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Originally Posted By MarkNH: Originally Posted By Seanem44: Drudge. Main headline. Drudge. Main headline. http://rt.com/news/meteorite-crash-urals-chelyabinsk-283/ "According to unconfirmed reports, the meteorite was intercepted by an air defense unit at the Urzhumka settlement near Chelyabinsk. A missile salvo blew the meteorite to pieces at an altitude of 20 kilometers, local newspaper Znak reports quoting a source in the military." There are tons of videos of the meteorite including ones of it breaking up naturally. I see no salvo of anti-aircraft missiles. Also the Russian Space Agency said it was moving at a speed of 30km/sec, which equals 67,108mph (which is a speed of Mach 87 (seriously) at 1 atm and 20 degrees C), that is 4 times the speed of a typical ICBM reentry...... do you really think AA missiles could destroy it? "According to unconfirmed reports, the meteorite was intercepted by an air defense unit at the Urzhumka settlement near Chelyabinsk. A missile salvo blew the meteorite to pieces at an altitude of 20 kilometers, local newspaper Znak reports quoting a source in the military." Thank you. That is why I raised the BS alert. There is no time to react to that unless they knew about it in advance. And then we would have known about it. It may have been one, but I doubt it was intercepted. Might have been a fragment from the one passing over today. Again, I don't wear tinfoil, but I am an amateur astronomer who understands how hard these things can be to track, let alone intercept. Thank you. That is why I raised the BS alert. There is no time to react to that unless they knew about it in advance. And then we would have known about it. It may have been one, but I doubt it was intercepted. Might have been a fragment from the one passing over today.Again, I don't wear tinfoil, but I am an amateur astronomer who understands how hard these things can be to track, let alone intercept. |
Former member of the original Black Panther Party Larry Pinkney recently spoke to Infowars about a Freedom Of Information Act request that reveals the FBI’s intent to “neutralize him.” Pinkney explains how information contained within his own FBI files, retrieved via a FOIA request submitted by author William Mandel, revealed the agency targeted him due to his ability to rally people of different races. “Pinkney is potentially dangerous due to his demonstrated ability to unify black and white,” the files state. “His associates are Negro, White and Chinese. Special attention is being given to neutralizing him. The areas of sex and drugs appear to be the most effective ones to utilize. His habits in these areas are unknown, but are being monitored with this objective.” The FBI’s concern with Pinkney parallels with the agency’s treatment of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, whom one internal FBI memo referred to as “the most dangerous and effective Negro leader in the country.” Unknown government entities also harassed King with letters seeking to discredit him, and at least one sought to persuade him to take his own life. “After learning King would be the recipient of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, [FBI Director J. Edgar] Hoover took his fanatical obsession with obliterating King to the next level,” reports Huffington Post. “Agents sent the reverend an anonymous note, chastising him for his affairs and implying that he should commit suicide.” The following excerpt appeared in one letter sent to Dr. King: King, there is only one thing left for you to do. You know what it is. You have just 34 days in which to do it (this exact number has been selected for a specific reason, it has definite practical significance). You are done. There is but one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, abnormal fraudulent self is bared to the nation. Watch our recent interview with Larry Pinkney: |
On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted an alt-right student who was charged with a hate crime for stabbing a Black US Army lieutenant. Sean Christopher Urbanski, 22, a former student at the University of Maryland, was accused of killing Richard Collins III before dawn on May 20 at a bus stop. Collins, who attended Bowie State University nearby, was “was killed because of his race,” according to Angela D. Alsobrooks, state’s attorney for Prince George’s County. Police said at the time of Urbanski’s arrest that he was part of a group on Facebook called “Alt-Reich,” which was filled with hateful posts targeting minorities and African-Americans in particular. — Mississippi school changing its name from ‘Jefferson Davis’ to ‘Barack Obama’ — “There was lots of digital evidence that we could look at to get a sense for the motive in this case,” Alsobrooks said, adding, “It came from his phone, computer ….There was some activity on Facebook.” Police also said that Urbanski had yelled odd commands at Collins before stabbing him, saying, “Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you.” Collins “looked at him puzzled with the other friends and said, ‘No,’” said University of Maryland police Chief David Mitchell, adding that Urbanski stabbed Collins after his refusal. Urbanski has already been indicted by a separate grand jury, which in July hit him with a a common-law murder charge. Tuesday’s indictment saw the hate crime motivation attached to Urbanski’s actions. |
Welcome back to the Way of Kings reread! With the end of part one we get to see the true evolution of a hero from the lowest point in his life. Kaladin shall rise from the ashes of who he was to become something greater. He won’t just be a polarizing warrior, but a great leader, ideal, and the resurgence of honor itself on Roshar. But before that Sanderson gives us the interludes, which are a sort of mini-tour to parts of Roshar we haven’t seen thus far. With the first set of interludes we meet a most unusual fisherman, visit with two of Shallan’s brothers, and see what Szeth has been up to since he killed a king. The interludes are some of the most unusual chapters in The Way of Kings. At least, they feel more unusual since for the most part they are focused on things going on in the periphery of the story we’ve been introduced to so far. These sections enable Brandon to keep to a limited number of points of view during most of the book, but let the readers see what else is going on in this big wide world in locales that are likely to become very important. The places we mainly visit with Kharbranth and the Shattered Plains are a very small—however important—sampling of Roshar. These sections also serve to introduce character points of view that will most likely be pivotal later on. Yes, I realize Szeth is a point of view in the interludes and he will be getting “his” book in the Stormlight Archive at some point—some point that I hope is soon, as he and the Shin are one of the biggest mysteries in the series outside of the whole Voidbrings and Origin of Storms elements—at least this early on. When we look back at the series a decade or two from now, when the series is well on its way to completion, the Shin angle might just seem trifling in reflection, but for now they and Szeth have a lot to answer for. Unfortunately, these chapters have no epigraphs, which I’ll miss as they are fun to pick apart, but the quotes are also missing from Kaladin’s flashback chapters so that’s something we’ll have to get more used to. Now, who’s up for a fishing trip to Purelake? Interlude I-1: Ishikk Setting: Purelake Point of View: Ishikk What Happens: After not having too much luck fishing on Purelake, Ishikk returns to the town of Fu Abra and Maib’s house to meet with some foreigners, as well as for a bite to eat. Ishikk bandies words with Maib, a woman who is after him for marriage and has been for a number of years. They both play the game of being in one another’s debt, with Maib giving him food, but Ishikk keeps the scales on his side by giving Maib a rare fish known to alleviate pains in the joints which she suffers from. Ishikk sits down at a table with a group of three people who he continually refers to as “foreigners.” Ishikk has pet names for each of them. There is Grump, Blunt, and the Thinker. Ishikk finds each of them strange, as they don’t seem to take precisely after any of the Rosharian races he is familiar with, especially around the eyes. The foreigners have asked him to visit his contacts around Purelake to see if a certain man has been seen anywhere in the area. The man answers to the name Hoid with “white hair, a clever tongue, and arrowlike face,” but he is also known to dye his hair and wear disguises. Ishikk tells them he searched all around Purelake, visiting the towns of Fu Ralis, Fu Namir, Fu Albast, and Fu Moorin, but found no trace of the man they describe. The three foreigners begin to argue amongst themselves after questioning whether he did his job properly and soon depart, with Grump taking up the rear. He is heard to say “‘Where are you Roamer? What a fool’s quest this is.’ Then he added in his own tongue ‘Alavanta kamaloo kayana.’” Quote of the Chapter: Oh, he’d heard stories about that sort of life. Nu Rulik send he never had to go to such a terrible place. Besides, it was probably cold there. Ishikk pitied those who had to live in the cold. Why didn’t they just come to Purelake? Nu Ralik send that they don’t, he thought, walking up to Maib’s place. If everyone knew how nice Purelake was, surely they’d all want to live here, and there wouldn’t be a place to walk without stumbling over some foreigner! Foreshadowing much? So war will come to Purelake, or Ishikk will at least go to war. In either case it should make for an interesting and welcome storyline. Ishikk is definitely a fun character to read even if he doesn’t seem very deep. I can’t imagine the Purelakers rising up to fight though, at least as far as Ishikk’s personality lets on. Purelakers seem more apt to take things in stride and wait for the storm to blow over before interceding in some sort of conflict. Could Ishikk even be a Radiant in waiting for a school not even discussed yet? Of the orders discussed (Lightweavers, Windrunners, Dustbringers, and Stonewards) none seem right for Ishikk. All of the orders though do seem to be related to an element of some kind and we’ve yet to hear about one related to water. Maybe Ishikk could be part of them. A Waterdancer perhaps? Or he could just be a funny fisherman that we’ll never hear from again. Commentary: This is a pure Cosmere chapter. I’m not going to go too deeply into the Cosmere aspects, so things will be left fairly vague for the purposes of this reread as I don’t want to ruin the experience of reading Brandon’s other books. Honestly, this chapter is such a Cosmere chapter I think it is part of Sanderson’s grand plan at interweaving an even greater yet subtle story early on that will likely not pay dividends for a long time in coming. Those in the comments can have all the fun they want though picking things apart and naming names. The broad strokes are that most of the worlds—often called Shardworlds—found in Sanderson’s adult novels are connected and have a grand Theory of Everything, especially in regards to the connections found between the magic and development of life on these worlds including those Roshar, Scadrial (Mistborn), Sel (Elantris), and Nalthis (Warbreaker.) Hoid appears in all of these books in some form. There is/was a God of the Cosmere universe called Adonalsium, who was shattered into pieces, and each world and its people came about under the influence of one or more of these Shards. Each world has its own forces of creation and destruction, with some being more apparent than others, depending on the current state of the world in question. Each of Ishikk’s “foreigners” is from a different world in the Cosmere. They are world travelers somewhat like Hoid, though we do not know exactly how they accomplish this. The language used at the end of the chapter seems to suggest that Grump is from Sel and Thinker’s scar marks him as being a specific character from Scardial that readers of the Mistborn series might remember. Blunt I’m not sure about at all. Hoid is boldly named and even given the nickname “Roamer,” which seems to nail him pretty well. Why they are looking for him I haven’t a clue, but it probably has to do with trouble, especially since Hoid is involved. The travelers don’t seem to have bad ends in mind for Hoid though so perhaps it is so they can stop something from happening or an incoming battle. The chapter header image contains the masked man. Only a few chapters show this icon, and this is its first appearance. I keep going back and forth about who it could mean, but I think I’ve settled on it being Hoid, for now. Mostly, I’ve come to this assumption because Hoid appears or is referenced in these chapters in some fashion. And being the masked man seems fitting for someone so enigmatic. Purelake is a very wide yet not very deep lake where most of the inhabitants are either farmers or fishermen. It seems strange that people would live their lives in water almost entirely—as weird as it seems to Purelakers that most people don’t want to be in the water most of their lives. The fishing metaphors are pretty heavy handed, especially between Ishikk and Maib. They’re playing catch and release with each other though Maib is less focused on the release part, but it appears Ishikk is letting his guard down. Highstorms leave a trace energy that people bottle up in gemstones, but the land itself and the people also benefit for the continual barraging. Could the curative properties of the fish of Purelake be due to the highstorms? If so what else might be awaiting us in the water and the world at large that has been changed? It is interesting to see that there are two gods worshipped in Purelake showcasing yet another example of duality. Nu Ralik epitomizing good and the other god Vun Makak is all about spite. Could this be another version of the Odium versus Honor myth altered through the ages? Or even an example of the Herald’s mythology changed? Interlude I-2: Nan Balat Setting: Jah Keved, Estate of the Davar Family Point of View: Nan Balat What Happens: On the estate of the Davar family Shallan’s now oldest brother Nan Balat is killing creatures. He is picking at a small crab, tearing their legs off. Torturing the animals provides him a soothing satisfaction though he says he has no desires to hurt people. Balat goes looking for his axehound, Scrat, who is off torturing his own creature. As Balat lets Scrat play he worries about being a coward by letting Shallan be put in charge of ensuring the family’s importance continued through theft. Balat laments that the Davars are a broken family, with Asha Jushu driven to vice and Tet Wikim to despair along with their oldest brother (the former Nan) Helaran now dead. Tet Wikim runs up requesting his immediate attention to a important problem. Quote of the Chapter: Wikim comes running up telling Balat that “We have a problem.” “How large a problem?” “Pretty big, I’d say. Come on.” Argh. This is what we call an agonizing cliffhanger with just enough—barely a sentence—to whet the appetite for a meal a long time coming. In the vernacular of James T. Kirk: During the whole course of The Way of Kings the “problem” is not addressed again. My guess would be there is a visitor to the halls of the Davar family. Maybe someone connected with the Ghostblood,s or someone who is just demanding to see Brightlord Davar, who is dead, but still believed to be alive by everyone outside of the family. It is an odd thing to add such a cliffhanger this early on, so my hope is Words of Radiance ventures back to Jah Keved for a few more rounds with the Davar brothers. Commentary: So how screwed in the head is Balat? Pretty out of whack, but he seems to believe he masks it well. People always underestimate those with disabilities, but let’s not forget the supremely badass Glotka from Joe Abercrombie’s The Blade Itself. In the end I think Balat will surprise us in many ways. At least I hope so if he ends up becoming a focus character. What kind of sadistic bastard will Balat turn into as the series progresses? A pretty sorry one is my bet. Nan seems to mean, senior brother or it could intimate they are next in line for being called Birghtlord ____. We haven’t found this kind of status signifier elsewhere so it may merely be a Jah Keved affectation, or something that runs across all of the Vorin kingdoms. Tet and Ashu seem to also be other status signifiers for family hierarchy. The first line tells us precisely what sort of thoughts we should attach to Balat as a character, “Nan Balat liked killing things.” I take this to mean we should not trust this man. There is something not so right with him. He may be crippled, as he says, but above all else he is dangerous. However, he says the whole family is broken and shattered with each left a cripple in their own way. Some baear their scars more easily than the others, with Balat having a cane as a life partner after nearly losing his leg. This chapter really just raises questions about the Davars and doesn’t clear a thing up. What is the problem at the end? What caused the break in Balat’s leg that left him having to walk with a cane for the rest of his life at such a young age? Most likely it has to do with his father, and may have been the reason Shallan got involved, which led to the elder Davar’s death. Balat claims only he and Shallan were left unscathed from their father’s temper as the other brothers all developed problems, but he clearly doesn’t understand how his treatment of animals is a small part of him trying to take control over others—something that his father Brightlord Davar always strove to do from the little we’ve heard of him. We get mention of the other two brothers. The oldest Davar brother Helaran is presumed dead, but I wouldn’t count him out too quickly. His death left Balat as the senior son. A very brief mention of the last brother Asha Jushu seems to indicate he’s a bit of a thief or gambler. Although the chapter is a bit scant it does gives us a different type of land than we’ve encountered before along with some more explanations of the life infesting the world. Scrat, Balat’s pet axehound, is off gleefully torturing an animal just like his master and Balat nearly goes as far as to take the kill away from his hound to pull off the legs himself. An axehound sounds a bit like a giant roach, but at the level of a dog. Now the songling is an interesting create. Songlings are shelled creatures, though the name brings more to mind a bird, but this is Roshar. Songlings beat out noises on their shells/carapaces and seem to do so in tune with others of their kind almost as if they are playing a song as part of an orchestra. It seems to show a certain level of intelligence by even the smaller creatures of the world. The land of the Davars is rife with vines, which take over most areas, even growing over trees. While most of the world of Roshar is continually battered by large storms, there is still great variation in the regions, just like we would find on Earth. I don’t know why I find that so surprising now that I look back, but I always felt most of the world was more desert and rocky-like than it actually is. The cover had a lot to do with this. Roshar is supposed to be this arid, craggy place, but there is plenty of life to be found everywhere we turn and many ways of living. Interlude I-3: The Glory of Ignorance Setting: Ironsway, Bavland Point of View: Szeth What Happens: More than five years since Szeth killed king Gavilar he finds himself a slave to a vagabond named Took. For Took, Szeth is mostly a conversation piece that will enable him to meet people in bars he visits and hopefully be given drinks to keep telling his fabricated stories. Almost like a sideshow. While talking with a local miner Took orders Szeth to cut himself, which he does without protest. When ordered to cut his own throat he says “As Truthless, it is the nature of my suffering to be forbidden the taste of death by my own hand.” The miner is taken aback by how Szeth sounds like a proper Lighteyes with refined speech. Szeth believes that his mannerisms and way of speech are why his many masters over the last five years have not kept him, but it could also be because they suspected he was capable of a lot more and many were uncomfortable not only with having someone learned in their low-presence, but also the possibilities beyond cleaning and heavy lifting. As Took gets up to leave the miners ask him to stay and tell another story with the offer of a beer. Szeth remembers after the assassination how the Parshendi abandoned him and his oathstone, which he then had to recover and wait along the roadside for someone to come for him to give it to. Szeth mentions he has had a series of owners from the last few years that number in the dozens. Finally no one offers Took more to drink so he leaves with Szeth following. Outside Took stumbles to the ground. As Szeth goes to pick him up he realizes Took is bleed copiously and has been stabbed through the neck. Men come out of the darkness and rob Took of what meager money he had on the. One comments that Szeth could be valuable as a Shin slave. Another robber notices Szeth’s oathstone and Szeth must now explain that whoever has his oathstone he will obey completely outside of killing himself. Inwardly, Szeth also acknowledges that he is also forbidden to hand over his Shardblade. Quote of the Chapter: Perhaps they could sense the truth, that he was capable of so much more than they dared use him for. It was one thing to have a slave of your own. But when that slave talked like a lighteyes and know more than you did? It made them uncomfortable. Szeth tried to play the part, tried to make himself act less refined. It was very difficult for him. Perhaps impossible. What would these men say if they knew that the man who emptied their chamber pot was a Shardbearer and a Surgebinder? A Windrunner, like the Radiants of old? The moment he summoned his Blade, his eyes would turn from green to pale—almost glowing—sapphire, a unique effect of his particular weapon. Outside of reaffirming his own abilities are those of a Surgebinder, Szeth also links what he does to the Windrunner order of the Knights Radiant. But does that not necessarily mean he is a Windrunner, especially since he isn’t living up to the honor part? Not likely. Also, could he be a Windrunner if the Radiants are not currently in existence? Can you really be a member of a group if there is no group? Szeth‘s Shardblade seems to be very special indeed. His eyes change color and glow when he wields it, which isn’t a normal attribute of the Shardblades we see the Alethi wield. The legend is that once taken up by a darkeyes a Shardblade always changes the eye color permanently to that of a lighteyes, which also passes down to the children of the Shardbearer as well. It seems Szeth’s sword is something greater, perhaps the sword of a Knight Radiant? Maybe even one once possessed by a Herald themselves? Doubtful, but you never know. Maybe Szeth taking control of this particular blade is what led to him becoming Truthless. Commentary: The fated-to-be-enthralled-by-men Szeth makes his inglorious return. And he is at his most pitiable yet he has refrained from killing for the last five years. We learn that Szeth is now 35 years old and has been a Truthless for 7 years, which means he was a Truthless for about two years when he killed Gavilar. Given the skill level Szeth has with not only his Shardblade, but with his Lashing it stands to reason that he practiced the skills for many more years than just two, so he learned much of what knows before he became Truthless. It begs the question though of how many Shin know how to do what he does? Is it a small sect/school in Shinovar, or is it a larger presence long engrained in Shin society? Do they have many other Shardblades? Do only Truthless have them? The Shin continue to vex me. The phrasing Szeth uses when asked to cut his throat is very telling. He says “As Truthless, it is the nature of my suffering…” So at least a partial point of being Truthless is that you suffer, so it would seem to mean that being a Truthless in the Shin society is a punishment. Punishment for what? Szeth’s oathstone also comes up and becomes pivotal. Szeth had to find his oathstone after the assassination as the Parshendi left it when they escaped, which means there is a connection that Szeth can sense between him and the oathstone. Unless it was blind luck, which doesn’t seem likely. He is drawn to it, so what kind of power does it have? What does it contain? A spren perhaps? A magical connection caused by Old Magic perhaps? Some sort of curse placed on him by the Shin? Szeth reveals he has had nearly two dozen masters since he killed Gavilar. Yet none of them ever got to the point where they would ask him to kill. Each instead decides to pass a very valuable slave to someone else. Szeth, though weary, welcomes this as his penance for the actions he has partaken in. Most of his past masters seemed to be common people, but by the end of the chapter Szeth gets drawn into a darker crowd. Took mentions a story about the Nightwatcher who stole a sphere that glowed black at night, which seemed eerily similar to the sphere Gavilar gave to Szeth as he lay dying. Szeth left the sphere somewhere in Jah Keved to keep it from his current and future masters so that they wouldn’t take it from him. The Nightwatcher is an interesting element that crops up in quite a few places and seems to be connected to what Rosharans call “the Old Magic.” So this seems like our first lead on what the sphere could be related to: Old Magic. There is also a passage from The Way of Kings (the book Dalinar later reads) that discusses the Nightwatcher and, given Gavilar’s link to The Way of Kings, it stands to reason the sphere works in somehow as well. Did Gavilar visit the Nightwatcher as well? Was this his gift from her? If so then what was his curse? From what little there is to gather about the Nightwatcher it seems that if she grants you a boon you also get a curse. So she is another example of the world of Roshar having a balance. Next week we begin Part Two, which introduces Dalinar and Adolin. Michael Pye (aka The Mad Hatter) runs The Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf & Book Review where he shares his views on genre books. He can also be found nattering on Twitter or in search of the perfect piece of bacon. He is currently working on an anthology project and is hoping to find a good publishing home for it soon. |
Americans have been granted a pleasant six-week respite from the anxiety that our elected representatives will once again screw up the economy that supports most of us. In late December and early January, you will recall, the two political parties played a big game of chicken to see who could score the most points in the debt-ceiling and tax-cut-expiration fight. And as part of a deal designed to make each team look like heroes for "cutting taxes" that they could easily have just voted not to raise, a problematic little budget agreement called the "sequester" was kicked down the road a couple of months. Well, now those two months are over. And at the end of next week, on March 1st, the "sequester" will kick in. Unless Congress intervenes, the sequester will trigger about $85 million in annual spending cuts across most government agencies, including the military, the Department of Education, and the Department of Justice. These cuts will result in furloughs, loss of overtime, and probably some layoffs, especially if they are permanent. The cuts are designed to cut the deficit by about $1.2 trillion over 10 years, and although long-term deficit reduction is a noble goal, the cuts will also hurt the economy this year, when it is weak. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the sequester cuts, combined with the tax increases earlier this year, will reduce 2013 GDP growth by 1.5 percentage points. Both parties agree that the "sequester" is lousy policy--the cuts are sharp and indiscriminate across most agencies, including those that are favorites of each particular political team. But both parties voted for the sequester. And neither party is lifting a finger to try to stop the cuts from taking place. So take whatever they say with a grain of salt. Nor is the sequester the only economic hurdle on the horizon. At the end of March, the "continuing resolution" that is funding federal government spending will run out. After that date, the federal government will have to shut down unless or until another continuing resolution (or budget) is passed. This creates the possibility that the government will endure a 1995 scenario in which big agencies just close their doors until Congress finally does what it was elected to do. And then, in May, unless Congress has passed an agreement to delay it, the debt ceiling will return. The debt ceiling, you will recall, is what almost caused the country to default on its obligations back in the summer of 2011 and then again early this year. Our government is using our debt ceiling as a poker chip, and although the Republicans caved a couple of months ago, there's always a risk that they'll decide to hijack the country again. The bottom line is there are three ways our government can screw up our economy in the next three months. So don't relax just yet. Tell Us What You Think! Got a topic you’d like covered? Have a guest you’d like to see interviewed? Send an email to: thedailyticker@yahoo.com. You can also look us up on Twitter and Facebook. More from The Daily Ticker How to Fix Too Big to Fail Without Taxpayer Bailouts: Rep. Campbell's Plan PIMCO’s El-Erian to Congress: Stop Creating Economic Headwinds China's Military Linked to Cyberattacks Against America |
How did faculty and staff at the University of Colorado, where accused was a neuroscience student, react the morning of July 20? We've put together a timeline of e-mails culled from the Continue Reading by CU. The e-mails, which you can read below, are from the first twelve hours after Holmes allegedly opened fire at a sold-out midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises , killing twelve people. CU released e-mails containing the name "James Holmes" on Wednesday in response to requests from several media outlets. At 6:41 a.m. on July 20, Sergeant Jason Mollendor of the police department at Auraria Campus, where part of the University of Colorado-Denver is located, asked staff to check their student records for a James Holmes. Six minutes later, Angie Ribera, the director of the neuroscience program, sent an e-mail to program administrator Cammie Kennedy, wondering if it was the Holmes they knew. An hour later, Ribera had her confirmation. Ribera soon expressed concern for the safety of CU students who knew him. By 8:30 a.m., the media had figured out he was a CU student. Continue for more of our James Holmes-CU e-mail timeline. Just before 9 a.m., Jenny-Lynn Ellis, a counselor at the CU-Denver Counseling Center and a key member of the Behavioral Evaluation and Threat Assessment Team, e-mailed colleagues "on the off chance he was a client of ours." It would later be revealed that a psychiatrist who was seeing Holmes reported him to the BETA Team. Kennedy soon sent an e-mail to faculty and students "to meet at 10 a.m. to discuss James Holmes." She asked that they not post anything on Facebook or Twitter. E-mails from the media began to pour in after 9 a.m. At 9:30 a.m., molecular biology professor Lee Niswander sent an e-mail to a colleague wondering if Holmes had been kicked out of the neuroscience program. By then, the media was reaching out to professors who knew Holmes. One of the first to be inundated with interview requests was associate professor Jason Tregellas, in whose class Holmes had reportedly done a presentation on "MicroRNA Biomarkers." Continue for more of our James Holmes-CU e-mail timeline. At 9:56 a.m., CU spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery sent out a short statement confirming that Holmes had been a student there. The e-mail included a photo of him. Here's the photo. A few minutes later, Roberta Aberle, whose LinkedIn profile lists her profession as a senior analytical consultant for the University of Colorado, sent an e-mail to a colleague with this message: "Don't know him, but wouldn't want to if this is valid information." That colleague, Elizabeth Luzier, a nurse and research assistant for the anesthesiology department at CU's medical school, replied with a realization of her own: "He could have done this on campus instead of the movies." Just after 10 a.m., rumors were already circulating among CU staff that Holmes had failed his preliminary exams in June, which prosecutors have said is true and may have contributed to what happened next. Continue for more of our James Holmes-CU e-mail timeline. At 10:21, Christina Aguilera, the manager of environmental compliance for CU's department of environmental health and safety, e-mailed CU police chief Doug Abraham to tell him Holmes used the school's labs and invite him to check if any chemicals were missing. Holmes told police he'd booby-trapped his apartment with explosives. CU officials were soon drafting talking points to answer the media's questions. By 10:30 a.m., word that Holmes was a student was making its way around campus. At 11:10 a.m., computational bioscience professor Larry Hunter sent an e-mail to a colleague indicating that Holmes had a "brief romantic relationship" with a graduate student in Hunter's program. "She knows, and is pretty freaked out," he said. Five minutes later, a recipient of Hunter's e-mail replied with a question that's still on many people's minds: "Do people think he was unstable before this happened?" Hunter responded, indicating Holmes had been rejected from a colleague's lab. Continue for more of our James Holmes-CU e-mail timeline. At 11:41 a.m., police chief Abraham asked all non-essential personnel to leave a certain part of the campus so police using specially trained dogs could make sure it was safe. Faculty and staff continued to wonder about Holmes's state of mind. Meanwhile, the dean of the graduate school, Barry Shur, sought details about Holmes's status as a student and when he'd begun the process of withdrawing from CU. And staff continued to share rumors, including this tidbit about Holmes's mom. More from our Aurora Theater Shooting archive: "James Holmes: CU releases 3,800 e-mails about him, to him and written by him." |
Elisa Lam (Photo courtesy LAPD) If you thought that the tragic death of Canadian tourist Elisa Lam at the Cecil Hotel would be perfect movie material, you weren't alone. A script for a horror film based around Lam's mysterious demise was just picked up by Sony Pictures. The script, titled "The Bringing," is inspired by Lam's mysterious death, Deadline Hollywood reports. The story focuses on a man investigating her death and the horrors he encounters along the way. Lam's body was found in a water tank on the roof of the Cecil, weeks after she disappeared. A surveillance video of Lam acting strange in a Cecil elevator went viral and sparked numerous theories (some of them paranormal) about her death. For the record, Lam's official cause of death was due to drowning, and the autopsy report claimed that her bipolar disorder was a contributor. When you think about it, Lam's story contains a classic combination of horror movie elements: a creepy hotel, a young tourist, an unexplained death, a history of unsettling events that has happened at the hotel in the past (Richard Ramirez used to live there at one point). These could very well be the ingredients for a top-notch screamer. |
A Note to Our Readers BY ROLLING STONE | December 5, 2014 To Our Readers: Last month, Rolling Stone published a story titled "A Rape on Campus" by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, which described a brutal gang rape of a woman named Jackie at a University of Virginia fraternity house; the university's failure to respond to this alleged assault – and the school's troubling history of indifference to many other instances of alleged sexual assaults. The story generated worldwide headlines and much soul-searching at UVA. University president Teresa Sullivan promised a full investigation and also to examine the way the school responds to sexual assault allegations. Because of the sensitive nature of Jackie's story, we decided to honor her request not to contact the man she claimed orchestrated the attack on her nor any of the men she claimed participated in the attack for fear of retaliation against her. In the months Erdely spent reporting the story, Jackie neither said nor did anything that made Erdely, or Rolling Stone's editors and fact-checkers, question Jackie's credibility. Her friends and rape activists on campus strongly supported Jackie's account. She had spoken of the assault in campus forums. We reached out to both the local branch and the national leadership of the fraternity where Jackie said she was attacked. They responded that they couldn't confirm or deny her story but had concerns about the evidence. In the face of new information, there now appear to be discrepancies in Jackie's account, and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced. We were trying to be sensitive to the unfair shame and humiliation many women feel after a sexual assault and now regret the decision to not contact the alleged assaulters to get their account. We are taking this seriously and apologize to anyone who was affected by the story. Managing Editor A timeline of how Richard Bradley’s critique finally made its way to the general public may be of interest. A reader kindly alerted me to Bradley’s post on November 24th. I made four scattershot comments on it on November 25th, beginning with my question: Wouldn’t the rapists get cut by the broken glass all over the floor, too? I guess they were such sex-crazed animals that they didn’t notice the glass cutting their hands and knees for the first three hours. I continued to mull over the issues that had been raised. (I hate being publicly wrong, so I’m cautious.) On the 27th I returned to Bradley’s blog to find I was still the only commenter, and added a fifth: Sorry to keep coming back to this, but I’ve done some more thinking and here’s where the story falls apart: pitch darkness _and_ broken glass on the floor. The glass table is smashed, but nobody turns on the light to see what happened or where the broken glass is? Instead, each man, having heard the glass table get smashed, still gets down on the floor covered with shards of broken glass, risking not only his hands and knees, but also pulling out an even more personal part of his anatomy, one that he only has one of. Really? My Taki’s Magazine article from earlier this week, “ A Rape Hoax for Book Lovers ,” details the timeline by which my blog brought Richard Bradley’s skepticism to media attention:Read the whole thing there The Washington Post has a new article full of new reporting. From CNN: The University of Virginia’s Phi Kappa Psi chapter did not have a party the night of September 28, 2012, the date when the reported attack occurred, the fraternity chapter’s lawyer, Ben Warthen, told CNN. He said email records and Inter-fraternity Council records prove there was no party. Warthen said there were other discrepancies in the account from the woman, whom Rolling Stone identified as Jackie, who then had just started her freshman year. For example, the orchestrator of the alleged rape did not belong to the fraternity, the fraternity house has no side staircase and there were no pledges at that time of year. “It’s not part of our culture,” Warthen said. “It’s just not true.” It’s time for the recriminations to begin! |
Twitter users often complain the site is addictive and time-consuming. But according to Saudi Arabia's top Muslim cleric, Twitter is "the source of all evil and devastation". Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, made the comments on his Fatwa television show earlier this week. "If it were used correctly, it could be of real benefit, but unfortunately it's exploited for trivial matters," he said about the social networking site. "People are rushing to it thinking, 'It's a source of credible information' but it's a source of lies and falsehood." As the highest religious authority in the country Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh holds a senior government position, advising on the law and social affairs. He was also voted the 12th most influential Muslim in the world in a recent poll. He said users were using Twitter to "promote lies, backbite and gossip and to slander Islam". According to Gulf News, he said: "These are not the high morals that Muslims should have and I call upon all people to contemplate seriously what they write before they post their tweets." However, citizens of Saudi Arabia, who are some of the heaviest users of Twitter, did not appreciate his remarks. "This is why I will repent, and close my account to distance myself from this great evil," one Twitter user wrote with apparent sarcasm. "Respected sheikh, how can you judge something without using it?" another post asked. One of the reasons Saudis say they like using Twitter is because it allows them to discuss what they really feel. The hashtag #WhydidTwittersucceedinSaudiArabia began trending in January, with users sharing their reasons they liked the site. One user tweeted: "People need an outlet to express themselves, to start to disclose what's hidden and drop the masks, without fear or commands, or censorship from anyone." Another posted: "The reason is that none of the newspapers are concerned with your worries nor do any officials care about you." Saudi Arabia adopts a strict version of Sunni Islam, which is the largest branch of the religion. The other main group are the Shia. The split into two happened more than 1,000 years ago when a dispute began over who should lead the Muslim community. Strict Sunnis believe in segregation of the sexes and this influences all aspects of life in Saudi Arabia. Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter and Radio1Newsbeat on YouTube |
If you pay any attention to pop culture headlines, then you've definitely seen the name Amber Rose. She’s no stranger to controversy; she doesn’t try to be. Rose said if she has something meaningful to say, she’s going to say it. “I’m not ever nervous about confronting anyone, and I’ll tell you why,” Rose told me over the phone. “I’m an open book, and there’s nothing you can say about me that I haven’t already said about myself. I don't have any skeletons in my closet, so there is nothing you can say to dim my light.” This philosophy of self-awareness and fearless honesty has carried over into Rose’s brand, businesses and, most importantly, her activism. Rose spoke about her fashion line that she sells on her website, MuvaRose.com. “I’m from the East Coast, and out there 'muva' means mother,” Rose explained. “My fans started calling me 'Muva,' and I started putting it on hoodies and t-shirts and stuff, and that's become the biggest seller on my website.” Where many celebrities have to be ultra-conscious of maintaining a certain image, Rose said that she stands out in the entertainment world because her brand is truly just herself. “I’m just me, and I don't try to fit into society norms,” Rose said. “I kind of just say what I feel and do what I want. You have one life to live, and I’m gonna live it to the fullest. I really don't care what people say about me.” Rose has never tried to hide her past, or to present a revised version of who she is. As a teenager in South Philadelphia, Rose started stripping to support her family. She said because of her modest upbringing, when she was discovered as a model, her subsequent rise to fame was overwhelming. “The only way I can actually explain it for people to maybe understand is that I was extremely poor, and I was living in the projects in the Bronx when I was discovered,” Rose said. “Going from that to my current lifestyle very quickly was very difficult for me, it was like gaining millions and millions of dollars and losing everything.” Rose elaborated that though there is a belief that becoming a celebrity means you’re set for life, the process was actually pretty devastating. “I really just was a normal, down-home South Philly girl, and then all the sudden people treated me different,” Rose said. “Some of my friends were treating me different, and some of my family members were treating me different. Everybody had their hand out for money, and they never wanted to hang out with me for me anymore. It was really depressing.” And then came the onslaught of social media attacks. Rose has had high-profile relationships with Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa, both of which attracted widespread attention. With increased visibility, comes increased scrutiny, as well. “I think I’m so enlightened and happy now because I finally stopped letting social media comments bother me,” Rose said. “I decided that I’m just gonna do whatever I want, and if someone doesn't like it, then they don't have to tune into my life. It made life so much easier.” From her early experiences, Rose’s ‘Muva’ nickname – which was made well-known by her fans who she affectionately calls her ‘rosebuds’ – has also become her brand. “I’m like the Muva of all my fans, my rosebuds, and, in day-to-day life, some of my employees look at me like a Muva figure, even though I’m really not that much older than them,” Rose said. “I’ve just lived a really long life for my age, and I know a lot, and I have a lot of knowledge about very real things.” Rose’s fashion line further incorporates her mission to be an empowered woman in an overall misogynistic entertainment world. “In my clothing line I also have t-shirts that say ‘Slut,’ ‘THOT,’ ‘Whore,’ and, you know, derogatory names people use to insult women,” she said. “ My message is for women to basically embrace them and say, ‘People will call you those names regardless of what you do in life.’ Even if you’re just a beautiful girl, they might just call you that because they’re insecure about themselves. So why not just embrace it and take the power away?” To further this cause, Rose planned her own ‘Slut Walk’ event last October in Los Angeles. “I didn't invent the Slut Walk, they’ve been all over the world, but I just wanted to use my celebrity to bring attention to inequality issues that we deal with as women,” Rose said, “Women sometimes go against each other, when we should really embrace each other and be more positive to each other.” Rose said it’s also been her mission to change the minds of of men, as well. “They look at derogatory labeling a lot different after I speak on it,” she said. “I see these guys and rappers on social media, and if they call a woman a ‘hoe’ or a ‘slut,’ they’re getting bombarded with slut-shaming comments, and I really take pride in that because I know I helped bring that awareness to social media. People are really just not having it anymore.” Rose acknowledged that anytime someone is outspoken and opinionated, they’re going to be subjected to criticism. “Sometimes I get slack and people are like you don't talk about starving children or #BlackLivesMatter enough,” she said. “All of those things are very, very important in our society, but everybody has their passion, and this is mine. This is what I’m good at, this is what I know and what I’ve lived. I still live it everyday.” Last October, Rose published her first book, How to be a Bad Bitch, through Simon & Schuster. “In the book, I really touch on finances, relationships, friendships, being confident in yourself and knowing your vision,” Rose said. “I always wanted something bigger when I was growing up in South Philly.” Rose said though the title may confuse some people, her book is uplifting and very positive. “I know the name kind of turned some people off, but you know me. I’m never going to write a book, How to be a Queen,” she said. “That's just not how it is today, and when you see a bad bitch, you’ll know what a bad bitch is.” With over 10 million Instagram followers and 3.5 million followers on Twitter , Rose’s platform for business, activism, and her combination of the two, is only continuing to expand, which she said is perfect considering her handful of upcoming projects. “I have something really, really, really big and cool coming out, but I can’t say anything yet, so my rosebuds are gonna have to stay tuned, though soon they'll see a lot more of me,” Rose hinted. Rose brand is multi-faceted; she has own eyewear line, and she's released a single, "Fame." She has her full 3D ‘Muva’ character coming out on the Zoobe app on March 13, and she’s releasing another surprise app the following week. “I’m working on getting my clothing line in every mall in America so people won’t always have to go online to get it,” she said. “And, you know, I’m doing a bunch of cool things. I’m dipping my hands in everything and figuring out what I like along the way.” |
Today, we take it for granted. We step into an elevator half-full of people and, with an almost Pavlovian immediacy, we slip our smartphones out of our pockets and lock our eyes on our screens. There's not a whole lot you can do on a smartphone in the span of an elevator ride, but that's not the point. The point is not having to look at the other people in the elevator. Of course, it wasn't always this way. In the years before smartphones, riders were forced to inspect their clothes, study their visage in reflective ceiling above, and when all else failed, simply stare fixedly at the floor–all in the name of avoiding the dreaded chit chat. Rachel Knoll, a student at the Royal College of Art in London, was worried that we were at risk of losing these time-honored tactics, so she built a videogame to help us practice them. >The game is more a commentary on changing behaviors than a training regimen. Avoidance Training, which sadly only exists as a proof of concept, puts you in a virtual elevator, shared with a changing cast of blocky co-workers. Using the computer's webcam, the game tracks the direction you're facing and where you're looking. So long as you avert your gaze, you stay alive. The game, built with programmer and friend Matte Szklarz, is more of a commentary on changing behaviors than a true training regimen. "I find myself often thinking of how our way of interacting and experiencing is changing," she says, "being a generation that is first-handedly experiencing a technological shift with increasing feelings of reliance on devices and gadgets. The idea for the project came up while I was thinking of skills that the current generation is gaining or losing as a result of this shift." Playing the game, Knoll says, forces you to recognize the absurdity of strenuously avoiding human interaction in the first place. For one, you can't help but notice the parallels of escaping into a video game and escaping into some invented digital distraction in an elevator car. The game, she writes, "deals with a withdrawal of self that is as instinctive in virtual gameplay as it is in the tense experience of sharing the small space of an elevator." Making the controls for the game the same physical movements that dictate the real world activity only increases the absurdity. As you notice how silly it feels to be yanking your head around to avoid looking at blocky characters on a computer screen, you're confronted with the fact that this very same behavior feels absolutely natural when you're trying to avoid looking at living, breathing, decidedly non-life-threatening people. Instead of turning players into cold-blooded floor-starers, though, Knoll thinks the game could have the opposite effect. "While making this game, I found myself hyper-conscious of my own behavior in these scenarios," she explains. "I was making more of an effort in engaging with people in passing, making eye contact and smiling to strangers as I walked past." And yet old, new habits die hard. "I think I've since slipped back in to the screen." |
Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. (Photos courtesy Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office) An employee of Caddo Animal Services was arrested Friday after allegedly having sex with a dog; also arrested the man who got it all on video. Celina Ann Cabrera, 24, of Shreveport, was taken into custody just after 3 Friday afternoon, and 41-year-old Booker Talioterro Thomas Jr., a former kennel manager at Caddo Animal Services, also was taken into custody for utilizing his photography skills to record the prohibited behavior. Cabrera was booked into the Shreveport City Jail just after 3 Friday afternoon and charged with “Crimes against Nature," while Thomas was charged with Accessory to Crimes Against Nature. According to the Shreveport Police Department’s booking sheet, officers “received a report in regard to the suspect having sex with (a) dog. The complainant advised the officer the suspect had videos of it.” Caddo Parish is aware of the situation, that one of our employees Celina Cabrera was arrested and she has been placed on administrative leave. Because it is an employee matter and criminal investigation we cannot comment on specifics.” |
You witness an incident occur directly in front of you. You see every detail. There’s time to help—but should you get involved? A handy guide for photographers. The Scene You’re shooting artsy black-and-white photos of the city—the litter, the urban decay, the Hooters on W. 56th. Suddenly you see a pedestrian suffer a hit-and-run accident. The victim lies helpless in the street as oncoming traffic bears down on him. No one in the immediate vicinity seems inclined to help, although one young onlooker appears to be Tweeting for assistance. What You Should Do How far away is the victim? Is there enough time to reach him? Yes? What if you were to hop over to him on one foot? Still more than enough time? It doesn’t matter. The worst thing you can do in a circumstance like this is go crazy asking yourself impossible philosophical questions. Your role as a photographer is to record life, not interact with it. So record it, in all its captivating gruesomeness. Then sell it to the newspaper. And be comforted in the knowledge that by refusing to interfere with your subjects, you’ve kept the situational dynamics pure and untainted—which, admit it, sounds kind of artsy. The Scene As you walk to the corner market, you witness an elderly woman fighting off a purse snatcher. It’s a tug of war she’s about to lose in seconds. What You Should Do Obviously time is of the essence. You must immediately spring into action. Whip out your trusty camera and capture for posterity the extraordinary human drama unfolding before you. Your adrenaline will be pumping wildly, so it will take extra effort to keep your subjects from getting blurry, but you can emerge from this a hero (if not to the general public, then to other photographers). Note: If the purse snatcher happens to notice that you got his face on film, it’s possible a second, more stressful human drama will unfold. Although your camera functions as a useful shield between yourself and the rest of the world, it can only protect you metaphorically. If the purse snatcher demands your camera, hand it over. Any attempt to hide behind it in a physical sense will only get you punched in the kidney, much to the approval of that other photographer across the street. The Scene While enjoying a day in the country, shooting a beautiful wooded landscape, you spot in the distance a hiker getting mauled by a bear. “Distance,” in this case, can be defined as “well over 20 feet away.” What You Should Do Bears can often be scared away by loud noises, such as the sound of a camera shutter clicking greedily away. So act responsibly by snapping a few dozen quick shots. When the bear notices your presence, hastily retreat to the nearest ranger station and switch to a zoom lens, which is recommended for best capturing wildlife. The Scene You’re strolling along the sidewalk when a car pulls up to the curb and the driver politely asks for directions. What You Should Do Tell the driver you can’t help him out. Tell him you don’t like to get involved. You need to stay detached, outside of events, a mere observer of this intangible, highly subjective thing called life. If you begin to feel uncomfortable, take out your camera and face the driver through the lens. No need to take a picture. Just breathe easier knowing there’s a buffer between the two of you. Is that person on the other side of the lens even a part of your reality, or does he in fact reside in an alternate dimension or something? Wasn’t there an old Twilight Zone episode like that? Say goodbye to the driver, take note that the apartment building across the street is currently on fire, and start snapping away. Choose not to hear the bloodcurdling screams for help. The Scene You’re relaxing on the couch when, out of nowhere, your wife suggests you help with the dishes. You instantly recognize from her tone of voice that there’s zero chance of getting out of it. What You Should Do Cradle your camera and sink to the floor in a fetal position, losing any and all sense of your place in the universe as you plunge into an inescapable existential conundrum. |
British mercenary Simon Mann, the leader of the failed attempt by British financiers to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea in 2004, accused billionaire investor George Soros of participating in a separate plot to overthrow the very same government years later. Mann made the claim during testimony on behalf of Teodoro "Teodorin" Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of authoritarian president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and the African nation's vice president. Under oath, he stated that Soros plotted to overthrow Mbasogo and that Mann warned the dictator about the plot in 2011. Mann added that he had no proof of his claims, saying "I don't have written evidence." Soros has yet to respond to the allegations. © AP Photo / Kin Cheung 'Elite Behind Soros and McCain Pushing for' New US Anti-Russia Sanctions The 65-year-old mercenary also accused others of being involved in the new plot, including anti-corruption NGO Transparency International lawyer William Bourdon, exiled Equatorial Guinean opposition leader Severo Moto and Lebanese oil magnate Ely Calil. "I explained to the president [Teodoro] it could be by any means," he told the court. "They were looking at all options, including legal." Mann, who founded the private military company Sandline International, was arrested in 2004 by Zimbabwean authorities. He was accused of being part of a plot to stage a coup d'etat against Mbasogo in 2004, which was funded by financiers such as Calil as well as Moto. The former British special forces operator served four years in Zimbabwean prison before being sentenced to 34 years in prison in Equatorial Guinean for his participation in the plot, but only served one year before UK and US authorities successfully negotiated his pardon in 2009. He seems to have had a change of heart regarding Mbasogo's presidency, calling the charges against Vice President Teodorin a conspiracy. "Here is a criminal case setting out to go for a guy when in fact the motive is to destabilize and overthrow a recognized and legitimate regime," he said. "I know that because Severo Moto Nsa and Ely Calil were the two people who hired me to lead the 2004 attempted coup d'etat against the regime." Teodorin is standing trial before the International Court of Justice under charges of embezzlement and corruption, with a complaint that he used his former position as minister of agriculture and forestry to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars, which he then used to fund a flash lifestyle of jets, yachts and luxury cars. Specifically, he is being accused of using $112 million in state money to buy a six-story mansion in Paris as well as a fleet of Italian supercars. © REUTERS / Ruben Sprich 'Mafia Network': Why Hungary Becomes a Thorn in the Side of George Soros Bourdon, meanwhile, is representing the French plaintiffs suing Teodorin. He said that in making his accusations, Mann has engaged in "conduct which had plumbed the depths of filth." Teodorin has denied all charges. Soros, one of the richest men in the world, whose money has funded causes from Black Lives Matter to the Women's March on Washington, is at the center of innumerable theories, most of which accuse him of trying to undermine the United States and the West and drive them into oblivion or tyranny. He is accused of undermining entire nations' economies with currency speculation, and worse. Soros's unsettling public persona hasn't helped him. During a 1998 interview on CBS' 60 Minutes, Soros discussed his upbringing in Hungary. He was 14 years old when Nazi Germany occupied Hungary and began to persecute Hungarian Jews. Soros and his family survived by posing as Christians, with Soros himself posing as the Christian godson of a Hungarian official. Interviewer Steve Kroft asked Soros about the confiscation of Jewish property during the Holocaust, and Soros claimed that he accompanied and aided his "protector" in seizing Jewish property. "That sounds like an experience that would send lots of people to the psychiatric couch for many, many years," said Kroft. "Was it difficult?" "Not at all," said Soros. "Maybe as a child, you don't see the connection. But it created no problem at all." "No feeling of guilt?" Kroft asked. "No… I was only a spectator. I had no role in taking away that property, so I had no sense of guilt," Soros replied. |
A Republican state lawmaker in Idaho refused to back away Monday from claims that the deadly violence following a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month might have been staged with the help of former President Barack Obama. Representative Bryan Zollinger shared an article last week that suggested the “Unite the Right” march was orchestrated by Obama along with other leading Democrats, such as Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer and billionaire donor George Soros. Related: Donald Trump's Charlottesville response will continue to haunt him, says Watergate veteran Trending: Would Trump Subsidize Electric Companies Who Burn Coal? After his sharing of the article from a conservative site called American Thinker began to receive significant backlash on his Facebook page, Zollinger wrote that he thought the unsubstantiated piece was “interesting” and “thought provoking” and that some of the theories were “plausible.” Despite the criticism from across Idaho and the country, Zollinger said he was not backing away from his belief that there was at least a kernel of truth in the article. Don't miss: Forget Mexico. The US Is Being Flooded with Illegal Drugs by China “At first, I felt genuinely bad that maybe I had offended somebody,” he said in an interview Monday with Idaho’s Post Register. “Since then, the amazing amount of hate and the despicable things that have been said about myself, my wife, my kids, I’ve doubled down.” American Thinker regularly posts articles with misleading claims. Its piece on Charlottesville questions whether the rally was a set up to smear President Donald Trump as a racist. “What if Signer and McAuliffe, in conjunction with Antifa and other Soros-funded groups like Black Lives Matter, planned and orchestrated what happened in Charlottesville and meant for events to unfold roughly as they did?” the article read. Most popular: In Arizona, Trump Shows He Can't and Won't Be President Charlottesville violence rally More Joshua Roberts/Reuters Zollinger gave no suggestion of wanting to back away from sharing such unfounded speculation, even raising the possibility of direct involvement by Trump’s predecessor. “[Obama] was a community organizer before he was the president of the United States,” Zollinger said. “I still do think it’s plausible.” In Charlottesville, one woman died when a car, reportedly driven by an individual with links to white supremacists, drove through a crowd of counterprotesters. In the aftermath, Trump received strong criticism, even from members of his own party, for blaming “both sides” for the violence. The president also said that there were “very fine people” on both sides, referring to the white nationalists and counterprotesters. More from Newsweek |
Nelle Harper Lee, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961 for her book, "To Kill a Mockingbird," has died at the age of 89, multiple sources in her hometown of Monroeville confirmed Friday morning. Lee was born April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, the youngest of four children of lawyer Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch Lee. As a child, Lee attended elementary school and high school just a few blocks from her house on Alabama Avenue. In a March 1964 interview, she offered this capsule view of her childhood: "I was born in a little town called Monroeville, Alabama, on April 28, 1926. I went to school in the local grammar school, went to high school there, and then went to the University of Alabama. That's about it, as far as education goes." She moved to New York in 1949, where she worked as an airlines reservations clerk while pursuing a writing career. Eight years later, Lee submitted her manuscript for "To Kill a Mockingbird" to J.B. Lippincott & Co., which asked her to rewrite it. On July 11, 1960, Lee's novel was published by Lippincott with critical and commercial success. The author won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction the following year. The film adaptation of the novel, with Mary Badham as Scout, opened on Christmas Day of 1962 and was an instant hit. Harper Lee suffered a stroke in 2007, recovered and resumed her life in the hometown where she spent many of her 89 years. A guardedly private individual, Lee was respected and protected by residents of the town that displays Mockingbird-themed murals and each year stages theatrical productions of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Lee returned to Monroeville for good once her sister Alice became ill and needed help. She'd eat breakfast each morning at the same fast-food place, and could later be seen picking up Alice from the law firm founded by their father. Services for Lee have not been announced. |
Perhaps the Golden State Warriors' D-League affiliate hasn't produced the type of breakout rotation star that we would all love to see, but nothing speaks to a successful venture better than making consecutive league championship series. After beating the Rio Grande Valley Vipers by a gaudy score of 147-128 on Monday, the Santa Cruz Warriors have advanced to the 2014 NBA D-League Finals to face the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the 2014 NBA D-League Finals. Game Date Time TV Game 1 @ Santa Cruz Thursday, April 24 6:30 p.m. CBS SN Game 2 @ Fort Wayne Saturday, April 26 4:30 p.m. CBS SN (airs 7:30 on tape delay) Game 3 @ Fort Wayne Monday, April 28 4 p.m. CBS SN 2014 NBA D-League Finals schedule (click here for more details on the series). Keith Schlosser of SB Nation's Ridiculous Upside briefly summarized Santa Cruz's path to this point while previewing Monday's game against Rio Grande Valley. Though the Warriors may have originated as the sixth overall seed in the postseason, such hierarchy often goes out the window when it comes to the playoffs. In fact, having propelled themselves to a higher seed, after previously just hanging on to the final postseason spot earlier in the year, perhaps the momentum is in the Warriors' favor. After all, the squad feels as though there's a statement to make after losing to RGV in The Finals last season...Santa Cruz should be considered no slouch, either. They have plenty of talent from A to Z, and have impressed as of late with the team's ability to keep up with RGV and even take control to slow down the tempo themselves at times. For a full preview of the Finals series from some national and local perspectives, you can check out Ridiculous Upside's preview podcast from last night. |
Former Tröglitz mayor Markus Nierth, who during his tenure espoused and actively fought for open-mindedness with regard to housing refugees in his small village, resigned last month when opposition to a planned asylum house became too intense. "When they showed up outside my family's house, that's when I knew the time had come to call it quits," he said on Saturday, referring to weekly protest marches organized by the NPD that were culminating at his house in Tröglitz throughout February. Insults and threats over his advocacy for accommodating the refugees had become a kind of weekly routine, and in early March, he tendered his resignation. Nierth spoke just hours after the roof structure of the refugee house he had been fighting for went up in flames. Not long after, condemnation resonated throughout Germany and abroad: "Cowardly, abominable," said Berlin's federal justice minister, Heiko Maas. "Alarm bells should now be ringing," said the head of the Council of Europe, Thorbjoern Jagland, in Strasbourg, adding: "Democracy is increasingly endangered by the hatred motivated by racism and xenophobia." How can the NPD, then, which is widely believed to have led the protests against the refugee house in Tröglitz, be allowed to exist as a democratic entity in Germany? Attempts to have it prohibited have been underway for years. District officials claim the NPD is behind the protests in Tröglitz It's a lot harder than you may think to have a political party banned in Germany. Explicit proof that the party not only condones - but also takes an active part in - unconstitutional actions such as the propagation of racism and xenophobia must be successfully demonstrated before the country's leading justices. The case is to be made by the leaders of Germany's 16 federal states, who comprise the Bundesrat, or the upper house of federal parliament. In 2003, an attempt to ban the NPD failed, after the Constitutional Court found that domestic intelligence informants who had partly provided the evidence used in the Bundesrat's case were part of the NPD's top brass. The case was immediately thrown out, and a second attempt to ban the NPD was started in late 2013, with proceedings currently pending. The topic, however, has been debated on myriad occasions in which the NPD's active role in xenophobic actions seemed too apparent to refute. "The party has to be banned, as quickly as possible," deplored Charlotte Knobloch, former president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, in response to the Tröglitz fire. Speaking in Munich on Easter Sunday, Knobloch said the NPD represented a "state-funded breeding ground for National Socialist ideology," referring to the name of Adolf Hitler's former party, the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). According to German law, every party with state representation - the NPD currently has five seats in the northern federal state of Mecklenburg West Pomerania - is entitled to campaign subsidies from the federal government. Public demonstrations in Germany against foreigners have spiked in recent months Deadline approaching "We will do everything in our power to convince the judges this time around," said Ralf Jäger, interior minister of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine Westphalia, of the current NPD ban appeal. "The NPD provides the basis for neo-Nazi violence and spreads hatred against foreigners," Jäger told the German press agency DPA on Monday. "It would be an important signal for the German state if the party were banned." Still, consensus as to the exact nature of the appeal has not been reached. Before the case can be viewed by the Constitutional Court, the judges have demanded that the Bundesrat present proof that no domestic informants contributed to the compiling of evidence against the NPD. "We are all for a second run against the NPD," said Julia Klöckner, of the southwestern state Rhineland Palatinate, in an interview with DPA. "But only if we're completely sure it will go through. If there are any doubts, we shouldn't take this risk." Judges from the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe have demanded that the evidence be submitted by May 15. If it were to go through and result in the banning of the NPD, it wouldn't be the first time for a party to be prohibited in Germany. But it would certainly be an influential signal for regional politicians like Markus Nierth in Tröglitz, who have witnessed first-hand the violence that groups like the NPD are able to bring about. |
FBI Says It Will Ignore Court Order If Told To Reveal Its Tor Browser Exploit, Because It Feels It's Above The Law... from the above-the-law? dept The Government has now made plain that the FBI will not comply with the Court's discovery order... [REDACTED]... The Government further acknowledges that "there may be consequences for this refusal." [REDACTED] Pursuant to the law discussed below, the consequences are straightforward: the prosecution must now choose between complying with the Court's discovery order and dismissing the case..... The dilemma is one entirely of the Government's own making, and nothing in its Motion for Reconsideration or renewed requests for secret proceedings changes the analysis. As the Maryland court observed, the FBI’s obstruction of disclosure “from special order and/or warrant application through appellate review – prevents the court from exercising its fundamental duties under the constitution.” ... “[I]t is self-evident that the court must understand why and how [a] search was conducted,” and “[t]he analytical framework requires analysis of the functionality of the surveillance device and the range of information potentially revealed by its use.” ... These conclusions mirror the conclusions reached by this Court at the February 17 hearing. The Government’s refusal to comply with the discovery order is all the more untenable given the exceptional technical complexities that are involved with the Tor network and the FBI’s use of sophisticated hacking “techniques.” Just a few weeks ago, Seattle police raided the home of two people who use the Tor network, based on an allegation that their IP addresses had been linked to child pornography, when in fact illicit traffic had merely passed through their connection to the network..... There are a bunch of different cases going on right now concerning the FBI secretly running a hidden Tor-based child porn site called Playpen for two weeks, and then hacking the users of the site with malware in order to identify them. The courts, so far, have been fine with the FBI's overall actions of running the site, but there are increasing questions about how it hacked the users. In FBI lingo, they used a "network investigative technique" or a NIT to hack into those computers, but the FBIdoesn't want to talk about the details.In one case, it was revealed that the warrant used by the FBI never mentions either hacking or malware, suggesting that the FBI actively misled the judge. In another one of the cases, a judge has declared the use of the NIT to be illegal searches , mainly based on jurisdictional questions (the warrants were for Virginia, but the individuals were far away from there).In yet another case, the one involving Jay Michaud -- his lawyers have now told the court that the DOJ has made it clear that despite the court ruling earlier this year that the FBI must reveal the details of the NIT/hacking tool, it will not do so (first revealed by Brad Heath ). The redacted filing is in response to a (sealed) motion for reconsideration by the DOJ, but reveals more or less what the DOJ said in that filing:If you can't see that, the relevant portion reads:The filing goes on to point out how the FBI has similarly been refusing to reveal details of its Stingray mobile phone surveillance tools (something we've discussed here quite a bit), leading to convictions being overturned. As Michaud's lawyers point out, the situation here is basically the same. If the FBI refuses to obey a court order, then the case should be dropped.The filing also highlights how important it is to get the details, noting that the FBI has a history of incorrectly raiding homes because it doesn't understand how Tor works:But perhaps even more amusing, the lawyers point out how the DOJ/FBI's claims here run exactly counter to the DOJ/FBI's arguments about Apple's obligation to respond to the DOJ's court order to help unlock encrypted phones:Their complaint is that the DOJ said that Apple could use a secure location to keep the code safe, but rejects such a solution here -- but the comparison could go even deeper. After all, the DOJ kept saying that Apple was acting as if it was above the law in telling the FBI that it would not write special software to help break into a phone. Yet, here, the request is much more straightforward. The FBI doesn't have to write any new code at all... it just has to reveal what it has been told to reveal by a court: the software it used to hack into someone's computer.Of course, there's also the fact that because of the whole Apple/DOJ fight, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Richard Burr started pushing a bill to ban encryption that opens with the following:Somehow, I get the feeling that both Feinstein and Burr will feel differently when it's the FBI/DOJ refusing to comply with court orders, and will claim the government is correct here. I wonder if anyone else in the Senate will now release a companion bill to the Burr/Feinstein bill suggesting that the DOJ itself should start complying with court orders, as it is not "above the law." Filed Under: court orders, doj, fbi, hacking, jay michaud, malware, nit, tor |
Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist at Apple, has jumped ship from iOS to Android. In an interview with Dan Lyons of ReadWrite, Kawasaki said that he's a diehard Android fan. Kawasaki switched to a phone running Google's mobile operating system about a year ago so that he could use a 4G LTE network. Apple's iPhone 5 supports LTE, but at the time, the latest model, the iPhone 4S, did not. "People are kind of amazed, but I don't use any iOS products, none at all," Kawasaki said. "I fell in love with Android on the smartphone, and then I got a Nexus 7 [tablet] and started using Android on the tablet as well. To me the great irony is that Apple's slogan was 'Think Different,' but today if you think different you're looking at Android." Even after Apple released the iPhone 5, Kawasaki stuck with Android because he thinks "Android is better." Kawasaki is a huge fan of Android because it supports NFC, a short-range wireless technology; offers arguably better multitasking; and arranges apps in alphabetical order. "Another thing I like with Android is they don't have some stupid proprietary cable," Kawasaki says. "I can go to any hotel front desk and if I've forgotten my cable they always have a micro-USB around. I can use my Nexus 7 and it's on the same cable as my Samsung Galaxy S3. What a concept! A standard cable." Click here to read the full story on ReadWrite. |
On his Fox News show, Glenn Beck presented author G. Edward Griffin as a credible authority on the Federal Reserve. But Griffin has an extensive history of promoting wild conspiracy theories, including the notions that HIV does not exist and that cancer is a dietary deficiency that can be cured with "an essential food compound." Griffin Peddles Quack Cancer Remedy He Claims Has Been Covered Up By "Medical Establishment" Griffin: There's No Such Thing As HIV -- "The Immunodeficiencies Are Caused By The Treatment" Griffin Film Claims Vapor Trails Left By Jets Are Actually A "Chemtrail/Geo-Engineering Coverup" Griffin: Goal Of FEMA, DHS During Katrina Response Was "Not To Res[c]ue People, But To Control Them" Griffin Is "Convinced" That "Oswald Was Not JFK's Assassin" Griffin's Trutherism: Flight 93 Was Shot Down By U.S Military Fighter Beck: Griffin Is The Author Of "Fascinating Book On The Fed" Beck: "[H]ave You Read" Griffin's The Creature From Jekyll Island? "If Not, Read It." From Beck's March 25 Fox News show: BECK: Tonight, as part of our E4 focus this year, we're going to delve into E2 and get educated on the Fed. G. Edward Griffin, he is author of this book. And if one more person hands me this book -- I -- really, I'm going to snap. Because I get this from so many -- I go out, and people are like, "Have you read this book?" Yes, I have. May I recommend -- have you read this book? If not, read it. It is The Creature from Jekyll Island. It is a fascinating book on the Fed. The author is one of our guests tonight. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 3/25/11] Griffin Peddles Quack Cancer Remedy He Claims Has Been Covered Up By "Medical Establishment" Griffin's "Final Answer" To The "Cancer Riddle" Is "An Essential Food Compound" Called "Vitamin B17" or "Laetrile." From a page on one of Griffin's websites, RealityZone.com, describing his book World Without Cancer: The Story Of Vitamin B17: Mr. Griffin marshals the evidence that cancer is a deficiency disease -- like scurvy or pellagra -- aggravated by the lack of an essential food compound in modern man's diet. That substance is vitamin B17. In its purified form developed for cancer therapy, it is known as Laetrile. This story is not approved by orthodox medicine. The FDA, the AMA, and The American Cancer Society have labeled it fraud and quackery. Yet the evidence is clear that here, at last, is the final answer to the cancer riddle. [RealityZone.com, accessed 3/26/11] Griffin: "Orthodox Medicine" Has "Waged War" Against Cure Because Of "Hidden Economic And Power Agenda." From RealityZone.com: Why has orthodox medicine waged war against this non drug approach? The author contends that the answer is to be found, not in science, but in politics -- and is based upon the hidden economic and power agenda of those who dominate the medical establishment. This is is the most complete and authoritative treatise available on this topic. [RealityZone.com, accessed 3/26/11] Medical Prof. Lerner: Laetrile Is "Unquestionably The Slickest, Most Sophisticated, And Certainly The Most Remunerative Cancer Quack Promotion In Medical History." From a 1981 journal article by Dr. Irving J. Lerner, who was a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota at the time: Quack remedies for cancer have thrived outside the fringe of conventional medical therapy since at least the beginning of the nation. In the earlier part of this century, the Koch antitoxins, the Hoxsey method, and particularly the Krebiozen treatments, were just a few of the many promotions that flourished, were then exposed, and eventually abandoned. All prior forms of cancer quackery, however, pale in comparison with the laetrile crusade, unquestionably the slickest, most sophisticated, and certainly the most remunerative cancer quack promotion in medical history. [CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, March/April 1981] Griffin: There's No Such Thing As HIV -- "The Immunodeficiencies Are Caused By The Treatment" Griffin: "There Isn't Even Such A Thing As HIV. ... The Immunodeficiencies Are Caused By The Treatment." From an October 2010 interview on the "Truth Be Told Radio" show on BlogTalkRadio.com: GRIFFIN: From the very beginning, I was suspicious about this whole HIV story, and I didn't know in the beginning, but it didn't take long after some serious researchers had gotten into it and published their findings, it became obvious to me. You talk about a wacko theory, here it comes. There isn't even such a thing as HIV. HIV virus, standing for virus, doesn't even exist. It's -- think of what those letters stand for. [...] GRIFFIN: So, that's what it is. It's an immunodeficiency, but there's no virus. The immunodeficiencies are caused by the treatment, the drugs that they give people to try and treat the AIDS. That's what kills the immune system. And what a shocking thought that is, that people who have an immune deficiency, maybe because of some other factor such as nutritional factors -- maybe -- you know, a lot of drug addicts develop this syndrome. Why? Well, we know that a drug addict traditionally has a terrible diet, and the drugs themselves are destructive of the immune system. [...] GRIFFIN: And I'll just say one more thing and then let the real experts take over, is, my understanding is that all these pictures that you can find of the HIV or the virus are artist's renditions. There's never been a photograph, an electron microscope, or anything else that photographed a virus called HIV, mainly because it doesn't exist. It's theorized. It's a theoretical virus. [BlogTalkRadio.com, 10/13/10 (beginning at 22:45)] Griffin Film Claims Vapor Trails Left By Jets Are Actually A "Chemtrail/Geo-Engineering Coverup" Film Claims We Are "Being Sprayed With Toxic Substances Without Our Consent" And "They Are Lying To Us About It." From a page on Griffin's site RealityZone.com, describing What in the World Are They Spraying? The Chemtrail/Geo-Engineering Coverup, which was co-produced by Griffin: By now everyone has seen crisscrossing streaks of white clouds trailing behind jet aircraft, stretching from horizon to horizon, eventually turning the sky into a murky haze. Our innate intelligence tells us these are not mere vapor trails from jet engines, but no one yet has probed the questions: WHO is doing this and WHY. With the release of this video, all of that has changed. Here is the story of a rapidly developing industry called Geo-engineering, driven by scientists, corporations, and governments intent on changing global climate, controlling the weather, and altering the chemical composition of soil and water -- all supposedly for the betterment of mankind. Although officials insist that these programs are only in the discussion phase, evidence is abundant that they have been underway since about 1990 -- and the effect has been devastating to crops, wildlife, and human health. We are being sprayed with toxic substances without our consent and, to add insult to injury, they are lying to us about it. Do not watch this documentary if you have high blood pressure. [RealityZone.com, accessed 3/26/11] Griffin: Goal Of FEMA, DHS During Katrina Response Was "Not To Res[c]ue People, But To Control Them" Griffin: "Their Objective Was To Bring The Entire Area Under The Control Of The Federal Government." From an "analysis" by Griffin on another of his websites, FreedomForceInternational.org: There has been widespread criticism of the response of US officials to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. The tone of these complaints is that the authorities failed to do their job quickly enough. Some commentators have said this is a racial issue, claiming that the government would have acted more promptly if the majority of victims had been white instead of black. Others have said it was an issue of the rich against the poor, the oil companies against the consumers, the land developers and contractors seeking to force people out of the city so they can rebuild without interference at taxpayers' expense. Democrats have said the problem is that Republicans were in control, and Republicans are indifferent to the plight of the common man. In news coverage of this tragedy, the most significant events often were buried beneath a blanket of heart-wrenching stories of personal survival, scenes of awesome destruction, reports of looting, and interviews with experts. However, the key to understanding can be found in the following list of news headlines, most of which did not make it into mainstream coverage. These reports make it clear that the government did not fail to respond in a timely fashion. The problem was that it did respond -- but in such a way as to actually hinder rescue operations. There were too many instances for this to be merely a mistake or a bureaucratic snafu. There is a clear pattern here that cannot be denied. Why this should be so will be discussed in a moment, but first, here is the amazing record. [...] It was clear from the start that the goal of FEMA and Homeland Security was, not to resue [sic] people, but to control them. Their directive was to relocate families and businesses, confiscate property, commandeer goods, direct labor and services, and establish martial law. This is what they have been trained to do. The reason they failed to carry out an effective rescue operation is that this was not their primary mission, and the reason they blocked others from doing so is that any operations not controlled by the central authority are contrary to their directives. Their objective was to bring the entire area under the control of the federal government -- and this they succeeded in doing very well. [...] While the world is preoccupied with trying to fix the blame for the government's failure in New Orleans, the reality is that it did not fail at all. It was a huge success in promoting its own agenda. Unfortunately, that agenda was not to rescue American citizens. Once this simple fact is understood, everything that happened in the wake of Katrina becomes understandable and logical. If there are new terrorist attacks against the United States or Great Britain or any other country, what we witnessed in New Orleans may have been but a fleeting glimpse into the future of global collectivism. [FreedomForceInternational.org, updated 9/30/05] Griffin Is "Convinced" That "Oswald Was Not JFK's Assassin" Griffin: "I Am Convinced From The Evidence I Have Seen That Oswald Was Not JFK's Assassin." From an email response by Griffin that he published on FreedomForceInternational.org: Hello Skip. You have made a huge leap of logic. I do not defend Israel nor do I challenge many of the facts you presented in your email. You asked my opinion of the Protocols, not of bankers, the JFK assassination, 9/11, or current affairs. If you had asked my opinion of any of those, my answer would have been fairly close to your own analysis, but certainly not on all points. For example, you say you have a photograph of Oswald in the doorway of the depository building at the moment JFK was shot. Even if the time of the photo could be proved (which it cannot) do you really think that proves the Protocols are authentic? By the way, I am convinced from the evidence I have seen that Oswald was not JFK's assassin, but what has that to do with the authenticity of the Protocols? You will discredit yourself if you try to dump these two issues into the same bag without very substantial evidence, which you have not presented. [FreedomForceInternational.org, updated 1/28/09] Griffin's Trutherism: Flight 93 Was Shot Down By U.S Military Fighter Griffin: "There Is An Impressive Body Of Evidence That, On 9/11, United Flight 93 That Crashed In A Field In Pennsylvania Was Shot Down By A U.S. Military Fighter In Spite Of Official Denial." From a 2005 article by Griffin on FreedomForceInternational.org: |
With their series against Team Liquid tied at one game apiece, Cloud9 decide to make a switch in the top lane by swapping Jeon “Ray” Ji-won for Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong. While Ray's split-pushing Jayce helped C9 take Game 1, Game 2 was a different story as his Renekton failed to do much of anything and finished the game with a 1/6/1 scoreline. Although there are a few similarities between Impact and Ray — they draw pressure in similar fashion when in a side lane — it doesn't take an analyst to see that C9 play a different game when their veteran top laner loads onto the rift. For starters, Game 3 made it clear that C9 are more eager to fight when Impact's the one leading the charge. Not only did his Maokai become the team's initiator, but his play guided C9 to a 40-minute win in which he posted a 5/0/9 scoreline to go along with a 73.6 percent kill participation. Dating back to his time in China, Ray has grown accustomed to being his team's sole carry, but that strategy stops working once opponents know who to target. Given time and coaching, the hope is that the young Korean top laner will become a more well-rounded player, who can play a number of roles, included that of a carry. But intentionally or not, C9 look like a completely different team with Ray than they do with Impact, which highlights just how important Impact is to this iteration of C9's success. Since SK Telecom T1’s successful mid lane experiment — in 2015 they rotated between Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon on a game-by-game basis — teams have struggled to replicate that same magic. Ten-man rosters have been far less successful than a strong, steady unit of five, and SKT remain an exception, not a rule. Their insistence on playing Easyhoon over their star player for specific champion choices like Azir or in an attempt to relieve pressure from jungler Bae “bengi” Seong-woong was both lauded and panned, even when Easyhoon performed well. Simply put, no other team has been able to manage the same amount of success or implement a similar strategy. While it may appear that C9 are attempting to replicate the SKT model with Ray and Impact, they’re not. Ray's acquisition is a sign of forward thinking more so than roster experimentation, as one of C9’s commitments this season is to develop Ray and allow him to follow in Impact’s footsteps should he retire or decide to leave the team. Working alongside Impact and the rest of C9 will give Ray the chance to rid himself of some of his worst habits — playing too aggressively to get to the backline and dying — while learning to effectively communicate and coordinate with his team. Before joining Cloud9, Ray was known as a gifted carry top laner with a pocket Jarvan IV and little direction. While with the Edward Gaming organization — primarily on their LoL Secondary Pro League team AD Gaming — he garnered attention as his transition from a Riven one-trick to a split-pushing dynamo was fascinating to watch. His raw talent could not be questioned. Over a year later, Ray arrived in North America as Apex Gaming's top laner and turned a lot of heads in his first couple of weeks. Bursting onto the NA scene with his Ekko, Fizz and pocket Jarvan IV play, the the young solo laner was on the fast track towards becoming North America's next top lane darling. But unfortunately for Ray, he became his team’s primary win condition. When Apex were successful, it was because of his carry prowess and the setup he received from his team. Ray had a 73.3 percent kill participation in the 2016 NA LCS Summer Split, the highest of any top laner in the region by a significant margin. He also had the highest First Blood rate (30 percent), largest team CS percentage after 15 minutes (29.2 percent), and received the highest team gold percentage of any NA top that split. If Apex were winning, Ray was at the center of it and the team donated a massive portion of their resources to ensure that he succeeded. That method had obvious limits, and Ray’s lack of versatility visibly hindered Apex. He also lacked a strong supporting cast, outside of the occasional strong game from mid laner Jang “Keane” Lae-young. Without facilitating Ray and getting him ahead, Apex faltered and were unable to leverage much else on the map. The fact that Impact initially struggled to synergize with his C9 teammates when he first joined the team have been somewhat forgotten, mostly due to his impressive playoff and gauntlet runs. When Impact first signed on to C9 ahead of the 2016 NA LCS Summer Split, the team looked the same way it does with Ray — they rely heavily on individual outplays and set up Impact to draw pressure as a split-pusher. When Impact did join up with his team on the the rift, his mistimed Teleports saw him either arrive too early or too late. While he had the power to turn teamfights in C9's favor, it wasn’t always coordinated which led to his premature death, or the death of his teammates. At 63.9 percent he had the lowest regular season kill participation on his team, and was only ranked sixth of NA tops behind Ray, Phoenix1 top laners Derek "zig" Shao and Brandon "Brandini" Chen, Team EnVyUs' Shin "Seraph" Woo-yeong, and Immortals' Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon. That changed throughout C9’s playoff run and in their 2016 NA LCS Summer Finals appearance against Team SoloMid. Not only did Impact assert his laning dominance, but his communication with the rest of his team had visibly improved. He drew massive amounts of top-side pressure, solo-killed opponents in lane, and improved the timing on his Teleports, smashing teamfights on Gnar, Ekko, and a pocket Yasuo pick that put up a 10/4/8 scoreline against nV. When Impact coordinated with the rest of his team, C9 could put more of his competitive experience to use and both his current and former C9 teammates have spoken highly of his in-game attitude and of how he brings a strong, veteran voice to the team. Through the years, the phrase “top lane is an island” has frequently been used. A top laner that can draw pressure away from the rest of his team, which allows them to move around the map more, and split-push is important. A top laner that can do all of those things and join up with the team via Teleport for teamfights is invaluable. Impact became the latter for C9, despite starting with the team as more of a split-pushing threat. Lacking the communication that Impact now has, Ray bares a striking resemblance to 2016 NA LCS Summer Split Impact. Following their Week 3 NA LCS series against Team Liquid, Ray has the lowest kill participation of any top laner at a meager 40.8 percent — more than 30 percent less than his total kill participation in 2016 NA LCS Summer Split with Apex Gaming. Not everything on C9 goes through Ray, and where he received the highest percentage of his team’s total gold of any starting NA top with Apex (23.7 percent), he now receives approximately three percent less with C9 (20.5 percent, seventh of all NA top laners). C9 also have rookie Juan “Contractz” Arturo Garcia, who has proved to be a formidable and aggressive carry jungler, but is still integrating into the team. Starting Contractz and Ray together has C9 naturally trending towards split-pushing since their teamfight coordination isn’t as strong. He has strong laners in Jensen and the bottom duo of Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi and Andy “Smoothie” Ta, so they naturally try to spread pressure in multiple lanes, albeit with Ray taking fewer of his team’s resources than he has on his previous teams. Ray still draws pressure across the map, and Team Liquid’s confusion around how to stop his split-pushing led to Cloud9’s victory in Game 1 of their series. What's missing is a stronger teamfighting sense and overall coordination with the team. Left to his own devices while on ADG and Apex, Ray became a monstrous split-pusher who still doesn't understand a lot of teamfight nuances and lacks the communication necessary to compete at the game's highest level. It's now up to C9 to help Ray learn, and who better to show him the ropes than a top laner that made the same transformation last year. Emily Rand is a staff writer for theScore esports. You can follow her on Twitter. |
Screenshot of Sinead O’Connor’s now deleted statement. Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has said she is trying to cancel a September gig in Tel Aviv after appeals to her to observe the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). “I was not informed by my booking agent, and was unaware myself, that a boycott of Israel had been requested by the Palestinian people. I agreed to perform having been unaware any such boycott had been requested. Had I been aware I would not have agreed to perform,” O’Connor said in a statement posted on her website and apparently removed some hours later. A Google cached version is still available. “As things stand I have requested to pull out of the show but may not be legally entitled to do so.” O’Connor adds: If I cannot remove myself from the show without cost to myself then I will perform because I can’t afford the legal costs involved in not performing. No one should assume musicians can afford not to work. Neither should anyone assume we can afford to pay the legal costs involved in pulling out of shows. We have children. we need to feed them. Period. I do not appreciate being bullied by anyone on either side of this debate any more than I appreciate not being properly informed by my booking agent of the potential ramifications of accepting work in war zones. Appeals heard While it’s unclear what O’Connor was referring to by “bullying” – a claim often made by artists asked to respect the Palestinian call for cultural boycott of their oppressors – the artist heard a number of appeals, including from Irish composer and activist Raymond Deane, who responded on Facebook to an earlier statement justifying the show: Your statement re your proposed Israel gig leaves out so much, Sinéad. But mostly, what it omits is acknowledgement that Palestinian civil society has called for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions – including a cultural boycott – against the Israeli state. Not forever – only until it abides by international law and international humanitarian law. By ignoring this you are spitting in the face of the oppressed. You cannot disguise this by talking about the poor suffering Israelis who will have the privilege of attending your concert, a privilege denied to Palestinians locked behind the illegal Apartheid wall or illegally under siege in Gaza. You will be spitting in the faces of the abused Palestinian mothers forced to give birth at Israeli checkpoints, lying in the dust. You will be spitting in the faces of the abused Palestinian children kidnapped by brutal Israeli soldiers and brought to torture cells in Israeli prisons. Your presence in Israel will be exploited to the hilt by the Israeli regime which stated, in 2005, that it “sees no difference between culture and propaganda.” Please reconsider your decision - please look at the list of 265 Irish artist(e)s who have pledged to accept no such invitations to Israel until it abides by international law. Please don’t sing for the oppressor, and disdain the oppressed! Deane then responded to O’Connor’s most recent statement: Sinéad – our fingers are crossed that you will make the right decision re Palestine. Nobody is “bullying” you – the bullying is all on the other side. Everyone knows you care about social justice, you care about abuse and oppression. You were misinformed by your agent (and no doubt by the Israeli promoter), but now you know the truth – you’ll do the right thing, and you will be supported and respected for it. Our Irish government, as part of the EU, is complicit in Israel’s crimes – it’s up to us, representing civil society, to stand up for truth and justice. |
Medical Marijuana, Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta (VIDEO) Lukewarm Favorable to Medical Marijuana? Photo courtesy: Anderson Cooper 360 (MOLALLA, Ore.) - I have already saluted Mr. Cooper for having the chutzpah to talk/educate the public about medical marijuana on CNN. It seems most commentators are afraid to catch REEFER MADNESS. The recent CNN series on medical marijuana helps to propel the subject out of the closet. Dr. Gupta gave a very favorable report. He is definitely a bright young neurosurgeon. His ancestral homeland is/was the site of the first medical/scientific studies on medical marijuana. He was damning with faint praise the extraordinary uses and benefits of marijuana. He did say it was effective for pain stimulating appetite, enhancing mood and anti-nauseant, effective for neuropathic pain and multiple sclerosis (MS). This is only the shortest of short lists and it looks as if he had crib notes for his talk. There are at least 100 physicians taking active care of some 300,000 marijuana patients. Any one of them could have presented a greater list of the almost 200 medical conditions for which medical marijuana is effective. It is also more effective and safer than the standard medications. And safer than MARINOL (pure synthetic THC), it also has fewer adverse side effects with minimal addiction liability and has never caused a death in 5,000+ years of use. It is the ultra-safe medicine. I am very pleased to comment that it appears that Mr. Cooper and Dr. Gupta are both lukewarm, out of the closet, advocates for medical marijuana. TOTAL LEGALIZATION IS AT HAND! Also see: mercy centers.org/ommp/ Medical Marijuana Medical Conditions 7/3/2007 Medical Marijuana - Dr. Phillip Leveque Salem-News.com Granny Storm Crow's list Video Debate on Legalizing Marijuana on Anderson Cooper Live - CNN Day 3 of Anderson Cooper's week-long cannabis special "America's High: The Case For and Against Pot". ********************************************************** Do you have a a question, comment, or story to share with Dr. Leveque? Email him: Ask Dr. Leveque More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole". Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King and Dr. Phil Leveque. Click on this link for other articles and video segments about PTSD and medical marijuana on Salem-News.com: Dr. Leveque INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES ========================================================= |
New Yorkers could apparently get Donald Trump’s America doomsday prophesizing on demand Tuesday, after an Ask Zoltar–like fortune-telling machine with the likeness of the GOP candidate popped up on a street corner in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It later appeared right near the Trump Tower in midtown. According to Gothamist, which first posted a video of the “All-Seeing Trump,” the mechanical seer invites you to glimpse “How Great America’s Future Is.” Trump’s America includes a recession and high-speed deportation trains “that run on green energy — salsa verde.” Yet, Trump also predicts: “There’s no wall. Do you have any idea how much that would cost? I mean, you people are so clueless.” Here is the crystal-ball-waving Trump making some more predictions in Greenpoint: Meet The All-Seeing Trump, the Zoltar of your nightmares who will be roving around NYC today pic.twitter.com/McgEHk17KN — Camille Dodero (@camilledodero) October 11, 2016 And with visitors near Trump Tower, where the NYPD reportedly turned off the sound: There's a custom Ask Zoltar out front—should I tell it I want to be bigly...? pic.twitter.com/KtDOvPiMhK — Lucy Ruth Cummins (@lucyruth) October 11, 2016 "I am gonna work very closely with the female members of Congress" Trump tells in the Crystal-Ball-Trump-Box #lasttweet pic.twitter.com/SeR4D1nZwH — Veit Medick (@vmedick) October 11, 2016 This is how the box directly in front of Trump Tower looks like. #lasttweet pic.twitter.com/IjeGKgjAZD — Veit Medick (@vmedick) October 11, 2016 Spotted outside Trump Tower earlier today... pic.twitter.com/cRHyCC1u4G — Ali Vitali (@alivitali) October 11, 2016 There is a Trump fortune teller machine in front of the News Corp building... A video posted by Hanna (@hjsender) on Oct 11, 2016 at 10:52am PDT It’s unclear who’s behind this latest (and fully clothed) Trump art. |
The Tablet Another former Apple executive who was there at the time said the tablets kept getting shelved at Apple because Mr. Jobs, whose incisive critiques are often memorable, asked, in essence, what they were good for besides surfing the Web in the bathroom. —”Just a Touch Away, the Elusive Tablet PC”, The New York Times, 4 October 2009 Here’s the thimbleful of information I have heard regarding The Tablet (none of which has changed in six months): The Tablet project is real, it has you-know-who’s considerable undivided attention, and everyone working on it has dropped off the map. I don’t know anyone who works at Apple who doubts these things; nor do I know anyone at Apple who knows a whit more. I don’t know anyone who’s seen the hardware or the software, nor even anyone who knows someone else who has seen the hardware or software. The cone of silence surrounding the project is, so far as I can tell, complete.1 The situation is uncannily similar to the run-up preceding the debut of the original iPhone in January 2007, including many of the same engineers and software teams at Apple — such as those who built the iPhone Mail, Calendar, and Safari apps — disappearing into a black hole. The iPhone remained a secret until Steve Jobs took it out of his jeans pocket on stage at Macworld Expo. All of which is to say that what follows is my conjecture. Pure punditry, not one of those smarmy “predictions” where I know full well in advance what’s going to happen. I have a thousand questions about The Tablet’s design. What size is it? There’s a big difference between, say, 7- and 10-inch displays. How do you type on it? With all your fingers, like a laptop keyboard? Or like an iPhone, with only your thumbs? If you’re supposed to watch video on it, how do you prop it up? Holding it in your hands? Flat on a table seems like the wrong angle entirely; but a fold-out “arm” to prop it up, à la a picture frame, seems clumsy and inelegant. If it’s just a touchscreen tablet, how do you protect the screen while carrying it around? If it folds up somehow, how is it not just a laptop — why not put a hardware keyboard on the part that folds up to cover the display? (Everyone I know at Apple refers to it as “The Tablet”, but so far as I can tell, that’s because that’s what everyone calls it, not because anyone knows that it actually even is, physically, a tablet. And “The Tablet” most certainly is not the product name.) If it’s too big to fit in a pants pocket, how are you supposed to carry it around? And but if it does fit in a pants pocket, how is it bigger enough than an iPod Touch to justify existing? And so on. But there’s one question at the top of the list, the answer to which is the key to answering every other question. That question is this: If you already have an iPhone and a MacBook; why would you want this? The epigraph I used to start this piece — the bit about Steve Jobs demanding that a tablet be useful for more than just reading on the can — indicates that Apple will release nothing without such an answer. I agree that such an answer is essential. Successful new gadgets always seem to occupy a clearly defined place alongside, or replacing, existing devices. The Flip filled a previously empty niche for a small, cheap, simple video camera. How was the iPod better than existing portable music players? It fit 1,000 songs in your pocket, with a fun interface that let you find them easily. Why buy an iPhone to replace your existing mobile phone? Because there was a clear need for a modern handheld general-purpose computer. But how much room is there between an iPhone (or iPod Touch) and a MacBook (or other laptop computer, running Windows or Linux or whatever)? What’s the argument for owning all three? “I’d use it on the couch and lying in bed” is not a good answer. You can already use your iPhone or MacBook on the couch and in bed. It strikes me as foolish to market a multi-hundred-dollar device that people are expected to leave on their coffee table. “It’s a Kindle killer” is not a good answer. If you think Apple is making a dedicated device for reading e-books and articles, you’re thinking too small. As profoundly reticent as Steve Jobs is regarding future Apple products, when he does speak, he’s often surprisingly revealing. David Pogue asked him about the Kindle a few months ago: A couple of years ago, pre-Kindle, Mr. Jobs expressed his doubts that e-readers were ready for prime time. So today, I asked if his opinions have changed. “I’m sure there will always be dedicated devices, and they may have a few advantages in doing just one thing,” he said. “But I think the general-purpose devices will win the day. Because I think people just probably aren’t willing to pay for a dedicated device.” He said that Apple doesn’t see e-books as a big market at this point, and pointed out that Amazon.com, for example, doesn’t ever say how many Kindles it sells. “Usually, if they sell a lot of something, you want to tell everybody.” Of course, this is the same Steve Jobs who back in January 2008 told The New York Times’s John Markoff: “It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.” One could reasonably argue that the “people don’t read” comment, taken at face value, suggests that Apple has no interest in that market, period. I, however, would square the two remarks as follows: Not enough people read to make it worth creating a dedicated device that is to reading what the original iPod was to music. (Everyone, for practical definitions of “everyone”, listens to music.) But e-reading as one aspect among several for a general-purpose computing device — well, that’s something else entirely. The pre-Touch iPod was (and remains) an enormous success. It changed the music industry and rejuvenated Apple. But it was and remains a dedicated device; originally focused on audio, now capable of the sibling feature of video. The iPhone, on the other hand, was conceived and has flourished as a general-purpose handheld computing platform. It was not introduced as such publicly, and is not pitched as such in Apple’s marketing, but clearly that’s what it is. The iPhone was described by Jobs in his on-stage introduction as three devices in one: “a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, a breakthrough Internet communicator”. Thus, it was clear what people would want to do with it: watch videos, listen to music, make phone calls, surf the web, do email. The way Apple made one device that did a credible job of all these widely-varying features was by making it a general-purpose computer with minimal specificity in the hardware and maximal specificity in the software. And, now, through the App Store and third-party developers, it does much more: serving as everything from a game player to a medical device. Do I think The Tablet is an e-reader? A video player? A web browser? A document viewer? It’s not a matter of or but rather and. I say it is all of these things. It’s a computer. And so in answer to my central question, regarding why buy The Tablet if you already have an iPhone and a MacBook, my best guess is that ultimately, The Tablet is something you’ll buy instead of a MacBook. I say they’re swinging big — redefining the experience of personal computing. It will not be pitched as such by Apple. It will be defined by three or four of its built-in primary apps. But long-term, big-picture? It will be to the MacBook what the Macintosh was to the Apple II. I am not predicting that Apple is phasing out the Mac. (On the contrary, I’ve heard that Mac OS X 10.7 is on pace for a developer release at WWDC in June.) Like all Apple products, The Tablet will do less than we expect but the things it does do, it will do insanely well. It will offer a fraction of the functionality of a MacBook — but that fraction will be way more fun. The same myopic feature-checklist-obsessed critics who dismissed the iPhone will focus on all that The Tablet doesn’t do and declare that this time, Apple really has fucked up but good. The rest of us will get in line to buy one. The Mac is, and will remain, Apple’s answer to what you use to do everything. The Tablet, I say, is going to be Apple’s new answer to what you use for personal portable general computing. Put another way, let’s say instead of a MacBook and an iPhone, you’ve got an iMac and an iPhone, but you also want a portable secondary computer. Today, that portable from Apple (portable as opposed to the iPhone’s mobile) is a MacBook. With The Tablet, you’ll have the option of a device that will more closely resemble the iPhone than the iMac in terms of concept and the degree of technical abstraction. The Tablet OS The original 1984 Mac didn’t abstract away the computer — it made the computer itself elegant, simple, and understandable. Very, very little was hidden from the typical user. Mac OS X is vastly more complex technically and conceptually, as it must be due to the vastly increased complexity and capability of today’s hardware. But Mac OS X has always tried to have it both ways: a veneer of simplicity that doesn’t cover the entire surface of the system. The user-exposed file system is a prime example. On the 1984 Mac, the entire file system was exposed, but the entire file system fit on a 400 KB floppy disk. On Mac OS X, the /System/Library/ folder, one of many exposed fiddly sections of the file system browsable in the Finder, contains over 90,000 items, not one of which a typical user should ever need to see or touch. The iPhone OS offers a complete computing abstraction. Under the hood, it’s just as complex as Mac OS X. On the surface, though, it is even more simple and elegant than the original Mac. No technical complexity is exposed. Hierarchy is minimized. It relegates the file system to a developer-level technology rather than a user-level technology. (Did you know the file system on iPhones is case sensitive?) But so while I think The Tablet’s OS will be like the iPhone OS, I don’t think it will be the iPhone OS. Carved from the same OS X core, yes, but with a new bespoke UI designed to be just right for The Tablet’s form factor, whatever that form factor will be. One common prediction I disagree with is that The Tablet will simply be more or less an iPod Touch with a much bigger display. But in the same way that it made no sense for Apple to design the iPhone OS to run Mac software, it makes little sense for a device with a 7-inch (let alone larger) display to run software designed for a 3.5-inch display. The iPhone OS user interface was not designed in the abstract. It’s entirely about real-world usability, and very much designed specifically around the physical size of the device itself. The size and spacing of tappable targets are designed with the size of human thumb- and fingertips in mind. More importantly, the whole thing is designed so that it can be used one-handed. Even an adult with relatively small hands can go from one corner to the other with their thumb, holding the iPhone in one hand. Mac OS X apps couldn’t run on an iPhone display because they simply wouldn’t fit, and the parts that did fit would contain buttons and other UI elements that were far too small to be used. Running iPhone software on a much larger display presents the opposite problem: it’s not that the UI couldn’t be scaled to fill the screen, it’s that it would be a waste to do so. A 7-inch display isn’t twice the size of an iPhone’s, it’s four times bigger in surface area. I’m not sure even Shaquille O’Neal could hold a 7-inch iPod Touch in one hand and swipe from corner to corner with his thumb. Why would Apple stretch a UI designed to afford for one-handed use on 3.5-inch displays to cover a 7-inch (or larger) display that couldn’t possibly be used one-handed? If Apple’s starting with a hardware size where the iPhone OS can’t be used one-handed, then trust me, they’re designing a new interaction model. Apple is not in the business of making monolithic OSes that they cram down your throat on as many widely-varying devices as possible. Apple is in the business of making complete products, for which they craft derivative OSes to fit each product. There is a shared core OS. There is not a shared core UI.2 If you’re thinking The Tablet is just a big iPhone, or just Apple’s take on the e-reader, or just a media player, or just anything, I say you’re thinking too small — the equivalent of thinking that the iPhone was going to be just a click wheel iPod that made phone calls. I think The Tablet is nothing short of Apple’s reconception of personal computing. “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.” —Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect. (1846-1912) |
[Haskell-cafe] ANNOUNCE: HaNS-2.1.0.0 Galois, Inc. is pleased to announce the release of HaNS, the Haskell Network Stack. HaNS is a lightweight, pure Haskell network stack that can be used for Haskell networking in the context of the HaLVM, or with a Linux tap device. Currently, HaNS supports 802.3, IPv4, ARP, DHCP (partially), ICMP, UDP, and TCP. On Hackage: http://hackage.haskell.org/package/HaNS Git repo: http://code.galois.com/cgi-bin/gitweb The TCP component is a port of Peng Li and Stephan Zdancewic's Haskell TCP library, which in turn was translated from Norrish et al's HOL4 TCP specification. What might you use HaNS for? Developing new and interesting networking protocols, at any layer of the network stack, or your own variants of existing protocols. HaNS allows HaLVM nodes to support networking, meaning you can run experimental network services directly on top of the HaLVM (without any pesky OS getting in the way). There are probably lots of other cool applications of HaNS we haven't though of yet. HaNS is released under a BSD license, and should be considered experimental at this stage. If you have any questions please contact the HaLVM team at halvm-devel at community.galois.com. -- Trevor Elliott (for the HaLVM team) P.S. If you're building with the HaLVM, make sure to add -fhalvm to your cabal install invocation. = References = HaLVM: http://halvm.org Haskell TCP: http://hackage.haskell.org/package/tcp -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: smime.p7s Type: application/pkcs7-signature Size: 3612 bytes Desc: S/MIME Cryptographic Signature URL: <http://www.haskell.org/pipermail/haskell-cafe/attachments/20110524/be49db28/attachment.bin> |
Game: Any New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs New York Jets vs. Cleveland Browns Buffalo Bills vs. Indianapolis Colts Washington Redskins vs. Miami Dolphins Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Carolina Panthers St. Louis Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints San Diego Chargers vs. Detroit Lions Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Tennessee Titans Oakland Raiders vs. Cincinnati Bengals Denver Broncos vs. Baltimore Ravens Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants Atlanta Falcons vs. Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers vs. Minnesota Vikings Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos Carolina Panthers vs. Houston Texans Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Francisco 49ers New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions Chicago Bears vs. Arizona Cardinals Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots Cincinnati Bengals vs. San Diego Chargers Cleveland Browns vs. Tennessee Titans New York Giants 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Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers Arizona Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bengals New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills Detroit Lions vs. Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Cowboys vs. Carolina Panthers Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears Tennessee Titans vs. Oakland Raiders Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills Indianapolis Colts vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants Houston Texans vs. New Orleans Saints Atlanta Falcons vs. Minnesota Vikings Cincinnati Bengals vs. St. Louis Rams Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Diego Chargers New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers New York Giants vs. New York Jets St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons Minnesota Vikings vs. Seattle Seahawks Buffalo Bills vs. Houston Texans Miami Dolphins vs. Baltimore Ravens Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Indianapolis Colts Washington Redskins vs. Dallas Cowboys Arizona Cardinals vs. Minnesota Vikings Philadelphia Eagles vs. Buffalo Bills Cleveland Browns vs. San Francisco 49ers St. Louis Rams vs. Detroit Lions Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints New York Jets vs. Tennessee Titans Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Diego Chargers Chicago Bears vs. Washington Redskins Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens vs. Seattle Seahwaks Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots Miami Dolphins vs. New York Giants St. Louis Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Jets Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Atlanta Falcons Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans New York Giants vs. Carolina Panthers New England Patriots vs. Tennessee Titans Washington Redskins vs. Buffalo Bills Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs Seattle Seahawks vs. Cleveland Browns Oakland Raiders vs. Green Bay Packers Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos San Diego Chargers vs. Miami Dolphins San Francisco 49ers vs. Cincinnati Bengals Philadelphia Eagles vs. Arizona Cardinals New Orleans Saints vs. Detroit Lions Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins New York Jets vs. New England Patriots Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cleveland Browns Miami Dolphins vs. Indianapolis Colts Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers Buffalo Bills vs. Dallas Cowboys Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Chicago Bears Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers New Orleans Saints vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams Arizona Cardinals vs. Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Giants Denver Broncos vs. Cincinnati Bengals Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings |
* Russia occupies neighbour Norway in upcoming TV series * Russian embassy protests over depicting “non-threat” * Show based on idea by hit crime writer Jo Nesbo By Henrik Stolen OSLO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A Russian invasion of Norway to take control of its oilfields is the stuff of fantasy on a new Norwegian TV series, but Moscow is not at all pleased, fiction though it is. The series “Occupied” depicts a Russian occupation of its Nordic neighbour at the request of the European Union to restore Norway’s oil production after it is shut down by a green-conscious Oslo government. The show is based on an idea by hit crime writer Jo Nesbo, author of the Harry Hole detective books. At 90 million crowns ($10.89 million), it is the most expensive Norwegian TV series ever. The Russian embassy in Oslo, though, wishes the expense had been spared. “One should not expect any hysteria from the Russian side - it’s not our style,” the embassy wrote in a letter to broadcaster TV2. “At the same time, it is unfortunate that during the year marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War Two, the show’s writers, as if they have forgotten about the heroic effort by the Soviet army in the liberation of northern Norway from Nazi occupants, intimidate Norwegian viewers with a non-existent threat from the east.” The makers of the series say that existing tensions between Russia and the West did not inspire the show. “In our story it is the EU that gives Russia the green light to invade Norway and the U.S. has withdrawn from NATO. It’s fiction,” Christopher Haug, TV2’s head of drama, said. “It is not done with intention. This is a project that has been going on for a long time,” he told Reuters. The first of 10 episodes will air on Norwegian screens on Oct. 4. Officials at the Russian embassy in Oslo were unavailable for further comment. The Norwegian foreign ministry said in an email to Reuters that “this is a TV series produced for TV2. For the foreign ministry, this is not something we spend time on”. ($1 = 8.2641 Norwegian crowns) (Additional reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Camilla Knudsen, writing by Henrik Stolen and Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Michael Roddy/Mark Heinrich) |
These are some of the New Yorkers who have parked their cash offshore or set up companies in farflung island nations to shelter their holdings. Nearly 500 people and companies with New York addresses turned up last week in a searchable “Panama Papers” database reviewed by The New York Post. Read: 5 things to know about the Panama Papers They range from moguls to art-world luminaries to an East Village psychiatrist and a young television actress. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists put out the database containing information on nearly 320,000 offshore entities from the so-called Panama Papers and Offshore Leaks investigations. The data dump is just a fraction of the more than 11 million leaked files from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, a leader in creating difficult-to-trace companies. Other data come from two additional companies that specialize in setting up offshore entities. Also read: Dodging taxes is not just about offshore havens Offshore companies are often created in tax havens, such as the British Virgin Islands and the Caymans, used to hide assets from authorities around the world or to maintain privacy. Last month, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara sent a letter to the ICIJ saying he had “opened a criminal investigation” regarding Panama Papers issues. Officials in Panama raided Mossack Fonseca’s offices there. The ICIJ cautions that there are “legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts” and it is not implying that anyone in the database has broken the law. But the group has said at least 36 Americans accused of fraud and other financial crimes appear in the data. Nakash Family: The founders of Jordache jeans — brothers Joseph, Ralph and Avi Nakash — and other family members are linked to several offshore companies including a defunct entity named Blue Jeans Ltd. in the British Virgin Islands. The Nakashes are major real-estate investors in New York and own hotels, office buildings and residential properties across the country. Joseph Nakash is an investor in the New York Wheel, a 630-foot-tall Ferris wheel currently being built on Staten Island. Alexis Dziena: The actress who played Ashley Brooks on “Entourage” is listed as an adviser and beneficiary of the Theresa Funding Trust in the Cook Islands. Her father, Alexander, is a beneficiary of the trust, as is her mother, Madeline, who established it in 2009. A Manhattan bank executive was the trust’s investment adviser. The 31-year-old New York native unsuccessfully sought a restraining order against her parents in 2011, claiming they might resort to “murder or violence” to claim her money. Denise Rich: Rich, 72, is a Grammy-nominated songwriter and philanthropist who is linked to two offshore companies, DTD Limited in the Cook Islands and The Dry Trust, of unknown location. She is the widow of Marc Rich, the fugitive billionaire trader pardoned by President Bill Clinton on his last day in office in 2001. Records released in 2013 as part of the Offshore Leaks investigation revealed she had stashed more than $140 million in a Cook Islands trust, which included a Learjet and a 157-foot sailboat. In 2012, she dumped her U.S. citizenship and became an Austrian citizen in order to avoid paying taxes. Merle Hoffman: An activist who runs the Choices Women’s Health Center, a clinic and abortion provider in Queens, was a beneficiary of the defunct Hoffman Family Trust in the Cook Islands. Hoffman, 70, who has lived on Park Avenue and also owns a waterfront home in the Hamptons, has racked up hundreds of thousands in federal and state tax liens over the years. She still owes $860,975 to the IRS and $13,068 to the state, public records show. A spokeswoman for Hoffman said the trust was created “maybe 20 years or so ago [and] never had any activity.” John King: King, 63, started Chung King Studios, which was dubbed the “Abbey Road of hip-hop.” Run-DMC, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J recorded at the Manhattan studios, as did Moby, Phish, Depeche Mode, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. The studios closed last year. King is the beneficiary of several trusts in the British Virgin Islands and the Cook Islands. Arline Tarte: A top realtor with Brown Harris Stevens with two current Manhattan listings north of $10 million, Tarte is a shareholder in a company called Challis International Ltd. in the British Virgin Islands. The 74-year-old Upper East Sider told The Post she knew nothing about the offshore company and didn’t recall investing in it. “I think that’s wonderful,” she said. “I’d like to know what I have.” Barry Gesser: Gesser, an associate of “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort, pleaded guilty to fraud in 1999. He was sentenced to three years’ probation. The Post reported that his marriage to actress Stacey Alysson last year ended after just 15 days when she found him in bed with socialite Dori Cooperman. In December, the 52-year-old with a drug-abuse history was found dead in his Los Angeles home. The ex-Manhattanite was tied to two offshore trusts incorporated in the 1990s that are now defunct. Columbia University: The Ivy League college’s Columbia Investment Management Company LLC, which manages the university’s endowment, is a shareholder in the Haton Polymer & Fibre Corp. located in the Cayman Islands. The university has not commented on the investment. Eugene Kashper: The Russian immigrant bought the Pabst Brewing Co. for a reported $700 million in 2014. Kashper, 46, got his start in the industry as a salesman for Stroh’s in Eastern Europe. Now a multimillionaire, he plunked down $7 million for a Soho apartment in 2006. He is a shareholder in the offshore CMFOS Ltd. David E. Shaw: Shaw’s D.E. Shaw & Co. describes itself as a “global investment and technology-development firm with more than $37 billion in investment capital.” Fortune magazine once called it “the most intriguing and mysterious force on Wall Street.” Shaw, 65, is also a senior research fellow at the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at Columbia University and a past member of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology. His Shaw Family Trust I was set up in an unknown offshore location in 1994. Charles Ardai: The former CEO of the Internet service provider Juno is also a writer and founder of Hard Case Crime, which publishes pulp-style paperback crime novels. He is “protector” or adviser to the Shaw Family Trust I created by David E. Shaw. Ardai, 46, is a managing director at Shaw’s company. Paola Mieli: She is a Manhattan-based psychoanalyst who is a member of the Cercle Freudien in Paris. Mieli, 61, is listed as a beneficiary of the offshore Claudius Trust along with the Harvard Business School. She teaches at the School of Visual Arts in Gramercy. In 2007, she traveled to Naples to give a lecture on superstitions surrounding salt. James R. Mellon II: The 73-year-old banking-family scion and resident of Manhattan and Southampton is associated with several offshore trusts and bragged to a Swiss paper in 2013 that he hopscotched the globe to avoid taxes. “It’s all legal, believe me,” he said. A hunter and author, he is the editor of a 1988 oral history of slavery, “Bullwhip Days: The Slaves Remember,” and a 1980 photo book on Abraham Lincoln. Known as Jay, he is also his family’s unofficial historian and has written a biography of Thomas Mellon, his great-great-grandfather and founder of the storied Pittsburgh bank. Kojo Annan: The only son of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reportedly used a Samoan company called Sapphire Holding Ltd. to purchase a luxury apartment in London. Kojo, 42, who used to rent an apartment in Tribeca, was also linked to two other offshore enterprises that are now defunct. He was accused in the 1990s of profiting from his connection to his father. Although the younger Annan was never prosecuted, he was accused of helping his employer, Cotecna, land a lucrative contract through the UN’s Oil for Food program. Dominique Levy: Levy owns the Dominique Levy Gallery on Madison Avenue, which sells works by artists such as Gerhard Richter, Frank Stella, Cindy Sherman and Jackson Pollock. The 48-year-old Levy is a shareholder of Aldabra International Ltd., which was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in 2012. She lives on the Upper East Side and in Bridgehampton, LI, and also owns a gallery in London. “It’s a personal holding company put in place for estate planning and is fully disclosed in the United States,” a gallery spokeswoman said. New York University School of Medicine: The medical college is tied to two entities in the British Virgin Islands, Scraggy Neck Investments and Huntington Investments Holdings. A college spokesperson told The Post that the accounts were linked to the medical school’s former chairman of neurosurgery, Dr. Patrick Kelly, who used his personal funds and is no longer employed by the university. No NYU funds were part of the transactions, the spokesperson said. Charlene Marant: Charlene Marant, 62, was a personal investment adviser who was convicted of using elderly clients’ cash to pay the rent on her Wall Street office and fund a luxurious lifestyle. She was released from federal prison in 2010. Marant, who lived in lower Manhattan, was a shareholder of Highland Consultants, which was incorporated in 2005 in the British Virgin Islands and is now defunct. Gianluigi Longinotti-Buitoni: Longinotti-Buitoni, 62, made his mark selling luxury cars during a recession. The former president and CEO of Ferrari North America is a motivational speaker and the author of “Selling Dreams: How to Make Any Product Irresistible.” Buitoni, who lives in tony Larchmont, was also a shareholder in the now defunct Goal Multimedia Ltd., incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. He had a state tax lien of $5,379, of which he now owes $32.70. Louise Blouin: Art collector and art-magazine publisher Blouin is already feeling the heat from the Panama Papers fallout. The Post reported that she was poised to sell her La Dune oceanfront estate in Southampton for $145 million but decided to rent it out instead after news of her offshore investments came to light. She is a shareholder of Kirkswood Ltd., located in the British Virgin Islands. She told the Toronto Star that the investment wasn’t a tax dodge but done to fuel her “hobby” — real-estate transactions. This report originally appeared on NYPost.com. |
Tensions are rising in Afghanistan’s Logar Province today after a pair of US attack helicopters inexplicably attacked an Afghan military checkpoint in broad daylight, killing at least 10 soldiers in a major friendly fire incident. The helicopters were out on an “advise and assist” mission for Afghan special forces. The US claims the helicopters came under fire, and they responded by attacking the checkpoint, even though it was flying an Afghan flag and was not where the gunfire came from. That’s the best case story of the incident, though the Afghan forces at the checkpoint didn’t appear to see the putative militants who were firing on the helicopters, which makes attacking the checkpoint even more bizarre. US officials say the incident is “under investigation,” and while the Afghan government said they believe the attack was probably a mistake, they are keen to get an explanation for the killings. Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz |
This morning, I went to my local cinema palace to see the stinkfest that is “>The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (and if that opinion offends ye, feel free to avoid my Eclipse: A hater’s guide post). The one part of the experience I did enjoy was watching the trailer for Paranormal Activity 2, which scared me as rigid as the adventures of Whiney, Glittery, and Would-you-like-to-see-my-abs?-y would later bore me stupid. In fact, I remember thinking at the time that the clip might be a tad too frightening for younger Twilight fans. Apparently I was right. Variety is reporting that the theater operator Cinemark has pulled the trailer for PA2 from several cinemas in Texas following complaints that it is too scary. (Although, while I assume the complaints were genuine, I can’t help but be reminded of the publicity stunts of ’50s horror director William Castle who insured viewers of his film Macabre against “death by fright.”) Have you seen the Paranormal Activity 2 trailer? Do you think it is unsuitable for young Eclipse viewers? More: ‘Paranormal Activity 2’ trailer: a dog, a baby, and a bump in the night. Oh, man… ‘Eclipse’: 9 star portraits ‘Eclipse’: Most Improved Vampire Actor — Jackson Rathbone? ‘Eclipse’ opening breaks record for biggest single-day Wednesday opening Movie Review: ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse‘ |
UPDATE: Jackman's reps reached out to The Wrap and said the casting of the actor was purely just rumor, and one with "absolutely no truth" The LION KING remake has possibly found its villainous kitty – and he’s puuuuurrrfect. Omega Underground got word from someone close to the production that Hugh Jackman will lend his voice to the movie's main antagonist – Scar – in the remake of the animated classic. Jackman also took to Twitter to post a pic with the caption “PARTNERS,” further fanning the flames of his potential involvement in the future Disney megahit: Neither party has officially confirmed the news, but Jackman’s possible casting comes off recent news that John Oliver would be voicing Zazu in the movie, which already has Donald Glover as Simba, Billy Eichner as Timon, Seth Rogen as Pumba, and James Earl Jones returning to voice Mufasa. Jeremy Irons voiced the character in the original movie, and some have been wondering if Jones’ involvement meant they would be seeking Irons to reprise his role. Though Irons’ work as Scar was what I associated with pure evil in my childhood, Jackman is an extraordinary actor who would do a fine job in the role. He doesn’t have that vocal tone that allows for the deliciously menacing dialogue to roll off the tongue like Irons, but he does possess a theatricality that would mesh nicely with the character. Oddly enough, I could see Idris Elba also doing a terrific job in the role, if he hadn’t already nailed the role of Shere Khan in JUNGLE BOOK. But hey, Jackman is awesome too. |
Officers' housing for sale in Discovery Park, formerly known as Fort Lawton, are seen near a functioning FAA air traffic control radar dome in Seattle, Washington, U.S. February 11, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday advised homeowners who are rushing to prepay their 2018 property taxes before a law signed by President Donald Trump takes effect next year that the payment may not be tax-deductible. The law signed by Trump last week imposes a $10,000 combined limit on the deduction of state and local income and property taxes. There is no limit on that deduction for 2017. In a notice on its website, the IRS said that, in general, a full deduction for the prepayment of state or local property taxes depends on whether the taxpayer makes the payment this year and whether the property taxes are assessed prior to 2018. “A prepayment of anticipated real property taxes that have not been assessed prior to 2018 are not deductible in 2017,” the IRS notice said. “State or local law determines whether and when a property tax is assessed, which is generally when the taxpayer becomes liable for the property tax imposed,” it said. The massive $1.5 trillion tax overhaul passed the Republican-controlled Congress with no Democratic support. It slashes the corporate rate to 21 percent from 35 percent and temporarily reduces the tax burden for most individuals as well. Capping the deduction for state and local income and property taxes is seen as punitive to high-tax states such as New York, New Jersey and California. On Friday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an order allowing state residents to make either a partial or full pre-payment on their property tax bill prior to Jan. 1 in order to benefit from the federal tax deduction. |
The answer to that, @thesoloman , is a big NO.That there battery is only 5amp peak. Please do not use that battery in your Air, it won't perform and is risky.For the comments about Arizer's chargers we've been talking in the Arizer Air thread about it, and it appears Arizer's charger charges up to 4.25 volts rather than Nitecore's 4.20 volts. Considering the battery Arizer uses, that could be a factor allowing a longer-lasting quicker-heating-chamber action.Cuz the longer the battery retains the upper voltage, the quicker your heater will return to it's setting.I do have a question for @CentiZen , can we please know the 'c' value for these batteries ? It relates to the curve of how long they retain upper voltages. Would be really good to know, as a comparison with other batteries for my ecig, not my Arizer Air. For the Air I only use Arizer batteries, and now, going to use @CentiZen 's OEM Arizer batteries which I believe will not void my warranty.. ? Is that right, @CentiZen |
WikiLeaks, the controversial whistleblower website run by Australian Julian Assange, has released yet another cache of highly secret, highly controversial documents – this time about the U.S. detention facility at its naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. More than half a dozen newspapers globally, including the Washington Post, Der Spiegel, Le Monde and the Daily Telegraph, published information from over 700 files relating to the prison Sunday night. These files detail the condition in which each detainee was obtained, their medical condition, and any information they have provided via interrogation. Of the more than 700 prisoners that have been at the facility, the documents show that only 220 were assessed by military and intelligence officials to be dangerous international terrorists. Another 380 were determined to be low-level Taliban or Al Qaeda foot-soldiers whose level of danger outside Afghanistan was considered questionable. Perhaps most shockingly, these documents acknowledge that at least 150 of the prisoners were completely innocent Pakistanis or Afghans. These prisoners were rounded up by, or even occasionally sold to, American forces and transferred to the Guantanamo prison. In these documents, it is revealed that U.S. commanders commented on the transfer of innocent men to Cuba with, “No reason recorded for transfer.” Given the controversy around the interrogation techniques used by officials at this facility, it is a possibility that these men were tortured before being assessed as having little to no value as information sources. Likely the most valuable prisoner at the facility is reputed operational commander of Al Qaeda and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is scheduled to face a military tribunal later this year. In the WikiLeaks documents, his file states that Al Qaeda has planned or is currently planning attacks in Asia, Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Perhaps the most frightening revelation is his claim that the terrorist group has hidden a nuclear bomb somewhere in Europe which he threatens will explode if Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is ever captured or killed. Other threats that have been extracted from prisoners includes possible gas attacks, including using cyanide in the air ducts of public buildings. However, such claims must be looked at with a healthy level of skepticism, as many were extracted under the “enhanced interrogation techniques” that many would argue qualify as torture. It is likely that the release of these classified documents will renew the fierce debate about the controversial prison, which President Obama promised but so far failed to close. Photo: Wikimedia Commons |
Organize a 'Genetic Crimes Unit' at the Monsanto location nearest you (NaturalNews) If you have ever considered what might be some practical, effective ways to fight back against the continued genetic annihilation of the food supply, now is your chance to join an exciting, decentralized movement in defense of food freedom. Beginning on September 17, 2012, and lasting for one week,, an international, grassroots effort fighting back against the corporate takeover of agriculture, is calling on health freedom advocates across the globe to stage mass protests at the many worldwide facilities owned by the Monsanto corporation.You can access a full list of the locations of Monsanto's facilities around the world by visiting:For far too long, Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, and the other major biotechnology players have been pulling a fast one on the American people. Buying off spineless, traitorous politicians in exchange for corporate favors, Monsanto in particular has been especially deviant, and intensely focused on making sure that GMOs are not labeled, and that biotechnology is incorporated into all aspects of human life against the will of the people. And thus far, Monsanto has been quite successful in building and maintaining an empire built on this legacy of corruption and lies.Butis trying to change all this; having recently staged several protests designed to raise awareness about the presence of GMOs in the food supply. Most people, after all, including many health-conscious people, have no idea that most conventional food items that contain corn, canola, or soy derivatives are of GM origin ( http://www.ers.usda.gov ). In fact, it is estimated that as much as 70 percent or more of all processed food items contain GM ingredients, even though they are not labeled as such. ( http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/ge/ This is disastrously unacceptable, especially in light of the fact that the only reason Monsanto has the stronghold it does isGMOs are not properly labeled. And because of this, the multinational corporate predator has had the leverage to commit untold crimes against humanity all around the world, including in its destruction of entire agricultural systems in India and elsewhere that has left hundreds of thousands of people impoverished or dead. ( https://www.naturalnews.com/030913_Monsanto_suicides.html So to fight back,is assembling "Genetic Crimes Units" (GCUs), which it describes as "autonomousaffinity groups who will carry out decontamination events during the Global Week of Action against Monsanto ." These GCUs will stage protest events at local Monsanto facilities for the purpose of drawing attention to the fact that GMOs have never been proven safe, and that forcing them on the public turns average Americans into human guinea pigs.To learn more about GCUs, and to view a list of already confirmed GCU locations, visit:has also been encouraging protests at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and other natural and organic grocers that are covertly, and deceptively, selling unlabeled GMOs to unsuspecting customers. According to the decentralized group, which recently staged a protest at a Trader Joe's in Atlanta, Georgia ( http://occupy-monsanto.com ), claims made by Trader Joe's that its store-brand products do not contain GMOs are questionable, as the specialty grocer has not released any evidence or proof that this is true.And let us not forget Whole Foods, which sells many products that contain GM ingredients as well. Many of the freshly-prepared meal items sold at the Whole Foods lunch bar; for instance, contain canola oil, which more than likely is of GM origin. Whole Foods is perhaps a bigger target than Trader Joe's because it openly uses questionable ingredients like canola oil in its store-brand products, and charges its customers a premium for these deceptive products.To learn more aboutand how you can help fight back against GMOs, visit: |
The first time I tuned in to the fact that the Russians might be hockey geniuses was New Year’s Eve, in 1975, when the Moscow Red Army hockey club played the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. I was six. We were visiting an uncle and aunt on a farm in upstate New York, near the Canadian border, and my father found the game on an old TV, rabbit ears picking up the signal from (I assume) the other side of the St. Lawrence. He made a big deal out of the prowess and panache of the Soviets. I don’t remember the game itself, either because I was sent to bed or the action was obscure to young eyes, on a small, fuzzy screen. (The medium, pre-HD flatscreen, was never ideal; twenty years later, during the Stanley Cup playoffs, a friend would refer to what we were watching on a ten-inch Trinitron as “the little people.”) I didn’t register that the New Year’s Eve game, though dominated by the Canadiens, had ended in a tie. But my father’s reverence made an impression on me, as did the names Mikhailov and Tretiak. It was a rink-rat-to-be’s version of the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” During the Cold War, certain sporting events became proxies for the wider struggle. The Olympics, with the medal counts and the wide range of sports that one country or another—the U.S.S.R., the United States, Cuba, or the two Germanies—had decided to focus on, to assert supremacy, became a full-on superseries of contrasting ideologies, sporting philosophies, and performance-enhancing-drug regimes. From the beginning, the Olympics had a chauvinistic streak, but the Cold War raised the stakes and turned them into a quadrennial morality play. We were Balboa; they were Drago. The quintessence of this was the Miracle on Ice, in 1980, when a bunch of American college kids beat the Soviets, the best hockey team in the world. History has granted the upset almost as much significance as the Cuban missile crisis. (The Canadian version was the 1972 Summit Series, which Canada, and Our Way of Life, won four games to three, with one tie.) For years, I rooted for the Soviets in hockey against everyone but the United States and the Philadelphia Flyers. Basically, outside of these two national and notional allegiances, I favored the Russian style of play, an intricate, flowing approach that preferred puck possession and teamwork to (and Flyers haters will find this contradictory) brute force and individual achievement. Call me a Commie, if you want. I prefer to think that I was looking ahead to the post-Cold War sports landscape, when the nationality of teams or athletes mattered less than their comportment and playing style. You could root for Roger Federer or Brazilian soccer without having a fetish for the Swiss or knowing a word of Portuguese. You cultivated an allegiance to the Federer forehand, or the jogo bonito. Soon enough, of course, once sports went global, the world became a free-agency meat market. Athletes went where the money was, often before they were fully formed, and before long the peculiar characteristics of each nation’s sporting culture got diluted and homogenized. The Brazilians fled for the football leagues of Europe, the Russians for the Canadian minor hockey leagues. Tennis emigrated to Bradenton. Soon the mercenaries looked alike, no matter where they came from. There was perhaps no sports culture as distinct as that of Russian hockey. The wonderful new documentary “Red Army,” on a limited run in New York this week and slated for wide release in January, tells the story of the legendary Soviet teams, principally through the eyes of the great defenseman Slava Fetisov, who eventually, during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the twilight of his career, came to play in the N.H.L. The Soviet approach to hockey evolved in a vacuum, under the tutelage of Anatoli Tarasov, a self-made hockey mastermind who was tasked by Stalin after the Second World War with creating an ice-hockey program where none had existed before. He integrated elements from ballet, chess, and bandy, and put players through rigorous and unorthodox training rituals. (Vintage footage dug up by Gabe Polsky, the film’s director, who played hockey at Yale, suggests that the key to graceful hockey is doing lots of somersaults in practice.) The players lived together most of the year and played together in units of five for years on end. The result of all this, in the rink, anyway, was a free-flowing weave of improvisational keep-away, with the flamboyance, if not the laughs, of the Globetrotters on ice. Their greatest successes, and most aesthetically pleasing performances, came when they were coached by a dictatorial apparatchik and former player named Viktor Tikhonov, whom most of them came to hate. The irony was always there and is central to Polsky’s film: a rigid, oppressive system, at both national and team levels, created the freest, most expressive hockey there ever was. As it happens, my colleague and beer-league hockey teammate Keith Gessen gave a talk at the New York Public Library this afternoon on the subject of Russian hockey. He's been reading Tarasov. He said in his talk, "Later on, when Tarasov had visited the U.S. and been amazed both by the prodigiousness of its cities, the variety of its supermarkets, and the tricks of the animals at SeaWorld, he would say to an American scout, 'Your people can build the world's tallest buildings. You can make forty-nine different kinds of mayonnaise. You can teach dolphins to do the most complex tasks. Why can't you teach your hockey players to pass the puck more than two metres?' " After the fall of the Soviet Union, the number of players adept in this style began to dwindle, as the system’s vestigial influence faded. There are still some great young Russian hockey players, but their way of playing isn’t really distinguishable from that of the élites of North America or, say, Sweden. With cross-pollination came homogenization. The hockey is better here now, and perhaps not as good there. In the absence of a contrast in styles, showdowns between East and West become less interesting, less consequential. They have become, well, just games. All that’s left, to imbue these contests with extra-athletic import, is patriotism, and the hostility that seems to go with it. At the behest of Vladimir Putin, Fetisov, who’d fought the Soviet establishment for the right to play in North America and keep the money he earned here, went back to Russia, after his N.H.L. career was done, in order to help revive Russia’s moribund athletic apparatus. He served as the Minister of Sport, helped put on the Sochi Olympics, and then, perhaps on the basis of these successes, got elected, by a unanimous vote, to the upper house of the Russian Federal Assembly. The Sochi Olympics, like the Tarasov hockey program, were calculated to foster pride at home and envy abroad—to strut Russia’s stuff on the world stage. The man who bucked the system had become a part of it. “What do you mean, I’m part of the system?” Fetisov said, when I met him a few weeks ago in New York, with Polsky. “I am part of governmental system that tries to bring back pride to the people.” I found him to be remarkably, and at times delightfully, prickly about anything having to do with the nationalistic implications of sport, in spite of his stated mission to use sport to strengthen patriotism. “You are brainwashed,” he said. I professed my love for the way he and his teammates had played, but he detected criticism of modern-day Russia. The American dream, he half-joked, was “to blame everyone for everything.” He was well-armored for Us versus Them. I asked him if, in light of the deterioration in relations between the United States and Russia (“It’s never been this bad,” he said. “Never.”), he foresaw a return to the kind of Cold War rooting interests and political significance that infused international competition in his playing days. “You think Washington Capitals fans are going to hate Ovechkin now, because he’s Russian? Sounds funny. Do I think the Russian hockey team wants to beat U.S. team because Obama is President? It sounds like a funny thing. They want to beat them because they are good hockey players and want to win. For me as a player, it didn’t matter what kind of political system there was. I had my games, I had my practices. I wasn’t thinking about a fucking Politburo guy during those years. I didn’t give a shit.” But we did. So did the Politburo guy. And though the antagonism may have brought on bigotry, misery, and ignorance, it also made for beautiful, meaningful hockey. Was it worth it? |
Image copyright AP Image caption Two helicopters and four Ospreys have been sent by the US to Nepal Troops and emergency aircraft from the United States have arrived in Nepal to help deliver aid to remote areas hit by last week's devastating earthquake. Relief efforts near the epicentre have been hampered by a lack of aircraft. About 100 US Marines, two helicopters and four Ospreys capable of vertical take-off are now in Kathmandu. Their arrival comes as Nepal's only international airport has banned larger aircraft carrying aid from landing because of concerns over its runway. More than 7,000 people died in the magnitude 7.8 earthquake. More than 14,021 people were injured. The epicentre was in the Gorkha region, and many roads to the hilly district are impassable due to landslides. The six aircraft are due to begin aid flights on Monday. Image copyright AFP Image caption Tribhuvan Airport has been the hub for international aid efforts for Nepal Brig Gen Paul Kennedy said: "We've got search and rescue teams waiting to go out to the remote areas, we've got relief supplies, especially shelters." New restrictions on planes landing at Kathmandu airport will not affect aid flights, a Nepali government spokesman said. Planes heavier than 196 tonnes had been allowed to land since the earthquake but restrictions have been imposed because of potholes on the runway, officials say. Also on Sunday, the United Nations said the problem of customs controls holding up aid deliveries from the airport was "diminishing". "The government has taken note of some of the concerns that we've expressed to them and they've addressed those," said Jamie McGoldrick, who is co-ordinating the UN relief effort in Kathmandu. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Drone video showed the devastation in Nepal's Sindhupalchok district, near the earthquake epicentre Image copyright Reuters Image caption Victims from the Sindhupalchok district were airlifted to Kathmandu on Sunday Image copyright AFP Image caption Meanwhile the clean-up continued in one of Kathmandu's historic squares Landslides and poor weather have hampered efforts to deliver aid to isolated areas. The death toll could go up, as search and rescue efforts continuing in several hill districts including Dhading, Rasuwa and Sindhupalchok, the government has said. While the vast majority of casualties were in Nepal, about 100 people are reported to have died in neighbouring India, China and Bangladesh. On Sunday, Nepali police released a list of foreigners who had been killed or injured. The largest group of nationals affected is Indians, with 39 known to have died and 10 injured. The EU envoy to Nepal, Rensje Teerink, said on Friday that the whereabouts of 1,000 EU citizens was still unknown. Nepal earthquake relief $415 million needed for humanitarian relief 3 million people in need of food aid 130,000 houses destroyed 24,000 people living in makeshift camps 20 teams working to reunite lost children with their families AFP How long can people survive under rubble? Medical priorities Satellite reveals quake movement Nepal quake special report Deaths in worst-affected areas (1 May) |
Cooper Do-nuts sign (image source: Stephen Seemayer and Pamela Wilson's film, Young Turks (1982) May 1959: Seven years before Silver Lake's Black Cat Riot and ten before New York's Stonewall riots, a group of drag queens and hustlers clashed with LAPD officers at Cooper Do-nuts (also often referred to as Cooper's Doughnuts or Cooper's Donuts) usually considered to be the first gay uprising in modern history. Before nearby Broadway arose as Los Angeles's premier theater district (around the 1920s), most of the nickelodeons and theaters were along Main Street -- two blocks east. In the 1930s and '40s, Downtown declined when Jews -- shunned from the downtown protestant establishment, moved their residences, businesses and investments to Hollywood, Midtown, and the Westside. Other "not-quite-whites" moved east and to the Valley when the exclusionary definition of all important "whiteness" grew slightly broader. In the 1950s, the mainstream view was that Downtown was dead. The reality was rather different. Bunker Hill continued to bustle with life. Thousands of the city's poor continued to sleep on the streets and in residential hotels around Skid Row and the Historic Core. Latinos turned Broadway into a busy shopping street and foreign cinema scene. Gays and other "subversives" found a degree of refuge in "seedy" city center. Some of Main's theaters continued to operate, such as the Optic Theatre (533 S. Main). Main and the surrounding area was also home to several clubs and bars popular with gays like the Biltmore, the Brass Rail, the Cellar (521 S. Main), the Crown Jewel (754 S. Olive), Harold's 555 Club (555 S. Main), Jolie's, Maxwell's, the Numbers, the 326 (326 S. Spring), the Waldorf, and the Burbank (548 S. Main), which featured Jazz, and burlesque, &c. There were also numerous small eateries, one of which was Cooper's Doughnuts, a 24 hour coffee and donut spot popular with a clientele comprised in part of multiracial trans people and hustlers. The network of gay hangouts came to be known as "The Run." Not just shunned by straight society, transgender people were often further marginalized by the larger gay community as well, in part because their higher profile attracted unwanted police attention. To "protect and serve," LAPD police chief William H. Parker (known as “Wild Bill Parker” by the queer community) had made arresting criminals guilty of “sex perversion” his department’s priority number one. According to Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians (Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons, 2006), when Parker became chief in 1950, arrests for the crime of being gay increased 86.5%. Nancy Valverde, arrested in 1952 for masquerading Glen or Glenda Ray Bourbon, arrested in 1955 Transgender people made obvious targets and were imprisoned in large numbers for the crime of “masquerading” (despite the fact that courts had declared such behavior not criminal in 1950 -- at least for women). On the night of the riot, as they did on many nights, LAPD officers entered the donut shop and demanded to see the patrons' IDs. If the sex on their ID didn’t match their gender, it was department policy to throw them in jail -- usually a wing of the Lincoln Heights Jail nicknamed "The Fruit Tank." On the night of the Cooper Do-nuts uprising, five (or three, depending on accounts) patrons were arrested but when the cops tried to shove them into the back of a single cruiser, a struggle ensued and all of the arrested “sex perverts” escaped. On the night of the Cooper Do-nuts uprising, five (or three, depending on accounts) patrons were arrested but when the cops tried to shove them into the back of a single cruiser, a struggle ensued and all of the arrested “sex perverts” escaped. |
The mobile messaging application Telegram boasts over 12 million downloads on Cafe Bazaar, Iran's version of the Google Play store. The app's growing popularity in Iran faces its first test, as the Iranian Ministry of ICT asserts that Telegram has agreed to restrict some of its features in Iran at the request of the Iranian government. These features were being used by Iranians to share porn and satirical comments about the Iranian government. Some users are concerned that Telegram's willingness to comply with Iranian government requests might mean future complicity with other Iranian government censorship, or even allow government access to Telegram's data on Iranian users. Telegram's user base has experienced astronomic growth in Iran in the past year as users recognize that the platform is more secure than other mobile messengers such as Viber and WeChat, and not blocked from use in Iran like other secure applications such as CryptoCat. Many users have also reported widespread disruptions and connection difficulties with Viber, causing users to switch to Telegram. Others argue that the design and interface of Telegram, alongside its unique features are reasons for its popularity in Iran. Among those features are “bots“, automated accounts created by both Telegram and third-party users that Telegram says will “teach, play, search, broadcast, remind, connect, integrate with other services, or even pass commands to the Internet of Things.” Recently, social media sources have been claiming that Telegram is restricting access to some bots because of the type content users are sharing. On August 24, users claimed that attempts to access a porn bot returned the response “Sorry, this bot is no longer available in your country due to local restrictions.” Concerns with Telegram started at the end of July, when users reported disruptions to Telegram's network connections. Local network providers are limiting Telegram traffic in Iran. We are trying to find out the reasons. — Telegram Messenger (@telegram) June 29, 2015 In response, Iran's Ministry of ICT denied meddling with the application's traffic. In an interview with Vice, Telegram's founder Pavel Durov explained that the situation was “not 100% clear” and believed the disruptions were not related to censorship, but rather economics. As he told Vice, the issue was due to the fact that Iranian mobile Internet providers had to pay exorbitant amounts of money to buy Telegram's traffic. Collin Anderson later told Vice that Durov's argument fell flat: “Telegram cannot produce nearly as much traffic as applications such as Instagram, which are not restricted.” The Ministry later explained that assertions that Telegram would be censored were false, but said that the government's concern about immoral communications on the application would be resolved by restricting access to the platform's stickers , as the government had found use of rude Persian language jokes. The sticker feature allows users to create their own custom stickers, a feature widely used by Iranians to depict jokes, some the Iranian government has deemed immoral and against the values of the Islamic Republic. Following the July network disruption of Telegram, Iran's Minister of Information Communications and Technology, Mahmoud Vaezi, reported that Telegram would not be blocked from access inside Iran. The Minister explained that Telegram's management had been in touch with the Ministry to apologize for their sticker features, and to block access to them accordingly. Telegram has not confirmed their compliance with the Iranian government. پس از این مصاحبه مسئولین تلگرام با همكاران این نهاد تماس گرفته و عذر خواهی و عنوان كردند سیستمی برای همه كاربران دنیا طراحی کردهاند كه كاربر بتواند استیكر بسازد، اما نمیدانستیم برخی كاربران در ایران از این موضوع سو استفاده میکنند بنابراین مسئولان تلگرام عنوان کردهاند این امكان را در ایران مسدود میکنند تا بتوانند در ایران حضور داشته باشند. After our interview the administrators of Telegram were in touch with us with regard to this issue and apologized and explained the system was created so all users from around the world could use and design the stickers but we did not know that this would be misused by a few users in Iran. So the managers of Telegram stated that they will disable this option inside of Iran so this app can be used inside Iran. While the blocking of rude stickers and porn bots might seem minor, these events trigger worries for Iranian Internet users regarding Telegram's relationship with the Iranian government. This worry is compounded by the recent announcement of a new social media monitoring program by the Revolutionary Guards known as Spider, which Vaezi has explained will enable the government's “complete surveillance over social media”. Telegram boasts secure communications, however security experts have questioned the robustness of its cryptography. Matthew Green, a Professor of Cryptography at John Hopkins University told Global Voices in an email the following, while evaluating the privacy of Telegram: Is the cryptography really end-to-end? That is, can the Telegram company read your messages, or are they only available to the two endpoints. Does the application protect metadata, such as which users are communicating with each other? Even knowing who spoke to whom, and which IP address they came from, can provide a huge amount of information about communications. Is the cryptography any good, and is it usable? Even if the application claims to provide end-to-end encryption, it may do so in a manner that can be exploited by a smart attacker. Or the encryption may be fine, but it could be so difficult to use that most users mess it up and inadvertently make themselves vulnerable. Where is the infrastructure located? If the application fails to meet conditions (1) and (2), then the operator can potentially mine a lot of information about your communications. Thus, it really matters what legal jurisdiction they fall into and whether that company (and host country) is likely to cooperate with your government. With regard to Telegram, specifically, I've looked a bit at the crypto and while I think their hearts are in the right place, the system still needs work. In particular, while Telegram provides end-to-end encrypted messaging, this is not the default setting. All messages are always encrypted — but normal messages are encrypted in a manner that the Telegram server can read. Only ‘secret chats’ are actually encrypted so that only the endpoints can read them. In addition, users have to master a fairly complicated process of comparing ‘key fingerprints’ in order to ensure that they're really talking to the right person. Which means that someone with access to the Telegram server could potentially intercept their connections. Regarding Green's fourth condition of cooperation with governments, Telegram has agreed to abide by Iran's censorship policies with regard to its porn bots and stickers. Whether or not Telegram would comply with other Iranian surveillance policies is unknown, but is now of concern to some Iranian users. |
Note: This is the first in a two part series. Look for the First Trimester Report Card on the coaches and front office later this week. A third of the way through the 2015 MLS season, it’s time for the Portland Timbers First Trimester Report Card. WIth only 13 points through 12 games and sitting tied for last in the Western Conference, the Timbers are at a critical juncture in the season. In 2014 the Timbers also had 13 points through 12 games, and despite having one of the best records in MLS from June through October, missed the playoffs. The added playoff spot this year provides a little more room for error. That said, removing Chivas USA and replacing them with Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo, two perennial playoff contenders, sort of negates the possible advantage of the extra playoff spot. It’s not quite win or go home for the Timbers, but the team is rapidly approaching the point where the second half of this season might be more about planning for next year than fighting for a playoff spot. So, without further ado, here’s the Timbers first trimester report card, by position: Goalkeeping: B- Newcomer Adam Kwarasey has been solid, if unspectacular for the most part in the first third of the season. He’s had a few shaky moments and allowed a few goals he probably could have kept out, but for the most part he’s been reliable when called upon. With the exception of last weekend against Toronto FC though, Kwarasey really hasn’t stepped up to keep the Timbers in a game on his own. Sunday he made a few huge saves to keep the Timbers in the game, particularly down the stretch as Portland fought for an equalizer which never came. Defense: B+ This one was a bit more difficult. The Timbers defense is MUCH improved over 2014, allowing 1.08 goals per game, good for seventh best in MLS this season. That said, there have still been moments of absolute calamity. Nat Borchers and Liam Ridgewell stepped up when needed on almost every occasion, with a couple notable exceptions, but compared to last year’s start to the season, it’s a major improvement. The fullbacks, Alvas Powell and Jorge Villafaña, have been okay for the most part, though their contributions on the offensive side of the ball have been lacking. While there have actually been moments when Powell has looked like Portland’s most creative player, his decision making in the final third is questionable. This may be a tactical switch, in an effort to be more solid defensively than last year when they often pushed forward with no hesitation, but the balance between attacking and defending isn’t there. Midfield: C+ The Timbers midfield gets a C+ because for the most part they’ve been solid defensively. They’ve coped fairly well with the absence of Will Johnson and the absence of his backup, Ben Zemanski. Jack Jewsbury has filled in fairly well and he and Diego Chara have been solid in front of the back line with the exception a couple occasions on which they’ve simply been run over (see: May 16 at Houston for a recent example). On the attacking side, things have been bad. While fans around the league raved about the performance of Darlington Nagbe early in the year, the end product just isn’t there. While he has created 26 chances, good for eighth in the league, he has only one assist, no goals, and just four shots on target. Say what you want about Nagbe doing all the little things, and those little things are greatly appreciated, but when a team’s most talented attacker available has only four shots on target and only one assist there’s a problem. Nagbe may not prefer to be the main goalscorer, and he doesn’t have to be, but this current Timbers roster requires him to contribute in that area. The lack of assists isn’t completely his fault, as an assist requires another player to finish a chance created, but the number should still be higher. He has been a key part of a team who’s expected goals is 1.1 per game according to American Soccer Analysis, a stat which puts the Timbers solidly mid-table, but the expectations in Portland are higher. Other midfielders, most notably Rodney Wallace, Dairon Asprilla, and Gaston Fernandez, have been performing well below expectations, and Ishmael Yartey, brought in on loan to add to the attack, has done virtually nothing. Valeri and Johnson get an incomplete because of their lack of minutes. Forwards: D When a team’s expected goals for is 1.1 per game and it’s actual goals scored is 0.8 per game it means the team isn’t finishing chances. Such is the production from the Timbers forwards this season. Have the Timbers forwards been a complete failure this season? No. Have they lived up to expectations? Not even close. Fanendo Adi is a designated player striker with four goals in 12 matches. Maxi Urruti last year was viewed as one of the most talented young forwards in the league. He has one goal this year. Beyond the goals even, the forwards, Adi especially, just aren’t playing well. Adi appears to have no confidence and it’s impacting not only his goal scoring, but his overall play. Plenty of strikers are streaky, but the good ones find ways to contribute even when they’re not scoring. For Adi, when his confidence goes, everything goes, and for a DP that’s not acceptable. Even last season, when Adi was supposedly in better form, his nine goals came in just five of the 24 matches he appeared in. Whether it’s scoring or other ways of contributing, the Timbers simply need Adi to be consistent, and he isn’t. |
According to footage provided to the Daily Mail, supporters of Chelsea Football Club prepared for their club’s match against Tottenham Hotspur by singing: “We’ll be running around Tottenham with our willies hanging out, singing, I’ve got a foreskin, haven’t you? F***ing Jew!” Approximately twenty men can be seen singing the song at the Green Man pub near Wembley Stadium. Some stood on tables and others jumped up and down. At a previous match between the two football clubs, Chelsea had to warn its supporters not to engage in antisemitic taunts, but they did so anyway. The club previously cooperated with police to identify and convict a fan who performed 13 Nazi salutes in 15 minutes at a match. Regrettably, that conviction was merely one of many that are needed. Anybody with information should contact the police on 101. If you would like any help, please contact our Crime Unit via investigations@antisemitism.uk. |
Death, aging, and politics: insofar as I have views on these things, I'm against them all. There are deep mysteries in this universe of ours, the Fermi Paradox central to them all, and you can't make progress in these things if you are dead, dying, or drowned in the yammering of those who seek to divide a present stasis rather than build a dynamic, better future. The only thing that matters in the long term is technology, and of that technology the most important facets at present are those involved in the development of rejuvenation therapies that will enable either us or our immediate descendants to remain here, in this world, to see the long term up close and in person. That isn't exactly philosophy, but it does the job for me. I don't think it is any big secret that the history of philosophy is replete with people giving serious consideration to death and the principle modes of getting to that state, such as aging, and from there what to do about it. In ancient times, the development of strategies for coping with the inevitability of suffering and death was a fine art. The best of these, such as the varieties of stoicism, are so good that they have survived for more than two thousand years in much the same form. We still have access to copies of the original advice as it was written in many cases, and that is only the case because forty generations of humanity have found worth in these thoughts. A great change is underway at present, however, a discontinuity in the making that within our lifetimes will separate both us and our descendants from thousands of years of civilized rumination on the human condition. We are building technology that will radically change what it is to be human in many ways - and of course the part of this great transition that I am most interested in is the end of aging and involuntary death. Ultimately there will be an end to suffering too, and any need for stoicism will be buried by the paradise engineering of the more distant future, but we have to start at the top of the list. Over at The Meaning of Life, you'll find a recently posted collection of interesting references to various positions on death, suffering, and aging. It is worth perusing. After all, we should be able to deploy a good answer to anyone who earnestly asks why we do this, why we care, why we seek to bring an end to aging and age-related disease. The first place to look for good answers is in the works of those who have spend a good deal more time than you and I thinking on the topic. A part of that reading is a matter of understanding the mistaken paths, as sadly many of these people arrived at positions on death and suffering that supporters of radical life extension would reject out of hand. The world is full of those who embrace the march towards death, or even the extinction of all life, and who believe that longer healthy lives would somehow be a loss rather than a gain. This contingent of humanity has its philosophers, just as do those who, instead of accepting what is, reach to make something greater and better of the human condition. Summary of Nick Bostrom's, "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant" Bostrom's article, "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant," tells the story of a planet ravaged by a dragon (death) that demands a tribute which is satisfied only by consuming thousands of people each day. Given the ceaselessness of the dragon's consumption, most people did not fight it and accepted the inevitable. Finally, a group of iconoclastic scientists figured out that a projectile could be built to pierce the dragon's scales. Summary - We should try to overcome the tyranny of death with technology. Summary of James Lenman's Immortality: A Letter" Lenman's article, "Immortality: A Letter," (1995) concerns a letter from a fictional philosopher to her fictitious biological friend in which she presents arguments against taking his immortality drug. She worries that if only some people get the drug, those who don't will regret it; while if everyone gets the drug, overpopulation will ensue unless people stop having children. But this will lead to more unhappiness, as people want to have children. Most importantly immortality would undermine our humanity by transforming us into different kinds of beings. In addition an immortal life might become boring. And finally the value of life derives in large part from its fragility, which would be undermined by immortality. Summary - More value will be lost than gained if we become immortal. John Leslie's, "Why Not Let Life Become Extinct?" In the end, we cannot show conclusively that we should not let life become extinct because we can never go from saying that something is - even happiness or pleasure - to saying that something should be. And it is also not clear that maximizing happiness is the proper moral goal. Perhaps instead we should try to prevent misery - which may entail allowing life to go extinct. Philosophers do not generally advocate such a position, but their reluctance to do so suggests that they are willing to tolerate the suffering of some for the happiness of others. Summary - There are strong arguments for letting life go extinct, although Leslie suggests we generally reject them because life has intrinsic goodness. Summary of David Benatar's, Better Never to Have Been It is commonly assumed that we do nothing wrong bringing future people into existence if their lives will, on balance, be good. This assumes that being brought into existence is generally beneficial. In contrast Benatar argues that: "Being brought into existence is not a benefit but always a harm." While most maintain that living is beneficial as long as the benefits of life outweigh the evil, Benatar argues that this conclusion does not follow. Benatar concludes by saying: "One implication of my view is that it would be preferable for our species to die out."[ii] He claims that it would be heroic if people quit having children so that no one would suffer in the future. You may think it tragic to allow the human race to die out, but it would be hard to explain this by appealing to the interests of potential people. Summary - It is better never to come into existence as being born is always a harm. Summary of Steven Luper's, "Annihilation" In his essay "Annihilation," Luper argues that death is a terrible thing and that Epicurus' indifference to death is badly mistaken. Death is a misfortune for us primarily because it thwarts our desires. If we have a desire we want fulfilled, then death may prevent its fulfillment; if we enjoy living, then dying prevents us from continuing to do so; if we have hopes and aspirations; then they will be frustrated by our deaths; if we have reasons to live, then we have reasons not to want to die. For all these reasons death is a grave misfortune. Summary - Death is a misfortune because it thwarts our desires. Summary of George Pitcher's, "The Misfortunes of the Dead" By definition harms are events or states of affairs contrary to your desires or interests. Of course we cannot be killed or experience pain after death - the post mortem person can't be harmed - but we can have desires thwarted after death - the ante mortem person can be harmed. If I desire to be remembered after I die with a statue on campus and you destroy the statue, then you have defeated my desire and harmed the ante-mortem person I was. Pitcher doesn't think he needs to invoke backward causation to make his argument work. All he needs to show is that being harmed does not entail knowing about the harm. Summary - We are harmed by death because while alive the knowledge of death harmed us. Oswald Hanfling on Death and Meaning Hanfling accepts as obvious the claim that meaning is affected by our knowledge of death, and agrees that "death casts a negative shadow over our lives." Moreover, while the naturalness of death may provide some consolation from our anxiety, it does not show that our apprehension about death is misplaced. But are there any overriding reasons to regard death as mostly evil? Hanfling does not think such reasons are convincing. For while I may wish to fulfill some goal and regret that I cannot, I will not be harmed after my death by the fact that I didn't fulfill that goal. Or though one might argue that death is bad because life is good, it is unclear whether life in general is good. Summary - The thought of death is unpleasant, but we cannot determine the implications of death for meaning. Summary of Stephen Rosenbaum's "How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus" In his 1986 piece, "How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus," he rejects the view that death is bad for the person that dies, undertaking a systematic defense of the Epicurean position. As we have seen, while we ordinarily think that death is bad for the person that dies, Epicurus argued that this is mistaken. And, since fear of something that is not bad is groundless, it is irrational to fear death. Summary - The Epicurean argument that death is not bad and nothing to fear is sound. Being dead is not bad for the dead person. Summary of Vincent Barry's Philosophical Thinking about Death and Dying One of Barry's main concerns is whether death is or is not bad for us. As he notes, the argument that death is not bad derives from Epicurus' aphorism: "When I am, death is not; and when death is, I am not." Epicurus taught that fear in general, and fear of the gods and death in particular, was evil. Consequently, using reason to rid ourselves of these fears was a primary goal of his speculative thinking. A basic assumptions of his thought was a materialistic psychology in which mind was composed of atoms, and death the dispersal of those atoms. Thus death is not then bad for us since something can be bad only if we are affected by it; but we have no sensation after death and thus being dead cannot be bad for us. Epicurus' argument relies on two separate assumptions - the experience requirement and the existence requirement. Counter arguments attack one of the two requirements. Either they try to show that someone can be harmed without experiencing the harm, or that someone who is dead can still be harmed. While there are many arguments that death makes life meaningless, there are also many philosophical arguments, in addition to religious ones, that death makes life meaningful. These latter arguments all coalesce around the idea that death is necessary for a life to be truly human. In opposition to all those who think death does or does not give meaning to life are those who argue that life has or lacks meaning independent of death. In other words, they argue that life gives or does not give meaning to death, thereby turning all our previous considerations upside down. But how does a life give or not give death a meaning? Summary - It is uncertain if death is a good or bad thing. The connection between death and meaning is that thinking about death can make a life subjectively meaningful. Summary of Tolstoy's, The Death of Ivan Ilyich |
Greetings, Lacrimators! This morning, I got to thinking about what it takes to make this community happy. The Grass Isn’t Always Greener I love writing for the free side of Quiet Speculation. My work being shared outside this website is a good feeling, and not feeling like I have to provide content that will make people money (although sometimes I still do) leaves me free to talk about my bowel movements or cat pictures or whatever. One consideration I do have to make, though, is that not everyone who reads my work is a QS insider. A lot of you are, and that’s great, glad you are taking the time to read an article you technically didn’t pay for directly, thus diluting the overall value you’re getting from your membership fee. But for the rest of you, thanks for reading, and if you are at all interested in finance, you should consider the investment, and a big reason why is the Quiet Speculation forum. A good source of finance information, it also provided the inspiration for today’s editorial. Is it “qq” or “QQ”? I never played any online game where that was used to mock someone who was whining, but I do know people who say, out loud and in person, “QQ” (or “qq”) as if that were at all acceptable. One of these people, when I finished hitting him with his own shoe, explained that it is supposed to look like a set of eyes that are crying. I think “QQ” and “qq” are tied for “looks the least like someone crying” so it’s a toss-up. Either way, I wanted to use this hip interweb lingo used by you whippersnappers with your skateboards and your sexting and your injecting heroin into your scrotums or whatever kids are doing to get high these days. The point is, there is a lot of Qq’ing going on and I actually wanted to mock the internet because I blame the internet. How do you make people in the Magic Community happy? What Was All That About the Forum? I’m getting to that. Let me get there at my own pace. I Wish You Would Right, anyway, as I was saying, this article was inspired by some “queue cue” action in the forum today. If you’re not aware of the QS forum because you’re not an insider or you are an insider but have never been in the forum because you really hate value, the QS forum is exemplary. Seriously, it is the best. If you have been anywhere else and you come back here, you’ll understand how good it is. People are generally helpful, the paywall helps police behavior to an extent because no one who is paying for access really wants to troll and the occasional troll is policed by the community. People are much more open about giving actionable financial tips because they know everyone reading them paid to read them and will likely not proliferate them outside the site for free. It may have been by total accident, but the paywall on the forum has actually made it, in my opinion, the best place on the web to talk finance, and probably the best place to talk any kind of Magic. Is that bias talking? Well, considering I don’t actually have a financial incentive to convert new subscribers, I don’t think so. So far, no one has signed up for a membership and said “I’m here for the forum!” because the only way to make that statement sound more ridiculous to most people would be to say “Im hear 4 thu forumz dawg #yolo #Swag #Kony2012”. It even sounds ridiculous to me and I’m literally advocating for the forum. So this isn’t a sales pitch, it’s a statement; the QS forum is exemplary in this opinionated opinion writer’s opinionated opinion. It’s so good and yet I feel like the best metaphor for it is a Swedish prison. Here’s a “cell”: a cell block: and here’s the view from a typical cell, through the window, not bars: And yet, all anyone actually inside a Swedish prison ever says is “Prisøn sucks, I want tø gø play øn the fjord.” Have these people never seen another prison? If they had, they might know how good they have it. Similarly, I think QS forum members may sometimes forget how good they have it. Sure, internet discussion forums are going to have inherent problems like new people not knowing what they’re doing coming in and posting, but everywhere else it’s worse. They’re not bad people, quite the opposite. They are the constituency of the best online Magic community there is. I think everyone just needs to be reminded from time to time that the grass is not always greener elsewhere. Sometimes everywhere else is worse by comparison. You’re not wrong for wanting the QS forum to be the best it can be. Not wrong at all. You’re not even Big Lebowski “not wrong, just an asshole” not wrong. But let’s all take a deep breath and remember that things could be a little better and they could also be a lot worse. If the biggest problem with a forum is that too many new people are joining, then life is pretty good. Spend five minutes on any other finance forum if you don’t believe me. Are Finance People Just Spoiled? Far the hell from it! In fact, when QS insiders are complaining they are roughly half as annoying as the average Magic player quietly shuffling a deck and politely making small talk with their opponent. I have a great example. This is a picture of a sliver: The Magic Community managed to really surprise me during M14 spoiler season when they announced there would be slivers in M14. I expected a roughly 75/25 split between “Sweet, I like slivers” and “Boo, I hate slivers.” What I was treated to were myriad different complaints. “These don’t look like slivers.” “I don’t like how they don’t share abilities with opponents’ slivers. They keep dumbing the game down. I should quit.” “They cost too much.” “These are going to ruin Limited.” “Great, another Muscle Sliver. Might as well burn my Merfolk deck.” “Slivers are native to the plane of Rath. How could slivers possibly end up on the plane of Shandalar?” What’s worse is finding out these creatures don’t share abilities with opponents’ slivers because they were not developed as slivers. They were going to be sliver-like creatures, native to Shandalar (if I got the plane information wrong and you feel like correcting me, I’m warning you in advance that I don’t care) or whatever plane M14 is on. Wizards decided at the last minute, “Screw it. We should just make them functionally better slivers so players can add these to their sliver decks with their old cards. Our players are good people and they deserve something nice.” The “good people” of the community responded by bitching up a storm. Remember, they didn’t do anything controversial. What they did was make a last minute decision to throw us a bone and they were treated to complaints the likes of which I was naively unable to anticipate. Why do anything for these people? Well, it turns out Wizards could predict the bitching, and they didn’t care. It turns out Magic is insanely popular and grows and grows each year. “Bitch all you want online, Johnny Neckbeard. We both know your Vorthos-loving ass is buying a box of M14 and you’re jamming those slivers in your deck,” is probably the correct attitude here. It’s not about Wizards not caring about what their fans want, by any means. It’s about Wizards putting out what they feel, based on past success and input from the design and development team, is the best product, knowing there will be bitching no matter what. Too Late to Start with a Quote But maybe not too late to include one. We get a lot of feedback about Brainstorm Brewery. Well, we see it as feedback. People who give it see it as valuable, life-saving advice to help us get back on track and stop messing up like we have been all along. One particular bit of feedback was pretty scathing. In addition to criticizing the length of the cast, it criticized the banter between hosts, specifically the “Shut up, Corbin” meme. The gist was that they don’t tease each other on “good” casts like Limited Resources–nice, imply we’re a bad cast by comparison; very subtle–and the writer “wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t like each other or hang out outside the podcast.” Worst of all, it singled me out as Corbin’s main antagonist, but instead of saying so, callowly stated, “I won’t say who it is,” which is easily the douchebaggiest thing to say in that situation and it’s not particularly close. “You’re going to lose a lot of listeners if you don’t change,” was the final bit of advice imparted. I stared at the screen for a few minutes, feeling like, “Why do we even bother with a podcast,” until Marcel saved the day by replying to the four hosts with an e-mail, which said, succinctly, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” – Bill Cosby People who have never met Corbin come up to him and tell him to shut up. That meme has easily been one of the strongest unifying elements for our fanbase, and even Corbin thinks it’s funny unless he’s heard it like thirty of forty times in the past 24 hours. If we took all the “advice” people gave us about the podcast that was absolutely, positively the step we needed to take unless we were idiots, we would have to: Lengthen it to two hours. Shorten it to thirty minutes. Put all the information in the show notes (presumably eliminating the need to actually listen). Be nicer to Corbin. Be meaner to Corbin. Talk more about finance. Talk less about finance. Never bring a guest like Christine Sprankle back. Have a guest like Christine Sprankle every week. I guess the only thing we learned was that people are going to bitch about something. We’ll take advice if it resonates with us and fits with our core philosophy, but at the end of the day we put out the best quality product we can and realize we’ll never please everyone. Wizards did that with slivers and QS is doing that with the forum. No product will ever be received without bitching, and we have to accept that as the cost of doing business. The internet has given everyone the notion that because they have the ability to make their opinion known, they are obligated to do so. The QS forum is awesome, it’s great to have slivers back and if you don’t shut Corbin up every once in a while, he’s going to talk about Taylor Swift or encourage you to invest in cans of Surge. This is just how it is. QQ more. What Else Happened? GP Prague was Limited, so I don’t have to talk about it, which is good for both of us. I may get all the way through to SCG results before wanting to kill myself. I know, kyoo kyoo more, right? Philadelphia isn’t all Liberty Bells, lawyers with AIDS and a hockey team that makes terrible decisions regarding their goaltenders. It’s also home to Motyka and Slick Jagger, the homebrew geniuses behind the upcoming “Brainstorm Brew,” and it was home to an SCG Open this weekend. Standard is nearing the end of its life. Will the old, lame ducks limp on? Is new tech already being tested? Let’s take a look before we put a pillow out of this format’s face and put two in its dome once and for all. Kibler Gruul gets there, predictably. The more straight-forward a deck is, the fewer late-game, Hail Mary topdeck answers it has, but if you can punish stumbling in the early game by your opponent, you win. If you are predicting that Xenagos, the Reveler will be a factor in the continued success of this deck going forward, I can’t agree less. The last thing it needs is another non-creature. Expect Domri to maintain or go up due to Searing Spear getting a functional reprint and all the initial excitement around Porphoros. Scavenging Ooze seems like it could maintain as well, but with all the relevant graveyard stuff rotating, it may get less play in Standard. It’s still a solid bear, but it’s less important going forward. The Naya midrange list in second tells us almost as little about the future. I like Zachary Schultz’s B/W Midrange list, but it’s almost all rotating. Without Liliana of the Veil, I don’t know what this deck archetype would do. Obzedat, Ghost Council and Desecration Demon are sticking around, and with a black, instant-speed Terror that nukes planeswalkers, it may be something to brew with going forward. If black gets weaker or white and green get stronger, expect the price of Lifebane Zombie to fluctuate. Currently it seems overpriced, but core set rares are funny. Thundermaw Hellkite experienced a nice price renaissance, and while that’s a mythic, core set cards are funny. Core sets don’t get opened as much, giving real price upside if there is a sudden spike in demand. This is a card to watch for sure. As for Varolz, without anything to sac for value, get out while you can. I think the B/G Midrange decks that people took way too long to embrace are good indicators of likely future archetypes. We will retain Abrupt Decay, Desecration Demon, Lifebane Zombie, Deathrite Shaman, Vraska the Unseen, and we will get a ton of new goodies in Theros. The Rock is a fine arcehtype and it looks like we have all the tools. Losing Liliana hurts, but we managed when we lost Jace, too. Black is going to have a lot of solid tools going forward while white and blue lose the most. Bant Hexproof simply won’t be a deck anymore. Good. An auras build is still possible, especially given the occasional juicy-looking bestow guy and the retention of Ethereal Armor, but it won’t look anything like it does now in all likelihood. Cards that could retain value are Voice of Resurgence, Fiendslayer Paladin and Unflinching Courage. I would look to Block decks like Wescoe’s G/W as a good place to start testing for the future. Naya looks poised to do good things as adding red gives access to the closest thing we’ll get to Path or Swords. Brew something–that’s how good spec discoveries get made. It was testing that finally convinced me to go deep on Deadbridge Chant and I made so much money selling those at $8 that now I can afford to drink brand name Orange Juice. Let’s move on to Legacy, shall we? He would say that, wouldn’t he? Reid Duke, of course, won the event with Elves. What these people see in that silly deck I’ll never understand. At least Reid didn’t jam the one-of Ruric Thar advocated by Jon Johnson, a decision that hurts my head because it’s so ridiculous yet I can’t come up with a compelling argument against it. Natural Order fell heavily out of favor, but decks like this could see it return to its glory days of high prices and high demand. Seems like a decent time to buy low would have been a few months ago when it was $25–try and see if you can get them for $25 in trade. People might not know they’re back up. I didn’t watch coverage, so I have no idea how Reid beat Shawn Tappen’s Reanimator, considering Elesh Norn just pulls that whole deck’s pants down. Iona naming green is similarly-troubling. Kurt Spiess wins “Pet Deck of the Week” with his Top 16 finish with Lands. Any given Sunday, right? Garfield creator turned Magic player Jim Davis managed to get 4th with Goblins while the best Merfolk finish was 9th. Shut up, Corbin. Epic Storm is seeing a lot more play. This was a real 2009 kind of deck, but it’s replacing ANT lately because a partial combo isn’t a loss if you can Empty the Warrens for 12 tokens. Burning Wish doubled in price this summer but looks like it may be cooling off. I wouldn’t buy in now. Lots of decks are running Gitaxian Probe. There are a lot of those promo probes still sitting in binders, being undervalued. While set foils are more pimp, the promos are low-hanging fruit. They snap-sell online, so try and underpay on those because they’re being undervalued. Maverick may no longer be the hotness, but it can still throw down. Cards common to this deck and decks in Modern should keep the prices propped up. Not a lot of opportunity here. Foil Thalia is back down to around $15 and that’s a price I’m comfortable paying. I don’t expect rotation to hurt the foils too much, but I will wait and see if they tank anyway. It’s going to feel really good if the non-foils drop to like a buck. If they do, I’m cashing in my 401k to buy out the planet. The W/B/R Deathblade deck is back, and I think it’s a real deck to watch. The current format is cold to Grim Lavamancer. The biggest difference between this list and the former failed experiment, Team Italia, is that this deck has Deathrite Shaman and also murders Deathrite Shaman. Badlands is up to $80. I hope you bought them at $40 when I said to–Jund is never going away and these are never going back down. At this point, just buy Plateau on principle because the odds of a deck never coming along to push the price up is so remote it’s hardly worth mentioning. Similarly, there’s no way that Arid Mesa doesn’t hit $50 soon. The blue fetches went from $15 to $30 and not many people pounced on Catacombs, Mesa and Flats at $15. Sure as shooting they went to $30. With the blue ones at $50 now, I have been advocating buying Catacombs for a while, only to have people say, “But it was in an event deck,” to which I can only reply, “then why aren’t they still $15?” Catacombs, Mesa and Flats are going to be $50. Probably in the next few months. Modern isn’t even driving the blue ones up because blue is not dominating Modern. Decks with Catacombs in them are doing that. Be smart, buy the fetches that haven’t gone up a second time yet. That’s All For Now With no GP to talk about it’s time to wrap things up. Join me next week for more quality content and to feel like you’re being attacked on a personal level in a subtle way you’re unable to prove. I know, it’s not my typical 4,000 word output. QQ Are you a Quiet Speculation member yet? Jason Alt Jason Alt is a value trader and writer. He is Quiet Speculation's self-appointed web content archivist and co-captain of the interdepartmental dodgeball team. He enjoys craft microbrews and doing things ironically. You may have seen him at magic events; he wears black t-shirts and has a beard and a backpack so he's pretty easy to spot. You can hear him as co-host on the Brainstorm Brewery podcast or catch his articles on Gatheringmagic.com. He is also the Community Manager at BrainstormBrewery.com and writes the odd article there, too. Follow him on Twitter @JasonEAlt unless you don't like having your mind blown. More Posts Follow Me: Enjoy what you just read? Share it with the world! If not, Ravnica Allegiance Pro Tour season is a great time to join up! Our powerful tools, breaking news analysis, and awesome Discord chat room will make sure you stay up-to-date and ahead of the curve. |
Japanese Twitter trolls have kickstarted a massive debate about rape culture on public transportation after two men died trying to run from authorities after being accused of molesting women on trains. Earlier this month, a man was killed at Aobadai Station in Yokohama, Japan. He was accused of molesting a woman. Yuya Shino / Reuters The female passenger told station workers that she "felt something strange around the right side of the waist" while she was on the train. The man behind her apologized and then attempted to run off. The woman said another male passenger tried to hold him down until he could be questioned by station staff, but the first man suddenly broke free and rushed on to the track where he was then struck by an oncoming train. He was later confirmed dead at the hospital. His death is the most recent in a series of incidents that have touched off a massive debate about rape culture in Japan. The man in Yokohama is one of two who died last month while running from train stations after being accused of molesting women on public transportation. Yuya Shino / Reuters Just a few days before the incident at Aobadai Station, a man died after being accused of trying to hold a woman's hand while riding the train in Tokyo. The female passenger reported him to authorities. While the man was being questioned at Ueno Station, he escaped and allegedly fell to his death from a building 200 meters away from the station, a police spokesperson told the Asahi Shimbun. There have been six cases of men attempting to run away from train stations in Tokyo after being accused of molestation since mid-March. Sexual harassment and assault on public transportation has been an issue in Japan for decades now. According to the White Paper on Crime issued by the Ministry of Justice, in 2014, there were 3,439 arrests on allegations of molestation — unwanted sexual touching — under the Anti-Nuisance Ordinance and 283 arrests under Japan's anti–sex crime laws. In recent years, railway and subway companies in Japan have introduced women-only carriages in an attempt to curb sexual assaults on public transportation. The carriages were first implemented in Tokyo in 2001 to "prevent women from molesters and drunk, male passengers on crowded night trains." The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism has described the carriages as a "transportation service implemented by railway companies as part of consideration for women." Women-only carriages have since spread across Japan, mostly operating during morning rush hours. The threats still exist for women on trains, however. One high school student recently suggested badges with anti-molestation slogans. View this post on Facebook facebook.com In November 2015, Yayoi Matsunaga learned that her friend's 15-year-old daughter was being regularly molested on her way to school. The high school student and her mother initially came up with a laminated card that read "I won't cry myself to sleep. Molesting is a crime," which stopped molesters from approaching her. Matsunaga helped the pair organize a crowdfunding project, and she suggested creating badges instead so that girls and women could use them in public more conveniently. Very few victims publicly come forward, but Tamaka Ogawa, a writer and cofounder of digital content production company Press Labo, told Al Jazeera, "When I was in high school, every [girl] was a victim. [We] didn't think we could do anything about it." The two recent deaths, however, have prompted a large number of Twitter trolls to suggest that there actually need to be men-only train carriages. @HP40298 @aua00 どうして誤解されたくない紳士たちのための「男性専用車両」がないのだろうかかか "Why isn't there a men-only carriage for gentlemen who don't want to be misunderstood?" 男性の痴漢冤罪恐怖はピークに達していて、このままでは日本の生産性に深刻なダメージを与えかねないので、鉄道会社は早急に男性専用車両を導入すべき。やる前から否定的なことを言ってる人がいるけど、取り敢えず男性の恐怖を和らげて、運行の仕方についてはデータを撮りながら試行錯誤してみれば？ "A fear of false accusations for men is reaching its peak; if this continues, it's going to gravely damage Japan's productivity. Railway companies should implement men-only carriages as soon as possible. There are people who have negative opinions on this before we even try; but why don't we ease men's fear first, and then take data so that we can focus on operational issues through trial and error?" こうなってくると女性専用車両って謎だよな。｢男から、痴漢から、女性を守る車両です｣じゃないよ。男性専用車両があるべきだろ。｢冤罪から、全ての男性を、働くお父さんを守る車両です｣の方が納得するわ。 "Given the situation, carriages for women only are puzzling. 'Carriages that protect women from men and molesters.' That's not the point. There should be carriages specifically for men. 'Carriages that protect all men and working dads from false accusations.' That would make more sense." Some of those calling for men-only train carriages say the problem is that women are making false charges against innocent men. 痴漢冤罪といったらこの漫画が思い浮かぶ "Talking of false accusations, it reminds me of this manga." The above tweet shows several excerpts from Shiranēshi, an adult fanzine comic about men "executing women in retribution for their crimes of false accusations." A high school student in the manga attempts to falsely accuse a man of molesting her on a train to "see a man cry himself into sleep or extort money from him, for fun." However, she gets surrounded by all the men she has made false accusations about in the past; one of the men punches the student in her face as revenge. People have commented on this tweet, some saying that the manga is "very refreshing" and that "women who've done the same should really, seriously, go through this experience." It's been retweeted 24,000 times in the two weeks since the man died at Aobadai Station. It's part of a larger narrative in which men — even if innocent — are at a great disadvantage when they are suspected of sexual assault. Many say they fear that they will automatically be arrested once they are taken into the train station office to be questioned. Under the Japanese criminal justice system, the conviction rate of a person under indictment is more than 99%, and acquittal is rare. This fear of false accusations has led to the rise of an insurance plan that allows you to report your situation and call a partnered lawyer across the country via your smartphone when you are suspected of molestation. Up until last month, only a dozen or so men were joining this plan each month, but in May, it increased to hundreds. One Twitter user took a photo of a badge that he made that reads, "I will beat anybody who falsely accuses me. If I die, we must die together." 左：女子高生考案『痴漢防止バッジ』 右：僕考案『痴漢冤罪防止バッジ』 "Left: 'Molesting prevention badge' that a high school girl came up with. "Right: 'False accusations on molesting prevention badge' that I came up with." どっかの誰かが、 ｢痴漢の冤罪を絶対に回避する方法は訴えた女の乳を揉むことだ｣ って言ってた。 確に。 お乳を好き放題したら有罪だ。 したがって冤罪ではない。 これ言った人、天才なのかおばかさんなのか…。 "Someone once said that 'If a woman falsely accuses you for train molesting and you want to completely avoid it, knead her boobs.' That's true. If we do whatever we like with the boobs, then we'll be found guilty. Therefore, it won't be a false accusation. I wonder if this someone is a genius or silly..." 「髪の毛の匂いを嗅いだだけでも痴漢」とか言ってる女、カレー屋から漂ってくる匂いを嗅いで「んー、いい匂い！」とか言ってるところを「今カレーの匂いを嗅いだ？はい無銭飲食ね」とかいって逮捕されてほしい "To those women who say that even 'smelling their hair is considered molesting,' I hope they get arrested when they smell curry in front of a restaurant and say 'It smells good!' Because that's skipping out on a restaurant bill." Some trolls have suggested there should be a molestation train. 痴漢冤罪が話題になってますが ・「男性専用車両を作る」 これは色んな方々が言ってますね。 更にもう一つ。 ・「痴漢専用車両を作る」 これを作れば、痴漢したい男性と痴漢されたい女性が乗るので、とてもwinwinな関係になると思うんですよ。 既出だったらすみません。 "False accusations of molesting has been a hot topic. 'Create cars for men only.' A lot of people have mentioned this. But there's one more: 'Place cars specifically for molesting on trains.' I think this will be a win-win situation for men who want to molest and women who want to be molested." But it’s not all trolls driving this debate. People have come forward recently to say the underlying problem is not the victims of sexual assault nor women making false accusations, but the men who are assaulting people and the doubts cast on women who file complaints. 女はたとえ痴漢されても、「痴漢です！」って叫べば「冤罪で社会的に殺す気だな？！」「でっちあげだ！」「殺せ！」となるのがわかっているので、ほとんどの場合泣き寝入りしている。泣き寝入りした上、悪いのは痴漢でも司法でもなく「女」であると憎悪を向けられる。痴漢にとっては天国だよな。 "Women cry themselves to sleep, because they know that even if they're actually molested and shout that someone molested them, the responses would be: 'You're trying to socially kill me with false accusations.' 'That's a fake accusation!' 'Kill her!' Not only do they cry themselves to sleep, they also become the target of hatred. The blame is put not on molesters or the judicial system, but on women. It must be a paradise for molesters." ネットを見ていると暗に「女どもは明確な証拠を提示できない限り、痴漢被害にあったと思っても黙ってろ！」と言っている人をかなり見かけましたけどね。正に日本で性犯罪の被害を女性が訴えられないように、黙らせるようにという抑圧がそのまま現われていて戦慄します。 "When I looked online, I saw a lot of people who implicitly said 'Unless they can show clear evidence, women should shut up even if they think they've been molested!' I am trembling with fear at how there's an apparent pressure to make them silent, just like how women actually can't bring complaints about sex crimes." いじめ被害に遭った人間が勇気を振り絞って先生に訴えたときに 「キミの方にも問題があるんじゃないの？」と返されたときの絶望感や苦しみや怒り。 それを経験しているなら、痴漢被害、痴漢冤罪という不毛な対立は実際の被害者にとって何の益もないってわかるはずなんだ。 "The pain and anger you get when you've been bullied and use your courage to tell a teacher, only to be told that 'You must have some problems as well.' If you have ever experienced it, then you should know that this useless conflict between victims of train molesting and false accusation does not help the actual victims at all." It's also inspired a few men to come forward and speak openly about their own personal experiences of being molested on trains. 僕は痴漢に遭遇した後、渋谷駅で降りて駅員室に駆け込んだけど、ホームの途中まで付いてこられた時には本当に殺し屋に追われているような心境だった。男の僕がアレだけ怖いんだから、小柄で力のない女性なんか僕とは比にならない怖さだと思う。だから、痴漢に対して声を挙げた女性の勇気には感服する。 "...As a man who have been molested, we seriously shouldn't lightly say 'but it was just touching.' I am 180cm tall and a large guy, but I was scared to death when a middle-aged man in his fifties touched my crotch on a crowded train on the Yamanote Line. It still makes me want to cry when I recall the experience. "After I was molested, I got off at Shibuya Station and rushed to the station office, but it felt like I was being chased by a sniper when he followed me halfway down the platform. It was that scary for me, a man. So women who are small and powerless must be facing incomparable fear. That's why I admire the courage that women have to speak up against molesting." |
Drew Magary’s Thursday Afternoon NFL Dick Joke Jamboroo runs every Thursday during the NFL season. Email Drew here. Let’s talk about the most annoying situation in football. Are you ready for it? Here is the scenario: Say it’s 1:59 to go and you’ve got the ball, up by three, at your own 20 or so. The other team has its full complement of timeouts to work with (because Andy Reid is not their coach). That leaves you with two clear strategic options. You can either A) Run the ball three straight times, forcing the opponent to burn all their timeouts but also—in all likelihood—gifting them a final possession, or B) Go for the first down by passing at least once, potentially helping the opponent save a timeout if you fail. You can also roll your QB out and order him to take a sack if he sees nothing, but let’s just assume that’s its own kind of risk, akin to passing the ball outright. This is fucking annoying, and do you know why? Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen the team I’m rooting for NOT fuck up this situation. They always go for the pass and fail, or they lose two yards on three straight dives and hand the ball back to Peyton Manning as quickly as possible. My team was in this situation last week and had Shaun Hill attempt a bootleg pass because NORV. I wanted to get on a plane to Minnesota to egg the Turner house when it happened. But was I right to be pissy? I asked ESPN’s Brian Burke what the best course of action is in this situation. Here is his reply: (Running’s) not a good idea, especially if your runs aren’t getting traction and you don’t have a good shot at converting. Need to convert and keep the ball. 1:40 with no timeouts is an eternity to get a FG in today’s game. If you throw incomplete and stop clock 1:40 with >0 timeouts isn’t that big of a difference. So you need to stay aggressive there. If you’re the 2000 Ravens or 2012 Seahawks, the equation might be different. Otherwise, the 4-minute offense is usually self-defeating. Advertisement Burke actually did a whole study on this, which you can find here. The gist of it is that, in that situation, you have to treat it just like any other part of the game. Too many coaches see that 1:XX left on the clock and decide they’re coaching a completely different sport. If you run the ball clumsily, or try to have it both ways by attempting some “safe” rollout pass, you are fucking up. And if you are a fan yelling at the screen because your team passed the ball and didn’t force a timeout, then you are ALSO wrong, because your team would have been doomed no matter what shitty option they picked. When my team fucks up, I always assume there is some clear, correct course of action that they could have taken in order to NOT fuck up. That’s the fun of being a fan: I get to blame everyone for failing me while operating under the delusion that there is a clear and fool-proof strategy for every end game scenario. Clock management is the single easiest thing to dump on an NFL coach for. But it’s not necessarily fair, because a team that is being aggressive with under two minutes to play might choose to pass—perhaps on MORE than one down—in an attempt to get the first down, and if they fail, they’re going to look like idiots and I will personally ridicule them for their play selection, even if the numbers suggest they’re doing the right thing in what amounts to a helpless situation…the most annoying situation in football. If only the stupid game were two minutes shorter. That would solve everything. Advertisement The Games All games in the Jamboroo are evaluated for sheer watchability on a scale of 1 to 5 Throwgasms. Advertisement Five Throwgasms Patriots at Giants: Every four years the Giants play the Patriots close in the regular season before beating them in the Super Bowl. Why should anything be different this time? The Giants have the power of the JPP lobster claw behind them. BEWARE THE CLAW. They should sign Jake Ballard and David Tyree and Mario Manningham to the practice squad for the home stretch just to psych New England fans out. DAHHHHK TIMES! If the Giants beat an 18-0 Pats team thanks to a last-second Will Tye butt catch, I will be the happiest asshole in America. By the way, I’m getting a little bit tired of announcers like Al Michaels praising Bill Belichick for deferring on the coin toss, as if he’s monopolized that strategy. SNF even had a DOUBLE WHAMMY graphic explaining how Belichick cleverly schemes to get two straight possessions to bookend halftime. This is not an innovation. Deferring has been around for decades now. Belichick is already praised enough for his football acumen. I don’t need announcers trumpeting his coin savvy. Advertisement Four Throwgasms Seahawks at Cardinals: What I’d like to know about Russell Wilson’s terrible Instagram photos with Ciara is…who’s taking them? Do they have a handler trailing them at all times? When Russell sees a beach, does he just go up to random strangers and ask, “Would you mind taking a portrait of us doing the tango on this rock?” What poor bastard is waiting behind the camera while Russell oils himself? Someone needs to hold an Instagram intervention for those two. That should be a thing. I would do it professionally. Hire me to stage an Instagram or Facebook intervention, and I will trap your loved one in a dank hotel room as you read angry letters to them and demand they log off. That’s a whole sector of the health professional industry waiting to be monetized. Advertisement Three Throwgasms Saints at Skins: Sean Payton could become a free agent at the end of this season, which means Jim Irsay is gonna back up the oxy truck for him. Imagine how many substances could be ingested between those two over the course of a full season. Central Indiana’s winemaking and prostitution industries will BOOM. Andrew Luck will have cirrhosis of the liver to go with his busted kidney. Advertisement Vikings at Raiders: Charles Woodson is my exact age and has been in the NFL for 18 seasons now. The Raiders can’t defend the pass for shit (they’re actually on pace to give up more passing yards than any team in NFL history), but Woodson has five picks already and is basically the only decent player they have back there. He’s fifth all-time in picks and the next active player on that list behind him is DeAngelo Hall, who is 63rd on the list and nowhere near as good. I have no pithy commentary to add here, only that Charles Woodson is fucking awesome and deserves proper appreciation at all times. Panthers at Titans: I have a serious problem with eye creep during games. I will miss an entire touchdown drive staring at the fantasy crawl, even when I already know the results that are scrolling past. It’s a real issue. I’ll be staring at the No. 8 receiver for the day when suddenly TOUCHDOWN! If they put the game action IN the crawl, and put the stats on the big screen, that might correct the problem. I see no downside to watching the game across a thin strip of rolling tape. Bills at Jets: I’m not saying I can control the weather, but I can totally make the sun come out simply by forgetting my sunglasses at home. The moment I walk out without any kind of eye protection, the sun bursts through the clouds and lands directly on my head. It’s a lock. Try it the next time it rains! You’ll get immediate results. Advertisement Two Throwgasms Lions at Packers: They cut to Goose down in the sidelines during the game I was watching last week and he wears his Super Bowl ring on his middle finger, which makes no sense. He didn’t even have a competing ring on either ring finger. That real estate was wide open, which means that Goose deliberately chose to put the Super bowl ring on his middle finger for BIRD ENHANCEMENT. Not only will he give you the finger while shitfaced, but he’ll also lord his 2000 Super Bowl win over you. It’s not right. He may as well tattoo an additional middle finger ON his middle finger. Advertisement Cowboys at Bucs: This is the first road game for Greg Hardy since Deadspin published the Nicole Holder photos, and I wish we could flex in a more hostile crowd for the Cowboys. They don’t face a REALLY mean crowd until they have to visit FedEx in December, and those fans will be dead drunk and giving each other upper deck handjobs by that late in the season. Both of the Cowboys’ November road games are in Florida, a state that is custom-built for fan apathy and white Ferrari getaways. That probably factored into Jerry Jones’s decision (provided it was really his decision, given that he’s senile and probably in an ether fog all day long) to keep Football Chris Brown around. This is crap. I DEMAND SWIFT AND BRUTAL VENGEANCE BECAUSE THAT SOLVES EVERYTHING. Dolphins at Eagles: They got rid of the five-yard facemask a while back and I don’t really know why. It’s not that hard to tell if a facemask is deliberate or not. Now, if you accidentally run your hand across a guy’s face, it automatically fucks your defense. Meanwhile, DeMarco Murray is out there spearing motherfuckers to get his numbers back up and the refs just keep eating crullers when they see it. Jaguars at Ravens: There are going to be many, many job openings by the time we get to the new year, and you know who isn’t gonna get considered for any of them? Brian Billick. I’m not advocating for Brian Billick here, because he’s a red ass and adores the sound of his voice perhaps more than any other coach in modern history. But it’s weird to see retreads like Ken Whisenhunt get passed around while the dude in charge of the 2000 Ravens is just chilling out in his straw hat. Ray Lewis didn’t coach that team, even if he tells you otherwise. Jon Gruden—who won a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy’s roster and access to the entire Oakland playbook—still inspires yearning from some fanbases looking for a new coach, while Billick has a better career winning percentage. Winning a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer and a sorry offense was probably the worst thing that ever happened to his resume. Some awful college team should hire Billick, and then fire him four years later after everyone has tuned him out. That would be fair and just. Advertisement Chiefs at Broncos: Eyeballs and kidneys? The Broncos defense is on a BIG offal kick. One Throwgasm Bears at Rams: Secretly, I’m dying to know what would have happened if Missouri football players really HAD gone on strike this weekend and forced a potential forfeit against BYU. What if the had they made all the white players play anyway? Would that have instantly become the most popular football team in the history of rural America? I mean, the mere threat of a strike has already caused a shitstorm. Imagine if they had actually gone through with it. People would react as if fucking aliens had landed. Thousands of red staters would descend upon the game to unfurl a massive #ALLDEANSMATTER sign. Lee Corso would wear a giant Jimmy Hoffa mascot head. BYU players would stare into a hat for spiritual guidance! EVERYONE WOULD SHIT. Advertisement I have to think this little display has scared a lot of ADs out there. If players know that a potential strike can be this effective, maybe they’ll do it again. Maybe the Northwestern kids will strike for extra wages or something. I can just picture some asshole college president in a bowtie shaking his pocketwatch at an underling and being like “WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! PUT AN EXTRA FUCK TUB IN THE ATHLETIC FACILITY TO SHUT THEM UP!” Browns at Steelers: I don’t think Mike Pettine hates Johnny Manziel. I think he just wants to be fired as quickly as possible. His owner is a shitbag. His GM is a boob. His team just tried to trade away its entire offensive line. It’s hopeless. The whole situation is utterly hopeless. It’s like coaching a funeral. I guess he’s starting Josh McCown just to teach that Manziel not to crash his Camaro again. Texans at Bengals: Why isn’t the injury cart nicer? Every time some poor schmuck goes down with a ripped-up knee, they just throw them onto the flatbed of cart next to two Gatorade coolers and haul him out like a piece of airplane luggage. If I owned a team and had a gazillion dollars, we would have the Trump Cart: the most LUXURIOUS, NUMBER ONE injury cart in the world, with plush bedding and a clear plastic roof and designated cart cheerleaders there to assuage your grief. There’s a real recruiting opportunity in that kind of cart. I would tear an ACL just for a ride on it! Wow, now I kinda get why that might be a bad idea. Advertisement Pregame Song That Makes Me Want To Run Through A Goddamn Brick Wall “What Went Down,” by Foals. From Brad: I spend way too much time debating what my walk-up song would be if I was playing third base for the Kansas City Royals. I think this would be a strong contender. Advertisement I support you on that. Foals are one of those rock bands that is huge in the UK and largely anonymous in the States, because rock has died here. Suicide Pick Of The Week Last week’s suicide picks of Atlanta, Cincinnati, and New Orleans went 1-2, making me 16-11 on the season. Again, we now pick three teams for your suicide pool, along with one thing that makes me want to commit suicide. This week, the picks are Green Bay, Philly, Cincy, and farmers’ markets. FUCK farmers’ markets. Farmers’ markets are the single biggest ongoing scam in America today. They’re crowded and expensive and populated exclusively by yuppie ladies who cross eight lanes of traffic the second they spot a farmers’ market and are far too eager to pay $5 for two peaches. I don’t think they’re run by farmers at all. I think someone at BIG PEACH put out all those tents and bearded vendors to trick you into believing you cut out the middleman. It’s all lies. Never go to a farmers’ market. Advertisement Gregg Easterbrook Memorial Haughty Dipshit Of The Week You should be grateful for the wholly manufactured Starbucks cup controversy from this week, because it allows us to take a brief moment to revisit this remarkable Starbucks take from Tom Mullaney in the Chicago Tribune. Tom isn’t here to bitch about Christmas cups. No no, his problem with Starbucks goes far deeper, into jayvee Proustian territory. I still remember my first Starbucks moment. Really? You do? Why? It’s a fucking Starbucks. When I get hit by a bus one day and my life flashes before my very eyes, one of the flash slides will NOT be the first time I set foot into an overpriced Norah Jones CD emporium. It was in 1988 at a new mini-size coffee bar in Illinois Center. I recall being mystified by the strange name, not catching the connection to a character in “Moby Dick.” Oh, the aroma and rich taste carried me back to past cappuccinos and espressos enjoyed in Italy and in 1960s Greenwich Village coffeehouses. Advertisement Yes, walking into a Starbucks is just like being magically teleported into Inside Llewyn Davis. The first time I stepped inside one, I was like, “Whoa! Is this 1994? Or am I in dipshit heaven?” Honestly, we should burn down all the Starbucks locations just to prevent the multiplication of people like this. Twenty years ago, it was love at first sip. Like every prisoner of love, I went from downing one cup a day to three or more. So true. When you’re a prisoner, you drink so much! Today those memories are like bitter, stale grounds. I spit them out! PTOOEY! You burned my memories and used nonfat soy reminiscence! When did the romance sour? As in any relationship, the first clue is usually minor but the start of a string of slights. The shops ditched their $1 bagels and baguettes in favor of $2, high-calorie lemon loaves, muffins and brownies. Advertisement High prices? At Starbucks? GTFO. This wouldn’t have happened if the Starbucks were located at my local farmer’s market. For the first dozen years, Starbucks was a destination stop. It had enormous cachet and street cred. Sure did! I remember all the kids out on the street being like YO YO YO GOTTA HIT THE ‘BUCKS CAUSE IT BE PUMPKIN SPICE TIME WASSSSUUUPPPPP Baristas, I’ve learned, no longer draw the espressos. NOOOOO! NOOOOO! If baristas aren’t drawing the espressos, who is? A machine? A sweatshop worker? THE GHOST OF UDAY HUSSEIN!?! Some efficiency expert must have realized that it slows down the line. Barista culture remains very much alive at places such as Intelligentsia. Advertisement Well, thank god for that! For decades, anthropologists have lamented the demise of BARISTA CULTURE. In the ruins of Caribou Coffeepeii, they found artifacts of a rare and fantastic society in which grown men would say to other grown men, “It’s going to be a bit of a wait because we grind our own beans,” and “The Ethiopian blend has more of a smoky bite to it, but you would know that if you ever did your research.” I spoke with a longtime customer like myself about Schultz’s new marching orders and the good old 1990s. He looked up from his cup and said, “It’s a tragedy that the young kids won’t know the difference, and will never know how good it once was.” Is it? Is it really? Out of all tragedies in the world, this is the one that saddens you? It used to be about the COFFEE, mannnnn. YOU KIDS TODAY… YOU’LL NEVER KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO HEAR THE ACOUSTIC VERSION OF “JAGGED LITTLE PILL” WHILE WAITING FOR A FLAT WHITE. Maybe Schultz needs to read “Moby Dick” again. Yes, I’m sure that would cure everything. Emmitt Smith’s Lock Of The Week! Advertisement “This week I like the New Yorp Giant Ants (+7) to beat the Pay Treats! I know the Pay Treats can be intimating, and are motorbated for vent shits after everything that happened in DebateGate, but Egon Manning and the Giant Ants seem to have their member! They are the David to the Pay Treats’ GoalWyeth! If they keep this game close, I bet you will see the Pay Treats start to prince. And when you prince, is shows! THERE WILL BE NO VENT SHITS ON THIS DAY.” 2015 Emmitt Smith record: 6-6 Fantasy Player Who Deserves To Die A Slow, Painful Death New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is trying to shut down the two big daily fantasy sites this week, leaving me with no one to play on the Deadspin staff in head-to-head. THE FUCK, BRO? Where are you priorities? What about, like, the banks? #STICKTOCRIME, jerkface! How dare you take away MY right to get scammed into bankruptcy by two enormously shady enterprises! Is this Russia? This is not Russia. Smdh. Advertisement Also, reader John is not pleased with AJ Green: JESUS CHRIST! Fuck A.J. Green forever. Last year, I draft this fucking dick in the first round and he was outscored by J.J. WATT! WHAT. THE. FUCK!? So this season, I vowed to stay a far as fucking possible from this asshole despite his good start to the season. Unfortunately week eight had all but two of my starters on a bye and the two who were playing had bad match ups, so I trade for him.... FIVE FUCKING POINTS. Fuck A.J. Green and fuck Tyler Eifert, that fucking vulture. That’s tough but fair. Fire This Asshole! Is there anything more exciting than a coach losing his job? All year long, we’ll keep track of which coaches will almost certainly get fired at year’s end or sooner. And now, your potential 2015 chopping block: Joe Philbin - FIRED! Gus Bradley Ken Whisenhunt – FIRED! Mike Pettine* Chuck Pagano* Jim Caldwell* Mike McCoy Mike McCarthy Jason Garrett Jim Tomsula* Bill O’Brien Andy Reid Jay Gruden We really missed out on a possible Pagano firing during the Colts bye week. To think, we could have had a whole division of interim coaches by season’s end if they had! Shame on you for denying me the pleasure, Jimmy Irsay. Advertisement Great Moments In Poop History Reader Patrick sends in this truly horrifying story I call CLUB POOPADISE: For several years I lived and worked in the Virgin Islands, a sunny paradise with white sand, clear water, and tons of American tourists. The islands are filled with beach bars of varying degrees of Margaritaville-style tackiness, and people drink hard. I was working on a daysail catamaran sailboat that took packs of tourists out sailing in the morning, snorkeling in the afternoon, and a booze-filled cruise back at sunset. This particular trip took place the morning after a rum and red bull fueled all nighter that ended in back alley Thai food. I was seriously questioning my decisions in life as we headed out into the neighboring British Islands to push 20 or so middle aged fat tourists into the water with masks and fins on. As they were all comfortably floating around the boat, my stomach revolted. Seismic shifts in my bowels and stomach reverberated to the point that it felt like I had been punched. No way was this staying in. Of course the seasick tourist was in the boat’s only bathroom (erm, head) so I jumped overboard on the side where there weren’t any snorkelers and let loose a demonic purge. This, in the business, is called an aquaduece, and is quite common. You make sure you are shitting down current so it doesn’t float up all around your face, and slowly tread water up current as you shit. It is actually quite spiritual and calming if done right. Well, my purging had attracted a myriad of small reef fish, and they gleefully attacked the orange runny remains of glass noodles, peanut sauce, and cheap rum. Within a minute I could see dozens of colorful fish swarming around the cloud of shit. I was making my way back to the boat when I heard a tourist shout “Honey, look at this!” from about twenty feet behind me. Horrified, I looked back at my chemtrail of human waste to see two tourists in the middle of my dookie, mesmerized by the colorful fish. More tourists swam over, and before long all twenty or so were unknowingly absorbing, breathing, and probably swallowing a good deal of my shit. On the sail back the guy in charge (they were a corporate group of some kind) tipped me and my crew $1000 cash, adding a special thanks for throwing chum out to attract the fish. Advertisement Gametime Snack Of The Week Planter’s Cheez Balls. When I was a kid, we would go to my grandma’s house and she would chug bourbon and teach us how to play obscure card games. She kept dozens of cans of cheez balls on hand and let me eat as many as I wanted. Suffice it to say, she was a terrific grandma. I wanna be just like her when I grow up. Advertisement Gametime Cheap Beer Of The Week PARTY! The beer! From China! Reader Stephen sends in this lead-based swill: I just got back to the States after a couple weeks in China and Hong Kong. China was filled with low ABV garbage beers like Snow, which was 2.5% and couldn’t get a middle schooler buzzed. I found this gem in a grocery store in Hong Kong, “Party” by Yanjing Brewery Co. in Bejing. It tastes like rice syrup and weighs in at a whopping 4.0% ABV... As they say, Stay Happy, Stay Party. Advertisement Oh hell yes. I don’t know why more beers don’t have PARTY in the name. Seems like a natural fit. I’m intrigued as to why Chinese beers tend to be low in alcohol. A cursory Google search turns up nothing, which only makes it more suspicious. Is it a Communist plot to water down all beer? Is Stephen lying? Did the Commies make him lie to protect all the GOOD Chinese beer? I MUST KNOW. Jim Tomsula’s Lifehack Of The Week! Advertisement “Expiration dates are just put there by some fancypants lawyers. They don’t mean nothin’. Anyone who’s ever worked a cannery knows that if you’ve got a tight seal, you can make a can of tomato paste last a good century or more. And it’s cheaper than the Gatorade paste if you’re running a marathon or something like that.” Sunday Afternoon Movie Of The Week For Lions Fans Aliens. My mom took me to see Aliens when I was a kid (the clerk didn’t give a crap that it was rated R). Anyway, I was scared shitless after three minutes and fled the theater, forcing my mom to go see The Great Mouse Detective instead, which was in another auditorium. She wasn’t happy about it either, man. She REALLY wanted to see Aliens. I stand by my cowardice. That movie is scary as hell. Advertisement Gratuitous Simpsons Quote “Senator Mendoza is one of the most respected citizens in this state, McBain. And yet you ran his limo off a cliff, broke the necks of three of his bodyguards, and drove a bus through his front door!” Enjoy the games, everyone. |
Oahu was once covered with koa and sandalwood trees in lush mountain forests. Nowadays, you have to hike long and hard to find any endemic trees, and when you finally come across the trees they often appear isolated and scrawny. Hawaii’s majestic thickets of koa, milo and sandalwood have all but disappeared, making way for sugar and pineapple plantations and cattle ranching. And today, more and more native trees are vanishing, chopped down at random by carvers to fashion into pricey bowls. But soon Oahu residents and visitors will be able to take part in a massive effort to restore the long-lost native forest that once stretched from the mountains to the sea at Malaekahana near Laie. Donors will be given the chance to plant endemic trees that will grow tall and thick, never to be harvested. Denby Fawcett/Civil Beat Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative (HLRI), a Hawaii Island nonprofit, is in the final stages of talks about collaboration with Hawaii Reserves (HRI) to launch a tree-planting program at Gunstock Ranch at Malaekahana. It will be the first legacy tree planting of its kind on Oahu. Gunstock Ranch is owned by HRI, the land management arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). HLRI’s legacy plantings on the island of Hawaii have been primarily koa and sandalwood. But at Malaekahana the plantings will include a variety of trees native to the particular Windward Oahu area such as milo, kou, sandalwood and a few koa trees. “We may all live to see an intact, ahupuaa (Hawaiian land division). An entire native Hawaiian ecosystem at Malaekahana,” says Jeffrey Dunster, the president of the reforestation organization. “That will be phenomenal.” Legacy planting is a program in which donors make a tax-deductible donation to plant a tree in their name, or the name of their club or business or an individual. Big Island Restoration Efforts HRLI already has two legacy forests on Hawaii Island. In its first reforestation effort, HLRI has planted 400,000 koa and sandalwood trees on 1,200 acres it leases from Kukaiau Ranch on the slopes of Mauna Kea above the Hamakua Coast. And it’s beginning a second koa and sandalwood legacy forest in collaboration with former ranch manager Monty Richards at Kahua Ranch in the Kohala Mountains. When I was at the Merrie Monarch Festival last week, my husband, Bob Jones, and I planted two koa trees in HLRI’s forest at Kukaiau Ranch. This is how it works there. For $60, a donor can arrange on-line to have HLRI plant a koa tree in the donor’s name or any name of anyone the donor designates. Or for a $100 donation, HLRI will plant a sandalwood tree. Twenty dollars of each donation is redirected to a charity of the donor’s choice. For $110, a donor can both buy a tree sponsorship and take a trip to the forest to plant the tree in person. http://hawaiianlegacytours.com To begin our tour, we drove 34 miles north of Hilo to tiny Umikoa Village at the 3,100-foot elevation of Mauna Kea. Once there, guide Robert Bethea helped us select our own koa saplings. Then we boarded an off-road utility vehicle to bump over dirt roads and through former cow pastures up to the chilly, 5,000-foot level to plant our trees. The ride alone was worth the experience. Like something you would have to pay for at Disneyland. It was thrilling to be zigzagging through grass and mud up the east side of Mauna Kea, through ancient old-growth koa trees and stands of blooming lehua in shades of yellow, orange and red, and newer koa plantings in different stages of growth. “It is so different. Out of this world. Look at the thickness of the forest. From the road below you would never know this exists up here,” said my husband. Bob Jones/Civil Beat We placed our saplings in moist, fertile soil on the far side of a wide field of grass where a helicopter sometimes lands to bring visitors to plant trees. Koa trees take 25 years to reach maturity. It is touching to know our trees will be nurturing the once denuded Mauna Kea ranch land long after we have died. Each tree is outfitted with its own radio frequency identification number. Donors can find their trees and watch them grow on line in the comfort of their homes by typing the tree’s identification number on https://legacytrees.org. “You can zoom in and say ‘hey, there’s my tree.’ The resolution is so clear, you can see right down to the blades of grass growing around the tree,” says Dunster. Our guide, Robert Bethea, says the identification system also aids scientific research by making it possible to monitor the day-by- day growth and health of each tree. “We know exactly where every tree was planted and where its mother tree is. We can learn a lot from this project,” says Bethea. Native Hawaiian birds, which fled the area when trees were chopped down to create cow pastures, are now returning to soar through the reforested groves. “Just yesterday a pueo (native Hawaiian owl) flew over the back of my neck,” said Bethea. Carbon Offsets Subsidize Tree Planting To help subsidize the legacy tree program, HRLI sells carbon credits certified by the Gold Standard Foundation in Switzerland for the carbon sequestering provided by its koa and sandalwood trees. It is the only program providing certified carbon credits in Hawaii. Paradise Helicopters, which brings visitors to the Kukaiau site where we planted out trees, has purchased carbon credits ($44 per metric ton) to offset the carbon it creates with its flights. Hagadone Printing in Honolulu also has purchased carbon credits from HLRI to reduce its carbon footprint. Dunster says income from carbon credit sales helps pay for maintenance costs, fencing and employee salaries for the legacy tree operation. “It just shows that the trees are more valuable left in the ground,” says Dunster. As the legacy forest comes to fruition later this year in Malaekahana, Oahu residents will have a chance to make a small donation to a large cause that benefits thousands of others by bringing back clean air, native birds and rich good soil. Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative’s goal is to help donors plant a total of 1.3 million native trees across the state, one for each person in Hawaii. And with the planned Oahu forest expansion, it is well on its way. |
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday said Sonia Gandhi must continue to lead the party.The former Punjab chief minister suggested that Sonia Gandhi must continue as the president of Congress. "Rahul should continue as vice president. Sonia Gandhi should be Congress president as she alone can keep it together," he said.Referring to the Congress vice-president's lack of experience, Amarinder said, "In 10 years you cannot be captain of the ship. Rahul needs more experience and needs to travel when he is back."He also said he had written a mail to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi asking him to come back, but had not received a reply.Amarinder also had a word for Rahul's detractors. "Don't write off Rahul yet. He is very hard working", the Congress leader said.The Congress has been finding it hard to defend a long holiday taken by Rahul Gandhi, and some seniors in the party are questioning whether the scion of the country's most famous family is interested in politics.Gandhi, a 44-year-old bachelor parliamentarian, took a leave of absence starting in late February, and is now said to be returning to work later this month. There is no word where he might be.His vanishing act has spawned a series of tongue-in-cheek comments about his choice of holiday spot and what he might be doing, and "missing" posters have been pasted on walls in his constituency.Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.Jokes aside, Gandhi's decision to go on a holiday at the start of a parliamentary session, at a time when Congress was attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over land policy, has led to doubts about his commitment to politics.Senior Congress members, who normally pride themselves on displays of loyalty to the great grandson of India's first Prime Minister, are beginning to openly express frustration.Rahul Gandhi is expected to be back in time to lead a farmers' rally on April 19, against the NDA government's land ordinance, a policy that Congress has called anti-farmer. |
A Palestinian man searches for victims in the ruins of the Dheir family home, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, on 29 July 2014. The attack killed 19 people, including 9 children, despite the firing of a so-called warning missile. Eyad Al Baba APA images The US military has adopted an Israeli procedure known as “roof-knocking” in its war on Islamic State, also known as ISIS or Daesh, adding yet another failed Israeli tactic to its counterterrorism toolkit. Roof-knocking entails striking the roof or upper story of a home or building with a mortar shell or missile prior to bombing it with even bigger munitions, in a supposed effort to warn civilians inside that they should evacuate. Israel used this tactic to absolve itself of liability for killing civilians in Gaza. But human rights investigators found the tactic to be ineffective and at times deadly to the very civilians it was allegedly supposed to protect. Two years later, however, the US is copying it. Air Force Major-General Peter Gersten, deputy commander for operations and intelligence for the anti-ISIS coalition, told reporters on Tuesday that the US employed Israel’s roof-knocking tactic in the killing of an alleged ISIS financial operative in Mosul, Iraq, in early April. The ISIS “finance emir,” as Gersten called him, “was the major distributor of funds to Daesh fighters,” which raises questions about the lawfulness of targeting a person for death while they’re not engaged in combat. “We watched him come and go from his house, we watched his supplies, we watched the security that was involved in it. And we also watched occasionally a female and her children in and out of the quarters,” he said. Gersten then invoked the familiar Israeli and American excuse for civilian casualties, saying, “They are using the civilian force as human shields.” Inspiration from Israel According to Gersten’s retelling, the US devised a strategy to avoid harming the woman and children inside. “We went as far as actually to put a Hellfire [missile] on top of the building and air-burst it so it wouldn’t destroy the building, simply knock on the roof to ensure that she and the children were out of the building,” he explained. “And then we proceeded with our operations.” Gersten went on to confirm that Israel was the inspiration. “We took the tactics and technique and procedure from” Israel, he told reporters. “We’ve certainly watched and observed their procedure.” Gersten noted that the US also dropped leaflets to warn people below of the coming bombardment, another method Israel employed in Gaza despite there being nowhere safe to flee. But just like in Gaza, these tactics failed to prevent civilian deaths. The woman whose life Gersten claims the US military was trying to protect was killed in the US strike. Gersten acknowledged that the US operation “ultimately ended up in a civilian casualty.” “So, as much as we tried to do exactly what we wanted to do and minimize civilian casualties, post-weapons release, she actually ran back into the building,” he said. Defying logic Gersten should have known – by examining the actual record of the Israelis – that the roof-knocking procedure is no way to protect civilians. Israel’s military assault killed 2,251 Palestinians in Gaza in the summer of 2014. According to the independent inquiry commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council, the vast majority –1,462 – were civilians, including 299 women and 551 children, 68 percent of whom were under the age of 12. Another 11,000 Palestinians were injured, including 3,540 women and 3,436 children, nearly 10 percent of them suffering permanent disabilities. In November 2014, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey claimed that the US military had sent a “lessons-learned team” to Israel weeks after its war on Gaza to study and emulate “the measures [Israel] took to prevent civilian casualties.” Dempsey specifically applauded Israel’s roof-knocking tactic. But in a statement to The Electronic Intifada, the Pentagon denied that the US was seeking Israel’s advice, noting that Israel did not do enough to avoid civilian casualties. Ineffective Meanwhile, human rights investigations have consistently found roof-knocking to be wildly ineffective. The independent inquiry commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council concluded “that the ‘roof-knocking’ technique is not effective.” It noted that the explosions often caused confusion and gave residents little time to react. Israeli airstrikes usually followed within 3 to 5 minutes of the roof knock, according to the report, giving occupants little time to flee, especially small children, the elderly and disabled. On 29 July 2014, Israel launched a guided bomb at the Dheir family house in Rafah in southern Gaza, totally destroying it. In total, 19 family members were killed including nine children and seven women. One of the women was pregnant. This attack followed a roof knock. But according to the UN report, the family members “did not understand that the strike was a warning until they were told by a neighbor that they had to flee. While on their way out, 19 out of the 22 individuals present in the house died.” In other instances, “families fled buildings following an airstrike on the roof or top floor believing that the strike was a warning, only to be struck by a targeted missile once outside the house and on the street.” As Amnesty International’s Philip Luther stated, “There is no way that firing a missile at a civilian home can constitute an effective ‘warning.’ Amnesty International has documented cases of civilians killed or injured by such missiles in previous Israeli military operations on the Gaza Strip.” Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East and North Africa director of Human Rights Watch, similarly declared: “Warning families to flee fighting doesn’t make them fair targets just because they’re unable to do so, and deliberately attacking them is a war crime.” Amnesty went further in a detailed report that accused Israel of knowingly bombing homes and buildings full of civilians without any warning at all, wiping out entire families in the process. Even US military officials, no strangers to war crimes, were appalled by Israel’s behavior in Gaza. “It’s not mowing the lawn,” commented one senior US military officer, using Israel’s euphemism for its routine assaults on the Gaza Strip. “It’s removing the topsoil.” The Israeli model doesn’t work Despite some acknowledgement of Israel’s atrocious conduct, the US has made a habit of adopting Israeli policies as its own, with dreadful consequences. Israel’s “targeted killing” policy, though condemned by the Bush administration in 2001, has been embraced as the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s counterterrorism strategy. What was once a highly controversial Israeli method to suppress Palestinian resistance is now used by the US to kill thousands of people in Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria and, once again, in Iraq. The CIA cited an Israeli court ruling to justify its worldwide network of secret torture dungeons that subjected prisoners to water-boarding, sleep and sensory deprivation, sexual torture, threats to kill and rape loved ones, mock executions, electrocution and medically unnecessary “rectal feeding.” In his book, Consequence: A Memoir, former US interrogator Eric Fair reveals that Israeli forces trained US interrogators in how to use a torture device known as the “Palestinian chair.” Fair says that the Israeli-developed torture technique, which immobilizes its victims in an excruciating stress position, was used on Iraqis in Fallujah. It is no coincidence that the US “war on terror” bears a striking resemblance to Israel’s occupation and colonization in Palestine. After all, the “war on terror” doctrine was first pushed by Israel to justify its criminal conduct against Palestinians and their neighbors. The US applied a similar framework to its imperial project in the Middle East and the consequences have been nothing short of catastrophic. The US “war on terror” has coincided with a nine-fold increase in terrorism-related deaths around the world since 2000, while generating the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. These Israeli tactics have clearly backfired, producing anger, hatred and blowback against the US while making the world a less free and more dangerous place. Yet the pattern continues. |
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