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Each of your eyes transfers information to your brain at about the same speed as a fast Ethernet connection, US researchers have calculated. That might sound impressive, but the scientists say that our neurons could move data a lot faster than that. The fact that they do not suggests that our nervous system is trading off speed against energy-efficiency. The researchers, based at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, US, attached a guinea pig retina to an array of electrodes, while sustaining it in a nutrient-rich soup. They projected a number of images onto the retina, and recorded the patterns of electrical firing in the retina’s ganglion cells. These cells feed information down the optic nerve, towards the brain’s visual cortex. From these recordings, the researchers calculated that a guinea pig retina transfers data at about 875 kilobits per second. Human retinas have about ten times as many ganglion cells, giving a “bandwidth” of 8.75 megabits per second. Advertisement But it could be faster, says physicist Vijay Balasubramanian, one of the study’s authors. “Each neuron is capable of firing close to once a millisecond, but average activity is only four times a second,” he says. “You have to ask: Why is this?” Brisk and sluggish The answer is energy consumption. The human brain makes up only 2% of our total body mass, but requires 20% of our metabolism to keep it running. Neural pathways eat up a lot of energy, and the guzzling gets worse at high speeds. To compensate for this, nature has divided retinal ganglion cells into two general categories – brisk and sluggish. The most important visual information you receive is brought to you by brisk cells. Moving data at up to 13 bits per second per cell, they detect rapidly moving objects like predators or prey – where a split second could mean the difference between life or death. Only about 30,000 of the 100,000 cells in the guinea pig retina are brisk, so sluggish cells end up doing most of the work. Each of them operates at a bandwidth of 6 to 8 bits per second. They mostly perform unglamorous duties such as detecting an object’s edges or stabilising your eyes while you walk. In the end, Balasubramanian thinks that the lopsided distribution of ganglion cells in the retina is the result of an evolutionary cost-benefit analysis. Brisk cells seem less efficient: the researchers found that each electrical spike in sluggish cells carried about 2.1 bits of information. Although they fired more frequently, the brisk cells could only manage about 1.8 bits per spike. “You don’t get much more information for a lot more energy consumption,” says Balasubramanian, who believes the same cost-benefit equation could be in play throughout the brain. “We could all think a lot faster if it wasn’t so expensive.” Journal reference: Current Biology (vol 16, p 1428) |
Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email An independent politician has slammed the Government's handling of a refugee situation, calling it a "complete shambles". Roscommon-Galway TD Michael Fitzmaurice hit out at the Justice Department after plans to set up an emergency relocation and orientation centre (EROC) at the site of the Abbeyfield Hotel in Ballaghaderreen in west Roscommon were revealed. One senator, Fine Gael's Maura Hopkins, said she has concerns over the “capacity” of the town. Up to 80 Syrian migrants are expected to arrive there in the coming weeks, but Mr Fitzmaurice said the way he found out about the plans was a "joke", "nothing short of ridiculous" and "not how a democracy is meant to operate". He said: "The fact that the first anyone in an official capacity in Co Roscommon either in the local authority or any of the other agency heard about the establishment of this center was on Thursday evening at 4 o'clock, less than a month before the relocating of refugees to the rural town is nothing short of a joke. "Look, it is generally accepted that Ireland will have to accept a certain number of refugees, different people have different views on that and everyone is entitled to their opinion. "The reality is that regardless of the rhetoric people are going to hear this is going to go ahead. "It's disingenuous for anyone to say otherwise. "The problem is that there has been no local consultation of any description with regard to the establishment of this centre. "The county council were not consulted, from what I gather no local agencies such as the ETB, HSE or TUSLA were consulted. "The local schools, GPs and county childcare committee were also left in the dark with many finding out the news in Friday morning's papers and on Facebook, this is a farce! "The fact that no politicians, in government, supporting the government or opposing the government in this constituency had been consulted about or briefed on this action prior to its announcement is further evidence of the systemic problem of senior civil servants running with an idea regardless of the views of politicians elected to represent the views of people. "I would honestly question whether or not the Ministers in the Department of Justice and Equality had prior knowledge of this announcement. "From what I have seen in some departments there's a good chance that they were kept in the dark too. It's wrong, it's not how a democracy is meant to operate. It cannot be let continue. "I found out while leaving a constituents house on Thurday evening by way of a phone call. I'm not saying politicians should have been the first to know, but the way we and others found out is nothing short of ridiculous. "Ballaghdereen was eagerly awaiting the re-opening of the hotel. That was the talk of the town. "It was going to be a great boost locally and a major help to the local tourism industry. "Now, the odds of their hotel ever opening again are slim. The department are saying this EROC will be here for two years, could we believe anything from them after the way they announced this? "If they are saying two years, it could be any length of time. "On top of how they have handled the announcement so poorly, the reality remains that their decision on a location is also questionable. "Not just because of the opportunity lost to Ballaghaderreen who have lost any hope of regaining their hotel, but also from the perspective of how ready the locality is to welcome 80 refugees." Mr Fitzmaurice added that his constituency had many of its own problems to consider. He said: "Irish people will welcome genuine war refugees with open arms. We are a caring and understanding nation. "However, all the welcoming in the world is no addition unless there are services provided for these people. "Will these services be put in place prior to their arrival? Or will it be a rehash of the Roscommon A&E closure and the promise of a state of the art ambulance service which has never been delivered. "There is a mental health crisis in County Roscommon already, and if these people need access to mental health devices, will those services be put in place? "I've been told that one GP in Ballaghaderreen is already snowed under and cannot take any more clients, what are the proposals to deal with this shortage? "The entirety of the west of Roscommon is an ambulance black spot - was this even considered by the Department? "Reports from the special meeting of Roscommon County Council which took place on Friday morning/afternoon would seem to indicate that the department are unprepared for the arrival of refugees in Roscommon. "Partner agencies seem as though they are going to struggle to deliver services - that is summised from the the fact that when questioned about the readiness of the HSE, the standard response was 'we can't say what the HSE are doing'. "Cllr Dineen proposed calling a special meeting of all the relevant agencies so that concerns could be raised, questions could be asked. I would think that is a good idea to start. "This is going to happen and this region had better be ready and have the resources made available to provide services." "In addition to national government coming up with the funding for providing services through each relevant agency, it is vital that a regional grant be put in place for local communities to be able redouble their efforts of rejuvenation and reinvigoration. "There is need for a quid-pro-quo here to in some way compensate the people of the Ballaghaderreen area for the deplorable manner in which the department handled this matter. "The locality must be supported with housing initiatives for local people in need of social housing - it is very hard to look a local family in desperate need of social housing in the eye and say - you'll just have to wait. "Questions too must be asked about the company who has been awarded the contract - I'm making enquiries but understand that they and their sister companies have also been involved in the acquisition and development of hosting units in Ballaghaderreen and the department needs to address the questions in this regard clearly and honestly. "The fear I have is that the heavy handed manner in which the department sprung this on people will have a negative impact on the integration of those refugees who are coming. "We are being assured that they are being well vetted and screened but we live in a changing world and people's concerns are legitimate. "The majority of those coming no doubt will be women and children who are innocent victims of war, but they need to screened regardless and screened well. (Image: Jack Hill/The Times/PA) "The experience with the vast majority of refugees in this country has been positive and is also important that all those who are brought here are given the opportunity to integrate and have their privacy respected. "I would hope most would agree with me when I say there does need to be close monitoring of the refugees that come here. "Not least or their own safety but also so that the community at large can be confident of theirs. "No-one reasonably expects that there will be many or indeed any problems, but it is better to be safe than sorry. "The Government and the Department of Justice have made a complete shambles of this project so far and those fleeing war deserve better than that. "I am calling on the Minister and her Department to take control of this situation, liaise through formal channels with the local communities, the local authority and other statutory agencies responsible for delivering services and ensure that this is done right. "They will not find the locals wanting when it comes to co-operation. "The fact they left this announcement until a month before they arrival of the refugees would suggest that they think otherwise. "The people of Ballaghaderreen and of Roscommon deserve better and deserve to be shown more respect from their government." |
Weeks after winning dismissal of a case alleging that CACI International employees directed mistreatment of Abu Ghraib detainees, the company has asked its accusers to pay a $15,580 bill for legal expenses. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, all Iraqis who served time at the prison, opposed the request in a federal court filing on Monday. In July, CACI secured a long-fought victory when a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit against one of the company’s units, deciding that because the alleged abuse happened overseas, the U.S. District Court in Alexandria did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. According to a recent court filing, nearly two-thirds of the $15,580 bill relates to depositions CACI took, including costs for witness per diem fees and travel allowances as well as deposition transcripts. About $3,500 of the total would cover the costs CACI said it incurred for medical examinations and to hire an interpreter for plaintiff depositions. That figure, the filing added, includes a fee the company paid when examinations were canceled without enough advance notice. The plaintiffs oppose the move, arguing that CACI is out of time and that the request is unjust. The plaintiffs “have very limited financial means, even by non-U.S. standards, and dramatically so when compared to the corporate defendants in this case,” the filing said. “At the same time, plaintiffs’ serious claims of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and war crimes were dismissed on very close, difficult — and only recently arguable — grounds.” Baher Azmy, the attorney for the plaintiffs and legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said the effort “appears to me an attempt to intimidate the plaintiffs.” However, Michael T. Kirkpatrick, an attorney in the litigation group of nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen, said a bill of costs is standard court procedure. “There’s nothing unusual at all about it,” he said, noting that a bill of costs covers only limited expenses, not the entire cost incurred. Maxwell O. Chibundu, a law professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, said he was surprised that CACI is pursuing the matter. “I think few large companies exercise that right in cases where they are sued by individuals on tortious civil rights or human rights grounds,” he wrote in an e-mail. A company attorney declined to comment. CACI has long been vocal in defending itself against the plaintiffs’ allegations. In 2008, J. Phillip “Jack” London, CACI’s executive chairman, published a book titled “Our Good Name: A Company’s Fight to Defend Its Honor and Get the Truth Told About Abu Ghraib.” In a statement at the time of the dismissal, the company said it is “gratified by the court’s decision and hope[s] this is the end of these baseless lawsuits.” The plaintiffs’ attorneys have filed a notice that they will appeal the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Azmy said he expects to file the appeal this fall. |
Washington (CNN) Donald Trump said Sunday night he plans to make a "major speech" on immigration during his stop in Arizona on Wednesday. "I will be making a major speech on ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION on Wednesday in the GREAT State of Arizona. Big crowds, looking for a larger venue," Trump's tweet said. I will be making a major speech on ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION on Wednesday in the GREAT State of Arizona. Big crowds, looking for a larger venue. Trump's immigration policy received renewed scrutiny recently after he seemingly softened his stance on how to treat undocumented immigrants and then reaffirmed his support for deporting them. He's been consistent on a few points, however: building a US-Mexico border wall, "extreme vetting" of new immigrants and deportations of those who commit crimes. Days after Trump stepped away from one of his signature policy positions, top surrogates -- including vice presidential nominee Mike Pence and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway -- offered unclear takes Sunday on where Trump stands. Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson says none of it is really that complicated, however. "He hasn't changed his position on immigration. He's changed the words that he is saying," she said Thursday on CNN. JUST WATCHED Pierson discusses Trump's Immigration stance Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Pierson discusses Trump's Immigration stance 03:29 Here's what we know -- and don't know -- about Trump's immigration policy: Undocumented immigrants During the Republican presidential primary, an animating policy of Trump's campaign was his hardline stance on immigration. He first floated the prospect of a "deportation force" to boot all undocumented immigrants from the country -- no matter how long they'd been in the United States -- during an interview in November 2015, and later defended it in a December primary debate. In recent days, Trump has backed away from that rhetoric -- if not the policies. "There could certainly be a softening" in his immigration proposals, Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity Tuesday night, "because we're not looking to hurt people." So has he scrapped the idea of removing all undocumented immigrants from the country? Trump wouldn't say later in the week, in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. "There is a very good chance the answer could be yes," Trump said when asked if he would deport those who have lived here peacefully but without papers. "We're going to see what happens." Trump was set to deliver a major speech on illegal immigration last week, but his campaign decided to postpone the address as it continues to craft its policy and the language to deliver it. Deportation force Trump running mate Mike Pence gave the GOP nominee some wiggle room on actually implementing that deportation force in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" Sunday, downplaying it as merely a "mechanism" to carry out Trump's bigger-picture ideas. "Well, what you heard him describe there, in his usual plainspoken, American way, was a mechanism, not a policy. I mean, you're going to hear more detail in next two weeks that lays out all the policies," Pence said. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus admitted on NBC's "Meet the Press" that his party's nominee is considering changing his previous position, calling the issue complicated -- even though Trump had ignored those complexities in the primary. "He did simplify it. But now he's reflecting on it and his position is going to be known," Priebus said. Bottom line: Would undocumented immigrants have to leave the United States? That's what CBS' John Dickerson asked Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway on Sunday. "That's really the question here, John," Conway said, leaving it unanswered. 'Anchor babies' Trump also made headlines during the primary for using the term "anchor babies" to describe the US-born children of undocumented immigrants -- suggesting he didn't support the citizenship status granted by the Constitution to those children. Tapper pressed Pence Sunday on whether the GOP ticket believes those children are citizens. "Well, I think the whole question of anchor babies, as it's known, the whole question of citizenship, of natural-born Americans is a subject for the future," he said. "I think the American people ought to ask it. We look at our whole immigration system and see whether that works and makes sense." |
“You don't get anywhere without hard work. The earlier you understand that, the better.” It may come as a slight surprise to hear these words were spoken by Bayern Munich and Germany defender Jerome Boateng, but it shouldn’t. Look past his trophies, glitz, glamour and growing cult of celebrity and you find a humble, determined man who plays the game in the same way today as he did on the gritty streets of Berlin as a kid. It is an attitude and worldview that has taken Boateng to the milestone of 150 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern Munich, one of the world's biggest clubs. “I grew up in a different area of Berlin to my two brothers, but that made me change my game and become a bit harder, because we always played against older boys and we played on concrete,” Jerome recently told VICE Sports. “There was no such thing as a foul. You were younger and you weren't as strong but you had to make the best out of it.” The youngest of three siblings – Kevin-Prince, of Eintracht Frankfurt, and George, the eldest, are his half-brothers – Jerome was arguably the least talented footballer in the family growing up, but what he may have lacked in ability, he compensated for with application. Boateng has become one of the finest defenders in the modern game. - © DFL DEUTSCHE FUSSBALL LIGA / Sebastian Widmann George was a precociously gifted forward whose performances in the youth sides at Hertha Berlin earned rave reviews, although he did not make the grade professionally. The younger two brothers succeeded where the elder did not, but it is Jerome that has gone on to enjoy the most distinguished career of them all, and that owes much to his sheer hard work and determination. They are just a year apart in age, but throughout their childhood, there existed a keen rivalry between Jerome and Kevin-Prince, who always seemed to be a step ahead in his development. He won the gold Fritz-Walter-Medal for the best U-19 player in Germany in 2006, while Jerome won bronze in the same category a year later; Kevin-Prince played considerably more often in Hertha’s first team (42 Bundesliga appearances to 10); and in 2007, he made a high-profile transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, while Jerome moved to Hamburg for a significantly smaller fee. Jerome (l.) and Kevin-Prince (r.) Boateng in training for Hertha Berlin in 2007. Yet the latter made it his mission to learn from his brothers and turn his weaknesses into strengths. “They could play with their left foot too but I couldn't, so I just started training with that foot. And it paid off.” And how. Right side or left, short passes or long, Boateng’s use of the ball - with either foot - is now impeccable. He has worked so hard, in fact, that aside from recent injury misfortune, he arguably has no weakness these days. Being comfortably two-footed is one of the key assets a top-level centre-back needs in the modern game, and when it comes to Spielaufbau – bringing the ball out from the back and starting an attack – few players in world football do it better. “It's incredible to be able to open up the game like that as a centre-back,” is how team-mate Thomas Müller put it, while former coach Pep Guardiola said: “When it comes to build-up play, Jerome is one of the best around.” Watch: Boateng scored his first goal of the Bundesliga season in a 5-2 win against Hoffenheim on Matchday 20 Without the ball, Boateng is just as tough. Fast, athletic and as strong as an ox, he is almost unbeatable in one-on-one situations, and his concentration, which he was criticised as lacking in the past, has improved no end. “Bayern have the ball a lot. We're only really challenged a few times per game sometimes, and then you just really have to be awake. And I used to be a striker so I know what they want to do,” he said. After five Bundesliga titles, three DFB Cups, the UEFA Champions League and, of course, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, there is little remaining that he is yet to win. So perhaps it therefore makes sense that he is just as focused on his main off-field passions – fashion and music – as he is on it. Boateng was named Best Dressed Man by Germany’s GQ magazine in 2015, has rubbed shoulders with musicians such as Ice Cube and Drake and is even signed to Roc Nation in the United States, a talent agency run by rap star Jay Z. He also takes an active interest in charitable causes, supporting his brother George in raising awareness of Down's syndrome. Yet for all his extra-curricular interests, it is playing football that he does best, and for now, 29-year-old Boateng has plenty of years left at the highest level to ensure that his trophy collection grows far more in the future. “I don’t want any regrets when my career is over. I want to give everything until the day I stop playing,” he said in 2014. Is he the best all-round defender in the world? Very possibly. Is he a role model whose example is to be followed on and off the pitch? Without a doubt. Click here for more Bayern news, views and features! |
From Ariana Grande + Gwen Stefani to PJ Harvey + Last Shadow Puppets If you want music that's larger than life and forces you to stretch your arms up to the sky in love, then Lights is the one for you. That same love she puts into her own record, she also translates into a sheer admiration for the music of others. That's why this week, we're handing her the reigns - asking her to lend her wise ears to review the biggest new tracks of the week, from Ariana Grande and Gwen Stefani to PJ Harvey, Bat For Lashes and The Last Shadow Puppets... Cat’s Eyes - 'Drag' "Off the top I really like the chord changes, really unpredictable but still satisfying. I like the lo-fi, soft vocals, it feels really ambient and cool. The production is pretty classic and I think it could belong to any era. Lyrically this song employs one of my favourite songwriting tactics, a soft and happy-ish sounding song written about something really dark. Apparently these folks don’t get along." Last Shadow Puppets - 'Aviation' "This one didn’t stand out much to me until the chorus, but there it is! I like the words, suddenly everything makes sense. The rhythm of the vocals are really interesting. The string section makes it feel cinematic which definitely contributes to the visual aspects of the lyric." PJ Harvey - 'The Community of Hope' "I always notice lyrics first in a song. This lyric pretty much sounds like an essay on the state of a capitalist society with very little poetic flare but I think it really works in this song. I always love to hear songs written for a greater purpose, I think it’s an important time for that if you have something to say. All the melodies are super simple making this kind of a sad anthem." Ariana Grande - 'Dangerous Woman' "I don’t love the verses in this (doesn’t quite stand up to the rest of the track) but the sweet, unexpected melody in this pre chorus is really killer and sets up the dark, powerful chorus really well. Most of the lyrics I can’t really understand, but I like how she mumbles a lot. Some people can get away with that because their vocals are so great. I don’t really believe her when she sings “I live for danger” though." Rostam - 'Gravity Don’t Pull Me' "This is really weird and cool. I can’t tell if he is about to laugh or start bawling to be honest. But it’s easy to listen to, I like all the filtering synth arpeggios that run throughout, I suppose that’s what moves along what would ultimately be a pretty simple and slow song. It’s really great when the lo-fi 808s kick in." Bat for Lashes - 'In God’s House' "This one is ultra dark, I can’t fully tell what’s going on in the story even after a few listens. But I’m getting a dark bride vibe. I like how unpredictable it is. Not my favourite Bat for Lashes track, but I love her fearlessness and pure force of creativity." Gwen Stefani - 'Misery' "Gwen has been one of my heroes for years! I think she’s such a legend. This isn’t my favourite song of hers though. Some of the lyrics in this are really cheap but when the chorus kicks in I like it a lot. I love her voice and think she can get away with anything for the most part. She’s doing some stuff with it that’s really moving in this track. I like the Cyndi Lauper vibe!" Peter Bjorn and John - 'What You Talking About?' "The energy of this one is awesome, and some of the production flares like the little hooky bell in the tag is really interesting. The melody wanders all over the place and I really like most of that. Sometimes I wish it would resolve more, it feels like the melody is trying to be too dark over major chords but that was likely done purposefully." Lights releases new album Midnight Machines on 8 April. |
Furious parents have blasted a secondary school after CCTV cameras were installed in the pupils' toilets. School bosses claim the cameras, put directly above the boys' urinals and the girls' cubicles, are intended to combat bullying and vandalism. Head teacher James Bowkett added: 'I can reassure parents and children that no cameras are directed towards sensitive areas including cubicles or urinals.' Parents at Summerhill School in Kingswinford in the West Midlands have reacted with disbelief, claiming the surveillance is 'intrusive' and 'creepy'. CCTV cameras have been installed at Summerhill School in Kingswinford, in the West Midlands One female pupil was so upset at being watched while using the toilet she burst into tears. One mother, who has a boy and a girl in Year 9, said: 'It's caused a lot of fuss, some of the parents on the Summerhill Facebook group have posted photos of the cameras in the toilets and one looks like overhanging girls' cubicles and another over lads' urinals. 'My children have refused to go to toilet in school, they feel like they are being watched. 'They said, 'can we ring you to take us home to use the toilet? It's absolute madness. 'Some are saying it's to prevent bullying and there's been vandalism, but surely they can put a prefect on duty in the toilets at break times or a teacher, they don't have to video children in toilets. 'A lot of parents are now requesting the footage.' One female pupil was so upset at being watched while using the toilet she burst into tears One mother said: 'My son has come back and said he doesn't want to go to the toilet. It's shocking...they may have problems going on in the toilets but they can't do this surely. 'A friend of mine said her daughter came home in tears because she was too scared to use the loo all day and she nearly wet herself in class. It's so intrusive and creepy.' Another said: 'My daughter has now said she is 'holding it' and not going to the loo and she's not the only one who has said this...I'm disgusted!' While another added: 'If I went shopping and popped in the toilets, looked up and saw one of these - would you be happy to continue? I think not, it's wrong on too many levels.' One woman said her daughter had walked out as she couldn't face using the toilets and another said: 'What's stopping some dodgy person recording inappropriate images of our children!' The school, which caters for 1,016 pupils aged 11-16, received a 'requires improvement' rating after an Ofsted inspection last November. Despite the verdict, inspectors noted that 'pupils rightly feel safe in school.' The school, which caters for 1,016 pupils aged 11-16, received a 'requires improvement' rating after an Ofsted inspection last November Executive headteacher James Bowkett defended the toilet cameras following 'some disappointing behaviour' from pupils. He said: 'For a number of years we have had CCTV installed in various locations within the school grounds, to not only allow us to monitor student behaviour but also to protect the school - ensuring the safety of everyone in our community. 'Following some disappointing behaviour from our students, who were not maintaining our high standards of behaviour whilst in the toilet areas, we took the decision to extend the network of cameras to these areas. 'I must stress that this it to allow us to monitor who is entering and leaving the communal toilet areas and I can reassure parents and children that no cameras are directed towards sensitive areas including cubicles or urinals.' |
Greg Kroah-Hartman has just announced a few minutes ago, December 4, that the third maintenance release of the Linux kernel 3.12 is now available for download. Linux kernel 3.12.3 is yet another big release that introduces numerous updated drivers, many architecture improvements (AMR, PowerPC, s390, parisc, ARM64, avr32), some fixes for the CIFS and EXT4 filesystems, as well as sound improvements. "I'm announcing the release of the 3.12.3 kernel. All users of the 3.12 kernel series must upgrade. The updated 3.12.y git tree can be found at: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-3.12.y and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser: http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git;a=summary," Greg Kroah-Hartman said in the official release announcement. Download Linux kernel 3.12.3 right now from Softpedia. We remind everyone that Linux kernels 3.10.22 LTS and 3.4.72 LTS are also available for download on Softpedia. |
The new co-working space and café invites young professionals and students to speak freely about the Catholic social and political issues. A new café in Lyon, France, is serving up more than croissants and coffee. The Le Simone café is a co-working space with a distinctively Catholic flavor. Opened last year by a group of students and young professionals called “Les Alternatives Catholiques” or “Altercathos,” the café is the culmination of a project to foster an open discussion of political and social issues of the day, seen through the lens of Catholic social doctrine. Named after the philosopher, writer and mystic Simone Weil, the café offers an attractive and convivial space for young professionals to work and meet. With 44 workstations, high-speed internet and printing capability, a bookstore, and an art gallery, young professionals have a quiet and comfortable place to work and meet. And meeting one another is at the heart of Le Simone’s mission – its raison d’etre, so to speak. People gather regularly there for Altercathos-led conferences, lectures, and workshops to discuss topical subjects. “The exchanges are simple and honest and always end with a drink,” Gregoire, one of the Le Simone’s employees told “Église catholique in France.” Recent discussions have focused on the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, education, health care, geopolitics, and terrorism. On one occasion a group of medical students organized a discussion with refugees from the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) to help them perfect their French. And this year the café featured lectures on great Catholic lay people “who participated in the greatness, beauty and diversity of Catholic thought: Schuman, Ozanam, Montalembert, Peguy, Chesterton and of course … Simone Weil.” Weil, although she was never baptized, was very attracted to Catholicism, and remains an important figure among Catholic thinkers. Pope Paul VI included her among his three greatest influences. Notre Dame theology professor Leonard DeLorenzo wrote at Aleteia that he often assigns Weil’s essay “The Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God” at the beginning of a term. “Weil would advise us to spend time giving attention to each other—personally—and especially when the other person is not like you or sees from a different perspective or worldview,” wrote DeLorenzo. It’s for that spirit of openness to encounter that the café Le Simone was named after Weil. Read more: What Simone Weil might say to the American people “In this association, we refuse the cleavages between traditional and progressive Catholics. The dignity of a migrant and a human embryo is the same. What we are seeking is to ‘repoliticize’ Catholics so that they do not separate life in public space and religion at home, ” explains Grégoire. Paul Colrat, a philosophy teacher and president of Altercathos, echos these sentiments and sees the association’s mission as one of bringing people together. “Our WYD [World Youth Day] generation is untouched by this kind of opposition, these battles that do not even speak to us. The social doctrine of the Church makes it possible to unite,” he told “Eglise catholique en France.” With a hundred members, most of whom are under the age of 30, the Altercathos and the café Le Simone may signal the future of Catholicism in France. If they succeed in their mission to bring the free discussion of religion and social issues out of the private and into the public sphere they will have made a difference, not just for Catholics, for all French people. |
Study backed by Guardian says new laws and interception of communications make it harder for journalists to protect sources Whistleblowers need better legal protection because they are far easier to identify in the digital era and successive laws have undermined their status, according to a report by media lawyers. The study by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) at London University says journalists find it increasingly difficult to safeguard the anonymity of their sources due to the monitoring and interception of online and phone conversations. The study, which will be launched in the House of Lords on Wednesday, is supported by the Guardian. The warning follows the publication earlier this month of a Law Commission review on how to update the Official Secrets Act. It suggested that prison sentences for leaking official information could be significantly increased and dismissed the idea of introducing a public interest defence. The commission’s proposals were widely condemned by whistleblowers and human rights organisations. Beware, whistleblowers: officials still love secrets more than freedom Read more The report, Protecting Sources and Whistleblowers in a Digital Age, identifies weaknesses introduced by the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) and, potentially, the digital economy bill that is going through parliament. The IPA declares that communications metadata – which could be used to hunt down and prosecute a source – belongs to the telecoms provider not the journalist. “Legal protections [for whistleblowers],” the report says, “have become ineffective ... If covert powers are used, a journalist and a source will not know this has occurred – intrusion may become apparent only if the material is used in legal proceedings.” The study notes that Lord Justice Leveson, in his inquiry into the practice and ethics of the press, also recommended narrowing the protection afforded to journalists when seeking orders for disclosure of material under the 1984 Police and Criminal Evidence Act. Protecting confidential sources is a principle supported by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in its code of conduct. In the past, reporters have risked jail rather than reveal who gave them information for stories on matters of public interest. Following lobbying by the NUJ, the recently reformed clause 37 of the digital economy bill does create a defence for publication in the public interest. The IALS report, however, warns that uncertainties remain about how the defence will be interpreted by the courts. It notes: “It is a thorny legal problem about what should be considered as ‘journalism’, and so it is difficult to predict who – or what activity – will benefit from this defence. Additionally, even if journalists are better protected in law, we must not neglect the question of whether sources and whistleblowers are adequately protected.” The report calls for the IPA to be rendered compliant with the UK’s international human rights obligations so journalists and their anonymous sources are sufficiently protected. In a foreword to the report, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian, Katharine Viner, says: “At a time when journalistic protections are more important than ever, the UK parliament has just passed [the Investigatory Powers Act] that brings in one of the most draconian surveillance regimes anywhere in the world. It enables law enforcement and agencies to access journalists’ data without the journalists ever knowing.” Commenting on the Law Commission proposals, Judith Townend and Richard Danbury of the IALS said: “A consolidating act that replicates the deficiencies of already existing [Official Secrets Act] law is no improvement on the existing law, and the absence of a public interest defence in actions that relate to whistleblowing of officially secret material is – in our view – a significant omission.” Gill Phillips, the Guardian’s editorial legal director, who contributed to the report, said: “Existing legal source protection framework [for whistleblowers] in the UK is being eroded by national security and anti-terrorism legislation, undercut by surveillance and jeopardised by the imposition of data retention obligations on third-party intermediaries such as internet service providers and telecommunications companies.” A government spokesperson said: “Far from weakening protections for sources as this report suggests, this government has strengthened safeguards through the Investigatory Powers Act. Now any public body seeking to use communications data to identify a journalist’s source must first gain approval from a senior judge. “We believe in the freedom of the press, and would never do anything to undermine legitimate whistleblowing or investigative journalism – it’s not government policy and never will be.” |
Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. Last week, 90-year-old World War II veteran Arnold Abbott made national headlines when he got busted by cops in Fort Lauderdale, Florida twice in one week—for giving out food to homeless people. While serving a public meal on November 2, Abbott told the Sun-Sentinel, “a policeman pulled my arm and said, ‘Drop that plate right now,’ like it was a gun.” Abbott runs a nonprofit group that regularly distributes food in city parks. Because of an ordinance the city passed this October that restricts feeding the homeless in public, his charity work is now potentially illegal. Abbott was cited again three days later in a different city park. Now the retired jewelry salesman is facing up to 60 days in jail or a $500 fine. And he’s not the only one risking jail time for generosity: 71 cities across the country have passed or tried to pass ordinances that criminalize feeding the homeless, according to Michael Stoops, director of community organizing at the National Coalition for the Homeless. The number of cities trying to pass these so-called “feeding bans” is on the rise, says Stoops. An October report by the National Coalition for the Homeless found that since January of 2013, 22 cities have successfully passed restrictions on food-sharing, and the legislation is pending in nine other cities. (Fort Lauderdale’s measure passed a few days after the Coalition’s report published.) Most of these measures regulate public property use, especially parks, by either requiring permits to share food on public property or banning the practice altogether. Citations for violating these laws are not uncommon. In Orlando in 2011, more than 20 activists got arrested while ladling food for about 35 people in a park, in violation of the city’s restrictions on feeding the homeless. In 2013, police threatened to arrest members of a Raleigh, North Carolina church group who regularly hand out coffee and sausage biscuits to the needy on weekend mornings. Just this May, six people in Daytona Beach, Florida were fined more than $2,000 for feeding homeless people at a park. (The fines were ultimately dropped.) “They don’t want the homeless in the downtown areas. It interferes with business.” A few cities have imposed food safety precautions, like requiring charities to get a food handler’s permit, or mandating that they only serve hot food prepared in approved locations or in the form of pre-packaged meals. These sorts of restrictions regularly shut out donated meals. And in many cases, they seem to be unfairly targeting the homeless: When the issue of food safety was raised during a court hearing on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina’s food-sharing law, the legal director of the state’s ACLU chapter pointed out that similar restrictions weren’t being levied against family reunions in parks, for instance, and that it had never received a single report of homeless people getting sick from the food. A Utah state representative said the same thing about Salt Lake City’s food-sharing law. Stoops says that the uptick in food-sharing restrictions is driven in part by what cities perceive to be the rising visibility of the homeless. “They don’t want the homeless in the downtown areas. It interferes with business,” Stoops says. “Cities have grown tired of the problem, so they think by criminalizing homelessness they’ll get rid of the visible homeless populations.” South Carolina’s ACLU chapter pointed out that it had never received a single report of homeless people getting sick from the food. Data doesn’t back up the notion that homelessness has grown more apparent: Between 2007 and 2014, homelessness decreased by 11 percent, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s point-in-time counts, considered the most scientific census of the homeless. Numbers of the unsheltered homeless, who are typically more visible, fell by 23 percent between 2007 and 2013. Still, visibility persists as an oft-cited motivator for those who support these measures. “The food sharing itself was not necessarily the issue, but there was a host of ancillary behaviors when people gathered after the food sharing,” Kelly McAdoo, the assistant city manager of Hayward, California, told NBC after the city enacted restrictions for food-sharing on public property this past February. She said people would stay in the public park drinking, relieving themselves, and fighting; other residents “wouldn’t feel comfortable coming to these parks.” Others say that food-sharing should be curbed because it enables homeless people to stay homeless. Stoops disagrees with that view. He notes that challenges like lack of job opportunity and mental or physical disability are what cause homelessness—not the occasional free meal. For now, all eyes are still on Fort Lauderdale. Abbott has gotten calls from all over the world, and he confronted the city’s mayor on live TV this past Sunday. Now he’s bracing himself for more altercations with police. Last weekend, Abbott promised to return to the park where he’s served meals to the homeless for more than two decades: “We will continue as long as there is breath in my body.” |
I loves me some patent artwork, and so does a company called PatentWear. The California-based company, which has quietly been around for nearly 20 years but has just started selling online, takes some of history's more interesting product design patent drawings—bike derailleurs, climbing gear, firearms, tools, toys, musical instruments, you name it—and prints them up on T-shirts. Each of our designs takes as many as forty hours to produce, from initial research through the design and art production phases, and finally, to printing. We use an eco-friendly water-based ink process that is long-wearing and, with a with a slightly muted tone, it perfectly captures the essence of our vintage patent art designs—some of which are based on patents that date as far back as the early 1800s. As you can see the linework has been gussied up with color to give it some pop, and the results are pretty catchy. Funny to think that at one point in the products' development process these drawings were jealously guarded secrets, and now you can parade around with them plastered all over your torso for 22 bucks. |
“There is something paradoxical in the view that the conservative should be the outsider,” admits Roger Scruton, a man who nonetheless embodies the paradox completely. Scruton has been Britain’s leading intellectual defender of conservative values in politics, art, religion, ethics and culture for nearly three decades, for which he has been rewarded by marginalisation within academia and ridicule in the left-wing press. “That is just part of the to and fro of public life,” Scruton tells me in the study of his Wiltshire farmhouse, where he lives with his wife and two children, and tends to his hunting horses. Still, “I don’t feel bitter at all,” he insists. “I had a really interesting time being disliked.” Scruton is often portrayed as a fox-hunting arriviste, the grammar school boy done good who is now desperate to be posher than posh. But the coherence of his philosophical work over the years belies such an easy caricature. “There is a unifying intellectual endeavour,” he says of his work, “which is to bring philosophy and culture back together, so that the study of philosophy moves back from being the handmaiden of the sciences – as it’s tended to be in British empiricism and also modern analytical philosophy – to being a meditation on the human condition which borders on literature, art, music and the rest. That’s always been my interest, which is why I started by doing research on aesthetics.” That primary focus is “connected to a sort of cultural conservatism of the TS Eliot type, which moved me at a certain stage in a political direction. That’s to say, I became, like many people of my generation, very disillusioned with the post-war socialist consensus and began looking for other things. It’s never been a primary interest, but I became interested in how to articulate the message about some form of intellectual conservatism for the age in which we live.” Although his work on aesthetics has been primary, it was his third book, The Meaning of Conservatism, which kick-started his life as a public intellectual. “I only wrote it because Ted Honderich asked me to,” he explains. “Penguin thought that they should publish something on conservatism at the time, which was 1979, I think – a long time ago – and Ted looked around and racked his brains for anybody he could think of who was a conservative. He hit on me and that launched me on another career, in a way, as a spokesman for a certain position.” Scruton’s articulation of conservative philosophy stands in great contrast to the mainstream left-liberal political philosophy of the last fifty or so years, as much in its methods and underlying assumptions as in its conclusions. “First of all, conservatism isn’t goal-directed in the way that socialism is, and some, though not all, forms of liberalism are. Articulating it is first of all a matter of describing what it is and bringing out that in it which is loveable, acceptable, or in any case jeopardised by unthinking reform. That’s a huge labour of description and evocation. It must be conducted against a background of professional disillusion with the idea of goals in politics. We can’t know how to proceed towards some ideal in this world and it’s foolish to try, and the evidence of history is that people who have tried have ended up in situations of mass genocide. Isn’t it better to look at what we have and see the ways in which it secures equilibrium, satisfaction happiness etcetera for the people who are involved in it? “That’s a much more difficult thing to do, I think, than to articulate a forward-looking socialist doctrine. If you look at Marx in particular, he says almost nothing about the communist future. It’s just an abstraction. Everything is about how hateful this and this is in the present and anyway history is going to sweep it away. My view is that is morally irresponsible and that really one must begin from an understanding of the virtues and the defects of the thing that one has.” However, it’s one thing to evoke and describe, quite another to justify. How does he do that for conservatism? “Well, someone like Rawls is looking for an abstract unifying principle of justification, which he calls justice, and in my view completely distorts the concept of justice in order to do this. I would say your relation to the social order in which you’re brought up is comparable to your relation to your family. It’s full of imperfections, tensions and so on but it’s not something for which an abstract justification is needed if it is to go on. It is the given, to use the Wittgensteinian mode of looking at it. The important thing is to know how to adjust it, and how, not just to dislike those things that you dislike, but how to love those things which you don’t dislike.” This way of arguing is essentially Burkean. As Scruton put it in his memoir, Gentle Regrets, “Burke brought home to me that our most necessary beliefs may be both unjustified and unjustifiable from our own perspective, and that the attempt to justify them will lead merely to their loss. Replacing them with the abstract rational systems of the philosophers, we may think ourselves more rational and better equipped for life in the modern world. But in fact we are less well equipped, and our new beliefs are far less justified, for the very reason that they are justified by ourselves.” However, can’t one imagine such a way of thinking being used to refuse the franchise to women, or failing to abolish slavery? As a conservative, how does one distinguish the things that actually do need changing from Burke’s “justified prejudices”? “I’m not saying that acceptance of the existing arrangements is the final arbiter of everything,” Scruton replies, “but it’s the thing from which you begin. If you don’t begin from that, there isn’t any possibility of political dialogue, compromise and all the things that make it possible for people to live together. Again, going back to the family example, of course we live by moral principles as well. One might discover that one’s father is after all an embezzler and that must change, and likewise one might discover that one’s society depends upon immoral ways of using people and that must change. It’s reasonable to think that without some totalising principle under which all these adjustments fall. “You’re arguing as though it ought to be easy to argue these things, and it never is, because after all one is talking not just about moral precepts to do with justice, freedom and so on, one is also talking about competing interests. One of the great things about the conservative position – in practical politics as opposed to theoretical philosophy – is that it has always recognised that political solutions are compromises, in which as many of the contending interests as possible are reconciled with each other, so it’s essentially irenic philosophy. It’s not to do with the righteous overbearing the unrighteous and imposing upon them a doctrine which they are rejecting or anything like that.” How does this apply to a practical example, such as Britain’s House of Lords, in which, until recently, people held political office purely because they were born into nobility? “In a case like the House of Lords, I think that obviously there would be the Burkean arguments that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. It’s been around for a long time, obviously it performed all sorts of functions, we didn’t know how it came into existence, it arose by the invisible hand, all the usual things. So if we’re gong to adjust it we must have a very clear conception of what is wrong with it and whether it’s producing the wrong results and the rest. “Then a conservative with my way of thinking would also recognise that in a democratic age, people are filled with the idea that people who have gained power or authority without popular election are somehow illegitimately in that position. Even if you think that’s wrong, which I do, you’ve got to say that nevertheless they represent a vast number in the population. Their interests and view of this must be entered into the equation, and whichever compromise emerges would be the best that one could hope for. That for me is what politics is. That sort of decision making is totally unlike what socialists think politics is. For them there are first principles from which you derive your procedures of action, and then you proceed towards your goal and impose that goal on everybody regardless of whether they want it.” Isn’t the worry that had such a view of politics had been more widespread, then a lot of the things that we now think are perfectly laudable would have been harder to bring about because there would have been a greater presumption against change? “Sure. Some things would have been harder to bring about but some unwise changes would have been resisted. Look at the collapse of the education system. If conservatives had entered more fully into the compromises, which they didn’t, because the Labour party was determined to exclude that voice, then we wouldn’t have, I think, the breakdown in school education which we’re witnessing today.” The decline of standards in all sorts of areas of life is, of course, another conservative theme which citics like to mock. But when it comes to matters of what is usually called high culture, and Scruton simply calls culture, the importance of maintaining the highest standards in the arts is one which Scruton defends with some thoroughness. So why does culture matter so much to him? “I came from a background where culture wasn’t very significant. Lip service would be paid to it, but there weren’t many books around, we never went to the theatre or anything like that. Music only arrived by accident when my father inherited a piano. But when I discovered it, it made such an impact on me, I realised, here is another vision of life, this is a call, and I’ve got to follow this. This is infinitely more interesting than anything around me. I’ve always thought that and then that raises the question, how do you justify that? Not just living like that but living off it, from writing, teaching, all those ways in which one can make culture into a way of life. So I’ve always had this question, what is the benefit – not to you who are involved to it, because that is like asking what is the benefit of the person you love, that is your existential commitment – but what is the benefit to others who don’t have it and maybe don’t want it? Why should governments give money to support the arts when it’s a minority taste? Shouldn’t they be giving money to support museums of pop music or whatever, and the Arts Council has been very influenced by that. “You have to find some way of describing the benefits that my being cultured confers on those who aren’t, and that is a hard task, but not an impossible one. It’s like asking, what is the benefit for the mass of people of the priest’s vow of chastity? They’re not going to vow chastity – he’s doing this by way of cementing his own personal relation with God. But what is the benefit for others? And we know that actually, anthropologically, there is a benefit. There is somebody who deliberately absents himself from felicity in order to set an example, to be immune to certain kinds of relationships, to stand as father and advisor to a whole community. I think that is the role that high culture has played in our society, the theatre in particular, but also concert-gong and the rest. A lot of people whom it has never directly touched it has indirectly touched, by giving moral and spiritual sustenance to the teacher in the primary school for instance, or to the person who is going to be prepared to set up a little youth orchestra in the village or an amateur theatrical group. It’s preparing an elite for a sacrificial role which benefits others, and that’s the way I look at it.” As often happens with Scruton, one is sometimes taken aback by the high moral tone of some of his language: a sacrificial role? Surely purveyors of culture derive great benefits from their involvement in it? “I get a tremendous benefit, but also I lead a studious life and work extremely hard at getting the right word, the right sentence and so on, which I needn’t bother with if I didn’t have that sense that this is of intrinsic value. And if I didn’t do that but just wrote sloppily I wouldn’t be able to propagate any message and maybe that would have negative impacts on others.” The question that obviously arises here is whether this view entails a distasteful elitism. Just as Socrates’s maxim that the unexamined life is not worth living throws into question the value of many ordinary, unreflective lives, doesn’t Scruton’s view privilege the life of the cultural connoisseur over simpler, everyday folk? “Culture is another name for the deepest examination of the human condition, in a way. Nobody would accuse Socrates of snobbery when he said that, although of course he was addressing upper-class youths in Athens and all the rest. I think there’s no reason why someone shouldn’t say this, because it could be true, and one wants to know how, in that case, others can enjoy the benefits of knowing something about themselves and their condition. “I take the view that this is one of the things religion does for people. It is a channel through which that tradition of examination of the human condition can pass its wisdom down to ordinary people and illuminate their lives, and I think the loss of religion makes it more obvious just what people lose through not having any culture as well. The danger is that people will just get lost in a morass of addictive pleasures and not ask themselves the questions about the meaning of their own lives and not make the effort to make themselves interesting to others, so that human relations begin to crumble. I think we’re actually seeing that. If you look round the society in which we are, it’s not in a happy state. Although it has everything materially, people are finding it very difficult to make themselves interesting to each other.” Scruton is well aware that many good, decent people are also uncultured, and argues that asserting the moral value of culture is not at all refuted by this. “There isn’t any direct connection between high culture and morality at the level of the individual person. That’s why in the book Culture Counts I wrestled with the thought that it is more like science than we think: there’s a collective attempt to preserve a kind of knowledge, knowledge about what to feel and the legacy of social emotion. Of course, you can acquire that and pass it on without yourself benefiting morally from it or being changed morally, just as people can do with science. Maybe that’s what it’s all about – this legacy of emotional knowledge is something of vital importance to all of us, especially to those who don’t consciously have it. That was the thought, and actually it’s quite an original thought, because nobody has tried to justify culture in that way. “These are speculative connections and I may be wrong, but one shouldn’t be afraid of entertaining the thought that I’m right. It’s not snobbery. It’s like saying, when Christ said on the cross, ‘Forgive them father, for they know not what they do,’ that wasn’t snobbery, but he was expressing a massively superior vision to those around him.” Does his view entail that good, uncultured people depend for their goodness on high culture elsewhere in society? “It’s an interesting suggestion. All we know from our predicament as modern westerners is that there has been this huge educational inheritance which we’re somewhat throwing away at the moment, in which science, mathematics, literature, music and fine art, history, and languages have all been mixed together and have fertilised each other. We can’t say that one bit of it could be extracted and survive without the rest. But we can look at parts of the world that have had a high culture and lost it, the Middle East being a very obvious example, and see how bereft it leaves people. There isn’t in the modern Middle East and Islam that ability to compromise, to see the human condition in its totality, to abstract from one’s own immediate concerns that we have. Once, of course, all that high culture was there flourishing, especially of course in Persia in the 13th century.” Scruton even argues that there is a moral benefit to music – not just programme music or opera, but pure music. “I’m not the first person to say this, because Plato in the Republic raises this question: how should people sing and dance in order to produce an orderly social condition? I would say that music is something which has a tremendous power: it has a power to silence us and to take us along with it. So there’s a good question, what is it making us do? “One answer is that the first thing it is making us do is to move in time to it, and adapt our body rhythms, and the emotional rhythms that go with it, to what we’re listening to. This is obviously a way of rehearing all kinds of things that we wouldn’t normally rehearse because we’re too busy doing other things. So it does matter what kind of music you listen to, because it will implant its movements in your soul. That’s something that Plato said in a completely different idiom, but I think it’s true, and of course the psychologists think this too, because they’ve done all this empirical research on what happens to children brought up listening to Mozart as opposed to listening to pop music and all the rest, so we know it has a hugely differential effect on their moral and intellectual development. But I would say as adults, there are great differences between those who enter into a state of frenzy through music and those who, on the contrary, enter a state of meditation. These are character-forming experiences.” Scruton is famously, or notoriously, critical of popular music. He was even successfully sued once by the Pet Shop Boys for suggesting in An Intelligent Person’s Guide To Modern Culture that “serious doubts arise as to whether the performers made more than a minimal contribution to the recording, which owes its trade mark to subsequent sound engineering, designed precisely to make it unrepeatable.” I put it to him that in any genre you’ll find there are always some people of great creativity and artistry. How prepared is he to overcome the initial barriers to appreciating this and give apparently raw or violent styles of music a go? “I accept that. I have actually been listening to quite a bit of heavy metal lately, and Metallica, I think, is genuinely talented. ‘Master of Puppets’ I think has got something genuinely both poetic – violently poetic – and musical. Every now and then something like that stands out and you can see that people have got no other repertoire and have a very narrow range of expression, but they’ve hit on something where they are saying something which is not just about themselves. Pop music is so concentrated on the self and the performer that it’s very rare that that happens, I think. It never happens with Oasis or The Verve. It did happen much more of course with the Beatles, and in the old American songbook, Hoagy Carmichael and Cole Porter and all that. That was a popular music which was about communication of often quite gentle feelings. So I’m not as prejudiced as I seem. I would like to be more prejudiced because it would prevent me from listening to this stuff.” I was reminded of a Guardian article last year in which intellectuals were asked for their confessions, most of which were no such thing: you’re not going to think worse of John Carey, for example, because he admits to liking a nice cup of tea and a sit down. Scruton alone admitted something that flies in the face of much of what he has stood up for: He finds Elvis irresistible. Is that right? “I do find him irresistible, yes.” But you feel you shouldn’t? “Well, it is all below the belt with Elvis. I was slightly tongue in cheek.” This sense of humour is a side of Scruton that is often missed. In his latest book, Culture Counts, Scruton devotes several pages to the importance of jokes and comedy. However, what a lot of people find almost comically impossible in Scruton is the high seriousness his approach generally takes. We have become too ironic to take ourselves as seriously as Scruton would like us to. “It’s true that people don’t live up to my expectations. This is one reason why we laugh. Laughter is in a great many cases a recognition of our falling short from an ideal. If we didn’t have ideals, humour would all be black. I still think that it would be a bad thing for mankind if people didn’t make the effort that I and other people make to paint ideal portraits of the human condition.” But laughing at falling short of an ideal is still possible if you don’t hold that ideal. In the Monty Python films, for example, much of the humour is that there is this background of grand narratives – the quest for the Holy Grail, the life of Christ, and so on – but the reality of human life is nothing like as noble as these stories we tell of ourselves. “That is true. In fairness to me it should be said that my writing, however high-toned it is, is also quite humorous at times. It’s more ironical than jokey, I guess. I certainly don’t want to look as though I’m imposing some kind of solemn sermon. But I only ever say what I think and perhaps what I think is a little bit too demanding.” One example of this irony is a passage in Gentle Regrets where he talks about how there is something grotesque about someone adopting a conservatism which really should be a matter of inheritance. The passage gave me the slightly sad sense of a man who had rejected the liberal academic home he would have been most at home in, but who now lives among conservatives who sense he isn’t quite “one of us” either. “That passage was written slightly with tongue in cheek. It was a chapter on why I became a conservative and was written with a sufficient irony to make the narrative plausible. Without in any way exaggerating the problems I had, it is nevertheless the case that it was damn stupid to become a conservative. Had it not been for the fact that I was convinced of the truth of the position I would certainly have dropped it straight away, because in the culture of those days – remember this was the seventies – it just isolated me from the university community and much of the way of life of people of my class, interests and outlook. So I was being a little ironical and looking at myself from the outside as a comic figure. I didn’t want to describe myself as a tragic figure.” Scruton’s problems with academic life, however, are more than just political. He finds the whole business of most contemporary Anglo-American philosophy to be sterile and dull. “I was properly trained in Cambridge and I would never want to dismiss the value of that training and the real achievements of people like Wittgenstein, obviously, who is very much one of my culture heroes, and the analytical method generally. I think it clarifies so much in philosophy which was unclear and in particular swept away – well it should have swept away, but alas it didn’t – the worst kind of phenomenology and Heidegerrian nonsense and all that, and put serious enquiry in the place of it. “But the problem is it does have a relentlessly negative effect, because there is no attempt, or very rarely is there an attempt, to give a synthetic view of what the world is for us, what the world is in itself, and to fit the human being into this picture in its full complexity. That really is all that I meant by saying that you’ve got to put culture back in the picture. “You can make a contribution in analytical philosophy without making any connections with the broader culture. The question that interests me though is whether you can use what you know from analytical philosophy to help understand the broader culture, and I think you can. That’s what I’ve always tried to do, certainly in my work in aesthetics. My book on the philosophy of music is very analytical but is totally about the nature and meaning of the music and culture. I think it benefits from being analytical. I wouldn’t ever want to repudiate that discipline.” Interestingly, you hear many similar things being said within academic philosophy these days from people who are very far from Scruton politically. It would be ironic indeed if the profession that once pushed him away were now moving closer to his way of doing things. Rather than the prodigal son returning home, home may be moving closer to the son. Julian Baggini’s latest book is Complaint (Profile). Originally published in Issue 42 of TPM: The Philosophers’ Magazine. |
Firebrand progressive activist Anna Eskamani intends to file Monday to run for the House District 47 seat in the Florida House. The seat is expected to be vacated next year as Republican incumbent state Rep. Mike Miller of Winter Park runs for Congress instead. Eskamani, director of external affairs for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, said she has been planning since December to run in HD 47, a district that covers east-central Orlando including downtown, Winter Park, and much of east-central Orange County. She is 27, but has established herself as a leader of Orlando’s progressive Democrats, and is known for her passionate, scene-stealing speeches at most local left-wing protests. “My commitment is to serving this district as a strong, visionary, bold, Democrat that our district is thirsty for, hungry and starving for,” she told Orlando-Rising.com Monday in confirming her intention to run. She has a twin sister, Ida Eskamani, who is legislative aide to another young, firebrand, progressive, Democrat, state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of adjacent House District 49. The Eskamanis are daughters of Iranian immigrants whom Anna Eskamani said were working class, employed in a donut shop, K-Mart, and other low-wage jobs as they grew up and attended the University of Central Florida, along with a brother. Anna Eskamani is just now completing a doctorate in public affairs, and has two master’s degrees, and a bachelor’s degree, all from UCF. An unabashed progressive, Eskamani said Democrats need to be like Republicans, who aren’t afraid to be too conservative. Her platform is likely to include a $15 minimum wage, moving away from tax incentives for businesses, strong schools, access to health care, emphasis on infrastructure and public transportation, and safe streets. She also believes it is time for a major youth movement in the party, and said she’ll seek to do as a representative what she’s sought to do as an activist and community organizer, to inspire young people to work on campaigns and run themselves. “House District 47 is an incredible district and gets to the heart of Central Florida, of who we are,” she said. “This is where Pulse is. So this has been the center of so much trauma and triumph for Central Florida. Growing up in Orlando I have seen the community’s growth change challenges. And I understand its potential. And that’s the direction I want to go.” The district includes much of the young, urbanized core of Orlando. It also includes the more Republican Winter Park. “House District 47 deserves a fighter. This is a swing district in the swing corridor in the state, the I-4 corridor. It can’t be a district that swings anymore,” she said. “My intention is to make this a sold Democratic district moving forward, to stay in the D-column as we need to build power across the state.” |
by Judith Curry A few things that caught my eye this past week. AR5 SOD leaked Andy Revkin comments: A WikiLeaks-style Web dump of drafts of the 2013 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provides fresh evidence that the organization’s policies and procedures are a terrible fit for an era in which transparency will increasingly be enforced on organizations working on consequential energy and environmental issues. I’ve downloaded the SPM and a few of the chapters. The extreme overconfidence of many of their conclusions is bewildering. More on this in future posts. Bill Clinton and Richard Muller For those of you that are Richard Muller watchers, you will find this interesting: Bill Clinton Praises His New Climate Change Hero. Excerpts from the article: On December 7, President Bill Clinton appeared in Silicon Valley and talked at length about climate change, referring to Berkeley scientist Dr. Richard Muller as “a hero of mine.” In a Fresh Dialogues interview, Muller agreed to share his reaction to the hero worship and answer some climate change questions. You might be surprised to learn three things about Dr. Muller: 1. He says Hurricane Sandy cannot be attributed to climate change. 2. He suggests individually reducing our carbon footprint is pointless — we need to “think globally and act globally,” by encouraging the switch from coal to gas power in China and developing nations. He’s a fan of “clean fracking.” 3. He says climate skeptics deserve our respect, not our ridicule. Muller said he hopes that Berkeley Earth will be able to coordinate with the Clinton Foundation on their mutual goal of mitigating global warming. Here’s a summary of our interview: (more at Fresh Dialogues) van Diggelen: You wrote in the New York Times that the Berkeley Earth analysis will help settle the scientific debate regarding global warming and its human causes — how so? Muller: Science is that small realm of knowledge on which we can expect and obtain agreement. I felt that many of the skeptics had raised legitimate issues. They are deserving of respect, not the kind of ridicule they have been subjected to. We have addressed the scientific issues in the most direct and objective way, and just as I have adjusted my conclusions, I expect that many of them will too. van Diggelen: What’s your message to climate change skeptics? Muller: Most of your skepticism is still valid. When something extraordinary happens in weather, such as the accidental occurrence of Hurricane Sandy hitting New Jersey and New York City just at the peak of tides — many people attribute the event to “climate change.” That’s not a scientific conclusion, and it is almost certainly wrong. Hurricanes are not increasing due to human causes (actually, they have been decreasing over the past 250 years). Tornadoes are not increasing due to human causes. (They too have been decreasing.) So please continue to be skeptical about most of the exaggerations you will continue to hear! Proper skepticism is at the heart of science, and attempts to suppress such skepticism represent the true anti-science movement. JC comment: I like Bill Clinton’s ‘climate hero’ a lot more than I like Al Gore’s climate heroes. NOAA’s Jane Lubchenco to step down From Science: Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), announced on Tuesday that she plans to step down from her post in February. In an open letter to the NOAA family , she cites the following accomplishments (presented in summary form): 1. Ending over-fishing, rebuilding depleted stocks, and returning fishing to profitability; 2. Strengthening the Nation’s environmental satellite infrastructure because it underpins national security, economic activity and public safety by providing data essential to our short- and long-term weather forecasts; 3. Delivering life-saving weather forecasts and warnings and strengthening our ability to do so in the future 4. Helping create the first National Ocean Policy 5. Leveling the playing field for our fishermen 6. Creating a new generation of climate services to promote public understanding, support mitigation and adaptation efforts, enable smart planning, and promote regional climate partnerships; 7. Investing in coastal communities and their future resilience through more strategic and better integrated conservation and restoration; 8. Better serving recreational anglers and boaters 9. Strengthening science with our first Scientific Integrity Policy, doubling the number of senior scientific positions, establishing a new Council of Fellows, reinstating the Chief Scientist position, supporting AAAS and Sea Grant Fellows and promoting climate, fishery, ocean acidification, weather and ecosystem science; 10. Responding effectively as “one-NOAA” to disasters such as Deepwater Horizon, the Japanese earthquake/tsunami/radiation/marine debris catastrophe, Hurricanes Irene, Isaac and Sandy 11. Bringing experience, scientific and legal expertise to bear on the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe 12. Championing NOAA’s lean, but effective, education program 13. Creating NOAA’s first Aquaculture Policy and a National Shellfish Initiative; 14. Setting a stronger course for endangered species conservation . 15. Streamlining regulations to save taxpayers time and money and improve efficiency. 16. Increasing effectiveness and decreasing costs of corporate services such as acquisitions and IT 17. Developing and implementing a “One-NOAA” Arctic Vision and Strategy and Task Force 18. Strengthening NOAA’s fishery enforcement program by implementing policy, oversight, personnel and procedural changes to increase effectiveness and transparency; 19. Embracing social media, effective communications and communications training to share NOAA science, information and decisions with our diverse constituents, stakeholders and partners 20. Ensuring all our policies, regulations and statements are consistent with the law and legal best practices. JC comment: Oh my. The nation’s weather satellite observing system is in a shambles, the weather forecasting capability has fallen far behind the Europeans, Climate Services is dead. NOAA is not in good shape. CLOUD Yale Environment 360 has a really nice article entitled Creating Clouds in the Lab to Better Understand Climate. The article is about the CERN cloud nucleation experiments, and consists of an interview with British particle physicist Jasper Kirby, who leads the project. The whole interview is fascinating, here are some excerpts: e360: You were saying that aerosols and clouds are the biggest uncertainty right now in our knowledge of mankind’s influence on climate change. Kirkby: The big warming contribution of mankind is greenhouse gases. At the same time, mankind has been increasing aerosol particle production by emitting various gases into the atmosphere, and these have been cooling the planet. But we don’t know how much they’ve been cooling the planet, because we really don’t understand the fundamental science behind how these vapors turn into particles and then grow into the cloud condensation nuclei. So CLOUD will help reduce that uncertainty and really sharpen the scientific basis and understanding of the subject. Now, the other area where CLOUD will reduce a very big question mark in current climate change is to what extent there can be a natural contribution to the current warming. The current understanding is that natural warming is very, very small. There’s a short-term contribution from volcanoes, which only lasts a few years. There’s also thought to be a small brightening CLOUD will help clear up to what extent there is a natural contribution to current warming.” of the sun over the course of the twentieth century. But apart from that, there’s thought to be nothing else going on — natural contribution — to climate change. On the other hand, if you look at earlier times, you do see changes in the climate that are comparable to the warming that is going on now. But we don’t know what the mechanism is. So at the very least this is a question mark. And at the very most, there could be a contribution that is just unaccounted for at the moment. Whatever it is, we don’t know what the answer is. And we have to settle it before we can really with certainty say we understand what’s going on now. e360: And what does settling it require? Kirkby: It requires a lot of observations. I was at an international conference on aerosol in September and I made a comment that we’re getting to the stage with CLOUD where we will understand the processes extremely well, but we still won’t be able to reduce the errors because we don’t have good enough atmospheric observations of what the concentrations of these vapors are in the atmosphere versus altitude. So, there has to be a combined approach where the lab experiments like CLOUD improve the scientific understanding, but at the same time the observational measurements sharpen the knowledge of what’s in the atmosphere. We’ll take care of the laboratory side, I believe, but other people have to also take care of the observations in the atmosphere. e360: Let’s assume that cosmic rays don’t have an effect on clouds. What does that mean? Kirkby: It will settle a particular question, which to my mind can only be settled by experimental data. There’s a huge amount of opinion one way or another on the blogosphere that says “cosmic rays have no effect on the climate” to “cosmic rays do everything in the climate.” And no matter how passionately people believe this view or that view, we can’t settle it by energetic debate. We have to settle it by experimental measurements. We will settle that question, so there will be a firm scientific basis for answering that question by the end of CLOUD, as opposed to a gazillion opinions… There have been many observations for solar climate variability, but no established mechanism. Cosmic rays are essentially one of the leading candidates — for me, the leading candidate — but if we find that there’s nothing there, we simply eliminate that as a mechanism. Who knows? We really don’t know at this stage. |
Sometimes it’s nice being wrong. Contrary to what I predicted, ZFS will be supported in Debian Squeeze using the official installer. This means that Debian Squeeze will be one of the first GNU distributions to support ZFS. In fact, even though ZFS support didn’t make it to Debian-Installer beta1 by the time it was released, it is now available in the netboot images (this happens because netboot images fetch newer installer components from the internet). As a consequence of this my unofficial installer can now be considered obsolete. So why did I say something that turned out to be grossly inaccurate? It’s not due to anyone’s fault really. At that time, the version of Parted that included ZFS detection hadn’t migrated to Squeeze. The unblock policy didn’t appear to allow this migration. However, the Release Team kindly decided to make an exception that allowed this, and after Parted had migrated the changes in Debian-Installer itself went in quite smoothly. Advertisements Share this: Share Twitter Facebook Reddit Email Like this: Like Loading... Related |
He further elaborated to The Charlotte Observer that he was not opposed to businesses working with LGBT community members, just those that were using shareholder money for pro-LGBT ad campaigns. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association did not respond to CNBC's requests for comment at press time. Later Tuesday afternoon, the Observer reported that Graham has chosen BB&T to take over the accounts pulled from Wells Fargo, even though that bank has sponsored some gay-pride events, including a fundraiser for Miami Beach pride. Reached Tuesday evening, a BB&T spokeswoman told CNBC that the bank tries to help its clients achieve economic success regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. "As a company and a culture, BB&T embraces diversity and inclusion for our associates and in all aspects of our business," said Cynthia Williams, BB&T's chief of communications. "However, we do not take formal positions on non-banking or social issues." Graham's view might be the minority in this country, especially among youth. Support for LGBT rights is at an all-time high. According to a May 2014 Gallup poll, 55 percent of Americans believe gay marriage should be legal. Support among those 18 to 29 years old climbed to 78 percent. Read More W Hotels, Jennifer Hudson stand together on gay marriage "From a cultural standpoint in our country right now, LGBT-inclusive everything is becoming more the norm and the expectation as opposed to the opposite point of view," said Andy Bagnall, a vice president at marketing agency Prime Access. "You have the popular opinion in terms of what's happening culturally in this company. The smart advertisers right now are at the forefront of that curve. " And from a business perspective, companies could be wrong to ignore the LGBT community. Marketing firm Witeck Communications estimated that the purchasing power of U.S. LGBT adults was $830 billion in 2013, despite the fact that just 3.5 percent of the population identifies as part of the community. For comparison, Hispanic purchasing power is estimated to hit $1.5 trillion per Nielsen, but the group makes up about 17 percent of the U.S. "There is a complete cultural shift occurring over the acceptance of the LGBT community," LGBT marketing and communications specialist Jenn T. Grace said. "Corporate America is seeing that if they don't include the LGBT community they are going to be the ones left behind." Other brands have included the LGBT community in their campaigns to a majority of positive press. Hallmark's "Put Your Heart To Paper" 2015 Valentine's Day campaign featured a lesbian couple. Absolut Vodka launched an "Express your Pride" campaign recently, calling on social media users to show their colors. Tiffany showcased a real-life gay couple in one of its "Will You?" ads. Read More Financials dominate LGBT workplace inclusion index And, when Mondelez's Honey Maid received hateful comments for its "This Is Wholesome" campaign, which included all kinds of parents from single dads to gay families, it printed out all those negative statements on paper and fashioned them into the word "love." The response has been viewed more than 4.3 million times on YouTube. What makes the ad especially powerful for Wells Fargo is that the banking and financial services company has had a strong history of supporting LGBT rights, Grace pointed out. It is active in sponsoring community events and nonprofit organizations, and is well known for providing employee resources and internal leadership training to help LGBT employees. "For Wells Fargo to be publicly showing equality fits with what they do," Grace said. Wells Fargo's Williams said there's no plans yet to include more LGBT community members in future ad campaigns. However, the company does not regret its decision. "It definitely is along the lines of our vision of values and foundationally what we think when it comes to diversity and inclusion," she said. —Ryan Ruggiero contributed to this report. |
When the Brexit referendum result was announced on 24 June 2016, Europe was in shock . On the same day, the city of Frankfurt, Germany, launched a website full of information about the Rhein-Main area, clearly targeted at UK businesses panicking in the aftermath of the unexpected referendum outcome. However, Frankfurt is not the only city hoping to profit from Brexit relocations and many believe Paris, Amsterdam or Dublin to be the more viable candidates. With its 700,000 inhabitants 'Mainhatten' is considered too small, too provincial and too boring to do serious business with in the UK. But Germany's financial centre seems confident that cheaper office rents, a lower cost of living and its central location in Europe will convince business to move some of their employees to the city anyway. |
speak a little plain truth about Sir Henry Parkes' extraor- Sir,-I was glad to see your correspondent "Historicus " affect, that all State assistance to Denominational schools just a session or two back that I introduced a motion to the for the storm raised by Archbishop Vaughan. Why, it was tional schools, and I firmly believe he would do so still but attempt to do away with State assistance to Denomina- Education Act. He has always strenuously resisted every nent of the very reforms embodied in the present eight years Sir Henry Parkes has been a bitter oppo- respondent's statements on this subject. For the last six or advocate of secular education, is corroborative of your cor- our present Education Act. My experience, as a life-long dinary claims as being the sole author of the principles of Line 2.2.0 should, on a given date, cease. On that occasion Sir Henry Line 2.2.1 Parkes opposed my motion, and went into an elabo- Line 2.2.2 rate defence of Denominational school, pointing Line 2.2.3 to the Rev. Mr. Smith's Denominational school, and ejacu- Line 2.2.4 lating, "Would it not be a scandal and a shame to destroy Line 2.2.5 so fine a school, &c.?" On that occasion, Sir Henry Line 2.2.6 Parkes' speech was a speech such as might, with great pro- Line 2.2.7 priety, have come from Mr. Alexander Stuart or Mr. Line 2.2.8 Gordon ; neither of those gentlemen could have made a Line 2.2.9 more partisan defence of Denominational schools, eulogizing Line 2.2.10 and defending them in every possible way. On numerous Line 2.2.11 other occasions Sir Henry Parkes resisted reform, Line 2.2.12 and I for one must deliberately assert that for Line 2.2.13 anything, in the shape of reform, now attained, we have Line 2.2.14 nothing whatever to thank Sir Henry Parkes for, unless it Line 2.2.15 be his tardy agreement with the views of the reformors Line 2.2.16 when he saw there was nothing else for it. Comparing Line 2.2.17 these truths with Sir Henry Parkes' wholesale claims, as Line 2.2.18 contained in his Ashfield speech, where he asserts that no Line 2.2.19 man but himself had any hand in the educational reform Line 2.2.20 we have now arrived at, I appeal to every advocate of secular Line 2.2.21 education in the House to say whether they ever heard, in this Line 2.2.22 world, of any claim so utterly groundless and preposterous. Line 2.2.23 So far had Sir Henry Parkes gone in his advocacy of the Line 2.2.24 justice of maintaining Denominational schools, that I had Line 2.2.25 long looked upon him as belonging to the ranks of the |
Story highlights Two students' confrontation over dreadlocks sparked conversation One SF State student says the other was appropriating black culture with his hair The other student contends that dreadlocks don't belong to just one culture (CNN) Black hair is a touchy subject tied to beauty, identity and politics. Whether it's Afros and black power or cornrows and hip-hop, hairstyles associated with African-American culture can make a statement before their wearers say a word. So when whites choose a traditionally black hairstyle such as dreadlocks, it adds another layer of complexity to the issue. Take the latest case in point: a viral video showing a black woman calling out a white male student at San Francisco State University for his dreadlocks. The video touched off debate over whether dreadlocks on white people constitute cultural appropriation or appreciation, a fashion faux pas or some combination thereof. Ok Twitter serious question was it ever that serious that now no one can wear dreadlocks unless you black?https://t.co/L5Cm4hI6LD — danielgotskillz (@danielgotskillz) March 29, 2016 Neither party responded to CNN's requests for comment, so there's no way to tell what happened before or after the 46-second video. Their conversation led to a physical confrontation that is being investigated by the university. The tense encounter focuses on the origin of dreadlocks, which both parties seem to agree is Egypt. The woman contends that dreadlocks belong to "my culture," and the man says "it doesn't matter." Dreadlocks are essentially entangled locks of hair achieved through various means of rolling hair. It's hard to tell who had them first, because early humans, lacking combs or styling products, probably roamed the planet with matted hair. Multiple sources credit the Vedic scriptures of Indian origin with documenting the first evidence of twisted locks of hair as early as 1800 B.C. Read More |
Josh Miller/CNET Whether it's a Google Glass store or a showroom for all things Google X, one thing is clear: No one will be visiting Google Barge anytime soon. The once-mysterious barge, currently sitting idle alongside a pier at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, is officially "on hiatus," CNET has learned. And while Google is likely still planning on completing the project, it probably won't be finished until well into 2014, long after it was originally supposed to be up and running. "A variety of senior BCDC staff members have met with Google's representatives to learn about its plans," said Brad McCrea, director of regulatory affairs for the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. "We have learned that the barge is still under construction, albeit in a hiatus, and likely will not be completed until late spring 2014. In addition, Google is still exploring options for how to use the barge when it is completed." Added McCrea, "It's our understanding that the design changes are to the interior of the vessel, as requested by the Coast Guard." When CNET first visited Treasure Island in October, prior to breaking news of Google's ties to the large structure built out of dozens of shipping containers atop a freight barge there, many workers were spotted on and around it. But in numerous visits since then, CNET has never seen anyone except a security guard onboard. Last month, the San Francisco Chronicle obtained an official proposal made by Google to the Port of San Francisco that laid out the tech giant's plans for the barge project. The proposal called for a floating temporary showroom for Google products and projects that would make various stops around the bay before departing for Southern California. It also suggested that the Google Barge -- called "San Francisco Studio" in the documents -- would be making its first stop at San Francisco's Fort Mason in November 2013. Although the Coast Guard told CNET on October 31 that it "did not stop any work on" Google Barge, activity seems to have paused almost immediately following a Coast Guard inspection which took place on October 23. And as of this writing, the project is still covered in scaffolding and dark netting, with no work being done on it. The Coast Guard has yet to offer any additional details in response to CNET questions about its inspection of the Google Barge. Still, the most likely possibility is that the agency called into question the barge's suitability for being visited by members of the public, which Google's proposal made clear was a major goal of the project. Scrutiny from a second public agency At the same time, BCDC has said repeatedly that Google has yet to officially request a permit to dock the barge in San Francisco, something that may well be required under state law. Perhaps even more problematic, BCDC is now considering whether it will require Google to obtain a permit if it wants to continue construction at the Treasure Island site. As a result, it seems likely that, facing multiple concerns from two separate public agencies, the hiatus is self-imposed while Google regroups. All Google has said about the project is that "although it's still early days and things may change, we're exploring using the barge as an interactive space where people can learn about new technology." The company did not respond to a CNET request for comment today. For BCDC's part, its willingness to grant a permit for Google Barge is dependent on its determining that the project is not "fill in the bay," a term meaning a vessel moored there for too long. But problems may be awaiting Google well before it is ready to bring the barge into San Francisco and have the public aboard. McCrea said that BCDC has begun an investigation, which should be complete within "a few weeks," into whether Google needs a permit to complete work on the barge project at Treasure Island. "At that time, we will discuss with Google whether or not the barge can be constructed there or will have to be completed at a different location. Should Google decide that its plans include using the barge in the Bay, BCDC will ensure that Google complies with all of BCDC's applicable laws and policies that protect the Bay as a precious state resource." |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The strawberries were on sale in England and Wales during summer 2011 Tesco has been fined £300,000 after admitting it misled customers over whether strawberries on sale were genuinely "half price". Trading standards officers said the £1.99 strawberries on sale in Sheldon, Birmingham, in 2011 had not been for sale at £3.99 long enough. The store charged the same amounts at its other stores in England and Wales. Tesco admitted four counts of unfair commercial practice at Birmingham Crown Court. Judge Michael Chambers said the case was "shocking by its very nature" because consumers had a "high degree of trust" in national chains. He said the promotion was "patently wrong and misleading". Tesco has apologised for what happened. The supermarket was told it would also have to pay £65,000 in costs. The judge said he had taken into account the financial damage caused to Tesco's reputation when considering the fine. 'Employee error' Birmingham City Council, which brought the prosecution, said Tesco had sold strawberries for one week each at £3.99 and then £2.99 in 2011. The £300,000 fine may seem like a drop in the ocean to a company as large as Tesco, but it represents a significant part of its profits during the period in question. The court was told that Tesco made £2.3m on sales of British strawberries during the summer of 2011, but those figures were similar to 2010 when there wasn't a summer-long half price promotion, and so it's fair to say that Tesco made far less in extra profit. The judge also said the Supermarket couldn't use the practice of "flushing" as an excuse because of the length of time the promotion was in place. "Flushing" is how retailers describe selling goods at a significant discount when there is a glut and the market is flooded. It said the supermarket then sold the fruit at £1.99 over June, July and August 2011, labelling the 400g containers as "half price". Under the pricing practices guide, the length of the new lower price sale should not be longer than the old higher price was available for. The same prices were used at all the supermarket's 2,300 stores in England and Wales. The case did not apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland because they come under different legal jurisdictions. The price of the strawberries was raised with trading standards by Sheldon customer Daphne Smallman, who has since died but was described in court as "tenacious" in her argument against Tesco. The council agreed with her that the "overall presentation" of the offer misled or was likely to deceive the "average consumer". Trading standards officials said it was not only a victory for Birmingham customers, "it also has wider benefits for all consumers across the country". Sajeela Naseer, head of trading standards at Birmingham City Council, said: "It was the council's case, confirmed by Tesco's guilty pleas today, that this was a misleading offer which deceived the purchasers of strawberries over many weeks during the summer of 2011. "Food pricing, presentation and the depiction of promotional practices is a crucial issue for retailers, and in turn, consumers." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What counts as a fair "half price" offer? Birmingham's Head of Trading Standards Sajeela Naseer explains The court heard Tesco had apologised and said it accepted it had fallen well below its normally high standards. The supermarket said it was not a case of "deliberate mis-selling" but an error made by an individual employee. In a statement, Tesco said it "apologised sincerely for this mistake". It added: "We sell over 40,000 products in our stores, with thousands on promotion at any one time, but even one mistake is one too many. "Since then, to make sure this doesn't happen again we've given colleagues additional training and reminded them of their responsibilities to ensure we always adhere to the guidelines on pricing." |
The project has the blessing of the surviving members Fab news for any fans of John, Paul, George and Ringo - Ron Howard has been confirmed as director of the official Beatles biopic documentary. Rest assured, it's likely to be suitably epic. The movie, which will tell the story of the Fab Four, has been in the works for a while, but has now been given the go ahead by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison. With Howard at the helm, the movie will take in an epic format, following the band from their days at the Cavern Club, all the way to the closing rooftop show. As for the plot of the film, it'll follow the band through the touring years, from 1963 to 1966, focussing on the Beatlesmania concept of the era. In order to lend the film a more genuine edge, Howard is asking fans to send in any rare or unseen footage and photos of the band from the 60's, in order to help capture what it was like to be there. Watch footage of the Beatles' rooftop show below Howard said that he was "excited" and "honoured" to be working on the project, refferring to it as an "astounding story of four men who stormed the world". He added: “Their impact on popular culture and the human experience cannot be exaggerated.” Howard previously directed Rush, a biopic of James Hunt and Niki Lauda, that combined archive footage with live action. As a film it worked incredibly well and is likely to mirror the format that will be seen in the official Beatles movie. Below: The Best (And Worst) Music Biopics Of All Time |
When Russell T Davies’ twin series Cucumber and Banana aired at the start of the year, there was one headline among the threesomes and golf-club murders that was quietly significant. Bethany Black, a minor recurring character as Helen, became the first transgender actor to play a transgender character in a British TV serial. If we’re experiencing the tipping point in trans acceptance and visibility, the UK has lagged somewhat behind the US, where Laverne Cox has become the breakout star of Orange Is The New Black. But Black (Bethany, that is) was not to hold her title very long (she needn’t worry, her star is on the rise, with an upcoming role in Doctor Who – playing a cis woman). Last month, BBC2 launched a new sitcom that’s looking quietly revolutionary. Boy Meets Girl centres on the awkward love affair between early twentysomething Leo (Harry Hepple) and Judy (Rebecca Root), a trans woman who is pushing 40. And it’s already shaping up to be the breakout comedy of the year. Naturally, given the subject matter, Boy Meets Girl was always going to have “groundbreaking” stamped on its forehead. Indeed, the show originated from a talent search by All About Trans and the BBC Writer’s Room, with the specific aim of finding positive portrayals of trans characters. The prize offered just £5,000 for the winning script, but newcomer Elliot Kerrigan’s warmhearted pilot quickly found itself commissioned for a series. It isn’t hard to see why. Naturally, a show that’s actively promoted as “the UK’s first transgender sitcom” isn’t going to avoid issues completely. And of course, the implications of Judy’s gender on the relationship and on her and Leo’s families is front and centre. The show tackles the despair of being trapped in the wrong body, bullying, awkward humour about people being afraid to ask certain questions – at one point last week Judy demonstrated to Leo the logistics of her transition by pulling the coat sleeve off his arm inside-out, to which Leo answered, pricelessly, “yours isn’t tartan on the inside, though?” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Meet the families… Peggy (Janine Duvitski), Jackie (Lizzie Roper), Leo (Harry Hepple), Judy (Rebecca Root), Anji (Vineeta Rishi)), Pam (Denise Welch), Tony (Nigel Betts), James (Jonny Dixon). Photograph: Matt Squire/BBC/Diverse But Boy Meets Girl shines because that isn’t the only story. It’s barely even the main one. The show plays with Odd Couple tropes all right, but more through the pair’s age gap than anything else. Indeed, Harry’s reaction to discovering Judy’s secret is winningly non-plussed, and it plays entirely along with Harry’s main character trait, which is being adorable. And that is the true measure of Boy Meets Girl; its optimism and unashamed sentimentality. It is reliably cosy, its closest cousin being Gavin and Stacey, or even the long-running 1980s romcom Watching. And you would be hard-pushed to find a more likable ensemble on television right now. Leo’s family comprises Denise Welch as gently sadistic mum Pam; Nigel Betts as reliably put-upon Dad Tony and Jonny Dixon, probably the star of the show, as hilariously inappropriate brother James. In Judy’s corner is Lizzie Roper as sister Jackie, cursed with an overactive libido and underactive self-esteem; and the legendary Janine Duvitski as her mother Peggy – “wired to the moon” as Pam describes her with an eye roll to the heavens. All of them are wonderful, embodying the tenderness of families gently sniping at each other. At the halfway point tonight, the game somewhat changes, and things start to get serious, not necessarily in a good way. But even in its darker moments, Boy Meets Girl can’t help making you smile. And progress never felt so reassuringly old-fashioned. Boy Meets Girl continues 9.30pm, Thursdays, BBC2 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Occupy Wall Street protester, arrested during last fall’s mass protest on the Brooklyn Bridge, has lost his bid to stop prosecutors from subpoenaing his Twitter records. Malcolm Harris was among 700 demonstrators arrested on October 1, during a march over the span to protest economic inequality. Prosecutors had been expected to use the tweets to challenge Harris’ “anticipated defense” that police officers led protesters onto the bridge before arresting them, the judge said. At the time police said demonstrators were arrested for blocking traffic on the bridge. Harris challenged a subpoena that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office served on Twitter in January, seeking more than three months’ worth of his tweets from last fall. Criminal Court Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr., who is overseeing a special courtroom dedicated to handling nearly 2,000 Occupy-related cases, ruled against Harris, saying he did not have standing to challenge the subpoena. The judge compared Harris to a bank account holder who by law cannot challenge a subpoena of his records served on his bank. “Twitter’s license to use the defendant’s Tweets means that the Tweets the defendant posted were not his,” the judge wrote in a decision filed Friday. Sciarrino’s ruling - which featured a handful of hashtags such as, “That motion is #denied” - could bolster similar subpoenas that prosecutors have served on Twitter seeking records from other Occupy protesters. |
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 25: U.S. President Barack Obama wipes sweat off his face as he unveils his plan on climate change June 25, 2013 at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. President Obama laid out his plan to diminish carbon pollution and prepare the country for the impacts of climate change. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) The Obama administration will make its final decision on the Keystone XL pipeline by early summer, the Wall Street Journal reports. The proposed pipeline, which would run from the Canadian oil sands to refineries in Texas, has been under consideration for years, but a final decision on it has been delayed several times due to requests for additional evaluations of the project's environmental impact. The State Department's inspector general is looking into allegations that there was a conflict of interest with the company that prepared the project's latest draft environmental analysis. That report is expected to be released by the end of January. The State Department has the authority to approve the project because it crosses an international border. The Journal reports that sources familiar with the decision said that the final environmental impact analysis is expected to be released next month. After that, the State Department will make a decision about whether the pipeline is in the national interest, and other agencies will have 90 days to comment on the verdict. That would put President Barack Obama in a position to make a final decision by May or June. Click over to the Wall Street Journal to read more about what insiders expect the final analysis to say. The State Department and the White House have not offered an official timeline for the decision. |
The worst part of every Tinder date I ever went on was the moment before the date actually started. I hated scanning bars, trying to identify a girl with whom I’d exchanged a few glib texts. What if I accidentally didn’t approach my date, but some different dykey girl in a backwards panel cap and short-sleeve button-down? If and when I did find the person I was actually supposed to be meeting, how were we expected to greet each other — hug? awkward wave? the classic, coolly nonchalant head bob that conveys “why yes, I am gay, and I acknowledge that you are too”? The fleeting predate clumsiness, in the end, was always a small price to pay. Online/app dating is allegedly destroying romance and turning us all into chiller-than-thou cyborgs, but as a lady who is into ladies, here’s my review: It fucking rules. I’m on the femme-ish side of the presentation spectrum, where I tend to tragically blend in with the boring straight majority; in a pre-app dating world, the only surefire way I had of alerting someone to my gayness was recklessly flirting my way to a point of no return. I had to be sure I wasn’t misidentified as a friendly straight girl, who are notorious accidental flirters. No, I’m not brushing against your forearm and smiling a lot because I’m friendly, I have wanted to say too many times. It’s because I am a raging homosexual. Eventually I learned to name-drop lesbianism in casual conversation so I’d avoid making a complete flirting fool of myself. But with dating apps — whether big players like Tinder or Hinge, or queer women-oriented minors like Her — there in front of you are all the female-identified people who are also looking for female-identified people, brought forth conveniently from the roar of the wild to the quiet simplicity of your screen. No furiously whisper-guessing about someone’s sexuality with your wing-women; no accidentally falling for not-even-questioning-a-little-bit straight girls, as were the hallmarks of our pre-digital youths. From the get-go of an app date, you know and she knows. A weight’s been lifted. I discovered the potentials last spring, when I was living in Paris by myself. I knew no one. I didn’t speak French. But with the powers of Tinder and OkCupid, I found women to have adventures with. Some encounters turned into full-fledged flings; some, memorable friendships. Only a single outlier turned up a dud: French; a human resources major; hopelessly boring, but pleasant enough. The rest were worth it. There was the soft-spoken grad student from New Zealand with whom I walked for hours through the Père Lachaise Cemetery, searching in vain for Jim Morrison’s grave while we compared the queer cultures of our respective countries. There was the American with a teeny-tiny septum ring and a head of wild curls, gleeful over any chance she got to escape the apartment full of French children where she was au pairing; we sat along the Seine, drinking red wine from the bottle, commiserating about femme invisibility and disagreeing about Wes Anderson (my take: overrated). There was the Moroccan onetime rugby player, who rolled me cigarette after cigarette on a poorly lit street corner as we talked tackles and heartache in the dark. I wasn’t wary of going home with strangers the same way I might have been if I was meeting up with guys. (God bless you, lesbianism.) Women can be shitty dates, but they’re less likely to be creepy or violent ones. And most of the time, there is just something magical about meeting other queer women. We could have zero physical chemistry. We could read entirely different books, like entirely different movies, have entirely different dreams. Yet always, no matter what, we’ll have queerness in common. Maybe we won’t share anything beyond L Word references, or Kristen Stewart crushes, or a strong mutual dislike for the gaggle of straight bros making too much noise the next table over — chances are, on a first date, we’ll find something to hold onto. An app’s algorithms have alerted us to at least the base potential of compatibility; after that, rolling with it is up to us. |
There is a lot of fun stuff happening in San Francisco this May, like the How Weird Festival, Bay to Breakers, and meteor showers. But not to be forgotten is the highest-stakes event of them all: Mother’s Day. Yes, it’s Mother’s Day season. If this slipped from your memory because you were too busy burying your nose in a margarita carafe, it’s ok: this round-up of Mother’s Day events in San Francisco is the beacon to guide you through your best-planned Mother’s Day ever. Whether you want to treat your mother-figure to a dinner cruise, boozy brunch, or paper flowers, this curation of Mother’s Day events has what you’re looking for. Et voila, the 49 Miles guide to Mother’s Day events in San Francisco, from free to bougie: Related: San Francisco Entertainment Guide: May 2017 Enjoy cocktails, a chair massage, a tarot reading, yummy bites, raffle prizes, and other delights throughout the evening. Stay past 9PM for some karaoke. Tickets start at $25 and escalate depending on what you want to contribute, as the proceeds from this event benefit the Natural Resources program, which supports mothers, families, and the health of the parenting community. Mother’s Day Night Out | Slate Bar, 2935 16th Street, San Francisco, CA | May 11th: 6PM-9PM | $25+ Learn how to make paper flowers and Mother’s Day cards just in time for the holiday. Mother’s Day Arts & Crafts Demo | Blick Arts Materials, 979 Market Street, San Francisco, CA | May 13th: 11AM-1PM & 3PM-5PM | Free The San Francisco Wine Festival is a public event where goers may taste and experience the wine culture of Northern California. Admission is free, but tickets for unlimited tastings and a souvenir glass are $50 beforehand and $60 cash at the door. This popular event draws thousands of visitors every year. There is also a beer sampling garden if grapes aren’t your style. The 12th Annual Uncorked Wine Festival | Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point Street, San Francisco, CA | May 13th: 12PM-5PM | Free Bring your mother to Treasure Island and indulge her with luxe goodies, small batch bath and body products, succulents, artisan jewelry, and candles while enjoying handcrafted libations and El Porteño Empanadas with the backdrop of the island’s inimitable views. Attend one of the workshops and learn how to make a bath bomb, bath salts, earrings, and a succulent arrangement. Picnic, bring your pup (on a leash), and hit the local wineries and breweries as well. Sip & Shop: Mother’s Day Weekend Pop-Up Boutique Bazaar | Treasure Island, Woods Island Club, 422 Clipper Way, San Francisco, CA | May 13th-14th: 12PM-6PM | Free Related: 7 Best Fully-Fenced Dog Parks in SF The San Francisco Zoo invites you and all mothers to come celebrate Mother’s Day by visiting the animals that have recently mothered infants, like the flamingos, giraffes, wallaroos, and more. Admission for moms is free! There will also be a special Mother’s Day bikeabout, which is a 90 minute docent-led bike tour of the zoo–just bring the mom in your life and a bike. Free SF Zoo Admission for Moms on Mother’s Day | San Francisco Zoo, 1 Zoo Road, San Francisco, CA | May 14th: 10AM-5PM | Free for Moms More free stuff! The Exploratorium will celebrate Mother’s Day by offering free admission to all visitors. There will be a mariachi band at 1PM and a paper flower making shindig at 2PM. Free Admission to the Exploratorium for Mother’s Day | Exploratorium, Pier 15, San Francisco, CA | May 14th: 10AM-5PM | Free Related: 11 Inspiring Art Exhibits in SF Right Now The San Francisco Rose Society keeps their longstanding tradition by hosting their 76th annual Mother’s Day Rose Show at Golden Gate Park’s Hall of Flowers with a rose showcase in the exhibition hall. 76th Annual Mother’s Day Rose Show | County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park, 1199 Ninth Avenue, San Francisco, CA | May 14th: 12:30PM-4PM | Free Celebrate your mom at the Westin St. Francis in Union Square. There will be a special gourmet brunch buffet in The Oak Room Restaurant, with an array of delectable selections, including roasted prime rib, honey glazed ham, smoked salmon, and much more. Mother’s Day Brunch Buffet | The Westin St. Francis, The Oak Room, 335 Powell Street, San Francisco | May 14th: 10AM-2PM | $69 for adults, $35 for children Dazzle your mom with a sunset dinner cruise hosted by Top Shelf Classics. On board will be three separate decks for cocktails, dining, and live entertainment. Mother’s Day Sunset Dinner Cruise | San Francisco Spirit, Pier 3, on the Embarcadero at Washington Street, San Francisco, CA | May 14th: 4PM-7PM | $65-$100 If you want to do brunch and also want to cruise (and, um, day drink), this is for you. Show your mother some appreciation by taking her on a relaxing 2 hour cruise on the San Francisco Belle. There will be free-flowing champagne, a brunch buffet, live entertainment, and a world-class scenic backdrop. Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch Cruise | Hornblower Cruises & Events, Pier 3, San Francisco, CA | May 14th: 12PM-2PM | $123 Learn how to create a flower arrangement with and for your mom, while also being served a prix fixe brunch and bottomless mimosas. Blooms & Brunch | Serenity Designs, 801 Cortland Ave, Apt A, San Francisco, CA | May 13th: 10AM-1PM | $125 Because “Mother’s Day” seems synonymous with “drunk at brunch.” If you’re having a hard time choosing between the varied bubbly brunches, this one features dim sum. And mimosas. Mother’s Day Bottomless Mimosa Brunch | Hilton Financial District, 750 Restaurant & Bar, 750 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA | May 14th: 10AM-3PM | $55 for adults, $21 for children Celebrate Mother’s Day with fine tea and authentic Burmese gastronomy, courtesy of a collaboration between Fabula Tea and Laphet. There is a Saturday lunch at 12PM-2PM, and a Sunday dinner at 6PM-8PM. Burmese Food & Fine Tea | Laphet, 448 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA | May 13th: 12PM-2PM; May 14th: 6PM-8PM | $55-$80 Even more free stuff. There are 19 different free guided walking tours around the City in commemoration of Mother’s Day. Select the one that inspires you most, or do all of them. Tour themes range from Alfred Hitchcock to the Gold Rush. 19 Free Guided Walking Tours for Mother’s Day | All over San Francisco | May 14th: 9AM-3PM, check site for schedule| Free Head across the Bay for the 17th Annual Spring Festival in Downtown Alameda, a popular Mother’s Day weekend tradition with something for everyone. There will be tons of vendors and shops, arts & crafts, and other opportunities to buy mom a gift. You may also indulge in the food and libations and treat your mom to a mimosa while enjoying live music. 17th Annual Spring Festival on Mother’s Day Weekend | Downtown Alameda’s Historic Park District, Park Street and Lincoln Avenue, Alameda, CA | May 13th-14th: 10AM-6PM | Free Invite your mom to a stunning sail across the Bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge. This remarkable cruise with the San Francisco Sailing Company includes mimosas to add more sparkle to an already scintillating sail. An exclusive courtesy for our cherished 49 Miles readers, we’re offering a 20% off promo code to the Sunday sail: : 49MILES2017. Golden Gate Bridge Champagne and Mimosa Sail | Pier 39, San Francisco, CA | Sundays: 10AM-12PM | $60 for adults, $30 for children Related: Sail Forward into Spring with the SF Sailing Company |
The expectation is that for apparently little practical benefit one would voluntarily submit to fines being levied on them if someone decided that they do not comply with their rules. Again, there are two problems here. Firstly, no reasonable person would accept these terms without a significant benefit (USB and BTLE certification, for example, actually provides a crucial technology -- there are no parallels here). Secondly, there is no practical way to enforce these fines worldwide. So the scheme will either fail because no one would buy into it, or fail because there will be no way to prevent abuse of the brand. There's no doubt in my mind that the people behind these ideas mean well. I feel, however, that the motivation is less to do with concern for the 'community' and 'public' and more to do with reconciling the individual enthusiasm for open source hardware with the reality of people <del>benefiting</del> profiting commercially from your own work, which was given away gratis. It's a rotten feeling when that happens, but that's part of the deal. The licence is the license. If the realities of the license chosen are unbearable, then a different license should be used, or a different business/benefit-model be used. One can't both claim OSHW and then be picky about how it's being used. OK, so I've let off some steam. Here's what I recommend for the OSHWA to actually do with the energy and enthusiasm they have after scrapping this certification idea. Create a place where the 'public' and 'community' can be easily educated about the signs of a genuine OSHW project, and its benefits. Provide a service for crowdfunding platforms and companies -- maybe even charge a fee -- for producing a report on products' 'openness'. Take the role of educators and enablers -- rather than be the 'enforcers' of 'compliance' violations by 'bad actors' -- and gain authority that way instead. |
HOUSTON, TEXAS - Undefeated champion Jermall Charlo relinquished the IBF junior middleweight title this afternoon in order to pursue bigger challenges and another world championship in the middleweight division. Charlo, 26, who lives and trains in Houston, has a sterling record of 25-0 with 19 KOs. He won the title with a TKO victory over Cornelius Bundrage on Sept. 12, 2015, and successfully defended it three times, defeating Wilky Campfort, former 154-pound champion Austin Trout and top contender Julian Williams. Charlo leaves the division after an impressive KO victory over Williams at the Galen Center on the USC campus in Los Angeles on Dec. 10, 2016. Tony Harrison (24-1, 20 KOs) and Jarrett Hurd (19-0, 13 KOs) will battle for the vacant IBF 154-pound title on the undercard of Deontay Wilder defending his heavyweight title against Gerald Washington on primetime on Premier Boxing Champions on FOX and FOX Deportes at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday, February 25. Televised coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Charlo's twin brother, Jermell, still has the WBC 154-pound title and will defend it against Charles Hatley at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland on Saturday, March 11. "I've been thinking about moving to 160 pounds for a while now,'' Charlo said. "It was a struggle for me to make the weight for the last title fight. Once I captured the title I defended it immediately, because I wasn't sure how long I could hold the weight. I held it an extra year to fight Austin Trout and Julian Williams. I feel there are bigger and better things for me at 160 where I can still hold my weight and be stronger. The idea of being a two-time world champion is a big goal for me. "If there were a big fight at 154 pounds left for me, I'd stick around and wait for it. But there isn't anything there that can be made quickly. And I wouldn't fight my brother or my gym mate and close friend, Erislandy Lara.'' Charlo's trainer, Ronnie Shields, is in favor of the move up to a higher division. "It's a move that has to be made,'' said Shields. "He was definitely having trouble making that weight. No sense in holding himself down in making that weight. Going up to 160 pounds is a must. I think he does well there. He's big enough to handle the weight. It's not like we have to do anything special to compete at 160 pounds. That's basically what he is - a middleweight.'' Charlo doesn't anticipate any problems with moving up. He plans to make his middleweight debut soon. "I've been training for a couple weeks now. It's like a mini-camp. I've been shaking out,'' Charlo said. "We're looking at May to be completely ready. I'm a big athlete already. I'm just looking forward to taking my superstar status and competing with the big boys up there.'' |
Gamasutra's Top 20 Trends of 2008 By Christian Nutt Last year, we only picked five trends. This year, we went crazy. There are so many exciting and relevant changes happening in the game industry right now, it's difficult to keep abreast of them. With that in mind, we created a list that covers the breadth of the industry as best as possible -- an industry that is going through a major evolution. And while we have selected 20, know that it's pared down from an initial list of over 40. We probably could have thought of many more. We realize that, especially as the industry expands to encompass everything from casual online games to Facebook applications and support three dedicated consoles and two handheld platforms, there's too much diversity to make choosing simple. That said, we have identified and explained -- with relevant links to further information, where possible -- 20 trends that have risen to the level that they cannot be ignored as 2008 draws to a close. 1. The Continued Rise Of Outsourcing Speak to any number of developers these days about asset generation, and the topic of outsourcing is never far from the discussion. Some companies, such as Alex Seropian's Wideload Games and American McGee's Spicy Horse Games, have built their business models around a "core" team, while using contractors for much of the process. Whether or not you do, however, it's becoming increasingly relevant in these cost-cutting times. Major publishers, like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Konami, among others, maintain their own fully-owned outsourcing studios in China, which primarily handle art requests. Though it's most prominent, it's not just Asian outsourcing that is necessarily the most relevant. Wideload's model suggests finding the most talented and experienced practitioners to produce the components of the game. For example, in the case of Hail to the Chimp, the creators found a firm that had worked on actual news programs to do the game's faux-newscast motion graphics. In this sense, it's as much about talent and relevance as it is about savings, and points to another sign of the "Hollywoodized" future the industry continuingly hints at. 2. Casual MMOs? For Kids! This market, which began under the radar and burst into headlines last year with the $350 million plus incentives acquisition of Club Penguin by Disney, continues to maintain its relevance in important ways. Chief among them: MMO mavens' firm belief that the kids playing Club Penguin and other kids' MMOs today will demand services that offer similar (but improved) functionality as they outgrow these sites. When their first taste of the power of social gaming technology is a Disney online world and not a Wii or Xbox 360, the expectations that drive the industry's possibilities for online interaction are being set outside of what is often considered the "norm". Daniel James, president of casual MMO developer and publisher Three Rings (Puzzle Pirates) puts it this way: "People talk about the digital generation or whatever you want to call them... but I think there is a genuine shift when you have access to something at a young age. It changes your way of looking at the world." With perhaps a glut of cute, original IP, venture-funded kids worlds out there, but a number of major brand-based and consumer-friendly projects (FusionFall from Cartoon Network, Gaia Online's zOMG!) yet to completely launch, it's a space that's still rapidly expanding. 3. You Don't Want DRM - You Want Services As piracy grows ever easier, and as users become more and more vocal about the measures publishers take to try and stop it -- witness the Spore DRM controversy -- the appeal of user-friendly DRM lumped into a subscription service seems like the best solution. After all, very few players complain about the fact that World of Warcraft is tied to a unique account that costs a constant $15 per month fee to keep playable -- because that's the very point of the game. But even for games that don't require online interaction, the tied-to-an-account model can work a charm: Valve's Steam service is typically extremely well-regarded, thanks to its selection of games, its appealing community features, and most recently, the addition of its Steam Cloud service. This makes online integration all the more relevant, as user data is stored on servers and accessible on any PC the player logs into. Surely, providing a tangible benefit for users to tie themselves to a verification system is the way to make to help the copy protection-related medicine go down? 4. Downloadable Content - A Cure For All Game Ills? Whether or not GameStop's management wants to admit it, many developers and publishers consider the used game market to be, well, less than benevolent. Whether it should or can be stamped out completely is not the issue; few would disagree that at least discouraging players from selling games back quickly is a good idea. One of the best current tools for doing so is downloadable content -- or as Xbox Live group program manager Alvin Gendrano put it at Microsoft's GameFest this year, "Using [premium DLC] we can keep your games being used over a long time. The longer your users play your titles, the less chance they give those titles away to retailers and sell them for used." Moreover, stats Gendrano released suggest that games with strong DLC retain their market value for longer: "Games with PDLC were still selling for $59 in [the second quarter of their release lifespans]; those without were selling for $56." And Microsoft's Gears of War 2 recently took a new tactic; it shipped with one-time-use coupon for free DLC that can only be downloaded by the initial purchaser. Perhaps the boldest mover in this space, however, is EA's Criterion studio, which has launched the "Year of Paradise" initiative for the company -- its Burnout Paradise, which was first released in January, is still receiving substantive free DLC on a regular basis, with its first paid pack, Big Surf Island, coming approximately one year after the game's retail release. 5. The Inevitable User-Created Content Entry LittleBigPlanet is generally viewed as the watershed moment for user-created content in console games. It's true that the game invites and champions it, and has a flexible environment for its creation. But it's not the only example, and it's sure to be far from the final one. Heck, Microsoft's XNA Community Games experiment, while flooding its Xbox 360 channel with games that are difficult to sort through at times, at least shows the potential of handing console game creation over to high-level hobbyists -- another win for UCC. And for conventional retail games, as professional creation of content gets ever more expensive, as the economy worsens, as the YouTube generation comes of age, the need to extend the lifespan and interest of titles continues to grow -- for retention and acquisition reasons. Can there be any doubt that user-created content will become bigger and bigger? With the advent of the form -- big on PCs in one way and another for years -- on consoles in a truly user-friendly, 21st century way, it's going to drive the direction of the medium as much as any other recent innovation. 6. Indies Go Pro, Pros Go Indie The murky division between indie and pro developers is getting, well, murkier. The creativity of indie developers has been recognized for years, but the proliferation of premium download services has made creating these games more financially viable and appealing. In fact, it's got to the point that the stars shine bright enough to be pulled into the studio system. For example, consider thatgamecompany, developers of flOw and Flower, who signed a three-game-deal with Sony. Mommy's Best Games' Weapon of Choice But developers can go the other direction, too. Insomniac Games' coder Nathan Fouts decided he wanted out of the LA area and ended up creating Weapon of Choice, one of the most acclaimed games in the Xbox Live Community Games marketplace, self-publishing without Microsoft's assistance. In another example, Torpex Games, developer of Schizoid, was founded by two alumni of Activision's Treyarch studio who decided that striking out as indie developers was more appealing than working on more Spider-Man sequels. The success of games like Braid and Castle Crashers proves the commercial viability of the proposition; the flexibility of working from where you want to, how you want to, as Fouts did, proves the creative appeal. 7. New Retro Games + Retro Franchise Reboots = $$ New IP is tough to make work. Endless sequels become boring. Look to the past. Capcom has taken this tactic to heart, with three standout titles each taking their own angle on the tactic. Capcom's Mega Man 9 Firstly, there's the pure approach of Mega Man 9, which works entirely within the conceptual limitations of the NES-style platform that spawned the first six games in the series. Then, there's Super Street Fighter II HD Remix reimagines the classic fighter as a hand-illustrated, more accessible online dream. Finally, there's Bionic Commando Rearmed, which uses contemporary technology to remake a die-hard gamer classic that hasn't had a fitting followup in 20 years -- in itself a teaser for a more fully-featured franchise reboot due next year. (Capcom had less interesting examples, too: 1942 and Commando had forgettable installments this year.) It's not just Capcom which is taking this tactic -- it's just the most significant practitioner, with strong classic IP and robust support of download platforms. With other companies such as Namco Bandai resurrecting Pac-Man and Galaga in enhanced form, and Tecmo Bowl returning on Nintendo DS, existing names that people have nostalgia for, as in many other industries, might be gold. 8. Japan - Insular? Obsolete? Self-Critical! Japan is widely perceived as struggling this generation. Yes, Nintendo is a world-beater. But core gamers have shifted their tastes to the wares of Western developers. In fact, very few Japanese-headquartered companies have been able to capitalize on the strong support of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 gamers with anything like the reliability that they had in previous generations, or find the success on Nintendo's platforms that they previously had on Sony's. This problem is significant enough that Yoichi Wada, president of both Square Enix and Japanese industry group CESA said in October that the Japanese games industry has "lost its position" on the world stage. The problem is multifaceted, taking in technological, cultural, and audience issues that are difficult to untangle -- or solve. A walk around the Tokyo Game Show floor this year showed that the response of many developers has been to concentrate on the platforms that are popular in Japan -- Nintendo's -- with games that cater to niches in the market: RPG and simulation titles which de-emphasize action. Of course, this tactic keeps the developers from gaining the technological expertise or cultural currency to ship products with global appeal; it's a vicious cycle that Wada wants to see the Japanese industry break out of. The most positive sign, though, is that Japanese developers recognize their limitations and how to work within them. This war will not be won by ignoring these limitations, but by learning to work within them to create titles, like Grasshopper Manufacturer's No More Heroes, which maintain the unique creative spirit of Japanese development while plumbing themes and gameplay enjoyable by broad audiences. 9. Free To Play, Pay For Items Throughout 2008, we saw the further diversification of the MMO model in the West. While Mythic/EA's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning made a strong debut and Blizzard's World of Warcraft somehow continued to grow, Funcom's Age of Conan slid from a strong launch into apparent problems, and NCSoft announced the closure of its ambitious and problem-plagued Tabula Rasa. While it's tough to draw a direct trend line through these events, the sense is beginning to grow that the MMO market needs a shot in the arm to continue expanding, and one of the major possibilities that is being seriously considered is the adoption of the Korean-pioneered free-to-play, microtransaction-based model in major western-developed and western-targeted titles; EA's shooter Battlefield Heroes being an in-development, high profile example. An ambiguous statement made by EA CEO John Riccitiello during a conference call that seemed to imply that the BioWare MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, may have some microtransaction-based content, caused excited murmurs throughout the blogosphere. Those who have experience with the model, like Nexon VP Min Kim -- who revealed at Austin GDC that his company had pulled in $29.334m in the U.S. in 2007 on the back of free-to-play in youth-oriented titles such as MapleStory -- have plenty of faith in it. Or as CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Petursson (EVE Online) puts it, "If you are building a pure subscription game you have to think very hard about how you build a meta economy that cannot be turned into a free to play after the fact... you will always be a victim of people doing what they want to do, and it's a losing war... you shouldn't fight your customers." 10. Game Schools Birth Hit-Ready Titles Game education at universities isn't a new trend -- but it's interesting to see just how directly these students are transitioning into fully functioning professional teams directly from their educational careers. Of course, the most famous example is the Narbacular Drop team, hired by Valve out of DigiPen, creating last year's breakout hit Portal. Thatgamecompany, of flOw and Flower, of course, arose from USC's interactive media program. But these are not the only examples. Shortfuse Games, an 11-man team who recently released Colosseum to Xbox Live Community Games, transitioned directly from the game development program at Sweden's University of Skövde to professional concern with a minimal addition of staff from outside of the program. The Dream-Build-Play winner, CarneyVale: Showtime, was created at MIT's GAMBIT lab in Singapore. Team Gambit's CarneyVale: Showtime With IP ownership still an issue for some programs, the ability to do this may be difficult for some, but it's clear that the working relationships fostered over multi-year programs provides for a fertile ground for future collaboration -- and the refinement of ideas that may have their genesis in classroom assignments, but clearly have broader appeal. 11. Hollywood And Games - Equals? Given the cinematic aspirations of so many game developers, it's surprising that true collaboration between the media has been so rarely seriously attempted or truly achieved. To oversimplify this saga, let's simply say that it appeared that until recently, Hollywood talent never took games seriously as a medium, and that, in the context of film-related products, game developers have been too constricted, in general, to provide anything that rises to parity with the film medium. But recent moves have shown a much more promising light. Steven Speilberg's deal with EA resulted not in an overblown cinematic project, but Boom Blox -- a game that truly took advantage of the Wii. While the fate of next-gen followup LMNO is in flux in the wake of the EA Blueprint closure and EA LA layoffs, EA's signing of 300 director Zack Snyder to make three original titles makes it seem a little less troubled. In other promising news, Cory Barlog, formerly of Sony Santa Monica, is working directly with original creator George Miller to bring the Mad Max film franchise to games -- in a much more collaborative way than most license-based projects, judging from his blog. The long-feted marriage of film and games may finally work. 12. Peripheral-Based Gaming Blasts Off The explosion in popularity fostered by Guitar Hero III and Rock Band at the end of 2007 continued into 2008. Though analysts once wondered if this year's editions were selling in sufficient numbers, it appears the trend isn't dead. Guitar Hero: World Tour, even with an increased peripheral count, has still proven extremely popular -- with almost every version of the game showing up in the NPD top 20 for November 2008. But it's not just music games that benefit from including a peripheral -- Nintendo's non-traditional Wii Fit, complete with Balance Board accessory, has been a runaway global success for the company. It's finding traction in the Japanese market, too, where peripheral-based music games are old news and no longer chart. Recently, Activision even teased that next year's relaunch for the Tony Hawk series, which has taken a year hiatus in the face of markedly decreased sales for its most recent installment, is one where "you're not going to be playing this game with a controller in your hands." Peripheral-based games sell for more -- and thus make more money than a peripheral-free SKU. Peripherals are also widely seen a way to make games more understandable for an audience daunted by traditional controllers. Taking these facts into account, it seems likely that until someone's burned by an warehouse of unsold Chinese-made plastic, the peripheral fad will continue. 13. Downloadable Console Games Get Retail-Sized It's interesting to note that, at least in 2008, Microsoft has been hesitant in all but a few cases of allowing full-sized download games on its service. But Sony has not been so restrictive -- and consequently, has opened its service up to games that push the boundaries. Thus, we've seen PS3 re-releases of games that were previously available at retail (Burnout Paradise), those with niche appeal (NFL Head Coach), those which couldn't support a retail release but exceed the scope of an average download title (Wipeout HD), and those that are available at retail in other territories but become download-only products in North America (Siren: Blood Curse). Each of these cases points to an exciting future for the download market on the PlayStation 3 and, as standards inevitably change on the Xbox 360 and advance in further console generations. We may obviously see a future where games that would previously have gone to retail on discs are now available as downloads. (Microsoft does currently allow download of Xbox Originals titles on the 360, despite their prior disc-based nature as Xbox 1 titles -- an important and often overlooked facet of Xbox Live.) This service, of course, also in full swing with Sony's PSP as well -- with Echochrome, again, being a download-only title in North America despite being out on disc in Japan and Europe. This alternate delivery mechanism will, as it has on PC with services like Steam, only continue to gain ground on consoles. 14. World Vs. WoW - Go Big Or Go Niche? We've already talked about how microtransactions are going to become more significant to the MMO marketplace as time wears on. But the stratification of the online game market may be an even bigger and more significant trend. With the triple-A staying power of World of Warcraft the crown jewel in the subscription-based marketplace, the games that compete with are trying one of two things -- a gigantic all-out WoW-rivaling mega product, or an attempt at an entirely different, niche experience or business models. Nexon's 2D, anime-inflected MapleStory attracts a younger audience with less cash; EVE Online maintains a base of hardcore subscribers; free-to-play Guild Wars makes money on retail expansions and continues to flourish. Other Asian MMO ports, while lacking in critical mass, can fill the cracks by appealing to niche audiences -- with games that have already been developed. So sure, there's still a core of big-budget MMOs going for a direct $15-per-month run against Blizzard. But those that are there are increasingly using existing IP (Star Trek Online, Warhammer/Warhammer 40k) to stand out. 15. Procedural Game Narrative - But Do Players Care? While a great majority of games continue to use cutscenes to tell their stories, the emergence of significant new narrative forms has given game developers plenty of food for thought in 2008. At the forefront of this is perhaps Ubisoft Montreal's Far Cry 2, which has an extremely dynamic world, with enemies that help each other to safety when wounded and an incredibly complex fire system, alongside ambitious narrative system that reacts to player actions in its sandbox world by dynamically reassigning dialogue to available actors. According to the game's narrative designer, Patrick Redding, "If we had tried to not support that dynamic approach, what we would have ended up with is a story that really felt like it was kind of progressing along more or less independently of player action... And we felt there was no point in doing that." With all kinds of artful, amazing events dynamically created by the randomness inherent in the game world -- such as bounding African fauna causing enemies to crash their vehicles -- it creates an expansion that's new and different almost every time. But as the game underperformed at retail, a question that probably needs asking is -- do players really want a living world, or do they just want scripted events that convince them they are playing in one? 16. Retail Games & The Six Week Problem While there's debate about how long games have to make an impact on store shelves before being pushed aside by bigger, shinier, and newer releases, six weeks has been thrown around as a rule of thumb. It's a problem. We're currently in the midst, as of this writing, of a retail season so choked with high-quality releases that it's difficult for any company to feel confident about its success in the face of all the competition. And the stakes are getting higher all the time, as higher-end development continues to increase in cost and the shelves are filled with more and more competition. The solutions to the problem seem to lie in some of the related trends we've already been discussing. Robust downloadable content is vital so that people may return to consider buying the title, months after it first debuted -- something that seems to have been working with Burnout Paradise. EA/Criterion's Burnout Paradise But it may be that a robust online community to build buzz before a game's release is the ultimate arbiter of its long-term sales -- especially if it's less of an evergreen product such as the Carnival Games-style titles which will sell long-term to new console buyers, whatever. A unique proposition plus a robust fanbase equals a long-term winner. 17. The Rise Of Non-Games One of the most successful games of 2008 isn't really a game at all. Nintendo's Wii Fit is an exercise program with game-like elements -- an accessible bit of exercise software that is peppered with clever game design that makes it compelling. Users go into the package expecting not a game, but a piece of software that will help them live healthier lives. Nintendo isn't alone here. Ubisoft's My Coach series helps users with everything from Japanese language study to smoking cessation. Announced last year, the series has already blossomed into three different branches -- learning, language, and lifestyle -- on two platforms, Wii and DS. Of course, Brain Age is the granddaddy of them all. Niches can also be filled -- as with XSEED and AQ Interactive's impressive Korg DS-10 synthesizer and sequencer software, developed in cooperation with the long-established Korg instrument company. There's plenty of potential here, and an audience who simply want interactive information, and are hungry for new challenges. Thus, this is a market that will only expand in the future, with Nintendo advertising its DS cooking tutor software on TV and in glossy gossip magazines being just the tip of the iceberg. 18. Games & Social Connectivity, Duh User-created content begets social connectivity, but social connectivity in games is something that is not important only in games with strong creative elements. Whether it's the robust and customized leaderboards in N+ -- a game that encourages finesse gameplay and throws your friends' scores in your face every time you finish a level, encouraging replay and competition -- or Rock Band's comprehensive band rankings, these elements are absolutely compelling and will only increase. Bungie.net has proven essential to fans of Halo 3, and this integrated and meaningful web approach is being carried forward by other games, like the Guitar Hero series and Insomniac Games' MyResistance.net - all of which provide practically a social networking experience on the web alongside your game-based social play. What's next? Peter Ryan, VP at community site creators Agora Games, which built Activision's Guitar Hero site, believes in the future that "community will be as critical to the overall experience of a game as the game itself." And he may be right! 19. Franchises Vs. Regular Revenue Streams "With respect to the franchises that don’t have the potential to be exploited every year across every platform, with clear sequel potential that can meet our objectives of, over time, becoming $100 million-plus franchises, that’s a strategy that has worked very well for us." Above, you read the words of Activision CEO Robert Kotick, on the dropping of Brutal Legend and other titles after the Vivendi merger. We all hate to hear it, but there's something to his assertion that it made sense for Activision to drop Ghostbusters and others titles, due to the fact that they can't be spun into yearly franchises that will be consistent earners. It may not appeal to our sense of artistry -- and Activision's focus on a "one size fits all" approach (can every viable game idea work on DS? Of course not) may well be overkill. But the game industry has been built on a foundation of franchises and sequels. They may not have to come every year, but they must come -- Nintendo isn't abandoning Mario and Zelda in the face of Wii Fit's success. John Riccitiello, while still maintaining that quality is key to the "new EA" -- in fact, his company just formerly announced that it's publishing the orphaned Brutal Legend -- still agrees, in the face of a disappointing fall season: "...quality has not yet translated into enough sales," he said. Next year: titles with more "hit potential" than Mirror's Edge. It's a tough line to walk: we're hoping that we can stay on the more appealing side of it. But there's no ignoring that repeatable success is key to keeping companies in the business of publishing games -- and bankrolling the less sure thing. 20. Game IPs, Multiple Media It used to be that making a hit game was enough. At this point, it's not about the game -- it's about the franchise. And that franchise had better map beyond games to comics, films, viral marketing campaigns, tabletop RPGs -- whatever. The importance is not just in creating something with recognizable characters or situations; it's creating a world with a richness that maps well to multiple media, something with texture that can be expanded without veering away from the core integrity of the original product. When Microsoft sent game reviewers Gears of War 2, it came packed with a graphic novel and a prose novel. And witness Dead Space's animated movie debuting alongside the game. Final Fantasy VII was never intended, in 1997, to be more than a single game, but has swelled to encompass several, and a film too -- and now 2009's Final Fantasy XIII was fundamentally created not in a vacuum, but as one facet of a theme-based expandable media universe with its own name and concept (the pretentious Fabula Nova Crystallis, or New Stories of the Crystals in English -- which reveals its intent.) These universes not only allow for new games that explore the core ethos of that universe without relying on the specific situations of any one constituent product, but allow creative satisfaction for a variety of visionaries to contribute to the health of a company's bottom line. It's a necessary way to tackle a very contemporary impulse. Return to the full version of this article Copyright © UBM Tech, All rights reserved |
(MEXICO CITY)— Standing alongside the president of Mexico, a measured Donald Trump on Wednesday defended the right of the United States to build a massive border wall along its southern flank, but he declined to repeat his frequent promise to force Mexico to pay for it. Trump, the U.S. presidential candidate who is widely despised across Mexico, also sidestepped his repeated criticism of Mexican immigrants following a closed-door meeting at the official residence of the country’s president, Enrique Pena Nieto. Trump and Pena Nieto, who has compared the New York billionaire to Adolf Hitler, addressed reporters from adjacent podiums flanked by a Mexican flag. “We did discus the wall. We didn’t discuss payment of the wall,” Trump said. In his announcement of his presidential candidacy last year, Trump derided Mexico as a source of rapists and criminals coming to the U.S., and his presence on Wednesday sparked anger and protests across the capital city. A former Mexican president bluntly told the celebrity businessman that, despite Pena Nieto’s hospitality, he was not welcome. “We don’t like him. We don’t want him. We reject his visit,” former President Vicente Fox told CNN, calling the trip a “political stunt.” Pena Nieto was less combative as he addressed reporters alongside Trump. He acknowledged the two men had differences, but he described their conversation as “open and constructive.” They shook hands as the session ended. The trip, a politically risky move for Trump 10 weeks before America’s presidential Election Day, came just hours before the Republican nominee was to deliver a highly anticipated speech in Arizona about illegal immigration. That has been a defining issue of Trump’s presidential campaign, but also one on which he’s appeared to waver in recent days. After saying during his Republican primary campaign he would use a “deportation force” to expel all of the estimated 11 million people living in the United States illegally, Trump suggested last week he could soften that stance. But he still says he plans to build a huge wall — paid for by Mexico — along the two nations’ border. He is under pressure to clarify just where he stands in a speech that’s been rescheduled several times as he and his staff has sent varied and conflicting messages on the issue. “The American people are going to see more clearly that there’s one candidate in this race who’s prepared to take the steps necessary to end the flood of illegal immigration,” Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, said Wednesday on CNN. Trump will also make clear, Pence later told CBS, “that there will be no path to legalization, no path to citizenship. People will need to leave the country to be able to obtain legal status or obtain citizenship.” The buildup to the speech was abruptly interrupted Tuesday night by the news that Trump would visit Mexico, accepting on short notice an invitation offered last week by Pena Nieto. The newspaper El Universal wrote in an editorial that Trump “caught Mexican diplomats off guard.” Campaigning in Ohio earlier in the day, Democrat Hillary Clinton jabbed at Trump’s Mexican appearance as she promoted her own experience working with foreign leaders as the nation’s chief diplomat. “People have to get to know that they can count on you, that you won’t say one thing one day and something totally different the next,” she told the American Legion in Cincinnati. “And it certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again.” He has promised, if elected, to deport millions of immigrants who are in the United States illegally, force Mexico to build a wall to secure the nearly 2,000-mile border and renegotiate the NAFTA trade agreement to make it more favorable to the United States. Pena Nieto made his invitation to both Trump and Clinton, who met with him in Mexico in 2014. The inclusion of Trump puzzled many in Mexico, who said it wasn’t clear why their own unpopular president would agree to meet with someone so widely disliked in his country. Mexico City-based security analyst Alejandro Hope suggested that Pena Nieto “wanted to invite Hillary, but that meant inviting both of them, and nobody thought Trump would accept first.” |
Blame the bankers! A left-leaning humanities teacher at a Brooklyn middle school handed out a homework assignment this month in which students had to fill in the following sentence: “Banks are often run by ————— people who look for ways to hurt the most financially vulnerable people in the country.” Students had to choose among five words to fill in the blank — with “nefarious” or “reprehensible” as the only possible answers. Francesca Gomes, 40, a veteran teacher at the New Voices School of Academic & Creative Arts in Sunset Park, assigned the work to her 7th-grade class. Gomes has been outspoken on lefty causes and is part of the United Federation of Teacher’s Social Justice Caucus. She is also a member of Socialist Alternative, the group that pushed for the election of a socialist candidate to Seattle’s city council in 2013. Gomes leans further left than even Mayor de Blasio, and blasted him on social media in April for a comment he made at a Staten Island forum when asked about a “gag order” on teachers disparaging state tests. The mayor said, “Think of what it would lead to if teachers openly criticized every education policy they disagreed with,” the Staten Island Advance reported. “Um … I don’t know, maybe meaningful improvements? Screw you, De Blasio,” Gomes wrote on her Facebook page. New Voices Principal Frank Giordano did not respond to messages seeking comment. When confronted at her Brooklyn home, Gomes slammed the door in a reporter’s face. In February, a Staten Island middle school teacher took heat — and had a disciplinary letter placed in her file — after she placed a question about President Trump on a vocabulary worksheet. “President Trump speaks in a very superior and __ manner insulting many people. He needs to be more ___ so that the American people respect and admire him.” The answers were “haughty” and “humble.” The teacher defended herself to one outraged parent — whose child lost points on the assignment for not answering the question — and said the question was not meant as a political statement. And a teacher at Susan Wagner HS received a letter of reprimand for bashing Trump before the November election, tirades that were recorded by one of his students. |
Share this infographic on your site! Embed this infographic on your site! The editors at Top 10 Online Colleges decided to research the topic of: The Cost of Job Stress Job stress, the #1 cause of stress in the U.S., is a leading factor in poor health and reduced creativity and problem solving ability, costing American businesses $300 billion dollars a year. Top 5 Causes of Stress - 1 - Job Pressure: Co-Worker Tension, Bosses, Work Overload - 2 - Money: Loss of Job, Reduced Retirement, Medical Expenses - 3 - Health: Health Crisis, Terminal or Chronic Illness - 4 - Relationships: Divorce, Death of Spouse, Arguments with Friends, Loneliness - 5 - Poor Nutrition: Inadequate Nutrition, Caffeine, Processed Foods, Refined Sugars Stress and Work - 76 % cite money and work as the leading cause of their stress - 41% say they "feel tense or stressed out during the workday," an increase 36% just a year earlier. - 38% of employees can't stop thinking about problems like emotional, health, financial and job concerns. - Just 58% of employees say they have the resources necessary to manage stress. - The most-stressed employees developed heart problems at a 79% higher rate than their less-stressed peers. - Stress is the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for employees. Stress, Creativity, and Problem Solving - Just 10% of people do their best thinking at work - On days of the most extreme time pressure, workers are 45 percent less likely to come up with a new idea or solve a complex problem. - "when you work under the gun, creativity is usually the first casualty." - Teresa Amabile, Harvard Business School professor How Does Stress Effect Creativity? - Stress signals the body that there is a threat or danger, triggering "fight or flight" response and disrupting the rational parts of our brains. - This results in "tunnel vision," which narrows our ability to see multiple viewpoints of a problem. - Under stressful conditions we get fixated on re-working a specific detail of a project, rather than exploring other options. Effects of Stress on Your Health - 75-90% of all doctor office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints - Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, depression, and anxiety. - Stress also becomes harmful when people use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to try and relieve their stress - 54 percent say that stress or anxiety increased their anxiety about falling asleep at night How Does Stress Shrink the Brain? - Long-term exposure to the hormone cortisol (released when you're stressed) appears to cause brain neurons to shrink and interferes with their ability to send and receive information via branches called dendrites - Major life stress may shrink brain neurons in the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), the brain area responsible for problem-solving, adaptation to challenge, emotional processing and regulation, impulse control, and regulation of glucose and insulin metabolism. How Employers Can Reduce Job Stress - Align workload with capability and capacity of workers - Make room for workers to grow and use talent in their positions - Ensure all workers know their job responsibilities - Let workers have a say in changes related to their jobs - Make sensible work schedules Google Case Study: How the World's Most Successful Tech Company Helps Employees Manage Stress and Be More Creative - Offices feature open physical space for idea exchange and collaboration. - A community atmosphere means that if you're stressed, there's someone to help and take up the slack. - Subsidized massages. - Free yoga and pilates classes. - A course called "Unwind: the art and science of stress management" - A health consultation and follow-up with a personal health counselor How Employees Can Reduce Stress - 1 - Develop a stress inventory by keeping track of situations, people, and events that cause you stress. After a week, begin to evaluate solutions for each item. - 2 - Improve your time management skills so you feel less under the gun. - 3 - Keep perspective by getting other points of view, taking breaks, having an outlet, and taking care of yourself. Coping with Stress in General - 1 - Take a Daily DHA Supplement - DHA or Docosahexaenoic acid is an Omega-3 fatty acid that is a central building block of brain tissue. - 2 - Exercise Most Days - In studies with mice, exercise led to more improved performance on cognitive tasks than exposure to enriched environments with lots of activities and stimulation. - - Do Yoga, Meditate, or Pray - These activities can activate "the relaxation response," which lowers blood pressure and heart rate and lowers subjective anxiety. Sources - http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/08/02/stress-at-work-is-bunk-for-business/ - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201208/how-prevent-stress-shrinking-your-brain - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/coping-with-stress/SR00030/NSECTIONGROUP=2 - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/business/at-google-a-place-to-work-and-play.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 - http://www.humanresourcesmba.net/job-stress/ - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201208/how-prevent-stress-shrinking-your-brain - http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/related-illnesses/other-related-conditions/stress/stress-and-anxiety-interfere - http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/effects-of-stress-on-your-body - http://designtaxi.com/article/102008/Effects-Of-Stress-On-Creativity/ - http://www.statisticbrain.com/stress-statistics/ - http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/commentary/does-high-stress-trigger-creativity-work - http://www.amazon.com/Your-Brain-Work-Strategies-Distraction/dp/0061771295/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242347783&sr=8-1 - http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/08/02/stress-at-work-is-bunk-for-business/ - http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/02/work-stress-heart-disease/ - http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/08/02/stress-at-work-is-bunk-for-business/ - http://www.statisticbrain.com/stress-statistics/ |
Once one of professional wrestling’s biggest stars, the man known as “The Ultimate Warrior,’’ has died, according to news reports and a statement from World Wrestling Entertainment. Jim Hellwig died Tuesday night after collapsing at an Arizona hotel, Time reported. He was 54 years old. No information has been released on the cause of Hellwig’s death. “The Ultimate Warrior’’ was a high-energy wrestling star during parts of the 1980s and 1990s, often performing (as both friend and foe) with famed wrestler Hulk Hogan. After an extended time away from the WWE, Hellwig last week was inducted into the company’s Hall of Fame, and appeared at Wrestlemania XXX Sunday in New Orleans. Advertisement Here’s a clip from his appearance on the April 7 episode of Monday Night Raw: Reaction on Twitter came from some of the industry’s biggest names, including Hogan: RIP WARRIOR. only love. HH — Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) April 9, 2014 WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon also expressed sympathy on Twitter: We are all so sad that the Ultimate Warrior has passed away. Our heart is with his wife Dana and his two daughters. — Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) April 9, 2014 Longtime wrestler and current WWE executive Paul Michael Levesque, who performs in the ring as “Triple H,’’ also shared his thoughts: |
The next time you log into Halo: The Master Chief Collection, you will be prompted to download the latest content update. This particular content update focuses on matchmaking, parties, custom games, achievements, stability, and more. While this update contains a variety of improvements, we continue to work on additional content updates that will be rolled out to address further issues. Below, you’ll find a summary of the updates that are included in today’s update: Matchmaking & Parties Made improvements to matchmaking team balance Made an update to improve matchmaking search times and success rates, specifically expediting the “Players Found” and “Connecting Session” search phases Made improvements to prevent a player’s rank from resetting unexpectedly Made an update to resolve an issue that allowed players to be placed into an incorrect lobby after a matchmaking game Made improvements to prevent the party from being disbanded upon returning to lobby Made an update to ensure that players are sorted by team in the “Match Found” screen Resolved an issue where Team Slayer matches in Halo 3 could separate players onto individual teams Resolved an issue where players could be placed into a group of 7 players and unable to find more Made improvements to ensure that the party-leader is prompted to “Bring Party” when leaving a lobby Made an update to ensure that split-screen players cannot be divided onto different teams Made improvements to ensure that clients are not kicked from parties at the end of matchmaking games with a “failed to connect” error Made an update to ensure that Halo 2: Anniversary matches do not continue indefinitely after entire opposing team quits Made an update to ensure that parties are not separated when the party leader navigates through multiple titles Custom Games Made improvements to prevent manual team selection from getting reset after a Custom Game match Made an update to ensure that the “Make Party Leader” command functions correctly Achievements Made an update to ensure that the “Too Close to the Sun” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met Made an update to ensure that the “Monopolized” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met Made an update to ensure that the “Devastating” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met Made an update to ensure that the “You’re Joking” achievement unlocks when prerequisites are met Game-specific Made improvements to Halo 2: Anniversary objective pickup, specifically in regards to objective “juggling” Made an update to Halo 3’s movement input, specifically to resolve a deadzone issue which affected moving in a straight line Made additional improvements to Halo: CE fall damage scenarios Made an update to resolve a Halo 2 Classic campaign issue where a black screen could overlay the gameplay screen Stability Made a variety of stability improvements across the following areas: Matchmaking Custom Games Halo 4 Campaign Misc. |
The Suns’ latest long-term plan—as thin, comically optimistic, and completely lacking in self-awareness as it was—lasted less than five days. On Wednesday, owner Robert Sarver painted his vision for arguably the league’s most hopeless franchise, a plan grounded in patience. By Sunday, his organization had announced the firing of coach Earl Watson after a hideous 0-3 start that featured the worst loss in franchise history and a collective defensive effort that can only be described as mutinous. As the Blazers, Lakers and Clippers carved them up to the tune of 129 points per game, the lifeless, clueless Suns looked like they were staging a protest. The only things missing as they conceded a parade of wide open lay-ups were white flags of surrender and signs that read, “Somebody save us.” Sure enough, the weekend brought Watson’s firing and a public cry for help from the team’s starting point guard, Eric Bledsoe. “I don’t wanna be here,” Bledsoe wrote on Twitter, a completely understandable sentiment that has been shared by many others in recent years. Indeed, let’s hand out truth serum and immunity from fines by the NBA league office and see how many of the Suns players retweet Bledsoe and add, “Me neither!!!” For the record, Sarver’s plan, as revealed to his tortured fan base in an interview with Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, was this: 1) Hope that two of his young prospects develop into All-Stars over the next three seasons, and then 2) hope that his front office could sign two max-level free agents in 2020. “That’s really kind of the strategy,” Sarver said. “It’s hard [to avoid quicker fixes]. It’s hard, especially when free agency starts and you see a few opportunities … and your instinct is to want to try to get the best players you can get. It’s also hard during the season where at times you wish you had some of that [talent]. But I think our plan is pretty solid and high level.” It’s rich that a three-year, take-it-slow developmental plan self-combusted after three games, but Sarver’s need for a scapegoat was real. The Suns did not put out a professional effort against the Blazers in their home opener, a fact that can only be partially excused away by GM Ryan McDonough’s G-League level roster. At media day, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka evoked the Broadway play “Hamilton” to paint his rebuilding team’s identity as “young, scrappy and hungry.” McDonough’s Suns under Watson? Young, napping and grumpy. Replacing Watson with veteran assistant Jay Triano on an interim basis solves nothing, though, neither did replacing the beleaguered Jeff Hornacek with Watson in 2016. Phoenix’s underperforming players are a symptom, not the disease. The Suns suffer from a broken culture created by Sarver and repeatedly reinforced during McDonough’s error-filled run. Bledsoe epitomizes Phoenix’s deep, irresistible rot. The Suns played hard ball with him during rookie extension negotiations that dragged on and on for no good reason. Then, they teamed him with ball-dominant guards, Isaiah Thomas and Goran Dragic, in a misaligned three-headed monster. Then, they abruptly reversed course, strip-mining the roster and undertaking a youth movement. Then, they shut him down in mid-March last season to pursue a tank job that failed to land Lonzo Ball or Markelle Fultz. Why on Earth would Bledsoe want to be in Phoenix? The Suns nickel-and-dimed him, they made misstep after misstep around him, and they took away his right to play for an entire month in 2016-17. When Bledsoe arrived in Phoenix, he was a promising 23-year-old trying to prove that he could run his own show. Now, he’s nearly 28, with no playoff appearances as a Sun, with his third coach in three seasons, and with no help on the horizon. Honestly, it’s a miracle that Bledsoe took this long to press “send” on his Tweet. Since leaving Phoenix, Thomas blossomed into an MVP candidate in Boston and is set to play for a title in Cleveland. Dragic enjoyed a career year in Miami and should make the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Markieff Morris, Marcus Morris, and others have all fled the desert for greener pastures and never looked back. Does anyone doubt that Bledsoe will enjoy a more stable environment and greater earning potential wherever he lands next? Given this track record, shouldn’t Booker, who is still just 20, start working on his own exit strategy too? Christian Petersen/Getty Images Sarver made this bed and now he’s stuck laying in it. After the Suns locker room imploded on Hornacek, Sarver opted to hire Watson, a rookie coach, at a rock-bottom price. While Watson, a thoughtful and well-respected former player, wasn’t exactly a Coach of the Year candidate, he inherited a toxic locker room and was expected to lean heavily on raw players like Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender. The owner got precisely what he paid for. The same holds true for McDonough. The first-time GM’s inexperience has shown through over and over, whether in his handling of Bledsoe, the Dragic trade and its aftermath, the Thomas trade and its aftermath, the disastrous trade for Brandon Knight, the drafting of Alex Len, the Morris brothers saga, the sloppy handling of Hornacek’s prolonged departure, the ill-advised Tyson Chandler signing, the unsuccessful pursuit of LaMarcus Aldridge, the shameless tanking, and all the rest. He’s had years to build a culture and find players who fit that culture, and yet all he’s done is make an impressively wide array of mistakes. It was Sarver who decided to let a rookie executive learn on the job. So it is Sarver who ultimately shoulders the blame for the damage to his franchise’s assembled talent and reputation. Remarkably, after that long list of backfiring trades, empty lottery picks and talent misevaluations, Sarver granted McDonough a contract extension in July. Perfect. With any luck, Phoenix’s terrible opening week will serve as a wake-up call to Sarver. His stated plan is a pipe dream. The Suns can’t reasonably expect to have two All-Stars by 2020; they’ll be lucky if Booker alone evolves to that level given the dysfunction around him. And they certainly can’t expect to land two max-worthy free agents by 2020. Not when the Suns have only a history of losing and disgruntled players to sell to prospective stars. Not when McDonough’s biggest signing to date was a well-past-his-prime Chandler. And not when the league’s best players are increasingly teaming up with each other in winning environments. Sarver’s plan will only work if Phoenix develops its current talent, attracts new talent, and constructs an environment in which that collected talent stays happy together. Does Sarver really believe his organization can somehow magically check all three boxes after repeatedly falling short on all counts? Or, does he know deep down that his vision sounds far-fetched to anyone that’s paid attention to his organization since Steve Nash’s departure? Here’s the good news: There’s a better plan available to Sarver, one that will leave him with stuffed pockets and his ego intact. This plan doesn’t require any public acknowledgment of mistakes. It doesn’t require years of waiting on teenagers to pan out. It doesn’t require trading Bledsoe for pennies on the dollar. It doesn’t require yet another coaching search. It doesn’t require waiting a year to see whether McDonough gets his act together. It doesn’t require turning over the front office again. It doesn’t require fending off the vultures who are undoubtedly sizing up Booker already. It doesn’t even require competent decision-making or strategic thinking. All this plan requires from Sarver is a desire for money. Immediate relief from his countless, recurring headaches will be an added bonus. Sell the Suns. Cash out. Sarver led a group that purchased the Suns for $401 million in 2004 and, thanks to the league’s ongoing boom, the franchise’s value was pegged at $1.1 billion by Forbes back in February. As a point of reference, the Rockets were recently sold for a record $2.2 billion after being valued at $1.65 billion in the same Forbes survey. If Sarver decides to trade his fairly-tale vision for real dividends, a huge windfall awaits. Over the summer, Sarver claimed that he was “a better owner today” than he was at the height of the Nash era, because he had “learned more about the business” and come to understand the importance of a transcendent star. Of course, no one besides Sarver can see the alleged progress, not when the Suns are poised to win fewer than 25 games for the third straight year, not when Bledsoe is unleashing social media distress signals, and not when Watson is being unceremoniously dumped. Booker might be a nice scorer, but he’s got a long, long way to go before he has a Nash-like impact. Even Sarver can see that, right? There are 79 games left in Phoenix’s season, a cruel fact that will generate unavoidable and gloomy questions in the coming days. Which coach would be desperate enough to sign on as Watson’s full-time successor? Which star would choose to play in Phoenix after seeing what happened to Bledsoe? Which executive would be willing to undertake years of arduous work to improve an abysmal roster if McDonough winds up being the next to go? Sarver should do himself, his city, his players and his fan base a favor by focusing his attention on a variant of those queries. Namely: Which eager, basketball-loving billionaire is ready to pony up for the Suns? Given the NBA’s robust economic landscape, a willing buyer might even emerge in as little as five days. |
Will people ever learn? A camera rental company found its cameras and lenses severely damaged after people took them to shoot the solar eclipse last month. This, despite warning users not to point their cameras directly at the sun. SEE ALSO: The most epic images from the 2017 total solar eclipse Online rental shop LensRentals told renters that solar filters had to be attached to lenses to protect them and camera sensors during the eclipse. Naturally, some people didn't listen. Here are the results, from burnt shutter systems: Image: lens rentals To damaged sensors: Image: lens rentals This Nikon D500 saw its mirror melt: Image: lens rentals And this Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens (which costs a casual $11,499) had its aperture blades destroyed: Image: lens rentals "The most common problem we encountered was sensors being destroyed by the heat. We wanted everyone to buy a solar filter for your lens and also sent out mass emails and fliers," said Zach Sutton, the editor of LensRentals in a blogpost. "Hopefully [this] will serve as a warning to those who are already prepping for the next eclipse in 2024." |
Google is under investigation in Europe over allegations it abused its dominance in search, while Comcast is seeking approval to merge with TWC Google spent a record $5.47m on lobbying during the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 43% from $3.82m in theprevious year, according to figures compiled by non-profit group Consumer Watchdog. According to disclosures just filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives, cable giant Comcast was Google’s closest rival, spending $4.62m in the quarter, an increase of 50% from $3.09m in the first quarter of 2014. Both companies are in the midst of protracted political negotiations. European Union competition chief Margrethe Vestager has launched an investigation into allegations that Google abused its dominance in search. A separate investigation has been launched into Android, its mobile operating system. Google is keen on US support for its position and to head off any attempts at similar moves in the US. The latest number topped the $5.03m Google spent on lobbying in the first quarter of 2012 when the company was facing an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. Comcast is currently seeking approval for a mega-merger with Time Warner Cable, a deal that would hand the merged entity control of two thirds of the broadband internet market and has angered consumer groups. While the two giants were the biggest lobbying spenders among 16 tech and communications companies monitored by Consumer Watchdog, there were also other notable rises in spending. Amazon’s lobbying spending soared 130% to $1.91m in the first quarter of 2015, up from $830,000 a year earlier. The company has been actively lobbying for relaxation of rules regulating the use of drones. The Google and Comcast increases came as most other tech and communications companies slightly trimmed or held their lobbying costs flat, the House records show. Google’s second highest first-quarter spending was $5.03 million in 2012 when the internet giant was facing an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. “Even though many companies slightly trimmed their first-quarter spending, it’s important to understand just how much money these companies are throwing around in Washington to buy the policies they want,” said John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project director. “Policymaking is now all about big bucks, not big ideas.” Facebook, which has been increasing its Washington presence, spent $2.44m, a decrease of 12% from $2.78m in the comparable 2014 quarter. Microsoft’s spending dipped 9% to $1.89m from $2.08m. |
BOSTON -- Dave Dombrowski sat behind a desk in a hotel suite at the winter meetings last December, a hot-off-the-presses copy of the new collective bargaining agreement in his hand, and claimed the Red Sox "don't have a driving force to make a big deal." A day later, they traded for Chris Sale. The point here isn't to rail against Dombrowski for being misleading. He hasn't survived 40 years in major league front offices by telegraphing every move. Sometimes, it's actually better for business if the Red Sox president isn't entirely transparent. Where should Giancarlo go? We pick the best landing spot for the 2017 NL MVP. Dan Szymborski » Let that serve as context, then, for what Dombrowski said last week. As industry insiders guess which marquee slugger -- J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer or Giancarlo Stanton -- the starving-for-power Red Sox will acquire this winter, Dealin' Dave suggested they might seek a less expensive option and save the big bucks to make long-term contract offers to their young players. Believe him? You shouldn’t. Only an astronomer loves stars more than Dombrowski. And he isn't afraid to make big moves. So, with the Red Sox still lacking a true middle-of-the-order bopper 13 months after David Ortiz played his final game, there's really only one name that should be at the top of Dombrowski's offseason wish list. "Stanton," one American League talent evaluator said this week when asked to choose, based strictly on their talent, between Martinez, Hosmer and Stanton. This is about more than merely talent, of course. Although the Derek Jeter-led Miami Marlins are serious about moving Stanton in order to reset their payroll, the 28-year-old outfielder has a no-trade clause and a strong preference to play in California. One source said last week that Stanton is open-minded about a trade to any team, but another major league source guessed it's "less than 50-50" that the Los Angeles native would approve a trade to the Red Sox as long as all West Coast options haven't been exhausted. Maybe Stanton won't come to Boston. But for a slugger of Stanton's caliber, even with 10 years and $295 million left on his contract, the Red Sox need to find out for sure. After all, if anyone can replace Big Papi, it's Bigfoot -- Stanton’s nickname in the minors. Homers were hit at a record pace last season, but the Red Sox missed the memo. They went deep only 168 times, fewest in the league. Of the 74 players who hit at least 25 homers, none was part of Boston's lineup. Deposed manager John Farrell used seven players in the cleanup spot, evidence he had plenty of No. 2 and No. 6 hitters but no true middle-of-the-order force. Stanton is more than that. He's a unicorn, the kind of hitter who keeps fans from spending an inning at the concession stand if there's a reasonable chance he might come to the plate. He's a transcendent slugger -- and not just because he just hit 59 home runs, including 33 in 73 games (272 at-bats) after the All-Star break, and was crowned National League MVP. Consider this: Since he debuted for the Marlins in 2010, Stanton has 267 homers, fourth most in the majors. And he's fourth all time in home run rate, averaging one per 13.4 at-bats. Only Mark McGwire (10.61), Babe Ruth (11.76) and Barry Bonds (12.92) went deep more often than Stanton through his first eight big-league seasons. A right-handed hitter with immense size (6-foot-6, 245 pounds) and brute strength, Stanton has been an equal-opportunity masher, crushing lefties with ferocity (.293/.393/.632) and doing ample damage against righties (.261/.350/.532). And at age 28, he's firmly in his prime. MLB offseason From Keith Law's free-agent rankings to all the big moves, we have the MLB offseason covered. • Complete MLB hot stove coverage » The acquisition cost might not be overly steep, either. Indications are the Marlins are more concerned with moving Stanton's salary than getting back a raft of talent. Dombrowski has drained the Red Sox's farm system over the past two years with trades for Craig Kimbrel, Drew Pomeranz, Tyler Thornburg and Sale, but there's likely enough left to build a deal for Stanton if the Sox pick up the majority of the $295 million. Dombrowski is familiar with making a 10-year commitment to a player. Miguel Cabrera had two years left on his contract with the Detroit Tigers in 2014 when Dombrowski signed him to an eight-year, $248 million extension, a deal that now looks like an albatross for an organization seeking to rebuild. At the time, Cabrera was coming off back-to-back MVP awards, although he was three years older than Stanton is now. "When you build around that type of person, you have to feel very comfortable to do that," Dombrowski said last week. "You’re looking at how you think a player will age -- durability, the aging process, their willingness to do it, what the dollars will cost you. There’s a lot, philosophically." Durability has been an issue for Stanton. He has reached the 145-game mark only three times in eight years, and one NL talent evaluator expressed concern for how "large humans like Stanton" tend to age. But while Stanton has dealt with hamstring, knee, abdominal, shoulder and groin problems, his most serious injuries -- a fractured jaw in 2014 and a broken wrist in 2015 -- were the result of freak hit-by-pitches and not indicative of alarming fragility. The Red Sox also shouldn't be scared off by the money owed to Stanton, especially when they consider what Martinez and Hosmer -- both of whom are represented by agent Scott Boras -- are bound to receive on the free-agent market. Boras already has dubbed Martinez "the King Kong of Slug" and is selling Hosmer as the player who can get any team to "Playoffville." Martinez is a nice player who hit 45 homers and slugged .690 in his walk year, causing his stock to boom like Microsoft's in the '90s. If anyone can say they saw Martinez's success coming, it's Dombrowski, who scooped him up for the Tigers in 2014, after he got released by the Houston Astros. But considering the 30-year-old outfielder averaged 28 homers and a .540 slugging percentage from 2014-16, it's worth wondering if his 2017 production was a new norm or merely an outlier. Hosmer is a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman, a World Series champ and a clubhouse leader, all of which is surely attractive to the Red Sox. One thing he's not: a true slugger. Hosmer's numbers were impacted by playing in Kansas City's cavernous Kauffman Stadium, but the fact is, the 28-year-old has never hit more than 25 homers or slugged .500 in a season. Nevertheless, one NL scout guessed Martinez and Hosmer will wind up signing contracts that pay them an annual salary comparable to Stanton's. And the biggest names in next year's star-studded free-agent class -- Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson -- could well wind up with deals in excess of $400 million. In that case, Stanton's salary will suddenly seem, well, almost reasonable. It's true the Sox have other payroll considerations, including 13 arbitration-eligible players who will get raises and a young core of players who are candidates for long-term deals. But there's also no guarantee Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts or Andrew Benintendi will have any interest in signing an extension any time soon. Betts and Bogaerts already have indicated they prefer to go through the yearly arbitration process. For a player like Stanton, it's worth putting everything else aside. Dombrowski won't come out and say it, but you know he's thinking about it. It would be foolish not to. |
Facebook 9 Pinterest 0 Reddit 15 Twitter And then there were seven. In the local craft brewing world consumers sometimes need a scorecard to keep up with new releases, limited and seasonal releases, what’s coming out in bottles, what’s in cans or on tap. But like any changing menu, there are always a few staples that will forever be in place when you need them. At Schlafly these are called the ‘Year Round Series’ and till this week there have only been six deemed worthy to be always available year round. Pale Ale, Hefeweizen, Dry Hopped APA, Kolsch and Oatmeal Stout. Move over big six, you’ve got company. Grapefruit IPA is the first new release to the year-round series since 2007. The beer actually made its debut this past summer, on draft only at the Schlafly Tap Room and Bottleworks brewery-restaurants in June and quickly sold out. Now, we have seen fruit beers before. But most around the world are fruit flavored. Not this Grapefruit IPA. “We want people to know this is a true fruit beer, not a fruit-flavored beer,” Schlafly Ambassador Brewer Stephen Hale says. “We’re experienced in using purées of real ingredients, like in our Raspberry Hefeweizen and our Pumpkin Ale. One of our core disciplines at Schlafly is a dedication to ingredients to ensure our beers are free of additives and artificial flavors.” Here’s how they do it. The brewers, in partnership with the good folks at Oregon Fruit Products have cooked up a special grapefruit purée made with whole fruit—rind, pulp, and all—and no added sugar, flavorings, or extracts. The beer is then brewed with a collection of American ale yeast and special hops – Citra, Cascade, and Chinook to add more citrus and floral elements. Grapefruit IPA rings in at a 5% ABV for a distinctive and boldly flavored India Pale Ale with a crisp hoppiness. Grapefruit IPA can be purchased at the Tap Room or Bottleworks locations or in six-packs ($8.99) across the brewery’s distribution region. The beer can also be enjoyed on draft at the Schlafly Tap Room or Bottleworks, as well as select on-premise locations. |
New Year's Eve and Day are the biggest days of the year for fight fans. In Vegas, Gray Maynard is challenging Frankie Edgar for the UFC Lightweight Title, and in Japan they're finding out how many pounds of cats it takes to defeat a light heavyweight trapped in a bag. To celebrate this, I'm counting down the baddest ass moments in kickboxing history. I'll even include some helpful tips so you can spend 2011 kicking ass at home. Advertisement Glaube Feitosa vs. Musashi: Tiger Knee! Glaube Feitosa is a Brazilian with a kyokushin karate background. Kyokushin karate competitions usually have rules about not punching someone in the head which makes it a badass combination of axe kicks and endurance chest punching. It was developed by Koreans as a home remedy to remove a daughter's breast implants. Training in it has given Glaube an arsenal of kicks that is borderline ridiculous -- he fights like your girlfriend does when she beats you at Tekken by slapping the kick buttons. Glaube's sweetest weapon is a gator kick he calls the "Brazilian Kick." It's an attack that looks like his thigh and shin can't agree on what they're doing. It starts low so your opponent's elbow comes down to protect his body, then your kneecap dislodges and your foot swings over his gloves and into his betrayed face. You can't trust Glaube's leg. Glaube's leg will invite you over for sex and then sell you Amway. Poisoned Amway. Musashi is also a karate fighter, and in his prime he was a mix of twitchy reflexes and Japanese unkillability. This was not his prime. This was towards the end of a tough career of being 40 pounds lighter than every opponent. Plus, as a Japanese hero, biased judges always sent his fights into extra "tie-breaking" rounds. Musashi could get pummeled into an amublance and the judges would chase after it to tell him he still has an extra round to fight. If you punch Musashi in the eye, the Japanese judges write that down as "Musashi sternly gazes at opponent's honorless fist: 75 points." When Musashi dies, Japanese ringside teams will exhume his body for a tie-breaker round against the robots that killed him. When the two fought, Musashi wasn't doing much. He's a counter fighter, but you can't counter fight against a guy whose kicks taunt you seven different ways before knocking a tooth out. Counter fighting against Glaube Feitosa is like playing catch with hot soup -- it only ends quickly and stupidly. But it's not like it mattered -- no one would have been ready for the video game combo that Glaube unleashed. Feitosa backed Musashi up with punches, threw a Brazilian Kick, then a front kick to the face. Musashi awesomely blocked and dodged all of this, but he was out of room. He bounced off the ropes just as Feitosa went into the air with a flying knee. Geologists can't explain why the ground shook for a moment, but wise men say that it was the erections of ancient war gods raging under the Earth. Glaube's knee smashed into Musashi's head like a Gallagher punchline. Then, as Musashi flopped into a heap Japanese poets might describe as "a tie," Glaube kiiYAI'ed into a karate trophy pose. Feitosa kicks ass like a 9-year-old in his imagination. Watch the fight here Rob Kaman vs Marek Piotrowski Rob Kaman is the greatest Dutch kickboxer of all time which is kind of like being the greatest anything of anything of all time. Kaman has the kind of mustache you normally only see stuck to a second one just like it and he wears trunks with a rainbow across the crotch. Why? Because he wants you to picture how badly he could kill you if you said something about it. Plus, it makes it impossible to tell whether he's going to fuck you or your wife. Rob Kaman's leg kicks hit hard enough to knock the polio vaccine out of your body, but he's also a genius at setting them up. He'll punch you twice in the face and while you're concerned with that, he'll kick your undefended leg in half. And if you try to get clever and keep your leg up to block it, he'll kick the other one out from under you. Every fight with Rob Kaman comes with a free lifetime limp. Kaman was the godfather of this modern Dutch system of Muay Thai that involves more punching than traditional Thai kickboxing. When you look at upper body of the top fighters from Holland and Thailand, you'll see the reason for this might be less cultural and more physiological. In 1992, Kaman faced Polish fighting legend Marek Piotrowski for the I.S.K.A. Oriental Rules Light Heavyweight Title. "Oriental Rules" was a vaguely racist way of saying you can kick each other in the legs. Early in the fight, Kaman broke his shin open on Piotrowski. His corner taped it closed, but there's a reason they don't make tampons out of duct tape -- it doesn't work. His shin wouldn't stop bleeding and he wouldn't stop smashing it into Piotrowski. You could tell he hated it, but Rob Kaman doesn't care -- he will beat you with his own open wound just to teach you both how weak you are. The fight went for seven rounds. And these weren't seven rounds of jabs and high fives. They were pounding on each other. Then finally Kaman landed the kind of mind-crippling right hand that makes Polish jokes tragically unironic. Piotrowski's legs quivered like a screen door on a submarine and the ref jumped between them. Piotrowski collapsed to a knee, swinging the whole time. Then this crazy bastard wobbled back to his feet only to have the referee stop the fight. Why? Because Piotrowski was completely god damn asleep. Rob Kaman shattered the part of his brain that tells your body when it's in a coma. The referee held his unconscious body, but he was holding it more back than he was up. Which is a pretty ballsy thing to do to a guy who just turned into a zombie right in front of you. Remy Bonjasky vs. Akebono Japan loves to put sumo wrestlers in non-sumo situations, and it has never gone well. Sumo skills translate to fighting about as well as they do to trampoline safety. Coming into his fifth fight, Akebono had never won a kickboxing match or even demonstrated that he'd seen a kickboxing match, so it should be safe to put him against the kickboxing champion of the world, right? While I'm on the subject, Japan, have you ever made a decision when you're sober? For two rounds Remy Bonjasky punched and kicked Akebono as he helplessly shambled in a tiny circle. Chocolate rabbits have more natural defenses than Akebono. I didn't know if Remy was toying with him or waiting for the ice cream inside to melt just to see what would happen. It was so embarrassing that I think the Japanese subtitles tried to trick the audience into thinking they were watching a panther kill a bean bag. Then, in the third round, Remy landed a head kick. Akebono looked so dead that local restaurant owners panicked. To this day, it's the most violent thing ever done to butter. They say that if you watch this fight while you're cooking, your cream sauce will break. Buakaw Por Pramuk vs. Masato: Ass Kicking of the Eight Limbs The 2004 finals of the K-1 World MAX Tournament ended up being the fight everyone wanted -- the two best lightweights in the sport facing off. One of them was a little more best than the other, though. In the first round, Buakaw opened a Muay Thai school on Masato. Thai survivors of Japan's WWII invasion watch this and say, "Jesus, take it easy on the Japanese fella." Most Thai fighters like to go slow in the first round and feel their opponent out. So if a Thai fighter spent the first round beating you like you were filled with candy, terrible things are in your future. Buakaw hunted Masato in a way that no behavioral forensics investigator would call human. At one point he boots Masato into the ropes, spins him around, and kicks both legs out from under him. Masato was so confused where he was, he had to spit to figure out which way was up like an avalanche victim. In Muay Thai, the push kick is used in the same way a boxer uses a jab. It can hurt, but it's mostly there to create distance. It is most definitely not normal to see someone use it to stomp on a man's face while they're both standing up. Buakaw is the DEA and you are a meth lab door. After this one-sided fight went the distance, it seemed pretty easy for the Japanese judges to pick a winner -- the awesome guy without all the footprints on his face. But on the other hand, Masato is Japanese. So they called it a tie and made them fight a fourth round. Coincidentally, four is the same number of years this insane decision took off Masato's lifespan. The extra round went like the others. Buakaw filmed a How To Break A Man's Will With Muay Thai instructional tape all over Masato's legs, body, and head. Masato kept clinching to try and rest, but Muay Thai doesn't use the clinch for resting. As soon as any hug started, Buakaw either kneed an organ to death or spiked Masato into the mat like a football. After that, the judges didn't send it to a fifth round, probably because Masato's life insurance didn't cover suicide. Cro Cop vs. Bob Sapp: Exploding Eyeball Punch Bob Sapp is what ancient Greeks used to protect their mazes. He's immune to catapults and fire, but he tires quickly. After his initial charge, he'll be breathing too hard to punch and you really only have to worry about him getting your cattle pregnant. Against Cro Cop he threw everything he had into a five second groping followed by a dick punch. Cro Cop survived, grumpily, and answered back with a ramrod of a cross to Sapp's right eye. Bob Sapp wasn't used to his lunch punching him in the face and his reaction to it was to turn his entire body into a cartoon. In comical slow motion, Sapp bent down and contorted his face in pain, surprise, and 8 emotions only buffalo have names for. He looked like he was trying to act out Total Recall for a deaf person. Shrieking louder and louder, he lowered himself to the mat. Something in his skull broke and it was taking a very long time for all the pain signals to reach the twin brains located in buttocky clusters of muscles in his calves. As it would be explained to him later at the minotaur clinic, Cro Cop broke his orbital bone. Then they of course asked him to leave. His doctor didn't go to 12 years of minotaur school to treat a filthy cyclops. Semmy Schilt: 3 Wins in 3 Rounds To get into the K-1 Grand Prix Finals, you have to win several zillion fights throughout the year. To win the Grand Prix, you have to beat three of the best kickboxers in the world in one night. In 2009, Semmy Schilt did that in stupidly record-breaking time. The karate snap kick is one of the first moves they teach children, probably because you can't hurt anyone with it. It's a little flip of your knee that drives the ball of your foot straight out to let your enemy know it's safe to rape you. However, Semmy Schilt is 7 feet tall and his limbs act as natural particle accelerators. By the time his lazy jab or kick reaches you, it cracks against you like an elephant gun. And against a normal-sized human, the impact zone of his snap kick is your liver, which is somewhere between your balls and your dong on the list of places you don't want to get kicked. In the quarter final, Semmy shut down Jerome Le Banner's nervous system with a snap kick to the liver in the first round. It was the kind of kick that makes back alley abortion doctors wince. After that, he faced Remy Bonjasky. Remy knocked him down with a jab in the first few seconds, but all that did was piss Semmy off. He chased Bonjasky into a corner and did the exact same thing back. Bonjasky struggled to his feet and over the next twenty seconds, Semmy beat every inch of him like he was Keith Moon's drum kit. A leg kick finally dropped Bonjasky with 30 seconds left in the round, and when I say "dropped," I mean knocked him screaming, wincing, and flailing into the mat. I think Bonjasky might have been trying to signal offshore Japanese boats to warn them about Semmy Schilt. In the finals, Semmy faced Badr Hari who had actually knocked Semmy out a few months earlier. They traded gigantic shots for a minute until Semmy threw a jab so filled with hate that protest marches are still held on the remains of Badr Hari's face. Semmy went to the corner and waited for Badr to get up, watching him with the barely contained savagery of a fat person deciding on barbecue sauce. Badr got up, so Semmy kicked him in the head. Badr got up with a flying punch, so Semmy kicked him out of the air. Badr got up again and Semmy said, "fuck this" with a kick to the liver. Badr agreed, and stayed down. Ramon Dekkers vs. Rayen Simpson: Double Knockout! When Ramon Dekkers fought Rayen Simpson, the two of them seemed to have just gotten back from sex with each other's girlfriends. They were mad, and after two rounds of feeding each other angry punches, neither of them showed any sign of being hurt. They were determined to set a world record for Most Ignored Skull Fractures. Late in the second, they each got the idea to throw a left hook, and it was the best idea either of them had ever had. Their punches hit at the exact same time and they were both knocked out cold. The timing was so impossible that Michael J. Fox drove out of the impact and asked what year it was. Remy Bonjasky vs. Vernon White: No Shadow Kick Vernon "Tiger" White is a good stand-up striker, but he's spent most of his career as a mixed martial artist. Remy Bonjasky, on the other hand, is what horny female geneticists would make if they were hired to build the perfect kickboxer. He's what Hitler draws when you ask him what he's most afraid of. A minute into this fight, Vernon and Remy each threw a body kick at the same time. Remy got the better of it. His kick slammed Vernon into the mat. The second Vernon got to his feet, Remy jumped across the ring and threw a roundhouse that seemed to hit nothing. Which didn't explain why Vernon was horizontal and twitching. The announcers were confused, the audience was confused and you had to look at the slow motion replay to see what the hell happened. It was like a Bruce Lee urban legend -- the film was too slow to catch it. In one frame you see Remy's foot about to hit Vernon's temple, and in the next, his foot has moved three feet and Vernon's head is a horizontal smear. Remy knocked this man out with a flying Photoshop filter. Ernesto Hoost: 1 Night, 3 Enemies Put in The Hospital As Ernesto Hoost would put it, he is the "four times K-1 World Champion." He retired with 97 wins and 62 knockouts. That means that if he doesn't feel like driving somewhere, he can kick a road sign until it says what he wants. He was a bit past his prime coming into the 2002 K-1 Finals and only got in the tournament because he replaced an injured Semmy Schilt. To make matters worse, he was fighting Bob Sapp in the quarter final, 400 pounds of growth hormones that beat Hoost two months earlier with moves he learned watching orangutans fight beehives. Hoost went after Sapp with beautiful leg kicks and combinations and dropped him with surgical body shots. Years from now, when Bob Sapp's organs are being harvested, one of the horse doctors will say to the other, "Whatever this thing used to be, it's paste now." Sapp counter attacked like a frat boy trying to break his bitch ex girlfriend's stereo. It didn't quite work out for him. Hoost spent the entire first round showing the audience the prettiest possible way to execute a yeti. This continued for 2 minutes and 40 seconds into the second round until Bob Sapp finally cornered Hoost. He held Hoost there with one flipper and threw a temper tantrum against his guard. Sapp punched so much like a hysterical woman that it looked like he was setting up to collapse into Ernesto Hoost's chest and weep. And when the referee jumped in and stopped the fight, that's almost exactly what Sapp did. Ernesto Hoost was fine. Bob Sapp was the most famous thing in Japan at the time, so when the referee saw a chance to let him win, he took it. With 10 seconds left in the second round, Bob Sapp was being carried by a freight truck to the hospital for a broken hand, and Ernesto Hoost was left in the ring to not fucking believe that shit. Bob Sapp couldn't continue in the tournament since even yeti hands break when you throw them spastically and metacarpus first, and Ernesto Hoost was given his spot in the semi-finals against Ray Sefo. The fight didn't even make it out of the first round. I tried to make it clear that Ernesto Hoost was a badass, but you still might be shocked that 90 seconds into this fight he blocked an incoming kick and it broke Ray Sefo's leg. The standard defense for a leg kick is lifting your leg so your enemy's shin hits your shin, not your thigh. As you might imagine, this motherfuck-sucks for the first few thousand times you do it, but eventually your shin builds up calcium deposits and you are a true man. A good leg block doesn't completely negate damage, but when the impact is bone-on-bone, at least the guy kicking you hates it as much as you do. However, if you can turn your knee out and poke it directly into an incoming shin, your opponent will instantly regret at least one decision he's made in his life. In his first fight of the night, Ernesto let a grizzly bear pound on him until it broke its hand. Then he let Ray Sefo break his leg against him. So I figured in the finals, he would just steal Jerome Le Banner's seat belts and stand in front of his car. He was more proactive with his maiming in this fight, though. He broke Le Banner's arm with a body kick in the third round. Le Banner was in so much pain he forgot which sport he was in and called a time out. The confused ref considered it a knock down and gave Le Banner a standing 8 count. This wasn't quite enough time for his arm bones to mend themselves, so when Hoost kicked it again, Le Banner called another time out. If there's a word for it when someone is kicking you in your broken arm and you keep coming back, I want to know it so I can scream it during sex. Hoost finished the fight with another kick to the broken arm that was arguably more merciful than dickish at this point. Then he pranced into victory dance so magical that it swept through the land and undid all the terrible violence he had committed. Ray Sefo vs. Mark Hunt At the start of this match, Sefo and Hunt were trading shots like gentlemen. One would throw a punch, the other would throw a punch. One would throw a knee, the other would throw a knee. It just looked like a couple of fun guys smashing things together to see how close you have to be to a car to set off the airbag. Special Move: Oceanic Heritage! Years ago someone told Polynesian DNA that everyone was surrounded by sea monsters and it believed them. It made humans that were immune to head injuries, fast enough to run on the highway, and big enough to use the carpool lane. Putting two of them in the same ring is like telling your local tectonic plates to fuck themselves. In the second round, things got mean. Sefo and Hunt started throwing punches like they wanted to feast on the mana of the other's crushed remains. Hunt cracked punches off Sefo's forehead, and Sefo smiled and nodded. Sefo drove punches into Mark Hunt's chin; Mark Hunt screamed in his face! It looked like six bowling balls trying to play rugby. Then... in the middle of all that violence, love. As Hunt moved forward, arms down, mouth screaming for more punches, Ray "Sugarfoot" Sefo had never been more flooded with love. He dropped his hands as well, leaned in, and kissed Mark Hunt on the cheek. Not in a taunting gay way; this is how two vikings might tell each other that it's time to die when there are too many charging skeletons. Mark Hunt was moved. He answered back with two punches to Sefo's face, but don't be mistaken -- this wasn't retaliation. This gesture was just as affectionate as the kiss and Sefo smiled, a wordless thanks for this generous gift of war. Then the two of them got back to unleashing Hell with their hands. This is the fight Thor closes his eyes and thinks about when a Valkyrie is giving him a blowjob. This fight is what the Alamo uses as its Facebook picture. Neither man managed to knock the other out, which baffles skull scientists to this day. At the end of the third round, the surviving judges declared Sefo the winner, but probably because Mark Hunt was more generous when it came to dropping his hands and blocking punches with war cries. There are people that search their entire lives for the kind of chemistry that Ray Sefo and Mark Hunt have with each other's fists and skulls. It's beautiful. And Cracked Readers, I ... you've earned this: Seanbaby writes jokes about comedy and video games about UFC. Check out more from him at Seanbaby.com and follow him on Twitter. More Blogs |
There was a lot of energy at this weekend’s Off-Road Expo in Pomona, California. One of the biggest surprises was the unveiling of the highly anticipated race course map for the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE 2017 Baja 1000. SCORE International CEO and President Roger Norman and SCORE Race Director Jose A. Grijalva have been hard at work all year planning and finalizing this year’s race course. The point-to-point race will span approximately 1,200 miles starting in Ensenada, Baja California Norte, MX, make its way through some of the most challenging and scenic terrain down the Baja peninsula, and conclude with an epic finish in La Paz, Baja California Sur, MX. READ MORE: SCORE Adds Two New Vintage Classes for 50th Baja 1000 The 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 will have a total of five checkpoints en route to the finish line. They will be located at Coco’s Corner, Mujica Baja Sur, near Loreto, road crossing at the Lopez Mateos Highway and at Loma Amarilla before the last sprint to the finish line in La Paz. Over 350 entries, from 40 U.S. States and 30 countries are expected to compete in this year’s 50th-anniversary celebration of the BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000. The week-long festivities and race begin November 12th and run through November 18th, 2017. SCORE Media Relations Director Dominic Clark shared details for this year’s Baja 1000 race course with us. He noted that the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 will start in the heart of Ensenada in front of the historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. The first 20 miles will stretch to Ojos Negros, then the course heads south from Ojos down the ‘Goat Trail’ to Valley de Trinidad and around Kiliwas on a new trail that will drop into Kiliwas Wash before going back to Highway 1 on Mike’s Road. From San Matias to San Felipe and the Sea of Cortez, the race heads over a new trail that will start at Morellia Junction all the way to Zoo Road, skipping the infamous bad whoops. South of San Felipe the course winds to Coco’s Corner running a new trail before checkpoint 1 at Coco’s. The course then goes to Bahia de Los Angeles and south to Mujica where checkpoint 2 is located before crossing Highway 1 again to go to the Pacific side of the course. READ MORE: This is Baja: Top 5 Photos From the SCORE Baja 500 Past San Ignacio the course goes on another new trail to El Datil which skips the silt and highway on the way to Scorpion Bay, La Purisma and San Isidro. Before Loreto will be checkpoint 3 and then a run up to San Javier Mission before heading to checkpoint 4 at the highway crossing to Lopez Mateos. The course will go behind Ciudad Constitution to Santa Rita where another new trail goes to Loma Amarilla where the final Checkpoint (No. 5) will be located. Getting closer to La Paz, the course will go through the ‘silty’ Santa Fe area and on to Punta Conejo. The last stretch of the race course travels down by the ‘Waterfall’ before La Paz and at El Centenario and the final pavement section to the finish line at SCORE race headquarters, located next to the Grand Plaza Hotel in La Paz. Pre-running for race teams starts on Friday, October 20th at 8 am PT from Ojos Negros. Make sure to stay connected with Off-Road.com as we take you inside the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE 2017 Baja 1000 time this November. Click on the map below to see a bigger picture. |
In this picture taken on August 16, 2014, members of Japan's pop group Babymetal, Moameta, Su-Metal and Yuimetal pose during an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Chiba, a suburb of Tokyo. — AFP pic TOKYO, April 14 — Metal Resistance, the second album from Japanese teenage girl trio, Babymetal, has debuted at No. 39 on the US Billboard Top 200 album chart. Japan Today reported that it is the first Japanese album to break into the chart’s top 40 in more than 50 years. Kyu Sakamoto’s Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits reached No. 14 in 1963. Band member Su-Metal said in a statement to Japan Today, “We will use this achievement to boost our confidence so we can continue trying many things only we can try.” The group, formed in 2010 as a “fusion of heavy metal and Japanese idols,” have been touring North America and Europe since 2014, where they have gained a cult following. In comparison, the group’s debut album, the eponymous Babymetal, charted at No. 187 on the US Billboard Top 200 in 2014, according to RocketNews24. Watch their recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert below, where they performed Give Me Chocolate, a track from their first album. |
PITTSBURGH (KDKA)- Living with a peanut allergy isn’t easy, and there isn’t much that can be done for it. However, local doctors and patients now are working on something that could be the first real cure for peanut allergies. Jacob Halasowski has been allergic to peanuts for as long as he can remember. Jacob says, “One of my older sisters had peanut butter ice cream and that side of my face, she was sitting right next to me, it started to swell up. I was very young and the doctor said, ‘Well, we’ll test you, but we’re pretty sure you have an allergy.'” So, there was a “no peanuts” rule in his household while he was growing up; He sat at the “no peanut table” at school and he always carries an EpiPen. Dr. Deborah Gentile, an allergist at Allegheny General Hospital, says only 20-percent of children who have a peanut allergy outgrow it. “The mainstay of treatment right now is strict avoidance. Stay away from potential triggers and always carry an auto-injectable epinephrine pen in case you’re exposed, so you can treat the anaphylaxis.” There are no peanut allergy shots to desensitize someone, as there are for other types of allergies such as for tree pollen and dust mites. So when Jacob was notified about a study to test a possible cure for peanut allergies, he went for it. It didn’t involve shots or tablets, but rather a patch. It exposes you to the peanut allergen continually through your skin. Dr. Todd Green, an allergist at UPMC Children’s Hospital says, “They wear the patch for a year. We bring them back at the end of the year and see can they eat more than they could eat at the beginning.” In fact, the first order of business is a double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge. Patients are given a pudding containing peanuts or a placebo. If they react to the peanut pudding and not the placebo, they can be in the study. Both patients and doctors agree the initial food challenge is the hardest part of the study. Patients tend to tolerate the patch much better. Some may have a little redness and itching at first, but it eventually subsides. The patch is in its third year of study with encouraging results. The next phase is starting soon for children ages 6-to-11. If all goes well, it’ll be on the fast track to approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Green says, “This is likely not a therapy that will allow kids to go eat a peanut butter sandwich, but will give them more of a buffer so they have some protection if they get an accidental exposure.” Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter |
May 14, 2013 12:57 IST The cellphone of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader was used by operatives of banned Tamil Nadu terror outfit Al-Ummah to allegedly trigger the blast near the Bharatiya Janata Party office in Bangalore on April 17, latest investigations have revealed. Police sources told rediff.com that the phone had been stolen a day before the blasts at Malleshwaram in Bangalore, ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections, which were held on May 5. Buhari, one of the accused in the case, and his associates had stolen a phone belonging to a prominent RSS leader who resides on the Karnataka-Kerala border. They had stolen the handset along with the SIM card from him a day before the blasts. This was used to trigger the bomb, which left nine persons injured, the police said. Al-Ummah operatives planned the blasts with the objective that the police would suspect the involvement of the RSS leader once the SIM card was tracked. However, the police have not yet questioned the politician about why no complaint was lodged either with the police or the service provider about the loss of the phone and the SIM. The police, however, are expected to quiz the Sangh leader soon. In addition to this, the police have also found that 16 SIM cards were used while planning this attack. All the SIM cards were either stolen or had been procured using fake documents, investigations point out.“These SIM cards were distributed among the operatives who used it for communication with each other. In fact, the SIM card, which was used outside the blast site to make a call lead the police to the alleged operatives. Their location was tracked through a mobile tower,” police officials investigating the case said.The police have arrested nine accused in connection to the blast. Buhari, according to the police, is the mastermind and the entire operation was planned and executed on his command.Buhari, according to the police is an Al-Ummah operative, the same outfit which has targeted the BJP during the Coimbatore blasts in 1998. The serial blasts originally targeted party patriarch L K Advani but instead killed 58 persons and injured over 200. Buhari was convicted by a special court and spent over a decade in prison before being released last year.Sources in the police say that they have a strong case against seven out of the nine persons arrested in the case. |
EXCLUSIVE: There may be blood in the water for the latest installment of Syfy’s kitsch flick series. As the strike on Sharknado 3 by production and other crew goes into a second day, concerns are mounting that the TV pic won’t be finished in time for its July broadcast.“CGI takes time and Sharknado 3 will have to be pushed back by Syfy,” a production insider told me. “If this thing goes on for more than a week, there is no way all the effects will get done in time.” Sources also tell me that producers The Asylum and IATSE have not had any significant talks since approximately 40 crew members walked off the job Monday in search of an IATSE contract on the project. The 2014 sequel to cultural and social media phenomenon Sharknado was made under union contracts but The Asylum did not sign one for Sharknado 3. With less than a week to go on filming here in LA, union officials ran out of patience with the producers and decided to take this week’s action as the project moved into the post phase. Picketing of the producers’ Burbank offices by IATSE members and crew continued today – as this tweet from the Editor’s Guild makes bitingly clear. Neither Syfy nor The Asylum has commented directly on the labor action on the Anthony Ferrante directed project. However, the producers’ sometimes attorney Scott Meehan did issue a mocking statement on Monday seemingly on their behalf. “We are happy to report that we have reached an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Selachimorpha, which represents the sharks in our film,” Meehan said. “We will be increasing the amount of chum at the craft services table and will no longer require our employees to sleep without moving.” Union members declined to “dignify” statement “with a response.” |
Steve Babuljak Knowledge from millions of biological studies encoded into one network — that is Daniel Himmelstein’s alluring description of Hetionet, a free online resource that melds data from 28 public sources on links between drugs, genes and diseases. But for a product built on public information, obtaining legal permissions has been surprisingly tough. When Himmelstein, a data scientist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, contacted researchers for permission to reproduce their work openly, several said they were surprised that he had to ask. “It never really crossed my mind that licensing is an issue here,” says Jörg Menche, a bioinformatician at the Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna. Menche rapidly gave consent — but not everyone was so helpful. One research group never replied to Himmelstein, and three replied without clearing up the legal confusion. Ultimately, Himmelstein published the final version of Hetionet in July — minus one data set whose licence forbids redistribution, but including the three that he still lacks clear permission to republish. The tangle shows that many researchers don’t understand that simply posting a data set publicly doesn’t mean others can legally republish it, says Himmelstein. The confusion has the power to slow down science, he says, because researchers will be discouraged from combining data sets into more useful resources. It will also become increasingly problematic as scientists publish more information online. “Science is becoming more and more dependent on reusing data,” Himmelstein says. Data-set laws Because a piece of data — a fact — cannot be copyrighted, many scientists think that a publicly posted data set that does not place explicit terms and conditions on access can simply be republished without legal problems. But that’s not necessarily correct, says Estelle Derclaye, a specialist in intellectual-property law at the University of Nottingham, UK. The European Union assigns specific database rights, independent of copyright, that aim to protect the investment made in compiling a database. Legally speaking, these rights prevent researchers such as Himmelstein from republishing data sets created by scientists in EU states without their consent. Sergio Baranzini & Daniel Himmelstein Other countries have different layers of legal protection. But even in jurisdictions such as the United States, where no separate rights exist to govern databases, there is still room for confusion. Although facts don’t qualify for copyright, the way they are compiled arguably might — if the act of making that compilation requires sufficiently creative expression. “The default legal position on how data may be used in any given context is hard to untangle,” according to a guide on licensing data issued by the Digital Curation Centre in Edinburgh, UK. Advocates of data-sharing accordingly recommend that researchers who are creating public databases add clear licences explaining how they intend their data to be reused and redistributed, and whether they waive any database rights. Lack of confidence In Himmelstein’s case, some of the data sets that he wanted to use had clear licences — and some of these prevented unrestricted redistribution, but others did not. The most frustrating part of his project, he says, was the feeling that good data were going to waste because their creators could not clarify whether he could republish them. Andrew Charlesworth, an intellectual-property expert at the University of Bristol, UK, says that this may be because few researchers were confident enough of the law to give Himmelstein clear guidance. “What you tend to find is that if nobody has a remit to answer those kinds of questions, they are not in a hurry to take it on,” he says. Even without clear permissions, Himmelstein is unlikely to face legal penalties for publishing Hetionet, says Jonathan Band, an intellectual-property lawyer with the law firm Policy Bandwidth in Washington DC — unless, that is, he mistakenly breached terms and conditions placed on the data sets. Academics who put their data sets publicly online usually intend their work to be available for others to republish freely; and no one has ever got into trouble for doing Himmelstein’s kind of project, Band adds. But Himmelstein is not convinced that he is legally in the clear — and feels that such uncertainty may deter other scientists from reproducing academic data. If a researcher launches a commercial product that is based on public data sets, he adds, the stakes of not having clear licensing are likely to rise. “I think these are largely untested waters, and most academics aren’t in the position to risk setting off a legal battle that will help clarify these issues,” he says. |
Photography Credit: Elise Bauer Oh my. Look who’s getting all fancy with the vegetables! It’s as if my garden decided to throw a prom, and the eggplants, zucchini, and tomatoes banded together to show everyone else up. (Clearly they deserve best prize for something, don’t you think?) Normally I would look at something like this and think it’s waaaay too complicated. But this summer vegetable gratin is actually quite straightforward. To prepare these vegetables, you have to cut them anyway, so why not cut them in rounds and arrange them in a pretty pattern? If you recall, Remy, the “little chef” in Pixar’s Ratatouille movie, prepared something similar for Anton Ego, the food critic. This isn’t that dish, but something much easier. You just sauté onions and bell peppers, layer them at the bottom of a casserole dish, top with rounds of eggplant, zucchini, and tomato. Top that with cheese and bake! It’s a lovely, easy, colorful presentation for our favorite summer vegetables. A perfect side to take to a party. |
If you want to take an electric car on a long drive, you need a gas-powered generator, like the one in the Chevrolet Volt, to extend its range. The problem is that when it’s running on the generator, it’s no more efficient than a conventional car. In fact, it’s even less efficient, because it has a heavy battery pack to lug around. Gas guzzler: The fuel cell developed at the University of Maryland. Now researchers at the University of Maryland have made a fuel cell that could provide a far more efficient alternative to a gasoline generator. Like all fuel cells, it generates electricity through a chemical reaction, rather than by burning fuel, and can be twice as efficient at generating electricity as a generator that uses combustion. The researchers’ fuel cell is a greatly improved version of a type that has a solid ceramic electrolyte, and is known as a solid-oxide fuel cell. Unlike the hydrogen fuel cells typically used in cars, solid-oxide fuel cells can run on a variety of readily available fuels, including diesel, gasoline, and natural gas. They’ve been used for generating power for buildings, but they’ve been considered impractical for use in cars because they’re far too big and because they operate at very high temperatures—typically at about 900 ⁰C. By developing new electrolyte materials and changing the cell’s design, the researchers made a fuel cell that is much more compact. It can produce 10 times as much power, for its size, as a conventional one, and could be smaller than a gasoline engine while producing as much power. The researchers have also lowered the temperature at which the fuel cell operates by hundreds of degrees, which will allow them to use cheaper materials. “It’s a huge difference in cost,” says Eric Wachsman, director of the University of Maryland Energy Research Center, who led the research. He says the researchers have identified simple ways to improve the power output and reduce the temperature further still, using methods that are already showing promising results it the lab. These advances could bring costs to a point that they are competitive with gasoline engines. Wachsman says he’s in the early stages of starting a company to commercialize the technology. Wachsman’s fuel cells currently operate at 650 ⁰C, and his goal is to bring that down to 350 ⁰C for use in cars. Insulating the fuel cells isn’t difficult since they’re small—a fuel cell stack big enough to power a car would only need to be 10 centimeters on a side. High temperatures are a bigger problem because they make it necessary to use expensive, heat-resistant materials within the device, and because heating the cell to operating temperatures takes a long time. By bringing the temperatures down, Wachsman can use cheaper materials and decrease the amount of time it takes the cell to start. Even with these advances, the fuel cell wouldn’t come on instantly, and turning it on and off with every short trip in the car would cause a lot of wear and tear, reducing its lifetime. Instead, it would be paired with a battery pack, as a combustion engine is in the Volt, Wachsman says. The fuel cell could then run more steadily, serving to keep the battery topped without providing bursts of acceleration. The researchers achieved their result largely by modifying the solid electrolyte material at the core of a solid-oxide fuel cell. In fuel cells on the market, such as one made by Bloom Energy, the electrolyte has to be made thick enough to provide structural support. But the thickness of the electrolyte limits power generation. Over the last several years, researchers have been developing designs that don’t require the electrolyte to support the cell so they can make the electrolyte thinner and achieve high power output at lower temperatures. The University of Maryland researchers took this a step further by developing new multilayered electrolytes that increase the power output still more. The work is part of a larger U.S. Department of Energy effort, over the past decade, to make solid-oxide fuel cells practical. The first fruits of that effort likely won’t be fuel cells in cars—so far, Wachsman has only made relatively small fuel cells, and significant engineering work remains to be done. The first applications of solid oxide fuels in vehicles may be on long-haul trucks with sleeper cabs. Equipment suppliers such as Delphi and Cummins are developing fuel cells that can power the air conditioners, TVs, and microwaves inside the cabs, potentially cutting fuel consumption by 85 percent compared to idling the truck’s engine. The Delphi system also uses a design that allows for a thinner electrolyte, but it operates at higher temperatures than Wachsman’s fuel cell. The fuel cell could be turned on Monday, and left to run at low rates all week and still get the 85 percent reduction. Delphi has built a prototype and plans to demonstrate its system on a truck next year. |
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