witty opinions on great music Music, Movies, Etc. A music blog by Kevin Press Sharing music discoveries every 2 weeks Encourages all to love their own life... ... and classic rock too! Journeys in Sound & Music The Pathway Raccolta di scritti vari & altre frottole Dove la musica è ancora una ragione di vita (un blog di Federico Guglielmi) WELCOME TO om3ssa's MUSIC FREAKISHNESS AT THE WORLD WIDE WEB	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1733
__label__wiki	0.896921	0.896921	19-20 Media Guide 19-20 Headshot Chart Photo: Mike Olvella October 22, 2019 - by Tim Linafelt, Senior Writer Basketball Tops Barry, 95-66, In Exhibition Opener Florida State 95, Barry 66 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (seminoles.com) – Florida State’s exhibition opener provided a glimpse of what lies ahead for the Seminoles – both in the upcoming season and beyond. It also showed coach Leonard Hamilton a few things he’d like for his team to tighten up between now and the Seminoles’ season opener on November 6. So, in that sense, it was a near-perfect evening for FSU, which got 19 points and five assists from senior Trent Forrest in a 95-66 victory over Barry University at the Donald L. Tucker Center. Forrest, the central figure for an FSU team that lost its top two scorers from a year ago, was one of six Seminoles to finish in double-figures. Anthony Polite added 18 – including 16 in the second half – while RaiQuan Gray (10 points) and newcomers Patrick Williams (12, nine rebounds), Nathanael Jack (10), Dominik Olejniczak (10 points, seven rebounds) and Malik Osborne (seven points, seven boards) all enjoyed productive outings. “I was pleased with some of the things I saw,” Hamilton said, “but we have a ways to go, no doubt about that. We’ve just got to keep working. By no means are we anywhere close to being ready to play against the toughest schedule that we’ve had since I’ve been here.” That will begin in two weeks, when the Seminoles start their campaign at Pittsburgh. Between now and then, though, Hamilton can find some satisfaction in the things that his team did well – and the things that they improved upon – against Barry. Playing without injured guards M.J. Walker and Devin Vassell, both of whom are expected to be in the starting lineup when they return, the Seminoles started a little slowly and trailed, 7-6, after seven minutes. They eventually surged past their outmanned opponent and took a 37-21 lead into the break, but they also committed 17 first-half turnovers and shot 4-of-15 from 3-point range. Hamilton admitted that FSU turned the ball over “too much, obviously,” but also noted that the Seminoles will likely grow through that as their newcomers adjust to the team’s uptempo offense. Having Walker, Vassell and junior college transfer RayQuan Evans in street clothes didn’t help, either. “We have some really good players sitting over there in blue jeans,” Hamilton said with a smile. Hamilton didn’t seem too concerned over the injuries. He said that Vassell probably could’ve played against Barry, and that Walker, while not as close to a return, is recovering fine from a preseason hip flexor injury. In their absence, the Seminoles got a good look at some fresh faces. Williams, a highly-touted forward prospect, introduced himself in a big way by throwing down five heavy dunks, at least one of which left the backboard shaking as he made his way back down the floor. Olejniczak, a transfer from Ole Miss, did exactly as expected, too – he shot 5-of-5 from the floor, all from close range, and grabbed five boards. And Jack, a shooting specialist, connected on 3-of-10 3-point shots while also earning seven rebounds. All told, 12 Seminoles played on Monday night, with nine logging 15:54 or more and five playing upward of 20 minutes. “It’s good to get the other guys some major minutes to kind of see where they are,” Hamilton said. And, as things settled down, the Seminoles steadily pulled away. They outscored Barry 58-45 in the second half, had only five additional turnovers and increased their overall shooting percentage to 51.4. “It was big-time for us,” Forrest said. “Just to get the early nerves out, the jitters, and just so (the newcomers) can kind of experience something that we haven’t really been doing lately. “So I felt like it was big for us to get out here, play against somebody else and kind of get a feel for how it’s going to be in a real game.” Basketball Exhibition Season Starts Tuesday Forrest Named To Cousy Award Watch List	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1734
__label__cc	0.736994	0.263006	PhD Candidate in Policy Analysis and Sociology, Cornell University Chapter Member: Finger Lakes SSN Connect with Emily Parker’s research focuses on access to primary care and health insurance, aging, gender and family, as well as urban environments and spatial demography. The overarching themes in Parker’s work are health inequalities and the social safety net. She is a PhD student in Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University, and serving as the SSN Fellow for the Finger Lakes Region from 2017-18. Contributions \| No Jargon Podcast \| In the News \| Publications How the Risk of Losing Health Insurance Varies across Working Lifetimes for Different Sets of Americans Basic Facts Brief, May 2018 1035 Cambridge Street, Suite 14B, © 2020 Scholars Strategy Network	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1740
__label__wiki	0.576204	0.576204	Ways You Can Volunteer Log Hours Ask A Tutor Star Volunteers Tutor Anniversaries Tag: College Building College Knowledge for All Ages School on Wheels \| June 24, 2015 \| Workshops This workshop helps tutors build their students’ college knowledge by nurturing college-going aspirations, which come from intrinsic motivation and the belief in one’s ability to achieve and succeed. School on Wheels students often face hardships that can make it difficult to view college and other opportunities as attainable. Learn activities for different grades to nurture an “I can” attitude that includes how to plan and prepare for college, but also stresses the value of lifelong learning. College Knowledge Activities by Grade Level (PDF) Careers Reading Sheet (PDF) Private and Independent Colleges Map (PDF) University of California Map (PDF) Community Colleges Map (PDF) California State Universities Map (PDF) Dr. Corina Espinoza received her Doctor of Education from USC, where she specialized in education psychology. Her research focuses on the role of adults in the formation of a learner identity for students and in fostering college-going aspirations. Using a standards-based college knowledge curriculum she developed, Dr. Espinoza works with schools and teachers to build college knowledge in the classroom. College, College Workshops, Students, Teen Workshops, workshops College Planning: A Positive Future Within Reach School on Wheels \| April 3, 2013 \| Workshops This workshop helped tutors with strategies on encouraging students to pursue college, and covered topics such as steps to take at any age, the benefits of community college, and how “disadvantages” can often be turned into advantages for admissions. Garrett Clancy, M.A., M.F.A. has taught English and film studies at CSUN, Valley College, College of the Canyons and Yeshiva University of L.A. Boys and Girls Schools (YULA). He holds a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA and served as Director of College Counseling at YULA this past year. He is married and has a new baby daughter. College, College Workshops, Teen Workshops, workshops Fletcher Square 3150 N San Fernando Rd, Ste B 600 East 7th Street, Ste 109 contact@schoolonwheels.org © 2020 School on Wheels. Privacy Policy with Terms and Conditions	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1743
__label__cc	0.708998	0.291002	REVIEW of Two Empresses by Brandy Purdy Rose Spears (Rosanne E. Lortz) January 8, 2017 January 8, 2017 Fiction, Historical Fiction Two Empresses was a strange conflation of two lives, one which seemed to be a string of historical events with weak characterization, and the other which seemed to be almost entirely fictional but with an interesting plot line. The story begins with Rose and Aimee, cousins and members of the French aristocracy on the island of Martinique. Rose is wild, passionate, willing to take risks. Aimee is measured, practical. They encounter a Voodoo queen who promises that they will each become empresses, but that Rose will be filled with sorrow while Aimee will have joy in what comes after her. Fast forward a dozen or more years through Rose’s tumultuous marriage, two children born, the horrific French Revolution, a score of lovers, until she finally–incredibly reluctantly–marries Napoleon Bonaparte and is renamed as Josephine. Meanwhile, Aimee, after receiving her education at a convent in France, takes ship back to Martinique only to be captured by Barbary Pirates and sold to the Turkish sultan where she becomes the favored concubine in his harem. Both of the women’s narratives were told in first person and since they covered many years of history, more time was spent in getting the events down on paper than in fleshing out secondary characters. In Rose/Josephine’s story, there was little to like about her. She was selfish, vapid, and ready to sleep with anyone who asked her. The other characters in her life didn’t receive much fleshing out, and it felt like a string of one historical event after another combined with a Josephine-pity-party. When she finally decided she loved Napoleon, there was no reason given, other than her own survival, and the about-face was, frankly, confusing. Aimee’s story was more intriguing. She showed resourcefulness in navigating the treacherous waters of the harem as she becomes Sultana Naksidil and defends her adoptive son Mahmoud against plots. The main difficulty with the Aimee plot line is that scholars have fairly definitively proven that the intriguing Sultan Naksidil was of Georgian descent, not French. Which means that the Aimee legend is just a legend, and of a totally different level of historicity than Josephine’s life. I did appreciate how the French history regarding Napoleon finally “tied together” in the epilogue as we learn how Turkey decides to act in the altercation between France and Russia. But in other respects, this novel was a strange mixture of oil and water with two empresses that might have been better served if dealt with separately. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Brandy Purdy Previous REVIEW of The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill (Tales from Ivy Hill #1) by Julie Klassen Next REVIEW of Miss Delacourt Has Her Day, by Heidi Ashworth	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1749
__label__cc	0.672661	0.327339	TLNote: I will post all of the chapters of this week today because of exams. Chapter 82 Discussing in private The courtyard of Heavily Scented Building was exquisite and small. There wasn’t a large distance between the gate and the main hall. Therefore, the moment Huiyun probed, a sharp-eyed old maid saw her. She took advantage that no one was paying attention to her and slipped out and went to the other side of the wall of the courtyard. Huiyun recognized that this was the eldest of the four old maids. She didn’t dare to neglect her and respectfully called, “Aunty Ding.” Old maid Ding narrowed her eyes and nodded, “If there is nothing, don’t come here. It’s very difficult to serve that one inside!” Huiyun wasn’t gossipy like Qiaoyun. She usually put aside the matters that had nothing to do with her. Hence, she also didn’t ask why Zhang Hanfang was angry and smashing things. She only rushed to ask how the birthdays of Gu household’s concubines were organized. “Did you come especially for this?” Old maid Ding twitched her mouth and said, “I say, second young mistress is too cautious. She is just a concubine without an offspring. What does it matter if her birthday is celebrated or not? If second young mistress wants to beguile her, make her some brightly colored clothes and gift her some jewelries. If she didn’t want to beguile her; then, why should she (SH) bother?!” Huiyun didn’t know how to respond to that. She only said that she got it and also quietly put the small piece of silver that Shu Huan let her bring over into old maid Ding’s hand and said laughingly, “Second young mistress said that it is hard on you here. This money is for you to have a drink.” The moment old maid Ding touched it; she knew that this silver was the weight of one liang. Her old face immediately bloomed like a chrysanthemum, “Doing things for second young mistress is part of my job. There nothing hard about it. This money…forget it, since it is a reward from second young mistress, it would be disrespectful to not accept it. I will thicken this old face and accept it. I have to bother you to say thanks for me when you go back.” When people get old, they would talk much more. After, finishing the business, old maid Ding began to prattle about Zhang Hanfang, “I have never seen a master with such a bad temper! Every few days when she encountered something not according to her wishes, she would throw things. No matter if they were plates or vases, she would throw what she could touch! You have to know that these things are our Gu household’s. She just threw them and didn’t even feel a bit of heartache. Instead, it made us, the servant’s eyelids jump from looking at it.” Huiyun was a bit surprised, “Why didn’t aunties report this matter?” Old maid Ding snorted from her nose, “Who has the patient to report this matter for her?! If we had reported it, it would’ve put second young mistress in a difficult position. Could it be that she (SH) should sent some other good things over for her (ZHF) to continue smash? There were only a few things in this part of the resort. It’s fine if she had smashed them all. Later when she lacked something, I want to see whether she could pull down her face to go ask second young mistress for another one!” She talked again, “Being a guest in our resort, I didn’t see her act as a guest. Not to mention that she didn’t went to see second young mistress once and say that she (ZHF) would trouble her (SH) for a few days. Instead, she put on airs all day and waited for second young mistress to come visit her! Fortunately, second young mistress didn’t come. Now, she couldn’t stand it anymore and yelled at a maid to go explore at Japanese Rose Building. How could I not understand the meaning? She was just waiting for second young mistress to see her maid, feel apologetic and come over to see her! It happened that our second young mistress is busy. Usually, second young mistress would go to Bamboo Pavilion or Double Ninth Yard. That maid hadn’t met her once. After she came back and reported to her (ZHF), she felt that she was slighted and throw things to vent.” Now, even Huiyun couldn’t listen to it anymore and said, “Why is she causing so much trouble? It’s of no interest.” “Who would know?!” Old maid Ding sneered, “Presumably she wanted to get the face she lost last time at second young master’s back! Unexpected, the more trouble she causes, the less people liked her.” Huiyun sighed, “I was used to listen to how old madam praised her at the residence for being beautiful, good-tempered, educated and well-balanced girl…” “Who doesn’t know how to pretend?” Old maid Ding said with disdain, “For example this one. After she threw a fit inside the room, when she come out, isn’t she again that delicate, elegant and gentle daughter from a wealthy family? She would cry when she sees flowers wither. When she looked at a waning moon, she would sigh. When she had the interest, she would also make poems about flowers and the moon. If she had the interest to feel sad for the flowers and moon, why didn’t she treat the servants around her better?” Huiyun came out for a long time and was eager to go back to report on completion of the errand. However, it happened that when this old maid began to prattle, she didn’t stop. She was afraid that if this gossip was heard, it would cause trouble, but it was also not right to just leave. She could only say half-heartedly, “Aunties had suffered here.” After this was said, old maid Ding immediately smiled proudly, “This old woman didn’t live for nothing till this age. I always have a way to let her vent her anger on her own maids. In order to inquire about news, she would even pay us from time to time!” After having said that, she felt that those words weren’t appropriate and quickly continued, “We are members of Gu household. Naturally, we will think about the main masters on everything. Go back and tell second young mistress that things we shouldn’t say, this old woman hadn’t said any.” Huiyun laughed, “Is there still need for old maid to remind? Second young mistress knew very well!” “Second young mistress is someone understanding,” While old maid Ding talked, she nodded. Then, she got emotional and sighed, “When you get to the age of this old woman, there is nothing more to hope for. I can only look forward to spend the next half of my life peacefully and get to eat rice of retirement at Gu household!” While talking, she looked at Huiyun and said, “Little girl, you are still young. Remember to serve well at second young mistress’s side. By then, naturally, you would have benefits.” How could Huiyun not understand the meaning behind old maid Ding’s words? She became sad… She had nothing to count on anymore in this life! At first, when she saw that second young master and mistress didn’t hurry to marry her off, she thought that the matter would turn for the better. But, after these few days, she understood that they were only soft-hearted and didn’t want to send her away to any reckless person. They asked her to pay attention. As long as she could find someone who more or less matched with her, they would support her and ask old madam to let her marry to that person. However, wasn’t every manservant in the residence the same?! No matter who she chose, she wouldn’t get away from being a servant her whole life! She could only say that she didn’t see anyone she liked and delay for the time being. But, as she gets older, she was afraid that she couldn’t delay for a long time… While she thought about it, she couldn’t help but cry on her way back to Japanese Rose Building. While she lowered her head to wipe her tears, she didn’t pay attention to the road. Unfortunately, she slipped because of the moss on the stones. She didn’t stand steady and fell. A pair of strong hands grabbed her arm and gave her support when she was about to fall to the ground. She looked up after just having recovered from the shock and faced a pair of red phoenix eyes. That pair of eyes was filled with the smiles of concern. It made her couldn’t help but be startled for a moment. Then, she took a step back and respectfully paid her respect, “This slave thanks cousin young master.” Red phoenix eyes: eyes whose outer corners incline upwards. This person was that biological big brother of Zhang Hanfang, Zhang Zirong. Huiyun had seen him once from far away. She didn’t expect to encounter him at this moment. Zhang Zirong gestured with his hand and said, “What is there to thank about? It was just the exertion of lifting one’s hand. But you, did you fall?” The exertion of lifting one’s hand: a very slight effort “No…no…,” Huiyun felt embarrassed and awkward. Her face reddened. She lowered her head and said, “Forgive this slave for being rude, this slave have to…leave first…” While she talked, she left in a hurry. Zhang Zirong looked at her back and smiled slightly. Suddenly, he shouted, “What is your name?” It was reasonable to say that when an honorable guest asked a question, she should answer. But she didn’t know why, she felt that this question of Zhang Zirong was poking fun at her. She didn’t dare to think deeply about it. Her steps just paused for a moment. Then, she lifted her skirt and ran away. for an unknown reason I’m encouraging HY to run even faster away from ZZR With a sister like that i wonder about his true self	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1750
__label__wiki	0.509557	0.509557	Boko Haram: Group reveals how Buhari can tackle insurgency For Nigeria to be free from Boko Haram Insurgency and other menace, facts have emerged that the Nigeria Customs Service alone cannot secure the nation’s borders effectively. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to urgently establish Border Control Enforcement Agency with full Executive Order that will enable it function optimally in a bid to tackling the prevailing insurgency and also boost the nation’s economic activities. This was contained in a statement signed on Sunday by the National Coordinator of the Social Integrity Network, (SINET), Mallam Ibrahim Issa, adding that the peace and unity of Nigeria remain sacrosanct and must not be negotiated for any other interests. The group also commended the president over the border closure policy stressing that the decision has further demonstrated his desire to secure the nation from insurgents. SINET noted that the border control agency, if created, will ensure maximum prevention of human-trafficking, smuggling of dangerous weapons, importation of substandard products as well as restriction of illegal migrants into the country. According to the statement, “It is obvious that leaving border monitoring in the purview the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS) alone cannot serve the overall interest of Nigerians because, events have shown that Customs are only after revenue generation with no cognizance attention to securing the nation. “The jobs of revenue generation, border security mechanism, human-trafficking control, anti-smuggling policy enforcement and regulation of migrants are beyond Customs operational technique alone, therefore, there is urgent need for the emergence of an effective agency before the reopening of borders. “Nigeria being the largest economy in Africa with over 200million population density and with the recent African Continental Free Trade Agreement, Customs alone cannot secure our borders effectively and this will subject Nigeria to high economic risk and sabotage. There is need for more holistic intervention to arrest this felonious situation. We commend the president for taking bold steps towards salvaging the economic interest of local manufacturers as well as curbing insecurity which has ravaged some states in the North-East. This was part of our public outcries during a peaceful protest held recently in Kaduna; we thank Mr. President for heeding to our plights. The group further stressed that, “The move by the federal government towards ensuring adequate protection of lives and property of the Nigeria citizenry as well as promoting local contents by stemming down smuggling on the nation’s border is a laudable effort towards the actualization of the much anticipated reversal of the Pre-shipment Inspection Cancellation. “We plead with President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently approve the establishment of Border Control System in order to ensure effective monitoring of the influx of illegal activities into the country. “It is saddened to note that smuggling is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into our wellbeing as a people and crippled the economic fortunes of our dear country. While Nigeria depends on high lending rates to execute projects, our revenue expectations are at a stand-still due to wrong declarations of goods at the ports with strong conspiracy between importers and officers of Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS) and officials of Standard Organization of Nigeria, (SON).” He added that, “If not quickly checkmate, local manufacturers will continue to retrench their workforce due to inability to meet up with salaries as well as bank loan obligations. “Already, we have more than enough problems to deal with in Nigeria, such as, ethnic crisis, farmers/herders crisis, religious crisis, industrial strikes by higher institutions and political protests among others. We therefore urge President Buhari not to allow the issue of smuggling to go without imposing appropriate sanctions on culprits.” SINET’s helmsman further stressed that the group will continue to support the federal government in its campaign against corruption and other social vices aimed at re-positioning the nation in the global market. The group also advised the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Hon. Olamilekan Adegbite, to be committed to the implementation of the nation’s Industrial Revolution Roadmap, (IRR) as well as the Backward Integration Policy, (BIP) of the present administration. He also appealed to the leadership of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, (MAN) to create more awareness among members in order to ensure effective implementation of the new order adding that, “Government has taken the right step and we are still expecting more actions in that regards in the economic interest of the nation.” SINET however urged MAN to use its 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) to adopt policy frameworks that will serve national interest and also address the high expectations of members in a bid to secure the jobs of many Nigerians. Last batch of 369 Kwara Pilgrims arrive llorin Breaking….Police invades Bobrisky’s 28th birthday party venue Pastor’s murder: Church blames Police over Lukewarm Attitude EFCC secures additional 2weeks extension to detain Shehu Sani ICPC condemned over alleged invasion of Pinnacle office SAD….Ex-Supreme court judge, Bashir Wali dies at 88 SAD.... Egypt, Kenya, 4 others beat Nigeria in new global ranking	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1751
__label__wiki	0.76913	0.76913	‘Orange Is the New Black’ Season 5 Revisits Finale Cliffhanger in First Clip Surprised though we were to learn that Orange Is the New Black Season 5 would take place over a condensed timeline, our first extended look is even more urgent. Check back in on that finale cliffhanger with a new Season 5 clip, and see the first photos! Our latest look at the June 9 premiere of Orange Is the New Black Season 5 doesn’t explicitly answer the cliffhanger of Daya holding a gun to C.O. Humphrey, though the closing moments at least imply the gun goes off. All the same, Piper and Alex are doing their best to keep out of it, as seen in the photos below: Confirming a timeline of just three days, so reads the Orange Is the New Black Season 5 synopsis: A riot sparked by Poussey’s death quickly escalates when the inmates gain control of the prison. Once they get a taste of power, chaos erupts in the halls of Litchfield. The unprecedented season will take place in real time and over the course of just three days, leaving the inmates’ lives forever changed as they are emboldened to fight for redemption, resolution and the respect they deserve. For the most part, Netflix hasn’t released many other details of Orange Is the New Black Season 5, even as star Taryn Manning recently stepped up to debunk reports of her leaving. The series is already renewed for Seasons 6 and 7, and had been reported filming as early as July of 2016. We still have some time before Orange Is the New Black Season 5 releases an official trailer, but check out the first teaser below. Check Out 100 TV Facts You May Not Know! The Best TV Shows of 2016 (According to Kevin Fitzpatrick) Filed Under: Asia Kate Dillon, Danielle Brooks, Laura Prepon, Netflix, Netflix Instant, Orange Is the New Black, Taylor Schilling Categories: TV News, Videos	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1756
__label__wiki	0.651849	0.651849	scribicide a new york-based theater blog Ain’t Too Proud A Bright Room Called Day Derren Brown: Secret In the Woods We Could Eat Rabbits September 24, 2012 July 13, 2018 by Aaron Botwick Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit is yet another entry in the never-ending American tradition of theater about angry drunk families who have secrets that will be revealed after the intermission. You know these people already: Williams’ Kowalskis, O’Neill’s Tyrones, and Albee’s George, Martha, Nick and Honey. Last year, we suffered through Jon Robin Baitz’s unimaginative, stultifying Other Desert Cities, proof that this genre—now a caricature of itself—has long been ready to die. Admittedly, Detroit is not the worst play to follow this outline, but it is hardly good enough to justify the retread: Kenny (Darren Pettie) and Sharon (Sarah Sokolovic), two addicts just out of recovery, move in next door to Ben (David Schwimmer) and Mary (Amy Ryan), an unhappily married couple who bury their emotional and economic problems in alcohol. Ben, formerly a banker, has been laid off and now spends his time working on a business that will give financial advice to people with low credit ratings. Kenny and Sharon, also starting from ground zero, pick up menial jobs and try to put their lives back together. Despite attempts from both sides to be neighborly, and despite efforts at “real communication,” the four usually spend their time together shielding themselves behind passive aggressive comments and outright lies. The title suggests that the play is a symptomatic expression of the city in which it is set. Indeed, Detroit specifically and Michigan generally have suffered greatly in the last decades. The site of General Motors and Motown, the place that was nicknamed “The City of Champions” in the 1930s, now bears more resemblance to post-Katrina New Orleans than a booming center of entertainment and industry. But the relatively middle-class Ben and Mary, lily-white professionals with an immaculate garden, seem out of place here; this is not 8 Mile, but The ‘burbs. Apart from a few choice lines—I chuckled when Mary said, with typical Midwestern awe, “I drove all the way to Whole Foods to get them [heirloom tomatoes]”—Detroit could really be set in any other American city. Additionally, Mr. Schwimmer, a television star with a nasal voice suited to neurotic Jewish characters and little else, is certainly not the face to put on depression. Transplanted to the stage, playing a guy wearing shorts and sandals and drinking beers while grilling, he smells faintly of fraudulence. It’s really not his fault, of course—like George M. Cohan writing serious drama, he is simply an entertainer misplaced. The role requires a genuine actor, not an effete Hollywood personality. His co-stars, particularly Ms. Ryan, handle the material well, but they cannot escape the lack of verisimilitude that pervades the stage. Detroit, then, is ultimately brought down by its transparency—it is a play that is too clearly written starring a man who is too clearly acting. Detroit runs through October 28th at Playwrights Horizons. 416 W. 42nd Street New York, NY. Tags: 8 Mile A Streetcar Named Desire Amy Ryan Anne Kauffman Darren Pettie David Schwimmer Detroit Edward Albee Eugene O'Neill George M. Cohan John Cullum Jon Robin Baitz Lisa D'Amour Long Day's Journey Into Night Other Desert Cities Playwrights Horizons Sarah Sokolovic Tennessee Williams The 'burbs Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Aaron Botwick One thought on “In the Woods We Could Eat Rabbits” Robert Sholiton says: I agree that Schwimmer was out of his league, but I enjoyed the play anyway, except for the final scene with John Cullum which seemed like it was pasted on. 59E59 Theaters Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre Arthur Miller Atlantic Theater Company BAM Harvey Theater Bradford Cover Broadway Brooklyn Academy of Music Classic Stage Company Cort Theatre David Mamet Edward Albee Eugene O'Neill George Bernard Shaw Harold Pinter Irene Diamond Stage Irish Repertory Theatre James Joyce John Golden Theatre Linda Gross Theater Lucille Lortel Theater Manhattan Theatre Club Playwrights Horizons Polonsky Shakespeare Center Rachel Botchan Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Red Bull Theater Richard III Robert Langdon Lloyd Roundabout Theatre Company Samuel Beckett Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Signature Theatre Theatre for a New Audience The New Group The Pearl Theatre The Public Theater The Stratford Festival Tom Stoppard William Shakespeare Previous Post Beckett: The Musical? Next Post Mediocrity Always Trumps Genius	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1757
__label__wiki	0.815321	0.815321	politics of sport National Football League: Franchise owners, players hold talks over standing for national anthem NFL owners in May approved a new policy which made it mandatory for all players on the field to stand during the pre-match ritual of the US national anthem. Jul 28, 2018 · 03:06 pm BRIAN BAHR / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP NFL chiefs and players leaders held “constructive” talks over the league’s anthem policy on Friday as the divisive issue showed no sign of being settled with the new season just weeks away. With all 32 teams back in training for the 2018 season, the issue of player protests is back in the headlines after the NFL’s failed attempt to forge a common policy over the issue. Players would be given the option of remaining in the locker room during renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” but would be fined if they did not stand while on the field. However the new policy was shelved last week as the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to reopen dialogue to reach agreement on a new approach. A joint NFL-NFLPA statement on Friday said talks had taken place and would continue. “The NFL and NFLPA concluded a constructive meeting regarding the anthem policy and the very serious social justice issues that have been the basis of some players’ protests,” the statement said. “We are encouraged by the discussions and plan to continue our conversations.” The statement came at the end of a week in which Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appeared to suggest that his players would be forced to stand for the anthem, and would not be allowed to remain in the locker room. “Obviously I wouldn’t dare speak for any of the other owners, but as far as the Dallas Cowboys are concerned, you know where I stand and our team knows where I stand on the issue,” Jones said. “Our policy is that you stand for the anthem, toe on the line.” Cowboys owner a ‘bully’ Jones’ hardline approach won approval from US President Donald Trump, who had triggered mass player protests last September after referring to players who took a knee during the anthem as “sons of bitches” who should be fired. Trump returned to the subject last Friday saying players who did not stand for the anthem should be suspended without pay. The US leader was delighted by Cowboys owner Jones’ stance. “Way to go Jerry. This is what the league should do!” Trump wrote on Twitter. However Jones came under fire from Philadelphia Eagles star Malcolm Jenkins. Jenkins, an outspoken voice on social issues, said Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie had taken a supportive stance toward his players. “Jeffrey’s been very supportive of us from the beginning,” Jenkins said. “I don’t see Jeffrey as a bully like Jerry Jones is. Lucky for me, I don’t play for the Cowboys, nor would I want to. “It’s unfortunate that you have owners like him that use his position to intimidate and intentionally thwart even the idea of his players thinking individually or having a voice about issue that effect their communities daily. It’s unfortunate.” Jenkins said the NFL’s attempt to solve the anthem issue arose out of a desire to “appease” Trump, who has sought to frame the protests as unpatriotic and disrespectful to the military. “(The owners are) afraid of our president I think they’re afraid of half of our fan base so they try to appease both sides and they end up not satisfying anybody,” Jenkins said. “They know more than anybody that it’s not about the flag, it’s not about the anthem. They’ve been right along with us. They met with police along with us, we invited them to our events, they’ve seen our meetings with community activists. They know it has nothing to do with the military.” I only joined Nada panel because Sports Minister Rathore asked me to, says Virender Sehwag	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1758
__label__wiki	0.61475	0.61475	arts-and-entertainment 73 social-and-lifestyle 5 special-reports 1 Bangkok 21 Dao Khanong 2 Thammasat University 2 Charoen Krung Road 1 Chulalongkorn University 1 Phahurat 1 Ramkhamhaeng University 1 Ratchaprasong 1 SF 2 AccuSoft 1 Chakra 1 HM 1 Moaz 1 Moro Islamic Liberation Front 1 Nanyang Technology 1 New York Times 1 Nic 1 Sareum 1 Sigman 1 Washington Post 1 Kong Rithdee 136 Staying afloat on a sea of despair Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 13/12/2019 » Chakra (Sarm Heng) is a Cambodian peasant boy who wants to escape a rural existence that offers him no future. "How's Thailand?" he asks a friend who returns from working at a construction site in Bangkok. "If you work hard, there's no problem," his friend assures him. Through trafficking agents, Chakra is smuggled across the border, but instead of being sent to a factory or a construction site, the boy is thrown onto a fishing trawler and forced to work without pay in conditions resembling a floating prison. » Some arrived by boat, others by air. Some came when the British still ruled their homeland, others were driven by the bloodshed of The Partition. Some came with numerous gods, others with the one and only Allah. Some came from near Bombay, others from in and around Madras. Some came with the intention of returning, others arrived knowing that there was no going back. View from the Far South » Young men lie face-down on the floor, their hands tied at the back. Uniformed officers punch and kick them. "Squeeze in!" they shout at the men on the ground. More kicks, more punches. Quentin's Hollywood, circa 1969 » Not everything ended in the year 1969. Not every sunshiny starlet died gruesomely in her own Cielo Drive villa at the hands of crazed hippies. And not every potbellied actor, fading cowboy and washed-up stunt double bit the Hollywood dust kicked up by the changing of the guard and the closing of that heady decade. Not, at least, in Quentin Tarantino's affectionate, good-humoured, and surprisingly elegiac film about Hollywood and its oddball residents. Through the prism of history » The book's title is printed on its spine: Prism Of Photography: Dispersion Of Knowledge And Memories Of The 6 October Massacre. Thereafter, from the first page on, we have only photographs with no captions. Sexy, savage spy » The Berlin kitsch of the late 1980s -- neon galore, rave clubs, Communist chic -- serves up a gaudy backdrop to the Cold War violence and betrayals in Atomic Blonde. Charlize Theron, in a wardrobe as striking as it is tongue-in-cheek, plays Lorraine Broughton, a hard-boiled British spy sent to West Germany to retrieve a valuable top-secret list. Human traffic » Edmund Yeo started writing the film Aqerat before the word "Rohingya" would make world news headlines -- entirely for a distressing reason. Now the Malaysian film, which had its premiere in the main competition of the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival this week, has proved prescient as over 500,000 of Myanmar's Rohingya minority have fled violence for Bangladesh in one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in years. A look at prison muay Thai » Thailand is splashed across the main screen of the Cannes Film Festival this year. A Prayer Before Dawn is not a Thai film, but this UK-France production takes place entirely in Thailand -- precisely in the rancid, violence-prone prison where inmates are crammed into small dormitories and fight to stay alive. Based on a book by ex-convict William Moore, who spent years at Klong Prem Prison for selling ya ba, the film, directed by Jean-Stephane Sauvaire, is an intense look at hard life in the hellhole, before Moore (played by British actor Joe Cole) finds redemption in the prison's muay Thai boxing programme. Humanity! » Mankind is doomed. We're hard-wired to be selfish, paranoid, prone to violence. We like war, among us humans or with the alien. What may redeem us, however, is compassion, generosity, language, love, grace, and so on -- all those teary-eyed emotions that is sometimes called "lyrical" in a movie. Or simpler, what may save us is a last-act manipulation of time and plot points, a wily trick nonetheless pulled off smoothly through the moving performance by Amy Adams. Lots to love about The Hateful Eight » In the stewpot of Quentin Tarantino's tough-to-chew ingredients: graphic violence, racial animosity (if not racist hyperbole), linguistic provocation (counting the "n" word has become a sort of a game), indulgence in profanity and political incorrectness of all stripe, then in The Hateful Eight, the nearly three-hour-long film is largely set in just one room. Heads smashed, women bashed, scrotum busted, black-man-white-man paranoia in full display -- the director's well-oiled strategy is to couch his exploitation exercise in cynical black comedy and gabby digressions -- those delicious, funny, grandiloquent lectures on history and justice that he lately seems to favour. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next Last	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1762
__label__wiki	0.901059	0.901059	Education We've been to school. We know how education works. Right? In fact, many aspects of learning — in homes, at schools, at work and elsewhere — are evolving rapidly, along with our understanding of learning. Join us as we explore how learning happens. Marilyn Block tutors Jason White at a local library during a one-on-one session that is part of the Literacy Council of Montgomery County, in Maryland. Kavitha Cardoza/WAMU hide caption Kavitha Cardoza/WAMU Turning The Page On Illiteracy, Adults Go Back To Class WAMU 88.5 October 31, 2013 • Millions of adults struggle every day with basic tasks, like reading a bill or a bus schedule. Those with limited literacy find all kinds of ways to hide their rudimentary schooling. Many are unemployed. And those who have jobs are usually stuck at the lowest rungs of the economic ladder. Teachers Share Their Top Safety Concerns October 30, 2013 • This December marks the one year anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Since then, more than a dozen other school shootings have occurred - including one just last week. Host Michel Martin checks in with educators from around the country to ask if their jobs have become more dangerous, and hear their top school safety concerns. Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky leaves court in handcuffs after being convicted in his child sex abuse trial on June 22, 2012. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption Penn State To Pay Nearly $60 Million In Abuse Settlement October 28, 2013 • The deals with 26 young men stem from the conviction last year of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky on 45 counts of sexual abuse. Is The SAT Creating A Generation Of Bad Writers? October 26, 2013 • Want to do well on the essay portion of the SAT? Just make it up! Or at least that's one professor's view. Host Scott Simon speaks to English professor Anne Ruggles Gere of the University of Michigan, who says that the college entrance exam is turning out a generation of bad writers who are fast and loose with the facts. Students at Coachella Valley Unified School District use iPads during a lesson. The district's superintendent is promoting the tablet initiative as a way to individualize learning. Coachella Valley Unified School District hide caption A School's iPad Initiative Brings Optimism And Skepticism October 25, 2013 • Coachella Valley Unified, a predominantly low-income, agricultural school district in California, is giving every student an iPad. The initiative highlights the problems that districts across the country are facing as they attempt to bring personalized, digital learning to their schools. In June, people gathered in Newtown, Conn., to remember the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption Shootings In Newtown, Conn. Newtown Residents Demolish A School, And Violent Memories Connecticut Public Radio October 25, 2013 • In Newtown, Conn., demolition work has started at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Bricks will be pulverized and steel melted down. Workers must sign agreements forbidding any public discussion of the site. Last year, a shooting there left six adults and 20 students dead. A sparse but enthusiastic crowd watches Jackson State during a scrimmage at homecoming. Jackson State filed suit against Grambling State for lost revenue after a boycott by Grambling players prompted Jackson State's homecoming game to be canceled. Charles Smith/AP hide caption Charles Smith/AP Football Player Boycott At Grambling Highlights Budget Woes October 24, 2013 • A boycott by student-athletes on the storied but struggling Grambling State football team has had consequences for other schools, including Jackson State, which is now suing over millions in lost revenue from a canceled game between the two teams. Many first- and second-generation Americans are turning to classrooms to relearn their heritage languages. Corbis hide caption It Takes A Classroom To Learn The Family Language October 23, 2013 • Feeling a disconnect with their culture and ethnicity, many young Americans are going back to their heritage languages to bridge the gap. But identity isn't as simple as what language we speak. Highest and Lowest Quoctrung Bui hide caption Quoctrung Bui The Most And Least Lucrative College Majors, In 2 Graphs October 22, 2013 • The money's in engineering — and health care. Also: How does the picture change when you include people who went to graduate school? The University of Miami's athletic director, Blake James, walks to an NCAA Committee on Infractions hearing in Indianapolis in June. The school's failings "enabled a culture of noncompliance," the NCAA said Tuesday, in announcing penalties for the school and its football and men's basketball coaches. Michael Conroy/AP hide caption Michael Conroy/AP NCAA Won't Ban Miami Hurricanes From Bowls Over Booster's Gifts October 22, 2013 • The University of Miami "lacked institutional control" and didn't notice multiple violations by a booster who gave cash and gifts to athletes, the NCAA said. But the organization's penalties are not as harsh as they might have been. A Sparks Middle School student cries with family members after a fellow student killed a math teacher and himself Monday in Sparks, Nev. Kevin Clifford/AP hide caption Kevin Clifford/AP Teacher Who Died Trying To End Shooting Remembered As A Hero October 22, 2013 • Michael Landsberry was a 45-year-old former U.S. Marine who served in Afghanistan with the Nevada Air National Guard. At the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., the graduating class has been about 16 percent female since the institution first accepted women more than 30 years ago. Mike Groll/AP hide caption Mike Groll/AP West Point Women: A Natural Pattern Or A Camouflage Ceiling? October 22, 2013 • Since 1980, the percentage of women at the U.S. Military Academy has stayed largely the same, leading some to conclude that the school has set an artificial cap on the number of female cadets it accepts. Now, West Point has been told it must raise those numbers to meet the demand for more female leaders. With Major Debt, Philadelphia Schools Cut Back On Nurses October 19, 2013 • Philadelphia Public Schools have been facing a funding crisis. There have been a series of layoffs, including assistant principals, school nurses and counselors. Some funding has come through to rehire hundreds of staffers, but not any new nurses. Host Scott Simon speaks with Eileen DiFranco, who has been a school nurse in the city for more than 23 years, about the situation. Deirdre Guyton, the school's director of alumni affairs, is proud of Bluefield State College's history and wants to preserve it. Here, she holds up a photo of the school's football team from 1927 to 1928, when it was the best black college team. Shereen Marisol Meraji/NPR hide caption Shereen Marisol Meraji/NPR The Whitest Historically Black College In America October 18, 2013 • Bluefield State College in Bluefield, W.Va., is 90 percent white. Its alumni association is all black, and it still gets federal money as a historically black institution. The Brewster/Stephenson Family. Orrie King hide caption Orrie King Tough Love And Lessons From 'American Promise' Film October 17, 2013 • The black male achievement gap has always been a hot-button topic. But a new film - 13 years in the making - attempts to address that issue by chronicling the experiences of two black boys as they navigate a prestigious private school. Host Michel Martin speaks with filmmakers and parents, Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson, and their son Idris Brewster, about the film American Promise. More from Education	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1765
__label__cc	0.614178	0.385822	父の日のブリリアショートショートシアター！６月１９日＠横浜 Lots of people came out to watch shorts on Sunday afternoon! We love to see the theatre with crowds of people Our first program was Asia International & Japan Competition 4. There was a screening of “Sociopaths” by director A.T., which just won Hikari TV Award. He will be creating a short with 4K technologies, and I’m looking forward to watch it. Next screening was Children Program. Today is Father’s Day in Japan, and we have welcomed many families to enjoy shorts together. There were shorts with kindness, humour, black jokes, etc. I was amazed by variety of shorts for children! It must be great for kids to watch and share their feelings and opinions within families and friends. (From 2nd to left) Director Takahashi, Artist Fukami, Leading Actress Obata, Director Shiroi. For Music Short & Video 2, director Aya Shiroi of “We Hold Nothing in Our Hands”, director Ryota Takahashi, artist Maho Fukami, leading actress Minami Obata from “The Forest of Yamato” joined us in post-screening. It’s our second time to welcome two directors in Yokohama. Shiroi brought a picture book made from her animation short, called “Kumo no ueno Harry (Harry on the cloud)”. The story is loved not only for its animation, but for many genres. We had an audience from Yamato-city, and she shared with us that the short was very interesting also because there were places she didn’t know. Takahashi also got an question from a father, whose son wants to become a shortfilm maker. Leading actress Obata said, she actually had an personal memory with Yamato city before shooting. To be a leading actress for the short was perhaps a destiny. For next program, International Competition 8, we had full audience! It might be because we were screening “The Audition”, a gorgeous short by director Martin Scorsese, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Brad Pitt! I hope everyone who came to enjoy the short became a short fan Our last program for today is Asia International & Japan Competition 10. Director Daisuke Yamaoka and actor Ikunosuke from “Between the Lines” joined us in post screening. The title is to read “between the lines”, but Yamaoka said his message was NOT to read between the lines. Most of Japanese people tend to read between the lines, but he wanted to tell that it is sometimes good to just let go your feelings. And Ikunosuke gave a great performance as a man, shouting his feeling toward his love, at the end of the short. Thank you all for coming and joining us today! It was a great day, and we hope to see you again. We will be screening again from Tuesday to Sunday, so please come and enjoy! 次の日の投稿を見る→ ←前の日の投稿を見るショートショートフィルムフェスティバルとは	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1766
__label__cc	0.613629	0.386371	Popular West Side coffeehouse shoots into Southtown with second location by Eddie Laughlin March 19, 2019 From CultureMap San Antonio: With its art galleries, exciting nightlife, and top-notch restaurants, Southtown already offers plenty of perks. Now, the hip neighborhood is set to add one more with the opening of a second location of popular coffeeshop Shotgun House Roasters at 1010 S. Flores St. Ste. 116. Due to a few outstanding permits, co-owner Eddie Laughlin doesn’t want to commit to a hard date just yet, but he does say he should be able to light up the open sign in about a week. "The idea was always to open a second location," says Laughlin, adding that the original cafe at 1333 Buena Vista St. was designed to be a little out of the way and house the roasting operations. When he and co-owner Jessica Callery stumbled on the former location of Whip Stitch Custom Cakes in Southtown, they jumped at the opportunity to be in a high-traffic, walkable area. Laughlin says Shotgun will offer the same coffee menu as the original outpost. Drip coffee and cold brews are supplemented with an array of espresso drinks, teas and matcha from Chicago’s Spirit Tea Co., and chai. The shop will also offer the original location's trio of signature drinks: an iced dirty horchata, a salted caramel latte made from treats from farmers market faves Wildflower Caramel Company, and a maple-sage latte. The latter, Laughlin says, came from his desire to have "some sort of piney, woody drink," for the holiday menu. The unconventional flavor profile became so popular that it stuck. For now, Shotgun is working with local purveyors Cafe Don Juan, Dignowity Kolaches, Scratch Kitchen, and Chocollazo to provide savory and sweet snacks, but Laughlin tells CultureMap they will eventually make food in house, likely starting with baked goods. Although Laughlin admits that wine probably isn't right for the shop, Texas craft beer in cans is coming so the shop can take part in the neighborhood's Second Saturday Artwalk fun. (In fact, the monthly party is one of the reasons that made a Southtown location attractive.) The menu may be the same, but the new shop has a very different feel from the original's industrial digs. Designer Victor Montez was brought in to create three different environments including a light-filled ordering area, a second room with a long community table and a record player, and a cozy back lounge painted forest green. Once permitting allows, Shotgun House will be open seven days a week. Hours will be 7 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday and 7 am to 8 pm Saturday and Sunday. © 2020, Shotgun House Coffee Roasters Powered by Shopify	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1768
__label__cc	0.726733	0.273267	Technical Liaison Committee/Editorial Board United Human Pose: Integrating Domain Knowledge and Machine Learning (ICCP 2020) 2020 IEEE International Conference on Computational Photography What Are the Benefits of Speech Recognition Technology? (IVMSP 2020) 2020 IEEE Image, Video, and Multidimensional Signal Processing Workshop About TCI PhD Positions available at Centre for Acoustic Signal Processing Research Home » PhD Positions available at Centre for Acoustic Signal Processing Research Country of Position: Jan Østergaard jo@es.aau.dk The Centre for Acoustic Signal Processing Research (CASPR) at the Section for Signal and Information Processing, Department of Electronic Systems, Aalborg University, Denmark, will have a number of fully funded PhD stipends available in 2017. According to the Shanghai/ARWU World Rank 2016, Aalborg University is no. 7 in the world within the field of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. The Department of Electronic Systems at Aalborg University is internationally recognized in particular for its contributions within Information and Communication Technology (ICT). CASPR is a newly founded centre with focus on conducting research related to advanced statistical signal processing solutions for assistive listening devices. The scientific scope of the PhD stipends will include (but is not limited to): signal processing, machine learning, information and communication theory with applications to wireless exchange of information between listening devices and other external devices, pattern recognition and data mining in body worn sensor data, and perception-based statistical signal processing. We are looking for highly motivated, independent, and outstanding students that desire to do a successful 3-year PhD programme at Aalborg University. The ideal candidates must have strong expertise in one or more of the following disciplines; statistical signal processing, auditory perception, machine learning, information theory, or estimation theory. Good English verbal and written skills are a must. Excellent undergraduate and master degree grades are desired. PhD positions in Denmark are fully funded, i.e. no tuition fees, and come with a salary. The salary is subject to a pay grade system based on prior working experience since completing your undergraduate degree. The yearly gross salary is in the range 41.500 – 50.100 Euros. You may obtain further information about the PhD stipends from Associate Professor Jan Østergaard (jo@es.aau.dk), Associate Professor Zheng-Hua Tan (zt@es.aau.dk), or Professor Jesper Jensen (jje@es.aau.dk), CASPR, Aalborg University, concerning the scientific aspects of the stipends. You may also visit caspr.es.aau.dk for more information about the centre and open PhD vacancies.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1770
__label__wiki	0.917516	0.917516	Program, The Importance of Being Earnest, 04/25/1924 Your browser could not display the file. Please download here to view Arden Club of Southern Methodist University Wilde, Oscar; The Importance of Being Earnest; Hall, Bryan; Hamilton, Horace; Calhoun, Edwin; Holloway, Tom; Graham, Purcell; Renshaw, Edyth; Maughon, Leta; Russell, Hattie Mae; Overstreet, Hallie; Organizations Involved Arden Club; McCord Theatre Museum The Arden Club Importance of Being By Oscar Wilde Arden Hall—April 25, 1925— 8 p. m. __________ John Worthing — Bryan Hall Algernon Moncrieff — Horace Hamilton Rev. Canon Chasuble — Edwin Calhoun Merriman, Butler to Mr. Worthing — Thomas Holloway Lane, Mr. Moncrieff’s manservant — Purcell Graham Gwendolyn Fairfax — Edythe Renshaw Lady Bracknell — Leta Moughon Cecily Cardew — Hattie Mae Russell Miss Prism — Hallie Overstreet Synopsis of Scenes Act I — Mr. Moncrieff’s Apartment Act II — The Home of Mr. Worthing, the next day Act III — The same, later the same day The Importance of Being Earnest, authored by Irishman Oscar Wilde near the turn of the twentieth century, is widely considered Wilde’s most impactful and best work. Set in the countryside, the play’s protagonists lead double lives, often taking extreme measures to keep their secrets. As such, The Importance of Being Earnest is a described as a play where “the conventional elements of farce are transformed into satiric epigrams—seemingly trivial but mercilessly exposing Victorian hypocrisies” (Oscar). It targets the rigid social strata present in Victorian Britain and its effects on marriage. The irony of Wilde’s central theme persists in both his works and his personal life. He often highlights the “exposure of a secret sin or indiscretion and consequent disgrace [as] a central [theme]” (Oscar). Wilde himself was arrested for accusations of being a sodomite, and was subsequently convicted. After receiving and serving a sentence requiring two years of hard labor, Wilde moved to France, where he produced only one new work, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol [which] reveal[ed] his concern for inhumane prison conditions” (b1). His final work remained consistent with his pattern for highlighting social and structural ineptitudes, but Wilde passed in late 1900 having written very few, but very influential, pieces of literature. “Oscar Wilde.” Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 20 Dec. academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Oscar-Wilde/76981. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019. Previous PostPrevious Program, The Tempest, 06/08/1924 Next PostNext Program, Charming Leandre, Where But In America, The Hourglass, November 17th, 1922	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1781
__label__cc	0.577342	0.422658	LOCKERS BY APPLICATION School Campuses Home » Parcel Lockers » How Do Self Service Lockers Work? Les meilleures pratiques How Do Self Service Lockers Work? Every modern workplace requires a safe place for employees and tenants to store belongings, and a secure system to manage incoming and outgoing parcel deliveries. Now there’s a new way for businesses to protect their people, property and products. Smart Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated Electronic parcel lockers are considered a necessity in virtually every industry. These ‘smart’ lockers are created with utmost security in mind and built tough. Yet, parcel storage lockers are as easy to use as an ATM machine. Basically, these units can only be opened using a unique PIN code entered on a digital keypad or touch screen. Here’s how it works: Once the package arrives at the delivery location the carrier places it in the locker compartment and closes the door. At this point, the locker can only be opened by using a unique one-time-use PIN code. The recipient is notified by SMS or email, and is the only one given that particular access code. The recipient receives the notification and the unique PIN code. At the smart locker unit, she or he will use the touch screen to sign in to their personal account, and then enter their PIN number to access the locker. The door opens, the parcel is retrieved and the delivery process is complete. If an employee is sending a parcel, the process reverses. The package along with its waybill is placed in the locker. Now, the delivery person is the one to use a PIN code to access the locker, pick up the package and take it to the depot to continue delivery. When sending packages from intelligent parcel lockers, tracking details are available as they would normally be. Security And Accessibility For Everyone To assure the best quality system for your staff or tenants, there are some key features to look for when comparing intelligent parcel lockers. You’ll want a bank-grade keypad and a large commercial grade easy-to-read touchscreen, extra security features including CCTV & pinhole cameras, industrial-grade steel, and the manufacturer’s assurance that the system meets all industry requirements and Canadian Electrical Safety Standards. Parcel storage lockers should be easily and equally accessible to everyone, so be sure the system you choose is compliant with the Canadian Disabilities Act. This smart locker will have the correct screen heights, a raised ‘home’ button on the keypad for the sight impaired, and a disability setting in the Cloud to ensure packages are not stored too high. For ease of use, security and accessibility, Snaile parcel storage lockers meet or exceed all of these requirements. Finally, truly intelligent parcel lockers must have an industrial CPU, not a consumer grade iPad,, your locker should use the same type of operating system (such as Windows) used in public spaces such as healthcare centres, ATMs and airport kiosks. There should be content detection, a hard drive for security video, and Cloud admin to provide reports, support and remote management when required. For the finest in security, accessibility and quality features for your commercial property, insist on Snaile smart locker systems. How Do Self Service Lockers… The Future of Parcel Delivery How to Improve Last Mile… “Thank you so much for everything! You (Snaile) are absolutely awesome to deal with” — Victoria Hayes, BentallGreenOak Residential Services “I am still receiving the positive feedback from tenants and couriers. Couriers are thrilled with the addition. Especially during this peak delivery season :)” — Jennifer Trowsse, Property Manager Claridge Homes “We’re very pleased with the new lockers, and getting some good feedback from the tenants. We also like the fact that we are using a Canadian company for this service.” — Ben Alexander, KingSett Capital (Toronto) “I was challenged to come up with new and more efficient ways of doing things when it came to accepting inbound and processing outbound packages, after much research, it was a no brainer to go with Snaile. The software is super user friendly and easy to navigate, and the support staff is also very helpful, friendly, and easy to deal with” — Frank Donia, Ontario Power Generation “You (Snaile) have been very supportive even though we have so many questions, we really appreciate your help” — Yeseul Kim, Bentall Kennedy (Canada) Limited Partnership "After evaluating parcel locker providers in Canada, Snaile demonstrated to us they have the right solution for the Canadian building industry." — Erin Fenn, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at 1VALET “Collection of the package was flawless. Great system.” — Alan, Purity Gas, Tenant (Oakville) “Thank you (Snaile) kindly for all your support; you’ve been exceptionally efficient and helpful” — Daniel Zackodnik, Resident at a Bentall Kennedy managed building in Toronto About Snaile	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1782
__label__wiki	0.675782	0.675782	MTV and Host Zendaya Celebrate Young Change-Makers with WE DAY 2016, Premiering November 28 on MTV – The one-hour special features performances by Gord Downie, Jason Derulo, Macklemore, Lilly Singh, Hedley, and Coleman Hell – – Speakers include Connor Franta and Winnie Harlow – – Full special available on MTV.ca immediately following the broadcast – TORONTO (November 22, 2016) – Empowerment hits the airwaves with the special premiere of WE DAY 2016, Monday, Nov. 28 at 11 p.m. ET on both MTV and Much. The one-hour special premiere highlights the most inspiring moments from the live WE Day event in Toronto this past October. More than 20,000 students from across Ontario gathered to celebrate the power of individuals acting together to make a difference in their local and international communities. WE DAY 2016 encores Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. ET on MTV and Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV, and is available on MTV.ca immediately following the broadcast. Hosted by singer, dancer, and UNAIDS ambassador Zendaya, the powerful special features performances by Canadian music icon Gord Downie, international singer-songwriter Jason Derulo, GRAMMY® award-winning hip-hop artist Macklemore, comedian, actress, and YouTube entertainer Lilly Singh, multi-platinum recording group and WE Ambassadors Hedley, and singer, songwriter, and producer Coleman Hell. Also bringing their uplifting messages to the WE DAY 2016 stage are entrepreneur, author, and creator Connor Franta, and international model and activist Winnie Harlow. “MTV is proud to celebrate young people creating systemic change in their local communities and around the world,” said Randy Lennox, President, Broadcasting and Content, Bell Media. “With incredible performances by superstar acts, and inspiring speeches from local and international celebrities, we can’t wait to share the energy and passion of this movement with viewers across the country.” “WE Day will inspire families across Canada to make an impact in their communities and around the world” said WE co-founder Craig Kielburger. “Bringing together speakers and performers paired with everyday Canadians who are making real change in our world, WE Day and the WE Movement share an important message of unity and support, leading to meaningful conversations about some of the world’s most pressing issues.” Sponsors for the WE DAY 2016 broadcast are WE Day National Co-Title Sponsors, RBC and TELUS, and supporters Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited, and Microsoft. @mtvcanada @WEMovement @craigkielburger @zendaya @gorddownie @jasonderulo @macklemore @IISuperwomanII @Hedleyonline @connorfranta @winnieharlow About the WE Day Movement : WE Day is part of WE– a movement that brings people together and gives them the tools to change the world. WE Day is the celebration of people coming together and filling stadiums around the globe to experience the greatest classroom in the world for a full day, live event. You can’t buy a ticket to WE Day – young people earn their entry by taking action on one local and one global cause. WE Day unites world-renowned speakers, presenters and award-winning performers with thousands of young people and families to celebrate and inspire another year of incredible change. This year alone over 200,000 young people will come together in 15 stadium gatherings across Canada, the U.S., and U.K. to take part in this unprecedented educational initiative. WE Day is connected to the yearlong free educational program, WE Schools, which provides curriculum, educational resources and action campaigns to help students develop the leadership skills to succeed academically, in the workplace and as active citizens. Join the WE movement today and learn more at www.we.org. About MTV: From fashion and politics to lifestyles and trends, MTV is all about the stories of young amazing lives from a distinctly Canadian perspective. Available across multiple platforms, including online at MTV.ca and live on Bell Mobile TV, MTV pushes boundaries with innovative original programming. MTV is available in 6.5 million households across Canada and is a Canadian-programmed and managed business. MTV is a division of Bell Media, which is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company. MTV in Canada is one of 63 MTV-branded services available in 152 territories around the world. Adam Slinn Publicist, Streaming TSN Announces Slate of 37 NCAA HOCKEY Regular Season Games Thr... CraveTV’s Exclusive Drama Series DEUTSCHLAND 83 Wins Internati...	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1792
__label__cc	0.634044	0.365956	Alternative Medicine and Treatments Living to the End of Life Credit Cards, Debt and Loans Political Issues and Policies All Work & Purpose Starting a New Career America’s Entrepreneurs Books and Learning History and Memories Nature and the Outdoors Travel and Adventures Vitality Arts All Caregiving Housing and Assisted Living Long-Term Care Finance Transforming Life as We Age Fitness and Wellness Tech Health Care and Longevity Tech Household Innovations Financial Tech Social Media and the Internet Aging and Innovation LinkedIn Pinterest Be a Life Hacker: Let Tech Pros’ Tips Streamline Your Lifestyle Clever solutions to daily problems save time and money By Stuart HoughtonJuly 6, 2012 By Stuart Houghton Credit: iStockphoto \| Thinkstock We think of “hackers” as cyber bad guys who break into websites and wreak havoc on legitimate infrastructures or spread computer viruses. But the word was not always a pejorative. Back in computing’s salad days, when the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and his Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak were still in college, a hacker was simply someone capable of producing an elegant workaround to an electronics or technological problem (i.e., a “good hack”). In the mid-1980s, stories of cyber crimes, like the electronic “break-in” at Security Pacific Bank, and films like WarGames had hit the mass media, and “hacker” became entrenched in the vernacular as a shady online criminal who just happened to prefer a laptop to a .38 special. But many techies want to restore the term's past glory. Veteran programmer and computing historian Eric S. Raymond says the hallmark of a great hacker is someone who has the ability to find inventive solutions to tricky problems and who has “an appropriate application of ingenuity.” This applies as much to the "analog" world as to techology. So, one wonders, how can this kind of thinking be used to improve an individual’s life? And, more important, can non-geeks benefit from these clever tricks, too? British technology writer Danny O'Brien coined the term “life hack” in 2004, when he noticed that several of his colleagues were writing short bits of computer code that could automate some aspect of their daily routine, like filtering out inconsequential emails or automatically backing up work. Life hacking struck a nerve in the tech community, and people began posting their tips and tricks. Sites, blogs and books devoted to life hacking sprouted like mushrooms, and nerds the world over were sharing advice — and not just programming codes — on everything from optimizing to-do lists to making coffee. Even if you're not a code monkey, you probably still appreciate cleverness and mental flexibility. By adopting the hacker's way of looking at the world (if not his technological prowesss), you can create "hacks" that will save you time and effort or allow you to do things that would otherwise be too difficult or costly. (MORE: Make Your Own Antenna) Improving Life, One Hack at a Time Perhaps the most popular site dedicated to the pursuit of time- and energy-saving techno-solutions is the aptly named Lifehacker.com. Explaining his passion for the subject, the site editor Adam Pash says: “I'd always been interested in shortcuts, timesavers and clever tricks. So when Gina Trapani created the site in 2005, I was instantly in love with it. I identified with almost every post, whether I was nodding along, thinking "Yes! I do this!" or excited about some jaw-dropping solution I'd never considered." Lifehacker.com started out skewed toward busy professionals and heavy Internet users, offering readers advice on how to maximize their working day by using structured lists and methods for managing an avalanche of email. As readers’ appetites for hacks grew, the site added health advice, often focusing on ways to get the most benefit with the least effort, as well as a section called “Clever Uses” that offered DIY projects and unusual uses for common items. Finding alternate uses for things is another life-hacking staple. TV's jack-of-all-trades MacGyver is the patron saint of this community, with his ability to improvise anything from a parachute to a neutron bomb with some shoe polish, a Rubik's cube and a moist towelette. There is a difference between the kind of clever uses a life hacker might favor and the kind of household tips you might find in a local newspaper column, however. As Adam Pash says: "I tell my writers if there's nothing interesting or clever about something, we don't need to talk about it. People can read about how to jump-start a car anywhere. We want to help you when all you've got is a gum wrapper, a magnet and a toothpick." (MORE: How to Get a Patent for Your Invention) Six 'Hacks' That Can Improve or Simplify Your Life Here are a few of my personal favorite life hacks, plus one of Adam Pash's (which uses his favorite office supply for something for which it was never intended). 1. Open a banana like a chimp. If I handed you a banana to open, chances are you would grip the fruit in one hand and yank the stalk at the top. Because … that's how bananas open, right? Wrong. If you turn the banana upside-down and pinch the tip between the thumb and index fingers of both hands, you can easily slide the banana open like you are opening a bag of chips. This is so simple that it almost doesn't seem like an actual tip, but it illustrates a basic tenet of life-hacking: Learned behavior is not always the most efficient way to approach a task. 2. Improve your memory. Have you ever seen a professional “memory man” flip through 10 decks of cards then recite each card in order? It seems like a superhuman feat, and, to be fair, at that level it kind of is. Yet it’s based on a fairly simple trick that you can use to boost your memory for more mundane tasks. The human memory is associative: We remember things by how they relate to other things. The “memory palace" is a technique that dates back as least as far as ancient Rome (where it was known as the Method of Loci). To recall a group of items (a shopping list, deck of cards or to-do list), imagine yourself in a place you know well, like your home or office. Now visualize a route around the “palace.” Try to picture it as vividly as you can, noting distinct features like bulletin boards, the drawer with a broken lock, the sink in the bathroom with the chipped enamel. Revisit it several times in your mind — you might want to go to the physical place and walk it for real. Now mentally walk the route again and assign each item you want to recall to specific locations in the "palace." If you are remembering cards, for example, see the queen of diamonds checking her tiara by that sink, the three of hearts as jealous lovers arguing over a girl by the stairs. … When you need to remember what's on the list, just walk through "the palace" in your head and you'll be able to summon up the items. It takes a little practice, but the results can be astounding. 3. See better at night. Some piratologists (probably not a word, but should be) claim that the reason buccaneers wore eye patches wasn’t because eye injuries were way more common in the 17th century, but to take advantage of a natural form of night vision. Keeping one eye covered meant that they could see well in lamplight but would gain an instant advantage in darkness when they removed the patch. Whether or not that’s true, keeping one eye closed for a few minutes before you step from a light place into darkness — like into a movie theater — will allow one of your eyes to adjust to low light conditions. And while you’re not likely to engage in any sword fights, better safe than sorry. 4. Cut down on caffeine naturally. You may want to cut down on your caffeine intake for health reasons, or just to help you sleep better. If you can't find a decaf version of your favorite roast, do not despair. By simply changing the way you brew coffee to a faster and lower temperature method, you will extract less caffeine from your roast without sacrificing any flavor. French press or Vietnamese filter brewing is fast and has a slightly lower average temperature than regular brewing. This extracts less caffeine than a regular brew, while keeping the taste of your favorite bean. (MORE: Kitchen Bucket List: Roast Your Own Coffee Beans) 5. Jerry-rig a hands-free GPS. Pash freely admits that he has a slightly strange obsession. "I have a reputation among my writers for being particularly excitable regarding binder clips," he says. Lifehacker's archives are practically groaning under the weight of posts that detail how to use this most humble of office supplies in ways that would make Jack Bauer (the fictional counter-terrorism agent on the old Fox show 24 and a modern-day MacGyver) do a spit-take. Pash's personal favorite requires a large binder clip, some duct tape, rubber bands and string. With these ingredients you can make a clippable mount to attach your smartphone to your car dash and use it as a sat-nav. 6. Make your food more flavorful. Sous-Vide cooking is a popular method of slowly cooking food at relatively low temperatures to maximize flavor and tenderness. A professional Sous Vide set can cost hundreds of dollars, but you can recreate the same effect with just a beer cooler, a kettle, a meat thermometer and a Ziploc bag. The cooler's insulation is just as adept at keeping water hot as it is keeping beer cold. Fill it up with water heated to a suitable temperature (some experts recommend 125º F for steak), put the meat in a sealed baggie and immerse in the water for about an hour. Keep the temperature constant (hence the thermometer) and top off with more hot water as required. Your result: a perfectly cooked and wonderfully tender steak, which you can brown off by flash-cooking in a hot pan. These are just some personal favorites and illustrative of the breadth of topics and situations that lend themselves to a little life hacking. Sites like Lifehacker.com, LifeHack.org and Cool Tools offer a daily stream of new ideas. Converts to life hacking may find that their monthly expenditure on duct tape, binder clips and baggies sees a marked uptick. All that is really required to be a life hacker, however, is an open mind and a little ingenuity. Stuart Houghton is the former U.K. editor at Kotaku.com and a freelance tech writer with more than 15 years' experience covering science, computing and gaming for British newspapers and the Web. Next Avenue Editors Also Recommend: How to Get a Patent for Your Invention 10 Travel Apps to Make Your Trip Easier, Safer and More Fun New Auto Technology Helps Drivers With Limitations Top 5 Tips to Get More Out of Your Gadgets Are you one of the 1,679 readers who have supported Next Avenue in 2019? If so, thank you. Your financial gift helps us fulfill our mission of being an essential source of news and information for older adults. Just as important, your contribution demonstrates that you believe in the value of our work. We have a lot of exciting things planned in 2020 and we need your help to make sure they happen. Haven’t given yet? Please make a gift today and help us reach our end-of-year goal — any amount helps. Thank you. © Twin Cities Public Television - 2020. All rights reserved. Test Post 114a Sub-header that appears below the title Apple News I Hate You: Image w/credit Only Apple News I Hate You: Image Only Apple News Things Next Avenue Editors’ Picks of 2018 Our best essays, how-to guides and feature stories from the past year ‘Papa’ Provides Millennial Grandkids On-Demand Intergenerational service is about more than just chores and rides Loss and Grief in an Increasingly Secular World 'Why Religion?' author Elaine Pagels talks about her struggles and finding connection This special report will include storytelling, news and information about how to plan for the end of your life in a way that meets your own goals and preferences. Testing AMP Fix probably needs a dek Test bio images woooo Bryce has a photo, yes he does. 7 Reasons Why You May Be Having Jaw Pain Saying Goodbye to a Dying Loved One 4 Ways to Avoid Outliving Your Nest Egg What’s Causing Your Leg Pain, Burning and Numbness? A Mother and Son’s Baseball Road Trip 8 Key Money Moves After Paying Off Your Mortgage 3 Ways to Make Your Money Last Your Lifetime Food for Thought: Life Hackers Age Hacking: 100 Ways to Live a Healthier, Happier, Longer Life For Public Media Organizations A nonprofit journalism website produced by: SAINT PAUL \| MINNEAPOLIS © 2020, Next Avenue	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1793
__label__wiki	0.55081	0.55081	The Batavia Spectator Batavia stays Home Rule December 19, 2018 School News No comments By Luke Zahner and Jason Talbott In the midterm elections, Batavia residents voted to keep the Home Rule law that allows the city to make its own decisions, separate from the state. The ballot read “Shall the city of Batavia cease to be a home rule unit?’ and by a wide margin, people voted no. With 2,959 yes votes and 9,159 voting against the proposal, the people voted to keep Home Rule. Home Rule shifts the authority from the state level to the local level. This allows for decisions on tax, regulations, and debt. Any town with a population of at least 25,000 people is automatically eligible for this status. For Batavia, Home Rule came into effect after a census in 2009 showed that the population exceeded that number. Many communities nearby are also Home Rule such as St. Charles, Naperville, Aurora, and many more. “One of the major things it allowed us to do was create crime-free housing,” said Batavia alderman Martin Callahan. “That affords the police department the ability to work with apartment buildings over six units and to have a working relationship with them. On top of that, it allows them to remove people that are causing problems.” “It forges a much closer relationship with them contrary to the past when the way to combat crime was saturation patrol, which is having a cop always driving around the building, and that kind of creates a “why are they there?” feeling; but if they drive by once a week the people will wave.” Crime-free housing is just one of the numerous programs that the Home Rule law allows. The ability for the 14 aldermen in Batavia to have the power to raise taxes and create programs has raised questions among the community. The referendum, which in this case is law binding, was added to the ballot by a petition, showing there were enough people in the community that felt the power given to the alderman is too much. Callahan argued that giving the power to the alderman is beneficial as most people have an alderman in their neighborhood, or even within a mile of their home. This means if a Batavia citizen has an issue, aldermen are accessible and it’s easy to go talk to them about it. When the decisions are made at the state level, citizens are speaking to someone who represents a lot more people. The alderman, who are elected every four years, can be voted out if they are abusing their power. Callahan, who is in his second term, said that he did not mind the question being raised on the ballot. He has already said he will only serve two terms, so not having Home Rule would only change things for the last two years of his term. The question was asked, the people answered, and it’s clear, at least for now, the people of Batavia want to remain Home Rule. batavia, election, news BHS through the decades School dress code rivalries OPINION: The changing of lunch tables Stoneberg teaches students to love tennis Do BHS students use their lockers? A person on OPINION: BHS should eliminate plastic straws Jon Danielson on What is Type One Diabetes? Jeneanne Duncan on Q&A: Jansey stays busy with football, WestExit mia wells on OPINION: BHS should eliminate plastic straws Sarah H on OPINION: BHS should eliminate plastic straws Batavia High School Powered by WordPress \| \| Thanks to http://webbkatalog.blogg.se, Wp Biz and News and Magazine Themes	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1801
__label__cc	0.701367	0.298633	Very Successful Rally Held January 20 Photo: Barbara Amos Despite the generally grey January skies, there was a festive feeling in the air as friends, neighbours, and defenders of wilderness and wildlife got together to rally against clear-cut logging in the Castle Special Place. Photo: Gordon Petersen And even though the feeling was friendly, the participants remain resolute in their determination to have clear-cut logging stopped once and for all in the Castle. Many of those carrying signs were veterans of similar rallies in the past, including the demonstrations that lasted for three bitterly-cold weeks last January. Hats off to these determined folks, and to their continuing and spirited defence of the Castle, and of the wild things that live there! Please join us at a Stop Castle Logging Rally on Sunday, January 20 in Beaver Mines. As many of you will know, Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) is currently clear-cut logging in the Castle. The provincial government gave SLS permission to complete the first year of logging that was delayed by last winter’s protests. The Castle logging scheduled for years two and three has been put on hold pending the outcome of the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP), but it has not been cancelled. We still have work to do. The January 20 Rally is meant to make three main points: 1. Even though it’s already started, we continue to oppose this year’s logging—we haven’t simply given up and gone away. 2. The logging scheduled for years two and three needs to be permanently cancelled. 3. There needs to be a review of all logging along the eastern slopes. Valley-by-valley protest and conflict is no way to manage our forest resources. Rally Details Location: Beaver Mines gazebo, in the park directly behind the Beaver Mines store. (Please park on 2nd Avenue so as not to fill the store’s parking lot.) The gazebo has heat, and we’ll have a fire going outside. The rally will proceed regardless of the weather. Timing: Coffee and Hot Chocolate will be on at 11:00 am. Lunch will be provided from about 12:00 noon until 1:00. From about 1:00 to 2:00 pm, we’ll make the short walk to stand with our signs in public areas along the main road running through Beaver Mines (Hwy 774). Entertainment: Sid Marty will be on hand to read some of his poetry, and perhaps play a few tunes. We may also have some other entertainment over lunch. Other info: Please bring your own sign. Be creative, we expect the press to be there. Please respect private property, and stick to public areas. Be respectful of the neighbours, and of the traffic. There are limited toilet facilities, and no running water at the gazebo. RSVP: So we can organize the food, please contact Carolyn at the CCWC office ASAP if you’re planning to have lunch, (403) 627-5059, office@ccwc.ab.ca. Please pass this message on to others who you think may be interested. You are currently browsing the Stop Castle Logging blog archives for January, 2013.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1807
__label__wiki	0.935928	0.935928	Family Law Legislation incorporates the most up-to-date legislation in a comprehensive two-volume bundle. ISBN/ISSN: 9781988546186 Family Law Legislation provides an in-depth consolidated resource of statutory material for easy reference in the practice of family law. Including the new Family Violence Act 2018, Family Law Legislation incorporates the most up-to-date legislation in a comprehensive two-volume bundle. Covers all relevant family law legislation that applies in court. Available as a two-volume bundle to ensure the breadth and depth of coverage needed. • Henaghan & Atkin et al Family Law Policy, 5th edition, 2019 • Henaghan & Atkin et al Family Law in New Zealand, 19th edition, 2019 • Crimes Act 1961, 24th edition Volume 1 contains the following legislation: • Adoption Act 1955 • Adoption (Intercountry) Act 1997 • Adult Adoption Information Act 1985 • Care of Children Act 2004 • Child Support Act 1991 • Family Violence Act 2018 • Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004 • Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003 • Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 • Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 • Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017 • Status of Children Act 1969 • Family Court Act 1980 • Family Court Rules 2002 • Family Dispute Resolution Act 2013 • Family Proceedings Act 1980 • Family Proceedings Rules 1981 • Family Protection Act 1955 • Property (Relationships) Act 1976 • Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 • Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949 Crimes Act 1961, 24th edition	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1809
__label__wiki	0.972552	0.972552	SportsOttawa.com / Ottawa Sportspage Your Not-For-Profit Voice for Local Sport GROUP > Elite Amateur Sport Bobsleigh/Skeleton Para Sport More & Summer Sports Ottawa Sportspage Rapid rise in rugby for Team Canada rookie sportsottawa / August 30, 2017 Brianna Martey. Photo: Martin Boyce By Martin Boyce Less than 2 years ago, Brianna Martey had never worn a rugby uniform. Now, she’s got one with a maple leaf on it. The Ottawa native was 1 of 24 players to dress for Team Canada in an under-18 Can-Am series that included her team’s Aug. 1 and 5 matches with USA at the University of Ottawa. “I was screaming,” laughs Martey, recalling her reaction to learning she’d made the team. “At first I was like, ‘It can’t be me. It’s got to be somebody else.’” While she didn’t play in the first game, Martey was on the pitch for the second, helping Canada to an 83-17 2-game series sweep. The 16-year-old St. Peter Catholic High School student says she always considered basketball to be her sport, but after the rugby coach recruited her and she took part in her first practice, she was hooked. “If you have a bad day, you can come out and just hit somebody,” Martey explains. “It’s a sport where your size doesn’t matter. There’s a place for everyone.” The 16-year-old made the high school all-star team in her rookie season and earned a spot on the U18 national team long list last October despite having only played 10 games in her career at the time. Martey says she’s learning from and loving her experience as part of Team Canada. “There are so many welcoming people,” she highlights. “They bring you in and they allow you to learn and bring out your full potential.” While playing in front of family and friends was “a great feeling,” Martey will look to continue her rapid success and has hopes of playing more matches with the national team in the future. “I’d like to go to a World Cup. It would mean the world,” signals the Ottawa Irish athlete, who hosted a Boston Pizza fundraiser to help cover the costs of accomplishing her dreams. “If it’s anything like this, or better, I definitely want to.” Canada’s U20 team, featuring Ottawa-Gatineau area athletes Taylor Donato, Alexandra Ondo and Sasha Guedes, also swept their Aug. 3 and Aug. 7 matches with USA by an aggregate score of 95-36, concluding a successful effort by both Canadian squads. “I thought the games were fantastic,” says Jen Boyd, the head coach for the national women’s U20 team as well as the uOttawa Gee-Gees. “Everyone was talking about it. It shows the level of play that both Canadian teams were showing. I think it set a new standard for high school and age-grade rugby for the country.” Local rugby players excel near & far Following the trend of those on Team Canada, four local U16 girls – Allison Rupar, Jenna Lawrence, Maddy Kushner and Cassandra Lawrence – helped lift Team Ontario to gold at the Canadian Rugby Championships on Aug. 20 in Calgary. Ottawa’s Meredith Sirrs, Felicity Tozer and Natasha Kerlovich played for the U18 Team Ontario ‘A’ that finished 4th at nationals. On the boys’ side, Ottawa players Jake Ebbs, Cole Hutt, Duncan Phillips and Scott Sharma placed 6th for Ontario’s U15 team, while Brayden Gray, Pierre-Hardy Gouombas and Harry Saunders were 5th with the U17 squad. Both teams played a year up in the U16 and U18 divisions. On the world stage, Ottawa native Julianne Zussman helped Canada to a 5th-place finish at the Aug. 9-26 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland. The Canadians lost just once at the event – to champion New Zealand in their final pool game – while recording shutout victories over Hong Kong and Wales (twice) by a combined score of 165-0 alongside a 43-12 win over Australia. Back home, teams from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Bahamas came to Twin Elm Rugby Park for the 8th World Vintage Rugby Carnival from Aug. 20-27, featuring roughly 300 veteran rugby players. Boyd says Ottawa rugby has returned to its prominent place nationally and beyond, like it did in the early 2000s when she played. “I think it makes it more realistic, more real for kids in the area,” she signals, underlining the effect national-level athletes have on younger ones. “Ottawa rugby has really grown in terms of our profile in Canada.” August 30, 2017 in Community Clubs, Rugby. U-17 midfielder ends busy year with Team Canada Local national level players hopeful for future of women’s hockey Rugby a pillar of mental health for Gee-Gees rookie ← Nepean Knights savour groundbreaking lacrosse provincials Nepean powers Eastern Ontario to first national field hockey title → Categories Select Category 1. BY GROUP Community Clubs Elite Amateur Sport High Schools Junior Leagues Our news Sponsored Content Universities Your News 2. BY SPORT Aquatics Athletics Baseball Basketball Bobsleigh/Skeleton Canoe-Kayak Combat Sports Curling Cycling Football Gymnastics Hockey Para Sport Racquet Sports Ringette Rugby Skating Skiing Soccer Triathlon Volleyball Way More Sports Bowling Dance Fencing Field Hockey Golf Lacrosse Modern Pentathlon Rowing Sailing Ultimate Wrestling Uncategorized	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1814
__label__cc	0.744935	0.255065	Video: Asteroid 2002 AM31 Close Approach to Earth Time-lapse video of near-Earth Asteroid 2002 AM31 on July 22nd from Slooh’s Canary Islands observatory. Discovered by Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR), NEA (Near-Earth Asteroid) 2002 AM31, an asteroid the size of a city block, made its close approach to Earth last Sunday evening (July 22) – just 39 days after newly discovered Asteroid 2012 LZ1 paid an unexpected visit to Earth. The Slooh Space Camera covered its near-approach in a live event that was free to the public– accompanied by real-time discussions by Slooh’s President Patrick Paolucci and Astronomy Magazine columnist Bob Berman. The asteroid is estimated to be 620m – 1.4 km meters (2,000 – 4,500 ft wide), and passed within 14 times the Moon’s distance from our planet. Due to its size and proximity to Earth, 2002 AM31 qualifies as a near-Earth object as it’s more than 500 feet wide and within 4.65 million miles of Earth. Bob Berman says, “Instead of living on an “island Earth” with little or no connection with other celestial objects, we now feel that collisions with comets or asteroids change the evolution of our biosphere, and maybe even seeded our world with the amino acids that started life long ago. In other words, these are important entities. Not to mention, there’s always that exciting little hint of danger.” “One of our missions at Slooh is to provide the public with free, live views on fascinating celestial happenings,” says Patrick Paolucci, President at Slooh. “Near-Earth Asteroid 153958 (2003 AM31) represents 1 of approximately 9,000 whizzing past Earth at any given moment and we wanted to highlight this one as it’s only 13.7 lunar distances from Earth – similar to Near-Earth Asteroid LZ1 which zoomed past us unexpectedly mid June.” Below is some in-depth coverage of the event: The Slooh Space Camera presented coverage of asteroid 2002 AM31 from Canary Islands observatory. With Patrick Paolucci, Bob Berman, Paul Cox, and Matt Francis. About Slooh Slooh offers celestial event programming with weekly shows featuring the great wonders of the Universe – shown live by observatories worldwide. SLOOH is powered by its members—men, women and children in 80 countries who have taken 1.7 million photos of 35,000 unique objects and events in the night sky since our launch on Christmas Day, 2003. Slooh’s instant imaging technology makes astronomical objects appear in true color and in real time over a 5 to 10 minute time frame. Posted by: Soderman/NLSI Staff Source: http://events.slooh.com/ Earth’s Oldest Rock Found on the Moon? Scientists may have discovered Earth’s oldest rock in a lunar sample returned by Apollo astronauts. The lunar day (or the time from sunrise to sunrise) on the moon is approximately 708 hours.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1816
__label__cc	0.72618	0.27382	Homepage About Works Glossary Thesaurus Starting Points Search Advanced Search Login \| New account If you are looking for a word and it doesn't appear in the Glossary, this will be because it has the same sense in Modern English, and can be found in any general dictionary. We only include words that no longer exist in Modern English, have changed their meaning since Shakespeare's day, or have an encyclopedic or specialized sense that would make them unfamiliar to many modern readers. Under this last heading, we include all the proper names (such as figures in classical mythology and local place-names) listed in our Themes and Topics (see Starting Points above). DivResults mean (n.) Old form(s): meanes (plural) resources, wherewithal, wealth Headword location(s) SHAKESPEARE'S WORDS © 2018 DAVID CRYSTAL & BEN CRYSTAL	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1818
__label__wiki	0.796266	0.796266	Wholesaler Info About Us Contact Us Articles NWTMint has been purchased by Ranger Industries, LLC. — Visit this page for more information This NWTMint website is for reference only. If you would like to order Challenge Coins or other web store products, visit store.rangercoin.com for a growing list of items. For custom projects, visit www.RangerCoin.com Signature Copper Bullets™ Military Occupational Skills Bases, Installations, and Schools Division Coins Reserve & National Guard Weapons Systems Army Aviation Lapel Pins, Tie Tacks & Cuff Links Wars, Battles, and Operations Veteran and Retired Airborne, Rangers, and Special Forces Golf Coins Plus Attachments & Mounts Service Medal Coins Line Crossing Recovery Coins Specialty Coins Tie Tacks & Cuff Links Northwest Indian Hiking Stick Medallions International Coins Store : Army Challenge Coins & Knives : Army Commemorative Coins U. S. Army - Stay Army Oath of Reenlistment Officially Licensed Product of the Product Type: Coin Size: 1 3/4 inch (44mm) Round Material: Brass Antique Volume Pricing on This Item: Buy Price Ea. Save 25-49 $9.00 10% Off 100+ $8.00 20% Off Founded in 1775 by order of the Continental Congress, the U.S. Army has served as the backbone of America's military arsenal for more than 200 years. Since its inception, the Army has consistently confronted and defeated the forces of tyranny throughout the world, gaining a reputation as the world's ultimate defender of liberty. Comprised of tough-minded and skilled warriors willing to answer the call to arms at moment's notice, the U.S. Army stands prepared at all times to bear any burden in the pursuit of victory. With overwhelming force and unyielding resolve, the soldiers of the U.S. Army carry the cause of freedom to the far reaches of the globe, pursuing America's enemies with trademark tenacity. This coin salutes the mission of the U.S. Army to fight tirelessly to defend liberty wherever it is most threatened. The obverse features the emblem of America's modern Army enameled in gold and black. The reverse bears the words of the Oath of Reenlistment. Minted in a brass alloy and finished in antique bronze, this coin is accented with white, green, and black enamel. Each coin comes packaged with a detailed header card that describes the Army's role in securing America's freedom. Official Licensed Product of the U.S. Army. By federal law, licensing fees paid to the U.S. Army for use of its trademarks provide support to the Army Trademark Licensing Program, and net licensing revenue is devoted to U.S. Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation programs. 3D Floating Frame - 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" 44mm Capsule Color: Blue Black Burgundy Color: Blue Black Burgundy Green $10.00 Core Values - U.S. Army $10.00 Veteran - U.S. Army $10.00 Armor of God $10.00 Core Values - U.S. Navy Privacy Info \| Custom Minting \| Store Home Northwest Territorial Mint has been purchased by Ranger Industries, LLC. This website has been preserved for reference purposes. Descriptions, prices, inventory status, availability and designs may be out-of-date or inaccurate. Visit this page to learn more. Follow @Rangercoin	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1823
__label__cc	0.659645	0.340355	Shakespeare Returns to Ravine This Summer Eastern Kentucky University Theatre’s annual Shakespeare in the Ravine program is bringing “Romeo and Juliet” to the Richmond campus this summer. The performances, at 7 p.m. nightly July 19-21 in Van Peursem Amphitheater in the Ravine, will be free to the public. Directed by EKU Theatre Director Matthew Lewis Johnson and featuring professional artists and technicians working with EKU theatre students, the production promises to be fast and furious. “We are giving several of our students their first professional experience alongside some of the best actors and technicians in the area,” Johnson said. “Shakespeare’s play is a ... comedy that murderously morphs into romantic tragedy. Running about 90 minutes and featuring some of the most beloved and beautiful language in the canon, our show promises a roller coaster romantic tragedy for the whole family.” For the third annual Shakespeare in the Ravine, EKU Theatre is adding food and beverage trucks to the festivities. “We doubled our audience with last year’s production of ‘The Tempest’and are happy to have the event grow ...,” Johnson said. “The theatre (degree programs) may be going away, but theatre will never leave EKU. We are working hard to ensure that Shakespeare in the Ravine is an annual event with high production values and an expert execution of challenging text.” A professional theatre artist and company member with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Johnson is excited about his 52nd production of a Shakespeare play. “This production is deeply resonant of our current political climate,” Johnson said. “We have a gender-generational divide in our casting that speaks to the passion of the young and the intractability of entrenched power, and, of course, Shakespeare’s bawdy humor and his portrait of delirious young love.” The show will move to Gifford Theatre in the adjacent Campbell Building in the event of rain. For more details, visit www.ekutheatre.com. Qaisar Sultana, Applied Engineering and Technology, Matthew Johnson, cello, Bluegrass Writers Studio, Faculty Leadership Institute, AASCU, Erika Gil Winter, Faridah Awang, international affairs, Sebastian Torres	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1824
__label__cc	0.74784	0.25216	FM Stereo reception using RTL-SDR and GNURadio Amateur Radio, Bicycle Mobile, Public Syndication, Thinktank No Responses » In my last post, I mentioned that I was playing around with SDR a bit more, having bought a couple. Now, my experiments to date were low-hanging fruit: use some off-the-shelf software to receive an existing signal. One of those off-the-shelf packages was CubicSDR, which gives me AM/FM/SSB/WFM reception, the other is qt-dab which receives DAB+. The long-term goal though is to be able to use GNURadio to make my own tools. Notably, I’d like to set up a Raspberry Pi 3 with a DRAWS board and a RTL-SDR, to control the FT-857D and implement dual-watch for emergency comms exercises, or use the RTL-SDR for DAB+ reception. In the latter case, while I could use qt-dab, it’ll be rather cumbersome in that use case. So I’ll probably implement my own tool atop GNURadio that can talk to a small microcontroller to drive a keypad and display. As a first step, I thought I’d try a DIY FM stereo receiver. This is a mildly complex receiver that builds on what I learned at university many moons ago. FM Stereo is actually surprisingly complex. Not DAB+ levels of complex, but still complex. The system is designed to be backward-compatible with mono FM sets. FM itself actually does not provide stereo on its own — a stereo FM station operates by multiplexing a “mono” signal, a “differential” signal, and a pilot signal. The pilot is just a plain 19kHz carrier. Both left and right channels are low-pass filtered to a band-width of 15kHz. The mono signal is generated from the summation of the left and right channels, whilst the differential is produced from the subtraction of the right from the left channel. The pilot signal is then doubled and used as the carrier for a double-sideband suppressed carrier signal which is modulated by the differential signal. This is summed with the pilot and mono signal, and that is then frequency-modulated. For reception, older mono sets just low-pass the raw FM discriminator output (or rely on the fact that most speakers won’t reproduce >18kHz well), whilst a stereo set performs the necessary signal processing to extract the left and right channels. Below, is a flow-graph in GNURadio companion that shows this: Flow graph for FM stereo reception The signal comes in at the top-left via a RTL-SDR. We first low-pass filter it to receive just the station we want (in this case I’m receiving Triple M Brisbane at 104.5MHz). We then pass it through the WBFM de-modulator. At this point I pass a copy of this signal to a waterfall plot. A second copy gets low-passed at 15kHz and down-sampled to a 32kHz sample rate (my sound card doesn’t do 500kHz sample rates!). A third copy is passed through a band-pass filter to isolate the differential signal, and a fourth, is filtered to isolate the pilot at 19kHz. The pilot in a real receiver would ordinarily be full-wave-bridge-rectified, or passed through a PLL frequency synthesizer to generate a 38kHz carrier. Here, I used the abs math function, then band-passed it again to get a nice clean 38kHz carrier. This is then mixed with the differential signal I isolated before, then the result low-pass filtered to shift that differential signal to base band. I now have the necessary signals to construct the two channels: M + D gives us (L+R) + (L-R) = 2L, and M – D = (L+R) – (L – R) = 2R. We have our stereo channels. Below are the three waterfall diagrams showing (from top to bottom) the de-modulated differential signal, the 38kHz carrier for the differential signal and the raw output from the WBFM discriminator. The constituent components of a FM stereo radio station. Not decoded here is the RDS carrier which can be seen just above the differential signal in the third waterfall diagram. Posted by Redhatter (VK4MSL) at 10:15 pm Tagged with: fm, gnuradio, rtl-sdr, wbfm-stereo Emergency communications considerations Amateur Radio, Emergency Communications, Public Syndication, Thinktank, WICEN No Responses » So, there’s been a bit of discussion lately about our communications infrastructure. I’ve been doing quite a bit of thinking about the topic. The situation today Here in Australia, a lot of people are being moved over to the National Broadband Network… with the analogue fixed line phone (if it hasn’t disappeared already) being replaced with a digital service. For many, their cellular “mobile” phone is their only means of contact. More than the over-glorified two-way radios that was pre-cellular car phones used by the social elites in the early 70s, or the slightly more sophisticated and tennis-elbow inducing AMPS hand-held mobile phones that we saw in the 80s, mobile phones today are truly versatile and powerful hand-held computers. In fact, they are more powerful than the teen-aged computer I am typing this on. (And yes, I have upgraded it; 1GB RAM, 250GB mSATA SSD, Linux kernel 4.0… this 2GHz P4 still runs, and yes I’ll update that kernel in a moment. Now, how’s that iPhone 3G going, still running well?) All of these devices are able to provide data communications throughput in the order of millions of bits per second, and outside of emergencies, are generally, very reliable. It is easy to forget just how much needs to work properly in order for you to receive that funny cat picture. One thing that is not clear about the NBN, is what happens when the power is lost. The electricity grid is not infallible, and requires regular maintenance, so while reliability is good, it is not guaranteed. For FTTP users, battery backup is an optional extra. If you haven’t opted in, then your “land line” goes down when the power goes out. This is not a fact that people think about. Most will say, “that’s fine, I’ve got my mobile” … but do you? The typical mobile phone cell tower has several hours battery back-up, and can be overwhelmed by traffic even in non-emergencies.They are fundamentally engineered to a cost, thus compromises are made on how long they can run without back-up power, and how much call capacity they carry. In the 2008 storms that hit The Gap, I had no mobile telephone coverage for 2 days. My Nokia 3310 would occasionally pick up a signal from a tower in a neighbouring suburb such as Keperra, Red Hill or Bardon, and would thus occasionally receive the odd text message… but rarely could muster the effective radiated power to be able to reply back or make calls. (Yes, and Nokia did tell me that internal antennas surpassed the need for external ones. A 850MHz yagi might’ve worked!) Now, you tell yourself, “Well, the emergency services have their own radios…”, and this is correct. They do have their own radio networks. They too are generally quite reliable. They have their problems. The Emergency Alerting System employed in Victoria was having capacity problems as far back as 2006 (emphasis mine): A high-priority project under the Statewide Integrated Public Safety Communications Strategy was establishing a reliable statewide paging system; the emergency alerting system. The EAS became operational in 2006 at a cost of $212 million. It provides coverage to about 96 per cent of Victoria through more than 220 remote transmitter sites. The system is managed by the Emergency Services Telecommunications Agency on behalf of the State and is used by the CFA, VICSES and Ambulance Victoria (rural) to alert approximately 37,400 personnel, mostly volunteers, to an incident. It has recently been extended to a small number of DSE and MFB staff. Under the EAS there are three levels of message priority: emergency, non-emergency, and administrative. Within each category the system sends messages on a first-in, first-out basis. This means queued emergency messages are sent before any other message type and non-emergency messages have priority over administrative messages. A problem with the transmission speed and coverage of messages was identified in 2006. The CFA expressed concern that areas already experiencing marginal coverage would suffer additional message loss when the system reached its limits during peak events. To ensure statewide coverage for all pagers, in November 2006 EAS users decided to restrict transmission speed and respond to the capacity problems by upgrading the system. An additional problem with the EAS was caused by linking. The EAS can be configured to link messages by automatically sending a copy of a message to another pager address. If multiple copies of a message are sent the overall load on the system increases. By February 2008 linking had increased by 25 per cent. During the 2008 windstorm in Victoria the EAS was significantly short of delivery targets for non-emergency and administrative messages. The Emergency Services Telecommunications Agency subsequently reviewed how different agencies were using the system, including their message type selection and message linking. It recommended that the agencies establish business rules about the use of linking and processes for authorising and monitoring de-linking. The planned upgrade was designed to ensure the EAS could cope better with more messages without the use of linking. The upgrade was delayed several times and rescheduled for February 2009; it had not been rolled out by the time of Black Saturday. Unfortunately this affected the system on that day, after which the upgrade was postponed indefinitely. I can find mention of this upgrade taking place around 2013. From what I gather, it did eventually happen, but it took a roasting from mother nature to make it happen. The lesson here is that even purpose built networks can fall over, and thus particularly in major incidents, it is prudent to have a back-up plan. For the lay person, CB radio can be a useful tool for short-range (longer-than-yelling-range) voice communications. UHF CB will cover a few kilometres in urban environments and can achieve quite long distances if good line-of-sight is maintained. They require no apparatus license, and are relatively inexpensive. It is worth having a couple of cheap ones, a small torch and a packet of AAA batteries (stored separately) in the car or in a bag you take with you. You can’t use them if they’re in a cupboard at home and you’re not there. The downside with the hand-helds, particularly the low end ones, is effective radiated power. They will have small “rubber ducky” antennas, optimised for size, and will typically have limited transmit power, some can do the 5W limit, but most will be 1W or less. If you need a bit more grunt, a mobile UHF CB set and magnetic mount antenna could be assembled and fitted to most cars, and will provide 5W transmit power, capable of about 5-10km in good conditions. HF (27MHz) CB can go further, and with 12W peak envelope power, it is possible to get across town with one, even interstate or overseas when conditions permit. These too, are worth looking at, and many can be had cheaply second-hand. They require a larger antenna however to be effective, and are less common today. Beware of fakes though… A CB radio must meet “type approval”, just being technically able to transmit in that band doesn’t automatically make it a CB, it must meet all aspects of the Citizens Band Radio Service Class License to be classified a CB. If it does more than 5W on UHF, it is not a UHF CB. If it mentions a transmit range outside of 476-478MHz, it is not a UHF CB. Programming it to do UHF channels doesn’t change this. Similarly, if your HF CB radio can do 26MHz (NZ CB, not Australia), uses FM instead of SSB/AM (UK CB, again not Australia), does more than 12W, or can do 28-30MHz (10m amateur), it doesn’t qualify as being a CB under the class license. Amateur radio licensing If you’ve got a good understanding of high-school mathematics and physics, then a Foundation amateur radio license is well within reach. In fact, I’d strongly recommend it for anyone doing first year Electrical Engineering … as it will give you a good practical grounding in electrical theories. Doing so, you get to use up to 10W of power (double what UHF CB gives you; 6dB can matter!) and access to four HF, one VHF and one UHF band using analogue voice or hand-keyed Morse code. You can then use those “CB radios” that sell on eBay/DealExtreme/BangGood/AliExpress…etc, without issue, as being un-modified “commercial off-the-shelf”, they are acceptable for use under the Foundation license. Beyond Voice: amateur radio digital modes Now, all good and well being able to get voice traffic across a couple of suburban blocks. In a large-scale disaster, it is often necessary to co-ordinate recovery efforts, which often means listings of inventory and requirements, welfare information, etc, needs to be broadcast. You can broadcast this by voice over radio… very slowly! You can put a spreadsheet on a USB stick and drive it there. You can deliver photos that way too. During an emergency event, roads may be in-passable, or they may be congested. If the regular communications channels are down, how does one get such files across town quickly? Amateur radio requires operators who have undergone training and hold current apparatus licenses, but this service does permit the transmission of digital data (for standard and advanced licensees), with encryption if needed (“intercommunications when participating in emergency services operations or related training exercises”). Amateur radio is by its nature, experimental. Lots of different mechanisms have been developed through experiment for intercommunication over amateur radio bands using digital techniques. The oldest by far is commonly known as “Morse code”, and while it is slower than voice, it requires simpler transmitting and receiving equipment, and concentrates the transmitted power over a very narrow bandwidth, meaning it can be heard reliably at times when more sophisticated modes cannot. However, not everybody can send or receive it (yours truly included). I won’t dwell on it here, as there are more practical mechanisms for transmitting lots of data, but have included it here for completeness. I will point out though, due to its simplicity, it has practically no latency, thus it can be faster than SMS. Radio Teletype Okay, there are actually quite a few modes that can be described in this manner, and I’ll use this term to refer to the family of modes. Basically, you can think of it as two dumb terminals linked via a radio channel. When you type text into one, that text appears on the other in near real-time. The latency is thus very low, on par with Morse code. The earliest of these is the RTTY mode, but more modern incarnations of the same idea include PSK31. These are normally used as-is. With some manual copying and pasting pieces of text at each end, it is possible to encode other forms of data as short runs of text and send files in short hand-crafted “packets”, which are then hand-deconstructed and decoded at the far end. This can be automated to remove the human error component. The method is slow, but these radioteletype modes are known for being able to “punch through” poor signal conditions. When I was studying web design back in 2001, we were instructed to keep all photos below 30kB in size. At the time, dial-up Internet was common, and loading times were a prime consideration. Thus instead of posting photos like this, we had to shrink them down, like this. Yes, some detail is lost, but it is good enough to get an “idea” of the situation. The former photo is 2.8MB, the latter is 28kB. Via the above contrived transmission system, it would take about 20 minutes to transmit. The method would work well for anything that is text, particularly simple spread sheets, which could be converted to Comma Separated Values to strip all but the most essential information, bringing file sizes down into realms that would allow transmission times in the order of 5 minutes. Text also compresses well, thus in some cases, transmission time can be reduced. To put this into perspective, a drive from The Gap where that photo was taken, into the Brisbane CBD, takes about 20 minutes in non-peak-hour normal circumstances. It can take an hour at peak times. In cases of natural disaster, the roads available to you may be more congested than usual, thus you can expect peak-hour-like trip times. Radio Faximile and Slow Scan Television This covers a wide variety of modes, ranging from the ancient like Hellschreiber which has its origins in the German Military back in World War II, various analogue slow-scan television modes through to the modern digital slow-scan television. This allows the transmission of photos and visual information over radio. Some systems like EasyPAL and its elk (based on HamDRM, a variant of Digital Radio Mondiale) are in fact, general purpose modems for transmitting files, and thus can transmit non-graphical data too. Transmit times can vary, but the analogue modes take between 30 seconds and two minutes depending on quality. For the HamDRM-based systems, transmit speeds vary between 86Bps up to 795kBps depending on the settings used. Packet radio is the concept of implementing packet-switched networks over radio links. There are various forms of this, the most common in amateur radio being PACTOR, WINMOR, the 1200-baud AFSK and 9600-baud FSK and 300-baud AFSK packet modes. 300-baud AFSK is normally used on HF links, and hails from experiments using surplus Bell 103 modems modified to work with radio. Similarly, on VHF and UHF FM radio, experiments were done with surplus Bell 202 modems, giving rise to the 1200-baud AFSK mode. The 9600-baud FSK mode was the invention of James Miller G3RUH, and was one of the first packet radio modes actually developed by radio amateur operators for use on radio. These are all general-purpose data modems, and while they can be used for radioteletype applications, they are designed with computer networking in mind. The feature facilities like automatic repeating of lost messages, and in some cases support forward error correction. PACTOR/WINMOR is actually used with the Winlink radio network which provides email services. The 300-baud, 1200-baud and 9600-baud versions generally use a networking protocol called AX.25, and by configuring stations with multiple such “terminal node controllers” (modems) connected and appropriate software, a station can operate as a router, relaying traffic received via one radio channel to a station that’s connected via another, or to non-AX.25 stations on Winlink or the Internet. It is well suited to automatic stations, operating without human intervention. AX.25 packet and PACTOR I are open standards, the later PACTOR modems are proprietary devices produced by SCS in Germany. AX.25 packet is capable of transmit speeds between 15Bps (300 baud) and 1kBps (9600 baud). PACTOR varies between 5Bps and 650Bps. In theory, it is possible to develop new modems for transmitting AX.25, the HamDRM modem used for slow-scan television and the FDMDV modem used in FreeDV being good starting points as both are proven modems with good performance. These simply require an analogue interface between the computer sound card and radio, and appropriate software. Such an interface made to link a 1200-baud TNC to a radio could be converted to link to a low-cost USB audio dongle for connection to a computer. If someone is set up for 1200-baud packet, setting up for these other modes is not difficult. High speed data Going beyond standard radios, amateur radio also has some very high-speed data links available. D-Star Digital Data operates on the 23cm microwave band and can potentially transmit files at up to 16KBps, which approaches ADSL-lite speeds. Transceivers such as the Icom ID-1 provide this via an Ethernet interface for direct connection to a computer. General Electric have a similar offering for industrial applications that operates on various commercial bands, some of which can reach amateur frequencies, thus would be usable on amateur bands. These devices offer transmit speeds up to 8KBps. A recent experiment by amateurs using off-the-shelf 50mW 433MHz FSK modules and Realtek-based digital TV tuner receivers produced a high-speed speed data link capable of delivering data at up to 14KBps using a wideband (~230kHz) radio channel on the 70cm band. They used it to send high definition photos from a high-altitude balloon. The point? We’ve got a lot of tools at our disposal for getting a message through, and collectively, 140 years of experience at our disposal. In an emergency situation, that means we have a lot of different options, if one doesn’t work, we can try another. No, a 1200-baud VHF packet link won’t stream 4k HD video, but it has minimal latency and will take less than 20 minutes to transmit a 100kB file over distances of 10km or more. A 1kB email will be at the other end before you can reach for your car keys. Further experimentation and development means we can only improve. Amateur radio is far from obsolete. Posted by Redhatter (VK4MSL) at 1:25 pm Tagged with: 1200afsk, 300afsk, amateur-radio, ax.25, bell103, bell202, cbrs, d-star, eas, easypal, emergency-communications, fdmdv, freedv, g3ruh, hamdrm, hellschreiber, latency, mobile-coverage, morse-code, packet-radio, pactor, privacy, rtl-sdr, rtty, security, sstv, thegap-storms, wicen, winlink, winmor	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1826
__label__cc	0.740437	0.259563	What a Week Posted by Khadija in Study Abroad on June 30, 2016 So in the last week, the UK public voted to leave the EU. That was the most heart-breaking thing for me. I was in so much shock, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that there were more people who wanted to leave than those who wanted to remain. I was so certain that we’d remain. I thought the leave campaign was a joke and that everyone could see it. But apparently not And it didn’t just stop with the leave side winning. A whole lot of crazy followed suit. First the pound dropped to a thirty year low, then our prime minister resigned, which angered me more than it should have. I am not a fan of David Cameron and I certainly did not vote for him, but the fact that he jumped ship just when the country needed him most is shameful. After the Panama papers revelation, most people wished for his resignation, but yet he stayed on, and now when we need him, he leaves us. And now they’re attacking Jeremy Corbin, who I personally love. He is an amazing leader, so down to earth and genuine, and he deserves to be the head of the Labour party, because he is what young people need, he is our voice in Parliament. And it is unacceptable that the Labour party are turning inward to find a scapegoat for the mess that we’re in. Jeremy is not at fault. David Cameron is, for allowing the public to vote in the referendum in the first place. He should have made the decision for us to stay in the EU as he is our elected leader. And then there is Boris Johnson. One of the key player in the leave campaign, and now he has decided to pull himself out of the running to be Prime Minister. I never wanted him to be PM, and to be honest, the thought of him being PM gave me nightmares. But the fact that one of the key figures in the leave campaign does not want to facilitate the leave negotiations with the EU says something about the whole thing. This country is in a big mess, with talks of Scottish independence, Irish unification and London becoming an independent state (I wish), no one knows where we stand. And allowing Farage to speak in the EU makes it so much worse. Posted in City, Future \| Tagged Boris, Cameron, Corbin, David, EU, Europe, future, Ireland, Jeremy, Johnson, Life, politics, Referendum, Scotland, UK About Khadija Hey, my name is Khadija, I am an English and History undergraduate student. I will be blogging about my year abroad in France. I am obsessed with History, especially Medieval History and love to read, hence the English half of my degree. Throughout the year I’ll be keeping you updated on all the excitements of living abroad, the differences and similarities to Leicester , and all the things I’ll learn living abroad. View more posts by Khadija Subscribe to Khadija's posts Dexter on My First Post! Preparing for Study Abroad. Louise on What do the British do better than the Dutch? Leon on What do the British do better than the Dutch? Louise on My first semester in the Netherlands overall Sumit on My first semester in the Netherlands overall Adam (Germany) Ben (Australia) Cameron (Finland) Emily (Australia) Hannah (USA) Hermon (Hong Kong) Jayshree (Australia) Kitty (Australia) Louise (Amsterdam) Mark (USA) Nicky (Germany) Ogechi Pouneh (Germany) Rachel (Netherlands) Robbie (Denmark) Sadie (New Zealand) Viki (Germany) Yekaterina (France & Spain) Accomodation America Australia avignon Berlin California Christchurch Christmas Courses Culture Denmark Erasmus Exams exchange food France Friends Fun Geology Germany Heidelberg HKU Home homesick Hong Kong Law Leicester Money Netherlands New Zealand Strasbourg stress student Study Study abroad Summer Sydney Travel Travelling University of Avignon University of Canterbury University of Leicester University of Strasbourg Work year abroad	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1827
__label__wiki	0.917376	0.917376	Martin Carvell Martin Carvell has been the Managing Director of DJ Mag worldwide since 2006. A fan of electronic music since his teenage years, he promoted events when he was a student before securing work with Blonde Media and then well-respected directory the Music Industry Manual (M.I.M) in the UK. He took over as MD of DJ Mag when he was 25 and has seen the publication, along with the Top 100 DJs and Top 100 Clubs polls, grow exponentially with the rise of dance music internationally over the last decade. He's been at the helm of the publishing company as it has branched out into producing franchised magazines in France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany, USA, Latin America, Brazil, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Austrailia, India as well as for Ibiza and Croatia, which has helped secure DJ Mag's position as the global voice of dance music. Carl Loben Carl has been a music journo since the dawn of time. He started writing about electronic dance music in the early ‘90s, and fell in with the DJ Mag family about 20 years ago. As well as being the current editor of the flagship UK mag, Carl is also a DJ and has had a go at being an artist manager, producer, promoter, label boss, radio presenter and lecturer too. Martin Brown Art editor/ Head of colouring-in Been knockin round discos for donkey’s years... Favourite drink: Cheap Spanish Brandy Ben Hindle Despite scoffing when his school teachers told him he should be a journalist, Ben joined the DJ Mag team as a staff writer in summer 2016. Now the deputy editor, he spends his time enjoying jungle and techno, long raves in the dark and incoherently mumbling about nightclubs. 28/M/London, GSOH, etc. Mick Wilson Tech Editor ‘The’ Mick Wilson tech editor of DJ Mag was originally one half of the successful DJ duo Parks & Wilson and has enjoyed a fruitful career in the dance music industry, with over 25 years under his belt. He has been lucky to play at some of the scene’s most iconic clubs and venues as well as producing some very good records. He also knows a thing or two about music technology… Becca Antoon Having left her career in fashion to return to uni to study music, Becca now works at DJ Mag as office manager, live-streamer, resident belcher and general noise-maker. As well as this, Becca is 'drum & bass's leading lady' (Wall, A. DJ Mag, 2018) and can be found singing/songwriting/warbling under the name Becca Jane Grey. Chris Blackhall Geordie born and bred. Migrated down to London in November 2010 and started at DJ Mag a month later. Part of DJ duo Blackhall & Bookless mainly playing and producing music on a more techno-based tip. He also runs a club night called Jaunt which hosts events in Newcastle and London as well as the label, Jaunt Records. Heath Holmes Commercial Director. Heath joined DJ Mag in 1999 as a sales executive. He has worked with four different owners of the magazine and all four editors. He now heads up the commercial team. Helene Stokes Fashion Editor / Lucky Seven The longest serving member of the team (shhhh), Helene has weaved her way through many roles at the magazine, from Assistant to Clubs to Music editor before introducing the fashion pages and Lucky Seven feature to DJMag. One of the original 'door bitches', she's also a DJ, a mother and a Patterdale Terrier's favourite person. Iain McGoldrick Advertising Manager Iain received his dance music education in Bristol before moving to join the DJ Mag team in London five years ago. He now manages advertising and media partnerships and occasionally finds the time to embarrass himself on dancefloors around the world. Kirsty Allison Off The Floor Editor Editor of DJ Mag’s Off The Floor arts pages, Kirsty Allison grew up in pirate radio, TV presenting, and DJing with Irvine Welsh et al in the Manumission Motel. Her debut novel, Psychomachia, set in '90s London and Ibiza, drops late 2019. Editor and publisher of Cold Lips, she performs poetry with music as Kirsty Allison and The Vagrant Lovers. Remixes required! Pic by Carl Fox Rasa Sadauskaite After freelancing as a music journalist and launching her own music column in a fashion magazine, Rasa moved to London and joined DJ Mag as a booking/project manager where she oversees DJ Mag Insight. She is also a singer-songwriter and producer at music project, Rasa. Rob McCallum Industrial ghetto funk only please. Euan McGraw Live Broadcast Manager Loves rugby, hates going out. Jon Dommett Digital & Video Producer Coming from the outskirts of London, Jon dropped out of school to come and work for DJ Mag in the digital media team. He creates dynamic video content for DJ Mag's social media platforms and also runs live streams from around the world. Video Production Assistant Liam joined the team on a short placement at the start of the year, but like a bad smell he wouldn’t leave so we gave him a job. He likes to travel and sometimes he films stuff. Amy Fielding Digital Staff Writer Little bit of a liability but never hurt anyone. Declan McGlynn Digital Tech Editor Angus Paterson Progressive / Big Room Editor Angus Paterson is a freelance journalist, copywriter and electronic music obsessive, originally from Australia and now based in Berlin House Editor Ben has been a devotee of house music since first hearing Playing. With Knives on Stu Allen's Key 103 radio show in Manchester, before he was old enough to be found legally on licensed premises. He once went on a road trip with Pete Tong and David Guetta, and he's interviewed everyone from Masters at Work to Nina Kraviz, Sasha to Derrick May. And he's only been turned away from Berghain once. Electro Editor Ben Murphy is the former editor of DJ Magazine. He’s had bylines in The Guardian, Time Out, Crack, Electronic Sound, FACT, Clash, Bandcamp Daily, i-D, Red Bull Music, RBMA, Vinyl Factory, Highlife, Songlines, XLR8R and more, and has delivered sleeve notes to record labels Warp and Harmless. His musical tastes are very broad, and he (still) likes to buy records and download stuff from Bandcamp regularly. Felicity Martin Albums and Grime Editor Born and bred Londoner Felicity originally joined DJ Mag as a staff writer - unintentionally sparking some beef between DJ Sneak and Jackmaster on her first day in the office. She has since started editing the albums/compilations section in print as a freelancer, as well as the grime reviews page - tending to favour anything that runs along at 140 beats per minute. John Kutski Hard Editor Kutski is one of the true pioneers of the harder styles of dance music, showcasing the full spectrum of hard beats at clubs and festivals the world over. Along with this he has produced for all the major labels within hard scene and remixed mainstream artists for commercial labels. His dedication to spread the sound also includes his chart topping podcasts, BBC Radio 1 shows, and monthly review page for DJ Mag for over a decade! Leon Clarkson Tech House Editor Work to the rhythm, live to the rhythm, love to the rhythm, slave to the rhythm. There's not much in life that beats a rolling bassline groove. Give it some welly and let's have a party. Neil Kulkarni Hip Hop & Trap Editor Neil has been writing about hip hop music for a quarter of a century, is the author of 'The Periodic Table Of Hip Hop', 'Eastern Spring' and 'Bring The Noise: The Stories Behind Hip Hop's Biggest Songs' and is constantly being told by his kids to turn his music down. He lives in his hometown Coventry and should really have grown up by now. Oli Marlow Bass Editor Oli Marlow is a writer and music journalist based in London. He also owns and operates the record label Sonic Router Records. Tristan Bath Leftfield Editor Whisky Kicks Drum & Bass Editor While studying Popular Music Journalism at Southampton Solent University, Nicola had always taken an ardent interest in dance music and graduated with a Special Award for Contribution to Club Culture Journalism. Starting her career interviewing artists for event promotion videos, she followed the path of her true passion into traditional copy journalism. Under the moniker Whisky Kicks, Nicola specialises in drum & bass and has spent the last six years as the regular reviews columnist for the genre in DJ Mag. Dave Jenkins Straight out of the Valleys, Dave Jenkins has been writing about broken beats, strange noises and unhealthy sounding low-end frequencies for almost 20 years. He edits UKF.com and presents D&BTV, he owns too many caps, he loves hummus. Harold Heath Harold Heath used to be a producer and DJ and is now a freelance music journo. Thinks he’s funny. Kristan J Caryl Freelance Writer & DJ Mag Croatia Editor Kristan has been writing about house and techno for DJ Mag for more than a decade from his base in Leeds. It is there that he also runs not-for-profit, community-based online station KMAH Radio. Digital Designer / Developer As a designer Mark has worked for clients ranging from Tate, Serpentine Galleries and Imperial War Museums through to Lovebox, HMV and Daniel Avery. As a DJ he’s spent the last 18 years obsessively building a music collection that centres around disco and house. He DJs regularly across London and hosts 2 radio shows. Mira Karadjova Born and raised in Bulgaria, Mira first caught the rave bug at one of the first techno parties in Sofia in the late ‘90s, headlined by Mayday founder WestBam and Loveparade promoter Dr Motte. These days, she’s based in Berlin and you can often find her exploring sweaty nightclubs, dancing with her eyes closed, and reviewing for DJ Mag.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1829
__label__wiki	0.820527	0.820527	37 International Athletes Vying for Inclusion on 2020 Refugee Olympic Team While an official 2020 Refugee Olympic Team has not yet been named, the IOC currently sponsors 37 Olympic-hopefuls living and training abroad. Stock photo via Public Domain/Pixabay We’ll use the Swimulator to look at the Texas men’s team’s results from their mid-season invite and show how they have tapered more. USA Swimming Names 18 & Under World 100 List Over 600 American junior swimmers recognized for 2019 performances. Unretired Canadian Olympian Brent Hayden Possibly Eyeing Des Moines Return Canadian Olympic medalist Brent Hayden is eyeing his return, possibly diving in at the Pro Swim Series in Des Moines, Iowa. The Southwest Ohio Classic, which held its 35th edition in 2020, is one of the fastest pre-state level high school meets in the country. James Fike: “I had to completely reset my mind and accept that, in fact, less is more. And that’s probably true at a far younger age than 38.” Nitro Looking To Build Third 50-Meter Pool In Austin, TX Area Nitro Swimming is in the process of adding a third Olympic-sized swimming pool and complex to its program, with extra deck space to host larger meets. How To Build Underwater Power, Your 5th Stroke in Swimming From the early advancements by Jesse Vassallo and David Berkoff, the importance of underwaters continues to expand as the single most technique for swimmers. Chalmers Clocks World’s First Sub-48 100 Free Of 2020 Kyle Chalmers is staking his claim on the men’s 100m free early, topping the world rankings for 2020 with a solid 47.99 to kick-off his Tokyo run. Reid Carlson by Reid Carlson 1 June 24th, 2019 Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Latin America & Caribbean, Europe, International, New Zealand and Oceania, News, Tokyo 2020 Share 37 International Athletes Vying for Inclusion on 2020 Refugee Olympic Team on Facebook Tweet 37 International Athletes Vying for Inclusion on 2020 Refugee Olympic Team Submit 37 International Athletes Vying for Inclusion on 2020 Refugee Olympic Team to Reddit Share 37 International Athletes Vying for Inclusion on 2020 Refugee Olympic Team on Pinterest Share 37 International Athletes Vying for Inclusion on 2020 Refugee Olympic Team on LinkedIn In 2016, the Rio Olympics hosted the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) for athletes that had been displaced by turmoil in their home nations. 2016’s ROT was comprised of 10 athletes from South Sudan (5), Ethiopia (1), The Democratic Republic of the Congo (2), and Syria (2). While an official 2020 Refugee Olympic Team has not yet been named, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Solidarity initiative currently sponsors 37 Olympic-hopefuls living and training abroad. While these athletes receive funding from the IOC to practice their sports and hone their skills in the hopes of qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games, making the team is not guaranteed. Rather, the purpose of Olympic Solidarity put forward by the Olympic Solidarity Commission is: The aim of Olympic Solidarity is to organise assistance for all the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), particularly those with the greatest needs, through multi-faceted programmes prioritising athlete development, training of coaches and sports administrators, and promoting the Olympic ideals (Olympic Charter, rule 5). Furthermore, the Olympic Solidarity Commission is responsible for furthering the goals of the Olympic Charter, including: Promoting the Fundamental Principles of Olympism; Assisting the NOCs in the preparation of their athletes and teams for their participation in the Olympic Games; Developing the technical sports knowledge of athletes and coaches; Improving the technical level of athletes and coaches in cooperation with NOCs and IFs, including through scholarships; Training sports administrators; Cooperating with organisations and entities pursuing such objectives, particularly through Olympic education and the propagation of sport; Creating, where needed, simple, functional and economical sports facilities in cooperation with national or international bodies; Supporting the organisation of competitions at national, regional and continental level under the authority or patronage of the NOCs, and assisting the NOCs in the organisation, preparation and participation of their delegations in regional and continental Games; Encouraging joint bilateral or multilateral cooperation programmes among NOCs; Urging governments and international organisations to include sport in official development assistance. Of the 37 sponsored athletes currently sponsored, 18 are athletics specialists from South Sudan, currently living and training at the Tegla Loroupe Refugee Training Centre in Ngong, Kenya. Rose Lokonyen, one of the displaced South Sudanese training in Kenya, was the flagbearer for the ROT during the Opening Ceremonies of the Rio Olympics in 2016. The Closing Ceremonies flagbearer, Popole Misenga, a judoka from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is also on scholarship and currently residing in Brazil. The only swimmers on the roster of 2020 Olympic-hopefuls are Syrians Yusra Mardini‘s and Rami Anis, both Rio 2016 Olympians. Mardini gained recognition during the Olympics in 2016 after winning her preliminary heat of the women’s 100 meter butterfly, and more notably, for her incredible and dangerous escape from Syria to Greece: during the crossing, the engine on Mardini’s boat died, so her and her sister Sara Mardini pushed and pulled the boat full of other refugees to shore on the Greek island Lesbos. Since 2016, Mardini has become a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Goodwill Ambassador, and traveled the world promoting peace through sport with the UN and the IOC. In 2018 Mardini published a book called Butterfly about her life, and a biographical film about her is also in the works. Mardini currently lives and trains in Hamburg, Germany. Anis, meanwhile, lives and trains in Istanbul, Turkey, though in the lead-up to Rio he resided in Belgium. Refugee Athlete Scholarship-Holders * 10 athletes who were part of the first IOC Refugee Olympic Team Rio 2016. 13 new individual athletes in various sports identified and assisted by the NOCs of their country of asylum since the launch of the programme. * A group of athletes training at the Tegla Loroupe Refugee Training Centre in Ngong, Kenya. Athletes have been identified in various refugee camps and brought to the training centre since the partnership between Olympic Solidarity and the centre began in September 2015. Jamal ABDOUL-MAGID — Sudan (Athletics – 10,000m) Ubaa Dinta ACHOTO * — South Sudan (Athletics – 800/1500m) Wael Fawaz AL-FARRAJ ** — Syria (Taekwondo – 58kg) Rami ANIS * — Syria (Swimming – 100m freestyle) Dominic Lokolong ATIOL * — South Sudan (Athletics – 1500m) Josephine Tain AUGUSTINHO * — South Sudan ( Athletics – 1500m) Yiech Pur BIEL / — South Sudan (Athletics – 800m) Ukuk Utho’o BUL * — South Sudan (Athletics – 5000m) James Nyang CHIENGJIEK / — South Sudan (Athletics – 400m) Duol Charles ELIJAH * — South Sudan (Athletics – 800m) Joseph Elia ERNESTO * — South Sudan (Athletics – 800m) Amir Mohammad HOSSEINI — Islamic Republic of Iran (Taekwondo – 58kg) Dorian KELETELA ** — Democratic Republic of Congo (Athletics – 100m) Yonas KINDE * — Ethiopia (Athletics – marathon) Dina Pouryounes LANGEROUDI ** — Islamic Republic of Iran (Taekwondo – 49kg) Anjelina Nadai LOHALITH / — South Sudan (Athletics – 1500m) Simon Lodai LOHUJU * — South Sudan ( Athletics – 1500m/5000m) Rose Nathike LOKONYEN /** — South Sudan (Athletics – 800m) Paulo Amotun LOKORO /** — South Sudan (Athletics – 1500m) Yolande MABIKA * — Democratic Republic of Congo (Judo – 70kg) Aram MAHMOUD — Syria (Badminton) Tekleweyni MALAKE — Eritrea (Athletics – 1500m) Lydia Philip MAMUN *** — South Sudan (Athletics – 800m) Yusra MARDINI * — Syria (Swimming – 100m butterfly) Simon Ayong MAURIS * — South Sudan (Athletics – 5000m) Kasra MEHDIPOURNEJAD — Islamic Republic of Iran (Taekwondo – 80kg) Popole MISENGA * — Democratic Republic of Congo ( Judo – 90kg) Gaston NSAZUMUKIZA * — Democratic Republic of Congo (Athletics – 5000m) Clementina Ihure RILANDO * — South Sudan (Athletics – 1500m) Abdullah SEDIQI — Afghanistan (Taekwondo – 58kg) Wael SHUEB — Syria ( Karate – Kata) Asif SULTANI — Afghanistan (Karate – 75kg) John Lokibe TABAN * — South Sudan (Athletics – 5000m) Cyrille Fagat TCHATCHET II — Cameroon (Weightlifting – 94kg) Rose Ihisa UWARO — South Sudan (Athletics – 200m) Farid WALIZADEH — Afghanistan (Boxing – 56kg) Chajen Dang YIEN * — South Sudan (Athletics – Javelin throw) « Caeleb Dressel Analyzes Performances: “I gotta get better” (Video) East Carolina Hires Christa Saunders as 2nd Female Assistant » The Tom Petty ISL Team of “Refugees”. Vote Up0-2Vote Down Reply About Reid Carlson Reid Carlson originally hails from Clay Center, Kansas, where he began swimming at age six. At age 14 he began swimming club year-round and later with his high school team, making state all four years. He was fortunate enough to draw the attention of Kalamazoo College where he went on to … More from Reid Carlson 2019 Swammy Awards: British Coach of the Year, Mel Marshall Bob Bowman Describes First Olympic Year Without Phelps Since Pre-2000 (Video) Five Head Coaches Weigh In on the 2019 NC State Fall Invite (Video) Katharine Berkoff Is Focusing on The Process More Than Times (Video) Cody Bybee Is Back With a Vengeance After Missing the 2019 Post-Season (Video)	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1851
__label__wiki	0.724876	0.724876	Thursday Reads: Some Good News for a Change Posted: May 31, 2018 \| Author: bostonboomer \| Filed under: morning reads, U.S. Politics \| Tags: Affordable Care Act, Equal Rights Amendment, Howard Stern, Illinois, individual mandate, Jeff Sessions, Medicaid expansion, Melania Trump, New Jersey, the resistance, Virginia \| 41 Comments For once I can begin a post with some upbeat stories. Chicago Tribune: llinois approves Equal Rights Amendment, 36 years after deadline. The Illinois House voted Wednesday night to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment more than 45 years after it was approved by Congress, putting it one state away from possible enshrinement in the U.S. Constitution amid potential legal questions. The 72-45 vote by the House, following an April vote by the Senate, was just one more vote than needed for ratification. It does not need the approval of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has said he supports equal rights but was faulted by Democrats for not taking a position on the ERA…. As has been the case for decades, the legislative debate over the Equal Rights Amendment was fraught with controversy. Opponents largely contended the measure was aimed at ensuring an expansion of abortion rights for women. Supporters said it was needed to give women equal standing in the nation’s founding document. Opponents also contended the measure may be moot, since its original 1982 ratification deadline has long since expired. Supporters argued, however, that the 1992 ratification of the 1789 “Madison Amendment,” preventing midterm changes in congressional pay, makes the ERA a legally viable change to the constitution. Read the whole thing at the link above. Some history: On March 22, 1972, the Senate approved the Equal Rights Amendment, which banned discrimination on the basis of sex. The amendment fell three states shy of ratification. In 1923, three years after the ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, suffragist Alice Paul drafted an amendment to guarantee equal rights for women. Known as the Equal Rights Amendment or the Lucretia Mott Amendment, it stated, “Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction.” The amendment was presented to Congress in 1923, and re-introduced to every session of Congress for nearly 50 years. It mostly stayed in committee until 1946, when a reworded proposal, dubbed the Alice Paul Amendment, lost a close vote in the Senate. Four years later, the Senate passed a weaker version of the amendment that was not supported by ERA proponents. Opposition to ERA came from social conservatives and from labor leaders, who feared that it would threaten protective labor laws for women. Support for the amendment increased during the 1960s as the Civil Rights Movement inspired a second women’s rights movement. The National Organization for Women (NOW), founded in 1966, led to movement for the passage of ERA. In 1970, Rep. Martha Griffiths of Michigan succeeded in getting the ERA out of committee and before Congress for debate. The House of Representatives passed the amendment without changes 352-15 in 1971. The Senate passed the amendment on March 22, 1972, a day after voting against any proposed changes. The passed amendment read: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” The second bit of good news, from The Washington Post: Virginia General Assembly approves Medicaid expansion to 400,000 low-income residents. The Virginia legislature voted Wednesday to make government health insurance available to 400,000 low-income residents, overcoming five years of GOP resistance. The decision marks a leftward shift in the legislature and an enormous win for Gov. Ralph Northam (D), the pediatrician who ran on expanding access to health care. Virginia will join 32 other states and the District in expanding Medicaid coverage. The measure is expected to take effectJan. 1. “This is not just about helping this group of people,” said Sen. Frank Wagner (Virginia Beach), one of four Republicans in the Senate who split from their party to join Democrats and pass the measure by a vote of 23 to 17. “This is about getting out there and helping to bend the cost of health care for every Virginian. . . . It is the number one issue on our voters’ minds. By golly, it ought to be the number one issue on the General Assembly’s mind.” Another Republican who broke ranks, Sen. Ben Chafin (Russell), is a lawyer and a cattle farmer from a rural district where health care is sorely lacking. “I came to the conclusion that ‘no’ just wasn’t the answer anymore, that doing nothing about the medical conditions, the state of health care in my district, just wasn’t the answer any longer,” he said. After the Senate vote, the House of Delegates approved the measure by 67 to 31 as the chamber erupted in cheers. Also from the WaPo: Why Virginia’s Medicaid expansion is a big deal. It’s another nail in the coffin for efforts to repeal Obamacare and a fresh reminder of how difficult it is to scale back any entitlement once it’s created. Many Republicans, in purple and red states alike, concluded that Congress is unlikely to get rid of the law, so they’ve become less willing to take political heat for leaving billions in federal money on the table. Years of obstruction in the commonwealth gave way because key Republicans from rural areas couldn’t bear to deny coverage for their constituents any longer, moderates wanted to cut a deal and, most of all, Democrats made massive gains in November’s off-year elections. As President Trump steps up efforts to undermine the law, from repealing the individual mandate to watering down requirements for what needs to be covered in “association health plans,” the administration’s willingness to let states impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients has paradoxically given a rationale for Republicans to flip-flop on an issue where they had dug in their heels. And in New Jersey: Phil Murphy signs law protecting Obamacare from Trump with N.J. mandate to have health insurance. Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday signed a law preserving a critical yet controversial part of the Affordable Care Act that President Donald Trump‘s administration repealed last year. One of the laws creates a statewide individual mandate, which will require all New Jerseyans who don’t have health coverage through a government program like Medicare or their jobs to buy a policy, or pay a fee at tax time. The landmark federal health care law, better known as Obamacare, imposed the mandate to ensure younger and healthier people who might otherwise forgo insurance will buy-in and share costs. But the tax package approved by the Republican-led Congress and signed into law by Trump will end the mandate in 2019. The requirement was one of the more distasteful parts of the law for lawmakers and the public who believe it allowed government to intrude into people’s lives. State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, one of the prime sponsors of the law, said keeping the mandate “was needed to maintain a foundation for the insurance market and to allow the success of the ACA to continue.” The resistance is making progress! In other news, The Daily Beast reports that Trump wanted Howard Stern to speak at the 2016 Republican convention, according to his interview last night with David Letterman (emphasis added). Letterman doesn’t spend much time on the subject of Trump, a person whom Stern has spent more time interviewing than anyone else on the planet, the host does ask the “King of All Media” how he feels about Trump’s tenure as president. “Well you know, it was a very awkward kind of thing, because Donald asked me to speak at the Republican National Convention,” Stern reveals. “And he would call me from the campaign trail very often, and say, ‘Are you watching?’ I was tickled by this, because I really kind of felt, deep in my heart, that this campaign was really more about selling a book, or selling a brand. I didn’t really understand that he would really want to be president.” [….] Stern continued: “I was put in a very awkward position of having to say publicly—and to him—that I was a Hillary Clinton supporter. I always have been, and I was honest with Donald. I said, ‘Donald, you also supported Hillary.’ And I do consider Donald a friend but my politics are different.” The AP has an interesting story on Republican efforts to protect Jeff Sessions’ job. In private meetings, public appearances on television and late-night phone calls, Trump’s advisers and allies have done all they can to persuade the president not to fire a Cabinet official he dismisses as disloyal. The effort is one of the few effective Republican attempts to install guardrails around a president who delights in defying advice and breaking the rules. It’s an ongoing effort, though not everyone is convinced the relationship is sustainable for the long term…. The case that Sessions’ protectors have outlined to Trump time and again largely consists of three components: Firing Sessions, a witness in Mueller’s investigation of obstruction of justice, would add legal peril to his standing in the Russia probe; doing so would anger the president’s political base, which Trump cares deeply about, especially with midterm election looming this fall; and a number of Republican senators would rebel against the treatment of a longtime colleague who was following Justice Department guidelines in his recusal. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has said that he will not schedule a confirmation hearing for another attorney general nominee if Sessions is fired. Click on the link to read the rest. Melania Trump has missing from the public eye for 20 days now. Yesterday her husband apparently decided to send a message from her Twitter account, but he forgot to make the language sound like her. Someone is getting very sloppy at his new job of pretending to be @FLOTUS . . . pic.twitter.com/H7MncLn3Nu — Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) May 31, 2018 A few more stories to check out: The New Yorker: How the Trump Administration Got Comfortable Separating Immigrant Kids from Their Parents. Nicholas Kristof at The New York Times: Trump Immigration Policy Veers From Abhorrent to Evil. The Washington Post: Trump plans to impose metal tariffs on closest U.S. allies. The New York Times: For ‘Columbiners,’ School Shootings Have a Deadly Allure. The Daily Beast: What Happened to Jill Stein’s Recount Millions? The New York Times: How Trump’s Election Shook Obama: ‘What if We Were Wrong?’ NPR: Russia’s Lavrov Meets With Kim Jong Un, As Pompeo Tries To Salvage Summit. CNBC: Trump will pardon conservative pundit Dinesh D’Souza, who was convicted of campaign finance violation. Wednesday Reads: Razing the Barr Posted: May 30, 2018 \| Author: Minkoff Minx \| Filed under: Donald Trump, Fox News, morning reads, open thread, Political and Editorial Cartoons, racism, the GOP, U.S. Politics, white nationalists \| 13 Comments Popeye by E.C. Segar News of yesterday in one tweet: It's a stormy day in Trumpistan: Roseanne got fired for being racist, GOP Gov Eric Greitens resigned due to a sexual assault scandal, Trump's WH tried to cover up the fact 4,600 Americans died in Puerto Rico & Trump's campaign illegally tried to suppress the black vote. Pathetic. — Scott Dworkin (@funder) May 29, 2018 But they didn’t just fire Roseanne from her new old show…check this out: Viacom is pulling 'Roseanne' reruns from its Paramount Network, TV Land and CMT channels, TheWrap reports.https://t.co/1qKVTnuTYm — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 29, 2018 First they came for Roseanne, and I said nothing, because Roseanne sucks. Then they came for Bill Maher, and I said nothing, because Bill Maher also sucks. — David Hill (@davehill77) May 29, 2018 Yes please…take Maher’s sorry ass with you! Then as if those moments didn’t bring a fleeting tickle of joy, it seems like FoxNews is hitting a wall? Fox News' Judge Napolitano Calls Trump’s ‘Spygate’ Claims ‘Baseless’: There’s ‘No Evidence Whatsoever’ https://t.co/nfPbHW9y3D (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/lPVANdHmYq — Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 30, 2018 Holy shit, Shep is on a roll today. In just 2 minutes Shep dismantles almost every single recent Fox News narrative. "Trump claimed Feds spied on his campaign … calls it Spygate. Fox News can confirm it is not. Fox News knows of no evidence to support the president's claim" pic.twitter.com/nMk7uNhuZU — Lis Power (@LisPower1) May 29, 2018 Republican Trey Gowdy suggests FBI did nothing wrong using an informant to gather info on Trump campaign after being briefed on the situation. "I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do" he said on Fox. https://t.co/VoamBa2FFe — Byron Tau (@ByronTau) May 30, 2018 Well, if you ever need to get a glimpse at what a tRump rally is like, but don’t want to actually watch one, check out Daniel Dale twitter feed during one of them: Talking about rebuilding America, Trump…goes out of his way to say he has big hands: "We'll do it all with these big beautiful hands. Look at these hands." — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 30, 2018 Dale fact checks tRump as he goes along. It is refreshing to see. Trump has told three elaborate stories tonight in which he has talked to someone who called him "sir." I don't think any one of the stories has any basis in reality. See what I mean… If you are missing the Donald Trump rally let me just let you know that Donald Trump is making fun of Chuck Schumer for crying… And Chuck cried while remembering losing family members in the Holocaust. — Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) May 30, 2018 Depressing sight at Trump rally in Nashville: adorable young boy, probly about my son's age, pointing iPhone at me & other reporters & snapping pix while screaming "FAKE NEWS!" A child who will grow up believing a free & fair press is the enemy, a bad thing, to be mocked & hated — Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) May 30, 2018 Can we get this asshole…gone already? Oh about the news regarding the number of dead in Puerto Rico: A new Harvard study estimates that nearly 5,000 people died in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria – a much larger number than the official government death toll of 64. https://t.co/Vkfv6S30vs — NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) May 29, 2018 And here is a bit of tRump foreign policy…in the works… But the funny thing is…this is just what China did with all those Ivanka trademarks and that tRump tower deal, innit? Enough of all this shit. Here are your cartoons: 05/29/2018 Cartoon by Bob Gorrell You have to go click the link to see that one…I suggest you do it! Trump and NFL offended by kneeling : 05/29/2018 Cartoon by David G. Brown They aren’t funny anymore… For Profits: 05/29/2018 Cartoon by Paul Fell Tap Dance: 05/28/2018 Cartoon by Ed Hall take a knee – NOT: 05/27/2018 Cartoon by Deb Milbrath Memorial Day 2018: 05/28/2018 Cartoon by Deb Milbrath NFL Anthem Policy: 05/27/2018 Cartoon by Adam Zyglis 05/27/2018 Cartoon by MStreeter Clay Bennett editorial cartoon: 05/27/2018 Cartoon by Clay Bennett Memorial Day: 05/27/2018 Cartoon by Rob Rogers How I wish…. I’m ending the post with news that Kim Kardashian is meeting with tRump and Kushner on prison reform. It seemed like the punchline to the start is another day in tRump hell. Tuesday Reads: Where is Melania? And Other News Posted: May 29, 2018 \| Author: bostonboomer \| Filed under: morning reads, U.S. Politics \| Tags: conspiracy theories, Deep State, Donald Trump, Robert Mueller, Russia investigation, Where is Melania? \| 37 Comments Dump trucks lined up around Trump Tower in NY. Good Afternoon!! What has happened to Melania? I’m becoming obsessed with this question. It has now been 18 days since she’s been seen in public on May 10. How much longer can the White House go on claiming she’s living there without evidence? The latest rumor is that she has gone back to New York. Melania surfaces in New York: Secret Service has confirmed that Melania Trump has moved back to New York for the "foreseeable future" . Agents are assigned to her New York detail. Costing us more $$$…. — Susan (@MsSusanMo) May 28, 2018 The evidence is that dump trucks have appeared all around Trump Tower. Apparently, that also happened the two times that Trump stayed in New York. Exactly. The 2 Times he stayed there they were all there. He snuck out in the middle of the night to avoid protestors too I remember. #LiarGate #LIEGATE #TrumpLiesMatter #Followthemoney pic.twitter.com/NYMO765aqS — Deke (@TapestryofPeace) May 28, 2018 The Inquistr reported yesterday that Melania’s Twitter location had changed to New York. But it turns out that they were looking at the Twitter account Melania used before becoming first lady. The FLOTUS account that she uses now still says Washington, DC. So that’s a red herring that was debunked by The Palmer Report. Why wasn’t Melania with her husband at yesterday’s Memorial Day ceremony? Michelle Obama accompanied her husband to the Arlington #MemorialDay observation. Why hasn't Melania? She's been missing for 18 days now. #WhereIsMelania pic.twitter.com/9LTJrBzvBd — Cornelia (@PaladinCornelia) May 28, 2018 Trump claimed she was in a window looking down at a press gaggle outside the White House, but no one else could see her. The White House is going to have to explain what’s happening eventually, or the occasional speculation is going become an uproar. This is from a gossip site linked by The Palmer Report. Hollywood Life: Melania Trump Vanished After Surgery – She Wishes Donald’s Presidency Was Over, Claims Source. Melania Trump, 48, underwent kidney surgery on May 14, and has since secluded herself from the public eye. But her break isn’t completely health-related – she’s also trying to better her marriage to Donald Trump, 71.“Melania has been taking a little ‘me time’ to work on fully regaining her health, and to try and strengthen her marriage again,” a source close to the First Lady tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “It’s been a hideously stressful past few months, and Melania needs a break out of the media glare to recharge her batteries and take stock.” However, our insider noted that the president isn’t making things easier for his wife. “Donald has been under an ever increasing ton of pressure, so he definitely isn’t in the best of moods, which makes for a pretty tense atmosphere at home,” the source continued. “Melania really is getting to the point now where she just wishes Donald’s presidency was over, and she can’t wait to return to her ‘regular’ life again, even though she realizes it will never be quite the same.” The Palmer Report claims this means Melania is having psychological problems. This confirms that there was never any kidney problem; this is some kind of mental health break. It’s been fairly obvious from the start that this has probably been a mental health issue, but due to the sensitive nature of the situation, we’ve gone out of our way not to explicitly say it. I’m not sure we can assume this based on an anonymous source quoted at a gossip site, but what else could explain her disappearance from public view? At this point, I have to believe that Melania wants out of her marriage and that’s why we haven’t seen her since May 10. We’ve seen how she resists holding his hand–sometimes even batting it away. This is interesting, from Riot Woman (second tweet in series): Interactions like this have been captured several times. This is January 19th, 2017. It's the day before the inauguration. Trump and Melania are in a room full of supporters. First he makes her agree that he's a nice person. She says she does not want to speak. Watch his hand. pic.twitter.com/KN7puZa9Ik — ☇RiotWomenn☇ (@riotwomennn) May 29, 2018 There’s more. You can see the entire thread here. One more from Sarah Kendzior: Trying to imagine the reaction if a previous president had a record of beating and raping his first wife, emotionally abusing his second wife, sexually assaulting multiple women…and then his third wife is abruptly hospitalized and not seen for 17 days and counting — Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) May 29, 2018 It’s time for some serious journalists at the NYT and WaPo to locate Melania and find out what’s going on. In Other News . . . A few days ago I posted a Politico article in which former SDNY prosecutor Nelson W. Cunningham offered some predictions about the Rus:sia investigation. Today he has more predictions, again at Politico: Bob Mueller’s White Hot Summer. Special Counsel Robert Mueller may well be in the final stages of wrapping up his principal investigation. Last week, I argued here in Politico that Mueller will want to avoid interfering with the November midterms, and so will try to conclude by July or August. On this one we can believe Trump’s new lawyer, former prosecutor and New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who claims Mueller’s target is September 1. How will Mueller wrap up his investigation? What will he produce? And then – what can we expect from the other players in this saga: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, President Trump and his lawyers, and the Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress? Nelson W. Cunningham As a former prosecutor and Senate Judiciary and White House lawyer who has carefully studied presidential investigations since Watergate, the next steps in this constitutional dance seem clear. Mark Twain was certainly right when he said, “History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” And this summer may well be the most consequential in presidential politics since 1974, the year Watergate came to a head. Here are the predictions, which you can read about in detail at the link above. – Mueller will not indict the president, but will issue a comprehensive and detailed report. – Rod Rosenstein will decide to release the report to Congress and the public. – Rosenstein’s move to release the Mueller report will lead to his firing and perhaps another Saturday Night Massacre. – And this is when the Senate and the Congress might finally engage. If Cunningham is correct, we have an interesting summer ahead. Trump is clearly obsessed with what Mueller is doing. He spent the long Memorial Day weekend tweeting about it. Yesterday, after inappropriately tweeting “Happy Memorial Day!” and then bragging about his so-called accomplishments, he sent multiple tweets about the Russia investigation, trying to twist it into a Democratic scandal. Politico: Trump pivoted to tweeting about Fox News segments on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election – an investigation that Trump and his allies contend, without evidence, was politically motivated to harm Trump’s campaign and his administration. “‘The President deserves some answers.’ @FoxNews in discussing ‘SPYGATE.’” Trump wrote on Twitter. The “president” is bald. Minutes later, he posted again: “‘Sally Yates is part of concerns people have raised about bias in the Justice Dept. I find her actions to be really quite unbelievable.’ Jonathan Turley.” “‘We now find out that the Obama Administration put the opposing campaigns presidential candidate, or his campaign, under investigation. That raises legitimate questions. I just find this really odd…this goes to the heart of our electoral system.’ Jonathan Turley on @FoxNews,” he added…. Trump appears increasingly obsessed with what he is calling “Spygate” – the notion that his campaign was surveilled by the Justice Department for political purposes. There is no evidence to suggest this is the case. The FBI utilized an informant to talk to campaign officials after they discovered evidence that the officials had Russia-linked contacts during the campaign, while Russia was allegedly waging a covert disinformation campaign to harm Democrat Hillary Clinton and help Trump. The NYT on Trump’s attempts to reshape the narrative: With ‘Spygate,’ Trump Shows How He Uses Conspiracy Theories to Erode Trust. As a candidate, Donald J. Trump claimed that the United States government had known in advance about the Sept. 11 attacks. He hinted that Antonin Scalia, a Supreme Court justice who died in his sleep two years ago, had been murdered. And for years, Mr. Trump pushed the notion that President Barack Obama had been born in Kenya rather than Honolulu, making him ineligible for the presidency. None of that was true. The “president’s” narrative Last week, President Trump promoted new, unconfirmed accusations to suit his political narrative: that a “criminal deep state” element within Mr. Obama’s government planted a spy deep inside his presidential campaign to help his rival, Hillary Clinton, win — a scheme he branded “Spygate.” It was the latest indication that a president who has for decades trafficked in conspiracy theories has brought them from the fringes of public discourse to the Oval Office. Now that he is president, Mr. Trump’s baseless stories of secret plots by powerful interests appear to be having a distinct effect. Among critics, they have fanned fears that he is eroding public trust in institutions, undermining the idea of objective truth and sowing widespread suspicions about the government and news media that mirror his own. “The effect on the life of the nation of a president inventing conspiracy theories in order to distract attention from legitimate investigations or other things he dislikes is corrosive,” said Jon Meacham, a presidential historian and biographer. “The diabolical brilliance of the Trump strategy of disinformation is that many people are simply going to hear the charges and countercharges, and decide that there must be something to them because the president of the United States is saying them.” Read the rest at the NYT. The Washington Post has a piece on the ways Trump has reduced the White House to a one-man operation: ‘The only one’: In new West Wing season, Trump calls the shots and aides follow. The White House communications director’s job has been vacant for exactly two months. But in practice, it has been filled since the day Hope Hicks said farewell to her unofficial replacement — President Trump himself. The president also has unofficially performed the roles of many other senior staffers in recent months, leaving the people holding those jobs to execute on his instincts and ideas. And that’s exactly how Trump likes his West Wing. Largely gone are the warring factions that dominated life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the first year of Trump’s term, replaced by solo players — many with personal connections to the president and their own miniature fiefdoms — laboring to do their jobs and survive. Trump has brought in a handful of senior people who believe in him personally, are temperamentally in sync with the brash boss and are invested in his political success more than some of his first-year aides were. As one top official put it, “Ultimately he’s the only one anyone elected.” The authors point out that this doesn’t seem to be working for him in terms of accomplishments. They also write that WH staff has been reduced to simply trying to stop him from doing something completely crazy. Rather than struggling to manipulate the president to follow their personal agendas, the senior staff members of Trump’s Year 2 — or “Season 3,” in Trump’s reality television parlance — focus on trying to curb his most outlandish impulses while generally executing his vision and managing whatever fallout may follow. Most of all, officials said, they “get” Trump. “Last year was the year of adjustment. He was constrained by an axis of adults and adjusting to be president,” said Thomas Wright, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “This year is the year of action. He’s giving the orders, even if there’s resistance. “Next year,” he continued, “is the hangover year, the year of living with the consequences.” That doesn’t sound too promising. Anyway, onward into another day of hoping Trump doesn’t blow up the world. What stories are you following? Memorial Day Reads Posted: May 28, 2018 \| Author: dakinikat \| Filed under: just because \| Tags: China, History, Memorial Day, trade wars \| 17 Comments It’s the Memorial Day Holiday! Sewell Chan writes for the NYT about the ‘unofficial’ history of Memorial Day. It is something we discovered and shared before but it bears repeating because it explains why the holiday still gets short shrift in here in the Deep South. It also explains why some Southern States still have a separate Confederate Memorial Day. I still remain shocked that Mississippi refused to recognize it as a holiday until recently. David W. Blight, a historian at Yale, has a different account. He traces the holiday to a series of commemorations that freed black Americans held in the spring of 1865, after Union soldiers, including members of the 21st United States Colored Infantry, liberated the port city of Charleston, S.C. Digging through an archive at Harvard, Dr. Blight found that the largest of these commemorations took place on May 1, 1865, at an old racecourse and jockey club where hundreds of captive Union prisoners had died of disease and been buried in a mass grave. The black residents exhumed the bodies and gave them proper burials, erected a fence around the cemetery, and built an archway over it with the words, “Martyrs of the Race Course.” Some 10,000 black people then staged a procession of mourning, led by thousands of schoolchildren carrying roses and singing the Union anthem “John Brown’s Body.” Hundreds of black women followed with baskets of flowers, wreaths and crosses. Black men, including Union infantrymen, also marched. A children’s choir sang spirituals and patriotic songs, including “The Star-Spangled Banner.” “The war was over, and Memorial Day had been founded by African-Americans in a ritual of remembrance and consecration,” Dr. Blight wrotein a 2011 essay for The New York Times. “The war, they had boldly announced, had been about the triumph of their emancipation over a slaveholders’ republic. They were themselves the true patriots.” The African-American origins of the holiday were later suppressed, Dr. Blight found, by white Southerners who reclaimed power after the end of Reconstruction and interpreted Memorial Day as a holiday of reconciliation, marking sacrifices — by white Americans — on both sides. Black Americans were largely marginalized in this narrative. “In the struggle over memory and meaning in any society, some stories just get lost while others attain mainstream recognition,” Dr. Blight wrote. His claim is not universally accepted; the fact-checking website Snopes says of the 1865 remembrance: “Whether it was truly the first such ceremony, and what influence (if any) it might have had on later observances, are still matters of contention.” Here is BostonBoomer’s blog from 2014 and Mink’s from 2012. We remember the role of slaves freed by the sacrifice of Union Soldiers in our Civil War in celebrating that sacrifice. I always remember Decoration Day because when I was very young we would do what my parents did as children. We went to small cemeteries in Kansas and Missouri to make certain the family grave sites were attended and clean. We picnicked and trimmed bushes then put peonies in jars on the graves of greats and cousins who died in war. For some reason, all of our family grave plots were resplendent with huge peony bushes. My mother always beat them back and would announce loudly how much she hated them. Peony bushes were not allowed any where near home. They were left to the dead in my family and they bloomed profusely each Memorial Day. In Caney Kansas, where my own grandparents are now buried, lays my Great Uncle Jack along side his mother, my Great Grandmother Anna. He didn’t die in the battlefields of Europe during World War 1 but came home with complications from Mustard Gas. He died quite young on the family farm but it was of his wounds brought home as a dough boy fighting in a trench. Many soldiers come home with wounds seen and unseen that eventually catch up to them. I never understood why I was told Dad’s Uncle Jack wasn’t quite included in the same way as those whose graves got the peonies properly but we gave him peonies because my Dad and Nana adored him and it felt right to me. Some times our country has a short memory with a narrow focus. It doesn’t really remember all of the sacrifices of those who came before us including every single slave who died unfree. Today, we also remember the sacrifice of every gold star family too. I hope Cadet Bonespurs plays golf and that his selfish, hateful face stays away from the one holiday he can truly sully with just his presence. Unfortunately, he left long enough to give a lofty speech at Arlington that should have been given by any better person. But, take heart, he still had a way of making it all about him! Serial lying psychopath Trump celebrates Memorial Day by saying dead soldiers would have loved his presidency https://t.co/E24vYr24L4 #MemorialDay — Bill Madden (@activist360) May 28, 2018 I read this article last night and even reviewed the variables and methodology of the original study. It’s amazing to actually review the panel data and see which attributes are significant to the question at hand but the findings are not surprising. NBC shares “The Trump effect: New study connects white American intolerance and support for authoritarianism.” A new study, however, suggests that the main threat to our democracy may not be the hardening of political ideology, but rather the hardening of one particular political ideology. Political scientists Steven V. Miller of Clemson and Nicholas T. Davis of Texas A&M have released a working paper titled “White Outgroup Intolerance and Declining Support for American Democracy.” Their study finds a correlation between white American’s intolerance, and support for authoritarian rule. In other words, when intolerant white people fear democracy may benefit marginalized people, they abandon their commitment to democracy. Miller and Davis used information from the World Values Survey, a research project organized by a worldwide network of social scientists which polls individuals in numerous countries on a wide range of beliefs and values. Based on surveys from the United States, the authors found that white people who did not want to have immigrants or people of different races living next door to them were more likely to be supportive of authoritarianism. For instance, people who said they did not want to live next door to immigrants or to people of another race were more supportive Iof the idea of military rule, or of a strongman-type leader who could ignore legislatures and election results. The World Values Survey data used is from the period 1995 to 2011 — well before Donald Trump’s 2016 run for president. It suggests, though, that Trump’s bigotry and his authoritarianism are not separate problems, but are intertwined. When Trump calls Mexicans “rapists,” and when he praises authoritarian leaders, he is appealing to the same voters. The Chinese Trade Wars are showing winners and losers already. Winners include Trump himself–and now, Ivanka– plus Chinese Companies including ones that threaten US National Security. The losers are US companies. We seem completely unable to stop this. Ivanka Trump’s brand continues to win foreign trademarks in China and the Philippines, adding to questions about conflicts of interest at the White House, The Associated Press has found. On Sunday, China granted the first daughter’s company final approval for its 13th trademark in the last three months, trademark office records show. Over the same period, the Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump’s company provisional approval for another eight trademark s, which can be finalized if no objections are raised during a three-month comment period. Taken together, the trademarks could allow her brand to market a lifetime’s worth of products in China, from baby blankets to coffins, and a host of things in between, including perfume, make-up, bowls, mirrors, furniture, books, coffee, chocolate and honey. Ivanka Trump stepped back from management of her brand and placed its assets in a family-run trust, but she continues to profit from the business. “Ivanka Trump’s refusal to divest from her business is especially troubling as the Ivanka brand continues to expand its business in foreign countries,” Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said in an email Monday. “It raises significant questions about corruption, as it invites the possibility that she could be benefiting financially from her position and her father’s presidency or that she could be influenced in her policy work by countries’ treatment of her business.” As Ivanka Trump and her father have built their global brands, largely through licensing deals, they have pursued trademarks in dozens of countries. Those global trademarks have drawn the attention of ethics lawyers because they are granted by foreign governments and can confer enormous value. Concerns about political influence have been especially sharp in China, where the courts and bureaucracy are designed to reflect the will of the ruling Communist Party. Chinese officials have emphasized that all trademark applications are handled in accordance with the law. More approvals are likely to come. Online records from China’s trademark office indicate that Ivanka Trump’s company last applied for trademarks — 17 of them — on March 28, 2017, the day before she took on a formal role at the White House. Those records on Monday showed at least 25 Ivanka Trump trademarks pending review, 36 active marks and eight with provisional approval. Don’t forget! Trump’s Indonesia project has been financial enhanced by the Chinese Government after he announced he would help with ZTE. China is definitely on the winning side with the Trumps. However, what about US Businesses? As Washington and Beijing try to resolve their trade disputes, several big companies are caught in the middle. One is Qualcomm (QCOM), an American chipmaker whose $44 billion purchase of NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), a Dutch company, has been waiting for Chinese regulators’ approval. Far more controversial is the case of ZTE (ZTCOF), the Chinese phone and telecom equipment maker that was crippled by a US export ban issued last monthin punishment for what the US said were violations of its sanctions against North Korea and Iran. Easing penalties on ZTE is a key priority for Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Trump has indicated he’s willing to yield in order to move ahead with further trade discussions. But members of Congress from both parties, many increasingly wary of China’s trade practices, believe such leniency would be a mistake. A growing number of senatorshave drawn a red line on ZTE, and have been vocal in recent days about their opposition to restoring the company. Are we winning yet? Meanwhile, TrumpsterFires continue to break out as white men go after our national “enemies” like young men from China attending school here. This must be an additional feature to calling the police because black people are going about their lives in clear view! California police say they thwarted a vigilante deportation attempt last week – in which a pilot allegedly kidnapped a foreign student, took him to an airport and tried to send him “back to China.” Jonathan McConkey, a pilot and certified flight instructor, is accused of orchestrating the kidnapping with his assistant, Kelsi Hoser, a ground instructor. Both reportedly worked at the IASCO flight training school in Redding, California. Among IASCO’s students were dozens of Chinese nationals with student visas, according to court records. KRCR News 7 reported that the school contracted with China’s civil aviation authority to train its new pilots, one of whom was apparently Tianshu Shi. Shi told reporters that he had been in the United States for about seven months – living with several other IASCO trainees at an apartment in Redding. It was there, police said, that McConkey and Hoser came for the student. Some interesting stats from Axios you can review. Which part of our country has lost the most on the battlefield since 9/11? Today is the 17th Memorial Day since 9/11. Since then, 6,940 U.S. military service members have died for America. Why it matters: Every part of the country has lost soldiers to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. All were Americans — someone’s neighbor, child, parent, mentor, buddy. Their average age was between 26 and 27 years old. Have a great day and be safe if you’re in the path of all that weather on the East coast and the panhandle of Florida!. Sunday Reads: Please @UNHumanRights investigate US for the inhumane treatment of children…missing, abused and imprisoned at the border… Posted: May 27, 2018 \| Author: Minkoff Minx \| Filed under: child sexual abuse, children, Civil Rights, Crime, Domestic terrorism, Donald Trump, Human Rights, ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement, immigration, indefinite detention, Injustice system, morning reads, open thread, physical abuse, Real Life Horror, Refugees, the GOP, tRump crimes against humanity, U.S. Politics, Violence against women, Women's Rights \| Tags: tRump lies lies lies \| 14 Comments I used the word US, for both the Country… the “U.S.” and the “us”…as in we people…this thing we call ourselves. Americans. What a disgrace! Kamala Harris calls for Trump officials to testify on policy separating migrant parents and children at border https://t.co/xNu734SRnn pic.twitter.com/KbC8a08iPE — The Hill (@thehill) May 26, 2018 Thank you Kamala. For giving a voice to these lost and abused and imprisoned children. Because the silence around you is deafening. From this Mashable link: We’ve become normalized to Trump’s tweets. Not this one. Nowadays, it takes a lot for Americans to become incensed about Trump’s tweets. We need at least one World War threat or nuclear weapon tangent to wake up and realize we’re seconds away from doomsday. The President still has that magical ability to completely eviscerate our joy. Take Saturday’s tweet, where Trump — in one of his worst lies yet — had the audacity to complain that Democrats were responsible for separating parents from their children at the border. This is the tweet of which they speak: That is an outright lie. The Mashable article also points to this tweet by Amee Vanderpool: Allegations of Human Rights violations are being made to the United Nations against the United States of America for the mis-treatment of migrant children who pose NO THREAT by Health and Human Services and Homeland Security. Let that sink in. #WhereAreTheChildren pic.twitter.com/Knzx1kDYWL — Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) May 26, 2018 This is a letter written to the Human Rights Branch of the UN, by the CEO of RINJ…an organization that: …RINJ Women as a Civil Society Organization seek sustainable human development from a position of perceived feminine helplessness rudely imposed on women by a patriarch to which women traditionally acquiesced.So yes, we rise up above the misconception of weakness to love & support women and children, especially the most vulnerable. While we strive for all our rights we encourage others to joinus. I am glad that this non-profit group is bringing this latest tRump administration atrocity to the attention of the UN. I just wish that there was some of those with more, and I am going to say it, power to move the UN to investigate the human rights crisis going on at our southern border. Where are the outcries and official demands for an investigation into human rights abuses from say, important Democrat congress people? Foreign policy wonks? Other nations? (As I write this, there has not been any commentary…btw, aside from Kamala Harris.) (Well, I am calling for an investigation myself…) Let's see some investigations into the Trump Administration…for crimes against humanity…and human rights abuses. #WhereAreTheChildren @UNHumanRights @IntlCrimCourt @amnesty — JJ Lopez Minkoff (@MinkoffMinx) May 27, 2018 Twitter has been busy, from the Mashable link up top: Now, social media is asking: #WhereAreTheChildren? The hashtag was a constant presence on Twitter all day on Saturday as people demanded answers on the missing children. https://twitter.com/Goss30Goss/status/1000482458381553671 .@amjoyshow: Trump’s Immigration policies: “Spliting up families & outright racist policies is a moral abomination. We need to be talking about this everyday. History will not judge anyone kindly who looked the other way” #WhereAreTheChildren pic.twitter.com/z140WbGwwJ — Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) May 26, 2018 Official US policy: Until 1865, rip African American children from their parents. From 1870s to 1970s, rip Native American children from their parents. Now, rip children of immigrants and refugees from their parents.#ThisIsAmerica ?! #WhereAreTheChildren — African American Research Collaborative (@AfAmResearch) May 26, 2018 Ripping young children away from their mothers is already beyond horrifying. But having some of the children sold into human trafficking is the greatest injustice this administration has ever done. It is a crime against humanity. #WhereAreTheChildren — Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 26, 2018 If you’re fine with undocumented children being ripped from their parents, put in concentration camps, and sold to sex traffickers, you don’t get to call yourself “pro-life.” — OhNoSheTwitnt (@OhNoSheTwitnt) May 26, 2018 The fact that there is as of now no massive, bipartisan national outrage at the separation of little kids from their parents by ICE may be the biggest, most depressing part of this whole wretched story. — Jeff Greenfield (@greenfield64) May 26, 2018 1,475 children. 1,475 children are missing. 1,475 children are missing due to the malicious incompetence of the US Gov after they were ripped away from their parents. This is ALL of America's shame, not just Trump's, ICE's or the GOP's. May history judge us accordingly. — Pé Resists (@4everNeverTrump) May 25, 2018 The Genocide Convention of 1948, tragically relevant in the U.S. in 2018 #WhereAreTheChildren #AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/94kyxwL7TY — elliot sperber (@elliot_sperber) May 26, 2018 That tweet there cites something of interest. Take a look at this: How the Court works –International Criminal Court Emphasis mine… The crimes The Court’s founding treaty, called the Rome Statute, grants the ICC jurisdiction over four main crimes. First, the crime of genocide is characterised by the specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members or by other means: causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. There is also this: Second, the ICC can prosecute crimes against humanity, which are serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population. The 15 forms of crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute include offences such as murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery, torture, apartheid and deportation. The two other crimes the court can prosecute, war crimes and crimes of aggression can be found at the link above. I am mostly concerned with the first two. Genocide and crimes against humanity: Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group- Imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery…deportation- Almost 1,500 Migrant Children Placed in Homes by the U.S. Government Went Missing Last Year Federal officials lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children last year after a government agency placed the minors in the homes of adult sponsors in communities across the country, according to testimony before a Senate subcommittee Thursday. The Health and Human Services Department has a limited budget to track the welfare of vulnerable unaccompanied minors, and realized that 1,475 children could not be found after making follow-up calls to check on their safety, an agency official said. Federal officials came under fire two years ago after rolling back child protection policies meant for minors fleeing violence in Central America. In a follow-up hearing on Thursday, senators said that the agencies had failed to take full responsibility for their care and had delayed crucial reforms needed to keep them from falling into the hands of human traffickers. A few more examples to prove that tRump and his Administration, as well as anyone who does not officially speak out against this is complicit in crimes against humanity: Read this headline. Read it again. We need to be shouting about this! Under new orders from Sessions, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is already separating parents and children at the border, with no clear answer for when they will be reunited: https://t.co/KUQ7ToFr5S — The Hummingbird 🐦 (@SaysHummingbird) May 26, 2018 “Somewhere in Texas” “They placed 18 MONTH OLD in a federal shelter. Where? [his father] didn’t know. 3 mths later he was deported. His child, agents told him, was “somewhere in Texas.” “I cried. I begged..No one could tell me.” #WhereAreTheChildren https://t.co/kMxrgKhark — Gabriela Domenzain (@GabiDomenzain) May 25, 2018 Border Patrol Kicked, Punched Migrant Children, Threatened Some with Sexual Abuse, ACLU Alleges Migrant children under the care of United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were allegedly beaten, threatened with sexual violence and repeatedly assaulted while in custody between 2009 and 2014, according to a report released Wednesday from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the International Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. Based on 30,000 pages of documents obtained through a records request, the report includes gruesome, detailed accusations of physical and mental abuse at the hands of officers. The claims were filed by unaccompanied minors, most of whom hailed from El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. CBP officials have contested large swaths of the report, telling Newsweek that many of the allegations have been investigated and are “false.” Border authorities were accused of kicking a child in the ribs and forcing a 16-year-old girl to “spread her legs” for an aggressive body search. Other children accused officers of punching a child in the head three times, running over a 17-year-old boy and denying medical care to a pregnant teen, who later had a stillbirth. Mitra Ebadolahi, ACLU Border Litigation Project staff attorney, said the allegations describe a law enforcement system “marked by brutality and lawlessness.” The organization also accused Border Protection officials of failing to “meaningfully investigate” the allegations detailed in the public records. I know this is a repeat…but follow this thread: DHS sent children to homes where they were abused. And HHS admits there is lax follow-up because, one presumes, there are not enough workers allocated to do the job.#WhereAreTheChildren pic.twitter.com/wd4F1mntRM — Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) May 26, 2018 Remember the outrage over the Bolo Harem girls? Even Michelle Obama tweeted to #BringBackOurGirls. Terrorists took those schoolgirls. Our government agencies took these kids. This story was broken over a month ago by NPR. Why no hashtag then? #WhereAreTheChildren pic.twitter.com/UE9uXTg6wq PBS has confirmed that some of these children have been released to HUMAN TRAFFICKERS by the US government.https://t.co/muz4lCQXcD — Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) May 25, 2018 'You killed her' Indigenous Guatemalan woman shot dead by US Border Patrol https://t.co/W2CxF562bG pic.twitter.com/qsDIW3T1Gr — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 26, 2018 ACLU: Border agents physically abused migrant children https://t.co/UPz56VeixC pic.twitter.com/9lmYVXcjPH Please watch this and share it https://t.co/OPgLx2Omhz — Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 26, 2018 And don’t forget that ICE has requested to destroy the complaints of sexual abuse since last year: ICE Plans to Start Destroying Records of Immigrant Abuse, Including Sexual Assault and Deaths in Custody \| American Civil Liberties Union Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently asked the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA), which instructs federal agencies on how to maintain records, to approve its timetable for retaining or destroying records related to its detention operations. This may seem like a run-of-the-mill government request for record-keeping efficiency. It isn’t. An entire paper trail for a system rife with human rights and constitutional abuses is at stake. 1,224 Complaints Reveal a Staggering Pattern of Sexual Abuse in Immigration Detention. Half of Those Accused Worked for ICE. The reports obtained by The Intercept include 1,224 complaints filed between 2010 and September 2017, primarily about incidents that took place in ICE custody. But in earlier responses, officials with the DHS Office of Inspector General indicated that the office received some 33,000 complaints between 2010 and 2016 alleging a wide range of abuses in immigration detention. The OIG provided records documenting investigations for just 2 percent of the complaints it shared with The Intercept. But the sheer number of complaints — despite serious obstacles in the path of those filing them, as well as the patterns they reveal about mistreatment in facilities nationwide — suggest that sexual assault and harassment in immigration detention are not only widespread but systemic, and enabled by an agency that regularly fails to hold itself accountable. While the reports obtained by The Intercept are only a fraction of those filed, they shed light on a system that operates largely in secrecy, and they help hint at the magnitude of the abuse, and the incompetence and complicity of the agency tasked with the safety of the 40,000 women, men, and children it detains each day in more than 200 jails, prisons, and detention centers across the country. Not sure if they are actually destroying the complaints….The New ICE Age: An Agency Unleashed \| by Tina Vasquez \| NYR Daily \| The New York Review of Books More stories of ICE’s growing powers and abuses continue to emerge. This includes ICE’s push to become an intelligence agency, which would grant the agency unprecedented access to vastly more information, and it request to destroy records of in-custody deaths and sexual assaults—both of which measures have received support from the Trump administration. There are growing signs that the agency is not just flexing its new muscles, but has gone rogue. In Philadelphia alone, according to reporting by ProPublica, there have been numerous allegations of ICE agents’ engaging in racial profiling, conducting warrantless searches, detaining people without probable cause, fabricating evidence, and, in one instance, soliciting a bribe. The former senior DHS official I spoke with said his “overarching fear” is that, with Trump’s help, ICE is laying the groundwork for institutionalizing its independence, making it immune from Washington oversight: in essence, each ICE field office would operate as its own district with its own rules. If ICE acquires that sort of autonomy and power, it will be incredibly difficult to restore oversight, control, and accountability to the elected federal government in Washington, D.C. “The American public needs to begin wrapping its head around the disproportionate political power that ICE wields,” said the former DHS official. “The most extreme environment isn’t extreme enough for them. Under Trump, ICE can do more damage than we’ve ever seen.” The best thing would be for you to read that entire New York Book Review article…by Tina Vasquez. There is a lot of information there, from the immigrants point of view. Please take a look and read it. I think that covers many of the crimes the ICC can prosecute…I would like to see some investigations into the Trump Administration…for crimes against humanity…and human rights abuses. It is too disgusting to go on with the post, the rest of today’s thread is cartoons. That disgusting uh…disrespectful treatment of the US Flag are a men’s bathing suit found at my local Walmart. Bruce Plante Cartoon: Harvey Weinstein gets arrested: 05/26/2018 Cartoon by Bruce Plante 05/26/2018 Cartoon by David Cohen 05/26/2018 Cartoon by Joel Pett Fear and loathing : 05/25/2018 Cartoon by Ed Hall 05/25/2018 Cartoon by Signe Wilkinson Finally, I want to end with this, ‘I’m not reading any more of these — they’re lies’: MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace refuses to read Trump tweets on air MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace, said President Donald Trump’s lies are getting out of control and they are more like “fairy tales and fantasy” at this point. On Friday afternoon, Wallace began catching up with Trump’s latest early morning tweet storm, reading them to her panel and viewers at home. “It started with Donald Trump making up about the FBI spies implanted in his campaign,” Wallace said. “It exploded to the point where the Justice Department had to brief lawmakers about what actually happened. And finally today, after those classified meetings where the only public statements we’ve heard have shot down the original allegation, the conspiracy theory seems to have been largely debunked for everyone but Donald Trump and his allies.” Wallace then read off President Trump’s tweets about Russia. You can go to the link to read the lying sack of shit’s tweets. However, before she could finish reading the tweets, Wallace paused and said: “I’m not reading anymore of this, these are bold face lies.” I wish more media people would do exactly what she did. Lazy Saturday Reads: Where Are The Children? And Where is Melania? Posted: May 26, 2018 \| Author: bostonboomer \| Filed under: morning reads, U.S. Politics \| 14 Comments About two dozen people, mostly Guatemalan parents and their children, waiting to seek asylum in the U.S., in Nogales. Arizona Trying to survive the Trump administration is so exhausting and overwhelming. I know I’m far from alone in these feelings. But how much longer can we go on like this? Trump is a master of gaslighting, and he never hesitates to escalate his lies and his efforts to pull all of us down the rabbit hole with him. Yesterday was a terrible day, as Americans woke up to the horror that Trump is perpetrating on people seeking asylum in our country–ripping parents from their children and then either losing track of the children or even handing them over to human traffickers. PBS Frontline: Steven Wagner, the acting assistant secretary of the agency’s Administration for Children and Families, faced a barrage of questions from senators on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations over why HHS does not track unaccompanied minors who fail to appear at their immigration court hearings. The agency has faced increased scrutiny following a scathing 2016 report from the committee that found it failed to protect unaccompanied minors from traffickers and other abuses. Claudia Gómez González, a young woman from Guatemala, was shot in the head by a border patrol agent near Laredo, TX, yesterday. “It’s just a system that has so many gaps, so many opportunities for these children to fall between the cracks, that we just don’t know what’s going on — how much trafficking or abuse or simply immigration law violations are occurring,” said the committee’s Republican chairman, Sen. Rob Portman. In 2014, at least 10 trafficking victims, including eight minors, were discovered during a raid by federal and local law enforcement in Portman’s home state of Ohio. As FRONTLINE examined in the recent documentary Trafficked in America, HHS had released several minors to the traffickers. The committee said the case was due to policies and procedures that were “inadequate to protect the children in the agency’s care.” After unaccompanied minors arrive in the United States, often to reunite with family members or to flee violence or poverty in their home countries, they are typically transferred from border patrol or customs officers to the custody of HHS, which often reunites the minors with a relative or another sponsor. The department is supposed to place check-in phone calls 30 days after a minor’s placement, but during the hearing, Wagner acknowledged gaps in that system. Between October 2016 and December 2017, he said, the agency was unable to locate almost 1,500 out of the 7,635 minors that it attempted to reach — or about 19 percent. Over two dozen had run away, according to Wagner, who said the agency did not have the capacity to track them down. This morning, Trump was gaslighting again, blaming Democrats for what his ICE agents are doing. Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there parents once they cross the Border into the U.S. Catch and Release, Lottery and Chain must also go with it and we MUST continue building the WALL! DEMOCRATS ARE PROTECTING MS-13 THUGS. Two responses: This is a despicable tweet. Trump’s constant lying laid the groundwork for this type of political strategy, wherein any time his administration is called out for inhumane behavior he blames the media, the Democrats, or both, and his supporters believe it. https://t.co/KlEvLSYWTY — Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) May 26, 2018 With Trump, it's always hard to tell, but there is an alternate possible reading here. Trump is saying that the family separations will continue until he gets his way on immigration policy changes. He'll keep harming the kids until Democrats capitulate to all his policy demands. https://t.co/GgaOhmQYD1 — Susan Simpson (@TheViewFromLL2) May 26, 2018 I’m going with Susan Simpson. Trump is have one of his patented public tantrums, threatening to hurt children and their families until he gets his way. This man is evil. In case you missed it, here is a video report from Chris Hayes’s show last night. "this is unprecedented, this is the worst thing I've seen in 25+ years of doing this civil rights work" — ACLU immigrant rights lawyer https://t.co/L1P0y3aOQE — ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper) May 26, 2018 Without a doubt, this is the most important story for Americans to know about. This is being done in our name, and we must stop it. This is what Hitler did, as he gradually dehumanized Jews, referring to them as “vermin.” Trump is doing that too–calling refugees and immigrants “animals.” Check out this solid read here. Some in the media have tried to excuse Trump by claiming he was only referring to gang members; but it’s clear he means all immigrants. From the Washington Post: Immigrant advocates have long said that the children, primarily from Central America, are fleeing violence in their home countries and seeking safe harbor in the United States. But the Trump administration has used their plight to justify cracking down on policies that allow these migrants to be released and obtain hearings before immigration judges, rather than being deported immediately. “We have the worst immigration laws of any country, anywhere in the world,” Trump said at the roundtable held at the Morrelly Homeland Security Center. “They exploited the loopholes in our laws to enter the country as unaccompanied alien minors.” Trump added: “They look so innocent. They’re not innocent.” Jews were forced to wear yellow stars. Trump is forcing parents who have just had their children torn from them to wear yellow bracelets. Tucson.com: Alma Jacinto covered her eyes with her hands as tears streamed down her cheeks. The 36-year-old from Guatemala was led out of the federal courtroom without an answer to the question that brought her to tears: When would she see her boys again? Jacinto wore a yellow bracelet on her left wrist, which defense lawyers said identifies parents who are arrested with their children and prosecuted in Operation Streamline, a fast-track program for illegal border crossers. Moments earlier, her public defender asked the magistrate judge when Jacinto would be reunited with her sons, ages 8 and 11. There was no clear answer for Jacinto, who was sentenced to time served on an illegal-entry charge after crossing the border with her sons near Lukeville on May 14. We should be protesting in the streets until someone in Trump’s orbit convinces him the policy is hurting him. We know he has no shame, and we know John Kelly has no shame; but surely there is someone around Trump who isn’t a raging psychopath. Nickolas Kristof wrote on April 25: Why Does Trump Treat Immigrant Kids Cruelly? Because He Can. A lifetime ago, Anne Frank’s family applied for visas to the United States to escape Hitler, but we rejected the Franks and other desperate Jewish refugees. We thought: This is Europe’s problem, not ours, and we don’t want to be overrun by “those people.” Today President Trump is again slamming the door on desperate refugees. Indeed, the Trump administration is going a step further by wrenching children from the arms of asylum-seekers, apparently as a way of inflicting gratuitous cruelty to discourage new arrivals. José Demar Fuentes, a 30-year-old college graduate, arrived in November with his 1-year-old son, Mateo, from El Salvador, where Fuentes was on a gang’s execution list, according to his lawyer, Noreen Barcena. Father and son entered the United States legally, presenting themselves to an immigration officer, providing birth certificates and other documentation, and requesting asylum to save their lives. Several days later, immigration officers came and took Mateo. “They basically pried my client’s son from his arms and told him that he had to give up his son,” Barcena told me. “They were both crying.” Esteban Pastor, 29, hoped Border Patrol agents would free him and his 18-month-old son while they fought their deportation case. Instead the father was imprisoned for crossing the border illegally and his toddler was placed in federal foster care. For months, Pastor said he didnt know what had happened to his son and he was deported to Guatemala without him last October (Houston Chronicle). This cannot stand. I hope Robert Mueller is getting ready for more indictments, and that he has carefully planned ahead for the day when Trump finds a way to get rid of him. People who have worked with him say he likely has reports prepared to release and other prosecutors who can carry on the fight. The latest stories on the Trump/Russia front, in case you haven’t already read them: Michael Isakoff at Yahoo News: ‘Trump’s son should be concerned’: FBI obtained wiretaps of Putin ally who met with Trump Jr. Wired: Former Trump Campaign Aide: My Russia Ties Are Not Nefarious! Politico: Manafort’s ex-son-in-law’s attorneys quit over unpaid bills and ‘lack of candor.’ CNN: Russian oligarch met with Michael Cohen at Trump Tower during transition. Mother Jones: Roger Stone to Associate: “Prepare to Die.” Jack Shaeffer at Politico: Week 53: Trump Goes Spy Hunting and Gets Skunked. Has anyone seen Melania Trump? Where is she? “She hasn’t been seen in public for two weeks.” The Washington Post: First lady Melania Trump, who spent five nights in the hospital following a kidney procedure, has been out of public view for 15 days running — an unusually long absence even for a first lady who relishes life outside the spotlight. The first lady was last seen on May 10 standing alongside her husband at Joint Base Andrews as the couple greeted three Americans who had been released from prison in North Korea. On May 14, the White House announced that she had undergone a successful embolization procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to treat a benign kidney condition. Although medical experts have said the kind of procedure the first lady had typically requires only a night’s hospitalization, White House and East Wing aides have said nothing more about her condition and instead asked for privacy. Someone on Twitter said she had gone from the hospital to her parents’ home in Maryland. I don’t know if that’s true, but Trump claims she’s in the White House now. Friday morning, a reporter shouted a question to the president about a his wife’s whereabouts as he prepared to board Marine One to attend the Naval Academy commencement. According to a pool report, President Trump responded by pointing to a window in the White House residence, and said: “She’s doing great. She’s looking at us right there.” Reporters turned to look at the spot he indicated, but there was no sign of the first lady. What’s going on? From The Palmer Report (yes, I know it’s sort of a gossip site): Melania Trump has gone missing. Melania Trump is missing. There’s no other way to put it. She disappeared into the hospital under suspicious circumstances, the White House ended up refusing to explain what was going on, Donald Trump then claimed she had returned home, and no one has seen her since. Now a particularly bizarre stunt today by Donald Trump raises even more questions about where Melania is, and why…. Something serious is going on, and if it were the kind of health issue they could talk about, they’d just tell us. Instead the White House claimed Melania was going to be in the hospital for multiple days for a “kidney procedure” that shouldn’t have taken that long. Then, when she was still missing in action after the initially stated timeframe had come and gone, the White House refused to answer the media’s questions about whether she was even still in the hospital. Now it’s gotten even weirder, thanks to her husband…. it’s fair to assume he’s lying about Melania being in the White House at all. Where the heck is she? Why is she hiding? Whatever has happened to her, it’s the kind of thing that the White House clearly can’t talk about. If the Washington Post is asking questions and publishing stories about this, other outlets will soon be doing the same, and the White House is going to have to explain her absence from public view. I hope Barron is OK. So . . . what do you think? What stories have you been following? Friday Reads: What Kind of Country do We Really want to Be? Posted: May 25, 2018 \| Author: dakinikat \| Filed under: Afternoon Reads \| Tags: another school shooting \| 39 Comments Good Morning Sky Dancers! What kind of country are we? What kind of moron parent leaves guns around so a 13 year old can grab them to shoot his teacher and a girl in his class? Both are in critical condition and the shooter is in custody. Let’s make bets on this girl and teacher trying to stop him from toxic male behavior which is now being mislabeled ‘bullying’ because some dads teach their sons to be predators? Two people are in critical condition and a shooter is in custody after a shooting inside of Noblesville West Middle School. The Noblesville Police Department said the call first came in at 9:06 a.m. Two people were shot, a 13-year-old girl and a teacher. They are in critical condition. A male student was detained and taken into custody. The teacher that was shot while taking down the shooter and was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital. The teen was taken to Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health. Families have been notified. Additionally, another student is being treated at Riverview Health with a fractured ankle. “There a male student at Noblesville West Middle School who has been detained,” said Kevin Jowitt, Noblesville Chief of Police. “We believe he is the involved suspect. We have no reason to believe that there is any kind of a threat connected to this anywhere else.” After the shooting, a SWAT team swept the building. News 8 spoke with one parent, Chad, who had just learned that his daughter was safe. “Well, my ex-wife called me and she was hysterical and couldn’t even talk,” he said. “And I had to calm her down and what’s going on. All she said there was shooting at my kid’s school. My daughter called her while it was happening from underneath the desk and it sounded like it was coming from another hallway.” One victim is a 13-year-old girl. One victim is a teacher that was shot while taking down the shooter. The adult was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital. The teen was taken to Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health. Families have been notified. It’s impossible to wonder how far the depths of Republican Party immorality can go. ” The teacher was shot while taking down the shooter.” Is that the new central job duty for teachers now? Police classrooms for kids of parents who are ammosexuals? The teachers of Indiana have released a statement that says they want no thoughts and prayers. They want action! The Indiana State Teachers Association released a statement following the shooting: “Our hearts go out to the students, educators, families and community members of Noblesville who this morning faced a senseless act of gun violence at Noblesville West Middle School. We understand at least one student and an adult may be injured, and we are praying for the best. This national crisis has landed in our backyard. We all have a responsibility to keep our kids safe from violence, and it’s unconscionable that they live in fear that one day their school may be next. When is enough, enough? Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough to keep our students and educators safe. We need to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous people. We now know that it is up to communities, families, activists, educators and the students themselves to stand up and demand that those who are trusted with protecting them do their jobs.” Exactly, enough should be enough. But, hey, the party of “family values” values indentured servitude too. Tax dollars are being used to turn aides into virtual servants. Freshman Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) and his wife turned the congressman’s staff into personal servants, multiple former aides told POLITICO — assigning them tasks from grocery shopping to fetching the congressman’s clothes to caring for their pet dog, all during work hours. POLITICO has spoken with four former staffers who detailed a deeply dysfunctional office, where the congressman and his wife, Flanna, often demanded that staff run personal errands outside their typical congressional duties. The couple called on staff to pick up groceries, chauffeur Garrett’s daughters to and from his Virginia district, and fetch clothes that the congressman forgot at his Washington apartment. They were even expected to watch and clean up after Sophie, their Jack Russell-Pomeranian mix, the aides said. The staffers said feared that if they refused Garrett or his wife’s orders — both were known for explosive tempers — they would struggle to advance in their careers. It wasn’t just full-time staff: many of the allegedly inappropriate requests were made of interns, the former aides said. “I didn’t know who I was working for: was I working for him? Was I working for her?” said one of those staffers who, like others interviewed for this story, asked not to be named for fear of retribution. “We became their gofers.” It all comes from the top of the rotting head of the fish. This WAPO Op-Ed is from former Republican Jennifer Ruben. The hypocrisy, greed, and love of power sends a stench smelled round the world. Speaking at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) pronounced that “there is a deeply serious problem we see right now within our society.” What might that be? “We see moral relativism becoming more and more pervasive in our culture,” he declared. “Identity politics and tribalism have grown on top of this. All of it has been made more prevalent by 21st-century technology. And there is plenty of money to be made on making it worse.” One doesn’t know whether to laugh, cry or scream. Ryan’s lecturing about truth and tribalism comes the day after the president’s lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, literally said “truth is relative“; during an episode in which the president has made up a fake scandal about the FBI “spying on his campaign”; and in an administration in which the president has lied more than 3,000 timessince taking office. Ryan denounces tribalism but supports the efforts of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) to smear the FBI and interfere with a legitimate investigation of the president and his cronies. Ryan denounces money in politics as we learn the president’s lawyer Michael Cohen had a lucrative business hitting up corporations and foreign governments for money. Ryan grouses about moral relativism but did not support a resolution condemning the president’s comparison of neo-Nazis to anti-Nazi protesters, because doing so would have just devolved into partisanship or something. Speaking of money in politics, has Ryan called for a single hearing on the president’s foreign emoluments? On the Trump family’s conflicts of interest? On Jared Kushner’s receipt of two jumbo loans shortly after he met with principals of the lenders? What would you expect from a man who considers ‘The Virtue of Selfishness” to be his personal moral guide? There is, of course, no doubt our President and all around him are corrupt as hell. Eleven days before the presidential inauguration last year, a billionaire Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin visited Trump Tower in Manhattan to meet with Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, according to video footage and another person who attended the meeting. In Mr. Cohen’s office on the 26th floor, he and the oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, discussed a mutual desire to strengthen Russia’s relations with the United States under President Trump, according to Andrew Intrater, an American businessman who attended the meeting and invests money for Mr. Vekselberg. The men also arranged to see one another at the inauguration, the second of their three meetings, Mr. Intrater said. Days after the inauguration, Mr. Intrater’s private equity firm, Columbus Nova, awarded Mr. Cohen a $1 million consulting contract, a deal that has drawn the attention of federal authorities investigating Mr. Cohen, according to people briefed on the inquiry Why would any one vote for a candidate that requires a ‘fixer’ and who has so many mob ties? How can any one defend this let alone any one sworn to uphold the US Constitution? How can any person who has to work for a living support this kind of policy? ⚡️ The gift that keeps on giving (to corporate America)https://t.co/qWXln00A52 — Bloomberg Opinion (@bopinion) May 25, 2018 Or any parent support this kind of policy? Defending the border by pulling children from the arms of their parents is brutal, immoral and un-American https://t.co/0IKf0u8gOS pic.twitter.com/9TJiu0Y6B4 And why are these children still missing? The Trump administration recently announced a new, get-tough policy that will separate parents from their children if the family is caught crossing the border illegally. It was a big news story. So big it overshadowed the fact that the federal government has lost — yes, lost — 1,475 migrant children in its custody. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told Congress that within 48 hours of being taken into custody the children are transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services, which finds places for them to stay. “They will be separated from their parent,” said Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. “Just like we do in the United States every day,” Nielsen replie Except that the states, unlike the federal government, have systems in place to better screen the people who become guardians of the children and much better ways to keep track of those children. And not lose them. That is what happened to 1,475 minors swept up at the border and taken into custody by the federal government. Is this how a great nation treats its chidren? Is this the kind of life we want children to have in this country? We have a law enforcement crisis. But, it’s not related to the FBI is investigating the Treason curious President. It’s how law enforcement treats racial and ethnic minorities in this country. Republicans, touting themselves as the party of law and order, have long aligned themselves with the law-enforcement and intelligence communities. Just before the presidential election, Trump’s newest lawyer and spokesman Rudy Giuliani defended the FBI against criticism about the agency’s handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. FBI agents “don’t look at it politically,” he said at the time. He frequently touted his ties to the bureau, and claimed to have insider knowledge. In an interview with CNN, in August 2016, Giuliani said FBI agents “talk to me all the time.” In another interview with Fox, days before the election, Giuliani said the FBI agents were “outraged” with Comey’s handling of the Clinton probe. In a radio interview unearthed by The Daily Beast, Giuliani described “a kind of revolution going on inside the FBI” among agents who he claimed disagreed with the decision to clear Clinton of criminal charges. The intelligence community frequently tries to position itself as apolitical, but public opinion of intelligence agencies has in recent decades been clearly divided on partisan lines. Those views have clearly shifted. Gallup polling late last year found that about half of Republicans said the FBI does an excellent or good job, down 13 percentage points since 2014. At the same time, the polling for Democrats who said the FBI does a good or excellent job was up nine points to 69 percent, compared with 60 percent in 2014. “The partisan shift in views suggests Trump’s and other Republicans’ efforts to cast doubt on the FBI’s professionalism and portray it as a partisan agency have been somewhat successful among their supporters,” Gallup’s RJ Reinhart wrote. In the 22 months since the FBI launched its counterintelligence investigation into potential coordination between members of Trump’s campaign and Russia, Trump has attacked his own intelligence and law-enforcement communities far more often than he has condemned Moscow for its election interference. The president has chided the FBI, former FBI Director James Comey, Mueller, the Russia “witch hunt,” and the “deep state” in more than four dozen tweets since April alone. He used Twitter to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first and only time on April 8. On March 21, Trump tweeted: “Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good thing, not a bad thing.” On April 2, he called the FBI and Justice Department’s desire to withhold sensitive information related to the ongoing investigation “an embarrassment to our country This is what runs for office in Trump and Ryan’s party of “family values”: ‘GOP House candidate in Illinois is a 9/11 truther, said Beyonce had ties to the Illuminati.’ They are the country’s unhinged and the country’s most extreme religionists. The Republican nominee for a US House seat in Illinois has said the September 11 terrorist attacks were an inside job and that singer Beyonce Knowles has ties to the Illuminati. Bill Fawell is running against incumbent Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos in Illinois’ 17th District, where she won by 20 points in 2016 even though the district also voted narrowly for Donald Trump. Fawell won his uncontested primary in March. He has not reported any fundraising to the Federal Election Commission, per publicly available records. A KFile review reveals Fawell, a real estate broker, pushed conspiracy theories in blogs and his 2012 book, “New American Revolution.” In his book, Fawell pushed a conspiracy theory that 7 World Trade Center collapsed as part of a controlled demolition and the attacks were a plot to destroy documents. “Go to YouTube and punch in ‘Building #7’ It’s the third building that went down with the twin towers on 9/11,” Fawell wrote. “Nothing hit this building, not a thing, and it fell entirely upon its own. If it looks like a standard commercial implosion demolition, it’s because that is exactly what it is.” “It’s interesting to note that the clandestine branch of the CIA was housed on the top floor,” he added. “No personnel were lost, but any and all documents were destroyed, just like a giant shredder. The Pentagon was hit in a wing being remodeled (but few people), that held a mountain of paperwork regarding 1 trillion dollars which the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, was having trouble accounting for. That mountain of paperwork became a pile of ash.” In a February 2013 post on the blog of a political action committee he established in 2012 called Elect a New Congress, Fawell said that Beyonce’s husband, rapper Jay-Z, “has a long history of serving up the godless Illuminati” and shared a YouTube video that speculated that Beyonce’s upcoming halftime performance at the Super Bowl would have Illuminati symbolism. The Illuminati is a secret society that serves as the basis for a popular conspiracy theory that alleges that many of the world’s leaders and celebrities are masterminding world events. In the same blog post, Fawell said that the previous Super Bowl’s halftime show, performed by Madonna, was satanic and influenced by the Illuminati. He also called Madonna a “narcissist skank with the crooked teeth.” In an interview with CNN, Fawell stood by his blog posts and the theories he espoused on them. He said that Jay-Z and Beyonce expressed their support for the Illuminati in their videos, and that singer Taylor Swift had as well. But, such is the life of any one that only listens to Trump and Fox News. “Fox’s favorite new pro-gun pundit is a birther who hates gay people” and just happens to be a black man. This is from Oliver Willis at share blue. Fox News and the NRA are promoting a pro-gun birther pundit who says gay people are “devil-worshipping child molesters,” black Democrats are “slaves,” the student survivors of the Parkland shooting are “silly little immature media prosti-tots,” and Michelle Obama is a man. Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt is so impressed by him, she suggested he run for office. Video of Mark Keith Robinson’s angry rant to his city council in North Carolina has gone viral over the last few days, assisted by the right-wing media, the NRA, and even a Republican member of Congress. But Robinson has a slew of social media posts that quickly reveal him to be an extremist with bizarre theories and a burning hatred for the survivors of the Parkland school shooting. A quick visit to Robinson’s Facebook account, where he shows off his NRA hat and touts his membership in the organization, would have exposed his strange rantings. They were not hard to find. He believes a “big push to Marxist Socialism” is underway in America, and that “hammering of the NRA” and how stories about mass shooters are reported are evidence of this conspiracy. Robinson wrote that “since the end of World War Two this nation has been slowly poisoned” with “the poison of the Marxist” in “school, in the news, in the movies and television, in music, and even in church.” He described the teenage activists who organized the March for Our Lives after the Parkland shooting as “silly little immature media prosti-tots” who “need to grab a passy (sic), have seat in time out, and shut up.” The students are “simply making irritating noise” when they call for reforms to reduce gun violence, he claimed. How have we gotten to the point where on group of people actually do nothing all day but listen to a “news” channel that pushes nothing but conspiracy theories? What happens to a country when the press has to daily cover a president who lies and creates his own conspiracy theories like the current “the deep state and Obama planted spies in my campaign?” This is how conservative media transformed a small news item into a full-blown conspiracy theory that the president (apparently) believes to be true. The plot goes like this: During the summer of 2016, on the clandestine orders of then-president Barack Obama, the FBI and CIA hatched an ambitious plan to topple the Trump campaign from the inside. In a scandal of unprecedented scope, Democratic politicians commandeered American counterintelligence resources to spy on their primary political opponent and boost Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the election. The Russia investigation that has dominated headlines for nearly two years is, in fact, a desperate smokescreen conjured up by terrified Deep State actors to conceal evidence of their own wrongdoing, and to frame the president for heinous crimes he didn’t commit. On May 8, The Washington Post reported on the White House’s decision to back the Justice Department’s withholding of information from House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, on the grounds that disclosure would expose the identity of “a U.S. citizen who has provided information to the FBI and CIA.” The authors added, though, that the individual had been a source of information used by the special counsel’s office—and that it was unclear whether Trump knew this “key fact” when his administration chose to side with law enforcement. It didn’t take long for him to find out. Almost immediately, the right-wing-media ecosystem began laundering and repackaging this news item, weaving its constituent elements together with Trumpian talking points until a full-blown conspiracy theory worthy of the president’s tweets emerged on the other side. This metamorphosis is what would happen if a word cloud sourced from a Trump rally were used in a giant game of telephone—but one in which the gibberish end result were then broadcast as news to hundreds of millions of recipients. Go read the article at GQ. It’s a tick tock of how Fox and the Russian Potted Plant blew up the story into a full blow pack of lies. At Vox, we have this: “Spygate,” the false allegation that the FBI had a spy in the Trump campaign, explained Stefan Halper, a professor and FBI informant, didn’t “spy” on Trump. Here’s what actually happened.” Read it and arrive at this scary conclusion: On this, Trump has a point: A ginned-up controversy is about as politically useful to him as a real scandal would be. Turning public schools into armed authoritarian institutions that enforce things like saying pledges, praying, and memorizing false history is exactly what DeVos is planning to do. If she can’t, then she’ll take the money from schools that won’t and send it to private schools that do. Today, we face more challenges than ever before. To me, the essential question is still is this what I want the youngest, most vulnerable among us to face as they grow up? Wednesday Reads: Dots ⚪️🔴🟠🟤🟡🟢🔵🟣⚫️ skydancingblog.com/2020/01/22/wed… https://t.co/amFEQza3BM 1 hour ago	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1855
__label__cc	0.593141	0.406859	Five Reasons to Advertise in Print by Eric Dontigney TV commercials can reach thousands or even millions of viewers. zaping image by nathan from Fotolia.com 1 Direct Mail Effectiveness vs. Newspaper Advertising 2 What Are the Benefits of Local Newspaper Advertising? 3 Does Print Still Work in Advertising? 4 Effectiveness of Magazine Advertising Very few businesses succeed without the use of advertising. Advertising introduces customers to products and services, announces sales and even helps to build brands. For a small business, though, the question often hinges not on whether to advertise, but in what medium to advertise. Online and television advertising receive a lot of attention from advertising and marketing experts, but both have pitfalls. While often downplayed, a number of reasons exist that make advertising in print an attractive alternative. Targeted Markets Print publications tend to serve specific geographic areas or specific consumer groups, and sometimes they serve both. Newspapers, for example, usually cater to specific cities and their surrounding areas. This makes a newspaper an ideal advertising medium for a business that provides services. The customers most likely to use the business's services probably live within the circulation area of the paper. Magazines that cater to specific audiences, such as snowboarders, deliver to customers that already spend money on products related to that topic and will almost certainly buy related products in the future. Reader Engagement When watching television or surfing the web, people often multitask, meaning they divide their attention. In the case of television, watchers often leave the room during advertisements. Readers who purchase newspapers and magazines actively and intentionally engage with the material on the page, including the advertisements. A survey conducted by the Newspaper Association of America found that 79 percent of readers took some action after viewing print advertisements, with 46 percent purchasing something. Print advertising gives the ad buyer considerable control. Ad buyers choose the size and, within editorial guidelines, dictate the content of the advertisement. Many publications also allow buyers control over the placement of the advertisement. A restaurant, for example, might ask that the ad appear in the lifestyle section of a newspaper. This helps the buyer ensure that the ad reaches the readers most likely to act on it. Print publications often command a genuine or at least perceived credibility. The readership trusts the information the publication offers, and the advertisements in the publication reap the benefits of that trust. Readers lend the advertising in the publication more credibility by virtue of appearing in the publication. Psychologists refer to this type of trust transfer, where the positive qualities of one thing influence the perception of another thing, as the "halo effect." A well-designed glossy advertisement creates a visual appeal that draws attention. Readers may pause to look at the ad or even return to look at the ad a second time. The longer, or more times, the reader looks at the ad, the higher the chances of the reader remembering the product or service in the advertisement. Newspaper Association of America; How America Shops & Spends; 2011 Dontigney, Eric. "Five Reasons to Advertise in Print." Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-reasons-advertise-print-16171.html. Accessed 22 January 2020. Dontigney, Eric. (n.d.). Five Reasons to Advertise in Print. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-reasons-advertise-print-16171.html Dontigney, Eric. "Five Reasons to Advertise in Print" accessed January 22, 2020. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-reasons-advertise-print-16171.html What Are the Differences Between Persuasive & Misleading Advertisements? 5 Tactile Techniques Used in Advertising Newspaper Advertising Advice The Advantages of TV Advertising Vs. Print Advertising Auditory Advertising Vs. Print Examples of Symmetry in Advertisements The Disadvantages of Magazine Advertising How do I Run a Successful Magazine Publication Business? Write a Service Business TV Commercial Magazine Advertising vs. Newspaper Advertising Infomercial Advertising Advantages	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1859
__label__wiki	0.91706	0.91706	Leagues Smash 64 Melee Brawl Project M Smash for 3DS Smash for Wii U Smash 3DS [Online] Smash Wii U [Online] Ultimate Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts! You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community! Use Smashboards links to get your gaming stuff and support the site, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , GameCube Controller Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Edition , Nintendo Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Edition Pro Controller - Switch , a Nintendo Switch Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Edition - Switch or a Poké Ball Plus . Hey, we get it. However this website is run by and for the community... and it needs ads in order to keep running. Please disable your adblock on Smashboards, or go premium to hide all advertisements and this notice. Past Smash Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS Official Pac-Man's Amazing Full Colour Fan Club! - Pac-Man General Thread Thread starter Smash Daddy Smash Daddy Smash Master K Rool Avenue P•A•C-M•A•N Pac-Man is one of gaming's first mascots, appearing in 1980 and quickly becoming a break-out hit that changed the landscape of video games forever. In an environment flooded with Asteroids and Space Invaders clones, this charming and challenging game swept arcades the world over, introducing a higher focus on character-based adventures and new, progressively more original concepts in game design. Arguably, Pac-Man had much to do with the invention of later mascots like Mario and Sonic. This was only the beginning, though, as Pac-Man went on to have an uncountable amount of spin-offs, cameos, merchandise and has a huge amount of notoriety, in popular culture especially [link]. Now that we know Super Smash Bros. 4 is in development at a Namco-Bandai house [link], it seems likely that Pac-Man will appear as the Namco representative before any other third-party character - they have the access, the IP is owned by Namco-Bandai. He is commonly top of popularity polls as well, and even a game that came out as recently as 2010 [link] has sustained a Metacritic score of 93/100, proving he has staying power. Support the Pac today! Thanks to the awesome members in this thread and collected by Rosaline suporter, here's a bunch of content on Pac-Man! Pac-Man Re-Colors by Onyx Oblivian: Music Suggestions by CrophMaruMariolu2W0vol41PEeeeeek: World 1 - Pac-Man Arrangement (Whether or not Pac-Man gets in, I'd love to hear this song in Smash. It always got me pumped up when playing Arrangment) World 2 - Pac-Man Arrangement Pac-Man's Park - Pac-Mania Sandbox Land - Pac-Mania Puzzle Fever - Pac-Attack (This song plays when the blocks are almost at the top. It would be funny if it plays when the timer's running out for a Pac-Man stage) Whale on a Sub Pac-Man World 2 Moveset by Neanderthal, Image by Professor Fandango @ DeviantART: Neanderthal, Chomp: Like Toad waaaaaay back when I started this project, Chomp requires Wario to change his standard special (or they could just have to same one) due to a cool little idea I had a while ago (and will hopefully draw at come point.) It works pretty much the same way. Rev Roll: What is this, Sonic the Hedgehog? This little manoeuvre is just like Yoshi's Egg Roll, or possibly Jigglypuff's Rollout. It involves rolling, is what I'm saying. Dot Chain: For this move you don't actually control Pac himself, but a chain of dots which he follows. They begin by moving upwards but you can control them - only at right angles - until they run out, seven to ten of them, I'm thinking. Butt Bounce: What is this, Super Mario? Not unlike the Yoshi Bomb and Bowser Bomb, but Pac-Man actually bounces, allowing the chance to chain them. I know some of these moves are a bit straightforward and/or derivative but I think it makes for a simple, accessible moveset. Power Pellet: Throwing a glowing orb down his gullet (?) causes Pac-Man to grow to several times his size, lose his limbs and features and go back to that classic cheese/pizza/trivial pursuit shape everybody knows him for. Fully controllable but again only at right angles, Pac has to chase down his opponents in an effort to eat them. Not sure which is more balanced, biting them for big damage (a la Ultimate Chimera) or swallowing them for and instant knock out (a la Balloon Fight Fish) but either way maybe your enemies will turn blue for this technique? By Professor Fandango @ DevientArt http://professorfandango.deviantart.com/art/SMASH-Pacman-352445010?q=gallery%3Aprofessorfandango%2F341752&qo=37 Pac-Man History by Rosalina Suporter: (Pac-Attack - 1993, Super Nintendo Entertainment System-1994 Game Boy,2008 Wii). Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures 1994 – Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Pac-In-Time – 1994 Super Nintendo Entertainment System.) Pac-Man Fever 2002 – Nintendo GameCube.) Pac-Man World 2 2002 – Nintendo GameCube.) Pac-Man Vs. 2003 – Nintendo GameCube,2007 - Nintendo DS.) Pac-Man World 2004 – Game Boy Advance.) Pac-Pix 2005 – Nintendo DS.) Pac-Man Pinball Advance 2005 – Game Boy Advance.) Pac 'n Roll 2005 – Nintendo DS.) Pac-Man World 3 2005 – Nintendo GameCube,Nintendo DS.) Pac-Man World Rally 2005 - Nintendo GameCube.) Pac-Man Party 2010 – Wii, Nintendo DS.) Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures Wii U And 3DS Coming Soon Fall 2013. Pac-Man Collection 2001 – Game Boy Advance.) Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions-2011 – Nintendo 3DS included are the original Pac-Man, Pac-Man Championship Edition, and Pac-Man Tilt (a game that's new to this compilation). The collection also includes three games in the Galaga series. Namco Museum 64 1999 – Nintendo 64.) Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary 2005 – GameCube, Game Boy Advance.) Namco Museum Remix 2007 – Wii.) Namco Museum DS 2007 – Nintendo DS.) Racing game's developed jointly by Namco and Nintendo,Includes Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Blinky as playable characters. Mario Kart Arcade GP 2005 – Arcade.) Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 2007 – Arcade.) Mario Kart Arcade GP DX 2013 – Arcade.) Ever since it was revealed that Namco-Bandai would be assisting in the development of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, there has been both rampant support and opposition toward the inclusion of Pac-Man. While every possible newcomer has their good and bad points, the most common arguments used against Pac-Man are dubious at best, if not outright fallacious. This section will attempt to refute these arguments. (Huge credit to BridgesWithTurtles for all of this below section) "Pac-Man has no limbs and can't fight." While the pizza-shaped sprite in his first appearance was technically intended to represent the character, just like other arcade games of the time, cabinet art depicting a very different character representation accompanied it. From the very first release of Puck-Man in Japan, Pac-Man was depicted in an anthropomorphic form on the arcade machine's exterior. This is no different from what happened to other characters, such as Mario, whose original sprite was designed to accurately portray the character, but had commissioned cabinet art anyway that depicted him much differently. Over time, Namco adopted the cabinet design to represent Pac-Man in his actual in-game form. There has never been a time where Pac-Man hasn't been illustrated with limbs. "Fine, you've got me there. But Pac-Man's anthropomorphic design isn't iconic or recognizable." Again, Pac-Man has always appeared in his anthropomorphic form on the arcade cabinet art. Almost anyone who knows the pie chart-shaped Pac-Man from playing his game in an arcade has assumably noticed the cabinet art on the machines they've played on. From Pac-Man World in 1999 up until the release of Pac-Man Party in 2010, Pac-Man appeared as a 3D representation of his original arcade art. Anyone who's played a Pac-Man cabinet machine would have surely recognized him in his home console appearances; it's the same design. Thus, it would be foolish to assume that his limbed portrayal is not recognizable. And why does that even matter? in Brawl, Pit was introduced with a completely new design that had never been seen before, not the classic look his fans would have more readily recognized. If Pit was still identifiable despite his severe change in character design, there's no reason why those who haven't seen Pac-Man in his more modern incarnation wouldn't be able to identify him; he's still a yellow ball with a big mouth, and his shoes even feature his old-school sprite appearance, giving away his identity rather bluntly. "Even so, he doesn't have any iconic moves that make for an interesting moveset / His moves would all be cloned from other characters / He has no moveset potential." This set of arguments applies to many characters, not just Pac-Man. Moveset potential in general is a weak argument for any character, as vastly source-limited characters such as the Ice Climbers and ROB have been given unique, inspired playstyles and movesets. Pac-Man specifically doesn't even suffer from this kind of severe lack of abilities. In the Pac-Man World games, he has access to a plummeting bound called the Butt Bounce (different in function from Yoshi and Bowser's similar moves), a rolling technique known as the Rev Roll (which functions more as an attack than a movement technique, unlike Sonic's Spin Dash), the ability to become metallic, the ability to fly while eating a trail of dots, and the power to control electricity. He is also able to punch and kick in these appearances, proving that he has direct combat ability. Pac-Man 2 bestowed Pac-Man with a slingshot and a hang-glider. In Pac-Land, Pac-Man is able to use magical boots to walk on air, something no other character in Smash does. This isn't just a forgotten spin-off either; Namco references Pac-Land on a regular basis, and the game served to provide the canon for the franchise's Hanna-Barbera cartoon adaptation. Pac-Man's new cartoon and upcoming game, both titled Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, also bestow him with a wide variety of abilities, including power over ice and the ability to change his size, among many other examples. To say any of these abilities is too similar to other fighters already in Smash is a flawed observation; Marth and Ike are completely unique despite relying on the same types of abilities to fight with, and no one calls Captain Falcon dull for having a slow punch for his neutral special when DK already has one. Any similarities that Pac-Man's abilities share with other characters could easily be differentiated. To say any of Pac-Man's more recently-introduced abilities are not iconic is also a poor observation. The Rev Roll is featured in some form in many of his more recent games, such as Pac n' Roll. His ability to fly while eating dots is literally a 3D representation of what he does in his original arcade game. Any of Pac-Man's moves which may not be iconic are still closely tied to the character in-universe, and precedent shows that not all of a character's attacks need to be iconic to be integrated into their moveset. Donkey Kong's Spinning Kong and Headbutt are completely made up. Pikachu's Thunder Jolt is also a made-up move, and Skull Bash is hardly associated with the character, as it can only learn the move in Red/Blue, and it's a poor move choice for the Pokémon anyway. The vast majority of every character's moveset references absolutely nothing from their home series, so even if Pac-Man's newer abilities aren't iconic yet still make up his moveset, it's not breaking any rule that has ever dictated anything in Smash. Drawing just from his arcade-style maze game appearances, Pac-Man has plenty to work with. While he is best known for chomping, only Wario and possibly Yoshi have a similar technique in Smash Bros, and Pac-Man's chomping could easily be incorporated into standard attacks rather than a special move or grab. Pac-Man has also on occasion allied himself with his ghostly enemies, giving him potential to summon them in his possible moveset. In Pac-Man Championship Edition, he could use bombs that reoriented enemies and slowed down time, and those could be incorporated into his moveset as well. Simply drawing from the mechanics of his maze game appearances can go far in constructing a coherent moveset and playstyle for the character. Pac-Man could be entirely unique without even tapping into his post-arcade appearances; making use of all of Pac-Man's games yields a surplus of possibilites for him. "Pac-Man isn't relevant to modern gaming." This argument assumes that characters need to be relevant to modern gaming in order to be considered to begin with. Many of Nintendo's characters and franchises featured in Smash are largely irrelevant in the modern gaming world; Ice Climbers, R.O.B., Mr. Game & Watch, and possibly even Captain Falcon are some examples of fighters with no current contribution to the industry. Pac-Man has been far more active in recent years than many other represented franchises, including Kid Icarus, Star Fox, and Megaman. Pac-Man Championship Edition and its sequel, both critical and commercial successes, have showcased the possible quality and success in downloadable game software. While it's too early to fairly judge its overall quality, Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures, while lukewarm in reception, has certainly attempted to bring the public conscious of the television and animation industry to awareness of the video game medium. Additionally, Smash Bros has never defined itself as a crossover about modern gaming. Pac-Man's original arcade game is a keystone in gaming history, and has left a larger impact than many modern gamesbecause it is so old. It has had time to develop a legacy and leave a trace for itself, impacting other games and developers over the years. While it didn't introduce such features, Pac-Man helped popularize cut-scenes, plot, and character in video games. Pac-Man was also among the first games to find a large player base among women – it was targeted at them. It was one of the first games to prove such a success that it was accepted by and integrated into broader pop culture, helping create the industry's success and the modern gaming culture as we know it. [collapse=Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man]One point of differentiation was to target women gamers. The second point was the design — the character design and the graphic design were very appropriate for women, who thought it was very cute. Even if the character was an enemy, they wouldn’t be able to hate it. The colors of the maze walls are muted, so you can see the character designs. I think there was some recognition that this was the future of videogames, because this was the first character that was introduced at the time.[/collapse] The simple but ambitious goal of the original Pac-Man, as told by its creator, helped foster a long-lasting influence on the world of gaming. Pac-Man helped create the concept of recognizable, iconic video game characters; the very basis of Smash Bros can be attributed to what Pac-Man was created to pioneer. The lasting impact of the original Pac-Man can still be seen in plain view, with the game being available for download on just about every media service and device. Even if relevance to modern gaming were important, Pac-Man has more going for him than a lot of other characters; while Pac-Man's recent titles haven't changed the face of gaming forever, there's a lot more to say about them than other represented franchises. "He only had one good game, over 30 years ago." This argument's flaws lay in subjectivity. There is little to no way to define “good” when concerning most anything, including video games. If game quality is measured in reception and/or sales, however, then this argument is definitely false. While the original game is what Pac-Man is undoubtedly most known and remembered for, the character has starred in a number of well-received games since then. Of notable mention is Ms. Pac-Man, an unauthorized successor to the original game which proved to be even more successful and popular than its predecessor, and was officially adopted by Namco for that reason. Pac-Man's other outings have also fared generally well in reception. Games such as Pac-Man 2 and the Pac-Man World series have all received average to above-average professional scores; Pac-Man World 2 notably became a Greatest Hits title on all three home consoles it was released for. Recently, Pac-Man Championship Edition and Championship Edition DX have received impressive scores from critics, and are positively recepted by gamers. They are generally considered to be massive improvements over the arcade original, proving that the series is able to find success in evolving past its original hit, and that Namco isn't only relying on nostalgia and coasting off of the first game's success (though it undoubtedly does happen). "He has nothing to do with Nintendo." Wrong. The Pac-Man franchise has at least 17 standalone games available for Nintendo consoles, not including the myriad of compilation software. As a premier character in gaming, Pac has accompanied Nintendo at every turn throughout the development and evolution of the industry since Nintendo entered the hardware business. While the game wasn't as well-received as its arcade version, the original Pac-Man was among the first third-party support releases on the NES. A Pac-Man game was one of the few dedicated titles that helped support Nintendo's hardware approach during the GameCube period. The character was loaned out to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto (who credits Pac-Man as his favorite video game character and the inspiration behind his own creations) for Pac-Man Vs. on the GameCube. With Mario serving as the game's announcer, it marked a major point in the relationship between Nintendo and Namco. The game made use of the GameCube-Game Boy Advance link cable, requiring the set-up for gameplay, and testing the waters for assymetric, dual-system linked games that would become integral with the DS, Wii, 3DS, and especially Wii U years later. Pac-Man and Namco hooked up with Nintendo again for the Mario Kart Arcade GP arcade game, released in 2005. The series has seen steady releases since then, and have proven to be a major hit in arcades. A third game is in the process of being released. Also in 2005, Pac-Pix was released on the Nintendo DS, an early title for the handheld which made an excellent example of its touch screen functionality by having players draw Pac-Man and guide him with the stylus. Comparing Pac-Man's relationship with Nintendo to other third-party franchises already accepted into Smash shows that he more than qualifies. While Sonic spent the first half of his history competing with Nintendo and Snake has had very few and far between appearances on Nintendo consoles, Pac-Man has been with and stayed with Nintendo from the beginning. Obviously, having a strong relationship with Nintendo is not a requirement for guest fighters, and even if it were, Pac-Man would certainly meet the standard. "Pac-Man is a boring character / People care about the game, not the character." This is another subjective argument, as different people have their own opinions of what they consider to be boring. Whether or not one considers Pac-Man boring, however, this argument carries very little weight. Smash Bros has featured many characters who, if Pac-Man's “boring” credentials are considered, are also boring. Pac-Man is often stated to be boring because of his undefined personality, undeveloped universe, “generic abilities” (see the above argument about moveset potential), and lack of character development. In addition, the argument that nobody cares about Pac-Man as a character, even if possibly true to a large extent, holds no ground for the basis of his exclusion. Other characters, defined as “boring” by the aforementioned criteria, have already been included (R.O.B., Ice Climbers, etc). Other characters still, such as Pokémon Trainer, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainer also hail from games where the majority of players would likely describe themselves as caring more about the game than the characters they play as. In these cases, these character choices are likely chosen for what they represent, not for what they actually are. There is no reason to assume Pac-Man would not be considered as a similar case by Sakurai, should he be deemed "boring" to begin with. "Sakurai said that Namco won't get special treatment." In a recent IGN interview, Richard George discussed third-party characters with Sakurai, who did indeed say that Namco-Bandai would not have any type of special priority because of their involvement with the game. [collapse=Masahiro Sakurai]Just because the game is being cooperatively developed with Namco Bandai involved, that doesn’t at all mean that they’d be given any special consideration for having characters in the game...Smash Bros. can still be considered as an all-star collection of Nintendo characters. Just like with Mega Man or any other third-party character, it would have to be a very special situation.[/collapse] However, many have taken Sakurai's words to mean that Namco will surely not receive any guest character. This, of course, is simply a result of wishful thinking, poor comprehension skills, a pre-emptive jump to conclusions, or some combination thereof. Nowhere in his response did Sakurai say that Namco would not receive a character. Rather, he clearly stated that Namco would not be given any special consideration, and that any third-party character would be included in a “very special situation.” This means that Namco will not receive a character because they are working on the game. However, their characters can be fairly judged just as any other third-party candidate, and if it is decided that one of their characters is fitting for inclusion, they can be considered a “special situation”. Pac-Man (and every other Namco character) is absolutely fair game, and definitely has a shot; not because Namco is entitled to a character, but because Pac-Man has the credentials to get included besides that fact. In short, he could be considered whether or not Namco had anything to do with the game's development. "Pac-Man doesn't fit Sakurai's criteria." When discussing Megaman, Sakurai spelled out a list of four criteria that he follows when narrowing down character additions. Let's see if Pac-Man lives up to his standards. "What is the uniqueness of this character?'' Detractors argue that Pac-Man is generic, and thus, not unique. As pointed out far above, however, this is not necessarily the case, as not only does Pac-Man have his own set of abilities, but any character can be made unique. Pac-Man, for example, is a very mobile character with many ways to zip around, which could make him a unique, mobility-based character that Smash is certainly not overly familiar with. "What does this character bring into the Smash Bros. universe?'' As previously addressed, many feel that Pac-Man's world is undeveloped and has nothing interesting to contribute to Smash Bros. However, Pac-Man actually has plenty to bring with him. His home stage would almost certainly be a maze, a type of layout we haven't seen before. He could also bring a plethora of content hailing from other Namco arcade classics, ranging from space shooters like Galaga to rhythm games like Taiko Drum Master, which his franchise is often associated with. Pac-Man would also have the ability to bring new fans and players to the real world Smash Bros universe, as his image alone has the potential to prove inviting to more casual or older gamers (or even non-gamers). ''What do they have that other characters don't?” Again, it is often commonly argued that Pac-Man's moves would resemble other characters'. Pac-Man does have things that other characters don't, however. He has the ability to bounce indefinitely, which no other fighter does. He can levitate above the ground, and walk in the air. He has access to more source material than most other characters, due to his ties to other Namco IPs and long series history. ''How do they complement or contrast other characters?" This criterion is a bit more difficult to address, as we're not entirely sure what Sakurai means by this statement. If we simply look at the context, it is likely that he means that it is important how characters interact, and possibly how balanced they must be among the entire cast. He may also be alluding to how well characters blend in with the others. Considering Pac-Man has appeared next to Mario, Peach, Luigi, Bowser, Wario, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong in three games, it can be said that he is already considered to blend well with the extended Mario cast. His colorful, simplistic, chipper design would make him fit right at home with other Nintendo characters. Considering the realistic, M-rated Snake appeared in Brawl, there's no precedent that shows Pac-Man would be deemed aesthetically unfitting. In terms of gameplay comparison, there's no way to tell how Pac-Man would complement or contrast other characters, so there's really no reason in arguing a point. Sakurai also provided a list of four other criteria before his current list. Let's briefly run through that. The character's inclusion must make people want to buy the game. Pac-Man has the potential to bring in older or more casual gamers and non-gamers. Due to his recognizability outside of the core gaming community, anyone with Pac-Man on their mobile devices will still be able to recognize him and possibly give the game a try because of that. He might even increase sales among the female demographic, as he was created to do in the first place. The character must be unique We've been over this, haven't we? Besides his potential moveset, he's also an anthromorphic yellow ball personifying the action of eating. No other character in the cast looks anything like him. The character must fit into the style of Super Smash Bros. Everything from his character design and art style to his accompanying music and stage would fit perfectly into the whimsical world of Smash Bros. He'd stick in like an in-grown toenail. They must contribute to the game balance. Basically, the character can't break the game. Pac-Man is simple enough to be easily balanced, and his animations would not prove too difficult to work with and develop. He certainly wouldn't have an overly complex, game-breaking playstyle. If characters like Olimar and Ice Climbers can be unique while keeping the game balance in check, Pac-Man should provide absolutely no problem. "I'd rather have another Namco character, like Lloyd Irving or Klonoa. Nobody wants Pac-Man." And you're allowed to prefer another character. This isn't really an argument, but it's sometimes seemingly used as one. As for nobody wanting Pac-Man, that doesn't say too much about his chances. At the end of the day, the decision is ultimately up to what Namco wants, and it's more likely that they'll want to advertise their recently rebooted mascot than characters they haven't worked with in years, or who aren't as iconic or representative of the company. It should also be noted that the popularity of characters on message board communities comprised of core gamers isn't necessarily indicative of what the much larger general population - and the targeted "casual" demographic - would like to see. Likes: ProfPeanut, Aaron1997, COLINBG and 37 others Onyx Oblivian Smash Journeyman I can touch the Ocean from here. Make Ms. Pac-Man an alt. costume, and you got yourself a deal. .... Her voice might need a higher pitch though... Likes: Reila and Popo Nana Power AetherEch0s 3DS FC Most likely third party now that Namcos in on it. Claire Diviner Indian Orchard, MA NNID ClaireDiviner Honestly, as much as I want different Namco-Bandai characters, like KOS-MOS, it's no secret that Pac-Man WILL be the first one in the VIP list of Namco-Bandai characters to grace a Smash Bros. game, especially given his impact, popularity, and even a cameo appearance in Mario Kart Arcade GP 1 and 2, games co-developed by Namco-Bandai. That said, here's a stage idea to represent Pac-Man. It's structure doesn't have to be as pictured, but having a stage design inspired by the one pictured below is most likely a given for Smash 4, although BSP said it best when he mentioned it would be "a tech fest waiting to happen": Likes: Rosalina suporter FlareHabanero Banned via Warnings I think Pac-Man would borrow most of his moves from the Pac-Man World trilogy, and other games too. For example, the butt bounce from Pac-man World, the tether rope from Pac in Time, and of course his signature chomp attack from the original Pac-Man. Maybe his Final Smash would be the mecha from the Tekken vs. Capcom game too. I envision his Final Smash being more along the lines of turning all opponents dark blue and going into "chomp mode", where he instantly KOs an opponent by touching them. The opponent won't be launched with knockback, however. Instead, they'd simply disappear in the same manner as if they were crushed between two walls in Subspace Emissary. DMurr The Radiant Hero dmurray9 I feel like I almost expect him now, given the game developers. Sol Diviner said: Your post gave me an idea for a stage! It's this: The first stage of Pac-Man that randomizes into different sections of the map. The squares I put show different "stage set ups" on the screen, one at one time, with the purple line being the top of the screen. Jakor Smash Ace I'm now expecting Pac-Man to be in Smash 4, as he is one of gaming's most popular and recognizable character among core and casual gamers, and of course, since Namco will help developping the game. AIM0001 Smash Lord He needs to be in this game! I wanted him in even when Brawl was being developed. The only thing I have to contribute to this thread (for now) is I always pictured his B-UP to be something like this..... When he's about to fall off the stages platform emergency dots appear in the air and he starts eating them as he starts moving upwards and hopefully back onto the platfrom. It wouldnt be the longest range B-UP but about mid-range and pretty useful. Likes: Brickbuild101 Onyx Oblivian said: That will be a great help in constructing a stage, thanks. In terms of a moveset, I saw a good, basic one in the Namco General thread: chomp neutral special, up special trampoline, Sonic's side special and butt pound down special. The final smash would be transforming into his classic form while opponents are turned into 'ghosts.' I wonder how close that is to how Pac-Man will actually end up playing in the game. Smash Daddy said: As for the Final Smash idea, I think there's no other alternative! haha It would be very cool/frustrating for others, if the Final Smash DID act like a "Big Pellet" and The other characters turned "Blue" and could only move side-to-side. Complete with the split-second pause on contact, and a pair of eyes flying off screen Guybrush20X6 Smash Legend Switch FC I made a pac-man moveset a while back. B- Pac-Chomp: Similar to Wario's but with more bites and a worse throw. B Side- Pac' n Roll: Pac Man rolls forwards a few times to damage the opponent and aid recovery B Up- Pac-Charge: Pac-Man charges up and body slams in the direction the stick is facing. B Down- Power Pellet: Pac-Man chows down a Power up and his opponents glow Blue/Team colour. Reverses the Pac-Chomp's properties by making it less damaging but greater knockback. Effect lasts 5 seconds, eating animation can be interrupted. FINAL SMASH: GHOST ATTACK The Ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) appear and float around the screen in a similar pattern to the original pac-man game. Arcadenik I approve Pac-Man! I always rooted for Pac-Man and I loved his games. But I was always feeling discouraged because most people said Pac-Man cannot be in Smash because he has no limbs and he would look weird with limbs. But that's just it, even the early 80's artwork of Pac-Man had limbs so it wasn't just for Pac-Man World games. Possible palette swaps would be based on the ghosts: red, orange, light blue, and pink. It would be even nicer if the alternate costumes are Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man. t!MmY Smash Hero t1mmy_smash I would think a (useable) Pac-Man stage would look more like this: This of course represents more of a traditional Pac-Man feel, which is probably what we'd see. I just threw this together, so it's far from a 'polished' look, but I hope you get the idea. Likes: SomewhatMystia, Sahfarry, Oblivion129 and 1 other person Yomi's Biggest Fan See You Next Year, Baby Takamaru64 He should at least have a Pellet Slingshot to reference Pac Man 2 on the Genesis. That would be hilarious. t!MmY said: Awesome! I may just use that image for a stage in the OP at some point, that's a very nice simplified version of Pac-Man. Don't feel a Mario Bros. stage would be appropriate here, so this is really good. Nu~ Smash Dreamer U.S., Maryland (Eastern Time, UTC - 5hrs) EquinoXYZ AIM0001 said: Excellent, but I have A complete moveset: B: Chomp- Pac-Man eats the opponent and they can't hurt you for 5 seconds after use, YOU can still hurt THEM however. Like in the original pac-Man, the ghosts couldn't hurt you after they were eaten and became just floating eyeballs. The characters in ssb4 however, will appear transparent while they can't attack. Does 15% damage to opponent. Side B: Rev Roll- Pac-Man charges up a run in place and like Ike's side B, you are fully charged after about 3 seconds and you roll into the opponent after you release B. Has decent knockback like Ike's side B. But, like in pacman world 2 opponents running at pac-man while Pac-Man rolls toward them, is not only blasted away with high knock back, but dazed for 3 seconds as if they were hit with a deku nut. Does 17% if fully charged. Down B: Butt Bounce- Pac-Man jumps up and bounces back down with his...Butt. Can be use 3 times in a row after the first bounce. Meteor smashes in mid-air, and on the ground the 3rd hit buries opponents as if hit by a pit fall. Can be moved side to side across the whole stage. 1st hit does 9%, 2nd does 10%, and 3rd does 17%. Up B: Red Pac-Dot- Pac-Man throws out a red pac dot and eats it. When he does a line of pac-dots form in mid air. You can control where the pac-dots turn. It can also latch onto the stage. Pac-Man eats the dots as fast as a fire fox's speed. Opponents can be hurt if they touch Pac-Man's mouth while eating. I got the moves from arcade Pac-Man and Pac-Man world 2. And his up-B is what you see in the picture up there. :-) Likes: SomewhatMystia and HarryTheChin gothrax I agree with that ^ moveset accept for a few things like being invincible while using Bup plus when you chomp somebody I'm assuming that the playing cant attack and CANT BE ATTACKED? Johnknight1 Upward and Forward, Positive and Persistent Livermore, the Bay repping NorCal Smash! [COLLAPSE="I would think a (useable) Pac-Man stage would look more like this:"] [/COLLAPSE]This of course represents more of a traditional Pac-Man feel, which is probably what we'd see. I just threw this together, so it's far from a 'polished' look, but I hope you get the idea. Sweet God that would be a wonderful stage! Great idea my fellow smash brothah!!! I wonder what the ghosts on the bottom would do. Could they be like Klap Traps to where they hurt you, but act like barrel canons (on the bottom of Congo Jungle 64) and save you=??? Jakor said: I had Pac-Man and Tails as my "sleeper" 3rd party characters for Smash WiiU and 3DS, because I felt they had higher chances then people gave them. Now, Pac-Man is no sleeper, and I think he is basically a "near shoe-in" as I like to call it. I mean, he's the face of Namco, he's getting his own Disney show, Pac-Man is one of the most recognizable video game characters ever, and he was in one of the most recognizable video games ever. That alone should qualify him for smash bros. gothrax said: Alright. I already edited it. And yes, they can still be attacked with any move besides the chomp. BKupa666 Barnacled Boss Toxic Tower I think Pacman's chances have gone up substantially with the reveal of Namco's SSB4 involvement, but do you guys think he's in shoo-in territory yet? I think it's tough to say until we see just how much influence Namco has over the game. I mean, it's not like we saw a Game Arts third-party character in Brawl, right? I do like the idea of Pacman as a character, but am curious what you all think. Likes: BluePikmin11 Pacman9 said: I also agree with this moveset but I noticed no FINAL SMASH? Ya using this B-up is better than using his trampoline from Pac-Man World 2 since it would be too close to Sonics B-Up. Already done! FS: All opponents turn blue and take massive knockback from all of pac-man's attacks. If he uses the chomp however, the opponents disappear and instantly die (got that from Sol Diviner). I can't believe I forgot the final smash at first. BKupa666 said: The difference is Game Arts isn't that big of a company. Their characters aren't well known, and their games aren't well known. Namco Bandai, on the other hand, has 3 series (Tekken, Soul Calibur, and especially Pac-Man) that are very popular, well-known, and are liked by a significant amount of the video game playing population! Consider this: Pac-Man is one of the most recognizable fictional characters ever. Like, he's up there in league with Astro Boy, Goku, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Darth Vader, Donkey Kong, Mario, Sonic, Superman, Batman, the Hulk, and Spider-man. You can show a picture of Pac-Man to your friends, your family, and really anyone, and nearly all of them will know who is he (or at least where Pac-Man is from). Pac-Man is that famous. Someone linked an article earlier claiming Pacman is literally the most recognizable video game character ever. He had 94% of those surveyed recognizing him, whereas even Mario only got 93% recognition. Likes: BluePikmin11 and Smashiny Yeah, that was something in the UK only, though. Still, that definitely means something. Add in that nearly everyone in a 1st world country has played or seen someone play Pac-Man, and that helps. Also, Pac-Man is gonna get a Disney show, so that is only going to make Pac-Man more popular (specifically with younger audiences). There's no question everyone knows who is Pac-Man. His name is synonymous with video games, like Game Boy or Nintendo. Pac-Man (both the character and the game), judging by various polls and data I've looked up recently, seems to be more well-known than Sonic the Hedgehog. That's pretty crazy to consider. However, Pac-Man being (confirmed) in Smash WiiU and 3DS wouldn't bring the same level of hype that Sonic being (confirmed) in Brawl brought. When Sonic was confirmed for Brawl, SmashBoards had no less than 1,000 people on the site for a few weeks, and peaked over 3,000 a few times. The only time SmashBoards was more active was when Brawl came out in Japan and in North and South America. Pac-Man would not set the world on fire, no, but it would probably still bring in thousands of Pac-Man fans. They do exist. Likes: HarryTheChin and Rosalina suporter Starphoenix How Long Have I Been Asleep? GalaxyPhoenix Not a big fan of Pac-Man, but I thought those who do might like this. Also, here is the stage concept I did for Pac-Man. Everyone knows the picture, what more is there to say? The self titled stage, Pacman, plays upon a familiar sight to many gamers of all stripes. Just as with Mario Bros and 75m, Pacman takes a little piece of arcade history and transforms it into a Super Smash Bros arena. The stage itself is comprised of five platforms in the shape of borders in the Pacman maze. To get a good idea of how this looks take a look at the below picture and start with the T platform as the central platform. I think the picture is self-explanatory. Of course the platforms are going to be larger to fit the characters, and other alterations to the design make the stage more enjoyable instead of being a walled mess. You have one main island with two platforms floating on top, and two platforms out to the left and right, before leading into the KO boundary. Pellets align the black space in between platforms, and as characters touch and collect them, they add to a stage score much like the three items in 75m. The faster all of the pellets are collected, the faster they refill the stage. This is important for achieving a higher stage score. However, pellets aren't the only thing aligning the black space in between platforms... Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde make their way through the stage collecting various fruit and treasure, continuing their never ending search for victory and fortune. If they touch a player they will deal damage, so it's best to avoid them. Just like in the Pac-Man games, they have a weakness, the Power Pellet. Now a Power Pellet will randomly appear in the middle of the stage on occasions, and touching it will cause the ghosts to become susceptible to attack. Seizing the opportunity adds an extra bonus to the stage score. Racking up the stage score has it's benefits, once the score reaches a certain threshold, a prize will appear! Food of different variety will appear depending upon the stage score. Cherries, strawberries, apples, pears, pretzels, bananas and more; different food will heal whichever player grabs the reward. Cherries heal the least (2%), and pretzels heal the most (10%); everything else falls in between. Be sure to get the reward before it travels away. As all of the many interactions with the stage occur, flashes of vibrant, neon color glow across the stage. Do not let this stage deceive you, it is not dull by any means. Stage Example: .............__...__ oo__xxxx______xxxx__oo x* hole o* ko boundary Stage Name: Pac-Man Stage Icon: 8-bit Pac-Man -Tracks- Pac-Man Vs. - Title Screen Pac-Man Party - Main Menu Pacman World - King Galaxian Pacman World 2 - Scuba Duba Pacman World 3 - Pacdot Maze Pacman World Rally - Canyon Crusade Namco Classic Collection 2 - Green World Namco Classic Collection 2 - Toy Box World Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions - Quack Cookie PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX - BGM Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness - Year Of The Pac Mario Kart Arcade GP - Pacman Cup And I am proud to be one! Tollhouse Pacman would be a ******** choice and would ruin the smash series if he was put in ssb4. Frostwraith The Demon King Frostwraith357 with Namco Bandai helping SSB4's development, it isn't out of question to have Pac-Man in the roster. and he's an easily recognizable figure in all of video game history. this could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance like Sonic and Snake in Brawl, which are unlikely to reappear (but you never know what might happen!). Frostwraith said: I beg to differ my good sir. Snake and Sonic will so be in. I bet my pancreas that they stay. There can be more third-parties than just Snake and Sonic. Pac-Man is guaranteed when Namco is developing the game. Then again, I'm talking to an account called 'Toll'house who registered in June 2012. Tollhouse said: LOL Wut? Why come to a "Pac-Man for ssb4" forum to be the only one making fun of the character? 0_0 Your logic stuns me. did you even read everything I said? anything can happen. it just might not be as likely as you think. I do want Snake and Sonic to reappear, but you can't take that as granted, same goes for Pac-Man. Come on guys, don't fall for the obvious troll. well I came up with more moves for Pac-Man! Side smash: Pac-Man leans out and chomps the opponent. High knockback and Pacman's strongest smash. Sweetspot is the tip of Pac's mouth and does reeling horizontal knockback. Lag equal to Mr.g&w's side smash. 18-25% fully charged. 20-30% fully charged at tip of mouth. Up smash: Pac-Man throws a jumping uppercut (goes only as far up as sonic's up smash) Does 5 connected hits within the hitbox and drags opponents up to the tip of the uppercut. If opponents reach, or hit the top of Pac-Man's fist it does strong vertical knock back. 17-25% fully charged if all 5 hits and the tip of Pac's fist connects. Down smash: Similar to sonic and pikachu's because Pac-man rolls over opponents in a circle and traps them inside. At the end the opponent flies out with considerable knockback. Nuff said. 12-19% fully charged. Share: Facebook Twitter Reddit WhatsApp Email Link XenTorneo 2 PRO © Jason Axelrod of 8WAYRUN Smash Europe smashgg	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1862
__label__cc	0.676445	0.323555	Posts Tagged ‘Nokia’ Sony’s New Xperia Z Ultra Phablet. Now for Something Completely Different Posted: August 11, 2013 in Android, Hardware Tags: ipad, iPhone, Nexus 4, Nokia, Phablet, samsung, Samsung Galaxy Note, Sony Sony’s New Xperia Z Ultra ‘Phablet’ Now for Something Completely Different Loren W Melbourne Oz Update 15 August 2013 Question: What do you get when you cross technology from a mobile phone, tablet, and a classy TV ? Answer : A real big phone, an average size tablet (based on the new 7" form factors) , and a real small TV, a GREAT picture, with a sophisticated elegance Ladies & Gents, Geeks & Geekettes the Sony Xperia Z Ultra Mobile Phone / Phablet (or c6802) Actually launched in June 2013 (shhh don’t tell anyone), Note: that quiet launch unless repeated for the west, might be the only downfall of this otherwise spectacular device. As when I got the Samsung Note 1, the first thing I thought was, Oh Crap, this thing is too big. But I knew as with the Samsung Note 1, I would get used to it fast. Now, as a long time Samsung fan in everything they offer, from TVs, and Appliances to testing their first phablets (large mobile phones) via the Galaxy Note 1, since its launch in 2011 so this was an easy decision. Unfortunately being a new tech junkie wanting everything new, the Samsung Note 2 did not float my boat beyond, the boat floating I was still feeling from the Note 1. I loved it, and am now hooked on the form factor of the Phablets. I am not so sure that the Samsung Note 3 will be so radical to make me want it as bad, as I thought I wanted the Note 2. Magpie Effect- However, on looking to see what my next phone was going to be, I made a discovery I am sure many already had made. The Samsung Note 2, has a larger bezel on it than many of the new phones. This means I could buy a smaller phone yet still get the same or similar screen size depending on the phone of course of what many refer to as the first real Phablet (tablet sized mobile phone). This has been badly reported on in the media. Nokia- Personally I almost bought a Nokia 1020, I love the idea, of the amazing camera. But I did not for the same reason I dumped my 1st Windows 8 Phone Mobile, the eco-system for Microsoft does not do it for me app wise. There are some great apps, but how Microsoft goes from being the world leader in dumb phones / PDAs, with Windows CE to last place in smart phones war still amazes me as an old school Microsoft fan boy. I want to play as well as work, and the balance is skewed against Windows Phone 8 for me. Windows has a big advantage, the last to market, but I have not seen anything to make me think they are going to pull out an Internet Explorer vs.. Netscape Play. The result of all of that and as I will soon be going on a holiday to an exotic South Pacific destination, a bit of snorkeling and a bit of diving, so am getting a GoPro pro, but I was looking strongly at the benefits of the Sony Xperia Z, then I discovered something amazing to me, Sony has gone and launched their new Phablet version of the Xperia Z (called the Ultra) globally (outside the USA). It then turned out it is for sale in many countries already. Again to well reported and not reported at all in most of the usual USA press. One phone call later and I have a review unit due in 2 days herein Australia. As I scratch below the surface (no MS pun attended), I have discovered a few interesting facts on this device that is raising as many questions as it answers, before I even receive the device. Convergence – Before I get into the device, (a more detailed review is forthcoming when I receive it), I have to raise what might the elephant in the room that has not been discussed in the present sense yet. We have long known that the day would come when a Phablet would be the same size as a tablet. But with the rise in demand and increased interest in 7”tablets, and now 6+” Phablets, emerging, more so with the Samsung Note 3, at least a 5’7” phone, that day is nigh and I expect a big story in the weeks ahead. Obvious questions is when the next iPhone will be a Phablet, or the iPad a phone. Will the Nexus 7 (2014) be a phone, and an alternative to a Nexus 4. Or the Motorola Nexus Phone 2 (announced) be a Phablet? Phablets = Tablets – An interesting element of this is reading reviews comparing the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, not to any present or forthcoming phone/phablets, but to the new Nexus 7 (2013) and iPad mini. A silly comparison if you ask me, unless the Nexus 7 (2013) and iPads are a phone, but sets I believe the ground game for what happens next. Picture This – The physical size as mentioned is 6.4” on the Sony, and 7” on the Nexus 7 – ( 2013) 1080×1920 and 1280 x 800 respectively. However, the Nexus 7 has an impressive ~323ppi whilst the Sony has an equally amazing ~344ppi. The Sony takes a micro SSD to 64gb whilst tablets do not. Wi-Fi is also offers a/b/g/n/ac, and a 2.2 ghz cpu vs the 1.5GHz on the Nexus Waterproof – Oh, did I mention HD Video underwater- to 5 feet ? Though the phone has an average camera by today’s standard, (same as the Note 2). However the Sony has no flash, possibly a big deal. In all the tests I have seen thus far, the Sony, Ultra Z appears to triumph pretty easily over the Samsung Note 2, how it will compare against the Note 3 remains to be seen. Sony have competed against the stylus pen of Samsung by suggesting users can use anything they want from their finger to a real pencil instead of the OMG I going to lose Samsung Note stylus. Possible improvements by Samsung in the Note 3 might include a flexible display, 3GB vs. 2GB of RAM, whilst the Note 3 will likely have the respectable 13MP camera vs. the Note 2 camera in the Sony. Samsung Note 3 body construction is still a bit of a mystery. A Little TV – Tech With the Z Ultra, Sony uses 2 bits of Tv tech to Improve the picture from the Bravia TV side of things partly. These are Triluminos and X-Reality Engine technologies. With the ~342 pixel density, this gives the Z Ultra one of the best displays period and the best by far on a Phablet. Sony had been given a bad rap previously (perhaps deserved) for not having the crispest of colors. Triluminos effectively uses quantum dots, to give a 50% crisper color by allowing better color separation thus less wash out. This is further done by something called quantum dots, that effectively means to the human eye colors are crisper. The X reality engine does the same thing in reverse sort of by analyzing the image received then separating the colors. Effectively it improves image quality in dark or over bright areas to get the tones right. Not for everyone perhaps this hybrid device really is one to be considered. Technorati Tags: Sony,Xperia,Tablet,Phablet,iPhone,Android Is Windows Phone 7 Doomed ? Posted: March 22, 2011 in Microsoft, mobile Tags: KIN, Microsoft, Nokia, Windows Phone 7, WP7 Lack up updates and information from Microsoft, for a phone that is buggy starting to concern many. At the same time Microsoft Windows Phone 7 (WP7) launched. Another mobile phone division of Microsoft (conflicting per those in Microsoft) was having a drama as they introduced a new phone (the KIN), the mobile team then had it killed, then introduced again then killed it again, confusing I know. This has been referred to some since as the Microsoft Kin Effect. The KIN took years of development and acquisitions of Danger Incorporated that also had the T-Mobile sidekick (a popular handset with its own problems where the KIN was derived). The R&D around all of this has been estimated in the <gulp> $USD Billions of Dollars. Due to poor US Sales, (not a surprise due too little advertising and poor pricing), a planned launch in Europe was scrapped and the KIN team (now Microsoft mobile refugees) were was rolled into the about the launched Windows Phone 7 Mobile Division and severely de-prioritised, e.g. all but scrapped again, others in the group were sent off to Microsoft Siberia. Those aware of this in the media (businesses, and consumers) a bit nervous about buying a new WP7 phone, especially business sector that in some cases had to update dozens of handsets though they may still be running IE6 browsers and Windows XP both way out of date. A still larger number never heard or cared about the KIN so Microsoft escaped a bullet there. The market was taking shape; Apple had few models to choose from all the same but for storage size but all apple. Google had their own problems as handsets were many but varied in size and specification. A mixed blessing for Google but a successful one in that by having many models to choose from, market share has skyrocketed. The Microsoft Model would be a hybrid of Apple and Google Strategies, with multiple models but all with a specific specification that would give a uniform experience to customers. But this also meant Microsoft had to do a good job to compete with the iPhone or one of dozens of android phones. Many felt Microsoft had to introduce a phone better than the Apple iPhone, a tall order indeed. So was Microsoft serious about WP7 and would the benchmarks be for Microsoft to pull the plug on WP7 as they had done on the KIN such as poor sales figures. Remember in the case of the KIN it was simple billions of dollars in Microsoft R&D were sacrificed would the same be done for the WP7? The good news was Microsoft was introducing the phone globally (all but at a low budget global event) far from the glamour of an Apple launch. Different handsets were being introduced across different global markets with a similar technical minimum being maintained to offer consistent experiences for users. Frequent Updates (Where?) Like Apple and Google had already done, Microsoft promised publically relatively frequent updates to the handsets, something that was for this slow moving giant well received and anticipated, especially for consumers and businesses that jumped on the bandwagon early to buy a single or multiple handsets. Here in Australia marketing for the Microsoft Windows Mobile 7 was a non-event, so much so that many larger shops from Optus and Telstra that had WP7 phones did little to support or even offer them for sale even weeks after launch. Updates offered a real comfort to Android and Apple iPhone users as though the handsets are not perfect a fix was only an update away. To date Microsoft has forgotten about updating handsets or telling customers & enthusiasts what the heck is going on. Will all the amazing number of poor quality apps for the iPhone and Android Phones, fart noises etc. There are a larger number of good quality apps. Unfortunately, to date many feel that some needed apps for the WP7 have yet to materialise. Many developers say making apps for WP7 is a good experience, but prefer to focus on where volumes will be sold and that means anywhere but WP7. Others have said when the demand is there they will produce apps. Shooting Your Own Even those in the media shouting from the roof tops on the wonders of WP7, are starting to wonder if they backed a loser, and Microsoft has done little to change anyone’s minds on this even attacking those that have grown frustrated at the lies (promises not kept). The Nokia Salvation – Too little too late? When it was announced of the JV between Microsoft and Nokia, after Google had failed to seal the deal with Nokia themselves, many thought this would be good news. Unfortunately in press interviews the words ‘Window Mobile’ were used but never the word ‘seven’. It then follows that the Nokia alliance will take 2 years to bear fruit way past the life span of windows phone 7. So can Windows Mobile live long enough to be saved by Nokia that has the distribution power and market share to save Microsoft Mobile? It is also believed Microsoft might launch a Nokia only Version of Windows Phone, so not helping those with non-Nokia handsets. Other Problems (is the WP7 team going on Hiatus) Recent software update attempts (even an update that allows other updates) has not gone well for Microsoft and mainly for scores of customers. Many users globally are reporting issues with these small recent updates that caused the phones of many to be made inoperable. Further software updates has offered conflicts between old apps and new software updates, requiring complete handset resets for users I walked into one Optus shop in Melbourne 2 weeks after they had launched the WP7 handsets, and they had to open the box for me to see the unit as they had no fake demo models or real ones, and I was the first one to ask. Two weeks after launch. This was similar to a larger Telstra shop where staff said they knew nothing about them (thought they were fake demos on display) Additionally, for one Samsung WP7 case I had to order a case for it from China as none are available months after launch in Australia (per Optus and Samsung). In a time when a new Apple iPhone or iPad is discussed as soon as the last one is released, Microsoft can only hope that when someone discusses a Window Phone that the It has been hinted that there will be a minor Windows Mobile Update still in 2011, but nothing more major until 2012. But it has been up to forensic media folk to even find that out. As someone that regularly suggests hardware, including phone handsets, I am looking forward to the next 4G handsets, iPhone 5, other new Android Handset, The Nokia WP7 phones, and other Windows Phones (version 8) in that order after that and will likely be selling my Window Phone 7 as soon as a better handset one comes along, which may not be so far away.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1871
__label__wiki	0.621852	0.621852	Ojalá: A Costa Rican sense of luck for the new year Try a little Costa Rican magic for a lucky 2020 TBT: The birth of the Pan-American Highway Remembering the Jesuits: Seeking justice in El Salvador Flamingo Coast is a green, blue and gold microcosm of Costa Rica’s greatest hits Pope invites the homeless for birthday breakfast AFP December 17, 2013 December 17, 2013 VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis invited four homeless people to mass and breakfast in the Vatican on his 77th birthday on Tuesday, which he celebrated with Vatican staff and their families, Vatican radio reported. The pope hosted the breakfast at St. Martha’s Residence, the Vatican hotel where he has stayed since his election, spurning the more grandiose Apostolic Palace where leaders of the Catholic Church usually live. The four homeless people were among the dozens who spend every night camped out around St. Peter’s Square. Photos released by the Vatican showed Francis speaking with three homeless man, including one holding a dog. The Vatican said in a statement that the occasion was “particularly friendly” and the Vatican’s “prime minister” – newly-appointed Secretary of State Pietro Parolin – wished the pope a happy birthday. The pontiff, the first ever Latin American pope, is expected later to meet members of his favorite football team, San Lorenzo, who have flown over after their national championship victory in Argentina. NSA phone data collection likely illegal, judge rules Conservation group Sea Shepherd ready for aggression from Japanese whalers Mike Pompeo warns Costa Rica about economic ties with China Alejandro Zúñiga - January 21, 2020 During a press conference following Tuesday's meeting with President Carlos Alvarado, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Costa Rica… President Alvarado asks U.S. Secretary of State to review Costa Rica travel advisory, FAA certification President Carlos Alvarado asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday to review the North American country's travel advisory… ‘No evidence’ Maduro willing to hold free elections, Pompeo says in Costa Rica AFP - January 21, 2020 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that despite numerous contacts with foreign officials in recent months, there's no… Alejandro Zúñiga - Jan 21, 2020 AFP - Jan 21, 2020 Pompeo calls on Ortega to cease Nicaragua repression Costa Rica will ask U.S. to ‘reconsider’ Level 2 travel advisory Alina Dieste / AFP - Jan 21, 2020 Pompeo will discuss Nicaraguan ‘authoritarianism crisis’ during visit to Costa Rica	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1880
__label__cc	0.526824	0.473176	Novela, cuento, teatro y poesía Ensayo y no ficción Libros guatemaltecos o sobre Guatemala Autoayuda, Negocios, Idiomas y Viajes Artes y Cocina Parafernalia Parafernalia ALICE´S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND AND THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS (Libro en papel) Q. 160 Entrega 3-6 semanas. Precio puede variar + 16 Jóvenes adultos Original, experimental, and unparalleled in their charm, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There have enchanted readers for generations. The topsy-turvy dream worlds of Wonderland and the Looking-Glass realm are full of the unexpected: A baby turns into a pig, time stands still at a “mad” tea-party, and a chaotic game of chess turns seven-year-old Alice into a queen. These unforgettable tales—filled with sparkling wordplay and unbridled imagination—balance joyous nonsense with poignant moments of longing for the lost innocence of childhood. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. A TRAVÉS DEL ESPEJO Y LO QUE ALICIA ENCONTRÓ ALLÍ Único ejemplar, sujeto a confirmación ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND AND THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS Q. 60 Libro a reservar: ALICE´S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND AND THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS 4ª avenida 12-59 zona 10, Local 1D 2º nivel Plaza Fontabella 01010 Guatemala (Guatemala) contacto@sophosenlinea.com 2020 © Librería Sophos. Todos los Derechos Reservados	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1881
__label__cc	0.573986	0.426014	Representative Brooks Landgraf (Incumbent) Position sought: Representative, District 81 Website: http://www.brookslandgraf.com Email: info@brookslandgraf.com Address: P.O. Box 13146, Odessa, TX 79768 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoteLandgraf/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrooksLandgraf Voting record on select education issues = Voted with TCTA position = Voted against TCTA position = Absent = Present Not Voting (typically the Speaker or Speaker designee) KEY HOUSE VOTES IN 2017 Vote No. 1 — Amendment to the budget bill (SB 1) to prohibit spending public funds on private schools. A vote for the amendment was a vote for the TCTA position. (The amendment was successfully added to the budget bill.) Vote No. 2 — Final House passage of HB 21, which would have increased funding for public education by more than $1.5 billion. A vote for the bill was a vote for the TCTA position. (HB 21 ultimately did not pass.) Vote No. 3 — Final House passage of HB 20 (special session), which would have appropriated money from the Rainy Day Fund to increase funding for TRS-Care. A vote for the bill was a vote for the TCTA position. (A different bill passed that increased funding for TRS-Care.) Vote No. 4 — Amendment to SB 16, which created a school finance commission, to require the commission to study the effect on school districts of deducting or withholding association dues from teacher paychecks. The vote was generally seen as a referendum on the issue of banning payroll deduction. A vote for the amendment is a vote against the TCTA position. (The amendment failed.)	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1888
__label__cc	0.554952	0.445048	The Best Mouse Tap A real turn on Modest expectations – “JH” Taylor 326 Did you pause on the 11th hour of the 11th day of November to remember? If you did not, perhaps a line or two from Wilfrid Owen: What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? — Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, — The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad shires. What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes. The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall; Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds, And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds. We have not learnt have we; just forgotten? Another Homage The following is an unabridged reprint in part of a NYT article. I don’t normally do this but the story is so telling: T.J. Abraham is a block of a man with a tree-trunk neck and a lantern jaw. He played football at a top Catholic high school outside Pittsburgh and then travelled downtown to Duquesne University, where he played another three years. He was an offensive lineman back then, and he gloried in the fraternity of hit and get hit, joyfully clanking helmets. Sometimes he saw stars, sometimes he puked and so what? Get back up and get back in. “I probably got my bell rung 70 times,” he said Sunday with a crooked smile. He always knew he would get on with life. He was a top student, and in time he became an obstetrics & gynaecology doctor, delivering so many babies, maybe 3,000, a gregarious guy who remembered birthdays and who could make a nervous expectant mother grin. He had a beautiful home and a wife and a young daughter and a teenage son. He was a son of western Pennsylvania and life was grand. He shakes his head: Until it wasn’t. It was about seven years ago that the now 42-year-old Abraham said he began to notice his temper flaring without reason. His memory and judgement became flickering lamps. In a panic, he began a medical trek that ended with an inconceivable diagnosis: neurodegenerative dementia. When I was about the same age, I had a serious car accident, which involved a wet night, my car aquaplaning on a country road, sliding up a muddy path and hitting a pole and bouncing into a dairy, as I was afterwards told. The car subsequently burst into flames, but somehow I was able to release the seat belt and scramble out of the car. I do remember standing, laughing uproariously while the sound of the oncoming ambulance was ringing in my ears. Then everything went blank until I woke up in the operating theatre. In relation to my head, I had a severe enough head injury without internal bleeding. However, the space between the skull bone and covering galeal aponeurosis was spongy with fluid, presumably blood although to my knowledge it was never tapped. In other words, decelerating from 100 kms per hour to zero in less than a second caused a significant head injury. In my youth I had sustained head knocks playing sport, you could not avoid it if you boxed, as I did throughout school. However, as Dr Abraham had said, having repeated head on collisions at about 50 kilometre per hour cannot be good for the brain irrespective of whether you have a helmet or not (galea as the Romans would call it). Being medical practitioners, he and I are acutely aware of changes in our mental ability; that is until we have lost the ability to be aware. After the accident when my various injuries had healed, I made the decision without any consultation with anybody to return to work. Needless to say it was premature; I was tolerated but many later said that I was weirder then usual and obviously I had not recovered. However, unlike Dr Abraham I was on an upward spiral and at least among my peers returned to an acceptable “normal”. I respect him greatly for admitting to his downward spiral. I hope it is arrested. I keep looking for evidence of the mental consequences of my accident; I have the evidence of the physical legacy from the accident, but my blog is my sentinel of mental decay. However, with these equally old men vying for public office in the United States, do they get their mental abilities tested regularly? To what extent do these old men have the honesty portrayed by Dr Abraham? If Trump’s twitters are his substitute for a blog, then the content would worry me if I was an American voter – especially if one has been unfortunate enough to be able to trace the course of fronto-temporal dementia in others as I have. If in fact we are to countenance age in itself as not being a bar to election, it does not help on the other hand when others blinded by the allure of power are not prepared to face the fact that mental deterioration may be occurring in one of its own grandees. Thank you, Dr Abraham for being my inspiration. I wish you all the best, and that you somehow will be able to slow the process. Justin Trudeau lives Justin Trudeau in a season of seeming conservative supremacy retained power in Canada in the October election, albeit with a minority government. This time, he was delayed in announcing his cabinet until 20 November. He has taken a collective deep breath. After all, he lost every riding in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Meanwhile back at the hand-wringing barn, as reported: It’s true that the caucus was unified behind the idea that the party’s membership, not its elected members, should hold the leader to account. But that was where consensus ended. The meeting didn’t last seven hours because MPs were lauding the leader and his team. Always the sign that the Conservative party leader, in this case Andrew Scheer, the member for Regina Qu’Appelle in Saskatchewan, is under extreme threat. The report goes on: There are very real concerns among MPs from Ontario in particular, that the party will be reduced to a rump in Canada’s largest province, if major changes are not introduced… The loss of Milton, an Ontario riding formerly held by Lisa Raitt (Deputy Opposition Leader), is seen as a harbinger by (Conservative) MPs with commuter belt constituencies who have seen their vote share dip in successive elections since 2011. It seems that the situation is the reverse of Australia. Here the Australian Labor Party (ALP) has released a review which, despite the verbiage, seems to be an exercise of exorcising itself of Bill Shorten. The Conservatives have not yet done that in Canada. Queensland is to Labor as Alberta and Saskatchewan are to Trudeau. At least the ALP has seats in Queensland; Trudeau does not have a riding in either of those two provinces – no seats out of 48. Trudeau also lost out to the Bloc Québécois in Quebec. Added to his woes, Jody Wilson-Raybould, the Minister who resigned from Trudeau’s cabinet in protest against what she believed to be a cover-up engineered by Trudeau, retained her seat in Vancouver. She is a formidable native Canadian woman lawyer, with a very strong public profile. Trudeau thus did not get it all his own way, and he literally also got a few black marks during his campaign. However despite all, his party ended up with the most seats, and he knows that the New Democratic Party (24 seats) and the Greens (possibly 4) will support him on most issues – enough for a comfortable working majority. Both these Parties have strong climate change agendas. On the other hand the far-right party, the agenda of which would certainly have been attractive to some in the current Australian Liberal party, fared appallingly, even though the leader had held a seat in the previous Parliament, which he lost in 2019. What is interesting is the comment about the loss of the suburban commuter vote, which is the product of a more educated electorate and which presumably will not lessen. Given there is evidence of that same shift in voting patterns occurring in the Trumpian America, this is an interesting development that the ALP should examine. For instance, the only two seats that showed a swing towards the ALP in Queensland, which virtually guaranteed Morrison’s victory, were in Brisbane and Ryan, affluent Liberal Party urban strongholds, presumably the equivalent of the “commuter vote.” The Canadian electoral system is far different from Australia; it is non-compulsory and first past the post, traditionally thought to favour the conservative vote – but I wonder whether that would still hold true. The Canadian Senate is a far different construct from the one here in Australia. In addition, the provinces do not have the powers of the Australian States. And of course, Canada is bilingual with a strong French influence, not only in Quebec but also in parts of Ontario and the Maritime provinces. If I were Albanese I would at least being saying “hello” to Trudeau. How Trudeau is selecting his Cabinet, due to be released on 20 November, as I noted above, would be a good topic to break the ice – which will soon be forming on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. Come skating with me, dear Albo. The Expert Prophesises I found a scrap of paper, which had drifted across my desk. Dated 26 October 2016 it was written for The Australian by Robert Gottliebsen. It starts with a definite conclusion: “Barring some totally unforeseen event, Hilary Clinton will be the 45th President of the United States.” Then it analyses some of her policies, which if successful “may lead her to be re-elected for a second time”. How far has the world drifted from this Gottliebsen opinion piece, some may then say. Therefore why bother reading on. As for the journalist he has to write another piece. He may hope that 13-day lag period between the 26 October piece being published and Trump’s election will be enough time for his readership to forget. He has no time to contemplate whether there was a sliver of usefulness when his first sentence is such an almighty gaffe. He probably hopes his readership would forget it. Yet three years on it is worth reading. Gottliebsen suggests that Clinton would have concentrated on making small business work, because that is where she saw job creation – not in big business, which should be taxed more. Her policies were directed to more prompt payment by government to assure cash flow and to make to easier to operate, unlike Australia’s “bizarre anti-small business public servants (who) go out of their way to prevent small enterprises starting by blocking them getting an ABN”. In enhancing her agenda, Gottliebsen suggested that small business would have gained a share of what he describes as “an infrastructure bonanza”. This involvement of small business provided Gottliebsen with the opportunity to state that the “Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to recognise modern-day ‘cartels’ excluding efficient small enterprises are run by unions in collaboration with their big company mates who, in turn, pay unions big sums for favourable treatment.” The stimulus to small business by Clinton was designed to lift the minimum wage and pay other ancillary benefits, particularly health benefits – and also increase the workforce by immigration given the pool of refugees in which to dip. What rings so true are these comments made at a time when Turnbull was resisting the Banking Royal Commission and before bodgie building construction, with widespread flammable cladding, was revealed. It is not that those – let us not say top of town – just say those who congregate in the spring racing carnival marquees are solely to blame, but Gottliebsen was harsh about Australian business conditions, describing the alliance of big business and the unions as “blatant job-destroying corruption”. If this is so, then what are politicians doing mingling with this mob, and moreover taking plush jobs on retirement from the same mob when the hurdy-gurdy stops playing? You rarely see these ex-politicians wandering along the streets of their erstwhile electorates asking what they can do for these people who may run small businesses, now these ‘exes’ have time on their hands and a large pension in their bank accounts. After all, small business was always good for a photo-opportunity in the electoral cycle when the politician wanted their vote. Now what do you call a collection of lobbyists? Perhaps a trough. Just because the prophecy was wrong does not mean the points being made by Robert Gottliebsen an age ago are not worth a little contemplation. In fact, Thomas Phillipon, in a recently published book confirms a great deal of what Gottliebsen foresaw – at least in America. Domination by Amazon, Apple and Microsoft; fewer airlines; consolidation of hospital and pharmacy chains – all big business conglomerates at the expense of small business. And without appropriate legislation, the conglomerates swiftly become cartels -and Australia has many examples of this. The Citation Nicholas Talley is a man of many parts. He was the first person I came across designated “laureate professor”. I had known about the “poet laureate” and the “Nobel laureate” designations, all derived from the ancient tradition of placing a laurel/bay leaf garland on the deserving skull. But a laureate professor, what a vision! Universities are good at diving into the Latin dictionary and coming up with flash words like “emeritus” for those who have retired and are off the payrolls. However, the emergence of retiring women academics has meant an increasing number of “emerita”, and those of us sub salis are known as “alumnus” or “alumna” – a mixed collection of whom traditionally would take the male plural “alumni”. A neuter variety would be known as an “alumnum” but the neuter plural “alumna” could be confused with the female singular. Now universities are bestowing “laureate’’ on their deserving staff. In any event should, in terms of consistency, these people of high office be called “laureatus” and “laureata”? Added to the complexity is that “trees” in Latin are generally of the second declension, where most of the words are masculine, but trees although with male suffixes have the feminine gender. And of course we come to the word bacca – which is attached to laureate also. Everybody knows presumably that they are graduating as a “laurel berry”. The problem is that “laureate” is getting a bit common – how about Trabea professors – no worry about gender here. Thus, hail Laureate Professor Nicholas Talley for introducing me to this topic – especially given his expertise in citations, he would know what a Trabea is. Mouse Whisper Wikipedia summarised it as well as anybody – up to a point: The 1894 Open Championship was the 34th Open Championship, held 11–12 June at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England. J.H. Taylor won the Championship by five strokes from runner-up Douglas Rolland. This was the first Open Championship held outside Scotland. This was the first of five championships spread over three decades that Turner won, and in line with this blog number this first was the 34th Open. His 72-round total of 326 was the highest ever recorded to win the Open – and by five strokes! By contrast on the same course in 1993, Greg Norman won with the lowest-ever score at that time of 267, since bettered by Hendrik Stenson with a 264 at Royal Troon in 2016. There weren’t many horseless carriages around in 1894 either, but plenty of mashies, brassies and cleeks. Author JacbestPosted on 15/11/2019 15/11/2019 Categories Education, Health, Leadership, Politics, Sport, UncategorizedLeave a comment on Modest expectations – “JH” Taylor 326 Modest Expectations – Thaddeus Stevens Shirley Shackleton is one of those inconvenient people whom governments just wish would go away – in her case she is a reminder of a government without compassion complicit to murder if not genocide. At the Balibo Fort Hotel, there were two books for sale – hers written a decade ago – and a volume of Xanana Gusmao’s speeches. There were three copies of the Shackleton book – “The Circle of Silence”. One at the top had been multiply caressed. So we bought the one on the bottom, which seemed the least ravaged – the cost was immaterial. It was Balibo. Shirley Shackleton will be 90 next year and unless there is somebody to take up her crusade, when inevitably she shuffles off the mortal coil, her inconvenient noise will cease. There is a son, a lawyer, a magistrate living in Perth. Maybe he will take up the crusade. However as the personalities fade, it does not dim the enormity of what we have done as a nation to the Timorese – turned our collective head away. Yes, there have been other journalists, notably Peter Greste, imprisoned by authoritarian regimes, but he survives and to the best of my knowledge the Australian government was not complicit in his imprisonment. The building in Balibo where the Balibo 5 were executed (Photo Sue Morey) There is still the case of the bugging of the Timor-Leste government and this ongoing Orwellian campaign to eliminate whistle-blowers with the Press caught like the Balibo 5 in the cross-hairs of governmental suppression. When I was President of the Students Representative Council at the University of Melbourne, ASIO came calling – that friendly invitation to come and join the party. I never crossed that threshold. It is another story. But I am sure I was not on my Pat then … and recruitment patterns now? The only thing I can say is that presumably the same personality types are still being recruited as in my day, but now with many more toys; truly terrifying. As for me, I never looked good in a gabardine raincoat. Balibo sunset (Photo Sue Morey) Anti-Vaxer – Prosecute for Genocide When I was born, it was dangerous to be a child. There were few defences against the ravages of infectious diseases. There was no penicillin. The only immunisation apart from small pox available as a young child was against diphtheria. Nobody in the wilds of anti-vaxer propaganda would ever had heard of or seen diphtheria – a paediatrician friend of mine has seen it once – it was a huge killer of children before the introduction of a vaccine. In the decade up to 1935, over 4,000 children died of the disease; mass immunisation had commenced in 1932. Between 1996 and 2005 there were no deaths, but three have been recorded since that time. The vaccine was later combined into triple antigen, targeting whooping cough and tetanus as well. I am an age as are my sons that we all had measles, chickenpox and mumps as children – and we were all very sick. However it was the late Gay Davidson, whose younger daughter developed a rare late complication of measles infection who brought into public view the importance of the vaccination against measles in particular. The brain goes to mush, and the beautiful vivacious child becomes a vegetable over time before dying – a horrible death. Gay Davidson was an important face in advocating immunisation against measles and in the late 1990s the immunisation rates rose in Australia, the Australian government then being a very strong proponent. Finally, there was poliomyelitis. There was no vaccine when I was a child. I went through an epidemic when contact between schools was banned. Ice cream was banned. Children died and those who survived the disease were added to the wards of crippled children in every city of Australia; children in iron lungs; children with heavy calipers; children with all stages of disability. I was immunised first with Salk and then given Sabin. Poliomyelitis had nearly been eliminated before the antivax barbarians in their various guises have come calling. The problem is that the community’s level of immunisation is a measure of civilisation. As the antivaxers – the health barbarians with their poisonous message – raise the level of uncertainty in the community, so will go civilisation as we know it. It is paradoxical that in a world where the diversity of safe vaccines is expanding, in so many places the level of immunisation is falling because of the uncertainty promoted by antivaxers. I have detailed five diseases where the burden of disease has fallen dramatically because of immunisation. There were many other diseases that have yielded to vaccines. Some I faced growing up. As medical students we vaccinated one another against smallpox. This disease has been eliminated from the face of the earth. When I first went overseas, together with my passport I also had a yellow booklet showing that I had been vaccinated against smallpox and immunised against typhoid, cholera and later yellow fever. This country has had a brilliant immunisation program since the 1990s and much of the early success of this program can be attributed to Michael Wooldridge, the then Minister for Health, as well as the indomitable Gay Davidson. Nobody has written her story. However, the program and the strategy is clearly and crisply stated up to 2024. Yet I cannot remember it mentioned once in the recent election campaign as a signature of success. However, in Australia the government is fixated on keeping our borders intact by keeping a few poor refugees out rather than drawing attention to the ongoing successful national immunisation plan. The charlatan, former doctor Andrew Wakefield and his girlfriend, Elle MacPherson from their lodging in Austin Texas are demonstrating how destructive systematic antivax propaganda can be. If a government becomes timid in the face of community agitation as it has done on fluoridation, then this country should watch out, especially if these antivaxers start infiltrating the political grass roots. I have lived in this other universe when there are few antivaxers –yes it was a universe where there was an antivax element who believed if you were vaccinated with cow pox you would grow horns, but why were there so few antivaxers? Vaccines apart from smallpox were new. Since there were no evidence-based preventative measures, the populace just accepted that it was God’s will that children should die a myriad of deaths from these diseases. Today, in that universe antivaxers would be in their element, no vaccines – just watching children die. But of course according to the antivaxers, saving the children from autism. Today it would be what I would say is not God’s will but Genocide. To Cook a Roo – Part 111 Charlie diversifies Pintubi are practical. They cooked all creatures in their skin. The fat content of Australian native animals is too low for cooking on a spit. That would create a hard dry gristle and there were neither cooking containers to stew meat, nor any salt available. Furthermore getting about near naked makes retaining animal hides unnecessary. As no salt or other flavouring was used in traditional Pintubi cooking, this was literally life lived in the raw in what they laughingly if not longingly called “before trouser time”. Cooking in the skin must happen right away and before the blood congeals so no road kill gone stiff! Not once in six years eating the cooked-in-skin earth oven food did I crunch on any stones! The niftiest cooking trick I saw was that used for the delicious rumiya (sand goanna) a white meat that tastes much like chicken. Averaging about 40cm long they are abundant and easiest to catch in spring when they start new burrows in the sandy earth. They live mainly on ants and insects having neither the ghastly infectious bite of the large carrion eating goannas nor a gamey smell. By pushing the hind legs hard into the abdomen the contents of the sand goanna’s gut are forcefully excreted so they don’t need to be cut open. To cook, the skin is scorched to remove the outer layer, which would otherwise ruin the flavour, before it is placed under the ashes for about 10 minutes. The meat is mostly in the tail and there’s some fat attached to the skin and at the loins. The 10ml steel bore pump rod I always had was sought after by the goanna hunters who used it to probe sand goanna tunnels so that you follow the hole by probing from the surface instead of laboriously digging deep along a tunnel that can be seven metres long. Plant “tucker” was far less plentiful but some was so excellent that it could not be improved by any flavourings. In the spring, the pungana bean, which was shown to me, was my favourite. Growing like giant acacia pods on a three meter high shrub and similar in appearance to snake beans, the long pods are cooked in a minute on a burning clump of grass, the green soya sized beans with a flick of bright yellow tastes like corn. Rumiya and plains bustard (about a turkey sized bird) were tasty cooked in the earth fire pit and much better than food from my tucker box a few weeks after the last trip to town. I only ate feral cat once, cooked by Minyina and the horrific look of that fore half of scorched cat passed to me dripping juices with the charred skin peeled back over canine teeth was unappetising. However, I was hungry enough and it all stayed down which is more than I can say for the last time I had ample helpings of kangaroo in 1984, three years on from the cooking lesson at Tjiterong. (To be continued) To cap off this blog of culinary delights, I was talking to this Pangolin at the international arrivals at the Wood’s Point airport who told me that one is permitted to bring a kilogram of civet coffee back into Australia without having to declare it. Apparently it makes the best “Catpoo-cino” and yes, that’s what they call it! Author JacbestPosted on 27/06/2019 30/06/2019 Categories Health, Politics, Uncategorized1 Comment on Modest Expectations – Thaddeus Stevens Blog by Blog Modest expectations – Carthaginian Vanilla 17/01/2020 Modest Expectations – The meaning of Life 10/01/2020 Modest expectations – Montana 03/01/2020 Modest expectations – The Roaring 27/12/2019 Modest Expectations – John Buchan footprints 20/12/2019 Health financing Pacific Aid Politics & Leadership The Best Mouse Tap Proudly powered by WordPress	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1895
__label__wiki	0.873841	0.873841	FHC ABC will offer a cost effective Practice ACT on January 25. New this year, ABC will also offer a pre-ACT. Motivational speaker Joel Penton will be speaking at FHC on 1/22 Free tutoring in the Media Center after school every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (click here for more information) FHC Sports Report The Central Trend Sports Stories Girls Swim & Dive Boys Swim and Dive College & Pro Coverage Greenhouse Blogs Maggie Rogers’s “Love You For A Long Time” is a song of summer love Abby Wright, Editor in ChiefNovember 26, 2019Leave a Comment More stories from Abby Wright AP art students earn prestigious awards through the Scholastic Art Competition Thank you, Tik Tok RAT Q&A: Drumline Oh Wonder’s four singles are a magnificent prelude to their upcoming album RAT Q&A: Olivia Throop Steadily climbing the indie charts since the release of her debut album Heard It In A Past Life, in January, spunky singer/songwriter Maggie Rogers ran with the spark that ignited her fiery career and began teasing a new single on her Instagram a few weeks ago. Through handwritten fragments of softhearted lyrics, Rogers artfully alluded to an affectionate and sensitive song, one that I was excitedly anticipating, for it had been ten months since the release of her album—ten months since Roger’s buoyant, bright voice rang from my speakers for the first time. Despite the week-long teasers and release date through her Instagram, the single still took me by pleasant surprise. Like an outreached hand from a familiar friend, one you know all too well, guiding you to places unknown—that kind of pleasant surprise. Like a sip of Sprite that you thought was water, like reaching for change and grasping the exact amount you need, like an out of the blue note of appreciation from someone you’d least expect it. “Love You For A Long Time” was that kind of pleasant surprise. The light and bouncy vocals that quickly lead to a line from one of the Instagram teasers, the very first line of the song, painted pictures of wheat fields, sunflower-blonde hair, top-down drives with a view—a picture of sunnier days. The seamless synthesis of both folk and pop undertones in one single song is exactly why I adore Rogers and have since the release of her album. The ever-changing consistency of her sound is admirable and just so lovely to hear. Regardless of whether Rogers is indie folk or pop, there is an element of energy and lightness that radiates within the rhythms of every song in her discography, which now includes “Love You For A Long Time.” Even if the lyrics are somber—heartbreakingly poetic—the beats and rhythms, the foundation of every song, emanate energy, amongst other elements of danceable tunes. Rogers is a danceable artist, whether it’s socially acceptable to dance to a ballad or not. “Love You For A Long Time” was the opposite of a ballad, though. The title alone is a declaration, a declaration of unadulterated love, and the lyrics go even further to express such a passionate feeling: “While I was getting lost so deep inside your diamond eyes / so many things I still wanna say / and if devotion is a river, then I’m floating away.” It’s phrases like “if devotion is a river, then I’m floating away” that gracefully convey the complexities of love, and it’s the simple phrase of “so many things I still wanna say” preceding the metaphor that solidifies my admiration for a constant, ever-changing artist like Rogers. In a note to fans following the release of the song, she said, “I wanted it to sound like the last days of summer. I wanted it to sound as wild and alive as new love feels.” “Love You For A Long Time” contains multitudes, as does love, and Rogers succeeded in depicting the complexities of such an impassioned emotion. Abby Wright love you for a long time Splittsville, against all odds, overcame and conquered gnash’s new EP if is a short and emotional listen worth your time Hailee Steinfield morphs her internal feelings into mournful lyrics with her new single “Wrong Direction” Taylor Swift’s album Lover shows her playful innocence and dauntlessness Summer Salt’s new single Fire Flower is intricate and enigmatic I found exactly what I needed from NF’s album The Search Emma Bieniewicz’s new music is absolutely angelic Alec Benjamin’s new song Mind is a Prison is emotionally honest and relatable Harry Styles’ Fine Line blends the sounds of yesterday and today while providing a bright hope for the music of tomorrow The Student Voice of Forest Hills Central	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1899
__label__wiki	0.631068	0.631068	Astronaut marks first triathlon in space The CNN Fit Nation Lucky 7 get major props for finishing the Nautica Malibu Triathlon this weekend, and so does NASA astronaut Sunita Williams. Williams did the swimming, biking and running events aboard the International Space Station using exercise equipment specialized for space. This makes her the first person ever to complete a triathlon in space. “I’m happy to be done," she said after finishing her activities. "It wasn’t easy, and I’m sure everyone out in California is excited to be done, too.” She said via NASA TV that her watch said it took her 1:48:43 for the three events and the transitions, although getting from one activity to another is a little different in space than for Earthlings. Williams used the onboard stationary bicycle for biking and the space station's treadmill for running. There's no pool on the station, however, so she used a simulated weight-lifting system. After finishing, Williams gave a shout out to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta "who is really interested in health and fitness," she said. Williams is currently the International Space Station Commander for the Expedition 33 crew. Post by: Elizabeth Landau - CNN.com Health Writer/Producer Filed under: 2012 Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge • Diet and Fitness • Malibu Race BPA is used as an anti-corrosive in aluminum cans and is used to manufacture some plastics. Chemical BPA linked to children's obesity The chemical bisphenol-A, or BPA, has a long and controversial history. Used to manufacture some plastics – like the kinds in soda or water bottles – and as an anti-corrosive in aluminum cans, BPA has been under fire for some time from consumer advocacy groups. The FDA recently banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups after concerns were raised about potential side effects on the “brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children,” according to the FDA website. Still, the organization has stood by the overall safety of the chemical; in March the FDA denied the Natural Resources Defense Council’s petition to ban BPA outright. Now a new study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association is adding more fuel to the flames. The paper shows an association between BPA levels in children’s urine and obesity prevalence. Post by: Jacque Wilson -- CNN.com Health writer/producer Filed under: Children's Health • Diet and Fitness • Environment • Food and Drug Administration • Parenting • Public Health A product used to help infants with difficulty swallowing could lead to a life-threatening condition, the FDA says. SimplyThick a risk to all infants, FDA cautions A product used to help infants with difficulty swallowing could increase their risk of developing a life-threatening illness, the Food and Drug Administration warned Tuesday. The agency says 22 infants developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) after being fed the thickening agent SimplyThick - reportedly as directed. Seven of them died. Necrotizing enterocolitis is a condition where tissue in the intestines gets inflamed and dies. It occurs most often in babies that are ill or born prematurely. The cause is unknown. SimplyThick is mixed with breast milk or infant formula to help babies swallow their food and keep it down without spitting it back up. It's sold in individual packets or 64-ounce bottles that can be bought from local pharmacies or distributors across the country. Post by: Saundra Young - CNN Medical Senior Producer Filed under: Children's Health • Conditions • Food and Drug Administration	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1900
__label__wiki	0.716575	0.716575	Read The Diplomat, Know The Asia-Pacific Central Asia East Asia Oceania South Asia Southeast Asia \| Security Politics Diplomacy Economy Society Environment \| DRI Magazine \| All ASEAN Beat Asia Defense Asia Life China Power Crossroads Asia Pacific Money Tokyo Report Trans-Pacific View The Asia-Pacific in 2020: What to Expect Can Australia Get the G20 Back on Track? Ringing in Chinese New Year in Indonesia Addressing Rape in India Has the US Lost Myanmar to China? Japan and Myanmar’s Toxic Friendship Exporting China’s Social Credit System to Central Asia Is India’s BJP Government Set to Create a ‘Hindu Pakistan’? James Soong: The End of an (Authoritarian) Era in Taiwan Privacy in the Age of Big Brother: India Australian Bushfires: A Government in Disarray US-Philippines Ties: The De Lima Dilemma ‘I Could Never Trust Them’: The China Factor in Taiwan’s Youth Vote Features \| Diplomacy \| Economy The recent summit was dysfunctional. As the chair for 2014, Australia is well positioned to refocus the group. By Andre Stein and Miro Vassilev for The Diplomat Credit: REUTERS/Dimitar Dilkoff/Pool While the world’s focus has been on the UN General Assembly and the APEC leaders meeting, the recent dysfunctional G20 summit in St. Petersburg seems to have been quickly forgotten despite a looming emerging markets crisis. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s projected reduction or “tapering” of its Quantitative Easing (QE) program cast an ominous shadow over the G20. QE sought to stimulate the U.S. economy by lowering long-term domestic interest rates, which caused international investors to seek higher yields elsewhere. As a result, foreign capital poured into emerging market bonds and equities as the expected returns were significantly higher and economic growth prospects seemed bright. Now that the Fed has signaled it will slow and eventually eliminate QE, leading to a rise in US interest rates, this capital flood has quickly reversed, threatening severe economic instability in the developing world. Yet in St. Petersburg, the extraneous political issues of Syria, Snowden and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands led to diplomatic standoffs overshadowing critical economic coordination. Ironically, G20 leaders’ failure to confront decisively the challenging issue of Fed tapering and a potential emerging markets crisis risks worsening existing bilateral and geopolitical tensions. This may create a vicious circle of reduced cooperation and increased hostility between G20 developed and emerging market members. It was not always this way. Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. During the early years of the global financial crisis, G20 meetings successfully coordinated high-level political, monetary and fiscal responses to the imminent collapse of the global financial system. This was remarkable given G20 countries’ diverse political systems. Three factors were the key to the successes of the early G20 leaders’ summits. First, there was an overwhelming, shared sense of urgency. The global economic boat was sinking fast and all the main passengers’ representatives needed to work together to refloat the vessel. Second, all G20 economies faced similar shocks to their economic and business cycles. Difficult domestic political decisions had to be made, notably by G20 emerging market governments, including resisting economic protectionism. Subsequent political fallout was contained by capital inflows from developed markets to emerging markets which reinforced low borrowing costs and buoyant stock markets. This largely placated emerging markets’ populations, moderated domestic politics and greased the wheels of G20 cooperation. Third, G20 leaders tended to put extraneous and divisive political matters to one side (such as the 2008 Georgia-Russia crisis) and concentrated on the critical economic issues at hand. The mechanics of the G20 in acting as a crisis management committee worked well on a number of levels. Politics: Leaders were able to come to agreements on domestic political responses to the crisis, such as preventing increased trade barriers. Diplomat Brief Get first-read access to major articles yet to be released, as well as links to thought-provoking commentaries and in-depth articles from our Asia-Pacific correspondents. Monetary policy: Meetings between central bank chiefs provided a forum for coordination and dialogue which contributed to decisions to keep interest rates low across G20 economies. Fiscal and financial system policy: G20 developed markets’ finance ministers led the way in a unified manner by stabilizing the global banking system, creating conditions for household deleveraging and using the government’s balance sheet to offset private sector indebtedness, via financial institution bailouts and mortgage relief programs. Those three key factors have since unraveled. There is no longer a deep sense of unified urgency on the global economy that binds G20 leaders together. Rather, the perception that the worst of the global financial crisis has been averted has removed the discipline that comes with financial terror. G20 members’ economic cycles and monetary policy objectives are no longer synchronized. Major importers (i.e. deficit countries) such as France, the U.K. and the U.S. have opposing views on how global economic imbalances must be tackled, compared to large exporters such as Germany and China that enjoy significant current account surpluses. There are widely differing approaches on how to resolve the global financial crisis’ ongoing effects. Some, like the Eurozone, have opted for varying degrees of austerity. Others, such as Japan, the U.S. and U.K. have now chosen stimulus. Diverging monetary policies are slowing international political cooperation as central bank actions are increasingly seen as a zero-sum game. The U.S. tightening of monetary policy is hurting emerging markets. Japan’s huge monetary easing and subsequent drop in the yen’s value are damaging its neighbors’ export competitiveness. Finally, as the St Petersburg summit clearly demonstrated, international political posturing and second-order squabbles, which were put on hold during the global financial crisis, are back with a vengeance. The G20 was a proven success at the height of the global financial crisis. Its future during the aftermath is far more uncertain and it risks becoming just another talking shop instead of maintaining its role as a global defense committee against massive economic shocks. How can the G20 get its mojo back? To maintain its sense of mission, the G20 should adhere to three key guiding principles. First, keep to high-level, but narrow, international economic coordination issues, particularly international financial institution funding and direction, reforms to the international financial system architecture and economic crisis management. Second, gently coax and provide support for G20 members on domestic economic reform initiatives that have international ramifications (such as competitiveness-related initiatives and bank recapitalization). Political leaders often want to make bold reforms, but domestic politics frequently holds them back. The G20 can provide much needed endorsement and encouragement. Third, avoid formal or informal concentration on politically charged issues (such as territorial disputes or domestic stimulus packages) that cannot be resolved through the G20 process and derail the core of its mission. The next year will be an especially challenging time for emerging markets – this is the issue on which the G20 must now relentlessly focus. Emerging market outflows could turn into something much worse in a politically charged election atmosphere. G20 members Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, India and Indonesia all go to the polls over the next 12 months. This brings several systemic dangers. Political parties may promise wasteful public spending, which can prompt capital flight and, if implemented, will cause much economic damage. Elections can be a gift to populism and risk a rise in trade barriers and economic nationalism. Moreover, emerging markets have a history of political violence during election contests, which takes time to subside, particularly during economic downturns, further frightening foreign investors. If the U.S. actually initiates tapering and Japan intensifies its stimulus over the next year, this risks inflicting additional economic shocks on emerging markets and damaging pro-business political candidates supporting free markets and free trade. In a crisis climate, emerging market election campaigns may be a breeding ground for intensified hostility to developed countries in general and the U.S. in particular. The U.S. may be blamed for a monetary policy that increases its economic growth at the expense of the developing world. This has the potential to cause political difficulties within the G20 as well as damage to multiple bilateral relationships. The writing is on the wall. Two of the largest Asia-Pacific emerging markets, Indonesia and India are entering an especially dangerous period. To put recent events in context, during the 1998 Asian financial crisis (1998), Indonesia’s equity market declined 5% in local currency terms and the rupiah (IDR) collapsed by 35%. During the 2008 global financial crisis Indonesian equities were down 50% and the IDR declined by 18%. Since May 2013, when QE tapering was first mentioned, Indonesian equities are down 25% and the IDR is down nearly 18%. This is deeply concerning and it may well get much worse: Jakarta’s current account deficit, slowing growth and inflation fears plus the large proportion of debt held by foreigners are all potential mutually reinforcing catalysts for a further deterioration. In India, while the equity market has held up at around 3% for the year to date, the rupee has slipped 15% since May. The country suffers from twin deficits – budget and current account—which were the result of the massive stimulus during the global financial crisis and the lack of much-needed structural reforms. Stagflation is a worry for investors and the picture in India may swiftly become grim. Clearly then, the incoming G20 chair for 2014 has a fiendishly difficult task. Yet, Australia, which will assume this role, is particularly well-positioned. In contrast to Russia’s prickly relations with many G20 members, Australia is well-liked and has no overwhelming bilateral disputes that will significantly cloud its chairmanship. The program of the recently elected Australian Liberal-National Coalition government largely matches the stated economic objectives of the G20, including efficient financial markets architecture, domestic competitiveness reform, free trade and disciplined orthodox economic management. This is backed by the Coalition’s strong record of economic and financial markets reform during its last term in power from 1996-2007, as well as its commitment to restore economic diplomacy as a priority of Australian foreign policy. Finally, Australia is centered at the crossroads of the diverse competing economic and political interests of G20 members. This makes it an ideal facilitator, given its very strong relations with the U.S. and Europe, an Asia-Pacific economic focus, and its founding membership of the Cairns Group of agricultural exporters including Argentina, Brazil and South Africa. In light of ongoing monetary decisions, the challenges faced by the G20 are immense. The health of the international economy depends on its ability to coordinate a high-level political and policy response to prevent a full-blown emerging markets crisis. Andre Stein and Miro Vassilev are principals of Cryptos Global Investments, a New York-based global macro fund. Both hold advanced degrees in international political economy from Harvard University. Stein served as a Senior Advisor on sovereign risk issues to a global professional services company. Vassilev managed European investments for a US special-situations hedge fund, worked at Goldman Sachs’ European macro desk, and also holds an MBA in Finance from Wharton. Stein is a New York Fellow at the Foreign Policy Initiative, and Vassilev is a Fellow at the Truman National Security Project. Japan monetary easing Liberal-National Coalition QE tapering St Petersburg summit Why Are Russian Military Planes Flying Around Taiwan? Why Saudi Arabia and the UAE Aren’t Bothered by India’s Citizenship Amendment Act Explaining Singapore’s Interest in the F-35B South China Sea: Indonesia’s Natuna Sea Dilemma With China How Asia Will Make Sense of Trump’s Strike on Iran’s Soleimani Play The Diplomat’s Quiz: January 19, 2020, Edition Pakistan Completes Production of First Batch of JF-17B Fighter Aircraft Australia, MIKTA and the Middle Power Question By Helen Clark A seemingly semantic debate is revealing of Australia’s international ambitions and its place in the world. Indonesia’s African Outreach By Istvan Tarrosy A newly defined African presence could give Indonesia greater political and economic clout on the global stage. Climate Change Brings Geopolitical Complications for Australia By Christopher Ryan As Australia struggles with climate changes impacts, so too will its neighbors. Australia, the US, and the Race for ASEAN’s Infrastructure By Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat and Ahmad Turdmuzi Australia and the U.S. are both providing infrastructure investments in ASEAN, sometimes in direct competition with each other. By Neeta Lal 7 years after an infamous rape and murder case, India has made little progress in preventing crimes against women. By Hunter Marston Xi’s visit bolstered China-Myanmar ties, but the West can still compete. By Yuzuki Nagakoshi Japan’s appeasement policy toward Myanmar, driven by geopolitics and disregard for human rights, is supporting the Rohingya genocide. By Yau Tsz Yan Is Beijing building a cross-border social engineering system, one software solution at a time? Diplomat Risk Intelligence Top Risks in Asia in Early 2020 By Ankit Panda 2020 in the Asia-Pacific is off to a busy start. What are the big things to watch for? No, Pakistan’s Gwadar Port Is Not a Chinese Naval Base (Just Yet) By Krzysztof Iwanek The Pakistani navy is entrenching itself in Gwadar but there is no evidence of the Chinese forces’ presence yet. Prabowo’s Introductory Visit Highlights Indonesia-Malaysia Defense Relations The new defense minister’s first overseas trip spotlighted some of the ongoing security collaboration between the two neighboring Southeast Asian states. What’s Next for Cambodia’s Opposition Politics? By David Hutt After a big week for the country’s opposition, a look at what may lie ahead for it as well as Cambodian politics more generally. Southeast Asia and the Major Powers: How Does Public Opinion Matter? A look at the significance of elite and mass opinion in ongoing regional dynamics. Thailand: Officials Hold Meeting with Southern Insurgent Group The meeting is the first in years in a decades-old insurgency in Thaiand's south. Is Japan Ready to Welcome Immigrants? By Mina Pollmann A recent survey by Japan's Cabinet Office has interesting implications for the push to welcome more foreign workers. Why Is Kyrgyzstan Being Considered for the New U.S. Travel Ban? Politico reported that the Trump administration is considering expanding the controversial “travel ban” to seven more countries, including possibly Kyrgyzstan. A New Japan APAC Insider Asia Scope China, What's Next? Indian Decade New Emissary New Leaders Forum Tokyo Notes Zachary Keck © 2020 Diplomat Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1905
__label__wiki	0.529208	0.529208	Shipping for Businesses Courier and Express Import Services Freight Packaging Out of Gauge DataNet Shipping for Individuals Shippers Inventory Track & Receive Order Packing Materials CollectionPostcode Destination Destination City Abidjan, Ivory Coast Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Abuja, Nigeria Accra, Ghana Adana, Turkey Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Adelaide, Australia Agadir, Morocco Ahmedabad, India Aktau, Kazakhstan Albuquerque, United States Alexandria, Egypt Algiers, Algeria Alicante, Spain Almaty, Kazakhstan Alor Setar, Malaysia Amman, Jordan Amritsar, India Amsterdam, Netherlands Anchorage, United States Anguilla, Anguilla Ankara, Turkey Antalya, Turkey Antananarivo, Madagascar Antigua, Antigua Antofagasta, Chile Antwerp, Belgium Apia, Samoa Aqaba, Jordan Arad, Romania Arica, Chile Arrecife, Spain Aruba, Aruba Ashdod, Israel Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan Asmara, Eritrea Astana, Kazakhstan Asuncion, Paraguay Athens, Greece Atlanta, United States Auckland, 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If you are shipping to Mumbai or you would like some additional advice in respect of shipping to Bangalore, please don't hesitate to contact our team. We are also shipping to Delhi along with many other destinations in India on a regular basis. Door To Door by Air Air Freight Services to India Air Freight Charges to India Airports Price (Minimum) Under 100kg Over 100kg Ahmedabad (AMD) £150.00 (Up to 55kg) £2.70 per kilo Amritsar (ATQ) Calicot (CCJ) Cochin (COK) Goa (GOI) Kolkata (CCU) Trivandrum (TRV) All air freight shipments are subject to a £35.00 handling and security charge in the UK in addition to the freight costs. The above costs are up to arrival at the airport only. They do not include ANY charges which may be incurred in India such as (but not only) terminal handling, documentation, customs clearance, examination, quarantine or inspection fees, customs duties, taxes or storage costs. 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Country Specific Requirements A fully completed Shippers Inventory in English is required if you are shipping to India. When sending personal effects to India the shipper and consignee must be the same person. We require a copy of your passport. Sea Freight Services to India Sea Freight Charges to India First Cubic Metre Each Extra Cubic Metre Chennai Seaport £123.25 (pro rata) Delhi Seaport Kolkata Seaport Mumbai Seaport Please note that there is a minimum charge of one cubic metre on all sea freight shipments. The above costs are up to arrival at the port / depot only. They do not include ANY charges which may be incurred in India such as (but not only) terminal handling, documentation, customs clearance, examination, quarantine or inspection fees, customs duties, taxes or storage costs. We are not able to offer a road freight service to this destination. Please select an alternative freight service from the tabs above. We are not able to offer a door to door service to this destination. Excess baggage services Whether you’re an expat, student, or holidaymaker, we offer a dedicated excess baggage service to India. With over 25 years’ experience in handling and forwarding excess baggage to India, we’ve helped people save vast sums of time and money with our services. If you’re interested in shipping packages or luggage to India, our air freight service takes approximately seven days for completion. For those interested in our sea freight services to India, the transit time (port to port), takes 35 days. Tudor International Freight Low Hall Business Park Low Hall Road Leeds, LS18 4EF T: +44 (0) 333 1234 747 E: sales@tudorfreight.com	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1913
__label__wiki	0.983285	0.983285	Life at TU Dublin Springboard+ Innovation and Enterprise PhD & Research Programmes & Opportunities Support for Researchers & Research Students Giving to the University This website makes use of cookies to enhance browsing experience and provide additional functionality. View Policy \| Accept Kerry Meakin Made Honorary Fellow of the British Display Society What's Happening: Menu Pictured at TU Dublin & Intel Event - Kerry Meakin, TU Dublin President, Professor David FitzPatrick, Dr Eamonn Sinnott, General Manager, Intel Ireland and Vice President, Technology & Manufacturing Group and John O'Connor, Dean & Director of the College of Arts and Tourism Kerry Meakin, Lecturer and Programme Chair of Visual Merchandising and Display at TU Dublin, was recently promoted to Honorary Fellow of the British Display Society for her services to the industry and teaching. In September 2019, Kerry presented some of her PhD research at a British Display Society Symposium at the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. In attendance were visual display professionals, UAL display lecturers and UAL students studying for a BA (Hons) Visual Merchandising & Fashion. Seven final-year Visual Merchandising & Display students from TU Dublin were also present. Kerry received this honour for her PhD research about the Professionalisation of Window Display in the UK & Ireland from 1909 to 1939, the Dublin School of Creative Arts receiving a Centre of Excellence Award in Visual Merchandising in 2017 in addition to her over thirty years of service to the industry. Kerry Meakin Honorary Fellow of the British Display Society Are you interested in a career in Visual Merchandising? Find out more here. Technological University Dublin Blanchardstown: +353 1 885 1000 City Centre: +353 1 402 3000 Tallaght: +353 1 404 2000 PhD & Research Member of the European University Association © 1998-, TU Dublin Cookies & Website Privacy Statement	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1914
__label__cc	0.576542	0.423458	Bourbon List Hors D’oeuvres & Platters Tying the Knot High Steaks Club Tony’s Diners Club romaine + feta + tomato + red onion + olives + greek dressing Fresh, green leafy romaine lettuce, tossed with roma tomatoes, shaved red onions, black and green olives. We sprinkle it with authentic feta cheese and our savory house-made Greek dressing. For the Enthusiast: Authentic Greek feta is a white salty cheese traditionally produced from sheep’s milk, or a combination of sheep and goat’s milk. A form of this cheese has been produced in Greece and surrounding areas for at least 1,000 years. Because of its versatility in a variety of dishes, it has become widely popular outside of Greece. The salty intensity of feta packs a lot of flavor in a little bite. True feta is made with sheep’s milk; that’s what Tony’s of Cincinnati uses. Opa! The Greek salad is wonderful… – KGouldie via TripAdvisor Back to Menu Make a Reservation Located on The Square Dresscode: Business Casual Phone: 859-955-TONY (8669) Email: guestservices@tonysoflexington.com Reserve Now On OpenTable.com Mondays:5:00pm - 9:00pm Tuesdays:5:00pm - 10:00pm Wednesdays:5:00pm - 10:00pm Thursdays:5:00pm - 10:00pm Fridays:5:00pm - 11:00pm Saturdays:5:00pm - 11:00pm Sundays:5:00pm - 9:00pm © 2020 Tony's of Lexington. Privacy Policy	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1917
__label__wiki	0.92913	0.92913	'Violent bully' given 33 life sentences for U.K. rape rampage while wrongly free ReutersMore from Reuters Updated: December 9, 2019 11:18 AM EST CRIME SCENE: Alleged taxi scammer arrested Transport truck found after woman killed in North York A handout photograph released by the Metropolitan Police on December 9, 2019 shows Joseph McCann in his custody photograph in London. (HANDOUT/AFP via Getty Images) LONDON — A convicted burglar who assaulted and raped women and children during a two-week rampage across Britain while wrongly free from jail was given 33 life sentences on Monday, with the judge saying he would never cease to be a danger to society. Joseph McCann, 34, was convicted of 37 offenses relating to 11 victims aged between 11 and 71, committed in April and May this year. He kidnapped seven people during the spree. He will serve 30 years in jail before he is considered for release. Sentencing him at London’s Old Bailey Court, judge Andrew Edis said he was “a coward, a violent bully and a pedophile.” “You have never expressed a word of regret or concern for your victims. You are entirely obsessed with yourself and believe you are entitled to use other people in any way you want,” he said. “You are a classic psychopath; I don’t think you will ever cease to be dangerous.” The head of Britain’s probation service has apologized for mistakes in McCann’s case, after it emerged that McCann should have been in jail at the time of his rampage, having been caught committing a burglary while on parole for an earlier one. Britain’s system for monitoring and rehabilitating criminals has become a political issue ahead of an election on Thursday, after a convicted terrorist on parole killed two people in a stabbing attack on London Bridge on Nov. 29. Prime Minister Boris Johnson accuses the opposition Labour Party of being soft on crime; Labour accuses the Conservative government of making the public less safe by under-funding the parole system. McCann’s attacks began on April 21, when he kidnapped a 21-year-old woman at knife point in Watford, north of London. Four days later, he kidnapped two more women in north London and subjected them to repeated rapes and sexual assaults. They escaped when one hit McCann over the head with a bottle of vodka, but he eluded capture. He then detained a woman in her home in northern England and sexually abused her children, aged 11 and 17, before raping a 71-year-old woman he attacked as she got into her car. He then kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in the car before both escaped and alerted police. The manhunt ended when police spotted McCann’s car and cornered him hidden up a tree. “McCann is one of the most dangerous offenders this country has ever seen and the sentence handed down today is a reflection of his heinous crimes,” Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin said. “We all had one ultimate aim – to bring McCann to justice and make sure noone else will ever have to suffer at his hands.” LILLEY: Throne speech shows Trudeau learned nothing in election OPINION: Fox promises to better guard the hen house GUNTER: No surprise Encana leaving after anti-oil Liberals re-elected FUREY: Facebook 'fact check' censors Sun column critiquing Liberals	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1919
__label__wiki	0.600526	0.600526	The Friday Five: Barbara and Joe Freeman BY Joanna Hauser March 22, 2019 The Friday Five Tin Toy Works is a specialty toy- and model-train-preservation business based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Owners, Barbara and Joe Freemen, talk about their path to making a business of repairing and preserving toys for an international network of museums, collectors, and dealers. How did Tin Toy Works come to be? Barbara: Joe repaired model railroad trains from Lionel and American Flyer as a pastime. That work evolved into a hobby shop called Hobby Corner, where we repaired and sold model trains and other items. That was in the late 1960s. Joe didn’t love the retail side of the business and we got so much repair work – which Joe loves – so we closed the retail business to focus on repairs and preservation. Joe: I’m a die maker by trade; that’s where my interests lie. We make our own tools, molds, dies, and over 6000 parts. We produce the largest selection of reproduction tin toy parts in the world. What types of toys do you restore? Joe: What we do is not necessarily restoration. We want to maintain as much of an object’s original integrity as possible. We do a lot of work on pre-turn-of-the-century, German-made toys from manufacturers like Bing, Marklin, Schuco, and S. G. Gunthermann – which is what I collect. Germany was the toy capital of the world at one point. The United States had Louis Marx and Company and many other companies, of course. Barbara: We work on all kinds of friction, battery operated, wind-up, and gear toys like trains, cars, robots, animals, and rockets. I too collect; I have a collection of Easter-related tin toys from the turn of the century into the 1960s. Who is your customer? Barbara: We have customers all over the world. About 60% are collectors, museums, and auction houses. The other 40% are dealers; of course, dealers are often collectors themselves. Our business is generated mostly by referrals. We also advertise in Antique Toy World magazine. What is one of your favourite restoration projects? Joe: Oh, we probably won’t say. We respect the privacy of our customers. Every day, we see something we haven’t seen before and every day is a new challenge. Why is it important to keep the history of toys alive through preservation? Barbara: Toys of the past are very special and had been very expensive to buy during their time. While the kids of today might be bored stiff by them, parlour toys were often reserved for play during special occasions like Christmas or a birthday. They were prized objects within the household. Joe: Toy and model making is an art; we want to preserve the history of toy manufacturers and their objects. It’s no less important than preserving historical architecture. Learn more about Tin Toy Works on their website. Five questions, one fascinating person (or team!) – look into the minds of movers and shakers in the nostalgia, game, play, or toy industry. The Friday Five: Jonathan Morris Most of us are familiar with Batman, Wonder Woman, Archie, Iron Man, and Casper. What about Doctor Hormone, The Eye, or Bozo the Iron Man? That's where Jonathan Morris comes in. The Friday Five: Steve Pasierb The Toy Association supports businesses that design, manufacture, and deliver entertainment products and advocates for the rights of factory workers and the health of children. Steve Pasierb explains the role of the Association in the $26 billion toy industry. Funko Retro TV Pops line includes #FantasyIsland and #MurderSheWrote figures https://t.co/D5nbmsPcti https://t.co/ZfYA9q73tI Ronald McDonald Adventures in Scouting https://t.co/5FPPspswLs #nostalgia https://t.co/i1eHZWLISr	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1922
__label__wiki	0.602205	0.602205	The Gods are Bastards It was a world of sword and sorcery, but that was a thousand years ago. Extra Chapters! Tag Archives: Casey Elwick August 6, 2018 UncategorizedAndros Varanus, Archpope Justinian, Basra Syrinx, Bishop Darling, Bishop Raskin, Branwen Snowe, Casey Elwick, Duster, Ephanie Avelea, Gabriel, Grip, Jenell Covrin, Nandi Shahai, Ninetails, Principia, Sally Tavaar, Schwartz, Sebastian Throale, Toby, TrissinyD. D. Webb < Previous Chapter Next Chapter > On a typically overcast, slightly muggy summer day in Tiraas, Basra Syrinx returned to her office to find it gone. She came to a stop in what appeared to be an empty stretch of hallway in the Temple of Avei, revealing confusion only by looking deliberately up and down. No one was visible nearby; the only noises were from the other end of the hall, where it terminated at a balcony overlooking a sizable atrium not far from the main sanctuary. Most significantly, the door to her office was not where it always was. Nothing but plain wall. Her expression finally shifted from its usual placid mask to vague annoyance. Syrinx reached up to run her hand along the wall, then grunted deep in her throat and nodded, finding the frame of the door with her fingers. Slowly she ran her hand along the invisible shape to the latch, which she turned. It was not locked or tampered with and shifted as smoothly in her hand as always, but she did not push it open or step in yet. Instead the Bishop resumed her tactile exploration, dragging her fingertips up the doorframe and along the top. She disturbed some kind of crunchy dust sprinkled along the top of the door frame. No—not dust. Crushed dried leaves. “Mm hm,” Syrinx muttered aloud, gripping the golden hilt of her sword with her other hand and continuing to sweep the dust away. Then suddenly, with a soft gasp, she jerked her fingers back, shaking her hand. There was no mark of any kind on her forefinger, but that had sure felt like— She retreated one step and ignited her aura, flooding the hallway with radiant divine magic. Immediately the illusion collapsed, the crumbled leaves atop the door frame evaporating into oily smoke, and the tiny elemental perched on the center chattered angrily at her in protest. “I thought this was an extraordinary effort for a novice prank,” Syrinx said wryly. “Mousie, isn’t it? You’re not the only one who’s bitten off more than they can chew today. Your little buddy Herschel is going to be up way past his bedtime if he means to start trouble with me.” Meesie hissed at her, puffing up her fur. Not for nothing was Basra Syrinx an admired blademaster; her sword cleared its sheath faster than most human beings could have visually followed, much less countered, and she swept the blade in a precise arc that would have struck down even that tiny target—had Meesie not been other than human. Meesie vanished in a puff of sparks as the sword’s tip slashed expertly through her space. Those sparks, instead of dissipating in the air, streamed away down the hall, where they coalesced again into the ratlike shape of the elemental, now perched on the shoulder of Herschel Schwartz, who had been standing there the whole time—not invisible, but simply not catching anyone’s notice until his familiar drew attention to his presence. “I had honestly given up, boy,” Syrinx said mildly, sheathing her sword. “It’s been, what? A year? And you’re only now getting shirty with me. Please tell me you’ve spent all this time making actual preparations and not simply screwing up your courage. Unless your whole plan is to disappoint me one last time.” “You know, Basra, that’s your problem in a nutshell. You always go right for the throat. Maybe you should relax, learn to play around a bit. Have some fun with life.” Schwartz’s tone was light, deliberately so. It contrasted with the rest of him—stiff as a flagstaff, shoulders gathered in tension, fists clenched and eyes glaring. Meesie hissed again, tiny flickers of fire racing along her fur. “This isn’t a chapbook and you’re not a hero,” she said flatly. “You don’t stand there and banter at me. If the next thing out of your mouth is a suitably groveling apology, I will give real thought to not taking a complaint directly to Bishop Throale and having you reassigned to a two-man research temple in Upper Stalwar.” In answer, he grabbed Meesie and tossed her forward. The elemental landed on the floor halfway between them and suddenly took up much of the hall space, in a leonine form almost the size of a pony. She had, at least, enough restraint not to roar and bring every Legionnaire in the temple running, but bared her teeth at Syrinx and growled. Loudly. Unfazed by this display, Basra narrowed her eyes, then flicked a glance at the recently-disguised door of her office before returning her focus to Schwartz, ignoring the hulking fire elemental entirely. “No,” she murmured. “You wouldn’t dare attack me openly—and especially not here. You have far too much intelligence and not nearly enough balls. What are you trying to distract me from, clever boy?” He’d been prepped for this, but Schwartz was no schemer or politician. He hesitated for a moment, betraying uncertainty, before jutting out his chin and forcing a facsimile of a cocky grin. “Oh, is that what I’m doing? Interesting theory. How willing are you to test it?” The dramatic effect, such as it was, suffered greatly from Meesie’s sudden reversal to her normal form. It had been much less than a minute; the divine magic saturating the temple put her at a serious disadvantage. Which, of course, underscored the Bishop’s point. Syrinx quirked one eyebrow infinitesimally, then turned and strode away toward the stairs down to the atrium. “Hey!” Schwartz shouted at her. “Are you that willing to bet I won’t just shoot you in the back?” She didn’t bother to inform him that people who actually did things like that rarely gave warning, but she did activate a divine shield. It was a low-energy glow hugging her skin, well below the power of a typical combat shield, but it would conserve her magic and almost certainly suffice for any fae spells done at her, especially in the temple. Syrinx arrived on the balcony just in time to spot her own aide being escorted through a door on the ground floor below. This wing of the temple, just behind the sanctuary, was mostly offices; that one was behind thick walls with just the one door positioned to provide space for guards to defend it, and used primarily for debriefings and interrogations of a relatively polite nature. Flight or fight risks would be detained in the cells in one of the basement levels. Those loyal to the Sisterhood who had something sensitive to reveal were handled here, where there was ready access to the temple’s main entrance and the medical wing. “Covrin!” the Bishop snapped, her voice echoing through the columned atrium. All those present, which consisted of the Legionnaires escorting Jenell Covrin and a couple of passing priestesses, turned and craned their necks up at her. Covrin met Syrinx’s eyes across the distance. Then, she smiled. A cold, cruel smile, befitting Basra Syrinx herself—and the girl Jenell Covrin used to be before her “mentor” had (as she thought) beaten her into submission. Not acknowledging the Bishop further, she turned and strode through the door, which the nearest Legionnaire shut firmly behind her. It was at that moment Syrinx registered that she was looking at Squad 391. Principia Locke turned from closing the door to give her the blandest, most placid smile she had ever seen. The Bishop turned and stalked for the stairs, immediately finding her way blocked. “Good afternoon, your Grace,” the dark-skinned young man before her said politely. “I wonder if I could have a moment of your time.” She held onto her professional poise by a thread. “I’m sorry, I don’t have time at the moment. Excuse me.” Syrinx moved to step around him, and he smoothly flowed aside to block her. Grunting in annoyance, she reached to shove him aside, and her hand impacted a hard surface which rippled with golden light, the shield dissipating immediately in a display of very fine control for a caster so young. “I’m afraid I must insist,” he said, still in a courteous tone. “Boy,” she grated, “do you have any idea—” “I have many ideas,” he interrupted. “I’m Tobias Caine, and I require your attention for a moment, Bishop Syrinx.” Basra went stock still, staring into his eyes. He gazed placidly back, awaiting her response, but she wasn’t really looking at him. Variables in this equation began to slot into place in her mind. “I don’t have time for this,” Syrinx said curtly, and barreled right into him, flashing her own shield into place. Toby was a martial artist and too deft on his feet to be so easily bowled down the stairs, retreating with far more grace than most would have managed in that situation, but the bubble of hard light surrounding her prevented him from making the best use of his skills, most of which relied on having something to grip in order to redirect her movements. He wasn’t without his own brute force methods, however, and before she’d made it two steps he conjured a staff of pure light. Just like that, her divine shield wasn’t doing her much good, as Toby used his staff skillfully to poke, bat, and shove her backward, as if he were blocking a rolling boulder. This stalemate did not favor Basra; he was physically stronger than she and had vastly greater mana reserves; both staff and shield flickered whenever they impacted, but hers would break long before his. “I realize you are impatient with this,” he said with infuriating calm while thwarting her efforts to descend as if this were all some sort of game. “But you need to think of your own spiritual health, Bishop Syrinx. Whatever happens next, the manner in which you face it will do a great deal to determine the outcome. Redemption is always—” Basra abruptly dropped her shield and whipped her sword out, lunging at him. As anticipated, instinct made him abandon his improvised jabbing and fall into a Sun Style defensive stance, which should have put her at a considerable disadvantage; his staff had much greater range than her short sword and her position on the stairs made it all but impossible to duck under it. That, however, was not her intent. Basra had trained against Sun Style grandmasters, which Toby Caine, for all his skill, was not yet. It took her three moves to position him, feint him into committing to a block for an attack from the right which never came, and then turn the other way and vault over the rail. She had only been a few feet down the stairs; it was a drop of nearly a full story. Basra had done worse, and rolled deftly on landing with her sword arm held out to the side, coming to her feet barely two yards from Squad 391. All six women were standing at attention, unimpressed by this. Locke, Shahai, and Avelea had composed features as usual, but the other three looked far too gleeful. Elwick, in particular, Syrinx knew to be more than capable of hiding her emotions. The fierce expression on her face boded ill. “Step aside, soldiers. That is an order.” “Mmmm,” Lieutenant Locke drawled. “Nnno, I don’t believe I will. Why? You think you’re gonna do something about it, Basra?” “Lieutenant!” one of the two priestesses who had paused to watch the drama burst out, clearly aghast. “You are addressing the Bishop!” “Am I?” Locke said pleasantly. “Well, if she still is in an hour, I guess I’ll owe her an apology. You just hold your horses, Bas. Private Covrin has a lot to go over.” She deliberately allowed a predatory, distinctly Eserite grin to begin blossoming on her features. “With the High Commander.” Toby had reached the base of the stairs. Above, Schwartz arrived at the balcony rail and hopped up onto it, his robes beginning to rustle as he summoned some air-based magic. A subtle glow rose around Corporal Shahai. Then another such glow, weaker but unmistakable, ignited around Locke. The elf’s grin broadened unpleasantly. “Your Grace?” asked the second priestess uncertainly, glancing about at all this. Basra Syrinx turned and fled. Toby moved to intercept her, but Syrinx grabbed the shorter priestess by the collar of her robes in passing and hurled the squawking woman straight into him. Schwartz didn’t make it to the ground that quickly and Locke’s squad made no move to pursue, simply holding position in front of the office door. She made it to the atrium’s main entrance with no further opposition, bursting past two surprised Legionnaires standing guard on the other side. Behind her, the office door opened, and it wasn’t Covrin or Rouvad who emerged to pursue her. The main sanctuary of the Temple of Avei was crowded at that time of early afternoon, which meant there was an unfortunately large audience of petitioners from all over the Empire and beyond present to see their Bishop come streaking out of a rear door at a near run. This escalated into an actual run when she heard the pounding of booted feet behind her. “You!” Basra barked at another pair of startled soldiers as she passed, flinging a hand out behind her. “Detain them!” “Your Grace?” one said uncertainly, and had Basra been in less of a hurry she would have stopped to take the woman’s head off. Figuratively. Probably. “BASRA SYRINX.” At that voice, in spite of herself, Basra turned, skidding to a graceful halt. Trissiny Avelea wasn’t running, but stalked toward her past Legionnaires who made no move to intercept her as ordered—unsurprisingly. The paladin and Bishop weren’t in the same chain of command, but the rank-and-file of the Legions would have an obvious preference if their orders contradicted each other. Trissiny was in full armor, fully aglow, and golden wings spread from behind her to practically fill the temple space. Gasps and exclamations of awe rose from all around, but the paladin gave them no acknowledgment, eyes fixed on Basra. The Bishop inwardly cursed the learned political instincts which had overwhelmed innate survival instincts; she should not have stopped. As tended to happen when she was confronted with an overwhelming problem, her entire focus narrowed till the world seemed to fall away, and she perceived nothing but the oncoming paladin. “Trissiny,” she said aloud. “You’ve clearly been listening—” Those wings of light pumped once, and Trissiny lunged at her with astonishing speed, sword first. Basra reflexively brought up her own weapon to parry, a divine shield snapping into place around her, and then two very surprising things happened. First, Trissiny beat her wings again—how were those things functional? They weren’t supposed to be solid!—and came to a halt. Second, Basra’s shield was snuffed out, untouched. Frantically, she reached inward for the magic, and it simply wasn’t there anymore. Tiraas was no stranger to storms, but the clap of thunder which resounded right overhead was far greater in power than the light drizzle outside made believable. “I actually thought you were too clever to fall for that,” Trissiny said, and despite the continuing presence of her wings, it was as if the avenging paladin had melted away to leave a smirking Guild enforcer in silver armor. “You just tried to call on the goddess’s magic right in front of a Hand of Avei who knows what you did. Congratulations, Basra, you’ve excommunicated yourself.” Amid the crowd, more figures were emerging from that door at the back of the sanctuary. The Hand of Omnu, Schwartz… And all of Squad 391. With Covrin. Of course. Obviously, Commander Rouvad wouldn’t go to a debriefing room for such an interview, not when she had a highly secure office to which she summoned people regularly. This entire thing… Syrinx realized, belatedly, how she had been baited and conned. She filed away the surge of livid rage to be expressed later, when she had the opportunity to actually hurt someone. For now, once again she turned and bolted toward the front doors of the temple, past the countless witnesses to her disgrace. The lack of any sounds of pursuit behind her began to make sense when she burst out onto the portico of the temple and had to stop again. Another crowd was gathered in Imperial Square; while the figure waiting for her at the base of the steps necessarily commanded widespread attention, he also discouraged people from approaching too closely. At least the onlookers were keeping a respectful few yards back. Including a handful of Imperial military police who had probably arrived to try to disperse the crowd but also got caught up gawking at the Hand of Death. Gabriel Arquin sat astride his fiery-eyed horse, who pawed at the paving stones with one invisible hoof and snorted a cloud of steam. His scythe dangled almost carelessly from his hand, its wicked blade’s tip resting against the ground. Hairline cracks spread through the stone from the point where it touched. “There is a progression,” Arquin said aloud, his voice ringing above the murmurs of the crowd, “which people need to learn to respect. When you are asked by the Hand of Omnu to repent, you had better do it. Refuse, and you will be ordered by the Hand of Avei to stand down. That was your last chance, Basra Syrinx. Beyond the sword of Avei, there is only death.” The crowd muttered more loudly, beginning to roil backward away from the temple. Nervous Silver Legionnaires covering its entrance clutched their weapons, bracing for whatever was about to unfold. Behind Basra, Trissiny and Toby emerged from the doors. Syrinx lunged forward, making it to the base of the stairs in a single leap. Immediately, Arquin wheeled his horse around to block her way, lifting his murderous-looking scythe to a ready position. Even disregarding the reach of that thing, it was painfully obvious she was not about to outrun or outmaneuver that horse. Any horse, but this one in particular looked unnaturally nimble. She pivoted in a helpless circle, looking for a way out. The crowd was practically a wall; behind was the Temple, once a sanctuary and now a place she didn’t dare turn. Trissiny and Toby had spread to descend the steps with a few yards between them. One pace at a time, the noose closed in on Syrinx, the space between the paladins narrowing as the Hands of Avei and Omnu herded her toward the Hand of Vidius, and inexorable death. Basra had spent too long as a cleric and politician to miss the deliberate symbolism. She could choose which to face: justice, death, or life. Tobias Caine was even gazing at her with a face so full of compassion she wanted to punch it. She didn’t, though. Instead, Basra turned toward him, schooling her own features into what she hoped was a defeated expression—based on the way people’s faces looked in her presence from time to time, as it was one she’d never had occasion to wear herself. She let the dangling sword drop from her fingers, feeling but suppressing a spike of fury at the loss when the expensive golden eagle-wrought hilt impacted the pavement. Just one more expense to add to the tally of what the world owed her. Ah, well. After today, carrying around a piece of Avenist symbolism probably wouldn’t have worked, anyway. Syrinx let Toby get within a few feet before bursting into motion. His own instincts were well-trained, and though he still wasn’t a grandmaster, Basra’s martial skill heavily emphasized the sword. In a prolonged hand-to-hand fight, she might not have proved a match for Toby’s skill—and definitely not now that only one of them had magic to call on. That dilemma was resolved, as so many were, by not fighting fair. It took her a span of two seconds to exchange a flurry of blows, carefully not committing to a close enough attack to let him grab her as Sun Style warriors always did, all to position herself just outside the circle the three paladins had formed and push Toby into a reflexive pattern she could anticipate and exploit. Arquin was momentarily confused, unable to swing his great clumsy weapon into the fray with his friends that close or exploit the speed of his mount, but Trissiny—also a highly trained fighter—was already moving around Toby to flank Basra from the other side. So she finally made the “mistake” that brought her within range of Toby’s grab, and allowed him to seize her by the shoulder and upper arm. And with his hands thus occupied, Basra flicked the stiletto from her sleeve into her palm and raked it across his belly. Almost disappointing, she thought, how fragile a paladin was. Hurling him bodily into Trissiny was pathetically easy at that point, and in the ensuing confusion of shouts which followed, she dove into the crowd, instantly putting herself beyond the reach of Arquin, unless he wanted to trample a whole lot of bystanders, to say nothing of what that scythe would do to them. He probably didn’t. Even as the helpless sheep failed to do anything to stop her in their witless panic, paladins always had to take the high road. Basra shoved through the throng in seconds, pelting right toward the only possible sanctuary that still awaited her: the Grand Cathedral of the Universal Church. “Toby!” Trissiny lowered him gently to the pavement; he was bent over, clutching his midsection, from which blood had already spread through his shirt and was dripping to the ground at an alarming rate. “No light!” Toby managed to gasp as Gabriel hurled himself to the ground beside him. “Not even an aura!” “He’s right, stomach wounds are amazingly delicate,” Trissiny said helplessly, finishing easing Toby down so he could sit upright. “It may need a surgeon, if you accidentally heal something in the wrong place… We need healers here!” she bellowed. “Keep to the plan,” Toby grunted around the pain, managing to nod to her. “You do your job, soldier,” he rasped, managing a weak grin. “After her! Triss, we’re surrounded by temples and gut wounds take a long time to do anything. I’ll be fine. Get moving.” She hesitated a moment, squeezing his shoulder. “He’s right,” Gabriel agreed, taking up her position to hold Toby upright. “Go, Trissiny!” “I’ll be back,” she said, and released him, rising and plunging into the crowd after Syrinx. Help really did come quickly. Barely had Trissiny gone before the Imperial police were enforcing a perimeter around the paladins, and a priestess of Avei had dashed up to them. She knelt and gently but insistently lowered Toby to lie on his back, whipping out a belt knife to cut away his shirt so she could see the wound. “Seems so excessive,” Toby grunted to Gabriel, who knelt there clutching his hand. “Coulda spared a lot of trouble if we’d just told her the plan was to let her get into the Cathedral…” “Well, yeah,” Gabe said reasonably, his light tone at odds with his white-knuckled grip on Toby’s hand, “but then she wouldn’ta done it.” “Oh, right. Inconvenient.” “You need to hush,” the priestess said in exasperation, her hands beginning to glow as she lowered them to the wound. “And try to hold still, this will hurt.” Trissiny managed to moderate her pace to an aggressive stride as she crossed the threshold into holy ground. The two Holy Legionaries flanking the door turned to her, but she surged past them without even so much as a sneer for their preposterously ornate armor. The timing of all this had been very deliberate. A prayer service was in session—not a major one, so the great sanctuary was not crowded, but people were present. Most significantly, the Archpope himself stood at the pulpit, presiding. Justinian liked to stay in touch with the common people, more so than did many of his predecessors, and thus could often be found holding public appearances such as these rather than delegating them to priests. A mid-week afternoon service just didn’t command much draw, however, and the room was filled to barely a tenth of its capacity. At the moment, nobody was getting any praying done, by the looks of things. Basra Syrinx was no longer in evidence, but her recent passage was obvious, thanks to all the confused muttering and peering around. At the head of the sanctuary, the Archpope himself was half-turned, regarding one of the rear doors into the Cathedral complex with a puzzled frown. The ambient noise increased considerably when the Hand of Avei strode down the central aisle, sword in hand, the side of her silver armor splashed with blood. “General Avelea,” Justinian said, turning to face her with a deep, respectful nod. “I gather you can shed some light on these events?” “Where is Basra Syrinx?” she demanded, coming to a stop even with the front row of pews. It was downright crowded up here, most of the parishoners present desiring to be as near the Archpope as possible. The first two rows were entirely filled, with people who came from the world over, to judge by their varied styles of attire. Just to Trissiny’s left were three Omnist nuns wearing the heavy cowled habits of the Order of the Hedge, a tiny sect which had no presence in the Empire. “You just missed her,” Justinian replied. For whatever reason, he continued projecting in exactly the tone he used for conducting worship. As did she, making their conversation clearly audible to the room. “She passed through here in apparent panic, demanded sanctuary, and retreated within. Toward her office, I presume. What has happened?” “Syrinx will be removed from her office as Bishop the moment the formalities can be observed,” Trissiny replied, her voice ringing over the astonished murmurs all around. “She has been cast out of the faith by Avei herself as a betrayer, abuser of the trust of her position, and rapist. Moments ago she compounded her crimes by mortally assaulting the Hand of Omnu. I demand that she be handed over to face justice!” The muttering rose almost to the level of outcry before Justinian raised both his hands in a placating gesture. Slowly, the crowd began to subside. “I dearly hope Mr. Caine is being tended to?” the Archpope said with a worried frown. Trissiny nodded once. “He isn’t so fragile, and healers were at hand.” “That is a great relief.” “Yes,” she said impatiently, “and so will be his attacker’s prosecution. Will you have your Legionaries produce her, your Holiness, or shall I retrieve her myself?” “Justice,” he intoned, “as you know better than most, is not a thing which yields to demands. These are serious allegations, Trissiny. Gravely serious. This situation must be addressed calmly, rationally, and with full observance of all necessary formalities. Frustrating as these things are, they exist for excellent reasons. We cannot claim to dispense true justice unless it is done properly.” “Please do not lecture me about the core of Avei’s faith, your Holiness,” Trissiny retorted in an openly biting tone, prompting another rash of muttering. “Justice is Avei’s province. Not yours.” “And yet,” he said calmly, “Basra Syrinx has claimed the sanctuary of this church. I cannot in conscience fail to respect that, on the strength of mere allegation. Even from a person of your own prestige, General Avelea.” “Am I to understand,” she said, raising her voice further, “that you are refusing to turn over a criminal to Avei’s justice, your Holiness?” “You are to understand the law of sanctuary,” he replied. “It is observed by all faiths within the Universal Church.” “Excuse me, your Holiness.” From the front pew near the Omnist nuns, another figure stood, wearing white robes with a golden ankh tabard. Bishop Darling inclined his head diffidently to the Archpope, but also spoke at a volume which was clearly audible through the sanctuary. “I have, personally, defended and protected Basra Syrinx from the consequences of her actions in the past, in pursuit of what I believed to be the higher good. I know you are aware of at least some of this. To that extent, I may be inadvertently complicit in anything she has done now. But a line has been crossed, your Holiness. If she has so violently erred that her own paladin has come after her in this way, I strongly advise against involving the Church in this matter.” “You know the value I place on your council, Antonio,” replied the Archpope. “But I question whether this setting is the appropriate venue in which to discuss matters of this severity and complexity. General Avelea, would you kindly agree to join me in private to continue this conversation?” “Some matters do deserve to be discussed in public, your Holiness,” Darling said before she could respond. “I speak in my capacity as Bishop. The Thieves’ Guild stands fully behind Trissiny Avelea in this matter.” The murmuring swelled again, and once more Justinian raised his hands for quiet. As soon as he had achieved it, however, and before he could take advantage, another voice intruded. “I concur.” Bishop Varanus rose from the pew next to Darling, towering half a head over the Eserite and turning his fierce, bearded visage on Trissiny. “Basra Syrinx is a rabid animal, and always have been. We all know this, and as Antonio has said, we all share guilt for whatever she has done. We have all failed to do our duty in getting rid of her, and now we see the consequences. Honor demands that this be addressed—now, and not later. In this one matter,” he nodded to the paladin, “the Huntsmen of Shaath stand behind Trissiny Avelea.” “The Brethren of Izara stand behind Trissiny Avelea,” said yet another voice before the noise could gather too much, and despite her own diminutive appearance, Branwen Snowe could project her voice easily through the hubbub. “Basra is a deeply troubled person. I would prefer that she be offered some manner of help, if any is indeed possible—but if she has offended so severely that her own cult demands justice, this is clearly a matter of the safety of all around her.” Beside Snowe, an old man with white hair rose slowly from his own seat. Though he looked frail, Sebastian Throale spoke clearly and as powerfully as anyone. “I am only passingly acquainted with Bishop Syrinx and have no personal opinion on this matter. But Trissiny Avelea has personally earned the trust and respect of my own cult—not a small thing, nor easy to do, given the relations we have historically had. If she deems this the right course of action, the Salyrite Collegium stands behind her.” “I’m not gonna lie, I am astonished that this is even a question,” piped yet another individual, practically hopping to her feet in the pew behind Throale. Bishop Sally Tavaar, all of twenty-six years old, was widely considered a joke by everyone except her fellow Bishops, all of whom were too theologically educated to be less than wary around a bard who acted the fool. “That woman is a detestable cunt and always has been, and you all know it. It’s about damn time somebody did something about it! Only reason nobody has is everyone’s afraid of her, and you all know that, too. It’s just plain embarrassing that an avenging paladin is what it takes to deal with this. The Bardic College stands the hell behind Trissiny Avelea!” “If I may?” Bishop Raskin was actually new to his post and not a widely known face yet, but he made a point of fully bowing to Trissiny. “These events are not a total surprise. The Hand of Avei has worked closely with those of the other Trinity cults, and I had some forewarning that events such as these might transpire. I have the assurance of Lady Gwenfaer herself that we have nothing but the greatest respect for our fellow paladin, and the Order of Vidius stands firmly behind her.” Beside him, a slim woman with graying hair rose and inclined her head solemnly. “My colleague speaks truthfully. Omnu’s faith stands behind Trissiny Avelea.” By that time, stunned silence had descended upon the Cathedral. It was allowed to hang in the air for a moment longer before Justinian spoke. “Anyone else?” he inquired, slowly panning his serene gaze around the room. Trissiny and the assembled Bishops just regarded him in turn, as did the astonished crowd. It was not every cult of the Pantheon, but it was most of the biggest and most influential. More importantly, it included several which agreed about nothing, ever. This show of unity without the active encouragement of a sitting Archpope—in fact, in defiance of one—was all but unheard of. It might actually have been the first time a Shaathist Bishop ever publicly endorsed a Hand of Avei. Justinian simply continued after a short pause, though. “Very well. I hear and thank you for your counsel, brothers and sisters. Rest assured, your opinions I hold in the utmost regard, and this will weigh heavily on my deliberations on this matter. Those deliberations must occur, however; it is no less than conscience and justice demand. For the moment, sanctuary will be observed.” “Are you actually serious?” Trissiny burst out. “You would really—” “Did you believe,” Justinian interrupted, staring evenly down at her from his pulpit, “that aggressive demands and political maneuvering would be enough to eviscerate due process? Is that Avei’s justice, Trissiny?” It was probably for the best that she had no opportunity to answer. “BASRA!” The entire room full of worshipers turned to stare at Jenell Covrin, who came striding down the central aisle in full Legion armor, trailed by Squad 391. “Come out and face consequences, Basra!” Covrin roared, stomping right up to stand next to Trissiny. “It’s me, Jenell—your little pet. The one you thought a victim!” “Young lady,” Justinian began. “I did this, Basra!” Covrin screamed. “I’ve been gathering every secret you tried to bury. I brought them to the High Commander! I BROUGHT YOU DOWN! You can hide from the paladin, but you can’t hide from the truth.” “Private,” the Archpope said more loudly, “this is not—” “I DID THIS TO YOU!” Covrin roared, her voice all but rattling the stained glass. “For everything you did to me, I WON! And if you want to try settling it one more time, you’re gonna have to come out and face me. You’ll know how to find me, you bitch! Until then, I. FUCKING. WIN.” “That is enough,” Justinian said flatly. “Sergeant at arms, please escort this young woman from the Cathedral.” “Squad, form up!” Trissiny snapped. Instantly, the six members of Locke’s squad pivoted and snapped into a wedge, blocking off the aisle from the Holy Legionaires who had started toward them from the doors. They very wisely slowed as the Silver Legionnaires formed a menacing phalanx bristling with lances. Four more Legionaries were approaching from the front of the Cathedral, but also did not get far. “Grip! Duster! Ninetails!” Darling barked. Instantly, the three Omnist nuns on the front row surged upright, hurling away their voluminous robes to reveal armed women in scuffed leather. All three Guild enforcers flowed into place in a triangle around Jenell and Trissiny, staring down the heavily armored Legionaries, who also came to a nervous halt. “Come on, Covrin,” Trissiny said quietly. “Nothing else we can do here…for now. We will have to finish this later.” She half-turned to meet Justinian’s eyes. The Archpope nodded to her once, and smiled. Epilogue – Vol. 4 March 12, 2018 UncategorizedArchpope Justinian, Casey Elwick, CT-16, Ephanie Avelea, Farah Szaravid, Farzida Rouvad, Merry Lang, Nandi Shahai, PrincipiaD. D. Webb The High Commander’s office was deep enough in the temple that the sound of thunder penetrated it, but even the fiercest rain was muted by intervening walls. It was not thundering now, and the dreary patter of Tiraas’s usual weather made no sound within—at least, not to the humans. Commander Rouvad and Squad One were left in silence. She had not directed them to stand at ease, or in fact said anything since their arrival. For over a full minute, Rouvad just studied them with a quizzical little frown, as if struggling to figure out what she was looking at. For such a famously self-possessed woman, it was an unusual expression. Almost alarmingly so. “Well,” the High Commander said at last. “Another mission completed, and with a nearly optimal outcome. I had a secondary reason for sending you there and placing you in charge, Lieutenant Locke. My intention was to give you the chance to become familiar with the other special forces squadrons, and get them accustomed to you. And, more specifically, to taking orders from you. Yet, all other squads have nothing to report of your interactions except that they arrived in Puna Dara to find you there, looking insufferably pleased with yourself, and reporting that the entire matter was settled.” She paused again, her mouth twisting to one side in a sardonic half-grimace that was far more characteristic of her. “Anything to add to that, Lieutenant?” Principia cleared her throat. “I am extremely pleased with the performance of my squad, Commander, but the situation placed us entirely in a supplementary role. I believe our assistance was useful, but ultimately it was adventurers who settled the crisis in Puna Dara. I cannot take credit, individually or on behalf of my unit. And I am always insufferably pleased with myself, ma’am, it wasn’t situationally specific. If I’ve done something to offend any of the other squad leaders, I’ll owe them an apology.” “You may be the most irritating presence in all my Legions, Locke, but you’re far from the only large personality, particularly among the special forces. Had you given offense, I’m sure I would be hearing about it. No, they are simply left in the same position they were to begin with: wondering just who and what you are and why I would put you in command. And as usual, you’ve managed to make a wreck of my careful planning without seeming to realize you were, and while fulfilling the letter of your orders to perfection. It’s an incredible talent you have, Locke.” She inhaled deeply, shoulders rising, and let out the breath in a heavy sigh. “You once had the gall to take me to task about the state of the Silver Legions’ combat readiness. You were not entirely incorrect, either. I certainly have not failed to notice that we are trained and equipped to fight the wars of two centuries ago. Nobody has, Locke; you weren’t clever for pointing it out. If anything, you underestimated the issue. The Silver Legions have not stagnated since the Enchanter Wars, we have regressed. The Legions which beat the Imperial Army at the borders of Viridill fought with battlestaves and magical artillery—primitive compared to those of today, but still. They also made heavy use of what, in any other organization, would be called adventurers. The last, lingering remnants of the Silver Huntresses and the old League of Avei. Those are truly gone, now, their only heirs the Legion special forces you didn’t get the chance to work with in Puna Dara recently. “Today’s Silver Legions serve a different purpose than did those of a hundred years ago. When we are sent to fight, it is against the same universal evils we always have. Demon infestations, renegade warlocks, necromancers, the odd outbreak of aggressive fae… The methods of wars past still work against them, as do our corps of priestesses wielding Avei’s light. In some ways, these events are relics of a world that is slipping further into the past every day. Apart from that, the Legions remain a calming influence, a reminder of Avei’s presence. It assuages the fears of many, and dissuades others, like the Huntsmen of Shaath, from becoming too aggressive in areas where we maintain a presence. In the century since the Enchanter Wars, we have specialized in very specific kinds of war—and they do not include grand interstate conflicts. The Silver Legions have not, since that time, acted against any mortal government by force of arms. And because of that, we are welcomed nearly everywhere…despite the memory of the war in which we were instrumental in bringing down the world’s mightiest empire. The nations of the earth permit our presence because we bring stability, and do not threaten their power. And so we are a universal force without having to fight for an inch of the ground we hold. Politics: the continuation of war by other means.” She paused, frowning slightly, then inhaled a slow breath as if steeling herself for something. “This was not a strategy instigated by any High Commander. It was a command directly from Avei.” Rouvad stood, suddenly, and paced out from behind her desk to stand in front of it, studying each of them in turn as she continued. “Avei’s orders were that this measure must be unequivocally genuine. No surreptitious preparations or great secrets: the draw-down of the Silver Legions was to occur in exactly the manner it appeared on the surface. Naturally rumors arose at first that this was a ploy, but they have faded with time. No hint has ever emerged that the Silver Legions are engaged in any hidden program to suddenly bring forth unexpected power, because no such program has existed. The only way to guarantee that a thing will not be found is to guarantee that it is not to be found. “You have all heard rumors of the First Silver Legion?” She paused, watching them. One by one, they nodded, as it became clear the Commander was actually waiting for a response. “That rumor persists throughout the Legions,” Nandi said finally. “It always has.” “It is a real thing,” said Rouvad, turning her back on them to stare at the wall behind her desk, on which was hung a map of the continent. “But not in the manner people suppose. Avei commanded the designation of First Legion be reserved, as we do for first cohorts within each Legion and first squadrons within each cohort, for special forces. The First is to serve as a military force that can actually take on any known opponent and win. And it does not exist. The First Legion is not training in secret; it is waiting to be called, at the goddess’s command.” Rouvad’s tight braid shifted slightly back and forth as she shook her head infinitesimally, still looking away from them. “Gods don’t commonly speak to their followers, and ours is no exception. I have rarely had orders directly from Avei during my tenure. One concerned you, Locke, as you know but I presume your squadron does not. Do they?” “If so,” Principia said carefully, “they didn’t hear it from me. You ordered me not to reveal that, ma’am.” “So I did. You do generally stop short of open disobedience, don’t you? Well, ladies, for your edification, when this one showed up here with her rap sheet longer than the history of some nations, transparently angling to get close to her estranged paladin daughter, my inclination was naturally to toss her out on her dainty ear. It was at Avei’s direct order that she was allowed to enlist.” The entire rest of the squad turned their heads to stare at Principia in disbelief. “Attention,” she snapped. Five pairs of eyes immediately faced front again. Rouvad turned, looking across their line with faint amusement on her features. It faded immediately. “The goddess has given orders again. What I am about to tell you is, until further notice, a secret of the highest order. You will reveal it to no one. So far as the Third Legion’s chain of command is to know, your squad will be answering to me directly in pursuit of a classified project, which is true, and your status is not otherwise changed. That project is the creation of a secret military unit within the Silver Legions capable of contending with and defeating any rival force which exists upon this planet. Avei’s orders come with a warning: a great doom is coming. She anticipates it will be less than two years before this force must be put to the test. That is how long you have, Locke. “For the time being you will remain ostensibly assigned as you presently are. Known only to yourselves and to me, however is your new designation: Squad 111. The First Legion is raised, ladies. Whatever is coming…it is nearly upon us.” She shook her head again. “May the goddess watch over us all. Any questions? Locke?” “You…that…” For once, it appeared Principia had nothing to say. She swallowed heavily and tried again. “To clarify… You expect me to bring the Silver Legions forward a hundred years? In less than two? In secret?” “I frankly don’t know what to expect,” Rouvad replied, with open bitterness. “Do you imagine this fills me with confidence, Locke? Do you really think I would choose to place this burden on your scrawny shoulders? But I am overruled. Here’s a great secret for you, perhaps more secret to some than to others: the gods are not always right. But they unquestionably know a great deal that we do not. And I trust Avei. Not merely as a divine being, but as an individual. From my survey of history and my personal experience with our goddess, I believe she knows what she is doing, even when no one else does. Let me tell you, this tests that belief. Tests, but does not break or even bend it. “You will answer directly to me in this, Locke. I am not advancing you to the rank of General, that would be ridiculous. I expect you to continue showing the proper decorum and respect toward your superior officers—the fact that you technically command a Legion now does nothing to change that expectation. Whatever and whoever you need, if it’s within my power, is yours. Everything goes through me, you are not to go off on your own or cut me out of the loop. But you will have my unconditional support, and are entitled to every resource I can muster for your project. Beyond that… The means by which this shall be done is left entirely to you. Understand?” “This is impossible,” Principia breathed. “No, Locke, you are impossible,” Rouvad said sourly. “This is merely the ludicrous, pestilential millstone round the neck you have been to countless souls over the last two and a half centuries. I bet it surprises you as much as me to learn that your career has been actually leading up to something. Regardless, you will doubtless have questions and require clarification, but I believe you had better take time to compose yourself before bringing them, otherwise they are unlikely to be pertinent. For now, dismissed.” They stood there, Principia with her mouth half-open in a totally uncharacteristic expression of baffled shock. The rest of her squad were varying degrees of stunned and alarmed; all had shifted their heads slightly to look at her sidelong. “You are dismissed, ladies!” Rouvad barked. Principia jumped physically, then sketched a salute. Ephanie, at the other end of the line, turned to open the door. They filed out in silence, the weight of the High Commander’s stare seeming to push them physically from the office. It didn’t let up until Ephanie shut the door behind them. The hall, fortunately, was deserted for the moment. “Sooo.” It was Merry who finally broke the silence. “Szaravid, you’re the historian here. On a scale of the Enchanter Wars to the Second Hellwar, how boned would you say we are, exactly?” “The Second Hellwar didn’t leave a single functioning kingdom anywhere on the continent,” Farah said faintly. “It won’t be anywhere near that bad. I mean, it can’t. Surely?” “Cut the chatter,” Ephanie ordered. “The LT is scheming.” They turned their attention on Principia, who was indeed staring into space, but not with the lost look she’d worn moments before. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, darting this way and that as if studying a large, complex diagram none of them could see. Noting positions, charting connections, extrapolating… “Okay,” she said, and nodded slowly. “All right. I have an idea.” By now, the Archpope’s seclusions were a known habit, and his personnel knew better than to try to dig him out when he was sequestered in prayer. He actually did sequester himself in prayer, at least enough to be seen doing it and preserve the legitimacy of the claim. But the habit served most importantly to earn him time to vanish into the catacombs beneath the Grand Cathedral and pursue the various projects which demanded his personal attention. Those no one else could be allowed to see. On this occasion, he passed through the labyrinthine passages and numerous barriers by rote, knowing every turn, every combination, every step to avoid setting off a trap, and came before a simple metal doorway with a small glass panel set into one of its upright columns. The maze Justinian had created beneath the Cathedral would have been a very irresponsible thing to leave for his successor, did he not specifically plan that there would not be another Archpope after him. The panel blazed alight at his touch, emitting a soft white glow. He submitted his palmprint, traced a pattern with his fingertip, tapped one corner in a specific rhythm, entered a fourteen-digit alphanumeric code, and played three bars of a melody on the one-octave piano keypad which appeared at the final stage. Only after all that did the door truly come alive, filling with a luminous panel of inscrutable blue light. Time was precious. Justinian stepped through it without pausing even a moment, despite the enormity of the step he was taking. He had grown accustomed to this particular miracle. That was related to the matter which so troubled him now. He emerged on a walkway of spotless, gleaming metal, extending hundreds of feet ahead and broad as a city avenue, lined with a waist-high balustrade along which softly glowing panels were spaced, providing gentle illumination. In fact, the path was curved, but on such a scale that it appeared perfectly straight from the perspective of any person standing upon it. Ahead, it terminated against a coliseum-sized structure which extended downward, like a massive, inverted tower. He did not step to the side to look over the edge; aside from being a disturbing view, he knew what he would see. Nothing, straight down, for countless miles until far below, at the center of the moon, was the mass shadow engine—now more a phenomenon than a structure. The awesome power source which provided not only the energy that had once ignited magic itself on the world, but the gravity which governed the very tides. He did pause to look upward, as he always did, at the transparent panel which formed the ceiling over this walkway. Above it stretched infinite space. It was good timing; at the moment, he could also see the world of his birth and all his careful plans, half-hidden by the moon’s shadow. There seemed no specific sound, save for the soft yet omnipresent ambient hum of powerful machines functioning at low power—unusual, in this century, but distinctive to those who knew it—yet mere seconds after Justinian’s arrival a whirring began. From the huge complex at the other end of the path, a small form rounded the corner of its open doorway and came whizzing toward him on nimble little wheels. It veered from side to side in excitement as it approached, emitting a pleasant series of chimes and brandishing its multiple insectoid arms in the air. Justinian smiled as he paced forward to meet it with a measured step, pausing when the Caretaker unit intercepted him. It wheeled around him in a full orbit in its glee before stopping, and he placed a hand atop its upper protrusion. “Hello, CT-16. It’s good to see you again. I am afraid the pace of events keeps me from visiting often, but it is always pleasant to meet you.” The little golem chimed happily back, ducking out from under his hand to whirl around him once more, then fell in beside him as he continued forward toward the huge structure. Justinian allowed the smile to melt from his features as he walked beside the Caretaker. “It has been bad, recently,” he said, staring ahead at the complex they approached. “This last week… My plans continue to develop apace, with no further major upheavals. It seems I have even gained some ground. The price, though, is bitter. Many who have seen the value of my ideas and shown loyalty to me because of them…sacrificed. Apprehended by the government and their lives and careers greatly disrupted. And those are the more fortunate. Others have perished…in unfortunate events when the Empire came for them, in violence at the hands of that creature Tellwyrn…” He sighed softly, and closed his eyes for a moment without slowing his pace. The Caretaker made a whirring little series of chimes and produced a brush on one of its arm tips, and gently stroked his sleeve in a comforting gesture. “And poor Ildrin,” Justinian whispered. “Loyal, trusted Ildrin, who has served me with such diligence. I killed her, CT. Oh, I was nowhere nearby. But I maneuvered her into a desperate position, orchestrated the systematic loss of all her support, left her isolated and vulnerable, knowing just how this would act upon her psyche… And then stranded her in a situation with a group of angry Eserites and a vengeful paladin. The outcome was mathematical. It doesn’t matter who held the blade, the blood of a faithful friend is on my hands.” For just a moment, his normally controlled features twisted in disgust. “Because she was no longer useful. Because knowing as much as she did made her a liability. Because it was…strategic.” He slowed, swerving to the side, and finally come to a stop, planting his hands on the rail and leaning over it, head hanging. The Caretaker sidled up beside him, chiming questioningly in concern. “I feel it coming on,” Justinain said, opening his eyes and gazing down into empty space. Before him was a perspective the human mind had not evolved to see; it was dizzying, disorienting. The infinite abyss extended down to a swirling mass of light and shadow, the size of a continent and which his mind wanted to believe couldn’t be anything like that in scope. All around, more complexes extended downward from the outer crust of Luna Station, which curved away in all directions. “I was so passionate when I began this,” he said into the void. “So full of indignation at what the gods have done to us. I have learned…sympathy. For them, for their choices, even for the costs they have inflicted on the world in the name of protecting their power. They were hopeless rebels who rose up to oppose omnipotent beings—just as I am now. And it begins so easily. One compromise, then another, and so on, and each makes the next easier. The cost not so painful. The guilt…more distant. Already I have reached the point where it does not hurt…enough. Not enough, CT. All this, Ildrin alone, this should make me weep. Yet I see only the place it served in the larger plan. This is the sign that I should stop. I am no longer the pure-hearted idealist who began this. I no longer trust myself with the work. “And yet…and yet, I have no choice. There is no one else who can take up the task. If I leave it now, it will all have been for nothing. The work still needs doing; all these sacrifices cannot have been wasted. The best I can do, anymore, is loathe what it is making me.” Surreptitiously, the Caretaker grasped his robe firmly with two of its arms. Justinian smiled, reaching around to pat the golem’s top again, and straightened up, away from the drop before him. “Thank you, my friend, but you needn’t worry. I don’t desire to rest. I do not deserve peace. No…there is only the work, now. But I’m afraid, CT. I am so very terrified that by the time I come to the end of this, even if I succeed… That I will have become a monster who absolutely cannot be allowed to have the power it will grant me. And this hideous cycle will only begin again.” He stepped back, and raised his head further, again looking up at the arch of space ahead. The world had risen, its edge now clipped by the rim of the skylight. In minutes more it would pass out of view. “I wonder,” he whispered, “if they ever reached this point? If they faced the knowledge that they needed to stop…but could not afford to?” Man and golem stood that way, silent, for long moments of contemplation. At last, Justinian began walking again, resuming his course, and the Caretaker came with him, finally releasing his robe. “I appreciate you, my little friend,” he said. “Confession is very healing; it is no accident it plays a role in Izara’s faith, and several others. There is simply no one else to whom I can unburden myself, anymore.” He patted the Caretaker again. “Few and fleeting as these meetings of ours are, they are precious to me. If I could not admit to someone how much all this troubles me… I believe I would be lost already if not for you. Thank you.” The golem chimed pleasantly in reply, again reaching up to gently grasp his sleeve in one of its metal appendages. “I shall do my utmost,” Justinian said gravely, “to make the outcome of my labors worthy of your trust. I know you waited alone for a very long time. Your first masters began in pursuit of science and the ultimate truth of the universe, and fell to vicious insanity. The Pantheon sought justice, freedom, and a new hope for all the people of this world…and look what they immediately did. The cycle must break, CT. I hope against hope I shall be the one to do it. That you will not have to be disappointed yet again.” The Caretaker just chimed soothingly, and stroked his arm again with the brush. They were silent until they reached the broad opening into the complex, the massive round tower of metal descending into a spire that aimed at the moon’s terrible core. “More immediately,” Justinian said in a thoughtful tone as they descended a long ramp, “I find that I have made fundamental errors which I must now correct. I underestimated how difficult it will be to keep all these various factions and foes stirring for the time it will take, without allowing them to destroy me. They are more capable than I anticipated, this is true. But more significantly, I failed to account for so many sharing information. Far too many are starting to realize who sits behind all their troubles. I blame Vesk,” he added wryly. “In the bardic epics, fairy tales, even the modern chapbooks and comics, enemies never talk to each other—at least, not openly. And now I find myself greatly threatened because so many of my opponents have simply had conversations, like adults. Foolish of me, unforgivably foolish.” They rounded a curve, the ramp switching back down; this part of the complex had been built to be navigable by wheeled servants like CT-16. Ahead, an opening appeared at the end of the arched passageway. “That can be dealt with,” Justinian said, frowning deeply now. “At the cost of causing more stains on my soul, and more pain and havoc for who knows how many other souls who have done nothing to deserve it. But…I cannot see any other way. They must all turn on me in the end, but not yet. It isn’t time yet, and I can be easily overthrown, still. If I am to postpone this reckoning until the right moment, I must give the heroes and villains and meddlers in general something else upon which to focus for a time.” They emerged from the tunnel onto a balcony which ringed a circular space with no floor; below was only the infinite drop. From the dome arching overhead extended machines which projected suspensor fields holding up the object in the center of the open space. The thing itself was fully encased in a rectangular brick of transparent material, almost as clear as the air and visible only by its corners, but incredibly hard and a disruptor of transcension field energy besides. Not despite but because of its open plan, this spot was the most secure space in the solar system to keep a highly dangerous object. If the suspensors shut off for just a second, the thing they held would plummet straight down to the annihilating force of the mass shadow event, which nothing could survive. “And so,” Justinian said grimly, stepping forward to grasp the rail before him and stare at the thing he had secreted away here, “I will regret that there is no one left in a position to forgive me for this. I must…unleash something upon them all.” Within the clear block, the long skull, larger than he was, seemed carved of ebony. Justinian stared at the huge, empty eye sockets, meeting without flinching the knowing grin of Belosiphon the Black. “Something great. Something terrible.” February 19, 2018 UncategorizedAnjal, Ayuvesh, Casey Elwick, Ephanie Avelea, Farah Szaravid, Fross, Gabriel, Juniper, Lieutenant Laghari, Merry Lang, Nandi Shahai, Principia, Rajakhan, Ruda, Toby, TrissinyD. D. Webb The mounted cultist turned to see what was bearing down on him, hesitated for a bare instant, then sent his giant mechanical rooster stomping in the other direction as fast as it would go. It immediately encountered an ice slick, lost footing, and skidded across the plaza in a painful-looking tangle of metal limbs, leaving his still-sparking lance to lie on the ground behind him. “Nice, Fross!” Gabriel shouted, even as Whisper erupted from a burst of shadow and smoke on the wall behind him. Trissiny didn’t bother to pursue the fallen rider, adjusting the angle of Arjen’s charge to head for the second cultist. This one was made of sterner stuff. The cobblestone elemental continued methodically backing up for another charge at the gates, incidentally opening a path between them, and the mechanical insect lunged forward to meet the charging paladin head-on. Arjen was taller and bigger, but the cultist’s weapon had a longer reach. By accident or design, he rammed its sparking tip into the horse’s chest as they impacted. Arjen bellowed in pain, staggering and barely keeping his footing on the rain-slick pavement; the force of the impact sent him off-course, enough that Trissiny’s futile sword swipe at the spider-rider in passing went nowhere near him. Both riders arced about as they recovered, wheeling to face one another again. Whatever damage had been done to Arjen he seemed to have shrugged off—no surprise, given the divine energy blazing from his rider. The cultist’s weapon had been bent by the collision, and was now emitting constant sparks from the two spots where it had warped in addition to arcs of electricity from its tip, all of them creating a staticky haze in the rain. He seemed undeterred, however, leveling his crumpled lance and surging forward again. It was at that point that the Rust holding the battlements above the gatehouse managed to draw a bead on Trissiny. Immediately she pitched sideways in her saddle, keeping enough of a grip on the reins and with her knees to avoid tumbling off, but slowing Arjen’s loop as he responded to his rider’s distress. The noise of the sonic weapons was oddly muted to those at whom they were not directed, but their shrill whine rose above the voice of the wind and receding thunder. Even as she struggled to stay mounted, Trissiny’s aura brightened, hardening into an extra layer of divine shielding encompassing both her and Arjen, and the golden wings still unfurled behind her actually extended several feet as Avei’s hand upon her intensified. She was hunched over in clear distress, but tried to straighten Arjen’s course and meet the enemy’s six-legged charge. It was an awkward recovery, though, and even with his bent lance, the cultist had more speed and a more direct angle at their exposed flank. The goddess’s attention seemingly spared Trissiny the worst of the sonic weapon’s effect, but whatever Avei’s reason, she did not intervene decisively to end the battle. Fortunately, she was not the only one in a position to do so. A bolt of black light ripped through the downpour, striking the Rust rider straight in the chest and nearly unseating him. His lance jerked off-target, but his mount did not slacken its speed. Whisper was galloping faster than Arjen, her invisible hooves having no trouble on the slickened pavement, and Gabriel passed Trissiny to meet the attacker in a proper joust, scythe leveled before him. The man’s life was saved by the fact that the wicked blade did not strike him with its cutting edge; instead, the cap of its pole lifted him clear out of the seat and hurled him several yards backward in an impact that had to have crushed ribs at the very least. He brought Whisper around in an impossibly nimble pivot; where Arjen had greater strength and endurance than a flesh-and-blood horse, she was more agile than a mountain goat. Trissiny had recovered enough to guide her steed out of the path of the runaway mechanical spider, which clattered past on a course that would eventually lead it to crash into the wall. It was probably gratuitous, then, for Gabriel to chase it down, but he did. “Fross!” Ruda barked, pointing her rapier at the battlements. Some of the Rust had switched targets, but Gabriel was wearing one of the Avatar’s earplugs and didn’t even seem to notice that he was being fired upon. “On it!” The pixie streaked upward just as Gabriel slammed the blade of his scythe into the middle of the fleeing mechanical, causing it to immediately burst apart in a profusion of suddenly rusted-out parts, but she slowed in confusion when the attacking cultists abruptly tumbled forward over the ramparts. The reduced Squad One moved as quickly as they could without making noise that would give away their position, which was quicker than almost any other phalanx in the Legions thanks to the silencing charms Locke had laid on their boots. Even so, with Shahai remaining behind with two of the Punaji troopers who hadn’t recovered enough to be fit, in Lieutenant Laghari’s assessment, for combat, they made a pitifully short line. Ephanie took a position on the left flank, where she would be able (hopefully) to break away and deal with a cultist who was separated somewhat from their group, firing at whoever was attacking the gate below. Behind the Legionnaires, Laghari led his troops from the front, peeking up over the edge of the trapdoor down into the gatehouse. He wasn’t being rained on directly due to a column-supported roof covering this section of the walls, and the water still blowing through the area didn’t impede visibility too much. There were six Rust atop this gatehouse, all lined against the battlements with their weapons aimed below, and unaware of what was happening behind them—their last information being that the defending soldiers were incapacitated below. Unfortunately, someone had warned the north gatehouse, and four more armed Rust were coming. Squad One had barely got into formation when they began shouting warnings to their fellows. “CHARGE!” Ephanie roared. Shields up and lances forward, the Legionnaires pounded across two yards of rooftop and slammed into the cultists from behind, just as they began to turn. Almost the whole group immediately went over the walls, Merry losing her grip on her lance as it was stuck through someone’s midsection. Ephanie broke formation and rushed the outlier barely in time to prevent her from bringing her sonic weapon to bear. Slamming her shield into the woman’s body, she shoved as hard as she could, driving her back against the battlements. Behind her, the chaos of battle erupted, Merry and Farah going down with shrieks of pain as the Rust’s reinforcements fired sonic weapons into their formation, and then the roar of staff fire as Laghari and his troops burst out of the stairwell, ripping into the intruders with a torrent of lightning bolts. Ephanie couldn’t see the outcome; if the Rust’s shields operated like standard arcane ones, they wouldn’t function in the rain. If not… One way or the other, this was about to be decisively over. She had to focus on her own fight. The cultist before her had a metal plate covering one eye with a gap in it, in which a green crystal was set. This did nothing to disguise her furious snarl. Ephanie got her shoulder into the shield and rammed her even harder against the battlements, the position of her body preventing the cultist from getting the sound-thrower aimed at her. It also made it impossible to bring her lance into place, however, so she dropped it and drew her short sword. Her attempted stab was caught. Of course that would be the side on which her enemy had the metal hand. They struggled for position and for control of the blade, unable to use weapons and reduced to an ugly contest of brute strength. Ephanie was taller and stronger than the average woman, than the average Legionnaire, even, but her foe was part machine, and she was not gaining ground. The fact that none of her squad had already intervened was a bad sign. “Um, scuze me, sorry ’bout this…” She barely had a moment to process the squeaky little voice which sounded from close by, and then she was bodily picked up and moved backward through the air, supported by apparently nothing. The cultist staggered forward, or started do, and then a little ball of silver light darted in between them and hit the machine-augmented woman in the chest with a tiny bolt of lightning. That was enough to drive her back against the battlements; a second sent her tumbling over to join her fellows. “Fross!” Ephanie gasped. “Good timing!” “Thanks, I do what I can!” She finally could turn to assess the situation, and found it dramatically improved from minutes ago. All three of her women were apparently all right, the two who’d been hit again sitting against the battlements with Nandi making a beeline for them, already glowing. Lightning burns marred the walltop around the Rust who had tried to come from the other gatehouse, every one of whom now lay unmoving in the rain. “THE STORM CARES NOT!” Laghari bellowed, brandishing his staff overhead. His soldiers roared defiantly in response, and he turned to speak more calmly to his new allies. “Damn glad you ladies were along for this! But there’s no time to rest on our laurels. The bastards are in the Rock—we have to go protect the King and Queen!” Fross chimed loudly for attention. “I realize that’s your duty and all, but considering what’s about to shake loose down there, you guys may wanna sit this one out.” “Why the fuck are you brunette?” Trissiny brought Arjen to a stop, grinning down at Ruda. “Really? That’s the first thing you have to say to me?” “It looks wrong, and I demand you change it back immediately, and also I am damn glad to see you, Shiny Boots.” Ruda’s return grin was huge, and she punched Trissiny’s booted foot, causing Arjen to snort in annoyance and twist his neck around to give her a look. “This doesn’t look much like you learning to be sneaky in Tiraas with the Eserites, but I can’t say you haven’t got some damn good timing!” “Triss!” Gabriel barely got Whisper to stop, and she still pranced in place, whinnying excitedly in the rain. “I never thought I would say this, but I wanna hug you! Wait, why are you a brunette?” “Thanks for the assist, Gabe,” she replied, saluting him with her sword. “I see somebody’s taught you to actually ride instead of let Whisper haul you around like a plough. Is the whole class here?” she added, frowning around as the rest of them came forward. “I don’t see some people I would expect… And one I didn’t.” “You will never be rid of me, young lady,” Principia said grandly. “I’m like a soulbinder hex, an Imperial tax assessor and a case of the crabs in one svelte, dashing package! Also, you need to dye your hair back the way it was ASAP. You’re starting to look like my mother, and that’s just fucking disturbing.” “Button your yap, Serg—Lieutenant, before I kick it buttoned.” Trissiny ruined the threat with a broad grin. “All right, big reunion, lots of stories to catch up, but later,” Ruda interjected. “We’re at war here. Boots, I don’t suppose you know who’s conjured the cobblestones to knock on my front door and how quick that’ll get us into the fortress?” “Actually, yes, I brought a witch who’s doing that,” Trissiny said, “and our attack on this gate was a diversion. I’ve got Guild people quietly getting into the north gate as we speak.” “Even better! Let’s haul ass, people, time’s wasting.” Ruda immediately set off around the Rock’s corner tower at a run, the rest of them swiftly falling in behind her. In fact, the two mounted paladins outpaced her swiftly, as did Principia, leaving Toby and Juniper to bring up the rear. The dryad was the last of them to round the corner, but Toby trailed to a halt after going only a few feet, then turned to stare back at the scene before the gates. The bedraggled pavement elemental was still beating itself against the wood, but after the damage the Rust had done, it wasn’t making any further progress. In fact, each hit now dislodged more cobblestones than splinters; it was staggering unevenly on each charge, and at this rate would shake itself to pieces long before breaking the gates down. Two mechanical mounts lay broken on the plaza, which Toby ignored. As he stared at the handful of cultists who had fallen from the walls, one moved weakly. The Hand of Omnu turned resolutely and strode back to them. He knelt beside the first person he came to for only a moment, touching the man’s neck with two fingers, then straightened and moved on to the next. Toby moved swiftly down the row, checking for breath, for pulses, and finding nothing until he got to the very last, the one who had fallen off the wall at the farthest edge of their formation. She tried feebly to push at him with her working hand. The other arm, a metal one, had been bent to the point of uselessness beneath her. Toby gently caught her attempted shove, a faint light rising around him and causing the falling rain in their vicinity to glitter gold. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, the golden glow intensifying in his eyes. “Can you turn your head to the side? If not, try to breathe through your nose. You can choke on rainwater in this position.” “Wh—why…” she rasped, then coughed, spraying raindrops. He quickly ran his hands over her, palms glowing, and closed his eyes in concentration. “All right,” Toby said, opening them to look at her seriously. “Looks like you landed on the machine parts. There’s not a thing I can do to fix those, sorry. You haven’t broken your spine or your head, miraculously, but when you hit the ground this…chassis bit that’s connecting the metal arm to your rib cage got shoved into the wrong place, and it’s pressing on your vertebrae and lungs. I’m going to have to move it back before I heal anything. Do you understand?” “Why…help me?” she whispered. He just shook his head. “This is going to hurt, a lot. I need you to try to stay focused, all right? It’s okay to yell. Keep your head turned if you can so you don’t choke on rain. Are you ready?” She stared at him with one frightened eye and a cracked green crystal. Gently, Toby took her good hand and curled his fingers around hers. “I’m not going to force anything on you, not even healing. You need to know that if we don’t do this now, you’re going to die, and not quickly. You are bleeding a lot. I have to put bones and metal bones in the right place before healing or it will kill you. But if you don’t want me to, I won’t. Understand? It’s your body and your life. You’re in charge here.” Almost infinitesimally, still holding his gaze, she nodded. He nodded back. “Ready, then?” She squeezed her eye shut. “Do it.” She did a lot more than merely yell, thrashing so badly that he had to pause in his work to hold her down until she could control herself. The woman had a metal collarbone which arced around to cover most of her back, and she had landed on it. Her machine arm was crushed into uselessness and the thick metal brace had been shoved against her spinal column, tearing muscle and skin and threatening to dislodge a lung, and possibly her heart. Forcing it back into an approximation of its proper position was absolutely brutal work. He finished it as quickly as he was able, though. Toby had crimson stains on his shirt and flecks of blood as far-flung as his face, just beginning to be rinsed away by the rain, by the time he could move on to healing the actual damage. That, he did as rapidly as possible, using precise and careful jets of golden light to knit ligaments, bones, and muscle back together. Simply suffusing her with divine power could have congealed the mess of her torso into a lethal knot. She lay sobbing through most of it, even as the pain receded under all the divine light. By the time he was done, though, she had stilled, just breathing heavily. “All right,” he said at last. “You’re going to live. That’s the best I can give you; I’m sorry. I can’t do anything to fix the machines, but fortunately none of them are running your vital organs. Divine light should stave off infection, but you have lost a lot of blood. You need to get food down quickly, and you’ll have to rest a lot. First we’ve gotta get you in out of this rain. They said the other gatehouse was open; there will be medical supplies in there. C’mon, you can lean on me.” He rose from his knees and started to help her upright, but she caught his hand again, with more strength this time, and made no move to stand, instead staring up at him. “Why?” she asked a third time. The golden halo dimmed from around Toby, and he let out a soft sigh. “…because I live in a world where that’s a reasonable question. Because that won’t change unless someone changes it. Because…I seem to be the only one here.” She nodded, weakly, and began shifting to rise. He slipped an arm under her shoulders, drenching the sleeve in a mix of rainwater and blood. “You want to remake the universe,” the woman grunted as they carefully stood. She had to cling to him. “Make your vision reality. I…relate.” “And what’s your vision?” he asked. She offered no reply. They simply hobbled off through the rain, toward the gatehouse. Above them, the sky was starting to lighten, and the thunder had all but faded. Water still pounded the city, but the storm was passing. “Now, we can concoct a story between us how you defeated me,” Ayuvesh said while they stared at him, nonplussed. “Of course I’ll value your input, but I like the sound of you pressing forward against my scream-weapon through sheer force of will. That will greatly impress the palace guards who have been incapacitated by it, and rumors of your inhuman strength will spread through the city! We want you to come out of this securely in power, after all. But I do have a fondness for the old stories of improbable heroics and mighty champions—it’s a known weakness. What do you think, too implausible?” The King and Queen exchanged a married look. “It’s a trick, clearly,” Anjal said, folding her arms. “I just can’t spot the snare.” “Oh, I assure your Majesties it is a trick,” the leader of the Rust replied, his charming smile belying that he was still on his knees with his hands in the air. “I am not playing it on you, however, but rather inviting you to join me in it. I could win this battle, yes…but not the war which would follow. You were never my enemy. That we have been pushed to fight one another tells me the true threat has yet to be revealed.” “Mm.” Rajakhan grunted, nodding slowly. “You do see it, then, the doom that would befall you if you seized the Rock.” “Befall me and all of Puna Dara, and soon enough the other Punaji cities,” Ayuvesh said, his expression sobering. “I am not blind, Blackbeard. If my fellows and I took the government… It remains an open question whether we could hold the Rock even against the outrage of the city itself, and the other players who desire the Crown. And if I managed that, what then? Tiraas would never permit this. To prod at that dragon would spell the end of the Punaji as a free people. Whatever else you think of me, believe that I want that outcome no more than you.” “I usually love hearing traitors spout patriotism when on their knees,” Anjal remarked. “Less so from one who might get up at any moment.” Ayuvesh did not get up, nor even lower his hands, but his expression hardened. “You created this situation. Never once did I or any of my people even hint at disrupting the order of society or interfering in your rule. I knew where that would lead! We are both leaders, your Majesty, and we are both Punaji. Once a challenge was made, withdrawal was impossible; the only outcome was escalation. You have advanced it faster by unleashing your daughter’s adventurer friends upon us, but this began when you brought that Silver Legion to occupy the streets and stifle our activities. Had you not, my Order would never have made a move against you!” “That’s a very easy thing to claim now, when you come asking for trust,” Anjal said skeptically. “If we do take your word on that, it means…what? That you only intended to overthrow our culture, not the government, and install yourselves as a religious authority?” “I preach that each man and woman is their own authority,” he said patiently. “And an overthrown culture usually ends up in ruins; the process of absorbing a new idea, of incorporating it safely, takes generations. That is our aim—permanence. It will not be achieved by toppling what is in place, but by adding to it. And who knows? Perhaps our will would not have been strong enough. If our ideas did not have merit enough to stand upon their own, then by those same ideas, they would have faded away in time. None of that matters now. The truth of this moment is that no, I am not asking for trust.” Both drew swords and took a step back as he slowly stood up, lowering his hands, but Ayuvesh kept his movements even and calm, and made no further motion once he was back on his feet. His screamlance lay against the wall, apparently forgotten. “We are a practical people, aren’t we? And so I’ve demonstrated that I can kill you and take your crown at a whim, because simply telling you so would achieve nothing. If you so despise me that you are willing to exchange your lives and the freedom of the Punaji people for assurance that I will be destroyed within the year, well, you have the power to choose that. If not, I offer to place myself and my people at your mercy… Because that is the only way I see for my Order and my nation to survive.” He lifted his chin, staring calmly at them. “Bending the knee is a very small price to pay for that. I know my worth, my value as a living, thinking person. It does me no harm to show humility, if that is what it takes.” “I see the logic in what you say,” Rajakhan rumbled, lowering his sword. “All of it. It has a reversal, though. Your sham of a surrender would put you in the Rock, with the capability of overthrowing us at any moment. What you are trying to do is install yourself as the power behind the Crown.” Ayuvesh held up one finger. “A power in addition to the Crown, answerable to it. Have you troubled to learn anything of our teachings, Rajakhan? I think you will find little there to which any Punaji would object. Regardless, I know nothing of running a nation or contending with political struggles. Overthrowing you by subterfuge would be as futile as doing so by force. Puna Dara is blessed to have a good King in these turbulent times. If you will accept the surrender and service of the Infinite Order, you will find us undemanding and, I think, quite useful.” “How?” The Queen could pack a tremendous weight of cynicism into one word. “For example,” Ayuvesh said to her, his mouth quirking wryly to one side, “I came out tonight planning to cut my way through the Rock’s gates, and enduring the inevitable losses we would suffer from their defenders. Instead, imagine my surprise at finding myself suddenly approached by a mysterious partner offering to open the gatehouse for us. They were strange people; it was a succubus who slipped in and unlocked the door. Answering to a hooded man who, so far as I know, thinks I could not tell he was a dragon. A green dragon, not a red, and thus a most incongruous leash-holder for a child of Vanislaas. And I have been asking myself, as I’ve made my way through your fortress.” He spread his hands in an eloquent shrug. “What was it that prompted my King to invite a Silver Legion here to lean upon us? What had we ever done to so offend him? And now I wonder what little voice has been whispering in your ear, as well as mine.” Anjal suddenly bared her teeth; Ayuvesh took a step back as she swung her sword, but the blade clanged uselessly against the corridor’s stone wall. “Naphthene’s barnacled twat, I told you it was fishy for the Avenists to suddenly offer us intelligence and military support!” “Don’t blunt your blade, woman, are you a fishmonger’s son playing with his first knife?” Rajakhan, for his part, sheathed his own sword in a decisive gesture. “I told you at the time, the Sisterhood has never in its thousands of years of history tried to steal anyone’s territory or seize temporal power outside of Viridill, and we haven’t done any of the things that have provoked them to overthrow other kingdoms. But!” He held up a hand, forestalling her angry retort. “I think, now, I should have listened to you better.” “No matter how many times you have that realization, the next time it always comes as a surprise to your wooden head!” “It’s well that you persist, regardless. Surely you don’t think I keep you around for your charming disposition, dear heart.” The King turned his stare back on a somewhat bemused Ayuvesh, not reacting when his wife slapped the back of his legs with the flat of her blade. “If the Sisterhood has one weakness, it is that they are themselves vulnerable to manipulation. Half the other cults are always running rings around them. Especially the Black Wreath. Who have been astonishingly helpful, of late.” “Now, that is interesting information,” Ayuvesh said, raising his one eyebrow. “I cannot imagine a green dragon working for or even with Elilial’s servants… But Wreath or not, it’s clear to me that we have an enemy. One who benefits from a weakening of Puna Dara by using me and mine as a weapon against the Crown. The more time we waste, testing our wills against one another, the more they profit. But.” He bowed to them. “If we combine our wills together, in the very act that our enemy must fear most, the universe will bend before us. If you will let me join you.” February 2, 2018 UncategorizedAndy Elwick, Casey Elwick, Ephanie Avelea, Farah Szaravid, Lieutenant Laghari, Merry Lang, Nandi Shahai, Stan ElwickD. D. Webb The whine of the device was barely even a sound; it was more a thing that snuffed out all other sounds. Like a constant high bell tone somewhere deeper inside her skull than her ears, it blocked anything from the range of normal hearing. To say nothing of what it did to her; the constant pressure in her head kept her dizzy and disoriented. The room seemed to be tilting this way and that, like the deck of a ship in a storm. Casey had landed on her back, and now laboriously rolled over to her side—where she immediately had to stop, squeezing her eyes shut and concentrating on not vomiting. She could discern by smell alone that several others had lost that battle, which didn’t help hers at all, but after long seconds, she forced the sensation down again. At least, far enough down that she felt she could risk opening her eyes. The room continued to spin and sway in that awful, piercing silence, but she focused through it. Two of the machine-people were now present; one was holding up that white sphere which had been bounced down the stairs and started all this. They were talking—at least, they were facing each other and their mouths were moving. Insultingly, they seemed to have no interest at all in the Legionnaires and Punaji soldiers. Well, the arrogance was not unwarranted; their evil little gadget did its work exceptionally well. One of them was holding…a weapon? It had to be, that thing had been poked into the room and fired at Merry—who was now curled up in a fetal position, twitching. Nothing had visibly emerged from it, but if it used sound like the scream grenade… She couldn’t tell what it was made of, the surface being white and glossy like porcelain, which would be absurd. It had a handle and odd little protrusions, and Casey’s vision swam too much to pick out more details than that. Her arm hurt. Somehow, she’d got it pinned under her shield, which she had just rolled the rest of her weight onto. Oddly enough, the pain helped her focus. One of the Punaji troopers had fallen across her legs and was moving feebly. That had to have been after she rolled over, but she hadn’t noticed it happening. It was so hard to think. Someone had to do something. None of them could act, though; they couldn’t even move. Casey blinked, twice, then squeezed her eyes shut. Then opened them, fixing her stare on the white sound-bomb. She focused as hard as she was able, ignoring the heaving of the barracks around her. Yes… It had a black stripe around the middle and a blinking green light in that. Staring at a fixed point, she could calm the heaving of her stomach and brain. But what good was that? She still couldn’t move, or it would all start again. And there was only one way to fight back without moving. The smell in the sickroom was horrific, a melange of sweat, human waste, strong soap, and pure rot, complicated but not at all suppressed by the scent of the flowers and herbs placed there to counter it. Both of the Elwick children were held by their father, one of his strong hands firmly upon each of their shoulders. He hadn’t grabbed Casey until she had made an abortive move for the door; Andy he had held even before they entered, and his grip was the only thing keeping him. “That’s what cancer looks like,” their father said quietly, inexorably. “Close to the end, now. Once it gets into the bones…there’s not a thing any healer in the world can do. Not one thing. Your own body just eats itself. Ain’t any more painful way to die. It’s like being burned alive, ‘cept it takes years instead of seconds.” “Papa,” Andy whimpered, “I wanna go home. I don’t want to be here.” Casey said nothing. She knew better. Sheldon Johns lay on the room’s sole bed, little more than a skeleton of a man at this point,his skin stretched thin as paper and still somehow loose on his bones, lesions spotting it here and there. Though he had been dosed heavily with laudanum, the man groaned softly in his sleep, his face pinched with agony. “Papa, please,” Andy begged. His father only tightened his grip. “You have to know, son. You have to know. All it takes is one mistake. Just one. Sheldon doesn’t even remember when it happened, the slip-up that let it in. This is what infernal magic does to you if you cannot control it. One little mistake, and you die in such agony that Hell’s a relief when you get there. If you’re gonna touch the power, you can’t make a mistake. Not one. Ever.” Tears began to pour down Andy’s cheeks. Casey reached up to grasp the big hand holding her by the shoulder. Not to push it off, but just to hold on. Eyes fixed on the sonic weapon in the Rust cultist’s hand, Casey had to grip her shield and the floor for dear life as he moved it slightly, sending fresh waves of dizziness through her. He was holding it up, though, somehow maintaining its piercing, impossible noise. At least that kept it relatively steady. This was going to be hard enough, keeping focused despite the nausea and the pain in her head. Eyes on the target, focus on the target, reach out with the mind. It was there. It was always there. Every child of the Black Wreath was taught how to find it—not to use it, but how to recognize the power so they could avoid it. So they never stumbled into it by accident, or let it creep up on them. That was how you died—burned to charred bones where you stood, if you were lucky. Just beyond the veil of reality, once her attention acknowledged its presence, it roared, beckoned, begged. It was a colossal torrent of sheer fury, like brushing the surface of the sun, except sweet, and cloying. It promised power beyond her dreams, the power to stand astride the world, a god in her own right. The magic whispered seductively even as it screamed in rage, pleading and promising, yearning to be used, igniting a yearning in reply. She knew better. “It’s outsider ignorance, thinking the Wreath are all warlocks,” her father said, tossing another stick in the fire. They didn’t discuss these things in town; the walls were too thin. These camping trips made the perfect opportunity for Elwick to teach his children. They were a full two days hike into the prairie from Hamlet, in the opposite direction from the elven grove, with no one to overhear them but the coyotes whose howling livened the night. “The Wreath has warlocks, yes, but no more than one in twelve of us. There’s plenty of work for the Dark Lady that doesn’t involve magic. Most of the work, in fact, the less flashy stuff that keeps us going, and keeps us hidden. The warlocks are the first line of attack and last line of defense, yes. They get all the drama and excitement. And if there’s death and pain to be suffered, it’s the warlocks who suffer it. Don’t you be swayed by any stories of adventure, kids. It ain’t like that. If your path is to serve the Lady as a warlock, so be it. But if it’s not, I’ll be happier.” “But you’re a warlock, Pa,” Andy protested. Elwick nodded slowly, staring into the flames. “And you listen to you father, boy. I know what I’m talking about, and I wouldn’t wish this on my children. You’re smart enough to understand me when I say that. And you’re old enough.” His gaze flicked to Casey; sitting where he was, the campfire divided his line of sight between his two children. “Both of you. You’re old enough to know, and you need to know. So…now I’m gonna ask you the question. “Are you ready to learn how to handle the infernal?” Andy nodded, his expression solemn. “I’m ready, Pa.” Casey could only stare at her father for almost a full minute. He stared back, not pushing her even when Andy began to shift restlessly. Finally, she shook her head. “No, sir. No, I’m not ready. I… I don’t think I’m ever gonna be ready, Pa. I don’t wanna do it.” Elwick smiled at his daughter, his eyes shining in the firelight. “That’s my good girl. Smart girl.” Slowly, the smile drained away from his features. “But that ain’t an option, Casey. You have to learn; you can’t be allowed not to know. Now’s the time.” Doing anything finely-tuned, or incredibly specific, with infernal magic was well beyond her skill. All she knew was how to brush against it, and bring a tiny quantity to this world, without killing or corrupting herself. Ironically, the mental demands of handling the torrent of sheer rage helped push back the pain of the Rust’s weapon. Her tight focus determined the target. Casey stared at the white orb, tried to stare through it. Into it. The constant piercing noise was messing with her sense of spatial relationships, but her eyes knew where it was. That would have to be enough. A proper warlock could call up infernal power, handle it safely, shape it to achieve their ends; all she could do was brush it with her mind, letting its howling entreaties, its rage and seduction, slide past her without acknowledgment, letting just the tiniest bit be disturbed by the contact of her consciousness. Not clinging to her, but drifting loose from the torrent and into the world. The power was a river, she a passing gust of wind that kicked up a tiny spray of mist from its surface. And then came the really difficult part. “There’s a reason we call them shadowbolts and shadow-jumping,” Elwick said, holding up a hand. Under the bright morning sun, the stream of blackness with its bruise-purple aura that he called into being was particularly striking; it flashed away from him, slamming into the ground. Where it struck, the tallgrass shook violently, then faded to a darker, browner shade and drooped slightly. He turned a faint smirk on the kids, and then darkness welled up out of thin air around him. It receded immediately, and when it was gone, so was he. “You know about the four schools and the Circles of Interaction,” their father said, now a few feet behind them. “Sure, Pa,” Andy replied quickly, spinning around. “I read the books you gave me.” Casey just turned and nodded. Their father nodded in return. “Those four are the bulk of all magic; everything that’s left is referred to as shadow magic, and it ain’t all of one type. It’s just remnants, shadows of somethin’ greater. Most scholars reckon they were the powers of the Elder Gods who the Pantheon and the Dark Lady struck down, but we’ll never know for sure. What we do know is that they make it a little safer to dip into the power of the infernal—and you can use the infernal to dip into them, in ways that other schools can’t. And that’s why these are our basic tricks. Shadowbolts to attack, because casting an actual infernal spell in any situation that’s stressful enough for you to be fighting in is likely to end with you accidentally corrupted. Shadow-jumping is using another type of faded old magic to pull two pieces of creation together; it’s just the tiniest touch of the infernal that bores a hole through ’em that you can step across. “The principle’s the same in both cases. A little touch of infernal magic erodes the barriers. That’s what it does; it burns things. You know why most demons are bigger, stronger, so covered with claws and fangs and armor plates? Those adaptations are what infernal magic does to living things, those that somehow survive it. The infernal both enhances and destroys; it empowers you even while killing you. That’s also the effect it has on reality itself. The smallest amount, in just the right way, applied to these forgotten bits of shadow magic, both pushes energy into them to make ’em stronger than they are without it, and burns away at the barriers holding them back. Then, once you’re holding onto the shadows, you can wrap ’em around Scyllith’s power to make it a little easier to handle.” He paused, looking at each of them as if to be certain they were following his lecture. Both nodded, Andy eager, Casey with a slower and solemn motion. Their father nodded back. “All right, I’m gonna show you how it works.” The infernal and the arcane were vast, bottomless oceans of power; no one could ever drink fully of them. A spellcaster’s only limits were internal, in how much infernal magic they could safely channel, or how much arcane they could store. Casey had no ability to touch either the divine or fae, as those did not inherently respond to humans and required the auspices of other beings to touch. Beings which would not give the time of day to such as her. She knew it was the same in theory, though. All four schools of the Circle were functionally infinite, fathomless. Shadow magic was trickier. She was able to find it because she knew it, and because of the tiny “spray” of hellfire she had brushed loose into creation; the barriers singed, the faintest tremor rippled through existence, and in the disturbance she could find them. The intensity of concentration had banished the heaving of her guts, but her head still throbbed as if it were being forcibly inflated from within. Her shield dug excruciatingly into her arm, and the world in her peripheral vision wavered as if she were drunk; only the white weapon was fixed and firm in her vision. Her eyes burned from having stared at it so long without blinking, and sweat was dripping from her brows. She couldn’t give up, though. The first shadow was the cool, dim presence whose touch on her mind was like dipping fingers into molasses; it slowed, soothed, calmed, suppressed. Casey had always felt that whatever long-dead god had designed it had intended it for healing, though some of the books she’d read insisted its purpose had been to steal wills and keep slaves in line, as the Elder Gods were known to have done that. Somehow, it overall felt like the color purple. Faint and weak as it was, the tiny puff of loose infernal power she had dislodged made her whole perception of it quiver, and for a moment of terror she was sure it was going to collapse. She did not have the strength to do this a second time; it could not fail. It didn’t. In her outer perceptions, hellfire caught in the murky shadow like burning embers floating in viscous darkness. She didn’t rest, couldn’t afford to yet. The second shadow was like brushing through cobwebs, a thing of connections and strands; it was as if it were made of strings linking every atom in the universe to every other. They were thin and fragile things, weak with long disuse. Casey had always felt, when touching this almost-forgotten power, that it seemed dusty; she was sure, without knowing how, that those infinite strands would have been firm as woven silk had they been fully empowered. Something in them carried that memory of what they were supposed to be. She was able to catch and use them, gathering the strings to create a shape. Wrapping up the darkness and the smidgeon of hellfire into a single, tiny seed. Casey’s whole body trembled with the exertion of focus, as she finally planted that seed. Right in the middle of the Rust’s sonic bomb. At last, she collapsed, gasping, then heaving and barely able to keep, again, from spilling the contents of her stomach. It had worked, though. Even with her concentration having broken, she could sense the little thing she’d done with her mind. It couldn’t be called a spell, just a little fragment of sheer infernal power, unfocused and barely held in check by a thin layer of shadow. It had left her trembling with exhaustion, and burning with shame at having dabbled in what she’d sworn she would never again touch. But it was done. Casey lifted her eyes again. The two machine-people had stopped their conversation; one was staring at the bomb in his hand, wearing a frown. Then he shifted his gaze, one eye a blue glass orb lit from within, to look directly at Casey. She reached out again with her will, and ripped away the fragile barrier of shadow. The weapon was obliterated so quickly and totally it couldn’t even be said to have exploded. Its solid matter simply burned away, leaving its owner holding a ball of fire with a will to seize, consume, and corrupt. That horrible, unreal keening vanished, letting sound crash back down like a physical force—the roaring of the storm outside, groaning from all the soldiers in the room, and now the shrieking of the Rust. Casey slumped to the floor again, but managed to keep her head up enough to watch as fire raced up the man’s arm. He seized his compatriot in panic, dooming them both. She finally lowered her eyes, and began working her way loose. Her right arm was completely numb, and began tingling as soon as she’s pulled her weight off the shield and lifted it from the indentation it had made in her bicep. All around her, Punaji troops and her squadmates began gathering themselves in a muted cacophony of whimpers, moans, and scuffling. Nandi was still down, clutching her head and breathing in a series of heavy rasps; Farah stayed hunched over her, whispering softly and gently stroking her golden hair. Ephanie was the first person back upright, grabbing the edge of one of the tipped-over tables that had served as improved barriers and hauling herself to her feet. Lieutenant Laghari followed suit. Both officers had torn their attention from their fallen troops to stare at the two cultists. “What the fuck,” Laghari whispered. The stink of burned flesh and hot metal filled the barracks, which did not help the residual nausea left from the sonic bomb. Casey pushed herself up to her knees with one arm, lifting her head to make herself see her handiwork. What exposed skin she could see was badly charred. At least the second cultist was only burned to death; the one who’d been holding the bomb had been twisted. Ironically, the arm which had actually been holding it, a flesh and blood arm, wasn’t burned at all, but now covered with reptilian scales, its fingers tipped with heavy claws. Exposed flesh on the rest of him had been warped until it tore loose from his mechanical additions. His very skull was the wrong shape, now and had warped too abruptly to keep up with its own transmutation; part of his jawbone was hanging loose from a fringe of seared skin, and his organic eye socket had been pulled so wide that the eyeball would have fallen out, had it still been more than a half-boiled soup now dripping down his face. One of the Punaji had straightened up enough to get a good look at this, and immediately doubled over again, heaving. Fortunately, it seemed he’d already lost the entire contents of his stomach, leaving nothing else to come up. “Obviously an infernal event.” Ephanie’s voice was shaky, but it steadied quickly as she spoke. “Awfully close. Everyone here will need a thorough healing and cleansing, as soon as we all survive…whatever’s going on out there.” “Yeah. Agreed.” Laghari nodded, turning his back on the scene of destruction and bending to give one of his soldiers a hand upright. “Our windshaman are adept at infernal cleansing; I’ll see you’re included, ladies.” “But what happened?” one of the Punaji asked weakly. “Did…a warlock help us?” Casey opened her mouth, and Merry “accidentally” dropped a shield on her foot. “I don’t see any warlock,” Merry said, bending to retrieve her shield. “Who knows what the hell those gadgets run on? I bet they just tampered with something they can’t control. We’d best be on the lookout with the next batch we come to.” “Yeah. You heard her, boys and girls.” Laghari was quickly coming back into his own; though pale and hollow-eyed, his voice had regained its firmness along with his spine. “The Rock is under attack, and we don’t have time to screw around. Rajapta, Sindi, you look solid enough. Get me a careful look at what’s happening on the battlements. Go around; hug the walls and don’t step near those bodies, there’s still infernal fuckery afoot. Shakhar, Dukha, same goes—scout our rear. If you see any sign they’re coming up from the lower floor as well, fall back here and help us get a barricade over the stairway door, hopefully that’ll impair those noise weapons. If not, warn whoever’s still down there. Sit down, Ayit, falling and cracking your skull open won’t get you back in shape any faster. Be soldiers, not heroes; if you’re too fucked up by that to fight, get over by the hearth and try to get your heads back together.” While the designated scouts slipped out and Laghari moved among his troops, helping them back into order, Squad One staggered to their feet, Farah helping Nandi upright. “Report, Shahai,” Ephanie ordered quietly. “That hit you harder than any of us. Will you be okay?” Nandi held up one hand momentarily, swallowing and squeezing her eyes shut. Her aura flickered alight, the golden glow guttering like a small flame in a wind for a moment before steadying. She let out a long breath, and opened her eyes, letting the light drop. “Still hurts in my head, XO, but…I’ll make do. I don’t think any of us have the luxury of sitting this one out.” Ephanie reached out to squeeze her upper arm. “Like the man said, don’t be a hero. How are you doing?” “I’m…in no shape to stand in a phalanx, ma’am,” Nandi said, rubbing her forehead. “Skull’s still throbbing and I’m weak all over. This is going to need a better healer to address, one who didn’t just have her brains scrambled. I’m not useless, though. Permission to give healing to the Punaji?” “Granted, but do not over-exert yourself. We’re up a creek here and nobody can afford to get any more burned out than we already are.” Nandi straightened up and managed a salute, then turned to limp toward the Punaji, Farah still half-supporting her. While the Legionnaires had been in the center of the formation initially, by this time their hosts had gathered to one side of the barracks, leaving them with some space to themselves. “Shit, that thing was bad enough for us,” Merry said weakly. “For an elf’s ears… Avelea, I don’t suppose you have any idea what we’re facing?” Ephanie shook her head, but had already fixed a hard stare on Casey, who swallowed heavily. “Ma’am, I…” She paused to clear her throat, then lowered her voice. “That was a violation of the conditions of my enlistment. Once we’re out of this I will report for court mar—” Ephanie seized her by the face, her gauntlet covering Casey’s mouth and digging metal edges painfully into her skin. She had her back to the other side of the room, hiding this scene from the Punaji with her body. “My report,” she said quietly, “will indicate that, as Private Lang observed, we don’t understand the Rust well enough to guess what they were doing or what went wrong. As such, your quick thinking and ability to function under terrible pressure will go unrecognized and unrewarded. You have my thanks for our lives, Elwick, and I’m afraid you’ll have to be content with that.” Casey started to speak, but Ephanie dug her fingers in harder and tugged her forward by the jaw, until their faces were inches apart. Her next words were a low growl. “Never again, Elwick. Never. If the options are that or we all die, then we will die with our souls uncorrupted. Is that clear?” “Yes, ma’am,” she mumbled into the corporal’s gauntlet. Ephanie held her gaze, and her face, for a moment longer before releasing her. Then, incongruously, patted her on the shoulder. “You’re a better woman than you are a soldier, Elwick. Far as I’m concerned, that means this particular squad is damn lucky to have you, and I know the LT will back me all the way on that.” “Thank you, Corporal.” Casey managed a watery smile. “D’awww.” Merry gave them her biggest shit-eating grin. “Now kiss!” “XO, permission to stab Private Lang?” “I expect we’ll need her for a human shield very soon.” “Request withdrawn.” “You know you love me,” Merry said, then raised her voice to be audible beyond their small circle. “By the way, has that thunder started sounding awfully regular in the last minute or so?” As if on cue, the two soldiers Laghari had sent up to the battlements dashed back in from the stairs, soaked with rain. “Sir!” the first said urgently. “Rust have control of the walls and the other gatehouse, the fortress’s inner door has been breached and the interior defenders are down.” Laghari drew in a breath, and visibly stiffened his spine. “All right. The bastards are not taking down the King, not while I draw breath. Can it!” he bellowed over the roar of agreement that rose at this pronouncement. “We charge in after them, we’ll be knocked down again like we were just now. We need some way to counter that sound weapon; that can’t have been the only one they brought. Ladies, any thoughts?” He turned toward Ephanie, but it was Nandi who spoke. The elf had lifted her head and tilted it as if she were having trouble hearing, her brow still creased with lingering pain. “That is not thunder. Something is ramming the gate!” “Yes, sir!” the drenched scout said frantically. “Sir, the Rust have the inside, but someone is assaulting the fortress from outside! We couldn’t get a good look with all of them on the ramparts, but—” A particularly loud thunderbolt cut him off. The barracks trembled with impact; the thunder had come concurrently with the flash of lightning through its narrow windows. “That struck the gatehouse!” Nandi exclaimed. “The lightning rods should have deflected that, unless they were destroyed somehow.” “Magically cast lightning doesn’t always follow the path of least resistance,” Farah said, her eyes wide. “Form up, lads and lasses,” Laghari said grimly, bending to pick up a fallen battlestaff. “It sounds like this party’s barely started.” January 26, 2018 UncategorizedAradeus, Ayuvesh, Casey Elwick, Daksh, Darius, Ephanie Avelea, Farah Szaravid, Fross, Gabriel, Juniper, Layla Sakhavenid, Lieutenant Laghari, Merry Lang, Milanda Darnassy, Nandi Shahai, Principia, Ruda, Schwartz, Tallie, Toby, TrissinyD. D. Webb Darius had to help Trissiny tug the warehouse door shut; it opened outward in exactly the wrong direction, and the wind had immediately seized and slammed it against the wall. By the time they had wrestled it closed, both were utterly drenched. “The Archmage was not kidding about this storm!” he said cheerfully, shaking water from his hands. “Raining sideways is right. So what’re we gonna do, then? Right now all we know is there are renegade cultists, and the Archpope is probably behind ’em.” “It would seem the most obvious course would be to wait out the weather,” Layla said, opening the unfastened lid of a nearby crate. “It’s not as if we can scout in this… Ah, textiles! Splendid, something you two can towel off with.” “Get outta there,” Tallie ordered. “That’s somebody’s livelihood you’re screwing around with.” “Tallie, we’re thieves,” Layla said, giving her a long look. “And we’re already breaking and entering.” “Nah, Bossypants is right,” Darius interjected. “We’re Eserites, not bandits; don’t take stuff from people we don’t know deserve it. A little water won’t kill us.” “I’m not sure how long we can afford to wait, either,” Trissiny added. “If what’s happening here is urgent, the storm actually provides excellent cover to begin moving. Punaji like storms, but even most of them won’t be out in the streets in a blow-down like this. By the same token, our enemy may also be acting under cover of the weather.” “That still leaves us with the problem of gathering info in that racket,” Darius replied, and was punctuated by a helpful thunderclap. “I think Schwartz has an idea?” Tallie pointed out. The group had materialized in a half-filled warehouse that was dim almost to the point of darkness, with little natural light thanks to the storm and no lit fairy lamps. A small light had appeared now, though, courtesy of Schwartz, who had evidently begun work as soon as they’d arrived. He had constructed a tiny altar in the cleared space in the middle of the floor, consisting of little more than a piece of stone upon which he had set and now carefully lit a small candle. The group edged closer, leaning forward to stare at the witch’s work without crowding him. Schwartz gave a handful of feathers to Meesie, who set about scampering around the altar laying them down in a careful arrangement forming a kind of spell circle, while Schwartz himself sat back on his haunches, busily scribbling on a narrow strip of parchment with an incongruously modern fountain pen. “Amazing all the stuff he’s got in those robes,” Darius stage whispered. “Shh!” Layla elbowed him, then grimaced and rubbed at the wet patch created on her own arm. Ignoring them for the moment, Schwartz finished his writing just as Meesie completed her feather diagram and scurried back up him to her customary perch on his shoulder. The witch carefully held his parchment over the candle flame, dipping just the corner into the tiny fire. Immediately, the whole thing went up in a rush of sparks, causing him to jerk his fingers back. The candle was snuffed out by the reaction, the plume of smoke this caused mingling with the ashes of the parchment and rising upward far more energetically than was normal. They all tilted their heads back to watch the small cloud separate into streamers above them, each of which zipped away toward the windows lining the walls just below the ceiling, where they slipped out into the storm through tiny cracks where the panes didn’t fit exactly. “Well?” Darius said pointedly. “We’re in suspense, here, buddy.” “A while back I got some really good advice,” Schwartz said, beginning to pick up the feathers and tuck them inside one of his wide sleeves. “A smart old lady told me, among other things, to start equipping myself with aggressive kinds of magic. I’ve always been a bit of a bookworm, you see. More into research than adventure.” “Surely you jest,” Layla said sweetly, earning annoyed glances from Tallie and Trissiny (and Meesie). Schwartz just continued, unperturbed. “Well, I got to thinking, and it seems the Avenists are always harping on about war being ninety percent strategy and ten percent actual violence, right?” “Avenist doctrine doesn’t break it into percents,” Trissiny said dryly, “but the sentiment is close enough.” “Right. It put me in mind of a time in Vrin Shai where I… Where my group was stuck basically twiddling their thumbs while I tried to gather information from, y’know, oracular sources. The general way fae magic is good for. It took an awful long time and it was terribly imprecise… So! Since then I’ve set about working on that blind spot! That’s the thing that drew me to the fae craft in the first place—my dad was an arcanist, you know. But in witchcraft, it’s all connections and friendships with fairy beings. Power’s about who you know and how much they like you. It rewards being nice.” “Nice people and good people are two very distinct categories,” Layla said quietly. “Yeah, I discovered that pretty early on.” Schwartz had finished gathering and putting away his reagents, and now straightened up a little stiffly. “But anyway. In the last few months I’ve been working on getting on good terms with a fairy whom I’ve just called for help. He’s really good with information, if he wants to be. We’re not exactly close, yet, and this is the first time I’ve actually asked him for anything, so I guess we’ll see… But I have a feeling he’ll help us! This is a textbook adventure we’re in, and sylphs love those.” “Whoah, whoah!” Darius exclaimed backing away. “I’m not the witch here, but aren’t sylphs sort of… Notoriously dangerous?” “Oh, yes, extremely,” Schwartz replied, while Meesie nodded earnest agreement. “So for heaven’s sake be polite to—” One of the upper windows shattered, admitting a blast of wind and rain, and a streak of silver feathers and fangs that dived straight for Schwartz with a chilling scream. Nandi bolted straight up out of her chair, turning to face the staircase up to the battlements. The surrounding Punaji all swiveled to stare in bemusement at the sudden motion, but her squadmates came to their feet in unison, drawing weapons. “Shahai?” Ephanie demanded. “The walls are under attack!” Nandi declared, her eyebrows drawing together in concentration. “I hear fighting above—no, not fighting, voices and people falling… They’re coming this way!” “Who is?” Lieutenant Laghari asked, picking up a battlestaff from the nearest weapons rack. This was a barracks, not an armory, but the troopers present kept their personal armaments close at hand. “I don’t know, but the wall guards are falling quickly,” Nandi said urgently. “With very little struggle, which means magic at work. People are—they’re in the stairwell!” Laghari and Ephanie both barked orders at once. Squad One snatched up shields and lances and planted themselves in a defensive line across the center of the room while the Punaji soldiers swiftly tipped up tables to create improvised barricades, grabbing firearms and huddling behind them. In the resulting tumult, the sound of something bouncing down the stairs was totally obscured, but with everyone’s attention on the entrance, the small object’s arrival was immediately seen. Spinning to fast to be studied closely, it was white and about the size of an apple; the thing ricocheted off the edge of the doorway and tumbled straight for the hastily-erected defenses. “Bomb!” one of the Punaji shouted, and they all ducked behind their tables while the Legionnaires dropped to their knees, huddling as much behind their shields as possible. Nandi, the only priest among them threw up a wall of golden light across the room in front of them. Stretched so thin, it would assuredly crumble under the first blow, but that was still standard procedure against explosive attack; even a fragile shield could blunt the initial blast enough to save the troops behind it. And had the thing been a bomb, it might have worked. It didn’t explode or even flash; only the faintest distortion appeared in the air around it as it arced toward Nandi’s shield, as if it were suddenly putting off great heat. An instant before it struck the wall of light, a thin, piercing whine spiked straight through everyone’s eardrums, completely uninhibited by the shield. Soldiers collapsed, most crying out and several vomiting, behind their wooden barriers. Two staves were accidentally discharged, the ordinarily deafening sound of lightning in an enclosed space going unnoticed around the noise bearing everyone to the ground. The Legionnaires fared no better, their shield wall collapsing instantly. Nandi screamed in anguish, dropping her lance and shield to pitch over backward, clutching at her head. Everyone in the room was brought down by sheer pain. The few who bore up against it well enough to retain some spine had little better luck. Laghari and Ephanie both caught themselves before falling completely prone, and tried to call for order, immediately discovering that their voices were completely silent, even to themselves. Nothing could be heard except the excruciating whine. In addition to the pain, it caused disorientation and nausea that made several of the victims present empty their stomachs and prevented any of them from so much as straightening up. Ephanie tried and staggered drunkenly, barely catching herself on the edge of the nearest table. Farah keeled over backward, then rolled on top of Nandi and took her hands away from her own head to help cover the elf’s ears; Nandi had curled herself into a ball and was twitching with silent sobs. Merry, losing her lance, had got her hands on someone’s dropped battlestaff and managed to flop down atop her own shield with the weapon aiming in the general direction of the door. The dizziness was not lessened by being stretched out on the floor, and it was all she could do to line up a shot at that general end of the room. At the first flicker of movement she fired, the lightning bolt seeming soundless to them and blasting a futile crater in the wall a full yard distant from the door itself. All she accomplished was to warn the person coming in. None of them were coherent enough to get a close look at the object which peeked around the corner at about chest height before it fired in Merry’s general direction. They were not quite fast enough to prevent an alarm from sounding. Quickly silenced as it was, the damage was done, and soldiers upon the upper towers of the Rock itself leveled staves and opened fire upon the cyborgs emerging from the north gatehouse. Ayuvesh strode, unconcerned, out into the rain pounding the courtyard. Lightning flashed, gouging rents in the flagstones and sparking harmlessly against his personal shield and those of his comrades. Let them burn through their power crystals; these deflectors were of a make like nothing the Punaji had ever seen. If they were expecting to wear them down with continuous fire as one could a standard arcane shield charm, they would be frustrated. The counter-fire did not last long, anyway, as each sparking battlestaff only presented a target. Members of the Order took aim with blasters and the air was filled with the shrill whine of the sonic weapons—harmless to their wielders, thanks to enhancements he had been certain to make to all of their installed machine systems. The effect of sonic blasters would be inhibited by the solid stone walls of the Rock, but battlements and arrow loops would offer little protection from sound waves. One by one, the firing staves halted as their owners were incapacitated. Fortunate that his foresight had demanded they all install the protection against sonics before the Infinite Elixir had suddenly dried up, forcing him to make this extremely risky gambit. But no, he corrected himself inwardly, there was no fortune. There was only will, and his was stronger. “South gatehouse is contained,” one of his comrades reported, the voice sounding in Ayuvesh’s artificial ear. “They actually got into fighting position, but didn’t stand up to the blasters.” “Don’t get careless,” another warned. “There’ll be more troops below, out of range of the weapons.” Ayuvesh turned to face Shankri, and tilted his head back toward the southern gatehouse. “Try to get inside from the ground floor and sweep upward with your group; meet in the middle. You mustn’t let them secure a position inside the gatehouse.” “Yes, Leader,” she replied, bowing, then turned and dashed for the small door at the side. The four assigned to accompany her, having heard, followed without comment, all carrying sonic blasters. Of all the Order present, only Ayuvesh himself was without one. “Come,” he ordered, striding forward toward the inner gates of the Rock itself. “We must not give them time to organize.” Staff fire had completely ceased by then; at his side, Gupter switched his arm attachment from a standard hand to a cutting tool, against which the fortress door would hold for seconds at the most. “Spread out when we are inside,” Ayuvesh ordered. “Fan as widely as you can, neutralize everyone you see. No looting, and do not harm fallen foes. Keep moving through the fortress in small groups and stay in touch. Notify me at once when you find the King. Only then will we be able to end this.” It was one thing for a person to test his will against the universe itself. Tonight, the will of the Infinite Order would come against that of a king and a nation. And what would be, would be. “Wait, wait, wait!” Schwartz cried shrilly—to Trissiny, who had burst alight with a golden glow and whipped out her sword. He didn’t seem at all perturbed about the great sinuous beast which had coiled itself around him. While she had taken a threatening step forward, the other apprentices had judiciously retreated. Atop Schwartz’s head, Meesie mimicked his posture, frantically holding up her tiny palms and squeaking at Trissiny. “It’s all right! He’s a friend! Everything’s fine.” “You’re…sure,” she said warily, but lowered her sword. Schwartz was fully encased in serpentine coils, but not constricted—and in fact, as she took a careful step back, the sylph continued moving, loosening his encirclement to give Schwartz more space and fixing a stare on the paladin. “I’m quite sure, trust me. That was a heck of an entrance, Rad,” he added, the sylph having unwound himself to a position bringing his head adjacent to Schwartz’s. “You scared everybody half to death.” “Mmm. Just half? All is well, then.” The voice might have been human, albeit rather high-pitched for a male. “Everyone, this is my friend, Aradeus the Noble.” Schwartz actually reached out to pat the sylph’s neck, smiling reassuringly. “Rad, these are my other friends. Layla and Darius Sakhavenid, Tallie… I’m sorry, I don’t know your last name.” “That’s how I like it,” she replied warily, eyes still on the sylph. “And, of course, Trissiny Avelea, the Hand of Avei.” “An honor!” Aradeus gracefully slid out from around Schwartz, spread his wings, and executed a strangely courtly bow, dipping his head and tucking one foot momentarily behind the other. He was the strangest combination of snake, bird, and dog in appearance. Fully twelve feet long from nose to tail, his whole body was sinuous and lean, covered in silvery fur which ruffled constantly, more than the wind blowing in from the window he’d broken could account for. His wings were feathered, the plumes oddly crystalline in appearance, and banded in bright colors like a macaws; directly below them he had two long, stork-like legs, ending in huge, glittering talons. The sylph’s head looked canine, though tipped with two birdlike nostrils instead of a wet little nose, and he had blade-shaped ears twice the length of his skull. Aradeus smiled at them, which may have been intended as a pleasant expression. His long rows of needle-sharp silver teeth just made it unnerving. “Let’s see,” the sylph mused, turning and stepping over toward Layla with a mincing gait that suited a wading bird. He paused when Darius edged in front of her, and folded his wings back along his sinuous body. “Mmm, young nobles. Of House Sakhavenid! You are a long way from home.” “You’re aware of our House?” Layla asked in surprise, peeking around Darius’s shoulder. “Not until just now.” Aradeus seemed to have lost interest already, turning and approaching Tallie, who held her ground. For the most part he kept his neck—or at least the long portion of his body between his wings and head—arched upright to bring his eyes to about human level, but he lowered it now to sniff at her midsection. “Excuse you?” she exclaimed. “Now, Tallie,” Schwartz said nervously. “Mmmm. Circus folk. An acrobat? How excellent!” Aradeus straightened up to grin at her. “I like performers. Such a sense of fun!” “Well, thanks, I guess…” The sylph had moved on by then. Trissiny carefully slid her sword back into its sheath, watching quizzically as Aradeus stepped over and sniffed all up and down her form. “Find what you were looking for?” she finally asked after the third round of this. “Mmm, how fascinating!” He straightened again, showing her all his teeth. “Avenist, Eserite, human, elf. And what diverse friends you have! Avei is branching out, it seems. Herschel, you didn’t tell me you—” Twisting his head around to look at Schwartz, he suddenly broke off. “Oh. Oh, I see. You don’t know, yet.” “Omnu’s balls,” Darius interjected. “Is there something else you need to tell us, Trissiny?” “No, no, no secrets,” Aradeus assured him, twisting his neck fully into a position that looked very uncomfortable. “She doesn’t know yet, either. Not my place to say, you’ll find out in time, no doubt. Or perhaps not. Mmmm. And you call me here without an offering, Herschel? Presumptuous.” The sylph straightened his neck, turning to prance back toward Schwartz and lowering his head as he came. “You have always been so well-mannered, too.” Meesie sat upright in Schwartz’s hair, waving and squeaking brightly. Aradeus paused in his approach to grin up at her. “Hey, there, cutie. I missed you, too.” “I am sorry to call so abruptly, Rad,” Schwartz said, himself wearing a grin now. Oddly enough, in the presence of one of the most infamously unpredictable and violent types of fairy, he seemed more at ease than ever. “But I thought you might get a kick out of this, and we could definitely use your help. The short version is we’re chasing renegades from various cults of the Universal Church, and all we know is they’re attacking Puna Dara. Which would be interesting enough on its own, but right now the city’s being pounded by a sudden storm sent specifically by Naphthene. What do you think?” His grin widened. “Sound like fun?” “Mmmmmmmmmm.” Aradeus emitted a long hum, tilting his head and twitching both his ears. Though apparently rigid along their length, they swiveled where they attached to the skull, and he used them as expressively as a horse. “It’s a very good storm. Hers are always the best ones. Interesting, I’ll give you that. It’s not running from Athan’Khar monsters, but you do keep yourself entertained, don’t you?” “You actually did that?” Darius scoffed. Schwartz shrugged and rolled his eyes heavenward. “Why doesn’t anyone believe me about that?” “Mmm. I will not fight, here, I think,” Aradeus mused. Turning away from Schwartz, he began pacing in a circle, head upraised, sniffing the air steadily as he went. “There is no evil here…just humans struggling over human concerns. Not my business. There was a succubus, quite recently. She’s gone, though. Alas, no evil is left to chase.” “Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Layla said. “The last thing we need to deal with is a succubus.” “Oh, but they’re such fun!” the sylph crooned, swiveling his head to grin directly at her. “So clever! Excellent hunting.” “And it’s not necessarily good that she’s gone,” Trissiny added, frowning. “If a Vanislaad has been here and left, that usually means they’ve accomplished whatever they were trying to do. Which is always trouble of the worst kind.” “Oh, yes!” Aradeus turned his eyes on her, grinning widely. “Oh, yes. Mmmm. Yes, I don’t mind helping you, this is a most entertaining hunt. There are no Pantheon cultists here for you to chase, oh no. Very different cultists, men and women of machine and ancient lore. They do not answer to your enemy, but have been manipulated by him. Encouraged, and used. The succubus let them into the palace, the Rock. Even now, they close upon the Crown.” He raised his head, sniffing the air again. “Mmmm. A most curious battle. They fight with…sound, yes. Weapons that strike the ear. Painful, but not lethal. A strangely bloodless coup. The Punaji have no defense against this.” “Shit fire,” Darius whispered. “How can you tell all this?” Tallie demanded. “Sylphs can smell anything,” Schwartz said, stepping up and patting Aradeus on the back of the neck. Humming softly in pleasure, the sylph arched into the touch, and the witch ruffled his fur affectionately. “It’s not like elves, who just have more acute senses. Aradeus can scent whatever the wind has witnessed. If he says he smells sound weapons, then that’s what it is.” “This succubus,” Trissiny said, narrowing her eyes. “Does she work for the Archpope?” “For now.” Aradeus gave her a small grin, the faint light glittering along his silver teeth. “Under duress, of course. A succubus, elves…a dragon. What an interesting Archpope, this one. Mmm. Strange company, for such as him to keep.” “Well, that answers the question of timing, anyway,” Trissiny stated, turning to the others. “The King is under attack now. We have to move.” “How?” Layla asked skeptically. “How are we going to fight sound-based weapons that apparently took out the whole Punaji army?” “You’re not a soldier,” Tallie said. “Don’t try to think like one. You’re a thief. Weapons are no use if they never even get pointed at you. We’ve got a paladin and a witch to draw their attention. We operate best in the shadows.” “Okay,” Trissiny said, nodding. “I like it so far. What’s your idea, Tallie?” Suddenly put on the spot, Tallie froze for a moment. Just a moment, though, then she swallowed. “Uh, well… Okay. What is it we need to accomplish, here? We’re saving the Punaji government, right?” “That seems more or less the sum of it,” Schwartz agreed. “We came here to oppose whatever Justinian has set in motion. If he wants Rajakhan to fall, we want him to win.” “Right. Then… There’s the military solution, where we take out the people attacking them.” “Unlikely,” Aradeus commented. “Mmmm. Forty- three of them, spreading through the palace. Humans augmented with machine parts, carrying shields and weapons of ancient design. Mmm. Hershel and Trissiny, either, are more than a match for a handful at a time. But hunting them down would take you too long. And if you got them all to gather… Even a Hand of Avei might be pressed.” “You are a very helpful fairy,” Tallie told him. “Yes, I am. And you are a very interesting human!” “Thanks, I try. Well, that leaves the other solution: we get the King out of the palace, somehow. Finding and extracting someone isn’t exactly a thiefly skill, but it’s closer to up our alley.” “There is more help coming,” Aradeus said suddenly, raising his nose to the air again and inhaling. “Mmm… Yes. Help. Good help… Enough to crush the metal men!” Tallie threw up her hands. “Okay, never mind! Back to Plan A, I guess.” “No, wait a moment,” Trissiny said slowly. “Aradeus, do the invaders have control of the fortress gates?” “Mmm, well spotted. Yes, they have. One they used to enter, the other they overtook. Stopping the soldiers inside from helping their king, mmm.” “How many gates are there?” Layla asked. “Two,” said Trissiny, “at right angles, flanking the western corner tower.” “I thought you’d never been here before,” said Darius, frowning at her. “I haven’t, but the Rock is one of the most impregnable fortresses on this continent; you’d better believe they made me study it back in Viridill. Tallie’s plan is still our best bet. We hit the gates; Schwartz and I will draw their attention while you get the doors open.” “How.” Tallie’s voice dripped with so much skepticism it was barely a question. Trissiny actually grinned at her. “Each gatehouse has a side door, just the kind of thing a thief can breach. I’ll walk you through it on the way.” “Mmmm. They entered through the north gatehouse,” Aradeus added, again sniffing the air. “Mm. Yes. That door is not secured…yet. These are not military people, nor planning to hold the fortress; they are after the King. Not expecting to be attacked from behind, and overconfident in their weapons. You can get in the same way they did.” “And once you’ve opened the gates,” Trissiny said, nodding, “the rest of these reinforcements will aid us in taking back the fortress. Who, exactly, is coming?” she added, turning to Aradeus. “Mmmm, that is the best part,” he said, giving her a huge grin. “People you know… Know very well. But you will need to hold that gate open for them, Trissiny, Hand of Avei. Mmm, yes. They are going to be delayed.” The appeared in a harbor warehouse, with the storm pounding against its walls and the windows rattling under its fury. The Avatar had teleported them so abruptly the group lost seconds to sheer disorientation. Then, they reflexively clustered together, even Fross darting to hover above the center of their formation. They were not alone. This particular warehouse was clearly serving as a living space; there were rows of beds and other furniture marking of a sleeping area to one side, as well as other sections delineated by cheap wooden dividers or simply the furniture within to indicate its purpose. A makeshift kitchen and armory were apparent at a glance, but the group didn’t bother to study the rest in more detail, being more concerned with the people present. The warehouse was packed with people sheltering from the storm. A surprising number of them were armed, with swords, wands and staves. Milady, Principia, and the students landed right in the center of the space, directly in front of a makeshift dais made by stacked crates, upon which a man had been clearly in the middle of giving a speech. He gaped at them, arms still upraised in an interrupted gesticulation. After a shocked moment, every weapon in the place was pointed at them. “Identify yourselves!” the man on the platform finally commanded, regathering his poise. “Uh…how ’bout you first?” Gabriel suggested. “This is our home, and you are the intruders, here.” The speaker was regaining equilibrium by the moment, and now leveled a finger at them dramatically. “You trespass upon the domain of the Infinite Order!” A short silence fell. “You cannot be serious,” Milady finally said with a sigh. “So help me,” Ruda growled, “I am going to find a way to get back down there and kill that fucking purple glowshroom.” January 1, 2018 UncategorizedApta, Basra Syrinx, Casey Elwick, Darius, Ephanie Avelea, Grip, Jenell Covrin, Kheshiri, Layla Sakhavenid, Lore, Merry Lang, Nandi Shahai, Private Ulster, Sanrachi, Schwartz, Sergeant Raathi, Style, Tallie, Tricks, TrissinyD. D. Webb Such a procession drew attention and created a ripple of rumor that quickly swept across the city. It was early afternoon by the time they reached the wealthy district in which the Imperial Casino lay, and by that point, the news of their coming had preceded them. Well-dressed men and women had gathered on the sidewalks to stare, but mostly had the decency to remove their hats and lower their eyes in respect as the group passed. The street was also thronged with silent, grim-faced thieves of the Guild, waiting. Trissiny walked in the front in full armor, her expression closed and eyes straight ahead, leading her silver-clad warhorse by his reins. Arjen followed with his own head lowered, surrounded by four young people, two men and two women. Only Schwartz stood out visibly, in his Salyrite robes and with Meesie riding on his shoulder. He, Tallie, and the Sakhavenid siblings kept pace with Arjen, each with one steadying hand on the carefully-wrapped bundle lying across the huge horse’s saddle. Though fully swathed, it apparent even without the presence of obvious pallbearers that it was a body. Four Silver Legionnaires followed them, in uniform but helmetless and conspicuously absent their weapons, shivering in the winter air and looking a great deal more nervous than Legionnaires usually did in public. At the end of the procession walked a fifth soldier: Covrin had her helmet on, shield in hand, and lance held menacingly as if she intended to prod the woman in front of her at the slightest provocation. Beside her, also bare-headed and with an expression promising retribution, was Bishop Syrinx, her golden eagle-wrought sword drawn and ready. The broad avenue terminated in a broad cul-de-sac before the steps of the Casino itself, the space now lined with quiet onlookers. Dozens of civilians murmured and jostled each other to stare, most of them in the expensive attire of the Casino’s usual clientele, but none tried to push past the perimeter of cold-faced Guild thieves enforcing a clear area in front of the steps. Everyone stood where they were as Trissiny led the group straight toward the front doors of the Casino, with one exception. She had been standing on the top stair, watching up the street, and now as they approached, Style strode down and through the crowd. Only thieves had placed themselves in front of the steps, and so nobody had to be pushed bodily out of her way. They all knew better than to impede her. Trissiny finally came to a stop near the center of the plaza. Style strode right up to and then past her, seeming not to notice anyone standing there and not the least bit impressed by the divine warhorse. Darius yielded his position and she came right up to Arjen’s side. All muttering and coughing had utterly ceased among the onlookers by the time Style slipped her brawny arms, bare even in the cold, under Ross’s body and lifted him from the horse’s back. Despite his size, she did it with no apparent effort, but it was not her physical strength that held the watching enforcers silent. Everyone knew Style’s capacity for brute power, but rarely had they seen the towering chief enforcer’s face as it was now, crumpled with pain as if she might begin weeping any second. The Hand of Avei stood to the side, head lowered, while Style carefully laid Ross upon the paving stones, and with amazing gentleness, folded back the white quilt with which they had covered him to reveal his face. He was already too pale to be merely sleeping. At no apparent signal, every Eserite ringing the plaza silently raised their right fist defiantly to the sky. “Lest the mighty grow complacent.” Lore’s voice was not raised—in fact, he spoke barely above a murmur from the top of the Casino’s steps. In the silence, though, he was clearly heard by all present. “Be warned: a thief can die, but the fight cannot.” “WE ARE STILL HERE.” Hundreds of voices, even in a respectfully soft tone, were deafening when they spoke in unison. The sounded from the enforcers circling the plaza, from the alleys and windows and rooftops all around. At this, finally, some of the civilian watchers began shuffling away, trying carefully to move up the street from the casino without creating a disruption that might draw attention. These were rich people, the kind the Thieves’ Guild existed to humble. It was one thing to play with danger by idling in the thieves’ own casino; being surrounded by the Guild in this mood was a horse of a different color. Several enforcers came closer, forming a smaller, less precise ring around the group—not so much delineating space as making it plain by their presence, turned outward to stare flatly at the crowd, that no one was welcome to approach. Around them, though some stubborn rubberneckers remained to gawk, the crowd was beginning to stream away with enough speed that its sounds quickly grew loud enough to cover conversation. They were encouraged along by thieves turning from the scene in the middle of the plaza to give pointed looks at those who remained, several toying idly with weapons. Style carefully folded the quilt back over Ross’s face. Still kneeling over him, she paused for a long moment to draw two steadying breaths before straightening back up to her full, intimidating height. “All right,” the chief enforcer said simply. “Who did it?” She turned to stare at the four disarmed Legionnaires, all of whom drew closer together in alarm and would have tried to back away had Covrin not deliberately planted the tip of her lance against the back of the sergeant’s breastplate. “None of them,” Trissiny said evenly. “The murderer preferred death to justice. I…failed to apprehend her. That’s on me.” “I’ll assume that’s the armor talking,” Style said shortly. “Avenist justice may be complicated, but as far at the Guild is concerned, if you killed the killer, that’s settled. Now I want to know what role this lot played, and why you brought them to me.” “These are accomplices,” Trissiny said, turning to give the four a cold look. “They are guilty of abducting Ross, and also Schwartz here, but none of them did him any harm beyond that. Private Ulster, there, broke from them and raised steel on her comrades when Ross was shot. I don’t think they wanted anything to do with murder, and that one at least had the spine to take a stand, even if it was too late to be useful. We brought them here because they need to be debriefed and held until the Imperial investigators rounding up this conspiracy can finish their work. And right now, the Sisterhood of Avei is not trustworthy. I don’t want any more fish slipping the net before Commander Rouvad gets her house in order.” “Well, you heard the General.” Boss Tricks materialized from the crowd as if he had teleported, pacing up to the group with an uncharacteristically dark expression. “We’ve got some guests, people. See that they’re comfortable.” Several of the surrounding enforcers stepped forward, two hefting cudgels and Grip, at their head, toying pointedly with a long knife. The soldiers drew into an even tighter knot, eyes widening, and the sergeant finally found her voice. “Now, just a minute here. High Commander Rouvad specifically said Legionnaires aren’t to be held by—” Trissiny crossed to them with astonishing speed for someone in armor, her sword clearing her scabbard as she came; Schwartz barely got out of her way fast enough to avoid being run over. Sergeant Raathi broke off with an undignified squeak when the edge of the paladin’s blade came to rest against her throat. “Rouvad,” Trissiny said icily, “is not here. I am. If I were to take your head off your shoulders right now, Sergeant, who among those present do you think will raise a whisper of complaint?” Bishop Syrinx twirled her own sword, the flash of motion intended to catch Raathi’s attention, then deliberately sheathed the weapon, folded her arms, and smirked. Raathi’s throat moved abortively, as if she had started to swallow and then changed her mind. “You will cooperate with the Guild,” Trissiny continued after enough of a pause had stretched out to make her point plain. “You will answer any questions you are asked and cause no trouble, and if I receive a favorable report of your conduct, I will make certain it’s considered at your trial. Do otherwise and I won’t do anything at all, and you can learn for yourself how far Commander Rouvad’s say-so goes among the Thieves’ Guild. Do I make myself plain?” Trissiny held her gaze for a moment longer before lowering the sword and turning her back dismissively on the four. “Boss, I’m trusting that they won’t be mistreated here.” “No call for that, I don’t think,” Tricks said, studying the armored women dispassionately. “Long as they do what’s asked of ’em, it’s better for the whole business if they have no cause to complain about their treatment when it’s time for trials and sentencing. We do know a thing or two about handling the justice system, after all. In fact, we can consider that my official verdict on the matter.” The Boss raised his voice and subtly shifted to direct his words to the crowd at large. “The law is already closing in on this conspiracy, and seems to have most of ’em in hand. If it does so, fine; the Guild won’t contest the right of way with the Empire. But. These bastards have killed one of our own—an apprentice. There will be no more mercy offered. I officially no longer give a shit about interfaith procedure. Any member of this conspiracy who is not safely in Imperial custody by sunset will be found hanging in the doorway of their own temple by dawn. Be they altar boys or High Commanders, I don’t care. Eserite blood is never the last to be spilled. I have spoken.” He received a round of sharp nods, and almost every Guild thief present who was not already moving to escort the four Legionnaires into the Casino turned and began melting away into the shadows and alleyways. “Why have I got the strangest fucking feeling,” Style said grimly, folding her arms, “that you kids aren’t done making a goddamn mess.” Darius cleared his throat. “Style, none of us are in any mood. If you even suggest what happened to Ross is our fault, I’m gonna come over there and smack you one.” She raised her eyebrows fractionally. “Boy, you have to know I can demolish you with one hand.” “I surely do, and I’ll do it anyway.” “The defiance is good, Darius, but keep it pointed where it deserves,” Tricks said firmly. “No infighting, not right now. Kids, I expect great things from all of you, and believe me, I know what it feels like to want retribution. You all know our doctrine of revenge, though.” “You…have a doctrine for that?” Schwartz asked hesitantly. “Revenge should only be sought,” Tallie recited in a quiet monotone, “if it serves both a strategic and personal goal. Strategic in that it will dissuade the target or others from committing more actions that demand retaliation. Personal in that the target must understand by whom and for what they are being punished, and be unable to prevent their comeuppance, because only in that circumstance will it bring satisfaction.” “That is disturbingly insightful,” he muttered. “And the killer is dead,” Tricks stated, glancing at Trissiny. “which takes that off the table. The people responsible for the whole debacle are being rounded up by far more effective agents than you. This is not a situation where you can help.” “Not more effective than her,” Tallie said defiantly, also turning to Trissiny. “And,” Layla added, “it seems the one person most responsible is in no position to be rounded up.” Tricks shot a look at Syrinx, who still had her arms folded and was now listening without expression. “If you kids are thinking of trying to rough up the Archpope, so help me I will put you all in cells until you cool down. I don’t care whose Hand any of you are.” Arjen turned to stare at him, laying his ears back, which the Boss ignored. “Excuse me, I’m not even in your cult,” Schwartz said testily. “I think it’s pretty significant we didn’t even have to say who we’re all talking about,” Tallie said dryly. “And no,” Trissiny added, “no one’s talking about going to the Cathedral and attacking Justinian. No one here is stupid enough to think that would work.” “Yo.” Darius raised his hand. “Totally that stupid, for the record. That’s why I let my baby sister tag along all the time, she’s the plan person.” “I take full credit for his survival to date,” Layla said primly. “It seems,” Trissiny continued, “the events of this week in Tiraas are just one part of something that has parallels in Last Rock and Puna Dara. While Justinian’s name has been brought up a lot, the truth is we haven’t absolute proof that he is the one orchestrating all this behind the scenes. Which means that both justice and revenge can be best sought without attacking him directly. Whoever is responsible for this, I mean to go make certain they get nothing they want today, and that they see who wrecked their careful plans.” Style swelled like a bullfrog, but then released the air in a heavy sigh. “And so you’re thinking of taking my apprentices and charging off to Last Rock to help your little adventurer friends?” “She’s not taking us anywhere,” Tallie stated, glaring at her. “We’re going with. You can dish out whatever punishment you want when we get back, Style, but this is fucking well happening. Live with it.” “And no,” Trissiny said before Style could retort. “Last Rock is a monster that eats overweening fools; anybody who wants to try their luck with Tellwyrn and my classmates is welcome to have at it. But Puna Dara is not prepared for the kinds of trouble someone like Justinian can unleash, and I have a good friend who will never forgive me if I turn my back on the Punaji when they need help. That is where I’m going. And as far as I’m concerned, everyone here has the right to come if they choose to exercise it.” “I swear,” Style muttered, shaking her head. “A thorn in my ass to the very end.” “You realize, kid,” Tricks said quietly, “that not everybody is secretly a paladin. The kind of trouble that you exist to stamp down gets regular people killed. How many friends are you looking to lose today?” “If you can persuade them not to come,” she whispered, “do. Please.” “We’ve had this out already,” Tallie said, much more firmly. “This isn’t the big bad paladin ordering us to fight. We’re Guild, Boss; nobody orders us to do jack shit.” Style cleared her throat pointedly. “What’re you grunting about?” Darius snorted. “It’s true and you know it. You complain about it often enough.” “Historically speaking,” Layla added, “paladins do not operate alone; they have usually been the focus of adventurer teams. Three thieves and a witch makes for pretty good backup, I’d say.” “Apprentice thieves!” Style grated. Tricks shook his head, but held up a hand. “Technically, I do have the prerogative to forbid you from going.” He gave Style a long, pensive look. “But…we’re not big on technicalities here, are we?” “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” she said incredulously. “A great doom is coming,” the Boss murmured. “Shit’s going down, Style. I’ve heard from the Big Guy himself about our pet paladin, here. The word is to give her space to do what she wants, unless she gets into something we specifically cannot support. This is Guild retribution of exactly the kind our very few doctrines support. If any thieves want to have her back, apprentice or no… They’re cleared to go.” Style turned her back, cursing monotonously under her breath. “But you,” Tricks said grimly to Trissiny, “just keep in mind that raising a fist in defiance is the why but not the how of Eserion’s people. You assess the situation, you act with strategy, and you don’t take needless risks with our people’s lives.” “You don’t need to tell me,” she replied, “but I appreciate that you did, nonetheless. I don’t plan to lose anybody else, today.” “Yeah?” he shot back. “Did you plan to lose Ross?” “Okay, that was not necessary,” Schwartz snapped. Meesie hopped onto his head and chittered angry agreement. “It’s not wrong, though,” Trissiny said quietly. “Anything could happen. In war, people die.” “You gotta trust us on this, Boss,” Tallie said, wearing a grim little smile. “I’ve been thinking on it all the way over. The biggest advantage of having our very own paladin isn’t even her capacity to break shit: it’s that with her riding at the head, nobody’ll even see us coming.” Tricks heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes. “She said, in the middle of the street.” That prompted a round of winces and glances around. Actually his concern might have been overstated; most of the onlookers had left, either voluntarily or shooed away by enforcers, and nobody who remained was within earshot. What was left of the crowd was again generating enough typical city noise to cover their conversation. “Hey, give her a break,” Darius said reasonably. “After all, we’re just apprentices.” “How’s it look out there, Sanrachi?” one of the gathered soldiers asked merrily as their soaking-wet comrade entered the barracks. “Fucking glorious,” she replied with the same good cheer, settling onto one of the benches close to the fireplace and picking up a rag from the supplies laid out there. She began removing, drying and oiling her gear as she continued, not seeming to mind the rainwater that plastered her own clothes and hair. “It’s one of Naphthene’s own rages out there. I can’t believe you lazy sods are sitting around in here instead of out playing in the rain.” “Yeah, well, you can go back out when your shift is over,” the lieutenant presently in charge said, looking up from his book and raising an eyebrow. “We’re all on standby. If that means missing a really good blow, well, life’s hard.” “Not me!” another man called. “I haven’t missed a really good blow since I met Apta’s—” “Yeah, yeah, my sister’s a whore, we’ve all heard it,” a fellow soldier grunted, tossing a boot at him without raising his attention from his game of chess. “You need some new material.” The small barracks was on the second floor of the Rock’s southern gatehouse, set inside the massive outer wall of the fortress itself. This was not the main troop housing, but served as a common area where soldiers stationed on gate watch gathered. At times like this, the policy was to have enough troops on the ramparts to keep watch over the city, but more in reserve below not being distracted and tired out by having to remain alert in the middle of a storm. As much as Punaji enjoyed stormy weather as a rule, manning the top of a wall during a tropical gale as fierce as the one now raging could wear a person out. Sanrachi’s replacement had already gone above to relieve her, and another swap would take place in half an hour. With the weather this bad, the twelve soldiers patrolling the gatehouse’s towers would be rotated constantly, so there was always someone with fresh eyes on the city. In theory, the Rock should have nothing to fear from the people of Puna Dara, but the very fact of the Punaji affinity for storms meant that watchers on the walls could not trust the weather alone to keep the gates clear, as might be the practice elsewhere. “All quiet out there?” the lieutenant asked, then had to pause for a particularly loud clap of thunder. “…you know what I mean.” “Yeah, yeah,” Sanrachi said, grinning. “The usual. Some folks out in the street, but not a sign of these Rust bastards. I guess their name’s not a complete coincidence, huh? They seem shy about getting wet. So, uh…” She glanced curiously at some of the new arrivals, whose silver armor stood out strikingly among the Punaji uniforms. “What brings you out here, Sisters? I heard you were honored guests of the royal family.” “That’s the theory,” Ephanie said lightly, “but we’re letting our LT hog all the honor. Honestly, you know how it is. We all complain about the digs we’re assigned, but put me on plush carpeting and silk sheets and I’m afraid to touch anything. I have no idea which one’s even the shrimp fork.” “Shrimp fork’s the one you use to stab the shrimp who complains about what fork you’re eating with!” shouted the man who’d made the crack about Apta’s sister, earning a round of guffaws. “Well, you’re welcome in here,” the lieutenant said, smiling warmly at her. In fact, Ephanie in particular had been the focus of a fair amount of attention from most of the men and several of the women stationed in this gatehouse. “Good company’s always appreciated. We don’t even mind you sharing the rations; we don’t go hungry around here.” “Aw, we wouldn’t wanna be a burden,” Casey said cheerfully. “That’s why we keep Lang around! Someone so terrible at cards can’t help but make us friends.” Merry scowled at her, slapping her handful of cards down on the table amid the laughter of the rest of the poker players. Indeed, her stack of pennies was the smallest by a wide margin. “I fucking knew it! That’s it, soon as we’re back in Tiraas I’m putting in a requisition for come compensation.” While the joking and laughter carried on, Ephanie politely extracted herself from the lieutenant’s attention and went to join Nandi, who was standing by one of the windows, staring out at the storm with a slight frown. “All right, Shahai?” she asked softly. “I’ve never known you to be bothered by a little thunder and lightning.” “It isn’t that,” Nandi said slowly. “I can almost hear…something.” Ephanie’s eyebrows drew together pensively. “Can you be a little more specific?” “I wish I could, Avelea. I cannot pick it out, but I have the sense that there is a background sound that…” She trailed off, then finally tore her eyes from the window to look at Ephanie directly. “Elven hearing is a matter of focus. Discerning as many sounds as we do, we’d go mad from over-stimulation if we did not learn to tune most of it out. There is an art to hearing almost everything in one’s vicinity and deciding, subconsciously, what is important. Sometimes the fact that this is art and not science works against us. Something is nagging at me, and I cannot fix my attention upon it. The storm and the soldiers, obviously, do not help.” “I’ve never seen you do that, either,” Ephanie said, studying her. “You have a great deal of experience to draw on, Shahai. Is this ringing any bells at all? Anything you want to tell me about?” Nandi’s eyes had narrowed in concentration, tracking to the side as she listened, but at that she fixed her gaze back on Ephanie’s. “It’s nothing I would be comfortable initiating action based upon, but… My experience has been that when I have this sensation, it means someone nearby is attempting to be very stealthy, aware that an elf can hear them. Stealthier than a normal human is capable of being.” Ephanie nodded slowly. “All right. Thanks for the warning; I’ll discreetly notify the others to be on the alert, but I don’t think we want to spook the local troops just yet.” “No…tell their lieutenant, at least,” Merry said, having abandoned the last of her pennies and joined them in time to catch the latter part of their exchange. “We’re not the big damn heroes here, that’s those Last Rock kids and possibly Locke. We came here to support the Punaji; I think it’s a bad idea to have the attitude that these troopers are yokels who can’t be trusted to take care of their own city. We should share intel that might be important. Uh, I mean…ma’am.” She finished weakly, belatedly noticing Ephanie’s very pointed stare. “Mouth off like that in front of anyone, Lang, and I’m gonna have to land on you,” Ephanie said dryly, “but with that said, you are dead right and I thank you for the reminder. Just learn to watch your tone. Most of the Legions do not share Locke’s idea of military comportment.” “Yes, ma’am,” Merry said contritely. Ephanie nodded to Nandi. “I’ll go have a discreet word with their LT. I’ve been getting the vibe he’d be happy enough to speak with me in private. It should be his call what to tell his troops, if anything, and if he doesn’t believe me, that’s that.” “I find human soldiers are often impressed by ‘elf stuff’ to an almost superstitious degree,” Nandi said, her grave tone somewhat spoiled by the twitch of her lips. “Don’t hesitate to mention the ears.” Ephanie grinned and patted her shoulder. “Back shortly. Keep those ears perked and let me know if you can pick anything important out.” Not even an elf could have heard the distortion of candle smoke, or even the movement of air as it was displaced by an invisible body in the rafters; with all the noise of the storm and the boisterous soldiers present, the hidden figure above managed to creep from beam to beam all the way to the stairwell door without drawing further attention. Rather than risk opening it herself, she had to wait for the next shift change and slip out after the soldier who went to relieve his counterpart upon the battlements. It was a simple enough matter to trip him while he was opening the heavy wooden door, providing her with an opportunity to squeeze past and scamper almost silently up the stairs. At the top, troopers were hunkered down against the battlements themselves, lifelines tied to their belts in case of someone being blown over the edge. With the wind roaring as it was, Kheshiri didn’t even try to unfurl her wings; she’d have been instantly picked up and hurled halfway to the Stalrange. Flattening herself against the floor and as close to the inner wall as she could, she made her way carefully across, mindful of both storm and soldiers, heading for the other gatehouse—the one not currently inhabited by an elf. This delay had cost her time. The others would be getting impatient; Shook could only take his frustrations out on her later, but if Khadizroth feared she had been intercepted he might go and do something unfortunate. She would have to move faster to get the gate open, which meant creating an opportunity rather than waiting for one. The thought was enough to set her tail waving in anticipation. September 22, 2017 UncategorizedAkhatrya, Anjal, Ariel, Casey Elwick, Ephanie Avelea, Farah Szaravid, Fross, Gabriel, Inspector Fedora, Juniper, Merry Lang, Nandi Shahai, Ox, Principia, Ruda, TobyD. D. Webb “By that,” Toby said slowly, “do you mean its enchantments are still active?” Fross chimed in annoyance. “They are, but no, if I had meant that I would have said that. I always try to be precise! What I mean is, I think this object is both artificially constructed and a living organism.” “Okay,” he said. “Sorry, no offense meant.” The pixie zoomed over to buzz affectionately around his head once. “I know, Toby, I’m sorry for getting irked. I’m in analytical mode, it makes me impatient.” “Now, hang on!” Juniper exclaimed. “Something cannot be artificially made and still a living thing!” “That is a fallacy,” Ariel’s voice interjected. “Such beings do not occur in nature, but there are ample specimens from the annals of magical history.” “What the hell was that?” Merry exclaimed in alarm. “Ariel.” Gabriel drew the black sword and held her up; her runes flickered a dull blue in the light. “She’s very particular about magical matters. Helpful, too, most of the time.” “Young man,” Nandi said very evenly, “do you know where talking swords come from?” He sighed and sheathed Ariel again. “Yes, I do, and nobody here had a hand in making her. We found her in the Crawl. Fross, you were telling us about that arm?” “Yes, thank you!” the pixie exclaimed. “If everyone’s listening now? Okay, so I’ve analyzed this thing as carefully as possible in this timeframe and with this equipment and what I’ve discovered is that it is clearly a machine, it was not built by anybody who thinks the way any modern enchanter or engineer does, and as I said, its nature is more organic than mechanical despite being mechanical and made of minerals.” “Yeah, can we focus on that part first?” Juniper suggested. “Because that doesn’t make a lick of sense to—” Fross rose two feet toward the ceiling, her glow brightening significantly on the way, and emitted a wordless arpeggio of sheer irritation. “Uh…” Juniper actually took a step back from the examining table. “Actually…why don’t you just go over it in…y’know, whatever order makes sense to you.” “Thank you, Juniper,” Fross replied, drifting back down toward the subject of her research. “Anyway. First of all, the device itself is not enchanted, exactly. Its interior structure is a series of pretty simple cables and pulleys which stand in for muscles, ligaments, all that stuff. There are no inner bones, since of course the outer structure is rigid metal, so it’s organized differently. The enchantments are contained in tiny crystals affixed to each joint.” “Forgive me for interrupting,” Gabriel said hesitantly. “But does that mean there’s no central enchantment at all?” “Exactly!” Fross said, clearly growing excited again. “That’s the beauty of it! See, Juniper tore this one off at the elbow, which is probably why I can’t find an enchantment that makes it interface with the human body. The little crystals only govern each mechanism individually; that interface charm was probably on the piece attached right to the human. But! These enchantments are incredibly efficient compared to ours because they have no power component! They only carry instructions for the machine parts; the energy is conducted through a series of metal filaments encased in a rubber-like non-conductive medium. It runs on electricity, not magic!” “I thought electricity was pretty much only good for weapons,” Casey said, leaning forward on her chair. “It is good for weapons,” Farah replied, “but actually, the nervous systems of all living things run on tiny electrical charges. That’s why lightning wands tend to cause nerve damage and sometimes even brain disorders.” “Exactly!” Fross said eagerly, swooping around the table in erratic circles. “These appear to draw their power directly from the body! Except it takes more energy to move metal than flesh simply because of its weight, so that wouldn’t exactly work, which makes me think there must be a power source of some kind with some much more sophisticated enchantments connected to the host body. But! In addition to being very alien in design, this thing is made of components that aren’t like anything I’ve ever seen. The different alloys used for the casing, the moving parts, the metal wires… I can’t even identify any of them. Likewise the insulating material; it’s like rubber, but obviously synthetic. And these enchantment crystals most of all! It’s like… This kind of enchantment does exist now, but modern data crystals are new and pretty rare, and also not nearly as efficient. These ones aren’t much bigger than grains of sand and anything I could make to do their job would be about the size of an average lightning wand’s power crystal.” “So, it’s magic more sophisticated than anything known,” Anjal said, frowning. “With every new revelation I get more nervous about this Elder God business. Naphthene’s tits, these bastards are all over the city!” “Well, it’s hard to compare that kind of sophistication directly,” Fross cautioned. “Compared to the state of modern industrial enchantment, yes. But that itself is very new; individual archmages throughout history were known to make stuff like this. Well, I mean, not like this necessarily, but things so amazing modern enchanters still don’t understand how they work. Magic mirrors, for instance. We even understand those, but they’re fiendishly hard and we haven’t yet cracked mass-production of them.” “Or talking swords, for example,” Nandi said. Gabriel turned to give her a flat look. “Is this going to become a problem?” “I dearly hope not,” she replied, expressionless. “Anyway!” Fross continued more loudly. “The really, really interesting part is the organic part! Yes, Juniper, I’m coming to it. Okay, so, one thing that jumped out at me is there’s nothing in there except the devices that make it move. The thing about anything with moving parts is that moving them wears them down; they require repair and maintenance. With engineered machines, you have to get into ’em and do it manually; biological organisms have built-in systems for maintenance, which is obviously more efficient and exactly why those organisms are so much more complex than any machine. So! What’s interesting here is that this device is clearly not designed to be dismantled! The pieces are solid, and even the ones that move connect firmly in a way that clearly isn’t meant to be disconnected. Therefore, since it has no way to access it internally to perform repairs, there has to be a built-in mechanism for that!” “What if they don’t repair them?” Casey suggested. “Just…take ’em off and throw ’em away when they wear out.” Fross shot upward in indignation. “Excuse me, but I refuse to believe any intelligence capable of creating a machine like this would make a design choice so inefficient, wasteful, and catastrophically stupid.” “Sorry,” Casey said, holding up her hands in surrender. “You’re the boss.” “It’s pronounced Fross, actually,” Ruda said with a grin. “So,” the pixie continued, “I went looking for traces of this mechanism and guess what I found!” “Or,” Toby said quickly when several people opened their mouths, “just tell us? For efficiency’s sake, if nothing else.” Fross appeared not to hear him, carrying on at a rapid clip while bouncing up and down in midair. “While I was doing exploratory divinations, I actually caught the damaged edges of the metal casing rebuilding itself, filling in scratches and trying to extend toward the part that’s broken off! And, and! That prompted me to take a closer structural look at the metal itself, and it was clearly not molded, cast, or worked using any known means. It was built up one atom at a time, like the way mollusks grow shells, but on an even smaller scale somehow adding up to a finished product on a much greater scale than any clam! Isn’t that amazing?” Everyone stared at the apparently inert metal arm for a moment of silence, Merry and Casey standing up to see better. “Amazing is a word,” Ruda said at last. “The one that springs to my mind is ‘creepy.’ With some adjectives. You all know my favorite ones, I think.” “But…you couldn’t find any standing enchantment that’s doing that?” Gabriel asked. “No, I couldn’t!” “So,” Teal said, “we still don’t understand what force animates this thing, but now we know it’s still active and doing so right now.” “If I may make a recommendation,” said Ariel, “it may be too late in this case but for future reference, it would be wise to handle any such objects as if they presented a threat of contagion.” “Holy shit,” Gabriel muttered, “we’ve got the queen and the princess in this room… All right, everybody! We’re gonna do a thorough cleansing and general healing.” “Do you really think that’s necessary, boy?” Anjal asked dryly, folding her arms. “I have no idea,” he replied, “but none of us have any idea about anything, here, and I don’t think we can afford to take risks.” “He’s right,” Toby said, placing a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “About the risks and sensible countermeasures, not so much the part where he started barking orders at the aforementioned queen and princess.” “Oh.” Gabriel’s cheeks colored. “I, uh…sorry, I didn’t mean…” “It’s all right, Arquin, we’re used to you,” Ruda said, slugging his other shoulder and grinning. “Future reference, don’t get pushy with Punaji women unless you’re lookin’ to get your ass married and/or stabbed.” “And/or?” Ephanie muttered. “Seriously, though, let’s please just do this,” Gabriel said a little nervously. “Uh… Juniper’s the tricky one. Either divine healing or the cleansing charms I can do will hurt her.” “I’m not sure I need it,” the dryad said, folding her arms. “I’m pretty impervious in the first place, and anyway, I have my own means.” “Okay, but…wouldja humor me, Juno? Whatever you’ve got to check for and cleanse any kind of corruption… I know you’re a dryad, but remember you don’t have Naiya to rely on now and there’s no telling what these guys are capable of…” “Yeah, I see your point,” she said with a sigh. “Okay, I’m just gonna go to that corner over there and concentrate. Can you try to keep your divine magic in the other side of the room?” “Can do!” Gabriel said, saluting. “Now, uh… Toby, you’re much better at healing than I am. I think you’d better take point, here.” “Sure,” Toby said, peering at him. “Did I hear you say you can do cleansing charms? That’s impressive stuff, Gabe, I had no idea you were that advanced.” “Gabriel is very good at enchanting!” Fross chimed. “I’m a much more general-purpose arcanist, and I frequently ask his help with passive enchantment work! And we worked hard on getting those cleansing charms right for our semester project. See, the trick is including the right modifiers so they only identify and purge hostile elements from the body and not the symbiotic bacteria that aid digestion! We made a lot of poor rats very sick…” “You keep your fuckin’ finger wiggling away from me,” Ruda ordered Gabriel, taking a step back. Nandi cleared her throat, stepping forward. “I am a priestess. Less innately powerful than Mr. Caine, obviously, but with five centuries of experience in several fields of healing. I would be glad to help.” “You would be very welcome,” Toby said emphatically. “My thanks, Corporal Shahai. Now, let’s please organize everybody into a line over here, we’ll want to give everybody our full attention, not just fling magic around. Corporal, would you walk us through the recommended procedure, please?” While Nandi began instructing the students, Merry glanced sidelong at Juniper, who had just passed them and was now sitting in the corner with her eyes closed, then leaned forward and lowered her voice to a bare whisper, nodding in Teal’s direction. “So, uh… What’s the deal with that one?” “She’s possessed,” Principia replied in the same quiet tone. “Bonded with the archdemon Vadrieny.” Farah swallowed loudly, staring at Teal with wide eyes. “You’ve…heard of that particular demon?” Merry asked her. “Archdemon,” Farah whispered. “Daughter of Elilial. Demonic demigoddess, technically. Vadrieny has killed…well, a lot.” “We always make the neatest friends,” Casey murmured. Everyone shifted to stare at her; neither her expression nor tone revealed whether she was being sarcastic. “And you,” Merry finally said, prodding Principia in the shoulder, “drugged her to get her out of your way. Some balls on you, woman. Not an iota of sense, but still.” “It seemed worthwhile at the time,” Principia said with a sigh. “Okay, Lang, that’s as good as an opening as you’re likely to get. Planning to make with the barrage of screeching and questions, now? Quite frankly, the anticipation has been worse than what your voice does to my ears when you get in one of your episodes.” “I do not have ‘episodes,’” Merry said sullenly. “Anyhow…no. Oh, I was gonna, but I spent the awkward silence while we were getting frog-marched here thinking—shut your mouth, Elwick!—and it actually makes perfect sense, like the princess said. Obviously, if Rouvad was gonna let you in the Legions, it would be with a huge list of stipulations about what you can’t say to whom. So, no, LT, I don’t take being kept in the dark personally, this one time.” “I can’t tell you what a load off my mind that is,” Principia said sweetly. Merry grinned right back. “Yeah, well. After the way she lit into you, I figured you two have enough issues without me picking at it.” Ephanie sighed. “And still, you had to bring that up. You were almost considerate for a moment there, Lang.” Merry just smiled. “I assume Shahai knew about this, too? She’s got Rouvad’s ear on everything.” “I knew,” Casey said quietly, then shrugged when the others turned to stare at her again. “Locke pretty deliberately left the breadcrumbs. You just had to follow ’em.” “Of course she did,” Ephanie said, turning to Principia in exasperation. “Locke, have you ever been given an order you didn’t feel an immediate need to weasel around?” “No,” Prin said immediately, grinning. “Not once. But I have many times received orders I didn’t actually weasel around. If I just went and did everything I felt a need to, I’d have had a much more interesting sex life. And also would be dead by now.” “I would prefer not to hear any more about either of those prospects, please,” said Merry. Their conversation, and Nandi’s instruction of Toby, was interrupted by a rap at the door. A second later, it opened, revealing the royal seneschal. “Bad news, Akhatrya!” Ruda said merrily. “You’re infected, now! Join the line!” “Zari, my rules about you hassling the staff don’t change just because you’re halfway to college-educated,” Anjal snapped, whisking her hat off and swatting Ruda over the head with it. “What is it, Akhatrya?” “Your pardon, Majesty, Princess, honored guests,” the tall, bearded man said, bowing deeply. “There is an unexpected visitor in the palace seeking an audience with both the Crown and with Lieutenant Locke.” He turned another, shallower bow specifically upon Principia. “A representative from the local Thieves’ Guild.” Anjal narrowed her eyes. “I see. And this visitor is not meeting with the King because…?” Akhatrya’s face betrayed no expression. “His Majesty the King feels that since you are both together, it is the most efficient course of action for you to meet Miss Lagrande.” “Lagrande?” Principia’s eyebrows shot upward. “Quinn Lagrande? She’s still alive?” “One hopes so, Lieutenant,” Akhatrya said placidly. “She was moments ago. If she is otherwise now, we shall have most interesting conversations with the Guild in the days to come.” “Great,” Anjal muttered. “You win this time, husband, but there will be a reckoning. Oh, yes, there will. Well, Akhatrya, I’m afraid our little Zari wasn’t wrong. Join the line, please. This Quinn Lagrande will just have to wait a few minutes longer.” Ox Whippoorwill stepped into the Ale & Wenches and paused just inside, exchanging nods with a couple of citizens. Most didn’t notice him, being too absorbed in their conversations. Everything about the scene was…off. It was far too crowded for the early afternoon, and almost all those present were Rockies, while the A&W primarily catered to out-of-towners. Its usual clientele were present in small numbers; they were identifiable as the few people sitting at tables by themselves, looking somewhat bemused by what was going on around them. What was going on was just conversation, so far. They were intense conversations, though, and not all of them quiet. Ox stood for a handful of heartbeats, soaking it in—just long enough to hear a few key words. Then he moved out of the door and began making his way around the perimeter of the room toward the only man present aside from the bartender who wasn’t sitting. “Deputy,” Fedora said, nodding at Ox’s approach. He was blatantly lurking, just beside the stairs, and just as blatantly watching the room. More than a few of those gathered kept casting pointed glances his direction. So far, at least, nobody was staring. “Inspector,” Ox rumbled in reply. “An’ it’s just Ox. Titles are for when I gotta get official with somebody.” “Very well, same goes,” Fedora said, momentary amusement cracking his pensive expression. He took a sip of the pint of beer in his hand. It was almost full, clearly being used as a prop to justify his presence to the proprietor. “Oh? I figured Inspectors kept the right to the title even after they retired. Like military ranks, or professors.” “I actually would have to look up the rules on that,” Fedora murmured, again staring across the bar. “Regardless, I’m not in with the Empire any longer. That was a good job and I’m glad to have held it, but it’s best not to dwell on the past, I find.” “Mm.” Ox took a position next to him and folded his arms, feeling no need to bother getting a drink. He wanted his head clear, and since being officially deputized he had no need of an excuse to stand around in a public place. For a few minutes, they stood in silence. Watching, and listening. “Is it like this all over town?” Fedora asked finally, then took another tiny sip. “A mite calmer,” Ox replied. “Folk meetin’ on the street, havin’ little chats. In shops an’ behind shops… Nothin’ else is as boisterous as this right here. ‘Swhy I came to keep an eye on this crowd. Even the Saloon’s not as packed, or as…intense. Jonas won’t stand for no funny business in his place, either.” Fedora nodded very slowly. “Tell me…are you seeing the same thing wrong with this picture I am?” “It’s too damn fast,” Ox said immediately, keeping his voice low. With the hubbub in the room, it wasn’t hard to be discreet. “Not that it’s a small thing, exactly, the University sponsorin’ some kinda demon-summonin’ project, but… I know this town. I know the rhythms an’ the balance of opinions. There ain’t enough folks suspicious of the school to create this kinda hubbub this quick. Even if there was… The announcement was just posted, after lunch. Normally, folks’d only just be hearin’ the first rumors. This is all over. An’ you can plainly see how tense it’s gettin’.” Again, that very slow nod. Fedora let his eyes wander across the crowded tavern, having another sip that barely wet his lips. “The Sheriff know about this?” “I came right here when this started up, ain’t talked with him yet. Sam’s got ears, though. He knows his job, an’ he knows this town.” “Reminds me of a while back,” Ox continued after a pause. “We damn near had an honest-to-gods riot in this town, an’ it turns it there was a rogue Vidian priestess doin’ some kinda hoodoo, makin’ people more susceptible. You don’t suppose…” This time, Fedora shook his head negatively, and with more energy. “I don’t know Last Rock as well as you, Ox, but I know people, and I know trouble. You’re right: this is too quick. Much too quick a result. And your instinct is equally right. I’m never willing to trust that out-of-the-ordinary behavior happens on this scale without being made to. But look at the pattern.” He gestured slowly around the room with his nearly-full glass. “Look at the different expressions. There are people nervous, people pissed off… But most uncertain, and just as many peacemakers as agitators. Folks speaking up on Tellwyrn’s behalf. If there was a magical effect in place to agitate people, like in your example, we wouldn’t see all these people standing back and listening, waiting to form their own opinions. If there was some kind of more aggressive control trying to turn people against Tellwyrn, same goes and she wouldn’t have this many defenders.” Again, he shook his head, and took a sip. “No need to assume some grandiose, cosmic effect in place. Just somebody stirring up shit. Someone skillful, well-connected in this town. Someone who knows the social landscape well enough to launch a very effective rumor campaign.” “You’re sayin’ it’s one o’ my neighbors,” Ox growled. “Maybe,” Fedora said noncommittally. “It would take more than one to do this so efficiently, but don’t jump to any conclusions. There are a lot of new faces in Last Rock lately, some who’ve been here long enough to have learned what they’d need to do this, assuming they had the right skills to begin with. This used to be a town where everybody knew everybody else; now, suddenly, it’s not anymore. You couldn’t ask for an easier target for infiltration.” Ox heaved a deep sigh, his breath ruffling his mustache. “Omnu’s balls. You know who’s doin’ this, Fedora?” “Not yet,” the erstwhile Inspector replied, a predatory glint rising in his eyes. “That…will take a little work. I’m going to have a long stroll around town, Ox. Chat with some people, listen in. You and the Sheriff have no objection, I trust?” “Respect the law,” Ox rumbled, “respect the people, an’ don’t stir up no more trouble. Aside from that, ain’t my business or the Sheriff’s what you do.” “Oh, I don’t intend to stir the pot, you can count on that,” Fedora said, straightening up and casting a weird little smile around the room. “But I am going to find out who’s got their hands on the spoon.” Review TGAB at Webfiction Guide! Vote at Topwebfiction! Add to the TVTropes page! Discuss the story on Facebook! Edit the TGAB Wiki! Discuss TGAB on Reddit! Review TGAB on Goodreads! Join the TGAB discord server! Help fund TGaB through Patreon! Or donate via Paypal! Get cool TGAB stuff! Also by D. D. Webb! Rowena’s Rescue Netherstar Characters by Appearance Addiwyn Adimel Afritia Morvana Agatha Svanwen Akhatrya Alan Vandro Amanika Ami Talaari Ampophrenon the Gold Andros Varanus Aradeus Archpope Justinian Aresk Arjuni Ashaele Avei Avrith Ayuvesh Azradeh Basra Syrinx Bird Savaraad Bishop Darling Bishop Shahai Bishop Syrinx Branwen Snowe Brother Arlund Brother Ermon Brother Ingvar Captain Cross Captain Dijanerad Captain Fedhaar Captain Ravoud Carter Long Casethin Mournais Casey Elwick Colonel Adjavegh Colonel Azhai Colonel Nintaumbi Corporal Hayes Corporal Timms CT-29 Cyria Aradidjad Dantu Delilah Raine Dimbi Djinti Elder Linsheh Elilial Elin Ralstrind Elspeth Embras Mogul Emperor Sharidan Empress Eleanora Empress Theasia Ephanie Avelea Eric Ahlstrom Eserion Ezekiel Jenkins Farah Szaravid Farzida Rouvad Father Laws Fred Carson Frind Gairan General Panissar General Ralavideh General Vaumann Geoffrey Falconer Gilbert Mosk Grandmaster Veisroi Gravestone Weaver Hamelin Hargrave Haunui Helgryn Hesthri Heywood Paxton Hildred Hiram Taft Hrazthax Ildrin Falaridjad Imbani Akinda Inspector Fedora Inspector Jaahri Invazradi Ironeye Isolde Fraunsteldt Izara Jane Roscoe Janis van Richter Jebediah Jenkins Jenell Covrin Jenny Everywhere Jonas Crete Jonathan Arquin Joseph P. Jenkins Kelvreth of the Eyes Khadizroth the Green Kheshiri Lanaera Lance Antevid Laran Macraigh Lars Grusser Layla Sakhavenid Lieutenant Laghari Longshot McGraw Lorelin Reich Mabel Cratchley Maehe Agasti Maiyenn Major Luger Major Razsha Malivette Mandip Marguerite Falconer Marshal Ross Mary the Crow Mayor Cleese Melaxyna Merry Lang Milanda Milanda Darnassy Mortimer Agasti Nahil Nandi Shahai Narnasia Darnassy Natchua Nora Avelea November Stark Omnu Princess Yasmeen Private Ulster Professor Ahlstrom Professor Ekoi Professor Ezzaniel Professor Harklund Professor Rafe Professor Tellwyrn Professor Yornhaldt Queen Arkasia Quentin Vex Radivass Raea Raghann Raichlin Rainwood Rajakhan Raolo Raul Dhisrain Ravaan Madouri Ravana Razzavinax the Red Rhadid Daraspian Rizlith Rogrind Sabrina Price Saduko Salyrene Sarriki Sassafrass Scyllith Sekandar Selim Darousi Sergeant Raathi Shaath Shaeine Shaiene Shamlin Sheriff Decker Sheriff Sanders Sherwin Leduc Sheyann Shiraki Sister Astarian Sister Lanora Sister Leraine Sister Magden Sister Takli Sister Tianne Svarveld Szaiviss Szith Taka Mbino Tallie Talvers Tamsin Tamshinaar Tanq Taowi Sunrunner Tariq Shavayad Tazun Tholi Tinker Billie Trissiny Vadrieny Val Tarvadegh Vannae Varsinostro the Green Veilwin Verniselle Vesk Vestrel Vidius Vlesni Vynlian Willard Tanenbaum Woodsworth Wrynst Xsythri Xyraadi Yngrid Yrril Zanzayed the Blue	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1923
__label__wiki	0.869351	0.869351	Posted 2 months ago by Toby Christie Cup News Stewart-Haas Racing Announces Cup Series Crew Chief Assignments For 2020 There is a bit of a shake up atop the NASCAR Cup Series pit boxes for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2020. After a year, which saw only one of their cars — Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford Mustang — win a race, the organization has decided to make some moves at the crew chief position. “Our biggest asset at Stewart-Haas Racing is our people, and we strive to put each person in the best position to succeed,” said Greg Zipadelli, Vice President of Competition, SHR. “Our driver/crew chief pairings for next season reflect this ideology, and we believe this lineup provides the best opportunity to win every time we unload our Ford Mustangs at the racetrack.” According to a team press release, Mike Shiplett will move up from the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Cole Custer to be the crew chief on the No. 41 machine. This is a solid move, which keeps the two locked together for Custer’s rookie campaign. While Shiplett is the new crew chief face on the team for 2020, Mike Bugarewicz and John Klausmeier will swap the cars that they work on. Bugarewicz, who served as Clint Bowyer’s crew chief on the No. 14 car a season ago and has been the crew chief of the No. 14 team since 2016, will now move to Aric Almirola’s No. 10 car. Klausmeier will be Bowyer’s crew chief this season. The only crew chief position that will not change at all is that of Harvick’s No. 4 team. Rodney Childers will stay atop the pit box for that team after a four-win season and another Championship 4 berth. This means Billy Scott, who was the crew chief for Daniel Suarez in the No. 41 car a season ago, will not return to the SHR Cup Series organization as a crew chief in 2020 and the team has confirmed that Scott is no longer with the organization as he seeks a new opportunity. Previous Previous post: Report: Landon Cassill, Morgan Shepherd Hoping For Full-Time Xfinity Partnership in 2020 Next Next post: Landon Cassill Tweets He is Still Committed to Full-Time Cup Season With StarCom Racing TobyChristie.com Stewart-Haas Racing Announces Cup Series Crew Chief Assignments For 2020	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1924
__label__cc	0.50761	0.49239	Bug Squad Happenings in the insect world Parasitoid Palooza at Bohart Museum Open House Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey A female Catolaccus grandis wasp targets a boll weevil larva. This 3/8 inch parasitic wasp, a native of Mexico, inserts her ovipositor through the plastic film covering the individual rearing cell and immobilizes the larva. (Photo by Scott Bauer, Courtesy of Wikipedia) Mark your calendars for a "parade of parasitoids!" The Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, is sponsoring its annual "Parasitoid Palooza" open house on Saturday, Oct. 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane. "An insect parasitoid is a species whose immatures live off of an insect host, often eating it from the inside out," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum. "It is part of their life cycle and the host generally dies." The event, free and family friendly, will include a display by senior museum scientist Steve Heydon, who studies Pteromalids, or jewel wasps, a group of tiny parasitoids. He will be available for questions about his research or parasitoids. There are some 3,450 described species of Pteromalids, found throughout the world and in virtually all habitats. Many are important as biological control agents. Also planned at the open house: A family craft activity, to be announced Sampling of Chirp Chips, from the Bohart Museum's recent entomophagy open house Display of orange and black Harlequin beetles (just in time for Halloween) from the Ian Grettenberger lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology Display of cucumber beetles, which can be a pest on squashes, cucumbers and other members of the cucurbits family The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Special attractions include a “live” petting zoo, featuring Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, praying mantids and tarantulas. Visitors are invited to hold some of the insects and photograph them. The museum's gift shop, open year around, includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy. The Bohart Museum holds special open houses throughout the academic year. Its regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. The museum is closed to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and on major holidays. Admission is free. More information on the Bohart Museum is available by contacting (530) 752-0493 or emailing bmuseum@ucdavis.edu or Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu. Just in time for Halloween! The orange and black Harlequin beetles will be displayed at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Oct. 19. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Economic Development, Environment, Family, Natural Resources, Pest Management Tags: Bohart Museum of Entomology (371), Harlequin beetles (1), jewel wasps (2), Lynn Kimsey (275), open house (45), Parasitoid Palooza (7), Pteromalids (1), Steve Heydon (43), Tabatha Yang (97) ZLYYJL 'Eyes on the Butterflies' at the Bohart Museum of Entomology Bohart Museum Open House: A Science of a Day How Do Monarchs Know When to Migrate? Bohart Museum Open House Jan. 18 Cambridge Scientist to Speak on Plant-Nematode Parasitism A Grand Opening--And Bees Were Nowhere in Sight Where is the Vacaville garden... Thank you for including that... Well-described! Really interesting. Saw a beige/pink colors Mantis in... You made me laugh. Good story. Bohart Museum of Entomology (371) honey bees (357) UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (314) Lynn Kimsey (275) Eric Mussen (245) Cindy Lindh: Where is the Vacaville garden... S. Snow: Thank you for including that... Jennifer: Well-described! Really interesting. Connie M Gunther: Saw a beige/pink colors Mantis in... • Bohart Museum of Entomology • honey bees • UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology • Lynn Kimsey • Eric Mussen • Robbin Thorp • Art Shapiro • honey bee • UC Davis • Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility • Tabatha Yang • UC Davis Department of Entomology • Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven • praying mantis • Entomological Society of America	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1927
__label__cc	0.534223	0.465777	And some more EU referendum polling… Yesterday there were two EU referendum polls showing the race essentially neck-and-neck. Today there are two more EU referendum polls, but both of these have REMAIN with a solid looking twenty-plus point lead. ComRes for OpenEurope have topline EU voting intention figures of REMAIN 56%, LEAVE 35% (tabs are here). Ipsos MORI for the Standard have topline figures of REMAIN 58%, LEAVE 32% (full tabs are here) Note that MORI asked the referendum question as a split-sample. Half the sample were asked how they would vote in a referendum, stay in or get out (MORI’s long term tracker question), the other half were asked the actual referendum question. The stay in or get out question had a split of 53%-36%, the actual referendum question question produced a bigger lead for staying in 58%-32%. Wherever possible, I am using questions that use the actual referendum wording, so those are the figures that have gone in my EU referendum tracking data here. The difference between EU referendum voting intentions appears to be a gap between online polling and telephone polling. It’s always difficult to be certain of course – there are many differences between different companies’ approaches and there haven’t been that many telephone polls – but the phone polls from ComRes and MORI are averaging around REMAIN 55%, LEAVE 35%, DON’T KNOW 10%, the online polls from ICM, YouGov, ComRes and Survation are averaging around REMAIN 43%, LEAVE 40%, DON’T KNOW 18%. The telephone polls have “remain” substantially higher and, intriguingly, “don’t know” substantially lower. As ever, it’s difficult to be confident what the reasons are – it could be a difference in sampling (if for some reason online or telephone samples reach respondents who are substantially more or less pro-European) or it could be an interviewer effect (if people are less willing to tell a human interviewer they would vote to leave or they haven’t yet decided). Meanwhile the monthly MORI voting intention figures were CON 38%, LAB 31%, LDEM 9%, UKIP 9%. Filed under: Communicate, Europe, MORI 89 Responses to “And some more EU referendum polling…” I am not sure as to their present positioning, but I seem to remember that the Liberals were quite eurosceptic which is one of the reasons that they are not Lib Dems. Whether this had anything to do with them winning a council seat, I have no idea. I would think this election had more to do with personalities than politics, perhaps someone with more local knowledge may know. Barbazenzero Prof C opines on the Race for Second Place in his first post on What Scotland Thinks since October. He opines: “the main reason why we are asking whether the Conservatives could possibly come second [for Holyrood] is not because the polls are pointing to a transformation in the party’s position, but rather because they suggest that Labour’s situation remains dire. Nothing much new but worth a read. I’m not sure about the usefulness of the Prof’s conclusion though – “Labour is at risk of starting the New Year with its focus on internal battles when what it really needs to do is to start talking to voters.” “Talking to voters” isn’t a lot of use, if there isn’t clarity and consistency in what one is talking about. While every government takes decisions that turn out not to be the best, oppositions not only have to point those out but also have to persuade the voters that their lot would have taken better decisions “back then” (and evidence that claim). Even harder, they have to create a “vision” that is clear, comprehensible and believable, that they will take the best decisions in the future. That is difficult enough for a party that operates within a single political system, but for LiS (when so much media coverage is concentrated on its divisions in England) that seems an exceptionally severe challenge. Dugdale does show a lot of promise as a leader and the 2016 elections may allow her to create a more widely known persona as someone of vision who can be trusted (even if folk don’t vote for LiS in 2016). If she can avoid being drawn into, or damaged by, the fratricidal war then she can build a base on which to stabilise LiS in the 2016 council elections, and to make advances in 2021. It seems a hard and lengthy process, however, and may well be overtaken by “events” (as McMillan might have said, but sadly didn’t). Republican primary voters asked whether they support/oppose bombing Agrabah. Support 30% : Oppose 13% Worrying times. @RNJ1 Libertarians with a social conscience? RAF @RNJ1 The Liberal Party has a website http://www.liberal.org.uk/html/wherewestand.htm “The Liberal Party believes that fundamental reform of the European Union is essential, and that the UK may have to withdraw, or threaten to withdraw, from the EU to get it. We believe that policies such as the common agricultural and common fisheries policies are protectionist, fundamentally illiberal and have proved disastrous. We are opposed to the introduction of the Euro in the UK” Nothing to do with the EU but this simple District Councillor would like to know what the polling figures are suggesting for us next May, assuming things stay much the same (silly assumption I know, but is there a better one?) and assuminmg a 4 year cycle i.e. taking 2012 results as the base line. I would appreciate your expert, informed comments. Tony Dean Although I am now a card carrying member of the Labour Party I can shed some light on the continuing Liberal Party. It is well to the libertarian Left of the Lib Dems and is pro-European culturally but anti EU Brussels establishment committment to capitalism. The continuing Liberals are essentially the old radical Left-wing “localists” who used to give Steel so many headaches at his annual Assemblies. There has always been some residual strength for the Liberals in Ryedale as I posted about 18 months ago in the run-up to another local election there. Unusually, at the time of the merger in 1987/88 most of the most active activists in the north of the constituency, who had been instrumental in getting Elizabeth Shields elected in the 1986 Ryedale Parliamentary Bye-Election, refused to acknowledge the merger and remained “Liberals”. They win seats up there occasionally with old-fashioned community politics leaflets that look like something from the 1970s! I am amazed that that dated style still works!! Further to my last above, I am informed that prior to this Bye-Election win in Derwent Ward the Liberals (as opposed to Lib Dems) hold three other Wards in Ryedale DC, namely Crompton, Pickering East and Pickering West. Truly a little enclave! FT suggesting EUref in 2016. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8724e406-a591-11e5-97e1-a754d5d9538c.html#axzz3uie0i3rv Not impossible that he might make it coincide with English local elections (and, of course, devolved nation GEs and London) – however, perhaps unlikely. If June, then the UK media coverage will clearly have an effect on those elections, and even an Autumn referendum will doubtless have an effect on them. @OldNat; Why unlikely? If, generally speaking, In voters are somewhat less enthused than Out voters, by staging it at the same time as another election they may already have gone to, you ensure In doesn’t suffer low voter turnout too badly. If I were Cameron, I’d time it with the local elections. Good point. I hadn’t thought that through. There is a reasonable argument that he could replicate the 2011 referendum strategy. John Chanin “Republican primary voters asked whether they support/oppose bombing Agrabah. Worrying times. Not really. The geographical knowledge of the average American is extraordinarily poor, as anyone who has lived there knows, and is regularly advertised through stories like this. You wouldn’t find anything different from Democrat voters. The point is that the USA is a very large country, few of its inhabitants travel abroad, and it is highly nationalistic. China is very similar. Obviously it is a problem for the rest of the world when the most powerful countries are the most ignorant, but that’s life. The rulers are however usually formidably well informed. Good morning all from a tropical London and a city full of stinking pigeons. “Dugdale does show a lot of promise as a leader and the 2016 elections may allow her to create a more widely known persona as someone of vision who can be trusted (even if folk don’t vote for LiS in 2016)” Sorry but I fundamentally disagree with you here. Dugdale has had ample opportunities to shine but has failed. She has had all the exposure she could ask for but has failed to make any headway what so ever. I’ve watched her at FMQ’s and Dugdale acts like a immature spoilt brat. She flopped on the BBC Question time program and opposes everything the SNP stands for just for opposition sake. Nicola Sturgeon has said this herself plenty of times. There is nothing positive or constructive about her and to be honest Dugdale is the main problem Scottish Labour are on the slide Now take the Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson. You might not agree with her politics but at least she acts in a proper constructive manner and acts like what an opposition leader should act like…holding the governing party to account. Sorry but Kez don’t cut the mustard for me. KeithP I’ve never heard of Agrabah, which worries me, since I consider myself quite well-informed. A few years ago when this “free movement of workers” gubbins was being mooted, I strongly believed it would mean lots of people sloshing around the EU looking for a better life. And so it has happened: perhaps a lot more than was generally expected. I think while difficult economic times persist, there will be more movement, with people looking for a better life. It’s certainly going to be a very long time before it settles down to a steady rate, let alone slowing. If the referendum result is “remain” then I imagine that a repeat performance will be demanded, driven by continued and probably growing immigration. RE: Agrabah, I think it’s just silly news. If I was asked if I would bomb Agrabah, I’d say yes – it’s a fictional place and I know it, so I’d give a silly answer, same as I’d say support to “would you support or oppose a communist take-over of Narnia?”. I’m not exactly too enthused by Republican voters myself, but I imagine a fair few of them did likewise – Disney’s Aladdin is fairly well known, I imagine a reasonable number recognized Agrabah. If you actually wanted to test Republican propensity to bomb an Arabic-sounding city with no other information necessary, you’d pick an obscure city in Saudi Arabia – e.g, “What is your opinion on the United States Airforce engaging in bombing runs on Khamis Mushait?”; to minimize silly answers. I wonder if David Cameron thinks the memorial to Bomber Command was such a good idea. Michael Siva Well, it seems the Corbyn is doing all right…that was the margin of victory Cameron had over Milliband earlier this year. So, with four years to go, this media hype that Corbyn is unelectable is a nonsense argument. He’s not doing worse than Milliband, who was practically a Blairite-lite. Arethosemyfeet The latest Comres figures are likely a statistical aberration, but they’re showing Labour closing the gap to 4 points: http://www.comres.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Daily-Mail_-Political-Poll_December-2015.pdf I don’t know if you have read this thread on pb -I think you will find it particularly interesting :-) “The GE2015 polls weren’t wrong – we were just looking at the wrong numbers” Good early evening from a warm Bournemouth East. MICHAEL SILVA. Hello to you; I think that sometimes Ed M’s Party was in the lead over the Cons, that Oppositions ought to be in the lead, owing to the undisputed ‘swing back’ to the Government Party, silent Tory voters not picked up in the polls and the fact there will be a fresh Tory PM in 2020, repeating the pattern of 1990. The compliment about Ed as being Blair lite may exaggerate Ed’s successes, since he did not win any elections, I think, and in Scotland, I think, Blair’s party took the vast majority of seats, a long time ago. The point of the Agrabah story isn’t to be anti-Republican or even to sneer at the USA (popular though that can be on this side of the Atlantic) I doubt it really matters whether the name of a real place was used either. How many of those who “pore over” Disney scripts know whether the palace names are imaginary or not? __________________________________________- Such spoof questions are a useful reminder, on a polling site, that a significant number of respondents may be giving responses that are wholly useless, for a variety of reasons. 1. How many respondents to such a question would have answered differently if the place name was Raqqa? 2. How many respondents (authoritarian followers?) simply trust that authority figures (such as Anthony!) must know what they are talking about, when such questions are posed? 3. How many respondents are “taking the p!ss” in the answers they give to any question that polling geeks take seriously? We simply don’t know. “in Scotland, I think, Blair’s party took the vast majority of seats, a long time ago.” I suppose that odd statement depends on how you are using the terms “Blair’s party”, “Vast majority” and “long time ago”. It reads as if you meant to imply that Blair was enormously popular in Scotland (as opposed to the dark days previously, when Labour had only 68% of Scots MPs, and after his departure, when Lab had only 70%). Students of Scottish politics might prefer the interpretation that “Willie Ross’s party” made the Lab breakthrough in 1964 – gaining 61% of Scots seats – until the Blairite Murphy lost the lot in 2015. RE: Agrabah, I think it’s just silly news. If I was asked if I would bomb Agrabah, I’d say yes – it’s a fictional place and I know it, so I’d give a silly answer There were some people who responded like that, but most didn’t. In that case you would expect the main response from that to be from those under 40 (Aladdin came out in 1992) who had seen the film as children. Actually if you look at PPP’s tabulations[1]: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_121715.pdf#page=96 you see that Republicans aged 18-45 (23% of ‘532 usual Republican primary voters’) were most opposed to bombing (21%) and significantly fewer said “Not sure” (46%) – the reverse of the normal pattern where older voters tend to be more certain about everything. So the response to the trick question from the Disneyfied seems to have been more to opposed to show that they were not getting caught out rather than to support. There do seem to have been some younger voters who joined Team Sarky however, as in the response to the same question from Democrats (p 102) the highest support for bombing (28%) comes from the 18-45 group – twice that of older Democrats. Again “Not sures” are lower for the under 45s, so knowledge does seem to be playing some part. Some people obviously really hated the film. [1] You really do miss British-style tables when looking at polls elsewhere, especially with regard to sample sizes and weighting. It seems that “opt-in” Express readers are even more desperate for certainty than us oldies, in their “poll” http://www.sott.net/article/308810-4-out-of-5-Brits-prefer-Putin-over-Cameron-as-UK-leader-in-reader-poll Russian President Vladimir Putin has beaten David Cameron to be crowned the most popular choice for the next prime minster of the United Kingdom. The ex-KGB strongman attracted the support of four out of five Express.co.uk readers, compared with just one in five who opted for the current PM running the country. Asked ‘Who would you rather was Britain’s prime minister?’, 78 per cent chose the Russian president, while 22 per cent voted for Mr Cameron. The 1930s caricature of Express readers as Hitler supporters maybe needs to be amended to their supporting “any tough guy who will make others dance to our tune” (as they hum the theme to “The Mouse That Roared”). OLD NAT. Good Evening to you. I think that Blair was not leader in 2010 and 2015. Some people think Labour’s poll figures would have been better if Tony Blair had been Labour leader, but we will never know, and I am not a fan of something called ‘counter factual history’. Thanks for that. Saw the ROH “Nutcracker” with three granddaughters on Thursday. Magnificent evening. @Roger_Mexico; A silly response could be either “yes” or “no”. That’s the point – it’s silly, there is no “real” response. The tables could just as easily reflect random variation around whether people were likely to think “yes” or “no” was sillier. There’s probably some truth to the idea that Republican voters are more likely to want to bomb a generic Middle Eastern location with no further information, but this poll was a bad way of doing it and was really just a PR stunt. “I think that Blair was not leader in 2010 and 2015.” Indeed – nor was he in 1992 and previously – hence my description of your comment as “odd”. As a historian myself, I tend to prefer statements which are historically accurate. It remains unclear as to what point you were trying to make with your Scotland reference. I’m not sure who the “some people” are who think that Brown did less well in Scotland than Blair would have done. The evidence is not there, so we can presume that their opinion is that counter factual nonsense that we both deprecate. “was really just a PR stunt.” I suspect you didn’t look at the pages of tables (hard to navigate, I know) in which that single question was buried. Do you equally accuse YouGov of organising a poll as a “publicity stunt” when they add the name of one of their staff members as a contender in some political race or other? But TopHat’s point is they chose the wrong name. It would be like YouGov offering “Francis Urquhart” in there list of possible ministers rather than the blameless “Andrew Farmer”. Some people of a certain generation would ‘get it’ and answer accordingly. If PPP had offered a completely made-up name or something vaguely Arabic but unrelated to terrorism, then it would have been better, though not as eye-catching. What Roger said. Roger Mexico / Top Hat What you are suggesting is that the spoof question might have been better phrased as a newly invented fictional location, or a real place, rather than as one that some (though not all) devotees of Disney would have known was fictional. Neither seems particularly plausible as a “more effective spoof” – unless someone can come up with some evidential support for the hypothesis that even those who had seen the 1992 version of Aladdin had greater knowledge that Disney had used a fictional name, rather than a real place. Just because we are all very clever people, it’s silly to assume that all those polled match our stratospheric levels of brilliance ! :-) For example, see this online Q&A https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081020022116AAFhHHR You keep repeating that the opposition ought to be in the lead at this stage of the Parliament because of subsequent ‘swingback’.despite the fact that it has already been pointed out to you that precedent does not really support your assertion – I have myself referred you to the examples of the 1987 and 1959 Parliaments . It is a rather different matter to suggest that the Opposition ought to have a reasonable lead at ‘midterm’ – but it does not apply to the early part of a Parliament. For the record we are now approaching the 12.5% mark of this Parliament ! Midterm is surely another 18 months or so away. As an historian yourself I am surprised that you do not rely more on the evidence available from earlier polling data. Opinium poll – and tables http://ourinsight.opinium.co.uk/survey-results/political-polling-15th-december-2015 Con 38% : Lab 30% : UKIP 16% : SNP 6% : Grn 5% : LD 5% @Graham “It is a rather different matter to suggest that the Opposition ought to have a reasonable lead at ‘midterm’ – but it does not apply to the early part of a Parliament.” I agree with you and I’m rather baffled by any theory that suggests that Corbyn and Labour ought to be opening up opinion poll leads on the Tories at this stage of the Parliament. It was only 7 months ago that Labour were thoroughly trounced in a General Election and we’re still well into a Government honeymoon period. What political or economic events have occurred in these last 7 months that would have plunged this Government into unpopularity and/or driven voters to the opposition? The economy is still growing, employment is rising, inflation is low and average household incomes are increasing. Why would those who voted Tory in May be now flocking into Corbyn’s arms? Unless I’m missing something of course. By the way, comparisons to Miliband’s early performance against the Coalition in the last Parliament are erroneous. He was gifted about 10% VI in the polls by appalled Lib Dem voters. Fat lot of good it did him eventually in the poll that really mattered four years further down the line! Opinium poll provides an elegant mockery of trying to concatenate Scotland with E&W in VI polling. 63% SNP for Westminster in the Scots geographic crossbreak of 108? Fairly obvious nonsense, but acceptable to the GB pollster mentality when translated to 6% – despite the usual concomitant of pretending that the methodology for dealing with absent Con VI in England, distorts the Scots data even more. Anthony has recognised this phenomenon, yet pollsters continue to pretend that this is the mid 20th century – when folk across GB did largely move their votes in unison. Now that Survation & Ashcroft have started to measure opinion on UK matters across the UK, will we finally see the point when opinion on issues are measured in the appropriate localities? Probably not. I suspect that pollsters (and the Westminster system as a whole) will remain locked into the 21st century equivalent of the League of Empire loyalists for some time to come. If you suppose that SNP voting intention for Westminster is 54%, which is not so outlandish, then 63% is within the margin of error for a sample size of 108. Under the EU Referendum Act, as it now is, the referendum cannot take place on 5 May 2016 (or 4 May 2017). My best guess is September, allowing six months or so between a deal and polling day. « Referendum polling update Opinium/Observer – CON 38, LAB 30, LDEM 5, UKIP 16, GRN 5 »	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1930
__label__wiki	0.763412	0.763412	Al Khobar (also spelled Khobar or al-Khubar; Arabic: الخبر‎) is a large city located in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the coast of the Persian Gulf. It is one of the largest cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council, with a population of 941,358 as of 2012. Al Khobar is a part of the Dammam metropolitan area along with Dammam and Dhahran, which together forms part as the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Saudi Arabia having an estimated combined population of over 4,100,000 as of 2012. Greater Dammam also includes many other smaller cities such as: Al Qatif, Safwa, and Ras Tanura which form an overall population of 5,212,000 as of 2012. All three urban centers are served by the King Fahd International Airport which is the largest airport in the world. The distance to the airport terminal from Khobar is about 50 km (31 mi). Together, Al Khobar, Dhahran and Dammam are often known as "The Triplet Cities" by many natives and locals. Since Dammam, Dhahran and Al Khobar are less than 15 km (9.3 mi) away from each other, they essentially form one metropolitan area, the fifth largest in the kingdom and sixth in the Gulf Cooperation Council referred to the GCC, or "Al-Khaleej/Gulf" by many GCC citizens. This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Khobar Radio Stations - Al Khubar MBC Hawaha Raki News Saudi Arabia MBC Hawaha Alee News Saudi Arabia Al Eqtisadia TV News Saudi Arabia Saudi National Radio 2 News Talk,Sports Saudi Arabia Al-Thaqafiah Varied Saudi Arabia Saudi National Radio News Talk Saudi Arabia Panorama 1 FM Contemporary Saudi Arabia Al-Sunnah Al-Nabawiyah Religious Saudi Arabia Al Riyadiah TV Sports Saudi Arabia Miraath al-Anbiyya Religious Saudi Arabia Alif Alif FM World Middle East Saudi Arabia DWG Radio AR Religious Saudi Arabia Al Ekhbariya TV News Saudi Arabia Saudi National Radio Sunnah Religious,World Middle East Saudi Arabia Saudi National Radio Quran Religious Saudi Arabia WRN Sawt Al Alam World Saudi Arabia Ajyal TV Kids Saudi Arabia Mix FM SA Varied Saudi Arabia Holy Quran Radio Religious Saudi Arabia Rotana FM World Middle East Saudi Arabia Saudi National Radio Ajial News Talk,News,News Updates Saudi Arabia al-khobar.com alkhobar.com alqaedatoday.com alsjakarta.com coinairtermainals.com tandaland.com burjalarabmedia.com alqaedaglobe.com hydrographical.com alandislandshacker.com aljazeeratimes.com alpalestine.com bagalkot.org attheburjalarab.com nukualofaairport.com azhikkal.org tvalarabia.com albanking.com aloffshoredrilling.com alarabiyafm.com I Got A Woman, Al Kooper I Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes (live), Al Kooper As The Years Go Passing By, Al Kooper Bury My Body, Al Kooper Brand New Day, Al Kooper Another Man's Prize, Al Kooper Lookin' For A Home, Al Kooper Jolie, Al Kooper This Diamond Ring, Al Kooper I Stand Alone, Al Kooper I Believe To My Soul, Al Kooper SEASON OF THE WITCH, Al Kooper You Never Know Who Your Friends Are, Al Kooper New York City (You're A Woman), Al Kooper Baby Please Don't Go (live), Al Kooper Love Theme (From The Landlord), Al Kooper I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know, Al Kooper I Got A Woman Well, I got a woman way over town That's good to me, oh yeah Said I got a woman way over town Good to me, oh yeah She gives me money when I'm in need Yeah, she's a kind of friend indeed I got a woman way over town She saves her loving early in the morning Just for me, oh yeah She saves her loving just for me Always loves me so tenderly She's there to love me Both day and night Never grumbles or fusses Always treats me right Never running in the streets Leaving me alone She knows a woman's place Is right there now in the home Said I got a woman, way over town That's good to me, oh, yeah Well, she's my baby, don't you understand? Yeah, I'm her loving man now Well, don't you know she's all right?	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1938
__label__cc	0.536339	0.463661	URJ Reform Outreach header block What is Audacious Hospitality? Jewish diversity, in all its hues, is no longer a wave – it is the ocean of Jewish life. As part of the URJ’s 2020 vision, Audacious Hospitality is the focused effort to embrace our diversity and reach out to those currently not engaged in Jewish life. The URJ believes that everyone can feel at home in Jewish community – and that Judaism must meet people where they are today to thrive tomorrow. As a movement, we stand for a Judaism that is inclusive and open – we believe that there is more than one authentic way to be Jewish. Audacious Hospitality is a transformative spiritual practice rooted in the belief that we will be a stronger, more vibrant Jewish community when we fully welcome and incorporate the diversity that is the reality of modern Jewish life. Audacious Hospitality as a new initiative is in its early phase of development. As such we are continually creating new innovative and strategic initiatives as we work to expand our reach. Examples of our current work include: Audacious Hospitality Pilot Toolkit and Educational Resource Modules: Original publications of the Audacious Hospitality department providing comprehensive educational resources. Transgender Inclusion Active Learning Network: A joint Audacious Hospitality Initiative in partnership with the Religious Action Center, Keshet, and transgender members of the Jewish community. Disabilities Inclusion Learning Center: In partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation, the Learning Center offers Reform professionals resources to develop additional skills, strategies and understanding to make full participation of people with disabilities in congregational and communal life possible. Belin Awards: Honoring congregations of all sizes that have developed uniquely innovative and effective Audacious Hospitality programs, the Belin Awards also solicits programs and practices that engage and retain members of our congregations. Lay leaders as well as congregational staff are encouraged to apply. Learn more in The Tent. JewV’Nation Fellowship: A Jewish community-building project incubator supporting emerging and accomplished leaders. Introduction to Judaism and Taste of Judaism: Existing initiatives of the URJ offering formal introduction to Judaism classes. Community Connectors: An Audacious Hospitality and NFTY Alumni Network Initiative to shape and implement a new model of Jewish community and connection among millennials. How is Audacious Hospitality Different from Previous URJ Initiatives? When Rabbi Alexander Schindler created Reform Jewish Outreach in the 1970s, the then Union of American Hebrew Congregations heeded his call and began to listen to the needs of those in our communities who were not being heard – individuals who were considering becoming Jewish, and couples who were in love and did not see conversion as an option, but who were considering raising Jewish families. We asked them to tell us about the barriers they experienced, to tell us what made them feel welcome and what made them feel distant, and what we could do to bring them close. Through this collaborative process we learned a great deal, much of which provides the foundation for the work of Audacious Hospitality today. Currently, we see the need to widen the circle and engage more groups of people who are often unrecognized and underserved in Jewish communal and institutional spaces. Jewish populations such as Jews by choice and those exploring Judaism, Jews of color, Jews who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer, Jews who live with physical, mental, or intellectual disabilities, multiracial families, millennials, the aging Jewish population, Jews who are unaffiliated and uninspired by Jewish communal offerings, and of course, the evolving needs of interfaith and intermarried couples and families, requires our focused attention. With this history and our current Audacious Hospitality practices, we now have a fuller understanding to meet the needs of those in the margins of our Jewish community. It is our goal through Audacious Hospitality to build on our historical success and continue to strengthen the Reform movement and North American Jewry. JDAIM 2020 and the Two Pillars of an Inclusive Jewish Community Jan 22, 2020\|Shelly Christensen Audacious Hospitality Means Asking Ourselves Difficult Questions Jan 14, 2020\|Kelly Whitehead Happy New Year! Check out the Reform Movement's Top Stories of 2019 Dec 30, 2019\|Kate Bigam Kaput JewV'Nation Fellowship A year-long project incubator and leadership development program supporting emerging Jewish leaders and innovative interfaith outreach initiatives. https://urj.org/jewvnation PJ Library-URJ-WRJ Partnership The URJ and Women of Reform Judaism have partnered with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation to provide PJ Library subscriptions through congregations in select areas across the country. https://urj.org/pjlibrary Disabilities Inclusion Learning Center This is the place to access webinars, videos, and written resources from top professionals, interact with experts, and consult other congregations and Reform Movement staff members on involving people with disabilities and their families. http://disabilitiesinclusion.org/ ReformJudaism.org An accessible and welcoming website where anyone can find Jewish learning, regardless of their previous Jewish education. https://urj.org/reformjudaismorg	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1940
__label__wiki	0.852243	0.852243	Home Interesting News Tens of thousands of Connecticut residents refuse to register guns under new law Tens of thousands of Connecticut residents refuse to register guns under new law Tens of thousands of Connecticut residents could soon be considered felons by the state if they continue to ignore restrictive new gun control laws passed last year shortly after an armed rampage at an area elementary school left more than two dozen dead. Last April, Governor Dannel Malloy signed into law a slew of new firearm restrictions that require, among other items, residents to register powerful assault weapons and high-capacity magazine with the state. Connecticutians had until the end of last year — almost one year to the day after the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre — to license their arsenals. Only a fraction has followed the new law, however, and they could all soon face serious consequences if the state decides to take action. On Thursday this week, journalist Dan Haar of Connecticut’s The Courant newspaper wrote that state police had received only 47,916 completed registration forms by the end of last year. According to his reporting, that statistic is just a sliver of what it should be. If the state has received 50,000 registrations by now, Haar wrote, then that could represent as little as 15 percent of the assault weapons now classified by the state as warranting new paperwork under last April’s law. “No one has anything close to definitive figures, but the most conservative estimates place the number of unregistered assault weapons well above 50,000, and perhaps as high as 350,000,” Harr wrote. “And that means as of Jan. 1, Connecticut has very likely created tens of thousands of newly minted criminals — perhaps 100,000 people, almost certainly at least 20,000 — who have broken no other laws By owning unregistered guns defined as assault weapons, all of them are committing Class D felonies,” he added. Other reports out of New England this week suggested that lawmakers there are wrestling with how to handle registration forms that weren’t sent in ahead of the end-of-year deadline and therefore now considered illegal unless officials find a loophole. “We’re trying to figure a way to accommodate the small number of people. Do we do it legislatively? Can we do it administratively?” Rep. Stephen Dargan, co-chairman of the Public Safety Committee, told the CT News junkie website this week. “Whatever our focus is, it has to be narrow in scope because it might open it up to other people’s concerns.” As Harr reports, however, officials may have a much larger problem: while an estimated few hundred residents may have sent their registration forms in a day or two past deadline, a group of people estimated to be several times that size reportedly show no interest in submitting applications at all. “I honestly thought from my own standpoint that the vast majority would register,” said State Sen. Tony Guglielmo (R-Stafford) of the legislature’s public safety committee said to Harr. “If you pass laws that people have no respect for and they don’t follow them, then you have a real problem.” But even if some Connecticutians find the gun law improper, federal courts have so far said that’s not the case. Late last month United States District Judge Alfred Covello issued a 47-page ruling calling Gov. Malloy’s legislation constitutional, even though it imposed some restrictions on firearm owners. “While the act burdens the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights, it is substantially related to the important governmental interest of public safety and crime control,” Covello ruled. Connecticut,Gun Control,Guns,Law,New,Register,Residents NRA Handing Out 30-Round Mags in VA to Fight Northam Gun Ban Bloomberg on Texas Church Shooting: Citizens should not have guns; Only Cops should decide when to shoot After Gun Control ? = Genocide – Look at the history Billboards Pop Up Around Virginia: Bloomberg Gun Confiscation Starts In 2 Weeks Virginia Dems to unleash martial law attack on 2A counties using roadblocks to confiscate firearms Virginia Sheriff: ‘I Will Deputize Thousands of Citizens To Protect Gun Rights’	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1942
__label__wiki	0.901344	0.901344	Packers manage to take advantage of slick, snowy conditions Ryan Wood , Tom Silverstein \| Packers News EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The rain started about an hour before kickoff. A misty, slippery rain, just enough moisture to be worth considering. Then came the snow. Puffy flakes covered MetLife Stadium’s field turf in white midway through the second quarter. During one timeout, maintenance crews armed with shovels were tasked with paving the yard lines. The worker charged with pushing snow off the 10-yard line missed on his first pass. He had to shovel twice. By halftime, Green Bay Packers tackles Bryan Bulaga and David Bakhtiari had had enough. “We came back in (to the locker room),” Bulaga said. “because we just weren’t getting deep enough into the turf with what we had on.” Box score \| NFL scoreboard \| Standings The Packers navigated one of the trickiest field conditions imaginable – short of an all-out blizzard – in their 31-13 win at the New York Giants. In the second half, the field was practically slush on top of field turf, a bizarre combination players don’t often encounter. Because in the NFL, many turf fields are indoors. “It’s a little different,” cornerback Kevin King said. “Yeah, a little bit.” Added Bulaga: “Once it got slushy is when it got a little slick. When it first started, it was just snowy. That wasn’t bad. Then it kind of stopped and got slushy and started raining back on top of it, and it got a little bit messy.” There are no excuses in the NFL. Both teams played on a slick field Sunday. Still, the Packers’ win reflected the playing surface. They, too, looked a little bit messy. The run game especially suffered. While offensive linemen handled their pass sets well, affording quarterback Aaron Rodgers plenty of time in the pocket, there was little in the run game. Outside Rodgers’ three scrambles for 24 yards, the Packers rushed for just 55 yards on 23 carries – an anemic 2.4 yards per run. “You kind of look at it,” Bulaga said, “as downhill runs are going to be more featured than cutback runs because the footing is not as clean going back through. Obviously, the receivers have a nice advantage there. They’re running straight ahead. The DBs are backpedaling, have to react like that, and it can be slick.” The Giants didn’t fare much better. Saquon Barkley had a solid game on the ground, rushing 19 times for 83 yards, but he had no long runs. It’s fair to wonder whether the footing might have helped the Packers' defense. The Giants' 3.5 yards per carry on 27 rushes was a full yard less than their season average. “We’re a cold-weather team,” King said. “So we prepare for that kind of stuff.” Marcedes Lewis finds the end zone The Packers had the same goal-line play in their back pocket for weeks, waiting to run it. The desired result would be something that’d never happened before: Rodgers throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Marcedes Lewis. Through almost two seasons, Lewis and Rodgers have grown into good friends inside the Packers' locker room. They’ve even built as a pair in the passing game this season. They just hadn’t found the end zone together. That changed Sunday in the fourth quarter. The Giants pressed the line of scrimmage hard, loading to defend the run. Linebacker Deone Bucannon was among them. If Bucannon stayed back to defend the pass, Lewis would be a blocker. Instead, he played the run, and Rodgers checked to the play. “It’s within the offense,” Lewis said, “and he’ll call it based upon the look. We work on it every week. So this week, it looked good, and you see what happened.” Rodgers rolled left and ran out of a potential sack from Giants outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter before lobbing his pass to his tight end near the left sideline in the end zone. Lewis, with leverage against Bucannon, boxed out the small linebacker for the touchdown. It was the 34th touchdown of Lewis’ career, but his first with the Packers. More important, it was his first from Rodgers, who leaped on his way to the end zone to celebrate. “I’m always happy throwing a touchdown pass,” Rodgers said, “but it was a little something special with Marcedes, just because of the kind of guy that he is, kind of player that he is, what he’s meant to our team this year from a leadership standpoint. He’s a pro’s pro. He hasn’t been a huge factor in the passing game, but he’s been a rock in the run game opening up holes for us and doing his job, never complaining, leading by example. “At this point, I couldn’t have thrown a touchdown to a better guy.” Lewis’ feelings is mutual. He said “of course” it was meaningful to catch a touchdown pass from Rodgers, mostly because of their relationship. Why has that chemistry blossomed? “I don’t know,” Lewis said. “Real recognize real. We’ve grown as professionals, we’ve both put the time in. We’ve both had success, so it’s not about that. I don’t know, it’s just a really good situation.” Penalty baffles Blake Martinez In Blake Martinez’ opinion, he received a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty in Sunday’s first half without breaking an NFL rule. As Giants quarterback Daniels Jones scrambled to his right, Martinez shoved Javorious Allen to the ground. The contact was not malicious, but it was enough to draw a flag. Martinez said officials explained to him on the field he was penalized for pushing Allen in the back, apparently citing article two of the illegal contact rules, which reads: “Within the five-yard zone, if the player who receivers the snap remains in the pocket with the ball, a defender may not make original contact in the back of a receiver, nor may he maintain contact after the receiver has moved beyond a point that is even with the defender.” That would not explain why Martinez was penalized for unnecessary roughness instead of illegal contact. In Martinez’ view, even illegal contact was not warranted. He said the penalized action is what middle linebackers are taught to do when a quarterback scrambles. “It’s an NFL rule,” Martinez said, “where if the quarterback is out of the pocket, you’re allowed to hit receivers onto the ground. So if it’s a rule, I feel like I should be allowed to do that. So that’s my opinion.” Video replay corroborated Martinez’ account that Jones out of the pocket when contact was made with Allen. It’s the second straight week the Packers received a questionable 15-yard penalty early in a game. Receiver Davante Adams was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct after bumping into a San Francisco 49ers defender out of bounds last week. Martinez said the penalty changed the way he played Sunday. “There were probably like three other times in the game,” Martinez said, “where I could’ve done the same exact thing, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to cost my team a flag.” It was an odd place and unlikely conditions for punter JK Scott to find his groove, but that’s what happened in the snow at MetLife Stadium. Over the past four games, Scott had averaged 36.6 yards and 4.3 seconds hang time. Only one of those games – Week 10 at Lambeau Field -- came in bad weather Against the Giants, however, he averaged 46.7 gross and 42.7 net on three punts. While hang times weren’t available, Scott’s first punt, a 47-yarder, hung up in the air and forced returner Da’Mari Scott to call for a fair catch at his own 11. “It was a little slippery for the plant foot, but I didn’t really have any trouble,” Scott said of the first punt. “I would say I hit a good ball on that one.” His second punt was also 47 yards, but it was the result of a good bounce and Scott managed a 12-yard return. Then, in the fourth quarter, he hit a beautiful punt that bounced inside the 10-yard line and rested at the 6, where it was downed. “I think I definitely have felt in a rhythm the last couple of weeks in practice,” Scott said. No hard feelings Running back Jamaal Williams ducked his head and drove his helmet into the shoulder of Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins late in the game, knocking Jenkins on his rear end. Williams could have been called for lowering his helmet to initiate contact, but officials haven’t called that penalty much and no flag was thrown. The league could send Williams a warning or possibly fine him, although the fact nothing was called on the field helps his cause. Asked if he talked to Jenkins after the game, Williams indicated Jenkins had no hard feelings over the run. “He was good,” Williams said. “We all know it’s a professional game. We just know that going out there, we’re going to give our best no matter what. It’s just all respect for him.” Keep up with the Pack NEWSLETTER: Sign up for daily email updates on the Packers FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: See the best in Packers photos and videos JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP: Get an inside look at the team as part of our subscriber-only conversation Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Click to subscribe to Packers News at packersnews.com/subscribe. Or click to subscribe to one of our local Wisconsin news sites, which includes PackersNews coverage. Be sure to download our app on iTunes or Google Play.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1945
__label__cc	0.52666	0.47334	Microsoft Beta-Testing Xbox Live Poker Game Show Greg Tito 1 POSTED: 4 Nov 2010 15:40 Microsoft is testing a live game show called Full House Poker in the vein of 1 vs. 100 on Xbox Live. A "confidential" email went out to beta-testers for the new game which promises live competition held on a regular basis. Like 1 vs. 100, Full House Poker players will be able to join regularly scheduled games of poker and compete against other gamers worldwide to get the final table. No gambling of real money will be allowed, as I'm sure that would be illegal, but players can earn experience points and chips over time. The game is under development by Microsoft Game Studios and it looks like they're gearing up for a beta test, but there is no word if or when it will reach the public. According to the email, Full House Poker will try to incorporate as much of the nuances of real poker as possible, including "unique tells and accessories for your avatar." It's unclear whether that means the game will use your Xbox Live Avatar but it certainly seems likely. Also, I don't know if the writer of the email realizes that you don't necessarily tell your opponent that you are bluffing. Having a "unique tell" is a disadvantage, people. Unless you're bluffing that you're bluffing, which is something completely different. The email doesn't mention Kinect, but this seems like a perfect application to be able to actually see who you're playing against. I hope Microsoft really taps into this aspect of the camera technology debuting today for something like this. It just seems like a better use for Kinect than jumping a raft over waterfalls or petting animals. Source: Kotaku Onyx Oblivion Sounds cool. I had a lot of fun with 1 Vs 100 and was very sad to see it canceled. TerribleAssassin Hmm, sounds like some good stuff. The fun social nights you had with 1 vs 100 will return! Eldritch Warlord Good for poker fans I guess. I however, am a trivia fan. Bring back 1v100 Microsoft! GamesB2 Hey that sounds awesome. I know how to play poker and would love this! Hell yeah! Give me some Texas Hold 'Em and a table of suckers to drain! mjc0961 WTF is it with Poker these days. Dead Rising 2 made me play poker. Red Dead Redemption has some obnoxious trophies/achievements for playing poker online. Telltale wants me to play poker with Max, Heavy, lameass Penny Arcade guy, and the red thing with the voice more obnoxious than Deathspank. And now Microsoft is going to want me to play poker too. WTF. I say enough poker already. Give us back 1 VS 100, that was actually pretty fun and canceling it after only one real season sucks. bojac6 Onyx Oblivion: TerribleAssassin: Eldritch Warlord: I, too, long for the days of 1 vs 100. I actually was one of the hundred once. Won some stupid arcade game, Poker Smash. Think Tetris with poker hands. Think of the fun we could be having watching people get the easiest questions ever wrong. Oh that was such fun. BRING IT BACK. thenumberthirteen I like the idea of playing Poker, but not for real money or any gain at all. Then again you don't lose anything. Poker is really popular I mean I see ads for Poker websites online and on TV all the time. What the hell? Also since it's called "Full House" poker can we expect to see the Olsen Twins? 10 POSTED: 4 Nov 2010 16:11 bojac6: Lucky. Best I did was get the top score in one of the Extended Play sessions (Halo Trivia), and even that made me feel amazing. I understand that the game wasn't a great money maker, but tons of people played it and really loved it. I'm sure it could be profitable if say they made Extended Play sessions free-to-play and had something like a 40-80 Microsoft Point buy-in to play 1 vs 100 Live for a season. I'd pay. VanityGirl Me too, I died a little on the inside when 1v100 wasn't coming back. :( I hope this comes out soon for the general public. I love poker and getting a chance to kick my friends' asses would be wonderful C95J I think this would be awesome :D being a big poker fan :D If this goes through, I hope they stick with it. I would play it all the time and it would be good fun! I'd pay 400 MS points for a season pass. $5 to play for a few hours every week? Hell yeah. And yeah, I was pretty lucky. I was at a friend's house playing with two people that played the game religiously. I played a session a week or so, not very often. They were quite upset, because they never got picked. I couldn't really believe it, and kept having to check with them. "Wait, I actually could win something here?" It was surprisingly exciting for a video game of its type. I ended up winning the game and like 600 MS points. Not a bad take for knowing things like "Which of the following was a member of the Rolling Stones: Elvis, Keith Richards, or A Big Blue Monkey" I now understand the freak outs game show contestants have when they walk down on The Price Is Right or whatever other show. Kalezian I would actually like to see 1 vs. 100 return [mainly so I can finish getting the last three achievements for it], but a live version of poker like 1 vs 100? that actually sounds awesome.... The_root_of_all_evil Live from the Internet? I can't think of a single way that PENIS! could go wrong. Ben Gepfrey The first season I played every live game and lots of extended play, same with season 2 except I red ringed the second week of the final season. I loved that game. :( I hate poker. Ghostwise 17 POSTED: 27 Mar 2011 23:07 NECROMANCY!!!!! This game is good fun! Some vile language now and again but it's hilarious. :D	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1947
__label__wiki	0.940435	0.940435	Read Next: David O. Russell Looks at 'Three Kings' 20 Years Later September 1, 2014 9:28AM PT Telluride Film Review: ‘Madame Bovary’ Sophie Barthes follows up her 2009 debut, 'Cold Souls,' with a lucid and enveloping take on Flaubert's oft-filmed classic. By Justin Chang Justin Chang @JustinCChang FOLLOW Justin's Most Recent Stories Film Review: ‘A Hologram for the King’ Cannes: A Look at the Official Selection, by the Numbers Film Review: ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Mia Wasikowsa, Rhys Ifans, Ezra Miller, Logan Marshall-Green, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Laura Carmichael, Olivier Gourmet, Paul Giamatti. Official Site: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2334733/ Although worlds away from the deadpan sci-fi whimsy of her 2009 debut, “Cold Souls,” director Sophie Barthes’ subdued take on “Madame Bovary” similarly reveals a sly intelligence at the helm. Measured and absorbing rather than deeply compelling or vital, this latest adaptation of a rarely well-filmed novel makes a strong effort to capture the stiflingly provincial world that Flaubert was able to describe in such precise, painstaking detail on the page. If the slow-burning result falls somewhat short of that admittedly Herculean feat, there are fine compensations in Barthes’ exquisite visual sense (aided by Andrij Parekh’s widescreen imagery) and another fiercely unsympathetic performance from Mia Wasikowska in the title role. Following its Telluride and Toronto berths, this classy period piece deserves to find a discerning arthouse niche. Although Flaubert’s once-controversial realist masterwork has yielded no shortage of TV and film adaptations (including Vincente Minnelli’s 1949 version and Claude Chabrol’s 1991 picture with Isabelle Huppert), Barthe’s film is billing itself as the first one to be directed by a woman — a savvy enough hook for this particular proto-feminist literary heroine. To place too much emphasis on the gender of the interpreter, of course, would be to ignore one of the key lessons of “Madame Bovary” itself, and the patience and sensitivity of Barthe’s approach need no such qualification. In lieu of the sort of interior monologue that would provide too easy a shortcut into Emma’s thoughts, the filmmaker favors a lucid, enveloping style that relies on actor closeups, meaningful silences and exquisitely oppressive mise-en-scene to tell the story. That story is of course a well-known one that requires all manner of narrative reductions to fit into a two-hour framework, something the film concedes by having us first encounter Emma Bovary (Wasikowska) near the end of her travails, racing over scenic woodland with a bottle of poison clutched in her fist. From there the script (co-written by Barthes and producer Felipe Marino) flashes back to Emma’s ritualized convent upbringing and her loveless marriage to a kind, stolid doctor, Charles Bovary (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), with whom she settles down in the small French town of Yonville. The camera stays largely fixed on Emma’s pale countenance in these early scenes as she slowly takes in every detail of her existence — the drab, spare rooms, the overgrown garden, the husband with no imagination or desire to improve their station — and finds it wanting. Initially Emma resists the temptations that flit across her path, first in the form of the merchant Monsieur Lheureux (an insinuating Rhys Ifans), peddling all manner of fine silks and bric-a-brac, and then in the darkly handsome form of Leon (Ezra Miller, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”), a young law student who soon makes his affections for Madame Bovary known. But when she gently rebuffs him, Leon moves away to pursue his studies in Rouen, a city of culture and prosperity that, for Emma, takes on an almost talismanic significance. And when she finds herself even more aggressively pursued by another man, the handsome and worldly Marquis d’Andervilliers (a louche Logan Marshall-Green), this time she gives in to her passions, hesitantly at first, but then with increasingly desperate abandon. As Emma pursues her lovers and redecorates the Bovary manse with equal vigor (in this time-constricted retelling, she remains childless), viewers may find themselves recalling 2011’s “Jane Eyre,” a similarly unexpected foray into 19th-century costume drama from a Sundance-launched filmmaker (incidentally, Cary Joji Fukunaga’s “Sin nombre” played Park City the same year as “Cold Souls”). What both adaptations have in common, of course, is Wasikowska, whose chronic inability to court the viewer’s affection makes her a fine fit here. Few actresses are so good at projecting a natural air of discontent, and Barthes allows much of the drama to play out in her star’s face — in the hopeful smile she flashes when Charles agrees to perform a potentially career-making operation on a clubfooted young man, Hippolyte (Luke Tittensor), and in the disgust and loathing that overtake her when the surgery goes predictably, horribly awry. Even while Emma’s inner landscape comes into tragic focus, in climactic scenes that turn a bit leaden and repetitive with overstatement, Barthes and Wasikowska avoid the mistake of attempting to pin down her every impulse, and their view of the character is fittingly unromantic: We’re always aware that Madame Bovary’s true desire is not for either Leon or the Marquis (who are effectively interchangeable even at the height of sexual passion), or for the trappings of wealth and luxury that she so recklessly accepts from Lheureux. Her true desire seems to be for desire itself, for anything that promises even temporary escape from the strict moral codes and conventions that govern her sadly circumscribed world. Her conditions could be far worse, of course — a point that Barthes drives home with a lingering shot of Emma passing three homely peasant woman on her walk, or showing a moment’s pity to Hippolyte, now even worse off as an amputee. The emphasis on visual storytelling is particularly apparent in the film’s most ambitious sequence, a hunting party thrown by the Marquis, in which Barthes allows her harrowing natural imagery and the film’s largely piano-based score (composed by Evgueni and Sacha Galperine) to impose a sense of tragic foreboding. The symbolism may be heavy-handed, but it’s broodingly effective nonetheless. The decision to have the actors speak English in their native accents — most noticeably in the case of Paul Giamatti (who starred in “Cold Souls”) as the village pharmacist Monsieur Homais, a character whose motivations here feel somewhat underrealized — is one of the few choices here that run counter the unimpeachable realism for which Flaubert was known, in his rigorous search for “le mot juste.” In all other respects, the film’s period stylings are more than persuasive, from Benoit Barouh’s mostly spare, occasionally sumptuous prediction design to the bold-hued ball gowns favored by costume designer Valerie Ranchoux. Best of all is Parekh’s earthy 35mm lensing; alternating between precise compositions and carefully handheld camera movements, the d.p. makes highly expressive use of natural light, whether it’s emanating from a gold candelabra or spilling in through a window. Telluride Film Review: 'Madame Bovary' Reviewed at Telluride Film Festival, Aug. 31, 2014. (Also in Toronto Film Festival — Special Presentations.) Running time: 118 MIN. Production: An Occupant Entertainment presentation in association with Radiant Films Intl., Prescience, VP Finance & Altus Media, Aden Films, Aleph Motion Pictures, Gem Films, in co-production with A-Company Filmproduktion, Left Field Ventures, Scope Pictures. (International sales: Radiant Films, Balwyn, Victoria, Australia.) Produced by Joe Neurauter, Felipe Marino, Sophie Barthes, Jaime Mateus-Tique. Executive producers, Paul Brett, Tim Smith, Anne Sheehan, Anders Erden. Co-producers, John Engel, Alexander van Duelmen, Kai Kuennemann, Raphael Benoliel, Genevieve Lemal, Kate Sharp. Crew: Directed by Sophie Barthes. Screenplay, Felipe Marino, Barthes, based on the novel by Gustave Flaubert. Camera (color, widescreen, 35mm), Andrij Parekh; editor, Mikkel E.G. Nielsen; music, Evgueni Galperine, Sacha Galperine; production designer, Benoit Barouh; art director, CC; set decorator, Isabelle Girard; costume designers, Valerie Ranchoux, Christian Gasc; sound, Marc Engels; sound designer, Magali Scuermans; re-recording mixer, Mathieu Cox; special effects supervisor, Olivier de Laveleye; visual effects supervisor, Ronald Grauer; visual effects producer, Michel Denis; visual effects, Benuts; associate producers, Parekh, James Swarbrick; assistant director, Carole Amen; casting, Dixie Chassay. (English, French, Latin dialogue) With: Mia Wasikowsa, Rhys Ifans, Ezra Miller, Logan Marshall-Green, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Laura Carmichael, Olivier Gourmet, Paul Giamatti. Telluride Film Festival	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1952
__label__wiki	0.632116	0.632116	All articles with unsourced statements, GMC vehicles, SUVs, Vehicles introduced in 1992 Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Trucks built in the United States 4697 produced 4.3 L LB4 turbo V6 4-speed 4L60 auto 100.5 in (2553 mm) 68.2 in (1732 mm) 3822 lb (1734 kg) 20.0 gal (75.7 L) GMC Syclone GMC Jimmy/Chevrolet Blazer GMC Sonoma/Chevrolet S-10 The GMC Typhoon is a high-performance version of the GMC Jimmy SUV. Produced in 1992 and 1993, the Typhoon was based on the 1991 GMC Jimmy SUV. Both the GMC Syclone and Typhoon (SyTy) trucks featured a Mitsubishi TD06-17C/8 cm2 turbocharger and Garrett Water/Air intercooler attached to a 4.3 L LB4 V6 intake manifolds, fuel system, exhaust manifolds, and a 48mm twin-bore throttle body from the 5.7 L GM Small-Block engine. All SyTy's had a GM 700R4 transmission (4L60) 4-speed automatic transmission and a BorgWarner 1372(Syclone)/4472(Typhoon) transfer case splitting torque with 35% forward and 65% to the rear wheels. Both trucks featured all-wheel drive, upgraded brakes, and sport modifications to the standard suspensions. Unlike the Syclone, the Typhoon featured an air-operated self-leveling rear suspension. Output was officially 280 hp (209 kW) and 360 ft·lbf (488 N·m), but some stock Typhoons have been measured at over 300 hp (224 kW) on a dynamometer.[citation (source) needed] The Typhoon was capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds and could do a quarter-mile run in 14.1 seconds at 95 mph (153 km/h). Car and Driver was impressed, comparing the Syclone's performance favorably to the Ferrari 348ts, Chevrolet Corvette, and Nissan 300ZX Turbo. It cost US$29,970, though the magazine criticized the plasticy interior pieces. All three trucks were built for GMC by Production Automotive Services of Troy, Michigan. Aside from a handful of prototypes, only 4,697 Typhoons were built by GMC: 2,497 in 1992, and 2,200 in 1993. Unlike regular production Syclones, Typhoons were offered in various color configurations that differed by year, with black/black being the most common. Black w/ Black Black w/ Gray Frost White w/ Gray Aspen Blue w/ Gray Bright Teal w/ Gray Apple Red w/ Gray Forest Green Metallic w/ Grey Radar Blue w/ Radar Blue (2 total) Apple Red w/ Apple Red Frost White w/ White Garnet Red w/ Gray Royal Blue Metallic w/ Gray Forest Green Metallic w/ Gray Raspberry Metallic w/ Raspberry Metallic (2 total) This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at GMC Typhoon. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Tractor & Construction Plant Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons by Attribution License and/or GNU Free Documentation License. Please check page history for when the original article was copied to Wikia Arthur St. Antoine, "Road Test: GMC Typhoon", Car and Driver (March 1992): 63–67. v · d · e GMC, a division of General Motors, light truck timeline, United States market, 1980s–present Type 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Mid-size crossover Terrain Full-size crossover Acadia Mid-size SUV S-15 Jimmy Jimmy Envoy Full-size SUV K5 Jimmy Yukon Yukon Yukon Suburban Suburban Yukon XL Yukon XL Coupé utility Caballero Compact pickup S-15 Sonoma Sonoma Mid-size pickup Canyon Full-size pickup C/K Sierra Sierra Sierra Van Safari Safari G-Series Savana Retrieved from "https://tractors.fandom.com/wiki/GMC_Typhoon?oldid=181611"	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1953
__label__cc	0.609845	0.390155	Where Did All the Great War Books Go? Book Review: ‘Merchants Of Hope; British Middlebrow Writers and the First World War, 1919 – 1939’, by Rosa Maria Bracco. Rosa Maria Bracco’s book was published by Berg in 1993 when she was working for a publisher based in Cambridge, England, after being awarded a doctorate from the university there. ‘Merchants of Hope’ reads like a Ph.D. thesis reworked for a middlebrow readership and it works. Almost every page holds something of interest about the Great War’s writers and their books. The author provides frequent summaries of plots, themes and characters and is helpfully restrained in not presuming too much upon the reader’s wider knowledge of the period. In so far as Bracco pursues a critical argument it seems to be this: the invigorating analysis proposed by Paul Fussell in ‘The Great War & Modern Memory’ (1975) has had the unfortunate effect of obscuring the evidence offered by literature written closer to the event , much of which challenges Fussell’s assertion that the truest writing about the Great War was ironic. There were certainly bangry, ironical and disillusioned writers at work, 1919 – 1939, but most of those who made the Great War their subject after it had been won, civilian or military, Home Front or overseas, portrayed characters who thought the Great War was beastly but necessary. Heroism, fortitude, self-sacrifice and comradeship were taken as real by a majority of mainstream, best-selling English writers; these values signified an important truth about the War that readers expected to find endorsed in their novels. Altogether Bracco refers to nearly 200 books, quite a few of them from names that will be familiar to Great War collectors. She also mentions a surprising number who will be new, including some from writers who never wrote again after their debut. Equally surprising, especially to book hunters familiar with ABE as a source of Great War titles, is the number of Bracco’s books which appear to have become extinct. About a quarter (37) of the books in her index are unavailable as hardback first editions on ABE. Many are now only available as print-on-demand facsimiles or e-books. I checked two of Bracco’s titles – ‘Spears Against Us’ (1932?) by Cecil Roberts and ‘Simon Called Peter’ (1921) by Robert Keable. According to info gleaned from booksellers’ catalogue entries on ABE, sales for ‘Spears Against Us’ reached at least 170,000 copies; sales of ‘Simon Called Peter’ reached at least 250,000. Of the two titles, there were 16 copies of ‘Spears Against Us’ for sale on ABE and 31 copies of ‘Simon Called Peter’. This gives a survival ratio, in ABE terms, of approximately I: 8,000 for copies of ‘Simon Called Peter’ and 1: 10,500 for ‘Spears Against Us’. What happened to the rest of them, those tens of thousands of copies of both titles that have not survived the intervening eighty or ninety years? Lost? Discarded? Pulped? Are they still out there, somewhere, but not on ABE? If Rosa Maria Bracco is right In thinking that English middlebrows of the Twenties and Thirties wrote of the Great War with a surer grasp of authenticity than their modern successors we should perhaps be taking them more seriously. Hurry now while stocks last. Posted in Uncategorized and tagged First World War, Rosa Maria Bracco, the Great War on March 29, 2015 by Chris Moore. Leave a comment ← Backchat in British Trench Lingo, 1914 – 1918 The Great War Bookshop Diary, April 2015 – 1915 →	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1961
__label__cc	0.588472	0.411528	Sam Fuller’s The Naked Kiss: Part III “Tell me where is the blue bird of happiness found?” The Naked Kiss (1965) Part III Meaning it bares no emotion. It’s empty of real substance. It has the taste of perversion to it. SPOILER ALERT!!!! I DO THE SYNAPSES RIGHT TO THE END OF THE FILM… Working at the hospital while Kelly and one of the nurses are bathing the children Kelly notices that she is troubled and asks “Do you want to talk about it? Have you been to a doctor?” She has that intuition that the young girl is pregnant. Kelly instead of bringing the ‘plague’ to Grantville has brought insight and compassion to the women who are troubled in this provincial prison. In this way, the film can be view as feminist. She brings her strength and independence. Cross fade, Kelly and Grant are slow dancing at Grants house. Kelly tells him that she wants to talk about something, something she needs to get off her mind. “I’m afraid our dance is over.” Asks him to sit down and listen to the words. “When I came to this town, the first day I came… I was a prostitute. My first customer was my last one, next morning I quit. Now I’m in love with a man who’s the dream of every woman.” Grant is seated looking puzzled Kelly continues “every woman who has the right to dream…but the man has got to stop seeing me before the volcano erupts.” Grant looks up at her and grabs her hand. Pulls her close to him.“I love you Kelly.. .will you marry me?” She says “I’ve got to think it out.. .(now cheek to cheek) Oh I’ve got to think it out.” Kelly’s in her room drinking from the blown Venetian glass from Venice that Grant gave her. She’s contemplating the marriage proposal. We hear a voice over, it’s Grant’s monologue “I wasn’t cut out to be a monk and you’re not the type to turn nun… but together we’ll prove our whole existence for each other, the only woman I want for my wife.” Voice over by Grant “I wasn’t cut out to be a monk, and you’re not the type to turn nun. But together we’ll prove our whole existence for each other. You’re the only woman I want for my wife… If they condemn you for your past, I don’t want them for my friends. Kelly darling no one can forbid you your tomorrow. And I’m all your tomorrows. Kelly gets up from the bed, sighs and walks over to the tailor’s dummy and asks “Charlie, what should I do?” Again we hear Grants voice “If they condemn you for your past, I don’t want them as my friends, Kelly darling…no one could forbid you tomorrow, and I’m all your tomorrows, all of them.” Kelly raises her glass and answers to Charlie “that’s right!…why should Grant want to marry a woman like me?.. .confidentially Charley, (her arm around the fake soldier now) we girls are always chasing dreams… why shouldn’t I have a right to catch mine?” Now Kelly has an internal monologue “many woman had a past like mine, and they made out didn’t they?” She answers aloud asking the question “or did they?… ah, of course they did.. .and you know why, because there was always the Rock of Gibralta to give them strength” She raises the blown glass to Charlie in toast “That’s what Grant is…The Rock…The Rock of Gibralta.” So Kelly needs a man to legitimize her self worth, otherwise she is still considered machinery. “Oh Charlie” now we hear Grant’s voice again “we’d be living an endless honeymoon” she goes back over to Charlie, and hugs him “Oh Charlie, the dread of every woman in my business…is ending up alone…I know that world.” She looks at the glass again and says “and I know his world( chuckles ironically) and that makes me a woman of 2 worlds… and that’s not good, or is it?” She looks at Charlies hat. She’s got her arm around his stuffed shoulders. “With him I’m complete, a whole woman” the voice over by Grant breaks in again “I’ll never strike at your past, not even with a flower” Kelly hugs Charlie closer, “oh Charlie, Charlie Charlie,Charlie…what should I do?…” Fade to Black. in this look on Grant’s face we sense something cold and unsavory deep rooted in his soul. A removed reptilian hypothermic smile. It is not his fine breeding, it is something dark and unwholesome he keeps bubbling below the surface of his refinement. At Grant’s house, the door bell rings, and Kelly comes bursting in “Oh it’s a wonderful day Barney!… it’s a beautiful day!” Barney tells her that Grant is still asleep. She ignores him and yells “it’s a glorious day!” She goes to the stereo and puts on Beethoven’s 5th symphony and conducts. Barney still in his robe goes upstairs to get Grant. Kelly is conducting the music, she spins the large globe as if she’ll be able to see the world now. Grant comes down in his silk pajamas, yawning and putting his robe on, he watches as she pretends to conduct the music. She runs to him and grabs his hands “I love you…it’s a deal” He looks oddly at her, pleased but more like he’s just sealed a business deal, not the reaction from a man truly in love. As they discover wedding plans he wants to send her to Paris to buy the most expensive wedding gown. Kelly has always paid for every stitch of clothing on her back. That tells you how independent she has been while working as a prostitute. Not taking any more than for her services to get by. Kelly has throughout shown to be a woman of integrity, thus the challange in narrative to balance the conflict of judging her as a whore with morals. Dusty gets help from Kelly. Who gives her $1,000 and tells her whether the guy marries her or not she is to keep the baby. Dusty tells her, “Boy or girl I’ll name it Kelly.” Kip’s gaze, the sadness shared with a child, as he watches Dusty crying. Sympathetic. Now nurses and orderlies are bringing in the children in one by one. And a record begins to spin. Kip the little boy wearing the First Mate pirate hat begins to sing this song which has an eerily tragic poignancy. “Mommy dear, tell me please, is the world really round” another little boy takes it from there, “tell me where, is the blue bird of happiness found” now a little girl sings “tell me why is the sky up above so blue” now they all sing in unison “and when you were a child, did your mommy tell you?” All of the children standing like wounded soldiers with their hats and crutches singing this sad little song together. The song creates an element of melancholy,and pathos in the film. It’s the children asking the question where is happiness? The children are a diverse group of races, the spirit of these children fuel the film’s angst and alienation, for they are like castaways in a world that is perfect, while they are broken and striving to be whole. “What becomes of the sun when it falls in the sea” “and who lights it again, as bright as can be” together they sing again “Tell me why can’t I fly without wings through the sky” back to Kip who sadly sings “tell me why mommy dear…are there tears in your eyes?” Now Kelly joins in as an answer to the songs questions singing “little one, little one, yes the world’s really round, and the blue bird you search for is surely is found… and the sky up above is so blue and clear (the staff including Mac is watching Kelly serenade the children they are so sullen, yet proud) so that you’d see the blue bird if it should come near… and the sun doesn’t fall in the sea out of sight, all it does is make way for the moon’s pretty light… and if children could fly there’d be no need for birds… and I cry little ones cause I’m touched by your words.” The children surrounding Kelly sing the song together, she has left a mark on them, she has found a different way to have worth, she sees herself through these child’s eyes. They are ultimately truly innocent, yet they are the ones who don’t objectify Kelly. “Tell me please mommy dear is it true the world’s round, I will search, round the world til the blue bird is found” then Kelly sings “little one there’s no need to wander too far, for what you really seek is right here where you are.” Griff and Grant are walking out of a building. Grant has asked Griff to be best man at the wedding but Griff can’t fake how miserable he is. Grant tells him to get it off his chest. Bunny comes running over to Grant with her dolly and he picks her up and spins her around. Griff still visibly upset, holding his cigarette and frowning. Bunny congratulates Uncle Grant on his wedding, and he kisses her cheek, she beams a smile half filled with baby teeth. Now in the classroom back at the hospital, the children are getting a spelling lesson. Kelly is fixing Kip’s shoe lace. Griff knocks on the window glass to get Kelly’s attention. Through the glass panel in the door we see them talking seriously again a frame within a frame, symbolizing the entrapment of both characters who are stuck by their roles. They move into an empty room so they can continue to talk. “Well, what is it Griff?… what’s the matter?” “Grant asked me to be best man… you’ve got 30 minutes to get out of town, (sighs deeply) and I don’t mean finding a bed at Candy’s across the river.” She asks if she can phone Grant, but he tells her he’ll tell him something for her. She says that he’ll roll with punch a lot easier if it comes from her. Grant agrees and Kelly picks up the phone and dials. Griff has his back to her, he can’t even face her, playing with the chord of the blinds, while she’s dialing. She asks for Mr Grant, and looks at Griff. “I told him all about myself Griff and about you, and the $20.” Now Griff turns and faces her, she shakes her head “No, I did not identify you…and I told him my track record as a call girl before he asked me to marry him” Grant is on the phone now “Hello darling…hold on a minute…Griff wants to tell you something” she shoves the phone at Griff. “Hello Griff” we hear Grant speaking. Griff looks defeated. “I just wanted to tell you one thing, you’re the luckiest guy in the world, congratulations” She hangs up the phone, and Griff says “so that’s that’s the big score, fall in love with the right person, and being loved” he turns to her now, lightens up and says “I’ll be best man Kelly…lots of luck Kelly…lots of luck” he walks out the door. She grabs a toy sailing ship and the scene fades into the next. Griff is strategically cast in shadow the light coming in from the window, Kellly in white off to the side looking slightly smaller in view. The frame is beautifully shot to create the sense of isolation between the two characters. Miss Josephine putting Kelly’s beautiful white wedding dress and veil on Charlie. Then Kelly walks out of the house carrying a cardboard box with the wedding dress under her arm, Josephine comes calling after her, she’s forgotten the veil. Miss Josephine tells her “I still think it’s bad luck to show him the dress before the wedding… surprise or no surprise.” We see Kelly walking from a far. Children playing jump rope, It’s a bright day in a clean town. A music box theme is playing, the tinkling of innocence. Then strings hover mimicking a nursery rhyme theme.Kelly passes the girls jumping rope, a little boy on his tricycle comes near. Kelly is newly born as a child, a fresh start to her stained past. She pats the little boy on the head. Kelly opens the front door to Grant’s house, tosses the key up in the air and catches it with a triumphant grip. She belongs here. As she closes the door, and the house starts to become eclipsed in shadow, we hear the recording of the blue bird song, “mommy dear tell me please, is the world really round” Kelly walks down the front hallway, then looks up the staircase for Grant. She hears the music playing. Still holding the box with the wedding dress, she walks over to the bust of Beethoven and rubs his head, embracing this new life she has earned. The camera pans down, we see the reel to reel recording of the song spinning in it’s wooden drawer. She smiles, the memory of making that wonderful recording stays with her, she walks a little bit further into the room and turns around still smiling, a close up of Kelly’s face, shows her expression turning to a withheld revulsion, then a close up of a little girl’s blank face partially obscured by a dark shadow, suddenly skipping away into a stream of light like a runway towards the archway of the room, hopping and skipping then going out the front door. The little tune still playing on the reel to reel machine. Close up on Kelly’s face more visceral anger now, and quickly a close shot of Grant’s face, it appears less like shame and more of a willful defiance, perhaps exultation that Kelly now shares the truth, expressed in his gaze. His eyes meet Kelly’s. A back and forth until Grant’s eyes seem to request understanding from Kelly. The song plays on “Why mommy dear, are there tears in your eyes” Kelly steps closer to Grant holding the wedding dress in the white box. Half her face lit up and the other have eclipsed in shadow. Remember she said she was a woman who lived in two worlds. As she steps closer, Grant’s face struggles to find some relief, he equates Kelly being a prostitute to his pedophilia- “now you know why I could never marry a normal woman… that’s why I love you… you understand my sickness…. you’ve been conditioned to people like me…”his eyes open wider “you live in my world… and it will be an exciting world!” Kelly’s stone face holding his gaze, he kneels before her, looking up at her. She looks down upon him, he begs “my darling…our marriage will be a paradise” she’s physically clenching her body as see looks at him, we still see her face but hear him continue his diatribe “because we’re both abnormal.” Kelly now picks up the white phone and starts bashing Grant with the receiver. A harsh discordant piano plunk set against the blue bird song, clashes. She drops the white crepe material and it falls onto Grant’s still body. He lies there lifeless, covered in the wedding veil. The phone off the cradle next to him. We see Kelly’s shoes. We hear the dial tone, Kelly kneels down clutching the veil, then rolling up the dress and veil placing it back in the box, her face never changing the stone cold expression of betrayal,disgust and disillusionment. She closes the box and sits staring straight ahead. The shot is framed, with the globe(the entire world) left of screen, Grant lying dead on the floor and Kelly sitting in the chair, with the only source of light mostly placed on her. A quick shot of the reel to reel, Beethoven’s bust and the front door. Doorways in noir often symbolize an entry to the unknown or perhaps here it shows the idea of possibility for Kelly now closed. The dream ended. Fuller frames the shot with an odd angle of the stairs. Symbolic of Kelly’s ascension being distorted, not quite right from the beginning. Stairways in noir again, are symbolic of ascension to an unknown place, possibly dangerous,Kelly once aspired to climb upward toward a better life. The stairs are shot at such an odd angle, that we must assume, the chance Kelly had was never a straight rise upward. It was merely a distortion of the chance to climb out of her role as whore. Quick shot back to the door and then Kelly in the chair, as the shadow closes in Then in sensational soap opera style, we see Miss Josephine outside, reading the headline. She shares the words, GRANT then Mike reads, IS and the rest is given to Mac to reveal for us, DEAD; One of the nurses is overlapped by the word, SLAIN, switch to Candy blowing out the inhale of her cigarette BY, Buff reads PROSTITUTE. Sensational strings dramatically playing all the while. Kelly’s sitting in a chair at the police station, she looks disturbed “Once before a man’s kiss tasted like that…he was put away in a psycho ward… (she grabs her dress by the chest, gives a gesture of revulsion) “I got the same taste the first time Grant kissed me”… (straining to say the rest) “it was a, what we call a (long pause) A naked kiss…(she puts her head in her hand clutching her hair, defeated and disgusted) “It’s the sign of a pervert.” Kelly’s sobbing deeply, Griff gets up and walks onto the screen. “I’m gonna keep asking the same question until you tell me the truth… why did you kill him?” Kelly staring off, Griff is shot standing behind her. “He was molesting a child” Griff comes and leans into Kelly and insists “he broke off the wedding” she says “the child ran out” Griff says “so you tried blackmail” Kelly cries, “he couldn’t marry a normal woman” Griff comes back “And he was going to have you pinched for extortion” she answers “he said I would understand his weakness.” Griff comes around leans on the desk and gets closer to Kelly, “Kelly, we’ve had 2 cases of ravaged children in our county…if by some freak they buy your story, that means the pressure will be off the real criminal he’ll be free to attack other children!!”….now do you understand why you can’t use that stinking lie to save your neck!” She slams her hand on the chair “my neck is in that little girl’s hands!” Griff asks Kelly to describe her, Kelly can’t remember, she’s in shock, every thing was a blur.Griff argues that Kelly’s story stinks, that she can remember the conversation with Grant being called abnormal, but she can’t remember the child’s appearance. Kelly swears it’s the truth, Griff yells “you swear on a call house roster!” Now Kelly has to find that little girl who can identify Grant as her molester. Griff calls in Farlunde, Kelly’s pimp that she had bashed up in the opening scene. He’s going to be a material witness. Kelly explains to Griff why she had beaten him up, she convinced his girls to leave the stables, because he was holding out money from them. “You take the word of that leech!” She almost claws his face. “Look that parasite held out on me. Held out on all of us. So I got 6 of his best girls to walk out on him. To get even he spiked my drink with a knock out pill. And he cut off my hair!!!” Kelly let’s out a desperate gasp and cries, I was bald! So I waited. I waited til he was drunk and I took exactly what was coming to me. $75 and not a penny more. He had his friends in the underworld. The word was out to throw acid in my face so I ran. For two years I worked only small towns until I came here.” Farlunde put knock out drops in her drink and when she awoke, he had cut off all her hair, she was bald. She waited until he was drunk and took exactly what was coming to her. Kelly tells Griff that Farlunde has friends in the underworld, the word was out to throw acid in her face, so she ran. Farlunde is going to testify that Kelly blackmailed an elected official. As far as Griff is concerned Kelly’s credibility is weakening with each character witness. Dusty shows up to talk to Griff explains that she’s left Mac and the hospital. She wants to help Kelly because Kelly helped her when she was having her baby. She took $1000 from Grant to help Dusty go out of town and have her baby. Kelly is now stuck in jail “why don’t you try the old Chinese water torture maybe that’ll make me change my story.” Kelly tells Griff not to use Dusty as a hammer, it would kill her, he wouldn’t be that low, even for a cop. But Dusty wants to give the story to the papers thinking it will help. Griff asks, “How much did you actually squeeze out of Grant?” Kelly watches the children playing notice the shadow covers her mouth, Fuller’s use of the image to show how she is silenced, even behind the bars, she has no voice. Kelly looks out at the children playing from her cell window. Then Candy shows up. Kelly tells Griff “I was waiting for that slut to show up.” He wants to know why Kelly went to Candy’s. Kelly says “You really scraped the sewer to dig up your character witnesses didn’t you.” Candy staring at Kelly gleefully from the other side of the jail cell bars.She says in a gravel tone “I hate being a fink sweetie but you put every call girl in the country right on the spot.” Candy lies and tells Griff that Kelly came to her to form a Crime Ring, that she was taking healthy pay offs from Grant,to get him right where it hurts, family name, philanthropist, hospital , crippled kids, the whole deal. She tells Griff that she had Grant so scared that he was even making with the wedding talk just to keep her quiet. Open and shut. Griff asks Candy if she’ll say all that in court. She says why not it’s the truth. Candy- “Kelly you’re a new low in our the business.” Finally Kelly pipes in “she advanced Buff $25 to become a bon bon… I returned the money” gripping the bars. Then Candy says “Buff, who’s Buff? Griff says “a student nurse at the hospital.” “Are you kidding, you know I don’t have to Shanghai girls from your town to replenish my stock… what kind of a stable boss do you think I am,” she struts over to Griff “I’ve got no time to break in baby baggage.” Griff brings Buff to the precinct, and asks if Candy advanced her the money to work in her stable. Candy’s eyes shoot bullets at Buff and Buff hesitantly says “No.” Kelly says “I made a mistake, wrong girl” Griff tells Buff he shouldn’t have bothered her. He walks her out and leaves Candy alone outside the bars of Kelly’s cell. Candy says in a deep wrathful tone “nobody shoves dirty money in my mouth.” Kelly is alone, framed by the bars, trapped, we hear children playing, laughter. Kelly looks out at the little girls. One little girl drawing with chalk on the wall says “look what I made, look what I made” It’s the little girl that Grant was molesting. Kelly grips the bars, and in a far off dreamlike distance we hear the blue bird song once again, Kelly starts to make the connection. There is a obvious shadow over her mouth, she has been struck silent so far. Kelly shouts out “little girl please little girl I won’t hurt you, please come here.” But all the girls scatter. She calls to Griff. Tells him that she just saw the little girl playing in the alley. “I remember the little girl.” She grabs his arm through the bars. “Griff you’ve got to believe me she’s 6 or 7, Blond.” Griff walks out. Now Buff is lying in bed holding a photo of her father, and crying “oh daddy I had to lie I couldn’t tell what I was going to be, forgive me forgive me.” Knocking on the door. Griff gets out of bed to answer the door. It’s Buff. She asks him to let her in, she’s got to talk to him. Next we see a parade of little girls legs walking from the knees down. Then we see Griff and Kelly watching from the window. She is shaking her head no, the girl is not one of them. A police officer is slowly showing them one by one, little blond girls, but Kelly still says no. Then triumphant strings lift the moment up The little girl Bunny is standing there holding the doll Uncle Grant had given her, smiling up at Kelly. She tells Griff with gestures, we hear only the music, but we see by Kelly’s body language that it’s the right girl. The little girl Bunny sits on a bench in the police station. Kelly walks over to her and asks “Do you remember me?” first she says no but then Kelly grabs her by the shoulders and says “of course you remember me, you were at Uncle Grant’s house, you remember Uncle Grant don’t you?, continues asking, while shaking her. Kelly is crying and begging “Don’t you remember me?” pleading gripping her chest, begging the little girl to remember. “You know me!” The little girl gets up crying. Griff tells Bunny, “now now Bunny nobody’s gonna hurt you I’m here.” Kelly is sobbing this was her last chance. Griff asks Kelly “did you ever have a baby? she says “no, I can’t have a baby” Griff tells her, “pretend you had a baby, pretend that that little child in the next room is your little girl, be gentle with her, well make her trust you, like you” Griff gently pats Kelly’s shoulder, “talk to her as you would your own child…not as Kelly…but as a mother.” This was problematic for me, it takes the patriarchy that has partial responsibility for the systemic problems in Grantville to give mothering lessons to Kelly? Not as Kelly he says, because she’s a prostitute she has no sense of mothering? Absurd that she would need lessons from Griff. But I digress yet again. And don’t mistake my ire, I still love this film for being as daring as it is. He brings Bunny back into the room. Kelly kneels down in front of Bunny. Bunny’s cheeks are wet with tears. She asks very slowly, and softly “do you remember Uncle Grant?” Bunny says “Oh yes I love Uncle Grant, mommy said he won’t be back for a long time” Kelly asks “Did you ever go to Uncle Grant’s House without your mommy and daddy?” Bunny says “once.” Kelly continues “do you remember when you went there?” “Yes ma’am Uncle Grant gave me some candy, he liked the dress mommy bought for me…he was showing me a new game, he made me promise not to tell mommy or daddy or anybody because this was a special game….just for me…then you came in and I ran out, you’re the lady with the big cardboard box.” Kelly breaks down and sobs and Bunny asks “why are you crying lady?” She brings Bunny close to her and hugs her tightly. Griff looks down, the reality of what Kelly had been telling him was finally sinking in. His friend Grant was a monster, and Kelly was not a liar. Griff’s in Kelly’s cell reading Penal Code 113A5 dismissal of an action. Griff is so pleased but Kelly looks bitter hugging herself to the jail wall, clenched like a fist. The judge and the DA gave her a clean bill of health. The whole town’s got her on a pedestal for what she did for the children. Kelly chuckles with irony. “Yeah, you sure put up statues over night around here don’t you.” Kelly asks Griff if her trunk is at the station, “well, thanks Griff” she bends in closer to his face, they kiss. “So long tiger” he says “good luck Muffin” She steps out into the light and fresh air of freedom. All the towns people are standing outside waiting for her. Ominous music begins. The camera floats close up on various faces of varying ethnicities. Pull back, there are so many people standing there, waiting for Kelly to come out of the police station. She shoots a worried look at Griff who is leaning against the wall with another cop in uniform. Kelly turns to her left, there are Miss Josephine, Dusty, Buff and Mac. Josephine crying hugs Kelly, Mac is crying, and Buff, she goes over to Dusty and Dusty hugs her so tightly. Kelly has left her mark on the women of Grantville. Wide shot of Kelly walking through the throngs of people from the community. Griff says to the cop, “She still owes me ten bucks” the cop says “then you’ll be seeing her again” He shakes his head, “she never makes change” Kelly walks along the sidewalk, passes a baby carriage, then stops. she hands the rattle to the same baby that she handed the bottle to in the beginning of the film. The pariah has turned Heroine/Mother figure. Yet Kelly does not, or still can not be allowed to live amongst the clean people of Grantsville. She must remain in motion, without a place she can coexist with other “normal” people. She is destined to be in transition, because she is damaged goods. Griff hasn’t learned anything… Wide Shot of the crowd watching her off screen. The music closes the film as Kelly from an aerial view is shown walking down that same street she arrived on the bus,getting smaller and smaller in view,from the Chamber of Commerce Banner. She walks off in the distance off screen, the coda finishes and the screen goes dark. Posted on February 1, 2011 November 15, 2019 by monstergirlPosted in 1960s, Anthony Eisley, Classic Film Noir, Constance Towers, crime drama, Cult Exploitation & Euro Shock, Cult/Exploitation, Directors and Filmmakers, film noir, man vs woman, melodrama, neo-noir, psycho-sexual thriller, psychological thriller, Samuel Fuller, Suspense, The Naked Kiss 1964, Ubiquity, Virginia Grey, wild women, woman vs woman, women as objects, Women in PerilTagged Anthony Eisley, Constance Towers, pedophile, Post Noir, prostitution, Samuel Fuller. Previous Previous post: Sam Fuller’s The Naked Kiss:Part II “I washed my face clean the morning I woke up in your bedroom” Next Next post: The Hideous Sun Demon (1959) Reptilian pants monster by day 4 thoughts on “Sam Fuller’s The Naked Kiss: Part III “Tell me where is the blue bird of happiness found?”” Pingback: DVD-Kritik: Sam Fullers Noir „Der nackte Kuss“ « Kriminalakte Pingback: TV-Tipp für den 30. Juli: Der nackte Kuss « Kriminalakte Pingback: Film Noir ♥ Transgression Into the Cultural Cinematic Gutter: From Shadowland to Psychotronic Playground \| the last drive in Pingback: Sam Fuller’s The Naked Kiss:Part II “I washed my face clean the morning I woke up in your bedroom” – The Last Drive In	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1965
__label__wiki	0.785177	0.785177	Tag: Virginia Christine The Killers (1946): Brutal Noir- A green silk hankerchief with golden harps The Killers (1946) is the quintessential existentialist film. Based on Ernest Hemingway’s 1920’s short story who was immersed in the pre war existentialism of that time period, that fostered tales of crimes and violence. As the two French critics Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton remark in their fantastic read and seminal work A Panorama of American Film Noir 1941-153 the killer’s gunmen walking into the diner in Brentwood N.J. and begin complaining about the menu predates the dark Absurdism of the existential movement of playwrights like Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett. It reminds me of how great directors like Quentin Tarantino pay homage to films like The Killers in Pulp Fiction, or the work of Samuel Fuller who didn’t hold back on the vicious realism that was ground breaking in it’s day. According to Electric Sheep blog “the first twelve minutes of The Killers (1946) is a faithful (almost word for word) adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s much-anthologized short story. Two hit men enter a diner (shot to look like Edward Hopper’s painting Nighthawks – itself apparently inspired by Hemingway’s story) typical Hemingway heroic fatalism.” From what I’ve understood about Hemingway, the debate still rages on as to whether or not Hemingway was guilty of being a misogynist. Here is a decent essay about this question that tries to think about it critically and not write from a place of subjectivity or take a defensive stance. http://thequatrain.org/?p=285 The Killers (1946) the original version scripted by Hemingway himself, was produced by Mark Hellinger (The Naked City, Brute Force and The Two Mrs Carrolls– 3 of my favorite films,) and once again boldly directed by the great Robert Siodmak. With the rise of Nazism Siodmak left Germany for Paris and then for Hollywood. He’s singularly responsible for a great deal of the noir films that are so memorable. In my opinion Siodmak’s film is a meatier piece of work that rendered a more brutal impression than the 1964 version directed by Don Siegel. Perhaps due to it’s more neo-gangster noir style it gave it a liminal and evocative intensity. Siodmak’s Killers has a more violently surreal tone, than the stylishly slick and richly colorful pulpy Siegel version.The effective black and white environment of the 1946 Killers once again sets the stage for the players to live in a world that is condemned by shadow. While I love Siegel’s version, it does seem brighter and the world more aired out than usually frames noir desolation. Although I’m a huge fan of Angie Dickenson and she was incredibly lush and provocative in the role of Sheila, Ava Gardner’s Kitty Collins was a more subtly carnal as the temptress who becomes Swede’s downfall. Siodmak’s version gives us the noir police investigation, there is a pervasive Machiavellian cruelty, and the characters have more stratum to their persona’s. John Cassavettes is more icy while Burt Lancaster’s Swede is a very sympathetic yet imperfect man, that fatalistic heroism. Burt Lancaster plays Ole “Swede” Andersen ex boxer and con, Ava Gardner is Kitty Collins, Edmond O’Brien is Jim Reardon insurance investigator, Albert Dekker is Big Jim Colfax (Dr. Cyclops) criminal mastermind and Virginia Christine is Lily Harmon Lubinsky (she cameos in the ’64 version as the blind secretary). Sam Levene is Lt. Sam Lubinsky Swede’s old childhood friend and Charles McGraw( The Narrow Margin) is Al the killer and William Conrad (Cannon tv series)is Max the other killer. The Killers also casts Jeff Corey as “Blinky” Franklin (The Outer Limits O.B.I.T.episode) one of Big Jim’s criminal lackies with a “monkey on his back” implying that he has a drug addiction. And Vince Barnett as Swede’s devoted and world weary petty thief Charleston. The film opens with Miklos Rozsa’s ominous brassy jazz score that later becomes the killers motif, as the two men drive into a small American town, anywhere USA, we see them from behind in darkest black silhouette in the car. Then a long view of them walking onto the scene still surrounded in shadow, we know they are trouble. The opening scene of The Killers is perhaps one of the most powerfully ferocious I’ve seen from a 1940’s film. The two men enter Henry’s Diner William Conrad’s Max and McGraw’s Al, are The Killers, who begin to psychologically torture George who works the counter and Nick Adams the boy at the end of the counter. They exude an obnoxious egotism. A cruel anti social spirit as they barrage the men in the diner with verbal assaults, having a somewhat perverse quality which begins with the menu. George: What’ll it be, gentlemen? Max: I don’t know. Whatta you want to eat, Al? Al: I don’t know what I want to eat. Max: I’ll have the roast pork tenderloin with apple sauce and mashed potatoes. George: That’s not ready yet. Max: Then what’s it on the card for? George: Well, that’s on the dinner. You can have that at six o’clock. That clock is ten minutes fast. The dinner isn’t ready yet. Max: Never mind the clock. What have you got to eat? George: Well, I can give you any kind of sandwiches: bacon and eggs, liver and bacon, ham and eggs, steak… Al: I’ll have the chicken croquettes with the cream sauce and the green peas and the mashed potatoes. Max: Everything we want is on the dinner. They continue to harass George, asking for alcohol, “Al: You got anything to drink? George tells them “I can give you beer, soda or ginger ale. Al: I said you got anything to drink?”George submits a quiet “no.”Max says “this is a hot town, whatta you call it?”George”Brentwood” Al turns to Max “You ever hear of Brentwood?” Max shakes his head no and then Al asks George “What do you do for nights?”Max takes in a deep breath and groans out “They eat for dinner, they all come here and eat The Big Dinner” George looks downward and murmurs “that’s right”and Al says “You’re a pretty bright boy aren’t you”, meanwhile George is a grown middle aged man. The term “boy” is designed to demean him. George mutters “sure” and Al snaps back “Well you’re not!” Al now shouts to the young man at the end of the counter “hey you what’s your name?” he looks earnestly at Al and says “Adams, Nick Adams.” Al says, “another bright boy.” There is an emerging sadism at work here, almost subconsciously homophobic/homo erotic, in the way they are using the terminology of “boy” working to subvert these bystanders’ manhood. Max says, “Town’s full of bright boys” The cook comes out from the kitchen bringing the plates of ” one ham and one bacon and” George starts to serve the men the food and asks “which one is yours?”Al says “Don’t you remember bright boy?” the continued use of this phrase truly begins to flay the layers of our nerve endings. George starts laughing and Max says “What are you laughing at?” “nothing” “You see something funny?” “no” “Then don’t laugh” “alright” again Max says ” He thinks it’s alright” Al says “Oh, he’s a thinker” Here we see the anti social backlash to an intellectual society that would perceive them as outcasts. The term “thinker” is used pejoratively as is “boy.” This is where the film begins to break the molds of the Hollywood window dressing of a civilized society, when two intruders trespass on an ordinarily quiet community and shatter it’s sense of security. It is the death of humanism in film language. Max and Al proceed to tie up Nick Adams and the cook in the kitchen. They further taunt George who asks “what’s this all about?” Max “I’ll tell ya what’s gonna happen, we’re gonna kill a Swede, you know big Swede, works over at the filling station” he lights a cigarette. George says, “you mean Pete Lund?” As Max takes the cigarette out of his mouth the smoke enervates in George’s face, “If that’s what he calls himself’, comes in every night at 6 o’clock don’t he?” Georges asks “What are you gonna kill him for? what did Pete Lund ever do to you?” Max replies,” he never had a chance to do anything to us he never even seen us.” The conversation is so matter of fact that it’s almost chillingly absurd. Again George asks, “what are you gonna kill him for?” and Max smirks “we’re killing him for a friend.” Al pokes his head in from the sliding panel window to the kitchen “shut up you talk too much” but Max says ” I gotta keep bright boy amused don’t I?” Once the killers believe what George tells them, that Swede isn’t coming into the diner for his supper because it’s passed 6pm, they go to Swede’s boarding house. George unties the two men in the kitchen who have been bound up with dish rags, and Nick jumps over fences trying to head off the killers and warn Swede that they’re coming for him. Nick bursts into Swede’s room. At first we only see the obscured figure of a man lying on his bed, only from the neck down to his feet. We do not yet see the figure clearly. Swede is framed in shadow.Nick tells him about the men at Henry’s Diner, they were going to shoot him when he came in for supper.”George thought I oughta come over and tell ya” out of breath Nick is panting , and we still only hear Lancaster’s substantial voice in a whispering tone “There’s nothing I can do about it” Nick says ” don’t you even wanna know what they’re like?” “I don’t wanna know what they’re like, thanks for coming” Don’t you wanna go and see the police?” “No that wouldn’t do any good” Swede tells Nick he’s sick of running and “I did something wrong (pause) once, thanks for coming” he ends very solemnly. Nick leaves. The last words we hear Swede utter are “Charleston was right, Charleston was right.” Now we see Swede’s face just staring and waiting. Sitting up, as the killers come bursting into the room, blasts of light from the gun spray, we are left looking at Swede’s hand lying limp against the side of the bed, surrounded in shadow once again, he is dead. The Killers relies a lot on the noir mechanism of the flashback. At times there are flashbacks within flashbacks. We’re now at the police station with Nick and Sam the cook giving their statements. We see a silk scarf with harps among his effects. Swede left a death benefit life insurance policy for $2,500 that goes to a woman in Atlantic City. The case is now being investigated by an insurance detective for the Atlantic Casualty and Insurance Company. Edmond O’Brien plays Reardon, who refuses to drop the case even after his boss insists that it’s not financially worth the company’s time. But Reardon wants to know what happened to this man who had “8 slugs in him, nearly tore him in half.” Reardon goes to the hotel in Atlantic City and talks to the old chamber maid, Queenie, who is the beneficiary of Swede’s death benefit. She tells Reardon that at least he could be buried in consecrated ground and Reardon asked why she thought it was a suicide. Queenie tells him in flashback how she was working that night and came into Swede’s room to clean, and he was visibly disturbed, smashing and stomping the furniture crying out “She’s gone, she’s gone!” Queenie asks “who’s gone mister?” He picks up a chair and breaks the window and tries to jump out, but Queenie grabs him and tells him” for the sake of God, you’ll burn in hell for all time” and stops him from killing himself. The death benefit was his way of paying thanks for her kindness. Reardon embarks on a journey to get the bell to ring in his head, about why the green silk handkerchief with the golden harps is on the tip of his mind.His boss says that claims are piling up and he’s off running around with a 2 for a nickle shooting, but Reardon wants to know why 2 professionals put the blast on a filling station attendant, a nobody. He also notices his hands, scarring which indicate that Swede had been a boxer at one time. He meets up with Swede’s old boyhood friend from the 12th ward in Philly. Lt Sam Lubinsky who is now married to Swede’s one time girlfriend Lily played by the a young and ever present character actress Virginia Christine who was also in The Killer Is Loose. In The Killers, she is absolutely beautiful as the “nice girl” playing opposite Ava Garner’s femme fatale role as Kitty. Sam joined the police force and Ole Swede started fighting professionally. They always kept in touch, but “when you’re a copper, you’re a copper” and eventually after taking a savage beating in the ring, Swede breaks his knuckles beyond repair and has to stop boxing. Sam winds up putting ” the pinch”on his friend Ole later on. In a flashback we see Lily and Swede at a party thrown at a swanky hotel by Jake, one of Big Jim Colfax’s men. Lily doesn’t like Jake, he’s got mean eyes. Swede sees Kitty for the first time sitting at a piano. Swede is mesmerized by Kitty. The women share competitive glances. Kitty says, “Jake tells me you’re a fighter” he says “Do you like the fights?” Kitty says “I hate brutality Mr Anderson the idea of 2 men beating each other to a pulp makes me ill.” Lily tells Kitty that she’s seen all Swede’s fights, but Kitty comes back with “oh really, I couldn’t bare to see the man I care about hurt” at that point Lily is finished once Swede remarks how beautiful Kitty is Lily leaves the party. Lt. Lubinsky tells Reardon that “It seems like I was always in there when he was losing, ever see him fight? He took a lot of punishment.” Ole’s manager leaves Swede after he isn’t any good as a money making fighter anymore since the bones in his hand are crushed. It’s why he didn’t use his right hand to fight the night he lost the bout to Tiger Lewis. That night his manager says ” no use hanging around here, never did like wakes” In a flashback within a flashback, Ole starts dating Kitty Collins, Big Jim’s girl. Evidently she shop lifts a diamond pin, Reardon recognizes it as she’s wearing it at a table sitting with a group of thugs who work for Big Jim Colfax. She drops it into a plate of soup, but Reardon stops the waiter, fishes it out and rinses it off in a cup of coffee then tries to take Kitty in, but then “Ole” Swede walks in and winds up taking the rap for her spending 3 years in jail for Kitty’s robbery then he gets released for good behavior. Kitty’s given him this green silk scarf with golden harps of hers, which he strokes in jail. Swede has a cell mate and friend in a man named Charleston, a petty larceny crook and old time hoodlum who bonds with Swede while in prison. Charleston brings up Jupiter one night. He liked to look at the stars after lights out, he knew their names because he got a book from the prison library. “You can’t learn any better about stars then by staring” Swede and Charleston staring out the window at the stars, while Swede is stroking the silk scarf Kitty gave him. He asks Charleston is he knows what “harp” means. He says “yeah, angels play ’em” “they mean Irish, Kitty gave me this scarf.” But Kitty hasn’t come to see Swede once while he’s in prison for the robbery she pulled. Swede asks Charleston to look up Kitty when he gets out, because he’s worried about her. But Charleston knows she’s not sick or in trouble. Swede is too much in love to see it. Later on Charleston relates to Reardon at a pool hall that he was told to bring Swede on the day after his release from jail, because Big Jim is planning a “big set-up.” Also in the room is a thug named Dumb Dumb and Blinky Franklin. Charleston opts out, he only wants easy pickings at his age he’s spent half his life in stir, but Swede seeing Kitty in the room, still Big Jim’s girl, says he’s in. Kitty becomes Swede’s mistress again. We see the glances between the two, and Swede knocks Jim down when he tries to hit Kitty. The two men swear that after the heist, they will even up the score with each other. The last thing Charleston says to Swede before he leaves the room is “Want a word of advice?, stop listening to golden harps, they’ll land you in a lot of trouble.” We now know what Swede meant by his last words.Charleston leaves the room. Closing the door, hoping Swede will follow, but ” he never showed up, and I never seen the Swede again” We see the character Charleston in flashback standing outside the door. Framed by the shot making the door a principal moment in the film. Charleston staring at the door waiting, looking trapped and small. The door symbolizing the unknown and what lies behind or ahead. Back at Atlantic Casualty and Insurance Co. Reardon tells his boss the “bell rang” he remembered hearing about it in relationship to a big caper that was pulled on July 20th, 1940 at The Prentiss Hat Company. Armed gunmen got away with quarter of a million of Atlantic’s money. One of the robbers was seen wearing a green scarf with golden harps wrapped around his face like a bandit. Swede was one of the people involved in the heist. Now hiding out under an assumed name, and working at a filling station supposedly hiding all the loot from the Hat Company heist, taken away from the other members of the gang.Who sent the killers to assassinate Swede and did Kitty Collins sign his death warrant? The Killers, details double crosses of all double crosses, as The Killers go to the sleepy town of Brentwood to even a score with Swede, who didn’t take Charleston’s advice and stop listening to golden harps. In noir films there is often a fetishistic quality to an item or action. I think the scarf is a sexual symbol of Kitty for Swede. It bares her scent, it was a token of her sexuality being made of “real silk” as if her skin. the idea of touching something golden. The scarf acts as surrogate for Kitty’s body, as he strokes it in place of the real thing. Posted on January 17, 2011 November 22, 2012 by monstergirlPosted in 1940s, 1960s, Albert Dekker, Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster, Charles McGraw, Classic Film Noir, crime drama, Directors and Filmmakers, Don Siegel, Edmund O'Brien, Ernest Hemingway, film noir, Literature The Novel and The Screenplay, man vs man, men in peril, Miklós Rózsa, Robert Siodmak, The Killers 1946, UbiquityTagged Albert Dekker, Ava Garnder, boxing noir, Burt Lancaster, Charles McGraw, Don Seigel, Edmond O'Brien, John Cassavetes, Lee Marvin, Mark Hellinger, Milos Rozsa, Noir crime thriller, Pulp Fiction, Robert Siodmak, The Killers 1946, Virginia Christine. 3 Comments	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1966
__label__wiki	0.585996	0.585996	Indigenes form association for town development Some elites in Igbaye, a prominent town in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State, have formed a group for the purpose of executing developmental projects in their community. Operating under the umbrella of Igbaye Development Vanguard (IDV), which membership cuts across all professions and spread across the world, the elites’ major objective is to giving back to their community for impacting positively in their lives. Speaking with the press, two of the IDV conveners, Dr. Sunday Alayemi and Mr. Rafiu Adeoye Popoola said the association will rekindle the lost lustre and interpersonal relationship among themselves. Alayemi said: “Our immediate areas of concentration will be renovation of public properties like schools, health centres, town hall, public utilities like toilets, post office among others. “Beside the renovation of a few dilapidated facilities in the town, building of new ones like e-library, Recreation Centres and Event Halls is also in the pipeline.” Popoola added that the renovation of Igbaye Community High School (ICHS), which is being jointly financed by the IDV members and Old students of the school, is in progress. “After its completion, notification will be made following which school affairs including its maintenance would be delegated to the old students and the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), while the Vanguard will face other projects,” he said. The cost of putting the block of classrooms in order, according to him, is about N5 million. Ihedioha: Apologise to CJN, BMO tells PDP CRC Credit Bureau wins award We’re not recruiting- NAF	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1967
__label__wiki	0.633541	0.633541	MacOS Catalina is available for download now by Rachel Kaser — in Plugged If you’ve been waiting for the latest update to macOS, here’s your chance: Catalina is available for download now. The new OS was officially revealed this June, with the public beta coming out later the same month. Today it rolls out, a little later than is usual for Mac updates (which typically come out in late September), but still welcome all the same. Catalina brings a few new features, with one of the biggest being Catalyst. This initiative allows developers to build versions of iPad apps compatible with Mac, effectively allowing them to create apps for two platforms. Apple teased that several iPad apps will get the Catalyst treatment, including, “Twitter, TripIt, Post-It, GoodNotes and Jira.” Similarly, a new feature called Sidecar allows you to use your iPad as a second screen for your Mac — one of the benefits of this being that Apple Pencil will work with Mac by proxy, the iPad acting as a drawing board for it. One of Catalina’s other claims to fame is the addition of Apple Arcade. We’ve already tried Apple’s gaming endeavor on iOS, where I was impressed by the variety of games on offer. Those games are now available, via Arcade, on Mac, which means I can now lose hours of time gaming on literally all of my electronic devices. Games are synced across devices, meaning you can pick up where you left off from one device to another. In smaller news, this is also the update that’ll bring the definitive death of iTunes on Mac. It’s been replaced with Music, Podcasts, and Apple TV apps. Conversely, the Find My iPhone and Find My Friends apps have been condensed into a single app called “Find My.” Other, less flashy updates include the addition of Screen Time for Macs, which allows you to monitor app usage across all your devices (and, with the addition of Family Sharing, those of your relatives). Catalina is also the first macOS that users can run entirely with their voices. Apple claims the addition will make Macs more accessible for less nimble readers. The addition of hover text is similarly designed to help those with vision problems. It’s not the most comprehensive update Apple has ever put out for Mac, but it’s definitely got lots of good stuff. I downloaded it the moment I saw it was an option, if only because I wanted to play some of my Arcade games on a bigger screen. That said, if you’re game-happy like me, beware: not every game is available for Mac. I couldn’t find Assemble with Care, still my favorite offering in Arcade, on the Catalina Arcade store. Catalina is available now for all Macs from 2012 or newer. For more gear, gadget, and hardware news and reviews, follow Plugged on Twitter and Flipboard. macOS Catalina is available today on Apple Read next: Hulu finally lets you download shows to watch offline (iOS first) TechmacOSApple Inc.	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1968
__label__wiki	0.834829	0.834829	Jimmy Choo co-founder Tamara Mellon sells condo for $19M Shoe designer paid $18.4M for Greenwich Lane condo in 2016 By E.B. Solomont Research by Mary Diduch Tamara Mellon and her former home at 155 West 11th Street (Credit: Getty Images) Jimmy Choo co-founder Tamara Mellon has found a well-heeled buyer for her Greenwich Village condominium. Property records show an anonymous buyer shelled out $18.8 million the eighth-floor spread at the Greenwich Lane, a complex with five buildings and five townhouses developed by the Rudin family and Global Holdings. Mellon’s apartment at 155 West 11th Street is 3,965 square feet with three bedrooms, an eat-in kitchen and 1,264 square feet of private outdoor space. She first listed it in August for $19.8 million, and the final sale price works out to $4,741 per square foot. The Corcoran Group’s Carrie Chiang had the listing. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Records show Mellon — who left Jimmy Choo in 2011 — paid $18.4 million for the unit in 2016. That was also the year she launched an eponymous shoe line with Jill Layfield and Tania Spinelli. Her Greenwich Village condo, which went into contract in September, spent just 60 days on the market, according to StreetEasy. It’s an unusual feat given the slowdown in the luxury sector. Overall, the number of pending sales above $4 million dropped 16 percent year over year to 935, according to a new report from Olshan Realty. In Greenwich Village, there was a double-digit drop in closings during the third quarter, according to data from the Corcoran Group. Overall, the median price of sales Downtown dropped 8 percent to $1.4 million. Mellon also owns a penthouse at the 1913 Carhart Mansion, at 3 East 95th Street. The duplex, with 7,140 square feet, has terraces spanning 5,290 square feet. She first listed it in 2014 asking $34 million, and later cut the price to $27 million. It’s currently on the market for $25 million. Howard Schultz buys $40M PH at Greenwich Lane Tamara Mellon discounts PH price Top resi deals of 2019 Greenwich VillageLuxury Real Estate Preservationists want the Frick to buy Epstein’s old mansion Tons of apartments will hit the US market this year. They’re for the rich Aaron Kirman’s “Listing Impossible” is a beach house “sex dungeon” These global luxury markets are set to improve in 2020 These were the world’s hottest luxury markets in the 2010s Busiest December in years for Manhattan luxury property deals Time Warner Center duplex sells after $20M discount	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1972
__label__wiki	0.647829	0.647829	These NUS Grads Spent 1.5 Years And A 6-Figure Sum To Make "Guilt-Free Ice Cream" A Reality Victoria Sek If you ever had a strong craving for something sweet or carbonated after a workout, you’re not alone. You’re torn between satisfying that thirst for sugar and the desire to have abs. After struggling for a good three minutes, you succumb to the calls of sucrose. As you voraciously gulp down that cup of bubble tea or dig into that pint of ice cream with a tablespoon, you feel a lump in your throat. It’s not an allergic reaction or an extra-large pearl blocking your windpipe – it’s the sense of guilt for cheating on your diet. Minus the drama, in real life, I believe we can all relate to this at some level. But what if you can have honest-to-goodness healthy desserts anytime you want without a care in the world? Thanks to these three National University of Singapore (NUS) graduates and the proprietary food technology (foodtech) platform they developed, you can have Singapore’s first “reduced-calorie” premium ice cream. A Moment On The Lips, Almost Never On The Hips Ow Yau Png, Co-founder and CEO of Hoow Foods Pte. Ltd. / Image Credit: Callery’s “Each serving of Callery’s contains a standard volume of about 100ml, which ranges between 63 to 72 grams (a serving), depending on the flavour,” said 31-year-old Ow Yau Png, co-founder and CEO of Hoow Foods Pte. Ltd. To put it into perspective for us, he told me an entire pint of Callery’s Vanilla Bean flavour contains less than 280 calories in a total of 4.7 servings, while popular ice cream brands contain 260 to 300 calories per serving. He assures us that despite the really low calories count, Callery’s will taste just as good as those premium ice cream found in scoop shops. “[With] Callery’s we aim to solve the perennial paradox: ‘Can delicious foods be healthy at the same time?'” Yau Png stated. He went on to say that Singaporeans are foodies who take pride in the heritage of our food and variety of cuisines, but the problem is most of the local delicacies we love contain a lot of sugar, fat, and calories. “People who understand the need to eat healthier often baulk at changing their diet in the end simply because the alternatives do not taste good. Let’s face it, the fat and sugar content in food today is what makes them taste and feel so good,” Yau Png said. “This is especially true for [food] such as desserts. For a foodie nation like Singapore, people would rather sacrifice their health than to eat something that tastes inferior.” TGIF! There’s no better way to usher in the weekend than with a tub of ice cream. Our office definitely has a sweet tooth, and @callerysicecream is here to make our snacking sessions a little healthier. Each serving contains as low as 59 calories, which is equivalent to an apple! Thank you Callery’s for sending us a few tubs to enjoy ❤️ A post shared by DiscoverSG (@discoversgofficial) on Sep 7, 2018 at 1:47am PDT My team and our sister publication, DiscoverSG, were sent a box of Callery’s ice cream to try and we were amazed at the taste – no kidding. The chocolate was rich and decadent, and a colleague said the strawberry flavour tasted like regular ice cream. And this is all possible because of a polyol found in plants and fruits called erythritol, a type of sweetener that tastes like sugar but has almost no calories. Unlike other sugar replacements, erythritol doesn’t cause bloatedness nor affect blood sugar levels so it’s safe for diabetics to consume, Yau Png assured. But using erythritol comes with a price to pay, literally. A pint of Callery’s costs $16.90 a pop, which is actually just a couple more dollars more than popular ice cream brands found in supermarkets. “[The] natural sweetener erythritol that we used is seven times the price of normal sugar. This higher cost applies to the other healthier and rarer ingredients that we use in our products,” he explained. “[We] use top grade, premium ingredients imported from all over the world in our ice creams which in turn, constitute to higher costs.” The vanilla beans used are imported directly from sustainable farms in Indonesia and are processed with a non-alcoholic method so the integrity of the concentrate is not tarnished. Factories making Callery’s are also Halal-certified and all other ingredients come from halal sources. In the long run, they hope to change the perception that “healthier versions of indulgent foods can actually be as tasty or tastier” than the current offerings in the market. Education As Nourishment Image Credit: Callery’s Yau Png, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Materials Engineering, had worked in the medical, healthcare and life science industry for seven years before becoming an entrepreneur. His fellow co-founders, Zhong Hao (33) and Wang Qun Xiong (34) each has more than 10 years of experience in the medical, healthcare and life science industry and energy and finance sectors, respectively. Zhong Hao graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and Qun Xiong was a Valedictorian with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. In their past lives in the “big pharma”, before the launch of the government-led Let’s Beat Diabetes campaign, Yau Png said they already noticed the rise of chronic metabolic diseases in recent years, especially diabetes mellitus in Singapore and the Asian population. “Closer to home, my family has a strong history of diabetes, yet we all have a penchant for indulging in sweet desserts,” he added. Even though there’s been an increase in foods that are labelled ‘healthier choices’, Yau Png explained that desserts stayed under-developed” simply because it was not easy to develop food products” that could retain the same taste and satisfaction. “Looking for alternatives of healthy yet tasty foods is surprisingly difficult and after creating several versions of our first few low-calorie ice creams for personal consumption, it naturally dawned upon us that this was the gap that we were going to fulfil.” So they refined their tech platform and started up with the knowledge that their efforts could boost the foodtech scene in Singapore and evolving the “relatively unexplored” nutrition and health industry, citing a 2017 report. “The lack of food science and basic nutritional knowledge of the average Singaporean is a major contributor to high obesity rates and diabetes,” he remarked. For example, he said, if you were to ask the uncle you meet at the neighbourhood kopitiam how many calories are in his bowl of chendol, he’ll probably won’t know what calories are and would go on to “just enjoy life”. Yau Png also noted that there’s a shortage of budding academic talents that want to specialise in foodtech as they tend to choose to become bankers and doctors over becoming a food scientist. “We hope that in time to come, Callery’s will also inspire more young people to take notice of the food science space in Singapore and we definitely welcome more competition into this space,” he shared. “Only when we have a well-informed population, then we can effectively fight the endemic together.” Adapt And Change To Survive Despite having only founded Hoow Foods in February 2018, they only started the sales of Callery’s just three months ago. In the first two months, they sold about 2,000 pints of Callery’s, according to Yau Png, and to date, the number has doubled. But before that, they spent around 1.5 years doing research and development into their foodtech platform and invested about a mid-six-figure sum in total. He said we can think of this foodtech platform as a “hardware-software synergistic platform… that enables rapid reformulation of novel composite ingredients”. “Our foodtech platform addresses the missing link between the novel food ingredient industry and the consumers, [where] these ingredients may be used to transform unhealthy, caloric-dense foods into healthy, low-fat, low-sugar versions,” he explained to me. Using their deep understanding of food science, they were able to bring in additional health benefits such as increasing fibre content for better gut health, into the new products. The Hoow Foods team had recently exhibited at Techinnovation 2018 where they showcased their platform. They’re developing the platform to scale up their tech to include automation and machine-learning capabilities. At the moment, it’s useful to food businesses, but depending on how his company will move on as a foodtech company, a consumer model “may be a reality”. “Product-wise, it’s [still] a new concept for people – [they’re] like, ‘Low-calorie ice cream, WHAT?'” he said, “And being the first and only brand to provide such ice cream in Singapore and Asia is a challenge in itself.” He explained that low-calorie ice cream freezes slightly harder than normal ice cream because of its “immense low fat and sugar content” and that it requires up to 20 minutes to thaw it before consumption. Consumers often compare Callery’s to full fat ice cream in that sense, but Yau Png takes it as a compliment. “In time, with greater awareness, we hope to meet the expectations of a wider customer base!” Of course, he admits that they do get their “fair share of trolls… and naysayers” in the industry but they are thankful that they have more supporters than detractors. Encouragement from their customers and supporters is what keeps them soldiering on, as they get comments thanking them for “finally offering the market a healthy ice cream”. Yau Png let out a sheepish laugh, “We do get very emotional when customers come to thank us.” “In our entrepreneurship journey, we learnt that change is the only constant.” One of the challenges they faced is having to shift their mindsets at the operational level from the strictly regulated and procedural healthcare industry to adapt to the fast-moving and dynamic food industry. “Imagine the move from developing and selling cardiovascular stents and cancer drugs to formulating and selling ice cream!” he said. While he described it as a “fun and insightful challenge nevertheless”, it’s still their top priority to make sure their products are safe and quality is consistently good. As a young and new brand, another challenge they face is raising product awareness and they tackle it by reaching out through various methods like word-of-mouth, social media, and various publications. “Within a short [amount] of time, our products are listed at arguably the largest grocery chains in Singapore offline and online – Fairprice Finest and RedMart,” Yau Png said happily. He added that they’re appreciative for the help they got from these organisations who opened more doors of opportunities for them. “The figures continue to grow by the day and it’s really heartening. Just slightly a year ago, we were working out of my own room and right now we are thankful that we have a small humble office to work out of,” Yau Png said. A Flavour-able Progress There are currently three Callery’s flavours: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Yau Png promised a “slew of exciting flavours to look forward to” as feedback pours in requesting for new flavours. They are also developing other products that are never-before-seen in the market, he teased, and only shared that these products will be “further testament to the foodtech that forms the foundation” of Hoow Foods. “On the business development side, we have also established links with prominent local food groups and organisations and […] they are definitely very exciting for us and will help us further cement our position in this industry,” Yau Png said. They will continue to provide Singaporeans truly guilt-free products that are low in calories, sugar, and fats, and hope that they will eventually join the authorities to combat the risk of diabetes in Singapore. In the future, they plan to enter overseas markets and establish themselves in the regional foodtech scene. “But these lofty goals must be supported by hard work for now, and we remain very rooted and realistic as we grow the company in a sustainable manner.” “Till then, it’s back to the daily grind to bring honest, healthy and delicious foods to all Singaporeans.” Order yourself a pint of low-calorie ice cream goodness at honestbee, RedMart, and NTUC Finest stores, and check Callery’s out on their website here. Featured Image Credit: Ow Yau Png (from left to right: Zhong Hao, Ow Yau Png, Wang Qun Xiong) Turn Down For Huat? This S’pore Company Makes Vending Machines That Dispense 4D Numbers For $2 Tags: Callery'sentrepreneurshipF&BfoodtechNUSstartup	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1976
__label__cc	0.63047	0.36953	← University: Princeton Bikeshare Program Used 673 Times Per Week Rat Protest At Under-Construction Gas Station In Princeton → View of new Princeton University Residential Colleges, via ‘Concept Plan’. (click to expand) The Princeton Planning Board will tonight consider a concept plan, submitted by Princeton University, for two new student residential colleges at the interesection of South Drive and Elm Drive. We have known for several years that Princeton University wants to build two new residential colleges. In early 2018, the University revealed that Deborah Berke Partners would be the lead architects for the project. This is the first time that members of the public have been able to see what they have designed so far. One of the new colleges is likely to be called ‘Perelman College’, after a donation of $65 million from business executives Debra and Ronald Perelman. The colleges would share an 11.5 acre site, connected by paths to South Drive, Elm Drive and Poe Field. Currently, the site is used as a tennis facility. An overhead view in the concept plan shows a collection of buildings with irregular shapes: Site plan for proposed new Princeton University Residential Colleges. (click to expand) According to the concept plan, the colleges are each intended to accommodate up to 500 students, 10 resident graduate students and one faculty-in-residence. The total area of each college would be 242,500 sq ft. The colleges would be mixed-use, providing both residences and “curricular and co-curricular spaces”. Each college would have a dining hall seating up to 290 students. The kitchen and loading dock would be shared between the two colleges, and vehicular access would be from South Drive. The tallest sections of the colleges are proposed to be seven stories, for a maximum of 93-ft, although overall the buildings would have varied height and massing: View of proposed new Princeton University Residential College (click to expand) You can read an overview of the Residential Colleges Concept Plan written by the architects here, and a memo discussing it written by the town’s planning staff here. Presumably the plan may yet change substantially, and the Concept Plan is not a formal planning application so many details about materials and sustainability features are unknown. We will report more about the plans after we hear tonight’s discussion at the Planning Board. (Note: images are low-quality because we literally photographed them from paper documents held at the Planning Department at Princeton City Hall.) View of propopsed new Princeton University Residential Colleges, via ‘Concept Plan’. (click to expand) Another view of proposed new Princeton University Residential Colleges, via ‘Concept Plan’. (click to expand) This entry was posted in architecture, Density and tagged Density, planning, Princeton University. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Response to Concept Plan for New Princeton University Residential Colleges Weston Gaddis says: Hmm …. so Berke is offering up a design that is more reflective of a mid-town housing complex than a time-honored residential college for an Ivy League institution? Sad ….	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1978
__label__wiki	0.600806	0.600806	Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson and decaying to four b-quarks via two spin-zero particles in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector ATLAS Collaboration, T. Iizawa This paper presents a dedicated search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of new spin-zero particles, H→ aa, where the particle a decays to b-quarks and has a mass in the range of 20–60 GeV. The search is performed in events where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a W boson, giving rise to a signature of a lepton (electron or muon), missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets from b-quark decays. The analysis is based on the full dataset of pp collisions at s=13TeV recorded in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb-1. No significant excess of events above the Standard Model prediction is observed, and a 95% confidence-level upper limit is derived for the product of the production cross section for pp→ WH times the branching ratio for the decay H→ aa→ 4 b. The upper limit ranges from 6.2 pb for an a-boson mass ma=20GeV to 1.5 pb for ma=60GeV. European Physical Journal C https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4418-9 Bosons Higgs bosons Colliding beam accelerators ATLAS Collaboration, & Iizawa, T. (2016). Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson and decaying to four b-quarks via two spin-zero particles in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. European Physical Journal C, 76(11), [605]. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4418-9 Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson and decaying to four b-quarks via two spin-zero particles in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. / ATLAS Collaboration; Iizawa, T. In: European Physical Journal C, Vol. 76, No. 11, 605, 01.11.2016. ATLAS Collaboration & Iizawa, T 2016, 'Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson and decaying to four b-quarks via two spin-zero particles in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector', European Physical Journal C, vol. 76, no. 11, 605. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4418-9 ATLAS Collaboration, Iizawa T. Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson and decaying to four b-quarks via two spin-zero particles in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. European Physical Journal C. 2016 Nov 1;76(11). 605. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4418-9 ATLAS Collaboration ; Iizawa, T. / Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson and decaying to four b-quarks via two spin-zero particles in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. In: European Physical Journal C. 2016 ; Vol. 76, No. 11. @article{4573be6df4a84832a40b0430ba2aa69b, title = "Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson and decaying to four b-quarks via two spin-zero particles in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector", abstract = "This paper presents a dedicated search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of new spin-zero particles, H→ aa, where the particle a decays to b-quarks and has a mass in the range of 20–60 GeV. The search is performed in events where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a W boson, giving rise to a signature of a lepton (electron or muon), missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets from b-quark decays. The analysis is based on the full dataset of pp collisions at s=13TeV recorded in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb-1. No significant excess of events above the Standard Model prediction is observed, and a 95{\%} confidence-level upper limit is derived for the product of the production cross section for pp→ WH times the branching ratio for the decay H→ aa→ 4 b. The upper limit ranges from 6.2 pb for an a-boson mass ma=20GeV to 1.5 pb for ma=60GeV.", author = "{ATLAS Collaboration} and M. Aaboud and G. Aad and B. Abbott and J. Abdallah and O. Abdinov and B. Abeloos and R. Aben and AbouZeid, {O. S.} and Abraham, {N. L.} and H. Abramowicz and H. Abreu and R. Abreu and Y. Abulaiti and Acharya, {B. S.} and L. Adamczyk and Adams, {D. L.} and J. Adelman and S. Adomeit and T. Adye and Affolder, {A. A.} and T. Agatonovic-Jovin and J. Agricola and Aguilar-Saavedra, {J. A.} and Ahlen, {S. P.} and F. Ahmadov and G. Aielli and H. Akerstedt and {\AA}kesson, {T. P A} and Akimov, {A. V.} and Alberghi, {G. L.} and J. Albert and S. Albrand and Verzini, {M. J Alconada} and M. Aleksa and Aleksandrov, {I. N.} and C. Alexa and G. Alexander and T. Alexopoulos and M. Alhroob and B. Ali and M. Aliev and G. Alimonti and J. Alison and Alkire, {S. P.} and Allbrooke, {B. M M} and Allen, {B. W.} and T. Iizawa and Takashi Mitani and Masahiro Morinaga and Kohei Yorita", doi = "10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4418-9", journal = "European Physical Journal C", T1 - Search for the Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson and decaying to four b-quarks via two spin-zero particles in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector AU - ATLAS Collaboration AU - Aaboud, M. AU - Aad, G. AU - Abbott, B. AU - Abdallah, J. AU - Abdinov, O. AU - Abeloos, B. AU - Aben, R. AU - AbouZeid, O. S. AU - Abraham, N. L. AU - Abramowicz, H. AU - Abreu, H. AU - Abreu, R. AU - Abulaiti, Y. AU - Acharya, B. S. AU - Adamczyk, L. AU - Adams, D. L. AU - Adelman, J. AU - Adomeit, S. AU - Adye, T. AU - Affolder, A. A. AU - Agatonovic-Jovin, T. AU - Agricola, J. AU - Aguilar-Saavedra, J. A. AU - Ahlen, S. P. AU - Ahmadov, F. AU - Aielli, G. AU - Akerstedt, H. AU - Åkesson, T. P A AU - Akimov, A. V. AU - Alberghi, G. L. AU - Albert, J. AU - Albrand, S. AU - Verzini, M. J Alconada AU - Aleksa, M. AU - Aleksandrov, I. N. AU - Alexa, C. AU - Alexander, G. AU - Alexopoulos, T. AU - Alhroob, M. AU - Ali, B. AU - Aliev, M. AU - Alimonti, G. AU - Alison, J. AU - Alkire, S. P. AU - Allbrooke, B. M M AU - Allen, B. W. AU - Iizawa, T. AU - Mitani, Takashi AU - Morinaga, Masahiro AU - Yorita, Kohei N2 - This paper presents a dedicated search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of new spin-zero particles, H→ aa, where the particle a decays to b-quarks and has a mass in the range of 20–60 GeV. The search is performed in events where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a W boson, giving rise to a signature of a lepton (electron or muon), missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets from b-quark decays. The analysis is based on the full dataset of pp collisions at s=13TeV recorded in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb-1. No significant excess of events above the Standard Model prediction is observed, and a 95% confidence-level upper limit is derived for the product of the production cross section for pp→ WH times the branching ratio for the decay H→ aa→ 4 b. The upper limit ranges from 6.2 pb for an a-boson mass ma=20GeV to 1.5 pb for ma=60GeV. AB - This paper presents a dedicated search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of new spin-zero particles, H→ aa, where the particle a decays to b-quarks and has a mass in the range of 20–60 GeV. The search is performed in events where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a W boson, giving rise to a signature of a lepton (electron or muon), missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets from b-quark decays. The analysis is based on the full dataset of pp collisions at s=13TeV recorded in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb-1. No significant excess of events above the Standard Model prediction is observed, and a 95% confidence-level upper limit is derived for the product of the production cross section for pp→ WH times the branching ratio for the decay H→ aa→ 4 b. The upper limit ranges from 6.2 pb for an a-boson mass ma=20GeV to 1.5 pb for ma=60GeV. U2 - 10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4418-9 DO - 10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4418-9 JO - European Physical Journal C JF - European Physical Journal C 10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4418-9	cc/2020-05/en_middle_0119.json.gz/line1981

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