text stringlengths 0 100k |
|---|
A Utah sheriff has put out the word that he will not allow his county to be overrun by the unconstitutional Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service, and has gone so far as to warn the BLM that he will "deputize everyone and arrest all federal agents" should they enter his county in a similar manner to that of those in Nevada and Oregon. Sheriff Marty Gleave has been serving the county he is in as sheriff for nearly 25 years. According to Gleave, all he has seen is that things "get progressively worse and worse and worse with the so-called land police." Gleave serves Piute County, which is the second smallest county by population in Utah. However, following the protests in Oregon, the arrests of many protesters at Bundy Ranch, including Cliven Bundy and the murder of LaVoy Finicum, Gleave addressed the Rural Caucus of the Utah State legislature on February 12, 2016. take our poll - story continues below Will the media learn anything from their biased reporting of the Jussie Smollett story? Will the media learn anything from their biased reporting of the Jussie Smollett story? Will the media learn anything from their biased reporting of the Jussie Smollett story? * Yes, they've gotten so much wrong recently that they're bound to be on their best behavior. No, they suffer from a bad case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Jussie who? Email * Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Completing this poll grants you access to Freedom Outpost updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. At the center of a conflict in dispute between Sheriff Gleave and the US Forest Service is Gleave's uncle Stanton Gleave, a longtime rancher in the county. "You know, we've got FBI, DEA, ATF and ICE," Sheriff Gleave said. "We've always been able to work with them people because they would only come and do major felony cases and different things like that. So, they were always out of the way until we needed them." However, he then singled out the BLM for what they have been involved in. "We've got a Bureau of Land Management police and Forest Service police who are out doing the same exact jobs that my deputies can do and every other deputy sheriff and sheriff can do," Gleave added. Sheriff Gleave went on to elaborate about some of those things that could be handled by the sheriffs and their deputies. Even though I disagree that those things should not be handled by any sheriff, police or federal agent, I'll leave that aside not to distract from his point. Gleave referred to the feds, particularly the Forest Service and BLM, as "mismanagement" of their pretended authority. Take a listen to some of the many examples that Sheriff Gleave presents that the feds have caused problems for the wildlife and for the people, then failed to follow up on. The Utah Sheriff also made a point in the video that men can abuse their authority and used himself as an example to demonstrate that if he wanted to abuse the authority entrusted to him by the people, he could have people in jail every day. However, he knows that would be wrong and lawless. Gleave said that he was not a fan of the militia showing up in his county because he had a militia, the people. The sheriff even pointed them out. Good for him, and good for them! "We're not taking no more cuts on the Mountain. I'll deputize every man, woman and child in the county to stop what's going on," Sheriff Gleave concluded. Friends, this is what is needed, constitutional sheriffs. Furthermore, presidential candidates don't just need to be held to the status quo. They need to be asked if they will seek the dismantling of the unconstitutional agencies like the BLM, the Forest Service, the ATF, the DEA, the Department of Education and Homeland Security. The heads of these organizations don't answer to the people. They are appointed bureaucrats who infringe on the rights of the people and violate the US Constitution. Until we are ready to eliminate and decentralize the Beast, we don't need to complain about it. The Beast has shed its chains and has showed us its true form. The People must either restrain it, which is unlikely, or kill it. There is no other solution. |
…and it’s not even Mitt Romney. *rimshot* HARF HARF HARF Man, I miss Weekend Update more than I thought. Anyway, in a bizarre protest against Dish Network not broadcasting such quality programming as Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and, um, Goodfellas, AMC announced that they’re sponsoring a new presidential candidate in the upcoming election. Mr. A. Zombie, who is, yes, a zombie, and his wife, Patty Morgan-Zombie, will head to Tampa and Charlotte, homes of the Republican and Democratic Conventions, as well as Dallas, Atlanta, and New York, to “rally zombie fans around the country who don’t have access to [AMC] to find an alternative television provider.” Take a guess at what his Vice President’s name is. It IS Noah Pulse. How did you know? The zombie publicity stunt is a clever, if goofy idea that makes a total mockery of campaign season, something I’m totally at peace with, and AMC really needs their spat with Dish to end before The Walking Dead premieres in October. According to the Wall Street Journal: AMC’s namesake channel, known for shows like The Walking Dead, saw average prime-time viewership decline between 7% and 9% each week during the last three weeks of July, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to Nielsen. To make up for the ratings shortfall, the network is giving advertisers so called “make-goods,” or free ad time back to advertisers, according to media buyers. (Via) FYI to any politicians reading this: if you make throwing Carl and his dumb hat and dumber face off a steep cliff a goal of your campaign, you’ve got my vote. Conservatives could say he’s a terrorist, and liberals could consider it a late-late-late-late-late-term abortion. Everyone wins. (Via) |
Officials say no one was injured when a train hauling coal derailed in rural North Texas, sending some cars into a creek. Union Pacific spokesman Jeff DeGraff says 26 cars derailed off the end of a southbound train around 6:30 p.m. Sunday in the city of Roanoke, about 30 miles north of Fort Worth. Some of those cars fell into a creek below a bridge. DeGraff says it wasn't immediately clear what caused the derailment. Union Pacific crews were responding to investigate and begin cleaning up. Roanoke Police Det. Sandy Pettigrew tells the Fort Worth Star-Telegram there is no threat of hazardous materials leaking into Denton Creek, which feeds into Grapevine Lake. Police in nearby Flower Mound were diverting southbound traffic on U.S. highway 377 near the scene. |
Developer Madfinger has confirmed it will soon end support for its popular free-to-play zombie first person shooter game Dead Trigger 2 for the Windows Phone platform. Windows Central reader Samuel Gomez sent an email to Madfinger requesting that Dead Trigger 2 be upgraded so it could be played on all Windows 10 devices, but received the following response. Unfortunately we have to announce that Dead Trigger 2 will no longer be supporting Windows Phones and Amazon. You will be able to continue your adventure on Facebook, Android or iOS provided you log into your account. We have also sent this message to all players as an ingame message. We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope to see you in our future games. We contacted Madfinger Games via Twitter and it confirmed its plans to end support for Dead Trigger 2 for Windows Phone: @JCalMN Yes, we can confirm it. It was our strategic decision. It costs us a lot of work and we didn't support Win10. We checked the Windows Store and found that Dead Trigger 2 is still in place and still playable, but Madfinger's email and Twitter response would indicate that situation won't last for much longer. Indeed, in a follow-up Twitter message, Madfinger stated the game "shouldn't be available to download now.". If you already have Dead Trigger 2 installed on your phone, Madfinger indicated you should still be able to play it. The game was first launched for Windows Phone in April 2015. Madfinger also released a version for Windows 8.1 RT, but oddly did not for do the same for Windows 8.1 x86 PCs. That version is apparently no longer in the Windows Store. Download Dead Trigger 2 (for now) in the Windows Store Thanks again to Samuel for the tip! |
By Here’s another chapter from my upcoming book on operating CW. Comments welcome! When a new ham decides to learn Morse Code and start operating CW, one of the first things he or she must do is choose a key. There are many different types of keys available, and choosing one can be kind of confusing. With that in mind, let’s look at the different keys that are available and discuss the pros and cons of each. Straight key The straight key is the most basic type of key. It has a single set of contacts, and the operator makes dits and dahs by holding down the key for different lengths of time. Because the design is so simple, this is usually the least expensive type of key you can purchase. While many hams prefer using straight keys, I’m not a big fan of them myself. It takes practice to make dits and dahs that are the same length over and over, and I guess that I just don’t have the concentration necessary to do that. Also, my arm tires very easily when using a straight key. I can’t send very long before I begin to feel it in my wrist and forearm. Hams experienced with straight keys tell me that this is because I don’t have the key adjusted properly or that I’m not holding my arm correctly. Whatever the reason, I can’t really operate for more than 30 – 45 minutes with a straight key. Paddles Paddles are keys that you use with an electronic keyer. They have two sets of contacts, one for the dits and one for the dahs. It doesn’t matter how long that you hold down the key. Once a set of contacts is closed, the electronic keyer will make the dit or the dah. The nice thing about this arrangement is that the electronic keyer makes each dit and each dah the same length every time. Another thing I like about the paddle is that it’s very easy on the wrist and arm. Unlike the straight key, which you pump up and down, to operate a paddle, you rest your arm on the desk or table and simply actuate the paddle by moving your fingers or rotating your wrist. This is a lot less stressful, and I find that I can operate for hours using a paddle. There are two main varieties of paddle: single-lever and dual-lever. The dual-lever paddle is sometimes called an iambic paddle. Bot the single-lever and the dual-lever paddles have two sets of contacts, but in a single-lever paddle, the lever is common to both and only one set of contacts can be closed at a time. The dual-lever paddle has two completely-independent sets of contacts, and both can be closed simultaneously. When both are closed, most electronic keyers will send alternating dits and dahs. This is called the iambic mode. More about how this works in the next chapter. Choosing between a single-lever and a dual-lever paddle Chuck Adams, K7QO, has calculated that using a dual-lever paddle with an iambic keyer requires 11% fewer strokes than a single-lever paddle to send a message in Morse Code. Efficiency isn’t the whole story, though. For one thing, it’s easier to make mistakes with a dual-lever paddle. The reason for this is that the timing of the contact closures is critical when using a dual-lever paddle. If you make a contact too early or too late, or hold down a contact for too long, the code that the keyer will generate will be wrong. For example, instead of sending a C (dah-di-dah-dit), you end up sending dah-di-dah-di-dah. This is one reason that the winners of high-speed CW contests tend to use single-lever paddles and not dual-lever paddles. They get penalized for making mistakes, and it’s more difficult to make them with single-lever paddles. You might also want to choose a single-lever paddle if you are used to using a semi-automatic key, or “bug.” Using a single-lever paddle more closely resembles using a bug than does using a dual-lever paddle. My recommendation is to try both and see which one you like best. Some operators will prefer the single-lever paddle for its simplicity, while others will prefer the dual-lever paddle. Touch paddles Several companies make “touch paddles.” These paddles don’t have levers, per se, but rather metal paddles that one touches to close a contact. Instead of mechanically closing a contact, touch paddles have an integrated circuit them that senses the change in capacitance when you touch one of the paddles then electronically close a contact. Many operators really like using touch paddles. Because there are no moving parts, there are no mechanical adjustments to make and no loud clicking sounds. Semi-automatic keys, or “bugs” Like the straight key, semi-automatic keys, or “bugs,” are purely mechanical. The difference between a straight key and a bug, though, is that the bug has a mechanism that makes dits automatically. Dahs are still made manually, though. Using one of these keys properly takes a lot of practice, and is generally not a good choice for a beginner. I have one myself, and although I only use it occasionally, I still haven’t gotten the hang of using it after several years. Which key is right for you? If you do become a CW enthusiast, you’ll find that you tend to collect keys and use them all from time to time. In my collection, I have: three straight keys, including the key I used as a Novice and a World War II-vintage J37 key with a leg clamp; four paddles, including three dual-lever and two single-lever paddles; and one semi-automatic key, also called a “bug.” My advice is to try them all and see which you like the best. Key manufacturers/sellers American Morse Equipment. www.americanmorse.com. American Morse sells both mini-paddles and regular-size paddles. For their Porta-Paddle, they even sell a leg mount, so you can operate portable or mobile. Begali. www.i2rtf.com. When I used to bicycle, I only rode Italian bicycles. They not only were great bicycles, but they were stylish as well. That’s how I feel about Begali keys. My favorite key is my Simplex, Begali’s least expensive paddle, but I wish I could afford one of his fancier models. Bencher. www.bencher.com. Bencher makes both inexpensive and more deluxe keys and paddles. I often recommend the Bencher BY-1 as a “starter” paddle. You can often find them online or at hamfests for $60-70. Bulldog Keys. www.amateurradioproducts.com. Bulldog makes a link of small keys for QRP and portable operation enthusiasts. CW Touch Paddles. www.cwtouchkeyer.com. This company only makes touch paddles. Kent Engineers. www.kent-engineers.com. This company, located in England, has a long history in the Morse key business. They make straight keys, single-lever paddles, and dual-lever paddles (they call them single-paddle keys and twin-paddle keys). They are very nicely engineered and a good bargain. Morse Express. www.morsex.com. Morse Express sells keys from Ameco (USA), Bencher (USA), BHC Bird Key (China), GHD (Japan), Hi-Mound (Japan), Palm Radio (Germany), Scheunemann Morsetasten (Germany), uniHAM (China), Vibroplex (USA), Nye Viking (USA), and MFJ (USA). N3ZN Keys. www.n3znkeys.com. N3ZN makes some very nice hand-made keys. Vibroplex. www.vibroplex.com. Vibroplex is the grand-daddy of key manufacturers in the U.S. They have been in business for more than 100 years. Their line of products includes straight keys, paddles, and semi-automatic keys, or “bugs.” There are more manufacturers and sellers out there, but I’ll leave at that. If you have a favorite manufacturer that I haven’t included here, please let me know, so that I can include them in a future edition. |
If an individual knowingly has given classified material to unauthorized person, it's a grave breach of trust and law. The National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md. (Photo11: Patrick Semansky, AP) Story Highlights Obligation for contract employees to deal properly with classified material is the same as for government employees. Individuals don't get to decide for themselves what should be classified. Snowden should be called to account for breaking the law. Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning have a lot in common. Each one signed oaths of confidentiality and agreements to serve. Each received some of the highest security clearances the nation can give for the handling of secrets that aid in securing the American people from those who would harm them. And each decided he is the ultimate arbiter of what is right and wrong with America's policies. OUR VIEW: Whistle-blower hero or villain? Neither man had been asked to shed his blood (Manning was safe in a secured headquarters facility; Snowden was in Hawaii), but they apparently felt they had a mission that would allow them to enjoy the status of martyrs. Some have said that because Snowden was a contractor, he shouldn't have had access to such confidential information. But the obligation for contract employees to deal properly with classified material is the same as for government employees. Individuals don't get to decide for themselves what should be classified. If an individual knowingly has given classified material to unauthorized person, it's a grave breach of trust and law. The U.S. system regularly shares classified information with contract employees. Failures like this are a rare occurrence. Contractors, when used prudently with appropriate oversight, are an invaluable part of our military and security capability. Efficiently tapping the private sector for national security can be an enormous competitive advantage for the U.S. We have to separate the leak, which is simply wrong, from concerns over the program itself. Surveillance for threats can be done legally. The conflating of multiple programs and the inaccurate description of some of these programs makes it is impossible to tell from news reports and government talking points alone if the program was administered properly. That process will now begin. That said, individuals who suspect wrongdoing in government have legitimate options to bring this to the attention of responsible individuals in government and Congress without breaking the law. Mr. Snowden decided it was fine to break the law, and he should be called to account for it. These leaks never occur without repercussions. One hopes that any damage to the nation's security does not cause loss of life. Some Americans may lionize Snowden, but there are terrorists who surely do. Steven Bucci, a deputy assistant secretary of defense during the George W. Bush administration, is director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/13yAAed |
Image caption The barcode has also become popular body art There are now more than five million individual barcodes in use around the world, according to regulator GS1 UK. Sunday, 7 October is the 60th anniversary of the barcode patent, filed in the US in 1952. However the distinctive black-and-white stripes did not make their first appearance in an American shop until 1974 - because the laser technology used to read them did not exist. GS1 said the QR code was not a threat to the traditional linear barcode. A QR (Quick Response) code is an image made up of dots, which can contain more data than a barcode. "They have different purposes - the barcode on the side of a tin of beans is for point-of-sale scanning. It ensures the consumer is charged the right amount and updates stock records," said Gary Lynch, chief executive of GS1 UK. "The QR code's main purpose is to take the person that scans it to an extended multi media environment. Technically you can combine the two but nobody's asking for that right now." The first item to be scanned by a barcode was a packet of chewing gum in an Ohio supermarket in 1974. But the black-and-white stripes did not get a universal welcome, with some wine manufacturers refusing to incorporate barcodes onto their labels for aesthetic reasons. Now it occasionally doubles as body art, with US singer Pink among those who sport a barcode tattoo. "Barcodes are an icon and rightly so - we're quite pleased about it," said Mr Lynch. "But if one of my daughters had one in homage to her father I'd be rather upset." |
The Parliament of Jordan (Arabic: مجلس الأمة Majlis Al-Umma) is the bicameral Jordanian national assembly. Established by the 1952 Constitution, the legislature consists of two houses: the Senate ("Majlis Al-Aayan") and the House of Representatives ("Majlis Al-Nuwaab"). The Senate has 65 members, all of whom are directly appointed by the King, while the House of Representatives has 130 elected members, with nine seats reserved for Christians, three are for Circassian and Chechen minorities, and fifteen for women.[1] The members of both houses serve for four-year terms.[2] Political history [ edit ] Old hall of the Parliament of Jordan from 1949 till 1974 located now in the Museum of Parliamentary Life As a developing constitutional monarchy, Jordan has survived the trials and tribulations of Middle Eastern politics. The Jordanian public has experienced limited democracy since gaining independence in 1946 however the population has not suffered as others have under dictatorships imposed by some Arab regimes.[3] The 1952 Constitution provided for citizens of Jordan to form and join political parties.[4] Such rights were suspended in 1967 when a state of emergency was declared and martial law and suspension of Parliament, continuing until it was repealed in 1989. In 1988 King Hussein cut political ties with the West Bank following the Israeli occupation. Subsequently, civil unrest followed with Prime Minister al-Rifa’i alleged to have used heavy-handed tactics against the population which resulted in riots in April 1989. After the riots had subsided the King fired al-Rifa’i and announced elections for later that year. The King’s action to re-convene parliament elections was considered a significant move forward in enabling the Jordanian public to have greater freedoms and democracy, this has been labelled by the think tank Freedom House as, “the Arab World's most promising experiment in political liberalization and reform”.[5] The resumption of the parliamentary election was reinforced by new laws governing the media and publishing as well as fewer restrictions on freedoms of expression. Following the legalization of political parties in 1992, 1993 saw the first multi-party elections held since 1956.[6] The country is now one of the most politically open in the Middle East permitting opposition parties such as the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood. The influence of the IAF significantly reduced in 2007 when their parliamentary representation fell from seventeen to six. The IAF boycotted the 2011 and 2013 elections in protest of the one voice electoral system. The Monarch still holds the true levers of power, appointing members of the House of Senate and has the right to replace the prime minister, a step that King Abdullah II of Jordan took in April 2005.[7] It has been argued that the influence of tribalism in determining Parliament election results in Jordan should not be overlooked; it is stronger than political affiliations. Tribal identity has a strong influence over Jordanian life: “…identities remain the primary driving forces of decision making at the level of the individual, the community, and the state”.[8] In 2016, the King of Jordan dissolved the parliament, and named Hani Al-Mulki as Prime Minister.[9] Legislative procedure [ edit ] Both houses initiate debates and vote on legislation. Proposals are referred by the Prime Minister to the House of Representatives where they are either accepted, amended or rejected. Every proposal is referred to a committee of the lower house for consideration. If it is approved then it is referred to the government to draft in the form of a bill and submit it to the House of Representatives. If approved by this House, it is passed onto the Senate for debate and a vote. If the Senate gives its approval then the King can either grant consent or refuse. In this case the bill is passed back to the House of Deputies where the review and voting process is repeated. If both houses pass the bill by a two-thirds majority it becomes an Act of Parliament overriding the King’s veto. Article 95 of the Constitution empowers both houses to submit legislation to the government in the form of a draft law.[10] The Constitution does not provide a strong system of checks and balances within which the Jordanian Parliament can assert its role in relationship to the Monarch. During the suspension of Parliament between 2001 and 2003, the scope of King Abdullah II’s power was demonstrated with the passing of 110 temporary laws. Two of such laws dealt with election law and were created to reduce the power of Parliament.[11][12] Term [ edit ] Senators have terms of four years and are appointed by the King and can be reappointed. Prospective Senators must be at least forty years old and have held senior positions in either the government or military. Appointed senators have included former prime ministers and members of the House of Representatives. Deputies are elected to serve a four-year term. Deputy candidates must be older than thirty five and cannot be related to the king and must not have any financial interests in governmental contracts.[13] Political parties in the House of Representatives [ edit ] Despite the reforms of 1989, multi-party politics has yet to develop in Jordan. The only political party that plays a role in the legislature is the Islamic Action Front (IAF). Political parties can be seen to represent four sections: Islamists, leftists, Arab nationalists and conservative. There are 34 registered political parties in Jordan including the Jordanian Arab Democratic Party, Jordanian Socialist Party, Muslim Centre Party, but these have little impact on the political process. Legislation regarding political parties was passed in March 2007 which made it a requirement that all political parties had to report to the Ministry of the Interior and have a minimum of five hundred founding members from at least five governorates. This was seen by some as a direct threat to a number of the political parties which are small in membership.[14] Public disillusion with existing political parties has been highlighted in research carried out by the Centre for Strategic Studies at Jordan University. The investigation concluded that in 2007 only 9.7% of respondents felt that the political parties represented their political, economic and social aspirations. Furthermore, 80% of respondents believed that ‘none’ of the political parties were ‘qualified to form a government’.[15] Permanent committees [ edit ] Legal, Financial, Administrative and Foreign Affairs. Both houses have the ability to create committees when required. Current weakness [ edit ] Low voter turnout has indicated that there is a problem with public participation in the democratic process, with the following turnouts for previous elections: 2007 54% [16] 2003 58%; [17] 1997 44%; 1993 47%; 1989 41% [18] 2003 58%; 1997 44%; 1993 47%; 1989 41% Practical issues have reduced the effect of Parliament with brief parliamentary sessions (November to March) and a lack of resources and support for members of both houses [19] There has been a lack of involvement in Jordanian politics of political parties. This was further reduced through the Boycotting of previous elections by the IAF (1997)[20] which represented the only real political party as the vast majority of elected parliamentarians ran as independents based on tribal lines or families close to the king. Democratization [ edit ] The Jordanian Parliament and its form of democracy are young in comparison to their western contemporaries. According to Kaaklini et al., “Since 1989, it [Jordanian Parliament] has become a more credible, representative, and influential institution. Still, serious constitutional, political, and internal hurdles continue to prevent it from enjoying the prerogatives and from performing the range of functions that are appropriate for a legislature in a democratic system”.[21] Judged against other states in the Middle East, Jordan has made significant progress towards a democratic system of government. It has been argued that the Jordanian Parliament is part of a democracy that has not been achieved by other states within the Middle East. However, in comparison to elected democracies as associated with ‘western’ nations, Jordan may not be considered to have occurred as the monarchy continues to dominate national politics, “…1989 elections brought unparalleled political liberalization and somewhat greater democratic input… although the political supremacy of the palace has been rendered less visible by the more active role of parliament, it is clear that a fundamental transfer of power into elected hands has not yet occurred.”.[22] See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] Coordinates: |
Infographics All the sailing in a poster infographic All the sailing theory on a single poster infographic. Hand drawn elements and line traced 3d object. Vector graphic + raster map overlay. Read the post about this work. Full poster is available on "Learn with a Poster". So much work and passion, with vuoifarevela.com, to assemble this board that collects all the sailing theory in a single poster infographic. Things to know for those who are used to or approach to set sail. A months' work searching and assembling concepts into this graphic artwork; a map that must be both useful and beautiful. As in previous works, such as the infographic for blender 3d, the purpose is to represent as much as possible in a single sheet: it is a strategy I'm used to, in study, notes and work. It's about mental maps, allowing to resume and optimize information in a better way. If everything is resumed in a single sheet map, it is much easier to memorize. It's like we recovered all the notes of an entire sailing course: the scribbles drew on the sand or on the sun-peeled blackboards at the sailing school. The rose and the cardinal points, the names of the winds and their origin, points of sail and rigging of the sailing boat, sea directions, strategies, calulating the miles, longitude and latitude, right of ways, regatta paths, scales of measurement of winds and sea, sail nomenclature and terms, knotes and their uses, types of hulls and sails, lawa, history of rum and Jolly Roger, nautical code, orientation by the stars, sextant and more. A preliminary version of this infographic was used last November to make the Mantellassi Maestrale wine label. The poster was made with mixed art techniques: hand drawn elements, 3d models, vector paths. Retro fonts for the sectors and technical font for didactic notes, always chosen from a vintage font collection. The final work is an entirely original vector with an antiqued paper overlay to make it rough, like a map. Here are some details of the graphics The infographic was created for and with the advice of vuoifarevela.com, nautical services and sailing school. On their website you can find a free version at higher resolution. The poster is also available in its original format (70x100cm 300dpi) on the store "Learn with a Poster". Log history updates Updated 13/01/2019, January 2019 revision Major update! Eolo god of winds added to the sailing rose. Wind forces and strenght categorization added. Yacht and sails redesigned, sail yacht centered after the wind rose, surrounded with the sails set; added Genoa sail and storm sail; fluid streams and sail settings. Some nomenclature added. Knots section completely redesigned: "all the knots on a single rope"! More stylish, more decorative, composing the bottom frame of the map; added my favourite knot: the monkey fist. Polynesian "sticks and shells" map added, as an historical cartographic reference. Added auric sail to the dinghy. Updated 12/08/2018, ver 1.4 Lineart illustrations refined and detailed. Nomenclature of sailship trees and sails. "layline" on the race route. Pitch and roll added on the "sailing rose". Fixed some terms in "point of sails". Legend and layout restyled. 12/08/2018: lineart illustrations refined and detailed. Nomenclature of sailship trees and sails. "layline" on the race route. Pitch and roll added on the "sailing rose". Fixed some terms in "point of sails". Legend and layout restyled. 04/12/2016: Roman Galea ship added in the sailing timeline, block added to the figure eight knot, rope illustration improved along the frame, few terms added. 15/09/2016: added induced and apparent winds into the Sailing Rose; some typography tweaks. 28/08/2016: added terms, dinghy boat, legenda updated, drawings over the margins. 15/08/2016: added terms and anchor type bruce. 08/08/2016: added notions about the weather and clouds, anchor parts, english translation! |
Toronto police and Metrolinx staff are investigating the theft of more than 1,000 pre-loaded Presto cards in the Toronto area. About 1,100 cards valued at $20 per card were stolen from a third-party vendor, according to Metrolinx. More than 1,000 pre-loaded Presto cards have been stolen from a third-party vendor in the Toronto area, prompting calls for purchasers to go through authorized vendors only. ( Steve Russell / Toronto Star File Photo ) “We have determined that none of the cards are in use as yet and we have initiated a blocking action, so if sold, the cards will be of no value to the purchaser,” said Anne Marie Aikins, senior manager of Metrolinx. Police have not released any further information regarding the thefts and the investigation is ongoing. Cards being sold at a reduced cost, usually online, have been deemed as a “red flag” according to Metrolinx officials, who are urging the public to stay away from those “scams.” Article Continued Below “Any cards with value to them — people will sometimes sell them on online and they often will say they’re at a reduced price,” said Aikins. “The best advice we can give is to only purchase it from an authorized customer service outlet.” A new privacy policy was adopted by Metrolinx earlier this month after the Star revealed the agency had been sharing transit users’ travel information with police. Read more about: |
So I have a basic website with a full sized, fixed background set with CSS. I want to implement rainyday.js over the top of everything in my whole site (including the text). Currently, the best I can do is getting rainyday.js to overlay another background image over the top and rain in that small section. It is creating another 'background' and using that instead. It seems it is possible here, however I don't understand how you are supposed to do it. This is the rainy day code. Thanks! HTML: <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="content-type"> <title>Safe House</title> <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet"> </head> <body> <div id="yes"> <div id="maindiv"> Safe House </div> <div id="secondarydiv"> <p>noun</p> <p>1.</p> <p>a dwelling or building whose conventional appearance makes it a safe or</p> <p>inconspicuous place for hiding, taking refuge, or carrying on clandestine activities.</p> </div> </div> </body> </html> CSS: |
It's worth reminding ourselves occasionally that there really are people out there who didn't note the result of the great economic experiment of the 20th century. That Nicolas Maduro didn't is of course a source of great pain for Venezuelans and the Venezuelan economy. But there's still people in each and every economy who didn't understand what did happen. That state planning, that worker control stuff, we tried it - and it didn't work. This curious free market and capitalist mixture that we do employ as an economic system did. In the words of PJ O'Rourke: We won, and let's not anybody forget it. We, the people, the free and equal citizens of democracies, we living exemplars of the rights of man tore a new asshole in international communism. Their wall is breached. Their gut-string is busted. The rot of their body-politic fills the nostrils of the Earth with a glorious stink. ... The privileges of liberty and the sanctity of the individual went out and whipped butt. And yet there's still people trying to analyse the world using those old Marxist tropes. As with this really rather delightful examination of the current French strikes: At the same time, the renewable strikes [the continuation of which is put to the vote on a daily or weekly basis] have shown the enormous power of the working class. Not a wheel turns and not a light bulb shines without the kind permission of the workers. This truth is unbearable for the capitalists because it has revolutionary implications. Indeed, if it is the workers that make possible all the critical activities of the country’s economy, why shouldn’t they be its masters? Why leave the economy and the state in the hands of a handful of giant parasites - the bosses of the CAC 40 companies and their right-wing, or “left-wing,” politicians? Why not? Well, we tried that. No, really, we did. The 20th century economic history is easy enough to relate. The world divided into three economic models, that Third World which remained in peasant destitution simply because that's what it did, remained in peasant destitution. The Second World of the communist states which didn't develop very much at all. And the First World which drove up the living standard of the average man on the omnibus by a factor of 8 over that century. As O'Rourke points out, one model went out and whipped butt. Which sounds like a pretty good recommendation for an economic system really, that it makes the average gal better off. Our Marxist here is actually a Trotskyist, the site being published by these guys: The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is an international Trotskyist Tendency founded by Ted Grant and his followers following their break with the Committee for a Workers International in the early 1990s. Their website, marxist.com, is edited by Alan Woods. The site is multilingual, and publishes international current affairs articles written from a Marxist perspective, as well as a large number of historical and theoretical articles. The IMT is active in over 30 countries worldwide. In March 2016, the IMT claimed that a revolution was on the horizon in the United States and that "When the revolution reaches a crescendo, if the Marxists are not present in sufficient numbers, the revolutionary floodtide will eventually ebb. This must imbue us with a sense of urgency. The floodtide of the revolution is always just around the corner for these guys. If they stub their toe getting out of bed in the morning then the revolution must be approaching. Here for example is their solution to the food problems in Venezuela: Using the old and tested mechanism of organising economic sabotage from within, the Venezuelan oligarchy is consciously manoeuvring to organise “food shortages”. The government has imposed price controls and is attempting to set up publicly owned food industries, but in order to successfully combat this sabotage it must go all the way and expropriate the oligarchy as a whole. Yes, more of what caused the problem will solve the problem, that'll do it. The lesson for our own economic and public policy should be clear. There really are people out there who just didn't get the results of that historical experiment. Planned economies don't work for the very reasons that Hayek pointed out. That Mises pointed out before in the socialist calculation debate. It's simply not possible to plan a complex economy in any detail. Thus we should not try to do so. The end result of this is that there's only one game in town: a roughly capitalist and roughly free market economy. Sure, there's different flavours within that. We can have a more tax and benefit heavy one like the Nordics. They compensate for this by being markedly more free market than the US is. We can have a bit more regulation and a bit less tax and spend as the US does. Both provide about the same average living standard for the bottom 10% of the population, the US one providing a very much better standard for the upper end of the population. Well, OK, sure, make your decision. But that is the only decision there is to make. You can have the Anglo Saxon version of a free market and capitalist economy or the Nordic and socially democratic version of a free market and capitalist economy. But that's the spectrum of models available to us that work, none of the others we've ever tried do. Sadly some are still stuck in those fantasies of Teenage Trotdom: one of those systems we know doesn't work. |
Brendan Rodgers has no intention of allowing Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to dwell on a rare error during the Reds' 2-2 comeback draw against Aston Villa last weekend. A Gabriel Agbonlahor cross from the right flank eluded the Belgian nine minutes before half-time, allowing Christian Benteke to convert a header at the far post and secure a two-goal advantage. Rodgers' team roared back through Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard's second-half penalty, but ultimately had to settle for a point despite attempts to claim a winner in what time remained. High on the Northern Irishman's agenda this week will be replenishing the confidence levels within his squad, although faith in the No.22 between the posts is currently unshakeable. "Confidence-wise it is important for me to lift all the players. And for Simon, it is something I will reinforce with him," the boss commented. "He is still an outstanding goalkeeper but when you make those mistakes they get highlighted more as a 'keeper. "He will be disappointed with the second one because it is a basic cross into the box and he should deal with it. We're then 2-0 behind and it's uphill for us. "But he has come here because he's an outstanding goalkeeper and, I repeat, you don't lose your talent. Players will succeed if they have confidence and part of my job is to help deliver that confidence to them." |
Slate Tile These 'slate' roofing tiles are actually glass tiles that contain solar cells. Tesla Motors Last week, on the set of Desperate Housewives, SolarCity and Tesla announced the development of solar roofs, or fully functional roofs that are also happy to generate solar power. We know a few things about them already. The aesthetics of the four prototype roofing tiles are absolutely gorgeous. The tiles are designed to blend in seamlessly with a neighborhood—the solar cell embedded in each durable glass-encased tile is designed to be completely invisible from the street, which is something that sets this solar roof apart from other rooftop solar options. When it comes to photovoltaic (solar energy) technologies, “the aesthetics side of stuff often gets ignored,” says Robert Tenent, a senior scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, who was not involved in the project. “Ugly doesn’t sell in the building space," says Tenent. For solar technology to take off, he says, it has to meet performance and durability standards, while also integrating with the electricity grid--"and you have to look cool while you do it to really get something adopted.” Solar Roof A house with a new solar roof installed by SolarCity. Tesla Motors The tiles meet the looking cool part of that equation. But there are still a lot of questions that we’re looking forward to having answered, including the premium people might need to pay to get the sleek new roof. SolarCity has indicated that many of these questions will be answered over time, likely in 2017, when SolarCity and Tesla hope to start production on the solar roof tiles. Tesla Motors is currently in the process of trying to buy SolarCity--a move that may be approved by shareholders later this month. Elon Musk runs Tesla, and is the chairman of SolarCity. If it goes through, solar roofs will be sold in Tesla showrooms along with Tesla cars and their home battery, the Powerwall. Here’s what we’re looking forward to learning in the coming months. How will these solar tiles perform? The prototypes of the new solar tiles are 2 percent less efficient in converting sunlight to energy than SolarCity’s existing solar panel technology. Part of that is due to the design. The coatings that make the glass solar tiles look so good reduce their efficiency. But these aren’t a final product. As they move toward production in 2017, SolarCity may be able to increase efficiency. Tenent says he’ll be curious to see how the solar tiles, which are incorporated into a home's roof, handle the heat. Currently, many rooftop solar panels are installed on racks above a roof, which allows airflow around the panels, keeping them relatively cool even as they sit out in the sun all day, every day. That’s important, because many photovoltaics can actually become less efficient as they warm up. But solar tiles installed directly on a roof won’t necessarily have the same ventilation built in. In depth details about the ventilation systems for the solar roofs haven’t been discussed publicly yet. How well will the solar roof act like a roof? The roof over your head has to put up with a lot. All kinds of wind, precipitation, stray balls from the neighbor’s yard, raccoons, etc. So how well will these solar panels withstand the normal wear and tear of life as a roof? On Twitter, Musk said that people could walk on the new tiles just as easily as asphalt tiles and added that the roofs were designed to withstand all kinds of environmental abuse. In an e-mail, SolarCity confirmed this, saying “Solar roofs will be held to all applicable solar and roofing standards, which include building energy efficiency, water proofing, electrical/fire safety, resistance to wind/snow loading and hail impact.” Musk also speculated that some of the glass tiles could incorporate heating elements that could act like defrosters for your roof, allowing homeowners in cooler climates to melt snow off the tops of their houses. That all sounds great, but we’re looking forward to seeing them in action, and in more action than just watching a 1.2 pound weight slam into the roofing tiles, although that is fun too. How much will they cost? We know the price of the accessories. The Powerwall 2 battery, which would store the energy gathered by the solar roof, is sold separately for a price of $5,500 with an installation cost of $1,000. But how much will the actual roof cost? Replacing a roof can cost thousands of dollars, but the cost depends on a lot of things, including the size and shape of the roof, and the materials that are used, and the labor. SolarCity hasn’t released specific numbers yet, but a spokesperson for SolarCity said in an e-mail that “The solar roof will be priced to cost less than an equivalent roof type when projected utility bill savings are factored in.” The key words there are ‘equivalent roof type’. The roof types that Musk unveiled this week are designed to mimic high-end roofing materials, like terra-cotta tile, slate, shingles, and a smooth modern glass finish. Those kinds of roofs ordinarily cost much more than the less expensive asphalt shingles that are one of the most popular styles in North America. So if you have asphalt shingles and are looking to replace your roof, the new solar roofs are likely to be much more expensive than a replacement asphalt shingle roof. But if you already have a high-end roof, this could be a cost-effective option. It seems that the new solar roofs are following the Tesla business model: create a beautiful, high-end product that people see as a status symbol. That means that at least for now, a solar roof might be out of reach for many average homeowners, but as production scales up, it could become more affordable. And depending on what financing options are offered, that might open the door to more people being able to pay for the solar roofs. Will people still be able to lease the panels? Currently, SolarCity offers several different ways to finance their existing solar panel setup, which is generally installed on top of a roof. Customers can: buy a solar energy system outright; get a loan to ultimately buy the system; lease the system; or sign up for a power purchase agreement. In the latter two, SolarCity continues to own the solar panel system, and leases it to homeowners for 20 year increments. That leasing option works great for people interested in solar power who can’t afford the upfront cost of installing solar panels. If, for some reason, the customer fails to pay or has to get out of their lease, SolarCity can take the panels back (or move the system from one home to another if the owner decides to move and wants to take the lease with them). But how would that model work if the panels weren’t on top of the roof, but actually were the roof itself? Would the roof be repossessed? Would it move with you? Who would be responsible for maintaining the roof in the event of leaks or an errant tree branch? SolarCity says more information about financing options for solar roofs will be available in 2017. |
A VICTORIAN primary school has been criticised for allowing Muslim children to walk out of assembly while the national anthem was sung. Cranbourne Carlisle Primary School says a religious month of mourning is the reason Islamic children are able to opt out of singing or listening to the anthem. Lorraine McCurdy, who has two grandchildren at the school, told 3AW she was furious when school officials invited students to leave during Advance Australia Fair. “Two children got up and said `welcome to our assembly’ with that a teacher came forward and said all those who feel it’s against their culture may leave the room,” Ms McCurdy said. “With that about 30 or 40 children got up and left the room. “We sang the national anthem and they all came back in. “I saw red, I’m Australian and I felt ‘you don’t walk out on my national anthem, that’s showing respect to my country.” Independent Senator for Tasmania Jacqui Lambie also hit out at the school, which promotes the ethos of ‘Many Cultures, One Community.’ “I find that absolutely devastating, we should all be singing the Australian national anthem and we should be doing that with pride,” Senator Lambie said. “That’s part of us. “I find these schools that are allowing this to happen disgusting. “I don’t think religion needs to be brought into the national anthem. “We should all be proud to be Australians and proud to sing the national anthem” Principal Cheryl Irving said during the month of Muharram Shi’a Muslims do not take part in joyous events, such as listening to music or singing, as it was a period of mourning. “Muharram is a Shi’a cultural observation marking the death of Imam Hussein,” Ms Irving said. “This year it falls between Tuesday October 13 and Thursday November 12. “Prior to last week’s Years 2-6 assembly, in respect of this religious observance, students were given the opportunity to leave the hall before music was played. “The students then rejoined the assembly at the conclusion of the music.” Kuranda Seyit, secretary of the Islamic Council of Victoria, said he understood the school’s sentiments but called on more flexibility. “I’m a Sunni Muslim myself but I understand Shi’a sensitivities and for them this is a very holy time,” Mr Seyit said. “It’s a time when they are encouraged to reflect on the martyrdom of Imam Hussein and abstain from all forms of celebrations. “However for young children I think things like these should be assessed on their merits and a balance found. “People need to remember that these Muslim children are not against the Australian national anthem but are not allowed to be deemed to be celebrating. “Maybe there could be a bit more flexibility.” In a statement, the Department of Education said it supported the school. “The Department supports our schools to be inclusive for all students, this includes understanding or respecting religious cultural observances. “From 2016, the new Victorian curriculum will include new subjects such as respectful relationships, world views and ethical understanding, helping to build more inclusive schools and communities.” andrew.jefferson@news.com.au @AndyJeffo |
The Canadian Press KELOWNA, B.C. -- Justin Trudeau got a small taste of the kind of grief his backbenchers have been getting over the government's plan to end what it calls unfair tax advantages for wealthy small business owners. During a townhall meeting Wednesday night, the prime minister was lectured by two female doctors about the negative impact they contended the proposals will have on hard-working middle class Canadians. Monica Penner told Trudeau that the tax plan will catch "thousands of really hard-working, honest, tax-paying Canadians" who have always believed that "hard work is the road to success." She questioned how he can explain to students why they should bother going into debt to get a university education when he's proposing tax reforms that would "make sure everybody is the same in the end." Trudeau told Penner that the proposals are intended to eliminate tax provisions that "disproportionately advantage the wealthiest Canadians." "Let me be absolutely clear. There is nothing in these proposals that is targeting small, middle-class businesses," he said. "There are a number of people who are wealthy individuals who use private corporations as a way of opting out of big portions of the income tax system. "So you get someone who's making $50,000 a year who's actually paying more taxes than someone who's making $300,000 a year because they have private corporation mechanisms and good accountants that allow them to get away from that." But Trudeau's defence of the proposals did not forestall further complaints. Anita Sanan, who said she went to school for 14 years and incurred a six-figure debt load to become a doctor, accused the government of creating "two classes of Canadians," pitting employees against small business owners. She argued that preferential tax treatment for professionals and small businesses that incorporate is meant to compensate for the fact that they don't have access to pensions, vacation pay, Employment Insurance, sick leave, maternity leave and other benefits enjoyed by employees. "Now, you've moved the goal posts in the middle of the game and expect me somehow to be able to plan for my retirement, plan for maternity leave, which I will not be able to afford at this time and am having to choose between having a family and being able to actually practice as a physician here in Kelowna." Trudeau said he's "fairly certain" that "every single province in this country" has maternity leave for doctors. Sanan told him that's incorrect while another audience member accused him of lying. In fact, according to the B.C. Medical Association, Sanan would be eligible for up to 17 weeks of parental leave benefits. Trudeau said the current tax system has already created two classes of Canadians, where those who can afford to "create private corporations as a way of helping with their tax planning already have access to things that employees and others do not." "That's not entirely fair," he said. He was careful to emphasize that there's nothing illegal about taking advantage of those tax measures. "There is no suggestion that you haven't been following the rules. There is a suggestion that perhaps the rules which benefit the wealthy deserve a little tweaking and that's exactly what we're doing." Trudeau also emphasized that the government is consulting on the proposed changes precisely so that it can hear people's concerns and ensure that there are no unintended consequences. Trudeau's encounter with the doctors came after Liberal backbenchers, who've been inundated with complaints, aired their concerns about the proposed tax changes during a closed door caucus retreat earlier Wednesday. Under the three-pronged plan, the government is proposing to restrict the ability of incorporated business owners to lower their tax rate by sprinkling income to family members in lower tax brackets, even if those family members do no work for the business. It's also proposing to limit the use of private corporations to make passive investments in things like stocks or real estate and to limit the ability to convert a corporation's regular income into capital gains that are typically taxed at a lower rate. Notwithstanding the doctors' interventions, Trudeau received a largely warm reception at the townhall, attended by almost 2,500 people jammed into the gymnasium at UBC Okanagan's campus. He even won cheers for his explanation of why he reneged on his promise to reform Canada's electoral system. Trudeau said he would have preferred a ranked ballot system but the other parties held out for a referendum on some form of proportional representation -- a system he said he couldn't support because it could empower anti-immigration parties or other small fringe groups. Whatever the shortcomings of the current first-past-the-post system, Trudeau said it forces a small number of political parties to represent a wide diversity of views rather than encouraging the proliferation of many small parties representing narrow views. As a result, he said: "We do not have an anti-immigrant party in Canada ... There's no official party voice in the House of Commons that speaks up and thinks that racism is a way to get votes." |
June 22, 2015 Exploding Pond In Canada Is 'Vision Of Hell' As Methane Erupts From Ground Miles From US Border By Stefan Stanford - All News Pipeline - Live Free Or Die Photos, videos and email tips can be mailed to [email protected] REPOSTED STORY 6-30-2016 AFTER STORY BEGAN GOING VIRAL AGAIN. In the absolutely amazing 1st video below, we see a pond on a golf course in Canada exploding in gas bubbles in a scene that looks more like a volcano preparing to erupt than something we'd expect to be seeing at the 2nd hole. The Winnipeg Sun said it "looked like a vision from hell, if hell was a golf course" and as we quickly learn here in the 2nd video, a news program about the 1st video, we're witnessing methane bubbling up out of the ground, just the latest such eruption around the planet, as we quickly race towards hell on Earth. After watching these videos, ANP urges you to read the warnings given to us by Dane Wigington in his new story called "Planetary Meltdown From Formerly Frozen Methane, If You Are Not Alarmed, You Should Be" and as shared in the 2nd video below called "Extinction Level Arctic Methane Releases Caused By Geoengineering." What we are witnessing here is unprecedented and if we're not alarmed, we learn real quickly we definitely need to be! Much more below video. According to Dane Wigington, our planet is changing at such a blinding speed that before long, it will no longer be able to support life. He tells us bluntly that we are on the edge of extinction: If there is not a complete course correction in regard to human activity, total near term global extinction is a mathematical certainty. ANP published a story yesterday called "Elite Call Humanity 'The Walking Dead' As They Warn 'The Next Great Extinction Is Here' Before Running Off To Their Bunkers." Maybe Paul Ehrlich of Stanford U knows more than we give him credit for when he tells us our time here is running out. Susan Duclos recently published a story on ANP in which she warned that our planet Earth is becoming increasingly unstable with a massive uptick in earthquakes and 'violent' volcanic activity across the world. We need to understand that all of the events we're witnessing across the planet are clearly connected. As we learn from Wigington if we're paying attention, our planet is in total meltdown and the ongoing global geoengineering programs are making the situation WORSE, not better. We're told: "Methane is releasing at an ever increasing rate from lake and sea beds around the globe, especially in the Arctic." We can now add Canada, and only MILES away from the US border, to the locations where methane is now bubbling up - and completely out of human control as the state of emergency they declared there proves. The chart below is mind numbing. The video below the chart is absolutely sobering. The pictures below that video are quite thought provoking and show us in more visual images exactly what we're now dealing with here now and why we're so in danger. Atmospheric methane is virtually skyrocketing past pre-industrial levels. As methane releases, it fuels "climate feedback loops" that trigger even more methane release. The exploding pond at the Indian Hills Golf Course in Lambton Shores, Ontario, Canada is on Lake Huron and is only 25+ miles from the US border in Michigan as seen in this Google Earth screenshot bottom right. Wigington tells us that our 'industrialized/militarized civilization' has no regard for the natural world, nor does it care for the 'miraculous life support systems' of our amazing planet Earth and our once-thriving biosphere. In a race to fix what we've destroyed, geoengineering is blowing up in our faces and actually quickening what we're watching unfold. "There is one form of anthropogenic activity that stands out above all others as the epitome of human insanity, climate engineering." Imagine if the pond in Canada erupting now in methane was covered in ice; is this what it would look like? As we see in the 2nd image below, we could catch it on fire! These mysterious holes in Siberia were also caused by massive methane releases. |
Bangkok, May 19, 2010. By Giles Ji Ungpakorn May 19, 2010 -- Now that the official protest has been drowned in blood and stopped [read Giles Ji Ungpakorn's accounts of the May 19 assault as it unfolded, HERE], there will not be peace because there is no justice. The anger of the ordinary people has finally erupted into violence with numerous buildings being set of fire in Bangkok and the provinces. People are also trying to use any means to fight the army. There are reports that government buildings, banks, the stock exchange, luxury shopping malls and pro-military media are all being set on fire. All this is totally justified. Because: 1. The government and the army have repeatedly used armed soldiers, assassination squads, snipers and tanks to kill unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators since April. The death toll will easily reach 80 with thousands injured. 2. This state-sponsored violence against civilians was carried out in order that Abhisit Vejjajiva's military-backed government could stay in power and avoid elections for as long as possible. It was never elected in the first place. The government is a product of military and judicial coups since 2006. 3. The Red Shirts have repeatedly offered talks and compromises, yet the government has answered with bullets. 4. In a democracy, the people should be the ultimate decision makers, not the military, the elites and the palace. Any demand for democratic elections is totally justified, even if it disrupts shopping centres and luxury hotels. 5. Mealy mouthed so-called non-violent groups could never bring themselves to put the blame entirely on the shoulders of the government, the military and royalist elites, despite the fact that the violence was from the army. They never put their weight behind the huge struggle of the UDD leadership to try to maintain a peaceful and disciplined protest. This is because these organisations supported the coup in 2006 in the first place. They allowed the government to claim that there would be no peace until the protests stopped. What YOU can do. Don't forget the prisoners May 20, 2010 -- I often get asked about what people can do outside Thailand to help in the struggle for democracy and social justice. After the appalling events of the past few days we can all help in the campaign against the Abhisit government’s misinformation in our local media. We can also help support any campaign to bring these bloody rulers to justice and any campaign for free and fair elections. But a new priority now, is to defend the political prisoners. The Red Shirt leaders are facing the absurd charges of “terrorism”. They are also accused of trying to overthrow the monarchy. Although the belief in a republic is not a crime, especially after the fact that the king refused to say anything to stop the bloodshed, the top Red Shirt leaders have never expressed anti-monarchy views. Equally important, we must not forget and ignore the hundreds of ordinary Red Shirt people who have been rounded up by the military and thrown in jail. They will face a number of different charges, but they must all be seen as illegitimate and political charges, even if they involve fighting back physically, blocking roads or even setting fire to buildings. It is the oppression and brutality of the military and the elites which is the root cause of any violence among the Red Shirts. We cannot rest until they are all released. So we can all support any campaign for the prisoners when such campaigns are organised. * * * Update, 03.25 hrs Sunday, May 16, 2010, Bangkok time -- Earlier on Saturday, unconfirmed reports indicated that Abhisit Vejjajiva's soldiers had shot dead at least 50 people. Later, 22 named deaths were confirmed by the Erawan emergency centre, and 172 injured (including one Canadian, one Polish, one Burmese, one Liberian). But an official from the centre says that the real death toll is higher but cannot be reported at the moment. Po-tek-tung emergency service official says that there are at least 14 corpses in the Ratchaprasong area which cannot be retrieved because of the danger of being shot at by the army; one of their crew has been killed. That would take the death toll to 36 (http://www.prachatai.net/j ournal/2010/05/29498). * * * May 15, 2010 -- Bangkok is bathed in blood, yet again. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Abhisit Vejjajiva's soldiers have shot dead at least 50 people so far since. The latest military attacks on protesters resumed on May 13. Hundreds have been injured. The government and military say there are 500 "terrorists" at the protest site in Bangkok. Earlier they said that they would use snipers to shoot "terrorists". The only terrorists are in the government, the army and the palace. The tyrants say that the Red Shirts are determined to overthrow the monarchy and therefore it is justifiable to kill them. So having a monarchy is an excuse to kill anyone who fights for democracy and social justice? Various government spokespeople, including Abhisit's academic-for-hire Panitan Wattanayagorn and censorship boss Satit Wongnongtuay, continue to lie and lie again, claiming that troops are only firing in self defence. Yet all press reports show indiscriminate shooting of unarmed civilians, including a 10-year-old boy, a paramedic and foreign news reporters. Splits are appearing in the security forces with reports of some police or army units returning fire with the advancing troops. This is indeed a civil war situation and the government cannot hope to control the situation. Red Shirts are determined to stand firm. Millions of people are extremely angry with the government, the military and the monarchy. Fake human rights groups call on "both sides" to stop the violence. Yet it is only one side that is using lethal violence against unarmed pro-democracy demonstrators. Even Reporters Without Borders demands that "both sides" guarantee the safety of reporters. How can Red Shirts guarantee anyone's safety when they are being murdered in cold blood. Many so-called news reports write that troops fired on "rioters". No one is rioting except the army. Others talk about "protests turning violent". It is not the protesters who are violent. Unarmed pro-democracy protesters are being systematically murdered in order to keep Abhisit and his military-backed government in power. The king is silent as usual. His only job, apart from counting his wealth, is to legitimise every bloody act that the army commits. Yet so-called analysts write that he has "held the country together". The fact is he has supported every crack down on democracy. He is weak and spineless. That is why millions of Red Shirts are becoming republicans. The United Nations has just selected Thailand to be on the Human Rights Committee. What a joke! But what can one expect from a body controlled by warmongers. Red Shirts throughout the country are standing firm in the bloody fight for democracy, social justice and human dignity. I salute them! * * * May 16, 2010 -- Some basic facts about the violence in Bangkok 1. Abhisit's government was NEVER elected. It came from a process started by the 2006 military coup. That is why they are very afraid of an election. 2. The Red Shirts are a mass movement of the poor. They want democratic elections. It is totally legitimate to stage peaceful protests for this demand, even if it disrupts a shopping centre for two months. Military coups, undemocratic governments and censorship are illegitimate. 3. Abhisit and the army turned Bangkok into a war zone and started the violence. They have indiscriminately killed unarmed protesters by using snipers to shoot at civilians. Nearly 40 are already dead from the actions of the army in the last few days. 4. Dissolving parliament and holding democratic elections would put an end to the protests. This is what any democratic government would do in this situation. That is what any responsible leader would do. Return power to the people. So why is Abhisit refusing and answering with live bullets? Judge news reports and the commitment to the truth by journalists on the basis of these four points. Judge foreign governments by their public positions on Thailand in this crisis. Judge academics and NGOs on their positions. What would end the violence in Bangkok? By Giles Ji Ungpakorn May 18, 2010 -- If the military-backed government of Abhisit Vejjajia dissolved parliament, announced fresh elections and ordered a ceasefire, the violence would end immediately and the Red Shirts would all go home. In capitalist democratic countries, when there is a crisis, dissolving parliament and calling elections is a normal way to defuse serious tension. In the 1970s British Prime Minister Edward Heath called elections when faced with a massive strike wave. In 1968 the French government called elections in the face of a crisis. The Abhisit’sg overnment can only cling to power by shooting civilians, announcing a state of emergency in a quarter of the country and censoring the media and the internet. If the government wants to claim legitimacy it should submit to the wishes of the people through a general election and prove that it has legitimacy. The UDD (Red Shirt) leadership has called for an immediate ceasefire and talks with the government. This would also end the killing and violence. Yet Abhisit has refused. Instead he and the army generals have sent snipers and assassination squads into the centre of Bangkok to kill unarmed civilians in their so-called “live firing zone”. Sixty-five people have been killed since April and nearly 2000 injured. Among the dead are paramedics, journalists and at least one ten year-old boy. The government continues to lie about the military actions and continues to lie that the Red Shirts are “armed terrorists”. Numerous media reports from the BBC, CNN and ABC show this not to be true. One important reason why the government will not end the violence is that it knows that they would lose an election. They were never elected in the first place and are only in power because of the army and the judiciary that have repeatedly frustrated the democratic process since the 2006 coup. The government, the military, the palace, the majority of the business class, the judiciary and the top bureaucrats are the elites. For years they have used their extra-constitutional power to exploit and repress the majority of the population. They have shot down pro-democracy demonstrators in 1973, 1976, 1992, 2009 and now in 2010. This is a class war. But only the naive believe that class war is a simple matter of rich against the poor. The Red Shirts represent workers and small farmers. They are the people who have created the wealth in Thailand, but they have not been able to enjoy the benefits. Thailand is a very unequal society. Their hopes were raised when millionaire Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai government offered a universal health-care scheme and pro-poor policies. They were inflamed when the elites staged a coup against the elected government in 2006. Now they are standing firm and facing the armed might of the ruling class. For the above reasons, the Red Shirt protest in the centre of Bangkok is legitimate, even if it disrupts the commercial life in expensive shopping centres and luxury hotels. Anyone who believes ind emocracy and social justice should support them. [Giles Ji Ungpakorn is a Thai socialist currently in exile in Britain. He is a member of Left Turn Thailand and maintains a blog at http://wdpress.blog.co.uk/.] |
Damien Chazelle accepting his Oscar. When Damien Chazelle won Best Director for La La Land, he didn’t just join the pantheon of filmmakers raised into history by the grace of Oscar; he also made history. At 32 years and one month old, he’s the youngest-ever winner of that award, beating out Norman Taurog, who as we all know was 32 years and 260 days old when he won for Skippy in 1931. While younger directors have been nominated, including big names like Orson Welles (26, Citizen Kane), George Lucas (29, American Graffiti), and Steven Spielberg (31, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Chazelle went all the way, and for that he’ll be an answer at trivia nights for years to come. Beyond the sheer fact of his winning, though, Chazelle also faces a new reality. So far, the director has made three movies: Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, Whiplash, and La La Land. The first was a micro-budget jazz musical begun while he was still an undergraduate, paid for with funds raised from donations and family; the second didn’t get financed until Chazelle made a short as a proof of concept; and the third, now the winner of six Academy Awards*, met with rejection from every corner of Hollywood before finding a home at Lionsgate. That era of his career is over — or at least about to change. From here on, Chazelle will have the kind of freedom that most directors only dream of, powered by his Oscar and La La Land’s still-growing $369 million worldwide gross. While that’s far from a blank creative check in today’s superhero-obsessed Hollywood landscape, it’s a remarkable degree of power (and pressure) for an artist still in his early 30s. And while Chazelle’s next project, a Neil Armstrong biopic called First Man — from a script by Spotlight-scribe Josh Singer, making this Chazelle’s first directorial effort he didn’t also write — is already set up, it’s still worth asking where he goes from here. Fortunately, there’s some precedent that we can study; knowing how much of a film-history buff Chazelle is, he likely already knows this stuff. Since 1967, the year that marked the advent of New Hollywood, there have been six winners of Best Director who had yet to turn 40 years old: Mike Nichols (36, The Graduate, 1968), William Friedkin (36, The French Connection, 1972), Francis Ford Coppola (36, The Godfather Part II, 1975), Kevin Costner (36, Dances with Wolves, 1991), Sam Mendes (34, American Beauty, 2000), Steven Soderbergh (38, Traffic, 2001), and Tom Hooper, (38, The King’s Speech, 2011). Looking at their collective careers, there are a few lessons Chazelle could take away about moving forward after winning Best Director. The outlier among the group is Steven Soderbergh, who took a singular approach: He went pop with Ocean’s 11 after winning for the heavy Traffic. (He was also nominated for Erin Brockovich that year, making him the only one among this group to beat himself.) By the time of Ocean’s 11, Soderbergh had seen more fluctuations in his career than directors twice his age: He’d leapt to stardom after the enormous success of sex, lies, and videotape, which came out when he was just 26 years old — making him the youngest winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes. After sex, lies, though, he’d struggled for a period, with Kafka, King of the Hill, and The Underneath all flopping upon release. Soderbergh then retreated into smaller fare with Schizopolis and Gray’s Anatomy, and his viability as a Hollywood filmmaker became an open question. That all changed with Out of Sight in 1998, which kicked off the remarkably productive period that saw him through his Best Picture win. Despite their similar ages, Soderbergh’s career after winning for Traffic couldn’t have been much more different than Chazelle’s is now — Traffic was his tenth movie — but the fact that his next outing was a star-driven, light-hearted caper like Ocean’s 11 suggests that he’d learned quite a bit from his period post–sex, lies: He took the pressure off himself, waiting a couple years to dip back into experimentalism with Full Frontal and Solaris. For Soderbergh, this turned out to be a good move. But more common for young Best Directors is to graduate to an even more ambitious project, as Nichols, Friedkin, and Coppola did. Nichols made Catch-22, an expensive adaptation of the Joseph Heller book, but it flopped, setting him off on a string of box-office disappointments. Friedkin made The Exorcist, which became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. And Coppola, who at that point had already made three Best Picture nominees, undertook Apocalypse Now, which turned into a legendarily grueling production but has since become regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. Meanwhile, Hooper and Mendes took the middle way. Hooper adapted Les Misérables on a surprisingly low $61 million budget and earned himself another Best Picture nod, though he couldn’t repeat as Best Director; fortunately, he could console himself with the movie’s $442 million worldwide gross. For Mendes, Road to Perdition was a financial success and earned six nominations, though they didn’t include Best Picture or Best Director. And Costner didn’t return to directing until seven years later with The Postman, though his situation is of course a little bit different. If there’s anything to be gleaned from these experiences, it’s probably that Chazelle is making a savvy move by taking on someone else’s script. By directing First Man, he has the opportunity to polish his skills and decide what he wants to make his next true effort as a writer-director; after all, Apocalypse Now didn’t come out until four years after The Godfather Part II. Of course, that could also result in another Sorcerer, Friedkin’s passion-project adaptation of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Wages of Fear, which was a debacle upon release, though its reputation has improved greatly since then. If Chazelle decides to remake The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, that could be a red flag; failing that, he’ll probably be fine. *Correction: This post originally called La La Land a Best Picture winner. After a presenting error, the film did not actually win Best Picture (Moonlight took the award instead). |
Data reporting No statistical methods were used to predetermine sample size. The investigators were not blinded to allocation during experiments and outcome assessment. Plasmids and oligonucleotides DNA sequences of plasmids used in this study can be found in the Supplementary Information. sgRNA target sites are available in Supplementary Table 1, and oligonucleotides used in this study can be found in Supplementary Table 2. SpCas9 expression plasmids containing amino acid substitutions were generated by standard PCR and molecular cloning into JDS246 (ref. 4). sgRNA expression plasmids were constructed by ligating oligonucleotide duplexes into BsmBI cut BPK1520 (ref. 15). Unless otherwise indicated, all sgRNAs were designed to target sites containing a 5′ guanine nucleotide. Human cell culture and transfection U2OS cells (a gift from Toni Cathomen, Freiburg) and U2OS.EGFP cells (containing a single integrated copy of a reporter gene encoding an EGFP–PEST fusion)30 were cultured in advanced DMEM supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum, 2 mM GlutaMax, and penicillin and streptomycin at 37 °C with 5% CO 2 . The growth media for U2OS.EGFP cells was additionally supplemented with 400 μg ml−1 Geneticin. All cell culture reagents were obtained from Life Technologies. Cell line identity was validated by STR profiling (ATCC) and deep-sequencing, and cells were tested bi-weekly for mycoplasma contamination. Unless otherwise noted, cells were co-transfected with 750 ng of Cas9 plasmid and 250 ng of sgRNA plasmid. For negative control experiments, Cas9 plasmids were co-transfected with a U6-null plasmid. Nucleofections were performed using the DN-100 program on a Lonza 4-D Nucleofector with the SE Cell Line Kit according to the manufacturer’s protocol (Lonza). For T7 endonuclease I assays, GUIDE-seq experiments, and targeted deep sequencing, genomic DNA was extracted ~72 h post-transfection using the Agencourt DNAdvance Genomic DNA Isolation Kit (Beckman Coulter Genomics). Human cell EGFP disruption assay EGFP disruption experiments, in which cleavage and induction of indels by non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ)-mediated repair within a single integrated EGFP reporter gene leads to loss of cell fluorescence, were performed as previously described4,30. Briefly, transfected cells were analysed ~52 h post-transfection for loss of EGFP expression using a Fortessa flow cytometer (BD Biosciences). Background EGFP loss was determined using negative control transfections gated at ~2.5% for all experiments (represented as a red dashed line in figures). P values for comparisons between SpCas9 variants were calculated using a one-sided t-test with equal variances and adjusted for multiple comparisons using the method of Benjamini and Hochberg (Supplementary Table 3). T7 endonuclease I assays To quantify mutagenesis frequencies at desired genomic loci, T7 endonuclease I assays were performed as previously described30. Briefly, on- or off-target sites were amplified from ~100 ng of genomic DNA using Phusion Hot-Start Flex DNA Polymerase (New England Biolabs) using the primers listed in Supplementary Table 2. An Agencourt Ampure XP cleanup (Beckman Coulter Genomics) was performed before the denaturation and annealing of ~200 ng of the PCR product, followed by digestion with T7 endonuclease I (New England Biolabs). Purified digestion products were quantified using a QIAxcel capillary electrophoresis instrument (Qiagen) to approximate the mutagenesis frequencies induced by Cas9-sgRNA complexes. P values for comparisons between SpCas9 variants were calculated using a one-sided t-test with equal variances and adjusted for multiple comparisons using the method of Benjamini and Hochberg (Supplementary Table 3). GUIDE-seq GUIDE-seq relies on the integration of a short dsODN tag into DNA breaks to enable amplification and sequencing of adjacent genomic sequence, with the number of tag integrations at any given site providing a quantitative measure of cleavage efficiency8. GUIDE-seq experiments were performed and analysed essentially as previously described8. Briefly, U2OS cells were transfected with 750 ng of Cas9 and 250 ng sgRNA plasmids as described above, along with 100 pmol of a GUIDE-seq end-protected dsODN that contains an NdeI restriction site8. Restriction-fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays were used to estimate GUIDE-seq tag integration frequencies at the intended on-target sites as previously described15, using the primers listed in Supplementary Table 2. The overall on-target mutagenesis frequencies of GUIDE-seq tag-treated samples was determined by T7 endonuclease I assay as described above. Tag-specific amplification and library preparation8 were performed before high-throughput sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq instrument. GUIDE-seq data was analysed as previously described8 using open-source GUIDE-seq analysis software (http://www.jounglab.org/guideseq) and the summarized results can be found in Supplementary Table 4. Genomic sites were excluded from analysis on the basis of overlap with background genomic breakpoint regions detected in any of four oligo-only control samples, overlap with previously identified Cas9–sgRNA independent breakpoints in human U2OS cells8, or as neighbouring genomic window consolidation artefacts likely due to extensive end-resection around breakpoints (Supplementary Table 4). Potential RNA- or DNA-bulge sites12 (Extended Data Fig. 6) were identified by sequence alignment with Geneious version 8.1.6 (http://www.geneious.com)45. Sequencing data was corrected for U2OS cell-type specific SNPs with the site encoding the smallest edit distance to the intended sgRNA site used as the most likely off-target (Supplementary Table 4). Differences in number of GUIDE-seq identified off-target sites between this work and previous studies8,15 are likely due to different experimental conditions (for example, different promoters, quantity of plasmids used for transfection) and/or to sampling effects at the limit of detection of these particular experiments (Supplementary Table 4), and most likely not due to depth of sequencing which was similar between experiments. Positional profiles generated from GUIDE-seq data (Extended Data Fig. 4) were made by weighting each nucleotide at each on/off-target site by the number of GUIDE-seq read counts. Sites containing gapped alignments relative to the human genome were not considered. Positional profiles for potential genomic off-target sites were restricted to sequences containing five or fewer mutations relative to the on-target site and to sequences containing NGG PAMs. Heat maps were generated with R 3.2.2 and the image function, with colours determined using the function colorRampPalette(c(“white”, “blue”))(2500). Targeted deep-sequencing Off-target sites identified by GUIDE-seq were amplified using Phusion High-Fidelity DNA polymerase (New England Biolabs) using the primers listed in Supplementary Table 2 for the genomic amplicons listed in Supplementary Table 5. PCR products were generated for each on- and off-target site from ~100 ng of genomic DNA extracted from U2OS cells. Products were generated from triplicate transfections for each of three experimental conditions: (1) control (wild-type SpCas9 + pSL695, a control plasmid that contains a U6 promoter but does not encode a functional sgRNA), (2) wild-type SpCas9 + sgRNA, and (3) SpCas9-HF1 + sgRNA. PCR products were purified with Ampure XP magnetic beads (Agencourt), normalized in concentration, and pooled into nine samples (individual triplicate experiments for each of the three conditions listed above). Illumina Tru-seq compatible deep-sequencing libraries were prepared using ~500 ng of each pooled sample using a ‘with-bead’ HTP library preparation kit (KAPA BioSystems), and sequenced via 150-bp paired-end sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq instrument. High-throughput sequencing data was analysed essentially as previously described18. Breifly, paired reads were mapped to the human genome (reference sequence GRChr37) using the bwa mem algorithm with default parameters. High-quality reads (average quality score ≥30) were analysed for the presence of two or more bp indels that overlapped to the on- or off-target sites (Supplementary Table 5). One bp indel mutations were only included if they occurred directly adjacent to the predicted cleavage site. P values for comparisons between control, wild-type SpCas9 + sgRNA, and SpCas9-HF1 + sgRNA (Supplementary Table 5) were obtained on pooled triplicate data using a one-sided Fisher exact test in the R 3.2.2 software package. P values for each set of comparisons were adjusted for multiple comparisons using the method of Benjamini and Hochberg (function p.adjust(method = “BH”) in R). Code availability Scripts for GUIDE-seq analysis (v0.9) can be found at http://jounglab.org/guideseq. The scripts used for indel calling on deep sequencing data and GUIDE-seq profiles are available upon request. |
"Resiliency" is a buzzword in the American utility industry that is becoming a business strategy in itself. But regulators and utilities may have trouble building business cases on resiliency if they're already having problems with the classic model, according to David Crane, CEO of NRG Energy. “Think how shockingly stupid it is to build a 21st-century electric system based on 120 million wooden poles," Crane said during the fifth annual ARPA-E Energy Summit. "You can strengthen the system all you want, but if you accept that we’re in the first stage of adaptation, the system from the 1930s isn’t going to work in the long term.” Crane is often introduced as a utility executive at conferences, a misnomer that sends shivers up his spine, he says. NRG may not be a regulated, vertically integrated utility, but it is an incumbent power producer that has about 53,000 megawatts of generation, most of which is oil, coal and natural gas. But it is also an energy company looking toward the future, with solar, energy retailers and electric vehicle networks all under the corporate umbrella. Although much of NRG’s business relies on centralized power production that uses fossil fuels, Crane is ready for a new energy landscape that is vastly different. “I don’t understand why it’s so shocking [to imagine a scenario] where the grid is, at best, an antiquated backup system to a different way of buying electricity,” he said. Even NRG's peaking generation assets could become a liability in coming decades. “The dark secret of the power industry is that American homes waste 20 percent of energy,” Crane said. Energy efficiency will never get far if it involves just asking people to turn things off, but “we’re just at the brink” of automation. Once homes can automatically shave energy use during peak, Crane argues that utilities will lose out on one of the highest-value products in the business: selling power to homes. Many utilities would likely argue that a flattening of demand would put less strain on assets and help to avoid firing up expensive peaker plants, but for power producers, “As demand flattens, we’re going to stop making money, and that sucks,” said Crane. Crane’s vision of a world where the 100-year-old grid is nearly obsolete was not shared by the other expert sharing the stage with him, Richard Lester, head of the department of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ”These will be dramatically different times coming up,” Lester said of the innovation coming to the electric industry. “But I don’t think David’s vision of getting rid of the grid is the way we’re going to go.” They both agreed that changes in demand for electricity, especially given the increasing role of energy efficiency, and the changes in how consumers use and produce energy at the grid’s edge, will drive transformation. But Lester saw another aim -- decarbonizing the power industry -- as perhaps the most significant driver. He noted that driving down carbon may not necessarily mean that the grid becomes obsolete. “We can’t address carbon just relying on end-user innovation,” he said. “We’ll need big wind, big solar, big nuclear and big transmission,” but he questioned the ability of the U.S. to be a leader in terms of completing large energy projects in the future. “Innovators will not be the utilities,” added Lester. Crane disagreed about the role of carbon in driving the future of energy production and delivery, but did agree about the dearth of resolve in the incumbent industry and government to transform how business is done. “We lack the ability to do great things in this sector in this country,” Crane declared. “Ivanpah was something that should be celebrated,” he said of the large concentrated solar project that NRG was involved with. “Instead, it’s just people saying, ‘You killed a bird.’ There’s no vision or passion.” Both speakers concurred that nuclear should have a place in the new energy economy. “If you are solving for climate change, your strategy starts with nuclear,” said Crane. “The only problem is, I live in the real world.” He argued that to really bring down cost and increase safety, the power industry should build twenty or 30 nuclear plants at the same time with the same design, “not just one in Georgia.” But there is no support in the political domain or the private sector for that type of investment in nuclear, whether traditional or small modular reactors. Beyond nuclear, Crane said that the public's perception of renewable energy technologies is vastly more positive than it was even a few years ago. “Green doesn’t mean a compromise of capability and price,” he said, adding that consumer products like Tesla S are “kicking ass.” And forget about just solar and electric vehicles as disruptors. NRG is also betting on natural-gas generators for the tens of millions of homes that already have natural-gas lines. “Why do I have two expensive electric delivery systems into my home?” he asked. “I don’t want the one that gets ripped down in every storm.” |
Rupert Murdoch, one of the world's most powerful media moguls, posted a tweet Wednesday night that seemingly questioned whether President Obama is a "real black president." The tweet ricocheted around the web and was widely denounced. Murdoch's tweet was championing Ben Carson, a Republican who is the only African-American candidate in the presidential race. "Ben and Candy Carson terrific," he wrote. "What about a real black President who can properly address the racial divide? And much else." About 11 hours later, Murdoch tweeted an apology: "Apologies! No offence meant. Personally find both men charming." Related: Ben Carson defends Rupert Murdoch over 'real black president' Murdoch's use of the word "real" in his original tweet flabbergasted many online onlookers, some of whom concluded that the media mogul was questioning Obama's race and identity. Obama, the first black president of the United States, has also been dogged by false accusations that he isn't a U.S. citizen. What did Murdoch mean? "We don't comment on his tweets," a 21st Century Fox spokeswoman said. Ben and Candy Carson terrific. What about a real black President who can properly address the racial divide? And much else. — Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) October 8, 2015 Murdoch, 84, is the owner of Fox News Channel and a huge portfolio of other media brands, from the Fox broadcast network to the FX cable channel. He is the co-executive chairman of 21st Century Fox. He recently handed over the CEO reins to his son James. Murdoch is an unusual user of Twitter, occasionally dashing off his thoughts about politics and world affairs without ever quite mastering the medium. He followed the Carson tweet with one that said "Read New York magazine for minority community disappointment with POTUS." He didn't link to it, but he was apparently referencing a column titled "Has Barack Obama Done Enough for African-Americans?" Murdoch has been boosting Carson in tweets for months. On Tuesday he plugged Carson's appearance on the Fox News program "The Kelly File." Last week he wrote, "Everywhere pundits keep underestimating Ben Carson. But public understand humility as admirable, listen to the multi-faceted strong message." Before entering the presidential race, Carson was a paid contributor to the Fox News Channel. Way back in March, after Carson left the network, but before he announced his presidential bid, Murdoch tweeted about Carson: "Wonderful character, up from Detroit ghetto, sadly seems political naif." As the months have progressed, Murdoch has turned more positive. Back in August he celebrated Carson's rise in the polls, and said "his life story should make every American optimistic." A week later he wrote that Carson's standing in the polls is "improving every week," and said Carson is "maybe the one to beat." He added, "Irreproachable on background, achievements, character, vision." After an early September interview on "The Kelly File," Murdoch said Carson was "impressive, humble but tough." Carson was back on Fox News on Wednesday night, but his interview, on Sean Hannity's 10 p.m. show, was taped before Murdoch's controversial tweet. Carson didn't have any immediate response about Murdoch. |
By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News The zebra finch is the first songbird to have had its genome decoded Scientists have created a "blueprint" of the genome of a songbird. The advance, described in the journal Nature, could reveal some of the evolutionary secrets of vocal learning in animals, including humans. The researchers say it will aid the study the genetics of speech disorders, such as those related to autism, stuttering and Parkinson's Disease. The international research team was led by Dr Wesley Warren from the Washington University in St Louis, US. "The zebra finch is a beautiful model for vocal learning," Dr Warren said. He explained to BBC News that earlier research had shown that certain genes in the brains of zebra finches were activated when the male birds heard a familiar song. "We looked for the position of these genes in the bird's genome, and then looked for the [equivalent] genes in the chicken genome," he explained. The chicken is the only other bird to have had its genome fully sequenced. And by comparing the chicken genome to that of a songbird, the scientists were able to identify genes that were most important in vocalisation and song-learning. Under pressure Dr Warren said that he and his colleagues looked at which genes changed as vocal communication evolved. To reveal this, the team worked out what the genome of a common ancestor of both birds would look like . "Then we looked for genes that had changed faster in the zebra finch than we would have expected," said Dr Warren. "This shows that there was a [natural] selection pressure on those genes." This revealed the steps - the tiny molecular changes within each gene - that were most likely to have been associated with the evolution of vocal communication. Dr Richard Wilson, director of Washington University's Genome Center and another senior researcher involved in the study said: "Now we can look deep into the genome, not just at the genes involved in vocal learning, but at the complex ways in which they are regulated." "There are layers and layers of complexity that we're just beginning to see. This information provides clues to how vocal learning occurs at the most basic molecular level in birds and in people." Dr Warren said that the findings would take the research "into the human realm". "We can start to look at the structure of those genes in humans with stuttering, autism, Parkinson's Disease and a lot of other neurological disorders [where speech is affected] to see if they're altered in any way." Dr Carlos Botero, a specialist in animal communication from Duke University in the US said that this work brought us "a little bit closer to understanding the links between genes and behaviour." Dr Botero, who was not involved in this study, added: "These results should be appealing not only to those interested in the evolution of song or communication but also to anyone who has ever wondered how the tiny little molecules in our genes can ultimately influence what we are and what we are able to do." Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version |
Operators of publicly accessible wireless networks in Germany will no longer be liable for the illegal activities of their users, thanks to new legislation passed in the Bundestag on Friday. Before the new legislation passed, operators of wireless internet hotspots faced fines and legal action if people used the network to download copyrighted content. That liability greatly hindered the rollout of Wi-Fi networks as businesses feared liability. As a result Germany severely lags behind other countries when it comes to providing free internet, with just two wireless hotspots for every 10,000 people. The problem frustrated locals as well as the rising number of foreign visitors who are left scratching their heads at the difficulty of finding an internet connection outside of their hotel. Providers will no longer have to password-protect their networks or require users to register when the legislation comes into effect later this year, Minister of Economic Affairs Brigitte Zypries said. The ruling grand coalition agreed to the changes after lengthy negotiations aimed at enforcing the rights of copyright holders while still relaxing the laws. Copyright holders retain some power Rights holders can still demand wireless network operators block individual and specifically named pages to prevent repeat copyright infringements, Zypries said. Such blocks are generally possible "simply and without prior technical knowledge," the minister said. Read: Berlin public and corporate Wi-Fi block LGBT-friendly websites Read: Germany to invest 100 billion into national gigabit internet network Industry association Bitkom and the Green party said that clause would hamper the rollout of hotspots, saying operators could face financial risk from legal action. Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Free speech or illegal content? Whether hate speech, propaganda or activism, governments across the globe have upped efforts to curb content deemed illegal from circulating on social networks. From drawn-out court cases to blanket bans, DW examines how some countries try to stop the circulation of illicit content while others attempt to regulate social media. Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Social media law After a public debate in Germany, a new law on social media came into effect in October. The legislation imposes heavy fines on social media companies, such as Facebook, for failing to take down posts containing hate speech. Facebook and other social media companies have complained about the law, saying that harsh rules might lead to unnecessary censorship. Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Right to be forgotten In 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that European citizens had the right to request search engines, such as Google and Bing, remove "inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive" search results linked to their name. Although Google has complied with the ruling, it has done so reluctantly, warning that it could make the internet as "free as the world's least free place." Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Blanket ban In May 2017, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russian social media platforms and web services. The blanket ban affected millions of Ukrainian citizens, many of whom were anxious about their data. The move prompted young Ukrainians to protest on the streets, calling for the government to reinstate access to platforms that included VKontakte (VK), Russia's largest social network. Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Safe Harbor In 2015, the European Court of Justice ruled that Safe Harbor, a 15-year-old pact between the US and EU that allowed the transfer of personal data without prior approval, was effectively invalid. Austrian law student Max Schrems launched the legal proceedings against Facebook in response to revelations made by former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, Edward Snowden. Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Regulation In China, the use of social media is highly regulated by the government. Beijing has effectively blocked access to thousands of websites and platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Instead, China offers its citizens access to local social media platforms, such as Weibo and WeChat, which boast hundreds of millions of monthly users. Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Twitter bans Russia-linked accounts Many politicians and media outlets blame Russia's influence for Donald Trump's election victory in 2016. Moscow reportedly used Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Instagram to shape public opinion on key issues. In October 2017, Twitter suspended over 2,750 accounts due to alleged Russian propaganda. The platform also banned ads from RT (formerly Russia Today) and the Sputnik news agency. Fighting for the internet: Social media, governments and tech companies Facebook announces propaganda-linked tool With social media under pressure for allowing alleged Russian meddling, Facebook announced a new project to combat such efforts in November 2017. The upcoming page will give users a chance to check if they "liked" or followed an alleged propaganda account on Facebook or Instagram. Meanwhile, Facebook has come under fire for not protecting user data in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Author: Lewis Sanders IV (dj) "The right to block pages means a lot of effort for the hot spot operators, be it a student accommodation block, a café or a telecommunications company," Bitkom chief executive Bernhard Rohleder said in a statement. "We therefore demand that illegal content be deleted, instead of requiring hot spot operators to block queries - especially as blocks are usually technically easy to circumvent," says Rohleder. The German Association of Cities welcomed the decision, saying city dwellers would benefit. "Fast, free WLAN hotspots are useful for city tourism, urban business promotion, access to cities' digital services, and much more," chief executive Helmut Dedy said in a statement. Sony sues German shopkeeper The amendment to the Telemedia Act was prompted by a recent decision by the European Court of Justice, which stated that while wireless network providers should not be liable for violations by third parties, "a court or a national authority can issue an order against a wireless network provider to prevent the repetition of an infringement." The case was heard after Sony brought legal proceedings against a shopkeeper in Germany in 2010 after a customer used free internet access to illegally download a music album covered by Sony's copyright. aw/jm (dpa, AFP, Reuters) |
An angler fishes from the banks of Lake Julian. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has approved 38 new hunting and fishing regulations. (Photo: Angie Wilhelm/AWilhelm@citizen-times.com) The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission approved 38 of 39 proposed rule changes to hunting and fishing regulations for the 2017-18 seasons, including the change in definition of youth for youth-only hunting and fishing days. The one rule not approved would have allowed anglers to continue bowfishing on Lake James. The regulations go into effect Aug. 1. Three new regulations redefine youth as anyone younger than 18 to allow youth to participate in the youth either-sex deer hunts (proposal H2), Youth Deer Hunting Day (H2), Spring Youth-only Wild Turkey Season (H2), Delayed Harvest Trout Waters Youth-only Season (F9), and any youth hunts on game lands (G2). “The new rule gives more kids an opportunity to participate in youth-only hunting and fishing days,” said Jodie Owen, spokeswoman for the Wildlife Commission. For example, delayed harvest trout waters open June 3 at noon. The waters are open from 6 a.m. to noon for youth only. While youth had been defined as ages 15 and younger, it now includes ages 16 and 17. For licenses, youth continues to be defined as anyone 15 and younger, Owen said. The new definition applies only to the age for the youth hunts and the youth fishing seasons listed above. Also approved is the elimination of paper Big Game Harvest Record sheets (H7) to move completely to an electronic registration system. Hunters will begin reporting their big game harvest either on phone or online, starting with deer season this fall. The one proposal not approved would have prohibited the use of archery equipment for taking nongame fishes on a section of Lake James (F15). The proposal was designed to protect muskellunge during the spawning season, said Doug Besler, mountain region fisheries supervisor. “There is a growing interest on Lake James in bowfishing, the shooting of non-game fish,” Besler said. “At the upper end of Lake James there is a large population of muskie (a game fish). Bow anglers target carp and other nongame fish, but there have been muskie that were mistaken.” Besler said instead of making a rule change, the commission is taking an intermediate step by working with the muskie club and the bowfishing club to develop signage at the lake. The commission also approved holding public hearings on proposed changes to the state protected animal list for 37 wildlife species. Public hearings will be held in Raleigh, New Bern and Morganton in April, with dates to be determined. A review of 64 candidate species in a report from the Scientific Council approved by the Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee, the state Wildlife Commission recommends to add 14 species, remove seven species, and change the status of 16 species on the protected species list. The proposals include adding the common tern, gopher frog, Henslow’s sparrow, longsolid, ornate chorus frog, river frog, sharpnose darter and Wayne’s black-throated green warbler to the state endangered species list. The barn owl is not listed but a proposal will add it as species of special concern due to substantial declines in its habitat and populations. For the full text of regulations, download the public hearings booklet at http://tinyurl.com/hbrzyfu. Read or Share this story: http://avlne.ws/2lxpEg2 |
Hundreds of flights have already been cancelled, and airports in Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland shut down, with the ash cloud forecast to spread southward towards London, causing more disruption. Air traffic controllers in Brussels in charge of strategic management of flights across Europe have issued warnings to pilots that all UK airspace is closed for incoming flights until further notice and London airspace will be completely closed between 11am and at least 7pm. Ryanair has cancelled all flights to and from Britain and warned of cancellations and delays tomorrow. British Airways has cancelled all domestic flights for the whole of today. Oslo airport has closed and flights to and from other parts of northern Europe have also been disrupted. Forecasters believe the ash could take a number of days to disperse, although it is not known how long disruption to air space will last. Volcanic ash, which consists of the pulverised rock and glass created by the eruptions, can jam aircraft machinery if a plane flies through the plume, shutting down the engines. Ash can also be sucked into the cabin itself, contaminating the passengers' environment as well as damaging the plane's electronic systems. The disruption could go on for some time," said Dr Steve Bond, lecturer in aircraft operations at City University London. "It depends on how long the eruption goes on for and weather conditions. "When there was an eruption over Java in 1982 an aircraft ran into difficulties 19 days after a British Airways plane had problems. "There is a risk of engine failure because of the ash. The problem with aircraft radar is that it is designed to pick up clouds of moisture and it won't detect ash. "This is why you have to take precautions and keep aircraft out of the area. "Even if in a best case scenario it clears after one day, there will still be disruption because aircraft will be in the wrong place and crew will be in the wrong place. There will also be a backlog of passengers to clear." Meanwhile British Airways said passengers whose flights had been cancelled because of the ash could rebook at a another date or claim a refund. Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports are closed until further notice and passengers are advised not to travel to the terminals. A spokeswoman for easyJet, which has cancelled dozens of flights at Luton and Scottish airports, said: "Following the eruption of a volcano in Iceland yesterday, an ash plume has entered UK and Scandinavian airspace overnight. "As a result NATS have closed parts of UK airspace and this is causing significant disruption to all airlines due to operate flights to and from the UK today. "EasyJet passengers are advised to check the website before they leave for the airport for any disruption information." Heathrow's second biggest scheduled airline, bmi, has cancelled all flights between London and Scotland until later today. It said: "We recommend that customers whose journey is not essential book for an alternate date. Customers who have booked and are still intending to travel should consult the flight status page for the latest information." Matt Dobson, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "The concern is that as well as the eruption, the jet stream passing through Iceland is passing in a south easterly direction, which will bring ash to the north of Scotland and Denmark and Norway. But it is impossible to say how much ash will come down. "It could be a threat in these areas from now until tomorrow or Friday." A spokesman from Nats said: "The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre has issued a forecast that the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland will track over Europe tonight. "NATS is working with Eurocontrol and our colleagues in Europe's other air navigation service providers to take the appropriate action to ensure safety in accordance with international aviation policy." The Met Office ash cloud forecast for 6pm local time on Thursday 15 April, issued at 6.35am Weather forecasters said the ash plume could drift over British airspace during the night, causing significant disruption to services. The movement of the plume, which has been drifting eastwards, is being monitored by both the Met Office and NATS, the air traffic control service. There have been a number of incidents where aircraft have reported damage from ash, including one involving a British Airways Boeing 747 in June 1982. The aircraft ran into difficulties after the eruption of a volcano at Galunggung, Indonesia. Ash jammed all four engines briefly, and the aircraft plummeted 24,000 feet before they could be restarted. Because of the threat to aviation, a global early warning system, known as the International Airways Volcano Watch, has been established. Iceland is considered as particularly vulnerable to volcanic disruption. Authorities there yesterday evacuated 800 residents from around the Eyjafjallajokull glacier as water gushed down the mountainside and rivers rose by up to 10 feet (3 meters). The Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted for the first time in 200 years on March 20, in a dramatic display that sent fountains of lava spewing into the air. The first eruption did not trigger any major flooding, as was initially feared, because the active vents were in a mainly ice-free part of the volcano. But Tuesday's eruption came from a different vent beneath a 650-ft (200m) thick block of ice, unleashing a torrent of glacial meltwater. |
At about 2 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to the 1800 block of Ruben M. Torres Boulevard after reports of several individuals who were shot. (Erasmo Castro | Facebook) Paramedics transported four people to the hospital early Sunday morning following a shooting at a nightclub parking lot in Brownsville. At about 2 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to the 1800 block of Ruben M. Torres Boulevard in Brownsville after reports about several individuals who were shot, according to a Facebook post by the Brownsville Police Department. Upon arrival to the Chaparral Night Club, officers discovered four people had sustained gunshot wounds. The four individuals were transported to a local hospital for treatment on non-life threatening injuries. The identity of those involved or reason behind the shooting is currently unclear. The Brownsville Police Department is investigating the incident. CBS 4 News will provide additional information as it becomes available. |
MUMBAI: Onions weighing 700 kg were robbed from a roadside vendor cart situated at Pratiksha Nagar in Sion early on Saturday. The theft was observed at 9am when the vendor Anand Naik (55) came to start his business when he found 14 gunny bags of onions worth Rs24,000 missing, said the Wadala Truck Terminal (TT) police.Based on the information the police have registered a case under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section for theft against the unidentified persons. Investigators said the theft occurred due to the rising onion price. “The gunny bags containing onion bags was stolen from the cart on which Naik has tied it before leaving. Probe is on to track down the accused,” said Wadala TT police senior inspector Suhas Garud.Expecting the onion price to rise, Naik has purchased around 20 bags over 1000 kg of onions. On Friday at around 9pm he packed the onions after winding up the day’s business at the vegetable market in Pratiksha. In the complaint, Naik said, “The theft was learnt in the morning when I saw the tied 14 onion bags missing from he cart.” |
By Laird Harrison OAKLAND, Calif., Feb 1 (Reuters) - When anti-Wall Street protesters set out to take over Oakland's shuttered convention center on Saturday, they left no doubt about the reception they expected. Scores concealed their faces with bandanas, and dozens carried shields, some painted with anarchist symbols. What happened next -- a 10-hour street battle in which demonstrators and police pelted each other with tear gas canisters, smoke grenades and other projectiles -- has intensified a debate within the Occupy Wall Street movement over what forms of confrontation it should embrace. Activists calling for greater equality in income and tighter regulation of financial institutions have clashed with police across the country since September, usually while advocating non-violence. But a series of conflicts with police in Oakland have stood out as the most violent, with one activist, Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen, suffering a brain injury on Oct. 25. Protesters on Saturday said they were trying to establish a new headquarters and community center to take the place of the tent camp police dismantled at Frank Ogawa Plaza in front of City Hall last fall. Police lined up on street corners and in front of the convention center to thwart the would-be occupiers. Objects began flying through the air as soon as demonstrators tore down a section of chain-link fence in front of the building. "Of all the (anti-Wall Street) marches and rallies in the city of Oakland, this has been the most violent and hostile to the police," said Oakland Police Department spokeswoman Johnna Watson. Some 400 protesters were arrested, and several police officers and demonstrators were injured. "While we respect every citizen's right to protest peacefully, we will not tolerate individuals who come to Oakland with an organized strategy to riot, clash with police officers, vandalize property and wreak havoc upon the city," Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said in a statement. Demonstrators accused the police of beating them with batons and of trapping them between police lines, then arresting them for supposedly disobeying orders to disperse. People in the San Francisco Bay Area appeared to be turned off by Occupy's tactics on Saturday, according to an opinion poll by SurveyUSA. Of 500 people surveyed on Sunday, 26 percent said they had once supported the Occupy movement and now do not. Added to 31 percent who said they always opposed the movement, the poll suggests a majority of public opinion opposes the group. Some leaders within the movement were distancing themselves from tactics employed by fellow occupiers on Saturday. "A lot of conversation is coming out of that, a lot of self-reflection," said Nichola Torbett, a self-described devout Christian who took part in the first Occupy Oakland organizing meetings in September. Torbett said she has participated in nearly every major Occupy Oakland event and was arrested when police cleared out a protest encampment on Nov. 15. But she stayed away from the march on Saturday. "It was organized by a very militant anarchist segment of the movement," she said. "I support the idea of taking a building, especially for housing those who don't have housing. But I don't support it with the kind of triumphal attitude I saw expressed." In November, following a day of mostly peaceful Occupy Oakland rallies that gave way to a night of unrest and over 100 arrests, some activists joined city officials in blaming small bands of agitators who they said provoked police. Mike King, an organizer of the movement's effort to shut down West Coast ports on Dec. 12, stayed away on Saturday because of "personal obligations." He defended the demonstrators' attempt to take over a building but said he prefers to devote his energy to building relationships with labor leaders. Without condemning the attempt to occupy the convention center, labor leaders kept a low profile during the demonstration and its aftermath. Representatives for the Service Employees International Union, which helped organize Occupy rallies in a number of cities, did not return repeated calls seeking comment, nor did the Alameda Labor Council nor the California Teachers Association. The California Nurses Association, which has staffed medical stations during previous Occupy Oakland marches, had no official presence at the demonstration Saturday, said spokesman Chuck Idelson. "We don't support violence no matter who is doing it," he said. Still, many occupiers defend Saturday's action. Shake Anderson, who took part in the march, acknowledged, "it could have been better organized" but insisted the goal was worthy. City officials are unable or unwilling to help the homeless, hungry and unemployed, he said. Occupy Oakland was meeting those needs in its camp at Frank Ogawa Plaza until it was evicted by the police, he said. |
WASHINGTON — The acting inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security flouted nepotism rules by employing his wife, and took multiple jaunts, at taxpayers’ expense, to Florida, according to documents obtained by The Post. The documents show at least four trips that Charles Edwards — the acting inspector general assigned to root out fraud in the agency’s $40 billion budget — took from DC to Miami and Fort Lauderdale, where he was earning a computer and information-sciences degree at Nova Southeastern University, in 2011 and 2012. Travel receipts submitted by Edwards list the university’s name next to the rate charged by the hotel, apparently corroborating claims by whistle-blowers who told two lawmakers and a watchdog group that the acting IG was using so-called government “site visits” for his own personal advancement — since, they allege, there was no reason for him to make an official visit to Fort Lauderdale. “If those allegations turn out to be true, then this deputy inspector general is violating his role as a public servant who is being paid on the taxpayer dime,” said Mary Beth Hutchins, of the group Cause of Action, which shared documents it had obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request with The Post. Receipts for the Fort Lauderdale Marriott list “Nova SE University” on the room-charge receipt. Gas receipts reveal that he filled up near the school, as well. Edwards (pictured) also gave bonuses to employees who helped him complete school assignments and write his Ph.D. dissertation, and he retaliated when employees complained about his conduct, according to Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who are investigating “misconduct and abuse” in the case. Other travel documents show several $1,500 trips to Puerto Rico, where Edwards stayed at the Ritz and at a Marriott resort, and a $954 voucher to Homeland Security for his stay at the Miami Marriott. The documents also could point to nepotism, Cause of Action officials said. Edwards employed his wife, Madhuri, as an auditor in his office — in apparent violation of agency anti-nepotism laws — according to Johnson and McCaskill. Madhuri was able to get permission to tele-work from India for at least five months, internal documents reveal. One document from a supervisor points to discomfort at Edwards’ interference: “Madhuri e-mailed me and said that she hoped that I could accommodate her request to tele-work on Thursdays,” her boss wrote. “I asked her if she would be taking leave . . . Then Charles called!” Another e-mail reveals a “Charles Edwards walk-in request” that his wife get a “loaner” BlackBerry in 2010 for her India trip. Phone logs and bills totaling hundreds of dollars each month in charges show many of her calls were to her husband — on taxpayers’ dime. Edwards denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations “false” and “completely without merit.” The IG’s office declined to comment. |
Swiss Chalet is more than just a restaurant, it is a Canadian institution. Every Canadian has been to Swiss Chalet, and these restaurants are packed, many times of the week all over the country, especially for Sunday lunch. One popular tradition is to go to Swiss Chalet after church, for what is coined ‘Christian Chicken’. There are many great things to order at Swiss Chalet, but the most popular is their quarter chicken dinner. Delicious rotisserie chicken, crispy fries, a bun and their famous dipping sauce. The Swiss Chalet dipping sauce is easily the most popular item at Swiss Chalet. A great mix of spices with a nice tang, this dipping sauce is great for the chicken, fries and even the bun. You can purchase packets of the mix to make the sauce at home, but I wanted to try and make my own version of the sauce. This copycat recipe is quite simple to make and it is pretty darn close to the original Swiss Chalet sauce. It has the perfect colour, the spices are similar to the restaurant version, and the vinegar matches the tang. Everyone in the family loved the sauce and said it was surprisingly close to the Swiss Chalet original. |
BEHROR, India – The beating that ended Pehlu Khan’s life was televised nationwide. Cell phone video captured a group of men punching and slinging Khan around the middle of a road in north India, stomping on him and then slamming the 55-year-old farmer down on concrete as he begged for mercy. Khan had been stopped by the lynch mob of right-wing Hindus as he rode home from a market in April with two cows and two calves in the back of a truck. The crowd was furious at the sight of a Muslim transporting animals held sacred by Hindus, according to the accounts of his sons and two fellow villagers who were also attacked. Before the men beat Khan so badly that he later died, breaking his ribs in multiple places, they screamed that he was planning to slaughter the cattle for beef. Outside the frame of the video, something else was happening: Pehlu Khan’s cows were seized. They were hauled off to a nearby Hindu-run shelter that takes in cattle snatched from Muslims and sells them. Assaults meted out in broad daylight against India’s Muslim population, some 14 percent of the country’s 1.3 billion people, have sparked concern about the direction the country is taking under Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There has been another, less noted dimension to the violence: The theft from Muslims and redistribution to Hindus of cows that provide crucial income in the Indian countryside. Such scenes clash with India’s image as an investor darling in Asia and the pro-business message Modi broadcasts to foreign investors. But three and a half years after his electoral victory, the cow seizures illustrate how the nation’s right-wing Hindu factions that propelled Modi to power are now shaping India and stirring religious upheaval. Having stoked Hindu nationalist passions in his bid for the highest office, it’s unclear to what extent Modi can now control them. The bands of right-wing Hindus who seize the cows are operating essentially as private militias. They are undeterred by the prime minister’s public calls on them to end the violence. States governed by Modi’s party have seen a marked increase in cow theft from Muslims as well as funding for cow shelters that in many cases take in the stolen cattle. Interviews with nationalist Hindu leaders and militia members across the country reveal an impatience for Muslims to demonstrate obeisance to the Hindu majority. There are no official statistics for how many cows have been stolen from Muslims in incidents involving such groups since Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to national power in 2014. Reuters’ reporting across India, though, puts actual numbers on the extent of the cow theft. It also provides the first in-depth look at how the actions of cow vigilantes are leading to further economic marginalization of the country’s Muslim minority. In northern India, the leadership of just two of the main organizations of “gau rakshaks” – right-wing Hindu cow vigilantes, or literally “cow protectors” – said they have taken about 190,000 cows since the year of Modi’s election, some in the presence of police and almost every single one of them from Muslims, the reporting shows. “Everyone in this world is born Hindu. They are turned into Muslims when they are circumcised and Christians when they are baptized.” Separately, Reuters surveyed 110 cow shelters or farms, known as “gaushalas,” across six Indian states that were led by BJP chief ministers from before or just after Modi’s 2014 election win. The survey found an increase of 50 percent in their cattle holdings - from about 84,000 head before Modi came to power in 2014 to more than 126,000 today. The survey, conducted by phone and in person, covered a fraction of the thousands of cow sheds nationwide. It was not possible to determine how much of the 50 percent increase was due to cow vigilantes, because record-keeping in many cases is non-existent. But of the 110 cattle facilities surveyed, all but 14 said they receive cows from the Hindu vigilante groups. About a third said they sell or give cows away, nearly all to Hindu farmers and households. In a separate survey, Reuters found that only three of 24 cow facilities in four states not ruled by a BJP chief minister said they sold or gave away cattle - mainly to Hindus - after receiving them. While cattle stock has risen about 40 percent in these gaushalas since Modi took office, only a small part of the increase was due to vigilantes. In many of the cases, cows were donated to the shelters for religious reasons or purchased from cattle markets for fear they would be slaughtered. It is hard to put a value on the seized cattle because the price of cows ranges from zero for animals near death to 25,000 rupees (about $385), if not more, at cattle markets for healthy milk cows. But taking the average of those two points, just the 190,000 cows captured by the two vigilante groups in northern India would be worth more than $36 million. That is a significant amount of money in India, where some 270 million people live on less than $1.90 a day. In rural areas, home to about 70 percent of the nation’s population, a family’s milk cow is often its most valuable possession. Cow slaughter is illegal in most of India, while committing cruelty to cattle by transporting them crammed into small spaces is outlawed across the country. Slaughtering buffalo, an animal not considered holy, is allowed, fueling a multi-billion dollar meat export industry that is dominated by Muslims. Penalties for killing a cow differ from state to state, with most ranging from six months to five years in prison. The fatal assault on Pehlu Khan unfolded among the rolling hills of India’s northwestern Rajasthan state. Travelling with his two adult sons in a rented truck, Khan was headed home to the village of Jaisinghpur in the neighboring state of Haryana. He’d borrowed 40,000 rupees (about $620) to add to cash he’d cobbled together to buy the cows. His four animals were among 32 other cattle seized on April 1 at makeshift roadblocks near the town of Behror. A day after the attack on Khan and his two sons, police began an investigation against them under a state law barring cow slaughter. On April 3, Khan died. “If the sentiments of the majority community are respected, there would be no such incidents. Can we demand pork in any Gulf country?” In its April 18 order following a bail hearing for the sons, a local court noted that the Khan family, found lying injured on the ground, was unable to produce a waybill showing they’d legally purchased the animals. Also, the cows were bound together at the mouth and, the judge noted, “our society does not allow animals to be treated in an inhumane way.” Khan’s elder son, Irshad, told Reuters that the cows had not been tied together. The receipt they got at the cattle fair where they bought the animals, he said, was snatched by the mob at the start of the violence. The family handed Reuters a copy of the bill that they later retrieved. A Reuters reporter showed the receipt to clerks and a local official from the office that issues the documents near the fair, in the city of Jaipur. They said the document was authentic and should have ensured safe passage. The men who delivered the cattle to the local cow shed, with the help of police who rounded up the cows at the scene of the attack, were members of right-wing Hindu organizations, according to the manager of the facility. Survivors said the lynch mob let the driver of the truck, a Hindu, escape. The shed often receives cattle “taken from Muslims” by Hindu vigilante groups who suspect they’ll use the animals for meat, according to Vijay Singh, its manager. Singh said he sells the best cows to local Hindu farmers and landowners. Speaking of the men who took the animals from Khan, Singh said they had performed “an act of devotion.” The cattle shelters range from tiny pastures to large complexes. They have traditionally operated as religiously-motivated charities, taking in cows abandoned by farmers because they no longer produce milk or those dropped off by local government workers who found them wandering the streets. People involved in snatching cattle from Muslims speak with a triumphant sense that their moment in history has arrived. “Everyone in this world is born Hindu. They are turned into Muslims when they are circumcised and Christians when they are baptized,” said Dinesh Patil, a district head of the Bajrang Dal group in the southwestern state of Maharashtra. The Bajrang Dal organization is closely linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the nation’s umbrella right-wing Hindu organization. The RSS argues the purity of India was soiled by the foreign intervention of Muslims and then Christians beginning in the 8th century. The RSS helped create Modi’s political party, and the prime minister himself first attended the group’s meetings as a child. At the complex he manages, Patil said that almost every one of the 1,700 cows grazing outside was “rescued by the Bajrang Dal” from “these Muslim slaughterers.” Patil described how a degree of law enforcement sanction is conferred on the cattle seizures: His group takes the cows and hands them over to the police, who then deliver the cattle to his facility. “The entire investigation and catching of the culprits is done by us,” Patil said. The police, he added, “have to listen to us because the BJP is in power.” Told of Patil’s comments, Bipin Bihari, second-in-command of police for Maharashtra, said: “In a way their work supports the police. It eases our work. If they have some information on some illegal activities, they can share it with us, and we act on it. But they are not allowed to take the law into their hands.” A national spokesman for the ruling BJP, Sudhanshu Trivedi, said his party expects anyone with knowledge of illegal acts, such as cow slaughter, to inform the police. In cases where cows were taken, he added, it was because their owners had broken laws: “It is not redistribution of wealth. It is just stopping of illegal activities,” he said. Modi's office referred Reuters’ request for comment to the Home Ministry. The ministry said it is "not correct" that cow vigilantism has risen on Modi's watch and "preposterous" to conclude that Hindus are organizing to confiscate and redistribute cattle. Some people have taken the law into their own hands “in the name of protecting the cows,” the ministry noted in a written statement, but "the Government is committed to protect the legal rights of all citizens, including minorities in India." State governments, it said, have been directed to take “prompt action” against such people. Reuters found no evidence of a formal plan by the BJP to use cow vigilante groups to engineer the seizure and transfer of cows from Muslims to Hindus. But in states where the BJP has taken power, cow seizures have ramped up. In the absence of official data on the number of cows taken, Reuters reporting and a review of past incidents show that the largest vigilante groups and the cattle seizures are concentrated in BJP-led states. One organization of cow vigilantes in the northern state of Haryana has a golden cow with crossed swords and two AK-47s beneath it as its logo. The leaders of the Gau Raksha Dal, or cow protection group, say they have captured up to 120,000 across the country since beginning their campaign in 2013. Most of that activity was carried out after Modi’s victory in 2014, which was followed by a BJP chief minister taking office in Haryana later in the year. Dinesh Arya, state head of the Gau Raksha Dal, acknowledged his group is breaking the law. Arya produced a list of 27 criminal complaints lodged by cattle traders against his members that he said were still pending. “Seizing cattle is not legal and we know that well. We are not authorized to do this, it’s the police department’s work,” Arya said. But he claims a higher calling: “Our religion has given us the right to stop our mother being butchered,” he said, referring to “gau mata,” or mother cow. “We have forcefully taken that right.” Outside his office, a truck converted into a “mobile cow ambulance” used to transport seized cattle bore a bullet hole – the aftermath of a recent gun battle with Muslim “cattle smugglers,” Arya said. Modi has at least twice publicly criticized cow vigilantism. “Do we get the right to kill a human being in the name of cow? Is this ‘gau bhakti’? Is this ‘gau raksha’?” he declared in a speech in June, using the Hindi phrases for cow devotion and cow protection. “Violence is not the solution to any problem,” he added. The Supreme Court has also addressed the issue. In September, the court ruled that central and state governments must deploy police officers to prevent cow vigilante violence. On the ground, some Hindu activists aren’t heeding Modi’s calls. The leader of a group of cow vigilantes, which claims 10,000 members concentrated mostly in western and northern Indian states, said they were unmoved by the prime minister’s condemnation of what he called the vigilantes’ “anti-social activities.” “The cow protection movement totally belonged to the BJP before 2014,” said the group’s leader, Pawan Pandit, a part-time software engineer. “Now groups like ours have the momentum.” Pandit said networks of vigilantes operating under his Bhartiya Gau Raksha Dal – or Indian cow protection group – captured as many as 60,000 cows in the three years before Modi came to office. Since 2014, Pandit said, the group has grabbed more than 100,000 cows, often working with police. A similar scenario has unfolded in Assam, where the BJP won power last year. Located in the farthest reaches of India’s northeast, the state is in a region where cow vigilante activity was all but unheard of. The leader of a right-wing Hindu youth organization said he waited a year for the BJP-led government in Assam to crack down on what his group views as illegal cattle trading. Then, said Balen Baishya, head of the Hindu Youth-Students Council of Assam, he decided that local party leadership was not made up of “hardcore believers.” On July 2, Baishya said, he and his men seized three vehicles carrying cows. Video of the incident posted to the Internet shows a mob surrounding one of the drivers as a man beat him with a baton while he writhed on the ground and tried to shield himself. This lawlessness extends beyond the 18 states Modi’s BJP now controls directly or with coalition partners. In the southern state of Telangana, one of 11 states where the BJP is not in power, a man named Purushottam Gupta was arrested shortly after Modi gave a speech in August last year condemning cow vigilantes. Gupta had refused a court order to hand back 20 cattle seized by cow vigilantes and kept them with some 5,000 other cows at a facility next to the ashram where he is the de facto deputy head. Gupta said he was released the same day he was arrested and that the cows have yet to be returned to their Muslim owners. India’s laws against cow slaughter predate Modi’s administration, and cow vigilantes were operating in India before Modi came to power. At the federal level, the BJP’s predecessor, the relatively liberal Congress party, funded the cow sheds via a federal animal welfare association at higher levels than Modi. Spending from the association’s four main gaushala grants, the primary source of federal funding for the facilities, was about 150 million rupees for the 2010-11 fiscal year, compared with some 58 million for 2015-16, the most recent period available. |
Since returning as commissioner of the New York Police Department, William J. Bratton has been generous in thanking those who helped him get here: the mayor, Bill de Blasio, for the job; his wife, Rikki Klieman, for her support; even a children’s book, for igniting his boyhood fascination with the police. And for just about everything else, Sir Robert Peel. Throughout the department, the influence of Peel, a 19th-century British prime minister who is considered the father of the London police force, is evident. Either in name or in the nine basic policing principles commonly attributed to him, Peel is everywhere — on Mr. Bratton’s lips, his official department blog, and even next to the place settings of breakfast events where Mr. Bratton is the guest of honor. In Peel, Mr. Bratton seems to have found a touchstone for nearly every occasion, a visionary who “got it so right so long ago” and whose theory offers a kind of policing originalism that floats above the particularities of each force he has commanded. What was good for London in 1829, Mr. Bratton appears to suggest, remains just as good for officers in modern-day New York. “I’m privileged to be part of a long line of police leaders beginning with Sir Robert Peel,” Mr. Bratton said in December, minutes after Mr. de Blasio had introduced him as the next police commissioner. Taking out a folded piece of paper, Mr. Bratton began introducing New Yorkers to the nine principles attributed to Peel. “I carry these with me everywhere,” he said. “My bible.” |
Philippine military forces have continued their offensive against armed groups linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in the country's south, killing at least nine fighters as the conflict in Marawi continues. On Thursday morning, fighters from the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf engaged with the military forces who retaliated with air attacks and artillery fire, Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay, military spokesperson, told Anadolu news agency. "Those enemies who died in the offensives include men of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon who are digging for a tunnel under a mosque trying to escape the battle zone or reach the lake," Petinglay said. READ MORE: Marawi - The girl and her red shoes Hapilon, who is wanted by the FBI and has a $5m bounty on his head, is suspected to have led the siege in Marawi which is now in its 12th week. His group, Abu Sayyaf, had previously pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda. Earlier, the military confirmed that Hapilon was still alive and inside the battle zone, despite earlier reports he had escaped along with Abdullah and Omar Maute, local leaders of the Maute group that has pledged allegiance to ISIL. The Philippine government has also offered a separate reward for the capture of Hapilon and the Maute brothers. According to Petinglay, the number of deaths on the side of Maute and Abu Sayyaf has gone up to 548 due to continuous fighting in Marawi - a once bustling university town in Mindanao. At least 122 soldiers have also been killed while 45 civilians have died in the fighting. The remaining fighters, including several foreigners, have at least 100 civilian hostages. Four were recently rescued. President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on the whole island of Mindanao after the Maute group attacked Marawi on May 23. When the fighting began, the military had initially vowed to end it within weeks. But the fighting continues into its third month now, and martial law has been extended until the end of 2017. The armed conflict has displaced about 359,680 people, as of July 29, with many living in host communities or in 75 evacuation centres across Mindanao. More than 200,000 children have also been displaced. Many of those living in host communities are affected by the scarcity of household resources, including food, medical and school supplies, in one of the poorest areas in the country. |
Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff On Nunes And Intelligence STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee made a jaw-dropping disclosure. California's Devin Nunes said U.S. agencies collected information about the transition of then President-elect Trump. Nunes said this was incidental information collected legally while tracking legitimate foreign intelligence surveillance targets. But then, he added their information was not properly scrubbed out. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) DEVIN NUNES: Details about U.S. persons associated with the incoming administration, details with little or no apparent foreign intelligence value, were widely disseminated in intelligence community reporting. INSKEEP: There is a second layer to this story. Nunes told the media about this classified intelligence information before telling his own committee and then personally briefed President Trump. His Democratic counterpart joins us once again this morning, California's Adam Schiff. Welcome back to the program, sir. ADAM SCHIFF: Thanks. It's great to be with you. INSKEEP: And he's joining us via Skype. Do you know now what information Chairman Nunes was describing? SCHIFF: No, I don't. I've certainly talked to the chairman, but whatever information he has reviewed he hasn't provided to the committee, not his own members, certainly not our members. So at this point, the only people who do know are the chairman and the president. And given that the president's associates are the subject in part of the investigation, that's wholly inappropriate. And unfortunately, I think it really impugns the credibility of the chairman in terms of his ability to conduct an independent investigation. INSKEEP: Was there something wrong about the way that Chairman Nunes disclosed this to the media and the president then? SCHIFF: Well, you know, everything about it was wrong. If this is an issue of whether the unmasking of incidentally collected information was done properly, that's something that the committee investigates. It's not something to be taken to the White House and discussed in a press conference on the White House lawn. You know, the chairman's not Sean Spicer, and we should be looking into this if there's any there there. But at this point, no one knows what the chairman is referring to except the chairman. INSKEEP: What makes this even more surprising is that Chairman Nunes has been criticizing the leaking of classified information. And I want to play a little bit of tape here. This is from a congressional hearing before your committee on Monday, hearing with the FBI director and the NSA director. And Nunes, according to the transcript, repeatedly expressed concern about leaking classified information. Let's listen to a question here that he puts to the FBI director, James Comey. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) NUNES: Would an unauthorized disclosure of FISA-derived information to the press violate 18 U.S.C. 798, a section of the Espionage Act that criminalizes disclosure of information concerning the communication and intelligence activities of the United States? JAMES COMEY: Yes, in addition to being a breach of our trust with the FISA court that oversees our use of those authorities. NUNES: Thank you, Director. INSKEEP: FISA-derived information, that's surveillance information. He's saying - he's getting the answer that that would be a violation of the Espionage Act, to have an unauthorized disclosure of that information. Was Chairman Nunes' disclosure of such information yesterday authorized? SCHIFF: Well, it's certainly not authorized, unless somehow it was authorized by the president, which would be even more troubling. But I don't know whether the chairman's level of specificity or generality would qualify as a leak of classified information. But nonetheless, it does tread on thin ice but more disturbing is the fact that no one really is in a position to evaluate this claim. And therefore, we just can't tell exactly what the chairman is talking about, whether anything was done appropriately or inappropriately. And most bizarre of all, the chairman said this doesn't involve the Russian investigation, and if that's the case, why is he doing a press conference on the White House lawn? INSKEEP: Does this vindicate President Trump, who did say in a tweet that President Obama put a wiretap on Trump Tower? SCHIFF: No, and this is another, you know, baffling twist in all this. The chairman, I think, again reiterated that this was not evidence of wiretapping of the president by his predecessor. So I think the most it is is a bit of a smokescreen designed to give the president some cover. But that's not the job of a chairman who is running a supposedly independent investigation. And unfortunately, it's just made our job that much more difficult. You know, I think we really have to keep in mind here what's the national interest? The national interest is a nonpartisan and credible investigation into Russian meddling in our affairs, and these actions just make that almost impossible now. INSKEEP: Congressman, let me ask about that investigation. You said one of your key questions is whether there was any collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russia, which U.S. intelligence agencies have found did interfere, meddle in the election. You said the other day that there was circumstantial evidence of such collection and then said yesterday on NBC, if I'm not mistaken, that there was something more than circumstantial evidence showing collusion. What did you mean? SCHIFF: Well, I think that's right. I think, you know, every day we've been provided with additional information. We certainly were this week. And I think, you know, looking at this as I would when I was a prosecutor, you wouldn't have to conclude that this is not merely circumstantial, not purely circumstantial. And while I can't go into the, you know, any of the contents of the evidence we've been presented, I think that's a fair assessment at this point. INSKEEP: As a former prosecutor, would you be willing to take the evidence you have in to court and try to prove there was collusion at this point? SCHIFF: At this point, you know, we're still very early in the investigation, and I don't think it amounts to proof beyond a reasonable doubt. So, no, you're not at the point where you take it to a jury. But you certainly are at the point of doing a thorough and legitimate investigation. I think there was certainly substance enough for the FBI to begin its investigation and to continue that investigation. I think that was the right decision. I'm sure the FBI did not do that lightly, and certainly from what I've seen, I think that investigation is justified. INSKEEP: In a few seconds, is it fair for you to say there's more than circumstantial evidence when you can't share it with people? The Wall Street Journal used the word McCarthy when talking about you the other day. SCHIFF: Well, I think - I hope The Wall Street Journal wasn't using that term. I think one of their columnists was... INSKEEP: Yeah, that's true. SCHIFF: ...Who has, you know, a very hard-right perspective. But listen, I think it is fair for people on the committee to express their opinion about the quantum of evidence without going into any of the particulars. I do think it's important that we not discuss, you know, classified information in any way. But I do think it's fair to try to inform the public as much as we can, and that's the purpose of our open hearing, and that's why I make the comments that I do. INSKEEP: Congressman, thanks very much, really appreciate you taking the time. SCHIFF: You bet. Thank you. INSKEEP: Adam Schiff is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, the counterpart then of Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman who made disclosures about intelligence gathering yesterday. (SOUNDBITE OF MIGUEL'S "SURE THING") Copyright © 2017 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. |
Chad Reed crashed out of the San Diego Supercross on the last lap. He was taken to the hospital on Saturday night and that hospital didn't find anything broken, but Reed checked out to get another opinion from a more familiar set of doctors. Tonight at 9 pm eastern, he tweeted: So not the news I wanted 3 broken bones 1) scapula 2) collarbone 3) T1 Explains the pain I guess.. Sometimes things don't make sense it's that love hate relationship you have with racing But every Saturday night they drop the gate. In 6 days I plan to be there! Thanks for all the prayers hope to make y'all proud TwoTwo supporters. So that's the news for now--Chad is going to be in some serious pain but is going to try to make a go of it in Dallas this weekend. Good luck, Chad! We'll keep everyone posted as this situation develops. |
You might not be aware of this, but magic happens in the background of the Linux operating system. Without your help or intervention, programs start and daemons run. These things happen because Linux has an outstanding scheduling system known as cron. Want to make some magic? Let's get to know cron. The cron utility allows the user to manage scheduled tasks from the command line. Once a user understands how cron works, it's not difficult to use. But for some, the understanding can be a challenge. Users must understand how Linux interprets and reads time on a system. Users also need to know how to edit their crontab files. Once a user has a full understand of these concepts, they will be masters of cron. Let's examine cron and how to create proper entries in a users' crontab file. By default, a version of cron (there's more than one implementation) will be already installed on the Linux system, so there is no need to worry about installation the tool. And as for its use, there are two commands associated with cron: cron: The daemon that is used to execute scheduled commands. crontab: The command used to invoke the editor for managing a users cron jobs. A users' crontab file is the file that holds the jobs read by cron. Each user on a system can have a crontab file (this includes the root user) where jobs and tasks can be controlled. The system itself also has a crontab file located at /etc/crontab , but should not be edited by the user. This file is generated upon the installation of the operating system. If the /etc/crontab file is examine it is revealed that it actually controls cron jobs that are located within /etc/cron.daily , /etc/cron.weekly , and /etc/cron.monthly . But that file isn't going to be the focus here. Instead the user crontab file will be the primary focus, as that is the file used for the scheduling of ordinary user tasks. Time The one aspect of cron that trips most users up is the way in which time is used. For each crontab entry a specific time is declared for when the entry will run. The time entry is in the form: 0 23 * * * Each time entry consists of five sections: Minute (0-59) Hour (0-23 With 0 being 12:00 AM) Day of the month (1-31) Month (1-12) Day of the week (0-6 With 0 being Sunday) So a typical entry would look like: Minute Hour Day Month DayOfWeek Some examples for time: 0 23 * * * Daily at 11 PM 30 22 * * * Daily at 10:30 PM 0 23 1 * * Every first day of the month at 11 PM 0 23 * * 0 Every Sunday at 11PM Using the crontab Utility Now that time is understood, it's time to begin adding entries. In order to view a users' crontab file the crontab command is invoked. There are three main options to use with the crontab command: e: Edit the crontab file. l: List the contents of the crontab file. r: Remove the contents of the crontab file. When the command crontab -l is invoked the entries for the users' crontab file will be displayed (if any exist). In order to add an entry to a users' crontab file, the command crontab -e is invoked so the crontab file will be opened in the default editor (such as ed, vim.tiny, or nano). When the crontab -e command is run for the first time, the default editor is set. To select the default editor for crontab, select the number which corresponds to the editor desired. Figure 1 shows a crontab entry created by the Luckybackup backup application. A crontab open, with Nano as the default editor, showing the Luckybackup entry. To illustrate how to add a new entry into crontab, a simple backup script will be used. The contents of that script might look like: #! /bin/bash echo Backup Started `date` >> ~/backuplog mkdir /media/EXT_DRIVE/backups/`date +%Y%m%d` tar -czf /media/EXT_DRIVE/backups/`date +%Y%m%d`/data.tar.gz /data echo Backup Completed `date` >> ~/backuplog Where EXT_DRIVE is the location of an externally attached drive where the backup data will reside. The above script will be saved in the users' home directory as .my_backup.sh and given executable permission with the command chmod u+x ~/.my_backup.sh . Now, with crontab in edit mode, create an entry that will execute the script every night at 11 PM, add the following line: * 23 * * * ~/.my_backup.sh With that entry in place, save and close the editor (how this is done will depend upon the default editor you have chosen). When this is done, as long as there are no errors, crontab will report "crontab: installing new crontab" to indicate the entry was successful. If there are errors, open the crontab file back up to make the necessary changes. Editing the crontab of a Different User Say a different users' crontab must be edited. It is not necessary to su to that different user, as crontab has an option built in for that specific purpose. If crontab is issued using the -u like crontab -e -u USERNAME , the crontab file of the user specified (Where USERNAME is the user in question) will be opened for editing. This command, however, can only be issued by a user with administrative user (or the command can be issued using sudo .) Of course, editing other users' crontab files should be limited only to administrators. Final Thoughts The cron system helps to make Linux one of the most flexible operating systems around. Cron not only helps the system keep its logs rotated and clean, it allows users to schedule their own tasks, scripts, and jobs. Although the time aspect of cron can be a bit tricky to grasp, once it is understood, the rest falls into place. If the whole idea of editing cron entries from the command line seems a bit much, you will be glad to know there are GUI tools for this task. Take a look at a tool like GNOME Schedule (found in your Add/Remove Software tool) for an application that can manage your cron tasks with the help of a user-friendly GUI. But for those who really want to understand Linux, getting to know cron and crontab is essential. |
Hey all, we are tantalisingly close to shipping 2.0. There are a few docs items that I hope we can wrap up tomorrow, but I think we are ready to start a vote on a real release tarball any day now. First of all: thank you everyone for pitching in these last few weeks (your CouchDB mugs should be arriving any day now :), it’s been a great experience <3 * * * Since for some of you, this might be the first time doing the dance, let me run you through the procedure. Once we start the vote on the tarball, a few things have to happen: 1. we all need to test the tarball and vote on whether they think this should be released (http://www.apache.org/dev/release.html on what is an Apache Release). We have a minimum voting period of 72 hours. If we find any blocking issues during the vote, we can cancel the vote, fix the issue, and start over. 2. we need to start preparing the final changes on the website (see my thread from last Saturday, this still needs feedback), so we can launch the new site with the new release. 3. we need start preparing the official Apache press release, this can start earlier of course, it’s just now we *need* to finish it. This needs to be done 12 hours before the final release. Press release partners like IBM/Cloudant will need a bit more lead time. After the vote succeeds, this is how we continue: 4. the Windows and Mac will have to be prepared (Win seems all ready to go, I’ll wrap up the Mac one in time). 5. we upload all our builds onto the Apache mirroring infrastructure. We then need another 24 hours to get all Apache distribution mirrors to catch up with our new files. 6. we prepare a short blog post to go out pointing to the press release(s). Then we can ship. * * * I’d really like a 1.7.0 release to go alongside 2.0.0, Alexander, what’s your status on this? * * * Best press-release / release-release time is Tuesday or Wednesday. With a Thursday (now-ish) vote start we would close vote Sunday night, at which point we can upload all builds. During Monday all the mirrors get updated and on Tuesday 6am EDT, the press release goes out. I’d update the website and everything the night before and just let it sit there until we start announcing things. Since I’m just writing this email *now*, the earliest we agree on starting the process is probably ~24 hours from now, which would bump the outline timeline by one day to next Wednesday, which would still be fine. If we need longer, I’d suggest to bump it all by another week, so we have enough time to get it all done. * * * So: are we ready to roll the tarball? Is there any code that needs merging that might be in a patch, a PR, or committed to master of one of our sub-repos, but the couchdb.git master rebar.config file has not been updated? Is there any outstanding bug that we couldn’t live with fixing in 2.0.1? Is there anything else we’ve missed? Are you ready? :) Best Jan -- |
Green Flash Lustrous Frumento with Coffee will join a new, elite Barrelmaster’s Reserve Series on May 21st. The Cellar 3 facility currently houses over 1000 oak barrels, including four, 50-Barrel foudres. Brewmaster Pat Korn thought it was time he dipped into his personal stash at the facility and give the public a taste. Thus, the debut of the Barrelmaster’s Reserve Series. Green Flash Lustrous Frumento with Coffee is a 100% bourbon barrel-aged “black ale” (as Green Flash describes it), featuring coffee from San Diego based Mostra. The beans are Sumatran and and Brazilian, chosen to compliment the oak barrel-aging. The beer has rested in the barrels for 30 months, gaining plenty of spicy oak, vanilla and caramel notes. After being deemed “ready” by the Barrelmaster himself, a beautiful cold brew coffee made from a blend of Brazilian and Sumatran beans from San Diego coffee roaster, Mostra, is added to intensify and compliment the rich caramel and vanilla from the barrels. Green Flash Lustrous Frumento with Coffee is a limited, 750 milliliter bottle offering at the Cellar 3 Facility in San Diego on May 21st. The brewery tells Beer Street Journal that a limited amount of this beer will hit distribution. Style: American Strong Ale (w/ Coffee. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.) Availability: 750ml Bottles Release: 5/21/16 13.1% ABV |
AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have brought at least 2,000 reinforcements through Turkey in the past week to bolster the fight against Kurdish-led militias north of Aleppo, rebel sources said on Thursday. Turkish forces facilitated the transfer from one front to another over several nights, covertly escorting rebels as they exited Syria’s Idlib governorate, traveled four hours across Turkey, and re-entered Syria to support the embattled rebel stronghold of Azaz, the sources said. “We have been allowed to move everything from light weapons to heavy equipment, mortars and missiles and our tanks,” Abu Issa, a commander in the Levant Front, the rebel group that runs the border crossing of Bab al-Salama, told Reuters, giving his alias and talking on condition of anonymity. The reinforcements did not include fighters from the hardline Nusra Front or other jihadist groups, he said. A Turkish security source confirmed fighters had crossed the border but put the numbers at 400-500, and the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks violence across the war torn-country, also said hundreds had crossed. On Sunday, the Syrian government said Turkish forces were among 100 gunmen who had entered Syria accompanied by 12 pick-up trucks mounted with heavy machine guns, in an ongoing supply operation to insurgents. The route via Turkey has become the sole supply line for Azaz after the Syrian army closed what for years had been the main route into rebel territory and advanced to within 25 miles of the border for the first time in over two years. The Syrian army wants to seal it off altogether and reassert full control of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city before the war. Inside Aleppo city, heavy clashes continued between Arab insurgent groups and Syrian Kurdish fighters in Kurdish-held neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, the Syrian Observatory said. Russian bombing has transformed the almost five-year-old civil war in recent weeks, turning the momentum decisively in favor of Moscow’s ally President Bashar al-Assad. But the rapid advance of U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters has infuriated Ankara and threatened to drive a wedge between NATO allies. Turkey sees the militia as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a three-decade insurgency for autonomy in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast. Determined to prevent the YPG from gaining a foothold on its border, Turkey has shelled its positions in response to what it says is fire coming across the border. Turkey has also stepped up deliveries of military hardware to the rebels, another rebel source said. “We are getting fresh supplies of everything from missiles to mortars to armored vehicles. Almost everything is now being delivered to us,” said the rebel source. Turkish army vehicles were offloading the munitions and equipment onto Syrian rebel armored vehicles and trucks, said the rebel, who was present during a handover of weapons. New supplies of ground-to-ground missiles with a range of 20 km (12 miles) had been provided to bolster the response to the Russian-backed attack, two rebel commanders said. Facing one of the biggest defeats of the five-year-long war, rebels have been complaining that foreign states such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey have let them down by not providing them with more powerful weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles. The rebels and the Turkish government accuse the Kurdish militias of a campaign of ethnic cleansing of Arab-inhabited villages in a bid to carve a fiefdom in Syria’s north. The YPG has exploited the Russian-backed offensive, seizing ground from other opposition groups. After taking a string of towns, in what the rebels say is an advance coordinated with Russia, the YPG is now seeking to take Marea, the last town before Azaz. |
A body was found Tuesday in a condemned house that exploded and went up in flames in Salem, New Hampshire, police said. An explosion Monday blew off the roof of the Irving Street home and broke windows. Neighbors said they heard a popping sound, which was attributed to ammunition going off inside the burning house.A man was found dead in the basement of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said. Weapons and ammunition were found near the body, officials said. The body was identified Wednesday as homeowner Charles Hill, whose vehicle was also found outside the home. Police said the town was set to seize the property for unpaid taxes Monday night, but it was not immediately clear if the incident was related to the property's status. Hours after the fire and explosion, a burst shell casing was found in the neighboring driveway of Betinho Moniz."I was scared to death for my family,” one resident said.He said his neighbor has always been a problem in their otherwise quiet Salem, New Hampshire, neighborhood.Moniz said at one time in the past, Hill threatened to shoot him in the head."I open the window in my bedroom, he was standing by that caravan. He had the gun pointing at my house. My neighbor Kevin walked up and said, 'Charlie what are you doing, man?'" Moniz said.Police said no one was supposed to be living in the home, as it was condemned in 2015. A body was found Tuesday in a condemned house that exploded and went up in flames in Salem, New Hampshire, police said. An explosion Monday blew off the roof of the Irving Street home and broke windows. Neighbors said they heard a popping sound, which was attributed to ammunition going off inside the burning house. Advertisement A man was found dead in the basement of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said. Weapons and ammunition were found near the body, officials said. The body was identified Wednesday as homeowner Charles Hill, whose vehicle was also found outside the home. Property owner Charles Hill Police said the town was set to seize the property for unpaid taxes Monday night, but it was not immediately clear if the incident was related to the property's status. Hours after the fire and explosion, a burst shell casing was found in the neighboring driveway of Betinho Moniz."I was scared to death for my family,” one resident said. He said his neighbor has always been a problem in their otherwise quiet Salem, New Hampshire, neighborhood. Moniz said at one time in the past, Hill threatened to shoot him in the head. "I open the window in my bedroom, he was standing by that caravan. He had the gun pointing at my house. My neighbor Kevin walked up and said, 'Charlie what are you doing, man?'" Moniz said. Police said no one was supposed to be living in the home, as it was condemned in 2015. AlertMe |
Kesi Chestnut walks past a home on the 500 block of K Street NE in Washington as real estate agent Natalie Middleton enters it. An extra story was added to the house in a renovation, known as a pop-up. June 12, 2014 Kesi Chestnut walks past a home on the 500 block of K Street NE in Washington as real estate agent Natalie Middleton enters it. An extra story was added to the house in a renovation, known as a pop-up. Amanda Voisard/for The Washington Post They’re like skyscrapers in small villages: renovated townhouses — but between 40 and 65 feet high — right next to squat, two-story rowhouses in Washington neighborhoods from Petworth to NoMa to Adams Morgan. Their common nickname: pop-ups. Their common epithet among neighbors and on local blogs: monsters. Middle Fingers. These skyward-extending residences are spreading across the city, fueled by small developers eager to cash in on the District’s real estate boom and seize any inch of available real estate, which these days means vertical empty space. Though developers have the right to build upward — and say they are providing needed housing stock — the city is evaluating how it can ensure that pop-ups in some neighborhoods reflect their community’s character. Cities from Philadelphia to New York to Amsterdam have seen the proliferation of pop-ups. But Washington, which began seeing the first wave about 10 years ago, is now experiencing a rush. What began largely in Adams Morgan has now come to streets all over the city, from 17th Street NW to Sixth Street NW to K Street NE to Kenyon Street NW. Anyone can drive around the District and find them. The five-story building at 1013 V St. NW dubbed “the Monster” is the most notorious. But the pop-up bible is the PoPville blog, which for several years has chronicled the advance of pop-ups with the same curiosity people had when McMansions began cropping up on old farms in Northern Virginia. (The “PoP” in the blog’s name stands for Prince of Petworth, the Web site’s original name.) Dan Silverman, the site’s publisher, frequently posts his and readers’ comments, along with photographs of some of the more unusual buildings. Real estate agent Natalie Middleton does a walk through of a home up for sale in Northeast Washington on June 12. The residence had undergone a renovation, which included adding an additional level to the home. (Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post) “Dear PoPville — Any way to stop a pop-up?” read one headline in December. A reader sought Silverman’s expertise, saying, “My block in Shaw has fortunately been spared from all the popups . . . until now. . . . Since it has literally just started, is there a way that I can check or even oppose its permits?” The post received dozens of comments. “Get employed [by the] DCRA,” wrote the first of more than 100 commenters to the blog post, referring to the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, which enforces zoning rules. Pop-ups are emerging in parts of the city zoned commercial and residential. In a process analogous to tear-downs in the suburbs, older rowhouses are scooped up by developers with a ready supply of cash. The homes, often dilapidated, are torn down and rebuilt, or remodeled and extended, to the maximum heights allowed by zoning regulations — heights that in the past never needed to be reached because space wasn’t at such a premium. Now, Washington, teeming with new restaurants and gigantic condo buildings in once-impoverished neighborhoods, has so much more housing demand than supply that, as of May, the average condo or single-family home was selling in about 45 days. “That’s well below what it should be. It should be six months — that’s what the industry tells us is a stable market for both the buyer and seller,” said Thomas Daley, a board director of the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors, which released the data recently . “Because the rate’s at about 1.5 months, the advantage goes to the seller. Things are going within days. A lot of times, it doesn’t even get to the open house.” The tight inventory is pushing prices up. Last month, the median price for a home in the city was about $530,000, an 8 percent increase from the previous May, according to data released by RealEstate Business Intelligence, a subsidiary of MRIS, the Rockville-based multiple listing service. A developer purchased a two-story row house at 1013 V St. NW and added 3 stories. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) Pop-ups allow builders to tack on new units without having to purchase large blocks of real estate and invest in an enormous, dormitory-style building. Pop-ups also enable incoming residents to squeeze into hot neighborhoods and condo buildings with much smaller fees than those in pricey places such as 14th Street NW. In the case of the Ava, the so-called “Monster” on V Street NW, the building is in a commercial zone that allows residences to be as high as 65 feet. The five-story aluminum-and-steel structure — topped with a huge eye-shaped window that one Prince of Petworth reader thought was like the evil “Eye of Sauron” from the “Lord of the Rings” — towers over its neighbors. Despite the building’s modern look and amenities, the middle unit, listed for about $749,000, and the penthouse, listed for about $800,000, have not been sold. Nate Guggenheim, a real estate agent for the Ava, said the bottom unit, listed for about $400,000, is under contract. “I think the economics are such that it makes sense to do these projects,” Guggenheim said, adding that he’s had “dozens” of potential buyers look at the penthouse suite. “We’ve had people question the design of this, but it would make sense to build a bunch of them and combine several.” The ownership of some pop-ups is difficult to learn. Guggenheim declined to reveal the individual behind the limited liability company that owns the Ava. Secrecy also hovers over another highly visible pop-up, a five-story building at 1839 Sixth St. NW, next to Shaw’s Tavern. The building is expected to offload its seven units this fall. According to public records, a District-based entity called the Ella LLC owns the property, but Capital Bank, which is financing the project, and Michael Weisskopf, a former Washington Post staff writer who is the building’s broker, declined to name the owner. The structure, which replaced an old rowhouse and a vacant lot, is in a commercial zone that permits buildings to be as high as 50 feet. The next-door neighbors don’t mind it. “Maybe I don’t like the black siding,” said John Douglas, who lives in the adjacent rowhouse he bought in 1992. “But it’s the developer’s right to do it and, whether it harmonizes with the community, people will get used to it. There has to be a balance where people have the right to make money.” Douglas, a retired developer, said he might one day want to have his house turned into a pop-up. Another neighbor, Laura Gramling, a consultant, feels the new pop-up will make the neighborhood safer. “I am not opposed to pop-ups in principle. It just depends on what they look like. This one is not glaring,” she said. “It’s an improvement over what had been a blighted property.” But in neighborhoods such as Adams Morgan, pops-up prompt a bit more controversy. D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who has criticized pop-ups to fellow council members, said the buildings are geared toward the well-to-do and don’t provide what the District really needs: affordable housing in trendy areas. “Supporters of pop-ups — otherwise intelligent people — talk about the need for Washington to respond to the great housing demand. That’s patently absurd,” Graham said. “This is about profit. It’s about the historic streetscape in the city. And it’s about, when will it end?” The D.C. Office of Planning was expected on Friday to publicly release proposals on pop-ups, said Jennifer Steingasser, the office’s deputy director. Her office has been examining whether the current 40-foot maximum height is “appropriate” for some neighborhoods in residential zones. The Zoning Commission will review the proposal. It would have to approve any new regulations on pop-ups, but a vote isn’t expected to happen for several months. Steve Callcott, the Planning Office’s deputy preservation officer, said he and his colleagues also might propose the creation of “conservation districts,” a status for which neighborhoods could apply that would force pop-ups to come under city review before getting approval. Over on K Street NE, Micheal Watson, owner of Taja Investments, believes the phrase “pop-up” is a derogatory label for the three-story building he plans to put on the market late this month or in early July. The bottom unit at 507 K St. NE, with three bedrooms and 3 1 / 2 baths, will be listed for $840,000. The penthouse, with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms but with rooftop access, will go on sale for $1.2 million. Watson likes pops-ups so much that he built another one four blocks away on the same street. Rodney Pais, a retired Army pilot who lives next to the pop-up at 507 K St. NE, calls the new tall building “gaudy” and an “oddball.” But Watson shrugs off the name-calling. He said he bought the building last year for more than $400,000 and put almost half that amount into renovations, so selling it as a two-story home — for about $800,000 — wouldn’t have been worth it. To make any money, Watson had to make the building taller and divide it into two units, he said. But labeling his building a pop-up? He prefers a more nuanced description. “To me, it’s a simple rowhouse with an extension,” Watson said. “Pop-up? I put too much thought and work into my homes to call it a pop-up.” Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report. |
Josh Elliott, CTVNews.ca Backers of the virtual currency Bitcoin are reaching out to new investors through sports sponsorship deals after a month-long drop in its transaction volume. The number of Bitcoins changing hands was just 72,101 on Wednesday, marking the lowest transaction volume since 2011. That number is a long way off from the nearly 1 million Bitcoins that changed hands just two months earlier, on Mar. 12. But experts expect Bitcoin trading to bounce back as the highly volatile form of online payment garners more attention through a new focus on marketing at sporting events. Bitcoin enthusiasts on the link-sharing site Reddit started sponsoring e-sport video game events last April, and are now branching out to real sports in order to attract more investors. Bitcoin will be the feature sponsor at a kickboxing event in Panama on May 10, and the Bitcoin community is attempting to back an Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor for an upcoming fight. Lisa Kramer, an associate professor of finance at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, said sport is a new frontier for a Bitcoin community that’s traditionally been on the fringe of society. “I think by sponsoring some of these high-profile events, they hope to reach a new audience,” Kramer said in phone interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. And Bitcoin isn’t alone in the sponsorship push. Dogecoin, a direct competitor, sponsored NASCAR driver Josh Wise in a race at Talladega Superspeedway on May 4. Wise earned 20th place in the race while driving a car festooned with Dogecoin’s cartoon dog mascot. Anthony Di Iorio, founder of the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, said Dogecoin’s foray into sponsorship provides a good example. “It’s up to the early adopters to make it easier for people to get into it,” Di Iorio said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. Di Iorio, a Toronto-based Bitcoin trader and owner of one of the first Bitcoin ATMs in Canada, said he’s not sure why the Bitcoin transaction volume has bottomed out in recent days. “It’s a wild tech stock right now,” he said. Di Iorio said he suspects it has to do with tightening restrictions in China, but it will likely rebound as more investors buy in while the value is low. Di Iorio also said he expects to see more Bitcoin marketing ploys in the future. “You’re going to see more and more sponsorships, you’re going to see more and more celebrities probably getting on board with Bitcoin,” he said. Bitcoins are primarily used as a form of internet tipping to thank others for services or intellectual contributions, but the digital currency is moving toward the mainstream. Computer retailer TigerDirect.com and online retailer Overstock.com recently started accepting Bitcoins. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman takes Bitcoin payment on his personal website, as does former Spice Girl Melanie (Mel B) Brown. Founded in 2009 and designed as a form of decentralized, technologically sophisticated “cryptocurrency,” Bitcoin lets users send money to others directly through the Internet, without being subjected to the rules, fees, limits and potential account freezes that come with using a bank. There are approximately 12.7 million Bitcoins in circulation, each worth about $484 as of Wednesday morning. Designed to avoid the ups and downs of inflation, Bitcoin has nevertheless been on a rollercoaster ride for early adopters because of the volatile rates of conversion to traditional currency. It’s also been a hard sell to traditional retailers and the public at large, rendering it a mostly niche currency for Bitcoin enthusiasts. “Proponents of these currencies tend to be really into the cutting edge of technology,” Kramer said. Many have lost confidence in Bitcoin after a number of recent scandals raised doubts about its viability, she said. “People have started to scrutinize the viability of Bitcoin and question its long-term prospects,” Kramer said. Last February, for instance, the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox shut down and took its investors’ Bitcoins with it. Bitcoin has no one individual to answer for its troubles -- just a legion of internet-based devotees who want to get it as much attention as possible. Di Iorio said the Bitcoin system will grow more stable as money continues to come in, but getting big box stores onboard is the next frontier for the cryptocurrency. “It would just take a couple really big ones and that would take it over the top,” he said. But Kramer said she isn’t convinced. “It’s just a speculative asset. It’s not a legitimate currency,” she said. Kramer said retailers are unlikely to take a risk on Bitcoin because of its volatile conversion rate to traditional currency. “They need to make sure that they can convert that into a currency that they can use to pay their suppliers,” she said. “We’ve seen periods where the value of that exchange rate has actually fluctuated by as much as 50 per cent within a day, so that introduces big risk for a retailer that’s accepting Bitcoin.” Kramer said the Bitcoin’s greatest strength is in its technology, but the economics of it leave something to be desired. “I’d like to see them address some of the issues that economists have been raising,” said Kramer. “If a new cryptocurrency came along that was designed a little bit differently from an economic point of view, I certainly consider it feasible. “But I don’t think Bitcoin is it – yet.” |
[4:20 Reviews] The Cheat I’ve had the Cheat for a few months now and it’s holding up like a champ. I don’t use it on the regular, but I definitely take it out for a spin every once in a while. It’s got this elegant feel to it that makes you think you’re drinking a nice glass of Dom at a classy party. For those of you who don’t like reading (like me), I’ve conveniently listed some basic information below: Case Type : 3 piece aluminum case with an aluminum plate. 3 piece aluminum case with an aluminum plate. Keycaps : Red Alert (original OTD GB) with tsangan add-on kit. Also a Protoss aluminum keycap in the Esc slot (by feng on GH) : Red Alert (original OTD GB) with tsangan add-on kit. Also a Protoss aluminum keycap in the Esc slot (by feng on GH) Cabling/Wiring : Custom trace wires were run to illuminate LEDs on F5-F8 and both 1x Windows keys. Also a custom USB cable was soldered onto the PCB’s controller (by MiMiC aka mistakemistake on GH) Custom trace wires were run to illuminate LEDs on F5-F8 and both 1x Windows keys. Also a custom USB cable was soldered onto the PCB’s controller (by MiMiC aka mistakemistake on GH) Other Aesthetics : Cherry logo sticker by KBD/OTD buy Cherry logo sticker by KBD/OTD buy Switch and Modification : Cherry MX Blacks with custom 62g springs. Each individual switch is modified with lubricant on the friction points (slider, spring) and stickers applied between the housing. Now onto the review…. The Cheat was a custom community project from the Korean forums and uses a pretty standard (nothing fancy) PCB. By default, there are only 2 LEDs (Caps and Scroll Lock) and everything else is normal. Mine was sold to me with custom trace wiring to illuminate the F5-F8 and 1x Windows keys in red. The neat thing about this layout is that it uses a 7-unit spacebar, 1.5-unit Ctrl/Alt, 1-unit Windows keys and an off-centered/stepped Caps Lock. The purpose of this is to mimic older generation Cherry keyboards. I mean it looks pretty sick too, right? I bought this Cheat from a member on GH for an amazing price of $330 shipped. On the Korean Domestic Market (KDM!), this keyboard originally sold for right around $300. Consider shipping to the US, fully assembled, this is a great deal. Unfortunately, when I first received it, it looked like this… I mean it’s not terrible by any means, just not my style! Later, I decided to get it re-anodized by a local shop here in Chicago. $40 and 1-hour later, the top and bottom pieces of the case were finished in the silver I always dreamed of! Now as far as feel goes, the aluminum is very good quality and lighter than my other custom Korean keyboards. It has a sandblasted feel/look to it and is very sturdy. It’s not moving anywhere, anytime soon 🙂 The keyboard is fitted with Cherry MX Blacks that have been heavily modified. The original springs have been replaced with custom 62g springs. Lubricant has been applied to the friction points of the switch which include portions of the slider and springs to give the linear switch a smooth and frictionless feel. As a result of applying lubricant, the sound decibels have also dramatically decreased when bottoming out. This is the kind of keyboard you would want to use to play games. The force is light enough to play high APM games without fatigue and is also linear to allow “riding the actuation point” for FPS games. For more information on switch modifications, be sure to check out MMB’s Lube Guide Mostly what I use my Cheat for is taking pictures, putting new keycaps on it and giving readers ideas on what they can do with their own keyboards. I don’t use this keyboard much at all because my KMAC is just too awesome. But the Cheat does have a special place in my Korean Keyboard heart. I mean, just look at how awesome my Protoss keycap and Cherry sticker look on it! Now lastly, I did want to give an honorable mention to mistakemistake aka MiMiC on GH. He created this awesome cable for me and the only direction I gave him was a picture of my Cheat =) He is the epitome of a good businessman. Always catering to the needs of his customers, and treats them all like friends. Good consultation, product, and post-product discussions. I know that if there wasn’t something I liked about my cable, he’d make me a brand new one just so he could get it right and I really appreciate good business ethics like that. And who could be angry about a gold tip USB!? Well, what are you waiting for? Visit MiMiC’s shop! Until next time, I bid you adieu! But here’s a little taste of what’s to come… |
Get the lates Naruto ナルトネタバレ 第515話 spoiler pics and summaries at MangaSpoiler.com. You can also read previous Naruto 514 manga spoiler. And if you would like to discuss the spoilers or predictions, please leave a comment below. Please dont post spam and troll comments. Naruto 515 Spoiler Pictures Naruto 515 Spoiler Summaries Credits: OhanaVerification:ConfirmedTranslation : Ghost Madara @NF アオバ 信じられないよ モトイ ああ まさか土影様ってのがここまでふざけた方だとは思わなかった ナルトは亀ごと忍連合軍の元へ…！！ アオバ この島亀ごと持ち上げるなんて！！ 土影片手で亀持ち上げて 飛んでる 土影 たっくまた腰に負担がかかるわい 赤ツチ 大丈夫ダニか？海を言った方が それにこんなに上空まで上がらなくても 黒ツチ 馬鹿言ってんじゃねーぞ またあのデカ蛇に感知されっだろ 巻頭カラー ナルト同期が上忍ベスト着てる。 NARUTO 515 大戦、開戦！ ナルト また天地がひっくりかえったってばよ いったいこの島はどうなってんだ？ 外に様子見に行ったっき りヤマト隊長も帰ってこねーしょ 地震で岩の下敷きになってんじゃねーだろうな…？ アオバ 詳しく調べてもらってる お前は心配するな ナルト ここでの任務はもおう終わったんだ！さっさと木の葉へ帰ってサスケを待つ あいつとオレには約束が ある！ 眼包帯ぐるぐるサスケ まだか？ ゼツ黒 マダダ ジットしてろ ゼツ白 次にモノを見るときはまるで別世界になってるよ…面白くなりそうだ！！ アンコ部隊 虫使い うそだろ トクマ さっきここへ入って行った白ヘビ あのチャクラ カブトだ…ここがアジトだな 虫使い 蟲に辺りを探索させた トクマ下だ！四時の方向！日向一の白眼なら捉えられるはずだ！ ！ トクマ こ これは なんて数だ アンコ 何がある？ ナルト なんで動物達は外出てんのにオレは出してもらえねーんだよ ビー あわてん坊のナルト♪あわや損だぜ 尾獣チャクラコントロールしきってない オレ様がお前の修行を仕 切る♪ 修業後は尾獣チャクラお前の手足と同じ感覚 本物の手足と錯覚♪ ビー タコ出して柱を壊す。タコの足で壊した柱を掴む 掴んだ足で柱積む ナルトもチリチリになって。。。 積むけど、崩れたり。治したり。 アオバ 惜しい… 今のは島亀が揺れたせいｄな モトイ て事は どうやらもう着いたか 土影 あいてててて 腰があ 水影 お疲れ様です 状況は 土影 八尾 九尾とも無事だ ただ九尾の見張りだった木遁使いがさらわれた 水影 それでは…敵にこちらのさらなる情報が！ 土影 とにかく詳しいことは中で話す カブト と… その前にこのヤマトから情報を取りだすのが先だ ただし殺さないでもらいたい ゼツたちを強 くしたいならね マダラ 輪廻眼人間道の術を使えば簡単に情報を取り出せるが こいつが死ぬ ゼツを強くするのにはイカした ままの方がいいって事か？ ヤマトの腕にはヘビがぐるぐる。ヘビはヤマトの掌を噛んでる マダラ 毒か これで木遁の力を押さえこんでるな カブトめ よく初代柱間の細胞を研究してい る カブト ボクが作った柱間の力を抑制する薬さ 大丈夫ゼツのは使わない マダラ ずい分とこっちの手の内を調べてやがったな 大蛇丸め ヤマト くそ これじゃ己の覚悟を実行する事すらできない このままだと 皆すまない カブト 輪廻眼の力を使わなくてもボクの自白剤と君の写輪眼の二つ押しで十分情報は取れる 相手がわかれば…そいつらの最も不得意で苦手な相手を選抜してぶつけられる 雷影室に木の葉の鳥が来る 雷部下が受け取る みんなで地図を見てる 二国に避難勧告（湯隠れと霧隠れ） シカク 潜入偵察隊からの情報によると敵の数約10万 その大連隊移動を考えると海上ルートから来るのは少 数だが囲まれるとヤバイ ミフネ こうなればどっちが先手を打つかで勝敗が決まる！ 雷影 まず奇襲部隊に召集をかけろ それから集めた戦闘大連隊も それぞれ陣形を確認させろ！ ツナデ 同じく 後方支援 医療部隊には医療忍具を携帯させておけ シカクお前は情報部隊の情報ルートチェ ックも合わせてやれ 水影 感知部隊 青に連絡 そっちも急いで ガアラ 土影 アンタが出掛けている間にこれが出来た 受け取れ 忍び連動軍の額あてを渡す。忍と書いてあるだけ。 奇襲部隊 隊長カンクロウ カンクロウ 奇襲部隊隊長を任された砂のカンクロウだ サイ カンクロウさんですね あだ名は何にしましょう オモイ 大丈夫なのか こんな若い奴が隊長で もし もしも その他大勢 後方支援部隊 隊長 シズネ その他大勢 情報部隊 隊長 山中イノイチ イノイチ 大変だったようだなアオバ アオバ はい 天画 いのいちさんですね アナタの噂は聞いてます その他大勢 感知部隊 隊長 青 シー 戦争かあ 青 君は戦争初めてか？ シー ハイ 青 この部隊の出来次第で戦争は大きく流れが変わる 気をぬくな その他大勢 戦争大連隊 連隊長 ガアラ カカシ さて ガアラくん 君がこの大連隊の連隊長だ 落ち着いたら一言頼むよ 沢山の忍びが並んでる 第一部隊 戦闘中距離部隊 第一隊長 ダルイ テンテン えーと私達ってその人が隊長ですか？ チョウザ あそこのダルソーにしてる人だよ 第二部隊 戦闘近距離部隊 隊長 黄ツチ ヒナタ なんか緊張してきました カルイ ふん 戦争なんてヨユー ヨユー 黒ツチ んだよ！親父が隊長かよ！ 第三部隊 戦闘近中距離部隊 隊長 はたけカカシ 倒れてるガイ リー 大丈夫ですかガイ先生 サクラ まだ戦争前なんですけど 何やってたんですか？ 第四部隊 戦闘遠距離部隊 連隊長兼隊長 ガアラ チョウジ 今のうちに食いだめしとかないと テマリ ガアラがウチら第４部隊隊長でもある 代理だが実質はお前が第四部隊長だ しっかりな ！ シカマル めんどくせーとこに配属されちまったぜ ったくよお 第五部隊 戦闘特別部隊 隊長ミフネ キバ この戦争で一旗あげて火影にでもなってやるか！！ ハナ バカ なめんじゃない シノ 目立つ行動は避けねば イノ アンタは大丈夫よ シノ カブト まずは元暁のメンバー （いたち デイダラ サソリ カクズ ナガト） そして元人柱力メンバー さらに元五影前任者 そしてそのた諸々名のあった手練たちだ（ザブザ 白 君麻 呂 アスマ 千代婆 山椒魚半蔵 ガアラの側近 ネジの父） ヤマト、初代火影のヌメーってとこで寝かされてる マダラ 行くぞ… 開戦だ！！ 止められない 五大国ＶＳ暁 第四次忍界大戦勃発！！！ 終わりサーセイ★ 今回濃い！！面白い！！ 戦争来る！！！ Tsuchikage is taking the turtle island to the Shinobi Alliance place (I believe he’s making it fly too). Naruto says that things are weird cause the sky shifted again, and that the mission’s over so he needs to go back to Konoha to wait for Sasuke in his attack. Sasuke is still wrapped up with those bandages. He asks Zetsu if he’s ready yet. Black Zetsu says not yet. White Zetsu says the next time he looks upon something, it will be as if he’s in a different world and that it looks interesting. The scouts sense Kabuto inside. Kabuto says they need to extract info from Yamato before anything. But he says not to kill him before they can use him to strengthen the Zetsu. Madara says he could easily use the Rinnegan Ningendou’s technique to get the info but that Yamato would die from it. A snake slithers onto Yamato’s arms and bites his palms. Madara says that it’s a poison that can immobilize the Mokuton powers, and then calls Kabuto a (crafty) bastard for doing so much research on Shodai’s cells. Kabuto says its a remedy he made to suppress Hashirama’s powers, and not to worry, that he won’t use it on Zetsu. Kabuto says that even without using Rinnegan, they can get the info they want with his truth serum and Madara’s Sharingan. Aoba and Motoi talk, Motoi says that it seemed they already arrived (to the Alliance location via Oonoki) It’s basically a meet and greet for everyone and they’re grouped together. Tsuchikage is talking to Mizukage about the situation, and about Kyuubi and Hachibi. The kages and Shikaku talk about the situation, their forces, and other things. Kankurou is the captain of the Ambush Squad/Battalion. He introduces himself to Sai and Omoi. Sai greets him and wonders what nickname he should give him. Omoi wonders if someone as young as that should be a captain. There are also others. Kakashi tells Gaara he’s the regiment commander. Ao asks Shii if this is his first time in a war, and Shii says yes. Daru is the captain of the 1st Unit/Battalion. Tenten asks if he is their captain, and Chouza remarks that he seems pretty sluggish/listless (using a play on his name “darui”, which means that) Someone named Kitsuchi (yellow earth) is captain of the 2nd battalion/unit. Karui, Hinata (who says that she’s nervous), and Kurotsuchi are part of it among others, and Kurotsuchi curses that it has to be her father who has to lead them. 3rd battalion has Hatake Kakashi as captain. Guy who’s still collapsed is on his team. Lee asks if Gai is alright. Sakura asks what happened with him. 4th unit/battalion lead by Gaara, whose position is regiment commander and commanding officer. Has Chouji, Temari, and Shikamaru. They make some remarks (Chouji’s is about food and Shikamaru is complaining about how much of a pain this is). 5th battalion/unit lead by Mifune. Has Kiba, Hana, Shino, and Ino and they make their remarks. Kabuto: “First I have the Akatsuki (Itachi, Deidara, Sasori, Kakuzu, Nagato). Then the former jinchuuriki members. Then there’s the 5 kages’ once predecessors. The rest of them are skilled fighters who made a name for themselves” (Zabuza, Haku, Kimimaro, Asuma, Hanzou, Chiyo-baa, Gaara’s aide, Neji’s father). Yamato was put to sleep by the Shodai wall/slime thing. Madara: “Let’s get this war started!” |
Doctors are warning that if Congress cuts food stamps, the federal government could be socked with bigger health bills. Maybe not immediately, they say, but over time if the poor wind up in doctors' offices or hospitals as a result. Among the health risks of hunger are spiked rates of diabetes and developmental problems for young children down the road. The doctors' lobbying effort comes as Congress is working on a compromise farm bill that's certain to include food stamp cuts. Republicans want heftier reductions than do Democrats in yet another partisan battle over the government's role in helping poor Americans. Food stamps, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, feed 1 in 7 Americans and cost almost $80bn a year, twice what it cost five years ago. Conservatives say the program spiraled out of control as the economy struggled and the costs are not sustainable. They say the neediest people will not go hungry. The health and financial risks of hunger have not played a major role in the debate. But the medical community says cutting food aid could backfire through higher Medicaid and Medicare costs. "If you're interested in saving healthcare costs, the dumbest thing you can do is cut nutrition," said Dr. Deborah Frank of Boston Medical Center, who founded the Children's HealthWatch pediatric research institute. "People don't make the hunger-health connection." A study published this week helps illustrate that link. Food banks report longer lines at the end of the month as families exhaust their grocery budgets, and California researchers found that more poor people with a dangerous diabetes complication are hospitalized then, too. The researchers analyzed eight years of California hospital records to find cases of hypoglycemia, when blood sugar plummets, and link them to patients' ZIP codes. Among patients from low-income neighborhoods, hospitalizations were 27% higher in the last week of the month compared with the first, when most states send out government checks and food stamps, said lead researcher Dr Hilary Seligman of the University of California, San Francisco. But hospitalizations didn't increase among diabetics from higher-income areas, she reported Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs. Seligman couldn't prove that running low on food was to blame. But she called it the most logical culprit and said the cost of treating hypoglycemia even without a hospitalization could provide months of food stamp benefits. "The cost trade-offs are sort of ridiculous," Seligman said. She is working on a project with Feeding America, a network of food banks, to try to improve health by providing extra, diabetes-appropriate foods, including fresh produce and whole-grain cereals and pastas, for diabetics at a few food banks in California, Texas and Ohio. Last year, research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts estimated that a cut of $2bn a year in food stamps could trigger in an increase of $15bn in medical costs for diabetes over the next decade. Other research shows children from food-insecure families are 30% more likely to have been hospitalized for a range of illnesses. But after a temporary boost in benefits from the 2009 economic stimulus, children whose families used food stamps were significantly more likely to be well than kids in low-income families that didn't participate, Children's HealthWatch found. About half of food stamp recipients are children, and 10% are elderly. How much would be cut from the food-stamp program ranges from $400m a year in a Senate-passed farm bill to $4bn a year in the House version. Congressional negotiators now are eyeing about $800m a year in cuts. That would be on top of cuts in November, when that 2009 temporary benefit expired. According to the Agriculture Department, a family of four receiving food stamps is now getting $36 less a month. The average household benefit is around $270. Since then, food banks are reporting more demand because people's food stamps aren't stretching as far, said Maura Daly of Feeding America. Conservatives pushing the cuts say they want to target benefits to the neediest people, arguing that those who are truly hungry should have no problem getting assistance if they apply. The final bill will most likely crack down on states that give recipients $1 in heating assistance in order to trigger higher food stamp benefits, a change that wouldn't take people completely off the rolls. The bill will also likely add some money for food banks and test new work requirements for recipients in a few states, a priority for many Republicans. "While this program is an important part of our safety net, our overriding goal should be to help our citizens with the education and skills they need to get back on their feet so that they can provide for themselves and their families," said Majority Leader Eric Cantor, when the farm bill was on the House floor last summer. Democrats and anti-hunger groups opposing the reductions have said that cutting food stamps could worsen health and raise health costs for the poorest. "Food is medicine," says Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern, who has led the Democrats' defense of the food stamp program. "Critics focus almost exclusively on how much we spend, and I wish they understood that if we did this better, we could save a lot more money in health care costs." Dr Thomas McInerny, past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said too often, poor families buy cheap, high-calorie junk food because it's filling, but it lacks nutrients needed for proper child development. The two main consequences are later-in-life diabetes, and iron deficiency that, especially in the first three years of life, can damage a developing brain so that children have trouble learning in school, he said. "The children may not look malnourished the way children in Third World countries look," he said, "but they are malnourished." |
One of the things we don’t talk enough about is the abuse too many girls and women endure in the delivery room. I have frequently heard stories from the girls about nurses who shouted at them if they cried or screamed during childbirth. Part of my work at IntraHealth International is on a program in Ethiopia that aims to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child. One of the ways we do this is by encouraging women to deliver in a health facility where they can get prophylactic care to stop HIV transmission. Yet, particularly in Ethiopia, it is still an uphill battle because the vast majority of women deliver at home. There are many reasons—financial, cultural, and practical such as a lack of transportation—women do not go to health facilities, even though that is where they will be more likely to get the care they need in an emergency. But one of the things we don’t talk enough about is the abuse too many girls and women endure in the delivery room. Years ago, in 1991 during a social work internship, I worked at a home for pregnant teenage girls in Cape Town, South Africa. I frequently heard stories from the girls about nurses who shouted at them to ‘shut up’ if they cried or screamed during childbirth, told them that they were ‘sluts’ because they were pregnant, slapped them around, or simply ignored or abandoned them to give birth alone. For these girls—many of whom were pregnant as the result of rape or incest—it was just another step in a continuum of abuse, which in all likelihood would be passed down to their babies, if they kept them. It is all part of a troubling cycle. Yet, the part that was particularly incongruous for me was that people entering a helping profession ended up with such attitudes and behaviors towards their patients, the people they are entrusted to care for. Recently, I heard Dian Bowser present her analysis, “Exploring Evidence for Disrespect and Abuse in Facility-Based Childbirth,” which describes cases of abuse in 18 countries.* Bowser describes what many of us know and what can feed abusive behavior: health workers are overworked and operate in a system that lacks strong leadership, management, and supervision; offers poor pre-service training; and is chronically short-handed. Health workers are demoralized by these conditions as well as the lack of resources and opportunities to develop professionally. They, too, suffer disrespect and abuse at the hands of supervisors and, in fact, patients. In too many communities, the abuse of women—either in the home, the workplace, or the clinic—is a cultural norm for which there are too few channels for voicing complaints or seeking redress. So what can be done? Get the facts, direct to your inbox. Subscribe to our daily or weekly digest. SUBSCRIBE Bowser points to the urgent need for impact studies on how current programs can build the evidence base on which interventions are most effective at promoting respectful care at birth and preventing disrespect and abuse at health facilities. It also requires a broader commitment to changing the way women are treated and valued as a necessary part of building health systems. When it comes to the immediate goal of encouraging women to deliver in a health facility, this will only happen when women can be assured of competent, sensitive, respectful care. In a country like Ethiopia that is ranked by the United Nations Development Programme as the fifth worst country in the world (139 out of 144) in status and treatment of women, this is an ambitious undertaking, but it is one we cannot ignore if we are serious about changing the way women are cared for. *South Africa, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Peru, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Pakistan, Lebanon, India, United States and Canada |
Well, after a three week hiatus (even scale model builders get married sometimes), here’s a quick post on weathering. There are several options and many products for making leaves. They can be used anywhere: on dioramas, and even on individual vehicles. They are great and subtle way to increase the level of realism: a brown, crumpled leaf on the floor of a vehicle, or stuck between tool boxes make a model look more real. There are punch-sets (pretty good ones), PE and amazing laser cut, and other aftermarket sets, but there’s a free, and pretty convincing alternative, too, courtesy of the common birch. From wikipedia: The flowers are monoecious, opening with or before the leaves and borne once fully grown these leaves are usually 3–6 millimetres (0.12–0.24 in) long on three-flowered clusters in the axils of the scales of drooping or erect catkins or aments. Staminate aments are pendulous, clustered or solitary in the axils of the last leaves of the branch of the year or near the ends of the short lateral branchlets of the year. They form in early autumn and remain rigid during the winter. The scales of the staminate aments when mature are broadly ovate, rounded, yellow or orange color below the middle, dark chestnut brown at apex. Each scale bears two bractlets and three sterile flowers, each flower consisting of a sessile, membranaceous, usually two-lobed, calyx. Each calyx bears four short filaments with one-celled anthers or strictly, two filaments divided into two branches, each bearing a half-anther. Anther cells open longitudinally. The pistillate aments are erect or pendulous, solitary; terminal on the two-leaved lateral spur-like branchlets of the year. The pistillate scales are oblong-ovate, three-lobed, pale yellow green often tinged with red, becoming brown at maturity. These scales bear two or three fertile flowers, each flower consisting of a naked ovary. The ovary is compressed, two-celled, and crowned with two slender styles; the ovule is solitary. Each scale bear a single small, winged nut that is oval, with two persistent stigmas at the apex. There was a reason I hated plant taxonomy at university. Anyhow, it boils down to the following: some parts of the seed pods (not a scientifically correct name) look like maple leaves. Mix some white glue with water, and use it to attach these to the surface of the model (or diorama); the seeds themselves can be mixed with this glue, and used as amorphous plant deposits in crevices. The effect is pretty convincing, and if you live in a country where the tree grows, it’s free. I’ve been using this on the T-62, the Zrinyi II, the D7 dozer I’ve made, and in general, most 1/35 models I’ve been building lately. The one downside is obvious- it looks like my models live in a very uniform forest populated by a single tree; so I’ll be buying some punch sets in the future, that’s for sure. Advertisements |
In a little over three years as a public company, Facebook is now worth more than Walmart. This change in the corporate pecking order is the culmination of a remarkable surge for the shares of Mark Zuckerberg’s social media giant, and a long stagnation for those of the world’s largest retailer. Over the last year, Facebook’s stock has jumped roughly 30% as the broader S&P 500 has barely managed to keep its head above water. The climb has added more than $65 billion to Facebook’s market value, bringing it to more than $236 billion, just above Walmart’s $235 billion. (Full disclosure, this is just intraday trading. Things could end up differently by the time the market closes.) Market cap leapfrogging like this happens all the time. But this one might feel particularly ridiculous to many. If we size up Facebook and Walmart, there’s no contest as to which one has the larger economic footprint. By revenue, Walmart is the largest company in the world, with annual sales clocked in at $476 billion last year. Facebook recorded revenue of roughly $12.5 billion. But the fact that Facebook’s market value has nosed ahead of one of country’s longstanding economic bellwethers underscores a broader shift that is intuitively easy to understand: Technology is playing a larger and larger part in our lives. Therefore, technology should be playing a larger and larger role in the economy. However, that’s not always apparent in official statistics. For example, the information sector—which includes software, data processing, web search portals and other technological business nooks—isn’t exactly devouring the US economy. The information sector’s share of economic output has stayed remarkably flat, at about 5% of GDP in 2014, roughly where it was in 1997. (By comparison, the mining sector has leapt from 1.1% of GDP to 2.6% over the same period.) This is largely because GDP—the benchmark measure of “the economy”—is calculated by adding up monetary transactions. So while Facebook’s advertising sales contribute to GDP, the millions of users logging on for free each day don’t register at all. (The same goes for Google searches and visits to Wikipedia.) That benefit is what’s known as a “consumer surplus,” a benefit to well-being that’s not captured in traditional economic statistics. Markets aren’t a perfect mirror of the economy either. But over time they have shifted—even setting aside the fact that Facebook leapfrogged Walmart—in a way that reflects technology’s growing economic importance, at least in the minds of investors. The largest US companies by market value are Apple and Microsoft, and Google has also fought its way into the top five. Of course, there’s an age old tension between moody—and often momentary—market swings and economic reality. None of this is to say we’re set up for a replay of the tech stock bust of the early 2000s. While Facebook’s sales and profits seem piddling compared to Walmart and Exxon, at least tech industry profits now actually exist. (Much of the dotcom boom of the 1990s was based on pure vapor.) But as Facebook’s massive valuation shows, there’s still plenty of indication that investor optimism about technology can run far ahead of economic reality. |
The fertility consultant facing an unprecedented criminal prosecution over her work arranging surrogacy services is accused of providing false profiles of egg donors and surrogates to potential clients, documents filed by the RCMP indicate. The allegations are contained in details of the four Criminal Code forgery counts that Leia Picard and her company, with offices in Ontario and B.C., both face, among 27 charges laid in February. Police had earlier declined to outline specifics of the forgery accusations. The “information” document that officers filed in court, however, charges that Ms. Picard and Canadian Fertility Consultants (CFC) knowingly made four false documents: profiles of two egg donors and two surrogate mothers, intending in each case that the false profile “be acted on as genuine.” Frank Addario, Ms. Picard’s Toronto-based lawyer, said he and his client would not respond to details revealed in the police document. “We won’t have any comment on that or the case,” he said by email. “We are going to defend it in court.’’ Sherry Levitan, a Toronto fertility lawyer, said prospective parents rely heavily on such depictions of surrogates and egg donors, who provide half their child’s genetic makeup. Most never meet the egg donor and would not necessarily be able to verify the accuracy of the profiles, she said. “You can imagine that when intended parents are choosing an egg donor, the most important aspect is the egg donor’s health,” said Ms. Levitan. “It’s really quite disturbing to think that an intermediary would have changed it.” She said she worked with a couple last year who were able to compare an egg donor’s original profile and the one they were shown by an agency, and saw clear differences. In another case, said Ms Levitan, a couple learned from the clinic that was about to perform an egg retrieval that the donor’s health background had been significantly misrepresented in her agency profile. “It was at the 11th hour,” the lawyer said. “It just wreaked havoc.” Ms. Picard is also charged under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act with purchasing sperm or egg from a donor, paying a female to be a surrogate mother and accepting consideration for arranging the services of a surrogate mother — or offering to do so. The law allows people who donate eggs or sperm or act as surrogates to be reimbursed for legitimate expenses, but not paid fees. On the Friends of CFC web site where Ms. Picard is appealing for donations to help fight the case, she indicates in a March 19 posting that “things became much more real” as she had to have fingerprints and a photograph taken at the RCMP detachment. “It was a very emotional experience,” she wrote. She said she hoped her lawyers would soon “have more answers to the questions that have been plaguing me – ‘Why is this happening to me?’ ‘Why would someone say anything negative about me?’ ‘How did this happen?’ ” In an earlier posting on a Facebook page, Ms. Picard indicated that she was confident she would be cleared of all charges, and force changes to the assisted-reproduction law itself. The consultant said she was planning to launch a constitutional challenge of legislation she called “abusive to those trying desperately to become parents.” Some observers say the unproven accusation that she altered the profiles could cast a new light on the case. It would mean the alleged infractions are more than just a form of “civil disobedience” by someone who opposes the law, said Francoise Baylis, Canada Research Chair in bioethics at Dalhousie University. “This, to me, takes it to a different level [if true],” she said. “This isn’t about reasonable or ethical or social disagreement. This is an [alleged] attempt to deceive.” The allegations underline that it is “buyer beware” when fertility treatment becomes commercial, said Juliet Guichon, a bioethicist at the University of Calgary. The information document also adds more detail about the surrogate mothers involved in the alleged offences, indicating that three of them were American. National Post |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.