Split (1)

train · 1M rows

text stringlengths 316 100k
Don't Suspend Cody Pines after defending a blind classmate against a bully! by: Phil Brooks recipient: Huntington Beach High School Cody stepped in when he saw his friend and fellow classmate who is visually diabled being physically bullied. (Punched multiple times in face/head) Cody comes and steps in, punches the bully one time to get him away, guides his friend to a safe location and talks to the bully about how he was beating up a blind kid and how it was wrong. There is Youtube video of the main part of the confrontation. We believe Cody should stay in school where he belongs. While violence is never the best option what Cody did to defend his friend and classmate was justified. And schools "zero-tolerance" policies out even the person saving disabled friends.
When civilizations start to die they go insane. Let the ice sheets in the Arctic melt. Let the temperatures rise. Let the air, soil and water be poisoned. Let the forests die. Let the seas be emptied of life. Let one useless war after another be waged. Let the masses be thrust into extreme poverty and left without jobs while the elites, drunk on hedonism, accumulate vast fortunes through exploitation, speculation, fraud and theft. Reality, at the end, gets unplugged. We live in an age when news consists of Snooki’s pregnancy, Hulk Hogan’s sex tape and Kim Kardashian’s denial that she is the naked woman cooking eggs in a photo circulating on the Internet. Politicians, including presidents, appear on late night comedy shows to do gags and they campaign on issues such as creating a moon colony. “At times when the page is turning,” Louis-Ferdinand Celine wrote in “Castle to Castle,” “when History brings all the nuts together, opens its Epic Dance Halls! hats and heads in the whirlwind! Panties overboard!” The quest by a bankrupt elite in the final days of empire to accumulate greater and greater wealth, as Karl Marx observed, is modern society’s version of primitive fetishism. This quest, as there is less and less to exploit, leads to mounting repression, increased human suffering, a collapse of infrastructure and, finally, collective death. It is the self-deluded, those on Wall Street or among the political elite, those who entertain and inform us, those who lack the capacity to question the lusts that will ensure our self-annihilation, who are held up as exemplars of intelligence, success and progress. The World Health Organization calculates that one in four people in the United States suffers from chronic anxiety, a mood disorder or depression — which seems to me to be a normal reaction to our march toward collective suicide. Welcome to the asylum. When the most basic elements that sustain life are reduced to a cash product, life has no intrinsic value. The extinguishing of “primitive” societies, those that were defined by animism and mysticism, those that celebrated ambiguity and mystery, those that respected the centrality of the human imagination, removed the only ideological counterweight to a self-devouring capitalist ideology. Those who held on to pre-modern beliefs, such as Native Americans, who structured themselves around a communal life and self-sacrifice rather than hoarding and wage exploitation, could not be accommodated within the ethic of capitalist exploitation, the cult of the self and the lust for imperial expansion. The prosaic was pitted against the allegorical. And as we race toward the collapse of the planet’s ecosystem we must restore this older vision of life if we are to survive. The war on the Native Americans, like the wars waged by colonialists around the globe, was waged to eradicate not only a people but a competing ethic. The older form of human community was antithetical and hostile to capitalism, the primacy of the technological state and the demands of empire. This struggle between belief systems was not lost on Marx. “The Ethnological Notebooks of Karl Marx” is a series of observations derived from Marx’s reading of works by historians and anthropologists. He took notes about the traditions, practices, social structure, economic systems and beliefs of numerous indigenous cultures targeted for destruction. Marx noted arcane details about the formation of Native American society, but also that “lands [were] owned by the tribes in common, while tenement-houses [were] owned jointly by their occupants.” He wrote of the Aztecs, “Commune tenure of lands; Life in large households composed of a number of related families.” He went on, “… reasons for believing they practiced communism in living in the household.” Native Americans, especially the Iroquois, provided the governing model for the union of the American colonies, and also proved vital to Marx and Engel’s vision of communism. Marx, though he placed a naive faith in the power of the state to create his workers’ utopia and discounted important social and cultural forces outside of economics, was acutely aware that something essential to human dignity and independence had been lost with the destruction of pre-modern societies. The Iroquois Council of the Gens, where Indians came together to be heard as ancient Athenians did, was, Marx noted, a “democratic assembly where every adult male and female member had a voice upon all questions brought before it.” Marx lauded the active participation of women in tribal affairs, writing, “The women [were] allowed to express their wishes and opinions through an orator of their own election. Decision given by the Council. Unanimity was a fundamental law of its action among the Iroquois.” European women on the Continent and in the colonies had no equivalent power. Rebuilding this older vision of community, one based on cooperation rather than exploitation, will be as important to our survival as changing our patterns of consumption, growing food locally and ending our dependence on fossil fuels. The pre-modern societies of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse — although they were not always idyllic and performed acts of cruelty including the mutilation, torture and execution of captives — did not subordinate the sacred to the technical. The deities they worshipped were not outside of or separate from nature.Seventeenth century European philosophy and the Enlightenment, meanwhile, exalted the separation of human beings from the natural world, a belief also embraced by the Bible. The natural world, along with those pre-modern cultures that lived in harmony with it, was seen by the industrial society of the Enlightenment as worthy only of exploitation. Descartes argued, for example, that the fullest exploitation of matter to any use was the duty of humankind. The wilderness became, in the religious language of the Puritans, satanic. It had to be Christianized and subdued. The implantation of the technical order resulted, as Richard Slotkin writes in “Regeneration Through Violence,” in the primacy of “the western man-on-the-make, the speculator, and the wildcat banker.” Davy Crockett and, later, George Armstrong Custer, Slotkin notes, became “national heroes by defining national aspiration in terms of so many bears destroyed, so much land preempted, so many trees hacked down, so many Indians and Mexicans dead in the dust.” The demented project of endless capitalist expansion, profligate consumption, senseless exploitation and industrial growth is now imploding. Corporate hustlers are as blind to the ramifications of their self-destructive fury as were Custer, the gold speculators and the railroad magnates. They seized Indian land, killed off its inhabitants, slaughtered the buffalo herds and cut down the forests. Their heirs wage war throughout the Middle East, pollute the seas and water systems, foul the air and soil and gamble with commodities as half the globe sinks into abject poverty and misery. The Book of Revelation defines this single-minded drive for profit as handing over authority to the “beast.” The conflation of technological advancement with human progress leads to self-worship. Reason makes possible the calculations, science and technological advances of industrial civilization, but reason does not connect us with the forces of life. A society that loses the capacity for the sacred, that lacks the power of human imagination, that cannot practice empathy, ultimately ensures its own destruction. The Native Americans understood there are powers and forces we can never control and must honor. They knew, as did the ancient Greeks, that hubris is the deadliest curse of the human race. This is a lesson that we will probably have to learn for ourselves at the cost of tremendous suffering. In William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” Prospero is stranded on an island where he becomes the undisputed lord and master. He enslaves the primitive “monster” Caliban. He employs the magical sources of power embodied in the spirit Ariel, who is of fire and air. The forces unleashed in the island’s wilderness, Shakespeare knew, could prompt us to good if we had the capacity for self-control and reverence. But it also could push us toward monstrous evil since there are few constraints to thwart plunder, rape, murder, greed and power. Later, Joseph Conrad, in his portraits of the outposts of empire, also would expose the same intoxication with barbarity. The anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan, who in 1846 was “adopted” by the Seneca, one of the tribes belonging to the Iroquois confederation, wrote in “Ancient Society” about social evolution among American Indians. Marx noted approvingly, in his “Ethnological Notebooks,” Morgan’s insistence on the historical and social importance of “imagination, that great faculty so largely contributing to the elevation of mankind.” Imagination, as the Shakespearean scholar Harold C. Goddard pointed out, “is neither the language of nature nor the language of man, but both at once, the medium of communion between the two. … Imagination is the elemental speech in all senses, the first and the last, of primitive man and of the poets.” All that concerns itself with beauty and truth, with those forces that have the power to transform us, is being steadily extinguished by our corporate state. Art. Education. Literature. Music. Theater. Dance. Poetry. Philosophy. Religion. Journalism. None of these disciplines are worthy in the corporate state of support or compensation. These are pursuits that, even in our universities, are condemned as impractical. But it is only through the impractical, through that which can empower our imagination, that we will be rescued as a species. The prosaic world of news events, the collection of scientific and factual data, stock market statistics and the sterile recording of deeds as history do not permit us to understand the elemental speech of imagination. We will never penetrate the mystery of creation, or the meaning of existence, if we do not recover this older language. Poetry shows a man his soul, Goddard wrote, “as a looking glass does his face.” And it is our souls that the culture of imperialism, business and technology seeks to crush. Walter Benjamin argued that capitalism is not only a formation “conditioned by religion,” but is an “essentially religious phenomenon,” albeit one that no longer seeks to connect humans with the mysterious forces of life. Capitalism, as Benjamin observed, called on human societies to embark on a ceaseless and futile quest for money and goods. This quest, he warned, perpetuates a culture dominated by guilt, a sense of inadequacy and self-loathing. It enslaves nearly all its adherents through wages, subservience to the commodity culture and debt peonage. The suffering visited on Native Americans, once Western expansion was complete, was soon endured by others, in Cuba, the Philippines, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. The final chapter of this sad experiment in human history will see us sacrificed as those on the outer reaches of empire were sacrificed. There is a kind of justice to this. We profited as a nation from this demented vision, we remained passive and silent when we should have denounced the crimes committed in our name, and now that the game is up we all go down together.
Sprites: A Rarely Seen Sky Phenomenon Caught On Camera When thunderstorms emit lightning, we see the white, snaking electricity from the ground. But if you flew above the clouds, you would see a sky phenomenon known as sprites. These are rarely seen bolts of red light that look like very fast burning sparklers. The Capital Weather Gang over at The Washington Post describes them like this: "[Sprites] can reach 50-60 miles into space and penetrate downward into the middle of the stratosphere (15-20 miles high) with jellyfish-like tendrils." What's more, they last only milliseconds. As you can imagine, that makes them terribly hard to capture, but scientist and University of Alaska, Fairbanks graduate student Jason Ahrns did just that when he photographed and videotaped the phenomenon from the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Gulfstream-V plane. The results are stunning. Here's one image Ahrns took on Monday over Red Willow County, Neb.: And here's a video he took at 10,000 frames per second of the same sprites: We asked Ahrns what surprised him about sprites after he finally got the chance to fly up and see them. "I've seen sprites with my naked eye for the first time, and they're really tall! I've seen pictures and watched them in video monitors during the research campaigns, and in my mind I knew they were on the order of 50km from top to bottom, but knowing it and seeing it for yourself are two different things," he told us via email. "When we're flying 120 miles away from the storm and the sprite is still tall enough to fill my vision from top to bottom, that leaves an impression!" Ahrns, by the way, keeps a blog about his exploits. It's well worth the read.
Hank soaks in the opening day festivities at Miller Park Monday from atop the Brewers dugout. Credit: Mike De Sisti By of the Hank will soon be in the doghouse. Not that the adorable pooch is in trouble. But every hound needs a home, and Hank, the pup who quickly wagged his way into the hearts of Brewers fans, will move into his own pad at Miller Park. Starting on Monday when the Brewers return home for a six-game series against the Padres and Cubs, the "Hank House" will debut in one of the fan sections in center field. His new digs while he's in residence at the stadium will be a roomy, one-bedroom Cape Cod-style dwelling. No word on whether it will be wired for cable with a large-screen TV tuned to Animal Planet. The "Hank House" is actually a mobile home and will move around the ballpark throughout the season. Whenever Hank is in the house — Miller Park — he'll have a home to lay his furry head. It'll be used for photo ops and appearances. The stray wandered into the Brewers' spring training camp in Arizona in February and was soon starring in a video, dancing to Pharrell Williams' hit song "Happy," basking in standing ovations and sporting his own T-shirt. He'll even get his own bobblehead on Sept. 13. Some of the proceeds of T-shirts and other Hank merchandise are donated to the Wisconsin Humane Society.
One of the most difficult times in the life of Abraham is found in Genesis 22:1-19. Here the Lord asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his only son through Sarah: the son in whom the promise of Genesis 12:2-3 was to come. This account from Abraham’s life shows an amazing faith in the Lord which should be an example to all. Key Lessons Abraham had his priorities in the right place. Although Abraham’s family was very important to him, the Lord was the focus and first priority in his life. It is vital that the Lord is first in our lives. In Matthew 10:37-38 Jesus said, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Abraham had an obedient, active faith. Just as when the Lord told Abraham to journey to a land which he did not know, Abraham obeyed when the Lord asked him to take his son to sacrifice to the Lord. This was not a simple task to complete. Abraham had to travel three days to the place where he was to sacrifice Isaac. He had to build the altar on which he was to sacrifice his son. Abraham had to tie up Isaac on the altar. Finally, Abraham had to take the knife in his hand to sacrifice his son. Abraham possessed a very strong faith in the Lord. Hebrews 11:17-19: “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” Read Week 6-Bible Stories to Share with Your Children: The Births of Ishmael and Isaac
The moment the open source RepRap 3D printer was created, its potential for helping the developing the world was evident. The distributed digital production of open source appropriate technology can make a real difference. Research in this area has been heating up with numerous applications from the Enabling the Future's prosthetic hands, to the Waterscope microscope, to more mundane things like organic farm tools. The ReFab Dar project hopes to accelerate this trend. It is a pilot program that explores how plastic waste can power entrepreneurship using 3D printers in Tanzania. They have built on the early work done by the Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology Laboratory's efforts with open source recyclebots to turn plastic waste into 3D printing filament and then into high-value products. Final designs are due on March 20, and a winner selected by March 31. The winning team will share $500 and have the opportunity to have their design field tested in hospital facilities by doctors. Join by registering: 3DHeals & ReFab Dar 3D Printing Design Hackathon. ReFab Dar is asking for help to develop an app for 3D printers to use to make certain medical tools that they can prototype in Africa and refine into products that will save time, lives, and money. Eventually they hope to redefine the entire medical supply chain in Africa. They are looking for open source designs for products like 3D printed birthing kits, in particular the neonatal aspirators, and a clean alternative for circumcision kits to prevent the spread of HIV. Also on their wishlist are kits for building low-cost electronic diagnostic microscopes. Their focus is to develop tools that touch on each of the main killers that cause the greatest loss of life in Sub-Saharan Africa: malaria, HIV, preterm labor, lack of breath at birth, infection (parasites and bacteria), and stroke. Of course, once designed, the open source medical tools can be 3D printed and used anywhere in the world for pennies on the dollar. Designers and winners can come from anywhere in the world. So, if you are interested in trying your hand at 3D design for a good cause, perhaps try OpenSCAD (the programmer's solid modeling tool) to make the designs. Make sure to submit to an open 3D repository as well as the contest to get your ideas out to the world. The two main challenge categories are: Healthy Mamas and Babies: Prenatal toolkit neonatal aspirators HIV Prevention: Infant Mogen clamp alternatives, and Prepex placement and removal tools The final designs are due on March 20, and a winner selected by March 31. The winning team will get to share $500 prize money and will have the opportunity to have their design field tested in hospital facilities by Jhpiego doctors and the chance to become real products that save lives. Join by registering on 3DHeals & ReFab Dar 3D Printing Design Hackathon. For full rules and regulations, see the 3D Printing Design Hackathon project page. Check Voices of Africa for more updates.
On Friday Radar ran three stories on the latest developments in the Gabriel Aubry and Halle Berry custody battle. TMZ ran two reports on this story. As we’ve come to expect, TMZ has Halle’s camp’s side while Radar is getting the deets from Gabriel. A judge ruled on Friday that Gabriel must be supervised while he’s with his nearly four-year-old daughter, Nahla, and that she cannot stay with him overnight. This comes after allegations that he pushed and yelled at a nanny while she was holding Nahla. Both TMZ and Radar carried the news about supervised visitation. TMZ had a follow-up that Gabriel could lose all custody rights to Nahla, although Radar claims that was never on the table. Gabriel is contesting the court ruling that he attend anger management courses, and according to Radar he feels “railroaded” by Halle and the courts. Radar also claims that no signs of physical abuse against Nahla or the nanny have been found. Here’s their “team Gabe” insider quote: Reports say that DCFS is concerned about Nahla while she is with her father, but our source says this is simply NOT the case. “DCFS has found no signs of physical or verbal abuse regarding Gabriel. They just want the judge to formally order Aubry to attend parenting classes with Halle and take the anger management classes. He has been resisting that because he feels like he has been railroaded unfairly. Gabriel wants the nanny to be held accountable for lying because he says he never even touched her,” the insider says. [From Radar] TMZ has the “team Halle” quotes that Gabe is a big bad guy who scares his little girl. Gabriel Aubry has been accessed of multiple incidents of child neglect and endangerment … and one of the accusers is 3-year-old Nahla, TMZ has learned. Sources tell us the L.A. Department of Children and Family Services conducted numerous interviews with people familiar with the relationship between Gabriel, Halle Berry and Nahla. We’re told DCFS now has numerous incidents that have raised concerns about Gabriel’s ability to properly parent his child. We’re told DCFS conducted an interview with Nahla, who talked about her father and described incidents involving him screaming at her — and how it made her extremely frightened. Our sources say DCFS has information about Gabriel yanking the child out of the nanny’s hand, allegedly pushing the nanny while holding the child, and putting the child in harm’s way while Halle was shooting movie in Europe. As TMZ previously reported, the Dependency Court ordered that Gabriel can only have contact with his daughter in the presence of a monitor to ensure the safety of Nahla. But we’re told that is just the beginning … there will be numerous other hearings, as well as additional requirements that Gabriel must fulfill, which will include various forms of counseling. As we reported earlier, Gabriel agreed to anger management counseling … but we’re told the Dependency Court will order more than that. Just a note … Dependency Court is different from the family court where Garbiel and Halle have been frequent visitors over the past year. Dependency Court is designed specifically to protect a child when there are signs of neglect or abuse. Being hauled into Dependency Court is far more serious than a family law skirmish. [From TMZ] Even assuming this is all true from an objective viewpoint, why put it out there? Gabriel is always going to be the father of Halle’s daughter, and Nahla is probably going to google herself and read this one day. It really seems like Halle’s game plan is to shut Gabriel out of their daughter’s life at any cost, not to get him the help he may need to be a better father. On some level I get why she wants to protect her daughter, but Nahla would be best served by parents who tried to keep their custody battle out of the press for starters. We’re hearing he said/she said stories constantly as each side strives to get their version out there. They should focus on their daughter and what’s best for her, but that’s obviously not happening here, nor will it happen without a giant maturity leap by both parties. Meanwhile Halle is still trying to move to France, and Radar claims that the judge is “unlikely to grant” her formal request to do so with their daughter. That’s what Gabriel is hoping will happen. Will Halle marry Oliver Martinez soon, and how long will they last until we learn that he’s a jerk too?
The Uzi (Hebrew: עוזי, officially cased as UZI) () is a family of Israeli open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns. Smaller variants are often considered to be machine pistols. The Uzi was one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design which allows the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon. The first Uzi submachine gun was designed by Major Uziel Gal in the late 1940s. The prototype was finished in 1950. First introduced to IDF special forces in 1954, the weapon was placed into general issue two years later. The Uzi has found use as a personal defense weapon by rear-echelon troops, officers, artillery troops and tankers, as well as a frontline weapon by elite light infantry assault forces. The Uzi has been exported to over 90 countries.[11] Over its service lifetime, it has been manufactured by Israel Military Industries, FN Herstal, and other manufacturers. From the 1960s through the 1980s, more Uzi submachine guns were sold to more military, law enforcement and security markets than any other submachine gun ever made.[14] Design [ edit ] The Uzi uses an open-bolt, blowback-operated design, quite similar to the Jaroslav Holeček-designed Czech ZK 476 (prototype only)[15] and the production Sa 23, Sa 24, Sa 25, and Sa 26 series of submachine guns. The open bolt design exposes the breech end of the barrel, and improves cooling during periods of continuous fire. However, it means that since the bolt is held to the rear when cocked, the receiver is more susceptible to contamination from sand and dirt. It uses a telescoping bolt design, in which the bolt wraps around the breech end of the barrel.[16] This allows the barrel to be moved far back into the receiver and the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip, allowing for a heavier, slower-firing bolt in a shorter, better-balanced weapon.[14] The weapon is constructed primarily from stamped sheet metal, making it less expensive per unit to manufacture than an equivalent design machined from forgings. With relatively few moving parts, the Uzi is easy to strip for maintenance or repair. The magazine is housed within the pistol grip, allowing for intuitive and easy reloading in dark or difficult conditions, under the principle of "hand finds hand". The pistol grip is fitted with a grip safety, making it difficult to fire accidentally. However, the protruding vertical magazine makes the gun awkward to fire when prone.[16] The Uzi features a bayonet lug.[17] Operation [ edit ] The non-reciprocating charging handle on the top of the receiver cover is used to retract the bolt. Variants have a ratchet safety mechanism which will catch the bolt and lock its movement if it is retracted past the magazine, but not far enough to engage the sear. When the handle is fully retracted to the rear, the bolt will cock (catch) on the sear mechanism and the handle and cover are released to spring fully forward under power of a small spring. The cover will remain forward during firing since it does not reciprocate with the bolt. The military and police versions will fire immediately upon chambering a cartridge as the Uzi is an open bolt weapon. There are two external safety mechanisms on the Uzi. The first is the three-position selector lever located at the top of the grip and behind the trigger group. The rear position is "S", or "safe" (S = Sicher or Secure on the MP2), which locks the sear and prevents movement of the bolt. The second external safety mechanism is the grip safety, which is located at the rear of the grip. It is meant to help prevent accidental discharge if the weapon is dropped or the user loses a firm grip on the weapon during firing. The trigger mechanism is a conventional firearm trigger, but functions only to control the release mechanism for either the bolt (submachine gun) or firing pin holding mechanism (semi-auto) since the Uzi does not incorporate an internal cocking or hammer mechanism. While the open-bolt system is mechanically simpler than a closed-bolt design (e.g. Heckler & Koch MP5), it creates a noticeable delay between when the trigger is pulled and when the gun fires. The magazine release button or lever is located on the lower portion of the pistol grip and is intended to be manipulated by the non-firing hand. The paddle-like button lies flush with the pistol grip in order to help prevent accidental release of the magazine during rigorous or careless handling. When the gun is de-cocked the ejector port closes, preventing entry of dust and dirt. Though the Uzi's stamped-metal receiver is equipped with pressed reinforcement slots to accept accumulated dirt and sand, the weapon can still jam with heavy accumulations of sand in desert combat conditions when not cleaned regularly.[18] The magazine must be removed prior to de-cocking the weapon. Stocks [ edit ] Uzi with a wooden stock. Uzi with folding stock There are different stocks available for the Uzi proper.[19] There is a wooden stock with a metal buttplate that comes in three similar variations that was used by the IDF. The first version had a flat butt and straight comb and had hollows for a cleaning rod and gun oil bottle. The second had an angled butt and a straight comb and no hollows. The third had an angled butt and curved comb and no hollows; a polymer version is currently available from IMI. The wooden stocks originally had a quick-release base but the ones sold in the United States have a permanent base to be compliant with US gun laws. Choate made an aftermarket polymer stock with a rubber buttpad that had a flat butt, a straight comb, and a permanent base. In 1956,[20] IMI developed a downward-folding twin-strut metal stock with two swiveling sections that tucks under the rear of the receiver. The Mini Uzi has a forward-folding single-strut metal stock that is actually an inch longer than the Uzi's. Its buttplate can be used as a foregrip when stowed. The Micro Uzi has a similar model. Magazines [ edit ] The original box magazines for the 9mm Uzi had a 25-round capacity. Experimental 40- and 50-round extended magazines were tried but were found to be unreliable. A 32-round extended magazine was then tried and was later accepted as standard. The Mini Uzi and Micro Uzi use a shorter 20-round magazine. Available extended magazines include 40-, and 50-round magazines. Other high-capacity aftermarket magazines exist such as the Vector Arms 70-round and Beta Company (Beta C-Mag) 100-round drums. The .45 ACP Uzi used a 16- or 22-round magazine, while the .45 ACP Micro Uzi and Mini Uzi used a 12-round magazine. A conversion kit by Vector Arms allowed the .45-caliber Uzi to use the same 30-round magazines as the M3 "Grease Gun".[21] Caliber conversions [ edit ] The Uzi was available with caliber conversion kits in .22 LR or .41 AE. The operator just has to change the barrel, bolt and magazine. The .22 LR had 20-round magazines; the original IMI kit used a barrel insert while the aftermarket Action Arms kit used a full replacement barrel. The .41 AE also had a 20-round magazine; since it has the same bolt face as the 9×19mm Parabellum, only the barrel and magazine needed to be changed.[21] IMI also manufactured a .45ACP conversion kit both in full auto/open bolt with a 10.2" barrel for the 9mm SMG and a semi only/closed bolt with a 16" barrel for the carbine version. Magazine capacity is limited, with 2 sizes of 16 and 10 rds each. Aftermarket caliber conversions also exist in .40 S&W and 10mm Auto. Since these calibers have a similar bolt-face as the 9×19mm Parabellum round, the bolt does not need to be changed.[21] The .40 S&W kit could be used with the regular 9mm Uzi but the 10 mm Auto kit needed to use the .45 ACP Uzi due to its larger size and power. Operational use [ edit ] An Israeli soldier with an Uzi during the Yom Kippur War Israeli soldiers on parade with Uzis, Jerusalem, 1968 The Uzi submachine gun was designed by Captain (later Major) Uziel Gal of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The weapon was submitted to the Israeli Army for evaluation and won out over more conventional designs due to its simplicity and economy of manufacture. Gal did not want the weapon to be named after him, but his request was ignored. The Uzi was officially adopted in 1951. First introduced to IDF special forces in 1954, the weapon was placed into general issue two years later. The first Uzis were equipped with a short, fixed wooden buttstock, and this is the version that initially saw combat during the 1956 Suez Campaign. Later models would be equipped with a folding metal stock.[18] The Uzi was used as a personal defense weapon by rear-echelon troops, officers, artillery troops and tankers, as well as a frontline weapon by elite light infantry assault forces. The Uzi's compact size and firepower proved instrumental in clearing Syrian bunkers and Jordanian defensive positions during the 1967 Six-Day War. Though the weapon was phased out of frontline IDF service in the 1980s, some Uzis and Uzi variants were still used by a few IDF units until December 2003, when the IDF announced that it was retiring the Uzi from all IDF forces.[22] It was subsequently replaced by the fully automatic Micro Tavor. In general, the Uzi was a reliable weapon in military service. However, even the Uzi fell victim to extreme conditions of sand and dust. During the Sinai Campaign of the Yom Kippur War, IDF Army units reaching the Suez Canal reported that of all their small arms, only the 7.62 mm FN MAG machine gun was still in operation.[23] The Uzi proved especially useful for mechanized infantry needing a compact weapon, and for infantry units clearing bunkers and other confined spaces. However, its limited range and accuracy in automatic fire (approximately 50 m) could be disconcerting when encountering enemy forces armed with longer-range small arms, and heavier support weapons could not always substitute for a longer-ranged individual weapon. These failings eventually caused the phasing out of the Uzi from IDF front-line assault units .[22] The Uzi has been used in various conflicts outside Israel and the Middle East during the 1960s and 1970s. Quantities of 9 mm Uzi submachine guns were used by Portuguese cavalry, police, and security forces during the Portuguese Colonial Wars in Africa.[18] Worldwide sales [ edit ] Total sales of the weapon to date (end 2001) has netted IMI over $2 billion (US), with over 90 countries using the weapons either for their armed forces or in law enforcement.[14] Military variants [ edit ] The Uzi Submachine Gun is a standard Uzi with a 10-inch (250 mm) barrel. It has a rate of automatic fire of 600 rounds per minute (rpm) when chambered in 9mm Parabellum; the .45 ACP model's rate of fire is slower at 500 rpm.[18] A Mini Uzi The Mini Uzi is a smaller version of the regular Uzi, first introduced in 1980. The Mini Uzi is 600 mm (23.62 inches) long or 360 mm (14.17 inches) long with the stock folded. Its barrel length is 197 mm (7.76 inches), its muzzle velocity is 375 m/s (1230 f/s) and its effective range is 100 m. It has a greater automatic rate of fire of 950 rounds per minute due to the shorter bolt. Its weight is approximately 2.7 kg (6.0 lb).[18] Argentinian special forces with a Micro UZI. The Micro Uzi is an even further scaled down version of the Uzi, introduced in 1986. The Micro Uzi is 486 mm (19.13 in) long, reduced to 282 mm (11.10 in) with the stock folded and its barrel length is 117 mm and has a closed bolt compared to its original counterpart.[27] Its muzzle velocity is 350 m/s (1148 f/s) and its cyclic rate of fire is 1,200 rpm. It weighs slightly over 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) and has a closed bolt compared to its original counterpart.[18] UZI PRO The Uzi Pro, an improved variant of the Micro Uzi, was launched in 2010 by Israel Weapon Industries Ltd. (I.W.I.), formerly the magen ("small arms") division of Israel Military Industries. The Uzi Pro is a blowback-operated, select-fire, closed-bolt submachine gun with a large lower portion, comprising grip and handguard, entirely made of polymer to reduce weight; the grip section was redesigned to allow two-handed operation and facilitate control in full-automatic fire with such a small-sized firearm. The Uzi Pro features four Picatinny rails, two at the sides of the barrel, which can be removed, one below the barrel for the addition of forgrips and one on the top for optics. The under barrel rail is often shown with a specialised foregrip which attaches to the pistol grip to form a hand guard. In addition, the cocking handle has been moved to the left side.[28] The new weapon weighs 2.32 kg and has a length of 529 mm with an extended stock,[29] and 30 cm while collapsed. It has been purchased by the IDF in limited numbers for evaluation and it is yet to be decided whether or not to order additional units for all of its special forces.[29][30] Civilian variants [ edit ] Uzi carbine [ edit ] The Uzi carbine is similar in appearance to the Uzi submachine gun. The Uzi carbine is fitted with a 16-inch (410 mm) barrel (400mm), to meet the minimum rifle barrel length requirement for civilian sales in the United States. A small number of Uzi carbines were produced with the standard length barrel for special markets. It fires from a closed-bolt position in semi-automatic mode only and uses a floating firing pin as opposed to a fixed firing pin.[23] The FS-style selector switch has two positions (the automatic setting was blocked): "F" for "fire" (semi-auto) and "S" for "safe". Uzi carbines are available in calibers .22LR, 9mm, .41 AE, and .45 ACP. The Uzi carbine has two main variants, the Model A (imported from 1980 to 1983) and the Model B (imported from 1983 until 1989). These two variants were imported and distributed by Action Arms.[23] The American firm Group Industries made limited numbers of a copy of the Uzi "B" model semiauto carbine for sale in the US along with copies of the Uzi submachine gun for the U.S. collectors' market. After registering several hundred submachine guns transferable to the general public through a special government regulated process, production was halted due to financial troubles at the company. Company assets (including partially made Uzi submachine guns, parts, and tooling) were purchased by an investment group later to become known as Vector Arms. Vector Arms built and marketed numerous versions of the Uzi carbine and the Mini Uzi.[31] Today, while the civilian manufacture, sale and possession of post 1986 select-fire Uzi and its variants is prohibited in the United States it is still legal to sell templates, tooling and manuals to complete such conversion. These items are typically marketed as being "post-sample" materials for use by Federal Firearm Licensees for manufacturing/distributing select-fire variants of the Uzi to Law Enforcement, Military and Overseas customers.[32] Mini Uzi carbine [ edit ] The Mini Uzi Carbine is similar in appearance to the Mini Uzi machine pistol. The Mini Uzi carbine is fitted with a 19.8 inch barrel, to meet the minimum rifle overall length requirement for civilian sales in the United States. It fires from a closed-bolt position in semi-automatic mode only.[23] Uzi pistol [ edit ] An Uzi Pistol with a 20-round magazine. The Uzi Pistol is a semi-automatic, closed bolt, and blowback-operated pistol variant. Its muzzle velocity is 345 m/s. It is a Micro Uzi with no shoulder stock or full-automatic firing capability. The intended users of the pistol are various security agencies in need of a high-capacity semi-automatic pistol, or civilian shooters who want a gun with those qualities and the familiarity of the Uzi style. It was introduced in 1984 and produced until 1993.[18] Uzi Pro Pistol [ edit ] The Uzi Pro pistol is a current version of the Uzi pistol. The Uzi pro pistol has rails on the top and bottom, and there is an optional stabilizing brace. Unlike any other Uzi variant, the Uzi pro pistol has a side charging handle, rather than a top charging handle, and the Uzi pro pistol has a 3-stage safety. There are three safetys on the uzi pro pistol, consisting of a Thumb safety, grip safety, and a firing pin block. This model was intended for law enforcement and civilian use, due to the compact size, rails, and a semi-automatic rate of fire. Unlike other Uzi variants, the Uzi pro pistol is only chambered for 9x19 parabellum. Copies [ edit ] AG Strojnica ERO [ edit ] Strojnica ERO The Arma Grupa Strojnica ERO (Arms Group "ERO machine-gun") was a Croatian Uzi clone made locally by Arma Grupa of Zagreb during the Yugoslav War. It was made entirely from steel stampings, causing it to weigh more (3.73 kg (8.2 lb)).[33] The only difference from the Uzi is the selector switch, which is marked R (Rafalno {"burst"}, for full automatic fire), P (Pojedinačno, for single shot) and Z (Zaključan,{locked}, for safe) and its rate of fire is 650 rounds per minute. It uses the 32-round magazine as standard, but can use any 9mm Uzi-interface magazine of 25 rounds or larger. The Strojnica Mini ERO is a clone of the Micro Uzi; it differs in that it had a heavy-gauge folding wire stock like the Vz.61 Skorpion Machine Pistol. It weighs 2.2 kg / 4.85 lbs. unloaded and is 545.5 mm / 21.47 inches overall with the folding stock extended and 250 mm / 9.84 inches with the stock folded.It uses the 20-round Mini Uzi magazine. BA93 and BA94 [ edit ] The BA93 and BA94 are US-made clones of the Uzi. Production started in Myanmar after 1991 when an Israeli delegation visited the country and supplied the Tatmadaw with Uzis.[34][35] It also included the rights to manufacture the Uzi under license.[36] The BA93 is based on the Uzi, but with a longer barrel and fixed stock.[37] It was introduced in 1993.[36] It's commonly seen with Myanma soldiers and special forces units operating in commando or VIP protection operations.[36] The BA94 was introduced in 1994.[38] Improvements made include moving the charging handle from the top to the left with a shorter barrel.[36] This model is mostly seen with Myanma police forces.[36] As of 2018, both weapons were renamed MA-13.[37] Socimi Type 821 [ edit ] Norinco M320 [ edit ] Norinco of China manufactures an unlicensed copy of the Uzi Model B that is sold as the M320. Early versions were marked "POLICE Model" in English. Modifications were made to avoid the US Assault Weapon Import Ban: the folding stock was replaced with a wooden thumbhole stock, the barrel nut was welded in place, and the bayonet lug was removed.[39] The gun had a gray parkerized finish, a 410-mm (16-inch) carbine-length barrel and is 800 mm (31.49 inches) overall. Zastava M97 [ edit ] The Zastava M97 is a Serbian clone of the Mini Uzi.[40] Two variants consist of the M97 with an 8" barrel and the M97K with a 6.5" barrel and no folding stock with a vertical foregrip permanent attached.[40] Users [ edit ] Africa [ edit ] Asia [ edit ] Europe [ edit ] North America [ edit ] Oceania [ edit ] South America [ edit ] frigate Independencia rappels onto a ship from a Brazilian Navy A visit, board, search and seizure team attached to the Brazilian Navy rappels onto a ship from a Brazilian Navy Lynx helicopter during an exercise in 2007. Gallery [ edit ] An Uzi-armed Israeli on guard duty in the Negev (1956). Note wooden stock. Israeli paratroopers armed with Uzis in 1958 An Uzi submachine gun. Uzi with suppressor. An Uzi pistol. An Uzi seized during Operation Urgent Fury See also [ edit ]
A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi prays prior to the “iftar” fast-breaking meal at a sit-in protest at the Rabaa al Adweya Mosque in Cairo on July 28. (Ed Giles/Getty Images) More than three weeks after the military coup that ousted this nation’s first democratically elected — and Islamist — president from power, the roots of a violent insurgency are burrowing fast into the sands of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The rapid thud of machine-gun fire and the explosions of rocket-propelled grenades have begun to shatter the silence of the desert days and nights here with startling regularity, as militants assault the military and police forces stationed across this volatile territory that borders Israel and the Gaza Strip. The emerging Sinai crisis gives Egypt’s military a pretext to crack down on Islamist opponents across the country, including in Cairo, where at least 72 people were killed over the weekend when security forces opened fire on demonstrators rallying in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Egypt’s interim government issued a decree Sunday that granted the military the power to detain civilians, state media reported. Analysts and rights activists said the decree suggested that a state of emergency, a tool that the regime of now-deposed autocrat Hosni Mubarak had used for decades to silence opponents, might soon follow. But in the Sinai, where the reaction to Morsi’s ouster turned deadly within days of the coup, such state-sponsored violence and repression is likely to only feed the conviction of militants, who see themselves as waging a war against a despotic and irreligious military regime. In the Sinai, long Egypt’s most elusive and neglected region, a familiar cycle of repression has already taken hold. The military has clamped down hard on all routes in and out. And Saturday, the armed forces launched Operation Desert Storm in the peninsula, according to the state-run al- Ahram newspaper. The operation got underway after millions of Egyptians took to the streets Friday to heed the military’s call to give it the popular “mandate” to crack down on violence and “terrorism.” Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said Egypt’s security forces have been given permission to confront those who threaten the state’s “stability.” “The people have given the army and the police a popular mandate to stand firmly against anyone who shakes the stability of the nation with terrorist or criminal acts,” Ibrahim said Sunday at a graduation ceremony for police recruits. Backlash over coup Bedouin leaders and Islamists in the Sinai say locals have been angered by the coup because it brought an end to Egypt’s nascent democracy — a concept that was slow to catch on in this deeply conservative territory that has long been suspicious of Cairo. Many others, particularly Bedouin smugglers, in a population long accustomed to sweeping arrests, state-sanctioned discrimination and torture under Mubarak, say that they tasted freedom in the anarchy that prevailed under Morsi and that they are determined to avoid a return to the past even if it costs them their lives. Sinai residents say “operations” under Morsi were more propaganda than action. But local leaders and rights groups fear that the military’s ongoing operation could target the Bedouin as a whole, rather than the 100 or so militants residing among them. Since Egypt’s armed forces ousted Morsi on July 3, militants have launched dozens of attacks on military and police checkpoints and bases across North Sinai, killing dozens, according to state health officials, and underscoring the potential for widening violence across the country as Islamist anger grows. Lawlessness, smuggling and militancy have thrived on the peninsula since the 2011 fall of Mubarak’s regime. Bedouin arms dealers who are sympathetic to the militants said in recent days that fighters have launched shoulder-fired antiaircraft Stinger missiles (known to the U.S. intelligence community as MANPADs) at military aircraft, laid improvised bombs along roads traversed heavily by troops, and fired barrages of bullets and RPGs at security personnel stationed here. On Sunday, a police commander who spoke on the condition of anonymity said police had located a fourth bomb outside the Sheik Zweid village police station in less than 48 hours. The first three exploded, injuring several police officers, the official said. Both police commanders and Bedouin leaders say the militants are a minority in the desert peninsula; the latter group says the militants consist mostly of locals who operate in small cells, with little to no command structure. But Bedouin leaders fear that the territory’s population may soon get swept up in the military’s crackdown, escalating the conflict into a wider war. On a night last week, militants struck the Hay al-Safa military base near Rafah with an RPG and then gunfire. Hours later, they struck again — with what local arms dealers said were armor-piercing bullets. Families living in the area said they have grown afraid to transit through security checkpoints at night, lest they get caught in the crossfire or get targeted by nervous troops. At least 10 civilians have died in the violence this month. ‘Back to square one’ Unlike mainland Egypt, where Morsi supporters have staged thousands-strong protests that have shut down major roads and convulsed cities from Cairo to the Nile Delta, the Sinai has quickly taken its dissent to a more violent level. Local Bedouins say it is the route borne of the territory’s cyclical history of state repression and a natural response from a local population flush with weapons and budding extremist groups. “Protests aren’t really in our nature,” Abu Ashraf, a powerful tribal leader and smuggler in North Sinai, said last week using his nickname. “Our nature is . . .” he said, then stopped, smiled and pantomimed firing a gun. In the wake of the coup, Egyptian security forces locked down the single bridge that connects the peninsula to the mainland and set up a battery of checkpoints along the highways that link Cairo to the Suez Canal, and onward across North Sinai, where soldiers check IDs and sift through luggage in the trunks of cars. They shine strobe lights into vehicles at night. The Sinai Bedouin feel as if the state is targeting them — again. Analysts and local political leaders in North Sinai interpreted the call by Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, Egypt’s military commander, for a mandate to fight terrorism as a signal that a Mubarak-style crackdown was imminent. “I think Sissi wants public cover for his bloody work,” said Ahmed Salem, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood in el-Arish, capital of North Sinai. As much as the Sinai insurgency derives from militant anger at Morsi’s ouster, it is also a preemptive backlash rooted in fear, say Bedouin leaders who sympathize with the militants. “People here have gotten some freedoms, and they will not allow those to be taken away now,” said Mohamed, a fundamentalist sheik in North Sinai who requested that his last name not be used. “The coup took us back to square one,” he said, and the Sinai’s Islamists are expressing anger at the military “in any way they can.” “If the state does not reverse al-Sissi’s mistake, there will be more for them to endure,” he said. Morsi’s rule offered some respite from the repression — a new kind of freedom, some Bedouin leaders said. He didn’t deliver the roads, schools or hospitals that local leaders say would help break the territory’s cycle of violent resistance. But he left them alone. “Nothing happened the year that Morsi was in power,” said one Bedouin smuggler who spent eight years in prison under Mubarak. “Morsi had no control here. But at least he didn’t insult or arrest anyone. When you would pass by the checkpoints, they would respect you. Now we’re back to the way it was before.” Steadily increasing violence The military says its crackdown is necessary to fight terror, but the Bedouin here say it only adds fuel to their rebellion, in a cycle that may soon spiral out of control. Security officials say they have seized Syrian, Palestinian and even Russian fighters in the Sinai since Morsi’s ouster. They have accused the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Morsi, and the Islamist militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, of orchestrating the violence, and say that many of the Sinai’s fighters are well-trained jihadists. Last week, the Interior Ministry said a “car accident” in the South Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh led to the arrest of a jihadist who had fought in Syria. On Sunday, a police official said security forces had killed 10 “jihadists” and arrested 20 others over the weekend. The police also have blamed the Brotherhood for the deadly weekend clashes in the Egyptian capital, sparked by police attacks on demonstrators. The Brotherhood says it does not condone violence. “We do not support, and we do not accept it, even if it seems like the violence is in support of us,” said Salem, the spokesman. But the Sinai, he said, was beyond the group’s control. “We had tried to tell them that democracy would give them another chance to be good people and to be involved in society,” he said of the region’s smugglers and fugitives. “But this coup made them lose faith.” And the violence is steadily increasing. Last week, a car exploded on a rural road through the sand dunes that armored vehicles regularly transit to carry supplies to troops stationed at a gas pipeline that had come under repeated attack in the year before Morsi’s presidency. Local villagers speculated that the three men in the car — all killed in the blast — were in the process of laying a roadside bomb when it exploded prematurely. State media reported that the “terrorists” were driving a car containing a bomb that detonated near a police training camp. “The military is afraid that what’s happening here will spread to the rest of the republic — from clashes to car bombs,” Abu Ashraf said. And if Morsi isn’t returned to power, Abu Ashraf and other tribal leaders said, car bombings probably will ensue. Others said sectarian violence also would flare in the absence of a political solution. Militants fatally shot two Christians in North Sinai this month. Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency said Sunday that a third had been kidnapped. “There is a sense here that the Christians played a big role in the coup,” said Mohamed, Abu Ashraf’s brother. “I expect there to be more Muslim-Christian violence in the future.” At a police station that has come under attack almost every day in the center of el-Arish, plainclothes officers huddled in the main corridor on a recent day, fearful of the next attack. Their two armored vehicles sat abandoned outside. “The biggest problem that we’re facing is that the people are not helping us,” a police commander said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Sometimes the attacks are directed from neighboring rooftops, he said. At the door, an officer paced nervously with a Kalashnikov. The commander held up a twisted piece of metal that appeared to be the tail of an RPG — one of two missiles to strike the station the day before. In a separate attack the same day, an officer was fatally shot on the roof. When a call came in that the station might soon come under attack, the officers quickly grabbed more Kalashnikovs and strapped on old flak vests. “You have to leave here now. There are armed men on the way,” the officer told a visiting reporter. Then they locked the gate. Sharaf al-Hourani and Lara El Gibaly in Cairo contributed to this report.
When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, things are always expanding. Heroes like Black Panther and Spider-Man recently entered the franchise ahead of characters such as Captain Marvel. And, now, fans have just learned the folks at Marvel Studios have tossed around the idea of introducing a patriot who could rival even Captain America. During a recent interview with Hey U Guys, Feige was asked directly is the MCU would ever introduce Captain Britain. The producer gave a surprising answer, saying, “We have discussed it. There are a lot of actors that come in and ask about that part, so we’ll have to see.” If you are not familiar with Captain Britain, then you have a bit of history to catch up on. The character was made back in October 1976 by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe. Known as Brian Braddock to start, the quiet boy hailed from Essex and worked at a nuclear research facility. When Brian tries to stop a criminal from infiltrating his workplace, the man nearly dies from his injuries, but the magician Merlyn chooses to save Brian’s life by turning him into Captain Britain. By accepting the Amulet of Right, Captain Britain becomes involved with a larger corps of dimensional defenders who protect the multiverse. Brian strives to be Britain’s greatest champion by being a mirror to Captain America. In fact, the two captains have even partnered together to prevent neo-Nazi organizations from overtaking Britain in the past. Judging by Feige’s comments, it looks like there are already stars interested in bringing Captain Britain to life. The producer said lots of actors have inquired about the role, so there must be a large pool of British stars out there chomping for the gig. If the MCU were to introduce Captain Britain, it would shift the franchise’s focus to another part of the world. The Avengers primarily work in America while Black Panther oversees his land of Wakanda. Captain Britain could take moviegoers on a journey to the United Kingdom, and the character’s debut could even pave the way for comic book teams like MI-13 or Excalibur. MORE: Spider-Man Cosplayers Take Over An Airplane You can find the official synopsis for Homecoming below, which has a 4.13 out of 5 on ComicBook.com's anticipation rankings. A young Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was one of the first lawmakers to call for an investigation of Planned Parenthood on the day the first undercover video from the Center for Medical Progress was released. Today, Jindal announced that the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is exercising the state’s right to terminate the abortion provider’s contract with Medicaid. In a news release today, Jindal’s office said: Today, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals informed Planned Parenthood it is exercising its right to terminate Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid provider agreement. In recent weeks, multiple videos have surfaced showing Planned Parenthood Federation of America senior personnel and other employees describing how they actively engage in illegal partial birth abortion procedures and conduct these abortions in a manner that leaves body parts intact so that they can later be sold on the open market. The statement adds: Governor Jindal said, “In recent weeks, it has been shocking to see reports of the alleged activities taking place at Planned Parenthood facilities across the country. Planned Parenthood does not represent the values of the people of Louisiana and shows a fundamental disrespect for human life. It has become clear that this is not an organization that is worthy of receiving public assistance from the state.” The Medicaid contract between DHH and Planned Parenthood, as well as the law, says that either party may cancel the contract with a 30-day written notice, which is what Louisiana did today. The news release says: [T]he Planned Parenthood Medicaid provider contract because Planned Parenthood does not represent the values of the State of Louisiana in regards to respecting human life. Jindal’s office is also informed about the fact that cutting off the Medicaid contract of the two Planned Parenthood providers in the state will not hurt women’s health care because the Louisiana Medicaid Family Planning Services program “is required to provide adequate services to women across the state. Cancellation of this contract at will does not jeopardize those services in any way as Planned Parenthood is just one of many providers in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas.”
One of the world's busiest migrant corridors runs from Central America through Mexico. For decades, migrants from the northern triangle of that region — Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala — have fled countries plagued by endemic levels of violence and crime in the hopes of crossing the Mexican border and eventually seeking asylum in the United States. But migration experts say the profile of those using that route is rapidly changing. With European borders tightening and increased anti-immigration anxiety in the United States, a rising number of migrants from as far away as Africa and Asia are turning to the Central American migrant corridor in the hopes of reaching a new promised land: Canada. Tapachula, in the Chiapas region of Mexico, is a key transit hub on the Mexican-Guatemalan border. CBC News met dozens of migrants there, young men and women who fled their homes in Somalia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Haiti. Many say they began their journeys — which take between three and five months and cost upwards of $20,000 US — with Canada in mind. Others changed their plans and want to reach Canada in fear of U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies. All have faced extraordinary journeys to reach Tapachula — threatened by smugglers, robbed at gunpoint, trekking through jungles with little food or water. Border crossing A map showing the route many African migrants take - with the help of smugglers - to get to Canada. (CBC) The majority of African and Asian migrants enter South America through Brazil or Bolivia, countries that in some cases they can enter without a visa. They travel by boat, bus or foot through Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala — countries that grant them temporary visas of 20 days to transit through the country — before reaching the Mexican border. Almost none speak any Spanish. They are easy targets for violent smugglers and extortion by immigration agents along the well-trodden route. Most say they met migrants of their country of origin in almost every country they crossed. By the time they reach the Mexican border, they are often travelling in groups of between five and 20 people. They cross into Mexico by raft at an informal but dangerous river crossing used to transit guns and drugs as well as people. Whereas most Central American migrants pay approximately $1 US to cross, African and Asian migrants are charged nearly 10 times as much. Latin America's biggest detention centre Protests against overcrowding are a regular occurrence at the immigration centre in Tapachula, Latin America's largest. (Marc Robichaud/CBC) The immigration centre in Tapachula is the largest in Latin America. Protests against overcrowding are a regular occurrence inside. Many of the hundreds of thousands of Central American migrants who cross into Mexico are often detained here before being deported by bus back to their countries of origin. African and Asian migrants, whose countries do not have deportation agreements with Mexico, line up outside to apply for a temporary transit visa. Last year, the immigration centre in Tapachula registered 442 African migrants in a single day. Simanto, 25, Bangladesh Simato, who didn't want to be photographed head on because he fears for his safety and the safety of his relatives, says his family in Bangladesh sold everything they had and gave him $4,000 US to make the trip to Bolivia and through the Central American corridor to the U.S. (Marc Robichaud/CBC) Simanto arrived at the Tapachula detention centre on a hot Sunday afternoon with five fellow migrants from Bangladesh, India and Nepal. A Hindu, Simanto fled his home after a spike in violent attacks against his country's long-persecuted minority group. The 25-year-old says his family, which sells fish, sold everything they had and gave him $4,000 US to make the trip to Bolivia and up through the Central American corridor to the United States. But Simanto, who wished not to show his face or use his last name because he fears for his safety and the safety of his family at home, says he doubts he will be granted asylum in the United States. He says he is considering trying to reach Canada and may risk crossing illegally into the U.S. to do so. He owes that to his parents, he says, who gave up everything to help him leave Bangladesh. Pierre Gracia, 21, Haiti Pierre Gracia left Haiti with others who want to reach Canada, but they aren't sure how they will get there. (Marc Robichaud/CBC) Many attempting to reach Canada through the Central American corridor are economic migrants. Pierre Gracia, 21, left St. Marc, Haiti, with a group of nearly 20 country men and women. They say the immigration policies of U.S. President Donald Trump have scared them into remaining in Mexico for now rather than passing through to the U.S. They aren't sure how they will reach Canada, but say it is their country of preference. Mama Africa Concepcion Gonzalez Ramirez runs a hostel in Tapachula and often provides migrants with small amounts of money to buy bread or coffee. (Marc Robichaud/CBC) They call her Mama Africa. Concepcion Gonzalez Ramirez runs a $3-a-night hostel just off of Tapachula's main strip that is known among the African migrants who pass through Mexico. Many migrants stay here in groups, planning their next steps or waiting for friends who have been detained by immigration authorities before proceeding north. Ramirez says she teaches the migrants who stay here about the local food and often provides them with small change to buy coffee and bread. She says people often prey on the migrants, believing they have access to cash, but she lives with them and knows that they travel with only the clothes on their backs, often eating only one meal a day. Rahma, Somalia Women following the migrant corridor encounter further risks such as exploitation along the well-trodden route through South and Central America. (Marc Robichaud/CBC) Women face additional risks along the migrant corridor, including sexual assault and exploitation. Rahma, who wished not to show her face or use her last name because she fears for her safety and the safety of her family back home, says she fled Somalia after her husband was killed. Her uncle helped her secure a passport and connect with a smuggler who helped her reach Brazil. Rahma spent six days in Tapachula's detention centre before being released. After several months travelling across South and Central America, she says she's too scared to enter Trump's United States. Khadr, 31, Somalia Khadr, who didn't want to show his face for fear it would endanger his safety, fled Mogadishu's civil war and is determined to reach Canada. (Marc Robichaud/CBC) Khadr fled Mogadishu and that country's civil war. The 31-year-old is staying in the Mama Africa hotel with nearly a dozen other Somalis, all of whom are on 20-day visas that run out in less than two weeks. They are unsure of what to do next. Khadr, who also wished not to show his face or use his last name because he fears for his safety and the safety of his family back home, says the Canadian people and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are welcoming of refugees, citing Canada's resettlement of Syrians. He says he lost one of his toes while trekking through the Darien Gap, the wild jungle that connects Panama and Colombia. He knows Ghanaian refugees have also lost fingers and toes crossing the Canada-U.S. border in freezing temperatures, but he says nothing will stop him from reaching Canada.
[Galactic Domination World PvP Event] Saturday, June 29 @ 6:00pm EST PLANETS AND BASES OF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE: Planetary battles will take place in Instance 1 of each planet, unless otherwise designated. Map of Quesh Battlefield - Republic Operational Headquarters / Imperial Outpost Map of Ilum Battlefield - Republic Base Camp / Imperial Base Camp Map of Belsavis Battlefield – Republic Prison Administration Center / Imperial Lodgment LIVE STREAM: My live stream will contain all relevant event information, in addition to a real time strategic look at the galaxy, so make sure you’re watching! www.twitch.tv/CilasVexer Galactic Conquest Map In the scoreboard shown above, colors signify galactic control of that sector: red for Imperial, and blue for Republic. COMMUNICATION: All same faction communications relating to this event will be coordinated through the corresponding chat channels listed below. In order to join a new chat channel, simply type /cjoin <channel name> /cjoin QueshPvP /cjoin BelsavisPvP /cjoin IlumPvP /cjoin GalacticPvP I will have a designated mumble set up where the Faction Generals and Operations Leaders from both factions can check in to update the status of the WHAT: Due to the overwhelming interest in World PvP on Prophecy of the Five Server, I decided to try something very different. Instead of focusing the event on a single base, this event will encompass multiple bases across different planets! How can things get more epic than that? Like the previous World PvP events held on Hoth, Belsavis, Voss, and Quesh, this event is about nothing more than killing at faction bases. There is however one objective, GALACTIC DOMINATION! This will not be a zerg-fest or a single battle, this is an all-out war. Each faction will be required to use strategy and tactics to outplay their opponents as they bid for galactic domination across multiple planets. If you lost control of a base on Ilum, no problem.. go attack their base on Quesh! It is no secret that Imperial forces outnumber the Republic, but the Republic still has a great chance at achieving victory, see “HOW A FACTION WINS” below. I expect the Republic will be more mobile, taking over a base and moving on before the main Imperial forces can arrive. What does this mean? Imperials will need to have defending garrisons standing by at each of their bases to repel invaders and call for help. HOW A FACTION WINS: Details to follow, but this is what I’m thinking….. The Imperial faction must control the Republic bases on all three planets, in addition to their own, to declare victory. The Republic faction must ensure they maintain control of their bases on all three planets, in addition to controlling and occupying an Imperial base on any planet. A base is considered under enemy control with the flight point for the given base is occupied and all PvE and PvP guards and turrets are neutralized. Republic Tactics Republic forces, you will need to coordinate your attacks swiftly and carefully to take out an imperial base and move on before their reinforcements can arrive. Imperial Tactics Imperial forces, expect the Republic forces to coordinate surgical strikes against your bases. Plan accordingly and ensure adequate garrisons at all bases. Main Imperial forces must be ready to respond to a threat quickly. FACTION GENERAL AND OPERATION LEADER INTEREST: In this event, each faction will designate one Player General decided by vote of the participating Operation Leaders. This player will be responsible for coordinating (via chat channels and mumble) the movement of each operations group in their faction. Additionally, each faction will designate several Operations Leaders. These individuals will coordinate the movement of all players in their operation, as well as communicate with the other Operation Leaders and the Faction General. Any guild or player interested in being an Operations Leader, please post in this thread and I will add your name! Republic General - TBD Republic Operation Leaders – Darkyogurt <Skey> Xekshek <Slackers> Gary <Rude Dudes> Bryson <Pax Republica> Kai-Aurron Doox <Advanced Recon Commandos> Imperial General - TBD Imperial Operation Leaders – Cilas <I AM LEGEND> Vandy <I AM LEGEND> Taurelz <Ubique> Feign <RL> Freedannad <D F R> VIDEO LINKS TO PREVIOUS EVENTS: Open World PvP on Voss Open World PvP on Belsavis Open World PvP on Hoth I am still hashing out certain details and coordinating with guilds and players to ensure good turnout on both sides. Suggestions and comments welcome, this event is for all of us! See you out there. My live stream will contain all relevant event information, in addition to a real time strategic look at the galaxy, so make sure you’re watching!In the scoreboard shown above, colors signify galactic control of that sector: red for Imperial, and blue for Republic.All same faction communications relating to this event will be coordinated through the corresponding chat channels listed below./cjoin QueshPvP/cjoin BelsavisPvP/cjoin IlumPvP/cjoin GalacticPvPI will have a designated mumble set up where the Faction Generals and Operations Leaders from both factions can check in to update the status of the Galactic Conquest Map Due to the overwhelming interest in World PvP on Prophecy of the Five Server, I decided to try something very different. Instead of focusing the event on a single base, this event will encompass multiple bases across different planets! How can things get more epic than that?Like the previous World PvP events held on Hoth, Belsavis, Voss, and Quesh, this event is about nothing more than killing at faction bases. There is however one objective, GALACTIC DOMINATION! This will not be a zerg-fest or a single battle, this is an all-out war. Each faction will be required to use strategy and tactics to outplay their opponents as they bid for galactic domination across multiple planets. If you lost control of a base on Ilum, no problem.. go attack their base on Quesh!It is no secret that Imperial forces outnumber the Republic, but the Republic still has a great chance at achieving victory, see “HOW A FACTION WINS” below. I expect the Republic will be more mobile, taking over a base and moving on before the main Imperial forces can arrive. What does this mean? Imperials will need to have defending garrisons standing by at each of their bases to repel invaders and call for help.In this event, each faction will designate one Player General decided by vote of the participating Operation Leaders. This player will be responsible for coordinating (via chat channels and mumble) the movement of each operations group in their faction.Additionally, each faction will designate several Operations Leaders. These individuals will coordinate the movement of all players in their operation, as well as communicate with the other Operation Leaders and the Faction General.Any guild or player interested in being an Operations Leader, please post in this thread and I will add your name!I am still hashing out certain details and coordinating with guilds and players to ensure good turnout on both sides. Suggestions and comments welcome, this event is for all of us! See you out there. Cilas Vexer Gaming <Immortals> YouTube Channel Live Streaming on Twitch
Queen’s Park wants to ban hospitals from being renamed at the behest of rich donors, the Star has learned. Concerned about wealthy people and big corporations getting entire hospitals rechristened in exchange for philanthropic contributions, Health Minister Eric Hoskins is proposing that any such changes be cleared by him. Myron and Berna Garron donated $50 million to the Toronto East General Hospital in 2015, the main campus of which is now named the Michael Garron Hospital, to honour their 13-year-old son who died of cancer in 1975. ( René Johnston / Toronto Star file photo ) Hoskins says “the new name must not include the corporate or business name of a corporate donor, or the family name of an individual or family donor, (or) the family name of an individual.” His decree would not apply to hospital wings, individual buildings on a campus, research centres, treatment facilities or health services programs. That’s according to a draft copy of a four-page directive sent to hospitals for their feedback last week. Article Continued Below “The purpose of this directive is to . . . ensure the names used by hospitals reflect their role as publicly supported organizations operating within a universal, publicly funded health care system,” the internal memo states. “Currently, hospitals have the discretion to choose their own names . . . (but) recent amendments to the Public Hospitals Act . . . will, once proclaimed, effectively require that hospitals seek prior approval of the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for corporate changes, including new corporate names,” it continues. “This directive governs new names (including business and corporate names) of hospital corporations, hospital sites, individual hospital buildings in cases where the building comprises all or substantially all of a hospital site, and alliances, partnerships, and other associations between or among hospital corporations.” It would also affect “names for new corporations, sites, or associations, as well as new names (i.e. name changes) for existing corporations, sites, or associations.” Any new names must reflect the geographic location of the hospital, its mandate, history, local community or “the culture or heritage of the persons served by the hospital.” The catalyst for the edict appears to be the December 2015 renaming of Toronto East General Hospital. Myron and Berna Garron donated $50 million to East General, the main campus of which is now the Michael Garron Hospital. Article Continued Below That was to honour their son who died in 1975 at age 13 of a rare cancer. The boy’s dying wish was that he would not be forgotten. Owners of a successful auto parts company, the Garrons also donated $30 million to the Hospital for Sick Children in 2010 for the Garron Family Cancer Centre. While Hoskins had no issue with the family’s generosity, he is worried about publicly funded hospitals being renamed after corporations such as Coca-Cola or Molson Coors. The Ontario Hospital Association, which represents more than 150 hospitals in the province, warned this “may inadvertently trigger a freeze on large-scale philanthropic efforts.” That’s because donors may “reconsider and/or decline to make major gifts because they fear arbitrary government intervention in a matter which they believe is really between them and their family, and their hospital,” said the OHA’s Samantha Grant. “Given the relentless pressure to contain costs, the reliance of the hospital sector on fundraising and philanthropy has never been greater,” said Grant. “In particular, philanthropy plays a significant role in paying for the cost of major capital projects, particularly new construction and the renovation of existing hospital facilities,” she said. “Experience from other parts of Canada suggests that in general, people are reluctant to donate to a hospital if they don’t have confidence that the donation will be used for the purpose for which it is intended.”
Some Iranian reaction would be inevitable -- from encouraging Hezbollah in Lebanon to rain missiles down on northern Israel to more limited efforts. While most hope Iran would be restrained, there's a chance of a major regional conflict that could draw in the US and countries in the Persian Gulf and send oil prices soaring. President Obama's administration insists that "all options are on the table" regarding Iran's nuclear program, but is strongly opposed to unilateral Israeli action, not least because it would put US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq in harm's way. Iran has cultivated militant groups in both countries and could increase the number and lethality of weapons it provides them in response to an attack -- which most of the Muslim world will see as having been approved by the US. That would not only complicate US efforts to extricate itself from its two current wars, but also shatter US public standing in the Muslim world. An attack would also boost hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his circle, generating a 'rally around the flag' effect that would further undercut the opposition and increase his standing in the broader Muslim world.
Although there is a fire station about 1.5 miles away from a mobile home fire that claimed the lives of two toddlers Monday, it took Lumpkin County fire 14 minutes to get to the blaze, officials said. The fire, which occurred about 4:15 p.m. on Rider Road Spur in Dawsonville, killed 2-year-old Noah Gaydon and 1-year-old Kaylee Gaydon. Two firefighters called out sick and couldn’t report for duty on Monday, the Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners said in a statement. “Our Emergency Services team members function as both fire fighters and EMTs or Paramedics,” the release said. “In order to fully staff our three ambulances a decision was made by command staff to move the fire fighter/paramedic normally assigned to Station Five (Mill Creek) to Station Four.” The local fire marshal told Channel 2 Action News the Lumpkin fire department, which only employs 11 people, was working a chicken house fire across the county. Hall County assisted with the blaze the State Insurance and Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens later ruled undetermined. “This fire originated on the front porch and burned into the interior of the home,” he said Tuesday. “Investigators could not rule out careless smoking as the possible cause.” However, Hudgens said the blaze doesn’t appear suspicious. The deaths of Noah and Kaylee brought the number of fire-related deaths in Georgia this year to 50, said Glenn Allen, a spokesman for Hudgens’ office. The victims’ mother, Sarah Gaydon, was outside the home at the time of the fire. Their father, Jonathan Gaydon, and another sibling were not home, Allen said. Lumpkin County is about 70 miles northeast of Atlanta.
(CNN) Alex Marshall was a freshman in college when she had her first cancer scare. Intense chest pain and difficulty breathing were serious alarms for the swimmer at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. Her training came to a halt when she ended up in the hospital -- for 10 days. With the hallmark symptoms of a Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis, Marshall and her family feared the worst, but doctors determined that a severe case of mononucleosis was the cause of her problems. "I was released from the hospital, and I was like, 'OK, we dodged a bullet. It wasn't cancer,' " said Marshall, now 22. The mass in her chest that was causing her pain and other symptoms was covered in the highly contagious Epstein-Barr virus, best known as the cause of mononucleosis. Two years later, while pursuing a more rigorous academic schedule and training for the Canadian Olympic trials through dual citizenship on her father's side, Marshall began to notice more breathing problems and what seemed like a lingering cold. "I just played it off, because I was getting cold-like symptoms, and then I would just get over it. And it would come back again two to three weeks later. I dealt with that all of summer." Come fall, the familiar pain in her chest returned. Despite the pain and difficulty breathing, her performance in the water did not suffer. Coach Jeff Dugdale saw no signs of health problems in the water but instead was impressed with her performances. "I remember to this day; it was the last weekend of September when we were swimming (at) Auburn. She had one of her best meets where she got her best time." Still, the complaints prompted Dugdale to send Marshall to the campus wellness center, where staff referred her to a specialist. The days that followed included an X-ray, a MRI and a biopsy of a mass in her chest. Alex had symptoms that suggested Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer that invades the bodies white blood cells and weakens the immune system. "Monday rolled around, and I hadn't heard anything, nothing," she said. "I texted my family group chat, 'I haven't heard anything. It's 5 o'clock; we should've heard something by now.' " Her messages were met with encouragement to be patient and that everything would be OK. But when her parents showed up at her door 30 minutes later, she instantly knew that her test had confirmed their biggest fear: a diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma. "I didn't hear a word," she said, "it was like the adults in those Charlie Brown movies. Nothing they said made any sense." In 2015, Alex Marshall took a break from school and swimming to undergo chemotherapy for Hodkin's lymphoma. 'Different than other patients' According to the National Institutes of Health, most new cases of cancer are found in people over the age of 55, but young adults are more likely than either young children or older adults to be diagnosed with certain cancers , including Hodgkin's lymphoma. And for the adolescent and young adult population, cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death. Adolescence and young adulthood are already transitional phases that bring unique age-related challenges. Being diagnosed with cancer during this time can be especially trying. The social difficulties faced by this group were highlighted in a study recently published in Cancer, a journal of the American Cancer Society. The question researchers wanted to answer: Compared with cancer-free peers, how were patients in the adolescent and young adult population affected by a cancer diagnosis? Over two years, cancer patients ages 14 to 39 self-reported their social functioning. Researchers found that one in three young cancer patients experienced lower social functioning than their peers. Additionally, although there were improvements in the first year after diagnosis, after two years, social functioning was still worse than that of the general population. "The cancer diagnosis in this age range is really impactful, not just at the time of diagnosis but through treatment and beyond treatment," said study co-author Dr. Brandon Hayes-Lattin, a professor at Oregon Health and Science University. Marshall immediately felt the impact of her diagnosis. "Day one, I was really upset," she said. "I was thrown into the spotlight of 'cancer girl,' and I wasn't quite ready for that. I didn't really want that." I was thrown into the spotlight of 'cancer girl,' and I wasn't quite ready for that. I didn't really want that. Alex Marshall Her feelings of depression and isolation were similar to those of study patients who reported their lowest scores of social functioning at the time of their diagnosis. Fueling those emotions and confusion, in part, was the lack of immediate changes to her appearance. "I still had my hair. I didn't really feel different, because when I looked in the mirror, I saw my old self looking back at me, and I still felt great." That all changed when she began chemotherapy and experienced the common side effects of weight and hair loss. The champion swimmer fought hard to stay in shape and refused to let the drugs deplete her. "There were two weeks between each session, and once she rebounded, she would do leg lifts or walk around the block," said her mother, Lucia Marshall. "Sometimes, we'd walk around together, and she'd hold on to my arm because she was too weak to stand on her own. She never gave up. Even though she was going through this, she wanted to exercise." Cancer, Hayes-Lattin notes, can disrupt more than a patient's daily routine. It changes relationships with peers and how a person functions in school and work. Swimming and fitness, for Marshall, occupied a large part of her life and her identity. "Cancer can throw a wrench in that to a substantial degree," Hayes-Lattin said. "What makes it challenging for adolescent and young adult patients that's different from younger patients and older patients is that there are some really unique things that face this group," said Dr. David Freyer, director of the children's center for cancer and blood diseases at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, one of five institutions involved in the new study. "You think about where they are. They're life planning and in developmental life stages." Winning in and out of the pool While she was home, her coaches wanted Marshall to focus on her recovery. "My promise to her was, 'if we win the national championship and you win your championship, we're going to put "we kicked cancer's ass" inside of our national championship rings,' " Dugdale said. And they did just that. On March 12, 2016, the Royals men and women's swim teams claimed the NCAA championship for the second consecutive year, and 12 days later -- surrounded by family, friends and teammates -- Marshall completed her final treatment. "The very next day, she was in the water," her mother said. The next phase and transition, from patient to survivor, presented new challenges. Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. "That last day of my chemotherapy treatment, it was really exciting. I rang my victory bell, and I was cancer-free. But I think that's when people kinda cut everything off," Marshall said. " ''You're cancer-free now. You're done with treatment. Go back to your old life.' But that's not the case at all. I had never felt so lost or confused in my entire life. I didn't know who I was anymore." The struggle with that transition is a sign that "we're not doing the best we can," said Dr. Timothy Griffin, chief of hematology/oncology at the Children's Hospital of San Antonio, another of the institutions involved in the new study. "You really need to have the care managers, social workers, behavioral medicine specialists, licensed counselors or psychiatrists," he said. "Those people need to be involved in the patient too so they can support the nonmedical part." Marshall saw therapists both while undergoing treatment and during her transition to life in recovery. She says the assistance really helped during the challenging time. Marshall tried to find some normalcy and returned to the pool. "I felt like I was gaining (my) identity back more and more each day and less of the cancer girl. It was nice to go back to old activities that I did such as swimming. So that helped navigating my survivorship a bit more in my favor." In her third appearance competing for a national title, she surpassed expectations with a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle, helping the team take home its third consecutive title. Almost a year after completing treatment, Marshall competed in the Division II NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. Her team won the national title. "She gets second place at NCAA," Dugdale said. "She gets her best time, which was pretty amazing considering she didn't have much to lose." But she did have something to lose. That race was paramount in helping Marshall find normalcy. Post-cancer, the swimmer is focused on finishing college and chasing another title. Of course, not everyone needs another championship ring to feel like themselves again. There were other things that helped along the way. "It sounds super cheesy," Marshall said of what helps her during the toughest moments, "but having my dog helped me through a lot of my struggles. He would always make me feel better."
“Churches are closed, the Coptic Christians are being attacked and their property destroyed, and there is no deterrent. The Copts always pay the price of this coexistence, not the aggressors. The reactions of officials are disappointing, and when there is any dispute or an attack, the first alternative is to close the church and put pressure only on the Copts with impunity for the aggressors.” Coexistence! This is what it looks like in Egypt. “Horror as 1,000-strong mob attacks CHURCH forcing Christians to lock themselves inside,” by Joey Millar, Express, November 18, 2017 (thanks to David): CHRISTIANS were forced to lock the doors of their church for their own safety as a furious mob launched an attack on the building as tensions continue to soar in Egypt. More than 1,000 people gathered outside a recently-renovated Coptic church in Mina, Egypt, to intimidate and threaten those inside. Police were called on October 26 and the doors of the Saint George Church, as well as the on-site children’s nursery, was bolted shut for defence. Despite the aggression of the crowd, it was the Copts who were held responsible for the incident. The heads of the Coptic congregation in the area were forced into attending a peace meeting, which aimed to stop the conflict between the group and the local Muslim community. A source close to the church said: “Copts had to agree to the reconciliation that will be held this evening in the village hall. A written agreement was presented that indicated a framework of friendliness, love and brotherhood. “A reconciliation and waiver of all records between the two sides must be signed, including a ‘non-provoke crisis’ clause.” The “non-provoke clause” is particularly controversial, with critics saying it backs up attempts to close down the Coptic churches by sinister means. In the week leading up to the church re-opening, flyers were posted across the area with taunting messages apparently written by Coptic leaders. One said: “We re-opened the church against your will!” However local Coptic leaders say the messages were written by Muslims in an attempt to stir up anger at their church. It is just the latest in a long list of incidents in which Copts in Egypt were threatened. Last month four churches in Mina, including the re-furbished one, were closed after furious locals launched vicious attacks on worshippers, emboldened by a lack of police support. The Coptic leader in the region said authorities were doing nothing to bring those responsible to justice. Anba Macarius said: “Churches are closed, the Coptic Christians are being attacked and their property destroyed, and there is no deterrent. “The Copts always pay the price of this coexistence, not the aggressors. “The reactions of officials are disappointing, and when there is any dispute or an attack, the first alternative is to close the church and put pressure only on the Copts with impunity for the aggressors.”…
Though you might say you'd give your left arm for an iPad, you only mean it figuratively. But one Chinese teen actually sold his kidney to make enough money to buy the Apple tablet and an iPhone, and now five people have been charged with intentional injury in the case. Advertisement The bottom line? A kidney for an iPad is not a good trade. The 17-year-old, known only by his family name of Wang, received $3,500 when he put his kidney on the black market last April. Which is chump change compared to the organ's $35,000 asking price, which was shared among the surgeon, the medical staff, the fixer, and the three other people charged in the case. The sale wasn't discovered until Wang's mother noticed that he'd bought the Apple gear with his own money. When she asked where he got the cash, he fessed up. The weirdest part? It wouldn't have even been a crime five years ago; the human organ trade wasn't banned in China until 2007. 2007! Advertisement Today, Wang suffers from renal deficiency, meaning his kidneys can no longer filter out toxins from his blood. Doctors say he's going to need a transplant of his own. Unfortunately, as he knows better than anyone by now, those are incredibly hard to come by. Unless you've got $35,000 lying around. [New York Times] Update: According to Wired and Reuters, five people, including the surgeon and medical staff, have all been charged with intent to harm in this case. Image credit: Shutterstock/Zdorov Kirill Vladimirovich
UW Regents name Ana Mari Cauce president Victor Balta UW News The University of Washington Board of Regents selected Interim President Ana Mari Cauce to be the 33rd president of the University at a special meeting of the board Tuesday. She is the first woman to be named to the position and the first Latina. The selection will become effective upon successful completion of contract terms. “The Board of Regents is delighted to make this appointment,” said Board chair Bill Ayer. “President Cauce has proven over the past seven months serving in an interim capacity to be an extraordinary leader. Her dedication to the UW is unparalleled. Her love for the University is evident in her strong work ethic and in her vision: improving student access and affordability, creating a leading-edge student experience, fostering greater innovation, and delivering global impact. Because of her intimate understanding of the University and all that it stands for and all that it aspires to be, she is also a passionate spokesperson and advocate. Ana Mari has an unmatched ability to connect with people — students, faculty and staff, as well as those outside the University — to listen and understand their perspectives, and take action as necessary. “Our rigorous presidential search process has validated that Ana Mari is exactly the right person to take us to the next level in our long-term quest to become the best public research university in the world. She has the full confidence and enthusiastic support of the Board.” “I am grateful to the Board and to the search committee for the confidence they are placing in me to lead this amazing University,” said Cauce. “We have assembled here one of the great faculties of any university on Earth, and we attract the most ambitious and remarkable students. They come here to study and learn. They transform their lives and, we hope, the lives of others. I am immensely proud of who we are as a University — one that is dedicated to access and excellence. These values are the hallmark of what it means to be a great public university, and I am thrilled at the prospect of how much more we can do for our students, for the state of Washington, and for people around the world whose lives we touch in some way.” The search for the UW president began last spring with the appointment by the Board of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee, chaired by Chancellor Emeritus Kenyon Chan and comprising 28 individuals representing all segments of the University community and its supporters: five students, six faculty members, six administrators/staff, six community leaders, and four Regents. The Regents engaged Witt/Kieffer Search Consultants to assist in the search. The consultants and the committee contacted approximately 100 leaders in higher education and related fields, generating nearly 70 nominations. By the end of the summer, the search committee reviewed a list of 58 applicants and prospects and narrowed its focus to 29 high-potential prospects that included 17 sitting presidents/chancellors, nine provosts, and three non-university nominees. Of the 26 university-employed prospects, all were from the Association of American Universities or similar universities with the complexities and characteristics that matched well with the University of Washington. After receiving and reviewing the search committee’s recommendations, the Board conducted additional analysis and interviews with candidates both external and internal to the University before arriving at today’s final selection of Cauce. Born in Cuba, where her father was the minister of education, Cauce left with her family during the revolution when she was 3 years old. She grew up in Miami, where both her parents took jobs in shoe factories, hoping they could return to Cuba. Both placed a very high value on the power of education. Cauce joined the UW faculty in 1986 as an assistant professor of psychology after earning degrees in English and psychology from the University of Miami in 1977, summa cum laude, and a Ph.D. in psychology, with a concentration in child clinical and community psychology from Yale University in 1984. Cauce is a professor of psychology and American ethnic studies. She has held numerous leadership positions at the UW, including director of the UW Honors Program, chair of American ethnic studies, chair of psychology, executive vice provost and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. From 2012 to 2015, prior to being appointed interim president, she served as the University’s executive vice president and provost, the chief academic officer, responsible for overseeing the education, research and service missions in the University’s schools, colleges and other academic units, including Academic and Student Affairs. As the UW’s chief budgetary officer, she was responsible for resource allocations and worked closely with the president on strategic planning and long-term decision-making. In the wake of a series of disturbing events across the country last spring, Cauce announced a Race and Equity Initiative aimed at creating a climate that supports understanding, respect and acceptance across individual and group differences. The initiative commenced in April with a major address by Cauce followed by discussions about race, equality and justice. Another round of discussions with students was held Oct. 6. Cauce maintains an active research program, focusing on adolescent development, with a special emphasis on at-risk youth. She is also active in encouraging women and underrepresented minorities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She has received numerous awards for her scholarship, teaching and activism, including the much-prized University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award. She remains active in the classroom and continues to teach and mentor undergraduate and graduate students. ###
Kyle Busch was asked after conclusion of a two-day Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series test at New Hampshire Motor Speedway if he’d consider running a modified race at the 1-mile track someday. The short answer he gave was yes, but with an asterisk. We’ll get back to that in a minute. But what was more interesting is that he used the opportunity to state that what he’d really like to do someday is drive an open-wheel car in the Indianapolis 500. Article continues below ... “If somebody asked me to do the Indy 500, I’d have to go do that before I get too old,” said Busch, who recently turned 32 years old. The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Cup Series long has been an advocate of racing in just about anything he can get behind the wheel in. That’s why in addition to being the 2015 Cup champion with 38 wins in that series, he also is the all-time leader in race victories in the XFINITY Series with 87, and he’s closing in on the top spot in the Camping World Truck Series with 48. But modifieds? Well, there is a hitch — rather, more of a promise made long ago to JGR team president J.D. Gibbs. “Yes and no,” he answered when asked if he had any interest in running in a modified car at NHMS. “I’d like to do it. I think it would be fun. I think I can always do it when I’m done with my Cup stuff, and have some fun with modifieds and late models — whatever it might be. “But I’ll live up to J.D.’s word for now. J.D. told me years ago, ‘You’ll never run a modified in Loudon as long as you’re working for me.’ So J.D. won’t let me do it. Certainly I’d like to give it a shot. … But the modifieds here in Loudon, I could probably do when I’m 45 years old.”
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Four workers killed at a DuPont and Co’s chemical plant in Texas on Saturday did not have access to safety equipment like respirators when there was a deadly release of a hazardous chemical, an attorney for one victim’s family said on Thursday. The enclosed five-story tall building where methyl mercaptan was released may also not have had working ventilation fans at the time of the incident, attorney Brent Coon said. “This is your typical, beat-up fertilizer plant that does not have up-to-date safety equipment,” Coon said in telephone interview about the unit where the leak occurred in the La Porte plant. A DuPont representative did not reply to a request for comment about Coon’s statements. Between eight and 12 workers were in the building when the leak began, Coon said. Some escaped. Others did not. Coon, a lead attorney in suits against BP Plc over a deadly 2005 refinery explosion, is representing the daughter of Crystle Rae Wise, whose body was found on a stairwell leading from the unit’s third floor. “We’re guessing she was trying to get to shelter when she was overcome,” he said. Coon said, based on interviews with co-workers at the plant, that when an alarm went off after a problem was detected in the unit, Gilbert Tisnado grabbed three emergency air packs offering 3-5 minutes of contained air and ran inside. He gave one of the packs to a worker leaving the unit. Gilbert Tisnado found his brother Robert, who worked on the unit, but the air pack did not help him. Their bodies were found together. A supervisor, Wade Baker, also died in the release. One worker was briefly hospitalized on Saturday before being released. The Harris County coroner determined this week that the deaths were accidental due to asphyxia with exposure to chemicals including methyl mercaptan. DuPont has said it is cooperating with federal inquiries into the leak, contained after it started at 4 a.m. CST) on Saturday. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mercaptan “exposure in poorly ventilated, enclosed, or low-lying areas can result in asphyxiation.” Mercaptan is heavier than air.
John Podesta slapped the Daily Caller with a cease-and-desist letter on Wednesday after the conservative news outlet published a story about the former Clinton campaign chairman and Obama counselor. The letter sent to publisher Neil Patel by Podesta's counsel, Marc Elias, singles out a March 26 article titled, "EXCLUSIVE: John Podesta May Have Violated Federal Law By Not Disclosing 75,000 Stock Shares." In it, reporter Richard Pollock wrote that Podesta "may have violated federal law by failing to disclose the receipt of 75,000 shares of stock from a Kremlin-financed company when he joined the Obama White House in 2014." Elias said the article is "as you know, entirely false." He said that Podesta did nothing wrong, despite numerous assertions in the article indicating otherwise. The letter demands the Daily Caller "immediately cease publication of these false and libelous claims." It also demands that a correction to the story be published, clarifying that Podesta met his financial obligations. I sent a cease & desist letter demanding the Daily Caller correct the lies about @johnpodesta's financial disclosure. Waiting for response. pic.twitter.com/5Nfi0yG8sL — Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) March 29, 2017 In a tweet posted late Wednesday, Podesta shared the letter and took a shot at President Trump. "False stories about me can't cover up Trump's growing Russia problem," he said. The Daily Caller's article is still live at this time without any corrections. An issue Podesta and his legal team might run into, the Washington Examiner's Alex Pappas points out, is that the letter was sent to the wrong address.
Much of today’s television landscape has been shaped by the work of the inimitable David Lynch. True Detective, The Killing, Broadchurch—you name it—wouldn’t have materialized if not for Twin Peaks, his supernatural serial drama that debuted in 1990. But, it’s been eight years since the singular mind behind film classics like Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive birthed a feature (the last was Inland Empire in ’06). Since then, he’s been occupied painting, working on a music album—Crazy Clown Time, released in ’11—and running the David Lynch Foundation, which seeks to heal everyone, from war veterans plagued by PTSD to young children, through Transcendental Meditation. I had the pleasure of speaking with Lynch about everything from his influential foundation, to when we can expect to see his next film, to disappointing Kanye West. I just saw your fantastic ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video. [Laughs] Oh. Great trumpet playing, huh? I had to do two buckets because two people challenged me, so I thought it should have some music to it. And I’m a great trumpet player. And for some reason, I wanted to nominate Vladimir Putin. He might want to take part in helping some people. I think that might be a stretch for him, but we’ll see. I had an interesting chat with Soledad O’Brien recently in L.A. about Transcendental Meditation, and how it’s really helping war veterans cope with PTSD—in particular, with the Save A Warrior project. I’ve been practicing TM for 41 years, and if you’re a human being, Transcendental Meditation will work for you. Pretty much everybody’s got stress these days, and more and more people have traumatic stress. Traumatic stress, tension, depression, sorrow, hate, anger, and fear—all of these things in the family of negativity—these things start to lift away when you get a technique that allows you to transcend every day; to experience the deepest, most eternal level of life; that field of pure consciousness and unity at the base of all matter and mind. It works the first time, and every time. And soldiers who are suffering from PTSD, it’s like their lives are in this pressure cooker, and the pressure is so great that it affects all their life in the most negative way—their family, kids, friendships—and it’s no fun being alive. So when they get the technique to transcend, this huge pressure gets released. They say, “I have my life back again,” and all they have to do is stay regular in their meditation—transcend every day—and their lives will keep getting better and better. And you said you started 41 years ago. How did that happen?When The Beatles were meditating with Maharishi in ’68, I thought that was great for them but I had zero interest in meditating. I just wanted to work, and thought it was a fad that would go away. Then, I heard a phrase, “True happiness is not out there. True happiness lies within.” That had a ring of truth for me. And then I thought, “Maybe meditation is a way to go in and find that happiness.” And then I started looking into all types of meditation but nothing seemed right to me. Then, my sister called and said she’d started Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and I saw a change in her voice that sounded like more happiness and more assuredness, and I said, “That’s what I want.” And I went and got it, and never looked back. You’ve been working on a documentary on Maharishi for quite some time, right? I still am. I’ve been working on it, but it’s a big, big, big project and it’ll take a while. But that’s still in the works. Were there some demons you were dealing with when you turned to TM? You started on Eraserhead in ’72, and I understand that was a very fraught production early on. You don’t have to be in bad shape. I was going along OK, but looking back, I was filled with anger and took it out on my first wife and made her life miserable. I had a low-grade depression, and wasn’t really self-assured. If I’d gone forward without the ability to transcend every day, I think the pressures of the business could’ve gotten me. With Eraserhead, I got way more happiness in the doing, and became way more self-assured. My Uncle Mike told me to watch Eraserhead when I was… I think 12. Is your follow-up to Eraserhead, the amazing-sounding Ronnie Rocket, ever going to see the light of day? That’s a little young, buddy! [Laughs] I love Ronnie Rocket, and I love the world of Ronnie Rocket, and I wouldn’t mind going there. The thing that kept me from doing it, really, is that I haven’t quite gotten the big idea for it. Something is still somewhat missing in the script. I think about it from time to time, but it’s just never happened. It’s not what you would call a “summer blockbuster.” It would be a very tough sell these days. Speaking of the “tough sell” aspect, what’s your take on the state of Hollywood? The sweet spot for independent films, the $4 million to $20 million area where most of your films lie, seems to be disappearing, and now there are just microbudgeted flicks and tentpoles. Exactly. And it’s harder to get the big screens. It’s a strange time. There’s not a whole lot that any of us can do about it. You’ve seen waves of things go up and down, but maybe the arthouse will be back in vogue, and they’ll reappear all over the place again. I don’t know. It would be beautiful. Cable television is the new arthouse, so it’s there, but it’s not the big screen. If people have a big screen at home, great sound, and they turn the lights down and turn their phones off, they can get into the world and have an experience. But most people don’t watch films that way anymore. You really were ahead of your time with Twin Peaks—this gritty, engrossing serial TV drama. That show really set the stage for a lot of these shows like True Detective, The Killing, Broadchurch, the list goes on. I haven’t seen The Killing and Broadchurch, so I can’t really comment on those. I liked True Detective. I basically liked the two characters, so that was the best part of it for me. Did True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto reach out to you? I know he’s said publicly that he’s a big fan of the show. Nope, no one ever reached out! But did you see parallels between Twin Peaks and True Detective… …[Laughs] No, no, no. I just liked the show, and that was it. As far as Twin Peaks goes, Season 1 remains, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant TV seasons ever. But Season 2 seemed very rushed, like it was on steroids. I had very little to do with Season 2, and I’m not happy with it. Up until “Who Killed Laura Palmer?” I was with it 100 percent, and then it drifted away. Right, apparently the network forced you to reveal the killer too early on?That’s right. We had a little goose that was laying golden eggs, and they told us to snip its head off. But it’s a great world, the world of Twin Peaks, and it holds many possibilities. Do you think there’s more to mine in that world? Oh, there’s more to mine in every world. You said cable television was “the new arthouse.” What other shows are you a fan of? I like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and True Detective. Were you satisfied with the way Breaking Bad ended? Oh, I thought it was good! That was a great show. Really great show. We’re all eagerly anticipating your next feature film, and it’s been eight years since Inland Empire. And your pal Laura Dern recently said you were “cooking up” your next one. How’s that coming along? Laura… she loves to talk, and she loves to work, so you can’t really go by what she says! [Laughs] I’m really loving painting these days. So there’s nothin’ on the burner right now. I read an interview with Justin Theroux recently, and he spoke about the tough experience you had adapting Mulholland Drive for ABC, including all these notes you were getting from the network about how his character couldn’t smoke. No, we weren’t getting very many notes. They had a weird thing that went through TV then about smoking. But, you know… it’s just a lot of absurd things. They didn’t like the show, but looking back, it was a beautiful blessing. We had a blast making that film, so all’s well that ends well. That’s still one of my favorite “discovery” stories—that you were sifting through headshots and Naomi Watts’ jumped out at you. Yup! She discovered me, and I discovered her. That’s the way it goes sometimes! You never know. But Naomi’s got the stuff. It made the rounds online awhile back that George Lucas had approached you to direct Return of the Jedi. And I’m not sure if you’ve seen it, but there was a recent fun video mash-up someone made called “David Lynch’s Return of the Jedi.” I can say something about that. That shouldn’t have been put up there. I publicly apologize to George Lucas. I was telling that story to just a few people, and then it somehow ended up on the Internet. I didn’t know it was going to go online, and George is a great guy. He did offer me that, but it wasn’t my thing. I said, “It’s your thing, George. You should direct it.” And we parted friends. But he’s a great one. I also heard you’re a big fan of Kanye West? Yeah. “Blood on the Leaves” is one of my favorite songs. It’s great. He’s just ridin’ the wave and not takin’ no for an answer. We almost worked together, but I never got the ideas. I feel I let him down a little bit. I was going to do the music video for “Blood on the Leaves,” but it never happened. I didn’t come up with any ideas that I thought he would like. Kanye came up to the house one day. Kanye’s a good guy, and a great musician. I loved the song, and that’s what brought us together, but I couldn’t come up with ideas that thrilled either one of us. How did your funny 3-episode arc on Louie happen? He wrote me a letter. I was probably his 15th choice, but that’s OK. It said, “If you want to do this… please do this…” but what got me about it was the scripts were fantastic, and they just poured out of him like a stream. That was the main thing, plus he writes a really good letter, and Louie is just a really great guy. My favorite moment was takin’ a smoke together on the New York City sidewalks. I don’t know where we were, but we were in the city somewhere. Your Duran Duran concert film is coming out in theaters in September—your first concert film. What unique challenges did that project offer? Yeah. That was part of this thing, American Express: Unstaged, where they asked people to direct this livestreamed concert. But yes, this was my first. It was a concert, and my idea was to—on the fly—mix in over the band different images while the concert was going, and that’s what we did. Have you seen any movies you’ve really enjoyed recently? I haven’t been to a movie in a long, long time. I’ve just been working. I don’t know how long it’s been… seven years? Maybe more. I never was a big film buff. Do you have favorite films, though? [Laughs] Yes, for sure. Sunset Boulevard, 8½, and Lolita are my three top ones.
Up for Debate: Using coaches in Overwatch Coaching is a huge role in traditional sports that has entered into the esports realm in many different ways. From the relatively limited involvement of ex-pro coaches in Dota 2 to the former in-game leading coaches of CS:GO, all the way up to the masters and commanders of League of Legends teams, the job title of coach often means different things in different games; but the core concept of coaching is identified across the board as an important asset to seriously competitive teams. Overwatch, more so than almost any former esport, has rocketed out of the gates in terms of initial interest from fans, organisations, and sponsors. Before the game was even out of beta teams were being signed by top organisations with competitive salaries and were rushed into team houses. Coaching has followed at a marginally slower pace but many of the top teams now find themselves working in tandem with a coach to improve themselves and gain a competitive edge over their opponents. Just as there are a wide variety of responsibilities for coaches depending on their chosen esport, so it is within the microcosm of Overwatch based on the team they are aiding. Coaching in esports Coaches in large and hyper-competitive games such as League of Legends may create the team’s practice regimen, having a hand in both the schedule and how their team practises, and can even be the person responsible for picking up or dropping players from the roster. In most esports the coach does not have this level of control or input in the team however, and broadly speaking most coaches’ responsibilities can be broken down into four areas: preparation, post-game analysis, live correction and reflection, and psychological aid for the team. Preparation can involve tasks such as reviewing opponent’s matches to develop a sense of their style or strategies, preparing team compositions and map strategies in general or for certain opponents, and aiding with the map drafting process to ensure the team is prepared for the map elimination stage of tournaments. Post-game analysis often involves reviewing their own team’s play, reflecting and improving, and also identifying individual errors and making efforts to fix those for the future. Coaches that get involved in live correction and reflection range from sitting in on scrims and fixing minor errors during downtime to live calling for their team as seen in CS:GO prior to its condemnation from Valve. The psychological component of coaching is not always the role of a team’s analytical coach but can be just as important, helping the team deal with clashes of personality or arguments on playstyle and tactics; they must ensure at all times that the voice of reason is making itself heard and the players within a team can overcome any personal differences to perform in the match. The advantages of a well-utilised coach cannot be understated. By taking pressure and responsibility away from the players and providing an outside perspective, coaches can give additional insight and provide an external locus during debates. It also allows players to outsource rigorous analysis of opponents’ matches and documentation of compositions, leaving the players to focus on the key points and how they fit into the machine. Without ever straying into the realm of becoming an in-game leader, coaching has large benefits for teams if the players are willing, the coach is dedicated, and both understand the game and their role. Current coaches So far coaching in Overwatch has been picked up by a number of top teams but most are using their coach in a limited capacity. Due to a lack of match replays in the game (still, please Blizzard), one of the coaches’ most common jobs is to record all scrims for later review. For some of the coaches, other than a few words of suggestion their responsibilities end there; for others, this is merely an annoyance that detracts from their main role of critiquing and developing their players. As the teams develop a more structured attitude to their matches and their practice, coaches will begin to play a larger part for many top teams. The coaches within the scene may currently be unfamiliar names to most fans. For the top European teams, Misfits make some use of their manager/coach Windz as do Dignitas with their analyst/coach Shifty. Luminosity Gaming also use a coach, mkL the former manager/coach of Bringos, who had a short history as a player as well, and to dip down the ranks for a moment it is Melty who give some of the most responsibility to their coaching team - Pipou and k3 recently made the decision to kick the team captain, MoonL, from their team after reviewing a bootcamp in Paris. On the other side of the coin, REUNITED flirted with a coach for a mere few days before finding lirreboss of little use and Rogue kicked their coach after a month of intense but abrasive work with Roflgator. It is the North American teams however who generally make more use of coaches, with the aforementioned Roflgator and Purposeful setting the practice goals for Fnatic and FaZe respectively and Bubba providing an experienced coach’s perspective for Cloud9. EnVyUs and NRG have also both experimented with coach noxz for a number of weeks before coming to the conclusion that he wasn’t the right fit for their teams. Photo credit: ESL twitter Between the players in different teams, there exist a range of opinions on how useful coaching is in its current state and its potential for use in Overwatch. Most agree that, given time for coaching talent to develop, it will be a vital tool in any team’s arsenal; but many also point out that the scene mirrors Dota 2’s coaching predicament in ways. Because the gap in Overwatch teams is predominantly one of teamwork and understanding of the game’s dynamics rather than individual mechanical skill, anyone in a position to coach a team to great success could find greater success leading a team from within. The scene is also far too young for there to be any ex-pro players thinking of making a career switch to coaching, leaving players like Cloud9’s KyKy in two minds about how best to make use of a coach: “It’s still hard for a coach to have a total read on this game as there are no coaches with competitive experience in the game right now,” he says. “The game is way more complex than a spectator or someone just watching could give it credit for, therefore it’s hard to account for a lot of dynamic aspects of the game without the experience and time put into how the game actually runs and plays out on a competitive level.” Despite having use of the former head coach for Cloud9’s League of Legends team, Bubba, he says, “For now, as I’m sure it is for most teams, it’s just someone to reliably record scrims so you can review VODs of your own play. It’s definitely because of the young age [of Overwatch], but whether it grows to something more serious and consistent is up to how blizzard chooses to incorporate them into events/leagues/etc.” Cloud9 Bubba, former LoL Head Coach and now coach for C9 Overwatch Fnatic’s coach Roflgator certainly takes a more involved role than that though, creating goals for practice and mediating between players amongst other tasks. From his point of view, “having a proper coach to help you develop proper habits in game would help any team. There are things a coach can do that players cannot. Plus having a coach would allow players to focus on the game while someone else is focusing on where everything is going wrong.” He also expanded on that by adding, “I also have a perspective of them that no one else has, I watch every game from a top down view and am able to see everything they do. I've always been a strategist / shotcaller in every game I ever played so it became second nature to point out what we need to change and how we need to approach things, and they've done an amazing job respecting my decisions and following my advice.” The difficulties There are struggles associated with being a coach though, despite Roflgator’s rosy words. It’s often seen as a thankless task, one rife with blame and potential lack of respect. One of the biggest issues facing prospective coaches in Overwatch is their lack of qualifications; with no experience on a top team it can be difficult for them to earn the respect of players in the best teams in the world. Dignitas’ numlocked gave his thoughts on the topic of whether the scene has to wait for ex-pro players to coach before seeing a rise in analytical talent or whether specialised people will fill those roles as in CS:GO: “There should be specialised people, but yeah, I feel like it's gonna take the same route where people won't respect anyone other than good players.” When prompted as to whether he thought that was fair to the dedicated analysts, he pointed out, “A lot of the analysts on the streams haven't even played the game much or even talked with top players. Like at the start of ELEAGUE on the desk, I can’t remember who, but they weren’t even the level to play ranked.” It’s clearly a big concern for teams at the top of the scene who have struggled to find a coach with genuinely useful insight for their level of play. Dealing with that potential resistance from players is something that Roflgator feels he has managed well. “I think the second the coach loses the respect of the players, his job is done. I think a lot of people think that proper coaching is an easy job where you just record demos and show them to the team, any person in the world can do that. Getting a group of 6 people to be on the same page and get along is one of the hardest jobs.” He added, “I think it's easy to blame the coach if all the coach does is record matches and be a cheerleader, but otherwise, every team I have worked with has been incredibly respectful and valued me. I've had multiple of my previous teams even turn down amazing org deals because the orgs didn't want coaches this early into OW.” numlocked also pointed out briefly that the players at the top of Overwatch are often new to huge organisations and salaries, saying, “Most teams have probably never been coached before so don't know what to expect or the impact they can have. [Eventually it] would be the same as in other fps games: watching games, giving feedback, talking about strats that did/didn't work.” In-Game Leading Coaching has recently been brought into the public consciousness in a strange light after Valve shut down the trend of coaches becoming in-game leaders for their team. This stomped on the dreams of a few key players and teams, generally invoking a huge backlash in a scene which had been organically moving towards that route for a long time. In MOBAs or games such as Overwatch this has never been an option though and many are heavily against it, but that doesn’t stop there being a use for live reflection and correction in scrims or even tournaments. starix as coach and IGL for Na`Vi. Photo credit: Navi-gaming Roflgator expanded on his role in scrims, saying, “Unlike most OW coaches, I am incredibly vocal in game, when we started I would ask them after every team fight ‘Did they use any defensive ults? Do they have zarya ult?’ until it became second nature for them to do so without me asking them, and when I see bad habits, I call them out instantly instead of after the team fight.” During matches, it’s far more of a mixed bag depending on the rules of the tournament. “When we play in online tournaments I am unable to actually see what’s going on, so I focus mostly on attitude and communication. If I can hear them lose a fight I can pick up on things, like if target calling was done properly for example.” Live at LAN things can be even more difficult for coaches to get involved. “During the gamescom tournament, I made everyone take off their headphones and gather in a circle after every game, and I would go over everything I saw and give them strategies for the next game. They told me I wasn’t able to be behind the team during the tournament and that made me really sad. Coaches are a big part of traditional sports and I would love to see them be a big part of e-sports as well.” How should Blizzard allow coaches? As Overwatch transitions into a primarily offline game, the rules concerning coaching at LAN events will be of great import to teams. With a decision of this magnitude it will fall to Blizzard to make a ruling, but what involvement is reasonable for coaches to have in tournaments? In CS:GO coaches are now limited to talking to teams in one of four 30 second tactical pauses during a live match, which is a huge allowance when contrasted with Dota 2’s rulings: the coach is not allowed to be in the booth with players even during the drafting stage. KyKy explored this topic, arguing, “Whether it grows to something more serious and consistent is up to how blizzard chooses to incorporate them into events/leagues/etc. for instance, if blizzard says you can’t ever talk to your coach between maps or anything at events, then they lose value. I think they should be able to be used whenever the players are not actively in a map.” KyKy falls into the camp of being heavily against IGL coaches, saying, “If you were to have a coach that could manage the other teams ultimates entirely on his own, that team would win majority of their games with mvp being the coach, and that just doesn’t make sense. It’s a learned skill to be able to do that as a player, and communicate with your team properly to be able to create a flow of information good enough to do so.” He finished by saying, “I think the true value of a coach is being able to see things that players are blind to, which will mostly be apparent in the middle of tournaments.” Roflgator is obviously hopeful for Blizzard to change how coaches are allowed to interact in live tournaments due to his chosen career path in Overwatch. “I hope to god they do or my job will get really limited in blizz tournaments.” He says. “I honestly think if we’re going to take esports seriously as a community and want it to be as legit as real sports then we should value the same things. I don't think a lot of coaches understand what their job is and I don't think that a lot of people really understand what a valuable coach can bring to a team. I don't expect blizzard to really value coaches anytime soon, since there are so little of them. But hope that the role will be more respected among the community as pro players start retiring from competitive play and start using their knowledge to coach.” It is clearly possible for dedicated analysts to study their chosen esport and get to a level where they understand the dynamics as well as a top player, as evidenced in every other competitive game. Whether or not a lot of these people currently exist with enough commitment to coach for a team (rather than becoming an on-camera analyst or player) remains to be seen, but if they do so and are able to prove their worth then the teams will be ready and waiting. For more competitive Overwatch news, follow us @GosuOverwatch. QUICKPOLL Do you think coaches need to be ex-professional players in Overwatch? Specialist coaches will be as useful Thank you for voting! Only ex-players have enough knowledge Thank you for voting!
Man found dead in submerged car near Newport News marina ID'd Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved WAVY/LaVoy Harrell [ + - ] Video UPDATE: Police have identified the man as 76-year-old Aaron Joseph, of Yale, Virginia. A cause of death has not been determined. NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) -- A body was found inside of a car that was found Tuesday morning near the James River Marina in Newport News. A retired Newport News police sergeant and his adult son spotted the car, a red Toyota Prius, in the water Tuesday around 7:30 a.m. and called 911. A Newport News Fire Department dive team found the body of a black man in the back seat of the car. "Doing the initial search of the vehicle, I did discover there was someone in the back," said Newport News Fire Lieutenant Williams Diggs. Police said Tuesday there were no apparent signs of trauma on the man's body. "The first thing we're going to do is figure out what happened," said police spokesman Brandon Maynard. "It's a lot of questions at this point. Hopefully we can get answers pretty quick." It was not immediately clear Tuesday how the car got to the part of the water where it was found or how long it had been in the water. Local watermen told 10 On Your Side that they believe the vehicle was most likely driven into the water from the marina. "Where that vehicle was out there probably wasn't three foot of water," said waterman Steve Farris. "For where it was, I really think it probably went off the boat ramp." Newport News resident Christopher Storms and his father first spotted the car. They called for help right away. "It was a surprise, that's for sure," Storms said. "The car was like 20 feet out from the edge... It was like 20 feet out and the front of it was under water." Images from the scene showed that the car's back window was broken. "It does make you wonder," Storms said. "It is just strange something like that happened." Police have not identified the man found in the vehicle. His body was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. Stay with WAVY.com for the latest on this breaking news. In the original version of this post, police and fire officials had said the body was that of a white male. Officials later corrected that it was a black male.
We are happy to announce the release of Cloudron 1.4.0 For those unaware, Cloudron is a platform that makes it easy to run apps on your server and keep them up-to-date. Cloudflare DNS Cloudron automatically configures the DNS as required for apps and the built-in email server. With Cloudron 1.4, we have added Cloudflare DNS backend. Note that the current implementation configures Cloudflare so that the HTTP(S) traffic flows directly to the Cloudron and not via Cloudflare. In a future release, we will support traffic flowing via Cloudflare (for DDoS protection and CDN use case). Thanks to @abhishek for doing the initial work on this feature. Exoscale SOS support Exoscale SOS is a simple, scalable and safe S3-compatible object store based on pithos. Cloudron can now upload backups automatically to Exoscale SOS. This can be configured from Settings -> Backups -> Configure. Cloudron makes app updates easily and effortless and automatic updates is the preferred mode of operation. This way Cloudron users get a SaaS style experience for self-hosted apps. However, some app updates may break existing installations either because the user is using some plugins or because it is impossible to automate the app upgrade. For such situations, we have now added the ability to push updates that will not be applied without the Cloudron administrator's consent. The Cloudron administrator will be alerted about blocking updates in the weekly digest mail sent by Cloudron. This gives them an opportunity to read and review the changelog and determine what is the best approach to apply the update. Other bug fixes Update Haraka to 2.8.14. Contains many stability fixes. Yours truly made it to the top 10 Haraka contributors! :D Fix cron pattern that made Cloudron erroneously send out weekly digest mails every hour on wednesday. Ensure Cloudron is only be installed on EXT4 root file system (required by Docker). Comments/Suggestions/Feedback? Talk to us on our chat.
Your first name Former congressman and libertarian icon Ron Paul tweeted a startling reaction to the death of SEAL sniper Chris Kyle on Monday: Chris Kyle’s death seems to confirm that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn’t make sense — Ron Paul (@RonPaul) February 4, 2013 Kyle and a friend were both killed by a veteran struggling with PTSD while working with him at a gun range on Saturday. The former Marine, Eddie Ray Routh, turned his weapon on the other two men and shot them at close range, according to news accounts. Kyle was the author of the best-selling “American Sniper,” which detailed his time as a record-holding SEAL sniper. Paul has a long history of being opposed to American military intervention abroad. Follow Vince on Twitter
The Kremlin and a slew of Russian government agencies are including political channels hosted on the Telegram messaging app in their regular media monitoring diet, the Vedomosti newspaper reported on Sunday. Telegram, with 6 million active Russian users as of January 2017, is an encrypted messaging service. Since its introduction in 2015, Telegram’s “Channels” feature has become an essential tool for political gossip. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the business newspaper that Telegram channels are monitored for President Vladimir Putin. However, Peskov voiced his personal opinion that many channels publish “a lot of chaff.” The Federal Security Service (FSB), Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry also monitor politically-oriented Telegram channels, Vedomosti cited the agencies' press services as saying. Around 200 Telegram channels are reportedly included in a Kremlin media monitoring service called “Katyusha” purchased by the Kremlin last year. Developed by a Moscow-based tech firm, “Katyusha” monitors more than 20,000 media sources, according to its CEO. The State Duma’s press service told Vedomosti that they “read everything” and try to keep track of a wide range of news sources, according to the report. The Foreign Ministry’s press service said its daily monitoring includes blogs and social media platforms. The Justice Ministry said it employs a system that follows public and anonymous Telegram channels “that mention the Russian Justice Ministry and its activities.” State lender Sberbank told Vedomosti it monitored Telegram channels to “provide management with the most complete and objective information.” The Prosecutor General’s Office and state-owned VTB (Vneshtorgbank) do not include political Telegram channels in daily digests, but do monitor them online, the newspaper reported. The majority of high-ranking officials, strategists and experts polled by Vedomosti said that Telegram channels are a “toy” in the hands of the Kremlin’s bloc in charge of domestic policy. Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov denied to Vedomosti the need for its senior management to intervene in the content policy of anonymous channels.
A new paper from the IMF (pdf) puts another nail in the coffin of the doctrine of expansionary austerity. It basically shows that results purporting to show economic expansion following spending cuts and/or tax increases were based on a statistical illusion: an expanding economy can often lead to rising revenue and/or falling spending (e.g. because safety-net spending falls or because the government cuts back in an attempt to cool off inflationary pressures). And as a result, what the Alesina-Ardagna results capture is muddle by reverse causation. The paper corrects this by using the historical record to identify true examples of deliberate austerity — and it turns out that they are contractionary. The multiplier is less than one, but that may reflect the fact that these austerity programs did not take place in the face of a zero lower bound, so they were partly offset by monetary expansion. The paper also provides a tentative answer to the apparent tendency of spending cuts to be less contractionary than tax increases: it looks as if central banks take more aggressive action to offset spending cuts than tax hikes, reflecting some combination of inflation concerns, belief that spending cuts are more durable, and (the paper doesn’t say this) bankerly ideology. If we were discussing a politically neutral subject, the evidence here would long since have been considered definitive: expansionary austerity is a doctrine that failed. But since we’re in the political realm, of course, such a convenient doctrine can’t be abandoned. On the contrary, it now seems to be the official doctrine of both the GOP and the White House.
I was able to pick up my SR1911 in 10mm last night from my FFL. I thought I would give you a brief impressions write up with some pics.First impression...Well, it is a 1911 We have all seen one before, but gotta start this parade somewhere, so:It came with two of the magazines in the picture. They are basic 1911 mags and hold 8 rounds. Standard round top metal followers. As typical, these start as the same blanks as any other 1911 magazine, and get the groove to narrow the mag a bit inside and different feed lips. The mags behave exactly like you would expect.Next I started checking fit.The slide is fit nicely, moves smoothly once I removed the shipping oil and got some slipstream styx on the gun. There is no play side to side or up/down. If I were to pick a nit, I would say that they could have blended it a little better on the right rear side, but to be honest I didn't notice until I was cropping pictures for here, so it is a pretty fine nit to pick.The barrel is as advertised and has a nicely recessed crown.You can see in the picture a bit of copper fouling on the nitride finish. I wish I could say that I put that copper there, but it is from the factory test fire.Ruger did mar the finish with the typical warning prominently etched on the bottom of the dust cover.Thanks mom. I will do that.In all fairness I get that in todays world such a warning is very standard. But, it is very prominent in this location, and is much larger text than any of my other guns. I really think they could have done this much more subtly.As we discussed in another thread, the ejection port is lowered, but not flared. However, the rear edge is filed back some, almost rounded.I was planning on cutting a flare first thing, but I think I will wait and see what brass looks like first.Now, for the one real complaint in what is otherwise a pretty flawless basic 1911 execution. The grip safety is pretty poorly fit IMHO. It rattles about, it has a good bit of loose play, some of which I can correct with the sear spring, but the side to side play is not likely to be addressed by that. The beavertail is also interesting.Maybe I am just out of it, but I have never seen one that scallops back in like that. It is just wider than the hammer. I am sure it works well, but it just doesn't look quite right. Perhaps it will grow on me.And, I can see reducing it's footprint in this way on a gun designed for concealed carry. But on a gun that is more about accuracy and power than concealment, I don't get why you alter the profile in this way. Perhaps this is how all SR1911's are and I just never paid attention. And perhaps I am more sensitive to it since the part is so poorly fit to begin with.Takedown was as you would expect for a full length guide-rod. At some point you have to capture the recoil spring with a paper clip. The hole is easily accessible with the slide locked to the rear. I personally capture after I remove the slide, which works to if you are familiar with the method.The trigger "out of the box" was gritty and had a good bit of creep. The gun had minimal shipping lube, and shipping lube is more for corrosion protection than friction reduction. I did not detail strip the gun. I field stripped and blew some cleaner into the action. I then lubed it up liberally with Slipstream Styx. Once that was done the pull smoothed out a bunch. There is still a tiny bit of creep, but I have only dry fired it about 50 times. I am certain by 500 rounds in the trigger will be creep free.I want to end on a high note, so I saved this tidbit for last. And I didn't think to get a picture of this. But, I was really surprised by the recoil spring. First, it is a good stout spring. I would say a 22 lb spring. Second, and this is the big one, it is a flat spring. I expect this spring will stand up well to a long steady diet of full-house 10mm loads.And, to end on a picture:Oh! Weights:Gun: 38.1 ozBarrel: 5.0 ozSlide: 13.2 ozUpper: 20.4 ozNo magazine, which is why the weight is less than the spec weight on Ruger's website.
I think it was either Phog Allen or Ra’s al Ghul who said, “Every time a civilization reaches the pinnacle of its decadence, we return to restore the balance.” I can’t tell if Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger’s home renovation plans signal the pinnacle of decadence or not, but I am all for it. Granger, who is averaging 18 points per game for the surprising Pacers, is in the process of living out the American (teenage) dream. He is building himself a Batcave. “I think when I build a house a couple years down the line, I was telling my fiancée I wanted to have — once again with the superhero thing — you know how Batman drives into a hidden cave?” Granger said. “I’m serious.” Now, here is the part where you say, “Why so serious?!” and give yourself a high-five, right? No, he’s REALLY serious. Granger has been talking about this project for about four years now, dropping tidbits in various interviews. The construction of the superhero rec room is taking place in New Mexico. As you can imagine, Granger has had some ups and downs. I’m just going to get of his way for a while. Take it away, Caped Crusader: “[T]he builder called me and told me he found a nice little feature, a lift for my car, kind of like Batman had. It’s in the works, it’s a process. [The superhero stuff] is just a big thing I’ve been a part of. I wanted an underground tunnel entrance. I had to take that out. I found out there’s so many state codes and laws against that [laughing] so we had to take that one out. But we still have the underground thing going on and I mean I’ve got cars and things that turn my cars and I even got sort of like a moat thing going on so it will be interesting to see.” Yeah, Danny. A moat. THAT’S INTERESTING. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go request a copy of Danny Granger’s contract, because I’m pretty sure, hidden deep within its pages, not unlike a contractual batcave, there is a clause that states: IF (PLAYER) MAINTAINS A SCORING AVERAGE ABOVE 15 PPG AND FINDS HIMSELF IN GOOD STANDING WITHIN COMMUNITY, (ORGANIZATION) WILL FUND HIS SECRET CRIME-FIGHTING ALTER EGO AND PARTIALLY FACILITATE CONSTRUCTION OF MOAT IN OR AROUND SAID CRIME-FIGHTING SMALL FORWARD’S SECRET LAIR. SIGNED, LARRY “ALFRED” BIRD.
When B.C.’s Oil and Gas Commission identified significant methane leaks from hundreds of gas wells in 2013, the energy regulator withheld that information from BC Liberal politicians. Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners ‘Punch to the Gut’ Musical on Residential Schools Returns to Vancouver Children of God has been shaped by intense audience reactions, says director Corey Payette. Why BC Needs a Public Inquiry into Fracking read more Members of the former Christy Clark government wrongly claimed that B.C. wells didn’t leak and that the province’s shale gas industry was “clean.” The report, which looked only at the Jean Marie formation north of Fort Nelson, concluded that “there may be as many as 235 instances of visible gas migration and 900 total instances of gas migration in the north zone of B.C.” Gas migration, a chronic and costly liability in the oil and gas industry and the subject of major petroleum textbooks, refers to steady or intermittent gas leaks that can be caused by the drilling, fracking or even cementing of wellbores which create pathways for leakage to the surface. The leaking methane can travel along fractures or faults into soils, the atmosphere or aquifers which can absorb the gas and carry the contaminated water off to other areas. (One recent study confirmed that methane leaks from shale gas wells can travel great distances in aquifers and that regulators aren’t doing enough to monitor the risks to climate change or water.) The 2013 commission report also admitted that the agency did not have “access to good research related to the effect of gas migration on aquifers in order to inform decision-making”— a deficit that, say critics, the commission has yet to correct. Leakage rates from well sites can be so prolific that they make the impact of methane drilling and fracking as dirty as mining coal in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet just four months after the report confirmed significant leakage problems in just one zone of production, then deputy premier Rich Coleman wrongly claimed that oil and gas wells in British Columbia didn’t leak methane. In response to a national report on hydraulic fracturing that characterized shale gas fracking as an uncontrolled science experiment and called for more action on the liability of leaking wells, Coleman told the Vancouver Sun that he didn’t agree with the expert panel’s findings. “The reality is we’ve been doing this for over 50 years, we’ve never had a contamination from a drill, we’ve never had a drill stem leak or fail. We do it as well or better than anybody else in the word.” At the time the nation’s top hydrogeologist John Cherry and one of North America’s fracking experts, Anthony Ingraffea, both criticized Coleman for making statements that had no basis in science or geology. When asked why the commission didn’t correct Coleman’s remarks at the time, Phil Rygg, commission director of public and corporate relations, replied with this explanation: “Initially, this was an internal report to allow the commission to better understand the issue of gas migration, plan next steps for data gathering and potential mitigation efforts…. As noted, this was an internal report at the time and was not provided to politicians.” The commission made the 2013 report public just hours after The Tyee said it had obtained a copy and requested comments on its findings on Nov. 21. This marks the second time this fall the commission has released information bulletins saying it is taking action on identified problems. But in each case it released the bulletins only after being pressed for information by journalists. “It is outrageous that information that ought to be public is being withheld by the commission until the 11th hour and 59th minute and only when these documents have been leaked or obtained by the press,” said investigative reporter Ben Parfitt. Parfitt, who has been tracking the building of illegal dams by the industry for hydraulic fracturing, said he would be taking the matter up with the province’s Information and Privacy Commissioner. Ingraffea said the report was just another confirmation of what industry has known for decades: that wells leak and leak badly over time. “What do they expect from underground operations such as these, total obedience to design intent? Why are operators and regulators around the world seemingly surprised when things go wrong underground, and in so many ways, and so often?” Ingraffea said. The scale of the leakage from BC’s 26,000 oil and gas wells is immense, poorly quantified and highly under-reported. It has implications for the shale gas industry as well as for repeated claims made by LNG proponents, including the current NDP government, that methane from northeastern B.C. is “clean.” The commission has an incomplete picture on well leakage. The industry wasn’t required to report leaks until 1995 and only then prior to abandonment of a well. In 2010 the commission required companies to check for leaks after the drilling of a well and during routine maintenance. As a result of this requirement, the commission documented a sharp increase in reported leakage. In addition to limited historic data, companies conducting leakage tests are not required to report negative results to the commission. That means researchers don’t know with certainty how many of the province’s 26,000 wells have actually been tested. Josh Wisen, a master’s student at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, recently calculated in a paper for an Ottawa conference — based on limited commission data, that the industry drilled 4,017 wells since 2010 and that 761 are leaking — a failure rate of 19 per cent. The majority of the leaks came from the surface casing vents at the top of the well (not a topic covered by the 2013 report) while seven per cent came from gas migration. Another three per cent came from liquid leaks to the surface. According to the commission, “gas migration has been reported to be associated with 144 wells in northeast B.C.” and that three of the leaking well sites “have been required to develop and implement a groundwater monitoring program to support the risk assessment.” But the regulator, which is funded by industry, doesn’t have any idea how many older abandoned wells are leaking. It recently commissioned an aerial survey to test equipment to find methane leakage from decommissioned wells — nearly four years after the 2013 report recommended that “it should consider prioritizing the abandonment of wells with gas migration or surface casing vent flows.” According to the 2013 report, there is no timeline to abandon an inactive well in B.C., which means it can sit on the landscape leaking methane into groundwater or the atmosphere indefinitely. Although LNG proponents still characterize shale gas production as “clean” and without methane leakage or groundwater contamination, field observations by the David Suzuki Foundation suggest that many leaky wells are not appearing in the B.C. database. Their recent mobile survey study of natural gas developments in northeastern B.C. found that nearly 50 per cent of active wells spewed detectable amounts of methane. The peer-reviewed study which appeared in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, estimated that methane emissions from B.C.’s shale gas basins are now at least 2.5 times higher than provincial government estimates. That makes the oil and gas sector the largest source of climate pollution in B.C., a greater source of pollution than commercial transportation. In Alberta the under-reporting of methane emissions — now a key driver of climate change, has been equally dramatic. Airborne measurements of methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure around Red Deer and Lloydminster, which is an area with a documented history of severe gas migration problems, found that that the Red Deer emissions were 17 times greater than what regulators estimated based on ground reporting, and four times greater than regulatory estimates for the Lloydminster region. Uncertainty about the magnitude of methane emissions from leaking wells makes it difficult for federal and provincial regulators to identify and set up programs to control methane emissions, a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. But the findings of the Alberta study clearly suggest that actual methane emissions from the upstream oil and gas sector (excluding mined oil sands) are likely to be at least 25 to 50 per cent greater than estimated. That finding means that belated proposals to cut methane emissions by 45 per cent are inadequate due to chronic underestimation of the real problem. Karlis Muelenbachs, a pioneer in tracking stray gases from wellbores and a professor at the University of Alberta, called the 2013 “internal” OGC report “sound” but incomplete. “I do wonder why it only looks at ground migration and not the much more easily documented surface casing vent (SCV) flow),” Muelenbachs said. “I have always thought that wherever one sees [gas migration] one probably would also see SCV, and the question is if both gases have the same source. As mentioned in the report they do not.” Muelenbachs added that the report “underestimates the total threat but I would expect a lot of sugar coating to have the report taken to management.” Gilles Wendling, a hydrogeologist who has studied changes to groundwater quality in northeastern B.C., said the 2013 report raised questions and underscored how poorly the province has been monitoring groundwater. “How many leaky wells weren’t repaired?” Wendling said in an email. “The majority of oil and gas well in B.C. were drilled before 2008 (some 19,000) and a large number (about 8,000) were drilled before 1995.” Wendling said all the wellbores could potentially leak, but how many leak won’t be known until they are tested. “This could be difficult to do for older decommissioned wells, which have been buried below the surface for more than 20 years. For all of B.C. we need to know which wellbores have been tested for leakage, how they have been tested, and when they were tested,” he said. Wendling added that it was “fallacy" for the 2013 report to conclude that “there is no reason to expect that any of the GM wells have had a negative impact on any domestic source of groundwater as none of the GM wells are in close proximity to domestic water wells.” Stating that there is no reason to believe “there has been impact because it was not monitored and/or because of the absence of wells does not prove there has been no negative impact,” he said. Groundwater monitoring conducted by the province in northeastern B.C. remains incredibly poor. Wendling said only seven monitoring wells are in operation in the region. In 2016 Wendling submitted a report to the Peace River Regional District and Tribal 8 Association documenting substantial changes to groundwater quality in the region over time. Based on thousands of surface and groundwater samples — some dating back to 1943, Wendling found “an increasing presence of sodium and sulfate in surface water (after 2000), in groundwater (after 2000), and in spring water (after 2011).” An observed increase in barium in groundwater could be due to “intense drilling activity in the region.” But Wendling’s report adds that “the lack of information on water, both on quality and quantity prior to the 1970s, has prevented the definition of the baseline before human activities started having a footprint both at the surface and in the subsurface.”
Getty Images Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers may still autograph a fan’s cheesehead. But don’t expect him to share in the Wisconsin fashion icon’s inspiration. Via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Rodgers said that as part of an offseason emphasis on healthier eating, he’s eliminated dairy from his diet. That’s right, he cut the cheese. (We’ll give you a moment to recover from your fit of laughter this early in the morning, and clean the coffee you sprayed out of your nose off the screen. What, you’re not 11? Carry on.) He was coming off a minor knee surgery and wanted to feel better, so he consulted with team nutritionist Adam Korzun, who helped him settle on a vegetable-heavy plan. “I ate more of a vegan diet,” Rodgers said, “with some red meat at times and some chicken, but tried to stick to a lot of fruits and vegetables — but mostly vegetables.” He said he’s played as heavy as 230, but is down to 218 now, as light as he’s been as a pro. The 32-year-old said he just wanted to get generally healthier, but had sport-specific needs. “Through your eating, you can reduce inflammation,” he said. “Because if you do research, you learn the different foods you eat can actually increase the inflammation in your body — and especially in certain parts of your body. “With a knee condition I’ve had for a long time, it really started after the surgery, thinking about exactly what I’m going to eat the first couple of weeks after surgery to kind of limit the amount of inflammation in my knee, and carried that around the rest of the offseason.” As a result, he carried a little less of himself around, and stepped a bit away from the local delicacy that has come to represent his fan base.
Last time, we talked about synergy. We noticed that divine bond had immense synergy with some of the cards in our deck – and we mentioned that we are going usually win if we can get it out on the board on top of an active monster and attack the same turn. That’s in a perfect situation – it won’t be like that everytime. But when it is, it’s great – we’re more than likely winning that match. So now that we know the deck works with divine bond, what do we do to build around it to ensure that we last that long, get to play, it, and get to win? Well, to get there, we’re going to need to stall. Remember all those provoke minions? They become hugely important to control the opponent until you can get your divine bond and win the game! This is called a win condition, and your deck type is called an archetype – which is not a word that I will be using very frequently because it’s jargon and we don’t need jargon. So we have a few options for controlling our opponent and the board with provoking right now. Let’s build a deck and come up with an explanation for every card. If you can’t find an explanation, you don’t need it, or you need to think of a better explanation or run 2 copies because you might need it, but don’t know what to do with it. For now, we’re going to stick with 3 ofs. The proposed deck has been seen before, and here it is once more. Here’s the explanation behind everything in the deck: Rock Pulverizer: Provoke Vale Hunter: (Ranged, can pick off pesky hard to reach objectives) Windblade Adept: 2 cost 3/3 when zealed (6 – 2 = 4) Saberspine Tiger: Removes any 3 health or lower units that need to be answered quickly due to its rush ability which allows it to be played the same turn. Silverguard Knight: Provoke Lyssian Brawler: Good target for Divine Bond, celerity allows it to damage the general or any minion with less than 3 attack for 8 total if it sticks. Primus Shieldmaster: Provoke Brightmoss Golem: Excellent Divine Bond Target Stormmetal Golem/Dragon Bone Golem: Game tempo Tempo is playing upon the pace at which the game goes. At 7 mana for example, you’re going to want a 7 cost play. Keep in mind this is all in a perfect game where all the cards you draw go your way and everything is awesome. You can still win, or lose without having your win condition even showing up in your hand. Think of it more of an ideal win condition rather than the only condition upon which you will win. Be attentive so that you can be adaptable and respond to situations as they arrive! You won’t always get your divine bond out and win, or even get it out at all, but you can still win – and of course, there will always be losses. Tomorrow, we take a look at the other factions and their special abilities one at a time starting with Songhai. Once we break in all the factions, we will start discussing the board! Summary: A win condition is something you create your deck around based on the idea that in a perfect game x y z. Run 3 copies of everything that helps you arrive there, 2 of things that might help. Divine Bonding a big Minion is a perfect example of a “win condition” You can win (or lose) without meeting your win condition Your win condition defines your deck style. Advertisements Share this: Twitter Facebook Google Like this: Like Loading... Related
Microbrasserie Dieu Du Ciel is the most well known brewery from Quebec, Canada and also carries many beers that are highly rated and sought after, especially their two stouts Aphrodisiaque and Peche Mortel. Moralite, Their collaboration IPA with Alchemist Brewery from Vermont, also sits in the top 50 RateBeer list for best IPAs. There are many factors that make Dieu Du Ciel one of the many top breweries in the world and few reasons are their continual quality, their extremely low prices and their experimental yearly releases. Dieu Du Ciel continually creates amazingly crafted beer and a large variety of it. There is always something for everyone at Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel. From your over the top passionate beer drinker to your average one and even for the one that doesn’t like beer. Their retail prices continue to amaze me, a single bottle costing only a mere $3 and few cents. What puts Dieu Du Ciel further on the map is their experimental barrel aged beers that are released in an extravagant yearly anniversary event at their St-Jerome location. I had the opportunity to attend this years festivities but, what was meant to be festive turned into a statistical nightmare. With very high limits on the Peche Mortel Bourbon aged and Peche Mortel Bourbon & Brandy aged beers, there was sure to be a riot with the 400 plus people waiting to get some. Most leaving without any, and several of their other beers only lasting about 100 people. I had to wait a good 6 hours before getting a hold of my beer and I was still really content. The wait was painful and even more painful was the fact that I missed out on the Symbiose, Exorciste 2014 and the Rigor Mortis Brandy. But still happy with what I did manage to get and was still very festive indeed! The best part of all, the beers were only $4 a pop for the small ones and about $12 for the larger ones. Dieu Du Ciel still maintained their amazingly cheap prices! Besides the event mentioned above Dieu Du Ciel has made it’s way as one of my favourites in Quebec. I am sure that any beer consumed by them won’t ever disappoint. Below I have decided to have two vertical trials, one of their Isseki Nicho comparing it to the barrel aged version and the other a battle of their IPA Moralite and the recently released DIPA Immoralite. Immoralite which was released April 1st as part of their Momentum release came in with a bottle date of already 5 1/2 weeks old. I personally find it immoral to release a double IPA that is already so far in it’s shelf life. It goes against all the IPA and DIPA codes of beer! But as the name entails, it’s craft beer. Craft beer takes a lot of delicate artistic skills and the brewer has a certain vision in mind. With that, I am sure that the brewmaster had specific intentions. Shelfing it for 5 weeks to gain a more complex DIPA to fulfil that vision. Below I decide to battle litte brother with big brother. Moralite IPA Availability: Year Round ABV: 6.9% IBU: 100 Bottled: March 18 2016 Drank April 2 2016 Lot #62 Moralite for me isn’t the best IPA to come out of Quebec, but it most certainly is in the top 4 IPAs from Quebec. My very first experience with Moralite was a real disappointment, not because the beer was lacking but because the beer was past its prime. A very old bottle date, which I only realized much later. Dieu Du Ciel’s older method to date bottles wasn’t as clear and they have since changed it. This IPA is a collaborative brew with The Alchemist that little unknown brewery from Vermont. Who am I kidding, every body knows Heady Topper. And when any one wants to drink a fine IPA from Quebec all they need to look for is a bottle with a great artistic label and the name Moralite. Trust me it’s completely moral to drink this. Moralite starts with a Nice amazing hop aroma mixed with a sharp bitterness. Not particularly the kind of hop explosion I prefer, this one has intense hop notes that blast into your face but with the accompaniment of bitterness which quickly kills the exciting hop bursts. You could say the bitterness is acting out and is jealous of the attention the hops are getting. This particular lot isn’t as hoppy as I had previously remembered. Although I’ve always remembered Moralite being more bitter than most IPAs I enjoy, I do remember the hops were a lot more prominent. Lot #53 was spectacular, back from November last year. Lot #62 4/5 Lot #53 4.5/5 Immoralite Imperial IPA Availability: Seasonal April ABV: 9.2% IBU: N/A Bottled: Feb 22 2016 Drank April 2 2016 For me personally releasing it 5 weeks from bottle date doesn’t do it justice. I prefer to have the hops hit me in the face like most DIPAs do. This hop slap is the main factor I look at when it comes to IPAs/DIPAs which I enjoy. Of course beers aren’t only just about a punch of hops, beers are meant to be a bit more complex, leaving the drinker questioning the elements and flavours. Does that mean Immoralite is a failed DIPA? Certainly not. Regardless of the old bottle date I can surely say that Immoralite is a complex DIPA. Like the typical beer talker, i’ll just leave it at that. Complex. Think about it. The flavours are jumping about leaving you wondering what is dancing on your palate. The nose gives off a mellow hop aroma with some notes of grapefruit. It doesn’t start off with a crazy hop explosion and the flavours that follow for me tend to seem a bit strange. It’s got that weird leather and lychee like flavour coming from it, which I don’t particularly enjoy. I also find it to be very strong. Most of the feedback I received about this beer was really positive, but it’s just not floating my boat. I had previously had this on draft at Vice&Versa pub, and from my previous notes and rating, I found it to be a very flavourful balanced DIPA with a very minor hop explosion. They also released a more fresh batch of this beer with a March date on it, so for those looking for one that is more fresh make sure you have a look at the bottle date! 3.75/5 (4.5/5 on draft) The Isseki Nicho is Dieu Du Ciel’s dark saison beer which gets a Momentum release every fall around October if I’m not mistaken. And although at first I was hesitant to pick one up, I am very glad that I finally did months later. And it fell perfectly in line with Dieu Du Ciel’s Anniversary release, during which they released the Pinot Noir version of this great dark saison and I picked myself up a nice little sixer of it. Dieu Du Ciel from what I have heard has a reputation to not disappoint with any of their beers which are released and with their Isseki Nicho they live up to that reputation. Isseki Nicho Imperial Dark Saison ABV: 9.5% IBU: N/A Bottled: August 26 2015 Drank March 22 2016 Aroma gives off notes of amazing roasted malts. A heavy mouthfeel and crazy notes of roasted malts, shooting that roasted coffee flavour forward. It has minor hints of bitterness but very quickly fleeting bitterness which doesn’t seem to bother me. I really enjoyed the Hill Farmstead Edith more, which was a bit more tart. A dark farmhouse with a little hint of tartness really sells it for me. But I’m really enjoying the malt notes from this beer. It taste fantastic. The heavy mouthfeel can be a bit hard to handle. Bottom of the bottle holds most of the bitterness and has a minor rustic sense similar to that of Le Castor Dark Farmhouse. The Le Castor was a lot more rustic but was a lot less mouthfeel and had a lighter body. Emptying out the bottom brought out the beers heavy rustic tones. I thank that I picked up many of these, but even still you can find them here and there easily! So grab yourself some if you havn’t! It’s sure to delight the senses. 4.25/5 Isseki Nicho Pinot 2015 Imperial Dark Saison (Aged in Pinot Noir Barrels 5 months) ABV: 9.5% IBU: N/A Bottled: September 11 2015 Drank: March 22 2016 You can really smell the difference in aromas between this one and the regular momentum series. The Pinot barrel age has a distinct barrel smell added with a nice sweetness. Much more sweeter than the regular Isseki. Has a minor scent of sourness and flavour is very very sweet when compared to the regular. Where as the regular has a crazy bitterness, this one has a crazy sweetness that shines. The Pinot really overpowers the roasted malts though. I’d enjoy this a bit more if the roasted malts still had the ability shine whilst the Pinot slices the top, kinda like the cherry on top rather than a cherry pie. What I mean to say is I would enjoy this more if the roasted malts were more frontal and the Pinot Noir ageing was more delicate and light. Not to say this is terrible, because it is a great combination. I also feel maybe this beer aged in Oak barrels might make a nice beer. Overall I’d say I prefer the regular version over the Pinot aged. But the Pinot aged is definitely working well. 4/5 Santé! Written by HopCitizen. Photography by HopCitizen. Advertisements
Back in August it was rumoured that Marvel Studios wanted Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) for the role of Wanda Maximoff – a.k.a. Scarlet Witch – in Joss Whedon’s hotly-anticipated sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and now it looks like Olsen has become the second new addition to the cast after James Spader (The Blacklist), with Samuel L. Jackson seemingly confirming her involvement during an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “I don’t think we begin shooting before March of next year. I know we’re shooting in London, that James Spader is Ultron and going to be the bad guy, and that we added Ms. [Elizabeth] Olsen [who will play the Scarlet Witch], but I don’t know what she’s doing, if she’s on the inside or the outside. I haven’t seen a script.” Meanwhile, Jackson also went on to briefly dicuss his cameo in the second episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. [read our review here]: “I’m still playing the same guy, it’s the same process. I just show up and they turn the cameras on and we do it.” The Avengers: Age of Ultron is set for release on May 1st 2015, with Olsen and Spader set to be joined by returning stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner. Meanwhile Oslen’s Godzilla co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass 2) is thought to top Marvel’s list for the role of Scarlet Witch’s brother Quicksilver.
The warm water being flushed down Canada's sewers could become a huge source of recycled energy. Wastewater heat is already being put to use in a handful of buildings in British Columbia, where a small company called International Wastewater Systems is on the leading edge of the technology and hoping to turn it into a formidable business. IWS's system takes heat from the water going down the drain from sinks and toilets in a condo, and transfers it to the clean water coming into the building. It can dramatically cut water heating costs, and thus pay back the price of installation within a couple of years. Story continues below advertisement The system works because wastewater is consistently at about 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. With heat exchangers, that energy can be used to generate hot water at higher temperatures. IWS founder and president Lynn Mueller, who trained as a refrigeration mechanic, said he was working with geothermal heating systems when he began considering all the warm water which was being flushed down the drain. "I was thinking that every day I comfortably flush down water that it cost me $10 or $20 a day [to heat]," he said. "That is perfectly good heat." A 2005 U.S. Department of Energy study estimated that 350 billion kilowatt-hours of heat energy is flushed down the drains in the United States each year. The key to Mr. Mueller's system is the special filter his company designed, which temporarily removes the solids from the wastewater, leaving it just clean enough to pass through a heat pump without clogging the heat exchangers. The warmth from the wastewater is transferred to a flow of fresh water – without either stream of water coming in contact with each other. The solids are then combined back into the wastewater before it goes down the sewer. The system also has software that monitors it at all times – "a brain that reports to us before any problem exists," Mr. Mueller said. One of his first customers was Adera Development Corp., a condo and townhouse builder in Vancouver. It was looking for ways to work renewable energy technology into a new 60-unit development in North Vancouver called Seven35. The sewage heat recovery system that was installed two years ago resulted in a 75-per-cent reduction in energy use for water heating, and helped the project get a LEED platinum rating. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Eric Andreasen, Adera's vice-president of market and sales, said his company is trying to include as many environmentally sustainable features as possible in its condominium developments. When the company heard about the IWS wastewater recovery system from its mechanical contractor, it jumped at the chance. But it wasn't just the green credentials that made it attractive. "Obviously financial savings was one of the big things," Mr. Andreasen said. A similar system was installed in Adera's Sail condominium project near the University of British Columbia – a bigger 172-unit development where the wastewater warmth contributes to building heat as well as hot water. Mr. Andreasen says residents aren't worried about contamination from the sewage getting into the incoming hot water, once it is explained to them that it is a completely closed system where only the heat is transferred. "There is no possible way that any contamination can happen," he said. IWS has also installed its system at a community theatre complex in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond. In that project, the heat is drawn from the municipal sewer system, rather than the wastewater coming out of the building. IWS has five more projects under way in Vancouver, Mr. Mueller said, and another 40 or so in various stages of development around the world. Among those: a wastewater heat recovery system for a 250-year-old hospital in Britain. Currently the payback for the system – through decreased costs for heating water – is about two or three years for a residential building with 200 or more units. But it can be faster, in some circumstances. At a private hospital in Boston that has high-cost electric water heaters, the installation of an IWS system will save enough money to pay the full cost in less than six months, Mr. Mueller said. The price of that system is about $800,000, but "it will save them $2-million a year," he said. Story continues below advertisement Mr. Mueller acknowledges that people are initially leery about using the heat from sewage to warm up clean water coming into a building. "The first question always is, 'Can I smell the system working in my building?'" he said. "But ours is completely sealed. There is no smell whatsoever." The fact that the technology can be used in densely-packed cities, where geothermal power is impractical and there is little space for solar panels or wind turbines, is also a great advantage, he said.
Nearly a month after the Atlanta Hawks went international by drafting both Lucas Nogueira and Dennis Schroeder, the Hawks are now set to add another overseas import to their roster by signing Pero Antic. According to multiple reports around Europe, Antic -- a 6-foot-10, 260 pound power forward -- will be in Atlanta on Thursday to take a physical and sign paperwork if all goes according to plan. The contract is expected to be a one-year deal with a one-year option. The addition of Antic would be a big score for the Hawks thanks to his accomplished resume in Europe and overall toughness in the paint. Not only did Antic help Olympiacos capture back-to-back Turkish Airlines Euroleague titles the last two seasons, but he also boasts national team experience with Macedonia and multiple championships in Greece, Serbia, Russia and Bulgaria. Last season with Olympiacos, Antic averaged 6.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game (30 games. Greek League) and 6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game (31 games, Euroleague).
The warnings have been quick and delivered with a growing sense of unease. In less than three weeks, Moody’s Investors Services, a major international credit rating agency, issued successive commentaries about Ontario’s fiscal challenges that, although cautiously worded in pithy parlance, nonetheless signaled a further credit downgrade for Canada’s largest province appears inevitable – if not imminent. [np_storybar title=”Here’s what Ontario’s premier candidates are promising for small businesses” link=”https://business.financialpost.com/2014/06/07/heres-what-ontarios-premier-candidates-are-promising-for-small-businesses/”%5D In a recent survey, the candidates for premier of Ontario — Liberal Party leader and Premier Kathleen Wynne, Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak, New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath and Green Party leader Mike Schreiner — weigh in on what they would do to help the province’s small businesses if they were elected. Keep reading. [/np_storybar] “They have warned and alluded to the fact that if something isn’t done, a downgrade is inevitable,” said Candice Malcolm, Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. That day of reckoning for Ontario and its increasingly precarious financial fortunes appears to be at hand no matter who wins the provincial election on June 12. “The fiscal squeeze does not disappear with a change of government,” declared Finn Poschmann, vice-president policy analysis at the C.D. Howe Institute. “Certainly the pressure is there for a downgrade.” For a province that is hugely dependent on tapping lines of credit because it spends more than it collects, a future downgrade could severely cripple Ontario’s ability to function. Higher borrowing costs would add billions more to the debt-revenue measure, which is already the highest among 10 provinces. Clearly, Moody’s doesn’t like what it sees. Upon reading the proposed deficit increases for the next three years outlined in the May 1 provincial Liberal government’s budget, the rating agency quickly issued an “update” that warned, “The increase in planned deficits represents a credit negative for the province.” That caution was followed by a “special comment” on May 21 when Moody’s raised another red flag after analyzing the ratio of debt to revenue of all 10 provinces and their capacity to manage it. “The creditworthiness of provinces has deteriorated,” the rating agency noted, and projections of higher deficit “is also credit negative.” Although the report did not single out individual provinces, it did take issue with the fiscal management of seven – led by Ontario with a debt-to-revenue ratio of 237.7%, and followed by Quebec with a ratio of 189.%. According to the report, Alberta ranked lowest – and best – with a debt ratio of 31.9% of revenue. “The challenges facing Ontario are the same as in some other provinces,” explained Michael Yake, assistant vice-president at Moody’s in Toronto. “We see deficits narrowing at a lower pace but in Ontario, they are growing from previous forecasts. That’s not an ideal situation from our point of view.” Ontario spends 9.2% of its revenues on interest payments and provincial government estimates that figure will rise close to about 11% in the next four years. Meanwhile, this year’s deficit is pegged at $12.5-billion, or 25% higher than previously forecast. However, if interest rates which have been at 20-year low levels rise, that burden would become significantly heavier. According to Jack Mintz, director of the School of Policy at the University of Calgary, if interest rates rise to historical norms, each point increase in interest could add a minimum of $3-billion in annual interest payments. “That would severely cripple Ontario’s ability to deliver services. So instead of making our own decisions now to rein in spending, the decision will be made for us,” warned Ms. Malcolm. When Premier Kathleen Wynn’s provincial government tabled its budget on May 1, Moody’s thought it was going to hear more about belt tightening than loosening. “We saw a little bit of a reversal of what we thought was necessary,” Mr. Yake said in an interview. Although the budget “wasn’t a document that helped the credit profile of the province,” he noted it still wasn’t enough to move the rating from Aa2, where it’s been for the past two years. Even so, Ontario is already paying the price. The province’s bonds are less valuable on the market according to the Ontario Finance Authority. A 10-year bond issued by the province on May 13 fetched a price of 99.1, compared to 99.6 in June, 2012, two months after Moody’s lowered its Ontario’s credit rating from Aa1 that year. That’s one reason why a downgrade may be around the corner. Here’s another: when Moody’s downgraded Ontario’s debt rating in April, 2012, the province’s net debt to revenue ratio was 215%, and spending growth was expected to average 1.9% and then drop to 1.1% by 2017-2018. Two years later in May, 2014, the debt to revenue ratio is almost 238% and expenditure growth is forecast to increase to 2.7% in 2014-2015. So why the apparent restraint from Moody’s and other credit rating agencies, such as Standard & Poor’s which also held its Aa negative rating on Ontario unchanged? For one, credit agencies avoid getting tangled up in politics, especially when there is an election looming. It was no secret the budget would be shot down in the Ontario Legislature, so a downgrade may have appeared premature. “From our standpoint, that document is no longer a document of interest,” Mr. Yake said of the ill-fated May 1 Liberal budget. And even if the Liberals are re-elected, he said, “we expect some changes,” despite vows from Ms. Wynn to pass the same budget that sparked the election if she is returned to power. At the same time consider that Ms. Wynne wants to loosen expenditure restraints until 2015, and increase spending through increased borrowing and higher income, aviation fuel and cigarette taxes. She also promised to balance the budget by 2017 without giving details of cost cutting, prompting critics to say Ms. Wynn is likely relying almost entirely on robust economic growth to pump up government coffers by 2.8% in 2014-2015 and 4.7% in 2015-2016. Moody’s believes that’s wishful thinking. Economic growth in most provinces has been modest and has subsequently failed to meet optimistic targets, Mr. Yake offered. So provinces, led by Ontario, that are facing serious fiscal challenges, are having trouble hitting those moveable targets. What they need to do, he said, is “readjust and try to establish what the new normal growth rate is over the medium term.” In the end, Mr. Yake insisted that credit ratings are “apolitical” and not dependent on which party is in power. Maybe so, but with at least one of the major contenders clinging stubbornly to the status quo that has prompted such a jaundiced view from Moody’s, while the other promises to slash drastically across all sectors, all that may be left are the semantics.
President Barack Obama’s announced immigration executive actions are lawful, a group of ten prominent legal scholars wrote in a joint letter shared by the White House with TIME. Pushing back on Republicans who have blasted Obama’s action as unconstitutional and unlawful, the signatories include Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe, conservative legal scholar Eric Posner, and former Yale Law School Dean and former State Department Legal Advisor Harold Hongju Koh. “While we differ among ourselves on many issues relating to Presidential power and immigration policy, we are all of the view that these actions are lawful,” the professors wrote. “They are exercises of prosecutorial discretion that are consistent with governing law and with the policies that Congress has expressed in the statutes that it has enacted.” The letter reinforces a Justice Department opinion that the president’s actions were lawful. The same memorandum noted that the Office of Legal Counsel believed that extending prosecutorial discretion to prevent deportations of the parents of those granted deferred action in 2012 would not be lawful, providing Obama cover from criticism from advocates who wanted the president to do more. The full letter is below: Contact us at editors@time.com.
If you never considered putting Laos on your list of countries to visit, you should definitely give it a second thought. In case you did have the chance to see it you will probably feel the same way as we did when we visited a few months ago. Laos is simply a beautiful country – from the fascinating and extremely chilled Mekong Islands in the south to the mystic mountains in the north, it is an incredible destination to visit. Attracting a somehow different, non-beach-searching set of travelers as those to be found in its neighboring countries, Laos is a landlocked country mostly characterized by its stunning natural beauty and enchanting Buddhist culture. We were very curious about discovering this fascinating country and decided to do so by going on a motorcycle trip around the Bolaven Plateau, located in southern part of Laos. The Bolaven Plateau is an elevated region in the eastern Champasak province famous for its great scenery, amazing waterfalls and tribal villages. The best way to explore this area is to rent a small motorcycle or scooter and do the ‘loop’ between 3 – 5 days, depending on how much you want to discover. The tour starts in the city of Pakse, the provincial capital of Champasak and the second largest city in Laos. Settled between the Xe Don and Mekong River it has established itself as a great starting point for discovering the beautiful surrounding landscapes, including the Bolaven Plateau. Our route was clear – we planned three days on the road, taking the way up north and following the path clockwise until we will eventually return back to Pakse. Biking in Laos: From Pakse to Tad Lo The first day on the road took us out of the busy streets of Pakse to the more peaceful and natural surrounding areas of the province. Leaving the buzz behind we made our very first stop at Tad Pasuam, roughly 35 kilometers out of town. Tad Pasuam is a relaxed stopover with a few smaller waterfalls and a local restaurant to provide you with some energy for the road ahead. The spot was formerly known to be home to a resort which was built into the trees and bushes. It was abandoned many years back, only leaving the rotting wooden remains of the houses left as a memory of what it used to be. Moving into the forest a bit further is a small local village offering its visitors a small range of indigenous handicrafts. We left the forest and falls of Tad Pasuam behind us and moved our way upwards, past the small town of Bane Lao Ngam and to our final destination for the day – Tad Lo. We eventually found a cozy little guesthouse to stay in and spent the rest of the day exploring the surrounding waterfalls and local villages. From Tad Lo to Tad Katamtok & Paksong Leaving the lovely town of Tad Lo we continued our trip to the east, aiming to reach the beautiful waterfalls of Tad Katamtok, also known as Tad Xe Katam. The dirt roads slowly started winding their way up the Bolaven Plateau, climbing over 1,000 meters high and presenting us with some beautiful and breathtaking views. This was the most fun part of the trip and left us feeling astonished by the scenic natural surroundings. The road lead us further up until we reached a small dirt path which took us to a viewpoint right across from the waterfalls. Walking through the bushes we discovered a fantastic spot to get a great view of these majestic falls. Curious as we are we decided to have a closer look at the waterfalls. It could only be reached by climbing down a very steep slope that would bring us to the bottom of the falls. Slowly making (and partially falling) our way down the dangerous path we eventually reached the bottom, feeling the strong winds and wet gushes of the water as we approached it. It was an amazing sight! We especially loved the hundreds of small flowers around the waterfall which showed how fertile this area was and provided a nice contrast to the rough and powerful sight of the waterfall. Climbing all the way back up to our motorcycles we continued our journey across the plateau to reach our next and final stop of the day. We found a small guesthouse located close to the town of Paksong and stopped here for the night. From Paksong back to Pakse Waking up to some great noodle soup in the morning we packed our stuff and started the last day of the tour. Before making our way back to our starting point of Pakse we aimed to stop by another beautiful waterfall named Tad Yuang. The road was now leading us back down from the highlands of the plateau and into the warmer regions of the Champasak plains. Passing by some smaller villages we reached the entrance to the waterfalls of Tad Yuang. A small river wound its way through the forest and marked the beginning of the waterfalls. We parked our bikes and walked to the top of the falls from where we could see the crystal clear water gushing down a large cliff. On the side was a smaller trail which led to the bottom of the waterfall. It was yet another steep path but far from the one we walked down at Tad Katamtok. The Tad Yuang falls are simply beautiful and very picturesque. They are made up of two smaller falls which plunge over some grass areas, inviting us to take some nice pictures. We walked back up the trail which brought us to our bikes and drove back up the dirt track towards the main road. The entrance was marked by a small coffee plantation which we decided to visit before leaving. The Laotian coffee is quite tasty and we enjoyed a nice cup of it before making our way all the way to the city of Pakse. It was a fantastic adventure and we absolutely loved the freedom of biking around the roads of the Bolaven Plateau. My wife and I were happy to have had this great opportunity to discover this beautiful part of Laos and really enjoyed the diversity of the countryside. The Bolaven Plateau motorcycle loop is a great adventure for any eco-friendly traveller who is seeking to explore Laos from a different side. You do not have to be an extremely experienced driver but a bit of knowledge would not harm you here. The bikes are semi-automatic and easy to drive and you will get used to it after a bit of practice. We can definitely recommend this trip to any sort of adventurous traveler and highly approve it to be compatible for traveling couples. To follow Julian’s incredible adventures, check out his website. ALSO READ: Nepal by Bike – Off the Beaten Path to the Top of the World
This story was co-published with The Daily Beast Michael Retsky awoke from surgery to bad news. The tumor in his colon had spread to four of his lymph nodes and penetrated the bowel wall. When Retsky showed the pathology report to William Hrushesky, his treating oncologist, the doctor exclaimed, "Mamma mia." "Michael had a mean looking cancer," Hrushesky remembers. Retsky didn't need anyone to tell him his prognosis. Although trained as a physicist, he had switched careers to cancer research in the early 1980s and spent more than a decade modeling the growth of breast cancer tumors. During his treatment, he joined the staff of one of the most prestigious cancer research labs in the country. In the absence of chemotherapy, there was an 80 percent chance of relapse. Even with therapy, there was a 50 percent chance the cancer would return. The standard treatment was brutal. Six months of the highest dose of chemotherapy his body could withstand and, after that, nothing but hope. Like many cancer patients, Retsky didn't much like the odds. Unlike most cancer patients, however, he had the knowledge to question them. His own research had sown doubts that standard chemotherapy, as used the world over to treat colon and some breast cancers, was always the best approach. In collaboration with Hrushesky, the two devised an inexpensive, low-impact chemo treatment following surgery that dripped smaller doses of the drug into his body over a longer period of time. Seventeen years later and cancer free, Retsky cannot be entirely sure the treatment cured him, but he believes it likely did. Numerous laboratory, animal and small human studies suggest that low-dose, continuous chemotherapy holds promise in shrinking tumors and preventing cancer's recurrence. But the next step — testing what Retsky did in a large-scale clinical trial — is a longshot given the way cancer treatments are developed today. Take Michelle Holmes, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She's been trying for years to raise money for trials on the effects of aspirin on breast cancer. Animal studies, in vitro experiments and analysis of patient outcomes suggest that aspirin might help inhibit breast cancer from spreading. Yet even her peers on scientific advisory boards appear uninterested, she says. "For some reason a drug that could be patented would get a randomized trial, but aspirin, which has amazing properties, goes unexplored because it's 99 cents at CVS," says Holmes. Increasingly, Big Pharma is betting on new blockbuster cancer drugs that cost billions to develop and can be sold for thousands of dollars a dose. In 2010, each of the top 10 cancer drugs topped more than $1 billion in sales, according to Campbell Alliance, a health-care consulting firm. A decade earlier, only two of them did. Left behind are low-cost alternatives — therapies like Retsky's or existing off-label medications, including generics — that have shown some merit but don't have enough profit potential for drug companies to invest in researching them. The newer drugs have in some cases shown dramatic life-extending results for patients. Yet cancer remains the second-most-common cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease, killing about 580,000 people a year. Worldwide, 60 percent of all cancer deaths occur in developing countries, where experts say the incidence of the disease is growing rapidly, as is a desperate need for affordable care. That has added urgency to an active debate about whether efforts to combat cancer — and where to put scarce research dollars — need to be rethought. Vikas Sukhatme, a Harvard Medical School professor, and his wife, Vidula, co-founded the nonprofit Global Cures to promote research of cost-effective cancer treatments. (Matthew Healey for ProPublica) "If we are winning the war on cancer, we are not winning that fast," says Vikas Sukhatme, Harvard faculty dean for academic programs at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and the Victor J. Aresty Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Sukhatme and his wife Vidula, an epidemiologist, are among those trying to do something about it. They have spearheaded a new nonprofit, Global Cures, to promote alternative treatments that are unlikely to attract commercial interest from drug companies. Global Cures calls these forsaken therapies, " financial orphans." To help patients and their doctors, the nonprofit is producing reports that explain the science behind promising orphan therapies — those that have shown merit in animal studies and limited human data. And Global Cures also has set itself a more challenging goal — to find the money for clinical trials. In one example, Retsky and a team of collaborators are exploring whether an inexpensive dose of a generic painkiller before breast cancer surgery might reduce lethal recurrences of the disease. If results in a small retrospective study of 327 mastectomy patients in Europe were to bear out, the anti-inflammatory drug ketorolac could save thousands of lives a year in the United States alone, Sukhatme has estimated. “If we are winning the war on cancer, we are not winning that fast.” – Vikas Sukhatme, Harvard Medical School professor Twitter Facebook Link The data behind the treatment are only suggestive, however, and more testing is required. Retsky and his colleagues have been unable to raise the millions of dollars a large-scale trial would need to make a real determination, in part because no drug company has the incentive to fund such a study, they say. Without the confirmation of large-scale human trials, doctors are reluctant to approve patient use of orphan therapies, even in cases where there is little else to offer. It's a challenging conversation when a patient suggests an alternative medication to a doctor, who despite having the ability to prescribe off-label, doesn't want to risk making the situation worse. "It borders on crossing the line between good evidence-based medicine and simply trying to deal with the desperate hopes of desperate patients," says Allen Lichter, chief executive officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Nonetheless, Lichter acknowledges that there are financial orphans that do not get the review they deserve. The financial orphan problem points to a deeper issue with the way cancer drugs are developed. Pharmaceutical companies exist to make a profit and cannot be expected to cover many important areas of research that go unexplored, according toLarry Norton,deputy physician-in-chief for Breast Cancer Programs at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.It's a gap in the system. "The biggest challenge we have today is not necessarily the science," Norton says, "it's creating a business model that makes sense." In 1993, about a year before Retsky received his colon cancer diagnosis, he attended a breast cancer conference in Europe. An Italian scientist named Romano Demicheli presented data from a decades-long study of breast cancer patients. Demicheli also had been a physicist but had switched to oncology research after his wife died of Hodgkin lymphoma in 1976. Like Retsky, Demicheli doubted the dominant view of how cancerous tumors grow. In a landmark study from the 1960s, Anna Laird at the Argonne National Laboratory had published research showing that tumor growth was predictable. They started fast, grew at an almost exponential rate and then slowed, she wrote. More than 500 scientific papers cited Laird. Based in part on these studies, chemotherapy was developed to attack tumors aggressively in the early, high-growth stage when they presumably would be most vulnerable. Retsky's research into the data had convinced him there was nothing linear about tumor growth. Instead, he found that they developed erratically and sometimes experienced periods of dormancy before reawakening. Demicheli's presentation offered another insight into the progression of tumors. Data from the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan, where Demicheli is a senior researcher, showed two distinct patterns of relapses in a sample of 1,173 Italian women who had undergone breast cancer surgery but no additional treatment. One grouping of relapses came around 18 months after surgery, and a second smaller one cropped up around 60 months. At the same conference, Retsky saw a presentation by Michael Baum, a professor of surgery at the University College London who later became president of the British Oncological Association. Baum, looking at British databases, had come to a similar conclusion: There were two distinct waves of post-surgical breast cancer recurrence. Over the next few years, the men met and began to kick around the obvious questions: What was causing that first wave of recurrence? And what did it mean for cancer treatment? A third question hovered unspoken over the conversation: Who would pay to find out? Creating an innovative new drug — including everything from early research to late stage trials — costs on average of $1.3 billion, according to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. The Food and Drug Administration has taken steps to speed up the process for approving cancer drugs. Nonetheless, drug development in the United States, even when it is funded in part by taxpayer dollars and encouraged by federal bureaucracies, isn't geared toward inexpensive alternative treatments. Graphic Five Low-Cost Drugs That Might Combat Cancer These five medications were approved for other uses but also have shown potential cancer-fighting properties that the nonprofit Global Cures says merit clinical trials. The bulk of funding the U.S. government dedicates to research on diseases like cancer goes to basic science and is funneled through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is research that might not be done but for taxpayer investment. Federal dollars helped produce such scientific breakthroughs as the human genome project. The NIH, particularly through the National Cancer Institute, contributes to about 15 percent of all clinical trials related to cancer, but the amount it gives is in decline. In 2012, the NCI spent about $754 million on clinical trials, or nearly $100 million less than in 2008. To leverage the money, the NCI seldom funds an entire trial by itself. The agency instead partners with pharmaceutical companies or academic institutions, and the trials the NCI does support usually are for new drugs, not for repurposing existing ones. Of the 1,785 trials the agency is backing at the moment, only 134 are for the larger and costlier late-stage human trials known as phase III. The NIH recognizes that commercial drug development has its limitations. For example, a new NIH program targets what researchers call the "Valley of Death." This area encompasses the research that comes before key human studies, where treatments often languish for lack of funding or attention. One NIH pilot project encourages drug companies to let researchers study compounds that are under patent but are no longer being explored. In 2013, the NIH gave $12.7 million spread over nine projects. The effort does not focus on inexpensive alternatives that could be made available quickly, according to John McKew, acting scientific director for preclinical innovation at the NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Holmes, the Harvard professor, says money sets the agenda for cancer drug development. "What is scientific and sexy is driven by what can be monetized," she says, "and that becomes the norm." In September 2013, the British Health Service launched a randomized aspirin trial, something Holmes has been struggling to do in the United States. The trial, which will run through 2025 and involve thousands of patients, looks at whether aspirin taken after standard curative treatments can improve survival and reduce the recurrence of breast, colorectal, prostate and gastro-esophageal cancers. “What is scientific and sexy is driven by what can be monetized.” – Michelle Holmes, associate professor of medicine Harvard Medical School Twitter Facebook Link A summary of the trial explains that concerns about toxicity, particularly the risk of bleeding, are among the reasons aspirin hasn't been studied for primary prevention of cancer.For patientswho have already been treated, however, the potential benefitas a follow-up therapymay outweighthe risks. If aspirin is shown to work, "it could be implemented in both resource rich and resource poor countries and would have a huge impact, improving cancer outcomes worldwide," the summary says. Low-cost alternatives like aspirin must fight for consideration within a scientific community that is producing effective cancer drugs that can command $100,000 or more for a course of treatment. The escalating prices for these drugs worry many involved in the fight against cancer. Some of the new drugs will eventually be used in combination, a step that could push cost of treatment into the hundreds of thousands, says Lichter. "There is a point at which the equation breaks down and you can't support the whole treatment process anymore," he says. "We need to have an environment where we can have new drugs at a price that allows us to use those drugs and still allows these companies that have invested in them to reap a profit. But how we get from here to there is not clear." The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the major trade group representing the world's top drug companies, declined to comment about financial orphans. A spokeswoman for the group provided a white paper that makes the case that there has been "substantial progress in the fight against cancer." The impact of new drugs takes years to fully realize, and therapies being developed for single indications may eventually be useful for other cancers, the paper says. "It is important to keep in mind that innovative medicines are what provide the next generation of generic medicines," Sally Beatty, a spokeswoman for the drug company Pfizer, says in an emailed statement from the company. The predominant focus of cancer drug development today is on "targeted therapies" that are both innovative and lucrative. These drugs block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecules involved in tumor growth. Fashioning these targeted therapies involves costly molecular and genetic experimentation, but once patented the investment can translate into enormous drug company profits. 14.1 million Total number of world cancer cases, 2012 57% of all cancers are in developing countries Source: World Health Organization Twitter Facebook Link The Swiss multinational company Novartis created one of the first targeted drugs. Gleevec treats myeloid leukemia and has turned a terminal disease into a chronic one for many patients. In 2012, Novartis had $4.7 billion in global sales from Gleevec. Last year the FDA approved its use for another kind of leukemia that affects children. Novartis declined a request to comment on the issue of financial orphans. A subset of targeted therapies involves shutting down the ability of cancer cells to evade the body's immune response. Immunotherapy, as the treatments are called, was long seen as a failed approach until recent molecular breakthroughs. Now, the promise of immunotherapy is ratcheting up the stock prices of several companies that are developing drugs along these lines. One of the first to get a drug in this class to market was Bristol-Meyers Squibb, with Yervoy. Even though the drug is only approved for advanced melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer, it grossed $960 million last year. A course of treatment goes for about $120,000. Bristol-Meyers also declined a request to comment on the issue of financial orphans. Some of the financial orphans Global Cures identifies are believed to enhance the immune response to tumors. Without more study it is difficult to isolate exactly why they operate the way they do. Vidula Sukhatme says this is one of the chief complaints she and her husband receive from scientists who disagree with their approach. "They call them 'dirty medicine,'" she says. "They say, 'The whole world is going toward targeted therapies and you are going backwards.'" Sukhatme believes that what matters more than an understanding of the precise mechanism is whether a drug works. It's possible that these alternatives may have synergistic effects that cannot be reduced to a single molecular target, she says. Even before his cancer diagnosis, Retsky had dug out the original Laird papers from the medical library at Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, where he was a professor at the University of Colorado. The initial study was based on observations of tumors in only 18 rodents and one rabbit. Earlier studies contradicted the findings. After Retsky weighed the evidence, he decided not to risk his recovery on standard chemotherapy. In January 1995, after surgery to remove his tumor, Retsky was ready for treatment. Yet he was no doctor. An oncologist would need to supervise. Retsky found Hrushesky, a cancer doctor who split his practice between the Department of Veterans Affairs Albany Stratton Medical Center in New York and another local hospital. Hrushesky had worked with the National Cancer Institute doing therapy evaluation and had gained attention for a theory that the ill effects of chemotherapy could be minimized based on the time of day it was administered. To accommodate patients getting chemotherapy at odd hours, Hrushesky used a pump that operated automatically. He also gave low doses of chemo to patients with late-stage cancers whose bodies couldn't withstand conventional high-dose therapy. Six years later, the approach would be dubbed "metronomic therapy" by another researcher. As he sat in Hrushesky's waiting room, Retsky wondered how the oncologist would greet his unconventional proposal. Hrushesky came out in cowboy boots and proceeded to shake the hand of every patient in the room. Retsky liked him immediately. In the therapy, Retsky received low doses of a standard chemotherapy agent called Fluorouracil (5-FU) through a pump while he slept at night. The hole in his chest through which the drug flowed required some fussing, but there was no discomfort. The therapy lasted two and a half years, a period Retsky chose based on his estimates of tumor growth and the amount of chemo needed. In aggregate, Retsky received a larger dose of 5-FU than the standard concentrated therapy. Other than a few blood blisters in his mouth and slight skin cracking on his hands, Retsky experienced none of the worst chemo side effects, like nausea, fatigue and hair loss, he and Hrushesky say. During his therapy, Retsky took a job with the research team of Dr. Judah Folkman, a renowned cancer researcher whose Boston laboratory ushered in new understandings of the way tumors grow. Retsky says he and Folkman, who has since died, went to a meeting with a top scientist at the Dana Farber Cancer Center in Boston, one of the foremost cancer treatment centers in the country, to pitch an exploration of metronomic therapy. No one was interested. Retsky says they were told it was most likely the surgery rather than the follow-up treatment had stopped his cancer. It's not an unreasonable response, he says. Without more research, there is no way to know for sure. Metronomic therapy is a quintessential financial orphan, Vikas Sukhatme says. It has some promising data behind it, but why it appears to function is not well understood. Retsky used a relatively cheap generic. Independent researchers in Canada, Europe and India are exploring similar inexpensive agents with metronomic therapy. The low cost provides little incentive to pharmaceutical companies to investigate but makes it a source of great interest to the developing world. In 2000, Folkman's researchers published an animal study of metronomic therapy and found that it seemed to limit tumor growth. Around the same time, a cancer researcher in the department of medical biophysics at the University of Toronto, Robert Kerbel, did an animal study that reached similar conclusions. Randomized human studies involving hundreds of European and Japanese patients who underwent a metronomic therapy have shown improved survival rates. The approach still faces hurdles beyond just the uncertainty about how it works. One theory, Kerbel says, is that metronomic therapy triggers an immune response in addition to chemo's traditional toxic effect on cancer cells. But pinpointing a proper dose is challenging, as are the ethics of involving patients with early stage cancers, he says. A trial could needlessly endanger patients either by exposing them to a toxic drug they didn't need or causing them to forgo a better-established treatment. Nonetheless, a French pediatric oncologist, Nicolas André, is trying to promote metronomic therapy in the developing world and has organized a foundation to pay for studies. "Will we ever be able to treat cancer for US$1 a day?" he asks in a recent paper. "The answer might be an absolute yes, provided we encourage scientific research and clinical studies on metronomic treatments." Retsky is less confident that metronomic therapy using 5-FU on early stage colon cancer will ever receive trials in the United States. "The drug was less expensive than sterile water," he says, "so no pharmaceutical company would spend millions of dollars testing it if there was no financial reward." The data that led Retsky and his colleagues to recognize the two waves of relapses and the erratic growth of tumors also carried them into the fiercest dispute over breast cancer of the past 20 years: When should women have mammograms? One of his collaborators, Baum, had helped establish the mammography program for England's National Health Service in the 1980s. The thinking behind it was self-evident. Catch the tumor early. Save a life. But the reasoning only made sense if the tumor grew in a linear, predictable way. Michael Baum, former president of the British Oncological Association, believes research focus should be on low-cost and generic cancer therapies. (Photo courtesy of michaelbaum.co.uk) It was also possible, Baum theorized, that the tumors might never progress; they might remain dormant for long periods of time or, less likely, could even shrink. By the 1990s, studies had begun to suggest that mammograms, for younger women, were not helpful and possibly were harmful. Women in their 40s who received mammograms had a slightly higher mortality rate than women who did not. Called the "mammography paradox," the phenomenon remains controversial. Baum concluded money would be better spent on treatment rather than mammography. The toolkit for treating aggressive breast cancer once it migrates to another part of the body remains limited. The majority of the approximately 40,000 U.S. women who die from breast cancer annually do so when the cancer reappears in another part of the body after surgery. There is no cure once the disease has gone metastatic, according to a report by the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. The median survival term for metastatic breast cancer is about three years, a number that hasn't statistically changed in two decades. In 1997, Retsky and Demicheli published a paper suggesting that it might be the breast cancer surgery itself that was causing the first wave of relapses they had identified. A computer simulation based on the data of Italian women Demicheli had studied suggested that removal of a primary breast tumor from premenopausal women with cancer in a lymph node triggered a cancer growth elsewhere in about 20 percent of cases. A few years later, Baum posited that the math behind tumor growth looked more like chaos theory than anything else. He, too, suggested that surgery might play a role in breast cancer recurrences. The trio, as well as Folkman and other researchers in their group, published several more papers along the same lines, but it wasn't until 2005 that their theories entered the mainstream. "We weren't running to newspapers and issuing press releases," says Retsky. "We were just looking at the data and presenting it to our colleagues in the scientific community." In 2005, Retsky, Demicheli and Hrushesky published a report in the International Journal of Surgery that offered surgery as a theory to explain both the mammography paradox and the first relapse wave. The paper did not propose that women forgo surgery — only that the data suggested a need for more research. But this time, an article about their report in The Wall Street Journal brought the idea to the wider public, where it was pilloried as dangerous because it might scare women from a vital treatment option. What exactly connected surgery and the cancer recurrence remained a mystery to Retsky and his collaborators, who proposed and discarded various hypotheses. By this time, Retsky was a lecturer at Boston's Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and the author of multiple scientific papers. He was asked to review a case study out of Lebanon that had cited his work. It described a patient with advanced cancer who had bumped his head. Tumors had grown at the site of the bruise. Retsky couldn't explain why, but a colleague at the Folkman lab suggested he look at inflammation. Animal studies showed a correlation between inflammation and cancer growth. And surgery also caused inflammation. From there grew the idea that inflammation itself could be a facilitator of metastatic growth. Retsky and his colleagues theorized that the act of creating wounds in surgery spurred the body to growth as part of the healing process. This in turn might spread the cancer cells. If this was true, intervention to save breast cancer patients had to begin prior to surgery, the researchers concluded. In 2010, Retsky and his collaborators came upon a paper published in the journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society by a Belgium-based anesthesiologist named Patrice Forget. He had looked at retrospective data from a Belgian surgeon whose breast cancer patients had received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) prior to surgery in the hope that they would lessen post-operative pain. Among the NSAIDs used was ketorolac. After surgery, the patients all received the standard therapy of chemo, radiotherapy and endocrine therapy. The study size was small — 327 patients who had undergone mastectomies between February 2003 and September 2008. Of those 175 had received ketorolac. Forget found that cancer recurred in 17 percent of patients who did not receive ketorolac and only 6 percent of those who did. The association was statistically significant and held up even when adjusted for age and other characteristics. There was no effect for the other NSAIDs although that may have been a function of not enough patients trying them, says Forget. Clinical evidence from studies in animals and retrospectively in humans already existed suggesting that NSAIDs might help limit tumor growth. At least one other large retrospective study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Causes & Control reported that NSAIDs might limit breast cancer recurrences. Forget didn't know why ketorolac might work better than other NSAIDs, although he postulated various theories. Ketorolac, a generic, is considered a relatively nontoxic drug. No single company owns it. The drug can cost as little as $5 a dose and might only be needed once before breast surgery. Retsky says a large-scale clinical trial in India could provide a better patient population for study and be done for as little as a few million dollars. But because it's so cheap, ketorolac offers little in the way of profit incentive. Retsky met with Brandy Heckman-Stoddard, program director for the Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Research Group for the National Cancer Institute. She had seen one of his presentations at a scientific conference and had been intrigued. "Retsky's work is very provocative, but it is difficult to believe that such a short course of NSAIDs during surgery could have such a dramatic effect on recurrence," she says. Sloan-Kettering's Norton is also aware of Forget's paper on ketorolac, but he cautions that there are too many potential variables to draw definitive conclusions from a single retrospective study. Although it would not be his first choice for investigation, Norton believes the effects of ketorolac and other NSAIDs on breast cancer are worth exploring and are the types of research for which there is no business model. "Is it a meritorious hypothesis to test?" he says. "Yes, I think it is." Giving patients ketorolac before surgery is not without risk. In some cases it can lead to bleeding. It's a legitimate issue, says Vikas Sukhatme, and one that surgeons would have to understand. Forget notes that an American Society of Anesthesiologists report approves of ketorolac use for pain prior to surgery. The National Cancer Institute estimates the current annual cost of breast cancer treatment in the United States at approximately $19 billion. If a single injection of a low-cost drug could save lives and put a dent in those costs, Vikas Sukhatme contends it's worth investing in definitive research about its effectiveness and safety. "Personally, should I have to choose an analgesic drug [to take before] breast cancer surgery, I would choose ketorolac," Demicheli says. "But it is still a reasonable choice, not a scientifically based choice. To solve the question, at least one high-quality randomized clinical trial is needed." Widespread acceptance won't come without trials that give doctors confidence. Gauri Bhide, a community oncologist in the Boston area who has consulted with Global Cures and believes in its mission, says she would not prescribe ketorolac. "The surgeons would kill me," she says. "Until someone tells them it is safe to take right before surgery, they are not going to do it." Forget is trying. After multiple rejections, he cobbled together enough money for a limited double-blind trial that began last year. One of the donors is a small Belgian-based foundation called The Anticancer Fund. Like Global Cures, the group has a dual mission of providing information on alternative cures and encouraging their study. It was started by a wealthy European real estate mogul, Luc Verelst, born from his experience trying to help his sister, who was suffering from uterine cancer. Still, Forget's study is not large enough to be dispositive. "It's a pilot study," says Retsky. "It's not designed to confirm or deny [if the drug works]." Money for trials won't come easy. Retsky and his collaborators received a $600,000 multiyear research grant in 2009 from the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation. The group turned them down for money for a clinical trial of ketorolac a few years later. Only about 3 percent of Komen's clinical trial investments go to large, final-phase studies, according to a foundation spokeswoman. Retsky's group made it past the first round for funding from the Department of Defense, which has poured almost $3 billion into breast cancer research since 1992. Then money for the DOD program was sidelined by the sequestration budget cuts mandated by Congress, Retsky was told. One of the drugs Global Cures highlights has found backing for a large-scale trial — though it took Pamela Goodwin, a Canadian oncologist, more than a dozen years of grant writing, meetings and clinical breakthroughs from other researchers to cobble together what will eventually be close to a $30 million study. The widely used Type 2 diabetes drug metformin, a generic that has been associated with reduced breast cancer risk, is now the subject of a 3,500-patient trial involving 300 medical centers that Goodwin characterizes as bare-bones. The NCI is providing about half the funding, primarily for the U.S.-based centers, with contributions also coming from Canadian nonprofits and the British and Swiss governments. Given recent cutbacks in U.S. government funding, both Goodwin and Dr. Lois Shepherd, senior investigator with the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group, believe that what they've done probably can't be replicated. "If this trial had come forward for approval today, I'm not sure it would be approved — and it has nothing to do with the science," says Shepherd. The Sukhatmes hope that Global Cures can serve as a matchmaker between researchers who want to conduct trials on promising alternatives and family foundations or other donors that might fund them. The group also plans to use crowdsourcing to raise money from patients and others who may want to donate to trials. 8.2 million Total number of world cancer deaths, 2012 65% of all deaths are in developing countries Source: World Health Organization Twitter Facebook Link Patient groups have become much more active in the way they approach the funding of trials, says Kenneth Kaitin, director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, who believes that the research gap identified by Global Cures exists across multiple diseases. "[Patients] have a vested interest in seeing the product developed," he says. "Their goal is not to make a lot of money but to get [the drugs] out." The Sukhatmes hope to create a way for patients to document online the treatments they undergo. Harnessing the experience of cancer patients is also a goal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, says Lichter, the group's CEO. The society wants to compile and analyze patient experiences nationwide to give better guidance to patients and doctors. "There is a lot of knowledge out there, but it is locked up in individual files and records," Lichter says. Vikas Sukhatme says Retsky's experience with his own cancer exemplifies what Global Cures hopes to do. Retsky was a patient who, after careful research, adopted a financial orphan treatment and documented the result. The toxicity of the treatment was not bad. Retsky went into it with eyes open and understood the tradeoffs. Although his case is far from conclusive, if there were 50 people like Retsky whose collective data showed strong results, it would build a foundation for further study, Sukhatme believes. Although Retsky and his collaborators are frustrated about the lack of progress on ketorolac, they are optimistic that scientific advances under way, including the new targeted therapies, will eventually have a real impact. Still, they worry that these new therapies will only be available for the wealthy. "It is so expensive it makes me weep," says Baum, the British oncologist. "I weep for all the poor people in the world who will never have access to such treatment."
This summer marks the ninth anniversary of the Journal of 9/11 Studies. In that time, my co-editors and I have published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and letters addressing various aspects of the 9/11 crimes. Although it can be hard, thankless work, the job of co-editor has also been rewarding and I’ve learned a great deal. Through publishing articles in mainstream journals, I’ve learned that our peer-review process is at least as rigorous as that of others. At our Journal, submissions often fail to pass the editor’s initial assessment and are never reviewed. Of the remainder, dozens have failed to make it through the peer-review process to become published. It’s definitely a disappointment when that happens but it’s important that whatever we publish lives up to certain standards. The end result is a treasure-trove of reliable research, freely available on the web. For example, here are six articles and two letters that should be widely read. Intersecting Facts and Theories on 9/11, by Joseph P. Firmage This short article was published in August 2006. It presents a comparison of competing theories for what happened on 9/11 with respect to known facts. The comparison clearly shows that the “create a new reality” theory, in which U.S. officials were involved in the attacks, is by far more sensible than other possibilities. 118 Witnesses: The Firefighter’s Testimony to Explosions in the Twin Towers, by Graeme MacQueen This highly influential article focuses on eyewitness testimonies to the World Trade Center (WTC) destruction. The testimonies were collected by New York City officials after 9/11 and then kept secret for nearly four years. Professor MacQueen delves into these explosive eyewitness accounts in a way that makes clear why officials did not want the public to see them. Extremely high temperatures during the World Trade Center destruction, by Steven E. Jones, et.al This lucid article from January 2008 was a breakthrough in 9/11 research. Establishing the WTC thermite theory on a firm grounding of experimental evidence, it set the stage for a series of scientific articles that were published in multiple journals. In the future, this breakthrough article may be seen as one of the greatest contributions to forensic science. Obstacles to Persuasion: Lessons from the Classroom, by Mark Vorobej This December 2008 article is from a professor of philosophy who examined the responses of university students as they were exposed to alternative explanations for 9/11. In a five-week segment of his course on Argumentation Theory, Professor Vorobej was able to lead his students to objectively examine 9/11 from different perspectives while fostering further, constructive debate. Falsifiability and the NIST WTC Report: A Study in Theoretical Adequacy, by Anonymous and F. Legge In March 2010, we published this examination of the scientific principle of falsifiability in light of U.S. government reports on the WTC destruction. This often-overlooked article is well constructed and provides detail on why the official reports failed to meet some of the most critical requirements of the scientific method. Letter on the 11th anniversary of 9/11, by Lorie Van Auken A series of nine letters was published on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The letters came from leading researchers, activists, and legal experts around the world. Perhaps the most compelling contribution was that of Lorie Van Auken, whose husband Kenneth was killed in the north tower on 9/11. Letter to the Royal Society from Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth, from the Board of Directors, AE911Truth In June 2012, we published a letter that was sent from the board of directors of AE911Truth to Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society in England. The letter emphasized how the official account for what happened at the WTC was in direct contradiction to the laws of motion described by one of the Royal Society’s most famous members—Sir Isaac Newton. The “Strategy of Tension” in the Cold War Period, by Daniele Ganser In May 2014, Swiss historian Daniele Ganser contributed this updated version of a previously published article. Dr. Ganser’s article provides important historical perspective for considering what happened on 9/11. His conclusion, based on historical fact, is that objections to U.S. government or military involvement in 9/11 are based on unsupportable, a priori arguments. These eight papers are just a sampling of the wide-range of peer-reviewed research and commentary available at the Journal of 9/11 Studies. If you want to learn more about that fateful day through an evidence-based approach, the Journal is a great resource. For anyone interested in contributing, we continue to seek out new perspectives that have not yet been expressed. Guidelines for submission are published at the website.
Reading time: 11 mins Follow me on twitter for more historiopolitics @Calthalas I have been putting off writing this article for quite a while now. The reasons were many: there was the IMC of course (and a lot has happened there). There was ISAS (and all that happened there too). But here we are. The Turboslavs. Buckle up, folks! A long, long time ago in a galaxy far away… …no, wait. Not that long ago and not that far away. Actually around 2014. A weird trend started to appear in the Polish blogosphere. A bunch of people began to write about the semi-mythical “Empire of the Sarmatians” that stretched from the Rhine to Novgorod. Sort of Erich von Däniken (and yes, aliens do make an appearance) with a Slavic take. The internet is full of such nonsense, right? Nothing to worry about, right? Well… In 2015, a well-known and respected publishing house in Poland, Bellona (previously mostly dealing in popular history books - they are a bit of an institution in that respect) published a book titled “The Slavic Kings of Lechia” by Janusz Bieszk. Sounds suspicious already at the first glance. Open it and it reveals a pandemonium. According to Bieszk, Poland did not start off with the Christianization in 966 CE. In “reality,” it all started 70.000 years ago with the great empire of Gobi, run by Aryan-Slavic people. A great and powerful nation that believed in the only true religion. What religion was that, you may ask? Well, that is very simple: Arianism, since they were Aryan!. From then on it gets even better. Our heroes wander west and there they found the great empire of Lechia. Somewhere between 70.000 BCE and 200 CE they become Slavs (how do they lose the Aryan part has not been very clearly explained, but with it goes also Arianism. Sniff.) The empire of Lechia rules everything east and north of the Rhine and the Danube. It is doing just splendidly. Fights with Rome but at the same time stays in kind of a weird equilibrium with it. Taking advantage of Rome’s weakness, it just well, colonizes North Africa. Everything runs smoothly. Lechia grows in power and strength (with a little bit of hiccups along the way, otherwise it would not be believable, would it?) until the great and powerful but also naive Mieszko. Mieszko, being unaware what it means, converts to Roman Christianity (Orthodox Christianity was already present in Lechia and was a good thing, as it represented an embodiment of the Slavic spirit), and gives his empire under the protection of the Holy Roman Empire, in other words the Germans! The rest, let me quote one of the blogs, “is well known from the short and pleasant history books that the German teachers have written for us”. The adherents of that myth came to be known as the Turboslavs Pseudo history à la carte Bieszk and other “Turboslavs” maintain that it is all very much grounded in the sources. They derive their theories from the so-called Chronicle of Prokosz. “Discovered” in the early 19th century, it’s a 18th century forgery that has been debunked as such… a year after it was published. But its very existence gives an argument to Turboslavs. Here you have it: fake news, the medieval history edition. Everything is framed as “uncovering the truth” and, if I may be allowed a literal translation, “de-lying” history. For history, you must know, has been stolen from Polish people. Historiography is just another tool through which enemies oppress Poland by stealing its history from it (a note very much present in the current government’s narration). Therefore, everything that the Turboslavs write is put into a disguise of real historical research. There is source critique, maps, manuscript studies, everything. To an untrained eye authors like Bieszk or Feliks Gruszka (who claims to have discovered the Slavic alphabet) seem like fully fledged historians. Bieszk in his YouTube videos can even be critical to his own theories and talk about “things that still need to be researched”. That adds credibility. It is mostly a “pick and choose” exercise that relies heavily on using one set of sources (mostly completely discredited) and ignoring everything else. Debunking has been done extensively on the internet and in the written media (well, it does not require much effort; virtually all archaeological and historical evidence disproves Lechia), but it does not convince the faithful. An origin myth for our times One may ask how come this can hold water? The whole Turboslavic ideology is so absurd and so easily proven wrong that it makes no sense that it can still exist. Well yes and… no. It is a modern origin myth. Origin myths have never been made to reflect actual history. They are a mix of memories, nostalgia and aspirations (maybe also fears?). The memory of more recent past, as we shall see, plays a significant role in the way this particular one developed. Therefore it does not really matter that a smartass historian like me comes and says “Hey! It wasn’t like that! Here are the sources, if I can only use a moment of your time…” “Liberal truth” for followers of Turboslavism is essentially a liberal conspiracy. Their theories cannot be discredited by historians because everything that they say is part of that conspiracy. Think about it. If somebody came to you and said: “Hey, evolution is wrong. Here, in the Bible it says that the world was created in seven days, the world is 5000 years old…,” you would not believe him, right? Turboslavs see us the way we see creationists: essentially misguided people, who believe lies and cannot understand a simple argumentation that would lead them to the light. Turboslavism, like any good origin myth, answers both deep hopes and deep fears of the society that beget it. The dream of “Great Poland” that has been respected and admired, and having an empire has never really left Polish collective consciousness. History books in schools are still full of it, even those well-meaning. There is very little critical thinking involved. The idea is simple: since Poles have suffered so much in the last 200 years or so (and that is, to a degree, true, especially in the 20th century) there is no need to deal critically with the past. As if the last 200 years constituted a kind of collective atonement, which erased any “sins” that could have been committed. The word “empire” is still seen in a positive light in Poland. Polish colonialism on the eastern fringes is squarely ignored (or dismissed as not real, since those “colonies” did not lie over the sea). It is a very fertile ground for illusions of grandeur. In this mindset Poles and Poland fulfill a divine historical mission (it is almost funny how close this right-wing fantasy comes to historical determinism) that is constantly foiled by Germany and Russia (and their previous incarnations). Turboslavism is just an iteration of that myth, with greater emphasis put on Germany as the enemy. It is also easier to believe and more difficult to disprove because it mostly happens in the distant past. That myth is also subtly racist - Poles are better, have almost divine origins, are “the martyrs of the world” and suffer for other nations. In the Turboslav ideology it is expressed by being descendants of Aryans (it is hard to ignore subtle Nazi parallels here, if you have doubts have a look at the logos and iconography on this blog). The national inferiority complex also finds a therapeutic respite in the Turboslavic myth. It was all good before. We have been first robbed of greatness and then robbed of the memory of it. How can we be blamed that things are not going perfectly? We first need to reclaim our past and then we shall rise onto greatness again. (If only those pesky Germans will not interrupt us again!) The Turboslavic ideology is also something more than just a fake origin myth. It is a very potent tool in the current political and ideological fight in Poland. History is very much at the front-lines here. Turboslavs have been adapted by various right-wing and nationalistic groups to serve their purposes. Why? Because the whole ideology is like a candy bag for right-wing, nationalistic populists. It manages to be simultaneously anti-German (basically an essential condition in the current political climate) and nationalistic. It is cleverly anti-Catholic (the Roman Catholic Church is painted as the evil one here - and since pope Francis is way too liberal for most right-wingers in Poland, that plays nicely), although one has to say that the anti-Catholic rhetoric lies uneasy in some right-wing circles. Finally it fits just so magnificently into the “getting up from our knees” slogan of the current ruling party (hey, we had an empire! We don’t need your filthy German-European-Western-Liberal thing). Turboslavism is also, in a way, our parochial form of white supremacism cum alt-right. It just answers different fears and different prejudices, but essentially it represents the same form of ideological point of view. There are in Turboslavism strong paralles with past ideologies of this kind: Sarmatism (an idea especially popular in the 17th and 18th centuries in Poland, which linked the origins of Poles to ancient Sarmatians; one has to say though that although nationalistic, colonialistic and xenophobic, it presented a very different political and cultural program) and Panslavism (an idea heralding unity of all Slavs, in most iterations under the leadership of Russia). But make no mistake: Turboslavism is no mere continuation of those. It is something new and different. What can be done? Not much, I’m afraid. Turboslavism is not something that can be simply disproved on historical grounds. It is an ideology that appeared at the right place in the right time for the right people (you see what I did there, wink, wink?) This does not mean that we should not fight with it, explain and educate. Adherents will take everything to support their views. For example, around a year ago the sea on the Baltic coast of Poland has uncovered remnants of a sunken forest, approximately 3000 years old. One short look in the comments section of the article reporting the discovery reveals that this forest is indeed a proof that the Empire of Lechia existed. The connection is tenuous at best even for the faithful, but that is not the point. For the adherents of Turboslavism, any find that predates the year 966 (the baptism of Mieszko) is a proof that their theory is sound. New coin hoard found in Western Pomerania? Lechia. Iron Age village found under planned highway? Lechia. As such, Turboslavism represents just a very radical iteration of a bigger problem – the lack of true historical reflection among the wider public. How could that happen in a country that truly offers excellent historical education, and which is home to some first-class historical research? There are many answers to that question, but probably the key is the lack of quality public history and especially public medievalism in Poland. History in schools is taught in a repetitive and uninspiring way, which naturally leads people to see it as boring. This in turn primes them perfectly to believe, years later, that all that boring stuff that they learned in school was, essentially, a lie, and that a true, way more exciting history awaits. Make no mistake: even though the “core” group of believers is relatively small, Bieszk’s books sell tens of thousands copies. People who buy and read them might be best described as “fellow travellers”. Challenged they will answer that yes, it all sounds a bit odd, but, you don’t know for sure, do you? Yes, I do… Not so easy conclusions Historians have a responsibility to counter such myths like Turboslavism. This is precisely the place where politics and history intersect. It’s a hard fight and a bit of a hopeless one, but one that nevertheless has to be fought. Especially now.
New research on the structure of spider silk, presented at Biophysical Society Meeting this week in Baltimore, is advancing the development of artificial alternatives WASHINGTON, D.C., February 10, 2015 -- Incredibly tough, slightly stretchy spider silk is a lightweight, biodegradable wonder material with numerous potential biomedical applications. But although humans have been colonizing relatively placid silkworms for thousands of years, harvesting silk from territorial and sometimes cannibalistic spiders has proven impractical. Instead, labs hoping to harness spider silk's mechanical properties are using its molecular structure as a template for their own biomimetic silks. A team of researchers from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia is focusing on the toughest of the spider's seven types of silk--aciniform silk, used to wrap up prey that blunders into its web. Over the past few years, they have gradually unraveled its protein architecture and begun to understand the connection between its structure and function. They will present their latest findings at the 59th meeting of the Biophysical Society, held Feb. 7-11 in Baltimore, Md. The first step in creating artificial spider silk is to replicate the proteins that make up the natural version, in this case by recombinantly expressing them in E. coli. The key protein in aciniform silk, AcSp1, has three parts. Most of the protein is a repeated sequence of about two hundred amino acids. Two tails called the N- and C-terminal domains hang off each end of the protein chain. Jan Rainey's group at Dalhousie University used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to analyze the structure of AcSp1's repeat sequence at very high resolution, producing one of the first spider silk repeat unit structure sequences to be reported. When they then linked more repeats together, they learned that the repeat units behaved in a modular fashion. That is, each one acted as an individual unit, instead of taking on new structure by being connected to other units. Such modularity has important consequences: it means that scientists trying to engineer artificial silk proteins can vary the length of the protein without sacrificing the entire protein's function. Plus, it means that researchers can focus on optimizing smaller, more manageable protein components before linking them together to form a large functional protein. The next step in creating artificial silk is to spin the proteins into long strands. Spiders have specialized equipment to accomplish this task, but finding the precise laboratory conditions that recreate this process is one of the biggest challenges of creating biomimetic silks. At least for the moment, spiders are more skillful spinners than humans. However, the researchers have found a clue to the fiber formation process in the c-terminal domain. They determined that although in some cases silk proteins can link into fibers without the c-terminal domain, the region in general helped with fiber formation -- fibers made of proteins with c-terminal domains tended to be tougher and stronger. In addition, the researchers found replacing the aciniform silk c-terminal domains with c-terminal domains from other types of spider silk also improved fiber formation. The findings suggested that the c-terminal domain could potentially be manipulated to adjust the strength and toughness of the fibers. "Now we know that C-terminal domains are interchangeable," said researcher Lingling Xu. "This could be useful when we encounter expression problems while producing recombinant spidroins. For example, we could choose a C-terminal domain that has a better protein expression level, solubility or stability." Artificial spider silk remains far from commercially viable, but advances in understanding of the relationship between spider silk's structure and its function are helping scientists inch closer to creating an alternative in the lab. "Our future goal is to synthesize fibers with tunable mechanical properties based on our knowledge of the role of each domain," said Xu. ### The poster, "Roles of spider wrapping silk protein domains in fibre properties" by Lingling Xu, Marie-Laurence Tremblay, Kathleen E. Orrell, Xiang-Qin Liu and Jan K. Rainey, will be displayed Tuesday, February 10, 2015, from 1:45 to 3:45 PM in Hall C of the Baltimore Convention Center. ABSTRACT: http://tinyurl. com/ mbpq6mm ABOUT THE MEETING Each year, the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting brings together more than 6,500 researchers working in the multidisciplinary fields representing biophysics. With more than 3,600 poster presentations, over 200 exhibits, and more than 20 symposia, the BPS Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world. Despite its size, the meeting retains its small-meeting flavor through its subgroup symposia, platform sessions, social activities and committee programs. The 59th Annual Meeting will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center. PRESS REGISTRATION The Biophysical Society invites professional journalists, freelance science writers and public information officers to attend its Annual Meeting free of charge. For press registration, contact Ellen Weiss at EWeiss@biophysics.org or Jason Bardi at 240-535-4954. QUICK LINKS Main Meeting Page: http://tinyurl. com/ k8yfvyq Symposia: http://tinyurl. com/ lrahzbu Itinerary planner: http://tinyurl. com/ kxpe272 ABOUT THE SOCIETY
Orhan Cerimagic, 22, and Brittney Mitchell, 18, are charged in the stabbing deaths of Miran Cerimagic, 20, and a 35-year-old man Friday night. View Full Caption Chicago Police Department CHICAGO — Police have charged two people in a pair of Northwest Side stabbing deaths that were the result of an apparent drug robbery. On Friday night, police responded to a well-being check in the 5800 block of North Mobile Avenue and found a 35-year-old man stabbed to death. Another man, 20-year-old Miran Cerimagic, also died of stab wounds suffered Friday night. Erin Meyer details the prosecutors' case: Police determined Cerimagic stabbed the 35-year-old man to death, and was fatally injured in the process. On Saturday morning, police said they had another suspect in custody. Charged with murder in both deaths are Orhan Cerimagic, 22, of the 6200 block North Hoyne Avenue, and Brittney Mitchell, 18, of the 4700 block of North Lamon Avenue. They are also charged with committing a home invasion. While the relationships between the trio were not officially released, both Cerimagics claimed the 6200 block of North Hoyne Avenue as their home. On Facebook, Mitchell describes Miran Cerimagic as both her boyfriend and fiance. Mitchell and Cerimagic are due in court Monday. For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
Manfred: MLB pace changes will happen with or without union ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says rule changes to speed games will be put in place next year with or without an agreement with the players' association. Major League Baseball proposed last offseason to institute a 20-second pitch clock, limits in trips to the mound by catchers and raising the bottom of the strike zone. The union did not agree, and management has the right to impose them unilaterally for 2018. Speaking Thursday after a quarterly owners' meeting, Manfred says "my preferred path is a negotiated agreement with the players, but if we can't get an agreement we are going to have rule changes in 2018 one way or the other." Manfred anticipates a new posting system with Japan to be in place soon. He is not yet ready to speak about expanded protective netting in ballparks next season. After a record 6,105 home runs this season, he says MLB will discuss studies of baseballs later in the offseason. MLB says the balls are within specifications. --- More MLB baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
President Barack Obama faces a “tall order” in convincing Americans on Syria with nearly 60 percent who say they want their member of Congress to oppose the use of military force there, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. President Obama says Syria saying it would consider giving international control to its chemical arsenal is a good step, but it doesn't coincide with the country's past actions. NBC's Savannah Guthrie reports. With Obama set to address the nation Tuesday night to advocate U.S. intervention against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, just 24 percent of Americans believe military action in response to Assad’s reported use of chemical weapons is in the United States’ interest. More ominously for Obama and his allies, opposition to military action only has grown since the president first sought approval from Congress and since the administration began waging an intense campaign to win congressional support. Congress is expected to vote on authorization this week but the timing is uncertain. And in another sign suggesting the public’s reluctance to intervene in Syria’s bloody civil war, almost three-quarters of respondents agree with the statement that the United States should focus more on its domestic problems than promoting democracy and freedom abroad. Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff, is the one who called Obama’s upcoming speech a “tall order” given these numbers, adding, “to a certain degree, the American [public’s] red line is: ‘Stay out.’” Previewing the president’s address, McInturff added, “He is going to have to give people new information they don’t have.” Obama’s approval on Syria drops to 28 percent In the poll, 58 percent say their member of Congress should vote against the resolution authorizing military action in Syria after the Assad regime’s reported use of chemical weapons against its own people. This includes two-thirds of Republican and independent respondents, as well as a plurality of Democrats. By contrast, just 33 percent want their representative to support the authorization. What’s more, only 44 percent favor military action, even if it’s limited to using cruise missiles launched from U.S. naval ships – a 6-point decline from an NBC News poll released late last month. Just 28 percent approve of President Obama’s handling of the situation in Syria, which is down 7 points from August. His overall job-approval rating stands at 45 percent, a 1-point increase from last month. “[Obama] has not made the case, and the passage of time hasn’t improved the dynamic for the president,” said Democratic pollster Fred Yang, who also conducted this NBC/WSJ survey. Majority says Obama should stand down if Congress votes against authorization Secretary of State John Kerry said Syria could avoid a strike by turning over all of its chemical weapons to the international community in a week. Could his off-handed comment change the administration's course? NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports. Additionally, the poll finds that 59 percent of Americans would oppose Obama taking military action in Syria in the case that Congress votes down authorization. By comparison, slightly more than a third of Americans – 36 percent – would support Obama green-lighting military action without approval from lawmakers. And only a third of Americans believe the president has made a convincing case about the U.S. need to take military action in Syria, while a quarter – 24 percent – think military action is in the nation’s interest. Forty-seven percent say it’s not in the United States’ national interest, a 14-point increase since last month. 3 in 4 want domestic focus, not international one The NBC/WSJ poll also shows that a whopping 74 percent agree with the statement that it’s time for the United States to do less around the world and focus more on domestic problems. That compares with 22 percent who agree that America must promote democracy and freedom across the globe, because those efforts would make the U.S. more secure. This is a significant change from the last time this question was asked in 2005, when 54 percent sided with focusing on domestic problems, versus 33 percent who wanted to emphasize democracy and freedom around the world. And right before the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, 39 percent of Americans believe the country is safer than it was before the attacks, 28 percent say it’s less safe and 33 percent say it’s virtually the same. The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted Sept. 5-8 of 1,000 adults (including 300 cell phone-only respondents), and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points. This story was originally published on
A cancer patient who spent the proceeds of his house sale and racked up major credit card debts pursuing his "bucket list" faces bankruptcy restrictions. Ian Roderick Gibson owed about £77,000 to credit card firms by June 2011. While he received £23,000 from the sale of his house in Belfast two years earlier, none of that went to his creditors, the High Court was told. He said: "I became obsessed with doing the things I wanted to do before I died, as I believed I was dying." Mr Gibson was adjudicated bankrupt on his own petition back in 2011 and would have been discharged a year later in normal circumstances. However, the official receiver sought a further Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (BRO) against him due to alleged culpable misconduct in his financial affairs. 'Foolishly' Mr Gibson admitted to having debt problems for up to 15 years before his bankruptcy petition. I think I need a new start Ian Gibson Asked the reasons for not having the funds to pay what he owed, he referenced The Bucket List, a 2007 movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as two terminally ill men going on a road trip to complete unfulfilled wishes. "I was using one credit card to pay off another for a long time, with the debt increasing all the time," he said. "I'm afraid I felt a bit sorry for myself when I was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and couldn't get the film The Bucket List out of my mind, so I spent money from the sale of my house, rather foolishly I think. "I also suffer from depression which I've had for many years. Unfortunately I had a heart attack last September which has not helped at all. I think I need a new start." According to a report from his doctor, the cancer was diagnosed at an early stage and successfully treated - subject to regular reviews - in 2007. Finding nothing in the GP's report to account for Mr Gibson's apparent belief about his health and future, the judge said his illness carried little weight in terms of the conduct under scrutiny. She pointed out that he had been financially irresponsible prior to his diagnosis. "More importantly, the extravagant dissipation of the £23,000 began in July 2009 - two years after his illness," she said. She imposed a seven-year order that, taking into account an interim period already served, will run until June 2019.
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A college dropout born in exile during Brazil’s long military dictatorship was elected as the new speaker of the house for Latin America’s biggest nation, thrusting his center-right party back into the spotlight amid deep political turbulence. Brazil's interim President Michel Temer smiles with the new House Speaker Deputy Rodrigo Maia (R) during a meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil July 14, 2016. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino The selection on Thursday of Rodrigo Maia, the pragmatic 46-year-old scion of a political family, to lead Brazil’s unruly lower house bodes well for interim President Michel Temer. Temer wants to push unpopular austerity measures through the lower house in a bid to stabilize the nation’s ailing economy _ and will have an easier time doing so with his personal choice Maia setting the agenda of the house. Maia, from the Democratas (DEM) Party, wept upon winning the speakership and vowed to lead the house with “simplicity” - which would be a stunning change from the chaotic manner of former speaker, the scandal-plagued Eduardo Cunha. Cunha was forced from office on corruption charges - but did not leave before engineering the impeachment of suspended President Dilma Rousseff in May. A federal deputy since 1999, Maia is known for reaching out to and supporting leftist colleagues when needed. He also reached out to the left in his bid for the speakership in recent days. “I wouldn’t have won without the left,” Maia told journalists following his victory. “All together, we have the conditions to come up with a consensus agenda.” His immediate priorities are creating a federal spending cap and pension reform - which he hopes to accomplish in his short mandate that only runs until next February. Temer praised the election of his ally. “There will be much more harmony, which will be useful for the presidency,” he said at an event on Thursday. Congressional support for unpopular measures such as pension reform, which requires a super majority of 308 representatives to amend the constitution, remains uncertain. Still, Maia’s background as an experienced dealmaker boosted market optimism. Stocks climbed to their highest in more than one year, and the currency gained more than 1 percent. PARTY REBRANDING Maia represents the comeback of the DEM party, which even in Brazil’s scandal-ridden congress stands out, with dozens of its members facing charges or under investigation for a litany of accusations. But the party has been trying to portray itself as a rejuvenated, urbane and more pragmatic group than it was two decades ago. Then, it was known as the Liberal Front Party (PFL) and was a junior member of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s governing coalition. But since the turn of the century it has shrank in size, mostly because its stronghold in northeastern Brazil where it had long controlled pork-barrel politics began to support Lula’s Workers Party. Maia, the son of former Rio de Janeiro mayor Cesar Maia, became a leader of the Democratas early in his career, as the party struggled in opposition to the popular Lula during his two terms. Within the party, Maia rose by strongly advocating for and winning a party re-branding. Congressman Rodrigo Maia (R), the new House Speaker, looks on near Brazil's Senate President Renan Calheiros, during a meeting with Brazil's interim President Michel Temer at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil July 14, 2016. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino PFL shifted focus to the urban middle-classes dissatisfied with Lula’s leftist policies and renamed itself the Democrats in 2007, the same year Maia was elected party president. Born in the Chilean capital Santiago in 1970 where his family sought exile from a military dictatorship in Brazil, Maia had a brief stint in banking, working at mid-sized lenders Banco BMG SA [BNBMG.UL] and Banco Icatu SA before starting his political career in 1996 at age 26. He studied economics but did not graduate, according to his biography at the lower house’s website.
Philadelphia Union join race to the bottom in the East Midway through the second half of Sporting Kansas City’s entertaining mess of a match on Sunday night against Jim Curtin’s disunited Philadelphia Union, Fox1 urged viewers to “stay tuned for [the post-game show] Garbage Time!”, though in truth viewers needn’t have waited. Though it would be difficult to boil the game down to a single, defining moment amid the disallowed goals, Sporting KC’s two late goals, the headshot fouls, the cartoonish misses, Philly managed to choreograph a sequence that may go down as the essential metaphor for their 2015 season. It came in the 88th minute with the Union somehow still 1-2 up after a pair of first-half set piece goals (including one that may not have even crossed the line). Fernando Aristeguieta nearly beat Roger Espinoza in the slowest footrace the game has ever seen, only to collapse in a heap facing away from goal. Sebastien Le Toux looked guaranteed to net the follow-up, until his curled shot bounced off the far post. As if that wasn’t enough, Michael Lahoud found the rebound with the net at his mercy, only to sidefoot the shot a mile over. This all took place minutes before SKC, who have problems of their own (not least the form of Benny Feilhaber and an otherwise anonymous midfield), scored two set-piece goals in stoppage time to win the match. Then there was the saga of Union’s expensive Algerian keeper Rais M’bolhi, whose form in 2015 suggests a man intent on wiping out the legacy of his star turn in goal for Algeria at the 2014 World Cup. Or how Union coach Jim Curtin was forced into the late substitution of a cramped Fabinho for MLS SuperDraft pick No71 Raymond Lee, a homegrown player whose debut was marked by what may or may not have been a stoppage time OG “winner” (Krisztian Németh was credited for the goal). Not that he, or indeed any single Union player including M’bolhi, is solely responsible for the loss. A club in shambles, tied for last place in the East, the Union appears in need of major retooling only five games into the season. RW Tissues and issues for Caleb Porter At the end of Portland’s 3-1 victory over FC Dallas on Saturday night, the Timbers coach Caleb Porter strode over to shake hands with his opposite number, Oscar Pareja, only to be handed what he claimed was a tissue Pareja had just held to his nose. Porter threw the offering aside with a look of disdain and later claimed, “I’ve never had a coach come up and disrespect me like that.” Perhaps Pareja should have held on to his tissues, after the Timbers cheerfully disrespected the 2015 MLS frontrunners with some incisive counter-attacking to hand them their first defeat of the season. In truth though, there wasn’t a lot for the Dallas coach to cry about – his team were undone by basic errors rather than any injustice in Portland. First Nat Borchers was allowed to roam free in the Dallas box to head Portland ahead. Then with the Timbers having recovered the lead in the second half through a smart Maximiliano Urruti flick, and with the Texans pushing for a late equalizer, the Timbers killed off the game through a counter-attack that started on a simple Dallas error. That mistake, a poor touch by Michael Barrios seconds after entering the game, saw Diego Chara race free to make it 3-1 right as Dallas looked to have stretched Portland to breaking point — a moment earlier Adam Kwarasey had to improvise a save that looped off the Timbers crossbar, as Dallas tried to recover the game. Had that gone in we’d perhaps have been talking about a repeat of last season for both teams, with a fast Dallas start and Portland struggling to put points on the board. And while Pareja, when he cools down, may see this result, and the climactic sequence that confirmed it, as a cost of doing business as an attack-minded team who take calculated risks, Porter will be glad to end the early season winless streak quicker than he did in 2014. It’s easy to say the playoffs aren’t decided in April, but last year’s start had left Portland with too much to do late in the season, and an even more competitive Western Conference in 2015 has left little room for maneuver. The message that the Timbers were better than their results suggested, would have been strained had they let Saturday’s lead slip. So this was an important victory for Portland, and hard-won. Liam Ridgewell in particular put his body on the line a number of times – in fact the disciplinary committee may yet decide his body was put on the line by his opponents when they review some of the footage from Portland. He left the field wincing but happy – no need for a tissue. GP Colorado rapidly setting a record for futility Since the Rocky Mountain teams traded back-to-back MLS titles in 2009 and 2010, Colorado Rapids have been routinely overshadowed by the formidably consistent Real Salt Lake. But on Saturday night the Rapids managed to finally match at least one RSL record that dates back to the 2004-2005 campaigns. Unfortunately for Colorado the record was for futility, with the Rapids winless streak now stretching to 18 games, after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to New England. The Rapids have not won a game since August and while this was their first loss of the season, it also extended another alarming streak – four games in, the team have yet to score a goal. If anything they were playing the right team to break that streak, or at least to empathize with. Until last week’s victory over San Jose, New England were winless and goalless themselves, but having found the win, they looked better again up front, and a sublime Juan Agudelo finish helped them home. The Revs are also a team who a few seasons ago were banking on a young core of players to come through a testing time and become the long-term basis of a successful side. Last year’s MLS Cup appearance, on the back of a Jermaine Jones inspired run, built on that blueprint, and it’s the principle that the Rapids have been banking on too. As of now though, they’re still waiting the spark of, if not an inspiring signing like Jones, at least an inspiring win. Saturday night was actually not atypical in that they outshot their opponents, hit the woodwork three times, and could not put the ball in the net. Since replacing Oscar Pareja as coach, and picking up the reins of the youth project Pareja had outlined, Pablo Mastroeni has stuck to the broad project without always seeming to show the type of flexibility that his predecessor demonstrated last season. And while the Rapids’ message is that this is a new season, and a new group and that last year’s late run is not relevant, it’s hard to accept how young players being shaped around a principle of continuity is not somehow defined, at this point at least, by the poor results of that continuity. The kids need to grow up. GP DC and Orlando becoming late show specialists As William Yarbrough was running out to replace Nick Rimando in the US goal against Switzerland last week, you might have wondered how Bill Hamid, DC United’s goalkeeper and notional long-term prospect for the national team, was feeling if he was watching at home. Hamid was a central part of DC’s turnaround last season yet is still one of a rotating cast of understudies jostling for position with the national team during Tim Howard’s extended sabbatical. After his latest US omission, and judging by his performance against Orlando on Friday night, Hamid may respectfully feel he deserves closer consideration. Hamid was in formidable form against an Orlando team who were intent on proving that the sucker punch that saw them lose their last home game to Vancouver in injury time was an aberration. Make that a trend – a Luis Silva free kick sent Orlando to another injury time defeat, and for that matter gave DC another injury-time victory to go with the one they secured over LA Galaxy last time out. More than the dropped points however, Orlando will perhaps be most worried by the moment early on that saw Pedro Ribeiro pull up clutching his hamstring. Ribeiro’s partnership with Kaká has shown promise in his team’s opening games – indeed it’s had to, since Orlando have not thus far shown a great deal of decisive variety in attack beyond those two. Not that Orlando didn’t have their chances against DC, even after Ribeiro went off, but they were unlucky enough to come up against Hamid in such form, and a United side who, as a whole, look to have reacted exactly as Ben Olsen would have hoped to their spiritless road loss to the Red Bulls a couple of weeks ago. They too still face questions over where the goals are going to come from, but while the points continue to pile up early and Hamid stays solid they’ll be happy enough. Orlando meanwhile have yet to win in their three home games, following Kaká’s late equalizer in the home debut with the two late losses to the Whitecaps and now DC. It’s a worrying run for an expansion team – teams who tend to rely on home form to get through their opening seasons. Orlando need to find goals and guile from somewhere – and sooner rather than later. GP The Whitecaps have staked their claim in the West There was a brief spell when the match looked like it would veer off into a more palatable course for Bruce Arena’s slightly slumping LA Galaxy. After a first half in which the Vancouver Whitecaps ran roughshod over their opponents in midfield – down the left via the pace of Kekuta Manneh and down the right via the guile of Octavio Rivero – LA started the second 45 minutes far more assuredly. Passes in the midfield were quick and meaningful, Robbie Rogers enjoyed a short stint as an attacking anchor out on the left flank, and LA’s spell of possession managed to quiet down the 21,000 fans at BC Place, many of whom were likely rueing the Whitecaps’ profligacy in the previous half. That hope however lasted a full 11 minutes until Vancouver ran up the other end and scored. After spending most of the game dominating their opponents through careful, clever build-up play, a single errant pass to the feet of Russell Teibert in front of his own 18 yard box was all Carl Robinson’s side needed to cut through the centre of the Galaxy. Teibert found Morales out wide, who sent a quick-witted through-ball along to Manneh whose low shot easily – too easily – beat Jaime Penedo for the opener. Rivero would double Vancouver lead 10 minutes later, a 2-0 victory in which the home side outshot the 2014 MLS champions 18 to 6. It’s hard to remember when the ‘Caps (and their bench) so dominated an opponent of this calibre in every aspect of play, including appearing to win almost every crucial take-on, every 50-50 challenge, every run down the wings. Nevertheless it’s far too early to write paeans to the 2015 ‘Caps. LA, though tough opponents for any side in MLS, are clearly having a morale issue, struggling on the road and perhaps stunned by DC United’s late winner last weekend. Meanwhile, save for the Galaxy, Vancouver’s opponents so far have been a pair of so-so sides from the East and a very uneven Portland Timbers at home. Time will no doubt tell. However, if we trace the team’s current form back to the end of 2014 when the Whitecaps’ shored up defense worked to support a blossoming attack to see Vancouver through to the playoffs, it’s clear that Robinson is doing something right. RW
Westside Toastmasters is located in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California - Westside Toastmasters on Meetup Chapter 18 OFFICE POLITICS AND INTERVIEWING Rex knew the executive interviewing him picked up on his positive vibe ... yet, something was amiss in the executive's body language. Rex really needed this interview to pan out. Rex knew the executive interviewing him picked up on his positive vibe ... yet, something was amiss in the executive's body language. Rex really needed this interview to pan out. Most job interviews are non-productive because studies show a strong correlation between how much the interviewer likes the interviewee and whether or not they get the job. In the end, most of the factual information that comes from the resume - the real stuff about the candidate that is a good indicator of performance - is forgotten. What is remembered is the impression the candidate made on the interviewer. Professor Frank Bernieri of the University of Toledo analyzed the performances of job applicants of various ages and backgrounds during 20-minute interviews in which the interviewers were asked to rate each candidate on attributes such as ambition, intelligence and competence. Then a group of observers was asked to watch video footage of just the first 15 seconds of each interview. The results showed that the observers' first impressions in 15 seconds almost paralleled the impressions of the interviewers. This study gives us further convincing evidence that you definitely don't get a second chance to make a first impression and that your approach, handshake and overall body language are the key factors in deciding the outcome. Why James Bond Always Looked Calm and Centered Research in the field of linguistics has shown a direct relationship between the amount of status, power or prestige a person commands, and their vocabulary range. The higher up the social or management ladder a person is, the better he is likely to be able to communicate in words and phrases. Body language research has revealed a correlation between a person's command of the spoken word and the number of gestures they use to communicate their message. The person at the top end of the status scale can use his range of vocabulary to communicate his meaning, whereas the less educated, less skilled lower-status person will rely more on gestures than words to communicate his message. He doesn't have the words so he substitutes gestures for words. As a general rule, the higher up the person is on the socio-economic scale, the less gesticulation and body movement they are likely to use. James Bond, Agent 007 in Her Majesty's Secret Service used these principles to great effect by having minimal body gestures, especially when under pressure. When being intimidated by the tough guys he remained relatively motionless and spoke in short, monotone sentences. High status people always 'keep their cool', which means revealing as little of their emotions as possible. Actors such as Jim Carrey are the opposite - they often play highly animated roles, emphasizing a lack of power; and usually plays powerless, intimidated men. Guidelines For Making Great First Impressions Job seekers who don't get a call back after an interview often wonder where they went wrong. One factor, research shows, has a larger-than-expected impact on the outcome - the job seeker's ability, within the first few minutes of a meeting, to spark an elusive form of interpersonal chemistry called rapport. How do you forge a quick connection with a stranger? Bartenders, retail employees, stand-up comedians, and police investigators do it routinely, and researchers have studied their techniques. Their skills can be helpful in a job interview. On the verbal front, make the assessment: Is a hiring manager open to small talk and if that appears to be so start the conversation on a positive note. Retail and service-sector employees who perform well tend to pay close attention to customers and engage them in pleasant, upbeat conversations, research shows. Seek out any common interests or shared experiences to banter about. Simple examples; ask friendly questions about their favorite sports, if family pictures are on a desk ask about their family, ask how their commute was, or compliment the interviewer on their choice of watch, jewelry or clothing. Keep in mind that others form up to 90% of their opinion about you in the first four minutes. Research indicates repeatedly that the goodly majority of the impact you will make is via your non-verbal presentation. We do live in an increasing casual world which is having an affect on our personal interactions in what are traditionally formalized settings. That said, here are guidelines to getting it right in an interview: 1. In the Reception Area Remove any coat and leave it with a receptionist if possible. Avoid entering an office with your arms full, distracting from your presentation. Always stand in a reception area, never sit. Receptionists will insist you 'take a seat' because when you do, you're out of sight and they no longer have to deal with you. Stand and slowly rock back and forth on your feet which appears confident and in control. This body language is a constant reminder to a receptionist that you are still waiting. 2. Office Entry Your entry tells others how you expect to be treated. When the receptionist has given you the go ahead to enter, walk in without hesitation. Do not stand in the doorway, this suggests doubt or caution. When you walk through the door of the person's office, maintain the same speed. People who lack confidence often change up their pace in this context, perhaps entering the room with slight hesitation. 3. The Approach Even if the person is on their landline or mobile phone or shuffling something on their desk, walk in directly and confidently with a smooth motion. Put down any laptop, mobile phone, briefcase, or whatever else may be in your hands, shake the person's hand and immediately take a seat. Let the other person see that you are accustomed to walking confidently into offices and that you don't expect to be kept waiting. People who walk slowly convey that they have plenty of time on their hands or are not interested in what they are doing. Influential people and those who want to command attention walk at a medium pace with medium length strides. 4. The Handshake Keep your palm straight and return the pressure you receive. Let the other person decide when to end the handshake. As circumstance permits step to the left of a rectangular desk as you approach to increase the odds of handshake between equals for those that are right-handed. Avoid handshakes directly across a desk. Use a person's name twice in the first 15 seconds and never talk for more than 30 seconds at a time. 5. When You Sit If you need sit in a low chair directly facing the other person, turn it away 45 degrees from the person to avoid being stuck in the 'reprimand' position. If you can't angle the chair, angle your body instead. 6. Office Seating If you're invited to sit in an informal area of the person's office, such as at an informal meeting table, this is a positive sign because a very large majority of business rejections are delivered from behind a desk. Avoid sitting on a low sofa that sinks so low it makes you look physically inconsequential - if necessary, sit upright on the edge so you can control your body language and gestures, and angle your body to 45 degrees away from the person. 7. Your Gestures People who are calm and in control of their emotions use clear, uncomplicated, deliberate movements. High-status individuals use fewer gestures than low-status individuals. This is an ancient negotiating ploy - people with power don't have to move much. Mirror the other person's gestures and expressions as seems appropriate. 8. Personal Distance Respect the other person's space, which will be largest in the opening minutes of the meeting. If you move too close too soon, the person may respond by sitting back, leaning away or using repetitive gestures. As a basic rule, you can move closer to familiar people but should be further back from those you have just met. Men generally move closer to women they work with while women generally move further back when they work with men. Work closer to those of similar age and further back from significantly older or younger ones. 9. Your Exit Pack your belongings calmly and deliberately, not too rushed, shake hands if possible, turn and walk out. If the door was closed when you entered, close it behind you as you leave. People always watch you from behind as you leave so, if you're a man, make sure you have shined the back of your shoes. This is an area many men neglect and women are critical of this. When a woman decides to leave she will point her foot towards the door and begin to adjust the back of her clothing and hair so that she makes a good rear-view impression as she departs. As mentioned earlier, hidden cameras show that, if you're a woman, others study your rear as you depart - whether you like it or not. When you get to the door turn around slowly and smile. It's far better that they recall your smiling face than your rear end. NO ONE wants to feel naked, lacking control in an interview for the job they crave, do they? NO ONE wants to feel naked, lacking control in an interview for the job they crave, do they? When Someone Keeps You Waiting If someone keeps you waiting for more than 20 minutes it shows either they're disorganized or it could be a form of power play. Keeping someone waiting is an effective way of reducing their status and enhancing the status of the person who is making them wait. This same effect can be seen when people are waiting in line at a restaurant or cinema - everyone assumes that the wait is going to be worthwhile, otherwise why would we all be waiting? Always have a mobile phone, laptop, or work documents visible to both make the best use of your time and demonstrate that you too are a busy professional. When the person who has kept you waiting comes out to meet you, lift your head slowly from your work and greet them, then pack up smoothly and confidently. The clear message you are sending is that you're a busy person that should not be inconvenienced by their disorganization. If the other person takes a phone call during the meeting or a third person enters and begins what seems like a long conversation, take out your mobile phone and engage in what would appear to be work-related activity ... without disturbing the other person(s). This gives them privacy and demonstrates that you don't waste your time. Fake It Till You Make It? If you talk to your counterpart(s) using gestures signaling openness, does this mean you can tell grand stories about what you can accomplish and get away with it? Well...not necessarily, because if you use open positions when you know you're lying, your palms are likely to sweat, your cheeks may twitch and your pupils constrict. The most competent liars are those who can go into their acting role and act as if they actually believe the lie. A professional actor who can do this better than anyone else is presented with an Oscar. While we are not suggesting you tell lies, there is powerful evidence that if you practice the positive skills we've mentioned throughout this guide, they will become second nature to you and serve you well for the rest of your life. Scientists proved the 'fake it till you make it' concept using tests on birds. In many bird species, the more dominant a bird is, the darker its plumage will be. Darker colored birds are first in line for food and mates. Researchers took a number of lighter, weaker birds and dyed their plumage dark so that these birds would be 'lying' to the other birds that they were dominant. But the result was that the 'liar' birds were attacked by the real dominant birds because the 'liars' were still displaying weak and submissive body language. In the next tests the weaker birds, both male and female, were not only dyed but also injected with testosterone hormones to make them act dominantly. This time the 'liars' succeeded as they began strutting around acting in confident, superior ways, which completely fooled the real dominant birds. This demonstrates that you need to cast yourself into a believable role in an interview and mentally practice in advance how you will behave if you want others to take you seriously. Simple Tactics for Upping Your Game 1. Stand up for Meetings Conduct short-term decision-making meetings standing up. Studies show that standing conversations are significantly shorter than sitting ones and the person who conducts a standing meeting is perceived as having higher status than those who sit. Standing whenever others enter your workspace is also an excellent timesaver. Standing decisions are quick and to the point and others tend to engage less in unproductive small talk. 2. Sit Competitors with Their Backs to the Door Research reveals that when our backs are towards an open space we become more stressed as our body readies itself in an evolutionary sense for possible attack from behind. This is an excellent position in which to place your opponents. 3. Keep Your Fingers Together People who keep their fingers closed when they talk with their hands and keep their hands below chin level, command the most attention. Using open fingers or having your hands held above the chin is perceived as less powerful. 4. Keep Your Elbows Out When you sit on a chair, keep your elbows out or on the arms of the chair. More submissive individuals keep their elbows in to protect themselves and are perceived as more timid. 5. Use Power Words A University of California study showed that more persuasive words in spoken language are: discovery, guarantee, love, proven, results, save, easy, health, money, new, safety and you. Practice using these words interpersonally which should yield better results throughout all aspects of your life. 6. Carry a Thin Briefcase A thin briefcase, laptop or tablet computer is carried typically by important people concerned with the bottom-line. Larger, fully packed briefcases are perceived as being carried by those doing the detailed work that while important may be of less consequence than that of an executive. Summary In the time before going to an important interview or meeting, quiet yourself and mentally practice doing these things well. When you previsualize these actions they will come easily when the time is ripe, with others reacting accordingly. Office Power Politics Have you ever been for a job interview and felt overwhelmed or helpless when you sat in the visitor's chair? Where the interviewer seemed so big and overwhelming and you felt small and insignificant? It is likely that the interviewer had cunningly arranged his office furnishings to raise his own status and power and, in so doing, lower yours. Certain strategies using chairs and seating arrangements can create this atmosphere in an office. There are three factors in raising perceived status and power using chairs: the size of the chair and its accessories, the height of the chair from the floor and the location of the chair relative to the other person. 1. Chair Size and Accessories The height of the back of the chair raises or lowers a person's status. The higher the back of the chair, the more power and status the person sitting in it is perceived to have. Kings and others in high-power public positions may have the back of their throne or official chairs extended high vertically to make their status very explicit and obvious to all others. Comparably many senior executives have high-backed leather chairs while visitor's chairs in their offices have low backs. Swivel chairs have more power and status than fixed chairs, allowing the user freedom of movement when he is placed under pressure. Fixed chairs allow little or no movement and this lack of movement is compensated for by the sitter's use of body gestures that reveal their attitudes and feelings. Chairs with armrests, those that lean back and those that have wheels have more power. 2. Chair Height Status is perceived to have been gained if your chair is adjusted higher off the floor than another person's. Executives are known for sitting on high-backed chairs that are adjusted for maximum height while their visitors sit opposite on a low sofa or chair creating the perception of lesser power status. 3. Chair Location Most power is exerted on office visitors when their chairs are placed directly opposite in a competitive position. A power play is to place the visitor's chair as far away as possible from the executive's desk into a zone that would be defined as public territory, reducing the visitor's status. How to Switch Table Territories When two people sit directly opposite each other across a table, they unconsciously divide it into two equal territories. Each claims half as his own territory and will reject the other encroaching upon it. There will be occasions, however, when it may be difficult or inappropriate to take the corner position to present your case. Let's assume that you have a sample, or quotation displayed on a laptop, to present to another person who is sitting behind a rectangular desk and your objective is to get into the best position for presenting. First, place the article or laptop on the table and he will either lean forward and look at it, take it over to his side, or push it back into your territory. Laptop placed on territorial line Laptop placed on territorial line If he leans forward to look at it but does not pull it in or pick it up, you are compelled to deliver your presentation from where you sit because he does not want you on his side of the desk. If this happens, angle your body away at 45 degrees to him to present your case which is a softer less competitive position. If he takes it onto his side, however, this gives you the opportunity to ask permission to enter his territory and take either the corner or co-operative position. Non-verbal agreement to enter his personal space for a presentation Non-verbal agreement to enter his personal space for a presentation If, however, he pushes it back towards you, stay on your side. Never encroach on the other person's territory unless you have been given verbal or non-verbal permission to do so or you will put them offside. Seated Body Pointing Take the following situation: you're a supervisor and are about to counsel a subordinate whose work performance is not up to expectations. You feel that you will need to use direct questions that require direct answers and this may put the subordinate under pressure. At times you will also need to show the subordinate compassion and, from time to time, that you agree with his thoughts or actions. Leaving aside interview and questioning techniques for these illustrations, consider the following points: (1) The counselling session will be in your office; (2) The subordinate will be seated on a chair with fixed legs and no arms, one that causes him to use body gestures and postures that will give you an understanding of his attitudes; and (3) You'll be sitting on a swivel chair that has arms, letting you eliminate some of your own gestures and allowing you to move around. There are three main angle positions you can use. As with the standing triangular position, sitting at 45 degrees gives an informal, relaxed attitude to the meeting and is a good opening position for a counselling session. Opening a session using a 45 degree angle keeps things relaxed Opening a session using a 45 degree angle keeps things relaxed You can show non-verbal agreement with the subordinate from this position by mirroring his movements and gestures. As in the open standing position, their bodies point to a third point to form a triangle, which can show agreement. By turning your chair to point your body directly at someone you non-verbally tell them that you want direct answers to your direct questions. Direct body pointing keeps things serious Direct body pointing keeps things serious When you position your body 45 degrees away from the other person, you take the pressure off the interview. This is an excellent position from which to ask delicate or embarrassing questions, encouraging more open answers to your questions without them feeling as if they are being pressured. The right 45 degrees away position The right 45 degrees away position How To Rearrange An Office You should now be able to work out how to arrange an office to have as much power, influence or control as you want or to make it as relaxed, friendly and informal as you want. Here now is a case study showing how someone's office was hypothetically rearranged to help solve some of his personal manager/employee relationship problems. Aaron worked for a large financial services company. He had been promoted to a manager's position and given an office. After a few months in the role, Aaron found that the other employees disliked dealing with him and his relationship with them was often tense, particularly when they were in his office. He found it difficult to get them to follow his instructions and had heard they were talking about him behind his back. Observations of Aaron's dilemma suggested that the communication breakdowns were at their worst when the employees were in his office. We'll focus on the non-verbal aspects of the problem and not on Aaron's intrinsics talents. Here's an assessment of Aaron's office set-up: The visitor's chair was placed in the competitive position in relation to Aaron. Aaron's desk had a solid front that hid his lower body and prevented the subordinates observing his lower gestures to evaluate how he felt. Aaron often sat using power-oriented body language whenever a subordinate was in his office. Aaron had a swivel chair with a high back, armrests and wheels. The visitor's chair was a plain low-backed chair with fixed legs and no armrests. The back of the chair was oriented toward the open door -- intelligence agents instinctively know this is a low power orientation fraught with danger. The walls of the office were solid except for a couple of windows and a clear glass partition. Aaron had instinctively placed his desk in a corner with his back against the wall, sending subtle signals about reduced accessibility through greater physical distance between himself and his subordinates. Aaron's initial office layout Aaron's initial office layout From a user-friendly, non-verbal standpoint, his office could use improvement. It felt unfriendly to anyone who entered. The following rearrangements were made to help encourage Aaron's management style to become more friendly: Aaron's desk was placed in front of a glass partition and windows, making his office appear bigger and allowing him to be visible before visitors entered his office. His desk was replaced with one having a large rounded corner where two could comfortably sit in non-competitive positions. A round table with swivel chairs were placed near the middle of the office where a small group of people could sit for informal meetings in non-competitive positions. A revised office layout incorporating several elements to reduce the feeling of emotional distance and hierarchy. A revised office layout incorporating several elements to reduce the feeling of emotional distance and hierarchy. A sectional sofa was placed in the corner of the office to further promote teamwork and create a friendlier atmosphere. Green plants were added in a couple spots in the office to lessen any austere feel in the room. Aaron practiced sitting in open positions, consciously using his palms whenever he spoke with others. In the revised office layout one important element was the addition of a round meeting table, creating a greater sense of interpersonal equality. In the revised office layout one important element was the addition of a round meeting table, creating a greater sense of interpersonal equality. The results? Significantly improved manager/staff relationships and some staff began describing Aaron as 'easygoing' and as a relaxed person to work with. All that is needed to raise your status, and increase your power and effectiveness with others, is a little thought given to non-verbal gymnastics in your office or home. Unfortunately, most executive offices are arranged as Aaron's was initially set out, because offices are designed by office designers, not by those who understand interaction between people. Rarely is consideration given to the negative non-verbal signals that can be unwittingly communicated to others. Study your own workplace layout and use the preceding information to make the positive changes needed. Summary The thing about power plays and office politics is that you can anticipate them and even plan your own in advance. Rex, as noted earlier, did not have the sensitivity to understand that while OK in some businesses with conservative cultures, suspenders are not a fashion forward statement, nor are ties mismatched with a business suit. Poor choices in attire for such a critical meeting could be reflected, an interviewing executive might think, in less than keen judgement in other important business matters with associates and customers.
Bitcoin rallied Tuesday, recovering from a sharp sell-off late last week. The digital currency briefly climbed more than 12.5 percent to above $16,100 late Tuesday morning and was trading near $15,965 late in the afternoon, according to Coinbase, the leading U.S. platform for trading major digital currencies. However, Coinbase said on its status website at 1:24 p.m., ET, that "Due to high volume, we are experiencing a backlog of outgoing transactions for BTC and ETH. ... Outgoing transactions of BTC and ETH may be delayed by several hours." The issue remained unresolved more than three hours later, according to the website. With Tuesday's gains, bitcoin has now recovered more than 50 percent from a low of $10,400 hit Friday in an extremely volatile day of trading that had no immediately apparent explanation behind it. Trading on Coinbase was also down for more than two hours during Friday's sell-off. Nolan Bauerle, director of research at CoinDesk, attributed much of Tuesday's price recovery to improved access to buying cryptocurrencies. "After last week's sell-off, order books got some breathing room," Bauerle said in an email to CNBC. "Those that wanted to buy at all-time highs suddenly saw discounts and more importantly could actually buy from exchanges that worked through the backlog." Bitcoin has soared more than 1,600 percent over the last 12 months, according to Coinbase. A surge of investor interest has helped turn the once-fringe item to an object of Wall Street's attention. CME, the world's largest futures exchange, and its competitor Cboe both launched bitcoin futures this month. Many see the launch as a step towards legitimizing bitcoin as an asset class for institutional investors. The CME bitcoin futures expiring in January settled nearly 11.7 percent higher at $15,785, and the Cboe bitcoin futures settled up 13.3 percent at $15,810. Trading volume in the Cboe January contract was above 2,300, while the CME equivalent was near 2,000, according to their websites. Ethereum traded 0.6 percent higher near near $770, down about 12.6 percent from its record high of $881.44 hit Thursday, according to CoinMarketCap. The bitcoin offshoot, bitcoin cash, traded more than 1 percent lower near $2,806, according to Coinbase. WATCH: Man behind massive bet that bitcoin could hit $50,000
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has complained to China and Russia that the US has been "disrespecting" him. The tough-talking leader reportedly received the sympathy of both the countries following his grievance. Duterte said on Sunday (2 October) that a Beijing official responded by saying Manila would not benefit from its alliance with Washington. He did not provide details and it remains unclear which Chinese official he spoke to. In the recent past, Duterte has hinted at seeking China and Russia's alliance in the region for trade and commerce, apparently in a bid to pursue a more independent foreign policy compared to what the Philippines has had in the past. During a meeting on the sidelines of a leaders' summit in Laos in September, Duterte said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had agreed with him when he spoke about the US and raised objection about President Barack Obama's administration. "I met with Medvedev, I am revealing it to you now," Reuters cited Duterte as saying in a speech. "I told him this is the situation: They are giving me a hard time, they are disrespecting me; they are shameless. [Medvedev] said: 'This is really how the Americans are. We will help you.'" Relations between Washington and Manila deteriorated following Duterte's incendiary comments against Obama, who he called a "son of a b***h". US-Philippines ties were further strained when Duterte chafed at Obama's criticism of his bloody drug war, which is reported to have killed more than 3,000 alleged drug dealers and addicts. Meanwhile, in another swipe at the US, Duterte on Sunday threatened to review a landmark security deal that was agreed with the US. He argued that the deal may no longer be legally binding as it was not signed off by any Filipino president. Manila signed the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement just before Obama visited the country in 2014. It allows American troops to build storage facilities for maritime security and disaster and humanitarian response operations. Duterte noted that it was an official document, but said it was just an agreement signed only by the former defence secretary and a US aide. However, he did not explicitly announce he would end the deal. "It does not bear the signature of the president of the Republic of the Philippines... Better think twice now, because I would be asking you to leave the Philippines altogether," Duterte said. This has come after Duterte announced the end of the joint military exercise between the two countries, last week. He said the US-Philippines war games this week would be "the last". However, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter had earlier said US-Philippines ties are "ironclad". "We will continue to honour our alliance commitments, and we expect the Philippines to do the same," Reuters cited Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook as saying. "We will continue to work closely with the government of the Philippines to address any concerns they may have."
Illegal immigrants file into a U.S. Border Patrol facility in Tucson, Ariz. (Associated Press) (CNSNew.com) – In the midst of the summer recess, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) issued a press release on Aug. 21 concerning a letter he wrote to the Department of Homeland Security seeking details about the release of 36,007 illegal aliens last year who had been convicted of a crime and were released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while awaiting deportation proceedings. The June 9 inquiry, addressed to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, led to the revelation that of those thousands released, 169 had been convicted of “homicide-related” offenses. “The public needs to know when a person is in the country illegally, and who has been convicted of a homicide, is released into their communities,” Grassley said in the press release. Along with the letter, Grassley posted ICE’s response, which confirmed its release of 169 illegal aliens in fiscal year 2013 who had been convicted of “homicide-related” crimes. The ICE response said that more than 130 zip codes in the U.S. were “associated with the detainees.” Jessica Vaughn, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, created a map using the zip code data, showing criminal aliens being released into cities across the country. The ICE response explained the release of the 169 criminal aliens this way: “Of the 169 ICE detainees with a homicide-related conviction who were released from ICE custody in FY 2013, 131 have been issued a final order of removal. Of the remaining 38 aliens who have not been issued a final order of removal, one was granted voluntary departure by an immigration judge and subsequently departed within the permitted timeframe. Further, 154 of the 169 were released pursuant to court order due to Zadvydas.” “Zadvydas” refers to the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Zadvydas v. Davis, which has been interpreted to mean that an immigrant who has not been accepted for reentry into another country after six months can be released. “We’ve introduced legislation that would reverse the court case that the Obama administration is relying on to excuse its irresponsible release of thousands of criminally convicted aliens,” Grassley said in the press release. The Zadvydas decision has resulted in what is frequently described as the practice of “catch and release” in immigration law enforcement.
5/17 – Ragen posts “First Blood on the Bike“ TL:DR – she fell off in the parking lot 5/27 – Ragen posts “Waking Up From My Bikemare“ TL:DR – getting a bike is hard when you are fat. And expensive. 6/1 – Ragen posts “Getting Back on the Horse“ TL:DR – She wiped out 7 out of ten times. She didn’t actually ride the bike anywhere. She was just practicing starting and stopping. 6/3 – She blogs about running – not relevant to this story so no screen shots. 6/8 – She posts “Taking to Flight.” TL:DR – Just read it. Her triumphant story about her very first bike ride. Four miles. She only fell once. She cut her time with every lap. She encountered headwinds. And overcame them. Her chain fell off and a car full of guys stopped to help her. Once again, Ragen beat all of the odds and is excelling at athletics. Because hey – she is an elite athlete and all. But there is just one problem with this post (aside from the fact that nobody gave her $100)…. Look at the date. It was written the day before she blogged about falling off the bike 7 out of 10 times just trying to start and stop. This ‘triumphant bike ride’ story didn’t get posted to her blog until 6/8. So why the discrepancy in dates? Here’s the thing… if you write a blog, save it as a draft and publish it later, WordPress uses the date that the post was written, not the date that it was published. If you make any edits to the post, WordPress will change the date of the draft to reflect the last time it was edited. This tells us that Ragen had her ‘triumphant’ bike ride story written and ready to go on 5/31. And she just waited a week to post it. But in the meantime, she posts a sob story about falling off of a bike 70% of the time. Is there ANYTHING honest about her? Advertisements
Editor’s note: We were happy to meet Joe Breeze on the show floor at Interbike 2010. We had already spoken with him via email about doing an “e-interview” for Bikecommuters.com, and he was very receptive to the idea. Despite a very crowded and active display booth at Interbike, Joe was gracious enough to spend about 45 minutes chatting with us…he is extremely passionate and knowledgeable about the bicycles he develops and rides and was a pleasure to spend time with. Special thanks go to Paul Tolmé, public relations guru at TRUE Communications for help introducing us to Joe and helping us prepare some worthwhile interview questions. Let’s kick this baby off: It is no overstatement to say that Joe Breeze is one of the most influential bicyclists of the modern era. In the 1970s he and a group of buddies including Gary Fisher, Tom Ritchie and other icons of the sport took to the hills of Marin County, California, and began racing so-called clunkers—heavy Schwinn paperboy bikes that they beefed up and retrofitted with motorcycle parts and junk shop finds. In 1977, Breeze built what is recognized to be the first brand new mountain bike. Others soon followed, and a new sport was born that has spread to all corners of the globe. While modern mountain bikes look nothing like modern transportation bikes, the early mountain bikes gained popularity partly because they were far more practical and comfortable to ride than the ubiquitous 10-speed racers of the era. And those early mountain bikes introduced a new generation to the joys of bike riding. A decade ago, after 20 years of building mountain bikes, Breeze stunned his industry colleagues by deciding to focus his attention on building the best American commuter bikes. This seems an obvious choice today due to the recent explosion in popularity of transportation bikes, but a decade ago it was a bold and forward-thinking move that cemented Breeze’s reputation as one of the fathers of the American commuter bike movement. Today, Breezers are recognized as among the best American commuter bikes, having won Bicycling Magazine’s Editor’s Choice award for best commuter bike three years running. Breeze still lives in the Bay Area’s Marin County, near his boyhood home in Mill Valley. He now lives in neighboring Fairfax, where he works from a shop in his home and still gets out to ride the trails around Mt Tamalpais where he and a rowdy bunch of bicycle enthusiasts forever changed the sport of cycling. (Joe “killin’ it” at Repack back in the dawn of mountain biking) 1. Please give us a little background on your history, particularly your involvement with transportation-oriented bicycle development. I’ve been an intercity bike traveler since 1965 when as a fifth grader I rode with neighborhood friends to the local bowling alley, 14 miles round trip. It was with a great sense of accomplishment that we crested the 300-foot hill along the way and made it home under our own power. By 14 and 15 years old I was going on rides of over a hundred miles, to get to places like Lake Tahoe and the southern Sierra Nevada. In 1971 I took a ride through Europe with a dozen friends. Before leaving I perused my library’s phonebooks for my European cycling heroes so I could seek them out. I was fortunate enough to meet Cino Cinelli at his factory in Milan. In the Netherlands I had my eyes opened wide by the practical bicycle infrastructure. Seeing cycling there, how intrinsic it was to everyday life for people of all ages, was a lifelong inspiration. Short of hope for immediate success of the same in America, I buried myself in road racing, which I saw as a first step in getting out the secret of cycling: that right here in America bikes can provide joy and travel in our everyday living. I also started building custom-built road-racing frames in 1974. The foray my friends and I took into what became known as mountain biking was at first just an off-season diversion from road racing. In 1977 I built what is recognized as the first successful all-new mountain bike. For the next twenty years I focused on my Breezer mountain bikes. Mountain biking got a lot more Americans onto bikes, and many of these new cyclists realized that bikes could be used for more than just fun in the woods. In the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s I worked with our local bike coalition to make Marin County a model for bicycle transportation for adults and school children. I knew that good infrastructure was key to transforming transportation choices here, but at the same time I saw that the US was sorely lacking in bikes equipped for everyday life. In 2002, I re-formed Breezer as a company focused entirely on transportation bikes. I designed a line of fully equipped bikes and went out to convince the industry that transportation bikes were the future. At first, many people thought I was crazy to turn away from a successful career designing recreational bikes, but I felt that transportation bikes were vital to this country’s health. 2. Our readers are well familiar with the benefits of transportation bicycling for healthier communities, healthier lives and affordable, sustainable transportation. Tell us how you incorporate transportation cycling into your life in Marin, California. I do not have my own car, so I use a bike to get most places I go locally. Actually I did that for most of my life even when I did own a car. (I didn’t get a driver’s license until I was 25.) It wasn’t until the 1990s that I had a bike that was fully equipped with rack, fenders, lights, etc. and I realized how easy that made it to ride still more and drive still less. My wife has a car and I do drive it sometimes. My own car eventually started mulching in the front yard; a few years back we realized we might as well get rid of it. 3. In 2008 you sold Breezer Bicycles to Advanced Sports International, which also owns Fuji and several other brands. How has your role changed now that Breezer Bicycles is under the ASI banner, and do you still have a free hand in design, specification and development? I am still with Breezer as designer. The association with ASI has freed me from all of the details of running a company and allowed me to concentrate on design and product development. I don’t have the same level of control over all details of every finished product, but I’m able to do many more projects and create many more bikes, than when I had my own company. I am continuing with transportation bikes, for Europe as well as the US, and I’m also doing mountain and road bikes again. 4. What emerging technologies do you see playing a larger role in transportational cycling’s future? I’m thinking of belt drives and other alternative drivetrain systems, in particular. What else looks promising? As the secret of everyday biking is getting out in America I see a lot of growth for cycling in the coming years. New cyclists tend to appreciate things that make cycling easier, so internally-geared hubs like Shimano’s Nexus series of low-maintenance, easy-to-shift transmissions are becoming quite popular. New technology is inspiring. I myself was certainly inspired by the Nexus hub; I saw it as an opening to introduce a Netherlands-type cycling lifestyle to the US. I first spec’ed a bike with the Nexus 7 hub in 1996 (the Breezer Ignaz X); then I designed my Breezer Town bikes around Nexus hubs in the early 2000s. The 2011 Breezer Uptown Infinity (∞) has the NuVinci transmission hub with infinitely variable ratios. NuVinci is even easier to shift. People have asked for a fully automatic bicycle transmission forever, and this NuVinci hub will develop into a game changer. Though bicycles have remained fairly constant for a century or so, the bicycle of tomorrow could be quite different. (Joe presenting a bicycle to San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom) 5. Breezer now has several electric bikes. What’s your take on electric and pedal-assist e-bikes? Any plans to add more electric systems to the Breezer commuter line? Electric bikes will see much broader appeal too. Of course we hope to offer more here as well. 6. The U.S. seems to be lagging far behind other countries in our adoption of cycling as a valid form of transportation. What are the top policy changes that our government and nation can make to get more people on bikes? Level the playing field: Reduce car-driving subsidies, most of which the public is unaware of. Make motorists pay more of the full cost of driving. Current gasoline taxation does not come close to paying these costs. This gap ends up robbing funding for better things like education. When there are healthier, more enjoyable ways to get around, why give a false sense of the cost of driving? 7. Do you have any tips or insights for beginning commuters or those looking to reduce their reliance on automobiles? 1) Get a fully equipped bike. At minimum it should have a kickstand, rack, full fenders, chainguard and generator lights. Without the full bill, it’s too easy to find an excuse not to ride: It might get dark. The roads might get wet. I might need to carry something, etc.; 2) Get clothes that make riding more comfortable in a broader range of weather. 3) At first, just getting past your front door may be the biggest obstacle. Once beyond though, you may wonder why it seemed so difficult. 8. We are currently in a recession and the nation faces high unemployment. Do you see a future for more Made in the USA bicycles, and can a more vibrant bike culture in the United States create jobs and help our desire for a more sustainable economy? Certainly. Bicycling is a growth market with a huge future around the globe. The US is a leader in new technologies, some of which will be applied to bikes. 9. Have you signed the People for Bikes petition, and do you feel it is an important statement for bicyclists to join? Yes. Make your voice heard. Doing so is a tenet of a functioning democracy. (Joe riding with his son’s mountain bike team from Drake High School) We’d like to thank Joe Breeze for sharing his thoughts with us…it’s not every day that we get to rub shoulders with someone SO influential in the bike commuting world, and we’re happy we made his acquaintance. To learn more about the Breezer Bikes lineup, swing on over to their website — you’ll be glad you did!
When assembling outfits, even some otherwise style-savvy men can be unclear on the guidelines for wearing black or brown dress shoes. Hence, this article will elaborate on when and how to wear brown shoes, and highlight how you can combine them with socks and pants. Regularly, sayings such as “no brown in town” or “no brown after six” are mentioned, when in fact things are quite different from when these rules were invented. To understand the basics of Brown Shoes, make sure to: Watch the Video Read the article Check out the infographic at the bottom History & Evolution of the Rules If we go back in menswear history, we find that Beau Brummell (1778 – 1840) liked his black, champagne polished leather boots for town wear. Subsequently, leading arbiters such as Comte d’Orsay (1801 – 1852), Hermann Fürst von Pückler-Muskau (1785-1871), Honoré de Balzac (1799 – 1850), Barbey d’Aurevilly (1808 – 1889), and Edward VII (1841 – 1910) followed his example and wore black footwear for formal occasions and in town. During this period, rules along the lines of “no brown in town” or “no brown after six” were very much respected, and ensured people were socially accepted. By the 1930’s, Edward the Prince of Wales had relaxed some menswear rules, leading to softer materials and bolder colors. He also was a supporter of brown slip-on spectator shoes (the most common type of two-toned shoes)and brown shoes in general. By the 1950’s, even English clothing guides such as Clothes and the Man by Sydney D. Barney advised: “Business and Daywear in town: a lounge jacket with matching waistcoat and trousers with footwear in black or brown, according to the suit.” In this context Barney declares, “Brown shoes with a dark blue suit are undesirable.” On the other hand, evening dress was still rather formalized; Full Evening Dress with white tie and Dinner Dress both demanded black shoes. So, you can see, by the 1950’s, the “no brown in town” rule was no longer valid, although black was still the color for evenings. Today, dress codes are much more relaxed than they were in the fifties, and if you’re wearing a well-cut suit, you are likely to be more well-dressed than 90% of the people around you. Even if you wear brown country boots to a restaurant for dinner, chances are that your shoes are still more elegant than many other men — unless it is a respected establishment with a dress code. Many debonair Italians, for example, only wear black dress shoes for funerals, weddings, and formal evening events. Otherwise, they prefer wearing brown leather shoes in varying shades — such as dark brown or tan shoes — especially when paired with blue suits. In Britain, black still holds a certain association with business, at least in more conservative circles. Still, many Englishmen wear more than just black dress shoes for business, with conservative styles like brown oxford shoes becoming increasingly popular. To be explicitly clear: Today, wearing brown shoes with your outfits is generally acceptable both in the evening and in town. With that said, certain outfits and situations still call for certain footwear; light tan shoes may not be the best option for the evening, and black shoes are imperative for black tie. Remember: just because you can wear brown shoes day and night, doesn’t necessarily mean you should. When to Wear Brown Shoes Brown shoes can be worn with almost anything, ranging from blue jeans to cavalry twill and corduroy to flannel, worsteds and tweed. Unlike black, brown leather comes in an endless variety of shades, allowing you to create a distinguished shoe collection that is unique. Here are a few guidelines that you can adopt and adapt as you please – just take a look in the mirror and use your sense of style. 1. Business Suits For 3-piece or 2-piece business suits, in the following colors, in solid worsteds or flannels, pinstripes or faint windowpanes or Prince of Wales Checks: Black : Simply put, don’t wear a black suit with brown shoes. Black shoes, in a conservative style, work best. : Simply put, don’t wear a black suit with brown shoes. Black shoes, in a conservative style, work best. Charcoal Grey : We suggest black over any form of brown leather. Dark brown can work, but avoid tan shoes. : We suggest black over any form of brown leather. Dark brown can work, but avoid tan shoes. Mid Grey: Black works, of course, but dark brown or cherry are also suitable colors. Once again, avoid tan. Black works, of course, but dark brown or cherry are also suitable colors. Once again, avoid tan. Dark Navy: Black works well with a navy suit, but cordovan, tan, and dark brown can also look magnificent and dashing. Of course, you will stand out visually with light tan shoes and a navy suit — something to bear in mind. Black works well with a navy suit, but cordovan, tan, and dark brown can also look magnificent and dashing. Of course, you will stand out visually with light tan shoes and a navy suit — something to bear in mind. Lighter Navy : Black will often look better than brown, but it ultimately depends on the cloth. With pinstripes, we suggest wearing black shoes and never brown. : Black will often look better than brown, but it ultimately depends on the cloth. With pinstripes, we suggest wearing black shoes and never brown. Dark Brown: Pair a dark brown suit with brown shoes, and skip black altogether. Miscellaneous: Since a 3-piece suit is more formal than a 2-piece suit , the heightened formailty of black shoes means they will generally pair better with such outfits. Still, pay attention to the color, as above. If you wear a contrasting double-breasted waistcoat in dove grey or buff, go with black shoes as you will have created a similar ensemble to the formal stroller suit. If you want to play it safe, always choose a shade of brown dress shoes darker than your suit color. Of course, if you are confident enough, you can pair lighter shoe colors with dark suits, but be aware that you will gather more attention that way. Black remains the #1 color for business, so if you’re unsure, stick with black, and if you invest in your first pair of business shoes, go with a black captoe Oxford shoe. If you’re wearing a belt, try to match the color of the shoe to that of the belt. Since there are so many shades of brown leather shoes, your belt doesn’t have to be made of the exact same leather or the same color–just try to match it as closely as possible. If you wear suspenders, you won’t have to worry about this at all! 2. Casual Suits Bolder patterns, material blends or brushed cotton, corduroy, etc.: Green : Brown every time, for all shades. Avoid black. : Brown every time, for all shades. Avoid black. Khaki: Dark browns work well. Avoid black. Dark browns work well. Avoid black. Tan: Cordovan, cherry and medium brown are great. Avoid black. Cordovan, cherry and medium brown are great. Avoid black. White/Off White : Two-toned shoes, such as brown-and-white spectators, are a dapper choice, but dark brown, mid-brown or reddish brown work as well. : Two-toned shoes, such as brown-and-white spectators, are a dapper choice, but dark brown, mid-brown or reddish brown work as well. Brown: As before, pair brown suits with brown shoes and skip black altogether. Click me 3. Sport Coat / Odd Jacket – Trouser Combination Fresco, Tweed, Thornproof, Cheviot, Donegal, Flannel, Worsted, Corduroy, Velvet, Cotton, Linen, Gabardine: Black : With black corduroy, tan leather boots (such as chukka boots or desert boots) are a good choice. Black dress pants worn with a sport coat will look best with black shoes, though more casual shoes like black loafers could be a good compromise in terms of formality. : With black corduroy, tan leather boots (such as chukka boots or desert boots) are a good choice. Black dress pants worn with a sport coat will look best with black shoes, though more casual shoes like black loafers could be a good compromise in terms of formality. Charcoal Grey : We suggest black over any form of brown. Dark brown can work, but avoid tan. : We suggest black over any form of brown. Dark brown can work, but avoid tan. Mid Grey: Black works, but dark brown and cherry are also good colors. Avoid tan shoes. Black works, but dark brown and cherry are also good colors. Avoid tan shoes. Blue: All kinds of brown men’s dress shoes can be worn with blue colors – cordovan, tan and dark brown can look especially smart. As before, you will garner more attention with a light tan shoe. All kinds of brown men’s dress shoes can be worn with blue colors – cordovan, tan and dark brown can look especially smart. As before, you will garner more attention with a light tan shoe. Denim: Basically, all kinds of brown leather shoes work well, even with black jeans (similar to the corduroy example above). Tan and cordovan oxblood will serve you well here. Leather boots are a natural pair for jeans, though anything with a higher ankle would naturally interfere with skinny jeans (not that we necessarily advocate for such a style)! Red : All shades of brown work well, though reddish brown can look a bit too deliberate. Dark brown and tan are good choices : All shades of brown work well, though reddish brown can look a bit too deliberate. Dark brown and tan are good choices Green : As before, try wearing brown every time, for all shades. Avoid black. : As before, try wearing brown every time, for all shades. Avoid black. Khaki: Dark browns work well. Avoid black. Dark browns work well. Avoid black. Tan: Cordovan, cherry and mid brown are great. Avoid black. Cordovan, cherry and mid brown are great. Avoid black. White / Off White : Go for two-toned footwear, dark brown, mid-brown, or reddish brown. : Go for two-toned footwear, dark brown, mid-brown, or reddish brown. Brown: Brown only. Brown only. Dark Brown: In a more smart-casual outfit such as this, tan works well when paired with dark brown. In a more smart-casual outfit such as this, tan works well when paired with dark brown. Miscellaneous: Brown is the best shoe and boot color for sport coats and contrasting trousers. Sometimes you may also see boots or shoes with fabric inserts, which can be quite stylish. When not to wear brown shoes If you wear formal morning dress (morning coat or stroller) or formal evening dress (white tie or black tie) you should not wear brown shoes – go with black. The exception for this exception could be a tuxedo in brown, as worn by Noël Coward, Nick Foulkes, or Lapo Elkann. In that case, a pair of matching velvet slippers could be an option, but that’s only for the very advanced clothes horse. Don’t wear brown shoes with black suits. Some traditionalists would argue that you should not wear brown shoes to the opera. However, if you look at the general dress code at operas today, you will likely be more well-dressed in a conservative pair of brown shoes than the other attendees. Change The Look Of Your Brown Shoes With Shoelaces One of the quickest and most simple ways to change the look and feel of your brown shoes is to simply change your shoelaces. The advantages are simple: it’s quick, easy, inexpensive and reversible … For quality cotton shoe and bootlaces for men’s dress shoes, click here. Brown Leather Textures You will notice that brown box calf leather and suede shoes have been becoming more popular in recent years. Buffalo, reindeer skin, and alligator have been classic, yet expensive, brown shoe leathers as well. Generally, you should keep in mind that shoes with more texture are less formal. Sometimes you may even see ostrich, pigskin, fish skin, or elephant hide for shoes. Most of the time, the last is not a classic shape and the entire shoe just screams for attention–as such, we would instead recommend wearing more traditional leather shoes with formal outfits, and with casual outfits, choices like brogues, brown suede shoes, brown loafers, or ankle boots. Leather Patina Unlike black leather shoes, brown shoes will develop a patina over time, which can be further enhanced by leather dyes and special polishing techniques. As an example, take a look at at this beautiful patina. Conclusion Brown shoes are not a substitute for black shoes, and every man should own at least one pair of black plain Oxfords. If you work in a white-collar environment, you can invest in a few pairs of black leather shoes, but otherwise go with brown because it is more versatile, it develops a fantastic patina over time, and it is the better color for casual outfits. If you don’t work in an office environment and rarely attend formal evening events, a single pair of black shoes may be enough for you, but you can never have enough brown shoes! If you like formal evening wear, invest in a pair of black patent leather Oxfords (in Austria Derby’s) or opera pumps – it is historically the correct choice for evening wear, even though some prefer polished calf skin for evening shoes. In the broad strokes, brown footwear–everything from loafers to lace-up boots, wing-tips to cowboy boots–sports an amazing versatility, and wearing brown shoes or boots with items as varied as button-down shirts and leather jackets will serve you well. All told, there’s a lot that brown can do for you.
There's a new Android phone available, so you know what that means: open source junkies get to take a look under the hood thanks to publicly-available kernel files. Motorola's post for the Moto G comes a few weeks after it officially went on sale,which is pretty typical. You can download the kernel source code for the Moto X over at SourceForge. There's only one Moto G model at the moment in a GSM flavor (though new models should be coming soon enough), so there's only one entry at the moment. You can expect the files for the Verizon version and any other localized variants to be posted at the same place just before or after their release. Kernel files are a big help for ROM developers. With a low price, wide availability, and a software that's pretty close to stock Android already, the Moto G should be very popular with the custom ROM community. There's already a group of XDA forums posted, complete with a healthy development sub-forum. ROM addicts, go get you dev on. Source: SourceForge
POLITICIANS never lie. So you should not be allowed to lie about them. That seems to be the logic behind an Ohio election law that makes it a crime, punishable by six months in prison and a $5,000 fine, to disseminate a falsehood about a candidate if it is “designed to promote” his election or defeat. Mudslingers are outraged. A brief filed to the Supreme Court on February 28th by P.J. O’Rourke, a satirist, and the Cato Institute, a think-tank, says the law “blatantly violates the First Amendment.” The case, which will be heard on April 22nd, was brought by the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA), an anti-abortion group, against the Ohio Elections Commission and Steve Driehaus, a former congressman from Ohio. In 2010 Mr Driehaus, a Democrat, voted for Obamacare. During the next election campaign, SBA planned to erect billboards in his district reading: “Shame on Steve Driehaus! Driehaus voted FOR taxpayer-funded abortion!” Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. Mr Driehaus believes that accusation to be false: although Obamacare subsidises the purchase of health insurance that may cover abortions, it forbids insurers from paying for abortions with federal funds. SBA scoffs that this is an accounting gimmick. Before the billboards went up, Mr Driehaus filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission. The complaint was eventually dropped, but the law’s chilling effect remains. The billboards never went up, and another group that wanted to oppose Mr Driehaus was scared off. Mr O’Rourke argues that “disparaging statements about one’s opponent (whether true, mostly true, mostly not true, or entirely fantastic) are cornerstones of American democracy.” After all, he asks, “where would we be without the knowledge that Democrats are pinko-communist flag-burners…who will steal all the guns and invite the UN to take over America”, while “Republicans [are] assault-weapon-wielding maniacs who believe that George Washington and Jesus Christ incorporated the nation.” More seriously, government is ill-suited to judge when a statement crosses the line into falsehood. (“Two Pinocchios out of five is OK, but three is illegal?” asks Mr O’Rourke, alluding to a scoring system used by the Washington Post’s Fact Checker—which sometimes disagrees with other media fact-checkers.) Forbidding “lies” will not produce political discourse filled with accuracy and brilliance; it will produce silence.
Pakistan does not have an enviable record in the sciences. The current Nature Index for research output places Pakistan at number 52 – just between Georgia and Bulgaria. However, there is currently a thriving amateur astronomy scene in several Pakistani cities, where the love of the sciences and the joy of sharing the knowledge of the night sky are in full display. Later this month, the various amateur astronomy societies in the country will gather together to launch a new umbrella organisation, The Astronomical League of Pakistan (ALOP). Given the state of the education and the sciences in the country, it is worth exploring the reasons for this unqualified success. I have been involved with and following the astronomy scene in Pakistan for close to thirty years. I was part of a group of FSc. Intermediate students in Karachi who started Amastropak, the first amateur astronomy society in Pakistan back in 1988. While there were ups and downs in the activities of the society over the years, it could never muster a critical mass of active members, and it eventually shut down in the late 1990s. But now things are different and I have never seen the state of amateur astronomy in Pakistan so lively and so strong. Last month I had the pleasure of meeting astronomy enthusiasts in Lahore and Karachi, and what a treat it was! Both the Lahore Astronomical Society (LAST) and the Karachi Astronomers Society (KAS) boast an active membership of well over a hundred each and they are passionate devotees of the night skies. Most of the members have day jobs unrelated to astronomy, but they squeeze every last second of their free time (or not so free time) for astronomy. The dark skies of Balochistan or rural Sindh are also a boon for those interested in deep space astrophotography The centre of gravity for LAST is Umair Asim and his Zeds Astronomical Observatory, built in 2003 on a residential roof. Named after his mother, Zahida, the observatory houses a state of the art 14-inch telescope (the size of the telescope is measured by the diameter of its main mirror). Some of the photographs taken from the telescope have been selected for the international Lunar Photo of the Day (LPOD) page – a first for Pakistan. While astrophotography is the observatory’s mainstay, Umair has recently added a spectrograph to the telescope. This instrument allows him to break the light coming from stars and planets into different components, and identify elements that make up these objects. Professional astronomers have historically used this technique to classify different types of stars. In fact, it is precisely because of this technique that astronomers know that we are made of ‘star stuff’. Instead of intuitively beautiful astronomy pictures, the beauty of spectroscopy can only be appreciated through understanding its underlying physics. It is in this tradition that Umair and his band of amateur astronomers recently replicated the classification system of stars, even while observing through the light-polluted skies of Lahore. It would have been hard to sustain this kind of enthusiasm had Umair been alone. Instead, he found others who love astronomy with the same passion and intensity. Indeed, he is now training some of them on how to use the telescope and take astronomical data. Four LAST members, including three women, are currently doing a telescope internship at Zeds Astronomical Observatory. Working with Umair, Amna Saleem and Roshaan Bukhari have already contributed over three hundred observations to international organisations such as the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). One of these interns, Roshaan Bukhari, is a former medical student, who left medical college in his fourth year with the aim of pursuing astronomy full-time. He hopes to start his undergraduate study in astronomy early next year. “I want every curious kid out there to know more about astronomy and their ‘place in space’,” he told me. “My ultimate goal is to help set up astronomy departments across all major universities in Pakistan. But first, I need to get the appropriate academic ‘miles’.” Amen to that. If astronomers in Lahore are focused on obtaining scientific data, then the ones in Karachi are into building their own telescopes and organising observing sessions from dark skies outside of the megacity. The focal point for Karachi Astronomers Society (KAS) is Kastrodome, an observatory that houses a 12.5-inch Newtonian telescope. A team of brothers, led by Mehdi Hussein, has been responsible for constructing the dome and building the telescope (the primary mirror was donated by a British astronomer, David Rutledge). If LAST holds training sessions on how to take data from the telescope, then KAS astronomers hold workshops on how to build your own telescope. One KAS member even started a business of importing telescopes and then selling them to astronomy enthusiasts in Pakistan. This is a thankless job, as getting a telescope through Customs as an individual can be harder than escaping the gravitational pull of a black hole. No doubt, the availability of telescopes in Pakistan has played a large role in the blossoming of astronomy in the country. One of the most exciting activities of KAS is Rutjaga (“stay up all night”). Once a month, KAS takes its members to a dark site, away from the lights of Karachi, for a night of astronomy and astrophotography. This started as a smaller activity in 2009, but now it attracts over a 100 people for each Rutjaga session. There is now so much interest, that the organisers have to place a cap on the numbers who can attend these night sessions. No doubt, some join these sessions for a sense of adventure, but a large fraction wants to get the best look at the rings of Saturn or to catch the glory of objects such as the Orion nebula, away from Karachi’s light pollution. Indeed, the dark skies of Balochistan or rural Sindh are also a boon for those interested in deep space astrophotography (you can learn more about it at rutjaga.com). The availability of telescopes has allowed Pakistanis to go beyond simply learning about the skies from books It is not just the night sky that has been the target of these astronomers. Both KAS and LAST have sophisticated telescopes for looking at the Sun (Readers: please don’t look at the Sun without a solar filter!) In fact, the nickname of one KAS member is Chacha Shamsi (Uncle Solar), as he specialises in taking pictures of the Sun. The Zeds Astronomical Observatory also hosts one of the largest solar telescopes in the country and has captured some spectacular images of the activity on the surface of the Sun. Perhaps one of the most awesome parts of the current astronomy scene in Pakistan is the desire of amateur astronomers to share with the public. It is easy to keep the telescopes to themselves. But public outreach is a cornerstone for both LAST and KAS, and it is not unusual for them to get 500 or 1,000 individuals show up for observing. LAST has been taking telescopes to public schools all over the country. The sight of young students (and their teachers) standing in long lines to glimpse at the Sun not only bodes well for the future of astronomy in country, but also shows that given an opportunity, students get excited about the sciences. In fact, Umair Asim received the 2014 Jon Wood award, from the international Charlie Bates Solar Astronomy Project, in recognition of his public outreach work. The award came with a solar telescope. One LAST member, Roshaan Bukhari, recently gave lectures in schools all across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, and received an outstanding response. Similarly, KAS has been taking a slew of telescopes for viewing at public parks and the Karachi Planetarium. KAS and LAST are not the only astronomy societies in the country, but they are certainly the most active. Apart from individuals pursuing this in different cities, you have the Pak Astronomers Islamabad (PAS), the Hyderabad Astronomical Society and Peshawar Astronomical Society. Then there is an active Khwarizmi Science Society (KSS), a Lahore-based group, which has often worked closely with LAST in organising public events. All this leads to the question: Why are we seeing such a flourishing interest in astronomy in Pakistan? After all, there is no significant State support for such an endeavor nor are there any organized activities at the school level. I think we can point to several reasons for this success. First, astronomy has an intrinsic broad public appeal. It doesn’t hurt that the spectacularly beautiful photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope garner worldwide attention, and force us, however briefly, to ponder about our place in the universe. Furthermore, science popularisers such as Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson have globalised astronomical wonder, and their respective versions of Cosmos have been available to television audiences in Pakistan as well. My own path to astronomy was paved after watching Sagan’s Cosmos when it aired in Pakistan in 1984. Second, the internet provides more than enough free information about astronomy. One of the challenges we had in the 1980s was the lack of astronomy books in our bookstores and libraries. Today, however, you can find not only the latest news about astronomy, but also, if you look carefully, detailed lessons about the foundations of astronomy online. The availability of telescopes in Pakistan has allowed people to go beyond simply learning about the skies from books, and gain practical experience. You can appreciate all the beauty of Saturn’s rings, taken by orbiting spacecraft, on your computer screen. But a glimpse of the rings through even a small telescope is a transcendental experience. If the government can make the import of telescopes and related accessories relatively pain-free, we may see a whole new generation of science and astronomy enthusiasts in the country. Perhaps the biggest reason astronomy is flourishing is that there is now a committed community of astronomers around and they are eager to spread their own knowledge and passion. This community did not materialise overnight. No one guided the process. No one pressed for any direction. But there has been a thread of continuity, sometimes tenuous and sometimes strong, over the past three decades, and it is that thread that provided comfort in knowing that are others who share common interests across local space and local time. We are now seeing a maturation of amateur astronomy in Pakistan. The formation of The Astronomical League of Pakistan (ALOP) is the logical next step. Given the enthusiasm of these astronomers and their eagerness to communicate wonders of astronomy to a wider audience, it is likely that in a couple of decades, we may see the development of a thriving astronomy scene at a professional level as well. In the mean time, let’s celebrate the renaissance of amateur astronomy in Pakistan. Salman Hameed is Associate Professor of Integrated Science and Humanities at Hampshire College, Massachusetts, USA. He hosts an astronomy show in Urdu called Science ka Adda (sciencekaadda.com) and co-hosts, with Umair Asim, another show in Urdu, Hamari Kainaat (hamarikainaat.com). He runs a blog at irtiqa-blog.com. This article was originally published by The Friday Times.
Are the police departments of Ferguson and St. Louis County, Missouri, involved in a conspiracy to obstruct justice in the case of Michael Brown’s murder? It seems disturbingly possible, given their actions over the past month, hiding basic evidentiary information from the public in direct violation of the state’s sunshine laws—and perhaps not even gathering it in the first place. This raises the further possibly that evidence is being hidden from criminal investigators as well, particularly since the investigators have shown no great interest, much less zeal, in getting to the truth of the matter. On Aug. 15, the world saw Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson belatedly release Darren Wilson’s name—and no other information at all about the killing of Michael Brown—while at the same time releasing a report (followed by a video) on an unrelated robbery that Brown was apparently involved in. On Aug. 20 and 21, first St. Louis County, then Ferguson released incident reports on the shootings—reports virtually devoid of any information. These highly questionable revelations stirred a fair amount of public outrage, but few people seemed to realize how truly sinister they were, or how they connected to much broader patterns of official lawlessness that have long bedeviled St. Louis County, and Missouri more generally, as well as many other jurisdictions across the land. Advertisement: On Sept. 5, TheBlot magazine reported that Chief Jackson had lied on Aug. 15, when he claimed that he released the robbery report and video because of numerous media requests. Public records released to TheBlot showed that no one had specifically asked for either of them, while many people had asked for information about the killing of Michael Brown, which Jackson refused to release at that time. Chief Jackson’s press statement at the time thus contained at least two big misstatements—first that information about the robbery was released because of media requests, and second that he was releasing all the information requested relative to the shooting of Michael Brown: “So, we’ve had this tape for a while, and we had to diligently review the information that was in the tape, determine if there was any other reason to keep it, anybody else that would be charged with a crime, and we had determined that that was not going to be the case. We got a lot of Freedom of Information requests for this tape, and at some point it was just determined we had to release it. We didn’t have good cause, absent any other reason to not release it under FOI. So we decided, the same time, wouldn't be prudent to release that information, which could be a little bit...i don't know... well, we needed to release that at the same time we would release the name of the officer who was involved in the shooting, so that we could just keep open, give you all the information that we have. We've pretty much given you every bit of information that we have now, I don't think there's anything else that we have to give out.” But while Jackson’s high-profile statement may have been outrageously false and misleading, it’s the underlying actions of his department in the shadows that are downright criminal, part of a seemingly routine pattern of actual lawbreaking by the police themselves, both in Ferguson and St. Louis County—a persistent pattern that hasn’t stopped, according to emails provided to Salon even though the Department of Justice has announced it’s going to investigate both organizations. In fact, police are now using the DOJ investigation itself as an excuse for further violations of the sunshine law, relating to arrests of protesters who continue demonstrating in Ferguson, according to emails provided to Salon (details below). The emails come from Charles Grapski, a legal and political theorist and political scientist, as well as an active citizen with decades of experience filing public records requests, including work with local activists and lawyers in different states across the nation. “It's made me public enemy number one in the state of Florida,” Grapski said. It was Florida that first enacted sunshine laws, giving them their name. But that doesn’t mean public officials love them any more there than they do elsewhere. It was Grapski, who now blogs for Photography Is Not a Crime (PINAC), who aggressively pressed for the release of police documents after the ACLU and others had been stonewalled, and the ACLU had filed suit—a suit that is still pending. Advertisement: Anthony Rothert, of the Missouri ACLU, explained that the lawsuit only reflected one aspect of the ACLU’s concerns. “When this incident happened in Ferguson, the ACLU had several concerns,” he said, “among them being the First Amendment rights of protesters, and the militarized police response, but one of the pieces of it was transparency in the investigation.” This was not an unusual situation, he explained: I don't think it's unique to this story that police departments often operate with lack of transparency, and that really deteriorates the trust that the community has in the police departments. So you have a pretty good law in Missouri, on paper, the Sunshine Law requires incident reports to be made public, and arrest records to be made public, right away, and requires investigative reports to be made public at conclusion of investigations. But time and again police departments do not release those records unless it is favorable to them. The ACLU, though a thorn in the side, is part of the legal system. Working through the courts is the lifeblood of what they do. But Grapski’s approach is more of an outsider’s one—and thus, more blunt. Thus, he unabashedly points out that both Ferguson and St. Louis County police have clearly broken the state’s open records law by holding back incident reports about the shooting, which should have begun with a report by the officer involved, Darren Wilson, while Ferguson is also withholding a use-of-force report, which should have been generated by Wilson’s commanding officer and gone up the chain of command all the way to the chief. Grapski has posted highly detailed accounts of both failures in two blog posts at PINAC (incident reports, Aug. 25/use of force reports, Aug. 29), with extensive documentation, including pdfs of relevant rules and regulations, as well as the correspondence involved. (More on these below.) “Ferguson is deliberately violating both the laws and its own policies to prevent any information from being produced and made public that could be used to hold Officer Wilson to account for his actions,” Grapski wrote in the Aug. 29 post, and he repeated this in interviews with Salon. Advertisement: “They are committing criminal offenses themselves,” Grapski said of both police departments’ public records violations. “It's not a high crime, but it is class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to year in prison, and a pretty significant fine, by withholding, by knowingly not complying with the public records law. The records law has teeth, and that is it has criminal sanctions.” Rothert told Salon something similar, but slightly different. “From what we can tell right now it looks like the Ferguson Police Department never did an incident report,” he said, “which would be contrary to their policy, it would be contrary to the law, and quite, quite suspicious, not to take even an initial statement from someone who’s killed another person.” Grapski believes the report was created, but then buried. Originally the ACLU was told that the report existed, but that it could not be released due to the bogus claim that it was an investigatory document (which it is not, under Missouri law). However, it may take a trial, with full discovery, to finally settle the matter of what was created when. Either way, however, the police have not followed procedure, violating both their own internal policies and Missouri state law. Is there a sinister conspiracy involved as well? Or is this just business as usual? Or does business as usual include and promote sinister conspiracies as a matter of course? These are the questions raised by the ongoing cover-up of public records surrounding the killing of Michael Brown, and the ongoing protests as well. Advertisement: Two distracting lies have been floated with particular damage to public understanding of the ongoing cover-up, both of which Grapski has meticulously refuted. First is the claim that such reports were not public records—a claim that depends on confusing standard police reports identified as public records under law with investigative reports undertaken in special circumstances, which rely on standard reports as their starting point. Second is the claim that no report had to be filed, because of Wilson’s Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. This neglects the existence of the use-of-force document, which should have been created by another officer by direction of his watch commander, and it misconstrues Wilson’s obligations as an officer, which require him to file an incident report, even if it implicates him in a crime. He can, of course, refuse to file that report. But that refusal is itself a policy violation, and grounds for immediate firing—none of which consequences Wilson has faced. Although such details have remained obscured from public view, they are well understood by insiders. For example, the ACLU’s initial Aug. 12 request for the incident report on Michael Brown’s shooting clearly distinguished the report they were asking for from the any investigative report which properly could be withheld until the investigation was complete. In a footnote, the ACLU specifically noted that "Unlike 'investigative reports,' which may be closed until the investigation becomes inactive, '[a]ll incident reports and arrest reports shall be open records.' Mo.Rev.Stat.§ 610.100.2." Yet, despite this clear presentation of the law—with a specific citation—police officials not only ignored what was legally required, they pretended to the broader public that there was not even a question to be raised. Advertisement: But it’s the work of Grapski, who speacializes in the use of sunshine laws to empower citizens and hold government officials accountable, that illuminates the big picture of what’s going on in this case. “We cannot wait for ‘leaders’ to do the job for us. In fact that notion of leadership--or authority--is part of the problem that got us here in the first place,” Grapski told Salon. “We all must ‘lead’ as citizens--which is the highest office in a democratic society.” Grapski’s Aug. 25 blog post documents a detailed investigation, first aimed at trying to get public information about the shooting, then at documenting the lawbreaking involved in thwarting that effort. At the beginning of his post, Grapski explains: Let me explain how these reports were released in response to citizens filing legal demands under Missouri’s Sunshine Law – and then show how further public records requests have revealed that the Police officials are “knowingly” refusing to comply with the law and the rules on what these reports MUST contain and that the public is ENTITLED BY RIGHT to have that information. The unlawful denial of the records is a civil violation of the law – but the “knowing” violation constitutes a Class A Misdemeanor in Missouri. Grapski begins by laying out how others initiated the process. (He explained to Salon that he had been heavily involved in ongoing activities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since May—the site of almost 30 police killings since 2010, and the subject of a scathing DOJ report—but was keeping on eye on things in Ferguson, until he saw the system failing.) Advertisement: The story begins on Aug. 12, when the Missouri ACLU made a public records request under Missouri’s sunshine law--asking the St. Louis County Police Department for its incident report of the shooting. In its request, the ACLU specifically asked, "If any part of this request is denied, please send a letter listing the specific exemptions upon which you rely for each denial and provide the contact information for the official to whom I may appeal. Mo. Re. Stat. § 610.023.4,” and—as noted above—in a footnote it stated that "Unlike 'investigative reports,' which may be closed until the investigation becomes inactive, '[a]ll incident reports and arrest reports shall be open records.' Mo.Rev.Stat. § 610.100.2." Nonetheless, the next day, the request was denied with a handwritten note signed "St. Louis County PD -- Record Room" which simply said: “in ref to your request for incident report involving Michael Brown. This is an on-going investigation and we are unable to release a copy at this time.” The next day, the ACLU filed a lawsuit to compel the county to produce the record -- and for other relief. The National Bar Association also filed suit on Aug. 18. In his post, Grapski comments, “At that point in time – the Police Department DID NOT produce the record because of the lawsuit – but was ready and willing to use that process of DELAY to keep denying production. This was soon to change.” It changed because Grapski became involved. On Sunday, Aug. 17, he submitted his own public records request, adopting a much more no-nonsense tone: Advertisement: THIS IS NOT a request for records of the INVESTIGATION into this matter. Thus if you respond to this that these records are not available at this time because of an ongoing investigation -- you will be VIOLATING THE LAW and as this is notice to you that there is no such exemption pertaining to INCIDENT REPORTS in Missouri law -- if you make such a claim -- your violation will be KNOWING and WILLFUL -- and will constitute not only an offense under Missouri Law but will constitute a knowing and willful violation of your OATH OF OFFICE. At the same time, Grapski told Salon, “I took a weekend to try something I'd never done before, but I've been planning on doing.” He reached out “to get a lot of people making the request, because it proves people are watching, and people are interested. It proves that this is an issue of great public importance, and it adds potentiality for multiple litigants, which puts them on guard.” First via PINAC, and then other channels, he spread the word, “and by Monday morning we had about 160 people making the request.” Grapski then did what he always does when officials are already playing games—he put in a phone call to the responding official, Lt. Burk. Burk’s initial response was “a little offputting,” Grapski said: Burk claimed that the county PD’s email had been down all weekend. “Later it turned out that they were blaming this on an alleged anonymous attack, but I actually don't think they were attacked,” Grapski added. “I think they actually turned their email system off over the weekend.” So he had to resubmit his request, and re-contact everyone else who had participated as well. But once Burk acknowledged receiving the email, he seemed to strike a much more conciliatory tone. “He said to me on the phone that day, it is a public record and it's not exempt, contrary to what was sent from his office to the ACLU,” Grapski said. Things still got delayed—Burk explained that he got called out into the field to Ferguson on Tuesday, but emailed Grapski to say “they would have it next thing next Wednesday morning, which is when I got it.” But then came the next couple of hitches. First, the timing, then the content. “When I looked at the document, it doesn't even get created until that Tuesday and then it's signed off on by the supervisor that Wednesday, so there's all sorts of games going on. And then when I got it, I immediately called him and I said, ‘This is the most ridiculous looking thing I've ever gotten in response to a public records request. There's nothing in it!’ He said, ‘Well that's what's legally required.’ And I'm like, ‘That's just not the case.’” Advertisement: In his blog post, Grapski explained: He stated to me that the Legal Division had stated that Incident Reports only contained THREE items of information: Date, Time, and Location. I told them that was not the case – at least not in any agency I had ever seen. In fact I brought to his attention the Incident Report of the alleged robbery by Brown that the Ferguson Police eagerly released [pdf here] – with no purpose other than to discredit Brown and portray him in a bad light – in the “defense” of the officer. Clearly if that Report was routinely filed, this one should be. If that Report was releasable and not exempt from the Public Records Law, this one too should be. Going further, Grapski then researched Missouri’s sunshine law, the relevant portion of which reads as follows: 610.100 Revised Missouri Statutes: (4) “Incident report”, a record of a law enforcement agency consisting of the date, time, specific location, name of the victim and immediate facts and circumstances surrounding the initial report of a crime or incident, including any logs of reported crimes, accidents and complaints maintained by that agency; Obviously, the police were still playing games, placing themselves above the law. The local police were playing games as well. “Ferguson, if you remember, told the press, and told people requesting it from them, that because it hands the incident over to the prosecutor there was no report. Well, they then released a report, but it was heavily redacted; they redacted everything out to comply with this three-item idea that was put forth by the County police – day, time, location. So they stripped everything else out, but left in was the date it was created; and I've also got another record to show that there was something created on the ninth, as a report,” but it apparently wasn’t completed. Advertisement: If you’re getting confused, you should be. The creation of confusion seems to be part of the intent. Clarity would lead to Darren Wilson’s arrest and conviction. Clarity would lead to justice. Obfuscation is the order of the day. But even those pursuing the hidden records are seemingly not immune to the confusion being spread. As already noted, Grapski argues that the St. Louis County report was created after he requested it—and hence is not the same report that the county previously refused to release to the ACLU. But according Rothert, the ACLU itself isn’t so sure. “Yes, I think it's possible,” he said of Grapski’s account, but quickly warned, “We're not sure what the dates mean. Maybe the dates are when they printed them out.” This stands in sharp contrast to what he said above regarding the Ferguson police—that the ACLU doubts they ever did an original incident report. But they intend to find out. “One of the benefits to being in litigation about it is we will be able to do some depositions and ask,” he added. Grapski’s post also shared what he uncovered in Ferguson’s policy on police report procedures, regarding incident reports. “And this really spells trouble for the Ferguson Police,” he noted. Here’s what the policy says about when incident reports are required: 406.02 REPORTS A. When Required: Officers are required to complete written police reports when the following incident(s) are reported: 1. violations of law or ordinance 2. arrests for any charge 3. use of force 4. motor vehicle traffic crashes as defined in General Order 486.00 5. protective custody 6. damage to city property 7. any situation which may result in civil action or complaint against the department After presenting that information, Grapski wrote: "Clearly (1), (3), and (7) – and possibly (2) since the clear intent was to make an arrest of Brown – apply to Darren Wilson and this incident. Thus HE was REQUIRED to file – at minimum – an Incident Report (also a Use of Force statement – which is also pending production upon a request that I have filed…)." Advertisement: The requirement for the missing narrative details is underscored by another section Grapski also quotes: "C. Information required in reports: The I.T.I. computer report system has required fields for data entry. In addition to completing these fields, an officer’s narrative as to the nature, facts and officer actions are required in all reports." Thus it is clear from multiple sources, in both state law and Ferguson police policy, that public information is being illegally withheld. In his post, Grapski also goes into more detail about what Missouri law says regarding penalties, and he takes up the issue of Wilson’s purported Fifth Amendment defense, as mentioned above. He explains why it fails in greater detail, noting that “an Incident Report is not testimony in an investigation by the government agency into the actions of the officer,” which is why it can be compelled. Refusal to complete it is grounds for firing. Furthermore, a Fifth Amendment claim would also create a public record, which does not exist: [I]f an officer does invoke their fifth amendment right, they must do so explicitly and formally. Thus if such an invocation of the right against providing self-incriminating testimony occurred on the part of Officer Wilson there would, again, have to be a public record to this effect. So I made that request of the Ferguson Police Department. In their response, that there was no such record, they have thus answered the question: No, Wilson has not invoked the fifth amendment. In the end, he concludes: This is thus evidence that both agencies – and thus their commanding officers – deem themselves to be “above” the law. Evidence that they approach the law, and law enforcement, without an actual respect for the law. And that they believe there are “two sets” of laws – one that they enforce on “us” the citizens, and another for “them.” Herein lies the core of the problem with the out-of-control police across the country. It thus becomes incumbent on the Citizenry itself to hold them to account and to force the system to enforce the law upon the agencies they entrust with authority and the power to exercise it. Grapski’s Aug. 29 post looking at use-of-force documents is similarly revealing, with multiple, intricate twists and turns. However, the key take-away is strikingly simple: Not just officer Warren, but his entire chain of command was derelict in its duties to file a use-of-force report. The regulations Grapski obtained clearly spell this out, when a weapon is discharged: 3. The watch commander shall respond to the scene and be responsible for the command and protection of the scene until the arrival of the Bureau of Investigations investigator(s). He shall assist, as necessary, in the investigation of the incident and arrange to have a police officer, not involved, prepare the original report. 4. The watch commander will complete the Use of Force Report F-080 and forward it through the chain of command to the Chief. 5. The Chief of Police will direct the Professional Standards Officer to conduct an administrative review of all incidents where a gunshot wound is inflicted. So far, no reports have been furnished. Whether any of the required procedures were followed remains to be seen. At the end of this post, Grapski concludes: We have proof of one thing: the entire department (actually two departments) are actively defying the law and their policies to cover-up the facts of what Officer Wilson did that day. And to deny the right of the public to obtain those facts in the records the police are required to keep. In this case, therefore, there is ample reason – in fact actual evidence – for the public to have no faith or confidence in anything these Departments, their officials, or the officers employed therein do or say. And certainly there is no reason to trust that they can honestly and faithfully participate in the process inquiring into and investigating the shooting by Officer Wilson. The problem is not limited to these two entities, of course. As Rothert noted, “time and again police departments do not release those records unless it is favorable to them.” Grapski’s big-picture view is clear. “We must become fully committed to becoming ACTIVE Citizens once again within a democratic society and with a democratic form of governance,” he told Salon in a followup email. “Democracy is still ‘self-governance’ even when we add to it mechanisms of representation or delegation of authority. The ultimate responsibility still lies with the Citizens to be the driving force in society. Those other ‘official’ actors are not the leaders of our society/nation -- but the means whereby the Citizens themselves direct our present and shape our future.” Sunshine laws are crucial to this process—without them citizens can’t possibly direct anything significant, except in the most broad-based terms, and that low-resolution standard is what we’ve been told we should be overjoyed with. And if it requires human sacrifice from time to time… Well, usually it doesn’t, right? Usually it’s much more low-key. When the national attention fades away, and things return to “normal.” Which is what’s now happening in Ferguson, as the same old patterns continue—but with a new twist. On Sunday, Sept. 7, protesters were arrested for “Manner of Walking"—which is not an arrestable offense, and "failure to comply," which Grapski explains is how traffic-law style violations are turned into arrestable criminal offenses, thus intimidating protesters as a whole, as well as the wider community. Grapski sent a public records request for incident reports the following day, Sept. 8. Three days later, Grapski received a response from Stephanie Karr, a private attorney who serves as Ferguson’s city attorney—a common practice in St. Louis County, stating in part: Please be advised that it will take longer than three (3) days [the legal maximum] to process the request. The Department of Justice is currently reviewing those same records and they will not be available for City officials to retrieve, review and copy them until sometime later. The Justice Department has not provided a date by which their review of those records will be complete. To which Grapski responded the same day: "The DOJ reviewing of those records should not prevent your compliance with the state's Sunshine laws. Your responsibilities remain -- and you need to get a COPY of the records from the DOJ to be in compliance with MO law." In short, Ferguson is not only continuing its pattern of violating Missouri’s sunshine laws, it is now seeking to implicate the DOJ as co-conspirators! Apparently, such is the depth of its institutional commitment to lawlessness. But the actions of those responding to the emails are only symptoms of the real problem, Grapski said. “I believe the ‘front people’ are not the core of the problem. I believe they are being given ‘instructions’ at every step as to what to respond -- by the lawyers for the different agencies. And those lawyers know exactly what they are doing.” In light of this pattern, Salon asked Grapski just how useful the DOJ investigation could be, and how much trust could be placed in the façade of inter-agency cooperation that the DOJ and the two local police departments have presented recently. “The DOJ investigation is a step in the right direction, but it's not the solution,” Grapski said. He noted that he’s still active in Albuquerque, again citing the DOJ’s “scathing review” of local law enforcement. But, he noted, due to lack of transparency, the community there still doesn’t feel it’s a part of process of correcting the system. It’s not something others can do for us, Grapski argues. It’s up to us, as active citizens, to do it for ourselves. Looking forward in Ferguson itself, Grapski has secured a lawyer to pursue legal action against police departments, with his sights set on going all the way to Missouri’s supreme court, if necessary. The law may be very good on paper, as the ACLU has said, but to give it teeth, the highest court in the state may well need to weigh in. The lawyer has offered to do most of the work pro bono, Grapski told Salon, but he’s opened a fundraising site to raise the initial $5,000 retainer. The continued shenanigans, trying to use the DOJ investigations as a shield, are just the latest indication of how deeply entrenched the resistance is, and how great the need is for a sweeping change.
Homes at risk as families are billed for medical care repayment after loved ones die. Richard Pfieffer shows the $25,347 bill from Medicaid for home-based medical care his mother received before her death at age 92. The repayment is allowed as part of Medicaid estate recovery. (Photo11: Bob Bielk, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press) Story Highlights States can force families to repay benefits as part of Medicaid estate recovery Repayment is more than 20 years old, but received new attention with Affordable Care Act More people with homes and retirement nest eggs can qualify for Medicaid since it is income based ASBURY PARK, N.J. — After their 92-year-old mother died, Richard Pfieffer and his siblings were set to sell her New Jersey home when a bill for $25,347 brought them up short. The amount was the total cost of the home-based medical care their mother received through Medicaid in the last years of her life. If the bill wasn't paid in full, the family was informed, the state would place a lien on the property. STORY: Medicaid enrollment is health law's bright spot STORY: Momentum builds for Medicaid expansion in states "It was like, 'What the hell are they talking about?' " said Pfieffer, 65. Although it often comes as a shock to families, Medicaid has worked this way for more than 20 years. By law, the state can force the families of deceased Medicaid recipients to sell off their loved one's home, heirloom jewelry and other possessions to repay the cost of whatever benefits the person received from age 55 on. With the cost of end-of-life nursing home care often exceeding $100,000 per year, the amounts can be staggering. What's more, the state can tack on thousands of dollars in administrative fees to the bill, which have little to do with direct medical care for a patient. It's called Medicaid estate recovery, and New Jersey happens to be one of the more aggressive states when it comes to seeking reimbursement. In the last four years, the state has brought in nearly $40 million, state records show. Now there's a new twist. These same rules will apply to those 55 and older who receive health insurance through Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The federal health care law, which went into effect Jan. 1, is expected to add 7 million Americans to the Medicaid rolls this year alone, according to projections by the Congressional Budget Office. Already, 3.1 million people have qualified for Medicaid through federal and state health insurance exchanges, according to the latest figures released by the Obama administration. Not only are the Medicaid rolls increasing, but the new enrollees are more likely to have assets that the state can tap down the road. “They don't usually grab (the recipient's home) until the other spouse dies or tries to sell it.” Donald D. Vanarelli, attorney Prior to the ACA, only low-income children, families and pregnant women and adults who were elderly, blind or disabled could qualify for New Jersey's Medicaid program, called NJ FamilyCare. Some 1.3 million New Jerseyans were enrolled last year. By adopting the ACA's new eligibility rules, however, New Jersey now provides Medicaid to nondisabled adults without dependent children with incomes up to 133% of federal poverty guidelines. That works out to $15,282 for an individual, or $20,629 for a couple. The change means more people with homes and retirement nest eggs can qualify for Medicaid, including jobless white-collar workers, early retirees, and possibly even the super-rich, since the ACA bases eligibility solely on income, not the individual's assets. Under the new rules, even someone who owns a multimillion-dollar home and a Lear jet could qualify, provided their income is low enough. In fact, Medicaid is the default option for anyone, rich or poor, whose income falls under the new threshold. By virtue of being eligible for Medicaid, those individuals can't receive a government subsidy to purchase a private health plan. They can, however, choose to pay full price for a private plan, or forgo health insurance altogether and pay a fine — neither of which would pose much of an obstacle in the case of a wealthy individual. Estate recovery doesn't affect young enrollees It's not Obamacare itself that's "picking the pockets" of poor Medicaid recipients after their death, as some critics of the health care law have characterized it. Rather, the controversy stems from the confluence of the ACA and an existing federal estate recovery law, which a Democratic-controlled Congress passed in 1993 in the first year of Bill Clinton's presidency, in an effort to curb skyrocketing Medicaid outlays. Medicaid experts and elder law attorneys say it's important to keep the estate recovery issue in perspective. For one thing, younger Medicaid enrollees have little to worry about, since the federal and state estate recovery laws pertain only to benefits received from age 55 on. “We have found that there has been a growing problem of people trying to get very, very creative, taking advantage of loopholes ... to figure out how they can shelter enormous amounts of money to the benefit of their family, while requiring no kind of obligation on behalf of that family towards the parent's care.” Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors Nor will the state go after assets owned by a surviving spouse, or those of a dependent or disabled child, and its policy is not to force the sale of a home while the surviving spouse or another resident family member is living there. "They don't usually grab (the recipient's home) until the other spouse dies or tries to sell it," said the Pfieffers' attorney, Donald D. Vanarelli. Also, asset recovery doesn't affect those who receive Medicare, a different government health insurance program for those 65 and older. The families of deceased recipients also have to pay "capitation" or administrative fees. The current fee for recipients who are elderly, blind or disabled is $454 per month, or $5,449 per year. Still, by planning far enough ahead, it's possible to shield many assets from recovery, elder law attorneys say. Some of these steps have to be taken at least five years prior to applying for Medicaid. "It's easy to get around if you know what to do," said Thomas D. Begley Jr., a lawyer. Small sums recovered An AARP Inc. report published in 2004 found that states recovered a total of just $347.4 million in 2003, only 0.13% of total Medicaid spending that year. Those figures beg the question: Why even bother, if the amount recovered is so insignificant? Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors, said one of the aims of the federal law is to deter recipients and their families from gaming the system. As it stands, Medicaid is virtually the only source of long-term care coverage in the U.S., Salo said. "As such, we have found that there has been a growing problem of people trying to get very, very creative, taking advantage of loopholes, or using estate planners and elder trust attorneys to figure out how they can shelter enormous amounts of money to the benefit of their family, while requiring no kind of obligation on behalf of that family towards the parent's care," he said. Limit of $2,000 To qualify for long-term care under Medicaid, individuals generally can't have more than $2,000 in total assets, but the person's stake in their home doesn't count toward that amount. For older adults, then, Medicaid works something like a reverse mortgage, Salo said, enabling low-income individuals to use their homes as collateral for the government benefits they need, with the understanding that the state may seek reimbursement later on. "I think it's good government," he said. Salo, for one, doesn't believe the expansion of Medicaid will have much of an impact on recovery efforts across the country. Unless a recipient racks up significant medical costs, for an open-heart surgery, for example, it may be cost-prohibitive for the state to seek reimbursement, he said. However, two states, Washington and Oregon, already have amended their recovery laws to exempt new Medicaid enrollees, after news reports sparked a public outcry. Richard Pfieffer, however, said he has shared his experience with his friends and relatives as a cautionary tale. Though he and his siblings hired an attorney, in the end they had to repay the state in full out of the proceeds from the sale of their mother's home. "I say, 'Guys, be careful with Medicaid, because if you receive benefits, be prepared to pay every penny back,' " he said. Protecting your assets It is considered a crime to hide assets from the government in order to qualify for Medicaid, but there are a number of legal ways to structure an estate to qualify for coverage, elder law attorneys say. The options may include: • Transferring ownership of the home to a spouse. • Giving gifts to family members other than a spouse. • Leaving a spouse the minimum allowed by law in a will. • Transferring assets to an irrevocable trust or transferring a home to a family member other than a spouse while retaining a life estate, a type of joint ownership arrangement, in the home. • The rules governing Medicaid and estate recovery are notoriously complex, however, so it is best to consult with a reputable elder law attorney, experts say. For help finding an attorney, visit the website of the National Elder Law Foundation. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1baQVx4
Your perception of vaping may range anywhere from “that is a thing only douches and dirtbags do” to “I am a dirtbag or douche and that is a thing I do.” Maybe there’s a third option out there, who knows. It is a massively successful industry, theoretically healthier than smoking and certainly less smelly, and it has birthed a pop-up industry of vape shops in strip malls throughout the country. In them, kids gather and do their best impression of Austin Lawrence, a.k.. “The Vape God.” GQ profiled Lawrence at his strip-mall emporium of vape-related paraphernalia Vertigo Vaporium, and some of the details are what you’d expect. He uses the phrase really sick a lot; he has 330,000 followers on Instagram, a tidy following that has netted him a DM and real-life acquaintanceship with Drake; prior to vaping, he spent most of his time playing Runescape and Halo. All of which sort of goes with the territory, but then the videos of the actual vape tricks look this: Advertisement Or this: Advertisement Or this: They’re… extremely rad. A lot start with detailed shots of him tweaking his luxurious rigs, but they generally climax in him conjuring a fucking pirate ship made of galactic stardust using cranberry-flavored vape smoke. Advertisement Anyway, look: You may not exactly consider, as Lawrence does, that vaping is “kind of an art form, kind of,” but there has to be a greatest vaper in the world, and it’s good to know, at least, who wears the crown. Check out the whole profile for many more details on what it takes to achieve vaping greatness.
bellabacon fagaction Jul 13th, 2011 18,973 Never 18,973Never Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up , it unlocks many cool features! rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint text 3.06 KB I put one finger into her delicate hole, and with my tongue began to furiously lick her pleasure button. She moaned in pleasure. I put another finger in and began to rhythmically pump fingers into her body. Then, just as my tongue was going to dive into her sensuous crevice, I smelled something mouth watering. I stopped to catch the ribbons of the scent. “Don't stop,” she commanded. I realized what I was smelling. It was the sweetest, most succulent of all substances, menstrual blood. I couldn't help myself and so I stuck my tongue deeper into her center, trying to suck the blood out. It oozed, a mixture of blood and juices. I got frustrated at it's slow trickle, and before I knew it, I had bitten off her labia minoras. She screamed in pain, trying to push me off, but it was of no use. I was too strong. “Your..your...eating me!” she shouted in betweens cries of anguish. “That's what you wanted,” I woefully reminded her as I bit down on her engorged pleasure button. After I had my fill, I realized that Bella had passed out, from the pain or the blood, I truly couldn't tell the difference. “OH SWEET MERLIN'S CELLPHONE, WHAT HAVE I DONE?” Bella's vagina was destroyed, her uterus was centimeters away from falling out. “Oh my my sweet sweet refuse heap,” I cried as I shoved her organs haphazardly back into her body. “Your vagina will never be normal, I've destroyed your sweet succulent pleasure button.” “Edwaaaaaaard,” she let out in a low moan. “Oh Bella!” I yelled in happiness. I pressed my ear against her chest to hear her heart flutter, “Your alive.” “Edwwwaaard, I can't feel anything from my waist down,” she said sloppily. “Bella forgive me, your dead blood and your vaginal juices got me carried away.” “I love you Edwaaaaarrd,” she moaned, “pleeaasseee fuuuuhhhiiixxxx meeeee.” “Oh yes Bella, I will reconstruct your vagina. Granted it'll look like a botched trans gender surgery, but I swear, I'll make you as good as new.” “Caaaaaan't youuu jussst turrrrn meeee inttooooo a vaaaampirre?” she asked. “Oh Bella, I see what tricks your trying to pull, I told you, I will not and cannot turn you into a vampire.” “But, I'll die otherrrwiiise,” she said. “Silence my juicy brisket,” I said, punching her in the mouth to make sure she didn't say another word. I ran into the kitchen and from the refrigerator grabbed a pack of raw bacon, then I looked in my room for duct tape. I reconstructed her vagina with the duct tape and a empty paper towel roll. Then I duct taped bacon on top if it to reconstruct her succulent coral red vaginal lips. “Oh Bella,” I said. “You smell better than ever.” I sniffed her until I couldn't smell the raw bacon any longer. Suddenly there was a loud crash, Jacob Black was in wolf form and in my room. “Get back you beast!” I yelled. He did a nose dive for Bella's bacon lips and devoured my masterpiece. “NOOOOOO!” I yelled in defeat. My cries of anguish filled the room, but were masked by Jacob's snarls and bites. RAW Paste Data I put one finger into her delicate hole, and with my tongue began to furiously lick her pleasure button. She moaned in pleasure. I put another finger in and began to rhythmically pump fingers into her body. Then, just as my tongue was going to dive into her sensuous crevice, I smelled something mouth watering. I stopped to catch the ribbons of the scent. “Don't stop,” she commanded. I realized what I was smelling. It was the sweetest, most succulent of all substances, menstrual blood. I couldn't help myself and so I stuck my tongue deeper into her center, trying to suck the blood out. It oozed, a mixture of blood and juices. I got frustrated at it's slow trickle, and before I knew it, I had bitten off her labia minoras. She screamed in pain, trying to push me off, but it was of no use. I was too strong. “Your..your...eating me!” she shouted in betweens cries of anguish. “That's what you wanted,” I woefully reminded her as I bit down on her engorged pleasure button. After I had my fill, I realized that Bella had passed out, from the pain or the blood, I truly couldn't tell the difference. “OH SWEET MERLIN'S CELLPHONE, WHAT HAVE I DONE?” Bella's vagina was destroyed, her uterus was centimeters away from falling out. “Oh my my sweet sweet refuse heap,” I cried as I shoved her organs haphazardly back into her body. “Your vagina will never be normal, I've destroyed your sweet succulent pleasure button.” “Edwaaaaaaard,” she let out in a low moan. “Oh Bella!” I yelled in happiness. I pressed my ear against her chest to hear her heart flutter, “Your alive.” “Edwwwaaard, I can't feel anything from my waist down,” she said sloppily. “Bella forgive me, your dead blood and your vaginal juices got me carried away.” “I love you Edwaaaaarrd,” she moaned, “pleeaasseee fuuuuhhhiiixxxx meeeee.” “Oh yes Bella, I will reconstruct your vagina. Granted it'll look like a botched trans gender surgery, but I swear, I'll make you as good as new.” “Caaaaaan't youuu jussst turrrrn meeee inttooooo a vaaaampirre?” she asked. “Oh Bella, I see what tricks your trying to pull, I told you, I will not and cannot turn you into a vampire.” “But, I'll die otherrrwiiise,” she said. “Silence my juicy brisket,” I said, punching her in the mouth to make sure she didn't say another word. I ran into the kitchen and from the refrigerator grabbed a pack of raw bacon, then I looked in my room for duct tape. I reconstructed her vagina with the duct tape and a empty paper towel roll. Then I duct taped bacon on top if it to reconstruct her succulent coral red vaginal lips. “Oh Bella,” I said. “You smell better than ever.” I sniffed her until I couldn't smell the raw bacon any longer. Suddenly there was a loud crash, Jacob Black was in wolf form and in my room. “Get back you beast!” I yelled. He did a nose dive for Bella's bacon lips and devoured my masterpiece. “NOOOOOO!” I yelled in defeat. My cries of anguish filled the room, but were masked by Jacob's snarls and bites.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ordained clergy and General Synod lay members give the case for and against The Church of England has begun a debate ahead of a crucial vote to decide whether to allow women into its top ranks as bishops. Its ruling General Synod will vote on the issue - 18 months after a previous attempt was blocked. It was passed by the Houses of Bishops and Clergy but was six lay members' votes short in the House of Laity. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby called on the Synod to "embrace a radical new way". Ahead of his address during the debate, which lasted for about five hours, he said he was "hopeful" the Synod will approve the legislation. Prime Minister David Cameron said he was in favour of women bishops and praised the Most Rev Justin Welby, for his leadership on the issue. Archbishop Welby told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme on Sunday there was a "good chance" the first woman bishop would be announced by the end of 2015. He added that, to the general public, the exclusion of women was "incomprehensible". 301 Moved Permanently Moved Permanently The document has moved here. Realistic Rowan Williams, the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, said the Church "lost a measure of credibility" over the failed 2012 vote when he was in post. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Justin Welby says he would be "delighted" to see a female Archbishop of Canterbury in his lifetime Two years on, the composition of the Synod is unchanged but four of those who voted against the proposed change then have since said they will back the latest plans - potentially enough to swing the result. There is a real possibility that the vote will once again be a 'No'. If this is the case, it is fair to say that the response from those in favour will be utter outrage. The Reverend Jody Stowell Women bishops: Trust or outrage? During Monday's debate, chair of the House of Laity Philip Giddings, who was opposed to women bishops in 2012, said he would vote in favour. He said the legislation offered "a new culture" and "a better way" that still observed the principles of the Church. The Reverend Jody Stowell, from Harrow in north-west London, said lots of work had since been done to "improve relationships" between those on the Synod with differing opinions. Mediation and conflict resolution experts were drafted in last year to help members resolve their differences. But Ms Stowell added: "We would not say we are overly confident at all because it is the same set of people who voted it down in November 2012, so we have to be realistic about that." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mary Judkins and Canon Simon Killwick debate new proposals to allow to become bishops. This time around the proposals - to be voted on at York University - would allow traditionalist parishes unwilling to serve under a woman bishop to request a male alternative. An ombudsman would arbitrate in the case of disputes. Fr David Houlding, an Anglo-Catholic vicar and member of the Synod, said he would be voting against the legislation on principle. But he conceded that if it failed for a second time it would be a "terrible, terrible disaster" for the Church. "If it collapses and we have to do something different, I think the Church of England will divide," he predicted. Susie Leafe, from the Christian campaign group Reform, said she did not want to see women bishops. "We are looking for the Church to follow biblical principles," she said. "That means having a set of bishops that serve the flock and are male." Image caption Susie Leafe is a lay member of the Church of England's General Synod Earlier in the week it was reported that if the proposal was rejected again, the Archbishop of Canterbury was planning to drive it through regardless, potentially by introducing legislation in Parliament via bishops in the House of Lords. However, the archbishop has since said he could not impose female bishops and added: "It would be matter for the House of Bishops, I can't dictate it." Women bishops debate Many opponents believe women cannot be bishops because in their view scripture says a male figurehead is required Supporters of the proposal say it would create a greater equality between the sexes within the Church Opponents want safeguards, allowing male priests and bishops to look after parishes which request them Supporters fear such a move would mean a bishop not having full authority in her own diocese Instead of writing safeguards into the legislation, the latest proposals would be guaranteed by a House of Bishops declaration, with disputes ruled on by an independent reviewer, or "ombudsman" Women bishops would alter the leadership profile of the Church of England, which is central to many state occasions and local ceremonies The vote comes after 43 out of 44 dioceses - including two which were previously opposed - overwhelmingly backed the legislation. Europe, the 44th diocese, failed to respond to the consultation in time. However a "yes" vote later would likely deepen divisions in the Church over the issue as some of its members already dispute the authority of women priests. Under the plans, a woman bishop would be able to ordain priests which some opponents say is not only unacceptable but theologically impossible. If the legislation is approved, it would then go to the ecclesiastical committee of Parliament and the House of Commons and House of Lords. The General Synod would then meet on 17 November to announce formally that women can be bishops.
Baltimore fire crews battled a four-alarm fire Monday at a warehouse in the Fairfield area of South Baltimore. The blaze, which started Monday morning, put off a large plume of smoke visible across the Baltimore area earlier in the day. Firefighters were expected to be on the scene overnight, officials said. The call came in around 6:45 Monday morning and fire officials said 118 firefighters and 36 pieces of apparatus had been fighting the blaze at 1026 E. Patapsco Ave. throughout the day. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Baltimore Fire Department spokesman Roman Clark said. No injuries had been reported as of Monday evening. The 94,000-square-foot warehouse, owned by the secondhand textile company Whitehouse & Schapiro LLC, contains toys, clothing and packing supplies, Clark said. Company president William Schapiro said he is in shock, but thankful there were no injuries. “The damage looks extensive and we won't know full extent of it until tomorrow,” Schapiro wrote in an email. “Our concerns right now are for our employees … suppliers and customers worldwide. Finding alternate ways to process our merchandise during the rebuilding of our plant.” (Sean Welsh) Clark said crews were still on the scene battling the blaze and expected to be there overnight hitting hot spots. Parts of the warehouse roof and rear wall had collapsed, he said. "This is a very labor intensive situation we have right now," Clark said. Patapsco Avenue was closed between 9th and 12th streets all day but was expected to reopen when fire crews cleared the scene. Resident Charles Hynes, 55, said he was shocked by the huge plume of smoke coming from the warehouse. He said it was especially concerning coming just a week after an acid leak in a nearby chemical plant prompted a shelter-in-place warning. In that incident a leak occurred in the Fairfield industrial area while chlorosulfonic acid was being unloaded from a tanker, according to fire officials. It was stopped after about 90 minutes. No injuries were reported. "It's just crazy around here. This whole neighborhood is crazy," Hynes said. "There's always something." Lisa Miller works at By Grace Counseling Services, also in the 1000 block of Patapsco. She said that as she drove to work Monday, she grew increasingly concerned about the black smoke, worried about her workplace. She's also concerned about more air pollution after the acid leak incident. "This area needs a break," said Miller, 40. Baltimore Sun reporters Carrie Wells and Jessica Anderson contributed to this report.
I attended yesterday's C-32 media lockup on behalf of the Toronto Star, who asked for a quick analysis piece of the bill. My column is posted below: Copyright has long been viewed as one of the government's most difficult and least rewarding policy issues. It attracts passionate views from a wide range of stakeholders, including creators, consumers, businesses, and educators and is the source of significant political pressure from the United States. Opinions are so polarized that legislative reform is seemingly always the last resort that only comes after months of delays. The latest chapter in the Canadian copyright saga unfolded yesterday as Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage James Moore tabled copyright reform legislation billed as providing both balance and a much-needed modernization of the law. The bill will require careful study (suggestions that a quick set of summer hearings will provide an effective review should be summarily rejected) but the initial analysis is that there were some serious efforts to find compromise positions on many thorny copyright issues. Unfortunately, the legal protection for digital locks – unquestionably the biggest and most controversial digital copyright issue – is the one area where there is no compromise. Despite a national copyright consultation that soundly rejected inflexible protections for digital locks on CDs, DVDs, e-books, and other devices, the government has caved to U.S. pressure and brought back rules that mirror those found in the United States. These rules limit more than just copying as they can also block Canadian consumers from even using products they have purchased. Bill C-32, which ironically carries the same number as the last time Canada underwent major copyright reforms in 1997, features three types of provisions: sector-specific reforms, compromise provisions, and the no-compromise digital lock rules. The sector-specific reforms are designed to address a single constituency or stakeholder concern. These reforms include something for almost everyone: new rights for performers and photographers, a new exception for Canadian broadcasters, new liability for BitTorrent search services, as well as the legalization of common consumer activities such as recording television shows and transferring songs from a CD to an iPod. In fact, there is even a “YouTube” user-generated content remix exception that grants Canadians the right to create remixed work for non-commercial purposes under certain circumstances. There are a number of areas where the government has worked toward a genuine compromise. This includes reform to Canada's fair dealing provision, which establishes when copyrighted works may be used without permission. The government rejected both pleas for no changes as well as arguments for a flexible fair dealing that would have opened the door to courts adding exceptions to the current fair dealing categories of research, private study, news reporting, criticism, and review. Instead, it identified some specific new exceptions that assist creators (parody and satire), educators (education exception, education Internet exception), and consumers (time shifting, format shifting, backup copies). The Internet provider liability similarly represent a compromise, as the government is sticking with a "notice-and-notice" system that requires providers to forward allegations of infringement to subscribers. The system is costly for the providers, but has proven successful in discouraging infringement. It also compromised on the statutory damages rules that create the risk of multi-million dollar liability for cases of non-commercial infringement. The new rules reduce non-commercial liability to a range of $100 to $5,000, which is not insignificant but well below the $20,000 per infringement cap currently found in the law. All these attempts at balance should be welcomed, yet they are undermined by the no-compromise position on digital locks. The foundational principle of the new bill is that anytime a digital lock is used, it trumps virtually all other rights. This means that both the existing fair dealing rights and Bill C-32's new rights all cease to function effectively so long as the rights holder places a digital lock on their content or device. Moreover, the digital lock approach is not limited to fair dealing – library provisions include a requirement for digital copies to self-destruct within five days and distance learning teaching provisions require the destruction of course materials 30 days after the course concludes. The government could have introduced a compromise provision that would have allowed for compliance with international treaties, protection for digital locks and the preservation of the copyright balance. In failing to strike that balance, the government has introduced a flawed, but potentially fixable bill.
HYDERABAD: Ola 's rivalry with Uber is akin to the Vietnam War , the chief executive of the Indian cab aggregator said, referencing the North Vietnam rebels who successfully employed their deep knowledge of the local terrain to oust American-led forces.“(China's Didi Chuxing ) versus Uber was like the World War II, but in India (Ola versus Uber) would be like the Vietnam War. We will be like the local guerrillas and move to the nooks and corners of our country ,“ Bhavish Aggarwal said at an event here on Monday. Uber had to sell its China operations to Didi in August but the end of the bruising two-year battle has allowed the taxi-hailing service to focus on other large emerging markets, including India.In India, Ola and Uber have been facing one problem after the other, including regulatory hurdles and recent driver protests across states. Ola isn't demotivated and is launching innovative programmes to attract customers while also expanding to more regions, including small cities, said Aggarwal, who was participating in a panel discussion on startups and entrepreneurship. "We will innovate a lot in the next 4-5 years," said Aggarwal. "We will be the last company standing in this (sector) and we will be the one who will build a uniquely Indian business model."Ola has about 6,00,000 drivers across more than 100 cities on its platform, and expects to increase its driver-base to three to four million in 5 years, Aggarwal said. "Instead of letting the driver-base grow organically , we are setting up driver-training schools across different districts in the country," he said.Ola has partnered with the Telangana government for a pilot project on running electric taxis. "We believe that electric vehicles can transform transportation completely in India by enabling lower cost of operation and ownership," said Aggarwal, adding that Ola will partner with its largest investor, SoftBank , to provide solar charging to the electric vehicles. The Japanese firm's chief executive, Masayoshi Son , had told ET in an interview in December that he wished to "give away a million electric cars, made in India, for free to drivers of Ola cars".Jaspal Singh, partner at transport consultancy Valoriser Consultants , said electric vehicles could be a game-changer for Ola. "It will help re duce their cost of operation by 2030% and improve their profitability. That can be a real game-changer for them depending on how quickly they take it up and scale," he said.
As the video applications of hopeful candidates for the next season of Tough Enough keep pouring in with independent wrestlers and the average joes of the world alike, we can’t help but think back to some of the past seasons of Tough Enough; the winners, losers and bigger personalities of the show’s history. Like in American Idol, you don’t need to win the competition to make it. For example, Jennifer Hudson, engaged to current WWE employee David Otunga, was eliminated in the top 7 in the third season of American Idol, and she went on to star in Dreamgirls, where she’d win an Oscar for her performance, along with many other awards and accolades for her role in the film and her musical work. We all know about Maven Huffman, the former Hardcore Champion and the guy that eliminated the Undertaker in the 2002 Royal Rumble, and his eventual departure from the company, which he then completely put behind him and took a job as a bouncer at 1015 Midtown in New York City. We know about Nidia and her work as the manager of Jamie Noble (baby). But what about those that have made the wrestling industry without winning, or who’s stories were barely featured? Then there are those that put the industry in the rear-view mirror and took a whole new path that likely would not be there had it not been for their exposure in Tough Enough. In this two part series, we take a look at some of the great stories of those that have made it and those that fell short but had their lives affected in a positive way. We first take a look at those that either had a short run and went on to bigger (and sometimes better) things, and those that never did make it but were heavily impacted by their participation in Tough Enough. Christopher Nowinski (Season One, Finalist) In 2001, Chris Nowinski was one of the three finalists, losing out to Maven. Failing to capture the Tough Enough title, Nowinski went back to the independent circuit to hone his abilities. The decision paid off, as the WWE hired Nowinski to wrestle for their company. Aligning himself with William Regal, Chris’ gimmick took his real-life achievement of being the first ever Harvard graduate to wrestle in the WWE and created a smug, arrogant heel that thought he was head-and-shoulders above the rest, due to his intelligence. Doning the H logo on his tights, Nowinski went on to be a 2-time Hardcore Champion and the youngest wrestler in the company’s history to capture that title. But it wasn’t all smiles, as his run was short-lived and rather uneventful. Pro Wrestling Illustrated named the match of Chris Nowinski and Jackie Gayda versus Bradshaw and Trish Stratus, worked on July 7th, as the worst worked match of 2002. Following his tenure with the WWE, Chris released Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis, where he covered his story and the year-long battle he went through with post-concussion symptoms, and also highlighted the problems with concussions in impact sports, such as American football and professional wrestling. This led to the Andre Waters case, the story of a former NFL defensive linebacker who shot and killed himself in 2006, at the age of 44. Testing on a piece of his brain, it was discovered that Waters had suffered several concussions, which deteriorated his brain to the point that he had one of an 85-year-old with early stages of Alzheimers. Nowinski also alerted police and the coroner of the Chris Benoit case, suggesting they examine his brain as well. In 2007, along with the help of Dr. Robert Cantu, Nowinski founded the Sports Legacy Institute. SLI, according to Chris, was founded to solve the problem of concussion in all sports and military, and how to treat and prevent injuries to the head and brain, while educating proper methods of maintaining a healthy life after sustaining one. Also a co-director at the CTE Center of the Boston University School of Medicine, Chris has completely submerged himself in research and education of brain trauma in order to put an end to all deaths and problems related to head injuries in contact sports. Taylor Matheny (Season One, Finalist) As one of the two female finalists, Taylor Matheny lost out to Nidia. Following the show’s finale, Matheny made her in-ring debut in World Wrestling Alliance, sparking her career in the independent wrestling circuit. Wrestling for other independent promotions such as New Era Wrestling, Universal Wrestling Federation, and Jersey All Pro Wrestling, Matheny got a big break when she was offered a three and a half month stint with Japanese promotion ARISON. In August of 2002, Matheny took on Ai Fujita for the WWWA Super Lightweight Championship, in a losing effort, after taking on Baby A and Rie Tamada in singles matches. After returning to the United States, Matheny decided to call it a career in 2003 after she fell out of love with wrestling and grew tired of it all. While she made an appearance in 2005 at Full Impact Pro, it was mainly to stand side-by-side with her husband and current WWE employee Brian Kendrick. Also in 2005, Matheny was hired as a makeup artist for the Croatian film The Last Will, a comedy about a tour guide who inherited a large sum of money from a distant relative living in the United States, only to be followed by professional assassins. Matheny was also hired as a first assistant makeup artist in the 2009 American film, Lost Angels, a drama about a teenage runaway who is out for revenge against the man that destroyed her family. As of right now, Matheny has a profile set up at modelmayhem.com, indicating her intentions of becoming a serious makeup artist and making a career out of it. Jessie Ward (Season Two) Unlike the previous two contestants mentioned, Jessie Ward didn’t make it to the finals, yet she wasn’t cut either. During one of the episodes, Ward would take a bump in the ring that would leave her hands and legs numb. A trip to the hospital would reveal that Ward suffered from Vasovagal syncope, a malaise mediated by the vagus nerve (tenth cranial nerve), putting Ward at constant risk of fainting. She was given a heart monitor as well. Two weeks later, Ward opted to drop out of the competition due to continuous pain and lethargy. In October, that same year, the WWE reached out to Ward and hired her as a stage manager. As part of the Tough Enough III production team, Ward also got the chance to travel with both Raw and Smackdown shows as a production assistant until she departed from the company in 2004. The decision was her own, as Ward wanted to go back to college to finish up her degree in Visual Media Arts. She would enroll at Emerson College, in Boston. During her time at Emerson, Ward also worked with Total Nonstop Action as an assistant director. Working under head director David Sahadi in 2005, Ward left the company in 2007, the same year she graduated from Emerson, majoring in television/video. After receiving her degree, Jessie went on to work with several noteworthy stations such as The History Channel, The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, as an associate producer to several series. As of 2012, Ward has been working as a challenge producer for shows like Redneck Islander (hosted by Stone Cold Steve Austin), Ink Master, and Big Brother. In September of 2013, Ward married former Ring of Honor performer Tommaso Whitney (known by his ring name, Tommaso Ciampa). Christina Crawford (Season Five) After giving the best performance in the skills competition the previous week, Christina Crawford found herself in the bottom three after delivering a less than stellar display of charisma. As part of the bottom three, both her and A.J. Kirsch – who had actually won that week’s skill competition – were both cut from the show in a surprise double elimination. Despite being dropped from the show, Crawford signed a developmental deal with the WWE in June of 2011. What’s interesting is that this wasn’t her first contract. In fact, Crawford originally had a developmental deal with the WWE and asked for her release to participate in the Tough Enough competition. Storyline wise, Crawford formed an alliance with Audrey Marie and Kaitlyn to take on the Anti-Diva Army stable, which consisted of Paige, Sofia Cortez and Raquel Diaz. Following that, Crawford captured the FCW Divas Championship after defeating Diaz, and then successfully defended it against Cortez. Once FCW transitioned into NXT, the title was retired, and Crawford was officially the last holder of the FCW Divas Championship. Following the re-branding, Crawford portrayed a guest ring host until she debuted in the ring as a heel character, teaming with Kaitlyn. While her career after the WWE was short-lived, a tryout match in TNA and a stint with New Era Wrestling, Crawford went on to become a cheerleader for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Meanwhile, her real-life sister, Alicia Fox, is still currently employed by the WWE. Jeremiah Riggs (Season Five) Before his participation in season five of Tough Enough, Jeremiah Riggs was a known face inside a ring. Only the ring he was familiar with was one that sported mixed martial arts rather than professional wrestling. In fact, he had a 7-5 record before joining the cast and that was thanks to another reality-based competition show that he was a part of; 2007’s Ultimate Fighter. He also was a participant on the VH1 reality dating show Daisy of Love, back in 2010. From being in the army to owning a truck company in Mississippi, Riggs left all of that behind to become an MMA fighter, which then led him to Tough Enough. After finishing third in the competition, Riggs was signed by the WWE in May of 2011 and sent to their developmental program to get some experience, learn the craft and hone his skills while utilizing his mixed martial arts background. Unfortunately, he was released shortly after his debut match after the company expressed no interest in doing anything with him. Riggs reportedly expressed poor behavior backstage and even got into an altercation with Dusty Rhodes backstage, following a promo he cut. Riggs later stated that, “Sometimes locker rooms are just like beauty parlors. It’s nothing but a bunch of drama and a bunch gossip. I like to consider myself away from that stuff. That’s like after the promo stuff. Don’t shake my hand and then whenever something goes down walk past me like, ‘I don’t know that dude.’ That’s phony. That’s being fake to me.” Riggs, 32, moved back on to his MMA career and appeared in three fights, spanning from 2012 to 2013. He lost all three bouts, two by submission and one by split decision, ending his run with MMA for the present time. In 2015, Riggs appeared in episode 207 of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge where he would lose in the first of three rounds to a contestant named Will. In part two, we’ll take a look at some of the names that went on to have successful careers in professional wrestling and finally, in part three, we’ll take an exclusive look at the $1,000,000 Tough Enough season, or the fourth installment of the Tough Enough brand, and cover all the success stories that came out of that year. Chris Nowinski photo – courtesy of Getty Images and uncredited photo from WrestlingNews.co Taylor Matheny photo – courtesy of onlineworldofwrestling.com Jessie Ward photo – courtesy of Wikipedia Christina Crawford photo – courtesy of wrestleheat.com Jeremiah Riggs photo – courtesy of bloodandsweat.ru
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) Bernie Sanders is the oldest contender in the race, but he's drawing some of the youngest supporters on the campaign trail. The mobilization of his young army of admirers will help determine whether he's able to slow -- or stop -- Hillary Clinton's march to the Democratic presidential nomination. "I have to admit, I'm not the hippest guy around," Sanders told CNN in an interview aboard his campaign bus. "I have to freely admit that." Yet the 74-year-old Vermont senator has become one of the hippest candidates of the election cycle, at least in the digital world, where he's developed an unlikely following of young supporters. "Bernie Sanders is America's uncle," Jake Hoyng, 17, who was drawn to Sanders by some of his friends. He intends to caucus for Sanders next Monday in Iowa, which is allowed because he will be 18 by Election Day in November. It's an open question how many young voters like Hoyng, particularly in the 17-to-25 age range that Sanders is targeting, will take part in the Iowa caucuses. The campaign is trying to rally supporters through a new website and advertising on Reddit, with a challenge to prove skeptics wrong: They say you don't care. They say you won't caucus. They say Bernie can't win. Prove them wrong. As he travels across the country, Sanders' crowds look far younger than that of other candidates, including Clinton's. In Iowa, the contrast is particularly stark, with Clinton drawing far older audiences. But those voters, traditionally, are far more reliable. The Sanders campaign launched a new push on Snapchat, running daily advertisements encouraging people to attend the caucuses and share their pictures with other supporters. The ads are targeted by geography, with only people in Iowa allowed to put the campaign messages over their photos or video. "We're leveraging Snapchat to help us turn out young caucus-goers in Iowa who know Sen. Sanders is the best candidate to make college affordable, fight climate change and take on a corrupt political system," said Kenneth Pennington, the campaign's digital director. Sanders said he had little doubt his supporters would vote. "Young people are by nature idealistic," Sanders said in an interview. "They understand that something is wrong in this country when our middle class continues to decline and when they may end up with a lower standard of living than their parents. They want us to do something about it." It's supporters like Kailey Gray, a 20-year-old student at Drake University, who is fueling his rise. She volunteers night and day for Sanders at his headquarters in a crowded strip mall on the north side of Des Moines. "A lot of young people are turned off by politicians because they don't exactly tell the truth all the time and flip flop around the issues," Gray said. "You can just kind of tell when someone isn't sincere, but Bernie's been saying the same thing for decades and he doesn't sway on the issues. He really knows what's right and sticks to what he believes in even if it's not the most popular." If elected, Sanders would be the oldest president -- nearly six years older than Ronald Reagan when he took office. He pledged Monday night to release his medical records before the Iowa caucuses. Sanders has aggressively campaigned on college campuses across Iowa. He often arrives to loud cheers, even after declaring awkward phrases like, "Guess what youngins?" His wife, Jane, who is often at his side on the campaign trail, marvels at his young following. "When he was mayor he was popular among young people," she said with a smile. "Hip, I never expected."
Mystery, intrigue and controversy about public funding have swirled around a little slice of land on 13th Street — and answers are emerging at last. Simply put, public bonds approved to help a swanky Midtown apartment tower get built as early as next year are a product of the Recession. The beginning of the Recession, that is. Dr. Eloisa Klementich of Invest Atlanta (a.k.a. the Atlanta Development Authority) confirmed that her organization will play a role in financing the development of Yoo on the Park, a 25-story tower tucked into a small lot at 207 13th St. Namely, Invest Atlanta will offer up about $60 million in public bonds for a lease-purchase agreement. Over a 10-year period, developer Tivoli will pay taxes starting at 50 percent and increasing 5 percent annually. That's news but, according to Klementich, not anything new. She said Invest Atlanta offered to help out with the project when it was originally proposed in 2008, when development in Midtown and pretty much everywhere else was grinding to a halt. "They couldn't find financing," Klementich said. Invest Atlanta's stated goals of helping encourage growth in undeveloped areas was mostly a fit, they thought. After the bonds were approved, though, litigation began — five years of it. All that ended this July and, according to Klementich, her organization couldn't exactly renege. The angle is a little different but thanks to an estimated $87 million in future economic output for the city, Invest Atlanta can legally chip in, Klementich said. The bonds aren't direct financing but "help make their balance sheet look better, which then allows them to use that attraction to attract more financing to the project," she said. The bond transaction should be completed in a week or two, she added; if the project never happens, the developer gets no benefits. As far as the actual project: Crews started moving dirt on the site between Juniper and Piedmont earlier this month. Klementich confirmed rumors that construction on the 245-unit tower is slated to begin around the start of next year. Believed to be a partnership with super-modern international design group Yoo and Starck, the project is also expected to include 1,200 (yes, 1,200) square feet of retail. Last Invest Atlanta had heard, Klementich said, that space would be something along the lines of a small restaurant/coffee shop/sandwich shop. — By Curbed Atlanta contributor Tyler Estep · Public Cash For Luxe Midtown Tower? (And A Rendering?) [Curbed Atlanta]
Zig Ziglar died yesterday at age 86. For those of you who aren't familiar with his work, Zig was a highly sought after motivational speaker and author. He was known for his constant positivity, and his message of living a life filled with gratitude and of serving others. He was also a strong Christian, so today he's in heaven, worshiping his Savior. Zig's given name was Hilary Hinton Ziglar, but he went by the name of Zig. He talked about why in one of his books: Well, when your mama starts out in life as Hilary, gives you a middle name Hinton, your last name is Ziglar, and you're from Yazoo City, Mississippi, you become Zig. So that's where I got the name. It's kind of like Johnny Johnson, you know, or Tommy Thompson. It's a natural for my last name going like that. And it's easy to remember, too. I like that. Ziglar was a World War II veteran, and after becoming a top salesman in multiple companies, he struck out on his own to be a motivational speaker, trainer and teacher of how to live a successful life. Zig wrote over two dozen books, and encouraged millions with his down home southern charm, along with his lessons grounded in his Christian faith. The lessons he taught were no-nonsense common sense, and he had a way of phrasing things that made you smile – he was always entertaining. MY LATEST VIDEOS MY LATEST VIDEOS Today I thought I'd share 45 entertaining and truth-filled quotes from Zig Ziglar. 45 Quotes From Zig Ziglar Zig Ziglar was one of the most quotable speakers that I've come across, but in this list I've tried to come up with some of his best quotes on life, love, money and success. Money won’t make you happy… but everybody wants to find out for themselves. People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily. Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the “gotta have it” scale. Money will buy you a bed, but not a good night’s sleep, a house but not a home, a companion but not a friend. People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. Building a better you is the first step to building a better America. Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. Little men with little minds and little imaginations go through life in little ruts, smugly resisting all changes which would jar their little worlds. Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful. Every choice you make has an end result. Every obnoxious act is a cry for help. Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes. Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street. I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles. If God would have wanted us to live in a permissive society He would have given us Ten Suggestions and not Ten Commandments. If you can dream it, then you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want. If you don’t see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner. If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere. If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost. If you treat your wife like a thoroughbred, you’ll never end up with a nag. If you want to reach a goal, you must “see the reaching” in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal. It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through. It’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you use that makes a difference. Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side. If you treat your wife like a thoroughbred, you’ll never end up with a nag. People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business. Success is dependent upon the glands – sweat glands. The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty. The way you see people is the way you treat them. When you are tough on yourself, life is going to be infinitely easier on you. You cannot perform in a manner inconsistent with the way you see yourself. People who have good relationships at home are more effective in the marketplace. You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure. Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have. Remember that failure is an event, not a person. You cannot tailor-make the situations in life but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations. You do not pay the price of success, you enjoy the price of success. You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. Remember that failure is an event, not a person. You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want. There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic. Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes. If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere. So there you have it. Timeless wisdom from a one of a kind man. Have your own favorite Zig Ziglar quotes or stories? Tell us about them in the comments.
Image caption The arrests were made as part of one of the largest international operations to date against al-Qaeda, the Spanish Interior Minister said Police have arrested three suspected al-Qaeda members in southern Spain. Explosive material was seized at an address in San Roque where a Turkish man was arrested. Two other men were held near Almuradiel. They are thought to have been planning an attack in Spain or elsewhere in Europe, according to the Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz. The arrests are part of one the biggest international operations to date against al-Qaeda, Mr Diaz said. The material is currently being tested but is thought to be enough to "destroy a bus", he told reporters. Mr Diaz also said one of the suspects was a senior al-Qaeda operative with extensive experience "in the manufacture of poison and car bombs". One of the men put up "massive resistance" during the arrests, he added. None of them have been named. Police found the explosives in a flat in the southern town of La Linea de Concepcion in Andalusia and arrested a Turkish national at the address. 'Lone wolves' The two other suspects were travelling on a bus from Cadiz on Spain's Atlantic coast to Irun near the French border when they were seized in a lay-by near Almuradiel by a police special operations group, Mr Diaz said. Analysis The date 11 March 2004 is etched into the memories of Spanish people - the day four commuter trains were bombed in Madrid, killing 191. Most of the 21 found guilty over those bombings were Moroccans. Since then more than 400 people suspected of links with "Islamist terrorist groups", as the Spanish authorities call them, have been arrested in Spain. Groups inspired by al-Qaeda have tried to use Spain's history as propaganda when trying to recruit people for attacks. Al-Qaeda videos have often referred to the recovery of "Al-Andalus". That recalls the Moorish domination of Spain for nearly eight centuries, until the victory of Christian monarchs in 1492. Both men are from former Soviet republics, but the minister did not say which ones. The pair were carrying documents about piloting light planes, he said. He described it as "one of the biggest terrorism investigations ever" with "international ramifications". Intelligence services from "Spain's allies" were involved, he added. Police suspect that at least one suspect has attended training camps in Pakistan, reports say. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula had issued a message at the beginning of July looking for Spanish-speaking "lone wolves" as operatives, according to Spain's El Pais newspaper. In March, Spanish police arrested a suspected al-Qaeda member in the eastern city of Valencia on terrorism charges. They said he ran one of the world's most important jihadist forums dedicated to online recruitment and propaganda operations. The man, a Jordanian-born Saudi Arabian citizen, was known within al-Qaeda as "the librarian", Mr Diaz told reporters at the time. In March 2004, an al-Qaeda linked bomb attack on four packed commuter trains in Madrid killed 191 people and injured 1,841 others.
RICHMOND — A Richmond officer connected to a Bay Area-wide police sex exploitation scandal will return to work after an unpaid four-week suspension, city officials said Monday. The officer was one of four Richmond officers recommended to be fired in the wake of allegations that they exploited the sex-trafficked teen daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher, said City Manager Bill Lindsay. Another officer involved in the scandal is waiting for a recommendation from a hearing for the proposed discipline. “The level of discipline to be imposed remains more stringent than that recommended during the initial stages of the review process, which provided that one officer be terminated, one be demoted, and two receive suspensions,” Lindsay wrote in an email Monday. Related Articles Oakland police sex scandal: No officers to be charged by Contra Costa DA Richmond fires more police officers in sex exploitation scandal Exploited teen sues city of Richmond Richmond police launched effort to send Celeste Guap to Florida Eleven Richmond police officers were implicated in the investigation. Five have been disciplined, but continue to work for the department. Two have left the department for reasons unrelated to the teenager who used the name Celeste Guap while working as a prostitute. Another two have been fired from the department. In September, Richmond police Chief Allwyn Brown recommended that one officer should be fired. The next month, Lindsay called for four officers to be terminated. Reading this on your phone or tablet? Stay up to date on East Bay news with our new, free mobile app. Get it from the Apple app store or the Google Play store. Richmond Fire Chief Adrian Sheppard, who served as the hearing officer, recommended that two of the four officers keep their jobs, according to a report from KGO-ABC 7 News. “In essence, the process worked the way it should work,” Lindsay said in an interview with ABC 7. The 19-year-old woman at the heart of the scandal filed multimillion dollar claims against the cities and counties that employed the officers she’s accused. Richmond is one of largest claims, as she is seeking $30 million from the city. This city’s police officers have not been charged criminally in connection to the woman. Karina Ioffee contributed to this report.
The scandal of police cars being seconded to do the work of overstretched ambulance staff has been revealed in a leaked log of incidents compiled from around the country. Officers have had to step in after being told on bank holidays of a seven-hour wait for ambulances, according to the document compiled by officers. Some officers forced to ferry critically ill people to hospital because of a lack of ambulances have faced internal inquiries or Independent Police Complaints Commission investigations after their passengers died, the document says. The log notes a growing concern among officers that they were becoming responsible for the health of people who have attempted suicide, been badly hurt in road crashes or become ill on the street or in their homes. One entry made by an officer in the north-east of England in April this year reports: "Good Friday weekend we were told [there] is a seven-hour waiting time for an ambulance so don't call one as you won't get one". Another entry from July this year from the same area says: "Ambulance control requested police attend a report of 14-year-old girl having taken an overdose (police requested 'because of her age and as she was home alone'). On police arrival an ambulance failed to attend and the response was downgraded as there was no ambulance available. The injured person had to be taken to hospital by police and the ambulance cancelled. The child was 14 years old and there was no requirement for police in this circumstance." Another officer mentions an incident in the south-east: "Female was very ill and the first car on scene decided to take her to hospital. The control room said no. No ambulance was nearby. The officer took the female to hospital where she collapsed and died (they got her back). The inspector reported the officer in respect of misconduct for breaching a direct order." Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said a major cause of the shortage of ambulances was the fact that they have to wait at hospitals to release patients into A&E departments that are already full. Earlier this year it was reported that the number of patients forced to wait at least two hours parked outside A&E had risen by two-thirds in one year. Figures from eight of England's 10 ambulance trusts showed that 3,424 patients waited more than two hours before handover to hospital staff during 2012-13, against 2,061 such patients in the previous year. Hospitals have been battling to deal efficiently with a huge influx of emergency patients, with senior doctors comparing A&E units to "war zones" and the head of the NHS watchdog saying the situation was "out of control". The prime minister says the pressure is caused by an extra one million people visiting A&E compared with three years ago. However, Labour blames the scrapping of the NHS Direct advice line, nursing cuts and health service shakeup. Burnham said: "Jeremy Hunt has failed to grasp the urgency of the A&E crisis. The chaos is now spreading to other emergency services. The alarming fact that police cars are now doubling as makeshift ambulances is a clear sign of how bad things have got on his watch." Steve White, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, warned against the police being asked to plug the gaps where the other emergency services were feeling the strain. He said: "Police officers are already stretched beyond the limit and cannot and should not be expected to plug the gaps those cuts have left across other areas of the public sector."
This article is from the archive of our partner . If you spent any time looking at Twitter on Tuesday night, your eyeballs are probably bleeding a little bit from the onslaught of hype and sensationalism surrounding a five-year-old video of Barack Obama talking about not much. With more than a little bit of help from Matt Drudge, Fox News Host and Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson drummed up an absurd amount of buzz around his "exclusive" look at the president's 2007 speech at Hampton University. Drudge said this was supposed to be "Obama's Other Race Speech." Carlson described it as a "racially charged speech [that] undermines Obama's carefully-crafted image." But when Fox News went live with the video around 9 p.m., everybody seemed, well, confused. The video itself, as more than a few blogs pointed out, was not new, and it did not present Obama as an angry black man. The new, exclusive footage shows nothing more than candidate Obama being critical of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, just like everybody else did in 2007, and while the controversial Reverend Jeremiah Wright makes a cameo in the speech, everybody got over his connection to Obama years ago. What we did get was a couple of Fox News hosts struggling to make their so-called exclusive story relevant. Exhibit One - Tucker Carlson admits that his exclusive story wasn't that exclusive. Why not? Because he "already reported on it" five years ago, just like everybody else: Exhibit Two - Sean Hannity does a "black voice" on national television: Exhibit 3 - Even Newsweek thinks they sensationalized this thing too much. Newsweek! Footnote - The Romney campaign, by the way, distanced themselves from this stunt at the start. This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.
I thought it would be interesting to create an app which allows users to see how the opioid crisis has changed over time, at the state level. I created the app using RStudio and shiny, with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, which has data on all deaths in the United States. One key limitation of the data is that the CDC will not publish statistics if they could compromise the privacy of the diseased, so in cases where there were very few opioid overdoses in a state in a year, the data is withheld. For this reason, the “All Opioids” category of overdoses provides the most complete picture of the crisis, while selecting other individual types will provide more expunged data points.
Benji Webbe apparently thinks he’s Kanye fucking West. Webbe, you see, presented the “Best Live Band” trophy at last week’s Kerrang Awards in the U.K. It would appear, however, that unlike a lot of other, more talented metal musicians, Webbe isn’t a fan of the band that won — that band being Babymetal. Rather than keep his opinion to himself, however, Webbe opted to not only repeatedly disrupt Babymetal’s acceptance speech, but to correct their English in a faux-Japanese accent while bowing. So that’s not insanely racist or anything. Here’s video of the incident: I’d ask what Webbe was thinking, but, clearly, thinking is not his forté. But at least he made himself a footnote in the career of a band that’s been more successful than his own. Metal fans of the future still probably won’t remember who the hell he was, but hey, it’s something.
This image is for representation purpose only (Free Stock Photos) It is that time of the year when Australian families either choose to travel abroad during holiday season or spend a few days/weeks out of town to enjoy summer. Language English It is that time of the year when Australian families either choose to travel abroad during holiday season or spend a few days/weeks out of town to enjoy summer. SBS Hindi recently reported about how you can keep your house safe, especially if you are travelling overseas during this holiday period. While it is most important to lock all your doors, windows and any other entry/exit point possible in the house, it is also vital to take other important steps to ensure that your house is safe during the holiday season. Some of these steps include requesting the post-office to keep your letters or to ask a close friend to check and collect it from your house and also to take your important documents related to banking and valuables and leave them with close friends, relatives or in a locker. On Thursday, we published Victoria’s Top 20 most burgled suburbs of 2015-16. Today, we have compiled the Top 10 home burglary hotspots in each major city of Australia. 1. Greater Sydney 2. Greater Brisbane 3. Greater Perth 4. Greater Adelaide 5. Tasmania
By Brad Miska and Evan Dickson What’s happening in the world around us strongly influences what kind of entertainment we consume, especially when it comes to cinema. While the majority soak in multiple screenings of Frozen, we’re sitting on pins and needles for Godzilla to take our minds off every day life. Nearly everyone looks to film as escapism but, as horror fans, we search for escapism in a very different place. With Lionsgate’s The Quiet Ones bombing at the box office and Oculus not performing as expected, people are once again running around screaming “horror is dead” like the sky is falling. It happens way too often (especially near summer), but it’s such a fallacy that it’s insulting to us who live and die by the genre. Recently Brad reviewed Greg McLean’s Wolf Creek 2 and noted that McLean understood what kind of horror we want in 2014. Even if that particular film doesn’t float your boat, it displays a conscious decision to move away from what hasn’t been working. Things have changed drastically since 9/11, a time when anger, rage and fear were filling our hearts. There was a time and a place for films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Jeepers Creepers, Wrong Turn, Martyrs and Saw – and it’s not now. Nobody wants to spend $8-15 and walk out of a theater feeling like they were in a boxing match. It’s interesting to see this shift not only in the work of a filmmaker (several of them have smartly changed gears), but within a franchise itself. Wolf Creek 2 is, tonally speaking, miles away from the original Wolf Creek. Generally speaking, regular horror fans and the casually genre viewer don’t want to feel like crap when they see a movie. It’s just a fact. Sure, hardcore vets love a good gut-punch now and then, but ultimately our hearts always stick to films like Dead Alive, Evil Dead 2, Drag Me To Hell and other movies that make us feel good when we return to the well. Admit it, you’re rarely just sitting there tempted to pull Martyrs off the shelf for the 30th time. Feel-good horror isn’t the same as a horror comedy. Let’s get that straight. The best horror films, in our opinion (though Evan loves horror comedies), are the ones that manage to play it straight and have fun with the viewer. And to land box office gold, there should be a sense of trust between the film and its audience. It may seem like a tired axiom, but you truly do need to “connect.” The Conjuring, Insidious, Mama and most of the Paranormal Activity franchise are all films that connected (as fans of the Evil Dead remake, there’s an argument to be made that it connected as well – though some wound up preferring the trailer to the actual film). They played it straight but implored the audience to give themselves over to a ride. And since they were largely successful in validating that trust, a few of them wound up being pretty damn fun. It’s always important to ask, “is the film punishing its characters or is it punishing the audience?” There’s a distinct difference between the two. If your desire is to punish the audience, fine. That’s your right as an artist. Just be aware of the choices you are making in this regard (and their potential consequences). Another question worth asking is, “are we boring the audience to death?” Earlier this week The Wrap published a panicked piece about the state of horror. Especially at the box office. But they’re putting the onus of failure on the genre, ignoring the fact that most of the films they cite either weren’t that great or were commercial disappointments whose downfalls are easy to pinpoint. The Quiet Ones, Oculus, The Marked Ones and Devil’s Due. It gets on our nerves when publications take jabs at our genre, predicting its downfall without understanding what the problem is. Lets start with The Quiet Ones. It’s not a great movie. Full stop. Even the trailer couldn’t cut around the frayed edges. We would never pay to see the movie they were selling, so how can we expect an audience to pony up? Oculus? Some of us here loved it, some of us didn’t. But it’s a film with a decidedly indie aesthetic. It has no stars and it doesn’t exactly look like a good time either. It’s not actually even doing that poorly, having grossed $27 million on a reported budget of $5 million. Yes, there’s a P&A campaign to pay off, but it has a chance of going into the black eventually. Also, how much did you expect this film to make? It doesn’t have the character work, relatability or mainstream appeal that catapulted The Conjuring to a $318 million global take. A few of us here liked Devil’s Due but audiences didn’t respond to it. Fair enough. Studio found footage shoots itself in the foot by mandating an overabundance of camera references because they can’t trust that the audience “gets it” by this point. Also, if you shove enough crap like 2012’s The Devil Inside down people’s throats, they’re going to start rejecting similar looking fare (or films marketed in the same manner). Think about it, two years ago millions upon millions of people crowded into theaters to give The Devil Inside – a godawful movie – a massive opening weekend. Then they were all given a URL instead of an ending. This is an especially egregious act of poisoning the well and an argument could me made that studio found footage horror hasn’t been doing as well since. This extends to the failure of The Marked Ones – universally praised as being among the better Paranormal Activity films – to live up to commercial expectations. The reasoning here is so simple it’s blinding. People hated PA4. It didn’t help that they were confused as to what The Marked Ones even was. A sequel? A spin-off? But it was mainly PA4. Why even bother when the last one was awful? Franchise fatigue is a real thing even before you factor in diminishing creative returns. It’s not horror that audiences are rejecting, it’s bad movies. Boring studio-made found footage has been run into the ground. Even if you make a good one, the target audience is so sick of being burned they’re going to avoid it. There’s no sense that any of these films are pushing the envelope, which is the most interesting part of the FF aesthetic. There’s a ton more horror coming this year. On the studio front there’s Scott Derrickson’s Deliver Us From Evil in July. There’s also The Purge 2: Anarchy and The Green Inferno hitting this summer. Annabelle comes out in October. New Line has October 3rd pegged for a surprise. On the indie front we have Starry Eyes, The Sacrament, Late Phases, Creep, The Babadook, Faults and all sorts of great films. If all of those flop, then maybe we should freak out. A studio can spend as much as they want marketing a horror movie but, unless they establish a sense of trust with the audience, the turnout is going to be disappointing. If horror is to thrive once again (and it will), writers, directors, producers and studio execs needs to get their collective heads out of their asses and understand the people they are selling their movies to.
For some time now, the iPad has struggled to gain meaningful traction with users. Heralded in 2010 as the Goldilocks just-right device for tasks like checking email, browsing online, and playing games, that was no longer the case just a few years later. Today we have much bigger smartphones, featherlight laptops, and a flimsy understanding of how to best put our midsize tablets to use. Apple's latest addition to the iPad lineup, the iPad Pro, aims to resolve this confusion. It's a bigger, more powerful tablet that Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller demoed onstage with some of Adobe's new apps. It was a particularly fitting way to introduce a device meant for work, because Adobe has, for more than a year now, been pushing for professional creativity on mobile devices. CreativeSync, a new Adobe technology, is the company's latest bid to make that happen. CreativeSync runs in the background of Adobe’s cloud and is like a seamless, 360-degree bridge linking all of Adobe’s apps (third party apps get access soon). If you’re editing an image in Photoshop, but need to quickly add text in InDesign, then bounce the file back to Photoshop, CreativeSync lets you do this with a couple of quick taps. The goal, plain and simple, is to turn mobile platforms into a places you can actually do work. That goal, so far, has been elusive. Sure, Adobe's apps are all mobile, and other products like Paper by 53 are beautiful, and have devoted users and staunch advocates. But as a tool designed for a start-to-finish creative process, the iPad hasn’t taken off. “There’s basically no professional creativity being done on mobile,” says Scott Belsky, Adobe VP. When Adobe investigated the matter last year, it found a likely explanation: File creation and file saving hinged entirely on the camera roll. "You had these isolated, siloed, mobile apps that all promised their own thing,” Belsky says. “But when you would use them, in the end you had to save it to your camera roll. That is a total break in the whole nature of digital creativity as we know it," which relies on projects working together. CreativeSync eradicates that problem by letting designers toggle between apps in seconds and, crucially, by auto-saving files to the cloud so collaborators can jump in as soon as changes go through. That interaction could prove useful for coaxing designers away from analog tools like pen and paper—a tried-and-true brainstorming method that proved popular in a survey recently done by Khoi Vinh, a principal designer at Adobe, recently conducted. One reason designers cite for using paper and pen is that it’s ephemeral, and thus more easily shared. A design team can gather around sheets of paper and arrange them at will; with CreativeSync as the connective tissue behind mobile creativity apps, Belsky and Vinh hope to foster such interactions. This is all part of an evolutionary process happening at Adobe. “We’re punching out the major obstacles" —to mobile-enabled creativity— "one by one," Belsky says. Fonts was a big one for them; when Typekit integrated into Adobe mobile apps it made work easier for designers. Now, with CreativeSync, they’re aiming at mobile to mobile connection. Vinh says that’s expected to keep progressing, hopefully alongside Apple’s tech upgrades. "As we keep knocking down these barriers," he says, "new input methods like apple’s 3-D touch will open up ways to make designing mobile more efficient, and a more elegant process than it has been."
Marching bands rank among the few things lamer than Kid Rock. Still, you're more likely to find the latter than the former at Donald Trump's inauguration. "At least one D.C. public school marching band has participated in the past five inaugural parades, but none applied for consideration this year," according to NBC4. "A D.C. Public Schools spokeswoman said she was not aware of any band in the district that had applied to participate in President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural parade Jan. 20." Advertisement: As NBC4 noted, even a warmongering neocon managed to find a willing marching band in 2005: "Ballou High School's Majestic Marching Knights performed Destiny's Child's 'Lose My Breath' at George W. Bush's second inaugural parade." Trump's inauguration is shaping up to be a cultural dead zone. After it was reported last week that the president-elect's Inaugural Committee was scrambling to book a relevant artist, Kanye West visited Trump Tower on Tuesday for a closed-door meeting. Asked by reporters if he'd be willing to play Trump's inauguration, Kanye said, "I just want to take a picture right now." Shortly before he was hospitalized last month, West garnered criticism for ending a California concert with a rambling diatribe about how, had he voted, he would’ve voted for Trump. Meanwhile, the national anthem will be sung by 2010 "America's Got Talent" runner-up Jackie Evancho. Evancho, 16, made the announcement Wednesday on the "TODAY Show."
On Friday the misinformation floated about the Greek expulsion event hit a fever pitch: while we correctly speculated that nobody would be expelled from the Eurozone, the amount of conflicting info was at an all time record, with glaring inconsistencies between various quoted authoritarians. Now, courtesy of the WSJ blog, we learn that, for the first time in history, a spokesman for Jean Claude Juncker, the PM of Luxembourg, and the head of the Eurogroup council of eurozone finance ministers, admits openly to having lied to media outlets. "In a phone call and text messages with two reporters for Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Schuller repeatedly said no meeting would be held. He apparently said they same to other news outlets; at least one more moved his denials on financial newswires. Of course, there was a meeting–although not, apparently, to talk about Greece quitting the currency, which would be an extreme step to say the least. Mr. Juncker even said a few words to reporters who had hustled to Luxembourg to stake out the gathering. So why the lie? “I was told to say there was no meeting,” said Mr. Schuller, reached by telephone Monday. “We had certain necessities to consider.” Necessities? Why yes: such as perpetuating the now open lie that is the ponzi market: "Evening in Europe is midday in the United States. “We had Wall Street open at that point in time,” Mr. Schuller said. The euro was falling on the Spiegel report, which had overhyped the meeting. “There was a very good reason to deny that the meeting was taking place.” It was, he said, “self-preservation.”" And there you have it: the Eurozone itself now admits that it will sacrifice credibility at the expense of a few FX pips and a few basis points in the ES.Everything else is smoke and mirrors. And people think that central bankers will consider the threat of inflation should the Russell 2000 ever retrace back into bear market territory... And it gets even more surreal: Asked whether such deliberate misinformation would undermine the market’s confidence in future euro-zone pronouncements, Mr. Schuller, lamenting that the market had practically no confidence in pronouncements already, said “not at all.” When Mr. Juncker, or European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, or French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde says something to the markets, Mr. Schuller said, “nobody seems to believe it.” Mr. Juncker has voiced support for the practice of lying before. The Web site EUobserver has video of Mr. Juncker, at a conference on economic governance in April, expounding on the practice and reasons for lying in financial and economic communications. Asked whether such deliberate misinformation would undermine the market’s confidence in future euro-zone pronouncements, Mr. Schuller, lamenting that the market had practically no confidence in pronouncements already, said “not at all.” When Mr. Juncker, or European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, or French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde says something to the markets, Mr. Schuller said, “nobody seems to believe it.” Mr. Juncker has voiced support for the practice of lying before. The Web site EUobserver has video of Mr. Juncker, at a conference on economic governance in April, expounding on the practice and reasons for lying in financial and economic communications. On the tape, Mr. Juncker says he has “had to lie” and, speaking about touchy economic topics, “When it becomes serious, you have to lie.” At this point Europe no longer even attempts to hide that everything is one big lie, and that should the truth emerge the market will crash more than ever in history. And why would the US be any different? It woulnd't which is why we can now safely say that pretty much any information coming out from the government and its proxies that has a stock market impact is false until proven true. Of course, for everything else, one can blame the conspiratorial blogs...
It's good to run the biggest video game company in the world—$64.9 million worth of good, to be precise. That's how much Activision Blizzard recorded for compensation to CEO Bobby Kotick in 2012, according to a recent regulatory filing with the SEC. The headline amount makes Kotick the second highest-paid CEO in the US for 2012, behind only Oracle CEO Larry Ellison (who made $96.2 million in 2012). But Kotick's number is a bit misleading, since the $64.9 million includes $55.9 million in stock options. That amount will actually be vested during the course of five years, even though regulatory rules require they all be counted for the 2012 filing. Even spreading that stock award out, though, puts Kotick's 2012 compensation at more than $20 million. That's just a bit below the $20.5 million made by GE CEO Jeff Immelt, despite the fact that GE is roughly 14 times the size of Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard's filing says it aims to keep executive pay in the seventy-fifth percentile of comparable companies, but EA paid CEO John Riccitiello only $800,000 a year before he resigned last month. "We don't like any element of this pay package," Nell Minow, a corporate-governance consultant at GMI Ratings, told Bloomberg in response to the news. "In the past we have expressed concern about this company and its compensation practices. The lack of information provided by the compensation committee is a red flag. It's very difficult to discern how they determined this compensation package from the information that's been provided." The 50-year-old Kotick started as CEO at Activision in 1991, and he continued in the position after the company's merger with Blizzard in 2008. The firm's stock price has risen nearly 16-fold during this long tenure, though it is currently down a bit from record prices in mid-2008.
Similar, But Different: An Explanation of Moon Knight’s Parallels to Other Fictional Characters It’s a staple in superhero fandom to say, “this character is a rip-off of that character!” It’s true: between the superhero tent poles of Marvel and DC, there are pairs of characters that seem like one was influenced by the other. Whether it’s between Deadpool and Deathstroke, Namor and Aquaman, or Nova and Green Lantern, there are character traits shared among these pairs that fans argue over as “ripped off.” Then there are fans like me who step in to defend our favorite contested character with complex and sometimes convoluted reasoning. The truth of the matter is that most if not every superhero was inspired by either another fictional or real-life character including the first and most famous examples. So in a sense, every superhero ripped off someone else. Get over it. Now, as a fan of Marvel’s lunar crusader, Moon Knight, I often feel the same cringe-inducing discomfort other fans feel when someone says, “Moon Knight is a Batman rip-off” or “Moon Knight is Marvel’s Batman.” I get that people use this analogy to instantly familiarize other uninitiated people to the basics of what kind of character he is: he is like Batman. You know what? Yeah, okay, he does borrow some character elements from the Dark Knight: Moon Knight throws around his Crescent Darts, which are moon-shaped Batarangs, in essence. Moon Knight uses themed transportation, including a Moon Copter that is his analog to the Batplane. Moon Knight’s secret identity is rich and personally funds his vigilantism like Bruce Wayne does as Batman. (There is a big BUT to this point that I’ll get around to.) to this point that I’ll get around to.) Moon Knight wears a cape that he glides around on like Batman. (Oh come on! That’s so generic by now!) Moon Knight has a butler named Samuels just like Batman has a butler named Alfred. Moon Knight owns a mansion with a secret hidden base just like Batman’s Wayne Manor and Batcave. That’s where their similarities end. Now, I don’t take issue to the fact that people are at least partially right about Moon Knight “ripping off” Batman for the above similarities. What I take issue with is people’s conviction in labeling Moon Knight as guilty of something that Batman allegedly isn’t, which is completely false: Batman is not innocent of being inspired by other characters. It’s general comic book lore that Batman’s creation was inspired by pre-superhero, fictional vigilantes, including Zorro—which was even alluded to in Batman’s classic origin story with Bruce and his parents seeing The Mask of Zorro on the night his parents were killed—the Scarlet Pimpernel, The Shadow, Doc Savage, Dick Tracy, and Sherlock Holmes. Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batman’s creators, drew inspiration from each of these classic characters, including character traits like being an aristocrat with a heroic double identity and being a master sleuth. Therefore, Batman cannot be effectively used as a shining example of an original character in comparison to Moon Knight. Batman is just as inspired by other characters as Moon Knight is inspired by Batman. However, Batman is not Moon Knight’s only inspiration—nor, as I shall argue, is he Moon Knight’s chiefest inspiration. Let’s first go over Moon Knight’s character and story. He was created in 1975 by Doug Moench and Don Perlin as an adversary-turned-ally to Jack Russell, the protagonist of Marvel’s Werewolf By Night. When he was first created, Moon Knight was little else than an opponent for the Werewolf hired by the Committee to hunt and capture the creature alive. Moon Knight became popular enough with readers to warrant several cameo appearances in other Marvel books until he was given a proper ongoing solo series in 1980 helmed by Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz. It was by 1976’s Marvel Spotlight #28, the character’s first appearance since Werewolf By Night, that Moench and Perlin began to give the character addition definition. Moon Knight’s supporting cast and alter egos also first appeared in that issue. Here is a summary of all three of his alter egos: Marc Spector — Moon Knight’s first and truest secret identity. Ex-mercenary, Ex-military, Ex-prize-fighting boxer; an all-around gruff brute with a repertoire of sins and regrets that, as Moon Knight, he fights to atone for. As Marc, Moon Knight has access to Marc’s wealth of combat and tactical expertise and his illicit black market connections. Steven Grant — One of Marc’s first invented identities. Millionaire, philanthropist, art collector, high-society fop; Marc’s preferred identity and Marlene Alraune’s lover (one of Moon Knight’s oldest agents). Steven is the man Marc wants to be because he is far more respectable. Steven’s fortunes are derived from the spoils of Marc’s mercenary past and (plausibly) mindful investments. He uses his status and finances to gain intel from richer circles. Jake Lockley — Another of Marc’s first invented identities. Street-wise, rough-around-the-edges New York City cabbie. For the most part, Jake is a humble character and perhaps represents another ideal Marc strives to achieve in his quest for redemption. Jake’s true talents lie in his street-level connections which he uses to collect information. Moon Knight’s supporting cast also defines him as much as his multiple personalities and origin story. His core supporting cast include: Marlene Alraune — Steven’s lover and Moon Knight’s agent. Marlene’s father, Peter, was killed by Raoul Bushman (Moon Knight’s oldest and primary archnemesis and one-time ally to Marc) during a treasure raid by Marc’s mercenary group at a Northern Sudan archaeological dig. (Marc blames himself for Peter’s death, which Marlene was witness to, because he failed to act on his conscience.) Marlene isn’t merely eye candy; she’s a strong and capable agent who has frequently fought alongside with Moon Knight. Jean-Paul “Frenchie” DuChamp — Marc’s former mercenary partner-turned-agent of Moon Knight and his best friend. Ex-French Legionnaire. Frenchie is primarily the Moon Copter’s pilot, engineer, and mechanic. Like Marc, Frenchie regrets the sins of his mercenary past and seeks atonement by aiding Moon Knight. Bertrand Crawley — Jake’s back-alleys informant. A down-on-his-luck vagabond with an eloquent vocabulary, Crawley frequents Gena’s Diner for a hot cup of water to soak his moldy teabag in and to provide Jake with the word on the streets. He, too, seeks atonement for his troubled past. Gena Landers and her sons, Ray and Ricky — Owner and operator of Gena’s Diner located in Brooklyn. Gena and her sons are not so much informants as they are spies for Moon Knight. They’re largely involved in Moon Knight’s mission as non-combatants. Detective Flint — Not an agent of Moon Knight. Detective Flint is more or less Moon Knight’s police liaison and informant. Also, Detective Flint is less of Moon Knight’s equivalent to Commissioner Gordon in Batman lore due to his diminished impact on Moon Knight or his story. Moon Knight associates each of his multiple personalities with his supporting cast: Marlene and Frenchie relate to Marc Spector; Marlene is in love with Steven Grant; Crawley and Gena and her sons relate to Jake Lockley; and Detective Flint and the rest of Moon Knight’s supporting cast serve the heroic identity, Moon Knight. As you can already tell, Moon Knight has some key differences from Batman: Marc Spector wasn’t born into his wealth like Bruce Wayne was. Instead, Marc gained his fortune from his mercenary career. Also, Marc wasn’t born into a rich family like Bruce was; Marc was born into a mid-to-lower class family living in Chicago and his father was a pacifist, an orthodox Rabbi, and a Holocaust survivor. Also, Marc didn’t aspire to his father as Bruce did to his; Marc despised his father’s pacifism and their familial relationship was strained and dysfunctional to his father’s deathbed. Moon Knight and Batman may share mental health issues (as some would suggest that Batman is psychotic, among other things), but Moon Knight is explicitly more unstable. His multiple personality disorder is both his greatest advantage and greatest foil. share mental health issues (as some would suggest that Batman is psychotic, among other things), but Moon Knight is explicitly more unstable. His multiple personality disorder is both his greatest advantage and greatest foil. Where Batman fights for vengeance and justice by his own determination, Moon Knight fights for vengeance as homage to the Egyptian god of the moon and vengeance, Khonshu. Moon Knight is both an enigma and a quagmire: his mental instability makes him an unreliable protagonist because there is no definite answer to whether Khonshu is real or if he is part of Moon Knight’s madness. Regardless, Moon Knight believes he is Khonshu’s avatar and his belief—combined with his desire for redemption—is what drives him to be a hero whereas Batman is primarily driven by the death of his parents. Religion is as much the core of Moon Knight as is his madness. (This is also biblically and dramatically ironic because Marc rejected his father’s faith and he is a Jew serving an Egyptian deity.) Now unlike Batman, Moon Knight’s inspiration is far vaguer in comics history. There is virtually no source material that explores how Moench and Perlin created the character and most analyses into his inspirations are largely parallelisms drawn by fans. Despite the dominant trend of drawing parallels between Moon Knight and Batman, there are other less circulated parallels that have been drawn that better shape Moon Knight’s true inspiration. The most common of the uncommon parallels drawn—and that which I agree with most profoundly from my own research and experience—is between Moon Knight and the classic pulp hero, The Shadow. There are a wide variety of reasons why The Shadow is a better candidate over Batman as Moon Knight’s primary inspiration. First, who is The Shadow? The Shadow was originally created in 1930 by David Chrisman, William Sweets, and Harry Engman Charlot as a means for Street and Smith Publications to boost sales of its Detective Story Magazine. The Shadow was first the narrating persona of the Detective Story Hour radio show until he became popular enough with listeners to warrant the creation of his own monthly novels written by Walter B. Gibson under the penname Maxwell Grant. (Gibson is credited as The Shadow’s true original creator because he gave life to a previously ethereal, bodiless voice on the radio.) The Shadow eventually earned his own radio show which adapted Gibson’s novels and added to it one of The Shadow’s oldest and most popular agents, Margo Lane. To best explain The Shadow’s story, here is a quote directly from the radio shows’ introduction: The Shadow, mysterious character who aids the forces of law and order, is in reality Lamont Cranston, wealthy young man-about-town. Several years ago in the Orient, Cranston learned a strange and mysterious secret…the hypnotic power to cloud men’s minds so they cannot see him. Cranston’s friend and companion, the lovely Margo Lane, is the only person who knows to whom the voice of the invisible Shadow belongs. There were some significant changes made to The Shadow and his story between Gibson’s novels and the radio show. Later adaptations and stories amalgamated the different elements between the two versions to varying degrees. Modern interpretations of the character and his stories include these elements: The Shadow’s true identity is actually Kent Allard, a famed aviator from World War II who one day went missing. In that time, Kent became a savage warlord until Eastern monks intervened and trained him in their mystic ways to become a force for vengeance and justice. (Other interpretations replace the Eastern monks with South American native tribesmen.) Lamont Cranston is actually an entirely different person who Kent once saved. He now serves The Shadow by allowing Kent to assume Lamont’s identity while the real Lamont is sent out-of-country. The Shadow’s power to “cloud men’s minds” and become invisible is limited in that the only thing he cannot hide is his own shadow. This is thematic to Kent’s own dark heart which is so stained with the sins of his past that he cannot hide it. (Thus his shadow is a physical manifestation of his sins.) The Shadow can also peer into the hearts of men and women, allowing him to see the good and evil in them. The Shadow is often violent in his vengeance and is more of a feared vigilante than a hero. The Shadow has many agents besides Margo including Harry Vincent, one of his oldest agents and friends and a man-about-town himself; Moe “Shrevvy” Shrevnitz, a gruff-yet-humble New York City cabbie; and Burbank, The Shadow’s trusted and secretive communications master stationed in The Shadow’s Sanctum. Margo is also not the only agent who possibly knows The Shadow’s secret identity. The Shadow largely relies on his agents in his mission. Margo is both a romantic interest to Kent and a capable agent who fights alongside The Shadow. As you can see, Moon Knight shares many more similarities with The Shadow than he does with Batman. To compare: Both Marc and Kent had sinful pasts that they’re driven to atone for as their heroic alter egos. Both use and rely on a network of agents, some of whom know their secret identities and whom are also close friends to the heroes. Both share a romantic interest with a beautiful female agent who’s also a capable fighter in her own rights. Both Margo and Marlene also live a lavish life of luxury which they use for the high-society connections. Both Moon Knight and The Shadow are violent vigilantes, though different interpretations of each also make them less violent and more heroic. Both possess seemingly mystical qualities that can likely be explained by science, specifically psychology. (The Shadow’s powers are often related to hypnosis.) Both employ multiple identities that serve different functions in their missions. Both operate out of New York City. Both have helicopter-based flying machines: Moon Knight has his Moon Copter and The Shadow has his gyrocopter. An interesting twist to Moon Knight when compared with The Shadow is that where Lamont Cranston, Kent Allard, and Shrevvy are different characters separate from each other, Moon Knight’s equivalents—Steven Grant, Marc Spector, and Jake Lockley, respectively—are actually different personalities of the same character. From these comparisons, you can see that the common Moon Knight-to-Batman parallels are largely drawn from aesthetic qualities whereas the uncommon Moon Knight-to-The Shadow parallels are drawn from characteristics beyond the aesthetic. Therefore, the next time someone tells you, “Moon Knight is a Batman rip-off” or some variation thereof, you can respond, “You’re partially correct but Moon Knight is inspired more by The Shadow, who is also one of many inspirations for Batman.” The conversations based on who inspired what should also no longer veer toward the negative connotation that “X is a copy of Y” unless the X character is a blatant carbon copy of the Y character with only a (very) small handful of aesthetic changes. These conversations are rarely if ever constructive and only serve to demean a property that most likely deserves more praise for the qualities that differentiates it from its inspiration. The goal is not to drive away potential fans from a similar property; the goal should be to broaden a fan’s horizon with properties that feel familiar but are different. The comics industry and its fans suffer from an “us versus them” mentality, so don’t contribute to it. Strive to be inclusive of potential fans to similar properties because new fans help the industry and fandom thrive.
Subtitled: Has Anyone Here Heard of Client/Patient Confidentiality? No? No. Today, the National Rifle Association had a press conference. Wayne LaPierre, the Executive Vice President spoke, and I, recently relocated back to Texas for the holidays, slept through it. Then I saw the transcript, sat bolt upright in my bed, and got ranty on the internet. The relevant bit (emphasis mine): The truth is, that our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters. People that are so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voices and driven by demons, that no sane person can every possibly comprehend them. They walk among us every single day, and does anybody really believe that the next Adam Lanza isn’t planning his attack on a school, he’s already identified at this very moment? How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame from a national media machine that rewards them with wall-to-wall attention and a sense of identity that they crave, while provoking others to try to make their mark. A dozen more killers, a hundred more? How can we possibly even guess how many, given our nation’s refusal to create an active national database of the mentally ill? The fact is this: That wouldn’t even begin to address the much larger, more lethal criminal class — killers, robbers, rapists, gang members who have spread like cancer in every community across our nation. So, since the NRA seems long on rhetoric and short on facts, I thought I’d clear some stuff up for them. Patient confidentiality exists even if you have mental illness. Funny how that works, where you have rights still, when you have mental illness. Psychiatrists still have to follow HIPPA rules. In fact, notes on psychotherapy that are kept separate from medical charts are given even more protection. Was the NRA suggesting that we trounce all over patient confidentiality and require all diagnoses to be reported? Just the “dangerous” ones? Would someone like to clarify for me which ones those are? Therapists are already required to report anyone who makes a credible threat, and warn any possible targets. This is largely based on the Tarasoff Rule, which came out of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California. In essence, when a psychologist or therapist hears a client threaten harm, they are obligated to warn those people who may be in danger. “Protected privilege ends where the public peril begins.” This is one of several exceptions to confidentiality, which can be summed up as confidentiality except in instances of harm to self or others. (Which includes reports of child abuse while another child is in the home, risk of suicide, elder abuse, and any threats or injury or death to another.) So, say there was a high correlation between being mentally ill and being violent. (There’s not.) And then say the Connecticut shooter was mentally ill and in treatment (As far as we know, he wasn’t.) And then, say he’d confessed his plan… oh wait, there’s already methods in place to deal with that. So your database does what now, NRA? Not everyone with mental illness is diagnosed. So would you be requiring everyone to be tested for mental illness then? I mean, I’d be all over that if you didn’t then require that the mentally ill be registered in a database à la sex offenders. Mental illness isn’t exactly uncommon. Twenty six percent of American adults meet criteria for a diagnosable disorder in a given year. That, for those of you inclined towards fractions, is one quarter of the population. Since I’ve noticed that it’s somewhat less than a quarter of the population that’s having trouble committing violent crimes with guns, I’m going to posit the radical notion that having mental illness and being near weaponry does not a killer make. Of course, there are some mentally ill people who shouldn’t be near guns. I’ll agree to that easily. There’s also some mentally sound people that we’d rather not have near guns. Discrimination against the mentally ill is actually a problem. Nifty research here. (Abstract only if you’re not at a university, sorry.) Basically, the neurodiverse are more likely to be discriminated against by their employers and coworkers, as well as facing disadvantages in competing for jobs. So maybe we could try to avoid making that worse? Like say, by avoiding the creation of a searchable database of those with mental illness? Note: I’m fully aware that some people with mental illness are violent. So are some neurotypical people. I’d be all over a psychometrically sound test of impulse control/aggression/etc, that tested abilities related to using a gun responsibly. Using science to determine safe gun owners–great! Using a highly stigmatized population to avoid discussing gun control–jerk move.
Brokers and bankers say that in past decades, the credit markets would almost certainly have accommodated many of these people. “The credit pendulum is stuck at ‘stupid,’” said Lou S. Barnes, an owner of Boulder West Financial Services, a Colorado mortgage bank. “I am turning down loans every day that my grandfather in his Ponca City, Okla., savings and loan in 1935 would have been happy to make. And he was tough.” The denials are occurring for a wide array of reasons: the buyers’ incomes are adequate but irregular; they are self-employed and take many deductions, reducing the taxable income on which lenders focus; their credit scores are below the cut-off point, which has been raised drastically; their down payments are less than 20 percent. Photo Housing usually leads the country into a recession, which certainly happened this time, and also leads it out — which will not happen in 2010, the real estate industry contends, without stronger efforts to thaw the market. No one is advocating a return to the lax lending standards of 2006, when buyers with no income or documentation could get loans. But many people say they believe lenders and the government, in correcting the excesses of that era, have gone too far in the other direction. Fannie Mae , the government-controlled company that buys mortgages, is so dominant in the lending market that its rules set the standard. It recently toughened its policies, saying it would count only 70 percent of the value of stocks and mutual funds when calculating a buyer’s assets. Previously, that figure was 100 percent. A Fannie spokesman, Brian Faith, said tighter regulations screened out those unprepared to be owners. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “One of the important lessons learned in the past few years is that it is not enough to help a borrower own a home,” Mr. Faith said. “We must also help ensure that they will be able to stay in the home over the long term.” Mortgage brokers say those who are being rejected for loans are often entrepreneurs who are used to taking risks. “They are chomping at the bit to get into this market, but are forced to the sidelines,” said Stuart Fraass of Guaranteed Rate Inc. “If you’re self-employed, you have virtually no chance of getting a mortgage now.” Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Mr. Fraass was unable to help Raghbir Singh, a real estate investor who owns a gas station in Dover, N.H. Mr. Singh tried to buy a $301,000 house for himself and his family with 10 percent down and excellent credit, but was rejected. “It was unfair,” Mr. Singh said. “I’m a good risk, but I’m forced to rent.” Lately, the continued deep-freeze in the traditional market has to some extent been veiled by the brisk sale of foreclosed houses. In April, distressed transactions made up nearly half of all existing house and condo sales, the National Association of Realtors said. In May, they were a third. That means traditional or so-called move-up sales, where the parties at both ends of the transaction are individuals instead of banks, are limping along at an annual rate of about three million, the lowest figure in a quarter-century. Photo “Without further action, we’re not going to stabilize,” said Steve Murray of Real Trends, a Denver research group. “The real estate recovery will take 10 or 12 years.” There are plenty of plans to unlock the market. Members of Congress are proposing to extend and enlarge an $8,000 credit for first-time buyers, which is due to expire in December. One bill would extend the credit to all buyers through next June. Another would extend it to all buyers through 2010. A third bill would expand it to $15,000 for all buyers. Some economists, noting that tax incentives helped stoke the boom, say these proposals should be shunned. “When do you decide enough is enough?” said the housing consultant Ivy Zelman. “I don’t want to feed the drug addict with more drugs.” The continuing deterioration in traditional real estate can be seen in the market in Massachusetts , where the economy, as measured by the unemployment rate, is better than in the nation as a whole. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Yet sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts in May were tied for the lowest level for the month in the 22 years since reliable statistics were first assembled, according to Timothy M. Warren Jr. of the Warren Group, which collects real estate data. Condo sales were only marginally better. As bleak as those numbers may be, they do not fully convey the troubles here in the upper half of the market. In towns where the median home price is above $500,000, sales during the first five months of the year were 21 percent below the level of 1990, when the state’s population was smaller and the local economy equally in crisis. Real estate agents, always optimistic, had looked for some recovery this spring, the strongest season in the Northeast. Mr. Warren said he was more pessimistic, but was disappointed anyway. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand, but it takes nerves of steel to buy,” he said. Dr. Komarovskaya, the rejected dentist, tries to be philosophical about missing out on that two-bedroom condo she wanted in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. She understands that after years of mortgage abuse and fraud, the rules had to be tightened. But what might be an inevitable process in the larger economy is a burden on her personal finances. “Renting is a waste of money,” she said. Having no choice, she has dropped plans to buy and signed a new apartment lease.
No, you’re the puppet. Late last month, reports emerged that President Trump was about to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Just 12 hours later, the White House announced that the U.S., Canada, and Mexico had agreed to renegotiate the trade deal. The next day, several major news outlets tried to make sense of the dramatic reversal. The president himself shared some concerning details about his process for deciding the fate of a deal that affects millions. “I was all set to terminate,” Trump told the Washington Post. “I looked forward to terminating. I was going to do it.” According to the president, his plans changed because his advisers presented a map that showed how termination would affect Trump voters, and he received friendly calls from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. “Two people that I like very much, the president of Mexico, prime minister of Canada, they called up, they said, can we negotiate? I said, yes, we can renegotiate,” Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania to mark his 100th day in office. “So we’ll start a renegotiation.” On Monday, Canadian outlets reported that the real story might have been even more bizarre. The National Post said White House officials called Canadian officials seeking Trudeau’s assistance in convincing their boss to save NAFTA. The Canadian Press identified Jared Kushner as the White House aide who may have rescued the trade deal, while the Associated Press said Ottawa reached out to Trump’s son-in-law first. Others have suggested that the entire incident was a mistake, or perhaps an elaborate ruse orchestrated by the White House as a negotiating tactic. Here’s a rundown of the new theories on why the trade deal still exists, though, as the president put it, “I was really ready and psyched to terminate NAFTA.” The White House "Globalists" Enlisted Trudeau to Outmaneuver the Nationalists Previously, several reports suggested that the confusion emanating from the White House on April 26 was the result of another battle between the West Wing “Democrats” and the Breitbart faction going public. Politico reported that the executive order that would have started the process of withdrawing from NAFTA was crafted by two White House populists, trade adviser Peter Navarro and chief strategist Steve Bannon. More moderate Trump advisers — including Kushner, National Economic Council head Gary Cohn, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — were said to be scrambling to convince the president not to kill it. Canadian government sources told The National Post that part of that effort involved White House officials calling them and asking Trudeau to help persuade Trump to renegotiate. The Canadian Press reported that it was Kushner, whose massive portfolio includes relations with Canada, who reached out to our neighbors to the north: A pair of sources described the chain of events. At about 6 p.m., the senior White House aide contacted a counterpart in Ottawa. The president’s son-in-law and adviser called PMO chief of staff Katie Telford, and said: Trump has a free moment, right now, to speak about NAFTA. He suggested Trudeau might want to call the White House. Telford veered to a stop. She happened to be in a carpool, commuting with her colleague Gerald Butts. The senior officials pulled over to the side of the road in Tunney’s Pasture, an industrial-park-like federal area in west-end Ottawa. They got in touch with Trudeau, and the prime minister contacted Trump. Trudeau and Peña Nieto spoke with Trump in the afternoon, and around 7 p.m. the White House put out a statement saying NAFTA would be renegotiated. “You never know how much of it is theatre, but it didn’t feel that way,” said a senior Canadian diplomatic source. “Maybe they’re just learning how to be a government. At least they were open to the conversation, and that stopped them doing something rash and destructive.” The next day Trudeau described his call with Trump, saying he pointed out that they were both elected because voters felt they would help improve the economy. “Disruption like cancelling NAFTA, even if theoretically [it] eventually might lead to better outcomes, would cause a lot of short- and medium-term pain for a lot of families,” Trudeau said. Kushner Just Set Up a Phone Call The Canadian Press report fits into the familiar narrative of Kushner or his wife, Ivanka Trump, pulling strings behind the scenes to prevent President Trump from following his worst impulses. However, on Monday, a White House official suggested Kushner was acting more like a high-profile receptionist. The White House official told the Associated Press that Trudeau aides reached out to Kushner first because they were concerned by the press reports about NAFTA’s imminent demise. In this version it sounds like Kushner is deferential to his father-in-law, rather than manipulative: Kushner told his Canadian counterpart that this was a matter the leaders needed to discuss themselves, according to the White House official, who insisted on anonymity in order to discuss private conversations. The Canadians asked when Trudeau should call. After checking at the White House, Kushner called back to say Trump was ready to talk now. For what it’s worth, in his own brief account of the NAFTA debate, Kushner didn’t sound like he was so passionate about the issue that he would go behind the president’s back. During his Post interview, Trump asked Kushner to confirm that he was serious about pulling out of NAFTA. “Yeah,” Kushner said. “I said, ‘Look, there’s plusses and minuses to doing it,’ and either way he would have ended up in a good place.” It Was All a Misunderstanding Weirdly, while Trump repeatedly insisted that he was very close to killing NAFTA, last week his Commerce secretary suggested that the executive order was just one of many drafts floating around the White House, and Trump was only spurred into action because it leaked. “I think what people don’t understand is that the president encourages lively discussion within the White House and between the White House and the cabinet,” Ross told CNBC. “In the course of those discussions, all kinds of alternatives come up. I think what’s unfortunate is someone leaked one of the many potential papers that was floating around and created a whole skirmish over something that had not been decided upon by the president.” It Was All a Ruse to Pressure Congress Under this scenario, Kushner or some other White House official may have placed frantic calls to Trudeau, but it was Trump pulling the strings. While the threat of pulling out of NAFTA prompted a quick response from Canada and Mexico, both nations were already eager to renegotiate the trade deal. The only thing standing in the way is the U.S. Congress, and a day after the NAFTA debacle, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray suggested Trump’s threat was really aimed at U.S. lawmakers. “There has been a significant delay in starting the process that would enable a renegotiation,” he noted in a radio interview. “A negotiating ploy,” Gary Hufbauer of the Peterson Institute in Washington told the Canadian Press. “True to Trump’s style.” If the Trump administration was trying to light a fire under Congress, it’s hard to say if the effort worked. The issue is that the White House is required to tell Congress 90 days before it begins renegotiating NAFTA, and the notification must come from the U.S. trade representative. The confirmation of Trump’s nominee for that position, Robert Lighthizer, has been held up by his previous work for China and Brazil. Congress has moved on his confirmation in recent days, albeit very slowly. A waiver to allow Lighthizer to serve as trade representative even though he’s represented foreign governments was tucked into the massive spending bill that Trump signed into law last week. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will vote on Lighthizer next week, when they return from recess. Senate plans to vote this week on USTR nominee Robert Lighthizer. A waiver for his past work for China was included in omnibus spending law. pic.twitter.com/tXcY7hu9Av — Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) May 7, 2017 Some say it doesn’t make sense for Trump to take such drastic measures to get Republicans to act. “You don’t go and float these rumors and have the markets crash, and currencies, and threaten bilateral relations just to prod your own party into acting in Congress,” said Jorge Guajardo, a former Mexican diplomat and senior director at the D.C. international strategy firm McLarty Associates. Then again, a president having his adviser slash son-in-law conspiring with the Canadian prime minister, or pretending he was about to kill a major trade deal to cover up for a leak doesn’t make much sense either.
On Tuesday afternoon, Bloomberg published a video in which CEO Travis Kalanick aggressively argues with an Uber driver who claimed he is earning less money after Uber cut fares. “Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit,” Kalanick exclaims, after driver Fawzi Kamel claims he lost $97,000 because of Uber. “They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!” The publication of the dashcam-shot video is the latest in a parade of PR disasters for Uber. In January, Kalanick’s decision to sit on President Donald Trump’s economic advisory group inspired a viral #DeleteUber campaign in which the company saw about 200,000 users delete their accounts, according to the New York Times. Kalanick subsequently resigned from the council. Then, in early February, a former Uber engineer penned a viral account of her experience at the company, with detailed allegations of systemic sexism. In response, Uber launched an internal investigation into the accusations, led by former Attorney General Eric Holder and Arianna Huffington, who sits on Uber’s board. A visibly emotional Kalanick apologized to his staff at an all-hands meeting and promised to “do better.” Two days later, during a meeting with more than 100 women engineers, Kalanick was grilled about issues of sexism at Uber, according to an audio recording obtained by BuzzFeed News. “I want to root out the injustice,” he told those in attendance. “I want to get at the people who are making this place a bad place. And you have my commitment.” Uber’s tensions with its drivers are well-documented. The company continues to grapple with lawsuits over the classification of drivers as independent contractors. Just last month, Uber paid the Federal Trade Commission $20 million to settle allegations that it advertised inflated estimates of how much its drivers earn on its website and in Craigslist job postings. Kalanick’s video interaction with his Uber driver is in many ways a snapshot of those tensions — and one that Uber clearly did not expect to become public. Uber declined to comment on the video. Uber says on its website that drivers are permitted by the company to record riders “for purposes of safety,” but notes that “local regulations may require individuals using recording equipment in vehicles to fully disclose to riders that they are being recorded in or around a vehicle and obtain consent.” In California, a state with a two-party consent rule for recording confidential conversations, could the driver be in legal trouble? “It was a risky move to publicize this video,” Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University, told BuzzFeed News. “It’s unclear if the conversation between the Uber driver and the CEO would qualify as a confidential communication.” Goldman said whether the conversation would qualify as confidential would depend on several factors, such as whether the dashcam was prominently visible, and whether for-hire vehicles could count as public spaces. Regardless of those questions, he said, lawsuits of this variety are uncommon and the optics around Uber suing one of its own drivers lower the odds of a lawsuit. Said Goldman, “Uber’s CEO has much bigger problems in his life right now.”
St Mirren manager Gary Teale (left) speaks with Chairman Stewart Gilmour (right) Gary Teale feels he has done enough to secure the St Mirren manager's job beyond the summer, despite being relegated. The Saints came from behind to defeat Ross County 2-1 in Dingwall with Steven Thompson's last minute penalty securing the points. However, Friday's win for Motherwell over Kilmarnock confirmed St Mirren's relegation to the Scottish Championship. "Hopefully the board will come out and make a decision," Teale told BBC Scotland. "I love the club, I've been here for a long time. I took over in difficult circumstances and just fell short in terms of being able to keep the club in the league. "I certainly think with some of the players in there and players we've identified to come into the club we can go give a good account of ourselves next year. "It was always going to be a difficult ask. When you look at County and Motherwell and how they were able to go and invest at a crucial time of the season it speaks volumes. But I think I've done enough." Ross County dominated for much of the game, but could not build on Martin Woods' first-half penalty, which was cancelled out by Stephen Mallan's deflected shot before Thompson's late winner. "To come up and get a performance like we did today speaks volumes for the players in that dressing room," said Teale. "For the supporters who made the effort to come up here, you're looking for a performance and desire. We rode our luck, let's be honest, but we got the victory in the end. "The younger lads are in the team now for the last few remaining games to stake a claim for next season, so I'm delighted for them. Delighted for every one of the players." Ross County were wasteful in front of goal at Victoria Park Ross County manager Jim McIntyre could scarcely believe his side came out on the losing side after creating the bulk of the chances. He said: "We put so much into the game, created so many fantastic opportunities, but we didn't have our shooting boots on. "I thought we were going to take at least a point from the game. If we were guilty of anything it was maybe being a bit gung-ho at times, especially towards the end of the match. "I don't think there was anything wrong with the performance, we just didn't have that ruthless side of us today. The story of the game is we didn't put our chances away and that's how we've lost the match."
Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. My family was expelled from Iraq in 1951. My grandfather Haim owned a successful business with several trucks, while my grandmother Gazelle ran the home. They lived in a spacious three-story house while maintaining a simple life. For years my grandparents tried to maintain a good relationship with their Arab neighbors while practing the same Jewish traditions that had been passed down in Iraq for centuries. All this came crashing down within weeks. With the creation of Israel, the Iraqi government declared that all of their property was to be stripped from them and nationalized while the local Jewish population was to be expelled. The authorities let these soon-to-be refugees leave with only one suitcase each after it had been carefully searched to ensure no gold or jewelry was taken with them. My 4-year-old mother took her favorite rag doll, which served as a solemn reminder for decades to come of our family’s storied past in Iraq. Just like my family, hundreds of thousands of Jews were expelled from many other Arab countries and Iran. They had to leave everything they cared for behind, their homes, loved ones and possessions, while making their way to Israel.They ventured into the unknown to come to a new country struggling for its survival. They lived in tents and tin shacks, lived with food rationing, were given new names and began their new lives. With nothing but a suitcase and a rag doll, my family was expelled from a country they had resided in for hundreds of years.In 1948, the year Israel was declared a state, 265,000 Jews lived in Morocco, 150,000 in Iraq, 140,000 in Algeria, 100,000 in Egypt, 100,000 in Tunisia, 55,000 in Lebanon, 40,000 in Libya, 30,000 in Syria and thousands more throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa, for a grand total of 880,000. Shortly thereafter, over 850,000 Jews were expelled from the very countries they called home. The Arab League rejected the establishment of the State of Israel and ultimately decided in forcing out the absolute majority of Jews from their countries.My family’s expulsion happened overnight but not before being preceded by years of persecution against Iraq’s local Jewish population. My grandmother would tell my siblings and me about how her family had to hide in June 1941 during the “Farhud”, a two day pogrom of mass murder, looting and terror against Iraq’s Jewish population. 179 were killed, 2,100 were wounded, 242 children were orphaned and more than 50,000 households and businesses were ransacked.Then, in 1947, the demonstrations against the UN resolution on the establishment of a Jewish state brought up memories of the Farhud and led the Jewish population to go into hiding once again. Hundreds of kilometers away in the city of Aleppo in Syria the situation and results were all too familiar: 75 Jews were murdered, a fifth-century synagogue was destroyed and hundreds of homes were devastated.This is the untold story of the Jewish forgotten refugees. In the Palestinian struggle to preserve the narrative of refugees, it was all too easy to conceal the fact that nearly one million Jews were forcibly banished their homes. These Jews, who survived ethnic cleansing and were systematically expelled, were now forgotten.It is precisely because of this that the US House of Representatives decided in 2008, with House Resolution 185, to recognize the importance of the Jewish refugees from the Arab countries and Iran. And precisely because of this, the government of Israel recognized their rights and dedicated November 30th as a day marking “Jews who were forced to flee Arab countries”.This date is not coincidental. The day after November 29 1947, when the United Nations General Assembly decided to establish a Jewish state in British Mandate Palestine, many Jewish communities in Arab countries immediately began feeling the pressure to leave. There was looting, riots and laws enacted against them and the Zionist movement.The young State of Israel, while fighting for its very existence, absorbed hundreds of thousands of Jews from surrounding countries. Under conditions of extreme poverty, a severe lack of resources, being housed in transit camps, without knowing the language and regardless of their relatives left behind, these refugees started over.Seventy years after the United Nations established a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and Iran are still living in Israel. Many of them, including my mother, remember the exact moment they became refugees and how hard it was in the beginning to start from scratch. But they decided to build again, to give up their refugee narrative, to understand that the years following World War II created a new reality for not only themselves, but tens of millions of others as well.The Jewish refugees from the Arab countries and Iran, together with hundreds of thousands of other Jewish refugees from Europe, built, created and persisted in order to establish a family, a state and a future for their people.On the other hand, the preservation of the seven decade old narrative of Palestinian refugees is still in full force. It continues to serve political goals and is used as a tool to delegitimize Israel and not recognize it as the homeland of the Jewish people. The call for the return of millions of Palestinian refugees to Israel is just another means in the quest to destroy the Jewish state.On this day, the story of the forgotten refugees needs to be told. Fortunately, these refugees had Israel as a home to take them in. Many of them never survived the deadly pogroms suffered at the hands of Arab regimes. It is for this reason it is so important to learn their story, for any injustice somewhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.The author is the Director of the National Campaign for Countering De-Legitimization & Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy. The Video was produced by the Minisrty's 4IL campaign Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>
Get the biggest celebs stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email As the cool-headed judges on Bake Off, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood formed a popular partnership during their seven years together. But now the pair could become bitter rivals after he chose to stay for the switch to Channel 4 while BBC bosses plan to create another show with her and presenters Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc. Mary, who said she was staying out of loyalty to the Beeb, wished her former sidekick well. But Paul initially never mentioned the 81-year-old as he bade farewell to colleagues – hastily adding her to a later statement. BBC chiefs hope to reunite her, Sue and Mel for a cookery show after they were priced out of keeping Bake Off when makers Love Productions sold if for three times as much to Channel 4 in a rumoured £75million deal. Sources at the Beeb said formats would be worked on in the coming months and a new chef drafted in to replace Paul – with former Saturday Kitchen host James Martin a likely option. An insider added: “We’ve got three of the fab four staying with us. We’re thrilled. “The chances of us reuniting Mary, Mel and Sue are very high.” But Channel 4 chief Jay Hunt risked infuriating fans of Mary by playing down her importance to the show that attracted an average of 10 million viewers. (Image: BBC) She said: “Paul really is the star baker, an exceptional talent with a twinkle in his eye. "His wit, warmth and wisdom are vital ingredients in Bake Off’s success. I’m so delighted he’s coming to Channel 4.” Paul also told of his joy at staying. The 50-year-old said: “Since I was a kid, baking has been part of my life. “The seven series inside the tent have created some great memories. "Best of all, I have felt so pleased to experience other people getting the baking bug, just as I did when my dad helped me make my first loaf. “Bake Off has brought baking to the nation and we’ve seen people from all walks of life and backgrounds experience the highs and lows of competition and, more importantly, helping each other. "It’s been a huge part of my life and I just couldn’t turn my back on all that. “So I am delighted I will be continuing as a judge when Bake Off moves to Channel 4. “I want to thank the BBC and Mel and Sue for making my time in the tent great fun and rewarding.” Listing what he felt made the show a great success, Paul again failed to mention Mary. He said: “The bakers themselves, the bakes, the team that makes it, the tent, the bunting and the squirrels.” Fans spotted the glaring snub. One tweeted: “No mention of Mary. What a gent.” (Image: Love Productions - Photographer: Mark Bourdillon) But Paul later issued another statement praising his former co-star – and sources said he was hugely disappointed Mary never made the switch to Channel 4. Insisting there was no rift, he said: “When I spoke earlier on, I did not know what Mary was saying about her decision, and more importantly had not been able to speak to her. “Let there be no doubt: I have loved every minute of my time working with Mary. "I have learned so much from her and we are great friends inside and outside the tent. That will not change. (Image: PA) "Knowing her as well as I do, I am sure she has made the right decision for her.” He then tweeted: “I’ll miss her.” Mary announced she was staying with Bake Off an hour before Paul issued his statement – and paid a warm tribute to him and the rest of the team. She said: “What a privilege and honour it has been to be part of seven years of magic in a tent, The Great British Bake Off. (Image: MEN) "The Bake Off family, Paul, Mel and Sue have given me so much joy and laughter. "My decision to stay with the BBC is out of loyalty to them, as they have nurtured me, and the show, that was a unique and brilliant format from day one. “I am just sad for the audience who may not be ready for change, I hope they understand my decision.” And despite her disappointment at the BBC losing the show, she added: “I wish the programme, crew and future bakers every possible success and I am so very sad not to be a part of it. Farewell to soggy bottoms.” Beeb content director Charlotte Moore, the executive responsible for commissioning Bake Off in 2009, said: “Mary is an extraordinary woman, loved and adored by the British public and the BBC is her natural home. "I’ve been very lucky to have had the pleasure of working with Mary over the last seven years and I’m pleased that will continue. “She is an inspiration to generations, a real icon and I can’t wait to cook up more unmissable shows with her.” Rumours Mary had turned down £7million from Channel 4 were dismissed as “nonsense”. Innuendo Val gets voted out of Great British Bake Off But Paul’s new three-year deal is believed to be worth at least £4.5million – triple the reported £500,000 a year he was on at the BBC. Love Productions boss Richard McKerrow tried to reassure fans Bake Off will not change dramatically – and said keeping Paul was a key factor. He added: “Paul’s presence will ensure the culture of Bake Off continues on Channel 4. “We want to reiterate to fans, that the show they love will remain wholly familiar. (Image: BBC) “Bake Off will be produced by the same team, in the same tent, with the same recipe.” But some fans were sceptical, fearing Channel 4 had blown £75million on a show which was not guaranteed to be a success. One wrote: “They’ve bought the recipe but not the cake.” Channel 4 sources denied there were plans to scrap adverts during Bake Off – and the show will be extended from an hour to 90 minutes. And insiders said bosses will not be rushed into replacing Mary, Sue and Mel because they want to make sure the “chemistry” between any new stars was right. Will Paul be as appetising without Mary? So Paul Hollywood is the only Bake Off team star not to jump ship. While Mel, Sue and Mary were unprepared to risk staying with the programme as it switched sides, Paul found that he could still somehow stomach it. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now And it was definitely, absolutely, quite certainly, categorically nothing to do with the millions of pounds they were offering. Perish the thought. Channel 4 has been at pains to stress how they “saved” the show from a fate worse than death as the pay-TV channels circled menacingly. By kindly offering three or even four times what the BBC had previously paid, they were providing a service to viewers, you see. And since buying the format – without any of the presenting stars on board – they’ve been at pains to stress just how identical the programme will be on Channel 4. But we discovered that the claim rings hollow. (Image: BBC) Viewers have to sit through 90-minutes to find out who is Star Baker and can they ever hope to find another to match last year’s Nadiya Hussain. It won’t have either of its much-loved presenters, nor Mary Berry – the vital ingredient. Because while Jay Hunt praises Hollywood for his “wit, warmth and wisdom” she may be surprised to learn that it was Mary – and Mary alone – who provided the warmth when it came to judging. Paul’s role, as a leading artisan baker, was to be the tough guy. Baking’s answer to Simon Cowell. Somehow, Mary made him nicer – because her generosity of spirit took off his rough edges. Without her? Not sure Mr Nasty will prove appetising.
This article originally appeared on VICE UK. Last week, a flood in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi killed 19 people, with six still missing. Rain caused the Vere River to burst its banks, flooding the city and its zoo, killing animals and allowing others to escape. Initially, all of the zoo's seven tigers and eight lions were thought dead, but last Wednesday a man was killed by an escaped tiger, prompting Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to criticize zoo officials for providing false information. Two of its three jaguars are thought to be dead, as are 12 of its 14 bears. According to theGuardian, police have been accused of unnecessarily shooting many of the animals. They were also seen by zoo staff taking selfies beside lions, tigers, and other large animals they had shot. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing," one worker said. "It was like a trophy for them." Though horrific, a certain element of human tragedy always feels unavoidable in disasters like floods. In densely populated cities, it's almost impossible for people not to get caught up in the wreckage when something goes horribly wrong. However, the presence of wild animals in these disasters feels more avoidable. Leaving aside their deaths and treatment here specifically, that we'd house lions, tigers, and other large animals within roaming distance of a Swatch shop at any time merits questioning, never mind that we do it all over the world, in almost every city, attracting 175 million visitors per year. I'm no big animal-rights crusader, but I do have some basic common sense. And this basic common sense tells me one thing when it comes to the captivity of wild animals: It's probably not something we should be doing. Zoos—or, in their original form, menageries—have been around for a staggeringly long time. The oldest that we know of was uncovered in 2009 during excavations in Egypt, where archeologists found evidence of a menagerie dating back to 3500 BC. Until the early 19th century, however, they were mainly representations of royal power, like Louis XIV's menagerie in Versailles. Not until modern zoos began appearing in London, Dublin, and Paris did they focus on educating and entertaining the public. In line with our improved views on animal rights, zoos have improved in the past 30 years: Cages have mostly been replaced with moats and glass, and the majority now employ full-time vets to administer medication and restrict diets. Positive reinforcement is also the norm, and turning hoses on animals is no longer considered an ethical way to get them to do something. Dart guns, too, are on the wane, after years of causing animals a great deal of stress. When it comes to certain things, however, there are still irreconcilable differences between zoos, parks, and animals' natural habitats. On the issue of space, the average lion or tiger has 18,000 times less in captivity than it does in the wild; polar bears a million times less. To say this adversely affects the animal is an understatement: In 2008, a government-funded study in the UK discovered there was a welfare concern over every elephant in the country; 75 percent of them were overweight, and only 16 percent could walk normally. African elephants also live three times longer in the wild than they do in captivity, and 40 percent of lion cubs die in zoos, compared with 30 percent in the wild. That may sound like a similar figure, but consider that a third of the reasons they die—predators being a big one—in the wild are absent in zoos. Thinking that all zoos have improved, then, would be a mistake. In Britain, there have been numerous incidents of abuse, like at Woburn Safari Park, where, in 2010, lions were discovered being left in cramped, unsuitable enclosures for 18 hours a day, and where staff were found training elephants with 4,500-volt electrical goads. There's also Knowsley Safari Park, where, in 2011, photos showed animals being disposed of in trash dumpsters, having been shot by untrained staff members. And in Ireland, at the crisp-related Tayto theme park, bans were put in place in 2013 and 2014 to stop it from acquiring new animals due to "inappropriate breeding," "inadequate" enclosures," and "high levels of aggression and stress among animals." Worldwide, there have also been dozens of reports of training with goads, inadequate premises, and beatings—but the world's leading zoo association, WAZA (the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums), has yet to expel or condemn any zoo involved. Psychologically, the effects continue: In the UK, 54 percent of elephants experience behavioral problems, and lions spend 48 percent of their time pacing, a sign of behavioral problems, with animals in captivity frequently displaying this "stereotypy," a repetitive or ritualized behavior caused by the boredom of confinement. Other examples include excessive licking, self-mutilation, and trunk-swinging. Depression is also common among animals if they're harassed by visitors, their food variety is lacking or their need to mate is unmet or delayed. READ ON MOTHERBOARD: Why Animals Die Prematurely in Zoos An argument in favor of zoos is their conservation work. A closer look at this, however, reveals what's largely a myth: In reality, fewer than 1 percent of zoo species are part of any serious conservation effort, with many being inbred and having little "genetic integrity" and "no conservation value," according to a 2013 study by Dr. Paul O'Donoghue, a conservation geneticist with the Aspinall Foundation. Far from reentering animals into the wild, they actually take from it, with 70 percent of Europe's elephants being extracted, along with 79 percent of Britain's aquarium population. In fact, it's been shown that captive populations can actually hinder conservation, with one study saying they give "a false impression that a species is safe, so that destruction of habitat and wild populations can proceed." Last year, London Zoo spent £5.3 million [$8.3 million] on an enclosure for three gorillas. Conversely, only 3p [$0.05] per visitor can be traced to conservation efforts by aquarium giant Sea Life. The discrepancy between money spent on captive animals and those in the wild is huge, despite it being 50 times more expensive to house animals in zoos than it is to protect them in their natural habitats. Giraffes at Copenhagen zoo. Photo by Daderot via Wikimedia. Most ironic, however, in the face of this myth is how many animals zoos kill. Last year, after the giraffe Marius was euthanized at Copenhagen Zoo, it was revealed by EAZA (the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) that between 3,000 to 5,000 healthy animals are killed across Europe each year. Another argument in favor of zoos is the education they provide. However, with 41 percent of Britain's aquariums lacking even the most basic information on signs, what can a person possibly learn that they can't from documentaries or YouTube? Truthfully, zoos are part of a bigger problem: how we relate to our natural environment. We bring our children there and teach them to resent animals if they're not entertaining enough, then bring them home and feed them fish fingers and chicken nuggets—foods pulverized into indistinguishable mush—before wondering why the planet's in such a shitty state. We're so focused on meeting our basest needs, some ideas we inherited centuries ago, that we can't see the damage we're causing. We need to wake up, finally, and, like Costa Rica has done already, begin the painful process of shutting down zoos. A zoo in Germany. Photo by A Savin via Wikimedia Follow James on Twitter.
Introduction We have systematically analysed the demographic hotspots of India in the last several articles. We analysed the fall of Indic population in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand [1], West Bengal [2], Assam [3], Kerala [4], Jammu and Kashmir [5], other assorted spots in the Hindi belt [6], and the tribal heartlands of central India [7]. Based on a talk delivered by Prof. Sarkar in August, we also analysed the India wide overview of the changes and implications thereof of the change in population, and the possible causes, solutions and non-solutions to the phenomenon [8]. In this article, based on a talk given by Prof. Sarkar in New York in October 2017, we shall analyse the age based religious demographics of India. In this article, we examine how the Indic population (by this we refer to practitioners of the religions that arose in the Indian subcontinent. This includes mainstream Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and the practitioners of the various tribal faiths) is falling in many areas of India in the younger generation and how the population of the younger generation (0-4 age group) compares with the older generation (65-69) age group. We shall examine the regions where Indic population is collapsing. We shall take a quick look at the religious demographics of the young in big cities where Indic population is falling sharply. The change in demographics between the old and the young will indicate the trajectory of the future demography of India. We shall also examine the hotspots and examine the causes of the fall of the Indic population among the young. Finally, we shall also examine the rural and urban changes that are occurring in India in our bid to identify where the vulnerable spots are and the characteristics of the changes. Background Between 1872, when the first census was held and 2011, the latest census, the Indic population in united India has fallen from ~79% to 66% [8]. Further, it is of some importance to remark that the proportion of Indic population has fallen each and every decade since 1872. The graphs below will show the decadal changes between 1881 and 1941. Partition occurred when Indics had fallen to 73% of the total population. Both Muslims and Christians rose as a share of the population from 19.9% to 24.3% and 0.7% to 1.8% respectively between 1881 and 1941. In 1872, only Northwest Frontier Province, Jammu and Kashmir, Baluchistan and Sindh were Indic minority; both Bengal and Punjab were Indic majority. Further, it is important to mention that the rise of both Christianity and Islam and the fall of Indic religions has been very non-uniform. Due to the Partition, Hinduism more or less ceased to exist in West Pakistan and has greatly declined in East Pakistan. In West Pakistan, Indics have fallen from 19.7% in 1941 to ~2% in 2011 (The last census in Pakistan was in 1998 and consequently, the figures therein are extrapolations from that figure. A new census has been commissioned in 2017, but its results are not yet fully available) and in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), Indics have fallen from 29% in 1941 to 8.9% in 2011 [8]. In the Indian Union, the total proportion of Indics has fallen from 87.2 to 83.2% between 1951 and 2011 [8]. Consequently, in this article, we shall attempt to discover where in the Indian Union the Indics have fallen in their population share and where their proportions are falling, especially in the younger generation. We shall examine initially, the demographic decline in the entire country, and examine the specifics in the areas of concern. We shall examine the age related demographics, both urban and rural, of these areas. Apart from these, we shall examine the change of demographics in the major cities of concern in India. Notation In our article, we have used the following notation for the colours in the maps. In maps where we have displayed the absolute share of the Indic population, we have used a) 60%+ Indic – white b) 50-60% Indic – light green c) 20-50% Indic – dark green d) <20% Indic – red. In maps where we depict the changes of the population between the old (65-69) and the young (0-4) age groups, we have used the following colours. a) Positive change of Indics – saffron b) 0-5% fall of Indics – white c) 5-10% fall of Indics – light green d) 10-15% fall of Indics – green e) 15-20% fall of Indics – dark green f) 20%+ fall of Indics – red. All India Maps The above maps show that there are several areas where the Indic population is sharply falling between the old and the young. Indics have been totally wiped out in the North East and parts of Kashmir, so the change between the old and the young are minimal in these areas. In addition to these maps that depict the absolute numbers of Indics in the 65-69 age group and 0-4 age groups in the various parts of India, we shall depict the change of the Indics across the country. All these statistics have been computed at a district level in the various states in question using the 2011 census. One point must be emphasised before we progress further. First, the positive change in parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, North East. Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are mostly nominal. Only in Goa is there a slightly positive change and this is mainly due to the migration of Hindus from Maharashtra and Karnataka. In any case, nowhere is the positive change between the old and the young greater than 5%, as far as we can tell. Another point is that on the Pakistan border, outside Jammu and Kashmir, Indic population is falling by more than 5% only in Kutch in Gujarat. In rural Kutch, the difference is >10%, with the Indic population falling from 81.87% in the old to 71.04 among the young. This is a serious fall and has implications for the border security. From the above maps, we can see that the Indics are collapsing in seven regions principally. a) Western Uttar Pradesh, Southern Uttarakhand, Mewat and Shekhawati b) Bangladesh border c) Malabar, Canara and Coorg d) Arunachal Pradesh e) Jammu f) Tribal Odisha g) Manipur Valley In addition to these regions, Indics have nearly vanished in the Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Outer Manipur, that there are very few left to actually change in these regions. The positive changes that are shown in the various parts of Outer Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya are mostly cosmetic, given that the Indics have been nearly extirpated from these areas. The same holds true for the Nicobar Islands. The positive change in Ladakh is an artefact. The presence of a large number of servicemen (BSF, ITBP and army) skews the change in favour of Indics. However, the actual number of Buddhists in Ladakh is already in a decline [5] (and Buddhists are the most important set of Indics in Ladakh). We shall examine each of the areas in detail, for both rural and urban changes. Western Uttar Pradesh, Southern Uttarakhand, Mewat and Shekhawati Western Uttar Pradesh In the map shown, it is clear that the Indics are rapidly depleting in the Upper Doab, consisting of the districts of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Hapur and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh ( All the districts are as existed at the time of the census 2011. The statistics of newly created districts like Shamli should be read in the parent districts that existed in 2011). There is significant fall of Indics in all the districts of Rohilkhand, Aligarh and Mathura. The collapse of the Indics in urban areas is most pronounced in the districts of Saharanpur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, and Baghpat, while the collapse of rural Indics is most pronounced in the districts of Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad and Baghpat. It is interesting that while Ghaziabad and Baghpat are still strongly Hindu (73.85 and 71.7% respectively), the Indic population is rapidly depleting here. Urban areas of Rohilkhand and Aligarh, Bulandshahr, and Hathras are also rapidly depleting. Indeed, most of the urban areas of both Upper Doab and Rohilkhand are already Indic minority. District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Saharanpur 59.84 40.23 19.61 69.20 54.45 14.75 Muzaffarnagar 62.27 40.91 21.26 71.88 52.27 19.71 Meerut 72.54 52.67 19.87 77.15 59.25 17.9 Ghaziabad 84.17 71.22 12.95 76.32 58.26 18.06 Baghpat 76.32 54.42 21.9 83.2 63.37 19.83 Jyotiba Phule Nagar 36.98 30.34 6.62 71.86 63.14 8.72 Bijnor 32.19 27.19 5 70.84 58.80 12.04 Rampur 33.22 29.18 4.04 58.31 53.09 5.22 Moradabad 50.24 40.18 10.06 61.26 52.09 9.17 Bareilly 58.93 48.41 10.52 75.55 70.27 5.28 Aligarh 67.12 57.06 10.06 91.64 86.47 5.17 Bulandshahr 68.29 55.47 12.82 86.9 82.9 4 From the above table, a few things are apparent. a) In the Upper Doab (Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad and Baghpat), Hindus are collapsing rapidly in both urban and rural areas, with the difference between the old and the young being as high as 21% and the lowest being 14.75% in rural Saharanpur. To say that the Hindu population in this region is collapsing is a massive understatement. b) In Rohilkhand (Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Bareilly, Bijnor, Moradabad and Rampur), Indic population in the urban areas is already reduced to a small minority (Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Bijnor and Rampur), or is collapsing sharply (Bareilly and Moradabad), with the difference being around 10% in areas which still have a significant urban population. The rural Indic population is also falling sharply in Bijnor (12.04%), Jyotiba Phule Nagar (8.72%) and Moradabad (9.07%). The rural population of Rampur is already at low levels (58.22%) and is falling by around 5% between the old and the young. Even in rural Bareilly, where the Indics are best off, Indics are losing around 5% of the population share between the old and the young. c) In the upper part of the Central Doab (Aligarh and Bulandshahr), the urban Indic population is falling sharply, by 10.06% in Aligarh and 12.82% in Bulandshahr. The rural populations are a little more stable, but even there, they are falling by 5.17 and 4% respectively between the old and the young. Southern Uttarakhand In the above map, it can be seen that Indics are rapidly depleting in the urban areas of Hardwar. Even rural Hardwar is badly affected, while there is significant erosion of Indic numbers in Shahid Udham Singh Nagar. In the table below, we have shown the actual numbers and estimate what it portends. District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Hardwar 80.56 65.38 15.18 68.73 54.75 13.98 Udham Singh Nagar 71.96 62.05 9.91 86.98 78.89 8.09 Dehra Dun 92.97 84.15 8.82 89.63 82.45 7.18 Naini Tal 81.79 65.53 16.26 97.32 94.88 2.44 From the above table, it can be seen that the Indic population in Uttarakhand adjoining Upper Doab and Rohilkhand is fast depleting and in Hardwar, is actually collapsing. There is also a collapse of Indics in the urban areas of Naini Tal and a sharp depletion of Indics in the urban areas of Dehra Dun too. It would appear that the Upper Doab-Rohilkhand Muslim belt is progressing northwards into both Kumaon and Garhwal, especially in urban areas. Mewat and Shekhawati The two regions of Mewat and Shekhawati, while geographically adjacent, have not much in common when it comes to Muslim population. In Mewat (Mewat and Faridabad districts of Haryana and Bharatpur and Alwar districts of Rajasthan), the Indic population is collapsing in the rural areas since the bulk of the Meo Muslims are more rural than urban. Though, technically speaking, only a part of Faridabad, Alwar and Bharatpur districts are part of the cultural region of Mewat, but given that we do not have age based demographics of sub-districts, we have characterised Faridabad, Alwar and Bharatpur as belonging to Mewat. However, the high Muslim population of Shekhawati comes from the urban trader and other artisan classes that have settled there. There are hardly any Muslims in the rural areas of Shekhawati. However, given that they are adjacent, we have included them in the same group. District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Mewat 64.94 45.06 19.86 20.43 11.19 9.24 Faridabad 94.68 89.02 5.62 88.36 78.34 10.08 Alwar 96.75 91 5.75 88.93 75.10 13.83 Bharatpur 97.38 95.27 2.11 87.42 74.96 12.46 Churu 74.19 61.81 12.38 96.27 94.56 1.71 Jhunjhunu 79.02 64.97 14.05 95.6 92.52 4.08 Sikar 72.66 58.02 14.64 95.71 93.34 2.38 The Indic population of rural Mewat district has been essentially wiped out so that there are almost no Indics left there. In urban Mewat district, the Indic population is rapidly falling, indicating that the Hindus are beginning to feel the pressure of the rural Meos in the urban areas too. In the other three districts of Mewat, the fall of Indic population is principally rural, indicating that the Hindus of rural Faridabad (including the present Palwal district), Alwar and Bharatpur are beginning to rapidly lose ground. Given that these districts were >85% Hindu in rural areas in the older generation, the fall is especially significant and portends ill for the Hindus of the region. On the other hand, the fall of the Hindus in Shekhawati is mostly in the urban areas. In the rural areas, the Hindus are mostly >90% everywhere and are nowhere losing more than 4% of the population share. However, the Hindu fall in the urban areas of Shekhawati, ranging between 12 and 15% in all the three districts, is a matter of concern. Bangladesh Border Bihar It is the north eastern corner of Bihar that has a demographic problem. This problem is spreading to the various areas of Mithila too, especially on the Nepal border, but for the time being, the most affected areas are in the North East of Bihar (called Seemanchal), comprising the districts of Kishanganj, Ararea, Purnea and Katihar. All these districts have been seriously affected in both the urban and rural areas. The table below will show the changes. District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Kishanganj 61.51 48.39 12.12 33 28.01 4.99 Ararea 66.47 53.91 12.56 63.56 51.64 11.92 Purnea 81.3 71.42 9.88 63.5 56.11 7.39 Katihar 80.29 72.37 7.92 59.22 49.36 9.86 From the above map and table, it is clear that the Indics have been essentially wiped out in the rural Kishanganj, and are rapidly losing population share in urban Kishanganj. In Ararea, Purnea and Katihar, Indics are losing population sharply in both urban and rural areas by comparable amounts, but the Indic urban population is higher. This is characteristic of all the regions on the Bangladesh border, since most Bangladeshi illegals tend to prefer rural areas where they can gobble unoccupied and public lands for their private purposes. Jharkhand What is true for Seemanchal in Bihar is also true for the Indics of NE Jharkhand, in the old Santhal Paraganas. The influx of illegals from Bangladesh into the relatively unoccupied lands of Santhal Paraganas, especially adjoining Seemanchal and Murshidabad-Birbhum areas. Districts Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Sahibganj 74.54 60.65 13.89 61.01 51.64 9.37 Pakur 55.59 34.78 20.81 57.03 52.73 4.3 Deoghar 88.91 84.06 4.95 83 73.04 9.96 Godda 84.08 72.98 11.1 78.97 70.32 8.65 Jamtara 88.67 83.19 5.48 83.18 71.08 12.1 As may be observed from the above table, there are very serious collapses in the urban population of Sahibganj, Pakur and Godda, while there is sharp falls in the rural populations of Sahibganj Deoghar and Jamtara. These, we suspect, reflect the different industrialisations in the respective districts. In Pakur, the countryside is already heavily cultivated, and consequently, there are fewer lands for the illegal Bangladeshis to seize. However, in the more sparsely cultivated districts like Jamtara, Deoghar, Godda and Sahibganj, there is a considerable amount of unoccupied lands and consequently, Bangladeshis have found an easy home in the regions. In towns in Godda, Pakur and Sahibganj, the Bangladeshis have found good homes in various industries which tend to prefer Bangladeshis for the cheaper labour costs. West Bengal West Bengal, sharing a very long border with Bangladesh and without any laws that promote the welfare of the locals (as in Meghalaya or Mizoram), is suffering from a huge influx of illegal Bangladeshis. We shall examine the effects here. A look at the border districts in the above map will show that all the districts on the Bangladesh border are suffering a sharp decline in the number of Hindus. The situation is made worse by the fact that there is a significant Hindu migration (especially urban Hindus) to other states for economic reasons. In the table below, we display the changes in the affected districts. District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Koch Behar 91.75 83.73 8.02 76.21 68.10 8.11 Uttar Dinajpur 91.90 81.49 10.41 49.23 36.86 12.37 Dakshin Dinajpur 98.5 97.75 0.75 73.19 65.9 7.29 Maldah 73.16 57.22 15.94 50.09 40.27 9.82 Murshidabad 59.23 29.11 30.12 35.94 25.04 10.9 Nadia 94.71 89.81 4.9 70.02 57.26 12.76 Birbhum 82.12 64.59 17.53 66.23 55.61 10.62 Bardhaman 89.77 80.42 9.35 78.27 71.94 6.33 Hooghly 91.18 81.33 9.85 85.31 78.88 6.43 Howrah 82.48 61.99 20.49 82.54 66.93 15.61 Kolkata 87.77 68.04 19.73 N 24 Paraganas 93.2 82.51 9.69 63.45 46.89 16.56 S 24 Paraganas 77.77 52.35 25.42 72.03 52.26 19.77 From the above table, we can see that there are seven districts where the fall of the Hindus is catastrophic. The two 24 Paragana districts are in the most serious danger, especially south 24 Paraganas, since it appears that this region is being heavily infiltrated by Bangladeshis. The same holds true for Howrah district as well, where the Indic population is collapsing (to put it mildly) in both the urban and rural areas. Apart from these districts, Uttar Dinajpur, Maldah and Murshidabad are all in serious danger, since the Indic population is low and collapsing. A combination of emigration of Hindus and immigration of illegal Bangladeshis is causing a huge demographic change in these districts. In the remaining districts, the fall of the Indics is serious, but not catastrophic. Further, in West Bengal, Indics are rapidly depleting in both rural and urban areas in S 24 Paraganas, Howrah. Uttar Dinajpur, Birbhum and Murshidabad, in rural areas in N 24 Paraganas and Nadia, and in urban areas in Maldah. Ground level reports indicate that the two 24 Paraganas districts, Howrah, and Nadia are dens of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Assam A look at the above map shows that the Indics are collapsing in Assam, both in urban and rural areas, with rural areas being the most seriously affected since the Bangladeshis tend to prefer the rural areas for settlements. Only Dima Hasao, with its own laws on land ownership, is showing a positive change in the number of Indics in the urban areas. District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Dhubri 68.98 45.39 23.59 23.26 9.75 13.51 Kokrajhar 92.74 84.18 8.56 65.76 50.08 15.68 Goalpara 52.71 29.43 23.28 45 22.85 22.15 Barpeta 89.31 74.47 14.84 37.03 14.17 22.86 Bongaigaon 91.17 75.82 15.65 57.52 28.86 28.66 Kamrup 84.6 74.31 10.29 65.08 42.41 22.67 Nalbari 89.58 82.63 6.95 72.38 47.06 25.32 Chirang 87.77 63.29 24.58 73.3 59.13 14.17 Baksa 80.44 62.35 18.09 87.67 76.92 10.75 Darrang 83.04 78.42 4.62 47.28 19.74 27.56 Nagaon 82.94 62.25 20.69 51.24 28.05 23.19 Morigaon 76.09 59.96 16.13 55.27 34 21.27 Sonitpur 90.8 80.85 9.95 79.21 65.68 13.53 Karimganj 81 53.41 27.59 52.24 30.26 21.98 Hailakandi 84.95 60.68 24.27 42.8 30.3 12.5 Cachar 84.52 70.69 13.83 62.78 50.21 12.57 Lakhimpur 81.25 67.27 13.98 84.74 70.16 14.58 A look at the above table will show that the Indic populations have collapsed totally in lower Assam (including the Bodo districts, for Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang are also showing serious Indic collapse). The same can be said for the Barak valley. The Bangladeshi infiltration that was more a rural phenomenon is now spreading to large numbers of urban areas and Indics are collapsing in both rural and urban districts. More importantly, districts of Upper Assam like Lakhimpur and Sonitpur are showing serious collapse of Indics. This indicates that Upper Assam is also living on borrowed time. Tripura From the above maps, it is clear that the districts on the Bangladesh borders of Tripura are also showing serious Indic fall, especially in the rural areas. Bangladesh is spreading all along the borders, from Bihar to Tripura. District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change North 96.61 90.69 6.22 80.92 70.86 10.06 West 88 81.02 6.98 97.03 91.95 5.08 North Tripura on the borders of Assam is beginning to show serious fall. While the fall is not yet huge compared to neighbouring Assam, it shows every sign of becoming serious. Jammu From the above maps, it should be apparent that Indics are losing population share in both the hills and the plains. In the hills, Rajouri is rapidly losing Indics in both urban and rural areas, while in the plains, Kishtwar and Doda, there is a steady erosion of Indics in especially rural areas. Only Udhampur is more stable. The table below shows the changes District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Jammu 95.14 88.44 6.7 94.93 89.26 5.67 Kathua 96.43 93.70 2.73 91.02 84.74 6.28 Rajouri 66.67 49.35 17.32 36.58 26.86 9.72 Reasi 89.67 82.21 7.46 50.76 38.79 11.97 Ramban 42.71 35.78 6.93 26.43 25.04 1.39 Doda 26.78 26.75 0.03 49.87 42.38 7.49 Kishtwar 25.6 23.29 2.31 48.43 35.81 12.62 The sharp collapse of Indics in Rajouri, given their already small population is a matter of serious concern. The significant fall of Indics in the rural areas of Jammu and Kathua is also a matter of concern given how high their populations were, to start with. The Indic population in the rural areas of Kishtwar and Doda is also rapidly depleting, as may be seen from the table. A word about the Kashmir valley and Ladakh are appropriate. Ladakh has a large number of servicemen (military and paramilitary); consequently, it is hard to estimate the fall of the Indics since these are not enumerated separately. However, the fall in the absolute number of Buddhists shows that this region is also doing badly, with a very low total fertility rate. As for the Kashmir Valley, the Indics there have practically been exterminated, so computing the difference is pointless, since there are few left to be counted, in any age group. Malabar, Coorg and Canara This region has seen one of the most rapid depletions of Hindus in recent years. A combination of emigration of Hindus to newer opportunities, low fertility among Hindus and a high fertility among Muslims have combined to bring Hindu populations to historic lows. Malabar A look at the map above tells the story of disastrous Indic collapse in the region. Indics are below 60% in all districts except Palakkad and are minorities in two districts (Malappuram and Wayanad) already. We examine the changes in the table below. District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Kasaragod 61.65 37.80 23.85 66.16 49.21 16.95 Kannur 73.51 50.49 23.02 55.67 45.15 10.52 Wayanad 55.22 42.9 12.32 52.52 45.69 6.83 Kozhikode 69.29 47.37 21.92 55.07 37.06 18.01 Malappuram 33.78 19.67 14.21 33.09 20.85 12.24 Palakkad 75.65 53.94 19.71 74.73 57.5 17.23 Thrissur 60.28 51.64 8.64 62.9 54.69 8.21 High literacy and education leading to low fertility, lack of economic opportunity coupled with a cultural predisposition to emigration for economic prospects, especially in the northern districts, along with a high Muslim population with high fertility has led to a collapse of the Indic population in the northern Malabar. The collapse is in both urban and rural areas, but with urban areas predominating. In Malappuram, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod, Indic population is collapsing catastrophically, while even in Thrissur and Wayanad, the fall in Indic populations is very serious indeed. Canara and Coorg The same tale repeats in the districts of Coorg and Dakshin Kannada in Karnataka, which is just across the border for Malabar. Influx of Muslims, high fertility among Muslims, emigration of Indics for economic opportunities, along with a cultural predisposition to emigrate to economic opportunities, and low fertility among Indics have had a disastrous effect on the Indics of the region. The twin districts of Coorg and Dakshin Kannada (South Canara) are the suffering from the same fate as the adjoining districts of Kerala, both in urban and rural districts. The exact fall has been captured in the table shown below. District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Coorg 75.98 64.10 11.88 87.28 77.52 9.76 Dakshin Kannada 69.17 53.13 16.04 78.72 64.61 14.11 Manipur Valley In Manipur valley, we observe a different pattern to the fall of Indic demography. In Manipur, the outer Manipur is almost completely Christian, with little in the way of economy. What economy exists is centred in the Manipur valley, dominated by the Hindu (and Sanamahi) Meiteis. This has, consequently, triggered an influx of working age Christians into the Manipur valley, leading to a fall of Indics in the younger generation. The exact fall is characterised in the table below District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change Bishnupur 93.05 82.89 11.06 95.58 87.66 7.92 Thoubal 85.99 71.40 14.59 81.11 65.94 15.17 Imphal East 84.97 76.12 8.85 81.44 69.89 11.55 Imphal West 94.10 86.68 7.42 95.48 91.49 3.99 Arunachal Pradesh In Arunachal Pradesh, we come to yet another kind of change. In Arunachal Pradesh, most of those targeted for conversion are the younger people – those in the working age. The older generation is not converted and generally dies away, without being converted. This phenomenon was first observed in Nagaland, where the older generation often died out without converting, leaving only the converted younger generation to remain in Christianity. The same phenomenon is being observed now in parts of western Arunachal Pradesh. Most changes in Arunachal Pradesh have occurred around Itanagar and its adjacent districts or in the extreme east, where Indics are wiped out. The actual differences have been noted in the table below District Urban Rural 65-69 0-4 Change 65-69 0-4 Change West Kameng 97.03 85.12 11.91 89.57 85.09 4.48 East Kameng 55.17 51.75 3.42 53.42 48.13 5.29 Papum Pare 65.65 56.42 9.23 24.71 24.61 0.1 Kurung Kumey 48.83 38.98 9.85 Lower Subansiri 63.53 63.13 0.4 64.63 45.4 19.23 West Siang 84.95 75.70 9.25 73.54 66.71 6.83 Tribal South Odisha The phenomenon described above has also been observed in tribal south Odisha. It is shown in the table below, in the rural areas of south Odisha District Rural 65-69 0-4 Change Kandhamal 81.85 73.82 8.03 Gajapati 63.74 53.84 9.9 Since it is tribals of the working age that convert, the disparity emerges in these regions. Major cities In the last section, we shall examine how the major cities of India are faring. We have chosen the 50 major cities of India. These are rapidly growing cities with migration playing a major role in them. Consequently, we shall not evaluate the difference between the old and the young, but we shall highlight how the changes have occurred between 1991 and 2011 census in terms of the total Indic population share and how the young (0-4) compare with the overall population figures. It has been claimed by many that the Hindus are migrating to the cities from the smaller urban areas, to account for the falling Hindu population proportions of small towns and semi-urban areas. In this article, we investigate if this is indeed true. If the Hindus are migrating in huge numbers to the metros, then we should see the rise of the Hindus in the younger generations, especially in the working and child age groups, since young couples are more likely to have children. We chose the fifty biggest cities of India, all with population of greater than or extremely close to a million. In twelve of the fifty cities, we found that the proportion of the Indics (Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs) was under 80%. The twelve cities are Mumbai (corporation area), Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Thane, Bhopal, Meerut, Varanasi, Aurangabad, Srinagar, Allahabad, Ranchi and Thiruvananthapuram. In these twelve cities, we have examined the change of the demographics of the Indics. In summary, we shall also take a quick look at the others, particularly the top twenty to which the migration has been pronounced. Cities 1991 Indic Pop. 2001 Indic Pop. 2011 Indic Pop. 0-4 Indics in 2011 Mumbai 78.73 77.68 75.83 69.79 Hyderabad 58.32 56.18 52.75 46.45 Kolkata 81.4 78.57 77.42 68.04 Lucknow 75.00 73.81 72.84 68.56 Bhopal 70.77 72.30 72.22 70.01 Meerut 65.42 63.44 63.88 54.68 Varanasi 71.01 68.58 70.49 66.16 Srinagar 11.56[1] 2.34[2] 1.82 1.43[3] Aurangabad 69.73 69.95 68.09 63.87 Allahabad 77.69 78.97 76.78 73.77 Ranchi 74.89 74.29 74.71 73.42 Thiruvananthapuram 72.45 71.17 68.6 62.53 The population percentage of Srinagar is taken from 1981, since there was no census in Jammu and Kashmir in 1991. Includes Badami Bagh, which is counted separately in this census. This is computed based on an estimate of the actual number of Indic civilians in Srinagar, leaving out the servicemen. However, since the census does not specify them separately, we have no means of actually computing the number. Given the high migration rates to these cities, the population figures are not very stable and tend to vary a bit across census. Nevertheless, the general trend is clear and with the solitary exception of Bhopal, the Indic population percentages have come down in all the cities, compared to 1991. The population of the Indics is coming down even in the major cities, despite a high rate of Hindu migration to these cities. It is becoming clear that, even in the major cities, the Indics are losing population share wherever there was already a significant minority population. Further, it is clear that the Indics in the 0-4 age group are also losing population share rapidly in most areas, despite the migration of a large number of working age Indics who are likely to have more children. The statistics of Mumbai metropolitan area hide a few facts. Mumbai urban area comprises of two separate districts (Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban). In Mumbai district, the Indics are down to 71.92%, with the 0-4 age group having only 65.11% Indics, with only 55.59% of them being Hindus. The second worrisome statistic is that there of the remaining 9.52% Indics, 4.27% comes from Buddhists, among whom there is a significant number of converts to Christianity, but remain Buddhists on paper. Consequently, Mumbai district, which has a total population of 30 lakhs (roughly two thirds the population of Kolkata), is in significant danger of being only around 60% Indic already, with the Indic population falling by 2-3% every decade. Kolkata also has a sharply lower rate of 0-4 population compared to the total population (9.5% lower), but this is mostly due to the high fertility rates of the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the city. Meerut has the worst statistics and is likely to fall below the 50% Indic mark in the 0-4 age group in next couple of census. References All the data is based on the census reports of 2011. The census figures of 2001 in the tables on major cities is based on the 2001 census report. The figures for 1991 census were taken from AP Joshi, MD Srinivas and JK Bajaj, “Religious Demography of India” [1] Shanmukh, Saswati Sarkar, and Dikgaj, “Western Uttar Pradesh and Southern Uttarakhand: Muslim Majority by 2061?” http://www.dailyo.in/politics/population-muslims-muzaffarnagar- uttarakhand-shamli-western-uttar-pradesh-hindus-sikh-demography/story/1/10631.html [2] Shanmukh, Saswati Sarkar and Dikgaj, “A Demographic Warning for West Bengal” https://www.myind.net/Home/viewArticle/demographic-warning-west-bengal [3] Shanmukh, Saswati Sarkar, Dikgaj and Aparna, “Will Assam be Muslim Majority in the next 40 Years” http://indiafacts.org/will-assam-muslim-majority-next-40-years/ [4] Shanmukh, Saswati Sarkar, Dikgaj and Aparna, “Kerala and South Tamizh Nadu: A Case of Hindu Fade Out” http://indiafacts.org/kerala-south-tamil-nadu-case-hindu-fade/ [5] Shanmukh, TrueIndology, Aparna, Saswati Sarkar and Dikgaj, “Demographic Expansion of Kashmir and Shrinking of Jammu and Ladakh” https://www.myind.net/demographic-expansion-kashmir-and-shrinking-jammu-and-ladakh#.V3UOVSF0xwc.twitter [6] Shanmukh, Aparna, TrueIndology, Arihant, Saswati Sarkar and Dikgaj, “Hotspots in the Hindi Belt” https://www.pgurus.com/hotspots-hindi-belt-part-1-northern-arc/%C2%A0 https://www.pgurus.com/hindu-population-shrinking-part-2-hotspots-series/%C2%A0 https://www.pgurus.com/computed-hindu-muslim-christian-growth-part-3-hotspots-series/ [7] Shanmukh, Aparna, Saswati Sarkar and Dikgaj, “The Rapid Christianisation of Tribal Regions of Central India” http://indiafacts.org/rapid-christianization-tribal-regions-central-india-story-numbers/ http://indiafacts.org/tribal-regions-central-india-rapidly-christianized/ [8] Shanmukh, Kirtivardhan Dave, Saswati Sarkar and Dikgaj, “The Endangered Indics of India” https://myind.net/Home/viewArticle/endangered-indics-in-india-an-overview Featured Image: Wikipedia Disclaimer: The facts and opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. IndiaFacts does not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, completeness,suitability,or validity of any information in this article.
Four people have been gunned down in Thailand's Muslim-majority southernmost provinces, police said today, in 24-hours of violence that included the of a Buddhist rubber tapper whose corpse was then set alight. The deaths come during a recent uptick in violence after months of relative calm in a region where more than 6,500 people -- the majority civilians -- have died since a rebellion against Thai rule re-ignited in 2004. Rubber tapper Chatchai Saethong, 55, was shot early today in Yaha district of Yala province, one of the three provinces bordering hit hardest by the violence. "His body was set on fire and left charred," local police Colonel Praponwat Khantiwaranant told AFP. An hour later, a Muslim army ranger was gunned down in a neighbouring district, according to a separate police statement. Two other Muslim civilians -- including another rubber tapper -- were shot dead yesterday, the report added, while another army ranger remains in critical condition after being shot as he drove his pick-up truck. Rebels fighting for greater autonomy often target perceived collaborators with the Thai state, which annexed the culturally distinct region more than 100 years ago. Muslims and Buddhist civilians -- including monks and teachers -- have fallen victim to their near-daily shootings or bomb attacks. The region's minority Buddhist population has slumped since the conflict broke out in 2004, despite the Thai army handing out weapons and training to the communities that want to stay. Thai security forces also admit to killing Muslim civilians in botched raids. Rights groups accuse the army of extra-judicial killings and links with shadowy death squads who operate with impunity in the remote region. The army denies such tactics. A car bomb wounded several people outside a police station on Saturday as violence appears to bubble up despite the ruling junta trumpeting peace efforts to end the complex and bloody conflict. Rebel leaders stay out of the public eye and it is unclear how much leverage insurgent parties negotiating in preliminary peace talks hold over the militants. Violence dropped to a record low last year due to tighter security and fewer rebel attacks on civilian "soft" targets.
Stroll gained two places at the start to run 13th, but struggled with balance issues and tyres, forcing him to do three pitstops while most did just one. He crossed the line 18th, while teammate Felipe Massa scored a point with 10th in his final race in F1. "He just didn't seem to have the balance to make it work," said Williams technical director Paddy Lowe. "We need to go and comfortably understand whether there was something wrong with the car and at least rule that in or out. "Then we're onto tyres. It has been a tricky weekend for everyone with tyre temperatures. Yes [he has struggled all weekend]. Even Friday he didn't have the pace. We need to understand that." Stroll was running an older spec engine, following the failure in Brazil, but Lowe dismissed that as a cause for the deficit. "There's a small step with the engine but not one that one could use as an explanation in this context," he said. Stroll had a good battle with Romain Grosjean for 13th in the first stint before the latter came out on top after multiple passes and re-passes. But after that, he struggled with tyre temperature, leading to lock-ups that ultimately forced the extra pitstops. "He locked up so it's an early stop and then onto the harder tyre, thinking well at least that's a new tyre, but that was worse," said Lowe. "He couldn't get it to come in. Eventually, he gave up on the tyre and we didn't resist that because he wasn't showing the pace. "Even he recognised at the end of the race, that he was quicker than Vandoorne at that point so if he had just hung in there, he would have finished ahead of Vandoorne, which is 12th. "Lance recognises himself that some of that was his own inexperience, where no matter how bad it is, sometimes you just stick with it and make the most of it." When asked if Stroll needs to make a big step next year, Lowe replied: "Yes, I think that will be more clear to Lance than anyone. But we've got things to work on."
The story begins with antitrust. In 1944, Attorney-General Francis Biddle, appointed by FDR, brought a case against the South-Eastern Underwriters Association under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The government accused the insurance alliance, among other things, of price fixing. That case,United States vs. South-Eastern Underwriters, was decided in favor of the government by the Supreme Court in 1945. The underwriters alliance made an amazing argument: Sustaining the demurrer, the District Court held that "the business of insurance is not commerce, either intrastate or interstate"; it "is not interstate commerce or interstate trade, though it might be considered a trade subject to local laws either State or Federal, where the commerce clause is not the authority relied upon." Thats right. The insurance industry argued that insurance was not a business, therefore not subject to regulation by the Federal Government under its Commerce Clause powers. Therefore, the Sherman Act did not apply to them. They were free to form monopolies and fix prices as they pleased. It's laughable on its face, but that was their argument. The Supreme Court dismissed that foolishness. But the Court also made a very important finding in its opinion. Justice Hugo Black wrote for the 4-3 majority: Any enactment by Congress either of partial or of comprehensive regulations of the insurance business would come to us with the most forceful presumption of constitutional validity. The fiction that insurance is not commerce could not be sustained against such a presumption, for resort to the facts would support the presumption in favor of the congressional action. The faction therefore must yield to congressional action and continues only at the sufferance of Congress The morning after that, the lobbying on Capitol kicked in full force. The courts ruling came down on June 4, 1944. Senator Pat McCarran of Nevada, a batshit crazy nativist and anti-communist who also wrote the vile, McCarthyite, and ultimately unconstitutional McCarran Internal Security Act, came to the rescue. (Just so you know the kind of guy McCarran was, note that he was one of the few Democrats who opposed the New Deal. He is also thought to be the model for the corrupt Senator in the Godfather.) Senator Homer Ferguson, Republican of Michigan was the co-author. The new law passed on March 9, 1945 and was signed by an ailing President Roosevelt. In my gut, I know a vigorous FDR would have vetoed it. Title 15, Chapter 20 of the U.S. Code implements the McCarran Act. Here is its key provision: No Act of Congress shall be construed to invalidate, impair, or supersede any law enacted by any State for the purpose of regulating the business of insurance, or which imposes a fee or tax upon such business, unless such Act specifically relates to the business of insurance: Provided, That after June 30, 1948, the Act of July 2, 1890, as amended, known as the Sherman Act, and the Act of October 15, 1914, as amended, known as the Clayton Act, and the Act of September 26, 1914, known as the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended [15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.], shall be applicable to the business of insurance to the extent that such business is not regulated by State Law. This is why you have obscure state insurance commissioners rather than a federal regulatory body. It's why companies like AIG can operate far outside the boundaries of federal securities law. States' limited jurisdiction make it difficult effectively regulate an international insurance company. With states and the federal government limited in their ability to regulate them, there is nobody to stop big insurance. There have been numerous attempts to regulate insurance, both by court review and by act of Congress. Each time, the industry has managed to slither out of trouble and emerge relatively unscathed. I believe that is due to this: link Last year, Congressman Pete DeFazio introduced the Insurance Industry Competition Act and watched it die in Barney Frank's finance committee. It is likely it died because of little chance of movement in the Senate and a likely veto by President Bush. DeFazio has re-introduced his bill this year, and it now sits in the committee. This bill would repeal the McCarran-Ferguson provision that prevents antitrust enforcement and would allow the administration to go after the insurance companies. (I discussed the administation's antitrust policy in this diary. A part 2 is forthcoming.) Using the leverage of an antitrust prosecution is exactly the sort of stick that will get the insurance companies moving in the right direction with respect to federal regulation. If you want to take some action on healthcare, call your congressperson and tell them to support or cosponsor Pete DeFazio's bill H.R. 1583. This legislation has the insurance lobby tossing and turning at night and waking up in cold sweats. Only when the good citizens of this country are heard will the money of the insurance lobby seem less persuasive to our leaders.
'Merchant of Death' arms dealer who 'inspired Nicolas Cage film Lord of War' faces trial in New York Terror plot: Arms dealer Viktor Bout has been convicted thanks to star witness Carlos Sagastume A Russian businessman - dubbed the 'Merchant of Death' - goes on trial today accused of being an international arms dealer and drugs smuggler. Viktor Bout, said to be worth $6 billion and to have inspired the 2005 Nicolas Cage film Lord of War, has evaded the authorities for nearly two decades. He is believed to have been responsible for aiding and abetting wars across the globe. But the 44-year-old is now behind bars and facing a New York jury after being charged with a wide range of counts. These include conspiracy to kill Americans, attempting to sell arms to undercover federal agents, wire fraud and violating UN Security Council sanctions. Bout has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and his lawyer Albert Dayan said: 'I'm very confident the trial will make it transparent he did not intend to sell arms to anyone.' But international security experts revealed the charges actually make up only a small fraction of what they believe he has been responsible for. Kathi Lynn Austin, an arms researcher, told new channel CNN that Bout was 'the quintessential war profiteer' and that by providing larger and more-powerful arms than rebels would otherwise have had access to he had 'actually initiated wars in countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone'. Bout, a former Soviet military officer who speaks four languages, ran a private fleet of long-haul cargo planes that spanned the globe. His transport network got its start in the early 1990s, soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He leased and then bought old Russian-made cargo planes known for their durability and lumbering size, and amassed an air armada that grew to more than 60 aircraft by the late 1990s, according to U.S. officials. Deportation: Viktor Bout (centre) on his arrival in New York after being led off his flight from Bangkok The planes were constantly on the move, flying from Africa to Afghanistan and hopscotching to bases in Belgium, South Africa, Swaziland, the United Arab Emirates and across Eastern Europe. They brimmed with loads ranging from diamonds to gladiolas. But by the late 1990s, U.S. and UN officials and anti-arms-trade activists say they had pinpointed the flights as a key source of assault rifles and more sophisticated weapons systems turning up in the violence-plagued African nations of Liberia, Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. INTERNET BLACKOUT U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin said last week she will try a tactic new to federal trials. She is to make jurors sign a pledge not to research Bout on the Internet or other media. It will not be easy. The world wide web is flooded with photographs of a haggard Bout in his Thai jail cell, as well as news stories, websites and Facebook pages. There have been documentaries, books and a suspense novel based on the Russian businessman. Bout dismissed the Lord of War film as 'a bad movie'. A rock group, DePotorland, recently released a new video for a song about Bout, 'We Deliver'. U.S. officials later said Bout's air operations also earned $50 million aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan. His clients were said to include dictators such as former Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi. Bout eluded arrest until U.S. narcotics agents lured him to Thailand in a 2008 sting operation, charging him with conspiring to sell anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons to undercover informants posing as South American terrorists. Protesting his innocence, he was extradited to New York in November after enduring a gruelling, two-year limbo in a Bangkok prison while the U.S. and Russia squared off in a diplomatic tug-of-war. His arrest was a high point in efforts to stem the flow of black market arms, but the case has set off echoes of the Cold War. For Russia, Bout's prosecution is seen as American overreach, stoking fears he will be pressed to open up about his ties to Russia's military and intelligence circles. Describing Bout as a transnational threat capable of aiding terrorists and other violent groups, the U.S. targeted him with financial sanctions for alleged arms work in Liberia and the Congo. Inspiration: The 2005 film Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage, is said to have been based on the life of Bout Belgium indicted him on money laundering charges in 2002 and Interpol issued an international warrant, but Bout retreated to Moscow, where Russian officials spurned the inquiries. Heavily armed: Viktor Bout is accused of being a Lord of War When Bout was arrested in Bangkok in March 2008 by the DEA and Thai police, Russian diplomats were quick to defend him. The case has become a Russian cause celebre in the months since his extradition. Bout's wife, Alla, and his mother and daughter have come to pre-trial hearings and are expected to attend the trial in New York. Bout faces a possible life sentence if convicted.

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.