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Encrypted files stored as PDF of QRcodes (phone scannable) howtophil Dec 21st, 2016 ( edited ) 357 Never 357Never Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up , it unlocks many cool features! rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint Bash 2.15 KB #!/bin/bash #----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Use: # $ ./storeqr.sh "Filename" "YoUR EncRYPtion KeY" # If you get an error message about parallel not liking -N # you probably have moreutils installed instead of parallel # sudo apt-get install parallel #----------------------------------------------------------------------------- COUNTER = 0 IFS =$ ' ' #for ldata in $( cat $1 |gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N71 echo) #Low/Default error correction for ldata in $ ( cat $1 | gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N10 echo ) #Low/Default error correction #for ldata in $( cat $1 |gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N56 echo) #Medium error correction #for ldata in $( cat $1 |gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N40 echo) #Q error correction #for ldata in $( cat $1 |gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N30 echo) #High error correction do let COUNTER+= 1 echo "Working on QRcode $COUNTER " PADCOUNT =$ ( printf "%08d" $COUNTER ) qrencode -m 8 -o $PADCOUNT .png " $ldata " #Normal/Low error correction #qrencode -l M -o $PADCOUNT.png "$ldata" #Medium error correction #qrencode -l Q -o $PADCOUNT.png "$ldata" #Q error correction #qrencode -l H -o $PADCOUNT.png "$ldata" #high error correction convert $PADCOUNT .png -gravity South -pointsize 15 -annotate + 0 + 0 " $PADCOUNT " $PADCOUNT .png done #convert *.png "$(basename $1).pdf" montage -page A4 -compress JPEG * .png -tile 3x4 -geometry 300 " $(basename $1) .pdf" rm * .png #----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # To restore file from qrcodes: # scan all the qrcodes and save as sequential images, then run # $ zbarimg -q --raw *.png | sed 's/[0-9]*//g' |codegroup -d |ccrypt -d -K "YoUR EncRYPtion KeY" |gzip -d > out.file # # Or scan each QRcode with your phone and save the codegroup text as one block of text then # $ cat thesavedcodegroup.txt | codegroup -d |ccrypt -d -K "YoUR EncRYPtion KeY" |gzip -d > out.file #----------------------------------------------------------------------------- RAW Paste Data #!/bin/bash #----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Use: # $ ./storeqr.sh "Filename" "YoUR EncRYPtion KeY" # If you get an error message about parallel not liking -N # you probably have moreutils installed instead of parallel # sudo apt-get install parallel #----------------------------------------------------------------------------- COUNTER=0 IFS=$' ' #for ldata in $( cat $1 |gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N71 echo) #Low/Default error correction for ldata in $( cat $1 |gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N10 echo) #Low/Default error correction #for ldata in $( cat $1 |gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N56 echo) #Medium error correction #for ldata in $( cat $1 |gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N40 echo) #Q error correction #for ldata in $( cat $1 |gzip -9 | ccrypt -K "$2" | codegroup | parallel --no-notice -N30 echo) #High error correction do let COUNTER+=1 echo "Working on QRcode $COUNTER" PADCOUNT=$(printf "%08d" $COUNTER) qrencode -m 8 -o $PADCOUNT.png "$ldata" #Normal/Low error correction #qrencode -l M -o $PADCOUNT.png "$ldata" #Medium error correction #qrencode -l Q -o $PADCOUNT.png "$ldata" #Q error correction #qrencode -l H -o $PADCOUNT.png "$ldata" #high error correction convert $PADCOUNT.png -gravity South -pointsize 15 -annotate +0+0 "$PADCOUNT" $PADCOUNT.png done #convert *.png "$(basename $1).pdf" montage -page A4 -compress JPEG *.png -tile 3x4 -geometry 300 "$(basename $1).pdf" rm *.png #----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # To restore file from qrcodes: # scan all the qrcodes and save as sequential images, then run # $ zbarimg -q --raw *.png | sed 's/[0-9]*//g' |codegroup -d |ccrypt -d -K "YoUR EncRYPtion KeY" |gzip -d > out.file # # Or scan each QRcode with your phone and save the codegroup text as one block of text then # $ cat thesavedcodegroup.txt | codegroup -d |ccrypt -d -K "YoUR EncRYPtion KeY" |gzip -d > out.file #----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
We’re only at Episode #2, but I’ll say it anyway. Welcome to a special patch day edition of Realm Maintenance! We’ll go around the World of Warcraft in 80 seconds, put the spotlight on the Podcast of the Week, cover some podcast news, and much much more. You’ll understand soon enough. The Rolling Restart: 5.0.4 is here, and Blizzard patch notes seem just a bit too boring for this podcast, so I’ve taken The Godmother’s version of the notes from http://www.alternative-blog.net/ instead. Want the actual scoop from Blizzard on 5.0.4? Go to http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/7045643/504_Survival_Guide-8_24_2012 ————— Around the WoW in 80 Seconds: One week of WoW News in 80 seconds. Thanks to Battle.net, MMO-Champion, WoW Insider, Wowhead, and ArenaJunkies for their news articles which were touched on in this segment. ————— Podcast of the Week: Auction House Junkies Twitter: @ahjunkies email: auctionhousejunkies@live.com ————— Podcast News: News for Convert to Raid, The Hunting Party, Girls Gone WoW, Hearthcast, Darkmoon Herald, and Stopcast. Are you part of a podcast and want your news mentioned here? Email RhoWoW@gmail.com. Realm Maintenance is here to promote your podcast and special events as a service to the WoW podcast community. —————- Listener email: “Where’s PST and The Weekly Marmot?” Thank you Palladium for your question! —————- Extended Maintenance?! Yep, we even do that here. Extended Maintenance Podcast Spotlights: The Mana Cooler, Ctrl Alt WoW, and Darkmoon Herald. Thanks to all who participated on Twitter for the question asked on Monday! Follow me on Twitter @RhoWoW Questions, comments or submissions can be sent to RhoWoW@gmail.com. All submissions received by Monday 2pm Eastern will be read and considered for the next podcast. Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher Radio! |
Whoa. So here I am, sitting around at work thinking about what I got for my RedditGifts victims matches, high and mighty in the knowledge that I was going to get them out pretty fast. Bam, was I wrong. My Calendars Secret Santa must have sensed my smug self-satisfaction, cos' when I got home I found a package waiting for me - next day delivery. Somewhat taken aback I checked the calendar. Yes, it was still Wednesday, less than two days since the exchange signups were closed. Whoever had sent me this package was sure in a rush to make sure I got a calendar that I wouldn't be able to use for a few months yet. Regardless, with my sense of speedy-self-smugness defeated, I resigned to opening the package. Bam! How did they know that I'd always wanted a snazzy paper scarf. Stylish! Or was it a recyclable towel for my hair? That's when I saw them, a pair of blood-red eyes glaring me down. Terrified, I checked to make sure there were no small vermin around before extracting the calendar from the box. Owls, owls of all shapes and sizes. Once upon my wall they would no doubt impart their wisdom upon me, though what they know beyond techniques of catching woodland creatures is a mystery to me. But, hold the phone... that box isn't empty! Nay, it could not be. Two calendars? How am I ever supposed to be able to say I forgot which day it was with two calendars, and a penguin one at that! Sadly it will be a while before I can put them to use, so for now the penguin calendar can hang out with my penguin pals, and the owls calendar with my bobble-owl. Last, I found a note included in the box: Hope you enjoy the owls and penguins! I'm totally with you here - both are awesome! From your secret calendar girl. I certainly will, Secret Santa(ess?). Now I have to figure out the hard part - where to put them on the wall! |
Paul Walker Will Be The New Agent 47 In Hitman Reboot By Eric Eisenberg Random Article Blend My biggest concern is this: if Timothy Olyphant - one of the better actors working today - couldn't make this character work on the big screen, what chance does Walker have. The good news is that it's really a win-win situation for him. If it's a success, he has a whole new franchise to lead and he won't have to share the spotlight with Vin Diesel. If it's a flop he can continue making incredible amounts of cash by making more and more Fast & Furious sequels. So why the hell not? The first attempt at a Hitman movie, based on the popular video game series, was a bit of a trainwreck. Not only was the Xavier Gens-directed film completely panned by critics - earning only 14% on Rotten Tomatoes - it failed to go anywhere at the box office, opening at number four domestically and falling just short of $100 million worldwide by the end of its run. As a result, the fact that we haven't heard about a possible sequel in the last six years is no big surprise, but no franchise is free from the "R" word: Reboot. And that's exactly what's happening to this potential franchise. Deadline is reporting that Fox International Productions are now planning to bring back trained assassin Agent 47 for another go-round, this time with Paul Walker playing the titular lead. Skip Woods, who wrote the first movie as well as X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the upcoming A Good Day To Die Hard, wrote the script with Mike Finch and Aleksander Bach - a celebrated commercials director - has been hired to helm. They are currently planning to host production in Berlin and Singapore this summer after Walker fulfills his press commitments to Fast & Furious 6.My biggest concern is this: if Timothy Olyphant - one of the better actors working today - couldn't make this character work on the big screen, what chance does Walker have. The good news is that it's really a win-win situation for him. If it's a success, he has a whole new franchise to lead and he won't have to share the spotlight with Vin Diesel. If it's a flop he can continue making incredible amounts of cash by making more and more Fast & Furious sequels. So why the hell not? Blended From Around The Web Facebook Back to top |
While the Government has been successful in tackling one, is it failing with the other? [image:173218:full] Image: 123rf New Zealand has been tackling smoking for years, and it’s working. The tactic was pretty simple: raise the price, make it harder to buy and supply, and limit where people can smoke in public. On the psychological front, throw in well-rounded support for those wanting to quit, and make the habit uncool. As it currently stands, the smoking rate is steadily decreasing in every demographic, with youth aged 15–17 years - whose rate has more than halved since 2007 - the starkest example. So why isn’t the Government doing the same with drinking? Half of all serious violent crimes relate to alcohol, hundreds of children are born with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder each year, tens of thousands of physical and sexual assaults each year involve alcohol, and scores of serious and fatal injury traffic crashes every year relate to alcohol. Replace the word “alcohol” with “methamphetamine” and it’s fair to assume the issue would come to be viewed as a national crisis. The Government might even throw millions of dollars at the problem. In fact, it did. In 2009, the Prime Minister launched a plan of action to tackle methamphetamine, investing more than $17 million in the project. But as it sits, deaths from P are less than 20 per year compared to about 800–1,000 deaths from alcohol. Our current tolerance to heavy drinking is not dissimilar to attitudes towards smoking that existed until only recently. Should we start, then, by telling people to stop drinking; the same tactic pursued by anti-smoking campaigns? It’s not quite that simple, says University of Otago professor Jennie Connor. “The reason that we’re comfortable now telling people not to smoke is that they’ve already stopped smoking. What stopped them smoking had nothing to do with telling them not to do it, it was the environmental interventions and policy.” Connor can remember when smoking was encouraged in her own profession. “My father went to medical school and when he went to do his final oral exam, he walked into the room and was offered a cigarette.” Photo: John Bollen The Government’s track record with implementing policies designed to limit the harm caused by alcohol consumption is arguably limited. In 2010, the Law Commission gave the Government a list of recommendations of how to lower alcohol-related harm. Justice Minister Amy Adams says in response, the Government enacted the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, the "most significant change" to alcohol laws in decades. It took on board 126 of the 153 recommendations, including giving local councils more control over alcohol availability in their communities. “These changes, combined with the other measures in the Act, can be linked to the 22 percent reduction in the total number of public violence and disorder offences occurring in the hours of darkness in the first 10 weeks after the Act came into force. This was 1,258 fewer offences than for the same period the previous year,” she told The Wireless. But according to two alcohol researchers in New Zealand, the most effective recommendations for lowering harm - upping the price, restricting alcohol availability nationwide, and banning alcohol advertising - were not implemented. “If I could have just one thing one thing, it would be decent national alcohol policy. It has to effectively regulate the market place which it isn’t doing,” says Connor. “Even when we think ‘oh it’s a few stupid brats causing the problem’, it’s actually fostered by our country's approach to alcohol.” READ MORE: In response to the 2010 recommendations, the Government said they did not want to “unfairly penalise responsible and moderate drinkers.” New Zealand has a thriving alcohol industry with some of the best wine and beer in the world. In 2008, the wine industry was estimated to contribute $1.5 billion to GDP and according to the Brewers Guild of New Zealand, beer is a $2.2 billion industry. On the flip side, researchers put the cost of our thriving heavy-drinking culture at between $146.3 million and $16 billion each year [PDF]. In 2012, the alcohol industry pressured the Government over its proposed changes to alcohol regulations. Documents released to the public showed liquor lobbyists met with Justice Minister Judith Collins to try and convince her to dump a law that would have seen the sale of high-strength “ready to drink” beverages (RTDs) in bottle stores stopped. RTDs are commonly consumed by the population most at-risk of dangerous drinking patterns: 18-24-year-olds. Initially, the Government’s idea was to get rid of all RTDs that had more than five percent alcohol content. That was pushed to six percent and then, oddly, the plan was completely scrapped. “The Government has decided to give the alcohol industry the opportunity to introduce its own measures to limit the harm to young people caused by RTDs,” Collins said at the time. Essentially, we were asking the people profiting the most from RTDs to restrict their own sales. When smoking companies were permitted to regulate their own sale and advertising, we had ads like this: Photo: Stanford School of Medicine The alcohol industry then set up a voluntary RTD code [PDF] that, as the name suggests, is a not mandatory. However, Robert Brewer, chief executive of alcohol lobby group Spirits New Zealand, says most do comply. “The good thing about self-regulation,” says Brewer, “is that if someone tries to import RTDs with a higher alcohol content from overseas - I mean you could do that tomorrow - we can put pressure on the retailers not to sell it. “We keep an eye on these things and people should definitely tell us if they see drinks with alcohol contents higher than the limits set.” Justice Minister Amy Adams says the Government does not believe the alcohol industry should be completely self-regulated, however, in some cases it is a useful tool. In the case of RTDs, she says self-regulation has “successfully seen the overwhelming majority of large, strong RTDs, which were the subject of considerable public concern, removed from sale.” One of companies represented by the lobby group is Independent Liquor. It’s owned by the Japanese company Asahi and has a 60 percent share of the local RTD market. Photo: Stanford School of Medicine The company talks about the marketing success of Vodka Cruisers; a brightly coloured fizzy drink you might serve at a child’s birthday, were it not for the five percent of alcohol in it. Cruisers average at about $1.80 per bottle, less than a bottle of water. “Vodka Cruisers have become another of the company’s true success stories. Once languishing in the market, some savvy, research-based marketing has seen them climb in the ratings with Cruisers becoming relevant and popular with the target consumer,” claims the Independent Liquor’s website. It notes one of the strongest attributes of the RTD is the fact its drinkers think it’s “fashionable” and “cool”, similar rhetoric used in tobacco marketing 25 years ago. The website goes on to explain that Cruisers are particularly ideal for advertising on social media such as Facebook. Looking at the statistics, this makes sense. About 80 percent of 16 to 24 year olds in New Zealand use Facebook every day; the same age group of people who drink the most. Last year, The Wireless hit the streets of Wellington to find out what influenced young people's drinking decisions. Anecdotally, cost was a major factor. Currently, all alcohol advertising in New Zealand must adhere to a code of standards which fall under four guiding principles: it needs to observe a high standard of social responsibility, encourage moderation in drinking, be directed at audiences 18 years and over, and sponsorship needs to clearly and primarily promote the sponsored activity. “If there was no promotion of alcohol, this would be a whole different game,” says Jennie Connor. “The companies have an enormous influence on alcohol policy. Policies that will reduce heavy drinking will really hit them so they push other things that are ineffective. This is going on all over the world, all the time.” The Drug Foundation provided a list of the events alcohol companies backed in 2010. They were the same events the country’s biggest drinkers were likely to have gone to: Big Day Out, Rhythm and Vines, Laneway, Home Grown, and the Wellington Sevens. Event sponsorship, especially in sports, was a marketing tool also used by tobacco giants. At one time, tabacco companies were backing formula one racing, cricket, tennis and even the Fifa World Cup. Here at home, the All Black’s longest serving sponsor is Steinlager, pouring money into the team for nearly 30 years. But Minister Amy Adams says the direct comparisons between the regulation of tobacco and alcohol are "simplistic and misleading". “Tobacco frequently kills its users and those around them, which is why the Government is committed to making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025. Alcohol is used socially and safely by the majority of New Zealanders, but when abused creates serious social harm that we need to address. They are different problems, calling for different solutions.” *** There is no safe level of alcohol meaning that, just like smoking, every drink is causing potential harm. Connor says the harm from heavy drinking far outweighs the harm from smoking, and most of its social costs are still unaccounted for. Perhaps the most compelling evidence emerging in recent years is the link between alcohol and cancer. Alcohol is a group 1 carcinogen. Mouth, throat and bowel cancer are the notable ones but research has also shown that drinking significantly increases the risk of breast and testicular cancer too. “Even low doses of alcohol seems to increase the risk of breast cancer,” says Connor. “If you drink a glass of wine when you come home, then have another, that will increase your cancer risk by ten percent. Your breast cancer risk varies, of course, depending on how old you are, but what we don’t know is if you’re banking that risk for later.” Professor Doug Sellman from the University of Otago says there are over 200 diseases and conditions that are directly alcohol-related including liver cirrhosis and dementia. “Low risk smoking, that is the risk of dying of a smoking-related event or disease, is about five cigarettes per week. Using the same definition of "low risk" for alcohol, low-risk drinking is around two standard drinks a day,” he says. Even if we limit our heavy drinking habits to just our university years, Sellman says the risks could be irreversible. “There is evidence of damage to the hippocampus from alcohol, one of the key parts of the brain associated with laying down new memories, in young heavy drinkers which may not fully recover.” Heavy drinking among 18- to 24-year-olds reached a peak of 43 percent in 2007 and has since dropped to about 34 percent, an indication that the cachet attached to being drunk may be lessening its grip. The Health Promotion Agency (HPA) recently spent $1.2 million on a campaign focused on giving people social permission to ease up on drinking. HPA is funded from a levy on alcohol for its alcohol moderation activities. In the year ending June 2015 that figure was $11,076,000. Recent research conducted on behalf of Heineken shows the 67 percent of young Kiwis surveyed think that moderating drinking is “cool” and 80 percent respect others when they moderate their drinking. The survey also shows about 54 percent said they were “turned off” by drunken people and 19 percent said they have stayed sober specifically to impress someone they are attracted to. Heineken used the information to create an ad telling young men that by drinking less, they’ll get more women. While the large majority of university students drink, there are some who are bucking the trend. Olivia Forman, a student living in a student hall in Wellington, has decided not to drink at all. “Honestly, I don’t see the benefits in it. I think that I should be in control of my actions and thoughts always. “It’s not appealing to me; passing out, losing my inhibitions. It’s not part of who I am.” The 19-year-old’s decision has to do, in part, with the fact that some of her extended family are heavy drinkers who turn abusive when drunk. “I don't want to give myself the opportunity to become that way. I know I wouldn’t but why even risk it?” Olivia was initially wary of moving into a hall of residence, an incubator for heavy drinking, but was surprised to find a sizable group of others who drank lightly or not at all. “I think you naturally surround yourself with people who are like you. I’ve seen people who struggle to say 'no'. I think they feel like these people won't accept them if they don’t drink. I don’t want that to be me.” *** The implicit and explicit pressure to drink among young people is one of the reasons New Zealand is losing the binge drinking battle. But there is also a very real fear of blaming victims and reinforcing sexist tropes by advising young people, especially women, not to drink. Nothing quite highlighted this better than the backlash to American journalist Emily Yoffe’s article, provocatively titled “College Women: Stop Getting Drunk”. Yoffe, who is now the contributing editor of the Atlantic, says after a series of high-profile rape cases in the United States, she was struck by the fact that no one was talking about the common thread: all the young women were intoxicated. “I realised that we’d come to the point where we weren’t giving young inexperienced people advice on how to better reduce the chances of being victims of terrible crimes,” she told The Wireless. “It’s the fear of blaming the victim, which I totally understand, but I think it’s possible to hold a somewhat more complicated thought in your mind. If you become a victim of a crime, the person responsible for the crime is the perpetrator. It is also possible to say ‘what are things you can do to reduce your chances of that happening?’” Photo: Supplied The piece was published on her birthday in 2013 and she remembers suggesting to her husband that perhaps nobody would see it. Except a lot of people did. While Yoffe is uncertain of the exact number of hits the piece got, it was shared close to 62,000 times on Facebook. “I have never experienced anything like that and I’m in my fourth decade of journalism. It was instantaneous denunciation, it was international denunciation,” says Yoffe. “I was prepared for it to be controversial but what was discouraging to me the quality of the attacks. There were so many tweets calling me a c**t. That was the argument; you’re a c**t.” The overwhelming majority of critics accused Yoffe of blaming the victim and promoting “rape culture” but she feels many missed her point: the perpetrator is always to blame for a crime, but we can keep ourselves safer. “I got a lot of reaction saying ‘your message is wrong. The message is don’t rape. Stop being a rapist.’ Terrific, yes, I’m all for it but there are bad people who deliberating use alcohol as a tool to harm others.” New Zealand studies show university students who drink heavily report considerably more unhappy and unwanted sexual experiences than those who drink lightly. About 12 percent of male students and 21 percent of female students experienced “unwanted sexual advances” due to other people’s drinking. Yoffe wrote a follow-up article, addressing her critics. She admits she would have further stressed the points about the dangers of drinking for young men but, ultimately, stands by her piece and the message in it. “Smoking used to be sexy and cool. Now it’s repulsive. I think with extreme drunkenness, there needs to be a societal shift where instead of people boasting about how drunk they got, their friends say ‘woah man you puked on my shoes, that is not cool.’” The trend in New Zealand seems to be moving toward a lower tolerance of drunkeness but it is still hard to imagine heavy drinking ever being completely socially unacceptable. Although we might have said the same thing about smoking 60 years ago when ads like this existed: Photo: Stanford School of Medicine BY THE NUMBERS: Half of all serious violent crimes relate to alcohol (New Zealand Police, 2010) As a country we spent about $85 million on alcohol every week in 2008 (New Zealand Law Commission, 2010) 800 -1,000 yearly deaths from alcohol (Berl 2009; Connor et al, 2013) There are about 60 diseases caused by heavy drinking (WHO, 2007) Up to 70 percent of all adult presentations at emergency departments on weekends are alcohol related (Jones et al., 2009; Humphrey et al., 2003) Over 500 serious and fatal injury traffic crashes every year relate to alcohol (Ministry of Transport, 2012) At least 600 children are born each year with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder and the figure could be as high as 3,000 (Sellman & Connor, 2009) More than 17,000 years of life per year are lost through alcohol (Connor et al., 2009) Half of the murders, rapes and assaults are undertaken by the perpetrator under the influence of alcohol (Connor et al., 2009) 70,000 physical and sexual assaults each year involve alcohol (Connor, You, & Casswell, 2009) Alcohol is classed as a group 1 carcinogen along with asbestos, benzene, formaldehyde and gamma-radiation (WHO, 1988) A third of all alcohol-related deaths are attributable to cancer (WHO, 2009) Taxation on alcohol contributed $852 million to Government revenue in 2011, less than 2 percent of total Government taxation revenue of $51 billion. If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s drinking, call the Alcohol Drug Helpline on 0800 787 797 or visit their website. |
This step is sticky! It helps to keep your hands clean and cold. Make little yolk balls out of the yellow mixture. Place them on some parchment (seriously, not foil like I did. It was a mess). Put them back in the fridge or even the freezer to firm up. These babies get soft fast! When the yolks are set up, you can start embedding them in the whites. Scoop an amount of white filling out and flatten it into a circle. Place the yolk ball inside, and wrap the white around it. Know what to do next? Stick it in the fridge. *****If you do decide to use the egg molds instead of the dipping method, a friend recently suggested simply piping the whites and yolks into the chocolate molds with a pastry bag. This would save a LOT of time. |
Image caption Marcela and Felipe say they have no wish to discover their birth families An Argentine court has ruled that the heirs to the country's main media group must submit to DNA-testing, to see if they were born to left-wing prisoners killed by the military in the 1970s. Judges ruled that Marcela and Felipe Noble Herrera - adopted children of the Clarin Group owner - must give direct samples such as blood or saliva. They will be compared with samples on a genetic database linked to the missing. The siblings object to the tests. Their mother says their adoption was legal. Campaigners have said previous samples given by the siblings were not adequate for testing. These include blood samples the siblings gave in 2009 at a federal agency, but not the National Bank of Genetic Data. The issue of babies taken from prisoners during the country's so-called Dirty War is a highly emotive one in Argentina. Several hundred babies are believed to have been taken from their detained parents and given to families loyal to the military during its 1976-83 rule. Groups like the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who campaign on behalf of people who were "disappeared" by the military, have helped a number of children locate their biological relatives. In 2009, Argentina's congress passed a measure allowing forcible extraction of DNA in such cases, even when the people concerned do not want to discover their past. Forced sell-off The Noble Herrera siblings claim their rights have been violated. They say their DNA is private, that they have no desire to trace their biological parents, and that they are victims of political persecution. In recent years, the media group owned by their adoptive mother, Ernestina Noble Herrera, has been staunchly opposed to the current government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. In 2009, President Fernandez succeeded in driving through legislation that forced Clarin to sell off parts of its media empire. The BBC's Vladimir Hernandez in Buenos Aires says the latest ruling could put an end to a court battle that has lasted some 10 years. But, he adds, the decision could stir up a political storm. The siblings could still appeal to the Supreme Court. But if the tests are carried out and prove the Noble Herreras were taken from detainees, their adoptive mother could face a criminal investigation. |
Buy Photo Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Tom Fiegen speaks at the 4th District convention in Ames on April 30, 2016. (Photo: Kathie Obradovich/The Register)Buy Photo AMES, Ia. — Patty Judge talked about her baby granddaughter. Tom Fiegen talked about a farmer who “F-bombed” him out of disgust for Democrats who sell out to large agribusiness. Even in brief speeches at the Iowa Democrats’ 4th District convention Saturday at Ames Middle School, the contrast of style and issues among the candidates for U.S. Senate was stark. Rob Hogg bemoaned the dysfunction in Congress and called for Democrats to help make it work again. Bob Krause emphasized the need for campaign finance reform and called on the audience to share social media posts for Democrats — even some of his Senate primary opponents. Judge, a former Iowa lieutenant governor and former state agriculture secretary, focused on convincing fellow Democrats that Republican incumbent Sen. Chuck Grassley can be defeated. She said Grassley had adopted the image of Iowa’s grandpa — “and you can’t vote against grandpa, right?” “Wrong,” a man in the auditorium yelled. “Wrong, yes! You are right,” Judge responded. “But the truth of the matter is about Chuck Grassley, over the past few years, he has steadily moved to the right. He’s quit being an independent thinker.” Judge also said she questioned whether to run for Senate after her new granddaughter, Millie, required open-heart surgery soon after her birth. Her son, Joe Judge, the baby’s father, told her she had to run, for Millie. Fiegen, a lawyer from Clarence, lambasted fellow Democrats. He told a story about being accosted by a farmer in Dubuque County who said, “You effing, effing, effing Democrats.” The farmer said Democrats say they’re with him until Monsanto or Cargill wants something. “What I propose is, we show the people of Iowa unconditional loyalty,” Fiegen said. Fiegen, who endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, was a clear favorite with the convention audience, with at least half (and maybe more than half) in Sanders’ camp. He drew applause when he claimed that he was the “only candidate” in the Senate race who supports the Des Moines Water Works’ lawsuit over water quality. It was a dig at Judge, who was formerly part of Iowa Partnership for Clean Water, which ran ads against what it called the “frivolous” lawsuit. She has said she supports the right to sue but believes it will be costly in terms of money and ill will between rural and urban Iowans. Buy Photo Kathie Obradovich (Photo: The Register) Hogg, a state senator from Cedar Rapids, arrived during the lunch break and spent time working the crowd before his speech. He directly countered Fiegen’s claim to be the only opponent of the Water Works suit. He said the Des Moines utility has a real problem that it needs to solve, but he also would have preferred a legislative solution to pay for anti-pollution programs for the next 15 years. He also touted endorsements from the Iowa Federation of Labor and AFSCME Iowa Council 61. He called Grassley the “chief obstructionist” for filling the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Generally, however, Hogg offered a congenial “ya gotta believe”-style pep talk aimed at the need for Democrats to retake the Senate majority. Congress needs to work to solve issues like the budget deficit, creation of a vibrant economy and cleaning up the environment, he said. “I need you to believe with me that we can change the way we do politics and we can actually get Congress to work again,” he said. The audience seemed the least familiar with Krause, even though he and Fiegen ran for Senate in 2010. He asked how many of them were familiar with Bob’s Cookie College, the theme of his issue-based Web videos. Only a few hands went up. NEWSLETTERS Get the Register Opinion newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong A sneak preview of the newest editorials, columns and opinions from The Des Moines Register. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-877-424-0225. Delivery: Mon-Sun Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Register Opinion Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters Undaunted, Krause evangelized on the power of social media to elevate Democrats — all Democrats — as a way to counter being outspent by the GOP. “What got Trump where he was? Tweets. And entertainment,” Krause said. He took the time to explain to the crowd how to share a post on Facebook. “This is where the watershed starts. You can 'like' something, you can share something. If it’s Hillary you’re interested in, Bernie, Kim Weaver, Bob Krause, Rob Hogg, Tom Fiegen, Patty Judge, hit the share button. S-H-A-R-E, share button,” he said. If I had to rank which of these approaches got this Sanders-friendly convention audience to push “like,” I’d say it was Fiegen’s anti-establishment red meat that came out on top, followed by Judge’s family folksiness, Hogg’s idealism and, finally, Krause’s social media tutorial. Read or Share this story: http://dmreg.co/26FtGol |
Lee McCulloch-A Captain Cast in the Mould of Struth The news recently that Lee McCulloch was signing an extension to his contract was, quite rightly, music to the ears of the Rangers support. In a year that has provided few highs, this was a boost that kept all in the blue corner satisfied. I’m sure the irony of the euphoria his new contract was met with was not lost on McCulloch himself as, like so many other Rangers legends of the past, McCulloch has not always enjoyed popularity amongst his ‘ane kind’. It could be argued that if McCulloch Rangers career had ended before the events of 14th February 2012, his Rangers obituary would have read something along the lines of ‘good servant’. This is a default label given to those who have earned a wee bit more respect than the average player, but who haven’t got anywhere near the ‘legend’ status. If McCulloch had left Rangers at any point between 2008 and 2010, it is arguable he would have been granted any kind of status amongst a support who have not always appreciated ‘Jig’ and his attributes. McCulloch arrived at Rangers in 2007 as part of Walter Smith’s rebuilding campaign which would see the club win three titles, two Scottish Cups, three League Cups and earn a European final spot. McCulloch, however, initially struggled to fit in; a fact borne out by his failure to secure a starting berth in the Uefa Cup Final in 2008, a match played on his 30th birthday. One of the issues that seemed to hinder McCulloch, in the eyes of supporters at least, was that nobody seemed to know exactly what kind of player he was. For much of his early Rangers career he started on the left-side of midfield, with little or negligible impact, and seemed to float to various midfield positions with a similar outcome. I was unconvinced by McCulloch until 15th November 2008 and a home game against St Mirren. An injury crisis at the back had forced Smith to deploy former striker McCulloch at centre-half. I was perplexed at 3pm when I witnessed the formation, by 5pm I had started to question whether I had been harsh in forming my initial opinion of the big Lanarkshire man. Regardless of this confirmation of his ability to literally to play anywhere, whenever you mentioned his name to fellow Bears there was still an air of doubt. This mistrust from the faithful didn’t stop McCulloch securing a more regular starting place under Smith in the holding midfield role, and he did his reputation amongst the Rangers support no harm with a crucial Old Firm goal at Celtic Park. McCulloch, it appeared, was slowly becoming an integral part of the side and his popularity amongst the support was growing. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but is now apparent that, even in the days he failed to convince, McCulloch was showing a vital ingredient – and that was the ability to be a great Ranger. No matter what position McCulloch was asked to occupy by Smith, he did it – and without so much as a whimper of complaint. When you bear in mind that playing in these varied positions affected his performances and popularity amongst the support, then you appreciate that this was a selfless act. With McCulloch, it really does appear to be all about the team and not the individual, a rarity in the modern day footballer and the kind of attitude that the great Bill Struth would look for in a Ranger. In fact, it could be argued that McCulloch is a walking example of Struth’s vision of a Ranger. There is a great scene in the play Follow Follow: The Rangers Story, which ran at Glasgow’s Kings Theatre in 1994/95, which depicts Bill Struth on his knees washing the dressing room floor. When two of his charges wander in from training to find their gaffer in this unusual position they are perplexed: “What are you doing, Mr Struth”, they ask. “I’m washing the dressing room floor”, he responds, unapologetic. “But...why?” they ask, bemused. “Because it needed doing!”, Struth thunders back, his players now regretting their curiosity. It’s this kind of attitude that has always embodied what it is to be a Ranger. Hard work, sweat and a will to do the job that needs to be done are irremovable virtues of the club. These are the virtues that McCulloch has shown in recent seasons, and more so since the club entered the most traumatic period of its history. But should we be surprised? On closer inspection McCulloch’s career is peppered with this kind of attitude. While at Motherwell he was put out on loan to Cumbernauld Utd where he enjoyed a prolific goalscoring period before breaking his leg. Despite this setback he returned to Motherwell, fought his way into the first team squad and earned a move to Wigan Athletic, then in the lower leagues of English football, in 2001. With the young McCulloch in their ranks they managed to climb the divisions all the way to the riches of The Premiership and McCulloch found himself playing on stages like Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge-a far cry from playing in front of a few hundred in Cumbernauld! His form for Wigan earned a call from Walter Smith and return to Rangers (he had been at Rangers boys club alongside Barry Ferguson). Although the road to the legend status he enjoys today has not always been smooth, he has stuck it out. Like some others, he could have taken the easy road out when the roof caved in at Ibrox, and there will be cynics out there who will claim that he would have had it been earlier in his career. They may be correct, but I suspect McCulloch would have stuck it out regardless. And so here we are, late 2012 and the man who was failing to convince a fair few of us that he was Rangers class is now the embodiment of what it is to be a Ranger, leading a new generation into the ways and traditions of the club. He has been a credit to the club since being handed the captaincy (an honour I felt he should have earned ahead of Steven Davis) and the most endearing image of McCulloch this season was of him hugging Allan Johnstone to congratulate him after Queen of the South had just delivered one the real low points of the clubs history, not to mention McCulloch’s career. Even through his own hurt and undoubted humiliation, he was able to show respect for the opposition’s achievement. That, for me, is what a Rangers captain is all about. When this period is over and the club is back in the top flight, it is McCulloch who the fans will remember as the iconic figure from playing squad: the man who refused to leave the sinking ship, deciding instead to grab a bucket, work like he’d never worked before and get it afloat again. It’s romantic, but not totally outlandish, to suggest that McCulloch will still be displaying the virtues of the club well into his retirement. I can imagine him in front of the fireplace, auld and grey, with the grandkids pestering him about why he stayed with Rangers to help them in their fight back to the top, when it would have been easier to walk away. His answer, I imagine, will be short and to the point. ‘Because it needed doing.’ Colin Armstrong has written previously for The Rangers Standard.He is a former columnist for the Rangers News and match-day programme and he contributed a chpater to the book 'Ten Days tat Shook Rangers'. He has also written for When Saturday Comes. |
Cannabis Terminology Cannabis is a generic term used to denote the several psychoactive preparations of the plant Cannabis sativa. The major psychoactive consituent in cannabis is ∆-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Compounds which are structurally similar to THC are referred to as cannabinoids. In addition, a number of recently identified compounds that differ structurally from cannabinoids nevertheless share many of their pharmacological properties. The Mexican term 'marijuana' is frequently used in referring to cannabis leaves or other crude plant material in many countries. The unpollinated female plants are called hashish. Cannabis oil (hashish oil) is a concentrate of cannabinoids obtained by solvent extraction of the crude plant material or of the resin. Epidemiology Cannabis is by far the most widely cultivated, trafficked and abused illicit drug. Half of all drug seizures worldwide are cannabis seizures. The geographical spread of those seizures is also global, covering practically every country of the world. About 147 million people, 2.5% of the world population, consume cannabis (annual prevalence) compared with 0.2% consuming cocaine and 0.2% consuming opiates. In the present decade, cannabis abuse has grown more rapidly than cocaine and opiate abuse. The most rapid growth in cannabis abuse since the 1960s has been in developed countries in North America, Western Europe and Australia. Cannabis has become more closely linked to youth culture and the age of initiation is usually lower than for other drugs. An analysis of cannabis markets shows that low prices coincide with high levels of abuse, and vice versa. Cannabis appears to be price-inelastic in the short term, but fairly elastic over the longer term. Though the number of cannabis consumers is greater than opiate and cocaine consumers, the lower prices of cannabis mean that, in economic terms, the cannabis market is much smaller than the opiate or cocaine market. Acute health effects of cannabis use The acute effects of cannabis use has been recognized for many years, and recent studies have confirmed and extended earlier findings. These may be summarized as follows: Cannabis impairs cognitive development (capabilities of learning), including associative processes; free recall of previously learned items is often impaired when cannabi is used both during learning and recall periods; Cannabis impairs psychomotor performance in a wide variety of tasks, such as motor coordination, divided attention, and operative tasks of many types; human performance on complex machinery can be impaired for as long as 24 hours after smoking as little as 20 mg of THC in cannabis; there is an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents among persons who drive when intoxicated by cannabis. Chronic health effects of cannabis use selective impairment of cognitive functioning which include the organization and integration of complex information involving various mechanisms of attention and memory processes; prolonged use may lead to greater impairment, which may not recover with cessation of use, and which could affect daily life functions; development of a cannabis dependence syndrome characterized by a loss of control over cannabis use is likely in chronic users; cannabis use can exacerbate schizophrenia in affected individuals; epithetial injury of the trachea and major bronchi is caused by long-term cannabis smoking; airway injury, lung inflammation, and impaired pulmonary defence against infection from persistent cannabis consumption over prolonged periods; heavy cannabis consumption is associated with a higher prevalence of symptoms of chronic bronchitis and a higher incidence of acute bronchitis than in the non-smoking cohort; cannabis used during pregnancy is associated with impairment in fetal development leading to a reduction in birth weight; cannabis use during pregnancy may lead to postnatal risk of rare forms of cancer although more research is needed in this area. The health consequences of cannabis use in developing countries are largely unknown beacuse of limited and non-systematic research, but there is no reason a priori to expect that biological effects on individuals in these populations would be substantially different to what has been observed in developed countries. However, other consequences might be different given the cultural and social differences between countries. Therapeutic uses of cannabinoids Several studies have demonstrated the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids for nausea and vomiting in the advanced stages of illnesses such as cancer and AIDS. Dronabinol (tetrahydrocannabinol) has been available by prescription for more than a decade in the USA. Other therapeutic uses of cannabinoids are being demonstrated by controlled studies, including treatment of asthma and glaucoma, as an antidepressant, appetite stimulant, anticonvulsant and anti-spasmodic, research in this area should continue. For example, more basic research on the central and peripheral mechanisms of the effects of cannabinoids on gastrointestinal function may improve the ability to alleviate nausea and emesis. More research is needed on the basic neuropharmacology of THC and other cannabinoids so that better therapeutic agents can be found. |
There are no seats, so I’m standing at the window counter, ballpointing some brief sentences, fingers covered in sugar. I try to be mindful of my posture. I’m a semi-reformed sloucher, trying to stay upright with shoulders back, but I always end up feeling like C3PO. It’s my lot in life. No music in here, only refrigerator hum and two young ladies behind the glass cases not talking to each other. The smallest iced coffee here is twice as big as a coffee pot. Nice hand-painted signs behind the register, and my jelly donut is fine, damned fine. Across the four-lane road is a cemetery I’ve never noticed before and a Hooter’s with a full parking lot. The Donut Dip bag says “What Foods These Morsels Be!” This is possibly the finest slogan I have ever seen. Writing this feels rushed, a series of tweets, a telegram, a bullet-point list. Sugar and caffeine might be playing a role in this feeling. I already ate my donuts, and I still have 3 gallons of coffee left. When did “donut” become an accepted spelling variant of “doughnut”? Should I get more donuts to go? How does a person do that? Doesn’t everyone just eat them all in the car on the ride home? Son of a bitch. |
A mysterious oil slick was spotted in Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay on Friday morning, the same body of water that will host Olympic sailing competitions when the Games come to the "Marvellous City" next summer. It was not clear what caused the large, dark oil stain, but local reports indicated environmental authorities had gone to the area to look into where the dark cloud had come from. Water quality in the picturesque bay, and other bodies of water to host Olympic events, has been under close scrutiny after studies revealed that waters to be used for events have pollution levels equivalent to raw sewage. The cleaning of Guanabara Bay was a key part of Rio's bid and has long been a goal of successive local governments. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent, but the water remains fetid, with Olympic sailors who visited the city for test events complaining of floating sofas and animal carcasses in the water. When it bid to host the Games, Rio said it would cut the amount of raw sewage flowing into the bay by 80 percent, but has since admitted that is unlikely. Biologists last year said rivers leading into the bay contained a super bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics and can cause urinary, gastrointestinal and pulmonary infections. |
The New York Knicks and Houston Rockets have re-engaged on trade talks involving 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony, with the Rockets again canvassing third-team trade partners to construct a deal, league sources told ESPN. Anthony remains steadfast that he only plans to waive his no-trade clause for the Rockets and refuses to expand his list to include more possible destinations, league sources said. Editor's Picks How a blockbuster trade could unleash 'Team USA' Melo If the Knicks and Rockets reach a deal, Carmelo Anthony would instantly become the second or third option in Houston -- a move that could turn him into the best version of himself. Nevertheless, no pathway has emerged for a deal directly between the two teams, and finding a broader package to include forward Ryan Anderson and the three years and $60 million left on his contract remains problematic, league sources said. Houston and New York made significant progress on a deal when Phil Jackson was Knicks president, but that changed with the hiring of new general manager Scott Perry, who has been far more particular about the package he'd want in return for Anthony. The Knicks remain willing to start training camp with Anthony, 33, on the roster, and a real scenario exists in which the Rockets and Anthony remain patient that a deal could have to wait until the regular season is underway, league sources said. The Knicks want to trend younger, building around Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr., and Anthony playing a significant role could stifle their development. Houston wants Anthony to join a lineup with James Harden and Chris Paul primarily to make a run in the playoffs together, and an in-season deal could still give them ample time to build chemistry for the postseason. Anthony and Paul are close friends. Portland has kept an interest in Anthony, with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum continuing to recruit Anthony to consider the Blazers as an alternative to Houston, league sources said. The Knicks have become willing again to make an Anthony deal before the start of training camp in September, especially after Anthony made it clear that the franchise's hopes of getting him to embrace a return to the team -- after months of Jackson's pushing for Anthony to waive his no-trade -- are fruitless. The Knicks paused trade talks involving Anthony shortly after the hiring of Perry in mid-July, but they were unable to convince Anthony to reconsider his desire to be traded away -- or add more teams to his wish list, league sources said. Anthony had an earlier interest in waiving his no-trade for Cleveland, but that desire waned with Paul's arrival in Houston and the upheaval surrounding Kyrie Irving's and LeBron James' futures with the Cavaliers. ESPN's Ian Begley contributed to this report. |
Mayhem, Inquisition, Black Anvil announce tour [ 8,395 views ] In early 2017 Mayhem will embark upon the ""De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" tour of North America, during which the band will perform the album in its entirety. Support will be provided by Inquisition and Black Anvil . The schedule is as follows: 1/20 Montreal, QC @ Club Soda 1/21 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Theater 1/22 Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom 1/23 Chicago, IL@ Metro 1/24 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom 1/25 Minneapolis, MN @ Mill City Nights 1/27 Denver, CO @ Gothic Theater 1/28 Sat Lake City, UT @ The Complex 1/30 Calgary, AB @ Marquee 1/31 Edmonton, AB @Starlite Room 2/2 Seattle, WA@ El Corazon 2/3 Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw 2/4 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater 2/6 San Francisco, CA@ Social Hall SF 2/7 Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory 2/8 Phoenix, AZ @ Club Red 2/10 San Antonio, TX @Alamo Music Hall 2/11 Dallas, TX @ Trees 2/13 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade 2/14 Wilmington, NC @ Thorne Theater 2/15 Washington, DC @ The Howard Theater 2/16 Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of the Living Arts 2/17 Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance Theater 2/18 Boston, MA @ Royale 2/19 New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater Related News Stories |
When printing, select LANDSCAPE and enable background colors for the best results. DCI World Championships Finals Saturday, August 13, 2016 - Indianapolis IN Chief Judge: John Phillips World Class General Effect Visual Music Sub Total Total General Effect 1 General Effect 2 Visual Proficiency Visual - Analysis Color Guard Music - Brass Music - Analysis Music - Percussion Penalties L. Carlson J. Howell C. Rothe J. Bell B. Mascaro F. Miller W. Chumley W. Dillon G. Markham G. Howarth M. Leitzke T. DiCarlo Rep Perf Tot Rep Perf Tot Tot Rep Perf Tot Rep Perf Tot Tot Tot Cont Achv Tot Comp Achv Tot Sbst Achv Tot Tot Cont Achv Tot Cont Achv Tot Cont Achv Tot Cont Achv Tot Tot Tot Pen Tot Bluecoats 99 1 99.5 1 19.85 1 98 1 97 2 19.50 1 19.675 1 99 1 99 1 19.80 1 98 1 99 1 19.70 1 19.75 1 39.425 1 99 1 96 2 19.50 1 98 2 97 3 19.50 3 97 3 97 3 19.40 3 29.20 3 97 2 97 2 19.40 2 97 3 97 2 19.40 3 96 2 97.5 1 19.35 1 97 2 94.5 3 19.15 2 19.25 2 29.025 1 97.650 1 0 0.00 97.650 1 Blue Devils 98.5 2 99 2 19.75 2 97 2 96 3 19.30 3 19.525 2 97 3 98 2 19.50 2 96 3 96 3 19.20 3 19.35 3 38.875 2 98 2 95 3 19.30 3 99 1 98 2 19.70 1 99 1 100 1 19.90 1 29.45 1 96.5 3 96.5 3 19.30 3 99 1 96 3 19.50 2 95 3 95 4 19.00 3 96 3 95 2 19.10 3 19.05 3 28.925 3 97.250 2 0 0.00 97.250 2 Carolina Crown 97 3 97 3 19.40 3 96 3 98 1 19.40 2 19.40 3 98 2 96 3 19.40 3 97 2 98 2 19.50 2 19.45 2 38.85 3 97 3 97 1 19.40 2 97 3 99 1 19.60 2 98 2 98 2 19.60 2 29.30 2 98 1 98 1 19.60 1 98 2 98 1 19.60 1 94.5 4 94 5 18.85 5 93.5 6 91.5 6 18.50 6 18.675 5 28.938 2 97.088 3 0 0.00 97.088 3 Santa Clara Vanguard 95 4 95.5 4 19.05 4 95 4 95 4 19.00 4 19.025 4 96 4 95 4 19.10 4 95 4 94 4 18.90 4 19.00 4 38.025 4 96 4 94 4 19.00 4 95 5 94 5 18.90 5 95 4 96 4 19.10 4 28.50 4 95.5 4 95 4 19.05 4 96 4 95 4 19.10 4 96.5 1 96.5 2 19.30 2 98 1 97 1 19.50 1 19.40 1 28.775 4 95.300 4 0 0.00 95.300 4 The Cavaliers 94 5 94 5 18.80 5 92 6 94 5 18.60 5 18.70 5 95 5 94 5 18.90 5 94 5 93 5 18.70 5 18.80 5 37.50 5 93 6 93 5 18.60 6 96 4 96 4 19.20 4 94 5 94 5 18.80 5 28.30 5 95 5 94 5 18.90 5 94 6 93 6 18.70 6 94 5 95.5 3 18.95 4 94.5 4 93 4 18.75 4 18.85 4 28.225 5 94.025 5 0 0.00 94.025 5 The Cadets 92 6 93 6 18.50 6 93 5 91 7 18.40 6 18.45 6 93 6 93 6 18.60 6 93 6 90 7 18.30 6 18.45 6 36.90 6 95 5 92 6 18.70 5 94 6 93 6 18.70 6 91.5 8 90.5 8 18.20 8 27.80 6 94 6 92 6 18.60 6 95 5 94 5 18.90 5 93.5 6 93 6 18.65 6 94 5 92 5 18.60 5 18.625 6 28.063 6 92.763 6 0 0.00 92.763 6 Blue Knights 91 7 91.5 7 18.25 7 91 7 90 8 18.10 8 18.175 7 92 7 92 7 18.40 7 91 7 91 6 18.20 7 18.30 7 36.475 7 88 9 85 10 17.30 10 91 7 89 8 18.00 8 92 7 92 6 18.40 6 26.85 7 93 7 91 7 18.40 7 93 7 92 7 18.50 7 91 9 90.5 9 18.15 9 89 9 88 9 17.70 9 17.925 9 27.413 7 90.738 7 0 0.00 90.738 7 Phantom Regiment 90 8 90 8 18.00 8 90 8 92 6 18.20 7 18.10 8 90 8 91 8 18.10 8 88 8 89 8 17.70 8 17.90 8 36.00 8 87 10 87 8 17.40 9 89 8 92 7 18.10 7 88 10 91 7 17.90 9 26.70 9 90 8 90 8 18.00 8 92 8 91 8 18.30 8 92.5 7 92.5 7 18.50 7 89.5 8 90 7 17.95 7 18.225 7 27.263 8 89.963 8 0 0.00 89.963 8 Blue Stars 89 9 88 9 17.70 9 89 9 88 9 17.70 9 17.70 9 89 9 89 9 17.80 9 87 9 87 9 17.40 9 17.60 9 35.30 9 89 8 88 7 17.70 7 88 9 88 9 17.60 9 93 6 90 9 18.30 7 26.80 8 89 9 88 9 17.70 9 91 9 90 9 18.10 9 92 8 91 8 18.30 8 90 7 89 8 17.90 8 18.10 8 26.95 9 89.050 9 0 0.00 89.050 9 Crossmen 86.5 11 85.5 11 17.20 11 86 10 84 11 17.00 11 17.10 11 87 11 86 11 17.30 11 86 10 86 10 17.20 10 17.25 10 34.35 11 90 7 86 9 17.60 8 87 10 86 11 17.30 10 89 9 88 10 17.70 10 26.30 10 88 10 87 10 17.50 10 90 10 89 10 17.90 10 85 12 85 12 17.00 12 88 10 87 10 17.50 10 17.25 11 26.325 10 86.975 10 0 0.00 86.975 10 The Academy 88 10 86 10 17.40 10 85 11 87 10 17.20 10 17.30 10 88 10 88 10 17.60 10 85 11 84 12 16.90 11 17.25 10 34.55 10 84 12 82 12 16.60 12 85 12 87 10 17.20 11 87 11 84 12 17.10 11 25.45 11 87 11 85 11 17.20 11 89 11 88 11 17.70 11 88 10 86 11 17.40 10 86 11 86 11 17.20 11 17.30 10 26.10 11 86.100 11 0 0.00 86.100 11 Boston Crusaders 86 12 85 12 17.10 12 84 12 83 12 16.70 12 16.90 12 85 12 84 12 16.90 12 82 12 85 11 16.70 12 16.80 12 33.70 12 86 11 83 11 16.90 11 86 11 84 12 17.00 12 85 12 85 11 17.00 12 25.45 11 85 12 83 12 16.80 12 88 12 86 12 17.40 12 86 11 87 10 17.30 11 85 12 84 12 16.90 12 17.10 12 25.65 12 84.800 12 0 0.00 84.800 12 * Total reflects factored subcaptions |
DETROIT - Homicide statistics carefully collected by police departments over time can offer a glimpse into the state of a city. This WWJ-TV (which later became WDIV) special from 1975 focuses on how Detroit transitioned from the "Paris of the West" to "Murder Capital of the U.S" and tells the stories of some of the city's more noteworthy murders at the time. EDITOR'S WARNING: This documentary about murder in Detroit from 1975 includes extremely graphic images. On April 25, 1975, a 15-year-old boy shot a 17-year-old with a revolver. Two days prior, two brothers were playing cards and one of them pulled a gun during an argument. Their mother was shot dead. A husband and wife were arguing just two days before that incident. She stabbed him and he died hours later. Homicide is still a huge problem in the city of Detroit, but in 1975 the city was known as the murder capital of the U.S. Detroit homicides between 1965 and 1974 As other crimes would have spikes and lulls from year to year, homicide continued to be a “growth industry" in Detroit, as is explained in this special. In 10 years, the homicide total increased by a factor of five. In 1974, 751 people were killed. Businesses flee to suburbs, crime increases in city The central business district of Detroit declined during the 1970s and was described as a “zone of decay.” Commerce fled to the suburbs and major hotels attracted fewer clients. Hudson’s cut back its selling space and other department stores closed their downtown branches. Movie theaters folded one after another until there were no longer any downtown. Bullet proof shields were installed at convenient stores that ran from counter to ceiling and housing complexes began putting up walls. Visit the Features Page for more pieces like this. Gun sales rise after 1967 riots Gun sales, both legally and illegally purchased, rose after the riots in Detroit as crime continued to rise. By 1975, there were an estimated 500,000 guns in the city. Some 30,000 firearms used in crimes were confiscated each year. Authorities believed the rise in guns sales was due to fear after the 1967 riots. Detroit hospitals would see about 5,000 gunshots wounds or stabbings a year in 1975. Stabbings were more prevalent before 1968, but the ratio changed as gun sales rose. Crime in Detroit today According to the Detroit Police Department, there were a total of 302 homicides in 2016. READ: Chief Craig addresses 2016 crime statistics in Detroit The number of non-fatal shootings, carjackings and robberies dropped last year, as was aggravated assaults, burglaries and larcenies, but homicides were up 2.4 percent. The number of homicides has decreased since 1975, but so has the population. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Detroit's population as of 2015 at 677,116 people. In 1970, Detroit was the fifth largest city in the U.S. with over 1.5 million people. Sign up for ClickOnDetroit breaking news alerts and email newsletters Search for a specific story: Copyright 2017 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. |
Oklahoma sets more earthquake records for 2015 Oklahoma has more earthquakes in 2015 than all of continental U.S. combined Oklahoma had more earthquakes in 2015 than every state combined, including Hawaii but excluding massive Alaska.Forty-nine U.S. states recorded a total of 1,586 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater.Oklahoma recorded 857 quakes. That leaves the other 48 U.S. states with a combined total of 729.Oklahoma had a record year in 2014 with 585 quakes, after a record year in 2013 of 106. The Sooner State also had set a record for 4.0 or greater quakes this year with a total of 30.Earthquake numbers are from USGS data. Oklahoma had more earthquakes in 2015 than every state combined, including Hawaii but excluding massive Alaska. Forty-nine U.S. states recorded a total of 1,586 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater. Advertisement Related Content Second 3.0-or-stronger earthquake reported Friday in metro Oklahoma recorded 857 quakes. That leaves the other 48 U.S. states with a combined total of 729. Oklahoma had a record year in 2014 with 585 quakes, after a record year in 2013 of 106. The Sooner State also had set a record for 4.0 or greater quakes this year with a total of 30. Earthquake numbers are from USGS data. AlertMe |
Seven-time Tour de France-winning cyclist Lance Armstrong has dropped his fight against doping charges leveled at him by the US Anti-Doping Agency. This means that he likely will be stripped of each Tour de France title and banned from competitive cycling for life. Specifically, he'll be stripped of all titles and accomplishments going back to August 1, 1998, including a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. From the AP: "I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999," he said. "The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today - finished with this nonsense." "There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now," Armstrong said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. He called the USADA investigation an "unconstitutional witch hunt." Armstrong, who retired last year, declined to enter arbitration - his last option - because he said he was weary of fighting accusations that have dogged him for years. He has consistently pointed to the hundreds of drug tests that he has passed as proof of his innocence. And here's the full statement posted on Armstrong's website: Lance Armstong's Statement of August 23, 2012 AUSTIN, Texas - August 23rd, 2012 - There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart's unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today – finished with this nonsense. I had hoped that a federal court would stop USADA's charade. Although the court was sympathetic to my concerns and recognized the many improprieties and deficiencies in USADA's motives, its conduct, and its process, the court ultimately decided that it could not intervene. If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA's process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and – once and for all – put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair. Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition. Out of competition. Blood. Urine. Whatever they asked for I provided. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it? From the beginning, however, this investigation has not been about learning the truth or cleaning up cycling, but about punishing me at all costs. I am a retired cyclist, yet USADA has lodged charges over 17 years old despite its own 8-year limitation. As respected organizations such as UCI and USA Cycling have made clear, USADA lacks jurisdiction even to bring these charges. The international bodies governing cycling have ordered USADA to stop, have given notice that no one should participate in USADA's improper proceedings, and have made it clear the pronouncements by USADA that it has banned people for life or stripped them of their accomplishments are made without authority. And as many others, including USADA's own arbitrators, have found, there is nothing even remotely fair about its process. USADA has broken the law, turned its back on its own rules, and stiff-armed those who have tried to persuade USADA to honor its obligations. At every turn, USADA has played the role of a bully, threatening everyone in its way and challenging the good faith of anyone who questions its motives or its methods, all at U.S. taxpayers' expense. For the last two months, USADA has endlessly repeated the mantra that there should be a single set of rules, applicable to all, but they have arrogantly refused to practice what they preach. On top of all that, USADA has allegedly made deals with other riders that circumvent their own rules as long as they said I cheated. Many of those riders continue to race today. The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced. The idea that athletes can be convicted today without positive A and B samples, under the same rules and procedures that apply to athletes with positive tests, perverts the system and creates a process where any begrudged ex-teammate can open a USADA case out of spite or for personal gain or a cheating cyclist can cut a sweetheart deal for themselves. It's an unfair approach, applied selectively, in opposition to all the rules. It's just not right. USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours. We all raced together. For three weeks over the same roads, the same mountains, and against all the weather and elements that we had to confront. There were no shortcuts, there was no special treatment. The same courses, the same rules. The toughest event in the world where the strongest man wins. Nobody can ever change that. Especially not Travis Tygart. Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances. I will commit myself to the work I began before ever winning a single Tour de France title: serving people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. This October, my Foundation will celebrate 15 years of service to cancer survivors and the milestone of raising nearly $500 million. We have a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to an end to this pointless distraction. I have a responsibility to all those who have stepped forward to devote their time and energy to the cancer cause. I will not stop fighting for that mission. Going forward, I am going to devote myself to raising my five beautiful (and energetic) kids, fighting cancer, and attempting to be the fittest 40-year old on the planet. |
Image copyright Science Photo Library Women are nearly twice as likely to experience anxiety as men, a global review reveals. Its authors from Cambridge University say that as well as women, young people under 35 and those with health problems are particularly affected. They estimate that four in every 100 people have anxiety. The review of 48 published pieces of work says more research is needed to find out which other communities are at high risk. Published in the journal Brain and Behavior, the global review found that more than 60 million people were affected by anxiety disorders every year in the EU. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Hannah Kara, 21, describes the physical side effects of social anxiety North America is thought to be worst affected, with eight in 100 people having anxiety, and East Asia least affected (three in 100). Although the proportion of people suffering with this mental health problem stayed fairly constant between 1990 and 2010, the authors said it was a problem which was rarely researched, unlike depression. 'Debilitating' Review author Olivia Remes, from the department of public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge, said anxiety disorders could make life extremely difficult. "There has been a lot of focus on depression - which is important - but anxiety is equally important and debilitating; it can lead to the development of other diseases and psychiatric disorders, increase the risk for suicide and is associated with high costs to society." She added: "It is important for our health services to understand how common they are and which groups of people are at greatest risk." What is an anxiety disorder? It's feelings of worry, fear and unease which persist for a long time and become overwhelming, affecting everyday life. Physical sensations such as raised blood pressure, feeling nauseous and disrupted sleeping are common. At this point, it becomes a mental health problem and a diagnosis of a specific anxiety disorder can be given. The difference between anxiety and panic attacks Globally, women were found to be twice as likely to experience anxiety as men. Ms Remes said this could be because of hormonal fluctuations or because women are more prone to stress in general, or because of their traditional role of caring for the young. The review said people with a chronic health condition were at particular risk, "adding a double burden on their lives". For example, 32% of people with multiple sclerosis have an anxiety disorder and 15 to 23% of cancer patients are affected. The review noted that data on anxiety was particularly lacking in some populations, such as indigenous cultures, and some communities, like drug users, sex workers and lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Pregnant women were also found to be particularly prone to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) - a form of anxiety disorder - before and immediately after the birth of their baby. What helps Image copyright Thinkstock Before you begin any treatment you should discuss your options with your doctor. There are self-help books and online courses that can offer ways to manage your anxiety. Your doctor may also recommend that you avoid too much caffeine and alcohol, and stop smoking. Taking regular exercise may also help you relax. You may be advised to try psychological treatment, such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) or mindfulness. CBT aims to challenge negative thoughts and behaviours, while mindfulness encourages the individual to focus on the here and now. There are also different drug treatments that your doctor may prescribe. Mental illness: How do you cope? Stephen Buckley, head of information at mental health charity Mind, said anxiety was one of the most common mental health problems in the UK. "Many people wait too long before seeing their GP, discounting social anxiety as just day-to-day stress. "But it's not the same as being 'a bit shy' and it's important to seek help as soon as possible if you feel like your anxiety is interfering with your ability to do the things you normally would." |
Repair work has been completed and traffic is now moving along Foster between Pulaski and Cicero in both directions. View Full Caption Google Streetview NORTH MAYFAIR — Good news for motorists: Foster Avenue has reopened after a one-month closure between Cicero and Pulaski. The Illinois Department of Transportation announced it has completed repair work on the Foster Avenue bridge over the Chicago River, which required a complete shutdown of the Pulaski-to-Cicero stretch of the thoroughfare. Auto traffic had been diverted to Lawrence Avenue and CTA buses were rerouted onto Peterson Avenue. Foster Avenue is now open to motorists, pedestrians and cyclists in both directions. The completion of the bridge work is particularly timely, given that as many as 100 trucks a day will be traversing Foster to the Edens Expressway as part of the Albany Park Storm Water Diversion Tunnel construction project. Beginning at the end of October, debris from the tunnel's two construction sites — one near Eugene Field Park, the other in River Park — will be hauled away via trucks, which are expected to enter Foster Avenue at the rate of one truck every five minutes, according to project engineers. For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here. |
A new era had been born for the Germanic people. Although the world had been broken by the Great Unravelling, no other group had come together like the men of the north (save perhaps the Tengri Balkin Kingdoms, that regularly united but just as regularly fractured). Now united, these men looked beyond their own lands, to those of other faiths… (Source: http://www.creatinghistory.com/rollo-the-viking/) A new era had been born for the Germanic people. Although the world had been broken by the Great Unravelling, no other group had come together like the men of the north (save perhaps the Tengri Balkin Kingdoms, that regularly united but just as regularly fractured). Now united, these men looked beyond their own lands, to those of other faiths… The Kings, Jarls and Godis of the Germanic people gathered in the hall of Castle Lade and for many days debated their next course of action for the Germanic people. Many were there suggestions, with Christians, Slavic or the Romuvan people as possible targets. A full quarter of those in attendance wanted to strike eastward, to the Kingdom of Lithuania but the majority wanted revenge against the Christians though. A southern thrust was popular amongst some of the more aggressive lords. However, in the end cooler heads prevailed and the target was selected: The Petty Kingdom on Mann. Representatives of the Grand Republic of Brythoniaid were the only Germanic presence on an otherwise Christian realm. They argued that the Germanic presence would needed to be expanded here before the conquest of the mainland could begin. Many others present, nervous about a direct conflict with the Christian heartlands to the south but cautious of the rapidly unifying threat there, saw the British Isles as the best place to strengthen the Germanic position at the expense of the Christians. With their destination decided, other parties started to push claims for different sections of the island: (Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/236x/ba/47/ee/ba47ee81e3d9e7a028ce8495d227a132 . jpg)Representatives of the Grand Republic of Brythoniaid were the only Germanic presence on an otherwise Christian realm. They argued that the Germanic presence would needed to be expanded here before the conquest of the mainland could begin. Many others present, nervous about a direct conflict with the Christian heartlands to the south but cautious of the rapidly unifying threat there, saw the British Isles as the best place to strengthen the Germanic position at the expense of the Christians. With their destination decided, other parties started to push claims for different sections of the island: The Warchief of the Jomsvikings, whose men were based out of a few castles in the realms of generous nobles who had donated land (and castles in the lands of heathen rulers who were not so tolerant) argued for a dedicated realm that they would then be able to fight alongside other rulers in their wars against the unbelievers. To be able to support themselves however, they needed their own land to supply their legion. (Source: Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/736x/94/59/01/945901b5fa42b81d113dea97442c8947 . jpg)The Warchief of the Jomsvikings, whose men were based out of a few castles in the realms of generous nobles who had donated land (and castles in the lands of heathen rulers who were not so tolerant) argued for a dedicated realm that they would then be able to fight alongside other rulers in their wars against the unbelievers. To be able to support themselves however, they needed their own land to supply their legion. The Godis of the faith (although not the Fylkir himself), stated that the church would need a presence on the isles. They claimed that to be able to assist the local lords who, once their lands were conquered, would need to show the Christians the error of their ways and to bring them into the fold. With a Jarldom in their control, the warriors in the venture would surely be blessed by the Thunderer himself and the natives of the land would flock to the cause. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothi) The Godis of the faith (although not the Fylkir himself), stated that the church would need a presence on the isles. They claimed that to be able to assist the local lords who, once their lands were conquered, would need to show the Christians the error of their ways and to bring them into the fold. With a Jarldom in their control, the warriors in the venture would surely be blessed by the Thunderer himself and the natives of the land would flock to the cause. Finally, the Republic appealed to the council for an expansion to their land. Holding only the costal provinces of Brythoniaid, they would need to push inland to establish a stronger presence. They also claimed the Jarldom of Cornwall through cultural ties to the people there. [When I created the Republic initially, I gave it to the only Welsh courtier I had, and I am surprised I actually had one.] (Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/originals/d7/49/0d/d7490df158c4bbee79f2fb8029d38848 . jpg)Finally, the Republic appealed to the council for an expansion to their land. Holding only the costal provinces of Brythoniaid, they would need to push inland to establish a stronger presence. They also claimed the Jarldom of Cornwall through cultural ties to the people there. [When I created the Republic initially, I gave it to the only Welsh courtier I had, and I am surprised I actually had one.] At the end, before those present, laid the next step of Germanic expansion. Since time immemorial, the faithful had never undertaken a quest so difficult and so complete: The subjugation of the entire British Isles. Broken into five segments the division was as follows. The first target, as determined by the council, was the north of the main island. The Great Reaving would end the line of Christian rulers of Mann. Once complete the force would turn northward and complete the conquest of the Highlands. To this would go to he who, before the eyes of men and gods, contributed the most to the war. [Dark grey is the main target whilst the light grey is the remaining area to be taken] Beyond this, the church would claim the lands to the south and east of the Mann. South of this, the east coast of the main island would go to the Jomsvikings, granting them land close to the mainland to support future Great Reavings but still close enough to the traditional Norse lands to receive support [Teal coloured lands]. In the west, the republic would take more fertile lands towards the centre of the island. In conclusion, the Fylkir declared the remaining areas free to any but the aforementioned groups, claiming that “let he, by Right of Might, who seek to claim these lands do so” [White areas] To finish the gathering, Fylkir Eilif gathered all in attendance to the statue his father commissioned. Behind it stood a large runestone, depicting the great events of the life of the First Fylkir. Moving to the front of the crowd he stood before all presence and declared that all faithful men present return to their homes and prepare. When the time was right, the Fylkir would call upon each and every one of them to embark upon their ships and bring northern fury upon the realm of Mann and the rest of the islands. To those that stood in front of the statue however, there was another presence there. Each man claimed that when the Fylkir spoke, his voice was different, powerful. The shadow from the runestone cast a shadow on him, covering part of his face and obscuring one eye. To all those there the answer was simple, Odin himself had given his approval on the course ahead. To prepare for the Great Reaving, Fylkir Eilif sent his spymaster to determine the strength of the opponent and learn all he could. The information brought back would not only help with the deployment of the army, but helped with the technological development of the nation. The laws of the realm were the next obstacle to be removed before war was declared, for what man could tell a Fylkir when and where to bring the fury of the Gods? The concessions won from his father were wound back, so that the ruler stood in control of his realm. Now wanting to push the nobles too far however, the council was allowed to keep the right to vote on the changes to law that rulers would make. This was too much for the traitors and heretics within the realm. Angry over the way that the nation was moving forward, the conservative factions banded together to strike. Some of the Jarls rose against the Fylkir, saying that if the council would have the right to pass laws, then they should have the right to name he who would by Fylkir. At the same time, they instigated the peasants who had not accepted the re-interpretation of the faith to rise against their Jarls and the Fylkir to weaken the kingdom. At the start of the war, the attackers quickly gained the edge and it seemed as though the new light for the Norse people would be extinguished. But the Fylkir rallied his men and, leading from the front, brought those involved to justice. Internal issues were not the only threat present. King Falki of the Norse lands of Holland, who had rejected the Fylkir’s invitation to the grand gathering, invaded Norge. His objective was simple, the complete subjugation of the realm and the removal of the Fylkir from this world. To make matters worse, the Republic of Danmark declared war on the Kingdom of Pomerania. Not able to sit idly by whilst his own twin brother was attacked, the Fylkir mobilised his men for the war on both fronts. This help however was misconstrued by the King as that he was not strong enough to rule himself. Writing to his brother, he demanded that he punish a visiting noble who boasted of the strength of the armies of the Fylkir. Offended by the actions of King Solvi, their relationship broke down and was never repaired before the Kings death a few years later. Many improvements were made in preparation for the invasion, battleplans put forward and tested, harbors built to support the transport of the men required, and a new invention was presented by the realms Marshal. A new type of siege weapon that, when it actually hit, would cause great damage to a castles walls. Dispite its limited success, the Fylkir had to decline the Marshalls offer to build more as the gunpowder would not work when wet, an issue when the device was to be transported by ship. Not all discoveries were focused on the military. Word had been sent that some brave men of Noregr had sailed further east, apparently locating another continent far away. Whether these lands had actually been discovered would be a debate that would be held for many hundreds of years. [I was getting ready to rant about how it was weird that this event could happen when EU4 wouldn’t allow you to explore for many more years, but then it turns out that this is historically accurate. Don’t let it be said that games aren’t informative. Not back to the totally accurate story I am telling.] Finally, the day that had been many years and two Fylkirs in the making. A call to arms was issues to the followers of Odin, stand with your Fylkir and be counted. Each man would come was guaranteed a place in Valhalla. The wars undertaken would take many years but the goal was mighty. The establishment of new Germanic kingdoms and the expansion of the republic would see the nations of the north prosper. This next venture would either be a foundation onto which they would climb, or that what would cause the whole dream of a unified front destroyed. (Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/736x/0e/f6/bc/0ef6bc601640ce88e53371a404380aaf . jpg)Finally, the day that had been many years and two Fylkirs in the making. A call to arms was issues to the followers of Odin, stand with your Fylkir and be counted. Each man would come was guaranteed a place in Valhalla. The wars undertaken would take many years but the goal was mighty. The establishment of new Germanic kingdoms and the expansion of the republic would see the nations of the north prosper. This next venture would either be a foundation onto which they would climb, or that what would cause the whole dream of a unified front destroyed. The initial push into the lands of the Scott was surprisingly uneventful. The local Christians, not believing the threat posed by the Norseman, had not bothered to muster their armies when the longships were spotted off the coast, thinking that it was another of the many raids that were inflicted upon these lands. Before they could react, waves of heavily armed and armoured men swarmed the costal defences and marched in land. A detachment of men leads by the Fylkir himself sailed to the Isle of Mann, to siege the Kings home. With no help and no hope, the Christian was removed from his realm and so was his head. [So as it turns out, for whatever reason, that the Petty Kingdom of Mann was actually not a valid Great Holy War target. That which knows all, Google, was unfortunately unable to shed any light on why this was the case, even though I could declare against other targets instead. So with the use of a holy war and a little bit of console magic, I took the whole realm. Little unfortunate but that’s what I get for not checking beforehand.] (Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0 . pinimg . com/736x/da/62/41/da624102457facd3b87fdddd978ca085 . jpg)The initial push into the lands of the Scott was surprisingly uneventful. The local Christians, not believing the threat posed by the Norseman, had not bothered to muster their armies when the longships were spotted off the coast, thinking that it was another of the many raids that were inflicted upon these lands. Before they could react, waves of heavily armed and armoured men swarmed the costal defences and marched in land. A detachment of men leads by the Fylkir himself sailed to the Isle of Mann, to siege the Kings home. With no help and no hope, the Christian was removed from his realm and so was his head. [So as it turns out, for whatever reason, that the Petty Kingdom of Mann was actually not a valid Great Holy War target. That which knows all, Google, was unfortunately unable to shed any light on why this was the case, even though I could declare against other targets instead. So with the use of a holy war and a little bit of console magic, I took the whole realm. Little unfortunate but that’s what I get for not checking beforehand.] The Christian realms was in shock, one of its largest members had become a bastion for the followers of Odin, and their expansion was not stopping. The full might of the armies of Christ was raised and sent to reclaim what was theirs. Meanwhile, the horse of Norseman had expanded the war, capturing several provinces and establishing the second main objective: The Arch-Theocracy of Lothian. The enemy was not a united force however, and reinforcements arrived haphazardly. The Fylkir knew that the only way to victory was to keep his army together and tackle one problem at a time. Whilst victories were won, the sheer volume of troops meant that much of the initial lands captured were overrun. The armies were close to defeat, but they had faith. [Eagle eyed people may notice the flag of the 1115 stack to the left is the County of Corsica. I am fairly confident that every Count-level Catholic ruler was in this war, it was massive.] And their faith was rewarded. 15 years after the first ship had landed the majority of the first and second objective had been achieved. The Kingdom of Scotland and the Arch-Theocracy of Lothian stood as twin realms, signifying a new era for the British Isles. The growing concerns of thee Christians meant that they had set aside their petty squabbles and agreed to come to the defence of any of their members that was attacked by the Fylkir. The dream stopped, the Great Norse Horde was finally disbanded. Fathers whom had left behind babies, returned to meet grown men. Wives who had waited so long to hear of their partner’s fate waited on the piers with equal parts hope and dread. The realm needed to rest, and so did the Fylkir. The many battles and sieges had left the dungeons of Castle Lade overflowing, and as was required, the Fylkir ordered his vassals gather and many former and current Catholic lord was lead to the gallows and the afterlife. The deed done, a grand feast was prepared and for a whole week, the kingdom came to a standstill in celebration. For many years the realm was at peace. The Fylkir had demanded a third of the lifetime of many of his levies, and the life of many more on top of that. Instead the nation focused on internal improvements, and many great works of construction were ordered. Castle Lade was expanded to be even bigger than before, with more halls and barracks commissioned and the surrounding town built up. Many of the other holdings of the Fylkir, for so long abandoned, were improved upon. (Source: https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/medieval-renaissance/castles-in-scotland-from-battling-the-norse-to-defying-the-english/) For many years the realm was at peace. The Fylkir had demanded a third of the lifetime of many of his levies, and the life of many more on top of that. Instead the nation focused on internal improvements, and many great works of construction were ordered. Castle Lade was expanded to be even bigger than before, with more halls and barracks commissioned and the surrounding town built up. Many of the other holdings of the Fylkir, for so long abandoned, were improved upon. Finally, after many years of rest, the alliance opposing the Great Reaving disbanded, and fell again to infighting. Fylkir Eilif raised his levies and set out for the remaining independent counties alone. However, he was no longer a young man, and with only one hand, the other being removed a few years previous due to illness, he was not the fighter he once was. Injured on the battlefield, he would not live to see more than one more county added to the realm. That task would fall to his heir: Fylkir Hroðgar Eilifson. |
Geographic Range Golden hamsters are ubiquitous worldwide as pets and research animals. Wild populations are restricted to a small area of the Middle East. The majority of the species' range is encompassed by the Aleppinian plateau in Syria. Golden hamsters have also been reported in areas of Eastern Turkey. (Gattermann, et al., 2001; Burnie and Wilson, 2005) Biogeographic Regions palearctic native Habitat Historically, golden hamsters probably inhabited open steppe habitat, which once characterized the Aleppinian plateau and adjacent areas. As their range has become increasingly populated however, golden hamsters have shown an affinity for agricultural areas. Hamster burrows are often found in legume plots or near irrigation wells. The climate of the region inhabited by golden hamsters is seasonal. Summers are hot (35-38 degrees C) at midday and cold (6-15 degrees C) at night. Winters are cold (~10 degrees C) and wet. Overall, precipitation is very low (~336 mm/year). (Gattermann, et al., 2001; Burnie and Wilson, 2005) Habitat Regions temperate terrestrial Terrestrial Biomes savanna or grassland Other Habitat Features agricultural Average elevation 280-300 m ft Physical Description Golden hamsters are medium-sized hamsters, with adult mass ranging from 100 to 125 g. They are significantly smaller than common hamsters (Cricetus cricetus) of eastern Europe and western Asia,and larger than Roborovski's desert hamsters (Phodopus roborovskii) of China and Mongolia. As with many hamsters, golden hamsters have a blunt rostrum, relatively small eyes, large ears, and a short (1.5 cm) tail. The fur is golden-brown above, fading to gray or white on the ventral surface. Some individuals may also possess a dark forehead patch and a black stripe on each side of the face running from the cheek to the neck. (Alderton, 1996; Burnie and Wilson, 2005) Other Physical Features endothermic heterothermic bilateral symmetry Sexual Dimorphism sexes alike Range mass 100 to 125 g 3.52 to 4.41 oz Range length 13 to 13.5 cm 5.12 to 5.31 in Average basal metabolic rate 0.69 W AnAge Reproduction Females indicate their receptiveness to males primarly through olfactory cues in vaginal secretions. When the female is ready to mate, she will increase the frequency of vaginal marking, a behavior characterized by pressing the vaginal region against a surface and moving forward a few inches. (Lisk, 1985) Mating System polygynous Ovulation in mature female golden hamsters is mainly determined by photoperiod. Ovulation is induced by long photoperiods (>12.5 hours) and will continue indefinitely as long as the photoperiod remains long. If the photoperiod is reduced, or if females are exposed to complete darkness in a lab setting, they will stop ovulating. However, after 5 months, the females will acclimate to this shorter photoperiod and begin ovulating spontaneously. In the wild, this photoperiodic cycle ensures that young are born during the season most favorable for their survival. (Lisk, 1985) Golden hamsters have a gestation period of 16 days, the shortest gestation period among eutherian mammals. Average parturition time is 1.5 to 2.5 hours, during which 8 to 12 young are born. The young are altricial at birth, born with their eyes closed. They first open their eyes at 12 to 14 days of age. Weaning occurs at 19 to 21 days, and the young become sexually mature at about 1 month of age. (Clemens and Witcher, 1985; Lisk, 1985) Key Reproductive Features iteroparous seasonal breeding gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate) sexual viviparous Breeding interval Females can give birth every month or so during the breeding season. Breeding season Golden hamsters breed during seasons with long photoperiods. Range number of offspring 4 to 15 Average number of offspring 8-12 Average number of offspring 9 AnAge Average gestation period 16 days Average gestation period 16 days AnAge Average weaning age 19-21 days Average time to independence 1 months Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female) 20 (low) days Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female) 26-30 days Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male) 42 days Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male) Sex: male 48 days AnAge Despite a short gestation period, golden hamsters exhibit prenatal investment sufficient for the offspring to exhibit genital development at birth that is comparable to animals with longer gestation periods. The mother alone cares for the young. In some situations, the mother may reduce the size of her litter through cannibalism. In the wild, this is likely a strategy employed in times of limited resources, but in captivity, cannibalism is often a response to some sort of anthropogenic disturbance. (Clemens and Witcher, 1985) Parental Investment altricial pre-fertilization provisioning protecting female pre-hatching/birth provisioning female protecting female pre-weaning/fledging provisioning female protecting female Lifespan/Longevity Golden hamsters have relatively short life spans, 1.5 to 2 years on average. They can live nearly twice as long in captivity as in the wild. (Siegel, 1985) Range lifespan Status: captivity 4 (high) years Typical lifespan Status: wild 1.5 to 2 years Average lifespan Status: wild 1.5-2 years Typical lifespan Status: captivity 2 to 2.5 years Communication and Perception Golden hamsters communicate mainly by scent marking, but they also employ a variety of auditory signals. They produce squeaking sounds in several situations, usually in association with sudden body movements. In addition, hamsters exhibit teeth chattering. Teeth chattering behavior is a sign of aggression. It has been recorded in 92% of male to male interactions observed, in 39% of female to female interactions, and in only 5% of male to female encounters. Young hamsters are able to produce ultrasonic squeaks that likely are important in maternal care of the young. Hamsters also rely on visual signals in communicating with conspecifics. In interactions between dominant and submissive individuals, the submissive individual will arch its back and lift its tail. The dominant individual will then mount the subordinate to assert dominance. In male to female interactions, the female will signal that she is ready to mate by taking a quick series of short steps, and assuming a posture in which the body is stretched out, the back legs are splayed, and the tail is up. This posture is referred to as the Lordosis posture. The female may remain in this position for up to 10 minutes. The male will follow the female and sniff and lick her genital region, likely to gather chemical signals. There has additionally been some speculation that the pelage of an individual hamster has a bearing on its social status. However, studies have had contradictory results. (Johnston, 1985) Communication Channels visual acoustic chemical Other Communication Modes scent marks Perception Channels visual tactile acoustic ultrasound chemical Predation Golden hamsters serve as a food source for many different predators, including foxes, mustelids, birds of prey, and snakes. Golden hamsters avoid predation by seeking shelter in their burrows and through vigilance. Their rapid reproductive rate means that golden hamster populations can withstand relatively high rates of predation. (Gattermann, et al., 2001) Anti-predator Adaptations cryptic Known Predators Barn Owl (Tyto alba) other birds of prey (Falconiformes) foxes (Vulpes) mustelids (Mustelidae) snakes ( Serpentes ) Ecosystem Roles Like many small rodents, golden hamsters serve as a food source for many other animals. As a result of their diet of seeds and grains, they also disperse seeds, as seeds are often lost in the process of caching. Abandoned hamster burrows are often used by other animals, such as toads. (Gattermann, et al., 2001) Ecosystem Impact disperses seeds Mutualist Species toads Economic Importance for Humans: Positive Because of their short gestation period and ability to spontaneously ovulate, golden hamsters are an excellent model organism for use in research. Many studies have been conducted in which hamsters were the test subjects. Hamsters are also extremely popular as pets. Many domestic varieties have been developed for the pet trade. (Gattermann, et al., 2001; Lisk, 1985) Positive Impacts pet trade research and education Economic Importance for Humans: Negative Golden hamsters are considered agricultural pests in the wild. The government of Syria provides rodenticides to farmers in hopes of controlling hamsters. (Gattermann, et al., 2001) Negative Impacts crop pest Contributors Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web. Alex Champagne (author), Michigan State University, Barbara Lundrigan (editor, instructor), Michigan State University. Glossary Palearctic living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa. acoustic uses sound to communicate agricultural living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture. altricial young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching. bilateral symmetry having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria. chemical uses smells or other chemicals to communicate cryptic having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect. dominance hierarchies ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates endothermic animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds. fossorial Referring to a burrowing life-style or behavior, specialized for digging or burrowing. heterothermic having a body temperature that fluctuates with that of the immediate environment; having no mechanism or a poorly developed mechanism for regulating internal body temperature. iteroparous offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes). motile having the capacity to move from one place to another. native range the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic. nocturnal active during the night omnivore an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals pet trade the business of buying and selling animals for people to keep in their homes as pets. polygynous having more than one female as a mate at one time scent marks communicates by producing scents from special gland(s) and placing them on a surface whether others can smell or taste them seasonal breeding breeding is confined to a particular season sedentary remains in the same area sexual reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female solitary lives alone stores or caches food places a food item in a special place to be eaten later. Also called "hoarding" tactile uses touch to communicate temperate that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle). terrestrial Living on the ground. territorial defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement tropical savanna and grassland A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia. savanna A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome. temperate grassland A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands. ultrasound uses sound above the range of human hearing for either navigation or communication or both visual uses sight to communicate viviparous reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female. |
Soccer and baseball fans can catch special Sounder trains to 16 Mariners games and 6 Sounders FC soccer matches. The extra trains will run both north and south of downtown. The northern route will stop at Edmonds Station and arrive at King Street Station, which is a short walk from Safeco Field. Inbound trains from Snohomish County will depart Everett at 11:15 a.m., Mukilteo at 11:26 a.m., and Edmonds at 11:41 a.m., arriving at King Street Station at 12:14 p.m. Return trains will depart King Street Station 35 minutes after the match ends. Regular fares will apply for all Sound Transit services. The Mariners games start at 1:10 p.m. and the Sounders games begin at 1 p.m. For complete Sounder and Link schedule information, go to www.soundtransit.org/schedule. The dates of the Mariners and Sounders matches are listed below. Mariners: April 10 Cleveland Indians April 24 Oakland Athletics May 8 Chicago White Sox May 29 New York Yankees June 4 Tampa Bay Rays June 5 Tampa Bay Rays June 19 Philadelphia Phillies July 3 San Diego Padres July 17 Texas Rangers July 30 Tampa Bay Rays July 31 Tampa Bay Rays August 14 Boston Red Sox August 28 Chicago White Sox September 11 Kansas City Royals September 17* Texas Rangers September 18 Texas Rangers *The time for this game has not been determined; Sounder service is available for afternoon games only. Sounder Games: April 9 Chicago June 26 New England July 16 Colorado August 13 Chivas August 27 Columbus September 10 Real Salt Lake |
In continuation of the US-led illegal sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran, Congress passed on Wednesday night a bill, which imposes more embargoes on the country including those on the parent companies of foreign subsidiaries violating sanctions as well adding penalties for those that help Iran’s petroleum, petrochemical, insurance, shipping and financial sectors. Immediately, US Congressman Ron Paul expressed his vociferous opposition to the new sanctions and vilified them as “an act of war”, saying that the US is marching into war with Iran. Paul said, “There is no evidence that Iran has ever enriched uranium above 20 percent.” He also said the IAEA and CIA have determined that the Iran is not on the verge of building a nuclear weapon. “What we continue to be doing is obsess with Iran and the idea that Iran is a threat to our national security.” The idea was somehow shared by senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati who on Friday called on people and authorities to stand united against the “economic war” waged on the Islamic Republic by foreign forces. Sharing this line of thinking, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mahmoud Bahmani has said that CBI considers the sanctions as a declaration of war and that a special team has been set up to deal with them dynamically. He said the economic sanctions are meant to sabotage the national economy and that the CBI will thwart them rapidly and effectively. It is transpiring gradually that a country does not need to wage a military war against another nation in an effort to paralyze it and that imposing brutal sanctions or tightening them can be well tantamount to an act of war. The US war against Iran has already started. In fact, the US started its war long ago by imposing sanctions on the country when it was slowly recovering from the human and financial losses (roughly USD 600 billion) the Iraqi war had inflicted on the country, a war so shamelessly, vehemently, and financially supported by Washington. Later, reports revealed that the US government had funneled through an Atlanta branch of Italy’s largest bank, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, over USD 4 billion to Iraq from 1985 to 1989. The money, which was supplied to the regime of the despotic Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein, was used to buy military technology and arms. The CIA was reportedly privy to this gargantuan sum of money which was paid in the name of loan but concealed it from Congress. Part of the report carried by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) reads: “The House Banking Committee is conducting an investigation into over $4 billion in unreported loans the former employees of the Atlanta branch of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) provided to the government of Iraq between 1985 and 1990. The Committee’s investigation has uncovered the fact that Henry Kissinger was on the International Advisory Board of BNL during that same time period and that BNL was a client of Kissinger Associates.” The sanctions against Iran practically started under the Reagan administration in 1983 when the US government accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and opposed international loans to the country. The US imposed embargos against Iranian imports and also the sale of ‘dual use’ items. The US narrative continued in 1995 when Washington absurdly accused Iran of pursuing weapons of mass destruction, a fairy tale which was later exploited by the Bush administration to attack Iraq in 2003 and that which was used by Washington to lend a cloak of legitimacy to its military adventurism. At any rate, US President Bill Clinton intensified sanctions against the country, banning any American involvement with the Iranian petroleum industry. In 1997, he placed a ban on US investment in Iran. To make matters worse, Clinton even goaded other countries into following suit. In view of the fact that the Iraq-imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) had inflicted inconceivable human and material losses on Iran and that the country had just started to convalesce from the lashes of the Iraqi invasion, it was more like a miracle that Iran had managed to weather this entire US-manufactured calamity for the Iranian nation. Washington has long been making unflagging efforts to push Iran to the farthest margins of political and economic isolation even when Iran was not working on its nuclear energy program. The West has failed to understand that Iran is not a country solely dependent on oil resources. Rather, it has at its disposal myriad natural resources to rely on. Ergo, blocking Iran’s oil flow to other countries will not be so damaging to the country as the West imagines. On the contrary, such an act will surely prove irreversibly damaging to world economy; the oil prices will rocket up beyond control; the global economic security will be caught up in an unmanageable whirlpool and the rest of the world including the US and Europe will have to suffer immensely for this strategic folly. The sanctions are nothing new and the western media’s flowery phrases like ‘Iran feels the pain of sanctions’, ‘The sting of sanctions begins’, ‘Iran feels the pinch of US-led sanctions’ are only meant to cater to the public taste of a western audience who are now prone to see Iran through the purblind eyes of the corrupt western powers-that-be which have long entertained sinister plots for the Iranian nation. To a critical mind, the sanctions are to be seen as a metaphorical declaration of war on Iran albeit the US and its allies will be the ones who will suffer most. |
The guys in the C-suites sure must be laughing today. They pulled a fast one on the American public. As the seating chart fills out for the incoming Trump administration, it becomes clear that Team Trump seeks to “drain the swamp” in Washington by putting the swamp’s corporate lobbyists in charge. ADVERTISEMENT It’s party time for the corporate elite that really runs our nation. The signs are legion. Jeffrey Eisenach, who has worked as a consultant for Verizon and its trade association, is running the FCC transition, and will likely use his post to eviscerate Internet freedoms and bury Net Neutrality. As our nation’s obesity epidemic continues on, what could be worse than installing a lobbyist for the American Beverage Association, Michael Torrey, to head up Trump’s U.S. Department of Agriculture transition team. Nevermind the 25,000 Americans who die each year due to overconsumption of sugary drinks. Prominent climate change skeptic Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the corporate front group Competitive Enterprise Institute, is leading Trump’s EPA transition team, a slap in the face to all Americans who recoil at climate change, dirty air and poisoned water. Two of the biggest winners will be billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, and their firm Koch Industries. At least two of their lobbyists have prominent places in the Trump transition. Mike Catanzaro, who lobbies for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Chemistry Council and Koch Industries, is the honcho for Trump’s “energy independence” agenda. Mike McKenna, who is in charge of the transition at the Department of Energy, lobbies for Dow Chemical and Koch Industries. Doubtless Team Trump’s lobbyists are working on how to gut the key regulators, for example, carrying out Trump’s promise to undermine the “FDA Food Police,” which is supposed to keep our nation’s food system safe for all Americans. Try telling that to the one in six Americans who contract food poisoning each year. According to some news outlets, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, is joining Trump’s transition team. Thiel is co-founder of Palantir Technologies, which played a key role in a corporate espionage scandal involving U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to spy on unions and citizen groups. Trump’s promise to “end our government corruption” by putting corporate lobbyists in charge is laughable. As is the idea of empowering Newt Gingrich, who left Congress with a record of contempt for law and House Rules on ethics and corruption, after being forced to pay a $300,000 fine for his congressional wrongdoing. One open question: How will Trump voters respond to — instead of draining the swamp — putting the swamp in charge of the swamp? Trump voters ought to be mad — they just got sold out. Gary Ruskin is co-director of U.S. Right to Know, a food industry watchdog group. For 14 years, he directed the Congressional Accountability Project, which opposed corruption in Congress. You can follow him on Twitter at @garyruskin. The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill. |
The big Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X merge happens Wednesday night, and you can see an exclusive clip of it right here. The merge marks the unofficial halfway point of the game as all the players move to one beach and the challenges move from team to individual competitions. Every season we check in with one player for a mid-game report, and this time we went to Zeke Smith to get some inside scoop on who his biggest alliance partner was, who he most wishes had made the merge with him, and the one big thing we did not see. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Getting to the merge is a big deal. How did it feel once you realized you had made it through that first stage of the game and were on to stage two? ZEKE SMITH: Survivor is a very long game and setting small milestones proves essential in getting through the experience: Don’t get voted out first, get to the swap, make the merge. Replacing that swap tribe buff with a merge buff is a feeling of absolute elation. No longer do you question if you can hack the Survivor experience — you know you can do it. The million-dollar prize lies within your grasp. Dollar signs gleam in the eyes of the Tribe. Game play accelerates at the merge and, personally, I came to play hard and was downright giddy to delve into the more cutthroat phase of the game. You are a fan of the show and have watched it for a long time. What surprised you the most once you finally got out there on the island? I was shocked with how hard, fast, and adeptly every single member of the Millennial tribe played from Day One. For my money, the Millennial tribe is the single greatest Tribe in the history of Survivor. Everyone showed up to play. No one was an obvious first boot or unequipped to handle the social and survival rigors of the game. Everything changes out there from day to day, and we’ll see if your instinct ends up being correct, but as you went into the merge, who did you feel was your closest alliance partner? My closest alliance partner going into the Merge was Dave. While Chris and I bonded strongly on a personal level, Dave and I shared a brain strategically. My connection with Dave stemmed from our mutual love of Survivor — we listened to the same podcasts and shared a brain when it came to our approach to strategy. Who is the one player that did NOT make it to the merge that you would have liked to have seen made it — either someone from the Millennials you wish had lasted longer, or someone from Gen X you never got a chance to play with? To this day I am #salty that my days with Mari were cut short. Sure, she’s a badass lady with whom I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the beach. But, I thought we might do some epic damage together, combining my knowledge of traditional Survivor strategy with her outsider perspective informed by her online gamer expertise. It could’ve resulted in some innovative, revolutionary gameplay. Finally, tell us one thing from the first 20 days we did not see that you wish had made it to air? I entertained a plan to blindside Dave in episode 5. Immediately after the swap, Chris and I bonded over our beloved Sooners, and he regaled me with tales of the dangers of Dave. The plan was to vote out Dave until the afternoon before Tribal Council. Suddenly, Chris mended fences with Dave and wanted CeCe out. To me, Dave’s ability to heal the wound with Chris made him all the more terrifying. CeCe wasn’t interested in turning on GenX, so I proposed to Michelle a different plan to oust Dave: We could tie the vote and get Dave on the re-vote. CeCe would vote for Michelle. Dave and Chris would vote for CeCe. Michelle and I would vote for Dave, making the vote 2-2-1. The rules of Survivor state that in the event of a tie, there is a re-vote between the players receiving the most votes: Dave and CeCe. Only Michelle, Chris, and myself are eligible to re-vote. Michelle and I vote for Dave, sending Dave home. Might’ve been an exciting Tribal Council, but severing my relationships with both Chris and Dave wasn’t worth it. Also make sure to watch an exclusive scene of the merge, and for more Survivor scoop, follow me on Twitter @DaltonRoss. |
Federal regulators said on March 28 that the oil industry was withholding key information related to the series of train derailments and explosions involving transporting crude oil. The Department of Transportation said that trade groups like the American Petroleum Institute vowed to share the results of tests on crude from the Bakken, but have thus far failed to do so. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said in January that oil from the Bakken could be more volatile and dangerous than conventional crude oil found elsewhere. However, they said that they needed more data and the industry agreed to make the results of tests available. But, as of March 28, according to Reuters, Transportation officials are unhappy with the industry’s cooperation. Related Article: Oil Train Derailments Reaching Crisis Point "Despite the energy industry making assurances to DOT more than two months ago, we still lack data we requested and that energy stakeholders agreed to produce," the agency said in a statement to Reuters on Friday. “The overall and ongoing lack of cooperation is disappointing, slows progress, and certainly raises concerns.” A spokesperson from the industry disagreed that oil and gas companies are dragging their feet. According to Reuters, it appears that individual oil companies are not on the same page as their trade associations. “I told them that they have a choice to provide DOT the information directly or to work through the association that is in the process of providing a consolidated response,” said Richard Moskowitz, chief counsel for the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers. That mixed message has apparently led to some confusion among certain companies. Without all the data available, safety officials are not able to reach conclusions about how to treat crude oil being shipped by rail. By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com |
First look at the 2018 Holden Commodore 1:40 HOLDEN is on the brink of its biggest upheaval since it announced it would stop making cars in Australia. Opel, the German division of General Motors — which is supposed to supply one third of Holden’s future imported car line-up from next year — is a pen stroke away from being sold to French car maker Peugeot-Citroen. The deal almost happened nine years ago in the grip of the Global Financial Crisis, but US giant General Motors decided to keep Opel at the eleventh hour. However, since then, Opel has lost a staggering $9 billion and now GM wants out. When fresh talks between GM and Peugeot-Citroen surfaced last week, analysts initially said the deal was a slim chance of going ahead, as it had fallen over before. LAST OF THE V8S: The most powerful Commodore ever However, reports out of Europe over the weekend claim a deal for Peugeot-Citroen to buy Opel could be signed as early as this Thursday for an estimated $2 billion. If it goes ahead, Holden will initially continue to source the Opel Astra from the UK and the next generation Commodore (badged as an Opel Insignia in Germany) would still arrive as planned in March 2018, says Holden. Peugeot-Citroen says it intends to keep Opel as a separate brand, in a deal that would see the three badges combined become the biggest automotive company in Europe after Volkswagen. Holden Commodore bonnet safety scare 1:55 Holden issues warning over counterfeit and non-genuine bonnets that can fly open. However, the next generation of Opel cars Holden sources from 2025 onwards are likely to be radically different once Peugeot-Citroen starts to rationalise the model range to cut costs. The biggest threat to Holden — if the Peugeot-Citroen deal goes ahead — is that it will lose its influence with key international decision makers, and eventually weaken the Holden line-up. For example, Opel in Germany added a V6 to the imported 2018 Commodore purely at the request of Holden — but only after Detroit rubber-stamped millions of dollars in extra investment to make it happen. The 2018 Commodore was only supposed to have four-cylinder engines, but Holden begged for a V6 to avoid a buyer backlash in Australia. COUNTERFEIT CAR: Holden issues warning over dodgy bonnets Given Holden’s shrinking market share in a country that represents just 2 per cent of global car sales, Holden won’t have anywhere near as much leverage with Peugeot-Citroen to tailor cars to suit Australian conditions. A statement from Holden said: “(General Motors) remains committed to the Holden brand in Australia and we don’t expect any changes to Holden’s vehicle portfolio. Right now we are focused on ramping up Astra volume and preparing to launch the fantastic next-generation Commodore in 2018”. While it will be business as usual in Holden showrooms over the next few years, the outlook from the mid 2020s is unclear. Peugeot and Citroen have demonstrated a remarkable lack of understanding of the highly competitive Australian market — even though Citroens have been sold here since 1923, almost three decades before Holden was established as a car manufacturer. A Citroen was also the first car to complete a lap of Australia, in 1925, the same year Ford established manufacturing in Geelong. Despite their early promise, both French brands have recorded comparatively minuscule sales through numerous independent Australian distributors over the decades. The French deal would force Holden to rely more heavily on SUVs out of the US and South Korea and utes out of Thailand, accounting for two-thirds of the model range. The uncertainty around Holden’s future European car line-up comes as its market share hit a record low in 2016 after posting the lowest sales in 23 years. Why GM wants to sell Opel: — Opel has lost $9 billion since the GFC. — European car sales aren’t growing. — Small cars are less profitable than SUVs and utes. What does it mean for Holden: — In the short term, Holden’s showroom won’t look any different. — But Peugeot-Citroen will merge some Opel models with its own from the early to mid 2020s. — Holden won’t have as much leverage when it comes to negotiating changes to its European Opel cars to suit Australian tastes. What are the chances of the deal going ahead? — Last week, analysts said the chances were slim. — This deal fell over nine years ago, in the wake of the GFC. — Now experts predict a deal could be signed this Thursday. This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling |
Video (02:10) : Norm Coleman plans to contest the certification of ballots that put Al Franken in the lead of the U.S. Senate race. Surrounded by cheering supporters, Republican Norm Coleman, who received 225 fewer votes than DFLer Al Franken in the U.S. Senate recount, vowed Tuesday to wage a court battle to challenge the outcome. "Not every valid vote has been counted, and some have been counted twice," Coleman said. "Let's take the time right now in this contested race to get it right." In deciding to fight on, Coleman rejected Monday's ruling of the state Canvassing Board, which certified the results that gave Franken the lead. The next phase of the dispute will take place in Ramsey County District Court, where Coleman will try to convince a three-judge panel that he was hurt by votes that were wrongly excluded and improperly included in the recount. Coleman made his announcement at a news conference surrounded by a feisty group of supporters in a room of the State Office Building in St. Paul. When Coleman was asked whether he had considered conceding the race, the crowd shouted in chorus, "No!" Later, Franken's lead recount attorney, Marc Elias, called Coleman's case "an uphill battle to overturn the will of the people" and said it raised no decisive issues. "It is essentially the same thin gruel, warmed-over leftovers ... that they have been serving the last few weeks." Elias also said that the Franken campaign will use the court contest to raise its own questions about whether more ballots should have been tallied. The campaign has secured affidavits from several voters who said their ballots weren't counted, he said. A trial is expected to begin within 20 days, and a Coleman lawyer said a decision may not be known until two months from now. Coleman's decision to go to court came as pressure was building for him to concede. Former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson said Tuesday that Coleman should consider bowing out. "I don't think it's winnable," said Carlson, who served from 1991-99. He said contesting the recount results could hurt the Republican's image. "I think there will be a tremendous amount of public anger, I think it will hurt his reputation," Carlson said. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Coleman is "entitled to the opportunity to proceed however he sees fit. But for someone who's been in the trenches on a number of these elections, graciously conceding, like his friend John Ensign did, would be the right step. This can't drag on forever." Asked about such comments, Coleman acknowledged "a desire by a small number of people to simply move on," but said, "Speed is not the first objective. Fairness is. ... We will not permit the full process to be shortcut. That would only cast greater doubt and uncertainty over the final result." New range of issues The Canvassing Board's work focused on interpreting voter intent on ambiguous ballots challenged by the campaigns. But the court contest will examine a wider range of issues. Coleman's lawsuit says the Canvassing Board's rulings on ballot challenges were inconsistent, and that ballots were both improperly rejected and wrongly counted by local elections officials and the secretary of state to the advantage of Franken. After Coleman's announcement, his recount lawyers Tony Trimble and Fritz Knaak released a 33-page summary of documents filed in Ramsey County Court. The file includes dozens of copies of envelopes for rejected absentee ballots that the campaign says should have been accepted. Some went unopened even though they were marked "accepted," others were delivered to the wrong precinct, and still others were rejected over other clerical errors. Knaak said campaign lawyers are in the process of conducting "a very real investigation," interviewing local elections officials and taking statements that can be used in court. He promised testimony about double-voting in some precincts. |
Last night, my friend Buzz O’Neill was beaten up on George’s Street in Dublin for being gay. Buzz explained what happened over on GCN, “I kissed my friend goodbye on the corner of the laneway, beside the dry cleaners and there was a taxi stopped beside me. One of the guys in it shouted ‘fucking faggot’ out the window. I told him to ‘fuck off’, and he spat at me out of the taxi.” The man and three others got out of the taxi and proceeded to attack Buzz. Luckily, the bouncers from The George were there to intervene. Yes, this still happens. Yes, this is Dublin in 2013. Yes, this is gay-bashing. On Sunday, the Constitutional Convention will be voting on whether to recommend to the government to provide for marriage equality. It’s a tale of two cities. On one end of the spectrum, a kiss-in is being organised to take place outside the Gaiety on Sunday, and Pantibar will show the results of the Constitutional Convention vote live. Meanwhile, homophobes are beating a bloke up outside a bar. When I tweeted that I hoped Buzz was ok, the reaction from people was one of shock. Wow, people still get beaten up for being gay in Dublin? It’s surprising, right? As cities go, Dublin is pretty gay, but sometimes it’s easy to forget that the city’s general atmosphere of tolerance, open-mindedness, diversity, acceptance and care is in fact a bubble – a bubble that can be burst with a punch in the eye outside The G on a Wednesday night. Why is this still happening? Let’s get real here. I’m not surprised someone shouted “fucking faggot” at someone coming out of The George. I’m really angry and sad that Buzz got beaten up, but this happens. It’s happening less, but it happens. People have their own personal reasons for engaging in a homophobic attack. But until gay people are actually afforded the same rights as straight people, in their relationships, workplaces, schools and families, until then, we have to face up to the fact that Irish law views gays in pretty much the same way as thugs on George’s Street do. Our legislation gay-bashes us. Our media gay-bashes us. Our TDs who fight the tide of equality gay-bash us. Religious leaders gay-bash us. Polarised debate The topics of gay rights and specifically gay marriage have received more and more coverage over the past decade. It’s a huge movement, and while some societies are affording lesbians and gays equal marriage rights, many aren’t. Many see civil marriage rights as an inevitability, but there’s a real problem with how the debate has been and continues to be framed here. I’m sick of it. It’s time to stop positioning gay people as punching bags – both figuratively and literally – in the context of this debate. The main problem with how the Irish media frames the debate is around a skewed view of what ‘balance’ is. ‘Middle Ireland’, the ‘silent majority’, the ‘mainstream’, gay people are told, are not ready for something so drastic as equality. I don’t know about you, but I never actually hear that middle ground. What I hear again and again is yet another articulate gay person trying to hold their temper while they are subjected to ignorant and juvenile arguments. And I hear an opposing view, generally one from the far out end of Catholicism, blustering about children’s rights (which Civil Partnership denies, thank you very much), and trying desperately to fight against equality with arguments based on their own personal belief systems or grievances. I don’t hear middle Ireland. I don’t hear a middle ground. I don’t hear the mainstream. I don’t hear the 71% of Irish people who believe the Irish government should amend the law to provide civil marriages for same-sex couples, or the 75% who said they would vote yes in a referendum to extend civil marriage to same-sex couples, or the 72% who believe that denying civil marriage to same-sex couples is a form of discrimination*. I don’t hear the voices of teenagers and grannies who think “I don’t mind, actually.” All I hear is hate. Constructing polarised conversations for the sake of ‘good radio’, ‘watchable TV’, ‘lively debate’, or an urge to get a radio programme or TV show’s hashtag trending doesn’t serve anyone because no real information emerges. All you come away with is conflict and division. Facts and reason are drowned out by emotional arguments and inaccuracies. It’s pointless. And while listening to Pat Kenny’s radio programme yesterday morning where the editor of GCN, Brian Finnegan, was met with bizarre anti-equality arguments from Gerry Fahey, a sickening feeling resurfaced. Because there is something more insidiously harmful going on. Broadcasters will cite ‘balance’ as a defense for allowing these views to be broadcast. But I’m sorry, there is nothing balanced about someone going on air and voicing opinions that are hateful and discriminatory. The pro-marriage equality side doesn’t do that, yet the anti side seems to have a free pass to bang on about whatever paper thin argument, conspiracy theory, or downright homophobic view they want. I am OVER it. Impact Consider the impact of hearing those viewpoints every time a marriage equality debate happens. Think about the psychological damage it does. Being told that you’re subordinate in a society you contribute to is so incredibly hurtful. The pain of being told that you don’t deserve equal rights just because of how you were born doesn’t go away. And every time a Liveline or a Pat Kenny or a Prime Time or a Last Word or a Tonight With Vincent Browne or a George Hook or a Late Late stokes those flames, it burns and blisters inside all over again. Think about the confirmation and boost that genuinely homophobic people get from hearing their arguments reinforced on radio or TV. Think about the confidence it gives them. Enough confidence, perhaps, to give a “fucking faggot” a thump on the street. Think about the impact it has on people who are struggling with their sexuality, who have to listen to people saying: you’re not equal to me, you don’t have an equal role in society, you don’t deserve the things that I have, your relationships aren’t as important as mine, you are less than me, you shoudn’t have children, and I will fight tooth and nail to ensure discrimination against you remains enshrined in law. How long can you expect people to block those punches for? How long must a minority remain on the ropes and be told just keep taking it. LGBT people have a unique set of psychological and mental health challenges because of discrimination in society. A 2009 study of over 1,100 LGBT people in Ireland** titled Supporting LGBT Lives: A Study of the Mental Health and Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People yielded the following results and more. 80% of LGBT people in Ireland have been verbally abused as a consequence of their sexuality. 25% have been punched, kicked or beaten as a result of their LGBT status. 8% have been attacked with a weapon – a knife, gun, bottle or stick – on at least one occassion as a result of being LGBT. 9% have been the victim of a sexual attack as a consequence of being LGBT. 50% have been called abusive names related to their sexual orientation in school. Over 25% have been verbally abused in the workplace. 10% admit to missing work because they were afraid of being attacked or threatened in the workplace for being LGBT. A staggering 90% of LGBT people have experienced feelings of depression at some point, and 60% directly link that depression to social and / or personal challenges connected with LGBT identity including stigma and social isolation. 25% have taken medication prescribed by a doctor for anxiety or depression. 84% engage in binge drinking intermittently or regularly, 60% feel they should reduce their intake of alcohol. The study found that heavy alcohol consumption was strongly associated with a need to ‘mask’ distressing emotional states, and using alcohol as a coping mechanism or form of self-medication. 27% have self-harmed at least once. 18% have attempted suicide at least once. If producers and presenters looked at these statistics, and realised the heightened vulnerability of LGBT people’s mental health before engaging in another ruthless marriage equality debate, they might rethink ‘balance’. If you honestly think the anti-equality rhetoric doesn’t have an impact, check out what’s happening in France right now. Homophobic attacks have tripled in the wake of the anti-gay marriage movement. We need to stop giving hate a platform. It has real consequences. Referendum fear The polls say Ireland is ready for marriage equality, but a referendum might have to be part of that change, even if many would argue that it’s not necessary. I’ve been working on an oral history of the marriage equality movement in Ireland over the past six months, and there’s one common reaction when talking to gay rights campaigners about the prospect of a referendum: aprehension bordering on fear. LGBT people don’t fear a referendum because of the result. We all know the Irish public is ready to accept their lesbian and gay brothers and sisters, children, friends, colleagues and parents as equals. The terror associated with a referendum is not about the score, it’s about the fight. It’s not going to be a clean one. The vitriol and misinformation the anti-equality representatives spread is traumatic for LGBT people. The messages of hate, the horrible insinuations, the derogatory remarks, the bigotry and ignorance and spitefulness, are all trademarks of those who fight equality, and in a referendum setting they have the potential to become amplified to a piercing level. It takes a lot of resiliance not to feel beaten down by that. LGBT people need strength in the roaring red face of hate, but also solidarity, support and kindness. LGBT people have thick skin. But that hate gets under your skin no matter how thick it is. It permeates every part of your psyche, it can make you feel angry and isolated, lonely and hurt. And I don’t think any minority should be asked to put up with that. A dead argument At the heart of all the arguments against gay marriage are two things that are also at the heart of gay-bashing. The first is fear. Fear of change. Fear of progress. Fear of disrupting a status quo that serves those who control and maintain it. Fear of sexuality. Fear of examining one’s own sexuality. The second is homophobia. I’ve never been met with an argument against gay marriage that isn’t rooted in homophobia. It might be homophobia as defined by religion. It might be homophobia defined by ignorance, or by living a closed, single-minded life devoid of contact with other people of different races, creeds, upbringings, sexualities, professions and political philosophies. It might be homophobia born from insecurity with one’s own sexuality. There are some opponants to gay marriage who at this stage are so obsessed with gay people that they would almost qualify for having their own float at Pride. Often when listening to their emotional red-eyed arguments, I can’t help but think of that proverb – when you point a finger at someone, three point back at yourself. Then there’s the arguments against gays having and raising children. It comes down to the outrageous belief that gay people, particularly gay men, are a threat to children. It’s such a horrible accusation and insinuation to make, but it’s one that’s out there and one that almost without fail is subtly or blatently projected in every debate about gay marriage and gay parenting. When I hear it, my stomach lurches, and I can’t imagine how the amazing gay parents I know feel. And when that insinuation is made by members of the Catholic Church, an organisation that for decades colluded and covered up the rape and abuse of children… well, what can you say? Now I know marriage isn’t a perfect institution. I know there are problems with it. I know some gay people feel as though marriage has monopolised the gay rights debate. I know some people feel it’s a middle class debate. I know some lesbian feminists and queer men have a problem with gay people supposedly buying into a heteronormative institution. I also know other lesbian feminists and other queer men who recognise all of these things and still say lesbian and gay people deserve the right to marry. We all deserve equality and access to every institution straight people have access to, even if those institutions are a bit shoddy. Like many people, I have no intention of getting married. But I fervently believe everyone has the right to. Because as long as legislation gay-bashes, so will thugs on the street. Over the past four years, there has been endless discourse about rebuilding Ireland, questioning what kind of future we envisage, and what kind of society we want. And while it most certainly is always darkest before the dawn, when the sun eventually rises, it should rise for everyone. *Source: Marriage Equality Millard Brown (Lansdowne) poll 2012 **PDF of report. |
Dem Senator Slams Trump in Profanity-Laced Tirade: ‘Has He Kept His Promises? F*** NO'(VIDEO) Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) went on a profanity-laced tirade on Friday, slamming President Trump saying, “Has he kept his promises? No. F*ck no.” “Has he kept his promises? No. F— no,” she said while speaking to the Personal Democracy Forum in New York. Here is the video: Kirsten Gillibrand speaking at NYU just now on Trump: “Has he kept his promises? No. Fuck no.” — Hamilton Nolan (@hamiltonnolan) June 9, 2017 “If we are not helping people, we should go the f*ck home,” Gillibrand continued to say. “If we are not helping people, we should go the fuck home,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand tells audience of Dem Party at Personal Democracy Forum. — Steve Peoples (@sppeoples) June 9, 2017 Gillibrand has been on TGP’s radar as her star rises. We recently reported on her sycophantic praise of Hamas-linked Linda Sarsour. Gillibrand tweeted out an article she penned in Time Magazine proclaiming, ‘It was an honor to write about’ Linda Sarsour, one of the organizers of the women’s march. One could argue that between Gillibrand’s praise for radical Islamists and uncontrollable profanity-laced tirades against President Trump, she represents the Democrat party quite nicely. H/T: The Hill |
Where is your dream place? Some see great places as being destinations. We see them as launching points. A place to gather with family and launch into a relationship that got sidelined by work and school, a place to gather with colleagues and launch the next great business idea, a place to gather with friends and launch that fitness resolution that has been evading you, or a place to gather with yourself and launch into reflection. But creating great places and launching pads have evaded the Delaware real estate community for decades. We believe there is a better way. We believe we can create extraordinary places in which to live, to share, to savor our unique launching pads. But we suggest that creating a great place doesn’t happen by accident, it takes planning. So we begin by asking… Where is your favorite place to vacation? Where do you like to window shop? Where do you like to eat lunch on the street? Where, if you had a day to spend, would you like to stroll the streets…anywhere in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, DC… the world? We love asking these questions. They often provoke a lot of emotion, opinion, nostalgia, memory and dreaming. What is often revealed are the readers’ favorite places. And what is also often revealed is that these places are often walkable and accessible to those who may need assistance with mobility. But what is remarkable is how we often take these great places for granted. As if they were always that way and as if they came out of a box marked, “recipe for walkable place.” These places evolved, based upon some basic principles that, sadly, many places lack today. That is why The Town of Whitehall has the potential to be so special. We plan to change the way we approach “place” in the context of better development and improving real estate values. Not simply sticks and bricks or monetary real estate values, but the greater value realized by creating places that benefit the way you live your life. Every day. We have raised our hands to suggest that poor planning doesn’t have to be the norm, that Delaware doesn’t have a finite list of “great places” and that we are free to create the next one. And by studying YOUR favorite places through our conversations on social media, we have baked many of these principles into the community cake! 1. Get out your tape measure: Creating a great place doesn’t take a genius, just the perfection of the art of replications. For centuries, before the car, great places emerged. Did you ever notice that most of the communities we love were created before the auto boom? Proportions are key to walkability and pedestrian comfort. Therefore, the new great places are taking the time to measure beloved streets, setbacks, alleys, building heights and windows (to name a few items for measuring). They aim to replicate the experiences of Rehoboth Beach, Charleston, West Chester, Alexandria, Old New Castle and Annapolis. 2. Give them something to walk to: Sorry to end with a preposition, but it’s such an important point. Architect and writer Steve Mouzon muses in his book “The Original Green” about how simply putting in a sidewalk isn’t enough. You need to give the stroller a destination as well as a reason to turn their head right and left. The walk needs to be purposeful, and the journey needs to be beautiful and interesting. Landscapes and house designs can’t be monotonous, and the introduction of social porches, cafés, dog parks and people along the journey make it even better. At Whitehall, we have worked tirelessly to make sure that every street ends in a “terminated vista” (http://bettercities.net/news-opinion/blogs/scott-doyon/17854/get-know-awkwardly-named-“terminated-vista”), every street contains a walkable pathway, every street has a variety of housing, and that every street leads to another great street. 3. Pave the way for the Baby Boomers and Seniors: When is the last time you saw adults playing in the street? I don’t think the historic towns saw this either. But the one change we can make to create great places, is to respect the needs of our seniors. In a peer review of Whitehall, LEAPp (Life Enrichment Aging Project Professional) suggested many things. Among the list of considerations are curb cuts, easily accessible bathrooms, good lighting and appropriate signage. At Whitehall, we have paid particular attention to these details, knowing that many of our buyers not only want first floor bedrooms, but they also want to get out of the house and into the community. 4. Hiding in full view: Not everyone wants to gather with other people, so giving the individual the opportunity to exercise safely, view the artful streets, grab a cup of coffee or enjoy nature silently must also be an option. Creating a network of safe sidewalks and roads is important, but building a network of nooks and crannies to grab some quiet time is important too. At Whitehall, we have designed plenty of escapes and hope to, over time, deliver them for the residents’ experience. From the quiet solitude of a porch in the morning, to landscapes in the pocket parks, to the rippling pond with its wedding pavilion to the public reading room, solitude is as important as socialization for our residents. So yes, Delaware can change its real estate landscape and improve real estate values. That is why, at Whitehall, we have been planning, measuring and executing in a way that will deliver Delaware’s next great place! So tell us…what makes a great place for you? Give us some great examples. And share this idea with your friends. Let’s get the movement started! |
At 42-31, the Orioles have the second-best record in the American League. That impressive win total comes despite the fact that their starting pitchers, as a whole, have the fourth-worst ERA in the Majors at 4.76. Given that number, it's no surprise to see MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli write that the Orioles will be in the market for starting pitching help in her latest Orioles Inbox. According to Ghiroli, names like Ricky Nolasco, Bud Norris, Jason Vargas and Joe Saunders are on the team's radar. She adds that Mike Pelfrey's name has also surfaced. No one from that group stands out as an ace-caliber pitcher, which meshes with Ghiroli's statement that the Orioles "would like to add at least one more pitcher to help eat innings and keep the bullpen fresh." That trade could come prior to the July 31 non-waiver deadline, or, if asking prices are high, executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette could make a waiver trade in August as he did in 2012 when he acquired Saunders from the Diamondbacks for Matt Lindstrom. Asked about the Orioles seeking a potential upgrade at second base via the trade market, Ghiroli said that the team isn't looking for second base upgrades. Baltimore is satisfied with the defense of Ryan Flaherty, and Brian Roberts is nearing a rehab assignment. According to Ghiroli, the Orioles would prefer to "[funnel] any and all resources and trade chips into helping out the rotation." Not surprisingly, the Orioles aren't willing to discuss Kevin Gausman or Dylan Bundy in trades, which is likely the reason for focusing on second- and third-tier trade targets. Of the five names mentioned, Norris figures to have the highest asking price. Only he is controlled beyond 2013; each of the other four can be free agents at season's end. Earlier this season the O's were said to be looking for a top-of-the-rotation starter, but they seem to have shifted that focus. Given their unwillingness to part with Gausman or Bundy, it stands to reason that acquiring an ace-caliber arm would've been an unrealistic goal. |
St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny approaches the game from an old-school perspective that disdains excuses and believes that hard times build character. But he's not above filing away perceived slights -- from talk show callers, media analysts or whomever -- and hauling out the "us against them" card for motivational purposes. The 2014 season has been more of a challenge than anticipated for the Cardinals, who were a fashionable spring training pick after winning the National League pennant with a largely homegrown roster and an emphasis on doing things the "Cardinal Way." But they needed time to build continuity after opening the season with new faces in six of the eight position player spots. Factor in a disappointing offense, some potentially devastating injuries and growing pains for Kolten Wong, Oscar Taveras, Shelby Miller, Trevor Rosenthal and several other young players on the roster, and they've spent much of the season chasing the Milwaukee Brewers. "It's been a grind," Matheny said. "We kind of acknowledged that early on. We said, 'This is where we are. This is the kind of team we're going to have to be until we get everything clicking.' And here we are with a week left in August thinking we still haven't clicked and hit our stride. The majority of our guys are having off-years offensively for whatever reason. That said, I'm real proud of how the guys fight. I think this is a character team right now. Yadier Molina, out since July 10 with a torn ligament in his right thumb, could return to the Cardinals' lineup sometime in September. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson "Yes, a lot of our guys had success in September and October, but that doesn't necessarily translate into success the next year. I think a lot of undue pressure was put on these guys, but that's a way to define yourself as a club. We're still growing. The young guys are learning, the veterans are leading, and in the midst of it we had a lot of people jump off our ship and write us off. That's something a good team thrives on. This team has been very resilient and locked arms. That's what they do in tough times." As the Cardinals play the second game of a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, they're trying to join the suddenly vulnerable Detroit Tigers as one of two big league teams to make the postseason for the fourth straight year. If they can get there -- either as NL Central champion or a wild-card entrant -- they'll become the first NL team to achieve the feat since the Philadelphia Phillies won the NL East five straight years from 2007 through 2011. The Pittsburgh series began a run of 27 intradivision games in the team's final 33 outings. The Cardinals are 31-19 within the division and have a winning record against every NL Central team, so they can live with that scenario. But in many ways, the Cardinals are still a team in search of an identity. Are they a sleeping giant ready to flip the switch, or a flawed, offensively challenged team that's going to have to do everything the hard way? "Offensively, it's not a real good club, so they don't have the margin for error they've had in the past," an NL scout said. "They were incredible the way they hit [with men in scoring position] last year, and it was unsustainable. Now it's almost the other way for them." Waiting for Yadier Some of the enthusiasm surrounding the team revolves around the pending returns of catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Michael Wacha, both of whom will take another step in their injury rehabs this week when they join St. Louis' Double-A farm club in Springfield, Mo. Wacha, who has been out since June with a stress reaction in his right shoulder, will throw a live bullpen session Wednesday as the next step toward a September return. It remains to be seen whether Wacha can build the necessary stamina to have an impact in the rotation if St. Louis advances to the playoffs. But if Wacha can find a way to get it together in a hurry, a postseason rotation of Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, John Lackey and Wacha could be a handful. Molina, out since July 10 with a torn ligament in his right thumb, has begun swinging the bat and catching bullpen sessions and also expects to return next month. The Cardinals were 50-42, two games behind Milwaukee in the Central, when Molina went down for surgery just before the All-Star break. They've gone 21-17 in his absence and now trail the Brewers by 1½ games, so his injury wasn't quite the death blow it was made out to be. But the peripheral numbers substantiate how much better a team the Cardinals are with Molina orchestrating things from behind the plate. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Cardinals have a 3.26 ERA in 703 innings with Molina at catcher this season and a 4.19 mark in 457 innings with Tony Cruz, A.J. Pierzynski and George Kottaras behind the plate. Molina's calming influence, pitch-calling, game-planning and pitch-framing skills are well-documented. And his impact on opposing running games is always apparent. Molina threw out 16 of 34 runners attempting to steal before his injury. St. Louis' other catchers are a combined 5-for-33. If Matheny goes to great lengths to stifle his inner giddiness over the potential return of two impact players in September, it's because he doesn't want to give his team a crutch or set up the Cardinals for a letdown in the event Molina and/or Wacha experience setbacks. "I don't want to diminish it, but our perspective is different from everybody else in the baseball world," Matheny said. "Everybody labeled Yadi early on as a player we couldn't do without, and that's a dangerous place to go. Injuries happen in this game, and if you set yourself up to think, 'If we lose this particular player, we've lost all hope and chances,' that's a bad spot to be." Finding their way With or without Molina, the Cardinals still have to figure out a way to put more runs on the board. Although they're having a respectable offensive August (they're fourth in the NL with 100 runs scored this month), they're still tied for 13th in the league with 493 runs. Much of the dropoff can be traced to a marked decline in production with runners in scoring position; after leading the majors with a .330 average in that category in 2013, they're 24th among the 30 big-league clubs at .243 this season. They're also 29th in the majors with 84 home runs, ahead of only the power-impaired Kansas City Royals, and have a 71-59 record despite a run differential of minus-7. |
Dreampainters Software’s next entry into the first-person horror genre, White Heaven, will feature three playable characters for gamers to experience. Over the course of the tense narrative adventure players will be put in control of private detective, Philippe Dondeynaz, “the odd one”, Francois Mathieu, and the hotel owners kidnapped son, Eric Blanc. Set in the same narrative universe as Dreampainters last title, Anna, the game sends players to the biggest hotel in the Alps, The White Heaven, to solve the mystery of Eric Blanc’s kidnapping and discover the hotels hidden secrets. The three characters are drawn to White Heaven for different supernatural reasons and what they discover may change their lives forever. White Heaven is being developed using the Unreal 4 game engine and showcases a variety of new lighting effects and graphical technologies. The game is set to release sometime in 2016 and will release on PC. |
TAMPA The citys first official street mural, painted along a Seminole Heights intersection, was covered with black asphalt on Thursday by city workers who mistook it for graffiti. The brightly-colored, 28-foot wide "mandala" mural, a spiritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, was created in July through the combined efforts of the city, the county and neighborhood. That is explained by a plaque near the mural at N River Boulevard and W Louisiana Avenue. Angela Forero was at Rivercrest Park with her baby on Thursday afternoon when she noticed a truck performing some kind of work near the mural. She started taking photos and shared them on a Facebook group for Seminole Heights residents. Commenters quickly started to realize what was going on: The mural wasnt being power-washed. It was being covered up. "Thats no shadow," one user posted, noticing the dark rim growing around the bight blue, yellow, red and orange pattern. By 1 p.m., more than half of the treasured mural, designed by artist Catherine Thomas and painted by residents, was gone. Residents had hoped the colorful piece of street art would prompt drivers who regularly whipped around that corner to slow down. In a statement, the City of Tampa called it an "unfortunate mistake" by the code enforcement team looking to clean up the citys graffiti. "They were unaware this was an authorized installation," Tampa spokeswoman Christina Barker said in a statement. "The City will be back out to try and correct the damage over the next few days. If we are unable to do so, we plan to commission an artist to restore the design." In its Facebook post, the South Seminole Heights Civic Association said it received an apology from Tampas director of neighborhood empowerment, whose workers covered up the mural. "The city was quick to respond and very apologetic for it all," the Civic Association wrote on its Facebook page. The mural incident comes as the neighborhood emerges from a state of shock and fear: four people were killed there dating back to October. Police spent six weeks searching for a suspect and made an arrest on Tuesday. But there may be a silver lining to the mural issue. "In the end, this may be a blessing as someone squealed their tires on the mural 2 weeks after installation," the association wrote on Facebook. "This will give us an opportunity to bring it back to its original glory." Mayor Bob Buckhorn made light of the blunder in a tweet responding to the WFTS-Ch.28 reporter who broke the story: "Yeah....not many art majors on our Graffiti Abatement team. Getting it replaced." Contact Sara DiNatale at [email protected] Follow @sara_dinatale. MORE ON SEMINOLE HEIGHTS LIVE BRIEFING: Everything we know about the arrest in the Seminole Heights serial killings RELATED: Childhood friend of Seminole Heights killings suspect saw a change in attitude RELATED: Seminole Heights killings: Seven things you need to know about Howell Emanuel Donaldson III BACKSTORY: Seminole Heights slayings: Man, 24, faces four counts of murder TIMELINE: Key events leading to the arrest in the Seminole Heights slayings RELATED: McDonalds manager who tipped cops to Seminole Heights suspects gun overwhelmed RELATED: State Attorney: Man accused in Seminole Heights killings could face death RELATED: Mounted police patrol Seminole Heights after killings RELATED: On the night shift in Seminole Heights, Tampa police keep watch for a killer |
The Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado underway in the South China Sea. The trimaran hull design gives it great speed and allows it to travel through shallow waters more easily than a conventionally designed combat ship. Photos: US Navy Since 2013, the United States Navy has been rotationally deploying a single Littoral Combat Ship to South-East Asia, operating out of Singapore and conducting a variety of activities, many of which are aimed at enhancing security and co-operation between nations in the region. Littoral combat ships are designed to operate in both shallow and congested sea lanes, allowing them to operate in areas where ships requiring deep waters and space cannot go or are constrained by such, a situation common to the waters of South-East Asia given the archipelagic geography of the region. The US Navy’s LCSs come in two different designs, the Freedom class with a conventional hull design and the Independence class with a trimaran hull design. LCSs are designed to be configurable based on the ship’s mission, with the space to install or remove mission module packages which allows it to be configured for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare or mine counter-measures, thus providing flexibility compared to most ship designs which have single built-in configurations. The current LCS deployed to the region is the Independence Class USS Coronado (LCS 4) with previous deployments being the Freedom Class ships USS Freedom (LCS 1) in 2013 and USS Fort Worth from 2014 to 2016. The USS Coronado is configured with the Surface Warfare mission package, comprising two 11m rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB), two visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) boarding teams, two 30mm machine guns, two Northrop-Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles and an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter. The Coronado’s trimaran design allows it to have a larger flight deck allowing it to carry out both Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and helicopter operations off the deck at the same time with the Seahawk helicopter and Fire Scout UAVs. The US Navy plans to deploy multiple LCS operating out of Singapore in the coming years. Overseeing the LCS deployments is the US Navy command headquarters called COMLOGWESTPAC/Task Force 73, which has a small staff in Singapore. COMLOGWESTPAC/Task Force 73 conducts advance planning, organises resources and directly supports the execution of maritime exercises between the US Navy and its partners in its area of responsibility, which covers South Asia and South-East Asia. Recently, we had the opportunity to speak to Rear Admiral Don Gabrielson, the commander of Task Force 73 on the LCS deployment to the region and its future. Gabrielson in the past had served as the commanding officer of the LCS USS Freedom during its construction and commissioning and thus is well versed in the unique capabilities that the LCSs have over conventional design ships. He pointed out a number of capabilities that the LCS has which makes it strongly suitable for the region, among them the adaptability of the LCS, due to the available configurable volume and modularity of the ship. “There is 60% of the USS Coronado’s volume that is available to be configured. Modularity plays into that because of the standard physical and network interfaces that are all there which enables us to update the ship continuously throughout its life to keep it relevant to the changes that occur in the world,” revealed Gabrielson. Gabrielson also said that being deployed in South-East Asia not only allows the LCS to respond faster to any situation in the region, but also its available configurable space allows it to carry additional or specialised equipment required for the situation it is responding to compared to conventional ships which have limited space and cannot be easily configured to meet a particular requirement. He drew attention to the LCS’s suitability to the geography of South-East Asia. “From the Philippines to India, there are over 50,000 islands and if you look at the port facilities in terms of the deep draft required, a destroyer or larger ship needs a depth of 10m of water just to float, and more to move, so they can only go pierside in a dozen ports in the region. “The LCS, with its shallower draft, allows it access to a thousand ports in the same area and because of that, you have access to thousands more inner land locations where the ship can get in and help people, help control the sea space, help protect your interest, operate with partners, and get the job done compared to larger ships with deeper drafts,” he said. The LCSs also have a much higher speed than conventional ships in the region. The USS Coronado has a speed of over 40 knots (74km/h), making it faster than the average conventional navy ships’ speed of 25 knots (46.3km/h). Gabrielson pointed out that the LCS’s higher speed allows it to respond faster to any situation. “If you need help, you want that help quickly and every knot matters in a ship’s speed and the design of the LCSs allows them to maintain high speeds in waters that much larger ships would not be able to do.” With South-East Asia being often struck by natural disasters, military forces in the region have been in turn mobilised to conduct Humani-tarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations in regard to such occurrences. Gabrielson touched on the LCS’s suitability for such missions given its unique characteristics compared to other surface ships. “If you go to any other warship such as frigates or destroyers, first of all, they have probably a 7m or greater draft compared to the 3m-4m of the LCS. “That’s a big difference. The non-LCS ships may have a helicopter hangar that you can put some things in if you remove the helicopter, so it’s a very small amount of space by comparison to an LCS so you have limits to what you can do with the non-LCSs ship which are less flexible.” In November 2013, the LCS USS Freedom delivered relief supplies to the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. The USS Coronado’s air assets of two Northrop-Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles and an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter allow it to cover a large area by air in contrast to most ships which only have a single embarked helicopter. This makes the LCS ideal for maritime search and rescue operations which require vast bodies of waters to be surveyed rapidly. In December 2014, during its deployment to the region, the LCS USS Fort Worth was dispatched from Singapore to the Java Sea to take part in the search for Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 that crashed on Dec 28. The manoeuvrability and shallow draft of the design allowed the ship to efficiently conduct its search tasking in the shallow and congested water environment there. A significant portion of the LCS activities in South-East Asia revolves around cooperation activities with other navies in the region such as port visits, participation in regional exhibitions (the USS Coronado recently took part in this year’s Langkawi International Maritime and Aviation exhibition) and military exercises. These activities all contribute towards strengthening the ties between the US Navy and South-East Asian navies. “The demand for these ships in the region is well off the charts; I cannot get more of them here fast enough. “The navies of the region recognise the value of the LCS; everywhere I go, the first question I hear from them is, ‘when is LCS coming to visit because we want to operate with it, and we want to understand what the US Navy is doing with it so that we can learn from it’,” said Gabrielson. |
Breaking down why that Vancouver Sun op-ed is racist in its first two paragraphs Andrew Kurjata Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jun 14, 2017 The Vancouver Sun published an op-ed by Martin Collacott titled “Opinion: Canada replacing its population a case of wilful ignorance, greed, excess political correctness.” It is, explicitly, racist. Here’s a couple ways this is displayed within the first few paragraphs. 1. The headline photo Here’s the image used to illustrate a piece arguing Canada is replacing its population with people whose “values and traditions that may differ in key respects from those of most Canadians.” Here is the image caption: This is a bunch of people who came together to celebrate Canada. Look closer and you see people with Canadian flags painted on their face and maple leaves on their shirts. But… they aren’t white, and so they are used to illustrate a piece that is ostensibly about the erosion of Canadian values, as if the mere act of not having white skin precludes you from being fully Canadian even if you quite literally wear your patriotism on your face. 2. It uses “visible minority” as a synonym for“non-Canadian” Here is the opening paragraph: “According to University of London professor Eric Kaufmann, almost seven out of 10 Vancouver residents will be ‘visible minorities’ within two generations and 80 per cent of the Canadian population (compared to 20 per cent today) will be non-white in less than century.” Wait, sorry, what? I thought we were reading an article about Canada replacing its population? Why are we talking about visible minorities? There have been visible minorities in Canada since before it was Canada. The first Governor of British Columbia was a visible minority. And yet Collacott immediately raises the spectre of a world in which there are more non-white people as somehow non-Canadian. Paragraph two: “Kaufmann notes that, with its continuing high immigration intake and the fact that four out of five newcomers are visible minorities, Canada is undergoing the fastest rate of ethnic change of any country in the Western world.” So are we talking about ethnic change or population change? Because, again, you can be non-white and a Canadian with deep roots in Canada. Also, as an aside, we should go back to paragraph one and note that we are talking about two generations from now, as if two generations isn’t enough time for people to become sufficiently Canadian despite many walking examples to the contrary. |
Chile’s Gary Medel, right, challenges Spain’s Diego Costa at the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. (Juanjo Martin/EPA) In search of a tenacious figure to step into the heart of a struggling lineup, D.C. United has turned attention to Inter Milan’s Gary Medel, a Chilean national team starter at two World Cups. Medel, who turns 30 on Thursday, has moved ahead of Dutch hardman Nigel De Jong on United’s target list, the Insider learned late Wednesday. United officials, who have declined to discuss specific players on the international market, have until next Wednesday’s MLS transfer and trade deadline to complete deals. The league’s worst team (5-14-3, six consecutive defeats) has not made any moves since the window opened July 10. Medel, a tough-tackling center back and defensive midfielder known as “Pitbull,” is under contract with Inter through next June. However, speculation surrounding his departure has picked up speed this summer. It’s unclear whether Medel would consider a move to MLS and to what extend United would go to acquire a player who would probably command a multi-million dollar transfer fee and the highest salary on D.C.’s roster. He has been linked with Boca Juniors, Tigres (Mexico) and Trabzonspor (Turkey). The MLS team, though, might gain help from its unique relationship with Inter Milan: United’s primary investor, Erick Thohir, is part owner of the Italian team and former D.C. chief operating officer Michael Williamson has served in Inter’s front office since 2014. Medel moved to the Italian club three years ago after one season with Swansea City in the Premier League. Previously, he featured for Sevilla, Boca Juniors and Universidad Catolica, his hometown team in Santiago. Medel has earned 105 caps, fourth in Chile’s record books. He has started 34 World Cup qualifiers, seven World Cup matches (2010 and ’14) and 15 Copa America games. This summer, Medel was in the lineup for four Confederations Cup matches in Russia. United’s talks with De Jong appear to have cooled. The 32-year-old defensive midfielder joined the Los Angeles Galaxy before the 2016 season and moved to Turkey’s Galatasaray late last summer, carrying with him a reputation for excessive force and bone-breaking tackles. Aside from landing a defensive player, United is also in the market for an attacker. The club is last in the 22-team league in goals (18) and third from the bottom in goals conceded (42). This Saturday, United will welcome Toronto FC, MLS’s best team, to RFK Stadium. |
At least two police departments in Massachusetts are warning parents to inspect their children's Halloween candy for marijuana edibles. But there has never been a recorded case of any one giving cannabis candy -- or razor blade apples, or poisoned Kit Kat bars -- to trick or treaters, according to fact checkers and a University of Delaware professor who studies Halloween poisoning myths. Professor Joel Best has scoured news outlets for reports of dangerous Halloween candy since 1985, when rumors of malicious adults handing out poisoned chocolate bars and razor blade-spiked apples had already sparked a minor national panic. What he found is that every reported case was either a hoax, or in one tragic case, a father deliberately killing his own child and using the rumor as a cover story. "The bottom line is I have never ever found a report of a child killed or seriously hurt by a contaminated treat," Best said. "There have been some reports but they have always been retracted." And with the increasing prevalence of cannabis edibles, which contain high concentrations of THC and can look like ordinary candies, parents and police departments have found a new vehicle for concern, according to Best. Cannabis edibles can cost $10 per piece, Best noted, making it unlikely that owners would distribute them at random. "I was kind of nervous about that in the first year of [legalization] but I have been unable to find even a report of this happening," Best said. "They imagine bad things that could happen, and when a new bad thing comes along they add it to the list." The fact checking website Snopes has debunked the claim of people deliberately distributing poisoned Halloween candy. This year in Massachusetts, Walpole's police chief tweeted a warning to parents about the risk of finding cannabis in their children's candy stash. Parents:This year please be bit more cautious inspecting Halloween unwrapped/unmarked candy for THC infused products pic.twitter.com/BB0vSflCs0 -- Chief Carmichael (@WalpoleChief) October 27, 2017 And the Springfield Police Department posted on Facebook, telling parents to be aware of the risk. In an interview, Springfield Police spokesman Ryan Walsh said the department had no specific knowledge of cannabis candies being given out on Halloween. But, he said, other types of accidental exposure are a real threat, citing the case of a 10-year-old boy in Ramapo, New York who was hospitalized after a cannabis gummy. "We haven't seen it on Halloween, but as more and more edibles get into our society and in Massachusetts the likelihood, as small as it may be, increases," Walsh said. "It's just really an exposure issue on this day - an extra heads up. Nothing we're looking at specifically." Walsh's concern is backed up by research. In Colorado, which legalized recrational marijuana in 2012, child cannabis exposures increased 34 percent per year from 2009 to 2015, with edibles accounting for more than half of the exposures, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics. Incidents remained rare overall, with a total of 163 reported from 2009 to 2015, though Colorado's increase outpaced the national average. Springfield's warning came after the department received a briefing from the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center, Walsh said. Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey authorities issued similar warnings, citing the same Ramapo incident. Jim Borghesani, the Massachusetts spokesman for the pro-cannabis Marijuana Policy Project, said he recognized that cannabis edibles can be dangerous for children, but argued they should be treated like any other risky substance. "Parental responsibility is necessary for any substance, including marijuana, alcohol, detergent," Borghesani said in an interview. "You can't legislate common sense, but you would hope that adults take the proper precautions when it comes to exposing their children to any dangerous substance." And he suggested that police departments are unfairly targeting cannabis by singling the drug out for criticism on Halloween. "No, I have not heard of this happening in Massachusetts and I have not heard of this happening in any of the states that have legalized before Massachusetts," Borghesani said. "I think this is a scare tactic. I think there would be more credibility if these police chiefs also tweeted about looking for alcohol products and tobacco products and any other drug." |
Lynne Rossetto Kasper: We've got a family cookbook that you've done with your new book Appetites. But I have to laugh, okay, because the family cookbook has duck fat, wild boars, and there’s about four tubs of different stocks in the fridge. So, tell me about how you cook at home. Anthony Bourdain: I have a very unusual -- or I thought I had an unusual, sort of non-nuclear, dysfunctional extended family. My house is: an absentee wife who pretty much abandoned me to become a professional jiu-jitsu and grappling expert; a daughter, a nine-year-old girl who grew up eating very adventurously, largely, I think because her mother's Italian and she was exposed to those kinds of food; a Filipino nanny and her son who is essentially, in all important ways but blood, my little girl's brother and best friend; and an extended family of Filipinos, visiting Brazilians, and various grapplers and martial arts professionals; as well as a bunch of other knuckleheads coming in and out. So I found myself, for the last nine years, cooking in a way or cooking things that I never really did as a professional and trying to live the role of the patriarch. This book reflects a guy who spent 30 years in the restaurant business, who is now preparing school lunches for his little girl and cooking Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for this big, dysfunctional, messy group of people. The food is fairly straightforward; I don’t want to give the impression that it's unapproachable. There's also meatloaf and macaroni and cheese, and the sort of thing a nine-year-old would like. I [also] bring the kind of organizational skills to it that I picked up over all those years. I've cooked a lot of Thanksgivings professionally. I think what I've learned will be very helpful to people who struggle with a big holiday meal and find themselves not even remembering eating because there's so much work involved. LRK: Well, give me a ‘for instance’ with Thanksgiving because this is the perennial question: “How do I survive?” AB: For a professional, Thanksgiving is a three-day operation. You make the cranberry relish two days in advance. It only gets better. You don't struggle. We don't make gravy in the pan. That never works. You know, where you deglaze the pan with water or flour and, supposedly, you have some magical gravy. Who does that? You make a turkey stock, and then, maybe, you incorporate the drippings. You do that on the day before, perhaps. Again, it's something that improves by sitting and marrying up. Most importantly, you don't carve the turkey at the table. I always prepare what I call the "stunt turkey," a small turkey that I roast and actually stuff, which I actually advise against stuffing your turkey. I cook the stuffing on the side, like I do in the restaurant. It's healthier and it's more controllable. But, basically, I make a stunt turkey for display. I show everybody the turkey with the little paper booties on it and the stuffing inside, and they all go "ooh" and "aah!” Then I whisk that back into the kitchen for myself, for leftovers and turkey sandwiches tomorrow, which is what Thanksgiving's really all about, as far as I'm concerned. And then I have my service turkey, which is a big turkey. Which I take the breast off the bone. I remove all of the thighs and the drumsticks and I slice that breast into nice, attractive shingles, lay it out on my separately cooked stuffing, and I send out an immaculate-looking platter of portion-controlled, cookbook-ready turkey that people can actually eat. I'm not up there wrestling with this turkey, struggling to hack off a few pieces of scrawny white meat for people. Your turkey's getting cold while the other guy is waiting for me to figure out how to carve turkey off the bone at the tableside without stabbing myself. In this way, you also ensure that everybody gets some white meat, some dark meat, whatever they like because it's worth remembering that the murder rates spike enormously over the holidays. And I think a lot of that is turkey-related. LRK: [laughing] Probably. I wonder, too, about the fact that people get together over the holidays that maybe haven't chosen to be there. AB: Yeah. This is a situation that's fraught with peril and there's probably all sorts of simmering resentments going on. You should be able to spend as much time at the table as possible. You should be organized. It should be a pretty painless operation if you organize yourself correctly. I think those kinds of realistic expectations -- when you throw a dinner party, you should be able to: a) enjoy the meal yourself, and b) spend time with your guests. You shouldn't be stirring risotto in the kitchen for twenty-two minutes while your guests are getting sort of bitter and drunk waiting for their food. LRK:But there is something you say that sort of stopped me for a moment. You say you really hate to admit that, for you, there's more stress in cooking for a party of five at home than cranking out meals for 500 in a restaurant. AB:Yes. Much easier for me. I can crank out 500 turkey dinners standing on my head, but Thanksgiving for five family members with all of that backstory coming. Or five anybody. I get really nervous. So, I have my prep and my mise en place. I am squared away. If you'd like to hear an extended version of Lynne's conversation with Anthony Bourdain, click here. |
All hell was breaking out, yet again, in the Arab world that surrounds Israel — well before the late news that broke in a most unlikely locale last Friday and was mainly missed by most of the world. Here’s what the world was watching: Iraq was free-falling. Fanatic forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria were sweeping through Iraq’s cities and oil lands with speed that astonished policymakers from Baghdad to Washington. ISIS’ rapid success was achieved mainly not by their military perfection but due to the swiftness with which the U.S.-trained Iraqi troops successfully stripped off their uniforms, dropped their weapons, abandoned their marked vehicles and scampered away, saving only their most precious of assets. Closer to Israel’s homeland (but importantly not actually inside it), three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped while hitchhiking in the West Bank area near Jerusalem. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was quick to praise the act as heroic. “Blessed be the hands that captured them,” the Hamas chief told al-Jazeera television. “This is a Palestinian duty, the responsibility of the Palestinian people.” Israel blamed Hamas for the kidnapping and Mashaal was carefully coy about that: “No one claimed responsibility so far. I can neither confirm nor deny it.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the kidnapping and vowed to help find the kidnapped youths. Now this. Newsbreak — dateline Detroit: The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) on Friday became America’s first large prominent religious group to vote to divest church stock in three major U.S. companies that make products Israel utilizes in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Presbyterian Church has itself been under a siege of sorts, losing 37 percent of its membership in the past 21 years, as its membership dropped to a reported 1.76 million people. The church’s General Assembly approved the divestiture resolution by the slim margin of 310 to 303 votes. The resolution calls on the Presbyterian Church to sell its $21 million in stock in three companies — Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions — that supply equipment critics say is used by Israel in the West Bank. Caterpillar said in a statement it doesn’t sell equipment to Israel, but to the U.S. government. HP said its West Bank checkpoints were developed to create “a secure environment, enabling (the Palestinian) people to get to their place of work or to carry out their business in a faster and safer way.” Motorola Solutions says it follows the laws and its corporate human rights policies. (The United Methodist Church, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, has decided against a churchwide divestiture. Two small church groups, the U.S. Quakers’ Friends Fiduciary Corp. and the Mennonite Central Committee have voted to divest in companies doing business with Israel.) The most compelling perspective on the Presbyterians’ recent misguided decision came from a hardly unbiased source: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli hardliner waxed rather eloquently when asked about it on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “It should trouble all people of conscience and morality because it’s so disgraceful,” Netanyahu said. “You know, you look at what’s happening in the Middle East, and I think most Americans understand this: They see this enormous area riveted by religious hatred, by savagery of unimaginable proportions. “Then you come to Israel and you see the one democracy that upholds basic human rights, that guards the rights of all minorities, that protects Christians. Christians are persecuted throughout the Middle East. So most Americans understand that Israel is a beacon of civilization and moderation. “You know, I would suggest to those Presbyterian organizations to fly to the Middle East, come see Israel for the embattled democracy that it is, and then take a bus tour. Go to Libya, go to Syria, go to Iraq, and see the difference. And I would give them two pieces of advice: One is make sure it’s an armor-plated bus. And, second, don’t say that you’re Christians.” Martin Schram is a columnist for McClatchy-Tribune. Talk back at letterstoeditor@bostonherald.com. |
MBLAQ released the playlist for their upcoming 7th album, which appears to be entitled 'Winter.' The top of the playlist says, "Spring, Summer, Autumn, and... Winter." The plain black text on gray background adds to the simplistic maturity the boys appear to be going for in their upcoming music release. It was also revealed the members had a big hand in the creation of this album, which is apparent here. Check out the track list! Live in the past (Composed and arranged in part by Seungho) Spring, Summer, Autumn, and... (Composed and arranged in part by G.O, written in part by G.O and Mir) You ain't know (Composed, arranged, and written in part by Seungho) Saying it will be okay (Feat. Fiestar's Hyemi) (Composed and written in part by Thunder) Rust (Unplugged Ver.) |
Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/3/2017 (712 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipeg’s only licensed medical marijuana producer, Delta-9 Bio-Tech, is in the process of securing a public listing on the TSX Venture exchange through a reverse takeover of a former mineral exploration company. A letter of intent has been signed with SVT Capital Corp. that would see Delta-9 do a reverse takeover of that company. The process would include raising more than $6 million through a combination of new debt and equity. The reverse takeover and the capital raise could take between four and eight months to complete. John Arbuthnot of Delta-9 said getting a public listing will help the company’s effort to access capital to fund growth. “This is the best way to position the company in terms of being able to approach the impending legalization event that we may see over the next one to two years,” Arbuthnot said. |
This interview is part of our ongoing look at the people, tools and techniques driving data journalism. I first met Justin Arenstein (@justinarenstein) in Chişinău, Moldova, where the media entrepreneur and investigative journalist was working as a trainer at a “data boot camp” for journalism students. The long-haired, bearded South African instantly makes an impression with his intensity, good humor and focus on creating work that gives citizens actionable information. Whenever we’ve spoken about open data and open government, Arenstein has been a fierce advocate for data-driven journalism that not only makes sense of the world for readers and viewers, but also provides them with tools to become more engaged in changing the conditions they learn about in the work. He’s relentlessly focused on how open data can be made useful to ordinary citizens, from Africa to Eastern Europe to South America. For instance, in November, he highlighted how data journalism boosted voter registration in Kenya, creating a simple website using modern web-based tools and technologies. For the last 18 months, Arenstein has been working as a Knight International Fellow embedded with the African Media Initiative (AMI) as a director for digital innovation. The AMI is a group of the 800 largest media companies on the continent of Africa. In that role, Arenstein has been creating an innovation program for the AMI, building more digital capacity in countries that are as in need of effective accountability from the Fourth Estate as any in the world. That disruption hasn’t yet played itself out in Africa because of a number of factors, explained Arenstein, but he estimates that it will be there within five years. “Media wants to be ready for this,” he said, “to try and avoid as much of the business disintegration as possible. The program is designed to help them grapple with and potentially leapfrog coming digital disruption.” In the following interview, Arenstein discusses the African media ecosystem, the role of Hacks/Hackers in Africa, and expanding the capacity of data journalism. Why did you adopt the Hacks/Hackers model and scale it? Why is it relevant to what’s happening around Africa? Justin Arenstein: African journalists are under-resourced but also poorly trained, probably even more so than in the U.S. and elsewhere. Very, very few of them have any digital skills, never mind coding skills. Simply waiting for journalists to make the leap themselves and start learning coding skills and more advanced digital multimedia content production skills is just too — well, we don’t have enough time to do that, if we’re going to beat this disruption that’s coming. The idea was to clone parts of the basic model of Hacks/Hackers from the U.S., which is a voluntary forum and society where journalists, UI people, designers, graphics people and coders meet up on a regular basis. Unlike in the U.S., where Hacks/Hackers is very focused on startup culture, the African chapters have been very focused on data-driven journalism and imparting some basic skills. We’re trying to avoid some of the pitfalls experienced in the U.S. and get down to using data as a key tool in creating content. A big weakness in a lot of African media is that there’s very little unique content, firstly, and that the unique content that is available is not particularly well produced. It’s not deep. It’s not substantiated. It’s definitely not linked data. We’ve been focusing on improving the quality of the content so that the companies where these journalists work will be able to start weaning themselves from some of the bad business practices that they are guilty of and start concentrating on building up their own inventory. That’s worked really well in some of the African countries along the coastlines where there’s data access, because you’ve got cables coming in. In the hinterland of Africa, data and Internet are not widely available. The Hacks/Hackers chapters there have been more like basic computer-assisted reporting training organizations. Like in the U.S., they all run themselves. But unlike in the U.S., we have a structured agenda, a set of protocols, an operating manual, and we do subsidize each of the chapters to help them meet the physical needs of cost. They’re not quite as voluntary as the U.S. ones; it’s a more formal structure. That’s because they’re designed to surface good ideas, to bring together a challenge that you wouldn’t ordinarily find in the media ecosystem at least, and then to help kick-start experimentation. Do you see any kind of entrepreneurial activity coming out of them now? Justin Arenstein: I’m not aware of any notable startups. We’ve had ideas where people are collaborating to build toward startups. I haven’t seen any products launched yet, but what we have seen is journalist-led startups that were outside of these Hacks/Hackers chapters now starting to come into the fold. Why? Because this is where they can find some of the programming and engineering skills that they need, that they were struggling to find outside of the ecosystem. They are finding engineers or programmers, at least, but they’re not finding programmers who are tuned to content needs or to media philosophies and models. There’s a better chance that they’ll find those inside of these chapters. The chapters are fairly young, though. The oldest chapter is about six months old now, and still fairly small. We’re nowhere near the size of some of the Latin American chapters. We have forged very strong links with them, and we follow their model a lot more closely than the U.S. model. The biggest chapter is probably about 150 members. They all meet, at a minimum, once a month. Interestingly, they are becoming the conduits not just for hackathons and “scrape-a-thons,” but are also now our local partners for implementing thinks like our data boot camps. Those are week-long, intensive hands-on experiential training, where we’re flying in people from the Guardian data units, the Open Knowledge Foundation and from Google. We’re actually finding the guys behind Google Refine and Google Fusion Tables and flying in some of those people, so they can see end-users in a very different environment to what they’re used to. People walk into those boot camps not knowing what a spreadsheet is and, by the end of it, they’re producing their first elementary maps and visualizations. They’re crunching data. What stories have “data boot camp” participants produced afterward? Justin Arenstein: Here’s an example. We had a boot camp in Kenya. NTV, the national free-to-air station, had been looking into why young girls in a rural area of Kenya did very well academically until the ages of 11 or 12 — and then either dropped off the academic record completely or their academic performance plummeted. The explanation by the authorities and everyone else was that this was simply traditional; it’s tribal. Families are pulling them out of school to do chores and housework, and as a result, they can’t perform. Irene Choge [a Kenyan boot camp participant who attended data journalism training] started mining the data. She came from that area and knew it wasn’t that [cause]. So she looked into public data. She first assumed it was cholera, so she looked into medical records. Nothing there. She then looked into water records. From water, she started looking into physical infrastructure and public works. She discovered these schools had no sanitation facilities and that the schools with the worst performing academics were those that didn’t have sanitation facilities, specifically toilets. What’s the connection? Justin Arenstein: When these girls start menstruating, there’s nowhere for them to go to attend to themselves, other than into the bushes around the school. They were getting harassed and embarrassed. They either stopped going to school completely or they would stop going during that part of their cycle and, as a result, their schoolwork suffered dramatically. She then produced a TV documentary that evoked widespread public outcry and changed policies. In addition to that, her newsroom is working on building an app. A parent who watches this documentary and is outraged will then be able to use the app to find out what’s happening at their daughter’s school. If their daughter’s school is one of those that has no facilities, the app then helps them through a text-based service to sign a petition and petition the responsible official to improve the situation, as well as link up with other outraged parents. It mobilizes them. What we liked about her example was that it was more than just doing a visualization, which is what people think about when you say “data journalism.” First, she used data tools to find trends and stories that had been hidden to solve a mystery. Secondly, she then did real old-fashioned journalism and went out in the field and confirmed the data wasn’t lying. The data was accurate. Thirdly, she then used the data to give people the tools to actually act on the information. She’s using open data and finding out in your district, this is your school, this is how you impact it, this is the official you should be emailing or writing to about it. That demonstrates that, even in a country where most people access information through feature phones, data can still have a massive impact at grassroots level. These are the kinds of successes that we are looking for in these kinds of outreach programs when it comes to open data. How does the practice of data-driven journalism or the importance of computer-assisted reporting shift when a reporter can’t use rich media or deploy bandwidth-heavy applications? Justin Arenstein: We’re finding something that maybe you’re starting to see inklings of elsewhere as well: data journalism doesn’t have to be the product. Data journalism can also be the route that you follow to get to a final story. It doesn’t have to produce an infographic or a map. Maps are very good ways to organize information. They’re very poor mechanisms for consuming information. No one kicks back on a Sunday afternoon laying on their sofa, reading a map, but if a map triggers geofenced information and pushes relevant local information at you in your vicinity, then it becomes a useful mechanism. What we’re doing in newsrooms is around investigative journalism. For example, we’re funding projects around extractive industries. We’re mapping out conversations and relationships between people. We’re then using them as analytical tools in the newsroom to arrive at better, deeper and evidence-driven reporting, which is a major flaw and a major weakness in many African media. What capacity needs to be built in these areas? What are people doing now? What matters most? Justin Arenstein: Investigative journalism in Africa, like in many other places, tends to be scoop-driven, which means that someone’s leaked you a set of documents. You’ve gone and you’ve verified them and often done great sleuth work. There are very few systematic, analytical approaches to analyzing broader societal trends. You’re still getting a lot of hit-and-run reporting. That doesn’t help us analyze the societies we’re in, and it doesn’t help us, more importantly, build the tools to make decisions. Some of the apps that we are helping people build, based off of their reporting, are invariably not visualizations. They’re rather saying, “Let’s build a tool that augments the reporting, reflects the deeper data that the report is based on, and allows people to use that tool to make a personal decision.” It’s engendering action. A lot of the fantastic work you’ve seen from people at the Guardian and others has been about telling complex stories simply via infographics, which is a valid but very different application of data journalism. I think that, specifically in East Africa and in Southern Africa, there’s growing recognition that the media are important stewards of historical data. In many of these societies, including industrialized societies like South Africa, the state hasn’t been a really good curator of public data and public information because of their political histories. Nation states don’t see data as an asset? Is that because technical capacity isn’t there? Or is that because data actually contains evidence of criminality, corruption or graft? Justin Arenstein: It’s often ineptitude and lack of resources in South Africa’s instance. In a couple of other countries, it’s systematic purging of information that is perhaps embarrassing when there’s a change of regime or political system — or in the case of South Africa and many of the colonial countries, a simple unwillingness or lack of insight as to the importance of collecting data about second-class citizens, largely the black population. The official histories are very thin. There’s nowhere near the depth of nuance or insight into a society that you would find in the U.S. or in Europe, where there’s been very good archival record keeping. Often, the media are the only people who’ve really been keeping that kind of information, in terms of news reportage. It’s not brilliant. It’s often not primary sources — it’s secondary. But the point is that often it’s the only information that’s available. What we’re doing is working with media companies now to help digitize and turn reportage into structured data. In a vacuum, because there is no other data, suddenly it becomes an important commercial commodity. Anyone who wants to build, for example, a tourism app or a transport app, will find that there is no other information available. This may sound like a bizarre concept to most people living in data-rich countries, like the U.S., but you simply can’t find the content. That means that you have to then go out and create the content yourself before you can build the app. Is this a different sort of a “data divide,” where a country is “data-poor?” Justin Arenstein: Well, maybe digitally “data poor,” because what we are doing is we’re saying that there is data. We initially also had the same reaction, saying “there is no data here,” and then realized that there’s a hell of a lot of data. Invariably, it’s locked up in deadwood format. So [we’re now] liberating that data, digitizing it, structuring it, and then making sure that it’s available for people to use. How much are media entities you work with making data, as opposed to just digitizing? Justin Arenstein: Some are making data. We haven’t, because a lot of other actors are involved in citizen data creation. We haven’t really focused too many of our very scarce resources on that component yet. We are funding a couple of citizen reporting apps, because there’s a lot of hype around citizen data and we’re trying to see if there are models that can really work where you create credible, sourced and actionable information. We don’t believe that you’re going to be able to do that just from text messaging. We’re looking at alternative kinds of interfaces and methods for transmitting information. Are there companies and startups that are consuming the digital data that you’re producing? If so, what are they doing? Justin Arenstein: Outside of the News Challenge, we are co-founding something with the World Bank called “Code for Kenya.” It’s modeled fairly closely on the Mozilla Open Use Fellowships, with a few tweaks. It’s maybe a hybrid of Code for America and the Mozilla Open Fellowships. Where Code for America focuses on cities and Mozilla focuses on newsrooms, we’ve embedded open data strategists and evangelists into the newsrooms, backed up by an external development team at a civic tech lab. They’re structuring the data that’s available, such as turning old microfiche rolls into digital information, cleaning it up and building a data disk. They’re building news APIs and pushing the idea that rather than building websites, design an API specifically for third-party repurposing of your content. We’re starting to see the first early successes. Four months in, some of the larger media groups in Kenya are now starting to have third-party entrepreneurs developing using their content and then doing revenue-share deals. The only investment from the data holder, which is the media company, is to actually clean up the data and then make it available for development. Now, that’s not a new concept. The Guardian in the United Kingdom has experimented with it. It’s fairly exciting for these African companies because there’s potentially — and arguably, larger — appetite for the content because there’s not as much content available. Suddenly, the unit cost of value of that data is far higher than it might be in the U.K. or in the U.S. Media companies are seriously looking at it as one of many potential future revenue streams. It enables them to repurpose their own data, start producing books and the rest of it. There isn’t much book publishing in Africa, by Africans, for Africans. Suddenly, if the content is available in an accessible format, it gives them an opportunity to mash-up stuff and create new kinds of books. They’ll start seeing that content itself can be a business model. The impact that we’re seeking there is to try and show media companies that investing in high-quality unique information actually gives you a long-term commodity that you can continue to reap benefits from over time. Whereas simply pulling stuff off the wire or, as many media do in Africa, simply lifting it off of the web, from the BBC or elsewhere, and crediting it, is not a good business model. Photo via International Center for Journalists. Related: |
There's a lot of music out there and only so many awards to go around, but the Recording Academy has given out more than 7,500 trophies (half of those belong to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift) over the years. Ask yourself how Joan Rivers, Zach Braff and even Creed have won Grammys, when Queen, The Who and Diana Ross have never been recognized by the academy. Frankly, it's a little mind-boggling, but not everyone can be a winner. Here's a look at some of the greatest Grammy snubs in history: Brian McKnight Leon Bennett via Getty Images Nominations: 16 Brian McKnight has never taken home a Grammy despite racking up 16 nominations. Queen Suzie Gibbons via Getty Images Nominations: 4 While the band never won a Grammy, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004 and "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" were inducted in 2009. One notable upset: Losing Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Another One Bites The Dust" to and the Silver Bullet Band for "Against the Wind" in 1981. Katy Perry John Shearer via Getty Images Nominations: 13 Believe it or not, Katy Perry has 13 Grammy nominations under her belt, but she's never managed to nab an award. Diana Ross Kevin Winter via Getty Images Nominations: 12 Diana Ross has never actually won a Grammy, but the Recording Academy honored her with a Lifetime Achievement award in 2012. Additionally, the Diana Ross and the Supreme's song "Where Did Our Love Go" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and "Stop! In the Name of Love" was inducted in 2001. Nas Taylor Hill via Getty Images Nominations: 11 Since 1997, Nas has been nominated 11 time without taking home that little gold gramophone. Janis Joplin Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images Nominations: 0 Janis Joplin was never nominated for a Grammy Award, but received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. Additionally, the song "Me and Bobby McGee" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002, and her album "Pearl" was inducted in 2010. The Who Ron Howard via Getty Images Nominations: 0 While The Who were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, they've never won a Grammy. Their album "Tommy" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, followed by inductions for "My Generation" in 1999, and "Who's Next" in 2007. Chuck Berry David Redfern via Getty Images Nominations: 0 Chuck Berry was never nominated for a Grammy, but his songs "Maybellene," "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Johnny B. Goode" were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1988, 1990 and 1999, respectively. Bob Marley Peter Still via Getty Images Nominations: 1 Bob Marley's only Grammy nomination came in 2002, more than 20 years after his death. The musician lost the award for Best Long Form Music Video to "Recording The Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks." Marley did however, receive a Lifetime Achievement award in 2001 and his album "Catch a Fire" was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. Björk Marco Prosch via Getty Images Nominations: 14 Since 1994, Björk has received a total of 14 nominations and lost 13 times. She received her fourteenth nomination in 2016 for Best Alternative Music Album against Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket, Wilco and Tame Impala in this year's Grammy Awards. Only time will tell if she finally manages to snag a Grammy. Martina McBride Rick Diamond via Getty Images Nominations: 14 Since 1995, Martina McBride has been nominated for 14 Grammy awards and lost each time. Snoop Dogg Christopher Polk via Getty Images Nominations: 17 Out of 17 Grammy nominations, Snoop Dogg has lost 16. He's currently nominated for Album of the Year as one of the artists on Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly" against Taylor Swift, Alabama Shakes, Chris Stapleton and The Weeknd. Also on HuffPost: |
In an amicus brief filed at the Supreme Court yesterday, the anti-abortion-rights groups Susan B. Anthony List and Concerned Women for America argue that a restrictive Texas law that threatens to shut almost all of the state’s abortion clinics is actually meant to prevent discrimination against women seeking abortions. In the brief, written by former Family Research Council official Ken Klukowski on behalf of the American Civil Rights Union, the groups argue that HB2, the Texas law being considered in the case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, in fact “prevents discrimination” against women seeking abortions by “ensuring that women seeking an abortion receive medical care that is equal in quality to the medical care provided to men”: By ensuring that women seeking an abortion receive medical care that is equal in quality to the medical care provided to men, HB2 prevents discrimination against those women. To the extent challengers to HB2 might suggest HB2 is a form of sex discrimination, it is actually a statute that prevents discrimination. As such, invalidating HB2 would carry the opposite consequence of effectuating discrimination against women. HB2’s ASC [ambulatory surgical center] provision commands that “the minimum standards for an abortion facility must be equivalent to the minimum standards . . . for ambulatory surgical centers.” … Only women are patients at abortion facilities, but ASCs treat both women and men. This provision thus ensures that the women at one facility are entitled to the same quality of care that men at the other facility receive. The groups conclude that “invalidating HB2 would subject women to second-class medical treatment, thus effectuating discrimination against women seeking an abortion.” As we’ve noted, HB2 is one of a spate of state laws that have been passed in recent years by anti-choice lawmakers seeking to cut off access to abortion under the guise of protecting women’s health. Among other restrictions, the Texas law requires that facilities providing abortions meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) even, as Think Progress has noted, at facilities that provide only medication abortion and don’t perform surgeries. The Guttmacher Institute explains that ambulatory surgical centers are subject to more restrictive regulations because they generally perform riskier and more invasive procedures than surgical abortion. |
WASHINGTON—Following years of continued fighting and disorder in the troubled region, President Barack Obama revealed today that he has not ruled out taking immediate and decisive military action in the United States Congress. Admitting that diplomatic outreach efforts in the area have so far proven unsuccessful, the president claimed that his administration is weighing the feasibility of committing combat troops to both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in order to bring lasting peace and stability to the chaos-afflicted legislature. Advertisement “We have not yet made a decision as to how we are going to address this rapidly deteriorating situation, but at this point I can tell you that military action is indeed on the table,” Obama told reporters at a morning press conference, emphasizing that he is “deeply troubled” by the escalating hostilities and diminishing prospects for unity on the Congressional floor. “Clearly, sending our young men and women into this tumultuous war zone is not ideal, and I still hope to resolve the situation through peaceful means. But as the conflict continues to worsen, it becomes increasingly evident that the deployment of our armed forces may be our only real option.” “We cannot stand idly by and allow this senseless mayhem to continue,” the president continued. Advertisement According to international observers, the United States Capitol ranks as among the most turbulent and unstable regions in the world, dominated by warring factions of rogue lawmakers who have shown neither the ability nor the willingness to peacefully resolve their differences. As conditions worsen by the day, the president confirmed to reporters that he and his military advisors are currently evaluating the merits of a military option, suggesting that his administration has left open the possibility of toppling the hostile, unpredictable leadership currently reigning over the legislative assembly and restoring order to the Capitol building. “Our efforts at resolving this conflict through conventional, non-military means have not only failed but seemingly emboldened extremists in the region,” said Obama, noting that while the United States does have some allies on the ground within the Senate, the administration has been almost completely cut off from the House for some time. “Right now there are millions of people who are hopelessly trapped under Congress’ corrupt rule, and it’s doubtful we’ll see any kind of progress in the area without either military intervention or a full-scale revolution, which is unlikely.” Advertisement While the White House continues to explore the use of armed forces in Congress, some military experts have expressed doubts as to the prospects of such an operation, saying that a full-scale invasion of the Capitol building represents a costly and uncertain venture that could hamstring the U.S. for the foreseeable future. “We may have to accept the fact that the deep fissures afflicting Congress are, at present, unfixable, and that we’ll just have to wait the half-century or so it could take for the legislative body to achieve some kind of stability naturally from within,” said retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Harley, adding that the deep divisions affecting Congress may in fact be endemic to the entire Washington region. “We are seeing similar levels of chaos and infighting in the Supreme Court and in many of the smaller cities and towns where extremists loyal to members of Congress have gained significant ground. Are we really prepared to risk American lives for what could be a lost cause?” Advertisement “Besides, the majority of the American people are barely even aware of what’s going on over there,” Harley added. |
“To whatever extent there is misogyny, one could say that there’s also “male privilege.” Rather it’s to suggest that, given what nerdy males have themselves had to endure in life, shaming them over their “male privilege” is a bad way to begin a conversation with them.” Scott Aaronson, MIT Professor “They are perpetuating the story that we blacks tell ourselves: that we’re the scrappy dark horse, the downtrodden victim, the rag-tag rebels fighting against an implacable enemy. And that’d be great… if that were true. Except it’s not. Frankly, the blacks have won. Black culture is culture, period. Our president is black. The football and basketball players we cheer on, the rappers we lis–“ If you think that I sound crazy, you are probably sane to believe so. The examples I have highlighted here are only indicative of a certain segment of the black population. But most people know that African-Americans suffer from disproportionate poverty as a whole. However, this awareness doesn’t extend to many socially deficient men, whom the media and social justice warriors portray as privileged based on stereotypical caricatures. In the past 20 years, the neurodiversity movement has grown by leaps and bounds. While most people don’t use the term “neurodiversity”, there is a general myth that autistic children, usually boys, will always make up for their deficiencies and childhood bullying in adulthood through their assumed intellectual talents, by becoming wealthy and renowned. There is even a forum with over 80,000 members, WrongPlanet, which is based on this myth, yet only showcases a small handful of autistics. This took an ironic turn for the worse when multiple articles proclaiming male nerds to be “overly privileged” and “entitled” appeared over the past few years, telling them to give up their privilege. One example was an article praising the “Nice Guys of OKCupid” tumblr, whose author, who once attempted to murder a past girlfriend, said it was an “opportunity to snort derisively at the socially awkward”. Another example were the “Gamers are Dead” articles, which started with Leigh Alexander, who said “They don’t know how to dress or behave”. Of course, many male nerds have a lot of privilege, but there are many other men with nerdy characteristics that have little to no privilege, as nerdy characteristics are very vaguely defined. Several articles about this topic came in again January 2015 when an MIT Professor, Scott Aaronson, challenged the notion of male privilege in nerd culture. He claimed that in undergrad, he was so afraid of women humiliating him and portraying him as entitled due to his nerdiness that he even felt suicidal. Anyone who is scared about this kind of situation to the point of suicide should see a therapist. However, many commentators still portrayed him as privileged. And as an MIT professor, he is very privileged, but mental health still has a significant stigma in our society. If he is autistic, his executive functioning is sufficient enough to the point where he can hold down a professorship, and he doesn’t stand out in public. Amanda Marcotte, a political commentator, mocked his issues with a very bizarre rebuttal. One point she made was “There are many women out there who are also crippled by social anxieties who would prefer to hide in their hobbies and interests.… Being able to hide in mathematics is, in fact, a privilege, because it is one that has long been and continues in many ways, denied to women.” She spreads the myth that people can just “hide” in theoretical mathematics. In fact, it is very hard work and can consume years of one’s life, far from being an “escape”. Tenure is also very difficult to achieve. Many autistics, a lot of whom would be classified as nerds, have difficulty concentrating and many don’t even take up postsecondary education at all. British journalist Laurie Penny wrote another rebuttal “On Nerd Entitlement” on sexism against nerd women saying “This is why Silicon Valley is fucked up. Because it’s built and run by some of the most privileged people in the world who are convinced that they are among the least. People whose received trauma makes them disinclined to listen to pleas from people whose trauma was compounded by structural oppression.” Even if what she is saying is true (but she doesn’t provide sources), she is practically equating “left out” in childhood with “future success”, when there is much evidence to the contrary. Dating columnist Harris O’Malley says (where I stole my intro from) “Aaronson and Alexander are perpetuating the story that we geeks tell ourselves: that we’re the scrappy dark horse, the downtrodden victim, the rag-tag rebels fighting against an implacable enemy. And that’d be great… if that were true. Except it’s not. Frankly, the nerds have won. Nerd culture is culture, period.” Yet the examples of male nerds he gives, like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, only focus on highly-social productive nerds. Jonathan Mitchell, a pro-treatment Autistic advocate, has written an essay debunking the idea that Einstein, Gates, and Jefferson were autistic and socially deficient He notes that while Einstein was a late talker, he became highly social in adulthood, dating many women, and was very productive. Bill Gates was excellent in marketing Microsoft to the masses, knowing how to communicate with salesmen with no special assistance. Mitchell himself is terminally unemployed due to lack of marketable skills. Telling every male nerd, including those on the spectrum, that they are privileged and will be successful will create unrealistic expectations for many as there is no singular definition of a nerd. Many also might, as of late, be accused of entitlement when they can’t live up to those expectations or feel socially rejected. These accusations come from the assumption that they must be lazy (instead of having poor executive functioning) or assuming that they are supposed to be popular in today’s world because of their nerdiness (based on media stereotypes), so they must be doing something unethical. While there are no guarantees in life, it is a stretch to tell someone that he/she is more than capable, then turn the situation around. |
TORONTO - It could be a season to remember for the St. Louis Blues, according to a video game simulation of the 2013-14 NHL campaign. The EA Sports "NHL 14" simulation had the Blues winning their first ever Stanley Cup by dispatching the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two. Defenceman Alex Pietrangelo won the Conn Smythe Trophy. The defending champion Chicago Blackhawks won the Presidents' Trophy with 108 points, only to fall to the Blues in the Western Conference final. Vancouver (fourth in the West), Edmonton (eighth in the West), Montreal (sixth in the East) and Toronto (seventh in the East) all made the playoffs. Winnipeg was 12th and Calgary 14th in the West while Ottawa, missing out on the playoffs by three points, was ninth in the East. Only Montreal advanced out of the first round of the playoffs among Canadian teams. The Habs beat Detroit in six games before losing to Pittsburgh in five. The Bruins ruined Toronto's season again, dispatching the Leafs in five games. The Penguins finally stopped the Boston charge in the Eastern final, winning four games to three. In the West, Vancouver lost to San Jose in seven games while Chicago swept Edmonton in four. St. Louis advanced to the Cup final by beating Minnesota in five games, Los Angeles in six and Chicago in six. Pittsburgh made it by defeating the Islanders in seven games, Montreal and Boston. According to the simulation: ??? Sidney Crosby won the Hart Memorial Trophy after leading the league with 109 points (41 goals and 68 assists). ??? Tampa forward Steven Stamkos picked up the Rocket Richard Trophy as top goal-scorer with 64. ??? Tampa's Jonathan Drouin claimed the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie. ??? Boston's Tuukka Rask won the Vezina as top goalie. |
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