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The dataset generation failed
Error code: DatasetGenerationError
Exception: ArrowInvalid
Message: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 3
Traceback: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 145, in _generate_tables
dataset = json.load(f)
File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/json/__init__.py", line 293, in load
return loads(fp.read(),
File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/json/__init__.py", line 346, in loads
return _default_decoder.decode(s)
File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/json/decoder.py", line 340, in decode
raise JSONDecodeError("Extra data", s, end)
json.decoder.JSONDecodeError: Extra data: line 2 column 1 (char 2246)
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1995, in _prepare_split_single
for _, table in generator:
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 148, in _generate_tables
raise e
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 122, in _generate_tables
pa_table = paj.read_json(
File "pyarrow/_json.pyx", line 308, in pyarrow._json.read_json
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 154, in pyarrow.lib.pyarrow_internal_check_status
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 91, in pyarrow.lib.check_status
pyarrow.lib.ArrowInvalid: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 3
The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1529, in compute_config_parquet_and_info_response
parquet_operations = convert_to_parquet(builder)
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1154, in convert_to_parquet
builder.download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1027, in download_and_prepare
self._download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1122, in _download_and_prepare
self._prepare_split(split_generator, **prepare_split_kwargs)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1882, in _prepare_split
for job_id, done, content in self._prepare_split_single(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 2038, in _prepare_split_single
raise DatasetGenerationError("An error occurred while generating the dataset") from e
datasets.exceptions.DatasetGenerationError: An error occurred while generating the datasetNeed help to make the dataset viewer work? Make sure to review how to configure the dataset viewer, and open a discussion for direct support.
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Diplomatie | diplomacy
28-Jan-2019 to 09:30
Egyptian doctors provide free medical services in Wau
APA (Juba) South Sudan — A team of Egyptian doctors is offering free medical services for patients in South Sudan’s Wau State (former western Bahar Elghazal State).
Philippines scraps visa requirements for Mozambique
APA-Maputo (Mozambique) — The chairman of the Mozambican Economic Cooperation and External Relations Department of the Confederation of Economic Associations (CTA), Noor Momade, has said Mozambican citizens who travelling to the Philippines are exempt from entry visas.
Ramaphosa urges Indians to invest in S/Africa
APA-Pretoria (South Africa) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has ended his first state visit to India on a good note, celebrating and inviting "real, ethically driven" Indian businesses to invest more in his country which has a huge population of people of Indian origin.
S/Africa backs embattled Venezuelan leader Maduro
APA-Pretoria (South Africa) — South African would not support the United States’ efforts for the UN Security Council to recognise Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as “legitimate” president of the troubled South American state, South African International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has said.
Ghana, Hungary join forces to boost water management
APA-Dakar (Senegal) — Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hungary on cooperation in the field of water management.
Sahel: UN official warns of threat posed by private militias
APA-Dakar (Senegal) — Senior UN human rights official Andrew Gilmour has welcomed the commitment of countries of the Sahel to protect the rights of civilians as they confront terrorism, and warned of the dangers posed by the growing number of ethnic-based private militias.
Ghana, Cuba to strengthen cooperation
APA-Dakar (Senegal) — Ghana and Cuba have reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen their cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
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ABC Pushes Democratic Complaints of Defense Crowding Out Domestic Spending
Published: 2/6/2007 4:33 PM ET
Subscribe to Ken Shepherd
By Ken Shepherd
With the president’s budget proposal arriving on Capitol Hill, ABC’s Charlie Gibson told viewers that the “massive new plan would squeeze domestic programs” and asked if Congress would “go along.” Reporting the story, ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl pushed liberal Democratic complaints about social spending, but failed to find conservatives to comment on the heavy cost of entitlements like Medicare.
“The president sent his budget to Capitol Hill today. He proposes spending – and you really need to see the number written out. Two trillion, nine hundred billion dollars. That is eleven zeroes,” Gibson noted on the February 5 “World News.”
Reporter Karl picked up the story, hammering home to viewers the “staggering” war-related costs in the budget.
Karl noted that war-related expenses will “come through loud and clear in the president’s budget” with an 11-percent increase in Defense Department spending and a 13-percent boost for the Department of Veterans Affairs, “the biggest agency increase” in the fiscal year 2008 budget.
After airing a clip of liberal Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) complaining about the cost of the Iraq war, Karl pointed to areas where the Bush administration plans to make reductions in the growth of government spending.
Karl picked out President Bush’s plan to reduce Medicaid costs “by $12 billion and farm subsidies by $18 billion over five years,” but failed to put into perspective how quickly those spending items will still increase under the president’s budget.
Indeed, if the Medicaid funding request gets through Congress unaltered, the budget baseline would continue “to grow at a robust average annual rate of more than seven percent,” according to the Office of Management and Budget. To put that into perspective, that’s twice the rate at which the overall U.S. economy expanded in 2006.
And while Karl found room to air complaints from Senate Democrats who call war spending out-of-control, he failed to air comment from conservatives who generally point to entitlement spending as a long-term threat to the taxpayer.
“The challenge posed by long-term entitlements is daunting. Between now and 2050, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid costs are projected to surge from 8.7 percent of GDP to 19.0 percent,” Heritage Foundation budget watcher Brian Riedl wrote on February 5. “Consider that an equivalently sized tax increase today – raising taxes by 10.3 percent of GDP – would amount to $13,457 per household,” the Heritage fellow added.
Publication: Articles
Division: MRC Business
Category: Government
Tags: defense, domestic, Spending, tax, Budget, federal, president, MediaBias, Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative
Filter Articles by Date Range
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Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty
Book Review: Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations of Sovereignty by Georges Dumezil (transl by D. Coltman) Zone Books 1988- orig 1948
This was a fascinating account of comparisons of various Indo-European linguistics, myth, and social functions. Various comparisons of Roman, Vedic, Celtic, Germanic, Iranian, Greek, and Slavic notions of kingship and social function as revealed through myth and tradition are undertaken. The chapter headings are all couplet deities or heroes that display the contrasting yet complimentary styles of kingship. The idea was that kingship was kind of alternated between magician-warrior, binding, creative, wild, fem, dark, chaotic aspect represented by Varuna, Romulus, Wotanaz, Odin, Lugh, Jupiter, the Gandharvas, the Kentaurs, the Luperci, and the one-eyed god in general – and the other sovereign aspect was that of the more rational judge, legislator, orderly, contractual form represented by Mitra, Numa, Tiwaz, Tyr, Nuada of the Silver Arm, Fides, the priesthood (Roman flamines, Vedic brahmins) and the one-armed god in general. Mitra was the lord of contracts and Varuna was the enforcer, or binder of the contract (thus he carries the noose). The binding aspect is yet another association of Varuna with the titan Ouranos – not to mention linguistic similarities and many other aspects in common. Anyway, it seems that in these myths there was often an alternating power scheme of the two couples where one dominates for a while then the other.
The first comparison is of the Luperci – or wild wolf men in Rome associated with the wild king Romulus, who slays his brother Remus, and founds Rome. Later there was a festival one day a year where the Luperci effectively rule (as chaos) where the women were whipped with strips of goat skin to make them fertile just as Romulus and the Luperci originally did in the myth to the women of a conquered tribe. The chaotic rule of Romulus is followed by the very ordered rule of Numa, a judge-like character who makes laws, moral rules, and contracts. The Roman senate comes about by this style and Numa is in league with the priesthood (flamines). The Luperci as a wild gang of men who exhibit animal-like behavior are compared with the Kentaurs (Centaurs) of Ancient Greece – the wild horse-men and the Gandharvas of India (note the linguistic similarities). The Gandharvas (male) and Apsaras (female) are erotic spirits associated with music and sexuality. They are the celestial musicians mentioned in Buddhist texts. There they are said to be fed by smells. The Gandharvas are said to follow Varuna as king. The kentaurs are also educators of heroes, of Asklepios and of Achilles. The Gandharvas, Kentaurs, and Luperci often appear naked while for the priests nudity is often forbidden. He compares the statutes of the Roman priesthood and the brahmins. Both had many taboos. Avoiding funeral pyres, horses, battle, and drunkeness, to name a few. In any case, Dumezil shows that the Romans and Vedic society probably had a similar origin somewhere back in time. The whole juxtaposition of sacred disorder and sacred order is strangely complimentary. In times of war the strength of wildness becomes valuable so that madness needs to be accessible through occasional worship. The Roman festival of the Lupercalia took place for one day a year where the mad men were in charge and the priests and judicial officials were out of sight. Earlier it was probably celebrated longer. The Gandharvas are considered monstrous demons in an Iranian Avestan text. In any case, Dumezil shows without a doubt that they have many exact similarities to the Kentaurs and Luperci and many habits that are taboo to flamines and brahmins. He also equates the Indian Manu with the judicial Numa and Manius of Rome as well as the more obvious Mannus of Germanic peoples. These are all early ancestors of these people, likely as well of common mythic origin. Manu is associated with the idea of faith, or sradda as Numa is associated with the god Fides, from which comes the words confide, and confidence – very similar to sradda as faith. Confidence in the laws and in the performance of proper sacrifice are what is portrayed as leading to a successful and meaningful life. Confidence in the laws between gods and men is akin to religious faith.
Vedic society was separated into priest, warrior, and herdsman-cultivator. Then there is a new synthesis of priest and warrior to make a pact of power. Mitra-Varuna is given in the Vedas several times as a single deity and in that order. In the Mitanni-Hittite treaty recorded around 1400 BC in Assyrian, Mitra-Varuna is invoked to seal the deal (as are Indra and the Ashvin twins). In the Avestan texts we see Mitra-Ahura, where Ahura Mazda is assumed to be developed from Varuna as an asura. Mitra is the friendly king while Varuna is the terrible king. Mitra is the lord of contracts and friendship. Friendship was sealed with the exchange of gifts. In the Satapatha Brahmana, Mitra and Varuna are contrasted as intelligence and will, as decision and act, and as the waning and waxing moon. Traditions also equate mitra with day and Varuna with night, Mitra with right and Varuna with left. They each receive different types of sacrifice according to their nature. Mitra receives milk and Varuna receives soma. Some of these notions may also apply to Zeus and Ouranos, to Jupiter Summanus and Dius Fideus. The wife of Manu, Ida, teaches him the bloodless sacrifice. Manu is said to be a descendent of the sun. Manu’s daughter Ila joins with the son of the moon god and gives birth to Pururavas, the first Gandharva king. So Manu heads the solar dynasty and Pururavas heads the lunar dynasty. Pururavas, like many of the wild kings had an chaotic nature, died a violent death, and was scorned by the rishis. Ila communicated between the solar and lunar dynasties and was said in some myths to alter from man to woman, changing sex monthly.
Dumezil makes an interesting case equating the Persian festivals of the spring and autumnal equinoxes with the sovereignty forms of Mitra and Varuna. He notes that the Mazdeans changed much of the pre-Mazdean Vedic dogmas but that changing seasonal traditions is more difficult to effect. Mihragan in spring is associated with Mithra and the end of the world and Narouz in the fall is associated with Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda – or Varuna) and the beginning of the world. Since many animals couple (creativity and mating associated with the wild gods) in the autumn and cease coupling in the spring, this matches the pattern. The circle of the year then is complimentary. Varuna is the waxing moon and Mitra is the waning moon. Yim, or Yima instituted Nauroz. He is said to be in the bloodline of the Gandharvas. Yama in India is said to be the son of a Gandharva and to be the first man to experience death. Mihrjan was instituted by Faridun, the law abiding hero who establishes justice after the tyrannical reign of a monster.
Dumezil does make an observation that Indra had an ability to bypass the strict observance of the sacrifice and perhaps this represents mere special circumstances or a reform of earlier rules, as Indra seems to eclipse the power of Varuna in what have been interpreted as later parts of the Vedas. Also of similar interest is the depiction of Iranian Mithra in warrior manifestation, armed with none other than the vajra (Ir. vazra) which is the weapon of Indra. Dumezil notes the word denoting hammer or axe (likely borrowed) in Finno-Ugric languages as vasara, or vaecer in Lapp. In the Vedas, Indra alone wields the vajra but Indra is also amalgamated with the fighter Vtrahan as Indra-Vtrahan. In Persia it was apparently Mithra who merged with the fighter as Vrthragna, lord of offensive victory. This represents an evolution, or reform and so the Iranian Mithra does not wholly follow the pattern. Dumezil also notes that the relationship between Zeus and Ouranos is different from that of Mitra and Varuna. Zeus is the luminous day sky and Ouranos the night sky. Ouranos was hurled away after his defeat to far beyond space and time. The Indians say, “Mitra is this world, Varuna is the other world.” Zeus was probably influenced by deities from the Aegean area but obviously he is the thunderbolt warrior as well. Dumezil sees the pantheon of Zeus, Poseidon, and Pluto as different from the Indo-European models. So he sees a lot of Ancient Greek tradition as a combination of Indo-European and Aegean forms.
Dumezil sees the tripartite formula in Scandinavian as Odin – magician-king, Thor – champion-warrior, and Freyr as the peaceful producer. This denotes the same social structure noted in Indian society. Odin rides the wild hunt at night while his co-ruler Tyr represents the more rational form of day. The Romans referred to Tiwaz as Mars Thincsus, noting he had some military connections but his main function was to preside over the assemblies, called Thing. These assemblies were convened to make tribal decisions and enact laws. He is a law god and associated more with the rules of war than war itself. The Scandinavian Berserker-warriors clad in wolf-skins and bear skins are connected with Odin, and are not unlike the Gandharvas, Kentaurs, and especially the Luperci. Caesar mentioned that the Germanic tribes thought that prolonged habitation would cause them to lose the taste for war, succumb to peasant greed, get too used to comfort, get too attached to wealth, and to see as unfair a system that was depicted as fair and equal. Probably for these reasons land was re-distributed annually and this arrangement kept the tribes closer to the wild war god motif than the judicial one although the judicial god king was no less important.
In Celtic tradition, both Irish and Welsh, there is King Nuada of the Silver Arm also called Nodens. He loses an arm in battle and is then pronounced unfit to rule until a silver replacement arm is made for him. A king not possessed of all body parts is said to be unfit to rule. Tyr loses his right hand while tricking the dangerous wolf Fenris so that he can be bound. The weaponry of Tyr/Tiwaz is the manipulation of the law to which all are bound and must accept. He tricked Fenris but he did it legally and so Fenris was obliged to accept his binding. His placing his hand in the wolf’s mouth is the pledge or wager that must be accepted according to law. Other one-armed heroes include the Roman Mucius the Left-Handed who had a similar function.
The One-Eyed god Odin is referred to as the inspired magician king. The one eye refers to the second sight or inner sight, India has a whole series of info on this as the third eye of Shiva and the enlightened ones in Buddhist works. In Celtic terms there is the Fomorian Balor who battles with his powerful eye and his grandson Lugh of the Long Hand who smites magically as well by bulging out one eye. There is a one-eyed Roman hero called Cocles as well. The eye is the preferred weapon of the mad warrior type. Shiva also smites a few demons with his third eye. The Irish hero Cuchulain is another that produced a smiting grimace – no wonder as he was said to be fathered by Lugh himself. There are many-eyed deities and thousand armed deities in the Buddhist traditions also but these can be seen as practical manifestations evolved to envision deities with more power to aid others in their Bodhisattva aspects. Thus Chenrezik has eleven heads and a thousand eyes to see the suffering of all beings and a thousand arms to better alleviate the suffering of beings.
Dumezil then gives some interesting reasons why there were two battles of Mag Tured in Irish myth. He says it is because there are two types of warrior to be made supreme hero. Nuada loses his arm in the first battle. The magic eye of Lugh wins the second battle. After the first battle there is a uneasy compromise based on law and a Fomorian (Bress) is king for a while. In the second battle the victory is total as it is won with magic. So in the 2nd battle they avenged the legal blackmail that resulted from the first.
The last section compares the deities Savitr and Bhaga who appear in Vedic/Iranian and Bhaga as Bogu early Slavic contexts. These two deities are typically twinned in the Vedas. Savitra animates and creates as a solar deity and Bhaga distributes. Bhaga lost his eyes and Savitr lost his hands. They each got replacements given by the gods. They were mutilated in the context of sacrifice, the sacrifice which Savitr normally propels and Bhaga apportions. After their mutilations and replacement parts they were set up to preside over sacrifices offered by men. It is the first fruit of the sacrifice that cut off the hands of Savitr and then the eyes of Bhaga. Then they offered it to Pusan and it knocked out his teeth. When they offered it to Indra, he made it gentle using the magic formula called brahmana. This first sacrifice is equated to the sacrifice of Prajapati by Rudra’s arrow – for marrying his own daughter, but also to the sacrifice of Daksa, also equated to Prajapati. In some versions it is the wrath of Rudra that causes the mutilations. Here again is the danger of the wild god. There is a custom of saying, “I look on you with the eye of Mitra” when receiving the sacrifice to tame its danger.
The Cyclops and the Hundred-Handed Giants in Greek myth are other manifestations of arms and eyes that have relevance. The Hundred-Handed Giants are the first children of Uranus and Gaia and the Cyclops are included s the second wave of their children. Uranus imprisoned their monstrous forms but much later Zeus frees them and they help him overcome the titan Kronos, another son of Uranus. Zeus does unbind those bound by Uranus/Ouranos in a similar way to that which Indra supercedes the sacrificial rules regarding the functions of Varuna. The magician Wodhanaz and the combatant Thor may have a similar relationship. In Rome it is the priesthood that unbinds the bindings ordered by Romulus. He notes that the sovereignty of Zeus is helped to become established by the one-eyed and hundred-armed ones descended from and victimized by Uranus.
The concluding section compares the contrasting yet complementary sovereignty couple to ideas like the yin and yang of China which pervades not only government but all sorts of things as the two poles or extremes of all fundamental qualities. Perhaps it is in this way that the rhythm of the two extremes balance each other out as in the early Roman kings alternating between the two styles. In my own opinion there is also a resemblance to the American political system where two differing styles of government seem to alternate in a fairly regular pattern. In comparing the yang and yin to Mitra and Varuna he does note the commonly held notion of Varuna representing a fundamenytal female quality. Mitra and Varuna were basically joined into one form to perform their functions as gods to men. In the Satapatha Brahmana it is said that “Mitra ejaculated his seed into Varuna.” He notes that Varuna/Ouranos is heaven and Mitra more so represents earth. This would be opposite to the Chinese version where Heaven is yang and male while Earth is yin and female. Dumezil even suggests that this may have influenced Indian philosophy in the Samkya system where there is the male Purusha (Spiritual self) and the female Prakriti (Matter). In Vedanta a similar antithetical yet complimentary couple appears as Brahma and Maya. In some Vedic texts Mitra is regarded as the brahman. Maya is the great illusion made by the great magician – Varuna. He also notes that the Mitra-Varuna couplet is not to be seen like the Asvin twins as they are more or less identical and perform together a single function.
Wow, this was a really cool book by one quite scholarly in his comparisons. It shows rather without doubt that the Indo-European myths are all related. But there were changes, reforms, and even some likely reversals of functions. Reforms in the Iranian versions are very notable and some reversals of functions in the Celtic and Germanic forms are evident as well. The Greeks seem to be more syncretistic with other Mediterranean traditions and perhaps the Persians with other Middle Eastern traditions. The Romans seem to be very similar to the Vedic in these analyses but there are differences as well as each culture developed in different ways. I would love to read his book on Ouranos-Varuna written before this one in the 1930’s but I do not think it is even available in English. I heard a strange story about Dumezil when reading a review – that he once maimed a horse to see how long and where it would go before dying – in imitation of the horse sacrifice. If true it is rather disgusting but perhaps it is not true.
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التيسير November 20, 2021 at 2:29 AM
شركة درة البيت
تصليح مكيفات دبي
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شركة مكافحة حشرات راس الخيمة
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Archaeology & Language: The Puzzle of Indo-Europea...
Uranus: The Alchemist of the Age
Shambhala: The Fascinating Truth Behind the Myth o...
Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Repres...
The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins and Struct...
Vedic Deities
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NEURAL PUB »
Transhuman Agenda (Moderator: Morgan) »
Human Robot (H-1)
Author Topic: Human Robot (H-1) (Read 4205 times)
Schwann, Schwann_Cybershaman
Greetings Sentient,
Before oblivion, before geology or cosmology; before Minimalism, Pink Floyd, Quantum Physics, Mind Control, Math Rock, Electronic Imaging; before Buddha, even before the cosmic microwave frequency; you only have to pose a single question;
"What was there before the Big Bang"
Ask that and you're immediately in trouble.
Trouble also exists as more than ongoing threats from Alien life forms, cosmic radiation, neutron stars and black holes, nuclear proliferation, climate change, and the need to find sustainable and safe sources of energy. It's in the future so you can rearrange the order because it's emotional and not scientific.
For 'out there' science, how about the phenomenon of the Dark Matter Halo? Not just scribbling in some mathematician's notebook or a game by Microsoft, it's something real being observed by astrophysicist, Sukanya Chakrabarti, assistant professor of physics at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University. This scientist has fixed a way to find and chart dark matter halos of distant galaxies using gravitational ripples caused by the passing of satellite galaxies. How cool is that?
Chakrabarti?s paper ? ?A New Probe of the Distribution of Dark Matter in Galaxies? ? is published online here.
Meantime, back on Planet Earth shortly before the purported singularity, (timestamps unreliable), scientists move the "Doomsday Clock" one minute closer to midnight. No one is exactly sure how they calculate this, but I hope it's not some concoction of conspiracy theory involving reverse engineered alien technology. The Doomsday Clock is symbolic and has been maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists since 1947. The closer to a setting of midnight it gets, the closer it is estimated that a global disaster will occur.
Predictive algorithms anyone?
As previously reported, Future Predictions, aka The Webbot Project, has continuously predicted some negative earth changing mega-event for 2012, but some of us aren't holding our breath because obviously nobody knows much about it. What we do know is that there's some antihuman program running loose on this planet right now, and it isn't inside a computer. It's inside our own heads. It isn't that we don't hope that Aliens with atmosphere sweeping devices and ocean filtering devices aren't dropping in to help us out, it's just that we're too busy being H-1 to care.
March 22nd was Illuminati Day. According to David Icke and Co., a mega-shake was going to happen around that date. Portland is safe! There's only been a 7.2 in Chile with no tsunami, so we can safely assume they've struck out, at least on that date.
Meantime, people are seeing auroras, like in borealis, much further south than ever before but most people would rather go to the movies than watch auroras, right?
Just in case, prepare for the longest night.
Solarstorm anyone?
Dark Matter Halos may be real, but in Extra-Terrestrial mythology, the 'Black Knight' satellite is for real, or is it just more spin added to the hunt for the holy grail of prehistory, the megalith from the Ancient Aliens, and all of that? But it's spooky to think that there is no evidence to suggest it may not be true. Dig this signal translation, supposedly originating from ?The Black Knight? Satellite, according to Time Magazine April 9, 1973
Beginning Transcoded message;
?Our home is Epsilon Boötis, which is a double star. We live on the sixth planet of seven?check that, the sixth of seven?counting outwards from the sun, which is the larger of the two stars. Our sixth planet has one moon. Our fourth planet has three. Our first and third planet each have one. Our probe is in the orbit of your moon"
Message Ends.
© All Media by Mike Kawitzky March 2012
Source: Human Robot (H-1)
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1. Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone
2. Be Mine
3. C-Musik
4. Sleepwalking
5. Get Away
6. Keep on Smiling
7. Lazy Eyes
8. Sleepless Nights #3
9. I’ve Lost My Vision
1. Sleepwalking [120 Days Remix]
2. Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone [T.A. Kaukolampi Remix]
3. Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone [Reconstructed by Secret Machine]
4. Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone [Mental Overdrive Remix]
Other Records by 120 Days
Various Artists: Warm & Scratchy Comp
(Smalltown Supersound; 2006)
By Danny Roca | 8 September 2007
Post-_Screamedelica_ (1991) English rock group Kasabian have got a huge following in the UK and Europe and they’re starting to make small waves in the US; with 120 Days, some might ask whether we really need the Norwegian version. (Well…some would ask if we need the UK version, but that’s an argument for another time.) At least 120 Days don’t act as though they invented their meld of dance and rawk. This release is a reissue of their debut with a bonus CD of remixes to get them played in the clubs. Smart move. I guess there must be some business acumen in the offices of their record company Smalltown Supersound.
And signing 120 Days may have just been a business decision. The Rapture, Bloc Party, Kasabian, etc., have been with us for a few years now. By this point, 120 Days will neither shock nor astound, sitting comfortably on people’s mix tapes like a back-handed compliment. They are good-looking in that messy-hair-skinny-black-leather-jacket way girls go crazy for these days. Ice the cake with a beautifully minimal black album cover and 120 seems like a perfectly manufactured band given how well they have ticked the right boxes. Even 120 Days’ influences are de rigueur: Kraftwerk, the Cure, and Joy Division.
But I love Kraftwerk, the Cure, and Joy Division, and in a dearth of new material I’m happy for facsimiles. “Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone” may have a title that Shaun Ryder would balk at using but I can’t resist it. It uses the same motorik blips and pulsating bass that made Tour De France Soundtracks (2003) a surprisingly strong comeback and, even if Ådne Meisfjord sounds like an especially tone-deaf Bernard Sumner, it just works. With a few battered synths and a drum machine few bands could knock out a song that good.
“C-Musik” (Germanic title?—something fishy here) is a similar beast that unwinds on a shuddering bass note before launching into Primal Scream when they pulled their heads out of the Stones’ asses long enough to realize Krautrock was a good thing. Closer “I’ve Lost My Vision” is an 11-minute plus monster with squalling guitars, insistent drums, and more digitally produced noises than you can shake a Yellow Magic Orchestra album at.
120 Days does have its fair share of problems. The thing with bands who are this into Kraftwerk is that they think they can write an instrumental that will shake the world to its foundations. Thankfully, the other thing about bands who like bands like Kraftwerk is that they clearly mark such travesties: it’s usually numbered like a project, as with “Sleepless Nights #3.” Uh.were “#1” and “#2” shit? Anyway, the song in question is just some noodling and synthy bloops that sound like the background music in Bladerunner.
The U2 creeps in from time to time as well, though it’s a shame that trademark Edge guitar line is sprayed like so much silage over “Be Mine” and “Sleepwalking.” It ruins two perfectly good tracks. Thankfully, the bonus CD gives us an alternate version of “Sleepwalking,” remixed by 120 Days themselves, which throws in some erratic tabla, feedback, and a dubby bass line. If only they’d put this version on the original. We also have the excellent “Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone” reworked by Secret Machines, OP:L Bastards member and Anniemal (2005) producer Timo Kaukolampi, and the godfather of Norse Techno, Mental Overdrive. Each brings something new out of the original. Kaukolampi adds a dirty two-note synth straight from the Normal’s “Warm Leatherette” to make the electro fans happy. Secret Machines phase wonky guitars around the vocals to make a swampy psychedelic mix. The killer is the Hi-NRG take from Mental Overdrive that has so many Moroder drum assaults and disco handclaps that before I knew it my shirt was off, me hands-in-the-air and poppers-in-the-nostril. It’s just a shame that the bonus EP is more consistent and more exciting than the main album.
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Summary: Political structure
The Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is the overarching political authority, encompassing an executive arm (the cabinet) and a legislative arm (the Palestinian Legislative Council; PLC). Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is the president of the PA and remains in office with the backing of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), although his term technically expired on January 9th 2009 and the presidential election has been postponed repeatedly
Following a reconciliation deal between Fatah (which governs the West Bank) and Hamas (which governs the Gaza Strip), a new, united government was supposed to be formed by December 2017. However, the deadline was missed and the existing government stayed in office until January 2019, when the cabinet (dominated by Fatah) resigned en masse. A new cabinet was announced in April 2019, led by a long-term Fatah loyalist, Mohammad Shtayyeh, as prime minister
The 132-member PLC is directly elected on a multi-member constituency basis. The detention of PLC members by Israel and the Hamas-Fatah split have prevented a quorum of 71 from assembling since mid-2007, and the PLC has therefore not convened since then. Its term technically expired on January 24th 2010, but parliamentary elections have been repeatedly delayed
National elections
In the 2005 presidential election, which Hamas did not contest, Mr Abbas (Fatah) won 62% of the vote. In the 2006 legislative election Hamas won 56% of the seats. Fatah and Hamas agreed to hold belated presidential and PLC elections before end-2018; this deadline was missed. On January 15th Mr Abbas issued a decree announcing a parliamentary election for May 2021 and a presidential election for July 2021, but these have been indefinitely postponed, and EIU does not expect them to be held in 2022
Main political groupings
The PLO is an umbrella group for a number of long-established nationalist factions, including Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Two key Islamist groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are outside the PLO. Another faction is the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. Several new parties were formed for the 2006 elections, including Badil, Independent Palestine, Third Way and the Palestinian National Initiative
PA cabinet
Palestinian Authority president: Mahmoud Abbas (Fatah)
Prime minister & acting interior minister: Mohammad Shtayyeh (Fatah)
Deputy prime minister & information: Nabil Abu Rudeinah
Deputy prime minister: Ziad Abu Amr
Agriculture: Riad Atari
Construction & housing: Mohammad Ziyara
Economy: Khaled Ossaili
Education: Marwan Awartani
Finance & planning: Shukri Bishara
Foreign affairs: Riyadh al-Maliki
Health: Mai Kaileh
Jerusalem: Fadi Hidmi
Justice: Mohammed Shalaldeh
Labour: Nasri Abu Jish
Local government: Majdi Saleh
Secretary-general of cabinet: Ali Mahmoud Abdullah Abu Diak
Tourism: Rula Maayah
Transport: Assem Salem
Parliamentary speaker
Aziz Duwaik (Hamas)
Central bank governor
Azzam Shawwa
MENA chart of the week: global gas markets in disequilibrium
The global market for oil and gas will remain unbalanced until 2024, making the risk of an energy crunch more likely.
Politics | November 8th 2021
Three risks to the Middle East and North Africa in 2022
A Lebanese civil war, a Red Sea oil tanker explosion or a major economic slowdown in China would have regional impacts.
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In Crystal Cruises®, Gallivanting the Globe
Sunrise Celebration Marks the Completion of the Northwest Passage Voyage
By Katie Jackson
At 6:45 a.m. this morning, Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, Crystal Serenity’s guests were not sound asleep in their staterooms. Nor were they in Lido Café enjoying an early breakfast of brioche French toast. Instead, they were gathered outside on decks 12 and 13. How did Captain Birger J. Vorland get them up there at such an ungodly hour?
Crystal guests gather at the bow of Crystal Serenity as the ship arrives in New York City. (photo: Katie Jackson)
It wasn’t a safety drill. It wasn’t the mimosas being passed out by crew members balancing trays of silver platters. It wasn’t even the allure of being on TV. Yes, the news helicopters were circling above, but these travelers were accustomed to the attention on their cruise. Their Northwest Passage voyage had been covered by outlets around the world.
Each and every guest was up there because they wanted to be up there. And they wanted to be up there together. That’s the nature of an expedition. Your colleagues don’t just travel with you. They make history with you. And what do you do upon successfully finishing an expedition? You celebrate, regardless of what your alarm clock says. That’s also the nature of an expedition.
Yes, their voyage was a luxury cruise complete with all the Crystal bells and whistles, but it was also a bold journey into one of the most remote regions in the world. What they had signed up for had never been done before. Everyone was briefed to expect the unexpected, even if that meant they’d have to turn around. After all, the Northwest Passage is famous for its ice.
The guests saw plenty of ice—from the ship, zodiacs, fast boat, kayaks and shore. They also saw polar bears, glaciers, the Northern Lights and best of all, the unfamiliar faces of the curious locals—Inuit communities who welcomed them with unheard of hospitality and gave them a crash course in Arctic culture.
Crystal Serenity never turned around. She never even considered it. Instead, she triumphantly sailed into New York City’s harbor, 32 days after departing from Seward, Alaska. She was on schedule: timed to be welcomed by the sun rising over Manhattan, symbolically lighting Lady Liberty’s torch.
Mimosas in hand, helicopter overhead and most importantly, surrounded by new friends and family, it was time to celebrate. In other words, sleep could wait. That’s also the nature of an expedition.
While the momentous experience of the Northwest Passage is difficult to put into words, you can enjoy a glimpse into what awaits you in 2017…
https://youtu.be/687oZK9K5Pc
Crystal SerenityNorthwest Passage
CRYSTAL EXPERTS’ TOP 5 DESTINATIONS FOR 2020, PART I
Haunting & Haunted Castles for Your Travel List
WORLD CRUISE DISPATCH: TUXEDO JUNCTION
Previous Post'You Care. We Care.' Voluntourism at the Greater Boston Food Bank
Next PostYOUR INSIDE VIEW OF OUR BOEING 777-200LR
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Quote of the day—Independent Firearms Owners Association
The Supreme Court today granted certiorari in the case NYS Rifle and Pistol Association V. Superintendent of NYS Police (No. 20-843)
The case will be heard in the fall term of the court later this year with a ruling expected in the spring of 2022. The Independent Firearm Owners Association will file an Amicus brief in the proceedings.
The issues raised are straightforward. Does an individual right of self protection with a handgun extend beyond the property of the owner? “Can a government which cannot protect its citizens deny them the means to protect themselves?” asked Peter Sullivan, former NYS Assemblyman from Westchester, NY and Board Member of the IFOA.
Firearm owners have been asking this question for a generation in NYS ever since the police have denied carry licenses to ordinary law abiding citizens for no reason, while granting them to wealthy, powerful, and politically connected “big shots”. (Mayor Lindsay, Donald Trump, Eleanor Roosevelt, & Howard Stern)
The issue raised in this case is not about training or other restrictions before issuing licenses, but of fairness and equal rights. “Either the government trusts its citizens or it does not, they can’t have it both ways”, concluded Richard Feldman, President of the IFOA.
Independent Firearms Owners Association
Media release via email.
[See also:
SCOTUS Just Agreed To Hear a Major New Second Amendment Case
SAF HAILS HIGH COURT ACCEPTANCE OF NEW YORK SECOND AMENDMENT CASE
Supreme Court Grants Cert in Second Amendment Concealed Carry Case
Supreme Court Grants Cert Petition in FPC-Supported Case Challenging New York Carry Restrictions
Court to take up major gun-rights case
This is a really big deal in more than one way.
The first is that there is a good chance this will overturn all the “may issue” concealed carry laws. It even has the potential (a big stretch with the SCOTUS rewording of the question being asked) of overturn all licensing requirement for carrying a firearm.
The second important point I want to make is that court review of concealed carry licensing should have taken place and been settled law shortly after the Sullivan Act was passed in 1911. That it is happening 110 years later tell us something is very broken with our legal system.—Joe]
This entry was posted in Gun Rights, Politics, Quote of the Day by Joe. Bookmark the permalink.
15 thoughts on “Quote of the day—Independent Firearms Owners Association”
Defens on April 27, 2021 at 8:54 am said:
I’m sure Biden and his cronies will be working overtime to pack the Supreme Court before that case is heard.
MTHead on April 27, 2021 at 9:23 am said:
Once again we see the court only looking at the bureaucratic end. And not the principle.
Why is the court being asked a question of why New York will, or won’t issue a permit? When the court should have told them they had no power to force someone to ask them for a permit in the first place. “Shall not be infringed”, anyone? What, No one understands the word, “bear”. As in bearing arms?
Smells like clownworld to me.
And after the court chicken-shitting on voter fraud cases between states.. The court has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that their just another body of politics. Not of law. Their decisions no longer have standing under the constitution. Any more than Joe Biden’s do after a stolen election.
110 years late indeed!
Windy Wilson on April 29, 2021 at 7:05 am said:
Certainly they teleported the phrase “Not be infringed” to the First Amendment as it applies to Freedom of Speech and of the Press. Freedom of Religion and Freedom to Peaceably Assemble, not so much. I can’t say how it will fare with the Right to Petition one’s government now that the specter of Hate Speech is on the horizon with so many people seeing it as a savior for polite dissent and no one recognizing it as the threat of the exception that will swallow the rule.
Shawn on April 27, 2021 at 10:05 am said:
There is only one outcome: The Supreme Court affirming that there is no right to carry a firearm outside of your home this meaning that there is no right to self-defense outside your home.
In the one in a trillion chance they rule for us the scope will be so narrow it will be rendered worthless and meaningless.
Joe on April 27, 2021 at 10:56 am said:
Assuming the Democrats are unsuccessful in packing the court the odds are much better than that of for a favorable outcome from the court. I do expect the politicians in the affected jurisdictions will do their best to ignore the ruling so the effect of a favorable ruling will be minimized.
If you wish to stand by the odds given I would like to make a small bet with you.
chiefjaybob on April 27, 2021 at 4:15 pm said:
I’d take a wager, Joe. I agree with Shawn. I think we’ve crossed a Rubicon of sorts since last November. If this had happened last year, I would be more optimistic. I think they will twist themselves into such odd knots of mumble-jumble judicial double speak that it will somehow confine a ruling to certain citizens of New York State only. Let me know what kind of stakes you’re thinking of. New tee shirts or other swag or whatever you think.
I was going to bet a penny with the trillion to one odds. Still want to take the bet?
chiefjaybob on April 28, 2021 at 5:19 am said:
I guess you weren’t serious about a friendly bet over the outcome of this matter.
They’ve got a stare decisis problem on trying to get there, because there are previous SCOTUS rulings specifically on the need for self-defense outside the home.
That’s assuming that stare decisis means anything any more, just as it assumes that any law is actually in effect, other than as a “I’ve decided to destroy you; my fig-leaf excuse to do so is… *spin wheel of legalese*” justification.
Shawn on April 28, 2021 at 1:13 am said:
If they could overturn Heller and McDonald they would.
If the courts actually gave a shit all those state level gun bans would no longer exist.
I have absolutely no faith in the courts. The courts are not our friends. They hate us and want us dead just as much as the Democrats do.
I stated elsewhere the Court doesn’t grant cert on issues that it tends to agree with current outcomes on. So I don’t think this bodes well for NY State. I think the Court is ready to rule on a (managed) right to carry outside the home given almost half the country is Constitutional Carry and most is “Shall Issue”. The holdout states of “May Issue”, in practice “No Issue” for reasons of “public safety” are the anomalies.
I think the Court is ready to hold these holdouts accountable when the rest of the country deems it to be a right.
Mike W. on April 30, 2021 at 9:42 am said:
I’m in Delaware, and we’re this weird state in that we are “May Issue” but very, very few who apply for a CCDW are denied permits.
Now the legislature has gone full on crazy, NJ style and is poised to ram a mag possession ban and purchase permit law down our throats.
In Senate debate on these bills the lawyer who has routinely sued the State on gun cases and won was on Zoom and all but told the Dems the permit to purchase and mag bans were unconstitutional, would be challenged and the state would lose.
The Democrats did not care. They are being told flat out they will be held accountable and their response is “fuck you, obey peasant. you have no rights.”
My biggest concern is that the Democrats have learned that they can basically ignore Court descisions ruling their laws unconstitutional without any real repurcussions.
I am somewhat albeit pragmatically more optimistic than that. Do you honestly believe they took the case only to say “‘and bear’ is another way of saying ‘keep’ and you have no right to carry a gun outside the home absent State permission” and uphold the NY state of affairs?!?
I don’t. I think they took it to rule the right does exist outside the home subject to intermediate scrutiny (permits ok, training ok, non-discretionary issue required) and will strike down “May Issue” behavior as a poll tax or outright denial of a right and not honoring Equal Protection.
States have to allow you the right to carry outside the home. They can choose the means and manner but cannot discriminate on any other basis other than being a prohibited person. Understand that 80%+ of the country allows shall issue carry and the holdouts are the anomalies. I think they intend to strike a balance to allow some of form of carry rights to the entire citizenry rather than allow it to be continually limited at a State level.
The one-in-a-trillion odds I’d take is the strike down the NY carry restrictions under strict scrutiny, hold that the right to bear outside the home is fundamental and rule that all permits apply under the Full Faith and Credit clause regardless of where they are issued and are to be honored in all states. Effectively allowing residents of May Issue states to carry there under any non-resident permit they obtain. States can keep May Issue but it is rendered functionally meaningless because any permit shall be treated the same as a driver’s license or marriage certificate.
That is my fantasy come true. I’ll settle for killing May Issue in the holdouts and see them forced through future lawsuits or simple fatigue to let go of their May Issue/No Issue regimes over the next several years.
But I don’t think they took the case to ultimately render the 2nd a permanent 2nd class right that has no meaning any longer or to overturn Heller/McDonald.
William Ashbless on April 29, 2021 at 5:52 am said:
“Can a government which cannot protect its citizens deny them the means to protect themselves?”
I will make a slight alteration to this:
“Can a government which WILL not…..”
The two Supreme case which come to mind (‘DC Vs Warren’ and ‘Castle Rock Vs Gonzales’) were brought about specifically because police deliberately failed to discharge their duties.
I’m a cynic. Our system of law is meaningless and recent events bear that out.
I have little faith that this will give us what we wish it to.
Dan on May 1, 2021 at 12:29 am said:
The mental and moral gymnastics these corrupt judges are capable of in the quest
to satisfy the commies holding their puppet strings are almost indescribable to the average person. There is NO WAY that this court is going to rule in ANY way that could expand our rights under the Second Amendment. The right of a citizen to own AND POSSESS the means of self defense makes it exceedingly difficult and often dangerous for those in power to wield power. Disarming us so they can rule with impunity is their NUMBER ONE AGENDA. And there is quite literally nothing the commies in power won’t do to achieve that goal….including murdering a SCOTUS justice if required. And compared to killing a judge packing a few more quisling puppets onto the bench is small potatoes.
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Quote of the day—PeacefulMountain
YOU DIDN’T MENTION THIS CACHE WAS DOWNRANGE OF A 3 DAY EXPLOSIVES FIREARM EVENT!
I was in Pullman on business this weekend and I made it my goal to find all the old caches in the area. I wasn’t planning on going for any caches today but when I realized I still had 2 hours of sunlight left in the day I made a run for this cache, and I was not prepared. I had only 1 primitive map downloaded, and no nearby caches.
But I insisted anyway, and I made it to the area just in time. When I turned down the paved road I discovered that there was event today, and I could practically drive straight up to GZ. But what’s with all these signs that say Boomershooot, and this line of gun stands? And what looks like a firing line. Turns out they were in the middle of a firearms and explosives event and the cache was downrange.
Luckily they were just all camping, drinking beer, and telling questionable stories about Seattle life.
I found the cache easily, and signed the log just as the sun was setting.
Thank you Joe Huffman for the cache!
PeacefulMountain
Via email from geocaching.com.
[I try to make my Geocaches a little more interesting than most.—Joe]
This entry was posted in Boomershoot, Boomershoot 2021, Geocaching, Quote of the Day by Joe. Bookmark the permalink.
8 thoughts on “Quote of the day—PeacefulMountain”
Marcel Lusny on May 7, 2021 at 6:20 am said:
Joe – what’s the GC code on that one?
Joe on May 7, 2021 at 6:32 am said:
GC4F0.
Wow, Joe, that is an oldie!! Only 3 digits! Good for you for maintaining it for all these years!!
Matt on May 7, 2021 at 6:42 am said:
Is the cache actually in the line of fire? If so, no wonder the guy freaked! I was still nervous being downrange for the High Intensity and private fireballs seeing the line behind me even knowing any RSO would have made local entertainment of anyone approaching a bench.
At least he would have been waived off during active shooting rather than a call of “Range him. Send it!”.
The only thing that would make the cache perfect is if it was at the bottom of a former crater from a previous fireball. I think at this point that field should have a map with cataloged craters like the Moon. “This is 1997-1, just a catalog number”, “That is 2017 Sans Eyebrows”, “2019 Brown Waders Crater” and so on.
You can’t quite see it from the firing line because it is over the hill from the line. But it is between some targets and some shooters.
Matt D Pickering on May 7, 2021 at 7:49 am said:
That’s awesome! As I said, no wonder the guy freaked!
I would offer him a free day at Field Fire next year. I’ll donate the rifle and ammunition and let him do a different form of geocaching on steel and let him imagine rounds where the cache is. Give him a proper introduction to the site and give him a story he’d never forget.
Tirno on May 7, 2021 at 7:58 am said:
If there was, in fact, beer-drinking going on, then he was perfectly safe to go downrange, because at least some of Joe’s Range Nazis would have been there to put a boot down on anything sus.
[Read following in up-speak tone and add “like” wherever you wish]
But the “questionable” stories about Seattle life are acktually their Lived Experience, so his characterization is super problematic and offensive and I’m triggered.
Matt on May 7, 2021 at 1:27 pm said:
I’m trying to imagine a sheltered urban Seattlite showing up at the Boomershoot site seeking a cache and seeing that line. Even after the main even and everyone relaxing, packing up and enjoying the evening.
That would be a culturally jarring experience and I’d be grinning with the shooters in my chair watching the hamsters turn in his head trying to absorb and figure out if he fell through a portal into an alternate universe.
I’ve seen that look on the faces of people when I tell them what I go and do in Idaho every few years. It’s worth it.
Kudos to him for not running at the sight of the line, even quiet and safe. A lot of folks would not absorb that sight in a positive way. It does sound like our intrepid explorer got a good story out of it.
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School choice is a parental right
Reason blogger Robby Soave writes:
A recent New York Times story that slams the free market approach to education policy is rife with inaccuracies. Amazingly, the author of the piece misrepresents the very data she is using to build her erroneous case against school choice.
"Free Market for Education? Economists Generally Don't Buy It," claims Susan Dynarski, a professor of education, public policy, and economics at the University of Michigan, in The Times. This is a betrayal of expectations, according to Dynarski, because economists generally understand that free markets produce better outcomes than central planners (much to the chagrin of education professors). Economists are usually the ones calling for less regulation and more unrestricted capitalism; if they're super conflicted about markets in education, that would be a serious indictment of the school choice approach.
He is right that the NY Times is lying about the data, but I have a different point. It gives the impression that most economists are against school choice, but only about 5% are against it.
Both sides are a little sloppy about what is meant by terms like "better outcomes" and "higher quality". They act as if there is some agreement about what is better.
If there were agreement about what is better, then we could require the public schools to do that. But there is no such consensus. For example, some say teaching English is paramount while others are more concerned with LGBT bathrooms.
Free markets in things like cars give better outcomes partially because competition forces higher quality cars, but also because diverse cars are better able to meet the demands of consumers.
Supposed you asked: Would consumers be better served by having a choice of cars to buy?
Most everyone would say yes, because having a choice is better than not having a choice.
So why would anyone say that choice leads to a worse outcome? Presumably they think worse schools will somehow trick students into going there. Or maybe they don't like the costs of competition, such as undermining teachers unions. For example, the Democrat Party gets a lot of support from public school teachers unions, so it is against anything that the teachers unions don't like.
Is there a concern that ppl will choose worse schools? If so, then how is it that economists or other do-gooders know better than the parents?
This goes right to the heart of the merits of school choice. The best argument for school choice is not that charter school students will have better test scores or other objectively-defined advantages.
The better argument is that parents should have the right and authority to decide what is best for them and their kids. One school might suit the needs of a particular child better. Choice also makes the school more accountable to the parents, so they can switch to another school if something is unsatisfactory.
Leftists generally believe that families should not have that sort of autonomy, and that the schools should be used to indoctrinate the next generation and absorb them into the collective. So leftists hate school choice.
Discussion of charter school test scores is a smoke screen. Likewise with homeschooler test scores. I guess some parent homeschool their kids in the hope of getting higher test scores. but most have other reasons, and those parents should have the right to base their own decisions on their own judgments and priorities.
Nazis infiltrate the Left
Skepticism about immigration economics
TED Talk reveals Moslem hatred
Racist inquiries about Neanderthals
Obama's farewell speech
Psychology textbooks filled with errors
Facebook can spy on your messages
Trump as a kind of steppingstone
Trying to abolish marriage licenses
Europeans want Asimov's laws of robots
Neanderthals were humans and ancestors
Lame report on Russia
Bogus theories of attachment and spanking
$237M for phony recovered memories
Trolling is a good thing
One button mouse is bad design
Dylann Roof fires his attorneys
What I learned in 2016
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It is important to note the different stages of the token sale. Token prices generally escalate the closer the token gets to its listing date. Projects often seek funding from angel investors even before the date of the private pre-sale is set, though some ICOs do go straight to pre-sale. After potential initial investment has been sought from angel investors, pre-sale begins. Usually there will be a 15–30% discount from the public sale price. The main-sale begins after the pre-sale has concluded. At that time, normal everyday crypto enthusiasts, with no connections to the team, may buy into the project at pretty close to the ground floor price. Angel investors and pre-sale investors sometimes receive quite large discounts from main sale prices, but their tokens are locked up for varying amounts of time, to prevent dumping, or selling all their tokens for a quick profit at the time of listing. Today the vast majority of ICOs make use of the Ethereum blockchain and the ERC-20 token. The very first token sale was arranged by Mastercoin, a Bitcoin fork, in July 2013. Ethereum soon followed in early 2014, raising 3700 BTC in only 12 hours (equivalent to $2.3 million at that time, and just under $35 million today). Before late 2015 there were sporadic ICOs, with Augur, NXT and Factom all successfully raising funds. 2016 was the year that the ICO format grew to truly disrupt the Venture Capital industry. There were 64 ICOs in 2016 which cumulatively raised $103 million USD.
Tremendous Success & Why Real World Case Study
The ICON (ICX) Initial coin offering is an example of a project that reaped the rewards of a token sale done with precision of execution and clarity of vision. The project promised to build a world-wide decentralized network that would allow Blockchains of different governances to transact with one another without a centralized authority, and with as few barriers as possible. ICX offered fair and clear tokenomics, with 1 Ether buying 2500 ICX, and with 1 ETH costing approximately 250 dollars when the ICO began on September 18th. 50% of the total amount of tokens were put up for public sale, 400,230,000 out of a total of 800,460,000, equating to a fundraising goal of 150,000 Ether. One of the core reasons for the project’s spectacular success was the incredibly distinguished background of those involved, and the foundation the project had in many years of stellar achievement. ICON was originally a project developed by “The Loop”, a joint venture between DAYLI financial group and three Korean Universities. They lead the Korea Financial Investment Blockchain Consortium, one of the largest organizations of its kind in the world, boasting members including Samsung Securities. The Loop had already implemented Blockchain solutions for high profile clients well before ICX was born, including completing a KYC/AML authentication smart contract platform for Korea Financial Investment Consortium.
Real World Example of Failure & Why Case Study
The risk involved in starting your own company is huge. Over 75% of startups eventually fail, according to the Harvard Business School study by Shikhar Ghosh. The study’s findings show the rate of failure for new companies is roughly 50% after 5 years, and over 75% after 10. Shikhar Ghosh identifies the following issues as the most common factors in start-up failure: -Insufficient Market Demand -Insolvency -Wrong Team -Got beat by competition -Pricing/Cost issues -Poor Product -Need for or Lack of business model -Ineffective Marketing -Disregarding Customer desires The statistics concerning rate of failure for conventional business startups pale in comparison to the number of crypto startups that fail according to Tokendata. They are one of the most rigorous ICO trackers, recording 46% of the 902 ICO crowdsale projects initiated in 2017 as failing by the time of writing. Of these 46%, 142 collapsed before the end of the funding stage, and a further 276 had either “exit scammed” (took the money and ran) or slowly faded into eventual obscurity. With no shortage of failed and abortive projects to look into, we thought it would be more helpful to look into an ICO that was mismanaged and unsuccessful in terms of its execution, rather than being fraudulent, or terminally mismanaged.
Real World Example of Failure & Why §3
Tezos was designed as a “new decentralized Blockchain that governs itself by establishing a true digital commonwealth”. The project was a partnership between the husband and wife team of Kathleen and Arthur Breitman, and a Swiss foundation run by Johann Gevers. They had a novel idea of “formal verification”, a technique that mathematically proves the veracity of code governing transactions and heightens security of smart contracts. That idea was wholeheartedly endorsed by investors, resulting in $232 million USD raised in the 2017 crowdsale. Trouble arose after the Breitmans asked the head of the Swiss foundation they were in partnership with to step down. In Gever’s words, the Breitman’s were attempting “to bypass Swiss legal structure and take over control of the foundation”. The resulting 6 class action lawsuits that were spawned from the wreckage of one of the most successful ICOs of all time have yet to be fully resolved at the time of writing, though Gevers has stepped down and a new leadership team is in place. The Tezos Network has a prospective launch date of somewhere around Q3 2018. The debacle, though not terminal to the prospects of the Tezos network, provides a cautionary tale about the need for a clearly defined leadership structure and plan for the allocation of funds after an ICO. It is entirely possible that the Tezos project could have ridden the late 2017 market euphoria to sit near the top of the cryptocurrency hierarchy if boardroom strife could have been avoided.
Projects often also “pivot” from one focus or project to another. More often than not, teams change the project name entirely, even while retaining the same core team, to try for a successful venture one more time. One such project is Chain Trade Token (CTT) which, while technically speaking, not yet a “deadcoin”, shows all the signs of shutting down operations within a few months, and “pivoting” into a new project. The CTT project aimed to be the “first blockchain-based platform for the trading of futures and options on food and raw materials (aka commodity derivatives)”. But through a combination of a non-existent social media presence, and a distinct lack of urgency in securing listings beyond decentralized exchanges, the lofty ambitions of the top-level team were left unrealized. The team has supposedly split their operations from solely Chain Trade, to a former business endeavors, and the Nebula Decentralized Exchange. The project leaders then offered a 1-for-1 token swap which has been accepted by the vast majority of CTT holders.
The ICO Process
Before even researching the particular strengths and weaknesses of any specific project in which you may want to invest, it is important to know the overall processes of the ICO crowdfunding method. This will allow you to avoid any potential pitfalls if you do decide to move forward and invest money into a particular idea or project. How does an ICO happen? Stage One: Token sale details are set: This takes place usually after release of the whitepaper, and the presentation of a project to prospective investors in forums and on social media. Stage Two: Whitelisting for private sale begins: The vast majority of all ICOs have instituted KYC checks for investors which usually involve uploading a photograph of your passport or driving license along with a selfie holding the ID. Did you know? Participation in ICOs has proven to be a regulatory nightmare in some localities. Most token sales restrict contributions from investors in China and the USA entirely, though accredited investors may participate in the USA in some cases.
Stage Three: Private/Pre-sale states: Typically, 10% of tokens will be offered to early investors at a 10–30% discount. These select few investors will likely have a close association with the team. But not all projects have a pre-sale round, some go straight to public sale. Stage Four: Whitelisting for Public/Main sale starts: The same format used for pre-sale investors is used for public sale investors, though it is a regular occurrence to see main sale KYC checks closed early due to overwhelming demand. An investor must then register a contribution wallet address. That is the address used to send cryptocurrency from, to buy the ICO tokens, and then also into which you will receive your purchased tokens. This wallet address must be a non-exchange wallet, like Blockchain.info bitcoin wallet, or MyEtherWallet for ERC-20. You already understand from the prior lesson that making a mistake with your wallet address may mean you lose the tokens forever as well as the BTC or ETH you used to purchase them. Copying and pasting your cryptocurrency public key into the whitelist wallet form is the next task to complete. And then, as the investor, you wait for confirmation of successful ICO registration from the team.
Stage Five: Public sale starts: Commonly on a specific date, though sometimes for a specific period of time. If you are interested in participating in an ICO, it is important to make your contribution as quickly as possible, or you risk sending your ETH or BTC after the hard cap has been reached, resulting in your funds being sent back. This refund can sometimes take many days, or even weeks in times of high market activity. Did you know? In 2017 it was not unheard of to find ICOs that had originally scheduled their ICO period for many weeks, but then they met with such high demand that they could close their crowdsale in a matter of hours or even in just a few minutes!
Stage Six: Tokens are allocated to successful participant investor wallets, and trading can begin on some decentralized exchanges like IDEX, or EtherDelta in the case of Ethereum based tokens. Tokens will be sent to and received by the wallet addresses from which the investor contributions were made. Stage Seven: Tokens are listed on mainstream exchanges: The tokens will then be listed on the exchanges with which the teams have negotiated listing, prior to or during the sale. It can cost huge amounts of money to list on large exchanges like Bitfinex Bittrex, Huobi or Binance, so usually smaller projects will not be listed on top 10 exchanges so quickly. As tokens are listed on more and more exchanges, their price usually rises because more and more investors are exposed to opportunities to buy that particular token.
Evaluating a Blockchain Use Case
Evaluating a particular use case for Blockchain technology, and thus how successful an ICO project’s ambitions might be in a particular market, is not a simple endeavor. As demonstrated in the graphic below, Blockchain technology has nearly limitless potential to be applied to a great variety of business areas, but as an ICO investor, you are looking for projects that have the potential to deliver significant long-term success. In the currently saturated ICO environment, some use cases have more potential than others. Ascertaining which use case is likely to have long term success is a key distinction. Also, we must recognize that businesses and corporate entities may be overeager to experiment with this new Blockchain technology, whether or not usage of the technology is actually advisable or profitable for their particular purpose. The main questions to ask when analyzing specific solutions proposed by the project are: What are the problems posed and the solutions offered? Does this particular area of business need a Blockchain solution? That is, is a Blockchain solution in fact superior to the current way this particular business operates? Is the use of Blockchain in this specific instance feasible and applicable? What are competitors doing about Blockchain projects in this same area?
A Blockchain network provides a shared, replicated, secured, immutable and verifiable data ledger. The implication for use case analysis: Shared and replicated: participants have a copy of the ledger and many people can view it or work on it Secured: Secured through cryptography Verifiable: Business rules are associated with all interactions that occur on the network Immutable: Transactions (records) cannot be modified or deleted, therefore a verifiable audit trail is maintained by the network So, with all this considered, what should we look for with regard to a possible business use case that would be best solved using Blockchain technology? 1. Data exchange that has trust issues i.e. businesses transacting with one another. Trust must be established through a multitude of verification processes with regards to employees and products. These processes increase operational cost. Example: Digital voting. 2. Any potential business process involving data storage, or compliance and risk data that get audited. Blockchain solutions would provide the regulators a real-time view of information. Example: Supply chain solutions like VeChain or WaltonChain. The possibility of close to zero operational loss would of course be attractive to any business. 3. All kinds of asset transactions. A Blockchain network, with its tamper-proof ledger, validating traceable and trackable transactions, could save many different industries untold amounts of money. Example: Tokenization of assets e.g. Jibrel Network or Polymath
Purpose of Tokens
Within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the definition and role of a token iswidely understood. They represent programmable units of currency that sit atop a particular Blockchain, and they are part of a smart contract “logic” specific to a certain application. In the business sphere, a token can be defined as a unit of value that a project or business venture creates to enable it to self-govern. And the business venture also allows token users to connect and collaborate with its business products, while facilitating the sharing of rewards to all of its stakeholders. A token can also be described in a more general sense as a type of privately issued currency. In the past it was solely within the purview of governments to issue currency and set the terms of its governance. With the advent of Blockchain technology we now have businesses and organizations offering forms of digital money over which they, not the government or central bank, have control of the terms of operations and issuance. Wide scale adoption of these mechanisms could fundamentally alter the global economy. This is like the creation of self-sustaining, mini-economies in any sector of business or life, via a specific token or currency.
Fun Fact: Tokens of the particular Blockchain upon which the project is launched will usually have to be bought in order to be exchanged for ICO tokens, hence it is important for traders and investors to be aware of the schedule for upcoming ICOs. ETH is usually the token used for exchange because the majority of ICOs launch on the Ethereum Blockchain. But this is not always the case. During January 2018, two NEO token ICOs, both the Key TKY and Ontology ICOs, were being carried out, and this caused the NEO cryptocurrency to spike to its all-time high in excess of $160 USD. Since the product or project is more often than not in its embryonic stage at the time of the ICO crowdfunding process, the ICO token’s true function and purpose is in most cases yet to be realized. At the ICO stage the tokens can usually be grouped together into one of three categories. Knowing how to distinguish these categories involves determining the specific nature and function of the token around which the project is centered. The main and crucial distinction, is whether or not a token is a security, and therefore subject to securities registration requirements.
ICO Stage Token Categories
Howey Test: This is the test created by the US Supreme Court to ascertain whether certain transactions qualify as “investment contracts”. If they are found to fall within this classification, then under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Exchange Act of 1934, those transactions are considered “securities” and participants must adhere to registration and disclosure requirements. One of the most important and amazing considerations of the effect of Blockchain technology is that normal people with a computer science background are now empowered to make decisions and offer products and services that previously only licensed financial institutions were able to do. This is a very complex and complicated situation with serious ramifications for anyone involved. One thing to note well is that ordinary participants and actors in this arena can easily commit white-collar crime, violating serious securities laws, without even realizing it. If a token falls within the US legal definition of “Investment Contract” then you must adhere to US regulations. For that reason, many ICOs simply do not want to sell to US based investors, perhaps until all the rules and regulations are clarified.
The broad and varying definition of the term “security” is a regulatory minefield. This has always been true for traditional financial products, and now it is especially true for the as yet unregulated cryptocurrency market. In the case of SEC V. Howey, parameters were established to determine whether or not a particular financial arrangement could be classified as a security and thus be subject to securities regulations. Cooley LLP Fintech Team Leader Marco Santori has said, an arrangement is a security if it involves “an investment of money, and a common enterprise, with the expectation of profit, primarily from the efforts of others.” Investors have the option of accessing a huge range of security tokens through ICOs. Prime examples are the gold backed DigixDao (DGD) and CProp (still in crowd funding stage). A security token is fundamentally different from the currently available ICO project tokens in that it provides a legal and enforceable ownership of a company’s profits and voice in its governance much like common stock traded on any exchange. If security tokens are the next step in the evolution of crypto-finance, real estate, stocks, venture capital, and commodities can all be tokenized. The traditional markets could be fully connected to the Blockchain. Financial assets would available to anyone in the world, not just licensed or accredited investors. That is one aspect of Fintech, the financial revolution taking place today, as Blockchain technology clashes with traditional finance.
Equity Tokens
One exciting application of smart contracts on the Ethereum Network is the potential for startups to distribute equity tokens through initial coin offerings. That would reduce the hurdles that an average person has to face in order to take part in the early stages of a company’s development. And, democratic governance of a project could be conducted in a transparent manner through voting on the Blockchain. As of yet, few startups have attempted to conduct equity token sales for fear of falling afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US. But many Venture Capital insiders are bullish on the prospect of equity tokens taking a central role in the crypto finance industry, when and as the legal issues are resolved. For example, the Delaware State legislature recently passed a bill enabling companies to maintain shareholder lists on the Blockchain. That is one major step to enable Blockchain based stock trading. Lawyers also generally believe it is only a matter of time before the regulations are clarified. Did you know? Important consideration: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 made it unfeasibly expensive for smaller companies to be listed on exchanges, causing a halving in the number of IPOs between 1996 and 2016 (7322 to 3671). In 2017 there was an almost 5-fold increase in the number of ICOs, from 43 to 210, with the 2017 volume already being eclipsed in the first 5 months of 2018.
However, given that this area is still a regulatory nightmare for people planning to issue security and equity tokens, many projects attempt to ensure that the tokens within their specific model fall under the definition of Utility Tokens rather than securities, so as to avoid the SEC regulations altogether. If a token is imbued with a certain functionality and use within the Blockchain infrastructure of that particular project, the token can avoid being labelled as a security, and thus render SEC regulations inapplicable. Just this week in fact, the SEC made the long-awaited and momentous decision that Ether was not a security. In the words of William Hinman, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission division of corporate finance, “Putting aside the fundraising that accompanied the creation of Ether, based on my understanding of the present state of Ether, the Ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of Ether are not securities transactions.” This means that Ethereum, in fact, fails the Howey test, which is exactly the decision the crypto world wanted. Hinman said, “When the efforts of the third party are no longer a key factor for determining the enterprise’s success, material information asymmetries recede,” Hinman said. “The ability to identify an issuer or promoter to make the requisite disclosures becomes difficult, and less meaningful.” We will now cover various use cases that projects have been adopting up to now in order to get their tokens classified as utility tokens rather than securities.
Some coins portray themselves as a company with tokens being held in a way that is analogous to voting shares of a stock. One coin held is equal to one vote. This form of token utility has a major flaw in that so-called whales (people with huge amounts of a particular cryptocurrency) can manipulate any poll conducted. The cryptocurrencies Aragon and Lykke are examples of projects that have written voting rights into the structure of their code. In-App Reward: Another common tactic to evade the security label has been the addition of in-app rewards to the functionality of a particular token. The Basic Attention Token (BAT) is the unit of currency for use with the project browser named “Brave”. The BAT is a unit of account for the advertisers, publishers and users of the platform. Filecoin, the cloud storage project that raised a record $257 million through their ICO, pays other people or companies for use of their spare storage space. Some of the many rights afforded to token holders in various Blockchain projects are described by the graphic below.
Token Roles Function
The token can be used as a mechanism through which user experience is enhanced, enabling such actions as connection with users, or joining a broader network. It may also be used as an incentive for beginning usage or for on-boarding. Examples include Dfinity and Steemit. Value Exchange: In its most basic usage, a token is a unit of value exchange within a specific app or market. This usually is made up of features that allow users to earn tokens through real work or passive work (sharing data, allowing use of storage space) and to spend them on services or internal functions within the specific market ecosystem created by that organization. Augur and KIK, amongst countless others, are projects that have implemented this functionality into their tokenomics. Toll: The token can also be used for getting onto the Blockchain infrastructure, or for powering decentralized applications run on that particular Blockchain. This ensures that users have “skin in the game”. Tolls can be derived from running smart contracts, paying a security deposit, or just usage fees. Examples include Bitcoin and Ethereum. Currency: Seeing as the particular platform or app is designed with a view towards functioning in synergy with a particular token, the token is an extremely efficient means of payment and transaction engine, resulting in frictionless transactions. This means that companies can become their own payment processors and no longer have to rely on the often unwieldy stages of conventional financial settlement involving trusted third parties in the form of banks and credit card companies.
Rights: Owning a token bequests certain rights upon the holder, such as product usage, voting, access to restricted markets, and dividends (e.g.: GAS for holding NEO). Though most businesses are trying to avoid fitting the definition of a security laid out in the Howey Test, the right to real ownership of a particular asset is sometimes granted as a result of holding a token, for example DigixDAO or Tezos.
Comparison to Traditional IPO and Equity Capital Raisings
Despite the similarity of the acronyms and the derivation of one from the other, Initial Coin Offerings and Initial Public Offerings are very different methods of fundraising. The distinction is not limited simply to the fact that IPOs are used in conventional business, and ICOs are associated with cryptocurrency. Through ICO’s, companies in their early stages issue digital tokens on a Blockchain and those tokens act as units of value for use within the ecosystem created by the project. They have many other uses, but it is also fair to say they are analogous to shares offered in an Initial Public offering.
In an IPO, shareholdings are distributed to investors through underwriters, usually investment banks. But in the case of ICO token sales, companies often do not even have an actual product to show. Often, all that there is a whitepaper, evidence of the partnerships involved and the particular social-media infrastructure they have established. IPO’s take place when a more well-established company floats shares on a stock exchange. The company would have a well-established history of success and significant reasons to expect a bright future. In the vast majority of cases, an ICO is used for a new company with no such history, just trying to get off the ground.
Another important difference is the expected return in exchange for the investment. Companies engaging in IPOs may offer participants dividend paying stocks which result in various levels of return depending on the success of the company after the shares are issued. An ICO however can offer no such guaranteed return. When buying tokens in an ICO, you do so with no promise of return. An investor who holds the tokens of a particular project does so with the promise, rather than an assurance, of future success. The main benefit to investors taking part in Initial Coin Offerings, compared to Initial Public Offerings, is the need for only basic Know Your Customer checks in the case of the ICO, compared to the costly, complex and time-consuming regulatory obstacles that must be traversed in an IPO. In the case of Initial Public Offerings, a business must obtain authorization from a number of entities before the act of “going public”. Prior to an IPO, companies are not obliged to disclose so much of their internal records or accounting. It is not so complicated to make a private company in the United States. But in the run up to going public, the company must form a board of directors, make their records auditable to the relevant authorities in one or more jurisdictions, and prepare to make quarterly reports to the SEC (or equivalent).
Relevant Factors to Consider in ICO process
When analyzing the chances of success for a specific project, and the likelihood of a favorable return on investment in the long term, it is essential to break down the project into its constituent parts, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each part individually. An effective investigation and analysis would start with the team and white paper. Consider the stage the project is at,and VC investments in the project. That would lead to a good initial idea of the actual progress thus far. Next, evaluate the social media presence and the credentials of the community that has formed around the core team. If a compelling case is made by the team, (e.g.: via an in-depth dive into the use case), and the tokenomics, distribution schedule, potential competitors, as well as the team’s awareness of any future business or regulatory concerns all check out; then the ICO might present a good opportunity for investment. In the following slides we tackle each of these considerations in order so you will be able to evaluate an ICO’s worth and assign a grade for the success of each project.
The Team First and most important, we need evaluate the background and experience of the team, the people involved in the project. Well-established developers, for example, will likely have LinkedIn profiles demonstrating their previous endeavors and occupations, from which we can judge their suitability to the project and the likelihood of the team’s success. The LinkedIn profile is a point of reference for professional accomplishments and official positions. But we can also learn more about a person from their personal accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Medium etc. That is also a good way to follow along with the progress of the project. By investigating team members through as many means as possible, you will know how long they have been involved in cryptocurrency. If they have been around and active for a long time, they are that much more likely to be knowledgeable and capable of making better quality decisions in this business. It goes without saying that it is a huge red flag if it is too difficult to find information about the team members online, and worse still if the team members are anonymous.
A good Whitepaper gives a detailed description of the project, the problems the team is going to solve, the timeframe projected, and methods to be used in the implementation of their ideas. If, in answering the question about what the project actually does, it seems the team is presenting ideas that are too complicated or advanced to understand, then you simply should not invest until you are satisfied you have been given the requisite level of insight to understand the concepts described. It is always possible that the whitepaper is nothing more than a salad of buzzwords and technical language intended to give the impression of competence while really doing nothing but obfuscate the truth. The whitepaper should clearly and concisely present the problems and the solutions needed. The whitepaper must give a solid and coherent answer as to who needs this project and why. Also, if the team have put no effort into explaining why a Blockchain solution is needed for this particular problem, or why such a solution is superior to its “real-world” equivalent, it is likely they are only in it for the money. We have more to say about red-flags later.
While 2016 raised a comparatively small amount in comparison to the proceeding years, there were a few specific projects that raised significant amounts of capital. These are respectable amounts of money, even by today’s standards, and especially impressive when contrasted with the immaturity of the ICO market at the time, and relative to amounts raised in traditional IPOs. Waves ($16.4mill), Iconomi ($10.6mill) and Golem ($8.6mill) were the three largest fundraisings of the year. 2017 was the year of the ICO whales. Hdac ($258mill), Filecoin ($257mill), EOS Stage 1 ($185mill) and Paragon ($183.16mill) were the largest that year. To be able to raise so much money, so quickly, in such a new market, using such a new mechanism is truly incredible. 2017 was the year that proved ICOs are for serious individuals and institutional investors as well. We have also had some phenomenal amounts raised so far in 2018. Telegram ($1.7bill), Dragon ($320mill), Huobi ($300mill) and Bankera ($150mill). Telegram might be the first mainstream example of an ICO, not only by raising close to $2billion, which would be beyond incredible and impressive even by traditional IPO standards; but also, because it is one of the first ICO companies to tangibly put a product in the hands of hundreds of millions of users, and successfully compete against traditional companies such as Facebook (MessengeWhatsApp), Microsoft (Skype) and Tencent (WeChat).
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Since 2016, crypto-exchanges in South Korea have been hacked 7 times, with hackers stealing $99 million. Learn more and discover other news of the crypto market in the analytical report of the Golden Island private club.
We present to you a report filed by our analysts for October 8–14.
The main market events on October 8–14, 2018
IBM food trust blockchain platform has been launched. Tech giant IBM announced the start of a commercial use of the IBM Food Trust blockchain platform based on the Hyperledger Fabric protocol. The platform will monitor the supply chains in the food industry. The European retail giant Carrefour, which operates 12,000 stores in 33 countries, has already joined the network.
The blockchain research lab at the China Electronics Standardization Institute is developing three blockchain standards for smart contracts, privacy and deposits that could be used in international practice.
Bitfinex denied rumors of insolvency and published links to cold wallets, which hold nearly $1 billion in bitcoins, $400 million on the ether and $200 million in EOS.
Binance will now spend all listing fees on charity. The amount of donations is up to the project.
Since 2016, crypto-exchanges in South Korea have been hacked 7 times, with hackers stealing $99 million. From 2015 to 2018, personal crypto wallets were hacked 158 times, but only in six cases hackers were caught, according to South Korean police.
For the first time, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority issued a license for managing crypto assets, which effectively grants the company the status of a traditional bank. The license was issued to Crypto Finance Group.
By the end of this year, the European Securities and Markets Authority will prepare a report stating its position on the regulation of token sales. At the same time, the ICO activity dropped by 90%, according to Autonomous Research report. This September, token sales raised $300 million, and this January — $2.4 billion.
In the next 5 years, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, together with IBM, will introduce the blockchain into the wired payment system of the country and create a digital identification system.
Roger Ver said he was looking for a partner to launch his own crypto-exchange. He may also purchase a ready-made platform. Bitcoin Cash will be the main currency on the new exchange.
Google believes that the main critics of Bitcoin — Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon and Roger Ver — are the CEOs of Bitcoin. If you google “bitcoin ceo”, a search engine will show Bitcoin’s so-called CEOs — head of JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon, head of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffet and one of the main evangelists of Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin.Com CEO Roger Vera.
The People’s Bank of China believes that the stablecoins tied to the US dollar have a bad effect on the currencies of other countries. The bank urges to issue stablecoins tied to the yuan :-D
MasterCard files a patent for a blockchain system designed to store different currencies on the same platform by generating blocks for an exclusive network. This network stores different types of data in different blocks.
The US government imposed additional sanctions on Venezuela because of its national cryptocurrency. The developers of El Petro consider this free advertising.
Coinbase aims to enter the Japanese market next year. The company is already negotiating the license matters with the Japan Financial Services Agency.
In November, South Korea might lift the ban on ICO. This will be discussed at a meeting of the country’s regulators, where they will review the results of the September ICO study and pass a decision.
The first ever phone call through the blockchain was made from the Pundi X startup device called XPhone. The phone runs on Android and allows the user to exchange calls, messages and files.
The Singapore-based BK Global Consortium, which provides services in the field of surgery, bought 38% of the Bithumb stock exchange for 400 billion won ($350 million), making it the largest shareholder of the stock exchange.
Starting from 2019, the UAE companies will be able to officially launch ICO to raise capital. The Securities and Commodity Board will now treat crowdsales as the issue of securities.
The international payment systems (MPS) will take more stringent measures against cryptocurrencies: MasterCard will ban them starting on Monday, Visa — in December.
The new Minister of Science and Technology of Japan promotes active introduction of blockchain technologies.
As part of the emCash cryptocurrency launch campaign in Dubai, the payment startup Pundi X has made an agreement with emCredit — the credit department of the Dubai Ministry of Economic Development. This was shared in the company’s blog.
Market analytics from experts of the club for October 8–14, 2018
The last week was controversial. On the one hand, everything went according to plan: the price of BTC was growing very slowly, the altcoins skyrocketed, on the other hand, it was clear to everybody this could not last for a long time.
In the middle of the week, the expectations became reality — BTC lost about $300 in price within an hour. This time, the total cap failed to observe the periodicity — it dropped by $17 billion on Thursday and remained at this level until the end of the week. Thus, $219 billion on Monday turned into $202 billion by the end of the week.
Trading volumes were not particularly surprising: $12 billion on Monday, $16 billion on Thursday and $9 billion on Sunday. BTC dominated the market at 52–53% and up to 57% in the days of decline, followed by a reversal. The price for 1 BTC, as already mentioned, fell from $6,600 to $6,270 in the middle of the week, and recovered a bit to $6,330 at the end of the week ($6332 at the time of the report). There were no critical news, no far-fetched correlations with stock markets, and no fundamental reasons for such a decline. Most traders were happy with the current situation — the “pumps” of coins occurred every day. Top 10 coins showed complete correlation with the BTC price. In addition, intra-team and intra-project relations in the crypto-societies have strained, which was followed by a number of break-ups and heated public debates. There is a high chance that tycoons and market makers are trying to impose a thought that cryptocurrencies have no future. The advice is simple — to keep and purchase more strong coins, get rid of the weak ones and keep calm.
The big gains are right round the corner!
Changes in the cost and capitalization of the TOP-10 cryptocurrencies in the period of October 8–14, 2018
https://preview.redd.it/vecdswg6dis11.jpg?width=770&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ff304259f876ff22063d42597e7ac643f23d7d6
TOP-3 growing coins from the long-term portfolio for October 8–14, 2018 (including portfolio updates) The fastest-growing coins during the last week are WaBi coins + 42% (a number of articles and ensuing pumps), IOTEX IOTX + 35% (partnerships), QuarkChain QRC + 20% (meetups and events in social networks)
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The CryptoKing Report for February 16, 2018: News, News, News! Plus New ICOs!
Hirematch ICO completed successfully! According to their Telegram the distribution will begin very shortly as they are listed on HitBTC to begin trading in less than a week! Make sure to fill out KYC forms to ensure you get your tokens early. Now that Hirematch has completed their ICO and KYC is nearing completion in the last few days it is time for new ICOs!
Before we get into the new ICOs I wrote a special published piece yesterday. I do not always enjoy the topics I write on especially if they are negative sentiment piece related to the blockchain. Yesterday’s piece was a fun one! This is because so many individuals have no idea how to invest in the blockchain through stocks and bonds…I explored this process! How to invest in crypto and the blockchain, without buying actual crypto:
https://btcmanager.com/ways-to-invest-in-blockchain-tech-besides-buying-bitcoin/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=socialpush&utm_campaign=SNAP
ICO Time :)
The first new ICO I like is Debitum: https://debitum.network?a_aid=CryptoKing Debitum already has a significant social media presence with approximately 10,000 Telegram members. This is one of those ICOs that never had a “huge” bonus with the max bonus being 20%. This ICO raised $2million in the first 2 hours of their crowdsale. Their hard cap is 20,000 ETH and they are about to pass 10,000. For the next short while there will be a bonus and then no bonus until the ICO’s completion. On Oct. 31st, Debitum won the d10e Jury and Audience ICO Pitch Competition in Gibraltar. This is the first time an ICO won both the jury and audience award. Debitum’s business plan is to leverage blockchain technology to distribute fiat investments to the small business financing world. Having already won prestigious awards (2!), having a solid Telegram community (10,000 members), and their last chance bonus provides the perfect ICO opportunity for those looking for a mid-February play!
The Second ICO I like is Vestarin: https://vestarin.io/?ref=38b3eff8baf56627478ec76a704e9b52 This is a favorite more for the short term based on their ICO pricing. The ETH to VST rate is currently: 3000VST per 1ETH. This will decrease to 1500VST per ETH by the time of the actual ICO sale (we are in pre-sale currently). This means you will have made a 100% return heading into the beginning of the ICO if you purchased at the pre-sale price. On the ICO ranking websites anything above a 4 is usually considered great. ICO Bench gave this a 4.7.
A third ICO will be listed by the 21st! I have a favorite adult industry token that is about to go live! The goal is to pay consumers of porn (yes you read that correctly), you will be paid to watch pornography by the websites capturing your attention for endless periods of time.
If you want to know about the last few Moonshots or a detailed report on the ICOs mentioned read below (yes, this portion is copy and pasted I’m sorry there aren’t always updates on Moonshots): Below is a quick analysis of the last 3 moonshots DRGN, DBC and TNC: The moonshot, DRGN, was the brainchild of Disney and in the middle of January’s correction built their website and ICO incubator. This was accomplished while most were watching the correction bringing DRGN from an ATH of almost $5.00 back to under $2.00. DRGN should yield 100-200% returns in the very short term with a maximum return of close to 10x for the next few months. DRGN is very volatile and can also be day traded on 20% swings. Personally, my KuCoin plays are buy and holds and DRGN seems no different. The Disney blockchain brainchild coupled with a functioning platform that was released very quietly in the last month. DRGN, DBC, and TNC have been the 3 BTCManager moonshots!
TNC is a scaling solution for NEO as it releases more ICOs. NEO is not congested yet, but once it is TNC is the solution. DBC is an artificial intelligence and supercomputing platform. Both TNC and DBC are NEP-5 tokens while DRGN is my first recent moonshot not on the NEO blockchain. DRGN should see a strong recovery with the rebound and a stronger 2018 than the majority of cryptos.
I want to write on topics you want to hear about! Please comment or PM me any topic ideas you want explored. I obviously cannot do specific coins, but I recently did “Privacy Coins” and “Supply Chain Cryptos” if you have any niche markets or concepts you want explored I’m here for you!
Binance is officially taking new traders! Binance: https://www.binance.com/?ref=15316928 Cryptopia: https://www.cryptopia.co.nz/Register?referrer=JaketheCryptoKing I appreciate all my loyal followers! I am trying to build a social media presence and would love if you followed me on Instagram and Twitter as well! For tips and strategy hours before being posted to the message boards follow on Instagram: JaketheCryptoKing and Twitter: JbtheCryptoKing. And now on Discord: https://discord.gg/qTjQp8W (join the group to reach me directly).
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Binance Coin is not necessarily better than Bitcoin per se, mainly because it's only entirely enabled within the Binance exchange. Bitcoin was more tailored for a global audience, whereas Binance ... Binance is arguably the best cryptocurrency exchange. It was founded in 2016 and launched in 2017 following an ICO which raised $15 million. At the same time, the crowdsale led to the creation of Binance Coin (BNB), which operates as an ERC 20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. Changpeng Zhao is the head of Binance and under his stewardship, the platform takes a measured approach to deciding ... Der aktuelle Bitcoin-Kurs (14,879.64 $) im Live-Chart in EUR, USD & CHF im Überblick Bitcoin-Rechner Verfolge den aktuellen Kursverlauf live! The blockchain industry is no longer composed of a handful of small tech startups that are “playing around with bitcoin.” Today, there are several multi-billion dollar blockchain companies that are pioneering blockchain technology. Here are the biggest blockchain companies ranked by their latest publicly available valuation figures. Company Valuation; Bitmain: $14 billion: Coinbase: $8 ... Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has apologized for causing concern among the crypto community when he openly spoke about the possibility of a rollback for the Bitcoin blockchain following confirmation of a hack leading to the theft of USD 40 million worth of bitcoins on its platform.. The rollback had caused a sharp backlash, particularly among Bitcoin-only communities, aghast at the very concept ... Bitcoin Cash price today is $255.39 USD with a 24-hour trading volume of $3,027,562,306 USD. Bitcoin Cash is down 5.13% in the last 24 hours. The current CoinMarketCap ranking is #5, with a market cap of $4,741,598,837 USD. It has a circulating supply of 18,566,150 BCH coins and a max. supply of 21,000,000 BCH coins. The top exchanges for trading in Bitcoin Cash are currently Binance, Huobi ... BTC EUR: Aktueller Wechselkurs von Bitcoin BTC und Euro EUR mit Chart, historischen Kursen und News auf BÖRSE ONLINE. This entry was posted in Altcoins, Americas, Bitcoin News, crowdsale, ESCOBAR, Escobar Inc., ICO, impeach, ... Allegations that the Barclays company had rigged the stock market, committed market manipulation and price tampering, were silenced with a USD 70 million settlement paid by Barclays to the state of New York and to the Securities Exchange Commission. Even with the existing controversy ... Continue reading PlusCoin ICO has Loads of Benefits to Share with Crowdsale Participants The post PlusCoin ICO has Loads of Benefits to Share with Crowdsale Participants appeared first on NEWSBTC . Binance cryptocurrency exchange - We operate the worlds biggest bitcoin exchange and altcoin crypto exchange in the world by volum The customer support area on the Binance exchange site is lacking in comparison to other exchanges. There's a short list of FAQs that failed to answer a lot of the questions I had as I was using the platform. Because the website was originally written in Chinese ...
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HomeCar NewsJaguar Land Rover reveal futuristic steering wheel concept
Jaguar Land Rover reveal futuristic steering wheel concept
Intelligent, connected steering wheel to debut
September 4, 2020 Simon Lai Car News
Just recently we reported that Ford was looking at having a removable steering wheel (and pedals), now Jaguar Land Rover is set to debut this artificial intelligence steering wheel.
Set to debut at a ‘Tech Fest’ in London, the car/SUV manufacturer says the steering wheel concept, which is known as ‘Sayer’, lives in your home and becomes your trusted companion.
Related: More scepticism around autonomous cars
It could also be the only part of a car that you actually own…
Sayer is the first voice-activated artificial intelligence (AI) steering wheel that will be able to carry out hundreds of tasks.
Sayer could signal your membership of our on-demand service club. A club which offers either sole ownership or the option of sharing the car with others in your community.
Imagine a future of autonomous, connected and electric cars where you don’t own a single car, but instead call upon the vehicle of your choice where and when you need it.
That’s a future vision Jaguar Land Rover is exploring with Sayer, the connected steering wheel that could be the only part of the car you own.
The concept steering wheel was named after Malcolm Sayer, a prominent Jaguar designer from the 1950’s to the 1970’s.
We will keep you updated with any further details on the Sayer steering wheel concept as they come to hand.
Related: Car Buyers Want to Keep Steering Wheel
Stay up to date with all the latest Jaguar News and Land Rover News at behindthewheel.com.au.
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July 9, 2020 Joel Helmes Car Podcast
We chat with Jaguar Australia PR man James Scrimshaw. Has Jaguar ever had a better line-up of vehicles? We don’t think so. From the popular Jaguar XF to excitement machines like the XJR and XFR-S, […]
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INEOS to build next incarnation of the Land Rover Defender
February 15, 2020 Simon Lai 4x4/Off-Road News/Advice
Chemical giant to create 4×4 in the spirit of the Defender… Land Rover Defender owners are a unique breed and many were disappointed when Jaguar Land Rover decided to pull the pin on production of […]
2018 Land Rover Discovery takes Car of the Year title
June 28, 2020 Joel Helmes Car News
New-gen Disco lands with COTY award One of the most keenly-anticipated new models coming our way this year is the all-new Land Rover Discovery. Set to be launched in Australia next week in the Northern […]
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If you want to stock up your garage or workshop with some quality, and very handy products, then you have to get a full arsenal of CarPlan Workshop Wonders products. We’ve brought you reviews of [...]
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The Behind the Wheel Product of the Week is Altrex Rego Plate Locks. Every year in Australia tens of thousands of car license plates are stolen. In the overwhelming majority of cases thieves steal license [...]
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Car Review Central | Ute and Van Guide | Heavy Vehicles | Oz Roamer | Motorcycle Life
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No compromise in sight as Gwadar protests continue for 19th day
Web Desk 03 Dec, 2021
Photo via Twitter.
Protests continued in Gwadar on Friday for the 19th successive day as locals, led by women, demand basic rights, including access to clean drinking water and an end to "trawler mafia".
The protesters say the authorities have duped the people of Gwadar in the name of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying they haven't benefited from it despite promises to the contrary. They also want assurances to safeguard the livelihoods of the fisherfolk community, who don't have access to basic facilities, while their livelihood is under threat due to illegal fishing activities.
As #Gwadar and other hashtags on the protest remained top trends for the last days, Member of National Assembly Mohsin Dawar in a tweet said: "#Gwadar is demanding the most basic of rights" as thousands from the port city and other areas of Balochistan including Turbat, Pishkan, Zamran, Buleda, Ormara and Pasni continue their sit-in.
Meanwhile, a resolution submitted by PML-N MPA Samiullah Khan in the Punjab Assembly on Thursday urged the federal government to accept the demands of the people of Gwadar without any delay.
A delegation of the provincial government met the protesters who have since said that unless they get assurance from either the provincial chief minister, the chief secretary or the Quetta corps commander, their sit-in would continue.
Balochistan's former chief minister Jam Kamal slammed the area's elected representatives over their failure to visit the protesters despite the passage of nearly three weeks.
On social media, however, Kamal wasn't spared with Twitterati pointing out that he was the chief minister for more than three years, and was equally culpable for the "bad governance" in the port city.
A Twitter user questioned the silence of Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi on the protest as one of the demands were related to "trawler mafia".
Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman, a local leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Balochistan, is another key individual leading the protests.
Talking to Voicepk.net, he called the protest a social, political and public campaign to resolve not only issues of Gwadar but the province.
"This is not only 'Haq do Gwadar' [give rights to Gwadar] but also 'Haq do Balochistan' [give rights to Balochistan]," he said.
The main demands of the protest included action against the trawler mafia operating in waters along the Balochistan coast, while granting locals the right to fish without any pressure from such groups.
Rehman also dismissed claims allegations that the protester were engineered and funded by foreign entities.
"The authorities have not listened to the grievances of the affectees who are protesting for their rights. We don't have water, electricity and jobs," he said.
In a Dawn report, Prof Mumtaz Baloch from Balochistan University’s political science department said Rahman was filling out the vacuum, which political forces had left vacant for quite some time.
According to media reports, Balochistan police issued orders to send 5,500 police officers to Gwadar from various other districts for maintenance of law and order in the city.
Balochistan protest Gwadar Maritime Affairs fisherfolk
MARKETS Rupee's three-day losing streak ends, currency stable against US dollar
Pakistan's Hindu community seeks resumption of air travel for pilgrims to India
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Chris Young's Home Page
Personal website of Chris Young
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My Handicap
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“A Race Fans First 500” – online version of article in May 1994 Indianapolis Monthly
“Being There” – The story of my first Indy 500
You are here: Cyborg5 Home > My Handicap > “Being There” – Article about my first Indy 500 published in May 1994 Indianapolis Monthly
“Being There” – Article about my first Indy 500 published in May 1994 Indianapolis Monthly
In May 1994, this article was published in Indianapolis Monthly Magazine. For many years, I’ve had an online version of this article on my website with a label that said “A shorter version of this article appeared in the May 1994 issue of “Indianapolis Monthly” magazine. This is the story as originally written.”
The published story had only one photograph of me sitting at the track. That photograph was taken on a cold day in March by a staff photographer for the magazine. The online version contained that photograph and a bunch of other photos my mom had taken as well as some other old photographs of me at age 6 at my first visit to the Indianapolis Note or Speedway.
In June 2021, while preparing for a blog post in my Author’s Journal series, I decided to dig out the original article and put up the published version of the story. Upon rereading both versions I was a bit shocked by the differences. The online version must’ve been an early draft and not the version that I ultimately submitted to the magazine. Some of the writing in that online version was terrible and the rewrites in the published version sounded like something I had written. I can’t believe that some of the rewritten material was rewritten by the editor.
Click here to read the older online version with more photos.
This page contains a reasonably faithful representation of what the article looked like in the magazine. The sidebar quotes inserted in the text I had a slightly different place but other than that, the print version looks a lot like this. The heading “First Person” means it was part of a recurring feature of first-person articles in the magazine. A trend that I started with my award-winning 1987 article “The Reunion”.
Being There
by Chris Young
A wheelchair-bound Indy
500 fan finally sees his
first race.
Getting to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was always half the hassle for computer consultant and race fan Chris Young. But though confined to a wheelchair since childhood by muscular dystrophy, he still made pottery around the track during May a yearly tradition, last year realized his life long dream of attending the race in person. This is his story.
I lived in Indianapolis all of my 38 years – past 35 less than a mile from turn four of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Yet, though my family and I always been race fans and I made regular visits to the track during May, I always spent Memorial Day listening to the race on the radio. More than 400,000 other people watch the event in person with no complaints, so why was I so picky? I’m not –I’m handicapped.
My lifelong battle with muscular dystrophy and the lack of mobility it forced upon kept me from seeing my first race until 1993. That’s because throughout most of my career as a fan, the Speedway offered only two poor options for wheelchair seating: infield grass areas (complete with drunks and near-naked women) or the wooden bleachers on the inside main straight, north of the Tower Terrace. While this was acceptable for practice or qualifying, a wheelchair on a very now walkway with a full race day crowd would have been a dangerous obstruction.
The situation improved about five years ago when the Terrence Extension was replaced with a grandstand topped with suites and a new wheelchair section installed inside the track just before turn two. But this facility, though one of the finest I’ve ever seen, offers a very limited view that’s further diminished by my handicap, which keeps me from turning my head very far to the left or right. On less crowded practice or qualifying days I can take up two spaces and turn my entire wheelchair to get a better view, but on race day it would mean purchasing two seats just for myself.
In spite of the difficulties, when the Speedway announced it will host the Brickyard 400, I could no longer resist the urge to see a race in person. I decided to take my chances in the wheelchair area – an iffy proposition, since I didn’t order tickets until early May 1993, long after I figured all the slots had sold out.
After sending in my request, I resumed my usual race month routine, spending every spare moment tooling around the track. Because I work at home as a computer consultant and writer, I can take plenty of time off to feed my need to be near-wheelchairs called Indy cars.
I spent most of my days at the track cruising Gasoline Alley in my motorized wheelchair, I’m quite recognizable as the guy with the bald head, beard in the video camera mounted on his chair (I’m told my 20 years of cruising the garages have made me a fixture there). Gasoline Alley holds such a strong appeal because I enjoy being close to the crews who tinker with millions of dollars’ worth of equipment.
When the Speedway
announced it would
host the Brickyard
400, I could no longer
resist the urge to see
a race in person.
I’m also a bit of a tinkerer, though on a much smaller scale. One year, for instance, I spent $80 on an electric stopwatch, gambling that I could adapt it for my use. My dad disassembled it and, under my direction, soldered on new, easy-to-use buttons that I could work myself. But the biggest such gamble was the $700 video camera that we adapted to my chair with new controls and a feather balance camera mount. That the gadgetry caught the attention of chief mechanic Peter Parrot one year as he worked on Rick Mears’s car in the Penske garage. When he complimented me on the clever job I’d done, I told him, “I just like buying high-tech toys and then betting that I can make them do what I want them to do.”
“Hmmm, that sounds like my job description,” he said. But in my case it’s Roger (Penske) who loses money when.”
Perhaps Gasoline Alley was such fun for me because it is the home of high-tech tinkerers like Team Penske. Roger is the most determined and competitive man in racing today, and if I have a favorite driver in any year, he’s probably a Penske employee. With drivers like Mark Donahue, Mario Andretti, Danny Sullivan, Rick Mears, Emerson Fittipaldi and now Paul Tracy, Penske has shown that the smartest drivers and the newest cars win races.
Unfortunately, it seemed that my garage fun was about to end. My muscular dystrophy leaves me a tiny bit weaker every year, and it taxes me to the limit when I maneuver my wheelchair over bumpy pavement, in a crowd and in the hot sun or cold wind while trying to operate a video camera. I needed to prepare myself for the possibility that I might spend 1993 in the handicapped section just watching, which meant I needed a new high-tech toy to play with in the grandstand.
A scanner radio for monitoring conversations between the crews and drivers proved the perfect solution. After doing some research I discovered that the Frequency Fan Club offers an excellent deal on a 200-channel 800 MHz model and also those in a subscription to their newsletter containing up-to-date lists of frequencies. Other information on where to tune and what to listen for can be found on CompuServe’s Racing Information Service. I ordered my radio a bit late and didn’t receive it until the end of the first week of practice, given me time to try the video in the garage area one more time.
The first week of May, my mother went over to the Speedway to pick up our season gate passes and garage badges. Mom is awesome a great race fan and enjoys sitting in the stands watching cars while I’m in the garages. At the ticket counter she asked what seemed like a silly question: “You wouldn’t have any leftover handicapped this year, would you?” It’s common knowledge that the race sells out months in advance, so we were amazed when the ticket agent said, ”Yes, how many do you need?”
We owed our good fortune to the fact that a new grandstand with a wheelchair seating area had been completed in time for use in 1993, but too late to be listed on the ticket order forms. All sales had been over-the-counter and by word-of-mouth.
This dream-come-true was even better than I had imagined, because the new wheelchair seats, called the North Vista Wheelchair Platform, run all the way from turn three to turn four on the outside the track, offering a better view for my limited head movement than the wheelchair area inside the south chute.
We came back the next day with the necessary cash to buy one wheelchair seat and two companion seats for Mom and Dad to go with me. I also participated in the word-of-mouth publicity campaign, enabling wheelchair-bound cousin Nancy to pick up the last three available tickets.
Family commitments kept me from the first two days of practice, but on May 10, I was there, full of anticipation and excitement. Mom always sits in the stands just south of the garage entrance, so I know where to find her if I need her. I spend most days touring the garages, with the month-long goal of getting one good video shot of every car that qualifies. We check in with each other about once every hour and then head home about 4 or 5 p.m., depending on tired and sunburnt we are.
That first day was a disappointing mess. My tour of the garages went well, but a minor problem with the camera left me with no video. At the designated time I went to meet Mom, but seemed to have more difficulty than usual driving over the bumpy asphalt behind the grandstand. Finally, I made it to the right spot, and Mom arrived with a Coke for me. We diagnosed and fixed the camera problem and I took off again for the garages.
But no sooner was Mom out of sight than I hit a bump too hard and slumped forward. My hand slipped off the wheelchair control and I was stuck – the start of a truly phenomenal run of bad luck forced me to call on the help of three different Good Samaritans that day. I gave up and returned to my meeting spot behind the stands. When Mom showed up, I told her what happened and I decided I wanted to go home.
Monday evening found me sitting at home in silent frustration. It seemed I no longer had the ability to get around on my own in a hostile environment. After a suitable amount of sulking I entertained a new strategy: perhaps converting my wheelchair from hand to mouth controls, a step I wanted I wanted to delay until I lost all use of my arms. Still, it was the bumpy pavement that was my downfall, and Gasoline Alley itself had smooth concrete. If I could get in and out of the garage area, I was sure I’d be back in business.
I spent the last
practice days taking
pictures, monitoring
the radio and counting
the minutes until the
race.
After some discussions with Mom, we changed our plan of attack, on Tuesday she escorted me into Gasoline Alley left and left me on the smooth pavement. The new arrangement worked beautifully, and in the following days I shot some great video and enjoyed every minute of it.
Late in the first week of practice my new scanner radio arrived. Some days I spent more time in the wheelchair area watching cars while listening to the radio than I did shooting video in the garage. I spent the last days of practice taking pictures, monitoring the radio and counting the minutes until the race. The night before the big day I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. Somehow I managed to sleep a reasonable number of hours. When I woke up I joked with my parents, “Did Santa come last night and make it become race day?”
It didn’t take long to pack everything in the van. Give my mom a month to plan for an event and she’ll gather in left supplies to invade a small country. Dad shook his head in amazement. “Gee, the race only lasts three hours. This looks like a week’s vacation!”
“If we spend all day in the van waiting on the rain, you’ll be glad I brought this stuff,” Mom replied.
Considering that some folks spend hours in traffic jams trying to get to the race, it seemed almost sinful that we took only 10 minutes. Thanks to a special window sticker given to all handicapped ticket buyers, we drove right by the long lines trying to park in the Coke plant lot to a reserved area near the grandstand.
We parked close to our assigned seats in Section 22, very near the entrance to the fourth turn. Upon reaching the grandstand we encountered a well-designed wheelchair ramp with level places every 30 feet to allow for rest breaks. We presented our tickets to the patrolman, and he pointed to a spot right in front of the ramp We were finally there!
But my heart sank when I saw where “there” was. The wheelchair seat was at the front of the platform up against the railing, placing the concrete retaining wall and steel fence only about 10 feet in front of me. I had no idea that I would be so incredibly close, and I nearly cried at the thought of spending the next three hours staring stiffnecked at a few feet of track.
Dad pushed my chair into the right space assigned to me, and I tried looking to my right. My head barely moves that way, so I could see but a few feet into the turn. Then I turned my head left, and before me stretched a breathtaking view of the last half of the third turn all of the short straight, and the entrance of turn four.
The location was perfect, the view was perfect, the weather was perfect and I was perfectly ready to see my first live, in-person Indy 500. All of the traditional prerace festivities began at 10 a.m. as Mom helped me jot down some last-scanner frequencies broadcast by the Frequency Fan Club. A parade of sororities drove by in pace cars and waved. I had a great, fence-hugging view of them.
From the sounds of Taps to a roaring F-16 fly-by to Back Home Again in Indiana to “Lady and gentlemen, start your engines,” the festivities continued. Soon the parade lap, led by three pace cars, rolled into view out of turn three and headed toward me. As the cars rolled by, a stiff breeze blew a wave of exhaust in my face. I chuckled to myself as I recalled Robert Duval in Apocalypse Now, thinking of the methanol fumes smelled like victory.
The next sight was a lone pace car speeding out of turn three, followed by the near-perfect rows of three abreast lead by Arie Luyendyk, Mario Andretti and Raul Boesel. The field rocketed by, and Tom Carnegie announced that the green flag was out. The race was on!
Boesel appeared in the lead as the field came toward us from turn three, prompting a large contingent of Brazilian fans in the stands behind me to cheer and chant their approval. Over the first few laps is a lead widened until Jim Crawford drove by in the warm-up (or is it slow down?) lane in turn four. Smoke trailed from his car, and moments later the wind delivered a new scent.
As I listened to Frenchman Stephan Gregoire speaking his native tongue on the scanner, I wished I had studied harder in high school and college French class. My D+ average was of no use to me today.
A few laps into the race I saw a large puff of white smoke erupt from a dark blue car as it bounced off the outside wall just out of turn three. Although I have seen cars spit out before, I had never seen an actual impact in person. As the car rolled by me with a badly mangled right front suspension, I could see it was Danny Sullivan. He rolled to a stop too far into turn four for my stiff neck, but mom reported he had climbed out. She snapped a photo as safety vehicles towed the car away.
I knew one race fan who was ecstatic when Mario Andretti took the lead shortly thereafter. My cousin Nancy was sitting about eight wheelchair seats to my left and cheered her hero as she witnessed her first 500. Nancy has been a lifelong fan and, like me, spends what time she can at the track. Mario has been quite kind to her over the years, knowing what a devoted supporter she is, and always takes time to give her a hug and a kiss and they pose for a picture.
It seemed that the race had just started when I noticed the halfway point had already passed. The quiet moments when the field was on the far end of the track moving slowly under caution, offered time to relax, talk and grab a bite of lunch. Lap after lap under green is an assault on one’s senses when sitting that close to the action, where the noise is felt as much as heard. I noticed a fine layer of grit accumulating on my skin, my eyeglasses were getting dirty, and I had a strange oily taste in my mouth. I wasn’t just seeing the race – I was immersed in it.
The radio was abuzz with the strategy for the final pit stops. Nigel Mansell led, with Emerson Fittipaldi in second place and Arie right behind. I heard the Penske crew warn Emmo to watch for Arie on the restart. I should have known something was up Emmo’s sleeve. The green flashed on, and an unaware Mansell had dropped to third place by the time he reached the first turn.
While hundreds of thousands cheered Emmo, Aerie and Nigel on board, I sat in shock as I heard USAC reports that all three had passed under the yellow. I couldn’t believe that a last-minute stop-and-go penalty might hand the race to Boesel, who was in fourth place. As I waited for the word on penalties, the radio blared with a familiar British voice saying, “I’ve hit the wall in turn two!” It was obviously Mansell, who somehow continued on to finish third. The penalties to the leaders never materialized and Emerson Fittipaldi earned his second 500 victory. Arie finished second, with Mansell and Boesel not far behind.
I noticed a fine layer
of grit on my skin and
I had an oily taste in
my mouth. I wasn’t
just seeing the race –
I was immersed in it.
My hero, the high-tech tinkerer and car owner Roger Penske, had won3g his ninth Indy 500 in 25 years. The Brazilian contingent behind me saying and cheered their approval as their countrymen Fittipaldi took a victory lap. I was hot, dirty, tired and fulfilled. It was an experience I’ll never forget.
Upon arriving home, I joined on my computer and began composing this reflection. As I wrote through the next day, pausing only to fill out my application for tickets to next year’s race, I began to understand why I’m a race fan. It’s more than affection for technology or the thrill of speed or the quest for victory. It’s the struggle itself that appeals to me.
My month of May had its ups and downs, but in the end my best efforts and grace of God made it a wonderful experience – something akin to what the drivers must feel. After all, life isn’t about winning; it’s about racing. It’s about doing your best against early odds and discovering the rewards 3oOf participation itself. It’s about bouncing back when things go wrong and constantly growing, no matter how much you have already accomplished.
That’s why I’m a race fan.
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Ledecky sets a new world 1500m free record, Friis and Dugonjic new European marks
BARCELONA - A new world record and a couple of European marks fell on the third day of the FINA World Championships tonight.
American Katie Ledecky broke the 1500m freestyle World record winning gold at FINA Worlds. Danish Lotte Friis was also under the previous world best and won silver in a new European record time. Third placed Lauren Boyle of New Zealand who set the new record of Oceania.
Earlier, Damir Dugonjic equalled the European mark for the men's 50 metres breaststroke, quallifying first for tomorrow's final in a record time of 26.83 [the previous best was set by Germany's Hendrik Feldwehr at the 2009 Worlds in Rome].
Following are the leading results on Tuesday:
1. Missy Franklin USA 58.42
2, Emily Seebohm AUS 59.06
3. Aya Terakawa JPN 59.23
1500 FREESTYLE
1. Katie Ledecky USA 15:26.53 WR
2. Lotte Friis DEN 15:38.88 ER
3. Lauren Boyle NZL 15:44.71 OC
1. Ruta Meilutyte LTU 1:04.42
3. Jessica Hardy USA 1:05.52
1. Yannick Agnel FRA 1:44.20
2. Conor Dwyer USA 1:45.32
3. Danila Izotov RUS 1:45.59
1. Matt Grevers USA 52.93
2. David Plummer USA 53.12
3. Jeremy Stravious 53.21
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Hilda Rosca Nartea
People analytics is more about humans than about numbers.
Fuddy-duddy, an article on Forbes.com once described HR. The term means soft, old-fashioned, conservative. It's a blunt statement, and a common belief, as well as also largely inaccurate. When you deal with people, you deal with imperfect, unpredictable variables – the very condition that can make any hardcore number-cruncher run away screaming. Therefore, that "soft" label is untrue and unfounded. HR is truly a task that only toughies can take.
Still, perceptions about the HR professional as someone who makes decisions based on less-than-rigorous criteria remain. And in many ways, this perception indeed reflects the reality of HR work. Because, really, how is possible to weigh loyalty, engagement, satisfaction? How do you define, much less measure, happiness? Moreover, how in the world will you be able to honestly connect all these with the business bottom line?
Difficult questions that an increasing number of companies are now answering through: Analytics.
How analytics, specifically predictive people analytics, works is ingenious: You use tangibles (numbers and data) to answer seemingly intangible people puzzles (How does this group feel about this HR policy? Is this employee planning to quit?). You then gain the confidence to present intangible but valuable business findings since these are now backed up by solid numbers. In other words, analytics simply allow HR to find the balance they need to do their tough job well.
Despite its impressive premise, it was only in the past year that businesses have made more serious strides in strengthening their capability in the use of people analytics. Richard Phelps in the editorial this issue tells the story of how Japan is a late bloomer in the use of people analytics tools and methods – but the initial hesitation is turning out to be advantageous.
In her event review, Jingjing Yap reports that in Asia, rewards and benefits professionals are turning to analytics to drive more profits for the business. Aon Hewitt notes the major leap organizations are doing today toward predictive analytics, and discusses the important steps businesses can follow to develop a strong predictive analytics strategy.
Meanwhile, Chuck Csizmar shows how to cultivate metrics awareness in your compensation program. Kevin Sheridan presents key numbers for creating winning presentations in front of business decision-makers, while Zahid Mubarik of SHRM Pakistan shares some best practices in the use of HR metrics.
Analytics was at work as well when Juan F. Luna veered away from generalizations to describe how the Chile's "sons of democracy" are changing the workforce. Also, want to learn a Google secret? They infused their hiring process with analytics, according to Knowledge@Wharton.
We aim this lineup to provide a window into the vast future of people analytics in Japan, in Asia and across the world. Because just like any other solution, people analytics isn't a wonder pill to cure HR woes. For one, there's the risk of oversimplifying people into mere data points. And since it's still a relatively new option for many, its finer points are yet to be understood and worked out.
In the corporate world (and beyond) there seems to exists a dichotomy: those who deal with numbers are serious and tough, while those who deal with people (meaning HR) are, well, fuddy-duddy. Analytics is breaking that false dichotomy. The content for this issue of The HR Agenda Magazine proves abstractions can be calculated and solid data can point to intangible, vital insights. If you've always wanted to find out how humans learn, change, achieve and make meaningful work, it pays to learn how to do the math.
Hilda Rosca Nartea is editor in chief of The HR Agenda. She heads the content team of a Dubai-based digital agency and is also a content producer for non-profit organizations, having done projects for the United Nations Development Programme under the Philippine Department of Energy.
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It is way from a poor language and is in reality one of many most well-liked languages for writing due to its flexibility. It is very a lot a complete language, and very much a decent one. It is neither new nor unusual that a language grows organically. Slang turns into proper kind in time, and new phrases come and go.
They’re official documents, however they relied on the training of the person taking the census, lots of whom wanted the money however weren’t really superb. Funny, but “canceled” has all the time set off my mistaken meter and after I read traveled/travelled in my head, they sound the same, with none difference in emphasis for both syllable. As a former scholar of the US public school system, I surprise the way it occurred for me to be trained that way. Ngram helps the pc spellchecker affect, exhibiting a freefall in use of “cancelled” beginning within the late eighty’s. As a Catholic faculty educated Bostonian , I was very accustomed to “cancelled”.
Webster’s 1806 dictionary has cancelled, however in his 1828 the word is spelled as canceled. The doubling rule says that IF you add a vowel suffix (-ed) to a word that ends in a single vowel, single consonant, you double the ultimate letter UNLESS that syllable is unstressed. and have a ultimate unstressed syllable (much like undergo/suffering, refer/reference) so by this rule the shouldn’t be doubled, as it isn’t in American orthographic apply. For whatever historic reason, American orthographers have dropped this rule from their spellings. You see variations of canceled and cancelled however which spelling is right?
Like plenty of different people I will put this all the way down to Microsoft and their spell checkers, and Windows’ person interface. I can’t recall seeing a double ell used in mass print in over 50 years. I do recall stye guides within the 70s stating that a single ell is most well-liked. So many people don’t know tips on how to spell anymore that the misspellings finally turn out to be “right”.
Canceling Or Cancelling
One area is whether or not the letter L at the end of words will get doubled when adding inflections, corresponding to -ed and -ing for verbs and -er or -or for nouns. British English spellings have primarily followed spellings in Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language, first printed in 1755. American English spellings were formed by Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language, first revealed in 1828. Webster was an advocate for a lot of simplified spellings, together with not doubling final, unstressed L’s.
Now, spelling may look like the least of our worries during these trying and unusual instances, but many individuals are curious and nonetheless wish to guarantee their communication is clear. Now that we’ve traveled by way of the spelling guidelines of British vs. American English, let’s have a look at the exception. Maybe you have to break them for a good reason – such as you got sick.
Canceled Vs Cancelled: Which Is Spelled Correctly?
Interesting, I have at all times used cancelled although i am born in California. While in class i used to get docked points for this because in accordance with my English instructor, I was not spelling it right. I confirmed her old books and was informed that it was mistaken.
Actually, English has ever been its own language. Many other ‘established languages’ themselves borrow from many sources, and English is quite old. It originated as a Germanic language, and sounded way more like Dutch in its previous, earlier than the Normans took the British Isles and launched French into the language. English is the results of the union between a Germanic and Latinate language, a reasonably unique blend. Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows supplies spell examine in all completely different kinds of English. from USA, from UK and extra… Make positive to pick the right one.
The spelling checker of Word 2003 says “cancelling” is mistaken, and it ought to be “canceling”. I’ll a be whole freak… since this can be a grammar website. eight-) “nevertheless it does not not extend to cancellation” — ought to take away the second “not”. MS Word didn’t create the “canceled” spelling, it reflected the preferred spelling in American dictionaries.
Canceling and comparable single letter variations of phrases we spell with double letters, are noticeable, but acceptable if persistently used in textual content from an obviously non-BE source. In textual content from the UK a part of an AE-talking organisation, although, I would count on the BE spelling to be used. In the late 1700s, Noah Webster of the renowned Webster’s Dictionary proposed varied spelling reforms within the United States. One of his primary objectives was to shorten needlessly lengthy words. Canceled and cancelled are the past tense versions of the verb cancel.
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Posts Tagged ‘cuts’
Firefighters are our unsung heroes. We need to stand with them against cuts
by Joe Anderson
Twice in the past year, the people of Liverpool have found themselves grateful for the professionalism and bravery of our Fire and Rescue Service.
As nine crews battled through last Sunday night to save the iconic Littlewoods Building from a savage blaze, my mind went back to the devastating fire at our exhibition centre car park fire on New Year’s Eve. Both these events underline the importance of having enough firefighters nearby when needed.
However, just like local authorities, the fire and rescue service has undergone savage cuts over the past decade. Between 2010 and 2015, budgets were slashed by 30 per cent. During this parliament, they will be cut by an additional 20 per cent.
As a group of workers, there are few higher in the affections of the British people. But this has not stopped successive Conservative ministers from making arbitrary and ill thought out reductions to the fire service’s budget.
The cold wind of austerity has blown in the faces of even these brave public servants. As a result, 11,000 frontline firefighter jobs have gone since 2010 – one in six. Stations, appliances and equipment have also been cut.
I cannot think of a clearer case when it comes to the sheer folly of austerity. Not least because the increasing demands on the service sees our firefighters provide a range of emergency responses to floods, road traffic collisions, chemical spillages, industrial disasters and terrorist attacks as well as fires.
Ten hard truths for Labour
Following Tristram Hunt’s call for “a summer of hard truths” Labour Uncut is running a short series laying them out. Here’s Samuel Dale with his top ten.
1. We need to match Tory spending plans in 2020. Ed Balls ran the tightest and impressive spending controls of any major party in modern political history at the last election. No shadow minister made a single unfunded commitment. But it didn’t matter because you don’t build economic credibility through micro-policies. You build it through a strong macro-economic plan. Labour was promising to spend and borrow more than the Tories. It meant the Tories were free to make billions of pounds worth of unfunded tax cuts, NHS spending and rail fare freezes all while being able to claim they are more responsible than Labour. General elections are a zero sum game. You choose one party over the other. Labour will not gain economic credibility unless it matches Tory spending plans.
2. We need our own cuts. Labour needs to be creative about how it would cut spending to pay off the deficit and reduce debt in this parliament too. We can’t wait until 2020 to rebuild our economic credibility. John McTernan has suggested a possible fire and police service merger to modernise the emergency services. Do we need a whole department for culture, media and sport? Can we divide up contents of the business department? How can we join up pension policy across the Treasury and DWP? Labour has to provide a fairer alternative and show that the Tories are making the wrong political choices even within a tough economic environment. It must start as soon as possible.
3. A collection of popular policies is not a platform for government. The far left are fond of the old trope that renationalising the railways is very popular with the public. But a collection of popular policies is not a platform for Government. Ed Miliband had popular policies on non-doms, freezing energy prices, ending the bedroom tax and cutting tuition fees. In 2005 the Tories banged on about popular welfare and immigration policies. But put it all together and the manifestos were less than the sum of their parts. Voters choose Governments from the mood music rather than specifics.
4. Attracting non-voters will not win elections. No matter how many pilgrimages Labour leaders make to Russell Brand or how many voter registration drives we do, it will not change. The old will turn out to vote in far greater numbers than the young and the middle classes far more than the poor. You can not change the electorate over five years by attracting non-voters to vote Labour. It is a pipe dream.
On welfare, Cameron has a point – but we have to hold him to it
Napoleon once told Le Comte de Molé the value of being both a fox and a lion, “the whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be one or the other”. For Labour on the prime minister’s speech on welfare and “opportunity” on 22 June, the tempting response will be to roar at injustice as Andy Burnham indicated he would do in the recent Newsnight debate. But there are reasons to be wary of that approach.
We saw in the last parliament how effective Tory attacks on perceived injustices on those who work to provide a living for others can be. No matter how much howling is heard from the left about Benefits Street or reductions in the benefit cap it all falls straight into Osborne’s electoral trap.
Instead we can take a far more interesting approach. To say Cameron has a point on welfare and hold him to account for it.
The prime minister suggests there is a problem with government “topping up low pay…We need to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society.” And of course, he’s right. It’s what Ed Miliband used to call predistribution. For some reason it didn’t catch on.
The right attack on Cameron’s handling of the floods isn’t about cuts or climate change, but competence
Number 10 has long wished to minimise media coverage of backbench rebellions to maximise airtime on economic recovery. Hence, Cameron’s concessions to his backbenches. But members of the government have needlessly distracted media focus from economic recovery. For example, Michael Gove picking another fight with Ofsted and the failure of government whips to have any women on the frontbench for PMQs.
These own goals confirm that Labour is not up against a crack operation. The floods, in contrast, are a crisis that Cameron’s government would have had to confront even if he’d run a tighter ship. They are, obviously, a crisis for the people whose homes are underwater. The nature of the political crisis that they represent for Cameron and what they reveal about his government is more contested.
By announcing that ‘money is no object’, according to Jonathan Freedland, the prime minister has performed the last rites on the notion of inevitable austerity. The prime minister’s words constitute an incredible hostage to fortune and a risk that he didn’t need to take. The careless political slips of his government begin at the top.
Reflecting on his time near the top of the last government, Patrick Diamond recently noted: “Policy is increasingly about resolving trade-offs accentuated by financial constraints and fiscal austerity”. Cameron, though, leaves no room for trade-offs. No matter how bad the floods get, irrespective of whatever ill-considered building decisions may have been made, in spite of whomever may be at fault, public money is still supposedly no object.
In a world of scarcity, as this world inevitably is, the prime minister’s remark is vulgarly illogical. It’s not – pace Freedland – that there is money when Cameron previously said there isn’t. It’s that this money has limits. Resources are finite. Governments must, consequently, decide how to allocate these resources to best effect. In this sense, trade-offs are even more fundamental than Diamond argues.
What next for the Tories after the cuts agenda?
by Dan McCurry
You can tell what the Tory focus groups are saying by watching the way the Tories behave. Right now, they are trying to close down the perception that the government has no ideas or purpose, other than the cuts. They know they have no agenda, once the cuts agenda is done.
This explains the flurry of rather pointless ideas announced in the last few weeks. Each one of them is half-baked and each one is accompanied with same the line, “Labour did nothing about this in 13 years”.
An example is Theresa May’s call for a consultation of stop and search, arguing that the policy tends to target young black males. This was widely reported and became a talking point on the media, even though it was completely shallow. This is not serious policy, just a suggestion that people have a chat about something. Yet every Tory politician took to the air to attack Labour for doing nothing for 13 years.
On health they talk of a £200 deposit for foreigners entering the country. Again, MPs took to the airwaves to claim that Labour did nothing for 13 years of government. There has been little response from Labour to this proposal, but Andy Burnham tells me that he can’t respond as he still doesn’t know the details. He doesn’t object to stopping abuse, but he does object to the idea that Labour had done nothing about the issue previously.
On prisons they seem to think they can ship convicts off to St Helena to serve their ten year sentence, then bring them back for the last six months to serve their sentence close to their family. Presumably convicts can send CDs home so that their children can grow up hearing daddies’ voice, then after several years of absence the children can get to know daddy on 6 prison visits. If they hadn’t cancelled Labour’s prison building program, then the whole sentence could have been served within travel distance of the family. Yet they say, “Labour did nothing in 13 years”.
The Tories don’t fear being called “nasty”, they fear being called “pointless”. Once the cuts agenda is finished, what is the point of them?
As usual, rather than addressing the problem, they address the presentation. They believe that if they can repeat often enough that Labour didn’t do this or that, they hope that people will perceive that the Conservatives are busy bees, while Labour are a waste of time, even though the opposite is true.
We need to be bolder in pushing back against UKIP
by Helen Mirfin-Boukouris
As a Labour candidate currently campaigning in the OMOV process, the matter of UKIP and how we confront their performance in the polls and recent by-elections frequently comes up. I expect all Labour candidates now wonder what magic bullet there might be to confront their current upsurge beyond simply hoping that they will burn themselves out as they grow, diverge and crumble under the weight of their own vanity and incoherence.
But that is not good enough is it? How can I, who have been in a Labour family all my life not stand up especially now and challenge offensive politics?
On the door step campaigning, I know of people who will tell you they are voting UKIP. They are cross and are protesting in the familiar tradition of giving established parties a poke in the eye for letting them down be it because of losing a job, losing weekly wheelie bin services, waiting longer in hospital. Watching people who look different to them taking advantage of the same services and feeling somehow that they are being taken for a ride. Nothing the parties say helps them see a better future while paying more again and again.
UKIP come along and say “enough! we shall speak for you.” And it does not really matter what the detail is that they espouse because it is working. It is frustrating to admit too. However, I did not spend the last twenty years in the Labour Party to let people get away with this and do nothing.
The UKIP message works because it is a personal message. It is simple, there is blame and it is easy to remember. If you are outraged by politicians, and those seen as outsiders, getting the better of people who are losing their livelihoods and their futures, it works.
So, we need to make politics personal and show that Labour values matter, using language and facts that resonate with peoples’ daily lives.
Labour is headed for trouble in next week’s spending review
Next week, George Osborne will finally spring his long prepared spending review trap.
Here is the chancellor’s basic choreography: the Tories announce an eye-wateringly tight spending round, Labour opposes and the Tories attack Labour for being unreformed spendaholics.
Alternately, Labour back the government’s spending plans, in which case, the Tories attack Labour for being reluctant converts to fiscal responsibility and, as a happy sidebar, Labour’s Keynesian prescription for boosting spending to revive the economy is effectively de-funded.
Either Labour play to the stereotype of profligacy that lost the last election or become me-too Tories.
Ed Balls’ big speech a few weeks ago was intended to unpick this problem and re-position the party. The commitment to aggregate Tory spending plans covered the party’s fiscal flank while Ball’s retained the Keynesian differentiation with his £10bn capital spending boost, funded through increased borrowing.
On paper, it went some way to neutralising the chancellor’s likely attacks.
But there’s a problem.
Now Labour has shifted to a more politically realistic position on spending, it needs to robustly assert this new line.
It needs to use every opportunity to publicise the new approach. To make the progressive case for adhering to overall Tory spending totals (while having different individual priorities) and ensure the public knows that a major change has just taken place.
Otherwise, next week, the Tories will hammer the party for running scared of its own policy. They will paint Labour as insincere and irresolute on spending. The taunts about whether Labour believes what it says will turn the party’s economic drama into a political crisis of leadership.
For the public, the net result will be little different to if Labour hadn’t changed its fiscal stance. Perhaps worse, when taking into account the collateral damage to Ed Miliband’s personal ratings from any squirming on policy.
The polling that shows why Labour’s lead is soft
The terms of the debate are shifting within the Labour party. Since the underwhelming local elections, the question is no longer whether the poll lead is soft but why. Just this morning, one of Ed Miliband’s more doughty supporters in the media, Mary Riddell, penned her most pessimistic piece to date on Labour’s position.
This change has been partially obscured by the recent writhing of the Tory right over Europe and gay marriage but as the spending review approaches, it will come into sharp focus.
As ever, the answer to the question is to be found in voters’ views on the economy and specifically spending.
Labour’s case against the government has been clear: excessive Tory cuts killed off the flickering recovery of 2010 with the deficit rising as growth flatlines.
It is hard to disagree with the economics. But there’s a political problem.
More and more of the public back the cuts.
YouGov have asked a detailed series of questions on deficit reduction over the past three years and the shift in responses shines a light on why Labour’s poll lead isn’t so much soft as aqueous.
The public’s support for action on the deficit has been constant: at the start of March 2011, 57% felt that “the way the government is cutting spending” was necessary versus 32% who thought it unnecessary. Last week the figures were 57% and 29%, virtually no change over the past two years.
This should have been a warning that something wasn’t quite right with the poll lead: how could the public support Labour while also agreeing with the government’s approach to cuts.
But the YouGov surveys also had seemingly contradictory responses. The key question is on whether the public believe the depth of the cuts to be “too shallow,” “about right,” or “too deep.” The answers to this question initially suggested a consensus that the cuts were too deep. But that is changing.
Source: YouGov
Since April 2012 when 13% more felt the cuts to be “too deep” than either “about right” or “too shallow”, the position has shifted radically. This week, the poll had the pro-cuts camp 2% ahead.
Labour must be careful: Osborne wasn’t downgraded for cutting, but cutting the wrong way
John Moody first offered credit rating services in the US in 1909. By this time, Dutch investors had been buying bonds for three centuries, English investors for two, and American investors for one century. Investors have, therefore, prospered for long periods without credit rating agencies.
Many would argue that they could again. The agencies did not facilitate wise investment by giving triple A ratings to the collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that were at the heart of the financial crisis. CDOs are, however, complex financial instruments. While the ratings were misplaced, it is understandable that financiers would place value on independent assessment of credit worthiness in the face of such complexity.
The UK is less complicated. We are, obviously, struggling. National wealth has not increased since George Osborne became Chancellor. But national debt has increased by over 30 per cent, taking it over one trillion pounds for the first time in history.
Osborne likes household analogies. His UK is a household with no more wealth than it had almost three years ago and little likelihood that this wealth will significantly increase in the near term. But ballooning credit card debts. This is the kind of household that finds it very difficult to get a mortgage in Osborne’s Britain.
Osborne has not practised the “arithmetic” that Bill Clinton beautifully described and praised in his speech to the Democratic National Convention last year. And we hardly need credit rating agencies to tell us this. Those trading in UK debt certainly don’t. This is why – like France and the US before us – a downgrade may have little impact upon the cost of UK debt. The factors that have led to the downgrade have already been factored into the price.
While the downgrade told us what we already knew, Osborne might privately lament: “The agencies told me to cut or be downgraded, so I cut. Then we didn’t grow and they downgraded me, anyway.” Not only are agencies discredited after their poor assessments of instruments like CDOs, they also urged cuts upon Osborne and welcomed his willingness to go further and faster than Alistair Darling had proposed. Osborne may be frustrated for being punished for following this path.
Up to a point, Chancellor, more balanced counsel would insist. What matters is not only that cuts are made but what is cut. The composition of public spending matters, as well as its level. Net public investment for 2015-16 was cut to just 1.1 per cent of GDP from 3.5 per cent in 2009-10 in Osborne’s 2010 budget.
Our political parties need to be honest about NHS rationing
by Peter Watt
Yesterday saw the publication by NICE of their latest guidance on the use of IVF by the NHS. It said that women should be able to access IVF quicker (ie younger) and also that the upper range of women able to access the treatment rises from 39-42 in England and Wales. This has to be seen as a good thing, a reflection of the continued advances in medical treatment. What was in the past impossible becomes possible.
Except read the small print. What NICE are doing is providing advice to NHS Trusts as to what they can do if they choose to. As Dr Sue Avery from the British Fertility Society told the BBC:
“It’s good that there’s the possibility there, but the funding does not match. I can’t see any prospect of it happening immediately. Our biggest concern is hanging on to the funding we’ve got.”
Now quick declaration of interest here; my wife Vilma and I underwent IVF. Initially we had treatment on the NHS and then went privately. We were successful and have a beautiful daughter as a result. But at the time we were incredibly lucky that where we lived was still offering treatment on the NHS. Plenty of others no longer did or offered a much more limited service. Because the reality of the NHS is that on a whole variety of fronts it rations treatment.
On Tuesday there was a story about a man who had had a gastric band on the NHS but who was left with large amounts of excessive abdominal skin. His local health service had refused to pay for his apronectomy and he was facing a bill of some £15-20,000.
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What’s new...
Parent training course starting late April 2021. Visit our parents page.
Congratulations to Lark Hall School
Lark Hall Primary School in Clapham, London has been highly commended for the Primary School of the Year Award at a glittering award ceremony in London, hosted by comedian, David Baddiel. The school has been highlighted for its commitment to supporting its pupils’ speech, language and communication development.
The 2015 Shine a Light Awards are a national awards scheme organised by Pearson, in partnership with The Communication Trust, to celebrate innovative work, inspirational individuals and excellent practice in supporting children and young people’s communication development.
Lark Hall Primary School has been praised for its comprehensive and hollistic approach to supporting children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and to developing these skills in all its pupils. The school has a communication policy and staff are supported with specialist training. The school funds a full-time speech and language therapist and one of its governors has specific responsibility for SLCN in the school.
Communication is also supported in practical and creative ways, such as the use of photos and symbols to underpin classroom vocabulary, playground rules and signs around the school. The teacher’s day is arranged to increase the numbers of teaching staff present during playtimes so that teachers can support language and social communication in the playground and ensure that children with communication needs can be included in games.
There is a school shop run by the children, which gives them valuable opportunities to develop communication skills by ‘working’ in the shop and purchasing items. The whole-school approach to communication is maximising the learning of all pupils across the curriculum and the children recieving speech and language therapy in the school have made significant progress, with 90% of them achieving their targets each term.
There has also been a positive impact on behaviour in the school, with greater understanding among the staff about the impact of SLCN on behaviour and how this can be best addressed.
Learning Talking’s Cat Andrew, who is based at Lark Hall Primary School said: “we are very proud of this award. It is a testament to the commitment of the school to supporting children with speech, language and communitcation needs and creating an inclusive environment where all children are able to achieve their potential.”
David Baddiel, Host of the 2015 Shine a Light Awards, said: “Because of the important work that the Shine a Light 2015 winners and highly commended finalists have achieved, children and young people’s language and communication development, especially for those with SLCN, has been supported.
“Speech and language problems too often go under the radar, so everyone should not only be congratulated for their work but for bringing this important issue to the attention of others. I would like to say well done to all those shortlisted who have shown true grit and determination to better themselves and others. They are all a true inspiration – keep up the good work.”
Chris Hall, Director of Clinical Assessment at Pearson, says: “Congratulations to Lark Hall Primary School for being highly commended for the Primary School of the Year Award at the 2015 Shine a Light Awards for their remarkable achievements. Each year the applications get stronger and more inspiring. We have seen examples of children and young people being supported by some truly inspiring individuals and schools like Lark Hall Primary School.
“The Shine a Light Awards, now in their fourth year, continue to grow and we have been delighted to welcome an incredible judging panel who represent the very best of the education and special educational needs (SEN) sector. To once again partner with the Communication Trust and celebrate these inspiring people and organisations is a real privilege.”
Anne Fox, Director of The Communication Trust, says: “Congratulations to the winners and highly commended finalists whose work will help inspire and motivate people right across the country. Lark Hall Primary School is a wonderful example of this inspiration in practice and they have shown what can be achieved with commitment and dedication.
“We’re delighted to have this partnership with Pearson, which allows Shine a Light to be a true celebration of the amazing work up and down the country and for helping the Trust to reach more children and young people and the professionals who work with them.
“The Shine a Light Awards are a key fixture for the speech and language sector as they reflect a range of best practice and innovative work taking place across the country. At a time when early years, health, education and SEN services are going through significant reforms, Shine a Light focuses attention on what can be achieved through expertise, sheer determination and never giving up on children and young people’s potential.”
The Shine a Light awards are designed to honour individuals, teams, campaigns, communication-friendly settings and communities that have excelled in their support of children and young people’s communication, particularly for those with SLCN.
Makaton User case study
The Communication Trust has worked with the Better Communication Research Programme to develop the What Works database of evidenced interventions to support children’s speech, language and communication. What Works is endorsed by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. For further information please visit: www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/projects/what-works.aspx
Kathryn Jones recently submitted the following case study towards the ‘interventions in practice’ section of the What Works site.
Case study – Using Makaton to develop a Total Communication environment
Kathryn Jones, Speech and Language Therapist (SaLT), Learning Talking Independent Practice (providing speech and language therapy to schools across London).
S was seen as part of a mainstream school caseload where the therapist was based in school 2 days per week. Intervention was indirect through 2 Learning Support Assistants (LSA), an Intervention Teacher (IT) and with some input to the Class Teacher (CT), sessions were modelled on a weekly basis. Makaton was modelled as a strategy to develop the Total Communication environment.
The SaLT had previously been on a certified 2 day Makaton training course. The client S (5 years old) was in Year 1. The SENCo requested indirect input to support small group literacy and maths lessons.
S had been diagnosed with a speech, language and communication disorder. Communication was mainly through echolalic phrases and behaviours that challenged (including spitting, swearing, hitting). S was interested in current pop stars, hair styling, dolls/babies and food, his interactions were limited to these topic areas. Previous intervention in school was an early communication group targeting attention and listening, social interactions and vocabulary.
Implementing the Makaton strategy
The SaLT and IT would work collaboratively to include Makaton into plans for literacy and maths sessions. In addition the SaLT would model at least one activity per week including Makaton. The SaLT also modelled approximately 3 functional signs to the LSA per week (e.g. finished, lunch), who incorporated these into daily routines. In modelled sessions the Salt would sign and sing e.g. Nursery rhymes, counting songs, and use signs and words to support attention and listening. Initially staff were wary of using signs, possibly due to confidence. The SaLT showed online videos, which S was highly motivated by. The SaLT would sign along with the video and S would attempt to copy, switching his attention between the video and SaLT. As staff saw this they also signed along and researched more Singing Hands materials including buying the DVDs. Singing Hands became part of the daily routine. Some staff members appeared more comfortable signing along to a video, particularly at first. As S’s spontaneous use of Makaton grew, staff began to increase their use of signing, including asking the SaLT for specific signs relating to the curriculum. Using online apps signs could be accessed instantly.
Outcomes and impact
By the end of the first term, S was participating in literacy and maths lessons using speech and sign. He was spontaneously forming speech and sign sentences about play and learning activities, and directing these to familiar adults. There was a general reduction in behaviours that challenged. Staff fed-back to to SaLT they felt Makaton supported S to access learning and achieve on the P-Levels. They took ownership of developing their own use of Makaton. Top Tips A key factor for staff uptake was the observable impact of Makaton use on S’s attention skills, behaviour and expressive language. The SaLT supported staff to identify this e.g. Pointing out increased looking when an adult was signing. The ongoing team approach to Makaton was beneficial for S and staff skill development. The use of multimedia e.g. Singing Hands and MyChoicePad app supported carryover of
Haringey school delighted with service
Inclusion manger reflects on Learning Talking service stating “I am really happy with the quality of the assessments and reports (verbal and written) – timely and specific – well informed too. It has been a useful support to SEN and I am delighted with the amount of children that she has worked with in a just a few weeks”.
Head Teacher comments “money well spent.”
New therapist joins team
We are delighted to have Kathryn Jones joining our team this term. Kathryn will be providing speech and language therapy to a number of schools in Waltham Forest.
Free speech and language advice drop in clinic
Have your speech and language therapy questions answered by an experienced speech and language therapist . The first free drop in clinic will take place at St Anthony’s catholic primary in Woodford. Parents and carers with children attending the school can book appointments via the school office. This service is a great way for parents and school staff to meet the team at Learning Talking. If this is a service that you would like to book for your setting please contact us.
New speech and language therapist joins Learning Talking
Learning Talking are delighted to announce that Gael Birtill is joining the team. Gael is an excellent therapist (visit the team page to see her profile). Gael will be providing speech and language therapy to children attending a number of schools in the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
Learning Talking oversees clinical placement
Learning Talking supported two speech and language therapist students from City University during a 5 week clinical placement at Handsworth Primary School in Highams Park, E4. A number of children with speech, language and communication needs received support from the students who were supervised by Chris Rose from Learning Talking. The school were very welcoming to the students and school staff reported that they found the additional support for the children very beneficial.
Learning Talking gain Talk Boost licence
Learning Talking now have a licensed Talk Boost practitioner on the team. Chris Rose received a bursary from ICAN to attend the training event in Hoxton. ICAN’s excellent trainer Jon Gilmartin provided a very informative days training. Learning Talking are now looking forward to providing Talk Boost to schools in the London area (see training page for further information).
About Learning Talking
At learning talking we are passionate about providing high quality speech and language therapy to children. We pride ourselves in offering effective intervention that enables children to reach their potential. Our teamwork with children in a range of settings including homes, schools and nurseries. In any setting we will work closely with the team around the child to ensure that all involved understand how to support the child and enable progress to be made.
SLT for schools
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Site announcements »
Web 3DNA 2.0 and G.A pairs in RNA folding
Author Topic: Web 3DNA 2.0 and G.A pairs in RNA folding (Read 3370 times)
Two papers closely related to 3DNA/DSSR have recently been published, as shown below:
"Web 3DNA 2.0 for the analysis, visualization, and modeling of 3D nucleic acid structures" in Nucleic Acids Research (NAR). Here is the abstract, including a graphical illustration.
Web 3DNA (w3DNA) 2.0 is a significantly enhanced version of the widely used w3DNA server for the analysis, visualization, and modeling of 3D nucleic-acid-containing structures. Since its initial release in 2009, the w3DNA server has continuously served the community by making commonly-used features of the 3DNA suite of command-line programs readily accessible. However, due to the lack of updates, w3DNA has clearly shown its age in terms of modern web technologies and it has long lagged behind further developments of 3DNA per se. The w3DNA 2.0 server presented here overcomes all known shortcomings of w3DNA while maintaining its battle-tested characteristics. Technically, w3DNA 2.0 implements a simple and intuitive interface (with sensible defaults) for increased usability, and it complies with HTML5 web standards for broad accessibility. Featurewise, w3DNA 2.0 employs the most recent version of 3DNA, enhanced with many new functionalities, including: the automatic handling of modified nucleotides; a set of ‘simple’ base-pair and step parameters for qualitative characterization of non-Watson–Crick double- helical structures; new structural parameters that integrate the rigid base plane and the backbone phosphate group, the two nucleic acid components most reliably determined with X-ray crystallography; in silico base mutations that preserve the backbone geometry; and a notably improved module for building models of single-stranded RNA, double- helical DNA, Pauling triplex, G-quadruplex, or DNA structures ‘decorated’ with proteins. The w3DNA 2.0 server is freely available, without registration, at http://web.x3dna.org.
Notably, details for reproducing our reported results (figures and tables) are available in a dedicated section "web 3DNA 2.0 (http://web.x3dna.org)" on the 3DNA Forum.
"Effects of Noncanonical Base Pairing on RNA Folding: Structural Context and Spatial Arrangements of G·A Pairs" in ACS Biochemistry. Here is the abstract with a graphical illustration.
Noncanonical base pairs play important roles in assembling the three-dimensional structures critical to the diverse functions of RNA. These associations contribute to the looped segments that intersperse the canonical double-helical elements within folded, globular RNA molecules. They stitch together various structural elements, serve as recognition elements for other molecules, and act as sites of intrinsic stiffness or deformability. This work takes advantage of new software (DSSR) designed to streamline the analysis and annotation of RNA three-dimensional structures. The multiscale structural information gathered for individual molecules, combined with the growing number of unique, well-resolved RNA structures, makes it possible to examine the collective features deeply and to uncover previously unrecognized patterns of chain organization. Here we focus on a subset of noncanonical base pairs involving guanine and adenine and the links between their modes of association, secondary structural context, and contributions to tertiary folding. The rigorous descriptions of base-pair geometry that we employ facilitate characterization of recurrent geometric motifs and the structural settings in which these arrangements occur. Moreover, the numerical parameters hint at the natural motions of the interacting bases and the pathways likely to connect different spatial forms. We draw attention to higher-order multiplexes involving two or more G·A pairs and the roles these associations appear to play in bridging different secondary structural units. The collective data reveal pairing propensities in base organization, secondary structural context, and deformability and serve as a starting point for further multiscale investigations and/or simulations of RNA folding.
The paper includes a paragraph in the discussion section on differences between 3DNA/DSSR and the well-established LW (Leontis-Westhof) scheme:
Qualitative descriptions of noncanonical RNA base pairing, pioneered by Leontis and Westhof9,41 and linked in this work to the rigid-body parameters of interacting bases, have proven valuable in deciphering the connections between RNA primary, secondary, and tertiary structures. The present categorization is based on the positions of the hydrogen-bonded atoms with respect to a standard, embedded base reference frame30 defined in terms of an idealized Watson−Crick base pair. The major- and minor-groove base edges used here correspond in most cases to what are termed the Hoogsteen and sugar edges in the Leontis−Westhof scheme (one can compare the two classification schemes in Table S2). The + and − symbols introduced in 3DNA24 and DSSR27 unambiguously distinguish the relative orientations of the two bases. The trans and cis designations used in the earlier literature, however, are qualitative in nature and often uncertain. There are many “nc” (near cis, as in ncWW) and “nt” (near trans, as in ntSH) annotations listed in the RNA Structure Atlas; see, for example, the base-pair interactions in the sarcin−ricin domain of E. coli 23S rRNA found by entering PDB entry 1msy at http://rna.bgsu.edu/rna3dhub/pdb. The assignment of qualitative descriptors of RNA associations on the basis of atomic identity alone is generally not clear-cut. Numerical differences in the rigid-body parameters are critical to differentiating pairing schemes that share a common hydrogen bond, e.g., the G(N3)···A(N6) interaction found in m−WII and m−MI arrangements of G and A (Table 1 and Figures 4 and S3). The numerical data also provide a basis for following conformational transitions and may potentially be of value in making functional and other meaningful distinctions among RNA base pairs.
See also a recent thread Noncanonical base pair standards on the 3DNA Forum and the section titled “3.2.2 Base pairs” in the DSSR User Manual.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2019, 11:57:45 am by xiangjun »
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