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Nokia may have announced that the N9 will be the last of the MeeGo phones from them but just in case you were planning to buy it rest assured you won't be left out in the cold. Nokia's Product Planning Director Janne Heikkinen said on Nokia's blog that the N9 will be getting continued software support. This means regular software updates for the OS. The first update will be released soon after the device starts selling based on the feedback from users and operators and more updates will be released along the way. He also mentioned that the UI innovations done in the N9 will be carried over to Nokia's other products as well. As for third-party app support, the N9 already has popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Skype, Picasa, Flickr and Mail for Exchange built-in along with popular games such as Angry Birds and you can expect more apps on the Ovi Store soon. Source |
Venezuelans go to the polls on 7 October to elect their president. The main choice is between the incumbent Hugo Chavez and Henrique Capriles Radonski, a right-wing state governor with strong ties to the country's elite. Yet with more than a month to go, sections of Venezuela's right wing opposition coalition seem to have made up their mind about the outcome. With substantial poll leads for Hugo Chávez they appear to be preparing to decry the official results as a fraud. Ricardo Hausmann, a key Capriles economic adviser, recently said his campaign will announce their own results to the world before the official announcement is made by Venezuela's independent National Electoral Council (CNE), the equivalent of Britain's Electoral Commission. Their approach seems to be that unless the results go their way, the CNE's official results will be rejected by the opposition. As Eleazar Diza Rangel, editor of Venezuela's main national newspaper Ultimas Noticias - broadly sympathetic to the anti-Chávez opposition - recently explained the purpose of attempts "to claim fraud at the coming presidential elections of 7 October [would be] in order not to recognise the people's will". Whatever views are held of the Chávez government, its democratic mandate is without doubt. There is certainly no evidence from previous elections of fraud. This will be Venezuela's 15th election since Chavez became President in 1999. All have been declared free and fair including by international bodies such as the EU and Organisation of American State. Just last month, Jennifer McCoy, director at the Carter Center, described Venezuela's electronic voting system as one of the most reliable in the world. At the coming elections, the Union of South American Nations will amongst the 200 international observers. Any doubt about the impartiality of the CNE in organising free elections is surely swept aside by the fact that earlier this year Venezuela's main right-wing opposition coalition, the MUD, organised for it to conduct the right's Presidential primaries. The MUD Executive Secretary described the CNE's role in this selection as "an excellent indication of the democratic institutions in the country". It is not serious for the right-wing coalition to endorse the CNE as a legitimate electoral authority in February and denounce it in October. The truth is that any opposition attempt to cry fraud is really about covering up its own political failings. Polls carried out by the major companies indicate a clear win for Hugo Chávez, with leads of between 15-27% in each of the 8 major polls carried out in July. August's polls give similar results. Rejecting the results in the face of a Hugo Chavez victory would be totally consistent with the Venezuelan right-wing's record of resorting to undemocratic means. Most well known is the short-lived coup against the democratically-elected Chavez government in 2002 which abolished democracy altogether until it was overturned by popular demonstrations. Soon after in 2003, they unleashed a 64-day oil industry lock-out that saw GDP collapse by a third with the declared aim of ousting President Chavez. They then claimed fraud at the 2004 recall referendum to decide if Hugo Chávez would continue as President, which he won 58% to 42%. The opposition promised to provide the evidence but eight years on they have yet to produce it. And faced with certain defeat, they decided to boycott the 2005 parliamentary elections to distract from their unpopularity, a move opposed by the Organisation of American States. Since then opposition has sought to use the democratic process to remove Hugo Chavez. It has not rejected the CNE results that saw its presidential candidate Henry Caprioles Radonski elected as a state governor, Chávez's constitutional changes defeated in a referendum or the right-wing win dozens of governors, mayors and MPs. But faced with Hugo Chávez being elected for another six years, they now seem set to be resorting to old habits. Any such manoeuvres to undermine the real outcome need to be widely condemned. It is the right of the Venezuelan people to freely determine who their next president is. Their will must be upheld and respected. |
Did you know that you can navigate the posts by swiping left and right? Awesome! Analytics on the New York rental market | Top 15% on Kaggle! This is a documentation of my first serious take on a Kaggle competition - Renthop rental inquiries. Two and a half months, 146 git commits and 87 submissions later, i stand within the Top 15% on the leaderboard – A position i’m proud of! The Kaggle competition was organized by Renthop, a rental website specific only to the New York market. Given various listing parameters like price, location, manager(broker), building, images, we had to predict the interest(internet traffic) each rental listing would receive. The “interest_listing” is a discrete variable, partitioned into “high”, “medium” and “low”. The domain of this competition intrigued me quite a bit – Just 4 months ago, i was frustrated finding a decent place in the real estate chaos that Bangalore is! Add to that the highly competitive NY market, we have a real-world problem waiting to be solved. My Journey - For me, this competition has been a real roller coaster – There was definitely a positive correlation between my mood and my leaderboard position! I’ve learnt a lot though, from crazy feature engineering to implementing new algorithms, from fixing validation leaks to building my custom stacker-ensemble, the learnings serve as a good jumping board for future competitions. That being said, this blog is gonna be slightly technical. Leave if you may ;) Till now, my standard approach towards building predictive models was to spin up a random forest on the standard variables. Not a lot of exploration or feature engineering – this approach didn’t give me dividends. In this competition, i spent the first two months understanding the features, and playing around with their combinations! Feature Engineering Price - One of the most obvious features is the price(logarithm of the price) of the rental listing, which leads to a better measure – Price per Room. When combined with other variables like neighborhood or street, price acts as a good proxy for “Is this the best apartment on 21st Street?”. This feature was a little tricky with studio apartments though, which have zero bedrooms by definition. Managers - The New York market values managers(or brokers) as highly credible sources, as was visible with the nexus of brokers’ agencies. Since the manager_id was a highly categorical variable, fellow kagglers came up with an ingenious feature – “manager_score”! It is basically a combination of that manager’s percentage of “high interest” listings and “medium interest” listings. This was the most important feature in almost all of my models. I came up with the concept of “manager_opportunity”, which indicated how good a manager’s listing was w.r.t other listings via the same manager. Basically, pitting a rental’s price against the median price of that manager – “Do you have a cheaper 2BHK apartment, Mr. Brown?” Buildings - This feature should have been a killer one, as this is as narrow as we can get when talking about localities. I tried mapping features like “building_score”, “building_opportunity”, “building_count”, but all of them ditched my CV score. A lot of kagglers also experienced the same, and the most probable reason seems to be bad data points – 16.8% of the buildings had building_id ‘0’, though they had different coordinates. However, a positive insight out of buildings was that 90% of buildings with the “zero building_id” were of “Low Interest”, crucial! Neighborhood - Plain old latitude and longitude turned out to be fairly important features, but we didn’t stop there :) A simple k-means with 60 clusters gave me broad neighborhoods to play with, resulting in features like “neighborhood_score” and “neighborhood_opportunity”. Initially, i’d used Google API for mapping coordinates to broad localities(as mentioned on Renthop’s website). As i was building more and more features, i noticed a common theme – Price and Interest were the central pieces, while “Manager”, “Neighborhood”, “Building”, “Street Address”, “Time of post” were the peripheral pieces. The peripheral pieces, when integrated with a central piece via a median(or count, or generalization of some kind) gave significant improvements. This diagram was my go-to for the rest of the days :) Street/Display Address - There were two kinds of addresses provided, street_address and display_address, which is some kind of a stripped form of street_address. I tried features like “apartment_count_on_street”(How popular is this street for rentals?) and the generic “street_opportunity”. Another idea i pursued with street addresses was whether they contained “street number”, which should give it a boost for “exactness of address”(a variable that Renthop cares for!). Didn’t turn out to be very helpful. A borrowed idea from a fellow kaggler – String Difference b/w the street_address and the display_addres. It was giving a sizeable difference in the “High Interest”, not a clear idea why! Time of Post - Of course, being a seasonal business time-based features came in handy(mday, wday, hour, minutes). We couldn’t explore yearly seasonality as the dataset was sandwiched between April ‘16 and June ‘16. It is reported that a listing on Renthop stays available for 5-6 minutes, which is highly competitive! This prompted me to look at which were the listing posted in the same hour, resulting in “hour_opportunity”(Is there a cheaper apartment posted within the last 30 minutes?”). This feature didn’t give improvement, though a similar one was useful – “hour_frequency”(number of listings posted in that hour). It probably plays to the volume of consumers online during certain times of the day. Listing_Id - This is just a plain serial number, or so i thought! Turned out to be a very important feature, as it was surprisingly correlated with the “created” variable. Also, there were some outlier listings, which had a fairly higher listing_id than the median listing_id for rentals posted on the same date. And a high percentage of these outliers were of “Low interest”, the jury is divided on why! Any which ways, this was an incredible insight – Sometimes, the serial id might have a lot to do with other variables! Description - This was supposedly a treasure of minute details regarding the apartment, like “pets allowed”, “doorman”, “elevetor” amongst others. Many tried the famous tfidf algorithm, but to no avail – My hypothesis is that people initially show interest on the basis of price, location and manager. The details are considered at a later stage of renting(just before finalizing?). A couple of features that i came up with were related to identifying spam in the descriptions – Probably, i was the first in the competition to make them public :) Calculated the percentage of capitalized letters, and number of exclamation marks – “!!DO YOU LIKE THIS DESCRIPTION?!!” I also tried factoring in the presence of a phone number or an email address, as a factor variable. Didn’t help a lot though. Renthop Score - While trying to extract usage patterns of a renter, i came across several insights. A majority of them were inspired by the Renthop Score(Renthop ranks the listings based on this internally calculated score). I also tried some empirical formulae based on the major features, but almost always increased my logloss. An important learning – Always combine features which are monotonous, random divisions or logarithms don’t work. Cardinality of high cardinality features - A beautiful feature was introduced to us kagglers by Branden Murray’s kernel on calculating a manager’s high score, or medium score or likewise with other categorical variables. Let me explain. Manager M has ‘n’ number of listings, and there are ‘m’ managers, lets say. We want to reward Manager M if his listings are generally of “high interest”. How do we quantify this? Manager X might have just 2 listings which are both of “high interest”(a 100% hit rate), but Manager Y might have 100 listings, of which 60 are “high”(60% hit rate). We should be leaning towards Manager Y because of his consistency, not towards Manager X(successful, but short career). To quantify this, calculate a global high ratio(overall high interest percentage) and calculate that manager’s high interest percentage. Merge them with a lambda, which is inversely proportional to the negative log of his count. Manager High Score = (Manager High Percentage)(lambda) + (Global High Percentage)(1 - lambda), where lambda = 1/(c + e^(-count/d)), c and d are empirical constants Basically, we value manager’s percentage when his count(of listings posted) his high, and global percentage when it’s the other way round. Major Learning – Validation Leak When building my validation pipeline, i observed my local CV score was consistently better than my public LB. When i drilled down, the source of the leak blew my mind, it was my first-hand experience ;) Apparently, while calculating manager_score i have to calculate percentage of high interest, medium interest and low interest listings. I was calculating it for the whole training set and then calculating the logloss on a subset of that training set itself, thus introducing the leak. Later i made a function, which calculated those percentages based on the given training set, validation set and testing set separately. Another Learning – Stratified split The dataset was highly imbalanced in terms of the interest levels – Only 7.8% of listings were “high_interest” and 22.8% were “medium”. Thus, when splitting for validation, i made it a point to do a stratified split, maintaining the balance. Models that worked H2O.gbm – My primary workhorse throughout the tournament. I had tuned it manually to near optimal, i hope ;) XGBoost – XgBoost is love. XgBoost is Life! Paralleled gbm in terms of performance H2O.rf – An easy to setup algorithm, but didn’t give as good results as gbm and xgboost. Overall, i should’ve tuned my algorithms in an automated manner. Currently a very manual and slow process. Also, i realized model seeds matter quite a bit, averaging over multiple runs(with different seeds) is beneficial. Ditched it though, time constraints :( Models that didn’t work H2O.deeplearning – Didn’t give a good result, was probably a result of poor hyperparameter selection. Again, bad at tuning. ExtraTrees – A randomized random forest, got it working but my system didn’t have good enough ram for a proper test SVM, KNN, Logreg – All simpler ML models, had problems with null values and didn’t give good results. Stacking This was my first time learning about stackers, read up on MLWave’s incredible explainer blog and set out to implement my own! Initially i failed miserably, read the blog again and finally understood the essence of stacking. Slow slow ;) So, i had a 3-level stacker, but without a lot of diversity. The first two layers consisted of my 3 working models – XGBoost, GBM and RF. The third layer was a simple ensemble of the 2nd layer models. Probably, focussing more on the simpler models would’ve given me more diversity – i still got a decent 0.01 jump though :) Note: For my final submission, I’ve averaged my submission with a brilliant public script. Everyone was doing it, probably ;) Magic Features In the last week of the competition, KazAnova, a very generous GrandMaster on Kaggle released an insanely powerful leak – The timestamps of image folders. Just plugging in the timestamp gave most people a 0.01 jump. I tried digging into the timestamp, its relation with the “created” variable etc – it is mostprobably an internal reason. A similar magic feature was the listing_id contained in the image urls – Most of them were same as the original listing_id. Those which had different listings were probably reposts of the same apartment, which indicated it hadn’t got sold → “Low Interest” Conclusions My primary takeaways from the competition: Explore every variable. Each one of them. Look at the mean, median, max, outliers for numericals, and distribution for categoricals Spend most time on features. When you think you’ve got everything, start from scratch again. Build a systematic pipeline. It’s very easy to introduce leaks Build and test fast. Have efficient, fast, easy to tune algorithms for testing. Construct a model testing platform, stacking becomes easy. Spend a lot of time on Kaggle Kernels and Discussions. They’re damn cool :) Overall, it was a fun couple of months! Learnt a lot, and this is just the launchpad for future competitions. Gonna get to that Top 10% soon :) Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. |
Photo JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Before the supervisor of elections opened the main polling site here in Duval County at 7 a.m., a line of almost 100 people had already formed, snaking its way along the sidewalk of a strip-mall parking lot. All but three voters in line were black. As they waited, they held hands and prayed. “Our father, our God,” began the Rev. R.L. Gundy of Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church. “Our ancestors paid a dear price to have a right to vote, and we don’t take it for granted. Yet the enemy does all it can to disenfranchise us. God, go with us into these polls and every poll around the country.” He continued, “We are not fearful. We are not afraid. We will not be turned away.” And the crowd said a somber “Amen.” Then, in a more jubilant mood, someone screamed, “Fired up?” And a chant began: “Ready to vote!” “Fired up” … “Ready to vote” …”Fired up” … “Ready to vote” … Many of the black voters who gathered here Saturday morning, the first day of early voting in Florida, had spent the night sleeping in tents and recreational vehicles near the elections office. Their plan was to “Occupy the Polls” in an effort to raise awareness about changes to early voting this year that shorten the number of days for casting ballots. Mr. Gundy, the Florida president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, helped organize the camping and “blessing of the polls” out of a sense of outrage that the state took away the Sunday before Election Day as an option for early voting. Early voting will end next Saturday. The Sunday before Election Day had been the main day for churches in Florida to get their “souls to the polls,” a tradition for many black congregations. In 2008, when Barack Obama won the presidency, black turnout was particularly strong across Florida on the Sunday before Election Day. “They’re trying to turn back the hands of time,” Mr. Gundy said. “They knew that was an important day for us. They knew minorities tended to vote on the Sunday before Election Day. But we’re not going to let that foolishness stop us.” First in line when the doors to the polls swung open was the track team from Edward Waters College — four women — and their coach, Archie Gallon. They had come in a van in the pre-dawn darkness. “I wanted to sleep late, but I also thought it was important to be here,” said Amber Durrett, 19. “Very exciting. We’re voting for the first time.” Others in the crowd had been organized by Florida New Majority, a get-out-the-vote organization that helped bring churches, black fraternal groups and others together to “Occupy the Polls.” With Hurricane Sandy churning up the Atlantic Ocean off the coast, the winds were gusty and cool. People kept warm with McDonald’s coffee, doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches. As the line grew and grew, a woman took a megaphone and announced, “You are not waiting in vain!” Three Romney supporters showed up with signs. One said he hoped to “convert” the crowd. The group held their Romney-Ryan signs during the blessing, but also held hands in prayer. “It’s a Southern thing,” said Hank Lengfellner, a retired land surveyor who was one of the Romney supporters. “I want to see everybody vote, I do. But I want to see informed voters vote.” Asked why he had come to this particular poll, in a predominantly black area, Mr. Lengfellner and his friend Rick Hartley, who are white, said it was about convenience. “We’re early people,” Mr. Lengfellner said. But Mr. Hartley seemed keen to ruffle a few feathers. He asked one of the Occupy organizers, Representative Corrine Brown, a Democrat of Jacksonville, if he could take a picture with her holding his Romney sign. She refused. He asked again, then asked others. There were mumbles about why this man had come here to have his picture taken. Eventually, someone snapped a shot of Mr. Hartley and Ms. Brown, but without the political sign. By 7:30 a.m., the crowd had grown to about 200 people, almost all of them black. There were whole families, college students, and groups of the elderly who had come together from retirement villages. In the parking lot outside the polls, they sang, “When the Saints Go Marching In,” but with a few lyrics changed to express support for President Obama. “Oh, I want to be in his number.” Now the sun was up, trying to break through a thick layer of clouds threatening rain. “Good morning!” a poll worker, Shaela Manning, greeted those standing in line. “Everybody make sure you have a picture I.D. available. Our polls are officially open.” |
Crusader Kings II in outer space. Do I need to go on? I do, actually, in order to get paid, but the concept is immediately appealing. Instead of counties and countries, there are star systems. Instead of dukes, lords, and kings, there are Fleet Admirals, Space Commanders, and Intergalactic Presidents. Regions are connected not with roads and trails but jumpgates. And yet, all the petty squabbles and back-stabbing (sometimes literal) are still present in the Crisis of the Confederation Mod for Crusader Kings II. One thing this mod has in common with the other full-conversion mods for CK II: it's a work in progress. A lot of features aren't yet complete and there are plenty of issues to still be worked out. At the moment, though, you can still jump in and play the early-alpha version that's been released. Start with the map, which looks far different than anything we've seen in a CK II mod thus far. Star systems are laid out, taking the place of towns and cities but still essentially functioning in the same fashion. Checking out the Sol system, I see that it's controlled by the President Morgan, a Terran Republican, residing on Earth. Morgan's territories include The Moon, Mars, Titan, Ganymede, and Europa. Yes, you can build stuff on these moons and planets, futuristic space-stuff, like cybernetics and robotics labs, spaceports and vehicle hangars. Cool. I'll finally have that Moon base I always wanted. Getting your troops (space troops!) around isn't much different, for the most part, and your troops do still look like medieval soldiers, though hopefully in the future they'll be replaced by something cooler, like robots or drones or at least medieval soldiers with laser guns. However, not every star system is connected with jump-gates, and to reach those you're not connected to you'll need to travel via deep space fleet (boats, in other words), taking a winding route through the nebulae. There's already some great custom portrait work in the mod. I played for a bit as Grand Admiral Wei of Confederate Space Command, decked out in uniform with a suitable cap, and all of my vassals wore matching uniforms, because if science fiction has taught us anything, it's that people who fly around in spaceships together all dress the same. A few characters also are dressed in jackets and ties, the corporate executives of the future. I also noticed a few characters had visible cybernetic implants, such as Pirate Lady Amanda of FN-1237 (yes, there are space pirates!). Amanda has what looks like a spherical red implant in place of one of her eyes. This implant, the Odin Mk I cybernetic eye, isn't just a bit of aesthetics, it's an actual attribute, increasing her martial ability as it scans for known military vehicle profiles and camouflage patterns during battle. There are other implants, less visible ones, that function as on-board computers for characters, providing bonuses to other stats. Naturally, one of the first things I did (other than give a gift to my space-wife to charm her into having a future-baby with me) was try to assassinate someone, just to see if there were some futuristic new ways to kill my enemies. After building a plot against a space businessman named Aarav Jha, because I felt his mustache wasn't sci-fi enough for my tastes, I sat back and waited, and was a little disappointed to see that he met his demise from a giant pile of exploding manure. Don't get me wrong, exploding poo is far and away my favorite way to kill someone in Crusader Kings II, but I was hoping for something a bit more Assassination 2.0, you know? Hopefully, in a later update, there will be nanite murder bots and sabotaged shuttlecraft, or at least you'll be able to slip a miniature black hole into someone's Earl Grey. One thing the mod has added is a new succession rule, that of appointed succession. As per usual, when a title holder dies, the title will typically revert to his or her heir. However, there's also a minor title called "Expected Successor," which may be held by a vassal, meaning they would inherit the title instead. You can't grant the Expected Successor title to your vassals: only your liege can do that. You can, however, nominate a relative or try to become an Expected Successor yourself to gain titles you wouldn't normally receive upon the death of the original holder. This means, basically, there's going to be a lot of space-bribery, zero-G butt-kissing, and jockeying for favor. And, of course, eliminating those who would sleazily schmooze titles away from your kin. There's also a galactic senate, which can only mean one thing, the biggest nightmare ever to be visited upon the universe: democracy. This allows factions to introduce laws as bills, circumventing the wishes of the liege. Luckily, there's a mechanic to dissolve the senate, though, as you might expect, doing so could lead to a constitutional crisis or civil war. As I said earlier, this is all still in the early stages, but the idea of Crusader Kings II in outer space is hard not to get excited about. You can download the alpha from moddb.com and while there's not a whole lot of info there, the readme file contains a deeper explanation of some of the planned features, as well as instructions on installation. |
As far back as I can remember, there were two things that mattered in my life - cookies and Boston College football. So much of my childhood was spent with the Eagles and Alumni Stadium. It was as much a part of me as breathing, school, and learning. When I was probably seven years old, my dad took my brothers to their first game against Temple. I think it was the second year of the Big East football conference, and Tom Coughlin was in the process of turning things around. BC beat Temple, and my dad/brothers had more fun than they could remember together. So my dad decided to get season tickets the next year. That next year, 1993, was a magical season where BC beat #1 Notre Dame in South Bend after The Game Of The Century on David Gordon's kick. The run continued the next year when they were a David Green fumble away from playing for the Cotton Bowl (or something similar), ending the year with a destruction of Virginia in the Carquest Bowl. Those days are long gone. The joy felt back then is gone. And the days of being a Boston College fan, for all of us, may be over if something isn't done. Like I said earlier, things in my life revolved around BC football. I remember spending Saturdays and quality time with my mom because my dad was out with my brothers. I remember going to see them play Michigan on my birthday at night. And I remember the first time I missed a home game in college when they played Miami and got throttled. I remember the pit feeling in my stomach back then, in 2003, when they showed the Canes run out of the tunnel and BC came out in their own right. There was nowhere else I wanted to be. That feeling is gone. My gut feeling is that I love Boston College and I love the program. But the current state is so bad that I want to quit. I don't want to go to the games anymore, and I don't want to associate with it. It has nothing to do with losses; I can deal with that. It's the way BC loses. They're not a program anymore. They're a whipping boy, a disgrace, and an afterthought. They mock their fans with the way they parade around as if they're a good team. And they're led by someone who can't inspire anybody to feel anything other than apathy and sadness. I know this program can be special because I've watched it be special. I've gone on the road and proudly worn a gold shirt. When I was in high school and everyone was Notre Dame fans, I proudly wore a Superfan shirt as if I was a Mets fan amongst the Yankees. I was an outcast because I was a BC fan, but it was nothing I felt I had to apologize for. I always had the program to back me up, an 8-4 or 7-4 or 7-5 season and a bowl berth against Boise State to be there. December 28th was always BC football bowl day, and even though I wanted to go to the Orange Bowl, I knew that as long as BC was good, I'd have my fall and winter entertainment. Those days are long gone. Maybe in five years, it'll be special again. But I don't know that I'll be there. The department still needs to get rid of Spaziani, and as long as he's at the helm, I can't help but feel a chance of him coming back. Even if he is gone, the new coach will need to recruit players; he can't clean house like a pro coach. That means at least four or five years before the new system can truly be installed. That means four or five more years before BC can be relevant again. By then, I'll be in my early to mid 30s, maybe having married my girlfriend, maybe even with kids. I don't know that I'll be able to invest the time and money the way I do now, simply because my life won't allow it anymore. They don't give me a reason to put them ahead of anything anymore, and that's sad. I hope anyone who reads this can feel what I feel, that my words aren't just statements. This is a real, raw sadness; my BC is gone, and if the new coach can't succeed, then there's no hope. BC might never get back to the days when it truly meant something for me. I hope Brad Bates reads this and listens. This is what we are now. We're an afterthought, something that was special 10 years ago. I really want Boston College to come back, but I don't trust that it will. This is the end of days for a BC fan, a time when 600 yards of offense against the once proud defense is the norm. I am not only disgraced to be a BC fan, but I don't even feel like one anymore. Maybe one day it'll come back. But for now, there's nothing but sadness. |
Story highlights Susan Harkema was sending electricity down broken spinal cord to study nerve pathways She was the one who got a shock when her patient called out: "I can move my toe!" Harkema: First time stimulation directly to spinal cord has shown voluntary activity Technique is another piece of the puzzle toward helping paralyzed people walk again At her research lab at the University of Louisville, neuroscientist Susan Harkema turned her back to her study subject to check a reading on a computer screen. "Hey Susie, look at this," the patient called out to her. "I can move my toe!" Startled, Harkema spun around. The purpose of her study, which involves sending electrical stimulation to broken spinal cords, was to learn more about nerve pathways, not to actually make patients move. That must be an involuntary spasm, she thought. She asked the patient, Rob Summers, to lie down and close his eyes and follow her commands. "Move your left toe," she said to him -- and he did. "Move your right toe," she asked -- and he did. "Holy s***!" she yelled out loud. JUST WATCHED Paralyzed teen walks at graduation Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Paralyzed teen walks at graduation 01:43 Over the next five years, Harkema's team applied electrical stimulation to three more paralyzed men, and all four developed movement, and not just small movements. In addition to wiggling their big toes, they can lift and swing their legs, move their ankles and sit up without support. Two patients can even do situps. It's not the first time electrical stimulation has made paralyzed patients move, but Harkema says it's the first time electrical stimulation directly to the spinal cord has shown voluntary activity. Experts say this new technique is another piece of the puzzle toward helping paralyzed people walk again. And it's another avenue doctors can go down to try to help these patients. "This is a breakthrough," says Dr. Barth Green, co-founder of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami, who was not involved in the research. "It shows you can have a living spinal cord under the layer of their injury." More than 1,700 paralyzed people have inquired about using this technology, which involves surgically implanting a stimulator and giving it directions with an external remote control. The stimulator creates a small, slightly visible bulge in the lower abdomen and is connected to wires that send electrical pulses to the spinal cord. But patients shouldn't expect that the stimulator will help them walk -- at least not now and maybe not ever. The stimulator can only make one leg work at a time. Patients have to turn the stimulator off and then back on again to make the other leg work or to make another set of muscles such as their torsos work. Even though he can't walk, the stimulator has had other benefits. Dustin Shillcox, the fourth patient to try the device, said he has dramatically improved bladder, bowel and sexual function. "That's a difficult thing to go through life not having," he said. "It just changed my entire life. It's extraordinary and amazing." Plus, tests showed the patients, who could finally move their legs and torsos after years of paralysis, became healthier in general with improved heart and respiratory function. "If you can change health and wellness and life expectancy, to me that's a home run," Green says. "Remember, Christopher Reeve died from complications of immobility," The researchers are pretty much stumped as to exactly why electrical stimulation to the spinal cord created the movement on demand -- after all, they didn't touch the patients' brains. Perhaps, Harkema says, the spinal cord in a way has a brain of its own. "Maybe the spinal cord makes the decision to move on its own and then executes the movement," Harkema says. "Otherwise I don't know how you would see what we see today." The Louisville researchers now have funding to implant the device in eight more patients. They hope a device company will help them come up with a way to stimulate more than one muscle group at the time. "I think what's incredibly exciting is we've opened up a realm of possibilities of what we can do now with people who are paralyzed, and we've just scratched the surface," she says. Harkema says she hopes to have more "holy s***" moments in her research. "I'll never live that down, and now it's the mantra of the lab," she says with a laugh. |
ANALYSIS CALGARY — After a lethally dull summer campaign punctuated by ever more scandal, the race to succeed Alison Redford as Alberta’s premier is starting to become more interesting as it closes in on its final two weeks. [np_storybar title=”Kelly McParland: Alberta’s search for ‘best before’ date on politicians” link=”http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/08/25/kelly-mcparland-albertas-search-for-best-before-date-on-elected-politicians/”%5D Jim Prentice, one of three candidates to become Alberta’s next premier, had an interesting idea last week. But like so many interesting ideas, once revealed it came under immediate assault. Prentice announced last week that one of his first actions as premier would be to introduce term limits for members of the provincial legislature. Members of the Legislative Assembly would be limited to three terms; premiers would be limited to two. Prentice has been out of elected politics since 2010 and perhaps didn’t appreciate how dangerous it is to reveal an opinion before it has been road-tested to the point of exhaustion. Although there are good reasons to support term limits, the blowback has been so fast and furious that he is already adding caveats. Continue reading… [/np_storybar] Gaffes, bizarre promises, and even a possible police investigation are finally beginning to draw some attention away from the poisoned legacy of the beleaguered former premier. So far, former federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice appears to have maintained the lead in a race that seems crafted specifically to avoid both outright flubs and the public’s interest. But that strategy may have backfired; enthusiasm for the campaign appears to be so marginal that some pollsters have warned that one of the two other candidates may be able to swoop in for the prize. “The numbers are going to be way down, and like in a general election, numbers that are way down makes prediction much more difficult,” said Bruce Cameron, president of Return on Insight, a local polling firm. “A campaign that’s able to target a specific interest group or ethnic or cultural group … can change the results.” The premier is decided by party members alone, making the coming leadership race far more significant in some ways than a general election. The province has now been under Progressive Conservative rule for 43 years, making it the longest-running government in Canadian history. The premier, the party and the policies of the province have, thus, always been decided at the party level. This system also makes the actual decision-makers almost impossible to poll, Mr. Cameron said. Instead, he has conducted a study of social media conversations that, he believes, offer “a good indication of the tone of the race itself.” “What we found is that the degree of interest dropped off dramatically in June and July — until more revelations about Alison Redford were released,” he said, referring to the scathing auditor general’s report, which confirmed Ms. Redford used public resources inappropriately. “At that point, interest peaked again, but it was negative.” Recently the candidates, including Ric McIver and Thomas Lukaszuk, have managed to steer the conversation away from Ms. Redford. However, Mr. Cameron said Mr. Prentice remains far-and-away the favourite, despite the fact that not all of the news coming out on his end has been positive. Mr. Prentice received much criticism after he admitted he was giving away party memberships — normally they sell for $10 apiece. Afterward, he also announced a bizarre plan to introduce legislation that would set term limits on MLAs. The announcement was heavily criticized as unconstitutional and Mr. Prentice has since stepped back, suggesting the same plan could be achieved through party policy rather than legislation. In the meantime, Mr. Lukaszuk found himself under scrutiny when someone anonymously leaked his $20,000 overseas cell phone bill to the Edmonton Sun, couriered fraudulently under the name of a Calgary man. Mr. Lukaszuk said the Calgary Police Service is investigating. “Many people are working really hard [to make it look like] there is no leadership race, that this is some form of an acclamation. That’s what Albertans have been led to believe,” he said. In fact, the cell phone chicanery may show that at least someone thinks Mr. Lukaszuk has a fighting chance. “Well, I think we have a real three-way race right now. It didn’t start out that way, at least Albertans were led to believe it didn’t start out that way, but I think we are in the final 100 metres and it’s pretty head-to-head,” Mr. Lukaszuk added. In the midst of this brewing drama, rumours are rampant that membership sales have been dismal — unsurprising considering the season and the scandal. Pleading ignorance on the membership drive, Mr. McIver countered: “People take holidays during the summer. I don’t think that’s a big surprise. Like any campaign… the closer you get to decision day, the more heightened people’s attention is.” Indeed, the first ballot is scheduled to be cast on Sept. 6. National Post • Email: jgerson@nationalpost.com | Twitter: jengerson |
Daily newspaper published in Sanskrit This article is about Indian Sanskrit newspaper. For Jain monk with the same name, see Sudharmaswami Sudharma (Sanskrit: सुधर्मा) is the only daily newspaper published in Sanskrit.[1] The paper is published from the city of Mysore in the Indian state of Karnataka.[2] Established in the year 1970, the circulation of the paper is mainly through post, a method that its founder resorted to when news vendors refused to stock his paper. As of 2018, the newspaper was struggling to survive due to a paucity of funds.[3] History [ edit ] Kalale Nadadur Varadaraja Iyengar, a Sanskrit scholar, launched the paper in 1970 with a goal of propagating the language. He was also a publisher of Sanskrit books, and the Sanskrit movable types that were sometimes lying idle with him were another motivation for starting the newspaper.[1] When he discussed his venture with others, he had to face the wrath of skeptics who warned him of his 'misadventure' and predicted the newspaper's doom,[4] because not many people believed that the Sanskrit language had a vocabulary sufficient to cover contemporary and complex day-to-day activities and developments.[4] He was, however, supported in his venture by Agaram Rangaiah, who was an editor of a Kannada newspaper and also by P. Nagachar, who was a former Joint Director of Information. Ignoring the skeptics, Varadaraja Iyengar published the first issue of Sudharma on July 14, 1970, from a location called 'Ganapathi Totti' in Maharaja's Sanskrit College. He was also instrumental in starting a Sanskrit news bulletin on All India Radio by convincing I. K. Gujral, the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Government of India. Varadaraja Iyengar died in 1990. The paper is published out of a press in the Ramachandra Agrahara locality of Mysore. Circulation [ edit ] The majority of the subscribers of the newspaper are Sanskrit scholars and students. The paper has a daily circulation of about 3500 copies. It has an annual subscription fee of Rs. 500 (about $7.50) and is circulated via post to academic institutions, public libraries and to readers throughout India. The paper is also subscribed to by readers in countries like Japan and the United States of America with an annual overseas subscription fee of $50.[5] Current scenario [ edit ] The profit gained by circulating the newspaper is negligible but Sampath Kumar wants to continue publishing the newspaper because of his passion for journalism and the Sanskrit language. He has had to struggle to keep the publication afloat.[6] The paper has also helped its readers to learn and improve their knowledge of the language. On 15 July 2011, the 42nd anniversary of the paper's publication was celebrated in Mysore.[4] A unique feature of the celebration was that all speeches were in Sanskrit, which is a rarity, and two Sanskrit scholars were honored on that occasion. This newspaper is available online as well.[7] ePaper and Subscription [ edit ] Sudharma was the first Sanskrit daily e-paper in the world. Its ePaper is available for free reading at http://sudharma.epapertoday.com/. Additionally, its print edition features a Sanskrit crossword puzzle and similar novelties.[8] |
A.Word.A.Day agglutinate PRONUNCIATION: MEANING: verb tr., intr.: 1. To form words by combining words or word elements. 2. To join or become joined as if by glue. 3. To clump or cause to clump, as red blood cells. adjective: 1. Joined or tending to join. 2. Relating to a language that makes complex words by joining words or word elements extensively. For example as in Turkish. ETYMOLOGY: From Latin gluten (glue). Earliest documented use: 1541. USAGE: "There were two kinds of blood on that laboratory floor, and they do not agglutinate." Arthur B. Reeve; The Dream Doctor; Echo; 2007. "Like Turkish, Tuyuca is heavily agglutinating, so that one word, hóabãsiriga means 'I do not know how to write.'" Tongue Twisters: In search of the world's hardest language ; The Economist (London, UK); Dec 17, 2009."There were two kinds of blood on that laboratory floor, and they do not agglutinate."Arthur B. Reeve; The Dream Doctor; Echo; 2007. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: |
Second-grader Jayden Spalsburg has Al Horford in his corner. The seven-year old can wear his new glasses knowing that an NBA player has his back. That should mean something to those who recently made fun of his Jayden’s new look. Jayden and Horford have never met but both live in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Horford’s younger siblings went to the same school, Delta Center Elementary, currently attended by Jayden. Jayden recently got new glasses and was excited to wear them to school as he marveled at how much clearer the world now looked. However, he was in a much different mood following the day after he was bullied. His mother started and wrote on a Facebook page, entitled New Spectacles for Jayden, about the incident. “When Jayden got off the bus today he had a less than stellar look on his face and walked slower than usual to the car,” Cody Marie Scoggins wrote as part of a post. “I asked if he was OK and how his day went. He barely responded and starred out the window. I then asked him how things looked at school with his new glasses … that’s when he took them off, started crying and told me some kids were laughing at him today and making fun of him. I know life is full of lessons and heartache but at that very moment my heart hurt with his. I wanted to take all of his hurt away. Alone, even as his mother, anything I said wasn’t enough. So his little sister and I made this page together to help him realize he is not alone in wearing glasses and that a lot of people think they’re cool! A couple of kids at school do not and will not decide my son’s level of happiness!” Horford got notice of Jayden’s plight from family and friends in Michigan. He took time out from All-Star Weekend in New York City Saturday to film a video message to the youngster. “Hey, Jayden, it’s Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks and I also went to Grand Ledge. I just want to let you know that wearing glasses is OK,” Horford said. “Take care.” Horford then took a pair of glasses from his pocket and put them on. “And I’m wearing glasses for you today.” The Facebook page had over 2,200 likes by Thursday. It was the idea of his five-year-old sister Brynnley. “Hopefully this will put a stop to all this, the picking on him,” Horford told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday. “It’s not right. We all grew up getting picked on about something but he is a little kid and it just wasn’t fair.” |
Two days before Christmas, Ryoka stared up at a Frost Faerie and wondered how it had come to this. “Come on, Ivolethe. Please?” “Nae. I won’t do it!” Ivolethe folded her arms and glared at Ryoka and Laken. The Frost Faerie hovered outside of the Runner’s Guild as Laken and Ryoka stood and argued with her. Durene and Gamel and Reynold were all standing a bit back, watching the young man and woman argue with what was, to them, a fuzzy patch of air. “I’ll make you the Archduchess of Presents. How about that?” “Not if ye made me a Großfürstin! I won’t act like an Ellylldan—like some common pixie! I refuse to guide Ryoka to your worthless little village!” Ivolethe sneered at Laken and flicked snow at his face. He recoiled as Ryoka tried another tact. They’d been arguing with Ivolethe for fifteen minutes, but the Frost Faerie hadn’t budged. “Come on, Ivolethe. We need your help. You’re the only one who could navigate through this snow.” She gestured at the thick, falling snow around them. It was already piling up on the ground, and it made looking down the street a chore. Travelling outside would mean getting lost and freezing to death—for everyone but Ivolethe. “Nae. Not even for friendship, Ryoka. My pride will not allow it.” “Please, Ivolethe? Think of the children.” The Frost Faerie paused. It was a low blow, but Ryoka saw it connect and pressed her advantage. “They’re all by themselves in Laken’s village—probably hungry and cold. Think about that, Ivolethe. If I don’t bring food and supplies to them, they might freeze to death!” “I’m thinking. So what?” “You’d be doing a good thing. And you’d be a hero. I bet they’ll put up a statue to you, right, Laken?” She nudged the blind man. He rubbed at his side and nodded. “Oh, absolutely. I’ll put up a statue to you, Ivolethe. I swear it.” The faerie wavered. “Well…perhaps. But does it have to be red?” Ryoka traded a glance with Laken. He didn’t trade one back. “It would uh, be easier to see.” He spread his hands and smiled up towards Ivolethe. “Red is a very traditional color for Christmas, Ivolethe. And Rudolph’s nose was red. If you changed the color you…emit, you’d be doing the same thing as him. He was a hero, you know. Very famous.” “Really?” The Frost Faerie swooped down, intrigued. Laken nodded. “Oh yes. Rudolph is…a, uh, legend where we come from. A folk hero, you could say. Beloved by all. Children everywhere in our world know his story.” Ryoka held her breath. Ivolethe flew back upwards and muttered to herself. She looked down at Ryoka and sighed. “A statue, ye say?” Laken nodded. “I swear it.” Ivolethe sighed. She looked down at the two Humans and nodded slowly. “Well then. What shade must I be? Red of blood? Red of desert sand? Red of setting suns?” Ryoka could have cheered. She smiled at Ivolethe and held her hands up towards the faerie. “Bright red. Crimson, in fact. Like a flare—like this. See?” Ryoka held up her hands and concentrated. The [Flare] spell burst into life between her hands, a brilliant searing red light that made Gamel and Durene cover their faces. Laken didn’t flinch. “I see. Let me try.” Ivolethe frowned at the brilliant red light and closed her eyes. She gritted her tiny teeth and then the blue aura surrounding her began to shift. The color blue deepend, and then turned purple—then a deep red, and then the same shade of brilliant red as the light in Ryoka’s hand. “Dead gods!” “By the Five Families…” Reynold, Durene, and Gamel reacted as the nimbus of light around Ivolethe changed. The faerie, her body of blue crystal ice now lit by a red glow which turned her entire form light pink, stared at Ryoka with a sour expression on her face. “It is done. Let us be off, Ryoka Griffin. I dislike this immensely, but I will help.” “Thank you, Ivolethe.” The faerie stared at Laken, and then away. The [Emperor] turned to Ryoka as she bent to make sure the laces of her shoes were tied firmly. “I can’t thank you enough for this.” “Thank me after I’m done. It’s a long run, but I’ll try to be back tomorrow—or failing that, the day after that. I want to get back and then have Reynold bring me to Liscor. Hopefully I can make it in time for Christmas. If I can’t, well, this is more important.” Laken reached out and Ryoka offered him a palm to grip. “You’re a good person, Ryoka Griffin.” “So you say. Myself, I’m not convinced.” He grinned and stepped back. Ryoka was doing a second check. “You have everything you need? Stamina potions?” “At my belt, courtesy of the Runner’s Guild. Good thing these ones don’t freeze solid. Octavia’s are sort of crap.” “And you have the second bag of holding?” “Here as well.” Ryoka patted the bag hanging at her side. It felt incongruous at her waist—far too light for what she knew it contained. Food for the village, extra blankets, tools they needed—and presents! And yet the bag felt like it only held five pounds of weight. Magic. She was ready to go. Ryoka stepped towards Ivolethe. “Ready?” The faerie didn’t answer her. Ryoka frowned. “Ivolethe?” The Frost Faerie was gazing towards the sky. She uttered an oath—it sounded like it was in Celtic—and sprang up into the air. Ryoka had no idea why—until she saw the other blue shapes flying down towards her. She groaned. “Oh no.” Laken turned. “What is it?” “Company. More Frost Faeries.” “And that’s a bad thing?” Ryoka didn’t answer. She heard the tiny, crystal voices ringing through the air as the faeries flew down, circling Ivolethe’s lone red glow and laughing. “Sister, sister! What is this you do?” “She’s changed her color! What rot! What foolishness!” “Shut up! I do this for friendship and goodwill! Mock me not, fools!” Ivolethe roared at her sisters, flying angrily at them as they laughed and flew about her. Ryoka saw the faeries hitting each other and felt a shock—the Frost Faeries played rough! They didn’t just pull at hair—Ivolethe bit one of her sisters in the arm and was mobbed by two of the others in return. “Hey, stop, stop!” Ryoka’s voice stilled the fighting above her for a second. Frost Faeries abandoned their squabble for an easier target. They flew around Ryoka, pointing and jeering. “Look, the boring one speaks!” “So slow, so uninteresting! But she is with the ruler! Tell us, stupid one. Why is our sister red?” “She’s helping me deliver aid to a village. She’s going to be…a hero.” The faeries scoffed and laughed, but Ryoka knew them. She raised her hands. “You may not believe me, but Ivolethe is fulfilling a legend. She’s going to make children happy. You see, there’s a story about a reindeer called Rudolph—” She got only halfway into her explanation before the faeries swirled around her, laughing with delight. “A guide? What fun! We shall go too!” “Yes, let us guide the silly Human!” Laken blinked, and Ryoka hesitated. He sidled over to her and whispered as they laughed and flew up and around them. “They’re not like Ivolethe at all.” “Some of them aren’t. I think these ones are…younger? Ivolethe’s old, but some of the other faeries seem pretty gung-ho about anything that seems interesting.” “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Ryoka scowled. “I don’t know. But it’s better to have them on your side than against you.” “I agree with that.” A change in the light above caught Ryoka’s attention. All of the faeries were copying Ivolethe, changing their colors. But they weren’t all turning red. No, some of them were turning green, others blue or purple—in no time at all, a storm of colors flew about in the air. “I can’t believe it.” Reynold was gaping and Durene and Gamel were staring upwards like children seeing fireworks or stars for the first time. Ryoka stared too. Faeries, dancing in the night sky in every color imaginable. She felt something stir in her heart, but quashed it. She had a job to do. She cleared her throat, and the faeries stopped flying about. Ryoka felt some semblance of ceremony was needed here, so she stood straight and pointed west, towards where Riverfarm lay. “Is everyone ready? We’re going to Riverfarm, Laken’s village. You know the way?” Ivolethe flew down and the faeries lined up behind her. She scowled. “Aye, these fools know. We go, then?” Ryoka nodded. She took a breath, and felt just a hint of Christmas spirit in her. Maybe that was what prompted her to say what she did next. “Alright then. On Ivolethe, on Blue Faerie, on Green Faerie, and Cinnabar Faerie! On Puce Faerie, on Indigo Faerie, on Yellow Faerie and—you know what? Let’s just go.” The faeries laughed and flew ahead. Ryoka ran after them, cursing as her shoes slipped a bit on the snow. “Good luck!” Laken shouted after her. He couldn’t see Ryoka leave, but he heard her footfalls die away quickly in the snow. “She’s gone, right, Durene?” “Yes, Laken. Did you see—I mean, those Winter Sprites! I’ve never seen—uh—” “You’ll have to tell me how amazing it was.” Laken smiled as he held out a hand and Durene took it. He carefully felt around at the rucksack he was carrying. “I hope Ryoka gets to Riverfarm all right. But I won’t worry about it. For now, let’s get inside, have something hot to drink, and rest. But before all that—Durene, this is for you.” “For me?” The half-Troll blinked as Laken pulled something out of the rucksack. He’d had to buy it when she wasn’t around with Gamel’s help, but the indrawn breath he heard from her was worth it. “It’s a present. For you. Merry Christmas, Durene. I don’t know what I’d do or where I’d be without you.” He held out the clumsily-wrapped box, and felt two large hands take it from him. “I—I don’t know—this is for Christmas, right? But how did you—Laken.” “It’s for you. Open it.” “I’ve never gotten a present before. Ever.” Something constricted in Laken’s chest. He reached out and touched Durene’s hand. “Well, today you did.” He smiled. Durene stared down at the small box. Her hands trembled. She began to cry. In the city of Invrisil, a blind man reached out and hugged a half-Troll girl as the snow began to fall harder outside. At the same time, a young woman ran out of the gates, following a red light that flew ahead of her. A stream of bright lights of every color flew around her, the only clear light in the darkness. —- “So, the presents will go here. If you’ve got them, put them here.” Erin was busy in her inn the day before Christmas. She’d made a list, distributed it, and been happily surprised to find that most of her present-givers had already picked appropriate presents for the people she’d assigned them to. Technically, they weren’t supposed to show her the presents, but Erin had forgotten to mention that presents were wrapped. A quick trip to Krshia solved that, and soon piles of bulky presents were occupying one corner of the inn. It was a complex system Erin had devised, but in theory it meant that everyone who would be attending her party tomorrow would get two Christmas gifts. Assuming everyone bought presents, that was. Erin was worried she’d forgotten to include someone, but she thought she’d accounted for all who would be present. And though they had only a day to get last-minute presents, Erin didn’t think that would be an issue. There was Christmas spirit in the air. Everyone she knew, from both Celum and Liscor had heard about the holiday tradition by now. And most were quite eager to try it. There was just something about giving and receiving gifts that appealed to people. Of course, the receiving mattered to some more than others. Twice, Erin had to pull Mrsha away from her gift. The Gnoll was sniffing it and wagging her tail, and Erin was sure Mrsha could tell what was inside. But Mrsha was a kid, so excitement was understandable. On the other hand, when it came to people like Relc, it was a bit more objectionable. The Drake had come to the inn early to drink and eat, and he’d stared at the pile of presents avidly. Now he crept about the presents, turning them over and growing increasingly frustrated. “Hey! Where’s mine?” Relc pawed through the presents, looking for ones with his name on it. He found none, to his increasing displeasure. “Your Secret Santa might not have brought it yet. You’ll get two, Relc, so don’t worry.” “Yeah?” “Yeah! Don’t worry—Santa makes sure everyone gets a gift. Good kids, and bad ones. Although, the bad ones just get coal…” “Right, I forgot. Santa, yeah. Where’s that guy?” Relc scratched his head. Erin hadn’t talked to him as long as the others. She feared he might have gotten the wrong idea about Santa Claus—in that Relc hadn’t figured out yet that Santa wasn’t real. Still, she had more important things to do. Some of the Gold-rank adventurers loitering about the inn watched as Erin climbed onto a chair and hung a large sprig in one corner of the room. They weren’t inclined to risk their necks in the dungeon around Christmas, so they had plenty of time to spare. “What’s that?” Revi wrinkled her nose as Erin nudged the collections of leaves and berries ever so slightly to the right. Erin turned and smiled wickedly. “Mistletoe! Haven’t you heard about that?” Sensing something else interesting, more people drew over to look doubtfully up at the somewhat dead leaves and white berries. Erin had been surprised to see they were white. She’d always thought of them as red. But this was the mistletoe Krshia had given her. “What’s that supposed to do? Are we supposed to jump up and eat those berries? They look poisonous to me.” Ceria wrinkled her nose as she stared at the berries. Erin laughed and shook her head. “No! You kiss if you’re under it! Any people who stand under mistletoe have to kiss. It’s a Christmas tradition!” Not one she’d practiced at home or ever in her world, actually, but Erin thought it was a fun idea. The change that came over the people standing before was immediate, though. Ceria and Yvlon hurried out of the mistletoe’s radius as if they were on fire. The others stared at each other. “Well, that sounds like fun! Hey Typhenous!” The [Mage] was too slow. Jelaqua Ivirith caught him and kissed him on the lips. He shuddered. “Agh!” “Sorry. Dead skin and all that. But that’s the tradition. Hey, Seborn, Moore. Want to try?” The other two Halfseekers shook their head. They’d stayed away from the mistletoe and weren’t approaching. Halrac and Ulrien stared up at the mistletoe. They stared at each other. Ulrien coughed. “Um, Miss Erin. Is there any hex or curse that activates if two people don’t kiss under the mistletoe?” “No. It’s just fun.” “Good.” Halrac stomped quickly out of range. Ulrien followed suit. “Well, I don’t see what the problem is. It’s just a kiss.” Revi strolled over to the mistletoe, not standing quite beneath it as she looked around challengingly. She smiled mockingly at Typhenous who was taking a drink after being kissed by Jelaqua. “A kissing game sounds fun. It reminds me of when I was younger. We’d swap mouths and kiss each other at parties.” She tapped the stitch marks around her lips. Erin paused. “Wow. Okay. Um, this is really just more of a tradition.” “Why have a place to kiss if you won’t do it? Who’s good at kissing?” “I’ll try.” Pisces stepped forwards, to everyone’s great surprise. Revi looked him up and down, but then she smirked. “Why not?” Erin opened her mouth, raised her hand, and then waved it about, but she couldn’t stop what happened next. Pisces and Revi stepped beneath the mistletoe…and kissed. It wasn’t long. There weren’t any sucking sounds or visibly tongue-in-cheek moments. But when it was done, Pisces stepped away looking slightly smug. And Revi— Blushed. Everyone in the room stared at her. Pisces sauntered back towards the other Horns of Hammerad and winked at Ksmvr. Erin heard the Antinium whispering to Pisces. “I do not understand what happened. Comrade Pisces, please explain kissing—” “Had your fun?” Halrac asked Revi in an acidic tone as she stepped away from the mistletoe. Revi fanned at her face, glancing at Pisces. “Well, that was surprising. He’s…not bad.” “Not bad?” Relc stared at Pisces. He laughed. “You can’t be good or bad at kissing!” “That shows what you know.” Revi stared archly at him. Relc paused. “Wait, you can be good at kissing?” Revi, Typhenous, Ulrien, and Seborn nodded. Revi wandered back over to the mistletoe, and this time Jelaqua went with her. Other people from both genders drifted over. Erin watched with part horror, part fascination. This wasn’t how mistletoe was supposed to be used, surely! But it seemed like there was actual skill at kissing being measured. Some were better than others. And apparently…Pisces was one of the best. “You know, back home I was told that anyone who could tie a cherry stem into a knot with their tongue was a really good kisser.” Erin mentioned that as she brought out some dried cherries she’d bought with that very fact in mind. Revi took a break from testing one of the [Actors] from Celum who’d come in for breakfast, and took a stem. She and quite a few people popped the cherries into their mouths and chewed thoughtfully. Erin glanced around the room as she circulated with ‘testing cherries’. Now that she looked…she had a good distribution of races and genders today. People had come from both Liscor and through the door in Celum. There were Drakes, Gnolls, and a lot of Humans, male and female. She glanced at the mistletoe, where a few red-faced people and more with smiles on their faces were grouped. She had a bad feeling she knew what was coming next. “Peh!” Ceria spat out a completely un-knotted cherry stem into the palm of her hand and scowled. “Not for me.” “Hrm.” Revi had bent her stem, but not managed to tie it into a knot. Neither had most of the people in the room. Jelaqua had, but Seborn called foul because she’d done it with her Selphid parts, not her actual tongue. But then Pisces pulled out a cherry stem with a knot tied right in the center. Everyone stared at him. Jasi came over and stood beneath the mistletoe. She waved a claw at Pisces. She shrugged at Erin as the [Innkeeper] gave her a betrayed look. “This is so wrong.” She muttered as she saw Pisces become a target for kisses from the opposite gender. Ceria, standing next to her, shook her head. “You put the mistletoe up, Erin. What did you think was going to happen?” “Not this! I mean, why’s Pisces getting all the kisses?” The half-Elf shrugged, staring at Pisces and not looking at Erin. “He’s…not bad at kissing. That’s why. It’s fun to kiss him. He certainly got enough practice back in Wistram.” Erin stared at Ceria. She opened her mouth, and then turned away. “I don’t want to know! Gah! Mistletoe failure!” The entertainment for the day continued as Erin served food to her guests. Word spread fast, and within a few hours more people came from both Celum and Liscor—ostensibly to eat and get out of the cold, but mainly to try the kissing game, which was what the mistletoe had become. —- Relc had lingered hopefully around the mistletoe for quite some time until he realized everyone was avoiding him. He stomped off, grumbling about stupid Humans, half-Elves, String People, and Drakes. He left some coins on his table and left the inn, feeling unhappy and out of sorts. No matter how long he’d waited, no one had brought a gift with his name on it. But Erin had said he’d get a gift! Two! On the way back towards Liscor, Relc met Klbkch. The Antinium was hurrying up the hill and glancing over his shoulder. He seemed to be worried he’d be spotted. “Yo, Klb. What’s the hurry?” “I am attempting to avoid meeting my fellow Antinium from the Hive. If you are asked, you did not see me.” Relc nodded in an understanding way. He didn’t understand much about Klbkch’s Hive or the relationship the Antinium had with the others—they all looked pretty much the same to Relc—but the Drake did understand not wanting to be spotted by angry people who had business with him. “There’s no point in going to the inn. Erin’s hung a bunch of mistletoe up.” “Indeed?” Klbkch stared at Relc. The Drake nodded grumpily. “Yup. That means if you stand beneath it, you have to kiss. Only, no one wants to kiss me.” “Is Erin participating in this ritual?” “Nope. But I’ve got bad news for you, Klb old buddy. Remember when Erin told us about the Secret Santa thing? With the presents?” “Yes. I have obtained mine, although I have not placed them in her inn.” “Well, you might want to hold off for a second. I checked and I didn’t find any presents for me. Not one. And I’m supposed to be getting two! And—get this—I didn’t find any for you, either.” Klbkch paused. “That is odd. Perhaps the gifts have not been placed yet.” “Maybe.” Relc shrugged moodily. He stared back at the inn, and lowered his voice as he confided in his partner. “I’m worried we might not get any. Well, I know I’ll get some because everyone loves me. But you might not. Since you’re an Ant. Y’know?” “This is a distinct possibility. The Secret Santas may object to my identity.” “Yeah. So…I was thinking, why don’t we do a few good deeds today? I figure, if we show how Christmas-y we are, people will probably get us gifts anyways. Plus, don’t we get more presents if we’re good? That Santa guy brings them, right?” Klbkch hesitated. He seemed to think as he crossed his arms. “I did recall Bird mentioning something to that effect. But he was…vague. Is that what Erin said?” “Yeah! Look, you weren’t here, but I heard her telling that thief-girl all about it. Good deeds means you get presents. So why don’t we do some?” “I take it you have an idea in mind?” “I might.” Relc grinned as he rubbed at his chin. His dour mood had been replaced by a fun idea. “Okay, here’s what I was thinking…I’ll run into the city and buy some stuff. You just need to find me a bag, a red suit, and uh, a beard. Make it white.” “Very well. Let us proceed with your idea.” The two [Guardsmen] headed back towards Liscor. That was fortunate for Klbkch, because an irate Antinium with blue shell missed him as she strode towards the inn. Xrn opened the door and saw Revi step away as Typhenous hopefully tried for a kiss under the mistletoe. The Antinium watched with fascination, her ire with the elusive Klbkch forgotten as she witnessed several kisses…and those who didn’t get to kiss at all. “Ew! Typhenous, no! Your breath smells horrible!” The old [Mage] was crestfallen. He eyed Pisces as the younger man went back for round two with Revi. When Pisces was done, Typhenous caught the younger man. “How is your breath not objectionable, young Pisces?” Pisces paused. He took something out of a pocket and handed it to Typhenous. The mage stared down at the bit of green in his wrinkled palm. Pisces winked and whispered. “Mint leaves.” The old man stared at the leaves and then popped them into his mouth and chewed determinedly. The people who’d heard Pisces immediately left the inn to get some fresheners for their mouths. Erin threw her hands up in the air. “It’s not supposed to be a competition!” She stomped over to the door to Octavia’s shop as Wesle hurried through it. Erin was going to close it, but Octavia called out. “Erin! Erin! Get in here—I have something to show you!” Erin paused at the doorway. She looked back at the kissing games, once again featuring Pisces as a main attraction and decided Octavia beat her inn. She walked through the door. What she and the occupied people of the inn didn’t notice was Mrsha, bored with the proceedings, slipping into Octavia’s shop as well. “What have you got, Octavia?” “Behold!” The [Alchemist] was waving a bundle of what looked like twigs to Mrsha in front of Erin’s face. The Gnoll squinted and sniffed quietly as she hid in Octavia’s shop. She knew she wasn’t supposed to be here, but there were so many fascinating smells here! And Octavia had something strange in her hands. They looked like small sticks, but with a bulb of…well, something strange on the ends. Erin had recognized them, though. “Matches! No way! That’s it, exactly! Do they work?” Octavia beamed, nodding and making her dreadlocks swing as she held one up to the light so Erin could see. “It’s my newest creation. It’s not stable—I could do more with it, but you see, I’ve found a way to blend just a tiny bit of Corusdeer horn with sulfur and—look!” She swiped the match down the side of the sandpaper box. Erin and Mrsha both gasped as the head of the match suddenly burst into flame. The Gnoll stared avidly at the flame on the end of the stick. How had Octavia done that? She’s simply moved the match…and there was fire! Was it magic? The Gnoll cub desperately wanted to try to do the same. “You did it! That’s incredible! How’d you do it in one day?” “Well, when you’re a talented [Alchemist]—I uh, might have made a few dozen prototypes. And stayed up all night. But once I realized how the general idea worked, it just came to me!” Octavia’s eyes were more than a bit red and she was swaying slightly on her feet. She put the box of matches on her counter as she explained more about how she’d made them to Erin. Mrsha crept towards the counter. She hesitated—Erin and Octavia were right next to her. But Erin was pointing back towards the open door to her inn and loudly complaining about Pisces kissing all the girls—and them enjoying it! Octavia looked over, and Mrsha stood up. She snatched the box of matches and scampered away, silent as a moth in the moonlight. “I’ll give you a box. I can make a lot more—and if I perfect the formula, I’ll be selling them for silver coins!” “Not bronze?” “I’m not giving my product away for nothing, Erin! But…let’s just say I’ll be making a bundle if I get this business off the ground. And I have you to thank for it!” “Cool! How much is my cut?” The [Alchemist]’s eyes widened. She began to splutter, before she saw Erin’s teasing grin. Still, that was an important point. Octavia took a breath and then she saw the door to her shop open, and a small bundle of white fur scamper out. —- Mrsha held one of the new matchsticks up in the cold morning air as she proceeded down the streets of Celum. Quite a few people were staring at her—Gnolls weren’t common at all in this city. Mrsha ignored them, and stopped by a street crossing. How had Octavia done it? She’d just struck the match—pulled it fast against the side of the sandpaper. Like— Mrsha slowly grated the matchstick against the sandpaper. It didn’t work. But then she moved her paw faster and the head flared and burst into flame! Mrsha instantly dropped the matchstick in alarm. It went out as it landed in some snow. She peered at the stick, heart beating fast. Fire! She’d made fire! It was an instinctual thing, for Gnolls to love fire. Like Humans and Drakes, it was that which had helped them separate themselves from the part that was simply wild. It had brought order and light into the night, shown them that they didn’t have to hide in the darkness. And Mrsha had made it. Without a flint and rocks. Without the need for dry tinder and time. She’d made fire. And it had gone out. Mrsha rooted around in the snow, and found the matchstick again. She tried to reignite the head, but it was burnt out. So they only worked once. But that was okay—the box Mrsha had taken had plenty of matches. She drew another, and lit it. The small flicker of light on the cold winter day was insignificant. Small. It was something that would have passed unnoticed in Erin and Ryoka’s world—well, excluding the present. Any child doing that on a street now would probably cause a bomb scare. But in general, the match was an antiquated, ordinary thing. Who would pay attention to Mrsha and her box of matches in the cold? Everyone, that’s who. A woman pasing on the street stared as Mrsha lit the second match and held it up in the wind. She blinked at the Gnoll. She suspected magic, but the way Mrsha blew out the flame and then lit another match informed her that it was not magic. She stopped and spoke to the Gnoll. “How did you do that?” Mrsha looked up in alarm. She understood the woman, but the first thing in her mind was guilt. Did she know Mrsha had taken the box without asking? Mrsha scampered away. “Hey, wait!” Mrsha ran back towards the shop. Then she saw who was striding down the street and ran back. Octavia caught sight of Mrsha and shouted. “There you are! Wait you little minx!” There was a certain tone adults could use that told children the consequences of not obeying would be far worse than if they did. Mrsha halted reluctantly. She hid the match box behind her as Octavia strode over. “I saw that! You’re…Mrsha, right? Well, that box belongs to me. You can’t just go around taking things—even if Erin does take care of you! Give it back!” She held her hand out. Mrsha eyed it and clutched the box tightly. She didn’t want to give it back! The matches were magical in a way that magic wasn’t! “Come on. They’re mine—you can’t take them! If you want them, you can get them from Erin. Now give…them…here!” Octavia was engaged in a tug-of-war with Mrsha when the woman who’d seen Mrsha light the match coughed politely. “Excuse me, are you the creator of those things?” Then Octavia let go and Mrsha tumbled backwards with the box of matches. She fled a few feet away and turned to watch as Octavia stood and smiled sheepishly at the woman. “I am, Miss. I’m sorry you had to see that—a bit of reclamation of lost goods, I’m afraid. Don’t worry—they’re not dangerous.” “Oh, I know. But I was wondering—do you have any more?” “More?” Octavia blinked. “I’d love to buy some of these—flame strikers? I’m no [Mage] and these seem far quicker than flint and steel. What do you charge for a box?” The woman was already pulling out a purse. Octavia gaped, but then she put her best smile on her face. “I happen to have a few—they’re very experimental and new, of course. But I think I can quote you an affordable price…” Mrsha watched, eyes narrowed, as coins changed hands. The woman went away with a box—half filled with matches—and Octavia pocketed a few silver and bronze coins. Mrsha backed away warily as Octavia turned towards her. Only this time Octavia didn’t try to take Mrsha’s matches. “Well now, that was interesting.” The [Alchemist] took a few steps towards Mrsha. The Gnoll tensed, ready to run rather than be scolded, but instead the [Alchemist] girl appeared thoughtful. She squatted down next to Mrsha. “Advertising, hmm? I never wanted to pay for that, but if you consider that child labor is free—why not? It’s worth a shot! Little Miss, would you like a job selling those match sticks for me?” Mrsha just stared blankly at her. She didn’t quite trust Octavia’s smile, for all the [Alchemist] did it often. She edged away from Octavia. “Wait—okay, not a job!” Octavia waved her hands frantically as Mrsha looked down the street. She sighed as the Gnoll stared at her. Then Octavia smiled again. “I don’t mind you taking the box of matches, Mrsha. I really don’t. In fact, you can have them! Light up all of them if you want! What if I gave you these matches as well—” Mrsha found a second box of matches pressed into her paw. “—And you go out there and, uh, show them off? Drum up a little business? I’ll let you sell a few, and you can keep a third—half—okay, fine, you can keep what you earn. But you have to show people where you got them, alright?” The Gnoll child stared at the second box of matches, and then up at Octavia with narrowed eyes. This wasn’t how getting in trouble was supposed to go, she knew. But Octavia appeared jolly all of a sudden. “Just bring back people to my shop, okay? Tell them—okay, I’ll tell them. You just come back when you need more matches! I have to make more! A lot more!” She reached out and shook Mrsha’s paw energetically. Then Octavia went back towards her shop. She turned back and mimed striking another match. When she was gone, Mrsha scratched her head. She’d understood only a bit of that, but somehow, she now had another box of matches! She thought a bit more, and decided that this was good. The Gnoll padded back to the intersection and sat down on the paving stones. The men and women of Celum stared at the Gnoll, white and beautiful, sitting in the middle of their city. And they stared as she moved something in her hands and it burst into flame. Fire. Mrsha struck a match and stared into the small burning torch’s heart. She remembered fire. Fire was important in her tribe’s camp. It was something that gave heat, food, life. It was the center of their existence, in a way. It kept the dark and monsters and fear of the night at bay. For Mrsha, it was memory. She felt the heat on her claws and flicked the nearly spent match away. Then she lit another one. People walking down the street stared and pointed at the little Gnoll lighting matches. But Mrsha was far away. She stared into the fire and remembered home. She’d dreamed of tending the fires, of being old enough to manage her own camp site. And now she had the ability to create fires at will. Another spent match fell into the snow and smoked for a second before extinguishing itself completely. Mrsha sighed. So brief. So short. But while it lasted… She lit another one, and the flame burned away a falling snowflake. It lit up part of the world, and a man walking down the street stopped and stared at the match held in Mrsha’s paw. It was very pretty. And warm. Mrsha just had to be careful, or the stick would burn down and scorch her fur. —- That was Celum, and the small miracle that stopped a street. In Liscor, a different sort of event was happening. It was localized, and went from house to house, usually terrorizing families. They would have called the Watch, but that was sort of the problem. In the house of the Bitterscale family, the father, mother, and young boy and girl Drakes were sitting down to eat some lovely, fresh Fortress Beaver roast. It was a happy family, untroubled by thoughts of adventurers, Goblin Lords, or the new dungeon for the moment. They were about to eat when someone pounded on the door. “Who’s that?” Frowning, Wress Bitterscale went to answer the door. He opened it and found a huge Drake, dressed in an ill-fitting red costume—that was to say, leather armor painted red, with a red hat on his head and a lumpy bag slung over one shoulder. “Hey! Is everyone here? Good!” Relc grinned down at Wress. He pulled the door open wider and strode into the house. “Wress? Who’s there?” Vessra Bitterscale cried out in alarm as Relc strode into the room. The two children stared up at Relc as he grinned down at them, showing off all his teeth. He dropped the bag he was carrying onto the ground with a thump and waved at the kids. “Hey there! Merry Christmas! I’m Santa. Santa Claus. Where’s your chimney? Have you been bad or good? I’ve got coal!” The children backed away from Relc. He frowned as he rummaged around in his sack. “What? Hold on—some of these are broken. I’ve got to—hey, Klb! Get in here and help spread the cheer!” He turned and roared towards the doorway. Wress stared in horror as someone else entered the home. The two Bitterscale children stared up with wide eyes as an Antinium, tall and lithe, walked into the room. He had two swords sheathed at his side, and he walked like a soldier. He also had a rough beard made of goat’s hair glued to his face. Klbkch clicked his mandibles as he stared down at the children. They appeared to be rooted to the spot with terror. As this was how most children acted around him, Klbkch thought he’d made a good impression. He slapped his belly with a crack of chitin on carapace, making all the Drakes flinch. “Ho. Ho. Ho. Have you been good children this year? If not, you will get the coal.” The Bitterscale family stared at the two guardsmen. They stared towards the door. But there was nowhere to run. And then Relc pulled out a clumsily wrapped dagger and tried to give it to the daughter. Point-first. In fairness though, that was an accident. —- She was…eight hours into her run? Ryoka had no idea, but she was cold, wet… And not feeling too bad. Ryoka had downed the second stamina potion thirty minutes ago, and that was keeping her going. As she ran through deep snow, following the shimmering lights overhead, she felt the burning energy inside her, giving her legs the strength to run. The Runners of Invrisil knew how to prepare for long treks. The Guild had not only given Ryoka several stamina potions to allow her to run all night, but they’d given her a healing potion as well. It helped with the chafing, the sore feet, and the occasional falls onto the hard ground. It wasn’t fun running in the middle of a blizzard towards a village, but, Ryoka had to admit, it wasn’t bad. The Frost Faeries made all the difference. They flew ahead of her, lighting the way. Without them, Ryoka wouldn’t have known where to go. But they led her on, giving her the surety that she was going in the right direction. The only problem was her speed. Despite her potions, Ryoka still wasn’t moving that quickly in such horrible conditions. Of course, she wasn’t going that slow either. The snow was ankle-deep in the best of places and getting deeper by the hour but Ryoka had gotten used to running in such conditions. She wouldn’t have called her progress fast, but when she stuck to the relatively shallower roads she made good progress. She might have to run late into the night, but she’d probably get to the village on time, especially with the stamina potions. Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way. The trouble had started five hours into the run. Ryoka had heard grumbling from up ahead, but it had been silenced by Ivolethe. Three hours later, though, she could hear the complaints from the faeries flying around her. “Hurry up, slow slug! We don’t have all day!” “Yes, run faster! Snail! Worm!” They were getting bored. That was the problem. The other faeries that had joined Ivolethe had quickly lost the spirit of giving and regained the spirit of boredom. And spitefulness. Ryoka felt a snowball smack her on the back of the head. She gritted her teeth. She’d forgotten how objectionable most Frost Faeries were. Ivolethe was sweet as candy compared to her sisters. “I’m moving as fast as I can.” “Not fast enough!” “Yes, we tire of this! Let’s do something interesting!” A chorus of voices agreed with the second speaker. Ryoka shook her head. “If you’re tired, you can leave. I’m going to keep running, though.” The faeries grumbled, but made no reply. They flew away from Ryoka, letting their lights fade in the flurrying snow. Ryoka prayed they’d left as she continued onwards, following the edge of a pond of some kind. She stared at Ivolethe’s red light ahead, using it as a compass. It turned left. Ryoka followed it— And found herself tumbling down a cliff. She shouted in confusion as the ground gave way beneath her and she slip and fell downwards. She hit the ground and lay there stunned for second. Then she found her voice. “Ivolethe! What the hell was that!?” “It was not me!” The faerie flew towards Ryoka as the girl got up. Ryoka took a step towards Ivolethe, but then she spotted another red light floating towards her. And another. And another— “Hah! We got her, sisters!” “She fell! Let us do it again!” The other faeries, now all glowing the same color as Ivolethe, swooped around Ryoka, crowing with delight. Ryoka swore loudly. “You have got to be kidding me! Stop that! I need to get to Riverfarm!” “Hah! This is far more fun than bringing you!” “Yes, yes! She wants to go to that stinking village? Let her find the way. Only, which way is the right way? Choose, mortal!” Ivolethe, or a faerie that might have been her, swooped closer to Ryoka’s face. “This way. Ignore those fools!” Another faerie flew past her. “No, you idiot! This way! I’m the real Ivolethe, not that faker!” “No, it’s me!” “Nae, I!” “Ignore all these clods! Run, and do not look back!” Suddenly, all the faeries were flying around Ryoka, in every direction. She swore as the red lights spread out around her, each one shouting her name. Ryoka cupped her hands to her mouth. “Ivolethe! Tell me about my German!” “‘Tis rot! A moose gargling a toad sounds far better!” One of the faeries ahead of Ryoka shouted that. Ryoka grinned and ran towards it as the other faeries made annoyed noises. Ivolethe led Ryoka onwards, but now the other faeries were flying around Ryoka, getting in her way, spraying her with snow— And trying to lead her astray. Like the will o’ wisps that Ivolethe had resented being compared to, the faeries tried to confuse themselves with Ivolethe, flying in her path and then breaking away. Ryoka attempted to keep her eyes on Ivolethe, but the faeries constantly mimicked her voice, claiming Ryoka had been led astray. Soon, Ryoka had no idea if she was following the right Ivolethe again. She shouted, got a response, and set off once more. But again the faeries made her progress grind to a halt. “Fuck you!” She shouted up at the glowing red lights flying in every direction. The faeries laughed mockingly. Ryoka felt despair and fury building in her chest. She couldn’t get lost out here! But there was no way to get rid of the faeries! And she couldn’t tell them apart! As Ryoka stumbled onwards through a forest with faeries shouting and flying in every direction, she heard and felt the earth rumble. The Runner turned and saw something huge moving to the left. The ground itself heaved upwards as faeries cried out in alarm and scattered. “What in the name of crap is that!?” Ryoka sprinted away as the snow erupted and something swiped at the faeries who had been shouting so loudly a second ago. They flew away as Ryoka saw the thing heave itself up even higher. Higher. And higher. It rose, a colossus, out of the ground. No—it wasn’t out of the ground. Ryoka realized to her horror that it had been the ground itself! It had been slumbering, until her noisy passage had woken it. But now it rose, and turned towards her. She saw it. A giant face. A wall of ice. Broken shards. Melted snow. Two massive eyes formed of rock. And then the mouth opened. The Frost Golem roared, its voice the sound of crashing snow and grinding stone. The faeries screamed back. A flurry of red lights flew up and dove at the Frost Golem’s face, striking it with ice and wind, castigating the massive creature for interrupting their fun. The ice was probably no harm at all to the Golem, but it disliked the attacks. It swiped at the faeries, and they flew away, jeering at it as they effortlessly dodged the large creature. But they had been distracted, and the Golem began to chase after them, roaring in a voice that shook the entire forest. “Quickly, Ryoka! While they are distracted!” A single red light flew down. Ryoka saw Ivolethe beckoning her onwards. Ryoka took one look at the Snow Golem and froze. It was chasing the Frost Faeries away, giving them a far larger target to harass. But that wasn’t what made her eyes go wide and her knees suddenly weak. “No way.” “What is it, Ryoka?” Ivolethe stared at Ryoka’s pale face. The girl swallowed hard. “I can’t believe it. I can’t. It’s not possible.” “What, what?” Ivolethe peered at the Snow Golem, but couldn’t see anything odd about it. She urged Ryoka onwards as the Golem thundered away from them, making the ground shake. Ryoka ran on, turning her head to watch the Snow Golem. It was impossible. And yet—Ryoka saw it so clearly as she broke out of the forest, following Ivolethe. The Snow Golem was a distant shape in the distance, already nearly obscured by the blizzard. It was just a Snow Golem, a natural phenomenon in this world. It didn’t look like a classic snowman at all; it was a mountain of ice rather than three spheres stuck together. And yet— It had a hat. The black mass on its head was too much like a top hat for Ryoka to call it anything else. Her brain knew it was probably some trees or boulders sticking out at odd angles. That, combined with the darkness made it look like a hat. That was all. But still, she saw it. The Snow Golem wore a hat on its head as it roared and chased the other faeries away. Ryoka stared after it, and then began to hum under her breath. She turned and called out to the hovering faerie glowing crimson. “Ivolethe? Let’s go.” The faerie led her onwards. Ryoka pumped her legs, put her force into her stride. She ran onwards, bringing gifts and relief for a village that needed it. But her head turned one last time as she ran. She spoke under her breath. “Thanks, Frosty.” A distant roar was her only response. Ryoka smiled, and kept running. —- A few hours after Mrsha had lit her first matchstick, she lit the one hundred and twenty third and watched the flame slowly eat away the stick. She held it close to her face and felt the heat warm her paw. Then she looked up and around Octavia’s shop. It was getting quite noisy. “I’ll take five boxes!” “Six, here! I’ll pay with silver!” “A gold coin if you show me how to make them! Five!” People were quite agitated about the matchsticks Mrsha was having so much fun lighting. Mrsha understood and didn’t understand at the same time. To her matches were fun, enjoyable, and magical. To the people who’d followed her off the streets and into Octavia’s shop, they were something more. They were crowded around Octavia’s shop, Humans, Drakes, and Gnolls alike. Adults shouted for the [Alchemist]’s attention, demanded to know if this was her invention—if she would sell them the matches for the same price Mrsha had. Octavia was under siege at her counter. Mrsha saw her desperately waving one of her arms over her head with the other to get people’s attention, but it was no use. There were so many bodies in the shop that the door was stuck open, letting the cold snow blow into the building. Snowflakes whirled around Mrsha. One struck her match and put it out. Mrsha let the spent match drop to the ground and looked around. So many people. So many burnt matches. They were small things, but important. New. Bright. Then Mrsha sneezed. It was cold, even for her. She peered at the last burnt matchstick and decided she was going home. The Gnoll padded between the legs of the adults and opened the door back to Erin’s inn. She walked through, and carefully closed the door behind her. “Mrsha! Where have you been?” A voice made Mrsha spin guiltily. Lyonette strode over to her, all worry and loving concern. “I’ve been looking for you all day! You’re freezing! Did you go outside? I told you to tell me when you do that!” She ushered Mrsha out of the way of a Gnoll and Drake couple who were kissing at each other. “Into the kitchen. I have something to show you—oh, rats! Wait here. I’ve got to clean up a spill.” Mrsha obediently padded into the kitchen. There she relaxed as the snow on her fur began to melt. Something dug into her side as Mrsha stretched—she pulled out a small pouch, her pouch, filled to the brim. Mrsha sat and emptied the bulging money pouch onto the ground. Coins clinked as they fell onto the ground. People had given Mrsha a lot of coins for her matches. And Octavia kept giving her more matches, so things had just sort of piled up. A small mound of wet coins lay on the clean kitchen floor. Mrsha sniffed at the coins. They smelled like metal and sweat and dirt. She carefully picked them all up and stood up. Clumsily, she walked on two legs to the small pottery jar that Lyonette had put on the counter in the corner of the kitchen. It took Mrsha two tries to jump and pull herself up onto the counter. But then she was right next to the jar. Mrsha opened the lid and carefully dropped the coins into the jar. They made a lovely tinkling sound as they fell. Then she put the lid back in place. “Mrsha!” The Gnoll child jumped. Before she could move, two hands lifted her away from the jar. Lyonette scolded her as she lifted Mrsha up. “You know you can’t take money from the jar! Do you want some coins? I can give you a few bronze ones—but no taking without asking, alright?” Mrsha squirmed in Lyonette’s arms. The girl sighed. “Oh, you! Here. Sit there for one more second, and I’ll give you a treat, alright?” Lyonette went over to one of the ovens and pulled something out. Mrsha’s nose made her sit up and her stomach rumbled as she saw a huge pan of golden bread appear from out of the oven. “What do you think of this?” Lyonette gleefully turned and showed it to Mrsha. She picked up a stick of butter that had been chilled next to the window and began to rub it over the top of the fresh bread as she explained. “Erin has some—what did she call it? Baking powder, that’s right! It makes the bread puff up like this! She made some and it smells delicious, don’t you think?” Mrsha did think. She licked her lips and stared avidly at the freshly baked bread. The stick of cold butter that Lyonette had rubbed all over the tops had made the bread glisten. Mrsha had never seen bread so plump and full. She greedily reached for one roll, but Lyonette smacked Mrsha’s paw. The Gnoll gave her an injured look, but Lyoentte was unmoved. “You can have some with everyone else. Come on, let’s bring this out. You can carry a pitcher of m—actually, why don’t you take the butter? Don’t trip!” Obediently, Mrsha took a saucer of warm, soft butter out into the kitchen. Her stomach was rumbling, and she could already almost taste the wonderful bread in her mouth. She smiled as she walked unsteadily out of the kitchen and put the butter on a table. She had already forgotten about Octavia and her latest invention. Mrsha liked matches, but she liked being here a lot better. —- “Bread’s ready! Oh—for crying out loud!” Erin turned from the freshly-cut pieces of steaming bread coated liberally with butter and nearly ran into a couple smooching hard under the mistletoe. “Oops.” Selys and a Gnoll that Erin didn’t know jumped apart from under the mistletoe. The Gnoll was blushing—he was a bit younger than Erin, and clearly embarrassed to have been caught out. Selys grinned and waved at the scowling innkeeper. “Hi, Erin. I uh, heard about the mistletoe. I thought I’d give it a whirl.” “You and everyone else! I’m sick of it!” “Aw, come on. It’s fun!” So said Revi, although her lips were a bit puffy from repeated mouth-to-mouth contact. Erin sighed. She beckoned Selys over and whispered to her. “Kissing is fine. Just don’t kiss Pisces, no matter if he offers, alright? He’s getting a fat head because he thinks he’s such a good kisser!” Selys’ eyebrows rose as she glanced over. Pisces was looking more smug than ever as he sat at a table with Ksmvr. Ceria and Yvlon were sitting at another table, ignoring him. “He’s good?” “So I’m told.” Erin made a face as Selys eyed Pisces. She looked around and found a few cherries on a tray. “It’s become a huge thing. People come in, kiss each other, and try to tie knots with cherries. I’m making money, but I feel bad doing it!” “What’s so special about cherries?” Erin explained about tying knots in the stems. Selys looked intrigued. “That sounds like fun! Give me one.” She chewed the cherry thoughtfully as Erin sighed and began to offer bread to her hungry hordes of customers. “You look tired. Why haven’t you gotten a few kisses? It’s fun!” “I don’t want to. Especially not with Pisces.” Erin frowned at Selys. The Drake shrugged. She took the cherry stem out of her mouth and handed it to Erin. The [Innkeeper] took it automatically. “Suit yourself. But—and I’m sorry about this, Erin—I’ve got to see what the best kisser’s like. Hey, Pisces! Come over here, you!” The [Necromancer] looked up as Selys waved to him under the mistletoe. He smirked and came over. Erin shook her head. She turned away, and then remembered Selys had given her the cherry stem. She glanced down at it. The girl blinked as she saw the cherry stem, tied into a double-knot. She looked up as she heard the laughter and a cheer. Selys sauntered away from Pisces to a round of applause from the room. Erin had apparently missed the kiss of the day, and it must have been some kiss, because Pisces was bright red. He turned away from Selys as she laughed and pulled at another Drake, giving him a quick kiss. Erin stared at Pisces, at Selys, and then laughed. “Hah! Take that!” Then someone kissed her. Erin felt the brush of whiskers and a wet smooch on her cheek. She yelped, and looked around. A white, furry face stared at her. Mrsha, perched on the table, held a bit of mistletoe with one claw. The girl stared at her. Mrsha licked her cheek. Erin laughed, and then reached out and kissed the Gnoll on her furry cheek. “Oh, you.” Five minutes later. Halrac was sitting by himself, sipping from his drink and not-quite-scowling around the room. For him, it was as good as a smile. He must have been drunk, or just off-guard, because he only reacted when he felt the wet kiss on his cheek. And then, simultaneously, another one on the other side. “What the—” Halrac turned, a hand on the dagger at his belt. He saw two large, brown eyes. Mrsha licked Harlac’s stubbly cheek. The [Scout] stared at her, and then turned his head towards the other mysterious kisser. “Merry Christmas, you grumpy old man!” Revi grinned at Halrac as she held a sprig of mistletoe over his head. Halrac stared at her, and then at Mrsha, who was sniffing at his drink. He rubbed his cheek and grunted. Revi laughed and spun away. Mrsha leapt from the table and went to get more bread. Now that the kissing was mobile, everyone was fair game. The mistletoe changed hands quite a few times and left the inn in the pockets of some of the guests. Eventually Erin called for a ban on kissing—if only so that she could serve everyone hot bread. Halrac sat at the table in the corner by himself, chewing the hot bread and remembering eating something similar back when he was young—although he’d had warm milk back then. He stared around the busy room, at friends and people he hardly knew, having fun and celebrating. The [Scout]’s face didn’t change as Ulrien called him to come over and throw a hand of dice. He waved in denial and sat by himself. Alone. When he was quite sure no one was looking, the [Scout] smiled. Just for a moment. —- Relc and Klbkch sat in an alleyway, staring blankly at the brick wall ahead of them. Neither Drake nor Antinium said much. Relc was holding the bag of banged-up presents in his claws. It was still full. Klbkch’s beard was slipping off his face again. The glue had ripped free from his chitin. “What are we doing wrong here, Klb?” “I do not know, Relc.” “We’re trying to be like Santa, right? I mean, I’m dressing up like him and everything! Why are people kicking us out? They don’t want our presents!” “It is a quandary. I believe our efforts, while well-intentioned, have the opposite effect.” “Yeah. Wanna give up?” “That may be best. Let us retire to Erin’s inn.” Klbkch and Relc got up slowly and walked out of the alleyway. They walked down the street, ignoring the curious and horrified looks with their heads down. They only looked up when they heard the crying. Someone was upset. Someone was weeping. And there was the sound of breaking pottery—from one of the houses ahead of them. Relc nudged Klbkch. “They sound upset, don’t they, Klb?” The Antinium stared at the house’s door. It seemed…unhinged, as if it had been knocked off its frame. “Indeed they do. Should we investigate?” Relc nodded. “One last time. Then we’re done.” The two [Guardsmen] approached the door cautiously. Relc nodded to Klbkch as the Antinium took a position on the other side of the door. The Drake counted to three, and then kicked the door in. The crash made everyone inside go silent for a moment. “Does anyone want a pres—hey!” Relc’s eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the two Drakes wearing masks over their faces. One was standing guard over two frightened Gnoll children as the other ransacked the house. The burglars froze at the sight of Relc and Klbkch. Oddly dressed though they might be, the Senior Guardsmen were a known duo in Liscor. “Well, well, well. It looks like Santa’s found someone who’s been naughty.” Relc grinned and cracked his knuckles as the two thieves backed up. One whipped a knife from his belt out and stabbed at Relc. The Drake caught the blade barehanded and threw it away. “Not sharp enough! Hi, nice to meet you! I’m Relc—I mean, Santa Claus! Here’s my fist!” He clocked the first thief in the face and then kicked him between the legs. The Drake folded up and Relc dodged back as the other one swung at him. He turned, twisted—his tail smacked the second thief in the face with a crack. “You’ve been extra naughty! You’re on my list! You got that, you punks?” The fight carried out into the street as Relc threw one of the [Thieves] out of the window. The Drake landed with pieces of the broken shutters raining around him. He gasped for air and tried to get up—just in time to meet a black rock that smashed into the side of his face. “Have some coal!” Relc smacked the painted black rock into the offending [Thief]’s head. Klbkch tripped up the other as the Drake [Thief] tried to race out of the building. The Antinium calmly strode over to the fallen burglar and kicked him in the stomach. “Ho. Ho. Ho. Merry Christmas.” The commotion attracted a crowd. Drakes, Gnolls, and some Humans watched as Relc and Klbkch beat the two burglars down, Klbkch with a brick, Relc with his sack of presents. When they were done, the two [Guardsmen] straightened up, and heard the cheering. They saw the crowd applauding them, and realized everyone had a huge smile on their face. Relc turned to Klbkch. The Antinium was blinking down at one of the Gnoll children, who’d given him a hug. “It’s the holidays, Klbkch.” “Indeed it is.” “I think I feel the Chirstmas spirit! Look at all these smiling faces!” Relc grinned as the father of the Gnolls came over to thank him personally. He reached into his sack and rummaged around. After a moment, Relc handed a battered present with a bit of blood splattered on the side to one of the Gnoll children. The young Gnoll sniffed curiously at the package, and then tore apart the wrapping. He stared at the wooden buckler and sword and grinned in delight. Klbkch slapped Relc on the back. Relc staggered, and glared at him. “Ow.” “I am expressing my enthusiasm as you often do.” “Don’t. That’s my thing.” Relc sighed. He cracked his knuckles and stared around at the other children, who were already fighting over the presents Klbkch was handing out. “That was fun. Alright. I’m done. Let’s get a drink, shall we?” “Indeed.” They left the bag of presents and fake beard and Santa costumes to be claimed by the excited children and pedestrians. Klbkch and Relc marched the battered [Thieves] to the city jail, talking along the way. “Do you think that was enough good deeds?” “I believe so. As we both regularly perform acts in service to the city, we should have accumulated an excess of good deeds this year.” “Awesome. I wonder what I’ll get from the real Santa-guy. He’ll deliver the presents to Erin’s inn, right?” “I would like a Dwarf-crafted sword.” “Ooh, do you think I could get an enchanted spear? I left my old one back with the army.” “We should ask Erin if Santa has any [Blacksmith] levels.” “He’s gotta. I mean…presents, right? You can’t just make do with [Craftsman] levels.” Klbkch was silent. He paused as he thought more concretely about Santa, and the odds of receiving a specialty-made item manufactured across the continent. For the first time, Klbkch questioned Bird’s scattered account of a Human man who rode a sleigh pulled by reindeer that flew. “…It occurs to me Relc, that this Santa Claus that Erin has spoken of does not exist. The presents may in fact come from other people and are simply attributed to his presence.” Relc paused. His tail drooped as he suddenly put some obvious pieces together. “No. You think so?” “If Santa existed, why has he not given us presents before?” “Aw…no! I thought maybe it was a Human thing and we were included on his list since Erin knows us!” Klbkch brightened up. “That may be true. I did not consider that. Let us ask Erin whether that is the case.” Unfortunately, both Drake and Antinium found to their disappointment that Santa was a myth. Erin laughed herself off of her chair when she heard what they’d done. But she gave them a hug and hot food, and so the [Guardsmen] felt a bit better by the time the inn closed. “I guess we’ll get our presents tomorrow. I mean, if anyone’s left any. Doesn’t look like it.” Relc sighed as he double-checked all of the presents. There were none for him. He sagged, and then turned, pulling something out of the rucksack on his back. “Hey Klb, I’m ready to go! Klb?” The Antinium turned. He had something in his hands. A carefully wrapped present, tied with a string of twine. Relc stared at it, and then remembered Klbkch hadn’t brought his presents yet. He stared at the nametag, and saw his name on the tag. Klbkch looked at Relc. The Drake had a clumsily-wrapped present in his claws, the wrapping already torn a bit. But Klbkch’s name was clearly scrawled on the nametag. “Oh.” “Ah.” The two [Guardsmen] stared at each other. Then Relc laughed, and Klbkch opened his mandibles in a smile. They put their gifts together and walked out the door, side by side. “Merry Christmas, Relc.” “Yeah, Merry Christmas, Klb.” The two sauntered down the hill towards Liscor, talking and chuckling over the events of the day. After a while, Relc frowned and stared back towards the inn. “You didn’t get me anything creepy or wriggly, did you, Klb?” “No. Did you get me coal, Relc?” “No! You’ll like it. I think. Yeah. Probably.” Klbkch nodded. “Well then. I shall see you tomorrow.” “Yeah. I’ll open your crappy gift during the party. At least I know I’ll have one, even if it is icky.” “Indeed. One is better than none. I shall contain my disappointment.” “You do that. Later.” The two parted ways without a second word. They didn’t look back, but both walked with heads held high. They were smiling. —- Late at night, the night before Christmas, hundreds of miles away, the villagers of Riverfarm were about to go to sleep on another miserable, ordinary day that was their life now. But the people who’d been posted sentry raised the alarm, shouting, as they saw something approaching their village in the dark flurrying snow. “Who—who are you? I warn you, we’ve nothing to take! We’re under the protection of [Emperor] Laken! Begone if you mean trouble!” Farmer Prost shouted as the dark shape ran towards him. He held a sword at the ready with two shaking hands. He’d never had to actually use it to fight; it was a memento from his father. He was about to swing when he saw the red light illuminating the distinct Runner’s Seal held in a gloved hand over Ryoka’s head. She slowed as she approached the ruined village, taking in the destroyed buildings, the men and women holding weapons, and the frightened children. The villagers of Riverfarm stared as the strange figure pulled away a scarf and hood to reveal a young woman’s face. They hadn’t seen a Runner come all the way to their village in years. Most messages made the final journey via cart or wagon when they went to town. “I’m a Runner. I’ve got a delivery from Laken.” Ryoka had to speak several times to make her voice work. She had to say it again for Prost, who was staring at her uncomprehendingly. “From—you mean from [Emperor] Laken?” “That’s right.” Ryoka groaned as she took the bag of holding from her belt. She felt like she was dead. Even with the stamina potions and healing potion, her feet ached, her body felt like it was falling apart, and she was numb. But she was here. The villagers ushered her into their main living space, the renovated barn, and Ryoka sighed as she saw a fire had been carefully built in the center. She trudged over to it, and tried to set herself on fire to warm up. “We haven’t had word since he left. We were sure he’d be kept by the storm—but he sent you to tell us he’s alright? Has he bought provisions?” Prost hovered anxiously by Ryoka. She shook her head. “No. He sent me to bring you them. Here.” She handed the bag of holding to Prost. His face fell as he saw it, but then it changed the instant he reached inside. Ryoka, staring at the fire, heard the exclamations but didn’t bother to turn around. She wanted to eat the coals and let them warm her from the inside. “Food! Dead Gods, there’s so much of it!” “We’re saved! Praise [Emperor] Laken!” Ryoka heard the commotion and the weeping. It was a while before she could tear herself away from the fire. But when she did, she saw…people. That was all. She saw people. Just people, ragged, afraid. There was nothing special about them; they were just a frightened mass, suddenly relieved because good fortune had come their way. That was what Ryoka told herself. They believed in an [Emperor], a false leader. Laken wasn’t—they’d put their faith in him blindly, and he’d delivered. But even so— The man who’d talked to her, Prost, was in tears. He was hugging his wife and what looked like his daughter, tears streaming down his cheeks. Ryoka couldn’t face the raw emotion, the pure relief in his eyes. She looked away and clutched at her heart. It wasn’t growing three sizes. It just hurt. She’d run hard, that was all. That was all. They came to her after that, full of gratitude and heartfelt thanks. Ryoka backed away from it all. She didn’t want praise. She’d just—was just a Runner— There was something in the air. That was it. Ryoka certainly wasn’t moved by a hug from a tearful mother, or a man taking her hand and bowing to her over and over, praising her for braving the storm. It was just a temporary bit of insanity that made her take the bag of holding she owned, the one with the presents Laken had bought, and walk over to the children. “Hello there. Have you all been good boys and girls?” They stared up at her, wide-eyed. Ryoka crouched down as she tried to explain why she was here. “I’ve got presents, you see. As well as food. Laken—your [Emperor] wanted to make sure you had something nice for the holidays.” “What holidays, Miss?” “Christmas. You see, it’s a special day where Laken comes from. On that day, everyone who’s been good gets presents. Who’s been good? I have a present for all of you! For you and you and you…they’re from Santa Claus!” “Who’s that?” One of the children asked the question, staring warily at the wrapped gift Ryoka handed him. She smiled. “Haven’t you heard of the story of Saint Nicholas? Father Christmas? Kris Kringle? Really? Well, he has many names, but I always knew of him as Santa Claus. You see, where I come from, each year Santa Claus gets on his magical sled pulled by flying reindeer and flies around. He flies to every village, every home, every family in every city. And he gives presents to the good kids and coal to the bad ones. He hired me to deliver these presents this year.” She winked at the adults. They caught on quickly, and smiled and shed some more tears. The children gathered around Ryoka, asking questions. “Why didn’t he come last year?” “How come he came this year?” “Well…he normally doesn’t come out this far. But Laken knows him. He’s a friend of your [Emperor], so Laken got him to give him some presents for you all. Don’t ask more questions. Merry Christmas.” She had a present for every child, but not all of them came forwards at once. One girl stood back. Ryoka turned to her, trying to give the girl her most sincere, not-scary smile. “What about you, kid?” The girl shook her head. She stared at the present in Ryoka’s hands, but then stepped back from it. She looked up at Ryoka with hollow eyes. And when she spoke, she broke Ryoka’s heart. “I don’t think I’ve been good, Miss. My brother’s dead. He died in the snow and I couldn’t find him.” “You—what?” Ryoka paused. The smiles on the faces of the children around her died like dead lightbulbs. The adults fell still. “It was the avalanche, Miss Runner. I woke up on top of the snow, but my brother—he was right with me when it hit. I dug down and around, but I couldn’t find him. He was right next to me. Right there. Just a few feet to the left. But I didn’t find him until the Emperor dug him up.” The girl stared up at Ryoka, her eyes staring back through time. There were no tears in her eyes. They’d all fallen long ago. Ryoka couldn’t get her throat to work at first. She hesitated, and then knelt next to the girl. When she spoke, it was very slowly, very carefully, looking the grief-stricken girl right in the eyes. “I’m so sorry. It wasn’t your fault. I know you tried—you couldn’t have known. I’m so sorry. But you know what? I—don’t think that means you’re naughty.” “You don’t?” “I’m sure. Hey listen—what’s your name?” “Anabelle, Miss.” “Well, Anabelle, I think Laken agrees with me. You know why?” “Why?” “Because he told me to make sure Anabelle got a present. He told me to make sure you and every kid here got a present, understand? So he doesn’t think you’re naughty. In fact…he told me you might like this one especially.” Ryoka pulled a present out of the bag and handed it to Anabelle. She took it, and stared down at the neat bow on it, looking lost. “Why don’t you open it?” “Are you sure? Did Emperor Laken really say that?” Anabelle stared up at Ryoka, wanting to believe. And Ryoka lied. She lied straight to the girl’s face, and smiled because it was no lie but the truth. “I’m sure. Here. Why don’t you open it? Just pull there.” The girl pulled, and the wrapping fell away and she stared at the little doll, dressed up like an adventurer. Perhaps it was just coincidence that it was male, and it had blonde hair like hers. Or maybe it was magic. Faerie magic? Or just the magic of Christmas. She began to cry. Ryoka reached out and gingerly hugged her. She whispered to the girl. “You didn’t do anything wrong. That’s why Santa sent me. That’s why your [Emperor] brought all these presents. Now—why don’t we give you something good to eat?” Anabelle sobbed into her coat and nodded. Ryoka looked back at the other children. They were teary-eyed as well, but that was fine. There was something important in those tears. “Who wants to see what else I’ve brought with me?” Hands rose hesitantly. Ryoka turned, and saw the adults standing, watching her. There was something in their eyes because they kept brushing at them. Hers too. Ryoka let Anabelle cling to her as she handed presents out. And then she had another thought. “While we’re at it—why don’t I tell you a story? Would you like to hear a story? About Santa Claus?” Ryoka sat on the straw floor of the barn and saw faeries land on the roof of the barn. She stared at them, but they made the interior of the building shimmer and glow. In every color. The villagers and children gasped, and Ryoka smiled. “What are you staring at? Didn’t I say Santa was magic? Well, maybe he’s watching you. Now that I think of it…I’ll tell you stories about Santa, too! Did you know one of his reindeer has a red nose? Let me tell you about that. Once upon a time, on a night even snowier than this…” —- Later then. So late that it was minutes away from becoming Christmas day, or the day Erin had decided was Christmas. She sat in her inn, her guests long gone, a pile of presents in one corner, and slowly cleared the last table. “We’re done. Thank you so much for helping, Lyonette.” “It was—nothing—Erin.” Lyonette managed to get the words out between jaw-cracking yawns. She and Mrsha were dozing in a chair by the fire. A single candle lit the room along with the fireplace. Mrsha stared at the flickering flame as it slowly wore down the wax candle. It was hypnotic, soothing. Before she knew it, Lyonette’s eyes were closing. “You look tired. You should head upstairs.” “I think Mrsha’s done. But she’s sort of restless. She had too much honey.” Mrsha was indeed still awake, despite the late hour. She squirmed just a tiny bit, too hyped to sleep, but too tired to move. Erin smiled. “Well, how shall we put her to bed? Hot milk? That always worked for me, or so my mom said.” “I think she’s full to bursting. How about a song? I’d sing, but…I’m no [Singer]. Do you have the class?” “I do, but you don’t have to have a class to sing, Lyonette. Why don’t I teach you some Christmas songs?” “Oh. Can you? I’ve always liked music. They only sing the same songs in court back home…” Lyonette sat up slightly, eyes shining. Mrsha perked her ears up too. Erin laughed and settled down in a chair across from them next to the fire. “Why not. I’ll sing you…a classic song about Christmas. Okay?” Silence was her only answer. Erin took a deep breath, and thought of the songs she’d heard growing up, when she had to go to the Christmas service at church, and sung by carolers and played on speakers and online as the world changed. “Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright…” Her voice was the last thing anyone heard. The snow fell deeper, as across the world the night ended and a new day began. Nothing changed, but it was Christmas. And Erin sang. “Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace…” Her voice trailed off. Erin looked around and saw Lyonette and Mrsha had already fallen asleep. Erin sighed, glancing upstairs where their beds were waiting. And she smiled. Just a bit. Erin stood up and found a blanket for the slumbering Mrsha and Lyonette. She took down the mistletoe and burned it in the fire. She took out the presents she’d wrapped for Klbkch and Relc and put them with the others. Then she stared out the window. “Merry Christmas, everyone. To all good sleep. And too all…um. Wait. Oh well. Good night.” Then she blew out the candle and went to sleep. Previous Chapter Next Chapter |
The fifth argument for the truth of the claims of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on whom be peace) is that he has rejuvenated Islam. He has restored Islam to purity and power. As this was the task appointed for the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, there can be no doubt that he is the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. Un-Islamic conceptions current among Muslims All thoughtful persons agree that Islam today is not the Islam which the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God) taught to his Companions. The only people who disagree are the Maulvis, who have become insensitive to facts because of incessant religious discussions. There seems little doubt that something is wanting in the Islam of today. Of the Islam of the Holy Prophet’s time we are told in the Holy Quran: ‘Often will the disbeliever’s of Islam wish they were Muslims. ‘ Al-Hijr, 3. Is this the thought and sentiment of non-Muslims today? No, on the contrary, Islam is the object of derision and doubt. To say nothing of non-Muslims, Muslims themselves entertain doubts about many of the teachings of Islam. Some find fault with its basic teachings, others with its moral conceptions, still others with its regulations for daily life. The certainty and conviction which it once produced in the minds of its followers it no longer inspires today. Muslims today are not prepared to make the sacrifices they were prepared to make at one time. This being so, we have to concede one of three possibilities. Either we must admit that the electrifying power of Islam of which we read in history is only fiction, an exaggeration by later generations of the second-rate achievements of their ancestors. Or we must admit that nobody tries to practice Islam today. Or we must admit that the Islam we practice is not the true Islam and thus Islam no longer produces the results which it should. It is the third alternative which seems true to the facts. The purifying power of Islam and its practical effectiveness are proved not only by the recorded Traditions of Islam but also by evidence to be found in all parts of the world. When Muslims understood and practiced Islam correctly, they were progressive and dominant. Nor can it be said that nobody practices Islam today. Muslims of different persuasions and different conceptions practice the Islam in which they believe. There are Muslims who appoint for themselves the most difficult religious exercises and do not hesitate even to give their lives; yet they achieve nothing for themselves or for Islam. The conclusion is inevitable, therefore, that the conception of Islam present in the minds of Muslims today is not the true one. The Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God) said: ‘A time will come when nothing will be left of Islam except its name.’ – Mishquat, Kitabul Ilm. It seems that that time has come. Nothing is left of Islam except its name, that is, its superficial and external observances; the substance the inner significance, is gone. The sort of Islam which is believed and practiced today cannot produce the results which it produced at one time. Nor can this sort of Islam impress the followers of other religions as it once did. No doubt individuals belonging to other religions are attracted even today by its faded glory. But they are few, and they must be extraordinarily good at heart. Generally speaking, Islam no longer makes the appeal which it made at one time. The recorded Sayings of the Holy Prophet point to the same conclusion. On one occasion the Holy Prophet said: ‘A time will come when my followers will become divided into seventy-three sects. All of them except one will deserve the fire.’ – Tirmidhi Some in the audience asked who the Muslims were who would he on the side of the true Islam. The Holy Prophet answered: ‘. . . those who follow my example and the example of my Companions. ‘ On another occasion he said: ‘O men, acquire knowledge before knowledge disappears.’ Those who heard him asked: ‘O Prophet of God, how will knowledge disappear while we have the Holy Quran in our possession?’ The Holy Prophet replied: ‘In the same way in which it happened before. Your mother may have mercy on you. Do you not see that the Jews and the Christians possess their books? But they have not the least regard for the teachings contained in the books, which their prophets brought to them from God. Knowledge, disappears from the earth when those who have knowledge disappear from the earth’ – Mishquat, Babul Iatasam bis Sunnah The last sentence the Holy Prophet repeated three times. It appears from the Hadith that a most critical time lay ahead for the Muslim community, the Ummat of the Holy Prophet. This critical time was the time when knowledge was to disappear from this world. At the same time it seems that when this time arrived a party would be found among Muslims which still adhered to the true Islam. This party was to be the party which would imitate the example of the Companions of the Holy Prophet. This party is none other than the party of the Promised Messiah, for the Holy prophet (on whom be Peace) has also said: ‘My Ummat is like the rain. I do not know whether the better part of it is the earlier one or the later.’ – Misquat, chap. Sawab, Hazi-hil Ummat. Therefore the Holy Prophet’s words ‘those who follow my example and the example of my Companions’ refer to the followers of the Promised Messiah. In truth, no other party or group can answer to this description. No Muslim group can imitate the example of the Companions of the Holy Prophet unless they have seen a Messenger of God in the flesh, unless they have come under his spiritual influence. Rejuvenation of Islam, a solemn divine promise From the Tradition just quoted it follows that the rejuvenation of Islam, after the disappearance of true knowledge and true religion from among its followers, is God’s solemn promise. It is therefore necessary that he who claims the office of the Promised Messiah should re-establish the true teaching of Islam and present to the world the true meaning of the Holy Quran. If he fails in this, he cannot be the Promised Messiah. If, on the other hand, in the difficult days of which the Holy Prophet warned us, he manages to save Islam from the distortions introduced by ignorant followers, then he is the Promised Messiah. He and his followers answer to the description contained in the Holy Prophet’s prophecy – ‘those who follow my example and the example of my Companions’. It follows that we have in the rejuvenation of Islam a very important criterion for testing the truth of anyone who claims to be the Messiah. We have to see whether Islam, as understood and practised today, has deviated far from its authentic form. Having done this we have to see whether a given claimant to the office of Messiah has or has not restored Islam to that form. That current Islam has deviated far from the original is admitted on all hands. It is admitted by all thoughtful persons. If there are persons, who deny this, they must be oblivious to practical realities. The Islam as practised today does not produce the old results. Islam as understood today fails to satisfy the conscience even of Muslims. These things prove that the Islam of today is very different from what it used to be. The only question that remains is whether or not Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has presented to the world the pure and true Islam which, because of its genuine appeal and attractiveness, is able to draw all and sundry to itself. Has he not separated from the gold the dross which ungodly, ignorant and selfish Mullas had mixed up with it? To answer these questions, I proceed to give some examples of how Islam had become distorted and how it has been restored to its original beauty by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Conceptions contrary to Tawhid The central teaching of religion is belief in God. For Islam, belief in God serves as the root from which other beliefs and obligations shoot out as branches and leaves. Belief in God is fundamental. Other beliefs are in the nature of elaboration’s or corollaries of this fundamental belief. The principal element of belief in God is belief in the Oneness of God. The Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God), from the announcement of his office as prophet right up to his death, kept on teaching the important and basic truth, ‘There is no god but Allah.’ He suffered all manner of physical and mental tortures but did not give up teaching this truth. When he was dying the only thought occupying his mind was this conception of the Unity and Oneness of God. He was afraid lest this important teaching should decline after he was gone; he had suffered so much for its establishment. Muslims read in the books of Hadith and history about the last moments of the Holy Prophet, lying ill with a fatal sickness, weak and exhausted and perspiring profusely. The sickness was growing worse. Thoughts of what might happen to his teaching now that he was going caused him much anxiety. Would Muslims forget what he had taught them for so long? Would they begin to set up equals with God? The anxiety was not about himself or his family, but about his followers, his Ummat. Oppressed by these thoughts, he turned over and over in bed, and as he turned he said: ‘Curse of God on the Jews and the Christians! They turned the graves of their prophets into objects of worship.’ – Bukhari, chap. Miraj-un-Nabi Sallallho Alai-hi-Wassaalm. In saying this he clearly meant to warn his followers against the tendency to raise human teachers to the status of God, Who is the One, and the Only One. Prophets are only men. In the last moments of his earthly life, no other thought troubled him. He wanted his followers to remember and to worship only God So persuasive and full of pathos are these words that, on hearing them those who felt the least love for the Holy Prophet resolved never even to think of shirk (of compromising the Oneness of God). They wished to repudiate the least tendency to set up anything or anyone as being in any way equal to God. But, reader, you are well aware that Muslims today – a very large number of them – indulge in open denunciation of a teaching which the Holy Prophet thought it necessary to warn Muslims about on his deathbed. Who could imagine that Muslims, who thirteen hundred years earlier had laid down their lives for the defense of the pure conception of tawhid would begin to worship their saints and turn towards their graves even for daily prayers; that they would attribute knowledge of the unseen to mortal human beings; that they would endow their holy men with privilege over the Power of God; that they would address prayers to the dead and would make offerings over their graves; that they would credit their preceptors with the power to persuade God; that they would credit them with miraculous presence in any place at any time; that they would sacrifice animals in the name of those other than God! Worst of all, they would do all this and say it is the teaching of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet! But, God be thanked, while the teaching of the Holy Prophet about the One God is being dishonoured by Muslims everywhere, while the greater number of them are indulging in un-lslamic beliefs and actions, the grave of the Holy Prophet himself is safe from such desecration. Out of His regard for the dying thought of His Prophet, God made his grave immune to such evil use. But the graves of the other great ones of Islam are not so immune. They are the scene of idolatrous activities hardly different from the activities of Hindus in their temples. If the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God) were to come and see his followers today, he would not think they were Muslims, but maybe followers of some pagan faith. It may be said that those idolatrous beliefs and practices are confined only to the ignorant and the illiterate, that the educated classes are sick of them. But the general condition of a people is judged from the condition of its rank and file. If the common run of Muslims are victims of such thoughts and practices, we have to admit that Muslims have gone back on the Tawhid which the Holy Prophet taught them. The thought ‘No God but Allah’ is the soul and spirit of Islam. This soul and spirit Muslims have forgotten. Nor is it only common Muslims who hold these beliefs and indulge in these practices. Religious leaders and Maulvis also indulge in them and are at one with their followers in this. If at heart they do not approve of these beliefs and practices, why do they not denounce them by their words? It is obvious that they have no self-confidence. They are afraid of alienating their followers. All this is evidence of the general decadence of faith in the Unity and Oneness of God. True, there are puritanical sects among Muslims who think they are free from the least tendency to compromise with the Oneness of God. They protest against other Muslims and think they damage Islam by indulging in shirk. But the amazing thing is that the puritans themselves commit shirk. The difference between them and common Muslims is that whereas common Muslims set up many a saint and religious precepter as equal to God, the elect among Muslim Ulema set up only Jesus Christ as His equal. Like common Muslims they believe that Jesus is alive in heaven. The Holy Prophet (peace and the blessings of God be on him), the best of all Prophets and their Chief, is buried in the earth, but Jesus Christ has been alive in Heaven now for two thousand years. The time of his death is not yet come. They read clearly in the Holy Quran that the saints and the holy ones who are worshipped besides God are dead. Nobody even knows when they will be raised to life again. As the Holy Quran says, ‘. . . they are dead, not living; and they know not when they will be raised.’ – Al-Nahl, 22. They also know that Christians worship Jesus Christ besides God. Reading this verse in the Holy Quran and knowing that Christians worship Jesus besides God, they still cannot give up the belief that Jesus is alive in Heaven. And holding this belief, they still think that they believe in the Oneness and Unity of God. Similarly, they protest against other people committing shirk, but themselves believe that Jesus Christ could restore the dead to life. They read in the Holy Quran: ‘And it is an inviolable law for those whom We have destroyed that they shall not return.’ – Al-Anbiya, 96. This is God’s unalterable way. The dead ones do not return to life here. We read elsewhere: ‘And behind them is a barrier until the day on which they shall be raised again.’ – Al-Muminun, 101. From this also it is clear that those who are dead are, as it were, on the other side of a barrier. They will remain there until the Day of Judgment and will not come back to life before then. The above sect of Islam is the Ahl-i-Hadith sect. They attach great importance to Hadith, the recorded Sayings of the Holy Prophet, but they forget what the Holy Prophet has said about the dead returning to life. When Jabir’s father, Abdullah, was dying, God asked whether he had a dying wish. Abdullah said he wished to live so that he might join the Holy Prophet in Jihad and die in the way of God, that he might live again and die again in the way of God, and so on. At this God said: ‘Had I not promised to Myself never to do so, I would have given you life. As I have bound Myself to this, I shall not do so.’ – Tirmidhi Kitabut-Tafsir, Surah Al-Imran. People do not seem to remember that restoring the dead to life is not permitted by God in this world. It is His fundamental obligation not to do so. How could Jesus Christ expect otherwise? True, the Holy Quran uses the words: ‘I will quicken the dead’ and the words are applied to Jesus, but the same words have been used in the Holy Quran about the Holy Prophet. But no Maulvi attributes to the Holy Prophet the power to give life to the dead. The Holy Quran says: ‘O ye who believe, respond to Allah and the Messenger, when he calls you that he may give you life.’ – Al-Anfal, 25. ‘Giving life’, when the expression is used in relation to the Holy Prophet, means giving spiritual life to those who are spiritually dead. When such a meaning of Ihya (giving life) is possible and when we know that only God can restore the dead to life, when we know also that those who are dead will not be restored to life in this world, why can we not put a spiritual interpretation on the word Ihya when it is used about Jesus Christ? Why do we attribute to these verses of the Holy Quran a meaning inconsistent with the rest of the Holy Book a meaning which clearly lands us in shirk? These votaries of the Oneness of God believe, and believe firmly, that Jesus Christ was able to create birds. Yet they read in the Holy Quran that God is the Only Creator. The Holy Quran says: ‘And those on whom they call beside Allah create not anything but they are themselves created.’ – Al-Nahl, 21. Again it says: ‘Or, do they assign to Allah partners who have created the like of His creation, so that the two creations appear similar to them? Say, “Allah alone is the Creator of all things, and He is the One the Most Supreme.”‘ – Al-Ra’ad, 17. And again it says: ‘Surely, those on whom you call instead of Allah cannot create even a fly though they were to combine together for the purpose.’ – Al-Hajj, 74. They read these verses of the Holy Quran and yet attribute the power of creation to Jesus Christ, and he is one of those on whom people call instead of Allah. In short, the Holy Quran unambiguously teaches that only God creates. If anybody else were able to do so, then he also would be worthy of worship. Yet when they come upon verses like ‘I will fashion out in you a creation out of clay after the manner of a bird’ (3:50), they think that it proves that Jesus Christ could create birds out of clay. They do not remember that a given word can have many meanings. Why attribute to a given word in a given place a meaning which is inappropriate to man or God ? why should they lend that word a meaning contrary to the fundamental teaching of God elsewhere, a meaning which detracts from the Oneness and Glory of God? Why should they profess pure belief in the Oneness of God and yet set up equals with Him? These are dangerous deviations from pure belief in Tawhid (Oneness) to which Muslims, learned or ignorant, Sunnis or Shias, of one sect or another, are committed. In the face of these deviations nobody can say that Muslims still believe in ‘No God but Allah’. No doubt Muslims still profess belief in this and they still recite this part of the Kalima. But they also entertain beliefs contrary to Divine Oneness; so Muslims have moved as far from the true teaching of God as the nations and peoples who hold pagan beliefs. To correct these deviations and to bring Muslims back to the true conception of the Oneness of God, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on whom be peace) re-stated and re-asserted the true Islamic conception. His exposition of this conception is so true to the original spirit of Islam, and so attractive, that anyone who accepts it finds anew the old love of God as well as the old abhorrence of shirk, once a distinctive feature of Muslims. It restores belief in the One God and saves us from the danger of compromising with this belief. One re-acquires the conception of Tawhid held by the Companions of the Holy Prophet. Hazrat Mirza Sahib refuted these un-lslamic beliefs by strong; arguments. He re-affirmed the Oneness of God. God is One and the Only One. To call upon any dead person, to make offerings at the graves of the dead, to make obeisance to anyone alive or dead, to attribute distinctive divine powers or divine knowledge even to a prophet of God, to slaughter animals in the name of anyone other than God, to offer anything else to achieve the pleasure of that one, to think that any man, however holy, can persuade God to grant anything – such beliefs, or tendencies to such beliefs, are compromises with the pure conception of the Oneness of God which Islam has taught. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also proved that Jesus Christ like other prophets died a natural death and was buried underground some- where in this world. He gave spiritual life to the spiritually dead not physical life to the physically dead. He created as any man can create. But restoring the physically dead to physical life was not for him. He could not create life out of death, with or without the permission of God. God is jealous about His special attributes. He does not share them with anyone. The teaching of the Holy Quran is against any such thought. The special divine powers are special to God. They cannot be shared by Jesus Christ or any other human being. Those who compromise with the Oneness of God in different degrees, use this very defence, namely, that the divine powers they attribute to certain men have been bestowed on them by God Himself, that those men have not become deities independent of the One God. Hazrat Mirza Sahib re-stated the Islamic teaching – the teaching which is true to human conscience and human understanding. He dispelled the darkness of pagan beliefs which had crept into the minds of Muslims and showed again the true path which had been abandoned. He did what the Messiah of the Prophecy was to do. Strange conceptions about angels Among the fundamental beliefs of Islam, belief in angels is next to belief God. This belief also has become distorted in various ways. According to some, angels could sin. They could criticize God. In accounts of Adam, angels are represented as critics standing before God, urging objections of one kind or another against His scheme of creation. It is forgotten that the account of Adam in the Holy Quran puts the highest praises of God in the mouths of the angels: ‘We glorify Thee with Thy praise and extol Thy Holiness.’ – Al-Baqarah, 31. The angels affirm that they only praise God and extol His Wisdom, Power and Holiness. The story of Harut and Marut, a complete invention, has found currency in Muslim theology. It is said that God sent two angels masquerading as men. They fell in love with an evil woman. For punishment they were hung in a well, head downward (God save us). It is also said, God forbid, that Iblis or Satan was a leader among angels. Another belief about angels which has crept into the Muslim mind is that angels are physical beings engaged in crude physical activities. They run hither and thither on errands of different kinds. The angel Izrael has to run here and there. Being the angel of death he has to take now this man’s life, now that man’s. Against such primitive conceptions we have, at the other extreme, a complete denial of angels. According to some modernists angels are imaginary beings. The teaching of the Holy Quran on the subject of angels is interpreted by them in naturalistic ways. Angels, it is said, represent different kinds of physical forces. Some among Muslims deny outright the teaching of the Holy Quran and Hadith. They do not think that the message of the Quran was brought by Gabriel. They raise other objections to the Quranic teaching about angels. Belief in angels, they say, is derogatory to the Power of God. Hazrat Mirza Sahib corrected these misconceptions, taught the true teaching of Islam on the subject, and removed the objections and difficulties raised by some classes of Muslims over this delicate subject. He proved that angels do not commit sins. Nor do they criticize God’s plans. We have the clear teaching of God in the Holy Quran: ‘They disobey not Allah in what He commands them, and do as they are commanded.’ – Al-Tahrim, 7. Angels are a special kind of creation. They are set to do certain things in certain ways. Their essence is complete and perfect submission, without the freedom to do otherwise. Can such creatures sin? The very nature bestowed 011 them by God forbids such a thought. To make love to evil women is impossible for them. They cannot forget God and involve themselves in divine punishment. If angels can sin, why have we been asked to believe in them? Belief indicates obedience, and God cannot ask us to obey beings capable of error and disobedience. To obey beings who can disobey is unthinkable. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also taught that angels are spiritual beings. They do not have to move about to go from one place to another. Their powers and functions are exercised from their own positions. They are like the sun, whose light and heat are emitted from a certain centre, and like the sun they carry out the commands of God. In executing divine commands they use the powers with which they are endowed. They do what they are told. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also refuted the idea that Satan was one of the angels or a leader among angels. Satan, according to the teaching of Islam, was an evil spirit. God says about him: ‘And he [Satan] was one of the disbelievers’ (2:35), a born disbeliever. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also corrected the belief which had crept among modern educated Muslims that angels are only imaginary beings or symbols of certain physical forces. He quoted his own experience and observation in support of his belief in angels. He argued against those who said that a belief in angels was derogatory to a belief in the Power of God. God gave us eyes; but He also made light and colours to enable us to see. He gave us ears; but He also made air and other media to enable us to hear. Belief in light and in air and other media is not derogatory to a belief in the Power of God. So how can belief in angels be derogatory .o His Power? It seems that God works with means and media; they are a part of His eternal wisdom. He uses them in His spiritual creation. He brings about physical changes through them and also spiritual changes. Hazrat Mirza Sahib showed that means and media do not connote defects in the Power of God. They are provided so that finite human beings with limited sensibility can become aware of what goes on around them. Angels as the spiritual means and media with which God works in the realm of spirit are- meant to help the limited understanding of ordinary human beings. In this way Hazrat Mirza Sahib explained the true meaning of belief in angels. He presented angels as God and His Prophet would have presented them. Misconceptions about the Holy Quran The third fundamental belief, according to Islam, is belief in the revealed books. Belief in revealed books underwent curious changes. Muslims had come to entertain strange thoughts about revealed books, in particular about the Holy Quran. We are not concerned with other revealed books; we are concerned first and last with the Holy Quran. For us, Muslim belief in other revealed books is secondary, belief in the Holy Quran primary. Other books do not exist in their original form, nor are we obliged to act upon their distorted teachings. The thoughts which Muslims had come to entertain about the Holy Quran were very strange indeed. They seem more strange to me because I have learnt the truth about the Holy Book from the Promised Messiah. Indeed, but for him, even I would have accepted many a fable about the Holy Quran. The strangest thing taught and believed about the Holy Quran is that after the death of the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God), the contents of the Holy Quran disappeared, if not in toto at least a large part did. According to some Muslim authorities even the present text of the Holy Quran contains evidence of human interference. Other authorities contradict thoughts of this kind. They even brand them as Kufr. But they teach other things about the Holy Quran which are no less obnoxious. For instance, they teach that parts of the Quran have become abrogated. The basis of abrogation is apparent inconsistency between parts. If a verse or a passage is found ‘contradicted’ by another, it must be considered abrogated. Emboldened by this, other Muslims, pointing to other ‘inconsistencies’ in the Holy Text, started applying the theory of abrogation to other parts of the Book. Verses said–by different authorities–to have been abrogated add up to a very considerable number. According to the standard theory, a large part of the Holy Quran stands abrogated and Muslims are no longer obliged to believe in or act upon it. (God, save us from such evil thoughts.) The evil results of this theory of abrogation go very far. Not only have some parts of the Holy Quran become abrogated, according to some authorities; the trust and reliance which early Muslims placed in every part of the Holy Quran is now gone. Thoughtful Muslims are perturbed by the situation. Some parts stand abro- gated, some not, but there is no certainty as to which is which. God and the Holy Prophet have not told them about it. How then can they rely on such a book? Apparently Muslims can treat their Holy Book as they like. Parts they do not favour, they can dismiss as abrogated. Parts they favour they can accept as not abrogated. A misconception about revealed books, especially the Holy Quran, is that no revealed book is completely free from the evil influence of Satan. It is said that Satan mixes up his own speech with the speech of God as it descends to a human recipient. The authority of the Holy Quran is cited in support of this fantastic belief. Verse 22:53 is the supposed authority: It is usually translated as follows: ‘And We have not sent before thee any Messenger or Prophet but when he had any messages, Satan mixed up with them his own messages.’ – Al-Hajj, 53. The crucial word in the verse is Umniyah. In the context of the verse the translation of this word is ‘plan’ rather than ‘message’. The Arabic language permits both meanings, but Muslim commentators somehow preferred the wrong meaning. Umniyah translated, as ‘plan’ would make the verse perfectly intelligible. The verse would then mean that whenever prophets have sought to carry out their plans, Satan has put obstacles in the way. Muslim commentators have not been content with this fairy tale alone. They have gone further. They have cited examples of verses revealed to the Holy Prophet with which Satan mixed up certain words invented by himself. It is said that the Holy Prophet was reciting verses of Surah Najm. When he reached the words ‘Now tell me about Lat and Uzza; And Manat, the third one, another goddess’ (53:20, 21), Satan mixed up with the revealed words the words ‘these goddesses with artistic long necks can serve as intercessors’. These words which, it is said, came from Satan were also recited by the Holy Prophet as part of the revealed passage. Among the audience were some non-believers. When they heard this unexpected praise of their goddesses, they prostrated themselves. The Holy Prophet was surprised. Later he realized that the words in praise of the pagan goddesses had been introduced by Satan. The Holy Prophet was embarrassed at the realization. The whole incident is a fabrication, but how easily Muslim commentators have accepted it. Some commentators have produced another account. Finding the common version of it utterly nonsensical, they suggest that the words attributed to Satan were not introduced by Satan into the Prophet’s recitation but were added by Satan in his own voice modulated like the Prophet’s. The audience thought that the words came from the Prophet’s lips. This second account is as silly as the first. With either, the Holy Quran as a revealed book remains no longer the indubitable and absolutely reliable revelation which Muslims believe it to be. If Satan is capable of introducing his own speech into any revealed speech, no prophetic revelation can be treated as a pure divine communication. However, Muslim commentators point to a solution of this difficulty. It is in the verse which follows and which says: ‘But Allah removes the contamination due to Satan and re-establishes His own communication and Allah is Knowing, Wise.’ – Al-Hajj, 53. This is no solution of the difficulty. Once it is admitted that Satan is capable of interpolating his own words into the divine communi- cations, we cannot say whether a given text is free from such interpolation or not. Supposing it is said that the verse which promises the expurgation of the Satanic admixture is itself a Satanic interpolation: we then have no guarantee that the Holy Quran is a pure revelation of God. Relative authority of the Holy Quran and the Hadith Many have reduced the authority of the Holy Quran vis-a-vis the Hadith (the Traditions of the Holy Prophet). Weak and even fabricated Traditions have been raised to a level higher than that of the Holy Quran. In the name of loyalty to the Holy Prophet, communications of the Mighty God have been dishonored by selfish and low-minded theologians. The Holy Quran may deny a thing most clearly; but if a weak Hadith can be found which deals with the same subject it will be set above the text of the Holy Quran. Similarly, the Holy Quran may assert a thing most clearly; but if a weak Hadith can be found contrary to the same thing, the Hadith will be set above the Holy Quran. Some Muslims think that the Holy Quran is not the speech of God but the speech of the Holy Prophet himself. They describe the Holy Book as divine, even as the Word of God. But their view is that thought and ideas which emerged in the clean and clear mind of the Holy Prophet were stimulated and supported by God. The speech of the Holy Quran thus becomes the speech of God. More strictly, the thoughts and ideas come from God, but the words in which they are clothed come from the Holy Prophet. God does not communicate the words. The communication of words entails a vocal apparatus, which one cannot attribute to God! Therefore the thoughts come from God, the words from the Holy Prophet! Some Muslims think that the Holy Quran cannot be translated. But ordinary Muslims can understand the Quran only through translations. So a ban on translations has prevented Muslims in general from understanding the Holy Book. What can come of such a ban except ignorance, reaction, and irreligion? Some think that the Holy Quran is a book containing broad philosophical principles. Determinate teaching here and there does not mean the book can give us detailed guidance. Some think that the words of the Holy Quran need not always be read in the order in which they are recorded, that they are subject to what is called Taqdim and I Takhir, because of which the apparent order of words may be altered to reach the meaning. Some have collected all the fictitious stories they could find, whether they have a bearing or not. They may be repugnant to common understanding or conscience, they may be contrary to the plain teaching of the Holy Quran, but they have been admitted into commentaries as Israelite material. The stories are attributed to saints and holy men who lived long ago and who can have no knowledge of what has since been attributed to them. Some deny that there is any rational order or sequence of meaning between parts of the Holy Quran, between verse and verse, chapter and chapter. They openly declare that the contents of the Holy Book are a disjointed assortment, more like the utterances of a man who is not aware of what he is talking about. Subjects entirely unconnected with one another are introduced in succession. There is no rational connection. A very general and very widespread view among Muslims is that somehow, for some reason, God no longer speaks to human beings. The divine attribute of Takallum (speech) has become suspended. God now sees and hears but does not speak. In short, different sections of Muslims have proposed different views about the Holy Quran. The result is a dismemberment of the Holy Book. The beauty, grandeur, and living character of the Book have been destroyed, all in the name of service of the Holy Book! This is not service but disservice. The effect has been to alienate people from the Holy Book and make them indifferent to its influence. Hazrat Mirza Sahib removed all these misconceptions. By powerful arguments he proved that the Holy Quran is the Last Message, the Last Law of God for man. No part of it is abrogated. It is immune to all abrogation. Whatever it teaches can be practised. No part of it really contradicts any other, so that no part stands in need of abrogation. Those who spot contradiction or inconsistency in it are ignorant or feeble of understanding. They project their own lack of understanding onto the Holy Book. The Holy Book, Hazrat Mirza Sahib taught, has not altered one little bit since it was revealed. Every word, every letter, remains as it was revealed to the Holy Prophet. Not only has the Book not altered in any way, it is incapable of such alteration. Neither the meaning nor the text can undergo any change. There can be neither interpolations nor extrapolations. God Himself is its Protector. He has provided both physical and spiritual means for its protection. Human interference can corrupt neither the text nor the teaching. It is wrong, therefore, to think that any verses or parts of verses have been superseded by any others, or that there has been any change in the Holy Book. The slightest change is inconceivable. The Holy Quran today is secure in every sense of the word and will remain so in the future. To say that any part of the Holy Quran disappeared is an accusation against God. It means that God sent a perfect book for the guidance of man, but the perfect book could not maintain its perfection. It failed to fulfil its purpose even for a day. To think that the Holy Book is capable of alteration is to make the Holy Book unreliable. If the Holy Quran is subject to alteration, it is necessary that a new prophet and a new book should be sent for the guidance of mankind. It is against all reason to think that mankind should go without divine guidance even for a day. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also proved that the Holy Quran – in fact, every kind of revelation – is proof against interference by Satan. It is impossible that Satan should mix his speech with the speech of God by overpowering the Prophet’s vocal apparatus or by mimicking the Prophet’s voice. Hazrat Mirza Sahib cited his own experience in this connection. Though only a humble follower of the Holy Prophet, a mere servant, revelations received even by him were free from doubt. How could any doubt be cast on revelations received by the Master? No doubt could, therefore, be cast on the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran was guidance for all time. To think that such a revelation was subject to satanic interference, even if it lasted for only a moment, was fatal. Hazrat Mirza Sahib stressed the true character and status of the Holy Quran. He pointed out that the promise of divine protection had been fulfilled in most wonderful ways. Even the enemies of Islam had admitted that the Holy Quran had remained intact since its revelation. To try and match the Hadith with the Holy Quran was an insult to the Holy Book. It amounted to a rejection of the Holy Book. If there are Hadith which contradict the Holy Quran, they cannot be true Hadith. Even the Holy Prophet of God cannot go contrary to the Word of God. Nor have the various kinds of Hadith been as carefully collected or recorded as they could have been. The Hadith, therefore, cannot be equated with the Holy Quran. The Hadith has to occupy a place subordinate to the Holy Quran. If ever a contradiction is spotted between a Hadith and any part of the Holy Quran, it is the Hadith that we must give up. A contradictory Hadith is a witting or unwitting fabrication. It was commonly believed that details of religious duties and religious history have come to us through the Hadith. Hazrat Mirza Sahib taught that there was a third source of Islamic knowledge; the Sunna. By sunna is meant the visible practice of the Holy Prophet, whatever the Holy Prophet did and whatever his Companions saw him do. What they acquired through direct imitation of the Holy Prophet was even more reliable than any alleged utterance of the Holy Prophet; the latter may have been transmitted through a long chain of narrators. The reliability of the Sunna rested on secure foundations. Millions of Muslims saw millions of other Muslims do certain things in certain ways and learnt to do those things in those ways. From them the practices were transmitted to other Muslims. Such well-established practices, persisting through gen- erations of Muslims, do not contradict the Holy Quran. Hadith records are supposed to be utterances of the Holy Prophet. In the course of reporting, these utterances can become distorted, so that Hadith may contradict the Holy Quran. The reliability of Hadith, therefore, is open to question. If a Hadith contradicts any part of the Holy Quran, it deserves no attention. If, however, it is consistent with it and in accordance with it, it deserves acceptance. It then becomes a part of history, or historical evidence which cannot be dismissed without cause. Important truths would become lost if historical evidence were to be dismissed so easily. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also demonstrated the futility of the view that the words of the Holy Quran are not divine, that they could be attributed to the Holy Prophet. Hazrat Mirza Sahib proved that the words, the vowels, and vowel points of the text of the Holy Quran are divine. The Holy Prophet himself was a Messenger, a com- municator of the Word of God, not the author. It was wrong to think that as human speech entails the use of lips and a vocal apparatus, and as God cannot be said to possess such an apparatus, it is impossible to think of God speaking to man as one man speaks to another. Such thoughts are far-fetched. God is Unique. ‘Nothing is like unto Him.’ The powers and attributes of God cannot be thought of as being like those of human beings. If speech is impossible without vocal organs, so is the making of a thing impossible without the use of hands. It is crude to attribute to God hands similar to human hands. Must we then deny that God is our Creator? It follows that God can speck to man without the usual vocal apparatus, just as He can create without physical hands. Again, he cited his own experience and said that difficulties of this kind arose because of sheer ignorance. Those who are not strangers to the experience of revelation know what revelation can be. Hazrat Mirza Sahib said that revelations received by him were couched in words. If he could receive verbal revelation, why not the Holy Prophet, the Leader of mankind, the Elect, the Most Favoured of God (on whom be peace and the blessings of God)? Those who have no experience of revelation have no need to speculate about its nature and content. Ignorance is bad enough, but to volunteer opinions about matters about which we are ignorant is worse. It was futile, said he, for strangers to God to speculate about the ways of God. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also refuted the view that the Word of God cannot be translated. How else could the meaning of the Holy Quran, its beauty and depth, be communicated to those who did not know Arabic? It was wrong to publish only translations of the Holy Book. If only translations were published, people would gradually forget the revealed text. It was even possible that translations made from translations would result in the obliteration of the original text. It was both useful and necessary for the text to accompany the translation. It was necessary also to promote a minimum knowledge of Arabic. Muslims should know Arabic to be able to read the Arabic Quran and receive benefits and blessings which they could receive in no other way. It was necessary to master at least the parts of the Arabic Quran used in the daily prayers. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also refuted the view that the Holy Quran was a revealed book in general but not in particular, that it taught broad principles on certain matters but was always not to be taken too literally. Hazrat Mirza Sahib stressed the view that the Holy Quran was comprehensive and clear. It had laid down clearly all truths which man needed for his spiritual advancement. As such it had no parallel. But Muslims had ceased to reflect upon the contents of the Holy Book; therefore, they themselves were to blame if the meaning of the Holy Quran did not dawn upon them The Holy Quran teaches: ‘None shall touch it except the clean and pure.’ – Al-Waqiah, 80. To have access to the deeper meaning of the Holy Quran, it is necessary to be clean and pure. Those who are low of understand- ing are wont to project their low minds onto the Holy Quran. Hazrat Mirza Sahib showed how religious truths and principles could be derived from the Holy Quran itself. He discussed objec- tions raised by the enemies of Islam against the Holy Book and proved that a clearer and a more comprehensive treatment of the moral, religious, and spiritual difficulties of man could not be found. The Holy Quran economizes on words, but underneath the words are oceans of meaning. A single phrase, a single sentence, can branch out into a number of different meaning. The text of the Holy Quran is miraculous because the same text can meet the changing needs of man. The needs of man change according to the time and the circumstances. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also refuted the theory of Taqdim and Takhir. He taught that the words of the Holy Quran are set in the most appropriate places. The places appointed for them in the Holy Text cannot be altered without damaging the meaning. Only the ignor- ant believe that the words of the Holy Quran are subject to alteration of order. These words are to be read where they are. The place of each word is essential to its meaning. The beauty and variety of meaning depend on the word order adopted in the Holy Quran. By examples Hazrat Mirza Sahib showed that word order is a part of the Holy Text. Ignorance and lack of insight lead people to cast doubts on the subject. Israelite stories Hazrat Mirza Sahib also protested against the free use of Israelite stories for an understanding of the Holy Quran. Writers of commentaries had been misled by slender and superficial resemblances between accounts of the Holy Quran and accounts contained in Jewish literature. When accounts in the Holy Quran are different, it is because the Holy Quran does not accept the Jewish version. It is wrong in such cases to force on the Holy Quran accounts invented by others. The Holy Quran is not a book of fiction or even of history. It is not interested in narratives of past events except for their spiritual significance or as pointers to the future. References to past history are warning that similar events are going to take place in the life of the Holy Prophet or in the subsequent history of Muslims. If accounts given in the Holy Quran of past events are to be construed so as to make them consistent with the elaborate versions of the same events in the books of the Jews, we only ruin the meaning, which the Holy Quran wishes to convey. The Holy Quran bears witness against earlier books. The earlier books do not bear witness against the Holy Quran. To understand the meaning of the Holy Quran we need not draw on the evidence contained in the earlier books. To understand its meaning we need to draw on the Holy Quran itself. The meaning of the Quran is in the Quran. No outside help is needed. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also proved that the Holy Quran was as perfect in arrangement – arrangement of chapters, verses, and words – as it was in its thought and its language. The themes of the Holy Book are connected. They do not succeed one another arbitrarily but arise naturally and inevitably out of one another. A perfect arrangement runs through the whole. From the first word of the first chapter to the last word of the last runs a rational arrangement. The Holy Quran has a perfect internal design. Its chapters, verses, and words follow a perfect plan. Those who ever become aware of this design go into ecstasy. When they compare the beauty of internal arrangement which they find in the Holy Quran with the beauty of arrangement in some human book, they find a world of difference. Those who have had no insight into the Holy Book hold the view that the Holy Book is full of disjointed themes or useless narration’s. Their view is based on ignorance, or they are too quick to pronounce an opinion. Hazrat Mirza Sahib demonstrated the perfect arrangement running through the Holy Quran by examples. People were surprised. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also refuted the idea that God does not now speak to man. He cited his own experience and said that the attributes of God are everlasting. Divine attributes do not lapse. If God continues to see and hear as He did in the past, He must also continue to speak. And God need not communicate laws and ordinances only. He also communicates assurances. Assurances of His pleasure, for instance. If such assurances were to cease, we would have no means left of finding out whether God was pleased with us or not. God must continue to speak, therefore. While there are human beings in the world. and while there are those amongst us who strive with sincerity for the realization of His pleasure and act on the teaching of Islam, God must continue to favour men with His verbal assurances. Hazrat Mirza Sahib thus removed the many misconceptions which had grown around revealed books and around the very institution of revelation. These misconceptions taken together had cast serious doubt on the value and validity of revealed books, including the Holy Quran. Hazrat Mirza Sahib rebuilt this part of a Muslim’s faith on secure foundations. He disclosed the true nature and greatness of divine revelation and persuaded his followers and others to believe in and become aware of it again. He removed the error which had crept into the minds of both Muslims and others and revealed the truth about revelation. Muslim and non-Muslim alike saw the resplendent light of the Holy Quran. They could not open their eyes for the glare. Misconceptions about prophets The fourth fundamental belief taught by Islam is belief in prophets. This belief too had decayed. Lacking rational and spiritual insight, Muslims had corrupted their belief in prophets in many strange ways. Not only had the belief changed, it had become repulsive to Muslims as well as to others. The vile attacks which have been made on the personal character of the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God) are due to the fantastic views which Muslims in our time had come to hold about prophets in general and about the Holy Prophet in particular. Christians and other critics of Islam draw more on the false traditions included in Muslims’ books than on evidence which they themselves fabricate. These false traditions have become part of the everyday beliefs of Muslims. They narrate them in daily conversation and in weekly sermons, to the sorrow of all self-respecting Muslims. Enemies of Islam are seen attacking the person and character of the Holy Prophet by weapons forged foolishly by Muslims themselves. These attacks reveal the hypocrisy of those who fabricated traditions and spread them among Muslims. But they also give non- Muslims a chance to attack the purity of life and character possessed by our Holy Prophet. Prophets are raised to promote piety and purity among mankind and to guide them back to ends forsaken and forgotten. During the days of their decline Muslims started attributing to prophets moral weaknesses one hesitates to attribute to ordinary decent men. Not a single prophet has escaped their accusations. From Adam to the Holy Prophet all have been charged with transgression against the Laws of God. Noah is said to have prayed for his son when he had been forbidden to do so. Abraham is said to have lied on three different occasions. Jacob is said to have cheated his dying father and to have obtained his blessing by masquerading as his elder brother. Joseph is said to have committed adultery in his mind with the wife of the Egyptian ruler. It is said that Joseph was about to commit adultery and could not be persuaded against it. Then he saw the image of his father, Jacob, became ashamed and restrained himself. It is said also that he committed theft as a child and that he once intrigued to let his brother stay with him. Moses is said to have murdered an innocent person without cause and to have thus committed a major sin. It is said that Moses was not content to murder this man. He also made off with his belongings. David is said to have murdered a man in order to possess his properly wedded wife. He had to be reprimanded by God on marrying the widow of his victim. Solomon is said to have fallen in love with a pagan woman; also to have become possessed by Satan so that Satan began to rule instead of him. Affected by love of riches he became forgetful of his duty to God. Inspecting horses he forgot his time of prayer and did not remember until after sunset. However, the worst faults have been attributed to the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God). We men owe so much to the Holy Prophet that in sheer gratitude we must hold our heads bowed before him. It is cruel in the extreme that he to whom we owe most has had the worst faults attributed to him. No aspect of his life has gone untouched. It is said, for instance, that he wanted Ali as his successor, but did not appoint him for fear of other people. It is also said, God forbid, that he became infatuated by Zainab, his cousin. It is said that at last God let him marry Zainab when her divorce from Zaid had received divine sanction. It is also said that he had secret relations with a slave girl in the care of one of his wives. The wife saw them together, whereupon he was full of remorse and promised solemnly not to do it again. He also made his wife promise that she would not tell anybody. It is also said that he wished the teaching of Islam could be softened for the sake of pagan Arabs. He was willing to make concessions out of respect for their feelings. These beliefs about prophets are held by Muslims. They are included in commentaries and histories venerated among Muslims. A form of thinking current among modernist Muslims cuts at the very root of religion. According to this, prophets were more like diplomats. They loved their people and wished to raise them up the moral and political scale. They found, however, that no moral or political teaching had any chance of success unless it was connected with beliefs relating to the Hereafter, the Day of Judgment, Heaven and Hell, etc. The inculcation of these mysteries was necessary not because they were true, but because without them no people would observe the restraints which civilization entails. Revelation is not a fact. No prophet ever had any revealed knowledge or guidance. The claim was made in order to impress people. But even as diplomats, prophets were deserving of respect and reverence. Their intentions were pure and their influence was wholesome. Such beliefs can be no part of Islam, but they have been held by Muslims in our time. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (on whom be peace) refuted these among other misconceptions. He stated the correct teaching of Islam on these matters for the benefit of both Muslims and others. He taught, for instance that the primary reason for the appearance of prophets is to promote a life of piety. They serve as examples to others. If this is not one of their most important functions, why must they come at all? If all that is required is a teaching, a book of beliefs and laws, why not have books and nothing more from God? But we have had prophets as well as books; from which it seems that the great object which the appearance of prophets serves is that practice should go with precept, that men should try and establish in the concrete what revelation teaches, that they should know what revelation really means and should feel heartened and inspired by seeing in the flesh models of virtue and piety, and should solve their difficulties through strength derived from spiritual preceptors who are also spiritual exemplars. Hazrat Mirza Sahib taught that the many errors current in his time about the moral side of prophets were due to gross misunderstanding. The care needed to understand the revealed Word of God had not been exercised. Conclusions carelessly drawn had bee handed down from generation to generation. The Prophets of God are pure, sinless, and models of truth, love and loyalty. They reflect in their characters the noble attributes of God. Their clean and beautiful lives point to the Purity and Holiness of God. They also serve as a mirror in which others can see their own image reflected. Evil men, therefore, often see their own vicious nature in them. What they impute to the prophets really belongs to the evil men themselves- Adam was no sinner. Abraham never lied. Joseph never resolved on any evil deed, nor did he steal or fabricate. Moses committed no murder. David did not seduce anybody’s wife. Solomon did not forget his duty to God for the love of a pagan woman or for the sake of his horses. Nor did the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God) commit any sin, great or small. He was holy, free from the least lapse, incapable of any wrong or transgression. Whosoever points to faults in his conduct or character shows his own faults. The stories told about him are the inventions of hypocrites. They cannot be substantiated by canons of history or biography. They are inconsistent with the rest of his life, thoughts and sentiments. Imputations against him or other prophets are survivals of lies deliberately invented by hypocrites who lived and moved among genuine believers. Or they are the result of failure to understand the meaning of the Texts of the Holy Quran. Hazrat Mirza Sahib proved from the Holy Quran that all such thoughts are un-Islamic. They crept into Muslim writings through Christian influence. In Christian writings it had been the aim to enumerate the faults of prophets in general. They did this in order to prove the divinity of Jesus. Unless Jesus was absolutely without sin and other prophets were sinners to some extent, Jesus could not be proved superhuman and God-like. This seems to be the reason why, even among Muslims, faults are attributed to all prophets including the Holy Prophet (on whom be peace) while Jesus is absolutely sinless. Not only Jesus, but also Mary, his mother, is regarded as a paragon of sinlesslless. This difference in the treatment meted out to Jesus, on the one hand, and to other prophets, on the other, proves that false and repulsive stories found their way into Muslim books through Christians. How this vicious influence came into Islam is another question. It is possible that Muslims accepted the influence unconsciously because of daily contact with Christians. It is also possible that some mischievous Christians outwardly accepted Islam and then spread these false Christian stories among Muslims. In the beginning Muslim historians and collectors of Traditions included these fables with the other Traditions current among Muslims. Their honest regard for historical material demanded nothing less. The distinction between true and false Traditions was maintained for a time. The example and influence of the Holy Prophet became more distant. Writers who came later lost sight of the distinction between true and false. They accepted tales contrary to the spirit and standards of Islam, but rejected Traditions which pointed to the truth about prophets. Had such Traditions remained in these writings, they would have dissolved all doubts and difficulties. But, thank God, Hazrat Mirza Sahib separated the gold from the dross. The true status of prophets was re-asserted and their honour re-established, especially the honour of the Holy Prophet of Islam (on whom be peace and the blessings of God). The purity of life and character which the Holy Prophet possessed was not only reasserted but made plain by irrefutable arguments. The worst enemies found themselves silenced. The Hereafter, Heaven and Hell The fifth fundamental belief of Islam is belief in the Hereafter, in Heaven and Hell. This belief too had all but disappeared. It certainly disappeared from men’s hearts. For had the belief really survived, Muslims would not have turned their backs on the teachings of Islam as they did. Conceptions and constructions current among Muslims on the subject of life after death and Heaven and Hell seemed to bear little relation to the true Islamic conceptions. What was the Paradise of popular Muslim belief, for instance? A place of pleasure, of unremitting sensuality. If this was the Paradise promised to good and godly men, then human existence was to be a life of sensuous delights, of wine, women, and song! There was nothing more that men could aspire to! But the object of human existence, according to the Holy Quran, is very different. It is that men should learn to adore God (51:57). To adore is to obey. To obey is to imitate. To imitate is to absorb, to appropriate and acquire the attributes of God. The object of human existence, therefore, is to promote a godly life. A godly life is the good life. It is impossible that in this life men should try for three score years and ten to learn to live godly lives, but should hereafter enter a life of sensuous pleasures. This conception of the life hereafter bore no relation to the life valued even in this world. Similarly, Hell was thought to be the permanent abode of evil-doers. Those who were condemned to live in Hell were condemned to live there for ever. An uncompromising despot, God would never again forgive His sinners! Hazrat Mirza Sahib rejected all these conceptions. He employed arguments and showed miracles to restore the correct Islamic belief on each subject. He demonstrated the instability of life in this world, the beauty and value of life hereafter. He created in human hearts conviction and certainty about the life to come and the desire to live and work, and wait for it. The half-truths and sensual images Muslims had come to believe about Paradise were also removed by him. Paradise was no mere metaphor, nor was it a place of physical delights, more stable and on a larger scale than the physical delights of this world. The blessings of Paradise are very different. The physical delights of life hereafter are like the joy one derives from good works in this life. What is mind and spirit in this life, becomes body m the life hereafter. What is mind and spirit in the life hereafter is a more developed and a more advanced form of existence than anything we know in this world. The powers of the spirit in the life hereafter are far more advanced than the powers of the spirit we know in this world. The human sperm has a physical as well as a spiritual side. It consists of both body and spirit. But the man who develops out of the sperm has a spirit far superior to the spirit within the sperm. Similarly, Hazrat Mirza Sahib proved that the punishment of Hell is not a punishment without end. It is a punishment destined to end sooner or later. It may last a long time but not for ever and ever. It is not punishment without end. A permanent Hell is contradictory to the dignity of a Merciful God. ‘My mercy encompasses all things’ (7:157). This is the fundamental character of God according to the Holy Quran. Everything is ruled by Divine Mercy. The Holy Quran describes the rewards of Heaven as rewards ‘which shall not be cut off’ (11:109), and as ‘rewards unending’ (95:7). The description used for the punishment of Hell is very different. The difference of description proves that the rewards of Heaven and the punishment of Hell are long-lasting but in very different ways. Why should not readers of the Holy Quran observe and heed this difference? The Holy Prophet himself said in explanation of the teachings of the Holy Quran about Heaven and Hell: ‘A time will come in Hell when not a single man would be left in it. Its doors and windows will rattle to the blowing wind.’ – Kanzul Ummal, p. 270. This is a description of an emptied Hell. The Mercy of God will eventually take out of Hell every one of its inmates, and Hell will become empty. This being the teaching of the Holy Prophet, nobody has any right to teach anything else. Muslims victims of extremes Fundamental beliefs apart, great changes had taken place in the everyday life of Muslims. They had become fond of extremes. Some of them advocated complete casualness as far as religious duties and works were concerned. It was quite enough, they thought, that one should profess belief in the Kalima: ‘There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet.’ After this profession one was free to do and live as one liked. The Holy Prophet was their intercessor. If there were no sinners, for whom would the Holy Prophet intercede? Others thought that religious ordinances were only a means to an end, like the boat which carries one to the shore. Those who had found God had no further use for religious ordinances. These were intended for those who had to complete the journey. Still others thought that religious duties had been ordained as external symbols of internal states. When the Holy Prophet appeared in Arabia, the Arabs were savage and primitive. Their minds and spirits were also savage, primitive, and immature. Therefore an emphasis on external performances – ablutions, prayers, prostrations, fasts, etc. – was necessary. Now mankind had advanced. Their understanding had also advanced, so the external formalities were no longer necessary. If a man is clean, if he remembers his God, is mindful of the needs of the community serves the poor, is moderate in eating and drinking, takes part in patriotic activities, and so on, he does as much as he is required to do as a Muslim. His prayers, fasts, Zakat and Hajj are now the good and prudent things he does. Other Muslims went to the other extreme. They thought that to attain salvation it was necessary for Muslims to follow the example of the Holy Prophet in the minutest detail. If, for instance, the Holy Prophet used a certain form of dress, it was the duty of Muslims to use the same kind of dress. If the Holy Prophet wore long hair, then long hair had to be worn by Muslims, and so on. Some Muslims thought that the Holy Prophet had no right to teach anything by way of religious duties. The Holy Quran contained everything which God required of man. Anything besides this was false and futile. The Holy Prophet as a human being could not add anything to what God had taught. Still others placed excessive reliance on certain scholars or doctors of religion. These authorities, they thought, had said the last word on questions of beliefs and works. Our duty was to obey, and obey without question. These were the larger beliefs and works in which Muslims had deviated from the true teaching of Islam. When we turn to details, we come across even more dangerous digressions into un-Islamic ways. Some Muslims branded as Kufr the learning of languages other than Arabic, English for instance. Some thought learning modern science was inimical to true faith. On the other hand, some among Muslims deny some of the clear teachings of the Holy Quran, about the taking of interest for instance. According to the Holy Quran, the taking of interest is like going to war against God (2:280). Yet the taking of interest is said to be lawful and permissible. In details of prayers, fasts, obligatory charity, rules of inheritance and other matters, irreconcilable differences existed between the various schools. The true teaching of Islam had become completely confused. Sometimes small and minor points were fancied to be fundamental. Those who proposed to think of certain details in a different manner were censured. Should a Muslim raise his index finger while reciting the part in the Kalima ‘I bear witness’ etc., he had to lose that finger. If Muslims said ‘Amen’ loudly while praying in congregation, they had their mouths filled with dirt and dung. The practical life, like the life of belief, had deteriorated through deviations, disagreements and extremes of various kinds. Hazrat Mirza Sahib reformed the practical life of Muslims also. He pointed out that indifference to prescribed religious duties was wrong and led to ruin. One could not sin deliberately and expect intercession by the Holy Prophet on the Day of Judgment. The Holy Prophet’s intercession was for those who did their utmost to avoid sin. Intercession was to help them over weaknesses and lapses which occurred in spite of an effort to avoid them. Intercession was not for sinners. The privilege of intercession had been awarded to the Holy Prophet to put down sin, not to promote sin. Abudiyat or Shariat? Thus Hazrat Mirza Sahib demonstrated that the object of human life was Abudiyat, absorption of divine attributes or imitation of His character, and not Shariat, the observance of prescribed laws or external duties. What God had commanded, we must indeed observe and do. But closeness to God was an infinite process. We could be closer and closer to Him, yet not quite reach Him; so that we could never think that closeness had been achieved, that there was nothing more to be done. The prayer taught in the Sura Fatiha – ‘Thee only do we worship’ and ‘Thee only do we ask for guidance to the straight path’ – had to be repeated many times a day by every Muslim. It had to be repeated even by the Holy Prophet, who repeated it up to his death. He also repeated other prayers contained in the Holy Quran, such as ‘O my Lord, increase me in knowledge’ (20:115) Closeness to God and insight into His nature are of infinite dimensions, closer and closer to completion but never quite completed. Not even the Holy Prophet, to say nothing of ordinary believers, could think that praying had become redundant. Those who think so can have no conception of the Infinity of God. God is like a limitless ocean. One can never hope to cross it. To think so is to offend God. Similarly Hazrat Mirza Sahib pointed out that the object of human life and of human aspirations lay in practising the teachings of Islam. These teachings keep in view the needs of all times and of all levels of culture. The spiritual advance of man necessitated a due observance of the teachings of Islam, of practical ordinances as well as theoretical beliefs. It was wrong to think that they were meant for a bygone age, that their interest now lay in their history. The teachings of Islam had everlasting value. They could not be replaced by anything else. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also taught that human activities are of two kinds. One kind consists of prescribed acts of worship and of preferred ways of doing things. The other kind consists of modes, methods, or manners favored by a community or nation. The Holy Prophet (on whom be peace and the blessings of God) displayed in his person and in his example both kinds of activities. He carried out the different forms of worship which were to become part of the daily life of a Muslim. He also demonstrated ways of doing things which he would prefer to other ways. But the Holy Prophet also observed the modes and manners of his time, his community and race. The latter were no part of Islam. Islam could not be conceived in terms of any community, nation, race, or group. It had to be conceived in universal human terms. To compel Muslims to adopt the ways and modes which the Holy Prophet adopted as an Arab or as a Quraish was cruel and un-lslamic. In such matters even the Companions of the Holy Prophet, his devoted contemporaries, did not conform to a single pattern. They observed their individual ways and fashions, but did not accuse one another of being un-lslamic. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also refuted the idea that as the Holy Prophet was a man like other men, Muslims owed obedience only to God, not to the Holy Prophet. Against this Hazrat Mirza Sahib taught that prophets are endowed with a special understanding of the Word of God. Insight into divine purposes, which prophets have, can be acquired by nobody else. The interpretation of divine purposes is a prerogative of each prophet. Not to recognize this subverts true faith. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also corrected the belief that any good man can be held up as an authority and as the last word on the subject of religious belief and duty. True, there are men who are incapable of judging for themselves. For their convenience it seems pardonable and even necessary that they should appoint as their leaders men whose personal piety, purity, and insight in religion are superior to their own. But this does not relieve individual Muslims of their responsibility to judge all questions for themselves and to find their own answers to those questions. Muslims who are endowed with knowledge and understanding cannot offer blind, unquestioning obedience to anyone else. Those who are blessed with knowledge are duty-bound to act in accordance with their knowledge and judgment of what the Holy Quran and the Hadith have to say on any given subject. Hazrat Mirza Sahib exposed the absurdity of extending the scope of religious teaching unnecessarily. Religion is concerned with the moral and spiritual advance of mall. Its prohibitions and its commands do not apply beyond a given point. A knowledge of languages, for instance, is a useful acquisition. All languages have in some sense been created by God. A language could be acquired or not, according as it serves or does not serve a given purpose. Not only is it not a sin to acquire proficiency in useful languages, it is necessary to do so. Some languages are useful for the propagation of religion. The acquisition of such languages is an act of spiritual merit. Hazrat Mirza Sahib strongly prohibited the receiving of interest. He taught that this prohibition of Islam was full of wisdom. Muslims could not take it lightly and compromise with it for the sake of small worldly gains. Hazrat Mirza Sahib also taught that religious teachings are of two kinds. They are either principles or details of principles. Principles have been laid down in the Holy Quran and on them no disagreement is possible. It is open to everybody, however, to try and understand their meaning and their scope. Details of principles, on the other hand, are also of two kinds. The first is details which have been settled by the Holy Prophet himself; maybe he ordered certain things to be done in certain ways and prohibited other ways of doing the same things. In such details, Muslims are bound to act as they have been commanded to do by the Holy Prophet. The second is details which can be understood in different ways. Sometimes we have more than one version of how the Holy Prophet did a certain thing. It may also be that in such details Muslims since the very earliest times have acted in different ways. In such matters the obvious duty of Muslims is tolerance. They can choose their own way of doing those things but must tolerate ways different from their own. Other ways were as well sanctioned by practice as the ways preferred by them. The different ways must be considered right and proper and equally sanctioned. If the different ways had not been sanctioned by the Holy Prophet, how could one section of Companions adopt one way and another section another way of doing the same thing? The truth of the matter is that human- individuals are very different from one another. They therefore act in different ways in certain matters. Keeping in view this important fact of human nature, the Holy Prophet permitted a variety of ways of carrying out the same duties. He himself may have adopted different ways for doing the same thing. He did this in order to show that human nature was variable, that not only did different individuals do the same thing in different ways, but that the same individuals did the same thing in different ways on different occasions. Raising the two hands at the time of Takbir in the course of the daily prayers had to be understood and tolerated in the light of this fact of human nature. It is known that the Holy Prophet himself sometimes raised and sometimes did not raise his hands at the time of Takbir. The same applies to the saying of ‘Amen’ in a congregation. Some members of the congregation said the ‘Amen’ loudly, some not. The Holy Prophet accepted both practices. Folding the arms while standing in prayer could also be done in different ways. It seems that the Holy Prophet himself or the Companions folded their arms, now nearer the waist, now higher up. Again, variety was permitted. Within limits one could choose to do as one liked. But someone who chose to do a certain thing in a certain way need not object to another doing the same thing in a different way. The other was free to do the same thing in his own way. By laying down and re-stating all the wise provisions of Islam, Hazrat Mirza Sahib resolved many disagreements between sects and put an end to many controversies among them. These controversies related to details of doing certain things. Rid of these disagreements and controversies, Muslims of our time can go about their religious duties with the dignity and freedom of the Companions of the Holy Prophet. Why wait for another? This may give you, dear reader, some idea of the reform which Hazrat Mirza Sahib carried out in the attitudes and beliefs of Muslims. If this reform were to be described as fully as it deserves it would need a book to itself. Therefore I am content to point only to the main outlines. You can judge even from this short account that Hazrat Mirza Sahib removed the errors which had crept into the belief of Muslims and their conceptions of religious duties. Islam has been presented by him in its true light, so its original charm has begun again to attract its followers and others. Its purifying power has begun to show again. Now, dear reader, I have described the errors of belief and action from which Muslims had begun to suffer in our time. These errors crept in despite the fact that Muslims are in possession of a Book whose every word and vowel-point has since its revelation been under divine protection. A people possessing a protected holy text like the text of the Holy Quran could not have strayed into errors worse than these. Worse errors of belief and action are conceivable but only in the event, God forbid, of the Holy Quran undergoing a textual alteration. But a textual alteration of the Holy Quran is impossible under divine promise. Therefore Muslims could not have fallen into worse errors. Now let us think awhile. The errors into which Muslims have fallen have reached the worst possible limits. Yet the time has not arrived for the coming of the Promised Messiah? On the other hand, Hazrat Mirza Sahib has not only come, but has also corrected the errors into which Muslims had fallen and removed the dangers to which Islam had become exposed. Must we still wait for another to come and do the same thing? The tasks appointed for the Promised Messiah have been duly carried out by Hazrat Mirza Sahib. Therefore he must be the Promised Messiah. When the sun is at the zenith, it is futile to deny its existence. In the face of clear arguments, it is futile to deny the truth that Hazrat Mirza Sahib is the Promised Messiah. |
I use a classic two-dynamic scenario structure (whether the reputation networks are broad or narrow, and whether the reputation scores are directly assigned by users or "emergent"), resulting in four fairly different worlds. A new volume on the evolving role of digital reputation, The Reputation Society: How Online Opinions Are Reshaping the Offline World is now out (also in Kindle format ) . Edited by my former Worldchanging colleague Hassan Masum (along with his colleague at the University of Waterloo, Mark Tovey), The Reputation Society includes essays by a wide array of writers , including Craig Newmark, Cory Doctorow, Alex Steffen, and me. My contribution, the cleverly-titled "The Future of Reputation Networks," is a set of scenarios of how online reputation systems might evolve over the next 10-20 years. Hiroko hated getting to the airport early, but her hosts had arranged for the taxi, and traffic was amazingly light. She stepped briskly around an older couple trying to figure out how to use the biometric check-in—“just walk through at a normal pace, guys”—and got in line for security. The airport security staff all wore augmented reality glasses that would identify people in line and pull up relevant data, monitor for microchanges to their facial expressions, and even run security cam searches to track their recent movements. There were signs everywhere demanding that all augmented reality (AR) glasses, smartpads, and cameraphones be shut off. (People still use cameraphones? Yeah, probably that couple still stuck at check-in.) Nice. They get to see everything about us, but we don’t get to see anything about them. How’s that “transparent society” working out for you? Hiroko amused herself while she waited by thinking about the supposedly ultrasecure, classified software the Transportation Security Administration AR systems ran. Cracked and available for download within a day. It was a nice bit of kit, though, even if not quite legal for her to use. Fortunately, the smartpad that still had the system loaded was at home. She sailed through security, of course (although was startled, as she was putting her shoes back on, to see all of the TSA workers suddenly lift their heads and turn to look at the same guy—he must have tripped some rep flag, but whatever it was wasn’t enough for him to be stopped). Getting to her gate reminded Hiroko of the one advantage of early arrival: she could grab one of the open power plugs. Turning her AR specs back on, she gazed idly at the other passengers slowly filtering in, and waited for the market sim to load on her pad. Everyone had the same pre-jet-lagged look, even—hey!—that old couple. Guess they figured out how to check in. She avoided staring, of course. If she looked for too long at someone’s face, the specs would try to identify who it was, whether you had any connection to him or her, and then work out how you should feel about that person based on how other people in your social network respond to him or her. Sometimes useful, but also a bit rude—like you were looking for the right way to try to flirt. As a result, she didn’t have anything more than the basic reputation watch app on her specs—frankly, she thought, the super-detailed rep systems were something for aging Gen Y’ers, training wheels for the no longer digitally hip. The guy sitting down a couple of rows away caught her eye. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Okay, just this once, she thought, and held her gaze. He looked up, and seemed to have a similar don’t-I-know-her reaction. After a second, a light ring popped up around his face, along with his name (Michael Ahmadi) and the connection. He used to date her sister. Her sister had told her all sorts of things about their relationship. Very, very detailed things. Too-much-information kind of things. As if on cue, the ring Hiroko’s AR system displayed around Michael’s face started pulsing bright red—“he’s a hot one.” Hiroko’s face went just as red and she quickly looked down, just as Michael’s augmented reality system identified her. In an instant, he saw who she was, saw the connection, and guessed why she was blushing. He started blushing, too, and quickly looked away. Hiroko sighed quietly. This was going to be a long flight. |
This morning, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced he is running for president and challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. When Nancy Cordes from CBS News asks him how an independent socialist who is against PAC money can possibly compete with George Soros and the Koch brothers, he is honest, but hopeful: "Maybe it is over with. Maybe it can't happen. Maybe we have moved so far towards an oligarchic form of society, where the big money has so much power, that there may not be candidates who can win elections, because of the power of big money... But let me tell you, I'm going to do my best to see that that is not true." Full transcript below: NANCY CORDES, CBS NEWS: You've been very vocal about money in politics, but you're going to be running against candidates on the right and the left who are going to raise upwards of a billion dollars. SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (INDEPENDENT SOCIALIST, VERMONT): Try two billion. CORDES: How do you get your message out in that environment? SANDERS: You're raising a profound question. This is perhaps the most important issue. And what the issue is about is whether any candidate who is not beholden to the billionaire class and corporate interests can in fact run a campaign that represents the needs of the middle class and working families. You know what? Maybe it is over with. Maybe it can't happen. Maybe we have moved so far towards an oligarchic form of society, where the big money has so much power, that there may not be candidates who can win elections, because of the power of big money. But let me tell you, I'm going to do my best to see that that is not true. And the way we do it is to get a lot of small individual contributions. I'm not going to have any super PAC. The way I've always done it -- We get people to write checks for $25, $100, and hopefully we'll have a few million of them, and hopefully we'll have the money. Not to have more money than our opponents, but enough money to run a credible campaign. Also. A whole lot of volunteers out there working hard. CORDES: Hillary Clinton says she doesn't believe in all this money in politics either, but she doesn't want to unilaterally disarm,so she is going to take those big money checks; what about that strategy? SANDERS: Well, for me that is not an option. Frankly, the billionaire class is not going to give me a whole lot of money, even if I wanted it, and I don't. I've never taken any corporate PAC money in my life, I don't want their money, I don't believe in their agenda. And I'll stand with working families, and hopefully we'll get enough money to run the kind of campaign that we need. |
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid DBE RA (Arabic: زها حديد Zahā Ḥadīd; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect. She was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 2004.[1] She received the UK's most prestigious architectural award, the Stirling Prize, in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, she was made a Dame by Elizabeth II for services to architecture, and in 2015 she became the first and only woman to be awarded the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.[2][3] She was described by The Guardian of London as the "Queen of the curve",[4] who "liberated architectural geometry, giving it a whole new expressive identity".[5] Her major works include the aquatic centre for the London 2012 Olympics, Michigan State University's Broad Art Museum in the US, the Guangzhou Opera House in China,[6] and the Beijing Daxing International Airport, also in China.[7] Some of her awards have been presented posthumously, including the statuette for the 2017 Brit Awards. Several of her buildings were still under construction at the time of her death, including the Daxing airport and the Al Wakrah Stadium in Qatar, a venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[8][9] Early life and academic career [ edit ] Zaha Hadid was born on 31 October 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq, to an upper class Iraqi family.[10] Her father, Muhammad al-Hajj Husayn Hadid, was a wealthy industrialist from Mosul. He co-founded the left-liberal al-Ahali group in 1932. The group was a significant political organisation in the 1930s and 1940s.[10] He was the co-founder of the National Democratic Party in Iraq[10] and served as minister of finance after the overthrow of the monarch after the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état for the government of General Abd al-Karim Qasim. Her mother, Wajiha al-Sabunji, was an artist from Mosul[11] while her brother Foulath Hadid was a writer, accountant and expert on Arab affairs.[12] In the 1960s Hadid attended boarding schools in England and Switzerland.[13][14] Hadid studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut before moving, in 1972, to London to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture.[11] There she studied with Rem Koolhaas, Elia Zenghelis and Bernard Tschumi.[10] Her former professor, Koolhaas, described her at graduation as "a planet in her own orbit."[10] Zenghelis described her as the most outstanding pupil he ever taught. 'We called her the inventor of the 89 degrees. Nothing was ever at 90 degrees. She had spectacular vision. All the buildings were exploding into tiny little pieces." He recalled that she was less interested in details, such as staircases. "The way she drew a staircase you would smash your head against the ceiling, and the space was reducing and reducing, and you would end up in the upper corner of the ceiling. She couldn't care about tiny details. Her mind was on the broader pictures—when it came to the joinery she knew we could fix that later. She was right.'[10] Her fourth-year student project was a painting of a hotel in the form of a bridge, inspired by the works of the Russian suprematist artist Kazimir Malevich. After graduation in 1977, she went to work for her former professors, Koolhaas and Zenghelis, at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[16] Through her association with Koolhaas, she met the architectural engineer Peter Rice, who gave her support and encouragement.[10] Hadid became a naturalised citizen of the United Kingdom.[11][17] She opened her own architectural firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, in London in 1980. She then began her career teaching architecture, first at the Architectural Association, then, over the years at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge University, the University of Chicago, the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Columbia University. She earned her early reputation with her lecturing and colourful and radical early designs and projects, which were widely published in architectural journals but remained largely unbuilt. Her ambitious but unbuilt projects included a plan for Peak in Hong Kong (1983), and a plan for an opera house in Cardiff, Wales, (1994). The Cardiff experience was particularly discouraging; her design was chosen as the best by the competition jury, but the Welsh government refused to pay for it, and the commission was given to a different and less ambitious architect.[19] Her reputation in this period rested largely upon her teaching and the imaginative and colourful paintings she made of her proposed buildings. Her international reputation was greatly enhanced in 1988 when she was chosen to show her drawings and paintings as one of seven architects chosen to participate in the exhibition "Deconstructivism in Architecture" curated by Philip Johnson and Mark Wigley at New York's Museum of Modern Art.[6] Early buildings (1991–2005) [ edit ] Vitra Fire Station (1991–1993) [ edit ] One of her first clients was Rolf Fehlbaum the president-director general of the Swiss furniture firm Vitra, and later, from 2004 to 2010, a member of the jury for the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize. In 1989 Fehlbaum had invited Frank Gehry, then little-known, to build a design museum at the Vitra factory in Weil-am-Rhein. In 1993, he invited Hadid to design a small fire station for the factory. Her radical design, made of raw concrete and glass, was a sculptural work composed of sharp diagonal forms colliding together in the centre. The design plans appeared in architecture magazines before construction. When completed, it only served as a fire station for a short period of time, as Weil am Rhein soon opened their own fire station. It became an exhibit space instead, and is now on display with the works of Gehry and other well-known architects. It was the launching pad of her architectural career. Bergisel Ski Jump (1999–2002) [ edit ] Hadid designed a public housing estate in Berlin (1986–1993) and organised an exhibition, "The Great Utopia" (1992), at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Her next major project was a ski jump at Bergisel, in Innsbruck Austria. The old ski jump, built in 1926, had been used in the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. The new structure was to contain not only a ski jump, but also a cafe with 150 seats offering a 360-degree view of the mountains. Hadid had to fight against traditionalists and against time; the project had to be completed in one year, before the next international competition. Her design is 48 metres high and rests on a base seven metres by seven metres. She described it as "an organic hybrid", a cross between a bridge and a tower, which by its form gives a sense of movement and speed. Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati (1997–2000) [ edit ] At the end of the 1990s, her career began to gather momentum, as she won commissions for two museums and a large industrial building. She competed against Rem Koolhaas and other well-known architects for the design of the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio (1997–2000). She won, and became the first woman to design an art museum in the United States. At 8,500 square metres, the museum was not huge, and her design did not have the flamboyance of the Guggenheim Bilbao of Frank Gehry, built at the same time. But the project demonstrated Hadid's ability to use architectural forms to create interior drama, including its central element, a 30-metre long black stairway that passes between massive curving and angular concrete walls. Phaeno Science Center (2000–2005) [ edit ] In 2000 she won an international competition for the Phaeno Science Center, in Wolfsburg, Germany (2002–2005). The new museum was only a little larger than the Cincinnati Museum, with 9,000 square metres of space, but the plan was much more ambitious. It was similar in concept to the buildings of Le Corbusier, raised up seven metres on concrete pylons. Unlike Corbusier's buildings, she planned for the space under the building to be filled with activity, and each of the 10 massive inverted cone-shaped columns that hold up the building contains a cafe, a shop, or a museum entrance. The tilting columns reach up through the building and also support the roof. The museum structure resembles an enormous ship, with sloping walls and asymmetric scatterings of windows, and the interior, with its angular columns and exposed steel roof framework, gives the illusion of being inside a working vessel or laboratory. Ordrupgaard Museum extension (2001–2005) [ edit ] In 2001 she began another museum project, an extension of the Ordrupgaard Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, a museum featuring a collection of 19th century French and Danish art in the 19th-century mansion of its collector. The new building is 87 metres long and 20 metres wide, and is connected by a five-metre wide passage to the old museum. There are no right angles – only diagonals – in the concrete shell of the museum. The floor-to-ceiling glass walls of the gallery make the garden the backdrop of the exhibits. BMW Administration Building (2001–2005) [ edit ] In 2002 she won the competition to design a new administrative building for the factory of the auto manufacturer BMW in Leipzig, Germany. The three assembly buildings adjoining it were designed by other architects; her building served as the entrance and what she called the "nerve centre" of the complex. As with the Phaeno Science Center, the building is hoisted above street level on leaning concrete pylons. The interior contains a series of levels and floors which seem to cascade, sheltered by tilting concrete beams and a roof supported by steel beams in the shape of an 'H'. The open interior inside was intended, she wrote, to avoid "the traditional segregation of working groups" and to show the "global transparence of the internal organisation" of the enterprise, and wrote that she had given particular attention to the parking lot in front of the building, with the intent, she wrote, of "transforming it into a dynamic spectacle of its own". In 2004 she won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the most prestigious award in architecture, though she had only completed four buildings – the Vitra Fire Station, the Ski Lift in Innsbruck Austria, the Car Park and Terminus Hoenheim North in France, and the Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati.[25] In making the announcement, Thomas Pritzker, the head of the jury, announced: "Although her body of work is relatively small, she has achieved great acclaim and her energy and ideas show even greater promise for the future."[26] Major projects (2006–2010) [ edit ] Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion (2005–2008) [ edit ] Between 1997 and 2010 Hadid ventured into the engineers' domain of bridge construction, a field also occupied by other top architects including Norman Foster and Santiago Calatrava. Between 2005 and 2008 she designed and built the Bridge-Pavilion of Zaragoza, which was both an exhibit hall and a bridge, created for Expo 2008, an event on the themes of water and durable development. The concrete bridge span on which the pavilion rests is 85 metres long, from the Exposition site to an island in the Ebro River. The bridge carries or is attached to four tunnel-like exhibition spaces she termed "pods", which spread onto the island, for a total length of 275 metres. The pods are covered with a skin of 26,000 triangular shingles, many of which open to let in air and light. Like her other structures, the bridge-pavilion is composed entirely of diagonal slopes and curves, with no right-angles of orthogonal forms. By its curving shape and low profile, the bridge-pavilion fits smoothly into the grassy landscape along the river. Sheikh Zayed Bridge (1997–2010) [ edit ] Between 1997 and 2010 she constructed a much more ambitious bridge, the Sheikh Zayed Bridge, between the island of Abu-Dhabi and the mainland of Abu-Dhabi, as well as to the international airport. Both the design of the bridge and the lighting, consisting of gradually changing colours, were designed to give the impression of movement. The silhouette of the bridge is a wave, with a principal arch 235 metres long, standing 60 metres above the water. The total span of four lanes is 842 metres long, and also includes pedestrian walkways. National Museum of Arts of the 21st Century (MAXXI), Rome, Italy (1998–2010) [ edit ] The National Museum of Arts of the 21st Century (MAXXI for short), in Rome, was designed and built between 1998 and 2010. The main theme of its architecture is the sense of movement; Everything in the structure seems to be moving and flowing. The facade belongs to her earlier period, with smooth curving white walls and an austere black and white colour scheme. The building is perched on groups of five very thin pylons, and one gallery with a glass face precariously overhangs the plaza in front of the museum, creating shade. Rowan Moore of The Guardian of London described its form as "bending oblong tubes, overlapping, intersecting and piling over each other. The imagery is of flow and movement and it resembles a demented piece of transport architecture. Inside, black steel stairs and bridges, their undersides glowing with white light, fly across a void. They take you off to the galleries, which are themselves works of frozen motion. The design is intended to generate what Hadid called "confluence, interference and turbulence",[30] Guangzhou Opera House (2003–2010) [ edit ] In 2002 Hadid won an international competition for her first project in China. The Guangzhou Opera House is located in a new business district of the city, with a new 103-storey glass tower behind it. It covers 70,000 square metres and was built at cost of US$300 million. The complex comprises an 1,800-seat theatre, a multipurpose theatre, entry hall, and salon. A covered pathway with restaurants and shops separates the two main structures. This building, like several of her later buildings, was inspired by natural earth forms; the architect herself referred to it as the "two pebbles". It appears akin to two giant smooth-edged boulders faced with 75,000 panels of polished granite and glass. Edwin Heathcote, writing for the Financial Times, noted Hadid's concentration on how her design could transform the urban landscape of Guangzhou, as the building rose as the centre of the new business area. He wrote in 2011 that Hadid "produced a building that seems to suck the surrounding landscape into a vortex of movement and swirling space... appears both as alien object in a landscape of incomprehensible vastness (and often overwhelming banality), and as an extrusion of the peculiar nature of this landscape."[32] Nicolai Ourousoff, architecture critic of the New York Times, wrote that "stepping into the main hall is like entering the soft insides of an oyster...The concave ceiling is pierced by thousands of little lights—it looks like you're sitting under the dome of a clear night sky." Ourousoff noted that the finished building had construction problems: many of the granite tiles on the exterior had to be replaced, and the plaster and other interior work was poorly done by the inexperienced workers, but he praised Hadid's ability "to convey a sense of bodies in motion" and called the building "a Chinese gem that elevates its setting."[33] Major projects (2011–2012) [ edit ] Riverside Museum, Glasgow, Scotland (2004–2011) [ edit ] The Riverside Museum (2004–2011), on the banks of the River Clyde Glasgow, Scotland, houses the Glasgow Museum of Transport. Hadid described the 10,000-square metre building, with 7,000 square metres of gallery space, as "a wave", "folds in movement", and "a shed in the form of a tunnel, open at the extreme ends, one end toward the city and the other toward the Clyde." Like many of her buildings, the whole form is only perceived when viewed from above. The facades are covered with zinc plates, and the roofline has a series of peaks and angles. The interior galleries caused some controversy; visitors who came to see the collection of historic automobiles found that they are mounted on the walls, high overhead, so it is impossible to look into them. Rowan Moore of The Guardian of London wrote: "Obviously the space is about movement...Outside it is, typologically, a supermarket, being a big thing in a parking lot that is seeking to attract you in...It has enigma and majesty, but not friendliness."[35] London Olympics Aquatics Centre (2005–2011) [ edit ] Hadid described her Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as "inspired by the fluid geometry of water in movement". The building covers three swimming pools, and seats 17,500 spectators at the two main pools. The roof, made of steel and aluminium and covered with wood on the inside, rests on just three supports; it is in the form of a parabolic arch which dips in the centre, with the two pools at either end. The seats are placed in bays beside the curving and outward-leaning walls of glass. At £269 million, the complex cost three times the original estimate, owing principally to the complexity of the roof. This was the subject of much comment when it was constructed, and it was the first 2012 Olympic building begun but the last to be finished. It was praised by architecture critics. Rowan Moore of The Guardian said that the roof "floats and undulates" and called the centre "the Olympics' most majestic space".[37] Broad Art Museum, East Lansing, Michigan (2007–2012) [ edit ] The Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, Hadid's second project in the United States, has a space of 4,274 square metres, dedicated to contemporary art and modern art and an historical collection. The parallelogram-shaped building leans sharply and seems about to tip over. Hadid wrote that she designed the building so that its sloping pleated stainless steel facades would reflect the surrounding neighbourhood from different angles; the building continually changes colour depending upon the weather, the time of day and the angle of the sun. As Hadid commented, the building "awakens curiosity without ever truly revealing its contents". Elaine Glusac of The New York Times wrote that the architecture of the new museum "radicalizes the streetscape".[39] The Museum was used in a scene of the 2016 Batman vs. Superman movie.[40] Galaxy SOHO, Beijing, China (2008–2012) [ edit ] Many of Hadid's later major works are found in Asia. The Galaxy SOHO in Beijing, China (2008–2012) is a combination of offices and a commercial centre in the heart of Beijing with a total of 332,857 square metres, composed of four different ovoid glass-capped buildings joined together by multiple curving passageways on different levels. Hadid explained, "the interior spaces follow the same coherent formal logic of continual curvilinearity." The complex, like most of her buildings, gives the impression that every part of them is in motion. Last completed major projects (2013–2016) [ edit ] Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku Azerbaijan (2007–2013) [ edit ] The Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan (2007–2013) is a gigantic cultural and conference centre containing three auditoriums, a library and museum, with a total space of 10,801 square metres on a surface of 15,514 square metres, and a height of 74 metres. Hadid wrote that "its fluid form emerges from the folds of the natural topography of the landscape and envelops the different functions of the centre", though the building when completed was largely surrounded by Soviet-era apartment blocks. Peter Cook in Architectural Review called it "a white vision, outrageously total, arrogantly complete ... a unique object that confounds and contradicts the reasonable ... a wave form sweeping up, almost lunging, into the sky ... here is architecture as the ultimate statement of theatre ... It is the most complete realisation yet of the Iraqi-born architect's vision of sweeping curves and flowing space."[43] Consisting of eight storeys, the centre includes an auditorium with 1000 seats, exhibition space, conference hall, workshop and a museum. No straight line was used in the project of the complex. The shape of the building is wave-like and the overall view is unique and harmonic. Such an architectural structure stands for post-modernist architecture and forms oceanic feeling. The lines of the building symbolise the merging of past and future. Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, Korea (2007–2013) [ edit ] The Dongdaemun Design Plaza (2007–2013) is among the largest buildings in Seoul, South Korea. Its name means "Great Gate of the East", in reference to the old walls of the city. The complex of 86,574 square metres contains exhibition space, a museum of design, conference rooms and other common facilities, as well as the bureaux and a marketplace for designers which is open 24 hours a day. The main building is 280 metres long with seven levels, including three levels underground. The smooth-skinned, giant mushroom-like structure floating atop sloping pylons is made of concrete, aluminium, steel and stone on the exterior, and finished inside with plaster reinforced with synthetic fibre, acoustic tiles, acrylic resin, and stainless steel and polished stone on the interior. Hadid wrote that the principal characteristics of her design were "transparency, porousness, and durability." It also features many ecological features, including a double skin, solar panels, and a system for recycling water. Library and Learning Center, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria (2008–2013) [ edit ] The Library and Learning Center was designed as the centrepiece of the new University of Economics in Vienna. Containing 28,000 square metres of space, its distinctive Hadid features include walls sloping at 35 degrees and massive black volume cantilevered at an angle over the plaza in front of the building. She described the interior as follows: "The straight lines of the building's exterior separate as they move inward, becoming curvilinear and fluid to generate a free-formed interior canyon that serves as the principal public plaza of the Center, as well as generating corridors and bridges ensuring smooth transitions between different levels."[45] Innovation Tower, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2007–2014) [ edit ] The Innovation Tower in Hong Kong (2007–2014) is part of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The building of 15 floors has 15,000 square metres of space, with laboratories, classrooms, studios and other facilities for 1,800 students and their faculty. It was built on the site of the university's former football pitch. The extremely complex forms of the building required computer modelling. Early designs experimented with a facade made of reinforced plastic, textiles or aluminium, but Hadid finally settled upon metal panels with multiple layers. The building seems to lean towards the city. The floors inside are visible from the exterior like geological strata. Wangjing SOHO Tower, Beijing (2009–2014) [ edit ] Wangjing SOHO tower in Beijing is the second building Hadid designed for the major Chinese furniture manufacturer, located half-way between the centre of Beijing and the airport. The towers slope and curve; Hadid compared them to Chinese fans, "whose volumes turn one around the other in a complex ballet." The tallest building is 200 metres high, with two levels of shops and 37 levels of offices. A single atrium level three storeys high joins the three buildings at the base. Port Authority, Antwerp, Belgium (2016) [ edit ] Of all her works, Hadid designed only one government building, offices for the port authority, or Havenhuis, in Antwerp, Belgium, completed in 2016. Most new government buildings attempt to express solidity and seriousness but Port Authority, a ship-like structure of glass and steel on a white concrete perch, seems to have landed atop the old port building constructed in 1922. The faceted glass structure also resembles a diamond, a symbol of Antwerp's role as the major market of diamonds in Europe. It was one of the last works of Hadid, who died in 2016, the year it opened. The square in front of the building was renamed to Zaha Hadidplein (Zaha Hadidsquare) to honor her death. Death [ edit ] On 31 March 2016, Hadid died of a heart attack in a Miami hospital, where she was being treated for bronchitis.[48][49] The statement issued by her London-based design studio announcing her death read: "Zaha Hadid was widely regarded to be the greatest female architect in the world today".[50] She is buried between her father Mohammed Hadid and brother Foulath Hadid in Brookwood Cemetery in Brookwood, Surrey, England.[51] In her will she left £67m, and bequeathed various amounts to her business partner and family members. Her international design businesses, which accounted for the bulk of her wealth, were left in trust. She was unmarried and had no children.[52][53] Posthumous major projects (2016–present) [ edit ] Salerno Maritime Terminal in Salerno, Italy (2005–2016) Salerno Maritime Terminal in Salerno, Italy (2000–2016) [ edit ] The first major project to be completed shortly after her death was the Salerno Maritime Terminal in Salerno, Italy, her first major transportation building. She won the competition for the building in 2000, but then the project was delayed due to funding and technical issues. Hadid scouted the site from a police boat in the harbour to visualise how it would appear from the water. The final building covers 50,000 square feet and cost 15 million Euros. Paolo Cattrarin, the project architect who completed the building after Hadid's death, said, "We thought of the building as an oyster, with a hard shell top and bottom, and a softer, liquid, more organic interior." At the opening of the new building, posters of Hadid were placed around the city, saying, "Goodbye Zaha Hadid; Genius and Modernity, Inspiration and Transformation, Light That Takes Shape."[54] Scorpion Tower of Miami [ edit ] The Scorpion Tower of Miami, now known as One Thousand Museum, was started while Hadid was still alive though currently undergoing completion posthumously. It is noted by its curved external columns standing the full length of the building. Its twin Scorpion Tower has also been built in Dubai.[55] Skyscraper re-purposing of 666 Fifth Avenue (2015–incomplete) [ edit ] On 25 March 2017, Kam Dhillon reported a yet-to-be completed skyscraper design designed by Hadid prior to her death in 2016 in an article titled "Zaha Hadid Architects Unveils Monumental Skyscraper Project for NYC".[56] Teaching [ edit ] In the 1990s, she held the Sullivan Chair professorship at the University of Illinois at Chicago's School of Architecture. At various times, she served as guest professor at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HFBK Hamburg), the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University, the Masters Studio at Columbia University, and was the Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor of Architectural Design at the Yale School of Architecture. From 2000, Hadid was a guest professor at the Institute of Architecture at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, in the Zaha Hadid Master Class Vertical-Studio.[57] Interior architecture and product design [ edit ] Hadid's fluid interior of the Silken Puerta America in Madrid Hadid also undertook some high-profile interior work, including the Mind Zone at the Millennium Dome in London as well as creating fluid furniture installations within the Georgian surroundings of Home House private members club in Marylebone, and the Z.CAR hydrogen-powered, three-wheeled automobile. In 2009 she worked with the clothing brand Lacoste to create a new, high fashion, and advanced boot.[58][59] In the same year, she also collaborated with the brassware manufacturer Triflow Concepts to produce two new designs in her signature parametric architectural style.[60] In 2007, Hadid designed Dune Formations for David Gill Gallery and the Moon System Sofa for leading Italian furniture manufacturer B&B Italia.[61][62] In 2013, Hadid designed Liquid Glacial for David Gill Gallery which comprises a series of tables resembling ice-formations made from clear and coloured acrylic. Their design embeds surface complexity and refraction within a powerful fluid dynamic.[63] The collection was further extended in 2015–2016. In 2016 the gallery launched Zaha's final collection of furniture entitled UltraStellar[64] Reputation [ edit ] Following her death in March 2016, Michael Kimmelman of The New York Times wrote: "her soaring structures left a mark on skylines and imaginations and in the process re-shaped architecture for the modern age...Her buildings elevated uncertainty to an art, conveyed in the odd way of one entered and moved through these buildings and in the questions that her structures raised about how they were supported ... Hadid embodied, in its profligacy and promise, the era of so-called starchitects who roamed the planet in pursuit of their own creative genius, offering miracles, occasionally delivering."[65] Deyan Sudjic of The Guardian described Hadid as "an architect who first imagined, then proved, that space could work in radical new ways ... Throughout her career, she was a dedicated teacher, enthused by the energy of the young. She was not keen to be characterised as a woman architect, or an Arab architect. She was simply an architect."[66] In an interview published in Icon magazine, she said: "I never use the issue about being a woman architect ... but if it helps younger people to know they can break through the glass ceiling, I don't mind that."[3] Sometimes called the "Queen of the curve", Hadid was frequently described in the press as the world's top female architect.[4][67][68][69][70] although her work also attracted criticism. The Metropolitan Museum in New York cited her "unconventional buildings that seem to defy the logic of construction".[71][72] Her architectural language was described as "famously extravagant" and she was accused of building "dictator states".[73] Architect Sean Griffiths characterised Hadid's work as "an empty vessel that sucks in whatever ideology might be in proximity to it".[74] Qatar controversy [ edit ] As the architect of a stadium to be used for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Hadid was accused in The New York Review of Books of giving an interview in which she allegedly showed no concern for the deaths of migrant workers in Qatar involved in the project. In August 2014, Hadid sued The New York Review of Books for defamation and won.[75] Immediately thereafter, the reviewer and author of the piece in which she was accused of showing no concern issued a retraction in which he said "work did not begin on the site for the Al Wakrah stadium, until two months after Ms Hadid made those comments; and construction is not scheduled to begin until 2015 ... There have been no worker deaths on the Al Wakrah project and Ms Hadid's comments about Qatar that I quoted in the review had nothing to do with the Al Wakrah site or any of her projects. I regret the error."[9] Style [ edit ] The architectural style of Hadid is not easily categorised, and she did not describe herself as a follower of any one style or school. Nonetheless, before she had built a single major building, she was categorised by the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a major figure in architectural Deconstructivism. Her work was also described as an example of parametricism. An article profiling Hadid in the New Yorker magazine was titled "The Abstractionist".[77] When she was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2004, the jury chairman, Lord Rothschild, commented: "At the same time as her theoretical and academic work, as a practicing architect, Zaha Hadid has been unswerving in her commitment to modernism. Always inventive, she's moved away from existing typology, from high tech, and has shifted the geometry of buildings."[26] The Design Museum described her work in 2016 as having "the highly expressive, sweeping fluid forms of multiple perspective points and fragmented geometry that evoke the chaos and flux of modern life".[16] Hadid herself, who often used dense architectural jargon, could also describe the essence of her style very simply: "The idea is not to have any 90-degree angles. In the beginning, there was the diagonal. The diagonal comes from the idea of the explosion which 're-forms' the space. This was an important discovery." Awards and honors [ edit ] Hadid was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2002 Birthday Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to architecture.[79][80] Hadid was named an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects. She was on the board of trustees of The Architecture Foundation.[81] In 2002, Hadid won the international design competition to design Singapore's one-north master plan. In 2004, Hadid became the first female recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize.[82] In 2005, her design won the competition for the new city casino of Basel, Switzerland[83] and she was elected as a Royal Academician.[84] In 2006, she was honoured with a retrospective spanning her entire work at the Guggenheim Museum in New York; that year she also received an Honorary Degree from the American University of Beirut. In 2008, she was ranked 69th on the Forbes list of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women".[85] In 2010, she was named by Time as an influential thinker in the 2010 TIME 100 issue.[86] In September 2010 the New Statesman listed Zaha Hadid at number 42 in its annual survey of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures of 2010".[87] In 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4.[88] In 2014, 2015 and 2016, Hadid appeared on Debrett's list of the most influential people in the UK.[89] In January 2015, she was nominated for the Services to Science and Engineering award at the British Muslim Awards.[90] She won the Stirling Prize, the UK's most prestigious award for architecture, two years running: in 2010, for one of her most celebrated works, the MAXXI in Rome,[91] and in 2011 for the Evelyn Grace Academy, a Z‑shaped school in Brixton, London.[92] She also designed the Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park in Seoul, South Korea, which was the centrepiece of the festivities for the city's designation as World Design Capital 2010. In 2014, the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre, designed by her, won the Design Museum Design of the Year Award, making her the first woman to win the top prize in that competition.[2] In 2015, she became the first woman to receive the Royal Gold Medal awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects.[93][94] In 2016 in Antwerp, Belgium a square was named after her, Zaha Hadidplein, in front of the extension of the Antwerp Harbour House designed by Zaha Hadid. Google celebrated her achievements with a Doodle on 31 May 2017, to commemorate the date (in 2004) on which Hadid became the first woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize.[95] List of architectural works [ edit ] Her architectural design firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, employs 400 people and its headquarters are in a Victorian former-school building in Clerkenwell, London.[106] Conceptual projects [ edit ] Malevich's Tektonik (1976–77), London, UK Museum of the nineteenth century (1977–78), London, UK Dutch Parliament Extension (1978–79), The Hague, Netherlands Irish Prime Minister's Residence (1979–80), Dublin, Ireland Cardiff Bay Opera House (1995), Cardiff, Wales – not realised Price Tower the extension hybrid project (2002), Bartlesville, Oklahoma, United States – pending Signature Towers (2006) Kartal-Pendik Masterplan (2006), Istanbul, Turkey Bahrain International Circuit (2007), Sakhir, Bahrain Surfers Paradise Transit Centre Site (2007), Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia Completed projects (selection) [ edit ] Incomplete projects [ edit ] Vilnius Guggenheim Hermitage Museum in 2008. In 2010, commissioned by the Iraqi government to design the new building for the Central Bank of Iraq. An agreement to complete the design stages of the new CBI building was finalised on 2 February 2012, at a ceremony in London.[120] This was her first project in her native Iraq.[121] In 2012, Hadid won an international competition to design a new National Olympic Stadium as part of the successful bid by Tokyo to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.[122] As the estimated cost of the construction mounted, however, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announced in July 2015 that Hadid's design would be scrapped in favour of a new bidding process to seek a less expensive alternative.[123] Hadid had planned to enter the new competition, but her firm was unable to meet the new requirement of finding a construction company with which to partner.[124] Non-architectural work [ edit ] Museum exhibitions [ edit ] Other work [ edit ] Nightlife (1999). Zaha Hadid designed the stage set for the Pet Shop Boys' world tour. (1999). Zaha Hadid designed the stage set for the Pet Shop Boys' world tour. A Day with Zaha Hadid (2004). A 52-minute documentary where Zaha Hadid discusses her current work while taking the camera through her retrospective exhibition "Zaha Hadid has Arrived". Directed by Michael Blackwood. [133] (2004). A 52-minute documentary where Zaha Hadid discusses her current work while taking the camera through her retrospective exhibition "Zaha Hadid has Arrived". Directed by Michael Blackwood. In October 2008, she guest-edited Wallpaper magazine. [134] magazine. On 2 January 2009, she was the guest editor of the BBC's flagship morning radio news programme, Today.[135] See also [ edit ] Bibliography [ edit ] Taschen, Aurelia and Balthazar (2016). L'Architecture Moderne de A à Z (in French). Bibliotheca Universalis. ISBN 978-3-8365-5630-9. Fontana-Giusti, Gordana and Schumacher, Patrik. (2004). Complete Works of Zaha Hadid , 4 volumes, Thames and Hudson, Rizzoli, published in English, translated into German and Spanish. ISBN 0-500-34200-8 , 4 volumes, Thames and Hudson, Rizzoli, published in English, translated into German and Spanish. ISBN 0-500-34200-8 Jodidio, Philip (2016). Zaha Hadid (in French). Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8365-3626-4. |
Poll Finds Support for Gay Marriage on Far Northwest Side View Full Caption SAUGANASH — Nearly two-thirds of Democratic voters on the Far Northwest Side support same-sex marriage, according to a new poll commissioned by activists gearing up for a possible vote this week by the Illinois House. Same-sex marriage supporters are using the poll to turn up the heat on State Rep. John D'Amico, the only Democratic member of the Illinois House representing Chicago who has not pledged to support the legislation, which may be brought to the floor in this week's veto session. D'Amico represents the 15th Illinois House District, which includes parts of Mayfair, North Park, Forest Glen, Sauganash, Edison Park and several Northwest Suburbs. Sixty-six percent of voters who cast ballots in Democratic primaries support efforts to legalize same-sex marriage, while 24 percent are opposed, according to the poll released by Illinois Unites for Marriage Equality. D'Amico, who did not return repeated phone messages left by DNAinfo Chicago, told the Chicago Sun-Times this week that he was still undecided on the measure and acknowledged that he was being lobbied hard by both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage. D'Amico voted no in 2010 on a bill that gave gay and lesbian couples the option of civil unions with many of the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Chai Wolfman, 33, her partner, Mandi Hinkley, recently met with D'Amico at his Mayfair office to urge him to allow the couple — parents of 3-year-old twin girls — to get married. "We're just as worthy as everyone else to be treated fairly and equally under the law in our state and it's sad that the message that we're sending now to our kids is that our family is inferior because it's not," said Wolfman, whose family lives in Sauganash Park. "I think that needs to change." Wolfman and Hinkley were among eight same-sex marriage supporters who lobbied D'Amico in person. Wolfman said she was dismayed D'Amico, 51, is undecided. "It sounds like someone is undecided about whether my family and my relationship is worthy of being treated fairly and equally," Wolfman said. "That's the whole heart of the issue. It's hurtful. It's sad. It's frustrating." In May, Illinois legislators failed to vote on gay marriage after Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said he did not have enough support to call the vote, angering marriage advocates. Activists plan to march in Springfield Tuesday to demand a positive result. More than 73 percent of Democratic voters in the 39th, 41st and 45th wards on the Far Northwest Side support same-sex marriage, according to the poll. D'Amico's aunt, Ald. Margaret Laurino, represents the 39th Ward, which also includes parts of Mayfair and Sauganash. A quarter of likely Democratic voters are more likely to vote for D'Amico if he supports same-sex marriage, according to the poll. More than half said it would make no difference to them, and 12 percent said they would be less likely to cast their ballot for him if he supported the measure. Support for gay marriage topped 55 percent among Democratic voters older than 65, and voters younger than 35 said they supported the measure by more than 80 percent, the poll said. Sixty-four percent of Democratic voters who identified themselves as Catholic said they supported gay marriage, as did 61 percent of Protestants, according to the telephone poll of 351 likely Democratic voters from Sept. 4 through Sept. 7. Conducted by Lisle-based Fako & Associates, the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. |
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank today said there was an attempt to hack its website on Thursday, rendering it inaccessible for almost the entire day. "It was a DNS (Domain Name System) attack where the hacker tried entering the website from a single Internet protocol address multiple times, jamming its bandwidth," an RBI spokesperson said. Due to multiple requests received from the hacker's IP address, genuine entrants were unable to access the RBI website--www.rbi.org.in. "We found the IP address and blocked it and got the website on its feet again," the spokesperson said, adding there was no loss of information or defacing as the hackers could not get into the site. The RBI brass, including Governor D Subbarao and all the deputy governors, were in Mussorie, Uttarakhand on Thursday for the board meeting when the hacking attempt was reported. Further details like the exact time period when the hacking happened and the geographical location where the attack has been traced to, are unclear. When contacted, a senior official with the Mumbai Police's cyber crime investigation cell said it has not received any complaint from the RBI regarding the incident. |
A holy surprise will grab your attention. Holy surprises are the events and people which interrupt the expected plans of your day. When you live with awareness of them your own humanity is enriched and expanded. Will you choose to allow them to punctuate your day with their invitation to playful delight about life? For many people the work week, a job, family dynamics, a marriage or their own self-image is something to be endured. They have become so practiced at “survival” that the endurance seems normal when in fact it is life and spirit sapping. It serves no one for this to be your “reality.” Instead, these four tips for choosing to be present to holy surprises invite you to a more enlivened experience of life. 1. Live beyond the “If only” half-script of your life. I frequently hear people suggest that “If Only” a particular circumstance were different then they would be ready to embrace the yearnings of their lives. This only cedes your life to fear. It results in you becoming a bystander to your own being and purpose. [pullquote] It is on the edge of my fears that I am open to even small steps that become a pathway to transformed living. I once allowed my fear of failure to keep me from writing. I thought that if it was not excellent enough it would disappoint those around me and the institution I served. Too many of us allow others to keep us from our script. A half-script is a gatekeeper to life. When we view events or people that rattle our complacency or awaken our fear of ourselves as a holy surprise we discover that they are an invitation to make choices to live into our own script. Our choice to respond to the surprise invites others to do the same and experience a life of richer engagement and delight. 2. Cultivate imagination each day My maternal grandmother was born in Nazareth in the Holy Land. When I was young she would tell me Bible stories with graphic descriptions of the landscape and characters. They were tremendous! Decades later I realized that her Bible stories often bore little resemblance to the book she was referencing. Her imagination engaged me and the kernels of wisdom and truth of the stories remade in her imagination seemed radiant. Somewhere between the age of 6 and 8 many children are told to stop being “so silly” in exercising their imagination. In the creation stories of many religious traditions we learn that humanity is made in the image a Creator. But what if you think of yourself as being made, not in the image of, but the imagination of the ever-creating, ever-expanding Universe? The closest word to “human” in Hebrew or the Latin homo is Adam which derives from the Hebrew root word for “imagination.” To be human is to participate in limitless imagination! Cultivating imagination allows us to experience the holy surprises that interrupt our days with new eyes. Instead of disbelief, fear or resistance, we greet them as possibilities engaging our imaginative self. 3. Expect life to engage you with unexpected people. Our own story is not a personal treasure for only ourselves and those within the circle of comfortable friends. When we can hold the diverse elements of our story together – including wonder, shame, regret and joy – there is a seamlessness about who we are that reveals wisdom and truth in the arc of our story. The result is a new and heightened compassion for yourself and others. When you share your story with others you experience curiosity about their story. It becomes a common, sacred meeting ground with unexpected people who are not in the usual orbit of your life. Real differences may still exist with unexpected people on this expanded field of life but it is marked by anxiety making room for delight. The professional and business groups I work with yearn to know how a story can be used to engage more authentically with colleagues and clients. Whether it is in your professional or personal life, the holy surprise of engaging with unexpected others through story allows suspicion to give way to insights previously unimagined. Oneness with humanity is no longer a theory but a delight. 4. Choose to bring new life to others and yourself. When you engage in acts of generosity or self-giving your happiness index increases. Instead of being overwhelmed by seemingly inextricable problems in the world or your community be open to a holy surprise inviting you to respond with a simple action. Walking on a Florida beach I was surprised by a bevy of volunteers marking off sites on the beach with stakes and tape. They were protecting the loggerhead turtles’ nesting ground in the sand. One volunteer told me he was inspired to do this work after learning that only one of every one thousand eggs laid results in a surviving turtle. I marveled at his simple yet joyous response in becoming a midwife to the turtles. The surprise is often presented by an opportunity. A grandson noticed his 84-year-old grandmother’s delight in surfing the Internet and using Facebook to keep up on her large family. He knew that her old computer could not be used for watching the videos posted of her great grandchildren. He decided to buy her an iPad. The grandmother relishes the new tool she has for connection and learning. Will you allow these four tools for embracing holy surprises to grab your attention each day? Your own well-being will be expanded by the playful delight you discover. |
FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2016, file photo WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks on the balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. President Barack Obama’s decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence quickly brought fresh attention to another figure involved in the Army leaker’s case: Julian Assange. In a tweet in early January 2017, Assange’s anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks wrote, “If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case.” (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File) PARIS (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange retreated from his pledge to accept extradition to the U.S. if Chelsea Manning was granted clemency, arguing Wednesday via his lawyers that what he was really asking for was an immediate pardon for the ex-Army analyst. It was only last week that Assange raised eyebrows across the internet when he appeared to offer himself up as a kind of swap for Manning, the former private convicted of leaking the hundreds of thousands of documents that made WikiLeaks a household name. “If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case,” WikiLeaks said, apparently referring to the U.S. Department of Justice’s continuing investigation into the radical transparency website. But when Obama granted clemency to Manning on Tuesday, setting a May release date that lops almost 30 years off her sentence, Assange’s lawyers said it wasn’t enough. “There’s no question that what President Obama did is not what Assange was seeking,” said Barry Pollack, who represents the WikiLeaks chief in the United States. “Mr. Assange was saying that Chelsea should never have been prosecuted, never have been sentenced to decades in prison, and should have been released immediately.” Melinda Taylor, who also represents Assange, agreed, saying in an email that clemency was “far short of what Mr. Assange asked for and what Ms. Manning deserved (which is to be pardoned and freed immediately).” Neither supplied any evidence that Assange had used the words “immediate” or “pardon” in relation to his extradition offer, but Pollack said it was clear that was what Assange meant — noting that the Australian computer expert had previously pushed for Manning’s pardon. “Why would he be called for Manning’s release in a few months from now?” Pollack said. “You can parse his tweets any way that you want to parse them. I think his position has been clear throughout.” Critics of Assange had a field day, accusing him of dishonesty or using Manning’s case to win publicity. “Julian Assange Backpedals on Extradition Promise in Record Time,” read one headline in tech website Gizmodo. It’s not the first time Assange’s pronouncements in relation to Manning haven’t quite worked out as advertised. In December 2010, journalists revealed that WikiLeaks had failed to honor a pledge to help support Manning’s legal defense fund. It was only after the story was aired in the media that WikiLeaks paid up, reducing its expected contribution from $50,000 to $20,000 and then finally to $15,100, according to press accounts at the time. Even earlier, in June 2010, WikiLeaks said that claims “that we have been sent 260,000 classified US embassy cables are, as far as we can tell, incorrect.” Four months later, the site began publishing Manning’s huge trove. ___ Online: Raphael Satter is reachable on: http://raphaelsatter.com |
CRADLE OF FILTH: The band's T-shirt was ruled objectionable by New Zealand's chief censor. Warning: The story below contains material some readers may find objectionable. A banned t-shirt depicting a graphic image of a nun and explicit abuse of Jesus is well-guarded at the Canterbury Museum. The T-Shirts Unfolding exhibition sparked outrage ahead of its opening, but there were no signs of protest at the opening today. The t-shirt was in a separate corner, with a large warning sign and museum staff checking people's ID before they were allowed to see it Entitled Vestal Masturbation, the shirt is the design of English heavy metal band Cradle of Filth. On the front it shows an image of a masturbating nun while on the reverse it has the phrase "Jesus is a c***". Christchurch's Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews questioned why the t-shirt needed to be included in the exhibition at all. Cartoons and ridicule of the prophet Mohammed had led to violence and outrage in Islamic countries, and the public needed to consider whether what happened here could "have repercussions across the globe". "At a time when we are seeking ways to reconcile extreme views in the international community, this exhibit could feed the accusation that the West is morally bankrupt," she said. "The inclusion of this t-shirt as art in an exhibition is a conversation for the wider community with issues of mutual respect, common decency and what the public wants and does not want." Catholic blogger Brendan Malone said in a blog post that a museum should bring a community together, but Canterbury Museum's decision to hold this exhibition was "irresponsible" and would "result in unnecessary harm" to the public. "Canterbury Museum has chosen to make itself a place that fosters intolerance and division – and what's worse; as a ratepayer I am being forced to fund this intolerant and divisive behaviour." He questioned whether the museum would display a t-shirt that "attacked and ridiculed Islam" in the same way. Malone also launched an online petition on Change.org asking for Canterbury Museum to "remove the hateful t-shirt" and "stop dividing the community". The petition said the museum should act with more community responsibility and respect for its local funders by removing the t-shirt from its exhibition. Catholic Bishop Barry Jones also criticised the controversial t-shirt. "Anglican and Roman Catholic nuns enjoy wide respect and the misogynistic message on the t-shirt is appalling," he said. Family First planned to lay a complaint with police about the "highly offensive" display. "The museum should show some respect to the many families who will be horrified and offended by this and remove the offensive material," national director Bob McCoskrie said. "Sinking to these low levels is an insult to many families." Canterbury Museum director Anthony Wright said the shirt was a small part of a large exhibition examining the garment's place in popular culture. "When you do a show like this you deal with the edges of our culture and society. There are inevitably going to be some items and themes that are going to be offensive to some. "It's there because it is a valid part of an overall story about a whole cultural movement. We want to tell the whole story without unduly censoring things." Museum management had a "serious discussion" before deciding to include the t-shirt in the exhibition, Wright said. New Zealand's chief censor ruled the t-shirt objectionable in 2008 but granted the museum an exemption to display it provided it was kept in a separate space from other exhibits and was age restricted. In his decision, chief censor Bill Hastings said the t-shirt was injurious to the public because it featured socially unacceptable profanity that associated its aggressive and misogynistic meaning with Jesus Christ. "I can't remember seeing a stronger t-shirt than this one." Wright said the museum was displaying the t-shirt with an R18 warning of offensive content and language and providing information about the garment's sometimes provocative role in contemporary art. "There's no way anyone could get to the t-shirt unless they really wanted to," he said. "It can't be stumbled upon." There are several hundred t-shirts in the exhibition. The event is free to enter and runs until May 10. * Comments have now been closed on this article. |
Note: This is SB Nation NHL’s top 25 players under age 25 series! We’ll be covering each player from No. 25 to No. 1 over the next few weeks leading up to training camp time. See the complete list and information on how the rankings were compiled. When the Toronto Maple Leafs exploded on the scene last season as the NHL’s funnest young team to watch, the attention was squarely on the seven rookies who played over 50 regular season games. Among that crop was Mitch Marner, a 20-year-old switch center and right wing who made up Toronto’s three-headed dragon with Auston Matthews and William Nylander. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Marner broke out in his rookie year. After all, he was a fourth overall pick by the Maple Leafs in the 2015 draft, and just one of many top-10 picks Toronto hoarded over the past few seasons. Not all top picks pan out, of course, but the Maple Leafs have seemingly struck gold after the riches their previous season brought them. Marner put up 61 points in 77 games with 19 goals to his name in the 2016-17 season. His 61 points on the year put him in a three-way tie for third place on the Maple Leafs team leaderboard and his 42 assists were tops on the team, which set a Toronto rookie record. It was an astonishingly good year for Marner in his first NHL season, and his addition on the second line with James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak were just as deadly as Toronto’s first line. In fact, the line of van Riemsdyk, Marner, and Bozak led the NHL with 48 even strength goals this past season, according to Left Wing Lock. Marner spent almost all of his time on the second line as the latter half of the Maple Leaf’s one-two punch, benefiting both van Riemsdyk and Bozak at even strength GF% due to Marner’s extreme playmaking abilities. However, van Riemsdyk was a slightly better Corsi player away from Marner in their limited time apart, jumping from a 50.74 CF% player with to a 56.32 CF% player without the rookie, per Natural Stat Trick. Marner himself was a just above-average Corsi player, with a 50.17 CF% percentage at five-on-five this season, though clearly his play-driving benefits outweigh his average possession stats. While the Maple Leafs have a plethora of young stars that all deserve time in the spotlight, Marner is no doubt in a higher tier. His rookie season was testament to his skills as a dynamic playmaker, and he’ll no doubt continue rising as his career progresses. Past accomplishments Marner spent three seasons in the OHL with the London Knights, amassing a total of 301 points in 184 games, with 205 of those being assists. In two of his three seasons in London, Marner put up north of 100 points in seasons of 63 and 57 games. While Marner fell just short of the OHL rookie of the year award in 2014 after registering 59 points in 64 games, he lead the Knights to an OHL Championship win — and a Memorial Cup — in 2016 as co-captain of the team. That season, Marner also won the Red Tilson Trophy as the league’s most outstanding player of the year and led the Knights with 44 playoff points in 18 games en route to a successful final year at the major junior level. In the NHL, Marner finished fifth in Calder Trophy voting after his tremendous rookie season. Marner also won rookie of the month honors in January after posting 15 points in 13 games for the Maple Leafs. After a strong season that ended in the first round at the hands of the Washington Capitals, Marner went on to help Team Canada to a World Championship silver medal with 12 points in 10 games. All in all, quite the decorated past for Marner. Future impact The Maple Leafs are truly blessed to have a top-line talent in Marner occupying space on their second line. Though Marner didn’t fill a center role for the Maple Leafs last year, he’s familiar with the position enough that it’s what NHL.com lists him under when you pull up his stats. Regardless, Marner’s position on the second line gives Toronto the one-two punch championship teams have, from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin with the Penguins to Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane with the Blackhawks. With Marner on his entry-level deal for the next two seasons, the window remains wide open for the Maple Leafs to do serious damage with one of the NHL’s most skilled forward corps. With no trade winds currently blowing, Marner will likely be back with van Riemsdyk and Bozak for the upcoming season, and their chemistry could very likely propel them to the top of the NHL’s leaderboards once more. Marner saw an average of 16:49 minutes per night, and given his offensive talents it’s not unreasonable to think the second line will receive a bump in minutes. For good reason, as Marner no doubt projects to be a member of the Maple Leafs core for the near — and likely far — future. Marner arrived in the NHL last year to incredible fanfare, and it’s very likely the young forward will keep the pace in the upcoming years to come. Is this ranking too high or too low? Maple Leafs fans will likely exclaim that this ranking is too low for Marner and in time that could very well be the case. Given the 20-year-old has played just one season — though an incredible one it was — there’s a reason he’s ranked at No. 17 on the list. Should Marner progress the way he’s trending as an offensive forward, he’ll no doubt jump up this list. It’s likely only a matter of time. Highest rank: No. 3 Lowest rank: Not ranked |
Jimmy Buffett’s most famous airplane is his 1954 Grumman HU-16 Albatross, dubbed the Hemisphere Dancer. In their early years, the twin-engine amphibious flying boats were used primarily as search-and-rescue aircraft for the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. In 1996, the Hemisphere Dancer was shot at by Jamaican authorities as it taxied in the water near Negril. The Jamaicans had mistaken it for a drug-runner’s plane, though Jimmy had “only come for chicken”, he was not “the ganja plane.” U2’s Bono was also on board the plane, but neither him nor Buffett were hurt. Like the great songwriter he is, Buffett penned a tune about the incident: Jamaica Mistaica appeared on the album Banana Wind. In 2003, Jimmy retired the Hemisphere Dancer and put it on display at the Lone Palm Airport outside of his Margaritaville Cafe in Orlando, Florida. It sits there to this day, and visitors can walk right up to the Albatross at the Universal Studios CityWalk attraction. Though without a flyable seaplane, Buffett still had a Cessna 208 Caravan on amphibious floats. And in 2009, he bought a 1939 Grumman Widgeon seaplane. |
City Hall starts off last week giving one of its typical bureaucratic blow-offs to plans for bike lanes throughout the city. At a briefing before a city council committee, staff experts tell the council members that bike lanes would be hugely expensive. Sorta can't be done. Big legal headache. Maybe just forget about it. By the end of the week — barely days later — City Hall is already backing down. Now they're saying it can be done and, by God, they're gonna do it. Maybe. Hey, that may not sound like major action to you, and I'm not calling it an earthquake, but it's definitely a tremor. It's a very interesting tremor. Continue Reading The bike plan now is the emblematic, frontline, eyeball-to-eyeball standoff between the old Big-Hair Tail-Fins Dallas and the new Gen X Thirtysomething Back-to-the-City Dallas. Don't look now, but Big-Hair just blinked. It's a blink demonstrating something very exciting. It means this city is getting smarter. It will be cooler. Dallas will become a much better place to live, and this is all about how it's happening. Dallas now is almost alone among major American cities for having zero miles of marked bike lanes. Last June, the council unanimously adopted a plan calling for 840 miles of bike lanes all over the city, but last week a top city official told the council committee that painting bike lanes on city streets would cost $16 million, would take many years and involve endless public hearings and neighborhood battles. Theresa O'Donnell, director of the Department of Helping Developers (not its real name) told the council's Quality of Life Committee (its real name) that City Hall has no money to pay for the plan. In so saying she sort of made fun of them all. "There was not funding identified [when the plan was adopted six months ago]," she said. "It was not a fiscally constrained plan." So it was what? A fiscally just-flopping-around-out-there-loose plan? That's kind of what she said. "This was the ideal plan," she said. "This was my daughter's Santa Claus list." Oh, ouch! That's kind of like telling the committee to grow up. But, listen, the PowerPoint presentation she gave them was an even worse beat-down. The committee had been especially interested in bike lanes for Fort Worth Avenue in Oak Cliff, particularly the end of the street nearest the river, because a lot of hip new-urban redevelopment is happening there. If we're tearing up Fort Worth Avenue, rebuilding and restriping it anyway, why not paint on some bike lanes? According to O'Donnell's PowerPoint, painting bike lanes on that 1.29-mile stretch of Fort Worth Avenue would cost $32,000. But then, because of various legal issues involving the city's thoroughfare plan, you'd have to scrape all of that off 180 days later and repaint. Really. The scraping off and repainting would cost another $30,000. Then you'd have to hold a series of public hearings and legal reviews to see if you could paint the bike lanes back on again permanently. Really. Unsure how much the hearings would cost, but not free. Then, if the hearings went OK, you could paint the bike lane stuff back on for another $32,000, but it might be more, because of course you'd have to pay to scrape off the other new paint you just put on, really. The PowerPoint said you'd have to redo the bike stripes every four years at a cost of $29,000, and you might have to do special sweeping and maintenance on an ongoing basis. So anyway, you'd be up around $100,000 right off the bat, more money not too much later and who knows how many years it would take to get it all done? And who knows what outcome you would find yourself stuck with after opening the whole thing up to neighborhood politics on a block-by-block basis? Seems less like a bike plan than a communist plot to give the city a nervous breakdown. I did a little quick jotting. According to the Fort Worth Avenue scenario painted by O'Donnell, the total tab for 840 miles would come out somewhere between $65 million and a kabillion dollars, and the plan wouldn't be completed until after our planet has been invaded by alien life-forms who need our hair and toenail clippings to power their starships, so who needs a bike plan then anyway? Wow. That's just terrible! Terrible! No wonder there are no bike lanes anywhere in America! No wonder no one has ever even heard of a bike lane in America! Oh, wait! That's not true, is it? New York City has doubled its bike lanes to 400 miles in the last five years. Boulder, Colorado, has rendered 95 percent of the streets in the whole city "bike-friendly." Chicago has 12,000 public bike racks and 141 miles of bike lanes. Are they all just fools? Are they spending themselves into the grave? I got on the horn and called some of these bizzaro places that have bike lanes and asked them: Are you just a bunch of lunatics? What is it costing you to put in all these zany bike lanes, and don't you have to hold endless public hearings ad nauseum until the alien life-forms come to harvest your toenails for their starships? Mike Cynecki, a recently retired traffic engineering supervisor for the city of Phoenix, who was over their bike plan for years, said he estimated the cost of bike lanes somewhere in the neighborhood of zero. Zip. Goose egg. Phoenix has 187 miles of marked bike routes, 55 miles of paved and unpaved paths and 222 miles of on-street bike lanes. Obviously the city has to pay to build the separate bike paths, but not the bike lanes, he said. Cynecki told me Phoenix simply requires by policy that any time a new street is built or an old street is resurfaced, it has to be painted with bike stripes. Hmm. True, you have to paint it with some kind of stripes. Why not bike lane stripes? Cynecki said in Phoenix painting the bike stripes is just considered part of the cost of building and maintaining the street anyway. "All of the standard [design requirements] for our surface streets now include on-street bike lanes for new streets, so a developer coming in would build that." Of course, at first that would produce a patchwork, but urban streets need to be resurfaced every four years. "At some time in the future the city would come by and build the matching section," Cynecki told me. He said you also have to maintain the street anyway. So how much more does it cost to maintain the street because there are bikes on it? Do bikes wear out the street more than cars do? Cynecki said no. "We never had a separate budget item that was meant for bike-lane maintenance," Cynecki told me. I talked to another Arizona guy, Reed Kempton, a senior traffic planner for the city of Scottsdale, who gave me some detail on how they have created their 124 miles of marked bike lanes. Basically they did what Phoenix did: They just wrote bike lanes into the street design. "If you are not moving any curbs, it really is not very expensive," he said. "You still have a centerline. You still have your travel lane markings, and typically you will put down an edge-line, so that people can see the white line before they hit the curb and gutter. "So it's simply a matter of how far that outside line goes away from the curb and gutter. We put it four and a half feet out, so it becomes a bike lane." Voila! Free bike lane. Almost. You still have to put little bike symbols in the pavement and some signs along the curb. According to my own research, the Dallas bike plan seems to call for way more bike symbols and signs than what's currently required in the standards of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and also seems to price the bike symbols at almost five times the going rate. But even at that, Kempton said, little bike-symbol pavement markings shouldn't stop you cold. "If you do a two or three million dollar project," he said, "the cost of pavement markings is pretty insignificant." Now, that's in America. What about here in Texas? I talked to Preston Tyree, a retired chemical engineer and former education director for the League of American Bicyclists. The league is in Washington, D.C., but Tyree lives in Austin, a city that has completed almost a third of a 750-mile bike lane plan. Tyree told me Austin has done it the same way the Arizona cities did, by writing bike lanes into the required city street design. "You don't have to spend all that money," he said. "You say, 'I'm not going to do anything unless I'm already repaving that road.' And, yes, you wind up with funny little pieces, but eventually it all gets together, and over time it works." By the way, one thing struck me as he was speaking. O'Donnell told the Dallas council committee any new bike lanes would require public hearings because they would conflict with the city's thoroughfare plan, and any time something conflicts with the thoroughfare plan you have to hold a hearing. So what about changing the thoroughfare plan? You know, putting bike lanes into street designs in the thoroughfare plan like all these other cities have done? Then there's no conflict. Problem solved? Just a thought. But here's the great thing. All this stuff I was finding out for the first time by doing my reporting was already well known to people like Jason Roberts of Bike Friendly Dallas, city council member Scott Griggs of Oak Cliff and council member Angela Hunt of East Dallas. Roberts, in particular, understands that this whole new way of building the city — making it harder for cars to move inside the city, easier for pedestrians and bikers — is a foreign language to most of the city's professional staff. "Multimodal infrastructure is really a post-'90s kind of model for development," he told me. "The education for it didn't happen until much later. For a lot of these guys who are in place now [in City Hall], a lot of these ideas are actually completely counter to everything they learned. "We're saying you're going to have slow traffic a bit more, invite more people into the mix, actually create potentially more conflicts," Roberts said. "All of those are foreign concepts to these people, so what's happening is that they're nervous. They're scared. They really don't want to do those things." Griggs, the new Gen X council member from Oak Cliff, sees it as a fundamental conflict of values. "We can build a half-a-billion-dollar convention hotel. If we really want to build bike lanes, the money is not an issue. There are so many ways to do it cheaply and fast." I am aware that those views were being conveyed to city officials all week long after the bad briefing. At the end of the week, I called Hunt, who had seriously good news. She told me she had conferred with City Manager Mary Suhm, and Suhm was now talking a line that sounded much more like what Austin and the Arizona cities have done. "I talked to Mary," Hunt said, "and she indicated to me that, since we have a bike plan that was overwhelmingly approved, it will in the future be included in any street costs, and the expense will be incremental." Later, in response to my request for comment, I received a speakerphone call from Suhm and O'Donnell, the director of helping developers. They told me O'Donnell's presentation to the committee earlier in the week had been egregiously misconstrued by reporters (I hate those guys), and "We're going to take every opportunity we can to make bike lanes." Last Friday Robert Wilonsky, editor of our news blog, Unfair Park, was out trolling for catfish on the City Hall web page and found a sort of odd, out-of-the-blue manifesto under the title, "City clarifies Dallas bike plan implementation status and outlook." It said: "The cost differential between standard street striping and bike facility markings will involve weighing the needs for maintaining existing street striping with the benefits of implementing particular bike routes along key corridors." May I translate that for you? Do you mind? I've been at this awhile. Here's what that means: Blink. The manifesto sounds grouchy. It's pretty grudging. And there's the usual problem: Just by looking at the words, it's impossible to figure out what it really means. But I know what it means. It means blink. It means that Griggs and Hunt and Roberts and probably a bunch of other people I don't even know made it clear to City Hall during the course of last week that Dallas — the new Dallas — wants bike lanes. And it's going to have bike lanes. That's wonderful. Nothing is easy. Getting City Hall off the dime certainly is not easy. But it can be done. It is being done. Change is happening. Dallas is getting better. I'm so thrilled, I may even be in a good mood over the holidays. Let me look at a calendar here. |
Open Data Day is coming! On February 22, 2014 in a timezone near you! What is it? Open Data Day is a global community initiative to make and spread open data. People from all around the world gather together online or in person to make things with and around open data. Anyone is invited to get involved – from curious citizens to journalists, coders to scientists, designers to data wranglers. How does it work? The Open Data Day events can have any kind of format / length and theme, but should all be connected by a couple of basic principles. The events should happen on the same day – the next one, on February 22, 2014 – the next one, on The events should be inclusive and welcome diversity (epistemic, geographic, socio-demographic, of language and gender) – our movement is stronger when it is broader (epistemic, geographic, socio-demographic, of language and gender) – Anyone can organise an event – add your name and online/ in person event to the wiki. For in person meetups: let’s try to keep it to one event per city, to maximize the local community’s strength. (Find tips on types of events in the Open Knowledge Foundation Event Handbook and in this post by our friend Michelle Thorne of Mozilla.) Hacks and meetups should all involve open data Show and share – each event should come up with at least one demo, brainstorm, proposal, to share online with the Open Data Day crowd (adding links to post-event materials, including pics and blog posts, to the wiki is warmly recommended). We will investigate more online spaces soon. Virtual party – we aim to connect globally. Are you in a location with no in person event? Join us online via IRC, Hackpads or more (more details and links coming soon) Some 2014 event examples? Take a look at this event organised in Washington DC at The World Bank. And did you already see the Open Data Day Japan website just launched today? Call to action: Help build Open Data Day! The Open Data Day wiki needs to be prepped and polished to rock the 2014 action plan. We’re looking for stellar volunteers to help us with this. Skills required: knowledge of Wiki management ability to work with WordPress design skills mapping skills Willing to help the wiki sprint? Get in touch with our very own Heather Leson. We’ll get this ready as soon as possible for everyone to add their Open Data Day events! If you need some help planning your event, please do connect on the OKFN – Discuss mailing list or Open Data Day mailing list. Next week we will share some resources and planning help for local organizers. Ready to open up data? Join the party! |
Bill Maher’s recent monologue on "Real Time" excoriating self-professed liberals for going soft on Islam -- hotly debated again last Friday with Ben Affleck and Sam Harris, and expounded on in this exclusive Salon interview -- might well serve as a credo for atheist progressives the world over. He began by introducing a photo, originally posted on a social media site, showing a teenager in Pennsylvania mounting a statue of Jesus Christ in such a way as to create the impression that Jesus was fellating him. Noting that it “may not be in good taste,” Maher declared that “there’s no picture that makes my heart swell with patriotism quite like this one.” Why? He explained that in the United States, with separation of church and state enshrined in the Constitution, the youth, on account of his sacrilegious prank, would not do jail time or face violence because “liberal Western culture is not just different, it’s better. . . . rule of law isn’t just different than theocracy, it’s better. If you don’t see that, then you’re either a religious fanatic or a masochist, but one thing you are certainly notis a liberal.” Advertisement: (In fact, Maher proved too sanguine about the supposedly religion-free workings of the U.S. justice system. As punishment for the irreverent post, a court ordered the teen to do community service, observe a curfew, and stay off social media for six months. Hardly comparable to facing a fatwa for drawing a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad, but indicative nonetheless of the worrisome pro-faith bias infecting at least courts of law in our supposedly secular republic.) Maher included Barack Obama among those unwilling to talk straight about Islam, and rebutted the president’s repeated statements that ISIS is “not Islamic” by pointing out that “vast numbers of Muslims across the world believe . . . that humans deserve to die for merely holding a different idea, or drawing a cartoon, or writing a book.” This means, said Maher, that “not only does the Muslim world have something in common with ISIS, it has too much in common with ISIS.” Maher’s is no offhand opinion, but a blunt statement of fact. A wide-ranging 2013 Pew Research Center poll, conducted between 2008 and 2012 in 39 countries, offered a deeply disturbing, unequivocal overview of the faith-based intolerance prevalent across much of the Muslim world. Among other things, majorities of Muslims – varying somewhat according to region – favor putting to death apostates and adulterers, condemn homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia as immoral, and believe that “a wife must obey her husband.” Large minorities condone “honor killings.” It should be noted that for practical reasons, the Pew Center could not survey Muslims in the repressive, highly conservative Gulf States (including Saudi Arabia, the homeland of Wahhabism), so, if anything, these numbers provide an excessively moderate summary of Muslim positions on issues progressives hold dear. There can be no doubt about the wellspring of these nevertheless profoundly illiberal results. Texts in the Koran and the Hadith (the sayings and teachings traditionally attributed to the prophet Muhammad) back every one of the retrograde, even repulsive, positions the Pew Center catalogued. There are also passages in these writings that appear more tolerant, but the point is, Muslims looking to back up hardline interpretations of Islam do not lack for scriptural support. Maher did not cite polls on his show – he is, after all, a comedian – but had he done so, he would have given doubters a way to verify the veracity of his monologue. That left room for interpretation and dispute, or at least for what passes for such on cable news channels. To decode Maher’s pronouncements about Islam, "CNN Tonight’s" hosts Don Lemon and Alisyn Camerota called on Reza Aslan, the author of "No God But God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam" and "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." To start the discussion, Lemon asked Aslan what he thought of Maher’s performance. Jumpy and defensive from the start, Aslan quickly steered the discussion away from the gist of Maher’s monologue – that Islam does have a violence problem Western liberals need to be frank about – and toward Maher’s outrage at Female Genital Mutilation. FGM, was “not an Islamic problem, it’s an African problem . . . a Central African problem,” Aslan asserted. “Nowhere else in the Muslim, Muslim-majority states is [FMG] an issue.” Advertisement: This is flat-out wrong. Though the barbaric practice predates Islam, FMG occurs, as far as is known, in at least twenty-nine countries (among them Egypt, Kurdistan, and Yemen) across a wide swath of Africa and the Middle East, and beyond. Muslims even exported the savage custom to Malaysia and Indonesia, where it is a growing problem. Those working locally to eradicate FGM have, understandably, a good deal of trouble making it an “issue,” given the lack on openness in discussing sex-related topics in the countries involved, so the situation may in fact be worse than is now recognized. And if it wasn’t originally Islamic, it has so been for fourteen centuries. The Prophet Muhammad, in the Hadith, condoned it, even encouraged it (calling it an “honorable quality for women”) and ordaining only that it not be performed “severely.” Aslan’s erroneous dismissal of FGM as a “central African problem” will help none of the tens of millions of girls and women who have suffered mutilation across the Islamic world, but it will give comfort to those who hope to continue butchering their victims without scrutiny from abroad. Neither CNN’s hosts nor Aslan mentioned Maher’s call to liberals to stop ignoring the practice, nor did they bring up his pointed words about Yale’s craven, abrupt cancelation, earlier this year, of the invitation to speak sent to one of FMG’s most prominent victims, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the brave, Somali-born anti-Islam activist and writer. Maher blames a misguided attempt at evenhandedness by the school’s “atheist organization” for the disinvitation, but -- surprise! -- it was actually the Muslim Students Association that first asked for her event to be called off. Lemon pressed Aslan to admit that mistreatment of women is nonetheless a problem in Muslim countries. Aslan misleadingly relegated the problem to Iran and Saudi Arabia, while declaring no such ill bedevils women in Turkey (where honor killings have increased in recent years), Bangladesh, and (FMG-riddled) Malaysia and Indonesia. Nor did he mention the salient fact about the status of women in his chosen “lands of enlightenment” -- that women owe their well-being (at least in his eyes) there not to Islam, but to secularism and legal systems based on Western models curbing religious influence in jurisprudence. In Indonesia, however, Shariah law is advancing and may undo protections women now enjoy. Camerota, however, insisted, wanting to explore “the commonplace wrongs that are happening [to women] in some of these countries.” She mentioned the Saudi prohibition on women driving, which gave Aslan the chance to browbeat both presenters for cherry-picking examples from one “extremist” country and using them to unjustly besmirch the entire Muslim world. He then kept on about Saudi Arabia, as though his hosts, not he, were harping on the country, and declared that their Saudi-centered approach was not a “legitimate” way to talk about Muslim women, but amounted to “bigotry” – a charge sure to intimidate his questioners and get them to back off. Advertisement: It worked, at least for a moment. “Fair enough,” Lemon answered, though possibly less because he agreed and more because he wanted to move the interview along. After airing a clip of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu equating ISIS and Hamas at the United Nations, he asked Aslan straight-out: “Does Islam promote violence?” “Islam doesn’t promote violence or peace,” said Aslan. “Islam is just a religion, and like every religion in the world, it depends on what you bring to it . . . . There are Buddhist marauding Buddhist monks in Myanmar slaughtering women and children. Does Buddhism promote violence? Of course not. People are violent or peaceful. . . .” He then dribbled off into generic blather about social, political and psychological reasons for violence, none of which, in his telling, had anything to do with Islam or any other faith. Aslan was apparently trying to establish a false equivalency of moral turpitude among religions and their supposedly more or less identical propensity to incite slaughter – a tactic singularly ill-suited where Islam is concerned. After all, Muslim warriors spread their faith by the sword from Arabia west across Africa into Spain, and east to Indonesia. As for Myanmar, that even Buddhism can be used in such a way as to justify murder stands as evidence that religion per se is to blame. Advertisement: In contrast, ISIS’s very name pinpoints its inspiration: whether ISIS or ISIL or IS, “Islamic” figures in each acronym its followers have used to designate it. Even the means of death it visits on its hostages – beheadings – finds support in the Koran (8:12), which commands its followers to “strike off [the] heads and strike off every fingertip of” unbelievers in wartime. If Western countries have abandoned religious rule for secular governance, and thus left confessional conflict behind, ISIS jihadis are striving to do the opposite, and seek to establish, or already have established, a theocracy (the Caliphate), with Islam as their stated justification for warfare. Why should we ignore their own words? Camerota politely then asked Aslan for a definitive answer on whether the “justice system in Muslim countries . . . is somehow more primitive, or subjugates women more than in other countries.” “Did you hear what you just said?” Aslan snapped back. “You said in Muslim countries,” but in (FGM-afflicted) Indonesia, “women are absolutely 100-percent equal to men. In Turkey, they have had more . . . female heads of state in Turkey than we have in the United States.” (The Turks have had exactly one female head of state, and she presided before the crypto-Islamist Reccep Tayyip Erdogan came to power and began rolling back the women-friendly policies the secular Republic of Turkey had been known for since Kemal Ataturk, who abolished the Ottoman Caliphate, founded it in 1923.) “Stop saying things like Muslim countries!” Advertisement: Camerota tried to calm down her guest, and sought to find a “common thread” – that “somehow their justice system, or Shariah law, or what they’re doing in terms of stoning, and female mutilation is different than in . . . Western countries.” Aslan dodged the question, condemning those practices (despite the Hadith’s prescription of stoning as a method of punishment) as “barbaric,” and retorted by once more mischaracterizing her question as an attempt to equate “what is happening in the most extreme forms of these repressive countries” – Pakistan and Saudi Arabia – with what is going on in Turkey or Indonesia. He then called the version of the question he himself put in her mouth “stupid,” strongly implying that Camerota herself deserved the insult as well. Lemon segued to footage from Netanyahu’s U.N. address and his statement that the problem was “not Islam, but “militant Islam.” Was Netanyahu, correct, asked Lemon, in making such a “clear distinction?” Aslan wouldn’t say, but instead jumped back to the Israeli prime minister’s earlier comparison of Hamas and ISIS, which Aslan found illogical, irrational and propagandistic. Aslan provided an inept coda to the tense interview, instructing his hosts that they present “rational conflicts, rational criticisms of a particular religion,” and not “easily slip into bigotry by . . . painting everyone with a single brush, as we have been doing in this conversation, mind you.” Advertisement: “We appreciate your perspective in helping everyone understand your perspective,” concluded Camerota before moving on to the next subject. But that wasn’t the end of it. In an on-air discussion the next day with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, Lemon and Camerota halfheartedly defended their benign attempt to get straight answers from Aslan. Camerota noted that Aslan had apologized via Twitter for using the word “stupid.” Cuomo commented, justifiably, that Aslan’s “tone was very angry, so he wound up kind of demonstrating what people are fearful of when they think of the faith in the first place.” And a couple of nights later, Bill Maher, with celebrity New Atheist Sam Harris at his side, brought up the topic again on his show, which provoked guest Ben Affleck to conflate race with faith and call Maher’s (and Harris’s) criticism of Islam “gross” and racist.” What lessons are we to draw from all this televised shouting, name-calling, and unprofessional journalistic capitulation to PC scare tactics meant to deflect attention from what Maher was originally trying to highlight – liberals’ failure to stand up for the superiority of law-based societies over theocracy? CNN set itself up to fail by deploying hosts insufficiently knowledgeable about the Muslim world to deal with Aslan and his rhetorical ruses. They were also clearly too fearful of being labeled “bigoted” – specifically, racist or Islamophobic – to break through his obfuscation, if they indeed even perceived it as such. As for Maher, he remains unrepentant. Advertisement: Can President Obama be pardoned for denying the obvious link between Islam and ISIS’s atrocities? After all, if he told the truth, he would ignite a media firestorm, give terrorist recruiters material, and potentially endanger Americans at home and overseas. He would also cast himself into even deeper disfavor with his progressive electorate, where resentment of “Islamophobia” runs high. It would indeed be useful, though, in the interests of honest public debate, if Obama acknowledged that Islam had at least something to do with what ISIS has been up to; after all, hundreds of Westerners (including some Americans) have set off to join the terrorists in the killing fields of Iraq and Syria, motivated, one can justifiably assume, by religion. In the battle for ideas against Islamic extremism, frank talk from the president would be a big help. The rest of us – I have in mind atheists of all political persuasions -- must yield nothing to those advocating faith-based solutions for our ills. As Maher said, we should not be afraid to judge. We must never cede to misguided notions of civility and refrain from criticizing religion, which is, after all, nothing more than hallowed ideology expressed through fantastic fables. People deserve respect; ideologies do not. Doctrines deriving from allegedly divine revelation demand the closest scrutiny. The very concept of religious revelation – from which Islam, Christianity, and Judaism draw their validity -- is an affront to rationalism and reasoned discussion. To further the latter, the word “Islamophobia” should be excised from the lexicon of every thinking individual as pernicious to free speech. It equates racism with criticism of religion, as though Islam, a universalist faith, had only adherents of a single skin color, and provides casuistic cover for those believers who would shield their words from judgment. Moreover, we need to turn our critical irreligious gaze to what has been going wrong in the United States since the Reagan era as well. We herald the humanism allegedly inherent in the secular nature of our republic, while much of our Congress is in thrall to the religious right, with a House Science Committee that denies the reality of climate change, and, more broadly, a growing number of Republicans disbelieving the theory of evolution – 48 percent, according to recent data, up from 39 percent in 2009. Women are still paid less than men in the workplace, and the freedom to do as they chose with their bodies – as evidenced by, in some states, the offensive underway against abortion rights and compensation for birth control – is ever more under threat. Sexual assault against women remains a serious problem, with faith-based biases still imbuing, whether obviously or not, both the victims’ responses to the crime and the way our courts deal with the issue. In talking about religion, Bill Maher has essentially been making some of these same points. Strange that it has fallen to a comedian to do so. But the more thoughtful controversy he provokes, the greater aid he provides to atheists. In the end, that will help the progressive cause domestically and abroad and hurt ISIS – with no shots fired. |
Configuration Manager Console High DPI console support - With this release, issues with how the Configuration Manager console scales and displays different parts of the UI when viewed on high DPI devices (like a Surface Book) should be fixed. Application Lifecycle and Content Removing Network Access Account (NAA) requirement for Client Peer Cache - In this release, we are removing the NAA requirement, so that peer cache source computers no longer use the NAA to authenticate download requests from peers. Clients and User Discovery Azure Active Directory (AD) Onboarding - Create a connection between Configuration Manager and Azure AD. Install and register Configuration Manager clients with Azure AD identity. Enable Configuration Manager on-premises services like Management Point or cloud services like Cloud Management Gateway to have the capability to authenticate with devices and user identities in Azure Active Directory. By using Azure AD, devices will not need client authentication certificates for HTTPS. - Create a connection between Configuration Manager and Azure AD. Install and register Configuration Manager clients with Azure AD identity. Enable Configuration Manager on-premises services like Management Point or cloud services like Cloud Management Gateway to have the capability to authenticate with devices and user identities in Azure Active Directory. By using Azure AD, devices will not need client authentication certificates for HTTPS. Azure Active Directory (AD) User Discovery - Now you can enable user object discovery from Azure AD. Software Updates and Compliance Configure and deploy Windows Defender Application Guard policies - You can now create and deploy Windows Defender Application Guard policies to Windows 10 clients that help protect your users by opening untrusted web sites in a secure container. - You can now create and deploy Windows Defender Application Guard policies to Windows 10 clients that help protect your users by opening untrusted web sites in a secure container. Improved end user experience for Office Updates - Improvements have been made to the end user experience for Office updates which includes improved toast notifications, business bar notifications, and an enhanced countdown experience. Core Infrastructure Configuration Manager Update Reset Tool - We are adding a new tool to reset and restart in-console updates when they have problems downloading or replicating. - We are adding a new tool to reset and restart in-console updates when they have problems downloading or replicating. SQL Always On asynchronous-commit mode replica support - Configuration Manager now supports SQL Always On secondary replicas that run under asynchronous-commit mode for disaster recovery scenarios. - Configuration Manager now supports SQL Always On secondary replicas that run under asynchronous-commit mode for disaster recovery scenarios. Operations Management Suite (OMS) added to Azure Services Wizard - You can now use Azure Services Wizard to connect Configuration Manager to Log Analytics in OMS to sync device collection data. Hello everyone! We are happy to let you know that update 1705 for the Technical Preview Branch of System Center Configuration Manager has been released. Technical Preview Branch releases give you an opportunity to try out new Configuration Manager features in a test environment before they are made generally available. This month's new preview features include:Update 1705 for Technical Preview Branch is available in the Configuration Manager console. For new installations please use the 1703 baseline version of Configuration Manager Technical Preview Branch available on TechNet Evaluation Center We would love to hear your thoughts about the latest Technical Preview! To provide feedback or report any issues with the functionality included in this Technical Preview, please use Connect . If there's a new feature or enhancement you want us to consider for future updates, please use the Configuration Manager UserVoice site Thanks,The System Center Configuration Manager team |
The illicit wildlife trade poses a serious threat to the survival of countless animal species around the globe. Pangolins (a little-known, scaly nocturnal animal) are the most widely illegally-traded mammal in the world. They are hunted for their meat and scales, which are believed in certain parts of Asia to possess medicinal properties. Rhinos’ horns are also believed to have medicinal benefits (despite being composed entirely of keratin – the same substance that forms human hair and nails). This is a recurrent theme that drives much of the demand for wildlife products: that exotic animals’ body parts have mystical, curative powers of some kind. This myth has been thoroughly debunked by sound scientific research. Sadly, this has not succeeded at stopping the rampant trade in rhino horn, elephant ivory, exotic animal flesh, and other illegal wildlife products. One African elephant is killed for their tusks every fifteen minutes – this equates to 100 dead elephants per day. Tragically, Africa has lost 60 percent of its elephant population since the 1970s, and many conservation experts fear that these majestic animals could soon be extinct. Rhinos, too, are at grave risk of extinction. An average of three rhinos are killed for their horns every single day. The Javan rhinoceros was declared extinct in 2011, while the Western Black rhinoceros suffered the same fate in 2013. The Sumatran and Black Rhino subspecies are currently classified as “critically endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Following the death of Nola – one of only four remaining Northern White Rhinos – last November, the outlook for this subspecies is also looking extremely bleak. Advertisement Africa’s lions are steadily disappearing, their numbers having dropped by an estimated 50 percent over the last century. During the same time frame, 90 percent of the planet’s wild tigers have disappeared. In fact, there are now more tigers living in U.S. backyards than there are left in the wild! The illegal wildlife trade doesn’t just hurt animals. Proceeds from the sale of illegal wildlife poaching help fund terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab. The illegal wildlife trade has also been linked to human rights violations, slavery, and disease outbreaks. Wildlife photographer Patrick Brown has now launched a striking new project called “Trading to Extinction” in an effort to raise awareness about the gravity of the problem. Brown said, “For years, I have traveled across Asia to document the devastating impact of wildlife trafficking. I’ve witnessed how our planet’s rarest creatures are being hunted, trapped and slaughtered to feed a global black market in wildlife products. This project is my attempt to expose that trade.” This picture, taken from the series, reveals the horrendous ordeal that many endangered animals are forced to endure while in transit, never knowing that they are about to be sold – and most likely killed – for their body parts. This image of a trafficked elephant exposes the bleak, heartbreaking reality behind the illicit wildlife trade. However, Brown ultimately wants “Trading to Extinction” to convey a message of hope and resilience. “Unfortunately, there’s still a long way to go,” he explained. “This trade is without any doubt flourishing. However, I finally begin to see a coordinated political fight-back. An extraordinary worldwide movement is bringing together people from diverse backgrounds in a bid to save our most endangered species before it is too late. I hope our efforts will not be in vain.” Advertisement Advertisement To view more photographs from the series, click here. You can also help raise awareness about the illegal wildlife trade by sharing this article, or one of the articles listed below. Image Source: Patrick Brown |
Swedish researchers say short men may have a higher risk of suicide. "We found a twofold higher risk of suicide in short men than tall men," they write in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Of course, short men can live healthy, rewarding lives with no suicidal designs. Tall men and those of average height can also commit suicide. Researchers working on the study included Finn Rasmussen, MD, PhD. Rasmussen is an associate professor in the public health sciences department of Sweden's Karolinska Institute. Swedish Suicide Study Rasmussen's study included nearly 1.3 million Swedish men born from 1950 to 1981. Their height at age 18-19 was noted. That data came from Sweden's military records. Their average height back then was about 5 feet 9 inches, write the researchers. The men were followed for an average of 15 years. During that time, they had 3,075 suicides. "Taller men had a much lower risk of suicide than shorter men," write the researchers. They only focused on suicide risk among men aged 18-49. The results can't be applied to older men or to women, write the researchers. Researchers' Views The pattern didn't seem to stem from socioeconomic or prenatal influences, the researchers write. The results also didn't change much when the researchers excluded men with psychiatric diagnoses at the time of military conscription. Marital status didn't make much difference, either. Low weight gain in infancy might be a risk factor for adult suicide in adult life, write the researchers. So could impaired childhood growth due to psychological stress and disrupted family life, they report. Stigma of Shortness? Short children may suffer stigmatization and discrimination, write the researchers. But they didn't have information on childhood intelligence or whether the men were teased or traumatized as children because of their height. The possible influence of unemployment, relationship breakdown, or mental illness couldn't be fully assessed, write the researchers. But they did check alcohol-related deaths and deaths of undetermined cause. Stronger ties were seen with alcohol-related deaths. That "suggest[s] that substance misuse may contribute to the observed patterns," write the researchers. |
News Minnesota United Soccer Stadium Meeting Reveals Signs of Progress by Brian Quarstad on 27 February 2017 Some very concrete plans were revealed for the first time at a recent City of St. Paul site plan meeting for the Midway soccer stadium. Demolition of the Rainbow Foods building is scheduled for mid-May with remediation of contaminated soil happening simultaneously. Actual construction could begin in September, when building permits are expected to be completed. However, a two-acre plot of land still stands in the way of construction. The future Minnesota United soccer stadium will sit in the area of St. Paul that is overseen by the Union Park District Council (UPDC). According to Julie Reiter, executive director of the UPDC, a number of details were revealed at the soccer stadium site plan meeting held on Feb. 14. In a post on the UPDC website, Reiter reported that May 16 is a target date for “earthwork and the demolition of Rainbow Foods.” Big Top Liquor is not scheduled to be torn down until the spring of 2018. Eventually, Shields Street, currently only on the west side of Snelling Avenue, will be extended through where Big Top now sits and skirt around the north end of the stadium. This summer, all utilities will be brought onto the site and rough grading of some of the planned streets will begin. It was reported at the meeting that 130,000 yards of soil will be extracted and removed from the bus barn property. Xcel Energy has been working all winter along St. Anthony Avenue to prepare for the upcoming electrical needs of the stadium. It was also discussed that talks are ongoing for the redevelopment of both the west and north side of Midway Center, but no tall business buildings are being discussed as was in the original site plan. At one point last summer, Prime Therapeutics seemed interested in moving their headquarters to the Midway Center redevelopment site, which would have required several large buildings. Then in October, Twin Cities Business Journal’s Nick Halter reported that the Midway Center redevelopment was no longer in the running for the relocation of 2,000 Prime Therapeutic jobs. Ramsey County and the St. Paul Port Authority were either unwilling or unable to come up with subsidies that Prime was looking for. Scaled down redevelopment on the west side of the shopping center — most likely retail and entertainment — would reflect that change. Midway Center land owner Rick Birdoff, who owns more than 30 shopping centers across the U.S, previously stated that the northwest corner of his property, which borders University and Snelling, is the most valuable. The New York-based Birdoff subdivided that portion of his property several years ago in order to facilitate redevelopment. However, despite all the positive talk at the site plan meeting, there is still a major obstacle that must be overcome. A two-acre plot of land at the north end of the stadium is still needed before construction can begin. The bulk of the stadium will be built on the 9.5 acres of property, known as the “bus barn” site, owned by the Met Council. The City of St. Paul will lease the land and Minnesota United will make payments. Team owner Bill McGuire had hoped to purchase the extra two acres he needed from Birdoff. But SuperValu, which owns Rainbow, had a long-term lease on the property and was the shopping center’s anchor tenant. That complicated the matter. Rainbow’s lease was Birdoff’s largest income producer and as is the case in most large shopping centers, an anchor tenant is expected by all other tenants to help drive business. The shopping center owner can also ask more in rent with a major anchor tenant. With Rainbow gone, not only would Birdoff lose the rent payments from SuperValu but merchants could ask for cheaper leases. SuperValu was reportedly protective of their lease even though they own a Cub supermarket just two blocks from the Rainbow. In the competitive world of retail, their concern was that another store, such as Hy-Vee, might come in and compete with Cub if they allowed the lease to be broken. The year-long standoff between Birdoff and McGuire finally made some progress when the St. Paul Port Authority (SPPA) stepped in this winter and made the property an Industrial Development District. That move allowed the Port Authority to help negotiate a deal to keep things moving. The SPPA started creating a master lease from RK Midway, Bridoff’s holding company. At last month’s board meeting, the SPPA passed a motion to allow President Lee Krueger to enter into a master lease with Birdoff to work on the redevelopment of the property east of the strip along Snelling Avenue which RK Midway wants to develop. The SPPA has stated they are working on negotiating an agreement with another developer, most likely local, that will work with the property north and east of the stadium. Upon signing any sort of lease, the SPPA has 120 days to do due diligence to ensure the financial viability of the project. The deal also allows the third party developer an option to purchase the land from RK Midway. Krueger told FiftyFive.One last week that he hopes to have the real estate deal with a new developer for the property done by the monthly board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 28. However, he cautioned that all the details necessary had yet to be completely worked out. “Things have to happen to make the math work,” said Krueger. If the Port Authority is able to pull together a local developer to work on the eastern portion of Midway Center, it will be dealing with lots of contingencies and long-term leases. Not all tenants will be able to stay while construction happens. Birdoff had said previously that he would try to find property to relocate some of his tenants and could move others within the Midway Center itself. Which means some leases may have to be bought out, particularly Rainbow Foods. “There have been discussions going on, but not lead by us,” said Krueger regarding negotiations to buy out SuperValu’s lease. “A deal isn’t done, but it’s imminent.” Other details reported on by UPDC: The city and team are still considering some “enhanced” infrastructure on the site, such as “flat curb” streets (which allow for flexible uses such as turning streets into public plazas during game days), bollards for traffic control and pedestrian protection, bicycle facilities, specialty lighting, etc. Issues that involve Metro Transit will be discussed later this summer. This includes the use of light rail and bus rapid transit, and the related concerns about traffic control, pedestrian queuing, fare collection, fences, etc. Metro Transit shares community concerns about walkability in the area — on gamedays and every day — and specifically mentioned the quality of the pedestrian experience along Snelling Avenue. The city’s Public Works department is advocating for wide sidewalks, especially along Snelling. There is currently no sidewalk on the north side of St. Anthony. The stadium plan includes a publicly-accessible sidewalk there, on the south side of the stadium. Numerous tree trenches will be installed on-site as part of the water management plan. The water plan also includes roof run-off capture to irrigate the great lawn. The plan exceeds Capitol Region Watershed District standards. They anticipate capturing 309,000 gallons of runoff per year, which is ten times the capture at CHS field. FiftyFive.One is now on Patreon. Do you like the independent coverage of soccer news from Minnesota and beyond that FiftyFive.One offers? Please consider becoming a patron. Tags: Bill McGuire, Julie Reiter, Lee Kruger, Midway Center, Minnesota United FC, Rick Birdoff, St. Paul, St. Paul Port Authority, stadium, Union Park District Council |
In the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking, the Penn State Dickinson School of Law was ranked as the 71st-best law school in the country, down 20 spots from 2014. The methodology ranks 198 accredited law schools on 12 measures of quality, which are broken down into four categories, each with its own subcategories: quality assessment, selectivity, placement success, and faculty resources. The data for the most recent ranking was taken from last fall and early this year. Beginning in the fall of 2014, Pennsylvania residents were eligible for the Commonwealth Scholars Program, a grant that is renewable for all three years of law school resulting in $60,000 savings. This caused a dramatic increase in the number of applications, and consequently made acceptance more competitive. According to the school’s Standard 509 report, in 2014, the school received 2,121 applications and accepted 981 students. The median LSAT score of accepted students was 158 last year. Only 29.1 percent of 2013 graduates “had a full-time job lasting at least a year for which bar passage was required or a J.D. degree was an advantage” according to the report. However, that same year, Penn State edged out nine other law schools to receive the highest bar passage rate in the state, with a 93.83 percent success rate. It is the hope that as the new Commonwealth Scholars classes progress through the three-year program, the ranking will rebound. This is the last U.S. News release where the University Park and Carlisle campus rankings will be combined. Last summer, the University Park campus was granted separate accreditation. Starting in the fall, students will either enroll in Dickinson Law, or Penn State Law. It will be interesting to see how the separate schools fare in similar rankings in the future. Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the 2014 bar passage rates were evaluated as part of the most recent ranking. That is not the case. We apologize for the error. Your ad blocker is on. Please choose an option below. Sign Up Sign up for our e-mail newsletter: OR Support quality journalism: About the Author East Renovation Continues With Approval For Sproul, Geary Halls Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved the next phase of East Halls renovations at its meeting Friday, setting the stage for construction to begin on Sproul and Geary Halls. |
This is a rush transcript from "Fox News Sunday," November 19, 2017. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. CHRIS WALLACE, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" HOST: I’m Chris Wallace. The wave of sexual harassment cases sweeping the nation reaches the Senate, as Republican candidate Judge Roy Moore fights for his political life. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROY MOORE, R-ALABAMA U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: This is an effort by Mitch McConnell and his cronies to steal his election from the people of Alabama WALLACE: And Democratic Senator Al Franken becomes the first member of Congress accused in the post-Harvey Weinstein era. LEEANN TWEEDEN, SENATOR AL FRANKEN ACCUSER: He thought he would get away with it and that it was OK and that it was funny. Nothing like that is ever funny. WALLACE: We’ll discuss the allegations with South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. Then -- REP. BARBARA COMSTOCK, R-VIRGINIA: We really don't have current guidelines right now that say to a member a sexual relationship with a 19-year-old intern is off limits. WALLACE: Will Congress finally crack down on complaints of sexual harassment in its own halls? We’ll ask Utah Representative Mia Love. And we’ll bring in our Sunday panel to ask if a wave of new charges will change the clubby atmosphere on Capitol Hill. Plus, the House passes its tax bill. REP. PAUL RYAN, R-WIS., SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: From the very start, we said that failure is not an option. WALLACE: We’ll discuss the prospects in the Senate with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. It's a "Fox News Sunday" exclusive. And our power player of the week: the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do think institutionally Congress benefits from having a churn of new members and new ideas. WALLACE: All right now on "Fox News Sunday." (END VIDEOTAPE) WALLACE: And hello again from Fox News in Washington. From Hollywood, to the media, and now, the halls of Congress, sexual harassment is front and center as a political issue. First with the allegations facing Alabama Senate candidate Judge Roy Moore, and now, claims against Senator Al Franken from his time as a comedian in 2006. We’ll discuss the charges and whether Congress will finally crack down on itself with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and Utah Congresswoman Mia Love. But we begin with Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy reporting from Alabama. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: There are already legislative aftershocks shaking Senator Al Franken, whose immediate apology for sexual misconduct was not enough for a rape victim who was working with Franken to help future assault victims. Abby Honold penned a Washington Post op-ed with a headline, Al Franken wrote a bill to help rape survivors like me. He can’t lead on it now. Minnesota's other, Senator Amy Klobuchar, has already signed on to sponsor. Not all Democrats are distancing themselves from Franken, though. Hillary Clinton appreciates that he said sorry. HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look at the contrast between Al Franken accepting responsibility, apologizing, and Roy Moore and Donald Trump, who have done neither. DOOCY: In Alabama, Republican Senate candidate Judge Roy Moore denies charges for all my women accusing him of decades-old wrongdoing. He's challenging the legitimacy of a high school yearbook signature one accuser says proves her story, and he’s lashing out at Senator Jeff Flake who said. SEN. JEFF FLAKE, R-ARIZONA: If we become the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, we are toast. DOOCY: A Moore campaign advisor responded, quote: Mitch McConnell and Jeff Flake are agents of destruction within the Republican Party. The editorial board for Alabama's three largest papers cites sexual misconduct allegations as the primary reason for their endorsement of Democrat Doug Jones. Meanwhile, the surgeon Jones is trying to focus on issues to engineer an upset. DOUG JONES, D-ALABAMA U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: I thought Roy Moore was disqualified long before this came up. (END VIDEOTAPE) DOOCY: We’re told the Democrat Jones will have about one event a day this week. As for Roy Moore, we have no idea when his next public rally will be. So, it seems two of the politicians with the least to say about the scandal in Alabama are the two Senate candidates in Alabama -- Chris. WALLACE: Peter Doocy reporting from Birmingham, Alabama -- Peter, thanks for that. Joining me now from Salt Lake City, Utah, Republican Congresswoman Mia Love. Congresswoman, I want to start with a comment this week by one of your colleagues in the House, Congresswoman Barbara Comstock. Here she is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) COMSTOCK: The young staffer is a young woman went there and was greeted with a member in a towel, was a male, who he then invited her in. At that point, he decided to expose himself. She left and then she quit her job. (END VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: Congresswoman, how serious a problem is there with sexual harassment in Congress, and if you can tell us, have you or any of your staffers been a victim? REP. MIA LOVE, R-UTAH: Well, I can tell you, this is been going on for a very long time and I’m glad that people are speaking out about it. I -- you know, it's important to speak out about it nationally, and also locally, and in our homes. I have two girls that I’m racing, one is going off to college and it's important that we have -- we’re comfortable having uncomfortable conversations so that we can protect our young women and protect women in the work space. WALLACE: Let's talk about your work space, because it turns out that Congress has protected itself with a much more challenging, much more cumbersome process than we see in the private sector. I want to put this up, I think people will be surprised. A victim who claims sexual harassment Congress must wait three months to file a complaint. First, submit to 30 days of counseling and another 30 days of mediation, then wait another 30 days to seek a hearing. And, Congresswoman, it gets even worse than that, because if there is a settlement, it's paid for by taxpayers, not by the individual member of Congress. Is this another case of the old boys' clubby network on Capitol Hill protecting itself? LOVE: Well, as the only woman in the Utah delegation, I have a little bit of a problem with that. We -- our office has made sure that they have taken all of the anti-sexual harassment training and I let out on that taking it myself. I think we need some leadership. We need people that are out there that are talking about this and talking about how situations like this, behavior like this is absolutely inappropriate. But I would also like to say one more thing. I think it's important that we, especially the things that are going on out there, that this is not being politicized. It's not being used for personal gain, because we normalize the situation if and when that happens. We have to make sure that we are not going out there doing anything that is going to further victimize people who have actually been hurt and who’ve been humiliated by sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. WALLACE: Well, let me ask you about to specific cases. Do you believe that Judge Roy Moore, the candidate in the special Senate election in Alabama, should step aside from that race to let a write-in candidate try to hold the seat for Republicans? And what do you think should happen to Senator Al Franken after the allegations against him this week? LOVE: I’m calling them all on the carpet. I think that all of them should take responsibility for their behavior. This is -- you know, when you think about Al Franken, you think about Judge Moore, you think about all the situations that are out there, they’re all different, and they all deserve due process, and the people need to be able to have time to talk about them and process it. We certainly aren't going to be able to do that today and seven minutes on a Sunday show, but I think it's important that we end up talking about it, getting comfortable having uncomfortable conversations, and saying that this type of behavior is unacceptable. WALLACE: Well, let me ask you about one other person and whether or not he should be held accountable, and that is President Trump, who has had very little to say about the Judge Roy Moore case, but when it comes to Al Franken in that picture, he weighed in on that, the picture of Franken appearing to grope his accuser. The president sent out this tweet: the Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures two, three, four, five and six while she sleeps? On the other hand, when reporters noted that President Trump faces his own allegations from a bunch of women about him allegedly groping them, here's his spokeswoman said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think in one case, specifically, Senator Franken has admitted wrongdoing and the president hasn't. I think that’s a very clear distinction. (END VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: Congresswoman, does that satisfy you, the fact that President Trump has denied the allegations? LOVE: Well, again, all of these situations are completely different. I think people need to take responsibility for their actions, not just in the future, but also in the past. And we can’t -- absolutely -- I’m not qualified, nor is it appropriate for us to process, prosecute, judge and sentence in the seven minutes that we have here. But I think it is important that we all speak out, and we prevent these things from happening. This is about looking towards the future and making sure that women are empowered and no longer victimized, that people, if they are experiencing situations in the office that make them uncomfortable, that they feel empowered that they can actually speak out and stop the behavior. WALLACE: Congresswoman Love, thank you. Thanks for your time. LOVE: Thank you. Thank you. WALLACE: Now to South Carolina and Republican Senator Tim Scott. Senator, let's start with your colleague Al Franken -- SEN. TIM SCOTT, R-SOUTH CAROLINA: Good morning. WALLACE: -- who is accused of forcibly kissing and groping Leeann Tweeden. Should the Senate discipline or even perhaps expel Senator Franken? SCOTT: We certainly should start the process of an ethics investigation as has been suggested and I think started by Senator McConnell. This is absolutely the right starting point. All sexual harassment is inexcusable. And everyone should be punished at the same level. WALLACE: On the other hand, people note that the Senate Ethics Committee has never expelled any member for actions taken before they were senator. So, some people are saying, well, OK, you put them before the Senate Ethics Committee and that's where these charges go away to die. SCOTT: Yes, I completely disagree with that. This is a brand-new era. I know that the last time someone was expelled was like the civil war. The reality of it is that we should take responsibility. I’m a big believer according to the good book that all folks in leadership are held to a higher standard. And we will hold our members to a higher standard, that's a fact. And I look forward to the outcome of the investigation. WALLACE: Well, I want to ask about the standards you feel should apply to Judge Roy Moore. You have been on the record as saying if the charges are true, he should step away. But realistically, we may never know whether or not the charges are true, and we almost certainly are not going to know before the special election on December 12th. So, let me ask you a direct question, do you think that Judge Moore should step aside and let a Republican write-in candidate try to hold onto the seat? SCOTT: What I’ve said in the past, I want to be very clear, is that the allegations are stronger than the denial and that Roy Moore should find something else to do, which is my way of suggesting that he should not be in a race. WALLACE: So, you think he should step down at this point? SCOTT: I certainly think that there's a strong possibility with a new candidate, a new Republican candidate, a proven conservative, that we can win that race in Alabama, and it is in the best interest of the country, as well as the state of Alabama from my perspective for Roy Moore to find something else to do. WALLACE: So, let me ask you about Judge Moore, because he says that these accusations against him are really about the Senate establishment, the elite trying to keep down and take away a representative, in his case, of the grassroots. Here is Judge Moore. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROY MOORE, R-ALABAMA U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: This is an effort by Mitch McConnell and his cronies to steal his election from the people of Alabama, and they will not stand for it. (END VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: In your view, is this controversy about Judge Moore's behavior, or is it a political power play by "The Washington Post" and Senator McConnell? SCOTT: This controversy is over the necessity of respecting women, period. Our response to sexual harassment should be as aggressive as possible. The reality of it is, when you look at those conservative lawmakers in the Senate who have withdrawn their support of Judge Moore, that should send a clear signal that this has nothing to do with the establishment Republican or politics. It has to do with the character that we want displayed in the United States of America and especially in our leadership role (ph). WALLACE: Well, let me ask about what I just discussed with Congresswoman Love, because the rules for a sexual harassment victim are really pretty challenging in Congress. They have to go through a 90-day period. If there's a settlement, it's paid for by the taxpayers, not by the member. Does Congress need to get its own House in order here? SCOTT: Well, according to the rules that you laid out, the answer is yes. In my office, my chief of staff, she and I sat down and had a conversation at the beginning of my term, designed within our employee's manual how to respond if you feel harassed. You don't have to go to your supervisor, you can go to any supervisor in the office, including my chief of staff. She believes that the best way for us to make sure that the employees who work within our office are as safe and as comfortable as possible, is to make sure that all routes for their challenges don't flow through a specific person, whether it’s me or her, but it goes through anyone that they are most comparable talking with. I think that policy being adopted by the entire Senate and that we accelerate the process and hold each member accountable and responsible for their actions. Not at taxpayers’ expense, but at an individual expense, only makes sense. WALLACE: Let me turn to tax reform. The Senate, the full Senate is going to take it up after Thanksgiving. I want to ask you a specific area of it. How do you justify that in the Senate tax bill, as passed by the Senate Finance Committee, it keeps the tax cuts for corporations permanent, but the tax cuts for individuals expire in eight years? SCOTT: Well, the good news is that if we are able to lower the highest corporate tax rate in the world from 35 percent to 20 percent and make it permanent, the jobs of the future will be created here at home. Giving people tax breaks for one year or ten years on their individual taxes is a success. If we can make it permanent, our friends on the left can help us get there, and I hope and look forward to them becoming a part of this process. WALLACE: Finally, one senator, Republican Senator Ron Johnson, has already said he is against the bill. As you know a number of others have issues with it. Is tax reform head the way of Obamacare? You have a very narrow margin for error in the Senate on this, sir. SCOTT: The good news is, it's not. The reality of it is that Ron Johnson's concerns are legitimate concerns. I think we can deal with them. There's editorial recently in The Wall Street Journal that gives us direction on how to get that accomplished. Other senators have talked about the importance of parity between the corporate and the pass-throughs. We can’t get to parity, but we can get close, and I think we’ll get a little closer. And we’ll have a full team on display in December bringing a Christmas present to the American people, allowing them to keep more of their hard-earned money. WALLACE: Senator Scott, thank you. Thanks for joining us. Always good to talk with you, sir. SCOTT: Thank you, Chris. Good seeing you. WALLACE: Up next, we’ll bring in our Sunday group to discuss the Moore and Franken scandals, as well as no questions about whether Bill Clinton should have resigned over the Lewinsky affair. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MOORE: I’m the only one that can unite Democrats and Republicans because I think I will be opposed by both. (LAUGHTER) LEEANN TWEEDEN, TV AND RADIO HOST: Before I know that he grabbed that -- he put his hand on the back of my head and came towards me and mashed his face against my mouth and stuck his tongue in my mouth. (END VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore trying to save his campaign while broadcaster Leanne Tweeden makes allegations against Democratic Senator Al Franken. And it's time now for our Sunday group. Former Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, columnist for The Hill, Juan Williams, head director of research at Bustle, Jessica Tarlov, and Jason Riley from The Wall Street Journal. Well, Congressman, what are your thoughts about the problems with sexual harassment in general, on Capitol Hill, in particular, and I’ve got to say as I started this week, I am shocked at the rules that members of Congress, as you used to be, and have implemented to protect yourselves from sexual harassment charges. JASON CHAFFETZ, R-FORMER UTAH CONGRESSMAN: Yes, no, it's absolutely disgusting. There's always somebody doing something stupid somewhere, but a woman should not have to go through that process as you laid out when it happens in Congress. And maybe the best avenues just go directly to the police because there's a legal process by getting prosecutors and the law involved, and I think the victims ought to have the loudest voice on that. But politically, I do believe that those decisions need to be made by the people in, say, Alabama or Minnesota. I think it's very presumptuous for the majority leader to say, hey, we’re going to work to kick you out when you're dealing with the same fact pattern. The people in Alabama and Minnesota can make those decisions. WALLACE: Well, Jessica, let me ask about that. Should this just be left in the case, particularly of Alabama because Judge Moore faces a special election in a couple of weeks? Leave it to them? JESSICA TARLOV, SENIOR RESEARCH DIRECTOR, BUSTLE.COM: Well, I think, obviously, upholding our democracy is the most important issue at play here. But I do think, especially considering what's going on in the last couple of years, the allegations in the political world and the media and entertainment world and what an important topic sexual harassment is for America generally that people like Mitch McConnell, people like Cory Gardner need to stand up and take a stand on something like this and to say this is unacceptable behavior, and we don't want it here with us. And there's no place for it in Washington. So, I’m torn about it. Obviously, the voters will get their chance to vote for Roy Moore if they want, but there should be a candidate on the ballot on the Republican side who has not been accused of child molestation. WALLACE: Let me ask you, because this is obviously a difficult conversation, but it's an important conversation. On the other hand, I wonder to some degree, are we mixing up misdemeanors and felonies? You got the case of Al Franken who allegedly forcibly kissed this woman and groped her, which is clearly piggish behavior. On the other hand, it's different from the allegations against Roy Moore, who, as you pointed out, allegedly was having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl. Should they all be career enders? TARLOV: I don't think so personally. I think that having that nuanced discussion is what we really need to do at this point. There was a good piece that came out in The New York post about this that said, you know, Harvey Weinstein's picture should not be next to Al Franken's picture. You know, Roy Moore's picture should not be next to the guy from Amazon, for instance. This -- WALLACE: But you’ve got to know, some people are going to say, well, you know, maybe you’re protecting -- TARLOV: No, I’m not -- it's not because of political affiliation, I know that we will get to talk about the importance of revisiting Bill Clinton and what happened in the ‘90s and Democrats are certainly taking that up right now. But we need to be clear about the strength of these allegations and how important they are and what Roy Moore did versus what an Al Franken did. WALLACE: Well, let's talk about Bill Clinton because that was a really interesting development this week, the reassessment of Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky back when Clinton was president. Kirsten Gillibrand, who is a senator from New York sits in Hillary Clinton's seat, says that under current standards Bill Clinton should have resigned. Mrs. Clinton says no. Take a look. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, D-NEW YORK: Yes. I think that is the appropriate response, but I think things have changed today, and I think under those circumstances, there should be a very different reaction. HILLARY CLINTON, D-FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This was a painful time not only in our marriage, but in our country as I have written about. But it was investigated fully. It was addressed at the time. (END AUDIO CLIP) WALLACE: Jason, pretty interesting that Kirsten Gillibrand, who is thinking of running for president on the Democratic side in 2020, went there. JASON RILEY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, this is pure political expediency. This is not about principle. This is clear. It seems to me that if you are a pro-choice, wealth redistributionist, you can also be a groper and get a pass from both of the women you played clips from. Hillary Clinton is also partially defending Al Franken because of how he’s responded to the charges against him versus how President Trump has responded. And then you have the senator from New York essentially saying, you know, that we live in different times. Well, this is a woman who has associated herself with the Clinton family, with Mrs. Clinton in particular, has the seat Mrs. Clinton once held, and I think this is not about principle at all. This is about taking advantage of the current -- (CROSSTALK) WALLACE: What do you think the political expediency is in Kirsten Gillibrand going after Bill Clinton now? RILEY: It's now fashionable, it's now acceptable. And she pays no political cost for doing so. WALLACE: Let me -- well, she pays a little bit of political cost, and let me bring this up with you, Juan. Philippe Reines, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, blasted Gillibrand for what she said. He tweeted this, let’s put it up. Over 20 years, you Gillibrand took Clinton's endorsements, money and seat. Hypocrite. Interesting strategy for 2020 primaries. Best of luck. This issue of sex harassment is not only splitting Republicans, Roy Moore and Mitch McConnell. It's also splitting Democrats. JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. And the power here is the charge of hypocrisy. I think that's why Clinton comes -- Bill Clinton comes to the floor so quickly because the charge would be, oh, Democrats, have you been as tough on your sexual harassers as you are asking Republicans to be on theirs? And so, immediately, you’ve seen pieces in Vox and The New York Times, Gillibrand coming forward as a Democratic congressman who said, oh, yes, Clinton should have been ousted. I think one of the keys for me is Democrats wanting to say that we retained some moral authority in speaking on this issue as Republican's try to impose. But I think at times, as you and Jessica Tarlov were discussing, a false equivalency between let’s say, a Roy Moore and even Bill Clinton. I just think that, you know, at the moment, the politics is so tribal -- WALLACE: Wait, wait. I can understand the difference or the distinction between Moore and Franken. How is there a distinction between Moore and -- WILLIAMS: I don’t think -- I don’t think even if you’re going to say Monica Lewinsky was an intern, a young person, and there was a huge power differential between the president of the United States and an intern, no one was suggesting that she was beneath the age of consent. And she said -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Much more (INAUDIBLE) -- WILLIAMS: Well, I’m just saying in the one that he was impeached for, because he was impeached. WALLACE: He was impeached for lying. WILLIAMS: Well, he was impeached over this case, lying about this issue, and I think that it's very important for people, part of the Reines response was, millions of dollars were spent investigating and impeaching this man, and now, you have a situation here where there are some people, including Roy Moore, who want to point at Mitch McConnell and claim there is a Republican, much less Democrats or the elite media from Washington trying to tell the voters of Alabama what to do. CHAFFETZ: The Bill Clinton situation happened while he was in office and then lied about it, as the president of the United States. That’s why it has -- but I do think, Kirsten -- I mean, I’m glad that we’re elevating the debate. I’m glad that this is becoming totally unacceptable on both sides of the aisle, and there should be a huge and massive political price, if not essentially the death penalty for people who engage in this, and that they cannot serve at the highest levels of government. Why do we -- I wish -- (CROSSTALK) WALLACE: You’re not really serious about the death penalty? CHAFFETZ: Well, a political death penalty. WALLACE: OK, fair enough -- (LAUGHTER) (CROSSTALK) CHAFFETZ: Yes. But, no, a political death penalty, which is why should we put up with anybody serving at the highest level of government who engages in this, whether it was 40 years ago or whether it happened while you were in office. WALLACE: Thank you all. This is going to be continued, no question about it. We’re going to take a break here and we’ll see you a little bit later. Up next, an exclusive interview with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on whether a GOP task reform bill that will make it to the president's desk by Christmas. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) WALLACE: Coming up, the House passes a sweeping tax bill. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. PAUL RYAN, R-WIS., SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I want to thank not just the members who made this possible. I want to thank the president. I want to thank his administration. And I thank our partners in the Senate who were doing their work as well. (END VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: But what will happen in the Senate? Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin joins us next on "Fox News Sunday." (COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHRIS WALLACE, FOX ANCHOR: -- Mnuchin. Mr. Secretary, I want to start with Democratic criticism of the tax plan. In this case, by House Leader Nancy Pelosi. Here she is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-MINORITY LEADER: They throw a scrap to the middle class, provide a banquet for the wealthy and for corporate America, transform America in doing so. We will not let that happen. (END VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: Secretary Mnuchin, where is Congresswoman Pelosi wrong? STEVE MNUCHIN, TREASURY SECRETARY: Well, I just fundamentally don't agree with her. This is about making the business tax system competitive, which is about creating jobs, and this is about a very significant middle income tax cut. That's what this is all about. WALLACE: Well, let's look at the analysis by the bipartisan joint committee on taxation, because here's what they said about the House bill. They say it delivers 80 percent of its cuts to corporations, businesses, and wealthy families. This isn't a Democratic partisan, this is Congress' own joint committee on taxation. MNUCHIN: Chris, these numbers are very complicated, and it depends on how you allocate them. So one of the things they're doing is they're taking a pass through allocation, which is all about small and medium-size businesses, and they're allocating it back to the wealthy. And the same thing with the corporate tax cuts. We don't believe that. If you look at this simply, and people just look at, are their personal taxes going up or down, on the personal tax side, middle income people are getting cuts and rich people are getting very little cuts or, in certain cases, increases. WALLACE: Let me break that down, though, sir, because respectfully it seems to me it's a little bit more complicated than that. And here is one reason why the GOP tax plan, according to analyst, favors the wealthy and corporations. I want to put this up on the screen. In the Senate plan, while the corporate tax cuts are permanent, almost all provisions for individuals, including rate cuts and the expanded standard deduction expire, go away at the end of 2025. The result, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, by 2027, this is the Senate plan, anyone making less than $75,000 will see a tax hike, while those making more than $75,000 will see a tax cut. How do you respond to that? MNUCHIN: Chris, the problem is that under the Senate rules and the Byrd (ph) rule, using reconciliation, there's very specific rules, because we're changing from an international system to a territorial system. We need to make the corporate tax cuts permanent. You can't tell corporations they're going back to a worldwide system. Because of that, we were forced to phase out the personal tax side, but nobody thinks that's going to be the case. Of course Congress is going to vote down the road to keep these cuts. So it's not about allocating cuts to the corporations, it's about, we have to fix the business tax side and make it permanent. WALLACE: But isn't it -- and this is what critics are saying -- isn't it a statement of your priorities? I mean the real reason that you make the individual cuts temporary, and they expire after 2025, is otherwise your deficit was going to be too big, it was going to go over. Some people say it's a budget gimmick, but isn't it a statement of priorities that you made the business cuts permanent and the individual cuts temporary? You could have done exactly the opposite and made the individual cuts permanent and cut back on the business cuts, that they were temporary. MNUCHIN: Chris, you can't -- you can't do that if you want to fix the business tax system and going from a worldwide system to a territorial system, you can't switch back in ten years. So this is all about the Byrd rule and how we calculate things. This isn't about the deficit because we think this is all about creating growth and we'll create economic growth to pay down the deficit. So this is technical issues in the Senate and the corporate side is about jobs. This is the tax cut and jobs bill. This is about making American businesses competitive so we can bring jobs back home in trillions of dollars invested here in the U.S. WALLACE: But, forgive me, sir, what you're basically saying is, look, we have -- we're going to make the tax -- and it isn't just the worldwide system. You're also making the business tax cuts, the reduction in the corporate rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, you're making that permanent. And you talk with great assurance about what's going to happen in 2025. The fact is, you're not going to be office -- in office in 2025. Even if he's elected, Donald Trump isn't going to be president in 2025. And, in any case, you have no idea what the political situation is going to be lent or what the economic situation is going to be, and the deficit situation. So when you just say, well, of course they're going to extend it in 2025, you don't know that. MNUCHIN: I don't know that. Maybe I'll be working for President Pence at the time, but I don't know that. But what I do know is, we think this is going to create growth and we'll know by then whether this creates growth or not. If it does create growth, we're going to have an incredible economy and an incredible tax system for businesses and creating huge amounts of jobs. And if it doesn't, Congress will deal with it at the time. WALLACE: About, again, and not to belabor it, that means, as you say, Congress will deal with it at the time that the -- the tax cuts for individuals, which expire in 2025, may stay expired, may just go away. MNUCHIN: Chris, we have a lot of confidence that Congress will do the right thing. And, again, the priority for the moment is middle income tax cuts. This is a big cut for the middle income, and it's going to create jobs and growth. So an average family that's making $75,000, a family of four, they're going to get over $1,000 tax cut. This is very significant. And this is about creating a tax system that's competitive. We have the highest tax system in the world. How can our companies compete when their taxes are 35 percent and the rest of the world is in the low 20s? WALLACE: I want to ask you about another aspect of the Senate bill, and that is the individual mandate. The -- not the House bill, but the Senate bill repeals the individual mandate in Obamacare. There's -- it's -- some people like it in the Senate, some people don't. Susan Collins has expressed concern about it. Lisa Murkowski has expressed concern about it. Is that, in effect, a bargaining chip? In other words, if you find it's costing you more votes than it's getting you, then you would support taking the individual mandate out? MNUCHIN: Well, let me first say this is all about getting this past in the Senate. That's the objective. This isn't a bargaining chip. The president thinks we should get rid of it. I think we should get rid of it. It's an unfair tax on poor people, to think that you put a penalty on people who can't afford to buy medical policies is just fundamentally unfair. That's what this is all about. WALLACE: But if it -- it does have a political impact. It wasn't in your original proposal for tax reform. It's been added in afterwards. I guess what I'm asking is, could you live with it if it's taken out? MNUCHIN: I think right now our objective is to keep it in. It's a -- it provides a big tax cut for the middle class. It gets rid of the penalty. But we're going to work with the Senate as we go through this. What's critical here is, we have the House that passed a bill. That's a very big deal. We got it done. We got it out of the Finance Committee. It's going to be in the floor right after Thanksgiving. And we're going to get something to the president to sign this year because this is all about creating growth in the economy. And you can see what's going on. People have a lot of confidence in the Trump economic plan. You see that in the market. You see that in investing. And this is about delivering tax cuts to the American people. WALLACE: You talk about getting it to the president by Christmas. I want to pick up on that. Because I think you'd agree right now the Republican tax plan is hanging by a thread in the Senate. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has already said that he's a "no" vote although, yes, I know he's persuadable. At least five other Republicans are on the fence. And you're in danger of losing that Alabama seat if Roy Moore loses in the special election on December 12th. If Moore stays in the race and doesn't clear the way for a stronger write-in candidate, doesn't that increase the jeopardy for tax reform? MNUCHIN: Well, I'm not going to speculate on the race, but what I will tell you is, I've met with Senator Corker this week. I met with Senator Johnson. I met with Senator Collins. We're having very good discussions with all of them. We want to make sure we incorporate their views. And we're comfortable where we are in this process. This is a -- this is about having discussions and making sure we get something to the president to sign. WALLACE: Finally, I have to ask you about something that has gotten a lot of attention this week. You and your wife went this week to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to check out the first dollar bills with your signature on it, which I'm sure was exciting. The pictures went viral. Mr. Secretary, some folks -- and I'm looking at the picture here, which you can't see, say that you two look like two villains from a James Bond movie. I'm sure you've heard that. I guess my question is, what would you thinking? MNUCHIN: I heard that. I never thought I'd be quoted is looking like villains from the James Bond. I guess I should take that as a compliment that I look like a villain in a great, successful James Bond movie. But, let me just say, I was very excited of having my signature on the money. It's obviously a great privilege and a great honor and something I'm very proud of being the secretary and look forward to helping the American people. WALLACE: And why, just briefly, did you decide that you and your wife would have fun with the money and take those pictures? MNUCHIN: Well, again, I didn't realize that the pictures were public and going on the Internet and viral. But people have the right to do that. People can express what they want. That's the great thing about social media today. People can say and communicate what they want. WALLACE: And they do. And I want to ask you about one other aspect of this, because every Treasury secretary I've ever known signs their name on the dollar bill. You printed your name on the dollar bill. I know this is a pressing question, but, how come? MNUCHIN: I changed my signature. I had a very, very messy signature that you could barely read. It was very effective at signing things. But I felt since it was going to be on the dollar bill forever, I should have a nice, clean signature. WALLACE: Secretary Mnuchin, I think we can all agree on that, it is a very clean signature. Thank you so much. Thanks for your time, sir. And we'll track development in the Senate as they take up tax reform. MNUCHIN: Thanks, Chris. Great to be here with you. WALLACE: Up next we'll bring back our Sunday group to discuss what they think are the prospects of tax reform. Plus, Hillary Clinton is once again questioning the legitimacy of Donald Trump's election victory. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. SHERROD BROWN, D-OHIO, FINANCE COMMITTEE: This tax cut really is not for the middle class, it's for the rich. And that whole thing about higher wages, well, it's a good selling point -- SEN. ORRIN HATCH, R-UTAH, CHAIRMAN, FINANCE COMMITTEE: I'm going to just say to you that I come from the poor people and I've been here working my whole stinking career for people who don't have a chance. (END VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: A heated exchange between Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio over who benefits from the Republican tax plan. And we're back now with the panel. Well, Jason, where do you think the battle for tax reform stands right now, how much trouble is it in, in the Senate, and how do you see this playing out? JASON RILEY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it got to the House. We were expecting that to happen. And now we are where the health care debate was. And what -- it went over to the Senate where it died. Right now there are some concerns. You have a bunch of senators, from Ron Johnson, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, John McCain, Jeff Flake, are very skeptical of what they see right now. But we're at the beginning of the process. Leadership thinks they can be won over, and that's what they're -- they're trying to do right now. WALLACE: Juan, I want to ask you about this case that's being made by Democrats. We heard Nancy Pelosi in my conversation with Secretary Mnuchin that this was a giveaway for corporations and the wealthy. And, interestingly enough, in polls that have been taken so far, you can question how much people know about the details of the bill, not very popular. JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL ANALYST: No, I think Quinnipiac has it, you know, more than 50 percent. So a majority of Americans disapprove of the Republican tax cuts right now. People want tax reform, Chris. I think they want a simpler system, eased. They want to do away with some of these loopholes and deductions that allow especially corporations and the rich to benefit. But people want a simpler system. But now we've gone, as the Republicans just try to say, we've got to do this on a fast track. Jam it through. We don't want too much criticism. This is very important for us to have a legislative accomplishment. I think you're at the point where Republicans are saying to each other, just hold your nose. We'll see what comes out of the Senate. President Trump has been back and forth. He even said to Democrats, don't worry about the House bill. I don't know what that says to House Republicans. But at this point, it's just politics. RILEY: This has to go back -- this has to go back to the House where -- WILLIAMS: Right, there will be a conference. RILEY: Where more than a dozen Republicans voted against it, particularly from blue states. so this -- just because the Senate passes a version doesn't mean the House will pass what the (INAUDIBLE) -- WALLACE: No, and we should -- and we should point out that the Senate version totally limits the state and local dedications. RILEY: Yes. WILLIAMS: That's what I was going to say. WALLACE: The House version keeps it for property taxes. So it will be interesting to see how they thread the needle here. Let me turn to another subject, the Russia investigation, which never seems to go away. This week Hillary Clinton continued to question Donald Trump's legitimacy, his election to be president, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions continued to deny that he misled Congress. Here they both are. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HILLARY CLINTON, D-FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that there are lots of questions about his legitimacy, and we don't have a method for contesting that in our system. JEFF SESSIONS, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: And I will not accept, and reject accusations, that I have ever lied. That is a lie. (END VIDEO CLIP) WALLACE: Congressman Chaffetz, where are we on the Russia investigation, both in the House, the Senate and the special counsel? JASON CHAFFETZ, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I thought the attorney general appearing before the House Judiciary was an important step forward. He was emphatic that he had not lied about lying. And I still don't see the evidence that the Democrats think -- think is there. And as long as the face of this is going to be Hillary Clinton, I think most of the country is going to get turned off and repulsed by it. WALLACE: What do you think of the fact that she once again -- now she's saying, well, we don't really have a mechanism to do this. I mean President Trump's more than a year since the 2016 election. CHAFFETZ: Yes. WALLACE: We're almost in 2018 and now she's saying, we need to give it to an independent commission. CHAFFETZ: Well, look, he is the president of the United States. I know she doesn't like that. I know she wishes it was a different outcome. And there -- she's right, there is no mechanism to do that. But there's nothing to suggest that any of the votes were actually manipulated. That any of the results out of 30 of the 50 states that went for Donald Trump would have gone a different direction because of -- WALLACE: Well, that's part of the question. The other question is whether there was collusion with the Russians. And I'm not saying there is, but that's the other issue. CHAFFETZ: It's a question we have. There's a special investigator, a special prosecutor who's looking at that. But for Hillary Clinton to say, hey, the election's in question, it just laughable. It's almost embarrassing. WALLACE: You know, let me ask you about that, Jessica, because I moderated the third presidential debate. And if you remember, I asked Donald Trump -- I was about to say President Trump, but he was then Donald Trump -- will you recognize the legitimacy of the election, because he kept saying it was rigged, and he refused to, and Hillary Clinton went up (INAUDIBLE) and this is disgusting. We have a tradition, peaceful transfer of power. Does it make it, at the very least hypocritical, for her now to say, well, I'm still questioning the election? JESSICA TARLOV, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I think that it does. And to Jason's point, I agree with you, that she absolutely shouldn't be the face of this. Whether she likes it or not or whether a lot of Democrats who supported her -- I was one of them and there are 65 other million Americans who did as well -- don't want to face it, the American public has said we are done with the Clintons for now. That doesn't mean that these points don't need to be made. And I think the most important issue that she's raising is that we had an unprecedented intervention by a foreign power into our election, and we need to take stock of that and develop mechanisms to deal with that if it happens again in 2020, in 2024. WALLACE: Well, in fair -- go ahead. TARLOV: So that, I think, is really important. WALLACE: In terms of 2016, it's interesting, Jason, because we keep learning of contacts between the Russians and the Clinton campaign. Now the Senate Judiciary Committee, controlled by a Republican, Chuck Grassley, says that Jared Kushner did not turn over all the documents, all the records of his contacts. I've got to say, though, that when we see these contacts, it's much more a case of the Russians knocking on the door saying, hey, you know, would you -- would you play with us? It's not, hey, we're in -- we're in cahoots together here. RILEY: I agree. That does sound like what was going on. And it looks like Kushner did what he was supposed to do in terms of trying to shut it down. But it is a reminder that in addition to the Mueller investigation, you do have various committees in Congress also investigating this. This is -- this is not going anywhere. And the idea that we're now talking about Kushner shows that this is rising up in terms of the importance of people in the administration. We're beyond Manafort level. We are now into close aides to the president, even members of his family. WALLACE: Juan, we've got about 30 seconds left. I mean you've got Kushner. We don't know what Manafort is going to say or not. There's still Mike Flynn out there. But you would agree at this point, there is no evidence that the Russian -- that the Trump campaign played ball with the Russians? WILLIAMS: No, I don't see any so far, but I would make this point that I think that the propaganda effort was substantial and we continue to see that. They were very interested -- WALLACE: By the Russians? WILLIAMS: By the Russians in terms of setting various groups in the United States against each other. And then you have a very thin margin in states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, literally thousands of votes that made a difference. And I think the propaganda value was substantial. WALLACE: And I think you, it's fair to say, that as the Russians look at it and the fact that we're talking about it a year later -- WILLIAMS: Wow. WALLACE: They've got to be happy. TARLOV: They definitely won. WALLACE: Thank you, panel. See you next Sunday. Up next, our "Power Player of the Week." At the end of a dispiriting few days in American politics, the story of a rising star in the GOP bringing new ideas and leadership to Congress. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) WALLACE: Millennials have become the largest segment of our workforce and are quickly becoming the largest segment of U.S. voters. And while they are very negative about Washington, one of their own is trying to change that. Here's our "Power Player of the Week." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) REP. ELISE STEFANIK, R-NY, YOUNGEST WOMAN ELECTED TO CONGRESS: No, I wasn't scared, I wanted to get some accomplishments under my belt. WALLACE (voice-over): That's Elise Stefanik explaining why she turned me down for a "Power Player" profile two years ago when at age 30 she became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. STEFANIK: I wanted to make sure that my first impression to my colleagues is that I am a workhorse, I invest myself in learning about the policy issues, and I add substantive ideas to the discussion. I rise today in strong support for the conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act. WALLACE: Representing Fort Drum in upstate New York, Stefanik is a member of the House Intelligence and Armed Services Committees. And as a Republican, she wrote a change to Obamacare that President Obama signed. BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: There you go. STEFANIK: I wrote and passed the largest fix to our health care law in my first term. We needed new direction. WALLACE: Running on the slogan "new ideas and new leadership," Stefanik campaigned on people's frustrations with Congress. STEFANIK: I would ask every group that I met with, raise your hand if you think Washington is broken. Every hand would go up. WALLACE: Part of her answer, use technology and transparency to make Congress more accountable. STEFANIK: I use the example of posting votes on Facebook. That's using a new tool to reach out directly to constituents and hear back from them on every single vote. That something every member should be doing. WALLACE (on camera): Is there any pinch-me quality of -- that you are a United States congresswoman? STEFANIK: There are pinch-me moments every day when I walk in and see the Capitol Dome. WALLACE (voice-over): Stefanik started in politics a while ago. STEFANIK: I ran for student council secretary in sixth grade and I ran on the platform of bringing a snack machine. And that is very popular among -- WALLACE (on camera): I was going to say, I figure you won. STEFANIK: I won. WALLACE (voice-over): She worked two years in the Bush 43 White House on domestic policy. STEFANIK: And that's the approach I'll bring to Washington. WALLACE: Then, in 2014, she ran for Congress. WALLACE (on camera): How much pushback did you get? You're too young, you're too inexperienced. STEFANIK: I got a lot of pushback initially. Very few people took me seriously. Paul Ryan, actually, was one of the individuals that encouraged me and gave me great advice. You have two ears and one mouth, use it in that ratio. Listen to what voter's concerns are. WALLACE (voice-over): Stefanik won her swing district by 22 points and last year was re-elected by 35 points. WALLACE (on camera): Is it true that when you first got here you got stopped a lot? STEFANIK: I did. And I still get stopped about once a month going back and forth to the floor to vote. And if I wasn't wearing my pin, there would be many votes that I would have missed. WALLACE (voice-over): Stefanik is not just young, she's a maverick, often bucking the party lines. She voted against the GOP tax bill this week because it eliminates the state and local income tax deduction important to New Yorkers. And that's not all. STEFANIK: I've introduced the Republican resolution that climate change is happening and we need to find a solution. WALLACE: While Stefanik has had an impressive start in Congress, she doesn't plan to be there forever. STEFANIK: I do think institutionally Congress benefits from having a churn (ph) of new members and new ideas. So I don't see myself being here for 25, 30 years. WALLACE (on camera): But maybe 15 or 20? STEFANIK: I don't know. I'm thinking, you know, every two-year cycle. I need to go out there and make sure that I continue to earn the support from my constituents. (END VIDEOTAPE) WALLACE: And yes we did discuss sexual harassment in Congress. While Stefanik says she hasn't experienced it, she supports mandatory harassment training for members of Congress and their staff. And that's it for today. Have a great week, and we'll see you next "Fox News Sunday." Content and Programming Copyright 2017 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2017 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. |
As a new technical lead in a new company, what are some additional strategies to employ to change the culture of the development team so that people show up at the time that I've requested? TLDR: My team doesn't show up on time. I've tried to compel them and it isn't working. Background Data: Small company, 30 employees, 5 members of my team. The previous lead is still on staff as a regular developer. The culture prior to my arrival was one of informality with no set boundaries or core hours. This culture was not challenged by the corporate leaders. Most people on the team would show up between 10:30 and 11:00 because of this. Other departments, due to the nature of their work, have set start times of either 8 or 9. This discrepancy and unpredictability causes a lot of angst between my department and other departments. As such, I sat the team down and specified a 'no later than' time of 9:30. I explained my reasoning and I explained the benefits of such a scheme and the negatives of the current scheme. It was a long and contentious conversation and 3 of the 5 people on the team were quite displeased. Needless to say, people aren't showing up on time (and 9:35 is not on time.) I've scheduled our daily standup meeting at 9:30 as an added motivator. Knowing that it takes a little bit of time to transition start times (with commute, etc...) I initially would wait to begin the meeting until everyone showed up, but now I just start the meeting (and often finish the meeting) with whomever is present. That seems to not be making a difference either and it's making the team less cohesive. Conversations on an individual and group basis yield the same results as the original conversation (i.e. they don't see the value, think I'm taking away a perk of the job, etc...) I have the full support and backing of the senior management team and am empowered to employ whatever devices I feel appropriate to get this taken care of. My current next step is to send someone home and make them take the day off. Is that too drastic? Are there alternative strategies that I'm overlooking that could help me solve this problem? Edit based on questions in Jarrod's answer How new of a technical lead? 6 months, at this company, at the time of this question. Why are you imposing purely non-technical managerial policies? It is in the scope of my position as defined by executive management. What are your management credentials? 10 years experience as a technical lead. No formal education or certification in anything managerial. What previous personnel management experience do you have? I have been a technical lead for 10 years. I've been responsible for hiring/firing/interviewing/reviewing/leading/building a few different technical teams. Have you earned the respect of the team in a technical manner? Yes Have you earned the respect of the team in a managerial manner? I was interviewed for technical and managerial ability by the team. I was clear and straightforward about how I like to run technical teams and how I like to run projects (with the obvious caveat that that is just a starting point and culture and personnel ultimately influence where I land.) There are many things, from a managerial perspective, that the team is quite happy with. Did the previous technical lead step down? Yes. Was the previous technical lead demoted? No. It was his request. Was the previous technical lead effective? For a time. But, growth of the company and the codebase made his style ineffective. Does the majority of the existing team have a more personal relationship with the previous technical lead? Yes. Is the previous technical lead effectively still in charge? No. Then [the previous culture of informality with no set boundaries] must have been working? It worked for a time, when the company was still a startup. It has grown and evolved well beyond the startup phase and, due to that growth, is not nearly as effective as it once was. Especially as other departments have introduced a bit more formality and predictability. Was the team successful in delivering useful products when promised? At the beginning. But, as the company and the product grew, quality and delivery times slipped significantly. Doesn't sound like you even considered or explored some kind of compromise with your team or the external teams based on their negative feed back. Did you? Of course I have, I'm not a rookie. The fact of the matter is, I respect the fact that the rest of the company works in an inflexible box due to the nature of their responsibilities. The team was unwilling to compromise on their flex time and, in many cases, the other departments are unable to compromise. I have also addressed the negative feedback specifically with the other departments and implemented a number of things to make things better. One of the big benefits of this change was to improve predictability and change perceptions. Final Update From the original crew of 5, 2 have been replaced. The first was the previous team lead. We could not see eye-to-eye on how to run development projects and he could not accept changes to what he had previously laid down, so we mutually agreed to part ways. The second lost interest in the work, made a couple of big mistakes and we also mutually agreed to part ways. The team, as a whole, now shows up early enough to ensure plenty of coverage for the rest of the company. What ultimately worked was mandate and peer pressure. In addition, other changes that have been instituted have resulted in nearly all of the inter-departmental angst to be resolved. Everyone still gets to work on awesome projects, mostly of their choosing, at their own pace at an exciting company and they are all quite content despite the job market being ridiculous in the area. I have been promoted to an executive position and the new 'problem team' has been moved under me (in addition to still retaining control of the dev team and still developing.) I'm now working to help them perform better and be better teammates to their colleagues. I don't have the punctuality issue with this new team... Their issues are accuracy and communication. |
We're down to the US Open Cup quarterfinals, and with MLS teams slotted into seven of the eight spots, we asked our editors: Which squad most needs to raise the Cup? BEN COUCH: Lighting the Way Forward Nelson Rodriguez and Velkjo Paunovic are making a lot of the right long-term moves, but it's been a rough season in Chicago. The standings aren't friendly – and yet, the recognition of progress is there. Jonathan Campbell has been a Rookie Rankings mainstay and left back Brandon Vincent just landed on the MLS All-Star Gameday Roster. The transfer window addition of Dutch striker Michael de Leeuw should put more punch in the attack alongside speedy striker David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike. The Open Cup represents an opportunity for Paunovic – a globally respected coaching prospect after leading the Serbian national team to the FIFA U-20 World Cup title – to hang hardware on the mantle and offer a strong talking point for fans to take into 2017 … and beyond! And it looks like he knows it. SAM STEJSKAL: Starting the climb The Sounders are the obvious choice here. Seattle are mired in ninth place in the West after Sunday’s loss at Portland, nine points behind the Timbers for the sixth and final playoff spot. Their only silver lining? They have two games in hand on Portland and three on seventh-place Sporting KC, who they trail by eight points. Their climb to the red line will be steep, but they still have time to catch those two clubs, as well as eighth-place San Jose. They’ll need a serious injection of confidence if they’re going to get there, however. A win against the high-powered Galaxy at StubHub – where LA never lose – would be a great place to start. ANDREW WIEBE: Cementing a Legacy In 2 1/2 seasons, Oscar Pareja has turned FC Dallas into arguably MLS’s best club. They’ve become the harbinger for youth development in a country obsessed by it. They’ve fallen a few goals short of the Supporters’ Shield and taken consecutive steps forward in the playoffs. As I write this, they sit atop the standings and Power Rankings. Thing is, lasting legacies – and legit USMNT head coaching candidacies – are built one way and one way only: championships. FC Dallas’ only silverware came back in 1997 in this very tournament, and Pareja’s professional coaching trophy case is still empty. Neither should be desperate to win this season’s US Open Cup, but there’s no doubt both the club and its coach need it. DAVE ZEITLIN: Sealing the deal As soon as Jim Curtin took over as the Philadelphia Union’s head coach two years ago, he stressed the importance of the Open Cup and what winning the club’s first trophy could do for the city and the franchise. Since then, he’s done a remarkable job in the tournament, guiding Philly to a 10-2 mark while enjoying some wild wins that have seen extra time, shootouts, ejections, weather delays and more. But in each of the last two years, the stirring run ended in the final as the Union lost back-to-back heartbreakers to the Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City. And yet while both of those losses were absolutely devastating – even more so because they happened at home – the truth is probably that the Union played as well as they could have in each of those games, falling victim in the end to not having quite enough talent and depth. That’s not the case anymore, as a far deeper and improved roster has the Union near the top of the Eastern Conference standings while still chasing Open Cup glory following two gutsy tourney victories. Unlike the past two years, when the playoffs were mostly out of reach, the Union don’t need a deep Open Cup run to validate their season. But, more than any other MLS team, they do need to wipe out the bitter memories of the last two title games and show that their Open Cup magic can do more than just get them to a final … but have them lifting a trophy once they’re there. |
Ruh-roh. (Photo Credit: We Love Costa Rica) Following our Paleolithic ancestors, our Neolithic ancestors lost an average of six inches in height. Most people now have those last 5-10 pounds that seem impossible lose. The causes for both, surprisingly, may be the same. Robb Wolf can explain. Robb, a former research biochemist, has functioned as a review editor for the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism and is co-owner of NorCal Strength & Conditioning, one of the Men’s Health “top 30 gyms in America.” He’s also a former California State Powerlifting Champion with a competition 565 lb. squat, 345 lb. bench, 565 lb. deadlift… I have known of Robb for several years, but I only met him through a friend a week ago. Several weeks earlier, that same friend had sent me a copy of Robb’s book, The Paleo Solution, which I ended up devouring in a few sittings. The chapters on digestion and improving digestion where particularly fascinating to me, and, for that reason, this post is a book excerpt. It details a particular problem and specific solutions. Enjoy. Enter Robb Wolf. A Common Problem Below I describe several people who at first glance appear different, but in fact they all share a common problem. They had significant health issues with no apparent cause or solution and assumed they had no treatment options, as their doctors were stumped and could offer few solutions. For you, this chapter may represent the “missing link” in your quest for improved performance and health. Alex, Age Five I first learned of Alex from my friend Kelly. She related a story of a little boy who was very sick, underweight, and suffering from constant digestive problems. If you like kids and other small, scurrying critters, Alex’s features and symptoms were literally heartbreaking. He had painfully skinny arms and legs, attached seemingly at random to a torso dominated by a prominently distended belly. At night Alex thrashed and turned in his bed, wracked by diffuse pain in his arms, legs and, especially, his belly. Alex had severe lethargy and a “failure to thrive.” His doctors ran extensive tests but found nothing conclusive. They recommended a bland diet of toast, rice puddings, and yogurt, but with no benefit to the little guy. Kelly contacted me on behalf of the family and asked if I had any ideas that might help Alex. I made a few specific recommendations, which the parents enacted immediately. Within ten days, Alex’s perpetually distended belly was flat and normal. He gained six pounds in a little over two weeks and was noticeably more muscular in the arms and legs. His sleep shifted from the thrashing, restless bouts that left him listless and tired, to the sleep all kids should have: restful, unbroken, and filled with dreams. Alex’s energy improved to such a degree that the other kids and parents could hardly imagine he was the same kid. He was healthy and happy, all because of a simple adjustment he and his family made to his eating. Sally, Age Sixty-One Sally was referred to us by her family physician. Sally’s doctor had worked with her on a variety of issues: low thyroid, osteoporosis, gall bladder problems, depression, and high blood pressure. It was an impressive and ever-growing list of ailments that both Sally and her doctor attributed to “normal” aging. Her doc was pretty forward thinking, however, in that she recommended that Sally perform “weight bearing exercise” to help slow the progression of the osteoporosis and muscle wasting that been accelerating in the past four to five years. When this recommendation brought Sally to us, she was a bit reluctant to get started with a strength-training program and was very reluctant to modify or change her nutrition. We were gentle but persistent. Our recommendations focused on specific changes to her nutrition and lifestyle. Within two months Sally was off her thyroid medications, her gall bladder issues were gone, she was four pants sizes smaller, while her symptoms of depression had disappeared. After six months of training with us and following our nutrition recommendations, it was discovered that she was no longer osteoporotic. Of all the improvements, Sally’s doctor was most impressed with the increased bone density. She asked Sally what she had modified to affect this change. When Sally told her doctor how she had changed her nutrition, her doctor pondered things for a moment, then said, “Well, it must be something else! Food can’t do all that.” Jorge, Age Forty Jorge started working with us primarily to lose weight. At five feet nine inches and 325 pounds, Jorge was heading down a path of significant illness stemming from type 2 diabetes and obesity. Compounding Jorge’s situation was a condition neither he nor his doctors could figure out. Nearly every time Jorge ate, he would break out in a rash and his tongue would swell. Like really swell. Jorge had to keep an epi-pen on his person at all times, similar to someone who has a severe allergy to bee stings or peanuts. Jorge is a practicing attorney and several times a week he would dash out of the courtroom on a mad trip to the emergency room, where he would receive antihistamines to bring his tongue swelling under control. His doctors were (again) stumped. His blood work did not show a specific allergy, nor did he appear to have a full-blown autoimmune disease. Certain immune cells were obviously overactive, but in an atypical fashion that left the allergists and rheumatologists scratching their heads. We recommended a nutritional change for Jorge, which he fought tooth and nail. God has never made a person more appropriate to be an argumentative lawyer! Part begging, part threatening, we finally won Jorge over and told him, “Just do this for a month. If it does not work, what have you lost? If it does work, what will you have gained?” Jorge gave things a shot and his tongue swelling disappeared. Now a year later, Jorge is down to 255 pounds and making headway toward his goal of a lean, strong 225 pounds. Thankfully, Jorge now argues for us instead of against us! Not to beat up on the physicians too much, but when Jorge told his docs what he changed, they too did not believe the cause and effect staring them straight in the face. So, What Did We Do? It will come as a surprise for most people that the underlying cause of all the issues described above, in these very different people, was the same thing—a common component in nearly everyone’s diet. Gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye oats, and barley. Other grains such as corn and rice have similar, but less problematic proteins (we will talk about that later). OK, calm down, I get it. Bread, pasta, and cookies are yummy. They are also likely killing you. The other sections of this book I’m willing to give you a “pass” on understanding the technical points. Most people kinda get the insulin/high-carb issue. People are slowly realizing there are “good fats.” So, I’ll not hold you responsible for that material. However, I insist you read this grain issue, ponder it, and then do what I recommend. We are going to learn the whole story about gluten, grains, and their roles in disease. I’ll then give you quantifiable measures for determining how much healthier you are without them. Then it’s all up to you. If you want to be healthy, you will find some level of compliance that works for you. We have all seen pictures or videos of smokers dying from lung cancer yet still smoking through tracheotomy holes in their throats. Amazing, right? How can people do that? Well, gluten consumption is on par with a pack-a-day smoking habit. Like most things, we need to start at the beginning. Grains Anatomy When I say “grain,” I am talking about one of many domesticated grasses in the gramineae family. This includes staples such as wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, rice, and sorghum. These plants are derivatives or descendants from wild grasses that have been managed and bred for 2,000–5,000 years. All grains have the following anatomy: Bran: The bran is the outer covering of a whole, unprocessed grain. It contains vitamins, minerals, and a host of proteins and antinutrients designed to prevent the predation, or eating, of the grain. When you see brown rice, the bran is the flakey outer covering of the rice. Endosperm: The endosperm is mainly starch with a bit of protein. This is the energy supply of a growing grain embryo. When you see white rice, this is the endosperm with bran and germ removed. Germ: The germ is the actual reproductive portion of the grain. This is where the embryo resides. In the wild, the cereal grain is distributed by the wind, and when conditions are right, the germ (embryo) begins the process of growth using the endosperm for energy. It may come as a surprise, but plants are not benign, altruistic organisms just waiting to send their next generation of young into our mouths in the form of sushi rice or French bread. Grains, like all critters on this planet, face the challenge of surviving long enough to reproduce. This is particularly problematic for grains in that their most nutrient-dense portion (the part we eat) happens to be the reproductive structure. Sidebar: Oats, Quinoa, and False Friends Hey Robb, I appreciate your concern, but my dietician told me Oats are gluten-free, so no need to worry about my morning bowl of oatmeal? Yep, I love oatmeal too, but it contains similar proteins to gluten. Cereal grains tend to have proteins that are high in the amino acid proline. These prolamines (proline rich proteins) are tough to digest, and thus remain intact despite the best efforts of the digestive process to break them down. The result is gut irritation, increased systemic inflammation, and the potential for autoimmune disease. Corn has a similar prolamine called zein. Now you can heed or disregard this information as you please, but grains are a significant problem for most people. Upon removal of these grains, you will notice that you feel better. With reintroduction of grains…well, you feel worse. Keep in mind this inflammation is also a factor in losing weight and looking good, so don’t dismiss this if your primary goal is a tight tush. What I’m asking you to do is take 30 days and eat more fruits and veggies instead of the grains. See how you do. Not so hard, right? And just to head you off at the pass, let’s tackle two other grain related topics: “Whole grains” and Quinoa. When we factor in their anti-nutrient properties, and potential to wreck havoc on our GI tract, grains are not a sound decision for health or longevity. For the purposes of our discussion, consider dairy and legumes in the same category. [Note from Tim: Many of you know that I consume some legumes and beans. Normal cooking will reduce anti-nutrients in both, but, when possible, I also soak them overnight beforehand in water with a tablespoon of baking soda. Soaking for 24 hours at room temperature has been shown to remove 66% of the trypsin (protease) inhibitor activity in mung bean, 93% in lentil (this is what I eat most often), 59% in chickpea, and 100% in broad bean. Remember also to distinguish “in vitro” (e.g. red blood cells in a petri dish) vs. “in vivo” (e.g. after normal digestion) studies.] Quinoa pops up frequently and the refrain goes like this, “Robb! Have you tried this stuff Quinoa (the pronunciation varies depending on how big a hippy you are). It’s NOT a grain! It’s fine, right?” Well, you’ve likely heard the expression, “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…” Quinoa is botanically not a grain, but because it has evolved in a similar biological niche, Quinoa has similar properties to grains, including chemical defense systems that irritate the gut. In the case of Quinoa, it contains soap-like molecules called saponins. Unlike gluten, which attaches to a carrier molecule in the intestines, saponins simply punch holes in the membranes of the microvilli cells. Yes, that’s bad. Saponins are so irritating to the immune system that they are used in vaccine research to help the body mount a powerful immune response. The bottom line is if you think grains or grain-like items like Quinoa are healthy or benign, you are not considering the full picture. One for Me and One for You Some plants, like blueberries or similar fruits, have evolved a strategy of “give a little to get a little.” Critters (us included) eat these fruits, then pass the seeds in a convenient, warm fertilized package that all but guarantees the next generation. Sewage systems aside, this is a reasonable trade off. The critter that eats the blueberries gets a little nutrition in exchange for spreading the blueberry seeds for subsequent generations of blueberries. Other plants take a different approach and try to dissuade all predation by shrouding themselves in nasty substances that are either irritants or outright poisons. Consider poison oak or poison ivy. These plants have developed chemical warfare capabilities and use oils that have a tendency to work their way through the skin of animals that come in contact with the leaves. This oil sets off an alarm that irritates the immune system. Lymphocytes and other white blood cells attack the oil and in the process release pro-inflammatory chemicals that lead to a rash. Keep this idea in mind as we talk about grains, as it will help you to wrap your mind around what is happening when we eat this “staple” food. If we compare grains to the strategies listed above, “give a little, get a little,” like the blueberry, or “bugger off,” like the poison oak, we see that grains are much more like poison oak. If a critter eats a grain, that’s it for the grain. That does not mean that the grain goes down without a fight! Grains are remarkably well equipped for chemical warfare. Lectins: Grains contain a variety of proteins, some of which are called lectins (not to be confused with the hormone leptin). In simple terms, lectins stick to specific molecules and thus play “recognition” roles in biological systems. For our purposes, we will look at wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), which is one of the nastier lectins, but also one of the better studied. Keep in mind, WGA (or similar molecules) are found in all grains, but it’s my opinion (and that of many other researchers) that wheat, rye, and barley, which are the gluten-containing grains, are likely the worst of the bunch with regard to health. Millet is similar to oats, in that it contains a protein only a few amino acids different from gliadin (the main problem in gluten), and it is therefore problematic for digestion. Be careful with “gluten-free” snack foods that seem too good to be true, millet-based or otherwise. Corn and rice can also be problematic, but they are safer if consumed infrequently (we will look at this later). WGA and similar lectins are problematic for several reasons: Lectins are not broken down in the normal digestive process. This leaves large, intact proteins in the gut. If you recall, most proteins are broken down in the digestive process, but the structure of some grain proteins makes them very difficult to digest (for the geeks: these proteins are high in the amino acid proline). Grains also contain protease inhibitors (dairy and some other foods also contain these), which further block the digestion of dangerous lectins. This lack of adequate protein digestion leads to serious problems, as you will see. The lectins attach to receptors in the intestinal lumen and are transported intact through the intestinal lining. Remember how amino acids and sugars are transported out of the intestines during digestion? Certain lectins “fool” transport molecules in an effort to gain entry into our bodies intact. These large, intact protein molecules are easily mistaken by the body as foreign invaders like bacteria, viruses, or parasites. It’s perhaps unpleasant to think about, but the intestines are not the nicest place to hang out. This area is a major source of infection by bacteria and viruses, and the immune system lies primed, waiting to pounce on any invading pathogen. Not only does WGA enter the system intact, it damages the intestinal lining, allowing other proteins to enter the system. Why is this a problem? Our immune system mounts an attack on these foreign proteins and makes antibodies against them. These antibodies are very specific to the shapes of these foreign proteins. Unfortunately, these proteins also tend to look like proteins in our body. Brother from a Different Mother—Molecular Mimicry Proteins are made of molecules called amino acids (AA). Let’s imagine for a minute these amino acids are represented by Legos, with different shapes and colors denoting different amino acids. Imagine a string of Legos with a specific sequence; let’s say its five to ten Legos long. Now imagine another, identical set of Legos attached on top of many more Legos. The top five to ten of the long piece is identical to the short piece. Let’s assume the short piece is WGA and the long piece is a protein in the beta cells of your pancreas where insulin is made. If the WGA is attacked by the immune system and an antibody is made against it (because the body thinks WGA is a bacteria or virus), that antibody will not only attach to WGA, it can also attach to the protein in your pancreas. When that WGA antibody attaches to your pancreas, it precipitates a wholesale immune response—attacking that tissue. Your pancreas is damaged, or destroyed, and you become type 1 diabetic. If that protein happened to be in the myelin sheath of your brain, you would develop multiple sclerosis. Celiac: Most people are familiar with a condition called celiac, which is an autoimmune disease caused by gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and millet. It is clearly understood that celiac is an autoimmune disease caused by lectins. It is also clear that other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Sjögren’s, multiple sclerosis, and a host of other autoimmune conditions occur at much higher rates in celiac patients. However, this association, for whatever reason, was largely dismissed as an anomaly until researchers recently made the connection between the development of celiac and other autoimmune diseases. We now understood that WGA and other lectins have a significant effect on the enzyme transglutaminase (TG). Transglutaminase is an enzyme that modifies every protein we make in our body. How many proteins does TG modify folks? That’s right, all of them. Heart, brain, kidney, reproductive organs—all of them. So, if lectins can cause problems with TG, and if TG modifies every protein in our body, how many things can lectins cause problems with? I hope this is obvious—lectins can and do affect every organ system. Reproductive issues, vitiligo (a skin condition where the individual loses pigmentation in the skin) Huntington’s, narcolepsy—we have found literally hundreds of conditions in which lectins appear to be the causative factor. Not only do we have science to support this, we have observed clinical resolution of these conditions upon the removal of grains, legumes, and dairy. I hate to do this to you, but we have to go back into the intestines. Really? Digestion? Again? When food is emptied from the stomach into the small intestines, it is mixed with bile salts that are produced in the liver and stored in the gall bladder. Remember, bile salts are much like soap and are critical for our digestion and absorption of fats. In addition to bile from the gall bladder, the pancreas releases digestive enzymes that are critical to digestion. And lest you forget, much of the digestive process happens at the tiny structures in our intestines—the villi and microvilli. Now let’s see how lectins interact with the intestinal lining to produce autoimmunity. Lectins such as WGA bind to a receptor in the microvilli, allowing WGA to be transported into the body. This is the mechanism of the autoimmune cascade I described above. If the gut wall (microvilli) becomes damaged, the entire contents of the intestines can now make its way into your system. Yes, that’s as bad as it sounds. You are not only in a position to create antibodies against WGA, which leads to autoimmunity, but you now have the potential to develop multiple allergies due to a permeable gut lining and inadequately digested food. This is how you can develop allergies to chicken, beef, apples, or other normally benign foods. Additionally, if your gut is damaged, you expose yourself to a host of chemicals that would normally remain in the intestines. This can lead to conditions such as multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome, which is regarded more as a psychiatric problem than legitimate medical condition. Let me be crystal clear about this: Anything that damages the gut lining (including bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections, as well as alcohol, grains, legumes, and dairy) can predispose one to autoimmunity, multiple chemical sensitivities, and allergies to otherwise benign foods. As my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach says, “This no opinion is, this fact is.” “If the gut wall (microvilli) becomes damaged, the entire contents of the intestines can now make its way into your system.” [Note from Tim: this is where the “feces in the bloodstream” post title comes from] Full of Bile While this digestive disaster is taking place, there are several other problems brewing. As you recall, the function of the gall bladder is to release bile salts into a meal as it is emptied into the duodenum from the stomach. When the intestinal wall is damaged, the chemical messenger, cholecystokinin (CCK), is not released. CCK usually sends the “on” switch to the gall bladder and the secretion of pancreatic digestive enzymes. When this signal is blocked, we do not properly digest our foods, particularly fat and protein. The lack of bile release allows cholesterol crystals to form in the gall bladder, which leads to gall stones. The standard medical practice of removing the gall bladder is effectively killing the “canary in the coal mine.” Gall stones are a symptom of a problem, an alarm. Instead of treating the cause (remove grains) we cut out the gall bladder. People who have had gall bladder removal are almost certainly undiagnosed celiacs and likely have a number of other progressive diseases. In my experience, these individuals are plagued with digestive problems, culminating in dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. Achtung! The disruption of CCK and related hormones (PYY, adiponectin) in the signaling cascade of digestion is a really big deal. Not only is the digestive process severely damaged, much of our satiety signaling is taken offline as well. We cannot properly digest our food, we are always “hungry,” and the very food we crave, refined grains and sugary junk, happens to be the cause of the problem. It Gets Better Another piece of the chemical defense system used against us by grains is a group of enzymes called protease inhibitors. Protease inhibitors prevent the breakdown of proteins. This means that when you consume grains you do not effectively digest the protein in your meal. Protease inhibitors also stymie the digestion of lectins such as WGA, making these already difficult-to-digest items virtually indestructible. This leaves more large proteins in the intestinal contents, which increases our likelihood of developing autoimmunity, allergies, or chemical sensitivities. Osteoporotic Much? If you do not have a bellyache thinking about grains by now, let’s look at one more player: antinutrients such as phytates. Phytates are important for seeds and grains because they tightly bind to metal ions (like magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium, and copper), which are crucial for the growth and development of the grain. If the metal ions are not tightly bound by the phytates, the process of germination can happen prematurely and this can spell disaster for the grain. When we consume grains, the phytates are still active and powerfully bind to calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron. This means the calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron are unavailable for absorption. Because of the action of antinutrients such as phytates combined with the gut damaging characteristics of lectins and protease inhibitors, our Neolithic ancestors lost an average of six inches in height vs. our Paleolithic ancestors due to the Neolithic diet of grains and legumes. Are you concerned about osteoporosis or iron deficiency anemia? Do you suffer from fatigue or heart problems that might be caused by magnesium deficiency? Have you diligently consumed a “smart” diet of whole grains, legumes, and low-fat dairy as per the recommendations of your dietician and doctor? Do you see how ridiculous that suggestion is in light of what you now know about grains, legumes, and dairy? Thank You Sir, May I Have Another! Here is a recap of how grains cause malabsorption issues and how that affects our health and well-being: Damage to the gut lining. If the gut is damaged, you do not absorb nutrients. We need healthy villi and microvilli to absorb our nutrients, be they protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, or minerals. Damage to the gall bladder and bile production. If you do not absorb fats and fat soluble nutrients such as vitamins A, D, K, and other nutrients, you will have problems utilizing any minerals you do absorb, to say nothing of the nutrient deficiencies from inadequate essential fats. Phytates tightly bind to metal ions and make them unavailable for absorption. Analytical chemists actually use purified phytates in experiments where it is necessary to quantify the amounts of metal ions like calcium, zinc, or iron in a sample because the phytates bind to these metals tighter than just about any other molecule. The same thing happens when you eat phytates, and this is not a good thing for bone health or iron status. Open door for autoimmunity and cancer. Once the gut lining is damaged, we are at exceptionally high risk of autoimmune disease, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and several types of cancer, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The pancreas is assailed by grain-induced inflammation due to CCK problems and elevated insulin levels. This inflammation is a potential cause of pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). Why does all this happen? Because grains are pissed that you want to eat them and they are willing, and able, to fight back. Here is a short list of the problems associated with leaky gut and the autoimmune response: • Infertility • Type 1 diabetes • Multiple sclerosis • Rheumatoid Arthritis • Lupus • Vitiligo • Narcolepsy • Schizophrenia • Autism • Depression • Huntington’s • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma • Hypothyroidism • Porphyria But I’m Not Sick Some of you, however, may think you have no issues here. You have eaten grains, legumes, and dairy your whole life and are “fine.” Well, maybe. But I suspect that is not the case. I’ll bet that if you completely remove these Neolithic foods from your diet for one month, you will notice a dramatic improvement in how you feel and perform. Why? Because if you are consuming these foods, I’ll wager you have gut irritation and other systemic inflammation issues. A recent study looking at children with type 1 diabetes (an autoimmune condition) found that a significant number of them had overt gut pathology, i.e., celiac. Some had a positive antibody test for celiac, but a number of kids were negative on both the WGA antibody test (a common blood test for celiac) and on an intestinal biopsy. So doctors would think there was no gluten influence in their condition. Interestingly, however, nearly all the kids showed antibodies in the deep tissues of the microvilli to . . . transglutaminase. The study authors suspected most of the kids would at some point develop what is commonly described as celiac. What this tells us is gut damage can be fairly benign (few symptoms) but still lead to autoimmunity. Once initiated, autoimmunity can and does progress to other problems. Your doctor or dietician will likely dismiss this information, especially if you are “negative” for any of the standard blood work or lab tests for celiac. They are foolish in this regard, but hey, it’s only your health. Trust your medical professionals, they always know best. Or, try a simple experiment: Follow a Paleo diet, and assess how you feel and perform. I know, I can hear the MDs now, that it’s “just anecdotal.” If you are going to save your ass you are not likely to get much support in this matter unless you have a forward-thinking and aggressive primary physician. What is the ultimate gold standard in all this? How do you know for sure you do or do not have an issue with these foods? The answer seems obvious: remove the potentially offending foods! Reintroduce them after thirty to sixty days. See what happens. Now there is a caveat to this. You only need to be exposed to things like gluten once every ten to fifteen days to keep the gut damaged. This can bedevil people as they “cut back on gluten” but do not notice an improvement in their overall health. I’m sorry but there is not a pink “participant” ribbon given out for doing this “almost correctly.” You need to be 100 percent compliant for thirty days, then see how you do with reintroduction. Now, I’ll be honest, the reintroduction is for you, not me. If I did a phone consult with you, I’d ask, “How did you do when you had that piece of bread?” I know exactly how you did—I’ve seen this scenario thousands of times, but you are the one who needs convincing. When you reintroduce gluten you will not feel good. Sorry kiddo, it’s just the way it works. Now it’s up to you to decide if health and a long life are worth forgoing some of these foods more often than not. Does all this seem hard to believe? Well, remember how I described the effects of poison oak on your skin? It’s a similar deal here with gut irritation and lectin exposure. If you want to get the full power of this program, you need to actually give it a shot. Worst-case scenario: You spend a month without some foods you like. Best-case scenario: You discover you are able to live healthier and better than you ever thought possible. But I Like Bread and Pasta! Yes, I like that stuff too, but they make me sick. I suspect it makes you sick, as well. Not only do grains make you sick by raising insulin levels, messing up your fatty acid ratios (n-3/n-6), and irritating your gut, but they are also addictive. Grains, particularly the gluten-containing grains, contain molecules that fit into the opiate receptors in our brain. You know, the same receptors that work with heroin, morphine, and Vicodin? Most people can take or leave stuff like corn tortillas and rice. Suggest that people should perhaps forgo bread and pasta for their health and they will bury a butter knife in your forehead before you can say “whole wheat!” Sorry folks, I don’t make these rules, I just have the lovely task of educating you about them. Why I had to focus on gluten-free living, exercise, and trying to get you healthy, I will never know. I should have just peddled hookers, cocaine, and pastries! So much easier. Instead, here’s a one week food plan. There are hundreds of great options, but this is a simple menu to get you started: Week 1 Monday BREAKFAST: 2–4 poached eggs, almonds, small piece fruit or berries LUNCH: Chicken fajita salad SNACK: 2 oz chicken, apple, few avocado slices DINNER: Grilled salmon, roasted green beans, side salad Tuesday BREAKFAST: Leftover salmon, walnuts LUNCH: Lettuce, tomato, onion, and condiments of your choice over 1–2 burger patties, orange, almonds SNACK: Jerky, macadamia nuts DINNER: Rotisserie chicken, steamed broccoli, side salad Wednesday BREAKFAST: Leftover chicken w/salsa, ½ avocado LUNCH: Tuna and cabbage salad SNACK: Remainder of tuna and cabbage salad DINNER: Crock-Pot pork loin, tomato sauce, zucchini, chopped cauliflower, basil. Make a large portion, leftovers will be used for several meals! Thursday BREAKFAST: Slice of ham, 2–3 scrambled eggs, fruit LUNCH: Leftover pork loin SNACK: 2 hard-boiled eggs, almonds DINNER: Stir-fry beef salad. Serve over bed of greens with balsamic vinegar Friday BREAKFAST: Sausage stir-fry breakfast LUNCH: Easy ceviche SNACK: 2 oz chicken, apple DINNER: Spaghetti squash (Note from Tim: this is delicious) or kelp-noodle spaghetti: cook either choice with marinara sauce, ground meat, olive oil Saturday BREAKFAST: Chicken apple hash LUNCH: 5–6 oz deli turkey, ½ lb steamed broccoli, drizzle with olive oil SNACK: 2–3 oz turkey, carrot sticks, almonds DINNER: Indian-style coleslaw, leftover pork loin, side salad with olive oil Sunday BREAKFAST: Western omelet, sweet potato hash LUNCH: Lamb patties, tomato, lettuce, strawberries SNACK: Turkey, avocado DINNER: Halibut, roasted asparagus, berries with balsamic vinegar For full 30-day meal plans, recipes, and more, this is the resource. ### Afterword: Holy religious war, Batman! Hundreds of strong comments below, including a few very smart contributions from MDs, nurses, etc.. Robb has also answered some of the most common questions in the comments. Posted on: September 19, 2010. Share this: Facebook Twitter Email Reddit Print Please check out Tribe of Mentors, my newest book, which shares short, tactical life advice from 100+ world-class performers. Many of the world's most famous entrepreneurs, athletes, investors, poker players, and artists are part of the book. The tips and strategies in Tribe of Mentors have already changed my life, and I hope the same for you. Click here for a sample chapter and full details. Roughly 90% of the guests have never appeared on my podcast. Who was interviewed? Here's a very partial list: tech icons (founders of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Craigslist, Pinterest, Spotify, Salesforce, Dropbox, and more), Jimmy Fallon, Arianna Huffington, Brandon Stanton (Humans of New York), Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ben Stiller, Maurice Ashley (first African-American Grandmaster of chess), Brené Brown (researcher and bestselling author), Rick Rubin (legendary music producer), Temple Grandin (animal behavior expert and autism activist), Franklin Leonard (The Black List), Dara Torres (12-time Olympic medalist in swimming), David Lynch (director), Kelly Slater (surfing legend), Bozoma Saint John (Beats/Apple/Uber), Lewis Cantley (famed cancer researcher), Maria Sharapova, Chris Anderson (curator of TED), Terry Crews, Greg Norman (golf icon), Vitalik Buterin (creator of Ethereum), and nearly 100 more. Check it all out by clicking here. |
There’s been two cinematic cracks at Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon so far, the serial-killer thriller than introduced us to the charismatic cannibal Hannibal Lecter, perhaps more readily associated with The Silence of the Lambs. We’ll be taking a look at 1986’s Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann, and 2002’s Red Dragon, with Brett Ratner at the helm. Who captured our imaginations best? There’s only one way to find out… Oh, and spoilers will abound over this episode, so you might want to give this a wide berth if you’ve not seen them so far. Download direct | Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe via feed Common Ground Obviously with the two films sharing the same source, there’s a good deal of narrative cross over, so let’s deal with the bones of the story separately. Will Graham is an ex-FBI agent, called in by his old boss Jack Crawford to assist with tracking down a serial killer referred to as the Tooth Fairy. While Graham is a brilliant investigator, able to put himself in the mind of the people he’s tracking, he bears the physical and mental scars from the case than prompted his retirement, the capture of Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter. Despite the misgivings of both his wife and himself, he agrees to help to try and save lives. There’s not many clues to go on, and as a result Graham is forced to turn to the brilliant, charismatic, dangerous but safely incarcerated Lecter for assistance in building a profile, in exchange for small favours but mainly to give Lecter an opportunity to play mind games with Graham. Graham is also hounded by bottom-feeding tabloid journalist Freddy Lounds, who will wind up being dragged into the investigation to print articles with false profiles in the hope of prompting a mistake from the killer. Through some detective work it transpires that the killer is Francis Dolarhyde, a monster born of an abusive childhood who believes he is undergoing a becoming, transforming into the titular Red Dragon, obsessed with the William Blake painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun. He’s convinced that his murder of these families is helping him along the path to transformation, do you see? It looks for a moment that there may be some redemption for Dolarhyde when he falls in love with a co-worker, Reba McClane, but that’s short lived. Things come to a head once Lecter uncovers Graham’s home address and smuggles it to to Dolarhyde, leading to a final confrontation between Graham and Dolarhyde, the location of which varies depending on the film, but with a similar outcome. On a strict narrative sense, it’s a solid story, enhanced by some accurate, as I understand it, representations of 1980’s forensic technology and profiling understanding, earning it points on a technical level. The overarching archetype of copper hunting villain isn’t exactly new, but looking at this story retroactively does it few favours. While it wasn’t exactly groundbreakingly innovative on the novels’ release in 1981, it perhaps now sounds way more familiar a tune than it did at the time. In particular, the trope of “damaged but brilliant detective pursing something or other” might have its roots in Sherlock Holmes, but it’s been battered to death by pretty much every television police procedural of the past thirty years, so most of the cliches only apply to this story retroactively. Manhunter Michael Mann’s film was first out the gate, with William Petersen as Will Graham, Dennis Farina as his boss, Tom Noonan as Dolarhyde and Brian Cox as Dr. Lecktor, the spelling puzzlingly changed for this film, although you’ll forgive me if these show notes retcon that change away. What’s immediately striking about this film is its sense of style, and there’s more moments of gorgeous cinematography in the first ten minutes of this film than most features manage in two hours. This remains true across the entirely of the film, Mann apparently not going to let something as mundane as having a character run down some stairs get in the way of finding a way to turn that into an artfully composed shot. The soundtrack presents more of a mixed bag. The synth heavy parts, again quite prevalent early on, help to create an eerie, unsettling atmosphere that recalls Vangelis’ Blade Runner work, but it’s married to some odd choices, or at least one odd choice in particular. Step forward The Prime Movers with Strong As I Am, a mood-killing selection for what ought to be a pivotal scene. Perhaps the principal narrative difference in Mann’s version over Ratner’s is the use of Lecter, Mann opting for a more minimal use of the character, trying (and succeeding) in leaving the audience wanting more. Cox plays a quite different interpretation of Lecter than Hopkin’s more widely seen turn. He’s colder, more restrained, but all the creepier for it. It’s tough, even when talking about the same story to directly compare the two, but I’ve always preferred Cox’s more believably chilling take on the character. Hopkins, while a very fun character, is playing a little too over the top for my tastes. Performance-wise, it’s perhaps here that Mann plays a trump card. There’s less star power on display here, but for the most part he’s getting people to perform at the top of their expected range. I’ve no strong opinions on Dennis Farina or Tom Noonan, but I’d have to say that I’ve not seen better from either man, and you’d only be talking about To Live and Die in L.A. (and believe you me at some point we’ll be talking about To Live and Die in L.A.) to see better from the charismatic Petersen. Red Dragon This came out, as you’ll recall, after the success of The Silence of the Lambs, which re-introduced Lecter to filmgoers with Antony Hopkins at the helm. Rounding out the cast are Ed Norton in the Will Graham role, Harvey Keitel as his boss, Emily Watson as Reba McClane, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Freddy Lounds and Ralph Fiennes as Dolarhyde. With Lecter already quite embedded in pop culture, I’m forced to agree with what I assume Ratner and his writing team’s thoughts to be – there’s no point hiding Lecter under a bushel, so he’s out front and centre in Red Dragon, the film starting with a flashback to Ed Norton and Hopkin’s struggle. It makes perfect sense to do this from an audience expectation standpoint, and certainly given the prominence the character has from Lambs there’s probably no way around it, but this does rather take focus away from Norton’s Graham, who’s supposed to be the driving personality in the film. He can on occasion feel like a passenger in his own film. That might, however be due to Norton’s performance itself, which is surprisingly lacklustre. He’s an actor I’m normally impressed by, but I find his turn here a bit toothless and bland, and certainly wildly overpowered by Hopkin’s near-pantomime gurning. Perhaps this is due to his credibility sapping hairstyle. Fiennes and the rest of the supporting cast, Hoffman in particular fare better, but if I’m picking holes in Ratner’s version, by far the biggest are Norton and Hopkin’s performances. A lot of that’s due to Ratner himself, of course. I remember very much disliking this film on first viewing, and so was surprised to find myself rather more open to it this time around. A lot of that is because Thomas Harris’ story is a strong basis to hang a film off, and I think I was in a bit of a phase of holding Ratner as being emblematic of what was wrong with Hollywood at the time. I’ve since softened on that opinion, and looking back I can now see the value in Ratner’s talents as a director, particularly from the Studio’s perspective. He’s someone you can hand a ludicrous sum of money, some possibly recalcitrant actors and a script and a camera and he will bash those together into a film that’s as good as its component parts without monkeying around with any of those constituent parts too much. His films are alway the sum of their parts, no more. There’s a place for that in film-making, it can’t all be auteur-led, writer-director affairs, and the cinematic landscape ought to be richer for it. It does mean that, I think in this instance, the time when he should be taking Norton aside to ask him to put a bit more energy into things, and Hopkins to do the opposite, he’s instead left it to their judgement and I don’t think that this has served the overall film well. Also, the score on this film is out of control, overly bombastic to the point of undermining the drama rather than enhancing it. I think someone gave Michael Cimino final say on this or something. As for overall preference, it’s not quite as cut and dried as I expected, from my memory. There’s pros and cons to both approaches taken by these films, but in the end it’s hard to look past Mann’s vision. He’s created a much better atmosphere, and obtained better performances overall from a cast that, on paper, you might think would be outclassed by that assembled by Ratner. There’s less in it than I thought, but Manhunter wins out this battle for me. Ta ta If you’ve been affected by any of the issues discussed today, please hit us up on Twitter (@fudsonfilm), on Facebook (facebook.com/fudsonfilm), or email us at podcast@fudsonfilm.com. If you want to receive our podcast on a regular basis, please add our feed to your podcasting software of choice, or subscribe on iTunes. If you could see your way clear to leaving a review on iTunes, we’d be eternally grateful, but we won’t blame you if you don’t. We’ll be back with you on the 20th with another general catch-up, but until then, take care of yourself, and each other. |
Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. The Haifa District Attorney’s Office on Sunday filed an indictment against seven Israeli Arabs, including a lawyer from Nazareth, for their alleged role in attempting to set up a branch of Islamic State in Israel. The seven defendants allegedly were part of a plot to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel and target Druse Israelis, security personnel, and others, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said Sunday. The defendants face charges of membership and activity in a banned organization (Islamic State was banned by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon as of September), aiding a terrorist group, and attempted contact with a foreign agent, for their plot to set up a branch of Islamic State in Israel and eventually to fight in Syria.The seven defendants were arrested in a joint Shin Bet-Israel Police operation in November and December, but the case was kept under a gag order until the indictment was filed Sunday.The defendants were named as Adnan Aladin, 40, a lawyer in Nazareth; Hasam Marisat, 30, a former security prisoner from Deir Hanna; Karim Abu-Tzalah, 22; Alaa Abu-Tzalah, 27; Halad Abu Tzahalh, 30; Sarif Khaled Abu-Tzalah, 29; and Muhammad Abu Tazalah, 27. All seven are from Sakhnin. Muhammad was training to be a pharmacist at the time of his arrest, the Shin Bet said.The Shin Bet said that all seven have confessed that, since June, they have worked together to form a “Salafi jihadist” group and pledged their allegiance to Islamic State.The indictment stated that Karim Abu-Tzalah attempted to travel to Syria via Turkey on July 30 with NIS 40,000 to contribute to Islamic State’s goals and had even coordinated with an Islamic State agent to meet him in Syria. He was arrested at Ben-Gurion Airport when he tried to leave the country despite an Interior Ministry order banning him from traveling abroad.The Shin Bet said that the defendants met on a number of occasions with a well-known extremist Salafi preacher in northern Israel, who called on them to recruit more men to their cause.The cell carried out secret meetings during which they discussed jihadist thinking, the fighting in Syria, and prepared themselves to fight with Islamic State in Syria, said the indictment.The indictment noted that during the meetings, the defendants left their cellphones in their vehicles to avoid any possible wiretapping by the Shin Bet, who they suspected might be following them.They also learned how to make firebombs and on July 25 bought animals to practice slaughtering them, in order to build up their nerve for “slaughtering infidels in Syria,” in the words of the indictment.The central figure in the cell was Aladin, who the Shin Bet said referred to himself as the “commander of Islamic State in Palestine.”During the cell’s meetings, Aladin allegedly incited the other members to take part in terrorist attacks against Jews and prepared them for their jihad ideologically and mentally, the Shin Bet said.Aladin was suspended in July from his job with the Public Defender’s Office after he wrote a post on Facebook praising an Islamic hadith about killing Jews.He told his interrogators that he worked to acquire firearms in order to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel against security forces and Druse, all on behalf of Islamic State, the Shin Bet said.Kareem Abu-Tzalah was separately indicted last week for seeking to obtain weapons for use against Israeli security forces, a Justice Ministry statement indicated.According to the Shin Bet, the Sakhnin residents were arrested for their part in trying to acquire firearms.An eighth defendant, Omer Koush, was indicted separately in the Beersheba District Court by the Southern District Attorney’s Office.Koush was indicted on December 18 and arraigned on December 29, but the existence of the indictment was cleared for publication only on Sunday along with the Haifa bust.Koush is a resident of a Beduin village in the South who had recently finished medical studies in Jordan and had been working to recruit fighters for Islamic State, according to the Shin Bet.The state requested to remand all the defendants until the end of proceedings against them.The seven Haifa defendants are to be arraigned and have their final hearing on how long they will be detained on February 2. Koush’s next hearing is set for January 29.Channel 2 on Sunday night aired footage from an interview with Aladin they broadcast in September, during which his face and identity were hidden. In the interview, Aladin can be seen saying that attacks on Israel should be expected, in that Israel “is part of the Muslim lands that were usurped.”He compared the massacres attributed to Islamic State to what he said were atrocities committed by the United States and its allies in the Middle East and worldwide, and that “Islamic State will make sure justice is served” to people who murdered Muslims. Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>> |
ANTWERP CITY GUIDE Belgium’s second largest city may not attract as many visitors as the country’s capital, but it hides some well-kept secrets that make it a much more interesting destination for a short break. Way before the group of fashion designers known as the Antwerp Six turned the city into a style hub in the 80’s, Antwerp was known for the diamond trade and for its great art history. Today, Antwerp’s streets are an eclectic mix of old and new, filled with design shops, art galleries, cafés and independent businesses popping up everywhere in the city. Enjoy our first city guide and discover all the places that caught our eye on our recent trip to Antwerp! STAY Rosier 10 During our two nights in Antwerp we stayed at Rosier 10, a lovely bed & breakfast located in the heart of the city. Roxanne Stevens is the owner and the interior architect of this amazing building with 4 different rooms (each of them inspired by a moment of the day) and a kitchen/living room area where guests can enjoy a delicious continental breakfast every morning. Our room was called ‘Minuit’ and was inspired by mignight – we loved the thought Roxanne has put into the design of the room and we felt at home during the time we spent in it. We also enjoyed the attention to detail in the rest of the building, from the lobby area and Roxanne’s office in the ground floor to the art hanging on the staircase leading to the rooms. From our arrival until we said goodbye to Antwerp, Roxanne made sure our stay was as much comfortable and relaxing as possible. She provided us with a map of the city and helped us mark all the places we had planned to visit, and even recommended us some of the spots we have included in this guide! If you’re planning a longer stay or are travelling with more people, Roxanne also runs a block of apartments located on the same street just a few metres away from the bed & breakfast. Rosier 10 B&B – Rosier 10, 2000 Antwerp www.rosier10.be EAT & DRINK Normo Coffebar This café and micro roastery is the perfect stop after a walk around the northern area of the city centre. Considered to serve the best coffee in Antwerp, the owners of Normo roast their own coffee and also sell it in their store alongside cafetieres and other products to prepare it at home. Do not miss the outside terrace if the weather is nice! Normo Coffeebar – Minderbroedersrui 30 www.normocoffee.be Konditori Konditori is a small bakery offering a great selection of bread and mouth-watering pastries. Our friends in Antwerp told us that it sells the best bread in the city and although we didn’t have the chance to taste it, we did try some of their pastries and they were delicious. Konditori – Schermersstraat 8 www.konditori.be Native Located just off the Kloosterstraat (more information in the Shop section), Native is a small bio restaurant offering a good variety of healthy dishes made from local produce. The restaurant’s interior is very cosy, full of untreated wood furniture and other objects that make you feel as if you were in a cabin in the Belgian countryside, and the staff is nice and helpful. The restaurant also has a small terrace next to a nice garden where you can enjoy drinks when the weather allows it. Native – Muntstraat 8 www.nativefood.be Coffeelabs Coffeelabs is part of idelabs, an incubator space for entrepreneurs and start-ups. Located on the top level of the building and occupying an indoors area and an impressive rooftop terrace, Coffeelabs is self-described as “a place where an IT coder, an investor and a professor meet around for coffee and start exchanging ideas and start building something.” Coffeelabs – Lange klarenstraat 19 www.facebook.com/CoffeelabsAntwerp Buchbar Buchbar is one of the latest additions to Antwerp’s bar scene. In fact, it had opened just 2 days before we went to visit it. Located in the Zuid (Antwerp South), Buchbar is a bar/café with a small dedicated bookshop inside selling a curated selection of novels and art & design titles. The interior of the bar is really nice, divided in four different areas: the bookshop, two separated areas with tables and seats, and a small terrace outside. The menu offers hot & cold drinks and some bites to taste whilst you enjoy your newly purchased book. Buchbar- Scheldestraat 79 www.facebook.com/buchbarantwerp More nice bars Witzli-Poetzli – Blauwmoezelstraat 8 Korsakov – Hoek van het Mechelseplein & Sint Jorispoort 1 SHOP The Fashion District With Antwerp’s fashion history, it is not surprising that the city has a quarter dedicated to it. Located around the Modenatie – a building housing the Flanders Fashion Institute, the Fashion Museum ‘MoMu’ the Fashion department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts – the Fashion district offers a incredible number of shops selling pieces by young and established, Belgian and international designers. Copyright Bookshop Located next to the Fashion Museum, Copyright sells an impressive selection of design, art and fashion books from independent and bigger publishers. The bookshop is divided in two floors with different sections for each category, and we recommend visiting with enough time to be able to browse through all the incredible books they offer Copyright – Nationalestraat 28 www.copyrightbookshop.be Wouters & Hendrix Wouters & Hendrix is a jewellery label founded by Katrin Wouters and Karen Hendrix in 1984, after meeting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Their collections are fun and adventurous, the same way as their two shops in Antwerp (one for silver and one for gold located next to each other) which feature innovative window displays. Wouters & Hendrix – Steenhouwersvest 52 www.wouters-hendrix.com Kloosterstraat The Kloosterstraat is a nice street filled with numerous interior design, antiques and vintage shops. The street comes alive during the weekend when locals and visitors wander around looking for their next piece of furniture to take home. If you don’t know where to start with so many shops, a visit to the Recollection and Viar is recommended. The Recollection – Kloosterstraat 54 www.therecollection.com Viar – Kloosterstraat 65 VISIT MAS The MAS or Museum aan de Stroom is a a museum located in the docks area of the city which opened its doors in 2011. Designed by Neutelings Riedijk Architects, the impressive building houses thousands of objects that represent the history and culture of the city from the past centuries to the present day. MAS – Hanzestedenplaats 1 www.mas.be M HKA The M HKA or Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen is Antwerp’s Museum of Contemporary Art located in the Zuid (Antwerp South). The museum has its own collection and also hosts temporary exhibitions by Belgian and international artists. The museum’s café is especially worth a visit as its walls have a mural painted by pop artist Keith Haring, which later inspired Antwerp’s current city logo. M HKA – Leuvenstraat 32 www.muhka.be Gallery Valerie Traan Founded by Veerle Wenes in 2010 and standing in Antwerp’s historical centre, Gallery Valerie Traan is an stunning building hosting art, design and architecture exhibitions. In our visit, we were able to enjoy the colourful work of furniture project Muller Van Severen, distributed across the different levels and outside areas of the impressive gallery space. Gallery Valerie Traan – Reyndersstraat 12 www.valerietraan.be MoMu Antwerp’s Fashion Museum has a collection of 25,000 fashion-related items representing fashion history over the past decades. With a focus on contemporary Belgian designers the likes of Ann Demeulemeester, Raf Simons and Walter Van Beirendonck, the museum celebrates Antwerp’s fashion tradition and it’s the best place to find out more about the alumni of the famous Royal Academy of Arts. MoMu – Nationalestraat 28 www.momu.be St. Anna Tunnel Running under the river Scheldt, St. Anna Tunnel is a 572m long pedestrian tunnel that connects the right and left banks of the city. It is an impressive work of engineering, preserved in its original form with wooden escalators and vintage signs, and it is considered one of the most overlooked attractions in the city. MAP Click on the list icon on the top left of the map to see a full list of all the places mentioned in this guide. Thanks to Anaïs Torfs from Going East, Joke de Wilde and Roxanne Stevens from Rosier10 for their help. If you’d like to advertise your business in this guide, have any recommendations in Antwerp or updates about this guide, you can leave us a comment below or contact us at hello@thefuturepositive.com You might also be interested in: |
TORONTO, Aug. 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Three leading Canadian patient advocacy groups, along with 14 signatories, today presented to the federal government's Task Force on the Legalization and Regulation of Marijuana a brief highlighting the currently unmet needs of medical cannabis patients and how those needs should be addressed as part of the government's commitment to legalize cannabis for personal use. The brief makes specific recommendations under three broad categories: accessibility, affordability and research. It was prepared and presented by The Arthritis Society, Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana and the Canadian AIDS Society and built on extensive collaboration between patients, the scientific and medical communities, and medical cannabis experts. The submission is also supported by a broad cross-section of stakeholder signatories. The groups make seven specific recommendations under the three broad themes: ACCESSIBILITY 1. Patients must have access to a supply of medical cannabis in all its forms and potencies that is regulated for safety, potency and quality. 2. Patients must have access to a reliable supply of medical cannabis through a variety of distribution options. 3. Patients must be informed about how to access medical cannabis as well as safe and effective use of different forms of medical cannabis (e.g., concentrates, dried flowers, edibles, etc.). AFFORDABILITY 4. Medical cannabis is a medical necessity and its cost should not be subject to GST, HST or provincial sales tax. 5. The regulatory approach to medical cannabis must enable health insurance plans, both public and private, to be able to reimburse for medical cannabis as they do now for prescription drugs. SUPPORTED BY RESEARCH 6. The federal government must actively expand the evidence base on the medical use of cannabis through enhanced support and promotion of medical cannabis research. 7. The federal government must use additional policy levers at its disposal to help support and promote research into medical cannabis. "We are pleased the federal government is examining its position on all uses of cannabis but it is vital that those who use it for medical purposes have a regulatory, pricing and taxation system similar to that for prescription drugs," said Janet Yale, President and CEO of The Arthritis Society. "We know that medical cannabis is an effective therapy for thousands of Canadians with arthritis pain but we need to substantially expand the evidence base through enhanced investment in research." "The government must ensure that those who need cannabis for medical purposes are prioritized as we move into a legal regulatory system for recreational cannabis," said Jonathan Zaid, Founder and Executive Director of Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana. "Legal access to cannabis for legitimate medical purposes must be treated differently, with appropriate laws and regulations to enhance access, increase affordability and bolster research." "In the new regulated system, we must ensure that Canadians living with HIV/AIDS have access to a safe, reliable and affordable source of access to cannabis to manage a variety of symptoms," said Gary Lacasse, Executive Director, Canadian AIDS Society. "Our own research has been looking at barriers to access and suggesting ways to address them. Continued health services research will be important, as we implement a new system, to assess how well it is meeting the needs of patients." The full text of the associations' submission is available here: The Arthritis Society / CFAMM. About The Arthritis Society The Arthritis Society has been setting lives in motion for over 65 years. Dedicated to a vision of living well while creating a future without arthritis, The Society is Canada's principal health charity providing education, programs and support to the over 4.6 million Canadians living with arthritis. Since its founding in 1948, The Society has been the largest non‐government funder of arthritis research in Canada, investing over $190 million in projects that have led to breakthroughs in the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with arthritis. The Arthritis Society is accredited under Imagine Canada's Standards Program. For more information and to make a donation, visit www.arthritis.ca. About Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana Founded in 2014, Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana (CFAMM) is a federal non-profit, patient-run organization dedicated to protecting and improving the rights of medical cannabis patients. CFAMM's goal is to enable patients to obtain fair and safe access to medical cannabis with a special focus on affordability, including private and public insurance coverage. For more information, visit www.cfamm.ca. About the Canadian AIDS Society Incorporated since 1986, the Canadian AIDS Society (CAS) is a national coalition of community-based AIDS organizations across Canada. CAS is dedicated to strengthening the response to HIV/AIDS across all sectors of society, and to enriching the lives of people and communities living with HIV/AIDS. For more information, please visit www.cdnaids.ca For further information contact: Douglas Emerson National Manager, Communications The Arthritis Society W: 416.979.7228 x3348 C: 647.706.0440 demerson@arthritis.ca Jonathan Zaid Founder & Executive Director Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana 226-444-8139 info@cfamm.ca Dr. Lynne Belle-Isle National Programs Manager Canadian AIDS Society C: 250-884-1609 lynne.belle-isle@cdnaids.ca CONTACT: For further information contact: Douglas Emerson National Manager, Communications The Arthritis Society W: 416.979.7228 x3348 C: 647.706.0440 demerson@arthritis.ca Jonathan Zaid Founder & Executive Director Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana 226-444-8139 info@cfamm.ca Dr. Lynne Belle-Isle National Programs Manager Canadian AIDS Society C: 250-884-1609 lynne.belle-isle@cdnaids.ca |
Archives... An April Fool Dinner Scratchy Never Give Up A Body in the Woods Vape The Life Twitter Arguments Ancestors Meaning ARG BACK FEB 1ST!!! Total Babe Euphemism Spooky Story Skills Wish So Good New York The Secret Leg day Fatherly Advice A Message Broccoli An Understanding Dreams Trophy Appreciation Bad Son Compromise Time of Birth Mindset The Lumberyard Peak Digestion Gaiijin The Process Words Mental Health Mold Conversation Taxes Reprieve Ideal Man Not Safe for Life Toddler Mom Orange Juice Some Assembly Required Bananas The Question Nice Try Creation Time Machine Sex Dream Salad Night Court Locked up Saving for the Future The Unknown The Knitters Meet Up Fifty Shades of Grey Making Babies Reserved Office Coffee First Day Necessities Perfect Technique Pedant The Secret Pomodoro Technique Make A Wish – Guest comic by Lynn! 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Barn Door The Sports Saves the day Drinkstart Practice The Heist Heist Disappointment Hot Chocolate Frozen Dinner A New Man Resolutions Dropping Hints Merry Whatever Christmas Wishes Seasons Greetings Seat Birthday Wishes Thinking Caps Selfie Puzzle Body Building Legs Childcare Bright The Chicken Neighborly Click Rice Personal Training Winter is coming Baby Name Frozen Pizza New Member Good Night Pruning Tamagotchi Trick or Treat Guest Comic by Lynn Wedding Presents Punny The Legend of Lynndrew Guest Comic from Ryan and Vee of Channelate Guest Comic by Rebecca Cohen of GynoStar Guest Comic by Brian Patterson of D20 Monkey A Guide to Girls Bigger on the Inside Phone Call Pupils Three Things Does anyone wish to press B? 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The Will Father of the Year Nerf Technique In the Pit Superheroes with Sunburns Poutine Limited Time Offer The Final Blow Nomenclature Guest Comic by Mary Tanner Guest Comic By Lynn Flying Chappy Fast Talker Second Skin Intimidation Family Day Kissing Booth Valentine’s Day The One Ring Brain Stumper Sudoku Monster Truck Dino Glue Burritos Dirty Minds Update of Miscellany Soothing Ocean Sounds Cleavage Fancy Footwear Touchy Crit your Pants Failure to Observe Dieting A Whole Year of Restraint Getting the Job Resolutions Mutation Bikinis Options The Baconmas Happy Holidays End of the World Guest Comic by Mary of Internet-webcomic Snowman Some Advice The Snack Section Meet The Mayans Festive Decorations Looking Busy The Interview Fun in the Bedroom The Autoshow The Crisper Black Friday Tips High Five Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Canadian Traffic Lights The Fall Sleep Drawing Shut Down Election Night in Canada The Homosexual Agenda Who’s the Boss? 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For Science Saved by the Bell The Bachelorette party Guest Comic by Rickard Jonasson Guest Comic by Scott Ferguson Guest Comic by Andrew Gregoire Guest Comic by Denis Caron Guest comic by Eric and Rob Guest Comic By Ty Halley Guest Comic by Crazy Sunshine Nothing has really changed… Maneater Unfortunate Learning to cook… A Geek Love Story… Assassin’s Creed For the love of the Game… Lets play a game… Skaters gonna skate. The Oscars Mass Effect Bear Attack Frictionless The Can. What I Do… The Punch Line Yes I Can Some advice for next Valentine’s Day Sweet Expectations Grammys Thomas the Tank Engine Grocery Shopping The Best of Friends Rollin’ from the grave. Mothers of Skyrim Get Over Here! Urine Pain White Knight Complex First Contact Problems Dexterous Defeat Gaming and Religion The Gray Area Fooled ya… Fantasy… Shit Princesses of Guardia say. Rendering… PIZZA AND SOPA… Crappy Meal Substitution… Cheating… Spilled Toga Party. On hold… The Hat LE CHAPEAU – PG 10 LE CHAPEAU – PG 9 LE CHAPEAU – PG 8 LE CHAPEAU – PG 7 LE CHAPEAU – PG 6 LE CHAPEAU – PG 5 LE CHAPEAU – PG 4 LE CHAPEAU – PG 3 LE CHAPEAU – PG 2 LE CHAPEAU – PG 1 Happy Holidays Facebook Traps Shy Talkin’ Quantum Condom A Haircut The SlowClap Happy Birthday to Me. Digital Virility The Laughter of Children The Other Side The Talking Dead Sleep. Precedent Legal… Pajamas Movember in December Stoned The Neglecting of Zelda Funny Money Rude Choose your own damn Comic… Of Mice and Men Illin’ like a villian Absence makes the heart grow fondler Jump Controls Cake Managing… Digital Arachnophobia The Cure… Lil’ Stiff… Pokemon Just like Mom used to make… Needs Rectifying Blind… Wishful Thinking MineCraft Scrumptious Driving Great Googily Moogily Halloween Party Romania Aquaphobia The Bigger Picture Beardsmithing Foxy… Carhole Shcooning The perils of being a Photogenic Rockstar. Pet Peeves The Sar-Chasm Confirmation Bias… The Last Train Home… Another open letter… The Search… Happy Thanksgiving. Hello Moklar Thanks Steve Adventure times I Blue Myself Wizzzzzup Nerds are Sexy… The Revenge of Jeff Goldblum Shoo Fly… Faux pas And the Science gets done… Good night sweet Prince… That Season… Aliens The Obvious Joke. In the club The Golden Hour Hufflepuff Wikipedia Pets… Soft… The Power of Words Tickets… Toots… Racism… Smelly… TMI Tylenol… BestBuy… The Ritual… Fanexpo… Girlfriend Overlap… Being an Adult… 3 Coffees… LARPing Trophies… The One – Two Punch… The Best a Man can get… Toilet phone… Touchscreen… Daydream… The Brandoning Pt 6 The Brandoning Pt 4 and 5 The Brandoning Pt. 3 The Brandoning Pt. 2 The Brandoning Pt. 1 Goodbyes… Auto-Death… Deerlick Carwash… Nail Biting… Boundin’ Bonus Comic: Tiny Tower… The Toothache… The Elevator… Sick Hot… Helpful crazy… Past Life… Macaroni salad… Noodles… I’m a Scientist.. 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It took almost a decade to pick up the pieces but now the original Croc team behind Steve Irwin have come together to speak about the man and his legacy. Courtesy Australian Story “YOU never expect that’s the last time you’re ever going to see your son, but I certainly had a feeling he sensed something was about to happen.” They’re the haunting words written by Steve Irwin’s dad in his new book, The Last Crocodile Hunter: A Father and Son Legacy. In this exclusive extract, Bob Irwin opens up about the last time he saw his son before the conservationist was killed in September 2006. The father and son were wrapping up a month-long crocodile research project in Cape York during which they processed more than 50 crocodiles for the purpose of scientific data. News.com.au has been given this exclusive extract. *** STEVE usually went to bed much earlier than me, but on this last night at camp he’d decided to join me around the campfire. By this time, it was just Steve and me who were up; everyone else from our camp had retired to their tents, exhausted by the events of an action-packed day. Although, he normally slept on Croc One anchored out in the river, Steve had been sleeping in the camp while he’d battled with constant pain from his broken neck and other injuries. “You know I can see you struggling. It’s as clear as dog’s doovas.” Steve owned up to it. He knew he didn’t have to keep up his guard with me. “I think I’ve nearly reached my used-by date.” He was struggling physically because he’d really knocked himself around and he rarely gave himself any reprieve from his injuries. In his lifetime he’d been snapped, gnawed, clawed, bitten, savaged, jumped on, whacked — you name it. He had scars all over him. No two fingers were the same; each one had either been broken, split or chomped. His hands were virtually scars on scars. In the end you couldn’t tell where one scar started and another finished. But every single time, he knew that those injuries had been caused by his own blunders. Growing up, I’d always taught him that if he got bitten, it was through no fault of the animal but his own error. He knew what he was up against every single time. It was all a giant learning curve for him as he kept pushing the envelope with his research and natural curiosity about wildlife. And he was good at that too. Exceptional. As the two of us took it in turns to stoke the fire from our folding camp chairs, he talked about how badly he’d treated his body and how much this was weighing on his mind with his upcoming filming schedule. In his life working with wildlife he’d had everything but the kitchen sink thrown at him. Because of this, Steve was constantly working with a lot of pain, and we sat discussing how physically demanding these last four weeks in particular had been on him, and mentally it was challenging him no end. He acknowledged that he’d knocked himself around badly and had got away with it up to a point when he was young. But it had started to catch up with him. “I want to cut back on the filming, on all of it. I want to spend more time getting Bindi into it and being home,” he said. I didn’t get much involved in that side of things; Steve kept me pretty protected from all of that because he knew being in the public eye was never my thing. But Steve told me that he was facing an almost endless series of television projects in the months ahead. He was due to leave the bush to work on several big television specials and fly to the US to promote his shows. It was an unrelenting schedule which he told me he had little enthusiasm for despite the fact that he was aware of what it enabled him to do for the conservation side of things and spreading his message. He was physically drained already by the end of this trip, having worked at full capacity over a long time, without a break and in a very unforgiving environment. The mud, mosquitoes and physical endurance of the last month had just about finished him. He wanted more time to get back to the things he really enjoyed, being a dad and being hands-on in the conservation field. Very quickly the conversation turned to the current trip. We talked about the good times we’d had and appreciated the time we’d spent together as a family. “We’ve come a long way pretty fast. How good are we?” Steve said. “I always told you by the time you’d reach 40 you’d have probably grown a brain!” I teased in return. I’d always driven home the fact that that kind of finite direction for a young bloke doesn’t come until much later in life. We kicked back for hours longer, one of those nights I wished would go on forever. We reminisced over the early days of mishaps, close calls and belly laughter along the track. Modest times when we’d tie our clothes to a rope and leave them out in the turbulent whitecaps of the creek rapids to be washed in our makeshift bush washing machine. We remembered the animals he grew up with, like Brolly the Brolga who used to steal his marbles and he’d have to wait for them to be digested before he could play with them again. We laughed out loud remembering the time he released a taipan in my camp — and I couldn’t be sure whether my venomous bed fellow had exited the tent as I crawled into my sleeping bag — and the many times he really tested my patience when he approached me in the zoo as his irritating alias “Glen Glamour” with hideous fake buckteeth and wig to move about unrecognised by fans. Every single time he’d get me with that bloody disguise. In some ways I might have given Steve experiences and knowledge over the years, but by the same token I got as much back as I gave. It was never just a one-way street. In these later years, I was learning a lot more from Steve from what he had achieved with the zoo, the team and the research side of things. He’d taken our humble reptile park’s message global. I probably got a lot more than most parents got out of their children. To have those memories of sharing in really unique experiences to me was pretty special. I can’t think of another dad in the world who might have had an opportunity quite like that. The hours had really got away from us as the moon shifted across the night sky, and before too long the fire had turned to coal. With a long drive ahead of me in the morning, we decided to call it a night, folding up our camp chairs before I bid goodnight to the green ants one last time and made my way to my tent guided by the light on my head torch. But before we went our separate ways, Steve and I shook hands. It was a routine thing we always did at the end of every day or night. There was some kind of unspoken acknowledgment whenever we did that. An electricity, as two individuals became physically connected. It was a standard greeting for us, something we did constantly. If a moment was stressful or we’d had a hard time doing something that hadn’t gone to plan or it was a harder day than usual, we’d just shake hands. It was always something I looked forward to. And each time, without fail, he’d try to break my fingers. He probably could have if he wanted to, because he was gifted with arms like an orang-utan from the day he was born. At the same time he’d give a satisfied smirk while crushing the bones in my fingers with his giant hands. I’d just look at him, not uttering a word. We’d go through this routine every time. There was no way I would ever give in or let him see my discomfort and yet it hurt like hell. That was always our little thing and something we shared from when he was a really young bloke. He grew to have the strength of 10 men as he wrangled 11-foot crocodiles solo that these days took a team of men to hold down. As the early morning sun rose over the Kennedy River, the camp inhabitants began to dissipate as the team rose under the shelter of darkness to load their makeshift homes of the past four weeks onto the trucks. Over the coming days, our exhausted group would look forward to making the long journey home for some well-deserved rest, but it was only the beginning for Steve. As we’d finalised the research project and were able to make a break for home, Steve’s demanding months of filming were just starting. Together with his close friend and manager, John Stainton, his film crew and his lead croc keeper, Briano [Brian Coulter], he was to continue on to the Great Barrier Reef on-board his mother ship Croc One. I’d packed up the last of my gear, leaving ahead of the rest of the team, doing one final check of the ropes, securing everything on the back of the truck when Steve came over to say goodbye. He shook my hand. When we made the usual eye contact, I noticed he appeared somewhat emotional. I realised that the end of his time in the bush was weighing heavily on his mind after the conversation we’d had the night before around the campfire. Being out here always grounded him because it was like his earthwire planting his feet firmly on the soil. The far north was a place he was deeply connected to his whole life. On this particular trip there had been no film schedule, no fans, just the like-minded team of people he’d chosen to surround himself with in the wilds of Australia he so loved. “See ya later, Bob.” He always called me Bob; he called me a lot of other things as well, but when we were on our own, he simply called me Bob. I liked that, it made me feel pretty close to him. Because after all of these years I didn’t feel like just his dad, we were more than just father and son. It went way beyond that, a long way. “See ya, Steve. Take it a bit easier,” I said, fully aware that it was a waste of time saying anything like that, because Steve only had one way of doing things and that was flat out. I got in the truck, shaking out the pain in my hand from that handshake, well out of Steve’s view, and fired up the engine to traverse the 2000km journey home to Ironbark Station in southeast Queensland. I drove away feeling a portion of the weight of my son’s pain as I caught him in my rear-view mirror staring blankly at the red tail-lights of my truck. The truck’s lights were my wave goodbye. To me, he still looked just like that helpless blond-haired kid in an adult’s body, who had a robust, gung-ho exterior but was soft on the inside like the sinking mud of Cape York’s mangroves; that same little boy who, no matter how many times he’d beat himself up, still needed his mum or dad’s reassurance when he was in pain. As a parent, when your children suffer, you suffer too, no matter how old they grow to be. I knew that perhaps it was my little secret that he wanted to travel home with everyone else. He was with a group of people he understood, who were dedicated to the vision he had, and he was working with one of the most important creatures to him on the planet. You never expect that’s the last time you’re ever going to see your son, but I certainly had a feeling he sensed something was about to happen. This is an extract from The Last Crocodile Hunter: A Father and Son Legacy by Bob Irwin, published on October 25 by Allen and Unwin |
For an explanation of how the metrics are used to determine how the Pipeline Power score is derived—which takes into account the value rather than the raw quantity of patents in a portfolio—read the sidebar, "Constructing the Patent Power Scorecard" This is an interactive table of 17 industry scorecards with the top 20 companies in each sector. To see an individual industry scorecard, slide the control to select the industry you want. Below is this year’s interactive table combining 17 industry scorecards with the top 20 companies in each sector. To see an individual scorecard, select that industry from the list on the right, or select multiple sectors as you prefer. In the zoomable map below, companies are plotted by the country in which their headquarters is located. Companies are plotted by the country in which each headquarters are located in the zoomable map below. For an explanation of how the metrics are used to derive the Pipeline Power score—which takes into account the value rather than the raw quantity of patents in a portfolio—read the sidebar, “Constructing the Patent Power Scorecard.” Editor's Note: Due to an error, this interactive was originally published with data from an earlier year. This has been corrected. |
Today The New York Post published an article by their own Page Six columnist promoting her own cooking blog. Already I find this to be troubling but, I understand. Most columnists at publications are treated as freelancers and you’re always struggling to make a name for yourself and be treated as a true journalist, not to mention the struggle for full time compensation, benefits etc. Then you read this article. To call this article and the concept for her blog “problematic” is a huge understatement. These two quotes sum it up in total: Each morning, he would ask, “Honey, how long you have been awake?” “About 15 minutes,” I’d reply. “You’ve been up for 15 minutes and you haven’t made me a sandwich?” and then As he finished that last bite, he made an unexpected declaration of how much he loved me and that sandwich: “Honey, you’re 300 sandwiches away from an engagement ring!” Yes, this is real. This isn’t something that I made up to make a point, this isn’t an Onion satirical piece, this is real life. I understand what’s going on here, this is a form of trolling. Ms. Smith knows that this will stir up controversy in an online community which is seeing the biggest boom in self educated feminism ever. She knows that this will article will be shared, mostly by people who are horrified by her statements, and that any press is good press. She even takes a moment to point this fact out. “How ‘Stepford Wives’ of you!” said one single gal whose kitchen was used for shoe storage. Whoa, incredible. In one sentence she’s able to show the resistance to her thought process while immediately disarming it. This quote is coming from a silly “gal” who is obviously more focused on some bullshit cosmopolitan lifestyle than working for something more important and rewarding, like getting a husband. Also obviously too lazy and drunk to even use her kitchen. A privileged person who can afford to not cook and go out every single meal. We’re dealing with a real deal professional troll here. This kind of thinking is the genesis of this very blog. Most of the men (and let’s be honest here, most of them are boys) that are featured on this blog, I feel, are using the “Make Me A Sandwich, Bitch!” troupe as a form of sarcasm. They are more than likely not hateful people in their personal lives and believe the “joke” resides in the fact that they’re brazenly making a statement that is anti-PC. With just a little digging we see that they’re usually very emotional, sad, frustrated people with a lot to learn. But this concept of “I’m just joking” or “you take things too seriously” is what’s wrong here. These phrases are coming from men/boys who fear a new dynamic in our culture. A dynamic of educated, assertive, non complacent women who will defend themselves. The very line “make me a sandwich” is meant to be thrown out to a woman who has just said something empowering to immediately rob them of that power. I watched the brilliant minds of Michael Hale and Stefan use the concept of “Twitter Couplets” retweeting in order to point out the stupidity of users. It was an incredibly smart, funny, and unique way to disarm very alarming thoughts. Mike started retweeting people calling Obama racial slurs then would immediately follow up with their most asinine bullshit, exposing who this person truly is. Stefan used it as a way to break down 9/11 Truthers claiming to know the science behind jet fuel and melting temperatures of steel, and then proving their true idiocy. It was the perfect format to expose and disarm the men who made this “joke”. Not to mention how many idiots just tweet this phrase out on a daily basis. Frequently in the second retweet of the Bitch Sandwich couplet there is a sadness exposed. This article is no exception, there is a lot of sadness here. Smith fondly remembers the first time she made her loving boyfriend a sandwich: Eric devoured the sandwich as if it were a five-star meal, diving in with large, eager bites. “Babes, this is delicious!” he exclaimed. The term babe here is so incredibly dismissive it actually pains me to read. This statement screams “first time Eric has ever given his girlfriend a compliment”. Also, “bitch” has been not so cleverly covered up with the condescending "babe" in order to sell t-shirts. Make no mistake about it, this is directly what Eric Schulte is referring to. Eric is a hideous monster. He is a computer programmer. He is a Star Wars fanatic. He’s a foodie. He’s more than likely a Reddit User, I’m willing to take that bet. He’s a “skeptic” (Smith Makes reference to him not believing in Astrology). Look at that acoustic guitar and that horrific piece of modern art on the wall. The bracelet around his wrist. His hairline. This man owns a fedora, I can smell it. This man has been “friendzoned”. Stephanie Smith is playing with a concept here that she feels is funny and lighthearted and in turn is making some major sacrifices in her actual life. If you want to make 300 sandwiches, go for it. To do it for “an engagement ring” (if there’s a more awful way to say GET MARRIED, I don’t know what it is) is demeaning to yourself as a human being. That being said I have a 2 word review for this article and her blog in total: Shit Sandwich. |
Skip to comments. Catholics remember Hillary Clinton wants to destroy our Church but Trump will Catholic Church vanity | Nov 8, 2016 | Kevin "Coach" Collins Posted on by jmaroneps37 For the last eight years the Democrats who have ruled our lives have used the power of their offices to undermine Christianity in general and the Catholic Church in particular. They are trying to force nuns to provide abortion and contraception benefits in the insurance policies provided for themselves and their workers; and things as bad as that. They have changed our rights to speak out against these attacks to hate speech, to try to silence us. They are pounding at the doors of our churches to force Catholic priests to perform Gay marriages or risk losing their tax exempt status. They have used the tax code to threaten Catholic organizations into silence while looking the other way when Democrat pep rallies are held in churches they favor. They piled on and piled on until New York Citys St Patricks Day Parade was stripped of its status as a religious parade by forcing it to include groups carry gay supporting banners which promote the destruction of Catholic doctrine. The stories go on and on; but they will accelerate if Hillary Clinton is elected president of the United States and thus handed the power to destroy our Holy Mother Church. Because of wiki leaks exposed emails we know the Clinton camp already has fake Catholic front groups that are ready and waiting to pounce on us as soon as this election gives them the green light. We know that George Soros who hates Catholics is funding many of these groups. Last spring Hillary Clinton tipped her hand when she argued. Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed. Think about that! The woman who wants to be our president has already said our religious beliefs HAVE to BE changed She didnt say have TO change she said HAVE TO BE CHANGED. That means changed by any means necessary and as president she will have ALL the means necessary! If this wasnt bad enough, wiki leaks has exposed that Clintons campaign manager was invited to a satanic ritual dinner. Think about that. His brother invited John Podesta, Hillary Clintons campaign manager, to a satanic ritual dinner. In a Clinton Administration John Podesta would have a prominent role in shaping official United States government policy. Is that what you want as a future? As children, we Catholics learned about our faith and were taught that at certain times we would be tested by Jesus. He would ask us to stand and be counted and declare that we are on His side or against Him. He has said those who deny Him, He will deny. Can you contemplate what that means? Is that promise from Jesus worth less than voting Democrat because you always have? The truth is there for all to see. There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton has evil intentions toward our Holy Mother Catholic Church, Gods Church on earth. She wants to destroy our Mother on earth. No thinking faithful Catholic can vote for such a person. Donald Trump will protect our religious freedom, Hillary Clinton will destroy them. TOPICS: News/Current Events Politics/Elections KEYWORDS: 2016issues anticatholicbigotry catholicvote The good news is that ABC's final survey has Trump + 221 with Catholics and IBD has Trump up 20 with Catholics so that is a good start. Let's kick that up. Let's get all our Catholic family friends neighbors and coworkers to the polls. We must vote like a loss will mean living in a Soviet style Catholic hostile society because it will. To: jmaroneps37 I did not understand the headline. by 2 posted onby madison10 (Praying for team Trump.) To: jmaroneps37 "a Soviet style Catholic-hostile society" Which if it happens, will be because too many Catholics supported Clinton. How ironic. To: jmaroneps37 If you’re an anti-Catholic or an anti-Semite or a racist it is IMPOSSIBLE for you do to business in New York City. Trump has done business there, very successfully, for decades. Just sayin’ To: jmaroneps37 So? by 5 posted onby fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,") To: jmaroneps37 Hillary may WANT to, but Bergoglio is doing it! The Vatican now is just a piece of expensive real estate that will eventually be converted into very costly condos. To: jmaroneps37 My fear is that tomorrow morning I read a headline that says, “Catholics break for Clinton and give her a mandate.” I will then need to read in the Bible, “where would we go Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.” by 7 posted onby Mercat (Men never do evil so fully and cheerfully as when they do it out of conscience. (Blaise Pascal)) To: Lewis Stone You mean mosques. To: jmaroneps37 “Catholics remember Hillary Clinton wants to destroy our Church” Somebody should tell that to the bishops; we just got a new one here in NJ that fought with Pence about “refugees”. At some point they’ll realize every penny American Catholics spend on these refugees is one less penny people will spend on the one “bill” that is voluntary - the collection basket. by 9 posted onby kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).) To: jmaroneps37 Father George Rutler says: "While one may pragmatically vote for a flawed candidate, one may NOT vote for anyone who advocates and enables unmitigatedly evil acts, and that includes abortion." From http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/politics/electing-the-lord-of-the-world.html Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794 FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson |
Corruption has once again taken center stage in Indonesia, following the resignation in December of House Speaker Setya Novanto for being caught attempting to extort Indonesia’s largest taxpayer, U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan’s subsidiary PT Freeport Indonesia, and mounting evidence that the devastating fires that negatively impacted the country late last year, to the tune of $30 billion, were fueled by local corruption. Political infighting has meant that Indonesia’s long-simmering, critically important fight against corruption has been in limbo for nearly a year, and soon President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will face a decision whether or not to make fighting corruption the centerpoint of his administration, or its downfall. To the surprise of many, Indonesia actually improved in the recently released Corruption Perception Index, moving up from 107th last year to 88th this year, which the organization credited to improvements in the country’s bureaucracy and public services – initiatives pushed forward by Jokowi – but also partly to increasing corruption in other countries. However, the report noted that Indonesia could take a huge step forward if it empowered its once famous, internationally renowned anti-corruption agency. That would be Indonesia’s most trusted public institution, the Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi, KPK). The KPK has made a reputation for itself globally for thoroughly investigating, researching, and trying high-level targets, and, in its first 13 years, achieving an astounding 100% conviction rate. “The KPK was clearly seen as one of the strongest anti-corruption institutions in the world, showing recognition that this is a serious problem worth tackling,” said Samantha Grant, regional coordinator for Southeast Asia at Transparency International. The KPK was by no means perfect, and its limited scope – national level cases – meant the vast majority of Indonesia’s corruption, which takes place at the regional and local levels, was going un-prosecuted. Nevertheless, the KPK made numerous enemies, and early last year, the fight reached a boiling point when two KPK commissioners were arrested by the National Police on trumped up charges that were clearly meant to permanently weaken the institution. Now, finally, after months of delay, the House – yes, the same one which just had its speaker resign due to corruption – picked five new commissioners. Just days later, they were sworn in by Jokowi, who announced a need to “get the KPK functioning again.” None of the new commissioners have previous experience with the KPK, with one, Alexander Marwata, having often sided with graft defendants in his previous role as a judge. Three others were derided by NGOs as being weak, and only one commissioner, Laode Muhammad Syarif, known for his green leanings, was accepted as having the qualifications and stature to be part of the KPK. Not surprisingly, much of Indonesian civil society was disappointed. “I am worried that the KPK is no longer a commission to eradicate corruption, but a commission to support corruption,” Indonesian Corruption Watch’s Emerson Yuntho said in a statement. “The new appointments certainly don’t strengthen the KPK – they are the latest in the House of Representatives’ ongoing attempts to defang the commission,” said Gregory B. Poling, an Indonesia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The KPK is a peculiar entity in many ways. Though its members are appointed by the House and approved by the president, it is an independent institution that is accountable primarily to the public. It has, time and time again, stood up against political pressure, and in the Indonesian public it has a powerful ally. A unique factor in democratic Indonesia is the willingness of regular citizens to stand up for the KPK, having taken to the streets numerous times in its history as it has faced repeated attempts to have its power cut. If the new commissioners attempt to work from within to stunt the KPK, expect a reaction. “The public has come to the KPK’s back more than once in the past,” said Poling. “I don’t think the man on the street will sit back and let this happen – they will become engaged.” Part of this is that many Indonesians regularly brush up against corruption in some form or another. “The public supports the fight against corruption as they understand how much corruption is hurting them,” said Natalia Soebagjo, executive director at the Center for the Study of Governance at University of Indonesia. “Corruption cases are spoken about openly in the media, and in social media, corruption issues often go viral.” What the public really wants, however, is the president they elected, the clean, get-it-done mayor of Solo and Jakarta, to become the anti-corruption leader they thought they were voting for. Jokowi will get a chance soon to decide where he stands on the issue. The Indonesian House of Representatives, fresh off its nominations, is now pushing to weaken the KPK’s law enforcement capability. Currently the KPK can arrest, hold, and try members independently of the national police, an institution that is not only widely corrupt, but has repeatedly fought against the KPK and is the source of the institution’s current weakness. Public Opinion “Public opinion is in favor of the KPK and against the House’s plan. Jokowi should help them to voice their will,” said Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political researcher who runs Indonesia Political Indicator. In fact, Jokowi may have some political capital to work with too. Despite the disappointment of the past year-plus since he was inaugurated, Jokowi remains personally popular in Indonesia, and recent public opinion polls show him returning to his previous position as one of the country’s most popular politicians, alongside his former deputy, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, and Bandung Governor Ridwan Kamil. All three are new-wave politicians with no ties to Indonesia’s political oligarchy, with reputations as clean, anti-graft leaders. In fact, corruption is partly why many don’t blame Jokowi for the lack of change in government, recognizing that he barely controls the corrupt House, and is still under the thumb of his party’s despised leader, Megawati Sukarnoputri. Pushing forward on the corruption fight and standing behind the KPK would allow the president to both appeal to the public, while also weakening the position of those in Jakarta, including in his own political party, who oppose the KPK. “Jokowi wanted to avoid conflict, and thus deferred to his political patrons, which had resulted in a very inept response,” said Poling, speaking of the year-long incapacitation of the KPK. Adding to the fire, quite literally, are the recent fires that burned more than 2 million hectares of land in Sumatra and Borneo, emitting haze that impacted the health of an estimated 44 million people. Corruption was a key driver in not only the illegal burning of land, but years of lax enforcement of deforestation and the handing out of land to cronies. A KPK report released in October found that illegal deforestation sales between 2003-2014 were an astounding $81 billion, resulting in up to $8.9 billion in lost state revenue. Both ASEAN and global government are strongly pushing Indonesia to take action to stop the fires and the resulting haze. If Jokowi is to put an end to the recurring fires, then a strong anti-corruption push is crucial, through a cleaning out of the forestry and land sectors by the KPK, or a similar institution. There is hope that Laode – the one positive appointee – can lead this fight. Another hopeful sign – the tapping of highly respected former KPK spokesperson Johan Budi to serve as the new presidential spokesperson. Anti-corruption supporters will be hoping that his appointment signals that the government is about to take corruption seriously. Jokowi – and Indonesia’s – future both depend on it. Nithin Coca is a freelance writer and journalist who focuses on cultural, economic, and environmental issues in developing countries. Follow him on Twitter @excinit. |
It had been a long, boring day. Aang had roused him before sunrise, and begrudgingly climbed aboard Appa for their morning inspection. Every morning was the same. The framework for Republic City stretched out in every direction from the harbour at its core. The salt spray from the ocean would chase away the sleepiness as Appa swept low, and Sokka would prepare himself for the long day at hand. There was an endless stream of work to do. Buildings were taking shape, and there were any number of minor details to finalize for them all. When Aang had asked Sokka to help him build his city nearly a year ago, Sokka had expected...well, he didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't this. Something more exciting, not mediating disputes between workers and settlers, each trying to carve out a piece of the work or of the land. This day was longer than most, and had called Sokka to the distant edges of the city to investigate a series of complaints. A narrow river snaked its way down to the ocean, and it was the source of the dispute. Three different men had laid claim to a narrow stretch, each with plans to build a bridge. Sokka had spoken with them for hours before convincing them to cooperate in the construction, and split the profits of the toll they intended to charge. Now, the sun was little more than a dull red glow in the west, casting skeletal shadows on streets littered with lumber and tools. Most of the workers had retired to their temporary housing for the night, but Sokka could still hear the sounds of a few workers finishing their work for the night. Other than those distant echoes, all he could hear were his footsteps in the quiet of the night. "Well, Aang better still be at the council building by the time I get there. I'm not swimming back to that island," Sokka muttered to himself, casually running his fingers through his hair while shaking his head. Why Aang had insisted on building his new airbender temple on an island was a mystery to him. As he skirted a pile of bricks which had been left in the middle of the road, he heard a soft gurgling sound from the alley to his right. A narrow surge of water rushed out of the shadows, snaking towards his face. With a shout of surprise, Sokka sprang o the side, landing hard on the bricks beside him. Rubbing his hip, he watched the water speed back into the alley. Having spent so much time with Katara, he knew that whoever was bending that water was only bringing it around to strike again. His hand snatched for the grip of his sword, and the blade sprang from his back just as the water whip snapped out at him once more. Slashing with the flat of his blade, Sokka splashed the water away from himself while rolling off the bricks and to his feet. "Who's there?" Sokka said to the darkness, but before he was given an answer, a heavy weight slammed into him from behind, throwing him against the wall. The man who had tackled him was slightly shorter than Sokka, and quickly rolled away as soon as Sokka turned his attention on him. Sword raised, Sokka sprang at the man, but his sword jerked him awkwardly to one side. Glancing over his shoulder, Sokka saw a large chuck of ice frozen to his blade, the extra weight pulling it to the ground. The smaller man came to his feet, a palm-sized knife in hand, while from behind Sokka, the waterbender stepped into the twilight. He was, of course, dressed in the style of the Northern Water Tribe, if not a little rough around the edges. Grime streaked his clothes, and they frayed at the hem. His fur collar was patchy, as though it had somehow caught mange. Long hair tied in knotted braids framed his dark face, handsome but for the oddly angled nose. He wore four water skins lashed across his chest, hanging under his arms. The two on his left hung limp and empty, and he drew the water free from a third, hanging on his right. The water swirled in a figure eight in front of him, as he threw Sokka a cruel smile. Sokka could have sworn that one of the man's teeth was made of ivory. "Give us whatever coin you've got on you," the man with the knife said, menacingly stabbing it at Sokka, even though it was obviously a knife meant for cutting, with a wide curve and no sharp point. He dressed as an Earth Kingdom commoner, his drab green and brown clothes hanging loose on his wiry frame. A moustache that hung past his chin wavered slightly as he spoke. "Best listen to him, he's pretty quick with that thing," the waterbender said, still sweeping his stream of water around in front of him, "And your sword is no good frozen in ice. Nobody has to get hurt here." "Oh sure, since I didn't get knocked out right away, now you want to negotiate!" Sokka said, glancing uneasily between the two. His sword was useless now, but he still had his trusty boomerang. His hand started for the sheath that held it, before he paused, uncertain which of the two he should strike first. "Look, we're not negotiating. You are going to give us what we want, or we are going to take it," the man with the knife growled, taking another step closer. With a flurry of motion, Sokka drew his boomerang and let it fly, his mind made up for him. The curved blade whistled through the air, striking the smaller man's hand and sending his knife skittering over the stone street bricks. "Yeah, boomerang!" Sokka shouted, readying himself to catch it when it came back. The boomerang arced through the air, before burying itself into the fresh timber of a building hemming in the narrow street. "Aw, boomerang..." Hearing the growl from behind him, Sokka danced to the side, avoiding the crack of the water as it whipped past him. Grabbing one of the bricks, Sokka reared back, and let it fly at the Northern Tribe outlaw. With a whistling slice, the waterbender cut the brick in two with his water whip, while drawing yet another stream from his last skin. Intertwining the two streams, he unleashed a deluge at Sokka. Shouting in panic, Sokka dropped down to his hands and knees, and heard a loud "Oof" from behind him, as the deluge washed the smaller non-bender away. Seizing his opportunity, Sokka rushed the older man, fists flying. His skins depleted, the older waterbender was reduced to a fist fight, but his waterbending skills had readily prepared him for that. Catching Sokka's arm, he twisted and threw the younger man to the ground. On hand and knee, Sokka scrambled away before the waterbender's kick landed. Sokka saw a loose plank on the ground nearby, and reached out for it. Wrapping his fingers around it, he flung it behind him. While the waterbender was dodging it, Sokka managed to get to his feet. He didn't have any more weapons, so when he saw both of his attackers on their feet, his stomach dropped. Maybe if he ran, they'd settle for his sword and boomerang. "Now you're going to pay for this," the waterbender said, drawing some of his spilled water up off the road, "I'm going to make sure of it. Maybe if you'd run right away, but now I'm mad." With that, the waterbender thrust his hand out before him, opening them wide, and sent the water splashing over Sokka's feet. Seconds later, the water froze solid, freezing him in place. Tugging at his feet, Sokka started panting nervously, while the non-bender closed at a run with a wooden plank raised over one shoulder. Sokka winced and closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. The air whistled as the plank tore towards him, but the blow never landed. After a few seconds, Sokka opened one eye to see what was going on. The non-bender stood, the board extended out towards Sokka, but was no longer able to move. Heavy wire cable, meant to hoist building supplies, wrapped around his arms, holding fast. Suddenly, it snapped taut, and flung the man off-balance, sending him careening against a nearby wall. The waterbender wheeled around, looking for the source of the cable, when several bricks came sailing out of the dusk darkness. He managed to knock the first two away, but the third struck him in the shoulder, and the fourth in the stomach. Falling to his knees, his water spread out across the street once more. When he looked up to find his attacker, one last brick sailed lazily into his forehead. Dizzy and confused, he scrambled into the alley and ran off, followed shortly by his non-bending companion once he had extricated himself from the wire cables. Sokka finally managed to break through the ice holding his feet, and although he couldn't feel his toes anymore, he sighed in relief. "Thanks, whoever you are, for helping me out there," Sokka said, walking over to grab his boomerang, "And nice work using the wire as a lasso. I'm impressed, it must have been hard to throw it that far." Sokka grunted as he pulled his boomerang out of the wood. It had buried itself really deep. "Twinkle-toes told me I would find you out here," she said, stepping out into what was left of the red sunlight, "I guess you never did learn to stay out of trouble." "Toph!" Sokka said, tossing boomerang back in its sheath. He ran up to the blind earthbender, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. They were quite a bit higher off the ground than they used to be. "What's it been, like two years since we saw each other last?" "I've never seen you, Sokka," Toph said smiling, "But you certainly don't sound the same. Your voice finally stopped squeaking then?" "Of course!" Sokka tried to say, but it inexplicably came out in a high squeak, something that almost never happened anymore. Toph laughed at that, and Sokka had no choice but to chuckle along with her. The two old friends parted as Sokka stepped back, to take a better look at her. She had gotten tall. Taller than Katara. That was the most glaring difference, but she was still the same as he remembered her otherwise. "Just like always," she said, patting his cheek playfully. All of a sudden, Toph froze, as if she had turned to stone, hand still resting on his face. "Umm...Toph?" "Beard!" Toph shouted, her other hand springing to his face. She began roughly rubbing his face with both hands, fingers tracing from ears to nose, and down over his chin, "Sokka, you have a beard! When did you get a beard? It doesn't feel glued on..." "Of course it isn't glued on! I grew it, isn't it great?" "Well, it's kind of thin and patchy here," Toph said, point to his left cheek, "here," pointing to his right jaw line, "and here," she concluded, pointing to his upper lip. "Oh yeah, I'd like to see you grow a better beard!" Sokka said, flustered at the blind girl's callous, if completely accurate and honest, criticism, "That's right, you can't!" "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Patches. Now, grab your sword, and let's get going. Aang told me he was going to leave without you after sunset." "He what! Some friend, I come all this way out here to help him keep order in his city, get attacked by some crazy waterbending bandit and his knife-waving buddy, and he won't even wait to give me a lift home at the end of the day? Some friend he turned out to be!" Sokka raved, furiously working to pry his sword out of the ice. When it finally gave way, he nearly lost his balance and fell backward, but managed to catch himself in time. "Oh well, let's get moving. We might be able to catch him before he leaves us behind." Together they set off towards the bay, back along the same route Sokka had been walking when he'd been jumped. Even with all the noise he was sure the scuffle had made, Toph was the only person he had seen any sign of. If any of the workers in the area heard him, they'd made off before trouble found them as well. Right now, it was just the two of them, walking in the dusk twilight. "So Toph, what have you been up to since the gang split up?" Sokka asked, absent-mindedly rubbing his hip once more. It was still sore from his landing on the pile of bricks. "Well, you remember my metalbending academy? That really caught on. So many students I can't keep track of them all, let alone teach them all. And half of them don't have any idea what they are supposed to be learning. Some rich merchant enrolled his son, and I don't even think the kid is an earthbender," Toph said, flicking her hair dismissively. Sokka hadn't noticed before, but Toph had changed her hair. The tight bun Sokka had always known was now loose, her dark hair cascading down just past her shoulders. "So I had to put some of my best students in charge of teaching the others. That's who I have covering for me while I'm out visiting you guys. I just couldn't say no to an invitation from Avatar Twinkle-toes," Toph continued, oblivious to Sokka's assessment of her hair, "This is a nice city you two have here, Sokka." "Oh yeah, we have lots left to do, but it's really coming along. People seem to really want to get in on the ground floor here. Almost every day I have to settle arguments about who gets what piece of land. Just this afternoon, there were three earthbenders who each wanted to build a bridge in the same spot over the river. It took all day to settle that argument, and it was one of the good ones." "Well, I hope you are ready to take some time off, because I'm not going to sit around alone in a strange city. And I'm definitely not going to sit around and listen to the happy couple all day," Toph said, sticking out her tongue and punctuating her point with some theatrical gagging noises. "They aren't so bad anymore. It took them long enough to stop being so sickly sweet, but they eventually stopped. Well, most of the time," Sokka said, shrugging. Katara and Aang had driven him half mad in the earlier days of their relationship, not least because he didn't really approve of it. But now, he had grown used to them, and more importantly the idea of them. Katara had fought alongside him in the war, and had captured Azula. As hard as it was to admit, she didn't need her big brother to protect her anymore. "If you say so, although I don't believe you," Toph said. "You'll see when we get back to the island. Katara will be happy to see you too, she's been complaining about there not being any other girls around since Suki left." "Oh yeah, where is Suki? Aang didn't say anything about her." Sokka felt like she had just dumped a bucket of cold water over his head, dampening his cheer at seeing her. His mouth twisted into a sad frown, and he stared as his feet as they walked. After a long moment, he realized he needed to give Toph an answer. "She...she went back to Kyoshi Island a couple of months ago," Sokka finally said. Another long moment of silence followed as Toph tried to work through the sudden change in the atmosphere. "That's...kind of a long trip," Toph said, trailing off. More awkward silence. "It was hard at first, when she left, but I'm dealing with it. All the work to do has helped keep my mind off of it, but honestly, Aang and Katara have been the worst," Sokka said sadly. Realizing what he had just said, he started backpedaling, "I don't mean that they haven't been really supportive and tried to help me, because they have, they've been great like that, telling me that things will get better and all that, it's just...it's just that being around two people who are so happy with each other all the time makes it that much harder to accept that she is really gone." "I'm sorry Sokka," Toph said, her voice genuine in its sympathy, "I didn't mean to bring it up. I didn't know." "It's not your fault Toph, don't worry about it. Besides, everything will work out. Especially now that you're here to keep my mind off it." Unnoticed by Sokka, a faint blush crept across Toph's cheeks, pooling in her ears. They were nearly back to the council building when they heard the groaning roar from above. Sokka looked up to see Appa swoop low overhead. The great bison banked and came down hard on the stones. A thin puff of dust rose up from around his many feet, and his rider sprang lightly to ground. "Sokka! There you are. You didn't have any trouble finding him, did you Toph?" Aang said cheerfully, brightening Sokka's mood once more merely by his presence. "Not a moment too soon," Toph said, with a mischievous smirk. "Huh?" Aang said. He looked to Sokka, expecting an explanation. "I'll tell you on the way back. Let's just go, I'm starving!" Sokka said, hauling himself up into Appa's saddle. He reached down to offer Toph a hand, but the earthbender thrust herself up onto the bison with a narrow column of earth. "Let's go!" she said, settling herself into the saddle and pulling Sokka down beside her. She held his arm in an almost painfully tight grip. "Uh, Toph," Aang said as he carefully bent the earth pillar back into place in the flat street. After taking a moment to straighten the paving stones, he went on, "You should be more careful with your earthbending here. We need these streets to get around, and so we need to keep them clear." "Yeah, yeah, duly noted Grandpa, let's just get this over with. I've gotta say I didn't miss flying." "Let's go Aang, Katara will be waiting for us. I'll tell you what happened with the river on the way back." "Ok, Appa; yip yip!" With a groan, the sky bison slapped the earth with its great tail and the group rose into the sky, striking out westward into the setting sun. "You tried to rob the Avatar's man?" Master Fu growled. "Uhh...well we thought he was just some other rich developer. Bao tailed him from a meeting with Liang Xin, the bridge developer." "That's right boss," Bao said, "If we'd known it was the Avatar's guy, we'd have left him alone." "But anyway, we didn't take any of his stuff, on account of that earthbender who helped him." "Very well. I'll look the other way this once. But you two idiots need to lie low for now. I've got a number of key investments relying on the Avatar's good graces in the coming days, and I don't need his little militia sniffing you out in my kitchens," Master Fu said, leaning back in his seat. With one hand, he stroked his long, pointed beard, "Do I make myself clear?" "Yes sir," Tonrar and Bao said in unison. "Good. Now get to the docks. Fang's got a shipment going out tonight, and he's asked me to provide some extra security to make sure it gets where it's going." "You can count on us boss," Bao said. With that, the two toughs bowed, and backed out of the study, leaving the older man to his many letters and ledgers. |
TOKYO - A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded slammed Japan's eastern coast Friday, killing at least 60 people as it swept away boats, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control. Tsunami warnings blanketed the entire Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast. The magnitude 8.9 offshore quake unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours, many of them of more than magnitude 6.0. Police said at least 60 people were killed and 56 were missing. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of the disaster. The government ordered thousands of residents near a nuclear power plant in Onahama city to evacuate because the plant's system was unable to cool the reactor. The reactor was not leaking radiation but its core remained hot even after a shutdown. The plant is 170 miles (270 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo. |
Your guide to 1,600 beautiful, natural places for a dip in the US and Canada. A refreshing swimming hole or warming hot spring in a river, creek, spring or waterfall is the perfect complement to your favorite outdoor activity or a refreshing break on a long road trip. Please send an email with comments, corrections or additions. RESPECT - Please do not visit these beautiful, natural places if you cannot respect them. Trash, rowdy behavior, drunkeness, accidents and trespassing on private property are causing us to to lose access to more of them every year. SAFETY - Swimming in natural places has inherent dangers. There are risks to life, limb and health involved. Caution can minimize but not eliminate these risks. The authors assume no responsibility for sickness, injury or death resulting from use/misuse of information contained herein. SAFETY FIRST! Most accidents/drownings in natural swimming places are due to strong currents, diving and/or alcohol. Do not let carelessness or peer pressure get you into a situation you cannot deal with. Each time you go, wade in gradually and check the current. Do not jump in until you have checked both the depth AND the current first. Look downstream - if the current is strong for a long distance or might pin you against a large object (e.g., bluff, large rock or downed tree) don't go in. Large rivers have hidden currents below the surface - assume large rivers are NEVER safe to swim regardless of how calm they look on the surface. If you find yourself being swept away in a current, do not panic, do not fight the current and do not try to stand up (foot can get trapped in rocks) - float feet first downstream on your back. Let the current carry you until it becomes more gentle and/or until you calm down. Then, staying on your back and still feet first downstream, gradually use your arms to paddle to shore. If you swim or boat in creeks often, you should practice this maneuver until it becomes familiar. NEVER DO THESE THINGS (even if others are doing them): Dive headfirst (paralysis, death) Swim alone (no rescuers) Drink alcohol and swim (drowning) Go barefoot (glass, sharp rocks) Stand directly under a water fall (rocks wash over falls) Swim in upper pools of a waterfall (you wash over falls) Climb above or alongside a waterfall (many deaths from this) FOLLOW THESE ADDED PRECAUTIONS: Don't put your hands or feet into places you can't see (snake dangers) Be careful when on a rope swing (rope dangers) If rocks are very slippery, walk on all fours (hands and feet) for stability Be careful when swimming where alligators may be present (alligator safety) STATES MAP Click on State/Province below HEALTH Most unofficial, natural swimming places are not tested for water cleanliness. To see data on those that ARE tested, go to How's My Waterway? We have not checked all of our listings against this data. In many cases, you must be the judge. If the watershed (upstream) includes farmland, ranchland or urban development, you must be careful. Even if the water is normally clean enough, AFTER A HEAVY RAIN sewage and toxic materials can be washed into the water. In natural hot springs and in other still, warm waters a very rare but sometimes fatal aomeba infection has occured when water gets into a person's nasal passages. To be safe, do not get water in your mouth, eyes, ears or nose. Do not submerge your head - wear a nose clip and pinch your nose closed if you jump into the water. If you get into poison ivy/oak, wash the skin area with soapy water or rubbing alcohol as soon as possible and do not scratch. LEGALITY Much of the information on this web site is derived from other sources - such as hiking and travel books, magazine articles, publications, emails from visitors and other Internet sites. Our intent is to relay this information as accurately as possible; we do not direct the public to use these swimming holes. The existence of private property or other matters of legality may have been inadvertently omitted or may be inexact in some cases. We are not able to do an on-site visit to each place, and even when we do property ownership or legality is sometimes not evident. It is not our intention to cause negative impacts to private property owners or to increase their liability. When this is brought to our attention by bona-fide sources, we act promptly to add this information to the listing or otherwise resolve the matter on a case-by-case basis. Remember the "old swimmin' hole"? Well, many are still there and they are still lots more fun and naturally beautiful than a chlorinated swimming pool! SwimmingHoles.info focuses on moving, fresh water spots - like creeks, rivers, springs and waterfalls. Also listed are some selected hot springs (in the west) and other swimming places on lakes, quarries or bays which have unique features that make them especially beautiful or fun for swimming. You may need to get into some cold water to enjoy many of these (but not the hot springs!), but the cold doesn't last while the warm memories of a swim in a beautiful setting certainly will. THE FINE PRINT: This web page is operated as a hobby only. The information presented is compiled from many sources with varying degrees of reliability. Local conditions also change over time. Accuracy of the information and the safety and legality of visiting these places cannot be assured. My intent is to relay this information as accurately as possible; but I do not "direct" the public to use these swimming holes. Each visitor is personally responsible for safety and legality (including observance of private property) each time a place is visited. Also, inappropriate behavior continuously reduces our access to these special places - don't contribute to this tragic loss! COPYRIGHT - All the material on this web site is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office (Registration Number TX6-245-508, Date 5/23/2005) and may not legally be reproduced (except for personal use) without permission. EMAIL - mail@swimmingholes.info. If you have a new swimming hole or hot spring for me, or better information about one that is - PLEASE - Good directions are VERY important, refer to a MAP to give directions! DIRECTIONS - Read this before you rely on your GPS for directions. EXPLANATION OF TERMS - clarification of terms and descriptions. WORLDWIDE - Fabulous swimming holes outside the USA. LAT/LON TIPS - We have latitude and longitude in the listing for every swimming hole. See GPS and GOOGLE MAPS TIPS for how to get these into your GPS. WALDEN'S PONDS - Swimming holes that are safe and fun for the whole family. SPECIAL PLACES - Tube in a circle, swim with an alligator, dive into a waterfall! ABOUT SWIMINGHOLES.INFO - Learn more than you would ever want to know about the why, when and how of this web site. About the Author Dave Hajdasz lives in Connecticut. He's an avid outdoor enthusiast who has enjoyed exploring fun and unique places such as caves, waterfalls and remote forests for the past 25 years. He's an experienced rock climber, kayaker, hiker, mountain biker and trout fisherman, though he always manages to get in a bit of swimming no matter where he goes. He holds the unusual distinction of swimming in 12 different natural bodies of water (one each month) in New England during the course of a year. |
NEW YORK - A group of 10 immigrants' rights protesters were arrested Wednesday after stopping traffic on the George Washington Bridge during the busy morning rush. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the demonstrators blocked the eastbound lanes by chaining themselves together on the upper level of the bridge shortly after 8 a.m. The lanes were closed for about 15 minutes until New Jersey police stepped in and took the protesters into custody. No one was injured. The protest was organized by the Laundry Workers Center, a non-profit that specializes in improving the living and working condition of low wage workers in the city and in New Jersey. Organizers say the protest was a call to allow immigrants the right to vote and "take part in the decisions in our communities." The group has another protest planned in Union Square at 6 p.m. |
It's inevitable that women will appear as playable athletes in a football title, the executive producer of the FIFA video game series told a petition organizer. But it's far too late for that to happen in FIFA 13, and he couldn't commit to any future year in which it might for his series. Still, whatever is done needs to be done right, David Rutter told Fernanda Schabarum, a 29-year-old gamer living in South Florida. It can't be a token tack-on feature, and certainly not a downloadable game or extension that sends a message that women play a second-class sport. "He said it's going to happen at some point, and he hopes EA is the one to do it, and do it right," Schabarum told Kotaku. In an interview, Rutter said the same thing to Kotaku, too. The two sides met because earlier this month Schabarum initiated a petition calling on EA Sports to put women, specifically women's national teams, in its FIFA series, which holds licenses to depict dozens of high profile professional and national teams throughout the world. Though most Internet petitions, especially on the subject of video games, get little traction or response from the publishers they address, this one caught EA Sports' attention. That said, it asks the kind of question Rutter says he faces annually. "I remember vividly being in Cologne (for Gamescom 2011) and being approached by journalist after journalist about the Women's World Cup [happening that year] Advertisement "The same answer then is the same answer now," Rutter said. "Every year, a vast quantity of suggestions for inclusion comes into our studio. We have to whittle it down to what we can make in one year. It's a case of prioritizing what needs to be done, and then we do our best to knock it out of the park in whatever we're doing. But [women in the game] is always something considered in some shape or form, and it's not to say it won't ever happen." Schabarum, a psychologist who grew up as a passionate football fan in her native Brazil, seemed to accept Rutter's answer. "They've got to wait for the right time," she said. "It's a marketing matter. We talked about the Mia Hamm game [Mia Hamm 64 Soccer for the Nintendo 64] and he agreed, yes, that was a disaster. That was a good example of the wrong timing and the wrong approach." Rutter himself worked on that title in 2000, in fact, for the studio Silicon Dreams. The game reviewed poorly and the fact it was essentially a reskinned version of Michael Owen's WLS 2000 for North America made it appear more of cynical marketing tactic than a game really interested in women's sports. Advertisement Rutter, who pointed out he has two daughters who enjoy playing football, said he's sensitive to the subject and does not want to bring women's football into FIFA as some kind of a tack-on mode or a side game that would open the title to criticism it was exploiting interest in women's football rather than serving it. "We want to make the best fundamental simulation of football," Rutter said. "When it gets to a point where we're considering a feature's inclusion because it benefits everyone, then it becomes a priority. The key thing about delivering on it, is that it has to be of very good quality, very high value, rather than just an acknowledgment of women in football." It's true that Rutter's NHL colleagues in the EA Canada studio last year allowed for players to create a woman in its Be A Pro singleplayer mode, which FIFA also has. But that option doesn't exist in FIFA and won't in FIFA 13 either. "There's no reason you couldn't capture your face, if you're a woman, and put it in [with the Photo GameFace feature] but there isn't a female [body] to put it on," Rutter acknowledged, "for no other reason than it just hasn't been done." Advertisement The difference is that, in professional hockey, there is some precedent, although extraordinary, for female members on otherwise all-male teams, though one has never played in a regulation NHL game. Schabarum, for her part, wouldn't want to see a created female playing with her favorite Brazilian side, Grêmio of Porto Alegre. "That does not make a lot of sense to me," she said. "It'd be weird. [Women's football] a very different sport to watch and for sure it's a very different sport to play in a video game," even though the rules are the same, she said. Schabarum would prefer to see a lineup of national women's teams—the United States, Canada, Japan, her native Brazil, but realizes that there are licensing costs involved. She isn't asking for women's versus men's teams in open competition in FIFA for the same reason she doesn't think female players on men's clubs is a good idea: It strikes at the sense of realism the franchise strives for. To put a women's football mode on an equal footing with the other modes of the game requires much more thought than simply adding some new player models or a one-off tournament feature for the Women's World Cup. How can you reasonably present a career mode if the starring player is a woman or the principal team is a women's national team? Is the player trying to make her national team, as opposed to playing professionally? Is the goal to qualify in a world competition rather than play a league schedule? These are good questions, Rutter said, but ones his team is not yet prepared to answer. Advertisement "There's a difference here, in that she has taken the time to push this through," Rutter said. "It was nice to speak to someone who not only believed deeply in what she did, but who also has played the game." For her part, Schabarum still thinks including women's team is feasible under the current state of the art, but accepts the explanation that it needs to be done right. "I'm a psychologist, so I know that when children play a game, it's not just that their favorite player or team is scoring a goal or winning, they feel like they are too," she said. "Girls should have the same right. David's daughters should have that right, too." |
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