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Shortly after beginning his speech at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, Donald Trump was rapidly surrounded by Secret Service agents after an audience member grew increasingly raucous to the point of Trump appearing to duck at hearing a noise. Trump did not leave the stage and carried on with his speech, adding "I was ready for him, but it's much easier if the cops do it, don’t we agree?" This comes after last night's violent protests (which Soros-funded MoveOn.org have taken credit for ) and this morning's misinformation about the cancellation of the Ohio rally. Trump's anxiety is understandable after last night's violence, and expectations of further protests to come, as Infowars reports, Ilya Sheyman, a failed Illinois contender for Congress and the executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, has taken credit for the violence at a cancelled Trump event last night in Chicago. He promised similar violence and disruption will occur at future Trump political events leading up to the election. “Mr. Trump and the Republican leaders who support him and his hate-filled rhetoric should be on notice after tonight’s events,” on the George Soros funded MoveOn web page. “To all of those who took to the streets of Chicago, we say thank you for standing up and saying enough is enough. To Donald Trump, and the GOP, we say, welcome to the general election.” The violent demonstration in Chicago on Friday may represent a precursor to the sort of activity the organization will engage in as it tries to “shut down” its political enemies and elect either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. On Friday night many of the protesters shouted “Bernie!” and held placards announcing their support for the socialist Democrat. The group acts as a front for wealthy Democrats. It was founded with the help of the financier George Soros who donated $1.46 million to get the organization rolling. Linda Pritzker of the Hyatt hotel family gave the group a $4 million donation. The "promise" of violence? Sounds like domestic terrorism? Or is that only when "the other" side do it? Of course, the media is implicitly opining that this is all his own doing, which made us consider the alternative - Imagine if someone attacked President Obama and the media proclaimed it was Obama's own fault? So far it seems 45,000 people in Dayton and Cleveland were ready to peacefully listen to what Trump had to say... |
Pitch Black Forest, which features J. Mann (Mushroomhead) and Gene Hoglan (Death, Strapping Young Lad, have set an October 21st release date for their upcoming new album As The World Burns. The album features guest appearances from M. Shadows (Avenged Sevenfold), Devin Townsend, and Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God. J. Mann states: This record is a compilation of my favorite Pitch Black Forest songs, which are remixed, re-mastered with additional tracking so I consider this the definitive album. The band has released a stream of “So Low”, which features Blythe on guest vocals. Give it a listen below! As The World Burns track list: 1. Open Letter To God (Feat. Devin Townsend) 2. Landmine” (Feat. M. Shadows) 3. Season In Hell 4. As The World Burns 5. Hearts Of Darkness 6. Dialtone 7. So Low (Feat. D. Randall Blythe) 8. Atonement 9. Wrapped In Plastic (Feat. Human Furnace) 10. Ornament 11. Lighthouse |
A foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump allegedly boasted about firing Jews from his government department and denied the Holocaust to a colleague. Joseph Schmitz denies the allegations against him, which concern comments accusers say he made while he was the U.S. Defense Department’s Inspector General, the McClatchy news agency reported on Thursday. He called them “completely false and defamatory.” Schmitz was the Pentagon’s inspector general from 2002-2005, and is one of five foreign policy advisers the Trump campaign announced in March. He says he helped write one of the Republican presidential nominee’s foreign policy speeches. Schmitz told the news agency that his wife’s maternal grandmother was Jewish. The alleged comments are cited in a grievance by Danny Meyer, about discrimination he says he suffered as a gay man while he worked for successive inspectors general. Meyer in his complaint quotes John Crane, a former assistant Defense Department Inspector General, as saying that Schmitz made the remarks. In one case, Crane alleged Schmitz said “I fired the Jews.” In another, he “allegedly lectured Mr. Crane on the details of concentration camps and how the ovens were too small to kill 6 million Jews,” Meyer wrote. Crane, who resigned in 2013 after learning he was set to be fired, also has filed a grievance. According to McClatchy, the allegations against Schmitz are also cited in a letter to the current Defense Department inspector general by a lawyer for David Tenenbaum, an army engineer vindicated after suffering for years under a cloud of allegations that he spied for Israel. Tenenbaum wants the office to inspect an anti-Semitic environment at the Pentagon. Schmitz’s father is the late Republican politician John Schmitz, notorious for his description in 1981 of a pro-reproductive rights panel that testified to the California senate as “a sea of hard, Jewish and (arguably) female faces.” Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close When he died in 2001, the elder Schmitz, a onetime stalwart of the far-right wing John Birch Society, was eulogized by the Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust denial group, as a “good friend” of the group. According to IHR, he intervened when the group was unable to find a venue for its conference in southern California after hotels received complaints. |
Personal Space is an Art-Science collaboration by artist Emer O Boyle and astronomers Lorraine Hanlon, Martin Topinka and Rob Simpson and was developed as part of the GLORIA project - the worlds first free and open access network of robotic telescopes. With Personal Space you can see what part of the night sky was directly overhead at any significant moment in your life. You can see where your personal space or significant life moment has overlapped with other's in the night sky. Your space may even have overlapped with some of the political and historical events that we've added to the gallery. As the earth rotates and follows it's orbit around our sun, our view of the stars continually changes. GLORIA is a project funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2012) under grant agreement number 283783. The site stores the information you provide in order to provide matches to other people's events and for no other purpose. Your event name may be displayed on this site when matches are found. |
Disney’s latest film Moana is a celebration of Polynesian culture that, by all appearances, is aiming to be mindful and diverse. Sadly, it doesn’t look like the Halloween costume department got the memo. Advertisement Disney has released its line of clothing, toys, and accessories for Moana, and the company decided to make Maui’s costume full-on “brownface.” The full-body children’s suit is designed to look just like the Polynesian demigod, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, including tattoos, grass skirt, and, yes, brown skin. The costume looks great on the young male model because he has a similar complexion, but you can’t escape the fact that a white boy or girl is going to be in brownface. Just because you don’t darken the face itself doesn’t mean it’s not offensive and wrong. Speaking of which, what about the face? If the kid darkens their skin at all, to better match the costume, we could see an “Obama” brown face-paint situation, which only makes a bad situation worse. Advertisement That doesn’t mean children shouldn’t dress as characters that are different ethnicities, but typically changing your skin color to do so is considered inappropriate. Some have pointed out that the costume can be viewed as something more for children of color, which is understandable, but there’s also the issue of cultural identity. Some have criticized the costume for turning centuries of their Pacific Islander culture into “just a cartoon.” It’s not just the costume. While most of the female clothing options simply involve Moana’s stylish tank top and skirt, some of the boys’ and men’s clothing (like t-shirts and pajamas) simulate Maui’s brown skin and tattoos. Advertisement People of color have been fighting for white people to stop appropriating and stereotyping their cultures with blackface, brownface, or yellowface costumes. It’s about time companies like Disney actually listen and stop making outfits that cross the line from cosplay to The Jazz Singer. That’s not to say Disney shouldn’t make a Maui costume at all, but it could be more respectful to make a costume overlay that puts the tattoos on the child’s own skin color, and they wear a t-shirt and leggings to match. However, that would not address the larger cultural appropriation issue that’s been brought up by some critics. Moana arrives in theaters November 23. [Disney Store] Update: Added response regarding cultural representation, and clarification on representation in costumes. |
Milano, 20, has skated in three games with the Blue Jackets this season. He has also registered 16 goals and 27 assists for 43 points with 20 penalty minutes in 59 games with Cleveland in 2016-17, leading the club in points and assists (tied) and ranking second in goals. Selected by the Blue Jackets in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft, Milano has 0-1-1 and an "even" plus/minus rating in six career NHL games. He made his Blue Jackets' debut at the New York Islanders on Mar. 31, 2016 and registered his first career point with an assist in the following game at Carolina on Apr. 2, 2016. He has 30-49-79 and 42 penalty minutes in 123 career AHL games. In his first full pro season, he picked up 14-17-31, 22 penalty minutes and was +12 in 54 games for the Monsters in 2015-16 and added 4-4-8 in 17 playoff games to help the club capture the Calder Cup championship. The Massapequa, New York native spent two seasons with the United States National Team Development Program from 2012-14 and collected 22-46-68 and 24 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers in 2014-15. He also notched 2-2-4 in five games for Team USA at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship tournament. The Blue Jackets return to action on Thursday when they host the Winnipeg Jets. Game time from Nationwide Arena is 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage on FOX Sports Ohio begins with the Blue Jackets Live pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. The game will also be broadcast live on the Eldorado Scioto Downs Blue Jackets Radio Network, 97.1 The Fan FM, and online at BlueJackets.com. |
There is a verse in the Bible that’s only two words…but I think it is one of the most heartbreaking. It takes place in the context of a death–the death of one of Jesus’ good friends, Lazarus of Bethany. Jesus had received word that Lazarus was sick, but for some reason delayed his journey to Bethany–and when he arrived, Lazarus was dead. Not just dead…but dead three days and already buried. The Bible says that when Jesus went to the tomb, “Jesus wept.” There’s much more to the story…it ends in hope. But those two words have struck me with new force recently. Jesus also wept over Jerusalem, because the people were unwilling to listen to his message of love. He wanted so badly for them to be healed…to be restored to right relationships with each other and with God. Jesus wept. While it doesn’t specifically say so, I think there were tears in Gethsemane…when Jesus asked for the burden of what was ahead to be taken from him. When he realized that was not possible–and acknowledged his willingness to go to the end–I can’t imagine there not having been tears. And when Judas betrayed him with a kiss, I think there must have been tears in Jesus’ eyes…tears of anguish that one of his followers had so misunderstood his message. Jesus wept. He cared so much for those who were his family–both his family of birth and those who had become a family of choice as they followed him. Yet all of these struggled with understanding what he was trying to share with them. They just didn’t get it. And Jesus wept. Those are sad, sad words–and yet they also give me hope. In those times of pain when members of our families just don’t get it…and I weep…I know that Jesus understands the depths of that pain. He’s been there and experienced it. He walks that path with us. It doesn’t necessarily take away the pain–but a shared burden can become lighter. And there’s another reason for hope. His followers–who cowered in locked rooms after his death, fearful of what might happen–were offered peace by Jesus when he came into those locked rooms. It wasn’t an easy peace…but it was strength and courage to walk the road that lay ahead of them. It was a peace that changed them from terrified cowards into bold proclaimers…who brought a message of a living, loving God who journeys with all…who weeps with those who weep…and who offers strength and courage to walk the road ahead.. Thank God! Advertisements |
QPR's injury problems have taken another turn for the worse after Aaron Hughes and Nedum Onuoha suffered knocks in Saturday's draw against Blackpool. The duo were both withdrawn during the 1-1 stalemate at Loftus Road and will be assessed in the next couple of days. Rangers have lost Charlie Austin, Matt Phillips, Kevin Doyle and Alejandro Faurlin to long-term injuries this season, but boss Harry Redknapp is hopeful Hughes and Onuoha should be back in the fold shortly. He said: “We’ve lost two more today through Aaron Hughes and Nedum Onuoha. They’ve picked up strains but it shouldn’t be serious.” Junior Hoilett came off the bench to earn QPR a point after cancelling out David Goodwillie's early opener. Redknapp admitted his side lacked cutting edge in the final third as they were frustrated by Blackpool. He added: “It was all one-way traffic. They scored from a corner, then they sat in and it was hard to break them down. “We needed players that could open the door. There was two players that could do that, Junior when he came on and Ravel [Morrison]. "Those two looked like they might do something and in the end it was Junior who scored.” |
February 5, 2014 Sean Larson analyzes the latest developments in the anti-government protests--and the politics of the different forces involved in the Maidan movement. THE MASS protests centered in the main square of Ukraine's capital of Kiev survived another government attempt to quell them through violence in January, and both sides are maneuvering at the start of the month as further confrontations approach. The demonstrations erupted in November, largely as a response to President Viktor Yanukovych's rejection of a free trade agreement with the European Union and suggestion that the country would join the Eurasian Customs Union led by Russia, which has dominated Ukraine for centuries in different forms. But the conflict in Ukraine has long since transcended the choice between a trade deal with the EU, sanctioned by the International Monetary Fund, versus a similar arrangement with Russia. The social conditions that underlaid the protests from the start and that have inspired Ukrainians to remain camped out in Kiev's Maidan (Independence Square) in spite of the bitter cold and police assaults include government corruption, state repression and lack of democracy, declining living standards and lack of social opportunities for the vast majority of Ukrainians. Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovich (Igor Kruglenko) The demonstrators are not united by an ideology per se, but a shared frustration with the regime and with their lack of control, political or economic, over their lives. These grievances are the product of enduring years of corruption in a state machine structured to serve the interests of the oligarchs grouped both around Yanukovych's ruling Party of Regions--and also within the major opposition parties represented in parliament. THE STRUGGLE over the country's future reached a new stage in mid-January when the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed a series of draconian laws limiting freedom of speech and assembly, and imposing steep fines and prison sentences for minor offences. The explosive response of protesters in Kiev three days later led to pitched battles in the streets--and qualitatively changed the dynamics of the movement. Now, while the goals of the movement are still typically articulated in terms of the rule of law, opposition to corruption and guarantees of human rights, there has been a shift away from a focus on integration with the EU and toward anti-government demands, such as the call for Yanukovych's resignation and for new elections. This political shift has been matched by more dramatic action on the ground, such as the occupation of several government buildings. Worrisomely, a far-right organization composed mainly of street forces is accused of having led the mid-January street battles in Kiev. Meanwhile, three opposition parties, ranging from conventional center-right to the far right Svoboda, continue to claim leadership over the movement. Meanwhile, the government has been raising the stakes this year, inflicting greater police violence, including the kidnapping of activists, some from their hospital beds, and torture of detainees. Hundreds of people have been injured and several killed in street clashes. Add to this the announcement of a pro-government "Ukrainian Front" on Saturday, which claims it will "clear the land of those who came to occupy it"--a not-so-veiled charge referring to the Maidan occupiers as agents of Europe. The Yanukovych government is also facing pressure from Russia--Vladimir Putin has indicated that he will withhold the distribution of loans to Ukraine until a stable government emerges from the present situation. To remain in office, Yanukovych must maintain the allegiance of a critical balance of Ukrainian oligarchs, and this depends upon his ability to secure a favorable business climate for them--low taxes on the rich, minimal regulations on industry, capital mobility, a stable and passive population ensured by a strong police apparatus. To this end, Yanukovych has reduced the size of the armed forces considerably while gradually building up the Berkut (special riot police) and regular police. He has vacillated between looking to Russia and the EU, depending on which seems to be the safest bet for crucial loans and trade deals. The fact that some oligarchs are defecting from Yanukovych is a sign of their decreasing confidence in the regime to secure their interests. These oligarchs will look to whatever other political force may suit their needs--which right now could be one or all of the opposition parties riding on the wave of the protests. THOSE OPPOSITION parties and their leading political figures are: the Fatherland Party and Arseniy Yatsenyuk; Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) and Vitali Klitschko; and Svoboda and Oleg Tyagnibok. The opposition parties occupy a contradictory position in the current situation. On the one hand, their perceived legitimacy and their claim to provide a genuine alternative toe regime are rooted in the Maidan protest movement. On the other, they seek to control the movement and funnel it in a "safe" direction that doesn't threaten the basic structures of the economy and state necessary for the oligarchs to rule. The opposition leaders must therefore balance between maintaining the demonstrators' waning faith in their ability to win real changes for ordinary Ukrainians and garnering the support of oligarchs with assurances that the wealth and power of the elite will be better secured through an opposition government. To this end, Yatsenyuk of the Fatherland Party last Saturday proposed a four-step plan for the opposition parties to take over governing responsibility. Predictably, Yatsenyuk's plan begins with the de-escalation of the protests and culminates in a return to a parliamentary-presidential republic, with minor changes made in the constitution. The plan also calls for a $15 billion economic package, backed by the IMF, EU and "other financial institutions"--which Yatsenyuk states is the "minimum amount necessary to calm the situation in Ukraine." This proposal, along with other attempts by leaders of the three main opposition parties to de-escalate or contain the activity of the Maidan follows a significant blow to the parties' claims to be leaders of the movement. During the furious 100,000-strong demonstration on January 19 against the repressive laws against protest passed three days earlier, thousands of people--many of them frustrated with the tame speeches of opposition leaders--began to head to the Rada building, despite the warnings of their supposed leaders. According to an eyewitness account from William Risch, a professor of history at Georgia College and State University, police buses and trucks blocked the road at Hrushevskoho Street, and riot police were stationed to prevent the protesters from moving further. In a similarly tense situation last December 1, Vitali Klitschko still had enough influence among protesters to restrain them from taking more radical action. Not so this time. A battle broke out, with riot police using tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets, and blasting protesters with water cannons in the freezing weather. Numerous reports have charged that the far-right extremists of the "Right Sector" instigated the violence on January 19. Risch's narrative says the Right Sector began pelting the riot police with pavement stones and Molotov cocktails, and the police then responded. But other accounts stress the role of "Automaidan," a group that emerged since November and is known for using its cars in protests at the homes of government officials, in leading people away from the main rally toward the Rada, with the Right Sector arriving later. Others claim the violence was begun by provocateurs in an attempt to smear the peaceful image of the Maidan and justify the imposition of martial law. Regardless of who instigated the battle at Hrushevkoho Street, however, the fact remains that it quickly became a full-fledged confrontation between armed riot police and an unprecedented number of protesters. The conflict continued in various forms over the next three days and, far from alienating participants, mobilized thousands of Ukrainians unwilling to tolerate Yanukovych's dictatorial laws, but also frustrated with the impotence of the main opposition leaders in the face of the escalating crackdown. THE LONGER-term consequence of these battles has been a developing, though uneven, rift between the demonstrators of the Maidan and the opposition party leaders who have dominated the protests politically. The protests are largely composed of people who went through the experience of the so-called "Orange Revolution" at the end of 2004. Mass protests overturned the results of a rigged run-off election--but a new government under Viktor Yushchenko failed to bring any meaningful change to Ukrainian society. The obvious conclusion is that more radical change is needed than shuffling political elites within an endemically corrupt political system institutionally dominated by oligarchs. The success of the Maidan demonstrations will hinge on the extent to which the mass of people involved can act independently of opposition party leaders. But the developing rift is far from a definite break--most participants still allow themselves to be represented in negotiations with the government by these so-called "leaders." The movement has achieved some concessions from the government already, such as the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov along with his entire cabinet in late January. Other moves by the government that have been depicted by the media as concessions aren't that at all. For example, Yanukovych pushed a law through the parliament that would grant amnesty for all but the most serious crimes, but on the condition that protesters relinquish control of government buildings they have occupied within 15 days. Were the movement to comply with this demand, it would not only implicitly legitimate the crackdown and mass arrests the government has already carried out, but significantly weaken the standing of the demonstrators and their physical control of Independence Square itself. Meanwhile, leaders of both the Fatherland Party and Svoboda are moderating their demands, now calling for a return to the constitution of 2004 as the goal of the movement. It's clear that if the opposition parties were to be put in power under the current circumstances, they would be subject to the same international and domestic pressures that have led to Yanukovych's policies of austerity and repression, and ultimately to the crackdown on protests. Thus, the proposal of Western political leaders for a transition to an opposition-led government is by no means certain to be more democratic--not given the deadly mix of the militarized state apparatus built up under Yanukovych, the harsh austerity measures attached to a potential IMF loan and the far-right politics that have gained a wide hearing in the protests to this point. THE MAIDAN is a mass movement with significant internal contradictions and widely differing politics. The direction the protests take from here will largely be determined by the coherence and organization of different forces within the movement. Disturbingly, the most organized and therefore most influential voices in the Maidan continue to be on the political right. This includes parties with representatives in parliament, such as the far-right Svoboda, which has ties to the British National Party and France's National Front--as well as the neo-fascists of the Right Sector. Unlike other far-right groups in Europe, Svoboda--like the other two opposition parties in parliament, UDAR and Fatherland--is in favor of Ukraine joining the EU and strengthening the country's connections to Europe. Right Sector, on the other hand, is a conglomeration of extreme right-wing nationalist street gangs and soccer fan clubs. It rejects the parliamentary tactics of Svoboda. Its main goal is the overthrow of the Yanukovych government, but it does not seek European integration. The rhetoric of these far right groups, despite their differences, has attained such influence among demonstrators because the short-term goal of bringing down the Yanukovych government coincides with the demand of all other protesters, including those on the left. The battle of Hrushevskoho Street even saw a temporary and uneasy truce between left-wing and right-wing militants in their mutual confrontation with Yanukovych's riot police forces. Such a de facto temporary alliance in action is obviously dangerous, and the continued ideological hegemony of the right over the protests must be challenged, or the authority of the movement could be used to justify the establishment of a right-wing government after Yanukovych's fall. The role that the far right has played is not a reason for the left to dismiss the Maidan movement or refrain from participation. On the contrary, it must struggle to shift the political balance by getting involved and fighting alongside ordinary Ukrainians for their basic democratic rights in the face of an intensifying police state. Erecting a left pole within the movement--or, in the words of Ilya Budraitskis, a spokesperson for the Russian Socialist Movement, a "Left Sector"--must be a priority to counter the influence of the right. To accomplish this, the small and scattered groups of the left in Ukraine must cohere around a common strategy and some basic demands. Beyond the resignation of the Yanukovych government and new elections, these must include, above all, dismantling the police state and stripping the oligarchs of their power. A socialist grouping in Kiev calling itself the Left Opposition has produced a 10-point plan which it hopes will be "first steps toward the formation of policies that could gather together all anti-oligarchic forces which don't consider an ultra-right fascist dictatorship to be any kind of solution." Despite the relatively small size and disorganization of the revolutionary left in Ukraine--one estimate puts it at no more that a few hundred people--its involvement can be decisive for the future of the struggle. In addition to the pressing need to combat the right in the here and now, the Maidan movement will be a definitive reference point for generations of Ukrainians, so what the left does will resonate into the future, whatever the immediate outcome. In the most likely scenario--the opposition parties come to power and inevitably fail to deliver what protesters are demanding--the presence of a strong left voice during turbulent times will be important in raising the possibility of a real alternative. To achieve genuine change, the protesters of the Maidan will have to fight for their rights independently of the opposition parties, the far right, and the foreign governments, whether the EU or Russia, attempting to influence Ukraine's future direction. Political democracy is only the first step--from there, profound economic changes would be needed, including nationalization of major industries, a steep progressive tax and strong protections of labor rights. In this way, the left can address the core issues that have given rise to the sustained mass struggle centered in the Maidan--and offer a strong voice for these and other progressive demands within the changing movement. |
[Freedombox-discuss] FreedomBox Hackfest in NYC, July 9 - 12 Hi folks, Another FreedomBox hackfest is approaching! This next hackfest is scheduled for Monday July 9, through Thursday July 12. After the hackfest, you should also swing by the HOPE conference (hopenumbernine.net), which goes from July 13 through Monday, the 15th. The last FreedomBox Hackfest was an absolute blast (see [0 - 3]). It was amazing to meet so many people with so many great questions and ideas for the project, in person (over the world's largest slices of pizza). During the hackfest, we exchanged ideas and plans for building a freer Internet and even got some work done (over coffee and cookies, of course). I don't think there was a person there who didn't get something useful or inspiring out of it. In short, save the date. If you'd like to participate or just swing by to watch the progress, please let James Vasile know (so he can keep an approximate count). If you have ideas, suggestions, or requests for stuff to do at the hackfest, please swing by or ping the list with them. Thanks for your time, Nick 0: http://freedomboxfoundation.org/ 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkbSB4Ba7Ck 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQTmnk27g9s 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQTtRBtTZ3I -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 835 bytes Desc: not available URL: <http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/freedombox-discuss/attachments/20120506/7d60c29f/attachment.pgp> |
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Navy aviation community has kept its transition to new aircraft types on track amid years of funding challenges and will prioritize the readiness of those new planes over older ones if needed, the Air Boss told USNI News. Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, commander of Naval Air Forces, said last week at the West 2017 conference that the aviation community has tried to “balance the readiness, the procurement, the modernization aspects of our force. We’ve accepted risk in readiness, and that’s acknowledged, I believe, but we’ve been able to keep that future air wing and our transitions in type/model/series on track.” Of note, he said, the transition to the EA-18G Growler is complete, the first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye squadron has moved to Japan, and the first fleet replacement squadron of F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters stood up at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., in January. Shoemaker told USNI News after his panel presentation that, when it comes to spending limited funding on readiness for these new airplanes versus the older ones, “it’s a great balancing act right now. We’re looking at ways we can ensure that we apply the lessons from the legacy platforms – things that we learned from sustaining and supporting, supply/support – to make sure that we apply those to the newer platforms, E-2D, F-35 as it’s coming down, so we can ensure that they maintain the readiness levels we would expect.” Asked if that meant that the new platforms were being prioritized over old ones, Shoemaker said, “I would say that’s probably accurate. But again, we’ve still got two legacy Hornet squadrons deployed, one on (aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush] and one on (USS Carl Vinson] right now, so we can’t take our eye off that. But I think at least from a Navy perspective … we’ve shrunk down our force to where there’s just four (Hornet) squadrons left, and I think our ability to support them, as well as our reserves and aviators up at Fallon – they’re flying legacy as well – we’ve got some choices and some tradeoffs we can make.” For example, he said, the service currently owns more Hornets than it needs for those four operational squadrons and the reserve and Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center. So, the community is looking for “best of breed” airplanes to keep instead of wasting precious maintenance dollars on airplanes that are in worse condition or seem to require more frequent maintenance. “We’re trying to be smart and efficient in how we apply the legacy readiness dollars versus the new platform readiness dollars,” he said. “And it’s an ongoing discussion and a tradeoff, but the key piece is applying those lessons to ensure that our most capable forces are ready.” One major lesson learned likely to be followed going forward is acknowledging the importance of the APN-6 budget line – the aircraft procurement line item that supports “initial outfitting for spares, and it also covers the stock on our shelves on our carriers, our amphibs and also at our shore bases,” Shoemaker said during his panel presentation. That line item was funded at about 90 percent of the requirement in the early 2000s, about 85 percent just before sequestration hit, around 75 percent since the sequester, and only 71 percent this fiscal year. “So that’s year on year we’ve kind of been funding less of the requirement, and not surprisingly, not unexpectedly, full mission capable aircraft have come down from 55 percent – we try to work in a band between 50 and 60 (percent) – to less than 30 percent today. That connection’s not hard to make,” he said. Shoemaker said aviation readiness has been on a steady decline but right now is at its “most acute” since sequestration went into effect and across-the-board cuts were imposed in 2013. “We don’t like to get back and talk about sequestration, but we dug an incredible readiness divot across the force that we have not filled in yet, and we continue to fly below the glideslope in terms of filling in some key accounts – not just flying hour accounts for us but also readiness enabler accounts” such as the APN-6 spare parts line item. About 20 percent of the total airplanes the Navy owns are considered “non-mission capable – supply” on any given day due to lack of available spare parts, and Shoemaker said “that number continues to grow.” |
Being an M. Night Shyamalan supporter is a lot like cheering for a professional Vancouver hockey team. A very long time ago we were on top of the world but, a few close attempts later, all that remains are the distant memories and the frustrating present. Like the Vancouver Millionaires’ Stanley Cup win in 1915, Shyamalan’s masterful The Sixth Sense amazed the world when he was only 29-years-old. Although there were close attempts to recreate that magic in Unbreakable, Signs and The Village, the filmmaker never received the same acclaim or box-office success. Recent years have been tough. Ticket sales are down. Support has been dwindling. The lowest point was when Columbia Pictures didn’t even advertise the director’s name on any of the promotional material for After Earth. Imagine watching a sports team too embarrassed to wear their own jerseys. He was at that point. I mention Shyamalan’s infamous history because I think it’s crucial to understanding not only the charm of The Visit, this small found-footage horror/comedy, but also what makes me enthusiastic about its successes and willing to overlook some of its obvious failures. This is by far the funniest film he has ever made. It may not be one of his best but it is still a welcomed and delightful return to form from a writer-director whose self-seriousness became self-parody. In his recent travesties, After Earth, The Last Airbender, and The Happening, we laughed at Shyamalan but in The Visit we laugh with him. Using stock characters and themes from some of his past work, The Visit is about the internal conflict in a family – mainly a mother’s inability to connect with her kids like Mel Gibson’s character in Signs and Will Smith’s role in After Earth (and many, many more of Shyamalan’s films). This is his first movie to examine a generational rift between kids and their grandparents but, unlike the director’s other work, which is mostly concerned with finding the serious drama in these situations, The Visit seems to be parodying that dead-pan seriousness. The director can often be distinguished by his unawareness to preposterousness. In Signs a girl’s paranoia over drinking water led to a great epiphany about how God has a grand plan for our lives, and in The Village a blind woman sees through her town’s cult mentality by venturing through the scary woods alone to get medicine for her sick lover. This is a filmmaker that once had a character named Cypher Rage utter,“Graviton buildup could be a precursor to mass expansion.” The only mass expansion we could see was Shyamalan’s ego – his inability to reconcile his pretensions with his asinine execution. Thankfully, whenever The Visit verges on self-importance, it lightens the mood with self-reflexive gags, ridiculous payoffs, and absurd imagery. The characters don’t lend themselves to drama as much as Shyamalan would like but he exploits some of their quirks for humorous situations, one of which is among the most hilarious moments in any film this year. Rebecca, an aspiring filmmaker that is the director behind this film’s found-footage conceit, and Tyler, a wannabe rapper who uses pop singers’ names as swear words, meet their grandparents for the first time when their divorced mother goes on a vacation with her new boyfriend. Years earlier, the kids’ mother had a fight with her parents; they haven’t spoken in years. The children stay on the farm, spend time with their grandparents, and try to take the first steps in mending their broken family. But soon after their arrival the grandparents act bizarre and violent. Familial dysfunction has effected Rebecca’s view of her own body-image and Tyler has become a germaphobe. These character attributes are relatively close to the two kids in Signs – Bo’s fear of drinking water is akin to Tyler’s fear of germs, and Rebecca’s psychological struggles are very similar to the conflict Graham faces after the death of his mother. Shyamalan may be reusing archetypes and dealing with similar themes, yet The Visit is far lighter than anything he’s ever made. Tyler’s germaphobia isn’t a metaphor; it doesn’t lead to any substantial dramatic moment. Rebecca’s self-loathing seems tacked-on and inorganic. The mid-section of this film is devoted to drama and characterization but it drags because we don’t buy either of the protagonists. Dialogue has never been Shyamalan’s strong suit, so Rebecca and Tyler are too much like a middle-aged perception of children rather than realistic, relatable kids. Tyler, an eight-year old, correctly uses the word “mise en scène,” and Rebecca, fifteen, constantly talks about the “cinematic” quality of an image and how she doesn’t want to use a certain composition because it’s “exploitive.” This is annoyingly unnatural. For The Happening or The Last Airbender this was detrimental but, unlike those two, he is not trying to express social commentary about how we treat the environment. The Visit, in a way, feels like an apology – a lampooning of old ways. Rebecca’s pretentions as a documentarian seem to reflect Shyamalan’s as a filmmaker, and it feels like he is humorously acknowledging this parallel. Near the beginning, when Rebecca first arrives at her grandparents remote farm, she asks Tyler to stand in front of a slowly swaying swing because it’s a cinematic image that also alludes to her mother’s past – she used to play on it as a kid but now it feels slow, grey and old. Tyler makes fun of her sister and refuses to cooperate in the staging of the scene. Later in the film, as the grandparents get off their rocker and start lashing out violently, Shyamalan uses a similar shot of the swing to set the mood, the way Rebecca wanted. It’s a dark and atmospheric composition that you might have seen in something like The Village. The Visit is Shyamalan’s first film where atmospheric shots of trees, old sheds, and creepy old people (like the crazy elderly women at the end of The Happening) are like punch-lines. (Note: the next paragraph has a spoiler.) It’s also the only time in a Shyamalan film where someone has told a serious story about divorce and the payoff was witnessing a character tackle an old person and smash his skull open with a fridge door. And no, this scene is not trying to make a statement about the fragility of the human condition; it’s just stupid, absurd and lighthearted fun. Despite the emotional immaturity and willingness to redeem Rebecca and Tyler’s mother after already subverting any attempts for a climactic family group hug, The Visit is consistently entertaining even though an uneven middle act drags with weak characterization. But even then, it’s still good enough to make you see dead people – glimpses of a M. Night of old. Mr. Shyamalan, I’ll put my jersey back on and accept your apology. 6.5/10 Liked it? Take a second to support The Young Folks on Patreon! |
Colorado lost its best chance to protect both the rights of homeowners and the state’s vital oil and gas industry this week when legislators killed a bill offering a real, workable compromise between competing interests. Republicans enlisted the help of fellow Democrats Monday to kill House Bill 1355, sponsored by Democratic Reps. Su Ryden, of Aurora, and Mike Foote, of Lafayette. It was a short-sighted mistake the oil and gas industry will likely come to regret. For the past few years, oil industry proponents have dug in deep against any effort to allow for local control of drilling rights, arguing that oil and gas is like all other state-protected mineral rights. Meanwhile, a huge increase over the past several years in drilling and fracking operations near urban and developed areas has seen pushback from homeowners and urban officials. They argue that the highly industrial use should fall under local control to ensure the rights of neighboring residents who have to live with the highly mobile operations. Colorado has been at a stalemate to balance those rights for years. Among threats of statewide ballot issues from anti-fracking proponents, plummeting oil prices, and outright fracking and drilling bans enacted or threatened by a handful of Front Range cities, state lawmakers and officials haven’t been able to produce anything resembling a compromise that protects developer and homeowner interests. Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is moving slowly, too slowly, through a laundry list of recommended changes as part of an attempt to compromise, but leaders of groups protecting the rights of homeowners say they’re not enough anyway. The bill killed this week would have allowed counties, towns and cities to impose local zoning codes on oil operations in their jurisdictions in allowing them to regulate things like setbacks from homes, structure height, masking, noise and odor. It’s not too much to ask . Oil and gas production is unlike any other protected water and mineral rights in that technology allows for operations to be set up relatively inexpensively and just about anywhere in the state. The compromise bill wouldn’t permit cities to ban the use outright, but it would allow local officials and experts to determine what’s best at each and every drilling site. Opponents argue that state regulators can and would do the same thing. If they had or could, the move to get meaningful control over these industrial operations would have fizzled long ago. What drilling industry proponents overlook is the vast and extreme environmental, demographic and socioeconomic contrasts across Colorado. There is no acceptable one-size-fits-all set of rules, regulations and practices that address a rig several feet away from a home in northeast Aurora and a different type of rig in the high, rural plateaus of western Colorado. Statewide standards tempered by local management is the only way to create an acceptable solution to both sides without endangering either one. Opponents of the measure say Colorado must first wait for the state Supreme Court to decide the local banning cases. It’s an excuse to buy time hoping that with reduced production caused by falling oil prices, fracking and drilling opponents will lose interest. They won’t. Instead, oil industry proponents now risk a much less compromising state ballot initiative that will be easier to pass because far fewer jobs and rigs are at risk because of depressed prices. It’s not too late to try again. |
Is it any wonder global elite confab avoids media scrutiny? Steve Watson Infowars.com May 31, 2012 MSNBC Teleprompter reader Lawrence O’Donnell has admitted he is “way too lazy” to look into the activities of the elite Bilderberg Group meeting in secret this weekend in Chantilly, Virginia. O’Donnell was asked about Bilderberg by We Are Change reporter Luke Rudkowski, who attempted to break through what can only be described as a wall of ignorance and cognitive dissonance to enlighten The Last Word host. The as always mild mannered and polite Rudkowski attempted to explain to O’Donnell that Bilderberg is an annual meeting of most influential people on the planet. “No it’s not,” O’Donnell shot back, before adding, “I have no idea what it is – so it’s not.” When Rudkowski attempted to explain that last year’s meeting was held in Switzerland, O’Donnell said, “That’s a lie. People are lying to you.” When Rudkowski said he actually went to the location of the meeting to report on it, O’Donnell said “No you didn’t. You didn’t see a single media person go…” When Rudkowski attempted to explain that Bilderberg meet to form policy and consolidate power, as admitted recently by Former NATO Secretary-General and Bilderberg member Willy Claes, O’Donnell repeatedly said, “no it’s not, no it’s not, no it’s not.” O’Donnell, who would barely even look Rudkowski in the face during the short encounter, is presumably so high on his peanut gallery that it is beneath him to even talk to the alternative media. “I believe the world is simpler than you think,” he concluded, saying that every bad thing in the world can be “explained by stupidity.” “You are misunderstanding the universe,” O’Donnell patronizingly told Rudkowski, after suggesting that the reporter “talk to someone who knows something about this.” When this is the level of sneering ignorance displayed by those within the mainstream media, is it any wonder that Bilderberg is able to meet without scrutiny and create global policy without oversight? In addition, is it any wonder that the ratings of the likes of MSNBC are dropping faster than a bad facelift? Watch the video: —————————————————————- Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England. |
The Religious Right’s fear-mongering of impending anti-Christian persecution in the wake of the Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision reached a crescendo last night with a fundraising email from the Family Research Council warning that President Obama plans to “eliminate” Christianity and demanding contributions “before it is literally too late.” “[S]ame-sex ‘marriage’ is not the ultimate issue,” FRC President Tony Perkins warns in the email, “it is a stepping-stone. The real issue is the Obama administration’s dogged determination to eliminate anything and everything that stands in the way of the President’s radical agenda. Silence dissent. And to do that, you punish speech — and belief.” “Orthodox Christianity’s truth doesn’t change,” he adds, “and as long as we remain tethered to this transcendent, unchangeable truth, we are a problem for them. If you can’t change it, you must eliminate it. Which is what they are seeking to do.” “With the Supreme Court ruling to redefine marriage, things are going to get rough for Christians in America,” he writes, comforting his flock by quoting Jesus’ warnings to his disciples about persecution. All emphases are in the original: It is no exaggeration to say that this is a crisis . FRC Action is moving fast on this . We are pushing for passage of FADA — the First Amendment Defense Act: legislation that will help protect people of faith from their own government. It would prohibit discrimination against individuals, organizations and small businesses because of their belief in natural marriage. Under FADA (similar to legislation previously known as the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act) the same institutions that Verrilli warned about — child welfare organizations, private schools, religious universities, relief providers, abstinence groups, military religious contractors, adoption agencies, Christian hospitals, political nonprofits and others — would be spared the government’s crackdown. But we need your help on this. I’m asking you to take immediate action — give a generous contribution to help us fight back before it’s literally too late, and the exercise of our religious freedoms are relegated to a few hours on Sunday morning. The Supreme Court case that revealed the government’s intentions made it clear: same-sex “marriage” is not the ultimate issue; it is a stepping-stone. The real issue is the Obama administration’s dogged determination to eliminate anything and everything that stands in the way of the President’s radical agenda. Silence dissent. And to do that, you punish speech — and belief. We also need to understand: With the Supreme Court ruling to redefine marriage, things are going to get rough for Christians in America. But we should not be surprised. Jesus warned us this would happen in John Chapters 15 and 16 when He essentially says, I’ve warned you they will hate you because you follow Me, so that you’re not surprised when it happens and it doesn’t cause you to be offended and fall away from the truth. In the view of the Left, standing firm for biblical values is beyond preposterous: it’s dangerous. By holding fast to what the Bible teaches about human interactions, you make yourself dangerous to this government . Orthodox Christianity’s truth doesn’t change — and as long as we remain tethered to this transcendent, unchangeable truth, we are a problem for them. If you can’t change it, you must eliminate it. Which is what they are seeking to do. Our culture has become dangerous. If we don’t stop this march against freedom now, we will see a rapid erosion of our liberties . We will see the disappearance of tax exemptions for Christian ministries and institutions and student loans for Christian students. We will see a renewed push for ENDA (the so-called Employment Non-Discrimination Act), which would tie the hands of Christian business owners. We will see a host of executive orders issued by the President before he leaves office. |
Support for wayland compositors is something that Cory Fields and I worked on over the past few months, and it has finally landed in xbmc git master. As of today and by the next release, you’ll be able to use xbmc as a fullscreen application directly on any wayland compositor (gnome-shell, weston, hawaii). There’s some other interesting fixes and hidden functionality that might be of interest to more technically minded users as well since the last update. Testing Framework XBMC is probably one of the first standalone wayland clients that comes with a full unit and acceptance automated testing framework for its wayland backend. This means that we can use continuous integration systems, like team-xbmc’s jenkins instance, to get early warnings and ensure that the backend remains functional across different wayland client library versions (more on that later) and also ensure that other people don’t accidentally break a backend they most likely won’t be using for a while. Getting the backend under a high level of test coverage at both a unit and acceptance level was a key deliverable for my GSoC project – X11 alternatives like Wayland/Weston and Mir are only just coming to fruition now and there is a very small subset of users who will be using them on a day-to-day basis. This general lack of usage (for the time being) presents a substantial risk that the backend will be accidentally broken by a seemingly unrelated as very few people will be testing it. This all depends of course, on enabling, building and running-in-continuous-integration the tests by default, which is going to be part of some follow up work. The tests also provide a mechanism for people working on the wayland backend to quickly verify if they accidentally broke anything. Implementation of the Testing Framework The main test driver for XBMC is Google Test, and knowing gtest quite well, it was very straightforward to bootstrap some tests with that. The amount of coverage we can achieve with the unit tests more or less depends on the architecture of the code. I made sure to write the wayland backend such that the architecture forms a directed acyclic graph with loose coupling in between the nodes. That is basically jargon for saying that each class or function in the system can generally be used with mock classes or data at test time and that data flows throughout the system in a single direction with no externally unobservable side effects. Take for example, the way that keyboard events are processed: PollThread runs in the background for us and gathers up events from the event queue to be dispatched later. Once we want to process some events, CWinEvents::MessagePump (a static function that we have registered at build time) calls into our internal xbmc::wayland::Loop::Dispatch which, depending on the wayland client library version, delegates to a version specific event dispatch mechanism (more on that later). Through some magic in the wayland client library, this results in our registered proxy object (in this instance, Keyboard) having its callback function for the particular event we’re interested in (a key press or release on a surface) being called. Once Keyboard knows about this, it sends raw data about that event over to KeyboardProcessor which looks up a scancode and keysym in the registered Keymap (in this case, CXKBKeymap, implemented using libxkbcommon) and then converts it into an XBMC_Event, which is something that XBMC understands. It then sends that to a registered EventListener, for which the production implementation calls CApplication::OnEvent where control leaves our subsystem. Two things to note about this description: Data flows from the top of the chart to the bottom of the chart. The same data in process never re-enters any other part of the system its already been into. This means that we can observe all effects in the system by looking at the outputs of each node. Each node knows very little about the node before it or after it. KeyboardProcessor receives raw data which is looked up in registered Keymap. So long as KeyboardProcessor gets some raw data and and Keymap can turn that into a keysym, then KeyboardProcessor won’t be affected by the operation of either. This makes KeyboardProcessor, which probably does the bulk of the work, very easy to test. You register a fake keymap (which you control) with it and give it some fake keycodes and then expect the right XBMC_Events to come out the other end when it calls the registered EventListener::OnEvent function (which you also control). Indeed, this is exactly how the PointerProcessor tests work! using ::testing::Values; using ::testing::WithParamInterfacee namespace xw = xbmc::wayland; class WaylandPointerProcessor : public ::testing::Test { public: WaylandPointerProcessor(); protected: StubCursorManager cursorManager; StubEventListener listener; xbmc::PointerProcessor processor; }; WaylandPointerProcessor::WaylandPointerProcessor() : processor(listener, cursorManager) { } TEST_F(WaylandPointerProcessor, Motion) { const float x = 5.0; const float y = 5.0; xw::IPointerReceiver &receiver = static_cast<xw::IPointerReceiver &>(processor); receiver.Motion(0, x, y); XBMC_Event event(listener.FetchLastEvent()); EXPECT_EQ(XBMC_MOUSEMOTION, event.type); EXPECT_EQ(::round(x), event.motion.xrel); EXPECT_EQ(::round(y), event.motion.yrel); } We’re able to call directly into the PointerProcessor::Motion event above and make sure that the registered listener gets an XBMC_MOUSEMOTION event as we expect. This this effectively tests that we’re able to convert some raw data provided to a hypothetical wayland callback into an XBMC_Event, and runs very quickly (in microseconds), but it doesn’t test that the entire system works the way we expect. More importantly, it doesn’t test that if we actually receive a mouse motion event from a wayland compositor that it is going to be dispatched properly and then turned into the XBMC_Event that we’re looking for. For that, we will want something more substantial and less fine-grained. Acceptance Tests Driver If we really want to ensure that the whole system works for a particular usecase, you need to test the entire process from providing real external input to watching the output of your system at its boundary. For this, I took some inspiration from a project called wayland-fits which runs a series of automated test cases against real instances of weston and libraries like Gtk+, Qt and EFL. For the purposes of testing a client, simulating things like keyboard and mouse interaction is a matter of sending those events to the client. Weston provides a fairly flexible extension API and amongst other things, allows you to easily define new private protocols to talk to clients that understand that protocol. In XBMC’s acceptance tests then, we launch an instance of weston on a private socket name (effectively, just a randomly generated filename in /tmp/) with the “headless backend”, which does not use OpenGL at all and does not need access to the hardware mouse and keyboard or the underlying display framework. It allows clients to connect to it and to manipulate some state on the compositor side, but it doesn’t actually have any real outputs other than the events it sends back to clients. We then also tell Weston to load our private “xbmcwayland” module, which in turn registers a global protocol for clients that understand it to talk to. This global protocol allows clients to make Weston “deliver” input events to themselves or manipulate state on the compositor side. For instance: <request name="move_pointer_to_on_surface"> <arg name="surface" type="object" interface="wl_surface"/> <arg name="x" type="fixed"/> <arg name="y" type="fixed"/> </request> <request name="send_button_to_surface"> <arg name="surface" type="object" interface="wl_surface"/> <arg name="button" type="uint"/> <arg name="state" type="uint"/> </request> And used like this: const unsigned int oKeycode = LookupKeycodeForKeysym(*Base::keymap, XBMCK_o); Base::xbmcWayland->GiveSurfaceKeyboardFocus(Base::surface->GetWlSurface()); Base::xbmcWayland->SendKeyToKeyboard(Base::surface->GetWlSurface(), oKeycode, WL_KEYBOARD_KEY_STATE_PRESSED); On the module side, we’re going to get that request on the private protocol, and send back a real key event in response. void xtw::XBMCWayland::SendKeyToKeyboard(struct wl_client *client, struct wl_resource *resource, struct wl_resource *surface, uint32_t key, uint32_t state) { struct wl_client *surfaceClient = wl_resource_get_client(surface); struct wl_resource *keyboard = m_compositor.KeyboardResource(surfaceClient); struct wl_display *display = wl_client_get_display(surfaceClient); uint32_t serial, time; GetSerialAndTime(display, serial, time); wl_keyboard_send_key(keyboard, serial, time, key, state); } In the test, the only thing that we customized was the EventListener for KeyboardProcessor. Once we receive the event from Weston instance, we can test to make sure it got converted back into what we expected. /* Inserts a "synchronization point" in the event stream so that we * keep calling CWinEvents::MessagePump() until all requests that * would have generated an event have finished processing their * corresponding events on our side */ Base::WaitForSynchronize(); XBMC_Event event(Base::listener.FetchLastEvent()); EXPECT_EQ(XBMC_KEYDOWN, event.type); EXPECT_EQ(oKeycode, event.key.keysym.scancode); EXPECT_EQ(XBMCK_o, event.key.keysym.sym); EXPECT_EQ(XBMCK_o, event.key.keysym.unicode); And the test runs as expected: [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.KeyEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.KeyEvent (340 ms) Lots of other tests run this way too: [----------] 1 test from CompatibleEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest [ RUN ] CompatibleEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.TestConnection [ OK ] CompatibleEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.TestConnection (343 ms) [----------] 1 test from CompatibleEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest (343 ms total) [----------] 5 tests from ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest [ RUN ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.CreateNativeWindowSuccess [ OK ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.CreateNativeWindowSuccess (339 ms) [ RUN ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.ProbeResolutionsSuccess [ OK ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.ProbeResolutionsSuccess (336 ms) [ RUN ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.PreferredResolutionSuccess [ OK ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.PreferredResolutionSuccess (344 ms) [ RUN ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.CurrentNativeSuccess [ OK ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.CurrentNativeSuccess (340 ms) [ RUN ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.GetMostRecentSurface [ OK ] ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest.GetMostRecentSurface (340 ms) [----------] 5 tests from ConnectedEGLNativeTypeWaylandWestonTest (1700 ms total) [----------] 4 tests from AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest [ RUN ] AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest.TestGotXBMCWayland [ OK ] AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest.TestGotXBMCWayland (348 ms) [ RUN ] AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest.AdditionalResolutions [ OK ] AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest.AdditionalResolutions (341 ms) [ RUN ] AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest.PreferredResolutionChange [ OK ] AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest.PreferredResolutionChange (350 ms) [ RUN ] AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest.CurrentResolutionChange [ OK ] AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest.CurrentResolutionChange (331 ms) [----------] 4 tests from AssistedEGLNativeTypeWaylandTest (1371 ms total) [----------] 2 tests from WaylandPointerProcessor [ RUN ] WaylandPointerProcessor.Motion [ OK ] WaylandPointerProcessor.Motion (0 ms) [ RUN ] WaylandPointerProcessor.MotionThenButton [ OK ] WaylandPointerProcessor.MotionThenButton (0 ms) [----------] 2 tests from WaylandPointerProcessor (0 ms total) [----------] 8 tests from EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0, where TypeParam = (anonymous namespace)::SingleThreadedEventQueue [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.Construction [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.Construction (330 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.MotionEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.MotionEvent (338 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.ButtonEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.ButtonEvent (351 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.AxisEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.AxisEvent (328 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.KeyEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.KeyEvent (340 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.RepeatAfter1000Ms [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.RepeatAfter1000Ms (1442 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.NoRepeatAfterRelease [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.NoRepeatAfterRelease (2543 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.Modifiers [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0.Modifiers (354 ms) [----------] 8 tests from EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/0 (6028 ms total) [----------] 8 tests from EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1, where TypeParam = xbmc::wayland::version_11::EventQueueStrategy [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.Construction [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.Construction (343 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.MotionEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.MotionEvent (353 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.ButtonEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.ButtonEvent (361 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.AxisEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.AxisEvent (367 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.KeyEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.KeyEvent (367 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.RepeatAfter1000Ms [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.RepeatAfter1000Ms (1450 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.NoRepeatAfterRelease [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.NoRepeatAfterRelease (2551 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.Modifiers [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.Modifiers (371 ms) [----------] 8 tests from EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1 (6165 ms total) [----------] 8 tests from EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2, where TypeParam = xbmc::wayland::version_12::EventQueueStrategy [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.Construction [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.Construction (350 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.MotionEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.MotionEvent (350 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.ButtonEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.ButtonEvent (356 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.AxisEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.AxisEvent (343 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.KeyEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.KeyEvent (353 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.RepeatAfter1000Ms [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.RepeatAfter1000Ms (1444 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.NoRepeatAfterRelease [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.NoRepeatAfterRelease (2581 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.Modifiers [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.Modifiers (354 ms) [----------] 8 tests from EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2 (6131 ms total) With all those tests, we’re able to get some fairly comprehensive functionality coverage and ensure that the backend isn’t accidentally stepped on (as long as people run the tests!). Support for multiple wayland client library versions Usually, this isn’t a problem for the vast majority of wayland clients. It is only a problem for xbmc because xbmc uses a game loop, a design going back to its Xbox origins. The game loop structure means that any external function that could cause the program to stop and wait indefinitely for external input of a certain kind (blocking) cannot happen in the main thread and must be done in a separate thread. The relevant blocking operation here is reading the wayland socket to see if there are any events, or at least, going to sleep until there are events. We can’t just fcntl (s, F_SETFL, O_NONBLOCK) the socket’s file descriptor, because it is the client library is the one reading the socket and we can’t really guarantee that it will handle -EWOULDBLOCK in a consistent manner across versions. A quick code audit showed that at present, it isn’t handled and there are probably a number of assumptions in place that read() from the socket will block if there is nothing to read. As such, if we want to read the socket without potentially blocking xbmc forever, we need to put that into a different thread and then set a flag to notify the main thread when there are events to be dispatched. In wayland versions 1.2 and above, the new functions wl_display_prepare_read and wl_display_read_events were added. These functions read the client socket without calling any of the registered callback handling functions until wl_display_dispatch_pending is called. This means that we can read in one thread and dispatch read events in the main thread. That’s great, but we need to support older wayland versions as well. In wayland 1.1 and lower, the only function which would read the event queue was wl_display_dispatch, which would also dispatch events once they were read. This would have the effect of dispatching events in a non-main thread, which is undesirable for a number of reasons and would result in numerous data races or other weird behaviour. The former implementation is the superior one for a number of reasons, namely that we can keep all the event handling on the main thread and allow ourselves more room to move in terms of adding small side effects to functions. At least for the latter, we need to get all the events back on to the main thread before they leave the wayland backend and go back into xbmc. As such, we have two event dispatching implementations, which each have three purposes: Creating a thread capable of reading the wayland socket Dispatching events from the wayland socket to our registered wayland object listeners Getting the processed XBMC_Events back on to the main thread for later processing outside the backend. The implementation is chosen at runtime based on the functions available in the wayland client library. The version 1.1 and lower implementation reads and dispatches the initial events internally on a second thread, which then sends them to the main thread for dispatch into the rest of xbmc. The version 1.2 and higher implementation reads the event queue on a second thread, and then dispatches the initial events on the main thread and forwards them on to xbmc from there. Because we’re able to replace this strategy at runtime, we can run all of our functional tests over these two implementations to check that the resulting output is the same: [----------] 8 tests from EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1, where TypeParam = xbmc::wayland::version_11::EventQueueStrategy [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.Construction [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.Construction (343 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.MotionEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/1.MotionEvent (353 ms) [----------] 8 tests from EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2, where TypeParam = xbmc::wayland::version_12::EventQueueStrategy [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.Construction [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.Construction (350 ms) [ RUN ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.MotionEvent [ OK ] EventQueues/InputEventQueueWestonTest/2.MotionEvent (350 ms) GSoC Mini-Promotion You may or may not be aware that this project was the result of my participation in Google Summer of Code 2013. Google Summer of Code (or GSoC for short), is a programme run annually by Google which incentivises currently enrolled university students to participate in Open Source projects. Students work directly with nominated mentors from participating projects to implement a localized feature or substantial change that would take around two months to complete. Students receive a modest stipend from Google so that they can support themselves and devote their attention to the project instead of taking up summer jobs. Even if you’re already quite involved in Open Source project work already, GSoC is a highly rewarding experience. It provides a decent incentive to participate in a project that you might not have otherwise participated in and in this way allows you to expand the breadth of your knowledge in a particular area. It is running for its tenth year in 2014, so I highly recommend you check out the schedule and register to participate next year! Advertisements |
E3 2015 Press Conference and Streaming Schedule All the times and where to watch it all. E3 2015 kicks off on June 16. But the press conferences start a couple days before. Get our annual E3 press conference and streaming schedule below to follow it all. (Note: This post will be updated with additional streams throughout the week. Live Thread links will be available shortly before the start of each press conference.) Navigation Press Conferences (and related) Oculus When: June 11 at 10 a.m. PDT / 1 p.m. EDT (local times) Where: Twitch, Oculus.com Oculus VR is holding its own press conference on June 11. We’re not sure what’s planned for the event, but there’s the live stream, nonetheless. Super Smash Bros. When: June 14 at 7:40 a.m. PDT / 10:40 a.m. EDT (local times) Where: Nintendo.com, Nintendo-Europe.com, Twitch (UK) The live stream is to celebrate the launch of Lucas from Mother 3 as a playable character, a new Miiverse stage, and Mii Fighter cosutmes inspired by Splatoon. In an e-mail sent to press, Nintendo teases: “You definitely don’t want to miss it.” Nintendo World Championships When: June 14 at 3:00 p.m. PDT / 6:00 p.m. EDT (local times) Where: Twitch, Nintendo.com Join a worldwide audience by watching the Nintendo World Championships 2015 on Sunday, June 14. The tournament will stream live from Los Angeles, starting at 3 p.m. PT, with pre-show broadcasts kicking off the day’s activities. While the full lineup of games won’t be unveiled until the big event, hopeful contestants can prepare to compete in the original The Legend of Zelda game, as well as a mix of other modern and classic Nintendo games. Bethesda Softworks When: June 14 at 7:00 p.m. PDT / 10:00 p.m. EDT (local times) Where: Twitch, YouTube, IGN, GameSpot Live Thread: Here Titles confirmed to appear include Doom and Fallout 4. Likely appearances include BattleCry and The Elder Scrolls Online. Possible appearances include a Dishonored sequel. Rumored appearances include a Dishonored remaster. Microsoft Electronic Arts Ubisoft Sony Computer Entertainment Nintendo When: June 16 at 9:00 a.m. PDT / 12:00 p.m. EDT (local times) Where: Twitch, Nintendo.com, GameSpot Live Thread: Here Titles confirmed to appear include Mario Maker. Likely appearances include Devil’s Third, Fatal Frame: Oracle of the Sodden Raven, Fire Emblem If, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, Star Fox, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Yo-Kai Watch, Yoshi’s Woolly World, and a new Retro Studios game. Rumored appearances include a new Paper Mario for Wii U. Square Enix When: June 16 at 10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT (local times) Where: Twitch, YouTube, GameSpot, Twitter Live Thread: Here Confirmed appearances include the gameplay premiere of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Human Head Studios’ new project for Square Enix’s Shinra cloud gaming service. Likely appearances include Dragon Quest Heroes, the next Hitman game, Just Cause 3, and Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness. Possible appearances include Kingdom Hearts III. PC Gaming Show When: June 16 at 5:00 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT (local times) Where: PCGamingShow.com Live Thread: Here Confirmed appearances include AMD, Blizzard Entertainment, Bohemia Interactive, Cliff Bleszinski, Cloud Imperium Games, Dean Hall, Devolver Digital, Humble Bundle, Heart Machine, Microsoft, Paradox Interactive, Square Enix, and Tripwire Interactive. Live Streams GameSpot Where: GameSpot (All times are PDT.) June 16 GameSpot Stage 1:00 p.m. – Call of Duty: Black Ops III 1:20 p.m. – Horizon Zero Dawn 1:40 p.m. – Battleborn 2:00 p.m. – Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 2:20 p.m. – Halo 5: Guardians 2:40 p.m. – Super Mario Maker 3:00 p.m. – Hitman 3:20 p.m. – Guitar Hero Live 3:40 p.m. – Mighty No. 9 4:00 p.m. – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 (with Tony Hawk) 4:20 p.m. – ReCore 4:40 p.m. – Microsoft’s Aarong Greenberg 5:00 p.m. – Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege 5:20 p.m. – Assassin’s Creed Syndicate 5:40 p.m. – Star Fox Zero 6:00 p.m. – Need for Speed 6:20 p.m. – Mirror’s Edge Catalyst 6:40 p.m. – Star Wars Battlefront 7:00 p.m. – Giant Bomb Live, Day 1 Kinda Funny Stage 1:00 p.m. – Kinda Funny’s Game of the Show with Sisqo 1:30 p.m. – The Best E3 Press Conference 2:00 p.m. – Xbox and the Future: An Interview with Aaron Greenberg 2:30 p.m. – Guitar Hero Let’s Play with Freddie Wong 3:00 p.m. – Tony Hawk Speaks 3:30 p.m. – EA’s Peter Moore Gets Interviewed 4:00 p.m. – Hot Pepper Gaming Preview with Jeff Gerstmann 4:30 p.m. – Cliff Bleszinski: Boss Key’s Plan 5:00 p.m. – Destiny Interview: Experts on the Announcements 5:30 p.m. – Mike Bithell: Creating Volume, Indie Games 6:00 p.m. – Mighty No. 9 with Keiji Inafune 7:00 p.m. – Giant Bomb Live, Day 1 June 17 GameSpot Stage 11:00 a.m. – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End 11:20 a.m. – Forza Motorsport 6 11:40 a.m. – Just Cause 3 12:00 p.m. – Skylanders Superchargers 12:20 p.m. – Dark Fall 3: Lost Souls 12:40 p.m. – RIGS: Mechanized Combat League 1:00 p.m. – Madden NFL 16 1:20 p.m. – FIFA 16 1:40 p.m. – Genei Ibun Roku #FE 2:00 p.m. – Destiny 2:20 p.m. – Rise of the Tomb Raider 2:40 p.m. – For Honor 3:00 p.m. – Tom Clancy’s The Division 3:20 p.m. – Tearaway Unfolded 3:40 p.m. – Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture 4:00 p.m. – Fortnite 4:20 p.m. – Mad Max 4:40 p.m. – Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition 5:00 p.m. – Yoshi’s Woolly World 5:20 p.m. – No Man’s Sky 5:40 p.m. – Xbox One System Update Demo 6:00 p.m. – Alienation 6:20 p.m. – Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 6:40 p.m. – Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition 7:30 p.m. – Giant Bomb Live, Day 2 Kinda Funny Stage 11:00 a.m. – Halo 5: Guardians 11:30 a.m. – What Makes Naughty Dog Great? Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley Interview 12:00 p.m. – What Makes Naughty Dog Great? Nolan North and Troy Baker Interview 12:30 p.m. – Nintendo’s E3 and Future 1:30 p.m. – David Jaffe: Drawn to Death‘s Attack Plan 2:00 p.m. – Adam Boyes Interview 2:30 p.m. – Telltale: The Walking Dead, Marvel, and More 3:00 p.m. – Scott Porter: Nightwing, Superboy, and More 3:15 p.m. – Shuhei Yoshida 4:00 p.m. – Mega Man Legacy Collection 4:30 p.m. – EgoRaptor: Being the GameGrump 5:00 p.m. – Tim Schafer: Broken Age and Beyond 5:30 p.m. – Platinum Games 6:00 p.m. – Yacht Club Games and Tom Happ 6:30 p.m. – Koji Igarashi 7:30 p.m. – Giant Bomb Live, Day 2 June 18 GameSpot Stage 11:00 a.m. – XCOM 2 11:20 a.m. – LEGO Dimensions 11:40 a.m. – Xenoblade Chronicles X 12:00 p.m. – Anno 2205 12:20 p.m. – Transformer: Devastation 12:40 p.m. – Batman: Arkham Knight 1:00 p.m. – Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 1:20 p.m. – Gears of War: Ultimate Edition 1:40 p.m. – Shadow of the Beast 2:00 p.m. – StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void 2:20 p.m. – Oculus VR’s Palmer Luckey 2:40 p.m. – What Remains of Edith Finch 3:00 p.m. – Street Fighter V 3:20 p.m. – Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth ‘Rising Tide’ 3:40 p.m. – Rare Replay 4:00 p.m. – Fat Princess Adventures 4:20 p.m. – Below 4:40 p.m. – Mother Russia Bleeds 5:00 p.m. – Who Won E3 with Kinda Funny 5:20 p.m. – Rock Band 4 7:30 p.m. – Giant Bomb Live, Day 3 Kinda Funny Stage 11:00 a.m. – What’s Up with Batman: Arkham Knight? 11:30 a.m. – YouTube’s Focus on Gaming 12:00 p.m. – Oddworld‘s Lorne Lanning on Games, E3, Government 12:30 p.m. – Life is Strange: Episodic Hearstrings 1:00 p.m. – WWE Superstar Xavier Woods 1:30 p.m. – Brandon Routh of Arrow and Superman Returns 2:00 p.m. – Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition 2:30 p.m. – NHL 16: Dean Richards on the Ice 3:00 p.m. – How Do They Make LEGO Games So Fast? with Arthur Parsons 3:30 p.m. – Devon Sawa is the Man 4:00 p.m. – Hot Pepper Gaming Preview with Devon Sawa 4:30 p.m. – E3 Wrap-Up 7:30 p.m. – Giant Bomb Live, Day 3 IGN Where: IGN (All times are PDT.) June 14 6:30 p.m. – IGN’s Bethesda Pre-Show 7:00 p.m. – Bethesda Press Conference 8:00 p.m. – IGN’s Bethesda Post-Show June 15 9:00 a.m. – IGN’s Microsoft Pre-Show 9:30 a.m. – Microsoft Press Conference 11:00 a.m. – IGN’s Microsoft Post-Show 11:30 a.m. – Halo 5: Guardians Demo 11:50 a.m. – Rise of the Tomb Raider Demo 12:30 p.m. – IGN’s EA Pre-Show 1:00 p.m. – EA Press Conference 2:00 p.m. – Star Wars: The Old Republic Extended Trailer 2:30 p.m. – IGN’s EA Post-Show 2:30 p.m. – IGN’s Ubisoft Pre-Show 3:00 p.m. – Ubisoft Press Conference 4:00 p.m. – IGN’s Ubisoft Post-Show 4:30 p.m. – XCOM 2 First Gameplay 5:00 p.m. – Unravel Demo 5:30 p.m. – IGN’s Sony Pre-Show 6:00 p.m. – Sony Press Conference 7:30 p.m. – IGN’s Sony Post Show June 16 8:30 a.m. – IGN’s Nintendo Pre-Show 9:00 a.m. – Nintendo Digital Event 9:45 a.m. – IGN’s Nintendo Post-Show 10:00 a.m. – Square Enix Press Conference 11:00 a.m. – IGN’s Square Enix Post-Show 11:30 a.m. – ReCore 11:45 a.m. – Xbox One Elite Controller Demo 12:20 p.m. – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End 1:00 p.m. – Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 1:20 p.m. – Hitman 1:40 p.m. – Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 2:00 p.m. – Super Mario Maker 2:20 p.m. – Call of Duty: Black Ops III 2:40 p.m. – Destiny: The Taken King 3:00 p.m. – Transformers: Devastation 4:00 p.m. – Need for Speed 4:20 p.m. – Star Wars Battlefront 4:40 p.m. – Tom Clancy’s The Division 5:00 p.m. – Gears of War: Ultimate Edition 5:10 p.m. – Edge of Nowhere 5:20 p.m. – Lucky’s Tale 5:40 p.m. – The Assembly 5:50 p.m. – Creator of Oculus Rift Interview 6:00 p.m. – Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture 6:20 p.m. – Star Fox Zero 6:40 p.m. – For Honor June 17 11:00 a.m. – FIFA 16 11:20 a.m. – Madden NFL 16 11:40 a.m. – Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 12:00 p.m. – Street Fighter V 12:20 p.m. – LEGO Dimensions 12:40 p.m. – Genei Ibun Roku #FE 1:00 p.m. – The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes 2:20 p.m. – RIGS: Mechanized Combat League 2:40 p.m. – Assassin’s Creed Syndicate 3:00 p.m. – Guitar Hero Live 3:20 p.m. – Horizon Zero Dawn 3:40 p.m. – Fire Emblem Fates 4:00 p.m. – Elite: Dangerous on Xbox One 4:20 p.m. – Yoshi’s Woolly World 4:40 p.m. – Tom Clacny’s Rainbow Six Siege 5:00 p.m. – LEGO Marvel’s Avengers 5:20 p.m. – Batman: Arkham Knight 5:40 p.m. – Unannounced Ubisoft Game 6:00 p.m. – Until Dawn 6:20 p.m. – Mighty No. 9 6:40 p.m. – Battleborn June 18 11:00 a.m. – Xenoblade Chronicles X 11:20 a.m. – Fat Princess Adventures 11:40 a.m. – Just Cause 3 12:00 p.m. – Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition 12:20 p.m. – Ratchet & Clank 12:40 p.m. – What Remains of Edith Finch 1:00 p.m. – Metroid Prime: Blast Ball 2:00 p.m. – Tearaway Unfolded 2:20 p.m. – Shadow of the Beast 2:40 p.m. – Mad Max 3:00 p.m. – Below 3:20 p.m. – Adr1ft 3:40 p.m. – ABZU 4:00 p.m. – Civilization: Beyond Earth ‘Rising Tide’ 4:20 p.m. – Persona 4: Dancing All Night 4:40 p.m. – Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition 5:00 p.m. – Forza Motorsport 6 5:20 p.m. – TBA E3 Game 5:40 p.m. – People’s Choice Award YouTube Live at E3 When: June 16 starting at 9 a.m. PDT / 12 p.m. EDT Where: YouTube (All times are PDT.) June 15 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. – YouTube Live @ E3 kicks off with a jam-packed half-hour. Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and Telltale Games’ Kevin Brunner stop by to make a major Walking Dead announcement. Then, Bethesda’s Pete Hines visits for the first media interview about the news from Sunday night’s Bethesda’s E3 showcase. Also, don’t miss the world premiere of the new story trailer for Mad Max, and an exclusive sneak peek at the epic six-minute E3 trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain from Hideo Kojima. Plus, we’re joined by familiar YouTube faces MattPatt (TheGameTheorists) and Screw Attack, plus Danny O’Dwyer from GameSpot. 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. – Xbox E3 Conference – Live from the Galen Center, Xbox’s Phil Spencer reveals Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Motorsport 6 and more about the future of Xbox One. 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. – Immediately following the Xbox press conference, we’re back at our studio with major world premieres. First, don’t miss the exclusive reveal of the six-minute E3 trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, personally edited by Hideo Kojima. Then, see the first-ever live demo of LEGO Dimensions with the reveal of new worlds and characters. Plus, Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford comes by to debut the E3 demo of Battleborn. 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Nintendo Power Half-Hour! – It may only be Monday, but at 11:30 a.m. Nintendo takes over YouTube Live @ E3 for a half-hour of new live game demos, interviews and updates Sunday night’s Nintendo World Championships. 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Rocksteady’s Sefton Hill stops by to give the world an exclusive new demo of Batman: Arkham Knight. Then, don’t miss the global announcement and first trailer for the next title from Platinum Games, the creators of Vanquish, Bayonetta, and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Also see an exclusive new demo of Ratchet & Clank for the PS4, and special guests discuss Halo 5: Guardians and Rise of the Tomb Raider. Overkill stops by to talk about their new Walking Dead game. Then, leading into the EA press conference, we’re visited by YouTube creators Kwebblekop, Moo Snuckel, and Lui Calibre. 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Electronic Arts E3 Press Conference – From the Shrine Exposition Center, EA reveals the latest on Star Wars Battlefront, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, EA Sports titles such as FIFA and Madden, and more. 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for: Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard joins us live in the studio for his first media interview with Geoff and fans about Fallout 4. Plus, don’t miss an exclusive announcement and new look at King’s Quest, a demo of ADRIFT, Marty Stratton from id stops by to discuss DOOM, and a special surprise guest comes by to discuss one of today’s big game announcements for the first time anywhere. Also visiting us this hour: popular YouTube creators iJustine, Alex Albrecht, and Ashley Jenkins and Meg Turney from Rooster Teeth. 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Ubisoft E3 Press Conference – Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, The Division and more. Aisha Tyler hosts Ubisoft’s annual E3 press conference. 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Back at our stage, Tony Hawk comes by to world premiere the first ever look at gameplay from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5. EA’s Peter Moore drops by to talk about the latest headlines, see a live demo of Rock Band 4 featuring some of your favorite YouTube creators, the team at DICE behind Mirror’s Edge Catalyst visits our set, and we also deliver the first look at Banner Saga 2 gameplay and an interview with Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. Plus, appearances by YouTube’s HikePlays, TypicalGamer and OpticJ. 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – Xbox’s Phil Spencer is live in the studio with Geoff to answer your questions about Xbox, plus Rod Fergusson from The Coalition comes by to talk about the latest Gears of War news, and a visit from the Assassin’s Creed Syndicate team and more. FunHaus in the house too – Bruce Greene, Adam Kovic and James Willems. 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – PlayStation E3 Press Conference – What does PlayStation have in store for fans at E3 2015? Find out when Sony reveals the future of PlayStation 4, and YouTube has every minute of it live. 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. – Following the Sony press conference, Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey visits with Geoff to showcase the latest content for the VR headset. Epic Games is here with the world premiere demo of Fortnite. Plus, Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog visits to discuss Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Sean Murray and Hello Games swing by to talk No Man’s Sky, and more surprise guests join us after the PlayStation press conference. Also, Felicia Day from Geek and Sundry joins us live! Capcom Fighters Street Fighter V Exhibition When: June 16 to 18 Where: Twitch More Information: Capcom Unity (All times are PDT.) June 16 (stream runs 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Single Elimination Tournament 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – ComboFiend Kumite 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – [Stream] ComboFiend Character Demos/Pre-Exhibition Show 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – [Stage] Ono-san Signing Session 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – Pro Exhibition: Team Tournament June 17 (stream runs 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. – Single Elimination Tournament 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Single Elimination Tournament 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Single Elimination Tournament 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – ComboFiend Kumite 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – [Stream] ComboFiend Character Demos/Pre-Exhibition Show 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – [Stage] Ono-san Signing Session 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – Pro Exhibition: Singles Tournament June 18 (stream runs 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Editor Elimination Exhibition (E3) 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Single Elimination Tournament 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Single Elimination Tournament 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – Single Elimination Tournament 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Single Elimination Tournament 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Freeplay Capcom Unity When: June 16 to 18 Where: Twitch More Information: Capcom Unity (All times are PDT.) June 16 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Street Fighter V with Peter “ComboFiend” Rosas 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Mega Man Legacy Collection with Producer Rey Jimenez 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Resident Evil 0 with GregaMan and Brelston 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition with Director Hideaki Itsuno June 17 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Street Fighter V with Peter “ComboFiend” Rosas 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Mega Man Legacy Collection with GregaMan and Brelston 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Resident Evil 0 with Product Manager Mike Lunn 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition with Director Hideaki Itsuno June 18 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Street Fighter V with Peter “ComboFiend” Rosas 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – Mega Man Legacy Collection with Producer Rey Jimenez 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition with special guest Reuben Langdon Microsoft Xbox Daily: LIVE @ E3 When: Premieres June 15 at 4:00 p.m. PDT / 7:00 p.m. EDT Where: Xbox.com Tune in to see live Xbox E3 breaking news, exclusive announcements, trailer reveals, game demos, and interviews with game creators, June 15 to 17 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PDT / 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EDT on your Xbox One, Xbox.com, and Xbox 360. Nintendo Nintendo Treehouse: Live @ E3 When: Between June 16 and 18 Where: Nintendo.com Nintendo Treehouse: Live @ E3 2015 is ready to bring fans even more in-depth coverage of Nintendo products directly from the show floor. The unscripted action delivered by the gaming experts in the Nintendo Treehouse and various game developers will be live streamed. More information about the specific times will be announced closer to E3. Sony Computer Entertainment PlayStation Blog LiveCast When: Between June 16 and 18 Where: PlayStation Blog PlayStation Blog’s LiveCast show begins on June 16 at 12:00 p.m. PDT / 3:00 p.m. EDT, and will debut new gameplay footage, game demos, and developer interviews across more than 40 upcoming games. The schedule is as follows: Monday: 5:45 p.m. PDT Tuesday: 12:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. PDT Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PDT Thursday: 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. PDT Square Enix Square Enix Presents When: See below Where: Twitch, YouTube Full schedule to be announced here on June 16. Rise of the Tomb Raider When: See below Where: Twitch, YouTube Crystal Dynamics are holding 30-minute Rise of the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft: Relic Run, and Tomb Raider community interviews during Square Enix’s annual show-floor production. Tweet them for a chance to ask your questions direct to the developers. June 16 at 1:30 p.m. PDT / 4:30 p.m. EDT – Tomb Raider Community Interview June 17 at 11:00 a.m. PDT / 2:00 p.m. EDT – Lara Croft: Relic Run Interview June 17 at 3:00 p.m. PDT / 6:00 p.m. EDT – Rise of the Tomb Raider Interview Just Cause 3 When: See below Where: Twitch, YouTube June 16 from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. PDT / 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. EDT – ‘Choose your own Chaos’ with Roland Lesterlin – Roland Lesterlin, Just Cause 3 game director, will be showing the first official Just Cause 3 play-through and YOU can choose what path Rico takes by watching live stream over on the Square Enix Presents channel and commenting on which scenarios you’d like to see when the options come up. You can also tweet your choice using #JustCause3. June 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PDT / 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT – Live Q&A with Roland Lesterlin on Square Enix Presents channel – Petra Opelova, Global Community Manager for Just Cause 3, will sit down and throw YOUR questions to Roland Lesterlin. Do you have something to ask? Well, now is your chance! Head over to Twitter and tweet your question using #JustCause3. The best ones shall be rewarded! More to be added as they’re announced. |
July 1, 2013 – University of Utah researchers developed a new weapon to fight poachers who kill elephants, hippos, rhinos and other wildlife. By measuring radioactive carbon-14 deposited in tusks and teeth by open-air nuclear bomb tests, the method reveals the year an animal died, and thus whether the ivory was taken illegally. “This could be used in specific cases of ivory seizures to determine when the ivory was obtained and thus whether it is legal,” says geochemist Thure Cerling, senior author of a study about the new method. It was published online the week of July 1 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The dating method is affordable and accessible to government and law enforcement agencies,” costing about $500 per sample, says the study’s first author, geochemist Kevin Uno, who did the research for his University of Utah Ph.D. thesis. “It has immediate applications to fighting the illegal sale and trade of ivory that has led to the highest rate of poaching seen in decades,” says Uno, now a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Not only can the method help wildlife forensics to combat poaching, but “we’ve shown that you can use the signature in animal tissues left over from nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere to study modern ecology and help us learn about fossil animals and how they lived,” says Cerling, a distinguished professor of geology and geophysics, and biology at the University of Utah. The method uses the “bomb curve,” which is a graph – shaped roughly like an inverted “V” – showing changes in carbon-14 levels in the atmosphere – and thus absorbed by plants and animals in the food chain. The carbon-14 was formed in the atmosphere by U.S. and Soviet atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in Nevada and Siberia from 1952 through 1962. Those levels peaked in the 1960s and have declined ever since but still are absorbed by and measurable in plant and animal tissues. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society and the University of Utah. Cerling and Uno conducted it with geologist Jay Quade, a former Utah doctoral student now at the University of Arizona; Daniel C. Fisher, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; George Wittemyer, Colorado State University; Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants; and Samuel Andanje, Patrick Omondi and Moses Litoroh, all of the Kenya Wildlife Service. Ivory Trade Drives Elephant Slaughter International agreements banned most trade of raw ivory from Asian elephants after 1975 and African elephants after 1989. In the United States, raw and worked African ivory (jewelry, figurines, gun and knife handles) is legal if it was imported before 1989 or, if worked ivory is imported after, it must be at least 100 years old. Yet tons of illegal ivory still are sold because dealers claim the ivory was taken before the ban and there has been no test to prove them wrong – until now. “With an accurate age of the ivory, we can verify if the trade is legal or not” when the age is combined with existing DNA analysis to determine if an elephant is from Africa or Asia, says Uno, who earned his University of Utah Ph.D. last year. “Currently 30,000 elephants a year are slaughtered for their tusks, so there is a desperate need to enforce the international trade ban and reduce demand.” Only 423,000 African elephants are left. Conservation groups say 70 percent of smuggled ivory goes to China. The United States is the next biggest illegal market. Rising ivory prices have drawn organized crime and spurred militias in Darfur, Uganda, Sudan and Somalia to kill elephants and sell tusks so they can buy guns. How the Study Was Performed Neutrons from the nuclear tests bombarded nitrogen – the atmosphere’s most common gas – to turn some of it into carbon-14. Cosmic rays do that naturally at a low level, but open-air nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s sharply increased atmospheric, plant and animal carbon-14 levels, followed by a steady decline ever since. The method in the study is a bit like telling a tree’s age by its rings, but instead of counting rings, Cerling, Uno and colleagues measured carbon-14 levels at various points along the lengths of elephants’ and hippos’ tusks and teeth. The conventional way of measuring carbon-14 is to wait for and count when the isotope decays radioactively. In the study, the researchers used accelerator mass spectrometry, or AMS, which requires 1,000 times less material for analysis – a big advantage when sampling fossils or small pieces of worked ivory, Cerling says. In AMS, the material being analyzed is bombarded with cesium atoms, which sputters off carbon atoms so the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 can be measured. The researchers tested the accuracy of carbon-14 dating in 29 animal and plant tissues killed and collected on known dates from 1905 to 2008. The samples included elephant tusks and molars, hippo tusks and canine teeth, oryx horn, hair from monkeys and elephant tails, and some grasses collected in Kenya in 1962. Samples came from museums in Africa and elsewhere, and from Amina, an elephant that died naturally in Kenya in 2006, and from Misha, an African elephant euthanized in 2008 due to declining health at Utah’s Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. The analysis revealed that various tissues that formed at the same time have the same carbon-14 levels, and that grasses and the animals eating them had the same levels. By determining carbon-14 in these samples of known dates, the researchers now can measure carbon-14 levels in other ivory to determine its age, within about a year. The four oldest samples – from animals died between 1905 and 1953 – had minimal carbon-14 because they died before atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. So the test can identify pre-1955 ivory by its low, pre-nuclear-test levels of carbon-14. Cerling says the method can determine the year of death for any animal killed after 1955, identifying the time of the most recent tissue formation – at the base of a tusk or tooth, for example. The method is less precise for animals killed more recently; it can tell if an animal died between 2010 and 2013, but not more precisely. It takes about 5,700 years for half of carbon-14 to decay radioactively. But the amount in Earth’s atmosphere after the 1950s and 1960s bomb tests faded much more quickly because oceans and trees absorb carbon dioxide – including carbon-14 – from the atmosphere. So the method won’t work for tusks or other tissues that grow after about 15 years from now, when atmospheric carbon-14 returns to pre-bomb levels. Understanding Ancient and Modern Ecosystems While the method’s use against poaching is important, “the scientific part is the importance of understanding time in the formation of animal tissues and how diet and physiology is recorded in those tissues over time” as they grow, Cerling says. Cerling says that will improve understanding of what prehistoric and modern animals ate over time, especially when combined with existing isotope analysis of ratios of carbon-13 to carbon-12 in teeth – data that reveal whether animals ate diets based on tree and shrub leaves and fruits, or upon grasses and grazing animals. So as part of the new study, the scientists also analyzed another 41 samples to determine the growth rates for tusks and teeth from elephants and hippos, and elephant tail hair, Cerling says. Extrapolating the growth rates of tusks, teeth and hair to fossil or modern elephants and other animals “will help us improve the chronology of the diet history of an individual fossil or modern animal,” Cerling says. |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Floridians may soon be able to buy bourbon and bacon in the same place under a bill moving quickly through the state Legislature. A Senate panel on Thursday voted in favor of a bill that repeals a decades-old prohibition on grocery stores and other retailers from being able to also sell hard liquor in the same location. The measure (SB 106) now heads to the full Senate. Many other states already allow grocery stores to sell liquor such as vodka or rum next to other items. But in Florida liquor must be sold in a separate location that is not connected. Grocery stores are allowed to sell beer and wine. The proposal has pitted companies such as Target and Wal-Mart who want the change versus companies like Publix that don't. Sign up for ClickOrlando breaking news alerts and email newsletters Copyright 2017 by WKMG ClickOrlando. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
The quick trip report I spent the past week in Sweden for the Stockholm Internet Forum1, to meet up with our funders at Sida2, and to meet some activists looking for help and advice for their cause back in their home countries. Overall, it was a great trip. The Biståndsminister (Minister for Development)3, Gunilla Carlsson, specifically named Tor in her speech as a project she is proud to support and fund. In the afternoon, I gave a Tor talk to support DFRI 4. The room was in a different building, way in back, with few signs to direct you to it. Hanna from dfri went out to grab people. In a short while, the room was packed, with people standing in the back and people sitting in the window seats. I would say roughly 35 people came and left during the session. I purposely did a quick 30 minute tor talk to leave time for questions. There were lots of questions, most about how to help and improve tor. The TeliaSonera5 people were interested in the intersection of Tor and the EU Data Retention Directive being implemented in Sweden on May 1. I'm not sure if TeliaSonera is for or against data retention. Frank La Rue6, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, was in the room for most of the talk too. Misconceptions around Tor Many Europeans thought we were a Swedish company already and were generally surprised to hear we are from the States. The Latin Americans and Middle East people are cautiously supportive of Tor. I kept running into misconceptions about Tor, the charity, the software, and if we're humans or not. Hopefully this post will clear up these misconceptions. Tor was not started by the US Navy. The US Naval Research Labs (NRL) started a project in the 1990s called onion routing7. Tor uses the basic onion routing principles and applies them to the Internet. The volunteer Tor group started in 2001. The formal charity, The Tor Project, started in 2006. We continue to work with Dr. Paul Syverson from NRL on improving onion routing and therefore Tor. The goal of Tor is to give you control over your identity and privacy on the Internet. An equal goal is to enable research into anonymous communications on the Internet. We try very hard to make you anonymous by default. With this anonymity, it is up to you where you go, what you do, and what information about yourself you divulge. The goal is that you are in control. In 2011, Tor received a total of $1.3 million in funding from a few sources: Internews, The Broadcasting Board of Governers, Sida, SRI International, and roughly 700 individual donors. Our forthcoming audit will show the funding and how we spent it. People seem to think Tor is a massive operation with hundreds of millions in funding. We publish our audit reports and financial statements every year after our audit is complete8. Tor has a paid staff of 13 people. 10 of the 13 are developers and researchers. We have a part-time CFO, a marketing/policy person, and an Executive Director. We rely heavily on thousands of volunteers. We care a great deal about our community. Our core people9 are the most dedicated to improving Tor and have contributed greatly to the cause. We are currently looking to make this 14 people by hiring a dedicated developer10. We are human. Each of us involved is generally public about who we are and what we do for Tor. As we're only 13 people, we cannot be everywhere at once. We spend very, very little on marketing and advertising. A few of us, namely Roger, Jacob, Andrew, and Karen, do the bulk of public speaking. You can see various videos of our talks, lectures, and speeches in our media archive11. Overall, the trip to Sweden was successful. And I hope these five points clarify who and what is Tor. |
There are many places to visit in Rome, even if you only have one day. It is difficult to imagine only having one day to spend in Rome. However, if you find yourself in similar circumstances, you can rest easy. The things to do in Rome are immeasurable so it really doesn’t matter if you are there for a week or a day, you will be thoroughly impressed if you make your plans and stick to your itinerary. The Spanish Steps – Not only is this a top tourist attraction, but it also has one of the best hotels in Rome. Spending time here allows you to view the Barcaccia Fountain. It has some of the most explosive views of all of the areas in Rome. The Colosseum – No trip to Rome would be complete without making a stop at the Colosseum. Virtually all of the Italian vacation packages feature a tour here. It has been the scene of hundreds of movies and television shows and is a part of Italy’s history. Other Roman Colosseum facts include the number of spectators that once partook in the festivities. Over 50,000 could be heard for miles, cheering for their favorite gladiators during the games. Piazza Campidoglio-Capitoline Hill – One of the more popular places to visit in Rome because ancient government practically began here. To date, Capitoline Hill remains the center of Italy’s government. The Vatican – Of course, a trip to the Vatican is necessary because of St. Peter’s Basilica. It is home to some of the most famous works of art by Michelangelo, Bernini and Raphael. The Pantheon – One of the most important places to visit in Rome because it is so well preserved. It is Rome’s ancient glory and was built as tribute to the Gods of Rome. There are so many places to visit in Rome that you do not have to worry about how much time you have. The important thing is to make sure you bring your camera or camcorder so you can record your activities and share them with friends and family. |
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A man was stabbed along San Francisco’s Great Highway on Sunday evening after getting into an argument with two teens over their barking dog, police said. The stabbing was reported at about 6:20 p.m. near Pacheco Street. The 56-year-old victim was punched and pushed by the teens, one of whom then stabbed him in the shoulder and neck, according to police. The suspects fled, but one, a 19-year-old woman, was taken into custody. Police have not yet released her name. The other suspect, a boy between 14 and 16 years old, fled and had not been found as of Monday morning. The victim was taken to San Francisco General Hospital to be treated for his injuries. Anyone with information about the stabbing is encouraged to call the Police Department’s anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411. (Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.) |
Jean-François Gillet (born 31 May 1979) is a Belgian professional goalkeeper who plays for Standard Liege. Club career [ edit ] Standard Liège and Monza [ edit ] He began his professional career in the youth system of Standard Liège and was called up to the first team at the age of just 17. In 1996, he made his debut in Belgian First Division and the following season he took to the field on another two occasions. In the summer of 1999, at the age of twenty, he moved outright to Monza, then in Serie B. As a starter, he disputed 33 games. Bari and Treviso [ edit ] After playing four games in August with Monza, in the final days of the transfer market he accepted a move to Bari in Serie A, who paid 5 million lire.[1] His first season in the top flight, despite 20 appearances and some stand-out performances in goal, was marred by a prosecution for doping. After the match Bari-Reggina on 21 January, in fact, he became the first player in Italy to be indicted for testing positive for Nandrolone[1][2] and was forced by the sports court to serve a four-month disqualification. Over the next ten years he played 317 games for Bari in Serie A and Serie B, with the exception of a short loan with Treviso in 2003–04, due to some disagreements with the then coach Marco Tardelli. On 13 March 2008 he renewed his contract with the Galletti until 2011. In 2007 Antonio Conte arrived at Bari, and Gillet adapted his role in the team and was employed as a sweeper keeper. The team triumphed in Serie B, returning to the top flight after a seven-year absence. In 2009–10, his performances were confirmed again at the highest level, only conceding seven goals in the first 12 rounds; with the defensive pairing of Andrea Ranocchia and Leonardo Bonucci, they were among the teams in Europe with the fewest goals conceded. On 18 March 2010 he renewed with Bari until 2014, and on 12 September 2010 against Napoli, he officially became Bari's most-capped player after reaching 319 appearances for the jersey of the pugliesi, overcoming Bari legend Giovanni Loseto. For this reason, the mayor of Bari gave the Belgian goalkeeper the keys of the city as a sign of attachment to the club and the city. Gillet remained a formidable goalkeeper: saving two penalties from Francesco Totti, during the two matches between Bari and Roma, and one from Robert Acquafresca of Cagliari. At the end of the season, however, Bari were once again relegated to Serie B.[3] Bologna [ edit ] In 2011, after Bari's relegation to Serie B, Gillet expressed his desire to finish his career in Serie A and was transferred to Bologna in a deal worth €1.4 million.[4] At his farewell press conference, Gillet tearfully bid farewell to his adopted home in Bari and their fans.[5] In his first season at Bologna, Gillet immediately showed his goalkeeping abilities and was quickly taken to by the Bologna faithful.[6] His 29 league appearances in goal helped Bologna finish 9th in the 2011–12 Serie A season, the club's best finish in a decade. Torino [ edit ] On 5 July 2012 Gillet transferred to Torino for €1.7 million, with whom he signed a contract for three years.[7] At Torino he was reunited with former coach Giampiero Ventura from Bari, making his debut on 26 August against Siena in a scoreless draw.[8] He played 37 matches for the Granata in the 2012–13 season.[9] However, on 6 June 2013, in the aftermath of the Bari match-fixing scandal, he was indicted for sporting fraud and on 16 July was suspended for three years and seven months due to his role in the matches Bari-Treviso on 11 May 2008; and Salernitana-Bari on 23 May 2009.[10] On 24 January 2014 the TNAS reduced the disqualification to 13 months (five of which he had already served).[11] Gillet returned on 17 August 2014 in a triangular friendly in Mondovì against Bra and Virtus Mondovi.[12] On 22 August he was recalled by Ventura for the Europa League playoff round against RNK Split.[13] On 18 September Gillet played his first game as a starter for Torino since his suspension against the Belgian team Club Brugge, which ended 0–0 thanks to his heroic parries.[14] Catania [ edit ] On 30 January 2015, he transferred to Catania, on a contract until 2017.[15] Loan to Mechelen [ edit ] On 4 October 2015, Gillet saved three penalties for Mechelen in a league game against Anderlecht.[16][17] Standard Liege [ edit ] On 17 March 2018 he played as Standard Liege beat Genk 1-0 in extra time to win the 2018 Belgian Cup Final and qualify for the UEFA Europa League.[18] International career [ edit ] In August 2009, at the age of thirty, after a strong performance against Inter Milan for Bari, he was called up to the Belgian senior team in view of qualification for the 2010 World Cup against Spain and Armenia. He debuted 5 September 2009 in Spain, parrying a David Villa penalty, before conceding 5 goals. He conceded 2 goals in the next game, which saw the Belgian team defeated in Armenia by 2 to 1. On November 14, he kept a clean sheet in a friendly against Hungary and again against Qatar. Match fixing allegations [ edit ] On 16 July 2013, Gillet received a forty-three-month ban from football following his role in suspected match fixing during his time at Bari.[19] On appeal this ban was reduced to 13 months,[20] with return scheduled for August 2014. Honours [ edit ] |
So there I was, a shiny new OpenStack Folsom install (via DevStack) on a single server, and everything seems to be working — except I can’t reach the darn VMs I’ve spawned! I had a vague idea of the network topology the installer had created (driven by the choice to use the new Quantum networking service over the prior built-in networking provided by the base Nova service), but really had no idea how to go about troubleshooting this new virtual network that had been instantiated. Off to Google I went to search for answers, and that began the journey down this particular rabbit hole… Let me back up a bit… I’ve been hearing about this “blah blah Cloud” thing (as our host Greg likes to put it) for quite some time, and had a basic understanding of what it was and what it could be good for. I work for the American R&D lab of a large multinational computer company headquartered in Japan, and I knew some of the research folks here had been investigating various cloud-related technologies, and had even used Amazon’s AWS in various projects. Then (for a short period of time a few years ago) we had our own “internal cloud” – one of the research dept. sysadmins had constructed a multi-node AWS clone, based on the open-source Eucalyptus project. Unfortunately, use was light, and it was eventually abandoned since the hardware used was aging, and the aforementioned admin had moved on. Fast forward to about a week ago. Another researcher came up to me, and asked if her dept. could use the OpenStack implementation that we ran. “Huh?” I replied, “We don’t have any OpenStack implementation here.” (Perhaps she was thinking of the prior Eucalyptus setup.) Turns out that one of their research clients had asked them about what we had around it, and they were scrambling to get a research implementation available. Having been interested in the area of virtualization for some time, and exploring some of the underpinning technologies of OpenStack (namely KVM and Open vSwitch), I jumped at the chance to get involved. So luckily enough, they had a large server available that was bought to run VMware on, but had never gotten installed. So after a few hours of hardware reconfiguration and Linux installation (Ubuntu 12.04 in this case), we were ready to begin. Since it was only a single-server proof-of-concept, DevStack was the perfect fit, and it really couldn’t be easier — stacker@dev01$ sudo apt-get install git -y stacker@dev01$ git clone git://github.com/openstack-dev/devstack.git stacker@dev01$ cd devstack stacker@dev01$ vi localrc stacker@dev01$ ./stack.sh 1 2 3 4 5 stacker @ dev01 $ sudo apt - get install git - y stacker @ dev01 $ git clone git : //github.com/openstack-dev/devstack.git stacker @ dev01 $ cd devstack stacker @ dev01 $ vi localrc stacker @ dev01 $ . / stack . sh (command outputs omitted for brevity) For the localrc directives, I followed instructions included in a blog post by the always-amazing Brent Salisbury (of course the IP address ranges being modified for my organization) and some 257 seconds and a voluminous amount of screen output later, I had a running OpenStack installation. So, I promptly logged in, took a look around, and spun up a couple of VM instances. Upon trying to ping them however from the host running DevStack, my joy quickly faded. The VMs were being reported by the OpenStack web UI (known as “Horizon”) as well as the CLI management client (known as “nova”) as having a private IP address assigned. But, even though it looked like the correct routing was in place (DevStack in my install has a public IP range known as the “floating range” that the “br-ex” Open vSwitch has an interface address out of, and a RFC1918 private range that the VMs get addressed from, with br-ex acting as the gateway to it according to the linux routing table) and appropriate security rules in place (the VMs are firewalled off from the public by default, and rules must be written to allow desired access), I could not reach the VMs. This put me in a bit of a quandary, as the only way to log in to the VMs is by certificate-based SSH. No network access, no VM netstack investigation. I suspected that the VMs may not have gotten their assigned addresses correctly from DHCP, even though the OpenStack system was reporting their assignment. But was it a routing issue of some sort, a DHCP server problem, or a VM addressing problem? I figured I’d have to do some network sniffing, and that meant that I had to figure out the topology first. First let’s look at the host machine’s routing table: stacker@dev01:~/devstack$ netstat -nr Kernel IP routing table Destination Gateway Genmask Flags MSS Window irtt Iface 0.0.0.0 111.22.100.254 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0 111.22.100.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0 111.22.100.128 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.240 U 0 0 0 br-ex 169.254.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.0.0 U 0 0 0 eth0 192.168.0.0 111.22.100.130 255.255.255.0 UG 0 0 0 br-ex 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 stacker @ dev01 : ~ / devstack $ netstat - nr Kernel IP routing table Destination Gateway Genmask Flags MSS Window irtt Iface 0.0.0.0 111.22.100.254 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 eth0 111.22.100.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 eth0 111.22.100.128 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.240 U 0 0 0 br - ex 169.254.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.0.0 U 0 0 0 eth0 192.168.0.0 111.22.100.130 255.255.255.0 UG 0 0 0 br - ex So I knew that the route to the private network that the VMs were on was thru the br-ex interface (Open vSwitch [OVS] can be set up with an IP address and then appears in the linux routing table as an interface), but I also knew that OVS does not act as a L3 router itself. I further knew that the Quantum subsystem in OpenStack has the concept of routers, so there must be a router on the other side of the OVS bridge; I made the (correct) assumption that the “111.22.100.130” gateway address in the routing table above must be the Quantum router’s “external” interface. But what was the topology past that router? I decided to take a look at the OVS “show” command, which lists all OVS switches and their ports. OVS also implements a “brcompat” module, which allows the user of the traditional linux brctl commands, showing both OVS and any traditional linux bridges. The results surprised me: stacker@dev01:~$ sudo ovs-vsctl show adee4e67-940e-44e5-a7fe-e74a41739d7d Bridge br-ex Port br-ex Interface br-ex type: internal Port "qg-5dd85641-81" Interface "qg-5dd85641-81" type: internal Bridge br-int Port "tap0b9f0940-2c" tag: 1 Interface "tap0b9f0940-2c" type: internal Port "qvoa0bca375-a9" tag: 1 Interface "qvoa0bca375-a9" Port "qr-fce20708-25" tag: 1 Interface "qr-fce20708-25" type: internal Port "qvo10d38cf7-7e" tag: 1 Interface "qvo10d38cf7-7e" Port br-int Interface br-int type: internal ovs_version: "1.4.0+build0" stacker@dev01:~$ brctl show bridge name bridge id STP enabled interfaces br-ex 0000.8ae69a3f4a46 no qg-5dd85641-81 br-int 0000.4a549f449943 no qr-fce20708-25 qvo10d38cf7-7e qvoa0bca375-a9 tap0b9f0940-2c qbr10d38cf7-7e 8000.4effc18aaf4d no qvb10d38cf7-7e vnet0 qbra0bca375-a9 8000.9ed1f7f181dc no qvba0bca375-a9 vnet1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 stacker @ dev01 : ~ $ sudo ovs - vsctl show adee4e67 - 940e - 44e5 - a7fe - e74a41739d7d Bridge br - ex Port br - ex Interface br - ex type : internal Port "qg-5dd85641-81" Interface "qg-5dd85641-81" type : internal Bridge br - int Port "tap0b9f0940-2c" tag : 1 Interface "tap0b9f0940-2c" type : internal Port "qvoa0bca375-a9" tag : 1 Interface "qvoa0bca375-a9" Port "qr-fce20708-25" tag : 1 Interface "qr-fce20708-25" type : internal Port "qvo10d38cf7-7e" tag : 1 Interface "qvo10d38cf7-7e" Port br - int Interface br - int type : internal ovs_version : "1.4.0+build0" stacker @ dev01 : ~ $ brctl show bridge name bridge id STP enabled interfaces br - ex 0000.8ae69a3f4a46 no qg - 5dd85641 - 81 br - int 0000.4a549f449943 no qr - fce20708 - 25 qvo10d38cf7 - 7e qvoa0bca375 - a9 tap0b9f0940 - 2c qbr10d38cf7 - 7e 8000.4effc18aaf4d no qvb10d38cf7 - 7e vnet0 qbra0bca375 - a9 8000.9ed1f7f181dc no qvba0bca375 - a9 vnet1 What became immediately evident was that there were a number of interfaces, as well as two traditional linux bridges, all beginning with “q”, which I took to be an indicator that they were created and used by Quantum. On further investigation of my system combined with Googling how Quantum implements networks, a number of concepts were revealed to me, and the logical topology became clear, followed by how this was actually impemented in linux: There were two new concepts to me that I had to digest: Linux network namespaces “veth” pairs It turns out that the router, as well as the DHCP server, is assigned per tenant in the Quantum system. Since different tenants may utilize the same IP space behind their router, the router and the DHCP service for each network behind the router must be run in separate namespaces (which is like VRF on traditional routers) to prevent IP overlap clashes. The linux command to show these namespaces is ip netns list . You may also run the traditional linux routing / bridging commands scoped to such namespace by using the ip netns exec <namespace-id> <cmd> syntax. Here’s the output from my system, that has only one router with one network behind it: stacker@dev01:~$ ip netns list qrouter-43ffd046-ca80-450c-b6aa-b3340a69ed3e qdhcp-487dbcfc-62fb-4b87-ad8c-8fa4c015ac0a stacker@dev01:~$ sudo ip netns exec qrouter-43ffd046-ca80-450c-b6aa-b3340a69ed3e netstat -nr Kernel IP routing table Destination Gateway Genmask Flags MSS Window irtt Iface 0.0.0.0 111.22.100.129 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 qg-5dd85641-81 111.22.100.128 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.240 U 0 0 0 qg-5dd85641-81 192.168.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 qr-fce20708-25 stacker@dev01:~$ sudo ip netns exec qrouter-43ffd046-ca80-450c-b6aa-b3340a69ed3e ifconfig | egrep '(encap|addr)' | grep -v inet6 lo Link encap:Local Loopback inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0 qg-5dd85641-81 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr fa:16:3e:c3:9c:d9 inet addr:111.22.100.130 Bcast:111.22.100.143 Mask:255.255.255.240 qr-fce20708-25 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr fa:16:3e:f2:e8:76 inet addr:192.168.0.1 Bcast:192.168.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 stacker@dev01:~$ sudo ip netns exec qdhcp-487dbcfc-62fb-4b87-ad8c-8fa4c015ac0a netstat -nr Kernel IP routing table Destination Gateway Genmask Flags MSS Window irtt Iface 192.168.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 tap0b9f0940-2c stacker@dev01:~$ sudo ip netns exec qdhcp-487dbcfc-62fb-4b87-ad8c-8fa4c015ac0a ifconfig | egrep '(encap|addr)' | grep -v inet6 lo Link encap:Local Loopback inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0 tap0b9f0940-2c Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr fa:16:3e:05:4b:d6 inet addr:192.168.0.2 Bcast:192.168.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 stacker @ dev01 : ~ $ ip netns list qrouter - 43ffd046 - ca80 - 450c - b6aa - b3340a69ed3e qdhcp - 487dbcfc - 62fb - 4b87 - ad8c - 8fa4c015ac0a stacker @ dev01 : ~ $ sudo ip netns exec qrouter - 43ffd046 - ca80 - 450c - b6aa - b3340a69ed3e netstat - nr Kernel IP routing table Destination Gateway Genmask Flags MSS Window irtt Iface 0.0.0.0 111.22.100.129 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 qg - 5dd85641 - 81 111.22.100.128 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.240 U 0 0 0 qg - 5dd85641 - 81 192.168.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 qr - fce20708 - 25 stacker @ dev01 : ~ $ sudo ip netns exec qrouter - 43ffd046 - ca80 - 450c - b6aa - b3340a69ed3e ifconfig | egrep '(encap|addr)' | grep - v inet6 lo Link encap : Local Loopback inet addr : 127.0.0.1 Mask : 255.0.0.0 qg - 5dd85641 - 81 Link encap : Ethernet HWaddr fa : 16 : 3e : c3 : 9c : d9 inet addr : 111.22.100.130 Bcast : 111.22.100.143 Mask : 255.255.255.240 qr - fce20708 - 25 Link encap : Ethernet HWaddr fa : 16 : 3e : f2 : e8 : 76 inet addr : 192.168.0.1 Bcast : 192.168.0.255 Mask : 255.255.255.0 stacker @ dev01 : ~ $ sudo ip netns exec qdhcp - 487dbcfc - 62fb - 4b87 - ad8c - 8fa4c015ac0a netstat - nr Kernel IP routing table Destination Gateway Genmask Flags MSS Window irtt Iface 192.168.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 tap0b9f0940 - 2c stacker @ dev01 : ~ $ sudo ip netns exec qdhcp - 487dbcfc - 62fb - 4b87 - ad8c - 8fa4c015ac0a ifconfig | egrep '(encap|addr)' | grep - v inet6 lo Link encap : Local Loopback inet addr : 127.0.0.1 Mask : 255.0.0.0 tap0b9f0940 - 2c Link encap : Ethernet HWaddr fa : 16 : 3e : 05 : 4b : d6 inet addr : 192.168.0.2 Bcast : 192.168.0.255 Mask : 255.255.255.0 The above shows the separate interfaces and routing tables that are private to the namespaces. Interestingly enough, interfaces from any namespace can be added to a OVS bridge, which is how the “qrouter” interfaces attach to br-ex and br-int and tie them together. In the same way, the Quantum DHCP service is attached to the br-int bridge, and thus provides DHCP service to that IP space for the instantiated VMs. Also note in the OVS show output above, that all the ports for this tenant on br-int are tagged into VLAN 1 ( tag: 1 ) – each tenant network would get a separate VLAN on the br-int switch, thus keeping their traffic separated on the switch. The other thing that seemed odd to me was the separate linux bridge for each VM (the VM’s vNIC is represented in linux as the vnet# interface.) Why wasn’t the vnet# interface attached directly to the OVS switch? Turns out that the linux bridge is a part of how the VM security rules (“nova secgroup”) are applied (I don’t exactly know how this happens yet; this also seems to be a remnant of the prior networking code in OpenStack which will eventually be added into Quantum, thus obviating the need for the bridge.) Anyways, to tie the linux bridge into the OVS bridge, a mechanism named a “veth pair” is employed; this is a sort of a tunnel when packets sent in one interface just come out the associated interface. The one interface (named qvo... as in “Quantum veth OVS side”) is added to the OVS bridge, and the other end (named qvb... as in “Quantum veth bridge side”) is added to the linux bridge, thus linking the two bridges together. Having the pieces of the puzzle, and knowing what the various interfaces were and what they were used for, I quickly found the problem, which was that the DHCP service was not sending offers back to the booting VMs. Fortunately, since DevStack is so easy to set up (and knowing it was made to be turnkey) I wiped out the existing DevStack installation (removing the conf files that it had put in various places as well), carefully rewrote the localrc file, and re-ran the git clone... / ./stack.sh commands, and this time, the DHCP service worked. (I believe I had originally included some config statements in my first localrc file that were meant for a multi-node server, which I guess screwed up the DHCP service.) It had cost me a lot of time, but I’m kinda glad I had the original problem, and learned how Quantum is (currently) implemented in Linux. Please be reminded, that my installation is about the simplest possible installation (using the new Quantum network system) and that a “real” OpenStack installation (especially one with multiple tenants) would be much more “interesting”. In closing, I’d really like to thank Brent Salisbury for not only blogging about this stuff, but also jumping on IRC at the end of a long day and trying to help me out with troubleshooting. Also, this Slideshare deck from a fellow named Etsuji Nakai was instrumental in helping me understand the Linux internals, and the naming conventions. |
Dillon Dube showed no signs of rust in his first tune-up game for Canada, tallying two goals and an assist to help his team cruise to an 8-1 win over Switzerland on Friday. Dube was playing for the first time since Dec. 9, having been sidelined with a shoulder injury. Rounding out the scoring for Canada was Tyler Steenbergen who chipped in with two goals and Jordan Kyrou, Jake Bean, Drake Batherson, and Kale Clague who added singles. Guillame Maillard had the lone tally for the Swiss. Early on Canada is proving to be a well-oiled machine with an incredible balanced offense. Canada won its games over the Czech Republic and Switzerland by a combined 17-1 margin, with goals coming from 12 different skaters. Canada will now head into tournament play where it opens the preliminary round on Boxing Day against Finland. See the full boxscore here: |
Nearly three years after a revision of federal regulations, colleges and the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights are still squabbling over when potentially self-harming students should be sent home – and in at least one case where OCR intervened, the reinstated student went on to commit suicide. Experts say that the case at Western Michigan University, where student Jackson Peebles filed a federal discrimination complaint with OCR after being involuntarily withdrawn due to suicidal tendencies, is not the only one where a student has hurt him- or herself after pushing for readmittance. The regulation in question is Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was for years interpreted by OCR and colleges as allowing for campus officials to send home, against their will if necessary, students who posed a “direct threat” to themselves or others. But a new version of the regulation issued by the Justice Department in March 2011 does not specifically address colleges’ options when a student poses a threat to himself, and defines direct threat only as: “a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by a modification of policies, practices or procedures, or by the provision of auxiliary aids or services." The regulatory shift, which failed to even grab the attention of most colleges until an OCR decision later that year faulted Spring Arbor University for placing certain stipulations on the return of a student who withdrew voluntarily, has not been followed up with clarification from federal officials, as colleges had hoped. Instead, many have continued to make decisions on a case-by-case basis while looking to decisions such as that at Western Michigan as guidance on what they can do without violating the civil rights of students with mental health disabilities. Some colleges have even openly flouted the new interpretation, one source said, so great is their belief that involuntary withdrawal is a crucial tool for counselors to be able to employ when a student is, for example, demonstrating suicidal ideation but does not appear to be an imminent threat to others. However, OCR’s resolution agreement with Western Michigan, despite the tragic end of the student who prompted it, appears to indicate that the office is not changing its position and intends to enforce it, said W. Scott Lewis, partner at the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management. “I think we’re in the same place, and that is that the OCR has shown no real desire to back off the idea of reading harm-to-self as a component for involuntary withdrawal,” said Lewis, who is also president and co-founder of the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association. “It’s left schools in a difficult position.” The Western Michigan resolution agreement, reported this week by the Kalamazoo Gazette, requires the university to revise its student code and other documents to reflect that students who have “disabilities involving mental impairment” must not be subject to different requirements or procedures than any other students, “absent the university being able to demonstrate that the student poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.” The rules previously applied to threat to self as well. Per OCR instruction, Western Michigan submitted a draft of its revised policies to the office and is awaiting final approval. Cheryl P. Roland, a university spokeswoman, said she could not share the new policy before then, nor could she discuss the university’s recommendations regarding Peebles’s treatment. “On our campus, we are working hard to find the right balance between addressing the current OCR interpretation of the law and doing what we know is the right thing for the well-being of our students,” Roland said in an email. “The goal of that involuntary withdrawal option was simply to save lives in situations in which students were a threat to themselves and declined to seek needed help.” She noted that in the past decade, only three students on the 25,000-student campus have been involuntarily withdrawn for emergency mental health reasons. Earlier this year, the Gazette reported, Peebles, an honors student, won an appeal to return to campus after alleging that Western Michigan discriminated against him because of his depression and anxiety. But eight months after his withdrawal and winning appeal and less than a month after hearing that OCR said Western Michigan must revise its policy, Peebles committed suicide Oct. 20 in his Kalamazoo apartment, where a roommate found his body. As is typical of resolution agreements between OCR and investigated universities, Western Michigan’s notes that the document “does not constitute a finding or admission that the university is not in compliance with applicable law and/or its implementing regulations.” Responding to questions regarding the Western Michigan case and how OCR expects colleges to act or refrain from acting under the revised Title II, OCR said in a statement sent to Inside Higher Ed that both Title II and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibit colleges from discriminating against students with disabilities, and must provide "reasonable accommodations" to students with mental health-related disabilities in order for those students to participate in educational programs. "There are no categorical rules and ultimately what is required will vary depending on the facts and circumstances of each student's individual situation," the statement says. "These laws also prohibit colleges and universities from excluding a student from a program based on myths, fears, or stereotypes about mental health-related disabilities." In a February 2012 letter to OCR, obtained by Inside Higher Ed, a group of officials and administrators organized by the National Association of College and University Attorneys and NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education follow up on a meeting with OCR officials by reiterating that the new Title II regulations “may have some unintended and potentially quite harmful consequences in practice.” They note that “practical and clear guidance,” which OCR indicated it would provide, would help avoid such problems. (In its statement to Inside Higher Ed, OCR said it is "currently working to develop guidance for colleges and universities in this important area.") The letter goes on to list the various reasons why campuses are concerned about the new Title II interpretation: colleges are expected to protect self-threatening students and sometimes must make quick decisions in order to do so; they may not be allowed to decide whether a student is able to re-enter college after potentially incomplete medical treatment; self-harm is still potentially harmful to others, especially given that many homicidal students (such as Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho) also have suicidal tendencies; the threat assessment teams that by nature identify and pre-emptively address students who are potentially self-harmful, and which have become a go-to safety procedure on campuses nationwide, may now be rendered futile; and, because institutions are legally obligated to act upon foreseeable risks, colleges “may feel that they are left choosing between a discrimination suit and a wrongful death suit.” Officials say that involuntary withdrawal is almost always a last resort, following offers of counseling and support, community-based and educational interventions, or one-on-one talks between students and staff. After such efforts – which Lewis notes are crucial steps to take – many students withdraw voluntarily, the NACUA letter notes. “But,” it continues, “all of our institutions also have experience with far too many students in crisis whose mental health problems render them incapable of making rational choices or accepting health and care.” When a student has attempted suicide three times in one month, the letter says, citing an example used in the meeting, colleges need the option to compel the student into medical care. In the face of this uncertainty, many college officials believe their only option now when students refuse to leave is to force them through the student conduct process, where they could be suspended or expelled without the benefit of preserving their academic record – and, of course, causing additional stress. “We hope it is not the government’s position that suicidal students must now be placed before regular student run judicial bodies,” the letter says, “simply because this process is the same one used with all other students.” Despite airing these concerns, college officials are still downright confused about what they are and aren’t allowed to do. Is involuntary withdrawal now a per se violation of the ADA, the letter asks, or did DOJ simply remove a “safe harbor” and in doing so tell institutions they must be even more meticulous in navigating the disabilities law? Is “consideration of a student’s mental health issue” – for example, having a behavioral intervention team review a given student – the same as “discrimination based upon a mental health issue”? And is it acceptable to have policies that apply to all students equally but address concerns arising from mental health issues, such as a health review for students returning from medical leave? Judging from the current environment, the only way the federal government will backtrack is probably if all colleges can articulate and employ a reliable and medically sound self-threat test to be used across the board, Lewis said, as well as show that they’ve attempted to inform students about the benefits of voluntary withdrawal. In the meantime, Lewis said, the most important thing is for campuses to do is make sure they’ve got all the necessary support systems in place – and are using them – for self-harming students who either refuse to leave or who are involuntarily withdrawn and then readmitted. That also means being in close touch with the student’s emergency contact. “The student comes back, they’re suicidal, you have to take them and then they harm themselves – the question that’s going to be asked is, what kind of support did you put there?” Lewis said. “I want to be able to say in my own mind and my own heart that we did everything we could.” |
GETTY Angela Merkel will be presented with a report on the magnitude of the situation Officials conclude the missing are either working on the black market or involved in the criminal underworld, as no registration means no benefits. The shocking state of affairs has left officials deeply worried and the concerns are to be discussed at a cabinet meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel tomorrow. Many migrants do not register because of a fear that they may be sent back Interior ministry spokesman An interior ministry spokesman said: ”Many migrants do not register because of a fear that they may be sent back.” The Federal Criminal Police office (BKA) will present a report entitled "overview on the situation" to Merkel and her lieutenants about the huge numbers of asylum seekers who have vanished off the radar. The BKA, which collated the numbers, will report also that crime by immigrants is mostly committed by refugees from Balkan countries - Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans "barely feature in the crime statistics," according to a spokesman. GETTY According to the report, crime by immigrants is mostly committed by refugees from Balkan countries GETTY The BKA concluded it could find no evidence of organised crime being behind the Cologne sex attacks Cologne: Sex Attacks and Robberies Tue, January 12, 2016 Thirty-one suspects, including 18 asylum seekers, are under investigation over offences including sexual assault and theft in Cologne on New Year's Eve. Far right protestors in Lepzig have rallied against refugees and German chancellor Angela Merkel. Play slideshow Reuters•Getty 1 of 22 Protestors in Lepzig rally after over 100 women were sexually assualted on New Year's Eve The BKA has also completed an overview of the events in Cologne on New Year's Eve when bands of immigrant men, mostly asylum seekers from North Africa, sexually molested and robbed hundreds of women in and around the city's main train station. This single episode served more than any other event to polarise society, rip the welcome mat from under the refugees and galvanise right-wing parties to pose a real threat to Merkel at the general election scheduled for next year. The BKA says that it could find no evidence of organised crime being behind the Cologne events, putting them down to "cultural" differences fuelled by alcohol. |
Friends,A lot has happened since we launched the OnePlus 3T back in November of last year. We were thrilled by the response our device received both in the media, and by our users around the world. It’s been far and away our most successful device yet, and we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together. Even today, the OnePlus 3T ranks among the best smartphones available with its fluid operating system, powerful hardware, and solid build.Since merging our software platforms, we’ve been able to push out more consistent software updates simultaneously for the OnePlus 3 and 3T. Thanks to our Beta Program, we’ve also been able to implement more of your feedback, which has really helped improve the quality of our updates. And we’d like to keep it that way! So rest assured that we’ll continue to bring more software updates and support to the OnePlus 3 and 3T.This is the last call to buy the OnePlus 3T before stock runs out. Only a few devices are left in our warehouse, so purchase yours before time runs out at onepl.us/3T Thanks again for your support since the launch of the OnePlus 3T. Keep an eye on all of our channels for more news coming soon. If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments below.Never Settle. |
Tracing the evolution of the human diet from our earliest ancestors can lead to a better understanding of human adaptation in the past. It may also offer clues to the origin of many health problems that we currently face, such as obesity and chronic disease. The CARTA public symposium on "The Evolution of Human Nutrition" brought together scientists from a wide variety of backgrounds to explore the diets of our ancestors. What did early humans eat? Were the nutritional requirements and dietary needs of contemporary humans established in our prehistoric past? At this symposium, a lively discussion took place about the changing diets of our ancestors - from australopith diets to current hunter-gatherer diets - and what role these dietary transitions played in the evolution of humans. Event Sessions |
WELCOME TO THE CLUB Current 2018 Membership Club Exclusive Benefits All Season Ticket Members will continue to have access to RedZone on their smartphone devices starting Sunday, September 9th 2018 at no charge. This is an exclusive benefit available to Full Season Ticket Members only. Access to RedZone will be available via the NFL app on smartphone devices. Season ticket members must download the NFL app for access. Once inside the app, sign up for RedZone via your Ticketmaster Account ID or primary email address on your account and password.. For issues, visit the app customer service. NFL App Customer Service: NFL.com/help or via the NFL app by going to More >> Settings (top right corner) >> FAQ & Customer Service >> Contact Support Season ticket members in the U.S. will be able to get FREE access to NFL Game Pass via The Membership Club and be able to view live out-of-market preseason games, game replays and much more. If your Club opted into this benefit, season ticket members should enter the unique code they received from their team for NFL Game Pass on the checkout page: https://www.nfl.com/gamepass. NFL Game Pass customer service will be spearheaded via NFL.com customer service. If you have questions, go to https://digitalcare.nfl.com to read the FAQs or click 'Submit a Request' to contact customer service directly. Season Ticket Members are offered Premium service at a discounted price. With TuneIn Premium, you’ll hear the home call of every NFL match up live, including every of your team’s game all season long. Subscribe today and save more than 50% off the yearly subscription. At home or on the go, never miss an NFL game with TuneIn Premium. *Available internationally. No blackouts. **Not valid with Amazon Echo – TuneIn Live subscription. Season Ticket Members will receive a unique webpage to visit to activate this offer for their Club. TuneIn will handle all customer service issues – STM's should email support@tunein.com if they experience any issues. Season Ticket Members will receive 20-25% off their entire order at NFLSHOP.COM, the Official Online Store of the NFL. From your favorite on-field gear to everyday team apparel, NFL Shop has your favorite looks to kick off the new season. Each STM will get a unique link. STMs will click on the link and they can immediately start shopping. The 20-25% discount will automatically be applied at checkout. There will be different codes distributed with expiration dates for each mailing. Stay tune for our Kickoff, October, and Holiday offers with codes to come. NFL Shop will handle all customer service – 1-877-NFL-SHOP (1-877-635-7467) Season ticket members can earn 15,000 bonus points after qualifying transactions, enough for $150 cash back, when they sign up for an NFL Extra Points credit card. The 15k points is exclusive for NFL STM’s and not available to the general public. Q&A Q: Who is eligible to be a part of The Membership Club? A: All full season ticket members, full season club seat holders and suite owners. Partial season packages, or packages of any other kind that are not full season packages, are not eligible. Q: How do I access The Membership Club benefits? A: All benefits can be accessed via nfl.com/TheMembershipClub. Click on the benefits link associated with each one and follow the instructions. Q: Will more benefits be added in the future? A: We will continue to add more benefits as we receive them. Q: Whom do I contact if I have questions about The Membership Club? A: Season Ticket Members should reach out to the designated contact provided in the benefits description for any issues. |
The US has just missed a deadline to close the prison camp A task force on the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has advised that 47 inmates should be held indefinitely without trial, officials say. It is thought to be the first time that officials have given a figure for those who might be held without charge. A US civil liberties group has said detainees should not be held without due process in Guantanamo or elsewhere. The news came as the deadline US President Barack Obama had set himself for closing the prison camp passed. The task force, led by the US justice department, recommended that while 35 people could be prosecuted through trials or military tribunals, 110 could be released either now or at a later date, unnamed officials said. The other nearly 50 detainees are considered too dangerous to release, but cannot be tried because the evidence against them is too flimsy or was extracted from them by coercion, so would not hold up in court. 'Dismay' Congress has laid down that only those to be tried can be moved to US soil, so the question of what to do with those to be detained indefinitely without trial has yet to be resolved. Just as important as closing the prison quickly is closing it right Anthony Romero American Civil Liberties Union The BBC's Adam Brookes says the outcome will dismay many of Mr Obama's supporters, who had hoped the president would end the practice of detention without trial. The American Civil Liberties Union was quick to react to the task force's reported recommendations. "Just as important as closing the prison quickly is closing it right, and that means putting an end to the illegal policy of indefinite detention without charge or trial," said the group's executive director, Anthony Romero. "This practice was wrong in Cuba and would remain so here [in the US], reducing the closure of Guantanamo to a symbolic gesture." A White House official stressed that this was only a recommendation, which Mr Obama does not have to accept. The task force's findings are subject to review by the National Security Council. More than 40 detainees have been transferred out of the prison under the Obama administration. But diplomatic hurdles and domestic opposition to the government's plan to house suspects on US soil have hampered his plans to close it down completely. Plans to move detainees approved for trial to a prison facility in Illinois remain under consideration. Yemen suspension The task force recommended that among those cleared for release, 80 detainees, including about 30 Yemenis, could be freed immediately, the Washington Post said. The panel said the release of another 30 Yemenis should be contingent on an improved situation in Yemen, the newspaper reported. However, the US recently suspended the repatriation of Yemeni prisoners indefinitely, following an airliner bomb plot that was allegedly planned in Yemen. Yemenis account for approximately half of the inmates at Guantanamo. Mr Obama set himself the 22 January deadline a year ago, shortly after being sworn in. He has subsequently said he wants the camp closed this year, without setting a specific deadline. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version |
Please enable Javascript to watch this video MAPLETON, Utah – A homework assignment sparked a storm of social media controversy after a concerned parent posted it on Facebook. Students at a Mapleton Junior High School in Utah County were asked to take inventory of the things inside their family medicine cabinet and then turn that list into their health teacher. A parent, Onika Nugent, was not pleased with the assignment, so she posted the assignment on Facebook and sent a note to the teacher and the principal. She shared a portion of the letter she sent school officials: “I said, 'Although it may be a good idea for parents to do an inventory of their medicine cabinet, I believe it is inappropriate for students to counsel their parents, or report to the school what that inventory is. It is a complete invasion of privacy.'" Part of the conversation online centered around whether or not the assignment was part of a larger curriculum. Nugent said the school has since responded and said the teacher made the assignment and the form herself and that it wasn’t part of a larger curriculum. Lana Hiskey, a communication specialist for Nebo School District, said they appreciate the parent’s concerns. “Sometimes we're blindsided, we don't know if a teacher is giving something out that they shouldn't be doing, ” Hiskey said. “And so we absolutely want parents to come forward, let us know.... I wouldn't be comfortable having my own children go through my medicine cabinet.” FOX 13 News' Max Roth has more details on the issue and the discussion it sparked on Facebook, see the video above for his report. |
When bad CFL fans, of good and bad teams, have a losing year or a long losing skid, they lash out at others to inflate their self-esteem and take the victors down a couple of notches. Good CFL fans are happy win or lose. How Only Four Grey Cups in Team History Is Such a Source Of Pride The non-green often bark at the idea that the average Saskatchewan Roughriders fan is overflowing with pride over their four Grey Cup triumphs. Often non-Rider fans wonder to themselves, and in public, how can only four Grey Cups in team history be such a source of pride? I gather that they compare their rings in juxtaposition to cities with multiples like Toronto, Winnipeg, or Edmonton. Well I have breaking news on the topic. Actually, to tell you the truth, I don’t. I just find it amusing to participate in the rampant over-use of the phrase “breaking news”. I’m not absolutely positive why there is pride, from such a large group of people. However, if Scooby Doo and the gang want to dig up answers to these and other mighty puzzling questions, I’d start by asking in cities far West like Victoria. “Like, it’s just a hunch Scoob'”, but I’d keep searching for clues in Nanaimo, Courtney/Comox, Prince George, Vernon, Chilliwack, Kamloops, Kelowna, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Wood Buffalo, Saskatoon, Brandon, Thunder Bay, Barrie, Sudbury, Kingston, Brantford, Guelph, Kitchener/Waterloo, Sarnia, London, Peterborough, Belleville, St. Catharines, North Bay, Norfolk, Cornwall, Kawartha Lakes, Chatham-Kent, Windsor, Oshawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Granby, Quebec City, Rimouski, Shawinigan, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint Jean-sur-Richelieu, Trois Rivières, Drummondville, Saguenay, Sherbrooke, Moncton, Fredericton, St. John, Halifax, Cape Breton, St. John’s, and Charlottetown. Some of you might be questioning me right now or thinking I’m being a smart one. I am being a bit of a smart one but don’t question my frustrated reasoning here. It still doesn’t make sense! Let’s set the record straight. The provincially-named teams in Vancouver and Regina belong to those cities. Yes, of course a Saskatoonian and a Victorian are well within their rights to consider the Riders and Lions their own. I won’t argue that. But don’t get it twisted. These clubs belong in, and to, Vancouver and Regina for all intents and purposes. Math Time Out of all the 54 Canadian cities I listed that have over 50,000 people, there are three Grey Cups: two in Sarnia and one in Saint-Hyacinthe. That doesn’t include all the population bases under 50,000 people. Zoinks! That’s, like, well over 17 million Canadians living in towns or cities with three Grey Cups to share, Scoob, old-buddy, old-pal. That’s half the country! Don’t bother looking down south for too long. Only the 700,000 of metro Baltimore, Maryland have watched theirs sip sweet nectar out of the Grey Cup. There’s another 360 million people that will just have to go through life without knowing what it’s like to party in the street for a week to eventually watch your team pound another in the Grey Cup game and come out rosy. What’s A Scooby Doo Mystery Without Food? People get hungry for these trophies and the people of Saskatchewan have been well fed as of late. When I’m hungry, I like to eat. How about you, Winnipeg? Hungry, Ottawa? Want a little nibble, Hamilton? We all love our history but sports aren’t really about the past for true fans. No one gives a hoot about the record number of Stanley Cups in Montreal at this point of the current drought. Nope. Sports fans know it’s always about the present and the future. An Eskimos fan right now might be feeling pretty full despite the gutting of the staff. Even Calgary. Both just had a good meal and they’ve got their eyes on a tasty feast in 2016. If I’m a fan of any other team, I’m going to keep sniffing for clues. Maybe when I solve the mystery, I’ll realize how the answer has been right under my nose the whole time! Good CFL Fans Are Happy Win Or Lose The simplest explanation is, your victories matter to you and my victories matter to me. We all celebrate the wins instead of dwelling on the losses. I now know the reason that good CFL fans of the other teams have a tough time finding the source of pride for Rider fans over a measly four Grey Cups. A big part of my conclusion is a riddle left for each of us to decipher where the answer is actually a question. That question is — what have you done for me lately? I hate going back even just ten years in history to 2006, but six clubs have won the Grey Cup. Twice in those ten years it was the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Never wonder again! Main Photo. |
The financially beleaguered Postal Service suffered a setback in its plan to end Saturday delivery of first-class mail as Congress on Thursday passed legislation requiring six-day delivery. The Postal Service, which lost $16 billion last year, had announced last month its plan to switch to five-day mail service to save $2 billion annually. No law requires the Postal Service to deliver mail six days a week, but Congress has traditionally included a provision in legislation to fund the federal government each year that has prevented the Postal Service from reducing delivery service. The House of Representatives on Thursday gave final approval to the legislation, known as a continuing resolution, that maintains the provision, sending it to President Barack Obama to sign into law. The Senate approved the measure on Wednesday. “Once the delivery schedule language in the Continuing Resolution becomes law, we will discuss it with our Board of Governors to determine our next steps,” said David Partenheimer, a spokesman for the Postal Service. Several polls have shown a majority of the public supports ending six-day delivery of first-class mail. The Postal Service has said that while it would not pick up or deliver first-class mail, magazines and direct mail, it would continue to deliver packages and pharmaceutical drugs. The plan for a new delivery schedule, Partenheimer said, would respond to the customers’ changing needs and would help keep the Postal Service from becoming a burden to taxpayers. The Postal Service, an independent agency not funded by taxpayers, has said it could need a taxpayer bailout of more than $47 billion by 2017 if Congress does not give it flexibility to change its operations. It had planned to drop first-class mail delivery in August. Ending six-day first-class mail delivery is part of the Postal Service’s larger plan to cut costs and raise revenues. The mail carrier loses $25 million each day, as more Americans communicate by email and the Internet, and as heavy mandatory payments into its future retirees’ health fund take a toll. The Postal Service could run out of money by October if Congress does not provide legislative relief, some experts have estimated. A number of lawmakers and trade groups said the plan to cut Saturday mail service is illegal because the Postal Service requires Congress’ approval before it makes such a decision. But others such as Republican Representative Darrell Issa of California and Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma have supported the Postal Service’s delivery schedule plan. Last week, Coburn introduced an amendment to the spending bill to strike down the requirement for six-day mail delivery and give the mail carrier more control over its operations. But that amendment failed. Ali Ahmad, a spokesman for Issa, said there may still be some room for the Postal Service to change its delivery schedule. Ahmad said that although the spending measure maintains the six-day delivery language, it is vague and does not stop the Postal Service from altering what products it delivers on Saturdays. |
Like all other theme-park MMOs, WildStar has struggled to meet the demand for fresh endgame content. Initially the plan was to produce a content patch every month, but the growing logistical complexities crushed that idea shortly after launch. Today, a humbler and leaner Carbine prefers to focus on providing longer-term incentives for staying in the endgame, beyond adding a new raid tier or story zone. advertisement advertisement This is where the Primal Matrix comes in. WildStar’s latest patch, currently on the Public Test Realm, aims to keep the endgame ball rolling through two new techniques. One is a new matrix that opens up at level cap, offering a mix of new abilities, improvements to existing ones, and character stat increases. The other is scaling endgame dungeons across ten Prime levels, offering better rewards for defeating the tougher challenges. How does it all pan out? After taking a closer look at the changes on WildStar’s PTR, the Primal Matrix seems to offer those endgame incentives we’ve been crying out for. That said, I’m left with a few nagging concerns, particularly about players being left behind while preformed groups take on the hardest challenges. It’ll be interesting to see how Carbine responds to player feedback before going live with the update later in February. The Matrix Revolutions Firstly, the lore: what is the Primal Matrix? In her ongoing fight against the Entity, Drusera offers to unlock the full potential of those new heroes on Nexus. In one brief visit, characters have their Matrix opened ready for develop, and gain the ability to collect Primal Essences with which to power it. In this way, they’ll be able to develop further than looting gear alone, helping them to take on even tougher challenges. Unlocked at level 50, the Primal Matrix is a new progression system enabling characters to gradually increase in power. It sits on top of Ability Points (which unlock and boost abilities) and Advanced Modification Protocols (AMPs, which work like talents to tweak those abilities), but kicks in at endgame and grows slowly. Unlocking nodes in the Primal Matrix might add AMP or Ability points, or even open up whole new abilities, making it worth spending the time to fill out. So far, it feels like other endgame progression systems we’ve seen, such as Rift’s Planar Attunement or Elder Scrolls Online’s Champion System. But there’s a twist: rather than simply awarding points for doing endgame content, WildStar’s system uses four different Primal Essences. Different essence types unlock different nodes, and different content types will reward different essences. In order to maximise your essence intake, you’re going to end up playing a lot of different content. At this point, it’s an idea I can get behind. It gives me a reason to regularly and repeatedly do endgame content, including dungeons, expeditions, World Bosses, contracts, daily quests, and even PvP battlegrounds. Those essence types will rotate around content periodically as well, so I won’t find myself blocked off if I’m not doing world bosses, for example. There’s even a neat catch-up mechanism - Drusera’s Gift - which acts like a rested bonus buff to boost your essence intake. On top of the myriad primary and secondary stats our characters already have, the Primal Matrix also introduces three new ones. Tenacity deals more damage as an enemy’s health gets lower, Toughness takes less damage as a character’s health gets lower, and Hope does more healing as a character’s health gets lower. They all sound like neat ideas, but I can’t help but question the wisdom of adding even more stats when we already seem to be swimming in them. Still, it makes it easier to regulate the growth of power as more of the Primal Matrix is completed, and the concepts are in-keeping with that desperate struggle against the Entity. And yes, I’m still bitter about the loss of Moxie. Prime Unreal-Estate Alongside the Primal Matrix, the content update will include two new instances: a 5-player dungeon named Coldblood Citadel, and a 1-5 player expedition named Evil from the Ether. While we’ve yet to see either make their debut on the PTR, both will come with a nifty new feature: Prime Scaling. Instead of having a Veteran mode, players will start out at Prime 0. Complete that with at least a Silver medal, and you’ll open up the next difficulty level, all the way up to Prime 10. The existing dungeons and expeditions of Ruins of Kel Voreth, Stormtalon’s Lair, They Came from Fragment Zero and The Gauntlet will also support Prime Scaling when the feature launches. As you’d expect, Prime Scaling offers better rewards for defeating the harder challenges. Current plans are to scale up loot by 5 item levels for each Prime Level, although this needs to be balanced with raiding to make sure the latter content is still appealing. The big worry for me though is in group restrictions - Prime Instances are only accessible by pre-formed groups, which could easily leave people out in the cold. I’m concerned that, instead of pulling everyone together, it’ll push players into those that do Primes in their own groups, and everyone else who’s left in LFG limbo. While new challenges are very welcome, I’m also looking forward to the downward scaling that all instances will support from patch day. Dive into looking for group on a lowbie alt, and the instance will scale for your level, even if you get paired with endgame players. They still get loot that’s appropriate for their level, and I’ll get carried through on an express train of carnage. It also feels like a great step for those who’ve never really got into WildStar’s instances and are looking for a way to ease themselves into it before facing the tougher stuff. Beyond the Prime Although we’ve already discovered about the Primal Matrix and Prime Scaling, the system is still in development, with Carbine collecting feedback and tweaking parameters in response. Even so, careful monitoring is needed to ensure that it becomes a tool that brings players together, and doesn’t segregate them into ever diminishing groups as they climb the Prime Levels. There’s also an open question around PvP, and how to address a growing imbalance between fresh endgame players and Matrix-heavy veterans as they face against each other on the battleground. Beyond the Primal Matrix, I’m curious why Carbine didn’t seize the opportunity to simplify and streamline the runecrafting system, especially as players will be hunting for even more frequent gear updates as they press through Prime instances. We’re also still waiting to hear more on the Nexus Saga, and how the story will continue to evolve following Redmoon Terror. For now though, I’m eager to discover what’s going on in both the Coldblood Citadel and the Evil from the Ether, and I’ll be sharing what I find once these new instances arrive. In the meantime, will the Primal Matrix persuade you to dust off your old WildStar characters, and are endgame progression systems like these enough to keep you in an MMO? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments. |
Sharing is caring! I am Siva, working as a Software Developer in Hyderabad, India. Working as a Software Developer is very exciting as you see new things coming in everyday. If there are no new things at least we put a new fancy name to some old concept and celebrate (#microservices) :-). But in my opinion working as a Software Developer in India is little bit different and hard too. Few things are good, and few things are bad. The opinions of Software Developers from other countries on Indian Software Developers surprised me a lot. Here I would like to share How I feel as a Software Developer in Indian IT Industry. Note: These are all purely my opinions, you may agree or may not agree. If you feel I am generalizing something I mean MAJORITY not ALL. My First Job I got a job in a small organization as a Java developer. Along with me couple of my close friends also joined in the same organization. I am fortunate that I got a chance to work with very talented people in the very beginning of my career. My first manager used to force us to use only Notepad++/EditPlus for coding for the first 2 to 3 months so that we get familiar with how to compile, run programs and be familiar with compile time and runtime classpath etc. On the other hand our Architect thinks other way. One day he saw me coding in EditPlus and came to me and asked “Do you go to war without any weapons?”. I have no idea what he is talking about and he understood that based on my blank face expression. He pulled keyboard from me and downloaded Lomboz Eclipse (one variant of Eclipse, not active any more) and explained how to use it. Also every now and then he taught me some interesting keyboard short-cuts and I am amazed how quickly we can code in an IDE instead of Notepad/EditPlus. I learned very important things from my manager and architect like how important it is to understand how things work and how to effectively use tools to speed up the work. On the other hand my team lead was very hands-on experienced developer. He literally remember most of the core Java API methods and have good grasp of design patterns. He is a kind of perfectionist. He never let us commit the code even if the code indentation is not correct. One day we were working late night (12:00 PM) and we got to deliver some urgent deliverable. At that time also he insisted to correct the indentation, cleanup imports, unused variables, strictly following TABs or spaces consistently etc. But later we realized how important it is while merging all the code changes from different developers. He always says “If you are going to do something, do it well. Otherwise don’t do it”. As my other team members were also my close friends we didn’t have any conflicts and no politics at all between us. We used to have Friday night parties from 9 PM to 2AM, cracking jokes on all the people in office. So everything was wonderful. The Real Journey Starts After 3 years at my first company I resigned and joined a BIG company assuming “Big company means better work, better pay and better work culture“. I quickly realized that it is not at all the case!. There I was working on a legacy application which has horrible codebase that I have ever worked till then. In addition to that I ended up working with developers who stick with that company for a long time, stopped learning anything new, have no interest to make the application better and want to do things in the same familiar way even though it is painful. As Indian IT industry is mostly based on offshore development model, most of the times we end up maintaining the legacy code bases. Rarely we got chance to work on greenfield projects. Even for those greenfield projects the key architecture/design aspects will be done by onsite team. Fortunately I got chance to work on few greenfield projects and involved in designing the application from scratch. In many of the organizations there is no clear career path for those who want to continue in Technology Stream and don’t want to go to People Management. Even worse some companies force developers to step into people management after some years of experience. Different people will have different interests in their life and not all developers must be passionate about the technology, and that’s fine. Some people are 9 AM to 6 PM types, and some are just get it done by whatever means and don’t care about code quality or maintainability etc. It is very difficult to find the passionate developers in India because most of the people start programming as part of the Job only, not for fun or habit. At times when I learn something new or did some cool stuff then I look around to share my wow moment and I find no one who can understand my excitement. The New Blogger On The Floor I was working in a project using Struts 1.x framework and I got into some tricky issue. I couldn’t find any solution after struggling for 3 days also. I kept on debugging and searching all over the books and forums. Finally someone wrote an article on the exact problem and provided a solution. I followed his solution and it worked. I told million thanks to the blog author. But the thought that some unknown developer’s blog helped me a lot stuck in my mind. I too wanted to start a blog. May be I too can give something back to the community. So I started my blog www.sivalabs.in writing about the things that I learn. Soon my articles got published on community websites like DZone and JavaCodeGeeks. Though my English writing skills are not good enough I keep on writing articles and I hope now I am getting it little bit better. When someone post a comment saying “Your article helped me to learn something”, I feel very happy. I take lot of help from community like StackOverflow, blogs, forums etc. If possible I try giving something back to the community, my 2 cents 🙂 Becoming A Book Author After I started blogging and my articles got published on DZone and JavaCodeGeeks, my blog started getting more and more visitors. One day I received an email from Packt Publishers asking me whether I am interested to write a book on MyBatis and I was very excited about it. Once I agreed to write the book, they explained the writing process and the payment details. They might not know that I would have written the book even without any pay. I agreed to write book because of my passion for technology, not to earn money. When I almost completed writing my first book I was asked to write another book on PrimeFaces and I agreed. Approximately it took 18 months to write those two books. During all these 18 months I didn’t have any breaks, no week-ends, no outings, nothing. Whenever I find time I keep on writing or reading what I have already written to see if I can make it better. That was the time I realized how important it is to have some free time in life. Writing book is incredibly time consuming. If you are planning to write a book with the motivation of earning money, I would suggest to look for other options!! Finally one day I got a courier and I see the printed copies of my MyBatis book. It feels great to hold the book in your hand that you wrote. I got very emotional that day. Challenges for passionate developers in India There are many issues that Indian Software Developers face. Good developers are like war heroes As most of the projects we got are legacy projects or may be in maintenance mode, the management likes those people who are loyal and stick with the company (even though you don’t pay well or treat them like one type of RESOURCE) rather than strong technical people. Good developers are like war heroes, they are required while starting a new project or creating some core design. Once the core design is ready other developers can follow the design and add methods to the flow. Just like once the war is over no one cares where are those heroes, once the core design of the system is ready many companies won’t care about those good developers. Many Non-Indian Techies hate Indian developers Every now and then I read articles about Indian Software Developers by someone bashing all the Indian software developers concluding the whole Indian IT is crap. Well, that is one individual’s opinion and different people have different opinions, and that’s perfectly OK. See this article https://avinashsingh.wordpress.com/2007/04/05/a-myth-called-the-indian-programmer/ and read the comments. Even someone wants sponsor Pakistan to bomb India. Very matured people!!. The main problem with Indian IT companies is in order to get the project they convince the client that they can deliver the project in almost impossible timelines. To meet these crazy timelines they push managers to get it done and managers force team leads to get it done and the team leads put deadlines to developers. And here is is the biggest problem with Indian developers. Many of the Indian Developers don’t know how to say “NO”. They simply accept the crazy timelines and try to finish it. And the outcome of this whole process is “Unmaintainable crappy code”. But I always have few questions in my mind. How the on-site Non-Indian client believes “Indian off-shore team can build it in 6 months when on-site team estimated 18 months for the same project”? Why don’t they ask for End-To-End Test Suite? Why don’t they ask for Code Quality reports? Greediness to get it done for cheapest possible cost!! You get what you paid for!! Those who generalizes and say “The whole Indian Software Developers are bad” should think before saying things like this. I don’t think all the people living in one geographical location will automatically become good or bad. There will be good developers as well as bad developer everywhere. I worked with some onsite developers who are very arrogant. So is it correct to say all the on-site developers are arrogant. That will be ABSOLUTELY WRONG. I strongly believe that there are great developers and architects also In India and I worked with some of them. There are people like me who want to learn something everyday and become a better developer than yesterday. Over the years I learned “How to learn new things quickly?”. So I learn as many things as possible and be ready to work on anything. You want me to work on Spring or JavaEE, I am fine. You want me to work on Python or RoR I am ready. You want me to use Eclipse or NetBeans, no problem. Following the Community As I said it is very difficult to find passionate developers in India, I try to make contacts with the passionate developers around the world using Social Networks like Twitter. I like to attend technical conferences and meet other great developers. But unfortunately there are very less conferences happens in India compared to USA. So I try to watch those conference talks on InfoQ, Parleys or Youtube and I enjoy it a lot. I love the talks by Venkat Subramaniam (@venkat_s) which are very informative and funny. I can’t stop laughing after reading few jokes in his book Programming Groovy 2: Dynamic Productivity for the Java Developer https://pragprog.com/book/vslg2/programming-groovy-2. He is really an amazing man. Talks by Venkat Subramaniam on Parleys https://www.parleys.com/author/venkat-subramaniam How To Approach Refactoring by Venkat Subramaniam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGsPeR-SYYo Ten Cool Things We Can Do with Popular JVM Languages https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulcl2TjHktA 33rd Degree 2012 – Pointy haired bosses and pragmatic programmers – Venkat Subramaniam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfmKvRaNnUs Scala for the Intrigued https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grvvKURwGNg I am a big fan of Rod Johnson and I love his talks on Entrepreneurialism http://www.infoq.com/interviews/rod-johnson-entrepreneurialism and the “Things I wish I’d known” http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Things-I-Wish-I-d-Known in which he shared his journey of building Spring framework and creating an ecosystem around it. What a great presentation. I also watched his “Scala in 2018” talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBu6zmrZ_50 and a discussion regarding the same Scala talk on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZlxBRnxzDc. His way of taking the constructive criticism amazed me. He is awesome man. I also love the talks by Uncle Bob https://blog.8thlight.com/uncle-bob/archive.html, Martin Fowler http://martinfowler.com/, David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH). We can learn lot of things from their decades of experience. I follow the talks and blogs of the awesome Java community leaders like Antonio Goncalves @agoncal http://antoniogoncalves.org/ Adam Bien @AdamBien http://www.adam-bien.com/roller/abien/ Reza Rahman @reza_rahman https://blogs.oracle.com/reza/ Arun Gupta @arungupta http://blog.arungupta.me/ Josh Long @starbuxman Phil Webb @phillip_webb Cagatay Civici @cagataycivici http://www.primefaces.org/ Oliver Gierke @olivergierke http://olivergierke.de/ David Blevins @dblevins http://www.tomitribe.com/blog/ and many more. I don’t miss even a single blog post or tweet from the rock star bloggers like Baeldung @baeldung http://www.baeldung.com/ Petri Kainulainen @petrikainulaine http://www.petrikainulainen.net/ Vlad Mihalcea @vlad_mihalcea http://vladmihalcea.com/ Abhishek Gupta @abhi_tweeter https://abhirockzz.wordpress.com/ Manuel Jordan @dr_pompeii http://manueljordanelera.blogspot.in/2014/06/manuel-jordan.html Lukas Eder @lukaseder http://blog.jooq.org Trisha Gee @trisha_gee http://trishagee.github.io Thorben Janssen @thjanssen123 http://www.thoughts-on-java.org Nicolas Frankel @nicolas_frankel http://blog.frankel.ch and many more. I love this whole awesome Java community!! Looking towards better future In recent years things are getting changed. Now Indian IT industry is not completely depending upon USA based projects. There is a lot of growth in technology adoption in Indian businesses. But again unless the thought process changed nothing is going to get better. Companies should stop expecting “9 developers to deliver a baby in 1 month”. Developer should become more professional and have guts to say “NO” when they asked to code which they can’t implement with good quality. Anyway, over the years I learned Software Development is not all about technology. The key part is understanding the business domain and communicating with the other people. Hoping things will get better 🙂 Sharing is caring! |
Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, presides over the opening ceremony of the 19th Party Congress. Beijing, Oct. 18. (Ng Han Guan/AP) Contributor, PostEverything SHANGHAI — As the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China draws to a close, analysts are parsing through President Xi Jinping’s 30,000-plus-word report — delivered in a three-and-a-half-hour address without breaks — to decipher the direction of the most populous nation in the world. It is a laborious effort, especially considering the report’s extensive official jargon and policy details. But there is a much easier way. Read The Economist’s coverage of the congress, which is considerably shorter in length, and bet on the opposite being true. Let me explain. In October 1992, while the party was holding its 14th Party Congress, The Economist editorialized that the party had “stepped backwards” and called the socialist market economy (which the congress espoused) an “oxymoron.” Five years later in 1997, during the 15th Party Congress, it characterized the gathering as where “hollow promise[s]” were made and broken, from privatization to unemployment goals. Dashing raised expectations was a “recipe for civil strife,” opined the magazine. At the 16th Party Congress in November 2002, the magazine pronounced that the “familiar policy of trying to muddle through” was no longer an option for a party that faced looming troubles; words such as “crisis” and “unrest” were ominously used. Another five years would pass. The same magazine dutifully expressed dissatisfaction at the lack of reform during the 17th Party Congress: “Politically, little has changed.” The Economist’s howl reached a crescendo in the fall of 2012; during the 18th Party Congress, China was “unstable at the grassroots, dejected at the middle strata and out of control at the top,” quoting an anonymous source. That could only be outdone by this year’s cover, which warned the world not to “expect Mr. Xi to change China, or the world, for the better.” When the magazine said China had “stepped backwards” in 1992, it was precisely the year of Deng Xiaoping’s now famous southern tour that launched a new wave of reforms the likes of which the world had never seen in history. The “muddling through” years between 2002 and 2012 saw China’s GDP quadruple and its economy become the world’s largest by purchasing power. The Economist is not alone, of course. It is more or less representative of Western media’s coverage of arguably the most consequential development of our time: the Chinese renaissance. Now let’s actually look into the content coming from this congress. Usually a party congress provides a five-year blueprint. What distinguishes this congress is how far into the future it looks. This congress set the timeline for China from today through 2050. The last time we saw this scope in reforms was in the 1980s, when Deng Xiaoping set out to build a “xiaokang society.” Taken from Confucius, “xiaokang” means a country of general prosperity and orderly social norms. Deng set an interim goal of reaching $800-$1,000 annual per capita income by the year 2000. In 1980, Chinese per capita income was $220. A fourfold increase seemed like “vaulting ambition” indeed. Today, the China that Deng envisioned has arrived and then some. By several measures, China is the most powerful economic engine in the world. Per capita income is approaching $10,000. It’s a burgeoning entrepreneurial society that has created some of the largest companies in the world. China has led improvements in health, education, science and overall standard of living at a speed and scale that is unprecedented in human history. It is at this historic junction that the current party congress was held. As Xi said at the outset of the congress, the party plans to conclude the “xiaokang” project in the next five years. China stands at a new point of departure. Destination: comprehensive national renaissance. Date of arrival: 2050. This is no “Yes, we can” or “Make America great again” agenda. Xi’s report includes 12 sections, each breaking into numerous parts covering, with mind-boggling specificity, issues including housing, health, science, defense, artificial intelligence and the sharing economy. Beyond “xiaokang,” the party presents a roadmap for a new 30-year journey to realize the dream of a Chinese renaissance — the plan for a new era of Chinese socialism. The plan — let’s call it the Xi plan, for short — can be broken down into the following four main points. First, economics. The Xi plan projects the basic realization of socialist modernization by 2035, resulting in a major expansion of the middle class, with continuing growth through 2050. In the Chinese political lexicon, this means becoming the economic and technological equivalent of a developed nation. In GDP per capita terms, this would imply up to three times the current level, to between $20,000 and $30,000. With this performance, China will formally surpass the U.S. well before 2035. Second, sustainability. Xi pointedly said that the primary contradiction of Chinese society has now shifted from underdevelopment to imbalanced development and sustainability. The Xi plan calls for a concentrated drive to eradicate poverty, as the increasing wealth gap resulting from rapid development is the enemy of long-term sustainability. In the five years since the 18th Party Congress, at least 60 million people were lifted out of poverty. If such a rate is sustained, the tens of millions currently living below the poverty line will all be lifted out of poverty in only a few years. The environment is, of course, the other threat to sustainability. The Xi plan maps out major structural changes to the economy and energy usage and envisions a substantially cleaner environment in two decades. An exhibition ahead of the 19th Party Congress showcased China’s achievements over the past five years. Beijing, Sept. 28. (Wu Hong/Shutterstock) Third, expansion. For the rest of the world, China is coming to a theater near you. With the Belt and Road Initiative, which is larger than the Marshall Plan both in size and geography, China brings its considerable experience and capacity in infrastructure-led economic development to a vast number of developing and developed countries alike. China’s active engagement with the world is based on a qualitatively different proposition than the one championed by the West in the recent past. Instead of a universalist approach seeking to standardize the world with the same set of neoliberal economic and political rules and values, Xi advocates a new version of globalization under which increased interconnectedness does not come at the expense of national sovereignty. He calls for a global “community of common destiny” but one that fosters a competition of ideas, which — given the trouble globalization is in — makes sense. And last but not least, identity. With the 19th Party Congress, Xi is formally launching a project to provide a new narrative to current events. The prevailing theories that have guided the world’s thinking about the rise and fall of nations no longer make sense. If elections and privatization are the prerequisites to development, why has China succeeded without them, while so many others have failed after taking these prescriptions? In the past 30 years, China has effectively combined socialism and the market economy. In other words, what The Economist called an “oxymoron” has become an extraordinary success. But how? No leader in the history of the People’s Republic has so emphasized the importance of Chinese traditional culture as Xi. Yet, he is adamant in preserving a Marxist outlook in modern China. Can we weave together a coherent narrative that absorbs modern Marxism into 5,000 years of China’s heritage? China has actually done it before, by absorbing foreign Buddhism into its Confucian cultural polity more than a millennium ago. That process took more than a hundred years. And now it has been more than a century since modern Western ideas, including Marxism, have begun to influence China. Paradigm shifts in fundamental narratives take a very long time, and China’s is only at its formative stage. Xi seems determined to accelerate the initial phase of this project. He calls it the “sinicization of Marxism.” The exploration of ideas that this entails may be China’s most significant contribution to the 21st century. Not since the European Enlightenment has the world been so hungry for new approaches. All in all, the party’s ability to adapt to changing times by reinventing itself is extraordinary. Five years ago, corruption was seen as the biggest threat to its hold on power. The 18th Party Congress then engineered a strict anti-corruption campaign, with a breadth and depth few anticipated. China does not have multiparty elections — the Chinese Communist Party is China’s political system. The health of the former is the barometer for the future of the country. All indications at this point are that it remains vital. We have now come to the space where writers of op-eds like this one tend to hedge bets. I could write a long list of what could go wrong — like a list of risk factors in an IPO prospectus that no one reads. But I will skip it. Given the track record of the party and that of The Economist, my bet is that Xi will indeed “change China, and the world, for the better.” This was produced by The WorldPost, a partnership of the Berggruen Institute and The Washington Post. |
Clashes in South Sudan are pitting soldiers from President Salva Kiir’s majority Dinka tribe against those from ousted vice president Riek Machar’s Nuer ethnic group, raising concerns that the violence could degenerate into civil war. At least 500 people, most of them soldiers, have been killed in South Sudan since Sunday, a senior government official said. The clashes are pitting soldiers from President Salva Kiir’s majority Dinka tribe against those from ousted vice president Riek Machar’s Nuer ethnic group, raising concerns that the violence could degenerate into civil war. At least 500 people, most of them soldiers, have been killed in South Sudan since Sunday, a senior government official said. The clashes are pitting soldiers from President Salva Kiir’s majority Dinka tribe against those from ousted vice president Riek Machar’s Nuer ethnic group, raising concerns that the violence could degenerate into civil war. Four U.S. troops were wounded Saturday during an aborted air mission to evacuate American citizens amid clashes between warring factions in South Sudan, according to the Pentagon. Three U.S. military aircraft were fired upon from the ground as they approached the town of Bor to rescue U.S. citizens, the Pentagon said in a statement. Bor, the capital of the central state of Jonglei, was seized this week by South Sudanese rebels. Four U.S. service personnel were injured by the gunfire, and all three aircraft sustained damage, Pentagon officials said. After being hit, the tilt-rotor CV-22 Ospreys — which take off and hover like a helicopter but fly straight ahead like an airplane — veered away from Bor and were diverted to Entebbe, Uganda, the Pentagon said. A U.S. Air Force C-17 then flew the four troops to Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, for medical treatment, according to the statement. It said the four were listed in stable condition. Earlier Saturday, Jonathan Dahm, a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany, had said that one of the service members was in “fairly serious” condition and that the three others were being treated for injuries that were not life threatening. Neither Dahm nor the Pentagon would identify which branch of the armed services the troops belonged to. In tweets Saturday, Toby Lanzer, a senior U.N. official in the capital, Juba, described the situation in Bor as “tense.” “We’ve heard clashes & seen bodies in the streets. Civilians have left town to flee for their safety,” he wrote. Lanzer, who is the deputy special representative of the U.N. secretary general in the U.N. mission in South Sudan, added that more than 15,000 people have sought refuge at the U.N. base in Bor, including Americans, British, Canadians and others. On Wednesday, President Obama ordered the deployment of 45 U.S. military personnel to South Sudan to protect the U.S. Embassy in Juba and Americans there. The troops wounded Saturday, however, were part of another group sent to South Sudan specifically for the attempted evacuation in Bor, said Army Col. Thomas Davis, a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command. He declined to say how many forces were aboard the three Ospreys or where their flights originated from. South Sudan separated from Sudan to become a new nation in 2011 after a U.S.-backed peace process and a long civil war. The United States and its allies have injected billions of dollars into the fledgling country. But its future has been severely tested by ethnic strife that broke out anew a week ago, killing more than 500 people, according to the United Nations. The fighting has pitted South Sudanese troops loyal to President Salva Kiir against followers of his former vice president, Riek Machar, who was fired in July. The violence has escalated since Kiir claimed that Machar and his loyalists had staged an attempted military coup last Sunday. Kiir is a member of the majority Dinka tribe, while Machar belongs to the Nuer ethnic group. The attack on the U.S. aircraft came two days after more than 2,000 ethnic Nuer youths attacked a U.N. base in the remote town of Akobo, in Jonglei state. The assailants killed at least 11 ethnic Dinka seeking refuge at the base, as well as two U.N. peacekeepers from India, the United Nations said. Saturday’s attacks were the latest sign that the world’s newest nation could be spiraling toward a civil conflict fueled by a turbulent cocktail of ethnic, tribal and political divisions that has roiled the country in the past two years. The Obama administration has signaled growing concern about the crisis. The referendum that led to the creation of South Sudan is widely considered to be one of its few successes in sub- Saharan Africa, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced Friday that he is sending a special envoy, Ambassador Donald Booth, to the country. Kerry, in a statement Friday, urged South Sudan’s leaders to “rein in armed groups under their control, immediately cease attacks on civilians, and end the chain of retributive violence between different ethnic and political groups. The violence must stop, the dialogue must intensify.” In an audio message Friday, national security adviser Susan E. Rice urged the people of South Sudan to “make the choice for peace, make the choice for a unified and cohesive South Sudan.” At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel received several updates on the situation and was reviewing further options from Army. Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of the Africa Command, a U.S. defense official said. As many as 40,000 civilians have swarmed U.N. peacekeeping bases in Juba and Bor seeking refuge. The U.N. Security Council, after an emergency session Friday, declared “grave alarm” at the fighting. Hilde F. Johnson, the top U.N. official in South Sudan, issued a statement denouncing the killing of the Dinka civilians and the U.N. peacekeepers, who she said “were here to protect civilians and serve the people of South Sudan.” The Nuer youths overran the base in Akobo and seized weapons and ammunitions before the peacekeepers and soldiers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army retook control a few hours later, the United Nations said. The State Department has suspended normal operations at the U.S. Embassy in Juba. The embassy said in a statement Saturday that the U.S. government has evacuated 450 Americans and citizens of other countries from South Sudan this week. U.S. officials had hoped to begin evacuation flights from Bor on Saturday, but those operations were suspended after the Ospreys were fired on. On Friday, a U.N. helicopter was fired upon in another part of Jonglei state and was forced to make an emergency landing, according to U.N. officials. The helicopter was one of four dispatched to evacuate 40 peacekeepers from the U.N. base in the town of Yuai. The crew and passengers of the helicopter were later flown to the U.N. compound in the Upper Nile state capital, Malakal. There were no casualties during the operation. On Saturday evening, the United Nations held a memorial service in Juba for the slain peacekeepers. “Had it not been for their bravery, the death toll at the [U.N. base] could have been higher,” Johnson said in a statement. “This horrendous act will not stop us from carrying out our work. To anyone who wants to threaten us, attack us or put obstacles in our way, our message remains loud and clear: We will not be intimidated.” Raghavan reported from Nairobi. |
Universal newsreel about Telstar 1 External audio Felker Talking Telstar, 1962, Dr. Jean Felker's speech starts at 4:20, WNYC[2] Telstar 1 was a communications satellite launched by NASA on July 10, 1962, it was the satellite that allowed the first live broadcast of television images between the United States and Europe. It remained active for only 7 months, a much shorter service life than today's artificial satellites. Although it no longer works, it is still in the orbit of the Earth. History [ edit ] Launch of Telstar 1. Huge horn antenna at the AT&T Andover satellite ground station at Andover, Maine The idea of transmitting various information through satellites was ancient. Already in October 1945, the mathematician and visionary Arthur C. Clarke published an article talking about it in the specialized magazine Wireless World. His idea was to take advantage of the immensity of space to transmit information, using a satellite system for this purpose. During the Cold War years, the shock caused by the successful launch of the first man-made artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, by the Soviets increased the United States' interest in the development of aerospace research. Soon after the launch of what would become known as Earth's first artificial satellite, Sputnik in 1957, the Americans began their attempts to launch communications satellites. These circled the planet in elliptical or circular orbits and aimed to improve telecommunications services such as telephones, radio and television.[3] The first communications satellite that the United States successfully put into space was named SCORE and was launched in December 1958. Through it, then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a Christmas message to the entire world. But SCORE stayed in orbit for only a few months. Its enormous surface and the orbit very close to the planet Earth made it reenter after only 500 laps around the planet. Launch [ edit ] Telstar 1 was released on July 10, 1962 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, with a Delta rocket. In a rounded form, the satellite had a diameter of 88 centimeters and weighed 77 pounds (35 kg). Operations [ edit ] A 53-meter terrestrial antenna manufactured by AT&T Corporation, located in Andover, Maine. She is responsible for the transmissions between the U.S. and Europe. Built in 1961, and used by Telstar 1, it was later used by Relay 1. Telstar 1 operated normally from launch until November 1962 when the radiation from the Starfish Prime operation affected the command channel, which began to behave erratically. The satellite was continuously switched on to work around this problem. On November 23, 1962, the command channel stopped responding. On December 20, the satellite was successfully reactivated, and intermittent data were obtained until February 21, 1963, when the transmitter failed. The energy used by it was produced by 3,600 solar cells. Thirteen days after the launch, the first live broadcast of a television show between the United States and Europe took place.[4] Germany was one of the countries that participated in the broadcasts, with live footage showing workers at a blast furnace in the industrial area of Duisburg, located in the west of the country. From a quality point of view, the images were extremely bad by today's standards. The live images of New York City and the Golden Gate bridge came trembling to the television set, but at least they gave the sensational impression of watching an event on the other side of the world. The quality of the images transmitted between the two continents, in 1962, was very distant from the present one. In addition, the time of these transmissions were not continuous, they were restricted in 30 minutes, due to the low orbit of the satellite. It was necessary for the receiving and transmitting antennas to allow the earth stations to follow their orbital trajectory. Its transmitter with the tiny power of 2¼ watts had such weak signals that the stations that accompanied it received them and magnified 10 billion times through 30-m-diameter parabolic antennas. From this prototype, thousands of satellites have been launched in Earth orbit since the 1960s, mostly for military, scientific and telecommunications purposes. |
Taylor Swift Sued 'Shake it Off' Lyrics Are Ours You Ripped Off 'Haters Gonna Hate'!!! Taylor Swift Sued Over 'Shake it Off,' You Ripped Off 'Hater's Gonna Hate!!!' (UPDATE) EXCLUSIVE Taylor's rep tells TMZ, "This is a ridiculous claim and nothing more than a money grab. The law is simple and clear. They do not have a case." Taylor Swift's massive hit "Shake it Off" was not really hers ... so claim 2 accomplished songwriters who wrote a hit song with similar lyrics 16 years ago ... at least that's what they're saying in a new lawsuit. Sean Hall and Nathan Butler say they wrote a song entitled "Playas Gon' Play" back in 2001, and it Hit #81 on Billboard Hot 100. It was recorded by a big girl group, 3LW. Among the lyrics ... "Playas, they gonna play and haters, they gonna hate." Not hard to figure out the rest. Hall and Butler say 20% of "Shake it Off" is their song. BTW, Butler has worked with the Backstreet Boys, Christina Milian, Aaron Carter and Victoria Beckham. Hall has worked with Justin Bieber, Lionel Richie, Pink and Maroon 5. Butler is being repped by Gerard Fox Law and Julian Everly Shervington Wright. They want a ton of money. |
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[Bug Report Q&A – 10 Qeustions] Q. Having a ‘Defense Buff’ by clicking ‘Turn End’ event after using a skill. A. We’ve fixed it and will be applied to the patch after market inspection. Q. Error in map description of the Cactus desert 1 of the Girgas region. A. It has been fixed in today’s patch (01/08) Q. Error in clear guide of 40th floor of the Tower of Dawn. A. We’ve fixed it and will be applied in our next update. Q. A set item, ‘Unyielding Champion’ doesn’t show clear condition. A. This item only activates when equipped hero has more than 2 buffs except passive buff. We’ll add more explanation on this. Q. Potion didn’t respawned on the 55th floor of the Tower of Dawn. A. It has been fixed in today’s patch (01/08) Q. Displays ‘N’ in the ‘Make Friends’, but doesn’t show anything in the list. A. Once we check the problem, we will fix it asap. Q. After modification of the potential, ‘X button’ in the pop up window makes me annoying. Hope this button will be removed. A. We have removed the button and will be applied to the patch after market inspection. Q. Even if I recruit the Hero from Blue Unknown Genes, I cannot accomplish the achievement. A. We’ve fixed it and will be applied to the patch after market inspection. Q. It shows incorrect skill damage of some hero character. A. Once we check the problem, we will fix it asap. Q. It seems there is a skill range error of some hero character. A. Once we check the problem, we will fix it asap. |
Image zoom Courtesy Heidi Prescott/Beacon Health System Since April, pediatric patients at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana, have been jumping out of bed each day, rushing to a window and staring deep into the construction site next door. That’s because they know that somewhere in the construction site, Waldo (of Where’s Waldo?, the children’s series of picture books, fame) is hiding – and it’s their task to find him. “Patients will run to the window and stare for a few minutes and then you’ll hear them exclaim, ‘I found him!’ ” Heidi Prescott of Beacon Health System tells PEOPLE. “It brightens their days and it brightens our days, too.” Image zoom Jafet Acevedo-Oliveras, 7, searches for Waldo from his hospital window with help from his mom Heidi Prescott/Beacon Health System The Waldo they’re searching for is an 8-foot-tall wooden cut-out that was created by Jason Haney, labor foreman of the hospital’s $50 million expansion. When the children find the Waldo, Haney is notified and the figure is hidden in a new area of the site and the game begins again. Haney came up with the idea to hide the Waldo in view of the hospital’s southern windows after a snowman workers built on the site this winter delighted the hospital’s patients and staff. “One of the electricians said he thought it would be funny if there was a Waldo,” Haney told the South Bend Tribune. • Need a little inspiration? Click here to subscribe to the Daily Smile Newsletter for uplifting, feel-good stories that brighten up your inbox. So, Haney cut the Waldo silhouette out of plywood and he and his daughter painted the Waldo together. Image zoom Waldo up-close Courtesy Heidi Prescott/Beacon Health System Haney and his daughter, Taylor, felt it was important to create something to give kids in the hospital and their families something to look forward to – because they’ve been in that position themselves. Taylor suffered a stroke at just 3 years old. At first, Taylor had to be hospitalized every three months for treatment, and doctors predicted she wouldn’t be able to learn past the third-grade level. Now 17, Taylor has graduated high school and plans to attend Ball State University to study biology and zoology. For now, she’s working on helping her dad find new ways to bring smiles to the young patients’ faces. Recently, the pair created four minions that will be hidden around the site as well. Image zoom Waldo hides at the construction site Courtesy Heidi Prescott/Beacon Health System “Every once in a while we get a kid who doesn’t know who Waldo is,” says Prescott, “but everyone knows how to spot a minion.” Prescott adds that she’s been very impressed with Haney’s dedication to bringing joy to the young patients and their families. “He has touched so many lives with this game,” she says. “It’s just amazing to watch the kids’ faces light up and to see them look forward to looking out their windows every day.” |
Exclusive Video: Emma Thompson Guides a 'Mary Poppins' Sing-Along at 'Saving Mr. Banks' Lunch If there was anything to glean from yesterday’s swank lunch in honor of Walt Disney Pictures’ “Saving Mr. Banks” at Manhattan’s Four Seasons Restaurant, it was that Oscar-winner Emma Thompson knows how to own a room. Glowing as she entered the event, which was hosted by the Peggy Siegal Company, Thompson worked the crowd before sitting down to eat, reminiscing fondly with Academy members and the like about playing crotchety “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers in the crowd-pleasing drama that’s sure to earn another Academy Award nomination for the actress. But the highlight of the two-hour event came once everyone finished their lunch and Thompson took to the front of the room and proceeded to lead a “Mary Poppins” sing-along, at one point inviting “Crash” director Paul Haggis up to join her. Watch Thompson and Haggis sing “Chim Chim Cher-ee” below: And on page 2, watch her lead a sing-along to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. |
You’d think that the whole Boaty McBoatface saga would’ve made companies think twice about opening the naming of machines, boats, etc. up to public vote. Apparently not. Months on from the moment that the British public voted en masse to name a state of the art research vessel Boaty McBoatface, Atlanta’s City Hall officials are asking Georgian residents to choose a name for a new tunnel-boring machine. One of the finalists leading the way? Driller Mike, in tribute to the Atlantan rapper Killer Mike. “Killer Mike chews through words and raps like he’s got diamond tipped teeth,” justified State resident Bryan Schroeder - one of many locals to suggest a homage to the Run the Jewels rapper. ”A good role model for this drill, Driller Mike, to look up to!” The other finalist names are Peach Beast, and Scarlett. Both a bit ‘boring’, if we’re being honest. Anyone who resides in Georgia can vote to name the drill here, with the poll closing on 2nd September. Do the right thing, and vote to call it Driller Mike, though. |
With nearly 100 years of history, and a status as a permanent fixture on the sporting calendar, it’s hard to believe that there was once a time where the future of the Indianapolis 500 and the speedway itself were placed firmly in jeopardy, with the speedway’s temporary closure at the outbreak of World War II seeing land developers circling around the Brickyard with vicious intent. Thankfully however the speedway was saved at the last minute in 1946, thanks to a man who would not only become an institution at the speedway but also help to make the 500 the national treasure that it remains to this day; Tony Hulman. Born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1901, Tony Hulman was born into a family defined by success in the business Industry. His grandfather, Herman Hulman, had established Hulman and Company as a wholesale grocery business in 1850, but by the turn of the century the company had expanded its business interests into other disciplines, most notably with the introduction of the Clabber Girl Baking Powder which would quickly go on to become the company’s defining product. After graduating from Yale University in 1923, Hulman returned to Terre Haute to work in the family business, working his way from a company sales position upon his arrival to inheriting the company from his father by his 30th birthday in 1931, carrying on a Hulman family tradition that still exists to this day. During his time in charge Hulman helped to revive the fortunes of his struggling family firm, turning Clabber girl into the most popular baking product in the United States, thanks in part to a strong marketing blitz that attempted to get every homemaker in the country to use the product, an aggressive and ultimately successful campaign well ahead of it’s time. This, added with a shrewd business acumen, soon led to Hulman becoming one of the most successful and well regarded men in the state of Indiana. In 1945 one of Tony Hulman’s business acquaintances by the name of Homer Cochran approached Mr. Hulman about meeting someone to discuss the possibility of purchasing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from current owner Eddie Rickenbacker. In the fall of 1944, former 500 champion Wilbur Shaw had gone to the Speedway to do a test for the Firestone tyre company, and was shocked at what greeted him. In the three years since it’s closure following it’s temporary closure, the Speedway had become a dilapidated shell of its former self; overtaken with weeds, collapsing facilities and with reports suggesting the facility was to be destroyed to make way for a new housing estate. Determined to save the Speedway, Shaw began targeting local business owners over the possibility of forming a consortium to save the stricken brickyard, with his quest soon taking him into contact with Cochran and subsequently Hulman himself. Although not a huge racing fan, Hulman had attended the 1914 race with his father and had very lasting memories of the track. His Hoosier pride swelled as he thought of turning the track back into something that Indiana could be proud of. After meeting with current owner Eddie Rickenbacker at the Indianapolis Athletic Club on the 14th of November, 1945, Tony Hulman bought the Speedway for a reported sum of between $700.000 and $750,000, immediately appointing the bubbling and jubilant Shaw as the Speedway president in the process. In the space of six months, Hulman and Shaw helped to transform the Speedway back into something close to it’s old glory, repairing the broken up surface and installing a brand new grandstand in time for the first race back at the facility in 1946, one which had such demand from local Hoosiers that Hulman nearly missed the start of the race due to traffic jams outside of the Brickyard! For the first eight years of their venture, Hulman and Shaw’s working relationship proved to be immensely successful, with Hulman content to stay in the background as a quiet and retiring track owner, with Shaw acting as the front-man for the operation, speaking to drivers and dignitaries and making things happen in regards to business interests at the Speedway. When Shaw tragically passed away in a plan crash in 1954, Hulman was forced into the uncomfortable position as the new face of the Brickyard, a role which included the businessman taking over Shaw’s duty of the command for drivers to start their engines for the race. Such were the level of nerves surrounding this task, Hulman was reportedly known to rehearse the line countless of times before the race day, although later admitted that he would come to cherish the position in his later years. To this day, it has always been a member of the Hulman family to give the initial command to start engines at each race. By the 1960’s the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were growing in stature and size beyond anyone’s belief. Media coverage increased dramatically, new grandstands were built as profits kept being put back into the track. With each passing year, Hulman’s attempts to remain a background figure at the speedway became increasingly difficult; people were beginning to recognize him and wanted to thank him for all he had done. Not only had he saved the Speedway from extinction, but he had turned it into a showplace. All Hoosiers were proud of it – just as he had hoped when he bought it in 1945. By the time the seventies rolled around, speeds were soaring faster and higher than ever, and following the disastrous 1973 race further changes at the speedway still needed to be made. By this point Human was now well into his seventies, but still remained active and approached the Month of May with the same passion and enthusiasm he did when he first purchased the Brickyard all those years before. He developed close relationships with many drivers, but probably none closer than his relationship with AJ Foyt. When Foyt won his fourth Indianapolis 500 in 1977, he asked Mr. Hulman to join him on the back of the pace car as they rode in celebration around the track immediately following the race. Sadly, it was the last time most of us would see Mr. Hulman. He passed away that fall, on October 27, 1977. Anton Hulman, Jr. is considered to be one of the most important figures in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a man whose shrewd business acumen and love for the Hoosier state not only helped to save the Indiana Motor Speedway but also turn it’s showpiece event into one of the biggest events of the sporting calendar. Without Tony Hulman it is fair to say there would be no IMS and no 100th running of the 500, and that is something in my opinion not worth contemplating. In today’s video we have a feature on Tony Hulman produced by Indycar during it’s 100th anniversary celebrations. Advertisements |
Solar energy has long been touted as a clean alternative to traditional electricity generation, but building a clean energy economy will also create jobs. Thanks to federal and state policies to support renewable energy, it's estimated that the solar industry will create hundreds of thousands of green jobs in coming years. Based on a study by Navigant Consulting, and with the help of Google.org and Google Earth Outreach, our friends at the Solar Energy Research Education Foundation (SEREF) have developed a U.S. solar jobs map in Google Earth. You can also view this as a KML in Google Earth. The U.S. solar industry is expected to support more than 440,000 permanent, full-time jobs, including many in the manufacturing and construction industry, by the year 2016. The solar jobs growth layer shows where these jobs are likely to be created across the country. You'll see that many of these jobs are being created in states that have experienced the worst of the current economic crisis, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ohio. Clicking on the solar icon in each state shows annual job growth over an eight year period, as well as how the three most common solar technologies—photovoltaics, concentrating solar power, and solar water heating—stack-up in terms of job creation. In addition to exploring the job growth numbers, you can view a 3-D simulation of the job growth over time and compare the solar energy resources of each state with their job growth potential. In the additional data, you can also see solar installations, like photovoltaic panels and solar water heating at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta and a solar power tower at the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) in Southern California, to see what they actually look like in Google Earth. Because predicting job creation in the future relies on advanced economic modeling, it can be difficult to predict where all the solar jobs will be created. Nearly 30,000 jobs will likely be created across the other 29 states that aren’t explicitly covered in this map. That means solar energy truly is capable of creating a green economy for the entire U.S. This map was created as part of SEREF’s and Google.org’s shared objective to rapidly scale-up the use of solar technologies in the U.S. so that the environmental, economic, and national security benefits of renewables can be realized. To check out the map and learn more about solar energy, please visit the solar jobs map site. | | |
The county-wide power outage has affected outgoing San Diego flights and people trying to get home. The county-wide power outage has affected outgoing San Diego flights and people trying to get home. How the power outage has affected those at Lindbergh Field How the power outage has affected those at Lindbergh Field Utility crews brought electricity back to much of California, Arizona and Mexico on Friday, a day after a power outage left millions in the dark, paralyzed freeways and halted flights at San Diego's airport. Utility crews brought electricity back to much of California, Arizona and Mexico on Friday, a day after a power outage left millions in the dark, paralyzed freeways and halted flights at San Diego's airport. Power back on for most in Ariz., Calif. and Mexico Power back on for most in Ariz., Calif. and Mexico In Pacific Beach and downtown, some bars and restaurants didn't let the dark ruin their business. It just added to the ambiance. In Pacific Beach and downtown, some bars and restaurants didn't let the dark ruin their business. It just added to the ambiance. Steve Tustison faced a parenting headache that called for serious improvisation: Stuck in traffic during a massive blackout with his three sons, he was penniless, light was fading and the boys were hungry. Steve Tustison faced a parenting headache that called for serious improvisation: Stuck in traffic during a massive blackout with his three sons, he was penniless, light was fading and the boys were hungry. A blackout that swept across parts of the Southwest and Mexico apparently began with a single utility worker and a minor repair job. A blackout that swept across parts of the Southwest and Mexico apparently began with a single utility worker and a minor repair job. People talk around candles in front of the bar Voyeur in the Gaslamp District during a power outage Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, in San Diego. A stranded passenger sleeps in the baggage claim area at San Diego's Lindbergh Field after a blackout Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. A power outage is affecting millions of people across southern California, Arizona and Mexico. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy) Hugo Camacho, left, and his son Daniel Camacho, 5, emerge from a 7-11 with Gatorade and Cheetos late Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, in San Diego. Good Samaritan Dave Eminhizer directs traffic at the intersection of Rancho Bernardo Road and Bernardo Center Drive during a power outage on Thursday Sept. 8, 2011, in San Diego. SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - SDG&E says power has been fully restored to San Diego County Friday. (Read below for more). Flights: 41 flights that were scheduled to leave before 7 am. have been canceled. Other flights were delayed for at least one hour. All other flights should be departing at their scheduled time. Check your airline to make sure your flight is running on time. Courts: San Diego Superior Court will conduct business as usual on Friday. Employees and jurors should attend as planned. Trash: Trash pickup will happen Friday as usual. Water Safety: Several areas have recommended precautionary boil water orders: Otay Mesa, Redwood Village, Tierrasanta, San Carlos, La Jolla, Bernardo Heights, Scripps Ranch Refrigerated Food: HHSA's Dr. Wooten says food in the freezer should be ok for 2 days if it's full; 1 day if it's 1/2 full. Best rule with is when in doubt, throw it out!! Schools: San Diego County public schools, any preschools and daycares are all closed Friday, September 9, 2011. All public, private, and Catholic schools in the county are closed. Transportation: North County buses, North County Sprinter, MTS busses and Amtrak will all be running tomorrow. MTS and Trolley will be on regular schedules. Military bases: MCAS Miramar and the Navy say personnel should plan to arrive at work as scheduled. -------------------------------------------------- (Updated @ 5:45 pm - 9/9/11) SAN DIEGO (AP) - A think tank estimates that a widespread power outage cost the San Diego-area economy more than $100 million. The National University System Institute for Policy Research said Friday businesses lost about $70 million, largely because they had to close. Some employees missed work because San Diego schools were closed. Overtime for government workers cost up to $20 million. The cost of spoiled food amounted to up to $18 million. Altogether, the think tank estimates the total loss at between $97 million and $118 million. The city of San Diego hasn't given any estimate of its own. THIS IS A STORY UPDATE. The previous story is below. SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Residents in parts of the county were advised Friday to boil their water or use bottled water following a historic power outage which left some 5 million people from Mexico to southern Orange County without power until early Friday morning. The affected areas include parts of the College area and College Grove, Carmel Mountain Ranch, North City/Flower Hill, Otay Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, San Carlos, Scripps Ranch, Stonebridge, Tierrasanta, and La Jolla, west of Interstate 5 and north of La Jolla Parkway. Residents in these areas should use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking or cooking, the city's Mayor Jerry Sanders announced in a news conference. The boil water order will remain until further notice and a information line was set up for residents at (619) 515-3525, Sanders said. The massive outage also caused two of the city's sewer pump stations to shut down, causing spills, Sanders said. About 1.9 million gallons of sewage spilled into the Penasquitos Lagoon after one of the pump stations failed and about 125,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the Sweetwater Channel. Signs have been posted warning people to stay out of the water in both areas and the order will remain in effect until the area has two days of clear water. The outage struck about 3:40 p.m. Thursday and power was restored to San Diego County by about 3:30 this morning, San Diego Gas and Electric reported, but officials asked customers to continue conserving electricity today as a precaution. Residents were encouraged to avoid the use of air conditioners if possible, or set them no lower 78 degrees if structural cooling was absolutely necessary. Major appliances should not be used today. "Our system is still fragile, even though we have all of our customers back in service. Not all our power plants are operating today, some of them took a pretty tough hit when the lights went out yesterday," said SDG&E President Michael Niggli. One of those effected was the San Onofre nuclear plant, where two reactors shut down although the plant did not lose power or experience safety issues. Several agencies will participate in a joint investigation to determine the cause of the power failure, Niggli said, noting the short-circuit was initiated by an operator error on a high-voltage power in the North Gila-region line between Arizona and Southern California. "The question now is how did that ripple through the rest of the system," Niggli said. In seeking to determine what caused the system breakdown, the agencies will coordinate with the Department of Energy and other federal agencies, the California ISO, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, California and Arizona state regulators and companies involved to monitor the situation, officials said. During the outage, schools and businesses -- including gas stations -- closed; commuters jammed roadways; medically fragile people packed hospitals; and several people throughout the county were rescued after being trapped in elevators and on trolley cars. The National University System Institute for Policy Research estimated the economic impact of the outage to be between $97 million and $118 million. ------------------------------------------------------- (Updated @ 8:24 pm - 9/8/11) SAN DIEGO (AP) - Power is slowly coming back online for some people in California, but most of the 2 million who lost electricity across the Southwest will remain in the dark through the night. Mike Niggli, chief operating officer of San Diego Gas & Electric Co. says they are starting to restore power to the system. Parts of Orange County are back online. The outage extended from southern parts of Orange County to San Diego to Yuma, Arizona. It also affected cities south of the border across much of the state of northern Baja. Niggli urged people to be patient and asked those who have power to use only the most necessary appliances and turn off their air conditioners to prevent another shutdown. (Updated @ 8:14 pm - 9/8/11) SAN DIEGO (AP) - An employee at a power substation in southwest Arizona likely caused a massive outage that left more than 2 million people without electricity across the Southwest and northern Mexico. Power officials in Arizona said the employee was carrying out a procedure at a substation in North Gila northeast of Yuma. They didn't immediately explain the procedure. Authorities say the outage should have been limited to the Yuma area. They were investigating why it wasn't contained. Most of San Diego lost power, as well as cities south of the border and about 56,000 people throughout Yuma and the surrounding areas. Arizona Power Services President and CEO Don Robinson say they are working to restore power as soon as possible. (Updated @ 8:14 pm - 9/8/11) SAN DIEGO (AP) - The penguins, polar bears and walruses at San Diego's SeaWorld will be staying cool during an outage that has affected millions of people in Southern California, Arizona and Mexico. SeaWorld spokeswoman Kelly Terry says the amusement park that allows visitors to see marine life up close runs on its own generators. Park-goers were allowed to stay after power was lost at around 3:30 p.m. They were treated to a special performance by Shamu in the early evening. Terry says some park-goers who thought they didn't have enough gas to drive home were allowed to hang out in SeaWorld's parking lot to wait out traffic. At Legoland, spokeswoman Julie Estrada says a few riders were trapped after rides lost power, but were safely removed. THIS IS A NEWS UPDATE. A previous story is below. SAN DIEGO (AP) - A major power outage knocked out electricity to more than 2 million people in California, Arizona and Mexico on Thursday, bringing San Diego and Tijuana to a standstill and leaving people sweltering in the late-summer heat in the surrounding desert. Two nuclear reactors were offline after losing electricity, but officials said there was no danger to the public or workers. FBI officials ruled out terrorism while power plant authorities struggled to find the cause of the outage that started shortly before 4 p.m. PDT. San Diego bore the brunt of the blackout; most of the nation's eighth-largest city was darkened. All outgoing flights from San Diego's Lindbergh Field were grounded and police stations were using generators to accept emergency calls across the area. The trolley system that shuttles thousands of commuters every day was shut down and freeways were clogged at rush hour. Trains were stopped in Los Angeles, an Amtrak ! spokesman said, because there was no power to run the lights, gates, bells and traffic control signals. Police directed traffic at intersections where signals stopped working. In Tijuana, people wandered out of their hot homes into the street to cool off while restaurants scrambled for ice to save perishable food. The outage extended from southern parts of Orange County to San Diego to Yuma, Arizona. It also affected cities south of the border across much of the state of northern Baja. Border officials said crossings into California are open. "It feels like you're in an oven and you can't escape," said Rosa Maria Gonzales, a spokeswoman with the Imperial Irrigation District in California's sizzling eastern desert. She said it was about 115 degrees when the power went out for about 150,000 of its customers. In San Diego, Blake Albert Jordan, 20, saw a trolley come to a screeching halt as he neared the platform. Dozens of passengers emptied onto ! the tracks when the doors opened. Jordan said he called about 20 friends and family to pick him up in San Diego's Mission Valley, where he was visiting a friend, to his home in suburban Lemon Grove. None offered to venture on the roads. A transmitter line between Arizona and California was severed, said Mike Niggli, chief operating officer of San Diego Gas & Electric Co., causing the outage. The extreme heat in some areas also may have caused some problems with the lines. "Essentially we have two connections from the rest of the world: One of from the north and one is to the east. Both connections are severed," Niggli said. Power officials don't know what severed the line. Niggli said he suspects the system was "overwhelmed by too many outages in too many places." Niggli said relief was on its way, slowly. He said his 1.4 million customers may be without power until Friday. Two reactors at the San Onofre nuclear power plant went offline at 3:38 p.m. as they are programmed to do when there is a dist! urbance in the power grid, said Charles Coleman, a spokesman from Southern California Edison. He said there was no danger to the public or to workers there. The outage came more than eight years after a more severe black out in 2003 darkened a large swath of the Northeast and Midwest. More than 50 million people were affected in that outage. In Arizona, about half of Yuma County had power again Thursday evening after losing it earlier. Yuma County has about 200,000 residents and a little under half live in the city of Yuma. "It's 113 degrees right now outside," said Yuma city spokesman Greg Hyland, who was sitting in the dark, answering calls. Five hundred to 2,000 SoCal Edison customers in southern Orange County and Riverside County are currently without power and there is no estimate for when power will be restored, Coleman said. Capt. Mike Stone of the Orange County Fire Authority said several people were trapped and rescued at the tony Ritz! Carlton hotel in south Orange County, Stone said. In southern O range County, the sheriff's department dispatched deputies to busy intersections because traffic lights were out, said John McDonald, a sheriff's spokesman. Outages were confirmed in San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Hills, he said. Traffic was backed up in some areas, and the Orange County Register reported that fire crews were dealing with numerous calls of people being trapped in elevators. THIS IS A NEWS UPDATE. A previous story is below. SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A massive power outage left as many as 1.4 million customers without power Thursday, including many areas throughout San Diego County, and reaching as far as Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico. SDG&E was looking into the issue, and service was not expected to be fully restored until sometime Friday. Thousands of customers reported a disruption in power from areas as far north as Fallbrook, Escondido and San Marcos, northeast to Temecula and reaching as far south as Ensenada, Mexico. There were also reports of power outages in Arizona and New Mexico. In a press conference Thursday afternoon, SDG&E president Michael Niggli said the problem was a system breakdown that originated somewhere between California and Arizona. He confirmed areas affected include all of San Diego and parts of Orange County, Imperial Valley and Tijuana. Crews were working to get the affected power plants online. The power outage has affected an estimated 1.4 million customers. The California Independent System Operator, which manages the state's power grid, issued a transmission emergency notice for the San Diego area. According to a News 8 live report, operations at Lindbergh Field were at a standstill. SDPD officers were doing traffic control at several intersections throughout the city after traffic signals failed. Trolley service was disrupted, with reports of several cars being stranded on tracks. The San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park museums have closed, and business at the Hall of Justice was halted. San Diego State University has canceled classes. San Diego Fire-Rescue is advising people to stay home, and not to call 911 unless there is an emergency. People are also asked to activate your emergency preparedness plan if you have one. ------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE @ 6:15PM: California ISO statement "The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) issued a transmission emergency after a major system disturbance occurred between Arizona and Southern California and caused all of San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) and a small portion of Southern California Edison customers to lose power. "The outage was triggered after a 500-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage line from Arizona to California tripped out of service. The transmission outage cut the flow of imported power into the most southern portion of California, resulting in wide-spread outages in the region. "The ISO is coordinating with SDG&E as well as neighboring utilities including Southern California (Edison) and utilities in Arizona and Mexico, during restoration of service, which is being managed by SDG&E." ------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE @ 5:39PM: Emergency Coaster Schedule The North County Transit District is running an emergency schedule for commuters: -- Northbound from Santa Fe Depot (Downtown San Diego) to Oceanside @ 7:03 PM (the 6:21 PM departure has been cancelled) Rail riders are being advised that AMTRAK service is available, but they only make three stops: Santa Fe Depot, Sorrento Mesa and Oceanside. NCTD will be running an additional "sweep train" later Thursday evening for passengers stranded along the Coaster's service route. A time has not been released. ------------------------------------------------------- |
Three middle school students from Indiana have been suspended and it's causing a lot of controversy. The students face expulsion after seeing a topless photo of their teacher that she had accidentally synced to a classroom iPad. They are being punished, she is not. The students were given permission from the teacher to play games and browse the iPad when the student who was handling the iPad hit a button that brought up the topless photo of the teacher. When the teacher was informed by what happened, she grew irate and called the police. Police are looking into the incident and are expected to release a statement today. Two of the three boys have been suspended, while one has not. They were given a choice of being suspended for five days and then put on probation, which meant he would go to school from 7:30 to 10:25 a.m. each day. Or they could choose to be expelled for the semester. Now comes the crazy part. While two of the three boys were reprimanded, the teacher has not been punished. The three boys saw and looked at the picture, but did not share it or show other students. They saw the picture and then got out of the application as soon as they realized what had happened. There aren't many middle schoolers who would do that. It is likely that the teacher had backed up all of her photos on her I-Phone and had them synced to the iPad. A school iPad, not her personal one. Yet she has not been punished. The school gave two explanations for the punishment. At first they said the boys accessed the Internet, not even taken into consideration they had permission to do so. Then the school said that the boys were able to bring the iPad and the teacher’s iPhone in sync, with the photo actually being on the iPhone, which was actually the teachers doing not the students. The school will not comment on the situation, but have said the punishment will not be changed. What do you think? Do you think that the school is being fair, or bias to the teacher? Do you think the teacher or students are at fault, or both? |
It’s surprising that we haven’t had any Skyrim DLC yet, considering the immense popularity of the game, yet Bethesda have recently popped the bubble of suspense by announcing Dawnguard. Bestowed with the vague release of “summer” on Xbox 360, it won’t be long before we get even more content for Skyrim. Bethesda aren’t always particularly generous with their DLC offerings however, so below we’ve listed ten things we think they really ought to offer in Dawnguard. High Production Values A rather obvious point, but Dawnguard is unlikely to get off the ground without some serious polish. Maybe console users will be happy for any kind of content but, considering the high quality third party mods that the PC version of the game has been subject too, Bethesda will need to bring their A game to the development of Dawnguard. After all, it would be pretty embarrassing if they were shown up by their fans. A Meaty Set of Quests Considering the time we will have waited for Dawnguard, it would be a total let down if it’s anything less that a “full” expansion pack. Small tweaks and a handful of quests isn’t going to cut it. We’ll be wanting a proper new quest line with a solid story, proper continuity with the game’s lore and new characters and factions. A New World Of the two expansion packs released for Oblivion, The Shivering Isles was much more impressive than The Knights of Nine expansion. Why? Simply because The Shivering Isles offered a completely new setting, while the Knights add on generally re-used locations within Cyrodil. Let’s hope Dawnguard takes us to a new world as, whilst I love Skyrim as much as the next guy, a change of scenery would be nice. |
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