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The Battle of Battle Mountain was an engagement between United Nations (UN) and North Korean (NK) forces early in the Korean War from August 15 to September 19, 1950, on and around the Sobuk-san mountain area in South Korea. It was one of several large engagements fought simultaneously during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter. The battle ended in a victory for the UN after large numbers of United States (US) and Republic of Korea (ROK) troops were able to prevent a North Korean division from capturing the mountain area.
Operating in defense of Masan, the US Army's 25th Infantry Division placed its 24th Infantry Regiment and 5th Infantry Regiment on Sobuk-san to defend its two peaks, P'il-bong and Hill 665, which would later be known as "Battle Mountain." What followed was a month-long struggle with the North Korean People's Army's 6th Division, in which Battle Mountain changed hands 20 times.
During the deadlock, neither side was able to secure a definite victory in capturing the mountaintop, but the US forces succeeded in their mission of preventing the North Koreans from advancing beyond Battle Mountain, paving the way for the North Koreans' eventual defeat and withdrawal from the area after the Battle of Inchon.
Background [ edit ]
Outbreak of war [ edit ]
Following the June 25, 1950, outbreak of the Korean War as a result of the invasion of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) by its northern neighbor, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), the United Nations committed troops to the conflict in support of South Korea. The United States, a member of the UN, subsequently dispatched ground forces to the Korean peninsula with the goal of pushing back the North Korean invasion and preventing South Korea from collapsing. However, the number of US forces in the Far East had been steadily decreasing since the end of World War II, five years earlier, and at the time the closest forces were the 24th Infantry Division, headquartered in Japan. The division was understrength however, and most of its equipment was antiquated due to reductions in military spending. Regardless, the 24th was ordered to South Korea.[1]
Task Force Smith arrives in South Korea.
The 24th Infantry Division was the first US unit sent into Korea with the mission to take the initial "shock" of North Korean advances, delaying the much larger North Korean units to buy time to allow reinforcements to arrive.[2] The division was consequently alone for several weeks while the 1st Cavalry Division and the 7th and 25th Infantry Divisions moved into position, along with other Eighth United States Army supporting units.[2] Advance elements of the 24th Infantry were badly defeated in the Battle of Osan on July 5, the first encounter between American and North Korean forces.[3] For the first month after the defeat at Osan, 24th Infantry was repeatedly defeated and forced south by superior North Korean numbers and equipment.[4][5] The regiments of the 24th Infantry were systematically pushed south in engagements around Chochiwon, Chonan, and Pyongtaek.[4] The 24th made a final stand in the Battle of Taejon, where it was almost completely destroyed but delayed North Korean forces from advancing until July 20.[6] By that time, the Eighth Army's force of combat troops were roughly equal to North Korean forces attacking the region, with new UN units arriving every day.[7]
North Korean advance [ edit ]
With Taejon captured, North Korean forces attempted to envelop the Pusan Perimeter. The 4th and 6th North Korean (NK) Infantry Divisions advanced south in a wide flanking maneuver. The two divisions were forced to spread their units along a thin line, but managed to penetrate the UN's left flank with armor and superior numbers, repeatedly pushing back US and South Korean forces.[8] American forces were pushed back repeatedly before finally halting the North Korean advance in a series of engagements in the southern section of the country. The 3rd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, newly arrived in the country, sustained massive casualties at Hadong in a coordinated ambush on July 27 that opened a pass to the Pusan area.[9][10] Soon after, North Korean forces took Chinju to the west, pushing back the US 19th Infantry Regiment and leaving routes to the Pusan area open for more North Korean attacks.[11] US formations were subsequently able to defeat and push back the North Koreans on the flank in the Battle of the Notch on August 2. Suffering mounting losses, the KPA force in the west withdrew for several days to re-equip and receive reinforcements. This granted both sides a reprieve to prepare for the attack on the Pusan Perimeter.[12][13]
Emplacement of the 25th Infantry Division [ edit ]
M24 Chaffee light tanks wait for a North Korean attack near Masan
The Eighth Army commander, Lieutenant General Walton Walker, then ordered the US 25th Infantry Division, under Major General William B. Kean, to take up defensive positions on the Pusan Perimeter's southern flank west of Masan. By August 15, the 25th Infantry Division had moved into the line,[14] but rough terrain west of Masan limited the choice of its positions. The mountain group west of Masan was the first readily defensible ground east of the Chinju pass. The 2,000-foot (610 m) mountain ridges of Sobuk-san dominated the area and protected the road from Komam-ni to Haman to Chindong-ni, the only means of north–south communication west of Masan.[15]
Northwest of Komam-ni was the broken spur ridge of P'il-bong, dominated by 900 feet (270 m) Sibidang-san, along the Nam River. Sibidang provided an excellent observation point for the surrounding area, and US artillery emplaced in the Komam-ni area could interdict the road junction at Chungam-ni.[16] The US 35th Infantry Regiment set up positions at Sibidang-Komam-ni, in the northern part of the 25th Infantry Division defense line. The 35th Regiment line extended from a point 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Komam-ni to the Nam River and then turned east along that stream to its confluence with the Naktong River.[14] It was a long regimental line, about 26,000 yards (24,000 m), twice the length a regiment was typically assigned.[16]
The 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry, held the regiment's left flank west of Komam-ni, and the 2nd Battalion held the regimental right along the Nam River. Meanwhile, the 3rd Battalion, redesignated from the 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry, was in reserve on the road south of Chirwon, with quick access to any part of the line.[16] To the south was the US 24th Infantry Regiment; west of Chindong-ni, the 5th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) was on the division's left flank. On division orders, 5th RCT first held the ground above the Chindong-ni coastal road only as far as Yaban-san,[14] but Kean soon ordered them to close the gap with the 24th Infantry northward. When the 5th sent a South Korean unit of 100 men under American officers to the higher slope of Sobuk-san, North Korean troops already there drove them back. Kean then ordered the 5th Regimental Combat Team to take this ground, but it was too late; the ground was firmly in North Korean hands.[16]
Prelude [ edit ]
The NK 6th Division and NK 7th Division closed on Masan, attacking the US 25th Infantry Division on multiple fronts, with the main efforts aimed at the 24th and 35th Infantry regiments.[17] At the same time that the North Korean 7th Division was trying to penetrate the 35th Infantry positions around Sibidang and Komam-ni, the 6th Division also sent strong patrols and probing attacks against the mountainous middle part of the 25th Infantry Division line. When the division issued orders to its subordinate units to take up defensive positions west of Masan, the 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry was still trying to seize Obong-san, the mountain ridge just west of Battle Mountain and P'il-bong, and across a gorge-like valley from them.[18] At daybreak on August 15, the 2nd Battalion broke contact with the North Koreans and withdrew to Sobuk-san and the ridge west of Haman.[17] The 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry now came to the Haman area to help in the regimental defense of the sector.[18]
Battle Mountain [ edit ]
The "rocky crags" position, which remained in North Korean hands during most of the battle.
The high ground west of Haman on which the 24th Infantry established its defensive line was part of the Sobuk-san mountain mass.[19] Sobuk-san reaches its 2,400 feet (730 m) peak at P'il-bong, also called Hill 743, 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Chindong-ni and 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Haman.[14] From P'il-bong, the crest of the ridge line curves northwestward, to rise again 1 mile (1.6 km) away in the bald peak designated Hill 665, which became known as Battle Mountain.[19] US troops also occasionally called it "Napalm Hill," "Old Baldy," and "Bloody Knob."[14] Between P'il-bong and Battle Mountain the ridge line narrows to a rocky ledge which the troops called the "Rocky Crags." Northward from Battle Mountain toward the Nam River, the ground drops sharply in two long spur ridges. US troops who fought there called the eastern one Green Peak.[19]
At the western, North Korean–held base of Battle Mountain and P'il-bong were the villages of Ogok and Tundok, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) from the crest. A north–south mountain trail crossed a high saddle just north of these villages and up the west slope about halfway to the top of Battle Mountain. This road gave the North Koreans an advantage in mounting and supplying their attacks in the area. A trail system ran from Ogok and Tundok to the crests of Battle Mountain and P'il-bong.[19] From the top of Battle Mountain, an observer could look directly down into the North Korean–held valley. At the same time, from Battle Mountain the North Koreans could look down into the Haman valley eastward and observe the US 24th Infantry command post, supply road, artillery positions, and approach trails.[14] Whichever side held the crest of Battle Mountain could observe the rear areas of the other. Both forces, seeing the advantages of holding the crest of Battle Mountain, fought relentlessly to capture it in a six-week-long battle.[19]
Logistics [ edit ]
The approach to Battle Mountain and P'il-bong was much more difficult from the east, the American-held side, than from the west, the North Korean side.[20] On the east side there was no road climbing halfway to the top; from the base of the mountain at the edge of the Haman valley the only way to make the ascent was by foot trail. Climbers took two to three hours to reach the top of P'il-bong from the reservoir area, and required from three to four hours to get on top of Battle Mountain from the valley floor. The turnaround time for supply trains to Battle Mountain was six hours. Often a dispatch runner required eight hours to go up Battle Mountain and come back down. In some places the trail was so steep that climbers had to set up ropes to hold along the side of the trail. North Korean night patrols constantly cut telephone lines. The wire men had a difficult and dangerous job trying to maintain wire communication with units on the mountain.[19] Food, water and ammunition were frequently short for the units at the tops of the peaks.[21]
US Troops traverse the Engineer Road.
Bringing dead and seriously wounded down from the top was difficult for both sides. UN litter-bearing teams of six men had to carry each wounded man on a stretcher down the mountain. A medical aide was also needed to administer care during the trip if the man was critically wounded, and riflemen often accompanied the groups to protect them from North Korean snipers along the trail. Critically wounded men often died before reaching the bottom where full medical care could be administered. This possibility was one of the factors that lowered morale in the 24th Infantry units fighting on Battle Mountain. Many men were afraid that if they were wounded there they would die before reaching adequate medical care.[22] North Korean troops often did not have time to move dead and wounded from the peak at all, forcing both sides to bury casualties in shallow graves along the peak.[17]
The 24th Infantry's supporting artillery, the 159th Field Artillery Battalion, emplaced in the valley south of Haman. On August 19, the artillery moved farther to the rear, except for C Battery, which remained in a creek bed north of Haman.[17] Regimental engineers worked to improve a trail running from Haman northeast to the main Komam-ni-Masan road. The engineers intended to use it as an evacuation road for the artillery, if that became necessary, and to improve the road net of the regimental sector for better movement of troops and supplies. This road became known as the "Engineer Road".[22]
On August 15, there was a gap 4,000 yards (3,700 m) wide in the P'il-bong area between the 24th Infantry and the US 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team to the south.[17] The 24th Infantry had not performed well during previous engagements, so Kean sent 432 ROK National Police to the area the next day and placed them in this gap, ensuring the North Koreans would not be able to exploit any holes in the line.[22]
Battle [ edit ]
Troops of Task Force Kean advance east of Masan.
Opposing the US 24th Infantry at Battle Mountain was the NK 6th Division, which had been engaging Task Force Kean since August 5. The division, which had originally numbered 10,000, had suffered 4,000 casualties thus far fighting at the Pusan Perimeter. However it brought in 3,100 South Koreans forcibly conscripted from neighboring towns to replenish its ranks. The South Koreans fought as ordered, though the North Koreans dispatched rearguard soldiers with them to shoot any who attempted to desert, defect, or surrender.[14]
US 24th Infantry repulsed [ edit ]
The first attack against the mountain line of the 24th Infantry came on the morning of August 18, when the North Koreans overran several E Company positions on the northern spur of Battle Mountain and killed the company commander.[23] During the day, Lieutenant Colonel Paul F. Roberts succeeded Lieutenant Colonel George R. Cole in command of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry there.[22] The next day, the North Koreans attacked C Company on Battle Mountain and routed it.[23] Officers could collect only 40 men to bring them back into position. Many ROK police on P'il-bong also ran from the fight, and only 56 of them remained in their defensive positions. American officers used threats and physical force to get others back into position. A 1 mile (1.6 km) gap in the line north of P'il-bong existed in the 24th Infantry lines at the close of the day, and an unknown number of North Koreans were moving into it.[22]
On August 20, the NK 6th Division intensified its efforts to capture Battle Mountain, and began sending stronger attacks to capture the two peaks.[24] In the face of attack, all of C Company except the company commander and about 25 men abandoned their position on Battle Mountain. Upon reaching the bottom of the mountain those who had fled reported erroneously that the company commander had been killed and their position surrounded, then overrun by the North Koreans. On the basis of this misinformation, American artillery and mortars fired concentrations on the position, and fighter-bombers, in 38 sorties, attacked the crest of Battle Mountain, using napalm, fragmentation bombs, rockets, and machine guns, forcing the 26 remaining men off Battle Mountain after they had held it for 20 hours.[25] In this time they had declined an offer from the North Koreans to surrender.[24] A platoon of E Company, except for about 10 men, also left its position on the mountain as soon as the attack progressed. On the regimental left, an ROK patrol from K Company's position on Sobuk-san captured the commanding officer of the NK 15th Regiment, but he was killed a few minutes later while trying to escape. The patrol removed several intelligence reports from his body. During the day of fighting at Battle Mountain and P'il-bong, the North Koreans drove off the ROK police from the 24th Infantry's left flank on Sobuk-san.[25] 24th Infantry troops continued to straggle from their positions, ignoring commands from officers to stay in place. Both African American and white officers, infuriated by the disobedience, wrote sworn statements implicating the deserters. The situation was so severe that those who stayed in their positions were often given Bronze Star Medals with Valor Devices because they were so far outnumbered in the fighting.[26]
US 5th RCT enters the fight [ edit ]
Kean then alerted 5th Regimental Combat Team commander Colonel John L. Throckmorton to prepare a force from the 5th Infantry to attack Sobuk-san and retake it. On the morning of August 21, the 1st Battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team, attacked across the 24th Infantry's boundary and secured the southernmost ridges of the mountain against light North Korean resistance. That evening a strong force of North Koreans counterattacked and drove the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry off the mountain. At 12:00 on August 22, the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry again attacked the heights, and five hours later B Company seized the highest ridges. Kean now changed the boundary line between the 5th Regimental Combat Team and the 24th Infantry, giving responsibility for the southern ridges to the 5th, and Battle Mountain and P'il-bong to the 24th. During the night, the North Koreans launched counterattacks against the 1st Battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team, and prevented it from consolidating its position. On the morning of August 23, A Company tried to secure the high ground 1,000 yards (910 m) southwest of the peak and link up with B Company, but was unable to do so. The North Koreans considered the Sobuk-san ridges so important that they committed substantial resources to defending them, and attacked the nearby 5th Regimental Combat Team daily.[25]
North of B Company's position on Sobuk, the battle situation was similar. North Korean troops in the Rocky Crags, which extended from Sobuk-san toward P'il-bong, took cover during air strikes. Napalm, 500 pounds (230 kg) bombs, and strafing had little effect. Every time the UN aircraft departed, the North Koreans reoccupied their battle positions. Elements of the 24th Infantry were not able to extend southward and join with B Company of the 5th Regimental Combat Team because of stubborn North Korean resistance.[25]
August 21–26 attack [ edit ]
Still farther north along the mountain ridge, in the Battle Mountain area, the battle was going poorly for the 24th Infantry. After C Company lost Battle Mountain, heavy UN airstrikes and artillery fire struck its crest in preparation for an infantry counterattack planned to regain the mountain from the North Koreans. The hot and sultry weather made climbing the steep slope difficult, but L Company was on top by 12:00 on August 21. North Korean troops had left the summit under fire from the UN aircraft, artillery, and mortars. The North Koreans placed their own mortar fire on the crest and prevented L Company from consolidating its position.[27] This situation continued until mid afternoon when a North Korean platoon came out of the trenches on the eastern slope of the mountain and surprised a platoon of L Company with an attack from behind. The other two platoons of L Company, upon hearing firing, started to leave their positions and drift down the hill. The North Koreans swiftly reoccupied the peak while officers tried to assemble L and I Companies on the eastern slope.[28] Elements of E Company also left their position during the day.[27]
American air, artillery, mortar, and tank fire now concentrated on Battle Mountain, and I and L Companies prepared another counterattack to retake it. This attack launched soon after, but made slow progress and at midnight it halted to wait for daylight.[27] Shortly after dawn on August 22, I and L Companies resumed the attack. L Company moved up the mountain, with I Company supplying a base of fire. Three North Korean grenades wounded six of the troops, causing the rest to retreat without orders from their frustrated commander.[28] They were eventually returned to the hill with some coercion. A few hours later, when a small North Korean force worked around its right flank, the company again withdrew back down the hill to I Company's position without orders.[27]
Fighting continued on Battle Mountain the next day, August 23, with more ROK police units arriving to reinforce I and L Companies. The American and South Korean troops finally secured precarious possession of Battle Mountain, mainly because the supporting fire of US mortars targeting the North Korean avenues of approach on the western slope. During the day the North Koreans counterattacked the hill six times, but were repulsed each time. The 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry units continued to come apart under fire, so much that the battalion commander complained to Kean that he needed more officers to keep the men in line.[29] The situation in the Haman area caused Walker to alert the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, a reserve unit, for possible movement to this part of the front. However, it was never dispatched.[27] On August 24, I and L Companies had been so racked by deserters and casualties that they withdrew from the hill. They had suffered 120 casualties during the fight. C Company, along with the ROK police, took charge of the peak.[30]
North Korean troops continued attacking the 24th Infantry all across its line, probing for weaknesses.[30] On August 25 and 26, C Company beat off several more North Korean attacks on Battle Mountain coming along the long ridge extending from Tundok. At one point in these fights, a flight of US Air Force aircraft caught about 100 North Korean soldiers in the open and immediately napalmed, bombed, and strafed them. The North Korean force was destroyed with few survivors.[27] Task Force Baker, comprising C Company and a platoon of E Company, 24th Infantry with an ROK police company, defended Battle Mountain at this time.[30] The special command was established because of the isolated Battle Mountain area and the extended regimental battle front.[27] For the next two days, air strikes continued to rack North Korean counterattacks and to prevent them from forming into any serious attack on Battle Mountain.[30]
August 28–29 attack [ edit ]
The 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry relieved the 1st Battalion in the Battle Mountain area on August 27, and 1st Battalion withdrew to reserve, except for C Company which remained on Battle Mountain as a part of Task Force Baker.[30] The next day, August 28, North Korean attacks continued. That day, a North Korean company-sized attack struck between C and I Companies before dawn. That night, North Korean mortar fire fell on C Company on Battle Mountain.[31] After midnight, a North Korean infantry force appeared in the rear area and captured the command post. Some men of C Company left their positions on Battle Mountain without firing when the attack began at 02:45 the next morning, August 29.[30] The North Koreans then directed their attack toward E Company and overran part of its positions. Airdrops after daylight kept C Company supplied with ammunition, and a curtain of artillery fire, sealing off approaches from the North Koreans' main positions prevented substantial reinforcements from entering the fight. All day on August 29, artillery fire and air strikes racked the North Koreans occupying E Company's old positions. Then, in the evening, E Company counterattacked and reoccupied the lost ground.[31]
At 23:00 on August 29, the North Koreans attacked C Company again. Men on the left flank of the company position quickly abandoned their positions and soon the entire company was retreating, leaving the North Koreans in possession of the mountain again. Captain Lawrence M. Corcoran, the company commander, was left with only the 17 men in his command post, which included several wounded. All of those who stayed were later given Bronze Star Medals.[21] After daylight on August 30, UN air strikes again came in on Battle Mountain, and US artillery, mortar, and tank fire from the valley concentrated on the North Korean-held peak. A wounded US soldier came down off the mountain where he had hidden for several hours while cut off from escape. He reported that the main body of the North Koreans had withdrawn to the wooded ridges west of the peak for better cover from the airstrikes, leaving only a small covering force on the mountain itself.[32] At 11:00, B Company, which had to this point been the reserve unit,[21] with the 3rd Battalion in support, attacked toward the heights and retook the top by 13:00.[32] The poor defensive positions were repaired but logistical difficulties continued for the US troops at the top.[21]
The 24th Infantry consistently captured Battle Mountain in the same way. Artillery, mortar, and tank fire raked the crest and air strikes employing napalm blanketed the top of the peak. Then, the infantry attacked from the hill beneath the east slope of the summit. Supporting mortars would set up a base of fire and would keep the heights under barrage until the infantry had arrived at a point just short of the crest.[33] The mortar fire then lifted and the infantry moved rapidly up the last stretch to the top, usually to find it abandoned by the North Koreans.[32]
Stalemate [ edit ]
Battle Mountain changed hands so often during August that there is no agreement on the exact number of times. The intelligence sergeant of the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry estimated the peak changed hands 19 times.[34] Subsequent research suggests the actual number was 20.[33] From August 18 to the end of the month, North Korean troops attacked the mountain every night. The peak often changed hands two or three times in a 24-hour period.[33] The usual pattern was for the North Koreans to take it at night and the US 24th Infantry to recapture it the next day. This type of fluctuating battle resulted in relatively high losses among artillery forward observers and their equipment. During the period of August 15–31, seven forward observers and eight other members of the Observer and Liaison Section of the 159th Field Artillery Battalion were casualties, and they lost eight radios, 11 telephones, and two vehicles in the process.[34]
In its defense of that part of Sobuk-san south of Battle Mountain and P'ilbong, the 1st Battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team, also had nearly continuous action in the last week of the month. During this time, Master Sergeant Melvin O. Handrich of C Company, 5th Regimental Combat Team posthumously won the Medal of Honor for actions on August 25 and 26. From a forward position he directed artillery fire on an attacking North Korean force and at one point personally kept part of the company from abandoning its positions. Although wounded, Handrich returned to his forward position, to continue directing artillery fire, and engaged North Korean troops alone until he was killed. When the 5th Regimental Combat Team regained the area, it counted over 70 dead North Koreans in the vicinity, all likely killed by Handrich.[34] By the end of August, the fighting in the mountains west of Masan remained a stalemate.[35] Neither side had secured a definite advantage.[34]
September push [ edit ]
Troops of the US 35th Infantry display a North Korean flag captured along the Nam River. The North Koreans aimed their September offensives at positions in Haman and the Nam River, though limited fighting at Battle Mountain continued.
Although the NK 6th and 7th Divisions had massed their troops primarily for the attempted breakthrough of the US 25th Infantry Division positions along the Nam and Naktong Rivers during their September offensive, the NK 6th Division continued its attacks on the area.[36][37] North Korean artillery and mortar fire fell on Battle Mountain, P'il-bong and Sobuk-san, and during the period of September 1–6 there were strong local attacks and patrols by North Korean troops.[38] The 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, never succeeded in gaining complete possession of the southern parts of Sobuk-san, which would have given observation into the valley below and into the North Koreans' rear areas. The instability of the 24th Infantry made it necessary for Kean to order Throckmorton to send his only regimental reserve, E Company, north into the 24th Infantry sector along the Haman road to protect the right flank of the 5th Regimental Combat Team. In this position, E Company collected stragglers from the 24th Infantry every night and the next morning sent them back to their units. The US Navy then entered the battle in this part of the line, its destroyers standing off the south coast gave illumination at night by directing their searchlights against low-hanging clouds on Sobuk-san. One destroyer was on station almost continuously, supporting the ground action with the fire of six 5-inch guns. An artillery aerial observer directed this naval gunfire through the fire direction center.[39]
On September 7, a North Korean attack succeeded once again in driving ROK and American troops from Battle Mountain.[40] The 25th Division ordered Lieutenant Colonel George H. DeChow's 3rd Battalion, US 27th Infantry Regiment to retake the peak. DeChow had just counterattacked through the rear areas of the 24th Infantry to the vicinity of Haman. K and B Companies of the 24th Infantry were to follow him and secure the crest if he regained it.[41] From September 7–9, the 3rd Battalion counterattacked up Battle Mountain. On September 9, I Company reached the top and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the North Koreans.[42] L Company followed to the crest but the dug-in North Koreans drove both companies off and back down the slope. An estimated two companies of North Korean troops held the crest of Battle Mountain and two more companies protected their flanks. DeChow's 3rd Battalion suffered heavy casualties in these three days of fighting. On the afternoon of September 9, the American counterattack force dropped back to the high ground which it had recaptured on September 7, 1,000 yards (910 m) east of Battle Mountain. Artillery, mortars, and air strikes pounded the North Korean position on Battle Mountain. During this stalemate, word came from the 25th Division for the 3rd Battalion, 27th Infantry to move to the vicinity of Masan. It was needed elsewhere along the Pusan Perimeter front.[41]
Containment action [ edit ]
An exhausted soldier of the 5th RCT rests after 31 days in combat at Masan.
With the failure of the 3rd Battalion, 27th Infantry, to hold the high knob on Battle Mountain after its attacks on September 8 and 9, the 24th Infantry stopped trying to retake Battle Mountain. K Company, 24th Infantry, and C Company, 65th Engineer Combat Battalion, dug in on the hill east of and beneath Battle Mountain, fortified their position with barbed wire and mine fields, and placed registered artillery and mortar fires on all approaches to the position. The regimental commander planned to contain the North Koreans on Battle Mountain by artillery and mortar fire. The North Koreans on Battle Mountain attacked the lower American defensive position many times on subsequent nights, but all their attacks were driven off. After a month of almost constant battle the North Koreans gained and held possession of the crest of Battle Mountain. The defensive fires of the 24th Regiment and attached artillery, however, contained them there and they were unable to exploit the possession on the peak or attack further.[41]
With Battle Mountain in their possession, the North Koreans set out to gain control of P'il-bong to the southeast. In the predawn hours of September 14 a force of 400 to 500 North Korean men attacked I and L Companies, 24th Infantry, on P'ilbong.[41] Several attacks were repulsed, but because of men leaving their positions L Company's strength dwindled from 100 to 40 men.[43] The remnant of L Company withdrew toward I Company's position on the crest of P'il-bong, only to find that this company under a relatively minor attack had left the hill. They could not hold P'il-bong with the handful of men remaining and it was also lost.[41]
As soon as the heaviest attacks subsided against the 25th Division, Walker ordered it to release the 5th Regimental Combat Team on September 7 to move to other engagements along the Pusan Perimeter. The continuing fighting north of Taegu made it necessary to move reserves there. That evening the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 27th Infantry, moved from the Nam River battlefield to relieve the 5th Regimental Combat Team on the Masan front. 27th commander Colonel John H. Michaelis assumed command of the regimental zone at 15:00 on September 9. The 3rd Battalion, 27th Infantry, broke off its counterattacks on Battle Mountain that day, rejoined the regiment, and took its place in the southern end of the line on September 11. Meanwhile, the 5th Regimental Combat Team began moving to Samnangjin on the September 10. Upon arrival at Samnangjin, it passed to Eighth Army reserve.[44]
At mid-September the Eighth Army and the ROK Army were still engaged with North Korean forces at nearly all points of the Pusan Perimeter. After two weeks of the heaviest fighting of the war they had just barely turned back the North Korean Great Naktong Offensive on the main axes of the attack around the approaches to Masan.[44]
Inchon landing [ edit ]
The UN counterattack at Inchon collapsed the North Korean line and forced them back on all fronts. On 16 September, however, 25th Infantry Division was still fighting North Korean forces behind its lines, and North Korean strong points existed on the heights of Battle Mountain, P'il-bong, and Sobuk-san.[45] Kean felt that the division could advance along the roads toward Chinju only when the mountainous center of the division front was clear. He therefore believed that the key to the advance of the 25th Division lay in its center where the North Koreans held the heights and kept the 24th Infantry Regiment under daily attack.[46] The 27th Infantry on the left and the 35th Infantry on the right, astride the roads between Chinju and Masan held their positions and could not advance until the situation in front of the 24th Infantry improved.[47]
To carry out his plan, Kean organized a composite battalion-sized task force on September 16 under command of Major Robert L. Woolfolk, commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, 35th Infantry, and ordered it to attack Battle Mountain and P'il-bong the next day, with the mission of restoring the 24th Infantry positions there.[46] On September 17–18 the task force repeatedly attacked these heights, heavily supported by artillery fire from the 8th and 90th Field Artillery Battalions and by numerous air strikes, but North Korean automatic fire from the heights drove back the assaulting troops every time with heavy casualties. Within one day, A Company, 27th Infantry, alone suffered 57 casualties.[47] The 24th Infantry bogged down behind Battle Mountain. Woolfolk's force abandoned its effort to drive the North Korean from the peaks after its failure on September 18, and the task group was dissolved the next day.[47]
North Korean withdrawal [ edit ]
On September 19 the UN discovered the North Koreans had abandoned of Battle Mountain during the night, and the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, moved up and occupied it. On the right, the 35th Infantry began moving forward.[48] There was only light resistance until it reached the high ground in front of Chungam-ni where hidden North Korean soldiers in spider holes shot at 1st Battalion soldiers from the rear. The next day the 1st Battalion captured Chungam-ni, and the 2nd Battalion captured the long ridge line running northwest from it to the Nam River. Meanwhile, the North Koreans still held strongly against the division left where the 27th Infantry had heavy fighting in trying to move forward.[49]
The North Koreans withdrew from the Masan area the night of September 18–19. The NK 7th Division withdrew from south of the Nam River while the 6th Division sideslipped elements to cover the entire front. Covered by the 6th Division, the 7th had crossed to the north side of the Nam River by the morning of September 19. Then the NK 6th Division withdrew from its positions on Sobuk-san.[49] The US units rapidly pursued them north, passing over the Battle Mountain positions, which were no longer of strategic importance.[50]
Aftermath [ edit ]
The US 5th Regimental Combat Team suffered 269 killed, 573 wounded and four missing during its battles at the Pusan Perimeter, most of these at Masan.[51] The 24th Infantry suffered 267 killed, 796 wounded, one captured and two missing during its time at Pusan Perimeter, however these figures are split between the portions of the regiment which fought at Battle Mountain, which accounted for about 450 of those wounded and 150 of those killed, and those which fought in Haman after August 31. The 65th Engineer Battalion, supporting the 24th Infantry, suffered 27 killed, 75 wounded.[52]
The North Korean troops suffered heavily in the fight, and most became casualties in the attack. By mid-September, the NK 7th Division was reduced to just 4,000 men, a loss of 6,000 from when it was committed to the perimeter.[53] Only 2,000 from the NK 6th Division returned to North Korea, a loss of 80 percent of its strength. Large groups of troops from the divisions were captured as they attempted to return to North Korea, including up to 3,000 North Korean troops. The attacking force of over 20,000 had been reduced to only 6,000 by the end of the fights at Masan.[54]
Desertion had continued to be a problem for the 24th Infantry, a de facto segregated unit. Statistics compiled by the Eighth Army found the 25th Infantry Division had to detain 116 deserters from the 25th Infantry throughout August, compared to 15 from the 27th Infantry and 12 from the 35th Infantry.[23] The regiment had already been criticized for its poor performance at the Battle of Sangju several weeks earlier.[55] In late August, Kean began investigating the unit's behavior, and found its poor performance was starting to bring other units of the division down as well.[56] Kean considered the regiment a weak link in the chain, and after its poor performance at the battles of Battle Mountain and Haman, he suggested to Walker that the regiment be disbanded and its troops used as replacements for other units in the field. Virtually all of the officers and enlisted men in the regiment were supportive of this idea, but Walker declined, feeling he could not afford to lose a regiment.[57]
References [ edit ]
Citations [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ]
Coordinates: |
CLOSE Barkley has said some pretty crazy things over the years. Here's a look at some of his best quotes. USA TODAY Sports
Charles Barkley has made his feelings about Skip Bayless very clear. (Photo11: Brett Davis, USA TODAY Sports)
Should Charles Barkley ever get diagnosed with a terminal illness, he has a plan. And it doesn’t involve trips to Paris or walks on the beach.
On Thursday’s Dan Patrick Show, Barkley said that if he were dying, he would kill TV sports personality Skip Bayless on Patrick’s show. And Patrick even suggested they make it a pay-per-view event.
Here is part of that conversation:
Barkley: “If I get a disease and I’m gonna die, how about you get Skip Bayless in here and I’ll kill him live on national television.”
Patrick: “I like it. Like pay-per-view.”
Barkley: “No, no, no. Just get him in here. Only when I know I’m gonna die…cause I just want to get Skip Bayless in a room one time and beat him like a dog.”
Patrick: “So you’d kill him.”
Barkley: “Yes. Only if I knew I was gonna die. Not if I’m gonna live, cause I don’t want to go to prison.”
READ MORE
Maybe Barkley's comments shouldn't come as a surprise. He has never missed an opportunity to publicly rip Bayless, an outspoken and controversial former ESPN personality who now hosts Undisputed on FS1.
And Patrick's show apparently brings out the best (or worst) in Barkley. In 2011, Barkley called in to compliment Patrick. And take a shot at Bayless.
"I want to tell you the best thing you ever did," Barkley said. "You know, because I hate Skip Bayless more than any person in the world? Thank you for giving me an alternative so I don't have to watch Skip Bayless in the morning."
Bayless has not responded to Barkley's latest comments. |
Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon says New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) wasn't considered for a Cabinet position in President Trump's administration because he failed to offer support after the release of the infamous 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape.
"Christie, because of Billy Bush weekend, was not looked at for a Cabinet position," Bannon said in an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes," an excerpt of which was aired Thursday.
Host Charlie Rose responded: "He wasn't there for you on Billy Bush weekend, therefore he doesn't get a Cabinet position."
Bannon continued, "I told him the plane leaves at 11 o' clock in the morning. If you make the plane, you make the team. He didn't make the plane."
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“[New Jersey Gov.] Christie, because of Billy Bush weekend, was not looked at for a Cabinet position,” Steve Bannon tells @CharlieRose pic.twitter.com/zgKbpOfAiJ — CBS News (@CBSNews) September 8, 2017
Bannon and Rose were referring to the tape, obtained by The Washington Post in early October, in which Trump is heard talking his unsuccessful efforts to have sex with an unnamed woman. |
BEIJING — Chinese officials have pledged to replace school running tracks made of industrial waste that have reportedly sickened thousands of children, the latest public health scandal in a country already troubled by environmental hazards including air pollution and soil contamination.
The Ministry of Education said late Wednesday that it would coordinate with environmental protection and quality inspection authorities to inspect synthetic rubber tracks in schools across China during the summer break. Substandard running tracks — called “poisonous tracks” by the news media — are to be removed. Anyone who has cut corners in the construction of school sports facilities, the ministry said, will be “severely punished.’’ And it promised stricter oversight over the construction of such tracks.
A day earlier, CCTV, the state broadcaster, aired an investigative report that said manufacturers of running track rubber, many based in neighboring Hebei Province, used substandard materials and violated safety rules. The announcement also followed months of news reports from Beijing, Shanghai and several provinces about schoolchildren experiencing nosebleeds, skin rashes, dizziness and headaches after being exposed to the tracks.
“We were very angry when the problem was discovered,” said Wang Baoquan, a resident of Beijing who kept his 10-year-old daughter at home for four days this month as a health precaution. In a telephone interview, Mr. Wang said his daughter had not become sick, but many of her schoolmates had developed coughs, skin problems and nosebleeds. |
Coin Center’s efforts in Washington D.C. seem to be paying off. A bipartisan caucus dedicated to the “advancement of sound public policy” relating to blockchain technologies has been formed. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R.-SC) and Rep. Jared Polis (D.-CO) announced the formation of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and credited Coin Center in being vital in its formation.
This news comes hot off the heels of House Resolution 835, which pronounced the House’s support for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. That resolution passed overwhelmingly through Congress with a 385 to 4 vote.
“Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the financial services industry, the U.S. economy, and the delivery of government services, and I am proud to be involved with this initiative on the ground floor.” Said Rep. Mulvaney in a statement emailed to the media by Coin Center. “Coin Center has been an invaluable resource to help educate me and others on the inter-workings, importance of, and issues facing cryptocurrencies and blockchains.”
Some segments of the Bitcoin community have criticized Coin Center and The Chamber of Digital Commerce, another non-profit Cryptocurrency think-tank, for their close relationship with the government. The brunt of the criticism has been focused on the Blockchain Alliance, an educational forum open to law enforcement.
Segments of the bitcoin community are unlikely to be pleased by any group working with the government but today’s development shows why interaction with the government is important. Knowledge is the world’s most powerful resource and arming Congress with it is the best way to encourage favorable legislation. It is natural to fear what you don’t understand and fear is often the cause of misguided legislation.
Groups like Coin Center can educate members of Congress on the benefits of bitcoin, making them less likely to be cowed by fearmongering utilizing concerns of terrorism and drug trafficking.
“From cryptocurrencies to supply chains to banking to property titling, blockchain-based solutions have the ability to decentralize cybersecurity and revolutionize many industries.” stated Rep. Polis in the same emailed statement. “It’s vital for Americans, businesses, and members of Congress to learn about blockchain technology so the U.S. can continue to secure its stance as the global leader of ingenuity. The Blockchain Caucus will focus on raising awareness, advancing ideas that foster growth, and safeguarding consumers.”
Most regulation developments has been on the state level. It appears that the federal government is finally taking an interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. With that being the case, Coin Center’s contributions could prove invaluable. Early in the Internet’s history, it had groups in Washington fighting for its interests. Coin Center is quickly becoming a leading voice in shaping cryptocurrency regulation. The Congressional Blockchain Caucus and House Resolution 385 are the latest fruits to bear from their labor.
“We are very excited by the formation of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and look forward to continuing to work with its members to chart a path forward with the same type of light-touch regulation from which the early Internet benefited just a few decades ago.” said Jerry Brito, the executive director of Coin Center.
We will continue to report on Bitcoin and blockchain regulation as information becomes available. |
Image copyright Baidu Image caption The device can measure temperature and nutrients, Baidu said
Electronic chopsticks that can detect whether food is unsafe to eat have been unveiled by Chinese tech company Baidu.
The search giant said the utensils could detect unsanitary cooking oil - a common concern in the country.
At its annual conference in Beijing, Baidu also unveiled its own wearable headset, a rival to Google's Glass.
The Baidu Eye has an in-built camera but no screen, and conveys information to the user via an earpiece or by connecting to a smartphone.
Both new products are as yet unavailable to consumers, and the company did not specify a date on which they would go on sale.
Image copyright Baidu Image caption Baidu's headset does without a screen
In a video promoting the new chopsticks, Baidu shows the device measuring the precise heat of various foods, as well as nutrients and sell-by date.
The sticks, which also include a sodium analyser to help users regulate their daily salt intake, can connect to any computer via wi-fi and Bluetooth.
"Chopsticks are the embodiment of Chinese wisdom," a Baidu executive said. "And we have combined it with our advanced technology." |
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An hour before my flight touches down in the USA I am watching a music documentary on the seat-back screen. And the first words in this episode of Dave Grohl’s Sonic Highways are: “Everybody now thinks that Nashville is the coolest city in America.”
Well that’s where I’m going and the Foo Fighters front man is absolutely right. Nashville, Tennessee, is buzzing with success.
This is my third visit, and since I was last here four years ago the neon-lit downtown area has all but doubled in size. New bars, restaurants and shops open every week.
Every joint is jumping and traffic is held up by “pedal taverns” full of whooping young women on bachelorette (hen) weekends. Suddenly this is America’s party town.
There are cranes and building sites everywhere but you can feel a crackle of energy and excitement in the streets. Sir Richard Branson is now building his second Virgin Hotel on Nashville’s Music Row (the first is in Chicago) and there are whispers of a direct UK flight soon.
For decades the city relied on country music to pull in tourists. Now it’s a backdrop to vibrant new ventures in art, fashion, dining and drinking. The hit US TV drama called Nashville has helped, mixing soap-opera glamour and excellent music with high-gloss images showing the city in a great light.
The show’s male lead, Charles “Chip” Esten, 49, was headlining at the Grand Ole Opry on the night we visited. He’s come a long way from 1990s TV improv on Whose Line Is It Anyway? We’d booked a backstage tour and stood just inches away as he and his band rehearsed.
Ninety years old this year, the Opry is the world’s longest-running radio show and an on-stage announcer still reads out commercials between the acts. Tickets from £21, VIP tour £63 extra. opry.com
Until 1974 the Ryman Auditorium in the heart of town WAS the Opry. But after the show moved out it went to seed and had to be saved from the wrecking ball. Now it’s busy with gigs nearly every night, while daytime tours tell you about its heritage. You can get up on the hallowed stage with a guitar and when I busked my way through Hey Good Lookin’ a stranger from Seattle joined in with a perfect harmony. Tours from £10, ryman.com
Next on the musical must-see list is the Country Music Hall of Fame, where a replica of superstar Taylor Swift’s tour bus doubles as a recording studio. Another major exhibit tells how the Nashville Cats, a band of insanely talented session players, attracted folk, pop and rock stars to the city’s studios after Bob Dylan made his Blonde On Blonde album there in 1966. We meet Charlie McCoy, 74, the “Cat” whose guitar work on Dylan’s song Desolation Row convinced the star to fly south to make his next record. countrymusichalloffame.org
Then there’s historic RCA Studio B, which opened in 1958. Run by the Hall of Fame with a shuttle between the two, it is full of memories and ghosts with its original Steinway grand piano still in place. This was the home of more than 1,000 hits by legends such as Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jim Reeves, the Everly Brothers and Dolly Parton. studiob.org
Nashville’s newest attraction is the George Jones Museum, a moving and rewarding tribute to a star hailed as the greatest-ever voice in country. Once an alcoholic known as “No Show Jones”, George died peacefully in 2013, aged 81, and the museum is owned by widow Nancy. Along with the guitars, gold discs and costumes you’ll see his driving licence, passport, watches, spectacles, even a barbershop that the well-groomed star had installed at home to save trips into town. georgejonesmuseum.com
Around two corners is the super-successful Johnny Cash Museum, opened in 2013 and about to undergo a big expansion. For a guitar geek like me, the highlight was two Fenders owned by Johnny’s boom-chicka-boom man Luther Perkins and the tiny battered amplifier he used on every early classic, including I Walk The Line and Folsom Prison Blues. johnnycashmuseum.com
Over at the Musician’s Hall of Fame they have the drum kit Al Jackson Jr used with Booker T & The MGs and a pedal steel guitar owned by the late great Ben Keith, who in 1970 sat in at a Neil Young session and defined the sound of his classic Harvest album. musicianshalloffame.com
If all this musical history puts you in the mood for live sounds you’re spoilt for choice on Lower Broadway. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge across an alley from the Ryman has live electric bands. For more traditional country try Robert’s Western World just a few doors down. tootsies.net and robertswesternworld.com
There’s a more relaxed style at the Bluebird Café, heavily featured in the Nashville soap. Its Songwriter Circles are a legend. bluebirdcafe.com
Then wind down until 3am at the Patterson House, with its Speakeasy ambience and huge list of £8 cocktails. thepattersonnashville.com
Staying on the spirits, visit Nelson’s Green Brier whiskey distillery on a daytime tour. The firm was revived in 2009 by two great-great-great-grandsons of founder Charlie Nelson, who came to America in 1850 on the same boat from Germany as HJ Heinz and Henry Steinway. The firm closed due to prohibition in 1909 and re-opened exactly 100 years later. greenbrierdistillery.com
Then take an afternoon drink on the terrace at Tennessee Brew Works. An £8 tasting tour gives you samples of six or more of their delicious craft beers. tnbrew.com
Flying back after four action-packed days I realised the trip could have been twice as long without running out of things to do. I feel a fourth visit coming on already.
Travel File
Don't miss: Third Man Records is a music store, label HQ and live venue owned by rock star Jack White. Try its 1940s Voice-O-Graph direct-to-disc recording booth. thirdmanrecords.com
What to buy: Vintage vinyl, rare CDs at Grimeys New & Pre- loved Music. grimeys.com. Quirky arts and crafts in East Nashville. goeastnashville.com
Where to eat: Try Party Fowl (spicy southern-fried chicken, partyfowlnashville.com), The Pharmacy (burgers and German wurst, thepharmacynashville.com), The Sutler (hickory-smoked meat, thesutler.com) and
my favourite, Pinewood Social, a former trolley-bus garage with a bowling alley and a menu full of delicious southern treats. pinewoodsocial.com
The deal: Five nights in Nashville from £1,250pp (two sharing, room only) with American Airlines flights from Heathrow. northamericatravelservice.co.uk 0845 122 8899
More info: visitmusiccity.com and deep-south-usa.com |
Remember when we teased an INSANE back half of 2017? We were NOT exaggerating! Now added to the Live Event of RISE 6 – BRUTALITY December 1 in South Gate, CA: SHIMMER Champion “The Latina Sensation” Mercedes Martinez takes on Toni Storm!
“2017 has been a landmark year for women’s wrestling. Two names at the forefront worldwide have been Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm. Mercedes has been an integral part of RISE from day one. Toni is an amazing talent, tearing it up in rings around the world. Putting the two of them against each other for the first time will be something very special, not to be missed,” said RISE Executive Producer, Kevin Harvey.
What a day December 1 will be for fans! VIP Meet and Greet with Madusa and Bull Nakano featuring the WWE Women’s Championship circa 1995 and all the talents of RISE as well. Then onto the Live Event featuring Phoenix of RISE Champion Shotzi Blackheart vs. Kris Wolf , LuFisto vs. Dust in a Barbed Wire Bat Match and now SHIMMER Champion Mercedes Martinez vs. Toni Storm? And we aren’t done yet?!
For a little as a $10 GA Live Event Ticket, this may be our most insanely valuable event yet!
Get your tickets, including VIP Meet and Greet bundle packages today at pipeline.ecwid.com! |
WASHINGTON—A resolute President Obama warned Tuesday that if Iran remained unwilling to halt its nuclear program, the United States would consider any and all options at its disposal short of whisking away the Islamic republic's leaders using a hook lowered from an airplane. "We are dealing with a grave threat and we will not hesitate to use any available recourse, with the exception of flying one of our stealth fighter jets into the heart of Tehran, having the pilot shoot some sort of grappling device 500 feet to the ground, dragging the steel hook in such a way that it remains inconspicuous, and then suddenly snatching up key officials when they least expect it," said Obama, adding that diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions, and military force were still on the table, given that those options did not involve using a curved metal implement at the end of a long retractable cable to ensnare members of the ruling Guardian Council. "Our message to Iran's leaders is clear: If you do not choose peace, we will take whatever steps are necessary aside from swooping in, snagging the back of your shirt collar with the tip of a large hook, and then flying you across the ocean to be our prisoners." Regardless of U.S. policy, many experts predict Israel will begin capturing Iranians with hooks lowered from planes as early as this summer. |
Instant Pot Indian coconut chicken curry is an easy weeknight dinner fix. This chicken curry is cooked to perfection with mild Indian spices in coconut milk. Serve this with side of cumin rice and dal, perfect for weeknight chicken curry cravings.
Its been raining continuously here in Santa Barbara from past few weeks. We did not get much rain here in the past two -three years. This as you can imagine is a welcome change for us. For me this is a perfect weather to sit on the couch, sip warm tea and just look at rain drops falling on the tree leaves. I can just sit like this and admire the new lush green cover over the mountains, falling rain drops all day long.
I love it when it rains and am enjoying this change in weather to the fullest. These days I am happy driving my car over water puddles and don’t mention gleefully splashing water all around. This reminds me of my favorite childhood memories. Back in the days when it used to rain on my way back from school. I would impatiently wait to get down from the school bus and look around for water puddles. And when I used to find one, jump on them and splash water. So much fun! Now when my daughter wants to do the same dare I can say no to her.
Rain also has another effect on me. This weather makes me crave for warm soups, chicken curry and spiced ginger tea. Cravings, we all give in some time. Me – I always give in. So, this past week I made coconut chicken curry for dinner. I tried my usual stove top curry recipe in Instant Pot and it turned out perfect.
Sharing the recipe for Instant Pot Indian Coconut Chicken Curry. This chicken curry is rich in flavors, it is cooked with Indian spices and coconut milk. Serve this chicken curry with side of cumin rice or garlic naan and dal. This is a delicious, comforting meal to have on cold, wet winter nights.
Looking for more Instant Pot Chicken recipes? Try my recipes for Instant Pot Palak Chicken or Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala. For more Indian Instant Pot recipes check my Instant Pot recipe Index Page.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you give this recipe a try, do let me know. Leave a comment, Pin it, or take a picture and tag it #cookingyoulove on Instagram. I would love to know how it turned out for you. |
Ana Mendieta’s images beg to be something else. Such space has been given to Mendieta’s absence since her young death in 1985 that she has become sealed in a tragic mythology. Following a spate of retrospectives in the past decade, ‘Metamorphosis’, the title of the second solo exhibition of her work at Alison Jacques Gallery, indeed points towards the erroneous posthumous trappings of an artist who couldn’t be held down in life. However, in its claims to focus on the subjects of transformation, camouflage and ephemerality in her photographs from the 1970s to leaf drawings from the early 1980s, the exhibition risks leaving too light a touch. The images in the fifteen works presented are, rather, undone, barred from becoming what they desire to be.
Installation view of Ana Mendieta: Metamorphosis, Alison Jacques Gallery, 2017. Courtesy Alison Jacques Gallery, London.
Ana Mendieta Untitled (Facial Hair Transplants), 1972. Copyright The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Courtesy The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, Galerie Lelong, New York and Alison Jacques Gallery, London.
Early performance photographs in the first room demonstrate the melancholic yearning for the assimilation with an other that always refuses. In the seven photographs making up Untitled (Facial Hair Transplants), 1972, - which the exhibition text alleges signals an appropriation of patriarchal power and the flexing of gender constructs - Mendieta glues the clipped hair from a male friend’s beard to her own jawline. The man looms over her throughout while she sits and applies his hair, having taken off her earrings. Transition complete, he is beardless but still with moustache, his masculinity in no way diminished. She puts her earrings back on.
Untitled (Grass on Woman), 1972, shows Mendieta, naked and face-down, attempting to burrow into a lawn. Mirroring the pasted hair in Facial Hair Transplants on the opposite wall, grass cuttings cling onto her glue-coated back - more of that white stuff to make life stick. Here too the description of camouflage does not fit. Mendieta once said her work was an attempt to re-fuse with mother earth’s womb, which she had been cast from aged twelve, when she was sent in exile to the United States from her native Cuba. While camouflage functions as a method of self-preservation, Mendieta takes on the flesh of her natural surroundings as an act of self-erasure, a mode of return.
Ana Mendieta, Dog, 1974, Lifetime black and white photograph. Copyright The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Courtesy The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, Galerie Lelong, New York and Alison Jacques Gallery, London.
Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Silueta Series), 1977, Lifetime colour photograph. Copyright The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC. Courtesy The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, Galerie Lelong, New York and Alison Jacques Gallery, London.
Whereas at the beginning of her Siluetas, 1973-80, Mendieta would push into her maternal earth with overtly masculine acts of inscription, here later images from the series show her building receptive forms. Such burrows and figurative outlines act as womb-like receptacles or ‘khôras’. Possessing no qualities of their own until they receive a phallic inscription, they dutifully wait to be filled by another force. But Mendieta’s insatiate bodies are never engulfed by the mud. The pyre in Volcán, 1979, does not collapse in the fire that should consume it. On the charcoal-painted walls of the exhibition’s second shadowy room vulval drawings float as brittle outlines, unfilled. Here Volcán appears for a second time in the exhibition as a Super-8mm film, having been seen earlier as a series of photographs. It seems a curious decision: the sense of duration in the photographs, which traps the smoke so that it could be stretching into deep geological time, seems to negate that of the film, where the gunpowder exhausts itself too quickly to enact any real change.
Installation view of Ana Mendieta: Metamorphosis, Alison Jacques Gallery, 2017. Courtesy Alison Jacques Gallery, London.
Such space has been given to Mendieta’s absence; the missing or departed bodies of her Siluetas (even though the surrounding mud shows no footprints). But should we look down again at those outlines of centreless figures and remember Mendieta’s desire to return to a space that must be inscribed to find its form, perhaps we will see a shadow that is still in the process of being drawn, the first marks from which a woman will spring. |
Thursday, January 29, 2015 Keep informed: Ebola update
For the past several months a team of experts representing many departments throughout Mass General has been discussing and planning strategies for all aspects of care and logistics related to managing Ebola virus disease safely should a patient with suspected Ebola come to the hospital.
MGH Prepares: A Well-Planned Response to Ebola
What is Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)?
Ebola is an infectious disease that can make people sick and in some cases, it can be fatal. In the past, it has caused intermittent outbreaks in various African countries. As of today, a limited number of people with Ebola have been treated in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working closely with state and local health departments to understand and manage the public health risks posed by Ebola.
What is the MGH doing in response to Ebola?
As of Jan. 26, 2015, there are no patients with Ebola at any of the Partners HealthCare hospitals, including the MGH. However, the hospital remains vigilant in its preparation strategies on all aspects of care should a patient with suspected Ebola come to the hospital.
What are the symptoms of Ebola?
Signs and symptoms of Ebola can start between 2 and 21 days infection. They include fever (or even feeling feverish), headache, weakness, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain or bleeding.
How is the Ebola virus transmitted?
To contract Ebola, you have to directly get body fluids (such as urine, feces, saliva, sweat, vomit, semen, breast milk) from someone who has Ebola in your mouth, nose, eyes or through a break in your skin or through sexual contact.
Air, food and water do not carry the Ebola germs.
A person is not contagious unless they exhibit symptoms.
Jan. 29, 2015: Updated materials
UPDATED: Information flyers for Patients and Staff
We know many of you have fielded questions from your patients and their family members about Ebola. In response we have created “MGH Prepares: A Well-Planned Response to Ebola” Fact Sheets that are now available to download. These flyers were updated Jan. 26, 2015:
Fact Sheet for Staff
Fact Sheet for Visitors
UPDATED: A Travel Health Alert flyer has been approved for placement in waiting rooms or clinic entryways.
Dec. 11, 2014: Memo sent to the internal MGH community
Dear Colleagues,
As the holiday season approaches, many individuals will be traveling to visit family and friends. We are writing to urge those of you traveling to the countries in West Africa affected by Ebola – including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – to take the following steps to ensure your safety and to avoid getting another illness that causes fever. Other febrile illnesses, such as malaria and flu, might be confused with Ebola. This could result in unnecessary hospitalization and might delay the diagnosis and treatment of malaria or flu.
Prior to travel, check with your primary care provider regarding preventive health services. We strongly recommend:
Everyone, including travelers, regardless of your destination, be vaccinated against the flu. Contact your primary care provider or MGH Occupational Health at 617-726-2217 if you are an MGH employee.
All travelers to these areas take recommended prophylaxis for malaria – you can contact your primary care physician directly, who may prescribe for you or refer through standard MGH CRMS referral system to the MGH Travel Clinic.
Check in with your manager or supervisor before you leave and prior to returning to work. They will coordinate with Occupational Health Services to ensure your safety and the safety of patients and colleagues. You must notify Occupational Health before you return to work as there may be mandatory screening requirements for individuals returning from these areas.
Stay up-to-date:
We wish you a safe and healthy holiday season. As always, we are here to help with any questions or concerns.
Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, DNP, FAAN
Senior Vice President for Patient Care and Chief Nurse
David C. Hooper, MD
Chief, MGH Infection Control Unit
Paul Biddinger, MD MGH
Medical Director, Emergency Preparedness
Stephen B. Calderwood, MD
Chief, MGH Division of Infectious Diseases
Andy Gottlieb, NP, FNP-BC
Director, MGH Occupational Health Services
Hilarie Cranmer, MD, MPH
Director of Global Disaster Response, MGH Center for Global Health
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• ICM poll reveals gap down to seven points • Voters losing faith in Tories on economy • Bullying charity under attack over No 10 claim
Support for David Cameron's Conservative party has crumbled to its lowest point for nearly two years, according to the latest monthly Guardian/ICM poll, leaving Britain on course for a hung parliament at the coming general election.
The survey, showing the Conservatives holding only a seven-point lead, will come as a relief to Gordon Brown as he continued to fend off potentially lethal claims over his complex character, including suggestions that he bullies staff.
The accusations – which surfaced in a book by the Observer's political commentator Andrew Rawnsley – sparked another day of frantic political manoeuvring yesterday.
One of the Tory party's best known MPs, Ann Widdecombe, quit as a patron of the National Bullying Helpline, the charity which on Sunday sparked a storm at Westminster when its founder, Christine Pratt, entered the political fray, saying she had received four complaints of bullying from No 10 staff.
Last night the charity was close to implosion as other patrons also resigned, saying Pratt had acted unethically. Among those who quit were the television presenter Sarah Cawood and the workplace stress expert Cary Cooper. There were also reports that Tory councillor for Hillingdon Mary O'Connor resigned.
The helpline withdrew any suggestion that the complaints involved Brown, and had to fend off criticism that it had close ties to the Conservative party.
The cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, also rejected calls for a public inquiry and denied he had ever raised concerns with Brown about intimidatory or bullying behaviour to No 10 staff.
In an interview in the Economist, Brown gave his first direct response since Rawnsley's allegations were published. "The cabinet secretary has made it clear that he's had no inquiries, there's been no reprimand, there's been no private message to me ... (The) story is completely wrong," Brown said.
The Tory hierarchy, though, will be alarmed at the party's vulnerability to Labour attacks since the new year. With no more than three months to go until polling day, the Conservatives have fallen to 37%, down three points on last month's Guardian/ICM poll and down two on another ICM poll earlier this month.
The party has not fallen so low in an ICM poll since the tail-end of the banking crisis, last falling to 37% in February 2008.
As recently as last October, the Tories hit 45% in an ICM poll and the party will be alarmed by this latest evidence that the race is tightening, which confirms the findings of some other recent polls. Meanwhile, Labour support, at 30%, is eight points up on its absolute ICM low last May, and slightly above its average for the second part of last year.
The opposition has also lost ground on key policy issues, including the economy, and may be losing their campaign against Labour's so-called death tax.
Labour leads the Tories by eight points as the party with the best policy on care for the elderly. The two parties are neck-and-neck on their ability to sort out the economic crisis, against a nine-point Tory lead when the question was last asked in August 2009.
The economic finding tallies with Labour polling suggesting the Tories are not making inroads with their policy of highlighting the scale of the public deficit and the need to take immediate action to cut it. One Labour source said: "The real valuable political real estate in Britain now is the optimism."
Labour also claims that its personal polling of Cameron shows he is seen as "too shrill, divisive and not speaking for Britain any longer". Labour claims it is succeeding in portraying Cameron as a man running a concealment strategy, caught between his branding and his beliefs.
Labour's static poll position is not all good news for No 10 – the ICM poll shows no boost for the party after Brown's emotional and revealing television interview with Piers Morgan.
Research began last Friday and most was done before the serialisation of Rawnsley's book in the Observer, which may also have affected Labour support. A fifth of responses were collected on Sunday.
Nick Clegg's hopes of a powerful place in a hung parliament are also boosted by the poll, which puts the Liberal Democrats on 20%, unchanged on the most recent ICM and down one point on last month's Guardian poll.
All this suggests Labour and the Lib Dems are holding steady, while the Tories are losing ground to smaller parties. Nationalists are on 5%, Ukip and the Greens on 3% each and the BNP on 2%.
Estimates of what these shares would mean for the parties on polling day vary, but a 7% lead is at the margins of what the Tories think they need to win an overall majority.
Brown will be hoping that the controversy over his character will blow out long before the actual election campaign begins in earnest.
ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 1,004 adults by telephone on 19-21 February 2010. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules |
Computer Assisted Translation
Computer Assisted Translation ( CAT ) is often used for localization of applications. In this article we’ll share our experience with a multi-language project. We needed to localize a mobile application to more than 20 languages. Additionally, we needed to translate a website and a server’s strings. We decided that it was acceptable to try machine translation of English to Russian, Indonesian, Arabic and Farsi. This would be enough for our first experience. Such experience would help us learn the most efficient way to translate other languages.
Two Challenges: Large Amount of Words and Different Formats
We thought we could translate the strings quickly. Nevertheless even machine translation applied on just 4 languages was not as fast as we wished it to be. For a better understanding of this problem you need to understand that he application for basic English language contains 2000+ words. Now let’s double it because the app is being developed for two platforms (Android and iOS). Then add nearly 500 words for the server and another 500 words for the English version website.
The second challenge is the absolutely different formats and approaches to how the strings are saved. Android application works with strings.xml files. Each of such file is common XML. An iOS app uses set of files called Localizable.strings. The content of such files has syntax common for Swift programming language. Web pages are stored in common xhtml format. Finally, server strings were stored in json format as we use NodeJS.
The first time we tried to apply a self written utility that used Google translation API service. The main disadvantage was that the utility incorrectly treated variables and special characters. For instance, “%d” was converted to “% d”, “%@” to “٪ @” (for Arabic), “/n” to “/N”, et cetera. We ended up spending too much time editing the translated text. Additionally, the utility was able to work with xml files but not with other formats. So we started to search for other approach.
MateCAT The Translation Tool
There are a lot of tools for translation of content in various formats. But some of them are proprietary and the rest provide too poor a functionality to be really helpful. MateCAT is a 3-year research project funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme. The project consortium is led by FBK (Fondazione Bruno Kessler). The objective of MateCat is to improve translation workflow by integrating Machine Translation (MT) and human translation within the so-called CAT framework Wiki said.
Image: MateCAT has analyzed the English version and is ready to translate it to Persian and Indonesian
MateCAT Main Benefits
MateCAT combines perfect usability, high translation quality and availability (it’s free and online). We saw the following main benefits of MateCAT that helped us to make a translation quickly and quite qualitatively.
Supports 68 different formats.
Allows the upload of several files at once (very useful for iOS *.strings files).
Supports the splitting up of a large task to subtasks. It is possible to do parallel translations.
Translates only weighted words. MateCAT omits tags, comments and other overhead information. Destination (translated) file contains both translated content and untouchable overhead data.
Remembers approved translation for further words.
Suggests to deliver translation to professional translators, defines terms and cost.
It is available online.
Files Synchronization Prior to Translation
Before translation be sure your lingual files are synchronized. Our project was translated partly. For example, sets of English and Indonesian words were not equivalent. That is why before translation we needed to synchronize lingual versions. For this task we used:
BartyCrouch for adding missing strings to iOS files
a self-written script for Android and other platforms.
Our experience in translation
As mentioned before, we needed to translate the following types of files:
*.xml
*.stings
*.html
*.json
The procedure was strictly the same for each format. It makes no difference to work either with HTML or with Swift. The translation was procedure was as follows:
Open MateCAT site, press “Add files“, choose English files from local drive. Choose languages that need to be translated. Go to “Settings” and set “Pre-translate 100% matches from” to ON. Also set other options according to specific translations. Press “Analyze” button and wait a little until MateCAT defines how many weighted words to translate. Split the job if total sum of words is 300+. Press “Translate” and then “Open“. Translate each sentence one by one. Download translation and check to see if everything is fine (like encoding, etc.) Push translated files to GIT repository or a site.
Image: Fragment of MateCAT Translation UI
How to Avoid Translation Problems
MateCAT is cool but you may run into small issues. Here are some suggestions how to translate faster and with higher quality results.
Check the option “Machine pre-translation” to ON after you upload file(s). It makes translation faster.
It makes translation faster. Split a large job to sub-jobs. This makes the translation controllable. Additionally, you may deliver different parts to different executors. Perhaps your team has several native speakers for desired languages.
This makes the translation controllable. Additionally, you may deliver different parts to different executors. Perhaps your team has several native speakers for desired languages. Translate to several languages at once if possible. This option is especially useful for a smaller amount of words.
This option is especially useful for a smaller amount of words. Do not hurry up. MateCAT proceeds with translation fast but you should be attentive. Confirm each translation (use hotkeys or ‘Translate’ button).
MateCAT proceeds with translation fast but you should be attentive. Confirm each translation (use hotkeys or ‘Translate’ button). Ctrl+Shift+Enter (or “T+>>” button) is a very useful feature. You will save a lot of time if machine translation has been translated some strings.
is a very useful feature. You will save a lot of time if machine translation has been translated some strings. Use the suggested variants of translation for long sentences. It could be faster than editing a translated sentence by hand.
Disadvantages
Of course, there were also some disadvantages we noticed. They are not deal breakers but sad since we had to figure out how to work around them.
Can’t download translated files in UTF8 encoding.
Sometimes not all translated strings were saved. It happened mainly for large files. That is why it is better to split large jobs.
Sometimes MateCAT worked incorrectly with escape characters and quotes. For example: \” was changed to “ \ “ was changed to ‘
If you rush through the process it is possible some time of your work will be lost 🙂
Analyzing stops if empty files were uploaded. All files end up needing to be re-uploaded again in this case.
But even these minor issues did not ruin our good impression of MateCAT since we were able to find ways to work around them.
And of course, if you find any better tool for translation please let us know! We would love to test it out. 🙂
Sources of images that are used in the article:
app103.com
As always, feel free to contact us for a consultation! |
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United star Robin van Persie was hit with a torrent of vile abuse on Twitter after posting pictures celebrating with City and Chelsea youth team players.
The Reds favourite set up his very own children’s competition in his home country, the Robin van Persie International Tournament, with under 9s and 10s vying for glory on Sunday.
Van Persie’s young son Shaqueel lined up for City, alongside Darren Fletcher’s son.
Youngsters travelled from as far as South Africa to take part, with 14 teams competing in front of 5,000 people in Maassluis.
After the tournament, Van Persie tweeted pictures celebrating with City’s under 9s team - and another enjoying a meal with Chelsea youngsters.
Fans immediately posted messages slamming the United star for being snapped with City youngsters.
One simply said: “Delete!”
Another called him ‘Judas’.
Some, realising Van Persie’s son plays for City, jumped to his defence.
One posted: “What’s wrong with you all? His son plays for them and he’s just happy for him! Twitter does my head in!”
After van Persie posted an image of him posing with ‘future Chelsea stars’, the abuse continued.
One person posted: “City and now Chelsea? Who’s next, Liverpool?”
Another said: “Robin, please stop this.”
After watching their sons play, Van Persie and Fletcher took to the pitch themselves for a kick-about with the young footballers.
The tournament raised money for Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam.
Van Persie and Fletcher are not the only current and former United stars to have kids appearing for rivals City.
Phil Neville’s son Harvey also plays for the club - and Peter Schmeichel’s son Kasper famously played in net for the Blues.
This weekend’s abuse came just weeks after City Women’s Toni Duggan received vile messages after posting a selfie with United boss Louis van Gaal.
City star and England international Duggan, 23, was sent a series of sexist messages after she posted the picture on the Instagram social media site. |
CLOSE Police shut down portions of a road after thousands of pounds of aloe vera spilled in West Melbourne. Video by West Melbourne Police Department. Posted Nov. 24, 2015.
Buy Photo Eber Road in West Melbourne is closed after an aloe vera spill. (Photo: Tim Shortt, FLORIDA TODAY)Buy Photo
Update, 4 p.m., Wednesday:
Eber Road between Hollywood Boulevard and Durham Drive has reopened, according to Brevard County EOC Communications Director Don Walker. Motorists in the area are limited to a 25 mph speed, he adds.
Walker also says the assessment of the asphalt is continuing in efforts to determine whether the road will need to be milled and resurfaced.
Original story:
It may be good for keeping the skin supple and healthy, but for roadways, not so much.
Just over a week after about 2,000 pounds of non-toxic aloe vera plant gel spilled onto a busy West Melbourne road, county engineers say that it may take a possible milling and repaving operation to fully repair the slick intersection. West Melbourne police also continue to monitor traffic patterns in the area.
“The road is still closed down,” said Capt. Richard Cordeau, spokesman for the West Melbourne Police Department.
County officials say a nearly half-mile segment of Eber Road near Hollywood Boulevard — one of the busiest thruways in West Melbourne — remains shut down due to the spill. Engineers are continuing their assessment, although no determination has been made to pursue the option of milling and repaving.
The crash happened Nov. 24 after the driver of a semitrailer told authorities that the load of aloe Vera he was carrying may have shifted and somehow punctured the container holding the slippery gel.
Aloe vera gel comes from the plant of the same name and has been used by everyone from the Greeks to Jamaicans as a vitamin and mineral-rich treatment for skin ailments and beauty regimens for centuries.
Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com and on Twitter at @JDGallop
Read or Share this story: http://on.flatoday.com/1QezAVE |
Argentina invades Britain: Record numbers of tourists spend £100million in UK despite renewed tensions over the Falkands
103,500 visits from Argentina in 2012 - up 27% year-on-year
They stayed in the UK for a total of 1.07million nights - an 84% rise
Visitors from Argentina spent £101million, up from just £40million in 2011
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has stepped up claim to Islands
Argentinian tourists have staged a British invasion, with record numbers flying in to the UK in the last year.
The influx of more than 100,000 visitors – up more than a quarter year-on-year - comes despite renewed tensions between the two countries over the status of the Falkland Islands.
Attempts by Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to stoke anti-British feeling have failed to stop her compatriots from spending a record £104million during holidays and business trips in 2012.
Record: More than 100,000 visitors from Argentina travelled to the UK last year, spending more than £100million and staying for a total of 1.07million nights
War of words: The rise in visitors to Britain comes despite attempts by Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to lay claim to the Falklands, which have been rebuffed by David Cameron
President Kirchner was barred from the funeral of Baroness Thatcher last month after repeatedly laying claim to the South Atlantic islands which Britain defended during her premiership in 1982.
David Cameron has responded to the threats by refusing to rule out using force to respect the outcome of a referendum of islanders in which all but three voters said they wanted to remain a UK overseas territory.
But the war of words which has erupted after Mrs Kirchner re-election as the country’s President, only appears to have fuelled interest among Argentinians to holiday in the UK.
In fact tourism bosses believe the influx of Argentine football stars into the UK Premier League, including Man City’s Carlos Tevez and Newcastle’s Fabricio Coloccini, has also helped to stimulate interest in holidaying in Britain.
The number of visits from Argentina rose in 2012 by 27 per cent to 103,500, the highest year-on-year increase from anywhere in the world.
Visitor numbers were also more than five times higher than in 2002, when just 19,000 arrived in the UK.
And it was more than 25 times greater than the 4,000 visits made in 1983, the year after Lady Thatcher’s government liberated the Falklands, known to Argentina as Las Malvinas.
Increase: The rise in the number of visits from Argentina was higher than from any other country, official figures show
Star attractions: Interest in Britain has been fuelled by Argentinian footballers players in the Premier League including Man City's Carlos Tevez (left) and Newcastle United's Fabricio Coloccini, tourism bosses claim
In 2012, Argentinians stayed in the UK for a total of 1.07million nights - an 84 per cent increase on 2011. Visitors from Argentina spent £101million, up from just £40million a year earlier.
The visits included 22,000 more holidays in the UK, 2,000 extra business trips, 1,000 visiting students but the number of trips to visit friends and family fell by 2,000.
David Leslie, spokesman for tourism agency VisitBritain, said: ‘2012 was a record year for visits and spend from Argentina, up 28 per cent from the previous year and accounting for nearly one-fifth of all visits from Central and South America.
‘We know that Britain’s contemporary culture and rich heritage is highly regarded, while many younger Argentinian visitors see London as a vibrant city and the fashion centre of Europe.
‘If you take a look around the Premier League you’ll also find some fantastic Argentinian players plying their trade, and with major events like the Rugby World Cup taking place here, we hope we’ll be able to give a warm welcome to an even greater number of Argentinians coming to experience the very best of what Britain has to offer.’
However, relations between the countries’ two leaders has been far from warm.
Snub: Last year Mrs Kirchner tried to present Mr Cameron with a document laying claim to the Falklands, but he refused to accept it at a G20 Summit in Los Cabos
Earlier this year President Kirchner used newspaper adverts to insist her nation was ‘forcibly stripped’ of the Falklands in a ‘blatant exercise of 19th century colonialism’ – a claim branded ‘crazy’ by Whitehall officials.
In an open letter to Mr Cameron, published as an advert in Left-wing newspapers on the 180th anniversary of the alleged January 1833 takeover, she accused the UK of defying United Nations resolutions by refusing negotiations over the Falklands.
But in a strong message which risked angering Buenos Aires, Mr Cameron made clear that he was ready to respond with force if threats to the islands emerged.
He insisted that despite defence cuts, Britain would be able to defend the islands again, as Lady Thatcher did in 1982 at a cost of more than 900 lives - 255 of them British servicemen.
Mrs Kirchner attempted to thrust a package stuffed with documents about her country’s claim to the British territory into Mr Cameron’s hands in an encounter at a recent G20 summit.
To her fury, the Prime Minister repeatedly refused to accept it, insisting she should respect the views of the islanders who want to remain British.
Leader: The funeral of Baroness Thatcher was dominated by troops from units which fought to reclaim the Falklands in 1982
History: Steel helmets abandoned by Argentine armed forces who surrendered at Goose Green to British Falklands Task Force troops during the Falklands War
Official tourism figures for 2012 showed record numbers of visitors from several countries, including China and record spend by Australians and Canadians.
But the 27 per cent increase in visitors from Argentina put it well ahead of other growth markets including Hungary (24 per cent), Egypt (23 per cent) and China (20 per cent).
Tourism minister Hugh Robertson said: ‘The tourism industry plays a key part in selling a modern, welcoming and dynamic Britain abroad that helps contribute to economic growth and drive investment. |
Enroll Your Books in the 10th Annual
Smashwords Read an Ebook Week Sale!
March 3, 2019 - March 9, 2019
Welcome to the enrollment page for the 10th annual Smashwords Read an Ebook Week sale! For the these seven days only, thousands of Smashwords authors and publishers will offer readers exclusive discounts on their ebooks.
To enroll your books in the promotion, select from one of four promotion levels below: 25% off; 50% off; 75% off, or FREE.
If you manage a lot of books, you can use the bulk enrollment option which you'll find in the pulldown menu directly underneath each of the enrollment levels. This feature allows you to enroll all applicable books into a single promotion level. Remember to click "Submit" after you make your selection. You can modify your selections at any time.
Once you enroll, customers will obtain your books using one of the special discount levels below, which will automatically reflect in their shopping cart at checkout.
Benefits of Participation
Smashwords authors and publishers enrolled in the promotion will receive:
Placement in a special Smashwords home page catalog from March 3 through March 9
The sale will be promoted to over one million customers of the Smashwords Store (so be sure to enroll before the sale starts!)
Notation on your book page that the book is participating in the sale.
This is a collaborative sale. The more authors and publishers participate, the more it amplifies results for all participants.
Readers love Smashwords sales because it's a great opportunity to stuff their devices chock full with deep-discounted ebooks from new authors they haven't tried yet as well as long-time favorites. Have fun!
How to Participate (Scroll down the page to enroll your books):
Log in to your account. If you do not have an account, click here to join now for free. Books must be published at Smashwords to enroll in the Smashwords promotion.
If you're logged into your account, below you'll see a list of your published books. Simply select the book(s) you want to enroll, and at what level you want to enroll. Click "Submit" and you're done.
If your book is already free, or you previously selected the "name your own price" pricing option, you're already enrolled and you do nothing.
Offer your books at 25% off, 50% off, 75% off, or for FREE.
Your discounted price, after the coupon is applied, must be $.99 or higher, otherwise your book will default to free.
The catalog goes live at one minute past midnight on Sunday March 3 Pacific time, and expires 11:59pm on Saturday March 9.
You can opt out of the promotion at any time, or change your promotion settings at any time.
These deals are exclusive to the Smashwords Store and will not work anywhere else.
By participating in this promotion, it does not change your suggested retail price at Smashwords or at Smashwords retailers.
Visit the official 2019 Read and Ebook Week page at https://www.smashwords.com/ebookweek where you can download buttons and badges to use in your promotion, and learn more about why this annual tradition is so popular with readers and authors alike.
You will receive an email confirming your participation.
Thanks,
The Smashwords Team |
The former Louisiana officer accused of shooting and killing Arzy, a Maine man’s leashed dog, was indicted Thursday by a Calcasieu Parish Grand Jury on a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Brian Thierbach, who resigned in May from his position as a police officer in the community of Sulphur, Louisiana, according to Holly Carter of the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office.
A judge has set Thierbach’s bail at $20,000, she said, adding that she did not know if he had turned himself in to authorities yet or if he has retained an attorney. Her office will be prosecuting the criminal case against the former police officer.
Alyson Antoon, the attorney for itinerant Portland musician Brandon Carpenter, said that the grand jury made a quick decision after holding a hearing.
“We’re very pleased. I’ve seen a lot of the evidence in this case, and from what I’ve seen, they definitely made the right decision,” she said. “The evidence was overwhelming.”
Carpenter said that he was handcuffed on the ground when Thierbach shot Arzy, his Labrador-Newfoundland-golden retriever mix, on the morning of April 28. The Maine musician and his friend, Logan Laliberte of Auburn, had hopped off a freight train in Sulphur and had climbed into an empty box truck in the local newspaper’s parking lot to sleep out of the rain when they were found by local police.
Thierbach told Carpenter that Arzy had nipped his foot, but an independent witness to the events told police that the dog had not attacked the officer.
An internal affairs investigation into Thierbach’s actions found that he had violated the Sulphur Police Department’s policies and procedures regarding the use of force, personal conduct and behavior. Police Chief Louis Coats said in a news release issued in May that he was a dog lover and was deeply saddened by the incident, and that Thierbach’s resignation was accepted so the officers and community can heal and move forward.
Carpenter has told the BDN that he plans to stay in Sulphur until justice has been done for Arzy, a dog he described as incredibly friendly and a big teddy bear. So far, his efforts to seek justice have attracted national attention, both in the media and on social networking sites like Facebook. Even actress and animal rights activist Kristen Johnston, who starred on the television show 3rd Rock From The Sun, has called for justice for Arzy on her blog.
A May rally at a park in Sulphur drew more than 100 people who came to support Carpenter and honor the life of his dog.
“[Thierbach] thought I was just a train-hopping punk, and he could shoot my dog and get away with it,” Carpenter said in a telephone interview in April. “You messed with the wrong traveler.” |
About This Game Eastside Hockey Manager (EHM) has emerged from Steam's Early Access programme and is now available for full release.
EHM offers fans the most realistic, in-depth and immersive simulation of hockey management available, giving them the chance to manage either club or country in any of the world’s top hockey-playing nations.
EHM allows you to take full control of your roster – you decide who to sign, who to trade and who to draft. You assemble the perfect coaching team and then, with everything in place, you can choose to either employ a head coach to guide your team from behind the bench, or take control of the coaching duties yourself. Whichever you choose, you can follow the action ‘live’ or watch the game highlights afterwards through the realistic ‘top down’ 2D game engine.
To mark its move from Early Access to full availability, EHM now offers a number of new and updated features, including: a greater number of playable domestic leagues and cup competitions; Steam Workshop integration; additional screen resolutions and a multiplayer option which allows up to 30 players to compete against one another and many more improvements inspired by user feedback. Eastside Hockey Manager – Key Features
Dynamic 2D Game Engine
Follow the action in either your own games or those of your rivals through the advanced ‘top-down’, 2D game engine, which incorporates state-of-the-art physics modelling (including realistic deflections and shot-blocking) and convincing player AI. There’s even a zoom mode for those who want to get closer to the action.
Realistic Contemporary Game World
A detailed game world where players can manage and coach in more than 30 playable domestic leagues and cup competitions from across the globe, each of which features up-to-date rules and league structures.
Multiplayer Action
Up to 30 players can compete head to head in in the same online game world.
Steam Workshop Integration
EHM includes support for the inclusion of user-generated content (such as custom databases and graphics) through the easy-to-use Steam Workshop system.
Complete Roster Management
Full control over the building and management of your roster, including everything from offering contracts to scouting, drafting promising players and trading with other teams.
Complete Personnel Management
Full control over non-playing personnel, including the ability to sign coaches, scouts and physios.
Total Tactical Control
Coaches can get the best out of their roster by creating and managing detailed tactics that can be configured to an entire team, an individual unit or even a single player.
Lifelike Trade Negotiations
Managers can gauge interest to trade proposals from their opposite numbers as well as getting feedback from their own assistant. Each team has their own needs and some are ready to offload prospects for that key veteran that makes them a true contender whilst others might be looking to move high-earning veterans in order to rebuild through the draft.
Intuitive User Interface
The centralised navigation bar makes management easier and more intuitive with all key management controls incorporated into the main menu bar.
Improved Player Progression
Players develop and age naturally, with new players coming through the junior systems and older players eventually retiring or moving on into non-playing careers. Furthermore, the role-based attribute modelling makes players more realistic and more varied.
International Management
EHM includes the opportunity to manage international teams (including U20s) in all of the key tournaments – and many less high-profile competitions too.
Database Import
The database format allows the importing of user-generated up-to-date rosters and even historical starting databases (created for earlier versions of EHM).
And Much, Much More…
…including detailed financial modelling of player contracts, salary caps and player budgets; a nation overview screen which allows you to view all of the top leagues, clubs and players for each country; player/non-player profiles; an option to start the game with a fantasy draft; all-star games with skills competitions and many, many other features. |
Disclaimer I do not own RWBY
Chapter 6
A week had passed since the weapons of Team RWBY and Yang's motorcycle had appeared from out of nowhere with human bodies. It had been quite a shock to all of them when the five of them appeared naked on their leader Ruby's bed.
It was an even greater surprise when soon after she and Yang were called to Prof. Ozpin's office only to discover that Yang's motorcycle, Bumblebee, had also turned human. Things were settled rather quickly and they returned back to their dorm room only to find it in complete chaos with Weiss, Crescent Rose, and Myrtenaster fighting one another. Though in all fairness, it was just another eventful day in the life of Team RWBY.
Fortunately, the week had passed by without incident.
Mostly.
X
The sun had finally set and for Weiss that meant that the day had finally come to an end. She laid down her pen as she had finally finished off the last of her homework which was due at the end of the week. Normally Ruby would have been doing it with her as Weiss would have said, "It wouldn't do for my partner to be slacking off in her schoolwork". So whenever Weiss would begin doing her assignments, Ruby would be right there alongside her doing hers or at least trying to.
While at first Weiss considered it an annoyance that she would have to force Ruby to sit down with her, and constantly remind her that she should be doing her homework, or to answer questions that the younger girl should have already known by now. But as time moved on, her usual short temper was replaced by patience. After some time she even began to find Ruby's antics endearing, cute even.
Weiss walked tiredly down the hallway of the dorms, having just finished her last class of the day. She shuffled more than walked since she had sat through a six hour lecture with a decaffeinated Prof. Oobleck. As much as the students had trouble keeping up with the speedy professor, he was a completely different person without his coffee. While his normal lectures he would quickly pace and move around the room and often taking sips of coffee between his sentences, without it his pace and tone seemed to drone on and on like an endless cycle.
And despite being a dedicated student, even Weiss has her limits.
The lecture felt like to would drag on forever and she was never happier to hear the sound of the bell to signal the end of class.
Weiss let out a deep sigh as she finally reached the door of her room. Feeling mentally exhausted from the overly long supplementary lecture that she didn't have to attend.
And currently she was regretting her decision to go.
Suddenly, Weiss felt a pair of hands start to crawl up her sides, tickling her. "Ahh!" She yelped as she jumped at the sudden contact and before she could react her unknown assailant began to tickle her with full force.
"Ahahahaha!" She laughed out loud, one name sprung to mind as the only one who would do such a thing, "Ru-hu-hu-beeee! Stah-hahahah-hap! Ahahahaha!"
Tears had begun to form at the corners of her eyes, while she weakly struggled against the onslaught, leaning against the door of their room for support.
"Say the magic word, Weiss!" Replied Ruby, her voice lilting playfully.
"Puh-pu-plee! Ahahahaha!" Tried Weiss, but she couldn't get the words out between the bouts of laughter.
"What was that?" Ruby asked innocently, lessening her tickles on Weiss' sides.
Weiss finally able to actually get a full breath quickly said. "Please! Ruby! STOP!"
And as quickly as she had began, Ruby stopped her tickle attack.
Weiss spent a minute or two trying to catch her breath before turning around to look at a mischievously smiling Ruby, "What was that for you dolt?!" she asked, trying her best to sound mad, even though the aftershocks of the tickling still lingered.
Ruby's smile faltered slightly at Weiss' tone, but answered the question, "I saw you leaving that supplementary lecture that Oobleck was giving and you looked like something was bothering you, so I thought I'd try to cheer you up!" Her smile grew wider in hopes of having accomplished her goal.
Weiss opened her mouth to berate the girl, but then realized something. The weight of exhaustion that seemed to weigh down on her shoulders just vanished, without her even realizing it.
Closing her mouth and letting out a humph, Weiss turned back towards the door ,opening it. "Well, aren't you coming in?" Asked Weiss.
Ruby looked into Weiss' eyes and she could see the ease that had been absent within them in clarity, she smiled widely and skipped inside, nodding enthusiastically.
Closing the door, Weiss muttered, "Thanks, Ruby."
The redheaded girl turned to see that Weiss wasn't looking at her, but knew that her partner was smiling.
"You're welcome, Weiss."
It wasn't long before she began to see Ruby in a new light. While at first she considered her little more than a child that didn't belong in Beacon, who had somehow cheated or with some other dubious methods had entered two years early. She now considered Ruby to be both her team leader as well as being a someone whom she can proudly call her partner for the next four years that they would be spending in Beacon.
Soon after she would begin to notice small things about Ruby that she had never noticed before. Like the way that her eyes would sparkle whenever she was particularly happy or when it involved being allowed to eat large amounts of cookies. Or that whenever she writes an essay for her assignment and she would unknowingly poke out the tip of her tongue while she tried to figure out how to start the next paragraph. Or even how adorable her face becomes whenever she grows frustrated with something and her face scrunches up while she puffs up her cheeks.
After that, it just wasn't in the way that she looked at Ruby that had changed, but there seemed to be changes in the way she felt whenever she looked at her as well.
Ruby seemed to always be able to make Weiss laugh and smile, brightening up the normally, as much as she hates to admit it, dull days of school. Her sparkling eyes would cause a flutter in her chest that she couldn't explain. Her heart would beat faster and her stomach would be filled with butterflies.
At first Weiss wasn't sure what these feelings meant, but one day after her curiosity got the better of her when Yang decided to take a peek at one of Blake's books that was hidden under the mattress of Blake's bed while her partner and sister were out.
"Yang! What are you doing?!" Hissed Weiss as Yang lifted up Blake's mattress, seemingly looking for something.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm looking for Blake's stash." Replied Yang, not turning around to look back at Weiss.
"Stash?!" Screeched Weiss, this time catching Yang's attention as she was quickly silenced by a hand over her mouth. Stash? Was Blake hiding drugs? Is she an addict? If so how did she manage to sneak them into Beacon, wait she's a cat Faunus it would be easy. But more importantly WHY IS YANG LOOKING FOR IT?! Thought Weiss.
"Shh, keep your voice down, Ice Queen. You know what happened the last time one of us screamed like that, besides I meant Blake's secret stash of books." Explained Yang.
Weiss' wide eyes relaxed somewhat as she understood, nodding her head letting Yang know that she wouldn't scream again.
Once Yang uncovered her mouth, Weiss asked, "Why are you so interested in her books? Aside from that, isn't that invasion of privacy?"
"Well you kinda got me there, Ice Queen. But isn't it obvious?" Answered Yang, turning back to lift and move Blake's mattress to the side and began to peak between the boards.
Weiss simply raised her eyebrow, not answering.
Yang sensed that Weiss' silence meant that had to answer her own question, "Well if it's something secret, then I wanna know about i–Aha!" Said Yang, pulling out a seemingly nondescript black book from Blake's bed.
Yang quickly opened the book and began to flip through its pages. Weiss, her own curiosity getting the better of her, tried to feign disinterest, but still peeked over Yang's shoulder to see just what was in it.
The book was very. . . descriptive, to be frank. And by the end of it Weiss' face was redder than Ruby's cloak and Yang's face was flushed as well, but she was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. But for Weiss it was a very eye opening . Right before the more. . . risque, parts of the book, the girl, Hikari, would experience similar things that Weiss had been experiencing.
While at first Weiss didn't want to believe that she was. . . in love. . . with Ruby. The idea seemed completely appalling at first, but as the days went by Weiss couldn't take her mind off the contents of the book.
There were times that she would catch herself staring at Ruby, taking in her form as impure thoughts inspired by Blake's book filled her mind.
Ruby, being the innocent child that she was, was oblivious to Weiss' wandering eyes. But that didn't stop Weiss from denying what she was doing nor from scolding Ruby whenever she got caught.
But now, Weiss looked over her shoulder and saw that Ruby was being coddled by Crescent Rose who was doing her best to keep her away from Bumblebee–who was wearing some of Yang's clothes since they were both around the same size. Yang was busy reading a storybook to Ember and Celica at the foot of Blake's bed. Myrtenaster sat patiently with her legs crossed at the foot of Weiss' bed, waiting to be called for by her mistress. While Blake and Gambol Shroud sat silently at the head of the same bed both of them watching Bumblebee and Crescent Rose fight over Ruby.
Weiss grit her teeth and slammed her hand against her desk, causing all the commotion in the room to stop as everyone stared at her. Talking over her should her Weiss said, "If you three are done playing around," addressing Ruby, Crescent Rose, and Bumblebee, "Ruby needs to finish her homework."
Ruby, still caught between Bumblebee and Crescent Rose's grip, looked down ashamedly. She knew that she was supposed to do her homework with Weiss, but it had been difficult with her being unable to get a word in edgewise between Crescent Rose and Bumblebee.
"Um, guys? She's right, I really need to do my homework." said Ruby.
Both Bumblebee and Crescent Rose looked down at her then to each other before simultaneously letting go of Ruby.
"Thanks." said Ruby quietly as she straightened out her clothes and walked towards Weiss sitting at the desk and took a seat next to the heiress, looking down at the small stack of blank papers of her yet to be done homework.
Weiss gave one last seething look at the two women before giving a huff and turning to face Ruby to instruct her with the night's homework. While on the outside it looked like she was irritated with Ruby for getting a late start with her homework, on the inside Weiss was glad that she was able to get Ruby to herself for the next hour or two, away from the clutches of Crescent Rose and Bumblebee.
The aforementioned duo were now sitting on opposite ends of the room, pointedly ignoring the other, but all the while stealing glances towards Ruby and also throwing the occasional glare at Weiss.
They all sat like that in silence until Bumblebee decided to climb up onto Ruby's bed–which had been fixed once the team had returned from breakfast– but was dragged off the edge by the back of her shirt and landed on her butt on the floor.
After getting over the pain of falling on her butt for the umpteenth time that day, she saw that Crescent Rose had scrambled up onto Ruby's bed and looked down at her, sticking out her tongue mockingly.
Bumblebee decided not to try and reclaim the bed, knowing that Crescent Rose had the upper hand and would just be able to push her off even if she tried. She glared once more at Crescent Rose before turning around, grumbling as she climbed onto Yang's bed to lay down for a while.
Soon, the hours passed by and Ruby was finally done with her homework, though they had a short break of sandwiches for dinner, brought to the dorm by Blake, Yang, and Myrtenaster, though the grey haired girl insisted that she would get the sandwiches by herself, Yang and Blake told her that they wanted to help, and besides they were the ones that normally brought food back to the room anyway.
Weiss looked over the papers as Ruby stretched her arms out and let out a yawn. Weiss never let her simply copy her assignments, saying that she would never learn anything if every time they had homework she would just copy whatever Weiss had written down. Just because Ruby had gotten into Beacon two years early didn't mean that she should shirk her responsibility to do her own homework.
But it had worked, many of the topics that Ruby should have learned if she had stayed at Signal for two years, she had slowly caught up on. Though there are times when the lessons and concepts would go completely over her head during class and it was only Weiss' small whispers and explanations that allowed her to have some grasp of the intricacies of the current topic.
While these thoughts floated through Ruby's mind. They were all put to a stop and promptly crashed into the metaphorical earth of Ruby's mind as a plate with half a dozen cookies and a glass of milk was placed in front of her by Weiss, once she had finished looking through Ruby's homework and finding all of her answers to be satisfactory.
Ruby smiled broadly at the treat and slowly began to delicately dip a cookie into her glass of milk then taking a bite out of it before downing the sweet treat with the milk.
Weiss had quickly learned that despite Ruby's eating habits she never seemed to get stomach aches, despite being taught that eating snacks so late at night would do so. Besides it was more trouble than it was worth to try and convince or force Ruby otherwise.
"Good work, Ruby." said Weiss, as she too stretched out her arms and back after sitting and watching over Ruby for so long. "Look like you're finally understanding basic protocol for Rural Operations."
Taking her attention away from the plate of cookies, Ruby turned to face Weiss with a huge grin.
Weiss internally giggled as Ruby had a milk mustache and crumbs at the corners of her mouth. Putting on a stern face and letting out a practiced exasperated sigh, Weiss said, "Ruby, don't just scarf them down like a slob. Honestly, it's like I'm taking care of a child." She quickly pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped Ruby's mouth and upper lip of crumbs and milk then putting it back into her pocket.
Ruby ignored the comment. She simply beamed at Weiss and said, "Thanks." Before continuing to finish off the rest of the cookies.
Weiss then proceeded to pack up their homework and place them in their respective folders and contemplated on what lessons they were going to have in the coming weeks.
Once she stowed away the last of the papers, Weiss turned to see that Ruby had almost finished her cookies with the last one in hand. But instead of wolfing it down like she did the rest of its brethren, Ruby seem contemplative about that particular cookie.
Weiss was just about to ask Ruby what was wrong, when she dipped the last cookie with what seemed to be much more care then the others. What caught her truly by surprise was that instead of going straight into Ruby's mouth, the hand that was holding the last cookie slowly went right towards Weiss' own mouth.
Weiss looked dumbfoundedly at the now softened chocolate treat, her eyes crossed as she stared at the cookie right up to her face. Blinking, Weiss shifted her gaze from the cookie to Ruby's face, which was lit up, complete with sparkles, in a hopeful expression. Clearly sending the message, 'Please eat it.'
Weiss looked back down at the cookie, then quickly scanned the room to see if any of her teammates or the new arrivals noticed the two of them.
Fortunately for her, none of them had.
Color rose up from Weiss' cheeks and down her neck to her shoulders as she tentatively opened her mouth and closed her eyes, leaning forward slightly.
Weiss felt the slightly rough texture of the cookie slowly graze her bottom lip as Ruby brought the cookie into her mouth. Once she felt the edges of the cookie touch the corners of her mouth, Weiss bit down and the milk dipped cookie gave way with minimal effort. The half that Ruby fed her perfectly separated from the undipped portion and Ruby pulled it away.
Weiss chewed as the soft cookie slowly spread its sweet chocolatey and buttery flavor across her tongue, which was slightly subdued by the creaminess of the milk.
It was heavenly.
Ruby dipped the remaining half of the cookie, letting a few errant drops of milk fall back into the glass. Her hand once again drifted towards Weiss' mouth.
Weiss swallowed the cookies in her mouth with and audible gulp, smacking her lips. This time feeling bold, Weiss closed her eyes and opened her mouth like a child. Her heart beating like tribal drums as she anticipated for the cookie to be placed onto her tongue.
Once she felt the touch of the treat in her mouth. She slowly closed her lips around it, only to find them wrap around a pair of fingers. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes opened wide as she crossed them to look to see that Ruby's fingers were inside her mouth!
Weiss let out a small mewl as Ruby slowly pulled her fingers out of Weiss' mouth. Her lips working in vain to keep the younger girls fingers within their confines. But Ruby pulled them out, and with her fingers still wet from Weiss' saliva, prompted her to start chewing on the cookie currently in her mouth by gently pushing her jaw, which was hanging slightly open and Weiss' lips were quivering, closed.
Using her fingers to guide Weiss' jaw to chew the cookie until she was able to swallow it, Ruby wiped away some small crumbs that ended up at the corners of Weiss' mouth wither her middle and index fingers. Ruby then brought them to Weiss lips once again and Weiss wasted no time and began to suck on Ruby's fingers. Weiss could still taste the lingering sweetness of the cookies on Ruby's fingers as she kept sucking on them.
All too soon for Weiss, Ruby pulled out her fingers. Weiss was panting and blushing profusely, her eyes glazed over. Ruby separated her fingers, watching with interest the small bridge of saliva between them before placing them into her own mouth, staring with half-lidded eyes and making a show of sucking and licking her fingers clean, causing Weiss to blush even harder.
"You taste wonderful, Weiss." said Ruby, then she giggled, then her voice shifted for a more sultry tone. "Even sweeter than the cookies."
At least that's what Weiss had imagined in her head.
Apart from leading to her epiphany for her feelings towards Ruby, her imagination had run amok with these fantasies. Some of them sweet and innocent, much like Ruby herself. While others. . . well, the latest one should be an indication of what direction they would go at times.
In reality, Ruby had proffered up her last cookie, sitting neatly on the center of the plate, as well as the glass of milk. But like in her fantasy, Ruby's eyes silently begged her to take it. It was a very sweet gesture, much like Ruby herself.
On the inside, Weiss was still recovering from her most recent fantasy just stared back blankly at Ruby.
Thinking that Weiss was going to reject her tribute of milk and cookie, Ruby's bottom lip quivered which snapped Weiss' brain back to the present. Putting on a mask of reluctance, she picked up the cookie and dipped it in the milk before taking a bite out of the cookie.
Normally Weiss wasn't one to indulge in sweets this late into the evening, but seeing as Ruby had offered it to her, she could make an exception.
The cookie itself was delicious, but sadly didn't taste as good, or as sensual, as it had within her fantasy.
After taking a few sips of milk from the glass to wash down the baked treat, Weiss looked over to the clock which hung above the doorframe, surprised at the time.
"It's that late already?!" Exclaimed Weiss, then turned to the rest of her team, clapping her hands together. "Alright everyone, it's time to get to bed. Lights out in ten minutes!"
Yang and Blake both simply nodded at Weiss' sudden barking of orders. Having come to the impasse of not arguing with the Ice Queen on matters such as staying up late, save for studying.
Yang closed the storybook that she was reading and ruffled the twin's hair and made her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. The twins following her, curious as to what she was going to do. Blake followed suit, leaving Gambol alone on the bed, unsure as what to do. Ruby quickly downed the rest of the milk and happily bounded off after her other teammates, with Weiss following her soon after. Myrtenaster quickly and quietly retrieved the empty glass and plate and promptly left the room to get them washed.
After brushing their teeth, they began to prepare for bed and what seemed to be like a calm end to a somewhat hectic day.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Asked Bumblebee as she noticed Crescent Rose settling down into Ruby's bed by slipping under the blankets.
"What does it look like? I'm getting ready for bed." Said Crescent Rose smugly. "Is there a problem?"
"Yeah, you shouldn't be sleeping there." replied Bumblebee, slipping down from Yang's bed.
"Is that so?" said Crescent Rose. "Last I remember, I used to sleep with Ruby all the time while you were stuck in the garage."
Bumblebee's lips thinned at the snide remark, but decided not to comment on it and instead said, "Yeah well, I'm pretty sure that Ruby isn't going to like the fact that someone's already sleeping in her bed."
Crescent Rose's self-confident smirk just grew into a grin. "Oh I don't think she'll mind." she said as she pulled off the blanket and slowly traced her hand from her legs, up her waist, down the curve of her hips, and back up catching one of her breasts, pulling it up and letting it jiggle.
Unfortunately for Ruby, she had just exited the bathroom just in time to hear what she had just said and to have seen what she just did. Ruby was unsure as to whether or not she wanted to pass-out out of embarrassment, lest she wake up in an even more embarrassing situation.
With a furious blush on her face with the connotations of what Crescent Rose had said in mind and poking the tips of her index fingers against each other nervously, Ruby said, "Um. . . I was actually hoping the have my bed to myself tonight, actually." Not looking straight at Crescent Rose.
Crescent Rose stared blankly down at Ruby, struggling to find the words to express her objection, but Bumblebee spoke up first.
"You heard her, you oversized gardening tool. Get off the bed!"
When it seemed apparent that Crescent Rose didn't hear her, Bumblebee quickly took her by the arm and dragged her off the bed causing Crescent Rose to yelp and land hardly on the floor.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" She shouted.
Bumblebee shrugged, trying her best to hide her smirk, but the corners of her mouth still curved upwards slightly, "You were taking too long." she said simply.
Getting to her feet Crescent Rose then asked, "So where am I gonna sleep?"
"Good question." Said Weiss as she stepped out of the bathroom. "You are going to go back into your weapons."
"Hey, Flat Chest, you can't tell me what to do." Snapped Crescent Rose.
"We-well, Weiss does have a good point." said Ruby, "There's not enough space for all of you to sleep as you are. . . right. . . now." her voice growing quieter and quieter with each word.
Several emotions went through Crescent Rose's face, there was shock, then disbelief, and disappointment were most prevalent, but resignation was what remained on her face.
"Alright, fine. But before I go." Said Crescent Rose, she quickly swept Ruby up in a hug, lifting the smaller girl off the ground before kissing her right on the lips.
Weiss was too shocked to do anything, her mouth hung open slightly at the blatant show of affection. Bumblebee simply scowled. The door to the room opened as Myrtenaster walked in, just in time to see Crescent Rose still kissing Ruby, her eyes flashing scarlet red at the sight but she didn't do anything.
Crescent Rose and Ruby both remained in that position for a few long seconds, long enough that when Yang, Ember and Celica came out of the bathroom, Yang swiftly covered both their eyes from the scene.
To Ruby it felt like an eternity before Crescent Rose let her down, giggling. "Good night, Ruby." She said, turning around, waggling her hips briefly before skipping towards her weapon, touching it with a finger and in a flash of light was gone.
Ruby was still in a daze, swaying back and forth on her feet. Myrtenaster quickly came to her side as Ruby swayed a little too far back, and caught her just before she fell.
The sudden shock of the sensation of falling snapped Ruby out of her daze, and when she looked up to see who had caught her, she was met with a pair of bright yellow eyes, full of concern.
"Are you alright, Ruby?" Asked Myrtenaster.
At that moment Ruby has realized that Myrtenaster had caught her and now they both stood like partners paused in a dance at the dip, with Ruby leaning back while Myrtenaster's hand supported her by the small of her back.
"I-i-i blu-, bu, b–" Blubbered Ruby, before she decided to stay silent and simply nod her head.
Myrtenaster smiled gently and her eyes slowly shifted back to their normal pale icy blue, Ruby quickly looked away embarrassed.
"Good, can you stand?" Asked Myrtenaster.
Ruby nodded again, and was brought back to her feet where she regained her balance, and suddenly her feet were the most interesting thing in the room. Myrtenaster promptly straightened Ruby's sleeping clothes before taking a step back and looking back towards Weiss, who by now was gritting her teeth at Myrtenaster taking advantage of the situation. Bumblebee resigned to simply glaring at Myrtenaster.
"Is there anything else you need from me, Mistress?" She asked.
"No, you're dismissed." Said Weiss curtly.
Myrtenaster nodded and bowed at Weiss before she said to Ruby, "Goodnight, Ruby. Sweet dreams." She then walked towards her weapon and disappeared much like Crescent Rose.
Weiss gave a small harumph as Crescent Rose and Myrtenaster were finally gone for the night.
Gambol Shroud herself went towards her weapon and disappeared in a flash of light without anyone really noticing. Yang meanwhile helped Ember and Celica up onto the bed before climbing onto it herself and began to settle in. Blake looked towards her weapon for a moment before going to her own bed.
Ruby and Weiss were about to follow suit on their own beds, but realized that Bumblebee was still there.
"What are we gonna do about Bumblebee?" Asked Ruby.
"I'm not really sure." Replied Weiss. "It's past curfew and we can't bring her back to the garage at this time of night."
"I'll be fine sleeping on the floor." Said Bumblebee, shrugging. She used to have to hang around the street corner all night whenever Yang went out on one of her searches late at night, so a dorm room floor wouldn't be as bad.
"Are you sure?" Asked Ruby.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Said Bumblebee, laying down on the carpet between the beds and stared at the cieling, "It's actually more comfortable than what I normally sleep on."
Glancing down, Bumblebee saw Ruby holding out a pillow. "Um, so you're a bit more comfortable." She said.
Bumblebee smiled, standing back up and accepted the pillow from the smaller girl. Before going to lie back down on the carpet, Bumblebee lifted up Ruby's chin and gently placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Thank you, Ruby, and goodnight." She said as she laid down once more, this time with a comfortable pillow beneath her head.
Ruby smiled widely, a light pink gracing her cheeks as she nodded happily, "You're welcome!" She said and she climbed into her own bed. "Night everyone!" she bade and closed the curtains to her bed.
Weiss shut off the lights before climbing into her own bed and pulled up the sheets to her chin and let out a deep sigh.
Finally this crazy day has come to an end. She thought as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Weiss was unceremoniously awakened by Ruby's bed collapsing on top of her.
As it had turned out, Crescent Rose, Bumblebee, and Myrtenaster had once more snuck into Ruby's bed in the middle of the night. How they didn't wake up the others was a mystery, but their combined weight was too much for the hanging bed, causing its supports to snap.
That morning, the whole dormitory woke up to the heiress' shouts.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Long time no see! I know that it's been forever since I've posted a chapter, and I'm sorry about that. If you guys want to know as to why this chapter took so long, take a look over at my tumblr and some of the posts there should explain as to why.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter I had some trouble with it, but my muse came back and I was able to do most of it in a short span of days. I'm happy to say that I'm already working on the next chapter and with that I will be needing all your guy's help. I need clothing suggestions for all the weapons. I have some ideas for one or two of them, but the rest I really can't think of anything. Well it can't be helped as I'm a guy with no fashion sense whatsoever. So leave a review! Send me a PM! Or if you want to draw something, then go ahead! I'm open to all suggestions. And next chapter I will be giving shout-outs to everyone who gave their suggestions for their clothing designs. REMEMBER I can't finish the next chapter WITHOUT the costume designs. So the sooner I get a concrete idea of what they should wear, the sooner the chapter will be out.
Also, don't forget everyone!
Please Leave A Review! |
I
Религиозную веру можно сравнить с покровной шерстью. На первых этапах эволюции густая, сальная шерсть на человеке была вполне уместна. Она грела его, защищала и обеспечивала легким завтраком: в ее зарослях всегда можно было наловить калорийных паразитов. Но прошло несколько миллионов лет, и начался процесс разволосения. Сперва из грязного колтуна показалась голая физиономия. Затем наступила эпоха общего облысения человека. Эволюция неумолимо освобождала его от покровной шерсти, от ее съедобных обитателей и сладости постоянного чесания.
Конечно, это было очень жестоко. Но деваться было некуда. Приходилось лысеть, так как, чуть-чуть взойдя по иерархической лестнице, homo получил доступ к крупной падали. К тушам больших мертвых животных. А этот продукт требовал глубокого погружения. Содержащиеся в нем жидкие и полужидкие гнилостные субстраты пропитывали шерсть и окончательно превращали наших прадедов в ходячую помойку. Так что разволосение человека произошло по той же причине, что и обнажение шеи у грифов. Но гриф — птица деликатная. Она глубоко в падаль не лезла и посему сохранила большую часть оперения. А вот homo оголился почти полностью.
Возможно, все происходило не совсем так, как представляется мне. Но это и не важно. По той или иной причине человек избавился от уютной покровной шерсти. И это оказалось чрезвычайно полезно для его развития, размножения и выживания.
Примерно то же самое должно было произойти и с покровной шерстью его разума, с религиозной верой. Когда-то для примитивного дикарского мышления она была естественна и комфортна. Она согревала и дарила чесательную сладость молитвы. В ней заводились приятно зудящие убеждения. Но по мере изменения интеллектуальной среды эта «шерсть» тоже должна была исчезнуть.
Тем не менее этого не произошло. До сих пор ее носят 90% людей. Эту «шерсть» подкрашивают, завивают и стригут в соответствии с религиозной модой и местной культурой. Конечно, на ней могут быть большие или малые проплешины, но все же, вопреки всем законам развития, в целом она сохраняется.
У нее сотни названий: каббала, православие, синтоизм, буддизм, ислам, метафизика, etс. Но, несмотря на множество имен и окрасов, это единое явление, имеющее одну природу и одно назначение. Атрибутика культов различна, но смысл у них общий: наличие внешнего управления миром.
Эту «шерсть» клочьями выдирала наука и выщипывала публицистика. Но она росла как ни в чем не бывало. Наконец, квантовая механика препарировала саму реальность. В ее глубине обнаружился набор физических явлений, генерирующих всю видимую и невидимую материю. Разумеется, никаким «внешним управлением» там и не пахло. Но «шерсть» легко пережила и это.
Культивируя злобу и запреты, она всегда откровенно мешала развитию человека. На ее возгонку были впустую потрачены драгоценные столетия. Именно ею запускались «социальные» лифты, возносящие во власть самых примитивных представителей вида. Очевидна и ее бесполезность: любые долбежки лбом в пол перед символом любого божества как минимум безрезультатны.
Согласно всем законам развития, о вере должны были бы остаться только забавные воспоминания. Но эта «шерсть» слезать не собирается, а по-прежнему определяет мировоззрение абсолютного большинства людей.
Массовость религиозной веры не доказывает ее обоснованности или нужности. Можно взять 200 000 000 уток и выучить их одновременно крякать при виде надувного шарика. Утиное единодушие, конечно, произведет шоковое впечатление. Но оно будет не доказательством необычайных свойств шарика, а, скорее, характеристикой уток.
Иными словами, тайну веры следует искать там, где она и находится: в коренных особенностях homo. То есть там, где наши познания и так ущербны, а благодаря усилиям антропологии и психологии с каждым годом становятся все хуже.
Дело в том, что для понимания явления необходимо знать его происхождение.
Фундаментальные качества человека сформировались в ту эпоху, когда понятие «спасти свою шкуру» употреблялось в прямом, а не в переносном смысле. Так называемый «доисторический период» был самым продолжительным и важным для нашего вида. Тогда и решилось, каким быть человеку. Весь механизм нашей высшей нервной деятельности — плод именно того периода, когда homo был стайным животным, промышлявшим поиском падали и каннибализмом. За несколько миллионов лет заложились и закрепились все видовые повадки, особенности поведения и биологические привычки. Абсолютно все основные качества человека родом из той эпохи. В том числе и то свойство, что побуждает целовать доски с картинками или отрезать головы гяурам.
О влиятельности этого периода говорят и цифры: так называемый «доисторический» период — это как минимум 200 тысяч поколений, а так называемый «исторический» — всего 200. Заметим, что биология учит нас тому, что каждый организм есть колеблющаяся сумма свойств всех его предшественников.
Все то, что предъявляет нам фиксированная история (200 поколений от Шумера), — это пустяк. К тому моменту, как возникла письменность, homo окончательно сложился и лишь реализовывал свои особенности.
Следует понимать, что пудренный парик или каску со звездой надевал не кто-то, а правнук питекантропа, наследник всех свойств этого милого существа. Он же размышлял о гравитации, строил пирамиды и лязгал дверьми газовых камер.
Образ сжигателя ведьм, военного убийцы, вечного насильника, изощренного палача плохо вяжется с гуманистической концепцией эволюции человека. Но стоит только вспомнить, что изнасилования, убийства и все дериваты этих забав были основным делом человека в течение многих миллионов лет, — и сразу все становится на свои места.
Впрочем, у нас нет амбиций характеризовать весь путь этого сообразительного животного. Наша задача гораздо проще: понять, какие именно свойства человека до сих пор сохраняют на его разуме покровную шерсть.
Как возникла и из чего была сделана религиозная вера, более-менее понятно. Напомню, вопрос не в этом, а в тех глубинных качествах homo, которые обеспечили вере поразительную живучесть. Следовательно, нам надлежит спуститься по хронологической шкале на пару-тройку миллионов лет и вглядеться в хитрые глазки наших прадедов.
А тут начинаются проблемы. Нам не к кому обратиться за помощью и фактами. Как выясняется, эволюцией человека занимается не фундаментальная наука, а некая описательная дисциплина, настоянная на фантазиях и опасно граничащая с изящной словесностью.
С момента учреждения Нобелевской премии прошло 115 лет. Медаль с профилем симпатичного динамитчика стала главным критерием так называемой «научности». Разумеется, с этим не всегда соглашаются те, кому она не досталась и не достанется. Но сегодня не существует более авторитетного регистратора достоверности и важности знаний, чем премия Альфреда Нобеля.
Конечно, Нобелевский комитет не всегда был безупречен в своих оценках «персонального вклада» ученых. Случалось, что он обижал великих и прославлял незначительных. Впрочем, это касалось только персоналий. Непосредственно сами дисциплины, расширявшие знания о вселенной и ее содержимом, регулярно осыпались нобелевским золотом. Физиология пищеварения, реликтовое излучение, генетика и квантовая механика всегда получали то, что им причиталось по праву.
Разумеется, труды комитета имели и обратный эффект. Очертился «нобелевский» круг, за пределами которого осталось все, что не имеет отношения к подлинной науке. Очерчивание было произведено «больно, но аккуратно». Не было никакого разжигания междисциплинарной розни в духе Резерфорда, утверждавшего, что «наука делится на физику и на собирание марок». Разделение на «настоящие науки», «не очень науки» и «вовсе не науки» свершилось как бы само собой. Без деклараций. Через непреклонное и последовательное пресечение попыток «малого знания» пробраться в главный круг.
Хорошей иллюстрацией служит пример так называемого «психоанализа». Одиннадцать раз он выдвигался своими поклонниками на премию и столько же раз был отклонен. Астрологи, историки, антропологи, лингвисты etс. тоже не раз лицезрели ледяную улыбочку Нобелевского комитета, возвращавшего их работы «как не имеющие отношения к фундаментальной науке».
Итак, приговор давно прозвучал.
В 2009 году была предпринята попытка его обжаловать и допустить «не совсем науки» к рассмотрению комиссиями Королевской Академии. Но инициаторов этой идеи вежливо выпороли, а тему закрыли. Особо отметим, что по умолчанию принято щадить чувства представителей «малого знания» и как можно реже называть вещи своими именами. Более того, никому в голову не придет вслух насмехаться над их глянцевыми фолиантами, над их коллекциями косточек-камешков и фантазийными трактовками данных артефактов. Считается, что сам факт неприятия «малого знания» в нобелевские дисциплины все объясняет и не требует комментариев. А несогласным предоставляется свобода истекать ядом в любых количествах.
Согласно «нобелевскому счету» в разряде «не наук» находятся: астрология, уфология, психология, лингвистика, история, антропология, археология, хиромантия, демонология, филология, теология, социология и еще несколько «логий» помладше и поскандальнее. Эти разные премудрости связаны общей бедой. Все они абсолютно бесплодны. Точное историческое знание так же невозможно, как и вызов демона.
А у неточного знания есть одна маленькая проблема: оно попросту не является знанием и пригодно только для забавы. Впрочем, не будем лишний раз бередить раны «не наук».
Все это отнюдь не означает, что археология навсегда поставлена в один ряд с уфологией, а антропология — с хиромантией. Разумеется, это не так. И у археологии, и у антропологии остается шанс стать реальными науками. Возможно, эти дисциплины когда-нибудь преодолеют свою «второсортность», обзаведутся собственными Эйнштейнами и придут за золотом Нобеля. Конечно, этот шанс призрачен. Но он есть. В отличии от демонологии, антропология, например, все же имеет дело с реальностью. Но научится ли она обращаться с ней столь виртуозно, чтобы предложить миру выводы, равные константам физики, — большой вопрос.
II
Разумеется, тщетность антропологических изысканий могла бы оставаться личным делом этой дисциплины. Строго говоря, все ее провалы никому не могут причинить ущерба, так как не оказывают никакого влияния на процессы познания мира. Конечно, густота лобкового волоса монголоидов — это очень важный вопрос, но, стиснув зубы, можно обойтись и без его решения.
Если бы дело ограничивалось этой и подобными задачами, то никто не тревожил бы антропологию в ее дальнем чуланчике.
Но!
На свою беду именно она оказалась изучательницей такой воспаленной темы, как эволюция человека. В середине XIX века Дарвин, Гексли и Геккель указали на крайне «низкое биологическое происхождение» homo. Более того, они завещали потомкам разгадать природу и смысл трансмутаций этого животного. «Потомком» вызвалась быть антропология. Ей очень хотелось стать востребованной и важной наукой. Но за 150 лет она, разумеется, не смогла разобраться в причинах превращения животного homo хотя бы в искусствоведа.
Впрочем, надо отдать должное антропологам. С технической частью работы они справились: выкопали, помыли и красиво разложили наборы камешков и косточек. С помощью таких инсталляций удалось вчерне обозначить те изменения, которые произошли с телом животного homo за несколько миллионов лет.
Но, как выяснилось, к загадке человека и происхождению его свойств все это не имеет ни малейшего отношения. Косточки, разумеется, не объясняют причин эволюционной карьеры homo, не расшифровывают причин ее странной этапности и не дают представления о мотивации, которая вынуждала это животное меняться.
Иными словами, мы видим полное фиаско. Все вопросы так и остались без ответов. И нет надежд, что ответы появятся.
Как же столь важная материя оказалась в ведении столь маломощной дисциплины?
Ответ прост. Реальной науке в вопросе эволюции человека пока делать нечего. Но не по причине того, что предмет изучения не интересен. А лишь потому, что не с чем работать. Отсутствуют проверяемые факты, которые можно было бы сложить в самоподдерживающуюся систему. В ту самую, что порождает крупнокалиберные догадки, а затем и открытия.
Пример такого сложения мы видим в физике, химии, физиологии, биологии. В антропологии этого не случилось. По многим причинам.
В это сложно поверить, но среди авторов антропогенеза нет и не было никого равновесного Планку, Борну, Фейнману, Галилею или Павлову. За все время своего существования эта дисциплина не породила ни одного великого или хотя бы громкого научного имени. Интеллектуальная элита человечества никогда не занималась темой развития человека.
Этот важнейший вопрос был отдан на откуп набору «мутных дедушек», никому не известных за пределами круга интересантов. Вот уже 150 лет эти середнячки списывают друг у друга домыслы о животном, которое каким-то волшебным образом допрогрессировалось до ипотеки и презервативов.
Это отсутствие «имен» удивительно. Ведь разгадка эволюции homo сулила и сулит грандиозные лавры. По идее, на этом вопросе должна была сфокусироваться вся интеллектуальная мощь Европы. Но… даже самые хищные и честолюбивые интеллектуалы в него никогда и не заглядывали. Только по одной причине. Там «и не пахло наживой». Нет фактов — нет и науки, а следовательно, нет настоящей славы или большого золота.
Впрочем, там, где нет науки, как правило, укореняются и расцветают весьма забавные домыслы. Что, собственно, и произошло.
Вспомним «теорию первобытного общества», которая в том или ином виде господствует в палеоантропологии. Она мимикрирует, меняет имена, мастерит «обвесы» из передовой фразеологии, но ее суть остается неизменной. Что же это за теория? Изложим ее кратко и без церемоний.
Это красивая повесть о целеустремленном питекантропе, который мечтал стать человеком. Ради этого он самосовершенствовался и таинственным образом передавал свой опыт следующим поколениям. При отсутствии письменности это было трудновато, но питекантроп справился. Через пару миллионов лет ему наконец удалось вырастить свой мозг до нужных размеров. Мозг стал вполне пригоден для изобретения трусов и нагана. Но наш питекантроп продолжал скромничать и довольствовался ролью стайного животного, шнырявшего в поисках падали. Ничтожество своего положения он компенсировал философствованиями у костра, а также отчаянным промискуитетом и каннибализмом. Вероятно, ему это казалось очень романтичным. Периодически наш герой обколачивал камни и прятал свои поделки в разных местах. Так он провел еще миллион лет, но вдруг вспомнил о своей старой, почти позабытой мечте. И тут же изменился: прикрыл гениталии и перестал есть родственников. Именно эту загадочную метаморфозу и назвали «неолитической революцией». А она уже вывела человека на финишную прямую к фараонам, моцартам и электрическим стульям. Мечта, наконец, сбылась.
Разумеется, столь откровенная белиберда должна иметь и очень забавные корни.
Поищем. И легко обнаружим эти корни в «пещерных» развлекательных романах начала ХХ века Ж. Рони «Борьба за огонь», «Пещерный лев» и «Вамирэх»; в повестях Д’Эрвильи и Клода Сенака. Там в пещерах рыдают красотки, а герои машут дубинами и всячески поощряют инструментально-социальный прогресс.
Очевидно, что именно дубина Вамирэха указала антропологии вектор развития. Та послушалась и покорно пошла в указанном направлении. Напомним, что с интеллектуалами в этой дисциплине всегда было плохо. Критически осмыслить навязанную культурой фальшь и восстать против нее было некому. В результате этого печального стечения обстоятельств труды столпов антропологии — Вейнертов-Алексеевых-Зубовых-Гюнтеров-Нестурхов etс., по сути, являются озанудленным пересказом беллетристики Д’Эрвильи и Рони-старшего. И ничем больше.
Как мог случиться такой конфуз? Очень просто. Трагикомедия «малого знания» началась в конце XIX века, когда ученые господа-антропологи Циммерман, Вайц, Клаач, Ранке etс. разродились первыми исследованиями филогенеза homo. Им удалось собрать практически все глупости и небылицы о «допотопных обитателях планеты» и изложить их с академическим пафосом.
Публикации этих трудов вдохновили беллетристов на создание уже литературных образов пещерных людей. Естественно, «первобытные» романы писались по лекалам любовно-героических драм. Не трудно заметить, что все «вамирэхи» и «гаммлы» — это стандартные типажи бульварного жанра начала ХХ века. Они мыслят, действуют и страдают по его законам. Конечно, они одеты в шкуры, озарены кострами и могут погрызть кость. Но на переносицах этих питекантропов заметны следы пенсне.
«Пещерная» тема оказалась победоносной и быстро захватила книжный рынок и массмедиа. Романтический дикарь Вамирэх зарычал со всех газетных полос и обложек. Разумеется, тут же подсуетились живописцы и скульпторы. В нагнетании фальши художникам удалось перещеголять даже литераторов. Вернисажи заполнились «храбрецами каменного века». Кисти и резцы Кунерта, Февра, Кремье и иже с ними быстро сформировали нужную эстетику, а та легко породила стереотип «героя-охотника» и древнего прогрессиста. Стереотип стал массовым и легко закрепился: отважный мечтатель с дубиной вполне отвечал самым строгим требованиям к «прадедушке». Такого предка иметь было не стыдно, он не разрушал нарциссический миф культуры, а даже добавлял в него пикантности.
Юная и еще очень тщедушная антропология не смогла устоять против многоопытного монстра культуры и «легла под него». Иными словами, культура здесь опять нокаутировала науку, навязав ей абсолютно ложный образ древнего человека.
Под влияние культурного стереотипа, разумеется, подпало следующее поколение антропологов. (Напомню, что Резерфордов и Гейзенбергов среди них не было.) Оно принялось обслуживать стереотип — и «собака закусила свой хвост». Началось вечное вращение антропогенеза вокруг вымысла бульварных романистов. Круг замкнулся. Как следствие, возникла «теория первобытного общества», сделанная не из фактов, а из мнений и выдумок. Именно по этой причине «малое знание» и не способно ответить ни на один вопрос, включая тот, что рассматривается нами.
Разумеется, винить тут некого, мы видим несчастный случай. Но вся эта глупейшая история сохраняет свое влияние по настоящее время. Бедного Вамирэха продолжают доить в надежде на то, что из него, наконец, закапает научная истина.
Конечно, никто не посягает на священное право оставаться дураком. Но пусть антропологи сами таращатся в свой подойник. Как знать, может быть произойдет чудо: он наполнится константами, а Нобелевский комитет признает антропологию наукой.
Впрочем, в том, что она ею пока не является, тоже есть свои преимущества. Мы получаем право «гулять по буфету, ни в чем себе не отказывая». Где нет констант, не может быть и ошибок.
III
Чтобы решить наш вопрос, разумеется, надо в первую очередь вымести из темы весь смысловой мусор, накопленный антропологией за 150 лет. Включая и «вамирэхов», и специфическую терминологию. Она хороша лишь для создания «дымовой завесы», скрывающей бесплодность этой дисциплины.
Вероятно, подлинная история раннего homo была совсем другой и слагалась по совершенно иным принципам, нежели полагает антропология. Однако ее подробностей мы никогда не узнаем. Конечно есть раскопочные «полуфакты» и намеки, но количество их ничтожно, а пустоты меж ними огромны. Надо иметь мужество оставлять пустоты пустотами, а не заполнять их фантазиями и спекуляциями.
Впрочем, не все так безнадежно. Кое-что у нас есть. Мы можем объективно и точно определить «умственное состояние» древнего человека. Сделав это, мы легко вычислим и некоторые его фундаментальные свойства. (Возможно, среди них завалялось то самое, что позволяет религиозной вере сохраняться до настоящего времени.) Узнать, каким было существо, умершее миллион лет назад, мы можем по принципу исключения. Через простой подсчет того, чего оно было лишено.
Полное перечисление того, что было неведомо питекантропу, — бессмысленное дело. Это практически все, из чего «сделан» человек. И это касается отнюдь не квантов и не трудов Павлова. Нет, речь идет о простейших знаниях и понятиях, обязательных для каждого человека.
Итак, берем собирательный образ человека и начинаем вычитать из него позицию за позицией. Отчислив все, чего просто не мог знать ранний homo, мы получим существо, не дотягивающее даже до нормального слабоумия. С соответствующими повадками и поведением. Это и есть наш прадед. Мы увидим, что его «умственный капитал» значительно меньше, чем у вечных узников режимных психиатрических клиник. Тем не менее, судя по огромной продолжительности «доисторической эпохи», питекантропу в его дементности было вполне уютно. А вот первые опыты мышления должны были причинять ему почти боль, разрушая комфорт привычного безмыслия.
Питекантроп не виноват. Он и не мог быть другим. Но за миллионы лет слабоумие впиталось в вид и стало одним из режимов работы ЦНС. Его функция — защита от дискомфорта, причиняемого развитием. Со временем оно похорошело и стало очень влиятельной силой, обеспечившей человека множеством незатейливых радостей. Вероятно, в том числе и религиозной верой. Каждую победу слабоумия над развитием золотила культура, услужливо превращая очередную глупость в объект «всемирного наследия» и «веху цивилизации».
Простой пример — пирамиды Египта. По сути это первый зримый символ торжества слабоумия. Их возведение означало, что дальнейшую судьбу человечества во многом будет определять его дементное прошлое.
Поясним.
После загадочной «неолитической революции» homo сбился в крупные стаи. Произошла неизбежная социализация. Ее следствием стала письменность и накопление практического опыта обращения с камнями, глиной, деревом, металлом etс. Египетская эпоха рафинировала и усугубила этот первичный набор знаний. Она же, впервые в истории вида, объединила эти технологии с усилиями сотен тысяч человек и в результате воздвигла пирамиды.
Но зачем она это сделала? Для чего понадобились огромные сооружения, обошедшиеся в тысячи грыж и смертей? Как выяснилось, исключительно для того, чтобы положить в них парочку сушеных покойников.
Возможно, это совпадение, но такой подход весьма характерен для клинической картины деменции. Слабоумный пациент, овладев каким-нибудь новым навыком или предметом, как правило, придумывает для него самое идиотское применение.
Анналы психиатрии хранят память об узнике Сальпетриера, беззлобном и тихом Алене Морсоне. Он был на хорошем счету и иногда помогал ставить клистир буйным больным. Эти процедуры так впечатляли тихоню, что однажды он не выдержал и похитил прибор. Морсон удалился с ним на крышу больницы, где использовал клистир как телескоп для наблюдений за звездами. По мнению почти всех пациентов, ему удалось открыть множество новых планет и созвездий. Все они были загадочны и прекрасны. Правда, одна из планет Морсона почему-то была покрыта густой шерстью. |
Ban Ki-moon's term as United Nations chief is nearly up, and there is every indication the process for choosing a new secretary general will look a lot different this time around.
There have been growing calls from inside and outside the organization, including strong criticism from civil society, to make the selection process for UN chief more inclusive and transparent than it's been since the organization was established in 1945.
For the first time ever, the UN has set up a web page where the names of all the candidates, along with their CVs, are being published for everyone to see.
"I think one could say it is historic,'' says Ian Martin, executive director of Security Council Report, an online research group that monitors the work of the council.
"It's a degree of transparency that has never existed," he adds. "We're in uncharted territory."
Although the secretary general is appointed by the General Assembly, the candidate is submitted on the recommendation of the 15-member Security Council after a secretive (and sometimes lengthy) process of straw votes and vetoes.
Until now, there was no real role in the process for the wider UN membership other than to rubber-stamp the candidate put forth by the council.
For 'the whole membership to decide'
Mogens Lykketoft, the president of the General Assembly, has made clear he will ask everyone who submits a CV to come meet with all the countries – on a voluntary basis – so that everyone has a chance to weigh in on the candidates.
Lykketoft says ideally, these informal interviews would begin in spring before the Security Council starts its selection process in July. "It's finally up to the whole membership to decide," he says.
His declaration follows another first in December, when he and the president of the Security Council issued a joint letter to kick-start the application process, which explicitly encouraged states "to consider presenting women, as well as men, as candidates."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is one of the names being bandied about for the next UN secretary general. (Michaela Rehle/Reuters)
Despite resolutions aimed at gender parity, the UN has a checkered past when it comes to appointing women to senior positions. According to the Global Peace Operations Review website, 83 per cent of new appointments last year went to men. At the end of 2015, only about one-quarter of the UN's senior officials were women.
More than two dozen names have been bandied about in the media and elsewhere as possible successors to Ban Ki-moon. They include Bulgaria's Irina Bokova, who is currently Director-General of UNESCO; Chilean President Michelle Bachelet; former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd; former Slovenian president Danilo Türk; one-time New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark; former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres; and even German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
To date, none of them have formally submitted their candidature.
Emphasis on gender parity
At the time of writing, only three states – Montenegro, the Republic of Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – had formally submitted candidates.
So far, there is one woman contender: Vesna Pusić, Croatia's minister of foreign affairs. Pusić was first elected to the Croatian Parliament in 2000 and helped negotiate her country's accession to the European Union in 2013.
A letter submitted by Zoran Milanovic, the prime minister of Croatia, announcing Pusić's candidacy, states that "after 70 years of the [UN]'s existence it is high-time that a woman… be considered on an equal basis."
The letter also points out that the "Eastern European Group" is the only UN regional group not to have had a Secretary-General, and Milanovic believes "the principles of equitable geographical distribution" should apply when selecting the next Secretary-General.
Croatia's Foreign Minister, Vesna Pusic, is one of only a handful of people who have formally announced their candidacy to be the next UN chief. (Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images)
The two other candidates who have formally submitted their names are also from the region: Srgjan Kerim, a Macedonian with a doctorate in international economics from the University of Belgrade who was president of the UN General Assembly from 2007 to 2008; and Igor Luksic, Montenegro's minister of foreign affairs.
Attempts to review the selection process are not new. In 1996, many countries voiced displeasure when the U.S., represented by then-ambassador Madeleine Albright, blocked Egypt's Boutros Boutros-Ghali from running for a second term as Secretary-General.
In 2006, and again last year, the Canadian Delegation to the UN circulated an informal paper that called for a clear list of qualifications, the creation of a search committee and the participation of the wider UN membership in the selection process.
''The objective of this proposal is not to reduce the authority of the Security Council … but rather to complement the existing mechanism in such a way that the legitimacy of the process is itself enhanced,'' reads the paper.
Ian Martin with Security Council Report says there was initially "strong resistance" from the permanent members of the Security Council to reform the process. But he credits the UK for showing greater initial receptivity to the idea than the other veto-wielding members.
William Pace, who is with the global advocacy group 1 for 7 Billion, believes this added transparency will encourage highly qualified, independent candidates to put themselves forward, and it will discourage the five permanent members on the Security Council – the U.S., Great Britain, France, Russia and China, also known as the P5 – from blocking them without good reason.
Pearson blocked by USSR
In the 1950s, future Canadian prime minister Lester B. Pearson was being touted as a possible UN chief, but his candidacy was ultimately vetoed by the Soviet Union. (Peter Bregg/Canadian Press)
Pace gives the example of Lester B. Pearson, the Nobel Prize winner and former Canadian prime minister, whose candidacy for Secretary-General was twice blocked by the Soviet Union.
He says that when the Soviets vetoed Pearson in 1953, "what was reported was that they basically were saying, 'Don't give us a NATO national to be Secretary General of the UN.' It was the Cold War."
Pace says "you don't know this officially because there is no transparent, formal record of what happened." But he adds this is the "kind of misuse of the veto … that needs to stop."
His group is not only advocating for the list of applicants to be made public, but it believes the council should present more than one candidate to the General Assembly and that the Secretary-General should be limited to one term.
The assembly has never rejected the council's candidates, but Pace is confident "this rubber-stamping role is over." |
Feb 23, 2017 at 14:15 // News
Jacob Okonya Author
BitShares Munich, a Germany-based Blockchain Company offers a stack of financial products including payment systems and mobile banking on a Blockchain and has developed a new project called Stealth. Coinidol.com interviewed BitShares Munich CEO Christoph Hering about their new project.
Coinidol: Could you briefly introduce us to BitShares Munich please.
Christoph Hering: We are a global team of 30+ FinTech and Blockchain enthusiasts who came together because we are frustrated with the inefficient, insecure and slow traditional financial system that is losing 22+ billion USD per year in Credit & Debit Card fraud alone. I think we all can agree that we have to stop that madness.
To win this battle we are developing a cross-blockchain ecosystem including 8 innovative financial service products like BlockPay, Echo, Smartcoins Wallet (Google Play), Stealth Transactions, C-IPFS, and more.
All of our products are Blockchain agnostic and include Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash, Bitshares, Steem, Doge plus their platform specific tokens. All in all, all leading digital currencies on the market.
We are also planning to integrate Ethereum as a payment currency as soon as the blockchain reaches a more stable codebase. More coins and platforms will be announced soon. It is our mission to build the best cross-chain platforms so that we reach our vision to accelerate the transition to a blockchain-based digital economy.
CI: Who are the brains behind BitShares Munich?
CH: We are a mixed team of professionals, with 80+ years experience in business and software development. Our core team is located in Munich Germany, where we are managing our 15+ developers abroad and our global BlockPay Ambassador teams that include 50+ members in 30+ countries. They are all part of the global BlockPay community and we are very thankful for their valuable intel because they allow us to build the best possible product for each of our target markets. Today our strongest growing market is Latin America where the people are hungry for better financial solutions that simply work.
CI: What is Stealth?
CH: Stealth is a new transaction feature for the Bitshares blockchain that allows every user to send & receive any kind of funds or assets in 100% Privacy. Combining the latest zero-knowledge, C-IPFS and BitShares encryption technologies, Stealth allows users to create Stealth accounts, hold any kind of funds hidden from all blockchain explorers, and enables users to send & receive funds and assets in 3 seconds or less. Since all transactions are on-chain, you have all the benefits of the blockchain plus the best anonymity and security you could ever ask for.
Stealth was originally designed by Daniel Larimer, the ex-core developer of the Bitshares blockchain and who, today, is lead developer of the Steem blockchain. After Daniel left the project in 2016, we at BitShares Munich picked up his work, added to it considerably, and completed the new transaction feature for the public Bitshares blockchain called “Stealth transactions”. What I personally really like about Stealth is that it only shows one message:
“unknown” sent “n” “unknown” to “unknown” - plus a timestamp.
That’s it.
This is extremely powerful. Imagine you can hold and transfer any kind of digital token (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash) over the blockchain in 3 seconds or less and not even a blockchain explorer can reveal the information. Nothing is visible; No account balances or info, no public keys, no transfer amounts, which asset was sent, etc. Only the involved sender & receiver know the transaction details.
Combine this Stealth transaction with a blockchain with 3 second block times, 100,000 tx/s, 6 different digital asset classes (price stable coins, user-issued coins, exchange backed coins, loyalty tokens, etc.), multi-sig, DPOS, built in governance mechanism and a truly decentralized exchange.
That is a killer feature that everybody wants.
We are very excited to release Stealth to the public within the coming weeks and to provide the global blockchain community with a unique new tool to protect their privacy.
CI: What is BitShares Munich trying to accomplish by building Stealth?
CH: We are privacy advocates and our mission is to counterbalance the current “war on cash”, by building chain-agnostic tools that are as modern as the latest banking solutions, but give you all the privacy you know from cash. 3 additional reasons for us are:
First, we want to empower blockchain users to keep their balances 100% anonymous and safe. Stealth allows you to create “hidden” contacts and accounts where you can store your funds in absolute privacy.
Nobody else than you can look up your balance or holdings.
Second, we want to provide a more scalable & faster alternative to existing private blockchains who just support one (volatile) coin, that people do not really want for a store of value. Our Stealth solution enables everybody to store and transfer traditional digital currencies like Bitcoin, plus price-stable assets (aka Smartcoins) that are market-pegged to a real world asset value or Fiat currency on the Bitshares blockchain. Wouldn't it be great if we could hold our USD, EUR, SILVER, and other life savings on a blockchain, secured with multi-sig (yes, you can also setup multiple “Signers” on your accounts) and have 100% privacy?
Third, since public Blockchains like Bitcoin and Bitshares are transparent in nature we receive a lot of requests from our BlockPay merchant networks for more privacy. Hence we are pushing the Stealth development hard to protect our business partners from financial espionage and other cybercrimes. Empowering users to have the best privacy standards on a public blockchain will add tremendous value to the whole blockchain ecosystem.
CI: When will Stealth be available for end users?
CH: The core components of Stealth are already finished and we successfully integrated the best technologies from zero knowledge, C-IPFS and more into the Bitshares blockchain. It is very important for us to not rush the Stealth release, because we don't want to compromise our security. Stealth will be an elementary feature for all of our existing and future products, and we want to release the best possible solution for all Blockchain users.
When everything is continuously progressing smoothly, then I expect the Stealth testnet to be made available for public testing in the coming weeks in 2017.
CI: In what form will Stealth appear, will it be an app of its own, or run in the background of your already running systems?
CH: The Stealth transactions feature will be available for everybody on the Bitshares Blockchain within the light client wallets and web wallet . You just need to tap on the Send tab and select the Stealth option for your transaction. The rest will be managed in the background. Stealth will also be an elementary feature in our other products such as BlockPay, Echo and the Smartcoins Wallet.
CI: BitShares Munich is planning to provide payment and mobile banking services with stiff competition, how does your company manage to remain in business?
CH: We separate ourselves from our competitors because we provide chain-agnostic financial solutions, giving our users and partners the best access to the leading digital currencies. Point Of Sale systems, mobile wallets, white label wallets, digital asset creation and conversions, and even our Loyalty Points programs were just the start. In other terms, we are a Chain-Agnostic Infrastructure Provider (CAIP) that provides everyone the technologies to participate in the growing blockchain-based digital economy.
CI: Does BitShares Munich have capabilities to enable it to operate outside of Germany?
CH: Most of our products will be available for a worldwide audience. Today we are active in 30+ countries and we have BlockPay Ambassadors in all major Bitcoin/Blockchain cities around the world. Although we are based in Munich, we are focusing our efforts on the global market with success. All of our products are also translated (by actual humans) into 44 languages.
CI: How is Stealth going to affect the way Business is done at BitShares Munich?
CH: We are very excited to add Stealth as a premium service to our product portfolio. Stealth will help us to reach out to bigger institutional merchants and retailers who would love to get started with Blockchain financial services but hesitated due to privacy concerns.
Finally, with Stealth we can leverage network effects of a public blockchain and add total privacy for our partners and customers. This was clearly missing in the Blockchain industry and we are very happy to release Stealth within the coming weeks.
CI: Is there anything else you would like us to know about Stealth and BitShares Munich?
CH: Stealth transactions combine security and privacy with speed and scalability, and work across multiple asset classes. Thanks to the Bitshares blockchain, we can release this feature to thousands of users on a global scale and provide anonymous, untraceable, private money and asset transfer features for everyone. In closing, I would like to add one of the best things about Stealth; the small flat fee of just pennies per transaction (less than a standard Bitcoin transaction). These fees are all collected and it is planned to share them among all BLOCKPAY token holders that supported our ICO. Next to BlockPay, Stealth is yet another profit stream for BLOCKPAY token holders.
Stealth enables you to send any amount around the globe for a small fee, 100% in privacy, securing your own Swiss bank account in your pocket.
How much is this grade of privacy worth to you? |
The best news Edmonton has had in years? A number of our sharpest minds are hard at work thinking up plans on how to best develop West Rossdale, the land around the old shuttered Epcor power plant on the North Saskatchewan River.
One day Rossdale will again be what it was when Fort Edmonton was located there, the heart of this region, the place we most want to be, the place that best demonstrates what this part of the world has to offer. In the words of the Cree, it will again be Pehonan, the gathering place for north central Alberta.
This is all going to happen because an ever-increasing number of big thinkers are pushing bold plans, such as the one that Michael Zabinski, 29, an intern architect Dialog is now working on.
In many mature, cold climate cities around the world, outdoor heated pools, saunas and steam baths are a major part of the local culture. Because we’re an immature cold climate people, still new to this land, still figuring out how to make the best of our winters, we don’t yet have such major public, outdoor heated pools or indoor steam baths, hot places to enjoy the cold winter.
Zabinski’s plan is to place a major indoor/outdoor complex of such steam baths and pools in and around the Rossdale power plant. His plan — his graduate thesis from architecture school at Dalhousie University — is a finalist in the Edmonton Urban Design Awards, which are being held Friday evening at City Hall.
At Dialog, Zabinski is already part of the team working on the new pedestrian bridge to the river valley, something that will make it far easier for Edmontonians to walk down to the new riverfront Touch the Water park and promenade planned around the old power plant.
“The valley in the winter is one of our most beautiful things and we’re so lucky to have it,” Zabinski says. “I want every Edmontonian to have a chance to get in there and see it in really unique ways.”
His obsession is the rebirth of West Rossdale with a re-imagined and redeveloped power plant acting as the catalyst.
The building has fascinated Zabinski since he was a small child. “It’s just the scale and nature of it. It’s like this beached Titanic… It’s just this long building with a bunch of stacks… I want to see that thing turned into the gem it should be.”
The city is spending $3 million to stabilize the old building, but there’s no viable plan for its redevelopment. Some have suggested it become a market, others a museum and cultural centre, and others still think it’s best seen as an urban ruins, a decaying but public monument and park.
Zabinski re-imagines the building with hot steam baths outside and inside, with a boardwalk walkway and platform running around it and through it. Some of the walls would be opened up, with much of the building being open air. The place will have its old industrial feel, with only small sections inside built to modern standards with insulation.
In Zabinski’s most ambitious scheme, geothermal energy would power both the steam baths and the new condo and commercial development planned for West Rossdale.
“Having this building as kind of an open pavilion and a platform for things to take place, with the baths as one part of it, I think that’s a great thing. I want to see baths somewhere in the river valley. I’d go all the time. It’s a great way of enjoying the winter. You take advantage of the cold by contrasting hot with the cold… It’s such a simple solution to get out and enjoy our climate.”
Zabinski also sees a hotel, commercial and condo development right next to the plant.
“Edmontonians need it,” Zabinski says of a new Rossdale. “The city needs it. It’s the hub of the river valley and it can’t just stay the way it is.”
Zabinski isn’t alone in plotting about Rossdale’s future. Numerous architects, politicians, developers and citizens are dreaming. New ideas regularly bubble up for Rossdale’s future, concepts for parks and bridges, for a canal, for freezeway skating paths, for connecting walkways, gondolas and elevators, for restaurants built on and over the river. Not every idea will work, but some of them will. We are dreaming up a new city, with a new heart in Rossdale, at Pehonan.
One day soon we will build it and we’ll gather there once again.
dstaples@edmontonjournal.com |
This article is over 2 years old
Christopher Tester, 37, is in an induced coma after he was attacked at his parents’ restaurant on Christmas Day
A campaign to fly a British holidaymaker back to the UK after he was shot in the head during an attempted robbery in Antigua has raised more than £30,000.
Christopher Tester, from Torquay, is in an induced coma on the Caribbean island after he was attacked at his parents’ restaurant on Christmas Day night.
Tester, 37, is said to be in a critical condition and friends launched a fundraising appeal to fly him home.
An appeal on the Crowdfunder website has raised more than a third of its £90,000 target.
Tester’s parents, Tony and Gill, run the Boxer Shack restaurant in Old Road.
Police in Antigua said: “It is alleged that a man approximately 5ft 8in in height, slim built, wearing a black hoodie and mask, attempted to rob his family, when a struggle ensued.
“During the struggle he was shot in his head, and he was transported to the hospital.
“The incident occurred around 10.30pm on Sunday. He arrived on the island on 10 December and was due to leave on 29 December.
“Investigations are currently ongoing.” |
John Burke, the president of Trek Bicycle Corp. YouTube/Trek Bicycle
The president of North America's largest bicycle manufacturer has slammed President Donald Trump over his corporate-tax reform, failed leadership, and misguided "America First theory."
John Burke, the head of Waterloo, Wisconsin-based Trek Bicycle Corp., lambasted Trump during an interview with Business Insider on Thursday, saying he missed a huge opportunity to simplify a complicated tax system and has failed to lead the country.
"We're 100 days in and he finally comes out with a tax plan — and it was 250 words? And there was no bad news," Burke said. "Here's this huge opportunity to simplify everything and to have massive change, and you get 250 words."
While Trump's tax plan contains broad outlines rather than firm legislative text, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said the plan would include "the biggest tax cut" in US history, echoing statements made by Trump.
Trek, a family-owned company, was cofounded by Richard Burke, John's father, in a Waterloo barn in 1976. Today it is a global bike business worth over $1 billion, and it employs 2,000 people worldwide. It makes a variety of bikes, including kids' bikes, mountain bikes, and high-end road bikes. It also owns the Trek-Segafredo team that competes in the Tour de France.
Burke, who says he is neither a Republican nor a Democrat but an independent, is the author of "12 Simple Solutions to Save America," published in 2016, which "challenges Americans to resist the status quo and change what elected officials are unwilling or unable to change."
Trek Bicycle Corp. headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin. Daniel McMahon/Business Insider
"Look, I don't need a tax break — Trek doesn't need a tax break," Burke told Business Insider. "We're going to succeed and fail in the market based on how good our products are and how good our services are. As a member of the community, we have a moral duty to be a good corporate citizen, and one way you're a good corporate citizen is you pay your taxes."
Burke added that, from a competitive standpoint, American corporate taxes should come down — but so should all the deductions. And while he did praise Trump for reducing the number of tax brackets, he criticized him for not getting rid of corporate deductions altogether.
"You have General Electric, a great American company, which made a profit of $12 billion. They filed a 57,000-page tax return and paid zero in taxes.
"So if you want to reduce corporate taxes, that's fine, reduce them," Burke went on, "but Trump wants to reduce them from 35% to 15%, and I think that's too big a decline. But then he doesn't want to get rid of any of the deductions?
"Why do oil companies get deductions and bicycle companies don't? Why do certain industries get deductions and shoemakers don't? The brewer doesn't get a deduction. It doesn't make sense. You're leaving in place this super-complicated tax system.
"So it's treats for everybody. For corporate America, you get a lower rate, and you get to keep your deductions. And for all the individual taxpayers, you get a lower rate.
"We're 19 trillion frickin dollars in debt and everybody got a treat. And I just go, 'You're kidding me.' You call that leadership? I don't."
On misguided 'America First theory'
Burke also criticized Trump on his leadership of the country.
"When you're the president of the United States and you come out with this 'American First' theory, what are you saying to the rest of the world?
"I've been so fortunate here in growing the business. When I started here, we were doing $16 million and now we do over a billion dollars, and I've worked with an incredible team to do that. We took the business from just being in the US to right now — 60% of our business is around the world.
A Tour de France-worthy $13,000 Trek Madone Race Shop Limited on display at Trek headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin. Cycling Weekly recently named it the fastest aero road bike. Daniel McMahon/Business Insider
"And one of the reasons why American is as strong as it is, is there are a lot of great American companies who have access to markets all around the world — General Electric, Coca-Cola, Apple, Trek, Harley-Davidson.
"The whole 'American First' thing ... I just don't find that conducive to America's future or anyone else in the world."
Lack of leadership
"The best definition I ever heard of leadership is, leadership is the ability to make the dream a reality at the grassroots level," Burke added. "But leadership is also, 'Here's the vision, and I'm going to convince people where we need to go.' And what we've come to in American politics is saying, 'Well, I need to get elected, so I'm going to tell all these people whatever they want to hear.'
"You know, if you're the richest person on the playground and you're the biggest person on the playground ... you know, we usually lead like, 'Talk softly and carry a big stick,' and when we're walking around with a blow horn, that's not the way we roll.
"We're a leader in the world, but to maintain that status over the long haul, you actually need a leader who can look at the people and say, 'You know, we've got problems here' — and whether your talking about tax codes, gun control, nuclear proliferation, big issues — 'Here are the problems, and here are the solutions, and this is why we need to do it.'
"And more than just a sound bite, we've got to educate people and say, 'This is why we need to move here.' And I think we lack that right now, and I think we've lacked it for a while."
President Trump. Thomson Reuters
Trump once sponsored the biggest bike race in America— the Tour de Trump— which ran for two years, 1989-1990, before being taken over by DuPont.
Trump's proposal did not include a large number of key details, including the income levels associated with a new three-bracket tax system, the tax rate for a one-time repatriation of corporate profits held overseas, and others.
Here are the key points of the Trump plan:
Corporate tax rate of 15%: Such a rate would deliver on Trump's campaign promise. The current federal statutory rate is 35%.
Such a rate would deliver on Trump's campaign promise. The current federal statutory rate is 35%. Allows pass-through rate for business owners: Instead of self-owned businesses being taxed at the personal income rate, business owners would have incomes from operations taxed at the 15% rate. So if you own your own business, income from that business would be taxed at the corporate rate. According to The New York Times, that could apply to the Trump Organization.
Instead of self-owned businesses being taxed at the personal income rate, business owners would have incomes from operations taxed at the 15% rate. So if you own your own business, income from that business would be taxed at the corporate rate. According to The New York Times, that could apply to the Trump Organization. No border-adjustment tax: The tax on imports was favored by House GOP leaders such as Speaker Paul Ryan and Kevin Brady, the chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Mnuchin said the White House talked to Ryan and Brady but thought the tax did not "work in its current form."
The tax on imports was favored by House GOP leaders such as Speaker Paul Ryan and Kevin Brady, the chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Mnuchin said the White House talked to Ryan and Brady but thought the tax did not "work in its current form." A slight adjustment to individual tax rates: White House officials said there would be three tax brackets with rates of 35%, 25%, and 10%, down from the current seven brackets. Cohn told reporters that he did not have the exact incomes associated with the brackets.
White House officials said there would be three tax brackets with rates of 35%, 25%, and 10%, down from the current seven brackets. Cohn told reporters that he did not have the exact incomes associated with the brackets. Doubling of the standard individual tax deduction: This would allow individual filers to deduct their first $12,700 in income from their taxes and $25,400 for joint filers, as opposed to the current $6,350 for individuals and $12,700 for joint filers.
This would allow individual filers to deduct their first $12,700 in income from their taxes and $25,400 for joint filers, as opposed to the current $6,350 for individuals and $12,700 for joint filers. A one-time repatriation tax: This would allow companies to bring back money from overseas to the US with a slightly lower, one-time tax. The White House did not clarify the rate at which this money would be taxed. President George W. Bush enacted a repatriation tax at a 5.25% rate in 2004, but studies show the money brought back mostly went to stock buybacks and dividends rather than hiring workers.
This would allow companies to bring back money from overseas to the US with a slightly lower, one-time tax. The White House did not clarify the rate at which this money would be taxed. President George W. Bush enacted a repatriation tax at a 5.25% rate in 2004, but studies show the money brought back mostly went to stock buybacks and dividends rather than hiring workers. Elimination of the estate tax: This would eliminate a tax on assets being transferred through a will.
This would eliminate a tax on assets being transferred through a will. Elimination of itemized tax deductions other than charitable donations and mortgage payments: Mnuchin said this provision would close "loopholes" and offset the decrease in base tax rate for high income Americans.
Mnuchin said this provision would close "loopholes" and offset the decrease in base tax rate for high income Americans. Repeal a 3.8% tax on net investment income: The tax was levied on "individuals, estates and trusts" with higher than a certain threshold in investment income. For instance, the threshold for an individual was $200,000 in investment income last year.
The tax was levied on "individuals, estates and trusts" with higher than a certain threshold in investment income. For instance, the threshold for an individual was $200,000 in investment income last year. Repeal the alternative minimum tax: This tax requires some people who have large numbers of deductions to calculate their income tax under the normal tax rate and the alternative and pay the higher amount. According to the Tax Policy Center, the tax was originally designed to eliminate large deductions by wealthier people, but now applies to about 5 million people.
This tax requires some people who have large numbers of deductions to calculate their income tax under the normal tax rate and the alternative and pay the higher amount. According to the Tax Policy Center, the tax was originally designed to eliminate large deductions by wealthier people, but now applies to about 5 million people. No infrastructure spending: Reports on Tuesday said Trump was considering including infrastructure spending in the plan to try to win over Democrats. Mnuchin denied the report in the speech, saying the proposal would be "just a tax plan." |
Website plans to build a searchable database of digital footprints.
Good people sometimes do dumb things, or say something thoughtless.
But that’s not a good reason to damn them, or destroy their online reputation.
So I was alarmed to read about a new Kickstarter campaign for a website called Social Autopsy that aims to build a “digital footprint” database of those who use social media to spread hate.
Check out Social Autopsy’s FAQ for more details:
What is a digital footprint?
Users submit a screenshot of a person’s hate-fueled social media post, which is then used to create a profile that includes their full name, place of employment, city of residence and schools. How do you discover users real names?
Screenshots are submitted anonymously by online friends of that user. Their “friends” of course, know their full names and details.
Social Autopsy says it will officially launch when it has created 100,000 profiles (it claims to already have over 20,000) and is encouraging internet users to submit new entries.
Although I recognise the problems faced by the victims of online abuse, the idea of a website building a searchable database of “real profiles” of alleged culprits sends a shiver down my spine.
I’ll leave it to you, gentle reader, to imagine for yourself the ways in which such a scheme could go badly wrong and be easily abused.
Watch the following video where broadcaster, author and (in his past) Frank Sidebottom keyboard player Jon Ronson discusses public shaming on social media with Monica Lewinsky.
You can read more about Jon Ronson’s book, “So you’ve been publicly shamed”, on his website.
Yes, there are plenty of ghastly examples of people acting inappropriately and insensitively and aggressively online. Some even hide their true identities because they fear the repercussions if their identities are uncovered.
But I don’t think that gives the internet a green card to launch a witch-hunt.
There’s a real danger that if we attempt to fight trolls the wrong way, we end up acting like cyber-bullies ourselves. And innocent people could end up being hurt.
Be nice to each other. No-one is 100% bad. If someone is misbehaving online maybe all they really need is a bit of a hug. If that isn’t going to help, report abuse to the social network or the authorities - rather than add their details to a searchable database built by a private company. |
The Red Mist Descends
Open Development, Werewolf: The Forsaken
I was off visiting family over the last few days, so this is a late column. Since each one involves a vote, I don’t want to give people less than four full days to register their opinion. As a result, I’m pushing next week’s back to Sunday to give people time; after that, we’re back to Fridays. Thanks also to @PrimeWolfie for hounding me when I’m late or I’m sure I’d have missed a couple by now. 😉
Last week was Idigam or Kuruth. 33/40 split, with Kuruth coming out on top.
Before we get to that, I’d like to highlight some of the changes we’ve made based on feedback from the previous post
Hishu not has no penalties to tracking by scent (this is already present in the other forms in addition to their Perception bumps).
Tilts are going to be in the book (I was misremembering an earlier disucssion we had).
As a result, Urhan don’t penalise Defense. Instead, they can inflict an appropriate Tilt (e.g. Arm Wrack, Leg Wrack, Knocked Down) on a damaging hit.
In any form, a werewolf’s bite (not claws) counts as a supernatural attack for e.g. hurting vampires. This last will be explained in full in the book.
Hybrid forms keep Defense against firearms, with a Merit to make it higher of Dex or Wits. My rationale here is that doing it the other way around makes packing a gun the easiest way to take out a werewolf. Defense is higher in GMC combat, so using the higher Attribute makes melee combat harder for people to use and makes fights between two well-matched opponents take a lot longer. Applying Defense to firearms instead makes a revolver as useful as a machete against a werewolf. This way, a silver weapon is always useful; I’d rather a silver blade (e.g. a letter opener) be as useful as a silver bullet.
That said, I’d appreciate people using both in their games and getting back to us in the comments of one of these devblogs. Please don’t use so-called “white room” fights, they’re only really useful for analysing white room fights. Use them in play, where fights happen in a given place for a given reason.
Anyway. Death Rage. It’s one of those parts of Forsaken that attempts to model the loss of control inherent to being a werewolf, but in play it doesn’t quite have that effect. Too often, “Bob falls to kuruth” means “Sit on Bob until he calms down”. Partly, this is because the combat system incentivises many-on-one fights, and partly it’s because Death Rage means Bob can’t effectively contribute to the game. The loss of control only affects one character, who either gets part of the scene dedicated to him or becomes an inconvenience.
Each character has triggers dependent on Harmony. Close to balance, she has specific things that set her off — e.g. seeing violence against children, smelling freshly-spilled blood. In the mid-points, she reaches Kuruth when she encounters something that she might not be able to avoid — e.g. seeing her Auspice moon in the sky, smelling raw meat. At the extremes, she’s affected by passive triggers — she doesn’t have to see or smell anything. The typical example is a character who falls to Kuruth when the full moon rises. Not when she sees the full moon, not when she steps into it’s light, but as soon as the moon rises she enters Kuruth. She’s so far out of balance that she can’t control her Rage.
So let’s look at what’s actually going on with Kuruth. How do we make it dangerous, while still reflecting the period when you’re trying to keep hold before losing it and flipping out? Well, look at that sentence. We’re modelling two things. Thus, we’ve split Kuruth into two stages: Wasu-Im, the Soft Rage, and Basu-Im, the Death Rage.
Wasu-Im forces a character into Dalu or Urshul (she can switch between them, but cannot take Hishu or Urhan). If she takes Gauru, she goes straight to Basu-Im. She must attack something each turn, but she can choose her target — friends, enemies, or inanimate objects. She can act normally with a Resolve + Composure roll, each success giving her one turn of normal action.
She’s got a time limit determined by Harmony — 3 seconds (one turn) at the extremes, 15 minutes at Harmony 5. At the end of her time, she can roll Resolve + Composure. If she succeeds, she gets another time interval. If she fails — or at the end of that second period in Wasu-Im — she enters Basu-Im.
Basu-Im is the Death Rage. She takes Gauru, without the normal limit on the time she can spend in the form. The duration of Basu-Im is dependent on Primal Urge, from 10 minutes to start with, up to 12 hours at Primal Urge 10. Any attempts to mentally influence her suffer a penalty equal to Primal Urge, and she has boosted resistance to such attempts — controlling a Raging Uratha is a fool’s errand. She has to attack the closest living creature each turn (human-sized or larger; you can’t get away with killing a rat), with no ability to distinguish between friend or foe.
Each time she kills, packmates who are close enough (within about ten yards) who can smell the kill fall straight into Basu-Im. They’re the only exception to the “must try to kill everyone” — a group of werewolves in Basu-Im will work together to kill everything around them. This is especially dangerous around human and Wolf-Blooded packmates.
Once the Basu-Im is over, she collapses into Hishu with no memory of what she has done. If she learns of her actions in Basu-Im she may suffer breaking points, especially if she killed friends, loved ones, or packmates.
Lots of people go straight to heavy metal for songs to rage to, but for Forsaken’s focus on the pack and the infectious nature of Kuruth, N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton is far more representative.
Next week — and it’s going to be on Sunday, remember — I’m going for another mechanical spoiler. I know some folks would like Renown, but David Hill’s written some great Werewolf Merits that would make sense to show off. Would you like to see Renown or Merits? |
In their continuing search for a midfielder, Napoli have reportedly turned their eyes to promising young midfielder Pedro Obiang. The 22 year old is one of the brightest young players in Italy, and currently plies his trade with Sampdoria, a side looking to sell some players in order to bring more money in to the club.
To that end, Sampdoria apparently floated the idea of a player-plus-cash swap deal for Obiang, one that would see the Spaniard move to Napoli in exchange for Miguel Britos and an undisclosed transfer fee. That would make a lot of sense for Napoli to do; Obiang would go a long ways towards helping their midfield, and Britos is arguably on the lowest rung of the defensive depth chart by a long ways. He hasn't been very good for Napoli in a long time, and using a player who probably shouldn't be on the roster to lower the fee of a player who can actually help the side is a smart move.
Apparently, however, Napoli nixed the idea, preferring to keep Britos and make a cash-only deal as they vie with other sides from Italy and England to try to work out a deal. If the bizarre report is true, it only adds weight to a confounding story line that's developed in recent weeks: the apparent love affair brewing between Rafa Benitez and Britos.
Despite losing his place thanks to consistently poor performances last year, eventually leading to the purchase of Henrique Buss in January and surely a factor in the acquisition of Kalidou Koulibaly, Britos has survived this summer with very little in the way of indication that he's on his way out. Indeed, Federico Fernandez is being sold instead of the Uruguayan, despite Fernandez being the man who replaced Britos in the lineup and vastly outperformed his fellow defender last season.
This certainly won't do anything to ease the growing frustrations in the fanbase. Britos is not any kind of a key figure for Napoli and the club would be best served selling him and replacing him with a far better player, which had initially appeared to be the case when Koulibaly arrived. On the plus side, at least they seem to be targeting a very good midfielder in Obiang, who would be a very smart buy for the club. |
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Take-Down – Missions in Korea is a South Korean-made Microsoft Windows game released in July 2001. The game is not based on the Rainbow Six game timeline; it is designed for the global market but was not released outside of South Korea. Kama Digital Entertainment bought the Rogue Spear engine to develop this game with major content differences and the game's events occurring on South Korean soil.
In the game, Rainbow is deployed to South Korea and battles seemingly armed terrorists and criminals who have committed various acts, mostly against South Korean nationals. Later, they find out they are actually facing a Yakuza group trying to outsmart them and keep them occupied.[2]
Plot [ edit ]
In August 2003, one of the biggest drug trafficking operations in South Korea with about 550 kilograms (1,210 lb) of ecstasy is foiled due to an anonymous tip provided to the South Korean police.
Suk-won Kim (김석원), a Zainichi also known by his Japanese name "Yasuo" was the anonymous informant of this drug operation. Kim was once a professional hitman of Japan's largest Yakuza organization "Ikeshita-gumi (Ikeshida-Jo; 이케시다조; 池下組 (assumed)" and is largely credited with the Ikeshita-gumi's victory in the war against Yamaguchi-gumi in July.
Suk-won Kim is framed by the second-in-command (Wakagashira) of Ikeshita-gumi, Takao, because Kim poses a threat to Takao's current position. After Kim is exiled, he wants to exact revenge on his former organization. He contacts Takahashi, a former colleague and also an old orphanage buddy, to gather information on Ikeshita-gumi. Takahashi goes alone to Chuncheon, his mother's hometown, and keeps contact with Kim.
Meanwhile, after the failure of an extensive drug smuggling operation in South Korea, Ikeshita-gumi hires ATX, a Palestinian terrorist group led by Hamad who have suffered from financial problems since they lost support from the governments of Syria and Iran. Ten days later, they also deploy Takao with Sasamoto, Ikeshita-gumi's head hitman, and about 100 other hitmen.
As Ikeshita-gumi's hired guns, ATX capture USFK Colonel Smith and several South Korean employees as hostages in Doosan Tower, Seoul. At the same time, the ecstasy shipment that had to originally be transported from the Busan District Prosecutor's Office to the National Intelligence Service bunker is carjacked by Ikeshita-gumi's hitmen, killing five and injuring ten. RAINBOW is summoned by South Korean officials to be deployed to South Korea for the rescue operation of Colonel Smith, and to conduct a joint operation with a Special Response Team (비상대책반) including elites from the South Korean National Police, ROK military and NIS. Further missions after the Doosan Tower's hostage situation continue to be placed under RAINBOW's leadership. RAINBOW later reveals the connection between Ikeshita-gumi and ATX from intelligence founded in Ikeshita-gumi's hideout in South Korea. Colonel Smith is later discovered, locked up in a hideout and under guard with some ATX members.
A few months later, RAINBOW and SRT receive an additional tip from Kim and resolve another Ikeshita-gumi drug retrieval plan in Incheon and save the hostages. Still, remnants of ATX and Hamad cause another incident in COEX using a stolen identity from already murdered employees of United Medicine Company. After ATX and Hamed have been neutralized, the case of ATX and Colonel Smith is officially closed. John Clark decides to remain in South Korea until the Ikeshita-gumi's terror threat has been completely removed.
RAINBOW and SRT take notice of Tae-ho Choi (최태호), a South Korean antiques dealer of Insa-dong in Seoul who is suspected of being a local organizer of Ikeshita-gumi. They infiltrate Choi's villa in North Gyeongsang Province to install a bug for surveillance. After they get the information of his extraction, Choi is surrounded in Insa-dong with Takao and his hitmen and take some citizens hostage. Soon Choi, Takao and his henchmen are all neutralized except for Sasamoto.
Ikeshita-gumi finally discovers that Kim was the anonymous informant was and they use his friend Takahashi to lure him to Children Hall in Chuncheon. Kim decides to escape the NIS safehouse and go for his friend while RAINBOW and a Special Response Team also arrive at Children Hall to rescue both. However, Kim has been kidnapped and Takahashi is already dead at the scene. Just before dying, Takahashi leaves a note asking about entrusting his own family and an E-mail account which is used for contacting Kim. Meanwhile, intelligence discovers a bank record that reveals Choi sent his money to a company which specializes in tourist submarines.
RAINBOW and SRT finally bring all the pieces of the puzzle together. A joint team is dispatched to the Gadeokdo Lighthouse under the control of the Ikeshita-gumi. They neutralize all the Yakuzas including Sasamoto, rescue Kim and shut down the Ikeshita-gumi’s drug smuggling operation in South Korea for good.
Setting [ edit ]
In the Tom Clancy universe, this game is placed between Rogue Spear - Urban Operations and Rogue Spear - Covert Ops Essentials. As such, it is considered to be set in an alternate timeline where the events of Coverts Ops Essentials and other subsequent titles after Urban Operations never took place since Take-Down is not considered to be part of the Rainbow Six game series.[3]
Content [ edit ]
Major differences in the game include 15 South Korean Rainbow operatives, 26 game maps, 4 Rainbow uniforms, and 15 firearms, some of which showcase South Korean-made weapons like the Daewoo K2 assault rifle and the Daewoo K3 light machine gun.
Non-South Korean operatives were also in the game from Rogue Spear series, including Ding Chavez, Eddie Price, Arkady Novikov, Timothy Hanley, Jamal Murad, Santiago Arnavisca, Annika Lofquist and Einar Petersen.
On 24 January 2001, 1.03 Patch was released including additional missions (Operation Silent Mare, Operation White Zone), maps, and weapons (K7 SMG).[4] In two additional missions, the player faces an international hostage situation at Gangwon Ski Resort, in which an anarchist extremist group called GFAO (Government Free Activist Organization) holds ASEAN public officials as hostages against all kinds of globalization.
Development [ edit ]
It was announced at a press conference on February 5, 2001 that the game would be released in June 2001.[3] Despite promises from Red Storm Entertainment that the game would be released internationally, it was not released in North America, Europe, or any other country except South Korea.[3] |
Boundless Unveils 3 New Units
Boundless is back on the radar with 2 new units promised in today’s weekly livestream.
In true stereotypical stoner fashion, the livestream putzed around for 40 minutes before actually delivering the goods.
They also underpromised and over delivered, so I suppose I can let it pass this time.
CFX 2.0!
– Adjustable convection/conduction ratio
– upgraded battery (3300 or 3600mah)
– 3 designs (including gunmetal)
– release October
– same oven depth
– updateable firmware
– usb C
– fixed battery *sad trombone*
– no DC port
The adjustable convection/conduction system looks promising. Multiple manufacturers are working on units with this feature, it will be interesting to see how each one varies. I’m disappointed to see the lack of replaceable battery, but I understand their reasoning.
Boundless Desktop Unit
– full convection
– multiple whip
– forced air / bag
– eventual portable expansion
– By end of 2017
– self contained
This unit looks fucking sick. Self-contained, sleek and sexy. The Mighty is my current home use device simply because no desktop unit looks acceptable on my coffee table. This unit solves that problem.
Randall also shared a new treat. A full convection portable that boasts replaceable dual 18650 batteries and an aluminum body with luxury grip material options.
Full Convection Portable – CFV replacement
– aluminum shell
– glass mouthpiece
– TWO 18650 replaceable batteries |
Mental Health and the Church: Just 'Pray More' Not the Answer, Says Christian College Student With Clinical Depression
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Prayer and scripture are powerful tools of encouragement for struggling individuals, but the church fails when it presents them as the sole cure for mental disorders, writes a college student whose friend suffers from clinical depression.
In an article for Azusa Pacific University's student publication, Alec Bleher reports that his friend reflects a concern many have when it comes to how the Christian community responds to the issues surrounding mental illness.
"One of the things that bothered me was being told I just needed to pray more or that I needed to spend more time in the word," Bleher's friend and fellow Azusa University student, Nathan Robe, was quoted as saying. "…It was their way of saying, 'Well, you're doing this wrong and this is happening to you for a reason. It's because you don't do these things.' When you start [trying to be more 'Christian-like'] and things continue to go the way they have been, you begin to wonder, 'Am I not doing it right?'"
Bleher writes that depression, schizophrenia, bipolar and eating disorders, among other mental illnesses, require an appropriate response from the church instead of dismissing them completely.
"We fail in a number of ways. As Christians we live under the belief that God is alive and active in the world around us. We forget that as individuals, our actions are often how God chooses to act…We are called to love each other and reach out to those who need us and yet non-Christians sometimes seem to get what we overlook. No good thought, intention or scripture can replace action," says Bleher.
The National Institute of Mental Health reports that an estimated 26 percent of Americans 18 and older suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Oftentimes, individuals seek professional and medical advice to treat their illness first and typically resort to the church for help as a second option, according to a 2011 Baylor University study.
Robe, who is a Christian, has experienced firsthand what it is like to receive more support from non-believers and atheists alike than Christians themselves.
"There are times where I have had more help in most situations from my non-Christian or even atheist friends rather than my Christian friends because they understand that, a lot of the times, the help you're supposed receive is from another person, that that is the vessel that goes to help somebody," Robe said.
Although the church has the best intentions in suggesting spiritual help, Bleher writes "intentions do not change how the advice is received and the damage that is done." Oftentimes, churches simply do not understand how to handle requests from their members who are struggling.
In her book, Troubled Minds, author Amy Simpson reveals that 44 percent of church leaders are approached two to five times per year for help in dealing with mental illness. Although 80 percent of them believe mental illness is "a real, treatable and manageable illness caused by genetic, biological or environmental factors," only one out of eight say mental illnesses are discussed in a healthy way in their church.
Bleher emphasizes that the church needs to respond more appropriately to address individual's concerns because most times, their response causes more harm than help.
"Misunderstanding is the next big hurdle that stands between people, especially Christians, and being able to reach out to their peers struggling with mental illnesses," writes Bleher. "Those with mental illnesses are made to feel less of themselves and then do what is only natural; they close themselves off and suffer in quiet darkness."
Robe says the response needed is oftentimes not that difficult.
"Sometimes, one of the biggest things you can do for someone who has depression, anxiety, that litany of other disorders, is just be present, just be around," Robe said. "I can remember a lot of times where it really was just, I didn't so much want a solution, as I just wanted someone around." |
In my last hub related to UFOs I tried to zero in on the best areas for UFO hunters to set their sights on. Unfortunately, the NUFORC data wasn't complete at that time. Things stand better this time around since NUFORC posted on 6/8/12. The above map charts out the best locations to witness UFOs, based on an average of the NUFORC and MUFON sighting reports (after removing duplicate entries and ones that appear to be either misidentifications, fantasies, or hoaxes) for an 85 day period (12 weeks) from 3/12/12 to 6/4/12.
Generally, sightings have been on a downward slope for the last 5 months (decreasing by 18% when comparing the last 6 months of last year to the first 5 months of this year), but that is not unusual since the last half of any given year almost always has more sightings than the first half. One promising sign is that things have been picking up during the last 30 days; not universally or for all states but in certain highly populated and key states such as California and Missouri. Currently Arizona and Texas are ahead of those last two states (based on sightings per population density), but these last two states have stayed at a constant level. If California and Missouri continue to have sightings increase in frequency, then there would be a strong possibility of them overtaking the other two states. Two states that appear to be slowing down in activity, after showing some signs of things picking up a month or two ago, are Pennsylvania and Florida.
Looking at just the MUFON data from the middle of April to early June, you can see a spike in the last 16 day period for the data given below (split into groups by distance of UFO to observer):
Date........501ft-1mile..101-500ft..21-100ft..0-20ft
4/17-5/2..........46.............18...............6............5
5/3-5/17..........47.............15...............3............4
5/18-6/2..........51.............27.............12............8
Another factor to consider in the statistics is the fact that 38% of the top 13 states listed in the spreadsheet below are states with a very low population density. Such a situation can artificially inflate the importance of a state, such as Alaska and Montana (in the 1st and 2nd positions). Also, many of these same states and those of moderately low population density, such as Nevada and Utah for the later, and (again) Montana for the former, have report numbers that differ greatly between those given by NUFORC and those given by MUFON (one of the reasons why I decided to average their numbers). What this means is, that for these states with extremely different reporting numbers, their ranking is more uncertain than with states who's figures agree closely between the two sources. |
Queensland ladies who lunch win $70 million lottery prize
Updated
A group of women from the Gold Coast have come forward as the winners of last night's $70 million Oz Lotto draw.
The syndicate of friends bought the lucky ticket after having lunch at Runaway Bay.
Elissa Lewis from Tatts Lotteries says they came forward to claim their record-breaking prize this afternoon.
"They're a group of friends, they're all female and they regularly meet up for lunch and often after they pay their bill there's always a couple of dollars left over," Ms Lewis said.
"So they decided to buy a quick pick entry and the numbers were randomly generated and lo and behold, they have literally turned some loose change into $70 million."
The women say they did not claim their prize straight away because they were in shock.
The win will be written into the record books as the largest lotto pay-out in Australia's history.
Topics: gambling, brisbane-4000
First posted |
Rockland's 2014 election season is fully engaged with the filing of petitions for elected offices on the village, town, county and state levels.
Joseph Gross is running for Spring Valley village board. (Photo: TJN file photo) Story Highlights The 2014 election season will feature seven primaries
Spring Valley, Ramapo, Rockland County Court, two state Assembly districts have primaries
The primary is Sept. 9
The general election is Nov. 4
Rockland County's 2014 election season promises a handful of primaries leading up to Nov. 4's general election, according to candidate petitions filed this week.
The paperwork was due by 5 p.m. Thursday, although some petitions postmarked by midnight could still arrive at the county Board of Elections. Some petitions could be declared invalid if they don't meet various criteria or survive possible objections by political rivals.
Here's how the races are shaping up, starting with a look at the Sept. 9 primaries.
In Spring Valley, Vilair Fonvil, who was appointed to his village trustee seat by Mayor Demeza Delhomme, faces four challengers in a Democratic primary.
Fonvil and Delhomme's political relationship fell apart as the two disagreed about various issues and Delhomme unsuccessfully tried to kick him off the board.
Fonvil faces Ricardo Bernard, Chrispin Eugene and Eudson Francois, as well as Joseph Gross, in the Democratic race. Gross, who is also running unchallenged on the Republican line, is a former village trustee working for the village as an aide to the mayor. Fonvil is unchallenged on the Conservative, Working Families and Independence lines.
In Ramapo, Town Justice David Stein faces a Democratic challenge from Christine Theodore, a Spring Valley village justice. Stein is also running on the Republican, Independence and Working Families lines and is seeking an opportunity to ballot for the Green Party line.
County Court Judge William K. Nelson's seat is up as he faces mandatory retirement and Democrat Rolf Thorsen, a Clarkstown town justice, and Republican Michael Koplen, a New Hempstead village trustee, both want the job. The candidates will face off in Conservative and Independence primaries. Thorsen also has the Working Families line.
In the 96th state Assembly District, incumbent Democrat Kenneth Zebrowski faces a challenge from P.T. Thomas, former president of the Rockland Civil Service Employees Association. The winner goes on to battle Republican Matthew Brennan, who also has the Independence line. Zebrowski is also running on the Working Families line.
In the 98th state Assembly District, which includes part of Ramapo but mostly lies in Orange County, Republicans and Democrats both face primaries. The seat opened after Annie Rabbitt resigned to become Orange County Clerk.
Aron Wieder, a Rockland legislator, faces a Democratic primary against Krystal Serrano and Jacqueline Boulin Romain.
The Republican primary pits Michael Morgillo, Daniel Castricone, Kevin Hudson and Karl Brabenec. Castricone and Brabenec will also battle for the Conservative line.
Map: Assembly districts and candidates
Other candidates can already start focusing on the Nov. 4 general election.
In the District 5 Rockland County Legislature race, Democrat Barry Kantrowitz faces a challenge from Republican Lon Hofstein, who is also on the Conservative and Working Families lines. Kantrowitz also has the Independence line.
Kantrowitz was appointed to the seat after Ed Day became Rockland county executive. The winner of the race serves out the last year of Day's unexpired four-year term.
Incumbent state Sen. David Carlucci is running on the Democrat, Working Families and Independence lines and is challenged by Republican Donna Held in the 38th Senate District.
Incumbent William Larkin has the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines in the 39th state Senate District. He is challenged by Democrat Gay Lee, who also has the Working Families line.
In the 97th state Assembly District, incumbent Democrat Ellen Jaffee will face off against Republican challenger Robert Romanowski, who is also on the Conservative and Independence lines. Jaffee also has the Working Families line.
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In the 99th state Assembly District, incumbent Democrat James Skoufis will face Republican Richard Cocchiara, who also has the Conservative and Independence lines. Skoufis also has the Working Families line.
In Suffern, incumbent Democrats Jo Meegan-Corrigan and John Meehan face challenges from Republicans Lois Hagen and Edward Markunas, who also have the Conservative and Independence lines.
The Suffern village justice race pits Democrat Robert Yodowitz, currently the village's special prosecutor, and Republican Ernest Buonocore, who is also running on the Conservative, Working Families and Independence lines. Buonocore is also seeking an opportunity to ballot for the Green Party line.
In Nyack, Democrat incumbent village Trustees Donald Hammond and Louise Parker are unchallenged.
In Sloatsburg, incumbent village Trustees Peter Akey and John Bonkoski are unchallenged and running on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines.
In Piermont, the candidates for two trustee seats will be determined at a political caucus, the Board of Elections said.
Twitter: @LauraInc15
Read or Share this story: http://lohud.us/1mpq1VP |
The front page of today’s New York Times features an article titled Paths to War, Then and Now, Haunt Obama. It is an exercise in journalism as a hall of mirrors. The article, by Peter Baker, is “based on interviews with 10 people who spoke with [Obama] in the days leading up to his speech Wednesday night.” These conversations occurred on two occasions: a dinner at the White House for “a group of foreign policy experts and former government officials,” and a separate discussion with a “group of columnists and magazine writers.” Baker’s article includes extensive quotes by President Obama, about which he writes, “[i]n quoting his private remarks, the people were recalling what he said from their best memories.” Yet Obama’s statements are placed in quotation marks, which under normal rules of journalism means that they are exact quotes, not paraphrases.
Baker tells us further that “three New York Times columnists and an editorial writer were among those invited” to the meeting with journalists, but those colleagues are not sources for his article. Why not? Did they decline the president’s invitation? Baker doesn’t suggest that they did. Then, were they unwilling to talk to Baker? If four representatives of the Times actually attended one of the sessions, what sense does it make for a fifth Times employee, who was not present, to write an article about the meetings? Why don’t the ones who were there tell us what they heard?
President Obama conducted these sessions in order to put himself in a positive light. He invited political supporters who, it is safe to assume, also wanted him to make him look good. These supporters shared their impressions with a reporter for the newspaper that, more than any other, is a slavish follower of President Obama. Given that context, one expects pro-Obama spin, like this:
The president they described was calm and confident, well versed on the complexities of the ISIS challenge and in no evident rush to end the discussions. A briefing book sat in front of him during the second of the sessions, but he never opened it.
And yet, the principal impression one takes away from the story is of the president’s whininess. He seems to take it as a personal affront that Islamic terrorists have disrupted the torpor of his second term, and have even required him to make a decision to use military force. A recurring theme is Obama’s belief that he is unpopular because Americans just don’t appreciate how deliberate, how careful, how nuanced–how smart, in a word–he is:
He would not rush to war. He would be deliberate. “But I’m aware I pay a political price for that,” he said.
Again:
[Obama displayed] prickliness as he mocked critics of his more reticent approach to the exercise of American power. “Oh, it’s a shame when you have a wan, diffident, professorial president with no foreign policy other than ‘don’t do stupid things,’” guests recalled him saying, sarcastically imitating his adversaries. “I do not make apologies for being careful in these areas, even if it doesn’t make for good theater.”
I don’t recall anyone asking Obama to apologize for being careful, but that apparently is how he interprets criticism of his inept foreign policies. More whining:
It was clear to the guests how aware Mr. Obama was of the critics who have charged him with demonstrating a lack of leadership. He brought up the criticism more than once with an edge of resentment in his voice. “He’s definitely feeling it,” said one guest. At one point, Mr. Obama noted acidly that President Ronald Reagan sent Marines to Lebanon only to have hundreds of them killed in a terrorist attack because of terrible planning, and then withdrew the remaining ones, leaving behind a civil war that lasted years. But Reagan, he noted, is hailed as a titan striding the earth.
Well, Reagan won the cold war and contributed mightily to the downfall of the Soviet Union. If Obama can win the war against Muslim terrorists, we will hail him as a titan striding the earth, too. Only Obama doesn’t seem to understand that we are in a war against Muslim terrorists, so he isn’t likely to win it, any more than Jimmy Carter could win the cold war when he thought we had an “inordinate fear of Communism.”
Some of those who attended the sessions whined on Obama’s behalf:
“He’s not a softy,” Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter and attended the dinner Monday, said of Mr. Obama. “I think part of the problem with some of his critics is they think he’s a softy. He’s not a softy. But he’s a person who tries to think through these events so you can draw some long-term conclusions.”
That’s our Barry, just too thoughtful for his own good! Remember those kids in elementary school who said they weren’t doing well because they were too smart for the classes? I never thought I would see that level of delusion in a president of the United States.
One comes away from Baker’s account with the sense what what really offends Obama about ISIS is that the terrorist group has forced him to make a decision:
Mr. Haass said attention to nuance was a double-edged attribute. “This is someone who, more than most in the political world, is comfortable in the gray rather than the black and white,” he said. “So many other people in the political world do operate in the black and white and are more quote-unquote decisive, and that’s a mixed blessing. He clearly falls on the side of those who are slow or reluctant to decide because deciding often forces you into a more one-sided position than you’re comfortable with.”
Note what a harsh indictment of President Obama that statement is: Obama is “reluctant to decide” because “deciding often forces you into a more one-sided position than you’re comfortable with.” Of course it does! Before you decide, you can ponder the pros and cons, the one hand and the other hand, the various shades of gray, and leave it at that.
But when you decide, you have to choose: to go to war; to bomb; to take a side; to incur casualties; to face the consequences. When a president makes hard choices that involve life and death, in all likelihood he will be “force[d] into a more one-sided position than [he is] comfortable with.” It is always more comfortable to stay on the fence. But making tough decisions, knowing that there are pros and cons, that every course is perilous, and that the consequences of any decision will be mixed, is what we have presidents for. After nearly six years, Barack Obama still doesn’t seem to understand that. |
TAMPA — Grand's, a department store chain from Puerto Rico, will open inside the former Dillard's space at University Mall in September.
Grand's has 25 locations in Puerto Rico and one in Orlando. The chain sells a variety of items, from household goods to clothes to perfume and other items.
Dillard's announced in April that it would move into the former Macy's space at University Mall to take advantage of its better visibility along Fowler Avenue. Macy's shuttered the department store earlier this year as part of a slew of nationwide closures.
Previous Coverage: Retailers continue to struggle with no saving grace in sight
Grand's will be taking over the original 90,000-square-foot space previously occupied by Dillard's.
"Grand's is a well performing tenant, and we're thrilled that they have chosen to expand their offerings and open a larger format store in University Mall," said Roger Hirschhorn, chief operating officer of mall owner RD Management, in a statement. "The relocations within the mall by both Grand's and Dillard's are a testament to the mall's loyal customer base and our thriving retailers. We look forward to continued growth as a result of our ongoing transformation of the mall into a mixed-use destination."
Grand's follows a number of Puerto Rican businesses that have set their sights on Florida in recent years, looking to capitalize on the more robust U.S. economy and migration off the island. Since 2014, at least five chains have opened locations in the Sunshine State.
Previous Coverage: Tampa's University Mall to get major facelift, new anchors and restaurants
University Mall, which is located at 2200 E. Fowler Ave. in Tampa, is undergoing a renovation to turn it into a mixed-use facility that will include open-air retail storefronts, entertainment, educational, residential and office use spaces. The developer has added two new restaurants to the mall and will add apartments in the future. University Mall is one of ten properties owned by RD Management across Florida, and one of more than 150 properties in its national portfolio.
Contact Justine Griffin at [email protected] or (727) 893-8467. Follow @SunBizGriffin. |
[1] The syntonic tuning continuum, showing Pythagorean tuning at 702 cents.
( help · info ) A series of fifths generated can give seven notes: a diatonic major scale on C in Pythagorean tuning
( help · info ) ( help · info ) Diatonic scale on C12-tone equal tempered andjust intonation.
( help · info ) ( help · info ) ( help · info ) Pythagorean (tonic) major chord on C(compareequal tempered andjust).
Comparison of equal-tempered (black) and Pythagorean (green) intervals showing the relationship between frequency ratio and the intervals' values, in cents.
Pythagorean tuning is a system of musical tuning in which the frequency ratios of all intervals are based on the ratio 3:2.[2] This ratio, also known as the "pure" perfect fifth, is chosen because it is one of the most consonant and easiest to tune by ear and because of importance attributed to the integer 3. As Novalis put it, "The musical proportions seem to me to be particularly correct natural proportions."[3] Alternatively, it can be described as the tuning of the syntonic temperament[1] in which the generator is the ratio 3:2 (i.e., the untempered perfect fifth), which is ~702 cents wide.
The system had been mainly attributed to Pythagoras (sixth century BC) by modern authors of music theory, while Ptolemy, and later Boethius, ascribed the division of the tetrachord by only two intervals, called "semitonium", "tonus", "tonus" in Latin (256:243 × 9:8 × 9:8), to Eratosthenes. The so-called "Pythagorean tuning" was used by musicians up to the beginning of the 16th century. "The Pythagorean system would appear to be ideal because of the purity of the fifths, but some consider other intervals, particularly the major third, to be so badly out of tune that major chords [may be considered] a dissonance."[2]
The Pythagorean scale is any scale which can be constructed from only pure perfect fifths (3:2) and octaves (2:1)[4]. In Greek music it was used to tune tetrachords and the twelve tone Pythagorean temperament was developed by medieval music theorists using the same method of tuning in perfect fifths, however there is no evidence that Pythagoras himself went beyond the tetrachord.[5] A distinction can be made between extended Pythagorean tuning and a 12-tone Pythagorean temperament. Extended Pythagorean tuning corresponds 1-on-1 with western music notation and there is no limit to the number of fifths. In 12-tone Pythagorean temperament however one is limited by 12-tones per octave and one cannot play most music according to the Pythagorean system corresponding to the enharmonic notation, instead one finds that for instance the diminished sixth becomes a "wolf fifth".
Method [ edit ]
12-tone Pythagorean temperament is based on a stack of intervals called perfect fifths, each tuned in the ratio 3:2, the next simplest ratio after 2:1. Starting from D for example (D-based tuning), six other notes are produced by moving six times a ratio 3:2 up, and the remaining ones by moving the same ratio down:
E♭–B♭–F–C–G–D–A–E–B–F♯–C♯–G♯
This succession of eleven 3:2 intervals spans across a wide range of frequency (on a piano keyboard, it encompasses 77 keys). Since notes differing in frequency by a factor of 2 are given the same name, it is customary to divide or multiply the frequencies of some of these notes by 2 or by a power of 2. The purpose of this adjustment is to move the 12 notes within a smaller range of frequency, namely within the interval between the base note D and the D above it (a note with twice its frequency). This interval is typically called the basic octave (on a piano keyboard, an octave encompasses only 13 keys ).
For instance, the A is tuned such that its frequency equals 3:2 times the frequency of D—if D is tuned to a frequency of 288 Hz, then A is tuned to 432 Hz. Similarly, the E above A is tuned such that its frequency equals 3:2 times the frequency of A, or 9:4 times the frequency of D—with A at 432 Hz, this puts E at 648 Hz. Since this E is outside the above-mentioned basic octave (i.e. its frequency is more than twice the frequency of the base note D), it is usual to halve its frequency to move it within the basic octave. Therefore, E is tuned to 324 Hz, a 9:8 (= one epogdoon) above D. The B at 3:2 above that E is tuned to the ratio 27:16 and so on. Starting from the same point working the other way, G is tuned as 3:2 below D, which means that it is assigned a frequency equal to 2:3 times the frequency of D—with D at 288 Hz, this puts G at 192 Hz. This frequency is then doubled (to 384 Hz) to bring it into the basic octave.
When extending this tuning however, a problem arises: no stack of 3:2 intervals (perfect fifths) will fit exactly into any stack of 2:1 intervals (octaves). For instance a stack such as this, obtained by adding one more note to the stack shown above
A♭–E♭–B♭–F–C–G–D–A–E–B–F♯–C♯–G♯
will be similar but not identical in size to a stack of 7 octaves. More exactly, it will be about a quarter of a semitone larger, called the Pythagorean comma. Thus, A♭ and G♯, when brought into the basic octave, will not coincide as expected. The table below illustrates this, showing for each note in the basic octave the conventional name of the interval from D (the base note), the formula to compute its frequency ratio, its size in cents, and the difference in cents (labeled ET-dif in the table) between its size and the size of the corresponding one in the equally tempered scale.
In the formulas, the ratios 3:2 or 2:3 represent an ascending or descending perfect fifth (i.e. an increase or decrease in frequency by a perfect fifth, while 2:1 or 1:2 represent an rising or lowering octave.
The major scale based on C, obtained from this tuning is:[6]
Note C D E F G A B C Ratio 1⁄ 1 9⁄ 8 81⁄ 64 4⁄ 3 3⁄ 2 27⁄ 16 243⁄ 128 2⁄ 1 Step — 9⁄ 8 9⁄ 8 256⁄ 243 9⁄ 8 9⁄ 8 9⁄ 8 256⁄ 243 —
In equal temperament, pairs of enharmonic notes such as A♭ and G♯ are thought of as being exactly the same note—however, as the above table indicates, in Pythagorean tuning they have different ratios with respect to D, which means they are at a different frequency. This discrepancy, of about 23.46 cents, or nearly one quarter of a semitone, is known as a Pythagorean comma.
To get around this problem, Pythagorean tuning constructs only twelve notes as above, with eleven fifths between them. For example, one may use only the 12 notes from E♭ to G♯. This, as shown above, implies that only eleven just fifths are used to build the entire chromatic scale. The remaining interval (the diminished sixth from G♯ to E♭) is left badly out-of-tune, meaning that any music which combines those two notes is unplayable in this tuning. A very out-of-tune interval such as this one is known as a wolf interval. In the case of Pythagorean tuning, all the fifths are 701.96 cents wide, in the exact ratio 3:2, except the wolf fifth, which is only 678.49 cents wide, nearly a quarter of a semitone flatter.
If the notes G♯ and E♭ need to be sounded together, the position of the wolf fifth can be changed. For example, a C-based Pythagorean tuning would produce a stack of fifths running from D♭ to F♯, making F♯-D♭ the wolf interval. However, there will always be one wolf fifth in Pythagorean tuning, making it impossible to play in all keys in tune.
Size of intervals [ edit ]
The table above shows only intervals from D. However, intervals can be formed by starting from each of the above listed 12 notes. Thus, twelve intervals can be defined for each interval type (twelve unisons, twelve semitones, twelve intervals composed of 2 semitones, twelve intervals composed of 3 semitones, etc.).
bold font. [7] Numbers larger than 999 are shown as powers of 2 or 3. Frequency ratio of the 144 intervals in D-based Pythagorean tuning. Interval names are given in their shortened form. Pure intervals are shown infont. Wolf intervals are highlighted in red.Numbers larger than 999 are shown as powers of 2 or 3.
As explained above, one of the twelve fifths (the wolf fifth) has a different size with respect to the other eleven. For a similar reason, each of the other interval types, except for the unisons and the octaves, has two different sizes in Pythagorean tuning. This is the price paid for seeking just intonation. The tables on the right and below show their frequency ratios and their approximate sizes in cents. Interval names are given in their standard shortened form. For instance, the size of the interval from D to A, which is a perfect fifth (P5), can be found in the seventh column of the row labeled D. Strictly just (or pure) intervals are shown in bold font. Wolf intervals are highlighted in red.[7]
The reason why the interval sizes vary throughout the scale is that the pitches forming the scale are unevenly spaced. Namely, the frequencies defined by construction for the twelve notes determine two different semitones (i.e. intervals between adjacent notes):
The minor second (m2), also called diatonic semitone, with size
S 1 = 256 243 ≈ 90.225 cents {\displaystyle S_{1}={256 \over 243}\approx 90.225\ {\hbox{cents}}}
(e.g. between D and E ♭ ) The augmented unison (A1), also called chromatic semitone, with size
S 2 = 3 7 2 11 = 2187 2048 ≈ 113.685 cents {\displaystyle S_{2}={3^{7} \over 2^{11}}={2187 \over 2048}\approx 113.685\ {\hbox{cents}}}
(e.g. between E ♭ and E)
Conversely, in an equally tempered chromatic scale, by definition the twelve pitches are equally spaced, all semitones having a size of exactly
S E = 2 12 = 100.000 cents . {\displaystyle S_{E}={\sqrt[{12}]{2}}=100.000\ {\hbox{cents}}.}
As a consequence all intervals of any given type have the same size (e.g., all major thirds have the same size, all fifths have the same size, etc.). The price paid, in this case, is that none of them is justly tuned and perfectly consonant, except, of course, for the unison and the octave.
By definition, in Pythagorean tuning 11 perfect fifths (P5 in the table) have a size of approximately 701.955 cents (700+ε cents, where ε ≈ 1.955 cents). Since the average size of the 12 fifths must equal exactly 700 cents (as in equal temperament), the other one must have a size of 700−11ε cents, which is about 678.495 cents (the wolf fifth). Notice that, as shown in the table, the latter interval, although enharmonically equivalent to a fifth, is more properly called a diminished sixth (d6). Similarly,
9 minor thirds ( m3 ) are ≈ 294.135 cents (300−3ε), 3 augmented seconds ( A2 ) are ≈ 317.595 cents (300+9ε), and their average is 300 cents;
) are ≈ 294.135 cents (300−3ε), 3 augmented seconds ( ) are ≈ 317.595 cents (300+9ε), and their average is 300 cents; 8 major thirds ( M3 ) are ≈ 407.820 cents (400+4ε), 4 diminished fourths ( d4 ) are ≈ 384.360 cents (400−8ε), and their average is 400 cents;
) are ≈ 407.820 cents (400+4ε), 4 diminished fourths ( ) are ≈ 384.360 cents (400−8ε), and their average is 400 cents; 7 diatonic semitones (m2) are ≈ 90.225 cents (100−5ε), 5 chromatic semitones (A1) are ≈ 113.685 cents (100+7ε), and their average is 100 cents.
In short, similar differences in width are observed for all interval types, except for unisons and octaves, and they are all multiples of ε, the difference between the Pythagorean fifth and the average fifth.
Notice that, as an obvious consequence, each augmented or diminished interval is exactly 12ε (≈ 23.460) cents narrower or wider than its enharmonic equivalent. For instance, the d6 (or wolf fifth) is 12ε cents narrower than each P5, and each A2 is 12ε cents wider than each m3. This interval of size 12ε is known as a Pythagorean comma, exactly equal to the opposite of a diminished second (≈ −23.460 cents). This implies that ε can be also defined as one twelfth of a Pythagorean comma.
Pythagorean intervals [ edit ]
Four of the above-mentioned intervals take a specific name in Pythagorean tuning. In the following table, these specific names are provided, together with alternative names used generically for some other intervals. Notice that the Pythagorean comma does not coincide with the diminished second, as its size (524288:531441) is the reciprocal of the Pythagorean diminished second (531441:524288). Also ditone and semiditone are specific for Pythagorean tuning, while tone and tritone are used generically for all tuning systems. Despite its name, a semiditone (3 semitones, or about 300 cents) can hardly be viewed as half of a ditone (4 semitones, or about 400 cents). All the intervals with prefix sesqui- are justly tuned, and their frequency ratio, shown in the table, is a superparticular number (or epimoric ratio). The same is true for the octave.
History and usage [ edit ]
Because of the wolf interval when using a 12-tone Pythagorean temperament, this tuning is rarely used today, although it is thought to have been widespread. In music which does not change key very often, or which is not very harmonically adventurous, the wolf interval is unlikely to be a problem, as not all the possible fifths will be heard in such pieces. In extended Pythagorean tuning there is no wolf interval, all perfect fifths are exactly 3:2.
Because most fifths in 12-tone Pythagorean temperament are in the simple ratio of 3:2, they sound very "smooth" and consonant. The thirds, by contrast, most of which are in the relatively complex ratios of 81:64 (for major thirds) and 32:27 (for minor thirds), sound less smooth depending on the instrument.[8]
From about 1510 onward, as thirds came to be treated as consonances, meantone temperament, and particularly quarter-comma meantone, which tunes thirds to the relatively simple ratio of 5:4, became the most popular system for tuning keyboards. At the same time, syntonic-diatonic just intonation was posited first by Ramos and then by Zarlino as the normal tuning for singers.
However, meantone presented its own harmonic challenges. Its wolf intervals proved to be even worse than those of the Pythagorean tuning (so much so that it often required 19 keys to the octave as opposed to the 12 in Pythagorean tuning). As a consequence, meantone was not suitable for all music. From around the 18th century, as the desire grew for instruments to change key, and therefore to avoid a wolf interval, this led to the widespread use of well temperaments and eventually equal temperament.
Pythagorean temperament can still be heard in some parts of modern classical music from singers and from instruments with no fixed tuning such as the violin family. Where a performer has an unaccompanied passage based on scales, they will tend towards using Pythagorean intonation as that will make the scale sound best in tune, then reverting to other temperaments for other passages (just intonation for chordal or arpeggiated figures, and equal temperament when accompanied with piano or orchestra). This can be seen in the first bar of Bach's Sonata no.1 for unaccompanied violin, where the b-flat in the opening chord is played naturally in just intonation and sounds flatter than the subsequent b-flat which appears in a descending scale and is naturally Pythagorean. Such changes are never explicitly notated and are scarcely noticeable to the audience, just sounding 'in tune'.
Discography [ edit ]
Bragod is a duo giving historically informed performances of mediaeval Welsh music using the crwth and six-stringed lyre using Pythagorean tuning
Gothic Voices – Music for the Lion-Hearted King (Hyperion, CDA66336, 1989), directed by Christopher Page (Leech-Wilkinson)
(Hyperion, CDA66336, 1989), directed by Christopher Page (Leech-Wilkinson) Lou Harrison performed by John Schneider and the Cal Arts Percussion Ensemble conducted by John Bergamo - Guitar & Percussion (Etceter Records, KTC1071, 1990): Suite No. 1 for guitar and percussion and Plaint & Variations on "Song of Palestine"
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Citations [ edit ]
References [ edit ] |
SACO — Amber Pearl Morrow had a knack for compliments.
Without hesitation and almost as an instinct, Morrow could pick out a stranger’s lipstick shade, the cut of a jacket or the warmth of someone’s smile – and with a few friendly words, make a connection.
Even when society seemed bent on rejecting her, Morrow, who was transgender, met the world with unfailing kindness, her family and friends said.
“She was always willing to try to make somebody smile, even if she was having a bad day,” said Morrow’s mother, Jen, 40, of Saco.
Together with more than 100 relatives and friends, the Morrow family gathered Monday at the First Parish Congregational Church, United Church of Christ to reflect on Amber’s life and to grieve.
Morrow, 21, and former Town Councilor Dana Furtado, 44, were found dead Jan. 23 in his Old Orchard Beach home. The cause of both deaths remains under investigation.
During an emotional funeral service, her friends and family spoke about how from an early age Morrow lived life on her own terms, and was never apologetic for being herself. She was born on June 8, 1995. Jen Morrow said her oldest child came out to her as a young teenager, but she had known about her daughter’s emerging gender identity since the child started to walk.
Morrow adopted the name Amber because it was one of the names Jen Morrow had selected if she had given birth to a girl.
When Morrow began to tell her mom what was going on inside, Jen Morrow was one step ahead.
“We were driving around and she said, ‘I think I know what’s wrong with me,’ and I said, ‘Let me guess, you’re a girl,’ ” Jen Morrow recalled. “We went back home and we talked and we cried and we talked and we cried and then we started our journey.”
Raquel Miller, who met Morrow in elementary school, said Morrow had a natural ability to project her energy and confidence onto other people, and that in some ways, helping others was a defense against the constant torments she suffered for being different. Helpfulness and kindness were ways to redirect the pain Morrow could not avoid, Miller said.
“Watching the transformation of her coming into the skin she was meant to be in, to see her true beauty, was the most amazing thing,” said Miller, 21.
Morrow was also vivacious and spontaneous. One day in seventh grade, Morrow concocted a plan for her and Miller to walk to Boston by following the Amtrak train tracks.
Another time, Miller said, Morrow and a couple of others sneaked out of the house and went to a nursery and garden center in Saco and changed around the letters on the sign to deliver a playful message referencing the Harry Potter books.
It read, “Voldemort is coming. Run, Muggles,” said Miller’s mother, Amy Juneau, 56, of Boston.
The two were like sisters, Miller said.
Sometimes the spontaneity scared Miller, however. But Morrow taught her how to be brave, she said.
School was often not a happy place for Morrow. Although she connected there with lifelong friends, including Miller, hallways and classrooms turned into battlegrounds of taunts, sneers, insults and assaults. Morrow often stood up for herself, but the onslaught continued.
The deep feelings of pain and separateness she felt from her peers never faded, her family and friends said. Morrow developed anxiety, a condition she lived with always, and avoided crowds.
In high school at Thornton Academy, the abuse worsened, Jen Morrow said. A school resource officer had to walk Morrow to her classes, or else she would be spat on and cursed at, or have things thrown at her. One day after school, Jen Morrow said, a group of teenagers in a car chased Morrow as she walked home, threatening that if they caught her, they would have a “fag drag,” Jen Morrow said. Finally, in her sophomore year – on the verge of dropping out of school entirely – Morrow transferred to the Old Orchard Beach-Saco alternative education program. Her teacher, Christine Adams, said Morrow was broken and beaten down when she arrived.
“She was full of life, but you could tell she was hurt inside, and wanted to be accepted for who she was,” Adams said.
She found that acceptance in Adams’ class. Morrow spent her days reaching out to other students, looking for ways to connect with them, and sponging up the academic material. When she graduated, Morrow received awards for her helpfulness to others and for the highest academic achievement, and was inducted into the National Adult Education Honor Society. She had a passion for fashion design, photography and art, and dreamed of being a designer.
After graduation, when Morrow was 19, she met Bryan Combs through a mutual friend. Although he was 12 years older that Morrow, it was love at first sight. “I had this instant feeling that I met her before,” he said.
Combs, now 33, said he remembers meeting Morrow’s family and eating dinner at her house. Morrow’s dad, Andrew, happily chowed down on shrimp scampi, a special treat.
Combs sat up straight, his napkin in his lap, and answered Jen Morrow’s fusillade of questions.
He could see that she was loved and protected. Soon enough, he was the one loving and protecting her too.
“Anyone who took the time to talk to her loved her, liked her,” Combs said. “But there’s so many hateful, ignorant people who can’t accept difference.”
Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:
[email protected]
Twitter: MattByrnePPH
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MONTREAL — Formula One rookie Lance Stroll says he will never forget his first Canadian Grand Prix, a race where he earned his first Formula One points.
Stroll finished ninth at his hometown race on Sunday, coming all the way back from 17th in the starting grid at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The finish gives the Canadian two points in the drivers' standings.
"My first points," exclaimed an overjoyed Stroll, who moved into 16th in the championship table. "It's really special. I'll never forget it. Finally feels good for sure. I kept working and finally broke the ice.
"I need to thank all the fans here. It was so special seeing all the Canadian flags."
Lewis Hamilton came in first for his third consecutive Canadian Grand Prix victory. His Mercedes teammate Valterri Bottas finished second and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was third.
The 18-year-old Stroll has now finished three of seven races this season. His previous best finish was 11th in Russia.
From 17th at the start of the race, Stroll fought his way up to ninth, then fell back to 17th before grinding his way towards his first-ever top-10 finish.
"I knew we could do it," said Stroll. "We've always had the pace, but some things just weren't going our way. Today, everything went well and I couldn't be happier. The car was great today."
Stroll was aggressive from the opening lap and hardly let up. Starting from the second row from the back, the Williams rookie quickly jumped into 15th when Carlos Sainz and Felipe Massa collided on the opening lap.
Stroll climbed into 13th when points leader Sebastian Vettel was forced to pit early after damaging his front wing.
On lap 15, Stroll blew past Stoffel Vandoorne of McLaren at the hairpin. On the following lap, Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat emerged from pit lane just behind Stroll.
The rookie then decided to make a pit stop of his own — his only stop of the race — where he changed from the ultrasoft to the supersoft tires.
The one pit stop strategy worked wonders for Williams.
"Making one stop was the right idea," said Stroll. "I really managed the tires well and kept a good pace throughout. A real team effort today."
The visit to pit lane saw Stroll fall all the way back to 17th. That's when he began his climb towards the leaders.
On lap 40, the 18-year-old cruised past Renault's Jolyon Palmer into 14th place. Three laps later, he overtook Romain Grosjean on the straightaway before the final chicane.
On lap 46, Stroll went down the back straight and comfortably reached the chicane before Vandoorne, jumping into 12th as a result. On the next lap, the Canadian passed Fernando Alonso down the outside.
Penalties to Kevin Magnussen (five-second penalty) and Kvyat (drive-through penalty) allowed Stroll to cruise into 9th, where he would stay for the remaining 15 laps of the race.
"I knew we had the pace to do it, to come back," said Stroll. "It was just about knowing when to overtake. I could have done it a lot earlier sometimes, but it was just a bit risky so I wanted to do it safely. I knew that we were in it until the end. We just made it happen."
Minutes after the completing the race, Stroll emerged from the Williams garage and hugged his father.
"Great race, great pace, and couldn't be happier," said Lawrence Stroll, Lance's dad. "I don't think it could be more appropriate that he scored his first points on his home soil.
"I think he was always very confident. He's had some bad luck. And he's 18 years old. Everyone has to have a little bit of patience. This is just his seventh race."
Notes: The victory was Hamilton's sixth overall in Montreal. … Only 12 points separate Hamilton and Vettel in the drivers' standings. … Red Bull's Max Verstappen was forced to retire on lap 11. …The next race is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on June 25. |
"We call him Satchi," says Clarkstown Eagles owner and head coach Oliver Papraniku.
Once A Metro has been following former New York Red Bulls Homegrown player Sacir Hot's progress as head coach of Morristown amateurs FC Motown for several months, but somehow neglected to figure out how to pronounce his name. Papraniku gently puts a stumbling start to a Friday-afternoon phone conversation back on track, allowing us to return to the purpose of the chat: the news that his club has added Hot to its coaching staff.
Clarkstown Eagles play in NPSL, generally regarded as part of US soccer's fourth division (a status shared with PDL, a different league with similar characteristics) and, as such, the highest amateur or semi-pro tier of the sport in America. In NPSL 2016, Clarkstown won the Keystone Conference and made it to the final four of the national playoffs, losing to AFC Cleveland - the team that went on to win the NPSL national championship.
Along the way, the Eagles saw quite a lot of NJ Copa FC - a rival in the Keystone Conference and the team they beat in the regional final of the playoffs to make the national semifinals. The 2016 Copa squad featured a number of players from FC Motown, the team now coached by Sacir Hot: is that the connection that inspired the Eagles to sign the young coach to its staff? Not quite.
"I've known Satchi a long time," says Papraniku, "He played for us between Red Bulls and other stuff he was doing." Also, and perhaps more importantly, "Motown and Clarkstown have a loose association, and we're hoping to make a big announcement in about a week," says the Eagles head coach.
News Papraniku is able to share right away is that Clarkstown will be absorbing Motown's squad into its roster for the NPSL 2017 campaign: "One super team, as we call it."
"We're adding quality and it gives us the ability to rest players and be stronger," explains Papraniku. "Last year, we were one game away from the NPSL final; the year before, two games away. Both times, we were beat by the team that won it," he says.
Clearly, Clarkstown wants to build on its success and keep pushing for that national championship. Players are one part of the equation; coaching is another. Papraniku says adding Hot to the technical staff is no favor to an old friend: "He is being transitioned to being the head coach. This is his first step in taking over."
Papraniku hopes that transition will be completed sooner rather than later: by the end of the year, if not before. He sees a young coach with the tools "to go all the way to the highest level".
"The way he prepares a team, his training methods and commitment: he's taking it very seriously and he's going in the right direction," says Papraniku. "He's a committed team player."
Hot was an elite-level youth player: New York Red Bulls Academy; USA U-18 and U-20 Men's National Team looks including a place on the U-20 USMNT roster for the 2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship; NCAA D1 soccer with Boston College before pro opportunities became too much to ignore; trials with Bundesliga clubs, Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund; turning pro with RBNY in 2011 on a Homegrown deal.
But the necessary luck to sustain a pro playing career eluded Hot, and he has since opted to get an early start on coaching. As head coach of FC Motown, Hot was joining a club already dominant in the Garden State Soccer League. That GSSL success has continued under Coach Hot, but the team also attracted wider attention this season with a run to the second round of the main draw of US Open Cup.
NPSL is a summer league, which is the off-season for FC Motown. Many coaches in NPSL and PDL combine managing a summer team with other commitments; there is no great conflict in coaching Clarkstown and Motown - which is what Hot intends to do.
"It's going to be a fun summer," Coach Hot told Once A Metro when news of his Clarkstown role was made public. He described the potential of a merged Motown/Eagles squad as "lethal".
No need to take his word for it: Clarkstown opened its 2017 NPSL season on the road against Greater Binghamton FC Thunder on May 20. The Eagles won, 5-0, with Coach Hot on the sidelines.
Follow Clarkstown Eagles' progress in NPSL on Twitter @npsl_eagles. |
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the majority whip, on Sunday said a tax provision, which could personally enrich key Republican lawmakers, was added to the final tax bill as part of an effort to “cobble together the votes we needed to get this bill passed.” Cornyn was pressed about the provision on ABC’s "This Week," after an International Business Times investigation showed that Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee suddenly switched his vote to “yes” after GOP leaders added the provision, which could boost Corker’s real estate income. A top Democratic senator, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, responded to Cornyn’s explanation by saying the language put into the bill also “would be a windfall to Donald Trump.”
As IBT first reported, the provision potentially enriching Corker, Trump and a handful of other top Republican lawmakers, was not part of the House- or Senate-passed bill, but was added by GOP lawmakers to the final bill, which was publicly released on Friday afternoon. Corker, who is not seeking re-election and is considered a crucial swing vote due to his criticism of President Trump, suddenly said he would support the final bill. He initially voted against the original bill in the Senate, which did not have the provision. Corker subsequently asserted to IBT that he did not know about the provision being added to the final bill, and he also declared he has not even read the tax bill he announced he is voting for.
The provision at issue would provide a special tax deduction on income made from so-called “pass through” entities, like real estate LLCs. The specific language would provide the lucrative tax deduction for such entities, even when they employ few or no employees -- a structure that tax experts say is designed to give a tax break to real estate moguls.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos pressed Cornyn about the provision after three senior Democratic senators responded to IBT’s report by saying the revelations meant the tax bill must be halted. At first, Cornyn said the criticism of the provision was unfair, declaring: “Picking out one piece in a 1,000-page bill and saying, 'well, this is going to benefit somebody' — I just think that takes the whole bill out of context.”
But then Stephanopoulos pressed Cornyn, noting that “this provision wasn't included in either the House or the Senate bill and apparently was added at the last minute. Why was that done? Why was it necessary to include that provision?”
Cornyn responded: “Well, we were working very hard. It was a very intense process. As I said, the Democrats refused to participate. And what we've tried to do is cobble together the votes we needed to get this bill passed.”
Asked specifically if it was added for Corker, Cornyn said: “Well, the particular provision you're talking about, honestly, is just one piece of a 1,000-page bill which is going to grow the American economy.”
Van Hollen disagreed, telling Stephanopoulos that the language was added in secret, and at the behest of special interests.
“What we do know is they’re behind closed doors,” Van Hollen said. “There are a whole army of lobbyists who were surrounding them, and the longer they’re in there, the more you see these special interest provisions, George, which as you indicate would be a windfall to Donald Trump based on everything we know.” |
CLOSE The 2017 Baseball Hall of Fame class is announced Jan. 18 and here are some of the top candidates. USA TODAY Sports
In this 1997 file photo, San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds celebrates on top of the Giants dugout after they beat the San Diego Padres to win the National League West title. (Photo11: Eric Riseberg, AP)
It won’t happen this year.
Maybe not next year, either.
But it’s finally happening.
For the first time since their names first appeared on the ballot in 2013, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are virtually assured of stepping onto that stage in Cooperstown, N.Y., in the next few years and earning induction to the Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame voters, a constituency of about 450 veteran members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America finally have seen the light.
It has been absurd to keep the finest hitter and pitcher of their generation out of the Hall of Fame because of their dalliances with performance-enhancing drugs.
Bonds and Clemens, who haven’t eclipsed 45.2% in the balloting, have each received 70% of the votes, according to early polling results compiled by Ryan Thibodaux, 5% shy of what’s required for election. It won’t last, of course. Their numbers will drop once all of the votes are counted — with Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell virtual locks to earn induction when results are announced Jan. 18 — but for the first time Bonds and Clemens will receive a majority of the vote, paving their way to Cooperstown.
The BBWAA finally recognizes the absurdity of keeping Bonds and Clemens out of the Hall of Fame but letting Mike Piazza, Bagwell and soon Ivan Rodriguez into the hallowed halls.
And, please, enough of the notion that the BBWAA is changing its stance on Bonds and Clemens simply because former commissioner Bud Selig was voted into the Hall by the 16-member veterans committee a few weeks ago.
MORE HALL OF FAME COVERAGE
It’s nonsense to call Selig an enabler or accuse him of being solely responsible for the steroid era because it happened under his watch.
Sure, Selig and union chief Don Fehr could have stopped it. So could have every owner, front office executive, manager, coach, training staff member and physical therapist, too.
No one cared because the cruel fact is that steroids, human-growth hormone and androstenedione were good for the game. The drugs helped produce unbelievable performances. The better the performance, the more the team won, the bigger the crowds.
There were few, if any, complaints when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, with their juiced bodies and bulging muscles, helped save baseball in 1998 with the home run chase that captivated the country, with each eclipsing Roger Maris’ single-season home run record.
It was no different for Bonds or Clemens. There was never a peep out of the San Francisco Giants, who watched Bonds, a seven-time MVP, pack the joint every night en route to breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record. Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, was viewed as a savior wherever he went, winning two World Series with the New York Yankees and pennants with the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros.
Really, when you think about it, there wasn’t a single team during the steroid era that publicly complained about any of its players using PEDs. The performance-enhancing drugs made players much more productive, not only helping their careers but also aiding the franchises that employed them.
Like Bonds and Clemens, Piazza, Bagwell and Rodriguez never confessed to steroid use despite significant physical transformations. They tried to tell us it was because of the use of androstenedione, the same drug McGwire admitted taking. Only Rodriguez was directly accused, when former teammate Jose Canseco claimed in his book that he shot up Rodriguez with steroids. Rodriguez vehemently denied the allegations. He later lost 30 pounds over one offseason — right before the 2005 season, when baseball began testing for steroids.
Anyone involved in the game had to be naive or stupid to not realize that what they were witnessing on the field or in the clubhouse was unnatural.
It doesn’t matter who escaped federal investigations or their name appearing in the grossly incomplete George Mitchell report or revenge from scorned trainers or clubhouse attendants. The coldhearted fact is that hundreds and perhaps thousands of players used performance-enhancing drugs during the steroid era, including at least a handful of players already in the Hall.
We’ll never know exactly who was clean or who was dirty, but statistics and record performances will tell us we do know who the best players were during the steroid era.
There are only four players on my Hall of Fame ballot who were never under the suspicion of performance-enhancing drug use: first baseman Fred McGriff, closer Trevor Hoffman and outfielders Tim Raines and Vladimir Guerrero. The others: Bonds, Clemens, Bagwell, Sosa, Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield.
Yet for all the guys who used performance-enhancing drugs, the bulk of voters have spent years penalizing them, until changing their minds now.
I was among the minority of voters who cast my ballot for Bonds and Clemens when they first appeared in 2013. I was even among a smaller group, just 31 last year, who voted for Sosa.
Sure, Sosa wasn’t in Bonds’ class, but neither is any other hitter on the ballot. Sosa hit 609 home runs, the eighth most in history. He hit at least 50 homers in four seasons, produced at least 100 RBI in nine consecutive years and finished among the top 10 in the MVP race seven times, winning it in 1998.
Sosa could become the greatest slugger of the PED class who never publicly tested positive to be kept out of Cooperstown. His name was among the 104 anonymous positive test results in 2003, according to The New York Times.
The only man on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot to ever publicly test positive — and be suspended — is Manny Ramirez. He was suspended twice, 50 games the first time with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2009 and 100 games in 2011 with the Tampa Bay Rays, effectively ending his major league career.
Ramirez might be one of the game’s greatest right-handed hitters, but he should never be in the Hall of Fame. He cheated when baseball actually had punishment for PED use. The suspensions severely damaged his team’s chances of winning without him.
The same goes for Alex Rodriguez when he comes eligible. He not only admitted to using steroids at two different junctures in his career, but he also received the longest drug suspension in baseball history, sitting out the 2014 season and costing the Yankees a shot at the playoffs.
The moment they were suspended, they blew their chance at Cooperstown.
It’s completely different with Bonds, Clemens or anyone else we suspect of steroid use but who never tested positive or was suspended. There were no rules before 2004. No signs in clubhouses banning PEDs. You were free to take whatever you desired with no testing, no penalties, nothing.
It’s as if you were on the highway and told there will be no police monitoring the stretch of road for the next 300 miles. Do you really believe you’d still go 55 mph?
We can’t retroactively establish rules guessing who used, who didn’t, how much or when.
The time has arrived to accept that Bonds and Clemens belong in the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.
Yep, just like a year ago with Piazza, who had to wait four years because of strong steroid suspicions. And Bagwell, who has waited six years, largely because of similar suspicions. And maybe Ivan Rodriguez, who could make it in his first year of eligibility.
They were great players from the steroid era.
Just not the greatest.
That legacy belongs to Bonds and Clemens.
One day, you’ll be able to see their plaques in Cooperstown, where they belong.
GALLERY: 2017 Hall of Fame candidates |
SUPERSTAR Jarryd Hayne has become embroiled in the Parramatta Eels salary cap scandal over a $15,000 international airfare.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Hayne’s trip to the United States at the end of last season — before he quit the NRL — is one of more than 58 pages of salary cap breaches the NRL has accused Parramatta of committing.
The Parramatta Eels took their entire squad to Seattle on a training camp in November but Hayne could not attend because he was supposedly going to play for the Kangaroos in the Four Nations.
Instead the club sent him on his own before he returned home for the Dally M Awards.
The NRL auditors have ruled the airfares and accommodation, worth $15,000, should have been part of the salary cap because he did not go with the rest of the team.
BUZZ: Eels get off lightly after deliberate breaches
media_camera Jarryd Hayne’s US trip is coming under scurtiny.
The Eels repeatedly ignored NRL warnings last year that they were in danger of breaching the salary cap.
Week after week and even as early as round one, coach Brad Arthur kept picking players knowing he was over the second-tier cap.
By the end of the year the NRL squad had blown out to be around $335,000 over the cap — the equivalent to having two extra average-paid players on their roster in the closest and hardest-fought competition on record.
Imagine the embarrassment if they had made the finals.
The Eels were also reprimanded for providing $32,104 in benefits to players by the Parramatta Leagues Club in 2013 including their purchase of Fuifui Moimoi’s car for $15,000 when it was valued at between $3800 and $5200.
In all, the Eels were in breach in each of the four salary cap categories:
● $101,718 in the NRL top 25 bracket;
● $233,036 in second-tier contracts;
● $60,915 for the Holden Cup top-20 list; and
● $8277 for second-tier Holden Cup players.
HAYNE PAIN: Don’t blame Arthur for Eels slide
RICKY’S PROJECTOR 12: Where are they now?
They have been ordered to undergo an independent review of its governance and management operations and implement changes recommended by the review — or risk losing the four points.
After being handed a $525,000 fine and docked four competition points (suspended) for 2016, Parramatta CEO Scott Seward told The Daily Telegraph his club would challenge some of the findings but at the same time not put four competition points at risk.
“The vast majority of changes at management level have already taken place,” Seward said.
“The governance reform at the club started about two years ago but we’ll abide by the review because we’re certainly not going to risk losing points.
“If we need more changes we’ll take them on board.”
Seward insisted the Eels were actually several hundred thousand dollars under the salary cap for this year — hence their interest in Sharks star Michael Gordon.
“This was all about the past management,” he said. “The NRL acknowledged that a lot of the problems we (current management) inherited.”
media_camera Former co-captain Reni Maitua was one of the players forced out.
The NRL would not go into the specifics of the breaches or name players.
However The Daily Telegraph understands players sacked by previous coach Ricky Stuart including Willie Tonga, Matt Keating and Cheyse Blair were part of the cap issues because the Eels were still paying part of their salaries.
The 2nd tier cap was actually over by around $600,000 last year before exemptions were taken into account by NRL auditors. So it could have been much worse.
“I want to emphasise I don’t think this is about cheating,” said chief executive Dave Smith,” It’s about mismanagement.
“We have the closest competition in the world and nothing will allow it to be undermined.
“That why the fine is so significant and coupled with a management reform they will undertake, it’s the right way to go.
“Brand and reputation is everything. Anything that tarnishes the reputation I find distressing.”
Smith defended the Eels signing Kieran Foran for more than $1 million a season from Manly, Beau Scott from the Knights and the fact they are currently trying to get Michael Gordon from the Sharks for this year.
“I would stress that in 2015 our auditors are comfortable with the position they are in for this season,” he said,” The salary cap auditor says they have made a number of changes that allow room in the cap for those players.”
He said the NRL would continue to heavily police the cap.
“The salary cap is one of the reasons we have the closest sporting competition in Australia,” he said.
“We have to continue to take a hard line against breaches, particularly where a club’s governance and compliance systems are demonstrated to be inadequate.
“This action is aimed at improving the underlying problems at the club which have caused this breach.”
Eels Chairman Steve Sharp described the issue as symptomatic of wider failures in the previous administrations of the club.
“Today’s findings again highlight that dark period for our club between 2010 and 2013,” Sharp said.
“The constant changing of coaches, players and club executives, the mismanagement of core parts of our business across both the Eels and Parramatta Leagues Club, and these issues go hand in hand.” |
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 24: Vice chairman of Deutsche Bank Securities Brian Mulligan attends a dinner reception for the Chinese delegation's official U.S. visit hosted by Joan Dangerfield at her residence on February 24, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for Joan Dangerfield)
A Deutsche Bank executive said he will sue the Los Angeles Police Department and the city for $100 million, claiming he was held captive in a motel room by police officers who then beat him to a pulp.
Brian Mulligan, the 52-year-old managing director and vice chairman of media and telecommunications for the German bank, said he was in the LA suburb of Highland Park, near a marijuana dispensary, on May 15 when he was approached by two LAPD officers, Patch reports. His version of what happened is very different from the version that the LAPD told The Huffington Post (see below).
Mulligan said the officers asked why he was there and searched him and his car, where they found thousands of dollars. The officers put Mulligan in their car, drove to a nearby motel and told Mulligan to wait in the room until they returned.
He said he waited several hours, then decided to leave, fearing he was being set up to be robbed or killed, the Daily Mail reports. As he tried to leave, the officers returned and began ruthlessly beating him, he said.
Mulligan said he was treated at a hospital for 15 fractures to the nasal area, a broken scapula and severe facial lacerations that left him at a point where he "barely looked human," TMZ reports.
The police version begins with a complaint about a man going through cars in a Jack-in-the-Box in the Highland Park area, according to LAPD Officer Cleon Joseph. Moments later, a second call came from another person about a man in the same area who appeared to be on drugs and trying to break into cars, Joseph told HuffPost.
The officers determined Mulligan matched the description of the suspect, but a police drug recognition expert determined he was not under the influence of drugs. Joseph said he could not clarify whether that included alcohol. Officers then searched Mulligan's car and found thousands of dollars, Joseph said.
Mulligan told the officers that he was exhausted, so the officers agreed to transport him to a motel, Joseph said. But first, they had to count the executive's cash to make sure it was all still there after they transported him to the hotel, Joseph explained. The officers gave Mulligan's money back to him, drove him to the motel and left him, concluding their response, Joseph said.
A few hours later, at about 1 a.m., police received another call from the same area, this time about a man running in traffic. Officers observed Mulligan in the street, Joseph said. He defied officers' orders to get out of the street, and instead went into a fighting stance and charged at the officers, according to Joseph.
Officers tackled Mulligan and took control of him, Joseph said. During the take-down, the executive sustained injuries that required hospitalization. Police reported the incident as a categorical use of force and are conducting a standard investigation to determine if the force was necessary.
Mulligan was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with law enforcement. He was booked on $25,000 bail and was released from jail on May 18.
The LA County District Attorney declined to prosecute Mulligan and referred the case to the City Attorney. Frank Mateljan, spokesman for the City Attorney's office, told HuffPost his office does not plan to file a criminal case. Instead, the office has scheduled Mulligan in October "to have a discussion with him and advise him on how best to follow the law so that incidents like this don’t occur again." Mulligan faces no other punishment.
Mulligan said he would file the lawsuit next week. |
The Adams County Coroner has confirmed a murder-suicide that is under investigation by police in Littlestown.The coroner says the daughter, 9-year-old Codie Powell, died of multiple gunshot wounds and say the manner is a homicide. The cause of death of the father, 37-year-old Donald Powell, is a gunshot wound to the head and the manner is a suicide.The incident happened on the first block of James Avenue in Littlestown just before 4 a.m. Sunday.Police say the mother, Talisaha Powell, was taken to the hospital from the scene of the shooting.
The Adams County Coroner has confirmed a murder-suicide that is under investigation by police in Littlestown.
The coroner says the daughter, 9-year-old Codie Powell, died of multiple gunshot wounds and say the manner is a homicide. The cause of death of the father, 37-year-old Donald Powell, is a gunshot wound to the head and the manner is a suicide.
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The incident happened on the first block of James Avenue in Littlestown just before 4 a.m. Sunday.
Police say the mother, Talisaha Powell, was taken to the hospital from the scene of the shooting.
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In college, at the age of 21, she peeled off her clothes in a public fountain, proceeded to brush her teeth and posted a video of it on YouTube. What she revealed was her body in all its pale tattooed glory, and what she unleashed was argument that lives to this day about whether she is or is not fat, is or is not pretty, should or should not be embarrassed of her body.
When she graduated, she moved back home with her parents and made the film “Tiny Furniture” about a confused 20-something who has just moved back in with her parents. And then Lena Dunham, who unashamedly took over the world in her underwear with a sense of self worth, humor and love that earned her a legion of fans, wrote, directed and starred in the HBO show “Girls.” Season 3 of the show will premier this January, and Dunham is also in the process of publishing her first book.
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Dunham, a pale pixie in a Cheetah print sweater, walked into Siggy’s Good Food in Brooklyn wearing no makeup. Over lunch and almond-butter-and-banana shakes, we talked about her writing process, how women are taught to take up less space than men, badass grandmas and the inspiration for Season 3 of “Girls.”
I was living in Mexico when I found out about “Girls,” and I want you to know that I watched the whole first season in two days.
Welcome back to the United States and thank you for watching “Girls.”
One of the things that I love about you and about “Girls” is the way that you occupy space in an unapologetic “this is mine” way. I’ve been talking about this with friends, about the way men take up space vs. the way women collapse into ourselves, cross our legs…
Don’t feel comfortable taking up our full chair, apologize for putting our arm on the armrest.
Yes. Personally, I feel socialized to not take up space, and I have to work to change that. What is it about your childhood, about your mom, about your grandma, what is it that made you able to do that?
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You know, it’s funny, I think part of inquiry into that kind of stuff started when I entered high school and went from being a really tiny kid to a chubby teenager and had to figure out how to handle that shift in my body. It’s interesting because I was looking at that transition and trying to figure out how to deal with my new body. It’s funny, I don’t know, maybe it’s a selfishness thing, but when there are only a few chairs or something, I’m never the person who is like, “I’ll stand.” I always sit down, because I prize comfort highly. I don’t know if you saw that slam poem that went viral a couple weeks ago.
I did.
That amazing girl talking about being trained to do that. And actually Jemima, who plays Jessa on the show, sent it to me. She’s like “I know you’re busy, but watch this. It’s very moving.” And I found it very moving, because she was asking a question that doesn’t get asked very often. It was really profound.
I saw that. It made me think about work, where in my office men lay back in their chairs, put their feet up.
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Totally. It makes me want to do something inappropriate. Another part of it is the fun of playing a character like Hannah who is somewhat unaware. She tries to be really aware of social aspects but fails. In that space between trying and succeeding is the comedy of using your body too broadly or knocking into things. I’m also really spatially unaware as a person.
I’m curious about what your mom and grandmother are like. I watched “Tiny Furniture.” I imagine that you have a pretty badass mother/grandmother lineage going on here.
I have an amazing mom. We actually just last week gave a talk together at the Brooklyn Museum, which was an amazing experience because instead of just existing in our relationship, we discussed our relationship and what it means for both of us creatively. On my dad’s side I was super close with my grandmother. She was nontraditional by the standards of her time. She married really late, 35, which in the ’40s is like, you might as well be 100. She’d been a nurse in the army and a counselor for underprivileged teenagers. She took a really interesting route and settled into traditional wife- and motherhood pretty late. She was a good storyteller. A huge part of my childhood and a huge part of my wanting to write was sitting with my grandma and just listening to her talk about going to Germany during the war, going to Mount Holyoke, going to Yale nursing school, going to new cities alone. She had a knack for illustrating it all, and her stories are really riveting. My mother’s mother is much more traditional. She’s a Jewish country club, blowout-having, lipstick-wearing grandma.
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What role does writing play in your life? Are you more of a Joan Didion notebook writer, a Hemingway-blood-on-the-page type, or an “I’m emotional, I’m just going to throw it out there” maniac?
I want so much to be someone who sees something and writes it down in their beautiful leather notebook. The fact is that I write under duress, often in my bed, often at the last minute. I’m kind of a binge writer I would say, which I don’t support. I was always kind of that way. Probably the time I was the most regular as a writer was college. It was like, what else is there to do when you’re living in the Midwest studying creative writing?
Now I have to really guard and cherish my writing time, because there are so many other demands on it. There’s what the show takes up, because the show has so many other aspects besides writing. There are a lot of other areas of interest for me, but writing time is where everything comes from. I have to make sure to be really careful with it. It’s hard for me. When I had other jobs, like when I was working in a clothing store, or I was a hostess, I had this weird schedule where I would work, come home, take a nap, then write from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., then go back to sleep. I basically figured out a schedule where I could have the strength to get something done at night.
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Now it’s harder for me to go in and out of various modes, so I have to set aside days where I’m like “I’m getting writing done today.” Because a big part of it for me is being able to dawdle, or look at things on the Internet, or take a moment to answer six emails, or walk around a circle, or go out and read the newspaper. The day needs to hold enough space for all the other stuff that goes with writing. I would say that my writing comes from more of an emotional place than an “I’m in the street, I observe something, and I get an idea” place. I wish that I had more of that. That’s like where more of my tweets come from, which is a bummer. I’m hoping that it can evolve with age, as all things do.
Tweeting can evolve with age.
Tweeting can, and my approach to having a reasonable schedule can evolve.
How do you feel about balancing pop culture, social media and projects?
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It depends on the day. Some days I’m like “This is the greatest most fun challenge! I can do this all at once! What a joy!” And some days I just feel like “How are we supposed to fill all of these roles?” I’m a writer, and sort of an actor, and a director, but I’m also supposed to be able to pose for photos and have an amazing Twitter that doesn’t offend anybody.
That is really funny all the time.
All the time. I feel like I miss a little bit the old – I mean it was kind of pre my career – but the idea that you made something, you put out a book or you put out a movie, and then you went into hibernation. You had your experience of preparing to put the next thing into the world. And that doesn’t exist, because people are blogging and tweeting.
I find that a lot. Especially being a writer, you basically have to promo yourself full time, but it feels horrible because you are like “I don’t want to promo myself.” It becomes a complicated question.
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It really does. I often find on Twitter that I just want to tweet about SNL. I don’t want to tweet, “I wrote this. Go read it.” It’s an interesting conundrum. But I also feel like my writing can always serve as a place to go back to. It is really comforting. I feel like in bad times or good it is a safe space to enter. It’s easy to forget that, but it’s consistently true. I feel lucky always to have that medium, which is as private as you want it to be and is affordable.
I was looking through interviews with you. It’s always the same questions, “feminism, your body, what is it like, da da da, you’re an exhibitionist, yada yada.”
It’s true and the answers change. But it is nice that you’ve just asked me good questions that don’t live in the usual space. And that’s nice too, because if you don’t get exhausted about talking about yourself and your work, then you’re a monster.
What sort of visual and cultural explorations inform the creation of Season 3 of “Girls”?
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We had a few goals for Season 3. One was to push each of the character’s back-stories and histories further and to better understand why they’re facing what they’re facing. I feel like that’s the thing you often don’t get in comedies about a bunch of pals, a sense of where they’re coming from and why. I wanted to talk about that moment when the messiness goes from feeling age-appropriate to “Is this a problem?”
That’s what your movie “Tiny Furniture” explores too.
I also wanted this season to have more alone time with each character. I don’t know if you know the filmmaker Agnès Varda. She’s a French filmmaker. She’s amazing. I actually just met her. She’s in her 80s, and she was having an exhibition in Los Angeles and I was like, “I’m going to meet her.” Her movies have a lot of quite interior time with female characters. I’m not going to say that this has turned into epic, lonely episodes, but I liked the idea of seeing them together and seeing them alone and seeing what the differences were. Also, for Hannah I really wanted it to be about why she wants to be a writer and what it means to her, to make it less about her relationship to any particular guy and about how she is defining herself.
The crushing weight of wanting to be a writer and getting to the point where you can give that up and still write.
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I think what we are going for was to look at about how much of her desire was about actually wanting to write and how much is wanting to have this life. I remember this, and I still sometimes I’ll be like “I’ve got to make another feature this year. It’s ridiculous that I haven’t made another feature.” And then I’m like “Where is this coming from? This is coming from some macro sense of what should have happened?”
What have I produced? What am I producing? Looking at life like that.
It’s exhausting and ironically ultimately unproductive. Although I do think it drives a lot of what is made. I was trying to look at what role that type of pressure plays in her writing.
Do you have time to read?
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All the time. But it often exists in a very different world than the show does, because the show is such a specific universe that reading is my escape from it. This summer I was reading a bunch of Diana Athill. She’s amazing. When she was 75 she decided to write her first memoir, and now she’s written like seven memoirs. I read "The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P." and I loved it. It was the first novel I’ve read that was taking place in the same world as “Girls.” It was cool to see how fiction could deal with that differently. You get an internal monologue, and that was cool. When you’re making a show where you don’t ever get inside anyone’s head, you don’t get a voiceover, there’s only so far you can go to illuminate somebody’s thought process.
Something that’s in “Girls” and in “Tiny Furniture” that I can relate to as well, especially in “Tiny Furniture,” is the situation with the guy living in your house who is a terrible moocher, and yet you want to make him happy. That’s something that happens so often. Why do we have that feeling that “I want to please this person?”
Even though they’re not that wildly impressive.
Not at all.
It’s an interesting thing. I think a lot of it is our desire to show off and our mothering complex join forces. I think also a lot of it comes from not having the confidence that you have something to offer as your own entity. You think either this person isn’t going to be impressed enough about you just through the art of conversation or through the privilege of getting to look at your face. There’s also the sense that this person’s addition to your life is going to up your worth in some way. Even if you intellectually know it’s not true, it’s hard to let go of the emotional component that tells you that it is. I still find that all the time I want to say, “Stay in my apartment when I’m out of town. Sure, I can get you tickets for that.” Half the time I’m offering something I don’t even have, and I’m just scrambling around. It’s very female. I wish I could say that making a movie about it ended it for me, but it did not.
I’ve been thinking about it for years, and I still have to work not to do those things, bend over backwards for people who don’t care about me at all.
It’s horrible. I think I also liked the feeling at times of people being a little indebted to me, which is a darker angle of it, but it’s definitely there. There’s a piece of my book about letting guys sleep in your bed. You’re not sleeping with them, just letting them sleep in your bed and what that is. It’s really interesting, because I’ve done a lot of that in my day. And now the idea of someone sleeping in my bed with me who I’m not sleeping with is literally my worst nightmare. I’m like, “I cherish my sleep. I worked hard for my bed.”
That was my favorite part of “Tiny Furniture”– when your Mom, who plays your mom in the film, screams, “You’re not even sleeping with him!”
My Mom and I just re-watched that at the event we did together, and she was laughing because it all came from our life.
What is the status of your book?
I’m almost done. I’m spending another two weeks on it, and then it goes to copyediting. I just saw some covers. I’m actually reading at Carnegie Hall tonight. The book has been a joy to write and a completely different experience than making the show. |
In an unprecedented turn of events, the Indian government has approved the building of a private sector small arms factory at Malanpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Previously, the Indian small arms industry has been entirely nationalized, with the Ministry of Defence-run Ordnance Factories Board overseeing the production of everything from armored vehicles to the somewhat notorious Nirbheek revolver designed for sale to Indian civilian women. Now, however, the Indian engineering group Punji Lloyd are partnering with Israeli Weapons Industries to open the very first private sector small arms factory in the nation. The factory is part of a new effort to meet the long-unfulfilled needs of the Indian military for modern, quality small arms in the wake of the government’s decision to scale back issuance of the troubled INSAS assault rifle in favor of older models like the AKM.
The full press release is below:
Press Release Punj Lloyd and IWI set-up India’s First Private Sector Small Arms Manufacturing Plant at Malanpur, Madhya Pradesh Malanpur, Madhya Pradesh, 4 May, 2017 – Diversified conglomerate Punj Lloyd and its JV Partner, Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) today inaugurated the country’s first Private Sector Small Arms Manufacturing Plant at Malanpur in Madhya Pradesh. Presided over by the Honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Honourable Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, the inauguration was attended by personnel from the Indian Armed Forces, State Police, Coastguard, Paramilitary, the media and dignitaries from the Indian Administrative Service. The joint venture company, Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems (PLR) will be manufacturing small arms for the Indian Defence Forces and also for export. Speaking on the occasion, Samy Katsav, Chairman, SK Group said, “We are indeed fortunate to have in Punj Lloyd a reliable and knowledgeable partner. It is after a lot of due diligence in the Indian market that we identified Punj Lloyd for this partnership. Through this collaboration, we offer the combination of battle proven combat technology of IWI and the proficiency of a renowned Indian business partner. I am extremely upbeat about the opportunities in the sector and confident of contributing to the Make in India programme. Punj Lloyd Chairman, Atul Punj said, “This is the first opportunity for the country to get its own ‘Made in India’ Small Arms.The need of the hour is to replace the country’s defence weapons with sophisticated and high precision products and Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems is the answer to the country’s immediate need.” Further Mr Punj said, “These are tried and tested battle proven products already being used within the country. It is the first time in India that we are coming together with the complete technology to manufacture these products as ‘Made in India’.” Present on the occasion, Michel Ben-Baruch, Head of SIBAT, Israel Ministry of Defence said, “Israel’s Ministry of Defense fully and wholeheartedly supports this cooperation and will continue to support the transfer of technology and information also in the future, for the betterment of improved advanced tools. Israel and India consider their defense industry cooperation as a monumental step forward, towards a future of immense potential. “ H.E. Daniel Carmon, Israel’s Ambassador to India said, “Now celebrating 25 years, India and Israel’s growing partnership is multifaceted and ever expanding. The relationship is built on the strengths of each country, contributing to the security and prosperity of both peoples. I applaud the establishment of joint cooperation ventures, such as between Punj Lloyd and Israel Weapons Industries, taking up Israeli President Rivlin’s call for Israel to ‘Make in India, Make with India’. I hope to see many more such joint endeavors ranging from Security to Food Security, Water to Cyber, Start-up to Space. ”
It is intuitively obvious that this decision will result in the adoption of an Indian-made license-produced IWI rifle and possibly also a machine gun as a replacement for the aging fleet of Indian infantry weapons, including the INSAS. The betting horse in this case is likely the Tavor (or X95) which has been used by Indian special forces since 2002, and which has also been license-produced by the OFB. However, it is also possible that the 7.62×39 Galil ACE may be chosen instead, due to its compatibility with the existing AKM architecture in Indian service. Regardless of which is adopted, the establishment of the new factory constitutes an implicit statement regarding the Indian government’s loss of faith in the ability of the OFB’s factories to produce quality weapons to meet Indian defense needs. |
In one day, with one policy announcement, mayoral candidate David Soknacki has managed to double or triple or quadruple his recognition among voters. Now he is known as the candidate who, if elected mayor of Toronto, would kill the planned Bloor-Danforth subway extension’s two stops to Scarborough centre; instead, he’d return to the original plan for an LRT in the corridor.
Toronto mayoral candidate David Soknacki produces some campaign buttons to give out during a Tuesday morning press conference at which he said he'd return to an LRT plan for Scarborough if elected. ( Chris So / Toronto Star )
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Stepping back to move forward may indeed be prudent. It may save $1 billion. It may even get transit improvements in place faster than the subway. But is it politically wise in Toronto, circa 2014? If the former city councillor’s intent was to gain attention, mission accomplished. But it is a risky gambit. For, in a city weary of transit debates and flip-flops and stalled projects, and a year featuring an interminable and divisive fight over this very project, Soknacki’s call to hit the reset button on transit in Scarborough has all the ingredients to either ignite his campaign or blow it to smithereens. One sure outcome is this: People now know Soknacki — even as they are learning to pronounce his name.
An LRT to Scarborough barely begins to define the man — a self-made businessman, political moderate, fiscal conservative, consensus-building former budget chief under David Miller — but this is how he will be referenced. For better or worse.
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Context is everything here. Transit City envisioned replacing the current Scarborough RT with an LRT system that would be part of a network of sleek, modern light-rail vehicles running along Eglinton, Sheppard, Finch, and later, Jane and Don Mills Rd. In essence, it would be a modern light-rail system in its own right-of-way — better than the streetcars we know, but not a subway. Rob Ford campaigned on building subways instead. With private sector money. And no taxes. He won the election, declared Transit City dead, claimed Torontonians didn’t want no damn streetcars clogging up their roads, and bellowed, “subways, subways, subways.” Ford had no money for his dream, so council stuck with the LRT to replace the RT. But pro-subway sentiments were so strong in Scarborough that a subway became a magnet for votes. The provincial Liberals, contesting a by-election in a riding along the route, intervened and promised a subway. TTC chair Karen Stintz did an about-face and fronted a push for a re-examination of the plan. Enough Scarborough councillors on city council flipped their votes. And city council voted 24-20 for the subway. The problem is this. The new plan costs Toronto ratepayers alone an extra $1 billion, some $800 million of it to be paid from a property tax hike — contrary to what Ford promised. Soknacki adroitly seized on this to launch his bid for mayor. He argued: “I will lead council to cancel Mayor Ford’s $1 billion 30-year subway tax increase — and in so doing, deliver to the taxpayers of Toronto the largest single tax cut in the city’s history.” Polls have shown that Torontonians are split on the issue of LRT versus subways. They don’t know what to believe on claims around the two modes. And they also hear grumblings from some experts that none of the current plans will deliver the transit to ease gridlock. Into that environment, one might reasonably expect mayoral candidates to offer up proposals ranging from scrapping the entire plan to endorsing all the elements and adding some more. By reverting to the Miller plan, Soknacki is proving himself a wild card. He already has conservative credentials. He is a consensus builder. He knows the budget. And now he’s reaching out to progressive voters who would normally have no where to go except to the embrace of the left-leaning candidate like Olivia Chow, expected to run come spring. In other words, he’s trying to upend conservatives Karen Stintz and John Tory before they announce their intention to run; and he’s signaled to Chow that he’ll be a viable option for the progressive voter who has an eye on the pocketbook. Yes, Toronto may be too exhausted with the transit fight. But Soknacki grabbed the best chance he had to gain traction in what everyone expects will be a crowded field come spring. Royson James usually appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Email: rjames@thestar.ca |
If you found a letter addressed to the American Neo-Nazi Party on the sidewalk, would you put it in a mailbox? If the envelope was addressed to the Black Lives Matter movement, would it make a difference?
“What’s going on?” a post office employee in Ballard wondered to me, as she and her fellow letter carriers found more and more envelopes like these around the neighborhood, sometimes propped up on rocks, as if left for people to find. They left her feeling “creeped.”
An investigation into the letters uncovered that Seattle residents are the subject of an experiment by University of Washington sociologists, which seems to equate the American Neo-Nazi Party with the Black Lives Matter movement.
In the experiment, University of Washington graduate students place envelopes throughout Seattle neighborhoods addressed to either one of the two groups, or a third neutral party. They then collect data on which envelopes get mailed. It’s called the “lost letter" experiment, and is a contemporary take on an experiment first conducted by controversial Yale sociologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. That experiment also used the American Neo-Nazi party as an addressee on “lost” envelopes.
According to UW Sociology Professor Ross L. Matsueda — whose students are leading the study — the experiment is meant to provide an independent measure of a neighborhood’s altruism. How many people in a given neighborhood will pick up an apparently dropped, stamped, addressed letter and send it on its merry way, depending on the addressee?
An envelope addressed to the American Neo-Nazi Party. UW sociologists have been spreading these envelopes, as well as those addressed to Black Lives Matter, around Seattle neighborhoods.
Funded by the National Science Foundation and approved by UW’s Institutional Review Board, the UW study group wanted to replicate Milgram’s experiment, and build on similar studies conducted in Chicago and London.
As the UW study was designed, the American Neo-Nazi Party seemed “relevant again,” Matsueda said, with the resurgence of the far right in national politics. He did not anticipate it would be shocking or offensive to use the Black Lives Matter movement for contrast, implying equivalence between a fascist, racist organization and activists protesting the criminal justice system.
“We went back and forth on it quite a bit,” he said. “We weren’t thinking about shocking. Just different…. It was just a different organization that seemed to be relevant today.”
An earlier pilot study used a police organization instead of the Black Lives Matter movement, but the returns “weren’t that interesting,” Matsueda said.
For some, seeing envelopes addressed to the American Neo-Nazi Party on the sidewalk of a neighborhood — as if accidentally dropped by someone living nearby — could breed a sense of unease or outright dread. But according to Matsueda, the envelopes are actually supposed to measure the social cohesion of neighborhoods, not undermine that feeling.
The primary question of the experiment, he said, is how the rate at which envelopes are placed in mailboxes varies by neighborhood. Reprisals of Milgram’s study have been conducted in Chicago and London, and showed a possible correlation between “cohesive” neighborhoods (the ones that mailed envelopes in more often) and lower crime rates.
The UW experiment will theoretically support these findings, and identify neighborhoods with “collective advocacy” — the willingness of residents to intervene to prevent a crime or to help one another, such as providing CPR if a neighbor appears to be having a heart attack. Matsueda said it’s likely that more affluent neighborhoods will be more “cohesive” than poorer, “transient” neighborhoods, where he expects people may “act more selfishly” by not returning the letters, he said.
But that leaves a lot of questions. If a more conservative neighborhood returns the letters addressed to the American Neo-Nazi Party more often, and a neighborhood in South Seattle does the same with letters addressed to Black Lives Matter, what does that really prove? Will that allow researchers to predict which neighborhood has a stronger sense of community?
The pioneer of this study, Stanley Milgram, is infamous for his "obedience experiments" at Yale, which showed that ordinary people would administer increasingly painful shocks to innocent volunteers, to the point of causing apparent death, by heeding an authority figure over their moral judgment. These experiments were inspired by the Holocaust, and his choice of the American Neo-Nazi Party for his letters experiment was deliberate.
According to Matsueda, fieldwork for the UW study has completed, and the envelopes will not be distributed any further. Whether they were worth the negative feelings they inspired among the letter carriers I spoke with, not to mention neighborhood residents, remains to be seen. |
A woman visiting her mother and stepfather in central Florida for the holidays was shot and killed by her mother late Tuesday after she mistook the victim for an intruder, police said.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that a 27-year-old woman was pronounced dead at a local hospital after the shooting in St. Cloud, approximately 25 miles southeast of Orlando.
St. Cloud police Sgt. Denise Roberts said Wednesday that the 45-year-old mother was asleep when she heard someone enter her home shortly before midnight Tuesday. The mother told police she heard footsteps approaching quickly so she fired a single shot.
Roberts said the daughter had been visiting from North Carolina and didn't live in the home.
St. Cloud police officials said the mother is a 911 dispatcher for Osceola County and her husband is a St. Cloud police corporal. Authorities have asked reporters not to identify the family members because of the husband's past work as an undercover narcotics officer.
Detectives were investigating the case but say the mother's story matches the evidence so far.
"At this time, the incident appears to be an accidental shooting," the news release said.
The state attorney's office will review the shooting to decide whether charges should be filed after the St. Cloud Police Department has completed its investigation.
Because the shooter wasn't a law enforcement officer, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will not be investigating.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
Israeli researchers have made a major breakthrough in the search for an efficient method of producing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). In research published in Nature this week, scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science report that by removing a single protein from mice skin cells, they are able to produce iPS cells with near perfect efficiency. The standard conversion rate from normal to pluripotent cells in mice is 10%. Simply by removing the protein Mbd3 the researchers claim that they can raise this to almost 100%.
Using this method scientists can insure cells revert back to a pluripotent state within one week. At the moment, cell reversion is irregular and sometimes takes months, making the process difficult to monitor.
Whilst the study is primarily based on mice cells, researchers believe the technique will greatly increase conversion efficiency in human cells.
"This is the first report showing that you can make reprogramming as efficient as anyone was hoping for,” says Konrad Hochedlinger, a stem-cell scientist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. Journalists from Nature believe the research is "evidence that cellular identity is a surprisingly malleable property that might be reforged — for example, to generate cell types of therapeutic value." |
WikiLeaks on Tuesday published a massive trove of documents purportedly pertaining to the CIA’s hacking programs — the first of many document dumps the site says it has coming on the intelligence agency.
The documents contain descriptions of hacking tools, engineering notes, internal communications and more. The release did not immediately appear to have included the tools themselves, and agent names have been redacted.
This is the first leak from a CIA project the site is calling “Vault 7.” WikiLeaks first released an encrypted version of this batch of documents, nicknamed “Year Zero,” on Twitter late Monday.
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The site provided a password for the documents around 8 a.m. Tuesday, about an hour before the documents’ intended release time, due to alleged cyberattacks on the online press conference that WikiLeaks head Julian Assange tried to host in advance of the release.
"'Year Zero’, comprises 8,761 documents and files from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virgina [sic],” a press release accompanying the leaks read.
The leaks reveal a hacking operations center called the Center for Cyber Intelligence Europe based out of the Frankfurt Consulate.
An acclimation guide for operatives rotating in for temporary duty at the center explains some of the lesser tradecraft involved in working in the covert base. For example, if asked “Why are you here?” it says to answer: "Supporting technical consultations at the Consulate."
But it also reveals some of the banalities of life traveling for the agency. The guide gives advice on how to manage finances — get a travel credit card, make sure to leave with as few euros as possible — warns that grocery stores might be closed for new agents arriving in Germany on a Sunday and recommends recruits send their own diplomatic cables regarding their move to Germany in order to learn how to send cables.
“Seriously, if you have never written a cable in your entire career, do it yourself. Learn to write a cable: believe it or not, it's a handy skill,” the guide reads.
The guide also provides travel tips — “Flying Lufthansa: Booze is free so enjoy (within reason)! Flying United: My condolences, but at least you are earning a United leg towards a status increase” — and suggests taking advantage of duty-free stores in the airport before returning stateside — “Buy something in Duty Free, because you're awesome and you deserve it! (Might I recommend a travellers' edition single malt whisky?”
The leaks also include forums for improving hacking operations. One notes that researchers at Kaspersky Lab uncovered an National Security Agency-affiliated hacking toolkit known as the Equation Group, and asks agents to spitball methods of not being similarly discovered.
Hacking tools detailed in the leaks include mobile device breaching tools for both iPhone and Android, defeating antivirus programs and a program developed with Britain to hack Samsung smart televisions known as “Weeping Angel.”
"Weeping Angel" lets the television appear off while actually being on.
Other tools allowed for hackers who had to breach networks on-site to appear to be doing other things, including playing video games such as Brickout or listening to music.
WikiLeaks’s press release cites an executive order it claims President Trump signed in February “calling for a 'Cyberwar' review to be prepared within 30 days.”
The press release says “the timeliness and relevance” of the leaks is aided by the order.
In fact, Trump has not signed an executive order on cybersecurity, though he has come close — even going so far as having the press briefed on an executive order before a scheduled signing event.
WikiLeaks ends its press release on "Year Zero" with a Q-and-A, including encouragement to citizen and professional journalists alike to delve into the documents and find more interesting stories.
“Won't other journalists find all the best stories before me?
“Unlikely. There are very considerably more stories than there are journalists or academics who are in a position to write them.”
Updated at 10:28 a.m. |
Back in March 2017, the YouTube channel known as SourceFed came to an end shortly after the merger of Group Nine Media. The hosts and staff all went in various directions following the cancelation, but one of the biggest standouts from that fallout was Steven Suptic. His channel started as a pseudo-documentary of his life afterward, which grew and morphed into what is now Sugar Pine 7, which is now part of the Rooster Teeth family and won “Best Show” at the Streamys this year. Today, they released their Season 2 finale before going on a short break and continuing Season 3 in 2018. We had a chance to chat with Suptic about his career, the content, and everything behind-the-scenes for one of 2017’s fastest growing channels.
Steven Suptic
BC: Hey Steven! First thing, for those who may not know you, tell us about yourself.
SS: Howdy! I’m Steve and I run a YouTube channel called Sugar Pine 7. We make parody vlogs centered around a group of inane friends experiencing each other and the world around them. We stole every idea from Arrested Development also.
How did you all meet everyone before Sugar Pine 7 started?
Cib and I knew each other for quite a while, five years almost. We met when I entered an Airbnb room for a convention and he was naked and sweating. We were best friends ever since. Years later, James Deangelis, Autumn Farrell, and I all worked for a channel called SourceFed. Autumn was a brand new editor, fresh out of Arizona, barely breaching YouTube’s womb when I snatched her from the clutches of a corporation and gave her an even worse salary. She actually was interviewing at Rooster Teeth at the time, (the company we’re partnered with, also the company who pays me) and I offered her a job at SP7 using the money Rooster Teeth paid me. She ended up taking the job with SP7 so I think RT really shot themselves in the foot by partnering with us. James was a PA at SourceFed, and nobody talked to him. He was sort of the black sheep because he had eighty-four ingrown hairs and couldn’t even speak until spoken to. The first words he ever said to me were: “water…”. It turns out he hadn’t had anything to drink for upwards of three months because he thought he didn’t deserve it.
I know you’ve somewhat documented it, but what were your thoughts about what you wanted to do when you learned SourceFed was ending?
I always felt like SourceFed was going to end. The original hosts were the only thing keeping it together. The new hosts, myself included, could never compare, and that was identifiable in office and through the content. The question wasn’t “if” Sourcefed was going to end, but “when”, and when it did, I had my personal channel to fall back on. At the time I was doing uninspired reaction and challenge videos to earn extra money to keep an audience while working at Sourcefed, but with two jobs, I could never really commit to anything more serious. I made a few videos in the past, based off of “Nathan For You” and I really enjoyed freeze frame narrated content. I remember seeing a comment in one of the videos saying “Hey I would actually watch a lot more of this kind of stuff”, and I took that to heart. I could never have guessed those freeze-frame narrated videos would mean so much to my career and livelihood.
How did the concept come about to expand what you were already doing on your own channel into an ongoing series?
Above all else, my passion is story-telling. I get my rocks off by making people feel things, and I felt like I was working with a group of people who could make a great story. When viewership didn’t plateau like Cib and I thought it would, we slowly realized there was something more to these videos. We loved making them and people seemed to enjoy watching them, and it was as simple as that. We couldn’t see ourselves doing anything else.
Was there any planning behind what you would do for each episode? Or was it more experimentation and seeing if certain things worked?
We used to start off with an idea, just in one sentence, then run around Los Angeles filming miscellaneous happenings. Afterwards, I’d piece it together with narration and find the story there. Now, we try to bullet point certain gags. We had to become more organized in order to continue making videos because there’s only so much “here’s a brief idea, let’s go out and see what happens”, you can do before you start having to scrap videos because they didn’t work out.
What was it like transitioning from being a host within a group to being a leading personality with friends who became leading roles themselves?
I loved hosting at SourceFed, and I loved not being the center of attention there, watching while much funnier people did much funnier things. Now, I get to sit back and listen to Cib, James, and Autumn pull offensive and inaccurate jargon from the depths of their minds while I have my own comfort in narrating. It’s a great system that allows for real catharsis and growth with each other
What was the initial reaction from people when they started seeing the new content back in March and April?
Overwhelmingly positive! There were few people who missed the old content, and I totally understand why. You could get the videos I was making before on countless other channels.
How was it for each of you to adapt your own personalities and humor into the on-camera personas you were creating?
There are times where it’s easy and still to this day, there are times where we just don’t know what we want to do. Everyone at SP7 struggles with who they want their character to be, and there are positives and negatives to that. On one side, it’s amazing that we have a platform and content schedule, unlike TV where if something goes wrong, we haven’t already filmed the whole season and we’re screwed, on the other hand… it’s dangerous to play with a character too much. You start changing their dynamic too often and people will give up on them. It’s a difficult line to cross sometimes.
What led to getting involved with Rooster Teeth and what’s it been like working with them?
I’ve been a longtime fan of Rooster Teeth, and I knew some contacts there from a previous partnership deal that fell through. I appreciate Rooster Teeth because they advise without overstepping, yet the advice they give is invaluable. There are great minds working at RT, and I hope to learn as much as I can with them.
What’s the interaction been like with all the properties? I’ve seen videos with Funhaus, Cow Chop, and invading On The Spot. But how have things been with other properties?
Our appearances on other shows tend to be polarizing. We’re usually in character, which makes people happy who can relate our cadence and quips to gags from the show, but to outsiders, we are super fucking annoying.
How has it been changing the dynamic of the group to bringing Autumn in as a regular member, to Parker leaving and coming back, to adding in all the people who make up Sugar Pine 7 these days?
The group dynamic absolutely changes with additions and departures. Sometimes, you lose a little bit of what you used to be. That’s pretty tough when you have to make episodes almost every day. The biggest change was definitely Parker. We lost a lot of the “happy go lucky” nature of the show, which I don’t think was necessarily a bad thing. Change happens, and the heart of our show is seeing how the characters change.
It seems like everything you shoot if half scripted and half improv on the spot. How hard does it make for creating a single episode when you’re trying to find what you want on the fly?
It’s a good mental exercise, I’ll tell you that. Keeps us on our feet. The plus side of improv is that it feels more real than scripted content, but there are a lot of bad, lazy days, where we just can’t think of a single thing, or we shoot something that we’re not fond of and have to scrap it
How has life been for everyone in the new office? What plans do you have for the rest of the space?
Life is comfortable, which creates a sense of complacency, unfortunately. It’s nice to have a location that we all show up at, instead of whoever’s house day-of, but we try to shoot outside of the office as often as we can to freshen up the videos.
You ended Season 1 a few months ago, and it seems like there’s kind of a plan for how things are going in Season 2. Do you have an idea of where you want to take things yet?
We’re releasing the Season 2 finale within the next week or so, and we’re still ironing out final details. We have the ending done, but a lot of content leading up to it needs to be finalized. That’s the best part of working on this show though. It’s a living, breathing piece that can change at a moments notice.
Outside of the channel, what other projects are you working on?
I’m working on a novel right now, not like a YouTuber novel, but like an actual one. I don’t know if it will be good yet, but so far I’m proud of what I’ve written. I like Riverdale, so my opinion on writing might not be worth considering. I know James and Cib are working on songs they plan to release soon as well. We’re all about to put out an acoustic version of “Just a Couple Friends”, which is what I think people wanted from us in the first place. Autumn is working on getting a job at Funhaus.
Any thoughts you want to send out to the fans who have supported you, or to people who haven’t checked you out yet?
To anyone who watches our videos, I speak for everyone at SP7 by saying the most joy we can possibly get in our lives is you feeling something from our content. You could even hate what we do, but as long as it isn’t indifference, you are the reason we make these videos. To someone who’s never watched a video from us before, I recommend starting from Season 1 Episode 1, otherwise holy shit you will not understand a damn thing and that is probably not a good sign of our approachability.
About Gavin Sheehan Gavin has been a lifelong geek who can chat with you about comics, television, video games, and even pro wrestling. He can also teach you how to play Star Trek chess, be your Mercy on Overwatch, recommend random cool music, and goes rogue in D&D. He also enjoys standup comedy, Let's Play videos and trying new games, along with hundreds of other geeky things that can't be covered in a single paragraph. Follow @TheGavinSheehan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Vero, for random pictures and musings.
(Last Updated )
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ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden is officially listed as doubtful to play Sunday night against the San Diego Chargers with a strained right hamstring.
Realistically, McFadden likely will not play again until Oct. 27, at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That would give McFadden two-plus games and a bye week to heal after he pulled the hamstring in the first half against Washington last week.
"I think (sitting out is) going to help me out a whole lot," McFadden said Friday. "But at the same time we're just taking it day-to-day right now.
"Just walking around and stuff you can feel it a little bit. It's tight, sore, so hamstrings are one of those things you want to be careful with. I'd rather miss one or two games than to come back and pop it and miss four or five."
McFadden has had an injury-plagued career in Oakland since the Raiders made the two-time Heisman Trophy finalist out of Arkansas the No. 4 overall pick in 2008. He has never played more than 13 games in a season, missing time with toe, knee, hamstring, foot and ankle maladies.
Entering this year, he had missed 14 of the Raiders' previous 33 games. McFadden, who is in a contract year, was asked to describe his level of frustration.
"Man, I can't even describe it and put it into words," he said. "I just try to keep my head up and keep pushing forward and stay positive."
McFadden, who had a career-low 3.3 yards per carry average last season, has rushed for 215 yards on 53 carries thus far this season for a 4.1 per carry average. But if you take out his four long runs against Jacksonville, which total 108 yards, McFadden has 107 yards on 49 carries, an average of just 2.2 yards per carry.
Raiders coach Dennis Allen said McFadden was getting "closer" to returning.
"But whether he's ready to play or not," Allen added, "he's doubtful for the game, so ... "Can he be effective? If he can be effective, he'll be in there to play. If he can't be, then he won't be. It's really pretty simple."
McFadden actually came back into the game after straining the hamstring against Washington before shutting it down and watching the second half of the Raiders' 24-14 loss in street clothes.
"It was more of a burst-type deal," he said. "You can't get up to full speed and take off like you need to.
"I was feeling it in game mode, just trying to push through it. I got taped up and stuff and tried to push through it and then I felt it even more. So in the end, it was a smart decision that I needed to sit it down."
And yet, there remains a sliver of hope McFadden will play against the Chargers.
"Like I said, we're going to take it day to day and if I come in here and run like I need to tomorrow then you'll see me out there Sunday," McFadden said. |
ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday decided to sue Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan over his allegations that he was offered Rs10 billion for keeping mum on the Panama Leaks case, sources told Geo News.
They said that the decision was taken in a high-level consultative meeting, held to review the Supreme Court’s decision on Panama Leaks case.
Sources said that a defamation notice would be sent to Imran Khan over his claims. A team of legal experts has also been constituted in this regard.
During the meeting, the premiere rejected Imran Khan's claim, saying that he has always presented himself before the courts and people, further adding that lies and defamation have always failed against him.
Earlier, Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif dismissed the allegation by saying: "Imran Khan has made a record of lying, I have the right to take this up in the court of law."
The CM said that if the PTI chief's allegations of Sharif's friend offering him Rs10 billion as a bribe in Dubai is proven true, the public "should not forgive him till the end of days."
Meanwhile, Imran Khan has maintained that he would not reveal the name of the person who made Rs10 billion offer.
Speaking in an interview, Khan said that the person who made an offer is close to Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif but in case if he reveals his name, the person will get into trouble, further adding that the offer was made two weeks ago.
Khan also said that the Rs 10bn was just an initial offer.
While speaking during a gathering at Shaukat Khanum Hospital, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf alleged that he had been made an offer during the Supreme Court`s Panama case.
"Just imagine how much money he offered me to be silent. Rs10 billion... If he can offer me this much money, just imagine how much he would offer to others. That is why if we don't maintain public pressure this issue then after two months it will be dragged to next year," Khan said.
In her reaction, Maryam Nawaz, daughter of Nawaz Sharif, on Wednesday said that she "fears for the fate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman in the hereafter".
In her tweet, she noted that the PTI chief at times says that he was made the offer by an aide of Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif, while on others he says it was Hamza Shahbaz's friend who offered the huge sum to his affiliate in Dubai.
"I fear for this man's Hereafter! " the first daughter said in her tweet. |
German Chancellor Angela Merkel | Sean Gallup/Getty Images Angela Merkel: No special treatment for Brits The UK can’t expect to keep the privileges of EU membership without any obligations, says the chancellor.
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the U.K. on Tuesday to expect "no special treatment" in its future relationship with the EU now that it has decided to leave the European "family."
“The question of whether a country wants to remain a member of the European Union or not has to make a noticeable difference,” Merkel said in a speech to the German parliament ahead of an EU summit, where British Prime Minister David Cameron will meet EU leaders for the first time since the Brexit vote.
“Anyone who wants to leave this family can't expect to get rid of all obligations while holding onto privileges,” she said, adding: “We will make sure the negotiations aren't based on the principle of cherry picking.”
The German chancellor and the leaders of France and Italy said in Berlin on Monday that Britain should activate the formal process for exiting the European Union, known as Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, and ruled out holding any talks on the terms of divorce until it has done so.
Merkel said the remaining 27 EU member countries should aim to have a roadmap for their own future by March 2017, on the 60th anniversary of the founding Treaty of Rome. |
In urban ecosystems, socioeconomics contribute to patterns of biodiversity. The ‘luxury effect’, in which wealthier neighbourhoods are more biologically diverse, has been observed for plants, birds, bats and lizards. Here, we used data from a survey of indoor arthropod diversity (defined throughout as family-level richness) from 50 urban houses and found that house size, surrounding vegetation, as well as mean neighbourhood income best predict the number of kinds of arthropods found indoors. Our finding, that homes in wealthier neighbourhoods host higher indoor arthropod diversity (consisting of primarily non-pest species), shows that the luxury effect can extend to the indoor environment. The effect of mean neighbourhood income on indoor arthropod diversity was particularly strong for individual houses that lacked high surrounding vegetation ground cover, suggesting that neighbourhood dynamics can compensate for local choices of homeowners. Our work suggests that the management of neighbourhoods and cities can have effects on biodiversity that can extend from trees and birds all the way to the arthropod life in bedrooms and basements.
1. Introduction
In cities, humans exert a strong effect on biodiversity. In addition to being influenced by gradients in climate or habitat, biodiversity in cities can also be strongly influenced by socioeconomics. Affluence, along with its many associated phenomena, tends to have a positive effect on biodiversity, a so-called luxury effect [1–4]. Patterns of greater species richness in higher-income neighbourhoods have been demonstrated for both plants and animals, including birds [5], lizards [6] and bats [7]. The first studies of the luxury effect focused on plants and found an increase in plant diversity at the scale of neighbourhoods associated with higher income [1,2]. Plants in urban areas, more so than animals, have a direct link to socioeconomics as vegetative landscaping is dependent on human decision-making and financial resources. Plant coverage and diversity can then directly influence animal diversity (including that of arthropods) through the provision of food resources and habitats [8]. The diversity of birds, for example, has been shown to be associated with affluence, with high vegetation cover as an explanatory mechanism [5].
In contrast to the recognized pattern of increased biodiversity in wealthier neighbourhoods, there is a general perception that homes in poorer neighbourhoods harbour more indoor arthropods [9,10]. The ecology of the indoor biome is relatively unexplored, yet recent work has revealed that it harbours more biodiversity than previously recognized [11]. Our own research characterizing indoor arthropods revealed that the average home contains more than a hundred arthropod species [12]; the vast majority of these species being non-pests.
Here, we expand our focus on arthropods in the indoor environment, beyond the pest groups traditionally studied by urban entomologists, to examine indoor biodiversity patterns from a local and landscape perspective. Using data from our previous survey of arthropods inside 50 houses [12], we ask how the surrounding landscape context, both ecologically and economically, influences the diversity and composition of arthropods inside homes. By building upon previous studies of the luxury effect, we explore whether socioeconomic factors that have been found to drive plant coverage and diversity outdoors influence the prevalence of arthropods that find their way indoors.
2. Methods
Our study system was located in and around Raleigh, North Carolina in the southeastern United States. We thoroughly sampled all living and dead arthropods found inside 50 homes within a 65 km radius of central Raleigh through active searching and hand collecting (further details in reference [12]). We collected the specimens to represent all morphotypes in a house, but not their abundance (e.g. we did not collect all ants observed if they were the same species). Specimens were identified to the family level, and we therefore use the term ‘arthropod diversity’ throughout to refer to number of arthropod families. No spatial autocorrelation was detected for house arthropod diversity or each landscape variable when assessed by Mantel tests in R package ‘ade4’ [13]. All analyses were performed in R 3.2.0 [14].
We considered several biological, geophysical and socioeconomic variables at local and landscape scales that we hypothesized could influence indoor arthropod diversity (table 1), and scaled them from 0 to 1. We then created a correlation matrix with these initial 12 variables with R package corrplot [15] (electronic supplementary material, figure S1). We found some variables to be highly correlated with one another (Pearson's r > |0.5|), so restricted our analyses to seven factors that maximized coverage and questions of interest. On the landscape scale, we included remotely sensed canopy cover within a 100 m radius, remotely sensed impervious surface area within a 500 m radius, and mean neighbourhood income at the census block level. On the scale of each property's extent, we included house age, local ground vegetation diversity, local ground vegetation cover and local canopy cover. We suspected house square footage of being linked with sampling effort, so included it in the model to account for potential bias. We then used R package glmulti, which does automated model selection with generalized linear models (GLMs) [16], to generate GLMs of all possible model combinations with a Poisson distribution (with house arthropod diversity as the response variable and the explanatory variables listed above) and automatically select the best model based on Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayes information criterion (BIC) scores. Then, with the most critical environmental variables identified, we tested for the effect of interactions among those that made biological sense.
Table 1.Biological, geophysical and socioeconomic variables. All of these variables were considered for inclusion in the analyses. Based on a correlation matrix with these initial 12 variables (electronic supplementary material, figure S1), we found some to be highly correlated with one another (Pearson's r > |0.5|), so we restricted our analyses to those factors that maximized coverage and questions of interest. These variables are indicated in the ‘used’ column below. sp., species. Collapse code variable scale used details groundDiv local ground vegetation diversity local (house property extent) yes assessed as low (0–5 sp.), medium (6–15 sp.) or high (>15 sp.); for plants <1.5 m tall canopyDiv local canopy diversity local (house property extent) no assessed as low (0–5 sp.), medium (6–15 sp.) or high (>15 sp.); for plants >1.5 m tall groundCover local ground vegetation cover local (house property extent) yes assessed as low (0–33%), medium (34–66%) or high (67–100%) canopyCover local canopy cover local (house property extent) yes assessed as low (0–33%), medium (34–66%) or high (67–100%) houseAge house age local (house property extent) yes public property records obtained through online realty website (trulia.com), as of 2015 totalValue house value local (house property extent) no public property records obtained through online realty website (trulia.com), as of 2015 sqFeet house square footage local (house property extent) yes public property records obtained through online realty website (trulia.com), as of 2015 income mean neighbourhood household income landscape (census block) yes American Community Survey 2011 dataset at the census block level, obtained through R package ‘acs’ imp100m impervious surface area landscape (100 m radius) no National Land Cover Database 2011, accessed through the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC) imp500m impervious surface area landscape (500 m radius) yes National Land Cover Database 2011, accessed through the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC) can100m canopy cover landscape (100 m radius) yes National Land Cover Database 2011, accessed through the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC) can500m canopy cover landscape (500 m radius) no National Land Cover Database 2011, accessed through the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC)
We also explored how different arthropod taxonomic groups may be differentially affected by these variables. We tested for variation of the indoor arthropod community composition with the above-mentioned variables by conducting a permutational multivariate analysis of variance [17] test based on Bray–Curtis dissimilarity with 9999 permutations. These analyses were performed using the adonis function in R package vegan [18].
Our dataset used in these analyses has been uploaded as part of the electronic supplementary material.
3. Results and discussion
Here, we found that indoor arthropod diversity was best predicted by models that take into consideration not only house square footage, local ground vegetation cover and diversity, but also mean neighbourhood income (table 2a,b and figure 1). Although we expected that indoor arthropod diversity would increase both with house size and with surrounding plant coverage and diversity in local gardens, we were surprised by the strong support for a persistent and significant positive association of arthropod diversity with mean neighbourhood income. Figure 1. Model-averaged importance of terms (calculated by the sum of the Akaike weights for all models). House square footage (sqFeet), local ground vegetation cover (groundCover), mean neighbourhood income (income) and local ground vegetation diversity (groundDiv) were the most important variables for predicting indoor arthropod diversity. (Online version in colour.)
Table 2.Best model summary output tables. Pseudo-R2 calculated as 1 – (residual deviance/null deviance): (a) based on AIC score; (b) based on BIC score and (c) with interaction term. Collapse variable estimate s.e. z-value p-value (a) AIC = 548.9029; pseudo-R2 = 0.391 formula: numFam ∼groundDiv+groundCover+income+sqFeet+imp500m (intercept) 3.39257 0.08091 41.93 <0.001 local ground vegetation diversity 0.22532 0.06238 3.612 <0.001 local ground vegetation coverage 0.30292 0.07075 4.282 <0.001 mean neighbourhood income 0.40011 0.08974 4.459 <0.001 house square footage 0.62026 0.07957 7.795 <0.001 impervious surface area at 500 m radius 0.16108 0.10105 1.594 0.110918 (b) BIC = 558.874; pseudo-R2 = 0.385 formula: numFam∼groundDiv+groundCover+income+sqFeet (intercept) 3.46595 0.06611 52.428 <0.001 local ground vegetation diversity 0.20631 0.06146 3.357 <0.001 local ground vegetation coverage 0.31647 0.07036 4.498 <0.001 mean neighbourhood income 0.3798 0.08897 4.269 <0.001 house square footage 0.57488 0.07456 7.71 <0.001 (c) AIC = 537.78; pseudo-R2 = 0.418 formula: numFam ∼groundDiv+groundCover+income+sqFeet+groundCover × income (intercept) 3.39257 0.08091 41.93 <0.001 local ground vegetation diversity 0.22418 0.06162 3.638 <0.001 local ground vegetation coverage 0.74517 0.13474 5.531 <0.001 mean neighbourhood income 0.98593 0.181514 5.325 <0.001 house square footage 0.59093 0.07487 7.892 <0.001 interaction (ground cover × income) −1.12461 0.30257 −3.717 <0.001
Our finding, that indoor arthropod diversity increases in neighbourhoods with higher mean income, mirrors the ‘luxury effect’ found in studies of biodiversity in the urban outdoor environment [5–7,19]. In light of previous studies of the luxury effect [1–4] and our characterization of indoor arthropods [12], we hypothesize that affluence contributes to indoor arthropod richness by directly influencing plant coverage and diversity outdoors (at the neighbourhood level—as shown by references [1–4]), which in turn influences the prevalence of plant associated arthropods that then find their way indoors. In this scenario, our results suggest a broad ranging luxury effect that appears to cascade from choices made in landscaping and urban planning at the scale of city blocks to the indoor environments of individual houses.
Indoor biodiversity tends to be a mix of both human-associated (synanthropic) species and outdoor species that are inadvertently filtered from the surrounding landscape [12]. In respect of arthropods, houses act as exceptional traps: passively collecting like Malaise traps, but also acting as light and bait traps. Broadly speaking, the majority of indoor arthropods are flies, spiders, beetles and ants—groups that are also common in outdoor environments. These groups are often highly mobile and their survival often depends on outdoor vegetation [12]. These outdoor species occur in houses alongside species that directly depend on humans and/or the built environment (e.g. dust mites, pantry pests). Indoor arthropod diversity is, in part, a reflection of the world outdoors.
As expected, we found that outdoor vegetative ground cover and diversity in gardens of individual houses predicted indoor arthropod diversity; however, we did not find that houses in higher-income neighbourhoods necessarily had more vegetation in their individual gardens. To better understand the impact of vegetation on indoor arthropod diversity, we further explored the interactions between income and our house-level vegetation variables. The addition of an interaction term between neighbourhood income and house-level ground vegetation cover decreased AIC scores, indicating that this interaction term further improved our models (table 1c).
The interaction term revealed that for houses whose gardens have limited ground vegetation cover, being located in a higher-income neighbourhood had a strong positive effect on indoor arthropod diversity (figure 2). Yet for houses that have gardens with high ground vegetation cover, neighbourhood income did not influence indoor arthropod diversity. We suspect that in higher-income neighbourhoods, enhancements at the neighbourhood scale (including higher vegetation overall—as found in references [1–4]) can compensate for limited vegetation in the garden of an individual house. Thus, simply being located in a higher-income neighbourhood may provide ecological benefits to outdoor and indoor biodiversity. This suggests that vegetation at the scale of neighbourhoods can be predictive of indoor arthropod diversity at the scale of individual houses. It matters, in short, not only how much vegetation you have in your garden, but how much is present in the gardens and other habitats nearby [20]. Figure 2. Interaction plot. For houses with low and medium levels of vegetative ground cover, neighbourhood income had a strong influence on number of arthropod families.
Although arthropod diversity across houses differed in association with ecological and socioeconomic variables, we found, based on our community composition analyses , that the types of arthropods found indoors did not appear to vary substantially with these same variables (electronic supplementary material, table S1). For a breakdown of arthropod taxonomic diversity inside low, medium and high income houses, see electronic supplementary material, table S2.
A point of consideration regarding our results is that both our diversity and community composition analyses were unable to address potential confounding factors associated with house size—such as sampling effort and an increased number of microhabitats. Another caveat is that all of our participants were solicited voluntarily and only free-standing houses were included; thus, our sample is skewed toward middle and higher-income neighbourhoods (range: $33 510–176 288; mean: $92 337 ± 30 385). Further work covering a broader range of housing types, and neighbourhood demographics and vegetation metrics may expose other taxonomic and diversity patterns that are currently undetected.
As more of the planet becomes urbanized, the proportion of the ecological world potentially influenced by human socioeconomics will increase. Mixed responses to urbanization have been found for plants and animals—in part because of the confounding luxury effect [19]. The luxury effect has not previously been documented in respect of indoor environments (or even arthropods in outdoor environments for that matter), but it seems to be a response that cascades from affluence: increased vegetation at the neighbourhood scale leads to greater outdoor arthropod diversity, which translates to higher indoor arthropod diversity. Our unexpected, and perhaps counterintuitive finding of higher indoor arthropod diversity in wealthier neighbourhoods highlights how much we have yet to learn about indoor ecology.
Ethics
This study was deemed exempt by the Internal Review Board at North Carolina State University.
Data accessibility
All data used for this study have been included as electronic supplementary material associated with this publication.
Authors' contributions
M.L. collected data and performed analyses. M.A.B., K.M.B. and M.D.T. collected field data. M.L., M.A.B., R.R.D. and M.D.T. each in part conceived of and designed the study, and helped draft the manuscript. All authors gave final approval and agree to be held accountable for this publication.
Competing interests
We have no competing interests.
Funding
This work was supported by National Science Foundation funding DEB 1257960, NSF Career 0953350, and the Doolin Foundation of Biodiversity. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Acknowledgements Thanks to volunteers who allowed us to sample arthropods in their homes. K. Oten, N. Brill, M. J. Epps, C. Penick, A. Savage, P. Turner and S. Turner helped collect specimens, and L. Ponisio provided statistical advice.
Footnotes |
Maqdamon is quitting, and he wants me to hold all his stuffs and make a giveaway thread for him.
I've been thinking about the giveaway rules since then.
An simple idea just came up in my mind and it is fair for every participaters.
That is RNG !!
I will set 15 random numbers from 1~3000.
Each one is a number of a particular award,
and the job of participaters will be guessing what the number is.
Rule
1. Each participater can only reply with 1 number and only 1 time as well.
2. First guess first win if there's a number which is guessed by more than one participater.
3. Reediting your reply is not allowed.
4. That's all.. lol.
Award
1
Unavailable
2
Unavailable
3
200ex
4
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable
5
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable
6
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable
7
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable
8
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable
9
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable
10
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable
11
Unavailable
12
40ex
13
40ex
14
10et
15
20ex + 5et
ENJOY THE RNG~~~!!!
Editted 1:
I wont maintain the thread or update about who get the award.
Editted 2:
I will contact you if you got the award.
So please dont ask me if you won.
Editted 3:
I will pause at 135th page, and continue tomorrow.
The verified awards now are 4,5, and 6, else were taken or waiting for being taken.
Eddited 4:
Still no winner for 4,5,6 awards.
First of all, my friendis quitting, and he wants me to hold all his stuffs and make a giveaway thread for him.I've been thinking about the giveaway rules since then.An simple idea just came up in my mind and it is fair for every participaters.That is!!I will set 15 random numbers from 1~3000.Each one is a number of a particular award,and the job of participaters will be guessing what the number is.ENJOY THE RNG~~~!!!Editted 1:I wont maintain the thread or update about who get the award.Editted 2:I will contact you if you got the award.So please dont ask me if you won.Editted 3:I will pause at 135th page, and continue tomorrow.The verified awards now are 4,5, and 6, else were taken or waiting for being taken.Eddited 4:Still no winner for 4,5,6 awards. Some items in this post are currently unavailable. IGN: Rayamn
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/723972 (Shop)
https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1114670 (Mirror Service)
Last edited by aphrodite_1289 on Jul 28, 2014, 8:17:50 PM |
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Paul Tobin, J. Torres, Dan Braun
Artist: Juan Ferreyra, Ron Salas, Peter Bagge
Release Date: 13th August 2014
This would be my first issue of Dark Horse’s acclaimed horror anthology, Creepy. For some reason, it always seemed to slip through the cracks when I was putting together my monthly ‘reading’ list. Too many books, not enough time I guess. However, I found myself drawn like a moth to a flame – or perhaps like a fly to a decaying corpse – to this particular issue, based solely on the prospect of seeing the team behind the frankly amazing Colder (Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra, for the uninitiated among you) combining for another horror yarn. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed.
Ferreyra and Tobin’s story takes a bleak, twisted look at ‘The Human Condition’, and once again shows the brilliant partnership between Paul’s sharp, intelligent writing and Juan’s beautifully detailed yet utterly disturbing artwork. With most of these stories, to delve too deeply into plot synopsis’ is to spoil the impact of the story themselves, but suffice to say that if you like the cover to this issue, you’re going to absolutely love this wonderful little slice of horror.
The other two stories vary slightly in quality, with ‘Arrangement of Skin’ providing a chilling look at taxidermy, while ‘The Duel of the Monsters’ seems to struggle slightly under the weight of its own premise, not quite delivering on the seemingly cant-miss Werewolf versus Vampire concept. That said, both are undoubtedly beautiful to look at, utilising a somewhat ‘dated’ artistic style – but in a good way.
One of the things I particularly liked about the format of Creepy was the change in tone from strip to strip. You have the main stories, each tackling horror in a fairly head-on manner, but these are broken up by light-hearted, humorous one-page strips featuring “The Creepy Family”, serving as almost a pallet cleanser between each horror ‘course’. A brilliant move, and one that made the anthology format flow much smoother than I’ve experienced in countless similar titles in the past.
Overall, while I’ll freely admit that I was only really here for Tobin and Ferreyra, the quality of the structure and the intriguing stories on display mean that I’m going to make damn sure Creepy doesn’t slip through the cracks again. Dark Horse horror at its absolute finest – and that’s definitely saying something.
Rating: 4/5
[Click thumbnail for full size image]
The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson (aka Ceej)
Article Archive: Ceej Says |
Did you know that Disney briefly employed the world’s most famous surrealist?
Salvador Dali was approached by Disney himself in 1945 to propose a collaborative film. Entitled Destino, the picture would be based upon a Mexican folk song of the same name, with the music played to accompany a sequence of Dali-designed animation. The overjoyed surrealist enthusiastically agreed and quickly began sketching storyboards.
Disney’s sudden turn to surrealism was an attempt to silence several of his critics who felt that his films all too often sacrificed genuine artistry at the altar of marketability—favoring tradition and safety over innovation and experimentation. The evocative Fantasia, released in 1940, had been a groundbreaking first step on this front, and the animator now hoped that Destino would keep this newfound momentum going.
But alas, the project died in infancy and Disney pulled the plug on the film after its third month of production. Though he would remain lifelong friends with Dali afterwards, nothing remains of their short-lived joint venture but a 15-second demo reel and a handful of rudimentary sketches.
However, some 54 years later, the development of Fantasia’s long-awaited sequel, Fantasia 2000, inspired Disney’s nephew, Roy, to finally revive the project. A team of French animators were brought on board to produce the six-minute film on the basis of Dali’s notes and storyboards. In 2003, his musical vision was released at long last. Their efforts are currently available on YouTube: |
It’s not difficult to read and listen about the wonders of Embarcadero DataSnap technology around the world. I attended the Delphi Conference 2011 and 2012 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, after the release of versions of Delphi XE2 and XE3, and the words “performance” and “stability” are not spared when the subject is DataSnap. Apparently a perfect solution for companies that have invested their lives in Delphi and now need to reinvent themselves and offer web and mobile services. But does DataSnap really work on critical conditions?
I found some references from other people talking about it on StackOverflow:
The company I work for stands as one of the five largest in Brazil when it comes to software for supermarkets. The main product is a considerably large ERP developed in Delphi (for over ten years). Recently we initiated a study to evaluate technologies that would allow us to migrate from client / server to n-tier application model. The main need was to be able to use the same business logic implemented on a centralized location on different applications.
The most obvious option is the DataSnap, which works very similarly to what is found in legacy applications. It can drag components, using dbExpress, for example.
We tested the DataSnap technology in order to know what level of performance and stability it provides and to verify if it really meets our requirements. Our main requirement was the server’s ability to manage many simultaneous connections, since the application is big and used by many users.
Objective
Our objective was to test the DataSnap REST API and to answer some questions:
How does it behave in an environment with many concurrent connections?
What is the performance in a critical condition?
Is it stable in critical condition?
Methodology
The tests are based on a lightweight REST method without any processing or memory allocation, returning only the text “Hello World”. The DataSnap server was created using the Delphi XE3 wizard and implemented the HelloWorld method. The testing was performed on all types of lifecycles (Invokation, Server and Session) and also with VCL and Console application. However, as the results were identical, the presented data is only based on the results obtained using the console version with “Server” lifecycle only.
We decided to create a few servers based on other technologies, not necessarily similar or with the same purpose, just to have a basis for comparison. Servers have been created using the following frameworks:
mORMot (Delphi)
ASP.NET WCF
Jersey/Grizzly (Java)
Node.JS (JavaScript)
As you can see, those are totally different frameworks, some with different purposes, in different languages. I want to make clear that we do not establish a comparison between the performance of frameworks, because we do not dominate these technologies. We will use them simply to get a sense of how they behave compared to DataSnap.
The hardware environment used in the tests:
We used the Jmeter tool for testing. The Jmeter is a great tool developed in Java specialized for server performance testing. Before anyone questions the use of this software, I obtained similar results with a software developed by myself in Delphi. The only problem we had was with faster servers, if we kept the focus on the results screen the tests were affected because the screen refresh rate delays the sending of HTTP packets to the server, but we took care for this not to occur during our tests.
Tests without concurrency
The first tests that were executed without concurrency in order to visualize the behavior of servers in a less critical situation. We did two tests, one with 100.000 and another with 1 million requests. This allowed us to evaluate whether the server behavior changes with increasing requests.
Performance testing (Requests per second) obtained the same result in both tests (100 thousand and 1 million requests):
We observe in this test that the other servers are practically 13 times faster than Datasnap, the difference is huge. It is also possible to note a bottleneck (since all other servers have obtained the same result), possibly in the amount of requests that the client machine can send using a single thread.
The tests of memory consumption had differences in the two tests (100 thousand and 1 million requests), so let’s look at both:
NOTE: The memory consumption of Java server needs to be evaluated carefully because it is the measurement of the java virtual machine.
In this graph we see two different behaviors. MORMot, WCF and Node.js servers use the same amount of memory to perform on both tests. The increase of requests made both the Java and DataSnap server raise their memory consumption significantly to get us worried enough.
Why is the server consuming so much memory only answering HelloWorld requests? Before seeing the results I would bet that none of the servers would use as much memory just to answer this simple request.
In the case of DataSnap, we note that even if the tests continue, without any pause to the server, executing 10 million requests for example, the memory consumption follows the trend of rise (to infinity and beyond). We consume up to 1GB of memory, only an answering HelloWord, how to explain this?
Another interesting detail is that to stop the tests, gradually and very slowly (taking hours in some cases), the memory consumption of the DataSnap server backs up to the level it was when it opens. Leaves the question, if the server works 24/7?
Tests with concurrency
These tests aim to stress the server and verify the maximum efficiency in the management of his requests and HTTP packets. We did two tests, one with 50 and another with 100 threads. Consequently 50 and 100 simultaneous requests, respectively. Each thread should send 100.000 requests to the server, totaling 5 and 10 million requests in the respective tests.
To my surprise and disappointment, it was not possible to perform this test with the DataSnap server. I tried several times and the server simply crash.
Evaluate the results of the other servers only.
Node.js got the worst result, but do not be fooled, because he got this result using only a single core. It is a limitation of the architecture of that framework, but I could, for example, have four instances initialized it and made a load balancing, which would bring me a performance higher than that obtained in this test. Unfortunately I did not had time to implement this solution.
The ASP.NET WCF and Java servers had very good results, with a certain advantage for WCF. Both had the same results with 50 and 100 threads, which indicates that this is their limit in this environment and hardware. During testing we noticed these servers use almost all hardware resources, while the client application worked at 60%, which indicates the limit on the server.
The mORMot server surprised me, firstly, the excellent results in the test with 100 threads, and then by the way he got this result. In contrast to what occurred in the Java and WCF server, we noted a use of only 50% of the resources of the server machine, while the client machine was at 100% of processor usage. This indicates that there was a bottleneck in the client application, and if there were a better client machine or more machines (in the case of a real application) the server could be even faster.
Considering the performance and especially efficiency, mORMot gave better results using these implementations, but in general, all of them had very good results, except the DataSnap, who did not complete the test.
The results of memory consumption remained similar to previous tests to mORMot, WCF and Node.Js servers. The Java server followed the trend already observed in other tests with a memory consumption proportional to the number of requests, at least concerning.
Conclusion
We conclude that the DataSnap has a serious stability problem when placed in an environment with concurrent connections. The server stops working even when we put only two concurrent connections under stress test, which is very worrying.
Watching the performance, we observed that the DataSnap is much slower than the other solutions tested.
Overall, I can say that all the other frameworks have the performance and stability that is necessary in a large application. In particular, the mORMot surprised me with a performance truly outstanding. The guys at Synopse are doing a fantastic job.
Why is the DataSnap so slow? And why it crashes?
Difficult to specify the cause of these problems without knowing all the DataSnap structure and without having participated in its development, but I have a theory.
Apparently, the structure of the HTTP communication framework makes use of the Indy components, which creates a thread for each HTTP request. This behavior causes the server to create and destroy dozens of threads per second, which causes a huge overhead. This overhead is certainly the cause of poor performance of the framework. Hard to say which is the cause of the problem that crashes the server but I believe it has a connection.
With the help of ProcessExplorer we view this overhead. This graph shows the threads that have been created recently (green) and those that are being destroyed (red).
Status of the first test:
Status of the second test with 100 threads, captured before the server crash:
In this image we can see that the server was running 47 threads and the list of threads being created and destroyed is huge.
Another important detail is that practically all consumption of CPU in DataSnap server is overhead in creating and destroying threads.
Final Thoughts
I’ll end with a quote from the text of Marco Cantù (Currently, Delphi Product Manager) in the book Delphi 2010 Handbook.
I think that if you want to build a very large REST application architecture you should roll out your own technology or use one of these prototypical architec-tures. For a small to medium size effort, on the other hand, you can probably benefit from the native DataSnap support.
All the source code of the servers, as well as the binaries and the Jmeter test plans are available for download at https://github.com/RobertoSchneiders/DataSnap_REST_Test.
I personally spoke with some staff of Embarcadero in São Paulo, on 10/23/2012 (Delphi Conference) about this problem. We informed Embarcadero of Brazil about the partial results of our tests on 10/30/2012 and sent the final results of the tests presented here on 11/14/2012 by e-mail. So far, nobody of Embarcadero offered support or any solution to the problem we are experiencing.
To all of the people involved in this testing period, I leave my thanks. I would like to thank Eurides Baptistella (Systems Analyst, Sysmo Sistemas) that created the Java server and helped in the preparation and execution of tests. To Adriano Baptistella (Systems Analyst, Sysmo Sistemas) for creating ASP.NET server. To Dean Michael Berris (Software Engineer, Google) and Everton Antunes de Oliveira (Development Research Analyst, Pixeon Medical Systems) per help with creating a c++ server (cpp-netlib), who unfortunately could not finish in time for use in testing. To Cesar Arnhold (Third Engineer Officer, Maersk Supply Service) and Mateus Artur Schneiders (Systems Analyst, QuickSoft) for reviewing this text.
If you liked this feel free to leave your comment.
This post continues on DataSnap analysis based on Speed & Stability tests – Part 2
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MUMBAI: Going by CCTV footage, a 40-year-old man has been detained from Hyderabad on suspicion of taking away 23-year-old Esther Anuhya from the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Kurla on January 5 soon after she arrived in the city. He has been brought to the city by crime branch and is being questioned.The software engineer went missing after arriving in the city from her hometown in Andhra Pradesh after Christmas vacation. Her partly-decomposed body was found in the mangroves near Kanjurmarg on January 16. It is suspected she was sexually assaulted before being killed, but her phone and ring were with her.CCTV footage from the station shows an unidentified thick-set man in white shirt and blue jeans carrying her luggage. Esther is walking alongside, glued to a cell phone. The man appears to have come to pick her up and may even have been acquainted with Esther. So far, the police had focused their probe on auto and taxi drivers operating outside LTT.Apart from the man's identity, another riddle for the cops is that of the mobile phone seen in the footage. Esther's personal phone, found near her body, had a dual SIM and no calls were made from either of her numbers after her train crossed the Maharashtra border. The possibilities that the cops are now probing is that either Esther had an additional phone which her family wasn't aware of or that the phone belonged to the man carrying her luggage.A police and GRP team met Esther's family in Hyderabad with the CCTV footage in a bid to identify him. They apparently said he wasn't related to them."Anuhya's father S J S Prasad had instructed her to stay till sunrise (at the station) and we can't understand why she ventured out. From the CCTV footage it appears that Anuhya is walking out with the man. We still don't know who he is and whether he is receiving her or lured her with promises of a lift," said a senior police officer, adding that a clearer picture will emerge by late night.Esther's train had reached LTT at 4.55am on January 5. The spot where she alighted on platform 3 isn't covered by CCTVs. "We started checking footage from other cameras at the terminus. Then we spotted Esther walking into a waiting hall in the old terminus. She did not stay in the waiting hall for long and walked out within minutes. Around 5.10am, we spotted her again in the CCTV grabs of platforms 4-5. This time, she was following the man who was carrying her luggage and seemed at ease. Why she ventured to platforms 4-5 when her train did not arrive there needs to be found out," said a senior official.The police have contacted TCS, where Esther worked, to inquire if the unidentified person works there or whether the company had sent someone to pick her up. The cops have also contacted her friends. "Our priority is to find out the phone number that she is seen using at the station. We have contacted mobile service providers. Data has been wiped out from her personal handset found near her body and we are trying to get it recovered through experts," said an official.Cops have also made inquiries at Thiruvananthpuram where Esther had undergone training between July and September last year. |
Felix Hernandez is “100 percent” ready to make his start Saturday against the Angels in Anaheim, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. Hernandez tweaked a groin muscle Monday against the Astros and departed after five innings in what became the first of three consecutive losses to open the season.
“He’s in a pretty good rhythm right now, he feels good about his delivery and he wants to stay with that,” Servais told reporters Wednesday. “So I would expect him to do a little more of that.”
Hernandez will pitch a bullpen session Thursday, three days after allowing two solo home runs in a 3-0 loss. The injury happened while covering first base on a ground ball. Hernandez fanned six and walked none.
News that Hernandez will pitch (on his 31st birthday) helped take a little edge off Seattle’s third consecutive defeat, 5-3 in 13 innings, to the Astros Wednesday night. George Springer won it with a three-run, walk-off homer off reliever Chase De Jong, who started the inning in his major league debut holding a 3-2 lead, thanks to four consecutive walks in the 13th that forced in the go-ahead run.
The Mariners summoned the rookie from AAA Tacoma Monday to replace veteran reliever Dillon Overton, on the paternity list.
The Mariners, 0-3 for the first time since 2004, conclude the Astros series Thursday at 5:10 p.m. before facing the Angels. LHP Ariel Miranda will throw for Seattle opposite RHP Joe Musgrove, facing Seattle for the first time in his career. |
The left-wing extremist Antifa group plan to march from Vienna’s busiest shopping district to the anti-mass migration Freedom Party (FPÖ) headquarters and “visit” several right-wing fraternities along the way.
The march, dubbed, “F*ck Hofer” is set for Saturday, the day before the Austrian presidential election that sees FPÖ candidate Norbert Hofer square off against ex-Green party leader Alexander Van der Bellen. The Antifa group say that they will march from the Mariahilfestrasse shopping district to the headquarters of the FPÖ hitting several “targets” along the way, reports Kronen Zeitung.
Aside from the FPÖ headquarters the extremists plan to “visit” several right-wing fraternities in the Josefstadt district known as the Burschenshaft. These fencing fraternities, which were formed by students who resisted Napoleon and played a large role in the 1848 revolutions, are linked to the FPÖ as Norbert Hofer himself is a member of the Marko-Germania fraternity.
According to posts made to the Antifa Facebook page, which also has a map of the route the extremists plan to take, the protest will start at 2:00pm at a memorial for a Nigerian failed asylum seeker who died during deportation to Bulgaria in 1999. The group’s members have declared that Mr. Hofer as president would “make a mockery of concentration camp victims”.
Over 200 people on Facebook have indicated that they will be present at the march and a further 800 have expressed interest in the event, but the comments have not all been positive. Some have said that the march will only drive more voters to Hofer and that a pro-Van der Bellen march would have been a better idea. “What exactly is the purpose of this demo one day before the election?” one user wrote.
Mr. Van der Bellen has attempted to distance himself from the left-wing extremists, who annually attack police at the FPÖ-sponsored Academy Ball and who more recently put a member of the hipster-right Identitarian movement in a coma after they threw bricks off a roof into a crowd during a protest.
In neighbouring Germany the Antifa, which is short for Anti-Fascist Action, movement is even more violent and police there are concerned about the growing number of crimes committed by left-wing extremists. The German branch of the extremist movement has targeted politicians of the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party after releasing members’ home addresses on one of their affiliated websites.
Several members of the AfD have been attacked physically by members of the extremist group and have also been the victims of property damage including having their cars set on fire. |
Philips shipped a controversial firmware update for its Philips Hue bridge yesterday. The company decided to block third-party light bulbs citing interoperability issues. Today, the company announced that this move was a mistake. A future update will reverse the change.
As a reminder, Philips uses a ZigBee wireless bridge to control light bulbs. Third-party light bulbs relying on the same protocol used to work with the Philips Hue starter kit and app ecosystem.
But given that connected bulbs are getting popular, some bulbs don’t work as well as others. Philips mentioned lights not turning off properly for example. That’s why the company has been looking at ways to improve the experience for its users.
Thanks to a new “Friends of Hue” program, connected bulb manufacturers can make sure that their bulbs work with the Philips Hue bridge. If you buy a light with this sticker, you can be sure that it’s going to work with your Philips Hue installation.
But the thing is that this program is just starting, and Philips might have pulled the plug on unofficial bulbs a bit too quickly. Some users were using uncertified lights without any issue.
That’s why Philips will release a new software update that will re-allow third-party bulbs. The company was quick to react following yesterday’s backlash. And this is the right thing to do. |
Police in town where Trayvon Martin was killed prepare for possible riots- in Florida and across the COUNTRY- if George Zimmerman is acquitted
Police in Sanford, Florida have prepared a contingency plan for how to deal with possible riots if George Zimmerman is not convicted in the murder of Trayvon Martin.
The police in the Florida town where the 17-year-old was killed last February have been under a great deal of attention following their widely-criticized handling of the case.
Now they are taking a pre-emptive approach as they have started going door-to-door in the area warning residents about possible riots or uprisings should the former neighborhood watch member be acquitted in the murder trial.
Task at hand: The Sanford, Florida police department are preparing for a possible violent reaction should the verdict in the George Zimmerman case end differently than expected
Personal approach: Police chief Cecil Smith, who took over after the previous police chief was fired due to their inaction over the Martin murder, is leading a team going door-to-door to talk to residents about options
According to Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith, who was promoted after the former police chief resigned amid the Martin shooting scandal, they are more concerned about out-of-towners causing trouble than local residents.
'Our worst fear is that we will have people from outside of the community coming in and stirring up...violence in the community,' Mr Smith told CNN .
The high racial tensions in the area following the shooting- Zimmerman is of Hispanic descent and Martin was African American- prompted fears that a riot could break out similar to those following the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1992.
'I’m saying that’s a scenario that’s certainly a possibility,' city manager Norton Bonaparte told CNN.
Face in a crowded court: Local pastor Valerie Houston has been a presence in the courtroom (left) so that she can talk to residents after the verdict is handed down
No public officials or police officers would go into the exact details of the plans, but it is clear that they are trying to take a more inter-personal, soft approach to dealing with any possible conflict.
In addition to meeting with residents individually to hear their concerns, pastors have been asked to attend the trial so that they can serve as citizen witnesses within the community after the case comes to a close.
Valerie Houston, a pastor from Sanford, told CNN that when asked by her congregants what she thought of the trial, she said she planned to respond 'that justice has been served'.
'As a pastor and as a leader in this community I will have to. I feel confident with the skills and the God-given ability that I have to articulate- now, will they accept what I say? That will be totally up to them.'
Face in a crowded court: Local pastor Valery Houston has been a presence in the courtroom (left) so that she can talk to residents after the verdict is handed down
Others don't think that the ripple effects from the trial will be limited to Florida, as conservative political commentator and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan wrote a column for Real Clear Politics about possible riots back in May.
'The public mind has been so poisoned that an acquittal of George Zimmerman could ignite a reaction similar to that, 20 years ago, when the Simi Valley jury acquitted the LAPD cops in the Rodney King beating case,' he wrote even before the trial had begun.
The court had the day off on Thursday because of the national holiday, but the prosecution is expected to rest their case on Friday, the ninth day of the trial.
There is speculation over whether or not Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton, will testify. |
Russian schoolgirl cannot be punished for gay propaganda – prosecutors
© Alisa Volgina
14:22 03/02/2014
BRYANSK, February 3 (RAPSI) – The Bryansk Regional Prosecutor’s Office is investigating information according to which a ninth-grader has been charged with homosexual propaganda among minors, the office reported on Monday.
“The girl cannot be called to criminal or administrative account for the alleged incident of gay propaganda because she herself is under age,” said the office’s spokesperson, Valentina Dragina.
The media previously reported Russia’s first case of the prosecution of a child for the alleged propaganda of homosexual relations among minors in the Bryansk Region. The local Commission on Juvenile Rights and Affairs said in a statement that in November 2013 a ninth-grader in a Bryansk Region town reportedly openly professed to being gay and spread information among her peers about “the social equality of traditional and non-traditional sexual relations.”
The prosecutor’s office is investigating this information.
“An underage child cannot be called to criminal or administrative account. It is reported that the authorities have refused to open criminal proceedings over the case,” Dragina said. “We suggest that she be registered with the [local Commission on Juvenile Rights and Affairs].”
The regional education authorities have not been available for comment.
The law on “gay propaganda” first entered into force in St. Petersburg in March 2012 and stipulates fines for those who breach the law in the city. The law was sharply criticized by the LGBT community and rights activists in Russia and abroad. However, the St. Petersburg law was later developed into a federal law and passed by the State Duma on June 30, 2013. |
Suppose they came out with some really cool new stuff that everybody just had to buy. So everybody went out and bought it. Production and employment would increase to meet the increased demand for that cool new stuff. Aha! Maybe that's why the recovery from the global recession was so slow. They simply didn't come up with enough stuff that was cool enough and new enough that people really wanted to buy it! Bingo!
I look in my garage and admire the lovely lines of my MX6. But it's a 21 year old car that I'm using for my daily driver, and I really should get a new car. But what sort of new car? Sometimes I look at the new MX5 and the Toyobaru twins, but........no. Both are close, but neither is quite right for me.
I know exactly what some of you are thinking: "But Nick, if everyone went out and bought an extra $1,000 worth of cool new stuff we would all be living beyond our means and going even deeper into debt!" And you would be thinking wrong. You are forgetting national income accounting 101. You are committing a fallacy of composition. Because at the aggregate level income and expenditure are the same thing. If aggregate expenditure rises by $1,000, then aggregate income rises by $1,000.
And I can guess what some of the rest of you are thinking: "But Nick, there really has been lots of cool new stuff coming out over the last few years!". And you would cite a list of examples. And others would say that your list of examples weren't really that cool or new. And maybe the more diligent would try to construct an index of cool new stuff coming out each year. And then there would be an argument over whether that index had been higher or lower than normal over the last few years compared to previous years. And did that index have the predicted inverse correlation with recessions? And if it did, which way did causation run? Maybe it was recessions that caused a slowdown in cool new stuff coming out? Or maybe both recessions and lack of cool new stuff were both caused by some third thing. It could be a lovely argument that would keep going for decades. And think of the possible policy implications! Could we use R&D tax credits for countercyclical policy, or would the lags be too long and variable?
But I simply can't be bothered. I don't care what your index of cool new stuff shows or doesn't show.
And I have exactly the same reaction to the debate about whether political uncertainty is to blame for the slow recovery.
Because stuff changes all the time. And one of the things that changes is the amount of change itself. And another thing that changes is the amount of uncertainty over the changes. And it's the job of the central bank to conduct monetary policy in such a way that, despite those changes, the economy does not fall into recession. "You had one job....and you didn't do it."
If there were no change, the gold standard would be an excellent monetary policy. The apple standard would be an equally excellent monetary policy. The k% rule with k=0 would be an equally excellent monetary policy. They would all be exactly the same damn policy. Any idiot could do it. |
Bernie Sanders, as far as the media is concerned, is the Rodney Dangerfield of presidential candidates -- "he don't get no respect." Of the 23 candidates running for president in the two major parties, precisely four of them have ever shown even 20 percent support (in their polling averages from their base voters). Actually, to be completely accurate, five people have hit the 20 percent support level since the race began this year, but Joe Biden is not actually a candidate yet. The other four are Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders.
Andrew Tyndall, who monitors broadcast news from ABC, NBC, and CBS, has some numbers which starkly show Bernie's Rodney Dangerfield problem. Tyndall tracked the total time the three networks have devoted to the presidential race this year: 504 minutes. This is more than their coverage (to this point on the calendar) in 2011 (277 minutes) and 2007 (462 minutes), so it's not like they're shying away from covering the race or anything. Out of that total, 338 minutes this year has been aired about the Republican race, while only 128 minutes was centered on the Democratic race. Granted, the Republicans have more candidates, which might explain some of the lopsided nature of those numbers.
Even so, the numbers get even more jaw-droppingly uneven when you look at individual candidates. Donald Trump (of course) leads the pack in coverage of his campaign, clocking in at an impressive 145 minutes. Hillary Clinton has gotten 82 minutes of campaign coverage, and an additional 83 minutes devoted to the email scandal. Jeb Bush, who is currently polling in fifth place in the Republican race with less than 10 percent in the polls, has received 43 minutes of coverage. The Bernie Sanders campaign has received a grand total of eight minutes of coverage -- one-fifth of Bush's time, or one-tenth of Clinton's time (one-twentieth, if you count the scandal coverage). Bernie got roughly the same amount of time as Chris Christie (polling below four percent, far back in the Republican pack). Bernie got the same amount of time that Mitt Romney got, when he was teasing a bid earlier this year.
That is pathetic. Bernie Sanders is one of the four frontrunners for the entire presidential race, and has been closing the polling gap with Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side. One recent poll put Bernie only seven points behind Clinton nationally among Democrats, but you probably didn't hear that on the evening news. Bernie now leads Hillary in the polling in both of the first states to vote, Iowa and New Hampshire. But of the total time the networks have devoted to the race, they've only used a little over 1.5 percent of it to cover Bernie's campaign. Rodney Dangerfield would have had a few choice things to say about this lack of respect, one imagines.
Bernie Sanders routinely draws crowds that dwarf other candidates' rallies. He just made some news today because his campaign has now received one million individual donations -- a number far superior to anything any other candidate can claim. In fact, it is even superior to the champion online fundraiser of all time, Barack Obama. Obama didn't hit 1,000,000 online donations until February of 2008, or October of 2011 during his re-election campaign. No other candidate in the 2016 race -- Democratic or Republican -- is even close to this number. And yet the near-blackout on the evening news continues.
I don't know what Bernie Sanders's chance of success in the nomination race will be. But I do know it'd be a lot better if the news actually informed the American public about how successful his campaign is doing. This whole disgraceful lack of respect really puts the lie to those on the right who complain about "the liberal media," in fact. The most liberal candidate in the race is being covered at the same rate as Chris Christie, after all. Doesn't sound like any sort of liberal cabal to me. It sounds instead like proof of what some on the left insist, that the media does indeed have a bias -- but a corporate bias.
Because of this obvious anti-Bernie bias, I'll go so far as to make a bold prediction. The first Democratic debate is going to happen in a few weeks. This will be the first time many Democratic voters will be exposed to Bernie's unfiltered message. My prediction is that the post-debate polling will show a big bump for Bernie's support, after weighing Bernie's solutions to the nation's problems next to Hillary's.
I still don't know what Bernie's chances for success truly are. Joe Biden's announcement (either way) will shake up the Democratic race, and this announcement is probably going to happen before the debates do. If Bernie does well in the first debate, though, and if his numbers do get a healthy bump, then the broadcast news is going to have to start talking about Sanders. At that point, the lack of coverage will become painfully obvious to all if it continues. At first (no doubt) this coverage will likely be mocking and dismissive, with plenty of jokes thrown in. But sooner or later the media is going to have to cope with the fact that Bernie Sanders's campaign is no laughing matter to those who have gotten on board the "Feel The Bern" train. Sooner or later they're going to have to address the real reason he's seen such a monstrous outpouring of support so far -- his issues and his agenda. Sooner or later, they're going to have to show Bernie a little more respect. With over a quarter of Democratic voters already supporting him and with over a million donations, Bernie Sanders has already earned this respect. A lot more respect than eight minutes out of 504, that's for sure.
Chris Weigant blogs at:
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant |
Television humanoid Kathy Griffin did something stupid on Tuesday, and then lost her job hosting a New Year's Eve show on Wednesday.
The stupid thing that Kathy Griffin did involved President Donald Trump — namely, posting a photo of her with a blood-drenched, fake severed Trump head. The problem wasn't that the blood apparently flowed upward from the site of the beheading that drove most people crazy, but rather that she and a dismal brand-name photographer decided to surf the click wave by crossing the line.
The attention-getting device set off a proxy battle between auto-drafted supporters of two ineradicable TV entities — Griffin and Trump — whose "self" entries on IMDB dwarf all other credits; their even standing and Trump's personality made it easy to take sides, as is now required of every citizen on everything related to Donald Trump.
America in 2017 is a soul-void with no respite, and all we have left are the "hot takes" we formulate each day to help pass the time, inflicting opinions about a ruling class that we are all powerless to stop onto peers we cannot hope to persuade. The dystopia is now; being angry in front of people is our Thunderdome; we are all going to die.
There are only six acceptable takes, so choose your weapon for the neverending battle.
1. Brand is everything; content is nothing
Kathy Griffin's apology video began with, "Hey, everybody, it's me, Kathy Griffin" — another iteration of brand enhancement. Maybe it's just a tic, or maybe she was genuinely concerned the average offended American might not know that an apology video posted by "Kathy Griffin @KathyGriffin" and next to an avatar of a Kathy Griffin book with the words "Kathy Griffin" on it was actually an authentic Kathy Griffin apology video. Who can say?
Kathy Griffin is like Regis Philbin: She has been on television forever for reasons no one can remember anymore other than that she is Kathy Griffin. She emcees celebrity-TV events because executives have decided that dead air is marginally worse. She once starred in a show called My Life on the D-List to commodify being the sort of person who shows up in a golf tournament on The Apprentice.
She riffs on celebrities from a position above the common citizenry, but too menial in comparison to actual stars to generate offense. She gives the audience a voyeuristic sense of hanging backstage and puncturing egos without ever constituting a threat to the real ratings draws. If you're famous, you can laugh at Kathy Griffin clowning on you because, at the end of the day, she'll never be anyone else.
The Trump beheading photo fell within her schtick: mock people higher up the ladder, play it for naughtiness. The Trump beheading might have transformed her into Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, but at worst she remains where she is, within brand parameters — Kathy Griffin issuing an apology from Kathy Griffin, for viral acts of Kathy Griffindom.
2. This is not an act of "resistance."
To the extent that most of "the #resistance" amounts to clicktivist in-group commiseration and climbing atop horrifying news to throw zingers in keeping with one’s personal brand, yes, it's an act of #resistance. In terms of actual resistance, calling it a "nothingburger" is generous.
It's dimly possible that people at marches will carry placards with the beheading image on it, but what it will signify is anyone's guess. Would it be to show solidarity with Kathy Griffin? Would it be calling for the president's beheading and, if so, by whom, for what cause and under what rationale? The American aristocracy is beyond fearing electoral, civil or criminal punishment; it may only fear the incivility of encountering a small group of Americans in the wild complaining about losing health insurance. Any stronger emotion than annoyance will require an intimidating density of the citizenry demanding change, not just internet memes.
3. Celebrities are not helping.
If Hillary Clinton's phalanx of New York-blog-baiting A-listers wasn't enough to stop Trump and his coterie of six people who appeared on Battle of the Network Stars in 1978 from wielding power in Washington, Kathy Griffin ain't doing it. That's not her fault.
4. The right-wing can shut up.
Griffin's beheading image was clumsy and disproportionate to the target of its loathing. Though the process of calling Trump to account is glacial in its progress, it has not yet failed.
That said, the right wing can cram it with walnuts. If they want to see fewer riffs on American regicide, they can abandon knee-jerk obstruction of a lawful investigation into "nothing."
Besides, the far-right spent the last eight years indulging — at all levels of representation — repeated, banal invocations of "watering the tree of liberty ith the blood of tyrants." That they got away with it by cutely failing to explicitly name the "tyrant" in question does not obviate their culpability or mask their intent. Conservatives, for instance, did not seem particularly exercised by the sight of Ted Nugent in the Trump White House, despite his threats against Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Democrats as a whole.
5. All we have left is outrage.
Bounded by obdurate institutions we lack the financial or legal ability to budge, our only remaining means of cathartic release for the left or the right is rhetorically firing upon the fungible representatives of concentrated power. When you have two parties unresponsive to the urgent needs of the majority and no material means of compelling action, you turn to tools as intangible as shame.
For instance, take Sean Hannity’s relentless flacking of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory, and liberals’ demand that he be fired, or that one insurance company stops sponsoring him long enough for another to sign on. Meanwhile, Kathy Griffin does something asinine, and she becomes the avatar of CNN that anime Nazis can leverage to topple "fake news."
Firing Kathy Griffin from CNN’s New Year’s Eve party broadcast does nothing to stop the mainstream news from reporting on Donald Trump, and bleeding Sean Hannity's show as white as a pointed hood only punishes one wedge-headed mascot of proto-fascistic eliminationism and corporate veneration. The body will grow another appendage if the head doesn't die. These punitive shamings represent the vicarious low-order victories of a conquered people. They only change your serotonin.
6. Everything is awful, and I want to turn off the internet and go home.
Correct. |
Me with Dan Rather in 2011.
Photo: Vivian Giang / Business Insider
Dan Rather is a hero to many in the news industry — including myself — for his determination to do anything to get the story.The most famous example is probably when he tied himself to a tree during a hurricane in 1961 — a stunt that landed him a job at CBS New York.
But that’s not the most daring thing he’s done.
When I interviewed Rather in my last semester at journalism school, he told me about the time he used heroin for a story.
Rather previously discussed this incident in an interview with Cliff Jahr at the magazine Ladies’ Home Journal in the 1980s.
During our interview, I asked Rather about his choice to take such a drastic step for a story. He paused, then said, “I made the mistake of ever talking about it.”
He was willing to open up to me about his experience. I’ve posted a transcript with his permission, edited slightly for clarity:
“I was working in radio in Houston in 1956 and 1957 and it’s hard for people below a certain age to understand that drugs were not a problem at the time … very little was known by most people about recreational drugs.
A group of musicians came to Houston and they were arrested for heroin [possession]. I had never heard of heroin. In fact, on the radio later, I pronounced it [wrong]. … Remember this was in the ’50s. Houston was not the big city it is now.
I knew a lot of police officers. They said they had arrested these people for heroin. I had no idea what it was … [the police] described it to me as best as they knew from what people told them.
So I said it would be a good story to get some heroin — [though] I had no idea how to get it — and then describe how you feel. And so I did that with the help of the police in the police station. Hard to imagine these days, but I knew these guys pretty well.
So they injected me at the police station and I made notes as best as I could have, of what the effects were. And we produced a series of ‘This is what heroin is; This is why people take it; This is what you experience while you’re under the influence; This is why it’s dangerous.’
It was no big deal, but it got to be a big deal. It didn’t get a lot of attention at the time. That was that.
I had never really thought about it … that was until a magazine interview in the 1980s…”
Rather’s willingness to take risks — and to take responsibility for his actions — generated controversy, but they won him a lot of respect too. There’s a reason he was the face of CBS News for decades.
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Reporters and politicians ripped into Politico for publishing a story Friday saying Ben Carson "fabricated" a story about being offered a full scholarship to attend West Point.
But even before this criticism started, Republican front-runner Donald Trump had already declared war on the Virginia-based news outlet's editorial standards, saying last week that it is "the dumbest and most slanted" site that he has ever encountered.
"Losers!" he added.
Trump also said last week that his campaign wouldn't deal with Politico's reporters anymore.
By Friday, it seemed as if everyone had joined in questioning Politico's editorial judgement after its story on Carson was torn up over Twitter.
"I've been a reporter for almost 30 years. Politico's Ben Carson story is among the stupidest things I've ever seen in print," TheBlaze's Scott Baker said on social media.
Politico originally reported that, "Ben Carson's campaign on Friday admitted, in a response to an inquiry from POLITICO, that a central point in his inspirational personal story was fabricated: his application and acceptance into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point."
The story, titled "Ben Carson Admits Fabricating West Point Scholarship," also claimed that Carson's spokesman "conceded" the 2016 Republican presidential candidate had "fabricated" a story about applying and being accepted to West Point.
The spokesman did no such thing.
Further, Carson himself has never claimed that he applied to West Point. He has also never said that he was accepted by the storied military academy. Rather, the retired neurosurgeon has always maintained in speeches and writing that he was extended a "full scholarship," but that turned down the offer because he wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Carson has also always said that he applied to only one college: Yale.
As these and other details surfaced Friday afternoon, it became clear that Politico oversold its "scoop," and the press and political class made their opinion of the story clear.
"Not accurate in Politico story: Carson claimed to have applied to West Point," CNNMoney's Dylan Byers noted on social media.
Byers, formerly of Politico, took it a step further by suggesting in an article that, "What initially looked like a disaster for Ben Carson could now be a major black eye for Politico."
"[T]here is no evidence in Politico's story that Carson ever claimed to have applied to West Point," he added, disputing the report's central claim.
The Daily Caller's Alex Pappas said, "Politico said 'Ben Carson admitted to fabricating.' He did not. These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed."
BuzzFeed's McKay Coppins also said that, "Politico's 'admits fabricating' headline isn't really right."
Republican politicians also jumped to Carson's defense, even those who are vying with him to win the GOP nomination in 2016. Former Florida Gov. and 2016 Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said in an interview with Fox News, "If it's between Politico and Ben Carson, put me in the Ben Carson column please."
Fellow presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said, "I'm a big fan of Ben Carson ... I know there's a media kerfuffle about it ... but I can tell you this: I like & trust Ben Carson."
Carson himself ripped into Politico late Friday and said the website told a " bald-faced lie" about his brief relationship with West Point.
The end result of Politico's supposed scoop is a heavily amended story that now includes a 163-word editor's note explaining its reasoning for the story's original claim.
The report's headline now reads, "Exclusive: Carson claimed West Point 'scholarship' but never applied."
Bloomberg News' Kendall Breitman interpreted the story's multiple edits by saying, "Politico admits to fabricating headline."
The story's opening paragraph has also been changed to read, "Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Friday conceded that he never applied nor was granted admission to West Point and attempted to recast his previous claims of a full scholarship to the military academy – despite numerous public and written statements to the contrary over the last few decades."
These changes were originally made without any accompanying editors note.
"[U]nwillingness to admit fault plagues Politico's big story of the day," the Washington Post's Erik Wemple reported. "As all of Twitter — not to mention the Carson campaign — has pointed out, Carson admitted no such [fabrication]."
"He never applied to West Point ... and Politico reported that he had," he added.
When a note of correction was eventually added to the story, reporters were still unimpressed.
"The new Politico lede remains problematic: Carson just now 'conceded that he never applied,' [though] he wrote that in his memoir 23 years ago," the Washington Post's Dave Weigel said. |
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Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
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Candrea Thomas
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
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John YembrickHeadquarters, Washington202-358-1100Candrea ThomasKennedy Space Center, Florida321-867-2468
MEDIA ADVISORY : M10-060
Space Shuttle Crew Set to Return to Earth Monday
Mike Moses, space shuttle launch integration manager
Dr. Kuniaki Shiraki, executive director, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Pete Nickolenko, STS-131 launch director
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew are expected to return to Earth on Monday, April 19, after a 14-day mission. NASA managers will evaluate weather conditions at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida before permitting Discovery to land.Monday landing opportunities at Kennedy are at 8:48 a.m. and 10:23 a.m. EDT. If Discovery is unable to land Monday, additional opportunities are available at Kennedy on Tuesday at approximately 7:33 a.m. and 9:08 a.m., and at backup landing site Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., at approximately 9 a.m., 10:36 a.m. and 12:11 p.m. For recorded updates about landing, call 321-867-2525.Approximately two hours after Discovery lands, NASA officials will hold a briefing to discuss the mission. The participants will be:After touchdown, the astronauts will undergo routine physical examinations and meet with their families. The crew will participate in a post-landing news conference about four and a half hours after landing. The news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's website.The Kennedy news center will open for landing activities at 4:30 a.m. Monday and remain open until 10 p.m.The STS-131 media badges are in effect through landing. The media accreditation building on State Road 3 will be open at 4 a.m. Monday. The last bus will depart from the news center for the Shuttle Landing Facility one hour before landing.If the shuttle landing is diverted to Edwards after Monday, news media should call the public affairs office at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at 661-276-3449. Dryden has limited facilities available for previously accredited journalists.The NASA News Twitter feed is updated throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To follow, visit:
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Does it work with 6mm .12g bbs
224 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Micah S Staff Answer:
Do not use .12g bbs in any premium rifle. It will void your warranty and possibly break your gun. Use ONLY .20g 6mm BBs and higher weights.
222 days ago 0 0 Do not use .12g bbs in any premium rifle. It will void your warranty and possibly break your gun. Use ONLY .20g 6mm BBs and higher weights.222 days ago Does it work with 6mm .12g bb if not what does it work with224 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Nunchuck or crane 0 answers
2 asked
Weight? 0 answers
1 asked
Sling
1305 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Jonah S Staff Answer:
The rear sling mount should be part of the airsoft gun.
1302 days ago 0 0 The rear sling mount should be part of the airsoft gun.1302 days ago On the photos, it shows a sling adapter. Does it come with the gun?1305 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Holographic 552
1375 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Nick I Staff Answer:
It will go just over the iron sight.
1322 days ago 0 0 It will go just over the iron sight.1322 days ago with a Holographic 552 be able to aim over the triangle front sight?1375 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
can this gun use the winpro m4 hop up unit
1412 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) ron p Staff Answer:
It should be able to
1405 days ago 0 0 It should be able to1405 days ago n/a1412 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
BB's 0 answers
3 asked
Do you need to buy a rail riser if you are going to use a red dot sight
1531 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Rebecca S Staff Answer:
Only if your mask gets in the way
1530 days ago 0 0 Only if your mask gets in the way1530 days ago I bought an aim sports warfare edition sight1531 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Metal gearbox
1538 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) brandon l Staff Answer:
Yes
1538 days ago 0 0 Yes1538 days ago Does this gun have a full metal gearbox??1538 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Does it have a metal gearbox
1538 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) brandon l Staff Answer:
Yes it is metal
1538 days ago 0 0 Yes it is metal1538 days ago Does it have a metal grarbox this is my first air soft gun but I need to know if it is metal or plastic. Also does it come with a battery?1538 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Warranty
1605 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Sam M D Staff Answer:
<a href"http://www.airsoftgi.com/information.php?info_id=35#Warranty_Policy">http://www.airsoftgi.com/information.php?info_id=35#Warranty_Policy</a>
1604 days ago 0 0 http://www.airsoftgi.com/information.php?info_id=35#Warranty_Policy 1604 days ago What type of warranty do you provide?1605 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Hey AirsoftGi really good question
1641 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Micah F Staff Answer:
The battery goes in the stock
1638 days ago 0 0 The battery goes in the stock1638 days ago When I purchase this aeg and a battery will i be able to put the battery in the stock without taking the aeg apart because the state i live in is always getting rain. So I wanna keep my battery safe do you think I can put the battery into the stock???1641 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Polar Star compatibility
1642 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Patrick S Staff Answer:
It should
1642 days ago 1 0 It should1642 days ago will the Polar Star Fusion Engine Drop-In Gear Box for M4 AEG (Gen. 3) fit in this1642 days ago 1 answers
2 asked
outer barrel 0 answers
1 asked
Battery
1679 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) blake a Staff Answer:
You can use a 9.6v NiMH nunchuck battery or 7.4v stick lipo battery.
1679 days ago 0 0 You can use a 9.6v NiMH nunchuck battery or 7.4v stick lipo battery.1679 days ago Could I use a 8.4 volt battery for this gun since it does not come with one or should I just get a new battery1679 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Barrel 0 answers
1 asked
battery
1748 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) James D Staff Answer:
Crane Stock and Nunchuck battery are the same
1747 days ago 0 0 Crane Stock and Nunchuck battery are the same1747 days ago could i fit a numchuck battery in the stock or do i have to buy a crane stock battery1748 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
front sight
1750 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) James D Staff Answer:
It is the same height as any standard M4
1749 days ago 0 0 It is the same height as any standard M41749 days ago how tall is the front sight?1750 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Availabilty
1752 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Connor F Staff Answer:
This product has been ordered and we are currently waiting on our shipment.
1751 days ago 0 0 This product has been ordered and we are currently waiting on our shipment.1751 days ago how long until this should be back in stock? -Thanks :)1752 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
fuse
1752 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) James D Staff Answer:
It should have one.
1751 days ago 0 0 It should have one.1751 days ago does this gun come with a fuse?1752 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
blowback
1752 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) James D Staff Answer:
It should have it.
1751 days ago 0 0 It should have it.1751 days ago does this gun have the electric blowback feature?1752 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Is it possible to remove the rail system and replace it with a better one?
1752 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) justin p Staff Answer:
It should be possible, but you will most likely have to replace the outer barrel as well.
1751 days ago 1 0 It should be possible, but you will most likely have to replace the outer barrel as well.1751 days ago I'm wanting to know because I am planning on putting a metal rail system on the gun when I buy it, but I see no delta ring to unscrew and I don't think the A frame is removable without replacing the outer barrel.1752 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Is this gun LiPo ready? If so, what shape (stick, butterfly)?
1764 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Kim C Staff Answer:
We recommend using a 7.4 LiPo stick type battery.
1763 days ago 0 0 We recommend using a 7.4 LiPo stick type battery.1763 days ago I have this gun and I need a battery. So, I saw that LiPo batteries are getting more popular because of their small size. I am looking to upgrade my crane stock (for this gun) to a Magpul PTS CTR stock, and I know that any NiMH batteries can't fit. If this IS LiPo ready, then what shape should I buy (butterfly, stick, etc.)?1764 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
Is the front sight post removable?
1800 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Mike F Staff Answer:
The front sight post is molded as part of the barrel and is not removable.
1800 days ago 0 0 The front sight post is molded as part of the barrel and is not removable.1800 days ago In the future might change the rail system.1800 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
what is the cheapest battery for this gun
1814 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Grant P Staff Answer:
8.4:<br> <a href="http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_122_197&products_id=14723">http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_122_197&products_id=14723</a><br><br> 9.6v:<br><a href="http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_122_197&products_id=14727">http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_122_197&products_id=14727</a>
1813 days ago 0 0 8.4:
http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_122_197&products_id=14723
9.6v:
http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_122_197&products_id=147271813 days ago just battery not charger1814 days ago 1 answers
1 asked
can a mock silencer fit on it
1814 days ago 0 0 Answer This Question
(I have this same question) Grant P Staff Answer:
Any mock suppressor compatible with 14mm CCW threads should work.
1813 days ago 0 0 Any mock suppressor compatible with 14mm CCW threads should work.1813 days ago a tactical crusader 185 mm CW & CCW1814 days ago 1 answers
1 asked |
CLOSE A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 was recorded before dawn Monday near the India-Myanmar border, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. There was no immediate information on casualties or damage. The quake occurred at 4:35 a.m. USA TODAY
This picture taken from Instagram shows damage from a strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake which struck northeast India near the country's borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh in the city of Imphal, capital of Manipur state early on January 4, 2016. The early morning tremor was strongly felt across northeast India and in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, where television reports said at least 24 people were taken to hospital after being injured in the scramble that ensued. AFP PHOTO / Deepak Shijagurumayum (Photo11: AFP/Getty Images)
An earthquake measuring 6.7 magnitude hit northeast India near its border with Myanmar and Bangladesh early Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed. At least eight people were killed and 100 injured by falling debris in Imphal and elsewhere in Manipur state, police said.
The quake struck at 4:35 a.m. local time (6:05 p.m. ET on Sunday), about 20 miles northwest of Imphal, the capital of Manipur.
Media reports said five people were killed by the earthquake in neighboring Bangladesh, but there was no immediate confirmation from authorities.
Strong tremors were felt across the region, the BBC reported. Witness accounts reported a quake that was unlike anything they had felt before, NBC News reported, with residents awakened by shouting relatives and an intense shaking that lasted from 35 seconds to two minutes.
Bob Swaggerty, who felt the quake in Dimapur, about 125 miles north of Imphal, told USA TODAY that it lasted about 45 seconds. "We felt the Nepal earthquake last year, this was the strongest I have ever felt," he said.
Swaggerty and his family were awakened after feeling and hearing the quake. "I ran out to our balcony where it was shaking so violently I was just waiting for it to come down," he said. "Many screams in the distance."
He added, "My son said he doesn’t want to live in this house anymore."
Nearly 200 miles south of the quake's epicenter, in Siaha, India, one account described a building that sounded as if it was crumbling, NBC reported.
In Imphal, there were initial reports of damage to a popular market, The Associated Press reported. The tremor left large cracks in several walls and a portion of the building collapsed, police said.
India's Meteorological Department said the epicenter of the quake was in Tamenglong region of Manipur state. It struck at a depth of 17 kilometers (about 10 miles) in the India-Myanmar border region. USGS said the depth was 55 kilometers (about 34 miles).
People panicked and rushed out of their homes in Guwahati, the capital of neighboring Assam state, as they felt massive shaking at least twice within 60 seconds, AP reported.
@timesofindia Strong tremors felt in Kolkata too, though everyone is sleeping and hardly I see anyone on the road. — Naveen Kumar Singh (@Na7vs) January 3, 2016
Patients are told to stay outside as Imphal Hospital suffered huge cracks in the building. pic.twitter.com/qrtqvYGpKu — †aмy devιcн† (@avidchyme) January 4, 2016
#Earthquake Imphal quake jolts Assam reports @afrida786 Cracks surface at Guwahati Medical College Hospital @NewsXpic.twitter.com/XjybxTjqbK — Sourav Sanyal (@SSanyal) January 4, 2016
"The ground swayed for almost a minute, jolting people awake in their homes," said one Imphal resident, Apem Arthur. The area is dotted with small houses. There are few tall buildings in the region, she said.
The tremors were also felt in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.
USGS initially reported a 6.8 magnitude before revising the assessment to 6.7 about an hour later.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1R5ZgFY |
A Texas woman who was wounded while shielding her sons during the attack on a Dallas protest march thanked officers Sunday and said she would go to another demonstration to show her boys that she’s not a quitter.
Shetamia Taylor, who attended the march with her four sons, thanked Dallas police for protecting her in the chaos that erupted Thursday night.
"I want to say thank you to the officers," she said during an emotional press conference at Baylor University Medical Center. "They were really heroes for us. They saved my life, my son's life and I want to say thank you to them first and foremost."
She says officers shielded her as bullets whizzed through the air around them.
"They had no regard for their own life. They stayed there with us. They surrounded my son and I," she said.
Taylor, in a wheelchair with her right leg immobilized, said that she always held police officers "in a very high place" and notes that her youngest son wants to be a cop.
"I never had an issue with police officers," she said. "If anything it made my admiration for them greater."
Taylor, who is black, said she went to the march to protest the killings of black men by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and outside St. Paul, Minnesota, and previous encounters between blacks and police.
She said the attack on the march in Dallas, which killed five officers and injured seven others, wouldn't deter her from demonstrating again. She wants her sons — ages 12, 13, 15 and 17 — to know it was an isolated incident.
"I don't want them to think that I am a quitter, because I am not," she said.
Taylor said she and her sons were getting ready to leave the march when they heard two shots and saw an officer fall.
"As he was going down, he said, 'He has a gun. Run,'" she recalled.
As they fled, she felt a bullet hit her in the back of the leg.
She said she tackled her 15-year-old son, Andrew, and "laid on top of him."
An officer then jumped on top of them. "And there was another one at our feet. And there was another one over our heads. And there were several of them lined against the wall," she said. "And they stayed there with us. And I saw another officer get shot right in front of me."
Two of her other sons escaped through a parking garage, while the fourth fled the gunfire with another woman he didn't know.
Taylor suffered a bad fracture of her tibia just below her right knee, one of her doctors said. It was repaired with a plate and screws, but it will be two to three months before she can put weight on her leg.
Taylor says she wonders where the country is going to go from here.
"I'm just a mother and a wife," she said. "I'm not an activist. I'm not a politician. I just want to protect my family."
She stressed that most police officers deserve praise and not all of them are "out to get us."
"These are the people you call when you're in a situation. You gotta remember that," she said. "What are we gonna do if they stop policing? What are we gonna do? ... Who are you gonna call?"
The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
WASHINGTON: US energy secretary Ernest Moniz has cancelled his crucial trip to India this month in view of the strained relations between the two countries over the arrest of an Indian diplomat on alleged visa fraud charges.The India-US Energy Dialogue to be led by Moniz was expected to make significant progress in energy co-operation and export of American shale gas to India.It would be rescheduled for a mutually convenient date later, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said."We place great emphasis, as you know, on the US-India energy partnership. It was an issue when the Secretary (of State, John Kerry ) was there, and he even gave a speech talking about these issues - a key element of our strategic partnership," Psaki said."In view of these important matters and in order to find the time to allow both sides to deliver on the important issues that we need to from both sides, we're looking for a mutually convenient time in the near future that will permit both sides to do that," she said."We remain committed to holding this dialogue and we'll look for a time to hold it," she said, adding that the energy dialogue would be re-scheduled soon.Ties between India and US have suffered a setback after the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York on alleged visa fraud charges last month.Moniz's visit for the India-US Energy Dialogue was considered an important one for both the countries after a Summit between US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in White House in September last year.Both the leaders had identified co-operation in the energy sector as an important pillar of India-US Strategic Partnership . In fact, clean energy was the focus of Kerry's India visit last summer.During their meeting, Obama and Singh had discussed ways to strengthen bilateral efforts to promote energy efficiency, clean energy, and address climate change.The US-India Energy Dialogue was launched on May 31, 2005 to promote increased trade and investment in the energy sector. Five working groups had been set up under the initiative in areas of oil & gas, coal, power and energy efficiency, new technologies & renewable energy and civil nuclear co-operation.Another working group on 'sustainable development' was added recently. The last India-US Energy Dialogue took place in September 2012.Preparations were on to make significant progress on US giving approval for LNG export to India during this visit, sources said.India has been pushing the US to expedite this process to meet its galloping energy needs.The now postponed India-US Energy Dialogue was also expected to implement the decisions taken by Obama and Singh with regard to clean energy. |
The rapper Prodigy, half of the hip-hop duo Mobb Deep, died from accidental choking, according to a report from TMZ.
The site previously reported Prodigy choked on an egg while in the hospital for treatment for sickle cell anemia. The rapper died on June 20 at the age of 42.
“It is with extreme sadness and disbelief that we confirm the death of our dear friend Albert Johnson, better known to millions of fans as Prodigy of legendary N.Y. rap duo Mobb Deep,” a Mobb Deep representative said at the time of his passing.
“Prodigy was hospitalized a few days ago in Vegas after a Mobb Deep performance for complications caused by a sickle cell anemia crisis,” the statement added. “As most of his fans know, Prodigy battled the disease since birth.”
Prodigy was born Albert Johnson in Hempstead, N.Y. on Nov. 2, 1974 to Fatima Johnson, who was a member of R&B group the Crystals. He formed Mobb Deep with Havoc in the early ’90s and the group released their debut, Juvenile Hell, in 1993. They achieved widespread acclaim with their second album, The Infamous, which is regarded as among the most seminal albums to emerge from the ’90s East Coast hip-hop scene.
A funeral service for Prodigy was held on June 29 at Frank E. Campbell Chapel in New York City with Havoc, LL Cool J, Ice T, 50 Cent, Questlove, Remy Ma and Fat Joe were among those in attendance. |
Breaking: TRUMP Lashes Out at GOP over Spoiler Threats by Bill Kristol
Bill Kristol and the GOP elites are still hurting.
A week ago #NeverTrumper Bill Kristol went on Newsmax TV and announced he was naming his anti-Trump protest party the Renegade Party.
Republican elites want a candidate that is pro-amnesty, pro-Trans Pacific Trade agreement candidate – a principled conservative like John McCain(?)
The voters want Trump.
The elites don’t.
Last week Kristol’s Renegade Party Twitter account was launched.
Only 4,600 people are following the renegades in over a week.
It’s a movement.
On Sunday Bill Kristol announced there would be an independent candidate to take on Donald Trump in the fall election.
Just a heads up over this holiday weekend: There will be an independent candidate–an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance. — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 29, 2016
Donald Trump responded to the threats tonight on Twitter.
Bill Kristol has been wrong for 2yrs-an embarrassed loser, but if the GOP can't control their own, then they are not a party. Be tough, R's! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2016
Trump also called out the Republican party.
The Republican Party has to be smart & strong if it wants to win in November. Can't allow lightweights to set up a spoiler Indie candidate! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2016
If dummy Bill Kristol actually does get a spoiler to run as an Independent, say good bye to the Supreme Court! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2016 |
The most active of the annual MLS off-season reclamation drafts is finally here as the Re-Entry Draft starts up today with Stage 1 and ends next Thursday with Stage 2. Orlando City has plenty of holes to fill on its roster and the Re-Entry Draft is a prime opportunity to pick up some experienced pieces from around the league. This year, City has the fifth overall selection in both stages, giving the club a good shot at some of the better players available.
There is always a handful of talent available in the Re-Entry Draft. Taken last year, both Leonardo and Josh Williams were starters for teams that reached conference finals this season with the Houston Dynamo and Columbus Crew, respectively. Maxi Urruti — FC Dallas’ starting striker for the past two seasons — was taken in the 2015 draft. There are also inevitably players taken that don’t pan out, but the draft is a low-risk opportunity to pick up some talented players or depth pieces. The amount of talent varies from year to year; seven players were selected in the 2016 Re-Entry Draft after just four in 2015 and 11 in 2014.
There are some quirks, like most of the plethora of drafts that MLS hosts every off-season. If a player is taken in Stage 1, the club assumes their 2018 contract option. Generally, these players are available because those options are higher than their production, which is why few players, if any, are selected in Stage 1.
Players taken in Stage 2 are free to negotiate new deals with the selecting club, but there’s no guarantee that a player that is still available after Stage 1 will still be around in Stage 2. A handful of players each year either re-sign with their original clubs in the days between the stages while some will opt out or retire altogether. Players have until the beginning of each stage to opt out for any variety of reasons. So teams must weigh the risk of assuming a higher cap hit with missing out on talent, especially because clubs are far more active in Stage 2 and willing to select a player due to the contract freedom.
With Orlando City’s need to fill out almost half of the roster and lack of international spots to go around, the Re-Entry Draft is one of the best mechanisms to find domestic talent with plenty of league experience. The Lions were one of three active clubs in Stage 1 last year, selecting goalkeeper Patrick McLain before eventually shipping him off to Minnesota United with Kevin Molino. Orlando City and the San Jose Earthquakes are the only clubs that have selected players in each of the past three Re-Entry Drafts. Goalkeeper Josh Ford was selected in the second stage of 2014, followed by Kevin Alston in 2015, and McLain last year.
There are several names that should draw interest from around the league. Here are a few that could suit Orlando’s needs in 2018.
The American attacking midfielder has been a staple for the New York Red Bulls after bouncing around England for most of his career. His 2017 season was cut short due to a left knee injury that required surgery back in June, limiting Grella to just eight league appearances.
The injury should rightly raise a red flag as the midfielder turns 31 next month and it could be an issue that turns teams off even though he’s been steadily productive since 2015. His 2018 option will likely be higher than his 2017 salary of $188,250 but even still, it could be tempting given his 16 goals and 13 assists in the past two seasons. With the severity of the knee issue, it’s likely clubs would rather renegotiate for a lower number, which makes Grella a prime candidate to be taken early in Stage 2. Which may be enough reason for some teams to take the risk and eat his salary in Stage 1.
Even if Grella takes a step back in 2018, Orlando lacked dynamism and creativity off the bench. Mike has succeeded as a winger, attacking midfielder, and even forward during his time in MLS and could be the perfect piece to add quality depth to a few different areas of Jason Kreis’ side. After all, how many Orlando players had this much skill on the ball in 2017?
The Lions must do their homework regarding his knee and then ask themselves just how much he’s worth against the cap. Can they afford to pull the trigger in Stage 1?
Matias Laba
Like Grella, Laba suffered a debilitating injury in 2017. The Argentinian midfielder tore his ACL in August, though he is expected to be available in the spring. Matias has been considered one of the best defensive midfielders in MLS during the past five years and Orlando City is thin at the six spot after letting Antonio Nocerino, Servando Carrasco, and Dillon Powers go. Cristian Higuita is penciled in to start for the time being, but spent most of 2017 in a more advanced role. If Kreis wanted to bring in a new number six, Laba would fit the bill perfectly. But his history within the league and the fact that he just turned 26 this week will make him an enticing candidate for plenty of clubs.
There are a few drawbacks with Laba. Besides the injury, he takes up an international spot and is one of the highest-paid midfielders in the league. Matias has spent all five of his seasons in MLS with Canadian sides, so a green card is probably still a ways away. Then there’s the price tag of $885,500 in 2017 that made him more expensive than Nocerino. It’s almost a given that teams will look to take Laba in Stage 2 to avoid that massive hit on their cap, but his talent makes him a likely early selection next week.
But if the Lions are looking to lock up a proven talent within the league to man the base of Jason Kreis’ diamond, they might be better suited to take Laba instead of an unknown TAM signing from overseas to bolster the midfield.
The 24-year-old Villarreal was once considered a top prospect in MLS but for some reason never got an opportunity with the LA Galaxy. Over the six years since he signed his Homegrown contract in LA, he’s made just 68 appearances with the first team during the regular season. And when he actually got a shot, he produced.
For context: DP #10 Maxi Moralez, on a $2million contract had 5g/9a in 2520 minutes this year. We suck at playing/developing the kids. 2/2 — Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) November 7, 2017
But Jose was a member of the Galaxy’s Homegrown purge this off-season and finds himself at the mercy of the Re-Entry Draft. On just $105,000 in 2017, he could be worth a look in Stage 1 to a team willing to take on a potential project. Orlando could definitely utilize a player off the bench that can produce like Villarreal. With the loss of Giles Barnes and Hadji Barry, Orlando is in the market for forward depth. With Villarreal, the Lions would find a younger upgrade on Barry for just $30,000 more in salary.
Sam has definitely taken a step back in the past two years. The quick Ghanaian winger peaked in 2015 with the New York Red Bulls — when he accounted for 10 goals and eight assists — and has dropped in production every season since. He turns 34 next September, so his time in the league is limited, but he fills a niche that Orlando City has badly needed since the departure of Matias Perez Garcia.
Even as he’s gotten older, Sam has been a spark of creativity and pace down the right flank. He notched 10 assists in 2016 between the Red Bulls and D.C. United and chipped in six more this year for the worst offense in the league. With a finisher like Dom Dwyer lurking in the middle, Sam could be a potent piece off the bench to run at tired defenders in limited minutes. Sam gives potential width late in games and allows for some tactical variability even if Kreis remains married to the diamond. Too many times in 2017 the Lions tried to make tactical adjustments but didn’t have the pieces to really change the game. He can also add some goals from midfield with the ability to strike from deep:
The longtime veteran of the English Championship does not take up an international spot, which is crucial for City as it looks to fill in the missing pieces, but he might need to come down from his salary of $250,000 last year to make sense for the Lions. If he’s available in Stage 2, he could be in play for Orlando.
Scott Sutter could do with a few breaks in 2018. With both Rafael Ramos and Kevin Alston dealing with injuries for the majority of the season, Sutter was run into the ground. With Rafa’s consistent hamstring issues, there’s no telling if he’ll be available enough to be a reliable backup next year. Cato is only 25 and can play anywhere up and down the right side of the pitch, providing some versatility and attacking flair that fits what Kreis looks for in a fullback.
Even though Cato is a regular for the Trinidad and Tobago national team, he doesn’t count as an international in MLS. His $138,666 salary might be a bit rich for Orlando as one of several options at right back but perhaps his ability to play in the midfield makes it worth the money for OCSC.
There are some character questions with Cato, who was sent home from the T&T camp back in June for breaking team rules. It might lower his value around the league, but chances are some team might pull the trigger on his talent in Stage 1.
The Lions have a chance to pick up some talent for 2018, it will just take some risk assessment and savvy thinking from the front office. |
Few books have achieved such deep cultural penetration as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved French classic The Little Prince. The illustrated novella about the scarf-clad child who travels the universe searching for wisdom, has been translated into 250 languages, sells nearly 2 million copies each year, and is a frequent choice in advanced French high school classes. And let’s not forget your mom’s hippie friend, who gives you the book as a graduation gift, believing she’s found a less clichéd present than Oh, the Places You’ll Go. “Promise me, honey, you’ll never lose your sense of wonder!”
However delightful, moving, cloying, or tear-inducing you find the novella to be, both the book and its author have a fascinating backstory. This tale is the focus of a new exhibit at the Morgan Library, which runs through April 27th.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Alghero, Sardinia, May 1944 Photo by John Phillips (1914–1996) | Collection of Andrea Cairone, New York © John and Annamaria Phillips Foundation
Written in New York City by a Frenchman who did not speak a word of English, Le Petit Prince was published in America three years before it appeared in France. Saint-Exupéry himself did not live to see the book hit shelves in his native land; he disappeared in 1944, while flying a reconnaissance mission against Germany. Over 50 years later, his ID bracelet washed up in a fisherman’s net off the coast of Marseille.
“Of course it’s a French story,” says Christine Nelson, curator of literary and historical manuscripts at the Morgan. “But it was born in New York when author was an ex-patriot and distraught about what was going on in his country and in the world.”
Despite his friendship with fellow aviator Charles Lindbergh, Saint-Exupéry was staunchly anti-Nazi–so much so, that he could not bear to live in Paris under the Reich-affiliated Pétain government. Much of the books thematic content, including its anti-egotism, anti-materialism, and exploration of shame and isolation, are responses to the author’s own self-imposed exile.
In the end, he could not stay away from his country or the war. He put the finished manuscript in a brown paper sack and dropped it at a friend’s house with instructions to publish. Then he rejoined former his air force unit back in France.
According to Nelson, the book was inspired by an earlier plane crash, when Saint-Exupéry went down in the Libyan desert in the mid ’30s. She says “the most striking image” in the exhibit is a drawing that depicts the book’s narrator asleep beside his plane, just before the Prince arrives. |
Protesters arrested as climate debate rages
Updated
Over 100 protesters have been arrested at Parliament House in Canberra while demonstrating against the Government's actions on climate change.
The group descended on Parliament today as debate continues to rage in the Senate over the Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
Holding a banner which read "Rudd the world is watching - make Copenhagen count", the protesters called on the Government to commit to a 40 per cent emissions reduction in 2000 levels by 2020.
But police began to arrest the protesters, who sat down in front of the main entrance to Parliament House, after they refused to budge for several hours.
About 130 were arrested and removed from the area. They have been banned from returning for the rest of this week.
Protester Jenny Curtis says the group wants the Government to to take the lead at next month's Copenhagen climate change conference.
"Prime Minister (Kevin) Rudd has the capacity to be a world leader," she said.
"He has the capacity to influence the US. If he goes to Copenhagen with a 40 per cent target then he has the capacity to shift things globally."
The Coalition will tomorrow decide whether to accept a proposed compromise deal from the Government.
Mr Rudd has appealed to Opposition MPs to allow the scheme to go to a vote this week and pass it.
The Nationals and several Liberal MPs have already indicated they will vote against the legislation regardless of what amendments are put forward.
But Mr Rudd says it is time for the Parliament to move beyond the normal political divisions and pass the scheme.
"I appeal to all those on Opposition benches, who are people of goodwill, who wish to see the passage of climate change legislation, to look beyond our normal partisan divide and to join with the Government and see the passage of this Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme for the future," he said.
Family First Senator Steve Fielding will today move a motion in the Senate to have the vote delayed until next February.
"Given there are significant amendments being announced tomorrow it's dangerous to spend just a few hours debating and agreeing to an emissions trading scheme," Senator Fielding said.
"The Australian public should also get a say in this so it makes sense to delay a final vote so they can make up their mind as well."
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, emissions-trading, environment, climate-change, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia
First posted |
The helmet sketch on the right has been printed frequently in the past, but only from a photographic transparency, which caused the helmet and chest to appear softer than the faceplate and the helmet to look distorted. It is accurately reproduced here for the first time.
A matte painting of Tatooine, circa April 1976. This painting was seen at least twice in the film, including the opening shot.
The cover for Splinter of the Mind's Eye, late 1977. This was the first Star Wars novel published after A New Hope was released, making it one of the first pieces of the Expanded Universe.
Concept sketches for Cloud City flying creatures and a cloud car vehicle. The car incorporated here is a Joe Johnston design. McQuarrie frequently incorporated the most up-to-date designs in his work, including those of his colleagues. McQuarrie later did a finished illustration incorporating the flying beasts and cloud vehicles.
Concept sketches of an ice planet mobile turret, circa February 1979.
Matte painting of the Millennium Falcon on the Cloud City landing pad at dusk. McQuarrie felt it necessary to paint over the Falcon set piece as the lighting on the live-action plate did not match for dusk.
A photo of McQuarrie working on the matte painting.
Preliminary illustration of bounty hunters. McQuarrie used this illustration to test two different types of varnish, one of which he later applied to the final illustration.
This illustration was created as a cover for a children's book, but was deemed too scary upon completion and was not used. It was later revived as cover art for The Jedi Master's Quizbook, published in November 1982, and on a poster for The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama, circa early 1983. Four-inch by five-inch decals of the artwork were also offered as renewal incentives for the Official Star Wars Fan Club in early 1982.
Preliminary cover illustration for The Empire Strikes Back novelization. The preliminary illustration was utilized on a mock-up of the cover sent to retailers to promote the upcoming book. It interestingly does not incorporate the final design of the AT-AT Walker.
The first version of an illustration called "The Emperor's Powers." While McQuarrie had reference photographs from the film available while working on his portfolio illustrations, he sometimes blended in his own ideas, which explains this evil face for the Emperor. He was subsequently asked to change the piece to match the film more closely.
In the second version of "The Emperor's Powers" the Emperor's face more closely resembles how the character appears in the final film. |
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A vicious ice storm sweeping through the U.S. Plains left more than 600,000 people without power as frigid temperatures plunged and contributed to at least 14 deaths, authorities said on Monday.
The icy blast downed tree limbs and power lines, leaving more than 500,000 people without power in Oklahoma, where shelters opened throughout the region for those driven from cold and dark homes, and national guardsmen and volunteers were transporting food and water to hard-hit areas.
“This particular storm is now the worst in company history in terms of customers affected,” said Brian Alford, spokesman for Oklahoma Gas and Electric.
Crews were sent from Texas, Louisiana, Indiana and Mississippi to help repair power lines, which snapped seemingly as quickly as they could be repaired.
The storm also shut down electricity service to more than 102,000 people in Missouri, more than 11,000 people in Illinois and about 5,000 in Kansas.
In all, ice storm warnings were issued from Texas up through Oklahoma and Kansas and east across Missouri into Illinois, with up to an inch of ice accumulation possible in some areas. Iowa and Arkansas were also affected.
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency, calling out the state National Guard to aid communities hit by the storm. “We are only just beginning to see the devastation from this series of storms,” he said.
Ice-slicked roads contributed to the deaths of 12 people in Oklahoma during the weekend, state officials said. One Oklahoma man died of hypothermia. A Missouri motorist died when he stopped to help another driver and was hit by a car skidding on ice.
Parts of several highways and interstates were closed and hundreds of flights were canceled at major airports in Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis and Oklahoma City.
The National Weather Service office predicted another icy blast on Tuesday night, with more significant ice accumulations possible. |
How can you call yourself a member of our Church when you stand by the evils of homosexuality spoken of in scripture?
I received this question after posting the following link on my Facebook page:
Watch Neon Trees’ Tyler Glenn Slam Mormon Church in New Solo Video
Tyler Glenn, a recently active and devoted LDS member, return missionary and famous musician who used his influence to speak positively of the church (even as a gay man), just came out with a new solo song. Trash depicts his relationship with the Church since the exclusionary policy came out last November. It’s a performance full of despair, anger and pain in regards to the symbolism of being treated like trash and being put out by the curbside in our community. I can understand why it would make many members uncomfortable. At the same time, he speaks of something much deeper than discomfort with the red X he paints on his face towards the end of the video and the church-wide excommunications so many of our LGBT members are experiencing. At the end of the day, people need to self-protect to survive. And Tyler needs to be considered “treasure” by those he associates with, not “trash.” What a travesty that our church has put an entire population in the position where self-protection means having to wrestle with their faith tradition at this level of anguish.
My answer to the above question goes as follows:
I “stand by” the two greatest commandments spoken of by Christ. Everything else is a much, much distant second. So many things in the scriptures are mentioned many more times than homosexuality, and yet we feel perfectly comfortable paying them no mind: eating certain foods, wearing costly apparel or jewelry, taking care of the poor at the level the scriptures command, not judging/criticizing others, being left-handed, etc. And there is good historical precedence that the few scriptures (I believe there are two) that mention homosexual behavior were about men taking advantage of underage boys. The current focus on homosexuality by the entire religious right is a bit ridiculous in light of the scripture cherry-picking we all tend to engage in. After all, we regularly eat our shellfish, drive our fancy cars, wear our diamond wedding bands, walk by the homeless, support cutting welfare programs, and the list goes on… (and I include myself in this critique).
I “stand by” as witness of the evils of judging and condemning those who are in pain, and dealing with things that we with straight privilege will never understand. I think that’s why dialogue gets stuck. It’s not that one side adheres to scripture while the other doesn’t. It’s more about which scriptures each of us decides to highlight and prioritize. Kind of like the “Garden of Eden” choice of obedience vs principle. We can’t always have it both ways. Ethical dilemmas are inherently defined by something being amiss in an arena we are not used to questioning. And I know that when it comes to choosing between obedience vs. an ethical principle, I lean towards Eve’s approach – every time. Therein lies the beauty of the Mormon understanding to the Genesis story, so unique and profound compared to many other Christian interpretations where Eve is only seen as a mistaken fool. And why it is so disheartening to see our current Mormon culture be so obedience-focused. It continually breaks my heart that there isn’t room for more of us to feel, not only welcomed, but truly at home.
I have watched LGBT friends, clients and loved ones fall in love, date, commit to relationships, marry, raise children and just live. There is nothing evil about homosexuality (that’s not even a position our church currently takes). There is nothing evil about homosexual relationships. There is nothing evil about homosexual love or sexual expression. I do not “stand by the evils of homosexuality,” because they don’t exist.
If you’re interested in hearing more of Tyler Glenn’s story and understanding where he is coming from, he did a phenomenal interview over at Mormon Stories.
Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT, CST can be reached at natashaparker.org. She authors the Mormon Therapist Blog, hosts the Mormon Mental Health and Mormon Sex Info Podcasts, writes a regular column for Sunstone Magazine and is the current president of the Mormon Mental Health Association. She has 20 years of experience working with primarily an LDS/Mormon clientele. |
As you all probably know, Martha fascinates me. BTW, have you noticed she’s just known as Martha now – like Cher or Madonna.
Anyway, I was watching one of her old shows on some crazy channel last week. Just when I thought I’d seen it all, I saw her fold a fitted sheet. Have you ever seen her do that? It’s witchcraft, I tell you. It cannot be done by a mere mortal.
In the same show, she created a cake for a child’s birthday party. The theme was old McDonald’s farm, and Martha showed us how to carve little cabbages and tomatoes – a good variety of produce, really- out of marzipan and how to hand-paint each piece.
It is one of the highest forms of insanity I have ever witnessed, and yet I could not look away. Who does this???!! What kind of person would carve vegetables out of almond paste and then tint them? For a child. I mean, you had to see this thing to believe it. It’s probably on YouTube.
The cabbages alone were tiny masterpieces. She didn’t just roll little green balls, no. They had individual leaves, with different shades of green. And don’t even get me started on the rutabagas.
The first time I ever saw her was on a PBS special about 30 years ago. She had a Thanksgiving special, and no one had ever heard of her. I watched this show with a friend. We went back and forth between disbelief and HOWLING with laughter.
She opened the show by telling us not to think we couldn’t have a crowd over because we didn’t have room. Improvise. Martha twinkled when told us that SHE was using the old tobacco barn behind her house.
Now, why the hell didn’t I think of that? Of course, I should have been using the old tobacco barn behind my house all this time. Problem solved. Dinnerware?
It seems that Martha has a special pantry just for her turkey crap. Really. Turkey platters, turkey carvings, turkey bowls, turkey napkins, turkey gravy boats, turkey molds – any one of which is worth more than my car.
She was like this strange, but mesmerizing bird, doing things so outrageous, things that no one would think of doing.
She was separating the skin from the breast of the turkey with her hand, and there was something almost sexual about it. She was doing it so that she could put herbal butter under the skin and also leaves of the herb to make a pattern. It was disturbing, yet compelling.
In retrospect, she had me when she wrapped one of the turkeys in puff pastry, and decorated it with “botanically correct” puff pastry leaves. I was hooked, and disappointed when the show ended.
We laughed, we cried, Martha became a part of us. Why? Because she believes so totally in what she is doing, whatever she is doing. No detail is too minor. No shortcuts tolerated. She doesn’t just visit a cranberry bog, Martha is out there, raking them in.
She is a media Megatron and she worked damn hard to get there.
Someday, I’m going to do some zany project of hers. She actually, and I am NOT kidding, had me thinking of what would be involved in beekeeping.
That’s the power of Martha. |
Women's Equality Party raises £152,000, receives just 3,600 votes
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The Women’s Equality Party proved themselves to be an irrelevant political force as every candidate lost their deposit and the party as a whole only amassed a paltry 3,580 votes.
This is despite receiving at least £152,960 in funding – that works out at £42.73-per-vote. Of donations higher than £7,500, the WEP actually raised more than UKIP or the Green Party between 3rd May and the 6th June.
The highest share of the vote the party received was 1.9% in Shipley, gained by WEP leader Sophie Walker – and that’s in Philip Davies’ constituency!
It’s a seat where the WEP was standing against a man who thinks the creation of the Women and Equalities Committee in 2015 was “one of the most depressing things to happen”.
And the WEP could only muster 1.9% of the vote. Look at their candidates in Hornsey and Wood Green (0.9%), Manchester Withington (0.4%), Stirling (0.7%), Tunbridge Wells (1.3%), Vale of Glamorgan (0.3%) and Vauxhall (1%).
It’s not as if WEP didn’t have the resources – NOW advertising created a slick, hard-hitting and well publicised campaign for them.
And their TV coverage was completely disproportionate to the end result, as Philip Davies told Westmonster: “They had all the lefty luvvie media here; Channel 4 and The Guardian. Sophie Walker called me a misogynist on Channel 4 News. But I actually got them to change their policy towards women and boost women’s rights! I highlighted that they weren’t against sharia courts and they changed their minds, so that’s good.”
It begs the questions: is there really a public appetite for divisive gender identity politics in Britain? And if the shoe was on the other foot, would the Men’s Equality Party not be hounded out of town? |
Senator elect Joni Ernst makes 'em squeal
Every week, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich talks with contributor Eric Benson about the biggest stories in politics and culture. This week: The GOP’s midterm triumph, and what it means for the President, Congress, and the 2016 race.
The Republican Party triumphed in yesterday’s midterm elections, taking back control of the Senate (with seats to spare), solidifying its House majority, and prevailing in nearly all the tight gubernatorial races. Was this completely a repudiation of President Obama? Merely a consequence of an unfavorable map that featured a critical mass of red- and purple-state Democrats? Or have reports of the GOP’s demographic apocalypse been greatly exaggerated?
This deeply dispirited country wanted to throw the bums in power out, and the bums in power were the Democrats, led by the bum-in-chief President Obama. The electorate’s message could not have been more clear: Having soured on hope and change, Americans voted for change without hope.
Sure, the 2014 map favored the GOP, and so did the traditional midterm turnout, heavy on the white and the old and light on minorities and the young. And the Republicans’ demographic apocalypse remains on track as the country gets younger and more Hispanic. But that will hardly be a panacea for the Democrats’ ills. You can’t fight something with nothing. We know what the right stands for. What do the Democrats stand for? If the GOP’s only overriding strategy was to run against Obama, the Democrats’ only coherent national message was to run away from Obama, including his signature achievement, the Affordable Care Act. It’s only on social issues that the Democratic party has a clear profile, and as was seen last night most spectacularly in Mark Udall’s defeat in Colorado, running a narrowcasting campaign focused on the GOP “war on women” is not a blueprint for victory.
At least there is one outcome from last night that may inspire bipartisan agreement: Scott Brown’s ability to lose in this Republican blowout was awesome, though not in a good way.
After the GOP won big in the 2010 midterm elections, President Obama said that he’d taken a “shellacking,” admitted he might have been out of touch with voters, and vowed to work more with Republicans. So far, word out of the White House is that the president “doesn’t feel repudiated,” and that he’s planning to aggressively defend his record and push forward on his initiatives. Will the president find room to work? Or will the next two years feel like one long government shutdown?
I expect Obama will strike a more conciliatory tone, which (often to a fault) is his true nature. Last night he made the pointed gesture of placing a congratulatory phone call to Tom Cotton, the Republican who unseated the Democratic incumbent Senator Mark Pryor in Arkansas. Mitch McConnell, in his victory speech, also struck a kinder, gentler tone — especially for a man whose professed goal has been to bring down the Obama presidency. He had to, needless to say. Now that the Republicans have won Washington, they own it, and if it continues to be broken, they’ll be punished next time. As the maxim goes, they have to prove they can govern. Or prove they can do something other than bitch and moan. The shelf life of all Obama-hatred all the time as a party message expired this morning.
But the real story of what will happen in Congress over the next two years is likely to have less to do with either the president or the new Senate majority leader than with the GOP’s radicals on the right. The most misleading morning-after-the-election story line is that the Republicans triumphed because the Establishment struck back and shut down the crazy gaffe-prone candidates who have dogged the GOP in the past two cycles: no candidate was talking about “legitimate rape” or denying that she was a witch this time around. But the reality is that the radicals increased their power yesterday. Take two of the stars among the newly elected GOP Senate class. The aforementioned Tom Cotton has floated the notion that there is a collaboration between the Islamic State and “drug cartels in Mexico.” Joni Ernst, the Republican victor in Iowa, is against a Federal minimum wage, wants to outlaw gay marriage and abortion, has called for impeaching Obama, and has signed on to a nutty conspiracy theory warning that the United Nations has plans to prevent people from living in suburbs and using gas-fueled cars.
The shadow leader of Republicans in the Senate remains Ted Cruz, who campaigned for Ernst and other new Republican senators such as David Purdue (Georgia) and Dan Sullivan (Alaska). He has announced that he will once again “pursue every means possible to repeal Obamacare,” has refused to pledge support to McConnell, takes a Draconian line on immigration, and has every incentive to remain an obstructionist firebrand as he plots a 2016 presidential campaign. In House races, at least five new tea-party-right members have been added to the already unruly Republican caucus. The two most controversial and hard-line exponents of conservative governance in the states, Scott Walker (Wisconsin) and Sam Brownback (Kansas), won reelection. The 2014 election was also a huge victory for the Koch Brothers, who this time spent their money well and effectively. The same cannot be said of the Democratic fat cat and climate-change-activist Tom Steyer, whose PAC millions produced close to naught. In Silicon Valley, the deep-pocketed tech team of Eric Schmidt, Marissa Mayer, and Marc Andreessen joined together to back a pro-disruption Democratic challenger to the pre-digital Democratic incumbent, Mike Honda, who nonetheless was reelected handily.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul used the midterms as an opportunity to throw the first punch of the 2016 Presidential race, saying that the GOP victories were not only a “repudiation basically of the president’s policies, but also Hillary Clinton.” That would be an awfully convenient truth for Paul and the GOP. Does his claim have any merit? And, more broadly, how do you see yesterday’s results affecting the opening stage of the 2016 election?
The fundamentals remain the same. A voting population more favorable to Democrats, a free-for-all among Republicans, and a Democratic party that has a poor bench of potential national candidates. To return to my point above: The question of what Democrats stand for (social issues aside) can have a finer point — what does Hillary Clinton stand for? The fact that she has no credible challengers within the party is far from a good thing. There was nothing about her book-tour campaign rollout to suggest that she is any more nimble in dealing with unexpected developments now than she was in 2008.
It remains a Republican Establishment hope that a “mainstream” candidate — Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, or (however absurdly) Mitt Romney — will triumph come primary season and restore the White House to the GOP. I just don’t see a second coming for Bush Republicanism. This party’s base wants what it wants, and the most formidable choice on the right remains Rand Paul. One thing that separates him from other GOP presidential hopefuls, as I’ve said before, is that he has never made a cause out of vilifying Obama — a plus in a general election. He is not a McCain–Lindsey Graham–Christie-Bush hawk on foreign policy. He actually tries to speak to black people. He is already trying to rattle Hillary and may well prove expert at that. To most Democrats, he is a preposterous radical — as indeed many of his positions are. But stranger people have succeeded in American politics. A cautious Clinton campaign standing for little in particular and distancing itself from Barack Obama could yet be vulnerable, just as such a Democratic campaign proved this year. |
WASHINGTON — A new federal survey has found that e-cigarette use among teenagers has surpassed the use of traditional cigarettes as smoking has continued to decline. Health advocates say the trend for e-cigarette use is dangerous because it is making smoking seem normal again. They also worry it could lead to an increase in tobacco smoking, though the new data do not show that.
The survey, released Tuesday by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, measured drug and alcohol use this year among middle and high school students across the country. More than 41,000 students from 377 public and private schools participated. It is one of several such national surveys, and the most up-to-date.
It was the first time this survey measured e-cigarette use, so there were no comparative data on the change over time. Other surveys have shown e-cigarette use among middle and high school students to be much lower, but increasing fast.
“The numbers are stunning,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, an advocacy group. |
Global need for antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance
Along with clean water, sanitation, and vaccines, antibiotics were responsible for the vast improvements in health and longevity in high-income countries over the past century. The critical question is how we can responsibly scale up access to antibiotics in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) while minimizing the threat of resistance and prolonging their effectiveness.
1 Laxminarayan R.
et al. Antibiotic resistance – the need for global solutions. 2 Van Boeckel T.P.
et al. Global antibiotic consumption 2000 to 2010: an analysis of national pharmaceutical sales data. Antibiotic resistance has often been compared to climate change in its scope and scale []. Actions undertaken by any single country have the potential to adversely (or positively) affect other countries. For example, improved water, sanitation, vaccination, and pharmaceutical regulation in India can have global benefits if this results in reducing selection pressure for resistant strains of bacteria to evolve and spread elsewhere, such as with the notorious New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM)-1. Unlike the uniform global increase in carbon dioxide levels caused by fossil fuel burning, however, the effects of antibiotic use on resistance levels are as much local as they are global, and effective conservation measures benefit the local population directly as well as contributing to the global good. Use of antibiotics is growing in LMICs, particularly in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries []. LMICs are likely to be the hardest hit by declining effectiveness of antibiotics because of their greater burden of infectious disease in both human and animal populations, the lack of access to affordable second- and third-line antibiotics, and because of suboptimal infection-prevention measures in hospitals and communities. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Clashes continued as dawn broke over Cairo on Wednesday
Egyptian officials have ordered a probe into overnight clashes between police and protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square that left hundreds of people injured.
Riot police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators, who pelted officers with stones and fire bombs.
Fresh clashes broke out on Wednesday as angry crowds demanded action over the previous night's unrest.
The riots are the most serious violence in Egypt in weeks - officials say more than 1,000 people were injured.
Activists are calling for the speedy implementation of reforms demanded during the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February.
They also want senior officials to face justice for the deaths of 850 protesters during the uprising, including Mr Mubarak himself, who is due to stand trial on 3 August.
Tear gas
After a long night of fighting, Egypt's Prosecutor General, Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the clashes in Tahrir Square - the epicentre of the Egyptian protest movement.
The announcement came hours after the interior minister ordered police to leave the square in an attempt to avoid any further violence.
Trials of Mubarak-era officials President Mubarak due to go on trial on 3 August alongside his sons, Alaa and Gamal, charged with the deaths of protesters
Interior minister, Habib al-Adly, sentenced to jail for corruption
Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid sentenced to five years in absentia for embezzling public funds
Former Finance Minister Yussef Boutros Ghali given 30 years in absentia for corruption
Several other senior officials and businessmen yet to be tried
"The regrettable incidents in Tahrir Square... are designed to destabilise the country and pit the revolutionaries against the police," the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces - Egypt's ruling military council - said in a statement.
But some angry demonstrators have remained in the square, says the BBC's Jeannie Assad in Cairo.
There were more scenes of violence as youths threw stones and other missiles at the police, who responded with tear gas.
Protesters outside the interior ministry demanded the resignation of several key figures over Tuesday's violence - including the head of the military council, Gen Mohamed Tantawi, and the Minister of the Interior, Mansour Essawi.
"I am here today because I heard about the violent treatment of the police to the protesters last night," said accountant Magdy Ibrahim.
Another protester said police tactics had not changed since the revolution, despite promises that the country's hated security forces would be dismantled and reformed.
"They're still using an iron fist against us," he said.
'Fuelling the fire'
There are conflicting reports as to how Tuesday's clashes began.
Some witnesses say they started outside the interior ministry, where bereaved families were demonstrating against what they perceive as the slow prosecution of security officers alleged to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of protesters.
Image caption Some protesters have blamed the violence on "thugs" in the square
Violence then spread to Tahrir Square as other people joined in and threw stones at the security forces, they say.
Mazzly Hussein, who took part in the protests which unseated Mr Mubarak, said the police force was "as violent and as brutal as ever".
"Families of martyrs were attacked and a lot of them were arrested and when they demanded the release of the arrested young men, all hell broke lose and the violence started," she told the BBC.
However, others claim the conflict started when a group of "thugs" attacked a gathering at a Cairo theatre to honour those killed during the uprising earlier this year.
"These aren't revolutionaries, they have no clue about the revolution, politics or anything else. They're here to destroy, nothing more," said one man at the scene.
"Egypt is now falling apart. Why?" said another angry witness. "Because [the protesters] are fuelling the fire."
Deputy Health Minister Abdel Hamid Abaz told the Mena state news agency more than 1,000 people had been injured over the past two days - 120 people had been taken to hospital, he said, and 16 people were still being treated. |
The Supreme Court opted Monday not to review Arizona's struck-down abortion restrictions — a decision that could have a bearing on a plethora of new abortion restrictions across the country.
From Robert Barnes:
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to revive Arizona’s new restrictions on abortion, turning away a request that the justices review an appeals court ruling that had struck down a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court, as is its custom, gave no reason for declining to take the case.
Arizona’s ban is the first to reach the high court from a batch of state laws passed around the country that restrict abortion after 20 weeks, which is before a fetus is considered to be viable outside the womb. That has been the standard the Supreme Court set for when government may disallow abortion. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) signed the ban into law in April 2012, and nine other states have similar bans. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said last year such bans violate the standards set by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade.
Republicans in Congress and in many states around the country are passing new abortion restrictions, including a 20-week abortion ban that passed in the GOP-controlled House last year.
One particularly prominent case that is working its way through the courts is Texas's new abortion restrictions, some of which were ruled unconstitutional by a district judge last year. A federal appeals court heard the state's appeal of that ruling last week. |
Capturing Bin Laden Takes Back Seat to Fighting WikiLeaks
UPDATE 080410
Last Thursday I thought I’d ask the White House a simple question. Is it more important to capture Osama Bin Laden, or to detain and “question” (under the PATRIOT Act, we all know what that can mean.) Julian Assange of WikiLeaks.
I thought this was a no brainer. How wrong, I suppose, I was. At least, for the White House. The decision on what may be declassified has been removed from the Executive Branch of the United States (or any) government, and it seems the Obama administration has yet to figure out how to respond, aside from scheming to capture / detain / or otherwise incarcerate Julian Assange, so that he may be interrogated. With, or Without Due Process. But really now, Patriots! In secret?
Not Bloody Likely.
An absence of answers from the White House Press Office apparently means what? Corking-up WikiLeaks is more important than stopping Al Qaeda?
On Friday morning, I called the White House Press Office again, and repeated that question, and another. I spotted Assange’s interview with abcnews.au wherein he asserted the White House had been approached by the New York Times on behalf of the media partnership, and asked if they would help remove names of our Afghan Friends. The White house “declined.”
I asked, “Is this True?”
Since then, silence.
Seriously. The White House declined an opportunity to protect our “assets”?
What’s wrong with this picture?
Just to keep this in perspective, here is WikiLeaks extraordinary press conference last week:
Link: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8526049
Short Link: http://bit.ly/aQyzbs
WikiLeaks Afghan War Diary, 2004-2010
The Guardian Afghanistan War Logs
Der Spiegel Afghanistan Protocol
New York Times Afghanistan War Logs
My email this morning to the White House Press Office is below.
-dcm
I took the press conference at the Frontline Club July 26 and split it in two and made it available for download here:
Frontline London Press Conference July 26 2010,downloadable,2 pcs http://bit.ly/WLatFL
Also, rageunderground over at YouTube has mapped from the WikiLeaks War Diaries, all of the Afghan War IED attacks from 2004 through 2009, and overlaid them on a NATO map of the area. Here:
:dcm
UPDATE@ 080410
First, there is now an easy to use Citizen Journalist Research tool for the Afghan War Diary Database at http://www.diarydig.org/ . Next…
Here’s a riotously succinct synopsis of why we need ironclad Net Neutrality, as illuminated by the release of the Wikileaks Afghan War Diaries, courtesy of thejuicemedia’s Rap News.
:dcm
Subject: 2 Simple Questions regarding WikiLeaks/Guardian/DerSpiegel/NYT War Diaries, from Scribal Thrum
David Manchester <david.c.manchester@gmail.com> Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 9:17 AM To: White House Press Office <media_affairs@who.eop.gov> Cc: [list of journalists] Dear President Obama and Robert Gibbs: Once again, I ask. For the fourth (4th) time since last Thursday 07/29/10: Which is a greater priority for the White House and Pentagon – capturing Osama Bin Laden, or detaining and “questioning” Julian Assange? Once again, I ask. For the third (3rd) time since last Friday 07/30/10: Is it true the White House declined to help the media partnership of NYT/Guardian/DerSpiegel/WikiLeaks to scrub the names of our Human Resources from the War Diaries as part of their Harm Minimisation?
Every single time I have contacted the White House Press Office (“media affairs”) I have identified myself, given a phone number, email address, and identified the blog I publish. Every single time I have been assured You will “get back” to me. You have not. Is it because I run a blog, and the White House does not think that merits a response? Have I received no response because the White House does not think I am qualified as a journalist? Let me assure You, I was trained in Print, Broadcast, and Photo Journalism by the Department of Defense Information School. I served on active duty as an Army Journalist. The paper I worked on won numerous awards during my tenure there. Please respond to these questions with answers. As I mentioned this morning when I called around 0715hrs, my headline for my next post on Scribal Thrum will be something like White House Won’t Protect Afghan Sources, Won’t Rule Out Killing Assange
Capturing Bin Laden Takes Back Seat to Fighting WikiLeaks If I have no response from You by 12 noon today I will surmise the White House is okay with this headline, and will proceed. Thanks for the Help! Regards,
Dave Manchester
xxx.xxx.xxxx https://dredeyedick.wordpress.com
http://thewall.civiblog.org/nsa.html
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A Catholic cardinal who is supporting a lawsuit against the Obama administration’s mandate that all health insurance cover female contraceptives refused on Sunday to say whether presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was a Christian.
During an interview on Fox News, host Chris Wallace asked Cardinal Donald Wuerl if Mormons were “true Christians.”
“I never get into defining other people,” Wuerl explained. “I define myself. That’s one of the reasons, by the way, why we are in court.”
“I don’t want the president to define me so I’m not going to define somebody else.”
Throughout his campaign, Romney has been dogged by the accusation by some evangelical Christians that faith was really a “cult.”
Those accusations echo concerns that evangelical Christians also had about Catholicism while John F. Kennedy was running for president in 1960.
“Catholics in America faced perils virtually since the beginning of the republic,” Columbia University Professor of History Alan Brinkley recently wrote. “They experienced Protestant fears of the Vatican and the pope. They have struggled against the belief that Catholicism was something close to a secret cult.”
“In 1960, this fear threatened the campaign of John F. Kennedy – the first and still only Catholic president. Everywhere he went, Catholicism dogged Kennedy’s path.”
Watch this video from Fox News’ Fox News Sunday, broadcast May 27, 2012. |
Movie streaming company Netflix have once again reiterated that have no plans to support Linux anytime soon.
This news won’t surprise many: the company announced earlier this year that they had ‘no plans’ to support Linux.
But since that time things haven’t gone smoothly for the company.
Profits Falling
Netflix posted a 91% profits drop during the second quarter of this year (April – June 2012). A total that compounded on their $4.6 million loss during the first quarter of 2012.
With such turbulent financial forecasts of late, OMG! Ubuntu! writer Benjamin Kerensa reached out of the company to see whether there was any change in their position with regards to Linux.
After all the more people who can access your service the more potential customers you have.
This wasn’t the sentitment echoed by Joris Evers, Director of Corporate Communications at Netflix. In an e-mail exchange with Benjamin he said that there was to be ‘no change’ in the company’s approach to the issue of Netflix on Linux.
The Issue
So what’s actually stopping Netflix from being able to work on Linux? Microsoft.
Okay, it’s not actually Microsoft’s fault per se, but the streaming service uses Microsoft’s proprietary (and dying) Silverlight plugin for playback. And as Microsoft don’t provide a Linux-version of their Silverlight client we are at the situation we’re at.
Or are we?
Whilst the desktop-browser based versions of Netflix do require Silverlight (mainly because the ‘PlayReady’ DRM lets Netflix feel in control), the Android and iOS apps don’t. And, perhaps most notable, neither does the ChromeOS plugin.
When the technology is clearly already available, and demand is there, one wonders what the real reasons behind the hold-up are…
Ubuntu TV
Netflix is the worlds most popular on-demand streaming service for films and TV series, claiming to have in the region of 500million subscribers worldwide.
But whilst it may be the most used it’s also the least liked. An opinion shared with a number of Linux users who feel ignored by the streaming giant.
The dream of seeing Netflix support baked into Ubuntu TV remains, for now, a dream.
With thanks to Benjamin Kerensa |
Manitoba has released information surrounding phase two of cannabis legalization.
The province has decided to make 19 the legal age to purchase marijuana, one year later than the legal drinking age, which is 18.
“We know that there’s research out there, that there’s evidence out there, that says this is harmful to the brains of young Manitobans, young Canadians, young people in general,” Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said Tuesday.
“If you chose an age of 25 or 21, you’re potentially driving people towards the gangs or the elicit market, so we believe this is a balanced approach that shows that we care about our young people. We’re putting their health and safety first while trying to keep it out of the hands of gangs.”
The province detailed the age Tuesday during its Safe and Responsible Retailing of Cannabis Act news conference The act would amend the Liquor and Gaming Control Act and The Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Control Act. The Liquor and Gaming Authority would also be renamed the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority.
It will be an offence to sell marijuana to underage consumers, and for underage consumers to possess marijuana.
READ MORE: Legalization of marijuana unlikely to kill Canada’s black market right away
The regulations are similar to current liquor framework in the province.
A head-turning announcement released Tuesday is that Manitobans won’t be able to grow marijuana at home without a medical license.
“Our government will prohibit growing cannabis at home for recreational purposes. This approach is consistent with our commitment to protect youth and also responds directly to the concerns that home grown cannabis may be diverted to the black market,” Stefanson said.
Retailers will take the form of either age restricted stores or controlled access stores, where other goods are present but where weed is not visible or accessible.
Selling marijuana without a license or selling cannabis from an unlicensed producer could cost you up to $100,000 or a year in jail, or $500,000 if a corporation is found guilty of the offence.
Providing fake IDs to teens or using fake IDs to buy marijuana will be illegal, as will selling marijuana to an intoxicated person.
The maximum amount for possession is 30 grams, which is a federal limit.
Licensed cannabis retailers with physical storefronts will also be allowed to retail their product online and must be licensed by the province.
Online pot shoppers will have to prove age prior to purchasing and sign for their deliveries, and whoever signs for the package will have to be 19 or older.
READ MORE: Federal government willing to give more pot tax revenue to provinces to help municipalities
Again, municipalities hold the reins when it comes to deciding whether or not to prohibit cannabis sales in their communities, and given the right timeline, they will be able to hold plebiscites on the issue until January 2022.
Notably absent from the bill was the presence of any rules around edibles, as legislation on the sale of edibles is expected to come into play within a year of legalization.
READ MORE: Pot to be sold from private retail locations in Manitoba, supply handled by Liquor and Lotteries
The province unveiled the first part of their pot plan in early November, announcing that the private industry will handle sales in the province, while the public sector – namely The Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation – will control distribution. |
Three outspoken Americans recently fed the storyline that charity is the solution to solving social problems.
When Catholic scholars charged that House Speaker John Boehner’s social service budget cuts were at odds with the Catholic Church’s moral teachings about caring for the poor, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly jumped to Boehner’s defense.
“All entitlements must be re-evaluated. There are ways to help the poor that don’t bankrupt us, and Catholics are compelled to help the poor,” said O’Reilly. “As you may know, ‘The Factor’ gives millions of dollars to charitable causes. We have set up BillOReilly.com to do that because we believe those who have should help the have-nots.”
When CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) if he favored abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Paul said he did.
“I think it’s bad economics. I think it’s bad morality. And it’s bad constitutional law,” said Paul, a Republican presidential hopeful.
“And if there’s a disaster, like flooding or – or an earthquake or Hurricane Katrina, what’s wrong with asking fellow Americans to help their – their – their fellow citizens?” asked Blitzer.
Paul answered that “Americans are very, very generous… The big problem is Americans are getting poor and they’re not able to voluntarily come to the rescue.”
The Texas congressman accused FEMA of preventing volunteers from being able to help disaster victims and criticized government “coercion and taxation.”
When Franklin Graham was interviewed on ABC’s “This Week with Christiane Amanpour” on Easter Sunday morning, she asked about what the church could do to fill the growing gap between the rich and the poor.
Graham replied: “A hundred years ago, the safety net, the social safety net, in the country, was provided by the church. If you didn’t have a job, you’d go to your local church and ask the pastor if he knew somebody that could hire him. If you were hungry, you went to the local church and told them, ‘I can’t feed my family.’ And the church would help you. That’s not being done. The government took that. And took it away from the church.”
The government “had more money to give and more programs to give and pretty soon the churches just backed off,” said Graham.
O’Reilly, Paul and Graham represent a narrative that says the solution to poverty and natural disasters is churches, charities or both. This narrative is rooted in an anti-government, anti-taxes belief system.
The idea that churches can tackle national poverty, take care of those who are ill, and rebuild communities after natural disasters requires a spoonful of bad moral theology and a cup of dishonesty.
As commendable as O’Reilly’s charitable efforts are, his millions of dollars in charity are a drop in the bucket of what is needed.
Take one example of a program to care for low-income Americans: WIC. WIC is a supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children that feeds almost 9 million people each month. House Republicans proposed cuts of $747.2 million for the current fiscal year. It is simply dishonest to suggest that American charity can replace such a cut.
Paul, on the other hand, claims that supporting FEMA is bad morality. Of course, his moral vision is informed by a libertarian ideology, not biblical faith. Paul’s libertarian morality values property rights over human rights. For a Christian, that’s bad moral theology.
And Graham made a dubious historical claim about the church being the country’s safety net and an erroneous claim about the government taking something special away from the church – care for the poor and vulnerable. Facts seldom get in the way of Graham’s ideology.
In an extra on our documentary DVD on faith and taxes, “Sacred Texts, Social Duty,” Wayne Flynt, a Baptist Sunday school teacher and two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, addressed the myth of “let the churches and charity do it.”
When Flynt started making speeches about a just tax system in Alabama, he was accused of wanting government to solve all the problems.
“When people insisted that I was a socialist, that I wanted government to solve all the problems, I would offer this alternative,” said Flynt. “OK, I accept your argument. There are 10,000 communities of faith – Muslim, Jewish, Baptist, Baha’i, Buddhist, Shintoist – in Alabama… Let’s divide 10,000 communities of faith into the 740,000 [poor] people.”
He asked, “How many does your church get?”
The retired Auburn history professor pointed out that most of those faith communities had about 100 members. That meant that each faith community would get between 50 and 100 poor people to look after.
“Your private charity is going to be responsible for them. Do it. We won’t have to have Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, taxes of any kind… We can abolish taxes. We can abolish the IRS,” said Flynt.
“And all you have to do is for your congregation to adopt 50 to 100 poor people, and mentor them, and love them, and educate them and nurture them,” he said.
“And I’ll guarantee you that if you do that, it will be closer to what Christ intended than Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare. And they will never do it,” said Flynt. “They will never do it…[T]he churches will not do it.”
He’s right.
It’s time for some honesty in the pulpit and public square about the dishonest national discourse that churches and charities can take care of the poor, those in ill health and the ones suffering from natural disasters.
Robert Parham is executive editor of EthicsDaily.com and executive director of its parent organization, the Baptist Center for Ethics. |
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