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Image caption Pfizer has paid $75m to the Nigerian authorities to settle related claims
The US Supreme Court has given Nigerian families the green light to sue the drug company Pfizer over the use of a new antibiotic on their children.
It rejected the firm's appeal against a ruling allowing lawsuits to proceed.
The families say Pfizer did not get their proper consent to test the antibiotic Trovan on 200 sick children during a meningitis outbreak in 1996.
Eleven children died and others were blinded, paralysed or brain-damaged. Pfizer denies all allegations.
The company says the children who took the oral drug had a better survival rate than those who did not.
The meningitis epidemic killed 12,000 children in Nigeria over six months.
Banned
At the Supreme Court on Tuesday the justices dismissed, without comment, Pfizer's claim that the Nigerians could not sue under the Alien Tort Statute, which allows foreigners to seek compensation in US courts over violations of international law.
The company looks forward to presenting its defences in court and remains confident it will ultimately prevail in these cases Pfizer Anger at deadly Nigerian drug trials Q&A: Nigeria sues Pfizer
A federal judge initially said the cases should be heard in Nigeria, not the US, but this was overruled by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.
The US government had urged the Supreme Court to reject Pfizer's appeal, saying the questions presented did not warrant review.
Pfizer said it was disappointed with the decision, but noted that it might win dismissal of the lawsuits on other grounds, including that Nigeria would be the appropriate place for the cases to be heard.
"The company looks forward to presenting its defences in court and remains confident it will ultimately prevail in these cases," it said.
Pfizer has separately paid $75m (£50m) to the Nigerian authorities to settle claims related to the incident, which occurred a year before Trovan was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In 1998, the FDA approved Trovan for use by adults only. After the agency received reports of liver failure, its use was restricted to adult emergency care. The European Union banned its use in 1999. |
The Structure of ALF
"The arson at the Sheepskin Factory in Denver was done in defense and retaliation for all the innocent animals that have died cruelly at the hands of human oppressors. Be warned that making a living from the use and abuse of animals will not be tolerated. Also be warned that leather is every bit as evil as fur. As demonstrated in my recent arson against the Leather Factory in Salt Lake City. Go vegan! — ALF Lone Wolf"
The Challenges of Leaderless Resistance
On July 22, special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI arrested Walter Bond in Denver and charged him with conducting the April 30 arson that destroyed a Glendale, Colo., business, the Sheepskin Factory, which sold a variety of sheepskin products. According to an affidavit completed by a special agent assigned to the Denver ATF field office, Bond used the nom de guerre, "ALF Lone Wolf" and boasted to a confidential informant that he not only torched the Sheepskin Factory but also was responsible for a June 5 fire at a leather factory in Salt Lake City and a July 3 fire at a restaurant in Sandy, Utah. The Bond case serves as a reminder that activists with organizations such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) are still very active — indeed, there have been several firebombing attacks by such activists in the United States this year, not only at businesses but also at the homes of animal researchers. And there have been scores of animal rights-related attacks in other countries, with Mexico being among the most active. The Bond case also provides an opportunity to examine the manner in which the animal liberation movement conducts its leaderless resistance campaign, to draw lessons from the case and to assess the trajectory of the animal rights movement.Like its kindred organization the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), the ALF was created to follow the organizational principles of leaderless resistance . The leaderless resistance model, as envisioned by proponents such as white supremacist Louis Beam, employs a two-tiered approach to revolutionary struggle. One tier adheres to the laws of the land and serves as the aboveground propaganda service for the cause. In the United States, such activists take full advantage of their First Amendment freedoms and are careful to ensure that their propaganda efforts do not cross the line of legality. This caution is necessary because many of these first-tier activists, such as former ELF spokesman Craig Rosebraugh, are the public faces of the movement and receive a great deal of law enforcement attention. The second tier in leaderless resistance is composed of anonymous individuals ("lone wolves") and small groups of activists ("phantom cells") who are responsible for conducting attacks — often referred to by the ELF/ALF and other activists as "direct actions." The aboveground propaganda activists are responsible for providing motivation and general guidance to the operational tier as well as publicizing the cause and exploiting the illegal actions of the underground activists in the media. This second tier is supposed to remain low-key and anonymous and maintain no traceable connections to the aboveground activists. This operational model is quite evident in the Bond case. Aboveground ALF propaganda outlets such as the Animal Liberation Press Office initially posted news articles on their websites pertaining to the three arsons in which Bond was allegedly involved. Later, they posted anonymous communiques that purported to be from the perpetrator, like the following:Following Bond's arrest, these ALF propaganda websites posted articles glorifying Bond and his activities for the movement. They also have been very busy using Bond and the press to promote their cause and the case for activists to conduct more direct action attacks . The spokesman for the Animal Liberation Press Office is Dr. Jerry Vlasak, a California physician who, along with his wife, former child actress Pamelyn Ferdin (the voice of Lucy from Peanuts), are perhaps the highest profile animal rights activists in the country. They are also prime examples of aboveground activists in the leaderless resistance. Vlasak has told various media outlets that he is unsure if Bond is responsible for the arson, but that if he is, Bond is a hero and the ALF supports him. Vlasak was quoted by Denver's Channel 9 News as saying, "There are a lot of examples of cases where these actions have been taken and we've gotten concrete results as opposed to lobbying our congressmen and writing letters to the editors. When you measure these types of actions against other options, this has actually shown to be one of the most effective ways to get things to change." Vlasak's statement highlights an ideological rift that exists in the animal rights movement between those who favor violence to further their cause and those who disdain violence and prefer to use legal methods. Clearly, Vlasak is on the side of those who advocate violence, which he states is more effective than nonviolent approaches. Vlasak is known for making such attention-getting quotes in the press. Discussing a pair of August 2008 fire-bomb attacks against the homes of biologists at the University of California-Santa Cruz, Vlasak remarked: "It's regrettable that certain scientists are willing to put their families at risk by choosing to do wasteful animal experiments." According to the ATF affidavit, a search of Bond's backpack after his arrest revealed that he had a copy of an ALF publication titled "The Declaration of War: Killing People to Save the Animals and the Environment." The book, which was first published by the ALF in 1991, contends that nonviolent methods such as those laid out by Gandhi and Jesus are not productive (especially when applied to animals) and explains that violence is justified to protect animals, who cannot protect themselves. The book's author contends that people who seek to liberate animals (which the author refers to as "brothers" and "sisters") from human oppression and abuse will "use any and every tactic necessary to win the freedom of our brothers and sisters. This means they cheat, steal, lie, plunder, disable, threaten, and physically harm others to achieve their objective."This ideological split within the movement appears to be what ultimately led to Bond's arrest. According to the ATF affidavit, on July 1, 2010, a confidential informant (CI) called the ATF to report that Bond was the person responsible for the Sheepskin Factory fire as well as the fire at the leather factory in Salt Lake City. The CI said that he or she had recently been called by Bond after a period of 12 years, and that when the CI asked Bond what he had been up to, Bond told the CI to go to an ALF-related website and scroll down to the Sheepskin Factory fire story and the leather factory fire story and that those arsons were what he had been up to. Upon hearing of Bond's activities, the CI became concerned that firefighters could be harmed while responding to an arson fire lit by Bond and called the ATF in order to prevent Bond from lighting more fires. At the ATF's request, the CI then met with Bond on July 22 at a Denver hotel room that the ATF had wired for audio and video. During the meeting, Bond reportedly was captured on tape admitting that he had committed the Sheepskin Factory and leather factory fires as well as the July 3 fire at a restaurant in Sandy, Utah, that served foie gras. He admitted that he used the nom de guerre Lone Wolf and stated that he was planning future arson attacks. This meeting provided the government with the probable cause required to arrest Bond and charge him with the fires, though the ATF and FBI will certainly be working hard to find other evidence linking him to the crimes. In general, lone wolf and small cell attacks conducted by ELF/ALF operatives are very difficult to investigate. First of all, as discussed, the ELF and ALF are intentionally nebulous and promote leaderless resistance, which means there is no centralized command structure for law enforcement to target. Second, many people associated with the ELF/ALF are transient and nomadic. Because of this lifestyle, they are often very hard to track using public records and credit card transactions, making it a challenge for law enforcement to know they are in an area or where they went to when they left. They are also frequently known by nicknames within their activist/fringe communities and frequently don't carry identification documents. This makes it difficult for law enforcement to figure out who a potential suspect is even if they know his or her nickname. This ambiguity is compounded by the fact that organizations like the ELF and ALF have produced some very good instruction manuals pertaining to the construction of timed incendiary devices. These manuals not only provide sound instruction on constructing and placing incendiary devices but also describe in great detail steps that can be taken to minimize the physical evidence left at a crime scene. ALF operatives have long favored isolated targets without much security — what we refer to as soft targets. While they occasionally have targeted the offices and laboratories of companies involved in animal testing, such targets have increased their security in the wake of past attacks and many ALF operatives have diverted their efforts toward the homes of executives and researchers (like the UC-Santa Cruz researchers) and other soft targets. Gravitating toward softer targets makes it less likely operatives will be caught in the act. Additionally, the surveillance tradecraft utilized by the ALF and its operatives and the operational security they practice is usually better than that demonstrated by jihadist lone wolves. Organizations such as the Ruckus Society conduct detailed courses on preoperational surveillance , which is called "scouting" in their parlance. Also, since ELF/ALF activists tend to be young Caucasians, they are generally not viewed as a potential threat, even if they are spotted conducting surveillance. Moreover, since these activists have focused mainly on attacks that cause property damage, law enforcement has understandably not placed the same priority on catching ELF/ALF activists as it has other actors such as jihadists, who intentionally target people. In Bond's case, he might have had some difficulty not drawing attention to himself as he cased leather stores and foie gras restaurants because he had tattoos covering half his face with the word "vegan" tattooed across his throat in large block letters flanked on either side by crossed wrenches. "Monkey wrenching" is a term widely used by activists associated with ELF/ALF and anarchist groups to refer to direct-action attacks that involve property destruction such as arson. Anyone involved in animal research or selling animal products who is observant enough would surely look suspiciously upon a person with such distinctive markings. When all of these factors combine, it is usually very difficult to solve an ELF/ALF arson or bombing case unless a mistake is made, or a confidential informant comes forward. Most successful prosecutions in such cases have come as a result of informants, and because of this we have witnessed a cat-and-mouse game between activists and the government regarding informants, with activist groups pressing informants to commit illegal activities before being accepted and the government giving them permission to do so. Although the CI in the Bond case was just an acquaintance of Bond who was concerned about his arson activities and not a person specifically dispatched to penetrate the movement, without the help of the CI, the government probably had very little chance of identifying Bond. Animal rights blogs and websites have already begun dissecting the Bond case and providing lessons learned to current (and aspiring) animal rights activists. Many of these sites have focused on Bond's mistake in confiding in the CI and have indicated that they believe the informant is a woman, which is a fair guess, based on the way Bond appeared to be trying to impress the CI with his exploits. In all likelihood, such sites will soon learn the identity of the CI through court documents and appearances and will publish the CI's name and photo in order to prevent the CI from informing on other activists. The ALF has threatened informants, and has even created websites devoted to identifying "informants, infiltrators, snitches and agents." As previously imprisoned ALF activist Peter Young once said: "For the sake of clarity, let us be uncomfortably honest: To snitch is to take a life. By words and by weapons, each day lives are taken in the most egregious of crimes. When this happens in the courtroom, we call it 'cooperation.' I call it violence, and I call anything done to keep an informant out of the courtroom 'self-defense.'" Despite this rhetoric, however, to date, none of the people identified by the ALF as an informant have been harmed. And despite the uproar the Bond case has caused on websites affiliated with animal liberation, when it comes to the national media, the case appears to have received more coverage because of Bond's dramatic facial tattoos than for his string of successful arsons. Yet even with a dearth of media reporting, a review of the communiques carried on the websites of groups such as ALF and Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty shows that animal rights activists remain surprisingly active, not just in the United States but also in Mexico and elsewhere. Operationally, many of their lone wolves have been more successful in conducting attacks than jihadist lone wolves. Polarization in the animal rights community continues to grow, as do calls for lone wolves to remain isolated from more moderate elements of the community, who are seen as potential security threats. As those activists favoring violence draw further from the more moderate members of the movement — either due to ideological differences or the need for operational security — any moderating influence on the radicals will also be removed, and the lack of this influence will result in the more radical elements becoming even more violent. This dynamic will certainly produce more attacks against property and can be expected to lead to more attacks of the kind advocated by the book found in Bond's backpack — attacks against people. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Bashar al-Assad on anti-IS strikes: "We knew about the campaign before it started, but we didn't know about the details"
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad says his government is receiving messages from the US-led coalition battling the jihadist group, Islamic State.
Mr Assad told the BBC that there had been no direct co-operation since air strikes began in Syria in September.
But third parties - among them Iraq - were conveying "information".
The US National Security Council has denied co-ordinating with the Syrian government.
A spokesperson told the BBC that there has been no "advance notification to the Syrians at a military level".
'Childish story'
Mr Assad also denied that Syrian government forces had been dropping barrel bombs indiscriminately on rebel-held areas, killing thousands of civilians.
He dismissed the allegation as a "childish story", in a wide-ranging interview with BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen in Damascus.
"We have bombs, missiles and bullets... There is [are] no barrel bombs, we don't have barrels."
Our correspondent says that his denial is highly controversial as the deaths of civilians in barrel bomb attacks are well-documented.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond condemned the president's comments and said that the Syrian government had used crude and indiscriminate weapons against its own people.
He added: "Assad is deluded or lying when he says his military are not murdering hundreds of innocent civilians with the use of barrel bombs."
Analysis: Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor
Mr Assad's many enemies will dismiss his view of the war.
For them, he has been in charge of a killing machine that has been chewing Syrians up and spitting them out.
As the war enters its fifth year, the barrel bomb has become the most notorious weapon in the regime's arsenal.
Two or three years ago, I saw the results of what must have been one in Douma, a suburb of Damascus that has been held by rebels since close to the beginning of the war.
Mr Assad insisted that the Syrian army would never use them in a place where people lived.
"I know about the army. They use bullets, missiles and bombs. I haven't heard of the army using barrels, or maybe, cooking pots."
It was a flippant response; the mention of cooking pots was either callousness, an awkward attempt at humour, or a sign that Mr Assad has become so disconnected from what is happening that he feels overwhelmed.
Bowen: Assad defends conduct of war
Assad interview: Key excerpts
Watch Assad interview in full
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Aleppo has continually been hit by barrel bombs, activists say
Mr Assad's denial of indiscriminate bombings has also been strongly criticised on social media. Arabic twitter users have been posting photos of the destruction of the rebel-held Douma suburb of Damascus by Syrian government airstrikes.
The hashtag "#Duma_is_being_exterminated" was used over 150,000 times in 24 hours.
'No dialogue'
Many US-led coalition states have denied co-operating with Mr Assad, whom they have urged to step down since an uprising against his rule erupted in 2011.
But the Islamic State's (IS) seizure of large parts of Syria and Iraq in the past year and its creation of a "caliphate" has prompted officials to consider working with the Syrian leader to combat the group.
Despite this, Mr Assad ruled out joining the international coalition that is seeking to "degrade and destroy" IS.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Jordanian air force has stepped up strikes on IS positions in Syria since the killing of one of its pilots
"No, definitely we cannot and we don't have the will and we don't want, for one simple reason - because we cannot be in an alliance with countries which support terrorism," he said.
He did not give details, but the Syrian government routinely portrays both jihadist militants and members of the political opposition as "terrorists".
Mr Assad stressed that he was not against co-operating over IS with other countries. But he would refuse to talk with American officials, he said, "because they don't talk to anyone, unless he's a puppet", an apparent reference to Western- and Gulf Arab-backed opposition leaders.
"And they easily trample over international law, which is about our sovereignty now, so they don't talk to us, we don't talk to them."
Image copyright AFP Image caption President Assad dismissed efforts by the US to train and equip a "moderate" rebel force to fight IS militants
The president did concede, however, that his government had been receiving information indirectly via third parties about sorties by US and Arab warplanes over Syria.
"Sometimes, they convey a message, a general message, but there's nothing tactical," he said, adding: "There is no dialogue. There's, let's say, information, but not dialogue."
Mr Assad dismissed efforts by the US to train and equip a "moderate" rebel force to fight IS militants on the ground in Syria, saying it was a "pipe-dream". He argued that there were no moderates, only extremists from IS and al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, al-Nusra Front.
'No indiscriminate weapons'
Elaborating on his denial of the use of barrel bombs, Mr Assad said: "I know about the army. They use bullets, missiles and bombs. I haven't heard of the army using barrels, or maybe, cooking pots."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What is a barrel bomb? - in 30 seconds
He added: "There are no indiscriminate weapons. When you shoot you aim, and when you shoot, when you aim, you aim at terrorists in order to protect civilians... You cannot have war without casualties."
Barrel bombs are large cylindrical metal containers filled with explosive and shrapnel.
Human rights activists say they are typically dropped from helicopters - which only government forces are believed to operate - at high altitudes to avoid anti-aircraft fire. At that distance, it is impossible to target with precision, they add.
Mr Assad similarly denied that government forces had used chlorine as a weapon, despite investigators from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons supporting claims that at least 13 people had been killed in a series of attacks by helicopters on three villages last year.
The president also defended the besieging of rebel-held areas across Syria, which activists say has had the effect of starving civilian residents.
"In most of the areas where the rebels take over, the civilians fled and come to our areas," he said. "So in most of the areas that we encircle and attack, are only filled with militants." |
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Canada is imposing economic sanctions and travel bans against 11 Russian and Ukrainian individuals plus one additional entity over Russia's actions in Ukraine.
The announcement Saturday came as President Vladimir Putin ordered military forces in central Russia on combat alert, which NATO said could be seen as an escalation of the crisis with Ukraine.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement that "Russia's illegal occupation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine and provocative military activity remains a serious concern to the international community."
The measures announced Saturday are in addition to previous moves that have included imposing a number of political and economic sanctions against senior officials and some institutions in Russia and Ukraine.
As well, Canada has expelled a Russian diplomat, co-sponsored a UN resolution on the crisis and earmarked $220 million to help stabilize the Ukrainian economy.
Harper says the new sanctions "will continue to increase economic pressure on those responsible for the crisis in Ukraine." |
New Zealand’s new prime minister has ambitious goals to seriously slash carbon emissions. Jacinda Ardern, who became prime minister in late October, wants to transition the grid to 100 percent renewables in less than 20 years. Her ultimate goal for New Zealand is zero carbon emissions by 2050.
New Zealand’s 4.7 million people already obtain over 80 percent of electricity via sustainable sources, according to Bloomberg. But Ardern – now the world’s youngest female leader – seems to think they can do even better. She wants the country to move over to obtaining electricity completely from renewable energy by 2035.
Related: New Zealand river world’s first to obtain legal status as a person
The move won’t be without its challenges. New Zealand generates around 60 percent of their power from hydropower, according to 2016 figures. But when dry conditions cause lake levels to drop, gas and coal have helped out. Without those fossil fuels, electricity consumers could experience price hikes. But the country still has made a lot of progress towards the ambitious goal; in the winter of 2016, renewable energy generation actually peaked at 93 percent, according to Bloomberg.
Ardern hasn’t put out full details of her plan to get New Zealand to a carbon-free status. She has suggested an independent commission to help meet the 2050 goal. New Zealand’s independent advisory body Productivity Commission has an inquiry into transitioning to a low carbon economy.
Greenpeace New Zealand climate and energy campaigner Amanda Larsson told Bloomberg Ardern “must prioritize closing down coal, putting a moratorium on new fossil fuel plants, building more wind infrastructure, and opening the playing field for household and community solar.” Contact Energy chief executive officer Dennis Barnes also pointed to solar – and batteries and electric vehicles – as technology that could help New Zealand move towards a greener future.
Via Bloomberg and Futurism
Images via Depositphotos and Good Free Photos |
I recently received 4 of the new RCX H2205/2350KV motors for my Tech Teardown; thanks to MyRCMart for providing them for review.
RCX H2205-2350 Promotional Price $8.99
Specifications:
Model: H2205-6
KV: 2350KV
Weight: Approx. 24-25g
Cable: 150mm, 22AWG Silicone
Prop Shaft Diameter: 5mm (CW)
Stator Diameter: 22mm
Stator Length: 5mm
Shaft Diameter: 3mm
Configuration: 12N14P
Internal Resistance: 0.109Ω
Suitable ESC: 10-20A
H2205 Mechanical Draft
RCX Published Thrust Data
First Impressions:
The first thing I noticed upon unpacking the motors is how light they feel; all of the 2204-2206 motors I’ve worked with so far have been noticeably heavier than the DYS 1806es I prefer for my daily drivers. These feel… EXACTLY the same.
H2205/2350 only 24.25 grams bare!
Curious, I pulled out my scale for a quick comparison…
DYS 1805-2300 actually 0.5 grams heavier!
…and found that my favorite 1806es are actually a hair heavier. However, they come with 200mm long leads as opposed to 150mm for the RCX H2205. After searching around for a couple scraps of 22AWG silicone wire to weigh, my calculations indicate that the difference of 150mm total weighs right about 0.5 grams. So… they actually weigh pretty much exactly the same.
For this comparison I weighed without the steel prop nut/washer or spinner; most users will replace with aluminum locknuts so their weight is not relevant.
2205 on a Diet!
That kind of weight reduction doesn’t come easy; they had to put this little beast on a hardcore diet. Starting with a compact design for this size, they integrated the propshaft to reduce weight even more while keeping a nice 15.5mm long shaft with a substantial smooth shoulder area to keep your props perfectly centered.
Then, to reduce weight even more, they’ve carved away everything that is not absolutely essential. The motor base is heavily undercut just like the motor bell above; this also serves to promote cooling airflow for the double-wound stator.
Quality NMB Bearings provide an exceptional smoothness you can feel when turned by hand. This was one of my favorite things about the DYS 1806es until recently; I received a set that were utterly bunk. My vendor replaced them without hassle and the new ones were awesome as I’d come to expect; but still… it doesn’t undo the fact.
DYS 1806 Bell & Prop Hub : 10.48 grams
RCX H2205 Bell: 9.48 grams
Here you can see the effects of this weight-saving up close; this motor bell is STILL 1 gram lighter than the 1806!
This motor has a nice long 15mm propshaft, so no need to buy poor quality half-thickness locknuts that damage the threads. It has a larger, more powerful magnet array and stronger 3mm axle shaft, yet still is 1 gram lighter!
Dynamic balancing done in two planes yields an exceptionally smooth motor; spooling up with no prop on the thrust stand yielded no discernible vibration. This motor is as smooth as glass!
Lower rotating mass + more torque = faster spoolup. Physics can be hard; but here its FUN!!!
Summary:
This motor packs exceptional build quality and smooth operation into a package as light as an 1806 but only slightly larger. It will fit nicely in the 180-250mm Acro quad class, and the manufacturer recommends it for 4″-6″ props at 3S-5S depending on prop size.
Remember that at 4S & 5S RPMs, desync will be your enemy; use only appropriately fast ESCs or you will face instantaneous smoky disaster!
PROS:
* Small Size & weight for 22xx class motor makes it really comparable to 18xx class
* More power for your mini & micro quads vs 18xx motors with no weight penalty
* Super smooth with dynamic balancing & quality NMB bearings
* Extra-long 15mm x 5mm propshaft means no more cursing that your nuts are too thick
* High Performance motor at a “Daily Driver” Bargain Price
CONS:
* Heavily undercut Bell & Motor base may not be as durable; time will tell
* Less aluminum means less cooling mass; you will need to be very careful not to overload motor
* Higher RPM capability means you need to buy better, faster ESCs to avoid desync and smoky death
* Shorter 150mm motor leads may not be friendly to some “everything between the frame plates” builds
* Ummm… doesn’t cook you breakfast the morning after?
CONCLUSION
This is not a CHEAP motor; it is an exceptionally good quality motor being sold far too cheaply. If you’re even thinking about these motors I suggest you should get them while they’re still this cheap. Even with shipping, they’re an amazing value.
PROP SHOOTOUT!!!
Here’s my test setup; I wanted to be able to include RPM data as well, but when I dug out my old Tach, I found it was totally banjaxxed.
I’m afraid the HQ 5545s didn’t make it yet; but I DID manage to produce a usable 4045 for Julian. |
If there’s one thing we love here at Our Hen House, it’s new ways to spread the word about the plight of animals, and how we can each get involved with changing the world for them. Unless each of us uses his or her own voice to let others in on the horrors of animal exploitation, and the joys of veganism, this is never going to get done. Flip side? If each of us makes an effort to speak up and speak out, whenever possible, we’ve got this thing covered.
But, as we all know, finding those willing ears, and saying the right things, isn’t always easy. If you know someone who you think might be open to trying on vegan for size, one possible way to get through to them might be to recommend that they sign up for the PAN Vegan Pledge. This program, recently imported to the United States from Great Britain, is comprised of a network of presenters who provide, free of charge, five weekly meetings to support the efforts of anyone who has taken a pledge to go vegan for 30 days. The meetings consist of cooking demonstrations, along with speakers addressing environmental, ethical, health, and practical issues. So far this year, PAN programs in the U.S. have taken place in Philadelphia, Phoenixville, PA, and Chapel Hill, NC. There are programs coming up in Northern New Jersey, New York City, the DC-Metro area, Chippewa Valley, WI, and Chicago.
In addition to the 5 in-person meetings, PAN aims to supply everything a budding vegan would need to make the transition as easy, seamless, and delicious as possible. It’s all very hands-on and includes a personal mentor who is an experienced vegan, optional social events, and a cruelty-free care package.
One of my favorite things about PAN is that it is so grassroots. That means that those of us who care about animal rights and mainstreaming veganism can do far more than just find people who might be interested in this program. If you’re near any of those locations, they are looking for volunteers. And, even better, if you’re not in any of those locations, they are looking for people to spearhead programs in new areas.
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The sister of missing musician Richey Edwards talks to Lucy Jones about how she has coped for the past 22 years
When a loved one goes missing, the agony for those left behind is similar, but the responses can vary. Some families keep a child’s bedroom exactly the same or lay a place at the supper table every night. Others use age-enhancing photography software to see what the missing person would look like today, others visit a psychic. As years pass, but no body is found, one family will plant a tree in memory, while another may hold a memorial service in attempt to find closure.
“I’m sure it [a memorial] helps some people, but I wouldn’t do it,” says Rachel Edwards, the sister of Manic Street Preachers musician Richard James Edwards, known as “Richey” to music fans, who has been missing for 22 years. “It wouldn’t seem real, really. In the absence of a body, how can you say they’re dead? That’s the problem when you’re trying to compute it all in your head.”
The last time Rachel saw her older brother was in January 1995. It was the day the family buried their dog in Caerphilly, Wales. Richard took out his camera and took photographs of his mother, father and sister. His mood, says Rachel, was “completely flat”. |
There was a new wave of sexual assault against women in Tahrir Square last week, but women refused to let the assaults on their bodies silence their voices. These attacks were commensurate with the pattern of politically motivated sexual violence that emerged, and grew, under the Muslim Brotherhood’s reign, argues Mariz Tadros
When Tamarod “Rebel”, a youth led initiative called for a mass revolt against the Egyptian government on the 30th of June to impeach the president and declare early elections, some were worried that half the population- women- would not turn up. Since the informal political ascendency of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2011, and the coming to power of President Morsi on the 1st of July 2012, a pattern emerged of organized, targeted sexual assault on women in protest spaces. It is believed that these acts of sexual violence are neither random nor of the same nature as social forms of sexual harassment prevalent in society. It is believed that the ultimate aim of these targeted assaults is political: to intimidate the women and their families from allowing them to join protests against the status quo. Though the army and the former Mubarak regime were both responsible for using sexual assault to oppress the dissenters, the use of sexual assault increased both in number and intensity after the Brotherhood became politically empowered.
If the intention of these politically motivated acts of sexual assault was to compel women to stay at home, it did not work. Out of the roughly 17 million or so who revolted on the 30th of June, no less than half of them were women. The presence of women of all ages, and backgrounds in these protests excelled that of the Egyptian revolution of January 2011. Rural women and women from the Delta and Upper Egypt who had a very low level of participation in the 25th of January revolts of 2011 were the first to take to the streets on the 30th of June. Coptic women who have conventionally been the top target of the Islamists in assault [partly because they represent disproportionately the highest percentage of non-veiled women) had transformed their choir hymns into subversive songs about the men in beards who gaze at the nakedness of their “exposed toe nails”.
But weeks before the 30th of June, anti-sexual harassment groups had started to plan for the protests, predicting that opponents of the revolt [read the Brotherhood and their Islamist allies] would strike again, using sexual violence to clear the protest spaces.
And it happened. On Friday the 28th June as protestors filled Tahrir Square, there were five cases of sexual assault, the women were transferred to hospital unconscious What was striking about these assaults was that they followed exactly the same pattern followed in previous incidents of sexual violence in protest spaces. For one, they happened by encircling these women, blocking outsiders from getting through to save them, and collectively assaulting them using extreme violence and sustaining the attacks over a long duration of time. A Dutch journalist was gang raped and suffered severe injuries that required hospitalization. Two days late, on the day of the biggest protest ever, OpantiSh ( Operation Anti-sexual assault ) documented 46 cases of sexual assault against women protestors in Tahrir, some involving their violation with sharp objects.
On the 30th June, Essam el Haddad, the presidential advisor stated in a press conference that the incidents of sexual assault in Tahrir Square were regrettable and he blamed the protestors who were “out of control”. Immediately thereafter the Muslim Brotherhood channel, Misr 25 and other Islamist channels began a smear campaign against the protestors, shaming the way they treat women and contrasting that with the way the Islamists that have congregated in Rab’a el Adaweya square in Cairo treat their women- not a single case of harassment there, they argue. This discourse is very much in tune with the narrative of sexual assault that was widely disseminated and believed by supporters of the Islamist movements is that the revolutionaries are the ones that assault their women, the latter going to protest because they have no morals and want to be assaulted.
OpantiSh responded by issuing a statement condemning the government’s attempt to make political gains out of these assaults. The statement pointed to the disconnect between Hadad’s discourse of concern for women who have been assaulted with the absence of any genuine measures to treat the assaulted in a humane way by his public officials, including the Minister of Health himself. The government’s stance on women’s exposure to politically motivated sexual assault was loud and clear in February when the Muslim Brotherhood MPs in the Shura Council [acting parliament in the past six months] were asked about the incidents of sexual assault against women in Tahrir Square on the 25th of January. Reda Al-Hefnawy, a Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) membe,r had blamed women protestors for the sexual violence they experienced. “Women should not mingle with men during protests.....How can the Ministry of Interior be tasked with protecting a lady who stands among a group of men?”
However, there are a series of indicators to suggest the Muslim Brotherhood, other Islamist allies and the government are implicated in these acts of assault. First, in all of these incidents, it was always demonstrators who tried to save women from the hands of organized groups that orchestrate attacks through highly organized and planned operations of assault in exactly the same spaces in Tahrir Square. Women and men demonstrators who tried to save the assaulted women were often subjected to sexual violence and assault themselves. The response of the Muslim Brotherhood-led government in condoning these acts as a natural consequence of women not taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves suggests a governmental complicity in doing nothing to bring to justice the perpetrators of such acts.
Second, as early as November 2011, Islamists were directly involved in acts of sexual assault on women and men who were protesting the army’s rule. One young man's account explains how he and other protestors, women and men, were sexually assaulted by the Islamists in Tahrir Square during that time.
Perhaps the most blatant acts of assault instigated by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists directly on women and men in protest spaces occurred at el Ettehadeya on the 5th of December 2012. Ola Shehab, a young political leader in the Popular Socialist Front was there on the 5th of December when she was captured by followers of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis. She recounts that she was wearing a loose jacket and trousers, had her face covered to protect against tear gas, and had a helmet on to protect against attacks. “I realized they could not see I am a woman. They started sexually harassing me from behind when they were thinking I am a man.” When they removed Ola’s helmet and realized she was a woman, “another wave of sexual harassment continued...grabbing me from the front”. While Ola was retained the Muslim Brothers who came to “interrogate” her would introduce themselves, their ranks within the movement and where they came from, a gesture which Ola believes emanated from their belief that they would not be held accountable for their actions. Plus they believed that she would not live to tell anyway, given that they had made up stories to the Salafis that Ola was in possession of Molotov cocktails and that she had killed ten Salafis. Lina Megahed was also kidnapped and sexually assaulted- until a Salafi man had compassion on her and helped her escape.
Not surprisingly, though women and men filed lawsuits and named their perpetrators at el Ettehadeya, none of them were brought to justice- sending a clear signal from the regime of where its allegiances lie. Yet through it all, women continue to go out to the street in droves- refusing to let anyone take away their voices by assaulting their bodies.
Also read on openDemocracy 5050: State complicity n the sexual abuse of women in Cairo and Patriarchy and militarism in Egypt: from the street to the government |
It’s official: after a pre-release to clear up a few bugs, Thrive version 0.3.0 is now available to download. To do so, either visit our Releases page or the link below:
THRIVE VERSION 0.3.0
This devblog will run you through the various new features, along with other miscellaneous updates, including what’s coming next.
Release 0.3.0
0.2.4’s successor, 0.3.0, is finally here. Wondering why it isn’t 0.2.5? Thanks to the new membrane, organelle models and other graphical updates, we’ve decided it’s a major enough update to warrant an increase from 0.2.x to 0.3.0 instead.
Here are all the new features:
Membrane
As you’ll notice from the image above, thanks to the hard work of the developers, our cells now look like actual cells instead of honeycombs. The membrane is created procedurally based on the arrangement of organelles in the editor (still hex-based) and flagella are attached to its edges. As of yet it doesn’t distort in-game, but it does have collisions implemented so cells won’t pass over each other (unless there’s engulfment involved, but we’ll get to that later).
Organelle Models
Floating inside your new membrane will be several organelle models. In the editor, organelles now comprise several hexes of space, can’t overlap and have to be placed in a contiguous shape next to existing organelles, so building cells becomes more strategic. We have Chizu Nordenstam and Nanu to thank for the new models, although more are sure to come as new organelles are added with new gameplay possibilities.
Opening Cutscene
Now you can watch our opening cutscene when loading up the game, skippable with the escape key. Indirectly, this was probably the most difficult new feature to add. We’ve had the completed video ready for a while now, but adding it to the game required a major upgrade to the graphics engine, although it wasn’t the sole reason. Our programmers spent several months working on the update, which from the outside doesn’t look particularly major. It was difficult work, but we’re incredibly thankful for it. However, it is likely to be unplayable on Linux machines due to dependency issues, which we’re working towards fixing (see below).
Microbe Engulfment
Microbe engulfing is now possible – enter engulf mode by pressing G and you can slurp up other microbes (but be careful when doing so against those with toxin capability…). This is at the moment a crude system and unrepresentative of the way engulfment will eventually work outside of endocytosis of bacteria, but at least now you can be a giant all-consuming blob.
Minor Tweaks
There have been a few small tweaks to things, such as the GUI (with a slightly more readable help panel and better font in the compound list), AI and compound processing. Thanks to bug fixing, several other small issues have also been fixed.
Other Updates
Although the release is our main news item, it’s not the only thing going on. If you haven’t already seen, our community forums are full of activity, and we invite you to join them to keep up to date with Thrive-related news and interact with the developers and community.
http://thrivegame.freeforums.net/
The community is now large enough that we’re looking for moderators to help organise it. If you’re interested, you can either apply via the usual method (i.e. our Application page) or as a thread in the Meta section of the community forums. Bear in mind we’re mostly looking those who are already established members of the community, and for the moment we don’t need too many.
Our website front page has had a new lick of paint too, including more summarised information on the game and its concepts. You’ll also find links to both forums and a brief gameplay overview/tutorial, newly updated for 0.3.0. You’ll also find the entire Microbe Stage plan within the GDD linked at the bottom of that page.
Recently we’ve seen an in-depth discussion on our development forums on the possibilities of representing light and vision in gameplay, as well as deciding on organelle functionality and upgrading systems. Check them out here and here respectively.
What Next?
So, we now have membranes and organelles, a considerable graphics overhaul. Where are we going next? For one thing, there’s another Devblog coming soon, and it’s a pretty special one…
You can find our discussion on upcoming features here.
Here’s an overview:
Linux Fixes
Perhaps our biggest issue right now is that the game often doesn’t work on Linux machines, preventing a significant proportion of our fanbase from playing. We were going to include fixed dependency issues in 0.3.0, but time got the better of us so we’re moving it to the next release. Expect 0.3.1 as soon as these problems are resolved. Similarly, a Mac port is also on the cards as soon as we get Mac OS-based developers.
Gameplay, Gameplay, Gameplay
It’s safe to say we don’t have much of a game right now. It’s a considerably prettier not-much-of-a-game than it was, but it’s still mostly proof of concept. Our next few releases will shift the focus towards implementing gameplay mechanics to create a fun experience. These include: agents (substances created by cells and released into the environment to perform specific tasks, like damaging organelles or signalling other members of a species), bacteria, combat (using piluses, agents and engulfment), health and death.
Editor Improvements
There are a lot of small fixes to make to the editor. Symmetry, for instance, is currently non-existent. Cytoplasm too isn’t yet implemented, and will require an overhaul of the organelle placement system.
Compound Clouds
At the moment, compounds are emitted as discrete packets from static objects. This is obviously unrealistic and not balanced for gameplay at all. The plan is to replace them with coloured “clouds” spilt into the water, which can be collected to provide compounds. This also ties in with fluid dynamics, another planned feature. You can find our discussion on fluid dynamics and implementing compound clouds here.
New GUI
The current GUI is a stopgap for later additions. It’s better than what came before it, but was never intended to be permanent. The editor in particular is just a little bit ugly, and we’re looking for vector artists experienced with interface design to help us create a new one.
How Can I Help?
Excellent question! We’re still an entirely open-source team, and we’re always looking for new members. If you think you could help with any of the above tasks, or anywhere in general, visit our Get Involved page to see how you could join.
If you don’t think you could help with programming, art, music, etc. don’t fret. We always appreciate help getting our name out there. We would advise you do so carefully. Don’t spam anyone and abide by the rules of wherever you’re posting (if they prohibit advertisements, maybe it’s not a good idea), link to the front page of our website in most cases, and direct people to us if they have any questions you’re in any way unsure about.
That about wraps up this latest Devblog. Stay tuned for another relatively soon. We won’t reveal anything about it yet, but we think you’ll enjoy it.
Discuss this post on our forums. |
0 Jacksonville police: 3 dead after shooting off Beach and Kernan
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said three people are dead after a reported shooting Wednesday afternoon at the Monterey condo complex in the 12100 block of Beach Boulevard.
JSO said police were called to the complex earlier Wednesday in reference to a person shot. Police said three people were found dead inside a condo -- a man and a woman in their 50s to 60s and a woman who looked to be 25 to 35 years old.
A source told Action News Jax that a man shot and killed his wife and daughter, but police could not confirm that at this time.
Neighbors said they heard gunshots inside the Monterey Condos, moments before police swarmed the apartment complex.
Police said they are investigating the deaths as an apparent murder-suicide.
“This has been a safe neighborhood, and we really haven’t had any problems,” said Charles Boatright.
Boatright said that sense of safety was rocked Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s absolutely horrible to hear, something like that,” said Boatright.
Another neighbor tells Action News Jax she was at home when the shooting happened. In a Facebook message, she said, "I live across the street. All I heard was screaming and gunshots from my apartment.”
The neighbor also said, “Yes, I heard a woman scream and then the gun went off.”
Someone claiming to be a close friend of the family told Action News Jax the male victim was going through a divorce and was having a tough time coping.
Refresh this page, follow @ActionNewsJax on Twitter and watch Action News Jax for updates.
BREAKING: #JSO responding to undetermined death at 12100 Beach Blvd. Sources tell @ActionNewsJax this is a shooting. LATEST ON CBS47 AT 5 pic.twitter.com/tlSRN40Sqr — Tenikka Smith Hughes (@TenikkaANjax) April 5, 2017
Hearing three people shot.. sources say at least one dead. @ActionNewsJax — Larry Spruill Jr (@LarryANjax) April 5, 2017 Police are blocking entrance to Monterey Apartment Complex after a shooting. Hearing multiple people shot. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/1nn3Qhz81K — Larry Spruill Jr (@LarryANjax) April 5, 2017
Shooting at Monterey Apartment complex on Beach Blvd. At least one person dead. Management talking to people as they drive in @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/8LlTLaw0XM — Danielle Avitable (@DanielleANjax) April 5, 2017
Police are checking cars at the entrance of Monterey Apartmeny Complex, after fatal shooting. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/sn2SvOlLYp — Larry Spruill Jr (@LarryANjax) April 5, 2017
12000 block of Beach Boulevard - #JSO is working a death investigation at Montery Apartments - 12171 Beach Boulevard. — Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) April 5, 2017
12000 block of Beach Boulevard - #JSO responded to a call reference a person shot. — Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) April 5, 2017
This is a view of police roping off an apartment. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/KZKwiqKZsv — Larry Spruill Jr (@LarryANjax) April 5, 2017
#BREAKING: Three dead after shooting at Beach Blvd. complex. LIVE REPORT AT 5 @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/ENg1rryTFU — Danielle Avitable (@DanielleANjax) April 5, 2017
© 2019 Cox Media Group. |
An Academy Award-winning movie director criticized former US State Secretary for contributing to almost every major conflict of recent decades and for refusing to accept the fact that “the Cold War” era is over.
Mr. Stone spoke in support of Democratic candidate for President of the United States Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders arguing that he is the one who will not further invest in war, but will rather take time delving into internal problems instead.
"I'm praying still for Bernie Sanders because he's the only one willing, at least in the name of fiscal sanity, to cut back on our foreign interventions, bring the troops home, and with these trillions of dollars no longer wasted on malice, try to protect the ‘homeland' by actually rebuilding it and putting money into its people, schools, and infrastructure", the critically-acclaimed moviemaker wrote on his Facebook page.
© AFP 2018 / DON EMMERT ‘I am So Sick’: Clinton Denies Taking Money From Oil Companies
Although the Oscar-winning director admitted that the numbers currently favor Hillary Clinton, Stone denounced the front-runner's ‘corrupt' policy.
"He [Sanders] is the only one who has raised his voice against the corruption in our politics," Mr. Stone asserted. "Clinton has embraced this corruption."
He added that Clinton's presidency would bring more destruction that good, citing the ex-Secretary of State's unflattering record which includes supporting multiple conflicts like "the barbaric ‘contras'" against the Nicaraguan people in the 1980s, bombing of the former Yugoslavia in 1999, the never-ending Iraq War, "Afghan mess", "the destruction of the secular state of Libya" and most recent attempt at "regime change" in Syria.
"Every one of these situations has resulted in more extremism, more chaos in the world, and more danger to our country," he warned.
The top director went on criticizing Clinton's Cold War-era mindset which focuses on a "NATO-domination of the universe" an only further promotes war.
© AFP 2018 / Nicholas KAMM Feminism Denied? Women Not So Eager To Back Clinton, Poll Says
"Clinton has been brainwashed by the neoconservatives to believe it's about ‘Russian aggression' when it's the United States that's ensuring the greatest build-up on the European borders of Russia since Hitler did it in World War II," Stone wrote.
Oliver Stone is known for directing movies addressing acute political topics with different US Presidents as main characters. In 2014 he announced that he wants to make a documentary about Russian President Vladimir Putin. |
When you visit the George Observatory, you’ll notice signs that say, “Please no white lights.” You’ll also see that all our outside lights are red. The reason we do this is to fight light pollution and create a dark-sky-friendly environment (or at least as dark as we can this close to Houston).
Despite our best efforts, the surrounding area is slowly losing its dark skies. This is unfortunate, and not just for those of us who love to stargaze. Too much light at night is also bad for animal migrations, human sleep patterns, and even personal safety.
So what can we, as individuals, do to fight light pollution? Here are five simple things:
1. Turn off all unused lights
Your dad was right: leaving lights on when you’re not using them is just throwing money away. So when you leave an area, make it a habit to turn the lights off.
2. Shield all outside lights
Outside lights should serve one purpose: to show you where you’re going. So why do so many people insist on lighting the underside of passing airplanes? We encourage you to invest in light shields. They will help with light pollution and save you money.
3. Don’t over-light
When installing outside fixtures, consider the best wattage for your needs. You want enough light to see where you are going — anything else isn’t helping you see . Also, your neighbors will appreciate you not flooding their bedrooms with light.
4. Avoid ornamental lighting
It’s wonderful that you’re proud of your home, but remember what we said about light pollution and crime. When you overuse ornamental light, you may feel like your house is more secure; however, you’re actually making your property a target for thieves.
5. Spread the word!
Now that you know the dangers of light pollutions, share that information with others. There are many websites that will help you and your friends protect the night sky, like the International Dark Sky Association.
Knowledge is power, and we all need to do our part to keep the stars at night big and bright deep in the heart of Texas!
To see the best dark skies in the Houston area come out to the George Observatory! From there you can see stars, galaxies planets… almost anything in space. And what’s more, we want to help you see everything out there better, so bring your telescope out for our telescope classes. The next one’s coming up this Saturday, May 3 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. |
US star Race Imboden won his second successive Challenge International de Paris and Italy’s Arianna Errigo claimed gold in Poland as the World Cup calendar resumed with the foil competitions after the festive break.
Precious ranking points for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games are up for grabs at World Cup and Grand Prix events, raising the stakes for the second half of the 2015-16 season.
At the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in the French capital, world No. 4 Race Imboden retained his gold medal from last year by defeating Germany’s Peter Joppich, ranked 16, by a score of 15-9 in an exciting final.
Third place along with two bronze medals went to world championship bronze medallist Gerek Meinhardt of the United States and Russia’s Dmitry Rigin.
The 22-year-old Imboden, a top medal hope for the US in Rio, then inspired the Americans to a pulsating 45-43 victory over fierce rivals Italy in the team event. The bronze went to Great Britain, who beat South Korea 35-34.
In all more than 218 foil fencers from 45 countries entered the prestigious Paris event looking to improve their qualification prospects for Rio.
Meanwhile, in the Baltic port city of Gdansk, the world No. 3 Arianna Errigo fended off a strong Russian challenge to claim her second World Cup win this season.
The Italian beat Aida Shanaeva 15-8 in the final to emerge victorious from a field representing 35 nations and six continents. The bronze medals went to world champion Inna Deriglazova of Russia and Martina Batini of Italy.
In the women’s team event, Italy took gold, defeating Russia 45-44 in the final match, with Germany taking bronze.
Tags : #RoadToRio #WCfoil2016
photos: © Eliot Blondet © Krzysztof Mystkowski |
Buy Photo The Downtown Indianapolis skyline. (Photo: Indianapolis Star )Buy Photo
Groan. Another study that tells us how much worse Indianapolis is than many other cities in the nation. But unlike some other studies that point the finger and then move on, this latest one, conducted by CityHealth, offers some constructive suggestions about ways Indianapolis can improve to meet what the study calls the “gold standard” for health in cities.
The study, supported by the deBeaumont Foundation, rated the 40 most-populated cities in the United States in nine areas related to quality of life policies, from access to universal pre-kindergarten to cigarette and alcohol laws to housing.
Five cities received gold ratings, five silver and nine bronze. Only three cities, Boston, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., earned medals in each of the nine categories.
Indianapolis was one of 21 cities to receive no overall medal. It was one of only five cities that medaled in just two categories.
Indianapolis earned a gold for its complete streets policies and a silver for its clean indoor policies, which aim to protect nonsmokers from tobacco.
But the overall picture is not so grim for Indianapolis, said Mary McKee, director of public health practice for the Marion County Public Health Department.
"There's movement in just about every single one of these here, but it's slow," she said. "The folks in Indianapolis across all sectors are beginning to realize that we have to have health in all of our policies. ... It will be slow going for a little bit, but I think that Indianapolis will get there."
Both the complete streets and smoking ordinances took years to pass, McKee said.
Here are the seven areas in which CityHealth said Indy can do better:
• Affordable housing: CityHealth rated cities in this category based on whether they had laws that encourage inclusionary zoning, which encourages developers to set aside some low- and moderate-income units when adding to the housing stock. Only Chicago and New York received gold medals for their policies in this area.
• Control alcohol sales: Studies have linked alcohol sales to levels of violence and drunk driving. So policies that restrict the amount of alcohol sales in a neighborhood will lead to lower crime levels and improved public safety. Fourteen cities earned medals here, including eight golds.
• Paid sick leave: Almost half, 17 out of the 40, cities earned medals in this category. Not Indy. This ranking looked at whether a city had laws requiring employers to allow people to take time off to care for themselves and or family members. More generous paid sick leave laws will decrease the spread of contagious diseases and increase income stability, CityHealth officials argue.
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• Increasing minimum tobacco age: There’s a statewide effort in the Indiana General Assembly to raise the minimum age to purchase cigarettes to 21. But so far, no Indiana city has taken this step. However, 13 cities included in the CityHealth analysis have done just that, earning them each a gold in this category. A bill proposed this year in the General Assembly would raise the legal age and increase the tax to $1.50 a pack. But earlier this week, House Republicans folded a $1 increase into the budget, leaving open the question of what will happen with the age increase.
• Healthy food options: This category looked at what type of food gets sold on public property and how strict the city is when it comes to the nutritional content of its vending machines.
• Universal pre-kindergarten: All but nine of the 40 cities have high-quality early childhood education programs. Advocates argue that such programs in the short term improve school readiness. In the long term, these programs can lead to higher high school graduation rates and lower rates of teen pregnancies. Indianapolis does have a program that serves low-income children, considered at greatest risk.
• Posted restaurant grades. Of course, the Marion County Health Department inspects restaurants to ensure that they comply with food safety requirements. But 12 cities require restaurants to post the “grades” they earn on inspections, which can reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses and lead to overall lower health care costs, the CityHealth analysis says.
Call IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Twitter: @srudavsky.
Read or Share this story: http://indy.st/2lmNiOo |
The chances are high that the high speed internet service at a low cost in your locality may be 'illegal' and posses a major 'security threat.'
Teams of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) are raiding across Noida to crack down on unlicensed broadband service provider causing huge revenue loss to the government.
A senior official said many unlicensed broadband companies have mushroomed in Delhi and NCR and majority of it are in Noida, which are further distributing internet network to household but without getting recognition from the government. These small companies buy bandwidth from major telecom giants to set-up internet service in a small community but fraudulently start selling to household and corporate.
HOW DO THEY OPERATE
According to an estimate, such fake service providers have around 15,000 user base in Noida itself which neither maintain the weblog of their customers nor did they have any regulatory and monitoring facility available with them. The incident came to light after monitoring wing of TRAI, Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) found fraudulent usage of internet in large number. As these illegal connections also possessed a national security threat, they roped in ATS in a joint operation.
On Monday, raids were conducted on six premises where six people were arrested who were operating like broadband service provider but were not registered with any government body. "To become an internet service provider each player needs to get licence from the government. These shady companies were buying bandwidth from telecom giants but were evading paying a licence fee. As they were not registered, so they were also not paying eight-10 per cent tax on the revenue made," said a senior ATS officer.
Earlier, a licence fee for a small player was around Rs 20 lakh but it was slashed to around Rs 10-12 lakh to boost internet penetration in the country. There is a renewal fee which needs to be paid each year which these companies were evading. "They must have caused loss of several crore to the government by not paying fee and taxes. We are yet scanning their user base which stand around 15,000 connections and checking the bank accounts," said the officer.
The ATS team is also tightening the noose around such unlicensed internet service provider as they are potential security threat.
"These players are not recognised so they violated all the checks and measures which are part for mandatory guideline for all the service providers. They have no log of searches made by their users. They were not maintaining any monitoring facility, making it easy for any antinational element to misuse the internet, without coming under scanner," added the officer. Police have seized several documents and equipment from them which will be further scanned. Experts claimed this is just a tip of iceberg as large numbers of internet connection are illegal and unmonitored. Delhi NCR alone has dozens of illegal service providers. There are three kind of licences available depending up the area they cover.
Also read: Internet users in India to reach 730 million by 2020: Govt
Also read: Supreme Court to issue order to block Sardar jokes on internet
Watch the video: Jio Summer Surprise offer withdrawn, but free Jio is still available |
The largest, most comprehensive trashcan script for TF2. a guest Mar 31st, 2016 13,697 Never a guest13,697Never
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rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint text 186.37 KB //This script was created by Weedoof. https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198071533665 //Direct any comments or questions or anything to him, or to /u/stuper56 on reddit. //Credits at the end to save 4 lines of comments up here lol //This is the largest, most comprehensive trashcan script to date. //It has everything from puns to pickup lines to references to generic dumb shit. //If you have anything you'd like to add or change, go ahead. It's in your hands now. //Enjoy. echo "Trashcan script ready! Prepare your ] key!" alias "tc_msg_1" "say I'm building my own satire trashcan script right now and I need ironic noobtalk" alias "tc_msg_2" "say I spam binds to compensate for penis size!" alias "tc_msg_3" "say What's the difference between CoD and Jarate? The jar." alias "tc_msg_4" "say how do i get metal on engineer?" alias "tc_msg_5" "say how make u.s. marine go air force?" alias "tc_msg_6" "say how to explosion jump as america" alias "tc_msg_7" "say how professorman inside eggshell?" alias "tc_msg_8" "say how engine man use calculator?a" alias "tc_msg_9" "say How building healing bot as technician?" alias "tc_msg_10" "say As the australian longshoot man how do I throw apple juice" alias "tc_msg_11" "say i cant remember how to activate spy cloak plz help" alias "tc_msg_12" "say How to make construction worker build gas pump?" alias "tc_msg_13" "say can large ammunition bloke get fish and chips" alias "tc_msg_14" "say how u build sentries like that?" alias "tc_msg_15" "say how speedy hooligan throw christmas ball?" alias "tc_msg_16" "say how eyeball shoot eyeballs!!!" alias "tc_msg_17" "say how to fly as sold man?" alias "tc_msg_18" "say which button to throw grenades" alias "tc_msg_19" "say How do I street fighter move as the fireman???????????" alias "tc_msg_20" "say How do make patriot fly" alias "tc_msg_21" "say how coal miner play missile command with wrungler" alias "tc_msg_22" "say how do outback steakhouse guy do the telescope" alias "tc_msg_23" "say how do heavy's eat a sandvich?" alias "tc_msg_24" "say how to rj farward?" alias "tc_msg_25" "say how fighter guy play trumpet" alias "tc_msg_26" "say How to pretend to die as french businessman" alias "tc_msg_27" "say how make tuxedo terrorist do lobster dance?" alias "tc_msg_28" "say how do you put lights on a gun?" alias "tc_msg_29" "say how white usain bolt sponsor pepsi" alias "tc_msg_30" "say how i turn up difficulty in this shit serveR??" alias "tc_msg_31" "say how does french toast go seethrough" alias "tc_msg_32" "say how get charge n charge" alias "tc_msg_33" "say how astronaut suit eat candy" alias "tc_msg_34" "say How do I make my sentry bigger" alias "tc_msg_35" "say how make a superjump with soldieR?" alias "tc_msg_36" "say how does quick boy drink caffeine" alias "tc_msg_37" "say why to build turret as construction worker!" alias "tc_msg_38" "say how do trade the bushawkok" alias "tc_msg_39" "say how medicine man find supersaw?" alias "tc_msg_40" "say how do i throw grenade" alias "tc_msg_41" "say as the American guy, how do I use my jetpack" alias "tc_msg_42" "say How to reprogram cannons with french businessman!" alias "tc_msg_43" "say how can i enchant my revolver" alias "tc_msg_44" "say how fireman hammertime" alias "tc_msg_45" "say As science hillbilly, how do I deploy a tiny robo-cop?" alias "tc_msg_46" "say how to signal friends with rubber suit guy" alias "tc_msg_47" "say how to raise flag as patriot?!" alias "tc_msg_48" "say how somali pirate get pegleg" alias "tc_msg_49" "say how do drinks machine as erection man?" alias "tc_msg_50" "say how warrior dig with shovel" alias "tc_msg_51" "say How do explode spiky boom balls as foreign terrorist man?" alias "tc_msg_52" "say how do i bust with caper" alias "tc_msg_53" "say how nasa spaceman do the fire jump?" alias "tc_msg_54" "say how use chef knife as helmet child?" alias "tc_msg_55" "say how suit waiter download mixtape" alias "tc_msg_56" "say how you throw stuff" alias "tc_msg_57" "say how come cant dash as fat" alias "tc_msg_58" "say where vladimir putin find boxing glove" alias "tc_msg_59" "say how moorish legend do fast run" alias "tc_msg_60" "say how russian president consume breadwich" alias "tc_msg_61" "say how speed man become super blur?" alias "tc_msg_62" "say how architect get more minerals" alias "tc_msg_63" "say how archer wanker shoot fire" alias "tc_msg_64" "say which grenades can i throw" alias "tc_msg_65" "say how shot lazer as hillbilly" alias "tc_msg_66" "say how outback man get lemonade" alias "tc_msg_67" "say how texas man get can opener hand" alias "tc_msg_68" "say how do i reflict cleevr" alias "tc_msg_69" "say how masked tuxedo man change color???" alias "tc_msg_70" "say how do make gun robots bigger as suspender dude" alias "tc_msg_71" "say how do i quickscope with the classic" alias "tc_msg_72" "say how do you get the weapons that are named?" alias "tc_msg_73" "say how do u send friend request" alias "tc_msg_74" "say how machine man get vespene gas" alias "tc_msg_75" "say How do flame-man use signal" alias "tc_msg_76" "say how do u make sentry big" alias "tc_msg_77" "say how country singer play guitar" alias "tc_msg_78" "say How do you get a forcefield on the turret?" alias "tc_msg_79" "say when can carpenter put soda machine" alias "tc_msg_80" "say what button make assassin go transparent" alias "tc_msg_81" "say How u jump high as sports player" alias "tc_msg_82" "say how do you gtet the communism style minigun" alias "tc_msg_83" "say How inventor produce vending machine?" alias "tc_msg_84" "say how u get a shield on ur turret?" alias "tc_msg_85" "say how does black man shoot hoop" alias "tc_msg_86" "say how do i shoot air as masked ignition man?!" alias "tc_msg_87" "say HOW DO I UPGRADE THINGS I BUILD?" alias "tc_msg_88" "say How do you push as the firebat" alias "tc_msg_89" "say how can i upgrade my turents" alias "tc_msg_90" "say How to shoot annoying baseball player?" alias "tc_msg_91" "say who can then the secret agent become the other team" alias "tc_msg_92" "say what is invulns" alias "tc_msg_93" "say how to institute automatic cannon as constructor" alias "tc_msg_94" "say How make Gun as Bob the Builder" alias "tc_msg_95" "say as spy how do i go to invisible" alias "tc_msg_96" "say how do i build disco platform as hank of the hill" alias "tc_msg_97" "say how do u place posters?" alias "tc_msg_98" "say how do i get turrent contoler as construnct worker" alias "tc_msg_99" "say how to eat hoagie as big machinegun man" alias "tc_msg_100" "say what button to glow ghost buster?" alias "tc_msg_101" "say how do i roll spy" alias "tc_msg_102" "say how do i fly as demonstration man" alias "tc_msg_103" "say how do u get the proof perches" alias "tc_msg_104" "say how do you use your action taunts? yes i am a noob" alias "tc_msg_105" "say how does fast boy throw ball" alias "tc_msg_106" "say how I go shiny as the dentist" alias "tc_msg_107" "say were do u get speed sentrys?" alias "tc_msg_108" "say how do i fly as american lawn mower" alias "tc_msg_109" "say how does communist share wealth" alias "tc_msg_110" "say how do i pee as erectial dysfunction man" alias "tc_msg_111" "say how do boston scoundrel run fast?" alias "tc_msg_112" "say where robot gun get bullet shoots" alias "tc_msg_113" "say where jogger get soda" alias "tc_msg_114" "say GO DAMNIT! WHY CANT I SHOOT WHEN CLOAKED" alias "tc_msg_115" "say how albert einstein get lightning bolt hand" alias "tc_msg_116" "say how can i go cloak as the secret agent" alias "tc_msg_117" "say how do I honky tonk with pirate man?" alias "tc_msg_118" "say how mario move as cool guy" alias "tc_msg_119" "say how to I double dong as irish explosive professional" alias "tc_msg_120" "say what do i do with this spy radio" alias "tc_msg_121" "say ay gurl, u a beaver? cuz dam" alias "tc_msg_122" "say Hey girl, did you sit on sugar? cuz your ass is sweet!" alias "tc_msg_123" "say Are you a 0% APR loan? Because I'm having trouble understanding your terms and you aren't showing any interest" alias "tc_msg_124" "say Are you my appendix? Beause I don't know anything about you but a feeling in my gut is telling me that I should take you out" alias "tc_msg_125" "say You from Iraq? Cause I wanna watch you Baghdad ass up" alias "tc_msg_126" "say Hey, is that guy bothering you? No? Would you mind if I bothered you then?" alias "tc_msg_127" "say Are you Little Cesars? Because you're hot and I'm ready" alias "tc_msg_128" "say hey girl are you the SAT because i'd do you for 3 hours and 45 minutes with a 10 minute break for snacks" alias "tc_msg_129" "say ay gurl u turn my floppy disk into a hard drive" alias "tc_msg_130" "say hey girl if your dad a baker because youve got some nice buns" alias "tc_msg_131" "say Damn, girl, your bone structure is giving my bone structure." alias "tc_msg_132" "say Excuse me, but I’m new in town, can I have directions to your place?" alias "tc_msg_133" "say How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice- can I get your number?" alias "tc_msg_134" "say That’s a nice shirt. Can I talk you out of it?" alias "tc_msg_135" "say I lost my number, can I have yours?" alias "tc_msg_136" "say Don't turn this rape into murder." alias "tc_msg_137" "say Hey girl, you must be born in a highway, because that's where most accidents occur." alias "tc_msg_138" "say Are you Hot Topic because I'm uncomfortable when I enter you" alias "tc_msg_139" "say damn son where'd you find this?" alias "tc_msg_140" "say you have been coaxed into a snafu" alias "tc_msg_141" "say how do I shot web" alias "tc_msg_142" "say u wot m8" alias "tc_msg_143" "say Has anyone really been far as to decided even go want to do look more like?" alias "tc_msg_144" "say rip in pepperoni" alias "tc_msg_145" "say never forgetti" alias "tc_msg_146" "say I came here to have a good time and im honestly feeling so attacked right now" alias "tc_msg_147" "say Congratulations. You played yourself." alias "tc_msg_148" "say Gr8 b8, m8. I rel8, str8 appreci8, and congratul8. I r8 this b8 an 8/8. Plz no h8, I'm str8 ir8. Cr8 more, can't w8." alias "tc_msg_149" "say hi every1 im new!!!!!!! *holds up spork* my name is katy but u can call me t3h PeNgU1N oF d00m!!!!!!!! " alias "tc_msg_150" "say ʕ ᵔᴥᵔʔ" alias "tc_msg_151" "say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" alias "tc_msg_152" "say ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)" alias "tc_msg_153" "say (ง ͠° ͟ل ͡°)ง" alias "tc_msg_154" "say つ ◕_◕ ༽つAnarchy or RIOT つ ◕_◕ ༽つ" alias "tc_msg_155" "say After 9 years in development, hopefully it will have been worth the weight." alias "tc_msg_156" "say You think I don't know how to spell "your"? I shortened it to "ur" because I was eating chips and typing one handed" alias "tc_msg_157" "say Poverty engineer was sitting on the curb, contemplating his poverty. He was poverty. Really, really, poverty." alias "tc_msg_158" "say What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch?" alias "tc_msg_159" "say [ ] Not REKT [x] REKT [x] REKTangle [x] SHREKT [x] LawREKT of Arabia [x] Tyrannosaurus REKT [x] eREKTile dysfunction" alias "tc_msg_160" "say I hole-hardedly agree, but allow me to play doubles advocate here for a moment.For all intensive purposes I think you are wrong" alias "tc_msg_161" "say YESTERDAY YOU SAID TOMORROW, SO JUST DO IT!" alias "tc_msg_162" "say cheeky nandos" alias "tc_msg_163" "say NOOT NOOT" alias "tc_msg_164" "say http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_burn_centers_in_the_United_States" alias "tc_msg_165" "say It's like Christmas morning!" alias "tc_msg_166" "say What are you wearing, Jake from Statefarm?" alias "tc_msg_167" "say SM0KE W33D ERRYDAY" alias "tc_msg_168" "say rest in pizza" alias "tc_msg_169" "say Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down" alias "tc_msg_170" "say hello darkness my old friend" alias "tc_msg_171" "say geico can save you 15% or more on car insurance" alias "tc_msg_172" "say Adolf Hitler was a German politician who was the leader of the Nazi Party and Führer of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945." alias "tc_msg_173" "say In 1845, President Andrew Jackson's pet parrot was removed from his funeral for swearing." alias "tc_msg_174" "say The average elephant produces 50 pounds of dung each day." alias "tc_msg_175" "say Every year, $1.5 billion is spent on pet food. This is four times the amount spent on baby food." alias "tc_msg_176" "say The little lump of flesh just forward of your ear canal, right next to your temple, is called a tragus." alias "tc_msg_177" "say There's only one city in the United States named merely "Beach." It is found in North Dakota, which is a land-locked state." alias "tc_msg_178" "say Uranus is the only planet that rotates on its side." alias "tc_msg_179" "say Maine is the only state in the United States whose name is just one syllable." alias "tc_msg_180" "say Most men have erections every hour to hour and a half during sleep." alias "tc_msg_181" "say More people are killed annually by donkeys than die in air crashes." alias "tc_msg_182" "say During World War II, the very first bomb dropped on Berlin by the Allies killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo." alias "tc_msg_183" "say Swans are the only birds with penises." alias "tc_msg_184" "say Abraham Lincoln, who invented a hydraulic device for lifting ships over shoals, was the only US president ever granted a patent" alias "tc_msg_185" "say An average beaver can cut down two hundred trees a year." alias "tc_msg_186" "say The average female American Oyster lays 500 million eggs per year. Usually only one oyster out of the bunch reaches maturity." alias "tc_msg_187" "say Average number of squirts from a cow's udder needed to yield a gallon of milk : 345" alias "tc_msg_188" "say The cat lover is an ailurophile, while a cat hater is an ailurophobe. :3" alias "tc_msg_189" "say A woodpecker can peck twenty times a second." alias "tc_msg_190" "say An albatross can sleep while it flies. It apparently dozes while cruising at 25 mph." alias "tc_msg_191" "say A healthy individual releases 3.5 oz. of gas in a single flatulent emission, or about 17 oz. in a day." alias "tc_msg_192" "say America's first nudist organization was founded in 1929, by 3 men." alias "tc_msg_193" "say Chimpanzees have a history of violence after entering puberty." alias "tc_msg_194" "say Sharks are the only animals that never get sick. As far as is known, they are immune to every known disease including cancer" alias "tc_msg_195" "say The average cat consumes about 127,750 calories a year, nearly 28 times its own weight in food and the same amount in liquids." alias "tc_msg_196" "say The average adult has about 10 pints of blood in their body. " alias "tc_msg_197" "say There are eight official languages of South Africa: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, and Zulu." alias "tc_msg_198" "say Vaporwave is characterized by a fascination with retro aesthetics and technology, and popular music like smooth jazz." alias "tc_msg_199" "say The Big Dipper is one of the most well-known and easily spotted collection of stars in the Northern Hemisphere." alias "tc_msg_200" "say A sextillion is represented by a 1 followed by 21 zeros." alias "tc_msg_201" "say in fact Nasa cannot go further than 400 miles from earth because Cosmic Radiation would incinerate?? the astronauts in seconds" alias "tc_msg_202" "say An empty aluminum cigar tube filled with angry wasps makes an inexpensive vibrator." alias "tc_msg_203" "say All pet hamsters are descended from a single female wild golden hamster found with a litter of 12 young in Syria in 1930." alias "tc_msg_204" "say If towels could tell jokes they would probably have a dry sense of humor. " alias "tc_msg_205" "say Why did the capacitor kiss the diode? He just couldn't resistor." alias "tc_msg_206" "say When William joined the army he disliked the phrase 'fire at will'. " alias "tc_msg_207" "say Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest." alias "tc_msg_208" "say I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me." alias "tc_msg_209" "say I relish the fact that you've mustard the strength to ketchup to me. " alias "tc_msg_210" "say I used to be addicted to soap, but I'm clean now. " alias "tc_msg_211" "say I was going to buy a book on phobias, but I was afraid it wouldn't help me." alias "tc_msg_212" "say Why didn't the Spy cross the road? Because he never really was on your side." alias "tc_msg_213" "say The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran." alias "tc_msg_214" "say I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me." alias "tc_msg_215" "say When Peter Pan punches, they Neverland. " alias "tc_msg_216" "say No one knew she had a dental implant until it came out in a conversation." alias "tc_msg_217" "say There was a big paddle sale at the boat store. It was quite an oar deal." alias "tc_msg_218" "say I try wearing tight jeans, but I can never pull it off." alias "tc_msg_219" "say The store keeps calling me to come back and buy more bedroom furniture, but all I really wanted was one night stand." alias "tc_msg_220" "say Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now." alias "tc_msg_221" "say I wrote a novel about a fellow who had a small garden. It didn't have much of a plot." alias "tc_msg_222" "say I did a theatrical performance about puns. Really it was just a play on words." alias "tc_msg_223" "say Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He was lucky it was a soft drink." alias "tc_msg_224" "say Atheism is a non-prophet organization." alias "tc_msg_225" "say A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it. " alias "tc_msg_226" "say There was a sign on the lawn at a drug re-hab center that said 'Keep off the Grass'." alias "tc_msg_227" "say A prisoner's favorite punctuation mark is the period. It marks the end of his sentence. " alias "tc_msg_228" "say A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired." alias "tc_msg_229" "say Atheists don't solve exponential equations because they don't believe in higher powers." alias "tc_msg_230" "say Smaller babies may be delivered by stork but the heavier ones need a crane." alias "tc_msg_231" "say I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it." alias "tc_msg_232" "say I was going to look for my missing watch, but I could never find the time." alias "tc_msg_233" "say To write with a broken pencil is pointless. " alias "tc_msg_234" "say The roundest knight at king Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference." alias "tc_msg_235" "say It's not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it." alias "tc_msg_236" "say Sleepwalking comes so naturally to me, I could do it with my eyes closed." alias "tc_msg_237" "say Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat minor." alias "tc_msg_238" "say He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends. " alias "tc_msg_239" "say There was once a cross-eyed teacher who couldn't control his pupils. " alias "tc_msg_240" "say I knew a woman who owned a taser, man was she stunning! " alias "tc_msg_241" "say The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work." alias "tc_msg_242" "say The one who invented the door knocker got a No-bell prize. " alias "tc_msg_243" "say You want to clone yourself? Now wouldn't that be just like you! " alias "tc_msg_244" "say Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. " alias "tc_msg_245" "say Yesterday I accidentally swallowed some food coloring. The doctor says I'm OK, but I feel like I've dyed a little inside. " alias "tc_msg_246" "say team Why didn't the Spy cross the road? Because he never really was on your side." alias "tc_msg_247" "say all these calculators and that kill still doesn't add up" alias "tc_msg_248" "say You are what you eat, and you're a dick." alias "tc_msg_249" "say my friend in high school had a pretty bad stutter and everyone called him 'remix' :((" alias "tc_msg_250" "say The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world." alias "tc_msg_251" "say ... -Gordon Freeman" alias "tc_msg_252" "say All right, I've been thinking, when life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade! Make life take the lemons back! Get mad!" alias "tc_msg_253" "say Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager!" alias "tc_msg_254" "say Oh, hi. So, how are you holding up? BECAUSE I'M A POTATO!" alias "tc_msg_255" "say Oh. It's you. How have you been? I've been reeeally busy being dead. You know, after you murdered me." alias "tc_msg_256" "say Now look. We've both said a lot of things that you're going to regret. But I think we can put our differences behind us." alias "tc_msg_257" "say This is your fault. I'm going to kill you. And all the cake is gone. You don't even care, do you?" alias "tc_msg_258" "say BUY SOMETHIN' WILL YA!" alias "tc_msg_259" "say It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." alias "tc_msg_260" "say I am error." alias "tc_msg_261" "say How are you gentlemen. All your base are belong to us." alias "tc_msg_262" "say CONGRATULATION THIS STORY IS HAPPY END." alias "tc_msg_263" "say A winner is you." alias "tc_msg_264" "say The President has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?" alias "tc_msg_265" "say It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum...and I'm all out of gum." alias "tc_msg_266" "say Say, "fuzzy pickles."" alias "tc_msg_267" "say Now would you kindly head to Ryan's office and kill the son of a bitch?" alias "tc_msg_268" "say A man chooses; a slave obeys." alias "tc_msg_269" "say Snake? SNAAAAAAAAKE!!!" alias "tc_msg_270" "say Never pay more than 20 bucks for a computer game." alias "tc_msg_271" "say Do a barrel roll!" alias "tc_msg_272" "say You have died of dysentery." alias "tc_msg_273" "say War. War never changes." alias "tc_msg_274" "say It's super effective!" alias "tc_msg_275" "say buying gf" alias "tc_msg_276" "say Thank you mario! But our princess is in another castle!" alias "tc_msg_277" "say You're going to have a bad time." alias "tc_msg_278" "say nyeh heh heh!" alias "tc_msg_279" "say Is this a joke? Are you having a chuckle? Ha ha, very funny. I'm the one with a degree." alias "tc_msg_280" "say hOI!!!!! i'M tEMMIE!!!!" alias "tc_msg_281" "say NO!!!!! muscles r..... NOT CUTE" alias "tc_msg_282" "say I can't go to hell. I'm all out of vacation days." alias "tc_msg_283" "say Who knew that all I had to do to make pals with someone was to give people awful puzzles and then fight them??" alias "tc_msg_284" "say after a great meal i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage..." alias "tc_msg_285" "say geeettttttt dunked on!!!" alias "tc_msg_286" "say I'm 19 years old and I've already wasted my entire life." alias "tc_msg_287" "say PLEASE DON'T NOOGIE THE SKELETON" alias "tc_msg_288" "say It's possible you might have a problem." alias "tc_msg_289" "say WITH LEGS LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS ARMS?" alias "tc_msg_290" "say Ah, the cactus. Truly the most tsundere of all plants." alias "tc_msg_291" "say Congratulations! You failed the puzzle!" alias "tc_msg_292" "say The dog absorbed the legendary artifact." alias "tc_msg_293" "say THESE ARE WINKS OF FEAR ; )" alias "tc_msg_294" "say Anime is real, right?!" alias "tc_msg_295" "say Sounds like only fire lives here now." alias "tc_msg_296" "say Ah, the cactus. Truly the most tsundere of plants." alias "tc_msg_297" "say Dogs are just firm cats!" alias "tc_msg_298" "say >mfw git gud" alias "tc_msg_299" "say ayy lmao" alias "tc_msg_300" "say >mfw ayy lmao" alias "tc_msg_301" "say bootymad" alias "tc_msg_302" "say everyone on the other team is bad >:)" alias "tc_msg_303" "say everyone on my team is bad >:(" alias "tc_msg_304" "say weed" alias "tc_msg_305" "say dank" alias "tc_msg_306" "say dank memes" alias "tc_msg_307" "say jet fuel cant melt steel beams" alias "tc_msg_308" "say dam daniel is my favorit meem" alias "tc_msg_309" "say danm daniel" alias "tc_msg_310" "say WE R IN THE BEEM" alias "tc_msg_311" "say cyka blyat" alias "tc_msg_312" "say remove kebab" alias "tc_msg_313" "say sorry hit the wrong bind" alias "tc_msg_314" "say wrong bind srry" alias "tc_msg_315" "say !rtd" alias "tc_msg_316" "say !hat" alias "tc_msg_317" "say !giveitems" alias "tc_msg_318" "say You have a skeleton inside of you right now." alias "tc_msg_319" "say happy birthday TO THE GROUND" alias "tc_msg_320" "say she got a big booty so I call her big booty" alias "tc_msg_321" "say sum1 gave me some lazer weapons for a purple hat i unboxed yesterday :-D" alias "tc_msg_322" "say You have died of dis sentry >:-)" alias "tc_msg_323" "say I will disarrange your shelf of anime figurines" alias "tc_msg_324" "say you use mini sentries because youre too weak to hold an actual wrench" alias "tc_msg_325" "say JUST SHUT UP FOR % SECONDS" alias "tc_msg_326" "say *David Attenbourgh voice* Inspired by their high-scoring comrade, the rest of red team begins switching to sniper." alias "tc_msg_327" "say It's three in the morning, of course I'm playing TF2. What else would I be doing?" alias "tc_msg_328" "say Having a strange machina is like having a double-ended dildo signed by Hillary Clinton." alias "tc_msg_329" "say GET TO THE POINTS AND STAND ON THEM FFFFFFFFFFS" alias "tc_msg_330" "say can you fuck off please" alias "tc_msg_331" "say fuck you, fuck your hats, AND FUCK THOSE CRITS" alias "tc_msg_332" "say I AM A STRONG INDEPENDENT MEDIC WHO DON'T NEED NO POCKET" alias "tc_msg_333" "say so much trash, so little time" alias "tc_msg_334" "say we got a ded riner" alias "tc_msg_335" "say but hoe do cheet as demon man" alias "tc_msg_336" "say powned itiedod" alias "tc_msg_337" "say curz ur an iodetr lol iudyyou ideoi" alias "tc_msg_338" "say pwend" alias "tc_msg_339" "say shuyt yrou up you IDOIET" alias "tc_msg_340" "say urj just ba d AT THE GAME BUT IM SDOS GOOD ITS UNEVB;LEIVAVBLE" alias "tc_msg_341" "say HSIUT YUP YOU FRICKER" alias "tc_msg_342" "say are you having a stroke" alias "tc_msg_343" "say YES" alias "tc_msg_344" "say NO " alias "tc_msg_345" "say furries are awful is a furry" alias "tc_msg_346" "say sanss what do you think of communism" alias "tc_msg_347" "say my patented 'walking into a flamethrower' technique somehow resulted in my death" alias "tc_msg_348" "say The intentional targeting of medical personnel in combat areas is a violation of international law." alias "tc_msg_349" "say I fucking hate cunts like you good by you fuck nut" alias "tc_msg_350" "say AHHHHHH FUCK MY BUT" alias "tc_msg_351" "say ur only ad bcuz ur angry" alias "tc_msg_352" "say whats a spy do?" alias "tc_msg_353" "say quit licking butt hole and play" alias "tc_msg_354" "say I got half a zatoichi can someone trade me the other half" alias "tc_msg_355" "say rofl ahh the little pussy got a kill.. Rofl god damn you suck for a hacker whats it like to cheat and fail ? Micropenis man" alias "tc_msg_356" "say damit I got sniped by a cow" alias "tc_msg_357" "say they die from mlp pronss" alias "tc_msg_358" "say these guys have so much swag" alias "tc_msg_359" "say how many dicks would you suck for a billion dollars" alias "tc_msg_360" "say NO! Don't build a turret there!" alias "tc_msg_361" "say forgive me father for I have sinned" alias "tc_msg_362" "say damn fucking bitch ass pyro…….." alias "tc_msg_363" "say sometimes you just gotta man up, forget all of your morals, and go phlog" alias "tc_msg_364" "say small loan of 400,000 bullets" alias "tc_msg_365" "say this is spata" alias "tc_msg_366" "say if bread kills me one more time I will cut off my dick hair and send it to him with expressed delivery so its fresh in the mail" alias "tc_msg_367" "say no I fap during the day but ok go watch more family guy you fucking 10 your old" alias "tc_msg_368" "say if you kill one more person im gonna hack into your club penguin" alias "tc_msg_369" "say this team has the peripheral vision and the attention span of a goldfish" alias "tc_msg_370" "say after 9 years in development, we still in development" alias "tc_msg_371" "say ill hack ur house m8 ill turn off your water" alias "tc_msg_372" "say honey I quickscoped the kids" alias "tc_msg_373" "say I think I've established my abject superiority. Have fun with your white-trash lives." alias "tc_msg_374" "say how do I make keys" alias "tc_msg_375" "say having s*x gotta go uuauahuuhauhauahhauauauuuuuahuauauh" alias "tc_msg_376" "say WHAT IS A CUM POT?" alias "tc_msg_377" "say sporn camper" alias "tc_msg_378" "say suck my fucking dik" alias "tc_msg_379" "say how do I use a controller? (in tf2)" alias "tc_msg_380" "say spamming binds won't bring dad back" alias "tc_msg_381" "say holy fuck u are annoying mother fucking" alias "tc_msg_382" "say im gonna put my gun up your ass untill it runs out of ammo" alias "tc_msg_383" "say if humans are 70% water how are you 100% salt?" alias "tc_msg_384" "say im gonan fukcijg n cum" alias "tc_msg_385" "say I want to ronchowlaseo" alias "tc_msg_386" "say EAT A DUCK" alias "tc_msg_387" "say DO SOMETHING PLEASEEEEEEEEEE" alias "tc_msg_388" "say sir you shoulkd go to the pussy of you father" alias "tc_msg_389" "say I feel pain" alias "tc_msg_390" "say fuking salt dispencers" alias "tc_msg_391" "say gotee" alias "tc_msg_392" "say anyone lookin to buy some d a n k m e m e s ?" alias "tc_msg_393" "say hey have u guys head about 4chan its where the cool memes come from like pepee the frog and feelings man" alias "tc_msg_394" "say I want to slowly crawl into someones vagina and unbirth myself" alias "tc_msg_395" "say im you but stronger" alias "tc_msg_396" "say why you have gay ? XD" alias "tc_msg_397" "say SKUT UP" alias "tc_msg_398" "say my dad calls me captain crunch" alias "tc_msg_399" "say this crippling depression is messing with my game fam" alias "tc_msg_400" "say Guys, I can't stress how essential it is that we all continue playing the wrong classes." alias "tc_msg_401" "say bad pockets have holes in them" alias "tc_msg_402" "say you dsaid they don’t have engineer you impesill" alias "tc_msg_403" "say How do I Honky Tonk Ba-Double-Donk-a-Donk with the Loose Cannon?" alias "tc_msg_404" "say he sees my invinceible and instakill :o" alias "tc_msg_405" "say you guys want to support my kickstarter I need money for hookers and blow" alias "tc_msg_406" "say the only cannon ending to tf2 is dying at a comic convention dressed as scout with a butt plug" alias "tc_msg_407" "say welcome to bodyshot city, where the snipers are bad and the spies are shitty" alias "tc_msg_408" "say butt hol" alias "tc_msg_409" "say I gonna PUCH U AND OUT BLOOD" alias "tc_msg_410" "say the day black gets perma banned people shall come out in the streets and selebrate" alias "tc_msg_411" "say fudge u get a life" alias "tc_msg_412" "say personally ive always shipped scout and spy" alias "tc_msg_413" "say get your own taunts you moocher" alias "tc_msg_414" "say I feel like medic has a sex dungeon for heavy" alias "tc_msg_415" "say I would tell our spies to kill themselves but that would mean they actually got a kill" alias "tc_msg_416" "say reds pyros are more cancer than terminal seven" alias "tc_msg_417" "say I thought you were friendly, but you were just bad" alias "tc_msg_418" "say well your basicly worshiping satan by usign the phlog" alias "tc_msg_419" "say Fucking hell this team, we're losing because someone keeps covering up my motivational sprays" alias "tc_msg_420" "say my medic just left me to do aerobics with the heavy on our team ;-;" alias "tc_msg_421" "say pies prettending to be snipers lol" alias "tc_msg_422" "say you may have got a crit but I have a critical fetish so I'm the real winner here" alias "tc_msg_423" "say end my killstreak and ill kick your ass" alias "tc_msg_424" "say oh a noob spy" alias "tc_msg_425" "say watch me get autobalanced" alias "tc_msg_426" "say idk man, pyros just, make me so mad, I spit my cheetos everywhere" alias "tc_msg_427" "say these teams are about as balanced as american congress" alias "tc_msg_428" "say the numa numa man just bougtht a $70 million house and im here at the library trying to photocopy a fruit roll up" alias "tc_msg_429" "say who's tf2" alias "tc_msg_430" "say who is the motherf***** who to do the autoteam ?" alias "tc_msg_431" "say santa gave me a chu chu tran for chrismas" alias "tc_msg_432" "say HES IS SHOTING IN ME" alias "tc_msg_433" "say no life piece of garbage" alias "tc_msg_434" "say we are cheating because we won" alias "tc_msg_435" "say WE NEED HELP STOP FUCKING DANCING" alias "tc_msg_436" "say is your team a joint because we're getting rolled" alias "tc_msg_437" "say just go buy money" alias "tc_msg_438" "say I have a diglet penis inside a flower pot" alias "tc_msg_439" "say where are you two silly billies" alias "tc_msg_440" "say who is willing to be my gf" alias "tc_msg_441" "say HACER" alias "tc_msg_442" "say im dick is 10000000000000000 meter long" alias "tc_msg_443" "say I want to punch you in your genitals" alias "tc_msg_444" "say you rektidude hase increased to over 9000!" alias "tc_msg_445" "say this is prboly onr f the best servers i’ve ever played in" alias "tc_msg_446" "say scootie bottie man" alias "tc_msg_447" "say we baked a piece of bread then the cops found us" alias "tc_msg_448" "say PSUH THEW GOD DANM CART" alias "tc_msg_449" "say https://www.google.com/search?q=sexe+boob" alias "tc_msg_450" "say my dad works for star wars and he says tobacca is the sith lore" alias "tc_msg_451" "say you can get speed from your drug dealer dumbass" alias "tc_msg_452" "say hey any of you guys have the big titties mod for mine craft" alias "tc_msg_453" "say they might be a teleport" alias "tc_msg_454" "say wanna go for a cheeky nandos chav?" alias "tc_msg_455" "say SOMEONE SCRAMBLE THE TEAMS" alias "tc_msg_456" "say he accused me of "hacking" and said I should "stop killing him"" alias "tc_msg_457" "say I know a girl with a big butt" alias "tc_msg_458" "say I got my first headshot in 2 weeks :D" alias "tc_msg_459" "say no now playa, don't be a sore winner" alias "tc_msg_460" "say I found the erect hit !" alias "tc_msg_461" "say all u need is my love" alias "tc_msg_462" "say yes, autobalance is fuck" alias "tc_msg_463" "say will suck dick for hats" alias "tc_msg_464" "say he cunt my lawn yesterday" alias "tc_msg_465" "say ur not my real dad" alias "tc_msg_466" "say well everyone onthis team has hats so we cant do too bad" alias "tc_msg_467" "say how dose it feel to be owneded so hartd??" alias "tc_msg_468" "say How to actually Get Cures premature ejaculation?" alias "tc_msg_469" "say how i do taunt?" alias "tc_msg_470" "say how do i turn invisable" alias "tc_msg_471" "say dont fell bad not ervry one can be goode" alias "tc_msg_472" "say unbindall gives you an unusual" alias "tc_msg_473" "say Less words from you, less iq points dropped." alias "tc_msg_474" "say goddamn dog whining for food WHAT IS THE ODDS?" alias "tc_msg_475" "say ARE U GUEYS NEW??" alias "tc_msg_476" "say are u as bad at life as u are in tf2??" alias "tc_msg_477" "say one guy on Intervention said his classmates called him Pizza Tits, i laughed" alias "tc_msg_478" "say Why is the healer man cheating? I can't hurt him" alias "tc_msg_479" "say hey l00k, its a gay virg1n" alias "tc_msg_480" "say how to i rank my gun??????????" alias "tc_msg_481" "say which button make assassin go transparent" alias "tc_msg_482" "say how to launch ball as call center guy" alias "tc_msg_483" "say how ski mask guy listen to radio" alias "tc_msg_484" "say TRASH STATUS: COMPACTED" alias "tc_msg_485" "say congrtulations ur the worlds worst tf2 player" alias "tc_msg_486" "say dude i think i caused a earthquake in my house playin this super louad as fuck" alias "tc_msg_487" "say LOL N3RD owned" alias "tc_msg_488" "say take notes ;)" alias "tc_msg_489" "say lol troled autismal faget" alias "tc_msg_490" "say rack off you crazy little dingo!!! FFS????@!" alias "tc_msg_491" "say lmao do u even try????" alias "tc_msg_492" "say why is degreeser so bad" alias "tc_msg_493" "say YOU NEED A RELIFE" alias "tc_msg_494" "say im horny and cant masterbate" alias "tc_msg_495" "say butdocter prognoses: OWND" alias "tc_msg_496" "say cry 2 ur dads dick forver noob" alias "tc_msg_497" "say lol u troled so fukin hard u wan sum ice for the ASSBURN??" alias "tc_msg_498" "say LOL nice reg" alias "tc_msg_499" "say crushd nerd do u want a baindaid for that LOL" alias "tc_msg_500" "say LOL scrub ur gettin rekt hardcroe" alias "tc_msg_501" "say ass states - [_] NOT REKT [X] REKT" alias "tc_msg_502" "say LMAO PYROOOOS" alias "tc_msg_503" "say are u slippan off ur chaire cos ur ass is bleeding so hard??" alias "tc_msg_504" "say u did good.... for a fCKing~BADDIE...sh4t on" alias "tc_msg_505" "say im gonna stick an egg in ur vaginal canal and punch it-" alias "tc_msg_506" "say i always chose squirtle when i played pokemon, i literally never chose another. sometimes i wonder...." alias "tc_msg_507" "say LOL WOW watchin u play this game is like watching helen keller play tennis" alias "tc_msg_508" "say rep up those wieners cos ur sure hungry for one" alias "tc_msg_509" "say Don't hate me because I'm beautiful hate me because your boyfriend thinks so ~~~~" alias "tc_msg_510" "say Do you feel special? Please try suicide again... hopefully you will be successful this time." alias "tc_msg_511" "say SPY BWEING WATCHED BYU MY SENTRY JUST LEAVBE" alias "tc_msg_512" "say me battlefiled rp" alias "tc_msg_513" "say GGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!" alias "tc_msg_514" "say butt docta prognosis: buttfustrated" alias "tc_msg_515" "say <<< OWEND U >>>" alias "tc_msg_516" "say >mfw i ownd u" alias "tc_msg_517" "say rip in penis" alias "tc_msg_518" "say yea megaheal can make you seem invulnerable" alias "tc_msg_519" "say scout is noob class he runs too fast" alias "tc_msg_520" "say UR STATUS: [x] mad [ ] not mad" alias "tc_msg_521" "say u ned to take chilpil and stop raping your ownasswit with husband" alias "tc_msg_522" "say lol pwnd scrubb" alias "tc_msg_523" "say did u learn 2 aim from stevie wondar??? LOL" alias "tc_msg_524" "say tf2 is so bad" alias "tc_msg_525" "say how does triathlon winner get home run" alias "tc_msg_526" "say R WE DEFENDING" alias "tc_msg_527" "say u so asspissed rite now ur bluddy poo steam w/rage" alias "tc_msg_528" "say are u new or just bad?? noobe" alias "tc_msg_529" "say u see what is crank :P hahahahhahahah noobs , rich pooper" alias "tc_msg_530" "say wer3 u born yesterday??? ~~ ROFL sh1tty" alias "tc_msg_531" "say >mfw i rek u" alias "tc_msg_532" "say <-(0.0)-< dats u gettn ownd LOL" alias "tc_msg_533" "say keyboard !!!!!!@!" alias "tc_msg_534" "say ur such a looser ur wife is paper bag" alias "tc_msg_535" "say im only 13 an im better than u haha XD" alias "tc_msg_536" "say I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down." alias "tc_msg_537" "say u only even touchin me cause my girl is screamin, im not gonna take a loss that aint legit -- i poop on u, im jus distracted" alias "tc_msg_538" "say someone get that man A CRIT" alias "tc_msg_539" "say LOL PYROS" alias "tc_msg_540" "say Cranky's Advice: git gud" alias "tc_msg_541" "say ur just so madd all the time its 2 easy 23 own u" alias "tc_msg_542" "say {{ scoooled u }}" alias "tc_msg_543" "say dose ur aim come in NOT NOOBE? LMAO" alias "tc_msg_544" "say cya noob send me a post card from pwnd city ROFL" alias "tc_msg_545" "say I-WILL-NO-LONGER-GO-TO-THIS-HOOTERS.THAT-WAS-EMBARRASSING...." alias "tc_msg_546" "say rofl police served a warrant on my dog but she fled!@" alias "tc_msg_547" "say u hav 1 week 2 live cuz u dying of stage 12 --own--" alias "tc_msg_548" "say if i was as bade as u i would kil myself" alias "tc_msg_549" "say ur bad" alias "tc_msg_550" "say what makes you to not burn?" alias "tc_msg_551" "say i SELL STRANGERS TRADE MEE" alias "tc_msg_552" "say what happened to team fortress 1? it is a mystery" alias "tc_msg_553" "say I PRAY TO GOD A PACK OF WOLVES RAPES YOU IN THE DEAD OF WINTER AND FORCES YOU TO WALK HOME BAREFOOT!" alias "tc_msg_554" "say am god sniper" alias "tc_msg_555" "say phlog+reserve shooter, weapon switch speed for sharpened volcano fragment. best combo ever" alias "tc_msg_556" "say how masked artist make ice sculptures" alias "tc_msg_557" "say what does mann co. supply do?" alias "tc_msg_558" "say deal w it gaylord" alias "tc_msg_559" "say how did he jarate me from far away did he take viagra or something omg" alias "tc_msg_560" "say demo is noob class m1m2m1m2" alias "tc_msg_561" "say get a bran retarts" alias "tc_msg_562" "say they want everyone to give up their children and move on, they stole my son and made up more malious lies then you can imagine" alias "tc_msg_563" "say i trade riple nife for snheavy wich" alias "tc_msg_564" "say i keep getting stomach cramps could i be pregnant? FREDGEGSZZZRGDD" alias "tc_msg_565" "say how can i shoot bubblecums" alias "tc_msg_566" "say HOW IT WORK?" alias "tc_msg_567" "say go wach naturo REKT" alias "tc_msg_568" "say how does it feel to be shit on by a 13 yer old" alias "tc_msg_569" "say witnessed planecrash yesterday !!!!!!@!" alias "tc_msg_570" "say how to get in touch with who give strangers babies in adoption? i don't know nothing about it?" alias "tc_msg_571" "say faggy medics revived gecko neighbor FRZZZZZZ THE SOUND ROFL" alias "tc_msg_572" "say check urself b4 u rek urself" alias "tc_msg_573" "say hahahahaahah laught my ass off when i heard retarded dwarf" alias "tc_msg_574" "say how do you unlock enforcer" alias "tc_msg_575" "say like i said blade would beat on goku and your arguments were weak so yeah go back to jerking off on your hentai lol :P" alias "tc_msg_576" "say 1v1 me m8" alias "tc_msg_577" "say Get the fuck out of my server you disgusting cum guzzling fuck puppet" alias "tc_msg_578" "say time for you 2 uninstale the game" alias "tc_msg_579" "say you still shouldn't not have no heart, not fight, not compete, not be into games." alias "tc_msg_580" "say umade noobe?" alias "tc_msg_581" "say sucky a kangaroo here? WTF???????" alias "tc_msg_582" "say smelly whoever made this game FOR FUCKS SAKE" alias "tc_msg_583" "say yor dad calls u 'cc' 4 cumcaptin lawl" alias "tc_msg_584" "say ned a tetryporter here" alias "tc_msg_585" "say hold up guys my aimbot crashed" alias "tc_msg_586" "say how do u spary" alias "tc_msg_587" "say server bug" alias "tc_msg_588" "say I'M MID FUCKIN' FRAG VIDEO" alias "tc_msg_589" "say med down oh wait wrong script" alias "tc_msg_590" "say colonrampage'd" alias "tc_msg_591" "say How do I make healing box?" alias "tc_msg_592" "say whats the M1" alias "tc_msg_593" "say protect my century pls" alias "tc_msg_594" "say buying modic gun with strangesse" alias "tc_msg_595" "say how do u crouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" alias "tc_msg_596" "say u = v1rgin n3rd~" alias "tc_msg_597" "say !kickall red pyros" alias "tc_msg_598" "say do u jus liev in ur own lil'' world u dumFUK??" alias "tc_msg_599" "say HOW TO DROP THE CHEST" alias "tc_msg_600" "say if valve didn't want it then why did they put it in the game" alias "tc_msg_601" "say The experienced carpenter really nailed it, but the new guy screwed everything up." alias "tc_msg_602" "say STUPID ENGINMER MAKE PORTAL FORQARD UNITS AHEAD" alias "tc_msg_603" "say the spy just fuck the game" alias "tc_msg_604" "say why cant u guys listen to a girl like me" alias "tc_msg_605" "say TIEM TO REK SKRUBS" alias "tc_msg_606" "say How do u make a core spattered weapon?" alias "tc_msg_607" "say calm down br0, ur bad, just accept it" alias "tc_msg_608" "say how do i unlick shotgun for demo" alias "tc_msg_609" "say You wouldnt by any chance be a Zionist Jew, would you? Because theres a lot of them here who spread malicious 'pedophile' lies" alias "tc_msg_610" "say i am ref" alias "tc_msg_611" "say engineer go for mision" alias "tc_msg_612" "say my team sucks im saping all the century" alias "tc_msg_613" "say STOP TRYING TO CAP AND FIGHT" alias "tc_msg_614" "say can deliver pizza as the fast?" alias "tc_msg_615" "say I AM THE ALPHA MALE" alias "tc_msg_616" "say So next time i scratch my ass i will think of you...now do everyone a favor and FUCK OFF." alias "tc_msg_617" "say BRO DO YOU EVEN LIFT?" alias "tc_msg_618" "say is that a toon from toontown" alias "tc_msg_619" "say FUCK OFF AND WASH YOUR PINK UNDERPANTS. THE ONLY THING UNNECESSARY IS THAT A CUNT LIKE YOU SHOULD BE COMMENTING." alias "tc_msg_620" "say rofl my monitor is off and i'm playing via morse code and a complex system of echolocation" alias "tc_msg_621" "say I just don't understand. Could someone please explain why this chimp is riding a segway?" alias "tc_msg_622" "say PLEASE GUY SOMEONE SELL THE AWPANTAGE" alias "tc_msg_623" "say How can I get my family to believe that I can see aura's? FFS horny father outside, zzzzz" alias "tc_msg_624" "say how do you make a wepon strange?" alias "tc_msg_625" "say p" alias "tc_msg_626" "say im gonna record a fragshow so i can watch me pwn u ova and ova LMAO" alias "tc_msg_627" "say This site is run by a clan on ps3 they are from usa and they are very racist to any other country and also to colour aswell. " alias "tc_msg_628" "say how do find items?" alias "tc_msg_629" "say anyone got minigun" alias "tc_msg_630" "say that guy is hacking his sentry has rockets" alias "tc_msg_631" "say screaming toddler what to do? WHAT IS THE ODDS" alias "tc_msg_632" "say HODOR GO SPA" alias "tc_msg_633" "say hey, can someone teach me how to use the force a nature to do an extra jump?" alias "tc_msg_634" "say can i buy hats form sum1" alias "tc_msg_635" "say Its disgusting to punsh someone in the face when he is lying on the floor..." alias "tc_msg_636" "say pyros r pussies who never learnd to aim" alias "tc_msg_637" "say how do we change our name?" alias "tc_msg_638" "say MEDIC I NEED U PLZ" alias "tc_msg_639" "say lolURb4d at an E-Z GAME (>^^)>" alias "tc_msg_640" "say how do you get vintages by killing?" alias "tc_msg_641" "say [h] s. degreaser [w] s. phlog" alias "tc_msg_642" "say STOP KILLING ME IM FRIENDLY" alias "tc_msg_643" "say no microspamming here please" alias "tc_msg_644" "say at least i have arms n legs (thats what it feels like playing vs u)" alias "tc_msg_645" "say how do you get an uber charge" alias "tc_msg_646" "say ahaha u got introduced 2 da welcoming committee" alias "tc_msg_647" "say how do i change the man i play?" alias "tc_msg_648" "say stop being sticky spamming black scottish one eyed asshole" alias "tc_msg_649" "say DONT LET ME GET IN MY ZONE" alias "tc_msg_650" "say ahaha ur awful" alias "tc_msg_651" "say 18 ping and you can only shoot rockets at people not looking at you and play spy." alias "tc_msg_652" "say roflmao girl ate a spoon" alias "tc_msg_653" "say wolth bit me" alias "tc_msg_654" "say I LOVE PEEING IN THE SHOWER IT JUST FEELS GOOD THUMBS IF YOU LIKE TO DO THAT ASWELL:)" alias "tc_msg_655" "say Don't trust people that do acupuncture, they're back stabbers. " alias "tc_msg_656" "say Go back to grooming your neck-beard. By the way you've got homework due tomorrow." alias "tc_msg_657" "say hi pls sell my ur unusul" alias "tc_msg_658" "say engineer is noob class hit sentry for kills" alias "tc_msg_659" "say attack the train" alias "tc_msg_660" "say why dont u go and play manoppoly you noob" alias "tc_msg_661" "say oh shit my monitor turned off again" alias "tc_msg_662" "say does the plogistonor have any actual disadvantage" alias "tc_msg_663" "say spider on the wall" alias "tc_msg_664" "say my teeth hurt..." alias "tc_msg_665" "say asasin give me barr" alias "tc_msg_666" "say nt nigger (suck my cunt)" alias "tc_msg_667" "say how do you swich guns" alias "tc_msg_668" "say GET NO SKOPED" alias "tc_msg_669" "say valve pls buff" alias "tc_msg_670" "say im a medic i cant fucking rocket job like you asshole" alias "tc_msg_671" "say don’t upsetti hav some spagetti" alias "tc_msg_672" "say your reality is imaginary,lol...go take you're garbage comments somewhere else, your making an ass out of yourself,lol" alias "tc_msg_673" "say everyone is op" alias "tc_msg_674" "say How can push explody train down choo choo tracks" alias "tc_msg_675" "say **PROTIP** If you wanna frag people you have to hit them." alias "tc_msg_676" "say stfu nerd go grow balls" alias "tc_msg_677" "say welcome to the noob scoole bus first stop ur house <<PWND>>" alias "tc_msg_678" "say autistic enginerr upgrades his sentry while the point is being caped" alias "tc_msg_679" "say can some1 give me free deathclock?" alias "tc_msg_680" "say Uhm i lost my transform tool :(" alias "tc_msg_681" "say is that spy's legs broken" alias "tc_msg_682" "say wadsdddddddddddaawwd sdy" alias "tc_msg_683" "say HOW DO I UNLOCK GOLD GUN FOR MY BIG GUY WITH LIGHT MASHIN GUN" alias "tc_msg_684" "say how do i earn ppoints as mechanic?" alias "tc_msg_685" "say can u spawn mooculus" alias "tc_msg_686" "say how do i get rid of pero eye land" alias "tc_msg_687" "say de_stroyed" alias "tc_msg_688" "say rekt u lol another one for the fraghsow" alias "tc_msg_689" "say asdddddwdaasdawdeeeeeeeeey" alias "tc_msg_690" "say wangadang" alias "tc_msg_691" "say wolth howling" alias "tc_msg_692" "say pls" alias "tc_msg_693" "say HANDS UP IF YOU EVER SHITED WHILE HAVING A BATH OR THUMBES UP IF YOU PEE IN THE SHOWER:)" alias "tc_msg_694" "say HORNY dog farted" alias "tc_msg_695" "say noob question but why can't i backstab while cloaked? seems stupid not to be able to" alias "tc_msg_696" "say the knife is useless you can only use it from behind" alias "tc_msg_697" "say how do you cloke" alias "tc_msg_698" "say why dont u go play halo" alias "tc_msg_699" "say rofl i pwnd u scrub #420 #based #mlgskill" alias "tc_msg_700" "say calm down and watch some porn you pussys" alias "tc_msg_701" "say hilarious yoghurt spillt" alias "tc_msg_702" "say That just happened." alias "tc_msg_703" "say i almost feel sorry for you hahahaha" alias "tc_msg_704" "say centinel in the truck!" alias "tc_msg_705" "say lol yeah you're legit" alias "tc_msg_706" "say are noobs on servur" alias "tc_msg_707" "say anyone selling a force of natcher" alias "tc_msg_708" "say i'm assuming that your a preteen in the u.s. with a cracking voice that has to hide his wet dream stained sheets from mommy" alias "tc_msg_709" "say Tak? sa :D Kto polak kciuk w góre!!" alias "tc_msg_710" "say w0w SNAPPED u HARD (fkn shitter)" alias "tc_msg_711" "say i bet u have a fetish FOR MEN LMAO" alias "tc_msg_712" "say how do you get crits with a pyro?" alias "tc_msg_713" "say whats that? oh, must be the sound of u getting creamed in the face by my grandfather baddy" alias "tc_msg_714" "say getting mad u virgan nerd??" alias "tc_msg_715" "say **PROTIP** Your crosshair generally assists you in aiming." alias "tc_msg_716" "say Period cups ??????????( girls only)?" alias "tc_msg_717" "say WHATS AN AIMBOTTER END WHERE CAN I GET ONE" alias "tc_msg_718" "say how do i check score?" alias "tc_msg_719" "say how do i cehck how many kills have have on a gun" alias "tc_msg_720" "say i cant make sentret if nowones help me!!!!" alias "tc_msg_721" "say rofl did any1 see that dork get raped" alias "tc_msg_722" "say why isn't soul eater on here? thats an awesome anime and the fact that soul can turn into a death sycthe is epic" alias "tc_msg_723" "say Ok Guys, let's do a quizz? ! What is the heightest mountain on the world ?" alias "tc_msg_724" "say im not even trying to pwn u its just so easy" alias "tc_msg_725" "say BYING 50 CRATE FOR ??????!" alias "tc_msg_726" "say pussy no mele bixch tiger shepsep" alias "tc_msg_727" "say rekt u noob *OWNED*" alias "tc_msg_728" "say Everyone who loves you is wrong." alias "tc_msg_729" "say no kill me i specter" alias "tc_msg_730" "say sucky please remove luck WHAT IS THE ODDS?" alias "tc_msg_731" "say i play game for 10 yrs noob" alias "tc_msg_732" "say i have SUN on a stick how about i cover the moon with that" alias "tc_msg_733" "say erection" alias "tc_msg_734" "say Please send me 2 crap metal" alias "tc_msg_735" "say **PROTIP** Use the reticule in the middle of the screen to aim." alias "tc_msg_736" "say I feel like your dad after a morning fuck with your sister.. " alias "tc_msg_737" "say I want to trade one the sniper hartmaker" alias "tc_msg_738" "say oops, hit my bind" alias "tc_msg_739" "say battlefiled pro" alias "tc_msg_740" "say i cant kill friendlys you retard" alias "tc_msg_741" "say hey granma is that u???? LOL so bad" alias "tc_msg_742" "say how do i protet against autsralian headshots?" alias "tc_msg_743" "say ==----**~~#NOOB DOWN#~~**----==" alias "tc_msg_744" "say who made this mouse omg." alias "tc_msg_745" "say pyro is noob class wm1 get kills" alias "tc_msg_746" "say Is It Meh Or Did My Katt Juss Barkedd At Me!?!?!?" alias "tc_msg_747" "say how do i use the rocks?" alias "tc_msg_748" "say semen leaking from ears??/?? what is the odds@???" alias "tc_msg_749" "say roflmao dog" alias "tc_msg_750" "say sdlkjyfgr4etsyh4esr4erdxth sorry just fucking your mom on the keyboard" alias "tc_msg_751" "say ur butt is evaporating cum bcuz it is steaming wit anger" alias "tc_msg_752" "say BUTTDEVASTATED" alias "tc_msg_753" "say wuts sand man" alias "tc_msg_754" "say HELP HOW DO GO HAT" alias "tc_msg_755" "say R u mad becouse ur bad nooby?" alias "tc_msg_756" "say why would you use the default weapons" alias "tc_msg_757" "say hwo do u crounch" alias "tc_msg_758" "say how do i change the arm ?" alias "tc_msg_759" "say did u kno if u take l4d and replace L with B, u get B4D, and thats u" alias "tc_msg_760" "say Some people's noses and feet are built backwards: their feet smell and their noses run. " alias "tc_msg_761" "say sometimes when i shoot my flamethrower air comes out is this normal" alias "tc_msg_762" "say hi i will kringle collection" alias "tc_msg_763" "say B>turrent contoler" alias "tc_msg_764" "say fuck bosystter" alias "tc_msg_765" "say buying solger hat (i thing its name is librty luch)" alias "tc_msg_766" "say what amkes you to not burn as demel man" alias "tc_msg_767" "say gb2 pussybaby land where u git own3d by dick" alias "tc_msg_768" "say why we have to kill others ;__;?" alias "tc_msg_769" "say how do you go to your third gun" alias "tc_msg_770" "say rat on my hand, fuck yeah" alias "tc_msg_771" "say Please stop using text binds. You're neither clever nor funny." alias "tc_msg_772" "say what does my right click accomplish on the pyro?" alias "tc_msg_773" "say I trash talk because I hate my life" alias "tc_msg_774" "say Whould someone be so kind as to tell me how I get the bow and arrow" alias "tc_msg_775" "say ur pathetic nerd its like u have parkensons" alias "tc_msg_776" "say noob hackers" alias "tc_msg_777" "say any one have a spare force of natachare gun i could have ?" alias "tc_msg_778" "say noob pyro leave before i ban u" alias "tc_msg_779" "say what button is to jump twice" alias "tc_msg_780" "say **PROTIP** Using a mouse is recommended." alias "tc_msg_781" "say i called u a fukin nerd go blog abut it faggt" alias "tc_msg_782" "say if? only your’e level of nowlege was as deep as mine, you could understand the underlying relations" alias "tc_msg_783" "say ummm reexec i forgot to masturbate:::: gimme 2 mins~!!" alias "tc_msg_784" "say how light hat on fire?????" alias "tc_msg_785" "say go drink ur moms bredst milk u fart commander" alias "tc_msg_786" "say le troled hard" alias "tc_msg_787" "say HOW TO SE CHAT VOICE" alias "tc_msg_788" "say battery in cellphone died" alias "tc_msg_789" "say how do i buy thing" alias "tc_msg_790" "say Why doe's your profile say you live in Dubai? Lol!!!! What a pathetic fuckbag you are! you terrorist dicksucking baby killer!!" alias "tc_msg_791" "say I got Physycal destroyed after watches this video. Thank you" alias "tc_msg_792" "say Dispenser down! PUSH NOOOOOWWWW!!!" alias "tc_msg_793" "say why r some players invisible" alias "tc_msg_794" "say how do i trade my stuff?" alias "tc_msg_795" "say LIKE I GIVE A FUCK" alias "tc_msg_796" "say gay because im colorblind you win" alias "tc_msg_797" "say gaben pls nerf" alias "tc_msg_798" "say wowowow nice fuckin aimbot your fucking hakcer" alias "tc_msg_799" "say !premium" alias "tc_msg_800" "say pyro fire bow my ok" alias "tc_msg_801" "say heavy is noob class click and hold for bullets" alias "tc_msg_802" "say demo throw grenad at little sent" alias "tc_msg_803" "say we are here to dislike Bieber and to say thath bieber is gay :s And to critic everyone who say bieber is the best !" alias "tc_msg_804" "say medic is noob class don't even kill anyone" alias "tc_msg_805" "say i shld slap u in the tits" alias "tc_msg_806" "say school3d by a 13yo lol u r rely bad" alias "tc_msg_807" "say At least I tried." alias "tc_msg_808" "say 'omg i love sukn dicks and crying to link park' - You" alias "tc_msg_809" "say I have a ridiculous crush on fem-scout like you have no idea" alias "tc_msg_810" "say HOW DO U CROUCH" alias "tc_msg_811" "say buying powerjacker" alias "tc_msg_812" "say status: u mad [x] u not mad [ ]" alias "tc_msg_813" "say 15 sec RE CAP?!?!?!?!?! or relife... wat ev" alias "tc_msg_814" "say wow my monitor was off this whole time!!" alias "tc_msg_815" "say qq qq qq q qq QQ" alias "tc_msg_816" "say anyone who uses pyro in this game is now regarded as a gay incest semen drinking buttfucking cocksucker shit hole" alias "tc_msg_817" "say rofl who the hell are these fools" alias "tc_msg_818" "say dear god no" alias "tc_msg_819" "say IM TRAWNING" alias "tc_msg_820" "say help me spy clock doesnt work" alias "tc_msg_821" "say where infantry fellow get gunboots?" alias "tc_msg_822" "say im selling stranger" alias "tc_msg_823" "say cockwood fight" alias "tc_msg_824" "say scout going undwer" alias "tc_msg_825" "say how do u rocket jump!!!!!!!!!!!" alias "tc_msg_826" "say the sun on stick is so glowy" alias "tc_msg_827" "say buy medic" alias "tc_msg_828" "say CAN ANY 1 PLS TELL HOW TO CHANGE NAME!?" alias "tc_msg_829" "say KRITZBERG FOR DEFENCE" alias "tc_msg_830" "say Guys which button is sprint" alias "tc_msg_831" "say mechanic go to the dossier please and help me" alias "tc_msg_832" "say anyone sell the sniper??" alias "tc_msg_833" "say steven hocking appeared in a wheelchair ffs?" alias "tc_msg_834" "say no no no no NO!" alias "tc_msg_835" "say u just got raped" alias "tc_msg_836" "say how do you tell what lvl you are" alias "tc_msg_837" "say can someone type in the chat how to use your mic please" alias "tc_msg_838" "say xDDDDD" alias "tc_msg_839" "say How do I put a dispenser this heavy is annoying me" alias "tc_msg_840" "say is it possible to deul weild the swords" alias "tc_msg_841" "say **maybee** if u stoped jerkin it to anime u'd get a gf ^______^" alias "tc_msg_842" "say U <3 SP3RM (ESP UR DADZ L0L) ~~~c====8" alias "tc_msg_843" "say WHO HAS THE CLODEM MOR" alias "tc_msg_844" "say L0L :-) L0L u g0t r4P3D id10t :-) L0L" alias "tc_msg_845" "say why did tuxedo man kill me???" alias "tc_msg_846" "say how to fly as captain america" alias "tc_msg_847" "say Honey is the only food that does not spoil" alias "tc_msg_848" "say Such a beautiful respectable lady *tips le fedora*" alias "tc_msg_849" "say this donk is dirtier than fingering your? sister and finding your dads wedding ring, siicckk laadddd!!!!" alias "tc_msg_850" "say can u move u distrib pleaseeee !!!!" alias "tc_msg_851" "say I'm glad I know sign language, it's pretty handy." alias "tc_msg_852" "say 2gud4u" alias "tc_msg_853" "say stupid car-horn outside WHAT IS THE ODDS?" alias "tc_msg_854" "say ROCKET PDHH GO BATTLEFIELD" alias "tc_msg_855" "say How did i get here from watching dog porn? o_O" alias "tc_msg_856" "say is it the spy or am i hacked theres 2 of me" alias "tc_msg_857" "say thats going in the frag movie" alias "tc_msg_858" "say why isn't my knife instakill" alias "tc_msg_859" "say daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn son, that's som dank shit" alias "tc_msg_860" "say is wwe acting or real? FFS I DONT TELL" alias "tc_msg_861" "say Im selling bong boy" alias "tc_msg_862" "say its ok if u keep practasing u will get bettar lol #rekt" alias "tc_msg_863" "say im going to sap there sentury" alias "tc_msg_864" "say i want escrap plan" alias "tc_msg_865" "say the knife sucks it doesnt do much dmg" alias "tc_msg_866" "say I was raped in a toilet by a woman named Steven J Miller..." alias "tc_msg_867" "say PRESS G WITH KIRTKZ ZRAGE IT GIVES HEALF" alias "tc_msg_868" "say He grabbed at my hair, so I gripped his thighs to keep him from trying to face-fuck me." alias "tc_msg_869" "say NO WAY condom" alias "tc_msg_870" "say i use phlog because i get more kills with it" alias "tc_msg_871" "say turrets are too powerful" alias "tc_msg_872" "say Shut the fuck up, you cock juggling thundercunt" alias "tc_msg_873" "say THEY ARE GOOD IF U ASK ME. THEY ARE THE NSB BOYZ ALSO KNOW AS THE NEW STYLE BOYZ AND THIS IS THEIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL DBOYPIMP101" alias "tc_msg_874" "say sniper is noob class click on heads get kills" alias "tc_msg_875" "say NEWSFLASH NIGGA U AINT JEZUZ, NO 1 CAN BE JEZUZ LIKE H E WAS NIGGA U TIHNKIN U CAN?" alias "tc_msg_876" "say why does everyone have laser weapons" alias "tc_msg_877" "say the respawn times ruin the game" alias "tc_msg_878" "say A new type of broom came out, it is sweeping the nation. " alias "tc_msg_879" "say then why the fuk are yu on his video yu r pefetic" alias "tc_msg_880" "say i dont know how to play" alias "tc_msg_881" "say i laffed iRL b-cuz your so BAD *(<(<(OEWNED>)>)*" alias "tc_msg_882" "say if u take l4d and change the l to a b u get b4d, and thts u 8)" alias "tc_msg_883" "say if i pwnd u any harder it wud be animal abuse" alias "tc_msg_884" "say fukin weebs" alias "tc_msg_885" "say i sell egzecuter for huntsmen" alias "tc_msg_886" "say someone go beast mode and make them top camping" alias "tc_msg_887" "say You are an evolutionary U Turn." alias "tc_msg_888" "say dont worry at least ur tryan XD" alias "tc_msg_889" "say your mom is a graphical bitch" alias "tc_msg_890" "say STATAN SHOULD FUCK YOU IN THE ASSOLE" alias "tc_msg_891" "say Did you see that?! I killed him!" alias "tc_msg_892" "say i buy cladmemore" alias "tc_msg_893" "say first place in GETING OWND bY ME" alias "tc_msg_894" "say call me the bus driver, because I get paid below minimum wage" alias "tc_msg_895" "say Well, looks like matters have been settled." alias "tc_msg_896" "say tell ur mum to hand the keyboard and mosue back" alias "tc_msg_897" "say terryporter down" alias "tc_msg_898" "say what is the !hat command" alias "tc_msg_899" "say pillars calapsed at parthenon Rofl" alias "tc_msg_900" "say i rape and you dont ded wtf" alias "tc_msg_901" "say wallhacker" alias "tc_msg_902" "say lmfao ur an moron" alias "tc_msg_903" "say {{R@PeD}} :: btw you are shit" alias "tc_msg_904" "say LMDOIUE (laf my dik off into ur ear)" alias "tc_msg_905" "say lol i troled u so hard *OWNED*" alias "tc_msg_906" "say u better get a towel for all ur tears faget" alias "tc_msg_907" "say <--- BEATDOWN BRINGA (smashed u dickhead)" alias "tc_msg_908" "say !! r0FL shat on -- ****nice play fagg0t****" alias "tc_msg_909" "say your facebok status = shitslaming fukfaced dickpipeing aspie" alias "tc_msg_910" "say u fucking ugly midgit with a gap tooth and big ass head LOL" alias "tc_msg_911" "say Looks guys, a one man fag parade!" alias "tc_msg_912" "say go play with your building blocks" alias "tc_msg_913" "say U cry tears of blud and cum ur mom's penis out your angry butthole" alias "tc_msg_914" "say cheer up^ :) youre small d1k isnt noticealbe under ur BaDnEsS" alias "tc_msg_915" "say NiCE AIMBOT, did it come wiWETH a MILsHAKE??" alias "tc_msg_916" "say rekt" alias "tc_msg_917" "say L0l did u just buy dis game??!? ROFRRL" alias "tc_msg_918" "say oh he fisted me darn" alias "tc_msg_919" "say hey red guys can i install a system if i am egnigeer" alias "tc_msg_920" "say CRY SOME MORE - Team Fortress 2 Heavy Weapons Guy" alias "tc_msg_921" "say at least i have arms n legs (thats what it feels like playing vs u)" alias "tc_msg_922" "say 'i like to drnikj sperm from my sperm bottle while waring my sperm necklace' - u" alias "tc_msg_923" "say do you have rocket jumper meleewep" alias "tc_msg_924" "say lol y do u care tho ur gona be angry all the time cuzof it kay" alias "tc_msg_925" "say r u into scat porns or some thing cos it feel's like u want me 2 shit on u" alias "tc_msg_926" "say find stupid friends and wait for them to say stupid things. then make binds out of them" alias "tc_msg_927" "say LMFAO nt retard 8===--D~~ (cum)" alias "tc_msg_928" "say u just got promoted 2 cumcaptain prestige 10" alias "tc_msg_929" "say u were --- this close to being recognized by ur parents" alias "tc_msg_930" "say Yay I fucking learning impaired midget who thinks he funny!!!!!" alias "tc_msg_931" "say get ur mom 2 lik teh tears of ur ballz, assmaster" alias "tc_msg_932" "say ay are u Oscar teh grouch!?!? CUZ U LIV INA TRASHCAN!!!!!!!!!??" alias "tc_msg_933" "say loL :D get b3tt3r fgt (jk u cant)" alias "tc_msg_934" "say hazardous beoing flying through my window?????" alias "tc_msg_935" "say i trade clokendige for metle" alias "tc_msg_936" "say gaben pls buff" alias "tc_msg_937" "say u play tf2 like my granpa and hes ded" alias "tc_msg_938" "say You're as dumb as a bag of doorknobs. Retarded doorknobs." alias "tc_msg_939" "say soldier is noob class shoot feet get kills" alias "tc_msg_940" "say fucking chocolate paper sounds." alias "tc_msg_941" "say explain how fighterman get a-bomb launcher?" alias "tc_msg_942" "say you betas need to get laid" alias "tc_msg_943" "say you should make grenade" alias "tc_msg_944" "say you hav no lyfe you cant evan play tf2 propaly" alias "tc_msg_945" "say get the weiner out of your mouth, ShitFUckeDDDDD!~@#(" alias "tc_msg_946" "say youve just been HURT FEELINGS'd" alias "tc_msg_947" "say i have strange hat u noob" alias "tc_msg_948" "say bitch how old r u i know i am one angry boy but not little so tell me mother fucker how old? are u" alias "tc_msg_949" "say LOLOLOLOALLMAOOLROFLOL LPRPOYROOOSS" alias "tc_msg_950" "say are you? retarted?" alias "tc_msg_951" "say FUCK u too because if ur not a 600 pound over weight smelly bastard then your a fukin stinking cunt who needs to take a shower" alias "tc_msg_952" "say Fuck off you ugly, fat bastard. I could not give a fuck about you or 50 cent because your both smelly cunts. " alias "tc_msg_953" "say I should have a bind for that" alias "tc_msg_954" "say You are the smallest little shit I've ever seen, yet you are so amazingly funny." alias "tc_msg_955" "say is a 2009 halloween hat rare?" alias "tc_msg_956" "say Your mother will die aborting my child." alias "tc_msg_957" "say 'I came all over my triple chins.' - u" alias "tc_msg_958" "say i liked my gibus way better" alias "tc_msg_959" "say confratulasons u ar the new WORLD BUTTHURTED CHAMPEON" alias "tc_msg_960" "say rocket jumpers are op when you are lag" alias "tc_msg_961" "say can u b anny more anal hurt rigt now????" alias "tc_msg_962" "say gernades? how thrown?" alias "tc_msg_963" "say lol ur so bad u cant even find ur own dick" alias "tc_msg_964" "say u fail, just like ur dads condom" alias "tc_msg_965" "say I have a mic but have no idea how to set it up, lol! I'm a n00b to pc gaming" alias "tc_msg_966" "say u play tf2 lik a midget playin basket ball" alias "tc_msg_967" "say omg lego piece in my throat I'm chocking !!!!!!@!" alias "tc_msg_968" "say ur gone :^)" alias "tc_msg_969" "say sv_cheats 1" alias "tc_msg_970" "say lol why dont u play COD so i can own you there too" alias "tc_msg_971" "say ur gonna need tampons for ur ass afta that ownage" alias "tc_msg_972" "say when do I unlock my gold rank???" alias "tc_msg_973" "say im new and my head is bald" alias "tc_msg_974" "say im hi rite now on ganj but im stil ownen u xD" alias "tc_msg_975" "say I bound my alternate fire to trash talk." alias "tc_msg_976" "say ur so bad u make ur noobe team look good" alias "tc_msg_977" "say 'i like to eat dady's steemy logs of poop 4 lunsh n diner while jackling of to naurto' - u" alias "tc_msg_978" "say go milk a cow you shitmongering cuntnugget" alias "tc_msg_979" "say why is backstab so op" alias "tc_msg_980" "say yes i smoke weed also, i am a sinner, thats between me and God you athiest ####,lol" alias "tc_msg_981" "say c0m3 se3 m3" alias "tc_msg_982" "say are you serious you dumb bastard? you faggot as bitch cunt, i will piss in your mouth" alias "tc_msg_983" "say I feel like Zeus after a morning fuck with Athena" alias "tc_msg_984" "say selling strange razorback 1 rec" alias "tc_msg_985" "say I gave head to fuckin' Sniper for no fuckin' reason!" alias "tc_msg_986" "say Go climb a wall of dicks." alias "tc_msg_987" "say I can't believe someone gave me all these sweet hats for a couple salvageable crates or something" alias "tc_msg_988" "say you must be a DIRTY, STINKING, GREESY HAIRED, CHEESY BREATH CUNT." alias "tc_msg_989" "say buttdocktor evaluation: BUTTBLEED" alias "tc_msg_990" "say do u need some loob for ur butt so it doesnt hurt so much when i fuck u" alias "tc_msg_991" "say Personally I think sapping is cheating" alias "tc_msg_992" "say You tried youre best. thats all that maters - qu33rL0L" alias "tc_msg_993" "say you got knocked the fuck out" alias "tc_msg_994" "say u internet horses r all the same fuk off" alias "tc_msg_995" "say Sniper threw his head back when he came, and I debated swallowing or spitting for a minute, then just swallowed" alias "tc_msg_996" "say dumb my client is bugged" alias "tc_msg_997" "say roflmao muslims praying" alias "tc_msg_998" "say diarhea I CANT TAKE IT" alias "tc_msg_999" "say my right kidney hurts whenever i drink alot of water? what is the odds ROFL!?" alias "tc_msg_1000" "say WOW a YouNG DUNK!!!" alias "tc_msg_1001" "say postman left someone else's mail at door" alias "tc_msg_1002" "say fucking my dog wants to leave me forever FFS?" alias "tc_msg_1003" "say suck my bols" alias "tc_msg_1004" "say goddamn room on fire" alias "tc_msg_1005" "say faggy THE MEDICS REVIVED SOMEONE NEXTDOOR THE SOUND ZZZ FOR FUCKS SAKE" alias "tc_msg_1006" "say wonderfulinsurance company here FREFDEFEFDSFDRGFRSZ" alias "tc_msg_1007" "say dad throwing an axe to the neighborszzzz???" alias "tc_msg_1008" "say His thighs twitched, impatient ass, and I licked the head, because Spy loved that kind of thing." alias "tc_msg_1009" "say cocksucking dog whining for food" alias "tc_msg_1010" "say FUCKING mongo WHAT IS THE ODDS?" alias "tc_msg_1011" "say hdd lag CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE THIS SHIT?!" alias "tc_msg_1012" "say LMAO did u go to da buthurt king an g3t urself a butthurt with fries?!?" alias "tc_msg_1013" "say stupid sun, fuck yeah" alias "tc_msg_1014" "say WONDERFUL, SIMPLY FUCKING WONDERFUL noise." alias "tc_msg_1015" "say spy is noob class no explanation necessary" alias "tc_msg_1016" "say rtd" alias "tc_msg_1017" "say ur under arrested for being shit" alias "tc_msg_1018" "say wonderfulwolth howling LOL" alias "tc_msg_1019" "say a kangaroo here? WTF???????, fuck yeah" alias "tc_msg_1020" "say masculine juice spilled" alias "tc_msg_1021" "say my friend thought about suicide, she jumped into the Thames? LOl???<<< fzzzzzzz horny" alias "tc_msg_1022" "say chocolate paper sounds FREFDEFEFDSFDRGFRSZ" alias "tc_msg_1023" "say WONDERFUL, SIMPLY FUCKING WONDERFUL block of flats nearby collapsed LOLMAO!" alias "tc_msg_1024" "say pro" alias "tc_msg_1025" "say HORNY teddy bear farted SNUUUUURRRRPPP?? FFS!!" alias "tc_msg_1026" "say DAD farted again" alias "tc_msg_1027" "say engine build healthrobot" alias "tc_msg_1028" "say no wonder u smile u got dick in ass like cat" alias "tc_msg_1029" "say every weapon post engi update is unbalanced garbage with the exception of the atomizer" alias "tc_msg_1030" "say fucking my eye bleeds CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE THIS SHIT?!" alias "tc_msg_1031" "say faggy postman jerking the doorbell OMG?" alias "tc_msg_1032" "say NO WAY lucky bastard, fuck yeah" alias "tc_msg_1033" "say faggy rusty cat OMG?" alias "tc_msg_1034" "say goddamn my mum got electrocuted again" alias "tc_msg_1035" "say spesciall delivary for CAPTEN BUTTHURT" alias "tc_msg_1036" "say got more wobbles then a new born giraffe with down syndrome. ?FFS" alias "tc_msg_1037" "say SAME TO ME FIX THIS VALVE GABEN PLEASE STOP EATING AND START FIXING THING PLEASE AAARRRRGGHHHH" alias "tc_msg_1038" "say roflmao new episode of sailor moon plz" alias "tc_msg_1039" "say cocksucking lag" alias "tc_msg_1040" "say cocksucking cat farted, fuck yeah" alias "tc_msg_1041" "say WONDERFUL, SIMPLY FUCKING WONDERFUL fucking water-frame bug abuser I CANT TAKE IT" alias "tc_msg_1042" "say A BIRD FLEW THROUGH WINDOWzzzz?Z?Z?Z?Z?Z?Z???????????" alias "tc_msg_1043" "say shut it! you mupet go fuk your mum" alias "tc_msg_1044" "say kid got told da news(he shitbad)" alias "tc_msg_1045" "say wonderfultelephone" alias "tc_msg_1046" "say WONDERFUL, SIMPLY FUCKING WONDERFUL flash player just wants an update right now FOR FUCKS SAKE" alias "tc_msg_1047" "say They don't think it be like it is, but it do." alias "tc_msg_1048" "say WHY CANT A SHOOT WHEN CLOAK" alias "tc_msg_1049" "say was all by myself in the US, defenceless- they misguided me and they took advantage...I Cry big time!" alias "tc_msg_1050" "say dumb pride-festival outside atm OMG?" alias "tc_msg_1051" "say fat fuckin nigger bitch" alias "tc_msg_1052" "say Would there ever be a George Lazenby/Timothy Dalton of Hannah Montana?" alias "tc_msg_1053" "say mum always forgets to buy raisins zzzz LOL" alias "tc_msg_1054" "say cumguzzling police busting someone on street WHATS GOING ON" alias "tc_msg_1055" "say lol you are one angry little boy aint you acutally your spelling is of a 5 year " alias "tc_msg_1056" "say jesus christ how horrifying" alias "tc_msg_1057" "say omg this is 2 ezy are U even trying??" alias "tc_msg_1058" "say diarhea !!!!!!@!" alias "tc_msg_1059" "say sun!" alias "tc_msg_1060" "say goddamn wat is the name of this bette davis moive where she says you like making fun of me dont you?" alias "tc_msg_1061" "say My dick flinched 'OH MY GOD!'" alias "tc_msg_1062" "say fucking grandma left seamen in my sink" alias "tc_msg_1063" "say g0 rub your cock against a cheese grater you titcrapping twigfucker" alias "tc_msg_1064" "say Need an ark to save two of every animal? I noah guy." alias "tc_msg_1065" "say ROFL WOW BADDIES EVERYWHERE" alias "tc_msg_1066" "say ahahaha, you brother fuck pillows :)zzz FFS?" alias "tc_msg_1067" "say just leeve the game and let the real mans play" alias "tc_msg_1068" "say a cat scratched me" alias "tc_msg_1069" "say goddamned terrain vehicle needs help here!" alias "tc_msg_1070" "say wtf i have used the company for yers and paid for the gaurntee and I receicved a letter from the irs ans had to pay them $428" alias "tc_msg_1071" "say maybe if u put down the cheseburgers u could kill me lol fat nerd" alias "tc_msg_1072" "say music outside" alias "tc_msg_1073" "say wow destroid p.s. ur utter shit" alias "tc_msg_1074" "say JEEZ undercover armymen here" alias "tc_msg_1075" "say SUMBUDY is anally anguished" alias "tc_msg_1076" "say C'mon bro, you're shitting on my tits." alias "tc_msg_1077" "say I guess you came back for some more potatosalad" alias "tc_msg_1078" "say cheater" alias "tc_msg_1079" "say lol pwnd" alias "tc_msg_1080" "say masculine new episode of sailor moon plz, fuck yeah" alias "tc_msg_1081" "say fucking my mum got electrocuted again" alias "tc_msg_1082" "say dumb vacuum in my room" alias "tc_msg_1083" "say sheep breedin wtf??? What are you views on this ?" alias "tc_msg_1084" "say y dont u take a short strole to the fagot store and buy some skills scrub" alias "tc_msg_1085" "say uploaden this fragshow roflmao" alias "tc_msg_1086" "say www.fastforwardblowjobs.com" alias "tc_msg_1087" "say wtf my keyboard fell off the desk?? what is the odds!!" alias "tc_msg_1088" "say rofl pubbers are so bad its funny" alias "tc_msg_1089" "say wrecked so hard" alias "tc_msg_1090" "say no" alias "tc_msg_1091" "say wow good bash, good game, good gameplay" alias "tc_msg_1092" "say chair just collapsed like an open team<< WTF" alias "tc_msg_1093" "say only noobs use original grenade launcher as demo" alias "tc_msg_1094" "say WHY CANT I GET DEAD RINGER TO WORK" alias "tc_msg_1095" "say Why sell botlegits or allybaba bots ?" alias "tc_msg_1096" "say LLolTHE MEDICS REVIVED SOMEONE NEXTDOOR THE SOUND ZZZ" alias "tc_msg_1097" "say take a seat, class is in session" alias "tc_msg_1098" "say 50cent is a certified negro monkey roaming around the streets of america!" alias "tc_msg_1099" "say i make a heal staton" alias "tc_msg_1100" "say hang urslef from a high cieling, u candy apple jabroni >:(" alias "tc_msg_1101" "say they ubered a sodier knight lol" alias "tc_msg_1102" "say hl2.exe has stopped responding" alias "tc_msg_1103" "say I took birth control here and there for 2months but harldy stayed on it so is it easy to get pregnant? plz repyll!!" alias "tc_msg_1104" "say He rolled over and straddled my hips like the freakin' Queen of England (is that bitch dead, yet?) and taunted me." alias "tc_msg_1105" "say So stupid!!! I want to stop pay my bill every month! what for ! screaming !!!.." alias "tc_msg_1106" "say i got a dwds (driving while dick sucking)" alias "tc_msg_1107" "say heavy is no skill class go pyro" alias "tc_msg_1108" "say mickey mouse pissing me off" alias "tc_msg_1109" "say Calloused fingertips explored every inch of Engineer's skin as Solider's head went lower and lower…" alias "tc_msg_1110" "say how to glow as healing scientist" alias "tc_msg_1111" "say SELL ME YOUR CRATE PLEASEEE" alias "tc_msg_1112" "say shitty battery in cellphone died FFS?" alias "tc_msg_1113" "say I took ur mom out to a nice steak dinner, but rly it was my evil twin with ur mmm and I was at your house raping your father" alias "tc_msg_1114" "say my rubix cube fell off my desk? and completed itself, neighbors called the police and they got arrested" alias "tc_msg_1115" "say it will take weeks to clean the semen off the ceiling" alias "tc_msg_1116" "say how to change charakter" alias "tc_msg_1117" "say my mother in law sewing new sweater zzz FFS" alias "tc_msg_1118" "say I am a pyro, trust me i have caugt 3 acres of land on fire before....so dnt talk unless you know what ur talkin bout doood" alias "tc_msg_1119" "say goddamn whoever made this game" alias "tc_msg_1120" "say PERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRKELE" alias "tc_msg_1121" "say WOW ESEA, GJ **fartzzzz*@#!" alias "tc_msg_1122" "say a venemous snake? in my shower((((( fuggg))" alias "tc_msg_1123" "say stock scatergun sux, it only does liek 3 dmg" alias "tc_msg_1124" "say hope ur ok with going on utube!!" alias "tc_msg_1125" "say masculine fishbowl tripped" alias "tc_msg_1126" "say take a se4t u got OWNDE" alias "tc_msg_1127" "say they should make a new class likea ninja or something" alias "tc_msg_1128" "say valve pls nerf" alias "tc_msg_1129" "say E bro,you have to go inside and find something for fuck...!!" alias "tc_msg_1130" "say horse status: fucked [x] not fucked [ ]" alias "tc_msg_1131" "say everyone become enginear we win" alias "tc_msg_1132" "say shitty abuser of game mechanics" alias "tc_msg_1133" "say the crits one" alias "tc_msg_1134" "say IN AD 20xx" alias "tc_msg_1135" "say mother calling me for soup" alias "tc_msg_1136" "say mosquito bit me WHAT IS THE ODDS?" alias "tc_msg_1137" "say rofl the police sent me 200 bucks for catching a criminal I never did" alias "tc_msg_1138" "say some one an ambulance cos u just got DE_STROYED" alias "tc_msg_1139" "say please here another senti gun" alias "tc_msg_1140" "say my sniper rifle only fires when zoomed, is it broken?" alias "tc_msg_1141" "say i wish my girlfriend was as dirty as that shot" alias "tc_msg_1142" "say juice spilled WHATS GOING ON" alias "tc_msg_1143" "say ZOMG poisoned banana I CANT TAKE IT" alias "tc_msg_1144" "say best country ever., 12 points from azerbaijan to our brothers turkey. and fuck armenia" alias "tc_msg_1145" "say guys i found all the ak47s they are on sniper" alias "tc_msg_1146" "say WVGSDVS SORRY JUST CLEANING THE JIZZ OF MY KEYBOARD!!" alias "tc_msg_1147" "say faggy my client is bugged FREFDEFEFDSFDRGFRSZ" alias "tc_msg_1148" "say Your mother swims out to meet troopships." alias "tc_msg_1149" "say the early bird gets the boner" alias "tc_msg_1150" "say ill giave a partuicle amsher for a claoking device" alias "tc_msg_1151" "say we need some soldiers to destroy those mascines!" alias "tc_msg_1152" "say in gradeschol u wanted to b a butplumber when u grw up" alias "tc_msg_1153" "say You are a wonderful person." alias "tc_msg_1154" "say u spent so many time to push the cart. now they have 2 mega sentries.. omg" alias "tc_msg_1155" "say I gotta pay bills" alias "tc_msg_1156" "say i just wont stop clic on my mouse and make alot of kill 8D" alias "tc_msg_1157" "say this kill is going on my blog" alias "tc_msg_1158" "say At first I thought I was a heroic Navy Seal, then at 40 seconds I thought there was a bomb, and the computer was pissed at me." alias "tc_msg_1159" "say y dont u gb2gayville ur dad is wait" alias "tc_msg_1160" "say my fiance ejaculated in me a week b4 the ovulation calender said i was to ovulate.? fart!" alias "tc_msg_1161" "say MY SALES AGENT, MARK BIGELOW, FROM THE BINGHAMTON NY OFFICE, ADMITTED TO MAKING A SERIOUS ERROR BY NOT ADDING SEWER COVERAGE." alias "tc_msg_1162" "say it's bad enough i'm playing with a touchpad" alias "tc_msg_1163" "say charizard is the only tru begining pokemno" alias "tc_msg_1164" "say welcome to Slamsterdam, enjoy your stay" alias "tc_msg_1165" "say okay im gonna ask a quitiion whydid soeone hacked me and stolemy wepons?" alias "tc_msg_1166" "say :D Brb ... Lol wtf? OMG laomo :D :D Rolf" alias "tc_msg_1167" "say jealous neighbor." alias "tc_msg_1168" "say this is my new house my old house was awesome" alias "tc_msg_1169" "say GO BACK TO ASS-LAND YOU DICK-CODDLING PRINCE!" alias "tc_msg_1170" "say how did that spy noscope me without a sniper rifle" alias "tc_msg_1171" "say beeing balled in the ass??? HELP ME" alias "tc_msg_1172" "say its doesnt spell rgth laters wher my key bord shows them" alias "tc_msg_1173" "say dumb headset!" alias "tc_msg_1174" "say is it possible to deul weild the half zataichi" alias "tc_msg_1175" "say i got a POW Drink for a forconature" alias "tc_msg_1176" "say elephant sitting next to me" alias "tc_msg_1177" "say add upp all of the veiws he's gotten in his whole channel or whatever. throught your life you'll prabaly neva get that many." alias "tc_msg_1178" "say Half-Life 3 confirmed!" alias "tc_msg_1179" "say I swallowed the extra inches into my throat hesitantly, I'd only deep-throated Spy like once or twice" alias "tc_msg_1180" "say DISPENSERT!?!?! BUT WHWHAT DOES A DISPENSER DO" alias "tc_msg_1181" "say I have not met with anything in natural history more amusing and entertaining than your personal appearance." alias "tc_msg_1182" "say stop heavy plizz it's to cheat" alias "tc_msg_1183" "say op op opa fuckin jesus style" alias "tc_msg_1184" "say LOL PYROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH" alias "tc_msg_1185" "say LMAO u got SMASHD!! (and your dad fingers you)" alias "tc_msg_1186" "say lolumad" alias "tc_msg_1187" "say lol rectal rekage ur so sh1t lol" alias "tc_msg_1188" "say #swagyolo" alias "tc_msg_1189" "say police busting someone on street" alias "tc_msg_1190" "say hush my darling, the lion sleeps tonigh" alias "tc_msg_1191" "say HUGE AIRSHOT" alias "tc_msg_1192" "say Did you know TF2 is free to uninstall?" alias "tc_msg_1193" "say hwbow use uber charge?" alias "tc_msg_1194" "say I hav neer seen sum1 so pooper peeved" alias "tc_msg_1195" "say it's me, Martin Landry!" alias "tc_msg_1196" "say 11 and single" alias "tc_msg_1197" "say As a Sniper, aim for the head in order to inflict critical damage!" alias "tc_msg_1198" "say someone outside screaming" alias "tc_msg_1199" "say now my internet is caught up so i have 0 lag now you're in big troubler enemy team" alias "tc_msg_1200" "say DONT SHOOT MY UBERCHARGE PLEASE" alias "tc_msg_1201" "say Jesus nonsinse?u will burn in hell.oh i frgot u beleve when u die nothin happens,lol. go kill urslef 4 making a religous remark" alias "tc_msg_1202" "say ur a pussy if u have wet dreams" alias "tc_msg_1203" "say LOL)))))))" alias "tc_msg_1204" "say Bewm." alias "tc_msg_1205" "say /)>w<(\" alias "tc_msg_1206" "say you play lik a girl" alias "tc_msg_1207" "say ur dad rapes u with peanut butter,shitty" alias "tc_msg_1208" "say y4 bl0w" alias "tc_diceroll_1" "alias tc_result tc_msg_1; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_2" alias "tc_diceroll_2" "alias tc_result tc_msg_2; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_3" alias "tc_diceroll_3" "alias tc_result tc_msg_3; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_4" alias "tc_diceroll_4" "alias tc_result tc_msg_4; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_5" alias "tc_diceroll_5" "alias tc_result tc_msg_5; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_6" alias "tc_diceroll_6" "alias tc_result tc_msg_6; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_7" alias "tc_diceroll_7" "alias tc_result tc_msg_7; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_8" alias "tc_diceroll_8" "alias tc_result tc_msg_8; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_9" alias "tc_diceroll_9" "alias tc_result tc_msg_9; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_10" alias "tc_diceroll_10" "alias tc_result tc_msg_10; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_11" alias "tc_diceroll_11" "alias tc_result tc_msg_11; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_12" alias "tc_diceroll_12" "alias tc_result tc_msg_12; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_13" alias "tc_diceroll_13" "alias tc_result tc_msg_13; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_14" alias "tc_diceroll_14" "alias tc_result tc_msg_14; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_15" alias "tc_diceroll_15" "alias tc_result tc_msg_15; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_16" alias "tc_diceroll_16" "alias tc_result tc_msg_16; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_17" alias "tc_diceroll_17" "alias tc_result tc_msg_17; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_18" alias "tc_diceroll_18" "alias tc_result tc_msg_18; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_19" alias "tc_diceroll_19" "alias tc_result tc_msg_19; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_20" alias "tc_diceroll_20" "alias tc_result tc_msg_20; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_21" alias "tc_diceroll_21" "alias tc_result tc_msg_21; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_22" alias "tc_diceroll_22" "alias tc_result tc_msg_22; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_23" alias "tc_diceroll_23" "alias tc_result tc_msg_23; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_24" alias "tc_diceroll_24" "alias tc_result tc_msg_24; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_25" alias "tc_diceroll_25" "alias tc_result tc_msg_25; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_26" alias "tc_diceroll_26" "alias tc_result tc_msg_26; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_27" alias "tc_diceroll_27" "alias tc_result tc_msg_27; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_28" alias "tc_diceroll_28" "alias tc_result tc_msg_28; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_29" alias "tc_diceroll_29" "alias tc_result tc_msg_29; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_30" alias "tc_diceroll_30" "alias tc_result tc_msg_30; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_31" alias "tc_diceroll_31" "alias tc_result tc_msg_31; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_32" alias "tc_diceroll_32" "alias tc_result tc_msg_32; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_33" alias "tc_diceroll_33" "alias tc_result tc_msg_33; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_34" alias "tc_diceroll_34" "alias tc_result tc_msg_34; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_35" alias "tc_diceroll_35" "alias tc_result tc_msg_35; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_36" alias "tc_diceroll_36" "alias tc_result tc_msg_36; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_37" alias "tc_diceroll_37" "alias tc_result tc_msg_37; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_38" alias "tc_diceroll_38" "alias tc_result tc_msg_38; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_39" alias "tc_diceroll_39" "alias tc_result tc_msg_39; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_40" alias "tc_diceroll_40" "alias tc_result tc_msg_40; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_41" alias "tc_diceroll_41" "alias tc_result tc_msg_41; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_42" alias "tc_diceroll_42" "alias tc_result tc_msg_42; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_43" alias "tc_diceroll_43" "alias tc_result tc_msg_43; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_44" alias "tc_diceroll_44" "alias tc_result tc_msg_44; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_45" alias "tc_diceroll_45" "alias tc_result tc_msg_45; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_46" alias "tc_diceroll_46" "alias tc_result tc_msg_46; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_47" alias "tc_diceroll_47" "alias tc_result tc_msg_47; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_48" alias "tc_diceroll_48" "alias tc_result tc_msg_48; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_49" alias "tc_diceroll_49" "alias tc_result tc_msg_49; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_50" alias "tc_diceroll_50" "alias tc_result tc_msg_50; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_51" alias "tc_diceroll_51" "alias tc_result tc_msg_51; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_52" alias "tc_diceroll_52" "alias tc_result tc_msg_52; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_53" alias "tc_diceroll_53" "alias tc_result tc_msg_53; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_54" alias "tc_diceroll_54" "alias tc_result tc_msg_54; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_55" alias "tc_diceroll_55" "alias tc_result tc_msg_55; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_56" alias "tc_diceroll_56" "alias tc_result tc_msg_56; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_57" alias "tc_diceroll_57" "alias tc_result tc_msg_57; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_58" alias "tc_diceroll_58" "alias tc_result tc_msg_58; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_59" alias "tc_diceroll_59" "alias tc_result tc_msg_59; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_60" alias "tc_diceroll_60" "alias tc_result tc_msg_60; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_61" alias "tc_diceroll_61" "alias tc_result tc_msg_61; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_62" alias "tc_diceroll_62" "alias tc_result tc_msg_62; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_63" alias "tc_diceroll_63" "alias tc_result tc_msg_63; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_64" alias "tc_diceroll_64" "alias tc_result tc_msg_64; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_65" alias "tc_diceroll_65" "alias tc_result tc_msg_65; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_66" alias "tc_diceroll_66" "alias tc_result tc_msg_66; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_67" alias "tc_diceroll_67" "alias tc_result tc_msg_67; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_68" alias "tc_diceroll_68" "alias tc_result tc_msg_68; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_69" alias "tc_diceroll_69" "alias tc_result tc_msg_69; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_70" alias "tc_diceroll_70" "alias tc_result tc_msg_70; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_71" alias "tc_diceroll_71" "alias tc_result tc_msg_71; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_72" alias "tc_diceroll_72" "alias tc_result tc_msg_72; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_73" alias "tc_diceroll_73" "alias tc_result tc_msg_73; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_74" alias "tc_diceroll_74" "alias tc_result tc_msg_74; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_75" alias "tc_diceroll_75" "alias tc_result tc_msg_75; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_76" alias "tc_diceroll_76" "alias tc_result tc_msg_76; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_77" alias "tc_diceroll_77" "alias tc_result tc_msg_77; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_78" alias "tc_diceroll_78" "alias tc_result tc_msg_78; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_79" alias "tc_diceroll_79" "alias tc_result tc_msg_79; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_80" alias "tc_diceroll_80" "alias tc_result tc_msg_80; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_81" alias "tc_diceroll_81" "alias tc_result tc_msg_81; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_82" alias "tc_diceroll_82" "alias tc_result tc_msg_82; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_83" alias "tc_diceroll_83" "alias tc_result tc_msg_83; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_84" alias "tc_diceroll_84" "alias tc_result tc_msg_84; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_85" alias "tc_diceroll_85" "alias tc_result tc_msg_85; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_86" alias "tc_diceroll_86" "alias tc_result tc_msg_86; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_87" alias "tc_diceroll_87" "alias tc_result tc_msg_87; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_88" alias "tc_diceroll_88" "alias tc_result tc_msg_88; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_89" alias "tc_diceroll_89" "alias tc_result tc_msg_89; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_90" alias "tc_diceroll_90" "alias tc_result tc_msg_90; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_91" alias "tc_diceroll_91" "alias tc_result tc_msg_91; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_92" alias "tc_diceroll_92" "alias tc_result tc_msg_92; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_93" alias "tc_diceroll_93" "alias tc_result tc_msg_93; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_94" alias "tc_diceroll_94" "alias tc_result tc_msg_94; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_95" alias "tc_diceroll_95" "alias tc_result tc_msg_95; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_96" alias "tc_diceroll_96" "alias tc_result tc_msg_96; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_97" alias "tc_diceroll_97" "alias tc_result tc_msg_97; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_98" alias "tc_diceroll_98" "alias tc_result tc_msg_98; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_99" alias "tc_diceroll_99" "alias tc_result tc_msg_99; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_100" alias "tc_diceroll_100" "alias tc_result tc_msg_100; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_101" alias "tc_diceroll_101" "alias tc_result tc_msg_101; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_102" alias "tc_diceroll_102" "alias tc_result tc_msg_102; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_103" alias "tc_diceroll_103" "alias tc_result tc_msg_103; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_104" alias "tc_diceroll_104" "alias tc_result tc_msg_104; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_105" alias "tc_diceroll_105" "alias tc_result tc_msg_105; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_106" alias "tc_diceroll_106" "alias tc_result tc_msg_106; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_107" alias "tc_diceroll_107" "alias tc_result tc_msg_107; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_108" alias "tc_diceroll_108" "alias tc_result tc_msg_108; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_109" alias "tc_diceroll_109" "alias tc_result tc_msg_109; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_110" alias "tc_diceroll_110" "alias tc_result tc_msg_110; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_111" alias "tc_diceroll_111" "alias tc_result tc_msg_111; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_112" alias "tc_diceroll_112" "alias tc_result tc_msg_112; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_113" alias "tc_diceroll_113" "alias tc_result tc_msg_113; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_114" alias "tc_diceroll_114" "alias tc_result tc_msg_114; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_115" alias "tc_diceroll_115" "alias tc_result tc_msg_115; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_116" alias "tc_diceroll_116" "alias tc_result tc_msg_116; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_117" alias "tc_diceroll_117" "alias tc_result tc_msg_117; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_118" alias "tc_diceroll_118" "alias tc_result tc_msg_118; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_119" alias "tc_diceroll_119" "alias tc_result tc_msg_119; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_120" alias "tc_diceroll_120" "alias tc_result tc_msg_120; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_121" alias "tc_diceroll_121" "alias tc_result tc_msg_121; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_122" alias "tc_diceroll_122" "alias tc_result tc_msg_122; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_123" alias "tc_diceroll_123" "alias tc_result tc_msg_123; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_124" alias "tc_diceroll_124" "alias tc_result tc_msg_124; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_125" alias "tc_diceroll_125" "alias tc_result tc_msg_125; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_126" alias "tc_diceroll_126" "alias tc_result tc_msg_126; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_127" alias "tc_diceroll_127" "alias tc_result tc_msg_127; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_128" alias "tc_diceroll_128" "alias tc_result tc_msg_128; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_129" alias "tc_diceroll_129" "alias tc_result tc_msg_129; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_130" alias "tc_diceroll_130" "alias tc_result tc_msg_130; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_131" alias "tc_diceroll_131" "alias tc_result tc_msg_131; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_132" alias "tc_diceroll_132" "alias tc_result tc_msg_132; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_133" alias "tc_diceroll_133" "alias tc_result tc_msg_133; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_134" alias "tc_diceroll_134" "alias tc_result tc_msg_134; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_135" alias "tc_diceroll_135" "alias tc_result tc_msg_135; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_136" alias "tc_diceroll_136" "alias tc_result tc_msg_136; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_137" alias "tc_diceroll_137" "alias tc_result tc_msg_137; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_138" alias "tc_diceroll_138" "alias tc_result tc_msg_138; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_139" alias "tc_diceroll_139" "alias tc_result tc_msg_139; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_140" alias "tc_diceroll_140" "alias tc_result tc_msg_140; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_141" alias "tc_diceroll_141" "alias tc_result tc_msg_141; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_142" alias "tc_diceroll_142" "alias tc_result tc_msg_142; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_143" alias "tc_diceroll_143" "alias tc_result tc_msg_143; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_144" alias "tc_diceroll_144" "alias tc_result tc_msg_144; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_145" alias "tc_diceroll_145" "alias tc_result tc_msg_145; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_146" alias "tc_diceroll_146" "alias tc_result tc_msg_146; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_147" alias "tc_diceroll_147" "alias tc_result tc_msg_147; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_148" alias "tc_diceroll_148" "alias tc_result tc_msg_148; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_149" alias "tc_diceroll_149" "alias tc_result tc_msg_149; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_150" alias "tc_diceroll_150" "alias tc_result tc_msg_150; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_151" alias "tc_diceroll_151" "alias tc_result tc_msg_151; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_152" alias "tc_diceroll_152" "alias tc_result tc_msg_152; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_153" alias "tc_diceroll_153" "alias tc_result tc_msg_153; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_154" alias "tc_diceroll_154" "alias tc_result tc_msg_154; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_155" alias "tc_diceroll_155" "alias tc_result tc_msg_155; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_156" alias "tc_diceroll_156" "alias tc_result tc_msg_156; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_157" alias "tc_diceroll_157" "alias tc_result tc_msg_157; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_158" alias "tc_diceroll_158" "alias tc_result tc_msg_158; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_159" alias "tc_diceroll_159" "alias tc_result tc_msg_159; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_160" alias "tc_diceroll_160" "alias tc_result tc_msg_160; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_161" alias "tc_diceroll_161" "alias tc_result tc_msg_161; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_162" alias "tc_diceroll_162" "alias tc_result tc_msg_162; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_163" alias "tc_diceroll_163" "alias tc_result tc_msg_163; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_164" alias "tc_diceroll_164" "alias tc_result tc_msg_164; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_165" alias "tc_diceroll_165" "alias tc_result tc_msg_165; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_166" alias "tc_diceroll_166" "alias tc_result tc_msg_166; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_167" alias "tc_diceroll_167" "alias tc_result tc_msg_167; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_168" alias "tc_diceroll_168" "alias tc_result tc_msg_168; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_169" alias "tc_diceroll_169" "alias tc_result tc_msg_169; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_170" alias "tc_diceroll_170" "alias tc_result tc_msg_170; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_171" alias "tc_diceroll_171" "alias tc_result tc_msg_171; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_172" alias "tc_diceroll_172" "alias tc_result tc_msg_172; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_173" alias "tc_diceroll_173" "alias tc_result tc_msg_173; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_174" alias "tc_diceroll_174" "alias tc_result tc_msg_174; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_175" alias "tc_diceroll_175" "alias tc_result tc_msg_175; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_176" alias "tc_diceroll_176" "alias tc_result tc_msg_176; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_177" alias "tc_diceroll_177" "alias tc_result tc_msg_177; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_178" alias "tc_diceroll_178" "alias tc_result tc_msg_178; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_179" alias "tc_diceroll_179" "alias tc_result tc_msg_179; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_180" alias "tc_diceroll_180" "alias tc_result tc_msg_180; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_181" alias "tc_diceroll_181" "alias tc_result tc_msg_181; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_182" alias "tc_diceroll_182" "alias tc_result tc_msg_182; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_183" alias "tc_diceroll_183" "alias tc_result tc_msg_183; alias tc_cycle tc_diceroll_184" alias "tc_diceroll_184" "alias tc_result |
September 10, 2014, 12:22 am
By: Ashur Sada
At the height and peak of the Assyrian empire, Assyrians had the strongest and most advanced army in the ancient world. It crushed enemies with ease and put Assyria on the map and in history books.
Fast forward to the Assyrians of today, the direct heir to the ancient Assyrians, and you will find a different picture. Having converted to Christianity some 2000 years ago, Assyrians of today are all about peace and rarely resort to the use of force. This may be a good thing from a biblical point of view but not so much for our survival.
The recent ISIS takeover of Mosul and various other Assyrian towns in the Nineveh Plain has changed all of that. Or at least we hope it has. The new reality requires that Assyrians be alert, on the defense, if not all out offensive.
Given the events of the last few months, I and many Assyrians no longer have much trust in the Iraqi army or the Pashmarga (Kurdish militia) Both abandoned our people and villages when it mattered the most, letting ISIS and the terrorists take over, causing all the death and destruction that ensued. Main issue here is the lack of nationalism and loyalty amongst these armies and militias. A Kurd is not loyal or cares enough to protect Falluja from falling to the terrorists. Nor does a Shi’tte solider care about Alqosh from falling to ISIS. To a Shi’tte solider for example, the Nineveh Plain region is not nearly as significant enough as the cities of Karbala and Najaf in the south. To a Kurdish soldier, guarding the Assyrian town of Qaraqosh is not nearly as important as guarding a town in the province of Sulaimaniya.
Therefore, now, more than ever before, it is important to start forming our own Assyrian defense force to protect our people and villages. While I don’t mind working side by side with the Iraqi and Kurdish army, I simply don’t trust them to protect the Assyrians and their towns and villages to their full capability. In the last few weeks, we have been seeing the formation of a new Assyrian defense force. It is called “Dwekh Nawsha” (“self sacrificing” in Assyrian) (in Arabic: دويخ نوشا) and it is giving us some hope. A hope that our people, towns and villages can one day be protected by our very own people and not rely on another army that can’t be relied on
For us in the west, we have to always do our best to support and fund such a defense force. It is our only true hope of keeping our name and presence alive and well in the homeland.
Politically, such an Assyrian defense force should be independent of the Iraqi army or the Pashmarga and its sole purpose would be to protect our people and towns in the Nineveh Plain. If it falls under the Kurdish or Iraqi army control, it will not have the same influence and clout as it would being independent and working for the Assyrians first. We are not here to separate the Assyrians from the rest of Iraq. But given the reality of how things are in the country, sometimes you have to put yourself first before the country for the sake of your people and the country at the same time.
A modest start for an Assyrian army but with one massive future hope for our people back home. |
Abstract Earth is a chemical battery where, over evolutionary time with a trickle-charge of photosynthesis using solar energy, billions of tons of living biomass were stored in forests and other ecosystems and in vast reserves of fossil fuels. In just the last few hundred years, humans extracted exploitable energy from these living and fossilized biomass fuels to build the modern industrial-technological-informational economy, to grow our population to more than 7 billion, and to transform the biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity of the earth. This rapid discharge of the earth’s store of organic energy fuels the human domination of the biosphere, including conversion of natural habitats to agricultural fields and the resulting loss of native species, emission of carbon dioxide and the resulting climate and sea level change, and use of supplemental nuclear, hydro, wind, and solar energy sources. The laws of thermodynamics governing the trickle-charge and rapid discharge of the earth’s battery are universal and absolute; the earth is only temporarily poised a quantifiable distance from the thermodynamic equilibrium of outer space. Although this distance from equilibrium is comprised of all energy types, most critical for humans is the store of living biomass. With the rapid depletion of this chemical energy, the earth is shifting back toward the inhospitable equilibrium of outer space with fundamental ramifications for the biosphere and humanity. Because there is no substitute or replacement energy for living biomass, the remaining distance from equilibrium that will be required to support human life is unknown.
As depicted in Fig. 1, earth is a battery of stored chemical energy where the planet is the cathode (stored organic chemical energy) and space is the anode (equilibrium). We call this the earth-space battery. It took hundreds of millions of years for photosynthetic plants to trickle-charge the battery, gradually converting diffuse low-quality solar energy to high-quality chemical energy stored temporarily in the form of living biomass and more lastingly in the form of fossil fuels: oil, gas, and coal. In just the last few centuries—an evolutionary blink of an eye—human energy use to fuel the rise of civilization and the modern industrial-technological-informational society has discharged the earth-space battery, inducing flow between the terminals, degrading the high quality biomass energy to do the work of transforming the earth for human benefit, and radiating the resulting low-quality heat energy to deep space.
Fig. 1. Earth-space battery. The planet is a positive charge of stored organic chemical energy (cathode) in the form of biomass and fossil fuels. As this energy is dissipated by humans, it eventually radiates as heat toward the chemical equilibrium of deep space (anode). The battery is rapidly discharging without replenishment.
The laws of thermodynamics dictate that the difference in rate and timescale between the slow trickle-charge and rapid depletion is unsustainable. The current massive discharge is rapidly driving the earth from a biosphere teeming with life and supporting a highly developed human civilization toward a barren moonscape. Consider as an example that the energy state of the earth is akin to the energy state of a house powered by a once-charged battery supplying all energy for lights, heating, cooling, cooking, power appliances, and electronic communication; as the battery discharges, these services become unavailable and the house soon becomes uninhabitable.
Energy in Physics and Biology The laws of thermodynamics are incontrovertible; they have inescapable ramifications for the future of the biosphere and humankind. We begin by explaining the thermodynamic concepts necessary to understand the energetics of the biosphere and humans within the earth-space system. The laws of thermodynamics and the many forms of energy can be difficult for nonexperts. However, the earth’s flows and stores of energy can be explained in straightforward terms to understand why the biosphere and human civilization are in energy imbalance. These physical laws are universal and absolute, they apply to all human activities, and they are the universal key to sustainability. Energy is how far a property (e.g., temperature, chemical, pressure, velocity) is from equilibrium. This distance, or gradient, can be harvested to perform work, in the process moving the property closer to equilibrium. Thus, whereas the capacity to perform work is often used as the simplest definition of energy, ultimately this capacity requires an out‐of‐equilibrium system, a gradient, which is available to be harvested. For example, the earth is out of chemical equilibrium with respect to nearby space; as we burn fossilized chemical energy to get work output, the earth loses the resultant heat and moves closer to equilibrium. Similarly, when we burn living biomass faster than the earth can replenish it, the earth again moves closer to equilibrium. The first Law of Thermodynamics assures that, although energy is transformed between solar, chemical, work, and heat in these transactions, it is neither created nor destroyed; it changes forms, but the total quantity is conserved. The Second Law of Thermodynamics assures that as energy changes forms, all of this energy is eventually degraded to low-quality heat energy and lost from the planet. These physical laws not only have allowed the evolution of life, they also have allowed the development of human civilization. Living things use photosynthesis to convert diffuse but reliable sunlight into energy-rich organic compounds, and they use respiration to break down these compounds, release the stored energy, and do the biological work of living (1, 2). For humans this means consuming food and respiring to fuel biological metabolism. However, humans also use technological innovations to burn organic chemicals and use this extrametabolic energy to do the additional work of fueling complex socioeconomic activities. Over the millennia of evolutionary time, as living things evolved, they gradually transformed the earth from a barren planet into a biosphere teeming with life. Until the origin of life, there were no significant stores of organic chemical energy, and the surface of the planet was not far from the chemical equilibrium of the adjacent outer space. Then, as living things evolved and diversified, they developed new biochemical pathways for converting solar energy into biomass. It took on the order of 1 billion years for the first photosynthetic and chemosynthetic prokaryotes to exploit the small energy gradients available and synthesize enough biomass to begin to charge the earth‐space’s chemical battery. Ancient unicellular organisms created a modest chemical energy gradient that persisted for billions of years. Then starting about 600 Mya, with the Cambrian explosion of diversity of large multicellular organisms and the subsequent colonization of land by plants, the biosphere acquired a large store of living biomass, mostly in the form of forests (3). In the Carboniferous, Permian, and Jurassic periods (350–150 Mya), remains of dead plants and animals were preserved in the earth’s crust to create the reserves of coal, oil, and gas. Since then, the earth has mostly been in an energetic quasi‐equilibrium, continually perturbed by asteroid impacts, tectonic activity, glaciations, and climatic fluctuations, modestly adding to or subtracting from the stores of fossil fuels, but always returning to an approximate balance between solar input and heat loss, photosynthesis, and heterotrophic metabolism. Everything changed when anatomically modern humans appeared and expanded out of Africa to colonize the entire Earth. The most important milestone was the development and spread of agriculture, which began about 12,000 y ago. Before this, hunter-gatherer societies had been in approximate equilibrium, relying on photosynthetic energy to supply plant and animal foods and fuels for cooking and heating and barely altering the Earth’s surface. With the advent of agriculture, humans began systematically to harvest the stored biomass gradient and to increase chemical energy discharge. Initially, human and animal labor and fires of wood and dung were used to do the work of manufacturing tools, clearing land, tilling fields, and harvesting crops. However, ever more inventive societies developed new technologies based on harnessing new energy sources. Most importantly, the industrial revolution used wind and water mills to do work and burned first wood, then charcoal, and finally fossil fuels to mine and smelt metal ores and to manufacture tools and machines. These developments led to ever-larger human populations with ever-more complex economies and social systems, all fueled by an ever-increasing rate of chemical energy discharge.
The Paradigm of the Earth-Space Battery By definition, the quantity of chemical energy concentrated in the carbon stores of planet Earth (positive cathode) represents the distance from the harsh thermodynamic equilibrium of nearby outer space (negative anode). This energy gradient sustains the biosphere and human life. It can be modeled as a once-charged battery. This earth-space chemical battery (Fig. 1) trickle charged very slowly over 4.5 billion years of solar influx and accumulation of living biomass and fossil fuels. It is now discharging rapidly due to human activities. As we burn organic chemical energy, we generate work to grow our population and economy. In the process, the high-quality chemical energy is transformed into heat and lost from the planet by radiation into outer space. The flow of energy from cathode to anode is moving the planet rapidly and irrevocably closer to the sterile chemical equilibrium of space. Fig. 2 depicts the earth’s primary higher-quality chemical and nuclear energy storages as their respective distances from the equilibrium of outer space. We follow the energy industry in focusing on the higher-quality pools and using “recoverable energy” as our point of reference, because many deposits of fossil fuels and nuclear ores are dispersed or inaccessible and cannot be currently harvested to yield net energy gain and economic profit (4). The very large lower-quality pools of organic energy including carbon compounds in soils and oceanic sediments (5, 6) are not shown, but these are not currently economically extractable and usable, so they are typically not included in either recoverable or nonrecoverable categories. Although the energy gradients attributed to geothermal cooling, ocean thermal gradients, greenhouse air temperatures, etc., contribute to Earth’s thermodynamic distance from the equilibrium of space, they are also not included as they are not chemical energies and presumably would still exist in some form on a planet devoid of living things, including humans. Fig. 2 shows that humans are currently discharging all of the recoverable stores of organic chemical energy to the anode of the earth-space battery as heat. Fig. 2. Earth chemical and nuclear energy storage (distance from equilibrium) (10, 11, 38, 39). Where necessary, biomass is converted to energy assuming 1 t carbon ∼35 × 109 joules. ZJ = zeta joules = joules × 1021. The organism-generated earth-space battery consists of two kinds of organic chemical compounds. The first are fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are primarily hydrocarbons, containing mostly carbon and hydrogen, almost no oxygen, and often small but significant amounts of other elements, such as sulfur, vanadium, iron, zinc, and mercury, which can be toxic when released into the environment and taken up by humans and other organisms. The reserves of fossil fuels, most deposited hundreds of millions of years ago, are finite and rapidly being depleted. Oil, gas, and coal, which account for more than 85% of current global human energy consumption, are burned to produce the goods and services for our industrial-technological-informational economy. Despite some excellent sobering analyses of the present use and future prospects of fossil fuels (4, 7, 8), the magnitude of the remaining economically recoverable hydrocarbon energy store is subject to much debate. In Fig. 2 we acknowledge the uncertainty by assigning a conservative value of <40 zeta joules (ZJ).
The Critical Importance of Living Biomass Here we focus on the second kind of chemicals comprising the earth-space battery, the organic compounds in living biomass. Our work suggests that the two smallest values, 19 and 2 ZJ, on the bar chart in Fig. 2 are the most important. The 19 ZJ represents the current chemical potential energy stored in the form of living biomass, most of it as phytomass in terrestrial plants and most of that in forests. These chemicals are the carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, cellulose, lignins, and other substances that make up the bodies of living organisms. Unlike fossil fuels, the magnitude of this energy storage gradient (i.e., its distance from equilibrium) is maintained by a steady flow of solar energy (9). The 2 ZJ is the energy flow due to the net annual primary production (NPP) of the planet, which is the quantity of energy converted each year from solar energy to biomass by the process of photosynthesis. Global NPP is the Earth’s yearly renewable energy budget within which all living things operate and within which our hunter-gatherer human ancestors previously operated. Therefore, an input of 2 ZJ/y of photosynthesis maintains a standing stock of 19 ZJ of stored biomass. This stored biomass is essential to modern humans, because its chemical energy sustains a habitable biosphere away from the chemical equilibrium of space. The NPP and stored living biomass of the biosphere maintain biodiversity and regulate climate and biogeochemical cycling. The metabolic energy that powers our bodies and sustains our population is derived from NPP, because all of our food is living biomass produced by the plants and animals in the earth’s diverse ecosystems: agricultural fields, grazing lands, oceans, and fresh waters. Furthermore, biomass is essential for humans to access all other forms of energy, including wind, hydro, fossil, nuclear, etc.
Living Biomass Is Depleting Rapidly At the time of the Roman Empire and the birth of Christ, the earth contained ∼1,000 billion tons of carbon in living biomass (10), equivalent to 35 ZJ of chemical energy, mostly in the form of trees in forests. In just the last 2,000 y, humans have reduced this by about 45% to ∼550 billion tons of carbon in biomass, equivalent to 19.2 ZJ. The loss has accelerated over time, with 11% depleted just since 1900 (Fig. 3) (11, 12). Over recent years, on average, we are harvesting—and releasing as heat and carbon dioxide—the remaining 550 billion tons of carbon in living biomass at a net rate of ∼1.5 billion tons carbon per year (13, 14). The cause and measurement of biomass depletion are complicated issues, and the numbers are almost constantly being reevaluated (14). The depletion is due primarily to changes in land use, including deforestation, desertification, and conversion of vegetated landscapes into barren surfaces, but also secondarily to other causes such as pollution and unsustainable forestry and fisheries. Although the above quantitative estimates have considerable uncertainty, the overall trend and magnitude are inescapable facts with dire thermodynamic consequences. Fig. 3. Global phytomass stores. Calculated from table 2 of Smil (11), assuming 1 t carbon ∼35 × 109 joules. ZJ = zeta joules = joules × 1021.
The Dominant Role of Humans Homo sapiens Is a Unique Species. The history of humankind—starting with hunter-gatherers, who learned to obtain useful heat energy by burning wood and dung, and continuing to contemporary humans, who apply the latest technologies, such as fracking, solar panels, and wind turbines—is one of innovating to use all economically exploitable energy sources at an ever increasing rate (12, 15). Together, the biological imperative of the Malthusian-Darwinian dynamic to use all available resources and the social imperative to innovate and improve human welfare have resulted in at least 10,000 y of virtually uninterrupted population and economic growth: from a few million hunter-gatherers to more than 7 billion modern humans and from a subsistence economy based on sustainable use of plants and animals (i.e., in equilibrium with photosynthetic energy production) to the modern industrial-technological-informational economy (i.e., out of equilibrium due to the unsustainable unidirectional discharge of the biomass battery). Fig. 4 depicts the multiplier effect of two large numbers that determine the rapid discharge rate of the earth‐space battery. Energy use per person multiplied by population gives total global energy consumption by humans. According to British Petroleum’s numbers (16), which most experts accept, in 2013, average per capita energy use was 74.6 × 109 J/person per year (equivalent to ∼2,370 W if plotted in green in Fig. 4). Multiplying this by the world population of 7.1 billion in 2013 gives a total consumption of ∼0.53 ZJ/y (equivalent to 16.8 TW if plotted in red in Fig. 4), which is greater than 1% of the total recoverable fossil fuel energy stored in the planet (i.e., 0.53 ZJ/40 ZJ = 1.3%). As time progresses, the population increases, and the economy grows, the outcome of multiplying these two very large numbers is that the total rate of global energy consumption is growing at a near-exponential rate. Fig. 4. History of global growth in per capita energy consumption, population, and total energy consumption. Reproduced from ref. 30, with permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd, Nature. To put these numbers in perspective, consider a point of reference. An individual human requires on average 8.4 MJ/d (2,000 kcal/d) in the form of food to support a biological metabolic rate of about 100 W. To fuel their diverse activities, contemporary humans supplement biological metabolism with extrametabolic energy derived from other sources, principally fossil fuels. Therefore, the current per-capita consumption of 2,370 W identified above for an average person is about 24 times that of a hunter-gatherer ancestor. Furthermore, this average value does not indicate the wide variation in per capita energy consumption as a function of socioeconomic conditions, which ranges from only slightly more than the biological metabolic rate in the poorest developing countries to more than 11,000 W in the most developed countries with their energy-demanding industrial-technological-informational economies (8, 17). Compared with humankind’s metabolic needs and the remaining chemical stores in the earth-space battery (distance to thermodynamic equilibrium), the rate of net discharge is very large and obviously unsustainable. The earth is in serious energetic imbalance due to human energy use. This imbalance defines our most dominant conflict with nature. It really is a conflict in the sense that the current energy imbalance, a crisis unprecedented in Earth history, is a direct consequence of technological innovation. The detrimental effects of discharging the organic chemical energy stored in the battery extend far beyond the depletion of stored living phytomass and fossil fuel energy. Consider minerals. Energetically overpowered humans have discovered and mined most of the richest deposits of copper, iron, zinc, gold, and silver, used these metals to support the industrial economy, and dispersed the unused “wastes” to landfills and unrecoverable pools. Consider nitrogen and phosphorus, critical ingredients of fertilizer because they are essential for plant growth. Global deposits of nitrate and phosphate have been drastically depleted. Nitrogen fertilizer can be synthesized from atmospheric nitrogen gas, but this chemical process requires a large input of exogenous energy, usually in the form of fossil fuel (18). More ominously, there is no substitute for or mechanism for artificially synthesizing phosphorus. Consider water. By damming rivers and streams and digging wells into subsurface aquifers, humans currently use more than 56% of all accessible fresh water. Most of this water is used for irrigation of crops, so that human activities account for about 26% of the water lost by evapotranspiration from terrestrial ecosystems (19, 20). Consider impacts on global ecosystems (21) and biodiversity (22). To produce plant and animal products for human consumption and to house our growing population, we have transformed ecosystems and landscapes on approximately 83% of Earth’s ice-free land area. We have replaced forests and other native ecosystems with agricultural crops, pastures, forestry plantations, buildings, and pavement, pre-empting about 40% of terrestrial NPP and reducing the standing stock of living biomass on the planet by an estimated 45%. Additional human-caused changes have substantially reduced the stocks of ocean fisheries, altered global biogeochemical cycles and climate, and caused extinction of species at 100–1,000 times the average prehuman extinction rates. Finally, consider that 15–30% of current global energy consumption is used to simply supply food for 7.2 billion people (23, 24). Most of this energy comes from fossil fuels and is used for the supplemental inputs of water, fertilizer, pesticides, and machine labor that enable modern agriculture to achieve high yields (25⇓–27). Therefore, the human population is sustained by the NPP of agriculture, but the capacity of this agriculture to feed the global population requires massive discharge of the earth-space battery. The unidirectional dissipation of living biomass and fossil fuel energy from the battery has provided our species unprecedented powerful domination over the biogeochemical cycles and other organisms of the planet. Others have chronicled these changes and their consequences (18⇓⇓⇓–22, 28⇓–30), but their warnings have failed to arouse sufficient public concern and motivate a meaningful response.Ironically, powerful political and market forces, rather than acting to conserve the remaining charge in the battery, actually push in the opposite direction, because the pervasive efforts to increase economic growth will require increased energy consumption (4, 8). Much of the above information has been presented elsewhere, but in different forms (e.g., in the references cited). Our synthesis differs from most of these treatments in two respects: (i) it introduces the paradigm of the earth‐space battery to provide a new perspective, and (ii) it emphasizes the critical importance of living biomass for global sustainability of both the biosphere and human civilization.
Humans and Phytomass We can be more quantitative and put this into context by introducing a new sustainability metric Ω Ω = P B N [1] which purposefully combines perhaps the two critical variables affecting the energy status of the planet: total phytomass and human population. Eq. 1 accomplishes this combination by dividing the stored phytomass chemical energy P (in joules) by the energy needed to feed the global population for 1 y (joules per year; Fig. 5). The denominator represents the basic (metabolic) energy need of the human population; it is obtained by multiplying the global population N by their per capita metabolic needs for 1 y (B = 3.06 × 109 joules/person·per year as calculated from an 8.4 × 106 joules/person⋅day diet). The simple expression for Ω gives the number of years at current rates of consumption that the global phytomass storage could feed the human race. By making the conservative but totally unrealistic assumption that all phytomass could be harvested to feed humans (i.e., all of it is edible), we get an absolute maximum estimate of the number of years of food remaining for humankind. Fig. 5 shows that over the years 0–2000, Ω has decreased predictably and dramatically from 67,000 to 1,029 y (for example, in the year 2000, P = 19.3 × 1021 joules, B = 3.06 × 109 joules/person·per year, and N = 6.13 × 109 persons; thus, Ω = 1,029 y). In just 2,000 y, our single species has reduced Ω by 98.5%. Fig. 5. Number of years of phytomass food potentially available to feed the global human population. Calculated from the total stored phytomass energy of the planet divided by the metabolic energy needs to feed the global population for 1 y (i.e., joules/joules per year = years) assuming an 8.4-MJ per capita daily diet for the entire year. Rapidly decreasing trend line indicates increasing dominance of phytomass by humankind. For reasons given in the text, these values are very conservative. Little margin remains to safely continue the current trend. The above is a drastic underestimate for four reasons. First, we obviously cannot consume all phytomass stores for food; the preponderance of phytomass runs the biosphere. Second, basing our estimate on human biological metabolism does not include that high rate of extrametabolic energy expenditure currently being used to feed the population and fuel the economy. Third, the above estimate does not account that both the global human population and the per-capita rate of energy use are not constant, but increasing at near-exponential rates. We do not attempt to extrapolate to predict the future trajectories, which must ultimately turn downward as essential energy stocks are depleted. Finally, we emphasize that not only has the global store of phytomass energy decreased rapidly, but more importantly human dominance over the remaining portion has also increased rapidly. Long before the hypothetical deadline when the global phytomass store is completely exhausted, the energetics of the biosphere and all its inhabitant species will have been drastically altered, with profound changes in biogeochemical function and remaining biodiversity. The very conservative Ω index shows how rapidly land use changes, NPP appropriation, pollution, and other activities are depleting phytomass stores to fuel the current near-exponential trajectories of population and economic growth. Because the Ω index is conservative, it also emphasizes how very little time is left to make changes and achieve a sustainable future for the biosphere and humanity. We are already firmly within the zone of scientific uncertainty where some perturbation could trigger a catastrophic state shift in the biosphere and in the human population and economy (31). As we rapidly approach the chemical equilibrium of outer space, the laws of thermodynamics offer little room for negotiation.
Discussion The trajectory of Ω shown in Fig. 5 has at least three implications for the future of humankind. First, there is no reason to expect a different trajectory in the near future. Something like the present level of biomass energy destruction will be required to sustain the present global population with its fossil fuel‐subsidized food production and economy. Second, as the earth‐space battery is being discharged ever faster (Fig. 3) to support an ever larger population, the capacity to buffer changes will diminish and the remaining energy gradients will experience increasing perturbations. As more people depend on fewer available energy options, their standard of living and very survival will become increasingly vulnerable to fluctuations, such as droughts, disease epidemics, social unrest, and warfare. Third, there is considerable uncertainty in how the biosphere will function as Ω decreases from the present Ω = ∼1,029 y into an uncharted thermodynamic operating region. The global biosphere, human population, and economy will obviously crash long before Ω = 1 y. If H. sapiens does not go extinct, the human population will decline drastically as we will be forced to return to making a living as hunter‐gatherers or simple horticulturalists. Also, the earth after the collapse of human civilization will be a very different place than the biosphere that supported the rise of civilization. There will be a long-lasting legacy of altered climate, landscapes, and biogeochemical cycles, depleted and dispersed stocks of fossil fuels, metals, and nuclear ores, and diminished biodiversity. The most powerful species in the 3.5-billion-year history of life has transformed the earth and left a mark that will endure long after its passing. Many of the organizations and authors who have recognized the seriousness of the looming energy crisis are suggesting the possibility of achieving some level of sustainability of the global population and economy by implementing renewable energy technologies (32, 33). We too recognize the importance of solar and other renewables in cushioning the ecological and socioeconomic consequences as the biosphere returns toward a steady state between NPP and respiration. There is indeed a large supply of solar energy that has not yet been tapped for human use. As mentioned above, sunlight is highly dispersed low-quality energy. Consequently, current technologies rely heavily on fossil fuels to design, mine, build, and operate the collection and distribution systems (34) and expand the yet to be designed but compulsory large-scale energy storage systems. Moreover, whereas some deployment of solar systems (e.g., over roofs, roads, and parking lots) causes little direct reduction of biomass, greater deployment will undoubtedly result in increasing indirect biomass consequences to both fabricate and install solar collectors and other infrastructure. The earth-space battery paradigm clarifies why the total upfront and ongoing energy investments in solar and other renewables need to be balanced with the energy produced, i.e., greater energy return on energy investment (4, 35), and why their production and installation must not negatively impact the remaining biomass budget of earth. The logic presented above is indisputable, because the laws of thermodynamics are absolute and inviolate. Unless phytomass stores stabilize, human civilization is unsustainable. The battery paradigm highlights the need to continue to refine estimates of the global biomass degradation (13) and its corresponding chemical energy contents and of recoverable fossil fuels. It emphasizes the need for greater recognition of the central importance of living biomass and the past, present, and future trajectory of decreasing Ω. History offers a mixed message about the capacity of humans to innovate and act in time to avoid collapse. At local and regional scales, many multiple past civilizations (e.g., Greece, Rome, Angkor Wat, Teotihuacan) failed to adapt to changing social and ecological conditions and crashed catastrophically. At the same time, human ingenuity and technological innovations allowed the global population and economy to grow at near-exponential rates. This growth has been fueled by exploiting new energy sources, transitioning among animal, hydro, wind, wood, coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, photovoltaic solar, geothermal, and others. The implications of past localized collapses and global growth are of questionable relevance to the current situation, however, because now, for the first time in history, humanity is facing a global chemical energy limit. The earth-space battery paradigm provides a simple framework for understanding the historical effects of humans on the energy dynamics of the biosphere, including the unalterable thermodynamic boundaries that now pose severe challenges to the future of humankind. Living biomass is the energy capital that runs the biosphere and supports the human population and economy. There is an urgent need not only to halt the depletion of this biological capital, but to move as rapidly as possible toward an approximate equilibrium between NPP and respiration. There is simply no reserve tank of biomass for planet Earth. The laws of thermodynamics have no mercy. Equilibrium is inhospitable, sterile, and final.
Materials and Methods To calculate omega in Fig. 5, we used the data on increase in population N from the years 0 to 1950 and from 1950 to 2000 from the US Census Bureau (36, 37). In all cases, if there was a variation in population estimates for a given year, to be conservative, we used the lowest. Phytomass energy content P required a continuous function to represent all years from 0 to 2000. We used second-order equations to fit the data points in Fig. 3. The first three data points (years 0–1800) were represented by phytomass energy = [35 − 1.70 × 10−6 (year)2 − 1.801 × 10−3 (year) − 1.8031 × 10−3] zeta joules. The remaining data points (years 1800–2000) were represented by phytomass energy = [35 − 3.386 × 10−5 (year)2 + 9.373−2 (year) − 67.770] zeta joules.
Acknowledgments The University of Georgia’s Environmental Engineering students are gratefully acknowledged for persistent engaging questions and deep discussions that enhanced key points in this research. This work was funded in part by National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology Grant EF 1065836 (to J.H.B.).
Footnotes Author contributions: J.R.S. and D.K.G. designed research; J.R.S. and J.H.B. performed research; J.R.S. and J.H.B. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; J.R.S., D.K.G., and J.H.B. analyzed data; and J.R.S., D.K.G., and J.H.B. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. |
About
Minions & Immortals takes core elements from Roleplaying, City Building, and Diablo-style Action Combat games and blends them into a tasty mix that is both unique and familiar.
We love city building games, but we felt that it would be even more engaging if you could actually take part in the action as well. From this basic idea Minions & Immortals was born.
In Minions & Immortals you play as a newly awoken god who must regain your lost power. Through the possession of mortal followers, known as Minions, you travel out into the world of Aetheria seeking knowledge, power, and treasure. While in town you manage buildings and upgrades to ensure you get the most out of your Minions and maximize your own growing powers.
Multiplayer Groups: Mobile games have not seen a lot of choices for multi-player real-time combat, but we aim to change that. Play solo or quickly group with up to two other Immortals for quick mobile-friendly play sessions. Standard dungeons last roughly 5 minutes, so you can get in some action during whatever downtime you may have during the day.
Intuitive Action Combat: The combat for Minions & Immortals has been streamlined for a touch based interface with no clunky “virtual d-pads” in sight. Powerful abilities are at the touch of your fingers and quick user friendly movement makes for exciting mobile play.
Customizable Minions: Four Classes and 15 unique Minion races give a plethora of adventuring options. Each Minion race has an affinity for two of the six elements of Aetheria. These affinities fuel their unique abilities and talents. As each Minion levels up you may customize their abilities through the use of talent trees ensuring that no two of your Minions play in quite the same way!
Recruit Minions: Visit the tavern to recruit minions of ever greater power. Each minion race provides unique and useful benefits. Start with Humans, Orcs, Goblins, and Halflings and work your way up to truly powerful races like Angels and Demons. You will be able to house dozens of minions, assign them to work in buildings, send them out in adventuring parties, or possess them and venture out on your own.
City Building: Every Immortal commands a floating city built upon the severed crown of one of Aetheria’s many mountains. Manage the creation, placement, and upgrade of buildings. Recruit minions and maximize their efficiency in combat through Alchemy, Blacksmithing, the Arcane Arts and a host of other city-based features.
Crafting: Crafting armor, weapons, trinkets and even spells will play a vital role in the success of your Minions on missions. Whether you send them alone or possess their bodies and take a personal hand in the fighting, mighty armaments and sorcery can turn the tide of even the most desperate battle.
Guilds: Form a guild to take on even greater challenges in both PvE and PvP. We will offer a host of options for guilds to interact and work together to accomplish world-changing feats. Overcoming challenges is even more fun when accomplished with a group of friends; with this in mind guilds will be an integral part of the Minions & Immortals experience.
Raids: In addition to quick 3-person dungeons, we will offer Raids against epic bosses for up to 6 players. These encounters will offer unique challenges in a mobile-friendly timeframe. Gather your allies and set forth against these epic challenges; should you triumph, you will be aptly rewarded.
PvP: Being social doesn’t always have to mean playing nice! Pillage your neighbors’ cities for valuable plunder or fight 1v1, 3v3, or even Guild vs. Guild. The conflict between Dominion and Discord rages everywhere and brings glory to the mighty and the bold.
Game flow image courtesy of Concept Art House
The Immortals were once the rulers of this universe. None could challenge their might, and so they spread all across the galaxy, dividing it among their three factions: the Dominion, the Discord, and the Impartial. It seemed they would rule forever.
But then, something happened. Something strange and inexplicable. The Impartial were wiped out, torn apart by one of their own, and left as little more than shells. The other Immortals were cast down in a hail of fire and destruction upon the harsh world of Aetheria. For centuries, the Immortals slept in the crust of the planet, weakened by their defeat.
Now, the Immortals are awakening, spreading across the face of Aetheria, recruiting its many native people to their causes, building vast floating cities, and reclaiming their power to take control of this new land. The Dominion and the Discord arise just as before, their rivalry more bitter than ever, without the Impartial to keep them from each other's throats.
But even as the Immortals grow stronger, they are plagued by questions. How was such a mighty race overcome so easily? How did they end up stranded on this unforgiving planet? Is the battle over, or just beginning?
Long before the Immortals arrived, the people of Aetheria have been at war with one another. Whenever an uneasy peace is reached between one race and their rivals, another war breaks out in another part of the world. Such things are expected when so many different peoples must live together in such an unforgiving land.
The Humans often find themselves at war with the Orcs, with vicious skirmishes breaking out all along their borders--battles that are so far-ranging and blind that they drove the more peace-loving Halflings into the desert to seek sanctuary. In the long-standing struggle between the Dwarves and the Goblins, the Goblins finally won out, driving the Dwarves to extinction and taking over the ruins of what were once Dwarven lands. Even the Elves found cause to fight, with a small sect breaking off to learn the dark magics, though it came at the cost of banishment from Elf lands. Now, the Shadow Elves lurk in the darkest forests, seizing every opportunity to overturn their former brothers.
But all of these struggles pale in comparison to the furious hatred between the mighty Ogres and the quick-witted Genasi. Matched in both power and pride, these two races have waged devastating war through the centuries, tearing apart the land and all that lives on it.
And with the arrival of these Immortals come new kinds of creatures, ones not of the mortal world at all. Angels and Demons now wander the lands in search of Immortals to serve, and wherever they meet, they wreak havoc. All across the land, tensions are escalating, wars breaking out, battles growing fiercer every moment.
It seems that the lands of Aetheria are falling apart at the seams, and the Immortals may be the only ones who can hold it all together.
For your support and backing we have conjured up some fine rewards. Take a look at the tiers on the right or the images below, find the one that best suits you, and please pledge. Much as you would suspect, with greater support comes greater rewards! In addition to the tangible rewards, everyone that pledges will be able to watch the game grow from infancy and even help shape the final outcome! During the development of Minions & Immortals there will be many chances for all members of the backer community to take part in the decision making process through polls, comments, votes, and even chats with the Devs. Designing games is a complex process and we hope you will find it as intriguing as we do!
By pledging at an amount above the Tier you have selected, you can include specific Add-Ons. At the end of the Kickstarter campaign, you will receive a survey that will allow you to select which Add-Ons your additional pledge amount is for.
Please note: Digital add-ons can be added to any tier. Physical add-ons can be added to all tiers $60 and above.
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HD Digital Map of Aetheria: $10
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Requires the base pledge to be at the $60 tier or above. Any pledge that ends up including a physical reward will require $15 for international shipping.
Minions & Immortals T-shirt: $25
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Pay attention to the Add-ons section for more exciting options as the Campaign progresses!
Flat Toe Studio is an independent game development company located in Sacramento, CA. Founded on the core principle of “listen to your players,” we strive to create games that reflect the voice of the community. Our executive team, led by industry innovator Stephen Pladson, unites gaming veterans with many successful social and mobile titles under their belts. Minions & Immortals is Flat Toe’s first title, and will help redefine the mobile MMOG market with its emphasis on social interactions, real-time multi-player combat, 3D graphics and intuitive gameplay.
Creating something truly magical is a collaborative process, and support often comes from unexpected sources. We want to create the kind of game our community will love to play, but in order to do so we need the help of our players. Minions & Immortals will have exceptional art, fantastic sound, and fully interactive gameplay, but all of that requires time and money to develop. We have assembled some extraordinary talent, but we need your help to get us to the finish line.
In return for your generosity, we’ve put together some fun rewards, and we hope there is one that fits your needs. We are offering Kickstarter-exclusive minions and gear that will only be available through our campaign. Once the campaign ends, they will not appear in any future release. We want you to feel like you have made an investment in a game that you are going to be playing for a long time.
We promise that the support we receive will go right back into the game. Your pledges don’t just let us add more content; they allows us to create the game the way you want to see it. Having an open dialog with our community gives us as developers a new kind of interaction that was formerly closed in the traditional creation process. We’re as excited as you are to make it happen. |
I just picked up a T-shirt that says, “Eat Well and Travel Often.” It was obviously made just for me. Traveling to new places and seeing new things is something I enjoy tremendously. And enjoying delicious meals makes me feel pampered and cared for. But since I can’t travel to exotic destinations every week, eating well is something I spend more of my time thinking about.
In fact, with two teenagers in the house, planning meals is almost a full-time job. Sometimes when the kids get home from school in the afternoon, I’ll hear “What’s for dinner” before I hear a hello.
My goal is to come up with balanced food plates. And while I often preach the benefits of greens, I try to come up with new and varied dishes so that we’re all getting the nutrition we need, without getting bored with what we’re eating.
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For people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), a healthy diet is an integral part of maintaining one’s health, along with exercise and regular doctor visits. Fueling our bodies with good-for-you foods helps to keep it running at its optimum level. There are so many aspects of MS that are out of our control, but a healthy diet is one place where we can make a difference.
No matter your age, your taste buds, or your busy lifestyle, there’s always a way to put healthy foods on your table. Here are my top five food hacks for adding some healthy variety to your diet.
Think green! Fresh vegetables that are brightly colored contain more antioxidants, which protect you from disease. So fill a large part of your plate with greens like spinach, kale, or romaine. Spinach and kale can be easily and quickly sautéed with ginger, garlic, scallions, nuts, seeds, or other vegetables for a healthy and delicious side dish. Choose lean proteins. Fish, poultry, beans, and nuts are excellent choices – they’ll fill you up and keep you heart-healthy. You don’t have to cut out cheese and meat, but eat them in moderation. Don’t fear fat! Contrary to what we’ve been told, fat doesn’t make you fat. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other diseases we want to avoid. Healthy oils are a great choice – enjoy olive oil on salads and when cooking. Avocados, which are great sliced on toast with a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, are also a great source of Omega-3s. Go brown. Limit refined grains (white bread and white rice) and instead choose brown rice, oats, or quinoa, which contain fiber and protein. Hydrate. Water is best, whether it’s still or sparkling. Enjoy it with a slice of lemon or lime to change it up.
Feeding your body healthful foods reduces the risk of other chronic diseases and provides vitamins and nutrients critical to maintaining your health. And it’s empowering! We all need reminders from time to time about how to keep our bodies healthy. Which of these hacks resonate for you?
In Health,
Elissa
Health Coach, Health/E, LLC
Ready to kick your sugar habit? Click over to my site for a free download! http://www.healthelissa.com.
Elissa is a holistic Health Coach and founder of Health/E, LLC. She works with individuals to help them find energy, strength, and balance through nutrition, exercise, and self-care. Elissa gives workshops throughout the New York area, and runs support groups for the National MS Society, in addition to working one-on-one with clients. |
To a generation raised on the ubiquitous image of the "Greys" and their penchant for abductions, cases involving non-human entities of unknown origin (aliens, time travelers, visitors from a parallel universe, a secretive parahuman race that has been on this planet since before our own species appeared, etc.)in previous decades had a distinct flavor of their own. While researching old publications, I came across the October-November 1975 issue of Ovnis - Un Desafio a la Ciencia (UFOs - A Challenge to Science) that was published in Argentina in the mid 1970s, with contributions from some of the luminaries of the time. It was published by Dr. Oscar A. Galíndez with artwork by Jorge Vallejos. Some of the samples shown below bear the signature of "B.O.C.", whom I believe to be Benjamín Galíndez - the publisher's father.One article, penned by Prof. Oscar A. Uriondo, describes the August 31, 1968 case of Mrs. Susanna Larroude de Salazar, a resident of the UFO-prone city of Bahia Blanca, who at the time was in her kitchen with two small children. The young wife and mother heard someone banging against the door to her house, and upon lifting the shutter that covered the peephole, she was startled to see "a strange, opaque being" outside. She reportedly felt paralyzed as the entity withdrew, emitting a sound reminiscent of "echoing peals of laughter". The entity suddenly disappeared upon reaching the fence that marked the entrance.On June 24, 1967 Mrs. Dora Egger de Torres was resting beside her husband at one clock in the morning. Her slumber was abruptly interrupted by a loud buzzing sound that hurt her ears. Wehn she turned to look, she was taken aback to see an oval light in the corner of the bedroom. Two human-looking entities were contained within it- one of them was tall, standing about 2 meters, and the other was smaller, no more than 50 or 60 cm in height. Both wore metallic outfits and helmets with clear visors (she said they were "plastic") covering their faces.As in the previous case, the witness was completely paralized and unable to utter a single word. The oval light and its humanoid occupants became gradually smaller as the light faded against the background, a shuttered window. They ultimately vanished.On June 27 1968 in Cerro de las Rosas, Province of Cordoba, three boys were riding their bicycles when they noticed an oval object hanging over the trees. The object had a structure described by the boys as a "propeller" which spun at considerable speed, issuing white and blue lights. Suspended above the object were two people - a man and a woman - floating in the air. The boys described them as being "extraordinarily tall" and wearing luminous clothing. They took each others hand and descended slowly into the object with the "propeller". They vanished into the machine - if machine it was - without making a sound, or without any door opening to allow their entry.On March 23, 1973 Roberto Herrera, a twenty-three-year-old engineering student, was on his way to the city of Salta from San Salvador de Jujuy when he witnessed an object described as "two superimposed plates, 5 meters in diameter" landing on the roadside. It was aluminum colored asnd was suspended on ground with what appeared to be struts. The witness suddenly noticed that a manlike entity standing 1.60 meters had emerged from the object (although at no point did he see how this was accomplished - no hatches or doorways were opened). The student was able to retain enough presence of mind to provide a thorough description of the humanoid: it lacked hands, had stubby arms, legs ending in very large, shoeless feet. When Herrera approached, the entity also moved without ever making use of its legs. It then stopped and "was gone", as the onlooker would later tell researchers.An even stranger case occurred on June 25, 1974. The "El Diario" newspaper from Montevideo, Urugay reported that a security guard at a train station in Tandil, some 350 km from Buenos Aires (and a frequent UFO and cattle mutilation scenario, asreaders will be aware) had seen a "short, strange figure with deep-set eyes" and passed out shortly after the experiences. Other witnesess at the station reported that an odd little man had descended from a vehicle so strange they thought it had to be a UFO, as it emitted a very powerful light. The object and its occupant vanished as soon as the light was extinguished. As chance would have, there was a police barracks across from the train depot, and policemen allegedly also saw the small figure, describing it in detail. "A creature with a fixed gaze, wearing a lead-colored helmet and dark goggles, a "Fu Manchu" mustache and a goatee. His arms appeared to stem directly from his body, and the position of the window (at the police barracks) kept us from being able to make out anything below his chest." When asked to explain the entity's sudden disappearance, one of the officers replied, "Well...I don't know. Perhaps he rose into the air." The law enforcement officer further added that newspapers and radio programs were often discussing sightings of 'flying saucers' and 'Martians' ocurring regularly in Tres Arroyos and Bahía Blanca.Four decades separate us from these events, which were largely anecdotal despite the presence of multiple witnesses and the involvement of the authorities. However, they remain a disquieting reminder of a fascinating period in UFO history. |
The Ovelgönne bread roll (top) with reconstruction (below)
The Ovelgönne Bread Roll is the remaining part of a bread roll originating from the Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe, which was found in 1952 during archaeological excavations in a loam mine in the Buxtehude district Ovelgönne in Lower Saxony, Germany. The piece of bread is the oldest surviving viennoiserie and formed bakery product from Europe. The find, along with a reconstruction, are in the permanent exhibition of the Archaeological Museum Hamburg in Harburg, Hamburg.[1][2]
Location of find [ edit ]
The location in June 2012
In May 1952 one of Helms-Museum’s staff, Willi Rühland, discovered a dark discoloration in a freshly cut clay wall on the north side of the municipal loam mine of Ovelgönne at Coordinates: .[3] The irregular pit had a depth of 150 centimetres (59 in) and a width of 150 centimetres (59 in). The backfilling of the pit was irregularly mixed up with shards of pottery, pieces of charcoal, lumps of clay, and stones, suggesting an Iron Age rubbish pit. Half down the pit, the remains of the charred bread was found.[4]
Findings [ edit ]
The surviving bread roll piece in the museum
The Ovelgönne bread roll originally had two tip-shaped ends. Due to its regular shape, it is categorized among the formed bakery products having a predefined shape. The strongly charred loaf of bread was aborted at about the half its length. The surviving part of the bread has a length of 35 millimetres (1.4 in), a width of 22.94 millimetres (0.903 in) and a height of 11.44 millimetres (0.450 in), having a weight of 2.5 grams (0.088 oz) only. The point of the remaining end is missing. The colour of the surface is pearl grey to slate grey, the underside is grey to black. The top of the roll has a fine and slightly curved incision, which is designed to prevent tearing during the baking process. Nearly in the center of the resulting surface on the top is a 2 millimetres (0.079 in) deep and 3.56 millimetres (0.140 in) × 2.80 millimetres (0.110 in) depression, which was pressed into it with a round tool at an angle of approximately 45°. A second hole was most likely also on the missing half of the loaf. The bread had no pronounced crust and it was baked from a very finely ground and sifted wheat flour. A microscopic examination of the surface showed that the dough contained only remarkable small traces of wear fine millstones. The dough itself was kneaded thoroughly and showed only very small porosity, suggesting that neither a wild yeast fermentation nor a sourdough were used to leaven the bread loaf. Possibly for lightening of the dough, protein or fat was added. The baking process must have taken place in an oven on a stone surface which was good, but not completely cleaned of coal, as small charcoal remains have been reflected in the pores of the base. The bread was baked at an excessive top heat, compared to today's baking practice. Sandy deposits in the inner parts of the fracture surface indicates that the bread was broken apart before its discovery. A radiological examination performed in Bern (Switzerland) showed that the superficial incision widened inwards slightly. The radiological images also showed two, mysterious metal particles of 2.92 millimetres (0.115 in) × 1.7 millimetres (0.067 in) and 3.16 millimetres (0.124 in) × 2.92 millimetres (0.115 in), embedded in the dough.[5]
From his investigation of numerous archaeological bread finds, Max Währen receonstructed the original size of the complete bread roll, considering a 15% shrinkage by the charring to estimated 70 millimetres (2.8 in) × 45.88 millimetres (1.806 in) × 22.48 millimetres (0.885 in).[5]
Due to typological determination of the ceramic vessel shards found in the pit, the Ovelgönne bread roll was dated to the early Iron Age, around 800-500 B.C.[2][5]
Interpretation [ edit ]
The circumstances and the location of the Ovelgönne bread roll in the pit is the subject of debate. Some authors suggest a cultic context. This is attributed to the halving of the bread roll before its deposition and the baked in metal pieces. Whether the metal pieces were deliberately baked in or accidentally fell into the dough is unclear. Währen questions whether "the Ovelgönne bread roll was a technical creation or a replica of a profane or ritual object."[6] He sums up the importance of the object up as follows:
The Ovelgönne bread roll represents the oldest bread survived of Europe, having a predefined shape, in a Wecken shaped form of fine pastry probably having a ritual and religious significance, perhaps for this reasons it has been made in its delicacy and refinement previously unimaginable.[6]
His opinion is based on the remarkable subtlety of the used wheat flour, which is close to grain sizes of modern flours, as well as the incision and the dipped in holes. Such dipped in holes are also known from an ancient Egyptian find dating around 2000-1778 BCE as well as from mosaics at the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna dating to the 6th Century. However, the dipped in hole on the Ovelgönne bread roll is the earliest prehistoric evidence for this technique in Europe.[6]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
^ Topic food, showcase No. 25 a b Articus, Rüdiger; Brandt, Jochen; Först, Elke; Krause, Yvonne; Merkel, Michael; Mertens, Kathrin; Weiss, Rainer-Maria (2013). Archaeological Museum Hamburg Helms-Museum: A short guide to the Tour of the Times. Archaeological Museum Hamburg publication - Helms-Museum. 103. Hamburg. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-3-931429-24-9. ^ Archaeological Museum Hamburg: Regional File Tangendorf: Gauss–Krüger coordinates : 3549175; 5924200 ^ Währen, Max (1996). Helms-Museum, Hamburger Museum für Archäologie und die Geschichte Harburgs und dem Museums- und Heimatverein Harburg-Stadt und -Land e.V., eds. "Vorgeschichtliche Brotreste aus der nördlichen Lüneburger Heide". Harburger Jahrbuch (in German). Hamburg-Harburg. 19: 11. ISSN 0722-6055. a b c Währen, Max (1996). Helms-Museum, Hamburger Museum für Archäologie und die Geschichte Harburgs und dem Museums- und Heimatverein Harburg-Stadt und -Land e.V., ed. "Vorgeschichtliche Brotreste aus der nördlichen Lüneburger Heide". Harburger Jahrbuch (in German). Hamburg-Harburg. 19: 12–18. ISSN 0722-6055. a b c Währen, Max (1996). Helms-Museum, Hamburger Museum für Archäologie und die Geschichte Harburgs und dem Museums- und Heimatverein Harburg-Stadt und -Land e.V., ed. "Vorgeschichtliche Brotreste aus der nördlichen Lüneburger Heide". Harburger Jahrbuch (in German). Hamburg-Harburg. 19: 18–23, 37. ISSN 0722-6055. |
The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Palantir Technologies, the software and data analysis company contracted by the federal government, for alleged racial discrimination against Asian people in its hiring and selection processes. The aim of the lawsuit is to put an end to Palantir‘s alleged discriminatory hiring practices, according to a release the Department of Labor put out today. The suit also seeks relief for those affected through the means of lost wages, interest, retroactive seniority and all other lost benefits of employment.
The suit comes after compliance review by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. The office’s review determined that Palantir has violated Executive Order 11246, which details equal employment opportunities and non-discriminatory practices, from January 2010 to the present day. Palantir allegedly used a hiring process that discriminated against Asian applicants for software engineering roles, “routinely eliminated” qualified Asian applicants in the resume screening and telephone interview phases and hired a majority of people from its discriminatory employee referral system.
In one example cited in the lawsuit, the Labor Department says Palantir hired 14 non-Asian applicants and 11 Asian applicants from a pool of more than 1,160 qualified people, 85 percent of whom were Asian. The likelihood of that happening from chance is one in 3.4 million, according to the lawsuit.
“Federal contractors have an obligation to ensure that their hiring practices and policies are free of all forms of discrimination,” OFCCP Director Patricia Shiu said in a statement. “Our nation’s taxpayers deserve to know that companies employed with public funds are providing equal opportunity for job seekers.”
Following the review, the OFCCP asked for Palantir’s voluntarily compliance in resolving the issues found in the review. Palantir declined to comply, which is when the Labor Department filed the suit.
The federal government has contracted services from Palantir since January 2010. Those contracts are worth $340 million, according to the lawsuit. If Palantir fails to provide relief to those affected, the company stands to lose those contracts with the FBI, the U.S. Special Operations Command and the Army. Palantir has raised over $2.3 billion from investors and was valued at $20 billion during its last institutional round.
I’ve reached out to Palantir and will update this story if I hear back. For now, here’s what Palantir CEO Alex Karp says about diversity on the company’s site:
“Talented and ethical people come from all walks of life, and anyone talented and ethical is welcome here.” |
LEARN MORE LEARN MORE For more information on air marshals who've been in trouble with the law, visit http://www.propublica.org/feature/
federal-air-marshals-and-the-law. AMERICANS' ATTITUDES ON AIR MARSHALS AMERICANS' ATTITUDES ON AIR MARSHALS ABOUT THIS STORY ABOUT THIS STORY Michael Grabell is an investigative reporter for ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom based in New York City that produces investigative journalism. USA TODAY editors worked with Grabell and ProPublica editors in preparing this story for publication. Shawn Nguyen bragged that he could sneak anything past airport security using his top-secret clearance as a federal air marshal. And for months, he smuggled cocaine and drug money onto flights across the country, boasting to an FBI informant that he was "the man with the golden badge." Michael McGowan used his position as an air marshal to lure a young boy to his hotel room, where he showed him child porn, took pictures of him naked and sexually abused him. AIR MARSHAL SURVEY: Download the complete results (PDF) And when Brian "Cooter" Phelps wanted his ex-wife to disappear, he called a fellow air marshal and tried to hire a hit man nicknamed "the Crucifixer." Since 9/11, more than three dozen federal air marshals have been charged with crimes, and hundreds more have been accused of misconduct, an investigation by ProPublica, a non-profit journalism organization, has found. Cases range from drunken driving and domestic violence to aiding a human-trafficking ring and trying to smuggle explosives from Afghanistan. The Federal Air Marshal Service presents the image of an elite undercover force charged with making split-second decisions that could mean the difference between stopping a terrorist and shooting an innocent passenger. But an examination of police reports, court records, government reports, memos and e-mails shows that 18 air marshals have been charged with felonies, including at least three who were hired despite prior criminal records or being fired from law enforcement jobs. A fourth air marshal was hired while under FBI investigation. Another stayed on the job despite alarming a flight attendant with his behavior. This spring, after U.S. embassies, airlines and foreign police agencies complained about air marshal misconduct overseas, the agency director dispatched supervisors on international missions. From 33 to 3,000 Before 9/11, the Air Marshal Service was a nearly forgotten force of 33 agents with a $4.4 million annual budget. Now housed in the Transportation Security Administration, the agency has a $786 million budget and an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 air marshals, although the official number is classified. Only a fraction of them have been charged with crimes, and some degree of misconduct occurs at all law enforcement agencies. But for air marshals, the stakes are uniquely high. Their beat is a confined cabin with hundreds of passengers in firing range. There are no calls for backup at 30,000 feet, putting a premium on sound judgment and swift action. Since 9/11, air marshals have taken bribes, committed bank fraud, hired an escort while on layover and doctored hotel receipts to pad expenses, records show. They've been found sleeping on planes and lost the travel documents of U.S. diplomats while on a whiskey-tasting trip in Scotland. The Air Marshal Service says it has the highest firearms qualification standard among federal law enforcement agencies. Yet police and court records show some marshals have used their weapons imprudently: In 2003, a New York air marshal pulled his gun in a dispute over a parking space. Another failed to turn over his ammunition on an international trip, as required by diplomatic agreements, and was detained by Israeli airport security in 2004. That same year, a Las Vegas air marshal "discharged" his gun in a hotel room, penetrating a wall and shattering a mirror. In April, a Phoenix air marshal fired his during a fight outside a bar. Still another left his handgun in the plane's lavatory in 2001, according to court papers. He realized it was missing only after a teenager found it. Robert Bray, director of the Air Marshal Service, says the misconduct cases don't represent the exemplary work done by the vast majority of air marshals. "We can reassure the public that these dedicated professionals go out there every day and put their lives on the line to make sure that everyone is safe," Bray says. "I don't want them to be tarred by … a few allegations from a few years ago." Bray and other officials declined to discuss specific cases, citing privacy laws. Under government policies, air marshals found guilty of felonies were fired or forced to resign. But 10 air marshals convicted of misdemeanors, mostly drunken driving, were allowed to keep their jobs. And even after notice that background checks were poor, the agency failed to root out air marshals with troubled pasts before they committed felonies. Current and former air marshals say the misconduct cases show that the agency continues to struggle with policing its own ranks, a problem that surfaced in its post-9/11 buildup. Since then, the service has had three leaders, been moved four times to different parent agencies and been blasted by Congress for, among other things, failing to cover enough flights and enforcing a dress code that many air marshals felt blew their cover. Don Strange, the former special agent in charge of the Atlanta office and a finalist to lead the agency in 2006, says turmoil and low morale have led good air marshals to quit and made it harder for managers to maintain the highest standards. "It starts with the urgency (to hire and train recruits) in a ridiculous amount of time," he says. "Things start to spin out of control." Recruiting rush Under heavy congressional pressure, the government rushed to hire thousands of air marshals after 9/11. Partly motivated by enduring images of planes hitting the World Trade Center, the Pentagon aflame and a charred Pennsylvania field, 200,000 applied. With limited spots, the Air Marshal Service had an acceptance rate of about one in 40 — four times as tough as Harvard's. "We're getting the cream of the crop," then-TSA spokesman David Steigman told reporters. "The people who are going into the air marshal program are the best of the best." But that wasn't necessarily the case. Shortly after joining the agency, three air marshals were indicted in corruption investigations at their former police departments. One, Louis Pirani, had been hired in early 2002, despite being under FBI investigation for months on suspicion of skimming profits from drug couriers as a sheriff's deputy in Arkansas. He eventually was convicted and went to prison for lying to investigators. Just two weeks after joining the air marshals in April 2002, Shawn Nguyen filed for bankruptcy, claiming $200,000 in debts. Three years later, the former narcotics officer began carrying cash and cocaine past airport security for a man he knew as a drug trafficker, but who'd already turned to the FBI. "I don't care what's in the [expletive] package, you know what I mean? Just tell me how much it is and what I'm getting in money," Nguyen told the informant in a recorded conversation recounted in court records. "I'm the man with the golden badge." Nguyen was sentenced to seven years in prison. Before becoming an air marshal, Brian Phelps had worked at five small police departments in Alabama, but none for more than a year. He was fired from the job he held longest for losing his temper and acting "irrationally" before thinking things through, prosecutors said. He quit another job in lieu of being fired for misconduct while on duty, says Mayor Paula Phillips of Douglas, Ala. In 2005, Phelps, known as "Cooter" among fellow air marshals, told a colleague that he wanted to see his wife's picture on a milk carton, court transcripts say. He asked the air marshal, who'd worked in Chicago's housing projects, whether he knew of anyone who could help. The colleague said he did: The Crucifixer. The colleague told the Air Marshal Service, and after numerous contacts with FBI agents posing as hit men, Phelps was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Another air marshal, David Kellerman, was arrested on felony charges for dealing in stolen property in 1983 and for carrying a concealed weapon in 1990. Although judgment was withheld in both cases, Kellerman was sentenced each time to probation, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. In September, Kellerman — a Green Beret and Purple Heart recipient — was sentenced to 27 months in prison after being caught hiding a cache of weapons that included AK-47s and a grenade launcher stolen while he was on leave for a military tour in Afghanistan. Kellerman told investigators he was bringing back training aids for his job as an air marshal firearms instructor. Background checks Because air marshals receive top-secret security clearances, background checks are supposed to include criminal history searches going back 10 years, credit reports and interviews with relatives, neighbors and employers. Checks are conducted by the federal Office of Personnel Management, a separate agency, which forwards results to the Air Marshal Service. Kellerman's charges predated the 10-year check period. But in Phelps' case, three officials — Justice Ashley, former assistant police chief in Guntersville, Ala.; Chad Long, the current Douglas police chief, and Phillips — say they couldn't recall the air marshals contacting anyone to make a background check. It's unclear whether Pirani's FBI scrutiny and Nguyen's bankruptcy were missed or disregarded. A 2004 report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general also flagged gaps in the background checks. The report cited 504 applicants who were recommended for hire and awaiting offers, noting that nearly a third had potentially disqualifying problems, including past arrests, bankruptcies or disciplinary problems. "Many (air marshals) were granted access to classified information after displaying questionable judgment, irresponsibility and emotionally unstable behavior," the report said. This summer, after a Houston TV station reported that three air marshals had been charged with drunken driving, including one with a prior DWI conviction, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, grilled TSA Administrator Kip Hawley at a congressional hearing. In a subsequent letter to Poe, Hawley said that 28 air marshals had been hired with misdemeanors on their records, and nine more kept their jobs after a drunken-driving conviction. TSA policies state that employees who drive drunk "demonstrate a disregard for TSA's mission" and raise questions about their ability to deal with security threats. Yet the policy allows drunken driving to be punished with a letter of reprimand, one of the lowest penalties. By comparison, the FBI mandates at least a 30-day suspension without pay for drunken driving. Although other federal police agencies generally allow for flexibility in discipline, many big-city departments, such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, mandate a suspension or loss of pay for a first offense. "It's more serious than a letter saying, 'Don't do it again, try to do better,' " Poe said in an interview. "I don't think a person should have a criminal record and keep their job with the Air Marshal Service — including a DWI." The flying public agrees. In a national survey for ProPublica conducted by Harris Interactive, 86% of those who'd taken a commercial flight in the past year said it was unacceptable for someone convicted of driving under the influence to become an air marshal. No office compiles uniform statistics on arrests of federal law officers, making it difficult to compare agencies. The 2004 inspector general's report found 753 documented cases of misconduct by air marshals over 20 months, with offenses from sleeping on duty to flunking drug tests. After the report, the agency said it tightened its background procedures. When misconduct occurred, the agency said, it had acted "swiftly and decisively," terminating 101 air marshals over two years and taking resignations from 32 others. But problems continued — Kellerman, Phelps and Nguyen all committed their crimes after the 2004 report. The service declined to say what's been done since to check for cases that fell through the cracks. Hiring standards erode Over the years, the service has loosened some hiring practices: • In 2002, the agency decided that recruits no longer had to pass a rigorous firearms test requiring them to prove speed and accuracy in close quarters similar to an airplane. The test is still used in training but is no longer a hiring qualification. • In late 2005, the agency began hiring TSA screeners, new college grads and others with no law enforcement experience. The change departed from practice during the 9/11 ramp-up, when air marshals almost uniformly were chosen from law enforcement, such as the Border Patrol, federal Bureau of Prisons and police and sheriff's departments. • Two years ago, officials suspended a requirement that air marshals pass a written psychological test and an interview with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Bray, the director, says the changes did not lower hiring standards and that it's unfair to suggest a TSA screener or a recent college grad could not be up to par after training. The Air Marshal Service still has the highest standard for shooting accuracy among federal police agencies, he says. In the ProPublica survey, 87% said air marshals should be required to pass a psychological stress test, and 77% said they should have prior experience in law enforcement. Two cases show why psychological testing might be valuable. Orlando air marshal Marcus Rogozinski was on a mission from New York to Dallas in 2006 when he walked to the galley and showed a flight attendant a book with some pictures of blue crystals, his supervisor, Richard Lozada, wrote in an e-mail introduced at a competency hearing If she had good thoughts, Rogozinski told her, the water could be turned clear, Lozada recounted. But if she had bad thoughts, it would turn murky. When Rogozinski went to the lavatory, the alarmed flight attendant walked back to his partner, Paul Steward. "I can't believe he is able to carry a gun!" she said, according to an account written by Steward. In 2007, another flight attendant complained that Rogozinski "was talking about all kinds of crazy stuff like outer space," according to a memo from air marshal David Cameron. "No (air marshal) should have to pay more attention to their partner than to the passengers," Cameron wrote. Afterward, Rogozinski failed a psych exam and was put on leave. In June, Rogozinski was convicted of bank fraud for trying to cash a $10.9 million check from a woman he said he believed was Cambodian royalty. The money, he told prosecutors, was partial settlement for a "personal lawsuit" after he was scratched by the woman's cat. Then there's the case of Michael McGowan, who joined the air marshals after 9/11. Before he was sentenced to a sex-offenders unit in 2006, his lawyer pleaded with a judge for help for his client. "He is taking the position 'I have a serious problem, I'm sick,' " said attorney Joel Weiss, according to a court transcript. McGowan had been caught two years earlier trying to buy pornography of children as young as 7 over the Internet. Investigators discovered he'd been molesting a Texas boy since 2002 and had enticed the boy by saying he was staying at a nearby hotel on air marshal business. Even after his conviction, court records show, McGowan called the boy from prison and engaged him in sexual conversations. 'Impact on our reputation' Earlier this year, a rash of complaints about air marshal misconduct on overseas missions set off new alarms. The agency would not provide details of the incidents. But ProPublica obtained an April 15 internal memo from Dana Brown, then director of the Air Marshal Service, warning the rank and file that the behavior threatened to create diplomatic problems for the agency on international routes, "some of the most important we fly." "In foreign countries, some have behaved in a manner that may jeopardize our ability to continue to operate effectively," Brown wrote. "The negative impact on our reputation and that of the American government has the potential to cause significant harm." To put a stop to it, Brown ordered "Quality Assurance Teams" of supervisors to monitor air marshals on international missions and act as liaisons with host countries. "These are highly trained federal air marshals with guns on planes. If they need chaperones, then we're all in serious trouble," says P. Jeffrey Black, a Las Vegas air marshal who in the past has testified before Congress about agency policies. Bray says the agency was not able to substantiate the allegations of overseas misconduct and that Brown was simply being proactive. Black says the job shouldn't be entry-level. New hires need the experience and judgment learned from making decisions on the street, he says. Poe, a former judge and prosecutor who sits on the House aviation subcommittee, says the unique nature of the job demands the highest recruiting standards. He says he wants to address the issue of air marshal misconduct further when the new Congress is seated next year. Air marshals "all have to be of high quality, not most of them," Poe says. "We can't take a chance that they will make a mistake." Six of Cincinnati air marshal David Slaughter's colleagues wrote character references for him after his arrest in 2006, according to court records. "A man of impeccable character," wrote one. "An outstanding employee." "Polite," wrote another. "His character around the office is one of example." "Dave's demeanor and professionalism reflect favorably on the field office as well as the agency as a whole." Slaughter was convicted of abducting a female escort during a July 2006 layover in the Washington, D.C., area. In an interview, he said he hired the escort because he was having marital problems and wanted a woman's perspective. As they talked about how to spend their time, he went into the bedroom of his hotel suite and returned with his gun and handcuffs. The woman tried to flee, but he prevented her from leaving and unplugged the phone, prosecutors said. The two struggled, and when the woman got the door open, Slaughter pinned her to the ground, held her in a chokehold and handcuffed her, according to prosecutors and the woman, Cherith Zorbas. Despite his colleagues' support, Slaughter lost his job and got 15 days in jail. Zorbas called the outcome "horrific" and said the public should be scared. "He's the only one on an airplane with a freakin' weapon," she said, "and he's supposed to have it to be protecting us." Contributing: Jamie Wilson of ProPublica Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more |
(ANSA) - Rome, January 31 - New President Sergio Mattarella visited the Fosse Ardeatine, the site of a World War II Nazi atrocity, in his first act after being elected on Saturday and called for international unity in the fight against terrorism. "The alliance between nations and peoples was able to beat the Nazi, racist, anti-Semite, totalitarian hate that this place is a painful symbol of," Mattarella said.
"The same unity in Europe and around the world will be able to beat those who want to drag us into a new season of terror". The Fosse Ardeatine is a network of caves on the southern edge of Rome where 335 men and boys were massacred in March 1944. The massacre was carried out by Nazi officers in a reprisal for a partisan attack that killed 33 German soldiers in central Rome on a street near the Trevi Fountain.
In retaliation, for every one German killed, the Nazis seized 10 Italians including civilians as well as numerous political prisoners and Jews who were in custody, plus five more who were also executed. |
Once upon a time, a scientist named Ivan Pavlov had a dog. Pavlov's dog always salivated when he saw his food. From this statement, Pavlov's curiosity led him to conduct an experiment with his dog. Before he showed dog's meat, he would ring a little bell. Each time, and for a certain period of time, Pavlov would ring the bell and then show the food to the dog (in this specific order). After a certain time, the dog started to salivate right after he heard the bell. Therefore, the meat did not make him salivate any more. Pavlov changed the natural factor that would make his dog salivate for another factor (another stimulus). This is called classical conditioning.Classical conditioning consists of an unconditioned stimulus that creates an unconditioned response. When the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is paired with a conditioned stimulus (CS), it transforms the unconditioned response (UCR) into a conditioned response (CR). All of this happens mostly unconsciously.Therefore, Pavlov has proved that it is possible to associate any kind of behaviour with any kind of stimulus that is different from the natural cause of the said behaviour.Of course there is. Video games are virtual 4D environments in which the user acts and plays. In other words, the player's psychology remains the same but it is put in an environment that differs from the former one (the world commonly known as IRL). But how exactly does this work?Let's leave classical conditioning and go further than that. The player's mind is shaped by the game's borders. A game's borders can be rules, physics (how fast can you move, how long can you move, etc), design (the maps - the more complex a map is, the more its limits will shape the player's reasoning in the game), time (timing of the items, round time, time limit, etc), and more. All these rules can be considered as stimulus and the player's play style (his reasoning) is a sort of response to it.Now we can link some of the previous elements that make part of a video game with Quake. Quake has its whole environment to which the player has to get used to. To a certain extend, the game conditions the players to be successful. The "impressive", "excellent, "humiliation" and other kinds of rewards not only encourage but shape you to repeat these achievements and thus stay successful or become even better. Out side of Quake Live, its match-making and ranking systems as well as the awards are a source of attractiveness.So what about your play style? Are you conditioned when you play? I believe most (if not all) of your assumptions and anticipations are mostly conditioned. After you have people a hundred times going to X place after they have been to Y place, you start to understand (unconsciously or not) that Y place means the will to go at X and therefore you will aim, pre-shoot, or do whatever action towards this place. Do not forget you can also do nothing instead (because the functioning of the brain is not that obvious eh) but still carry about it while you are playing. In the end, it is possible to assume that most part of an anticipation done by the player is due to conditioning and not real-conscious-straight-thinking.One specific characteristic of this game I would also like to talk about is how much it encourages the players to have an unbalanced behaviour. A balanced behaviour means that you are either playing offensive or defensive in a fight and the opponent acts the opposite way. I often noticed that Quake encourages you to be unbalanced with offensive opponents. Some major fights I have seen, whether they were duels or group fights, often resulted in whoever was strong and bold enough to not back off and stick on the front would be the winner of that fight. Such a behaviour can surprise the opponent, as his expectation of the player backing off would be denied, and this surprise can give advantage to the targeted player.Social facilitation means that an individual will be more likely to perform an easy action in a much better way if there are people watching that person. On the other hand, this same individual will also perform a task at its worst if the task is difficult. The fact of knowing that someone is watching you makes you feel pressurized, judged and evaluated as well. Therefore, you tend to give the best you can on something you already master because you have enough confidence to apply yourself in order to make it look nicer or better. As for the difficult actions, you will be more likely to fail big time because of the stress and the lack of confidence.Therefore, if you're the last one alive in the game and things end up very badly, you know it's not completely a question of technicality ;) .The famous " practice practice " is, obviously, meant to tell you to become better. But what does it really mean, to become better? It means to bring things down to a level of easiness for you. In other words, as you work on your technical skills, you pull down the difficulties to turn them into easy things so that you will have enough confidence in the future to treat them as "very easy" actions in front of people.What makes Quake different from other video games is its environment and the frame it gives to players. The physics make you free. In other words, you can play at every speed you want, although the point of it is to play fast. A Quake player is used to think fast. For example, you need very quick counting skills to time the items in a duel match. You have to be fast in your movements, in your aim, and so on. The speed of this game influences the visual skills as well. By being used to see things flashing and flying so fast (and sometimes at variable distances), your aim is strong and perhaps better than the average players on another video game.Therefore I think Quake players are usually very good on other games because they can easily restrain themselves to the game's frame due to the freedom and the visual skills they have acquired in Quake.To conclude this article, it is possible to believe that video games condition their players to a defined environment. Some video games such as Quake may condition the players so strongly that their conditioned responses will appear in other games as well. A video game is a huge environment and it is important as a video game creator to think about how you would want your players to use the game and not only as "how to play it". As for the players, perhaps it would be interesting to think about these conditionings and how to deny them in order to not be on the same waves with your opponents. Psychology Of Video Games - A blog on video gaming psychology written by a professional psychologistEdited on Sat. June 14th to add the part on social facilitation. |
No one can accuse Donald Trump of campaigning in poetry. But after just one week in the White House, the new president is bumping up against the hard reality of governing in prose.
Many of the sweeping actions President Trump vowed this week through his executive orders and proclamations are unlikely to happen, either because they are impractical, opposed by Congress and members of his Cabinet, or full of legal holes.
The reality — that yawning gap between what Trump says he will do and what he can do — underscores his chaotic start, which includes executive actions drafted by close aides rather than experts and without input from the agencies tasked with implementing those actions.
On a host of issues, including health care, trade and immigration, Trump began his presidency with executive orders intended to both placate and excite his base by keeping his bold campaign promises — in rhetoric, if not immediate, tangible results. And the White House says Trump’s executive actions should be viewed as initial moves to enact his agenda.
“We’re taking the first steps to get it done, with the understanding that some of these things may be a process, but you have to begin the process and that’s what he’s doing — taking bold action and doing everything he can to make sure these things happen,” said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the principal deputy White House press secretary. “I have no doubt these things are going to happen.”
(Jayne Orenstein/The Washington Post)
[In his first major TV interview as president, Trump is endlessly obsessed with his popularity]
But the reality is far more complicated. On immigration, for instance, Trump’s call for a border wall paid for by Mexico has to be funded first by Congress. And the possibility that Mexico would pay for the wall — always a long shot — grew even more remote this week after Mexico’s president on Thursday canceled his planned visit to Washington to meet with Trump, citing disagreement over the wall. The White House said that one possible option would be to pay for the project with a border tax on Mexican imports.
On trade, Trump can withdraw from and renegotiate trade agreements, as he promised during the campaign. But there is no guarantee that he will have willing partners with whom to renegotiate better trade deals, and certainly not necessarily with better terms. And change will hardly be instantaneous: Under the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, for example, the president or any other leaders must give six months’ notice of his or her intention to withdraw.
Trump has also promised to order an investigation into his false claims that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally in November for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote by nearly 3 million. But there is no evidence to support Trump’s claim, and although he has the authority to launch a fact-gathering investigation, it is unlikely to unearth the extensive election fraud he is asserting.
One national security executive order he is considering would allow the Central Intelligence Agency to reopen “black site” prisons abroad, as well as reconsider the agency’s now-shuttered enhanced interrogation program. But it does not have buy-in from Defense Secretary James Mattis or CIA Director Mike Pompeo, both of whom privately told lawmakers they were not consulted. Many lawmakers in both parties have also expressed strong opposition to the directive.
[People were taking Trump seriously. Now they’re starting to take him literally, too.]
The ad hoc nature of Trump’s executive orders — including some finalized at the last minute or prompted by an off-the-cuff conversation Trump had with a friend or business executive — has further undermined their impact.
Trump, for example, said that only after a discussion with industry leaders this week did he realize that the nation’s pipelines are not necessarily made with U.S. steel. The epiphany scrambled aides to draft an executive order requiring that they be constructed with solely American-made materials. But specifying U.S.-made steel is a violation of the World Trade Organization agreement, except in cases of national security — which this is not.
“It would certainly be subject to challenge at the WTO,” said Rob Shapiro, a Commerce Department official under President Bill Clinton. Although it could take five years to adjudicate at the WTO, he said, there is also “the possibility of retaliation by whoever does produce them. The truth is that ‘America first’ is contrary to global trade.”
Trump, however, does not seem to realize the limited power of his executive orders and has made public signing ceremonies a trademark of his first week.
“President Trump needs to go back to civics class, because he can direct his employees to do various things, but he cannot repeal a bunch of laws through his executive orders because he needs congressional consent — and the executive orders themselves say that,” said Rena Steinzor, a professor at the University of Maryland’s law school.
Steinzor, who is also a member of the Center for Progressive Reform, added that the language in many of Trump’s executive orders explicitly acknowledges that they can be done only in accordance with the law. “He can’t just sit there and show people pieces of paper with his overly emphatic signature and say, ‘I have changed the world,’ because that’s not how we do it,” she said.
Some of Trump’s actions have caught fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill off guard. “I haven’t seen the new action or what’s being proposed,” Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.) said as he was peppered this week with questions about Trump’s draft order revisiting interrogation practices.
And although there is broad consensus among Republicans about the need to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — a process Trump began with an executive order the day he was sworn in — there is far less harmony on exactly when and how to handle the issue. Trade, infrastructure and tax restructuring have also exposed rifts in the party.
“Punitive tariffs are not helpful,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican centrist from Pennsylvania. “Trade wars do not end well.”
In many ways, Trump is simply experiencing the stark difference between campaigning and governing, a riddle that has bedeviled nearly every incoming president, including Barack Obama.
Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster, said that although “it would be a serious mistake to underestimate the patience Trump supporters have for him and his agenda,” he wondered if Trump himself may grow frustrated. “He’s going to find that running a business is a lot simpler than running the government,” Newhouse said.
[Tracking Trump’s promises]
David Axelrod, a former senior Obama adviser, pointed to Obama’s executive order his first week in office to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, noting that he faced stiff congressional opposition and never completed his pledge.
But Trump, he said, could face an even more difficult challenge, in part because he presented himself — rather than his policies — as the linchpin.
“The appeal he had as a candidate is that people clearly want someone to snap their fingers and just make something happen, and he saw that desire and played to that desire,” Axelrod said. “Now comes the reality, and he’s going to be snapping in the dark.”
Axelrod added, “He campaigned as an autocrat and now he’s the president, and the president isn’t an autocrat — and he’s going to find that some of the things he wants to do are difficult.”
Many Republicans, however, say that Trump’s supporters may give him a generous amount of time and latitude before demanding concrete results. Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster, said a goal such as building a wall along the border with Mexico is largely symbolic.
“It’s symbolic of greater security and greater control,” Ayres said. “If he gets part of a wall built and Congress has to pay for it, the response from his supporters will be, ‘Well, we didn’t get Mexico to pay for it, but at least we got the wall.’ ”
Judd Gregg, a former Republican governor and senator from New Hampshire, said that for Trump supporters, concrete changes may be beside the point, at least initially.
“They’re more interested in the verbal jockeying and the confrontational verbal approach than the results,” he said. “So as long as he’s poking a stick in the eye of the people his constituency feels are a problem, the rest won’t matter.”
Steven Mufson contributed to this report. |
MOBILE, Ala., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A lawsuit against an Alabama natural gas provider alleges it may have leaked more than 6,000 pounds of mercaptan into a community's groundwater.
In deposition testimony released by a lawyer suing Mobile Gas, a company employee said the mercaptan -- a chemical added to natural gas to provide the telltale odor associated with a gas leak -- may have leaked from a storage tank beginning in 2008.
Mobile Gas officials have since confirmed a lightning strike in that year caused the storage tank to leak, but the lawsuit claims the company is unable to account for thousands of pounds of mercaptan pumped into that tank between January and June of that year.
In 2011, residents in the community of Eight Mile, near Mobile, began complaining of an overwhelming mercaptan odor and health problems, AL.com reported Thursday.
Mobile Gas officials at first maintained the odor had nothing to do with their operations and at the time did not mention the leak or the lightning strike, AL.com said.
Testing by state officials and research scientist determined the chemical was welling up in a spring and pond located just downhill from the Mobile Gas facility.
"They knew they were leaking mercaptan," said Rick Courtney, a Mobile attorney who is suing Mobile Gas on behalf of Eight Mile residents. "They keep acting like they didn't know what was happening. They knew." |
AltPress can exclusively announce that Frank Turner is set to release his upcoming album, Tape Deck Heart, via Xtra Mile/Interscope Records in the U.S. on April 23. The album's first single, “Recovery,” is set for release March 5. Last month, Turner announced the album's U.K. release, along with the track listing and album artwork, which you can view below:
1. Recovery
2. Losing Days
3. The Way I Tend To Be
4. Plain Sailing Weather
5. Good & Gone
6. Tell Tale Signs
7. Four Simple Words
8. Polaroid Picture
9. The Fisher King Blues
10. Anymore
11. Oh Brother
12. Broken Piano
Catch Turner live at the following U.S. tour dates, including our two, free SXSW parties:
3/02 – Northampton, MA – Pearl Street
3/03 – Clifton Park, NY – Upstate Concert Hall
3/04 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
3/06 – Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy
3/07 – Los Angeles, CA – Hotel Café
3/09 – Austin, TX – SXSW Interactive, AP “Bonus Round Party” @ Palmer Center
3/11 – San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
3/12 – Corpus Christi, TX – House of Rock
3/14 – Austin, TX – The Liberty
3/15 – Denver, CO – Lodo’s Bar
3/15 – Austin, TX – Xtra Mile Night @ Black Heart Stage
3/16 – Austin, TX – AP “100 Bands You Need to Know” Showcase @ Red 7
3/16 – Austin, TX – The Third Shift Unofficial Day Party @ Holy Mountain
3/16 – Austin, TX – Revival Tour @ Cedar Street |
Book your ticket for COD at the Zenith
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The Electronic Sports World Cup is proud to confirm the ESWC 2015 Call Of Duty : Advanced Warfare Finals, on May 2nd-3rd, at Le Zénith - Paris. This exceptional venue will gather the top 8 best teams in the world, invited through a selection process detailed early 2015. Both tournament and show oriented, these finals will be entirely played on stage, during two extreme sessions of 6 hours, filled with frags and skill, hyped by popular casters and special guests.
Ticketing with Ticketmaster
Opening on Friday 19th December at 6pm (GMT+1).
Saturday 2nd, May 2015, 13h - 19h : 28€
Program : Groups Matches
The 8 teams competing + guests
Sunday 3rd, May 2015, 13h - 19h : 28€
Program : ½ Finals and Grand Final
The 4 best teams + guests
Special 2 days pass Saturday + Sunday (limited edition) : 48€
All information on the world's best teams selection process, the prizes, the detailed schedule, the casters and guests will be revealed progressively in 2015.
"This event is a major step in ESWC evolution, trending toward several events along the year. The exclusive final allows us to focus all resources toward one community, in order to get a wider range of innovations and the production value that the audience expects", says Antoine Frankart, Oxent President.
"After Bercy and the Paris Games Week, being back in a pure show venue is both a challenge and a great opportunity to showcase our skills and inspiration. The goal is to produce 12 hours of explosive show based on a world class tournament in which our digital and biometric setup will bring eSport to the next level", adds Matthieu Dallon, Oxent CEO.
More info on Zénith - Paris
http://www.zenith-paris.com |
And yet many people do. Exactly how many, we can’t say, because there is no national registry for injuries or deaths caused by medical errors. Over a decade ago, in the best study of its kind, the Institute of Medicine estimated that there were 44,000 to 98,000 deaths per year because of preventable errors in the American health system. For every death there are likely to be at least 10 serious injuries, so we can assume that roughly a million patients are seriously injured each year.
Despite calls to action by patient advocates and the adoption of safety programs, there is no sign that the numbers of errors, injuries and deaths have improved. Why? Because those responsible for the delivery of health care have been unable to change how they do things.
They could help themselves by embracing the lessons of great manufacturing companies to improve quality and efficiency. Automatic alarm systems and shut-off switches can be designed to make it nearly impossible for caregivers to do the wrong thing. Checklists and specific protocols based on best practices for each procedure can also help.
In my case, if an alarm had alerted the doctor to how long the cuff had been in place, if the cuff had automatically deflated after a period of time, or if a checklist had reminded the doctor to remove it, my leg might never have been injured. Better yet, if the doctors had not used the cuff, which evidence has shown can be dangerous to patients, I would still be walking on that leg today.
Most of all, perhaps, we need better coordination and communication among caregivers. Consider what happened to Mary, my former wife and the mother of our two children. In 1988, she was lying in an intensive care unit with less than a 10 percent chance of survival. Her first symptom, a pain in the sole of her right foot, had seemed so innocent. A neurologist said she had most likely injured a nerve during aerobic dance and the doctor ignored our requests for further tests. But when Mary’s leg began to swell, we sought the help of an internist. She diagnosed thrombophlebitis, inflammation from blood clots. Mary was then admitted to the hospital for a blood thinner, but the medical team gave her too small a dosage. Her clots extended into her lungs. Next she suffered a heart attack, respiratory failure, renal failure and shock. |
Buoyed by the success of its pioneering program to help African American boys succeed in school, the Oakland Unified School District is creating one for girls, officials announced.
The African American Girls and Young Women Achievement Program aims to give female students a place where they can find support and encouragement. It follows the highly regarded African American Male Achievement Program started in 2010.
That program was created to counteract the reality that in the previous decade, the number of African American men killed on the streets of Oakland nearly matched the number of black students who graduated from public high schools in the city and were ready to attend a state university.
Oakland Unified was the first school district in the nation to create a department with the sole focus of helping African American males while sponsoring a charter school specifically for black boys, though the school closed after 18 months.
Since then, districts nationwide have followed suit. The effort has been noticed by the Obama administration and its initiative to boost the academic performance of African Americans. Indications show the district’s program is increasing attendance and reducing suspensions.
Chris Chatmon, deputy chief of equity for the district, wants to offer similar support for girls.
“Ultimately, we want to create an extraordinary learning environment that helps girls of color meet the goals of graduating and being college-ready or community-ready,” he said. “We have work to do.”
The district has hired Nzingha Dugas, formerly director of UC Berkeley’s African American Student Development Office, to head the program. She started work Wednesday and will spend the first 100 days interviewing girls and their families, along with teachers, principals and community members, to decide what the school district needs to change, Chatmon said.
“We want to follow the same scope of actions” as in the male program, he said, “but knowing they may not lead to the same strategies.”
Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
Even Odds
The Chronicle spent a year documenting the issues facing black students in Oakland, and the city’s efforts to address the staggering odds against them, in a 2013 three-part series called Even Odds. To read the series, go to www.sfchronicle.com/evenodds. |
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A Milwaukee woman accused of firing a gun says the sheriff said it was OK for her to arm herself.
Police approached 36-year-old Makisha Cooper Saturday about firing a gun. Cooper told police she heard Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. on the radio "that she could own a gun to protect herself."
Clarke aired a radio ad last week telling Milwaukee-area residents not to count on a rapid police response to 911 calls and instead to take a gun safety course.
Cooper told police she fired a gun once outside a house after getting into a fight with her niece.
In a statement, the sheriff says "there is no parallel" between this case and what he said.
The Journal Sentinel reports Cooper is charged with two misdemeanor counts.
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Previous Stories:
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -- When calling 911 is not enough, get a gun. That’s what the Milwaukee County Sheriff says in a controversial public service announcement.
Sheriff's David Clarke’s message is getting reaction from all over the country.
It's an approach some see as a "scare tactic;” learn to handle firearms, in case deputies can't respond in time.
The radio ad has aired just once since Thursday and already it's striking a nerve with some people including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. He says it sounds like Sheriff Clarke is auditioning for the next 'Dirty Harry' movie.
Still, it's a message a lot of sheriff's departments can relate to in times a budget cuts, even in Eau Claire County.
In the ad, Clarke says “Simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option. You could beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back. But are you prepared?”
The sheriff said you have a duty to protect yourself, so consider taking a safety course and use a firearm.
“You have some other options and that’s why in the ad I say you can hide under the bed, you can beg for mercy if you get a gun stuck in your face on the streets,” he said in a radio interview with WTMJ News Radio, “but also you have this option of fighting back.“
Clarke went onto say “if” you do want to fight back, you should be prepared.
Eau Claire County Sheriff Ron Cramer said he understands where Clarke is coming from.
“I hear a bit of frustration in the sheriff's voice, I really do. He's saying, I want you people to talk about it and are you willing to risk your safety for laying off 41 deputies or should you be calling your county board supervisors?” said Cramer.
Cramer went onto say Clarke’s approach was bold but sent out the message.
“Could the PSA been constructed a little bit different? Saying, folks we're finding out our response time went from five minutes to 20 minutes on an average so therefore you might have to do something to protect yourself in the interim, without having to say it’s time to join our team and pick up a gun,” said Cramer.
In the PSA Clarke said, “Consider taking a certified safety course on handling a firearm so you protect yourself until we get there.”
The PSA falls back on the Castle Doctrine which was signed into law in Wisconsin two years ago.
“Prior to the Castle Doctrine being adopted in Wisconsin, a person could break into your house and say I’m not here to hurt you, I’m just here to steal your big screen TV and your Wii and I’m going to leave but I’m not going to hurt you,” said Cramer.
But with the law, things change, said attorney Harry Hertel with Hertel Law.
“The Castle Doctrine basically says, if there is someone who is a home intruder that gains access by violence that is threatening, the homeowner has the absolute right to shoot that person in order to protect themselves,” said Hertel.
Hertel added Clarke’s message is an unexpected one.
“For law enforcement to actually encourage that is unusual in large part because there is a fear that citizens won’t use the good judgment that the law enforcement officer should or would,” said Hertel. “There are always cases that involve mistakes and judgment. Water Street is known for having occasionally dispensed students or other folks from the bars who then head into what they think is their home, the front door’s open, they wander in. At least under the Castle Doctrine if that’s viewed as a violent entry into the home, the person is subject to being shot and killed.”
Attorney General JB Van Hollen’s office sent WEAU a statement regarding the PSA, saying Van Hollen believes strongly in both the 1st and 2nd amendments.
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(AP) - A Wisconsin sheriff says he released an ad calling on residents to defend themselves because the old model of having a citizen call 911 and wait for help isn't always the best option.
In the ad, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. tells residents that when it comes to personal safety: "I need you in the game." He urges citizens to learn to use firearms so they can "fight back" until authorities arrive.
The ad has drawn sharp criticism from other area officials. The president of the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Association, Roy Felber, says it sounds like a call to vigilantism.
But Clarke says he can either whine about budget cuts that have reduced the number of deputies or call on citizens to work with officers in some situations.
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To hear the message, click on the link below, and scroll down the page to the "In the News" section. The link to the audio is titled "- January 2013 - Click here to listen to Sheriff Clarke's personal safety public service announcement." |
South Africa’s new finance minister has pledged to “radically transform” his country’s economy, signalling a dramatic swing to the left less than 48 hours after taking up his post.
Malusi Gigaba was appointed after president Jacob Zuma sacked his widely respected predecessor, Pravin Gordhan, in an overnight cabinet purge last week. The move, late on Thursday night, triggered a political crisis, pitching the ruling African National Congress party into chaos.
Ahmed Kathrada: anti-apartheid titan jailed with Mandela dies at 87 Read more
The ANC, which came to power in South Africa’s first free elections in 1994, now faces one of its biggest tests since leading the struggle against the apartheid regime.
Radical economic change in the political language of the ANC means the redistribution of wealth, land and opportunity to the black majority.
“I will not be distracted by issues that are not relevant to the task at hand: accelerating radical economic transformation,” Gigaba said. “For too long, there has been a narrative or perception around treasury, that it belongs primarily and exclusively to ‘orthodox’ economists, big business, powerful interests and international investors. The ownership of wealth and assets remains concentrated in the hands of a small part of the population. This must change.”
Gigaba’s pledge suggests the ANC, hit by a decline in support in the recent poll, will bank on populist economic measures to reverse its electoral fortunes. Though the ANC still has massive support, the unprecedented loss of major municipalities to a coalition of opposition parties after local elections last year is a concern as national polls loom in 2019.
South Africa has struggled to deliver growth in recent years and failed to improve the lives of millions of its poorest citizens. More than 90% of the country’s wealth is still in the hands of only 10% of the 54 million inhabitants. Ownership of land and companies remains mostly in the hands of South Africa’s white communities, who account for about 8% of the population.
Gigaba also told reporters on Saturday he was committed to protecting South Africa’s cherished investment-grade credit ratings, which analysts have said are now threatened by the removal of his predecessor, Gordhan.
Gigaba, who was previously home affairs minister and is a Zuma loyalist, said: “I am fully aware that we are at a highly politicised, polarised and contentious moment in the history of our young democracy.”
Zuma’s enemies within the ANC are backed by increasing numbers of anti-apartheid veterans, trade unions, civil groups and business leaders. The divisions within the party, which dominates parliament, were underlined by an unprecedented verbal attack on Zuma from the country’s deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
“I told him that I would not agree with him,” Ramaphosa said. “There are quite a number of other colleagues and comrades who are unhappy about this situation … The minister of finance … was serving the country with absolute distinction. For him to be removed … is to me unacceptable.”
South Africa’s Communist party, a historic ally of the ANC, called on Zuma to resign.
However the youth wing of the party welcomed the wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle and the appointment of “experienced and intelligent” Gigaba. “Younger ministers will mean more transformation,” ANC Youth League leader Collen Maine said, citing land redistribution, free education and the creation of a state bank as reforms the youth league wanted.
Zuma, 74, said in a statement the reshuffle was intended “to bring about radical socioeconomic transformation and to ensure that the promise of a better life for the poor and the working class becomes a reality”.
Zuma’s move has been variously interpreted as an attempt to install a minister who would allow populist measures which would reverse the electoral fortunes of the ANC blocked by Gordhan; to gain control of the finance ministry to allow deals favoured by allies in the south African business community; and to control the selection of his successor.
Zuma will step down as ANC president later this year. His replacement is likely to lead the country if, as widely predicted, the party wins elections due in 2019. Many pundits say the ANC may win less than 50% of the vote, which would be a major blow.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the president’s ex-wife and former African Union chief, is Zuma’s preferred candidate to succeed him. She may be able to shield him from looming graft charges after he is out of office, but she has little support among the ANC’s electoral base.
Zuma has repeatedly been accused of corruption, with intense scrutiny of his ties to a family of local tycoons. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The crisis may offer South Africa’s two main opposition parties an opportunity to make inroads into the ANC’s core support. The far-left Economic Freedom and the centre right Democratic Alliance said they would make a no-confidence vote in parliament. The ANC has a near two-thirds majority in the 400-seat national assembly and can block any such move to oust Zuma if its lawmakers rally behind their leader. |
As 12 teams prepare for the playoffs, the other 20 begin looking ahead to the 2017 NFL draft in earnest.
This week’s mock draft explores how things could play out over two rounds. What it shows is a draft class that is largely going to be reliant on underclassmen going pro. Even if all of the players projected below do enter the draft, the choices after the top 50 drop off dramatically in talent.
Next week’s mock draft will look at some trades that could take place that will reshape the first round. For now, a standard two-round mock:
1. Cleveland Browns: Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
Garrett announced his intention to enter the draft on Saturday night after a stellar three-year college career that included 32.5 sacks and 48.5 tackles for loss. He’s the clear cut best player in the draft. Just don’t let his comments about preferring not going to a team that plays in cold weather change the pick, In announcing his decision, Garrett said “I will play for any NFL team that gives me a chance,” and Cleveland should be that team.
2. San Francisco 49ers: Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
The merits of Trubisky going this high will be argued for the next four months, assuming he declares. But with San Francisco starting fresh with a new general manager and head coach, they can go full rebuild with a quarterback high in the first round.
3. Chicago Bears: Jonathan Allen, DT, Alabama
Allen might not filling Chicago’s biggest need — and they’re going to scout the heck out of Trubisky, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson — but his value even at No. 3 overall is too great to pass up.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jamal Adams, S, LSU
In LSU’s dominating 29-9 Citrus Bowl win, Adams was overwhelmingly the best player on the field. For Jacksonville, he could quickly slide into the strong safety position. Having him in the secondary would make players like Tashaun Gipson and Jalen Ramsey better.
5. Tennessee Titans (via Los Angeles Rams): Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
With the impressive depth at cornerback in this year’s draft, the Titans can wait until they pick again at No. 18 to fix the position. At No. 5 they could go after Williams, the draft’s best receiver. He could be a Dez Bryant-like threat in Tennessee.
6. New York Jets: Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
The Jets remain a mess at quarterback, but drafting a star runner like Fournette could totally shift the focus of the offense.
7. San Diego Chargers: Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
A few weeks ago Hooker said he would be back at Ohio State next season. After losing to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, he said he wants to talk his pro decision over with coaches and family. It’s hard to see why Hooker wouldn’t get a first-round draft grade despite starting just a season with the Buckeyes. His speed closing on the ball is elite, and the Ed Reed comparisons aren’t unfounded.
8. Carolina Panthers: Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
With no offensive linemen in this draft being worth a top-10 pick, the Panthers could be a team hoping to trade down. If they stick here, they could find a pass rusher who could replace the producing of Mario Addison if he prices himself out of town in free agency.
9. Cincinnati Bengals: Reuben Foster, MLB, Alabama
Barnett would have been the ideal choice for Cincinnati, but with him gone there isn’t a defensive end with the same value as Foster. Alabama’s latest star linebacker could slot right into a start job inside for the Bengals. Another name to consider here is Washington’s John Ross, a wide receiver who can get separation and take pressure off A.J. Green.
10. Buffalo Bills: Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
The Bills seem to be done with Tyrod Taylor, and Cardale Jones is a big project. Watson could be an option in the first round for whoever the Bills hire as a head coach.
11. New Orleans Saints: Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
The draft stock of Thomas is skyrocketing, and if he chooses to go pro he could very well land this high. It’s clear the Saints need pass rush help this offseason and Thomas could provide it.
12. Cleveland Browns (via Philadelphia Eagles): Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan
The Browns have so many holes, you could argue about five different players here. The team cycled through several safeties this season, and failed to find one who could consistently make plays. Peppers could be a player the Browns use all over the field.
13. Arizona Cardinals: DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
Kizer is a perfect fit for Arizona’s offense and could be the heir apparent to 37-year-old Carson Palmer.
14. Philadelphia Eagles (via Minnesota Vikings): Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
The Eagles have gone years without drafting a highly rated cornerback, and the lack of secondary talent really shows. They could get their pick of cover men, and Humphrey is arguably the best.
15. Indianapolis Colts: Tim Williams, OLB, Alabama
With Robert Mathis’ stellar career over, the Colts could find his replacement in Williams. He’s a speedy pass rusher with production and good athleticism.
16. Baltimore Ravens: Takkarist McKinley, OLB, UCLA
Terrell Suggs’ career is winding to a close, and fellow pass rusher Elvis Dumervil could be a salary cap casualty. McKinley is a talented player who would fit because he can play standing up or with his hand down.
17. Washington: John Ross, WR, Washington
With rumors swirling that DeSean Jackson could be headed back to Philadelphia, why not add the player who could be passed off as his clone?
18. Tennessee Titans: Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
This is where waiting on a cornerback pays off for the Titans. At 18, they could have their pick of either Florida cornerback or either Ohio State cornerback, assuming they go pro.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
Davis can be the type of No. 2 wide receiver the Buccaneers need to take the pressure off of Mike Evans.
20. Denver Broncos: Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
If Cook happens to slip in the draft, a team like the Broncos needs to pounce. He’s a stellar all-around running back who will be effective as a runner and pass catcher.
21. Detroit Lions: Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
The Lions could choose to stay local and fill a big need with McDowell. He’s the type of penetrating defensive linemen their defense needs. Pairing him next to A’Shawn Robinson could give Detroit a great pair on the inside for years.
22. Miami Dolphins: Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
Miami has a good young piece at cornerback in last year’s second-round pick Xavien Howard, but not the true No. 1 guy like Tabor could be.
23. New York Giants: Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
The Ereck Flowers experiment has been rocky. If Robinson slides into the 20s, the Giants could grab him to play left tackle while deciding whether Flowers can be moved to guard or, perhaps more likely, the right side.
24. Oakland Raiders: Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
Oakland can continue adding high-end talent on defense with a player like Cunningham. He’s a capable middle linebacker with length and smarts.
25. Houston Texans: Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida
If Davis gets drafted to a place like Houston, or even Oakland, his NFL position is likely to be at middle linebacker. That’s the case here, where the Texans need to get better up the middle on defense.
26. Green Bay Packers: O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
Green Bay has gotten a minimal amount of production out of its tight ends this season, and a player like Howard could be a perfect fit.
27. Seattle Seahawks: Ryan Ramczyk, OT, Wisconsin
Ramczyk has positioned himself as the No. 2 offensive tackle prospect this year, and fills Seattle’s big need up front.
28. Pittsburgh Steelers: Ryan Anderson, OLB, Alabama
The Steelers could be going after a pass rusher yet again this offseason, and could land one with Anderson. He’s not as natural of a blitzer as his Alabama teammate Williams, but his skills should translate to the NFL just fine.
29. Atlanta Falcons: Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida
Jonathan Babineaux and Tyson Jackson could could be gone in Atlanta after this season, and if they are the Falcons will look to draft a player early to fit up front. Brantley is a disruptive tackle who can do many of the things Babineaux did in his prime.
30. Kansas City Chiefs: Budda Baker, S, Washington
Once again, safety could become a big need for the Chiefs if Eric Berry happens to leave Kansas City in free agency. Baker excels in coverage, and isn’t afraid to get into the mix against the run.
31. New England Patriots: Carl Lawson, DE/OLB, Auburn
After trading Chandler Jones before last year’s draft, the Patriots were left without a bonafide pass rush star. Lawson could be that player thanks to his athleticism and speed off the edge.
32. Dallas Cowboys: Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
Lattimore wouldn't talk about his draft plans following Ohio State’s blow loss to Clemson, but if he goes pro he’s almost guaranteed to be a top-40 pick. For Dallas, he profiles as a lockdown cornerback thanks to his size and quickness.
SECOND ROUND:
33. Cleveland Browns: Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
34. San Francisco 49ers: Charles Harris, OLB, Missouri
35. Jacksonville Jaguars: Garett Bolles, OT, Utah
36. Chicago Bears: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech
37. Los Angeles Rams: Adam Bisnowaty, OT, Pittsburgh
Of course this isn’t a sexy pick, but the Rams need a player in the second round who will immediately slide into a starting position and make the team better. That’s exactly what the experienced Bisnowaty can do. He could slide directly into the left tackle spot, which would push Greg Robinson inside to guard. Los Angeles’ pass blocking would be bolstered for second-year quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley should have more holes to work through up front.
38. San Diego Chargers: Harold Landry, edge rusher, Boston College
39. New York Jets: Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State
40. Carolina Panthers: Forrest Lamp, OT, Western Kentucky
41. Cincinnati Bengals: Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
42. New Orleans Saints: Tre’Davious White, CB, LSU
43. Philadelphia Eagles: JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Southern California
44. Buffalo Bills: Desmond King, CB, Iowa
45. Arizona Cardinals: Dan Feeney, G, Indiana
46. Indianapolis Colts: Dorian Johnson, G, Pittsburgh
47. Baltimore Ravens: Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson
48. Minnesota Vikings: D’Onta Foreman, RB, Texas
With Adrian Peterson’s future in Minnesota up in the air, the Vikings could find his replacement in Foreman. A big body runner who ran for more than 2,000 yards this season, Foreman has the power to run through defenders and enough speed to get past them.
49. Washington: Montravius Adams, DT, Auburn
50. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Carlos Watkins, DT, Clemson
51. Denver Broncos: Vita Vea, DT, Washington
52. Cleveland Browns (via Tennessee Titans): Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
53. Detroit Lions: Adoree’ Jackson, CB, Southern California
54. Miami Dolphins: Dion Dawkins, OT/G, Temple
55. New York Giants: Bucky Hodges, TE, Virginia Tech
56. Oakland Raiders: Chris Wormley, DT, Michigan
57. Houston Texans: Roderick Johnson, OT, Florida State
58. Green Bay Packers: Pat Elflein, G/C, Ohio State
59. Seattle Seahawks: DeMarcus Walker, DE/DT, Florida State
60. Pittsburgh Steelers: Zach Banner, OT, Southern California
61. Atlanta Falcons: Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado
62. Kansas City Chiefs: Anthony Walker Jr., MLB, Northwestern
63. New England Patriots: Taylor Moton, OT, Western Michigan
64. Dallas Cowboys: Tyquan Lewis, DE, Ohio State
How the NFL Draft became such a big deal |
GANJAM/BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - A mass evacuation saved thousands of people from India’s fiercest cyclone in 14 years, but aid workers warned a million would need help after their homes and livelihoods were destroyed.
Cyclone Phailin was expected to dissipate within 36 hours, losing momentum on Sunday as it headed inland after making landfall from the Bay of Bengal, bringing winds of more than 200 kph (125 mph) that ripped apart tens of thousands of thatched huts, mangled power lines and tore down trees.
Authorities in the eastern state of Odisha said the death toll stood at 15 people, all killed as the storm slammed in from the ocean. Most died under falling trees and one was crushed when the walls of her mud hut fell in.
The low number of casualties stands in contrast to the 10,000 killed by Odisha’s last big cyclone in 1999.
The building of hundreds of shelters since, warnings which started five days before the storm and mass evacuations - often by force - minimized loss of life, aid officials said.
Almost a million people in Odisha (formerly Orissa) state and adjacent Andhra Pradesh spent the night in shelters, some after wading though surging rivers to higher ground. Others sought safety in schools or temples.
“The loss of life has been contained this time with early information and speedy action of government,” said Sandeep Chachra, executive director of ActionAid India.
Indian media commentators were effusive in praise for the evacuation operation and for accurate forecasting by India’s Met office. Before the storm, some foreign forecasters had warned that India was underestimating its strength.
Authorities cancelled the holidays of civil servants during the popular Hindu Dussehra festival, deployed disaster response teams with heavy equipment as well as helicopters and boats for rescue and relief operations.
Over the years, organizations like the Red Cross have mobilized thousands of volunteers across the cyclone-prone region, who are not only trained in basic first aid but also help with evacuations and relief distribution.
Drills are organized so people know what to do when an alert is issued, locking up their homes, leaving cattle in safe places and taking only a few clothes and important documents with them.
A woman walks past a fallen marquee and chairs set up for a Christian prayer service, during heavy rains and winds caused by Cyclone Phailin in Ranchi, capital of India's eastern state of Jharkhand October 13, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer
“The 1999 cyclone was a real wake-up call for India. It was at a time when economic growth was high and India was seen as developing rapidly. It was embarrassing to be seen to be not taking care of their people, even with all this development,” said Unni Krishnan, head of disaster response for children’s charity Plan International.
The death of at least 89 worshippers at a temple celebrating Dussehra in central India on Sunday was a reminder that disasters with many casualties remain common. In July floods and landslides killed nearly 6,000 people in India’s Himalayan foothills.
DESTRUCTION
Phailin left a trail of destruction along the coast, overturning cars and large trucks. Storm surges from the sea submerged farmland near the coast, while heavy rain flooded towns inland.
Along the highway through Ganjam district in Odisha, the countryside was ravaged. An electricity tower lay in a mangled heap, poles were dislodged, lines tangled and power was out in much of the state. In villages, cranes lifted trees off crushed houses.
A barber shop was tilted to one side. The students’ common room at Berhampur University was a gaping hole, its facade knocked out by the cyclone.
“The wind was so strong I couldn’t get out of here,” Gandhi Behera, a cook in a nearby snack shop said.
The Indian Red Cross said its initial assessments showed that over 235,000 mud-and-thatch homes owned by poor fishing and farming communities had been destroyed in Ganjam district alone. It expects thousands of people to need help in coming days.
Plan International said it was concerned about the health and sanitation needs of close to a million people and the impact of the storm on people’s livelihoods.
“They cannot stay in the shelters for long as they are overcrowded and sanitation issues will crop up with the spread of diseases such as diarrhea and dysentery, especially amongst young children,” Mangla Mohanty, head of the Indian Red Cross in Odisha, said by phone from Ganjam district.
In some parts of the state, people were making their way through destroyed farmland toward their broken homes. Dozens crammed onto mini-trucks and others trudged with sacks of belongings. Mothers carried babies in their arms.
Slideshow (24 Images)
“There are no farms left. Everything has disappeared into the water,” said S. Dillirao, a paddy farmer, as he stood on his inundated land.
Seawater had swept into his fields. “There’s no way a single crop will grow here now,” he said. |
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine called on the PA’s “government of national reconciliation” to immediately retract its decision to impose cuts on the salaries of public workers in the Gaza Strip, describing this action as dangerous and a real crime against the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip that threatens a disaster of economic instability in the Strip and will exacerbate the suffering of the people.
This policy discriminates against one sector of the Palestinian people, reflecting a broader negligence and indifference at best to the situation of the Gaza Strip and the people there. It represents a serious violation of the responsibilities, obligations and functions of a government and an abandonment of its responsibilities toward the besieged Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, especially in light of the escalating rates of poverty and the growing dependence of the entire Strop on these salaries and international aid.
The Front said that these cuts contribute to the tightening of the siege on the Strip and deepen the negative social effects of the division, as well as the worsening and deepening economic crisis inside Gaza, which has severe effects on the population. They will only increase poverty and unemployment, which are already among the highest in the world, and the government’s choice to engage with the Strip in this dangerous way is threatening even to public employees.
The Front considered that the justification of this action on the basis of a financial crisis in the Palestinian Authority is an ugly excuse. For years, there has been a financial crisis but action has not been taken against Gaza public employees in this manner. The PFLP emphasized the moral and national responsibility to undo this step and any future actions against the Strip, which intensify the suffering of the people and further divide Palestinians from one another. The situation in Gaza is unbearable and it is only natural that if there is no retreat from this action, it is natural that everyone take to the streets to defend their rights.
Comrade Dr. Rabah Muhanna of the Political Bureau of the PFLP said that he sees this action as a step toward cutting support for martyrs’ families, Palestinian prisoners and the wounded, as well as all forms of social welfare and aid. “These cuts and other measures expected from Abu Mazen’s government…weaken the ability of the Palestinian people to confront liquidationist projects being put forward.” He denounced the role of the US, European Union and Israeli state in pressuring for cuts to the Palestinian people’s social and economic rights as an intensification of siege.
Comrade Jamil Mizher of the Political Bureau and leader of the PFLP’s Gaza Branch emphasized that the Front is working together with all national and Islamic forces to act together to confront this issue and demand its reversal. He deamded action from the PLO Executive Committee to stop this discrimination among the Palestinian people, emphasizing the massive anger in the Strip in relation to attempts to distance or get rid of the Strip on the part of the PA. He noted that this issue has a number of political dimensions and is not an isolated issue but reflects an overall approach of the Authority that has led to this dangerous situation. |
Stolen car suspect falls off Bay Bridge evading police
Video: Woman Jumps From Bay Bridge To Avoid CHP Following Crash
In an apparent daredevil attempt to evade arrest, a woman who wrecked a stolen car on the Bay Bridge early Wednesday fell about 70 feet from the span to the water and got away after pulling out of the grip of a California Highway Patrol officer, authorities said.
The bizarre getaway — reminiscent of a scene from “Mission: Impossible” — unfolded shortly after 2 a.m. when CHP officers heading west on the bridge saw a Nissan Maxima spin out and crash on the eastbound side of the span.
The officers turned around, found the Nissan abandoned and saw three women walking east on the bicycle path adjacent to the bridge.
One of the women, believed to be the driver, began climbing onto the rail and “exhibited erratic behavior,” leading the officers to believe she would jump, CHP officials said. She had on a black dress and no shoes.
One of the officers grabbed her to try to pull her back over the railing. But she struggled, and after a minute and a half, “she pulled out of his grip and fell into the water below,” CHP officials said.
The woman, who is in her mid-20s, splashed in the water about 70 feet below, in between the new bridge and the old eastern span, authorities said.
Some motorists reported seeing a woman, soaking wet, standing on the north side of the bridge near the toll plaza trying to flag down traffic.
In this file photo motorists travel east and west bound during the Bay Bridge morning commute. Police are searching for a woman who apparently fell or jumped from the Bay Bridge after being involved in a crash on the eastbound decline of the bridge shortly after 2 a.m.. less In this file photo motorists travel east and west bound during the Bay Bridge morning commute. Police are searching for a woman who apparently fell or jumped from the Bay Bridge after being involved in a crash ... more Photo: Michael Macor, San Francisco Chronicle Photo: Michael Macor, San Francisco Chronicle Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Stolen car suspect falls off Bay Bridge evading police 1 / 14 Back to Gallery
A dump truck driver later showed up at the CHP’s Oakland office, saying he had picked up the woman near the Bay Bridge, but was unaware of her exploits until hearing news reports after he dropped her off at an undisclosed location.
While CHP officials said they were investigating whether the woman deliberately went into the water from the bridge to avoid arrest, they noted that she could have accidentally fallen after losing her grip. Authorities said such a fall is survivable.
Officers deployed a dye pack into the water to mark the location where she went in. CHP officers and the U.S. Coast Guard searched for the woman by boat and by helicopter. The only evidence recovered was identification believed to be the woman’s floating in the water. CHP officials withheld her name but said she is from the East Bay.
Investigators determined that the car that crashed had been reported stolen several weeks ago in Los Angeles, said CHP Officer Vu Williams.
CHP investigators interviewed the two other women who were in the car and released them. The women said they “didn’t know the (driver) too well,” Williams said. Officials would not disclose any further information about their investigation.
“We would like to find her, obviously, most notably because we’d like to make sure that she’s OK,” said CHP Officer Daniel Hill.
Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com
Twitter: @henryklee |
Originally published October 7, 2015, on Grist.
The autocratic, micromanaging, bludgeoning style that won throwback Appalachian coal baron Don Blankenship the ire of environmentalists, the fear of underlings, and the title "Dark Lord of Coal Country" from Rolling Stone may finally have caught up with him.
The opening arguments began today in Blankenship’s federal criminal trial. He faces charges of conspiring to avoid safety laws and lying to regulators that could put him behind bars for up to 31 years.
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Blankenship casts a long shadow over the Appalachian coal industry. Since the early 1980s, he’s fought labor unions, regulatory agencies, environmental activists, and other coal companies. Under his guidance, Massey Energy grew to become the fourth largest US coal producer, and the largest in Appalachia, by the time of his retirement at the end of 2010. He became known not just for his business exploits, but for railing against "greeniacs" (his term for environmentalists) and what he called a "War on Coal," carried out by federal government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
Blankenship’s downfall was triggered by the April 5, 2010, explosion at Massey’s Upper Big Branch mine, which killed 29 men and was the worst coal disaster in 40 years. Four separate investigations found that poor safety practices in the mine allowed for the explosion, which occurred when a spark from a longwall machine, which cuts huge slices of coal, ignited a pocket of methane, creating a fireball and triggering a bigger explosion when it hit piles of coal dust.
Blankenship retired from Massey at the end of 2010, forced out prior to its acquisition by Alpha Natural Resources. Now, five years later, he faces criminal charges — not for the explosion or the deaths of 29 miners, but for conspiring to skirt mining safety regulators at the Upper Big Branch mine, impeding MSHA inspectors, and lying to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in the days following the explosion by claiming in interviews and filings that Massey strove to adhere to all safety regulations.
The Blankenship trial represents a monumental moment in the history of the coal industry and Appalachia. It is the first time a top executive in the coal industry has been criminally charged with violating safety regulations.
When disasters occurred in the past, regulators fined companies and occasionally prosecuted low-level employees and managers, if anyone. That’s led to an environment, documented by a 2014 NPR investigation, in which it appears that companies considered regulatory fines as another cost of doing business, and thousands of operators never bothered to pay them at all.
Patrick McGinley, a law professor at West Virginia University who contributed to an independent investigation after the 2010 explosion, said a few factors converged in this case: First, Blankenship’s hands-on approach to managing Massey, making "decisions about very minor issues in particular mines, not only Upper Big Branch, that 99 percent of CEOs of billion-dollar corporations would never be involved in"; second, four separate post-explosion investigations that blamed the disaster in part on a culture of intimidation and deliberate violations of safety regulations; and finally, evidence that points to Blankenship’s knowledge of violations and his role in propagating them, which stand in retrospect as a glaring red flag.
"When you bring all of those things together, that accounts for the US attorney going forward with the prosecution, which really is unprecedented," McGinley said. "When there were really terrible mine disasters in the 20th century, top executives and managers at coal mines weren’t criminally prosecuted. It might have occurred at a low level, shift foreman and so forth. While there were criminal laws on the books that might have been utilized to bring corporate coal mine managers to justice, they simply weren’t used. Criminal law was no deterrent to corporate officials who made decisions that resulted in injury or loss of life of coal miners."
Blankenship’s trial carries symbolic overtones, too. His rise up the Massey ladder from the time he first joined a company subsidiary in 1982 was marked by constant cost cutting to maximize profit and his outspoken embrace of dog-eat-dog capitalism.
"Running coal"
At first glance, Blankenship comes off more like a jowly hound-dog character or a pro-wrestling manager than a "dark lord" of anything, much less the most powerful industry in Appalachia.
A very different Blankenship appears in the numerous court cases he’s been involved with over the years. In pursuit of an unemployment claim against the company that hired her as Blankenship’s maid, Deborah May described him throwing temper tantrums over minor mistakes — like the time when, finding bacon in his McDonald’s egg-and-cheese biscuit, Blankenship threw it, grabbed her wrist, and told her, "Any time I want you to do exactly what I tell you to do and nothing more and nothing less."
In another instance, Blankenship told an ABC camera operator, "If you start taking pictures of me, you’re liable to get shot," before shoving the camera.
That behavior is small potatoes when compared with Blankenship’s pursuit of producing and selling coal at the biggest possible profit. His philosophy permeates the memos, phone calls, and conversations gathered as evidence in the case: Don’t waste your time on anything other than "running" coal.
In an October 2005 memo to Massey’s deep-mine supervisors, Blankenship wrote: "If any of you have been asked by your group presidents, your supervisors, engineers, or anyone else to do anything other than run coal (i.e., build overcasts, do construction jobs, or whatever) you need to ignore them and run coal. This memo is necessary only because we seem not to understand that coal pays the bills."
The memo came out as part of a case by two widows whose husbands died in a fire in the Massey-owned Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine in Logan County, West Virginia. (It was later settled with a $1.7 million civil fine and $2.5 million in criminal fines.)
Other lawsuits claimed Massey had injected heavy-metal-laden coal slurry into abandoned mines, poisoning nearby rivers and groundwater used by local residents. Blankenship lived in the neighborhood, but he wasn’t affected because Massey had paid for a private water line to his house from the nearby town of Matewan.
The case that most firmly established Blankenship’s reputation as a modern-day coal baron involved a smaller operator who claimed that Massey had bullied him into bankruptcy in 1998. Four years later, a jury awarded the operator $50 million, but it was overturned by the West Virginia Supreme Court, which included one justice who’d benefited from $3 million worth of Blankenship-paid ads in his election, and another justice later seen in photographs wining and dining with Blankenship on the French Riviera. Despite a US Supreme Court decision overturning the state Supreme Court, the case continued to kick around until last spring, when a Virginia jury awarded $5 million to the operator — only a tenth of what had initially been awarded.
Massey continued to run coal and make ever-growing profits despite the court awards and MSHA fines. Blankenship grew more emboldened and more political. He continued to spend money on politics, mostly to help defeat Democrats. He also went on the offensive against environmentalists who increasingly protested the coal industry for its devastating impact on the central Appalachian mountains of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia — among the world’s most biologically diverse mountain ranges, at least prior to exploitation. Blankenship draped his website and his body in the American flag, enlisting Hank Williams Jr., Ted Nugent, and Sean Hannity for a 2009 anti-government Labor Day rally that included "War on Coal" talking points that have all but driven Democrats out of Appalachia’s congressional delegation in the three elections since then.
What to watch for in the trial
When jury selection began on October 1, the prosecution and defense had already been dueling for nearly a year. In about 400 case filings so far, they’ve traded blows and helped shape the legal battlefield on which Blankenship’s fate will be decided.
To win conviction, US Attorney Booth Goodwin and the prosecution must tie Blankenship directly to decisions made within Massey’s mines. They must show that not only did mine officials defy safety regulations — Upper Big Branch racked up 835 violations during the indictment period between January 1, 2008 and April 9, 2010 — but also that Blankenship encouraged and enforced this pattern of behavior.
The indictment cites memos from Blankenship in which he criticized a mine executive for "letting MSHA run his mines" and later called that executive’s use of employees to focus on safety and cleanup as "ridiculous" and "crazy." At one point, he threatened to fire the executive for not cutting costs enough: "You have a kid to feed. Do your job."
Prosecutors likely will introduce more documents that indicate Blankenship micro-managed Upper Big Branch. They’ve also got access to hundreds of hours of Nixon-esque office recordings that Blankenship made himself. The content of those recordings has become a central focus of speculation in the trial. Additionally, prosecutors will rely on testimony of former Massey employees who worked in Upper Big Branch, presumably including former Performance Coal President Chris Blanchard, who headed the Massey subsidiary that ran Upper Big Branch and who testified before the grand jury that handed down the indictment.
Although the criminal charges don’t actually hold Blankenship responsible for the explosion, they very much sit as the elephant in the room. It’s a necessary hinge point to tack on the charges about lying to the SEC, which carry the biggest part of his potential sentence.
Blankenship had spent $5.8 million on his defense as of April, according to court records. The final figure could easily swell to more than twice that. The defense succeeded in delaying the trial by 10 months and moving it from Beckley, West Virginia, to Charleston, a bit farther away from the Upper Big Branch mine. As late as September, the defense was still filing motions to further delay the trial and to move it completely out of the coal fields.
It may seem counterintuitive, given that it filed a motion to exclude any evidence involving Upper Big Branch, but McGinley said he expects the defense may actually try to give the explosion a more central role, both to detract from the actual charges and to create a possible appeal by claiming the jury was prejudiced by testimony about the miner deaths. The defense may also seek to espouse an alternate theory about the explosion’s cause — propagated by a Massey film — blaming an unforeseen pocket of natural gas and a bad ventilation scheme forced by MSHA regulators.
In its filings, the defense also alleged that Blankenship’s prosecution was politically motivated because of his outspokenness and willingness to criticize MSHA, the EPA, and the federal government. That argument likely will reappear in court, along with criticism of specific MSHA inspectors.
What the trial will mean for coal, in general
Regardless of the outcome of Blankenship’s trial, the coal industry’s current downturn — with competition from natural gas and federal regulations hurting sales of coal for electricity generation, and a downturn in the Chinese economy cutting demand for coal used in making steel — leads some observers to view Blankenship’s trial as marking the beginning of the end of coal’s reign in Appalachia.
Certainly, many of Appalachia’s most accessible seams have been mined, but coal remains a major component for power generation, even as companies like American Electric Power retire coal-fired plants and plan to shift the burden to natural gas and renewables. Metallurgical coal, which is used in construction and is the type of coal mined at Upper Big Branch, has shown to be a product that goes in cycles. Blankenship rose in the industry by purchasing a slew of met coal mines during a previous downturn in the 1980s, and the next Blankenship may already be making similar investments.
Yet the high-profile trial may generate progress, too. McGinley said that if the prosecution can put Blankenship behind bars for what happened on his watch, it may create a deterrent that will make mining executives actually try to improve safety conditions for employees, rather than treating fines for violations as a mere cost of doing business. Then again, it could just lead them to better cover their tracks.
There’s hope for environmental causes, too, albeit indirectly. Erin Savage, the central Appalachian campaign coordinator for Appalachian Voices, said that, like safety regulations, coal mines have routinely ignored rules governing blasting, water, and air quality. State and federal agencies issue fines, but so far have not pursued criminal prosecution.
The Blankenship trial may further incremental change by shining a harsh spotlight on the actions of King Coal, which run counter to its rhetoric. "These large companies like to portray themselves as looking out for the best interest of the community, despite the fact that the region has suffered under the dominance of a single industry," Savage said. "This [trial] may be able to change the dialogue about whether the industry can be taken at face value or is doing what’s in the best interest of communities."
Bill Price, the Charleston-based senior organizing representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, said that the trial has started a conversation "about accountability, not just for Don Blankenship but for all coal executives."
"It’s high time we hold the coal industry and its executives responsible for not following health standards and environmental standards," Price said. "Whether or not the trial will lead to that depends on the verdict. At least the conversation is happening now."
Grist is a nonprofit news site that uses humor to shine a light on big green issues. Get their email newsletter here, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. |
Jerry Yang’s got some pink slips to hand out in the next couple of weeks.
So goes the rumor floating around the blogosphere at the moment. According to Silicon Alley Insider’s Henry Blodget, Yahoo! is looking to soon slim its 12,000-strong workforce by 13-20%.
Should this tip be given any credence?
Perhaps. The Wall Street Journal recently published a piece (subscription needed) documenting strong evidence that Yahoo!’s chief executive will begin to take strong measures to turn around the company’s fortunes, which may well include a significant cutback in employee numbers. Yahoo! has borne the brunt of much criticism in the way it has addressed lagging performance in the face of increasing competitive pressures delivered by the faster-moving Google complex. A little weight loss could be essential to the recovery process.
Going back to a column I put together on Jan 11, I claimed that a Yahoo! buyout was unlikely. I still stand by that belief. Yet I will secede from my previous statement on Yahoo!’s current health. Whereas a week ago I recognized the company as not weak, I’ll attest now that it’s really not looking so good. Yang sure has a big mess on his hands.
All is not lost, though. Edits (like the supposed layoffs to come shortly) and amendments can be enacted to right the ship once again. But things could very easily go from bad to much, much worse fairly quickly in the months to come. If public perception is that Big Y! is faltering company-wide, the performance of its ticker symbol will head ever more gradually on a decline, and one can’t rule out a snowball effect of bad tidings for the Web giant in ’08 as a result.
So CEO Jerry is going to have to do a sterling job of balancing caution with intelligent risk to alter the fate of the company (which he co-founded with David Filo). He’s got a strong interest in making the corporate gearing – the managers, salesmen, and the software engineers alike – work well again. Yahoo! is what he is best known for, and there is no reason to think that he wants to see his legacy overshadowed by a big ol’ sore spot. Pride and joy are likely what he aims for.
We’ll have to wait and see if he and his teammates in Sunnyvale succeed in achieving that mission. |
Captain Gene Cernan was the third man to walk in space, one of only three people to go to the Moon twice and the last man to leave a footprint on the lunar surface.
The final words he spoke on the Moon in December 1972 represented everything the Apollo missions stood for. “We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return,” he said, “with peace and hope for all mankind.”
More than 40 years on, you might imagine Cernan has had enough of talking about the Moon. But it seems Apollo astronauts never retire and, at 80, he is still passionate about America’s past space glories and the future of human space exploration.
His latest venture is a documentary film about his life (watch the trailer here), although Cernan insists it is not a movie about him but the story of how an ordinary working class child can grow up to do extraordinary things. Having seen an early cut, it is clear that this is no ego trip.
The movie is poignant, funny and reveals more about the men who went to the Moon than most other Apollo documentaries. It includes Cernan’s ex-wife who coined the telling phrase: “If you think going to the Moon is hard, you should try staying at home.”
In person, Capt Cernan is utterly charming and we chat for more than an hour over coffee about that final step, mortality, returning to the Moon and inspiring a new generation of space explorers. However, it becomes apparent that the “last man on the Moon” is not happy about the way the American space programme has played out.
For the film you visited the abandoned Saturn V launch pad at Cape Canaveral – where you launched to go the Moon. What were you thinking when you walked around the rusting structure?
It was very nostalgic, disappointing, somewhat heart-breaking. It was if someone took Columbus’ Santa Maria and said: “It’s history – you guys discovered America, let’s take it out and scuttle it. It’s over, you’re not going to go anywhere.”
We launched off that pad in a big Saturn V rocket that took us to the Moon. People had dreamed of leaving the cradle of civilisation – this Earth of ours – and we did it. Fortunately, I was one of the guys to go out there, to look back at the Earth and try to comprehend the meaning of it all.
To think of what we were capable of doing and now we’ve been told [in a tweet by Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin] that if we want to go to our own space station, we’d better get a trampoline – that statement hurt. It hurt me personally.
Considering where we were half a century ago when Americans were walking on the Moon – people still come up to me today and say it’s incredible – we’ve obliterated that piece of history. I do not want to remember those launch pads that sent us to the Moon the way they are today. It’s not the way it’s supposed to be.
What would be the point of returning to the Moon?
All we’ve proved is we can work and survive up there. Now we’ve got to take advantage of the resources the Moon has to offer us here on this planet. It’s a stepping stone to go to Mars. Is there water? Was there water? Could life exist? Maybe we’re going to go simply because it’s there. Simply because we can and that’s why we will.
You’ve been to the Moon twice. You tested the lunar lander during Apollo 10, getting within 15km of the surface, and then in December 1972 you walked on the Moon. Did you feel the weight of responsibility during that last ever Apollo mission?
I was a representative of probably one of the greatest challenges that mankind has had in modern history and I was proud to be part of that. Everybody who put a nut or bolt on our spacecraft went with us on that flight. They were responsible for the success or failure of that mission. Every human being in the world went with us.
The questions they had back then are the same questions that young people, who weren’t even thought of then, have today. What does it feel like? What does it look like? Only 12 people have walked on the Moon and there are nine of us left. Some day there won’t be any of us left and while we are here I feel it’s my responsibility to be some kind of inspiration and stir the passions of young kids to literally follow in our footsteps.
When you were leaving the Moon did you think about the significance of those last footsteps?
When I left the Moon and started up the ladder, I was really at a loss. I didn’t want to leave and I looked down at my last footsteps and realised I wasn’t coming this way again. Looking back over my shoulder at the Earth had a particular significance to me – it was alive, it was moving, with purpose and beauty through space and time. In those short few minutes I wanted to figure out what was the meaning of us – everyone alive in the world today – leaving the cradle of civilisation and calling the Moon our home for a few days.
I searched for that answer, I needed more time. I wanted to press the freeze button, stop time to give myself a chance to think about it. I had an opportunity to sit on God’s front porch looking at the small part of the civilisation of this universe that he created.
Does it worry you that all the Moon walkers are now old people and that in a few years time there won’t be any of you left?
I’m sitting here with new knees, one new hip, I’m getting another one – I feel like the Six Million Dollar Man. You get to a point when you realise you’re not going to be around in 20 years. I made a vow to myself, when the time comes no-one’s going to carry me out, I’m going to walk out on my own terms. That’s what I want.
That time’s not too far in the future and that’s why it’s so important to try to motivate, to inspire, to take the adventure of Apollo and give it to the next generation and then it’s their deal. My ego’s never risen to the point where I’ve got to be remembered for something. If I’ve done anything worth remembering then now is the time to share it. The dreamers of today are the doers of tomorrow, so if we don’t inspire those dreamers there are not going to be any doers.
Do you sense there is more interest in returning to the Moon or visiting Mars, particularly with the rise of space tourism and private space companies such as SpaceX?
I want to believe that this younger generation of schoolchildren is far more excited and interested in space than their big brothers or sisters were. There was a tremendous amount of complacency here [in the US] around half a generation ago with young people saying “what’s in it for me,” and afraid to take a risk. I’ve always told kids that if you’re afraid to fail, you’ll never know what success really means.
But their younger brothers are starting to ask the questions that need to be asked. While the kettle is boiling, we’ve got to keep the fire lit.
The producers of the Last Man on the Moon are working towards a worldwide release in the coming months. You can hear a longer interview with Captain Cernan in the latest Space Boffins podcast, available from 10 August 2014.
If you would like to comment on this, or anything else you have seen on Future, head over to our Facebook or Google+ page, or message us on Twitter. |
OBJECTIVE:
There are numerous reports indicating disturbed equilibrium between oxidative processes and antioxidative defense in patients with depression. Moreover, depressive patients are characterized by the presence of elements of an inflammatory process, which is one of the sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In view of the above, it was decided to study both the effect of fluoxetine monotherapy and that of fluoxetine co-administered with acetylsalicylic acid on lipid peroxidation and antioxidative defense in patients with the first depressive episode in their life.
METHOD:
Seventy seven patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), divided into two groups were included in the study. The first group, consisting of 52 patients, received fluoxetine 20 mg, and the second one, in addition to fluoxetine 20 mg, received 150 mg of acetylsalicylic acid. The activity of antioxidative enzymes, copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD, SOD1), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPSH-x) and the concentration of malonyldialdehyde (MDA) was determined in erythrocytes, whereas the total antioxidant status (TAS) was determined in the plasma. All parameters were measured before and after three month therapy.
RESULTS:
The obtained results indicate a significant decrease in the activity of SOD1, CAT and GSHP-x, as well as in MDA concentration after the combined therapy. Also a significant TAS increase was observed after the combined therapy. The study demonstrated that combined therapy with fluoxetine and ASA is characterized by the same efficacy and clinical safety as fluoxetine monotherapy, resulting additionally in improvement of oxidative stress parameters in the patients treated for depression. |
Share. Could we see Ben Skywalker or Jacen Solo on the big screen? Could we see Ben Skywalker or Jacen Solo on the big screen?
There might be a new hope (see what we did there?) for those yearning to see the offspring of the Skywalkers and Solos on the big screen.
According to veteran Hollywood columnist Roger Friedman at Showbiz 411, Star Wars: Episode VII will be set "some time in the future [after Return of the Jedi]. Han, Princess Leia (with a presumably better hairstyle), and Luke Skywalker will be a lot older. Their children will be the new main characters. RsD2 [sic] and C-3PO will be unchanged, I would guess. since they are not human. But suffice to say, the three main actors are definitely coming back. The bigger question is, which young actors will play their kids?"
If this report is true then does this mean we'll get movie versions of established expanded universe characters such as Ben Skywalker, Jacen Solo, Jaina Solo and Anakin Solo? Or will Lucasfilm, director J.J. Abrams, and screenwriter Michael Arndt invent all new descendants for viewers to follow?
Sound off in the Comments below whether you want the EU characters or all new Skywalker and Solo kids in Episode VII! |
Donald Trump isn’t having the best of times. The polls aren’t in his favor, you can send him a dick lollipop for $10, and people are making fun of his tiny hands. Now it looks like he should keep a closer eye on his web domains – or more specifically, the ones he doesn’t own.
A year ago we wrote about the domains Trump had registered to make it harder for people to troll them, and his collection of over 3,000 URLs is impressive. But unfortunately you can’t cover everything.
Last week software engineer Brian Lam saw that one specific Trump-related domain was available for purchase, and had a little fun with it.
But that’s not the only one Trump forgot to buy. There are two bigger, more prevalent domain names that aren’t in his possession.
Both Trump.org and Trump.tv were bought up by Chris Puchowicz in 2014, when the domains were up for public auction after failed to be renewed. After he successfully purchased both domains, he put up a post about the acceptance of people and Trump’s lack thereof.
Earlier this month, the message was changed to show the following message asking readers not to vote for him:
Even though his attorneys apparently sent Puchowicz a threatening letter when he bought the domains two years ago, he still owns both of them.
Donald, it sucks, but that’s just how the internet works. Maybe it’s time to brush up on those computer skills.
Read next: 5 counter-intuitive lessons I’ve learned by building startups |
The bronze doors of Immaculate Conception Church are always open during the day, a welcoming gesture to the surrounding Melrose neighborhood in the South Bronx. Decorated with figures of the Virgin Mary, the doors are graceful — and heavy. “My main issue is trying to open them in the morning,” the Rev. Francis Skelly, the church’s pastor, said. “They keep me in shape.”
The bigger challenge is keeping them open: The parish is poor, and money for repairs and maintenance is tight. Twenty years ago, the church’s copper steeple had to be dismantled after pieces began to crash onto East 150th Street. It has yet to be restored because parish leaders have other priorities for the congregation’s 1,200 members — most of them Latinos and immigrants — who turn to it not just as a place to worship, but also for help with things such as citizenship classes and preparing tax returns.
Immaculate, as the faithful call it, has always been a church for newcomers, starting with the German immigrants who filled its pews when the current structure opened in 1888, replacing a wooden building that had stood there before. After decades of doing hard and unheralded work, the church is being recognized by New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which has proposed that the exterior be designated as a landmark.
As much as Father Skelly appreciates the nod, it is the last thing he needs: Landmark status, he said, would create financial and bureaucratic burdens if parts of the 128-year-old structure required repairs or renovation, making any alterations complicated and expensive. |
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Sixty-five animals died on railway track on Saturday while further 41 killed last week during winter migration
More than 100 reindeer killed by freight trains in Norway 'bloodbath'
More than 100 reindeer have been killed by freight trains in northern Norway in the past days in what has been called a senseless tragedy.
One train killed 65 deer on a track on Saturday while 41 died between Wednesday and Friday, the public broadcaster NRK reported late on Sunday.
“I’m so angry that I’m dizzy,” the owner of the 65 dead reindeer, Ole Henrik Kappfjell, told NRK. “It’s a senseless animal tragedy … a psychological nightmare.”
Norway is home to about 250,000 semi-domestic reindeer and most of them live in the far north of the country. At this time of year, herders take the reindeer to the winter pastures in search of grazing grounds, a perilous journey as many animals are hit by cars and trains. Some also drown.
Photos taken by the documentary filmmaker Jon Erling Utsi showed dead reindeer lying in the blood-stained snow. Some were shot after they were left wounded in Saturday’s incident. “It was a nightmare to watch,” he told NRK.
“The worst thing was the animals that were not killed in the accident. They were lying there, suffering. It was a bloodbath over several kilometres,” he added.
More than 2,000 reindeer were hit along the same northern railway line between 2013 and 2016.
The herders are demanding that the railway operator install a fence along the track but as yet there has been no funding. |
The A.C.Camargo Cancer Center in São Paulo, is a client of the Brazilian office of worldwide ad agency JWT. Warner Bros. is also a client of JWT. Out of these business arrangements, a truly inspiring idea was created.
From the ad agency press note:
Covers for intravenous bags were constructed based on characters from the Justice League, creating...a child-friendly version of the treatment. Co-developed with doctors, the covers are easy to sterilize and handle and meet all hospital hygiene standards.
(The) experience went far beyond the covers by also providing a new look to the entire Children's Ward: the game room was turned into the Hall of Justice, corridors and doors were decorated in the same theme, and the exterior acquired an exclusive entrance for these little heroes.
JWT even worked with Warner Bros. to produce a special series of comic books in which the Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern go through experiences similar to those of kids with cancer, and recover their strength, thanks to the Superformula.
As any good cancer doctor will tell you, the most important step in fighting the disease is believing in a cure.
This three-way collaboration is one of the best branding ideas I've ever seen.
See the video below. |
[ reblog on Tumblr ]
props: character © Eric Kripke
materials: ink, paper + PS8
music: The XX, "Heart Skipped A Beat"
Please do not reproduce without my explicit permission.
I finally finished up Supernatural's Season 7 yesterday, and I have major feelings for crazy!Cas. I know hes kind of broken, but he seems a lot happier. But this scene, with the Sorry! game when Kit told me about it, I thought it was going to be this funny comic relief thing, but it was so sad and dear I literally cried. Oh Castiel, everythings going to be okay.I just want to cuddle the shit out of him. And Meg grew on me, as his caretaker/protector. Nice to know that even demons can have soft spots for their friends. |
ONE of Chard's District councillors has decided to leave the Conservative Party and move to the Liberal Democrats.
Councillor Amanda Broom announced today, April 29, that she is changing political parties citing the impact of current Conservative policies on her constituents.
She said: "I have been increasing concerned over the current Government's direction of travel to the right, and the potential impact of these policies on my ward members, in particular those on low pay, long term ailments or disabilities.
"I am also disappointed with the Government’s lack of foresight with regards to sustainable environmental policies, including renewable energy.
"It has now reached the point where I am not comfortable supporting, or, representing the Conservative Party and many of its policies at a national level, hence my decision to leave and move across to the Liberal Democrats.
"In my opinion, the Liberal Democrats better reflect a more balanced approach to dealing with the deficit, whilst protecting those in our society less able to survive the increasing division between those who have and those who have not.
"Despite my change of political allegiance, I remain committed to working with colleagues from all parties and at all levels who continue to promote a fair society, and, equality of opportunity for the residents of South Somerset, in particular Chard as I have done since first being elected.
"Nothing has changed, nor will it change, in my commitment to represent residents to the very best of my ability."
Cllr Broom has also written a letter, which will be sent to all the constituents in her ward.
In it she says: "It has been with great consideration that I have taken the to resign from the Conservative Party.
"Over the previous months and weeks, there have been many new policies which the governmetn have inbtriduced and I am not fully supportive of these.
"These policies are centred on further public spending cuts, and the environment.
"As I do not agree with these policies, I find I am not able to represent the Conservative Party anymore.
"I will remain as your town and ditrict councillor, and will continue to work for you, as I truly believe I have done since the election last may, but now as a Liberal Democrat." |
One of the Dodgers’ largest decisions this offseason is whether to bring back third baseman Justin Turner, who will be a free agent later this week, the morning after the World Series ends.
Turner, who turns 32 in three weeks, hit .275/.339/.493 with a .353 wOBA, a 124 OPS+, a 124 rWC+ with 34 doubles. He tied for the team lead in home runs (27) and RBI (90), and is a finalist for the National League Gold Glove Award at third base. Turner is popular with fans and has emerged as a leader in the clubhouse.
In short, he is someone the Dodgers would love to have back. It’s no secret that Turner, who grew up in southern California and played college ball at Cal State Fullerton, would like to stay. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out his market.
Competition no more
Martin Prado, entering his age-33 season, signed a three-year, $40 million extension with the Marlins in October before hitting the market. Though rather than helping to define the market for Turner’s services, Prado’s signing removed a competitor at third base this winter, perhaps helping Turner even more.
Prado is an intriguing comparable player, as he has been one of the more quietly productive players in baseball in recent years. He has been a regular for eight years, settling in at third base after years of playing left field and second base as well. He averaged between 3 WAR (FanGraphs) version and 3.5 WAR (Baseball-Reference) during that span, including 2.9-3.4 the last three seasons.
Turner, a year younger than Prado, also showed versatility in his career though more on the infield. Though Turner has only qualified for the batting title once (2016), compared to each of the last eight seasons for Prado, Turner has still averaged 4.3-4.4 WAR over the last three seasons, and heads into free agency on a high note after his best season by WAR, 4.9 per Baseball-Reference or 5.6 per FanGraphs.
The third base market is tough to decipher, with several standouts at the hot corner —Josh Donaldson, Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado — still years away from free agency. Todd Frazier is a year away from free agency as well.
Early extensions
Two $100 million men might provide a goal of sorts for Turner, but Evan Longoria and Kyle Seager need to be examined further.
Longoria is a year younger than Turner, and is due $99 million over the next six seasons, or if his 2023 option is exercised he would make $107 million over seven years, per Cot’s Contracts. This might seem like the perfect comp for Turner, with Longoria averaging between 3.4 (B-R) and 4.0 (FanGraphs) WAR the last three years (Turner is at 4.3-4.4). Longoria even reached the deal with Andrew Friedman, then with the Rays, carrying the comp even further.
But the caveat here is that Longoria signed his six-year, $100 million contract extension (there was a signing bonus that accounted for the other $1 million) way back in November 2012. Four years ago.
Seager, brother of Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, signed his extension in December 2014, following a three-year run of performance similar to Turner. Seager hit .268/.334/.454 with 26 home home runs, a 126 OPS+ and 127 wRC+ in 2014, and averaged between 4.1 (B-R) and 4.3 (FG) WAR from 2012-14.
But Seager’s contract covers his ages 27-33, five years younger than Turner now. In addition, Seager’s deal included three arbitration seasons and bought out what would have been four free agent years. Those latter years are the ones to look at.
Seager from 2018-21, his ages 30-33, Seager will earn $74.5 million, an average of $18.63 million per year.
The old friend
Adrian Beltre signed a contract extension with the Rangers back in April, paying him $36 million for two years, $18 million each in 2017 and 2018, his age-38 and -39 years.
Turner is the best Dodgers third baseman since Beltre left after the 2004 season.
Beltre on one hand serves as an upper limit of sorts, as he is the gold standard at the hot corner. The future Hall of Famer averaged between 5.5 (FanGraphs) and 6.3 (Baseball-Reference) WAR from 2011-2015. But Beltre’s contract covers a period starting at six years older than Turner, and it wasn’t signed on the open market, where competition would have driven Beltre’s price even higher.
Recent 3B contracts Player Years Ages Avg salary Pablo Sandoval 2015-19 28-32 $19.0m Adrian Beltre 2017-18 38-39 $18.0m Kyle Seager 2018-21* 30-33 $18.6m Evan Longoria 2017-22 31-36 $16.7m Martin Prado 2017-19 33-35 $13.3m Chase Headley 2015-18 31-34 $13.0m Justin Turner 2017-? 32-? TBD *Free agent years only
Open market deals
A relatively recent contract that was signed on the open market was by Chase Headley, who inked a four-year, $52 million contract with the Yankees two years ago. Headley was a year younger than Turner at the time of his free agency, entering his age-31 season in 2015.
Headley averaged between 4.0 (B-R) and 4.4 (FG) WAR in the five years (2010-14) before his free agency, including strong defense at third base. Though on the surface Headley didn’t have the offensive profile of Turner — peaking at 31 home runs in 2012 while leading the majors with 115 RBI, but with no other years above 13 homers before hitting free agency — upon further inspection they are closer than I thought.
Headley from 2012-14 hit .262/.352/.429 with a .344 wOBA, a 123 OPS+ and 122 wRC+.
Turner from 2014-16 hit .296/.364/.492 with a .368 wOBA, a 136 OPS+ and 138 wRC+.
Turner does still have the advantage, and again is entering free agency on a better launch season. Headley hit just .243/.328./372 in 2014 with 13 home runs between the Padres and Yankees, a 102 OPS+ and 103 wRC+.
Another contract signed two years ago that was initially forgotten was that of Pablo Sandoval, who has essentially vanished since signing for five years and $95 million with the Red Sox. Sandoval was a disaster in the first year of his deal with Boston (.245/.292/.366, below replacement level), and had his 2016 wiped out after just three games by shoulder surgery.
Sandoval’s reputation was buoyed by standout seasons in 2009 and 2011, but was rather ordinary in his three years heading into free agency, hitting .280/.335/.424, a 116 OPS+, averaging between 2.5-2.6 WAR per year from 2012-14.
But Sandoval had age on his side, entering his age-28 year in 2015 with Boston, four years younger than Turner now.
The suitors
The Dodgers don’t really have much of an in-house solution at third base if Turner signs elsewhere. They could in theory move Howie Kendrick to third base, but that’s if second base is otherwise occupied, and would mean a second major position shift for Kendrick in two years. And that’s before considering the gaping hole in the batting order without Turner.
Just eye-balling contending teams, the Dodgers’ biggest competition for Turner might come from their chief rivals, the Giants. San Francisco has Eduardo Nunez for one more year, but could move him or second baseman Joe Panik to a utility role to make room for Turner.
Giants third basemen in 2016 hit a collective .266/.320/.394, 27th in MLB in OPS (.713) and 24th in wRC+ (93).
The Cardinals infield seems full with Jhonny Peralta, Jedd Gyorko, Matt Carpenter and Aledmys Diaz, among others, and several other National League teams are set at the hot corner — Colorado (Arenado), Arizona (Jake Lamb), Chicago (Kris Bryant), Miami (Prado), Pittsburgh (David Freese, Jung Ho Kang) and Washington (Anthony Rendon).
The Braves might want to make a big splash heading into their new ballpark in 2017, but would Turner want to join a team not all that close to contention?
The Mets have David Wright under contract for four more seasons but has played 75 games in the last two years. First base is also an option, but would Turner want to return to New York after the same front office non-tendered him three years ago, then planted stories besmirching his effort after kicking him out the door?
Most of the American League contenders seem set at third base as well — Texas (Beltre), Seattle (Seager), Houston (Alex Bregman, Yulieski Gurriel), Toronto (Donaldson), New York (Headley), Cleveland (Jose Ramirez), Detroit (Nick Castellanos), Kansas City (Mike Moustakas), Chicago (Frazier) — though the designated hitter and/or first base could create potential openings for a few of those teams.
Maybe the Red Sox could decide to upgrade at third over Travis Shaw, but that would probably depend what Boston expects from Sandoval going forward.
Conclusion
All it takes is two teams to create a bidding war, so Turner should be able to blow away the averages of Headley and Prado, settling in somewhere near Longoria’s average salary. That Turner is older than all of the comps mentioned here except Prado means he probably won’t get the six years that represents Longoria’s remaining deal.
But being one of the top bats on the free agent market — arguably just a notch below the powerful trio of Yoenis Cespedes, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, and better defensively then all of them — gets Turner a market boost.
I think it takes at least four years to land Turner, with the qualifying offer of $17.2 million seeming like a reasonable average over the life of his contract.
My guess — and this is just a guess — is that Turner signs for four years and $70 million, with an option of some sort for a fifth year. And the most likely location is back in Los Angeles with the Dodgers. |
We are a little more than a week away from San Diego Comic-Con, the world's biggest, nerdiest gathering of everything we love in pop culture, and MTV has some exclusive details that are sure to get "Teen Wolf" fans excited.
Not only can fans check out the "Teen Wolf" panel — where you can hear about season four and ask the cast questions — but Tyler Posey, Dylan O'Brien, Tyler Hoechlin, Holland Roden, Shelley Hennig, Dylan Sprayberry and executive producer Jeff Davis will be at the Fox booth (#4229) from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Friday.
That booth will also be the only place you can pick up these exclusive Comic-Con editions of "Teen Wolf" seasons one through three on DVD. Each set will run $14.98.
You can see our exclusive reveal of the Comic-Con editions below. (Our apologies to everyone not going to San Diego.) |
We're this close to a global financial meltdown, and how have the Powers That Be decided to handle it? Some bold, decisive action like breaking up the banks and forcing investors to take their losses? Don't be silly. They're going to extend and pretend, just like we did here in the United States -- and look how well that worked out!
PARIS — PARIS — Europe’s debt crisis hit another milestone on Sunday when the French and Belgian governments agreed to nationalize Dexia, Belgium’s biggest bank, infusing it with billions in taxpayer money after it became the first casualty of the Greek sovereign debt crisis.
The move came as Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France acknowledged that Europe’s banks still needed billions of euros more to cushion against a possible Greek default. In meetings Sunday in Berlin, they announced that they would have a “comprehensive solution” by the time leaders of the G-20 group of nations meets in early November in Cannes, France.
“We are determined to do what is necessary to guarantee the recapitalization of our banks,” Mrs. Merkel said.
But they declined to provide any specifics on how it would work, or how much money they would commit, which could unnerve investors who hoped to see the governments take more decisive action. |
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s 2012 presidential campaign suffered a mass staff exodus on Thursday. REUTERS/Jason Reed
“When the campaign and the candidate disagree on the path, they’ve got to part ways,” said Rick Tyler, a longtime Gingrich spokesman who was among those who left the campaign.
Tyler as well as Rob Johnson, Gingrich’s campaign manager, Dave Carney and Katon Dawson, senior strategists to the effort, media consultant Sam Dawson, Iowa strategist Craig Schoenfeld, South Carolina operative Walter Whetsell and Georgia-based adviser Scott Rials have all stepped aside. Much of Gingrich’s early state operation was also headed for the exits, according to a one senior campaign source.
In the immediate aftermath of the departures, which several sources said came at a meeting Thursday in Gingrich’s Washington office, Gingrich released a statement via Facebook pledging to continue in the race.
“I am committed to running the substantive, solutions-oriented campaign I set out to run earlier this spring,” Gingrich wrote. “The campaign begins anew Sunday in Los Angeles.”
Among the issues leading to the resignations, according to knowledgeable sources, was the two-week vacation that Gingrich and his wife, Callista, insisted upon taking against the advice of his top political staff. Coming as it did after one of the most disastrous campaign launches in recent memory, it raised questions as to whether Gingrich would be willing to “commit time to the grassroots,” said Tyler.
Gingrich had returned earlier this week and visited New Hampshire but remained largely off the campaign trail.
View Photo Gallery: A look at the former House speaker now seeking the GOP presidential nomination.
Carney and Johnson are longtime aides to Texas Gov. Rick Perry who has said in recent days that he is contemplating a run for president himself in 2012. The Carney and Johnson resignations will fuel speculation that Perry is moving toward the race.
The Gingrich campaign had struggled from the start.
In early March, Joe Gaylord, a longtime Gingrich associate, said he was set to announce. Tyler denied that claim — evidence of the lack of coordination even within Gingrich’s inner circle.
When Gingrich finally did get into race last month he managed to step on his own announcement by denouncing Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s plans for a huge Medicare overhaul as “right wing social engineering”.
That brought scads of conservative condemnation down on Gingrich and, at around the same time, reports surfaced that Gingrich had carried a six-figure debt at the Tiffany’s jewelry store. Gingrich refused to explain what accounted for such a large debt, stoking further questions and extending the story’s life.
Tyler issued a statement blaming the media for Gingrich’s problems — “the literati sent out their minions to do their bidding,” he said — that managed to make matters worse.
After such an ignominious start to the campaign, Gingrich’s decision to proceed with a two week vacation baffled political observers and vexed his own strategists
Gingrich has long ridden to the beat of his own political drummer. After years as a backbencher in the House, Gingrich spearheaded Republicans’ 1994 takeover of the chamber and was chosen as Speaker. Four years later, he was gone amid a disastrously wrong-headed prediction that the GOP would pick up seats.
Gingrich very nearly entered the 2008 presidential race but backed away at the last minute amid lingering concerns that he could not fully disentangle himself from his vast American Solutions organization — a vast fundraising and idea generation factory.
Senior political reporter Dan Balz contributed to this report.
Read more on PostPolitics.com
Callista Gingrich gets more involved
Newt Gingrich: Kibitzer-in-chief?
Fact Checker: Anti-Gingrich ad goes over the top
Fact Checker: The biggest Pinocchios of 2011
Gingrich: Let’s ‘test the heat’
NewtGingrich.com has been occupied |
Preface The essence of the Buddha's teaching can be summed up in two principles: the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The first covers the side of doctrine, and the primary response it elicits is understanding; the second covers the side of discipline, in the broadest sense of that word, and the primary response it calls for is practice. In the structure of the teaching these two principles lock together into an indivisible unity called the dhamma-vinaya, the doctrine-and-discipline, or, in brief, the Dhamma. The internal unity of the Dhamma is guaranteed by the fact that the last of the Four Noble Truths, the truth of the way, is the Noble Eightfold Path, while the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, right view, is the understanding of the Four Noble Truths. Thus the two principles penetrate and include one another, the formula of the Four Noble Truths containing the Eightfold Path and the Noble Eightfold Path containing the Four Truths. Given this integral unity, it would be pointless to pose the question which of the two aspects of the Dhamma has greater value, the doctrine or the path. But if we did risk the pointless by asking that question, the answer would have to be the path. The path claims primacy because it is precisely this that brings the teaching to life. The path translates the Dhamma from a collection of abstract formulas into a continually unfolding disclosure of truth. It gives an outlet from the problem of suffering with which the teaching starts. And it makes the teaching's goal, liberation from suffering, accessible to us in our own experience, where alone it takes on authentic meaning. To follow the Noble Eightfold Path is a matter of practice rather than intellectual knowledge, but to apply the path correctly it has to be properly understood. In fact, right understanding of the path is itself a part of the practice. It is a facet of right view, the first path factor, the forerunner and guide for the rest of the path. Thus, though initial enthusiasm might suggest that the task of intellectual comprehension may be shelved as a bothersome distraction, mature consideration reveals it to be quite essential to ultimate success in the practice. The present book aims at contributing towards a proper understanding of the Noble Eightfold Path by investigating its eight factors and their components to determine exactly what they involve. I have attempted to be concise, using as the framework for exposition the Buddha's own words in explanation of the path factors, as found in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali canon. To assist the reader with limited access to primary sources even in translation, I have tried to confine my selection of quotations as much as possible (but not completely) to those found in Venerable Nyanatiloka's classic anthology, The Word of the Buddha. In some cases passages taken from that work have been slightly modified, to accord with my own preferred renderings. For further amplification of meaning I have sometimes drawn upon the commentaries; especially in my accounts of concentration and wisdom (Chapters VII and VIII) I have relied heavily on the Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification), a vast encyclopedic work which systematizes the practice of the path in a detailed and comprehensive manner. Limitations of space prevent an exhaustive treatment of each factor. To compensate for this deficiency I have included a list of recommended readings at the end, which the reader may consult for more detailed explanations of individual path factors. For full commitment to the practice of the path, however, especially in its advanced stages of concentration and insight, it will be extremely helpful to have contact with a properly qualified teacher. — Bhikkhu Bodhi
Abbreviations Textual references have been abbreviated as follows: DN .... Digha Nikaya (number of sutta)
MN .... Majjhima Nikaya (number of sutta)
SN .... Samyutta Nikaya (chapter and number of sutta)
AN .... Anguttara Nikaya (numerical collection and number of sutta)
Dhp .... Dhammapada (verse)
Vism .... Visuddhimagga References to Vism. are to the chapter and section number of the translation by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli, The Path of Purification (BPS ed. 1975, 1991)
Chapter I: The Way to the End of Suffering The search for a spiritual path is born out of suffering. It does not start with lights and ecstasy, but with the hard tacks of pain, disappointment, and confusion. However, for suffering to give birth to a genuine spiritual search, it must amount to more than something passively received from without. It has to trigger an inner realization, a perception which pierces through the facile complacency of our usual encounter with the world to glimpse the insecurity perpetually gaping underfoot. When this insight dawns, even if only momentarily, it can precipitate a profound personal crisis. It overturns accustomed goals and values, mocks our routine preoccupations, leaves old enjoyments stubbornly unsatisfying. At first such changes generally are not welcome. We try to deny our vision and to smother our doubts; we struggle to drive away the discontent with new pursuits. But the flame of inquiry, once lit, continues to burn, and if we do not let ourselves be swept away by superficial readjustments or slouch back into a patched up version of our natural optimism, eventually the original glimmering of insight will again flare up, again confront us with our essential plight. It is precisely at that point, with all escape routes blocked, that we are ready to seek a way to bring our disquietude to an end. No longer can we continue to drift complacently through life, driven blindly by our hunger for sense pleasures and by the pressure of prevailing social norms. A deeper reality beckons us; we have heard the call of a more stable, more authentic happiness, and until we arrive at our destination we cannot rest content. But it is just then that we find ourselves facing a new difficulty. Once we come to recognize the need for a spiritual path we discover that spiritual teachings are by no means homogeneous and mutually compatible. When we browse through the shelves of humanity's spiritual heritage, both ancient and contemporary, we do not find a single tidy volume but a veritable bazaar of spiritual systems and disciplines each offering themselves to us as the highest, the fastest, the most powerful, or the most profound solution to our quest for the Ultimate. Confronted with this melange, we fall into confusion trying to size them up — to decide which is truly liberative, a real solution to our needs, and which is a sidetrack beset with hidden flaws. One approach to resolving this problem that is popular today is the eclectic one: to pick and choose from the various traditions whatever seems amenable to our needs, welding together different practices and techniques into a synthetic whole that is personally satisfying. Thus one may combine Buddhist mindfulness meditation with sessions of Hindu mantra recitation, Christian prayer with Sufi dancing, Jewish Kabbala with Tibetan visualization exercises. Eclecticism, however, though sometimes helpful in making a transition from a predominantly worldly and materialistic way of life to one that takes on a spiritual hue, eventually wears thin. While it makes a comfortable halfway house, it is not comfortable as a final vehicle. There are two interrelated flaws in eclecticism that account for its ultimate inadequacy. One is that eclecticism compromises the very traditions it draws upon. The great spiritual traditions themselves do not propose their disciplines as independent techniques that may be excised from their setting and freely recombined to enhance the felt quality of our lives. They present them, rather, as parts of an integral whole, of a coherent vision regarding the fundamental nature of reality and the final goal of the spiritual quest. A spiritual tradition is not a shallow stream in which one can wet one's feet and then beat a quick retreat to the shore. It is a mighty, tumultuous river which would rush through the entire landscape of one's life, and if one truly wishes to travel on it, one must be courageous enough to launch one's boat and head out for the depths. The second defect in eclecticism follows from the first. As spiritual practices are built upon visions regarding the nature of reality and the final good, these visions are not mutually compatible. When we honestly examine the teachings of these traditions, we will find that major differences in perspective reveal themselves to our sight, differences which cannot be easily dismissed as alternative ways of saying the same thing. Rather, they point to very different experiences constituting the supreme goal and the path that must be trodden to reach that goal. Hence, because of the differences in perspectives and practices that the different spiritual traditions propose, once we decide that we have outgrown eclecticism and feel that we are ready to make a serious commitment to one particular path, we find ourselves confronted with the challenge of choosing a path that will lead us to true enlightenment and liberation. One cue to resolving this dilemma is to clarify to ourselves our fundamental aim, to determine what we seek in a genuinely liberative path. If we reflect carefully, it will become clear that the prime requirement is a way to the end of suffering. All problems ultimately can be reduced to the problem of suffering; thus what we need is a way that will end this problem finally and completely. Both these qualifying words are important. The path has to lead to a complete end of suffering, to an end of suffering in all its forms, and to a final end of suffering, to bring suffering to an irreversible stop. But here we run up against another question. How are we to find such a path — a path which has the capacity to lead us to the full and final end of suffering? Until we actually follow a path to its goal we cannot know with certainty where it leads, and in order to follow a path to its goal we must place complete trust in the efficacy of the path. The pursuit of a spiritual path is not like selecting a new suit of clothes. To select a new suit one need only try on a number of suits, inspect oneself in the mirror, and select the suit in which one appears most attractive. The choice of a spiritual path is closer to marriage: one wants a partner for life, one whose companionship will prove as trustworthy and durable as the pole star in the night sky. Faced with this new dilemma, we may think that we have reached a dead end and conclude that we have nothing to guide us but personal inclination, if not a flip of the coin. However, our selection need not be as blind and uninformed as we imagine, for we do have a guideline to help us. Since spiritual paths are generally presented in the framework of a total teaching, we can evaluate the effectiveness of any particular path by investigating the teaching which expounds it. In making this investigation we can look to three criteria as standards for evaluation: (1) First, the teaching has to give a full and accurate picture of the range of suffering. If the picture of suffering it gives is incomplete or defective, then the path it sets forth will most likely be flawed, unable to yield a satisfactory solution. Just as an ailing patient needs a doctor who can make a full and correct diagnosis of his illness, so in seeking release from suffering we need a teaching that presents a reliable account of our condition. (2) The second criterion calls for a correct analysis of the causes giving rise to suffering. The teaching cannot stop with a survey of the outward symptoms. It has to penetrate beneath the symptoms to the level of causes, and to describe those causes accurately. If a teaching makes a faulty causal analysis, there is little likelihood that its treatment will succeed. (3) The third criterion pertains directly to the path itself. It stipulates that the path which the teaching offers has to remove suffering at its source. This means it must provide a method to cut off suffering by eradicating its causes. If it fails to bring about this root-level solution, its value is ultimately nil. The path it prescribes might help to remove symptoms and make us feel that all is well; but one afflicted with a fatal disease cannot afford to settle for cosmetic surgery when below the surface the cause of his malady continues to thrive. To sum up, we find three requirements for a teaching proposing to offer a true path to the end of suffering: first, it has to set forth a full and accurate picture of the range of suffering; second, it must present a correct analysis of the causes of suffering; and third, it must give us the means to eradicate the causes of suffering. This is not the place to evaluate the various spiritual disciplines in terms of these criteria. Our concern is only with the Dhamma, the teaching of the Buddha, and with the solution this teaching offers to the problem of suffering. That the teaching should be relevant to this problem is evident from its very nature; for it is formulated, not as a set of doctrines about the origin and end of things commanding belief, but as a message of deliverance from suffering claiming to be verifiable in our own experience. Along with that message there comes a method of practice, a way leading to the end of suffering. This way is the Noble Eightfold Path (ariya atthangika magga). The Eightfold Path stands at the very heart of the Buddha's teaching. It was the discovery of the path that gave the Buddha's own enlightenment a universal significance and elevated him from the status of a wise and benevolent sage to that of a world teacher. To his own disciples he was pre-eminently "the arouser of the path unarisen before, the producer of the path not produced before, the declarer of the path not declared before, the knower of the path, the seer of the path, the guide along the path" (MN 108). And he himself invites the seeker with the promise and challenge: "You yourselves must strive. The Buddhas are only teachers. The meditative ones who practice the path are released from the bonds of evil" (Dhp. v. 276). To see the Noble Eightfold Path as a viable vehicle to liberation, we have to check it out against our three criteria: to look at the Buddha's account of the range of suffering, his analysis of its causes, and the programme he offers as a remedy. The Range of Suffering The Buddha does not merely touch the problem of suffering tangentially; he makes it, rather, the very cornerstone of his teaching. He starts the Four Noble Truths that sum up his message with the announcement that life is inseparably tied to something he calls dukkha. The Pali word is often translated as suffering, but it means something deeper than pain and misery. It refers to a basic unsatisfactoriness running through our lives, the lives of all but the enlightened. Sometimes this unsatisfactoriness erupts into the open as sorrow, grief, disappointment, or despair; but usually it hovers at the edge of our awareness as a vague unlocalized sense that things are never quite perfect, never fully adequate to our expectations of what they should be. This fact of dukkha, the Buddha says, is the only real spiritual problem. The other problems — the theological and metaphysical questions that have taunted religious thinkers through the centuries — he gently waves aside as "matters not tending to liberation." What he teaches, he says, is just suffering and the ending of suffering, dukkha and its cessation. The Buddha does not stop with generalities. He goes on to expose the different forms that dukkha takes, both the evident and the subtle. He starts with what is close at hand, with the suffering inherent in the physical process of life itself. Here dukkha shows up in the events of birth, aging, and death, in our susceptibility to sickness, accidents, and injuries, even in hunger and thirst. It appears again in our inner reactions to disagreeable situations and events: in the sorrow, anger, frustration, and fear aroused by painful separations, by unpleasant encounters, by the failure to get what we want. Even our pleasures, the Buddha says, are not immune from dukkha. They give us happiness while they last, but they do not last forever; eventually they must pass away, and when they go the loss leaves us feeling deprived. Our lives, for the most part, are strung out between the thirst for pleasure and the fear of pain. We pass our days running after the one and running away from the other, seldom enjoying the peace of contentment; real satisfaction seems somehow always out of reach, just beyond the next horizon. Then in the end we have to die: to give up the identity we spent our whole life building, to leave behind everything and everyone we love. But even death, the Buddha teaches, does not bring us to the end of dukkha, for the life process does not stop with death. When life ends in one place, with one body, the "mental continuum," the individual stream of consciousness, springs up again elsewhere with a new body as its physical support. Thus the cycle goes on over and over — birth, aging, and death — driven by the thirst for more existence. The Buddha declares that this round of rebirths — called samsara, "the wandering" — has been turning through beginningless time. It is without a first point, without temporal origin. No matter how far back in time we go we always find living beings — ourselves in previous lives — wandering from one state of existence to another. The Buddha describes various realms where rebirth can take place: realms of torment, the animal realm, the human realm, realms of celestial bliss. But none of these realms can offer a final refuge. Life in any plane must come to an end. It is impermanent and thus marked with that insecurity which is the deepest meaning of dukkha. For this reason one aspiring to the complete end of dukkha cannot rest content with any mundane achievement, with any status, but must win emancipation from the entire unstable whirl. The Causes of Suffering A teaching proposing to lead to the end of suffering must, as we said, give a reliable account of its causal origination. For if we want to put a stop to suffering, we have to stop it where it begins, with its causes. To stop the causes requires a thorough knowledge of what they are and how they work; thus the Buddha devotes a sizeable section of his teaching to laying bare "the truth of the origin of dukkha." The origin he locates within ourselves, in a fundamental malady that permeates our being, causing disorder in our own minds and vitiating our relationships with others and with the world. The sign of this malady can be seen in our proclivity to certain unwholesome mental states called in Pali kilesas, usually translated "defilements." The most basic defilements are the triad of greed, aversion, and delusion. Greed (lobha) is self-centered desire: the desire for pleasure and possessions, the drive for survival, the urge to bolster the sense of ego with power, status, and prestige. Aversion (dosa) signifies the response of negation, expressed as rejection, irritation, condemnation, hatred, enmity, anger, and violence. Delusion (moha) means mental darkness: the thick coat of insensitivity which blocks out clear understanding. From these three roots emerge the various other defilements — conceit, jealousy, ambition, lethargy, arrogance, and the rest — and from all these defilements together, the roots and the branches, comes dukkha in its diverse forms: as pain and sorrow, as fear and discontent, as the aimless drifting through the round of birth and death. To gain freedom from suffering, therefore, we have to eliminate the defilements. But the work of removing the defilements has to proceed in a methodical way. It cannot be accomplished simply by an act of will, by wanting them to go away. The work must be guided by investigation. We have to find out what the defilements depend upon and then see how it lies within our power to remove their support. The Buddha teaches that there is one defilement which gives rise to all the others, one root which holds them all in place. This root is ignorance (avijja).[1] Ignorance is not mere absence of knowledge, a lack of knowing particular pieces of information. Ignorance can co-exist with a vast accumulation of itemized knowledge, and in its own way it can be tremendously shrewd and resourceful. As the basic root of dukkha, ignorance is a fundamental darkness shrouding the mind. Sometimes this ignorance operates in a passive manner, merely obscuring correct understanding. At other times it takes on an active role: it becomes the great deceiver, conjuring up a mass of distorted perceptions and conceptions which the mind grasps as attributes of the world, unaware that they are its own deluded constructs. In these erroneous perceptions and ideas we find the soil that nurtures the defilements. The mind catches sight of some possibility of pleasure, accepts it at face value, and the result is greed. Our hunger for gratification is thwarted, obstacles appear, and up spring anger and aversion. Or we struggle over ambiguities, our sight clouds, and we become lost in delusion. With this we discover the breeding ground of dukkha: ignorance issuing in the defilements, the defilements issuing in suffering. As long as this causal matrix stands we are not yet beyond danger. We might still find pleasure and enjoyment — sense pleasures, social pleasures, pleasures of the mind and heart. But no matter how much pleasure we might experience, no matter how successful we might be at dodging pain, the basic problem remains at the core of our being and we continue to move within the bounds of dukkha. Cutting Off the Causes of Suffering To free ourselves from suffering fully and finally we have to eliminate it by the root, and that means to eliminate ignorance. But how does one go about eliminating ignorance? The answer follows clearly from the nature of the adversary. Since ignorance is a state of not knowing things as they really are, what is needed is knowledge of things as they really are. Not merely conceptual knowledge, knowledge as idea, but perceptual knowledge, a knowing which is also a seeing. This kind of knowing is called wisdom (pañña). Wisdom helps to correct the distorting work of ignorance. It enables us to grasp things as they are in actuality, directly and immediately, free from the screen of ideas, views, and assumptions our minds ordinarily set up between themselves and the real. To eliminate ignorance we need wisdom, but how is wisdom to be acquired? As indubitable knowledge of the ultimate nature of things, wisdom cannot be gained by mere learning, by gathering and accumulating a battery of facts. However, the Buddha says, wisdom can be cultivated. It comes into being through a set of conditions, conditions which we have the power to develop. These conditions are actually mental factors, components of consciousness, which fit together into a systematic structure that can be called a path in the word's essential meaning: a courseway for movement leading to a goal. The goal here is the end of suffering, and the path leading to it is the Noble Eightfold Path with its eight factors: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. The Buddha calls this path the middle way (majjhima patipada). It is the middle way because it steers clear of two extremes, two misguided attempts to gain release from suffering. One is the extreme of indulgence in sense pleasures, the attempt to extinguish dissatisfaction by gratifying desire. This approach gives pleasure, but the enjoyment won is gross, transitory, and devoid of deep contentment. The Buddha recognized that sensual desire can exercise a tight grip over the minds of human beings, and he was keenly aware of how ardently attached people become to the pleasures of the senses. But he also knew that this pleasure is far inferior to the happiness that arises from renunciation, and therefore he repeatedly taught that the way to the Ultimate eventually requires the relinquishment of sensual desire. Thus the Buddha describes the indulgence in sense pleasures as "low, common, worldly, ignoble, not leading to the goal." The other extreme is the practice of self-mortification, the attempt to gain liberation by afflicting the body. This approach may stem from a genuine aspiration for deliverance, but it works within the compass of a wrong assumption that renders the energy expended barren of results. The error is taking the body to be the cause of bondage, when the real source of trouble lies in the mind — the mind obsessed by greed, aversion, and delusion. To rid the mind of these defilements the affliction of the body is not only useless but self-defeating, for it is the impairment of a necessary instrument. Thus the Buddha describes this second extreme as "painful, ignoble, not leading to the goal."[2] Aloof from these two extreme approaches is the Noble Eightfold Path, called the middle way, not in the sense that it effects a compromise between the extremes, but in the sense that it transcends them both by avoiding the errors that each involves. The path avoids the extreme of sense indulgence by its recognition of the futility of desire and its stress on renunciation. Desire and sensuality, far from being means to happiness, are springs of suffering to be abandoned as the requisite of deliverance. But the practice of renunciation does not entail the tormenting of the body. It consists in mental training, and for this the body must be fit, a sturdy support for the inward work. Thus the body is to be looked after well, kept in good health, while the mental faculties are trained to generate the liberating wisdom. That is the middle way, the Noble Eightfold Path, which "gives rise to vision, gives rise to knowledge, and leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana."[3]
Chapter II: Right View (Samma Ditthi) The eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are not steps to be followed in sequence, one after another. They can be more aptly described as components rather than as steps, comparable to the intertwining strands of a single cable that requires the contributions of all the strands for maximum strength. With a certain degree of progress all eight factors can be present simultaneously, each supporting the others. However, until that point is reached, some sequence in the unfolding of the path is inevitable. Considered from the standpoint of practical training, the eight path factors divide into three groups: (i) the moral discipline group (silakkhandha), made up of right speech, right action, and right livelihood; (ii) the concentration group (samadhikkhandha), made up of right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration; and (iii) the wisdom group (paññakkhandha), made up of right view and right intention. These three groups represent three stages of training: the training in the higher moral discipline, the training in the higher consciousness, and the training in the higher wisdom.[4] The order of the three trainings is determined by the overall aim and direction of the path. Since the final goal to which the path leads, liberation from suffering, depends ultimately on uprooting ignorance, the climax of the path must be the training directly opposed to ignorance. This is the training in wisdom, designed to awaken the faculty of penetrative understanding which sees things "as they really are." Wisdom unfolds by degrees, but even the faintest flashes of insight presuppose as their basis a mind that has been concentrated, cleared of disturbance and distraction. Concentration is achieved through the training in the higher consciousness, the second division of the path, which brings the calm and collectedness needed to develop wisdom. But in order for the mind to be unified in concentration, a check must be placed on the unwholesome dispositions which ordinarily dominate its workings, since these dispositions disperse the beam of attention and scatter it among a multitude of concerns. The unwholesome dispositions continue to rule as long as they are permitted to gain expression through the channels of body and speech as bodily and verbal deeds. Therefore, at the very outset of training, it is necessary to restrain the faculties of action, to prevent them from becoming tools of the defilements. This task is accomplished by the first division of the path, the training in moral discipline. Thus the path evolves through its three stages, with moral discipline as the foundation for concentration, concentration the foundation for wisdom, and wisdom the direct instrument for reaching liberation. Perplexity sometimes arises over an apparent inconsistency in the arrangement of the path factors and the threefold training. Wisdom — which includes right view and right intention — is the last stage in the threefold training, yet its factors are placed at the beginning of the path rather than at its end, as might be expected according to the canon of strict consistency. The sequence of the path factors, however, is not the result of a careless slip, but is determined by an important logistical consideration, namely, that right view and right intention of a preliminary type are called for at the outset as the spur for entering the threefold training. Right view provides the perspective for practice, right intention the sense of direction. But the two do not expire in this preparatory role. For when the mind has been refined by the training in moral discipline and concentration, it arrives at a superior right view and right intention, which now form the proper training in the higher wisdom. Right view is the forerunner of the entire path, the guide for all the other factors. It enables us to understand our starting point, our destination, and the successive landmarks to pass as practice advances. To attempt to engage in the practice without a foundation of right view is to risk getting lost in the futility of undirected movement. Doing so might be compared to wanting to drive someplace without consulting a roadmap or listening to the suggestions of an experienced driver. One might get into the car and start to drive, but rather than approaching closer to one's destination, one is more likely to move farther away from it. To arrive at the desired place one has to have some idea of its general direction and of the roads leading to it. Analogous considerations apply to the practice of the path, which takes place in a framework of understanding established by right view. The importance of right view can be gauged from the fact that our perspectives on the crucial issues of reality and value have a bearing that goes beyond mere theoretical convictions. They govern our attitudes, our actions, our whole orientation to existence. Our views might not be clearly formulated in our mind; we might have only a hazy conceptual grasp of our beliefs. But whether formulated or not, expressed or maintained in silence, these views have a far-reaching influence. They structure our perceptions, order our values, crystallize into the ideational framework through which we interpret to ourselves the meaning of our being in the world. These views then condition action. They lie behind our choices and goals, and our efforts to turn these goals from ideals into actuality. The actions themselves might determine consequences, but the actions along with their consequences hinge on the views from which they spring. Since views imply an "ontological commitment," a decision on the question of what is real and true, it follows that views divide into two classes, right views and wrong views. The former correspond to what is real, the latter deviate from the real and confirm the false in its place. These two different kinds of views, the Buddha teaches, lead to radically disparate lines of action, and thence to opposite results. If we hold a wrong view, even if that view is vague, it will lead us towards courses of action that eventuate in suffering. On the other hand, if we adopt a right view, that view will steer us towards right action, and thereby towards freedom from suffering. Though our conceptual orientation towards the world might seem innocuous and inconsequential, when looked at closely it reveals itself to be the decisive determinant of our whole course of future development. The Buddha himself says that he sees no single factor so responsible for the arising of unwholesome states of mind as wrong view, and no factor so helpful for the arising of wholesome states of mind as right view. Again, he says that there is no single factor so responsible for the suffering of living beings as wrong view, and no factor so potent in promoting the good of living beings as right view (AN 1:16.2). In its fullest measure right view involves a correct understanding of the entire Dhamma or teaching of the Buddha, and thus its scope is equal to the range of the Dhamma itself. But for practical purposes two kinds of right view stand out as primary. One is mundane right view, right view which operates within the confines of the world. The other is supramundane right view, the superior right view which leads to liberation from the world. The first is concerned with the laws governing material and spiritual progress within the round of becoming, with the principles that lead to higher and lower states of existence, to mundane happiness and suffering. The second is concerned with the principles essential to liberation. It does not aim merely at spiritual progress from life to life, but at emancipation from the cycle of recurring lives and deaths. Mundane Right View Mundane right view involves a correct grasp of the law of kamma, the moral efficacy of action. Its literal name is "right view of the ownership of action" (kammassakata sammaditthi), and it finds its standard formulation in the statement: "Beings are the owners of their actions, the heirs of their actions; they spring from their actions, are bound to their actions, and are supported by their actions. Whatever deeds they do, good or bad, of those they shall be heirs."[5] More specific formulations have also come down in the texts. One stock passage, for example, affirms that virtuous actions such as giving and offering alms have moral significance, that good and bad deeds produce corresponding fruits, that one has a duty to serve mother and father, that there is rebirth and a world beyond the visible one, and that religious teachers of high attainment can be found who expound the truth about the world on the basis of their own superior realization.[6] To understand the implications of this form of right view we first have to examine the meaning of its key term, kamma. The word kamma means action. For Buddhism the relevant kind of action is volitional action, deeds expressive of morally determinate volition, since it is volition that gives the action ethical significance. Thus the Buddha expressly identifies action with volition. In a discourse on the analysis of kamma he says: "Monks, it is volition that I call action (kamma). Having willed, one performs an action through body, speech, or mind."[7] The identification of kamma with volition makes kamma essentially a mental event, a factor originating in the mind which seeks to actualize the mind's drives, dispositions, and purposes. Volition comes into being through any of three channels — body, speech, or mind — called the three doors of action (kammadvara). A volition expressed through the body is a bodily action; a volition expressed through speech is a verbal action; and a volition that issues in thoughts, plans, ideas, and other mental states without gaining outer expression is a mental action. Thus the one factor of volition differentiates into three types of kamma according to the channel through which it becomes manifest. Right view requires more than a simple knowledge of the general meaning of kamma. It is also necessary to understand: (i) the ethical distinction of kamma into the unwholesome and the wholesome; (ii) the principal cases of each type; and (iii) the roots from which these actions spring. As expressed in a sutta: "When a noble disciple understands what is kammically unwholesome, and the root of unwholesome kamma, what is kammically wholesome, and the root of wholesome kamma, then he has right view."[8] (i) Taking these points in order, we find that kamma is first distinguished as unwholesome (akusala) and wholesome (kusala). Unwholesome kamma is action that is morally blameworthy, detrimental to spiritual development, and conducive to suffering for oneself and others. Wholesome kamma, on the other hand, is action that is morally commendable, helpful to spiritual growth, and productive of benefits for oneself and others. (ii) Innumerable instances of unwholesome and wholesome kamma can be cited, but the Buddha selects ten of each as primary. These he calls the ten courses of unwholesome and wholesome action. Among the ten in the two sets, three are bodily, four are verbal, and three are mental. The ten courses of unwholesome kamma may be listed as follows, divided by way of their doors of expression: Destroying life Taking what is not given Wrong conduct in regard to sense pleasures Verbal action: False speech Slanderous speech Harsh speech (vacikamma) Idle chatter Covetousness Ill will Wrong view Verbal action: The ten courses of wholesome kamma are the opposites of these: abstaining from the first seven courses of unwholesome kamma, being free from covetousness and ill will, and holding right view. Though the seven cases of abstinence are exercised entirely by the mind and do not necessarily entail overt action, they are still designated wholesome bodily and verbal action because they center on the control of the faculties of body and speech. (iii) Actions are distinguished as wholesome and unwholesome on the basis of their underlying motives, called "roots" (mula), which impart their moral quality to the volitions concomitant with themselves. Thus kamma is wholesome or unwholesome according to whether its roots are wholesome or unwholesome. The roots are threefold for each set. The unwholesome roots are the three defilements we already mentioned — greed, aversion, and delusion. Any action originating from these is an unwholesome kamma. The three wholesome roots are their opposites, expressed negatively in the old Indian fashion as non-greed (alobha), non-aversion (adosa), and non-delusion (amoha). Though these are negatively designated, they signify not merely the absence of defilements but the corresponding virtues. Non-greed implies renunciation, detachment, and generosity; non-aversion implies loving-kindness, sympathy, and gentleness; and non-delusion implies wisdom. Any action originating from these roots is a wholesome kamma. The most important feature of kamma is its capacity to produce results corresponding to the ethical quality of the action. An immanent universal law holds sway over volitional actions, bringing it about that these actions issue in retributive consequences, called vipaka, "ripenings," or phala, "fruits." The law connecting actions with their fruits works on the simple principle that unwholesome actions ripen in suffering, wholesome actions in happiness. The ripening need not come right away; it need not come in the present life at all. Kamma can operate across the succession of lifetimes; it can even remain dormant for aeons into the future. But whenever we perform a volitional action, the volition leaves its imprint on the mental continuum, where it remains as a stored up potency. When the stored up kamma meets with conditions favorable to its maturation, it awakens from its dormant state and triggers off some effect that brings due compensation for the original action. The ripening may take place in the present life, in the next life, or in some life subsequent to the next. A kamma may ripen by producing rebirth into the next existence, thus determining the basic form of life; or it may ripen in the course of a lifetime, issuing in our varied experiences of happiness and pain, success and failure, progress and decline. But whenever it ripens and in whatever way, the same principle invariably holds: wholesome actions yield favorable results, unwholesome actions yield unfavorable results. To recognize this principle is to hold right view of the mundane kind. This view at once excludes the multiple forms of wrong view with which it is incompatible. As it affirms that our actions have an influence on our destiny continuing into future lives, it opposes the nihilistic view which regards this life as our only existence and holds that consciousness terminates with death. As it grounds the distinction between good and evil, right and wrong, in an objective universal principle, it opposes the ethical subjectivism which asserts that good and evil are only postulations of personal opinion or means to social control. As it affirms that people can choose their actions freely, within limits set by their conditions, it opposes the "hard deterministic" line that our choices are always made subject to necessitation, and hence that free volition is unreal and moral responsibility untenable. Some of the implications of the Buddha's teaching on the right view of kamma and its fruits run counter to popular trends in present-day thought, and it is helpful to make these differences explicit. The teaching on right view makes it known that good and bad, right and wrong, transcend conventional opinions about what is good and bad, what is right and wrong. An entire society may be predicated upon a confusion of correct moral values, and even though everyone within that society may applaud one particular kind of action as right and condemn another kind as wrong, this does not make them validly right and wrong. For the Buddha moral standards are objective and invariable. While the moral character of deeds is doubtlessly conditioned by the circumstances under which they are performed, there are objective criteria of morality against which any action, or any comprehensive moral code, can be evaluated. This objective standard of morality is integral to the Dhamma, the cosmic law of truth and righteousness. Its transpersonal ground of validation is the fact that deeds, as expressions of the volitions that engender them, produce consequences for the agent, and that the correlations between deeds and their consequences are intrinsic to the volitions themselves. There is no divine judge standing above the cosmic process who assigns rewards and punishments. Nevertheless, the deeds themselves, through their inherent moral or immoral nature, generate the appropriate results. For most people, the vast majority, the right view of kamma and its results is held out of confidence, accepted on faith from an eminent spiritual teacher who proclaims the moral efficacy of action. But even when the principle of kamma is not personally seen, it still remains a facet of right view. It is part and parcel of right view because right view is concerned with understanding — with understanding our place in the total scheme of things — and one who accepts the principle that our volitional actions possess a moral potency has, to that extent, grasped an important fact pertaining to the nature of our existence. However, the right view of the kammic efficacy of action need not remain exclusively an article of belief screened behind an impenetrable barrier. It can become a matter of direct seeing. Through the attainment of certain states of deep concentration it is possible to develop a special faculty called the "divine eye" (dibbacakkhu), a super-sensory power of vision that reveals things hidden from the eyes of flesh. When this faculty is developed, it can be directed out upon the world of living beings to investigate the workings of the kammic law. With the special vision it confers one can then see for oneself, with immediate perception, how beings pass away and re-arise according to their kamma, how they meet happiness and suffering through the maturation of their good and evil deeds.[9] Superior Right View The right view of kamma and its fruits provides a rationale for engaging in wholesome actions and attaining high status within the round of rebirths, but by itself it does not lead to liberation. It is possible for someone to accept the law of kamma yet still limit his aims to mundane achievements. One's motive for performing noble deeds might be the accumulation of meritorious kamma leading to prosperity and success here and now, a fortunate rebirth as a human being, or the enjoyment of celestial bliss in the heavenly worlds. There is nothing within the logic of kammic causality to impel the urge to transcend the cycle of kamma and its fruit. The impulse to deliverance from the entire round of becoming depends upon the acquisition of a different and deeper perspective, one which yields insight into the inherent defectiveness of all forms of samsaric existence, even the most exalted. This superior right view leading to liberation is the understanding of the Four Noble Truths. It is this right view that figures as the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path in the proper sense: as the noble right view. Thus the Buddha defines the path factor of right view expressly in terms of the four truths: "What now is right view? It is understanding of suffering (dukkha), understanding of the origin of suffering, understanding of the cessation of suffering, understanding of the way leading to the cessation to suffering."[10] The Eightfold Path starts with a conceptual understanding of the Four Noble Truths apprehended only obscurely through the media of thought and reflection. It reaches its climax in a direct intuition of those same truths, penetrated with a clarity tantamount to enlightenment. Thus it can be said that the right view of the Four Noble Truths forms both the beginning and the culmination of the way to the end of suffering. The first noble truth is the truth of suffering (dukkha), the inherent unsatisfactoriness of existence, revealed in the impermanence, pain, and perpetual incompleteness intrinsic to all forms of life. This is the noble truth of suffering. Birth is suffering; aging is suffering; sickness is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; association with the unpleasant is suffering; separation from the pleasant is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates of clinging are suffering.[11] The last statement makes a comprehensive claim that calls for some attention. The five aggregates of clinging (pañcupadanakkandha) are a classificatory scheme for understanding the nature of our being. What we are, the Buddha teaches, is a set of five aggregates — material form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness — all connected with clinging. We are the five and the five are us. Whatever we identify with, whatever we hold to as our self, falls within the set of five aggregates. Together these five aggregates generate the whole array of thoughts, emotions, ideas, and dispositions in which we dwell, "our world." Thus the Buddha's declaration that the five aggregates are dukkha in effect brings all experience, our entire existence, into the range of dukkha. But here the question arises: Why should the Buddha say that the five aggregates are dukkha? The reason he says that the five aggregates are dukkha is that they are impermanent. They change from moment to moment, arise and fall away, without anything substantial behind them persisting through the change. Since the constituent factors of our being are always changing, utterly devoid of a permanent core, there is nothing we can cling to in them as a basis for security. There is only a constantly disintegrating flux which, when clung to in the desire for permanence, brings a plunge into suffering. The second noble truth points out the cause of dukkha. From the set of defilements which eventuate in suffering, the Buddha singles out craving (tanha) as the dominant and most pervasive cause, "the origin of suffering." This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering. It is this craving which produces repeated existence, is bound up with delight and lust, and seeks pleasure here and there, namely, craving for sense pleasures, craving for existence, and craving for non-existence.[12] The third noble truth simply reverses this relationship of origination. If craving is the cause of dukkha, then to be free from dukkha we have to eliminate craving. Thus the Buddha says: This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering. It is the complete fading away and cessation of this craving, its forsaking and abandonment, liberation and detachment from it.[13] The state of perfect peace that comes when craving is eliminated is Nibbana (nirvana), the unconditioned state experienced while alive with the extinguishing of the flames of greed, aversion, and delusion. The fourth noble truth shows the way to reach the end of dukkha, the way to the realization of Nibbana. That way is the Noble Eightfold Path itself. The right view of the Four Noble Truths develops in two stages. The first is called the right view that accords with the truths (saccanulomika samma ditthi); the second, the right view that penetrates the truths (saccapativedha samma ditthi). To acquire the right view that accords with the truths requires a clear understanding of their meaning and significance in our lives. Such an understanding arises first by learning the truths and studying them. Subsequently it is deepened by reflecting upon them in the light of experience until one gains a strong conviction as to their veracity. But even at this point the truths have not been penetrated, and thus the understanding achieved is still defective, a matter of concept rather than perception. To arrive at the experiential realization of the truths it is necessary to take up the practice of meditation — first to strengthen the capacity for sustained concentration, then to develop insight. Insight arises by contemplating the five aggregates, the factors of existence, in order to discern their real characteristics. At the climax of such contemplation the mental eye turns away from the conditioned phenomena comprised in the aggregates and shifts its focus to the unconditioned state, Nibbana, which becomes accessible through the deepened faculty of insight. With this shift, when the mind's eye sees Nibbana, there takes place a simultaneous penetration of all Four Noble Truths. By seeing Nibbana, the state beyond dukkha, one gains a perspective from which to view the five aggregates and see that they are dukkha simply because they are conditioned, subject to ceaseless change. At the same moment Nibbana is realized, craving stops; the understanding then dawns that craving is the true origin of dukkha. When Nibbana is seen, it is realized to be the state of peace, free from the turmoil of becoming. And because this experience has been reached by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, one knows for oneself that the Noble Eightfold Path is truly the way to the end of dukkha. This right view that penetrates the Four Noble Truths comes at the end of the path, not at the beginning. We have to start with the right view conforming to the truths, acquired through learning and fortified through reflection. This view inspires us to take up the practice, to embark on the threefold training in moral discipline, concentration, and wisdom. When the training matures, the eye of wisdom opens by itself, penetrating the truths and freeing the mind from bondage.
Chapter III: Right Intention (Samma Sankappa) The second factor of the path is called in Pali samma sankappa, which we will translate as "right intention." The term is sometimes translated as "right thought," a rendering that can be accepted if we add the proviso that in the present context the word "thought" refers specifically to the purposive or conative aspect of mental activity, the cognitive aspect being covered by the first factor, right view. It would be artificial, however, to insist too strongly on the division between these two functions. From the Buddhist perspective, the cognitive and purposive sides of the mind do not remain isolated in separate compartments but intertwine and interact in close correlation. Emotional predilections influence views, and views determine predilections. Thus a penetrating view of the nature of existence, gained through deep reflection and validated through investigation, brings with it a restructuring of values which sets the mind moving towards goals commensurate with the new vision. The application of mind needed to achieve those goals is what is meant by right intention. The Buddha explains right intention as threefold: the intention of renunciation, the intention of good will, and the intention of harmlessness.[14] The three are opposed to three parallel kinds of wrong intention: intention governed by desire, intention governed by ill will, and intention governed by harmfulness.[15] Each kind of right intention counters the corresponding kind of wrong intention. The intention of renunciation counters the intention of desire, the intention of good will counters the intention of ill will, and the intention of harmlessness counters the intention of harmfulness. The Buddha discovered this twofold division of thought in the period prior to his Enlightenment (see MN 19). While he was striving for deliverance, meditating in the forest, he found that his thoughts could be distributed into two different classes. In one he put thoughts of desire, ill will, and harmfulness, in the other thoughts of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness. Whenever he noticed thoughts of the first kind arise in him, he understood that those thoughts lead to harm for oneself and others, obstruct wisdom, and lead away from Nibbana. Reflecting in this way he expelled such thoughts from his mind and brought them to an end. But whenever thoughts of the second kind arose, he understood those thoughts to be beneficial, conducive to the growth of wisdom, aids to the attainment of Nibbana. Thus he strengthened those thoughts and brought them to completion. Right intention claims the second place in the path, between right view and the triad of moral factors that begins with right speech, because the mind's intentional function forms the crucial link connecting our cognitive perspective with our modes of active engagement in the world. On the one side actions always point back to the thoughts from which they spring. Thought is the forerunner of action, directing body and speech, stirring them into activity, using them as its instruments for expressing its aims and ideals. These aims and ideals, our intentions, in turn point back a further step to the prevailing views. When wrong views prevail, the outcome is wrong intention giving rise to unwholesome actions. Thus one who denies the moral efficacy of action and measures achievement in terms of gain and status will aspire to nothing but gain and status, using whatever means he can to acquire them. When such pursuits become widespread, the result is suffering, the tremendous suffering of individuals, social groups, and nations out to gain wealth, position, and power without regard for consequences. The cause for the endless competition, conflict, injustice, and oppression does not lie outside the mind. These are all just manifestations of intentions, outcroppings of thoughts driven by greed, by hatred, by delusion. But when the intentions are right, the actions will be right, and for the intentions to be right the surest guarantee is right views. One who recognizes the law of kamma, that actions bring retributive consequences, will frame his pursuits to accord with this law; thus his actions, expressive of his intentions, will conform to the canons of right conduct. The Buddha succinctly sums up the matter when he says that for a person who holds a wrong view, his deeds, words, plans, and purposes grounded in that view will lead to suffering, while for a person who holds right view, his deeds, words, plans, and purposes grounded in that view will lead to happiness.[16] Since the most important formulation of right view is the understanding of the Four Noble Truths, it follows that this view should be in some way determinative of the content of right intention. This we find to be in fact the case. Understanding the four truths in relation to one's own life gives rise to the intention of renunciation; understanding them in relation to other beings gives rise to the other two right intentions. When we see how our own lives are pervaded by dukkha, and how this dukkha derives from craving, the mind inclines to renunciation — to abandoning craving and the objects to which it binds us. Then, when we apply the truths in an analogous way to other living beings, the contemplation nurtures the growth of good will and harmlessness. We see that, like ourselves, all other living beings want to be happy, and again that like ourselves they are subject to suffering. The consideration that all beings seek happiness causes thoughts of good will to arise — the loving wish that they be well, happy, and peaceful. The consideration that beings are exposed to suffering causes thoughts of harmlessness to arise — the compassionate wish that they be free from suffering. The moment the cultivation of the Noble Eightfold Path begins, the factors of right view and right intention together start to counteract the three unwholesome roots. Delusion, the primary cognitive defilement, is opposed by right view, the nascent seed of wisdom. The complete eradication of delusion will only take place when right view is developed to the stage of full realization, but every flickering of correct understanding contributes to its eventual destruction. The other two roots, being emotive defilements, require opposition through the redirecting of intention, and thus meet their antidotes in thoughts of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness. Since greed and aversion are deeply grounded, they do not yield easily; however, the work of overcoming them is not impossible if an effective strategy is employed. The path devised by the Buddha makes use of an indirect approach: it proceeds by tackling the thoughts to which these defilements give rise. Greed and aversion surface in the form of thoughts, and thus can be eroded by a process of "thought substitution," by replacing them with the thoughts opposed to them. The intention of renunciation provides the remedy to greed. Greed comes to manifestation in thoughts of desire — as sensual, acquisitive, and possessive thoughts. Thoughts of renunciation spring from the wholesome root of non-greed, which they activate whenever they are cultivated. Since contrary thoughts cannot coexist, when thoughts of renunciation are roused, they dislodge thoughts of desire, thus causing non-greed to replace greed. Similarly, the intentions of good will and harmlessness offer the antidote to aversion. Aversion comes to manifestation either in thoughts of ill will — as angry, hostile, or resentful thoughts; or in thoughts of harming — as the impulses to cruelty, aggression, and destruction. Thoughts of good will counter the former outflow of aversion, thoughts of harmlessness the latter outflow, in this way excising the unwholesome root of aversion itself. The Intention of Renunciation The Buddha describes his teaching as running contrary to the way of the world. The way of the world is the way of desire, and the unenlightened who follow this way flow with the current of desire, seeking happiness by pursuing the objects in which they imagine they will find fulfillment. The Buddha's message of renunciation states exactly the opposite: the pull of desire is to be resisted and eventually abandoned. Desire is to be abandoned not because it is morally evil but because it is a root of suffering.[17] Thus renunciation, turning away from craving and its drive for gratification, becomes the key to happiness, to freedom from the hold of attachment. The Buddha does not demand that everyone leave the household life for the monastery or ask his followers to discard all sense enjoyments on the spot. The degree to which a person renounces depends on his or her disposition and situation. But what remains as a guiding principle is this: that the attainment of deliverance requires the complete eradication of craving, and progress along the path is accelerated to the extent that one overcomes craving. Breaking free from domination by desire may not be easy, but the difficulty does not abrogate the necessity. Since craving is the origin of dukkha, putting an end to dukkha depends on eliminating craving, and that involves directing the mind to renunciation. But it is just at this point, when one tries to let go of attachment, that one encounters a powerful inner resistance. The mind does not want to relinquish its hold on the objects to which it has become attached. For such a long time it has been accustomed to gaining, grasping, and holding, that it seems impossible to break these habits by an act of will. One might agree to the need for renunciation, might want to leave attachment behind, but when the call is actually sounded the mind recoils and continues to move in the grip of its desires. So the problem arises of how to break the shackles of desire. The Buddha does not offer as a solution the method of repression — the attempt to drive desire away with a mind full of fear and loathing. This approach does not resolve the problem but only pushes it below the surface, where it continues to thrive. The tool the Buddha holds out to free the mind from desire is understanding. Real renunciation is not a matter of compelling ourselves to give up things still inwardly cherished, but of changing our perspective on them so that they no longer bind us. When we understand the nature of desire, when we investigate it closely with keen attention, desire falls away by itself, without need for struggle. To understand desire in such a way that we can loosen its hold, we need to see that desire is invariably bound up with dukkha. The whole phenomenon of desire, with its cycle of wanting and gratification, hangs on our way of seeing things. We remain in bondage to desire because we see it as our means to happiness. If we can look at desire from a different angle, its force will be abated, resulting in the move towards renunciation. What is needed to alter perception is something called "wise consideration" (yoniso manasikara). Just as perception influences thought, so thought can influence perception. Our usual perceptions are tinged with "unwise consideration" (ayoniso manasikara). We ordinarily look only at the surfaces of things, scan them in terms of our immediate interests and wants; only rarely do we dig into the roots of our involvements or explore their long-range consequences. To set this straight calls for wise consideration: looking into the hidden undertones to our actions, exploring their results, evaluating the worthiness of our goals. In this investigation our concern must not be with what is pleasant but with what is true. We have to be prepared and willing to discover what is true even at the cost of our comfort. For real security always lies on the side of truth, not on the side of comfort. When desire is scrutinized closely, we find that it is constantly shadowed by dukkha. Sometimes dukkha appears as pain or irritation; often it lies low as a constant strain of discontent. But the two — desire and dukkha — are inseparable concomitants. We can confirm this for ourselves by considering the whole cycle of desire. At the moment desire springs up it creates in us a sense of lack, the pain of want. To end this pain we struggle to fulfill the desire. If our effort fails, we experience frustration, disappointment, sometimes despair. But even the pleasure of success is not unqualified. We worry that we might lose the ground we have gained. We feel driven to secure our position, to safeguard our territory, to gain more, to rise higher, to establish tighter controls. The demands of desire seem endless, and each desire demands the eternal: it wants the things we get to last forever. But all the objects of desire are impermanent. Whether it be wealth, power, position, or other persons, separation is inevitable, and the pain that accompanies separation is proportional to the force of attachment: strong attachment brings much suffering; little attachment brings little suffering; no attachment brings no suffering.[18] Contemplating the dukkha inherent in desire is one way to incline the mind to renunciation. Another way is to contemplate directly the benefits flowing from renunciation. To move from desire to renunciation is not, as might be imagined, to move from happiness to grief, from abundance to destitution. It is to pass from gross, entangling pleasures to an exalted happiness and peace, from a condition of servitude to one of self-mastery. Desire ultimately breeds fear and sorrow, but renunciation gives fearlessness and joy. It promotes the accomplishment of all three stages of the threefold training: it purifies conduct, aids concentration, and nourishes the seed of wisdom. The entire course of practice from start to finish can in fact be seen as an evolving process of renunciation culminating in Nibbana as the ultimate stage of relinquishment, "the relinquishing of all foundations of existence" (sabb'upadhipatinissagga). When we methodically contemplate the dangers of desire and the benefits of renunciation, gradually we steer our mind away from the domination of desire. Attachments are shed like the leaves of a tree, naturally and spontaneously. The changes do not come suddenly, but when there is persistent practice, there is no doubt that they will come. Through repeated contemplation one thought knocks away another, the intention of renunciation dislodges the intention of desire. The Intention of Good Will The intention of good will opposes the intention of ill will, thoughts governed by anger and aversion. As in the case of desire, there are two ineffective ways of handling ill will. One is to yield to it, to express the aversion by bodily or verbal action. This approach releases the tension, helps drive the anger "out of one's system," but it also poses certain dangers. It breeds resentment, provokes retaliation, creates enemies, poisons relationships, and generates unwholesome kamma; in the end, the ill will does not leave the "system" after all, but instead is driven down to a deeper level where it continues to vitiate one's thoughts and conduct. The other approach, repression, also fails to dispel the destructive force of ill will. It merely turns that force around and pushes it inward, where it becomes transmogrified into self-contempt, chronic depression, or a tendency to irrational outbursts of violence. The remedy the Buddha recommends to counteract ill will, especially when the object is another person, is a quality called in Pali metta. This word derives from another word meaning "friend," but metta signifies much more than ordinary friendliness. I prefer to translate it by the compound "loving-kindness," which best captures the intended sense: an intense feeling of selfless love for other beings radiating outwards as a heartfelt concern for their well-being and happiness. Metta is not just sentimental good will, nor is it a conscientious response to a moral imperative or divine command. It must become a deep inner feeling, characterized by spontaneous warmth rather than by a sense of obligation. At its peak metta rises to the heights of a brahmavihara, a "divine dwelling," a total way of being centered on the radiant wish for the welfare of all living beings. The kind of love implied by metta should be distinguished from sensual love as well as from the love involved in personal affection. The first is a form of craving, necessarily self-directed, while the second still includes a degree of attachment: we love a person because that person gives us pleasure, belongs to our family or group, or reinforces our own self-image. Only rarely does the feeling of affection transcend all traces of ego-reference, and even then its scope is limited. It applies only to a certain person or group of people while excluding others. The love involved in metta, in contrast, does not hinge on particular relations to particular persons. Here the reference point of self is utterly omitted. We are concerned only with suffusing others with a mind of loving-kindness, which ideally is to be developed into a universal state, extended to all living beings without discriminations or reservations. The way to impart to metta this universal scope is to cultivate it as an exercise in meditation. Spontaneous feelings of good will occur too sporadically and are too limited in range to be relied on as the remedy for aversion. The idea of deliberately developing love has been criticized as contrived, mechanical, and calculated. Love, it is said, can only be genuine when it is spontaneous, arisen without inner prompting or effort. But it is a Buddhist thesis that the mind cannot be commanded to love spontaneously; it can only be shown the means to develop love and enjoined to practice accordingly. At first the means has to be employed with some deliberation, but through practice the feeling of love becomes ingrained, grafted onto the mind as a natural and spontaneous tendency. The method of development is metta-bhavana, the meditation on loving-kindness, one of the most important kinds of Buddhist meditation. The meditation begins with the development of loving-kindness towards oneself.[19] It is suggested that one take oneself as the first object of metta because true loving-kindness for others only becomes possible when one is able to feel genuine loving-kindness for oneself. Probably most of the anger and hostility we direct to others springs from negative attitudes we hold towards ourselves. When metta is directed inwards towards oneself, it helps to melt down the hardened crust created by these negative attitudes, permitting a fluid diffusion of kindness and sympathy outwards. Once one has learned to kindle the feeling of metta towards oneself, the next step is to extend it to others. The extension of metta hinges on a shift in the sense of identity, on expanding the sense of identity beyond its ordinary confines and learning to identify with others. The shift is purely psychological in method, entirely free from theological and metaphysical postulates, such as that of a universal self immanent in all beings. Instead, it proceeds from a simple, straightforward course of reflection which enables us to share the subjectivity of others and experience the world (at least imaginatively) from the standpoint of their own inwardness. The procedure starts with oneself. If we look into our own mind, we find that the basic urge of our being is the wish to be happy and free from suffering. Now, as soon as we see this in ourselves, we can immediately understand that all living beings share the same basic wish. All want to be well, happy, and secure. To develop metta towards others, what is to be done is to imaginatively share their own innate wish for happiness. We use our own desire for happiness as the key, experience this desire as the basic urge of others, then come back to our own position and extend to them the wish that they may achieve their ultimate objective, that they may be well and happy. The methodical radiation of metta is practiced first by directing metta to individuals representing certain groups. These groups are set in an order of progressive remoteness from oneself. The radiation begins with a dear person, such as a parent or teacher, then moves on to a friend, then to a neutral person, then finally to a hostile person. Though the types are defined by their relation to oneself, the love to be developed is not based on that relation but on each person's common aspiration for happiness. With each individual one has to bring his (or her) image into focus and radiate the thought: "May he (she) be well! May he (she) be happy! May he (she) be peaceful!"[20] Only when one succeeds in generating a warm feeling of good will and kindness towards that person should one turn to the next. Once one gains some success with individuals, one can then work with larger units. One can try developing metta towards all friends, all neutral persons, all hostile persons. Then metta can be widened by directional suffusion, proceeding in the various directions — east, south, west, north, above, below — then it can be extended to all beings without distinction. In the end one suffuses the entire world with a mind of loving-kindness "vast, sublime, and immeasurable, without enmity, without aversion." The Intention of Harmlessness The intention of harmlessness is thought guided by compassion (karuna), aroused in opposition to cruel, aggressive, and violent thoughts. Compassion supplies the complement to loving-kindness. Whereas loving-kindness has the characteristic of wishing for the happiness and welfare of others, compassion has the characteristic of wishing that others be free from suffering, a wish to be extended without limits to all living beings. Like metta, compassion arises by entering into the subjectivity of others, by sharing their interiority in a deep and total way. It springs up by considering that all beings, like ourselves, wish to be free from suffering, yet despite their wishes continue to be harassed by pain, fear, sorrow, and other forms of dukkha. To develop compassion as a meditative exercise, it is most effective to start with somebody who is actually undergoing suffering, since this provides the natural object for compassion. One contemplates this person's suffering, either directly or imaginatively, then reflects that like oneself, he (she) also wants to be free from suffering. The thought should be repeated, and contemplation continually exercised, until a strong feeling of compassion swells up in the heart. Then, using that feeling as a standard, one turns to different individuals, considers how they are each exposed to suffering, and radiates the gentle feeling of compassion out to them. To increase the breadth and intensity of compassion it is helpful to contemplate the various sufferings to which living beings are susceptible. A useful guideline to this extension is provided by the first noble truth, with its enumeration of the different aspects of dukkha. One contemplates beings as subject to old age, then as subject to sickness, then to death, then to sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, and so forth. When a high level of success has been achieved in generating compassion by the contemplation of beings who are directly afflicted by suffering, one can then move on to consider people who are presently enjoying happiness which they have acquired by immoral means. One might reflect that such people, despite their superficial fortune, are doubtlessly troubled deep within by the pangs of conscience. Even if they display no outward signs of inner distress, one knows that they will eventually reap the bitter fruits of their evil deeds, which will bring them intense suffering. Finally, one can widen the scope of one's contemplation to include all living beings. One should contemplate all beings as subject to the universal suffering of samsara, driven by their greed, aversion, and delusion through the round of repeated birth and death. If compassion is initially difficult to arouse towards beings who are total strangers, one can strengthen it by reflecting on the Buddha's dictum that in this beginningless cycle of rebirths, it is hard to find even a single being who has not at some time been one's own mother or father, sister or brother, son or daughter. To sum up, we see that the three kinds of right intention — of renunciation, good will, and harmlessness — counteract the three wrong intentions of desire, ill will, and harmfulness. The importance of putting into practice the contemplations leading to the arising of these thoughts cannot be overemphasized. The contemplations have been taught as methods for cultivation, not mere theoretical excursions. To develop the intention of renunciation we have to contemplate the suffering tied up with the quest for worldly enjoyment; to develop the intention of good will we have to consider how all beings desire happiness; to develop the intention of harmlessness we have to consider how all beings wish to be free from suffering. The unwholesome thought is like a rotten peg lodged in the mind; the wholesome thought is like a new peg suitable to replace it. The actual contemplation functions as the hammer used to drive out the old peg with the new one. The work of driving in the new peg is practice — practicing again and again, as often as is necessary to reach success. The Buddha gives us his assurance that the victory can be achieved. He says that whatever one reflects upon frequently becomes the inclination of the mind. If one frequently thinks sensual, hostile, or harmful thoughts, desire, ill will, and harmfulness become the inclination of the mind. If one frequently thinks in the opposite way, renunciation, good will, and harmlessness become the inclination of the mind (MN 19). The direction we take always comes back to ourselves, to the intentions we generate moment by moment in the course of our lives.
Chapter IV: Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood (Samma Vaca, Samma Kammanta, Samma Ajiva) The next three path factors — right speech, right action, and right livelihood — may be treated together, as collectively they make up the first of the three divisions of the path, the division of moral discipline (silakkhandha). Though the principles laid down in this section restrain immoral actions and promote good conduct, their ultimate purpose is not so much ethical as spiritual. They are not prescribed merely as guides to action, but primarily as aids to mental purification. As a necessary measure for human well-being, ethics has its own justification in the Buddha's teaching and its importance cannot be underrated. But in the special context of the Noble Eightfold Path ethical principles are subordinate to the path's governing goal, final deliverance from suffering. Thus for the moral training to become a proper part of the path, it has to be taken up under the tutelage of the first two factors, right view and right intention, and to lead beyond to the trainings in concentration and wisdom. Though the training in moral discipline is listed first among the three groups of practices, it should not be regarded lightly. It is the foundation for the entire path, essential for the success of the other trainings. The Buddha himself frequently urged his disciples to adhere to the rules of discipline, "seeing danger in the slightest fault." One time, when a monk approached the Buddha and asked for the training in brief, the Buddha told him: "First establish yourself in the starting point of wholesome states, that is, in purified moral discipline and in right view. Then, when your moral discipline is purified and your view straight, you should practice the four foundations of mindfulness" (SN 47:3). The Pali word we have been translating as "moral discipline," sila, appears in the texts with several overlapping meanings all connected with right conduct. In some contexts it means action conforming to moral principles, in others the principles themselves, in still others the virtuous qualities of character that result from the observance of moral principles. Sila in the sense of precepts or principles represents the formalistic side of the ethical training, sila as virtue the animating spirit, and sila as right conduct the expression of virtue in real-life situations. Often sila is formally defined as abstinence from unwholesome bodily and verbal action. This definition, with its stress on outer action, appears superficial. Other explanations, however, make up for the deficiency and reveal that there is more to sila than is evident at first glance. The Abhidhamma, for example, equates sila with the mental factors of abstinence (viratiyo) — right speech, right action, and right livelihood — an equation which makes it clear that what is really being cultivated through the observance of moral precepts is the mind. Thus while the training in sila brings the "public" benefit of inhibiting socially detrimental actions, it entails the personal benefit of mental purification, preventing the defilements from dictating to us what lines of conduct we should follow. The English word "morality" and its derivatives suggest a sense of obligation and constraint quite foreign to the Buddhist conception of sila; this connotation probably enters from the theistic background to Western ethics. Buddhism, with its non-theistic framework, grounds its ethics, not on the notion of obedience, but on that of harmony. In fact, the commentaries explain the word sila by another word, samadhana, meaning "harmony" or "coordination." The observance of sila leads to harmony at several levels — social, psychological, kammic, and contemplative. At the social level the principles of sila help to establish harmonious interpersonal relations, welding the mass of differently constituted members of society with their own private interests and goals into a cohesive social order in which conflict, if not utterly eliminated, is at least reduced. At the psychological level sila brings harmony to the mind, protection from the inner split caused by guilt and remorse over moral transgressions. At the kammic level the observance of sila ensures harmony with the cosmic law of kamma, hence favorable results in the course of future movement through the round of repeated birth and death. And at the fourth level, the contemplative, sila helps establish the preliminary purification of mind to be completed, in a deeper and more thorough way, by the methodical development of serenity and insight. When briefly defined, the factors of moral training are usually worded negatively, in terms of abstinence. But there is more to sila than refraining from what is wrong. Each principle embedded in the precepts, as we will see, actually has two aspects, both essential to the training as a whole. One is abstinence from the unwholesome, the other commitment to the wholesome; the former is called "avoidance" (varitta) and the latter "performance" (caritta). At the outset of training the Buddha stresses the aspect of avoidance. He does so, not because abstinence from the unwholesome is sufficient in itself, but to establish the steps of practice in proper sequence. The steps are set out in their natural order (more logical than temporal) in the famous dictum of the Dhammapada: "To abstain from all evil, to cultivate the good, and to purify one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas" (v. 183). The other two steps — cultivating the good and purifying the mind — also receive their due, but to ensure their success, a resolve to avoid the unwholesome is a necessity. Without such a resolve the attempt to develop wholesome qualities is bound to issue in a warped and stunted pattern of growth. The training in moral discipline governs the two principal channels of outer action, speech and body, as well as another area of vital concern — one's way of earning a living. Thus the training contains three factors: right speech, right action, and right livelihood. These we will now examine individually, following the order in which they are set forth in the usual exposition of the path. Right Speech (samma vaca) The Buddha divides right speech into four components: abstaining from false speech, abstaining from slanderous speech, abstaining from harsh speech, and abstaining from idle chatter. Because the effects of speech are not as immediately evident as those of bodily action, its importance and potential is easily overlooked. But a little reflection will show that speech and its offshoot, the written word, can have enormous consequences for good or for harm. In fact, whereas for beings such as animals who live at the preverbal level physical action is of dominant concern, for humans immersed in verbal communication speech gains the ascendency. Speech can break lives, create enemies, and start wars, or it can give wisdom, heal divisions, and create peace. This has always been so, yet in the modern age the positive and negative potentials of speech have been vastly multiplied by the tremendous increase in the means, speed, and range of communications. The capacity for verbal expression, oral and written, has often been regarded as the distinguishing mark of the human species. From this we can appreciate the need to make this capacity the means to human excellence rather than, as too often has been the case, the sign of human degradation. (1) Abstaining from false speech (musavada veramani) Herein someone avoids false speech and abstains from it. He speaks the truth, is devoted to truth, reliable, worthy of confidence, not a deceiver of people. Being at a meeting, or amongst people, or in the midst of his relatives, or in a society, or in the king's court, and called upon and asked as witness to tell what he knows, he answers, if he knows nothing: "I know nothing," and if he knows, he answers: "I know"; if he has seen nothing, he answers: "I have seen nothing," and if he has seen, he answers: "I have seen." Thus he never knowingly speaks a lie, either for the sake of his own advantage, or for the sake of another person's advantage, or for the sake of any advantage whatsoever.[21] This statement of the Buddha discloses both the negative and the positive sides to the precept. The negative side is abstaining from lying, the positive side speaking the truth. The determinative factor behind the transgression is the intention to deceive. If one speaks something false believing it to be true, there is no breach of the precept as the intention to deceive is absent. Though the deceptive intention is common to all cases of false speech, lies can appear in different guises depending on the motivating root, whether greed, hatred, or delusion. Greed as the chief motive results in the lie aimed at gaining some personal advantage for oneself or for those close to oneself — material wealth, position, respect, or admiration. With hatred as the motive, false speech takes the form of the malicious lie, the lie intended to hurt and damage others. When delusion is the principal motive, the result is a less pernicious type of falsehood: the irrational lie, the compulsive lie, the interesting exaggeration, lying for the sake of a joke. The Buddha's stricture against lying rests upon several reasons. For one thing, lying is disruptive to social cohesion. People can live together in society only in an atmosphere of mutual trust, where they have reason to believe that others will speak the truth; by destroying the grounds for trust and inducing mass suspicion, widespread lying becomes the harbinger signalling the fall from social solidarity to chaos. But lying has other consequences of a deeply personal nature at least equally disastrous. By their very nature lies tend to proliferate. Lying once and finding our word suspect, we feel compelled to lie again to defend our credibility, to paint a consistent picture of events. So the process repeats itself: the lies stretch, multiply, and connect until they lock us into a cage of falsehoods from which it is difficult to escape. The lie is thus a miniature paradigm for the whole process of subjective illusion. In each case the self-assured creator, sucked in by his own deceptions, eventually winds up their victim. Such considerations probably lie behind the words of counsel the Buddha spoke to his son, the young novice Rahula, soon after the boy was ordained. One day the Buddha came to Rahula, pointed to a bowl with a little bit of water in it, and asked: "Rahula, do you see this bit of water left in the bowl?" Rahula answered: "Yes, sir." "So little, Rahula, is the spiritual achievement (samañña, lit. 'recluseship') of one who is not afraid to speak a deliberate lie." Then the Buddha threw the water away, put the bowl down, and said: "Do you see, Rahula, how that water has been discarded? In the same way one who tells a deliberate lie discards whatever spiritual achievement he has made." Again he asked: "Do you see how this bowl is now empty? In the same way one who has no shame in speaking lies is empty of spiritual achievement." Then the Buddha turned the bowl upside down and said: "Do you see, Rahula, how this bowl has been turned upside down? In the same way one who tells a deliberate lie turns his spiritual achievements upside down and becomes incapable of progress." Therefore, the Buddha concluded, one should not speak a deliberate lie even in jest.[22] It is said that in the course of his long training for enlightenment over many lives, a bodhisatta can break all the moral precepts except the pledge to speak the truth. The reason for this is very profound, and reveals that the commitment to truth has a significance transcending the domain of ethics and even mental purification, taking us to the domains of knowledge and being. Truthful speech provides, in the sphere of interpersonal communication, a parallel to wisdom in the sphere of private understanding. The two are respectively the outward and inward modalities of the same commitment to what is real. Wisdom consists in the realization of truth, and truth (sacca) is not just a verbal proposition but the nature of things as they are. To realize truth our whole being has to be brought into accord with actuality, with things as they are, which requires that in communications with others we respect things as they are by speaking the truth. Truthful speech establishes a correspondence between our own inner being and the real nature of phenomena, allowing wisdom to rise up and fathom their real nature. Thus, much more than an ethical principle, devotion to truthful speech is a matter of taking our stand on reality rather than illusion, on the truth grasped by wisdom rather than the fantasies woven by desire. (2) Abstaining from slanderous speech (pisunaya vacaya veramani) He avoids slanderous speech and abstains from it. What he has heard here he does not repeat there, so as to cause dissension there; and what he has heard there he does not repeat here, so as to cause dissension here. Thus he unites those that are divided; and those that are united he encourages. Concord gladdens him, he delights and rejoices in concord; and it is concord that he spreads by his words.[23] Slanderous speech is speech intended to create enmity and division, to alienate one person or group from another. The motive behind such speech is generally aversion, resentment of a rival's success or virtues, the intention to tear down others by verbal denigrations. Other motives may enter the picture as well: the cruel intention of causing hurt to others, the evil desire to win affection for oneself, the perverse delight in seeing friends divided. Slanderous speech is one of the most serious moral transgressions. The root of hate makes the unwholesome kamma already heavy enough, but since the action usually occurs after deliberation, the negative force becomes even stronger because premeditation adds to its gravity. When the slanderous statement is false, the two wrongs of falsehood and slander combine to produce an extremely powerful unwholesome kamma. The canonical texts record several cases in which the calumny of an innocent party led to an immediate rebirth in the plane of misery. The opposite of slander, as the Buddha indicates, is speech that promotes friendship and harmony. Such speech originates from a mind of loving-kindness and sympathy. It wins the trust and affection of others, who feel they can confide in one without fear that their disclosures will be used against them. Beyond the obvious benefits that such speech brings in this present life, it is said that abstaining from slander has as its kammic result the gain of a retinue of friends who can never be turned against one by the slanderous words of others.[24] (3) Abstaining from harsh speech (pharusaya vacaya veramani). He avoids harsh language and abstains from it. He speaks such words as are gentle, soothing to the ear, loving, such words as go to the heart, and are courteous, friendly, and agreeable to many.[25] Harsh speech is speech uttered in anger, intended to cause the hearer pain. Such speech can assume different forms, of which we might mention three. One is abusive speech: scolding, reviling, or reproving another angrily with bitter words. A second is insult: hurting another by ascribing to him some offensive quality which detracts from his dignity. A third is sarcasm: speaking to someone in a way which ostensibly lauds him, but with such a tone or twist of phrasing that the ironic intent becomes clear and causes pain. The main root of harsh speech is aversion, assuming the form of anger. Since the defilement in this case tends to work impulsively, without deliberation, the transgression is less serious than slander and the kammic consequence generally less severe. Still, harsh speech is an unwholesome action with disagreeable results for oneself and others, both now and in the future, so it has to be restrained. The ideal antidote is patience — learning to tolerate blame and criticism from others, to sympathize with their shortcomings, to respect differences in viewpoint, to endure abuse without feeling compelled to retaliate. The Buddha calls for patience even under the most trying conditions: Even if, monks, robbers and murderers saw through your limbs and joints, whosoever should give way to anger thereat would not be following my advice. For thus ought you to train yourselves: "Undisturbed shall our mind remain, with heart full of love, and free from any hidden malice; and that person shall we penetrate with loving thoughts, wide, deep, boundless, freed from anger and hatred."[26] (4) Abstaining from idle chatter (samphappalapa veramani). He avoids idle chatter and abstains from it. He speaks at the right time, in accordance with facts, speaks what is useful, speaks of the Dhamma and the discipline; his speech is like a treasure, uttered at the right moment, accompanied by reason, moderate and full of sense.[27] Idle chatter is pointless talk, speech that lacks purpose or depth. Such speech communicates nothing of value, but only stirs up the defilements in one's own mind and in others. The Buddha advises that idle talk should be curbed and speech restricted as much as possible to matters of genuine importance. In the case of a monk, the typical subject of the passage just quoted, his words should be selective and concerned primarily with the Dhamma. Lay persons will have more need for affectionate small talk with friends and family, polite conversation with acquaintances, and talk in connection with their line of work. But even then they should be mindful not to let the conversation stray into pastures where the restless mind, always eager for something sweet or spicy to feed on, might find the chance to indulge its defiling propensities. The traditional exegesis of abstaining from idle chatter refers only to avoiding engagement in such talk oneself. But today it might be of value to give this factor a different slant, made imperative by certain developments peculiar to our own time, unknown in the days of the Buddha and the ancient commentators. This is avoiding exposure to the idle chatter constantly bombarding us through the new media of communication created by modern technology. An incredible array of devices — television, radio, newspapers, pulp journals, the cinema — turns out a continuous stream of needless information and distracting entertainment the net effect of which is to leave the mind passive, vacant, and sterile. All these developments, naively accepted as "progress," threaten to blunt our aesthetic and spiritual sensitivities and deafen us to the higher call of the contemplative life. Serious aspirants on the path to liberation have to be extremely discerning in what they allow themselves to be exposed to. They would greatly serve their aspirations by including these sources of amusement and needless information in the category of idle chatter and making an effort to avoid them. Right Action (samma kammanta) Right action means refraining from unwholesome deeds that occur with the body as their natural means of expression. The pivotal element in this path factor is the mental factor of abstinence, but because this abstinence applies to actions performed through the body, it is called "right action." The Buddha mentions three components of right action: abstaining from taking life, abstaining from taking what is not given, and abstaining from sexual misconduct. These we will briefly discuss in order. (1) Abstaining from the taking of life (panatipata veramani) Herein someone avoids the taking of life and abstains from it. Without stick or sword, conscientious, full of sympathy, he is desirous of the welfare of all sentient beings.[28] "Abstaining from taking life" has a wider application than simply refraining from killing other human beings. The precept enjoins abstaining from killing any sentient being. A "sentient being" (pani, satta) is a living being endowed with mind or consciousness; for practical purposes, this means human beings, animals, and insects. Plants are not considered to be sentient beings; though they exhibit some degree of sensitivity, they lack full-fledged consciousness, the defining attribute of a sentient being. The "taking of life" that is to be avoided is intentional killing, the deliberate destruction of life of a being endowed with consciousness. The principle is grounded in the consideration that all beings love life and fear death, that all seek happiness and are averse to pain. The essential determinant of transgression is the volition to kill, issuing in an action that deprives a being of life. Suicide is also generally regarded as a violation, but not accidental killing as the intention to destroy life is absent. The abstinence may be taken to apply to two kinds of action, the primary and the secondary. The primary is the actual destruction of life; the secondary is deliberately harming or torturing another being without killing it. While the Buddha's statement on non-injury is quite simple and straightforward, later commentaries give a detailed analysis of the principle. A treatise from Thailand, written by an erudite Thai patriarch, collates a mass of earlier material into an especially thorough treatment, which we shall briefly summarize here.[29] The treatise points out that the taking of life may have varying degrees of moral weight entailing different consequences. The three primary variables governing moral weight are the object, the motive, and the effort. With regard to the object there is a difference in seriousness between killing a human being and killing an animal, the former being kammically heavier |
(Istanbul) - The Turkish government's changes to the current Ministry for Women and Family is a step backward in its struggle to combat gender inequality and violence against women, Human Rights Watch said today. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the "Ministry for Women and Family" will be replaced by a "Ministry of Family and Social Policies," ending a much-needed explicit focus on women's rights, Human Rights Watch said.
Erdoğan made the change on June 8, 2011, four days before the June 12 general election, as part of a revised structure for the Council of Ministers. This is much more than just a name change and signals a reduced emphasis on women's rights, and efforts to promote the rights to non-discrimination and freedom from violence will suffer, Human Rights Watch said. Rather than taking the spotlight off women's rights, Turkey needs to take urgent steps to combat endemic violence against women, Human Rights Watch said.
"The Turkish government's decision to scrap the Ministry for Women flies in the face of research showing major shortcomings on women's rights and horrendous violence against women," said Gauri van Gulik, women's rights advocate and researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Women in Turkey need more determined action by the government, not less, to protect women's rights in practice."
The existing ministry's mandate was dedicated to working on issue relating to women's rights and the family. The new ministry, however, will deal with issues of concern relating to children, the aged, the disabled, and the families of soldiers who die during active service, as well as family and women's rights. The existing Directorate for the Status of Women will be a department within the ministry.
A Human Rights Watch report issued in May documents brutal and long-lasting violence against women and girls in Turkey by husbands, partners, and family members, and the survivors' struggle to get protection. A study by Turkey's Hacettepe University has shown that about 42 percent of Turkish women experience physical or sexual violence inflicted by a relative at some point in their lives.
Turkey has improved its laws, setting out requirements for shelters for abused women and protection orders. However, gaps in the law and implementation failures by police, prosecutors, judges, and other officials make the protection system unpredictable at best, and at times downright dangerous, Human Rights Watch said.
In addition to the high rates of domestic violence in Turkey, other statistics speak to broader gender inequality in the country. In 2010, Turkey ranked 83 on the United Nations Development Programme's global Gender Inequality Index - down six places compared with 2008. Women hold just 9 percent of seats in the national parliament, and only 27 of the country's nearly 3,000 mayors are women.
Women are 27 percent of the paid work force. Only about 19 percent of women are engaged in income-generating work in Turkey, and in the eastern part of the country, the figure is about 10 percent. Illiteracy figures released by the government show great disparities between men and women: 3.8 million of the 4.7 million people who are illiterate are women.
"Women in Turkey have a long way to go to get their rights or even to be protected from violence," Van Gulik said. "The government needs to send a strong signal to all women that it cares and intends to protect and promote their rights." |
A Russian Soyuz 2-1A rocket lofted the latest Progress resupply vehicle (M-27M) for what was supposed to be a fast rendezvous trip to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch of the Progress – riding on a Soyuz 2-1A for the first time – occurred at 07:09 GMT on Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. However, numerous problems have resulted in what is now a lost vehicle, as it was seen spinning wildly on orbit.
Progress Launch: *LIVE UPDATES*
Russia’s Soyuz-2-1A rocket was used to launch the resupply vehicle for only the second time, taking over from the Soyuz-U that launched the previous Progress.
This rocket’s fairing included a design to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, or the “Great Patriotic War”, as it is called in Russia.
The 2-1 version of the world famous rocket first flew in November 2004. Derived from the earlier Soyuz-U and the Soyuz 11A511 before that, the rocket was intended as an eventual replacement for all of the Soyuz and Molniya variants then in service.
The Molniya-M was retired from service in 2010 and the Soyuz-2 has already replaced the Soyuz-U for all launches apart from Progress missions to the International Space Station. That was until Wednesday’s mission.
The Soyuz-2 has three principal variants; the 2-1a, 2-1b and 2-1v (v being the Romanisation of the third letter of the Cyrillic alphabet).
The 2-1a is a modernised version of the Soyuz-U, while the 2-1b introduces a new RD-0124 stage engine.
The Soyuz-2-1v, which is also known as Soyuz-1, uses an NK-33 engine to power the core stage and does away with the four boosters flown on all other Soyuz rockets.
The first and second stages of the Soyuz-2-1a burn in parallel; the first stage consists of four strap-on boosters powered by RD-117 engines, clustered around the core, or second stage, which is powered by an RD-118.
Atop the core sits the third stage with an RD-0110 engine that injected the Progress spacecraft into its target orbit.
Once orbital insertion was achieved, the race to hook up with the ISS, in just six hours, requires the first of two engine burns on the vehicle’s initial orbit of the Earth. The requirements were already onboard the Progress’ computers.
Had all gone to plan, the second orbit would require the help of ground controllers, with actual orbital parameters uplinked from a Russian Ground Site (RGS), allowing for a further eight rendezvous burns to be performed over the next five hours of flight.
However, once Progress had arrived on orbit, only confirmation of its solar array deployment and some of the navigational antennas were confirmed. Ratty telemetry resulted in no confirmation of the KURS antennas being deployed.
While the fast rendezvous technique has been successfully employed on a number of Progress and Soyuz flights lately, this uncertainty over the KURS system status resulted in Russian controllers opting to move to the traditional two day rendezvous.
Controllers had planned to spend those two days troubleshooting the KURS issue.
A back up plan would be to dock the vehicle with the TORU system, involving a manual docking, had KURS been confirmed as problematic.
However, more problems were noted after the following passes over ground stations, culminating in video from the vehicle showing it is in a wild rotational spin.
With multiple rate sensor failures, grabbing control of the Progress may be impossible. Russian media source Interfax later cited sources saying the problem began with a bad separation between the third stage of the Soyuz carrier and the Progress.
More passes over ground stations on Wednesday will determine if they can salvage the mission. NASA noted that a plan to try and communicate with the vehicle would take place in the early hours, Moscow time. The first attempt was later to revealed as unsuccessful.
Progress M-27M dock was set to dock with the space station’s Pirs docking compartment later on Tuesday. A plan to dock on Thursday is now also out of the question.
“During the spacecraft’s first four Earth orbits, the Russian flight control team made several unsuccessful attempts to confirm the status of the spacecraft’s systems but were unable to receive telemetry from some spacecraft systems,” NASA noted. “As a result, ISS flight controllers informed the crew a docking attempt to the station has been postponed.”
A declaration the vehicle is lost was the most likely outcome, with analysis showing the vehicle is under threat of a destructive re-entry if control can’t be established.
On Wednesday, officials noted controllers were unable to save the vehicle, declaring a LOM (Loss Of Mission). Its re-entry next month is under evaluation.
An investigation will be set up, with the Soyuz 2-1A third stage under the closest scrutiny at this time.
Pre-Issue:
For Progress M-27M’s arrival, the usual requirement of bidding farewell to a previously docked Progress was conducted over the weekend.
Progress M-25M undocked and moved to a safe distance from the station until it was deorbited on Sunday. The previous Progress enjoyed a stay of execution, undergoing three weeks of engineering tests in orbit before being commanded to reenter Earth’s atmosphere, where it burnt up over the Pacific Ocean.
The latest Progress sports an increased cargo manifest, afforded to it via the additional power of the Soyuz 2-1A.
Although this is not the primary reason for switching to the Soyuz 2-1A, an extra 400 kg can be lofted via this new partnership, although not all of that additional margin has been taken advantage of with Progress M-27M as such an increase would likely require design changes to the Progress.
Progress M-27M has a launch mass of nearly 7,300 Kilograms, the bulk of which is made up of cargo and propellant for the Station. It is also lofting nearly 1,400 kg of dry cargo in its pressurized section.
The dry cargo manifest ranges from food and clothing to science equipment and spares.
(Images via Roscosmos). |
Anita Hill is calling for an investigation into the latest sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, according to the National Law Journal.
Hill, who testified against Thomas during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 1991, said there should be a “fair investigation … by an appropriate body” over a woman’s claims that Thomas groped her in 1999.
Moira Smith, vice president and general counsel at Enstar Natural Gas Co., told the National Law Journal that Thomas grabbed her without her consent in 1999. Smith said Thomas “cupped” and “squeezed” her behind when she met him at a Truman Foundation dinner.
Jim Urquhart / Reuters Anita Hill in January 2013.
Hill compared reaction to Smith’s claims to her own experience. Hill testified Thomas sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor at the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“To say that something like this is coming for political gains ― and of course that was an allegation that was directed at me ― is undermined by the fact that 16 years before, she went to friends and told people,” Hill told the NLJ Thursday. “So this is not something that she’s told for the first time at this point, this is something that people knew and they seem to be confirming.”
Through a Supreme Court spokeswoman, Thomas denied Smith’s allegations. |
We’ve got that e-mail.
[By Mayank Austen Soofi]
The Delhi Walla is in possession of a most explosive e-mail concerning author and academic Ananya Vajpeyi – she attacks author Arundhati Roy, but secretly, slyly.
Ms Vajpeyi is the Delhi-based author of Righteous Republic: The Political Foundations Of Modern India. Ms Roy is a Delhi-based writer whose works are followed by millions of readers worldwide including myself.
In March 2014, Ms Roy published The Doctor and the Saint, a long introduction to anti-caste leader Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s iconic essay The Annihilation of Caste. Next, author Akshay Pathak criticised Ms Roy’s essay on a public website in unusually harsh words. Next, Ms Vajpayei sent a confidential e-mail to Mr Pathak in which she tipped him on legal ways to ban Ms Roy’s essay. (It so happens that Ms Vajpeyi is herself working on a book on Dr Ambedkar.)
That mail by Ms Vajpeyi to Mr Pathak has somehow found its way to many inboxes in the capital, producing much outrage. It is reproduced below.
Academic Ananya Vajpeyi’s e-mail to author Akshay Pathak
On Sat, Mar 8, 2014 at 10:23 AM, Ananya Vajpeyi
ananya.vajpeyi@gmail.com> wrote:
dear akshay,
i seem to have gotten on your mailing list somehow. have we met? Do we know one another? please forgive me for forgetting if we have, and remind me where and when it was.
i haven’t followed other aspects of your writing, but ambedkar is a subject of interest to me, so i did read your post on roundtable india that you passed along.
one of the things not known to many people is that the writings of phule and ambedkar are controlled and managed by an especially constituted committee with an office in mumbai. it is this committee that has brought out some 22 volumes of ambedkar’s selected works over the years. It was originally headed by the distinguished ambedkar scholar, the late vasant moon, and it has a statutory status in the government of maharashtra, department of education. it basically has all the source materials — the published and unpublished corpus of phule and ambedkar — and is responsible for bringing these out in published form at a low price affordable for a wide cross-section of readers. you may have seen the blue and white hardbound volumes of ambedkar’s selected writings produced by this committee.
it is my understanding that without explicit prior permission from this committee, no work by ambedkar may be annotated, edited (critically or otherwise), and published for profit in the public domain by any writer, editor or publisher. if anyone does so, it a violation of copyright and may attract — in fact should attract — legal action.
while most of ambedkar’s writings circulate freely on the Internet, and have circulated in print form inside the Dalit movement even before the Internet made it so easy for text to travel, the legal standing of the committee with respect to ambedkar’s works, and its right to decide what happens to those materials, is not to my knowledge in any kind of danger or dispute.
the new volume you have discussed in your article does not appear to have been prepared with the requisite prior permission of the committee. if it has, then no such permission is explicitly mentioned, nor is there any mention of who owns copyright of the original work, annihilation of caste.
to my mind, this sort of a publication is provocative because it invites legal action from the committee, but knowing full well that it would likely only benefit the book in terms of publicity and sales were such an action to be taken. at that point arguments like “ambedkar is bigger than someone or other’s copyright” and “ambedkar belongs to us all” would probably be made with much self-righteous defiance.
but the truth of the matter is, without a stable, consistent, and carefully tended corpus of source materials, not just of ambedkar’s writings but those of so many others, like gandhi, nehru, tagore and countless historically important figures, and without some checks on who can publish what and add what notes and make what editorial decisions, scholarly and historiographical work completely loses any kind of verifiable objective basis.
ambedkar is doubtless important for us all, but his works are not a free-for-all. a person who is a publisher not a scholar, and a writer who is an essayist and novelist not a scholar, arguably have little standing or authority to first of all take as their own, and then substantially meddle with, a text like annihilation of caste. without the copyright-owning committee’s express permission, their claim to be putting forth “an annotated critical edition” is further disqualified.
i am telling you this in confidence and not in a public forum because you seem to have a genuine concern for the way in which ambedkar gets appropriated and represented. i myself work on ambedkar, and so have no desire or intention to engage with other people’s illegalities and self-promotion. when i am ready with my book, it will contain everything substantive i have to argue about ambedkar’s life, work and importance to us as a nation. but perhaps you could alert activist and ideologue friends in this field that this book that you and they are so exercised about has legal and procedural issues besides having the discursive and political problems that you have so ably alluded to in your article.
let me emphasize that this is a private email to you. i have only a cursory though civil acquaintance with arundhati roy, whose writings, like you, i have followed and admired for many years. in my view, she could have published an essay on gandhi and ambedkar as a standalone long essay or short book without attaching it to an illegal edition of annihilation of caste, but i suppose she knew what she was doing and had her reasons.
in any case, the particulars of which book, which writings of ambedkar etc., and these individuals who have brought out the volume in question, are of no importance in and of themselves. the concern is that if anyone gets up and impugns the phule-ambedkar source material publication committee, genuine scholarship is going to become harder and harder to do, and the public will be distracted and confused by all kinds of jumped-up versions of texts that we really ought to treat with the greatest respect and seriousness.
better that ambedkar’s own words, un-annotated and un-edited, circulate for free or for next to no cost, without anyone pretending to promote, champion, better, or interpret them (and this has gone on now for decades, just fine), than that we have this elaborate mechanism for verification and authorization which is then openly flouted and circumvented because someone is in a hurry or imagines that he/she knows better.
besides my book, righteous republic: the political foundations of modern india (HUP 2012) which you may have seen, i have been writing on ambedkar and gandhi more or less consistently for the past few years, here is just a very select sample —
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130630/jsp/opinion/story_17020658.jsp#.UxqcuUK1aeU
http://www.caravanmagazine.in/books/%E2%80%9Clet-poetry-be-sword%E2%80%9D
http://www.india-seminar.com/2013/649/649_ananya_vajpeyi.htm
i have a piece forthcoming in the EPW within the month.
i hope we can be in communication on this and other matters of mutual interest. since i don’t know you at all, i’d be grateful if we kept our emails between us. maybe we get to meet soon. i live in delhi, and work at a place called CSDS. you might know my husband, he’s a journalist and writer and his name is basharat peer.
best wishes,
ananya.
It’s Ambedkar’s fault, of course |
Mount volumes into a running container
Kynan Rilee Blocked Unblock Follow Following Dec 26, 2017
This post uses an adaptation of jpetazzo’s technique in Attach a volume to a container while it is running from 2015.
If you’ve used Docker before, you probably know that you can only mount volumes when a container is first created. After that, the container’s namespaces are isolated from the host.
When would it be useful to mount into an running container? For example, when you’re debugging a container, you might need to copy over your debugging tools. If you mount a volume that contains your tools, you don’t actually have to copy any files. It works for any situation where you need some files in a container but would prefer not to copy them.
containers have walls, but you can go through them if you must (photo source)
Trying to Bypass Containers’ Isolation
After the container is created, its namespaces are isolated from the host. However, there are still some hacks that let the host interfere with the container. One of them involves the container’s filesystem layers:
Docker containers use a layered filesystem. When you build on a base image, you create a new layer on top of the base image’s layers. Instead of re-encoding the entire contents of the filesystem, this top layer is just a diff. It shows only the changes you make — what was added, deleted, overwritten. When the container runs, its filesystem merges these layers into a single coherent view.
You can actually find some of a container’s layers in the host filesystem. Let’s have a look:
# on the host, list the containers' layers:
$ ls /var/lib/docker/overlay2 # or aufs (another layered fs)
180cea7d0759cc309980741d3e97ed5f32e0a1a0bf4cb26c37e81edb5cbcac4a
96e12f3ab10e386340fe4856abc44a7fed32825d533b5e113931d0e02cd59248
96e12f3ab10e386340fe4856abc44a7fed32825d533b5e113931d0e…cd59248-init
bd88758109d813229c2af778fa4e1cf2e7461a4b0019b25f3b2073417a04ea74
d1aa0d3f900d4054ef7057dca51df127c82113297c96aedc5708654739add755
d80890c702bdcea018f3a7d1a4daeeae639d6986675928e6253bbf4f86a508cd
f3bf1b56c71f918b89a1a399014f260d2d48b41407bd63a8ccb0b49d0f688c91
l
# look inside one of the layers:
$ ls /var/lib/docker/overlay2/180cea7d…cbcac4a/diff/
bin boot dev etc home lib lib64 media mnt opt …
This is /var/lib/docker/overlay2 on the host filesystem, but each of those layers is part of a container’s filesystem. The bin boot dev etc home … above belong to a running container. For example:
# on the host, create a file 'doot' in a layer:
$ touch /var/lib/docker/overlay2/180cea7d…cbcac4a/diff/doot
# in the container, 'doot' appears:
$ ls /
bin boot dev doot etc home lib lib64 media mnt opt …
Note: This isn’t something you should do. When you docker exec and make changes inside a container, you only modify the top layer of the filesystem. Here, we’re modifying lower layers, which is equivalent to directly modifying the image — an anti-pattern.
Nevertheless, let’s see how we can use this hole in the container’s isolation. Can we give the container a link to a directory on the host?
# on the host, make a link to the directory we want:
$ ln -s /home/ubuntu/test /var/lib/docker/overlay2/180c…4a/diff/doot
# in the container:
$ ls -l /doot
doot -> /home/ubuntu/test
That link won’t work in the container. It points to /home/ubuntu/test , which doesn’t exist in the container’s filesystem. In retrospect, it’s no surprise that a plain symlink wouldn’t point to a different filesystem. We need something more powerful.
We’ll use a bind-mount. Typically, you mount a device at a directory. Bind-mounting is when a directory is mounted at another directory:
# on the host, mount the target directory at `doot`:
$ mount -o bind /home/ubuntu/test \
/var/lib/docker/overlay2/180c…4a/diff/doot
# on the host:
$ ls /var/lib/docker/overlay2/180c…4a/diff/doot
< contents of /home/ubuntu/test >
# in the container:
$ ls /doot
# it's empty!
Mounts are namespaced. We created our bind-mount on the host (the first command), so it’s only available in the host’s mount namespace. As long as we’re on the host, we’ll see what we mounted at doot (the second command). When we enter the container, it’s the same doot directory, but we use the container’s mount namespace, which doesn’t have the mount. Hence, /doot is empty (the third command).
A bind-mount created outside the container is not visible inside the container. This is a property of mount namespaces.
Here’s the conundrum:
The host only creates mount s in its own namespace.
s in its own namespace. The container can’t access the host’s filesystem to create a bind-mount from it.
Each side (host vs container) is missing a piece we need. The key insight of jpetazzo’s approach is this:
The container has everything it needs (except permissions) to create a block device file and mount the entire host filesystem from it.
If we can mount the entire host filesystem in the container, we’ve solved the second point above. i.e. If the host filesystem is mounted at /hostfs in the container, we can bind-mount /hostfs/home/ubuntu/test at /doot !
Mounting the Host Filesystem
The first step is to figure out which filesystem contains /home/ubuntu/test . Use df for that:
# on the host:
$ df /home/ubuntu/test
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/xvda1 8065444 1247724 6801336 16% /
It’s the filesystem mounted at / . We check /proc/self/mountinfo to see which subdirectory of that filesystem is mounted at / :
# on the host, look for '/' in the MOUNT (5th) column:
$ less /proc/self/mountinfo
…
23 0 202:1 / / rw,relatime shared:1 - ext4 /dev/xvda1 \ rw,discard,data=ordered
…
# _ _ MAJOR:MINOR SUBROOT MOUNT ...
# the third column is the device number: try 'stat /dev/xvda1'
# the fourth column is the subdirectory mounted at '/'
# some of this info is also available in /proc/self/mounts
We also found out which device we need to create — 202:1 , a.k.a. /dev/xvda1
# in the container, create the device if it doesn't already exist:
$ [ -b /dev/xvda1 ] || mknod --mode 0600 /dev/xvda1 b 202 1
Now we just have to mount this new device inside the container:
# in the container:
$ mkdir -p /tmpmount
$ mount /dev/xvda1 /tmpmount
mount: permission denied
We want to create the mount inside the container’s namespace, but we need permissions from the host user. Enter ns-enter , which allows us to enter the container’s namespaces as the host user:
# on the host, get the container's PID:
$ docker inspect --format {{.State.Pid}} <container_name_or_ID>
4417
# from the host, mount the volume inside the container's namespaces:
$ nsenter --target 4417 --mount --uts --ipc --net --pid -- \
mount /dev/xvda1 /tmpmount
# in the container:
$ ls /tmpmount
bin boot dev etc home initrd.img lib lib64 …
Note: --mount --uts --ipc --net --pid are all namespaces we want to enter. We don’t use --user because we don’t want to become the container’s user — we need the host user’s permissions.
Bind-Mounting the Subdirectory
Now, the container has access to the whole filesystem that contains /home/ubuntu/test , so a plain bind-mount is all we need:
# in the container:
$ mount -o /tmpmount/home/ubuntu/test /doot
Note: Earlier, we found that /home/ubuntu/test was in the / subdirectory of its filesystem (the SUBROOT column of mountinfo ). If we’d found that it was in /somedir , this command would look like:
mount -o /tmpmount/somedir/home/ubuntu/test /doot
To clean up after ourselves, we unmount the whole host filesystem. The bind-mount is unaffected:
# on the host:
$ nsenter --target 4417 --mount --uts --ipc --net --pid -- \
umount /tmpmount
# in the container:
$ ls /doot
< contents of host's /home/ubuntu/test >
That’s it! Hopefully that provides some insight into how containers and namespaces work in practice.
Please check out jpetazzo’s original article. It has a few tidbits I didn’t include here. In response to his last comment: The technique does seem to work in the cloud. The steps I laid out in this post, I actually did on an AWS EC2 instance. |
Image caption April's launch attempt brought international condemnation
North Korea is to launch a long-range rocket between 10 and 22 December, its official news agency says.
The KCNA agency said the aim was to launch a satellite.
Previous - unsuccessful - launches have been criticised as breaches of a UN ban on North Korean ballistic missile tests.
The announcement is likely to increase tensions with North Korea's neighbours, with South Korea expressing concern over Pyongyang's announcement.
South Korean officials called the move a "grave provocation" and a "challenge to the international community".
The atmosphere in South Korea is especially tense as the country prepares for a presidential election scheduled for 19 December, the BBC's Lucy Williamson reports from Seoul.
North Korea's most recent rocket launch, in April, was a failure.
The US, Japan and South Korea said the rocket flew only for a short time before breaking up and crashing into waters off the Korean peninsula.
Earlier this week South Korea halted a satellite launch minutes before take-off after problems were found during the final checks.
'Peaceful purposes'
North Korean scientists and technicians had now "analysed the mistakes" of the April launch, the Korean Committee for Space Technology said, via KCNA.
The rocket will be of the same Unha-3 variety as was used in the April test. It will be launched "southward" from the Sohae base near the Chinese border, KCNA said, implying it would be directed over the East China Sea.
The flight path had been chosen to avoid debris falling on neighbouring countries, the agency said.
"Unha" is Korean for "galaxy", and is the name given by North Korea to the space launcher version of its Taepodong-2 missile, which has an estimated range of 2,200km. The missile has not yet been successfully tested.
There had been recent speculation that North Korea would attempt another launch soon, with a UN Security Council committee on Thursday warning the country against such a move.
Saturday's statement insisted the forthcoming launch would be for "peaceful purposes".
The test will be the second to take place under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, who took over leadership of the country after the death of his father Kim Jong-il almost a year ago. |
Chvrches and Linkin Park have exchanged shots in what Australia’s Faster Louder has dubbed “the great indie-pop vs nu-metal battle of 2014.” As Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry admits, “It’s not the world’s coolest musical feud.” Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda initiated the conflict by calling Chvrches (as well as Haim and Vampire Weekend) “Disney commercial music” in a recent Faster Louder interview. He also had this to say about the state of rock music:
It’s like everything that’s going on out there is like some combination of Mumford & Sons, M83, MGMT, Arcade Fire and maybe like four or five other bands. I feel like every time I hear a new — quote, unquote, “new” — rock band it’s just some derivative version of that stuff. And that’s the thing that annoys me. I like those bands that it’s coming from, all those bands I just named I will listen to their album, but the stuff that rips them off just makes me bored. I get tired of hearing this watered-down imitation of the originator.
Chvrches responded in a video interview with the Swiss TV network joiz. Mayberry’s take: It’s not a coincidence that his band has a record to sell and he mentions several bands that people are writing about. But if you’re going to go into it I don’t really like being called a sell-out by the guy who wrote the music for the MTV VMA’s. Just saying.” She added, “Live and let live. I will continue to probably not buy Linkin Park albums … I just think it’s really tacky when bands slag off other bands. If you don’t like it just don’t talk about it.” Keyboardist Iain Cook also seemed to call Shinoda a “pointless dick,” but he actually described Shinoda’s comments as a “pointless dig.” Here’s the interview, which also covers lots of other topics over 14 minutes:
In a blog post, Shinoda said his comments were taken out of context and pointed out that he was not slagging groups like Chvrches but rather pointing out a need for aggressive groups like Refused and At The Drive-In to balance out the indie rock scene. Apparently he hasn’t heard Savages, Cloud Nothings, METZ, etc., but still, his assessment seems at least somewhat fair. Unfortunately, he then undercut his case by ending the blog post with another apparent insult:
And a big thank you goes out to CHVRCHES and all the bands whose names I’ve mentioned, for helping us find direction with this album. Because sometimes, knowing where you don’t want to go is all the direction you need.
Alas, it seems no Collision Course-style Linkin Park/Chvrches collab is on the way. |
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise to legalize marijuana has grabbed the attention of many pot entrepreneurs — including Whoopi Goldberg, who’s eyeing Canada as a potential market for her line of cannabis-infused menstrual-pain products.
Goldberg’s product line, which includes a THC tincture, a topical body rub, medicated bath salts and cannabis-infused cacao, is available only to medical marijuana patients in California.
But the American comedian and talk-show host said she’d like to change that.
“It’s going to take a minute,” Goldberg said in an interview, noting that making the products available north of the border will require overcoming a number of regulatory hurdles.
“You have to go through lots of different conversations.”
Goldberg founded Whoopi & Maya alongside Maya Elisabeth, a California-based creator of medical cannabis products and the founder of Om Edibles.
In addition to cannabis, many of the products contain herbs and other natural ingredients — such as elderberries, cramp bark and ginger — that promise to alleviate some of the pain and discomfort that women experience during menstruation.
Goldberg said she was propelled into action when she heard that other celebrities, including Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson, were entering the cannabis business.
“I said: ‘Is there anybody doing anything for menstrual cramps?’ ” she recalled.
“And everyone laughed and said: ‘No, it’s a niche market, no one is going to do that.’ And I said: ‘But the niche market covers half the population.’”
The actor, well known for her role in the 1992 film Sister Act, said the product line has been a hit since its launch in April, including with women from outside California who have sampled it while visiting.
“Women who have used the products have lost their minds and said: ‘Why can’t we get it here?’ ” said Goldberg.
Her message to those women is that she’s working on it but it’s going to take some time given the legal complexities surrounding marijuana.
In Canada, for example, only a handful of licensed producers are permitted to sell medical marijuana to patients, although the federal government has said it plans to introduce legislation to legalize the drug for recreational use next spring.
Goldberg said she wants to get the ball rolling ahead of that.
“Your new guy is so smart — young baby Trudeau,” Goldberg said. “He’s so smart at this. I just want to make sure that we’re talking to people so that we can bring our product.”
But it’s too soon to say when or even if the products may be available in Canada.
“We’re just getting our toenails wet.”
article continues below |
A few months ago, I listened to the audio version of The Tenth Planet. It's a fun, undemanding base-under-siege, B-movie yarn, and is notable for two things: the regeneration of the First Doctor into the Second, and the debut of the Cybermen. This emotionless, logical cyborg race is firmly entrenched as the second most popular monster in Doctor Who history, behind only the Daleks. It's obvious why. Impassive, tragic, and utterly inhuman; the Cybermen are the Gary Barlow of fictional alien races.
Since listening to The Tenth Planet, I have come to the conclusion that the Cybermen have really good PR people. They're idealised as being powerful creatures of incredible strength and power, but watching their stories it becomes apparent that they're nothing like that.
They often aren't emotionless or logical. They aren't a mighty army of super-strong soldiers. They skulk. They plot. They bide their time. In The Tenth Planet they need the element of surprise to kill red shirts, but otherwise have been killed by their own weapons, radiation (any radiation, apparently), electricity, enhanced humans, insanity, shiny jumping robots, bullets, chessboards, gold dust, gold arrows, gold coins, and a Cerebration Mentor. This is a special gun that fires emotions at them, making them insane. This is completely different to killing them 'with love' because it is a gun and therefore 'science-fictiony'.
The Cybermen are fairly consistently portrayed: they will hide somewhere while using subterfuge (traitors, mind control, Cybermats, Tobias Vaughn, etc.) to gain access to their target, and aim to control it by weakening the population so as to reduce the amount of combat necessary. They are not fighters, although they are capable of doing so against small numbers. Think of the classic Cyberman kill: they sneak up on someone before delivering a powerful, spine-shattering blow. It isn't really until The Invasion that we see them attacking an opposing force, and that force outnumbers and defeats them. That force is UNIT. That is to say: UNIT manage to successfully attack and destroy an alien threat. UNIT. If the Cybermen could feel emotions at this point, it would quite possibly be embarrassment.
The concept of the Cybermen being powerful is a fallacy. Their starting position is always one of weakness, and they have to use deviousness and manipulation to overcome this, such as in Army of Ghosts where they take over the world through strength of numbers (and then, um, stand around in peoples' houses a bit) and even in Earthshock - by far the most gung-ho portrayal of the Cybermen, and the first with an overwhelming army on screen - they are reliant on human treachery and android guards. Unlike the Daleks, we rarely see Cybermen on screen attacking enemy forces. If you do, it is likely they will have engineered a scenario to give them an advantage.
Are the Cybermen popular for their gift for strategy then? Maybe, or possibly because their pitiful nature makes them a truly intriguing opponent; a sect of Frankenstein's Monsters, all cold, ruthless logic and sociopathy. From Krang, leader of the Cybermen in The Tenth Planet (who is strangely reminiscent of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory) to David Banks' relentlessly entertaining yet technically rubbish eighties Cyberleader ('When the tower is in our hands, he will be...' *Slow Fist Clench* '...destroyed.'), this is coupled with a hint of underlying humanity (either physically or emotionally) to unerring effect. When confronted with an impassive metal face in the wake of a callous act the true horror of the Cybermen starts to emerge.
Their best stories completely immerse themselves in a hideously brutal pragmatism, and bring to the fore the element of tragedy innate in the Cybermen: they are like this only because their world was dying, and replacing their organic matter was the only way to survive. That's all they want. This is what makes the buzzing, monotone implications of 'You belong to us. You will be like us.' all the more chilling. Placed in this near-certain-death situation, it's no wonder they chose harsh and unfeeling decision making, and their haunting electronic bleat of the mantra 'We will survive.'
It also helps that they're one of the more visually arresting 'Man In Suit' monsters that Sci-Fi has to offer, as long as you don't look at their feet. If there's one thing the Cybus Industries Cybermen from 2006 should be commended on, it's that their feet don't look like boots sprayed silver. Otherwise, there's a plethora of designs to pick from, leading to a notion that there exist different 'tribes' of Cybermen from different eras with different conversion techniques to explain differences in appearance. It's that or between each meeting with the Doctor the Cybermen go off and discuss what went wrong, and nearly always arrive at the answer 'Wow. We got our look so wrong' and follow it up with a variation on 'Next time let's go with guns in the heads and flares, right? Right.'
Mostly, though, they look pretty good. Monochrome helps, but you can't deny that the designs of Earthshock (1982) still hold up well today, and look even better sprayed silver for Silver Nemesis (a shame that the Cybermen are superfluous and not a little ridiculous in that story). However, the sixties saw a succession of excellent variations on this initial design (which, while cumbersome, has a sort of underlying horror to it by virtue of its hastily-put-together look), culminating in such iconic moments as the Cybermen emerging from their tombs on Telos or walking down the steps of St Paul's Cathedral, unopposed after having rendered nearly the entire planet immobile. Also a special mention for the Cyberman painted matt black in Attack of the Cybermen for tunnel camouflage. It's indicative of their methods that their most iconic moments involve hiding or walking around slowly with no-one to oppose them.
Over the years, to varying degress of success, there have been a lot of Dalek stories that utilise the nature of the Daleks as a starting point for the narrative. There have been fewer Cybermen stories like this. In fact, possibly their best story is a Big Finish audio-play called Spare Parts that was an influence on the 2006 storyline Rise of the Cybermen. However, the new series has yet to deliver a stone-cold classic Cybermen story, and there were arguably only two from the original run that attained that status (Tomb of the Cybermen and Earthshock), a lower strike rate than the Daleks certainly.
The Cybermen are often used as a 'Villain of the Week' and, although this in itself is no bad thing, certainly Earthshock could have worked nearly as well with Ice Warriors or Sontarans. The problem is that, on screen, we have yet to dig really deeply into the inherent tragedy of the Cybermen. We've seen that Steve Moffat can use them well, turning them into nightmarish creatures with metallic tentacles and endless backup systems which is completely in-keeping with their overwhelming instinct to survive. Brilliant as that scene was it was not a whole story, and that is something that fans have been craving for years on screen. Closing Time, in Series 6, featured the Cybermen but only really as a background threat, rather than the focus of the story, and that move angered some fans who feel that the Cybermen are due another hit.
Presumably there is another Cyberman classic out there somewhere, but it is biding its time, hiding, waiting until conditions are right for it to emerge and overwhelm its opposition.
They are, after all, always on the look out for fresh converts.
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Media distribution service Crunchyroll announced on Thursday that it has added the Tenjho Tenge anime series to its catalog. The anime is available for premium and free users in the United States and Canada, in both Japanese audio with English subtitles, or the English dub. Only the first half of the series is available to free users, with the next half available next week.
Crunchyroll describes the series:
Souichiro and Bob want to rule their new school, but just as they begin cracking heads, their plan is shot to hell. First there's the Natsume sisters and their Juuken Club. If the older sister, Maya, isn't kicking their butts, then the younger sister, Aya, is trying to force feed Souichiro and make him her husband! Then there's the Student Executive Council that sends executioners to "educate" anyone who questions the council's authority! Their education is just beginning!
The anime is based on Oh! great's manga of the same name. The series premiered in 2004. Geneon Entertainment released the series over eight DVD volumes from 2005 to 2006. Discotek Media picked up the license in 2013 and released the whole series on DVD in May 2014. |
A genus of mammals belonging to the deer, muntjac, roe deer, reindeer, and moose family of ruminants
The moose (North America) or elk (Eurasia), Alces alces is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the largest and heaviest extant species in the Deer family. Moose are distinguished by the broad, palmate (open-hand shaped) antlers of the males; other members of the deer family have antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Hunting and other human activities have caused a reduction in the size of the moose's range over time. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, New England (with Maine having the most of the lower 48 states), Fennoscandia, Baltic states, and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are the gray wolf along with bears and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose do not form herds and are solitary animals, aside from calves who remain with their mother until the cow begins estrus (typically at 18 months after birth of the calf), at which point the cow chases away young bulls. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn features energetic fights between males competing for a female.
Etymology and naming
Alces alces is called a "moose" in North American English, but an "elk" in British English;[2] its scientific name comes from its name in Latin. The word "elk" in North American English refers to a completely different species of deer, the Cervus canadensis, also called the wapiti. A mature male moose is called a bull, a mature female a cow, and an immature moose of either sex a calf.
The word "elk" originated in Proto-Germanic, from which Old English evolved and has cognates in other Indo-European languages, e.g. elg in Danish/Norwegian; älg in Swedish; alnis in Latvian; Elch in German; and łoś in Polish (Latin alcē or alcēs and Ancient Greek ἄλκη álkē are probably Germanic loanwords).[3] In the continental-European languages, these forms of the word "elk" almost always refer to the Alces alces.
The word "moose" had first entered English by 1606[4] and is borrowed from the Algonquian languages (compare the Narragansett moos and Eastern Abenaki mos; according to early sources, these were likely derived from moosu, meaning "he strips off"),[5] and possibly involved forms from multiple languages mutually reinforcing one another. The Proto-Algonquian form was *mo·swa.[6]
The moose became extinct in Britain during the Bronze Age, long before the European arrival in the Americas. The youngest bones were found in Scotland and are roughly 3,900 years old.[7] The word "elk" remained in usage because of its existence in continental Europe but, without any living animals around to serve as a reference, the meaning became rather vague to most speakers of English, who used "elk" to refer to "large deer" in general.[8] Dictionaries of the 18th century simply described "elk" as a deer that was "as large as a horse".[9]
Confusingly, the word "elk" is used in North America to refer to a different animal, Cervus canadensis, which is also called by the Algonkian indigenous name, "wapiti". The British began colonizing America in the 17th century, and found two common species of deer for which they had no names. The wapiti appeared very similar to the red deer of Europe (which itself was almost extinct in Southern Britain) although it was much larger and was not red.[8] The moose was a rather strange-looking deer to the colonists, and they often adopted local names for both. In the early days of American colonization, the wapiti was often called a grey moose and the moose was often called a black moose, but early accounts of the animals varied wildly, adding to the confusion.[10]
The wapiti is superficially very similar to the red deer of central and western Europe, although it is distinctly different behaviorally and genetically. Early European explorers in North America, particularly in Virginia where there were no moose, called the wapiti "elk" because of its size and resemblance to familiar-looking deer like the red deer.[11] The moose resembled the "German elk" (the moose of continental Europe), which was less familiar to the British colonists. For a long time neither species had an official name, but were called a variety of things. Eventually, in North America the wapiti became known as an elk while the moose retained its Anglicized Native-American name.[11] In 1736, Samuel Dale wrote to the Royal Society of Great Britain:
The common light-grey moose, called by the Indians, Wampoose, and the large or black-moose, which is the beast whose horns I herewith present. As to the grey moose, I take it to be no larger than what Mr. John Clayton, in his account of the Virginia Quadrupeds, calls the Elke ... was in all respects like those of our red-deer or stags, only larger ... The black moose is (by all that have hitherto writ of it) accounted a very large creature. ... The stag, buck, or male of this kind has a palmed horn, not like that of our common or fallow-deer, but the palm is much longer, and more like that of the German elke.[12]
Habitat, range, and distribution
Habitat
Moose require habitat with adequate edible plants (e.g., pond grasses, young trees and shrubs), cover from predators, and protection from extremely hot or cold weather. Moose travel among different habitats with the seasons to address these requirements.[13] Moose are cold-adapted mammals with thickened skin, dense, heat-retaining coat, and a low surface:volume ratio, which provides excellent cold tolerance but poor heat tolerance. Moose survive hot weather by accessing shade or cooling wind, or by immersion in cool water. In hot weather, moose are often found wading or swimming in lakes or ponds. When heat-stressed, moose may fail to adequately forage in summer and may not gain adequate body fat to survive the winter. Also, moose cows may not calve without adequate summer weight gain. Moose require access to both young forest for browsing and mature forest for shelter and cover. Forest disturbed by fire and logging promotes the growth of fodder for moose. Moose also require access to mineral licks, safe places for calving and aquatic feeding sites.[13]
Moose avoid areas with little or no snow as this increases the risk of predation by wolves and avoid areas with deep snow, as this impairs mobility. Thus, moose select habitat on the basis of trade-offs between risk of predation, food availability, and snow depth.[14] With reintroduction of bison into boreal forest, there was some concern that bison would compete with moose for winter habitat, and thereby worsen the population decline of moose. However, this does not appear to be a problem. Moose prefer sub-alpine shrublands in early winter, while bison prefer wet sedge valley meadowlands in early-winter. In late-winter, moose prefer river valleys with deciduous forest cover or alpine terrain above the tree line, while bison preferred wet sedge meadowlands or sunny southern grassy slopes.[15]
North America
Bull and cow moose
Cow moose
Moose calf
After expanding for most of the 20th century, the moose population of North America has been in steep decline since the 1990s. Populations expanded greatly with improved habitat and protection, but for unknown reasons, the moose population is declining rapidly.[16] In North America, the moose range includes almost all of Canada (excluding the arctic and Vancouver Island), most of Alaska, northern New England and upstate New York, the upper Rocky Mountains, northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and Isle Royale in Lake Superior. This massive range, containing diverse habitats, contains four of the six North American subspecies. In the West, moose populations extend well north into Canada (British Columbia and Alberta), and more isolated groups have been verified as far south as the mountains of Utah and Colorado and as far west as the Lake Wenatchee area of the Washington Cascades.[17][18] The range includes Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and smaller areas of Washington and Oregon.[19] Moose have extended their range southwards in the western Rocky Mountains, with initial sightings in Yellowstone National Park in 1868, and then to the northern slope of the Uinta Mountains in Utah in the first half of the twentieth century.[20] This is the southernmost naturally established moose population in the United States.[20] In 1978, a few breeding pairs were reintroduced in western Colorado, and the state's moose population is now more than 1,000.
In northeastern North America, the Eastern moose's history is very well documented: moose meat was often a staple in the diet of Native Americans going back centuries, with a tribe that occupied present day coastal Rhode Island giving the animal its distinctive name, adopted into American English. The Native Americans often used moose hides for leather and its meat as an ingredient in pemmican, a type of dried jerky used as a source of sustenance in winter or on long journeys.[21] Eastern tribes also valued moose leather as a source for moccasins and other items.
The historical range of the subspecies extended from well into Quebec, the Maritimes, and Eastern Ontario south to include all of New England finally ending in the very northeastern tip of Pennsylvania in the west, cutting off somewhere near the mouth of the Hudson River in the south . The moose has been extinct in much of the eastern U.S. for as long as 150 years, due to colonial era overhunting and destruction of its habitat: Dutch, French, and British colonial sources all attest to its presence in the mid 17th century from Maine south to areas within a hundred miles of present-day Manhattan. However, by the 1870s, only a handful of moose existed in this entire region in very remote pockets of forest; less than 20% of suitable habitat remained.[22]
Since the 1980s, however, moose populations have rebounded, thanks to regrowth of plentiful food sources,[22] abandonment of farmland, better land management, cleanup of pollution, and natural dispersal from the Canadian Maritimes and Quebec. South of the Canada–US border, Maine has most of the population with a 2012 headcount of about 76,000 moose.[23] Dispersals from Maine over the years have resulted in healthy, growing populations each in Vermont and New Hampshire, notably near bodies of water and as high up as 3,000 ft (910 m) above sea level in the mountains. In Massachusetts, moose had gone extinct by 1870, but re-colonized the state in the 1960s, with the population expanding from Vermont and New Hampshire; by 2010, the population was estimated at 850-950.[24] Moose reestablished populations in eastern New York and Connecticut and appeared headed south towards the Catskill Mountains, a former habitat.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31]
In the Midwest U.S., moose are primarily limited to the upper Great Lakes region, but strays, primarily immature males, have been found as far south as eastern Iowa.[32] For unknown reasons, the moose population is declining rapidly in the Midwest.[16]
Moose were successfully introduced on Newfoundland in 1878 and 1904,[33] where they are now the dominant ungulate, and somewhat less successfully on Anticosti Island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
Decline in population
Since the 1990s, moose populations have declined dramatically in much of temperate North America, although they remain stable in arctic and subarctic regions.[34] The exact causes of specific die-offs are not determined, but most documented mortality events were due to wolf predation, bacterial infection due to injuries sustained from predators, and parasites from whitetail deer to which moose have not developed a natural defense, such as liver flukes, brain worms and winter tick infestations.[16][35] Predation of moose calves by brown bear is also significant.[36] One of the leading hypotheses among biologists for generalized, nonhunting declines in moose populations at the southern extent of their range is increasing heat stress brought on by the rapid seasonal temperature upswings as a result of human-induced climate change.[37] Biologists studying moose populations typically use warm-season, heat-stress thresholds of between 14 and 24 °C (57 and 75 °F).[38] However, the minor average temperature increase of +1.5 to 2 °F change (+0.83 to 1.11 °C change), over the last 100 years, has resulted in milder winters that induce favorable conditions for ticks, parasites and other invasive species to flourish within the southern range of moose habitat in North America.[37] This leading hypothesis is supported by mathematical models that explore moose-population responses to future climate-change projections.[39]
The moose population in New Hampshire fell from 7,500 in the early 2000s to a current estimate of 4,000 and in Vermont the numbers were down to 2,200 from a high of 5,000 animals in 2005. Much of the decline has been attributed to the winter tick with about 70% of the moose calf deaths across Maine and New Hampshire due to the parasite. Moose with heavy tick infections will rub their fur down to the skin raw trying to get the ticks off, making them look white when their outer coat rubs off. Locals call them ghost moose.[40][41][42][43] Loss of the insulating winter coat through attempts to rid the moose of winter tick increases the risk of hypothermia in winter.[44]
Europe and Asia
Staged picture of a moose hunt in Norway , date unknown
In Europe, moose are currently found in large numbers throughout Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, with more modest numbers in the southern Czech Republic, Belarus and northern Ukraine. They are also widespread through Russia on up through the borders with Finland south towards the border with Estonia, Belarus and Ukraine and stretching far away eastwards to the Yenisei River in Siberia. The European moose was native to most temperate areas with suitable habitat on the continent and even Scotland from the end of the last Ice Age, as Europe had a mix of temperate boreal and deciduous forest. Up through Classical times, the species was certainly thriving in both Gaul and Magna Germania, as it appears in military and hunting accounts of the age. However, as the Roman era faded into medieval times, the beast slowly disappeared: soon after the reign of Charlemagne, the moose disappeared from France, where its range extended from Normandy in the north to the Pyrenees in the south. Farther east, it survived in Alsace and the Netherlands until the 9th century as the marshlands in the latter were drained and the forests were cleared away for feudal lands in the former. It was gone from Switzerland by the year 1000, from the western Czech Republic by 1300, from Mecklenburg in Germany by c. 1600, and from Hungary and the Caucasus since the 18th and 19th century, respectively.
By the early 20th century, the very last strongholds of the European moose appeared to be in Fennoscandian areas and patchy tracts of Russia, with a few migrants found in what is now Estonia and Lithuania. The USSR and Poland managed to restore portions of the range within its borders (such as the 1951 reintroduction into Kampinos National Park and the later 1958 reintroduction in Belarus), but political complications limited the ability to reintroduce it to other portions of its range. Attempts in 1930 and again in 1967 in marshland north of Berlin were unsuccessful. At present in Poland, populations are recorded in the Biebrza river valley, Kampinos, and in Białowieża Forest. It has migrated into other parts of Eastern Europe and has been spotted in eastern and southern Germany.[45][46] Unsuccessful thus far in recolonizing these areas via natural dispersal from source populations in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Slovakia, it appears to be having more success migrating south into the Caucasus. It is listed under Appendix III of the Bern Convention.[47][48]
In 2008, two moose were reintroduced into the Scottish Highlands[49][50] in Alladale Wilderness Reserve.[51]
The East Asian moose populations confine themselves mostly to the territory of Russia, with much smaller populations in Mongolia and Northeastern China. Moose populations are relatively stable in Siberia and increasing on the Kamchatka Peninsula. In Mongolia and China, where poaching took a great toll on moose, forcing them to near extinction, they are protected, but enforcement of the policy is weak and demand for traditional medicines derived from deer parts is high.[52][unreliable source?] In 1978, the Regional Hunting Department transported 45 young moose to the center of Kamchatka. These moose were brought from Chukotka, home to the largest moose on the planet. Kamchatka now regularly is responsible for the largest trophy moose shot around the world each season. As it is a fertile environment for moose, with a milder climate, less snow, and an abundance of food, moose quickly bred and settled along the valley of the Kamchatka River and many surrounding regions. The population in the past 20 years has risen to over 2,900 animals.
The size of the moose varies. Following Bergmann's rule, population in the south (A. a. cameloides) usually grow smaller, while moose in the north and northeast (A. a. buturlini) can match the imposing sizes of the Alaskan moose (A. a. gigas) and are prized by trophy hunters.[53][unreliable source?]
New Zealand
In 1900, an attempt to introduce moose into the Hokitika area failed; then in 1910 ten moose (four bulls and six cows) were introduced into Fiordland. This area is considered a less than suitable habitat, and subsequent low numbers of sightings and kills have led to some presumption of this population's failure.[54] The last proven sighting of a moose in New Zealand was in 1952.[55] However, a moose antler was found in 1972, and DNA tests showed that hair collected in 2002 was from a moose. There has been extensive searching, and while automated cameras failed to capture photographs, evidence was seen of bedding spots, browsing and antler marks.[56]
Populations
North America:
In Canada : There are an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 moose [57] with 150,000 in Newfoundland in 2007 descended from just four that were introduced in the 1900s. [58]
: There are an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 moose with 150,000 in Newfoundland in 2007 descended from just four that were introduced in the 1900s. In United States : There are estimated to be around 300,000: Alaska: The state's Department of Fish and Game estimated 200,000 in 2011. [59] Northeast: A wildlife ecologist estimated 50,000 in New York and New England in 2007, with expansion expected. [30] Rocky Mountain states: Wyoming is said to have the largest share in its 6-state region, and its Fish and Game Commission estimated 7,692 in 2009. [60] Upper Midwest: Michigan estimated 433 (in its Upper Peninsula) in 2011, [61] Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 20–40 (close to its upper-peninsula border with Michigan) in 2003, Minnesota 5600 in its northeast in 2010, [62] and under 100 in its northwest in 2009; [63] North Dakota closed, due to low moose population, one of its moose-hunting geographic units in 2011, and issued 162 single-kill licenses to hunters, each restricted to one of the remaining nine units. [64]
: There are estimated to be around 300,000:
Europe and Asia:
Finland : In 2009, there was a summer population of 115,000. [65]
: In 2009, there was a summer population of 115,000. Norway : In 2009, there were a winter population of around 120,000. [66] In 2015 31,131 moose were shot. In 1999, a record number of 39,422 moose were shot. [67]
: In 2009, there were a winter population of around 120,000. In 2015 31,131 moose were shot. In 1999, a record number of 39,422 moose were shot. Latvia : in 2015, there were 21,000. [68]
: in 2015, there were 21,000. Estonia : 13,260 [69]
: 13,260 Poland : 2,800 [70]
: 2,800 Czech Republic : maximum of 50 [70]
: maximum of 50 Russia : In 2007, there were approximately 600,000. [71]
: In 2007, there were approximately 600,000. Sweden : Summer population is estimated to be 300,000–400,000. Around 100,000 are shot each fall.[72][73] About 10,000 are killed in traffic accidents yearly.[74]
Subspecies
Description and anatomy
Antlers
Growing antlers are covered with a soft, furry covering called "velvet". Blood vessels in the velvet transport nutrients to support antler growth.
Bull moose have antlers like other members of the deer family. Cows select mates based on antler size. Bull moose use dominant displays of antlers to discourage competition and will spar or fight rivals.[81] The size and growth rate of antlers is determined by diet and age; symmetry reflects health.[81]
The male's antlers grow as cylindrical beams projecting on each side of the head at right angles to the midline of the skull, and then fork. The lower prong of this fork may be either simple, or divided into two or three tines, with some flattening. Moose antlers are broad and palmate (flat) with tines (points) along the outer edge.[81] The antlers of mature Alaskan adult bull moose (5 to 12 years old) have a normal maximum spread greater than 200 centimeters (79 in). By the age of 13, moose antlers decline in size and symmetry. The widest spread recorded was 210 centimeters (83 in) across. (An Alaskan moose also holds the record for the heaviest weight at 36 kilograms (79 lb).)[81]
Antler beam diameter, not the number of tines, indicates age.[81] In North America moose (A. a. americanus) antlers are usually larger than those of Eurasian moose and have two lobes on each side, like a butterfly. Eurasian moose antlers resemble a seashell, with a single lobe on each side.[81] In the North Siberian moose (A. a. bedfordiae), the posterior division of the main fork divides into three tines, with no distinct flattening. In the common moose (A. a. alces) this branch usually expands into a broad palmation, with one large tine at the base and a number of smaller snags on the free border. There is, however, a Scandinavian breed of the common moose in which the antlers are simpler and recall those of the East Siberian animals. The palmation appears to be more marked in North American moose than in the typical Scandinavian moose.
A. a. americana) in early June. Young female () in early June.
After the mating season males drop their antlers to conserve energy for the winter. A new set of antlers will then regrow in the spring. Antlers take three to five months to fully develop, making them one of the fastest growing animal organs. Antler growth is "nourished by an extensive system of blood vessels in the skin covering, which contains numerous hair follicles that give it a 'velvet' texture."[81] This requires intense grazing on a highly-nutritious diet. By September the velvet is removed by rubbing and thrashing which changes the colour of the antlers. Immature bulls may not shed their antlers for the winter, but retain them until the following spring. Birds, carnivores and rodents eat dropped antlers as they are full of protein and moose themselves will eat antler velvet for the nutrients.[81]
If a bull moose is castrated, either by accidental or chemical means, he will quickly shed his current set of antlers and then immediately begin to grow a new set of misshapen and deformed antlers that he will wear the rest of his life without ever shedding again. The distinctive-looking appendages (often referred to as "devil's antlers") are the source of several myths and legends among many groups of Inuit as well as several other tribes of indigenous peoples of North America.[82]
In extremely rare circumstances, a cow moose may grow antlers. This is usually attributed to a hormone imbalance.[83]
Hooves
As with all members of the order Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates), moose feet have two large keratinized hooves corresponding to the third and fourth toe, with two small posterolateral dewclaws (vestigial digits), corresponding to the second and fifth toe. The hoof of the fourth digit is broader than that of the third digit, while the inner hoof of the third digit is longer than that of the fourth digit. This foot configuration may favor striding on soft ground.[84] The moose hoof splays under load, increasing surface area, which limits sinking of the moose foot into soft ground or snow, and which increases efficiency when swimming. The body weight per footprint surface area of the moose foot is intermediate between that of the pronghorn foot, (which have stiff feet lacking dewclaws—optimized for high-speed running) and the caribou foot (which are more rounded with large dewclaws, optimized for walking in deep snow). The moose's body weight per surface area of footprint is about twice that of the caribou's.[85] [86]
[87][self-published source]
On firm ground, a bull moose leaves a visible impression of the dewclaws in its footprint, while a cow moose or calf does not leave a dewclaw impression. On soft ground or mud, bull, cow, and calf footprints may all show dewclaw impressions.[88][self-published source]
Fur
Their fur consist of two layers; top layer of long guard hairs and a soft wooly undercoat. The guard hairs are hollow and filled with air for better insulation, which also helps them stay afloat when swimming.[89]
Dewlap
Both male and female moose have a dewlap or bell,[90] which is a fold of skin under the chin. Its exact use is unknown, but theories state that it might be used in mating, as a visual and olfactory signal, or as a dominance signal by males, as are the antlers.[91]
Size and weight
Crossing a river
On average, an adult moose stands 1.4–2.1 m (4.6–6.9 ft) high at the shoulder, which is more than a foot higher than the next largest deer on average, the wapiti.[92] Males (or "bulls") normally weigh from 380 to 700 kg (838 to 1,543 lb) and females (or "cows") typically weigh 200 to 490 kg (441 to 1,080 lb), depending on racial or clinal as well as individual age or nutritional variations.[93][94] The head-and-body length is 2.4–3.1 m (7.9–10.2 ft), with the vestigial tail adding only a further 5–12 cm (2.0–4.7 in).[95] The largest of all the races is the Alaskan subspecies (A. a. gigas), which can stand over 2.1 m (6.9 ft) at the shoulder, has a span across the antlers of 1.8 m (5.9 ft) and averages 634.5 kg (1,399 lb) in males and 478 kg (1,054 lb) in females.[96] Typically, however, the antlers of a mature bull are between 1.2 m (3.9 ft) and 1.5 m (4.9 ft). The largest confirmed size for this species was a bull shot at the Yukon River in September 1897 that weighed 820 kg (1,808 lb) and measured 2.33 m (7.6 ft) high at the shoulder.[97] There have been reported cases of even larger moose, including a bull that reportedly scaled 1,180 kg (2,601 lb), but none are authenticated and some may not be considered reliable.[97] Behind only the two species of bison, the moose is the second largest land animal in both North America and Europe.
Ecology and biology
Diet
Bull moose eating a fireweed plant
Bull moose browses a beaver pond
The moose is a herbivore and is capable of consuming many types of plant or fruit. The average adult moose needs to consume 9,770 kcal (40.9 MJ) per day to maintain its body weight.[98] Much of a moose's energy is derived from terrestrial vegetation, mainly consisting of forbs and other non-grasses, and fresh shoots from trees such as willow and birch. These plants are rather low in sodium, and moose generally need to consume a good quantity of aquatic plants. While much lower in energy, aquatic plants provide the moose with its sodium requirements, and as much as half of their diet usually consists of aquatic plant life.[99] In winter, moose are often drawn to roadways, to lick salt that is used as a snow and ice melter.[100] A typical moose, weighing 360 kg (794 lb), can eat up to 32 kg (71 lb) of food per day.[99]
Moose lack upper front teeth, but have eight sharp incisors on the lower jaw. They also have a tough tongue, lips and gums, which aid in the eating of woody vegetation. Moose have six pairs of large, flat molars and, ahead of those, six pairs of premolars, to grind up their food. A moose's upper lip is very sensitive, to help distinguish between fresh shoots and harder twigs, and the lip is prehensile, for grasping their food. In the summer, moose may use this prehensile lip for grabbing branches and pulling, stripping the entire branch of leaves in a single mouthful, or for pulling forbs, like dandelions, or aquatic plants up by the base, roots and all.[101][102] A moose's diet often depends on its location, but they seem to prefer the new growths from deciduous trees with a high sugar content, such as white birch, trembling aspen and striped maple, among many others.[103] To reach high branches, a moose may bend small saplings down, using its prehensile lip, mouth or body. For larger trees a moose may stand erect and walk upright on its hind legs, allowing it to reach branches up to 4.26 meters (14.0 ft) or higher above the ground.[104][105]
Moose also eat many aquatic plants, including lilies and pondweed.[106] Moose are excellent swimmers and are known to wade into water to eat aquatic plants. This trait serves a second purpose in cooling down the moose on summer days and ridding itself of black flies. Moose are thus attracted to marshes and river banks during warmer months as both provide suitable vegetation to eat and water to wet themselves in. Moose have been known to dive underwater to reach plants on lake bottoms, and the complex snout may assist the moose in this type of feeding. Moose are the only deer that are capable of feeding underwater.[107] As an adaptation for feeding on plants underwater, the nose is equipped with fatty pads and muscles that close the nostrils when exposed to water pressure, preventing water from entering the nose.[108] Other species can pluck plants from the water too, but these need to raise their heads in order to swallow.
This fenced in area is part of a long-term research project to examine the effects of moose browsing on plant biodiversity.
Moose are not grazing animals but browsers (concentrate selectors). Like giraffes, moose carefully select foods with less fiber and more concentrations of nutrients. Thus, the moose's digestive system has evolved to accommodate this relatively low-fiber diet. Unlike most hooved, domesticated animals (ruminants), moose cannot digest hay, and feeding it to a moose can be fatal.[109][110] The moose's varied and complex diet is typically expensive for humans to provide, and free-range moose require a lot of forested acreage for sustainable survival, which is one of the main reasons moose have never been widely domesticated.[111][self-published source]
Natural predators
Moose attacked by wolves
A full-grown moose has few enemies except Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) which regularly prey on adult moose,[112][113][114] but a pack of gray wolves (Canis lupus) can still pose a threat, especially to females with calves.[115] Brown bears (Ursus arctos)[96] are also known to prey on moose of various sizes, including many pregnant adult cows in some parts of Alaska and Scandinavia and even the rare bull moose, and are the only predator besides the wolf to attack moose both in Eurasia and North America. However, brown bears are more likely to take over a wolf kill or to take young moose than to hunt adult moose on their own.[116][117][118] American black bears (Ursus americanus) and cougars (Puma concolor) can be significant predators of moose calves in May and June and can, in rare instances, prey on adults (mainly cows rather than the larger bulls).[119][120] Wolverine (Gulo gulo) are most likely to eat moose as carrion but have killed moose, including adults, when the large ungulates are weakened by harsh winter conditions.[121][122] Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the moose's only known marine predator as they have been known to prey on moose swimming between islands out of North America's Northwest Coast,[123] however, there is at least one recorded instance of a moose preyed upon by a Greenland shark.[124]
In some areas, moose are the primary source of food for wolves. Moose usually flee upon detecting wolves. Wolves usually follow moose at a distance of 100 to 400 meters (330 to 1,310 ft), occasionally at a distance of 2 to 3 kilometers (1.2 to 1.9 mi). Attacks from wolves against young moose may last seconds, though sometimes they can be drawn out for days with adults. Sometimes, wolves will chase moose into shallow streams or onto frozen rivers, where their mobility is greatly impeded. Moose will sometimes stand their ground and defend themselves by charging at the wolves or lashing out at them with their powerful hooves. Wolves typically kill moose by tearing at their haunches and perineum, causing massive blood loss. Occasionally, a wolf may immobilise a moose by biting its sensitive nose, the pain of which can paralyze a moose.[125] Wolf packs primarily target calves and elderly animals, but can and will take healthy, adult moose. Moose between the ages of two and eight are seldom killed by wolves.[126] Though moose are usually hunted by packs, there are cases in which single wolves have successfully killed healthy, fully-grown moose.[127][128]
Research into moose predation suggests that their response to perceived threats is learned rather than instinctual. In practical terms this means moose are more vulnerable in areas where wolf or bear populations were decimated in the past but are now rebounding. These same studies suggest, however, that moose learn quickly and adapt, fleeing an area if they hear or smell wolves, bears, or scavenger birds such as ravens.[129]
Moose are also subject to various diseases and forms of parasitism. In northern Europe, the moose botfly is a parasite whose range seems to be spreading.[130]
Social structure and reproduction
Moose are mostly diurnal. They are generally solitary with the strongest bonds between mother and calf. Although moose rarely gather in groups, there may be several in close proximity during the mating season.
Mating occurs in September and October. The males are polygamous and will seek several females to breed with. During this time both sexes will call to each other. Males produce heavy grunting sounds that can be heard from up to 500 meters away, while females produce wail-like sounds.[131] Males will fight for access to females. Initially, the males assess which of them is dominant and one bull may retreat, however, the interaction can escalate to a fight using their antlers.
Female moose have an eight-month gestation period, usually bearing one calf, or twins if food is plentiful,[132] in May or June.[133] Twinning can run as high as 30% to 40% with good nutrition[134] Newborn moose have fur with a reddish hue in contrast to the brown appearance of an adult. The young will stay with the mother until just before the next young are born. The life span of an average moose is about 15–25 years. Moose populations are stable at 25 calves for every 100 cows at 1 year of age. With availability of adequate nutrition, mild weather, and low predation, moose have a huge potential for population expansion.[134]
(newborn)
Calves nursing in spring.
(3 months)
Calves stay near their mothers at all times.
(9 months)
This calf is almost ready to leave its mother.
(10–11 months)
This yearling was probably recently chased away by its pregnant mother.
Aggression
Moose are not usually aggressive towards humans, but can be provoked or frightened to behave with aggression. In terms of raw numbers, they attack more people than bears and wolves combined, but usually with only minor consequences. In the Americas, moose injure more people than any other wild mammal, and worldwide, only hippopotamuses injure more.[135] When harassed or startled by people or in the presence of a dog, moose may charge. Also, as with bears or any wild animal, moose that have become used to being fed by people may act aggressively when denied food. During the fall mating season, bull moose may be aggressive toward humans because of the high hormone levels they experience. Cows with young calves are very protective and will attack humans who come too close, especially if they come between mother and calf. Unlike other dangerous animals, moose are not territorial, and do not view humans as food, and will therefore usually not pursue humans if they simply run away.[136]
A bull moose, disturbed by the photographer, lowers its head and raises its hackles
Like any wild animal, moose are unpredictable. They are most likely to attack if annoyed or harassed, or if approached too closely. A moose that has been harassed may vent its anger on anyone in the vicinity, and they often do not make distinctions between their tormentors and innocent passers-by.[citation needed] Moose are very limber animals with highly flexible joints and sharp, pointed hooves, and are capable of kicking with both front and back legs. Unlike other large, hooved mammals, such as horses, moose can kick in all directions including sideways. Therefore, there is no safe side from which to approach. However, moose often give warning signs prior to attacking, displaying their aggression by means of body language. Maintained eye contact is usually the first sign of aggression, while laid-back ears or a lowered head is a definite sign of agitation. If the hairs on the back of the moose's neck and shoulders (hackles) stand up, a charge is usually imminent. The Anchorage Visitor Centers warn tourists that "...a moose with its hackles raised is a thing to fear."[137][138][139][140]
Studies suggest that the calls made by female moose during the rut not only call the males but can actually induce a bull to invade another bull's harem and fight for control of it. This in turn means that the cow moose has at least a small degree of control over which bulls she mates with.[141]
Moose often show aggression to other animals as well; especially predators. Bears are common predators of moose calves and, rarely, adults. Alaskan moose have been reported to successfully fend off attacks from both black and brown bears. Moose have been known to stomp attacking wolves, which makes them less preferred as prey to the wolves. Moose are fully capable of killing bears and wolves. A moose of either sex that is confronted by danger may let out a loud roar, more resembling that of a predator than a prey animal. European moose are often more aggressive than North American moose, such as the moose in Sweden, which often become very agitated at the sight of a predator. However, like all ungulates known to attack predators, the more aggressive individuals are always darker in color.[107]
Relationship with humans
History
Moose and reflection
European rock drawings and cave paintings reveal that moose have been hunted since the Stone Age. Excavations in Alby, Sweden, adjacent to the Stora Alvaret have yielded moose antlers in wooden hut remains from 6000 BCE, indicating some of the earliest moose hunting in northern Europe. In northern Scandinavia one can still find remains of trapping pits used for hunting moose. These pits, which can be up to 4 × 7 m wide and 2 m deep, would have been camouflaged with branches and leaves. They would have had steep sides lined with planks, making it impossible for the moose to escape once it fell in. The pits are normally found in large groups, crossing the moose's regular paths and stretching over several kilometers. Remains of wooden fences designed to guide the animals toward the pits have been found in bogs and peat. In Norway, an early example of these trapping devices has been dated to around 3,700 BC. Trapping elk in pits is an extremely effective hunting method, and as early as the 16th century the Norwegian government tried to restrict their use. Nevertheless, the method was in use until the 19th century.
The earliest recorded description of the moose is in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, where it is described thus:
There are also [animals], which are called moose. The shape of these, and the varied color of their skins, is much like roes, but in size they surpass them a little and are destitute of horns, and have legs without joints and ligatures; nor do they lie down for the purpose of rest, nor, if they have been thrown down by any accident, can they raise or lift themselves up. Trees serve as beds to them; they lean themselves against them, and thus reclining only slightly, they take their rest; when the huntsmen have discovered from the footsteps of these animals whither they are accustomed to betake themselves, they either undermine all the trees at the roots, or cut into them so far that the upper part of the trees may appear to be left standing. When they have leant upon them, according to their habit, they knock down by their weight the unsupported trees, and fall down themselves along with them.[142]
Long legs allow moose to wade easily through deep water or snow.
In book 8, chapter 16 of Pliny the Elder's Natural History from 77 AD the elk and an animal called achlis, which is presumably the same animal, are described thus:
... there is, also, the moose, which strongly resembles our steers, except that it is distinguished by the length of the ears and of the neck. There is also the achlis, which is produced in the land of Scandinavia; it has never been seen in this city, although we have had descriptions of it from many persons; it is not unlike the moose, but has no joints in the hind leg. Hence, it never lies down, but reclines against a tree while it sleeps; it can only be taken by previously cutting into the tree, and thus laying a trap for it, as otherwise, it would escape through its swiftness. Its upper lip is so extremely large, for which reason it is obliged to go backwards when grazing; otherwise, by moving onwards, the lip would get doubled up.[143]
As food
Moose trophy head
Moose scat is commonly found on trails. Some souvenir shops sell bags of it, sealed with shellac and labeled with humorous names.
Moose are hunted as a game species in many of the countries where they are found. Moose meat tastes, wrote Henry David Thoreau in "The Maine Woods", "like tender beef, with perhaps more flavour; sometimes like veal". While the flesh has protein levels similar to those of other comparable red meats (e.g. beef, deer and wapiti), it has a low fat content, and the fat that is present consists of a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fats rather than saturated fats.[144]
Cadmium levels are high in Finnish elk liver and kidneys, with the result that consumption of these organs from elk more than one year old is prohibited in Finland.[145] Cadmium intake has been found to be elevated amongst all consumers of elk meat, though the elk meat was found to contribute only slightly to the daily cadmium intake. However the consumption of moose liver or kidneys significantly increased cadmium intake, with the study revealing that heavy consumers of moose organs have a relatively narrow safety margin below the levels which would probably cause adverse health effects.[146]
Dr. Valerius Geist, who emigrated to Canada from the Soviet Union, wrote in his 1999 book Moose: Behaviour, Ecology, Conservation:
In Sweden, no fall menu is without a mouthwatering moose dish. The Swedes fence their highways to reduce moose fatalities and design moose-proof cars. Sweden is less than half as large as the Canadian province of British Columbia, but the annual take of moose in Sweden – upward of 150,000 – is twice that of the total moose harvest in North America.
Boosting of moose populations in Alaska for hunting purposes is one of the reasons given for allowing aerial or airborne methods to remove wolves in designated areas, e.g., Craig Medred: "A kill of 124 wolves would thus translate to [the survival of] 1488 moose or 2976 caribou or some combination thereof".[147] Many scientists believe that this artificial inflation of game populations is actually detrimental to both caribou and moose populations as well as the ecosystem as a whole. This is because studies have shown that when these game populations are artificially boosted, it leads to both habitat destruction and a crash in these populations.[148]
Vehicle collisions
Norwegian road sign.
Warning sign in Alaska where trees and brush are trimmed along high moose crossing areas so that moose can be seen as they approach the road.
A. a. gigas) crossing a road in Alaska. Moose () crossing a road in Alaska.
Canadian road sign.
The center of mass of a moose is above the hood of most passenger cars. In a collision, the impact crushes the front roof beams and individuals in the front seats.[149] Collisions of this type are frequently fatal; seat belts and airbags offer little protection.[150] In collisions with higher vehicles (such as trucks), most of the deformation is to the front of the vehicle and the passenger compartment is largely spared. Moose collisions have prompted the development of a vehicle test referred to as the "moose test" (Swedish: Älgtest, German: Elchtest). A Massachusetts study found that moose-vehicular collisions had a very high human fatality rate and that such collisions caused the death of 3% of the Massachusetts moose population annually.[151]
Moose warning signs are used on roads in regions where there is a danger of collision with the animal. The triangular warning signs common in Sweden, Norway, and Finland have become coveted souvenirs among tourists traveling in these countries, causing road authorities so much expense that the moose signs have been replaced with imageless generic warning signs in some regions.[152]
In January 2008, the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten estimated that some 13,000 moose had died in collisions with Norwegian trains since 2000. The state agency in charge of railroad infrastructure (Jernbaneverket) plans to spend 80 million Norwegian kroner to reduce collision rate in the future by fencing the railways, clearing vegetation from near the tracks, and providing alternative snow-free feeding places for the animals elsewhere.[153]
In the Canadian province of New Brunswick, collisions with moose are frequent enough that all new highways have fences to prevent moose from accessing the road, as has long been done in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. A demonstration project, Highway 7 between Fredericton and Saint John, which has one of the highest frequencies of moose collisions in the province, did not have these fences until 2008, although it was and continues to be extremely well signed.[154][155] Newfoundland and Labrador recommended that motorists use caution between dusk and dawn because that is when moose are most active and most difficult to see, increasing the risk of collisions.[156] Local moose sightings are often reported on radio stations so that motorists can take care while driving in particular areas. An electronic "moose detection system" was installed on two sections of the Trans-Canada Highway in Newfoundland in 2011, but the system proved unreliable and was removed in 2015.[157]
In Sweden, a road will not be fenced unless it experiences at least one moose accident per kilometer per year.[158]
In eastern Germany, where the scarce population is slowly increasing, there were two road accidents involving moose since 2000.[47]
Domestication
Domestication of moose was investigated in the Soviet Union before World War II. Early experiments were inconclusive, but with the creation of an moose-farm at Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve in 1949 a small-scale moose domestication program was started, involving attempts at selective breeding of animals on the basis of their behavioural characteristics. Since 1963, the program has continued at Kostroma Moose Farm, which had a herd of 33 tame moose as of 2003. Although at this stage the farm is not expected to be a profit-making enterprise, it obtains some income from the sale of moose milk and from visiting tourist groups. Its main value, however, is seen in the opportunities it offers for the research in the physiology and behavior of the moose, as well as in the insights it provides into the general principles of animal domestication.
In Sweden, there was a debate in the late 18th century about the national value of using the moose as a domestic animal. Among other things, the moose was proposed to be used in postal distribution, and there was a suggestion to develop a moose-mounted cavalry. Such proposals remained unimplemented, mainly because the extensive hunting for moose that was deregulated in the 1790s nearly drove it to extinction. While there has been documented cases of individual moose being used for riding and/or pulling carts and sleds, Björklöf concludes no wide-scale usage has occurred outside fairytales.[159]
Paleontology
Libralces gallicus An artist's rendition of
Moose are an old genus. Like its relatives, Odocoileus and Capreolus, the genus Alces gave rise to very few species that endured for long periods of time. This differs from the Megacerines, such as the Irish elk, which evolved many species before going extinct. Some scientists, such as Adrian Lister, grouped all the species into one genus, while others, such as Augusto Azzaroli, used Alces for the living species, placing the fossil species into the genera Cervalces and Libralces.
The earliest known species is Libralces gallicus (French moose), which lived in the Pliocene epoch, about 2 million years ago. Libralces gallicus came from the warm savannahs of Pliocene Europe, with the best preserved skeletons being found in southern France. L. gallicus was 1.25 times larger than the Alaskan moose in linear dimensions, making it nearly twice as massive. L. gallicus had many striking differences from its modern descendants. It had a longer, narrower snout and a less-developed nasal cavity, more resembling that of a modern deer, lacking any sign of the modern moose-snout. Its face resembled that of the modern wapiti. However, the rest of its skull structure, skeletal structure and teeth bore strong resemblance to those features that are unmistakable in modern moose, indicating a similar diet. Its antlers consisted of a horizontal bar 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) long, with no tines, ending in small palmations. Its skull and neck structure suggest an animal that fought using high-speed impacts, much like the Dall sheep, rather than locking and twisting antlers the way modern moose combat. Their long legs and bone structure suggest an animal that was adapted to running at high speeds over rough terrain.[160][161]
Libralces existed until the middle Pleistocene epoch and were followed briefly by a species called Cervalces carnutorum. The main differences between the two consisted of shortening of the horizontal bar in the antlers and broadening of the palmations, indicating a likely change from open plains to more forested environments, and skeletal changes that suggest an adaptation to marshy environments.
Cervalces carnutorum was soon followed by a much larger species called Cervalces latifrons (broad-fronted stag-moose). The Pleistocene epoch was a time of gigantism, in which most species were much larger than their descendants of today, including exceptionally large lions, hippopotamuses, mammoths, and deer. Many fossils of Cervalces latifrons have been found in Siberia, dating from about 1.2 to 0.5 million years ago. This is most likely the time at which the species migrated from the Eurasian continent to North America. Like its descendants, it inhabited mostly northern latitudes, and was probably well-adapted to the cold. Cervalces latifrons was the largest deer known to have ever existed, standing more than 2.1 meters (6.9 ft) tall at the shoulders. This is bigger than even the Irish elk (megacerine), which was 1.8 meters (5.9 ft) tall at the shoulders. Its antlers were smaller than the Irish elk's, but comparable in size to those of Libralces gallicus. However, the antlers had a shorter horizontal bar and larger palmations, more resembling those of a modern moose.[160][161][162]
Alces alces (the modern moose) appeared during the late Pleistocene epoch. The species arrived in North America at the end of the Pleistocene and coexisted with a late-surviving variety or relative of Cervalces latifrons, which Azzaroli classified as a separate species called Cervalces scotti, or the American stag-moose.[163]
Mythology
Long before European exploration of the Americas, the Algonquian native peoples of northern New England believed a spirit being named Pamola protected Mount Katahdin, with Pamola said to have the head of a moose.
Popular culture
The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888, with nearly 1 million men in roughly 2,400 Lodges in the United States and Canada.
Bullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character that premiered in the 1959–1964 ABC network animated television series Rocky and His Friends.
The professional wrestler who performs under the ring name of Moose is Quinn Ojinnaka, a former two-time Impact Grand Champion.
The Talking Moose is an animated computer program for the Apple Macintosh featuring a moose that would periodically pop-up and make a joke or comment on user actions or system events.
See also
Älgen Stolta, a rare example of a domesticated moose
References |
Providing several extra weeks of emotional adjustment that surely won't be marred by impatience or anxiety, NBC has announced an October 19 start for the new, Dan Harmon-free version of Community, making it the last new or returning NBC series to debut this fall. Why, by that time, who knows which among the freshmen NBC series will already be marked for swift, Free Agents-like cancellation? Probably not the new Matthew Perry sitcom Go On, which—along with the Justin Kirk-starring Animal Practice—is already getting a big, optimistic push by receiving special sneak previews in the plum, post-Olympics spots of Aug. 8 and Aug. 12, respectively.
But with Go On making its official debut on September 11 ("Could that date BE any more uncomfortable for a show about grieving?" Matthew Perry asked aloud, after we gave him a dollar), and then Animal Practice bowing on September 26—alongside the Jimmy Fallon-produced, indifferently titled Guys With Kids—you will definitely have had several weeks of asking why this stuff is on but Community isn't before your indignant pleas are answered. At least Oct. 19 suggests Community could return in time for another Halloween episode—perhaps even an appropriately meta one where the Greendale gang finds itself suddenly replaced by less-weird pod people imposters. (Just a suggestion.)
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Anyway, as we are nothing but not aware of our audience, here is where we skip ahead and tell you that the rest of Community's former Thursday night colleagues will return on Sept. 20, with Up All Night leading off at 8:30 p.m ET, followed by The Office and Parks And Recreation. Right now the question of what goes in Community's vacant time slot remains a mystery—30 Rock doesn't return for its final season until October 4—but the smart money is on some Saturday Night Live election specials, a half hour of a black void soundtracked by hollow, mocking laughter, or a compilation of embarrassing moments captured on the network's secret "Dan Harmon Cam," to really stick it in.
Back to reporting chronologically, NBC keeps this staggered rollout strategy going through the autumn months, beginning with an early, August 13 start for the next season of Grimm (which returns to its regular Friday timeslot on Sept. 14) alongside the new military-themed reality show Stars Earn Stripes. The network will then more or less coast on football until it's time for The Voice to come back and save them on Sept. 10, followed the next night by the debuts of Go On and Ryan Murphy's The New Normal and the return of Parenthood.
On Sept, 12, Guys With Kids gets its own sneak preview after the penultimate America's Got Talent, then things really begin to pick up steam with the Sept. 17 debut of J.J. Abrams' Revolution, followed by the regular Sept. 26 debuts of Animal Practice and Guys With Kids before the two-hour premiere of Law And Order: SVU. The fall season then settles into some semblance of stasis with the Oct. 10 premiere of Dick Wolf's Chicago Fire and, of course, the Oct. 19 return of Community "after an all-new Whitney!" which is a phrase you should get used to hearing. |
Many of you will still be scratching your heads as to why a fully-fit Geoff Cameron flew over 4,000 miles to be an unused sub for the U.S. national team over the past week.
Here are some answers.
Despite playing a full 90 minutes for Stoke City against Southampton before the international break, U.S.defender Cameron did not play a single second for the USMNT as they crashed out of the 2018 World Cup.
Why?
Pro Soccer Talk understands that Cameron, 32, held talks with Bruce Arena at the start of the international break where he was told he was not fit enough to play and Omar Gonzalez would be playing ahead of him. End of discussion.
[ MORE: Was is impact of USA missing the World Cup? ]
Cameron was, understandably, frustrated with the decision after working his way back to full fitness (after two weeks out with a hamstring injury he suffered against Manchester United in mid-September) and proving his sharpness for Stoke in the Premier League.
Asked for a comment by Pro Soccer Talk, Cameron didn’t want to get too involved in the debate over why he wasn’t used by Arena: “This is not the time for me to get involved in this discussion. It is for someone else to explain why.”
#USMNT line-up thoughts – if Geoff Cameron is healthy (played 90min vs So’ton at weekend) He should be starting. Bad vs CR but is a gamer. — Stuart Holden (@stuholden) October 6, 2017
No other center back in the current U.S. squad had more caps than Cameron heading into the last international break and his experience could have made a huge difference.
Shown on TV sitting off to the side of the U.S. bench next to drinks cooler at the archaic Ato Boldon Stadium as the USA’s World Cup hopes faded late on against Trinidad and Tobago, Cameron’s blank expression said it all. He was resigned to watching on in the USMNT’s moment of need.
The former Houston Dynamo star is said to have accepted the decision but it remains a bizarre one. Particularly when analyzed after the fact that Gonzalez scored a horrendous own goal in the defeat at T&T, plus the U.S. defense was generally shaky in both of their final two CONCACAF 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
[ MORE: Latest USMNT news ]
Arena could have brought in Cameron in place of Gonzalez (who played for Arena at the LA Galaxy in their 2011, 2012 and 2014 MLS Cup winning teams) or even gone with three at the back at T&T in the Hex finale where a point would have been enough to take them through to the World Cup.
Pro Soccer Talk understands the squad has since questioned the tactics from the manager to go gung-ho with the same starting lineup just four days after beating Panama in a draining must-win situation in Orlando. Playing a diamond in midfield and not giving Michael Bradley extra help to protect a shaky back four is also said to have particularly frustrated several members of the USMNT.
When it comes to Cameron’s omission, this is all rather confusing.
Before the international break had even started, and Cameron had even got back on the pitch for Stoke City, Arena confirmed the center back would be in his squad for the crucial games no matter what.
Arena then made a point of calling out his two center backs against T&T, Gonzalez and Matt Besler, in his most specific criticism of the team shortly after their shocking defeat.
“Our center backs were not confident enough with the ball, and often in the first half we were really playing eight against 10 because we needed to carry the ball and bring a player to the ball and move it a little bit quicker,” Arena said.
Cameron is, no doubt, the USA’s best ball-playing defender. Composure on the ball is what he is know for.
So much so that he often excels in central midfield for Stoke City and did so markedly at the end of last season where he won several Man of the Match awards against Chelsea and Liverpool in home games for the Potters. Of outfield USMNT players, only Clint Dempsey has played in more Premier League games all-time than Cameron and he signed a new deal with Stoke last May as he’s now in his sixth-season with the club and hugely valued by Mark Hughes and the Potters’ fans.
There is no doubt Cameron has had some tough times for the U.S. with his display alongside Tim Ream in the USA’s defeat to Costa Rica in September heavily criticized, even if his own mistake came late in the game with the match already lost. But he did come off the bench and played a big part in the U.S. grabbing a point at Honduras a few days later to prove that the Costa Rica performance was just a blip.
Omar own goal, then should've given a PK… if ONLY there was a regular mid-table Premier League CB on the roster… #USMNT — Nicholas Mendola (@NicholasMendola) October 11, 2017
He has also put in sublime defensive performances for the U.S. in recent years with one of the best-ever displays from a U.S. player at the Estadio Azteca back in the summer as he held the USMNT’s defense together as they clinched a point at Mexico in a World Cup qualifier. Not to mention his display, and goal, in the 2015 CONCACAF Cup for a spot at the Confederations Cup and his rock-solid partnership with John Brooks in the USA’s run to the 2016 Copa America Centernario semifinals.
All of this adds up to why serious questions should be asked about Arena not starting one of his key players in the USA’s biggest two games of the past three years.
Will Cameron suit up for the USMNT again?
It remains to be seen what lies in store for him and many other U.S. national team veterans such as Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard but the road appears to be coming to an end for most. A friendly game on home soil could perhaps be scheduled next month during the November international break for them to say farewell as they retire from international duty.
As we continue to dissect the decisions on the pitch which cost the U.S. a World Cup spot for the first time since 1986, Arena’s bizarre decision to omit Cameron will be seen as one of the key reasons they didn’t make it to Russia 2018.
Follow @JPW_NBCSports |
Image copyright Other Image caption Mikaeel Kular was last seen going to bed on Wednesday evening
Police Scotland has activated the national Child Rescue Alert system to help them trace a three-year-old boy missing in Edinburgh.
People in the city have been asked to look out for Mikaeel Kular.
He was last seen going to bed in Ferry Gait Crescent at about 21:00 on Wednesday, but when his family woke he was not in the house.
Supt Liz McAinsh said there have been no sightings of Mikaeel since then.
The Child Rescue Alert system means calls to its 0300 200 0200 number will be answered by dedicated members of staff.
Police said they are seeking information from anyone who has seen Mikaeel or anyone matching his description in the past 24 hours.
They said there was no evidence to suggest criminality at the moment, but officers were "keeping an open mind."
Mikaeel is 3ft tall and was possibly wearing a beige hooded jacket with grey fur-lined hood.
He may also have had on black gloves with multi-coloured fingers, dark navy blue jogging bottoms, a grey pyjama top featuring an embroidered turquoise dinosaur on the chest and brown Clark shoes with two Velcro straps.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Liz McAinsh of Police Scotland launched a UK-wide dedicated phone number
He has a faded scar on the bridge of his nose and a sore on the left side of his mouth.
Police sources have indicated that an operation in Waterfront Gait, a mile from Mikaeel's home, was not connected with the investigation into the boy's disappearance.
There, officers detained a man as a witness in connection with an "unconnected" inquiry.
Supt McAinsh said the focus of the police operation remained in the local area, and officers were working to narrow down the timescale in which Mikaeel went missing.
I would stress at the moment we have no indication at all of any criminality. It remains a missing person inquiry Supt Liz McAinsh, Police Scotland
She confirmed there had been no sightings of the missing boy, and no signs of a door being left open in the property.
She was not aware of anyone else having access to the flat, she said.
A number of people were helping officers with their inquiries, the officer said, but there were no suspects, and had been no arrests or formal detentions.
She added: "I would stress at the moment we have no indication at all of any criminality. It remains a missing person inquiry.
"Our concern is obviously - with the passage of time - he was last seen at 9 o'clock last night and it's a cold day that we had.
"I would ask people in the locality please continue searching in your own personal property.
"If your neighbours are away, then think about searching their gardens, their sheds, common stairs, wheely bins."
Mikaeel, who is British with Asian parents, was at home with his mother and four siblings, including his twin sister, on Wednesday night.
Officers are speaking to "all family members" about the disappearance.
Coastguard teams and lifeboats have been searching the shoreline in the Cramond and Drylaw area.
Efforts were made to speak to Mikaeel's father, who is understood to be of Pakistani origin.
Supt Liz Ainsh said: "We've spoken to all key members of the family. We've been in contact with them and they are assisting us with our inquiries.
"We have no suspects because we have no evidence of any criminality.
Image copyright BBC/Google
"We haven't had any sightings of Mikaeel and that obviously causes us concern."
Supt McAinsh was asked by reporters if it would have been possible for a three-year-old boy to have got out of his home on his own.
"I have been assured that it is possible," she said. "I would suggest also that anything's possible.
"Three-year-old children are quite resilient and they have quite a great deal of strength and ability to open doors and I'm assured that Mikaeel is capable of doing that."
Image caption Police officers are involved in a "live ongoing search"
Temperatures overnight in Edinburgh dropped to 2.3C (36F) by 04:00, according to the Met Office.
The Police Scotland helicopter has been involved in the search operation.
Supt McAinsh said: "He would normally share a bedroom with his twin sister but my understanding is that he was sleeping in the bedroom alone last night." |
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Today’s article follows the money trail to expose a different form of bias: the kind that takes place when doctors own their own diagnostic and therapeutic equipment.
For people living with cancer, this kind of bias can have a particularly painful impact.
Radiation therapy brings out medical bias
In the United States, cancer is the second most common cause of death, killing nearly 600,000 Americans each year.
It is also one of the most expensive sectors of U.S. medicine. The annual price tag for cancer treatment is projected to reach $173 billion by 2020, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
Over the years, radiation therapy has not been immune to cost inflation.
In most cases, the cost of this therapy is influenced by two things: (a) the radiation therapy machine and (b) the length of treatment.
The treating physician determines both. And when that physician has a financial investment in the equipment he or she uses, it’s money — as often as science — that often motivates treatment decisions.
Let’s get one thing straight
Most doctors are mission-driven people who strive to do what’s best for their patients. Those who train for years to help people wouldn’t knowingly compromise a patient’s well-being for financial gain.
But when doctors and hospitals make large capital investments in their own medical equipment, even well-meaning professionals tend to favor approaches that benefit their bottom line.
This ethical grey area sparked the passage of Stark Laws, federal legislation that prohibits physicians from making referrals when there’s a conflicting financial relationship in play.
However, these prohibitions don’t apply to all health services. In fact, they exempt doctors who provide health services in their own offices. Why? Legislators viewed onsite access to diagnostic and therapeutic technologies as an added convenience for patients.
Today, compelling evidence suggests physicians who own and use their own equipment generate more personal income without necessarily improving the quality of medical outcomes. Not in every case, but enough to cause legitimate concern among people living with cancer.
Proof that dollars drive treatment bias
For patients whose cancer has spread (or “metastasized”) to the bone, the pain can be excruciating. While no treatments offer a cure, there are two palliative radiotherapy options that help ease the pain.
The traditional approach is to treat bone metastases with radiation, delivering a limited dose each time over 10 days.
The thinking goes that “fractionating” the total dose into smaller parts helps minimize damage to surrounding tissues. This is important in some clinical situations, particularly when treating cancers of the head, neck or abdominal areas.
But a newer option involves using a higher dose in a single treatment. According to an oncology group trial, the shorter approach offered the same amount of pain relief as the longer treatment for some bone metastases.
And with fewer radiation sessions, overall costs for the single treatment are significantly lower.
When you compare the two, it seems like a no-brainer. Who wouldn’t want a shorter treatment schedule and faster pain relief? One would hope every radiation therapist would embrace this approach.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
That’s because many private-practice doctors are reimbursed by the number of therapy sessions they provide. This “fee-for-service” payment model means doctors often choose longer courses of treatment over shorter ones.
More treatments, more money.
For example, a recent study comprised largely of private practitioners with financial investments in their own equipment shows that up to 96% of patients receive the longer course of care — even when they’re eligible for single course radiation therapy for prostate cancer that has spread to the bone.
Compare that to group medical practices where reimbursements aren’t based on a fee-for-service model. In these settings, 76% of doctors report using single fraction radiation for cancer that has spread to the bone.
Lower cost treatment options exist
Advances in engineering and computer delivery systems offer a glimmer of hope that radiation therapy can be delivered in cheaper, faster and more precise ways in the near future.
Today’s more exact therapeutic approaches — hypo-fractionation, radiosurgery and Gamma Knife, among others — deliver precisely targeted radiation therapy over a shorter period.
And use of these newer technologies in the right clinical situations can deliver superior results while reducing costs.
For example, patients whose cancer had spread to some areas of the brain obtained better clinical outcomes when treated with newer machines compared to traditional treatments.
A number of recent clinical trials in the United States, Canada and England highlight the effectiveness and potential cost savings of these newer radiation treatment paradigms.
Breast cancer radiation therapies that once took six weeks are now complete in just four. And for select groups with low-risk breast cancer, radiation therapy can be delivered as a one-time dose in the operating room.
Some men with low-risk prostate cancer can receive non-invasive radiation beam treatments in just five days vs. 35 or more treatments delivered over seven weeks. The clinical outcomes are not only just as good, but also $7,000 less.
Changing cancer practice patterns
Translating these opportunities into common practice will be slow as long as physicians have incentives to use of the machines they already own.
Until we can eliminate the bias of physicians who own their equipment, we won’t deliver the highest quality in the most cost effective ways to patients.
As Upton Sinclair famously wrote, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
Robert Pearl is a physician and CEO, The Permanente Medical Group. This article originally appeared on Forbes.com.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com |
Although it was released over three years ago, there were audible sounds of indigestion online recently at the discovery of a textbook called Is Everyone Really Equal?: An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education. The book is intended for all students of high school age and above. From a cursory glance of the book’s advertising materials, it appears to be roughly as full of shit as its title would imply.
At issue recently was this specific passage:
There is no such thing as reverse racism or reverse sexism (or the reverse of any form of oppression). While women can be just as prejudiced as men, women cannot be “just as sexist as men” because they do not hold political, economic, and institutional power.
Some would agree that there is indeed no such thing as “reverse racism,” but they”d argue so for different reasons than the authors. They”d say racism is racism no matter who’s practicing it. Unlike the authors of Is Everyone Really Equal?, at least they”re being consistent.
But sensible citizens such as you and I realize that the voodoo term “racism” is purely a social construct and thus has no innate meaning. That’s why different groups are always fighting one another to define it. The ability to define words is the root of cultural power. In my lifetime, the word’s definition has expanded with the ravenousness of a malignant tumor. Nowadays, everything white is racist. Even pointing that out is racist. And it’s racist of me for making fun of the fact that pointing this out is racist. And every word I keep saying from hereon out merely compounds the racism.
“The ability to define words is the root of cultural power.”
Will this tired conga beat never end? “Nonwhites cannot be racist” is a transparently nonsensical statement. It’s a freeze-dried and vacuum-sealed bag of pure bullshit, one of those innately fraudulent Newspeak mantras that bother me more every time I hear them”you know, obvious lies such as “alcoholism is a disease,” “rape has nothing to do with sex,” and “race doesn”t exist, but racism is rampant.” It’s an idea that makes no sense, which may be why its proponents feel compelled to constantly hammer you in the head with it until you finally relent merely because your head hurts.
More importantly, it’s a blatant act of moving the goalposts. It’s an attempt to redefine the term “racism” in a way that effectively silences whites and cripples their ability to address the topic with any level of meaning, honesty, or emotion.
You may counter that I”m merely whining at the fact that my privileges are being taken away from me, but what non-masochistic human being isn”t going to get upset about having things taken from them? You can take candy from either a baby or a 90-year-old, and they”ll both still cry.
When attempting to define terms, I suppose that dictionaries can in some minor ways be helpful. Webster’s defines “racism” thusly:
1
: a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2
: racial prejudice or discrimination
OK, I”ve looked over that definition many times and still haven”t seen an addendum that says, “….but only when white people are doing it.” So for the time being, the official definition of “racism” does not contain any such “whites only” clause.
But according to Luke Visconti, a white man who is the CEO of something called DiversityInc, such dictionary definitions of racism are indeed “too white.” From a cursory glance of his website, I suspect that everything may be “too white” for Visconti”possibly even himself. If he were offered the magical ability to molt his skin like a snake and emerge as a coal-black Haitian, I tend to believe he”d accept the offer, provided there was no salary cut.
All of his memes are familiar and threadbare, and he barfs them up like a baby bird regurgitating a half-digested worm to please its mother. Like many of his ilk, Visconti attempts to split semantic pubes”he distinguishes “racism” from “bigotry” and “prejudice.” He says that while one may run across the occasional black bigot, such lone wolves do not have the institutional power to discriminate against whites in the way that our government and media routinely discriminate against blacks by…um…actually, he didn”t provide any examples of how the government and media currently do this.
Pay to Play - Put your money where your mouth is and subscribe for an ad-free experience and to join the world famous Takimag comment board. |
GPU Display Driver Vulnerabilities in the Kernel Layer May Lead to a Denial of Service, Escalation of Privileges, or Both
Go to NVIDIA Product Security.
Vulnerability Details
CVE-2016-8821
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer ( nvlddmkm.sys ) handler for DxgkDdiEscape where improper access controls may allow a user to access arbitrary physical memory, leading to an escalation of privileges.
CVSS Base Score: 8.8
CVSS Temporal Score: 7.7
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
CVE-2016-8822
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer ( nvlddmkm.sys ) handler for DxgkDdiEscape ID 0x600000E, 0x600000F, and 0x6000010 where a value passed from a user to the driver is used without validation as the index to an internal array, leading to denial of service or potential escalation of privileges.
CVSS Base Score: 8.8
CVSS Temporal Score: 7.9
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
CVE-2016-8823
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer ( nvlddmkm.sys ) handler for DxgkDdiEscape where the size of an input buffer is not validated leading to a denial of service or possible escalation of privileges.
CVSS Base Score: 8.8
CVSS Temporal Score: 7.9
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
CVE-2016-8824
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer ( nvlddmkm.sys ) handler for DxgkDdiEscape where improper access controls allow a regular user to write a part of the registry intended for privileged users only, leading to escalation of privileges.
CVSS Base Score: 8.8
CVSS Temporal Score: 7.9
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
CVE-2016-8825
NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer ( nvlddmkm.sys ) handler for DxgkDdiEscape where the size of an input buffer is not validated, leading to denial of service or potential escalation of privileges.
CVSS Base Score: 8.8
CVSS Temporal Score: 7.9
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
CVE-2016-8826
NVIDIA GPU Display Driver contains a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer ( nvlddmkm.sys for Windows or nvidia.ko for Linux) where a user can cause a GPU interrupt storm, leading to a denial of service.
CVSS Base Score: 6.5
CVSS Temporal Score: 5.9
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
NVIDIA’s risk assessment is based on an average of risk across a diverse set of installed systems and may not represent the true risk of your local installation. NVIDIA recommends consulting a local security or IT professional to evaluate the risk of your specific configuration. NVIDIA doesn't know of any exploits to these issues at this time.
Affected Products
CVE Product Impacted Installed Component OS CVE-2016-8821
CVE-2016-8822
CVE-2016-8823
CVE-2016-8824
CVE-2016-8825
CVE-2016-8826 GeForce
GRID
NVS
Quadro
Tesla Graphics Driver Windows CVE-2016-8826 GeForce
GRID
NVS
Quadro
Tesla Graphics Driver Linux
Fixes
You can download the fixes from the NVIDIA NVIDIA Driver Downloads page.
Quadro, NVS, Tesla, GeForce, and GRID on Windows
Product Product Series OS Branch First version that includes the fix NVS
Quadro All Windows R375 376.33 R340 342.01 GeForce All Windows R375 376.33 GeForce GPUs with Tesla architecture Windows R340 342.01 Tesla All Windows R375 376.33 GRID GRID Series Windows R352 GRID Software 3.3
363.24 GRID Software 2.5
356.60
Quadro, NVS, Tesla, GeForce, and GRID on Linux
Product Product Series OS Branch First version that includes the fix GeForce
NVS
Quadro All Linux R375 375.26 R340 340.101 R304 304.134 Tesla Tesla P100 Linux R375 375.20 R361 361.107 GRID NVIDIA GRID vGPU Linux R352 GRID Software 3.3
361.45.44 GRID Software 2.5
352.103
Mitigations
363.24
None
Acknowledgements
CVE-2016-8822: NVIDIA was informed of this issue by Oliver Chang, working with Google Project Zero.
CVE-2016-8823: NVIDIA was informed of this issue by Piotr Bania of Cisco Talos.
Revision History
Revision Date Description 3.0 March 9, 2017 Added information about fixes available for affect NVIDIA GRID products 2.1 January 11, 2017 Corrected a typographical error in the name of the DxgkDdiEscape function 2.0 January 4, 2017 Added information about fixes available for affect NVIDIA GRID products 1.0 December 14, 2016 Initial release
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I know what driver version I have installed?
Launch Windows Device Manager. Select Display Adapters. Select the NVIDIA GPU node and right-click. Go to the Driver tab.
The driver version can be deciphered as shown in the following examples: 10.18.13.6472 is 364.72 and 10.18.13.472 is 304.72
Disclaimer
ALL NVIDIA INFORMATION, DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS, REFERENCE BOARDS, FILES, DRAWINGS, DIAGNOSTICS, LISTS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS (TOGETHER AND SEPARATELY, “MATERIALS”) ARE BEING PROVIDED “AS IS.” NVIDIA MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE WITH RESPECT TO THE MATERIALS, AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
Information furnished is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, NVIDIA Corporation assumes no responsibility for the consequences of use of such information or for any infringement of patents or other rights of third parties that may result from its use. No license is granted by implication or otherwise under any patent or patent rights of NVIDIA Corporation. Specifications mentioned in this publication are subject to change without notice. This publication supersedes and replaces all information previously supplied. NVIDIA Corporation products are not authorized for use as critical components in life support devices or systems without express written approval of NVIDIA Corporation. |
GETTY Nearly 80 per cent of asylum seekers have arrived to Germany without a passport
Four in five migrants hoping to make a new life in the promised land of Europe will land in Germany without a passport a shocking new report by the federal police has revealed. Between January and April, out of 114,255 of asylum seekers waiting to cross the border, around 91,000 did not have the required documents. And from January to March this year German border officers seized 1,306 fake documents from asylum seekers, of which 145 were Syrian refugees, according to German newspaper Bild.
Meanwhile, in 2015, federal police seized 4,973 fake identification documents when searching travelling migrants in Germany - 834 of those were fake IDs of Syrian refugees. It seems criminals have managed to slip through the net as since the first four months of 2016, more than 4,000 people who have entered the country are now on the Germany’s most wanted list. There is speculation that many of the migrants are forced to use fake documents after destroying their papers before trying to enter Germany since they reveal information on travel routes within Europe.
GETTY More than 1.1 million migrants entered Germany last year
It's a strain on our society Frank-Jürgen Weise
More than 1.1 million migrants entered Germany last year, with most coming from Middle Eastern and North African countries. But Chancellor Angela Merkel's grip on power is growing ever weaker, with rebellion across the country against her controversial immigration policies. She has consistently berated other EU states for introducing border controls to bring the migrant flow under control, ever since she made a pledge last summer to welcome all Syrians with open arms. But growing cracks appeared and members of her own movement are beginning to openly question her stance on immigration following the horrific Cologne sex attacks.
GETTY Four in five migrants arriving in Germany do so without a passport
Germany will now have to brace itself for hundreds and thousands of migrants landing in Germany to join their relatives, according to the federal agency for migration and refugees (Bamf). Spouses, children and parents of unaccompanied, under-age refugees from Syria will arrive, according to a document by the agency. During the next years up to 500,000 Syrians could encourage their families to join them in Germany, the study predicts.
Migrant Crisis: Mass exodus from the migrant camp continues Tue, October 25, 2016 Hundreds of migrants are continuing to arrive in Europe as they flee the scenes of chaos and brutality of the Islamic State in the Middle East. Play slideshow 1 of 224
On average this means that one relative per refugee will join them. This is based on evidence which shows around 428,000 Syrians entered Germany in 2015 and during the first five months of this year this number has already hit 72,000.
Chairman of the federal agency for refugees, Frank-Jürgen Weise, said applications would be dealt with quickly. He added: “I am sure that the applications we received politically will be dealt with till the end of this year. “Now the processing will have to start. If my calculations are correct and every decision maker makes two decisions per day, then we will be done by the end of the year.”
GETTY Protesters across the country are against Merkel's controversial immigration policies |
Fox Broadcasting's prolific Chef Gordon Ramsay is raising his profile in the Golden Triangle for the second time in the past several weeks. Not only did Columbus cook Seonkyoung Longest make it into the top 40 of his Master Chef Season 4, which premiered May 22, before being eliminated, Ramsay himself is scheduled to be in Starkville June 12-16 to film "Hotel Hell" at the Hotel Chester.
Now shooting its second season, the reality series features the demanding chef visiting struggling hotels throughout the United States in an attempt to reverse their misfortunes.
A publicity release from Fox Broadcasting reads, "Last year's first season of 'Hotel Hell' was the biggest unscripted network hit of the summer. Now Gordon Ramsay is back for a second season, hitting the road to fix some of America's most horrendous hotels, troubled inns and struggling resorts ... One of his stops is the Hotel Chester in Starkville, Miss."
"We're eager for Mr. Gordon Ramsay to come to the Hotel Chester and give us his advice," said hotel general manager Sukie Mollendor Monday. Her husband, David, is the establishment's owner. As usual with advance television filming, participants, like the Mollendors, are restricted in what they can reveal before the show is expected to air this fall.
Located at 101 N. Jackson St. in downtown Starkville, the hotel encompasses The Library restaurant, serving a menu described by the manager as modern American and Japanese fusion, featuring steak, seafood and sushi. The Beer Garden is also open Thursdays through Saturdays for summer in the patio area.
The community has an opportunity to be in the mix. Anyone wishing to book a room or dinner during June 12-16, while the show is filming, must make reservations by emailing [email protected] |
Paul Flannery and Tom Ziller are previewing all 30 teams via conversation. Next up: the Sacramento Kings. Find all of the Flanns and Zillz previews here.
FLANNERY: Let's talk about Boogie Cousins. Man's going into his seventh season. He's a two-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA performer, and now an Olympic gold medalist. He's the most physically-dominant big man of his generation ... and he still hasn't come close to sniffing the playoffs.
As the internet's foremost expert on DeMarcus and the Kangz, what gives?
ZILLER: As with all things, there are multiple causes and the interrelatedness of those causes is nigh impossible to decipher.
There has been persistent coaching instability. How much of that is due to Boogie's frequent clashes with coaches?
There has been pervasive drama among players. How much of that should be pinned on Boogie's anti-leadership? How much of that anti-leadership should be blamed on woeful roster management by all three of Cousins' GMs?
Defense is an annual issue. How much of that is on your starting center? How much of his deficiency in that realm is due to the ultra-heavy offensive load he carries? How much of his ultra-heavy offensive load is due to his ego? How much is due to woeful roster management?
You see why the issue is so thorny. I'm reminded of the riddling debate Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves have at the beginning of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Their band, Wyld Stallyns, sounds like trash. Winter's Bill S. Preston, Esq. argues that the Stallyns won't be great until they convince Eddie Van Halen to join the band. Reeves' "Ted" Theodore Logan suggests that recruiting Van Halen will be impossible without a triumphant video. Bill counters that there can be no triumphant video unless the Stallyns procure better instruments. Ted retorts that there is no use for better instruments until the duo learns how to play. That, Bill replies, is why they need Eddie Van Halen. Ted concludes that this is why it is imperative that they create a triumphant video.
So it goes with Boogie Cousins and the Kings. To be truly great, Cousins needs stable coaching and better teammates. But to get stable coaching and boost his teammates, he needs to be truly great. That's why I propose that the Kings should have signed Eddie Van Halen in the offseason.
Alas, it was Arron Afflalo, Ty Lawson, Garrett Temple, and Matt Barnes.
FLANNERY: I ... don't know what to say in response.
ZILLER: Let's talk about whether Dave Joerger is the Eddie Van Halen here. I posit: yes. He has experience working with idiosyncratic personalities and defense is his calling card. The talent is not nearly as good as Peak Memphis and there's no Mike Conley, but it's a helluva lot better than what preceded it. Right?
FLANNERY: It's fair to say Joerger is the best coach Cousins has had during his career -- George Karl was obviously more accomplished and Michael Malone may get there someday — but there are only so many things a coach can do to make things right. There's no Conley. Hell, there's barely a point guard. I'll grant that the rest of the roster looks like the work of someone who has an idea of what they're doing, but this still isn't a playoff contender.
So let me put this back on Boogie. How much of this is on him to lift everyone up? For all the criticism he's taken, no other superstar gets a pass for not making the playoffs, mainly because every other superstar has done something in the postseason.
ZILLER: I don't think he really gets a pass at this point. Only sycophants believe him totally blameless. I think that without at the minimum playoff contention — that is, being in the race into late March — the franchise will seek to find him a new home next summer, a year prior to free agency.
The Kevin Love comparison is all too real. I really don't see a way around it.
FLANNERY: Bleak.
We're among the generation of writers who look to environment more than individual accomplishment when preparing our indictments of failed teams and eras. To be sure, the Kings' environment has been mediocre in the best of times and toxic during the worst. This can't all be on Boogie because duh, take a look around.
Still, I can't help but think of another ex-Minnesotan when assessing Cousins' tenure in Sacramento.
Kevin Garnett had some real bleakness around him, and yet he still elevated his game and his team well beyond those barriers. It's only in retrospect that we grant KG's Minnesota greatness, and even that is still a tough sell for those who don't believe he was the best player in the league during the mid-2000s. Now, KG is one of the greatest players who ever lived, but I believe Cousins has a level in him that could approach those peak Garnett levels.
Is that wrong?
ZILLER: I'm afraid to answer that question because I'll either be branded a homer or I'll be burned at the stake in the Sacramento Witch Trials after Boogie wins MVP this year. I get scorched either way.
I think there's a real core of excellence within Boogie. He is DAMN GOOD right now and for the last three years. But he's earned little benefit of the doubt. And there's a huge difference between flaming out of the first round every year (see Melo along with early KG) vs. never making it to begin with (Boogie and Love).
We do embrace nuance and consider the environment as important. There are no bootstraps Boogie can tug on when Jimmer Fredette and John Salmons are bringing the ball up. But at the end of the day, there has to be some team success or the doubts of your singular greatness can be nothing but valid. |
"The minister of interior (Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz) is reported to have ordered the immediate detention and flogging of a 75-year-old woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, along with two Saudi Arabian men known only as Fahad and Hadyan," the London-based watchdog said.
"The Saudi Arabian authorities must not carry out the imminent flogging and imprisonment of an elderly woman and two younger men."
Amnesty said all avenues of appeal had now been exhausted in Saudi courts against the trio's March conviction for being in the company of members of the opposite sex who are not close relatives.
"It is abhorrent that an elderly woman is at risk of 40 lashes," said the deputy director of the watchdog's Middle East and North Africa Programme, Philip Luther.
"We urge the authorities to prevent the imprisonment and flogging of Khamisa, Fahad and Hadyan."
Sawadi and Fahad were sentenced to 40 lashes and four months' imprisonment, and Hadyan to 60 lashes and six months' imprisonment, Amnesty said.
Sawadi also faces deportation to her native Syria on completion of her prison term.
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict version of Islamic sharia law and imposes corporal punishment for a wide variety of offences. |
ROCKVILLE, MD—Militant pro-literacy terrorists struck here Friday night, as a pipe bomb exploded at Rockville Adult Learning Annex, killing 52 illiterates and injuring dozens more. Hours later, RIF, a radical reading-is-fundamentalist terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Committed to the eradication of illiteracy "by any means necessary," RIF was formed in 1973 by a coalition of dissident librarians censured by the government for their extremist views. Some 500 deaths have been linked to the group in the past 24 years, including a 1991 incident in which an armored bookmobile exploded at a Ku Klux Klan rally outside Mobile, AL, killing 83 illiterates.
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According to the group's 900-page manifesto, RIF is committed to fighting illiteracy by "first-hand targeting of illiterates." The manifesto also outlines a three-point plan to achieve its goals by "speaking to schoolchildren about the importance of reading, lobbying Congress for increased funding for literacy-awareness programs, and banishing illiterates to the very bowels of Hell."
"Illiteracy is a crime—a crime against God Himself," read a RIF statement delivered anonymously to the Rockville Post-Gazette Monday. "For too long, we have stood idly by while wonderful, absorbing books—books that can transport you to magical, far-off places like Lilliput and Treasure Island—go unread. The feeble attempts made by the Learning Annex to reform illiterates is too little, too late. God has spoken through us with this strike against non-readers. We know God's truth, for we have read it."
President Clinton, responding to the attack, made the following statement: "While, like the members of RIF, I support the eradication of illiteracy in the United States, I cannot condone the means by which they go about achieving this goal. Such acts of terrorism as theirs are unconscionable and cowardly, and must not be tolerated, even when done in the name of something as admirable as getting people to read."
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Clinton said that steps are being taken by the State Department to establish a diplomatic dialogue with RIF leaders, and that officials are working closely with Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton, winner of the 1989 Helping-Hand Award for his pro-literacy efforts, who will serve as a liaison in the negotiations.
In addition to using terror, RIF has sought to eradicate illiteracy via a series of spots airing on Saturday-morning television, in which a hooded, armed representative of the faction warns children to read "as if your life depends on it—for it does." The group has also distributed videotapes to over 3,700 U.S. elementary schools featuring footage of abducted illiterates being shot in the back of the head by RIF members, followed by a music video, "Reading Is Where It's At," starring the group's mascot, Pages The Rappin' Raccoon. |
This article is from the archive of our partner .
A U.S. Senate subcommittee approved a spending bill providing $351 million for Israel's Iron Dome program, double what the Obama administration requested.
"It works," said Sen. Dick Durbin, chairman of the appropriations subcommittee.
The missile defense system has largely been credited with helping prevent a single Israeli casualty in the country's ongoing conflict with Hamas, shooting down an estimated 1,000 rockets fired into the country from Gaza with over 90 percent accuracy.
The Iron Dome is made up of ten batteries, or locations equipped with rocket intercepter missiles and advanced radar tracking devices, and each missile fired costs around $50,000.
In previous wars with Hamas in 2008 and 2009, Israel sent ground troops into Gaza, something that dramatically increased the death toll on both sides of the conflict.
“If we did not have it and the rockets were falling in Israel, killing people, then the Israeli army would have little choice but to enter Gaza on foot to get rid of the place where the rockets are coming from,” former Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz and architect of the Iron Dome program told The Washington Post on Tuesday.
The defense bill will provide $549.3 billion for the fiscal year beginning October 1, investing in development within the military as well as preventing the elimination of weapons programs the Pentagon proposed cutting including the A-10 Warthog, the close air support aircraft and the USS George Washington aircraft carrier.
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com. |
Tidy Data In Python | | Visits (54608) Is your data tidy or messy? If you are not sure about how to answer this question, don't worry, you'll understand it in a minute. This question has to do with an issue that keeps busy data scientists (or statisticians, or machine learners, pick your favorite). The issue is that of data preparation. It is well known that 80% of the time spent in a data science project is spent in data preparation, and as little as 20% is spent in actually learning from it (or modeling it). What is this data preparation about? Well known steps include dealing with missing values. Should they be replaced by 0, or by some average value? Shouldn't we rather get rid of the observations with missing values? Another popular topic is what to do with outliers, i.e. values that are way apart form most values in the data. These could be error measurements, or transcription errors, in which cases they should be ignored. But they could also be meaningful, in which case we should keep them by all means. Tidy and messy data sets I could go on, but there is a fundamentally different data preparation step that transforms data to make it easy to process by statistical or machine learning packages. That transformation was a bit fuzzy for me until recently. I knew when I was seeing data that it needed to be transformed, and I could transform it, but I never spent time defining precisely what this transformation is about. Then the light came with this beautiful article: Tidy Data, by Hadley Wickham. I recommend reading it, but I'll try to convey the idea here. Wickham defines two types of data sets. The tidy datasets are made of tables with observations in rows, variables in columns. Actually there is a third condition about data being normalized that we will ignore for now. We will revisit it in the last section of this post. In machine learning terms, tidy datasets are matrices with features as columns, and examples as rows. Anything else is called a messy dataset. Let's look at an example for the sake of clarity. This example, and all examples in this blog entry are taken from Hadley's article. The data contains the result of two treatments applied to a set of people. A rather natural way to report these results is depicted below. First Last Treatment A Treatment B John Smith NaN 2 Jane Doe 16 11 Mary Johnson 3 1 Sometimes, the transpose view could be preferred First John Jane Mary Last Smith Doe Johnson Treatment A NaN 16 3 Treatment B 2 11 1 While these are compact ways to present data, neither of them are suited for easy analysis. For instance, there is a missing value shown as NaN (Not a Number). Let's say we want to ignore the corresponding observation. How do we do that? The only way is to loop over a 2D matrix and test each time if the value is a number or not. This is not convenient. A much better way is to reorganize data in a tidy form, with one observation per row. Here, an observation is one value for a treatment for a person: First Last treatment result John Smith Treatment A NaN Jane Doe Treatment A 16 Mary Johnson Treatment A 3 John Smith Treatment B 2 Jane Doe Treatment B 11 Mary Johnson Treatment B 1 Ignoring the observation with a missing value is easy: we remove the row for it: First Last treatment result Jane Doe Treatment A 16 Mary Johnson Treatment A 3 John Smith Treatment B 2 Jane Doe Treatment B 11 Mary Johnson Treatment B 1 We can then proceed with further analysis without having to worry about missing values. This is a tidy data set. The previous ones were messy data sets. The rest of this post will go through most of the examples used by Wickham in his article to show how to turn messy data sets into tidy ones. Hadley uses the R programming language for that. He actually is the main author of many popular R packages for data preparation and data visualization. His packages make it easy to get tidy datasets from messy ones. We will use Python to do the same if possible. All the code we use is available in a notebook on github and nbviewer. The code for the above example is the following. First, we create the messy data set. import pandas as pd import numpy as np messy = p d . Da taFr am e ( { 'Fi rst ' : [ 'John' , 'Jane' , 'Mary' ], 'Last' : [ 'Smith' , 'Doe' , 'Johnson' ], 'Treatment A' : [ np . nan , 16 , 3 ], 'Treatment B' : [ 2 , 11 , 1 ]}) The transpose view is easy to get: messy . T The tidy version is easily obtained via the melt() function. tidy = pd . melt ( messy , id_v ar s = [ ' Firs t ' , 'L ast ' ] , var_ nam e = 't reat ment ' , valu e_na m e = 'r esul t ' ) This function is quite powerful. Let's have a closer look at it. A simple melt example Understanding how the melt() function works is key for turning data into tidy data. Wickham provides this simple example to explain the melt process. We first create a pandas dataframe for it. messy = pd . DataFrame ({ 'row' : [ 'A' , 'B' , 'C' ], 'a' : [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], 'b' : [ 4 , 5 , 6 ], 'c' : [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]}) This yields a b c row 0 1 4 7 A 1 2 5 8 B 2 3 6 9 C This dataset has three variables (or features). One is stored in the row column. The second one appears as column names (a,b, and c). The last one is stored as entries in the table. As Wickham puts it (I modified the R names into Python names): "To tidy it, we need to melt, or stack it. In other words, we need to turn columns into rows. While this is often described as making wide datasets long or tall, I will avoid those terms because they are imprecise. Melting is parameterised by a list of columns that are already variables, or id_vars for short. The other columns are converted into two variables: a new variable called variable that contains repeated column headings and a new variable called value that contains the concatenated data values from the previously separate columns." We therefore use melt() with the row column as the id_vars. pd . melt ( messy , id_vars = 'row' ) It yields row variable value 0 A a 1 1 B a 2 2 C a 3 3 A b 4 4 B b 5 5 C b 6 6 A c 7 7 B c 8 8 C c 9 The row column stays as a column. All the other column names are now values for the new variable column. And the original entries in the table are now the values of the new value column. It is possible to rename the new columns with additional arguments. tidy = pd . melt ( messy , id_vars = 'row' , var_ nam e = 'd imen sion ' , valu e_na m e = 'l engt h ' ) yields row dimension length 0 A a 1 1 B a 2 2 C a 3 3 A b 4 4 B b 5 5 C b 6 6 A c 7 7 B c 8 8 C c 9 The pivot function is almost the inverse of the melt function. messy1 = tid y . pi vo t ( in de x = 'r ow ' , co lumn s = 'd imen sion ' , va lue s = 'l engt h ' ) yields dimension a b c row A 1 4 7 B 2 5 8 C 3 6 9 This is close, but not identical to the original dataframe, because row is used as index. We can move it back to a column with reset_index(). We should also remove the name dimension used for columns. mess y 1 . re set_ inde x ( in plac e = Tr u e ) messy1 . columns . name = '' It yields a dataframe that is identical to the original one, up to some column reordering. row a b c 0 A 1 4 7 1 B 2 5 8 2 C 3 6 9 Column headers are values, not variable names The melt function is key, but it is not always sufficient, as we will see with additional examples used by Wickham. The data for the first example of problems is depicted below. We store it as a dataframe in the messy Python variable. religion <$10k $10-20k $20-30k $30-40k $40-50k $50-75k 0 Agnostic 27 34 60 81 76 137 1 Atheist 12 27 37 52 35 70 2 Buddhist 27 21 30 34 33 58 3 Catholic 418 617 732 670 638 1116 4 Don't know/refused 15 14 15 11 10 35 5 Evangelical Prot 575 869 1064 982 881 1486 6 Hindu 1 9 7 9 11 34 7 Historically Black Prot 228 244 236 238 197 223 8 Jehovah's Witness 20 27 24 24 21 30 9 Jewish 19 19 25 25 30 95 As Wickham describes it: "This dataset explores the relationship between income and religion in the US. It comes from a report produced by the Pew Research Center, an American think-tank that collects data on attitudes to topics ranging from religion to the internet, and produces many reports that contain datasets in this format. This dataset has three variables, religion, income and frequency. To tidy it, we need to melt, or stack it." Again, the melt() function is our friend. We sort the result by religion to make it easier to read. tidy = pd . melt ( messy , id_vars = [ 'religion' ], var_name = 'income' , value_name = 'freq' ) tid y . so rt_v alue s ( b y = [ ' reli gion ' ] , inplace = True ) tidy . head () It yields (we only show the first 5 rows via the head() function). religion income freq 0 Agnostic <$10k 27 30 Agnostic $30-40k 81 40 Agnostic $40-50k 76 50 Agnostic $50-75k 137 10 Agnostic $10-20k 34 Multiple variables stored in one column This example is a little trickier. We first read the input data as a data frame. This data is available at http s:// gith ub.c om/h adle y/ti dy-d ata/ tree /mas ter/ dat a I've cloned it therefore it is in my local data directory. Reading it is easy with the pandas built-in function read_csv(). We remove the new_sp_ prefix appearing in most columns, and we rename a couple of columns as well. We restrict it to year 2000 and drop a couple of columns to stay in sync with Wickham's paper. messy = p d . re ad_c s v ( 'd ata/ tb.c sv ' ) messy . columns = mess y . co lumn s . st r . re plac e ( 'n ew_s p_ ' , ' ' ) mess y . re nam e ( co lumn s = { 'iso2' : 'country' }, inplace = True ) messy = messy [ messy [ 'year' ] == 2000 ] mess y . dr o p ( [ 'ne w_sp ' , 'm 04 ' , 'm 514 ' , 'f 04 ' , 'f 514 ' ] , axis = 1 , inplace = True ) mess y.il oc[: ,:11 ] . he a d ( 1 0 ) Printing the top 10 rows of the first 11 columns yields. country year m014 m1524 m2534 m3544 m4554 m5564 m65 mu f014 10 AD 2000 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 NaN NaN 36 AE 2000 2 4 4 6 5 12 10 NaN 3 60 AF 2000 52 228 183 149 129 94 80 NaN 93 87 AG 2000 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 NaN 1 136 AL 2000 2 19 21 14 24 19 16 NaN 3 The melt() function is useful, but is not enough. Let's use it still. molten = pd . melt ( messy , id_vars = [ 'country' , 'year' ], value_name = 'cases' ) molt e n . so rt_v alue s ( b y = [ ' year ' , 'country' ], inplace = True ) molten . head ( 10 ) It yields country year variable cases 0 AD 2000 m014 0 201 AD 2000 m1524 0 402 AD 2000 m2534 1 603 AD 2000 m3544 0 804 AD 2000 m4554 0 1005 AD 2000 m5564 0 1206 AD 2000 m65 0 1407 AD 2000 mu NaN 1608 AD 2000 f014 NaN 1809 AD 2000 f1524 NaN This molten dataframe makes it easy to remove the values where the age is mu . However, it is not really tidy as the variable column encodes two variables: sex and age range. Let's process the dataframe to create two additional columns, one for the sex, and one for the age range. We then remove the variable column. tidy = molt e n [ mo lte n [ 'v aria ble ' ] != 'mu' ] . copy () def parse_age ( s ): s = s [ 1 :] if s == '65' : return '65+' else : return s [: - 2 ] + '-' + s [ - 2 :] tidy [ 'sex' ] = tid y [ 'v aria ble ' ] . a ppl y ( la mbd a s : s [: 1 ]) tidy [ 'age' ] = tid y [ 'v aria ble ' ] . a ppl y ( pa rse_ ag e ) tidy = tidy [[ 'country' , 'year' , 'sex' , 'age' , 'cases' ]] tidy . head ( 10 ) It yields country year sex age cases 0 AD 2000 m 0-14 0 201 AD 2000 m 15-24 0 402 AD 2000 m 25-34 1 603 AD 2000 m 35-44 0 804 AD 2000 m 45-54 0 1005 AD 2000 m 55-64 0 1206 AD 2000 m 65+ 0 1608 AD 2000 f 0-14 NaN 1809 AD 2000 f 15-24 NaN 2010 AD 2000 f 25-34 NaN Let's look at a trickier example. Variables are stored in both rows and columns This example is really tricky. We store the following data as a dataframe in the messy Python variable. id year month element d1 d2 d3 d4 d5 d6 d7 d8 0 MX17004 2010 1 tmax NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN 1 MX17004 2010 1 tmin NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN 2 MX17004 2010 2 tmax NaN 27.3 24.1 NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN 3 MX17004 2010 2 tmin NaN 14.4 14.4 NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN 4 MX17004 2010 3 tmax NaN NaN NaN NaN 32.1 NaN NaN NaN 5 MX17004 2010 3 tmin NaN NaN NaN NaN 14.2 NaN NaN NaN 6 MX17004 2010 4 tmax NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN 7 MX17004 2010 4 tmin NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN 8 MX17004 2010 5 tmax NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN 9 MX17004 2010 5 tmin NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN NaN As Wickham describes it: "It has variables in individual columns (id, year, month), spread across columns (day, d1-d31) and across rows (tmin,tmax) (minimum and maximum temperature). Months with less than 31 days have structural missing values for the last day(s) of the month. The element column is not a variable; it stores the names of variables." Most of the values are missing. However, filtering the NaN values isn't possible in this messy form. We need to melt the dataframe first. We reindex the dataframe, but this step isn't mandatory. I just prefer to have my rows numbered consecutively in the dataframe, but keeping the original indices may be valuable in other circumstances. molten = pd . melt ( messy , id_vars = [ 'id' , 'yea r ' , 'm onth ' , 'e leme nt ' ,], var_name = 'day' ); molt e n . dr opn a ( in plac e = Tr u e ) molten = molt e n . re set_ inde x ( dr o p = Tr u e ) molten It yields. id year month element day value 0 MX17004 2010 2 tmax d2 27.3 1 MX17004 2010 2 tmin d2 14.4 2 MX17004 2010 2 tmax d3 24.1 3 MX17004 2010 2 tmin d3 14.4 4 MX17004 2010 3 tmax d5 32.1 5 MX17004 2010 3 tmin d5 14.2 This dataframe is not in tidy form yet. First, the column element contains variable names. Second, the columns year, month, day represent one variable: the date. Let's fix the latter problem first. def f ( row ): return "%d-%02d-%02d" % ( row [ 'year' ], row [ 'month' ], in t ( ro w [ 'd ay ' ] [ 1 :] ) ) molten [ 'date' ] = molt e n . ap pl y ( f , axi s = 1 ) molten = molten [[ 'id' , 'ele ment ' , 'v alue ' , 'd ate ' ] ] molten It yields id element value date 0 MX17004 tmax 27.3 2010-02-02 1 MX17004 tmin 14.4 2010-02-02 2 MX17004 tmax 24.1 2010-02-03 3 MX17004 tmin 14.4 2010-02-03 4 MX17004 tmax 32.1 2010-03-05 5 MX17004 tmin 14.2 2010-03-05 Now we need to move the values in the element column to be the name of two new columns. This is the opposite of a melt operation. As we have seen above, this is the pivot operation. tidy = molt e n . pi vo t ( in de x = 'd ate ' , co lumn s = 'e leme nt ' , va lue s = 'v alue ' ) tidy It yields element tmax tmin date 2010-02-02 27.3 14.4 2010-02-03 24.1 14.4 2010-03-05 32.1 14.2 Wait a minute. Where is the id? One way to keep the id column, is to move it to an index with the groupby() function, and apply pivot() inside each group. tidy = molt e n . gr oupb y ( 'i d ' ) . a ppl y ( p d . Da taFr am e . pi vo t , index = 'date' , columns = 'element' , values = 'value' ) tidy It yields element tmax tmin id date MX17004 2010-02-02 27.3 14.4 2010-02-03 24.1 14.4 2010-03-05 32.1 14.2 We are almost there. We simply have to move id back as a column with the reset_index() . tid y . re set_ inde x ( in plac e = Tr u e ) tidy It yields. element id date tmax tmin 0 MX17004 2010-02-02 27.3 14.4 1 MX17004 2010-02-03 24.1 14.4 2 MX17004 2010-03-05 32.1 14.2 Et Voila! Multiple types in one table Wickham uses yet another dataset to illustrate further issues with messy data. It is an excerpt from the Billboard top hits for 2000. We store the following data in the messy Python variable. year artist track time date entered wk1 wk2 wk3 0 2000 2,Pac Baby Don't Cry 4:22 2000-02-26 87 82 72 1 2000 2Ge+her The Hardest Part Of ... 3:15 2000-09-02 91 87 92 2 2000 3 Doors Down Kryptonite 3:53 2000-04-08 81 70 68 3 2000 98^0 Give Me Just One Nig... 3:24 2000-08-19 51 39 34 4 2000 A*Teens Dancing Queen 3:44 2000-07-08 97 97 96 5 2000 Aaliyah I Don't Wanna 4:15 2000-01-29 84 62 51 6 2000 Aaliyah Try Again 4:03 2000-03-18 59 53 38 7 2000 Adams,Yolanda Open My Heart 5:30 2000-08-26 76 76 74 The first columns give the artist performing the song, the title of the song, its duration, and the date it entered to the top hits. Columns wk1, wk2, etc. represent the rank of a given song in the weeks after it entered the top hits. This dataframe is messy because there are several observations per row, in the columns wk1, wk2, wk3. We can get one observation per row by melting the dataframe. molten = pd . melt ( messy , id_v ar s = [ ' year ' , 'a rtis t ' , 't rack ' , 't ime ' , 'd ate entered' ], var_name = 'week' , value_name = 'rank' , ) molt e n . so rt_v alue s ( b y = [ ' date entered' , 'week' ], inplace = True ) molten . head () It yields year artist track time date entered week rank 5 2000 Aaliyah I Don't Wanna 4:15 2000-01-29 wk1 84 13 2000 Aaliyah I Don't Wanna 4:15 2000-01-29 wk2 62 21 2000 Aaliyah I Don't Wanna 4:15 2000-01-29 wk3 51 0 2000 2,Pac Baby Don't Cry 4:22 2000-02-26 wk1 87 8 2000 2,Pac Baby Don't Cry 4:22 2000-02-26 wk2 82 We can clean the dataset further, first by turning week into number. Second, we need the starting date of the week for each observation, instead of the date the track entered. from datetime import datetime , timedelta def incr emen t_da t e ( ro w ) : date = date tim e . st rpti m e ( ro w [ 'd ate entered' ], "%Y-%m-%d" ) return date + timedelta ( 7 ) * ( row [ 'week' ] - 1 ) molten [ 'week' ] = molt e n [ 'w eek ' ] . a ppl y ( la mbd a s : int ( s [ 2 :])) molten [ 'date' ] = molt e n . ap pl y ( in crem ent_ dat e , axis = 1 ) molten . drop ( 'date entered' , axis = 1 , inplace = True ) molten . head () It yields year artist track time week rank date 5 2000 Aaliyah I Don't Wanna 4:15 1 84 2000-01-29 13 2000 Aaliyah I Don't Wanna 4:15 2 62 2000-02-05 21 2000 Aaliyah I Don't Wanna 4:15 3 51 2000-02-12 0 2000 2,Pac Baby Don't Cry 4:22 1 87 2000-02-26 8 2000 2,Pac Baby Don't Cry 4:22 2 82 2000-03-04 This is a tidy set by the definition we gave above, with one observation per row, and one feature per column. This form is suitable for most statistical and machine learning packages. Yet, it is not in the 'purest' tidy form. Indeed, some data is repeated, like artist name, song name, and song duration. We can remove this redundancy by using more than one table for the data. This is called data normalization in relational database community. For Wickham, normalization is required to have tidy datasets. Let us first get the information pertaining to each song. We restrict ourselves to the year, artist, rack. and time columns. And we only need to keep the first row for each combination of year, artist, and track. tidy_track = molt e n [ [ 'ye ar ' , 'a rtis t ' , 't rack ' , 't ime ' ] ] \ . gro upb y ( [ 'ye ar ' , 'a rtis t ' , 't rack ' ] ) \ . first () tidy _tra c k . re set_ inde x ( in plac e = Tr u e ) tidy _tra c k . re set_ inde x ( in plac e = Tr u e ) tidy _tra c k . re nam e ( co lumn s = { 'index' : 'id' }, inplace = True ) tidy_track The first call to reset_index moves the columns that were used in group_by() back to columns. The second one adds a new column that will serve as id. It yields our first new table. id year artist track time 0 0 2000 2,Pac Baby Don't Cry 4:22 1 1 2000 2Ge+her The Hardest Part Of ... 3:15 2 2 2000 3 Doors Down Kryptonite 3:53 3 3 2000 98^0 Give Me Just One Nig... 3:24 4 4 2000 A*Teens Dancing Queen 3:44 5 5 2000 Aaliyah I Don't Wanna 4:15 6 6 2000 Aaliyah Try Again 4:03 7 7 2000 Adams,Yolanda Open My Heart 5:30 The second table is obtained by adding the id column to the original table, via a merge operation, then restrict to the columns about weekly ranks. tidy_rank = pd . merge ( molten , tidy_track , on = 'track' ) tidy_rank = tidy_rank [[ 'id' , 'date' , 'rank' ]] tidy_rank . head () It yields. id date rank 0 5 2000-01-29 84 1 5 2000-02-05 62 2 5 2000-02-12 51 3 0 2000-02-26 87 4 0 2000-03-04 82 This concludes our little exercise. I hope it shows that pandas provides data tidying features that are flexible enough to match what Wickham showcased in his article. All the code for this blog entry is available in a notebook on github and nbviewer. |
Muslim civic leaders are hoping to draw on the little-known role played by almost half a million Muslims in Britain's first world war effort to help improve community relations during the conflict's centenary.
The experience of 400,000 Muslim soldiers who fought for Britain is one of the war's least-known stories, according to research released on Saturday, as leading Muslim civic groups involved in a major festival bringing together their communities this week set out why they will be taking part in the centenary as a moment of national reflection and shared commemoration.
Only 2% of people are aware that this force from an undivided India – present-day Pakistan, India and Bangladesh – fought and died alongside British troops, according to an ICM survey released by the thinktank British Future to coincide with the Living Islam event.
Educating people about lesser-known narratives from the conflict is being viewed as a way of countering anti-Muslim prejudice and, potentially, tackling alienation and the lure of violent extremism among some young Muslims.
Sughra Ahmed, president of the Islamic Society of Britain, said of the centenary: "We thought it was important at the Living Islam festival to play our part in marking this important moment of national reflection and shared commemoration.
Many British Muslims won't know that hundreds of thousands of Muslims served in both world wars, so it's a chance for people to learn about that, and to think about what it means for us today. It is good too for wider British society to realise that our contribution to Britain goes back much further than many will realise. I think that could help us to come together to address the challenges of integration that we face in Britain today."
Historian Jahan Mahmood has been invited to present at the Living Islam festival in Lincoln using his 'travelling military museum' incorporating British, Indian and German uniforms and decommissioned weapons, which he uses to educate young people about the role of the British Indian Army in the two world wars.
He said: "I want to not just highlight the contribution made by different ethnic communities, but also delve into more Muslim stories and family histories, including those who fought for and against Britain, or refused to fight."
He added that while history from the second world war "lent itself towards challenging isolationist and extremist narratives today, the preceding war was potentially much more controversial since it involved Muslims being pitted against one another and the dismantling of the Ottoman empire".
"It makes it more difficult with the current middle east crisis to argue, for example, that fighting in the first world war was the right thing to do. But remembering and researching it does enhance the sense of being stakeholders in British society, and having a shared narrative with other members of the British public."
As many as 400,000 Muslims made up one-third of the Indian Army of 1.3 million, along with 100,000 Sikhs, and up to 800,000 Hindu soldiers. Yet when asked to estimate how many Muslims fought on the British side in 1914, only 2% of those surveyed by British Future correctly placed the number at between 250,000 and 500,000.
Serving Muslim soldiers are among those in attendance at the Living Islam festival as the army seeks to improve ties with Muslim communities.
Imam Asim Hafiz, Islamic religious adviser to the Ministry of Defence, will also attend. He said: "If many people don't know that Muslims have fought for this country since the first world war and serve in its armed forces today, then we need to ensure that is understood to be part of the history that we will all come together to commemorate during this centenary. There is a genuine commitment at the very top to seeing our armed forces more fully represent the country that we serve today, across every ethnicity and faith, including the Muslim community.
"But I don't really see our presence at an event like Living Islam as being about recruitment; rather, this is primarily about the deeper dialogue that can build better understanding and mutual trust."
A new Armed Forces Muslim Forum was launched at the Ministry of Defence last week, with Muslim soldiers and civic groups breaking the Ramadan fast together at an Iftar event hosted by the defence secretary, Philip Hammond. The chief of defence staff, Sir Nicholas Houghton, told the gathering that he wants to further increase the number of British Muslims serving in the Army. |
Disciplinary Court Update - 2.11.16 @ 2:45pm
I received an email this morning from my Stake President, Mark Ivins, indicating that the disciplinary council has been postponed until March 2016 - it will not take place on Valentine's Day. I'm pleased that I and everyone else involved, including the high council, will be able to spend time with our loved ones on a day set aside for commemorating love.
I'm somewhat confused and surprised by this news, however, because President Ivins and I had originally agreed upon a March date to accommodate my situation with a family member in hospice care. He contradicted this agreement by moving the date up, with a simple explanation that there was "additional information" that required it.
But now, after the press release, press conference, media interviews and tremendous reaction/response on social media, he is willing to move it back to the original date. I don't want to suggest that this is all his fault - I realize that the source of this "additional information" may be instructing him on what to do.
Regardless, I wish to express gratitude to President Ivins for his offer to hold an informal meeting in March before any disciplinary court to explain to me exactly what the charges are and why disciplinary action is being taken against me. I still do not know what the charges are or why any disciplinary action is needed or necessary.
Keep calm and carry on,
Jeremy |
I hear The Batman himself will be making an appearance at Cinema Con this month to get theater owners hyped up for JUSTICE LEAGUE. #Unite March 9, 2017
Steve Dillard's infectious excitement, is a great way to kick off our latestwrap (sorry it took a bit,has kept us busy). First off, Collider is reporting thatis Warner Bros' top pick to directBeforecame out, Vaughn (who already worked with Henry in) described what his version of Supes would be like:It gives you an idea of where he could go if chosen for the directing job, especially if the studio is making a shift in tone for the DCEU. Read the rest over at Collider We're just over eight months away from the release of, and a new glimpse at the film is likely coming in the next few weeks.We're not sure if Ben will be the only cast memberbut we'll keep you updated. WB's presentation of its upcoming slate is set for Wednesday, March 29.Director Zack Snyder is in the middle of editing the film, and he's been sharing some really cool updates on hisaccount. You remember.. the photo below is how it actually went down.And Batsy is getting some new guns for the Batmobile..While Zack hasn't shared any recentupdates from, producer Charles Roven did remind fans during a new interview that Supes wasintended to be the bedrock of the DCEU. Read more below.As we await his return, many of you guys have been sharing your autographed photos of Henry.to request your own. Have a great week everyone!-- John Garland |
Image caption Wigs and robes worn by judges and barristers alienate many court users, the report suggested
Victims and witnesses are often left marginalised in a court system that is "archaic" and "chaotic", a report by the Criminal Justice Alliance has said.
The Crown Court system in England and Wales is "structured mayhem" with many delays, the study by the coalition of 90 justice campaign groups said.
The report draws on the personal experiences of nearly 150 lawyers, witnesses, victims and defendants.
The Ministry of Justice said reforms were needed to improve procedures.
The study found that many victims and witnesses involved in Crown Court trials felt frustrated that they had "little voice within the courtroom".
Wigs and gowns worn by legal professionals created a sense of "other-worldliness", while the language and rules of the courtroom were "elaborate, ritualised and - in many respects - archaic", it said.
Lawyers "seeking to outdo each other with displays of eloquence, quick-wittedness and legal knowledge" often further alienated victims, witnesses and defendants, it suggested.
'Overflowing paperwork'
The report also said frequent delays, adjournments and scheduling problems caused "frustration, anxiety and inconvenience" to all involved in Crown Court proceedings.
The average time from commission of an offence to conclusion of a trial has risen from 304 to 360 days in the last 18 months.
One defendant in a fraud trial, Jenny, told researchers she had been shocked by the apparent disorganisation of the courtroom.
"There's just bundles of paper, box files overflowing under desks. And it makes you think: well if there's all this unorganised stuff everywhere, how organised are people really? That's important paperwork - why is it just being thrown around?" she said.
Image caption The report suggested the criminal dock should only be used on a "discretionary" basis
Others described feeling that the system was more about "trickery" and "getting off" than about finding the truth, and that legal professionals saw proceedings as a "big game" to be won.
A number of witnesses interviewed said they felt unsupported, intimidated and as though they were on trial while giving evidence.
One witness named Julia said: "It's just very frightening, very daunting when you walk in and you see all the chairs and the benches and everything set out and then you see all these people with their wigs on and the gowns. It's just very, very frightening."
Another, Ron, said: "Lawyers should remember: it's not a game. They're playing with people's emotions and people's lives."
The report made a number of recommendations to improve the system, including:
A review of the use of wigs, gowns and other "other-worldy" court formalities by the Lord Chief Justice and court services
Greater emphasis on lawyers and judges to use "plain English" and explain technical terms to defendants, witnesses and victims
The appointment of an officer in the court administrative office responsible for monitoring delays and communicating with court users
Using the criminal dock only when necessary for safety reasons, and instead seating defendants with their lawyers as the "norm"
Ben Summerskill, director of the Criminal Justice Alliance, said research suggested that while two thirds of the British public had confidence in the fairness of the criminal justice system, under half had confidence in its effectiveness.
"Millions of people still don't have confidence in something so central to a healthy state," he said.
He said the report highlighted "the human distress and frustration caused by a courts system that too often appears to operate with all the efficiency of the 19th Century in the first half of the 21st."
Urgent reform
Responding to the report, the Ministry of Justice stressed the urgent need for reform by making sure prosecutions are brought more efficiently and procedures stripped down.
In a report last year, senior judge Lord Justice Leveson said the criminal justice system in England and Wales needs wide-ranging change to make it more efficient and cheaper to run.
He has recommended greater use of video and conferencing technology in court rooms, timetables for evidence and lawyers' speeches and the use of pictures gathered by police on cameras attached to their uniforms.
After becoming Justice Secretary after the general election in May, Michael Gove agreed that the justice system in England and Wales was "creaking and outdated".
He said Lord Leveson's innovations must be "implemented with all speed".
Mr Gove said he was "confident" he could secure the £700m funding that judges say is needed to overhaul the system. |
FBI Director James B. Comey speaks on July 5 about Hillary Clinton’s email practices. (Cliff Owen/AP)
For more than 20 years, whenever Bill and Hillary Clinton have gotten into real political trouble, they have found an unlikely ally in House Republicans.
Over and over again, from Bill Clinton’s darkest hours as president to Hillary Clinton’s worst moments as secretary of state, House Republicans ended up helping the Clintons by turning them into victims of overzealous partisan investigations.
Into that history steps Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and the other Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who have called a snap hearing Thursday to receive testimony from FBI Director James B. Comey. Comey announced Tuesday that he would not recommend charges against Hillary Clinton after an investigation into her use of a personal email server while she was secretary of state.
“I think Director Comey’s press conference raises more questions than provides answers,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) told reporters Wednesday.
Ryan also said he would work with Republicans to find out whether there are ways to block the former secretary of state from receiving top-secret intelligence briefings, typically granted to presidential and vice-presidential nominees, once she officially becomes the Democratic nominee later this month. And next week, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch will appear before the House Judiciary Committee.
Taken together, the actions show that House Republicans hope to keep prosecuting the case against Clinton right up to Election Day. The first shot begins with Comey’s testimony.
[James Comey will testify to Congress on Thursday. He’s very, very good at this.]
With almost no preparation, Republicans seem to be betting that the FBI director will crumble under their questioning or end up looking like a partisan hack who tried to protect someone who might be the next president.
Chaffetz said Comey’s decision to recommend closing the case was “surprising” given how strongly he refuted some of the former secretary’s positions. “The fact pattern presented by Director Comey makes clear Secretary Clinton violated the law,” Chaffetz said Wednesday in a statement. “Individuals who intentionally skirt the law must be held accountable.”
Democrats were stunned by the move, leaving both sides with a day to figure out questions for one of the most accomplished legal minds of his era.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the oversight panel, said in an interview. “I think they want to continue to drag out the story.”
The House Oversight Committee’s first entanglement with the Clintons came in the mid-1990s in a series of probes that produced mixed results. Most infamously, the panel chairman at the time, Dan Burton (R-Ind.), bought a cantaloupe because it was shaped like a human head. He shot it to try to determine whether Vincent Foster, a Clinton family friend and deputy White House counsel, had committed suicide.
In 1998, the House impeached Bill Clinton, on an almost party-line vote, for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, but the Senate did not convict and Clinton remained popular in his final two years in office.
Of the 13 House GOP impeachment managers, only three remain active in politics — Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (Wis.) — while Bill Clinton is more popular than his wife and the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump.
More recently, the House Benghazi committee discovered the limits of pursuing a Clinton, after the 2012 attacks in Libya that left four Americans dead. Hillary Clinton appeared before the panel for nearly 11 hours, acquitting herself well enough that the issue faded away until last week’s release of the Republican majority’s report. It barely touched on Clinton’s handling of the attack.
[Clinton, back in Benghazi hot seat, withstands Republicans’ grilling]
Now House Republicans are stepping into the email imbroglio, throwing together a last-minute hearing. There are just seven days left in session before lawmakers break for the political conventions and the usual August recess, so their options were to hold a hearing now or wait two months. They’re rolling the dice on now.
The problem for Republicans is that Comey’s stature, both legally and physically, tends to establish him as in command wherever he appears. And, with bipartisan credentials, he is not easily knocked off balance. The 6-foot-8 FBI director, with a booming voice honed growing up in Yonkers, has previously served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, helping prosecute terrorists and organized-crime figures, and as deputy attorney general during the George W. Bush presidency.
Comey later opposed, and testified publicly against, other senior Bush administration officials who had tried to get then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to sign off on extending a counterterrorism program while Ashcroft was recovering from surgery at George Washington University Hospital. During Ashcroft’s illness, Comey took on the role of acting attorney general.
It was a riveting moment of congressional testimony that came about randomly. Comey first appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and never told the story of that hospital-bed confrontation, because no one asked about it. A few weeks later, Comey appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where his former deputy, Preet Bharara, worked for Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). Bharara, now the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, primed his boss on which questions to ask.
It’s a lesson Republicans should be wary of Thursday: Ask the wrong question, or fail to ask the right question, and Comey will not offer up what they want to hear.
“James Comey has proven to be a consummate professional when it comes to prosecutions,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. “Any member of the House or Senate who wants to challenge him on these subjects will have their hands full.”
On Tuesday, Comey said that any “reasonable” prosecutor would not bring a criminal case, because it could not be proved that Clinton intended to expose classified material through her private email server, but he also delivered a crushing blow to her credibility in the middle of a presidential campaign: He described Clinton and her aides as “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”
Anything Comey says Thursday that softens the criticism of Clinton could be something that Republicans end up regretting — but it wouldn’t be the first time. |
Sen. Ted Cruz announced Friday he will vote for Donald Trump for president, ending months of speculation as to whether the Texas Republican, who was Mr. Trump’s top rival in the 2016 GOP primary, would formally back Mr. Trump’s candidacy.
“After many months of careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience, I have decided that on Election Day, I will vote for the Republican nominee, Donald Trump,” Mr. Cruz said in a statement posted to his Facebook page.
“A year ago, I pledged to endorse the Republican nominee, and I am honoring that commitment,” Mr. Cruz said. “And if you don’t want to see a Hillary Clinton presidency, I encourage you to vote for him.”
In addition to the pledge, Mr. Cruz called Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, “wholly unacceptable.”
Mr. Cruz also cited Mr. Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court justice — a list that included close Cruz friend and ally Sen. Mike Lee — as well as the differences between Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton on Obamacare, energy, immigration, national security, and internet freedom.
“If Clinton wins, we know — with 100% certainty — that she would deliver on her left-wing promises, with devastating results for our country,” Mr. Cruz said. “My conscience tells me I must do whatever I can to stop that.”
Mr. Trump said in a statement he is “greatly honored” to have Mr. Cruz’s endorsement.
“We have fought the battle and he was a tough and brilliant opponent,” Mr. Trump said. “I look forward to working with him for many years to come in order to make America great again.”
Mr. Cruz had been one of the remaining 2016 Republican presidential candidates who hadn’t formally announced support for Mr. Trump. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Sen. Lindsey Graham have yet to do so.
During a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention in July, Mr. Cruz had encouraged delegates to vote their “conscience” and was booed once it became clear he was not going to offer a formal endorsement of Mr. Trump in the speech.
In keeping his powder dry, Mr. Cruz made a bet that the bottom might fall out, or at least that a Trump loss would be assured by this point, said Liam Donovan, a conservative writer and “never Trump” adherent.
“He is recalibrating based on the very real possibility that Trump could win, as well as a degree of blowback at home and nationally that I don’t think he fully anticipated,” Mr. Donovan said. “So he is selling off his short position at a political loss- the only question now is how long he goes, and whether the bet pays off.”
Earlier this week, Rep. Michael McCaul, Texas Republican, was asked about possibly mounting a primary challenge to Mr. Cruz in 2018, when the senator faces re-election.
“Look, there’s been a lot of talk and buzz about that,” Mr. McCaul told radio host Laura Ingraham, while also saying he’s focused on getting Mr. Trump elected. “I think what he did at the convention turned off a lot of people. I mean, he pledged to support him. He broke his word.”
The day after his RNC speech, Mr. Cruz told members of the Texas delegation at the convention that the pledge he took to support the eventual GOP nominee was voided when Mr. Trump started attacking his family on the trail.
“I’m not going to get into criticizing or attacking Donald Trump, but I’ll just give you this response: I am not in the habit of supporting people that attack my wife and attack my father,” Mr. Cruz said then, repeating a similar line he had used on the campaign trail.
“And that pledge was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi, that I’m going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say ‘thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father,’” he said.
On the morning of the May 3 Indiana primary, Mr. Trump had pointed out a National Enquirer story that drew a connection between Mr. Cruz’s father, Rafael, and JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
“Donald Trump alleges that my dad was involved in assassinating JFK,” Mr. Cruz said then in response. “Let’s be clear: this is nuts.”
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Cruz also called Mr. Trump a “pathological liar,” a “bully,” a “serial philanderer,” a “narcissist at a level I don’t think this country’s ever seen,” and “utterly amoral.”
Ahead of the April 5 Wisconsin primary, Mr. Trump also had retweeted an unflattering image of Mr. Cruz’s wife, Heidi, next to an image of his own wife, Melania.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. |
More Yahoo vs. The NSA: Government Tried To Deny Standing, Filed Supporting Documents Yahoo Never Got To See
from the blindfolded-and-pickpocketed dept
After having the court documents unsealed and the gag order lifted, Yahoo is finally free to talk about that one time when the government wanted to fine it $250,000 a day [!!] for refusing to comply with a FISA court order to turn over data on its customers. Two of the lawyers (Mark Zwillinger and Jacob Sommer) who represented Yahoo in that court battle, have written a post detailing the behind-the-scenes activity.
First off, they note that it's kind of amazing they're even able to discuss it at this point.
Having toiled in secret until recently, and having originally been told we would need to wait 25 years to tell anyone of our experience, it is refreshing to be able to write about the case in detail.
First, the government's prior position on standing may be a bit of a surprise. In more recent cases, like Clapper, it has argued that only the provider has standing to challenge surveillance orders under the FISA Amendments Act, not individual users who may have been caught up in the surveillance. But, in this fight, the government argued that Yahoo had no standing to challenge a directive on the basis of the Fourth Amendment rights of its users.
The FISC issued its decision on April 25, 2008, but we were not permitted to inspect the order until April 29, 2008 (and even then were not allowed to take notes), and did not receive a copy until May 5, 2008, when the government demanded that Yahoo give a same-day answer whether it would comply with the surveillance demand.
Simple math indicates that Yahoo was facing fines of over $25 million dollars for the 1st month of noncompliance, and fines of over $400 million in the second month if the court went along with the government’s proposal. And practically speaking, coercive civil fines means that the government would seek increased fines, with no ceiling, until Yahoo complied.
Finally, the documents that were recently released by the ODNI (and Yahoo itself) contain many that Yahoo -- who was directly involved in this court battle -- had never seen before August 22.
[P]erhaps most importantly, a FISC decision from January 15, 2008 regarding the procedures for the DNI/AG Certification at issue, which Yahoo had never seen. It examines those procedures under a “clearly erroneous” standard of review – which is one of the most deferential standards used by the judiciary. Yahoo did not have these documents at the time, nor the opportunity to conduct any discovery. It could not fully challenge statements the government made, such as the representation to FISCR “assur[ing the Court] it does not maintain a database of incidentally collected information from non-targeted United States persons, and there is no evidence to the contrary.” Nor could Yahoo use the January 15, 2008 decision to demonstrate how potential flaws in the targeting process translated into real world effects.
That's the normal declassification schedule, which at this point would still be nearly 18 years away. Fortunately, Ed Snowden's leaks have led to an accelerated schedule for many documents related to the NSA's surveillance programs, as well as fewer judges being sympathetic to FOIA stonewalling and exemption abuse.We've talked several times about how the government makes it nearly impossible to sue it for abusing civil liberties with its classified surveillance programs. It routinely claims that complainants have no standing , ignoring the fact that leaked documents have given us many details on what the NSA does and doesn't collect. But in Yahoo's case, it went against its own favorite lawsuit-dismissal ploy.The government definitely would prefer the swift removal of cases rather than actually having to defend its programs' Constitutionality -- so much so that it attempted to push the argument thathas standing to challenge its collections. But that wasn't the government's only angle. The courts refused to entertain this sudden shift in the government's "standing" argument, so it moved on to levying fines.A very short time frame to respond was granted to Yahoo, something made even shorter by the government's foot-dragging.Shortly after Yahoo's response, the government moved for contempt charges and fines. $250,000 per day was the. It asked for constantly-escalating fines that wouldeach week until Yahoo complied. Even for a tech giant, this fee scale could turn into real money incredibly quickly.While the government was threatening Yahoo with massive fines, it was also filing secret briefs and motions in support of its admittedly "coercive" levies, stating that the company's resistance was causing "great harm," apparently on a daily basis.The government filed ex parte documents in support of its surveillance program, many of which Yahoo had no access to during the legal struggle. Not only did the government force Yahoo to respond on its own schedule, but it kept the company in the dark about its justifications and other aspects of its programs. Yahoo couldn't ask for these documents in discovery, nor did it even know these existed.When it comes to the nation's security, apparently no legal deck can be stacked high enough. The government forces those who challenge its secret programs to wage courtroom battles with only the barest minimum of information. And, should it decide the defendant isn't moving fast enough, it can pursue exorbitant (and admittedly coercive) fines until it gets the cooperation it's seeking.
Filed Under: doj, fines, fisa, fisa court, nsa, paa, prism, privacy, standing, surveillance, threats
Companies: yahoo |
If, however, you aren’t so sure that any of the causes listed above are a problem for you, then a good place to start may be to talk with your healthcare provider about testing. It is important to learn the root cause – especially if dealing with infertility – because that which is causing hair thinning and shedding may also be contributing to your inability to conceive.
Blepharitis is a chronic primary eyelid inflammation. It is fairly common in occurrence and being a condition with remissions and relapses, results in a decreased quality of life if adequate measures are not taken. Chronic blepharitis is the most common condition associated with madarosis.[10] Though there are various ways of classifying blepharitis, the most useful is the one proposed by Wilhelm,[24] wherein blepharitis can be classified based on whether there is a predominant involvement of the part of the eyelid anterior to the gray line (anterior blepharitis), or posterior to the gray line (posterior blepharitis). The gray line is an imaginary line dividing the eyelid into an anterior part consisting of the skin and muscle, and a posterior part consisting of the tarsus and conjunctiva.
Hormones are cyclical. Testosterone levels in some men drop by 10 percent each decade after thirty. Women's hormone levels decline as menopause approaches and drop sharply during menopause and beyond. The cyclic nature of both our hair and hormones is one reason hair loss can increase in the short term even when you are experiencing a long-term slowdown of hair loss (and a long-term increase in hair growth) while on a treatment that controls hair loss.
Eyebrow hair loss is an unfortunate happening to many people since eyebrows help in giving your face a frame and charming looks. Imagine how you would look like without prominent features on your face such as eyebrows. You can see how funny each of the celebrities with on someone’s face. We are not talking about people who are born with naturally few eyebrows or . If you are suffering from other common skin disease such as seborrhea, contact dermatitis, psoriasis among others, expect to suffer from brow hair losses.
Yes. If you wear pigtails or cornrows or use tight hair rollers, the pull on your hair can cause a type of hair loss called traction alopecia (say: al-oh-pee-sha). If the pulling is stopped before scarring of the scalp develops, your hair will grow back normally. However, scarring can cause permanent hair loss. Hot oil hair treatments or chemicals used in permanents (also called “perms”) may cause inflammation (swelling) of the hair follicle, which can result in scarring and hair loss.
A. I'd say 25 percent get very good results. For another group, it just means that the situation is not getting worse, which no one ever considers a success. If you are thinking about it, you should start early. Minoxidil is not for everyone. … It can take at least six months to work — which doesn't fit most patients' time frames. It can stimulate facial hair or cause a rash on the scalp. It's not a miracle, but it's the only FDA-approved medication we have and it's been that way for 30 years. These are things we struggle with.
It’s natural for estrogen levels to fluctuate throughout a woman’s life, but drastic drops can disrupt the hair growth cycle and cause telogen effluvium. For example, during pregnancy, a woman’s estrogen levels are at their peak. Fewer hair follicles enter the telogen stage of the hair cycle, so hair looks thicker than usual. A few months after pregnancy, however, estrogen levels drop and the excess hair falls out. While totally normal, this type of telogen effluvium can be very upsetting for new mothers.
Hair Club’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use set forth the conditions under which you may access and use our website. Your access and use of the website, lets Hair Club know that you consent to be bound by Hair Club’s Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and applicable federal, and state or provincial law, as applicable, in effect at the time of your use. The terms in the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use are non-negotiable. If you do not agree to be bound by any of the terms contained in our Privacy Policy or in our Terms of Use, or you are not legally able to contract in your place of residence by reason of your age (you are younger than 18 years of age) or other, then you should not access or use the Hair Club website for any purpose.
This plant is native to North America and has been used for centuries by indigenous people to treat menstrual and menopausal disorders. While modern research results are mixed, some studies do indicate that black cohosh can be effective as a treatment in menopause. While the research focuses on hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause that get more attention than hair loss, it follows that black cohosh could also help to improve hair growth when estrogen levels decline.
It is known that estrogen plays a great role in reducing bodily hair, in promoting the growth of the hair on your head, controlling height, reducing the muscle mass, promoting the breast growth, keeping the skin smooth, keeping away from wrinkles, regulating menstrual cycle in women, preventing fatigue, keeping away depression etc. From all these it can be known that estrogen hormone is important for the overall health of an individual.
Contact dermatitis causes skin inflammation and when severe it can affect the hair follicles as well. It can either be due to some irritant making contact with the skin of the eyebrows or due to a substance to which a person has an allergy. This gives rise to the two types of contact dermatitis – irritant contact dermatitis or allergic contact dermatitis. Substances that could cause contact dermatitis at the eyebrow includes eye makeup including eyebrow pencils, hair removal creams and waxes, other cosmetics, hair dyes and scalp hair styling products.
A. I think it's a personal preference, but why is a cosmetic solution such a big deal? To use sprays, powders and hair extensions? It doesn't address the problem, but it can do wonders for your self-esteem. I see patients who are extremely depressed, and this is ruining their life. We always have hope for that miracle solution, but it's very hard to do research studies. … As much as this affects people's mentality, there's not a lot of (National Institutes of Health) funding because hair loss isn't killing anyone.
Since our founding more than 40 years ago, Hair Club’s unique story has been regularly featured in the media. And because we’re the trusted provider of all-proven hair loss solutions in North America, we continue to receive lots of coverage today. With your help, we’re still writing the story of Hair Club every day, so we welcome you to follow us and stay up to date with the latest Hair Club news, press releases and more.
Before you start hormone replacement therapy, it's important to talk to your doctor about the possible risks and negative effects versus the benefits of HRT. If you're already at an increased risk for health conditions like heart disease, cancer, and blood clots, HRT may not be the best hair loss treatment for you. If you are prescribed HRT, it important to take the lowest doses that are effective, and to only take the drugs for the shortest amount of time needed to control symptoms.
Thyroid Dysfunction: Since the thyroid gland regulates many body functions by releasing hormones, any disruption in its functioning can cause loss of hair, including eyebrow hair. If your thyroid is underactive, it could cause you to lose the outer third of your eyebrow. The only way to treat thyroid dysfunction is through medication. However, there’s still no guarantee that your eyebrow hair will grow back.
It takes more than just an apple a day to keep the doctor away; if your diet lacks the key vitamins A, B, D and E or nutrients such as iron, calcium or the amino acid L-lysine, your hair may suffer. Nutrient deficiency doesn’t just affect the eyebrows—it may lead to hair loss on the scalp, feelings of fatigue and physical weakness, lightheadedness or inhibited concentration, heart palpitations and pale skin, among other serious symptoms.
This is an autoimmune disorder that is also known as “spot baldness” and can result in hair loss ranging from just one location (alopecia areata monolocularis) to the entire scalp (alopecia totalis), or to every hair on the entire body (Alopecia areata universalis). Although it is thought to be caused by hair follicles becoming dormant, what triggers alopecia areata is not exactly known. In most cases, the condition corrects itself.
Eyelash hairs are usually present in two to three rows, and are short, thick, and curved in appearance. They are set obliquely, anterior to the palpebral muscle. The upper eyelashes are more numerous and curve upward, while the lower eyelashes curve down in order to avoid interlacing during eyelid closure. Eyelash cilia are unique in that they have no erector muscles. Eyelash hairs are oval in all races.[7]
Try out new hairstyles to disguise your thinning hair whilst you recover your hormonal balance. You may also want to consider a hair piece or clip-in extensions if your hair loss is very bad, but these should be used with care in order to prevent traction alopecia. You may also like to try using rollers or a hair volumizer, to add lift to your locks, or instantly hide thin patches with a good hair loss concealer.
Madarosis is the hallmark of lepromatous leprosy. It was reported in 76% of patients with multibacillary leprosy.[76] Bilateral symmetric cicatricial madarosis occurs in lepromatous leprosy due to histiocytic infiltration of hair follicles[77,78] [Figure 4]. It occurs in multibacillary leprosy after at least 5 to 10 years of untreated disease.[79] Loss or atrophy of the eyelashes may follow. Madarosis adds to the cosmetic disfigurement caused by leprosy. Absence of madarosis is a good prognostic sign in long-standing cases.[80] Unilateral madarosis may occur in tuberculoid leprosy due to the facial patch in the eyebrow region. In tuberculoid leprosy, madarosis occurs due to granulomatous infiltration of hair follicles leading to their destruction.
Big and bold brows can give great shape to your face. The last thing you want is to see your eyebrow hairs start falling out. Unfortunately, you can experience eyebrow loss just like you experience hair loss. It’s important to understand what is causing your eyebrows to shed so that you can work on stopping the hair loss and promoting hair growth. Here are the most common causes of eyebrow loss. |
A demonstrator in favor of Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. and opposed to U.S. President Barack Obama’s health-care law contraception requirement holds up a sign outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, March 25, 2014. A divided U.S. Supreme Court debated whether companies can assert religious rights, hearing arguments in an ideological clash over President Barack Obama’s health care law and rules that promote contraceptive coverage. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
“Being Christians, we don’t pay for drugs that might cause abortions … something that is contrary to our most important beliefs. It goes against the biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one,” Hobby Lobby founder David Green wrote in an article for USA Today.
Hobby Lobby is so committed to those principles that it’s gone to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge a provision in the Affordable Care Act that it says requires it to provide access to insurance covering birth control for its employees, some forms of which it equates with abortion.
No wonder then, the glee emanating from some quarters Tuesday when Molly Redden of Mother Jones reported that the company’s retirement plan holds $73 million in mutual funds with investments in companies that make abortion drugs.
Several of the mutual funds in Hobby Lobby’s retirement plan have holdings in companies that manufacture the specific drugs and devices that the Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby, is fighting to keep out of Hobby Lobby’s health care policies: the emergency contraceptive pills Plan B and Ella, and copper and hormonal intrauterine devices. These companies include Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, which makes Plan B and ParaGard, a copper IUD, and Actavis, which makes a generic version of Plan B and distributes Ella. Other holdings in the mutual funds selected by Hobby Lobby include Pfizer, the maker of Cytotec and Prostin E2, which are used to induce abortions; Bayer, which manufactures the hormonal IUDs Skyla andMirena; AstraZeneca, which has an Indian subsidiary that manufactures Prostodin, Cerviprime, and Partocin, three drugs commonly used in abortions; and Forest Laboratories, which makes Cervidil, a drug used to induce abortions. Several funds in the Hobby Lobby retirement plan also invested in Aetna and Humana, two health insurance companies that cover surgical abortions, abortion drugs, and emergency contraception in many of the health care policies they sell.
The retirement plan comes with a “generous company match,” which amounted to $3.8 million in 2012.
Investments in these sorts of companies are commonplace for the typical retirement fund. But Hobby Lobby has been arguing that it’s anything but typical.
Hobby Lobby did not comment for the Mother Jones story.
But plenty of other people did.
“Wow,” said the liberal DailyKos.
From Feministing:
Yup, that Hobby Lobby. The company that’s taken their “deeply held” religious objection to contraception all the way to the Supreme Court. The company that thinks allowing their employees to get coverage for certain types of birth control through their insurance plans — plans, mind you, that the employees pay the premium on — amounts to subsidizing immorality. The company that pulls out the world’s smallest violin as it earnestly cries that Obamacare is “forcing them to violate the law or violate their belief that life begins at conception — a choice no company should have to make.”
And here was the headline on the blog Scholars and Rogues:
Hobby Lobby hypocrisy: 401k plan invests in contraception; Obamacare litigant secretly profiting from the very immorality it publicly opposes.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in the case.
Hobby Lobby says its committed to “honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles” and “providing a return on the owner’s investment, sharing the Lord’s blessings with our employees,” according to the company’s Web site.
According to briefs filed with the Supreme Court, Hobby Lobby objects to the Obamacare mandate requiring employers to provide access to policies covering IUDs and the two morning-after pills, Ella and Plan B, because it believes the contraceptives cause abortion by preventing implantation of a fertilized egg.
Researchers say these devices don’t end pregnancies like the abortion drug RU-486. Nor do they stop implantation of fertilized eggs. Rather, these devices stop pregnancy before it happens by making it hard for sperm to reach the egg or delaying ovulation.
The kicker is that there are “faith based” investment options for companies like Hobby Lobby that are particular about whom they do business with. Dan Hardt, a Kentucky financial planner who specializes in faith-based investing, told Mother Jones that the performances of funds like the Timothy Plan or Ave Maria Fund, which screen for companies that make abortion drugs or support stem cell research, are about the same as if they had not been screened.
Forbes pointed out that Hobby Lobby has a fiduciary duty under federal law to know what the company-sponsored 401(k) is investing in for the benefit of its employees. |
Beer and liquor drinkers rejoice! The first 3D printed liver is scheduled to be “bio-printed” in 2014.
“We have achieved thicknesses of greater than 500 microns, and have maintained liver tissue in a fully functional state with native phenotypic behavior for at least 40 days,” said Mike Renard, executive vice president of commercial operations of San Diego company Organov, Computer World reported.
Printing human tissue is extremely difficult because of the oxygen and nutrients that cells constantly need to survive, but Organov insists it has succeeded in creating living tissue the thickness of five sheets of paper.
“It is too early to speculate on the breadth of applications that tissue engineering will ultimately deliver or on the efficacy that will be achieved,” Renard told Computer World.
While Mr. Renard’s comments may be meant to manage expectations, the success of Organov would be welcome news to those in need of organ transplants.
There are over 121,000 Americans who are awaiting organ transplants, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. |
WASHINGTON -- None of the Republican presidential candidates in Saturday night's debate said they think President Barack Obama should be allowed to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by Justice Antonin Scalia, who had been found dead earlier in the day.
"I think it's up to [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell and everybody else to stop it. It's called delay, delay, delay," Donald Trump, the party's front-runner, said to cheers.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he hoped Obama would think about "not nominating somebody," and that he would be putting the country first by letting the next president pick Scalia's replacement in 2017.
"The people will understand what is at stake in that election," Kasich said.
Ben Carson agreed that Obama shouldn't get a Supreme Court pick because "we're not going to get healing" with whoever he nominates.
Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Texas), who will get to vote on whoever Obama nominates, both argued that it's been more than 80 years since a lame duck president picked a Supreme Court justice, so it shouldn't be any different this time. That's not true, though. The Senate confirmed Justice Anthony Kennedy in 1988, during President Ronald Reagan's final year in office. Every single Republican voted to confirm him, too.
Cruz stumbled when pressed on that point.
"But Kennedy was confirmed in '88," said debate moderator John Dickerson.
"No, Kennedy was confirmed in '87," Cruz replied, as Dickerson pointed out Kennedy was appointed in 1987 but confirmed in 1988. He asked Cruz if he was basing his statistic on when Kennedy was appointed or confirmed.
"In this case, it's both," Cruz finally said to more cheers.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at least conceded that the president has "every right" to nominate a Supreme Court justice. But he said Obama should have to put up a consensus nominee.
"There's no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama will not have a consensus pick when he submits that person to the Senate," Bush said.
Also on HuffPost: |
When we think about giving a presentation (to keep the example from above), we worry about what people will think, what if I screw it up, forget my lines, miss a slide - people will think I'm rubbish at my job, that I don't know what I'm doing, that I'm stupid and so on. These thoughts then lead us to feelings of nervousness, stress and anxiety - which signals the release of adrenaline and impairs our decision making, in turn affecting how we behave (if you would like to read more about what happens when we experience stress, please click here).
So, what can we do to overcome this fear - one phrase that I keep coming back to when looking at my work in elite sport is "become comfortable with the uncomfortable" (more on that here) Elite athletes have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable; operating on the knife-edge of performance and under constant pressure is not a happy place to be, so you have to embrace the opportunity to face up to your fears.
Thinking of myself I have pushed myself, and been pushed by others out of my comfort zone regularly in the last 18 months in all kinds of weird and wonderful ways, being cajoled in directions I never thought I would cope with and having to deliver under pressure. I have produced a live 20 minute TV news broadcast (despite having no TV production experience previously), led an assent up Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons with a group of colleagues, navigating the route using a compass and map (despite never usually being more than an arms length away from google maps and never more than 1 mile from civilisation) and performed in a 60 minute, live, improvised comedy routine, amongst many other challenges. Each of these scared me witless in different ways, but step by step, I faced them down - broke them into smaller, manageable pieces and adopted a mindset that yes, I was scared, but the feeling of completing them would far outweigh the feelings I had at the beginning. As Commander Mark Devine (US Navy Seal) would put it - I summoned up my courage wolf.
From this personal experience I learned to create situations with the athletes and clients I look after to empower them to work outside their comfort zones. We have built a "safe" environment in which we can be candid and frank in our discussions and whereby they feel physically and mentally safe in all they are being asked to do. The element of trust, whilst taking time to build through smaller, safer activities has grown to an extent where they now buy into experiential learning activities willingly, even though they know they will be pushed and asked to reflect deeply (reflective practice can be difficult, but it is essential - this is where the learning lives in experiential learning, not in the task itself). This practice is invaluable not only when working with elite athletes, but when working with any coaching clients. For more on this style of working, please read our article on constraints led coaching.
So what?
So, what's the crux of this? Essentially challenge yourself as a person every day, work on the knife-edge of your comfort zone as often as you can, face your fears and also challenge others around you to push their own boundaries and yours. The things you think when faced with fear will ultimately determine your feelings and your response - accept your current thoughts, but then tell yourself a different story - summon up your own courage wolf and smash through those fears.
"You ask me what do I fear?
I fear stagnation and lack of progress.
I fear never reaching my potential and being average.
I fear being forgotten...the past...yesterday's news.
I fear giving up and being passed by, going softly into that good night.
I fear settling, giving into the "that's just the way it is" mindset.
I fear dying without leaving my mark.
And most of all, I fear NOT feeling these fears anymore.
I love my fear"
If you feel fear is holding you back from reaching your full potential, please contact us by clicking here to see how we can help, or leave us your thoughts below. |
Google has paid university professors to write academic papers that support its views on public policy issues.
That’s according to a report Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal that’s based on an analysis of 329 research papers identified by the Campaign for Accountability advocacy group as linked to Google in some way.
The non-profit’s study showed that these research papers, published between 2005 to 2017 and covering policy subjects like antitrust issues, “were in some way funded by the company,” the Campaign for Accountability wrote.
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The Journal’s report also includes emails from professors that highlight some of the ways Google (goog) sought to influence their writings. University of Florida law professor Daniel Sokol, for example, wrote an academic paper that said Google’s handling of user data—a controversial issue for privacy advocates—was legal.
However, Sokol failed to disclose the law firm he worked for as a part-time lawyer represents Google. Additionally, emails uncovered by the Journal show that Sokol apparently asked Google for money to help persuade other professors to write policy papers based on unspecified patent issues in conjunction with a Google-backed online conference.
Google told the Journal that it did not pay any professors, but emails between Sokol and Google show that Sokol asked Google to send him “$5,000, like last time” for his work at the conference. Sokol told the Journal that he “should have disclosed the sponsorship for such organization and have now done so.”
Numerous other examples of Google influencing academics are highlighted by the Journal’s report, including one from University of Michigan law professor Daniel Crane who declined to take money from Google to support his paper that argued against “antitrust regulation of internet search engines.”
“Yeah, the money is good but it does get in the way of objective academic research,” Crane said.
Google issued a harsh response Tuesday to the Campaign for Accountability’s analysis of academic papers with financial ties to the search giant. Google said the non-profit’s report is “highly misleading” and that when Google provides money to academics, “we expect and require grantees to properly disclose our funding.”
The search giant also chastised the non-profit for failing to disclose it’s own corporate backers, which, as Fortune’s Jeff Roberts reported last summer, includes Oracle (orcl).
Google said that Oracle is “running a well-documented lobbying campaign against us,” and that the non-profit’s other corporate “backers won’t ‘fess up either” about their financial ties to the group.
An Oracle spokesperson told Fortune that the company has “absolutely nothing to do with this report.”
“We’re proud of our programs and their integrity,” Google said in a statement. “The ‘Campaign for Accountability’ and its funders are, clearly, not proud of theirs.”
It should be noted that Google’s statement did not mention the Journal‘s report highlighting emails between Google employees and various professors.
Update: Thursday, July 13, 11:40 AM PST
Story corrected to reflect that Sokol identified his affiliation with the law firm, but did not reveal that the law firm’s client was Google. |
Image: Eneas De Troya
Common sense is a funny thing. It's here that we as people co-existing within a given society reach unsaid agreements on basic features and interpretations of the world, whether "we" like it or not. It's a very conservative notion for one, arguably acting as a drag force on societal evolution, and one that marginalizes by definition. But it's also in a sense a living history of the present, the contested Wikipedia entry that is a collection of people trying to understand itself through often ugly and dated axioms. It may even be necessary for human reasoning.
What the hell could this possibly have to do with computer science? Ramon Lopez de Mantaras, director of the Spanish National Research Council's Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, believes that one of the central tasks in creating human-like artificial intelligence is in teaching machines common sense, or something a lot like it. "In the last 30 years, research has focused on weak artificial intelligence—that is to say, in making machines very good at a specific topic—but we have not progressed that much with common sense reasoning," he posited in a recent debate, according to IT Iberia's Anna Solana. General or common sense reasoning, the argument goes, is key to understanding the unanticipated, which is key to real intelligence.
Like many if not most artificial intelligence researchers, Lopez de Mantaras is dismissive of the "singularity," the highly sketchy notion that at some point in the near future machines will acquire the ability to simulate human brains, opening up a brave new world in which machines and humans can trade places, with all sorts of neat and scary science-fictional outcomes. Part of the problem, he argues, is that the brain is not exclusively an electrical device and additionally involves very analog and poorly modeled chemical processes. The other part is that no one has really figured out how to program common sense. We can teach a computer the axioms of geometry—that, say, two points exist on a line—but not so much those of society.
Speaking at a conference a couple of years ago in Barcelona, Lopez de Mantaras offered a very clear definition of the common sense problem and its implications. "The dominant model at the present time is the digital computer, though the World Wide Web has recently been proposed as a possible model for artificial intelligence, particularly to solve the main problem faced by artificial intelligence: acquiring commonsense knowledge," he said. "This knowledge is not generally found in books or encyclopedias and yet we all possess a great deal of it. One example is 'water always flows downhill.' This fact is not generally found in encyclopedias, yet nearly ten thousand websites mention it. The same is true of many other pieces of knowledge, which is why the Internet is considered to be the best repository of commonsense knowledge currently available."
As currently realized, artificial intelligence is mostly concerned with creating "idiot savants."
As currently realized, artificial intelligence is mostly concerned with creating "idiot savants"—machines that can do a few specialized tasks very well, but can't do general or unpredictable tasks in any way resembling human intellect. Describing even the most basic visual scene or processing simple sentences are at the edge of contemporary AI's capabilities.
"The most important lesson we have learned in the 55 years of existence of artificial intelligence may well be that what seemed to be the most difficult task (diagnosing diseases, playing chess at Grandmaster level) has turned out to be relatively easy and what seemed the easiest has turned out to be the most difficult," Lopez de Mantaras said.
Lopez de Mantaras and his group at the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute are working together with researchers at Imperial College London on a project designed to teach robots to play musical instruments using common sense reasoning. It's based on a musical instrument known as Reactable, which is similar to old-school modular analogue synthesizers. It consists of a large multi-touch enabled table that the robots make sounds with by manipulating different physical objects in different ways and by making different connections between those objects.
The idea is that by learning how to accomplish different things within the Reactable environment, the AIs are also learning general "common sense" concepts. For example, a machine might learn that to use a rope to move an object, one needs to pull the rope and not push it. To us, this is common sense, but a robot doesn't come packaged with this knowledge or most any knowledge of the sort that we as humans consider to be obvious or self-evident.
"We are now doing experiments to see what happens when you move the instrument around to see whether the robot is able to rediscover a sound position," Lopez de Mantaras noted at the debate, according to Solana.
The idea of common sense knowledge can be generalized to a more technical concept known as transfer learning, which Lopez de Mantaras and a group of Brazilian computer scientists defined in a recent paper as "a paradigm of machine learning that reuses knowledge accumulated in a previous task to speed up the learning of a novel, but related, target task."
Said paper approached the problem of semantic learning—in which general relationships or structures are abstracted from many observations, such as in language learning—via an algorithm based on part on the idea of common sense. Here, common sense acts as a boundary of sorts that acts to reign in possible interpretations of phenomena and filter out random data. In our everyday lives we're bombarded with this irrelevant data, either sensory or as information encoded in language and symbols, which we discard without even thinking about it. If we didn't have this ability, we would be severely limited in our ability to interpret the world correctly or as others do. (It happens that this ability, or its deficit, is thought to be related to schizophrenia.)
This is a problem for computers, but Lopez de Mantaras seems to be onto a solution. Artificial intelligence may depend on it. |
In 2008, TV On the Radio pulled out all the stops with Dear Science, a record that did more interesting things with guitars than any other since OK Computer. We named it our album of the year and so did many other publications (MTV, Pitchfork, Horse and Hound).
The follow-up, Nine Types of Light, is a more relaxed affair – possibly because it was recorded at Dave Sitek's LA home with BBQ and ping pong every day, and possibly because this is a band who feel they've earned the right to take their time over an album and enjoy making it a little bit more. The classic TVOTR sound is still here – cosmic soul, falsetto, shards of guitar – but the mood is mellower and they're not scared to tackle the humble love song.
You can read a full review of the album in Friday's Film&Music or check out an interview with the band in Saturday's Guardian Guide. But for now, here's the exclusive album stream – have a listen and let us know what you think in the comments section below. |
Londonist
What Lies Beneath: West Norwood Cemetery
Roving reporter and guest writer Jeane Trend-Hill was allowed rare access to the the bits we missed when we visited West Norwood Cemetery a while back. Here's her account...
I had the pleasure of visiting West Norwood Cemetery Catacombs in London again. I say again: on my first visit my camera decided to join the deceased half way around and promptly died. This time I came prepared – three cameras! Now I might be a little biased here but I consider these catacombs to be finest in London. I am lucky enough that my work has let me go behind (under?) the scenes in many catacombs and I have visited those at Nunhead, Brompton and Kensal Green cemeteries. They are all pretty amazing but nothing in my opinion compares to West Norwood. Incidentally, in Kensal Green catacombs there was a power cut and I had to wander around in the dark with several people sharing a miniscule pocket torch: that was interesting, but I digress….. On a gloomy sunless day in October right before Hallowe'en I found myself descending the slippery steps into the dark underground cavern. As my eyes became accustomed to the yellowish lighting I made out the familiar corridors.
Opened in 1837 they include a group of 95 vaults with private and shared loculi (coffin spaces) with a capacity of 3500 coffins. The Anglican and Dissenters' chapels above the catacombs suffered bomb damage during World War II and were subsequently demolished. No coffins have been interred since the 1930s. Some were moved at relatives' requests; however most remain untouched. The catacombs are laid out in six narrow vaulted passages, either side of the main vault, each with seven bays. Some bays contain gated vaults or are individual loculi with either cast-iron gates or stone memorial tablets, others were left open. Also visible are the remains of funeral tributes or ‘immortals’. At the end of each of the vaulted passages there is an open grating designed to allow air flow through the catacombs. In the middle of the central area is a hydraulic catafalque (coffin lift) designed by Bramah & Robinson dated 1839. This was used to transfer coffins into the catacombs from the chapel above.
I don’t find it creepy - interesting yes, damp yes (the catacombs have regularly flooded) but creepy no. Coffins that are not buried in the ground are required by law to be lead lined (just as well considering some of them died of smallpox), although as you go around you find coffins in various states of decay and one or two which have completely collapsed into themselves. The children’s coffins of which there are sadly many are slightly unnerving. Did I just imagine someone pulling at the bottom of my jacket or hear a tiny giggle... or was it just the echo of my footsteps? I was allowed access for around an hour and a half and wandered up and down each section to photograph as much as I could. I wore a face mask although the air in there is surprisingly good but I have this tendency to want to get up close and personal to rotting wood, lead and….ewww…is that mould?!
By Jeane Trend-Hill
Please note the catacombs are not presently open to the public although next year's tours will be arranged approx 5 or 6 times per year, contact West Norwood Cemetery for further information. You can see more pictures over at Jeane's website. |
Sports Chosun via Naver1. [+7,809, -135] The on-site votes are a complete mess ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ2. [+6,511, -261] Samuel at #6 is so exaggerated ㅋㅋㅋㅋ talk about keeping him in check3. [+4,704, -121] All these check picks ㅋㅋㅋㅋ4. [+4,520, -191] Why is Samuel $6???????5. [+2,911, -61] I really can't predict anything anymore6. [+2,809, -95] Victims of the week: Ha Sungwoon, Kim Jaehwan, Kim Samuel, Kang Daniel etc etc7. [+2,596, -48] Whoever voted on-site needs to reflect because this is a mess. Please vote based on their actual skills.8. [+2,085, -82] Are these picks real ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Park Jihoon #12 and Kang Daniel at #219. [+1,892, -48] 'Get Ugly' seems to have gotten less votes because of all the check picks10. [+2,151, -150] Yoo Sunho #1 makes no sense ㅋㅋㅋㅋ neither does Kim Sameul ranking at #6;;1. [+567, -27] Are they serious with Kim Samuel and Kang Daniel's ranks...2. [+512, -17] I don't understand how Kim Jaehwan's vocals aren't #1... what were the standards for picking these ranks3. [+494, -29] Kim Samuel #23 in dance;;;;;4. [+140, -4] No Taehyun being #1 is acceptable... but Joo Haknyun at #2... I don't think Kang Daniel and Samuel are lesser than Joo Haknyun5. [+125, -0] All of the b*tches who went to vote on-site were too busy putting other trainees in check with their votes and completely messed up these rankings. As if that wasn't bad enough, they were even swearing at the trainees they didn't like. We really need some regulation. Make it random because the current system just brings all the worst fans together and these trainees will never be judged purely for their skills. |
As the federal government announces a taskforce to deal with ice, the most recent statistics show that overall methamphetamine use hasn’t increased, but the damage it does has
The federal government has announced a national taskforce to deal with ice, a form of methamphetamine. So what are the latest statistics on ice use and the related health impacts?
One of the most comprehensive surveys of drug use in Australia, the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS), was last conducted in 2013.
For illicit drug use, the only statistically significant increase between 2010 and 2013 was in misuse of pharmaceuticals. There were declines in the use of heroin and ecstasy, with other drugs, including amphetamines and methamphetamines (the NDSHS groups both together as meth/amphetamines), remaining unchanged at around 2%:
Indeed, the use of meth/amphetamine is lower when compared to the high point of 2004. Despite this decrease, there are a number of other metrics that point to increases in one form of methamphetamine use amongst users, that is crystal meth or “ice”, and the harms associated with it.
The type of meth/amphetamine people are using has changed dramatically. Between 2010 and 2013 the main form used shifted from powder (speed) to crystal (ice):
Use of ice has also increased among people who inject drugs, according to another national survey conducted by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), and the shift to ice has also coincided with an increase in amphetamine-related harm, according to an analysis in the Medical Journal of Australia.
The analysis of ambulance data in Victoria showed a 318% increase in ice-related attendances (from 3.4 to 14.2 attendances per 100,000 people) between the 2010–11 and 2011–12 financial years. This underpinned a substantial rise in all amphetamine-related attendances over the same time period (from 11.1 to 21.1 attendances per 100,000 people).
According to another report produced by NDARC, amphetamine-related hospitalisations have also increased over time, peaking in 2011-12, the most recent year that data was available for:
The average purity of ice seized by police has also increased, from 21% in 2009 to 64% in 2013.
How does ice compare in terms of harm with other illicit drugs, and legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco?
From a purely toxicological point of view, one study puts methamphetamine behind alcohol, heroin, cocaine and nicotine when considering the risk based on lethal doses. However, as the authors of the study point out, much of the harm from drug use is not inherently related to consumption, but depends on the environmental conditions of the drug use.
A 2010 study in the Lancet by the former UK chief drugs adviser David Nutt asked drug-harm researchers in Britain to score various drugs by a range of harmful effects such as drug-related mortality, crime, drug dependency, and economic costs. Methamphetamine ranked fourth, behind alcohol, heroin, and crack cocaine:
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Drugs ordered by their overall harm scores, showing the separate contributions to the overall scores of harms to users and harm to others. Illustration: Nutt et al. 2010/The Lancet
Methamphetamine also had one of the largest scores for “harm to users”.
This is not to say that just because ice ranks behind several other drugs, ice use isn’t a problem that needs addressing – it obviously is.
It’s also worth reading Nicole Lee’s piece in the Conversation, where she points out:
“While investment in policing and prevention is important, the bulk of the changes in use and the resulting harms are due to the small proportion who use more regularly and are at risk of dependence.
“We know that for every dollar spent on drug treatment we save $7 to the community, compared with $2 for stronger policing. We need to ensure that treatment is a significant part of the solution to the problems created by changes in methamphetamine use.” |
“And I was a little skittish because I thought, you can’t screw it up with somebody who has been your friend for 25 years. You don’t want to rashly go into something that you’re not sure about. But at the same time, how can you be sure at that moment? So we sort of just went forward as if we were pretending we were dating.”
By the end of their stay in Chicago, Mr. Brakeley was mapping out opportunities to meet months in the future. “And I was like, ‘Whoa, hold on, buddy. I’m not sure I’m willing to commit that far out,’” Ms. Graham said. “Because first of all, he was separated for over a year but he wasn’t completely divorced yet, and he had two little kids. And I guess I didn’t know what it would feel like to be full-stop in a bona fide relationship.”
But she also realized that she didn’t want to lose him again, and decided to take the leap. With their mutual passion for music and theater as well as an understanding of the stress that accompanies a major career, they found that their lives blended seamlessly. And on the rare occasion when she acted the diva, he sweetly reminded her that he had worked for Michael Jackson, who was an even bigger star than she was.
Two years later, it was Ms. Graham who sought a commitment and Mr. Brakeley who was reluctant to give it. But when it became clear that they were going to be together, with or without marriage, she made peace with their arrangement.
“I always wanted to get married sometime, but I never was in the right place at the right time with the right person to do it,” she said. “Once I found him, I thought, this is the right place and the right time and the right person, but he has to want it, too.”
On July 23, 2015, Ms. Graham, who had been touring Australia, met Mr. Brakeley and his twins on Maui. It was her 55th birthday, and at the end of the festivities, he presented her with one last gift: a box holding three diamond bands in white, yellow and rose gold, symbolizing Mr. Brakeley and each of his children. |
Nelson A. Rockefeller Jr. has loaned the San Antonio Museum of Art a tapestry of Picasso’s Guernica from his family’s private collection. The tapestry is now hanging in the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art at the museum. Rockefeller traveled to San Antonio this week for the formal unveiling.
Seventy-five years ago, Picasso began painting Guernica in immeidate response to the horrific bombing of civilians in the Basque town of the same name during the Spanish Civil War. Measuring over 25-feet long, this powerful cubist work incorporates haunting images of writhing women, children, animals and destroyed buildings swirling around two central figures of a horse and bull—Spain’s most enduring symbols. Subsequent generations worldwide have seen Guernica as a universal expression of the atrocities of war. The original painting now hangs in the Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, and is visited by millions of people each year.
By the end of World War II, the fame of the Guernica painting was so great that Picasso commissioned a pair of Aubusson-trained French weavers to create three woven copies. Rockefeller bought the first tapestry created directly from Picasso. For many years it hung at the United Nations in New York City at the entrance to the Security Council.
While the painting had been more monochromatic with blacks, whites and shades of gray, in the tapestry Picasso worked with the weavers and introduced shades of yellow and brown as well. As Rockefeller stated, “The subject had been sensitively and brilliantly adapted to the different medium, and the result was a stunningly beautiful work of art in its own right.”
Nelson A. Rockefeller Jr.
Nelson A. Rockefeller Jr. (former governor of New York and vice-president of the United States) collected art throughout his life. He donated his “primitive” collection of art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and much of his modern collection to the Museum of Modern Art. In 1985, the majority of his Mexican folk art collection was given to the San Antonio Museum of Art by his oldest daughter Ann Rockefeller Roberts. The collection is now located in the San Antonio Museum of Art’s Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art.
Because of the museum’s close relationship with the Rockefeller family, the tapestry is on temporary loan for an indefinite period.
San Antonio Museum of Art
The San Antonio Museum of Art is housed in the historic Lone Star Brewery along the new Museum Reach section of the beautiful San Antonio River Walk. SAMA’s collection contains more than 25,000 works of art representing over 5,000 years of history and cultures from around the world. SAMA conducts more than 600 guided tours and provides approximately 200 educational programs annually. Programs include lectures, concerts, films, children’s workshops, scholarly symposia, family art activities, and special exhibitions. |
Business is booming for a South Bay company thanks to California's severe drought. Marianne Favro reports. (Published Wednesday, July 9, 2014)
Business is booming for a South Bay company thanks to California's severe drought.
Los Gatos-based Green Canary has been painting lawns that have turned brown due to a lack of water. The company uses green, water-based paint to transform grass that has turned drought dull.
"This is environmentally sound," said Shawn Sahbari, Green Canary's president. "We engineered it so that the green paint is kid-friendly and pet-friendly."
Green Canary has also helped golf courses, soccer fields and cemeteries impacted by the drought.
San Jose's Almaden Valley Athletic Club plans to use the service to keep the front lawn green while using 90 percent less water.
"One of the main reasons was the concern of members who wondered what are we doing as far as conservation," said Jeff Griffith, the club's general manager.
Sahbari said the paint will not kill grass and lasts at least three months. |
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