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Hi! I’m Anatoli Ingram, and welcome to Hidden Arcana, where I’ll give you a look at some of the people and processes behind the development of Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™. This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Lead Designer Crystin Cox, who spearheaded development of the Mastery system.
Crystin got her start at the California State University Studio of Arts, where she studied theatrical scenery and lighting. Video games are her first love, so after she worked for some time in the film industry, she was encouraged by her friends to think about pursuing game development. Crystin wasn’t sure where to start, so she took a position where many game-industry professionals begin their careers—quality assurance. She says that it gave her an excellent insight into how games are made, and she believes that QA is a job everyone in the industry should do once in order to understand how important it is.
Some of the games Crystin worked on prior to joining the ArenaNet team include Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean Online and Nexon’s MapleStory. She strongly believes that games without subscription fees are in the best interest of players, so as a huge fan and longtime player of the original Guild Wars®, she was excited to learn that ArenaNet was planning to implement a microtransaction system in Guild Wars 2. She hoped she could use her experience working on commerce systems to help develop the Gem Store within Guild Wars 2, so she applied at the studio. Some microtransaction items had already been implemented when she arrived; while some of them became Gem Store staples, Crystin helped to polish, implement, and revamp others based on beta feedback.
During Living World Season 2, Crystin took charge of a new team that was organized to improve in-game rewards in Guild Wars 2. Previously, no single dedicated team handled in-game rewards, and individual content teams were responsible for deciding how players would be rewarded. Crystin felt there should be a greater balance between Gem Store item offerings and in-game rewards, and she and the rewards and commerce teams have worked on creating a clear division so that items will fit their method of distribution. For example, armor sets are now exclusively designed as in-game rewards while outfits are primarily Gem Store offerings. Her teams also designed the new transmutation system and helped work on the new wardrobe.
Much of Crystin’s work in MMOs has been in creating systems to keep players engaged and having fun, which led to her interest in working on the Mastery system and progression for Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns. Crystin says that her earlier work on games for a younger audience was eye-opening because children are, in many ways, harder to please than adults. She explained that while an older player may take to the forums to give feedback, a child is more likely to simply walk away from a game and never touch it again, leaving few clues as to why. Guild Wars 2 players leave consistent feedback on what they’d like to see in the game, which is very helpful.
Crystin’s main character is a charr warrior, although she also loves to play as a mesmer and is looking forward to making a druid. Between playing the game and helping create it, it sounds as though Crystin will be very busy in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns! |
Sweden has long been known as a model liberal democracy. Around the world, the Nordic country is celebrated as a state where, yes, writers and filmmakers are prone to a bit of existential angst, but where people enjoy high living standards, egalitarianism and liberty. In the UK, liberal commentators frequently say we should ‘emulate Sweden’ in matters of welfare, democracy and freedom.
Forget it. Sweden, where I come from, is no cuddly liberal democracy. It is currently in the process of introducing the most draconian surveillance law in Europe, abolishing the privacy of correspondence and threatening the protection of whistleblowers. Emulate Sweden? No thanks.
The so-called ‘FRA law’, the informal name for a new anti-terrorist legislative package, gives the Swedish intelligence bureau, Försvarets Radioanstalt (FRA), the right to intercept all cable communication crossing Sweden’s borders. In other words, the authorities now have the right to spy on every single email, telephone call, facsimile and SMS message that arrives in Sweden. The controversial law, nicknamed Lex Orwell, sparked weeks of heated debate in Sweden. It was passed by the parliament a couple of weeks ago by a vote of 143 to 138, with one abstention and 67 delegates not present.
The law’s proponents claim that the public has nothing to fear. The purpose is to ‘map external threats’, and thus communication between Swedish citizens inside Sweden will not be spied upon. Any intercepted correspondence between Swedish citizens should, according to the regulations, be destroyed. Leaving aside the fact that this still represents an appalling attack on foreign citizens’ privacy, there is the small matter that it is technically impossible to differentiate between domestic and international traffic. Many Swedish companies and organisations have web servers abroad, and often emails sent between individuals in one country are routed via another. National borders mean very little when it comes to electronic communication.
There has been an angry reaction against the new law in Sweden (some of it, it must be said, smacking of the doom and gloom which Swedes are so famous for). One journalist argues: ‘Since 1989, Stasi is but a memory. Yet a similar, but even worse, surveillance machinery is being created – this time in Sweden.’ It is ironic, he concludes, that the new law comes into force in 2009… ‘In the year that Germany marks the twentieth anniversary of DDR’s and Stasi’s collapse, mass surveillance reappears.’ (1)
An editorial in the liberal daily Dagens Nyheter likens Sweden to dictatorships around the world, warning that now all Swedes are deemed guilty until proven innocent. Even the editor of the conservative Svenska Dagbladet urged Swedish politicians to ‘think of Orwell and vote no’. The blogosphere protested wildly in the run-up to the parliamentary vote on the FRA law. Critical Facebook groups were created, including FRI (‘for freedom and rights on the internet’); several individuals and corporations planned ‘civil disobedience’ actions. The internet company Bahnof said that it would reroute all its traffic to ensure it does not fulfil FRA’s requirements for interception. The telecom company Telia Sonera moved its servers for Finnish traffic in order to protect the integrity of its Finnish customers.
The media, the business world and activists from across the political spectrum have all opposed the FRA law. Even Sweden’s intelligence agency, Säpo, says the new law denigrates individual integrity. Protests have been held in many Swedish cities, and even the youth organisations of the parties in the ruling government coalition have taken a stand against this all-encompassing legal snooping.
The Swedish government has faced harsh international criticism, too. Belgium is threatening to take Sweden to the European Court of Human Rights. This may prove to be a minor worry when you consider that several multinationals now say they might pull out of Sweden because they do not want to risk their customers’ integrity. According to Peter Fleischer of Google: ‘By introducing these new measures, the Swedish government is following the examples set by governments ranging from China and Saudi Arabia to the US government’s highly criticised eavesdropping programme.’ (2) Last year, Google warned that it would not invest in new servers in Sweden if the proposed law were introduced, because it doesn’t want to compromise its users’ privacy.
Yes, it is unlikely, as FRA‘s director Ingvar Åkesson pointed out in a cringingly defensive article, that the organisation’s 650 staff will have the time or the inclination to monitor every single instance of electronic communication crossing Sweden’s borders, to read long-distance lovers’ text messages, eavesdrop on business men’s conference calls or pounce on every file sharer downloading the latest Hollywood flick. Yet the fact that they can do this, if they so wish, is reason enough to protest. The Swedish authorities are sending a very clear message about their right to intervene in correspondence whenever they wish, and about the lack of rights amongst Swedish and foreign citizens who will now be objects of suspicion, potential criminals who must be spied upon. Whatever it is practically used for, the FRA law is a serious assault on everyday liberty and individual integrity in Sweden.
Åkesson says that FRA has always been concerned with ‘foreign occurrences’. ‘According to the new law’, he writes, ‘FRA will continue that, if under harder regulations. This is now seen as a threat to the Swedish peoples’ private life. It doesn’t add up. Since when did our private lives become foreign occurrences?’ (3) That is precisely the point! FRA is potentially turning people’s private lives into ‘foreign occurrences’ by giving itself the power to monitor every word of every message that crosses Sweden’s borders. This redefinition of private communication as the authority’s business threatens both Swedish and foreign nationals’ right to correspond freely and without fear.
Under the new law, FRA will no longer need a court order to begin surveillance, only approval from parliament. And the new law says that intercepted correspondence can only be deemed to fall outside of FRA‘s powers after it has been scanned; that is, an email between a man in Belgium and a woman in Sweden will only be labelled ‘non-threatening’ once FRA has opened and read it, and then it will not be stored on record. Yet the question remains: what gives the authorities the right to view our letters or emails or text messages in the first place?
The good news is that large swathes of Swedish society have stood up to the illiberal new law, protesting, debating and arguing against the right of the authorities to interfere in the private lives of Swedes or foreigners in the name of an imaginary threat. The fact that just 143 politicians voted in favour of the law in the face of mass public protest graphically illustrates the gap that exists today between the aloof elite (suspicious, fearful, illiberal) and the general public (who want to protect their own and other people’s privacy).
Perhaps more than any other recent event in Europe, the passing of the FRA law shows up the gap between the fairly small-scale reality of terrorism and our governments’ crazed overreaction to it. The Swedish government’s new anti-terror obsession has no basis in reality. Sweden is not a terrorist target; indeed Osama bin Laden, bogeyman of the modern age, has openly said he will never attack Sweden. In a video statement in 2004, he said al-Qaeda has no plans to ‘strike Sweden’ because it is not part of what he sees as the crusading West (4). And yet Sweden passes one of the most draconian spying laws in Europe to keep a check on every correspondence from ‘over there’ – that is, from anywhere across the world.
There could be no clearer illustration that the elites’ anti-terror measures have little to do with the reality or extent of the terror threat, and rather are driven by a sense of paranoia, suspicion and a desire to rein in people’s liberties just in case. Driven not by external threats but by internal fears, Sweden’s needless FRA law is only a more explicit version of the illiberal, precaution-obsessed anti-terror laws being instituted in America and elsewhere in Europe. In the name of fighting an entirely phantom threat to Swedish safety, the Swedish government is treating every piece of foreign correspondence as suspect, and therefore every foreign individual as potentially evil.
Sweden as a role model for Western democracies? Give me a break.
Nathalie Rothschild is commissioning editor at spiked.
Previously on spiked Nathalie Rothschild predicted only a very Moderate change in Sweden after the 2006 victory of the centre-right coalition over the Social Democrats. Previously, she explained how a fake political party could fox the Swedish establishment. Brendan O’Neill considered whether or not ‘cyber-jihadists’ should have free speech, too. Dolan Cummings asked why we submit to the ‘surveillance society’. Or read more at spiked issues Europe and Liberties.
(1) Sveriges eget Stasi, Dagens Nyheter, 16 June 2008
(2) Sweden approves wiretapping law, BBC News, 19 June 2008
(3) FRA kan inte spana på folket, Svenska Dagbladet, 29 June 2008
(4) Excerpts: Bin Laden video, 29 October 2004 |
BRISBANE Roar will form an affiliation with one of Europe’s most iconic clubs, Sporting Clube de Portugal, in a relationship set to include a player exchange program between the teams.
Roar managing director Daniel Cobb leaves for Europe later this week for meetings with a host of clubs.
Cobb was reluctant to reveal too much on Tuesday, but told The Courier-Mail that 18-time Primeira Liga winners Sporting were among the clubs he would visit to formalise the connection between the Roar and the Lisbon-based giants.
Cobb said the relationship would centre on academies, player development and player exchange.
Sporting’s famed academy developed three-time world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as fellow Ballon d’Or winner Luis Figo.
media_camera Brisbane Roar striker Jamie McClaren at training.
Cobb arrived back in Brisbane on Tuesday from Jakarta, where he met with Roar owners the Bakrie Group, who will continue to commit funds to the club until a new consortium, being assembled by Cobb, is ready to take over the club.
The Roar’s medical staff, headed by Allsports director Tony Ganter, have returned to the club after quitting in May because of overdue wages that have since been paid by the club.
Cobb said the relocation of the club’s training and administration operations to Ballymore was imminent.
Despite the move, the Roar will retain a relationship with Griffith University, where the club currently train.
Cobb expected German fullback Jerome Polenz’s departure from the Roar to be finalised on Wednesday.
The Courier-Mail this week revealed the unwanted Polenz will leave the club with a year remaining on his contract.
Meanwhile, Roar pair Kye Rowles and Jayden Prasad have been named in a 23-man Young Socceroos squad for a July 18-21 training camp in Gosford. |
Image: Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock
For almost six years, Google knew about the exact technique that someone used to trick around one million people into giving away access to their Google accounts to hackers on Wednesday. Even more worrisome: other hackers might have known about this technique as well.
On October 4, 2011, a researcher speculated in a mailing list that hackers could trick users into giving them access to their accounts by simply posing as a trustworthy app.
This attack, the researcher argued in the message, hinges on creating a malicious application and registering it on the OAuth service under a name like "Google," exploiting the trust that users have in the OAuth authorization process. OAuth is a standard that allows users to grant websites or applications access to their online email and social networking accounts, or parts of their accounts, without giving up their passwords. It is commonly used throughout the web, and typically shows up as a menu that lets you select which of your personal accounts (such as your Google or Facebook account) you want to use to sign into or connect to another service.
Read more: Would You Click on These Fake Gmail Alerts?
"Imagine someone registers a client application with an OAuth service, let's call it Foobar, and he names his client app 'Google, Inc.'. The Foobar authorization server will engage the user with 'Google, Inc. is requesting permission to do the following,'" Andre DeMarre wrote in the message sent to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the independent organization responsible for many of the internet's operating standards.
"The resource owner might reason, 'I see that I'm legitimately on the https://www.foobar.com site, and Foobar is telling me that Google wants permission. I trust Foobar and Google, so I'll click Allow,'" DeMarre concluded.
If that sounds really familiar, is because that's pretty much exactly how someone tricked around one million people into giving up full access to their Google accounts to a malicious app named "Google Doc." The viral, "dynamite phishing" scheme ripped through the internet on Wednesday for around an hour before Google shut down the malicious app and its infrastructure. (We're calling it "dynamite phishing" because it's basically the digital equivalent of the real thing—a way to catch a bunch of users with a single blast.)
As it turns out, DeMarre claims he warned Google directly about this vulnerability in 2012, and suggested that Google address it by checking to see ensure the name of any given app matched the URL of the company behind it. In a Hacker News post, DeMarre said he reported this attack vector back then, and got a "modest bounty" for it.
"I'm a little surprised it has taken so long for a worm like this one to get attention," DeMarre told Motherboard.
A few months after he reported the issue, DeMarre said Google told him the following: "We're deploying some abuse detection and reactive measures to deal with impostors that might try to abuse this sort of attack. Given this, we do not intend to perform validation that the URL matches the branding information."
DeMarre criticized Google's decision not to perform the URL validation, which was one of his suggestions to mitigate the risks. The researcher also theorized this could be easily turned into a worm, foreshadowing this week's attack.
"[If the] service is a social platform, the client app might distribute links using resource owners' accounts with the access tokens it has acquired, becoming a sort of worm," DeMarre wrote.
Read more: The Myspace Worm That Changed The Internet Forever
Fast forward five years, and someone mimicked DeMarre's technique, creating a malicious Google Doc app that tricked millions. A similar technique has also been previously used by the Russian hacking group known as APT28 or Fancy Bear. It's possible someone else used the same technique in the last five years, without getting caught. The reason Wednesday's dynamite phishing campaign was caught and disabled quickly was because it spread so quickly and affected major media companies, which rapidly reported on the news. It effect, it was so extremely virulent that its success contributed to its downfall.
Google was lauded for its quick response to the mass phishing email, disabling the app a little over an hour after the first reports were published online. But why did the company let a random developer create an app called "Google Doc" in the first place? Especially considering they had known about this attack vector for five years?
"To not even filter names of your own products out seems ripe picking for imposter apps," said another Hacker News user.
This story has been updated to include DeMarre's comments.
Subscribe to Science Solved It, Motherboard's new show about the greatest mysteries that were solved by science. |
I needed a new razor as the battery on the old razor finally gave up the ghost. After much research and reading many reviews, I chose this razor. I've had the razor for a bit over a month and have charged it twice.
It looks good on the bathroom counter while taking up little space standing in it's counter top holder, has a strong motor, no fancy whistles or bells and doesn't bog down when giving you a shave. I find that I have to pass it over my hard to shave facial areas several times more than I would expect but very comfortable and no razor burn. For me, a clean, satisfying shave which is what it's all about day-after-day, six/seven days a week. The razor holds a charge for over a week and makes for an excellent travel razor you can depend on.
Expensive? Maybe. But when you go into a drugstore to find an electric razor, junk stuff costs three-quarters of what this costs. So, for the price, considering the alternatives on today's drugstore shelves, money well spent. After over a month of using this tiger, I won't hesitate to give this razor a big thumbs up recommendation
(29APR12)
Note: For continued close shaves, I recommend brush cleaning the blade set every week or two. Hair and debris builds up under the blades, raising the blades away from the skin in the process, preventing the closest possible shave. Yes, agreed, it's a pain to clean the blades but doing so, for me, immediately restores the close shave feeling I look for in an electric shave.
Update information. Recently (Mar 12) I used the razor on an eight day vacation and didn't need to charge the razor. I'm still using the original blade set and getting what I consider to be a close shave. And yes, FWIW, close at hand, I have a new set of blades and currently find no need to replace the original set of blades. :)
Hope the above helps. |
It’s been some time since we discussed individual TV episodes here at Pop Culture Has AIDS. But hey, we can rectify that. There’s a great drama series going on right now, at this very moment, Klosterman be damned.
Huddle up, try to ignore the security cameras following you around the room, and we’ll chat about last night’s episode of Breaking Bad.
Spoilers for last night’s episode, “Open House,” forthcoming.
Breaking Bad is in a relentlessly dark place right now. The plot, such as it is, is inching forward when it moves at all, leaving the show 45 minutes or so each week to show our five main characters living in utter misery.
Walt is emasculated as he’s ever been, under surveillance, punching the clock, while his ex-wife makes inroads to his criminal enterprise. This is double frustrating for Walt and for viewers after the long-awaited return of Heisenberg in the season three finale. The stratagem of murdering Gale turned out to be false hope for those who want the full-fledged comeback of the man in the porkpie hat.
Jesse is super fucked. He had never fully recovered from the death of Jane, and now he must cope with trying to go on through life after murdering a quasi-innocent man. There’s no coming back from that.
Hank is depressed beyond recognition as he recovers from his injuries. He’s lashing out at his wife, and using his marital bed as a dining table, toilet, and sadness cubby.
Marie is back to kleptomania, and adding a dose of compulsive lying as she tries to escape the sheer brutality of her daily life.
Skyler is slowly losing her moral compass as she tries to find something to live for in the wake of her failed marriage and failed liaison with her boss.
We’re three episodes into the season now, and what’s happened in terms of story? After Gus forcibly resolved the cliffhanger from season three, here’s what’s happened: Jesse bought a stereo, Skyler negotiated with the dude who owns the car wash, and….
That’s about it.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Breaking Bad is good enough to captivate without much movement in the way of story. In fact, the show is at its best when it engenders a stifling, claustrophobic atmosphere — think of a brutal summer heat wave in a big city where the possibility for imminent explosion is ever-present. Some of BB’s best episodes are more about character and tone than plot (“The Fly”, most pointedly).
As such, “Open House” is a strong episode, though not anywhere near the series’ strongest, and handily the least essential of the three season four episodes to date. The reason for that is simple: too much of the episode focuses on sisters Skyler and Marie. Skyler has always been Breaking Bad’s weakest link, never likable when she was supposed to be likable, and too often shrill and hypocritical. She’s not unlikable in the same way Walter is — charismatic and energizing. She’s unlikable in a “tempted to fast forward through her scenes” kind of way.
[And it doesn’t help that Anna Gunn looks amazingly off-putting this season. She seems to have gotten Heidi Montag-esque amounts of plastic surgery and/or augmentation, and the end result is as distracting as it is hideous. Sorry, but it’s true.]
Marie is a better-written character than Skyler, but unfortunately, Betsy Brandt doesn’t give a great performance in that role. Her acting style is too unsubtle to mesh with the rest of the cast. So, in the shadow of characters as compelling as Walt, Jesse, Gus and Hank, an episode focusing in large part on the sisters is bound to have a perfunctory feel to it. Does Breaking Bad have a lady problem? Probably no more than any other show created and largely written by men. At least Vince Gilligan and company give the sisters their own personalities, unpleasant though they may be. They’re not just window dressing, although at times it feels like the show is struggling to find ways to keep Skyler involved and on the canvas after the Whites’ split — the Betty Draper problem, rearing its ugly head again.
Watching the Schrader’s marriage decompose continues to be a fascinating highlight of the season, however. And the always-welcome Saul brought some much-needed comic relief to a mostly humorless episode. (Though can we please institute an all-media moratorium on the sound of a toilet flushing serving as a punchline?)
But the best parts of “Open House” centered on the despair of one Jesse Pinkman, who took the most memorable Go-Kart ride in television history and continues to desperately seek ways to get through another day. Aaron Paul is absolutely killing it right now, and Jesse’s downward spiral is the number one reason to watch Breaking Bad right now. But I do have one quibble.
So, you know how Jesse’s house is now a drug palace filled with methheads and assorted ne’er-do-wells? And you remember that scene where people were having sex on the floor in a crowded living room while other people were fighting and still other people were just generally being weird and druggy? It reminded me of this:
And not in a good way.
I didn’t believe in the ongoing rave/bumfights/rainmaking going on at Casa Jessie for one second. As with the above clip, this felt like a show creating a world of which it had no knowledge or understanding — which is strange for Breaking Bad, which has to this point dealt with the underbelly of the drug world impressively and realistically. I have no doubt that there are crack dens and meth dens where behavior even worse and more strange than what we saw in “Open House” goes on consistently, but as Skyler told Walt, the devil is in the details, and these details didn’t have the ring of truth. The scenes at Jessie’s house felt like something out of a terrible anti-drug PSA from the early ’90s.
This character, this actor, and his current arc deserve better.
Favorite detail of the week: Hank dismissing the fantasy football guide Marie bought him with contempt, because the information would be so outdated by the time his draft rolled around. That’s exactly the kind of guide you always see on supermarket shelves early in the summer, and wonder who on earth actually buys them. Now we know: emotionally abused wives of bitter paraplegics.
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Call for Local Artists
Chapel Hill Public Library, in partnership with Chapel Hill Community Arts & Culture, is asking you to make small (5” wide x 7” tall) original works of art on paper, inspired by books or authors that have been challenged, censored, or banned.
Based on their artistic excellence, seven of these works will be selected by a jury to become trading cards; artwork is featured on the front and an artist’s statement and information about the book or author are on the back. All entries are displayed in an exhibit at the library during Banned Books Week and beyond. Trading cards are distributed for free during Banned Books Week and beyond.
Banned Books Week is an annual national event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of intellectual freedom. Held during the last week of September, it highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the dangers of censorship by spotlighting actual and attempted banning of books. we coordinate this project to bring these important issues into the community’s conversation in a fun, interesting, and unique way. |
EU report warns that children have become preferred target for criminal gangs amid concern over thousands of minors disappearing from official view
Criminal gangs are taking advantage of Europe’s migration crisis to force more people into sex work and other types of slavery, according to an EU report on human trafficking.
Children have become a preferred target for traffickers, the report warns, amid growing concern over the fate of unaccompanied child refugees who have disappeared from official view since arriving in Europe.
Almost 96,000 unaccompanied children claimed asylum in Europe in 2015, about one-fifth of the total number of child refugees. But at least 10,000 unaccompanied children have dropped off the radar of official agencies since arriving in Europe, the EU police agency reported in January. German authorities reported earlier this year that 4,700 children had been lost to officials, while up to 10 children a week are reported missing in Sweden.
The report from the European commission, which will be published on Thursday, does not attempt to estimate how many may have fallen victim to criminal gangs, but warns that the phenomenon of child trafficking “has been exacerbated by the ongoing migration crisis”. Children are at high risk of being doubly victimised, it says, because they are treated as perpetrators of crimes if they are found by the authorities.
“Organised crime groups choose to traffic children as they are easy to recruit and quick to replace, they can also keep under their control child victims relatively cheaply and discreetly,” states an EU working document seen by the Guardian. Trafficked children aged between six months and 10 years are bought and sold for sums ranging from €4,000 (£3,000) to €8,000, although amounts of up to €40,000 have been reported in some cases.
EU authorities registered 15,846 victims of human trafficking in 2013-14, including 2,375 children, but the report’s authors believe the true number of victims is far higher. More than two-thirds (67%) of people were trafficked into sex work; about one-fifth (21%) were put into forced labour, often as agricultural workers, a form of slavery that disproportionately affected men. The remainder of trafficking victims faced an equally grim catalogue of exploitation, ranging from domestic servitude to forced begging.
The authors sounded the alarm about the “worryingly sharp increase” in Nigerian women and girls arriving in Italy from Libya. The Italian authorities have reported a 300% year-on-year increase in the number of Nigerian victims of trafficking.
Traffickers are increasingly exploiting legal migration routes by persuading non-EU nationals to apply for asylum or a residence permit.
More than two-thirds of the identified victims were EU nationals, with the largest numbers coming from Romania, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Hungary and Poland. The remainder came from all over the world, with Nigerians, Chinese and Albanians especially prominent.
Catherine Bearder, a Liberal Democrat MEP, said official statistics on this “vile trade” were just the tip of the iceberg. Victims of trafficking come to official attention when they are arrested or escape, she said. “Very, very few are rescued by the authorities and for me that is shocking.” Too often, police forces “see the crime, not the person, they see them as illegal immigrants”.
The MEP, who spearheaded an anti-trafficking resolution in the European parliament last month, said EU authorities needed to do more to rescue victims and help them recover.
EU law requires countries to provide victims of trafficking with at least 30 days of recovery, including accommodation, medical treatment and legal advice. The UK offers a 45-day “reflection period”, when the person cannot be deported.
The MEP would like to see a longer period for recovery. Highlighting the plight of people sold into in sex slavery she said: “We are much better now at treating people who are raped and give them the protection of the law, but these girls have been raped night after night after night. I think we should be prepared to give them longer support of reflection and more support in rebuilding their lives.”
She also urged governments to get to grips with the migration crisis. “When the migrants land on Europe’s shores, when they are not properly looked after, they are absolutely ripe victims for the traffickers.”
Yvette Cooper, chair of Labour’s refugee task force, said the EU played a central role in the fight against human trafficking: “Being in the EU gives our police the tools they need to bring evil human trafficking gangs to justice, including vital cooperation through Europol.”
In the past year, 250 suspected human traffickers have been arrested in joint operations supported by Europol, the EU police agency.
Cooper said: “Leaving Europe would be a gift to criminals that would weaken our efforts to stamp out this evil trade.” |
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— A woman and her son were shot Monday morning in a Rocky Mount neighborhood in an incident officials are calling a domestic dispute.
Court records show that Tonya Boyd, 43, had a temporary restraining order on file to protect her from 48-year-old Brian Vincent White. In her application, Boyd wrote that White told her there would be "a price to pay for stringing him along" and warned she could expect a "closed-casket funeral."
"She's been having trouble with this man for a long time," said a neighbor who was too scared to give her name.
Boyd and her 21-year-old son, Emmanuel Boyd, were shot in their front yard near the intersection of Westry Road and Primrose Place as they walked Boyd's younger son to the bus stop.
Both had surgery after the shooting, but authorities did not release additional information about their conditions. The younger boy was unhurt, police said.
Police charged White with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and violation of a protective order.
Tonya Boyd's friends in the neighborhood said she feared for her life, and that White routinely violated the protective order.
One woman said she heard the shots and ran outside to see her friend bleeding on the ground.
Police said, although the bus had arrived at the stop, no students were injured. |
T-Mobile Amps the Holidays, Starts with Gift of Unlimited LTE for Existing Customers
Un-carrier announces Black Friday offers and kicks off 'Un-carrier Unwrapped' − four weeks in a row of surprise holiday gifts − starting with three full months of unlimited LTE data for T-Mobile customers – at no extra charge!
Bellevue, Washington — November 23, 2015 — T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) is kicking off the holidays in style with Un-carrier Unwrapped, a full month of holiday gift-giving, with one special gift coming each week. First up, the Un-carrier is giving the gift of unlimited high-speed data for your smartphone – for the next three months – to every single one of its postpaid Simple Choice customers. But in true T-Mobile fashion, we won't stop there. T-Mobile is also delivering special holiday gifts to Sprint, AT&T and Verizon customers starting next week – one carrier per week. Plus, T-Mobile is serving up a banquet of holiday offers, including a free tablet, $0 down $0 per month on the Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB with JUMP! On Demand, and more.
"We've had a fantastic year, and we're going to spread that T-Mobile cheer by starting with the most important people first… our existing customers! Now you get Unlimited LTE data on our blazing fast network for three full months as a gift from the Un-carrier to you," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. "But that's not all….we know that Verizon, AT&T and Sprint customers need some holiday cheer, too - so we've got presents coming for them. Just wait!"
The holidays are for connecting with family and friends. In fact, data usage on T-Mobile's network jumps more than 10% in December. The last thing customers want to worry about is their data, so T-Mobile is taking that worry away. For the next three months, everybody – all active Simple Choice postpaid customers as of end of day November 23, including business customers – has Unlimited 4G LTE smartphone data once you use up all your data and your Data Stash.
And, as the Un-carrier so often does, they've done the hard work to keep things simple for customers. Simple Choice postpaid customers don't have to do a thing to get their Unlimited LTE gift. On December 1, 2015, the special holiday gift will simply appear under the tree—that is, in their existing T-Mobile plan. Which is how gifts ought to be given, right? No stress. No hassles. And, they'll keep that free Unlimited LTE smartphone data as long as they're on the same T-Mobile plan with Binge On active until March 1, 2016.
More gifts – for the carriers' mistreated customers – will start arriving next Monday, one carrier per week. Stay tuned.
Black Friday: Get a Tablet on Us – and a Whole Lot More On top of this unprecedented customer gift, Black Friday is starting early at T-Mobile. Beginning this Wednesday, November 25, you can get the popular Alcatel Onetouch Pixi™ 7" Android-powered™ 4G LTE tablet for $0 with any qualifying data plan at participating T-Mobile stores across the country and online. That's right: $0 down, $0 payments; you pay only the sales tax. With Binge On and a new tablet this holiday season, the entire family can watch all the holiday movies they want from top video services like Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and SlingTV and never worry about the Grinch gobbling up your high-speed data.
More Black Friday Deals: T-Mobile customers can get the popular Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB for just $0 upfront and $0 per month with JUMP! On Demand with an eligible trade-in. $0 + $0 = $0. You pay only the sales tax! When you buy ANY Samsung smartphone, you get $100 off a Samsung tablet! Combined with the Black Friday Weekend offer on the Samsung Galaxy S6, it's a helluva deal! Get the popular UE Boom Bluetooth speaker for $100 off (retail price $199) and enjoy all the holiday tunes you can handle – without ever using your high-speed data bucket thanks to T-Mobile's Music Freedom. For more about this and other special T-Mobile holiday offers, please visit: www.t-mobile.com/holiday. |
This story is about Published Oct. 2017
The Ticket's Corby Davidson, the reluctant Hardliner, has thrived since being forced to join the show Share This Story On... Twitter
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Jason Janik/ Corby Davidson (left) and Mike Rhyner look through a book at The Ticket offices in Dallas, TX, on Monday, January 5, 2009.
By Barry Horn , Staff Writer Contact Barry Horn on Twitter: @bhorn55
It will be 10 years next week since Greg Williams walked off The Ticket's thriving Hardline in mid-show, leaving Mike Rhyner without his sports-talk partner of almost 14 years. Into the breach stepped Corby Davidson, who had been the show's third voice. Davidson -- better known to listeners simply as Corby or Cobra -- and Rhyner have been together ever since. The show has remained a ratings winner. In fact, it was the top-rated sports-talk show in the key demographic -- men 25-54 -- in the Dallas-Fort Worth market during the most recent ratings periods. Davidson joined "The Ticket" KTCK-AM (1310) as an intern in October 1994, a little more than eight months after it debuted as Dallas-Fort Worth's first all-sports radio station. It didn't hurt his getting the internship that his lifelong friend Jeff Catlin, now the station's program director, was already at The Ticket as a producer. Three months later, Davidison, an Arlington Lamar grad who went to college at TCU and North Texas, landed a fulltime job as the station's weekend board operator. But Davidson's big break came in 1996 when Chris Arnold selected him to produce Arnold's weekday 10 a.m.-noon show. Three years later, Davidson moved on again. This time he joined Bob Sturm and Dan McDowell as a third voice on fledgling BaD Radio.
After three brushes with death in three weeks, what keeps The Ticket's Craig Miller pedaling?
Davidson enjoyed working with Bob and Dan so much that when then-program director Bruce Gilbert asked him if he wanted to move on to The Hardline in a similar role he said, "No." However, "It wasn't really a question," Davidson says now. And so, like it or not, Davidson joined the afternoon-drive Hardline in 2000, which set the stage for replacing Williams a decade ago. At 48, Davidson, who is married and the father of two sons, lives in Lake Highlands. Thought this might be a good time to catch up with Davidson. How important was being at the right place at the right time in getting you to where you are today? Ha! I tell every human being this when they ask about my job. I was the right age (23) when the station started and was able to advance relatively quickly because of general turnover at a new station. Now don't get me wrong, I worked my butt off. But there's no doubt if the station would have started five years earlier or five years later, it wouldn't have been in the cards for me. What was your biggest break at the station? Getting the producer job for Chris Arnold. He saw something in me, lord knows what, but he gave me a shot. Who approached you about replacing Greg Williams on the Hardline? Nobody "asked." We just started doing shows with four hours to fill every day. After awhile it was obvious that this was how it was going to be. So I guess technically I was never hired for the job. It's still open. But you did get a bump in pay, didn't you?
The Ticket's Gordon Keith dishes on 'Fake Jerry'; Cowboys owner's thoughts 'scurry in every direction'
Not immediately. I had to ride out my contract. What's your favorite topic to talk about? College football. I'm a junkie. I watch and read waaaaay too much about it. But I like any segment when we are all laughing because I know the listeners are laughing too. That's the best feeling in the world, crying laughing at work. What's the biggest thing you've learned about Rhyner since you started co-hosting? You gotta remember I worked with Mike every day for seven years before I was the "co-host," so I knew him pretty well. Nothing changed after Greg left, except that he [Rhyner] was a lot happier person. There was a lot of baggage there. I can't believe it was 10 years ago. It's been a wild decade, that's for sure. What remains your favorite bit from your pre-co-host days when you lugged a tape recorder and microphone around for the station? It is and always will be my interaction with Shaq. He's the best, such a sweetheart of a guy. Totally understood how to use the media to his benefit. Now that he's on the other side tearing it up, it warms my heart. What Ticket outsiders are you inviting to your eventual retirement party? Well, I have the Bob Stoops idea that I won't be working into my 60s. I've got a 10-year plan and then I'm out. That will give me about 35 years at the station, and that seems like waaaay too much me. Will let the Jake Kemps of the world lead into the next life. As for outsiders, I hope Coach [Barry] Switzer is around then. I'd like to hoist a beer with him. And my dogs. I love my dogs. Oh, and my kids, assuming they don't hate me by then. And my wife, if she hasn't left me by then. That's about it. Twitter: @bhorn55
This Topic is Missing Your Voice. |
Having trouble installing third-party .debs on Ubuntu 16.04?
You, my friend, are far from alone.
A huge number of you have pinged us about a big ol’ bug in the Xenial Xerus’ new Software app. A bug that leaves you unable to install popular apps like Steam, Google Chrome, and Nylas N1, using .deb files.
Double-clicking on a .deb installer opens the Software app as expected, but clicking the ‘install’ button does nothing.
A bug report has been lodged for the issue (link at the bottom) and explains that the issue: “…only seems to happen with third-party packages; installing a random deb from packages.ubuntu.com/xenial worked.”.
Richard, one of the (awesome) folks who gave us a heads-up about the bug, isn’t impressed though, telling us that he thinks: “it’s pretty sad that this happened for an LTS release, there are tons of users complaining about it.”
We agree.
A Fix For Sideloading .Deb Files Is Coming
The good news is that a fix for this annoying issue is, mercifully, on the way. A patched version of the gnome-software app should arrive through the usual Ubuntu update channels in the next few days.
It fixes side loading of local .debs and several other known issues:
Support apt://urls
Increase number of reviews shown from 10 to 30
Show version and size information for non-installed apps
Enable the Snappy backend
That last one is exciting, huh?
Workaround in the meantime
If you want/need to install third-party apps using .deb files right now there are workarounds while we wait for the fix. You can use a GUI app like Gdebi or the old Ubuntu Software Center (if you still have it).
You can also flex your fingers at the command line to install apps using the trusty dpkg command.
Say, for example, that you downloaded a .deb to your Downloads folder. To install it you would open a new Terminal session and type:
cd /Downloads sudo dpkg -i awesome_new_app.deb sudo apt-get -f install
You can keep an eye on the following bug to track the progress of the resolution (but resist the urge to comment with ‘me too’).
View Bug #1573206 on Launchpad
Thanks Richard! |
Houthi fighters inspect the damage caused by air strikes on the airport of Yemen's northwestern city of Saada, a Houthi stronghold near the Saudi border, March 30, 2015. Reuters "Iran is part of the problem in Yemen, not part of the solution," said Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador to the United States on Wednesday.
The statement was an indirect rebuke of President Obama, who in an interview the day before had said that his administration had "indicated to the Iranians that they need to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem."
This public disagreement is evidence of a broad rift that has done much to shape the conflict in Yemen. Publicly, Obama claims to support of the Saudis. But behind the scenes, he has tilted much more toward Iran than he lets on. Whereas the Saudi goal is to shut Iran out of Yemen, Obama sees Iran as a principal stakeholder.
His officials have been in constant communication with the Iranians over Yemen, and have been pushing for a Saudi ceasefire. Obama's position works to the benefit of Tehran. Yet again, he has demonstrated that, in sharp contrast to his allies, he indeed regards Iran as the solution to intractable problems in the Middle East.
The full extent of the administration's tilt toward Tehran in Yemen has only come out in the last few days. On Monday, unnamed senior officials made plain the White House's lack of enthusiasm for the Saudi operation.
"The White House would like Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Arab allies to curtail the airstrikes and narrow the objective to focus on protecting the Saudi border," one official said.
"At some point, an air campaign has diminishing and marginal returns," another official told columnist David Ignatius the following day. "Let's not lose sight of the fact that the Yemen conflict will have to be solved politically."
At the same time, other administration officials played up Iran's supposedly positive intentions, claiming that Tehran had in fact discouraged the Houthis from taking over Sanaa.
A man reacts at the site of an air strike in Sanaa April 8, 2015. A Saudi-led coalition air strike hit an office of Yemen's Houthi rebels near the pro-Houthi television channel al-Maseera in central Sanaa on Wednesday, witnesses said. Reuters Once the Saudis did announce an end to Operation Decisive Storm, the administration quickly took credit, leaking that it was US pressure that made Riyadh back down. "The Saudis," a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday, "understand that the path forward here needs to be dialogue."
Obama was signaling a kind of indirect partnership with Tehran, which the Iranians were quick to exploit. On Tuesday, hours before the Saudis even made their announcement, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian preemptively declared "that in the coming hours, after many efforts, we will see a halt to military attacks in Yemen." With this seemingly innocuous statement, the Iranians showed the world that they are negotiating with the Americans over the heads of the Saudis.
Abdollahian had honed this tactic with another US ally: Israel. Following the Israeli strike on an Iranian convoy in the Golan in January, Abdollahian similarly revealed that Tehran was a primary interlocutor with Washington, and that it was telling the Americans to reign in their ally.
Smoke rises from an arms depot at the Jabal Hadeed military compound in Yemen's southern port city of Aden March 28, 2015. Explosions rocked Aden's largest arms depot on Saturday, sending flames and smoke into the sky above the southern Yemeni city, witnesses said. REUTERS/Nabeel Quaiti
In this latest example of the ploy, pro-Iranian media in Lebanon helped drive the point home, claiming that US Secretary of State John Kerry had called his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif on Tuesday to inform him that Washington would press Riyadh to shut down its military operations.
According to the State Department's spokeswoman, Marie Harf, the Lebanese report was false. Even while dismissing it, however, she seemed to affirm the very collusion between Washington and Tehran that the report claimed to reveal. She did not rule out communication between Kerry and Zarif about Yemen "in the last week."
What's more, she suggested that Kerry and Zarif had discussed Yemen while in Lausanne—despite the administration's repeated denials that anything but Iran's nuclear program was being discussed.
Shi'ite Muslim rebels hold up their weapons during a rally against air strikes in Sanaa March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah Meanwhile, the Saudis have not folded. They are continuing operations, if on a different scale, while declaring their will to escalate should the Houthis fail to meet the conditions of the ceasefire.
Second, they openly objected to Obama's intention to include Iran as a stakeholder in Yemen. "Iran should not have any say in Yemeni affairs," Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, the Kingdom's ambassador to Britain, told Reuters.
Much like the Israelis, the Saudis can no longer operate on the assumption that they will receive American support. President Obama seems to believe that by including Iranians in negotiations, he is bringing "equilibrium" to the Middle East. Seen from the perspective of Saudi Arabia and Israel, however, Obama's doctrine of "equilibrium" seems like a recipe for further conflict.
It emboldens Iran, which — feeling the American wind in its sails — pushes home its advantage. And it leaves America's allies with no choice but to resist Iran's expansion — and Obama's doctrine, which lends it recognition.
In short, equilibrium is a fantasy. Or maybe it is something much worse. Perhaps it is just the least objectionable way of saying that Obama is now siding with Iran.
Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He tweets @AcrossTheBay. |
Fox’s apparent restraint dates back at least to December, immediately following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Media observers noticed that the channel was the last to start covering the Dec. 21 media event by the National Rifle Association’s chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, and the first to move on to another story. It cut away while Mr. LaPierre was still speaking, an unusual step for a cable news channel.
Since then, Fox reporters have covered gun safety proposals and Fox commentators have reliably defended Second Amendment rights. Several hosts, including Sean Hannity, have criticized President Obama’s alliance with the families of some Sandy Hook victims; Mr. Hannity at one point called the families “props for his agenda.”
Debra DeShong Reed, a spokeswoman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Fox’s calls to her group had been rare and, on those occasions, adversarial.
“The requests always come from a position of, ‘Hey, we found a study that says you’re completely wrong! Want to talk about it?’ Or they want us to come on with a guest from the opposite fringe of the other side.”
MSNBC hosts at almost every hour of the day have repeatedly argued for tighter gun restrictions in the four months since Sandy Hook, suggesting that the subject is a way to rally progressives — or at least progressive-minded cable TV viewers.
Fox’s distance from the subject is all the more notable because Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive of the channel’s parent, News Corporation, has pressed for stricter gun control. After the shooting at Sandy Hook, Mr. Murdoch wrote on Twitter, “When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons?”
But Mr. Murdoch’s views are not always reflected on Fox. The chief executive of Fox News, Roger Ailes, has almost complete autonomy. Mr. Ailes reportedly has a license to carry a concealed handgun in New York City, where Fox News is based. |
Ahead of the New Hampshire primary, Bernie Sanders has gone on the offensive against Hillary Clinton.
Clinton, Sanders says, is only a progressive “on some days.” Other days, she’s a moderate, he claims. “I do not know any progressive who has a super PAC and takes $15 million from Wall Street,” the feisty socialist said on Wednesday, at a CNN-sponsored town hall event.
The spat over who gets to carry the progressive banner spilled over into Thursday’s fifth Democratic debate in New Hampshire where Clinton, apparently riled by what she views as an implicit questioning of her ability to make decisions that aren’t influenced by special interests, dared Sanders to formally accuse her of being bought and paid for.
“Time and time again, by innuendo, there is this attack that he is putting forth, which really comes down to, you know, anybody who ever took donations or speaking fees from any interest group has to be bought,” she said. “Enough is enough. If you’ve got something to say, say it directly.”
Rather than take the bait, Sanders told Clinton he wanted to stick to “the issues.”
But for many voters, Clinton’s connections to Wall Street are an “issue” in and of themselves.
The success of Bernie Sanders (whose campaign boasts that the average donation is just $27, reflecting the grassroots nature of his support) and Donald Trump (who is self funding his campaign and repeatedly reminds voters that no one “owns” him) reflect the electorate’s growing frustration with what Americans see as a corrupt political system that’s ultimately controlled by lobbyists and entrenched special interests that spend millions to ensure that their agenda gets pushed on Capitol Hill and in the White House. Jeb Bush’s abysmal poll numbers also reflect this frustration (Bush’s super PAC has taken the most money from Wall Street of any candidate).
At issue is the $14.3 million Clinton has raised from Wall Street through her super PAC and the numerous paid speeches both her and her husband have made for Wall Street firms. Those speeches pay nearly a quarter of a million each and as you can see, there are quite a few of them.
“Since Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton entered national politics in the early 1990s, Wall Street has contributed more than $100 million to their political campaigns, charitable foundation and personal finances,” WSJ wrote late on Thursday. “Financial-services firms accounted for about 12% of the total amount raised by the Clintons during their more than two decades in politics.”
Sanders’ suggestion that Clinton’s ties to the financial industry mean she can’t be trusted to fight for Main Street is “an artful smear,” the former First Lady insisted during Thursday’s debate. “You will not find that I ever changed a view or a vote because of any donation I ever received,” she insisted.
But it’s not entirely clear that’s the case. Last April for instance, IBTimes suggested there may be a connection between a $200,000 payment made to Bill Clinton by Goldman Sachs in 2011, and the bank’s efforts to lobby the State Department ahead of legislation involving the Export-Import Bank which was set to provide a loan that would end up financing the purchase of millions of dollars in aircraft from a company partially owned by Goldman.
Sanders isn’t the only one questioning Clinton’s newfound zeal for the fight against big banks.
“She moved to the left because she needed some political cover in her fight against Sanders,” Greg Valliere, chief global strategist at asset manager Horizon Investments told WSJ. “Her plan may be aggressive, but her ties to Wall Street make it unlikely that this proposal of hers will be a top priority…it’s the cynical view.”
Indeed, even Bloomberg View - which last October ran an Op-ed by Clinton entitled “My Plan to Prevent the Next Crash” is now openly criticizing Clinton.
“Like most politicians, Clinton has never been shy about asking those who work in finance for campaign contributions, and she ably represented the industry during her eight years as a senator from New York,” Bloomberg’s editorial board wrote on Thursday. “If her views on the financial industry have changed since she accepted those millions of dollars in speaking fees, perhaps she ought to explain why. And the next time she’s invited to speak to Wall Street, perhaps she ought to decline the fee.”
During last night's debate Clinton said she accepted the exorbitant speaking fees from the likes of Goldman Sachs because "that's what they offered."
And besides, "what difference does it make?" |
Libertarianism Against the Welfare State: A Refresher By Bryan Caplan
I’m a hard-core libertarian who defines libertarianism broadly. If you think voluntarism is seriously underrated and government is seriously overrated, you’re a libertarian in my book. I also strive to treat others with common decency regardless of their political views. That includes libertarian apostates. People sometimes cease to be libertarians even on my broad definition – and when that happens, the proper reaction is not anger and ostracism, but friendliness and curiosity.
In recent years, I’ve heard many libertarians expressing new-found appreciation for the welfare state. This is most pronounced at the Niskanen Center, but that’s only part of a broader trend. If the revisionist position were a clear-cut, “Sure, most of the welfare state is terrible, but the rest of okay. We should cut social spending by 80%, not 100%,” their libertarian credentials would not be at issue.
When libertarians start describing Danish “flexicurity” with deep admiration, however, I don’t just doubt their libertarian commitment. More importantly, I wonder why they changed their minds. And to be honest, the more I listen to them, the more I wonder. The most enlightening path, I think, is to restate what I see as the standard libertarian case against the welfare state, and find out exactly where they demur. Here goes.
Soft-Core Case
1. Universal social programs that “help everyone” are folly. Regardless of your political philosophy, taxing everyone to help everyone makes no sense.
2. In the U.S. (along with virtually every other country), most government social spending is devoted to these indefensible universal programs – Social Security, Medicare, and K-12 public education, for starters.
3. Social programs – universal or means-tested – give people perverse incentives, discouraging work, planning, and self-insurance. The programs give recipients very bad incentives; the taxes required to fund the programs give everyone moderately bad incentives. The more “generous” the programs, the worse the collateral damage. As a result, even programs carefully targeted to help the truly poor often fail a cost-benefit test. And while libertarians need not favor every government act that passes the cost-benefit test, they should at least oppose every government act that fails it.
4. “Helping people” sounds good; complaining about “perverse incentives” sounds bad. Since humans focus on how policies sound, rather than what they actually achieve, governments have a built-in tendency to adopt and preserve social programs that fail a cost-benefit test. Upshot: We should view even seemingly promising social programs with a skeptical eye.
Medium-Core Case
5. There is a plausible moral case for social programs that help people who are absolutely poor through no fault of their own. Otherwise, the case falters.
6. “Absolutely poor.” When Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread to save his sister’s son, he
has a credible excuse. By extension, so does a government
program to tax strangers to feed Valjean’s nephew. If Valjean steals a
smartphone to amuse his sister’s son, though, his excuse falls flat – and
so does a government program designed to do the same.
7. “No fault of their own.” Why you’re poor matters. Starving because you’re born blind is morally problematic. Starving because you drink yourself into a stupor every day is far less so. Indeed, you might call it just deserts.
8. Existing means-tested programs generally run afoul of one or both conditions. Even if the welfare state did not exist, few people in First World countries would be absolutely poor. And most poor people engage in a lot of irresponsible behavior. Check out any ethnography of poverty.
9. First World welfare states provide a popular rationale for restricting immigration from countries where absolute poverty is rampant: “They’re just coming to sponge off of us.” Given the rarity of absolute poverty in the First World and the massive labor market benefits of migration from the Third World to the First, it is therefore likely that existing welfare states make global absolute poverty worse.
Hard-Core Case
10. Ambiguity about what constitutes “absolute poverty” and “irresponsible behavior” should be resolved in favor of taxpayers, not recipients. Coercion is not acceptable when justification is debatable.
11. If private charity can provide for people in absolute poverty through no fault of their own, there is no good reason for government to use tax dollars to do so. The best way to measure the adequacy of private charity is to put it to the test by abolishing existing social programs.
12. Consider the best-case scenario for forced charity. Someone is absolutely poor through no fault of his own, and there are no disincentive effects of transfers or taxes. Even here, the moral case for forced charity is much less plausible than it looks. Think of the Good Samaritan. Did he do a noble deed – or merely fulfill his minimal obligation? Patriotic brainwashing notwithstanding, our “fellow citizens” are strangers – and the moral intuition that helping strangers is supererogatory is hard to escape. And even if you think the opposite, can you honestly deny that it’s debatable? If so, how can you in good conscience coerce dissenters?
Personally, I embrace all twelve theses. But even the Soft-Core Case implies radical opposition to the welfare state as it currently exists. My questions for lapsed critics of the welfare state: Precisely which theses do you reject – and what’s the largest welfare state consistent with the theses you accept? |
She once called the convention center a “riverboat gamble.”
“In giving away your tax base for the purpose of expanding your tax base in the future,” Ms. Evans said, “you make it difficult to deliver on the fundamentals, the things that make your city livable, like parks and roads and schools.”
Mr. Dean, a former city lawyer who became mayor in 2007 and led the city’s recovery from historic floods in 2010, said the project, which got under way during the recession, has been a fight every step of the way.
“The gains for the city are real and tangible,” he said.
The mayor has orchestrated more than a dozen tax incentive deals over the past few years. Most recently, he arranged a $66 million incentive package to help the health care giant HCA Holdings move part of its Nashville operations to new midtown high-rise buildings.
He acknowledges that more needs to be done on transportation and education, but in the meantime, he, like most of Nashville’s residents, is enjoying its ride.
“I love the rhythm of this town and the pace of it and the tone of it,” said Mr. Egerton, the writer. “I think Nashville is a big unfinished song.” |
Image copyright EPA Image caption Embassy staff noticed symptoms late last year
At least 16 US government employees were treated for symptoms after a possible acoustic attack targeting embassy staff in Cuba, the state department says.
US media reports say the symptoms range from hearing loss to "mild traumatic brain injury", which could include concussion or headaches.
A spokeswoman said the attacks seemed to have stopped.
Cuba denied involvement and said it was investigating the reports.
The attacks were first reported earlier this month when the US expelled two Cuban diplomats from Washington. But it was not clear until Thursday how many US employees had been affected.
The Associated Press reports that the sonic devices used may have been emitting inaudible sound waves that can cause deafness.
"We can confirm that at least 16 US government employees, members of our embassy community, have experienced some kind of symptoms," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
"We take the situation extremely seriously," she added.
What can sound do to ears? by Richard Warry, BBC head of specialist journalism
Intense sound can cause structural damage to the receptor hair cells in the inner ear which convert sound into brain activity.
There is also evidence that noise exposure can lead to degeneration of the nerve fibres that make contact with the hair cells, which means that even if the hair cells remain intact, the transmission of information to the brain can be disrupted.
However, frequencies that are inaudible to humans do not transmit much mechanical energy to the ear's sensitive parts, and so experts believe that it would be difficult to use them to damage hearing.
There is limited evidence that exposure to ultrasonic sounds above the range of human hearing may be associated with symptoms such as excessive fatigue, headache and irritation.
A German study has also found that the ear may be temporarily more prone to damage after being exposed to low-frequency sounds.
US embassy staff and at least one Canadian began to notice symptoms late last year.
The victims, some of whom have been withdrawn from Cuba, have been treated in the US and by US doctors in Cuba.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has described the incident as a "health attack".
The incidents appeared to continue even after the US staff complained of them and as the Cuban authorities were investigating the cause, the BBC's Will Grant in Havana says.
There are currently investigations under way by the Americans, the Canadians and the Cubans, and security has been stepped up around the diplomats' residences in Havana.
Security analysts believe a third country with hostile relations with the US may be involved but no clear picture has yet been established.
Washington and Havana only re-established ties in 2015, following 50 years of hostilities between the two countries. |
I was out taking pictures for an upcoming post called “Scenes of Winter Light” (working title) when my friend Douglas “Three Stripes” Sargent (a hat tip to you, my friend) texted me to let me know that Andrew Ladd, captain of the Winnipeg Jets and two time Stanley Cup Winner, as well as Mike Richards, a Stanley Cup winner and former captain of the Philadelphia Flyers were going to be playing hockey at the Forks, which is about a 10 minute walk from my house. I immediately went home to change lenses and headed out.
What I found on top of the parking garage was a few hundred people with very big smiles on their face. It isn’t every day that big name NHL players take to twitter announcing their intentions to play a game of hockey with fans, which is exactly what happened. After a brief media scrum in which Richards and Ladd answered obligatory questions regarding the current lockout, teams were selected and the ball was dropped.
Please feel free to view photos on the Zach Wolf’s Wandering Lens Facebook page. |
A Big Island man arrested Friday in connection to a triple-murder in the Leilani Estates subdivision has been charged.
At 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, the Hawai’i Police Department charged John Ali Hoffman with first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, place to keep and use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony.
Hoffman’s bail was set at $2,750,000.
On Friday an autopsy determined that an adult woman, a minor female and a minor male died of gunshot wounds.
Police say that the woman has been identified, however her identity is being withheld pending notification of her family.
Both children’s identities have not been determined. Media reports have suggested that authorities are working on identifying the children via dental records.
For more on Friday’s incident view this Big Island Now story. |
The TV studios just keep the reboots coming. CBS is working on bringing MacGyver back to television, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly. This won't be your parents' MacGyver however; Furious 7 director James Wan is set to executive produce the series, and he's on board to develop what's sure to be an explosive pilot episode. The show hasn't yet been ordered to series, but CBS has committed to at least making the pilot.
Oh, and expect MacGyver to be a bit less scruffy than his ’80s incarnation: the rebooted series will follow a 20-something version of the quick-on-his-toes action star. The official description for the show says this greener MacGyver "gets recruited into a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening."
More reboots for you
This isn't the first time James Wan has been attached to the quirky action hero. He was tied to a 2012 MacGyver movie that never happened. In an interview earlier this year, he said that he had to drop the film in order to blow up some cars in Furious 7, but he sounded genuinely excited about the proposition of bringing MacGyver back to life. He said, "I wanted to put my MacGyver story around something like a North by Northwest: He gets blamed for something that he had designed, something really big that’s something everyone wanted, and now someone has weaponized it and everyone’s coming after him."
If you're feeling reboot fatigue, you'll be saddened to hear that the studios show no sign of slowing down. Yesterday, Fox announced a new Lethal Weapon show, and it joins a long, long list of rebooted properties coming to TV, like Minority Report, Limitless, Full House, The-A Team, and Uncle Buck. Get ready. |
Marie Vilà started and ended her first year of beekeeping with a queen. The West Bremerton resident decided to join a growing number of urban Americans in trying her hand at raising her own colony.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Vilà said. “The whole buzz about bees — they’re in so much trouble right now. That resonated with me a lot.”
You’ve probably read stories about Colony collapse disorder and how insecticides are impacting wild bee populations. The good news is honey-producing bee populations appear to be stabilizing after a period of decline. And it may be people like Vilà that are helping make that happen.
But her first year included triumphs and tragedies. Her queen bee, capable of living years, survived. Sadly, her once-robust hive did not. Here’s what happened.
She started by taking a master bee-keeping class in the spring, aided by the West Sound Beekeepers Association. She bought what’s known as a langstroth style of hive and put it atop her carport. For about $120, she got a pound of bees from a California almond farm.
Her queen bee was separated from the hive so they can adjust to each other’s smells (and the hive does not revolt). Once ready, a cork keeping queen and the bees apart is replaced with a sugary marshmallow that’s eaten through. And voila — the hive is united.
Vilà said summer was amazing. The bees were abundant and the hive productive, growing to 50,000. She started noticing the pears of her garden, in particular, were growing spectacularly with their newfound pollinators. The bees were producing great volumes of honey, too, important to help the hive survive the winter.
Then, something happened: the bees began dying off. At first, Vilà assumed some of it was just natural — after all, bees don’t live too long. But fewer and fewer were left to protect their queen.
Until one day, all that was left was the queen.
Vilà suspects the bees were infected with a Varroa mite, an unfortunate but all too common cause of death. She did the only thing she could — bundled up her queen and whisked her to the West Sound Beekeeper’s Apiary.
“She was on her last legs,” Vilà said.
The queen is surviving there, she said. The queen can live with another hive, which can support her for now, though she must remain isolated from them for fear they would attack her. Queens can live up to a few years and Vilà’s hopeful that in spring, she can get new bees acclimated to her own queen again.
I’ll be sure to provide an update on Vilà’s efforts next spring, as she attempts to build a new hive with her tried and true queen. |
Intense Horror Game 'The Sexy Brutale' Release Date Revealed; Here's What To Expect
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Recently, Tequila Works revealed the release date of its new game titled The Sexy Brutale. Fans are very excited about the game, as it offers an amazing horror and brutal experience. It is also expected that the game will offer an intense difficulty. The Sexy Brutale will surely keep the players busy for the challenge that it will bring.
When Is The Release Date Of The Sexy Brutale?
According Tequila Works, it will release The Sexy Brutale on Apr. 12, 2017. Fans got really excited, as the game's launch is a few months away. Rumors suggest that the company will reveal more features in the game before it is released, so that fans will have an idea of what they are about to play. This game is expected to be a big hit this year. The price is still unknown, though it is believed to be a bit cheap. Due to this, fans might consider getting this game, as it offers an all new gaming experience to everyone.
What To Expect From The Sexy Brutale?
The Sexy Brutale is a puzzle and adventure game with some horror contents. It offers an amazing area, which is the mansion that will take some time to be fully discovered. The mansion offers different areas with different puzzles to be solved. There are also different types of characters that fans will surely love, as well as nine different guests. Players will get special abilities, as they progress into the game. There are a lot of secrets to be discovered in the game, which excites the fans. Rumors suggest that the game will make a lot of players very curious, as they will try to find hidden features in the game,
The Sexy Brutale will be available to play on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
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Magic Leap, Microsoft's HoloLens, and Oculus VR hope to fool our eyes. A small team of designers, engineers, and chefs have cooked up a "gastronomical virtual reality experience" that uses head-mounted displays, 3-D printers, and food science to trick our taste buds.
Project Nourished combines brightly colored experimental cuisine, crafted from agar and pectin, with VR simulations intended to make those meager morsels seem tastier than they really are. If creator Jinsoo An succeeds, diners will don a virtual reality headset and be transported to a place where the Jello-like wedge placed before them is transformed into a sumptuous slice of apple pie.
Two things inspired Project Nourished. First, a scene in Hook where a grown Peter Pan remembers how to use his sense of imagination to turn bowls of colorful goop into a gourmet meal. Second, An's stepfather is diabetic and has had to cut some of his favorite foods from his diet. An's goal is to provide a savory simulation without spiking blood sugar. "Even though the food is completely imaginary, there is a sense of joy, happiness and being part of a family," says An. "We want this happiness to be the focal point of our experience."
Simulating food has an uncanny valley problem, one An decided to design around by making his virtual victuals distinct from the menu items they're meant to mimic. "We tackled this by making the faux foods look considerably different from the actual foods, while making it somewhat recognizable," he says. "This ensured that the users don't expect the foods to taste and feel in certain way, because it won't be 100 percent."
Texture is a critical culinary consideration and An's team is working to recreate the mouthfeel of sushi, steak, and apple pie using natural, low-calorie ingredients. "Some of our ingredients were inspired by vegan and allergy-free cooking since vegan and food allergy communities have already done a lot of experiments trying to mimic various types of foods that they are not able to eat," says An. "For example, we are experimenting with nutritious yeast and shiitake mushroom powder to recreate dry-aged and umami flavors in our faux steak."
. Photo: Project Nourished
Project Nourished isn't the only team pursuing this goal. Researchers Hiromi Nakamura and Nimesha Ranasinghe have been experimenting with tongue-based interfaces that can simulate sweet, salty, and savory flavors by sending an electrical current into taste buds. "While the research findings were quite extraordinary, we decided to move away from this direction since most people would be freaked out if we told them we are going to send electrical current through their tongue," says An.
An aromatic diffuser is employed to amplify the olfactory elements of the experience, turning scented oils into pleasing aromas. "Close your eyes and imagine yourself walking into a bakery with fresh breads and pies. We want that experience to be replicated in our pie-eating experience," says An. "So far, we have tried turning beer, broth, herb and fruit-infused water into fine mist, and they worked quite nicely."
The Project Nourished team loves cooking, eating, and knows it will be a long time before VR can compete with Per Se. But that's no reason not to push the boundaries. "After experimenting with sous vide and molecular gastronomy, I wanted to see if there are other ways for us to consume food," says An. "Some of these ideas can be quite scary or seem far out, but I think designers, technologists and culinary professionals should start thinking about these implications so that we can make more conscious decisions down the line. One thing we should never do is to fear." |
Over the weekend, NYPD officers shot and killed a man in Midtown. Today, they did the same thing to a dog near Union Square.
While we’ve been on the topic of Eddie Huang, we just received a call from the Baohaus owner about the peculiar gunshot he and his staff just heard outside of his East Village restaurant on 14th Street. UPDATED (see below).
Huang just explained to The Observer by phone:
We heard the gunshot, and we all ducked, and saw people running and screaming. All of the sudden, our chef, Mitch, ran toward the gunshot. He was like Yo, it’s that dog in front of KFC—because there’s always this dog in front of KFC—and by the time I get there, I can see the dog whipping around and convulsing. Everyone around was like: Put the dog out of its misery. The cops left this dog wiggling and flaying, blood coming out of its mouth. They shot it in front of a public bus. Another one of our employees was 10 feet away from it, and he said what happened was: The cops tried to mace the dog, when they tried to mace it, the dog lunged at [the cop]. And this is the same homeless guy we see outside of KFC every day. He never bothers anybody. Today, the guy was passed out. Other people were saying he OD’d or whatever, but he was alive, he was just in a hole [passed out]. What we heard was: The dog was barking at people outside of KFC, and people called the police. Then the dog lunged, and another cop shot it. You can see in the photo, the trail of blood. The dog traveled. People were really really vocal, harassing the cops to put the dog down, and they wouldn’t do it. The whole thing just seemed really, really unnecessary. I don’t know what the protocol is for this, I know they have to keep the peace, but it really seemed like an abuse of power, an unnecessary one, and not doing it the right way. They really should’ve put that dog out of its misery. We’ve all seen Old Yeller. We all know the right way to do this. We see this dog outside of KFC every day. It’s usually a nice dog. [The dog and its owner] don’t bother anyone. Everyone in this restaurant [Baohaus] knows this. If it was a cop from the neighborhood, they would know that guy. He’s there every day.
Again, this is the second shooting in broad daylight, in a highly-trafficked pedestrian thoroughfare of Manhattan in less than three days.
UPDATE: Apparently, the dog lived. Which is not, for the record, how Old Yeller ends.
fkamer@observer.com | @weareyourfek |
9.52am: Good morning, this is David Batty with today's liveblog on the continuing unrest in the Arab world and Middle East. The death toll is spiralling as security forces in Libya and Bahrain crack down on popular protests.
Here are the main developments overnight and this morning:
• Libyan security forces killed 35 people in the eastern city of Benghazi last night, according to Human Rights Watch. This brings the death toll from three days of protests in the east of Libya to 84, according to the New York-based group. Eyewitness accounts given to news agencies suggest the total could be significantly higher.
• Libya's main internet service provider, General Post and Telecommunications Company, has largely cut off access to the internet. Al-Jazeera says its Arabic news channel is being jammed on several frequencies.
• Bahrain's main Shia opposition group has rejected King Hamad's offer of national dialogue to end the violent unrest in the Sunni-ruled Gulf state. At least 50 people were wounded on Friday in the capital, Manama, following the funerals for four protesters killed on Thursday.
10.05am, Libya:
Libyan special forces have stormed a protest camp in the eastern city of Benghazi, the Associated Press reports. At 5am special forces are said to have attacked hundreds of protesters, including lawyers and judges, who have been camped out for the past two days in front of the courthouse in city, which has been a focus for the anti-government unrest.
One protester who spoke to the news agency said he feared the security forces were stepping up their brutal crackdown:
They fired teargas on protesters in tents and cleared the areas after many fled carrying the dead and the injured. This is a ghost city; we are all afraid that something big is going to happen in Benghazi today.
10.17am, Libya: More on Human Rights Watch's estimate of the rising death toll in Libya. The group says at least 84 people were killed in several cities in the east of the country between 16-18 February. It bases the estimate on telephone interviews with hospital staff and witnesses.
Hospital sources have said security forces killed 35 people in Benghazi on Friday, almost all with live ammunition:
By 11pm on 18 February, al-Jalaa hospital in Benghazi had received the bodies of 35 people killed that day, a senior hospital official told Human Rights Watch. He said the deaths had been caused by gunshot wounds to the chest, neck, and head.
On Thursday 20 people were killed in Benghazi, 23 in Baida, three in Ajdabiya and three in Derna, according to reports.
10.21am, Libya:
Al-Jazeera English has posted a video on YouTube of a protest outside what appears to be a court building or a police station.
According to the news channel, the protesters are yelling "Oh, Benghazi, where are you! Come see the oppressed people" and "Shame on you, you lied to us."
10.39am, Libya: Moftah, a Libyan protester, has given an interview to CNN's Anderson Cooper describing how soldiers fired on thousands of demonstrators in Benghazi.
In this video, Moftah tells Cooper: "I don't know the numbers [of protesters] but we had [a demonstration] in the streets about 3km long and 30m wide. [The streets] were fully packed by demonstrators carrying the coffins of people who are dead and then we reach a place where the Revolutionary Guard and that's when they start shooting heavily at us with live ammunition. Later on I found out that four people died and that many other people were wounded, critically wounded."
10.50am: Access to the internet in Libya was cut off at 1.18am Libyan time (23.18 GMT Friday) but appears to have been partially restored by 8.01am, according to the internet monitoring service Renesys.
At the moment, spot checks of Libyan domains and traceroutes into affected networks indicate that connectivity has been restored and Libya is back on the internet.
Libya appears to be following the cue of the Egyptian authorities who cut off internet access during the protests that ousted Hosni Mubarak from the presidency.
11.08am, Libya: For Libyan anti-government activists, 17 February is a significant date. Five years ago on that date security forces killed at least a dozen protesters during a peaceful demonstration in Tripoli.
So it is not surprising that some of the most useful sources of information about the current protests in the country have taken that date as their name.
Meanwhile this man describes how the army has confronted protesters in Benghazi.
Here's an excerpt:
The army came out, OK, it was with tanks and they're telling us, seven people, protesters, that they're with them, and they're here to protect them and everything else. But we hear other things; in some other places of the city the army's shooting people, and also I heard that they're taking over the airport and there's some aeroplanes arriving with more army corps from outside, from the other cities.
11.15am, Bahrain: Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has ordered the withdrawal of troops from the streets, AP reports.
Bahrain's police will "continue to oversee law and order", the government has added in a statement.
Police earlier attacked anti-government protesters in the capital, Manama, as they tried to reclaim Pearl Square after troops pulled out. Officers beat the demonstrators and fired teargas or smoke bombs into the crowd as tanks and armoured vehicles withdrew.
11.23am, Yemen: Riot police have opened fire on thousands of protesters marching through the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, according to AP, which says the shots kiled one and injured five.
Protesters began marching early in the morning from the University of Sana'a to the ministry of justice while chanting: "The people want the fall of the regime," until they were met by riot police. Security forces backed by plainclothes elements opened fire on them and threw stones.
A medical official said one man was shot in the neck and killed.
Reuters is reporting that two people were seriously wounded.
Security forces have disappeared from the streets of Aden, where rioting has led to at least four deaths and threatened to plunge the city into chaos. AP is quoting residents as saying gangs are looting and burning government buildings, with no sign of police or armed forces.
11.43am, Libya: This YouTube channel has a collection of videos of protests from across the east of Libya. Please be warned, these videos are graphic.
Towards the end, this clip shows a man shot in the head and bleeding heavily - which recalls the footage of Neda Agha Soltan, killed on camera by a sniper's bullet during the protests against the Iranian regime last summer.
11.46am, Algeria and Bahrain: Algerian police in riot gear have surrounded about 500 protesters trying to stage a march through the capital, Algiers, Reuters reports.
A group chanting "Algeria - free and democratic" tried to reach the 1 May Square in the city centre to begin the protest march but was pushed back by police using batons who surrounded them in a courtyard of a residential block.
"If the authorities are democratic, why are they not allowing us to march?" a 52-year-old woman told the news agency.
In Bahrain the main trade union has called for a national strike from Monday, Reuters reports.
"The Gulf Air trade union has told its members that the General Union of Bahraini Workers has called for a strike from 20 February," a Gulf Air employee told the news agency.
11.50am: The British foreign secretary, William Hague, has condemned the use of "unacceptable and horrifying" violence by the Libyan authorities and called on governments across the Arab world to respond to the "legitimate aspirations" of their people.
"The British government is deeply concerned by continuing reports overnight of unacceptable violence used against protesters in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen, and the deaths of protesters.
"Governments must respond to legitimate aspirations of their people, rather than resort to the use of force, and must respect the right to peaceful protest.
"I condemn the violence in Libya, including reports of the use of heavy weapons fire and a unit of snipers against demonstrators. This is clearly unacceptable and horrifying. I call on the authorities to stop using force and to rein back the army in confronting the demonstrators."
The Foreign Office has already warned Britons against all but essential travel to the eastern cities of Benghazi, Ajdabiya, al-Bayda, al-Marj, Derna and Tobruk, which have been rocked by violent unrest in recent days.
12.40pm, Egypt: Egyptian businessmen have welcomed an order from the military for workers to stop strike action. Businessmen told AP that they thought the demand should have come sooner, but speculated the industrial action was tolerated in the light of the protests that brought down the former president, Hosni Mubarak.
"I think it is a very late decision. The army should have given a firm statement for all kinds of sit-ins to stop immediately after Mubarak stepped down," Sami Mahmoud, a board member of the Nile Company food distributor, said AP.
"Though this statement should have come way earlier, I think the army was just allowing people to take their chance to voice their demands and enjoy the spirit of freedom," said Walid Abdel-Sattar, a businessman in the power industry.
12.42pm, Algeria: AP has more detail on the protests in Algiers, which have been disrupted by the police.
The planned rally by thousands of pro-democracy activists was broken up into isolated groups in a bid to keep them from marching, the news agency reports.
Ali Yahia Abdenour, of the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights, was undeterred by the police clampdown. He shouted: "We want democracy, the sovereignty of the people."
Another demonstrator, 23-year-old Khalifa Lahouazi, a university student from Tizi Ouzou, east of the capital, told the news agency he "came here to seek my legitimate rights".
"We're living an insupportable life with this system. It's the departure of the system, not just [President] Bouteflika, that we want."
12.48pm, Bahrain: Reuters is reporting a mixed reaction to the withdrawal of troops from the streets of Bahrain.
Jasim Hussain, a member of the main opposition Shia bloc known as Wefaq, described the order from the Gulf state's crown prince as "a very positive step".
"They're trying to ease the tensions. I don't know whether it will be sufficient."
Wefaq had earlier rejected a call by King Hamad for a national dialogue to end the unrest in the country. The group had said troops must be withdrawn and other conditions met before talks could go ahead.
Ibrahim Mattar, another Wefaq member, said the troop pullout was not enough to secure a dialogue with the regime as the police were still taking action against protesters.
There's no difference if people are killed by the military or by the security forces. We hope to hear a clear message from the government that it will stop killing people who are protesting peacefully.
Mattar said the king must also accept the concept of constitutional monarchy. "Then we can go for a temporary government of new faces that would not include the current interior or defence ministers."
He disputed the portrayal of the unrest as a sectarian dispute between Sunni and Shia people.
We are not going to enter a dialogue as Shi'ites. They try to put the issue in this frame. The dialogue should be with all people who were protesting. Some are liberal, non-Islamic. Some are Sunni and some Shi'ite.
1.08pm, Libya and Iran: Clashes are continuing with anti-government protesters in Libya between Benghazi and Al Bayda, Reuters reports a security source as saying. The area was "80% under control ... a lot of police stations have been set on fire or damaged", the source said.
Local people say security forces have killed dozens of people in the past 72 hours.
In Iran, the opposition has called for new street protests to commemorate the killing of two pro-democracy youths during anti-government rallies held last week.
Saane Zhaleh, 26 and Mohammad Mokhtari, 22, were killed in Tehran when security officials used teargas, batons and then gunfire to disperse the crowd. Dozens were injured and at least 250 arrested.
1.35pm, Bahrain: Now that the crown prince has ordered troops off the streets, thousands of protesters have retaken Pearl Square, which is where demonstrations in the country kicked off, AP is reporting.
Demonstrators carrying Bahraini flags, flowers and signs that said "Peaceful, peaceful" marched into the square chanting "We are victorious" as armoured vehicles and riot police withdrew.
1.42pm, Bahrain: Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has called for a national day of mourning "for the sons we have lost" in the violent crackdown, Reuters reports.
In a statement put out by Bahrain's national news agency the prince called for calm, asking people to unite and co-operate with all political forces in the country.
I stress, once more, that our duty is to preserve security and stability, to ensure that there is no discord and that the situation does not worsen. Join us to calm the situation, so that we can announce a day of mourning for our lost sons.
3.07pm, Egypt and Morocco: An opposition party in Egypt has been allowed to register after 15 years trying, according to Reuters.
The Wasat party was founded by Abou Elela Mady, who broke away from the Muslim Brotherhood in the mid-1990s. Wasat means "centre". Mady had been trying to get the party licensed since 1996 but ended up in a military court accused of running it as an Islamist front.
Mady has told Reuters:
This decision is the fruit of the 25 January revolution. If it wasn't for the winds of freedom that blew with the revolution we would not have got this licence.
In Morocco, Reuters is reporting attacks on a police station and French firms in Tangier but says it is all about a utilities contract won by a French firm over a Moroccan one, and nothing to do with an upcoming rally for political reform.
3.32pm, Libya: Security forces in Benghazi have shot dead at least one person and injured a dozen after opening fire on mourners at a funeral for 35 protesters killed in the violent unrest.
A hospital official told Reuters that snipers were firing from the top of the Benghazi security headquarters.
They tried to attack the security forces but when they heard shots fired in the air they ran away.
Local cleric Abellah al-Warfali told al-Jazeera that he had a list of 16 people being buried, most with bullet wounds to the head and chest.
I saw with my own eyes a tank crushing two people in a car. They hadn't done any harm to anyone.
The private Quryna newspaper, which is based in Benghazi and has been linked to one of Gaddafi's sons, said 24 people were killed in Benghazi on Friday.
It said security forces "were forced to use bullets" to stop protesters attacking the police headquarters and a military base where weapons were stored.
4.09pm, Kuwait: Police fired teargas at 300 stateless Arabs demanding citizenship at a protest in a village outside Kuwait City, AP reports.
Maha al-Barjas, of the Kuwaiti Human Rights Society, told the news agency seven people were wounded.
4.35pm, Libya: Here's another video posted on YouTube showing at least five people killed in the unrest in Benghazi. Please be warned, these are graphic images of dead bodies.
Another YouTube clip purports to show the first footage of protests in the city of Mesrata, with people chanting, "The people want the toppling of the regime".
Here's an archive of video footage, including media reports and YouTube clips, of the unrest in Libya.
4.43pm, Libya : The Libya 17th February blog is showing a Google map of the pro-democracy protests across the country.
View Mapping Pro-Democracy Protests in Libya in a larger map
Meanwhile al-Jazeera television is investigating reports that its signal has been disrupted in countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
A spokesman said: "We are not sure of the cause but we are looking into it."
5.15pm: Russia Today has an interview with James Denselow, a Middle East expert from Kings College London and Guardian contributor, who says that the unrest across the Arab world has emerged from a combination of problems with the political structures of those states and the impact of the internet and social media on protest movements. He says:
The reverberations from what happened in Tunisia are now being felt in every state.
5.20pm: We're winding down today's liveblog but we'll have further coverage on Sunday, as well as in the Observer.
In the meantime, here's a roundup of today's main developments:
• Libya: Security forces in Benghazi have shot dead at least one person and injured a dozen after opening fire on mourners at a funeral for protesters killed in earlier demonstrations. Special forces stormed a protest camp in the eastern city at 5am.
• Bahrain: Thousands of protesters have retaken Pearl Square in the Bahraini capital after Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa ordered troops off the streets.
• Yemen: One protester was killed and seven were hurt in clashes with security forces in the capital, Sana'a.
• Algeria: Riot police in Algiers have broken up a planned march by thousands of pro-democracy campaigners. |
New York magazine reports this morning that another former member of Bill Clinton's cabinet plans to announce his endorsement of Barack Obama today, joining Bill Richardson on the list of high-profile defections among the Clintons' longtime personal and political friends.
This time it's Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's former Labor secretary, current Berkeley professor and self-described friend of the Clintons for 40 years. Reich, who has been critical of the Clintons before, despite the friendship, reportedly will announce the endorsement at 10 a.m. PDT on his blog (cue James Carville).
Reich told reporter John Heilemann that he initially intended to stay out of the fray, primarily out of loyalty to the long friendship. But Clinton's post-"bitter" ads in Pennsylvania moved him to action.
"I've come to the point, after seeing those ads, where I can't in good conscience not say out loud what I believe about who should be president. Those ads are nothing but Republicanism. They're lending legitimacy to a Republican message that's wrong to begin with, and they harken back to the past 20 years of demagoguery on guns and religion. It's old politics at its worst — and old Republican politics, not even old Democratic politics. It's just so deeply cynical."
-- Scott Martelle |
Like many a performer, Internet junkie or just an idiot with too much spare time, I was lured into creating a MySpace account. You know, that "networking" site where you can potentially link to millions, all of whom are your "friends." I'd heard it was a great way to publicize oneself without actually having anything to publicize but your ass cheeks. Dane Cook shrewdly capitalized on this new phenomenon and was the first comedian to develop an audience based on his computer skills.
Before I knew it, after becoming "friends" with an assortment of people I actually knew, I was getting requests from total strangers to be my "friend." I could see their profile, pictures, and other friends, and could then approve or deny their friend request if I liked their face. Sort of like a postmodern country club, where the membership applicants provide homemade porn.
At first, it was fascinating to see who was connected to whom, as well peruse their pictures and watch their videos. I confess to one late night four hour marathon of mind-numbing, addictive MySpace hell. I am flabbergasted at just how much personal information people are willing to post for the entire world to see. Vacation pictures, family photos, and previously secret X-rated fantasies are no longer for the album hidden under the bed.
The first warning signal was when Rupert Murdoch bought MySpace in yet another attempt at world domination. Big Brother is not just watching, we're providing him the stuff to watch. I trust Rupert Murdoch about as much as I trust herpes. I became instantly uneasy about one of the world's largest media empires knowing who my "friends" are, or having access to pictures of me on the beach or dressed in drag at a Halloween party. Remember the scenes in classic thrillers where someone would get an anonymous letter or phone call saying, "We know who you are and we know who your friends are"? Now they DO, and can find out in the brief moment you're away from your computer on the toilet, which is probably the only private "My Space" left.
The second warning signal was receiving all these annoying MySpace emails like "Wonder Rectum wants to be your friend!" And it was more than a little scary when I was performing in Las Vegas and three drunken biker chicks, who looked like they came to see me because Criss Angel "Mindfreak" was sold out, showed up after a show and screamed, "JIM!!! WE'RE YOU'RE MYSPACE FRIENDS!!! HEY, BUDDY!!!" I wanted to say, "Buddy? I don't believe I've had the pleasure, madam." After I declined their invitation to hop on one of their cycles, drink Wild Turkey and go "tear up this motherfucking town," they refused to leave and had to be yanked out by the security guards, who were anxious to kick some butt and grateful for the exercise. I actually felt a twinge of guilt about treating my "friends" this way, which made it clear that the world has gone completely mental and I had just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.
Another warning occurred when assorted strangers who had taken a photo with me at an event suddenly posted them the site, forwarding them to God knows how many people. I'm not the world's most photogenic creature, so imagine my horror viewing pictures of me looking like Don Knotts after a gang rape. I thought, wait a minute, idiot, this was just for your personal keepsake, not some pedophile hiding out in Thailand. I henceforth vow to become a control freak regulating every picture of me available to the world. Just like Barbra Streisand's, the right side of my face will be as visible as the dark side of the moon.
The Internet is convenient, dangerous, and now a part of our lives whether we like it or not, like cell phones or staph infections. It's very disconcerting that my personal information, previously available only to, well, me, is now potentially in the hands of everyone on the planet with hacking skills. It's TOO MUCH INFORMATION IN THE HANDS OF TOO MANY PEOPLE. Yes, it's wonderful to be having an argument with someone and then just be able to Google it and say, "See, you're wrong, Mitt Romney did flip-flop." But there's something really sick about being able to have instant access to a naked picture of some bozo in Waukegan, Illinois.
The straw that broke the MySpace back came when some maniac hacked into my profile and started sending out mass emails, as me, inviting people to some porn hook-up site. Aside from the embarrassment, I would have hoped that my real "friends' would realize that if I was inviting them to a porn site, the people would be a hell of a lot better looking.
After contacting MySpace and receiving instructions about as useful as "Larry Craig's Gay Guide To Airports," I deleted my entire profile, a process only slightly less difficult than changing my entire identity. I have now left this fifth circle of Internet hell. If you are a MySpace member, pause for a moment and consider that you are friends with someone who is friends with someone who is friends with someone who wants to be the next Charles Manson. They can find you. The world may not have been as convenient and connected a few years ago, but we all had a little thing called "privacy," and in order to be famous, one had to have a little thing called "talent."
From now on, if you want to know who my "friends" are, you will just have to be invited to my Christmas party. Good luck with that.
_______
About author JIM DAVID is a comedian and writer. His web site is JIM DAVID is a comedian and writer. His web site is jimdavid.com |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Howard Griffiths was won over by Ms Bard's Italian-speaking skills in 1992
Two former Blind Date contestants have had an unexpected reunion on a London Tube train - 25 years on.
Howard Griffiths could not believe it when Brigette Bard approached him to ask if he was the man who had picked her on the ITV show hosted by Cilla Black in October 1992.
Howard recorded the Central Line encounter on his phone, and a tweet of the video has since gone viral.
They now plan to meet for a proper catch-up in the coming weeks.
"I said 'It's not… Oh my god - you're not Bridget, or Brigette as Cilla used to say?'" Howard, 48, from Llantrisant, south Wales, told BBC News.
"She hadn't changed, she looked amazing."
He added: "Thinking about it now, I don't know why I didn't stay on the Tube but it was my stop. It was like a scene from a film. Everyone on the Tube was saying: Don't go!"
'Small world'
For her part Brigette, 45, has described being "completely astounded" by their latest meeting.
She says she recognised Howard within "literally a few seconds", but it took her a moment to remember where they had met.
Back in 1992, the couple spent a romantic weekend in Germany, travelling on the oldest double-decker aircraft, watching horse races and gambling, but, despite speaking on the phone a few weeks later, nothing blossomed.
Image copyright @HowardGriffiths Image caption Howard and Brigette on their Germany date in 1992
In the intervening years, Brigette has had three children, but they are now both single once again.
Luckily, they exchanged phone numbers before Howard dashed from the Tube.
"You won't believe this! Just randomly met Brigette who I picked on ITV Blind Date 25 years ago, on the Central Line #SmallWorld," he wrote in his Tweet.
When the media began to express interest in their reunion, he rang Brigette to let her know and they ended up agreeing to meet soon.
Both have expressed enthusiasm for keeping in touch.
"I want to find out everything that's happened in the last 25 years," Howard said.
Cilla's note
The pair's appearance on Blind Date was hailed by fans as one of the show's best episodes.
Howard said the audience "went crazy" for them - and Cilla Black, whose hosting of Blind Date became an iconic part of the show, was in "hysterics" over their banter.
Image copyright @HowardGriffiths Image caption Howard said Cilla Black enjoyed his pairing with Brigette
He said Cilla sent a handwritten note backstage after the show to thank him for his appearance, explaining she "really, really enjoyed it".
Howard says he originally chose Brigette - who, according to the show's format, he could not see because she was seated behind a screen - because they had managed to exchange a conversation in Welsh and Italian.
And the video of the latest meeting shows he managed to reprise the memories of the day by repeating the phrase he said to her in Italian all those years ago: "I would like to be able to speak Italian fluently". |
BY Staff Reporter | Jul 16, 2014 01:39 PM EDT
Close
With its hit high school dramedy, "Glee," on its last season, Fox is now looking at another possible musical series. The network is currently developing a remake of the South Korean limited series, "Answer Me 1997" for an American remake.
"Answer Me 1997" became a huge hit in South Korea, shooting its leads, singers and novice actors Seo In Guk and Jung Eun Ji into overnight superstars. It gained a massive fanbase and even gave birth to a sequel, "Answer Me 1994" which followed the same format and success.
"Answer Me 1997" is a coming-of-age musical centered around a group of high school kids. The flow of the series does not follow a chronological timeline, moving back and forth between the main character's young and adult life.
It follows the life of Shi Won (Jung) and her deep adoration for the hugely popular Kpop band, H.O.T., as well as her comedic and brutal romance with her best friend Yoon Jae.
Production is already underway at Fox, naming the American remake "Answer Me 1999." It is described as a musical journey by a group of friends as high school students in the late 1990s to their adult lives in the 2000s. It will most likely follow the Korean format but with a later but still definitive era.
Fox describes the American remake as "a musical journey through the most transformative decade of the modern era-one that catapulted us into the digital age and forever changed how we interact with each other."
With 1999 as the target date, the series will feature the pop culture during that era. Viewers would mostly likely relive the fashion and hear the music from iconic bands and singers of that time such as N'sync, Britney Spears, and even Destiny's Child.
Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer, who wrote Step Up 3D, will be working together with director Jon M. Chu for the pilot episode. They will also stand as executive producers for the anticipated series.
Watch the "Answer Me 1997" trailer below. |
PARIS (Reuters) - French train services were severely disrupted on Tuesday as tens of thousands of state railworkers protested over plans to reduce rest periods and other protective work practices in preparation for Europe-wide deregulation.
People walk along a train platform inside the Gare de Lyon railway station in Paris, France, April 26, 2016 during a one-day strike by French railway unions workers to protest working conditions and wages. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen
The third strike in two months halved high-speed train services and cut other intercity rail journeys to as few as one in three, although international Eurostar and Thalys connections appeared largely unaffected by the 24-hour stoppage.
At issue is a fundamental rewrite of working conditions that management at the SNCF state railway company hopes will enable it to cope when EU-wide legislation throws national passenger services open to competition in 2020.
“For the moment this is just a massive warning strike,” said Philippe Martinez, head of the large, hardline CGT union.
With the exception of Britain, which entirely privatized its railways in the 1990s, most EU countries have limited deregulation to the pace set by common accord at European Union level, starting with freight in 2006 and a few cross-border links thereafter.
In France, where the TGV high-speed network is the world’s second-biggest after Japan, the stakes are particularly high. A staff of around 150,000 is often singled out as enjoying enviable job and pension rights under decades of monopoly status.
Despite predictable resistance from more militant unions such as the CGT and Sud-rail, however, the latest stoppage is also being backed by unions like the more conciliatory CFDT on the grounds that low-cost competition should not set the standard.
“The CFDT will never put its name to a regression in work and transport safety standards,” the CFDT union said in a statement explaining why it was joining Tuesday’s strike call.
The CFDT and other unions are angry over a proposal seeking to scale back myriad guarantees that would, for example, align the number of work-free weekends per year with the lower level private operators accord their staff.
The proposal — a first draft on which an agreement is being sought by July — is part of a broader package that is set to establish a standard across the rail passenger sector when it is opened up to full-on competition, firstly on high-speed lines in 2020 and more broadly in 2026.
Beyond the chaos caused for commuters heading into large urban centers such as Paris, local media highlighted that the impact of the train strike was mitigated by people traveling by coach.
This form of transport has mushroomed in France as a low-cost alternative since the Socialist government liberalized that business last year. |
The Sacramento Kings couldn’t hold on in overtime, as they lost to the Utah Jazz 91-98.
The Kings played the best the have played on the road in several weeks. The Kings trailed by only one-point at halftime, and despite losing DeMarcus Cousins because due to a stupid technical foul, the Kings showed resilience and built a three-point lead going into the fourth quarter,where they managed to hang on, tying the game in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
Sacramento couldn’t hold on in overtime as they clearly ran out of gas, and were noticeably tired. Utah out-scored the Kings 14-7 in the overtime period, as Utah almost seemed to find renewed life in the final extra period.
Tyreke Evans and Jason Thompson had very solid games, combining for 43 points. Thompson led the game in scoring with 23 points, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds, recording a double-double. Evans had 20 points, and almost led the Kings back as he scored six points in final three minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Kings had only 13 turnovers to Utah’s 22, but only managed 13 assists to Utah’s 25. Sacramento hasn’t seemed to grasp the idea of playing as a team, and constant ball movement. Granted, they’re a young team with several players who are capable of taking defenders off the dribble and scoring the ball, but not everything has meshed quite yet.
The Kings have shown that when they are pressured or when the passing lanes are pressed, they have a tendency to stop passing the ball. They’ve also shown that they are capable of playing defense, passing the ball, and scoring but have yet to put it all together. But, if the Kings want to have a chance at winning games and being considered a good team in the West, they need to learn to play together.
The Utah Jazz had six players in double-digit scoring, and shot 52.8 percent from the field. The Jazz shot the ball very well from three-point range, nailing 7-of-12 shots on their way to a 58.3 percent mark. In retrospect, the Kings only shot 15 percent from three-point range.
Cousins didn’t make things easy for his teammates after being ejected when he simply couldn’t let go of what he felt was a poor call. Cousins could be seen mouthing profanities towards referee Tre Maddox as his teammates attempted to get him off the floor. Referee Scott Foster wasted no time hitting Cousins with his second technical foul, resulting in an automatic ejection.
After tonight’s game, Cousins leads the league with 12 technical fouls, only four away from the league’s 16 technical limit. If Cousins reaches 16, he will be suspended for one game and also be fined $5,000.
At his current rate, the real question is can Cousins ever learn to keep his mouth shut? However, one question still lingers around Cousins. Why can’t anyone get the point across? Have you ever seen a foul call overturned in the NBA? Once the official makes the call, its done, no one can change it; and a call is very rarely overturned. Cousins has at times shown signs of growth, and maturation, but he may never grow out of his bad habit of talking to officials, and trying to argue calls. |
The Washington Post reported:
A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016, exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) immediately interjected, stopping the conversation from further exploring McCarthy’s assertion, and swore the Republicans present to secrecy…
…Some of the lawmakers laughed at McCarthy’s comment. Then McCarthy quickly added: “Swear to God.”
Ryan instructed his Republican lieutenants to keep the conversation private, saying: “No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here.” |
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Tottenham striker Harry Kane is unconcerned by the criticism he has received following a mixed start to the season and has vowed to "never" lose his confidence in front of goal.
Kane failed to find the net as Spurs suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Monaco in midweek and missed a key chance to level the scores at Wembley.
The 23-year-old has scored just one goal in five appearances for Mauricio Pochettino's side this term, which has seen the England international's longevity questioned in some quarters.
But Kane, who scored the 50th goal of his Premier League career last weekend, is unmoved by such negativity and has vowed to stay focused ahead of Sunday's clash with Sunderland.
"People said that this time last year and I went on to win the Golden Boot and score 30-odd goals for club and country," he told the Mirror.
"People are going to talk - people will talk. It doesn't bother me. I'm fit, I'm ready to go.
"I'll be ready on Sunday, if called upon by the gaffer, and hopefully I can get on the scoresheet and win the game."
Confidence is key for any striker and even some of the best players are not alien to peaks and troughs in regards to goalscoring form.
However, Kane is adamant he will never doubt is own ability and is determined to put the missed chance against Monaco behind him by coming up with the goods this weekend.
"As a striker you've got to be confident. I will never lose my confidence in front of goal.
In Pictures | Harry Kane joins Premier League 100 club 66 show all In Pictures | Harry Kane joins Premier League 100 club 1/66 Harry Kane's first 100 Premier League goals, relived Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 2/66 vs Sunderland (April 7 2014) Getty Images 3/66 vs WBA (April 12 2014) Getty Images 4/66 vs Fulham (April 19 2014) Getty Images 5/66 vs Aston Villa (November 2 2014) Getty Images 6/66 vs Hull City (November 23 2014) Getty Images 7/66 vs Swansea (December 14 2014) Getty Images 8/66 vs Burnley (December 20 2014) Getty Images 9/66 vs Leicester (December 26 2014) Getty Images 10/66 vs Chelsea x 2 (January 1 2015) Getty Images 11/66 vs Crystal Palace (January 10 2015) Getty Images 12/66 vs West Brom x 2 (January 31 2015) Getty Images 13/66 vs Arsenal x 2 (February 10 2015) Getty Images 14/66 vs Liverpool (February 10 2015) Getty Images 15/66 vs West Ham (February 22 2015) Getty Images 16/66 vs QPR x 2 (March 7 2015) Getty Images 17/66 vs Leicester x 3 (March 21 2015) Getty 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Huddersfield x2 (September 30 2017) AFP/Getty Images 57/66 vs Liverpool x2 (October 28 2017) Getty Images 58/66 vs West Brom (November 25 2017) Getty Images 59/66 vs Leicester (November 28 2017) Getty Images 60/66 vs Stoke x2 (December 9 2017) Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 61/66 vs Burnley x3 (December 23 2017) Getty Images 62/66 vs Southampton x3 (December 26 2017) Getty Images 63/66 vs Everton x2 (January 13 2018) Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 64/66 vs Southampton (January 21 2017) Getty Images 65/66 vs Liverpool (February 4 2018) Getty Images 66/66 vs Arsenal (February 10 2018) AP 1/66 Harry Kane's first 100 Premier League goals, relived Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 2/66 vs Sunderland (April 7 2014) Getty Images 3/66 vs WBA (April 12 2014) Getty Images 4/66 vs Fulham (April 19 2014) Getty Images 5/66 vs Aston Villa (November 2 2014) Getty Images 6/66 vs Hull City (November 23 2014) Getty Images 7/66 vs Swansea (December 14 2014) Getty Images 8/66 vs Burnley (December 20 2014) Getty Images 9/66 vs Leicester (December 26 2014) Getty Images 10/66 vs Chelsea x 2 (January 1 2015) Getty Images 11/66 vs Crystal Palace (January 10 2015) Getty Images 12/66 vs West Brom x 2 (January 31 2015) Getty Images 13/66 vs Arsenal x 2 (February 10 2015) Getty Images 14/66 vs Liverpool (February 10 2015) Getty Images 15/66 vs West Ham (February 22 2015) Getty Images 16/66 vs QPR x 2 (March 7 2015) Getty Images 17/66 vs Leicester x 3 (March 21 2015) Getty Images 18/66 vs Newcastle (April 19 2015) Getty Images 19/66 vs Everton (May 24 2015) Getty Images 20/66 vs Manchester City (September 2015) Getty Images 21/66 vs Bournemouth x 3 (October 25 2015) Getty Images 22/66 vs Aston Villa (November 2 2015) Getty Images 23/66 vs Arsenal (November 8 2015) Getty Images 24/66 vs West Ham x 2 (November 22 2015) Getty Images 25/66 vs Southampton (December 19 2015) Getty Images 26/66 vs Norwich x 2 (December 26 2015) Getty Images 27/66 28/66 vs Sunderland (January 16 2016) Getty Images 29/66 vs Crystal Palace (January 23 2016) Getty Images 30/66 vs Norwich x 2 (February 2 2016) Getty Images 31/66 vs Manchester City (February 14 2016) Getty Images 32/66 vs Arsenal (March 5 2016) Getty Images 33/66 vs Aston Villa x 2 (March 13 2016) Getty Images 34/66 vs Bournemouth x 2 (March 20 2016) Getty Images 35/66 vs Liverpool (April 2 2016) Getty Images 36/66 vs Stoke City x 2 (April 18 2016) Getty Images 37/66 vs Chelsea (May 2 2016) Getty Images 38/66 vs Stoke City (September 10 2016) Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images 39/66 vs Sunderland (September 18 2016) Getty Images 40/66 vs Arsenal (November 6 2016) Getty Images 41/66 vs West Ham x2 (November 19 2016) Getty Images 42/66 vs Swansea x2 (December 3 2016) Getty Images 43/66 vs Southampton (December 28 2016) Getty Images 44/66 vs Watford x2 (January 1 2017) Getty Images 45/66 vs West Brom x3 (January 14 2017) Getty Images 46/66 vs Middlesbrough (February 4 2017) Getty Images 47/66 vs Stoke x3 (February 26 2017) Getty Images 48/66 vs Everton x2 (March 5 2017) Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 49/66 vs Bournemouth (April 15 2017) Getty Images 50/66 vs Arsenal (April 30 2017) Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 51/66 vs Manchester United (May 14 2017) Getty Images 52/66 vs Leicester x4 (May 18 2017) Getty Images 53/66 vs Hull City x3 (May 21 2017) Getty Images 54/66 vs Everton x2 (September 19 2017) Getty Images 55/66 vs West Ham x2 (September 23 2017) Getty Images 56/66 vs Huddersfield x2 (September 30 2017) AFP/Getty Images 57/66 vs Liverpool x2 (October 28 2017) Getty Images 58/66 vs West Brom (November 25 2017) Getty Images 59/66 vs Leicester (November 28 2017) Getty Images 60/66 vs Stoke x2 (December 9 2017) Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 61/66 vs Burnley x3 (December 23 2017) Getty Images 62/66 vs Southampton x3 (December 26 2017) Getty Images 63/66 vs Everton x2 (January 13 2018) Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images 64/66 vs Southampton (January 21 2017) Getty Images 65/66 vs Liverpool (February 4 2018) Getty Images 66/66 vs Arsenal (February 10 2018) AP
"I'll be there on Sunday, if I get a chance, shooting and making the keeper work.
"You've got to learn from it. I'll be working hard to try and put it right and hopefully score on Sunday," he added. |
BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- A county employee is accused of intercepting deliveries of fajitas and selling them to his own customers for the past nine years, reports say.
That adds up to more than $1.2 million in fajitas over the years, and now Gilberto Escaramilla has been arrested on a first-degree felony charge of theft, the Brownsville Herald reports.
"If it wasn't so serious, you'd think it was a 'Saturday Night Live' skit. But this is the real thing," District Attorney Luis V. Saenz tells the Herald.
Reports say Escaramilla's scheme was exposed in August when he took a day off work for a medical appointment. While gone, a truck arrived attempting to deliver 800 pounds of fajitas to the Cameron County Juvenile Justice Department.
This raised alarms as the justice department doesn't serve fajitas, kurv.com reports.
Confronted the next day, Escaramilla admitted he had been stealing fajitas for the past nine years, the Herald reports. He was fired from his job.
Officials obtained a search warrant for Excaramilla's home and found packets of fajitas in his refrigerator, reports say.
If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Sunday's crime and courts comments section. |
Cardinal Walter Kasper’s proposal to allow communion for remarried divorcees was given a negative reception from most of his confreres at last month’s consistory according to an Italian journalist.
In an article for the Turin daily, La Stampa, last Monday, Marco Tosatti says that Cardinal Kasper’s plan was greeted with a storm of criticism. In his address to the consistory on 22 February, the German cardinal argued that Catholic divorcees who remarry should, after a period of atonement, be allowed to seek re-admittance to the sacraments.
Tosatti claims the vast majority of cardinals who spoke in the subsequent discussion criticised the proposal.
Tosatti names 10 cardinals as speaking in this vein including Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, who he says felt the doctrinal change would do nothing to further the Church’s support for the family nor its relations with Islam.
Another alleged critic was Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, who according to Tosatti claimed that 85 per cent of the cardinals who had commented on Kasper’s proposal opposed it.
Tosatti reports that other Kasper critics included the President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angela Scola, the Prefect of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza and Cardinal Battista Re, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Bishops.
When given leave by Pope Francis to reply at the end of the discussion, Cardinal Kasper is said to have shown his “irritation” with his critics.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, also criticised Cardinal Kasper. “There are many difficulties with the text of Cardinal Kasper,” he said in an interview with the Catholic television station EWTN. Burke said that he expected “the error of his [Kasper’s] approach to become ever clearer” in coming weeks as theologians and canonists examine it.
Among those who have gone on record as sympathetic to Kasper’s proposals are Cardinals Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, Karl Lehmann of Mainz, Rainer Maria Woelki of Berlin, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Freiburg and Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras. Marx and Rodríguez are members of the C8 group of cardinals appointed to advise the Pope.
Above: Cardinal Kasper in St Peter's Square. Photo: CNS |
By Chris Cwik
The start of spring training inevitably coincides with the first puff pieces of the season. Player A has reported to camp in the best shape of his life, Player B is working on a new pitch and Player C spent the offseason meditating with monks. It's the most optimistic time of the year. Every team has aspirations of contending, and every player is going to put up a record-setting campaign. In many cases, all these stories end up doing is giving false hope to those willing to believe before everything falls apart.
But what if there were one facet of spring training reports that could pinpoint a legitimate breakout early in the season? What if that false hope could turn into legitimate joy? Well, it may actually be possible -- and it has everything to do with pitcher velocity.
There's a common belief that fastball velocity tends to stabilize fairly early in the season. In a 2011 article on Baseball Prospectus, current Houston Astros analyst Mike Fast found that changes in pitcher velocity during spring training tend to carry over to the regular season 41 percent of the time. That figure jumps to 52 percent when you eliminate spring training and simply compare a pitcher's velocity the previous September to his velocity during the first two weeks of the regular season.
On top of that, Jeff Zimmerman of FanGraphs looked at whether fastball velocity dips in a pitcher's first start coming off the disabled list. He found that "the overall average fastball speed is not much higher in the first start compared to the rest of the season." Both studies examined different things, but together they provide some evidence that fastball velocity stabilizes quickly.
So is increased velocity an indicator that a pitcher is about to break out? Over the past seven seasons, there have been 47 pitchers who have seen their average fastball velocity increase by at least one mph from one season to the next. (The study was limited to starters who tossed at least 100 innings in each season. Relievers were not included due to limited innings, and the fact that players converting from starting to relieving could skew the data.) The results were interesting.
Criteria Sample Percent Strikeout rate up 42 of 47 89% Walk rate down 33 of 47 70% ERA down 33 of 47 70% FIP down 36 of 45 80% Career-high WAR 26 of 47 55%
There were ties in some cases, which is why there were only 45 players involved in the FIP category. Overall, though, players who experienced an increase in velocity saw their strikeout rates jump, walk rates decease and ERA and FIP drop as compared to their career stats. In addition, a little more than half of these pitchers also put up a career-high WAR that same season. Both Mike Fast and Dan Turkenkopf produced similar findings when looking at pitcher velocity at few years ago at The Hardball Times.
There appears to be evidence that an uptick in fastball velocity can lead to a breakout. But how exactly does this work? One would assume a pitcher's fastball improves, but what about his other pitches? Does increased fastball velocity lead to a more effective breaking ball?
It's possible to figure this out using pitch values. This needs to be done on a per 100 inning basis, so that pitchers who throw more fastballs don't produce more value based solely on volume. These stats are typically shown on sabermetric websites as wFB/C, as one example.
Pitch Sample Percent Better fastball 26 of 47 55% Better two-seam 15 of 21 71% Better cutter 10 of 13 77% Better slider 21 of 41 50% Better curveball 22 of 38 58% Better changeup 29 of 47 62%
Before examining the data, it's important to know that the results here aren't perfect. PITCHf/x has changed drastically over the years it has been in existence. That means pitch classifications are calculated different now than they were a few years ago. Some classifications from those early years may not be 100 percent accurate. On top of that, there are some pretty small samples with some of these pitches. Those particular areas should be taken with a grain of salt, as a few players could be skewing the results.
With that in mind, it appears increased fastball velocity does lead to a more effective fastball, and that this could also bleed over into variations of fastballs -- including two-seamers and cutters, although again, the sample size is smaller there.
As far as improving secondary offerings, the results are unclear. Sliders didn't see a jump in effectiveness, and curveballs saw a small uptick. Changeups appear to see the biggest increase in effectiveness. If a pitcher's fastball velocity increased, it would of course create a larger gap between his fastball and changeup, so it's logical that this could lead to the changeup becoming a more effective pitch.
Perhaps the bigger question is whether the uptick in velocity is sustainable the following year. The Cincinnati Reds just made a large bet that it is, signing Homer Bailey to a six-year, $105 million deal. Bailey saw his fastball jump from 92.4 mph in 2012 to 94.1 mph last season. As with most pitchers in the sample, he saw his performance rise, and was rewarded handsomely during the offseason. Can Bailey sustain his velocity increase going forward?
Next season Sample Percent Strikeout rate retained 12 of 32 38% Walk rate retained 13 of 33 39% ERA retained 15 of 32 47% FIP retained 16 of 33 48% Fastball velocity retained 8 of 31 30%
The answer? Probably not. Pitchers who see big velocity jumps typically give back some of that improvement the following season. In fact, only 30 percent of the sample retained their newfound velocity the following season. Strikeout rates drops and walk rates increase. There's about a 50 percent chance the player does retain their solid ERA and FIP, though, which is a positive sign. In some cases, these declines were fairly minimal, but were still there. What this chart says is that velocity goes away the following season after a jump, and some of the gains leave with it -- but there's still a 50/50 chance a pitcher posts a similar ERA and FIP despite the loss of velocity.
That means Chris Capuano, Adam Wainwright, Anibal Sanchez, Homer Bailey, Nate Eovaldi, Patrick Corbin, Chris Sale and Jose Quintana could see some decline in their numbers this year. This doesn't mean, of course, that all of them will be useless. Sanchez will likely fall from top-5 pitcher to really good starter. Sale and Wainwright are still going to be elite players, even if they do see some decline. It's the fringier guys that stand out. Quintana, Corbin and Eovaldi all showed big improvements based on their fastball velocities. In Bailey's case, fastball velocity could be the difference between him easily living up to his new deal, or being overpaid.
The good thing is, we should know relatively early in the year. While it's tough to rely on spring data, velocity after a few weeks of regular-season play should allow us to pinpoint whether these pitchers are going to stay on course, or whether we're going to find the next breakout starter.
Remember that the next time you're reading about Player D's all-kale diet. If you want to believe in an early season breakout, all you have to do is look at the radar gun.
* * *
Chris Cwik writes for various baseball sites, including CBSSports.com and FanGraphs.com. He has also contributed to ESPN and the Hardball Times Baseball Annual. Follow him on Twitter at @Chris_Cwik. |
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has conducted a test of a new high-thrust engine at its Tongchang-ri rocket launch station and leader Kim Jong Un said the successful test was “a new birth” of its rocket industry, the reclusive North’s official media said on Sunday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un provides field guidance at the construction site of Ryomyong Street in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on March 16, 2017. KCNA/via Reuters
The engine would help North Korea achieve world-class satellite launch capability, KCNA said, indicating the test was of a new type of rocket engine for long-range missiles.
The United States and China pledged to work together to get the North to take “a different course” and move away from its weapons programs after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met his Chinese counterpart on Saturday.
North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests and a series of missile launches, in defiance of U.N. sanctions, and is believed by experts and government officials to be working to develop nuclear-warhead missiles that could reach the United States.
Kim Jong Un has said North Korea is close to a test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
KCNA said the test was carried out at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, where North Korea has conducted long-range rocket tests.
South Korea’s military declined to comment.
The Washington-based think tank 38 North said last week satellite imagery indicated activity at the site’s vertical engine stand, possibly in preparation for a rocket engine test.
“The rail-mounted environmental shelter has been moved up against the engine test stand since February 5, either for maintenance or to position a rocket engine for testing,” 38 North said in a note.
It said North Korea had installed the environmental shelter in late 2015 to conceal detection of test preparations.
KCNA cited leader Kim as saying the significance of the test would soon be evident.
“He noted that the success made in the current test marked a great event of historic significance as it declared a new birth of the Juche-based rocket industry,” KCNA said. Juche refers to North Korea’s homegrown ideology of self-reliance.
“He emphasized that the whole world will soon witness what eventful significance the great victory won today carries,” it said. |
Ever wonder what the most viewed photograph of all time is? One leading candidate is Bliss, the photograph chosen by Microsoft to be the default wallpaper of Windows XP. Showing rolling green hills in Sonoma County, California, the image was shot by the side of a highway by professional photographer Charles O’Rear using a medium format camera. It has reportedly been viewed by over 1 billion people since it first emerged in 2002.
It’s unknown exactly how much money Bill Gates shelled out for rights to the photograph, but O’Rear has stated that the price was “extraordinary” (guesses, anyone?).
If you’re interested in paying a visit to the location, look up the address 3101 Fremont Dr. (Sonoma Hwy.), Sonoma, CA. The hill’s exact coordinates are 38.250124,-122.410817.
You won’t be the first though: many photographers have journeyed to the spot to recreate the iconic image. Here are some pictures shot at the same location:
Bliss (via Morts Lindholm via Mashable via HUH)
Image credit: Photograph by Charles O’Rear/Microsoft |
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On Thursday, three days before the winningest quarterback in NFL history would play The Last Game (or at least the game we’re sure is the last one), he lined up his offense around the defensive 20-yard line and barked out signals. This would be the last full series of plays in the Super Bowl 50 practice week for Denver at Stanford Stadium, their home for the week … and maybe the last full series of practice plays in Peyton Manning’s life.
The sun was nearly touching the top of the west stands of the stadium on this beautiful California winter afternoon, creating an image of a sunset and lengthening shadows on the field as Manning directed traffic.
“Be alert! Be alert!” he called out, motioning Emmanuel Sanders across the formation. And Manning shouted out the play, which began with “Z Motion!” And then the snap, and then … nothing. No one open.
“One more time!” Manning yelled, annoyed. “Do it again!”
And the offense did, Sanders trolling the back of the end zone and Manning hitting him for a touchdown.
Manning completed 24 of 28 passes against the scout team defense on this temperate afternoon, and his coach, Gary Kubiak, said afterward that this was as good as the 39-year-old Manning had looked all season. Around the Broncos as the week aged, there was growing confidence that Manning could once more have a Manning-of-2013 game.
And then he didn’t.
And then the Broncos won the Super Bowl. By 14.
• ‘WE READ THEM LIKE A BOOK’: Andy Benoit on how exactly the Broncos overwhelmed Cam Newton and the Panthers
And then Manning, in the bowels of Levi’s Stadium on Sunday night, was fine with being along for the ride, almost a 2000 Dilfer, on a team with the best defense in the league, one that absolutely pummeled Cam Newton.
“I’ve just had a real peace this year,” Manning told me 90 minutes after the 24-10 win over the Panthers. “I didn’t know how it was going to work out. I didn’t know what was going to happen. But I’m at the point … I’m okay with that.”
* * *
Manning is the first starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different teams. Patrick Smith/Getty Images
It must be daunting, and it must be a relief, to go from winning like Clayton Kershaw to winning like Mark Buehrle. To be utterly dominant, and then to be along for the ride on a team that hits four home runs every night. The way the Blue Jays battered the ball late last season is the way the Broncos’ defense beat Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Cam Newton in their great playoff run. Denver has a great defense. Holding Big Ben to 16 points, Brady to 18 and MVP Newton to 10? Holding the Steelers, Patriots and Panthers to four touchdowns in 12 quarters? Carolina, New England and Pittsburgh were 1-3-4 in the league in scoring, yet managed all of seven third-down conversions in three games.
Von Miller is the star of this team. He and DeMarcus Ware and two young defensive linemen (Malik Jackson and Derek Wolfe), and a couple of swift linebackers and a strong and physical secondary. Manning can complete 13 of 23 for 141 yards, with two turnovers and a 56.6 rating, and the Broncos can still be the ’85 Bears.
• VON MILLER REACHES THE TOP: He hit bottom two years ago, with a suspension and an injury. After a Super Bowl 50 MVP performance, he’s solidified his status as a franchise player. Next up: a massive payday.
“This is a game Peyton never would have dreamed of playing 10, 12 years ago,” his old coach, Tony Dungy, said Sunday night. “But when you win the Super Bowl, you’re fine with it.”
My theory is that Manning, while rehabbing his heel and lifting and getting stronger in the 48 days he was out of the Denver lineup, looked around and realized he didn’t have to throw for 250 anymore for his team to have a chance to win. That was most of the time in Indianapolis, and much of his first two years in Denver. Just don’t make the big mistake, he must be thinking. Punts can be your friends. “I’m buying your theory,” father Archie Manning said Saturday. “I really think he’s fine with it. Look at him. He’s happy. He’s peaceful. I think you have to put this in some perspective. He had four neck surgeries [in 2010 and 2011]. He might never have played again. But playing again, and playing well when he came back—what a blessing.”
But in December, when the rehab was slow and the Broncos were struggling on offense, losing to Oakland and Pittsburgh in succession, Kubiak still was convinced the team was good enough to overcome not knowing if or when Manning would play. “There can still be a fairy-tale ending to this season,” he confided to a friend in December.
And there was, of course. Manning returned to play the second half of the final game, then as a complementary player in both the Pittsburgh and New England wins, all the while having the free world think he was retiring at the end of the year. Which he likely will do. But after talking to Dungy nine days ago, Manning felt convinced he needed to let this moment live without infecting it with the so-called Disease of Me.
• DENVER’S D CRUSHED IT: It was Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and the defense who made the difference in the Super Bowl 50 win over the Panthers
“I called him,” said Dungy, “and I said, ‘I don’t know what you’re going to do, but if you haven’t decided yet, don’t decide now. Don’t decide at halftime of the last game, or five minutes after the last game. Don’t do it in the moment.’ I think Dick Vermeil made that decision in the moment, and he regretted it. I said, ‘Let the adrenalin wear off and then decide.’”
As Manning said Sunday night, “I thought that was some good advice, to take some time and get away. Coach said, ‘Promise me you’ll do that.’ It felt like I was back in Indy and he was telling me, ‘Hey, be smart with this ball on third down.’ So it was good advice and I’m going to take some time. But like I said, I have a peace about it either way.”
* * *
Al Bello/Getty Images
On Saturday night, Kubiak asked captains Manning and Ware to speak to the team. Ware took a religious tone. “When you walk into the valley of the shadow of death,” Ware said, “you’re not alone.” And he showed images of the offense, the defense and the special teams on the big screen, to emphasize the team aspect of the coming day. Manning did it differently. He talked about the people in the organization, the unsung people they wouldn’t know, or know well. He quoted a favorite pastime of Kubiak’s, the coach’s preference to use “Wise Words” through the year to pass along a lesson. “One of my favorites,” Manning said, “is, ‘Life is fair. Keep working.’” Quarterback coach Greg Knapp said it was the best team-unifying speech he’s heard from a player in his years in football.
“We were ready to play last night,” tight end Owen Daniels said Sunday.
During the day Sunday, when Kubiak saw Manning at the team hotel, he said: “How’d you sleep?”
Manning said, “Like a baby. Ten-and-a-half hours.” Much longer than usual.
Whoa. Maybe the man really was at peace. The game was, in many ways, 1966 football. Quarterbacks playing inefficiently, at least in part because of the ceaseless pressure from both defenses. And it came down to, at the end of the game, Denver trying to play keepaway in a six-point game (Denver, 16-10) the same way the Broncos tried to play keepaway in an eight-point game (Denver, 20-12) in the AFC title game against New England.
Third-and-nine, Denver 26, 5:42 left. Surely Manning would try to convert through the air. No sir. “I thought I saw him change the play to a run,” said Dungy. And Manning did. C.J. Anderson, gain of two. Punt. An incompletion would have taken maybe seven seconds off the clock here. The two-yard run took 43 seconds off. Britton Colquitt punted.
Manning was playing four-corners. He didn’t care. He had Von Miller to strip-sack Newton for the second time moments later, and Anderson scored the clinching touchdown, and Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl without throwing a touchdown pass. He went 3-0 in the postseason and didn’t throw for a touchdown in two of the three wins.
But he has his second Super Bowl title now. And in a day or two, he’ll get away, somewhere no one will find him and his family, and he’ll figure out what to do with his life. At least for now.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Manning said—and he has to know a nation eye-rolls at that. Everyone thinks he’s riding off into the sunset the way Bettis and Strahan and, yes, Elway, have done in the past two decades.
“Ashley and I, we’ll have that talk at some point, but we are going to enjoy this tonight and celebrate. Our kids are four and they are in Pre-K and the teachers say, you really shouldn’t pull them out of school. We are pulling them out! We are going somewhere and we are going to get the heck out of town.
“I have one thing I’ll say, I’ve had good experience with making some decisions, choosing where to go to college, staying for my senior year in college and deciding which NFL team to play for in free agency four years ago. I’ve taken time on all those, I’ve prayed about it, I’ve talked to some people about it and I think I will do that with this. But I have a peace about it whichever way it goes. I’m glad I have been able to get through these two weeks with the focus staying on the team, because that is what it has been about this year. I’ve been a part of it.
“Do you know deep down inside what you are going to do?” I said.
“I don’t,” he said.
But if this is it, and assuming it is, this has been the kind of year Manning has never come close to experiencing as one of the best players ever. Yanked from the lineup. Hurt in midseason. A backup when he returned. Coming back to win a Super Bowl.
“Somebody could say, this year, you really did everything as a QB,” Manning said, sounding wistful. The bus was waiting on him, and he could feel the world waiting for him. For once, he didn’t seem to care.
“I hadn’t been a backup, hadn’t really been injured. I played a long time, but I’d only seen it from one way. I know there are a couple scenarios that I haven’t been in, but I covered a lot of bases this year. Like I said, there is a real perspective to that. And it was really sort of educational for me. You know nobody loves the quarterback position more than me. Today, with the 50th Super Bowl and the league bringing back all the MVPs, I saw Phil Simms and I saw Joe Montana and Steve Young out there on the field before the game. I wanted so badly to find a way to be out there for that MVP picture out there with Eli [his brother] and Tom Brady and Joe Namath. Impossible. There was no way I could do it. But nobody loves quarterbacks more than me and I think I have an even greater perspective and appreciation for the position after this year and I’ve stuck with it. You find out a lot. And it certainly ended up in a real good way today, didn’t it?”
It did. For 53 Broncos and a coaching staff and an organization. An egalitarian Super Bowl, with the quarterback in twilight a part. And the smile on his face, the wide, wide smile, told the story. He was fine with being one of 53, winning a different way. It felt as good.
* * *
Terrell Davis didn't make the cut Saturday, but the former Broncos running back will have more shots at being voted into the Hall of Fame. Mark Leffingwell/Getty Images
On the 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame class
My 25th time as a selector was one of the most interesting meetings I’ve experienced. I left the convention center ballroom Saturday afternoon in San Francisco convinced this year’s vetting process was fair to everyone in the room (though Broncos fans surely will not agree). I’ll explain as I tip-toe around some conclusions I drew from the meeting of 46 Hall of Fame selectors and some explanation of why some things happened the way they did. A point of order on why I say I have to tip-toe in this discussion: Voters are required to keep the details of all discussions about candidates in the room and not disclose who said what about whom. So I’ll tell you as much as I’m allowed.
• THE MMQB’S ROAD TO SUPER BOWL 50: Our cross-country drive from Maine to Santa Clara included visits to Vince Lombardi’s grave, Kuechly’s high school, Kurt Warner’s grocery store, Cam Newton’s junior college and much more
First, understand that just as all politics are local, all Hall of Fame arguments are local. I heard from Joe Jacoby supporters angry that the former Hog didn’t make it, from Terrell Owens backers outraged about him not getting in, from Terrell Davis fans ticked off that he got left out. Part of what makes sports fun to watch and follow are the passions that Hall of Fame debates inspire. But just do this: Take the 15 modern-era finalists this year, and cut out 10. I ask you to do this exercise because that’s what the 46 Hall voters have to do in one long meeting the day before the Super Bowl. A maximum of five of the 15 modern-era finalists can make the Hall in a year. Here’s the 15: Morten Andersen, Steve Atwater, Don Coryell, Terrell Davis, Tony Dungy, Alan Faneca, Brett Favre, Kevin Greene, Marvin Harrison, Joe Jacoby, Edgerrin James, John Lynch, Terrell Owens, Orlando Pace, Kurt Warner. Erase 10. Or 11 or 12. This year, it was basically 14 men for a max of four spots, with Favre being the lock of the group. Point is, you've got to get rid of 10 of those 15 … and this, to me, was not an overly strong year for candidates compared to others.
A few observations:
• Terrell Davis is going to make the Hall of Fame. I never thought that before Saturday. But I do now. I don’t know when it will happen, but the events of Saturday convinced me he’ll eventually make Canton. The cases for and against Davis are pretty simple.
For: He had three intergalactic seasons, and he was one of the best playoff performers ever—eight post-season games, seven 100-plus-yard rushing games. That is unmatched in football history. Add a fourth year in which he rushed for 1,117 yards, and you’ve got a superb start to a career, one of the best ever. But at 26 he suffered a knee injury that doomed his career, and he was out of football by 29.
Against: Should a player with three fantastic years and another good one make the Hall? That’s really what the Davis case comes down to—plus the lesser fact that the Broncos of the post-Davis era had three rushers run for 1,500 yards or more in 2000, 2002 and 2003. (Regarding the “Gale Sayers-had-a-short-career-too” argument: Sayers’ career began 51 years ago, and lots of players between 1940 and 1970 had short careers, because of things like military service, low pay for football players and medical science not being able to fix knees. So it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.)
Now, in the room we’re asked to listen to the cases for the candidates, then cull the 15 candidates down to 10 in a secret ballot; after that, we’re told the 10 top vote-getters, and we have to vote for five in another private ballot. I voted for Davis in the cutdown from 15 to 10. I did not vote for him in the cutdown from 10 to five. But I was sorely tempted to do so. I have always felt longevity has to be a part of a modern player’s greatness. I still do. But I thought very hard (and did so in the weeks leading up to the meeting) whether Davis is the kind of outlier who should sway me. In the end, I just thought there were five better candidates, using all considerations, including greatness and influence on the game and longevity. But after hearing the 24-minute debate, I believe the longevity factor will eventually be overcome—2017? 2018?—and he’ll make it.
• My ballots. On the cut to 10, I voted for Davis, Dungy, Favre, Greene, Harrison, Jacoby, Lynch, Owens, Pace, Warner … On the cut to five, I voted for Dungy, Favre, Greene, Harrison and Pace … On the yes-or-no vote on the final five, I voted yes on Dungy, Favre, Green, Harrison and Pace … The other three nominees—Seniors nominees Ken Stabler and Dick Stanfel, and Contributors nominee Eddie DeBartolo Jr.—all got yes votes from me. (The Seniors and Contributors candidates are simply yes or no votes; they are not competing against anyone.)
• The call on the Niners owner. DeBartolo is a tough call. I had leaned against him previously (though not adamantly) because of a salary-cap violation by the Niners and his season suspension for his involvement in a Louisiana bribery incident independent of the 49ers. My belief, after two important interviews last week, is that those incidents should be significant factors in the consideration but not knockout blows, particularly since I believe DeBartolo had no knowledge of the cap violations when they happened. (However, he’s ultimately responsible as owner of the team. I’m just telling you I believe he was working full time on the Louisiana charges at the time and was not the one who committed the violations.) The pros for DeBartolo, essentially, involve the kind of owner he was and how much the Niners won. In the 32 years I’ve covered the NFL, I haven’t seen an owner as beloved by his players, and I haven’t seen an owner that players on other teams wanted to play for more. Aside from the strike year in 1982, DeBartolo oversaw 17 double-digit-win seasons in a row, 16 of them playoff years. After Bill Walsh’s fourth year as coach, a disappointing 3-6 strike year, Walsh told DeBartolo he wanted to quit as coach and become GM, and hire Terry Donahue to coach. DeBartolo told Walsh, “Your value to the franchise is in coaching.” He strongly implied that if Walsh wanted to go upstairs, DeBartolo would part ways with him. So Walsh stayed—and set the stage for three Super Bowls in the next seven years. I think you look at DeBartolo’s complete picture, warts and all, and he more than passes the test for an owner who belongs in Canton.
• Why Dungy? In fairness, I have worked with Tony Dungy for several years at NBC, so I see why you’d find me partial to him. I can’t do anything about that, other than to say I do my best to keep my personal feelings for any candidates out of my deliberations. So … many don’t understand why Dungy—22nd on the all-time wins list, with a 9-10 playoff record and one Super Bowl victory—is making the Hall. A few numbers help the argument: He’s the only coach ever to take teams to the playoffs 10 straight years; his 10.7 wins per year is best in NFL history. He and Bill Belichick are the only coaches ever to have a run of six straight seasons of 12 wins or better. His post-season record? Meh. But in my opinion, Dungy has to be credited with doing the most for African-American coaches of anyone who’s ever roamed an NFL sideline. I see it often in my observations at NBC, as he advises risers or fallers in the business by cell phone on Sundays. And you can’t underestimate the impact of Dungy being the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl. It’s a layered case that Dungy makes, and I think he’s deserving.
* * *
Meeting Omalu
On Thursday night, I could have sworn I was listening to Will Smith when I met Dr. Bennet Omalu, the neuropathologist who inspired the movie Concussion, after he spoke at the Nourse Theater in downtown San Francisco, a mile from the heart of the Super Bowl activities.
“If you could say one thing to Roger Goodell,” I asked, “what would it be?”
“Tell the TRUTH!” Omalu said with intensity, his eyes boring a hole in me.
A few interesting things from Omalu here: He said no one from the league has ever contacted him to talk about his findings and feelings about head trauma in football. He said if you played pro football, there’s a 90 to 100 percent chance that you’re suffering from some form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain disease that has been found in scores of deceased players—the latest of whom was Ken Stabler last week. He said he didn’t think children under the age of 18 should play tackle football, and he said he has yet to meet a pediatrician who thinks tackle football is a safe activity for children. He said heading the ball in soccer should be banned at a young age. Football he said, is suffering from “the arrogance of popularity, and who is making them [the NFL] arrogant? The consumer.”
Omalu said: “There is no safe blow to the head, like there is no safe cigarette smoking.”
But he emphasized that football should exist. “I am not advocating banning football. I am advocating education … I’m for intelligent football that enhances us, rather than football that steals away who we are,” Omalu said.
I’ll be writing some about Roger Goodell’s State of the NFL speech this week, but I wanted to present some of the Omalu remarks today because they are enlightening, and they’ve gotten very little attention in the press. He’s not going away—nor should he. I’m not sure I’d call it outrageous that the NFL is ignoring him and not engaging him in discourse. But people like Bennet Omalu and Ann McKee should be sharing their expertise regularly with football officials. What does the NFL have against hearing from all sides on what is, by far, the most important issue facing the future of the game?
* * *
A dejected Cam Newton didn't answer many questions in his post-game press conference, eventually walking away. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Quotes of the Week
I
“We lost.”
—Cam Newton, during a terse post-game press conference, asked if he could put his disappointment into words.
II
“Twice in a game he got a strip sack. That’s like a touchdown for a defensive-end/pass-rusher type of guy. He did it twice! We scored on one and we got points off the other. ‘It’s Miller Time! It’s Miller Time!’ I’ll tell him that all the time.”
—Denver linebacker DeMarcus Ware, praising teammate and Super Bowl MVP Von Miller for his huge plays in the first and fourth quarters of the victory.
• VON MILLER REACHES THE TOP: He hit bottom two years ago, with a suspension and an injury. After a Super Bowl 50 MVP performance, he’s solidified his status as a franchise player. Next up: a massive payday.
III
“This post is not about me, or how tough I am. It’s not to shine any light on me or my injuries. Our team doctors and trainers did an amazing job giving me an opportunity to get back on the field. This post is strictly to show how much love I have for my brothers and #PantherNation. Thank you all for your support and we will #KeepPounding.”
—Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, in an Instagram post I urge you to check out. Davis played in Super Bowl 50 with his arm in a cast after breaking it in the NFC title game. Davis record seven tackles against the Broncos.
IV
“Snoop, I’ve always enjoyed my conversations with my Dad and Eli.”
—Peyton Manning, at his last pre-Super Bowl media availability on Thursday, responding to a question from reporter Snoop Dogg.
V
“The funny thing to me is I was a two-star recruit coming out of high school going into college, and now I have three Defensive Player of the Year trophies. So screw all you guys who doubted me.”
—J.J. Watt, accepting his award at NFL Honors on Saturday night.
* * *
The Weekly Awards
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Britton Colquitt, punter, Denver. I have been doing this column for 19 NFL seasons, and I feel quite sure I have never named a punter the Offensive Player of the Week. And here I’m doing it in a Super Bowl. But on a day when the Broncos gained 194 yards—an amazingly low 130 in the final 55 minutes of the game—and converted one of 14 third downs, the only way they had a chance to win was by controlling the ball. That starts with a punter who directionally kept the ball away from the dangerous Ted Ginn Jr. Colquitt was brilliant at it. Ginn had two return yards. Two. For the game, Colquitt punted eight times for an average of 45.9 yards, and a net average of 45.6. Eight of Carolina’s 16 drives started inside the Panther 20; another five between the 20 and 30. A great game on the big stage for a very good punter.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Von Miller, outside linebacker, Denver. The Broncos defense is the main reason the franchise now possesses its third Lombardi Trophy, and Miller was the catalyst. Miller made the two biggest plays of the game, stripping Cam Newton twice, one turning into a defensive touchdown and the other essentially ending the Panthers’ night. Miller deserved the MVP and now he deserves to be paid in J.J. Watt’s league: $20 million-plus per season.
Kony Ealy, defensive end, Carolina. What a game to have a coming out party. Ealy, a 2014 second-round pick out of Missouri, was the best player for the Panthers and would have had a strong case for MVP had Carolina won. Ealy had three sacks, a forced fumble and a skillful interception of Manning. Carolina’s defense already was full of game-changers and another one emerged in Super Bowl 50.
• VON MILLER REACHES THE TOP: He hit bottom two years ago, with a suspension and an injury. After a Super Bowl 50 MVP performance, he’s solidified his status as a franchise player. Next up: a massive payday.
COACH OF THE WEEK
Wade Phillips, defensive coordinator, Denver. The man just might retire this award. What a postseason Phillips had, his defense holding Pittsburgh, New England and Carolina to an average of 12.7 points a game. He once again put together a brilliant game plan. Cam Newton never had the kind of open rush lanes he always seems to find five or six times a game. Phillips blitzed the safeties a little, but mostly relied on his great players on the defensive front to get home—which they did. Seven sacks. Six, of a quarterback who takes such great pride in not taking sacks, and a seventh after nailing Ted Ginn behind the line when he was in option-pass mode. “There’s the man,” said Malik Jackson, pointing admiringly to Phillips after the game. “What a game he coached.” We saw.
• ‘WE READ THEM LIKE A BOOK’: Andy Benoit on how exactly the Broncos overwhelmed Cam Newton and the Panthers
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Jordan Norwood, wide receiver/punt-returner, Denver. Incredible that in 50 Super Bowls, there’s never been a punt return for touchdown. Midway through the second quarter, Norwood play-acted like he was going to call for a fair catch, except he never signaled for one. Instead, he caught it at the Denver 25, ran right, turned upfield, and got dragged down at the Carolina 14-yard line. Norwood’s 61-yard return is a Super Bowl record and it led to a Brandon McManus field goal, and a 13-7 halftime lead for Denver.
Brandon McManus, kicker, Denver. Capping a perfect postseason, McManus booted field goals of 34, 33 and 30 yards, while counterpart Graham Gano missed from 44 before hitting from 39. That’s a 9-3 kicker edge for Denver, and in a game with every possession counting in a big way, a 9-3 edge is a winning edge. For the postseason, McManus was 10 for 10 on field goals.
GOAT OF THE WEEK
Mike Remmers, right tackle, Carolina. The man who had the unenviable task of blocking Von Miller on Sunday night did not fare well. Remmers was unable to slow Miller on two game-altering plays—the first-quarter strip-sack that resulted in a Broncos touchdown and a fourth-quarter strip-sack that all but ended the Panthers’ hopes. Remmers was not alone in his goat-ness, as the rest of Carolina’s front also was overmatched by Denver’s defense, which finished with seven sacks.
* * *
Stat of the Week
I
Nice piece of symmetry if this is indeed the final game of Peyton Manning’s life. Sunday was his 200th career victory, setting an NFL record. He’d been tied with Brett Favre at 199 wins.
II
Peyton Manning turns 40 six weeks from tomorrow.
III
The Pro Football Hall of Fame selection meeting, held at the Moscone Center (a convention center in downtown San Francisco) on Saturday lasted eight hours and 46 minutes. Three salient statistical points from the day:
Longest debate: Eddie DeBartolo, 49 minutes, 27 seconds.
Shortest debate: Brett Favre, 8 seconds (8.09 seconds by my stopwatch, actually).
Kenny Stabler Stat of the Day: I’ve always considered Roger Staubach an accurate, efficient quarterback. He played alongside Stabler in history. In 1976, with each man in his prime, Stabler, playing in a downfield passing offense, completed 66.7 percent of his throws; Staubach completed 56.4 percent of his passes. That’s not slightly better. That’s hugely better.
* * *
Factoids of the Week That May Interest Only Me
The Broncos stayed during Super Bowl week at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel. Four notes about this Marriott:
• On the day of the 1983 NFL Draft, the top pick, John Elway, had his draft party there.
• In 1984, Elway was married for the first time and had his wedding reception at the hotel.
• When Denver coach Gary Kubiak was hired to be the 49ers quarterback coach in 1994, he lived at the hotel for three months.
• The front door of the hotel is 1.1 miles by foot from the entry to Levi’s Stadium, believed to be the closest of any team hotel to venue in Super Bowl history.
* * *
Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
San Francisco is one of the greatest cities in the world. Of that there is no doubt. But the scene I saw walking the 20 or so minutes from the Nourse Theater through the Tenderloin district back to my hotel in Union Square Thursday night after the Bennet Omalu speaking engagement was frightening. Sad and frightening. I’ve got no problem with panhandlers; I live in New York. And the homeless issue in New York, obviously, is a major one. But I have never seen the number of homeless, block after block, people of many ages, many appearing to be under the influence of something. In a 1.2-mile walk, I’d guess there were 75 to 100 either sleeping on the sidewalk, encamped against a building or seeking help from passersby.
This is obviously not my area of knowledge, and the stat that the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco in 2015 hit $3,530 is jaw-dropping. But we’re in a sad place in this country when in one of our great cities we simply accept that scores and scores of people live and sleep on the sidewalks.
* * *
Tweets of the Week
I
A no-words retirement announcement for the player who spoke very few of them during his career.
II
Cam Newton was hit 13 times tonight. He hadn't been hit more than 6 times all season. — Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) February 8, 2016
III
Congratulations, @Broncos! Our tower lights are sparkling in blue, orange & white to honor their #SuperBowl50 win. pic.twitter.com/Cq2GzB9PdS — Empire State Bldg (@EmpireStateBldg) February 8, 2016
IV
I’m surprised they are airing live shots from the locker room right before the game. That time should be for the players only. — Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) February 7, 2016
V
Incredible. Friday before the Super Bowl and not one paid print ad in the Sports Section of today's San Francisco Chronicle. — David Schwab (@david_schwab) February 5, 2016
VI
Great things never came from comfort zones. — Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) February 5, 2016
* * *
Von Miller created two of the four turnovers forced by the Broncos on Sunday. Al Bello/Getty Images
Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think this is what I liked about Super Bowl 50:
a. Steph Curry, wearing a Panthers number 30 jersey, banging the Carolina drum (a Panther tradition) before the game—Curry right in his own northern California backyard.
b. Very classy move by last season’s NFL Man of the Year, Thomas Davis, coming over pre-game to congratulate this year’s NFL Man of the Year, Anquan Boldin, on the field.
c. The anthem. Had to go back and watch it on YouTube because it was muffled in the press box, but Gaga nailed it.
d. Neil Hornsby. The Pro Football Focus founder wrote for The MMQB prior to the game that the key matchup would be Carolina right tackle Mike Remmers versus Denver pass-rusher Von Miller. “I feel the eventual winner of this [game] is likely to be the same as the winner of Remmers vs. Miller.” Well, Miller went around Remmers on the first touchdown of the game, slamming Cam Newton and forcing the sack-touchdown that Malik Jackson recovered for a touchdown. Good call by Hornsby.
e. Darian Stewart, the Denver safety, stripping Mike Tolbert and forcing a turnover. Stewart ($2.25 million in salary and bonuses this year) was a pretty smart signing by John Elway.
f. Terrific one-handed pick of Manning by Kony Ealy.
g. Prescient call by Jim Nantz on the CBS telecast, saying there had been 227 punts in Super Bowl history without ever having one returned for a touchdown … a few minutes later, Norwood broke a 61-yarder. Not a touchdown, but almost.
h. What a catch, Devin Funchess.
i. I love sheep singing. Who doesn’t? I looked up at one point in the third quarter, and there was some commercial with sheep singing “Somebody to Love,” by Queen.
j. Center Matt Paradis, for his block on Luke Kuechly that freed C.J. Anderson for a nice gain, one of the few times all night (maybe all career) that Kuechly got blocked.
k. Kuechly, and Thomas Davis. They are threats on every defensive snap.
l. Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei, for being the kind of run-support players that make it so hard for anyone to get momentum in the running game.
m. T.J. Ward: “We didn’t want the happy, fun-spirited, dabbing, dancing Cam. No, we wanted the sulking, upset, talking to my linemen, running backs, I don’t know what’s going on Cam Newton. And that’s what we got.”
n. Now there’s a terrific summation of what the Broncos were trying to do, and what they really did do, to Newton.
o. C.J. Anderson, with 234 post-season rushing yards.
p. Sid Hartman. The great Sid Hartman. The 95-year-old Minnesota sportscasting and sportswriting legend is still doing a Sunday show in the Twin Cities. He’s not traveling much now, but we had a good time Sunday morning talking about the Hall of Fame voting. He was bullish on the elections of Tony Dungy and Eddie DeBartolo.
2. I think this is what I didn’t like about Super Bowl 50:
a. Aqib Talib: three penalties, at a cost of 21 yards to Denver, in the first 19 minutes.
b. Mike Carey’s pronouncement on the very iffy catch by Jerricho Cotchery that was ruled an incompletion in the first quarter. Carolina challenged the call. Carey said: “Good challenge by Carolina … If I was in the [replay] booth, I’d reverse this to a catch.” Of course, the way Carey’s year has gone, Clete Blakeman ruled the ball incomplete. And watching the replay four or five times, the way I saw it, there’s no way I’d have reversed the call on the field. Just not enough evidence.
c. Ron Rivera’s challenge early in the second quarter over seven yards of turf. He chose to challenge a play not ruled a sack by Kony Ealy, and if he was right, the Broncos would have had a second-and-17 instead of second-and-10. Regardless whether he was right or wrong, it was his last challenge of the game. Carolina didn’t have a challenge available for the last 41 minutes of the game. No way I’d have used my last challenge over a seven-yard difference in field position.
d. Manning’s first pick—and first turnover—after 145 efficient post-season minutes, not seeing Kony Ealy quickly enough as he tried to muscle a ball to Jordan Norwood. This bad error by Manning erased the Broncos’ chances to build a 16-7 halftime lead—or better. Absolutely cannot make that throw. Manning got lucky on a dropped pick early in the game too.
e. Terrible late-first-half clock management by Carolina, wasting 13 seconds in the final minute instead of being crisp and getting to the line and sprinting through a couple of plays to try to get in field-goal range.
f. Third-down efficiency, in total: four for 29. That is all-time bad third-down converting.
g. Demaryius Thomas. It can be forgotten now, but he was The Invisible Man this postseason. For a jillionaire wideout, these are awful numbers over three games: 7 catches, 60 yards, zero touchdowns.
3. I think the week ended with some confusion over the Rooney-Rule-for-women. The rule will apply only to league office hires at first—not to team executive and front-office hires. The MMQB’s Jenny Vrentas checks in on Roger Goodell’s women’s initiative:
Thursday morning in San Francisco, Goodell addressed a ballroom filled primarily with women, and announced a new rule change to help open more doors for women in top roles with the NFL. The rule only means something when the female candidates being interviewed are serious contenders for the job—something that has been a concern with the Rooney Rule over the past 12 years. So the NFL will start by requiring women to be interviewed for all senior positions within the league office; it’s to be determined on positions below that. “You can see that progress is being made,” Goodell said in his opening remarks for the league's first-ever Women's Summit, held Thursday and Friday mornings of Super Bowl week. “We're going to make that commitment.” The focus of the summit, which included speeches from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and tennis star Serena Williams, was getting and keeping more women involved in sports. One NFL team executive questioned how well the Rooney Rule will work for women when it hasn't been as effective as hoped for minorities, many of whom still too often hear the questions of whether or not they are Rooney Rule-fulfillers when they interview for top jobs. But the idea behind these rules is to get women and minorities in front of team decision-makers and highlight candidates who might otherwise be overlooked. Among the jobs women will now have to be interviewed for include executive VP of football ops, COO and, presumably, commissioner. There is no downside to that.
4. I think one little bit of free-agency buzz I heard here is the Broncos won’t be surprised if Browns coach Hue Jackson does more than just sniff around Brock Osweiler. Cleveland is in an interesting spot, picking second in the first round with a cadre of interesting but not lock college quarterbacks on the board. They’re surely not prepared to know what they’ll do a month from now in free-agency, but if Jackson is shaky on Jared Goff and Paxton Lynch and Carson Wentz, maybe Cleveland will look at a reasonably priced (or so you would think) prospect like Osweiler. Side note: Denver has three important free agents—Osweiler, who will be earmarked to replace Payton Manning; pass rusher Von Miller, who will be franchise-tagged if John Elway can’t sign him before the start of free agency; and defensive end Malik Jackson, who clearly would be one of the top players on the market if not signed by Denver before the start of the signing period in March. Jackson is 26, and the Broncos tried to get him signed late in the season but couldn’t come to terms. Instead, Denver signed fellow defensive end Derek Wolfe, also an ascending player, to a four-year, $36-million deal. I could see an end-needy team like the Giants going hard after Jackson if he’s out there.
5. I think I agree with Neil Best of Newsday: Nashville would be one heck of a Super Bowl city.
6. I think this was the idea of the week at the Super Bowl: Roger Goodell said two personal fouls in a game should lead to a player’s ejection. Not sure it should be that cut-and-dried, but the concept is good. I’d want to think about this, because if a pass rusher gets nailed on the first series of the game with a borderline personal foul for hitting the quarterback late, there’s a good chance he would play the rest of the game feeling like he’s got to lay back instead of playing as normal. But this is an excellent debate for the Competition Committee to have. In a particularly egregious case such as Odell Beckham Jr.’s loss of control and helmet-smash of Josh Norman in the Giants-Panthers game, it would have gotten Beckham thrown out—which would have been justice.
7. I think—and if this comes off a bragging about the staff of The MMQB, then so be it—we discovered something about Super Bowl coverage in the past two weeks at our nice little site: There’s more than one way to cover a Super Bowl. There is a way to cover it by traveling across America and telling the stories of the players and the coaches and franchises in towns and cities like Brenham, Texas, and South Jordan, Utah, and Colorado Springs, Colo., in ways that you can’t by being at the site of the game. From the past week alone:
• From the Utah home of Carolina’s Star Lotulelei, Emily Kaplan with the great American success story of the Star Lotulelei family.
• From across America, Robert Klemko with an oral history of one of the strangest seasons in recent NFL history, the inaugural one of the 1995 Carolina Panthers.
• From snowy Colorado, Klemko with one of the heroes of Super Bowl I, Hall of Fame tackle Forrest Gregg, struggling yet enjoying the autumn of his years.
• From a little town in Texas, Kaplan with the compelling story of Cam Newton’s junior college roots, which included mooing cows as his daily alarm clock.
• From here in California, one story from the site of the game that featured the kind of reporting we’re proud of here: Jenny Vrentas on how Carolina owner Jerry Richardson turned a 1959 Baltimore Colts playoff share of $4,674 into an NFL franchise 34 years later—and into a Super Bowl team today.
8. I think, Johnny Manziel, your words don’t matter any more. Your words at the 2014 combine and pre-draft convinced the Browns you had turned over a new leaf. Your words after 73 days of rehab last summer tried to convince people your life was finally in a good place. Your nothing-happened-here claims after a highway incident with a girlfriend and admitted day drinking last fall raised lots of eyebrows inside the Browns but again got mostly a pass. Your silence after going to Las Vegas while inactive on the last weekend of the regular season pushed you off the Browns. (It’s just a formality now.) And your claims last week that you’re focused on football and after another incident with a woman in Texas in which WFAA-TV reports you said, “Shut up or I’ll kill us both,” … This isn’t about football anymore, and won’t be for a while. This has to be about focusing on a life gone way off the tracks, and trying to get the help you need to get it on the tracks. The fact that your agent, Erik Burkhardt, a good and reputable man, would choose to part ways with you Friday should be the last straw. Get help. “I truly believe if they can’t get him help, he won’t live to see his 24th birthday,” said his father, Paul Manziel, in the Dallas Morning News. Johnny’s 24th birthday: Dec. 6.
9. I think Deion Sanders needed to check the reported facts in the Manziel story before telling Cleveland.com this regarding Manziel: “It’s hard to be a young kid. You have to go through these trials and tribulations to find yourself and that’s what he doing right now. He’s trying to find himself. And I empathize with him. Johnny’s girlfriend. That’s his issue … I’m not saying she is the problem. I’m saying their relationship is inflammatory.” Lord, is that a tone-deaf statement. In the category of Worst Analyst Quote of 2016, that one takes the early lead—and will be hard to beat.
10. I think these are my other thoughts of the week:
a. Top-notch column by Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star on the Roger Goodell news conference from Friday. Arthur’s really good.
b. This piece, excerpted from a book, from a former Yale admissions officer, peeking behind the curtain of the elite college admissions process.
c. Mark Leibovich’s outstanding story in the New York Times Magazine about the ability of the NFL to step over and around land mines week after week and remain the most powerful sports league there is.
d. My favorite quote from the Leibovich piece, from former Broncos tight end Nate Jackson, regarding the owners and the commissioner talking ceaselessly about “protecting the shield,” meaning the NFL shield: “The thing is, isn’t a shield supposed to protect you? They want players to put their bodies in front of the shield, to sacrifice for this shield.”
e. Never thought of that, but it’s perfect.
f. Loved this paragraph from Eli Saslow of ESPN.com about the winds of society and Super Bowl mania buffeting Katina Smith, the mother of Demaryius Thomas, recently released from prison after 15 years over a drug charge, and how difficult it is for her to cope with life: “She already took one trip to a divisional playoff game in Denver in the middle of January—the best weekend of her life, she says—but the fatigue that followed left her with a headache that lasted a week. She came home, turned off her phone, closed the door to her bedroom and read the same Bible verses about humility and simplicity that she studied each morning in prison. She finds relief in routine, in being momentarily confined. Sometimes she rereads the letter Obama sent to her along with her official notice of clemency from the White House. ‘Perhaps even you are unsure of how you will adjust,’ he had written.” Smith goes on to tell Thomas during a phone call: “It’s information overload, and my head is about to explode.”
g. That’s a quote we should all heed, about the never-ending flood of information that makes it odd for us to just … be.
h. Craziest story, so far, of 2016? It’d be hard to beat this one, from the Washington Post.
i. Biggest surprise of Super Bowl week, to me? That it was not a travel nightmare. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I had to travel to Stanford (39 miles each way) and was impressed that the place wasn’t the gridlocked city/area that I’ve often seen over the years in San Francisco. Twice I was part of police escorts, which obviously made the rides simple, but mostly I was in cars or Ubers or cabs, and the region moved people around well.
j. Thanks, hugely, to Stanford grad student Shane Newell for being my part-time driver/full-time journalism-discusser while covering the Super Bowl. You ask all the right questions, Shane. Good luck.
k. And thanks, too, to Gary Pomerantz, the ex-Washington Post football writer who now teaches at Stanford (he has had Richard Sherman and Coby Fleener in class) for giving me the chance to speak with his “Specialized Reporting and Writing: Sports Journalism” class. Some really fine students—inquisitive, principled. Enjoyed our time together.
l. Great having dinner and sharing the Bennet Omalu event with you, Cyd Ziegler. My daughter Laura and her wife, Kim, invited the two of us to see Omalu speak. Good conversation and, as I said, an enlightening appearance with the subject of Concussion.
m. Man, do they love the Warriors here. Out in an Irish place Saturday evening while the Warriors-Thunder game was on 29 TVs (or so it seemed), the crowd exploded four or five times, and you had to catch yourself to avoid jumping out of your skin.
n. Coffeenerdness: I was lucky to be able to stop by Blue Bottle Coffee three times while in the city. That is one perfect cup of coffee. Dark and intense, like an Italian Roast. The smell in that shop was not to be believed. Heavenly.
o. Beernerdness: Team The MMQB is indebted to Jim Furman at Black Hammer Brewing on Bryant Street in the SoMa district of San Francisco, not far from the Giants’ ballpark, for our Friday afternoon Tweetup. Jim was so welcoming to us. What a tremendous space. And dog-friendly! There’s a bar dog, Growler, a curly-haired guy with a love for the bar pretzels; the dog will dance on command on his hind legs. I highly recommend the visit if only to meet Growler. My favorite beer of the three I tried: The Nautilus Hibiscus Saison, which had a hint of coriander and citrus (and hibiscus, a first in the King beer repertoire) and was terrific. Thanks, too, to all the supporters of our site who came out and made us feel welcome.
p. I finally met PFT Commenter. Interesting guy. Seems to like green wine. I believe his MD 20/20 selection the day I ran into him was Lime-arita. The guy’s a cult figure, from what I could see of the crowd’s reaction to him. I am so honored by his “Monday Morning Bowel Movement” column. You know, MMBM.
q. What’d I miss politically in my Super Bowl cocoon? Much?
r. Didn’t think so.
s. This column will not die with the end of the NFL season. Look for it—albeit shorter—continuing next Monday with the annual Super Bowl Hangover edition, as I begin the 20th year of writing this web column. You’ve been a great audience this year. Thanks for reading, reacting and caring.
* * *
The Adieu Haiku
Elton once said: “Don’t
let the sun go down on me.”
Peyton can. Today.
• Question or comment? Email us at talkback@themmqb.com. |
. Located in the center of the long, narrow country , between the Perfume River and the South China Sea, it served as the country’s capital until 1945, and is still known as the Imperial City. Hue was also the site of some of the most destructive and mind-changing battles of the Vietnam War (known locally as the American War). With such a rich history, the city claims several distinctive dishes — from small and delicate creations originally created to please the appetites of Nguyen feudal lords, emperors (and their hundreds of wives) — to lusty, fiery street-level soups and sausages with complex, explosive and satisfying flavors. Here are the dishes I saw, and ate again and again, on a recent visit to Hue.
Nem Lui
Finely ground beef and pork, plus shredded pork skin and fat, garlic, sugar and fish sauce are formed into sausages around stalks of lemongrass, grilled over charcoal and set in front of diners. This is serve with half-moons of rice paper (for wrapping around the meat), to which you add sliced lettuce, cucumbers and trai va (a green fig unique to the region), lightly pickled strings of carrot and green papaya, cold rice vermicelli and a pile of herbs. Then, it’s basically grip and dip: Hold the whole package securely and pull out the lemongrass skewer, then dip it into a chunky, mild-yet-complex hoisin-based sauce that includes both peanuts and peanut butter, fermented beans, sesame seeds, shrimp paste, garlic and shallots. Add chiles to taste. Many restaurants’ menus offer nem lui, along with a selection of banh, spring rolls and maybe a grilled meat and vermicelli dish. There is a particularly fresh and tasty version of nem lui available at Tai Phu restaurant (located at the corner of Dien Bien Phu and Nguyen Hue streets).
Bun Bo Hue
Have you noticed that even people who’d be hard-pressed to find Vietnam on a map can now make a knowing, correctly pronounced reference to pho? That is, of course, a good development, reflecting a growing awareness and appreciation of Vietnamese cuisine. It’s time for everyone to learn about another soup, the equally delicious but very different Bun Bo Hue (called simply Bun Bo locally), which features round rice noodles, as opposed to pho’s flat ones, mixed into a stock made from beef and/or pork bones, flavored with lemongrass, annatto seeds, ginger, fermented shrimp paste, sugar and chiles. Cubes of congealed pig blood, called huyet, float alongside slices of beef or pork shank and/or knuckles — with mung bean sprouts, lime wedges, green and white onions, sliced banana blossoms, chile paste and fistfuls of rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), mint and sawtooth herb are offered alongside.
Like many of the dishes in this list, Bun Bo Hue is ubiquitous in and around city, where many, many homes double as shops and restaurants: business in the front, family in the back. That being said, there’s a very satisfying and hearty version, augmented with crab balls, served at the food stalls in the center of Dong Ba Market, a very good one at the comfortable (read: full-sized chairs and tables) Quan So I (19 Ly Thuong Kiet), and I happened across a woman selling an excellent variation that included noodles and penne pasta, oddly enough, on the sidewalk outside a storefront on Tran Thuc Nhan street between Phan Boi Chau and Nguyen Hue streets.
Com Hen
The name means “clam rice” — a rather understated label for a chaotic bowl of contrasting colors, tastes and textures: rice or rice noodles, tender stir-fried clams, crisp pork cracklings, peanuts, bean sprouts, julienned green apples, glass noodles, fried shallots and herbs, with a bowl of hot clam broth that you can add as you wish. This dish is easily found walking or motoring around Hue, especially along the three-block Truong Dinh Street, and at the corner of Nguyen Thai Hoc and Ba Trieu, where a vendor sets up shop outdoors under a series of tarps strung with lights.
Banh Khoai
This crunchy rice flour crepe, made bright yellow with a healthy shake of turmeric and extra-crispy due to sugar and carbonated water in the batter, is a smaller, thicker version of the banh xeo you see in the southern part of Vietnam (and on the menus of many Vietnamese restaurants in the States). The crepe is pan-fried and typically stuffed with shrimp and pork belly or sausage (cha lua) that have been cooked in garlic, along with scallions, bean sprouts and, as in the case of the ones sold at Dong Ba Market, a quail egg. The crepe is served with hoisin-based dipping sauce, lettuce, cucumbers, trai va, mint, rau ram, cilantro, perilla and sometimes star fruit are served alongside. Because it’s slightly more portable than nem lui and its accompaniments, you’ll find banh khoai for sale at street carts and sit-down restaurants, like Hanh (11 Pho Duc Chinh).
Banh Loc Tran
Banh loc tran is stuffed with a more generous portion of shrimp and pork than banh loc goi, then boiled rather than steamed, and served under a dense layer of chopped green onions and crispy fried shallots, along with nuoc mam pha, to be spooned over the top.
Banh Beo
These are steamed rice cakes, about the size of a silver dollar, that come five pieces to an order, topped with dried shrimp, pork cracklings, shallots and herbs and served with nuoc mam pha. They’re cooked in one of two vessels which determine their full name and shape: Banh beo chen are steamed and served in small ceramic saucers (chen) while Banh beo dia are cooked in a slightly larger metal form that resembles a hard-boiled egg platter, and served on a larger plate.
Banh Loc Goi
Banh loc is a typical Hue snack in which a tapioca flour-based dough is stuffed with caramelized shrimp and pork. In this version, called Banh Loc Goi, the dumpling is wrapped and tied in lightly oiled banana leaves, and the packets are tied together in pairs, using banana leaf strips, and steamed. Open the parcel, remove the cake to a plate and spoon over some nuoc mam pha, a combination of fish sauce, vinegar, shrimp stock, sugar, water and fresh chiles. There is a lovely open-air restaurant, Bánh O Le (104/17/9 Kim Long Street) just outside the city center, that specializes in banh, the name for the various steamed and fried savory cakes endemic to Hue. |
In Pics: New Rs 500 note that will be issued pic.twitter.com/N51HDChDs3
— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2016
In Pics: New Rs 2000 Note that will be issued pic.twitter.com/4NXhNOpxxA — ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2016
Only Rs 16,000 crore of demonetised currency was not deposited with banks, according to data in RBI's annual report.https://t.co/El6ZYqRE18
— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 31, 2017
Rs 16000 cr out of demonetised notes of Rs 1544,000 cr did not come back to RBI. That is 1%. Shame on RBI which 'recommended' demonetisation — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) August 30, 2017
RBI 'gained' Rs 16000 crore, but 'lost' Rs 21000 crore in printing new notes! The economists deserve Nobel Prize.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) August 30, 2017
Money Gained= 16k crore Cost of printing notes= 21K crore Loss to RBI= 5K crore "A Genius calculating benefits of #DeMonetisation".(2017) pic.twitter.com/cfygcyfOpG — History of India (@RealHistoryPic) August 30, 2017
Somewhere in Chicago, with a cigar in mouth, jazz in the background, and a glass of cognac in hand, Raghuram Rajan must be laughing aloud.
— churumuri (@churumuri) August 30, 2017
99% currency back in system. #Demonetisation for you ladies and gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/tYv4ZFYBz3 — Manas Pratap Singh (@manas_ndtv) August 30, 2017
"Now is it clear why I prefered resignation instead of being cursed by Billions?"~ Raghuram Rajan. (2017)#DeMonetisation pic.twitter.com/SLUdY9CfeR
— History of India (@RealHistoryPic) August 30, 2017
Decisive and bold Modi government : Black money market, terrorism and naxalism deeply affected by demonetisation. #DemonetisationSuccess pic.twitter.com/uHJE5bIKkB
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 31, 2017
PM @narendramodi's bold & historic decision is bringing great benefits to the nation. #DemonetisationSuccess pic.twitter.com/tPyPe1XiXE
— Shankar Chaudhary (@ChaudhryShankar) August 31, 2017
Top paid trend right now is #DemonetisationSuccess
despite this graph published by @RBI
Incredible India! pic.twitter.com/RUm3VfUJr0
— Pankaj Pachauri (@PankajPachauri) August 31, 2017
Demonetisation attained its objective of making India a less cash economy reducing black money flow in the system. #DemonetisationSuccess pic.twitter.com/GVSV1BF6rt
— Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) August 31, 2017
#DemonetisationSuccess: India's highest ever detection of black money & a massive rise in the no. of new taxpayers! (22 lakh to 56 lakh) pic.twitter.com/wcxb3KKipG
— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) August 31, 2017
A phenomenal rise in new individual tax payers from 22 lakh last year to 56 lakh till August 5, 2017 shows a great #DemonetisationSuccess
— Ananthkumar (@AnanthKumar_BJP) August 31, 2017
With almost entire cash holdings in the formal system, Demonetisation made crack down on dubious transactions easier #DemonetisationSuccess
— Arjun Ram Meghwal (@arjunrammeghwal) August 31, 2017
Black money coming back post demonetisation is an absolute myth : See facts. #DemonetisationSuccess pic.twitter.com/powHu7Rz4T
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 31, 2017
#DemonetisationSuccess India's highest ever detection of Black Money. pic.twitter.com/euc1jXKA36
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) August 31, 2017
Who said Demonitisation was a disaster? Some brainless PR company got paid a LOT of taxpayer money to trend #DemonetisationSuccess.
SUCCESS! pic.twitter.com/MM8M23Npuy
— Meghnad 👨🏫 📖 (@Memeghnad) August 31, 2017
#DeMonetisationSuccess -- Nobody is paying to make this trend. Nobody. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/H9WsQXqVdM
— Karnika Kohli (@KarnikaKohli) August 31, 2017
LOL, BJP IT Cell and @malviyamit are at it again. Paid twitter trend to make a disaster look like a success. #DemonetisationSuccess pic.twitter.com/rCK0gBUIHA
— Dhruv Rathee (@dhruv_rathee) August 31, 2017
Entire Government machinery seems to be pushing #demonetisationSuccess! Corporates can learn from BJP on concerted social media campaigns :) pic.twitter.com/3RUU5Grt4h
— Karthik (@beastoftraal) August 31, 2017
Hmmm. Multiple people having same opinion, same sentence formation and same punctuations on #DemonetisationSuccess . #DemonetisationDisaster pic.twitter.com/zW7Et2pTJJ
— Shahnawaz Khan (@shahnawazk) August 31, 2017
Minister ho, ya Social media influencer? pic.twitter.com/IqQUG6zIox
— SG (@shrinivassg) August 31, 2017
On November 8, in a move aimed at curbing black money and corruption, the government scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in use, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced while addressing to the nation."There is no need for panic. Your money will remain yours. You need not worry at this point," he said.Demonetisation drive was a roller-coaster ride for most people. From being excited and hopeful that black money hoarders will finally be caught to being frustrated and tired of waiting in long queues outside banks and ATMs -- we experienced it all.The Reserve Bank of India has now revealed in its annual report that Rs 15.28 lakh crore or 99 per cent of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore scrapped currency notes, came back into the system after demonetisation.Only Rs 16,000 crore of demonetised currency was not deposited with banks, according to data in the Reserve Bank of India's annual report.The report, which has come after a delay of nearly two months as the central bank was still collating the data on the scrapped currency, also says that only about 89 million units of the banned Rs 1,000 notes, worth Rs 8,900 crore, didn’t come back into the system.The data has given the Opposition ammunition to attack the Narendra Modi government, which has been bullish on the note ban exercise. Former finance minister P Chidambaram, in a series of tweets, chastised the government and said the RBI should be “ashamed for recommending demonetisation." “99% notes legally exchanged! Was demonetisation a scheme designed to convert black money into white?” he tweeted. “RBI 'gained' Rs 16000 crore, but 'lost' Rs 21000 crore in printing new notes! The economists deserve Nobel Prize,” he further said.Various oppostion leaders took a dig at BJP by stating facts and figures indicating that the note ban drive was a huge flop.Twitterati was quick to join the bandwagon and trended the hashtag #DeMonetisationFailed. While some criticised the government, others sneaked in jokes.However, even after coming under severe criticism, BJP did the unimaginable. The top BJP leaders and supporters trended the hashtag #DemonetisationSuccess on Twitter. Yep.From Smriti Irani to Suresh Prabhu, there was a barrage of tweets from the bigwigs along with the hashtag #DemonetisationSuccess.People readily called out the duplicate tweets hinting the hashtag was a smart play to distract the public attention from the reality. |
Now We’re Cooking with Grass
Top-name Boston chefs are experimenting with marijuana as a key ingredient. As Massachusetts grapples with legalization, Jolyon Helterman embarks on a chase through a secretive, drug-fueled dining subculture. Is this the next great foodie frontier—or is it merely a pipe dream?
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The first time the pot dealer invited me to one of his fabled drug-laced dinner parties, I totally blew it. For months I’d been chasing rumors of an underground network of pop-up dinners featuring dishes infused with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. From what I could gather, this new weed cuisine had nothing to do with the pot brownies of yore—pasty, weirdly vegetal confections dispensed from crumpled foil pans, that could leave even staunch stoners reeling. Instead, I’d heard, local chefs were experimenting with sophisticated recipes—and how to dole them out over the span of the meal so that diners left pleasantly high, not baked.
My most promising contact was a person I’ll call Jackie, the impresario and raw-material supplier behind a series of weed-infused dinner parties. When we first met, Jackie and I hit it off instantly: Outwardly, at least, he seemed thrilled by the notion of seeing the feasts he was orchestrating appear in a glossy mag such as this one. But a couple of weeks before his next scheduled dinner, things headed south. I was probably too pushy: I was determined not to miss a single behind-the-scenes moment—which meant bombarding Jackie with impatient requests for access to his crew. The needier I became, the longer it would take for Jackie to get back to me. It began to feel like I was chasing, well, a drug dealer.
Our strained relationship reached its breaking point when I broached the sticky question of anonymity. Yes, we could keep Jackie’s identity off the record. But couldn’t I ask the chefs if I could use their names? Wrong question. Jackie cut off all contact. The rumored dinner came and went without me.
Still, there were tantalizing glimpses. On Instagram, I’d gotten a peek at one of these pop-up potlucks. My jaw hit the floor: The rumor mill had seriously undersold the haute-ness of this cuisine. With gourmet ingredients like quail eggs, bone marrow, and enoki mushrooms, these artfully composed dishes were on par, at least visually, with those in the city’s finest restaurants, a Menton or a L’Espalier. Who the hell was cooking this stuff?
One thing was for sure: This wasn’t the work of rank amateurs playing around with stoner grub in the throes of midnight-munchies inspiration. It had all the trappings of seriously sophisticated cuisine meant for discerning palates. If only I knew where to find it.
In 1920, following the ratification of the 18th Amendment, alcohol became illegal in the United States. For the next 13 years, the nation’s blossoming cocktail artists found themselves shunted underground into a murky subculture of speakeasies. The period gets romanticized today. But those years of mandated temperance were an exceedingly grim age of unscrupulous bootleggers, Depression-gutted paychecks, and epithelium- stripping bathtub gin.
And yet: When I found myself closed out of the clandestine weed-dinner-club circle, I was struck by the parallels to that earlier epoch of Prohibition. Not so much the swill or the organized-crime-stoked violence but the forced secrecy of it all: the specter of culinary artists pursuing their passions in shadowy exile from polite society, flourishing creatively, all the while skittishly peeking over their shoulders.
Months later, I finally heard from Jackie again: I was on vacation in the tropics, passing through a rare patch of broadband, when a flurry of pent-up emails burst into my inbox. Among them, an unsolicited message from Jackie’s “anonymous” account bearing an invitation to one of his elusive dinners on the very day I returned to Boston.
On my flight back to Logan, when I finally had a chance to examine the menu for Jackie’s dinner, my heart sank. There were a couple of sophisticated hors d’oeuvres—a bacon-wrapped scallop drizzled with THC-infused basil oil, for instance—but the main event was a taco bar, for gosh sakes. For months, I’d been imagining this secret world as Clio for the cannabis set, not a pot-laced El Pelón.
On the bright side, the guy in the kitchen was a local chef I already knew and admired—I’ll call him Marcus. He was the talent, I’d learned, behind the intricate platings I’d seen on Instagram. Perhaps he’d be serving some ironic “deconstruction” of a taco, the stylized fixins artfully tweezered out across an austere plate like an edible Kandinsky.
Spoiler alert: They were just tacos.
The evening’s venue was a private brownstone home, east of the city. A buffet table held condiments—pico de gallo, roasted-garlic crema—alongside bowls of marinated olives and tamari-spiced nuts. Next to an ice bucket sat two pitchers of THC-infused beverages.
With no communal table, the 15 or so guests separated into cliques, some settling on the sofa to watch patterns across a muted TV screen. A water bong made an appearance. As they gurgled, I watched my big scoop go up in smoke, too. “Breaking: Local Stoners Spend Sunday on Couch with Bong and Tacos.” But then, in the kitchen, I spotted Marcus and introduced myself. This was no stoner pirate: He was a clearly a food geek who loved the science as much as the artistry of cooking. He said he’d spent a lot of time experimenting with titration, and— absolutely!—would be happy to chat about it some time. Jotting down his number, I grabbed a to-go bag and made my exit quickly, just in case paranoid Jackie cried foul.
Soon, I heard Marcus and Jackie had parted ways—and, switching gears, I threw in with Marcus, who had begun to contemplate more-ambitious weed dinners. To my mind, Marcus was the modern version of the 1920s mixologist—the artiste of the underground scene. And I, as the culinary-art historian, seemed perfectly justified in my pursuit of him instead of Jackie, the mere bootlegger. Right?
But in January, Massachusetts granted its first round of medical-marijuana dispensary licenses, and Marcus was suddenly eager to get in on the ground floor. The weed dinners went on the back burner, and instead he began working on recipes for gourmet “medibles”—weed-infused candies he hoped to sell at the dispensaries, if and when they eventually opened. He blew me off half a dozen times over the winter.
By spring, I was preparing to abandon the story—when Jackie popped up again. He was wondering why I’d been so hard to connect with; he had a big dinner planned—this one at a restaurant—in late April, two weeks away. Was I interested?
Here are the terms we agreed to: no names, no identifying details about the restaurant, no quizzing fellow guests. In exchange, I could have the run of the place. There were cloak-and-dagger precautions: I was instructed to get to a certain neighborhood, then text him for a location. But finally, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, in a restaurant I’d patronized many times before—under very different circumstances—I finally gained entrée to the gourmet underground.
From the first, it was clear that this dinner party was a far different beast from January’s taco night. Bartenders prepped garnishes and checked glassware for spots. Servers polished silverware and straightened place settings, which featured cloth napkins and the night’s menu printed on heavy card stock.
In the back, half a dozen cooks were getting their mises en place in between sips of beer, tokes, and general roisterous carrying on. You know: like a restaurant kitchen. But also similarly, any time the head chef, whom I’ll call Tristan, uttered anything to do with food prep, an unbreachable, militarylike hierarchy resumed. No joking, no discussion.
When one cook asked how much THC-infused syrup should be used in the drinks, Tristan specified, “Eight drops in the bottom of each glass.” Sure enough, I passed the guy a few minutes later administering the syrup with an eyedropper, counting under his breath.
During a break, Tristan gave me a primer on his techniques. You can’t simply fine-mince a bag of weed and sprinkle it like parsley. Accessing THC requires heat and/or alcohol. The most common method—heating the marijuana with a fat, like butter, until the THC leaches out—is the magic behind the pot brownie. “But what if someone can’t process dairy?” Tristan asked. “You try to figure out: how else? There’s coconut oil and soy milk and….” Good point: If legalization marches forward, there’s no question gluten-free, paleo-vegan, low-foam cannabis options will be de rigueur.
The alternative to fat infusion is the tincture, wherein the plant matter is steeped in grain alcohol or glycerol. Tristan uses both, but deploys them strategically across a sequence of courses. Alcohol and glycerol tinctures hit the bloodstream almost immediately, whereas fat infusions require digestion. Tristan likes to start with tincture-method items—tonight, THC Arnold Palmers, then a series of small bites including an infused jalapeño jelly on a biscuit topped with ham and cheddar—before launching into fat infusions. That way, diners get a little buzzed from the get-go and are less likely to overdo it as they wait for the delayed-release time bomb to hit.
Tristan also likes to keep the infused component as a removable condiment or garnish—for instance, the three house-medicated barbecue sauces served at every table, for diners to doctor up the (otherwise uninfused) smoked ribs as they please. Though certainly more complex, it dawned on me how similar this strategy was to offering a tasting menu with optional wine pairings.
As 6 p.m. neared, a very mixed crowd milled in. The stoner and restaurant- industry crowd I’d expected, sure, but just as many strait-laced couples who would look more at home in an L. L. Bean catalog than an illicit drug dinner. That’s when it hit me: how wrong I’d gotten it on Jackie’s infuriating caginess. He wasn’t the ruthless bootlegger, protecting his turf. He was protecting all these people. The young cutups in the kitchen, the veteran chef, the paying customers from all walks of life—every last one of them had entrusted Jackie to shield them from a list of consequences ranging from professional embarrassment to prison time. Out of 80-odd people in attendance tonight, there was only one potential enemy: me.
The lights went down, the music went up, and the festivities commenced. The Arnold Palmers worked their magic quickly, as Tristan had predicted. The THC loosened lips, transforming awkward tables into friendly gab fests. A series of small plates followed: deviled eggs with infused aioli and jerk spices, then biscuits and fried green tomatoes.
I held myself back cautiously until the fourth dish arrived: a Lowcountry boil—a traditional southern stew of Gulf shrimp, corn on the cob, andouille sausage, and new potatoes, served in a rich beer-based broth redolent of Old Bay seasonings, onions, and peppers, simmered all day before being finished with a whole mess of cannabis-infused butter. This South Carolina boy couldn’t help himself—it was so freaking good! It was also the time-release-type fat infusion Tristan had warned about. Sure enough, some time during the middle of the main course, the THC hit my system—a different high, starting from the core, rising outward, enveloping the body like a…like a—
Hoooooooly. Shit.
My table companions were there already. We got into some out-there discussion on whether you could infuse bone marrow by feeding a cow pot while it was still alive. “Well, you need heat, so…what about a solar-powered trough?” Et cetera. I can’t remember if we finally solved it, and my notes from the evening offer little clue. “If infuse marrow cow = Life of Brian, have to pause,” I dutifully noted.
Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to call an Uber, thank Jackie, and head home before things got too weird. But before I rolled out, I looked back in from the sidewalk, through the completely unshaded windows, and marveled at the scene, an utterly civilized dinner behind an unlocked door, protected only by a sign like those you’ve seen a million times: “Closed tonight for a private party—please come back tomorrow!”
I have no idea if Massachusetts will ever legalize marijuana to a degree that leaves restaurateurs free to dispense responsible amounts of it, as they do other drugs in their apothecary—the shot glasses of Talisker, the vials of grand-cru bordeaux. But if they ever do, I think this is what it looks like. |
Artificial Trees Capture Solar and Wind Energy
October 14th, 2008 by Ariel Schwartz
A London-based startup called Solar Botanic announced yesterday that it has designed lifelike artificial plants and trees that harvest the power of the sun and the wind. The key to the company’s claim is its Nanoleaf— a supposed energy-capturing powerhouse.
The Nanoleaf contains photovoltaic and thermovoltaic cells that capture the sun’s energy, as well as voltaic twigs and branches that create electricity whenever they are stretched or compressed by the wind.
Unfortunately, neither the Solar Botanic press release or website says exactly how much power an artificial tree or plant can create. But the company estimates that an average-sized tree with a 6 sq meter canopy could generate enough energy for a single household.
In addition to powering homes, Solar Botanic envisions its creation powering motorways, suburban streets, and parks—anywhere that groups of trees are often found.
I’m interested in where this company will go in the future, as many people will probably be more willing to tolerate clusters of energy-producing trees in their neighborhoods than solar panels or wind turbines. But I imagine that large-scale production of the technology is a long way off since Solar Botanic provides minimal details about its plans.
Photo Credit: Solar Botanic |
Bitcoins are so volatile that owners must either spend them immediately, before they lose value, or hold them as investments.
Bitcoin has leapt onto the global stage with a bang — and a crash. The digital money has already plunged from a high of $260 in April to today’s value of about $92
Still, Bitcoins, used to purchase goods online or transfer money to other people, have steadily gained traction since they were invented in Japan in 2009. Germany has Bitcoin marketplaces where holders can exchange the currency. Designed to be a global currency, Bitcoin is also gaining popularity in countries like Argentina and Kenya, amid worries about local currency devaluation. Merchants, such as online dating site OkCupid, are slowly starting to accept the digital money for goods and services.
On Monday, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, known for their legal dispute with Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg over the origin of the social networking site, unveiled plans to offer shares of a Bitcoin trust — designed to operate like an exchange-traded fund — to the public. According to an initial public offering filing in the United States, the shares would allow investors to “gain exposure to Bitcoins with minimal credit risk.”
Despite the hoopla, Bitcoin is still a niche digital currency. It faces numerous challenges on the road to wide-spread acceptance, including volatile price spikes and daily volume surges that point to rampant speculation. Also hindering growth: even sophisticated financial thinkers have trouble understanding how it works.
So far, global adoption is still tiny. Less than 1% of the world’s population uses Bitcoin actively, according to estimates, though use is accelerating in the US and parts of Europe.
The next 24 months will be crucial to whether the currency will survive and grow, say some experts. Though venture capitalists and technology start-ups are rushing to solve concerns around Bitcoin, any significant expansion is still uncertain given recent market fluctuations. Long-term investors may walk away if volatility continues. Much more likely, Bitcoin may become one digital currency among many others coming to market.
“Even if Bitcoin doesn’t survive, cypto-currencies will,” said California-based Andreas Antonopoulos, who advises organisations on emerging technologies and trends.
Origins
Bitcoin is a form of electronic money that is not controlled by a person or institution. New units are mined by programs that crack complex mathematical problems and release new blocks of coins, though release is limited to only 21 million virtual coins. Only 25 Bitcoins every 10 minutes can be created to control inflation. There are currently about 11.3 million in circulation.
The limited supply makes them like digital gold, said Charles Hoskinson, founder of the Bitcoin Education Project. To buy Bitcoin, most people go to Japan-based Mt.Gox, which accepts 17 currencies. Fees are less than .60%.
Ease of use depends on where you live. Adoption is ramping up with small merchants in the US, Canada and parts of Europe, say experts. New trading platforms like Russia-based Bitc-e.com, which also accepts other alternative currencies like Webcreds.com, are even popping up.
France recently launched its Bitcoin Central exchange, too.
“Europe is a bit ahead of the US,” said Jonathan Waller, who runs a Bitcoin meet-up in Tokyo.
Uphill climb
Despite this frenzied activity, Bitcoin faces an uphill climb. Its greatest strength — sitting outside the global financial system — is also a weakness. Few retailers accept the currency, though more, like the San Francisco-based social news site Reddit and even US-based blogging platform Wordpress, are accepting it. Rigorous control of new Bitcoin makes expanding usage beyond a cult currency difficult.
The biggest challenge might be volatility. As little as $3 million injected into Mt.Gox can spike prices, say experts. In April, Bitcoin plummeted $130 in a day, from a high of $260.
This volatility is catnip for speculators, who seek to profit from sudden price fluctuations.
Bitcoin’s main problem is that value is based on whatever the next guy will pay, said Brian Riley, a senior research analyst at the Boston-based research and advisory firm CEB TowerGroup. “This makes them a speculative currency,” he said.
“Speculators are making a mess of Bitcoin,” said Antonopoulos. When traders jump in and out of the currency, it adds to volume spikes.
There are currently 182 global currencies, said Riley.
“Why do we need another one?” he said.
Bitcoins are so volatile that owners must either spend them immediately, before they lose value, or hold them as investments. Turning cash into Bitcoins can take days. Many people rely on cumbersome in-person Bitcoin exchanges facilitated by Bitcoin web sites such as localBitcoins.com, where people meet and exchange currency.
For these reasons, investors and consumers should not put more than 5% of their money into the currency, added Waller.
“Bitcoins are one big monetary experiment,” said Hoskinson.
Easing concerns
There is a chance that these Bitcoin choke points will be solved by an influx of new technology. In the US, a flurry of well-known venture capitalists such as New York City tech wizard Fred Wilson, an early investor in Tumblr and Foursquare, are spearheading Bitcoin startups. The aim: developing better e-wallets, payment systems and even automatic teller machines (ATMs), where you can exchange cash for Bitcoin.
Dozens of startups in California’s Silicon Valley are also attacking Bitcoin distribution problems, said Antonopoulos.
“Lots of venture capitalists are pouring money into Bitcoin without understanding them,” he added.
History is rife with examples of early movers — Myspace is one — that ended up in technology graveyards due to stronger competitors, though. And currently, at least one dozen virtual currencies like litecoin and ripple are vying for a piece of the digital currency market.
These new currencies aren’t tough competitors, said Waller, though there’s still a real risk that Bitcoin won’t survive this onslaught. |
10th Examination result will be declaring on different days for all the states of India and sounds like it should follow a different pattern of examination schedule. The 10th examination was conducted in different states of India in different date and time as well as follows the different sessions also.
As the academic year, the 2016-2017 examination was conducted y the board of India by CBSE, SSC, and SSLC and ICSE will follow the same instructions during the evaluation of each candidate's answer sheet as per law of High Schol Education Follow. The Board examination scores will be valid by 40% for passing a single subject without practicals and 50% with practical subjects as per latest criteria and it have to be followed by each candidate.
The elementary marks will follow this year for all the batch of India who was written their 10th examination 2017. However, The marks will be uploaded online via CV and the percentage and individual mark pattern will follow the results at the official portal of 10th education in India.
Candidates who were written 10th board examination can check school wise result using school wise code followed by a pattern of examination conducted by the 10th board for the academic year 2016-2017. In order to check 10th result 2017 online, each candidate should remember their hall ticket reg no along with proper D.O.B registered for the same.
You Might Also Like: Read More on the Different States Conducted 10th Examination Result for the Academic Year 2016-17. {Reference} |
Perhaps he can exceed his historic 2015 season, when he led the National League in homers (42), on-base percentage (.460), slugging percentage (.649), OPS (1.109) and WAR (9.9), and won the NL Most Valuable Player award unanimously.
VIERA, Fla. -- Bryce Harper does not want to be placed under any limits.
VIERA, Fla. -- Bryce Harper does not want to be placed under any limits.
Perhaps he can exceed his historic 2015 season, when he led the National League in homers (42), on-base percentage (.460), slugging percentage (.649), OPS (1.109) and WAR (9.9), and won the NL Most Valuable Player award unanimously.
• Nationals Spring Training info
Or perhaps he can exceed the estimates for the record-breaking contract he seems destined to sign if he reaches free agency after the 2018 season.
"I've got three years to play [before possible free agency]. I've got three years to do everything I can to play this game," Harper said Monday in his first comments of Spring Training.
"The $400 [million] or whatever everybody was talking about, money, you can't put a limit on players. You can't put a limit on what they do. If that's on the field, off the field, everything they do.
"Everybody says the sky's the limit. But we've been on the moon."
Spring Training, of course, is the time for such optimism, the time when anything seems possible. But Harper's rare combination of age, 23, and production only enhances the possibilities of what he can accomplish next.
When Harper met with the media, there was no headline-grabbing "where's my ring?" moment from one year ago. Instead, Harper discussed a variety of topics in the first-base dugout during a 17-minute chat.
Video: Harper on Papelbon reaching out during offseason
Harper once again addressed last season's dugout altercation with Jonathan Papelbon -- for what he said would be the last time. He reiterated that any problems were settled that day, and that the incident "got blown out of proportion."
Despite his breakout season, Harper said, he did not yet consider himself a leader inside the Nationals' clubhouse, and still deferred to veteran players such as Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth.
Harper called the Mets the team to beat in the division, and did not want to discuss the possibility of going to the Yankees when his contract is finished -- "I'm a National. That's what I want to be right now."
Harper also mentioned his excitement for all the new faces in the Nationals' clubhouse, including skipper Dusty Baker, who has managed former MVPs such as Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent.
Video: Bryce Harper excited to have Dusty Baker on board
"I'm not putting any limitations on him, I'm not going to put any pressure on him," Baker said. "I'm just [going to] let him be Bryce. The best thing I can do is let him be himself, let him be Bryce. That should be enough."
Harper's arrival in camp Monday ended a busy offseason of appearances that included receiving his MVP award in New York during a historic blizzard; attending Super Bowl 50 while meeting Abby Wambach and Steph Curry; and meeting Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson at the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
He also repeated his offseason workout regimen of a year ago, since it helped him stay healthy for a full season, one of his goals again this year. Last season served as proof that if he can remain on the field for a full season and avoid nagging injuries, the results will almost certainly follow.
And perhaps the biggest "limit" Harper would like to overcome is just how far the Nationals can go this season.
"I just want to win. I don't care about accolades or numbers or anything like that," Harper said. "I just want to win ballgames and do everything we can to get to the next level." |
Last Monday afternoon, a link to CodinGame was posted on reddit. It gained a lot of success and resulted in what is called a hug of death: our platform went down for 2 hours because of the overwhelming amount of new visitors.
Internet is Beautiful
This was so far a normal day. We were working on the last preparations for the next multiplayer coding contest Hypersonic to be held this Saturday. Around 2pm, Nico, our CTO, shouted that we were suddenly receiving a lot of traffic.
A link to our starting page had been posted on the subreddit /r/InternetIsBeautiful under the title “Learn to code writing a game”. The traffic was already 10 times higher than usual and we were rejoicing.
After a few minutes watching the incoming traffic grow more and more, we began to notice some lags…
When will it stop? Can we support the load?
From Excitement to Panic
After some quick monitoring, we realized the CPU of the database server was already capped. We decided to multiply the capacity of our RDS (Amazon Relational Database Service) by 4 on AWS. It took 30 minutes at the end of which it interrupted the service completely. We had no choice.
After that change, the server was able to take in a lot more load, lags came back again pretty soon, when some other point of the architecture started to fail too. Now the front-end servers were failing.
The CodinGame platform normally uses two application servers hosted on EC2, behind a load balancer. So we tried scaling up by doubling that number (we eventually reached 6 servers in the end), but some of them started to crash. We tried relaunching them, to see them fail again after a short time.
The platform was becoming barely usable. What a waste, all this traffic to a dead/lagging site…
Reddit had put CodinGame to its knees.
Crisis Management
While activity on our social media channels started to increase, the CodinGame chat was buzzing with questions. The community regulars were doing their best welcoming newcomers.
The chat server was also under heavy load and wouldn’t accept new users (more on this later). Forum didn’t last long either. We took the opportunity to offer an AMA (ask me anything) in the comments of the reddit thread.
At the same time, a Twitch streamer was desperately waiting to do a Clash of Code session. Things were looking bad and everyone was preoccupied. Reddit finally tagged the post with “Hug of Death” so visitors didn’t end on a dead site.
The End of the Tunnel
After two long hours, we managed to get the servers back and running, and we asked the reddit moderators to bring back the thread. Traffic came back as a wave as the thread was reposted on Hacker News and other tech news sites. And lags again. Something was taking down our servers and we couldn’t find what. Finally we put in place a script that would reboot a server each time it failed so we maintain the service over the night.
On Tuesday afternoon, when things had calmed down, we took the time to come back on what had happened. Traffic had been crazy: we got as many new users in one day as during the last two months. There had been technical failures. Understandable failures but to be taken care of. |
As we saw in the 2016 Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton doesn’t like to debate. She’d rather focus on rigging the election.
After all, Hillary Clinton lost in many states to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), but “won” votes from Superdelegates. This corrupt process is why she won the nomination.
More from The Political Insider
Hillary Clinton is terrified to debate Trump. That’s because Trump works without a filter, and is willing to bring up subjects that other Republicans would never touch, especially about Hillary’s treatment of women abused and assaulted by President Bill Clinton.
Due to health problems, Hillary Clinton just cancelled a fundraiser in North Carolina. After that serious collapse on September 11, the rest of her schedule this month is now in question.
In front of cameras, Hillary looks tired and drained. Reporters are now focused on uncovering just what’s wrong with Hillary.
Today, political insiders believe Hillary is about to drop out of the first debate against Donald Trump! As a conservative leader told Gateway Pundit:
“Hearing smart guys say that Hillary may cancel the debate on Monday … Hillary may be trying to run out the clock because she thinks she is ahead.”
Maybe Hillary is concerned about having another attack or problem on stage that her staff couldn’t hide? This could change the entire 2016 presidential campaign, as Trump is already surging ahead in all national polling.
Read this Next on ThePoliticalInsider.com ‘Avengers’ Star Compares Donald Trump to a Plantation Owner
What do you think about Hillary Clinton possibly cancelling next week’s 2016 presidential debate? Please leave us a comment (below) and tell us. |
While Chinese fans finished reading the hit online novel “I Shall Seal the Heavens” last spring, Western readers are still waiting for Chapter 1138 to appear on Wuxiaworld, a translation website for China’s online literature.
Wuxiaworld is popular among foreign audiences, who visit the website 300,000 times per day to read Chinese fiction in the genres martial arts, immortal heroes, and fantasy. In early December, the website signed an agreement with China’s largest online literature platform, Qidian, a subsidiary of China Reading Limited and internet giant Tencent.
Wuxiaworld’s content is mostly based on Qidian originals — amateurs translate the novels in exchange for fan donations. As part of the agreement, Wuxiaworld now has a 10-year license to translate and publish 20 of Qidian’s most popular series.
In a written statement sent to Sixth Tone, China Reading Limited said that promoting Chinese writing abroad is one of the company’s goals. “We endeavor to promote Chinese online novels abroad as a cultural form of soft power,” they said.
China Reading Limited’s websites, including Qidian, have 4 million writers and over 10 million novels. Writers update their novels with new chapters virtually every day. The online novels’ huge readerships — an estimated 450 million in 2016 — pay a fraction of a cent per 1,000 characters, but the industry has nonetheless made many writers rich.
One of the platform’s contracted writers, Zhang Wei, has been the richest online writer in China for the past four years. In 2015, he earned 110 million yuan ($16 million).
“We previously contacted the authors, but we didn’t realize the rights to their work had been bought out by the website,” Wuxiaworld founder Lai Jingping told Sixth Tone. He said the collaboration with Qidian would push them to go further and to guarantee the website’s longevity.
Lai was born in China but immigrated to the U.S. at an early age. He began reading and translating Chinese online literature when he was in college, and his hobby ultimately turned into Wuxiaworld. “[Chinese] fantasy stories are novel to western readers,” Lai said.
Users of Wuxiaworld worry about what will happen to translations already on the website that weren’t included in the deal. “[It] also means that all other series not covered by that 20 series agreement will have to be taken down,” one user speculated. But Lai said that Wuxiaworld would continue to work with original-source websites for more licensing permits.
There are plenty of works out there waiting to be translated. Chinese online authors are estimated to produce 150 million characters per day, according to a public WeChat account focusing on the entertainment industry. Roughly half of all internet users in China read online novels, and total size of the market is estimated to reach 9 billion yuan in 2016.
Critics say that the impressive numbers are inflated by an abundance of low-quality writing. “But the energy of online literature is in no need of outside approval,” Guo Jifang, CEO of a Beijing-based intellectual property company, said earlier this month when asked about the value of online literature. By and large, the readers are ordinary people, Guo said, and as such, “they don’t care whether they are respected by [the world of] elite literature.”
Online literature also faced problems with plagiarism. In November, a novelist whose books were the basis of a popular Chinese TV Show was accused of plagiarizing works from more than 200 writers.
Nevertheless, Lai sees online literature as having a better chance to reach foreign audiences than Chinese classics like “Journey to the West” and “Dream of the Red Chamber.” Those books, he said, have no market in the United States beyond doctoral students with a focus on East Asia. “Pulp fiction is what rules the world,” he said.
Additional reporting by Lin Qiqing.
(Header image: A poster from the TV series ‘Qingyun Zhi,’ which was adapted from the online novel ‘Zhu Xian,’ or ‘Jade Dynasty.’ From the TV series’ official Weibo account) |
from Bob McKenzie of TSN,
Victoria's Joe Hicketts is the only defenceman invited to this camp who wasn't invited to the summer camp. At 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, he's not blessed with extraordinary size or speed, and the 1996-born blueliner wasn't drafted by an NHL team last summer.
But after attending Detroit's summer prospect camp, and then getting invited to the Wings' rookie tournament team in Traverse City, the undrafted free agent sufficiently impressed the Wings to get an NHL contract. He's been an offensive dynamo in the WHL this season.
With seven goals and 36 points in 28 games, he leads all WHL defencemen in scoring, but he's fifth amongst all players in the WHL. It doesn't hurt that Lowry, who will handle the defencemen for Groulx, is Hicketts' head coach in Victoria.
For a defenceman of that stature in the WJC, Hicketts doesn't have the same dynamic qualities to his game as, say, Ryan Ellis in 2009 and 2010, but he has a scrappy get-things-done mentality and puts up points. |
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said that in the coming weeks, Chile and Paraguay will declare their recognition of an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, Israel Radio reported on Sunday.
Al-Maliki said that Chile plans on making its declaration in the coming weeks, and that Chile's president Sebastian Pinera is even due to visit the West Bank in three months.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech in Paris, France, September 27, 2010 AP
Paraguay is also expected to declare its recognition of Palestine in the coming weeks. Al-Maliki also announced the opening of a Palestinian embassy in Ecuador, which already declared its recognition of a Palestinian state.
Last week, Ecuador became the fifth Latin American country to recognize a Palestinian state, following its neighboring countries Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay earlier this month.
Uruguay also announced that they planned to join Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia in recognizing a Palestinian state, and al-Maliki said that they would formally do so in March 2011.
Palestinians have been seeking international recognition of a state at a time when talks on a long-term peace settlement with Israel are deadlocked.
Earlier this month, Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina recognized Palestine as an independent state within its borders prior to 1967, in decisions that the United States and Israel slammed as counterproductive and damaging.
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Republican Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsHouse to push back at Trump on border Hillicon Valley: Senators urge Trump to bar Huawei products from electric grid | Ex-security officials condemn Trump emergency declaration | New malicious cyber tool found | Facebook faces questions on treatment of moderators GOP Sen. Tillis to vote for resolution blocking Trump's emergency declaration MORE (Maine) on Sunday said she is not ready to say she is against tax-reform legislation, noting she thinks there will be revisions to the GOP bill.
“I haven’t reached that conclusion yet because I think there are going to be further changes,” Collins told ABC’s "This Week” when asked if she is a “no” on the legislation as it is currently written.
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Collins said she liked the revisions that appeared in the House bill, which passed the lower chamber last week and differs from the bill currently making its way through the Senate.
“I want to see changes in that bill and I think there will be changes,” Collins said.
While the House bill cuts the corporate tax rate, the Senate bill would delay the corporate tax cut until 2019. The tax cuts for individuals in the upper chamber’s legislation are temporary.
Sen. Ron Johnson Ronald (Ron) Harold JohnsonWhite House, GOP defend Trump emergency declaration GOP senator says Republicans didn't control Senate when they held majority GOP senator voices concern about Trump order, hasn't decided whether he'll back it MORE (R-Wis.) last week came out as the first Republican to oppose the tax bill, meaning the Senate GOP can only afford to lose one more vote. |
[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] published [press release] a study [text, PDF] on Wednesday finding that 3,278 Americans are currently serving life sentences without parole for nonviolent offenses. The study, entitled “A Living Death: Life without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses,” explains the racial and gender makeup of the inmates, as well as the state of the law that has led to the increasing rate at which nonviolent offenders are being sentenced to life without parole. In this analysis, the report makes particular note of mandatory minimum sentences stemming from “repeat offender” laws. “The punishments these people received are grotesquely out of proportion to the crimes they committed,” said author Jennifer Turner. “In a humane society, we can hold people accountable for drug and property crimes without throwing away the key.” The study also points out extreme racial disparity in the sentencing patterns and the economic burden of a life-without-parole sentence.
The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in June to limit the use of prior convictions to enhance the sentences of those convicted of federal crimes. In May the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [official website] ruled that the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) [text, PDF] entitled [JURIST report] those convicted of crack cocaine offenses to resentencing trials for retroactive relief from racially discriminatory mandatory minimum sentences. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in January that sentencing juveniles to life without parole was unconstitutional. The Fair Sentencing Act was passed [JURIST report] into law in August 2010, and was intended to help reduce racial disparities in drug sentencing by closing the sentencing gap between possession of crack cocaine and powder cocaine. |
Chicago Funeral Workers’ Contract Expired June 30
CHICAGO — Funeral industry giant Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) has accepted Teamsters Local 727’s offer to enter federal mediation as the union attempts to reach an agreement on a new contract for Chicago-area funeral workers.
“The union is making every effort to avoid a labor dispute, which ultimately would affect the communities and families our funeral members have dedicated their lives to serving,” John Coli Jr., President of Teamsters Local 727.
Mediation is scheduled to begin Oct. 29 at Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services in Hinsdale, Ill.
Teamsters Local 727 representatives have met with the company 11 times since May to negotiate a new contract for 26 funeral directors and drivers at four Alderwoods funeral homes, which SCI owns and operates. The previous three-year contract expired June 30.
In its most recent contract proposal, the company is demanding to:
· Eradicate job security
· Significantly limit authority of the arbitrator in any disciplinary decision
· Dismantle seniority rights
· Eliminate guaranteed employment for full-time drivers
· Retain unilateral ability to slash health care benefits at the company’s discretion
Houston-based SCI operates more than 2,000 funeral homes and cemeteries in North America, many of which still bear the names of families that independently owned them for generations. SCI is a publicly traded company valued at nearly $5 billion.
Teamsters Local 727 represents more than 7,000 hardworking men and women, including about 500 funeral industry workers, in the Greater Chicago area.
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In the summer of 2012, Sarah Kim was cycling home on Bloor St. when a car door opened to her right, striking her handlebar. The wheel lurched left, launching her from her bike into the next lane. Dazed from the impact, she looked up to see a car approaching, the front fender at the level of her face. In those next seconds, the hand of death passed her over: the approaching car was moving slow enough that the driver was able swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid running her over, tires screeching as panicked drivers slammed on their brakes. The car following behind the first came to a stop in front of her, a foot from her nose, filling her nostrils with exhaust.
Dr. Sarah Kim, seen with her son, is a year round cyclist in Toronto, who is lucky to be alive after being knocked into traffic when a car door opened in front of her. ( Sarah Kim photo )
Incredibly, no other collision occurred. She walked from the scene with a broken bike, scuffed helmet, separated shoulder and a deepened perspective on life and the lack of safe cycling infrastructure in Toronto. As doctors, most of us spend our careers caring for people in clinical settings. Nonetheless, public health achievements are what make the most difference to our patients’ health. Clean water, sanitation, and food inspection are standard provisions by municipalities because these actions prevent illness, disability, and death. Likewise, measures to improve road safety are necessary public health interventions. Yet, as illustrated above, to travel by bicycle is often dangerous. The main reason people give for not cycling is fear of cycling on the road with car traffic. In Toronto, more than 1,000 cyclists are injured in collisions with motor vehicles annually.
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These are preventable injuries; cyclists in Europe are two to three times less likely to be injured and eight to 30 times less likely to be killed than their North American counterparts because their roads have been redesigned to accommodate people using multiple modes of transport. Similarly within Canada, collision rates between people who bike alongside motor vehicles in Vancouver and Montreal are lower than in Toronto, despite a higher proportion of users of active transportation in those cities, because of better cycling infrastructure. Active transportation is any form of human-powered transportation; the most common forms are walking and cycling. Most active transportation users who travel by bicycle are not professional cyclists; they are people who use bicycles to get around. As physicians, it is too often that we are faced with irrecoverable injuries in pedestrians and cyclists involved in collisions with vehicles. Ameliorating street design can nullify inevitable human error to keep all road users safe. We also regularly treat patients with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes: chronic diseases that can be prevented and managed through increased physical activity. Protected bike lanes foster active transportation, positively influencing the health of Canadians through safe and accessible travel for people of varying ages, fitness and ability levels.
In Toronto, Bloor St. is a major artery. The Bloor St. bike lanes began as a pilot project. These separated bike lanes are a key part of Toronto’s road safety plan. They have reduced cyclist injuries and decreased conflicts among all transportation users (including motorists and pedestrians) by 44 per cent since their installation. Bloor St. is now the second most used bikeway in the city, with more than 5,200 cyclists using it daily. Currently, 85 per cent of cyclists feel “safe” compared to 3 per cent before the bike lanes were installed. Yet, opposition to their permanence still exists. Road safety is a public health priority and municipalities are accountable for the health and well-being of all who use the roads. It is their responsibility to provide safe cycling infrastructure for Canadian communities.
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Difficulties will arise as we move from roads designed for motor vehicles to complete streets that can be shared safely by everyone. Cultural norms take time to evolve. Such initial resistance occurred with other public health interventions, such as the indoor smoking ban and seatbelts in motor vehicles. As we gather knowledge to improve the health and safety of Canadians, we should not ignore the evidence and maintain status quo. As doctors, we care professionally for all of our patients. As people, we care about our families, friends and communities. We need to adapt our streets so that everyone can arrive home safely every day. Dr. Sarah Kim, sports and exercise medicine, and Dr. Eileen Cheung, emergency medicine, are both practicing physicians based in Toronto. They are members of Doctors for Safe Cycling, advocating for complete streets and the mission of VisionZero in Toronto. |
Gloria Steinem thinks Donald Trump should be hospitalized instead of elected president.
During an interview on Chelsea Handler’s Netflix talk show, the 82-year-old feminist — who said young women supported Bernie Sanders so they could meet boys — said the American people are “punishing” Clinton over her pneumonia diagnosis.
“It’s Donald who should be hospitalized, not elected [president],” Steinem said. “You know what? I’ve had walking pneumonia and you don’t necessarily know that you have it, I mean you just get exhausted.”
“First we punish [Hillary] for being too vulnerable to be president and then we punish her for being not vulnerable enough. It’s so frustrating. I can’t bear it. I really can’t bear it.”
“I mean, we weren’t for Sarah Palin because she was a woman,” Steinem continued. “Hello! It’s not about biology. It’s about people who stand for the majority dreams and concerns and so on. And if they also have the experience of walking around for a lifetime as an African-American person, a female person, a gay or lesbian, it helps — because they can empathize. But it’s the representation and the issues that come first.”
“I think [mental] health and sanity plays a factor, which is why we don’t need Trump.” |
At its main plant in Ingolstadt, German carmaker Audi has for the first time deployed a robot that works ‘hand-in-hand’ with humans – without a safety barrier and ideally adapted to the employees’ working cycles.
It is the first human-robot cooperation at the Volkswagen Group to be applied in final assembly. This innovative technology makes work easier for the assembly employees and makes ergonomic improvements.
For Dr. Hubert Waltl, Board of Management Member for Production at Audi AG, human‑robot cooperation opens up entirely new possibilities: “The factory of the future will feature increasing interaction between man and machine. That allows us to automate routine operations and to optimise ergonomically unfavorable workplaces.” But also in the future, there will be no factory without people. “People will continue to make the decisions on production processes. And our employees will continue to be essential for future-oriented, successful production.”
Peter Mosch, chairman of the Group Works Council of Audi AG, commented: “We see the opportunities presented by the advancing interaction between man and machine. The decisive aspect for us is how this development is guided. We welcome it when it neither jeopardizes jobs nor leads to people losing independence to machines.”
For the employees of the A4/A5/Q5 assembly lines at Audi’s Ingolstadt plant, the new, direct cooperation between humans and robots is an enormous help: Until now, they have had to bend over material boxes to take out the coolant expansion tanks. At first glance, this seems like a simple task, but with frequent repetitions it can lead to back problems. From now on, the task will be taken over by a robot, known internally as ‘PART4you’.
It works hand-in-hand with the Audi employees and is fitted with a camera and an integrated suction cup. This enables it to pick up the components from the boxes and to pass them to the assembly workers – without any safety barrier, at the right time and in an ergonomically optimal position. “In a production process with increasing diversity of model versions, PART4you provides the employees with important assistance. It selects the correct component and holds it ready to be taken. This means that the employees no longer have to reach over long distances or bend down repeatedly. The robot becomes an assembly assistant operating at the same speed as the assembly worker – and not the other way around,” said Johann Hegel, Head of Assembly Technology Development.
“Thanks to a soft protective skin with integrated safety sensors, there is no danger to the employees,” explained Hegel. Because PART4you fulfills the special safety precautions for cooperating robots, the intelligent system has received the required certificate from the employers’ liability insurance association.
Since 2013, Audi employees in the A4 body shop in Ingolstadt have been working with the same type of robot equipped with an adhesive nozzle instead of a suction cup – but with fixed timing and without passing components. In the body shop, the robots support the employees by applying adhesive to bonded seams. Instead of applying the adhesive to the body parts themselves, the employees only have to put them in place and start the automatic procedure.
Audi is planning further applications of human-robot cooperation, also at its international production sites. |
“We want the money to go to the people. We don’t want the money to go into the pockets. I have a list here where it talks about the insurance companies. … Anthem, big company, from the beginning of Obamacare, 270 percent increase in their stock price. Humana, 420 percent up. Aetna, 470 percent increase from Obamacare. Cigna, 480 percent increase since Obamacare. The insurance companies have absolutely taken advantage of this country and our people. And I stopped it by stopping the CSRs.”
— President Trump, responding to a question from Mike Sacks of E.W. Scripps, Oct. 17, 2017
“I don’t want to make the insurance companies rich. If you look at their stock price over the last number of years — take a look at what’s happened with those insurance companies — they’re making a fortune by getting that kind of money.”
— Trump, remarks on the White House lawn, Oct. 13, 2017
President Trump has defended his decision to end cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies — an element of the Affordable Care Act that helped lower the cost of deductibles and co-pays for people making less than 250 percent of the federal poverty level — by pointing to the gain in stock prices for health-insurance companies.
“The insurance companies have absolutely taken advantage of this country and our people,” Trump told reporter Mike Sacks of E.W. Scripps. “And I stopped it by stopping the CSRs.”
The president has echoed this theme in various tweets, asserting, for instance, that insurance companies “have made a fortune” with Obamacare.
I am supportive of Lamar as a person & also of the process, but I can never support bailing out ins co's who have made a fortune w/ O'Care. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2017
But data on file with the U.S. government shows that the president is flat wrong.
The Facts
We have explained before that CSRs are not a bailout for insurance companies.
The ACA required insurance companies to offer plans with reduced deductibles and co-pays for lower-income Americans with the understanding that the federal government would make up the difference. Because of a drafting error, the text failed to explicitly say that appropriations for the CSRs would happen automatically.
A federal judge in 2016 ruled that Congress must appropriate the funds, but the ruling was appealed by the Obama administration. When Trump ended the payments, effective in November, that put the ball squarely back in the hands of Congress, which now will have to come up with a solution.
In any case, insurance companies do not make money through the cost-sharing provision, estimated to be worth about $7 billion in fiscal 2017. They’re being paid back for money they’ve already spent. If they do not get repaid for doing what is required under law, companies say they will raise premiums to make up the difference.
That in turn will raise the cost to taxpayers, because whatever savings result from eliminating the CSRs will be exceeded by additional costs for higher tax credits to defray the new premiums. The cost of premiums is capped depending on household income, so many families in the exchanges would not feel the cost of higher premiums; the bill for the increase would simply go to the U.S. government.
So why does the president say the insurance companies are making “a fortune” from Obamacare? A White House official said “the president was talking about insurance companies earning billions in profit since 2014 … while Americans are losing coverage.”
The official pointed to a report in Axios that included a chart of the profits of the big five for-profit insurers, Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealth Group. (Note: Despite the official’s statement, every estimate shows that millions of Americans gained health-care coverage under the law, either through the exchanges or the expansion of Medicaid.)
Trump, in his interview with Sacks, mentioned the stock prices of four of those companies. Of course, he inflated the gain greatly, using as his starting point when the law was passed in March 2010, rather than when most of the provisions took effect at the start of 2014.
Instead of gains topping 400 percent, as claimed by Trump, the stocks gained about 200 percent (Anthem), 135 percent (Humana), 130 percent (Aetna) and Cigna (120 percent) since 2014. Still, that’s more impressive than the gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index in that period — about 40 percent.
But more to the point, these companies are making profits for their shareholders despite Obamacare, not because of it. Contrary to the president’s claims, the insurance companies are not reaping billions off the Obamacare exchanges; they are losing billions.
This simple fact is documented in reports produced by Wall Street analysts and numbers provided by the companies that are on file with the U.S. government.
First, let’s look just at the Obamacare exchanges. Data filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show that in 2015, issuers of qualified health plans — health-insurance plans for the exchanges — lost nearly $6.6 billion, or about $495 per member, in the Obamacare exchanges. This was an increase from $1.8 billion in 2014, or $223 per member. That’s more than $8 billion in insurance-company losses in the first two years of the exchanges. (This information is provided under a provision of the law that, ironically, limits the profits of insurance companies.)
The management consultancy Oliver Wyman in August took a broader look at the entire individual market, including plans that are sold outside the exchanges (and thus do not allow purchasers of insurance to qualify for subsidies). The picture is not much better. In 2014, insurance companies lost $3.6 billion, in 2015 $6 billion and in 2016 $4.7 billion, according to the analysis.
As the Oliver Wyman report documents, insurance companies lost money in part because they originally set premiums too low even as the size of the individual market grew from 11 million to 17 million people after implementation of the law.
The ACA required companies to accept everyone who applied for insurance in the individual market, meaning they could no longer weed out — or charge higher fees to — people with preexisting conditions. The law also said that no one could be charged more than three times anyone else because of age. That might have worked out fine if younger people had flocked to the exchanges, but instead, it was mostly older and sicker people who signed up.
Oliver Wyman judged that these two provisions in the ACA added the most additional cost to insurance plans, even more than requiring a set package of benefits — $744 per covered person in 2016, or a total of $11 billion. That’s more than double the losses suffered by the companies.
The net result is that many of the companies named by Trump have lost their shirts and have already decided to leave the Obamacare exchanges, even as they make money on other insurance products, such as group insurance, federal government health care, Medicare, Medicaid and so forth. (Indeed, the expansion of Medicaid in the law certainly helped the companies’ bottom line.)
Just to be sure, we checked with the insurers named by Trump.
Aetna is on pace to lose $750 million from its participation in the exchanges — $100 million in 2014, $150 million in 2015, $300 million in 2016 and more than $200 million in 2017. As a result, it is not participating in 2018, a spokesman said.
Anthem declined to detail whether it lost money but a spokesman noted that for 2018, it has greatly reduced its participation. Whereas it had been in 14 states, in 2018 it will fully participate in only four states.
A Cigna spokesman said: “We have not made money on the exchanges any year since inception.” The company’s chief executive in August told CNBC that the company earns only 4 percent of its revenue from the exchanges.
Humana announced it would leave the exchanges, saying it was too risky after losing $45 million in the individual market in 2017.
Meanwhile, United Health Group, the other big-five insurance company, said in 2016 that it would largely pull out of the exchanges because it was finding it difficult to make a profit.
The Pinocchio Test
As a onetime business executive, Trump should realize there are many ways that health insurance companies can earn profits, especially in a good economy. But the one place they are not making money is in the Obamacare exchanges. He says they have earned a fortune, but they have actually lost billions, according to company filings and industry analysts. That’s why some of the companies he named have left the business. He earns Four Pinocchios.
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Share the Facts 2017-10-19 10:45:29 UTC Washington Post 1 1 5 Washington Post Rating: Four Pinocchios Washington Post Rating: “I don’t want to make the insurance companies rich…. they’re making a fortune by getting that kind of money.” Donald Trump President www.whitehouse.gov in remarks to reporters Friday, October 13, 2017 2017-10-13 Read More info |
The Sony World Photography Awards is the largest photo competition in the world. Now celebrating its 10th year, the awards program has received more than a million submissions since its inception.
One of the contest's top honors is the National Award. For this particular award, photographers are judged against others from their country of origin, regardless of which of the 10 categories the photo was submitted to. This creates competition across various "open" categories, including portraits, architecture, nature, still life, and travel. Ultimately, the panel of judges must choose the best photo from each country, regardless of its subject matter.
There are 66 qualifying countries, and awards are given to first-, second-, and third-place winners.
Ahead, see the 66 first-place winners of this year's National Awards. Captions include where the photographer is from — which is not necessarily where the photo was taken — along with their name. |
WIMBLEDON, England -- Rafael Nadal, grass stains on his white shirt and a Spanish flag tucked under his arm, scampered through the Centre Court stands to celebrate his first Wimbledon title with hugs and handshakes.
Roger Federer sat in his changeover chair, protected from the night's chill by his custom-made cream cardigan with the gold "RF" on the chest. Alone with his thoughts, alone with the knowledge that he had come so close to becoming the first man since the 1880s to win a sixth consecutive championship at the All England Club.
Two points from victory, the No. 1-ranked Federer couldn't pull it out, instead succumbing to No. 2 Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 Sunday night in a 4-hour, 48-minute test of wills that was the longest men's final in Wimbledon history -- and quite possibly the greatest.
Even Nadal felt sympathy for Federer.
"I am very happy for me," Nadal said, "but sorry for him, because he deserved this title, too."
Rafael Nadal prevailed 6-4, 6-4,
6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 in the longest final in Wimbledon history. Alessia Pierdomenico-Pool/Getty Images
Through rain, wind and descending darkness, the two greatest players of their generation swapped spectacular shots, until, against a slate sky, Nadal earned the right to fling his racket aside and collapse on his back, champion of the All England Club at last.
"Is impossible to explain what I felt in that moment, no?" Nadal said after accepting the golden trophy that has belonged to Federer since 2003.
The first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year, Nadal stopped Federer's streaks of 40 victories in a row at the All England Club, and a record 65 in a row on grass, thereby stamping his supremacy in their rivalry, no matter what the rankings say.
"Probably my hardest loss, by far," Federer said. "I mean, it's not much harder than this right now."
No man since 1927 had come back to win a Wimbledon final after losing the first two sets, and none had overcome a match point to seize victory since 1948. If anyone could, it figured to be Federer, especially on this particular lawn.
He hadn't lost a match on grass since 2002, and he hadn't lost a set during this tournament before Sunday. He also hadn't faced anyone nearly as talented and indefatigable as Nadal.
"Look, Rafa's a deserving champion," Federer said. "He just played fantastically."
Indeed he did, earning Spain its first Wimbledon men's title since Manolo Santana won in 1966.
Nadal managed to regroup after blowing a two-set lead, managed to recover after wasting two match points in the fourth-set tiebreaker, managed to hold steady when Federer needed only two points to end the match while ahead 5-4 in the fifth. |
LaurPhil via http://www.flickr.com/photos/51417107@N03/4727103775/in/photostream/ creative commons Jesse Eisinger's new article in NYT Magazine, "Why Only One Top Banker Went to Jail for the Financial Crisis," leaves you with that unsettled feeling you get after waking up from a nightmare — the feeling that once you go back to bed, it will continue.
From its name you can glean that Eisinger uses the article to ponder why only one high-level banker went to jail for crimes committed before the financial crisis.
The banker, Kareem Serageldin, is as much a side show in the story on the page as he is in the story playing out in real life. The real action (or inaction) takes place at the Justice Department and centers around the evolving nature of its strategy for prosecuting high-powered criminals.
Eisinger reports that what was once a department that went after executives with gusto — think: Enron — became a department obsessed with winning. Even if those wins are empty. In the 1990s, over 17% of all federal cases were for white-collar criminals, he points out. And by 2012 that number was down to 9.4%.
He even got Preet Bharara, the 80-0 New York prosecutor known for striking terror into the hearts of hedge fund managers, to admit to this problem.
From NYT Mag:
The former prosecutor was almost sheepish about the insider-trading cases when I spoke to him: "They made our careers, but they don't change the world." In fact, several former prosecutors in the office told me that going after bankers was never a real priority. "The government failed," another former prosecutor said. "We didn't do what we needed to do."
The whole article is worth a read, but it's a handful, so you may want to bookmark it for some solid free time.
Until then, here are five things you need to know about what Eisinger found in his reporting. |
A new trailer has debuted for the upcoming release of the Venice Film Festival and NYFF selection, The Rape of Recy Taylor.
It comes with Tuesday's news that The Orchard has acquired the digital rights to the film.
“The Rape of Recy is a profoundly moving, incredibly important film that showcases all of the elements of great nonfiction cinema. The Orchard is incredibly proud to be working with the powerhouse director who is Nancy Buirski to get this film to audiences across all platforms," said Danielle DiGiacomo, VP of Acquisitions at The Orchard.
“I’ve admired their film selection – fiction and non-fiction – for a very long time,” she said. “Their taste and their reputation for transparency is a benchmark for all distributors. I’m overjoyed to know our film is one of The Orchard’s and will be seen on so many platforms. The brave Recy Taylor deserves no less!" said director Nancy Buirski.
The film is the true story of a 24-year-old wife and mother who was gang-raped in Alabama by six white men in 1944. The doc highlights the black women who waged war to take back their bodies and their dignity, and by speaking up helped inspire the civil rights movement that was to come."
Taylor was kidnapped after leaving church and raped by the men. Despite two of them men admitting the rape to authorities, they weren't charged.
When she spoke up against her attackers, it putting Taylor's life and that of her family’s in danger. Her home was even firebombed by white supremacists. All of this attracted the attention of the NAACP and Rosa Parks, who was the organization's chief investigator and activist against sexual assaults against black women. Taylor's case is thought to be an early spark of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.
It took 70 years for Taylor to get an apology from the state of Alabama for her rapists not being prosecuted.
Watch the new trailer below: |
An Obama-era plan to have the federal government finance half of a $13 billion rail tunnel project ran into a red light Friday from the Trump administration.
The plan, proposed under President Barack Obama in 2015, includes revitalizing a deteriorating Amtrak tunnel connecting New Jersey to New York City, repairing damage to a dual-tunnel conduit, and reconstructing the New Jersey railroad network’s aging Portal Bridge, Crain’s New York Business reported.
Amtrak, which owns most of the rail tunnels and tracks between Boston and Washington, D.C., contends that the existing tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York City is damaged and could fail within 10 to 15 years, threatening daily rail transportation in the Northeast.
The original Obama-era plan called for costs to be split among New York state, New Jersey and the federal government.
'A local project'
But in a letter Friday, the Trump administration notified New York and New Jersey that the Obama-era deal was now "non-existent" because the states recently requested that their portions be covered by loans from the federal government -- meaning Washington would supply all of the initial funding for what the Trump White House is calling "a local project."
"Your letter also references a non-existent '50/50' agreement between USDOT, New York, and New Jersey. There is no such agreement," wrote K. Jane Williams, deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration. "We consider it unhelpful to reference a non-existent 'agreement' rather than directly address the responsibility for funding a local project where nine out of 10 passengers are local transit riders."
"We consider it unhelpful to reference a non-existent 'agreement' rather than directly address the responsibility for funding a local project where nine out of 10 passengers are local transit riders." — K. Jane Williams, deputy administrator, Federal Transit Administration
The letter raises questions about whether the so-called Gateway project will be included in a $1 trillion national infrastructure plan that President Donald Trump is expected to unveil in January.
Gateway Development Corp., the project overseer composed of representatives of New York, New Jersey and Amtrak, dismissed Williams' letter as "posturing," adding in a statement Friday that "we are confident that the Trump Administration will engage with us as the President turns to infrastructure in 2018."
Tens of thousands of commuters
Proponents view Gateway as crucial for revitalizing rail service in the New York City metro area, where multiple lines, including Amtrak, carry tens of thousands of commuters into the city each day -- in one of the nation's key economic regions.
They also note that having states borrow from the federal government to finance infrastructure projects is not unprecedented. Some allege that the Trump administration's action is simply a political maneuver to put pressure on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a key supporter of the plan, Crain's reported.
New York business leaders have been adamant about the project's importance, on account of the region’s economy, which provides a large chunk of the U.S.’ GDP and sends hundreds of billions of tax dollars to the federal government every year.
On Saturday, Crain's noted that a "senior [Trump] administration official" clarified that the project's importance was not in dispute. The administration mostly objected to the federal government being relied upon to supply funds for New York and New Jersey's shares of the costs.
The official noted that for other projects underway in Hawaii and Maryland, federal loans compose only a fraction of the capital investment, Crain's reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. |
MODERN life and job fears are turning people off sex - but some of us are getting more action than ever.
A British survey of the sexual habits of more than 15,000 people found those aged 16-44 were having sex fewer than five times a month, the BBC reports.
But the number of women having lesbian ecounters has quadrupled in the past 20 years.
The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles - the biggest in British history - found nearly eight per cent of women had been with female partners, compared with just 1.8 per cent in 1990.
In contrast, the number of men having gay sex has remained stable over the same period at 3.6 per cent, according to the findings published in the Lancet medical journal.
The study's authors say the rise in technology is also proving to have a negative effect on libidos as more people bring smartphones and tablets to bed.
Dr Cath Mercer, from University College London, said: "People are worried about their jobs, worried about money. They are not in the mood for sex.
"But we also think modern technologies are behind the trend too. People have tablets and smartphones and they are taking them into the bedroom, using Twitter and Facebook, answering emails."
The survey found that the rise of the singleton - and the fact that more of us live alone than before - means that people have "less opportunity to have sex".
The average Briton has intercourse less than five times a month, compared with more than six times a month a decade ago.
The study said the drop was explained partly by the fact that more Britons live alone than before, meaning they have 'less opportunity to have sex'.
Professor Kaye Wellings of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which co-ran the study, told Sky News there had been a "remarkable" change in women's sexual behaviour.
'In some areas of sexual behaviour we have seen a narrowing of the gender gap, but in others we have seen women overtaking men in the diversity of their behaviour,' she said.
British women have twice as many sexual partners over a lifetime as they did 20 years ago, the survey says, with the figure now 7.7 on average. |
So here we go again. As promised to a very large number of people, here’s what happened next after my epic rant about the marketing at Preston North End. I’ll apologise in advance as this will be another long one and I’m sorry to my regular audience for interrupting our normal service.
What did I learn?
Last weekend my Mum was having a conversation with my daughter asking her if she’d changed her clocks. Daughter was slightly puzzled. “Why Nanna, did the clocks change last night?” she asked. That’s how the times have changed. We no longer need to go around the house changing our clocks and spending a couple of days wondering what time it is and turning up for stuff early or late. The clocks all change themselves now. Teenagers today have no idea about all this changing the clocks stuff. You see, even the clocks move with the times.
So why isn’t the marketing at our beloved football club moving with the times?
After my last blog post on the subject, that, by the way, caused my phone battery to be fried, my DM’s to be flooded and my notifications to blow up, but thank you all for sharing. I literally received hundreds of comments and messages. I’m pretty sure I replied to everyone so if I did miss you then I’m really sorry and it was a genuine oversight. Well, that is unless you were the token misogynist that felt the need to call me a nagging old wife. Just for the record, I’m not married and you’d be punching well above your weight mate.
I’d say around 99% of the comments were very positive and in agreement with what I’d said. The small amount (three to be exact, well two if you exclude the misogynist) negative comments I did receive came from people within football. One, I’m making an educated guess was from a member of staff at PNE, although they used a false name but forgot to mask their static IP address, basically trying to tell me I didn’t know what I was on about and the other was someone who works for another local club who said I was very much out of touch with football. Granted the club they work for has fans that boycott their games. Not so sure who is out of touch there. But that was counterbalanced by several other clubs, other sports, players agents, former players and several media people contacting me to say I was absolutely spot on. So, we’ll stick with the positive comments I think.
A touch of the negative
What did make me think though from those couple of negative comments was that these are the people that we are looking to, to steer our club out of this declining attendance period. It may not be the exact people and I am just generalising, but if that is the mindset of the people we are looking to then you have to ask yourself who is really out of touch here? To me, it’s those very people who are supposed to be in at the deep end of running a football club that are out of touch with its fans. And that’s the point they seem to not understand. We, fans, are the customer. We are the ones buying tickets and turning up every week. Without us, there is no football club. The minute any business, football or not, stops to understand it’s customers and cannot think like a fan (customer), then they are in big trouble. Quite honestly, I’ve heard a few times about how football is just different from other businesses. Frankly, I’m sick of hearing that. It’s not that different at all.
Now I’m not so naïve that I don’t realise most of us don’t know the inner workings of a football club. And why should we. Other people get paid to do that stuff. Just like most of you reading this won’t know the inner workings of my business or anyone else’s for that matter. But, that doesn’t change our position as the customer. We pay our money, we turn up and we get a product or service, or in this case, something classed as entertainment. That obviously is subjective. Why are we compromising our position as the customer just because it’s a football club we are dealing with?
Showdown
Anyway, after a few days of the almighty Twitter storm I’d started the phone call came and I was invited in to meet with the senior management of the club a few weeks later. As much as I was optimistic about this meeting and prepared a long list of potential marketing points, I was also mindful of the (large) number of people who had told me not to hold my breath waiting for anything to happen. I took it as a positive that they were willing to meet with me. But also knew that it could possibly be lip service. But I went with an open mind.
The meeting itself was a lot of me being told what they are good at and the excellent financial position of the club and what the people involved had achieved at other clubs. All well and good. I did learn a little bit about the possible barriers the club has to overcome which yes I get that it’s not as easy as it sounds to have better player engagement and put out more media content. But it’s not impossible and I’m pretty sure that a workable solution for this could have been found.
There’s also the finances of the club, which thanks to Mr Hemmings are a damn sight better than they were a few years back. But let’s just remind ourselves that it’s his money and not any actual staff member at the club. Him. Nobody else saved that club from going to the wall. He is also still funding the club to a certain degree and things would be very tight without his money. But, the current board have steadied the ship and luckily for us we aren’t in the same position as our other local rivals who without their owner’s money would go bang within weeks.
Points Raised
There were a number of key marketing points I raised that were quite basic stuff that the club doesn’t do. Any marketing or social media person would tell you these same things and they are all really bog standard stuff. When I meet with businesses I tend to hear a lot of the same lines from them, so I can pretty much guess the ones that are serious about taking action and those that just say they are. It’s usually things along the lines of being open to all ideas, will try anything, know they aren’t getting the results from their marketing so want to implement change. They believe they are doing their social media well but aren’t getting anything back from it, etc etc. Change is an action, not a conversation. Change is actually doing something. You can judge for yourself with the points I raised. But, just to give you a marketing lesson, which some of you may find useful, I’ve listed the points below;
No clear calls to action on videos. If you watch any YouTuber, content creator, business that takes video seriously, at the end of every single video it’s like they read the same script. Everyone does it. It’s a simple, “If you’ve liked this video please like and share it and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss any of our videos”. What you’re doing is a) asking the viewer to help you spread your message b) sending out a signal to the algorithms that your content is good so it will rank higher in search c) showing others that your content is good and they should watch and subscribe. It’s simple stuff but if you want to get more eyeballs on your stuff then that’s how you do it. More eyeballs eventually mean more customers, if you play your call to action game right. I think it’s stated that by 2020 around 80% of all online content will be video.
Clear calls to action on Twitter and Facebook. If you want to get more people being aware they need to go buy a ticket for Saturday then you need to tell them to go buy a ticket for Saturday. In an online world where we are literally saturated with information every single day, it’s very easy for your message to get lost in all the noise. People are more likely to respond and take action when the message is very clear and tells them exactly what to do. So, more posts with links to buy tickets. Posts with the ticket office opening times. Give fans the information they need. More rallying calls to give a sense of urgency to get a ticket for Saturday, not just away games but every game.
More posts. In marketing, we have what’s called a rule of sevens. Most people react to something once they have seen it seven times and are more likely to take action after that seventh contact with a message. That’s just a bit of the psychology behind advertising but I’m sure that most of you are aware that the more you see an advert the more you take notice of it. Even if it’s an annoying one. Social media posts have a very short shelf life and usually only about 5% (if you’re lucky and have an engaged audience) will see your post. Therefore, to stay in your audience line of sight you need, especially on Twitter, to be putting out quite a lot of posts. Facebook not so much, but Twitter yes. Two or three tweets a day are the work of amateurs. Professional businesses that are serious about their marketing are putting out tweets every hour and having stuff scheduled for overnight to make sure the insomniacs see their stuff. Many businesses now use Twitter as their customer service point of contact. I’m not saying that’s the right way to do things, but it’s how it is. I can tweet my bank and get a reply. You see my point here I’m sure.
Player engagement. Now I totally understand that it’s not in a players’ best interests to get involved in Twitter spats. I’ve worked with enough celebrities and other sports people to have taught them well enough to shut up online when the abuse starts flying and step away from the keyboard. I’m also well aware that many high-profile people with big followings don’t manage their own accounts for this very reason. But that’s the big guns, not our lot. However, fans (customers) react far more to players than the club, so surely it makes sense to have players tweeting out rallying calls to help create that sense of urgency to buy a ticket for Saturday. Players asking who will be there. Short little videos of players saying to go buy a ticket. Also, I really don’t see why players can’t just like a tweet when someone is saying well played or something nice. The odd thank you. That’s just good manners surely? I was told in the meeting that all players from every club are told by the FA that they shouldn’t engage at all. Say nothing.
However, some former players, some current players (from other clubs) and a couple of agents have told me this isn’t strictly true. They are told not to engage in anything deemed abusive or engage in conversation about match specifics, but they aren’t told to be ignorant or ignore their audience. That’s just personal choice. I was even told by other clubs that they actively encourage their players to engage with their fans as they know the marketing benefits of this. They help support their players in doing this.
Entertaining content. If you want your audience to take an action on your behalf or to talk about you more online, then you need to provoke an emotion within that person. So, why do you think over 500 people clicked the share button on my original blog post? Firstly, it was because they could identify with the issues I was raising and responded to the passion I showed for the subject matter. I created that emotion in them. Secondly, it was because I said at the end that if you like this post and agree with the points raised then please share it. The call to action. Content that is dull, none inspiring, vanilla, doesn’t create an emotion in people. Even if the emotion is anger, it’s creating a reaction and the emotion produces the response. But an easy way to get the response you want is by using more humour in posts. Entertain people.
So whereby the head to head quizzes are a good idea, some of the questions are a bit intellectual. It’s footballers we are dealing with so more simple stuff and more amusement. Get them talking more. Let’s get to know them more. It’s very difficult for many of us to identify with footballers so we lose that human touch element that is prevalent in modern marketing. We don’t have that level of authenticity which, sorry, is the latest buzz trend in marketing. But that is what today’s audiences want. It’s what works. Content like a day in the life or a Snapchat takeover by a player. Look at what does trend online and adapt it to the players and the audience.
Facebook adverts. Given they have a database full of email addresses, it’s very easy to segment them to have a list of everyone that say bought a ticket for the Arsenal game. You then upload that email list to the Facebook ads manager audience tool and you can create an advert to only show to those people. Well targeted Facebook ads are probably the cheapest adverts on the planet right now. For a very low cost, the club could have an advert shown to what, 10,000 people. Very simple stuff. Show them a video of Aiden McGeady doing that thing where he leaves 5 players wondering what just happened. Show them what they are missing.
Snapchat geo filters. Get fans to create the content for you by using a Snapchat geo filter for games. Ask fans to use the filter and share it to their story and also with the club so that they can use it. User generated content saves you the work and also gets your fans to spread the word of the great time they are having at the match with everyone they know. Granted, this is more for the younger audience but it is very popular and many clubs are now using it. I suggested it for the Fulham game for Gentry Day.
More events. More opportunities for fans to meet and engage with the players. More things to thank fans for their dedicated service to the club, especially those that have been doing it for a really long time. Like a 50 Club, for those that have been attending for over 50 years. People like to be thanked. So thank them.
Like I said this is all quite basic stuff, but I wanted you to see this for a point of reference. There were other bits of stuff but these are the main points.
What Happened Next
After the meeting, I did then also email over a list of points for basic PR stuff, low to zero cost that could be actioned during March especially given the international break and with back to back games straight after the break. The Snapchat filter was used at Fulham and there did seem to be an increase and more awareness of the clubs social media activity. Many of us saw this as a positive sign.
And then there was crickets and tumbleweed. It went back to same old same old.
The ideas I gave them for March were:
Reading (home) – tunnel cam to Facebook Live for players coming out, creating FOMO for those not there but also a bit of behind the scenes too. Twitter poll for the man of the match. Snapchat filter and encourage users to share.
Paddy’s Day – get the Irish lads talking more about their backgrounds, where they are from, how they got into football as it will be very different to the English players, their experiences of Paddy’s day and what they miss about home. Let’s get to know them. Use a funny style quiz based on Irish slang words to see how much notice the other players take of them (some Irish slang is very funny, look it up on YouTube, you’ll laugh). Let them express their pride of being Irish and where they are from.
Rovers (away) – Yellow Day. “Let’s turn Blackburn yellow”. Again, Snapchat filter, user content etc.
Comic Relief – funny video of the Duck giving a team talk and they all look confused and then wear the Simon Grayson masks. A bit James Corden style when he did the one with the England team. Just something that generates a bit of a buzz and is good PR.
It’s not so much about the ideas, it’s more just about doing something that’s mixed in with the call to actions to go buy a ticket for the next game. Things that create talking points and evoke that emotion in viewers (remember what I said previously). I also gave them a few technical points about not posting YouTube links to Facebook and always natively uploading. No self-promotion pre-rolls on videos as you’ve only 4 seconds to capture attention. Upload Snapchat content to Instagram Stories as more eyeballs there. Again, just basic stuff.
Now granted we did have videos put out for Paddy’s Day. Personally, I wasn’t impressed and thought even taking out the theme and ideas behind them, the quality was poor, you couldn’t hear anything properly and the editing was a bit hit and miss. This is a professional business. Let’s at least try acting like one and buy a god damn Rode mic so we can hear what’s being said in the videos. They aren’t even expensive but you clearly need them. Here’s a link in case you don’t know what one is and it’s not even an affiliate link so I won’t make any money off it.
I did get some shade thrown at me from a club employee when I tweeted how underwhelmed I was with the Paddy’s Day effort. The same old excuses of under-resourced and no budget. Excuses. Every other business has to find the time and the resources. That’s business and that’s life and if the employer isn’t providing the tools and training to do the job, that’s really not my problem so don’t fire your abuse at me.
So, from the Rovers game, through the International break, there wasn’t one, and I really do mean this, not one single post that was a call to action to go and buy a ticket for the Forest or Bristol City games. There were posts about the away games, but not home games. Pretty sure it’s home game attendances that are our problem. We’ve got back to back home games, just weeks before the end of the season, with still an outside chance of getting into the play-offs. And there has been absolutely nothing, nothing telling folks to get up off their arses and go buy a god damn ticket for Saturday as we may only have a handful of games left in this league!
That was until today (I’m writing this really late at night on Thursday 30th March). The club sent out this tweet. Now, this is a screenshot so you can see the stuff on my phone screen, time, date etc so this isn’t me being a cow and photoshopping anything. What is wrong with this tweet?
It’s got Bolton’s f**king hashtag in it, not ours!!!! Seriously! One tweet in two weeks to get fans to buy a ticket and it’s not even aimed at our own fans! I’m pretty sure that Bolton fans don’t want to come and watch us given they are having a community day on Saturday and it’s a fiver to get on there! But it’s ok because they did manage to follow Justin Bieber. Perhaps he wanted to buy a season ticket?
** Note, this tweet was removed once someone at the club had read this blog, some 24 hours after it first appeared. They also unfollowed Justin Bieber. Clearly not a fan of his music then.
Fans Opinions
Anyway, take a deep breath after that one.
Some of you may have seen the fans survey doing the rounds online last week. Yes, I did have a hand in that along with a few other people. Over 1000 people responded to it and I have seen the results. I won’t go into them here as this blog post is already long enough but they are very interesting and clearly show that a very high percentage of the participants have very similar views. The issues at the club are seen and felt by most. But I will just address a couple of the points here and then we can find a better time and place to go over the finer details another time.
Ticket Prices
We know this is an issue, but, we also know the club have categorically stated that they will not do reduced ticket prices and season tickets Bradford and Huddersfield style. Now, realistically, they can’t. For the club to offer season tickets at £150 they would need to sell 25,000 to be around breakeven point. It’s physically impossible to sell that many as we don’t even have that many seats in the house. So, by my reckoning, we would need to sell 12,000 season tickets at an average price of £300 to be in the same financial position. Without one hell of a marketing campaign, I doubt that would happen. Let’s be realistic here. The club also has very few other income streams given that the catering and merchandise are franchised out. That only leaves sponsorship and bits and pieces. Sponsors pay for eyeballs on their name and brand message. 888 for example. But 10k attendances aren’t going to create big money sponsorship deals. More eyeballs are needed. A bit of a chicken and egg situation really. Would cheap tickets create more fans? Probably not. But it might bring back those that haven’t been in a while. But then everything else has to fall into place to be able to keep them coming back week after week.
The other issue with cheap tickets is that if we want to be attracting players like McGeady and have a hope of signing them, then we need to be able to pay them. As the club gets more successful our players will become of interest to other clubs with deeper pockets. If we want to keep some of our current players there will come a time when they will be in a position to ask for more money. Where does that money come from? Again, it all just goes back to revenue, more bums on seats and more eyeballs to get bigger and better sponsorship deals.
Safe standing areas – this is out of the clubs control. Since Hillsborough and the Taylor report, standing is illegal in England and Wales. There are action groups now campaigning to overturn this. Let’s leave it to them and the big clubs with the deep pockets. This is something that is out of ours and the clubs control so let’s focus our energies on what we can change. It will be great if it does happen, but it won’t be this or next season. Our problem is happening now.
Lack of atmosphere – well we are the fans. We are the ones who can change that. Yes, there are things that the club can do to help, but let’s focus on what we can do.
Lack of club communication – think we’ve already covered that one, in depth.
Fanzone – this is probably down to space and licensing. I don’t think there is currently enough space around the ground to have one. I know there have been plans submitted to the local council to demolish the old Legends building that now houses the offices, but this would be linked to the plans for Ingol being passed. Again, this won’t happen in the near future, so let’s work with what we have for now.
There are quite a few other points raised, but again, we’ll save that for another time. There were several mentions of PC Elliot (@PNEPolice) and the great work he does in communicating with fans. Someone did say that nudity should be allowed at games. A few Leeds fans wanted to tell us that they want Grayson back and someone, perhaps an employee used it to spam it with comments about me. Think the term used was ‘bitter little social media guru whose ideas and help aren’t wanted.’ Clearly given that tweet with Bolton’s hashtag in it shows you know exactly what you’re doing! I would insert the LMAO emoji there but that might be slightly immature.
The point here is, the fans overwhelmingly feel like they aren’t being listened to. A large majority feel that there isn’t fan representation within the club and that there should be. I’ve read up on the lack of fan representation within all clubs and at board level and wondered why that is? Surely having a man on the inside would help any club? Probably the same reasons there’s a severe lack of women and ethnic minorities on football club boards too. This is something certain bodies are now trying to address and there are more published reports on this available.
If the current ticket prices are to remain and be justified then, in my opinion, the club needs to pull its socks up on everything else it does. Focus on offering great value for the money spent by fans. Become a PR machine with fantastic social engagement. Create buzz and hype. Work with the fans to improve the overall matchday experience. Make it a day out that everyone enjoys. Get the catering working right so we don’t have to miss 10 minutes of the game just to get a brew at half time. It’s all the little things that matter to people that makes them question how much they spend on a ticket. Address the little things and work on the bigger things. Just do something. Be seen to do something. Make big, bold points about doing something. But actually, do it. Don’t just talk about it or say you are open to all ideas. In situations like this often you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Well, you might as well do to save being told at a later date that you did nothing.
Token gestures like the trialling of the smoking area are ok, I guess, But it doesn’t really address the declining attendances does it? And let’s just stop with the excuses of the Premier League club pinching our fans. We still have a good population in our catchment area to go at. There’s still enough people knocking about to fill the ground. Let’s concentrate on finding them rather than the excuse and blame game.
You can read the results of the fans survey here
So What Next?
It’s all well and good me writing these epically long blog posts and lots of people having their say. But really, it’s time for action. Now from what we’ve seen so far, we might have to wait a while for the club to take action. So what can we, as fans do in the meantime whilst we wait for the club to put their clocks forward?
Ok, so this is only my own ideas. You may think they are crap or you may have better yourself, but the important thing now is that as fans we come together, communicate properly with each other. Not play who can shout the loudest in online forums and belittle anyone that says something that we don’t agree with. Stop the divide in fans because that really isn’t helping in presenting a united voice to the club. You may not agree with some people, you may not even like them very much. You may not agree with me and you may think my ideas belong up my own backside. But surely we all want the same thing? And if that means taking some initiative ourselves and being grown-ups and trying to cooperate with those we may not see eye to eye with, showing the club the collective power we have as fans when we all start communicating properly and working towards a common goal. Then that has to be better than the current situation of us and them and nothing really happening?
So, here’s some ideas to get you started on creating a bit of a buzz for the next few matches. Remember when we all went to Fulham, but the players forgot to turn up but we all had a great day out anyway. We had a theme and stuck to it. Fan communication and a simple theme:
Huddersfield away – Yellow day. Everyone wear yellow. Yellow balloons etc. Think that’s self-explanatory enough
Norwich home – show your colours day. Everyone wear white or retro shirts. Everyone make an effort to make some noise. Take video and photos and share as much as possible online to show everyone else what they are missing
Newcastle away – ok so I think it’s been established it’s a bit of a joke what’s happened there with the date being moved. Instead of spending the £25 or whatever it is on a ticket that you would have spent, why not pledge to spend that locally. If you are a local pub that will be showing the game, make a big deal out of it and encourage fans to have meet ups at your pub where they all pledge to spend that £25. Keeping it local and the money in the local economy, helping out local business. Like a #shoplocal but just for a football match. I’ve written about the importance of shopping local before here if you’re interested.
Rotherham home – this is our (maybe) last chance to #fillDeepdale this season. Have something like a Superheroes theme, everyone come dressed as a hero. It could be their footballing hero or an actual Superhero. I can just see 50 Spidermen walking up Deepdale Road. Kids will love it. You can even add a charity element to make it more appealing. Arrange a collection for Grayson’s charity before he goes off on his bike ride. The point is, make it a fun day out. If the club isn’t focusing on the matchday experience then we can do our bit to help create more atmosphere and make it more entertaining. We are great at doing these things away from home so let’s try and do it for the last home game.
Wolves away – fancy dress, whatever. Be it a theme or just general. But it’s an away day so we’ll be great whatever we do.
The main thing is that we do something rather than nothing.
If we all do our bit and show our support to the lads on the pitch, maybe, just maybe, the folks in their offices in the back might actually take notice and realise that we aren’t just football fans. We are their customers. Some of us are business owners. Some are lawyers, accountants, doctors, dentists, teachers, parents, young, old, students or retired. But we are all customers. We don’t just magically appear out of thin air on a Saturday having experienced nothing else in the world all week. We may not know the inner workings of a football club, but we do know when things aren’t right and something has to give. I, like many others, remember the bad times and I’m damn sure none of us want to end up there again.
I know a lot of you have emailed and contacted the club to voice your concerns and haven’t been impressed with the responses you’ve received. Please just remember that these are just employees, they will come and go. We’ll all be here for much longer than them and long after they’ve moved on to someone else’s employment. It is up to the Board of Directors to issue a statement of intent about the future direction of the club. Not an employee.
The clocks have gone forward, let’s all start looking forward and doing whatever we can. Be it arranging theme days or making our points heard. But do it together. A united voice is far more powerful than the fragmented one we currently have.
And I promise not to write any more of these far too long blog posts. Honestly, I really do promise!
Rant over. Peace out.
Hopefully, you’ve all paid attention to get this far, so you know the drill. If you like this post and agree with the points made then please give it a share on social media and add your comments below.
You can read the results of the fans survey here |
Den senaste tiden har det ägt rum en hel del som kan tyckas motbevisa den politiskt korrekta världsbilden. Massmigrationen har förvandlats till en folkvandring som Sverige och övriga Europa inte ens logistiskt kan hantera, denna folkvandring har ihop med illa genomtänkta geopolitiska projekt i Mellanöstern gett upphov till en jihadistisk miljö som angripit Paris. Även Löfvén har erkänt att ”vi” varit ”naiva”, även om man här snabbt märker brasklapparna. Så är det inte Löfvén själv som erkänner sin naivitet, ”vi” får alla vara med och dela på den, och den gamle bilderbergaren ser också ökad övervakning snarare än annan invandringspolitik som lösningen. Genom att å ena sidan tala om behovet av samarbete snarare än partikäbbel, å andra sidan utesluta SD från detta samarbete, antyder Löfvén också att i hans ögon är invandringskritik värre än terrorism.
Mycket har alltså hänt. Men de effekter man skulle kunnat förvänta sig lyser med sin frånvaro, någon massiv brytning med politisk korrekthet har inte skett. Detta gäller både politiker- och mediaetablissemanget, det gäller även stora delar av den befolkning som ger projektet sitt stöd. Vi har här ett både psykologiskt och socialt fenomen, som både är fascinerande i sig och nödvändigt att reda ut innan det kan hanteras. Hur kommer det sig att tillsynes intelligenta människor inte kan dra slutsatser baserat på vad som händer runt dem, hur kan tillsynes intelligenta människor förstöra sina egna barns framtid?
Politisk korrekthet som statusmarkör
In many ways nonsense is a more effective organizing tool than the truth. Anyone can believe in the truth. To believe in nonsense is an unforgeable demonstration of loyalty.
– Mencius Moldbug
Vi har tidigare på bloggen tagit upp att politisk korrekthet är en statusmarkör. Den svenska medelklassen beskrevs av Magnus Stenbock som en klass av nyligen urbaniserade uppkomlingar. En sådan klass är normalt osäker, och behöver markörer som skiljer dem från lägre sociala skikt. I vissa länder kan kultur vara en sådan markör, men den svenska medelklassen har ingen kultur att tala om. Flera av dess medlemmar betraktar exempelvis ”Milleniumtriologin” som litteratur.
Det som fyllt detta tomrum är politisk korrekthet. Med rätta har fenomenet jämförts med en religion, men man missar ibland att en religion också är en kyrka, en social gemenskap. Politisk korrekthet är en status- och identitetsmarkör för den svenska medelklassen, och de grupper som vill identifiera sig med den.
En bloggare som tagit upp detta är Spandrell. Han använder termen Status Points för att förklara hur välutbildade och intelligenta människor kan stödja rena absurditeter (om någon noterar likheter mellan hans perspektiv och Girards mimetiska konkurrens är det ingen slump, Spandrell refererar uttryckligen till Girard). Sannolikt är Spandrells skriverier här att jämföra med Marx eller Freud, en form av misstankens hermeneutik som underminerar en hel världsbild. Efter att man läst en beskrivning av sina politiskt korrekta facebookuppdateringar som ”status whoring” är det inte lika roligt att ägna sig åt dem. Även om människor naturligtvis är olika, en del är ”true believers” och andra är strebers med eller utan psykopatiska drag.
Spandrell gör en simpel klassanalys. Det finns en medelklass och en arbetarklass (i många samhällen är överklassen idag snarast en förlängning av medelklassen). Vill man vinna statuspoäng i medelklassen ska man inte påminna om arbetarklassen. Spandrell skriver om invandringspolitiken:
If the proles don’t like that; the middle class must like it. Even if it’s insane; signaling unprole-ness is the game in town.
Om Sverigedemokraterna består av, eller påstås bestå av, missnöjd arbetarklass med bristande utbildning innebär det att man förlorar statuspoäng som medelklass om man tycker som dem. Statuspoäng kan rentav vinnas om man tycker raka motsatsen.
Spandrell tar upp ytterligare två relevanta aspekter. Dels har medelklassen och etablissemanget målat in sig i ett hörn. Man har upprepat samma mantran så många gånger att det vore katastrofalt att plötsligt erkänna att ”vi hade fel”. Spandrell skriver:
But admitting that the proles, in France’s case the Front National was right, completely undermines your authority. If Le Pen is right, then what are you doing here? Get the crap out and let her govern.
Spandrell för här tankarna till Collier. Existensen av invandringskritiska partier gör det ibland svårare för ett lands ledning att föra en nykter invandringspolitik, då man förhåller sig till ”prole-partiet” hellre än till verkligheten.
The leftist strategy could be defined as “psychopathic SP maximization”. Leftists attempt to destroy social equilibrium so that they can raise their SP number.
– Spandrell
En annan, oroväckande, trend Spandrell beskriver är det han kallar signaling spirals. Konkurrensen kring statusmarkörer kan spåra ur, kanske särskilt illa i formellt och faktiskt jämlika grupper. Ett obehagligt exempel han ger är Kina och Maokulten.
Sammantaget leder Spandrells teori honom till en tämligen pessimistisk position, vilket inte är nödvändigt. Däremot bidrar den till att förstå varför välutbildade människor i vissa frågor resonerar som små barn. De vill inte förlora statuspoäng. Hur vi bemöter detta kan variera. Ibland kan massiv kritik och satir, på vanlig svenska hån, fungera, då det kan innebära en nettoförlust av statuspoäng. Bara att poängtera att de söker status kan fylla en subversiv funktion. Viktigt är också framväxten av en ”alternativ medelklass”, alltså en systemkritisk miljö som innehåller allt från akademiker till framgångsrika människor. Donald Trump är, som fenomen, ett exempel på detta. Vi ser också fler och fler exempel på det i Sverige, exempelvis projektet Det goda samhället. Spandrells tes är dock radikal, ska vi kunna hantera dagens situation behöver vi i praktiken en statskupp. Kapabel att avlägsna varenda kollaboratör som varit del av det pågående vansinnet från maktens korridorer.
Vi fördjupar oss i Spandrells perspektiv här, i vanlig ordning innebär inte en länk ett fullständigt omfattande av alla åsikter man där kan stöta på:
Paris
It’s your fault for resisting
The social module
The Relentless Pursuit of Advantage
Explaining the Cultural Revolution: signalling arms races as bad fiat currency |
People sit near the U.S. Capitol as the American flag flies at half-staff at sunset following the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, in Washington. President Barack Obama ordered flags on federal property to be flown at half-staff through Friday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Most Americans think the Republican Party is more interested in helping the wealthy than the poor or the middle class, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.
The new poll found that 51 percent of Americans think Republicans are most interested in helping the rich, while 28 percent said they're most interested in helping the middle class. Another 7 percent said the GOP is most interested in helping the poor.
No surprise here: There is a partisan divide on the question. To Republicans, it's quite clear that Democrats serve the rich, while they battle on behalf of the middle class. Six in 10 Republicans said their party is most interested in helping the middle class, while only 1 in 10 Republicans said Democrats fight for the middle class. Four in 10 Republicans said the Democratic Party is working for the rich, and only 1 in 4 said the Democrats care most about the poor.
Democrats almost universally dubbed the GOP the party of the rich.
A 45 percent plurality of independents also saw Republicans as most interested in helping the wealthy, while only 28 percent said the middle class and 7 percent said the poor.
Indeed, for independents, both parties lean toward the interests of the rich. Thirty-two percent of independents said Democrats are most interested in helping the rich, 20 percent said the poor, and 20 percent said the middle class.
Americans overall were roughly evenly divided on what they think the Democratic Party is up to. Twenty-eight percent said the party works for the rich, 27 percent said the middle class, and 25 percent said the poor.
Fifty percent of Democrats see their own party as most interested in helping the middle class, though that puts the party at odds with what the rank and file think the government should be doing. Fifty-seven percent said the government should do the most to help the poor.
Both Republicans (66 percent) and independents (50 percent) said government should help the middle class.
But the majority of Americans said the government takes neither approach. Instead, 53 percent said the government does the most to help the rich, while only 19 percent said the poor, and just 8 percent said the middle class.
The HuffPost/YouGov poll was conducted Sept. 20-21 among 1,000 U.S. adults using a sample selected from YouGov's opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population. Factors considered include age, race, gender, education, employment, income, marital status, number of children, voter registration, time and location of Internet access, interest in politics, religion and church attendance. |
“There must have been thousands of them beached and they were all alive and wriggling.”
During a morning walk on an Australian beach, Brett Wallensky discovered a massive heap of sea creatures he described as "the stuff nightmares are made of."
"There must have been thousands of them beached and they were all alive and wriggling," Wallensky told Caters News. "The color of them was just amazing, it is so bright—almost alien."
Lying in rock pools were thousands of venomous bluebottle jellyfish that had washed ashore at Barlings Beach in New South Wales on Friday, as was also reported in The Sydney Morning Herald.
The bluebottles, known outside of Australia as Portuguese man o' war, feature long tentacles that can deliver a sharp sting.
"It was the stuff nightmares are made of," Wallensky told Caters. "It was just horrible to look at them wriggling around and trying to sting you. If you fell in there and got that many stings all over you, I can't imagine you would survive.
"The color of them was just amazing, it is so bright—almost alien."
Indeed, Tui Benjamin of Caters described them as alien-like blue jellyfish.
"That is the only time in my life I have seen them in these quantities," Wallensky told Caters. "I've never seen that many together before."
Wallensky and his partner Claudia had seen the bluebottles floating on the surface of the water earlier while kayaking.
More from The Sydney Morning Herald:
Their blue, balloon-like sails are a common sight in Australian waters during the warmer months. Dragging long tentacles beneath the surface, the pretty but mysterious sea dweller is known to deliver a sharp sting. Blue bottles are siphonphores, a strange kind of colonial jellyfish. Rather than being a single organism, individuals (or “zooids”) each make up parts of the colony’s tentacles, digestive system and more… Beachgoers are advised to stay well clear, as even dead blue bottles can deliver a painful sting lasting up to a few minutes or several hours. More than 10,000 people report being stung by bluebottles in Australia every year, and that number can climb to 30,000 in peak years.
Wallensky said he'd been stung by bluebottles several times as a boy, adding, "It does hurt very much."
"Apparently they are sitting just off the continental shelf in their thousands just waiting to get blown into shore," he told Caters. "It definitely put me off swimming in that area – it would have been crazy to go swimming when they are there in those numbers."
Read more odd jellyfish stories on GrindTV
Diver surrounded by millions of jellyfish in Jellyfish Lake
Bite from dangerous invasive sea creature lands man in hospital; alert issued
Bizarre photos show swimming fish trapped inside jellyfish |
An initial offer has already been turned down but it's unlikely to deter the Arabian Gulf League club from coming back with an improved bid, with the Jets likely to consider a deal north of A$650,000.
After scoring eight goals in 24 games last season, Nabbout transformed himself from a fringe squad member to the first name on the team sheet and won the PFA player of the month award in January – all whilst being touted as a potential Johnny Warren Medallist and future Socceroo.
The 24-year old would take some replacing, however, with Aleksandr Kokko’s departure to Hong Kong meaning Roy O’Donovan is the club’s only genuine striker, with brothers Dimitri and Kosta Petratos possible alternatives.
Finnish striker Kokko departs Jets
But all three are new faces at the club and new coach Ernie Merrick would surely have to find another option before the new season.
A comparative late bloomer, Nabbout worked his way through the Victorian Premier League before joining Melbourne Victory and making his debut just shy of his 20th birthday – going on to famously score two late goals in a stunning win over Sydney FC in November 2012.
However, the Victory’s surplus of attacking options limited Nabbout’s game time and he was released in May 2015.
Going six months without a club, Nabbout eventually signed for Malaysian second division club Negeri Sembilan.
Despite scoring nine goals in 14 games, he was released again after a major mid-season clear-out.
But when Nabbout’s agent Tony Rallis convinced Newcastle to take a punt on Nabbout last season, the Jets ended up with the biggest bargain of the season.
Jets search South America for marquee midfielder
The choice for the Hunter club is now whether they move to cash in on the young striker – earning themselves a bumper pay day in the process – or keep him in the hope of another prolific season.
The Emirates has been a popular destination for Australian players over the years with Mark Bresciano, Mark Milligan, Lucas Neill, Brett Holman, Nicky Carle, Alex Brosque, Zac Anderson, Milan Susak, Michael Beauchamp and Nikolai Topor-Stanley all visiting to ply their trade.
Al-Dhafra finished in a respectable seventh last season but ended up with the least goals scored of any of the teams in the top half of the table.
The club never truly replaced the sensational free-scoring of Senegalese striker Makhete Diop, whose five-year spell ended in 2016 with 77 goals in 109 games.
Diop’s form has continued at new club Al-Ahli, scoring nine goals in his first 13 games. |
I listened to the first few minutes of Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate in the car, chauffeuring my teenage son home from an after-school event.
“Who’s the loud guy?” Tyler asked.
“John Kasich,” I replied.
“Which one is Trump?”
“The other loud guy.”
“Who’s that guy?” Tyler nodded at the radio as a young-sounding GOP candidate responded to a CNBC moderator who had just asked why he was in such a hurry to leave Congress. “That’s exactly what the Republican establishment says, too: ‘Wait in line,’” the candidate replied. “Wait for what?”
I told Tyler that was Marco Rubio. “He’s a good debater.”
Tyler nodded. “Yes,” he said, “but a good debater doesn’t make you a good president.” Not necessarily.
I suspect Jeb Bush went to bed Wednesday night telling himself something similar after Rubio, a fellow Floridian and former protégé, wiped the Colorado floor with him. A good debater doesn’t make you a good president.
But a bad debater probably can’t become president—not in an age of celebrity and social media, when a reality TV star sits atop the polls and every American has the power to create and crawl into electronic fantasy worlds.
Jeb Bush is a bad debater.
This became apparent as Tyler and I pulled into our driveway, and Bush began his well-rehearsed attack on Rubio’s record of high absenteeism in the Senate. “When you signed up for this, this is a six-year term, and you should be showing up to work,” Bush said. He turned to face Rubio, almost dramatically. “You can campaign or just resign and let someone else take the job.”
Rubio’s voting record had been in the news for days, so the younger man had his script ready. Rubio first compared his absentee record to that of past presidential candidates, including 2008 GOP nominee John McCain. “I don’t remember you ever complaining about John McCain’s vote record,” Rubio said.
With Bush sputtering, Rubio added, “The only reason why you’re doing it now is because we’re running for the same position, and someone convinced you that attacking me is going to help you.”
Boom.
Later, moderator John Harwood asked Bush about the fast-rising fantasy-football industry that is under legal and political scrutiny. “I’m 7-0 in my fantasy football league,” Bush replied. The former Florida governor was clearly trying to connect with the millions of fans who bet on players’ performances. In another context, his answer would have been endearing. On this night, with the stakes so high for a campaign losing the confidence of the GOP establishment, Bush was a bit goofy.
“Fantasy football!” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie shouted from stage left. “We have ISIS and al-Qaeda attacking us and we’re talking about fantasy football?”
Toward the end of the debate, Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz angrily confronted a CNBC producer about the relative lack of time the moderators gave Bush. “I expressed my displeasure about the way the debate was managed and the amount of time [we got],” Diaz said.
While every campaign and the Republican National Committee had complaints about the moderators’ questions, Diaz’s displeasure should be reserved for his boss.
Privately, donors and consultants close to the Bush family told me they were horrified by his performance, especially given that it came after the Floridian was warned that he was running out of time to break out. Analyzing her friend’s performance on CNN, Bush backer Ann Navarro looked and sounded so despondent that the former governor felt compelled to buck her up.
“Hang in there, baby,” Bush told Navarro via an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.
The reporter pressed: Isn’t he worried how his performance will play? Bush shrugged and said if people want a performer-in-chief, he’s not their guy. Later, while leaving the debate site, Bush snapped at reporters: “It’s not a performance. I’m running for the president of the United States.”
Here’s the problem: Running for president and serving as president have almost always been a performance, certainly in the modern age. Abraham Lincoln created and fed the rail-splitter’s myth. Teddy Roosevelt campaigned across the nation in a private train car, his traveling stage. His cousin Franklin gathered a weary nation around a virtual fireplace. John Kennedy starred in Camelot, Ronald Reagan gave a City Upon a Hill its second act, and Bill Clinton cast himself in the Place Called Hope. Every president since Washington used the latest technology to amplify his hero story.
Like it or not, Bush is running for president amid the dismantling of a media business model that had its roots in Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency. His is an era dominated by social media, partisan media, and corporate media.
He’s right: There is much more to the presidency than a performance. Rubio may be no deeper than a spotlight. But if Bush wants the job, he’s gotta perform. |
Liberals have begun scolding Bernie Sanders for challenging identity politics in a speech at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston on Sunday night.
When an audience member asked him how she could become the second Latina senator in U.S. history, Sanders said her gender and ethnicity don't entitle her to votes.
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"I have to know whether that Latina is going to stand up with the working class of this country and is going to take on big money interests," Sanders said. "It is not good enough for somebody to say, I'm a woman, vote for me. No, that’s not good enough. What we need is a woman who has the guts to stand up to Wall Street, to the insurance companies, to the drug companies, to the fossil fuel industry."
"In other words, one of the struggles that you’re going to be seeing in the Democratic Party is whether we go beyond identity politics," he continued. "I think it’s a step forward in America if you have an African-American CEO of some major corporation. But you know what, if that guy is going to be shipping jobs out of this country, and exploiting his workers, it doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot whether he’s black or white or Latino."
Talking Points Memo published a report under the misleading headline, "Sanders Urges Supporters: Ditch Identity Politics and Embrace the Working Class."
In the context of his response, Sanders wasn't suggesting Democrats "ditch" identity politics or separate class from race, but rather that class and race concerns are linked.
As The New Republic's Clio Chang noted in her criticism of TPM's piece, "Post-election, there have been attempts to divide the left between those who support identity politics and those who support class politics. But the two are often inextricable, given the large percentage of minorities in the working class."
Despite pushback from triggered reactionaries, Sanders doubled down on his critique of identity politics in a Medium essay on Tuesday.
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"To think of diversity purely in racial and gender terms is not sufficient," he wrote. "Yes, we need more candidates of diversity, but we also need candidates — no matter what race or gender — to be fighters for the working class and stand up to the corporate powers who have so much power over our economic lives."
"Our rights and economic lives are intertwined," he added. "Now, more than ever, we need a Democratic Party that is committed to fulfilling, not eviscerating, Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of racial, social, and economic justice for all." |
Mladen Pikulić
Mladen Pikulić
Nakon burnog derneka prethodne večeri u CEDUS-u (Centar za društvene aktivnosti) i sarajevske svakodnevnice koja je u to toba više zračila nekom svjetskom kreativnošću, a ne nekom predratnom depresivnom situacijom, prijavio sam se, kao i obično, u osam sati u redakciju Oslobođenja. Nakon uobičajenog ispijanja kafe i profesionalne rutine - šta nas danas očekuje (kraj novembra 1991.), u našu foto službu je ušao novinar Vlado Mrkić i upitao ko će sa njim u Vukovar.
Ako sam išta tih dana očekivao, onda je to bio upravo taj poziv koji će mi razbiti znatiželju - šta se krije iza fotografije Vukovara koju svaku veče, mjesecima, ponavljaju na udarnom TV dnevniku da bi ilustrovali nebulozna izvještavanja o zaraćenim stranama, kako su eufimizmom branili narod da bi mogao mirno spavati.
Nedjeljama me je iritirala i intrigirala ta vijest o "zaraćenim stranama" pa, kada je Vlado ušao u redakciju tražeći fotoreportera, skočio sam u sekundi, ne dajući priliku drugim kolegama da reaguju na poziv.
Već nakon sat-dva truckali smo se zajedno u Golfu dvojki prema Vukovaru. Puni entuzijazma i očekivanja šta ćemo tamo vidjeti, nakon prelaska Save iz pravca Bijeljine, uključili smo se u nepreglednu kolonu tenkova prema Vukovaru. Sve bi ovo izgledalo kao vojna vježba da lijevo i desno od putnog pravca nije bilo sve srušeno i spaljeno.
Kao u Hirošimi
Ulazak u Vukovar je izgledao kao kada te neko, bez prethodne najave i pripreme, ubaci u Hirošimu. Šok je blaga riječ kada čovjek iz sarajevskog mirnog okruženja uleti u razrušeni i spaljeni grad. Još mi u glavi bruji od sinoćnjeg derneka, a pri prvom izlasku iz Golfa u predgrađe Vukovara, suočavam se sa leševima ispred kuća.
Bivši vlasnici kuća leže ubijeni ispred zgarišta koji se nekada zvao njihov dom. Pomisliš, možda, ipak, da su to kulise za neki novi film, ali raspadnuta tijela govore da ovdje nije riječ o sedmoj umjetnosti nego o ratu.
Vozimo prema centru grada i sve se više uvlačimo u apokalipsu iz koje se ne može nigdje. Dolazimo do gradske bolnice, ili onog što je nekad bila. Ulazimo u zgradu za koju, kada bih je opisao riječju 'sablasno', time nikome sigurno ne bih uspio ništa dočarati. Uglavnom, bolnica je sva izbušena granatama, bez prozora, ali i bez ljudi/bolesnika.
Pitam nekog vojnika u prolazu: „A, gdje su ljudi?“.
„Eno ih prekoputa“, odgovori vojnik.
Prekoputa je klasično slavonsko imanje sa velikim dvorištem, ali sada prepuno leševa. Jedan uz drugi, spaljeni, ugljenisani, uglavnom svi u zavojima, par centimetara razmaka između svakog od njih.
Vlado jurca od jednog do drugog, mislim da traži nekog nestalog rođaka, a ja ga mahinalno, bez razmišljanja, pratim u stopu i fotografišem.
U neko doba izgubim Vladu iz vida, i nađem se u polju smrti, okružen desecima tijela. Upravo stojim tik uz spaljenog i ugljenisanog čovjeka, sa rukom podignutom u zrak, poput nekog spomenika slobode. Stojim zamrznut, jer - ako se pokrenem nepažljivo lijevo ili desno, moguće je da mu smrskam ruku.
Ubijen jer je rekao 'kaj'
U centar polja smrti sam došao tako što sam gledao kroz vizir fotoaparata i kada sam ga spustio, tek sam onda postao svjestan gdje se nalazim. Kako pobjeći iz ovog pakla? Ni iza vrata ovog imanja situacija nije puno bolja. Do izlaznih vrata je samo 50 metara, ali i deseci leševa. Još sam u čudu kako sam uspio uopšte doći ovdje, a još veći mi je problem kako se vratiti nazad da nekome ne stanem na glavu ili ruku.
Kako se vratiti u normalu kada se nalaziš usred pakla?
Napokon, izlazna vrata i naš Golf dvojka. Gas do daske i kao sumanuti vozimo, pravac - Borovo Naselje, kao da nas tamo čeka spasenje. Lijepo neznanje. Jednu katastrofu zamjenjujemo drugom, samo se mijenja ime grada. Lunjajući između tipičnih socijalističkih zgrada, zaustavljam se pred jednom, ispred čijeg ulaza lezi mrtav čovjek.
Upravo kada sam podigao fotoaparat u kadar su mi ušla dvojica "dobrovoljaca" i klik - fotografija je nastala.
Pitam ih: “A, zašto je ovaj čovjek mrtav?”
“Ustaša” odgovaraju uglas.
„Pa, kako znate kada je civil, nema oznaka?“
“Kada smo pokucali na vrata, rekao je 'kaj'”, odgovori jedan i produži dalje.
Kuda dalje? Sve je kao na fotografijama i filmu o Hirošimi samo što je ovo sada uživo. Gdje se god mrdneš, nesreće za narednih deset generacija.
Ponovo u Golf, koji se sve više pretvara u neko skrovište, zaštitu, bijeg od pakla.
Vukovar ponovo. S vrha neke, nečije crkve, pravim panoramski snimak srušenog grada, ali kroz objektiv izgleda kao da pada kiša iako je sunčan dan. Fatamorgana? Spustim fotoaparat, viim sunčan dan, dignem fotoaparat, pogledam kroz vizir i ništa ne vidim jer je mutno. Samo neka voda. Popipam se po licu, a ono mokro kao da me je neko zalio vodom, takav je prolom suza bio, a da nisam to ni osjetio.
Uspijem nekako sići sa zvonika i nadomak spasenja, našeg Golfa, sretnemo jednu porodicu Slovaka. Njihova priča je bila tako žestoka da količinu bola više nisam mogao podnijeti i blagi nervni slom bacio me je na zadnje sjedište auta u polusvjesno stanje. Probudio sam se tek u hotelu, drhteći od straha.
Vukovar 'stara vijest'
Nakon par dana domogli smo se Sarajeva koje je u to doba pjevalo svoj labuđi pjev. Sutradan sam svojim prijateljima i kolegama u Oslobođenju pričao o užasima koje sam vidio, i bio svjestan da nas čeka sudbina Vukovara.
Ali “pametni i načitani novinari” iz “kožnog restorana” nadobudno su vrtili priču o nemogućnosti rata, te kako su kultura i civilizacija jači od tenkovske granate. Osjećaj bespomoćnosti da ljudima objasniš šta ih sutra čeka.
Tumaram gradom i vučem ljude za rukav da im objasnim da će sutra biti ubijeni, ali uvijek isti lakonski odgovor kako smo isuviše civilizovani da nam se to može desiti.
Predajem ostatak fotografija desku Oslobođenja, uz želju da bar pola novine ilustruju fotografijama užasa iz Vukovara, ali dobijam odgovor dežurnog urednika kako je Vukovar već stara vijest i nije nikom interesantna.
Stoga odlučim da napravim izložbu fotografija u Teatar Klubu, da pokažem ljudima o čemu se radi. Ali, bio sam toliko emotivno skrhan da to uradim, pa sam zamolio Milomira Kovačevića da izradi fotografije i postavi izložbu umjesto mene.
Izložba je bila, a kao da nije.
O njoj je Miljenko Jergović zapisao: „Veliki i zaboravljeni sarajevski fotograf tog vremena koji se zvao Mladen Pikulić i još se, hvala Bogu, zove, u vrijeme pada Vukovara otišao je u Vukovar i napravio jedan užasno potresan i strašan serijal fotografija. Bile su izložene fotografije pored stolova za kojima mi sjedimo, za kojima moja generacija sjedi. To je bilo jedno zastrašujuće iskustvo - to kako mi sjedimo i kako se zapravo dijelimo na one koji su nasekirani, koji su uzrujani, koji su pogođeni i na one koji će preko toga preći. U tom trenutku to čak nije bila uopće nacionalna podjela, na čemu ja stalno insistiram.... Jednostavno, nekim ljudima iz moje generacije i transgeneracijski je bilo svejedno (...)“.
Izvor: Al Jazeera |
As I’ve mentioned before, I get tons of email from people describing the personal finance problems in their lives, commenting critically on things I’ve written, and offering up their own stories of success. Not only that, as The Simple Dollar has become more and more popular, I’ve had more and more opportunities to talk about personal finance with people face to face.
What amazes me is that I see most of the same problems pop up time and time again. Sure, the specifics of the story change, as do the severity of the situation, but these same twelve items come up in almost every story I hear about financial problems. Even worse, quite often multiple items from this list appear in the same tale of woe.
I’m not immune to them, either. At the time of my own financial meltdown, I was guilty of the majority of these things. It was only due to a commitment to fixing my financial situation that I was able to overcome these mistakes and set them right.
Here they are, the twelve biggest mistakes I witness and hear about time and time again.
Concern rarely extends beyond the next paycheck or two.
These are the people who live from paycheck to paycheck. Their next paycheck or two will cover the immediate bills. If there happens to be some money left over, it’s spent on frivolous things. These are the people who are constantly hitting the ATM to check their debit card balance so they know how much they have to spend or the people who juggle credit cards that are maxed out. The only thing that matters is the next paycheck and the brief breathing room that it provides.
What’s the solution? The best way for people in this situation to begin to escape is to set up an automatic savings plan of some sort. The automatic savings plan would scrape a small amount of money out of that checking account each week and put it somewhere safe. The point isn’t so much to build up savings (although that’s very useful and valuable), but to slowly wean yourself from spending everything that you bring in.
Only one person in the family knows where the money goes.
Most families have one person that’s largely in control of managing the money – and that’s fine. It can be very useful to have a family “accountant” – a person that manages the checkbook, makes sure the bills are paid, and so on. This can actually be a very good thing, particularly if one person in a family is particularly detail-oriented.
The problem occurs when this leads to financial atrophy in the family, where no one but the person running the checkbook knows where the money goes or is involved in the decision-making process. While it can be very easy to just let that person run things, it can be very dangerous, too. That person might not be saving appropriately for family goals, might be leveraging credit card use in order to allow everyone to keep spending as they are, and so on.
What’s the solution? The best solution is for partners to have monthly meetings about their financial situation. Just sit down and talk about it. Go through the checkbook registry together and the bills together and just make sure that everyone is aware where the money is going and why it’s going there. Then, if there are problems, they can be discussed and handled appropriately. Doing this goes a long way to ensure that nasty surprises – like hidden credit card bills and so on – don’t crop up.
Partners don’t talk about their shared goals.
When my wife and I were first married, we basically didn’t talk about our shared goals – and when we did, it was mostly just bumping heads because our goals weren’t in alignment. We both had vague plans about having children and owning a home, but anything beyond that – and anything specific on either of those two topics – varied greatly between the two of us.
It wasn’t until we started actually sitting down and talking about our shared goals that things began to click into place. I began to realize that some of my dreams didn’t match hers at all, and vice versa. I also began to understand that when we sat down, talked about our different dreams, figured out the areas where they lined up, and came up with clear and specific goals that we both shared, it engaged both of us to make it happen. Rather than fighting through gentle resistance to get what I wanted, I found a cheerleader that pushed me onward to get what we wanted. The best part? What I wanted and what we wanted really weren’t all that far apart. It just took sitting down, talking about things, and making things concrete and specific to turn resistance into support – to turn vague ideas and dreams into action.
What’s the solution? Sit down with your partner and talk about where you want to be in five years. In ten years. In twenty five years. Figure out what each of you wants individually, then look at the areas where they overlap. Compromise a little bit and come up with detailed plans for things that you both want and you’re both willing to work towards.
There is no budget or spending limit, particularly on non-essential items.
I’m not actually referring to a hard and strict budget here. Instead, I’m talking about not keeping track of – and keeping control of – one’s spending on nonessential items. Many people simply don’t bother to keep track of their spending on such things in any way, shape, or form, and they’re often shocked at how much money has been frivolously spent when the credit card bill comes due. Then they pay it and forget about it again – it’s more important to keep up with the Joneses, you know.
My wife and I did this for several years. We kept our spending separate and didn’t really worry about how much we were spending. Quite often, this would result in a mess, where there were bills to be paid and we’d both spent more than we should. Eventually, clear communication got us out of this routine and now we both spend in a much more rational fashion.
What’s the solution? Put everyone on a spending allowance. Seriously. Each person gets a certain amount to spend per week (or month). This requires honesty and commitment from both sides, so the best way to do it is to regularly talk about it. Agree to a spending cap for each of you and then discuss any spending beyond that.
Family members and friends loan each other money without thinking about the consequences.
Many people talk about the guilt, anger, and mistrust that they feel when it comes to debts with their family. They either feel bad (in some fashion) about an inability to pay back a family debt, upset because of the expectations that others have of them in terms of loaning money, and anger and mistrust when people don’t pay back the money that’s loaned.
Luckily, I’ve largely been able to avoid this. On the occasions when I’ve wanted to help out family members, I’ve been smart enough to make it a gift.
What’s the solution? Don’t mix lending with family. If you want to help a family member with their financial situation, make it a no-strings-attached gift and forget about it. If you’re under the expectation that a family member is going to pay you back, you’ve changed a loving and caring relationship into a business-like lender-borrower relationship. Are you close and familial with your mortgage lender?
There is no emergency fund.
Many people are often completely blindsided by unexpected expenses. It’s a disaster if their car breaks down or they lose their job – immediate panic mode.
I was once in this very situation. A truck breakdown in 2005 was extremely costly, as was the need for new glasses in about that timeframe. I had to worry and plan and move money around in order to be able to easily deal with both of those situations.
What’s the solution? Well, it’s pretty easy – build an emergency fund. Start an automatic savings plan – as discussed in the section about living paycheck to paycheck – and don’t touch that money unless there’s a need. Having that flexible cash on hand makes emergencies much easier to handle. Plus, such an emergency fund (once it becomes normal and routine) can be the beginnings of a bigger savings goal, like saving for a house down payment.
There is no plan for the unexpected passing or disability of a key wage earner.
Ask someone what they’d do if the primary wage earner in their home suddenly passed away or became severely disabled and you often see a panicked “deer in the headlights” look. Further down that line, I hear from a lot of people who are having serious problems following the incapacitation or death of a key wage earner.
What’s the solution? Surprisingly, it’s not that hard to protect yourself against both of these events. A nice healthy emergency fund helps with the short term of either scenario, and a solid life insurance policy and a long term disability insurance policy will take care of the needs in each situation. If you’re young and in reasonable health, both types of policies can be quite cheap and they protect you against any such disaster. A long term care policy (one that covers the costs associated with your care if you require significant medical and personal care to survive) can also be useful.
Children are kept away from money concepts.
Many children (even through the teen years) have only a minimal understanding of money. They view it as merely a way to get stuff they want, not as a way to translate your hard work into a home, food on the table, clothing, electricity, future plans, and a few pleasures.
Instead, many children get an allowance that isn’t based on any effort and are allowed to spend it entirely on their wants. In this situation, the money has little meaning, and it’s made even worse when it’s supplemented by parents who step in with more money all the time.
What’s the solution? Have your children earn money in exchange for tasks done, and eventually build them towards small-scale entrepreneurship, like in the book Young Bucks. When they do earn money, have them set aside some for giving to others and for long-term savings goals so that they understand the usefulness of saving the money.
There is a pervasive anti-frugality pro-consumerism attitude.
Many people find themselves eschewing frugality. They buy heavily into the idea that “you only live once” and that “settling” for the best buy or the least expensive option is foolish. People who believe in this often are put under peer pressure to spend and often put pressure on others to do the same – you can’t live cheap if you’re going to be one of the boys, right? You gotta have all the toys.
I used to do this all the time. I’d buy expensive golf clubs and gadgets and always had a strong collection of Magic: the Gathering cards. Living cheap? Come on … that was for losers. What a fool I was.
What’s the solution? If you’re constantly bombarded with the sense that you need to spend money to fit in with a social group, find another social group. Engage in activities that are personally appealing to you that don’t revolve around spending money and seek others who are interested in those things. If you find you need to spend to feel good about yourself, seek out low-cost alternatives – hit the library if you’re a book or music nut, for example. You may also want to seek some degree of counseling if your self-worth has actually become tied to the stuff that you have.
Employee benefits aren’t well understood or utilized.
Most employers offer a lot of nice benefits that are largely undiscovered – or they’re underutilized by the employees. At my previous job, one thing I was quite good at was discovering employee benefits that we were entitled to – and my coworkers were often amazed at the stuff I found. Free sports tickets. Free car usage. Free prescription benefits and medical reimbursement accounts. Free meals. Free lectures. Free books and reading materials. Free investment advice and counseling. All you have to do is look.
What’s the solution? Read through your employee handbook and know the benefits available to you. Pay attention to emails and memos from human resources, as they often let you know about benefits. If you’re not sure about something, ask for help. And don’t hesitate to sign up for stuff – it’s there for you.
Major purchases are financed by debt, not by advance saving, and are often bought impulsively without research.
Not long ago, I watched a friend purchase a car. They needed to replace their old college-era Honda, so they just watched a couple of TV commercials, went to one local dealership less than a week later, and came home with a vehicle (and a hefty debt as well). He’d known that he needed a car for a while, but there was no advance planning – when he decided to do it, he just went and did it.
The end result? A poor impulsive car choice that doesn’t excel in reliability or gas mileage and a huge amount of debt. All it would take is a tiny bit of advance planning and an hour or two at the library and you’ll get a reliable car with good gas mileage, the car you actually want, and you’ll have a nice down payment in hand – and thus a better loan, too.
What’s the solution? If you know you’re going to be buying a car in the near future (three years or less), start making payments now by putting that money each month into a savings account. Then, as the time gets closer, figure out what you actually need and research those cars at the library or online. Find a model that fits your needs and wants the best and is reliable and has good gas mileage, then know what the car should cost – you can do this with an hour or two at the library. Then walk in there, buy the car with a large down payment or outright cash, and you’ve suddenly got a great car for a very nice price. You can apply the same exact logic to other purchases – appliances and home purchases reward advance saving and research.
Investments (particularly retirement) aren’t diversified.
A final concern that I often hear is that people are utterly panicked by the downturn in the stock market and are watching their retirement savings lose 20-25% of their value over the last year. This is especially true for people who are reaching retirement age – losing 25% of your retirement in the years just before retirement means that you’re simply going to be working for a while longer.
For younger folks like myself, it’s not quite as worrisome. My Roth IRA won’t be available for withdrawals for thirty years, after all. But even for me, it’s important to not have every egg in one basket – I invest in broad-based index funds that essentially have a few pennies in thousands of different stocks at once, so that the failure of one company won’t cause me to drown.
What’s the solution? Diversify, especially as you get closer to retirement. If you don’t know what you’re doing, put your money in a “target retirement” option that’s close to your retirement date so that they can auto-diversify for you. Do not hold more than 20% of your retirement savings in a single stock – I’d be nervous holding more than 10%. |
Our story begins in the home of Ruth Levi née Nebel, my wife's grandmother. In her living room I saw two paintings: One of a house with a green façade on a narrow and pastoral street, with a castle in the background, and on the opposite wall another painting of houses on the bank of a tranquil river with that same castle in the background.
Green house in Germany: Finding grandma's home (Video and editing: Shahar Shoshan) (צילום ועריכה: שחר שושן)
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When I noticed the common denominator, I asked about the paintings and discovered that they depict the house and town Ruth grew up in. I immediately decided to check whether the house still exists and can be found on Google Maps.
Geographical investigation
The starting point for locating the house was Google Maps, but the company's car-mounted cameras have yet to reach Harburg, so the Street View option was off the table, and I had to try to come up with the house's address, which was unclear from the aerial shots.
Painting that started it all, and house as it is today
If we examine the pictures, we'll see that according to the towers, the castle is seen from the same height but at a slightly different horizontal area, while in the second painting, the castle appears a bit bigger and seems to have been drawn directly above the river.
According to logic, it was drawn on a bridge. Indeed, if we examine the aerial photo we'll discover a bridge facing the castle.
Harburg, as seen over Wörnitz river, 1930s
If in both paintings we can see the castle on a hill, then they are both facing the same direction, with the change of perspective between the towers (the gap between them grew significantly) showing that the picture depicting the river was painted on the left of the one depicting the house. That is strengthened by the knowledge that there is a bridge exactly on the logical angle.
All this tells us that the house should be behind and to the right of the bridge.
Painting clarifies street structure and house with chimney and unique window
A more accurate examination of the building reveals a chimney on the right corner, with a unique window on the left part of the roof turning towards the street. When I received the aerial photos in the logical area I managed to locate exactly one house that looks like that, and that is the green house on Egelsee Street in Harburg, Germany.
While I was working on the family tree for a family genealogy project, I scanned the Internet and run across records of the Jewish community in the area edited by a German journalist called Rolf Hofmann together with one of the family members, in which they documented the entire Nebel family and its offspring from 1759 to this day.
Hofmann directed me to a Harburg resident called Fritz Leimer, who has lived there all his life and is considered the regional expert on the town's Jews. Leimer did not only know the family members, but also the house's address, and so I got final confirmation for the building's existence and location.
Welcome back
The Nebel family home was built in 1613 and is located in the old area of Harburg. The house, which had been in the possession of Jews for the longest time in the history of the town – 183 years, was sold to a Jewish family in 1753 and contains three floors and an attic, with a different part of the family living on each floor.
House as it was in 1920s
In the Nebel family home, as well as in the adjacent house of the Oppenheimer family, is a room mentioned in history books as a Laubhütte. The room must face east, and the sunset and stars at night should be visible from it.
It turns out that the Jews in Germany would use it as a sukkah at the time. It's interesting to see that this tradition continues to this very day in modern construction in Bnei Brak and in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood. In the newer buildings constructed as condominium complexes, it is not always possible to take scaffolding out of the house or open a sukkah in the parking space, and so the houses are constructed in advance with the built-in sukkah and are called "kosher homes."
Window of room in Laubhutte – sukkah built inside house (Photo: Shahar Shoshan)
Facing the house is the synagogue built in 1754, which served as a community center and included the mikveh (Jewish ritual bath). Until its construction, the only mikveh in the town was located in the Oppenheimer family home, two houses away, where they built an underground descent leading into a small mikveh for the household members.
The synagogue, which served the Jewish community, had its problems as it is located exactly on the Wörnitz river, which tends to overflow once every decade or so, flooding the basements and ruining the first floor – the same floor which houses the benches and stage from which the Torah is read.
Basement appears in house's description as a well or fountain, but it's clear to us that it's a mikveh
When the majority of the community left the town in 1936, the synagogue was deserted. Although it was not torched on Kristallnacht in November 1938, its content was plundered by the town's residents, who used the wooden furniture as firewood to heat their houses.
It was then turned into a warehouse for construction material for the Nazis, and at the end of the war the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO) regained ownership of it. As there were no more Jews in the area, it was sold to a family of refugees for a particularly low sum and was renovated over the years, serving today as a residence and as the office of the regional doctor.
Know where you came from
Harburg, located in the Wörnitz Valley, is a small and serene town which was home to a thriving Jewish community for 250 years. The earliest documentation of Jews in the area points to 1671, and in 1800 342 Jews lives and worked in Harburg, making up a quarter of the town's population.
Leimer, the local historian, says that "until the 1930s, the Jews lived peacefully alongside the Christians in Harburg, but the church's resources were very limited. You could work either as a farmer or as a laborer in the concrete factory."
Peaceful and pleasant town. Market street in Harburg
Ahead of 1933, when the Third Reich rose to power, the atmosphere in Germany became more negative and threatening than ever, and an increasing number of Jewish families left the town for fear of persecution and in order to look for employment elsewhere.
The synagogue goers could no longer reach a quorum and the community was dissolved. The rest of the Jews were affiliated with the nearby community in Nördlingen.
Nebel family sitting at house's entrance. Ruth is on the bottom left
This is where history splits into two. I ask Leimer, a German Christian who was 10 years old during the war, about the atmosphere in the town when Hitler came to power. A look of discomfort appears on his face.
"I would say the reason they left was not specifically linked to the regime. We lived in a village, most of the people worked in the concrete factory, and for people who did not want to create a career for themselves, the (Nazi) party was not interesting. The atmosphere, as far as I can remember, was not aggressive.
"People, Jews and Christians, lived together, engaged in trade together. Of course there were problems sometimes, especially on Saturday and Sunday. The Jews were banned from doing business on Sundays, and on that day they had an opportunity to meet farmers from the area. And so it caused problems sometimes, as it was against regulations. But those were not serious problems.
"In Harburg, like in many small towns, the Nazi party did not have a great presence, so the Jews and Christians lived quietly together. But if the Jews had a certain even like a funeral or holiday, the Christians would not show up because they didn't want to be seen together. As far as we were concerned, the Jews were not a special group of people. They were like anyone else.
"It's hard for me to think about a serious problem at all, but of course I was young at the time. I was born in 1933, but I never heard from my family about problems with the Jews. Maybe the Jews felt the situation was more serious that we did because we were not at the center of attention."
Ruth Nebel (L) with a friend inside the house's yard, 1930s
Along with Leimer's sympathetic depiction, we hear Ruth's story which describes a very different atmosphere among the Jews, harassment on the street and in school and name calling like "that Jewish girl."
The merchant from Harburg
The Nebel family is mentioned in the historic documentation of Harburg as an upper class family. The father, Siegfried, engaged in cattle trade. Leimer says "the family was very well known for their occupation. They would go and talk to farmers from the working class in the area, meet in the neighborhood pubs and build business ties."
Siegfried Nebel, Ruth's father
As the influence of the Nazi party grew stronger in the area, Siegfried found it difficult to perform his work, as no one wanted to be seen doing business with a Jew. Siegfried left for Israel in 1936 on his own, smuggling money along, as there was a limit on the amount of cash one could leave the state with. He purchased lands in Moshav Ramot Hashavim, and several months later the family packed all of its belongings and got on a train to Italy, from where it took a ship to Israel.
Original chest with sewing threads from Germany
In light of the restriction on taking funds out of Germany and because they knew in advance about the problematic situation in terms of supplies in the Land of Israel, the mother, Rezi, bought commodities like toilet paper and even sewing threads and cloths. The chest with the sewing threads together with other furniture was kept, and is in the family's possession with all of its original content to this very day.
Behind the pastoral charm of the town on the riverbank hides a dark story which affected Jews in Germany and the entire world. A visit to the place containing personal, local history, which directly affected one's life, has added value no story can provide.
There are quite a few families which left Germany for Israel, and each has its own fascinating story. And what about Ruth Lebel, you ask? She married Isaac Levi and they raised a family in Israel together, and thanks to that decision made in the past I got to meet my wife today. |
New NPR Extension For Google Chrome
toggle caption Screenshot / Jon Foreman/NPR
Today we launched an NPR extension for the Google Chrome web browser. Powered by the NPR API, the extension displays the latest headlines for various topics, allows users to set up custom news feeds and provides a streamlined listening experience.
For custom news feeds, you can set up tabs featuring headlines associated with a keyword. So if you are interested in news about Russia, for example, you can go to the extension options, enter the keyword 'Russia' and a new tab will be created listing headlines associated with this topic.
For stories that have audio, you can listen with a simple click. The audio continues to play as you browse through any web site. The audio player uses HTML5 to play the story. HTML5 audio tags allow one to play a clip directly from the browser without any additional audio streaming software, like Flash or Windows Media Player.
To try out the extension, you'll need the beta version of Google Chrome. After that is installed, go to the NPR extension page and install it. |
A growing global fitness trend has men ditching dumbbells for yoga mats in so-called Broga classes, a macho twist on the thousands-year-old practice that promises the same punishing workout — with a little added bliss.
Until recently, some traditions of yoga were exclusively practised by men, but it has been largely shunned by male fitness buffs in the modern era.
Yoga instructors are now catering to men with classes that emphasize strength over stretching and offering everything from craft beer after class to man-only retreats away from the fairer sex.
The workout is what gets men in the door, but they stay because of what yoga can do for your well-being. - Michael DeCorte
"Yoga is more than just women contorting themselves into vegan pretzels," says Michael DeCorte, the Toronto "man-treprenuer" behind Jock Yoga, an athletic mashup that combines the mindfulness of sun salutations with the muscle burn of pumping iron.
"Originally, it was just a gimmick," says DeCorte. "When I first saw it on a poster, it was almost like an oxymoron … You see yoga and think, 'spiritual,' and jock you think, 'laid-back, swearing, burping."'
DeCorte says men can account for anywhere between 50 to 85 per cent of his classes at the Equinox fitness club in Toronto, a striking level of testosterone in an industry whose audience is 70 per cent women, according to a 2016 Ipsos Public Affairs study.
Broga across Canada
Classes like Jock Yoga have cropped up all over the country, such as Jo-Ga in Halifax, Yoguy in Vancouver and the all-nude male Mudraforce studio in Montreal.
Broga, or bro yoga, is the latest fitness trend for men looking to try a different kind of work out. (Jud Burkett/The Spectrum via The Associated Press)
The Massachusetts-based Broga yoga empire, which holds a copyright on the man-tastic portmanteau, claims to have more than 12,000 students and 500 teachers, boasting classes online and all over the world.
These classes are tapping into an underserved market, says Broga founder Robert Sidorti. He says many men crave the health and wellness benefits of yoga, but fear full lotus pose may make them seem "girly."
"The absolute main focus was to get more men practising yoga," Sidorti says.
"(Using) everything that would speak to the average guy out there, who might feel like whatever they've seen over the years regarding yoga just hasn't spoken to them."
Sidoti says most of Broga's disciples are just regular guys — dads with back pain and office workers trying to shed their beer guts, all looking for what the Broga site calls "an accessible yoga-based fitness program taught from a man's point of view."
Free from distractions
Sidoti says Broga even offers men-only retreats for guys who fear the allure of women wearing lycra pants may distract from their yogic journey.
Yoga is more than just women contorting themselves into vegan pretzels. - Michael DeCorte
"I hear it all the time," he says. "'I want to go (to yoga) because I want to see beautiful women.'
"There's plenty of time in your day to check out beautiful women. How about one hour where you just leave all the distractions aside and really focus on yourself?"
While the Broga movement is firmly established, absent from most of these Broga-themed classes is a certain back-slapping, baseball-capped fraternity of men — actual bros.
"I don't think there's a super strong 'brogi' culture, but I do think … it's actually growing," says Jock Yoga's DeCorte.
'They're coming for a workout'
He isn't a Broga teacher, but says he set out with a similar mission in 2009 when he realized there wasn't a yoga class for men like him who can bench more than 100 kilograms yet have difficulty touching their toes.
"The point was to have a guy who understands a guy's body and what guys need," he says.
Michael DeCorte adopts an eight angle pose at Toronto's Moksha Yoga studio. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
Jock Yoga is a fast-paced, full-body workout that aims for tight hips and strong upper bodies. For an hour or more, students flow through dozens of tricep push-ups, complicated arm balances and inverted acrobatics, leaving with stronger abs and a sense of calm.
The class is set to Top 40 tunes, and DeCorte cues poses in everyday terms instead of the traditional sanskrit. He says, in these classes, a handstand is called just that, not "adho mukha vrksasana" — and no chanting is allowed.
"These guys aren't coming to become spiritual beings," he says. "They're coming for a workout … so they want to be brutalized."
That's not to say the class is devoid of spirituality, DeCorte insists, it just isn't packaged in its conventional form.
"There is meditation in the challenge," DeCorte says.
"It's like sneaking broccoli into brownies. The workout is what gets men in the door, but they stay because of what yoga can do for your well-being."
Top it off with a pint?
Not all yoga classes geared toward men demand Jock Yoga's high endurance.
Robert Sidorti says most of Broga's disciples are regular guys looking for an "accessible" yoga-based program. (Jud Burkett/The Spectrum via The Associated Press)
In Halifax, Jo-Ga at the Rock in Opposition Yoga & Pilates Studio takes a similar, no-nonsense fitness-based approach to yoga, but moves a little slower than Jock Yoga's plank-a-second pace.
The studio is outfitted with hip, faux-western decor, and classes are capped with a round of craft beer.
There's one other difference — the class is overwhelmingly attended by women.
"This class does cater to male bodies but that can be relevant to plenty of women as well," says teacher Nikki Martin. "(Women are) embracing powerful and what powerful looks like."
The class was once called Broga, but in recognition of its unlikely core audience, the studio has since changed the name.
Martin says some women are drawn to the class because of its masculine appeal.
"It's keeping up with the boys," she says, "or keeping up with those bad-ass women." |
When Belgian illustrator Raphael Vicenzi was coming up with an artitsic pseudonym, he returned to a childhood photo for inspiration. "It originates from this picture of me sitting on a pony when I was a very young child. I was making a face because I was so terribly scared of this huge white beast.I realized that the pony was most certainly dead and that one day I would be gone as well, hence the name.That kinda put everything in perspective at that time; Life, death, what's going on in between and after." With that, Mydeadpony was born.
Mydeadpony had been a work in progress over the course of many decades. As a child he was always doing "something creative [but] I was never encouraged by my family to pursue an artistic career. I [think] it's all a matter of opportunities that come your way at a certain point in your life."
Illustration and graphic design may be staples of his work now, but when Vicenzi found himself in an office during in his late twenties, these art mediums seemed intimidating. "I didn't know anything about graphic design or illustration. Web design quickly became too complicated for me." |
But that's wrong. The real story behind the 2014 outbreak isn't on the West Coast. It's in Ohio Amish country, where a missionary returning from the Philippines turned an otherwise unremarkable year for this virus into one of the worst in recent history.
That's where Jacqueline Fletcher, the public health nursing director for Ohio's Knox County, got an harried call from a pay phone last April.
A member of the local Amish community was on the line. There was a potential measles outbreak in the town, the woman said, and the public health department should know.
Fletcher's first thought was, "Oh, shit." For a health worker, this was a nightmare scenario. She couldn't just call the woman back or ring up other potential victims; they didn't have phone numbers. This Amish community, like others in the United States, eschews the conveniences of modern technology.
"We don't have any internet or computer. We don't have a car," Ivan Miller, an Amish furniture store owner in the community struck by measles, explained. "It's not that we feel a car is wrong. It's our choice because we feel if we had a car, it would bring us to a lot more temptations in the world."
At the time, this Amish population was generally against vaccination. This, however, wasn't a matter of religious principle but one of health concerns.
In the 1990s, Miller explained, two Ohio kids allegedly got sick after they took the MMR shot, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella. Rumors about vaccine safety spread through the Amish community like a virus. "That put a scare in us and we quit," Miller says. This made it incredibly easy for measles — the most contagious virus known to man — to move through this cluster of unvaccinated individuals.
Fletcher had been with the Knox health department for 29 years. And she'd never seen anything like what she found in some of the Amish households she visited, trying to get a sense of the outbreak's size — and stop its spread. "There was a household that had six adolescent teenage children with measles, all sitting in the dark," she says. They were covered in the spotty rash that's characteristic of the virus, miserable, and sick. It was a scene from the last century.
The outbreak that Fletcher spent months working to contain ultimately infected 382 Amish Ohioans by the time it was declared over in August of last year. Nobody died, but nine wound up in the hospital with more serious symptoms.
"We had never seen a case of measles before this," Fletcher says. "I just remember a man from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] saying to me, 'You have got to get ahead of this.'"
Unvaccinated travelers drive measles outbreaks
Last summer, a team of researchers got together to try and understand an alarming trend: why had so many measles cases popped up recently?
In 2000, the federal government declared that the United States had eliminated the disease: enough people were immunized that outbreaks were uncommon, and deaths from measles were scarcely heard of.
But in the first half of 2014 alone, there were 288 cases. And nearly all of them, the CDC researchers wrote in findings published last June, stemmed from Americans traveling abroad and returning with the disease.
"Of the 288 cases, 280 (97 percent) were associated with importations from at least 18 countries," they wrote. Many of these travelers were coming back from the Philippines, which has been dealing with a massive outbreak since fall 2013.
"What we've seen — since the epidemic of measles was interrupted in 2000 — is that we are continually getting measles coming in from overseas," says Jane Seward, deputy director of the viral diseases division at the CDC. "More often than not, it's US residents who go overseas for a trip — to say, Europe, where they don't think they need to be vaccinated. They bring measles back."
"A perfect storm" in Ohio
In the Ohio case, "patient zero" had traveled to the Philippines on a missionary trip. (In case you were wondering, he took a plane. Miller explained, "Some Amish fly. Some don't.") At the time, the Philippines happened to be facing a massive measles outbreak, with tens of thousands of cases.
When he returned to Ohio, and fell ill, a doctor misdiagnosed him with Dengue fever, so he continued to pass his disease along to friends and neighbors, many of whom had refused the vaccine out of those concerns over adverse effects.
Fletcher describes it as a "perfect storm:" an unimmunized traveler going to a place with an outbreak and bringing an infectious disease back to an unprotected community.
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses ever discovered. In most cases, it's not deadly, but it's almost always debilitating, bringing on a weeks-long fever, rash, and painful, watery eyes. Up to forty percent of people experience serious complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis (or swelling of the brain). One or two children in 1,000 die.
The most remarkable thing about the virus, however, is that it's incredibly indestructible. A person with measles can cough in a room, leave, and — if you were unvaccinated — hours later, you can catch the virus from the droplets in the air that they left behind. No other virus can do that. It also lives on surfaces for hours, finding new hosts in the unimmunized.
"Measles is very contagious, so once [the Ohio missionary] felt better, he went to church, and the church was in somebody's house," Fletcher says. "The majority of those first cases, we linked back to him. They had all attended church in that house."
"There was a household with six adolescent teenagers with measles, all sitting in the dark."
Then, there were obstacles specific to tracing a disease through an Amish community. Trying to reach everyone who might have been exposed to the disease and get them into quarantine so they couldn't spread the infection further required a level of gumshoeing nearly reminiscent of searching out Ebola victims in rural West Africa.
"Because the Amish don't have phones, we had to go out to their homes," she says. "We're a small health department in a rural area. It was a lot of work."
Fletcher and her team patiently went door to door, collecting specimens, educating people about vaccines, making sure the vulnerable — pregnant women and small babies too young to get vaccinated — were safe from harm. CDC officials even flew in to support the effort.
An Amish man travels to the Philippines...
The actual story of the 2014 outbreak complicates the narrative that has developed in the wake of the new outbreak of measles at Disneyland in early 2015: that a growing number of parents, led by Jenny McCarthy, have begun to opt their kids out of vaccinations, letting the disease spread easily.
Federal data shows no drop off in vaccination rates over the past decade
In fact, it's only about two percent of the population that refuses vaccines outright. All 50 states have had school immunization requirements since the early 1980s, though some now allow medical and philosophical exemptions. Even so, there hasn't been a drop off in vaccination rates in the past decade, the National Immunization Survey shows. Coverage for the MMR vaccine stands at 92 percent.
It's not actually a rising anti-vaxx tide or naturopathic, private school mothers driving a return of vaccine-preventable disease here. It's not even low-income folks who wind up getting sick, and it's especially not undocumented migrants bringing in viruses, the CDC's Seward says: "The people getting measles are those that travel abroad, come back, and live in a community among people who weren't vaccinated."
Some years, we get 40 "importations." Last year, there were about 65. "This is more than normal," she added, "and it reflects travel patterns and where measles is active globally."
The travelers spark outbreaks when they hit geographic clusters of unvaccinated people, like the one in Ohio. These infectious disease powder kegs exist all across the US, waiting to be sparked. Their low rates of vaccine coverage are hidden in the statistics about national averages, and they are by no means guided by a singular ideology. They may be the hesitant Amish of Ohio, vaccine-opposing Christian Scientists, or simply worried parents who delay immunizing their kids.
Last year, the Amish outbreak in the United States mirrored an uptick in Canadian cases. A population of Christian Dutch Reformers in British Columbia, which had refused vaccines out of concerns over safety, drove an outbreak of more than 400 measles cases. According to the World Health Organization, there were only 512 cases in Canada in total last year.
Miller, the Ohio furniture-store owner, says the measles episode in Knox changed his mind about the MMR vaccine. His wife got a bad case, and so did his son-in-law. "On their worst days, we were wondering if they're going to make it," he says.
"We all took the vaccine after that. I had one shot, and I still took the other one and we had all our kids vaccinated, too. After people saw how sick people got, they changed their minds." |
This article is about the character. For the general species of female OCs, see Rosechu (species).
This article is filled with TRUTH and HONESTY and was once 'Article of the Now'.
Rosechu (pronounced "rose'chu" ([ˈroːztʃu]) in canon;[2] ro'-za-chu ([ˈrozətʃu]) in the Audiobooks) is the second Electric Hedgehog Pokémon created by Chris, and the girlfriend-turned-wife of Sonichu.
As the primary male female character in the Sonichu universe, she represents Chris's idea of a perfect woman, which unsurprisingly amounts to a bleating wall-eyed semen receptacle with no personality. Rosechu's interests include kissing Sonichu, shopping, gossiping, sucking Sonichu's pickle, posting nude photos of herself on the Internet to uphold her reputation, and stripping for Women's rights. Chris will occasionally have Rosechu refer to him as "father" (or more likely "papa"), just like Sonichu. Rosechu is extremely defensive about rumors that she has a penis.
Development
“
Pink Electric Hedgehog Pokemon. The original cutie. She is Sonichu’s girlfriend. Even though she can’t run as fast as Sonichu, she still can zap up some power when in danger.
„
—Rosechu's background, Sonichu's News Dash #2
Christian's primary interests are Sonic the Hedgehog and Pokémon. Having first created Sonichu, he would inevitably have to turn to fashioning a girlfriend for his creation, based predominantly on Amy Rose, with minor elements from Raichu added. Whereas the Sonic/Amy relationship is deliberately one-sided to create some drama and comedy, Christian prides himself on the fact that Sonichu and Rosechu have absolutely no sexual tension or any complications in their romance at all.
Intentionally or not, the entire Sonichu/Rosechu relationship serves as Christian's model for how he presumes he will interact with his eventual sweetheart. Sonichu's attraction to Rosechu is based entirely on a single wayward glance. He makes no effort to win her affection, and does not need to, as Rosechu falls for him instantly. They are rarely out of one another's sight, and all of their time together is spent kissing, snuggling or screwing. Christian does not depict Rosechu as an unequal partner within the relationship, but since she has almost no purpose or existence outside of her association with Sonichu, the character essentially serves as little more than an object for Sonichu to periodically ejaculate inside.
As trolls discovered Chris's weak spot for fan art of Rosechu with a penis, Christian responded with fervent attempts to prove Rosechu's femininity, drawing her less like the cartoonish Amy Rose and with greater attention to her breasts, hips, legs, underwear and cameltoe. This drive to assert Rosechu's sexuality, along with Chris's inevitable sexual attraction to his own character, probably contributed to Rosechu's increasing prominence in the comics. Sonichu #8 is almost entirely about her, even featuring an instance of Rosechu displaying formidable powers (in an attack which needlessly involved face-to-vagina contact).
Chris developed a biography page for Rosechu and revealed that he had created her on 22 December 2000, over nine months after creating Sonichu. Nowhere on the page is there any mention of him using Amy Rose as a base. It should also be noted that this was done basically out of obligation, as Rosechu (one of the comic's main characters) did not have her own page until February 2010, while Simonla, a rather minor character, had one back in December 2009. All information on Rosechu was originally to be found in a subsection of Sonichu's page, despite Chris's efforts to imply she is equal to him.
Early life
In the CWCipedia article for Rosechu, Chris gives a rambling, pointless backstory for Rosechu. According to Chris, Rosechu was raised by her parents: fathered by a Luxray and mothered by a Raichu. The Luxray hunts and does other masculine activities, while the Raichu stays home and cooks dinner. Chris gives the small group a family dynamic similar to that of humans (the notion of which is completely ridiculous in the Pokémon universe). While still a Pichu, she was captured by a trainer, separating herself from family (though unlike Wild Sonichu, she expresses no emotion whatsoever about this as an adult).
The Pichu was taken in by Professor Oak, a character from the first-generation Pokémon games, and given to Kellie Felix as a consolation for not having arrived in time to receive one of the traditional starters. This plot point is stolen directly from the Pokémon anime and Pokémon Yellow, which begin in almost the exact same way.
More extremely dull biographical information ensues, chiefly concerning Kel gathering a full team of Pokémon. Oddly, every one of her Pokémon has a human nickname ("David," "Ashley", et cetera) but the Pichu is not given a nickname at all. The Pichu that would become Rosechu evolves into a Pikachu at one point, and at level 50 Kel uses a Thunder Stone to force it to evolve into a Raichu .
It's also interesting to point out that, unlike the other Sonichu/Rosechus in the comic, she is the only one to evolve fully clothed. Sonichu evolved with shoes on (somehow), the others seemed to as well, minus when Chris broke into Angelica's room, giving her shoes and a Scrunchy. When her children evolve, they do not share their mother's magic clothes evolution trait. Before her children, shes the only non-human character to be fully clothed while the other Sonichu/Rosechus run about naked or wear little to no clothing.
Sexism
“
She is not just a sex object; she is an individual with her own feelings, aspirations and opinions.
„
—Chris, explaining how he sees Rosechu as a sex object
Since Chris knows virtually nothing about actual women and considers them completely different from men, he has no frame of reference for Rosechu's characterization beyond qualities that make her a perfect mate in his eyes. Beyond her relationship with Sonichu and her defiance of 4-cent garbage.com, Chris will only have Rosechu partake in stereotypical female activities. She enjoys "shopping" for no other reason than Chris having deemed this as a compulsory feminine quality, as well as having long "girly chats" that can last for hours — as seen with her interaction with Amy Rose, whom according to Chris she does not resemble in any way. Despite all of the shopping she does, she always wears the same outfit in public (when she isn't making porn for Women's rights). Her only other hobbies seem to include lounging in fields of flowers, and playing the damsel in distress and constantly needing her man Sonichu to save her.
Also worth noting is that, unlike Sonichu, Rosechu didn't fall in love at first glance. According to the CWCipedia, Rosechu only fell in love with Sonichu after he asked her to get him something to eat. Subtle.
Despite being slower than her counterpart,[3] and rarely showing any usefulness or fighting prowess (merely twice at last count), Chris claims that Rosechu is equal to her heartsweet in every way; she's just always "caught off-guard".[4] This tactfully implies that although Rosechu is as formidable in potential as Sonichu against the forces of evil, she is too incompetent to perform this duty. Logically, since Rosechu was created from Raichu, the evolved form of Pikachu, from which Sonichu was created, she should be stronger than him in basically every regard, but her crippling handicap of being female robs her of this.
It is notable that her nickname is the exact same as the baby form of her species, in what is totally not an infantilization of her character. To Chris's credit, she probably had the nickname before Chris came up with the Sonee/Rosey idea. Also, this could simply be an emulation of the common term of endearment "baby" normal people use (but isn't likely to be considering Chris's unoriginality).
Transgender drama
“
Okay, who’s Ready to have their minds Totally, Royally F***ed Up? Rosey, our Prime Rosechu, Sweetheart of Sonichu... Was born, as a Pichu, MALE. The D***ed Trolls were correct.
„
—Chris, December 2017
Chris's edited "proof" of Rosechu's sex.
The unedited page tells a different story.
Officially canon
On 12 January 2010, Chris received a letter from a fan complimenting his portrayal of Rosechu as a transwoman. The fourth generation of the Pokémon games introduced a sexually dimorphic feature for Raichu; female Raichu have rounded tails, whereas the males have a defined point - the latter being the original Raichu design, and as such the design of the Raichu that would become Rosechu. Rather than simply explaining that he had created the character before this gender-specific characteristic existed in the game art, Chris's reaction was to freak out in CAPS LOCK and scream into his camera. This intense reaction, of course, meant that the trolls had found yet another one of Chris's hot-buttons.
Chris received two more letters about Rosechu's transgendered nature before taking further action. He threw together a poorly photoshopped collage, declaring that it proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that Rosechu was female. Unfortunately for Chris, the page in the archives remained unedited. This was pointed out in Mailbag 45. Chris responded to the serious accusation of lying to his fans the only way he knew: by deleting the letter. Chris eventually used the obvious defense that the gender differences didn't exist when he drew the page in Mailbag 51, when a patient fan explained he should have done that all along.
When Chris created the Rosechu biography page, he mentioned that Rosechu had a blunt tail as a Raichu (contradicting his own art) and that it became pointed because of her transformation.
“
I actually have heard this Fact from Rosechu, Herself; it is Not Fan Input on that.
„
—Chris says Rosechu informed him that she is actually transgender.
Official poll results: Rosechu is transgender.
On 6 December 2017, Chris took a complete 180 from his original viewpoint and confirmed that Rosechu was, indeed, hatched a male[5], stealing a plot point from the fan webcomic, Rosechu's Story. He claims she got an operation on her genitals so that she could give birth to her three children. He then asked his followers to vote on whether she should remain a transwoman or get retconned to being a female from birth again, and they voted 57% to 43% for her to be transgender.
Marriage
Rosechu's marriage with Sonichu hasn't been as idyllic as she always imagined...
Rosechu married Sonichu in a top secret ceremony at Samuel Memorial United Christian Church on March 17, 2006.[6] Despite living together and having constant sex, the two lovebirds saw fit to keep their union out of the spotlight by wearing their rings under their gloves. Rosechu quickly set to work fulfilling her sole creator-given biological function as a Sonee and Rosey factory. As of 2009, the couple have three hidden children, abandoned to their put-upon-yet-attractive Hispanic lesbian nanny, presumably so the grown-ups can continue their important day-jobs of screwing and saving Chris from the trolls. The eldest, Cera, was already enrolled in elementary school in Sonichu 11, despite being ostensibly two years old.
After having the kids, Rosechu "volunteered on her own sound decision to have her tubes tied,"[7] which Chris believes is a reversible procedure (it generally is not). Rosechu elects to do this despite the fact that it would be be easier and safer for Sonichu to get a vasectomy and much easier for Sonichu just to wear a condom, as both characters have espoused in fake PSAs within the comic. The fact that preventing future children is Rosechu's responsibility rather than her husband's illustrates Chris's self-centered views on masculinity, responsibility, and the woman's role in a marriage.
Religion
She appears to hold unspecified Christian beliefs, reminding Sonichu that instead of using violence or getting angry with his foes, he should "remember the story of Joseph" (which of the Bible's three Josephs it is unclear) and forgive them. After all, all of the "good guys" of Chris' comic must be like their insane, murderous god.
However, Rosechu fails to remember the story of Joseph herself when she savagely mauls Jason Kendrick Howell not only for the crime of creating a satire website about her creator - but for throwing a pickle at her. As proof of her hypocrisy, Rosechu transforms into The Incredible Lioness, face-rapes Jason and tears his scalp open before electrocuting him, leaving him convulsing in a pool of blood.[8]
Campaigner
Despite the sexism evident, Rosechu is a long-term campaigner for Women's rights.
Rosechu has also been known to complain about the "dumb" child pornography laws,[9] mirroring Chris's wish that they be overturned so he can expand his Love Quest criteria to include children.
With her total lack of personality, rampant promiscuity, violent behaviour and enthusiasm for child pornography, Chris believes Rosechu is the perfect model for young female fans.
In the battle of 4-Cent Garbage she mentions how her glorious body and women's genitals are used to carry her children until they emerge for their "glorious birth". However, Rosechu should not be able to have live births, as every Sonee/Rosey seen was mentioned or shown to have been hatched (minus Sonichu, Rosechu, and Blake). She possibly meant she would lay the eggs- but her wording makes it sound she is able to give live births-what Pokemon cannot do. According to the Sonichu Chronology, all three of her children were born at this time.
Obesity
Sonichu 12 features a storyline about Rosechu becoming obese. Chris wrote the plot into the story as a reflection of his relationship with then-sweetheart Jessica Quinn, who has a fat fetish[10][11].
Gallery
See also
For Truth and Honesty , see the archived CWCipedia page on Rosechu |
It took me too long to realize. What was missing in my life was a man. Specifically, a poultry butcher.
Yes, I learned to carve a whole chicken in culinary school, but bad student that I was, found it too much of a chore. After graduation I rarely brought home whole chickens to dissect. Instead, at the supermarket, I made a beeline for neatly packaged drumsticks and wings.
In China's wet markets, however, you can select your chicken from the poultry guys, who will pluck, carve, and bag your bird in a matter of minutes. The more expensive chickens at the wet markets are free-range, ol' skool-style, raised by local farmers who let them run around their neighborhoods and feed them grain or table scraps (consider the alternative.) The cheaper birds at the wet markets, not to mention any packaged chicken you'll find at supermarkets, are factory-farmed. These are what Chinese people mean when they refer to "chicken that has no chicken taste."
So, a poultry butcher is a lazy cook's best friend. Especially when it comes to making stupidly easy but insanely addictive dishes like Three Cup Chicken.
A Taiwanese dish, three cup chicken consists of bite-sized chicken (bone-in) braised with equal parts soy sauce, white rice wine, and sesame oil. The combination, plus some sugar and a potent amount of garlic and ginger, eliminates the need for any spices. An essential ingredient to add at the end is Thai or oriental basil, with adds a mild clove-like flavor to the dish.
And it takes only 15 minutes from start to end.
_________________________
Three Cup Chicken
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/2 cup sesame oil, divided in half
1 whole 2 to 2 1/2 pound chicken, chopped to bite-sized pieces
10 cloves garlic, chopped
10 pieces thinly sliced ginger
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup white rice wine
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 cups fresh Thai or oriental basil
Instructions |
Author: Marshall Schott
After my post on BIAB a few weeks ago, I received comments from a few folks regarding the type of bag I had been using. It was explained to me the mesh was not tightly woven enough and allows more grain material to get into the wort, which could ultimately increase astringency in the resultant beer. Perhaps there are other good reasons to use a tighter weaved bag, but potential astringency in my beer was impetus enough to get me looking for a good alternative option to my $6 grain bag.
Not long after starting my search for better BIAB bags, I stumbled upon the website for WilserBrewer BIAB Bags and did some comparison shopping with other sites offering similar products. A few things kept bringing me back to WilserBrewer, namely the price, the inclusion of a ratchet pulley with most orders, and the fact his bags are custom made to fit your mash tun (kettle or otherwise). One of the more annoying things about the bag I’d been using is that it didn’t quite fit around the lip of my kettle, requiring the use of clips to hold it in place.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I contacted WilserBrewer to ask about their products and after some conversation, the owner offered to send me the bags in exchange for an honest review on my website. Something worthy of consideration is the fact he was so quick to seek such a deal- who in their right mind would ship a crappy product to a guy like me seeking an honest review? This impressed me. I received the package within a week of sending in my kettle dimensions, it included a large grain bag, a smaller hop sock, the ratchet pulley, and a smaller grain bag I plan to use later with my 4 gallon kettle (not pictured).
I was again impressed to see just how beautifully the bag fit my 14 gallon kettle.
I had an extra bike hook lying around, so I screwed it into a stud in my garage ceiling to use with the ratchet pulley.
My initial concern had to do with the length of the pulley rope and what to do with it so it didn’t get doused in boiling wort or burnt by my relatively powerful KAB4 burner. The simplest solution, which worked great, was to loosely tie it up above the kettle. Problem solved. I brewed my first batch the following Sunday, 8 gallons of Belgian Golden Strong made up of 85% Pils and 15% table sugar.
Perhaps helped out by the volume in the kettle and the current warm weather, I was only losing about 2°F every 20 minutes or so. This was very easily fixed by turning my burner on very low and stirring for about 30 seconds.
The time finally came to remove the grains from the wort. In the past, this was the part I hated most due to having to lift the bag out of the kettle by hand. On this day, that wasn’t an issue at all.
It took about 10 seconds of thinking to figure out the best way to attach the pulley to the bag*. While a couple handles might make this process a tad easier, simply tightening the cord on the bag and tying a loose knot worked just fine. I didn’t expect the wort to flow out of the bag as cleanly and quickly as it did. I tend to approach bag squeezing with a light touch, basically doing it until I reach my target pre-boil volume.
With the WilserBrewer bag, this took only about 1 minute, at which point I swung the bag over an orange bucket and lowered it in- no mess, no fuss. Not only was the wort just as clear as the wort I make using my typical batch sparge method, but I nailed my pre-boil OG! I did figure a slight decrease in efficiency using this method and designed this beer expecting 70% rather than my usual 78%.
Try as I might, I couldn’t find any trace of grain particles in the wort. This was the point I realized those who had contacted me about using a tighter mesh bag were on to something, as my other bag certainly didn’t produce wort this clear. I was very happy with how things were progressing. While I don’t usually worry much about hop filtration, I decided to use the WilserBrewer hop sock in a Pale Ale I was making at the same time.
I’ve used muslin socks and paint strainer bags in the past, this bag blew those away for myriad reasons. Like the grain bag, it was designed for my kettle depth, so the hops were fully submersed in the boiling wort. I believe the material WilserBrewer uses (polyester voile) is also more heat resistant than nylon, which I’ve previously had melt on me. Removing the hops from the wort was a piece of cake. The wort drained out just as quickly and clean as it did the grain bag.
The rest of the brew day proceeded mostly as usual. Compared to the Pale Ale I batch sparged at the same time, this BIAB Golden Strong took nearly an hour less time to make, clocking in at 3 hours 40 minutes start to finish. And that was with a 90 minute boil.
| VERDICT |
These bags are a fantastic value considering their quality and the fact they are individually customized to each customer’s setup. The ratchet pulley made easy work of removing a bag filled with about 15 lbs of saturated grain, a task I’d be hesitant to attempt without a pulley system. The only potential negative is the absence of handles or some other form of hanging the bag to the pulley, but this is nothing I’d let hold me back from purchasing these bags. The seams are solid, the quality is obvious, they fit my system like a glove, and the customer service is far above par. A+ WilserBrewer!
If you’re an extract brewer looking to jump into all-grain or an advanced brewer desiring a simpler and more time-saving approach, BIAB is a fantastic option and WilserBrewer offers a high quality product that will get you brewing delicious all grain beer in no time. Please consider checking out WilserBrewer’s online shop and supporting this great small business, after all, he is just another one of us trying to do his part for this rad community.
Cheers!
PS – moving a BIAB bag with bare hands isn’t fun, something like silicone heat resistant gloves make the task a whole lot easier. Be safe!
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The federal government needs planes. Quickly.
A notice posted on a government procurement website says the first major planeload of Syrian refugees is anticipated to arrive in Montreal or Toronto on Dec. 10.
The notice, posted on the government Buy and Sell website, invites Canadian airlines to submit letters of interest if they “have the capacity, capability and availability to provide air transportation” in a chartered aircraft with at least 200 seats. Aircraft must be able to fly directly from Adana and Gaziantep in Turkey and Amman, in Jordan, to Montreal or Toronto.
Airlines are asked to send their availability for each month up to the end of March 2016. The notice was posted on Tuesday, and airlines have until Friday to respond.
The government will then send a list of interested parties to the International Organization for Migration, which helps to arrange refugee transportation for the Canadian government.
The Canadian government has promised to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of this month and another 15,000 by the end of February.
A second request for letters of interest asks for airlines to indicate their ability to transport refugees from Montreal and Toronto to other Canadian cities. Airlines can either provide chartered aircraft or discounts on commercial flights.
Both notices state that the transportation schedule is yet to be confirmed. In a briefing Nov. 24, the government estimated the total cost of transporting refugees to be between $94 billion and $121 billion over six years.
Immigration Minister John McCallum said Tuesday that he and other federal officials will hold weekly briefings on the resettlement project every Wednesday from now on.
With files from the Canadian Press |
B K Prasad, the Union Home Ministry official who headed the probe into the “missing documents” in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, not only told a witness the questions he would ask but also suggested to him what answers he should give — that he had not seen any of the documents.
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This coaching of a witness by the man heading the investigation puts a question mark on the integrity of the probe announced in Lok Sabha by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on March 10.
The ostensible purpose of that probe was to identify the circumstances around the UPA government’s second affidavit that dropped references to Ishrat’s alleged Lashkar links and allowed for a CBI probe into her June 15, 2004 killing.
AUDIO: Listen In To Home Ministry Official Coaching Witness In Ishrat Jahan Missing Papers Case
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Prasad submitted his probe report today which remained inconclusive on the missing papers.
On April 25, at around 3.45 pm, The Indian Express had called Prasad — he is Additional Secretary (Foreigners) — to ask him why the Government had denied a visa to Chinese dissident Dolkun Issa who had been issued an e-tourist visa. (Red faces in Govt…Dolkun Issa’s visa cancelled after Chinese protests, April 26, 2016).
To ensure accuracy and to be able to quote verbatim, Prasad’s remarks were recorded by this reporter.
While speaking to The Indian Express, Prasad put the reporter on hold and had another telephone conversation regarding the Ishrat missing papers probe. This conversation was also recorded by The Indian Express.
From what he was saying, it was evident that Prasad was speaking to an officer who was scheduled to give his statement the next day as part of the probe.
Also Read: Express report completely vindicates position I took: Chidambaram
Subsequently, The Indian Express confirmed that the officer Prasad spoke with was Ashok Kumar, Joint Secretary (Parliament, Hindi Division and Nodal Officer for monitoring of court cases) in the Department of Commerce.
Between March 1, 2011 and December 23, 2011, Kumar was Director in the Internal Security division of the Home Ministry that dealt with the Ishrat Jahan case.
Prasad told Kumar that his probe into the Ishrat Jahan missing papers required him to pose a question to all officers who may have dealt with the matter: “Aapne ye paper dekha? (Have you seen that paper?)”
Also read: Here’s what has happened since 2014 in the case
Prasad then told the officer: “Aapko kehna hai ki ‘Maine ye paper nahi dekha.’ Seedhi si baat hai (You have to say, ‘I have not seen that paper.’ It’s as simple as that).”
Prasad told Kumar that the consequences of giving a different reply would be that doubts would be raised about the officer having played a role in the disappearance of the papers.
Watch Video Ishrat Jahan Fake Encounter Case: All You Need To Know
“Aapko itna toh kehna hoga ki ya toh woh file hi maine kabhi zindagi mein deal nahi kiya, kabhi file ko dekhne ka kabhi mauka hi nahi mila (You will have to, at least, say that either you have never dealt with that file in your life, or have never had a chance to see it)… I don’t think you have seen that file at any point… Bas, that is what I want from you: ‘I have not seen that file at all’,” Prasad told the officer.
Prasad also told the officer: “And another question will be, ‘Did anybody give you these documents to be kept separately with you?’ Aap bologe, ‘Nahi, mere ko kisi ne nahi diya.’ (You will say, ‘No, nobody gave them to me’).”
When contacted, Kumar confirmed that Prasad had called him as part of the inquiry but declined to give any details.
The Indian Express sent an email questionnaire to Prasad and apprised him of the recording. Asked about his suggestions to Kumar and whether they raised questions of propriety and legality, Prasad replied: “You have stated that during my conversation with a senior officer on 25.4.2016 I have told him that I will ask him question on the missing Ishrat Jahan file papers and he should answer ‘I have not seen that paper.’ I would like to clarify that on 25.04.2016 I have sent a questionnaire to Mr Diptivilasa, the then Joint Secy and after 25.04.2016 I have enquired the following officers only: Mr Dharmendra Sharma, the then JS; Mr Rakesh Singh, the then JS; Mr Ashok Kumar, the then Director. None of the officers, whom I have enquired on 25.04.2016 or thereafter, have replied to any of the queries as quoted by you, i.e., ‘I have not seen that paper’”.
Also read | The Indian Express report on ‘tutoring’ witness doesn’t absolve P Chidambaram of his role, says BJP
“Of course, in the course of enquiry, I have contacted many of these officers over phone or personally requesting them to appear for enquiry or fixing a mutually convenient date/time for enquiry, during which they might have asked about the nature of questions which might be asked. However, I must mention that the officers enquired by me are all senior officers and have worked in various capacities and are fully capable of answering the questions relating to this kind of probe on their own understanding. The conversation, if any, would have been in the context of clarifying the nature of enquiry. I must add that I have conducted a free and fair enquiry and all witnesses were given total freedom to express whatever they felt.”
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Prasad, a 1983 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, has also been heading the Home Ministry’s crackdown on NGOs who have allegedly violated foreign funding norms. He was due to retire on May 31, but was granted an extension in service for a period of two months until July 31. |
Augmenting a partner’s strengths and shoring up their weak spots may seem like an obvious notion, and so it should be, but artists have egos, and sometimes an individual’s understanding of their scope may not agree with yours. If the division of labor is demarcated- as with the lyricist/ melodist model, it’s clear cut. But often the lines are more difficult to draw. If writing partners are bringing a complete skill set to the table (good lyrical ability, adept musicality, melodic strength that can be vocally realized on the spot) it can all seem like a walk in the park, euphoric even. But that kind of synchronicity is rare, and those lucky enough to find it often spend their careers together. However, life has a way of intervening, and sometimes even long-standing partners feel the need to move on.
Many writers began writing solo and got into co-writing because that’s the prevalent model in their corner of the industry, with Nashville being a prime modern example, as are EDM, and hip-hop, where the list of songwriter credits can be longer than the lyric….to be deprived of a long standing writing partner can be devastating, and often neither can ever again match the achievements they attained together. Maintaining one’s individual identity can be a balancing act, because the very act of co-writing involves sharing, and baring elements of one’s inner self. Some people are less able to do that than others, but it usually becomes obvious rather quickly, at which point it’s better to cut and run. As a rule of thumb, if the process feels forced, then it probably is.
My longest partnership was about ten years. We each had the aforementioned skill-set, plus a shared ability to see our subject matter in a theatrical, almost cinematic way, so that the musical and lyrical aspects tended to be apropos to the characters and situations to which we were trying to give flesh. We wrote three to four days a week religiously, and during that time seldom wrote outside the partnership. We meshed well and the result was a solid catalog. But life intervened. I’ve always considered myself a solo writer who enjoys co-writing if the stars are aligned, so I was able to be philosophical- grateful for the experience, but just as ready to move forward to the next table as my former partner was. No bad feelings, no cross words, simply dealing with the reality.
There is also no guarantee that putting established writers in the same room will produce great songs. Some years ago, I was managing the publishing operation of a highly successful, award-winning writer when I came upon a tape box of titles which bore not only my boss’s name, but also the name of an even more famous writer. I wondered why this cache was collecting dust in the vault, but when I brought the subject up my employer said “Didn’t work” I listened to the tapes anyway, but he was right. On paper, this should have been a world-beating collaboration, but in reality it was flat as a pancake, and obviously they both knew it.
RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN.
Notwithstanding any advice you may get from me or anyone else, there are no hard and fast rules. The whole endeavor is so subjective that the wild whimsy of a John Lennon or Roger Miller, and the studied thoughtfulness of a Hal David can each result in wonderful, memorable song craft….for every uber sophisticated Burt Bacharach or Jimmy Webb there is a raw-boned counterpart who can touch the listener just as deeply, and touching the listener deeply is the main object.
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(CNN) -- Former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards admitted Friday to an extramarital affair. He denied being the father of the woman's child, as had been alleged in tabloid reports.
Former Sen. John Edwards told ABC News that he had an affair with Rielle Hunter, seen above.
In an interview on ABC News "Nightline," Edwards acknowledged the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter, which began after she was hired to make documentary videos for his campaign, ABC said.
"I am responsible for it. I alone am responsible for it," Edwards said on ABC News "Nightline."
Edwards told the network that his rise from "a small town boy in North Carolina" who "came from nothing" to a successful lawyer, U.S. senator and national public figure "fed a self-focus, an egotism, a narcissism that leads you to believe that you can do whatever you want."
Edwards, in the ABC interview, acknowledged meeting with Hunter at the Beverly Hills hotel at the request of a friend of hers.
"I was there from a very simple reason, because I was trying to keep this mistake that I had made from becoming public," Edwards said.
In a written statement Friday, Edwards said, "In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness."
"You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help." Read the full statement
Edwards said a blurry photograph published by the National Enquirer that purportedly showed him holding Hunter's child inside the hotel room could not be authentic, since the baby was not there at their meeting.
"I don't know if the picture has been altered, manufactured, if it's a picture of me taken some other time, holding another baby. I have no idea," he said. "I was not at this meeting holding a child for my photograph to be taken, I can tell you that."
Edwards said he has not taken a paternity test but that the timing of the affair rules out the possibility that he could be the father of Hunter's 5-month-old child. Edwards said Friday night he is "truly hopeful" that a paternity test will be done to squelch the rumors.
Andrew Young, a former Edwards campaign aide who is married, has publicly said he fathered the child. The Washington Post reported Friday that Hunter acknowledged Young as the father.
When the National Enquirer first reported the affair in October, Edwards flatly denied it, calling the claims "false" and "ridiculous." Watch an interview with the National Enquirer's editor »
Contacted through a former aide by CNN on Thursday, Edwards had refused to comment on the reports. He also dodged reporters at a recent event in Washington.
In a July 24 appearance in New Orleans, Louisiana, he would not answer a reporter's question about whether he had provided financial support to Hunter or Young. Watch Edwards says "I sin every single day" »
"I have no idea what you're asking about," Edwards said. "I have responded to, consistently, to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies."
Edwards, 55, of North Carolina, told ABC that his wife, Elizabeth, and other family members have known about the affair since 2006.
Elizabeth Edwards, in a posting on the Daily Kos Web site, said:
"The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my [cancer] diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well."
Edwards, the vice presidential candidate during Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential bid, told ABC that he never expected to be chosen as Sen. Barack Obama's running mate, but that his public career has not ended. He said he would not worry about any possible positions in an Obama administration.
"I don't know what's possible and what's gone," he said.
Don Fowler, a former Democratic Party chairman, said this week that Edwards might be forfeiting a major role at the party's upcoming convention in Denver -- or in a future Democratic administration -- unless he cleared the air.
"I think the longer these allegations go unanswered and unresponded to, the more difficult it is for the people producing the convention to give him a prominent spot," Fowler said. iReport: What's your reaction to Edwards' affair?
Fowler, of South Carolina, served as Democratic chairman from 1995 to 1997 and will be a party superdelegate at the Denver convention in late August. He said he had no input into whether Edwards addresses the convention, "but I would expect that he would not speak or have any role at the convention unless this is cleared up." Watch more on the Edwards controversy »
Obama, in Hawaii for a weeklong vacation, told reporters he understands that Edwards does not plan to attend the convention.
"This is a difficult and painful time for them, and I think they need to work through that process of healing," he said. "My sense is that that's going to be their top priority.
"John Edwards was a great champion of working people during the first of this campaign. Many of his themes are ones that Democrats as a whole share; those will be amplified at the convention," Obama added.
Presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain declined to comment on a similar question.
Speaking in support of Obama in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, Edwards' former rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, responded briefly to a reporter's question about what, if any, impact the revelation of the affair would have on Democrats.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the Edwards family today," she said. "That's all I have to say."
The Enquirer's claims about the affair were revived July 22 when the tabloid reported it had confronted Edwards at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel after receiving a tip he was meeting Hunter and her child there.
On Friday, he said he was ashamed of the affair and hoped it would never become public. He said he used the fact that the Enquirer story "contained many falsities" to deny it.
"But being 99 percent honest is no longer enough," he said in the statement.
Edwards told ABC that his wife's widely reported cancer was in remission when the affair began.
"She was mad; she was angry," Edwards said, describing when he admitted the affair to his wife. "I think furious would be a good way to describe it." Watch Edwards describe his wife's reaction »
According to federal election records, the Edwards campaign paid Hunter's production company roughly $114,000 in 2006 and 2007 for "Website/Internet services."
The former North Carolina senator announced in January that he was dropping out of the 2008 Democratic presidential race.
"It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path," he said in New Orleans.
With his wife and children at his side, Edwards said he couldn't predict "who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," but he said it would be a Democrat.
Edwards endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on May 14 during a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
He trailed Clinton and Obama in the early contests. He came in third in key races in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Edwards had campaigned on the message that he was standing up for the little guy, the people who are not traditionally given a voice in Washington, and that he would do more to fight special interests.
After dropping out of the race, Edwards asked Clinton and Obama to make poverty a central issue in the general election and a future Democratic administration, something both agreed to do.
Edwards is a South Carolina native with an undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University and law degree from the University of North Carolina.
Before entering politics, winning a Senate seat from North Carolina in 1998, Edwards was a lawyer representing families "being victimized by powerful interests" and gaining "a national reputation as a forceful and tireless champion for regular, hard-working people," according to his campaign Web site.
CNN's Ed Hornick, Scott Bronstein, Drew Griffin, Matt Smith and Paul Vercammen contributed to this report.
All About John Edwards (Politician) • Democratic Party • Elizabeth Edwards |
Self-driving cars might be the next major automotive battlefield and Japanese manufacturer Nippon Ceramic is taking early advantage of the buzz with a sensor that costs less than $1.
The manufacturer is an unlikely leader in the self-driving market, currently accounting for 50 percent of all sensor sales. Several car manufacturers use the ultrasonic sensor to help cars avoid crashes, fit into tight parking spaces, and notice objects in close proximity, according to Bloomberg.
See Also: Volvo to test self-driving cars in Sweden and China
Nippon Ceramic doesn’t work directly with manufacturers. It ships the sensors to Denso and Panasonic, who package the sensor for automotive giants like Toyota, Ford, General Motors, and Volkswagen.
Toyota and Ford have been two of the biggest automotive investors in self-driving projects, the former committing $1 billion in the next four years, and the latter spending $4.5 billion in that same timeframe.
Japanese firm’s price will be tough to beat
The inexpensive sensor makes the prospect of a self-driving vehicle seem less daunting for manufacturers, who ideally want to see the self-driving cars in the same price range as human-driven cars. As the technology is so new but will benefit from potentially massive scale, no one is yet sure of final prices for a fully autonomous vehicle, and how much the additional hardware and software will add to the overall cost.
Capturing the market early is an ideal way to keep customers for the long haul, especially since Nippon’s low-cost sensor is hard to undercut. If it can hold its margin for the next five years, it might see billions in revenue from the rise of autonomous vehicles.
The government of Japan is putting a special interest in self-driving and the Internet of Things, announcing a trade partnership with Germany this week. The trade agreement, alongside investment in national production, is a big push from the government to revive the struggling economy. |
The C.I.A.’s deputy director, Michael J. Morell, is retiring after 33 years at the agency and will be replaced by Avril D. Haines, the top lawyer at the National Security Council, the C.I.A.’s director, John O. Brennan, announced Wednesday.
The switch will put a woman in one of the agency’s top two jobs for the first time. Ms. Haines is an unusual choice because she is not an intelligence professional, though in her two years at the White House she has been deeply involved in intelligence programs and got to know Mr. Brennan when he was President Obama’s counterterrorism adviser.
In April, the president had nominated Ms. Haines to become the legal adviser at the State Department, a job in which she would also have been the first woman. But with Mr. Morell’s departure, he evidently decided to shift her to the C.I.A. post.
The agency’s deputy director is not subject to Senate confirmation.
Mr. Morell, 54, is leaving voluntarily, officials said, after a full career that has included two recent stints as acting director of the spy agency, first after the departure of Leon E. Panetta in 2011 and then after the resignation of David H. Petraeus last year over a sex scandal. He was a leading candidate for the top job, but Mr. Obama chose Mr. Brennan in January, and colleagues said then that Mr. Morell was likely to retire. |
The doc is a bit of an anti-Maxima when it comes to tolerating quirky supers. In her career she’s met more than her share.
In a week that doesn’t involve a super battle royale, she’s only at the base once a week, since her powers put her in such high demand. She works in trauma wards around the city, but after the fight she was needed to get the team back to ship shape. (As well help with some of the more significant injuries to the red team.) Archon has priority on her time, but Max would probably defer it if a school bus flipped over or something. There’s also a small staff of non-powered doctors who fill in at Arc-SWAT the rest of the time, but Doc Chevy prefers to do the initial physical herself when the rare opportunity presents itself.
“Uie Maa,” I’m told from some Google searches and twitter Q&A means something like “Dear mother.” I wanted her to say something along the lines of “Good lord that was loud.” but make it sound like someone who also spoke Hindi might say. In case that doesn’t read right to someone who actually is bilingual, if you have a more organic suggestion I may change it.
Sydney’s reaction to Harem’s arrival seems to be a conditioned response at this point. The exploding cuff merely startled her.
On a completely unrelated note, Overwatch is really good. It’s basically Team Fortress 3, minus the hat economy, and the character designs are bonkers good. I mention it cause I may do some fan art since one of the characters in the game looks rather a lot like one of mine. Coincidentally I’m sure. I’d be surprised if anyone at Blizzard even knew of my little comic here, but I thought it’d be cool to draw them together.
In the meantime, here’s a (vote incentive) painting I did of Max in that new style I’m experimenting with, being skeptical/displeased with something it seems. I have mixed feelings about it. It’s alternately pretty good and a little wonky. I’d like it more if it took less time to draw, but I was playing with brushes at the same time and learning as I went so hopefully the next one will look better and take less time.
Patreon supporters can view this page at twice the size! (as soon as I wake up and post it then immediately go back to sleep since Patreon doesn’t have a way to schedule posts yet.) $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like :)
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey. |
UPDATE: According to a representative from the B.A.A., "unauthorized participants," like ruck marchers, will not be allowed on the course due to the increased field size of 36,000. However, 130 National Guard members will be marching the course, with bib numbers. Read an update to this developmentwith comment from the Massachusetts Emergency Managment Agency.
Through an exclusive partnership with the National Parks Service, Tough Ruck has relocated their march to the Minuteman Battle Trail, part of the Minuteman Historical National Park. The march will take place on April 19, two days before the marathon.
A decade long tradition will be missing from this year’s Boston Marathon. Due to the new, stricter security guidelines released by the Boston Athletic Association last Wednesday, ruck marchers will not be allowed to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boylston because they are considered "unauthorized participants."
Active members of the military have participated in ruck marches at the Boston Marathon for years. Donning full fatigues and carrying 40-pound rucksacks on their backs, ruckers march the length of the course in support of families of fallen soldiers.
However, according to the new B.A.A. restrictions, “units or groups such as military ruck-marchers and cyclists, who have sometimes joined on the course, will not be allowed to participate.”
Tough Ruck was one of the ruck marching organizations planning on rucking this year. The B.A.A.’s announcement of the new security guidelines came as a surprise to Tough Ruck founder, Stephen Fiola.
“My first reaction was of course disappointment, but I understand that there are safety and security concerns,” said Fiola, a member of the National Guard who would have been rucking for the seventh time this year. “We knew that there were concerns, but we did not know that a policy was going to come out prior to the B.A.A. announcement.”
Last year, about 20 to 30 people marched with Tough Ruck, but Fiola said there was an increased interest in this year’s Boston Marathon. When registration for Tough Ruck closed on January 31, Tough Ruck had 746 registrants from 29 states.
According to Fiola, Tough Ruck is still planning on rucking 26.2 miles, they just have to come up with an alternate location, which has yet to be determined.
“The message is supporting our fallen brothers and sisters,” he said. “It’s not about raising money; it certainly isn’t about the Boston Marathon itself.”
Last year when the bombs went off near the finish line, members of Tough Ruck, including Fiola, were among the first responders to help the wounded. Carlos Arredondo, a Tough Ruck volunteer who is credited with saving the life of Jeff Bauman who later went on to positively identify alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was also at the scene.
“There was no problem with throwing my face, Carlos Arredondo’s face on magazines, but when it came to ‘Hey we have this program, we want to be involved,’ everyone just seemed to go away,” Fiola said.
“The marathon is a marathon. It’s not a military event I understand that,” said Fiola. “But, there are ways we could have all worked through this. We could have all communicated.”
Melinda Arredondo, wife of Carlos Arredondo, said the new security changes were supposed to be worked out between the National Guard and the Department of Public Safety.
“It was a little strange that this announcement came out without those parties involved,” she said.
Arredondo said she and her husband had planned to volunteer with Tough Ruck again this year but now their plans are changed.
“[Carlos] is disappointed,” she said. “We wanted to finish what we had started last year.”
The B.A.A. deferred comment to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), who did not respond before publication time. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Additional reporting by Megan Hetzel. |
Amid all the star performers from India at the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships 2017 in Bhubaneswar, one young athlete from Kerala left everyone inspired with her outstanding performance.
As the stopwatch hit 4 minutes & 17.92 seconds, 22-year-old PU Chitra struck gold for the women’s 1,500m track event on Friday.
Not letting even the rain stop her from hitting the finishing line, the young woman from the tiny village of Mundur in Palakkad district surpassed all of her own previous records on track, adding another gold to the haul of medals by Indian athletes.
One among four children of daily wage earning parents, Chitra was ecstatic about her performance.
“Of course, I did not expect gold. My personal time before this was around 4 minutes 24 seconds, which I did last year. This time I won the Federation Cup gold to make it to the national squad. Before entering the track, all I wanted was a medal as usual,” she told TOI.
Earning the tag, ‘Queen of Asia in the mile’ with her striking performance, the college student has sealed the deal of heading straight into the World Championships.
You may also like: How OP Jaisha Went from Eating Mud for Survival to Competing at the Olympics
She attributed her stupendous success to her coach Sijin NS, who has been training her for almost a decade. Sijin, who is the physical education teacher at Chitra’s alma mater Mundur Higher Secondary School, is elated over his mentee’s feat in Bhubaneswar.
“For villagers like us, sky is the limit. I’m proud of Chitra’s performance and I’m more than glad that a physical education teacher like me could mould an athlete from a village with limited facilities to the world stage,” the proud mentor said.
After her achievement at the Asian championships, Chitra will now be the third woman athlete from Kerala after OP Jaisha and Preeja Sreedharan, to represent India in 1,500m at the World Championships that will be held in London.
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US cosmetics and fragrance giant Estee Lauder has launched legal action against Target Australia, claiming it is selling counterfeit M·A·C Cosmetics at its stores.
Estee Lauder is seeking to protect its brands as well as the official distributors of the cosmetics in the market such as leading department stores Myer and David Jones.
A counter at Target displaying the allegedly fake MAC cosmetics.
A spokeswoman for Target confirmed to BusinessDay that the distribution of fake M·A·C product was now the subject of a legal case after the company's US laboratories discovered Target was selling fake cosmetics under the popular M·A·C branding.
The spokeswoman said she was constrained as to what she could say on behalf of the company because of the legal action, adding that Estee Lauder had launched its suit in an Australian court. |
Matt Todd gets an offload away for Canterbury against Otago on Sunday.
Matt Todd is set for at least four weeks on the sidelines after scans revealed a fracture in his left hand.
The 29-year-old, who was an unlucky omission from the All Blacks Rugby Championship squad, picked up the injury during Canterbury's 30-24 Ranfurly Shield defence against Otago on Sunday.
He played the full 80 minutes against Otago, making telling run in the lead-up to the try which put Canterbury back into the lead late in the game.
READ MORE:
* Players hit with conjunctivitis
* NPC gets All Black injection
* Shield stays in Chch - just
But Todd saw a specialist on Monday who confirmed the injury.
He will be in a splint for four weeks at which stage he will be reviewed by the specialist before being cleared to play.
The injury is an unfortunate blow for the eight-test All Black with it ruling him out as a possible cover should Sam Cane have continued issues following his concussion against the Wallabies on Saturday night.
Canterbury's deep loose forward stocks should see them handle his absence with Jed Brown set for an extended stint in the No 7 jersey.
Todd missed Canterbury's opening match of the season against Tasman to take an additional week of rest after an long Crusaders season.
Canterbury are on the road against Hawke's Bay on Friday.
Todd's injury means he will miss at least two Ranfurly Shield challenges against Southland and Counties Manukau. |
KOL115 | Mises Canada Austrian AV Club—Kinsella and the Corporation on Trial (2012)
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 115.
I was interviewed back in May 2012 by Redmond Weissenberger, Director of the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada. We had a long-ranging discussion of the issue of corporations and limited liability, and we touched on other issues as well including causation and responsibility and the praxeological structure of human action; intellectual property; gay marriage and language; human rights as property rights, and free speech; corporate size and international trade in a free society, vs. left-libertarian claims to the contrary; nuclear power, energy, and environmentalists; eminent domain and the Keystone pipeline; Peter Klein and Murray Rothbard on the calculation problem and the upper limit to the firm; state monopolies versus the market; and practical and moral aspects of tax evasion and tax avoidance.
For background on some of the issues discussed, see my post Corporate Personhood, Limited Liability, and Double Taxation; also Causation and Aggression and California Gay Marriage Law Overturned: What Should Libertarians Think?; Peter Klein’s chapter “Economic Calculation and the Limits of Organization,” in The Capitalist and the Entrepreneur: Essays on Organizations and Markets; The Effects of Patent and Copyright on Hollywood Movies; Leveraging IP.
For some more recent discussions of the corporation issue, see these podcasts: KOL100 | The Role of the Corporation and Limited Liability In a Free Society (PFS 2013) and KOL 026 | FreeDomain Radio with Stefan Molyneux discussing Corporations and Limited Liability. |
What is she really hearing? Photo credit: Shutterstock What is she really hearing? Photo credit: Shutterstock
Last night, as I was suffering through a performance of a Stravinsky symphony at Carnegie Hall (OK, Stravinsky fans — I don't want to hear it. And no death threats either, please), I noticed that some people were sitting there in orgasmic bliss listening to what sounded to me a cross between cats in a dryer, and a hubcap recycling plant.
This got me wondering why I was counting the minutes (seconds?) until the piece was over, but will listen to the 35 minutes of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto (1) without even breathing, and never tire of Beethoven's 6th (Pastoral) Symphony, or anything by Mozart. How can people react so differently to the same piece of music?
Much of it is obviously taste, but is there something more going on? Maybe so. It turns out that people hear music in very different ways. Here are some fascinating examples:
Congenital Amusia—(tone deafness) — Yes, there really are people who are tone deaf. About 4 percent of the world suffers from this strange affliction, which must be somewhat analogous to color blindness for people who view art. People who are tone deaf can tell if a note if is higher or lower than another note, but cannot hear the pitch. An octave will sound pretty much like a major 7th, which most of us find unpleasant to hear.
And, they would also be unable to tell the difference between a C major chord and C minor chord — something that the rest of us would notice immediately. A 2002 paper in the journal Neuron describes a case study of an amusic woman, and the researchers' attempts to explain the affliction by using visualization of the brain as well as functional tests.
Perfect Pitch — On the other end of the spectrum is a rare group of people with perfect pitch. Only one in 10,000 people have it (2), and it has a large genetic component. The term is widely misunderstood. Contrary to popular belief, perfect pitch —the ability to identify notes without seeing them being played, or hearing a reference tone— is completely different from relative pitch, aka, a "good ear" — being able to tell if a note is even slightly off.
People with perfect pitch do not necessarily have good relative pitch, but they usually do. Piano tuners must have good relative pitch, but very few have perfect pitch. In fact, the two senses do not even come from the same region of the brain. Although the consensus is that you are either born with or without perfect pitch — it cannot be learned — there is some controversy about this. And even those born with this innate ability must be exposed to music early in life, or it will not develop.
Those who have this strange ability will partly lose it starting at about age 40. At this point, people with perfect will still be able to identify a note out of the blue, but it will be a half-note off — something that is universally disturbing to those people who are accustomed to getting it right. I guess this could be called "imperfect perfect pitch."
Synesthesia — Technically, synesthesia is a rare occurrence when the stimulation of one sense also activates a second, different sense. This is often manifested in musicians when they hear different notes and simultaneously visualize them as different colors. One such musician is the extraordinary French pianist Hélène Grimaud (3), who uses this "sixth sense" to help her memorize music scores.
Musicians with synesthesia make up a rather select list. Others include Leonard Bernstein, Billy Joel, Duke Ellington and Kanye West.
Helene Grimaud (2013) Photo credit: The Times of London Helene Grimaud (2013) Photo credit: The Times of London
Musical Anhedonia — Some people lack the ability to enjoy music at all. It is estimated that about 2 percent of people suffer from this affliction, but it is difficult to quantify, because an unknown number of them will be tone deaf, and won't enjoy music because of this. Dr. Robert Zatorre, a neuroscientist at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University, has studied this strange disorder. He ruled out other factors, such as the inability to enjoy other activities, depression, and also used specific tests to determine whether this group had the ability to perceive music. They did. Zatorre believes that in these people, there is no neural connection between the perception and pleasure centers of the brain.
Sort of like me during the Stravinsky symphony.
Notes: (Keep going. Do NOT miss note # 3)
(1) Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto is considered by many to be the greatest piece of classical music ever composed. It was recently named the most popular classical work from the past 15 years on the Classic FM's Ultimate Hall Of Fame chart. I could not agree more.
(2) I happen to be one of the 10,000 who has perfect pitch. I have no idea how I do it. The notes just seem have their own individual sounds. And, like the others, when my perfect pitch began to malfunction around 40, it was profoundly disturbing, despite the fact that it is essentially a useless skill, except for party tricks. It kind of sucks when you have a 1 in 10,000 ability that is worthless. Is it asking too much to be Wayne Gretzky, Steph Curry, or Bill Gates instead?
(3) Here is a really special 11 minute video—Hélène Grimaud playing the second, and most famous movement (you will recognize part of it) of Rach 2. Don't miss it. You will thank me.
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor
Helene Grimaud with The Lucerne Symphony Orchestra (2008) |
WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives passed a three-week stopgap funding bill on Tuesday by a vote of 271 to 158, fending off the threat of a government shutdown despite nay votes from 54 Republicans.
But the size of that opposition group served to demonstrate the growing tension between Republican leadership and the conference's more extreme wing, which threatens to derail negotiations over how the government should be funded for the remainder of the year. Both Republican and Democratic leaders are watching them closely.
Among the defectors were nine GOP freshmen, part of a group the House leadership is finding almost impossible to control, according to a top Republican aide. Part of their stated opposition to the short-term bill was that it did not include riders to defund Planned Parenthood and health care reform, two of the most controversial provisions of a longer-term continuing resolution passed by the House last month.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) acknowledged some tension within his conference over the short-term funding after Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (Ohio) and others announced that they planned to vote against the three-week bill.
"I understand some of our members want to do more, but what is it in this bill they disagree with? Nothing," Boehner told reporters after a Republican conference meeting on Tuesday morning. "I'm confident this bill will pass and we'll send it to the Senate."
But as the House and Senate attempt to move forward on a compromise for a longer-term spending bill, riders could spell disaster. Republicans currently hold 241 seats in the House to the Democrats' 192, with a majority threshold at 217 votes. That creates a tricky balance for House GOP leaders as they determine how to move forward. Go too far in one direction, and the bill could alienate Senate Democrats, who rejected the House's first attempt at a longer-term funding bill. Go too far toward the center, though, and Republican leaders could face even more defectors, and fail to pass a bill through the lower chamber.
The GOP can only lose 24 votes from within its conference and still pass a bill without support from House Democrats, many of whom have opposed deep cuts to government programs.
If the final compromise strips riders on Planned Parenthood and health care reform, many of the Republicans who voted against Tuesday's bill would likely defect again, said Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), the author of the longer-term resolution's provision to defund health care.
King is collecting signatures for a letter that states he and other members will vote against the longer-term bill if it does not include provisions to stop funding for the health care law. He told reporters after the vote that "a good number" of Republicans have signed onto the letter to House leadership, but declined to give names or a specific figure.
One likely source of dissent could be the group of 13 freshmen who a GOP aide told HuffPost the leadership has had trouble controlling: Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Andy Harris (Md.), Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), Raul Labrador (Idaho), Mick Mulvaney (S.C.), Steve Pearce (N.M.), David Schweikert (Ariz.), Steve Southerland (Fla.), Tim Walberg (Mich.), Joe Walsh (Ill.) and Rob Woodall (Ga.).
Each of the 13 supported riders and a failed amendment that would have expanded the $61 billion cut bill. All 13 voted for the King amendment that would cripple the implementation of health care reform, and all but one voted for the Pence amendment to defund Planned Parenthood. Amash (R-Mich.), the only non-"yes" vote on the amendment among the group, voted "present" because it singled out a specific organization -- a violation of the Constitution -- according to a message on his Facebook page.
Most of these freshmen -- Amash, Harris, Huelskamp, Labrador, Mulvaney, Pearce, Southerland, Walberg and Walsh -- voted against the three-week funding bill. Amash has said he voted against the last stopgap funding bill because it did not go far enough in cuts.
Huelskamp told Politico on Monday that his constituents were more excited about the riders in the House's funding bill than the budget cuts. He announced he would vote against Tuesday's short-term bill because of the lack of riders.
"There have been ongoing concerns among the freshmen, and among the Republican Study Committee, about the strategy of setting these riders aside for five weeks and negotiating away the cuts we did make," Huelskamp said. "You have to send a clear message to the Senate and the president."
Brooks voted for the short-term funding, but told HuffPost that "at some point we have to draw the line," hinting he may vote against a final compromise if it does not make sufficient cuts. He said he is "proud of his reputation as independent-minded" and said the House leadership had never asked him to vote one way or another on specific legislation.
"My first priority is always voting for what I think is in America's best interest," he told HuffPost. "I'm not here to please Republicans or Democrats, I'm here to do a job, to try to protect America from bankruptcy."
Republican leaders seem to be on the same page for now, showing little flexibility over the $50 billion figure demanded for cuts in the House's longer-term continuing resolution. Boehner said on Tuesday that he wanted the Senate to pass a funding bill before the two chambers could find common ground on government funding.
The House GOP's rigid stance on funding cuts has drawn fire from Democrats. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) criticized his counterparts during his weekly briefing with reporters on Tuesday, arguing that the GOP should create a less extreme resolution that could pass the Senate.
"They don't know what they can get votes for on their side, because a lot of their members want exactly what they had voted for and nothing less," Hoyer said. "There are a lot of those people who are very new to the legislative process, but I can't believe the new [members] are compromising their families and businesses and communities." |
TEST SERVER / Patch / Version 1.0.269 - REV 42?? / 02.02.2016
Balance Changes
Fixes
Changed Destiny Board requirements such that all combat unlocks require a minimum mob tier of no more than 4 - you can now level any item on T4 or higher mobs .
. You will now move extremely slowly while between 200% and 800% load (800% being roughly equal to Elder's Ox maxload bonus). You will not be able to move above 800% load.
(800% being roughly equal to Elder's Ox maxload bonus). You will not be able to move above 800% load. Fixed the issue where you cannot craft if more than 200% loaded; you can now always craft regardless of weight , but will be warned if it will leave you unable to move.
, but will be warned if it will leave you unable to move. City Guards will continue to attack until you lose aggro in any of the normal ways, rather than resetting as soon as illegal activity stops (eg your target dies).
in any of the normal ways, rather than resetting as soon as illegal activity stops (eg your target dies). Removed self-cast on double-pressing cast hotkeys.
cast hotkeys. Fixed an issue where using a short-cooldown skill on a moving target would make that spell unusable.
would make that spell unusable. Buffs and debuffs applied during casting will now correctly affect cast results.
will now correctly affect cast results. Fixed an issue with spells with target limits could fail if too many targets were hit.
Fixed Legendary Explorer's Palace so it now accepts Elder's furniture.
so it now accepts Elder's furniture. Fixed minimap icons in Ironhold and Ironfast.
Allowed mobs to correctly fade out with invisibility spells.
Fixed cases where pinch-to-zoom-out didn't work on Android .
. An error message is now correctly shown when trying to attack city buildings.
Fixed an issue where /played was dealing with weeks badly.
was dealing with weeks badly. Fixed an error when trying to move items to a full bank with shift-click.
with shift-click. Fixed issues with journals having invalid Fame values.
Fixed PvP setup on dungeon in Shaw Sodden .
. Stability improvements!
Axes are a little bit too energy-hungry right now. They are designed to be energy hungry damage beasts, but they run out of energy a little too fast, so we decreased the energy costs a little.Rending Strike:Base Energy: 6 -> 5Axe Smash:Base Energy: 13 -> 10The Bows have a lot of utility and sustain damage. The lack of burst damage made them a bit too slow in PvE, though, so we buffed Deadly Shot to give a strong Q-Spell choice for PvE.Deadly Shot:Damage increased by 20%Base Energy: 3 -> 6As much as we want Healers to be able to also do solo PvE, we went a bit too far with the last buff for Smite, so we are rolling back the damage changes. It will still be better than before Brutus, but it should not steal the show of the main damage dealers.Smite:Damage reduced by 15%Base Energy: 6 -> 5In the last content update the Spear got reworked. The item stats did not emphasize their new role enough. With this change the weapons will have more ability power and deal more damage, but as a trade off they will be less tanky.The new Spirit Spear wasn't always a fit for everyone's playstyle. Especially the Halberd, that needs to stick on the target to hit its E-spell, wasn't really gaining much from the Spirit Spear. That is why we re-enable the Low Stab from before. You can now choose to play with either Low Stab or Spirit Spear. The slot 3 abilities on E can be charged up with both spells. The Spirit Spear's damage and buff duration got buffed. As a tradeoff the range was reduced. Also the damage buff stacking up was fixed.All Spear Line Items: Additional Damage Factor: 0.1 -> 0.15Health Factor: 0.1 -> 0.05Low Stab:Re-added the Low Stab as a spell choice on slot 1.Spirit Spear:Buff Duration: 6s -> 8sAttack Range Buff decreased by 20%Reworked the Damage Buff: it now stacks up correctly and is based on Auto Attack interval.:In the last content update the Sword got reworked. The item stats did not emphasize their new role enough. With this change the weapons will have more ability power and deal more damage, but as a trade off they will be less tanky.The Mighty Swing got an increased AoE radius, as it was a tad too hard to hit disengaging enemies with its short delay.All Sword Line Items:AdditionalDamage Factor: 0.1 -> 0.15Health Factor: 0.1 -> 0.05Mighty Swing:AoE Radius: 5 -> 6 |
Training Doctors To Talk About Vaccines Fails To Sway Parents
Enlarge this image toggle caption iStockphoto iStockphoto
As more and more parents choose to skip vaccinations for their children, public health professionals and researchers have been looking at new ways to ease the concerns of parents who are hesitant.
But that turns out to be tough to do. Studies have found that simply educating parents about the safety and efficacy of vaccines doesn't increase the likelihood that they will get children vaccinated.
Since numerous studies show that doctors are the most trusted communicators of information about vaccines, the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle wanted to see if it would help to train doctors and other providers on how they communicate with mothers hesitant about vaccines.
"The intervention was designed to involve parents and respect where they were coming from, respect that they wanted what was best for their child and the provider wanted that, too," said the study's lead author, Nora Henrikson, a research associate with the institute. The goal, she said, was to help doctors address parents' concerns but "still make a strong recommendation for vaccines."
It was a lofty goal, but the upshot is this: It didn't work.
There was no sign that what the researchers did in the study helped to reduce vaccine hesitancy.
But that's doesn't mean the end of this approach.
Scientists like to say that finding out that something doesn't work can be just as important as finding out what does. Both researchers involved with the study and those who had nothing to do with it say that's the case here.
Let's look first at what Group Health Research did in its study, what they say is the first randomized trial to test improving hesitancy about vaccination by directly targeting doctors.
The centerpiece of the approach was a 45-minute training session with doctors and other health care providers. Participants also received written support material, monthly emails and assistance upon request.
The parents themselves did not receive training. The goal was to see if giving doctors better communication skills would reduce hesitancy in mothers.
In the study, 347 mothers of healthy newborn babies were randomized into two groups. Some received care in clinics where doctors had received the training, and the rest went to clinics where they had not.
Vaccine hesitancy declined somewhat in both groups over the six months of the study, but there was no statistically significant difference between the groups. During the study period, there was a whooping cough outbreak in Washington, as well as a new law requiring a doctor's note to opt out of vaccines, and the decline in vaccine hesitancy may have been related to those events, rather than anything in the study.
The study was published in the journal Pediatrics and was funded by the Group Health Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"Obviously we were hopeful that it would improve vaccine hesitancy, so we would have preferred to see a different effect," Henrikson said, "but it really raised more questions about what other projects we could do moving forward."
Brendan Nyhan, a professor of government at Dartmouth who studies communication about vaccines, was positive about the research despite the lack of impact.
"We're headed in the right direction," he said. "We're starting to ask better questions, and part of real science is that sometimes our experiments don't work out the way we expect."
The study "required careful consideration and should be seen as the start, not the end of the story," according to an accompanying editorial by Julie Leask, an associate professor at the University of Sydney's School of Public Health who studies vaccine attitudes, and Dr. Paul Kinnersley, a professor at the Institute of Medical Education at the University of Cardiff, Wales, who teaches medical students how to talk to patients. It pointed to a "clear need to develop new approaches to vaccine consultation," they wrote.
One of Henrikson's big questions is whether the 45-minute training session was "a big enough dose of the intervention. It's not a bad intervention," she said. "But a more intense version of it might be able to make a difference."
Since the overwhelming majority of parents do vaccinate their children, Henrikson said another area for future research could be identifying ways to "help providers make time for parents who do have more questions and need more time."
Concerns about vaccines are not an all-or-nothing proposition, Henrikson said; it's a continuum. On one end are people who support vaccines and make sure their children receive all recommended vaccinations. On the other end are people who refuse all vaccines. "Then there are people in between," she said, "and we're still understanding that, and at what point do people really have all the information they need?"
This story was produced by State of Health, KQED's health blog. |
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