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A sixteen-year-old boy is dead following an officer-involved shooting in Addison, Texas. Police said an off-duty officer attempted to intervene during a “crime in progress,” but the situation escalated to a car chase and gunfire. “If he did something he shouldn’t be doing, then he should be arrested – not shot,” said the teen’s cousin, Nora Rubi, who gathered with the teen’s family to demand answers at Addison police station on Monday night, according to The Dallas Morning News. Protest outside Addison Police Department. Family/friends of 16 yo Jose Cruz. Mother wailing. @wfaachannel8pic.twitter.com/6shm62oUk7 — Jobin Panicker (@jobinpnews) March 15, 2016 Jose Raul Cruz, 16, was shot and killed on Sunday night. That’s when an off-duty Farmers Branch police officer, Ken Johnson, allegedly saw Cruz and another male breaking into a vehicle in a parking lot. Police said there had been a series of vehicle break-ins in the neighborhood. Officer Johnson, who was not in uniform, saw the pair leave in Cruz’s red Dodge Challenger, so he pursued them in his SUV. Half a mile later, the vehicles collided. MORE: surveillance video shows accident - moments before fatal officer shooting in Addison https://t.co/83mJaBfmSVpic.twitter.com/dTuvRGXAF5 — David Goins (@dgoins) March 15, 2016 In surveillance footage obtained by WFAA, Johnson’s black Chevrolet Tahoe appears to hit the back of the Challenger, which then spins out of control at the intersection by a Shell station in Addison. Police said after an “altercation,” Johnson fired his gun, hitting Cruz and his passenger. Details of the altercation have not been released. Cruz died at the scene. His passenger, Edgar Rodriguez, was shot in the head, but is expected to survive. The police officer was not injured but is claimed to have feared for his life, according to The Dallas Morning News. Johnson repeatedly told them he was a police officer, and police have declined to say whether Cruz or Rodriguez were armed. Johnson fired his duty weapon “because he was in fear of his life and he felt that fear was justified,” attorney Chris Livingston told the Morning News. Cruz’s family and others have called for a thorough investigation. Friends and family grieve over death of Jose Cruz, fatally shot by an off-duty Farmers Branch officer pic.twitter.com/b72E27wdRB — Julieta Chiquillo (@jmchiquillo) March 14, 2016 “My son was killed because of racism,” Ana Henriquez told the Dallas Morning News while holding a framed picture of Cruz. Sit-In Protest happening @ Farmers Branch Police Department. Chief will talk w/ family tomorrow @wfaachannel8pic.twitter.com/JHzRyMXEYF — Jobin Panicker (@jobinpnews) March 15, 2016 The group, which chanted “Jose Cruz,” later moved to the Farmers Branch police headquarters. Carlos Quintanilla says protest for justice needs to happen @ Farmers Branch Police Dept. Ppl leaving @wfaachannel8pic.twitter.com/6UAA08if1M — Jobin Panicker (@jobinpnews) March 15, 2016 Addison police are investigating the shooting, and Farmers Branch police are reviewing the officer’s actions. Both departments have declined to comment on the investigation. Protesters return to the streets over police shooting death of Laquan McDonald https://t.co/gvkCExqv96pic.twitter.com/M4jAP16jhf — RT America (@RT_America) December 1, 2015 Henriquez said she wants the US Department of Justice and FBI to get involved. Arrests and activism mark 1-year anniversary of Tamir Rice police shooting death https://t.co/1MNFJLtBrmpic.twitter.com/3aO5W2dSGV — RT America (@RT_America) November 24, 2015 Johnson has been placed on paid administrative leave which is usual during an investigation. |
Pupils should be routinely reported to the police after making unfounded claims simply to get their own back on teachers, it was claimed. The NASUWT union said lying schoolchildren “must understand there is a consequence” to making allegations that are “unjust and malicious”. The comments came as new figures showed the vast majority of claims made against teachers were unsubstantiated. Data from the NASUWT shows that fewer than one-in-20 allegations of unlawful behaviour made against teachers last year – including assault, sexual abuse and serious threats – resulted in court action. Addressing the union’s annual conference in Birmingham, activists insisted that pupils who make false claims should be prosecuted. Ian Brown, a teacher from North East Derbyshire, said: “Schools must have procedures in place where, when allegations are made, the pupil is made aware at the earliest point of the investigation, through their parents if necessary, that if they wish to proceed with the allegation and are found to be lying, then they will face sanctions. “They must understand there is a consequence in making those allegations if they are found to be unjust, lies and malicious.” According to figures from the NASUWT, most allegations made against teachers last year failed to result in court action. Some 103 claims were made, with no further action being taken in 60. Some 39 are yet to be concluded, although the union claim the vast majority are unlikely to ever make it to court. The Coalition has already announced measures designed to protect teachers from malicious allegations. A new Education Act gives staff the legal right to anonymity until they are charged with a criminal offence and schools are being told to speed up internal investigations into abuse claims. Guidance issued to head teachers also makes it clear that pupils can be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice if they make a “false allegation about an offence in order to have a person arrested”. But around 80 per cent of teachers surveyed by the union claimed new-style protections did not go far enough and heads failed to report enough pupils to the police. It passed a motion claiming that “the most effective way to protect teachers from malicious allegations is to make such an allegation a criminal offence”. Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary, said: “The issue of false, malicious and unsubstantiated allegations against teachers continues to be an enduring problem. “Teachers’ fear of having allegations made against them is very real, yet four out of five did not feel that current protections for teachers are adequate. “The fear of having an allegation made against them is compounded by the fact that even if they are exonerated, their career will be permanently blighted by the fact that the allegation will remain on record.” A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Heads should have absolutely no tolerance of malicious allegations against teachers. “We've made crystal clear that heads can suspend or expel pupils who make false claims – and should report them to the police if they believe a criminal offence has been committed. “All investigations must be quick and thorough, with unfounded allegations stripped out of individual teachers' personnel records. “We've legislated so teachers have a legal right to anonymity before they are charged with an offence, to prevent their names being dragged through the mud.” |
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Carmaker Porsche says it has agreed a merger with fellow German manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) after weeks of talks between the two firms' management. The luxury carmaker said in a statement that it wanted to see the "creation of an integrated car manufacturing group". VW hailed the decision of the Porsche and Piech families, owners of Porsche group, to create the merger. It means a Porsche takeover of VW will not happen. The format of the new group will be decided in the next four weeks. Talks will now take place between the two carmakers, VW's home state of Lower Saxony, and employee representatives. The state's president Christian Wulff said in a statement: "We are ready for discussions, which must be carried out quickly." Brand independence Porsche will now hold further discussions with VW The move should unite 10 brands under one roof, Porsche said. Nine of the brands are owned by VW, and the other is the Porsche sports car brand. "In the final structure 10 brands shall stand below an integrative leading company alongside each other, whereby the independence of all brands and explicitly also of Porsche shall be ensured," a Porsche statement said. It also said that its plan would also include unspecified "capital measures". In January, Porsche announced it had increased its stake in Volkswagen to more than 50%, and said it planned to lift its stake in VW to 75%. However, even with a 75% stake it would not have been able to take complete control because under the "VW law" the state of Lower Saxony, which holds a 20% stake, can block strategic decisions. Stock markets had closed before the announcement, with Porsche shares up 1.2%, and VW's down slightly, by 0.4%. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version |
People gather at a makeshift memorial during the aftermath of a mass shooting that killed 14 people, Dec. 6, 2015, in San Bernardino, California. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon You’ve likely heard it from any number of sources. Perhaps it was from a presidential candidate, a lawmaker, your libertarian brother-in-law, or your Facebook frenemy. Whatever the source, you likely have been told that regulating guns in virtually any way violates the Second Amendment. I therefore offer today this quick constitutional refresher course: It does not. Constitutional rights are not absolute. They never have been and, practically, never can be. In our constitutional democracy, we have always recognized that we can, and must, have our constitutional cake and regulate it too. Take, for example, our freedom of speech. It is one of the most clearly stated and robustly protected rights in the Constitution, yet it is also subject to numerous restrictions. Our speech might not be protected if it falsely damages someone’s reputation, aids and abets a crime, contains a threat of violence, reveals a trade or military secret, harasses, plagiarizes, inflicts severe emotional distress, is deemed to be obscene, incites violence, or leaks classified information, to name a few. The United States Supreme Court further allows restrictions on when, where, and how we can express ourselves even when the message itself is protected. In some cases we control who may speak, such as limitations we may constitutionally impose on the speech of students, prisoners, and government employees. When determining what regulations on speech are acceptable, the Supreme Court carefully weighs the significant value of protecting the freedom of expression against the countervailing public interests. Thus you certainly have a right to protest, but not in a public park without a permit. You have a right to exclaim your beliefs, but not with a sound truck at night in a residential neighborhood. You have a right to express yourself through art, but not with a can of spray paint on someone else’s car. Child pornography is indisputably a type of speech, yet the Supreme Court gives it no constitutional protection, zero, because the court believes that the harm it inflicts on the abused children far outweighs any expressive value. The same is true of our freedom to exercise our religions. The court has held (in an opinion authored by Justice Antonin Scalia) that as long as a government regulation applies to everyone equally and does not target a particular religious group, many general laws that infringe on religious practices are nonetheless constitutional. Thus, if your religion involves the use of a banned hallucinogen like peyote, as was the situation in the Supreme Court case involving members of the Native American Church, your constitutionally protected right to freely exercise your religious beliefs takes a back seat to the state’s interest in uniform drug laws. I could go on. So I will. We have the constitutionally protected right to peaceably assemble, but not to block traffic. We are protected from unreasonable and unwarranted searches, unless there is probable cause, exigent circumstances, or a hot pursuit. If charged with a crime, we have the right to a speedy trial (but not if the prosecution is hunting down witnesses) and also a public one (but not if you want your trial televised). We also have the right to a trial by jury (unless the crime carries a sentences of six months or less). The Second Amendment, of course, is no exception. In the 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court told us that we have a constitutional right to possess firearms for self-defense, at least within our homes. But the opinion never suggested that this right was unconditional or immune from all regulation. In fact, Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, said just the opposite. In Heller, he specifically said that “the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.” Protecting the right to keep and bear arms is not the same as forbidding all regulations on that right. We can protect that right and still require background checks, permits, and training. We can still regulate when, where, and what kinds of guns are allowed. In some cases, we can regulate who can obtain guns, imposing restrictions on, for instance, felons, the mentally ill, and known terrorists. We can ban firearms such as military-style assault weapons that (like child pornography) plainly cause far more harm than they add in value. We can require those who are negligent with their weapons (as we do those who are negligent with their words in defamation cases) to be held liable for the harm they inflict on others. We can do all of these things; we just don’t. There might be policy reasons to debate the pros and cons of specific regulations, but there’s no reason to assume that there is a constitutional problem. And you don’t need to take my word for it. Let’s take another listen to Justice Scalia in Heller, shall we? The Second Amendment, he stated, does not protect “the right of citizens to carry arms for any sort of confrontation, just as we do not read the First Amendment to protect the right of citizens to speak for any purpose.” He further noted that nothing in the court’s decision “should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.” “But, but, but …,” your Facebook friend might counter, “the text of the Second Amendment says that the right to keep and bear arms ‘shall not be infringed.’ Shall Not. Be. Infringed.” Said friend may even say it in all capital letters. Funny story. The framers used the word “shall” a lot. But it turns out that many of the constitutional rights they wrote about in unqualified terms are, in fact, qualified. Some amendments, for example, tell us that the government “shall make no law … abridging” or “shall [not] deprive any person of” or “shall not make or enforce any law which shall abridge” certain rights. Others declare that a right “shall not be violated” or “shall be preserved.” And yet many of those rights have been subject to restrictions over the years. Considering that the framers prefaced the Second Amendment with the observation that a “well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State,” its language—“shall not be infringed” notwithstanding—is arguably less absolutist than many other constitutional provisions that did not come with a qualifier. Our constitutional rights are not an all-or-nothing deal. We can uphold the Second Amendment and still pass reasonable regulations that further the public’s interest in safety. So don’t feel you need to choose between protecting our Second Amendment rights and supporting sensible gun regulations. Why should you? The Constitution doesn’t. |
MUST-WATCH: Alec Baldwin Debuts Hilarious Trump Parody in 'SNL' Premiere Mark Cuban: If Trump Loses, His 'Toxic' Brand Will 'Bankrupt' Him Schilling Rips Hillary: 'She's the Epitome of a Very Bad, Evil Human Being' "What’s more offensive? Words or actions?" Judge Jeanine Pirro asked in her 'Opening Statement' on Saturday. "The presidential election in 38 days comes down to the battle of political corruption versus truth—where one candidate chooses political correctness, [and] the other [is] brave enough to state the obvious," Pirro said on "Justice". "One says things not politically correct: not run through the prism of the contemporary political lens. The other...carefully filters [her words] and then flat out lies to [our] faces," Pirro said, pointing to Hillary Clinton. Pirro particularly criticized Clinton for claiming to be a champion for women and families. "You tell me what’s worse—name-calling or lying to grieving parents as their sons' bodies lay cold in caskets...and then turning around and calling those parents liars," she said, referring to allegations by Benghazi victim Sean Smith’s mother Patricia, who said Clinton lied to her about the circumstances of her son's death. "And although [Donald Trump] may be impolitic, and while I am not a fan of things he said 20 years ago about a woman—under a contractual obligation to maintain her appearance—your history with women is about destroying them," Pirro continued. "You don’t support women, you destroy them—whether it’s all the women who've accused your husband of serial marital infidelities, sexual harassment, and yes—rape. Instead of protecting a 12 year old, a college intern, a rape victim, you job: ruin them. Destroy any woman who gets in the way of your ambition. None of it [is] the predator’s fault." Pirro recalled allegations that Clinton called Gennifer Flowers "trailer trash" and Monica Lewinsky a "narcissistic loony toon." "What’s important are not words," Pirro said, referring to Clinton’s repeated criticisms of Trump’s language, "what’s important are actions...how one candidate has chosen to lie about issues that involve the government of the greatest nation on Earth." "She’s gaming you, folks," Pirro said to the audience, "she takes money from countries who stone women for adultery...this woman has corrupted the State Department, the Department of Justice and—now I’m ashamed to admit—the honored tradition of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Watch Judge Jeanine’s full ‘Opening Statement’ above, read the transcript below, and let us know what you think in the comments. HELLO AND WELCOME TO JUSTICE. JUDGE JEANINE PIRRO. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US TONIGHT. THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN 38 DAYS COMES DOWN TO THE BATTLE OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION VS TRUTH... WHERE ONE CANDIDATE CHOOSES POLITICAL CORRECTNESS... THE OTHER BRAVE ENOUGH TO STATE THE OBVIOUS. ONE SAYS THINGS NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT NOT RUN THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL LENS. THE OTHER SAYS THINGS THAT ARE OH SO PERFECTLY POLITICALLY CORRECT... CONSIDERS WORDS CAREFULLY FILTERS THEM AND THEN FLAT OUT LIES TO OUR FACES. ALL THE WHILE, ANARCHY ON OUR STREETS. RIOTS AGAINST THE ONE LINE OF DEFENSE THAT SEPARATES US FROM CHAOS KIDS SHOT ON PLAYGROUNDS WITH LITTLE NOTICE AND VIRTUALLY THE SAME NUMBER OF PEOPLE KILLED IN ONE CITY--- CHICAGO-- THAN DIED IN THE IRAQ WAR. AND NOW GLOBAL TERRORISM ENTERS THE HOMELAND. ONE CANDIDATE SEES THE TURMOIL. THE OTHER SAYS EVERYTHING IS GREAT AND LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL AND PREFERS TO TALK ABOUT NAME-CALLING AND IMPLICIT BIAS. THAT'S NICE. HILLARY-- IT'S NOT SO IMPLICIT WHEN YOU CALL TENS OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WHO DISAGREE WITH YOU EVERY NAME IN THE BOOK, CALL US DEPLORABLE AND TELL US WE ARE NOT AMERICA. WHO THEN IS AMERICA HILLARY? PEOPLE YOU'RE BRINGING IN FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD? BUT YOURE WORRIED DONALD TRUMP'S NAME CALLING 20 YEARS AGO? ASK YOURSELVES-- WHAT'S THAT GOT TO DO WITH ANYTHING? COMPARE THAT TO A SECRETARY OF STATE WHO LIES TO US OVER AND over…. PLAYS FAST AND LOOSE WITH OUR NATION'S HIGHEST SECRETS DRONE OPERATIONS AND SATELLITE LOCATIONS-- FOR WHICH OTHERS NOT SO POWERFUL AND CONNECTED ARE PROSECUTED. WHAT IS MORE OFFENSIVE? WORDS OR ACTIONS? A WOMAN WHO INSURES NO ONE FINDS OUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN OUR STATE DEPARTMENT,. WHO ALONG WITH HER CABAL ARE WHEELING AND DEALING BETWEEN THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND HER SO CALLED CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. AND WHEN CAUGHT, EVIDENCE IS DESTROYED WITH HAMMERS AND BLEACHBIT. A WOMAN WHO RUNS THE STATE DEPARTMENT LIKE A PRIVATE PIGGY BANK, MISSING 6 BILLION DOLLARS DURING HER TENURE. YOU TELL ME WHAT'S WORSE? NAME CALLING OR LYING TO GRIEVING PARENTS AS THEIR SONS BODIES LAY COLD IN CASKETS AT ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE AND THEN TURNING AROUND AND CALLING THOSE PARENTS LIARS. LIKE YOUR HUSBAND, IMPEACHED FOR LYING, PERJURY AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, HILLARY,YOU DO IT WITH ARROGANCE AND RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION. AND ALTHOUGH HE MAY BE IMPOLITIC, AND WHILE I AM NOT A FAN OF THINGS HE SAID TWENTY YEARS AGO ABOUT A WOMAN UNDER A CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION TO MAINTAIN HER APPEARANCE - YOUR HISTORY WITH WOMEN IS ABOUT DESTROYING THEM. WHEN YOU REPRESENTED A PEDOPHILE WHO RAPED A TWELVE YEAR OLD GIRL INTO A COMA FOR FIVE DAYS... HER REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS DESTROYED - YOU NOT ONLY LAUGHED WHEN YOUR PEDOPHILE CLIENT PASSED A LIE DETECTOR BUT YOU TRASHED AN INNOCENT SIXTH GRADER - A VICTIM - SAYING WITH NO FACTUAL BASIS SHE SOUGHT OUT MEN LIKE HER RAPIST AND THAT SHE WAS MENTALLY UNSTABLE. YOU ARE OFFENDED BY DONALD TRUMPS WORDS BUT WHEN PRESENTED WITH THE ATROCITIES OF A GROUP CALLED BOKO HARAM BY THE CIA AND FBI YOU REFUSED TO TAKE ACTION AND LABEL THEM TERRORISTS. A GROUP THAT KILLED 2,000 PEOPLE AND NOW STRAPS EXPLOSIVES TO LITTLE GIRLS!!! MIGHT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FRIEND GILBERT CHUGOURY A CONVICTED NIGERIAN LAND DEVELOPER, WHO GAVE TENS OF MILLIONS TO YOU AND YOUR FOUNDATION BE THE REASON? THE WAY* YOU* AND YOUR PROGRESSIVES FIGHT TERRORISM, HILLARY, IS WITH A HASHTAG, BRING BACK OUR GIRLS. YOU DON'T SUPPORT WOMEN YOU DESTROY THEM.. WHETHER IT'S ALL THE WOMEN WHO ACCUSED YOUR HUSBAND OF SERIAL MARITAL INFEDILITIES, SEXUAL HARRASMENT AND YES RAPE. INSTEAD OF PROTECTING A 12 YR OLD, A COLLEGE INTERN, A RAPE VICTIM -- YOUR job RUIN THEM. DESTROY ANY WOMAN WHO GETS IN THE WAY OF YOUR AMBITION. NONE OF IT THE PREDATOR'S FAULT.. THE WAR ROOM CREATED TO ASSAULT RIGHT WING, CRAZY WOMEN DESPERATE FOR ATTENTION, WHO JUST WANTED PUBLICITY LIKE GENNIFER FLOWERS WHO YOU SAID YOU'D LIKE TO CRUCIFY AND CALLED HER TRAILER TRASH, AND MONICA LEWINSKY-- YOU CALLED HER A NARCISSITIC LOONEY TOON -- UNTIL WE FOUND YOUR HUSBAND'S SEMEN ON HER DRESS.JUANITA BRODERICK WHO SAYS U THREATENED HER AND I DONT KNOW WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT PAULA JONES BUT YOU HAD TO PAY HER 800 THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR YOUR HUSBAND'S SEXUAL MISDEEDS. AND YOU CALL THEM ALL "BIMBOS." SHE IS GAMING YOU FOLKS. SHE TAKES $ FROM COUNTRIES WHO STONE WOMEN FOR ADULTERY .. THEY KILL THEM. THEY THROW GAYS OUT OF BUILDINGS. THEY KILL THEM. THIS WOMAN HAS CORRUPTED THE STATE DEPARTMENT, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND NOW I'M ASHAMED TO ADMIT THE HONORED TRADITION OF THE FBI. WHAT'S IMPORTANT ARE NOT WORDS, WHAT'S IMPORTANT ARE ACTIONS.WHATS IMPORTANT IS HOW ONE CANDIDATE HAS CHOSEN TO LIE ABOUT ISSUES THAT INVOLVE THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH... ONE CANDIDATE WHO HAS CHOSEN TO LIE ABOUT HOW SHE CONDUCTS THE BUSINESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. OUR BUSINESS. THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS.THE GOVERNANCE OF OUR NATION. AND NOW THAT YOU KNOW WHAT SHE IS CAPABLE OF. WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU? POLTICAL CORRECTNESS OR THE TRUTH? Gold Star Mom on Asking Obama About 'Islamic Terrorist' Phrase Leaked Clinton Audio: Sanders' Supporters 'Living in Parents' Basement' Krauthammer to Trump: Don't Follow Clinton's 'Cheese' Trails |
By William James MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's decision to take military action in Syria to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was a "terrible mistake". Russia has begun striking targets in Syria - a dramatic escalation of foreign involvement in the civil war which has been criticised by some as an attempt to prop up Assad, rather than its purported aim of attacking Islamic State militants. "They are backing the butcher Assad, which is a terrible mistake for them and for the world," Cameron told the BBC on the first day of his Conservative Party's annual conference in the northern English city of Manchester. "It's going to make the region more unstable, it will lead to further radicalisation and increased terrorism. I would say to them 'change direction, join us in attacking ISIL'." Russia says it is targeting hardline Islamic State militants, but Cameron questioned that position. "Most of the Russian air strikes, as far as we've been able to see so far, have been in parts of Syria not controlled by ISIL (Islamic State), but controlled by other opponents of the regime," he said. Cameron is keen for Britain to begin its own air strikes in Syria, joining allies in a U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, a self-declared caliphate spanning large areas of Syria and neighbouring Iraq. British bombing as part of the coalition so far has only targeted Islamic State in Iraq. He signalled that he would push ahead with plans for a vote in parliament to approve military action against Islamic State in Syria, the Daily Telegraph newspaper said in its Sunday edition. Cameron was quoted as saying that British military attacks in Syria "may well become possible". Previously, Cameron has said he sees a strong case for extending British air strikes to Syria from Iraq. After losing a parliamentary vote on the use of force against Assad in Syria in 2013, Cameron has said he would want the support of opposing lawmakers before putting the matter to a vote. The opposition Labour Party, which last month elected anti-war campaigner Jeremy Corbyn as leader, is split on the issue. Foreign minister Philip Hammond also warned of the dangers of the Russian intervention, saying in his address to party activists that Russia could not fight Islamic State militants in Syria and support Assad at the same time. "Russian support for him will drive the opposition in Syria into the arms of ISIL, strengthening the evil that Putin says he wants to defeat," he said. However, speaking in the earlier Telegraph newspaper interview, Cameron said he did not believe Russian military involvement in Syria should prevent Britain's attempt to strike at Islamic State. "What I am clear about is one of the biggest threats we have to respond to is that terrorist threat," he was quoted as saying. In a move that is likely to please many in his party, he said he would "beef up" Britain's elite Special Air Service regiment (SAS) and buy 20 new drones – known as Protectors - as part of the battle with the militants. After telling parliament last month that Britain had killed two of its own nationals who had been fighting for Islamic State in Syria, Cameron said British militants in Syria would be targeted by drones as a "last resort". (Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Raissa Kasolowsky) |
We’re back home! Hallelujah! I never thought I would be so happy to come back home from such a beautiful European country. Many thanks to Yolanda for taking us to her homeland and giving us a glimpse into her past and her lovely Dutch upbringing. Those parts of the trip were such a delight. Our last evening on the canal was lovely. Just like you saw, it was full of laughter and great conversation. Yolanda’s brother Leo and his wife are gems, and I’m happy we got to meet and spend some time with them. It was nice to be able to sit down and unwind with Kyle at dinner back in Beverly Hills after our workout at Pilates Plus, which by the way, kicked our butts! There is so much going on between her and Kim, and I knew she was in need of someone to talk to about it. Look, I am just as sick of this topic as all of you are, but at this point, it was quite evident to me that Kim’s “best friend” had decided to fill her in on the conversation we had over lunch just weeks before but conveniently left out her entire role in the conversation. One would assume that Brandi realized she’d spoken of Kim in a way that would upset her, so she lumped the whole conversation on me. Brandi needed me to be the bad guy in order to keep Kim from being mad at her, too. As we all saw, Brandi asked me to reach out to Kyle on her behalf. So that’s what I did. I spoke to Kyle and told her about Brandi’s concern for Kim during our conversation and her suggestion of an intervention. As I have said before, I know that all of you, our viewers, know exactly what’s going on. We all saw Brandi tell me how there is so much more going on than I know surrounding the topic I no longer want to speak of. We all saw Brandi suggest to me that an intervention be planned for our group while we spoke of Kim. We all saw Brandi tell me that Kim would murder her and then kill herself if she knew that Brandi was talking about “her situation.” None of this is news to you or me at this point, is it? I passed along information to Kyle per Brandi’s request. It is now left up to them to figure out what to do with it. The bond between sisters is so deep, and I really would love to see the Richards sisters work it out and come to a place of mutual understanding and respect of one another. Seeing them together in Palm Springs only reiterates to all of us just how deep-rooted their issues truly are and how everyone needs to stay out of their relationship. Quite honestly, other than that, I am done. This is the last thing I want to be talking about, but the forbidden situation keeps on being brought up, so here I am, rehashing the damn thing again. Just like you, I want to stab myself in the eyeball with a chopstick over the whole nightmare and just move on already. Maybe I will have some time now that I am home, where I am safe with my family, to process what’s happened. Kim still has not apologized to Kyle, Eileen, or me for her uncalled for behavior toward us or my husband. I do still have a lot to process, and a lot has been left unresolved. But enough of that, we must talk about how fabulous it was to watch Lisa V. marry that lovely couple at Pump! In my opinion, that was hands-down the best part of the whole episode! I’m always so blown away by how much Lisa does for the LGBT community. Pump looked gorgeous, Lisa looked beautiful, and the couple so happy. Kudos to you for always supporting your friends, Lisa Vanderpump. You’re an inspiration. Next week is the finale, followed by the reunion you’ve been hearing so much about. Oh boy. The drama continues… |
The Daily Mail's Thursday scoop revealed that just 51,000 Americans successfully enrolled in the federal Obamacare exchanges over its first week -- an infinitesimally tiny percentage of the "46 million" uninsured Americans the law's supporters frequently cite. But is the real number actually a fraction of that fraction? Oh my: Based upon my survey of a large number of health plans accounting for substantial market share in the 36 states the federal insurance exchange is operating in, not more than about 5,000 individuals and families signed-up for health insurance in the 36 states run by the Obama administration through Monday. It is not uncommon for a major health insurer with a large market share to report less than 100 enrollments in the first week. Reports today say the enrollments continue to trickle in at about the same rate. Worse, the backroom connection between the insurance companies and the federal government is a disaster. Things are worse behind the curtain than in front of it. Here is one example from a carrier--and I have received numerous reports from many other carriers with exactly the same problem. One carrier exec told me that yesterday they got 7 transactions for 1 person - 4 enrollments and 3 cancelations. In my post about this yesterday, I wondered how many of the supposed 51,000 enrollees were duplicates. The answer appears to be, most of them. John Sexton has a round-up of 50 average people posting complaints on Obamacare's Facebook page, citing sundry enrollment snafus. This law is hurting people, including some folks for whom the law was practically designed. No wonder tech experts are discussing whether the Obamacare exchanges represent the highest-profile and most complete failure on a major web launch...ever. And the hits just keep on coming: In the midst of major changes in health care, UnitedHealthCare has sent thousands of pink slips to Connecticut doctors. Termination letters went to physicians caring for Medicare patients. Those letters were sent out to doctors caring for 'Medicare Advantage' patients. It's a plan, marketed to Seniors to provide additional services through UnitedHealthCare. A mix of primary care and specialty doctors are affected by it. And it comes at a questionable time. Open enrollment for Medicare starts next Tuesday, and it's still not clear at this time as to which doctors are still in the United network. The Connecticut State Medical Society is fighting back. The biggest concern is patient access to healthcare. Also, be sure to read CEO Andrew Puzder's take-down of the administration's easily falsifiable claim that the healthcare law isn't affecting businesses' hiring and personnel decisions: There are times when the Obama administration makes statements so disconnected from economic reality that you wonder if any White House official has talked with anyone in business. A case in point: the administration's mantra that ObamaCare's definition of full-time employment as 30 or more hours per week had no effect on employers' hiring practices...As the CEO of a company that has been dealing with ObamaCare for over three years, I'd like to set the record straight: The evidence that ObamaCare is having a negative impact on hiring is unequivocal, abundant and consistent with common sense. Read the whole thing. He cites evidence like this, this and this, reasoning that the part-time hiring trend will again accelerate as the delayed employer mandate approaches its new implementation date. Last but not least, make sure you're up to speed on the proliferating Obamacare scams. Be careful out there; the confusion and technical problems plaguing the law have spawned a cottage industry of identity theft, and questions about the security of its "data hub" remain. |
There are two extremes when it comes to car review shows. On one hand, there is the dry, factual style of MotorWeek. At the other end are the slickly-produced, entertaining, yet still somewhat factual reviews of Top Gear. Between these two extremes sit the various other shows, all leaning toward one side or the other of this scale. And then, not even acknowledging that this scale exists, there is Regular Car Reviews. Created by two Pennsylvanian car guys, Brian "Mr. Regular" Reider and Nick "The Roman" Roman, Regular Car Reviews focuses exactly on what the title suggests: normal, everyday cars that are bought by the average person. The reviews, however, are anything but normal. Rarely are the performance figures given any real focus; if they are, it's typically in a sardonic fashion. Often, the reviews focus on the types of people who buy the car in question, the socioeconomic influences behind their design or typical buyers, or something entirely different, all interspersed with extremely crass, perverted sex and toilet humor and occasional bouts of Dadaism. Often compared to RedLetterMedia's Harry S. Plinkett reviews due to several similarities including the humor style (both series make non-sequitur revolving around disturbing sexual humor) and even how Mr. Regular's "crazy" voice sounds similar to Harry S. Plinkett's (some people seeing both series for the first time even assume it's the same person). Can be found here. A Date with Rosie Palms: Preferable to the real deal if the latter results in buying a Honda Odyssey. "A TUG AND A SNOOZE. YOU CAN'T LOSE." Artifact Title: While it's called Regular Car Reviews, some of the later videos have also covered airplanes, motorcycles and... lawnmowers? Not to mention sheep and horses. Ass Shove: "Surpriiiiiiiise!" "Melon baller up my ass." "Forget the flashlight. We're taking this to A WHOLE 'NOTHER LEVEL." (Brings out a can of Barbasol) Advertisement: From a text frame in Part 2 of the Subaru SVX review: "I'm gonna print out a thirty-page peer-reviewed journal from EBSCOhost, shove each page of 9-point typeface up your ass, and pound it in good with five Expo markers snapped together to form a ramrod." Art Evolution: The Roman's singing and guitar work steadily improves as the series continues. Author Appeal: Chryslers, especially from the Lee Iacocca era. Expect any Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth review to have a lot of focus on how the car fits with his idea for the company (even if it was produced after he retired). The most notable example is the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, which got a few throwaway mentions of being a great car by its own merits and seven minutes of criticism for not being the kind of cheap dependable car that Iacocca favored. Author Filibuster: Frequently. Sometimes taking up more time than the actual review. Tropes Are Not Bad though, since it's the main appeal of the show. Back Seat Sex: "Those handles help you into a red velour interior FOR SIIIINNNNN." Even the Chevette's puny backseat will do if its owner is desperate enough. "Anything to get their bald band leaders marching in the Pink Paraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade..." Bad Humor Truck: "Iron blocks and pushrods are for airport shuttle buses... *starts breathing heavily* And my whitewashed ice cream van... *voice gets progressively deeper* Filled with Mondo and 99 Bananas and GORILLA TAPE." Bag of Kidnapping: "Out of the back hatch, I threw a potato sack, the contents of which were crying. Through my Millard Filmore mask, I yelled YOU PASSED THE TEST LIKE ALL THE REST." Bait-and-Switch: Part of the reasoning behind choosing the title, according to Mr. Regular (alongside it still being available.) Most internet car reviews tend to emulate professional reviews, focusing on flashy-ish new cars. An unsuspecting viewer stumbles across a channel calling itself "Regular Car Reviews" focusing on older everyday cars, thinks "Ah, this is what I'm looking for," and watches it. As Mr. Regular puts it: "...and then halfway through, HERE COMES THE DUMPSTER OF POOP." Berserk Button: The Joke. note Do you know what Fiat stands for? Fix It Again, Tyrone. Leather gaiters on automatic shifters. The Mk3 VW Jetta, at least for Mr. Regular. The very first line in the review? "I HATE YOU." "NO CLUTCH (pedal), NO MANUAL!". Aftermarket exhausts on motorcycles, especially Two Brothers Racing note Which have a reputation for less than satisfactory quality, and for being popular amongst squids systems. "Mmm! Mmhm, mmhm. Two Brothers slip-on exhaust. Arrrrgh, fine, you get a pass because you put on larger injectors and remapped the ECU. I will concede that you're doing this correctly. BUT I'M WATCHING YOU." Fake engine or exhaust sound enhancement (on anything but a modern BMW, taped headlights, lowerd suspension and other typical Rice Burner modifications. Timing belts. Big "NO!": In the end of the 1987 Jaguar XJ6 review. "But should you own an 87 Jaguar XJ6?" "No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No-no. No No No [repeating] UGH NO! NOO! NO DON'T EVER, DON'T DO IT!" Black Comedy: Dear lord, YES. Black Comedy Rape: When trying to describe how daunting it is driving an RV: "It's like being in the final level of Legends of the Hidden Temple. Like...yeah, you're supposed to be having fun, but I have no pendants of life, and I'm pretty sure if I pull this switch a Mayan temple guard is going to jump out and pull me into his TOUCH TOUCH CAVE *beat* for touching " Blasphemous Boast: In the Bandit review. "WHEN I POOP, I POOP TWICE. WHEN I POOP AGAIN, YOU SAY MY NAME." Boring, but Practical: Mr Regular has a great affinity for cars like that. Discussed in depth in Subaru Loyale review. Subaru spend the 80s pumping out reliable, practical but not very exciting cars. This gave them a reputation of a brand of cars people can rely on and they parlayed this reputation into their high-end rally inspired models in the 90s. The brand was a success because the reliability of the base models made people confident when buying sports cars and the pedigree of their sports cars made people interested in base models. Mr Regular contrasts it with Chrysler, which spends a ton of time on their muscle cars, but their base lineup still suffers from The Alleged Car reputation they gathered in the 90s. Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: "Pots? Snots? Knots? Dots? Rumps? Shlumps? Dumps? SHEMALE PORN ADDICTION." "I am truly blessed for my friends/children/great day out/Simply Orange orange juice/Green Mountain Coffee/CLIT PUMP/Honda Pilot/guardian angel/MUNCH GROUP/parents." Brilliant, but Lazy: Porsche, at least according to the owner of the 911 SC. Porsche's design decisions were often them sticking to what they knew, or, in the case of the odometer-driven O2 sensor light, note Most cars monitor the condition of the O2 sensor, which is used for adjusting the fueling, or monitoring the condition of the catalytic converter, and throw an idiot light if it senses a bad sensor. Porsche wired theirs to light up every 30,000 miles on the odometer. not wanting to invent a whole new system. Call-Back: The tap & die set joke from the GS500 review returns in the Avenger review. The Bandit 1200 is full of callbacks to the GS500 review. The Neon SRT-4 review includes a joke about washing ones gym shorts in the sink after jerking off into them for easy cleanup. Cue a scene of washing gym shorts in the sink in the Focus ST review. The random belching during the Fit review is likely one to the Echo review, the very first of the series and previous car of Mr. Regular. The BMW E30 review has numerous callbacks to the Miata review, especially in the intro. The Toyota 4Runner review's intro is one to both reviews. The spoiled brat voice from the original S2000 review returns in the second. The Afrikaans in the description of the Fiesta ST review, to the CitiGolf review. Calling Your Bathroom Breaks: "And in the middle of recording this, I have to go to the bathroom." *Cue music and flashing lights* Cargo Cult: Subaru owners and Wankel engine advocates. Chekhov's Gag: In the Volvo S60r episode, Mr. Regular growls that the S60r will never be a BMW, and that he has to "PLASTI-DIP MY SHAME". A MagLite bearing the words "MY SHAME" is later seen rolling along a bathroom floor. Christianity Is Catholic: The RAV4 episode, delivered in the scolding, booming tone of a preacher, with specific references to the Hail Mary, mass, and confessional booths. Then the other shoe drops and it cuts to him scribbling in a Bible with markers saying "DURRRRR I'M A PROTETHTANT. AUHHEUGHHEUGHHEH! IT'S A COLORING BOOK NOW." Close-Knit Community: What Corvettes At Carlisle is described as. Compensating for Something: Neon SRT-4 owners, attempting to prove their masculinity, even though they drive a Neon. Cool Car: Sometimes, usually in the Christmas reviews involving the Lotus Elise and the Ariel Atom. Other examples of cool cars Mr. Regular has driven includes the Tesla Model S, Ferrari 360 Modena, and even his own Vagabond Falcon. The Alleged Car: What some of the other cars are like. Averted sometimes when Mr. Regular gives positive reviews of notably terrible cars such as the Chrysler PT Cruiser, but others (notably his old Toyota Echo, Mazda RX-7 and 8, and the Chevy Chevette) play this straight. Creator Provincialism: The series is chock full of jokes that only Pennsylvanians will truly get. Creepy Crossdresser: Harold Slovinsky, the BUSINESS ACCOUNTS voice. Creepy Monotone: Dodge Caravan: "I have to know what time it is..." Saturn L-Series: *While playing a Casio mini-keyboard* "The madness will return next week." Cuckold: Possibly Harold, assuming the implications of a tryst between Mrs. Slovinsky with Dan Arnetts are true. Confirmed in the Civic LX review. Harold apparently didn't take it well. Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Raphael Orlove's Beetle has an unusual gearshift pattern that constantly tripped up Mr. Regular. He also has a tendency to turn on the wipers accidentally every time he tries to use the turn signals on a right-hand drive car. A Day in the Limelight: The Roman's taken the lead quite a few times; examples are the Fiero review, as well as one half of the NY Auto Show 2015 videos and the 11th-gen Thunderbird review. Deadpan Snarker: Mr. Regular, natch. The Roman also waxes sarcastic in the intro and outro songs sometimes and the times he takes over the narration. Didn't Think This Through: "We'll really fart into the microphone. (Does exactly that) Now the microphone smells... ahh-haaaah, it's coming through the pop filter I made out of an old dress sock." Distracted by the Sexy: Not if someone owns a Honda S2000. "Hello, ladies. As long as this car is in your mans life... you aren't." Double Entendre: It's subtle, but I guess it's not surprising that a show called Regular Car Reviews features a lot of toilet humour. Does Not Like Shoes: Mr. Regular himself might be this in real life. He's almost always wearing sandals outside, and is usually barefoot when at home. It doesn't help that he's a very tall man with big-ass feet. YouTube comment: This helps with my FOOT FETISH PORN ADDICTION! Drink Order: Being eastern Pennsylvanian, Mr. Regular makes regular references to local beers like Yuengling and Troegenator. In one episode he reviewed a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu while drunk on Martinis: "You know what you do? You take British bum liquor, and then mix it with Italian hobo wine, and then ff..ff--heh heh —pour it over Mediterranean tree balls, and ya know what you get? You get a drink for sophisticated Americans!" Dumbass DJ: First appears to deliver most of the 1994 Lincoln Town Car review. "He-hey! Welcome back to 98.3 The Beer Belly! We got Hawaiian shirts, Bud Light in a beer koozie, Cheeseburger in Paradise coming up top of the hour, and we're giving away a Lincoln Town Car!" Eagle Land: The signified images brought about by the word "Mustang" increasingly lean toward flavor 2. "Happy 4th of July. I am driving a Corvette C7 on the 4th of July... <revs engine> 'MERICA!! " Early Installment Weirdness: The very first reviews, compared to later ones. The Citi Golf review doesn't even show actual footage of the car in question. Earlier episodes made heavy use of copyrighted images and music. As the series became popular enough to justify monetizing, these have disappeared, and the intro songs were replaced by original works by the Roman. In a literal sense early reviews were much weirder, with more frequent and longer sections of The Voice. The 1980 Dodge Aspen was the first old-car review he'd done and by far the oldest car Brian had driven to date. It shows. Epileptic Flashing Lights: Sometimes shown when Mr. Regular needs to use the bathroom. In the Avenger review, he even grabs a strobe light for whatever reason. "THIS IS INDIGESTION. *singsong, while piecing together a tap-and-die set* EVERYBODY NEEDS A HELPING HAND." Evil Sounds Deep: The more perverted Mr. Regular's train of thought goes, the more deeper and guttural his voice gets. Exotic Equipment: Defied in the AE86 review, to shut up the stereotypical fan of the car. "If I'd wanted you to open your mouth, I'd shove both my dicks up your nose!" Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: The Roman's song preceding the Audi S4 review. "It's a wi-fi hot spot, it's got a holder for my coffee, it's got really nice seats and a poem by Keats and... Wait, this car's a Starbucks, isn't it?" Foreign Queasine: At the end of the Yard Man mower review. "Dear People of the United Kingdom, we sell some of your foodstuffs in our store. (holding a bottle of Major Grey's Chutney) What is this? (holding an Aero bar) What is this? (holding a can of Idris Fiery Ginger Beer) What is this? (holding a tube of digestive biscuits) Why is this... (focusing on a box labeled "Clotted Cream Fudge") EWWW." Freud Was Right: Freudian comparisons are pretty common in the series, but it's taken Up to Eleven by Mr. Regular in Super 88 review when he explains how the car represents the 50's sexual frustrations and how the car was supposedly designed by a man suffering from this repressed sexuality: Back to the 1950's and buttsex: The Super 88 was drawn through the lens of someone completely horned out. Look at the face of this car! It has the face of a man having his behymen busted. Look at the delicate chrome lines on the Super 88's dash thin, sensitive, concentric, moving in, in, in, down, down, down, inward, inward, inward to a puckered oval where information lies and time stops. How long can you pass for straight? Gag Penis: "MY COCK IS THE UNIVERSE!" Teeny Weenie: "MY TAINT IS BIGGER THAN MY PENIS." Gasshole: "Oh, real fart!"/*This is a real fart*/"Real fart!" "The Honda Fit is supposed to make 117hp, and it totally doesn't. *Belches* IT'S supposed to ma-hake 106 pound-feet of torque, and it doesn't." "And it's covered in silicone! WHY? Oh, man, I've been drinking, like, straight vermouth. I'M OUT OF GIN." supposed to ma-hake 106 pound-feet of torque, and it doesn't." Gratuitous Spanish: 1997 Saturn SC2 review. "Donde esta el FOUR DOLLA TUBA?" History Repeats: Chrysler in the 70s-80s and today, according to Mr. Regular. Hype Backlash: Invoked and then downplayed with the AE86 Trueno review, which starts off with Mr. Regular going off on a rant about Initial D making people want to import the car — even though a major point of the series is that it's not necessarily the car that's good, the driver of it happens to be really, really good — before gradually becoming more relaxed throughout the review and explaining that it's actually a more enjoyable car than his distaste for the hype led him to believe. I Call It "Vera": Mr. Regular's cars, "Ol' Heller" (a Toyota Echo), "Silicone Sally" (a Honda Fit), "Goldie" (a Subaru Forester), "the Vagabond Falcon" (a custom 1960 Ford Falcon) and "Wendy" (a pristine Toyota MR2) as well as the Roman's Ford Mustang, "Red Betty". Some reviewed cars are also given nicknames, examples being Justin Kramer's Chevette nicknamed "Squirt" (hence the license plate) and the "CamMaster": a Buick Roadmaster with a manual transmission from a Camaro. Image Boards: "INAPPROPRIATE. /D/ note UUUUUUUU. " Invincible Classic Car: Mr. Regular calls a classic Olds Super 88 one. And when you're driving in traffic...: "O-oh am I taking too long on this stop sight? wh-wh-what're you gonna do? Honk at me? OOH. Or maybe you have neck tattoos and a mushy brain and you're gonna bump me from behind on your Dodge Durango. O-oh go ahead, run into me, I dare you! I have 16 gauge steel all around me and your kit-kat plastic SUV will shatter! O-yeah yeah I'll be dead because there's no seatbelts or head restraints and the steering column will impale me but heh your day will be ruined!" In the Style of...: The Porsche Cayman, NY Auto Show, and Porsche 928 reviews are reviewed in the style of Hunter S. Thompson. The Gonzo references show up again when Mr. Regular reviews the Ducati 900ss cr bike, this time to Thompson's "Song of the Sausage Creature" article. As confirmed on The Smoking Tire Podcast, the inspiration for the Nissan 370Z review was K-Pax. It's All About Me: The Honda S2000 is the official company car for this trope. Well, almost... "Okay, fine. Fine. Here. Have a VENT. You can have a VENT. Have fun with your VENT." Japanese Ranguage: The first Subaru WRX review. "JALOP-A-NIK WILL NOT-A RUN THIS ONE, UUUUUUUU." Killed Off for Real: Mr. Regular's Toyota Echo, Ol' Heller, featured in the very first review, and lurking in the background of nearly every other review, was lost in a traffic accident. Last Het Romance: Subtly invoked in the first Outback review. It's done from a POV of husband whose wife just left him. He mentions Grindr and "a club for girls only". Once you remember the stereotype about Subarus being popular with lesbians it becomes clear. Last-Second Word Swap: Played with in the FR-S/BRZ review, as well as the Chevy Sonic review. "So the exhaust cutouts around the bumper are way bigger than the stock tips, as if to say, 'Okay, we know you're going to cram some big SHEMALE PORN ADDICTION in there, so we made room for you.'" Let the Bully Win: The suggested strategy when facing a Corvette in a race "If a Porsche Cayman driver loses a race, they'll just go buy more polo shirts. But if a Corvette driver loses a race...they call the cops." Lost in the Maize: In the Tacoma review. *While "BALLSACKS!" can be heard chanting in the background* "Yeah, keep running. Keep running in that cornfield. Where's the way out? Where is the way out? Oh, no, not that way." Madness Mantra: "I have to know what time it is... (Beat) I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT TIIIIMMMMMEEEE IT IS!" "ALL WE BASE SYSTEM IS BASED ON THE NUMBER TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN. TEN..." "SO SMALL, SO MUCH POWER! SO SMALL, SO MUCH POWER! SO SMALL, SO MUCH POWER! SO SMALL, SO MUCH POWER..." "No car. No car. No car. No car. No car. No car. " Man of a Thousand Voices: Mr. Regular has a surprisingly broad vocal range outside of his normal speaking voice and The Voice. Mathematician's Answer: "Dimensions! It's got a wheelbase, it's got length, got width, got height." Matryoshka Object: Occasionally seen at car shows with the realistic model cars inside the actual cars. Up to Eleven at a show in Kutztown with a model car inside of a car with an even smaller model car inside that model car. Also there was a 50's panel van that had an image of the same van airbrushed on the side with a smaller copy of the same image on the image of the van. "I have a picture of my car... on a picture of my car... on my car!" Musical Episode: The Toyota Tacoma review. No Guy Wants an Amazon: "MY WIFE HAS TRICEPS NOW. She never puts the weights down. *Empties a random bottle of pills* What do these pills do? *Empties a box of bullets* WHAT DO THESE PILLS DO?! *grabs a bottle of gear oil and pours it into a beer bottle* She only loves me when I CUM BLOOD." No. Just... No: Mr. Regular's initial response to reviewing the Elise, at least until he's offered the keys. Noodle Implements: Often, in the sex moves Mr. Regular describes/makes up. The Dirt Mall requires a Lego village, a stopwatch, and a full box of Cracklin' Oat Bran. Whatever the Angry Dragon is, it involves paprika. Noodle Incident: The Forrest Incident. Something involving "cue-ball doms in Eagle Talons." "I HAD EXPERIMENTAL PHASES." Having to flee to South Africa after the Commonwealth found out about... the book. *Whispering* "The boooook..." *Shouting* "THE BOOOOK! THE BOOK! I CAN'T THINK ABOUT THE BOOK!" A possible real life example is the story Mr. Regular alludes to in the JK Wrangler review, before deciding to hold off on it. No Respect Car: The Dodge Neon SRT-4; Too American for the import crowd, not V8-y enough for the muscle car crowd, earned the respect of no one. "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer: The Volvo 240 review ends with Mr. Regular saying that his greatest accomplishment was jerking off on the upper deck of a South African Airways 747-400 somewhere over the Azores. The screen briefly flashes the text: "I'm not lying." Obligatory Joke: Mr. Regular tries to avoid douchebag jokes in the Audi S4 review. Eventually he limits himself to just one. "Audi S4, the official car of elliptical machine bluetooth conference calls." Oh, Crap!: Mr. Regular, often, while driving the "Orlove Bug" through New York traffic. Mr. Regular: "Only, I'm in an only. note Left Turn Only lane Do I have to only? Raphael Orlove: "You have to only." Mr. Regular: "I have to only." Raphael Orlove: "Nah, you don't have to only-" Mr. Regular: "ONLYYYYY!" Perky Goth: The Buick Regal Grand National. A cultural icon that comes in any color as long as it's black, black, and black. "A real life Dark Knight... A sinister rolling reminder to any passing oligarch that death claims all.. Nah! If you want to know the truth, this is the happiest car in the world." Pet the Dog: Some widely disliked cars got positive reviews (most notably PT Cruisers). Precision F-Strike: Once, while driving That Dude In Blue's Mustang GT in the wet. *Pulling away from a stoplight* "YEAH, DESERT STORM *The back slides out under power* HOLY SHIT!" And twice more in the Tesla Model S review, when confronted by the (electric) car's immense, instant torque. Put on a Bus: Harold Slovinsky. Aside from the occasional cameo, he hasn't been heard proper since the Accord review. According to Mr. Regular, he'll be brought back when they find another Accord to review. The Bus Came Back: He's back in the weird(er) version of the Civic Si review. "The Reason You Suck" Speech: "Hey. Volvo S60R. Guess what? You're NOT a BMW, and you never will be." The first half of the VW Jetta review. The entire Smart ForTwo review effectively boils down to all the reasons why the Smart car really isn't. The intro to the AE86 review, towards really devoted Initial D fanboys. The intro monologue for the Fiesta ST review. "WHY IS THERE A HOSE GOING FROM THE AIRBOX PLUMBING INTO THE CABIN?! WHY ARE YOU PUMPING SOUND INTO THE CAR?! YOU'RE NOT BMW, FORD! NOW, CUT IT OUT!" Rated M for Manly: the Triumph Daytona (which is said to easily get you into stupid situations that FILL YOUR ENTIRE BODY WITH TESTOSTERONE) is "for the guy who bangs her so hard sonic rings come out". Refuge in Vulgarity: The series runs on this. The Reveal: Part 4 of The Vagabond Falcon build finally shows guys faces. The Roast: The series is effectively a mild one toward the cars it reviews, their owners, car culture in general, and its various subcultures. Running Gag "Headlights go up! Headlights go down!" whenever a car has pop-up headlights. "Volvo!" "RRRRGGGRRRRGGGHHHH THIS ISN'T A CAR!" whenever Mr. Regular reviews a Suzuki motorcycle. If he doesn't say it, someone in the comments will. "NOT A CAR." whenever Mr. Regular reviews a Suzuki motorcycle. If he doesn't say it, someone in the comments will. "SO BRITISH" whenever discussing the peculiarities of British vehicles. "Hey, AUX jack!" "*PPHHHBBBBBTTT* fuel injection" whenever a car uses single-port (throttle-body) fuel injection instead of multi-port or direct injection. An audible fart typically preceded or followed by some variant of "Oop, real fart!" spoken or shown onscreen (sometimes both) By the same token, there's the occasional burp left in too. If a car has a stereotypical obsession(s) amongst its owners, expect an intro all about that obsession... Mazda Miata (Track day, bro!) BMW E30 (Time attack, bro!) Toyota 4Runner (Moab, bro!) "Digital gauges. Boo-bee-bah-bee-bah-bee-bah-beep!" "Which (X) is best (X)?" (example: "Which Corvette is best Corvette?") "My (X) is best because (reason)." ("My Corvette is best because motorcycle helmet.") "Car show"/"Cars and Coffee" (repeat throughout the video.) "Here's my toy car. (Zoom out to identical real car) Here's my real car." Accidentally hitting the windshield wipers when trying to turn on the turn signal, in a right-hand-drive car. And loudly groaning about the mistake. "This is not Matt Farah's Million Mile Lexus" "The box said '10 horsepower!'", whenever he sees a car with an aftermarket air filter. "BROWN", both as a euphemism for feces, and a response to anything colored a shade of brown. "SEW FAUNSEH", in reference to certain performance cars having something remotely percievable as a sign of affluence. "On a long-enough timeline, everything gets an LS," whenever he sees a car that has a GM LS engine (a V8 known for its use in '90s and 2000s Corvettes, among scores of other cars) swapped in. "Winga-dinga-dinga-dinga-winga-dinga-dinga-dinga...", when classic '40s, '50s or '60s American hot-rods are spotted at car shows. It's an onomatopoeia of the guitar riffs you usually hear in the repetitive rockabilly music (or "winga-dinga music" as Mr. R. calls it) that's associated with the 50s greaser culture and is often played at classic car shows. By the same token, "Wampa-dampa-dampa-damp..." for pre-World War II cars. Here it's onomatopoeic for big-band jazz or swing, associated with the '30s and earlier. Following any mention of the number 69 with "nice", in the same breath, no matter the context. Using the word "brand" as a trigger for segments of THE MEAT , or general pisstakes on consumer culture, almost always spoken in a dopey, drawn-out voice. , or general pisstakes on consumer culture, almost always spoken in a dopey, drawn-out voice. Regular's seeming inability to pronounce foreign-sounding words and names. Self-Deprecation: Whenever he brings his own cars to car shows. For example, "This dick" when showing the Vagabond Falcon in "Pypes Car Show 2016". Shaped Like Itself: "The steering feel (of the late model Mustang) can be changed from 'Windstar Minivan,' to 'New Windstar Minivan.'" Shmuck Bait: Sometimes. The Elise review. YOU'RE NOW PICTURING HIM EATING PUSSY. YOU'RE NOW PICTURING HIM EATING PUSSY. OH, HE'S EATING PUSSY. BIG 1970'S BUSH. OHHH, JINGLE BELLS. "Maybe you're watching this on your cell phone, or your iPad, while everybody else *gibberish* opens Christmas presents in front of you, and you're watching this. Look at your family, look at your family and friends. Find the oldest male. Eh, found the oldest male? You looking at him? The Miata review, at least for anyone tempted to google "Bad Dragon." Youtube Commenter: "My curiosity made me look up Bad Dragon. MISTAKE I MADE A MISTAKE" Shotgun Wedding: The usual cause of an unwanted purchase of a Honda Odyssey "I've settled! The wedding is in June, save the date!" Small Reference Pools: Defied and defiled. As you'd expect from English majors. Smug Snake: The Smart ForTwo. The name suggests that every other car is the wrong car, but the car itself isn't that good. So Unfunny, It's Funny: The Dad Joke in the Honda Pilot review. "What's three hundred feet long and has three teeth? (Beat) The bellini line at a Shenandoah block party!" Good one, dad." Something Completely Different: The reviews that either remain entirely calm, or dive headlong into Nightmare Land. The reviews of things that aren't cars. The reviews of car shows, instead of cars themselves. "And to keep costs down, independent suspension was passed over for... whatever this is. *Cut to a black and white POV shot of a baseball field* PUT ME IN, COACH. *Starts undoing his pants* I'M READY TO PLAY." *cut to Mr. R chasing after a few guys* The Elise review suddenly breaks into a detailed tangent on penis pumps. Whenever the Roman takes over the narration. When cars that are definitely not regular are reviewed. Usually these are reserved for Christmas specials (Lotus Elise, Ferrari 360, and Ariel Atom), but there's a handful of non-regular cars that were reviewed on non-holiday days. The review of a sheep (a "2017 Ovis Aries"), in the very same style he'd review a car. And the Roman's review of a horse. Something Else Also Rises: The doors on a DeLorean have... an effect on Mr. Regular... "ALL THINGS THAT RISE MAKE ME RISE." Song Parody: Most reviews begin and end with The Roman singing a parody of a popular song with lyrics relevant to the car being reviewed. Sophisticated as Hell: Yes, really. Mr. Regular and the Roman are English Majors, so the series often switches between surprisingly articulate observations about the car being reviewed, before breaking them up with The Meat. Two excellent examples of this are the Vantage and FJ Cruiser reviews. Near the end of the Ferrari 360 Modena review, Mr. Regular decides he's going to deliver the rest of the review in the prosaic style of NathanielHawthorne. Sound-Effect Bleep: Common in the very first episodes, but absent these days. Speak in Unison: At least if you show up to a Subaru meet in a BRZ instead of an otherwise identical FR-S. "ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US." Speed Sex: "Headlights go up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up! URRRRRRRRNH *Premature Ejaculation*" Spiritual Successor: The Focus ST is described as this to the Neon SRT-4. Start My Own: How Regular Car Reviews got its start, as a response of sorts to the amateur videos of people video-ing/reviewing their own cars, in a clearly unprepared, improvised method, which Mr. Regular finds horribly boring. The result was the Toyota Echo review. Stylistic Suck: The camerawork has a cheaply produced, amateurish feel. It likely wouldn't work otherwise. Admittedly, part of this comes from an actual lack of funds. Surreal Humor: Very prominent in early episodes (Citi Golf, Dodge Caravan and Toyota Tacoma especially). Toned down as of later but still shows up sometimes. Take That!: The breathless, mumbled, rapid-fire listing of all the figures of the 330ci can be seen as one towards the people who complain about how he doesn't review cars normally. Mr Regular appeared in this Car Throttle video to mock /DRIVE for switching to paid subscriptions. Car Throttle video to mock /DRIVE for switching to paid subscriptions. The Triumph Daytona review has one toward mens' rights activists. "Sure, in your Smirnoff eyes, women are taking over the world, BUT THEY'LL NEVER TAKE MY TRIUMPH." *Subtitle: (is repossessed in the divorce)* The AE86 Trueno review begins with a rant about Initial D fans who only like and try to import the car because the protagonist drives it. His 1995 Mazda Miata MX-5 review levels a few against self-described "nice guys" and hypermasculine car culture, while praising the Miata for its relatively soft appearance and being "the only sports car that works on girls." "You see, us guys think that this..." (clip of a car with a noisy muffler) "...this..." (clip of a car doing donuts) "...and this..." (clip of a motorcycle rider popping up his rear tire) "...creates girl boners, and it does, but only for chicks who hate their dads." "Put that fedora back on the rack at Turkey Hill, put your Genesis collection up on eBay, and start saving your laundry quarters for a Miata.""You see, us guys think that this..." (clip of a car with a noisy muffler) "...this..." (clip of a car doing donuts) "...and this..." (clip of a motorcycle rider popping up his rear tire) "...creates girl boners, and it does, but only for chicks who hate their dads." Testosterone Poisoning: The Dodge Ram, and every pickup since that apes its styling. "I AM EVERYTHING THAT IS MALE." The Dodge Neon SRT4 is described as a failed attempt to invoke this. The Faceless: Up to the fourth Ford Falcon video, Mr. Regular and The Roman would blur out their faces if they were in plain view (or Roman would hold up a funny sign on a clipboard). Some of the earlier videos do have their faces on camera, but usually at a distance, only for a split second, or covered by a helmet. Review videos are still going to be limited to brief glimpses and mirror shots, however. Apparently the review of the Stock Vagabond Falcon was important enough for Mr Regular to break this rule with a second reveal at the very end of the video as he walks away from the "Flagship car" of Regular car Reviews. The Unintelligible: Mr. Regular sometimes says something that even he can't understand. Toilet Humor: Yes. Listing individual examples would break the article. Too Awesome to Use: What ultimately lead to Mr. R. selling his beloved MR2 AW11. Unintentional Period Piece: invoked Some of the reviewed cars (Toyota MR2 AW11 and Saturn L series for example) are described as those. A few times, though (such as the Acura NSX), he specifically points out that the car managed to achieve timelessness. The review videos themselves can be this based on recurring subject matter referenced by Mr. Regular. An example being a handful of reviews from late 2015 to early 2016 are flooded with Undertale references. The Unpronouncable: The Shi- ... Uuuuuggh... Automobile Company note Shijiazhunag Shuanghuan Automobile Company , and their car, the- Argh, really? OK... Noble note Shuanghuan Noble , from the Smart Fortwo review. Unusual Euphemism: The first DeLorean review: "Maybe it's her inexplicable fondness for my FULLY ENGORGED, BLOOD-FILLED SIN SWORD." Beef Thermometer, from the C7 Corvette review. The RAV4 episode subtly uses "pillar-of-salt" as a euphemism for another expression whose initials are "P.O.S." Vaporwave: In some more recent episodes, Mr. Regular's known to break into strange, vaporwave-fueled interludes triggered by the word "aesthetic", such as him repeating "ZIP DISKS ARE THE FUTURE" over a late '80s-styled CG backdrop. Vulgar Humor: In spades. Waxing Lyrical: The Cobalt review: *While creepily touching two men* "I'M BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE AGAIN." "ALL THE DOORS THAT ARE CLOSED ONE TIME WILL OPEN UP AGAIN." Yandere: The first Subaru Outback review. Zeerust: He views skirted rear wheels as this, saying they look futuristic but it's the 1950's idea of the future. |
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Andrew Bogut walks over to a couple of chairs on the side of one of the Los Angeles Lakers' new sparkling practice courts and takes a seat. "Come sit in my office," he says invitingly. As Bogut sits down, you almost expect to hear him let out a groan as his 7-foot, 260-pound frame takes a rest. Bogut turns 33 in November. He is the oldest player on a revamped Lakers training camp roster that has 16 players who were born in 1992 or later, and Bogut's body might feel like it's closer to 63. Bogut's 12-year career has been ravaged by injuries, most notably three "high-impact, car-accident-type injuries" to his elbow and wrist, ankle and leg. He points to each major injury he has had on his body and explains the unusual -- and perhaps unlucky -- circumstances that led to each broken bone or torn ligament. The Lakers are Andrew Bogut's fifth team since he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images He knows what many might call him: injury-prone. But, Bogut asks, how was he supposed to prevent these injuries? "I get my legs taken out from under me, on a dunk, fall on my elbow and break my elbow," he says. "How do I train for that? How do I condition for that? A guy shoots a floater and chases that floater down and undercuts me -- Kyle Lowry -- and I fall on his foot and snap my ankle. How do I train against that? How do I train against getting hit in the leg? "The elbow and wrist was the same injury, Amar'e [Stoudemire] gave me a little push, and I dunked [but] couldn't hang on [to the rim]. What do I do in the offseason? Practice swinging on the rim? So that is why it frustrates me at times about having that label, but at the same time, I understand it. I have been hurt a lot, but I have always bounced back from my injuries and generally came back and played pretty good." So here is Bogut, returning from yet another bone-shattering injury. This time, the center is making his way back from an unlucky broken leg suffered seconds into his Cleveland Cavaliers debut, after a March trade from the Dallas Mavericks, when he ran out to defend a potential jump shot and collided with another player. Some teams seem to have doubted that Bogut can still contribute after not signing him in free agency. But Lakers president Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka picked up Bogut before camp as a potential defender, enforcer and mentor in the paint. The Lakers' future belongs to the past two No. 2 overall picks, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. But Johnson is hoping the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft can help a young team with his past experiences and maybe Bogut's pain can be the Lakers' gain. "I have been through pretty much everything in this league, especially injury-wise, and been on championship teams, winningest teams, crappiest teams, teams with a lot of turnovers," Bogut says. "I have seen everything." "You don't want to be out there handing out your resume," he said of the younger Lakers perhaps not knowing much about his career. "When I was in my prime, all these kids were probably still in junior high or 9 or 10 years old." Bogut, left, is the oldest player on the Lakers' roster, which puts him in position to be a mentor and leader. Robert Laberge/Getty Images Bogut wants to help tutor the young Lakers on the crafts of the trade and dealing with injuries while providing any valuable minutes he can. Already, Bogut has helped one of the Lakers young pups, 20-year-old center Ivica Zubac. Zubac is Croatian, and Bogut, who was born and raised in Australia, is of Croatian descent. The two talk in Croatian "like 95 percent of the time," and Bogut has helped Zubac gain a better understanding of what head coach Luke Walton is looking for. "He already has helped me a lot," a clearly delighted Zubac says. "His parents are Croatian, and he spends every summer in Croatia, so we speak fluently. ... It's great. I have somebody who understands me finally. It's so much easier, and sometimes it's hard to catch up in English when Coach is trying to explain something. To have [Bogut] here and help me since I'm Croatian, it really means a lot to me." Zubac rates Bogut's Croatian as a "9 out of 10" and points out that his grammar might be a bit broken. Of course, Bogut will take broken grammar over a broken bone any time. As Bogut enters the final chapter of his career, he is excited about not only the young cast around him in Los Angeles but also the Australian talent around the NBA as well, led by last year's No. 1 pick Ben Simmons, who will make his debut this season in Philadelphia after missing all of last season due to injury. "Not just Ben, there's a lot of [Australian] guys," Bogut says. "Dante Exum, it is a big year for him. Joe Ingles just signed a big deal. [Matthew] Dellavedova is obviously doing his thing. Patty [Mills] just signed a big deal. [Aron] Baynes just signed in Boston and has a chance for a championship. "Bennie obviously had an injury last year and had a frustrating year, and everyone is excited to see what he can do. We have a very good group of guys coming through. This generation is arguably the best generation that Australian basketball has ever had." Bogut, however, is still hanging around. He says he still has "good basketball" left in him, and he isn't bitter about all the basketball that he has been robbed of by injuries. "I mean, I've made $100 million-plus and play in the best league in the world and won a championship and played in numerous Olympics," Bogut says. "If that is unlucky, then a lot of people are very, very unlucky. I don't look at it that way. I could have had some more bounces go my way with those injuries, but I also could not be playing in the NBA. I could be playing in Europe or Australian league. I've been very, very lucky." |
As people of faith, we call upon the Boy Scouts of America to end the ban on gay, bisexual, and transgender scouts. Once the ban is lifted, we pledge to continue and amplify our support for the Boy Scouts. We issue our call as Eagle Scouts, as Christians, and as ministers ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We support the full inclusion of gay, bisexual, and transgender boys in the Boy Scouts of America. This is a moral choice: there is no way for us to be true to our oath as Eagle Scouts without affirming the dignity and inclusion of all God’s children. The Boy Scouts Executive Board just announced that they’re considering ending the longstanding ban on gay Scouts and leaders. The question is: Will they only hear from religious extremists advancing discrimination cloaked in scripture, or will we drown out hate with our call for dignity for all Scouts? We invite people of faith and fellow Eagle Scouts to join us in this petition. The Boy Scouts need to know that the “religious” voices calling for the ban to stay in place do NOT represent the whole of the faith or Scout community – especially when we are so close to a victory for equality. (Rev. Dr. Chris Iosso and I, Rev. Patrick Heery, both Eagle Scouts – share our own personal stories in a short letter titled, "Two Eagle Scout Ministers Say, Lift the Ban on Gay Scouts" - http://justiceunbound.org/action-alerts/two-eagle-scout-ministers-say-lift-the-ban-on-gay-scouts/.) To secure victory, the Boy Scouts need to hear from congregations pledging to maintain, if not enhance, support for scouts and their troops when the ban is lifted. And to know that troops currently hosted and sponsored by churches will not suddenly find themselves kicked out and on the street – or that, if they do, new worshiping communities will take them in. It’s why we’re: (1) calling on the Boy Scouts to lift the ban, and (2) promising to support newly inclusive Scouting. Let’s make sure the Boy Scouts know we've got their backs when they stand for equality! We know that this change may be challenging for some, even though troops will remain able to make their own local policies on this issue. Others of us would like to see a stronger policy guaranteeing protection for gay Scouts. But the truth is that lifting the ban will provide an opportunity for Scouts all over this great nation to discuss and wrestle with these questions—to do so bravely and openly as leaders for today. |
This woman seems to be making it up as she goes. I am losing count on the ever-growing, long list of lies and distortions. Certainly, she must realize that people are fact checking… Sheesh.. NYDailyNews: NORAD: Sarah Palin has no role in guarding U.S. airspace despite claims in Katie Couric interview When Russian bombers approach American airspace and U.S. Air Force fighters are scrambled, Sarah Palin‘s phone doesn’t ring. The Alaska governor has no command authority over the guardians of U.S. airspace despite her recent suggestion otherwise. “She doesn’t have any role in that process,” Air Force Maj. Allen Herritage, spokesman for the AlaskaNorth American Aerospace Defense Command, told the Daily News. “The authority to launch and respond to a Russian incursion lies with the Alaska NORAD Region commander” – Air Force Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins, he said. Palin said last week that her foreign policy experience includes facing the Russians. “It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia, as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America – where do they go? It’s Alaska,” Palin told CBS‘ Katie Couric. “It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation,” she said. Read entire article… |
The video portrays French forces in Mali as “Western Crusaders.” In a low-quality video released earlier last week, Ansar Dine, a largely Tuareg front group for al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), highlights its coordinated assault on a Tuareg separatist group in northern Mali last month. The separatist group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), previously worked with Ansar Dine and other al Qaeda groups to take over Mali’s north in 2012. The video begins with archival footage of the French intervention in Mali in early 2013 before sending a message to the MNLA. “It was the message of the mujahideen in this clear-cut war that the first target was the invading Crusaders and with them the invading Malian army and the groups that profess national defense on the land, of whom holds clear hostility against the mujahideen.” The statement continues by saying that “it was our position with them to unite in neutrality, not targeting them unless they subjected us or opposed our path.” It then shifts to showing the preparation and then execution of the assault on the MNLA-held town of Talhandak, close to the Algerian border. The jihadists are shown attacking the town with technicals (armed pickup trucks), variants of the AK-47 assault rifle, light machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG’s). The last few minutes of the video shows the jihadists collecting their “spoils” of weapons and then burning a truck that belonged to the MNLA. According to the video, 11 members of the MNLA were killed in the operation. Additionally, four vehicles were burned, two were captured, and Ansar Dine took control of the town “after four hours of the battle.” The capture of Talhandak was reportedly confirmed by Sahara Media last month. The assault on the MNLA was originally claimed on behalf of Ansar Dine by AQIM, al Qaeda’s official branch in North Africa, late last month. According to a statement released by AQIM and later translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, the jihadist group said it targeted a “local agent of the Crusaders known as Trawa Trawa,” who heads the so-called “internal security cells” funded by France in northern Mali to fight Islam and the Muslims.” In the same statement, AQIM warned the MNLA to stop working with the “Crusaders.” [See LWJ report, Al Qaeda group strikes in northern Mali.] The attack and subsequent video come as tensions between Ansar Dine and separatist Tuareg groups have escalated. According to some reports, Ansar Dine and the MNLA have officially declared war on each other and the two have seen other clashes and kidnappings of members of their respective groups. One MNLA source told Jeune Afrique that the group has been able to seize “16 vehicles and around 60 motorcycles” from Ansar Dine, as well as a plethora of weapons, ammunition and cell phones since 2014. Sporadic conflicts have been reported since last year. For instance, on Jan. 26, 2015, AQIM said it assassinated a “senior MNLA official” in his home near Tessalit. A week before that, two MNLA fighters were killed in an IED attack, which is suspected to have been perpetrated by al Qaeda. On March 2, 2015, three MNLA fighters were killed in another IED attack near Kidal. And while the assault in Talhandak was occurring, Ansar Dine ambushed a convoy of MNLA fighters near Kidal who were reportedly attempting to reinforce the besieged fighters further north. [For more information, see this map of al Qaeda-linked attacks in Mali made by The Long War Journal.] Screenshots from the video: Caleb Weiss is a contributor to FDD's Long War Journal. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. |
As human beings, we’ve ruined a lot of stuff. We’ve driven animals to extinction, created global warming, and allowed Dennis Miller to announce Monday Night Football. But this might be our biggest screwup yet: we created cancer. Wait, what? No, you read that right. After studying the remains of Egyptian mummies and tracing the instances of cancer throughout literature, a group of scientists at the University of Manchester have declared that cancer is man-made. The team studied both mummified remains and literary evidence for ancient Egypt but only literary evidence for ancient Greece as there are no remains for this period, as well as medical studies of human and animal remains from earlier periods, going back to the age of the dinosaurs. They found one case of cancer among hundreds of Egyptian mummies. The only explanation for the explosion of cancer cases over time is that it’s a man-made problem. Professor Rosalie David, at the Faculty of Life Sciences, said: “In industrialised societies, cancer is second only to cardiovascular disease as a cause of death. But in ancient times, it was extremely rare. There is nothing in the natural environment that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-made disease, down to pollution and changes to our diet and lifestyle.” Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free After discovering the mummified tumor, researchers then looked through generations of literature for mentions of cancer. They passed over centuries of writing before finding anything. As the team moved through the ages, it was not until the 17th century that they found descriptions of operations for breast and other cancers and the first reports in scientific literature of distinctive tumours have only occurred in the past 200 years, such as scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps in 1775, nasal cancer in snuff users in 1761 and Hodgkin’s disease in 1832. An alternative explanation to the rise in cancer suggests that ancient humans didn’t live long enough to develop the disease. However, the rate of childhood cancer has risen massively since the Industrial Revolution, proving otherwise. Another suggestion was that mummification just didn’t preserve tumors well, but Michael Zimmerman, a professor at Villanova University and the man who discovered the once-cancerous mummy, has found that mummification actually preserves tumors better than regular tissue. “Yet again extensive ancient Egyptian data,” said David, the study’s director, “along with other data from across the millennia, has given modern society a clear message: cancer is man-made and something that we can and should address.” |
Want to change those brown eyes blue? Well, a new procedure promises to change eye color — forever — using iris implants made in various colors. Iris implants are not yet approved in the United States for cosmetic use, but it hasn’t stopped Americans from traveling outside of the country to have the procedure done. Several YouTube videos show before and after images of people who say they have had BrightOcular implants placed in their eyes. In one video, a young African-American man desires grey eyes because he wants “a brand new me.” After surgery, he says the procedure caused him no pain. “It was 15 minutes per eye,” he says. “It was great.” In another video, a young woman says that she felt pain the evening after the surgery, “but it was really okay,” and that now, “I feel like someone new.” The downside? They’re possibly risking their vision to have the look that they want. Not all roses Dr. James Tsai, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and glaucoma specialist at Yale University, says there’s a lot of marketing at play. “These companies have paid some of these patients who have gone through this to provide testimonials to the benefits,” he says. “They start out by saying it’s just like a cataract surgery… that it usually goes very well, and it’s usually a safe procedure,” he says. “But they don’t go into detail about all of the complications. The side effects and dangers are minimized.” BrightOcular denies that they have ever paid for testimonials or paid models to appear in them. Multiple studies have highlighted the risks of iris implant procedures, including blindness, glaucoma, scarring of the cornea, sensitivity to light or the development of cataracts. But, according to Tsai, these risks aren’t always shared with the patient. Once complications occur and the implant has to be removed surgically, that can pose its own set of problems. “In one of my patients, the surgeon tried to remove it and when he pulled away the implant, it ripped off her natural iris and she no longer had a natural-looking pupil,” Tsai recalls. What’s behind those eyes? The iris, a ring of muscle fibers surrounding the pupil, is what determines eye color. During the procedure, eye surgeons place artificial irises underneath the top layer of the eye (cornea), covering the patient’s natural iris. The result is that only the artificial iris is showing in the selected color. Iris implants were first made for people whose irises did not develop normally at birth, or people who had damage to their eyes, such as burn victims. This particular type of implantation has been approved in the United States for some time. However, cosmetic iris implants are a new endeavor. Dr. Shibu Varkey, an eye surgeon in India referred to theGrio by BrightOcular, first started using their implants on patients with iris abnormalities. “These patients, who earlier, were unable to face even daylight, now were able to do so,” he says. “The overall quality of these patients’ lives improved.” Varkey found BrightOcular while searching online for a patient of his — a young boy whose iris was badly damaged in an accident. “The stringent selection criteria of candidates for the procedure… was technically and scientifically sound, so I decided that this was a promising product for this situation.” The procedure has only been done in India for a little over a year. Varkey has personally implanted irises in 24 eyes in patients from several countries. Eighteen were for cosmetic purposes. “This implant can also be used for those persons who would want to permanently change the color of their eyes of cosmetic reasons, like persons involved in show business, who are intolerant to cosmetic contact lenses due to medical reasons or due to difficulty in its use and maintenance,” he explains. However, Varkey cautions that before embarking on this procedure, patients should have a thorough eye exam, including measurement of eye pressure and careful study of the retina. He is part of a team of researchers who are now gathering data to ensure the implant’s safety and to gain FDA approval in the United States. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sir Nicholas Winton is credited with rescuing 669 Czech children from the Nazis Sir Nicholas Winton, who organised the rescue of 669 children destined for Nazi concentration camps, has died aged 106. Sir Nicholas, then a stockbroker, arranged for trains to carry Jewish children out of occupied Prague. The prime minister described him as a "great man" and the chief rabbi praised his "exceptional courage". He died on the anniversary of the departure of a train in 1939 carrying the largest number of children - 241. His son-in-law Stephen Watson said he died peacefully in his sleep at Wexham Hospital, Slough. Sir Nicholas brought the children to Britain, battling bureaucracy at both ends, saving them from almost certain death, and then kept quiet about his exploits for a half-century. He organised a total of eight trains from Prague, with some other forms of transport also set up from Vienna. The Englishman who saved children from the Holocaust Image copyright Topfoto Image caption Nicholas Winton photographed with one of the children he rescued in 1939 Sir Nicholas was born Nicholas Wertheimer in 1909 to Jewish parents By 1938 he was a young stockbroker in London He dropped everything to go to Prague to help Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi occupation Sir Nicholas organised foster families for Jewish children in Britain, placing adverts in newspapers The 669 children travelled on eight trains across four countries Sir Nicholas's team persuaded British custom officials to allow all the children in despite incomplete documentation Discover how Nicholas Winton pulled-off such a dangerous escape plan The reluctant hero worked to find British families willing to put up £50 to look after the boys and girls in their homes. Sir Nicholas was knighted by the Queen in March 2003. His work has been likened to that of the "saviour" of Jewish prisoners Oskar Schindler, however it was a comparison he was not particularly fond of. The Rotary Club of Maidenhead, of which Sir Nicholas was former president, said his daughter Barbara and two grandchildren were at his side when he died. As a six-year-old, former Labour MP, Lord Dubs, was one of the children who was put on a train out of Czechoslovakia He paid an emotional tribute to his rescuer as "just one of those very special human beings" "The real fact is that he was a man who saved my life and a lot of us who came on the Kindertransport owe him an enormous debt. "His legacy is that when there is a need for you to do something for your fellow human beings, you have got to do it," he said. 'Moral courage' His son Nick said of his father's legacy: "It is about encouraging people to make a difference and not waiting for something to be done or waiting for someone else to do it. "It's what he tried to tell people in all his speeches and in the book written by my sister." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption 'British Schindler' Winton was reunited with rescued children on That's Life in 1988 Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to Sir Nicholas, tweeting: "The world has lost a great man. We must never forget Sir Nicholas Winton's humanity in saving so many children from the Holocaust." Daniel Taub, Israel's ambassador to the UK, said: "He was a hero of our time, having saved 669 Jewish children from the Nazi regime. His legacy, as a point of light in an era of darkness, will forever be remembered". Last year, Sir Nicholas was awarded the Order of The White Lion by Czech president Milos Zeman. Michael Zantovsky, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Kingdom, who was a close friend described him as "a positive man who radiated good". "It was incredibly moving to be present at some of the gatherings of him with his so-called children and the children of his children. They all owe their existence to him." 'Unfailing courtesy' Former prime minister Gordon Brown described Sir Nicholas as "a real hero of our times". "Anyone who had the privilege of meeting him immediately felt admiration, respect and were in awe of his courage. "That courage led him to risk his life to save the lives of some of the most vulnerable people. His inspiration will live on," he said. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis praised Sir Nicholas' "exceptional courage, selflessness and modesty". "He lived to see thousands of descendants of those whose lives he saved who were proud to call themselves members of his family, and who were inspired by his example to undertake outstanding charitable, humanitarian and educational initiatives," he said. "I knew him to be a gentleman of unfailing old-world courtesy, with a warm heart and a ready self-deprecating wit." Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013, called Sir Nicholas a "giant of moral courage" and "one of the heroes of our time". "Our sages said that saving a life is like saving a universe. Sir Nicholas saved hundreds of universes," he said. The Refugee Council tweeted: "Very sad to hear the news of the passing of Sir Nicholas Winton. He was an amazing man who saved many lives." Did you know Sir Nicholas Winton? Did he help you or members of your family? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. Please include a telephone number if you are willing to be contacted by a BBC journalist. |
Gül: Religious-based politics harm faith ISTANBUL - Daily News with wires Turkish President Abdullah Gül (R) tours a souk in Tunis with senior Tunisian politician and Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi during his recent visit to Tunisia. AA photo Turkish President Abdullah Gül has warned Muslim countries against seeking religious-based politics, saying parties that promise such rule would ultimately harm the faith.If a political party that comes out in the name of Islam fails, it will defame and humiliate the religion itself, Gül told a Tunisian television channel. “If one comes forward, saying one is ‘religious’ and then fails, what will be harmed? Thus, one has more responsibility [to be wise]. Furthermore, policy should not be conducted based on religion,” he said. “If religion directly becomes a tool for politics, that would hurt religion a lot,” he said.“Because of this, Turkey does not have religious parties,” Anatolia news agency quoted him as saying. Still, Gül said the rise of Islamist parties reflected “the flow of the people to their own channel.”The statements echo previous comments from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who advised Egyptians last September to not fear secularism. “I suggest that Egypt should have a secular constitution, because secularity is not an enemy of religion,” Erdoğan said in Cairo. “Do not fear secularity. I hope the new regime in Egypt will be a secular one.”Gül also advised Muslim countries to adopt democracy, accountability and transparency, saying democracy and Islam did not contradict each other.“Being transparent and accountable, are these against Islam? Equality as citizens, not allowing corruption, fighting against injustice and oppression, are these against Islam? All of these are the values of Muslims,” Gül said. The president described freedom of belief as a condition of democracy. Gül also commented on the NATO missile radar system based in the eastern province of Malatya. When reminded of allegations from Israeli analysts that the system aimed to protect Israel, he said: “This is definitely not the case. Israel is not a NATO member, thus it cannot benefit from NATO capabilities, especially when Turkey is [involved]. Every move within NATO comes via unanimity. These accusations are black propaganda from the Israelis.”The Turkish president also said the radar system was not directed against Iran. “We are a country that helped stop communism in the region, and this radar system is a precaution against missiles, as part of NATO defenses. Thus, it is not of an offensive quality. It is not against countries, it is against missiles.” Gül also pointed to the European Union as an example to the region, voicing hope that “regional brotherhoods” would be further strengthened. |
We get asked "Should we start using Node.js?" a lot. When people ask this they usually mean if the technology is production-ready, is it easy to get started with, how great is the community or what are the benefits of choosing Node.js over other technologies. In this post I am going to give you an overview of the current state of Node.js, what are the benefits of using it, going to take a look at NPM and the open source community and showcase case studies. Current State of Node.js Node.js is maintained and developed by Joyent, where Ryan Dahl started working on it in 2009. 6 years, 10.000+ commits and 500+ contributors later Node.js is becoming the go-to technology for the enterprise as well, including companies like Walmart, PayPal, Uber or Groupon. NPM, the package manager for JavaScript has more than 115.000 open source modules (and growing fast), that can be used in your projects without reinventing the wheel. Yes, NPM has more modules than Maven, the package manager of Java. Node.js also has a great community as both individuals and big companies are actively contributing to open source projects like Browserify or Hapi. Benefits of Using Node.js Productivity When PayPal started using Node.js they reported an 2x increase in productivity compared to the previous Java stack. How is that even possible? First of all - as I already mentioned - NPM has an incredible amount of modules that can be used instantly. This saves a lot of development effort on your part. Secondly, as Node.js applications are written using JavaScript, front-end developers can also easily understand what's going on, and make changes as necessary. This saves you valuable time again as developers will use the same language on the entire stack. Performance Black Friday: 1.5 billion dollars were spent online in the US on a single day. It is crucial that your site can keep up with the traffic - Walmart, one of the biggest retailers is using Node.js to serve 500 million page views on Black Friday, without a hitch. The same applies to PayPal - they served Black Friday without problems with the help of Node.js. Our node.js traffic volume has officially passed our Java traffic for web apps and is growing fast! — Jeff Harrell (@juxtajeff) September 25, 2014 PayPal also stated their performance gains when migrated to Node.js: 35% decrease in the average response time for the same page. This resulted in the pages being served 200ms faster— something users will definitely notice. Happy Users As your velocity increases because of the productivity gains, you can ship features/products sooner. Products, that will run faster, resulting in better user experience. Kissmetric's study showed that 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load, and 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less. Every product manager should take this matter seriously. Happy Developers Finding top talent in 2015 will be harder than ever - the possibility to use cutting edge technologies on a daily basis can help find and retain the best developers. Where Can You Use Node.js? JavaScript is everywhere. With JavaScript you can control Internet of Things devices, implement realtime services, develop web applications, operate e-commerce sites , , serve as a backend for your mobile applications and a lot more. How RisingStack Can Help Consider moving your stack to Node.js or start a new project soon? We help you make the best decisions so your business can prosper like never before. Interested in talking to us? Ping us! |
Police think Tampa man was murdered by someone he met on dating app Copyright by WFLA - All rights reserved (Source: Family of Dontae Lampkins) [ + - ] Video TAMPA, Fla. – A man was murdered in January while using a popular dating app. New video, as well as new details, were released Monday, in this disturbing case where a young man with a bright future lost his life, looking for love. Copyright by WFLA - All rights reserved (Composite sketch of suspect courtesy of Tampa Police) Copyright by WFLA - All rights reserved (Composite sketch of suspect courtesy of Tampa Police) His mother feels lost, and his family wants answers. "Dontae was my everything. My baby. He was my sunshine," said Blanchie Williams. Her eyes welled with tears as she talked about her 25-year-old son, calling him one of the nicest young men you would ever meet. The family is heartbroken after losing Dontae Lampkins on January 26th. The young man's body was found in an alley in Seminole Heights. He had been shot 11 times. The question now - who did this and why? Documents show that he was using the dating app, Plenty of Fish, as well as the messenger app, KIK. "It is a tragedy for this family," said Tampa Police Captain Ruben Delgado. "Like every other app that we see, we see it on Craigslist, people getting robbed. That criminal element that's going to trying take advantage of someone using the app for the right reasons. That's why you've always got to keep your guard up." Dontae's family is hoping that now that detectives have released new surveillance footage of their son, along with new details, that someone will come forward. Police believe that the 25-year-old was most likely murdered by someone he met on Plenty of Fish. Investigators even shared a police sketch with media members. Dontae's mother has a message for her son's killer. "He has no heart, no soul, you know, for him to just be out there. He needs to turn himself in," she said. "You know, we know that nothing can bring him back. We just want justice done. I miss everything about him. He brought out the best in me." There is a $3000 reward in the case for anyone whose tip leads to an arrest. The young man's family believes that this was a hate crime. However, Tampa police tell us that they need to make an arrest first before they make that determination. |
Earlier this year, Gizmodo UK scored ourselves a scoop, as we exclusively revealed some of the findings from last year’s wifi tracking trial, in which Transport for London analysed wifi data picked up from our phones as we travel on the London Underground - and was able to track our movements across the tube network. Many months on and TfL has decided to share more details on what it learned during the trial in an official capacity - and today marks the publication of a report that has been led by TfL’s Chief Data Officer, Lauren Sager Weinstein. Why analyse wifi data in this way? “There are a lot of questions we've been mulling over for some time about how we can run a transport network as efficiently as we can, how can plan for the future and how can we give customers more information about travel”, she says. She told me that the idea to analyse wifi data to gain customer insights has its origins in the original Oyster card system. Starting in 2005, she first started to scrutinise the Oyster data using data science - and this was at a time when TfL was solely reliant on paper surveys and stopping passengers at stations and asking them about their journeys. “As the world of data has exploded and as computer power has [increased] we've built up a practice of looking at customer patterns and movements through the ticketing data, and [we] said there's a gap here, right?” The gap she noticed was that Oyster data didn’t paint a complete picture. “You touch in and you touch out... but that meant there was a big question mark about travel within central London in particular when you have multiple different ways of travelling around the network”, she explains. “So we thought: Is there some potential here to use this as a data source when we have the wifi on the tube to take patterns and look at the patterns from this dataset as well?” Imagine trying to make sense of 500m lines like this. As it turns out, using this wifi data TfL has been able to learn an awful lot. In the month in which the trial took place last year, it logged more than 500m (anonymised) wifi connection requests from around 5.6m devices. That’s a lot of data! So what did they learn? Read on to find out more. Tracking Journeys Around The Network (Insert ultra-niche Unown reference here.) Just as we revealed earlier in the year, one of the most eye-catching aspects was that it enables TfL to essentially fill in the gaps - and figure out how we got between A and B. To show just how useful this is, Lauren explains that they took one of the most complex routes: Kings Cross to Waterloo. There’s a myriad of different ways to get between the two - and using the wifi data they can now tell that 32% of passengers travel via Oxford Circus, and 26.7% go via Green Park. Perhaps most bewilderingly, apparently 1.2% of passengers during the trial chose to go to Baker Street, take the Bakerloo to Oxford Circus, then the Victoria to Green Park… before finally taking the Jubilee to Waterloo. If that’s you then please do write in as I’d like to know what is going on inside your head. And yes, just in case you’re wondering, as an expert tube traveller Lauren says that she would take the route via Oxford Circus - especially because she knows that there is a relatively short interchange there. Seeing How Delays Affect Demand Knowing how people behave is one thing: But what about when something goes wrong? When the Waterloo and City Line went down on the morning 9th December, thousands of commuters were suddenly shaken out of the sort of robotic trance you go into when you repeat a journey so many times. Instead, they had to get to work by alternative means - but which route did they choose? The above diagram shows how adjacent routes were impacted - and how the increased demand rippled out across the tube network as a whole. In terms of actual numbers, this meant that 4000 people decided to take the Jubilee, 3000 took the Bakerloo to Embankment. By the time everyone got to Embankment, the tube network had to cope with an extra 6000 people taking the Circle and District line eastbound to Monument. The TfL report reckons that translates to approximately 150 extra people on board each train arriving. At what was already rush hour. Yikes. It’s easy to imagine how, if the wifi tracking system was live, it could be used to monitor demand in real time, and could instruct frontline staff in stations on the best places to redirect passengers to. “You're really able to see with the data itself what was otherwise reliant on your eyes and operational teams feeding back”, Lauren explains. Taking this data driven approach, in other words, is going to be much more effective. Moving Around Stations We also revealed earlier this year that wifi data could be used to make heatmaps of which parts of stations are particularly busy. TfL’s official report makes the same point - and also points to how the data is so fine-grained that it is possible to see the routes people take between different platforms and so on. In the above example, showing Euston (just as our FOI’d images did), it shows two possible routes between the northbound Northern Line platform and southbound Victoria. Apparently in this case, 68% of passengers take the shortest possible route - up a set of stairs - which takes between 1 and 3 minutes, whereas others are lazy and go all the way up the escalator to the next level, and then take the other escalator back down again. (Have a look at this excellent 3D map from StationMaster if you can’t quite picture it.) Read More: Major museums are using wifi to track you too. TfL was also able to see how disruptions impacted stations too: Apparently when mega-congested, the walk times increased from 3 minutes to more than ten minutes. Which creates a whole array of second-order problems for the poor staff on the ground trying to squeeze everyone in. The wifi data also enables TfL to generate more accurate data on crowding in stations. The above graph compares the number of Oyster touch-ins with wireless device detections over the course of the day. Previously, how busy a station was could only be measured using Oyster touch in data but there’s a fairly big flaw in using this: There’s a fairly hard limit on how many people can use a set of ticket barriers at any one time. So measuring it by touch-ins doesn’t account for hundreds or thousands of grumpy commuters in the queue. The wifi data, by contrast, accounts for these people as it still picks up their phones - and comparing it with Oyster touch-ins gives a really immediate and stark example of when it is particularly crowded, such as at Oxford Circus during morning and evening peak. Read More: Remember the Holborn 'standing only' escalator trial? Here's the results of that experiment too. Crowding On Trains Crowding data doesn’t just work for stations - it could work on trains too. Earlier this year we revealed that TfL had figured out how to use the data to work backwards and track a specific user on a specific train as they travelled through many stations. Using this data, TfL could better inform passengers about how busy their trains are likely to be - and using it, help shape passenger behaviour to, say, encourage them to travel at different times or not all crowd on to the first train that arrives, if the one just behind is significantly less busy. The graphic above shows just how detailed the data can get - taking one set of peak trains from the southbound Victoria line at Euston station on the 9th December 2016. Even during rush hour. It is clear that there is some fairly significant variation in just how rammed each train is. Below is an example of how the data could then be presented on screens to passengers. Better Journey Planners And finally, what about giving commuters more control in the journey planner? Rather than simply present the options of the different routes available, by using wifi data the planner could also offer details on which route will mean the most pleasant journey. Sure, you could take the Victoria Line to Victoria, as shown in the mock-up above - but maybe it’d be less sweaty if you took the District Line instead? Seeing this did make me wonder, though: What if we’re all using these apps? If everyone using CityMapper and Google Maps took the quiet routes, wouldn’t the alternatives… not be so quiet? Isn’t there a risk of creating a feedback loop? “We need to think about how we effectively communicate going forward. [...] We want people to have information at their fingertips”, Lauren says, but she admits that it isn’t easy as there can always be feedback loops. “People will go one way and that will have an effect, and a secondary effect... so it’s complicated. Just to do the analysis requires some thinking about how you analyse what is going on on the network and how you take all of these movement patterns and create an overall pattern.” “I'm sure that we'll have to think about all that, but it’s a great challenge to have”, she explains. The other big challenge ultimately is to figure how best to use the data and the models that the data creates. And this gives Lauren tonnes of questions for her team to answer: “What does a front end visuals that use this data look like? How would it be used to provide customer information, and what format would customers want to consume it? How can we work with our operations team so they can have it as a tool in their arsenal for when they're running our network? How do we feed this into the models and plans for thinking about the transport network? Can we model far into the future?” So what’s next? Will TfL be switching on the wifi trackers full time? Following the publication of the report, TfL is now recommending that TfL switches on wifi tracking for “continued use”. But don’t expect them to switch it on for Monday morning - as now the project needs to go from proof of concept to something more robust, and the agency is clearly trying to be responsible and keep the public informed along the way about what it wants to do and the potential benefits, given the obvious potential privacy concerns. “I don't have a specific date but we're keen to move forward on this because there is real value in it”, says Lauren. So who knows? Perhaps one day in the future you might be travelling from Kings Cross to Waterloo - but before you board your train a notification might pop up to warn you about crowding. So you might decide there is only one sensible option: Going via Baker Street and Green Park. James O'Malley is Interim Editor of Gizmodo UK and tweets as @Psythor. Read More: Our original Tube wifi tracking post. |
Men’s fashion changed very little during the nineteenth century, especially when compared to women’s fashion of the same period. For this reason, I thought it better to provide a general overview of the century, looking at changes decade-by-decade as opposed to year-by-year. In this manner, you can see the slow evolution of nineteenth century menswear, from the Regency dandyism of Beau Brummell to the matched three-piece suits of the late Victorian era. Changes were subtle, but significant, each of them moving men’s fashion one step closer to the elegant silhouettes still evidenced in fashionable menswear of today. *Please note: This is a brief, primarily visual, overview of men’s fashion in the nineteenth century. For in-depth information on individual decades, please consult the recommended links. 1800 Entering the nineteenth century, men were no longer wearing the fancy fabrics and trimmings that characterized their clothing in the 1700s. Instead—under the influence of George Bryan “Beau” Brummel—men’s fashion was gradually moving toward the restrained, conservative costumes that would set the tone for the rest of the century. Short-fronted tailcoats and fitted waistcoats were worn over plain, white linen shirts. Tight-fitting pantaloons replaced eighteenth century knee breeches, Hessian boots replaced buckled shoes, and intricately tied, white linen neck cloths became the mark of the true man of fashion. Each article of clothing was impeccably made, tailored on simple lines and cut from dark or neutral fabrics. Much of the embellishment in this decade was saved for the waistcoat. Adding to this fashionable, yet understated, ensemble was a tall, beaver hat (similar to the one shown above) and various accessories such as canes, pocket watches, and quizzing glasses. 1810 Advancing into 1810, the fashion for simple, well-cut clothing—in the manner of Beau Brummell—had become very much the norm. Men of the upper-classes continued to wear double-breasted dress coats of fine wool and light-coloured waistcoats over white linen shirts. Buckskin breeches and top-boots were de rigueur for the gentleman in the country (see below), while tight-fitting pantaloons and Hessians remained the fashion in town. For evening dress, gentlemen wore knee breeches of black or light-coloured satin or velvet with white stockings, a white waistcoat, and a dark tail-coat. In 1816, the frock coat was introduced. Unlike long-tailed dress coats, frock coats had a waist seam and a full skirt which hung down to the knees. Initially viewed as being rather informal, the frock coat would eventually become a wardrobe staple. 1820 By the 1820s, the silhouette of gentlemen’s fashion was beginning to change. Coat sleeves began to puff at the shoulders, chests swelled out, and waistlines narrowed to an often extreme degree. This hourglass silhouette—frequently enhanced with padding and corsetry—would remain fashionable into the early 1830s. Meanwhile, trousers (or trowsers) were becoming fashionable for day wear. Trousers generally had a fall front which buttoned at the waist and a strap at the foot to ensure that they fell smoothly on the leg. Some gentlemen preferred loose-fitting Cossack trousers. Inspired by the trousers worn by Cossack soldiers who visited London with Alexander I of Russia in 1814, Cossack trousers were pleated at the waist and full in the hips and thighs. 1830 Entering the 1830s, trousers were fuller in the leg and frockcoats began to be made in a variety of designs, suitable for every taste and every occasion. At the same time, waistcoats became a bit more elaborate. They were made of rich fabrics like velvet and jacquard-woven silk and embellished with embroidery, patterns, and prints. By the late 1830s, elaborately tied white cravats and neck cloths had fallen from favor for day wear. In their place were black neckties, knotted in a manner not too dissimilar from a bow tie. 1840 Moving into the 1840s, the Victorian era was well and truly underway. In her 2001 book Pantaloons and Power, fashion historian Gayle Fischer states that this was the decade when: “Men gave up their claims to ornamentation, colors, and lace, and adopted a more uniform style of dress, thereby making fashion and all its accoutrements the sole province of women.” Trousers of the 1840s were fuller and, as the decade progressed, the strap at the foot disappeared and fall fronts were replaced by a fly front design. The 1840s is also notable for being the decade that introduced the sack coat. Unlike a frock coat, the sack coat was short, single-breasted, unlined, and loose-fitting. The sack coat was generally worn for sporting or country pursuits. For all other occasions, men donned a frock coat or a tailcoat. 1850 Advancing into the 1850s, the waistline of frock coats began to lower, eliminating the high-waisted look of earlier decades. Meanwhile, sack coats grew in popularity, with many of them being made to match a gentleman’s trousers. Frock coats and tailcoats were also occasionally made to match, as illustrated by the black trousers and coat seen below. Despite the prevalence of matching coats and trousers in somber hues, some fashionable gentlemen favored patterned trousers. Through much of the 1850s and into the 1860s, gentlemen could be seen wearing striped or checked trousers, often in relatively bright colors. With the invention of aniline dye in 1856, these colors became even more vivid and—on occasion—rather garish. 1860 Moving into the 1860s, frock coats were no longer as fashionable as they had been in previous decades. Instead, for informal occasions, most gentlemen preferred the sack coat. Trousers of the 1860s were creased, with many gentlemen continuing to opt for striped or plaid fabric. Different designs of checks or stripes were popular in different seasons. For example, the 1867 edition of the West-End Gazette of Gentlemen’s Fashion reports that for May of that year: “Trousering of large check designs are quite the rage among fashionable dressing men; the most favourite design is a check formed of three or four lines of a subdued tint, with a large check of a fine line of blue or other brilliant colour intermingled.” The 1860s is notable for being the decade when the three-piece suit began to emerge. Made in matched black, brown, or other dark hues, three-piece suits were generally worn with white shirts and dark-coloured cravats. 1870 Entering 1870, the Gentleman’s Magazine of Fashion reports that coats were cut “a slight degree shorter” than in previous seasons. Coats were also straighter and cut closer to the shape, with longer waists and narrow sleeves. Frock coats were still in fashion for formal day wear. Morning coats, which were single-breasted and cut away from the front, were also quite popular. For business dress or less formal day dress, the sack suit dominated the decade. Waistcoats continued to be worn, but were usually hidden behind high-buttoned coats. They were generally made to match coats and trousers. As for trousers themselves, they changed very little in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. During the 1870s, they were cut a bit fuller for day wear, with the knee measuring the same width as at the ankle. For evening wear, trousers were slightly narrower. 1880 Advancing into 1880, most gentlemen of fashion owned several styles of coat, including a frock coat, tailcoat, cutaway coat, and sack coat. The sack coat was initially the least formal option, however, toward the end of the decade, a dressier version of the black sack coat was introduced in Tuxedo, New York. This tuxedo jacket—or dinner jacket as it was known outside of the United States—would become a mainstay of men’s evening wear for decades to come. Matched three-piece suits in blacks, browns, and tweeds continued to be quite fashionable. Trousers patterned in bright plaids or checks were also rather popular, especially when paired with dark coats. 1890 Moving into the 1890s, the morning coat began to rival the frock coat for formal day wear. For informal occasions, the sack coat remained popular. Trousers were narrow and—thanks to the invention of the trouser press—were often creased down the front and the back. As for men’s shirts, the 1894 edition of the Clothier and Furnisher reports that: “…colored starched shirts, with cuffs to match and white collars, are all the go.” By the 1890s, most men were wearing either neckties or bow ties. For day wear, these ties could be solid or patterned. For evening wear, they were white. A Few Final Words… I hope the above overview has given you a general idea of the changes in men’s fashion during the nineteenth century. Again, I remind you that this is just a brief, primarily visual guide. If you would like to learn more about nineteenth century men’s fashion, including details on men’s hats, shoes, and accessories, I encourage you to consult a reliable reference book. The following links may provide a starting point: Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail by Lucy Johnston Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style by DK Publishing Sources Blanco, José. Clothing and Fashion: American Fashion from Head to Toe. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2015. The Clothier and Furnisher, Vol. 23. New York: Masson Publishing, 1894. Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style. New York: DK Publishing, 2001. Fischer, Gayle V. Pantaloons & Power: A Nineteenth-century Dress Reform in the United States. Kent: Kent State University Press, 2001. The Gentleman’s Magazine of Fashion. London: Louis Devere & Co., 1870. The Gentleman’s Magazine of Fashion. London: Louis Devere & Co., 1871. Johnson, Lucy. Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 2009. Norris, Herbert and Curtis, Oswald. Nineteenth-century Costume and Fashion, Volume 6. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1998. Nunn, Joan. Fashion in Costume, 1200-2000. Chicago: New Amsterdam Books, 2000. The West-End Gazette of Gentlemens’ Fashions. London: Kent and Co., 1867. Now Available A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Fashion and Beauty What did a Victorian lady wear for a walk in the park? How did she style her hair for an evening at the theatre? And what products might she have used to soothe a sunburn or treat an unsightly blemish? Mimi Matthews answers these questions and more as she takes readers on a decade-by-decade journey through Victorian fashion and beauty history. Find out more… Order Today Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Pen & Sword © 2015-2019 Mimi Matthews For exclusive information on upcoming book releases, giveaways, and other special treats, subscribe to Mimi’s newsletter THE PENNY NOT SO DREADFUL. You can also connect with Mimi on Facebook and Twitter. |
[Python-Dev] Mercurial migration: progress report (PEP 385) In response to some rumblings on python-committers and just to request more feedback, a progress report. I know it's long, I've tried to put to keep it concise and chunked, though. - First of all, I've got the basic conversion down, I've done it a few times now, with progressively better results. You can view some results at http://hg.python.org/, which has a preliminary cpython repository. *** The changeset hashes for that repo will change, so you won't be able to commit or pull from it in the future.*** - Second of all, some planning. I've thought about it a bit, and I think we should aim for going live with hg on August 1. Given that I'm on vacation from 8-18 July (and I'm not sure whether I'll be able to actually work on it during that time, though I imagine I'll be able to spend some time on it at least), that's quite ambitious, so I'm going to say it's okay if it slips by a few days. Putting a deadline out there is a good thing, anyway. - Third of all, to make this possible, it would be helpful if I got more feedback on the PEP. Last time I raised it, there was virtually nothing. This time, I'll include it inline so there's hopefully less of a barrier to reviewing it. - Fourth, Mercurial 1.3 was just released! Bet you didn't see that coming. It's looking like a pretty good release, with an experimental version of the much-coveted subrepository support (like svn:externals). This also means that the latest version of hgsubversion, the tool I used for the conversion, will be more accessible for converting other projects. You know you want to! - Fifth, here's a list of things, off the top of my head, that still need doing: * Get agreement on branch strategy and branch processing (list of branches + proposed handling at http://hg.python.org/pymigr/file/tip/all-branches.txt) <--- PLEASE REVIEW * Get agreement on tag processing (first come up with a list) * Set up hg-ssh infra (should be easy) * Set up hooks (should be mostly straightforward) * Set up roundup integration (should be made easier by quick revision map hgweb extension) * Write docs - Sixth (this is the good part), less obvious things that have been done or don't need doing: * .hgignore generation (I've been convinced it's too hard, the current version will do) * revlog reordering (it's painless and a big win) I'll get through all of these myself, but obviously any help would be welcome. For any hg users, writing docs should be an easy start. For others, please review the PEP (below), the branch map in http://hg.python.org/pymigr/file/tip/all-branches.txt and the author map at http://hg.python.org/pymigr/file/tip/author-map (not that much has changed since the start, so if you've looked at it already, feel free to skip this part). Right now I'm a little stuck on branch processing, because it's a long running script that needs a bunch of debugging, but I'll get going on that again. I think that's all I can think of for now, I'll update the PEP with new bits soon. Here it is, ready for your review: ============================================================== Motivation After having decided to switch to the Mercurial DVCS, the actual migration still has to be performed. In the case of an important piece of infrastructure like the version control system for a large, distributed project like Python, this is a significant effort. This PEP is an attempt to describe the steps that must be taken for further discussion. It's somewhat similar to PEP 347 [1], which discussed the migration to SVN. To make the most of hg, I (Dirkjan) would like to make a high-fidelity conversion, such that (a) as much of the svn metadata as possible is retained, and (b) all metadata is converted to formats that are common in Mercurial. This way, tools written for Mercurial can be optimally used. In order to do this, I want to use the hgsubversion [2] software to do an initial conversion. This hg extension is focused on providing high-quality conversion from Subversion to Mercurial for use in two-way correspondence, meaning it doesn't throw away as much available metadata as other solutions. Such a conversion also seems like a good time to reconsider the contents of the repository and determine if some things are still valuable. In this spirit, the following sections also propose discarding some of the older metadata. Timeline TBD; needs fully working hgsubversion and consensus on this document. Transition plan Branch strategy Mercurial has two basic ways of using branches: cloned branches, where each branch is kept in a separate repository, and named branches, where each revision keeps metadata to note on which branch it belongs. The former makes it easier to distinguish branches, at the expense of requiring more disk space on the client. The latter makes it a little easier to switch between branches, but often has somewhat unintuitive results for people (though this has been getting better in recent versions of Mercurial). I'm still a bit on the fence about whether Python should adopt cloned branches and named branches. Since it usually makes more sense to tag releases on the maintenance branch, for example, mainline history would not contain release tags if we used cloned branches. Also, Mercurial 1.2 and 1.3 have the necessary tools to make named branches less painful (because they can be properly closed and closed heads are no longer considered in relevant cases). A disadvantage might be that the used clones will be a good bit larger (since they essentially contain all other branches as well). This can me mitigated by keeping non-release (feature) branches in separate clones. Also note that it's still possible to clone a single named branch from a combined clone, by specifying the branch as in hg clone http://hg.python.org/main/#2.6-maint. Keeping the py3k history in a separate clone problably also makes sense. XXX To do: size comparison for selected separation scenarios. Converting branches There are quite a lot of branches in SVN's branches directory. I propose to clean this up a bit, by employing the following the strategy: * Keep all release (maintenance) branches * Discard branches that haven't been touched in 18 months, unless somone indicates there's still interest in such a branch * Keep branches that have been touched in the last 18 months, unless someone indicates the branch can be deprecated Converting tags The SVN tags directory contains a lot of old stuff. Some of these are not, in fact, full tags, but contain only a smaller subset of the repository. I think we should keep all release tags, and consider other tags for inclusion based on requests from the developer community. I'd like to consider unifying the release tag naming scheme to make some things more consistent, if people feel that won't create too many problems. For example, Mercurial itself just uses '1.2.1' as a tag, where CPython would currently use r121. Author map In order to provide user names the way they are common in hg (in the 'First Last <user at example.org>' format), we need an author map to map cvs and svn user names to real names and their email addresses. I have a complete version of such a map in my migration tools repository [3]. The email addresses in it might be out of date; that's bound to happen, although it would be nice to try and have as many people as possible review it for addresses that are out of date. The current version also still seems to contain some encoding problems. Generating .hgignore The .hgignore file can be used in Mercurial repositories to help ignore files that are not eligible for version control. It does this by employing several possible forms of pattern matching. The current Python repository already includes a rudimentary .hgignore file to help with using the hg mirrors. It might be useful to have the .hgignore be generated automatically from svn:ignore properties. This would make sure all historic revisions also have useful ignore information (though one could argue ignoring isn't really relevant to just checking out an old revision). Revlog reordering As an optional optimization technique, we should consider trying a reordering pass on the revlogs (internal Mercurial files) resulting from the conversion. In some cases this results in dramatic decreases in on-disk repository size. Other repositories Richard Tew has indicated that he'd like the Stackless repository to also be converted. What other projects in the svn.python.org repository should be converted? Do we want to convert the peps repository? distutils? others? Infrastructure hg-ssh Developers should access the repositories through ssh, similar to the current setup. Public keys can be used to grant people access to a shared hg@ account. A hgwebdir instance should also be set up for easy browsing and read-only access. If we're using ssh, developers should trivially be able to start new clones (for longer-term features that profit from a separate branch). Hooks A number of hooks is currently in use. The hg equivalents for these should be developed and deployed. The following hooks are being used: * check whitespace: a hook to reject commits in case the whitespace doesn't match the rules for the Python codebase. Should be straightforward to re-implement from the current version. We can also offer a whitespace hook for use with client-side repositories that people can use; it could either warn about whitespace issues and/or truncate trailing whitespace from changed lines. Open issue: do we check only the tip after each push, or do we check every commit in a changegroup? * commit mails: we can leverage the notify extension for this * buildbots: both the regular and the community build masters must be notified. Fortunately buildbot includes support for hg. I've also implemented this for Mercurial itself, so I don't expect problems here. * check contributors: in the current setup, all changesets bear the username of committers, who must have signed the contributor agreement. In a DVCS, the committers are not necessarily the same people who push, and so we can't check if the committer is a contributor. We could use a hook to check if the committer is a contributor if we keep a list of registered contributors. hgwebdir A more or less stock hgwebdir installation should be set up. We might want to come up with a style to match the Python website. It may also be useful to build a quick extension to augment the URL rev parser so that it can also take r[0-9]+ args and come up with the matching hg revision. After migration Where to get code It needs to be decided where the hg repositories will live. I'd like to propose to keep the hgwebdir instance at hg.python.org. This is an accepted standard for many organizations, and an easy parallel to svn.python.org. The 2.7 (trunk) repo might live at http://hg.python.org/main/, for example, with py3k at http://hg.python.org/py3k/. For write access, developers will have to use ssh, which could be ssh://hg@hg.python.org/main/. A demo installation will be set up with a preliminary conversion so people can experiment and review; it can live at http://hg.python.org/example/. code.python.org was also proposed as the hostname. Personally, I think that using the VCS name in the hostname is good because it prevents confusion: it should be clear that you can't use svn or bzr for hg.python.org. hgwebdir can already provide tarballs for every changeset. I think this obviates the need for daily snapshots; we can just point users to tip.tar.gz instead, meaning they will get the latest. If desired, we could even use buildbot results to point to the last good changeset. Python-specific documentation hg comes with good built-in documentation (available through hg help) and a wiki [4] that's full of useful information and recipes. In addition to that, the parts of the developer FAQ [5] concerning version control will gain a section on using hg for Python development. Some of the text will be dependent on the outcome of debate about this PEP (for example, the branching strategy). Think first, commit later? In recent history, old versions of Python have been maintained by a select group of people backporting patches from trunk to release branches. While this may not scale so well as the development pace grows, it also runs into some problems with the current crop of distributed versioning tools. These tools (I believe similar problems would exist for either git, bzr, or hg, though some may cope better than others) are based on the idea of a Directed Acyclic Graph (or DAG), meaning they keep track of relations of changesets. Mercurial itself has a stable branch which is a ''strict'' subset of the unstable branch. This means that generally all fixes for the stable branch get committed against the tip of the stable branch, then they get merged into the unstable branch (which already contains the parent of the new cset). This provides a largely frictionless environment for moving changes from stable to unstable branches. Mistakes, where a change that should go on stable goes on unstable first, do happen, but they're usually easy to fix. That can be done by copying the change over to the stable branch, then trivial-merging with unstable -- meaning the merge in fact ignores the parent from the stable branch). This strategy means a little more work for regular committers, because they have to think about whether their change should go on stable or unstable; they may even have to ask someone else (the RM) before committing. But it also relieves a dedicated group of committers of regular backporting duty, in addition to making it easier to work with the tool. Now would be a good time to consider changing strategies in this regard, although it would be relatively easy to switch to such a model later on. The future of Subversion What happens to the Subversion repositories after the migration? Since the svn server contains a bunch of repositories, not just the CPython one, it will probably live on for a bit as not every project may want to migrate or it takes longer for other projects to migrate. To prevent people from staying behind, we may want to remove migrated projects from the repository. Build identification Python currently provides the sys.subversion tuple to allow Python code to find out exactly what version of Python it's running against. The current version looks something like this: * ('CPython', 'tags/r262', '71600') * ('CPython', 'trunk', '73128M') Another value is returned from Py_GetBuildInfo() in the C API, and available to Python code as part of sys.version: * 'r262:71600, Jun 2 2009, 09:58:33' * 'trunk:73128M, Jun 2 2009, 01:24:14' I propose that the revision identifier will be the short version of hg's revision hash, for example 'dd3ebf81af43', augmented with '+' (instead of 'M') if the working directory from which it was built was modified. This mirrors the output of the hg id command, which is intended for this kind of usage. For the tag/branch identifier, I propose that hg will check for tags on the currently checked out revision, use the tag if there is one ('tip' doesn't count), and uses the branch name otherwise. sys.subversion becomes * ('CPython', '2.6.2', 'dd3ebf81af43') * ('CPython', 'default', 'af694c6a888c+') and the build info string becomes * '2.6.2:dd3ebf81af43, Jun 2 2009, 09:58:33' * 'default:af694c6a888c+, Jun 2 2009, 01:24:14' This reflects that the default branch in hg is called 'default' instead of Subversion's 'trunk', and reflects the proposed new tag format. References [1] http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0347/ [2] http://bitbucket.org/durin42/hgsubversion/ [3] http://hg.xavamedia.nl/cpython/pymigr/ [4] http://www.selenic.com/mercurial/wiki/ [5] http://www.python.org/dev/faq/#version-control ===================================================== Cheers, Dirkjan |
Image copyright AFP Image caption Libyan women have been vocal in politics since the end of Colonel Gaddafi's rule in 2011 The authorities in eastern Libya have ordered a temporary freeze on a controversial travel ban on Libyan women under the age of 60. The directive, which came into force last weekend, was widely condemned and ridiculed across the country. Affecting women in eastern Libya, it prohibited those under the age of 60 from travelling abroad without a male guardian. The authorities had said the ban was for security, not religious, reasons. A military official claimed it was because some women travelling abroad were in contact with foreign intelligence. The authorities presented no evidence to back up this claim. The freezing of the travel ban was announced by the director of East Libya's civil society commission, Abir Mneina, who had held talks with the military chief of staff of Libya's eastern region, Abdelrazzak al-Naduri, on Tuesday. She told the BBC that officials had been asked to cancel the ban but agreed only to freeze it temporarily and carry out a review. "He [Mr al-Naduri] said... there are security implications that need to be considered. We said fine, if there are specific security issues then we understand and support that because we are in a state of war and this is an important matter for us all," said Ms Mneina "So that's why we finally agreed that the directive will be reviewed to ensure that there are no violations against rights and freedoms… Our main aim is to get the order cancelled completely. "I think we are headed on the path of it getting cancelled. We said that if it is not cancelled we are already preparing a legal statement that will be taken to court." A source in the office of Eastern Libya's chief of staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed to the BBC that the order had been frozen. He said the ban was being reviewed because "it may have generalised the matter too much". Libya has been in chaos since Nato-backed forces overthrew Col Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011. Eastern Libya is governed by an administration based in al-Beyda that is not recognised by the international community. It is is under the control of commander Khalifa Hafter who is leading the battle against Islamist militias. Libya's internationally recognised government is based in the capital, Tripoli. The travel restrictions highlighted the growing political divide in Libya, with each side enforcing its own rules in the area it controls. |
The goal of this game is to have a great evil campaign in a homebrew setting. Before reading further, make sure that the following is ok with you 0. You can deal with a French accent. 1. You can attend weekly the following session time (and use a timezone converter to be sure !): + Sunday 3:00 pm GMT+1 Sessions last around 4 hour, sometimes more. You have a working MIC and can use Skype and/or roll20 mic interface. You can deal with Character Conflict and make the difference between Player behaviour and Character behaviour (this goes both way). You are ok with Mature Content. You are ok with Character Death. You understand that playing an Evil character is not playing a murder hobo and that actions have consequences. You are ok with the variant rules that are used (see bottom). About Evil in this campaign. What Evil does mean. Evil is thinking that the Golden Rule is a load of horse shit. Evil is being free, even if it as the expense of others's freedom (slavery, manipulation, etc.) and through harming others. Evil is being able to do very dark things to others, and sleep well at night. What Evil does not mean. Evil does not mean that you can't have friends or families and care for them. Evil does not mean killing everything in sight. That is insanity, not Evil. Evil does not mean that you are looking to destroy the forces of Light and make sure Darkness triumph everywhere. Lawful Evil They believe in the Survival of the Fittest. Hence they have a sense of hierarchy, expect the weak to submit to them but in turn are ready to obey the stronger than them. Conversely, they see Good values as excuses to promote mediocrity. The Strong should not protect the Weak. They have a code, maybe even abide by the laws. However laws may be bent if that benefit them. They have a sense of honour. Betrayal is very unlikely. Neutral Evil They value only themselves and are ready to do anything to advance. Chaotic Evil They enjoy and pursue pleasure, knowing that it can come under many forms. They stomp on the weak, simply because they can. They revel into Evil deeds, and corrupting others. They mock the virtuous and any authority. They could betray anyone, including their "friends" and family. However they understand their limits : to be able to enjoy Evil, one must not be caught. Details about the settings : Technological level, magic, urbanization, etc are all very comparable to the Forgotten Realms. Morals. Unlike the Forgotten Realms, Good and Evil should not be understood in the context of an ongoing colossal war between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness, rather they should be understood as somewhat subjective values. Good and Evil are almost always Nurture rather than Nature. True Name. Extra-planar creatures are identified by their name. One that knows the true name of a spirit can barter with it. How To Apply : Submit by private message only an evil character idea (no more than 10 lines), including Name, Class, Race, Alignement and a short backstory, then answer the following question. Why is your character Evil ? What is your character most nefarious deed ? What is the one Evil thing that your character thinks is too much ? What reason would they have to work with others ? Alternatively : what would force them to work with others ? Who is someone they care for, or at least respect ? What is their immediate goal ? What is their long-term goal ? Please also add your Skype so that I can be in touch. You do not have to make a character sheet. Variant rules/Homebrew rules Spell changes No Mending cantrip. Lingering injuries. When a character fails a Death Saving Throw by more than 5, including automatically failed save, they roll on the Lingering Injusier table. They do not roll more than once per fight. Character creation rules : |
Catalonian Fuet : A salami-like cured sausage originating in the Pyrenees mountain towns of Spain Kindziuk: A dry-cured Lithuanian sausage, probably of Tarter origin. Kulen: A Slovenian style salami that contains paprika and is smoked. Loukaniko-Bulgarian: A Balkan interpretation of the Greek sausage. Moskovskaya: A Russian "salami" characteristic of Odessa in the Ukraine Noisette: A French salami flavored with hazelnuts and wine. Pepperoni : With this recipe you can make an old world style dry cured pepperoni. Plockwurst: A German-style smoked, then dry-cured "salami" P olish style "salami": A small Polish-type sausage similar to Italian salamini made in the USA. Rossette: A French salami flavored with garlic and Quatre-éspices Salchichón : A “cold smoked”, Spanish style dry-cured sausage that is sherry flavored . Sobresada: A Spanish sausage that is softer and more pate-like than the Italian soppressata. Szalami : This is a Hungarian salami in the style from the city of Csaba. Salami - Artigiani : An artisan-style of fine grained salami with whole peppercorns similar to those produced in northeastern Italy. Salami-Bastardo: The unusual Italian name for this salami does not refer to illegitimacy, but instead it refers to the fact the salami is a hybrid…it breaks from tradition by using beef in addition to pork! Salami - Calabrese Style : A small diameter salami laden with a lot of hot red pepper. Salami-Cascina: Farmhouse style salami--First place winner of the Salumi Contest of the Festa Italiana in Seattle, Washington Salami - Ciauscolo: A smoked, soft and dry-cured salami style from central Italy. Often spread on country bread when young. Salami - Coglioni di mulo: This is a salami from the Abruzzo region of Italy and is loosely translated as "Mule's Balls" or more politely "Mule's Testicles" Salami - Coppata : A style of salami typical of the Veneto region of northeast Italy. It consists of a coppa surrounded by salami, then dry cured. It is also know as Salami Veneziana . Salami - Crespone: A softer salami, specialty of the Verona region of Italy, made with "sweet" spices like cinnamon and clove. Salami d'Oca: A salami made from goose. Popular with the Italian-Jewish population when made without both pork casings and cheese. Salami - Elk: A dry-cured salami made in the Italian tradition out of elk and pork. Salami - Felino: A very mild tasting salami flavored by only garlic and black pepper. Salami - F inocchiona : An Italian salami in the style of those made in the Chianti region of Tuscany. Salami - Game Bird: Salamini del'Uccelli -A "hunter's" style salami made with combinations of wild geese, ducks and doves Salami - Ginger : A German-American version of a dry-cured sausage; Pennsylvania-style Salami - Genoa Style : A large diameter, pure pork salami, lightly spiced so as not to mask any of the sweet pork flavor. Salami - German American Style: A smoked salami in the tradition of German immigrants to America. Salami - Hot: A dry cured salami spiced with hot red peppers and Marsala wine. Salami - Hungarian style - Salame Ungherese : After lightly smoking, this paprika flavored salami (characteristic of northern Italy) is dry cured. Salami - Cacciatore (H unter Style) or Salamini : A small, dry salami so-called because they were small enough to stuff in the hunter’s pocket for lunch during a day in the field. Italians call this salami cacciatore. Salami - Kaminwurz: "Fireplace” Sausage --smoked salami from the Val Badia in the southern Tyrol. Salami - Len Poli's Favorite: This is my personal formulation that I enjoy when I want a typical Italian-American salami Salami - Luccese: A dry salami typical of the Lucca region of Tuscany. Salami - Milano Style : This salami is similar to the common type of Italian salami available in the delicatessens of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is characterized by finely ground meat and fat and the addition of cracked black pepper. Salami - Nduja: A salami variation of Calabria, loosely based on the French Andouille introduced in the 18th Century by the Bourbons. Salami - San Francisco: Very similar to the Milano type; Typical salami made by the Italian people of North Beach. Salami - Sant'Olcese: "Genoa Salami" - This is quite different from what Americans know as “Genoa” salami—this one is lightly smoked and has large cubs of fat! Salami - Soppressata : Calabria Style. This salumi is from southern Italy and is popular with Italian-Americans, especially those who live on the East coast of the U.S. Salami - Soppressata -Goose: An Interesting variation on a goose salami--this uses pork fat; you can substitute poultry fat for a kosher-style product. Salami - Soppressata: Roman Style. A lot of confusion surrounds this type because spelling variants and the fact that it can describe a different sausage in different regions of Italy. This particular salami, which is called Spianata, is characterized by a higher fat content and its flattened shape. Salami - Soppressa: A salami characteristic of the Friuli region that capitalized on the Venetian spice trade. Salami - Soppressa: Another variation of Venetian sopressa. Salami - Toscano Style : This salami is characterized by the large pieces of diced fat dispersed throughout the meat...however, the fat content is the same as “regular” salami. Salami - Turkey : Can’t mix meat and dairy? Like salami? Try this one! Salami - Venison : A dry-cured salami made in the Italian tradition out of deer meat and pork. Any game, like elk or antelope, may be used in place of the venison. Salami - Ventricina d'Abbruzzo: A salame with larger pieces of meat than most salami flavored with hot pepper and rosemary. Slimmie Jimmie: Italian Style Slim Jims. Snack Sticks: Also called "Slim Jims" like those available at supermarket check-out stands. Soupy: (Americanization of the Italian Soppressata) A small, hot salami that is dry cured and preserved under oil or lard. Walnut Sausage-Salsiccia alle Noce: A dry cured sausage found in a small region in Calabria, Italy; influenced by the Turks |
"The Daily Show" returned from a one-week hiatus Monday night, and Jon Stewart became a tad overwhelmed with all he'd missed. The Casey Anthony verdict, the debt ceiling deadline and our endless deployment had Stewart visibly frustrated, enough so that he forwent his typical solo middle segment and got some help from Jon Oliver. Oliver, Senior British Correspondent, dropped in like Mary Poppins, lost his consonants and made Stewart feel better by putting his troubles in perspective. If Stewart thought the U.S. had problems, wait until he heard about Oliver's motherland, the UK. Stewart doubted him, but Oliver sarcastically assured: "Yeah, what would England know about a dying empire with rotting institutions?" In the segment below, Oliver procedes to detail all of the atrocious "News Of The World" scandals and its subsequent shutdown, all the while reminding, "Do you know how hard it is to disgrace a British tabloid, Jon?" At one point Stewart attempts a rebuttal, saying that America has it worse because our legitimate media outlets are the ones acting unethically, such as ABC News' funding of the Casey Anthony trial. Oliver nearly sends Stewart to the hospital with his retort: a list of grievances against the British tabloids including the hacking of the phones of missing girls, dead soldiers and 9/11 victims, and evidence that they paid off police. Even the prime minister is involved! Needless to say, Stewart doesn't think the U.S. has it so bad anymore. WATCH: |
LENNOXVILLE – Four players remain in the hunt for, potentially, three running-back positions on the Alouettes with the final cutdown date approaching. And, should Brandon Rutley be on the outside looking in when the dust settles, he appears to be prepared, knowing the season’s long and anything can happen – just as it did a year ago. “If somebody goes down, I’m willing to jump up. The thing about me is I’ve always understood my role. You have to wait your turn. Eventually the time will come and I’m okay with that,” Rutley said following Tuesday’s training camp workout at Bishop’s University. Rutley started last season on the practice roster, eventually was released and returned home, only to be summoned back due to injuries. And he was the Als’ starting tailback during the playoffs. In the East Division semifinal against British Columbia, he gained 98 yards on 15 carries and scored one touchdown. The following week, against Hamilton, he carried 11 times, accumulating 52 yards. It was Rutley’s first season with Montreal. He played five games for the Tiger-Cats in 2012. “It’s not something you worry about. You come here and perform and do the best you can do and prepare the best you can. You wait until your number’s called – and I’m fine with that,” said the 5-foot-11, 192-pound Rutley, 31. “That’s the nature of the business. You have to wait your turn. There’s always somebody that’s going to be in front of you until it’s your turn. “Hopefully, at some point, I’ll be the guy in front and I’ll be telling the young guys to be patient and keep working.” The Als’ backfield’s indeed crowded, with incumbent Brandon Whitaker, Tyrell Sutton and newcomer Stefan Logan, whose best shot at making the team probably remains as the return specialist. It’s unlikely Montreal can retain all four, unless it places Rutley on the practice roster again. Nonetheless, Rutley re-signed with the team last Feb. 3, not exercising his right to test the free-agent market. “I don’t think they wanted me here for no reason. They know I can play and they know my potential,” he said. “This is my job, whether on the practice or active roster. I can’t complain. I know my time will come. “It’s all about patience and timing. If the timing’s right, I’ll be ready.” The Als conclude their exhibition schedule Thursday night at Molson Stadium against the Toronto Argonauts. Notes – Linebacker Kyries Hebert was in Montreal on Tuesday, having his lower leg examined. He’s experiencing some pain on the bone and might be suffering only from a bruise. He’s unlikely to play this week. … Defensive-tackle Michael Klassen’s experiencing some tightness in his Achilles tendon and probably won’t play either. … Irv Smith, who played cornerback for the Als from 1996, when the franchise returned to Montreal, until retirement following the 2001 season, visited camp on Tuesday. Smith’s the father of a teenaged son in La Prairie who’ll be attending Vanier College in September. Coincidentally, the kid plays corner. Smith won a Grey Cup with the Baltimore Stallions. Smith’s now a firefighter in Gaithersburg, Md., near Washington, D.C. He was recently promoted to lieutenant. hzurkowsky@montrealgazette.com twitter.com/HerbZurkowsky1 |
During the October 18th debate, the Republican presidential candidates were asked about the role religion should play when assessing a candidate.[i] Newt Gingrich, who is certainly no paragon of Christian virtue, had this to say: How can you have judgment if you have no faith? How can I trust you with power if you don’t pray? Who you pray to, how you pray, how you come close to god is between you and god. But the notion that you are endowed by your creator sets a certain boundary on what we mean by American. For a man presenting himself as the Party’s thought leader, this is utterly stupid. Let’s look at a few of the absurdities that follow from this: You have to have faith in order to have judgment: The only thing this can mean is that people by themselves have no ability to judge. They must hand this judgment over to a god or goddess. This ironically means that he does not have judgment even though he does have faith, which contradicts the original idea. You have to pray in order to have power, but who you pray to doesn’t matter: Gingrich, as a Christian, believes he has the one true god, which means everyone else is just talking to a wall. So, he thinks, if this quote is to be believed, that you can be trusted with power if you talk to a wall for advice. On the other hand, if you use reason and evidence to make decisions, you’re less equipped because you don’t talk to a wall. Any religion is better than no religion: Again, this is ridiculous when compared against Gingrich being a Christian. Does he seriously want to say that believing the Ganges River flowed out of the penis of a god makes you a better leader than being an atheist? Or how about believing that Mohammed rode to heaven on a winged horse? Would a Gingrich prefer a Muslim to an atheist? I wonder… To be an American, you must believe in a creator: I think Gingrich is seriously confused here. Being an American is some status conferred upon you by the United States of America. If he would like to say otherwise, I might suggest that Gingrich isn’t as loyal to the Constitution as he claims. So, there you have it. Gingrich admits to not having any judgment. He admits that he does not respect the Constitutional requirements for citizenship or the spirit of Article VI. He believes that talking to a wall is more important than talking to advisors. And he thinks that following any ridiculous belief system is a pre-requisite for power. Clearly, he does not think much of me or my fellow non-believers. [i] This topic surfaced because a pastor associated with Rick Perry called Mormonism a cult and warned voters not to think of Mitt Romney as a true Christian. The great irony of this was that the candidates probably agreed with the Pastor, but were all too ashamed to admit it to Romney’s face! Advertisements |
A representative for Moscow's security department has announced that the Wurst parade was rejected because of concerns it would provoke clashes between 'gays and their opponents' Russian officials have banned fans from staging a parade in honour of Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst. Citing the risk of violence and the need to "respect morality", Moscow's security department denied an application for the Conchita Wurst March of Bearded Women and Men, which was due to take place on 27 May Wurst, the drag persona of Austria's Thomas Neuwirth, has become an icon for Europe's LGBTQ community and a flashpoint for Russia's debate over gay rights. So while the singer has her share of fans - she won 290 points in the Eurovision final - the proposed parade was a piece of hirsute political theatre. "The march of bearded people ... will [be] a trial balloon in our relations with the Moscow mayor's office this year," Nikolay Alexeyev, founder of Moscow Pride, recently told GayRussia.ru. On Thursday, a representative for Moscow's security department announced that the parade had been rejected. "We informed them that the event could not take place," Alexei Mayorov explained to Interfax. While the Associated Press reported that there were "concerns [the march] would provoke clashes between gays and their opponents", Mayorov told Interfax that the city's decision rested on their wish to "respect morality in the education of the younger generation". By choosing 27 May for the bearded march, organisers had hoped to mark the 21st anniversary of homosexuality's legalisation in Russia. Alexeyev told Pravda that they plan to "urgently appeal" the mayor's decision; even if unsuccessful, they will try to merge the event with a proposed gay pride parade in 31 May. They face an uphill battle: in 2012, Moscow city government enacted a 100-year ban on pride marches. Russia's anti-gay protesters have been campaigning against Eurovision for weeks, calling it a "Europe-wide gay parade". "The participation of the obvious transvestite and hermaphrodite Conchita Wurst on the same stage as Russian singers on live television is blatant propaganda of homosexuality and spiritual decay," said the St Petersburg's notorious legislator Vitaly Milonov, who led the charge for Russia's homosexual propaganda laws. After Wurst's win, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, head of Russia's Liberal Democratic party, said, "There's no limit to our outrage. It's the end of Europe." But Filipp Kirkorov, Russia's losing contestant for Eurovision 2014, chose to emphasise the winning song, not the singer. "It was the song that won, and in my opinion it was a beautiful song," he said. "With a beard, without a beard, a woman, a man - it is unimportant, this is a competition, a song contest." Wurst had previously described her beard as a statement on tolerance, proof "that you can achieve anything, no matter who you are or how you look". |
A California man is suing Iliza Shlesinger after being turned away from a girls-only show in a hyperbole-laden lawsuit that begins with a quote from George Orwell's Animal Farm. "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others," writes attorney Alfred Rava, before beginning a 14-page complaint that says his client is a victim of the comedian's "war on men." George St. George asks the court to imagine the uproar and protests that would follow if comedian Andrew Dice Clay, who is described in the complaint as "the bane of feminists," hosted a comedy show that prohibited women from entering. Men in Texas were similarly offended in May when Alamo Drafthouse held a women-only screening of Wonder Woman. Although the theater didn't actually turn away any men, it reportedly did agree to make some concessions in response to an official complaint filed with the City of Austin Equal Employment & Fair Housing Office. It's worth noting that San Diego-based attorney Rava has built a career on suing companies for gender discrimination, including filing a class action against the Oakland A's for giving away plaid hats to women only at a May 2004 game. Here, St. George says he and a friend bought tickets for a Nov. 13 show at Largo at The Coronet that was advertised as "Girls Night in with Iliza — No Boys Allowed" and was informed they would only be allowed in if they agreed to sit in the back row of the theater "because of their sex." The men decided to leave to grab a bite to eat before returning for the show, and Rava compares what happened when they returned to the racial segregation experienced across the South prior to the civil rights movement. The female employee with whom they had spoken earlier told them Shlesinger and the theater had since decided only women would be admitted to the show and they'd be given a refund. Rava argues the decision to turn away St. George and his friend violates the Unruh Civil Rights Act and California's business and professions code. "Simply put, it is against many California laws for a business to discriminate against patrons based on their sex or other personal characteristics, such as race or sexual orientation which should surprise no one," writes Rava. He argues the girls-only show "repudiated hundreds of years of women's struggles to be viewed as being equal to men and is typical of old-fashioned sexism that might also advise a young woman that her best chance for a happy life is to ace her home economics class and learn how to make a queso dip from Velveeta to catch a good man." UTA and Largo at The Coronet are also named as defendants in the lawsuit, which is posted in full below. St. George is seeking an injunction barring defendants from engaging in unequal treatment of consumers based on sex, an order requiring them to undergo sex discrimination sensitivity training and statutory damages. Reps for Shlesinger on Thursday sent The Hollywood Reporter a statement in response to the complaint. "Since this is a legal matter, I'm unable to comment to the specifics of this lawsuit," she says. "I will say that of the many shows I do throughout the year, Girls Night In was a singular evening that encouraged women to get together, talk and laugh about the things we go through as well as donate some money to Planned Parenthood. It's unfortunate that this has now become an issue." Dec 28. 3:25 p.m. Updated with a comment from Shlesinger. |
It is that time again where you get to know a pug from the social media scene in our popular Social Pug Profile series. This week it is the unbelievably adorable Tuesday. Get to know this gorgeous lady in her interview. Name: My full name is Lady Tuesday the Pug as I am a very fancy and sophisticated lady. But most of the time I just go by Tuesday. Age: I am 8 years young! And man, do I look good for my age! Just look at my luscious white fuzz – it’s super soft. Nobody can resist giving this old puggy a pet. Birth date or Gotcha Date: My gotcha date is March 11! It was a very good day – I met Mother for the first time and got a second chance at life! Before I was rescued I had spent the first 4 years of my young life inside of a crate in the basement of an apartment complex. I was sad and lonely but after I was rescued I never thought about it again! I am one happy pug! Where do you live? Currently, I live in Syracuse, New York. Man vs. Food came here a little while ago to see if he could master our cuisine of delicious BBQ Ribs at a place called Dinosaur BBQ. He should have asked me called me! I would have helped! I LOVE BBQ! What is your favourite time of the day? Dinner seems to be a very delicious time of the day! One time I even got a second dinner. It was the VERY BEST DAY EVER. You see, Mother fed me at my usual 5 pm. But I was quite famished that day, so I scarfed that up pretty quick and then required more yummy kibble. I noticed that Daddy was not paying much attention to me so I quick worked my way over to him, gave him my best baby eyes, and sang him a little song. It worked! Second dinner for me! Dummy… What is your favourite food? All foods are good foods in my book! But I especially appreciate breakfast foods. My Mother makes me and my brother Louie our own personal mini pancakes. Sometimes she even dips them in syrup for added deliciousness. Do you have a toy that you can’t live without? In addition to being a very fancy lady, I can also be a ferocious beast. My latest victim… I mean cuddle buddy.. is my Bummlie. He arrived in the mysterious box my parents call “the mail” from my friend Archie and Melissa (@pugnotes). He has been my nemesis ever since. He mocks me with his smug beady eyes and delicious knobby legs. In one of our recent battles Bummlievaliantly lost a leg. Mother stitched him up as I feasted on his insides. Next time we meet – I will make sure he loses more than just his leg. His head will be mounted on my wall. What do you hate the most? My paws being touched! I don’t understand all these people’s fascination with poking at my feet! I don’t walk up to you with big scary lawn sheers and try to cut your toes off.. so lay off of mine! Besides, I need my talons to scratch at Mother. Sometimes she needs a helpful reminder about who is the boss of the house. What do you love the most? I suppose that I love my family the most. They are good peoples. Louie is an adopted rescue like me. He arrived a year ago and likes to cuddle with me and steal my toys. I tolerate it because Mother says I have to be a good big sister. Mother and Daddy are pretty a-OK too. Do you have any bad habits? Daddy has said that I have an “attitude problem”. Mother thinks that I am a perfect angel. I tend to agree with Mother… obviously. What does a typical day look like for you? I try to keep to a very strict schedule. First, I wake up at 5 am and demand breakfast from Mother. A sharp tap to the face usually does the trick in waking her. However, sometimes I need to be more stern with her – climbing across her chest typically works. After I am nice and full from breakfast I brave the morning air for poops. Upon returning indoors I allow Louie to have a few minutes of tug-a-war with me. Only for a couple minutes though because after that it is nap time! It takes a lot of beauty sleep to look this gorgeous all the time. Louie will usually join me after he as settled down, and he needs it! Have you seen his face? He needs all the beauty sleep he can get! While the pawrents are at work, Mother spy’s on me with the nanny cam. She doesn’t think I know about it, but I do and I find this quite rude. Privacy PLEASE! Sometimes I enjoy mocking Mother while she watches. Louie and I will dump our toy bin and toss all of our things around the house! And there is nothing she can do about it! (HA HA Mother!) Once our parents return, I tolerate an afternoon walk – but only to keep up my figure. I would much rather still be sleeping! My stroll leaves me quite famished so I require a hearty scoop of kibble after coming inside. Following dinner, it is my playtime. I like to get my zoomies out in the house with Louie during the pawrent’s dinner. I think they quite appreciate this as well. Bedtime is strictly at 10pm… (don’t forget about the beauty sleep thing)! As queen of the house, I always grab the coziest spot on the bed – Mother’s head. She should thank me for this, I make a wonderful head warmer. Plus I give her free face massages when I give her kicks to the face during the night! I should really start renting out my services! I hear that you have created a bucket list. What is on your bucket list? My bucket list is quite long! Every time I cross something off, Mother seems to add 10 more things! Here are a few things that are on my list, big and small: March in a Parade Go to a Yappyhour Go to a Doggy Birthday Party Go to a Hockey Game Go to Woofstock Get a Doggie Massage Eat a Cheeseburger Meet my Online Pug Friends Go to the Drive In Movie Theatre Swim in the Ocean Here are some things we have crossed off, big and small: Start a Local Community Pug Meetup Group Ride in an Elevator Stay in a Pet-Friendly Hotel Tuesday Tattoo (On mother – no tattoos for this beautiful pug, but she has my face forever on her arm) Walk Down the Aisle Order Donuts at the Drive-In Go to Work with Mother Ride in a Kayak Model for Mother’s Bowtie Business Walk a 5k Charity for Pug Rescue What has been your favourite bucket list item that you’ve ticked off already? The biggest and most elaborate thing that I crossed off my bucket list this year was my parent’s super pawsome pug wedding! Everything was ME themed and it was so cool! Louie and I were the Pugs-Of-Honor and walked down the aisle to our own song! The Stylish Bisou (@TheStylishBisou) made Louie and I custom outfits for the event. She even made me a special tutu so I could get my boogie on during the reception! There were delicious cupcakes with my face (and butt!) on them. Golden pugs sat on all the tables as a constant reminder to the guests of my cuteness! Most importantly, Mother tried to make sure everything we did gave back to our local pug charity, Curly Tail Pug Rescue (@CurlyTailPugRescue). Instead of registering for towels, dishes, sheets, and other things we didn’t need, we asked our guests to donate to CTPR in honor of our new family… although we could have registered for bacon! That would have been okay with me! For the favors, we collaborated with both CTPR and Curly Tail Coffee (@CurlyTailCoffee). CTPR made special coffee mugs with their logo on it for us and the profit went right back to the pugs in their care! Then Curly Tail Coffee made us all sorts of delicious sounding coffee flavors to put in the mugs! Mother says I can’t have coffee, but Daddy said it was quite delicious. Curly Tail Coffee donated $1 to CTPR for every bag we bought! Making sure our pug wedding benefitted needy pugs was very important to our little family because they would be lost without my cute face. What bucket list item are you most excited for in the near future? This weekend (528 – 5/29) I am traveling to Woofstock in Toronto, Canada! I am going to cross many things off my pug bucket list! This will be my first international vacation! I will be winning… I mean competing in the ‘Running of the Pugs’ (GOOGLE VIDEOS OF THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS HILARITY). Also, Doug the Pug will be there and we are going to become best friends. I might even let him sniff my butt! So many fun things! Why would you recommend other pugs and dogs alike create a bucket list? Everypuggy should create a bucket list! Having it has let me and my family do special things together that we wouldn’t normally do. Our time together is so short and I want to spend every moment I have doing special things with them! Where can we follow your daily adventures? I am on Twitter and Instagram: @TuesdayThePug You can also check out my website: www.tuesdaythepug.com I hope you have enjoyed getting to know Tuesday in this Social Pug Profile interview and be sure to leave a pug love note for her in the comments below. |
As my fellow author Jennifer Fickley-Baker recently shared, this week marks the debut of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. At Disney Theme Park Merchandise, we’ve introduced a variety of Oswald merchandise this past year in honor of his 85th anniversary. Being a fan of Walt Disney Company history, I find it wonderful to see so many new items featuring this classic character. Here is a quick look at some of the Oswald merchandise. One of the more celebrated (and highly desired) items created this year was an Oswald hat. The hat was created for our partners with Disney Interactive Studios to celebrate the upcoming release of Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two on November 18. The hats were distributed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo and at San Diego Comic Con this past summer. I’m happy to report a Disney Parks version will be released in late October/early November. The hat features a different Oswald logo than the previous hat but is still just as awesome (I intend to wear it while playing the game). This past summer also saw the opening of Oswald’s on Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure park. This new location contains a variety of “road trip essentials” including autograph books, hats, bag and more. During a recent visit to the park, I spotted the amazing vintage-inspired knitted Oswald plush. Denise Edelmaier, product developer for plush, said that the knitted plush was in development for about three years as they finally found a way to make the plush extra soft (early versions were too coarse). Oswald also found his way onto a popular men’s tee-shirt and a collectible big figurine (or “big fig” as we sometimes call it) designed by Disney Design Group artist Randy Noble. Disney pins started celebrating Oswald in January by releasing an 85th anniversary pin. We also released an open-edition pin, a limited-edition pin and a Hidden Mickey pin for Disneyland Resort. Look for another open-edition pin next spring. But one of my favorite items (besides the hat) will be a new 3-inch Vinylmation figure from the Classic Collection series designed by Disney artist Eric Caszatt. Planned for release in early November, Oswald will be the mystery chaser figure. I know, it’s a spoiler but I couldn’t resist – the figure looks great! |
Three years after President Obama signed the health care reform law, there are concerns that the process of implementing it will be rocky. Even some of the law’s supporters are worried. Perhaps more troubling for the White House, the Affordable Care Act is still not well liked or well understood. The Obama administration had hoped that over time, the legislation would gain enough support to help smooth over the rough patches of putting it into practice. Instead, public opinion has remained mostly static: a plurality of Americans still disapprove of the law, and a substantial portion of the public remains uncertain about what it says, according to recent polls. There is even confusion about whether the health care law is still, in fact, law. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey [PDF] conducted in April found that 41 percent of American adults did not know that the Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land. A separate tracking survey conducted by Kaiser, which has done far more surveys on health care than any other polling organization, found that roughly half of American adults said they did not have enough information about the law to understand how it will affect them. The tracking poll found that there had actually been an increase in the percentage of American adults with no opinion about the health care law. Photo Among those who do have an opinion, more people still regard the health care law negatively than positively, according to a series of recent polls. In fact, the law’s net approval numbers stand basically where they did when it was passed. Photo One reason the Obama administration might still be optimistic is that while surveys have consistently found that a plurality of Americans have an overall negative view of the Affordable Care Act, they have just as consistently shown that large majorities of Americans favor individual elements of the law. For example, Kaiser has found that about 70 percent of adults support providing financial assistance to low- and moderate-income Americans who do not have employer-provided health insurance, and also that about 70 percent support health insurance exchanges and the elimination of out-of-pocket costs for many preventive services — both elements of the health care law. Once those benefits become realities, the percentage of Americans who approve of the law may rise. But if the law’s rollout is messy, there may be a dip in approval before it has a chance to become more popular. |
A $3 million gift from disgraced Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is being returned by UCLA. The announcement comes one day after Sterling was banned was banned for life by the National Basketball Association (NBA). Sterling made the gift to the university’s Division of Nephrology to support basic kidney research. The initial $425,000 of the donation had already been made. However, Sterling has been under fire since an audio recording surfaced last Friday that appeared to link him to racist remarks about African Americans. The voice on the recording has since been confirmed to be Sterling’s. “Mr. Sterling’s divisive and hurtful comments demonstrate that he does not share UCLA’s core values as a public university that fosters diversity, inclusion and respect,” a statement from UCLA read. “For those reasons, UCLA has decided to return Mr. Sterling’s initial payment of $425,000 and reject the remainder of a $3 million pledge he recently made to support basic kidney research by the UCLA Division of Nephrology.” Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, announced yesterday that the league would ban Sterling for life, fine him $2.5 million (which would be donated to anti-discrimination organizations), and attempt to force him to sell his ownership of the Clippers. UCLA’s statement was released after the university received inquiries about an ad placed in The Los Angeles Times thanking Sterling for his gift. The ad stated that a “gold colored plaque” would be placed in the lobby of the university honoring the Sterlings, and that a research lab would be named in his honor. The university denied commissioning the ad, which was in the Sunday edition of The Times, saying that Sterling was responsible for it. |
Share. Say whaaaaat?! Say whaaaaat?! If you're a gamer, there's a good chance you've heard of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This Nintendo 64 classic is hailed by many as the greatest game of all time, and some recent interviews with Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto, producer Eiji Aonuma and the rest of the Zelda development team has brought forth some astonishing revelations about the making of this legendary title. One of these tidbits is that Ocarina of Time, as it was initially conceived… was kind of a terrible idea. While Miyamoto-san is responsible for some of the most amazing moments in gaming history, if left to his own devices, a few of his decisions would have resulted in Ocarina of Time being a pretty bad game. Don't believe us? Then check out 10 things you didn't know about Ocarina, and 10 more things you didn't know about Ocarina. In the meantime, jump in our magic time machine and take a look at Ocarina of Time as it could have been. So fasten your seat belts and Zelda enthusiasts beware…. you're in for a bumpy ride. |
In my recent posts I have: (a) described a fractal pattern that arises from the iteration of the Riemann zeta function; (b) identified various fractal features that appear at all levels of magnification; and © demonstrated a correlation between the positions of some of these fractal features (specifically the “segments”) and the positions of the non-trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function. In this and my next few posts I will provide evidence of some further correlations, this time between the local maxima of the Riemann-Siegel Z function and some other features of the fractal (specifically the “butterflies”). (See my earlier posts for an explanation of the terms, “segment” and “butterfly”. In the following text, references to “major” segments and butterflies mean those segments and butterflies that are the most prominent on or near the critical strip at 1 x magnification; obviously there are smaller segments and butterflies at every level of magnification.) It is clear from the images set out in my earlier posts that the major segments and butterflies are rarely wholly contained within the critical strip. Indeed, many of these segments, and almost all of the butterflies, extended over the edges of the critical strip. I have therefore generated some additional data covering the regions to the immediate left and right of the critical strip, such that my dataset now covers all starting values of s between -1 ≤ Re(s) ≤ 4 and 0 ≤ Im(s) ≤ 500 at a resolution of 0.01 and 20 significant figures, i.e. a vertical strip five times the width of the critical strip. Among the many interesting features of the fractal that are visible on this expanded strip is a remarkable correlation between the number, position and relative size of the major butterflies and the number, position and relative amplitude of the maxima of the Riemann-Siegel Z function. The following series of images together constitute the surface map for the section of the complex plane between -1 ≤ Re(s) ≤ 4 and 0 ≤ Im(s) ≤ 500 with a resolution of 0.01 and a precision of 20 significant figures. The surface map has been divided into 25 equal sections, each spanning 20i, with each section being rotated 90° clockwise in order to maximise the resolution on this page. In each section, therefore, Re(-1) is at the top of the map, Re(4) at the bottom and Im(s) increases from left to right. The surface map of each section has 1,002,501 plotted points in around 72 different colours. The white line running through each image from left to right in the top third of the image is the “critical line” at Re = 0.5 and the black tramlines delineate the edges of the critical strip at Re = 0 and Re = 1 respectively. Each non-trivial zero of the Riemann zeta function is marked by a black dot on the critical line, although these will be difficult to see at this scale (see earlier posts for clearer images with guidance marks). Each surface map is shown together with a graph of the corresponding section of the Riemann-Siegel Z function plotted at the same horizontal scale, with t increasing from left to right. The graph data was generated using the siegelz function of the Python mpmath library. The graphs were plotted using Microsoft Excel 2003. The evidence in these images, and those that will appear in my next few posts, supports the following propositions: There is a 1:1 ratio between the number of major butterflies and the number of maxima of the Riemann-Siegel Z function. This is not surprising if, as suggested in my earlier posts, every major segment has exactly one non-trivial zero, because there is a major segment between each pair of major butterflies in the same way that there is a zero of the Riemann-Siegel Z function between each pair of maxima. The centres of each major butterfly and each corresponding maximum of the Riemann-Siegel Z function appear at around the same height above the origin. In other words, the value of t that corresponds to the position of each maximum of the Riemann-Siegel Z function, Z(t), is approximately the same as the value of the imaginary part of the value of s at the centre of each major butterfly. The size of each major butterfly is proportional to the size of the corresponding maximum. Further investigations will be required to establish the precise nature of the correlation, particularly whether the size correlation is based on height / width or area. Here are the images: 0i to 20i 20i to 40i 40i to 60i 60i to 80i 80i to 100i 100i to 120i 120i to 140i 140i to 160i 160i to 180i 180i to 200i 200i to 220i 220i to 240i 240i to 260i 260i to 280i 280i to 300i 300i to 320i 320i to 340i 340i to 360i 360i to 380i 380i to 400i 400i to 420i 420i to 440i 440i to 460i 460i to 480i 480i to 500i In the next post I will provide further evidence in support of the above propositions by showing a map of a region of the expanded strip at a height of around 2447i where the fractal exhibits a particularly large butterfly sandwiched between two particularly tiny butterflies. As anticipated, the corresponding section of the graph of the Riemann-Siegel Z function features a relatively large maximum, with an amplitude of around 12, between two relatively tiny maxima. |
Here's one for fans of Elder Scrolls, Skyrim, Oblivion, etc. and METAL! Ophidius is a band inspired by those things precisely. They're a four man Instrumental Death Metal band with some Progressive tidbits hailing from New Jersey. Their sound is made of gold and digital legends olde. Seriously though, this band kicks ass. Their music is maelstrom of creativity and supreme heaviness. Impressive is the word that comes to mind. This is especially true when you consider how matured their music is for only having a debut release! I highly recommend nerds and metalfolk alike press the "play" button below and let this band batter your eardrums at a high BPM. Also! Did I mention the music is available for a "name your price" download on Bandcamp? Enjoy the music AND own it. Show the band some furthered support if you enjoy the metal! The Throat of the World by Ophidius Links: Facebook // Bandcamp |
Ted Cruz, the Republican junior senator from Texas, has heard the line about how the Party needs to become more moderate to win Presidential elections. “It is amazing that the wisdom of the chattering class to the Republicans is always, always, always ‘Surrender your principles and agree with the Democrats,’ ” he told me. “That’s been true for my entire lifetime. The chattering classes have consistently said, ‘You crazy Republicans have to give up on what you believe and become more like Democrats.’ And, I would note, every time Republicans do that we lose.” Cruz then offered a short history of recent Presidential politics. Richard Nixon ran as a conservative, twice a winner; Gerald Ford, moderate, loser; Ronald Reagan, also twice a winner. “President George Herbert Walker Bush ran as a strong conservative, ran to continue the third term of Ronald Reagan, continue the Ronald Reagan revolution,” Cruz went on. “Then he raised taxes and in ’92 ran as an establishment moderate—same candidate, two very different campaigns. First one won, second one lost. In 1996, you got Bob Dole; 2000 and 2004, you have George W. Bush; 2008, John McCain; 2012, Mitt Romney. And what does the entire D.C. Republican consulting class say? ‘In 2016, we need another establishment moderate!’ Hasn’t worked in four decades. ‘But next time will be the time!’ ” As the midterm elections grow closer, with the Presidential race to follow, the Republican Party is still split roughly along the historical lines that Cruz described. On the issues, the differences between the two wings appear modest, but the temperamental, even geographic, distinctions are profound. Establishment Republicans, based in Washington, remain at some level committed to uphold rudimentary operations of government and at least talk about broadening the Party’s appeal. Ardent conservatives, including those in the Tea Party movement, regard the Capitol as a cesspool of corruption, and they see compromise as betrayal. The outcome of this struggle is uncertain, as illustrated by the varying political fortunes of two leading establishment figures. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, easily survived a primary challenge in Kentucky, but Eric Cantor, the Party’s leader in the House, went down to a humiliating defeat in his primary in Virginia. Cruz’s ascendancy reflects the dilemma of the modern Republican Party, because his popularity within the Party is based largely on an act that was reviled in the broader national community. Last fall, Cruz’s strident opposition to Obamacare led in a significant way to the shutdown of the federal government. “It was not a productive enterprise,” John McCain told me. “We needed sixty-seven votes in the Senate to stop Obamacare, and we didn’t have it. It was a fool’s errand, and it hurt the Republican Party and it hurt my state. I think Ted has learned his lesson.” But Cruz has learned no such lesson. As he travels the country, he has hardened his positions, delighting the base of his party but moving farther from the positions of most Americans on most issues. He denies the existence of man-made climate change, opposes comprehensive immigration reform, rejects marriage equality, and, of course, demands the repeal of “every blessed word of Obamacare.” (Cruz gets his own health-care coverage from Goldman Sachs, where his wife is a vice-president.) Cruz has not formally entered the 2016 Presidential race, but he is taking all the customary steps for a prospective candidacy. He has set up political-action committees to raise money, travelled to early primary states, like Iowa and New Hampshire, and campaigned for Republican candidates all over the country. His message, in substance, is that on the issues a Cruz Presidency would be roughly identical to a Sarah Palin Presidency. Cruz and I were talking in a back room at the Fort Worth Convention Center earlier this month, during the Texas Republican Convention. A crowd of more than seven thousand greeted Cruz’s speech there rapturously. They cheered his anti-Washington gibes. “I spent all week in Washington, D.C., and it’s great to be back in America,” he told the delegates. On another occasion at the convention, Cruz noted that some people think the name of the Washington Redskins football team is offensive. “There’s an easy way to fix that,” he said. “You can just drop the word ‘Washington.’ ” (Cruz’s go-to hashtag is #makedclisten.) Cruz’s convention booth, designed to resemble a rustic Texas cabin, with a saddle out front, was the most popular in the hall. Hundreds of people stood in line for hours to have their photograph taken with him. Still, Cruz’s historical narrative of Presidential politics is both self-serving and questionable on its own terms. Conveniently, he begins his story after the debacle of Barry Goldwater, a conservative purist whom Cruz somewhat resembles. Nixon ran as a healer and governed, by contemporary standards, as a moderate, opening up relations with China, signing into law measures banning sex discrimination, expanding the use of affirmative action, establishing the Environmental Protection Agency, and signing the Clean Air Act. Reagan’s record as governor of California included support for tax increases, gun control, and abortion rights, so he sometimes appeared less conservative than his modern reputation suggests. George W. Bush won (if he won) as a self-advertised “compassionate conservative.” So, at this point, Cruz’s concerted attempt to establish himself as the most extreme conservative in the race for the Republican nomination has not evoked much fear in Democrats. “We all hope he runs,” one Democratic senator told me. “He’s their Mondale.” (Running against Reagan as an unalloyed liberal in 1984, Walter Mondale lost every state but his native Minnesota.) Such skepticism was nowhere in evidence at the convention in Fort Worth, and at the series of talks Cruz gave he was invariably introduced as he was at the Defense of Texas Marriage Amendment rally: “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the next President of the United States!” Cruz is conservative in appearance as well as ideology. He dresses like an I.B.M. salesman circa 1975, in boxy blue suits, white shirts, and red ties. His black hair is just long enough to be slicked back. When he speaks to an audience, he usually offers a half smile that suggests an unspoken bond with his listeners. He paces the stage, like a motivational speaker, and he extemporizes but doesn’t ramble. It’s easy to follow his speeches, because he sticks to an outline, in keeping with his training as a college debater. “Marriage is under assault,” Cruz told the crowd. “It is under assault in a way that is pervasive. We’re seeing marriage under assault in the courts, including, sadly, the Supreme Court of the United States. It struck down the California marriage laws. California had a referendum. They asked the voters of California, ‘Do you want marriage to be a traditional marriage between one man and one woman?’ And the voters of California—those crazy right-wing kooks—said, ‘Yes, now that you mention it, we like marriage to be between one man and one woman!’ Went to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court said, ‘You can’t say that,’ and struck it down. You want to know what judicial activism is? Judicial activism is judges imposing their policy preferences on the words of the Constitution.” (Cruz’s views on marriage equality are widely shared within the Texas Republican Party. The John Birch Society was allowed to have a booth at the convention, but Log Cabin Republicans, a gay-rights group, wasn’t.) As Cruz built to his peroration, he said, “I’m going to encourage three very simple things. No. 1, I’m going to encourage each and every man and woman here to pray. If ever there was an issue on which we should come to our knees to God about, it is preserving marriage of one man and one woman. And this is an issue on which we need as many praying warriors as possible to turn back the tide. “A second thing I’ll tell you: when the President tried to impose federal law in Utah, I introduced federal legislation, along with Senator Mike Lee, to prevent the federal government from setting aside the marriage laws of the states across this country. We need to stand and defend marriage, and we need to defend the prerogative of the citizens of Texas to determine what marriage means in the state of Texas. “He was sent here from the future to terminate me, but then he really got into grilling.” “And the third thing we need to do is we need to rise up and we need to turn this country around,” Cruz said, to a growing rumble of cheers. “We’ve got an election coming up in 2014, and, let me tell you, it’s going to be phenomenal. We’re going to retake the U.S. Senate! And I’ll tell you this: as good as 2014’s going to be, 2016’s going to be even better!” Cruz came to the Senate, in 2012, and then to national prominence, through an unusual route. Like many politicians, he is a lawyer, but his legal expertise is of a special kind, which helps explain both his fame and his notoriety. Before he ran for the Senate, Cruz was on his way to becoming one of the most notable appellate advocates in the country. “He was and is the best appellate litigator in the state of Texas,” James Ho, who succeeded Cruz as solicitor general of the state, told me. Trial lawyers, civil or criminal, are often brought into cases when there are compromises to be made; much of their work winds up involving settlements or plea bargains. But appellate litigators, like Cruz, generally appear after the time for truce has passed. Their job is to make their best case and let the chips fall where they may. That is the kind of politician Cruz has become—one who came to Washington not to make a deal but to make a point. Citing Margaret Thatcher, Cruz often puts his approach this way: “First you win the argument, then you win the vote.” Many senators turn the foyers of their Washington offices into shrines to their states. Al Franken, for instance, covers the walls with pennants from every college in Minnesota. But in Cruz’s foyer, in the Dirksen Building, there are only a couple of framed portraits (of Texans who have served in the Senate) and a Dr Pepper-branded refrigerator. (Dr Pepper is headquartered in Plano.) The room looks as if Cruz had just moved in. Three years ago, he was an obscure long shot making his first run for public office. As he frequently puts it, “I was at two per cent in the polls, and the margin of error was three per cent.” Cruz ranks ninety-fourth in seniority in the Senate. Last fall, though, he nearly single-handedly precipitated the shutdown of the federal government. Today, polls show Cruz in the thick of the crowded race for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination, along with Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, and others. Last year, he won the Values Voter Summit’s Presidential straw poll. Last month, he won the straw poll at the Republican Leadership Conference and, not surprisingly, the straw poll at the Texas G.O.P. convention. The speed of Cruz’s rise makes Barack Obama’s ascent seem almost stately. Cruz’s inner office is dominated by a three-panel painting of Ronald Reagan in Berlin, before the Brandenburg Gate. Reagan is Cruz’s hero, though Cruz, at forty-three, is too young ever to have voted for him. Like Reagan, Cruz believes in limited government, but his basis for that belief differs in a significant way from Reagan’s. Reagan thought limited government was a matter of political choice; Cruz believes it is a constitutional mandate. Cruz comes to that belief from a position of unusual intimacy with the constitutional text. When Cruz was in his early teens, in Houston, his parents enrolled him in an after-school program run by Rolland Storey, a retired energy executive who wanted to instill the values of the free market in young people. At the Free Enterprise Institute, Storey had his young charges read Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and other authors revered by conservatives, and then give speeches at Rotary Clubs and similar venues around the state. “They created a spinoff group called the Constitutional Corroborators,” Cruz told me. “And they took five of the students, all of whom had been involved on the free-market side, and we focussed on studying the Constitution. So we’d meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for a couple of hours each night, and study the Constitution, read the Federalist Papers, read the Anti-Federalist Papers, read the debates on ratification. And we memorized a shortened mnemonic version of the Constitution.” I asked for an example. “TCCNCCPCC PAWN MOMMA RUN,” Cruz said. “Taxes, credit, commerce, naturalization, coinage, counterfeiting, post office, copyright, courts, piracy, Army, war, Navy, militia, money for militia, Washington, D.C., rules, and necessary and proper.” This was more than a parlor trick. During the past several decades, the ideological battles over the Constitution have often come down to the originalists, closely aligned with the textualists, against those who believe that the Constitution also protects some nontextual, or unenumerated, rights. The right to privacy is the paradigmatic unenumerated right, one that is not mentioned in the text of the Constitution but has been recognized by judges to include, for example, a woman’s right to abortion. Cruz’s memorization trick was an early stage in a textualist’s education. To textualists, the meaning of the Constitution is limited to the precise terms of the document, and nothing more. “Ted was just an amazing speaker at fourteen, by far the most impressive student we ever had,” Winston Elliott III, who became affiliated with Storey’s organization when Cruz was a student and now serves as its president, told me. “Our program is very much committed to private property, free markets, and constitutionally limited government. When it came to the Constitution, Rolland was a great believer in original intent, and so the focus was very much on what the Constitution says. We brought in a memorization expert. We wanted them to focus on the words. Ted was just an ideal student, because he just absorbed everything, and he came from a conservative family in the first place.” Cruz first achieved national notice last September, when he staged a twenty-one-hour talking marathon on the Senate floor against Obamacare, as part of the political offensive that led to the government shutdown. In the best-known part of the speech, he read Dr. Seuss’s “Green Eggs and Ham” as a bedtime story to his two young daughters watching in Houston, who were supposedly tuned in to C-SPAN. (Later, he also read long excerpts from the novels of Ayn Rand, one of his literary heroes.) Several times, he drew an analogy between the “oppression” of Obamacare and the oppression that his father, Rafael, faced as a young man in Cuba. “I view that from a very personal perspective, because fifty-five years ago, when my father came from Cuba, he was eighteen, he was penniless, and he couldn’t speak English,” Cruz said on the Senate floor. “But he was lucky to be able to apply for a student visa, to get to America. He was lucky to be accepted to the University of Texas, to flee the Batista regime, where he had been imprisoned and tortured as a kid.” Later, Cruz said, “Thank the good Lord that when my dad was a teen-age immigrant in Texas fifty-five years ago, how grateful I am that some well-meaning liberal did not come and put his arm around him and say, ‘Let me take care of you. Let me give you a government check. Let me make you dependent on the government. Don’t bother washing dishes. Don’t bother working.’ ” At the Texas Republican Convention, the line for photographs with Ted Cruz snaked through the exhibition hall. To keep those waiting from getting restless, Rafael Cruz worked the line, shaking hands and posing for photographs. White-haired, vigorous, and charismatic at seventy-five, Rafael is a familiar figure to those who have followed his son’s career. He introduces Ted’s stump speech with the boast “He will not compromise!” Rafael Cruz fled Batista’s Cuba for Texas in 1957 after aligning himself with the anti-Batista movement. He returned to Cuba for just a month, in 1959, and became convinced that Fidel Castro was even worse than his predecessor, so he settled in the United States for good. He majored in mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin, and met and married Eleanor Darragh, who was born and raised in Delaware. (Rafael had two daughters from a previous marriage.) Rafael and Eleanor started an oil-services company after moving to Calgary, in Alberta, Canada, where Rafael Edward Cruz was born, in 1970. (Ted’s birth in Canada, with dual American and Canadian citizenship, has raised the question of whether he is a “native born” citizen and thus eligible, under the Constitution, to be President. The answer is not completely clear, but it seems likely that the Constitution does not bar a Cruz Presidency. Recently, Ted Cruz formally gave up his Canadian citizenship.) “You’ll have to forgive Roland. He still uses ‘stomach’ and ‘abdominals’ interchangeably.” Rafael and Eleanor split up a few years after Ted was born, and Rafael moved to Houston. Six months later, Eleanor and young Ted also went to Houston. The couple reconciled (though they eventually divorced), and Rafael experienced a religious awakening. He left the oil business and became a charismatic minister. Pastor Cruz, as he is often called, is not currently affiliated with any church or denomination, but he is a sought-after surrogate for his son on the campaign trail. In his speeches and talks, he operates as a kind of political id for Ted, much as Ted operates as the id of the Republican Party. Rafael attacks Obama and the Democrats with a religious intensity. In many of these talks, Rafael draws explicit parallels between Fidel Castro and Barack Obama as twin betrayers of the concepts of “hope and change.” “It all started for us in 1980, when Ted was nine years old,” Rafael Cruz told me. “I was involved with a group called the Religious Roundtable, which was working with the Moral Majority to help mobilize Christians to elect Ronald Reagan. All during that year, we talked every night about how important it was to get rid of this socialist-leftist President Carter and replace him with a constitutional conservative, Ronald Reagan. I must have told Ted a dozen times, ‘When I was in Cuba and they took away our freedoms, I had a place to go. If we lose our freedoms here, where are we going to go?’ ” Ted Cruz arrived at Princeton in the fall of 1988, after graduating from Houston’s Second Baptist High School. He quickly became friends with David Panton, a sixteen-year-old freshman from Jamaica. They became debating partners and roommates for the rest of their college years and at Harvard Law. “Ted’s views today politically are almost identical to when I met him,” Panton told me. “There’s nothing he says today that I didn’t hear in college. It all came from his father and from the Constitutional Corroborators.” There are two main kinds of college debating programs. One focusses on a single topic every year, and the other, Cruz and Panton’s specialty, is known as parliamentary debate. “In parliamentary debate, they don’t give you the subjects in advance. You just have to be fast on your feet and know a lot about a lot of different subjects,” Panton said. “Ted was the best debater in the country, hands down. He was the No. 1 debater our senior year.” At Princeton, Cruz wrote a senior thesis about a topic that was obscure at the time but later became of wide interest in the conservative legal movement: the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. The Ninth states, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”; and the Tenth reads, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” Ever since the Bill of Rights was ratified, near the end of the eighteenth century, the meaning of these provisions has proved elusive to scholars and judges. Robert Bork compared the Ninth to an inkblot. Liberal scholars have generally viewed the Ninth Amendment, in particular, as a guarantee that the Constitution represents a floor for, not a ceiling on, the rights of individuals. In his thesis, Cruz wrote that he intended to “elaborate upon a conception of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments which revitalizes the Founders’ commitment to limiting government, to restraining the reach of our none-too-angelic leaders.” The conclusion is debatable, but the level of erudition in the thesis is extraordinary, especially for a twenty-one-year-old who had not yet gone to law school. The thesis was so good that the professor who supervised Cruz’s work, Robert George, decided to play a joke on him. “When I was grading it, I dog-eared the first page and wrote ‘C-plus’ on it, so it was the first thing he’d see,” George told me. “Then inside I wrote, ‘Just kidding—A.’ I thought it might do Ted some good to wonder for a second whether he really was the smartest guy in the room.” A widely respected conservative legal philosopher, known for his opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion rights, George played godfather to right-leaning students on campus. “It’s an occupational hazard for academics like me to assume that our best students are going to become academics themselves. And so I was sure that Ted was going to become a professor.” But Cruz was already on his way to Harvard Law School. “He came to class with his right hand in the air and he kept it in the air for the whole semester,” Alan Dershowitz, who taught Cruz’s criminal-law class, told me. Cruz and Panton sat next to each other, and both disagreed with most of what Dershowitz said throughout the semester. “They were pro death penalty, they questioned the exclusionary rule, and they were both completely brilliant.” (Panton became the second black president of the Harvard Law Review, after Barack Obama. He now works in private equity, in Atlanta.) At Harvard, Cruz’s ambitions came into focus. “He was going to clerk for Michael Luttig, on the Fourth Circuit, who was the big feeder for the conservative Justices on the Supreme Court, and then clerk on the Court,” Dershowitz said. “And of course that’s exactly what he did.” From 1996 to 1997, Cruz clerked for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, and again he impressed both ideological allies and adversaries with his intelligence and persuasiveness. “We became friends on the first day of our clerkships,” Neal Katyal, who clerked for Stephen Breyer and went on to become Acting Solicitor General in the Obama Administration, said. “We spent the next year arguing about just about everything, especially the death penalty, which Ted definitely supported. He was conservative, of course, but he was not an ideologue. He knew how to make arguments based on the law. He was obviously already a very good lawyer.” After his clerkships, Cruz faced the first genuine crossroads of his career. Until then, he had followed an élite path from the Ivy League to coveted clerkships. Now he had to decide what kind of lawyer he was going to be. Cruz turned down an offer from a big firm (with a big signing bonus) and joined a boutique firm then known as Cooper & Carvin, in Washington. “When I was clerking for the Chief, Chuck Cooper and Mike Carvin came and recruited me,” Cruz told me. Cooper was a former Rehnquist clerk. At the time, the firm was nine months old and had only six lawyers. Cruz was the first new associate the partners recruited. Cooper and Carvin had served in senior roles in the Reagan Justice Department, and they created a firm that combined their passion for high-level litigation with conservative politics. Cooper has long been the outside counsel to the National Rifle Association, and, he recalled, “Ted was basically my lieutenant on all N.R.A. matters.” He helped Cooper prepare his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in favor of the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Cruz also worked on Representative John Boehner’s civil lawsuit against Representative Jim McDermott, a Democrat, for illegally leaking the recording of a phone call involving Newt Gingrich. (Boehner won the case, and McDermott was forced to pay damages, including more than a million dollars of Boehner’s legal fees.) Carvin, who has since moved on to another firm, said, “Ted was the best law partner I ever had, but he was a junior associate.” Soon enough, though, it became clear that Cruz’s ambitions extended beyond success as a private lawyer. “Ted had this obvious burning interest in matters of important public policy,” Cooper recalled. “He had the obvious tools to succeed at the highest levels of politics. It was clear to me that it was at least in the back of his mind, and I encouraged it.” (Cooper later became best known for leading the legal defense of California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, before the law was ultimately overturned.) And so, in 1999, Cruz went to work as a domestic-policy adviser on the George W. Bush Presidential campaign. “I essentially had responsibility for all the policy that touched on law,” Cruz told me. “So we all divided up the issues, but anything law-related fell under my bailiwick. The campaign was a year and a half of incredibly intense eighteen-to-twenty-hour days. The best part of the campaign was I met my wife. We were one of eight marriages that came out of the campaign, so I tell young people, ‘If you want to meet your spouse, go join a political campaign.’ ” (Heidi Cruz lives in Houston with their daughters.) “O.K., Mr. Slow and Steady—let’s see you stick this one.” When the result of the 2000 campaign devolved into a legal struggle over the vote in Florida, Cruz was well situated to play an important role. By the Thursday after Election Day, he was in Tallahassee. “Through an odd bit of serendipity, it happened that I was the only practicing lawyer, and, in particular, constitutional litigator, who had been on the full-time campaign team,” Cruz told me. “One of the realities of the recount and life is that lawyers and political folks don’t really speak the same language. By the accident of being in that place I found myself, there was sort of a small leadership team that consisted of Jim Baker and Josh Bolten and Ted Olson and George Terwilliger and Ben Ginsberg and me. And I’m twenty-nine years old, this kid, and all of these other folks are Cabinet members and masters of the universe.” Ginsberg, the national counsel to the Bush campaign, and his associates set up seven teams of lawyers to address the sprawling controversies generated by the recount, and Cruz was the only lawyer who served on all seven. His job was to encourage communication and assure consistent positions. “I’ve been amused at some of the subsequent descriptions of Bush versus Gore, because they sort of described us as this fine-oiled machine with a careful strategy,” Cruz said. “It was one tiny notch slightly below utter chaos.” Cruz’s initial assignment was to assemble a legal team. His first call was to his former mentor Carvin, who wound up representing Bush before the Florida Supreme Court. Cruz’s second call was to a Washington lawyer named John Roberts. “John had been a friend and a Rehnquist clerk—I’ve known John a long time,” Cruz said. “Everyone we called, without exception, dropped everything and came down. And for a young lawyer, I mean, it was a breathtaking and humbling experience to get the chance to carry the bag and work alongside some of the most talented lawyers in the country.” Conservatives have long denounced liberal judges and lawyers for judicial activism—that is, for using the courts to overrule the work of the democratically elected branches of government. Roe v. Wade, which invalidated state laws banning abortion around the country, is the consummate act of liberal judicial activism. In the eighties and nineties, however, as Reagan nominees began to dominate the federal judiciary, conservatives began to use the courts for their own political ends as well. Conservatives like Cruz never stopped denouncing liberals for their efforts to use the courts to promote their ideological agenda, even as they began to do much the same thing themselves. The heart of Cruz’s legal career was a sustained and often successful undertaking to use the courts for conservative ends, like promoting the death penalty, lowering the barriers between church and state, and undermining international institutions and agreements. In the nineteen-nineties, several states created the position of solicitor general, a chief appellate advocate, modelled on the one in the United States Department of Justice, which represents the federal government before the Supreme Court. The Texas job was started in 1999, when John Cornyn was the state attorney general. (Cornyn is now Cruz’s senior colleague in the Senate.) But when Greg Abbott became attorney general of Texas, in 2002, he decided to expand the responsibilities of the solicitor general beyond simply handling appeals in cases involving the state. Abbott had served on the Texas Supreme Court and developed strongly conservative views on legal issues. “I wanted someone who had the capability to handle appellate arguments in court, but I wanted to do so much more,” Abbott told me. “I wanted Texas to be a national leader on the profound legal issues of the day. I wanted us to be able to have a larger footprint, a larger impact.” Though Cruz was only thirty-two, he persuaded Abbott that he was up to the job. In 2003, he moved to Austin. “We wanted Ted to take a leadership role in the United States in articulating a vision of strict construction. I look for employees with batteries included,” Abbott said. “Ted was supercharged and ready to go.” In effect, he asked Cruz to roam the country in search of cases that might advance the Constitutional agenda that Cruz had first embraced as a teen-ager. Sometimes Texas was an actual party to the cases Cruz argued, and sometimes he simply volunteered to write friend-of-the-court briefs for causes that he and Abbott supported. They intervened in cases supporting gun-owners’ rights, states’ rights, and the right to religious expression in public places. In one high-profile case, Cruz wrote the brief that persuaded the court to approve a monument of the Ten Commandments outside the state capitol, in Austin. (Abbott argued that case.) In just over six years, Cruz argued nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, more than any other Texas lawyer during this period and more than all but a few lawyers in the country. In addition, he filed dozens of briefs in federal and state appeals courts. In his arguments before the high court, Cruz won five cases and lost four, but that understates the magnitude of his success. The cases he lost were rather minor; in one of them he appeared as a friend of the court. The cases he won had more drama and importance. The most notable, from 2008, began, as Cruz recounted to me, when “two teen-age girls who were walking home one night stumbled into a gang initiation and were horribly gang-raped and murdered. One of the most brutal crimes that shocked the conscience of the city of Houston. Ernesto Medellín was one of the leaders of the gang, and he was apprehended several days later, and he confessed to it right away. His confession was one of the most chilling documents I’ve ever read, handwritten, where he describes bragging about raping these little girls. He describes showing off his bloodstained clothes. He describes keeping, as a trophy of the night, one of the little girls’ Mickey Mouse watches. This was an unrepentant murderer. He was convicted, he was sentenced to death, and then the case took a strange turn.” The World Court, which is the judicial arm of the United Nations, issued a directive to the United States to reopen the cases of Medellín, who was Mexican, and fifty other Mexican nationals who were on death row. After their arrests, none of the defendants had been offered the consular services of the Mexican government, a right that the United States was treaty-bound to honor. In a crucial twist, the Administration of George W. Bush agreed with the World Court judgment. The Justice Department asserted that the cases, including Medellín’s, should be reopened, because the defendants had not been granted their rights under the treaty. As both a legal and a political matter, Texas’s position looked weak. How could Abbott (and Cruz) take on a President of the United States who also happened to be a fellow-Republican and fellow-Texan? And how, in any event, could the state of Texas overrule a judgment of both the United States government and the World Court? “In both law and politics, I think the essential battle is the meta-battle of framing the narrative,” Cruz told me. “As Sun Tzu said, Every battle is won before it’s fought. It’s won by choosing the terrain on which it will be fought. So in litigation I tried to ask, What’s this case about? When the judge goes home and speaks to his or her grandchild, who’s in kindergarten, and the child says, ‘Paw-Paw, what did you do today?’ And if you own those two sentences that come out of the judge’s mouth, you win the case. “So let’s take Medellín as an example of that,” Cruz went on. “The other side’s narrative in Medellín was very simple and easy to understand. ‘Can the state of Texas flout U.S. treaty obligations, international law, the President of the United States, and the world? And, by the way, you know how those Texans are about the death penalty anyway!’ That’s their narrative. That’s what the case is about. When Justice Kennedy comes home and he tells his grandson, ‘This case is about whether a state can ignore U.S. treaty obligations,’ we lose. “So I spent a lot of time thinking about, What’s a different narrative to explain this case? Because, as you know, just about every observer in the media and in the academy thought we didn’t have a prayer. This is a hopeless case.” Cruz decided to change the narrative into one about the separation of powers. He refashioned the case from a fight between Texas and the United States to one between the executive branch and the legislative branch of the federal government, with Texas advocating for Congress. He argued that the President could not order Texas to reopen the cases without the specific authorization of Congress. Cruz duelled with Stephen Breyer and other skeptical Justices for well over the allotted thirty minutes. Breyer ribbed Cruz: “As I read the Constitution, it says all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every state—I guess it means including Texas”—the audience laughed—“shall be bound thereby.” “There are three courses of action we can take now—I can call you Ace, Chief, or Big Guy.” “Certainly, Justice Breyer,” Cruz answered. “Texas, of course, does not dispute that the Constitution, laws, and treaties are the supreme law of the land.” But, he went on, the President’s order, in this case, was none of these. The questioning of Cruz became so raucous that, at one point, Justice John Paul Stevens felt compelled to interject, “You said there are six reasons. . . . I really would like to hear what those reasons are without interruption from all of my colleagues.” Cruz won the case, six-to-three, with Stevens joining the Court’s conservatives. In another case, a major challenge to Texas’s 2003 electoral redistricting on the ground that it discriminated against minorities, the number of plaintiffs before the Court was so large that Cruz was allowed to file a hundred-and-twenty-three-page brief in response, well above the usual page limit. He won that case as well. Cruz became so comfortable before the Justices that he even employed a touch of humor, which is always risky at the Supreme Court. In 2008, the Justices invited Cruz to argue in support of Louisiana’s position that the Constitution permitted the execution of an individual who raped a child. (To be asked to argue a case as a friend of the court is itself a significant honor for a lawyer.) At one point, Justice Stevens asked whether any country had ever made punishments for rape more draconian. “It’s interesting if you look at the history in England,” Cruz said. “Blackstone actually talks about how rape under Saxon law was punishable by death, and then there was a period—1285—where the punishment was ‘relaxed’ to loss of the eyes and testicles. That was William the Conqueror’s kinder, gentler version.” Laughter followed. Still, the court ruled that Louisiana could not execute the defendant. In 2010, Greg Abbott was planning on running to succeed Rick Perry as governor, and Cruz decided to step out on his own and run for attorney general. By this point, Cruz had reached such a level of prominence as solicitor general that he had basically cleared the field to take over for his boss. But Perry decided to run for reëlection and, as a result, so did Abbott. Cruz stepped down as solicitor general and joined a law firm in Houston. In short order, another opportunity presented itself: Kay Bailey Hutchison was retiring from the U.S. Senate, opening up a seat in the 2012 election. Cruz flew to Washington for a conference of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. There he arranged to meet with Mike Lee, a newly elected senator from Utah. The two had much in common. Both were former Supreme Court clerks and both had an intense interest in constitutional law. (The son of Rex Lee, who was Solicitor General in the Reagan Administration, Mike Lee clerked for Samuel Alito during his first year on the Court.) “At that point, I felt like I had already known Ted, because three of my co-clerks were Princeton undergrads, and he was a legendary debater,” Lee recalled. Cruz and Lee hit it off. “He and I see a lot of things the same way, through a similar lens. As someone who has studied the Constitution throughout his entire life, he understands the importance of federalism and separation of powers. As a former Supreme Court clerk and appellate litigator, he is very aware of how the courts look at things. But he also knows that we can’t leave every constitutional question to the courts. The legislative branch has to follow the Constitution, too.” The two men took a long walk around the Capitol grounds. By the end, Lee had agreed to endorse Cruz for the Senate. David Dewhurst, the lieutenant governor of Texas (an especially powerful position there), was far and away the best-known and best-financed candidate for the Senate seat in 2012. But Cruz, calling himself a “constitutional conservative,” rallied the Tea Party movement to his side and battered Dewhurst as a conciliator and a defender of the status quo. Tea Party favorites like Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Rand Paul, and Jim DeMint swarmed the state for Cruz, and conservative political-action committees like the Club for Growth bought millions of dollars’ worth of advertisements on his behalf. Dewhurst finished ahead of Cruz in the first round of voting—forty-five per cent to thirty-four per cent—but then Cruz won the runoff, with fifty-seven per cent of the vote. The general election was a formality against Texas’s moribund Democratic Party. Cruz made his influence felt in the Senate even before he took office. He was invited to join the weekly lunch of the Senate Republican caucus on December 4, 2012, which happened to be the day the full Senate was debating the United Nations treaty on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The treaty seemed fairly uncontroversial, but Cruz, as the tribune of the Tea Party movement, was opposed. “I was a newly elected senator who hadn’t even been sworn in yet, but I did just pass on, having just come from the campaign trail, that issues of U.S. sovereignty resonate powerfully with the American people,” Cruz told me. The issues in the treaty were broadly similar to those in the Medellín case, in that they involved the interplay between American law and international institutions. Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who is the assistant majority leader, recalled Cruz’s influence on Republicans at that lunch. “These people walked out scared as hell,” he said. “And I thought, This guy is wasting no time to flex his muscles over there.” As part of the effort to pass the treaty, supporters brought Bob Dole, the widely respected former Republican majority leader, to the Senate floor, in a wheelchair, to lobby for passage. But Dole, and the treaty, failed. John McCain told me, “It was the most embarrassing day in my time in the Senate, to force Bob Dole to watch that.” Cruz explained, “I personally have been passionate for a long, long time about protecting U.S. sovereignty, that our laws should reflect American values, American mores, and not be governed by the laws or tribunals of foreign nations or foreign institutions. I urged my soon-to-be colleagues to protect U.S. sovereignty, and ultimately they did so.” On another early trip as a senator-elect, Cruz made a speech to the Federalist Society, to which he has since returned several times. Founded in 1982, the society is a forum for discussion of conservative legal ideas. It takes no formal positions on issues, and members don’t agree with each other on every topic, but it has long operated as the network for potential Republican judicial nominees and executive-branch officials. In practice, the Federalist approach has meant an “originalist” view of the Constitution, which, in turn, reflects the priorities of the modern Republican Party—including an expansive view of an individual’s right to bear arms under the Second Amendment, a rejection of constitutional protections for a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, a porous barrier between church and state, and a narrow conception of the power of the federal government to intervene in the economy. Dozens of judges have brought a Federalist orientation to the bench in recent years; Cruz is the first politician, and the first prospective President, to put their ideas at the center of national debate. “Like many people in this room, I’ve grown up with the Federalist Society,” he said soon after he arrived in Washington. “This has been my home for my entire adult life, my entire professional life.” It was at a later Federalist Society dinner that Cruz was inspired to write a series of reports on what he found to be abuses of power by the Obama Administration. The idea came from another prominent conservative lawyer, Justice Samuel Alito, who was the speaker that evening. Cruz’s facility with constitutional argument draws admiration even from those who do not share his views. “Ted is able to use erudite constitutional analysis with politically appealing slogans—that’s a rare talent,” Walter Dellinger, the former acting Solicitor General in the Clinton Administration, who has debated Cruz, told me. “The only problem is that Ted’s view of the Constitution—based on states’ rights and a narrow scope of federal power—was rejected at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and then was resurrected by John C. Calhoun, and the Confederates during the Civil War, when it failed again. It’s still around now. I think it’s wrong, but Ted does a very sophisticated version of that view.” “I’m sorry—I’m totally blanking on your species.” Since taking office, Cruz has had little use for the traditional political norms of the Capitol, as he showed when he signed a fund-raising letter for the Senate Conservatives Fund, which aims to defeat incumbent Republican senators whom it deems unduly moderate. Challenged by his colleagues in the Republican caucus, Cruz vowed to refrain from targeting incumbents. But then it happened again, with the Madison Project, which also supports candidates who challenge Republican incumbents. “It’s time to elect some conservatives who won’t run from a fight!” Cruz wrote, according to Politico. (Cruz says the letter went out without his permission.) Just a few months after Cruz had taken office, McCain was referring to him, in public, as a “wacko bird.” (The insult still stings. Introducing her husband to the delegates at the Republican convention in Fort Worth, Heidi Cruz denied that he was a wacko bird.) By one reckoning, the twenty-one-hour speech Cruz mounted against Obamacare last September was his consummate wacko-bird moment. At that time, the House and the Senate were weighing a continuing resolution, which would keep the federal government funded and open. The Republican House, with Cruz’s encouragement, had passed a budget that denied all funds for the Affordable Care Act. It was clear that this budget would never pass the Democrat-controlled Senate and certainly never be signed by the President. So Cruz’s speech merely delayed the inevitable—the passage of a budget that included money for the bill. There are generally two kinds of senators: those who legislate and those who run for President. Cruz’s speech, and its aftermath, locked down his status in the second category. John Cornyn, his Texas colleague, opposed Cruz’s efforts on the shutdown. “Ted is very smart and very articulate and he has a huge following, but the question is whether what he’s doing is going to help us be a majority party,” Cornyn told me. “The great thing about the Senate is that you are a free agent; you can follow your conscience. But if you want to be effective you can’t get your way a hundred per cent of the time. We need to think about the eighty-twenty rule. We need to get back to the idea that it doesn’t always have to be a hundred per cent our way.” Cruz takes a different view of his role in the shutdown. While the government was closed, the Obamacare Web site, healthcare.gov, made its disastrous début, and the polls turned against the Democrats. Cruz felt that his political argument, not the failure of the Web site, produced the political turnaround. “Many voices in Washington say the fight that we had last fall was not successful,” Cruz told me. “Like any good litigator, at times you think of a battle as a long-term battle. You don’t always accomplish everything in the first skirmish. As a consequence of millions of people last summer and fall getting engaged in that battle, I believe we dramatically elevated the national debate over the harms of Obamacare. And today Democrats are running scared, and the prevailing wisdom is Republicans are quite likely to win control of the Senate because of Obamacare.” In any event, Cruz still glories in flouting the conventions of senatorial, even Republican Party, courtesy. Earlier this year, Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, made a procedural deal with the Democrats so that fifty votes, not sixty, would be needed to raise the debt ceiling. The lower threshold would allow senators like McConnell, as well as John Cornyn, to vote against raising the debt ceiling, which would help them in their primaries against Tea Party challengers. By objecting, Cruz forced some of his Republican colleagues to make a tough, politically risky vote. “I have to tell you that there’s nothing that I’ve done in my year and a half that enraged my colleagues more,” Cruz said of his debt-ceiling maneuver. “The Republican leadership asked every Republican senator to affirmatively consent to lowering the threshold to taking up the debt ceiling from sixty votes to fifty votes. And the argument was twofold: No. 1, if we do so, it will pass, and we want it to pass. That is the outcome we want. And, No. 2, if we don’t, the Democrats can pass it on their own. Every one of us can vote no. We can go and tell our constituents we opposed the thing—we just consented to allow it to happen. And my response was simply to say that there is no universe in which I can consent to lowering the threshold and making it easier for Harry Reid to add trillions of debt to our nation.” To Cruz, McConnell’s procedural legerdemain defined what was wrong with Washington. “It’s part of the reason why I’ve said many times that I think the biggest divide we’ve got in this country is not between Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “It’s between entrenched politicians in Washington in both parties and the American people.” |
She says the company operates throughout the province so "people in Hamilton and St. Catharines and Niagara Falls should get the same kind of service in terms of following up on charges as people in Toronto." A spokesperson from the consumer services ministry would not say whether it is conducting further investigations or whether additional charges are anticipated. A ministry investigator looked into the Harrison family's situation in November 2015, but no charges were laid. The family is not clear where this leaves them. Horwath noted that people who are fighting the company on their own will have to hire a lawyer and that can be very expensive. "That has to stop. These companies are predatory. They have this type of sales tactic on purpose. It allows them to dupe people into contracts that are not financially manageable for the individual but are very lucrative for the company. It is a predatory practice that needs to be banned." As the legislation stands today, people have a 10-day cooling-off period to cancel an agreement with a door-to-door salesperson. But Horwath says that isn't enough. Often homeowners are seniors and may not be fully aware of what they are signing. As well, they may not know they have an option to back out within 10 days. "By the time they figure it out it is too late. The cooling-off period is over and the company is laughing all the way to the bank while the victim of these predatory practices is paying through the nose. It is absolutely despicable. It is a big problem in this province," she says. That's what happened with the Harrison couple. The rest of the family was not aware of the details of the furnace and air-conditioner deal, Lance says. Lance, 50, says her then 78-year-old father had serious health problems that affected his judgment but still pressed on trying to manage the affairs of the house as he'd done in the past. "He had had a stroke. He was forgetting things. He was angry. He didn't hear everything. You had to say things in very simple terms for him to understand," she said. Her dad — who died in March 2015 — was not competent, according to a letter from his physician Dr. Joginder Khera. In the letter prepared for OEG, Khera says Harrison, a retired steelworker, was suffering from "memory difficulties and cognitive impairment in 2013" and "... I do not feel that Mr. Harrison was competent to sign such a contract on his own in 2013 and I would request that the company take into account this new information and allow for the wife to be released from the contract," the letter says. Chand said his client was "not in any position to comment on the medical opinion of the customer's medical doctor with respect to their condition upon entering into the agreement with OEG in 2013." Neil's widow, Beryl Harrison, and Lance came to know of the full terms of the 15-year agreement with OEG after they inquired about the monthly bank charges. Provincial legislation also allows that people with disabilities, or who do not understand the contract, have a year to get out of a contract. But in Harrison's case, the circumstances of the deal were not clear to family members until after he died, 15 months after the contract was signed. The family also came to learn a lien had been placed on the house. They stopped payments on the monthly charges and asked the equipment be removed — which prompted the company to bill Beryl Harrison, as executor, for $54,386.17. The bill included the costs of the furnace ($7,491.90) and air conditioning ($7,373.25) as well as more that $37,000 for the "rental and maintenance contract" plus penalties and legal fees. "I don't know what to do anymore. I am so frustrated," Lance says, adding that her mom, for a time, was terrified she might lose her house and end up on the street. She wants to sell the house and move into an apartment and feels the value of the house will be severely undermined by the expensive furnace and air-conditioning rental charges that the next owner would have to pay. OEG made several attempts to resolve this matter with the customer, Chand said, including a "significantly reduced buy-out offer" for the equipment. "All communications with the customer have gone unanswered," he said. As well, Lance alleges there are numerous problems with the way the furnace and air-conditioner were installed. She hired Fox Refrigeration Inc. of Hamilton to evaluate the work. Company inspector Harry Gose listed more than 15 deficiencies — from the entire furnace not having the proper clearance, to ductwork connections being poorly installed, to the venting through the wall being poorly sealed. "As per my inspection, in my personal opinion, both the furnace and air conditioner was very poorly installed," the report says. OEG did not offer comment on the Fox "opinion." The complaints and charges against OEG come at a time when door-to-door salespeople more generally are being scorned. Earlier this month a private member's bill — Door-to-Door Sales Prohibition Act, 2016 — was introduced in the legislature that would ban door-to-door sales, leasing or rental of air-conditioners, water heaters, furnaces and water treatment devices. The bill from Yvan Baker, Liberal MPP for Etobicoke Centre, would render any contract void that was signed for certain home improvement products listed in the bill. |
Imagine if the inventor of the Segway claimed to own “any thing that moves in response to human commands.” Or if the inventor of the telegraph applied for a patent covering any use of electric current for communication. Absurdly overbroad claims like these would not be allowed, right? Unfortunately, the Patent Office does not do a good job of policing overly broad claims. August's Stupid Patent of the Month, U.S. Patent No. 8,788,090, is a stark example of how these claims promote patent trolling. A patent troll called Rothschild Connected Devices Innovations, LLC (“RCDI”) owns a family of patents on a system of customizing products. Each of these patents stems from the same 2006 application. The idea is simple: connect some kind of product mixer to the Internet and allow users to make custom orders. The application suggests using the system to make beverages or shampoo. Here’s how the application describes the invention: The system and method of the present disclosure enables a user, e.g., a consumer, to customize products containing solids and fluids by allowing a server communicating over the global computer network, e.g., the Internet, to provide product preferences of a user to a product or a mixing device, e.g., a product or beverage dispenser. Even in 2006, this was a spectacularly mundane idea. The application did not disclose any new networking technology. Nor did it reveal any new beverage-making technology. It just connects a product mixer to the Internet. Any claim to such a humdrum combination should be found invalid as obvious. All of the patents in this family are pretty silly. But it get worse. RCDI’s most recently granted patent, U.S. Patent No. 8,788,090, includes an extremely broad claim. Claim 1 purports to cover any system where a “remote server” “transmits” a “product preference” to a product via a “communication module.” This is madness. RCDI is effectively claiming to have invented the idea of remote configuration … in 2006. Even if other claims in this patent family are valid (something we doubt), the Patent Office should never have allowed this claim. Taking an extremely broad view of this patent claim, RCDI has sued a collection of companies, including ADT, Cisco, Protect America, OnStar, and Rain Bird. It seems that any company that sells products that connect to the Internet is at risk. For example, in its complaint against ADT, RCDI states that a system that allows customers to “remotely customize the operation” of a “thermostat” infringes its patent. Having supposedly invented an online beverage mixer, RCDI is now asserting its patent against the entire Internet of Things. Even though it traces priority back to a 2006 parent application, this month's stupid patent is not the product of some earlier, less diligent, era at the Patent Office. The “continuation” application that led to this patent was filed in March 2013 and the patent issued in July 2014. This illustrates how applicants use the continuation process (which allows them to file an unlimited number of new applications based on a previous patent application) to try to get ever broader claims issued. Too often, once the Patent Office issues one patent in a family, examiners are overly lenient allowing continuation applications. This month’s winner likely would have never issued if the examiner had diligently applied KSR v. Teleflex’s prohibition on obvious combinations. There will be no prize for guessing where RCDI has filed all of its litigation: the Eastern District of Texas. We recently explained that the Eastern District is the venue of choice for trolls. Its unique, plaintiff-friendly rules make it easier for trolls to use the cost of defense to extort settlements, even when the underlying case is weak. We need broad patent reform to stop abusive patent litigation. We need litigation reform (including venue reform) that makes patent trolling less attractive. We also need reform at the Patent Office so that it doesn’t issue terrible patents like this in the first place. Contact your representative and tell them to pass patent reform. |
(Luke Lucas/For The Washington Post) 21st Amendment Toaster Pastry, representing the city of San Francisco, is the winner of the 2016 Beer Madness public voting bracket after beating Port City Optimal Wit 8,471-7,320. Port City looked like it might give the Washington area a local champion after briefly pulling ahead in the voting on Friday night, but a late surge put 21st Amendment over the top. Wait ’til next year. [The Beer Madness blind-tasting panel picks a winner] The malty Toaster Pastry, which won praise from the Beer Madness blind tasting panel for its “balanced hoppiness” and “bright, piquant flavor,” was named in honor of 21st Amendment’s new brewery in San Leandro, California, which once made Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts. A silver medal winner in the Double Red category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival, it is available in 19.2-ounce tallboy cans, a size known as the royal pint. [How the 2016 Beer Madness field was selected | A guide to this year’s beer styles] Fourth round voting results There will be some local flavor in the final of the 2016 Beer Madness public bracket. Port City Optimal Wit, the winner of Beer Madness’s South region, ran away from Allagash Saison, 1623-1183. On the other side of the bracket, 21st Amendment Toaster Pastry, representing the West region, beat Schlafly Grapefruit IPA in a fiercely contested battle, 18,256-17,021. Schlafly won the public bracket last year with its Kolsch, and fell just short of becoming the first brewery to appear in back-to-back finals. At this point, it’s worth noting again that none of these four beers wowed the blind-tasting panel as much as they impressed online voters, so we won’t have a consensus Beer Madness champion. Third round voting results We’re in the final stretch of Beer Madness, and this morning brings updates on three competitions: Once again, the Final Four on the public voting bracket looks nothing like the Final Four chosen by our blind-tasting panel. (Last year, the two panels had only one beer in common at this stage.) In the public semi-finals, Allagash Saison takes on local entry Port City Optimal Wit, while early favorite Schlafly Grapefruit faces the surging 21st Amendment Toaster Pastry. Pick your favorite in the bracket below. The panel of judges, meanwhile, have chosen their four regional champions: Maine Beer Company’s Another One IPA (Northeast), The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout (South), Jester King Black Metal Imperial Stout (Midwest), and Avery Liliko’i Kepolo (West). Tasting notes and judges’ comments are on the updated blog post. [Beer Madness 2016: The Final Four is set as Liliko’i Kepolo wins again] Finally, thanks to everyone that came to the Beer Madness Taste-Off on Tuesday at the Washington Post HQ. Whole Foods chef Benjamin Nola prepared appetizers to be paired with four of our Beer Madness finalists, and we asked attendees to vote for their favorite beer. The winner: Epic’s Big Bad Baptist, an imperial stout flavored with coffee and cocoa nibs, and aged in used whiskey barrels. It’s strong (around 12 percent ABV) and not subtle, but it’s delicious. Voting for the Final Four in the public bracket is open through Monday; voting for the Beer Madness champion begins Tuesday. Second round round voting results: The second round of Beer Madness voting is when the differences between our public bracket and blind-tasting panel become clear. The first-round vote saw judges and online voters agreeing on 11 of the beers that made it to the Sweet 16. But in the latest poll, voters and judges agreed on just three of the eight beers to advance: Dogfish Head’s Romantic Chemistry IPA, Cigar City Jai Alai IPA, and Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale. The bigger story might be that the three most popular beers in the public bracket – Schlafly Grapefruit IPA (933 votes), 21 Amendment Toaster Pastry (573 votes) and Port City Optimal Wit (498 votes) – were all knocked out of the blind tasting in the second round. Schlafly, of course, won last year’s public bracket with its popular Kolsch. Could another upset be in the offing? First round voting results: Some big names bowed out in the first round of Beer Madness, including Maine Beer Company’s Another One IPA, Boulevard’s Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale and Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne by local favorite Right Proper. The biggest fight occurred in the Midwest region — specifically, Missouri — with Schlafly’s Grapefruit IPA beating Boulevard’s Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale by a margin of “only” 870 votes, 2,911 to 2,041. (This was a stunning show of support from both ends of I-70, and a rematch of last year’s hotly contested Schlafly-Boulevard showdown, which Schlafly also won.) Online voters agreed with our blind-tasting panel in 11 out of the 16 match-ups. The biggest disagreement: Avery’s Liliko’i Kepolo, a tart, passion fruit-spiked witbier, lost to Great Divide’s Titan IPA, 1454-1076, in online voting, despite trouncing Titan, 8-0, at the in-person tasting held earlier this month. |
Story highlights Doug Jones says Trump should not resign Jones says he's ready to move forward from the special election Washington (CNN) The winner of the Alabama special election, Democratic Senator-elect Doug Jones, says it's time to move on from the sexual misconduct allegations that have been made against President Donald Trump. Jones told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" Sunday morning that he doesn't agree with some in his party who say Trump should resign from office over the sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations against him, which Trump has denied. "(T)hose allegations were made before the election, and so people had an opportunity to judge before that election," Jones said. Jones also said that he's ready to move forward despite Roy Moore's refusal to concede the race, stating he's "ready to go regardless of whether (Moore) concedes or not." "I say it's time to move on. Alabama has spoken," Jones added. "It was a close election, there is no question about that. But, you know, elections can be close sometimes. But now it's time to heal." Read More |
The Hammer’s Origins The Hammer item comes from the original Donkey Kong arcade game. Even the music that plays when you grab it is a perfect match! Mario’s Ex-Girlfriend(?) The woman kidnapped by DK in the original Donkey Kong was Mario’s first love, Pauline. Originally, she was just called “Lady.” We’ve come a long way. Villager: Up Special The Villager’s up special Balloon Trip is named after a mode from the NES game Balloon Fight. Mario’s Origins Mario made his debut in the arcade game Donkey Kong. He wore a blue shirt and red overalls the opposite of his current outfit. Battlefield The Battlefield platform layout has been around since Dream Land in the original Super Smash Bros. It was first named Battlefield in Melee. Mega Man Series Since its debut in 1987, the Mega Man series as a whole has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Duck Hunt’s Sales The game Duck Hunt sold over 28 million copies worldwide. A big contribution to this was its inclusion as a pack-in title with the NES console. A Trick with the Golden Hammer While holding the Golden Hammer, you can tap the jump button quickly to float through the air. This worked in the original Wrecking Crew too! The Golden Hammer’s Origins The Golden Hammer item is from Wrecking Crew on the NES, as is the stand it appears on. Even its music is taken straight from the original game! Kirby’s Copy Abilities Kirby hasn’t always been able to copy the abilities of the enemies he inhaled. That power debuted in his second title, Kirby’s Adventure. Rotation and Scaling As a launch title for the SNES, F-Zero showcased that console’s ability to dynamically scale and rotate graphics on-screen. Captain Falcon’s Machine The Blue Falcon racing machine first appeared in the original F-Zero. Captain Falcon uses it in Smash Bros. for his Final Smash! Port Town Aero Dive The stage Port Town Aero Dive is based on a track from F-Zero GX. It’s 54,757 feet long, and at its peak you can get a great view of Port Town from above. Beginners and Experts Alike The original Kirby game, Kirby’s Dream Land, was designed to be easy for beginners to play, but finishing it unlocks a more challenging mode. Multiplayer Kirby Kirby Super Star on the SNES was the first Kirby game where two players could team up. The King of Side Scrollers The original Super Mario Bros. is a true classic. It’s been released on at least 12 systems and sold more than 300 million copies worldwide! Mario’s Loyal Ally Yoshi made his debut in Super Mario World, where he was trapped inside an egg by Bowser and freed by Mario. Poison Mushroom The sneaky Poison Mushroom, which hurts Mario instead of helping him, made its first appearance in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. Luigi’s Air Superiority The title Super Mario Bros. 2 refers to different games in the West and in Japan, but both games introduced Luigi’s ability to jump higher than Mario! Nurse Peach When Mario took up a new career as Dr. Mario,Peach joined him as a nurse. But she didn’t get to appear in the game itself only in the manual! Types of Viruses In Dr. Mario on the NES, the three different types of virus were red, blue, and yellow. On the Game Boy, they were white, black, and gray. Items Can Turn the Tide The very first Mario Kart game, Super Mario Kart, introduced the idea of using items to get ahead. And that’s still the core of the series today! No Goombas? Super Mario World doesn’t feature any normal Goombas. The ones that do appear are actually a different species, now known as Galoombas. Homesickness In EarthBound, Ness occasionally gets homesick, which weakens him in battle. This can be cured by his going home or by just phoning his mom! Ness’s Little Sister Ness has a little sister named Tracy. She works part-time at Escargo Express, answering Ness’s calls when he needs to have items delivered. Wii Fit Trainer’s Origins Wii Fit Trainer debuted in 2008 in the title Wii Fit. Players could choose a male or female trainer to guide them through their fitness routines. Villager’s Origins The Villager debuted in 2002 in Animal Crossing, a game in which players could enjoy a peaceful village life with a variety of animal neighbors. A Familiar Face In Punch-Out!!, released on the NES in 1987, the referee was none other than Mario! His outfit was a bit different, but he still wore his trademark cap. Mega Man: The Mega Buster Mega Man’s standard attack, strong side attack, and standard air attack all fire the Mega Buster his main weapon ever since his first game. Mega Man: Strong Up Attack Mega Man’s strong up attack is Mega Upper, a move he uses in the arcade game Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. Mega Man: Strong Down Attack Mega Man’s strong down attack is simply called Sliding. It’s based on the nonoffensive technique he’s been able to use since Mega Man 3. Mega Man: Dash Attack Mega Man’s dash attack is a whirlwind of pain called Top Spin. It was originally a special weapon he acquired from Top Man, a boss in Mega Man 3. Mega Man: Side Smash Attack Mega Man’s side smash is the Charge Shot, an attack he gained in Mega Man 4 that lets his Mega Buster build up energy before firing. Mega Man: Up Smash Attack Mega Man’s up smash is the electrifying Spark Shock. He originally obtained this special weapon by defeating Spark Man, a boss in Mega Man 3. Mega Man: Down Smash Attack Mega Man’s down smash is Flame Blast, which creates twin pillars of fire from his hands. He got this special weapon from Flame Man in Mega Man 6. Mega Man: Front Air Attack Mega Man’s front air attack is a decisive strike with his Flame Sword. He obtained this special weapon by defeating Sword Man in Mega Man 8. Mega Man: Back Air Attack Mega Man’s back air attack is the multihitting Slash Claw. He obtained this special weapon by beating the boss Slash Man in Mega Man 7. Mega Man: Up Air Attack Mega Man’s up air attack is Air Shooter, which fires a tornado upward. He obtained this special weapon by defeating Air Man in Mega Man 2. Mega Man: Down Air Attack Mega Man’s down air attack is Hard Knuckle, which fires his fist downward like a rocket. It was the special weapon of Hard Man in Mega Man 3. Mega Man: Standard Special Mega Man’s standard special Metal Blade can throw circular saws in any of eight directions. It was the special weapon of Metal Man in Mega Man 2. Mega Man: Side Special Mega Man’s side special Crash Bomber fires an explosive that sticks to walls and fighters. It was originally Crash Man’s special weapon in Mega Man 2. Mega Man: Up Special Mega Man’s up special Rush Coil lets him leap to great heights with a little help from Rush, his robot-dog partner. Rush debuted in Mega Man 3. Mega Man: Down Special Mega Man’s down special is Leaf Shield, a rotating barrier of leaves. It was originally the special weapon of Wood Man, a boss in Mega Man 2. Mega Man: Grab Attack Mega Man’s grab is the Super Arm, a special weapon that lifts the heaviest of foes with ease. He got it from Guts Man in the very first Mega Man game. Mega Man: Standard Special 2 Mega Man’s second standard special is Hyper Bomb, which throws a large bomb. It was Bomb Man’s special weapon in the first Mega Man game. Mega Man: Side Special 2 Mega Man’s second side special is Ice Slasher, an icy shot that penetrates foes. It was the special weapon of Ice Man in the first Mega Man game. Mega Man: Up Special 2 Mega Man’s second up special is Tornado Hold, which uses a fan to lift him into the air. He got it by defeating the boss Tengu Man in Mega Man 8. Pit and the Hammer When Pit grabs a Hammer, he swings it from the wrist, with only two frames of movement just like how he used the mallets in the original Kid Icarus! Ness’s Psychic Powers Ness always had a variety of psychic powers, but he couldn’t actually use PK Fire or PK Thunder in EarthBound. His friend Paula could, though. Robin: Nosferatu In Fire Emblem Awakening, Robin wasn’t able to use Nosferatu in his or her base class of Tactician only by reclassing into a Dark Mage. Three Classic Items The three power-ups from Super Mario Bros. on the NES the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Super Star can all be used in this game too! Infinite 1-Ups A trick in the original Super Mario Bros. lets you get infinite 1-Ups by jumping on foes repeatedly. Sadly, that won’t get you anything in this game. Mii Fighter’s Origins Mii characters first appeared in 2006, with the debut of the Wii console and the Mii Channel. They can be used in a variety of games. Samus’s Origins Samus Aran made her debut in the 1987 NES title Metroid. It is a science-fiction action-adventure game with a focus on exploration. Kirby’s Origins Kirby made his debut in 1992 in Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy. The goal of his journey was to recover stolen food from King Dedede. Fox’s Origins Fox made his debut in 1993, in the SNES game Star Fox. In his fighter craft, the Arwing, he fought to take down the evil scientist Andross. Luigi’s Origins Luigi made his debut in the 1983 arcade classic Mario Bros. At the time, he wore a white shirt and cap with green overalls. Captain Falcon’s Origins Captain Falcon’s first appearance was in the 1991 SNES launch title F-Zero. You couldn’t see him in the game itself, but he was in the manual. King of the Koopas Mario’s eternal rival, Bowser, debuted in Super Mario Bros. He appeared as the boss of every world, but they were all fake except for in World 8. Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom Peach first appeared in Super Mario Bros., where she was known as Princess Toadstool. This was also the first of her many run-ins with Bowser… Marth’s Origins Marth debuted in the first Fire Emblem game in 1990, but that game wasn’t released in North America until the Nintendo DS remake in 2009. Mr. Game & Watch’s Origins Mr. Game & Watch first appeared in the early ’80s in the Game & Watch handheld game series predating even the NES and Game Boy! Falco’s Origins Falco debuted alongside Fox in the 1993 SNES title Star Fox. He may be hotheaded and a little cocky, but his skills are the real deal. Wario’s Origins Wario made his debut in 1992 as the villain of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, where he stole a castle from Mario. Meta Knight’s Origins Meta Knight debuted in Kirby’s Adventure on the NES as a mysterious figure who stood in Kirby’s way as a boss but also sometimes helped him. Pit’s Origins Pit’s debut was in Kid Icarus, released in North America in 1987. His goal was to collect the Three Sacred Treasures and defeat the evil Medusa. Zero Suit Samus’s Origins Samus first donned her blue Zero Suit in the 2004 title Metroid: Zero Mission. Olimar’s Origins Olimar made his first appearance in the original Pikmin, released in 2001. He’s a hardworking space pilot for Hocotate Freight. Alph’s Origins Alph first appeared in the 2013 title Pikmin 3. He’s a cheerful and optimistic engineer who loves his job. Diddy Kong’s Origins The small and agile Diddy Kong first appeared in the SNES title Donkey Kong Country in 1994, where he was a valuable partner to DK. King Dedede’s Origins King Dedede debuted alongside Kirby in the 1992 title Kirby’s Dream Land. He’s a big eater who wants all the food in Dream Land for himself! Ike’s Origins Ike debuted in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, a 2005 title for the GameCube. He’s a strong fighter who wields a two-handed sword with ease. R.O.B.’s Origins R.O.B. made his debut in 1985 as a peripheral for the NES. The ability to move a real robot using in-game actions made a splash with media and gamers alike. Dr. Mario’s Origins Dr. Mario made his debut in 1990 in the puzzle game of the same name. He was developing vitamins to combat some nasty viruses. Rosalina & Luma’s Origins Rosalina and Luma made their debut in the 2007 title Super Mario Galaxy. Rosalina is a mysterious galactic traveler, and the Lumas her companions. Palutena’s Origins Palutena debuted in Kid Icarus for the NES. She only appeared in the ending sequence, but the Japanese version had her name in the title! Robin’s Origins Robin debuted in Fire Emblem Awakening, a 2013 release in North America. As the customizable avatar of the player, he or she fought alongside Chrom. Bowser Jr.’s Origins Bowser Jr. first appeared in the 2002 title Super Mario Sunshine. He’s a bit of a brat, but he does have a lot of love for his daddy. Larry’s Origins Larry Koopa’s debut was in Super Mario Bros. 3, released in North America in 1990. He’s the youngest of the Koopalings. Roy’s Origins Roy Koopa’s debut was in Super Mario Bros. 3, released in North America in 1990. If you see a big Koopaling wearing pink shades, that’s him. Lemmy’s Origins Lemmy Koopa debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3, released in North America in 1990. He’s the smallest and quickest of the Koopalings. Ludwig’s Origins Ludwig von Koopa first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3, released in North America in 1990. You could call him the brains of the Koopalings. Mega Man’s Origins Mega Man made his 1987 debut in the NES game of the same name, in which the weapons acquired from defeating each boss were the key to victory. Link’s Items Link first appeared in The Legend of Zelda on the NES. Even back then, he had a wide inventory of items, including the Bow, Boomerang, and Bombs. A Bowser Impostor?! In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Mario fights a blue fake Bowser before the real thing. That blue fake is his eighth color in this game! Stage: Gamer 9-Volt’s mother, who appears in the Gamer stage, is named 5-Volt. Just like in Game & Wario, you have to make sure she doesn’t catch you playing. The Fearsome Reaper The Reaper that appears in Smash Tour debuted in Kid Icarus on the NES. This enemy tends to appear with its Reapette minions in tow. Multiple Endings In the original Metroid, the ending would change slightly depending on your clear time. The better endings revealed the secret of Samus’s identity! A Parental Bond? The baby Metroid that appeared in Super Metroid imprinted on Samus before being left in the care of the Galactic Space Academy. Yoshi’s Puzzle Games Yoshi had a puzzle game named after him with the NES title Yoshi. He later appeared in Yoshi’s Cookie and Tetris Attack, both for the SNES. Link’s Air Attacks Link’s down and up air attacks, Downward Thrust and Jump Thrust, are from Zelda II – The Adventure of Link. In that game, they’re learned from town swordsmen. Who Is the Hero? Despite being the hero, Link’s name only appears in the title of five games. Can you name them? One might be trickier to remember than the others! Donkey Kong’s Origins Donkey Kong, the arcade classic, was released in 1981. In that game, Mario’s girlfriend was kidnapped and Donkey Kong tried to stop Mario from rescuing her. Pikachu’s Origins Pikachu debuted in Pokémon Red and Blue for Game Boy. Consider yourself a very lucky Trainer if you catch one in Viridian Forest. Ness’s Origins Ness first appeared in the 1995 SNES title EarthBound. He might look like your average kid, but he can use a variety of psychic powers. He’s also got a younger sister. Zelda’s Origins Zelda first appeared in the 1987 NES title The Legend of Zelda. In that title, the evil Ganon kidnaps her and steals the Triforce of Power. Sheik’s Origins Sheik first appeared in the 1998 N64 title The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Her true identity is Ze I won’t spoil it for you. Ganon, King of Darkness Ganon appears as the final boss in The Legend of Zelda. In that title, he looks more beast than human, making him a sharp contrast to Ganondorf. Zero Suit Samus’s 7th Color Zero Suit Samus’s seventh color variation is a unique orange outfit. This outfit first appeared in certain endings of Metroid: Zero Mission. Lucario’s Origins Lucario first appeared in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Lucario has the power to detect its opponent’s thoughts and actions by reading their Aura. Toon Link’s Origins Toon Link debuted in the 2003 GameCube title The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. The cel-shaded art style cast Link in a whole new light. Charizard’s Origins Charizard made its debut in North America in the 1998 games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue. It was even featured on the cover of Pokémon Red. Sonic’s Origins Sonic’s first appearance was a cameo in the 1991 arcade racing game Rad Mobile. You can see him dangling near the top of the windshield. Jigglypuff’s Origins Jigglypuff has been singing its opponents to sleep in North America since its debut in the 1998 Game Boy games Pokémon Red and Blue. Lucina’s Origins Lucina made her debut with the 2013 release of Fire Emblem Awakening. At first, she went by Marth, but she later revealed her true identity. Dark Pit’s Origins Dark Pit debuted in Kid Icarus: Uprising, released in 2012. Created by the Mirror of Truth, he has the same abilities as Pit but a different personality. Little Mac’s Origins Even though Punch-Out!! was released in 1984, Little Mac didn’t receive his name until the 1987 NES release. Duck Hunt’s Origins Duck Hunt was released in 1985 for the NES, but did you know Nintendo released another toy in Japan with the same title in the ’70s? Morton’s Origins Morton Koopa Jr.’s debut was in Super Mario Bros. 3, released in North America in 1990. As the largest of the Koopalings, he’s proudly more brawn than brains. Wendy’s Origins The stylish Wendy O. Koopa made her debut in North America with the 1990 release of Super Mario Bros. 3. She’s the only female Koopaling. Iggy’s Origins Trickster Iggy Koopa debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3, released in North America in 1990. Fun fact: He’s the only nearsighted Koopaling! Shulk’s Origins Shulk made his debut in North America with the 2012 release of Xenoblade Chronicles. A budding scientist, this young man has a kind and curious heart. Summertime Shulk Shulk’s eighth color variation puts him in a pair of swimming trunks! In the original game, this is how he appeared with all his equipment removed. Greninja’s Origins Greninja, the final form of Froakie, made its debut in 2013’s Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. What looks like a scarf is actually its tongue! PAC-MAN’s Origins PAC-MAN made his debut in 1980. His debut title was later recognized by Guinness World Records as the “Most Successful Coin-Operated Arcade Game.” Mega Man: Down Special 2 Mega Man’s second down special, Skull Barrier, protects him with rotating skulls. It’s the special weapon of Mega Man 4 boss Skull Man. Mega Man: Standard Special 3 Mega Man’s third standard special is the boomerang-like Shadow Blade. It’s the special weapon of Mega Man 3 boss Shadow Man. Mega Man: Side Special 3 Mega Man’s third side special, Danger Wrap, is the special weapon of Mega Man 7 boss Burst Man. It fires bombs encased in bubbles. Mega Man: Up Special 3 Mega Man’s third up special calls the support robot Beat to carry him into the air. Beat first appeared in Mega Man 5. Mega Man: Down Special 3 Mega Man’s third down special is Plant Barrier, which summons rotating petals for protection. It was the weapon of Plant Man in Mega Man 6. A Classic Runway The runway that the plane takes off from at the beginning of the Pilotwings stage is a faithful reproduction of the one in the SNES game! An Exclusive Release In Japan, the Famicom version of Punch-Out!! was initially distributed as a prize in a tournament. It wasn’t released to the public until later on. Cutscene Easter Egg* In PAC-MAN, players were rewarded with an intermission after clearing a set number of rounds. In one of them, Blinky shows a little bit of…leg?! Mario: F.L.U.D.D. A blast of water is an effective way to disrupt your opponents. It doesn’t hurt, but it can slide them around. Wario: Chomp Can be used to bite opponents or eat items. If he eats food, it’ll restore more health than usual! Marth: Shield Breaker This move leaves you wide open, but if you charge it to maximum, it can break an enemy’s shield in a single hit. Villager: Timber The axe is surprisingly powerful! You can swing it at your rivals as long as the tree is standing. Link: Bomb Your bombs are special ones the explosion from hitting an enemy won’t hurt you. Kirby: Stone While falling, you can cancel the attack by entering the move a second time. It’s a perfect way to trick other players! Captain Falcon: Falcon Punch After pressing the attack button, quickly turn around to make Captain Falcon unleash an even more powerful attack as he turns. Wii Fit Trainer: Header Shield before hitting the ball to cancel your serve and let the ball fall, dejected, to the ground. Wii Fit Trainer: Sun Salutation Fully charge the attack before striking to recover a bit of health. Talk about flexible! Peach: Side Smash Attack Peach pulls out a tennis racket, a golf club, and then a frying pan. Remember that order! Sonic: Spring Jump Use this in midair to drop a spring on someone below. Give yourself a boost while disrupting your rivals! Luigi: Green Missile This move can end with Luigi’s head stuck in a wall. That leaves him vulnerable, so be careful! Samus: Charge Shot This is devastating when fully charged. It can be unleashed instantly if you fire it while airborne. Kirby: Taunt Taunt to discard your current Copy Ability. Find the most opportune moment to change your ability! Link: Hylian Shield Link’s Hylian Shield can block projectiles, but it won’t block anything while you’re attacking. Mr. Game & Watch: Judge This move’s power depends on the number displayed. Swinging a 1 is nearly useless, but a 9 has incredible launching power! Wario: Wario Bike Wario’s motorcycle can break into parts. Throw them at others, or eat them to fill Wario’s…gas tank. Luigi: Green Missile This move has a 1-in-10 chance to hit REALLY hard and fly REALLY far. Too far, in some cases. Luigi: Green Missile If you charge this for too long, he’ll get worn out and give up. Let him catch his breath, and then try again. Kirby: Stone Kirby’s form is different each time he uses this, but the move’s effect is the same. Kirby: Hammer Flip If fully charged, this move becomes very powerful, but Kirby will begin to take damage at full charge. Olimar: Pikmin Pluck Olimar will always pluck the Pikmin in this order: red, yellow, blue, white, purple. Olimar: Pikmin Order This move will change the order of your Pikmin. Use it to plan your attack strategy. Olimar: Winged Pikmin Two Winged Pikmin carry Olimar. The more Pikmin he has, the harder it is to pull him up. Link: Side Smash Attack Press the button again to attack a second time. The second attack has more launching power. Peach: Gliding Holding the jump button will let Peach hover in the air for a short time. She can even attack as she floats! Peach: Peach Parasol Press up and down to open and close your parasol and adjust your fall speed. Bowser: Tough Guy Bowser’s a real tough guy. When he’s only lightly damaged, weaker attacks won’t make him flinch. Mr. Game & Watch: Oil Panic This bucket can hold all manner of projectiles. Once filled, unleash the contents on an unsuspecting foe. Fox: Reflector This move can reflect projectiles, and it also damages nearby opponents when activated. Falco: Blaster Unlike Fox’s Blaster, Falco’s Blaster can make opponents flinch. It fires faster when airborne. King Dedede: Inhale Dedede is already perfect, so his Inhale won’t copy abilities. Instead, it has a longer range than Kirby’s. Charizard: Rock Smash The rock shards will fly in random directions. Get close to your target to maximize damage. Villager: Down Air Attack One to three turnips will appear. More turnips means more damage. Three has a meteor effect. Wario: Chomp Eating items will make Wario more gassy. The gassier he is, the stronger his down special will be. Falco: Falco Phantasm Falco Phantasm can send an airborne enemy straight down use it to dunk them into the abyss! Wii Fit Trainer: Deep Breathing Deep Breathing can reduce stress. Oh, and it also increases your attack and launch power and heals a small amount of damage. Wii Fit Trainer: Standard Attack If you land three standard attacks in a row, you’ll bury your opponents in the ground for a time. Greninja: Hydro Pump Aim the water jets by pressing in a particular direction. You can then quickly press a different direction to go that way with the second burst. Marth: Counter The counter depends on the attack it is countering. A countered smash attack may KO an opponent! Jigglypuff: Shield If its shield is shattered, Jigglypuff will get launched and KO’d no matter its damage. Ness: Side Smash Attack Ness’s bat leaves him open to attack, but it has epic launching power. He can even hit projectiles with it! Zelda: Din’s Fire This explodes when you release the button. Hold it longer to get more range and a stronger explosion. Zelda: Phantom Slash Charge this attack to make the Phantom travel farther. It’ll attack differently based on the distance traveled. Zero Suit Samus: Flip Jump Fighters struck while on the ground will be buried, while airborne fighters will be meteored. Meta Knight: Flurry Attack Press the attack button to unleash a flurry of strikes. Meta Knight doesn’t do “standard attacks.” King Dedede: Strong Down Attack He can attack while prone by cartwheeling forward. This lets him attack while moving, like a dash attack. Charizard: Rock Smash Right before smashing a rock, Charizard gets super armor, meaning it won’t even flinch if it’s attacked! Wii Fit Trainer: Up Smash Attack You’re invincible for a moment just before unleashing this. Try using it to launch foes attacking from above. Villager: Balloon Trip Your balloons can be popped if hit. If you lose one, you’ll lose lift. If you lose both, down you go! Greninja: Hydro Pump The water flow doesn’t just cause damage it can also push your foes if you hit them just right. Villager: Lloid Rocket Hold the button when using this move to ride on the Lloid Rocket. Little Mac: Jolt Haymaker You get a window of invincibility if you start this move on the ground, but not in the air. So be careful! R.O.B.: Robo Beam After charging, R.O.B. fires a beam from his eyes. The red light on his head shows the charge level. Samus: Missile Holding a direction will fire a homing missile, while quickly inputting a direction will fire a Super Missile! Pikachu: Thunder The bolt of lightning has a meteor effect. Use it after throwing a foe upward for a powerful combo. Ness: PSI Magnet This move absorbs energy-based projectiles and heals Ness as a result. Peach: Side Smash Attack The tennis racket launches farthest, the golf club has the best reach, and the frying pan hurts the most. Peach: Low Gliding Hold jump while crouching to float just above the ground. You can use air attacks quickly that way! Rosalina: Controlling Luma Luma can attack even if Rosalina is stunned or sleeping. This can save you in a pinch. Donkey Kong: Headbutt Use this move to bury your opponents if they’re on the ground or meteor-smash them in midair. Mario: Front Air Attack It’s a slow attack, but Mario swings his fist down hard enough for a meteor smash as it begins. Mr. Game & Watch: Chef Food jumps out of Mr. Game & Watch’s frying pan in all directions. Use this to protect yourself. Diddy Kong: Peanut Popgun Overcharging the Peanut Popgun makes it backfire, but it’ll do a ton of damage to foes that it hits! Mr. Game & Watch: Oil Panic This will only absorb energy-based projectiles. It won’t affect physical ones, like Link’s arrows. Olimar: Pikmin Order Olimar’s whistle calls back his scattered Pikmin. Even the ones that are goofing off. Donkey Kong: Hand Slap DK’s Hand Slap affects a large area around him. However, it won’t hit airborne fighters. Meta Knight: Strong Side Attack The third strike of Meta Knight’s strong side attack is powerful enough to launch opponents. Jigglypuff: Rest Opponents launched by Rest will get a flower on their heads. Talk about insult to injury. Mega Man: Leaf Shield If you grab someone while the Leaf Shield’s up, you can do a combo attack: a throw plus the damage from the leaves. Zero Suit Samus: Paralyzer Attack with this to paralyze foes for just a moment. When they can’t move, that’s your chance to strike! Meta Knight: Drill Rush While Meta Knight’s rushing through the air like a drill, you can adjust his direction. Meta Knight: Mach Tornado The tornado created around Meta Knight can destroy any weak projectiles it hits. R.O.B.: Arm Rotor The spinning arms can deflect enemy projectiles. Also, press the button repeatedly for a slightly longer attack! R.O.B.: Robo Beam The beam can be angled up or down. Also, if it hits the ground, it’ll reflect and change direction. Ness: PK Fire If this attack connects, a big pillar of fire appears. “I feel the burn!” your foes will yell. Ness: PK Thunder You can guide the bolt of lightning around and hit yourself for propulsion but this leaves you defenseless, so be careful! Ness: Up Smash Attack Ness’s yo-yo flies forward and then swings up and around to the back for a wide-ranging, heavy-hitting attack. Sonic: Spin Charge If you jump while spinning forward, you’ll keep spinning in the air. You can hit opponents like that or use other attacks. Charizard: Flare Blitz This move engulfs Charizard in flames. It’s extremely powerful, but it hurts Charizard too. Ike: Standard Attack There are three levels of attack: a punch, a kick, and a sword swing. All pretty handy, since they’re quicker than Ike’s other moves! Pit: Palutena Bow Press up before firing to aim the arrow that way. Also, you can guide the arrow while it’s in the air. Pit: Upperdash Arm A dash forward followed by an uppercut. While Pit is dashing, the Upperdash Arm deflects projectiles! Cool! Pit: Guardian Orbitars These handy items will block enemy attacks as well as reflect projectiles. They’ll even push back foes who touch them! Mega Man: Crash Bomber This bomb is incredibly clingy, latching on to walls, floors, and even fighters! It can be given to other fighters by bumping into them. Link: Dash Attack Link’s dash attack strikes with almost as much force as a smash attack. The point of his sword is especially painful. Bowser: Whirling Fortress Repeatedly pressing the button while using this in midair will give you a small boost in how high you fly. Ike: Aether Ike will be protected from flinching while he prepares this attack. This move can send foes flying upward! Kirby: Jump Kirby’s light body lets him jump six times more than most other fighters. If Kirby gets launched but not KO’d, you can almost bet he’s coming back! Bowser: Bowser Bomb Bowser will leap into the air hornsfirst. Hitting opponents on the way up makes it much easier to clobber them again on the way down. Meta Knight: Dimensional Cape Meta Knight wraps himself in his cape and disappears. If you keep holding the button, he’ll strike when he’s back! R.O.B.: Back Air Attack When R.O.B. fires the burner on his base, the force of the attack will move him forward a bit. Fox: Blaster The blaster fires quickly, and its shots go a long way, but enemies won’t flinch when they’re hit, so use this at a safe distance. Rosalina & Luma: Star Bits Luma fires Star Bits that can scatter in three directions: high, middle, and low. Marth: Dancing Blade Keep pressing the button to turn this into a four-hit combo. Holding different directions will change the angle of the strike! Marth: Dancing Blade Marth’s sword leaves a trail as he swings it, and the color reflects the attack’s height. Blue is high, red is middle, and green is low. Charizard: Flare Blitz There’s a big explosion when Charizard hits a fighter or an obstacle. This can hit other nearby fighters too! Zelda: Farore’s Wind Zelda will deal damage to those nearby when she disappears and reappears. Hold a direction to control where she teleports to. Marth: Dancing Blade Press down on the fourth swing to finish your combo with a powerful blow to your opponent’s feet! Marth: Dancing Blade Press up on the fourth swing for a slice that will launch your foes. This swing is excellent for netting some KOs! Shulk: Monado Arts Shulk switches between five modes Jump, Speed, Shield, Buster, and Smash that change his abilities for a short time. Diddy Kong: Monkey Flip If you grab foes in the air, you’ll release them more quickly than if you grab them on the ground. Be ready to use a speedy follow-up attack. Diddy Kong: Banana Peel You can’t whip out another banana peel if one of yours is still in play, but each one will vanish after being thrown twice. Olimar: Pikmin Pluck You can have up to three Pikmin in tow at any time. Plucking for more while three are already active is, sadly, futile. Mega Man: Up Air Attack Mega Man can launch a little tornado upward. If opponents get caught in this minigale, they’ll be carried up into the air! Wario: Taunt Leave it to Wario to taunt while riding a motorcycle. Don’t try this at home! Or anywhere else! Not safe! Diddy Kong: Rocketbarrel Boost You can indicate a direction while this is charging to fly in that direction. You can even steer while flying! Mega Man: Side Smash Attack Mega Man unleashes a powerful Charge Shot. The damage and distance increases the longer you charge it! Mii Brawler: Head-On Assault This downward headbutt has a meteor effect, and it will bury opponents on the ground who get caught beneath it. Mii Swordfighter: Blurring Blade A flurry of sword slashes right in front of you, followed by a stab forward. Good for keeping your opponents at a safe distance! Mii Brawler: Piston Punch This series of upward punches isn’t so great for recovering. However, it’s a powerful move to use against opponents. Mii Brawler: Headache Maker After a big jump, the Mii Brawler swings down with both arms. At that exact moment, this move has a meteor effect. Mii Gunner: Charge Blast This move is super powerful when fully charged. If you use it in midair, it’ll fire without charging at all. Mii Gunner: Flame Pillar If you make a pillar of fire on the ground, it’ll deliver a single hit to those who come close, pushing them back. Captain Falcon: Front Air Attack There’s a violent knee jab at the start of this move. Connect with that for some serious launching power. Lucario: Extreme Speed This move will send Lucario flying in the direction you indicate. The more damage Lucario has taken, the farther it will fly. Lucario: Force Palm Force Palm deals more damage and has a greater range if Lucario’s Aura is stronger. Wario: Chomp Wario’s hunger knows no bounds, but eating explosives will cause him a bit of damage. The blast will hurt those around him too! PAC-MAN: Bonus Fruit Cherries fly in a low arc. After hitting the floor, they’ll bounce only once. PAC-MAN: Bonus Fruit Oranges don’t deal much damage, but they fly straight and at high speed, making it pretty easy to hit foes with them. PAC-MAN: Bonus Fruit Keys fly forward at high speed while spinning. They deal the most damage out of all the Bonus Fruit items. Donkey Kong: Spinning Kong This move doesn’t offer a lot of lift, but it can carry Donkey Kong a fair distance left or right. Olimar: Lead Pikmin Olimar always attacks with the Pikmin at the front of the line. You can tell which one this is by the arrow pointing to it. Luigi: Down Taunt If your foe’s clinging to an edge for dear life, try using Luigi’s down taunt. That meteor smash will be VERY satisfying! Marth: Dancing Blade Hold toward the foe you’re attacking on the fourth swing for an attack that launches foes much farther than the up or down versions. Link: Hylian Shield Link’s Hylian Shield blocks all projectiles, no matter how powerful. Link won’t take any damage at all. Donkey Kong: Forward Throw Donkey Kong can pick up opponents and carry them around! Try to throw them before they shake free, though. Diddy Kong: Peanut Popgun While charging, watch for when Diddy grabs his hat! That’s the sign that the Peanut Popgun’s about to backfire. Diddy Kong: Banana Peel In this move, Diddy throws a banana peel behind him. Foes who step on it fall clumsily to the ground. Have a nice trip! Olimar: Pikmin’s Stamina When separated from Olimar, Pikmin are very vulnerable to enemy attacks. King Dedede: Super Dedede Jump After leaping up high, Dedede crashes down to attack. This move can be canceled partway through by pressing up. Mii Swordfighter: Airborne Assault The Mii performs a somersault leap forward in a large arc. If it strikes foes, they will be blasted back and the user will jump upward. Mii Gunner: Lunar Launch The Mii fires straight down, using the recoil to gain height. How fortunate if an opponent gets caught in the blast as well! PAC-MAN: Bonus Fruit PAC-MAN’s strawberry flies a little farther than other fruit and bounces twice when it lands. PAC-MAN: Bonus Fruit PAC-MAN’s melon moves slowly through the air, making it difficult to hit opponents. But when it does hit home, it deals big damage. PAC-MAN: Fire Hydrant PAC-MAN places a fire hydrant on the ground. The water that it spurts will push fighters back. PAC-MAN: Fire Hydrant If you use this attack in the air, the falling hydrant itself becomes a form of attack. Try dropping it on an opponent trying to return to the stage! Duck Hunt: Duck Jump The duck grabs the dog and carries him through the air. Once started, this move can’t be stopped. Bowser Jr.: Abandon Ship Bowser Jr. abandons his Junior Clown Car and performs a massive leap. After a short delay, the abandoned vehicle will self-destruct. Bowser Jr.: Clown Kart Dash The Junior Clown Car becomes a kart and charges forward. The higher the speed, the more damage it will deal. Bowser Jr.: Mechakoopa The Junior Clown Car spits out a Mechakoopa that explodes on contact with an enemy. It’ll explode if you just leave it alone for a while too. King Dedede: Jet Hammer It’s possible to charge this move to deal more damage, but charging for too long will start to hurt Dedede too! Mii Swordfighter: Reversal Slash A gust of wind from the Mii character’s sword sends projectiles back the way they came. It can also flip opponents around if they get too close. Yoshi: Egg Roll You can start this move in the air, but you won’t deal any damage until you hit the ground. Little Mac: Side Smash Attack If you press up when performing Little Mac’s side smash, it will change into an uppercut that sends enemies flying upward. Ganondorf: Wizard’s Foot Used on the ground, this move is a horizontal flying kick. In the air, it goes downward instead and has a meteor effect at the very start. Zero Suit Samus: Down Air Attack This move sends Zero Suit Samus diagonally downward while attacking. When she lands, the impact damages enemies around her. Villager: Lloid Rocket The Lloid Rocket is more powerful when you’re riding it, but you can bail at any time just by pressing the button. Meta Knight: Shuttle Loop Meta Knight thrusts his sword upward, loops in midair, and then thrusts upward once more. A swift and powerful attack, useful against falling foes. Charizard: Strong Up Attack Charizard’s wings won’t take damage, making this attack good for overpowering foes who are attacking from above. Ganondorf: Strong Down Attack A crouching kick that sends opponents flying upward. It has good reach and is one of Ganondorf’s faster attacks. Shulk: Back Slash Shulk leaps forward and performs a vertical slice downward. As the name implies, it deals more damage if you hit the enemy from behind. Diddy Kong: Rocketbarrel Boost If someone attacks Diddy Kong when he’s wearing his Rocketbarrel Pack, it’ll break free and fly off on its own. Mii Brawler: Up Smash Attack An upward-kicking backflip. Your legs are invulnerable while you perform it, so it’s perfect for countering enemy attacks from above. Mii Brawler: Feint Jump A long leap forward while turning upside down. If you hit the attack button on the way down, you’ll perform a jump kick. Mii Brawler: Helicopter Kick When performing this move, pressing left or right will let you change the direction of the kick. Wii Fit Trainer: Deep Breathing If you press the button again just as the outer circle meets the red inner circle, you’ll boost your attack and launching power for a while. Ike: Aether During the downward strike, this attack has a meteor effect. You’ll fall straight down until you hit solid ground, so make sure you aim well! Ike: Eruption A downward stab that summons flames around you. If uncharged, the tip of the sword has a meteor effect when hitting an opponent on the ground. Kirby: Inhale If you press the attack button after sucking enemies in, you’ll spit them back out. Use enemies to attack other enemies! Kirby: Final Cutter Kirby slices up into the air and then slices straight down again. The shock wave that appears when you land can also damage your opponents. Ganondorf: Flame Choke After being grabbed by this move, it’s possible to recover just before being slammed to the ground. Captain Falcon: Falcon Dive A leaping grab that sends the opponent flying with explosive force. If it connects, you’re free to use the same attack again without landing. Bowser Jr.: Clown Cannon This move fires a cannonball from the Junior Clown Car. The longer this attack is charged, the faster and more powerful it will be. Greninja: Substitute This move makes an enemy attack hit a substitute instead of you. You then reappear somewhere else and attack! Samus: Bomb Samus morphs into a ball and drops a bomb. You can use the explosion to gain a little height. Shulk: Monado Arts In Speed mode, you’ll sacrifice damage and jump height in order to move faster. Shulk: Monado Arts In Shield mode, the power of your shield is boosted but you can’t move as fast, jump as high, or deal as much damage. Shulk: Monado Arts In Buster mode, you deal more damage than usual, but you can’t launch opponents as far and you’ll receive more damage. Shulk: Monado Arts In Smash mode, you can launch opponents more effectively, but you deal less damage and can be launched more easily yourself. Zelda: Nayru’s Love This move summons a magical barrier that reflects enemy projectiles. It’s not just for defense, either it also deals direct damage! Zero Suit Samus: Plasma Whip This move swings a whiplike stream of plasma directly in front of Zero Suit Samus. Opponents struck by the very tip of it will be blasted away. Zero Suit Samus: Down Smash Attack This attack fires Zero Suit Samus’s Paralyzer diagonally down. Its victims will be stunned for a moment, leaving them open to another attack! Sonic: Spin Charge If you hold down and keep tapping the button, you can charge up this move, making it faster and stronger. Diddy Kong: Monkey Flip While performing this move, you can press the attack button to launch a flying kick that deals considerable damage and has good launching power. Diddy Kong: Monkey Flip After grabbing on to opponents with this move, press the attack button to launch them sideways or press up to jump off their head! King Dedede: Gordo Throw Choose up, middle, or down right after starting this move to hit the Gordo in three different ways, changing how it bounces. King Dedede: Inhale After inhaling opponents, press the button again to spit them out as a projectile. This way, you can hit your opponents with each other! PAC-MAN: Pac-Jump This move sets up a trampoline for PAC-MAN to jump on. If you jump on it repeatedly, you’ll go higher with each bounce! PAC-MAN: Bonus Fruit PAC-MAN’s apple bounces repeatedly across the ground. It travels quite a distance! Palutena: Warp Palutena disappears and then warps to a location a short distance away. Warp will take Palutena in the direction you press. Palutena: Rocket Jump Palutena propels herself with an explosion at her feet, damaging enemies nearby. It’s a little more powerful on the ground than in the air. Palutena: Lightweight This move temporarily allows Palutena to move faster and jump farther. However, it also makes her easier to damage and launch. Palutena: Angelic Missile Palutena fires herself forward like a spinning torpedo. This move travels a long way, so be careful not to fire yourself right off a cliff! Palutena: Celestial Firework There’s a moment of invincibility just after firing the firework. If you use it well, you might be able to nullify an enemy attack and then strike back! Palutena: Super Speed Palutena charges forward at speed and sends anyone in her way flying. The farther she travels, the more damage she deals on impact. Palutena: Heavenly Light This move damages anyone who touches the rays of light. It’s not particularly powerful, but it can hit repeatedly. Palutena: Heavenly Light Palutena’s Heavenly Light doesn’t cause opponents to flinch, but it does gradually push them out of its area of effect. Palutena: Heavenly Light Palutena’s Heavenly Light covers a wide area. If you hit someone with it while they’re flying off the screen, you can steal the KO for yourself. Palutena: Reflect Barrier This move creates a barrier that reflects enemy projectiles. It also pushes opponents away, so it can be useful if you want to keep your distance. Pikachu: Thunder Jolt Pikachu’s Thunder Jolt bounces along the surface of the stage. It can even attack foes who are hanging from edges. Olimar: Pikmin Throw Most Pikmin latch on to opponents and attack them repeatedly. Purple Pikmin, though, deal one heavy blow and then bounce off. Olimar: Pikmin Throw The less damage an opponent has accumulated, the longer the Pikmin can hang on to it. Fox: Fox Illusion When you use this move on the ground, Fox will always stop if he reaches an edge. When used in the air, you need to be a little more careful. Dark Pit: Electroshock Arm Dark Pit charges forward and launches foes upward at a lower angle than Pit’s Upperdash Arm. This move also deals electrical damage. Jigglypuff: Sing Enemies on the ground who hear this song will fall asleep. The more damage they have, the longer they’ll nap. Mario: Up Smash Attack A powerful upward headbutt. Mario’s head is invulnerable while performing it. Useful against opponents moving in to attack from above. Villager: Pocket The Villager uses this move to put items or incoming projectiles into his pocket. Then he can press the button again to take them out. Villager: Timber A three-stage move: planting a seed, watering it, and then chopping down the tree. Don’t use the first stage in the air it’ll just leave you wide open. Yoshi: Egg Roll This move turns Yoshi into an egg that rolls along the ground. The faster it goes, the more powerful it’ll be. Just beware of getting grabbed! Yoshi: Egg Lay The more damage Yoshi’s foes have accumulated, the longer they’ll be stuck as an egg. They can escape faster by wiggling around. Yoshi: Egg Throw How hard Yoshi throws the egg depends on how long you hold the button down. Tap for a light throw or hold for a powerful one. Yoshi: Yoshi Bomb The damage and launching power of the Yoshi Bomb are both a little higher when used on the ground. Yoshi: Front Air Attack Yoshi charges up for a moment and then delivers a powerful headbutt. If you hit opponents from above, they’ll fly down with a meteor effect. Charizard: Flamethrower Charizard will keep breathing fire as long as you hold the button down, but it’ll get weaker and weaker as you use it. Little Mac: Slip Counter Just when you think you’ve got him, Little Mac socks you with a nasty counter. He’s invincible during the attack, so there’s no stopping him! Little Mac: Rising Uppercut Little Mac zooms upward with a powerful uppercut. He travels farther when used on the ground than when used in the air. Little Mac: KO Uppercut Little Mac’s KO Meter builds up when he deals or receives damage. Once it’s full, he can use the KO Uppercut to deal some serious hurt! Link: Hero’s Bow The longer Link charges his bow, the farther the arrows will fly and the more powerful they’ll be. At maximum charge, they’ll fly perfectly straight. Robin: Thunder Robin will use one of four magic spells, depending on how long you charge Thunder. The color the tome glows indicates which spell will be used. Robin: Thunder It’s difficult to notice in the middle of a battle, but the cover of the tome Robin uses actually changes depending on the spell being used. Robin: Thunder If you launch this move without charging it up, Robin will cast Thunder. It’s not very powerful, but its fast speed can take foes by surprise. Robin: Thunder Once the tome starts glowing yellow, you can cast Elthunder. It’s more powerful than Thunder and travels farther, but it’s not quite as fast. Robin: Thunder When casting Thoron, you can hold down the button to make the beam extend farther. R.O.B.: Robo Burner The Robo Burner’s fuel slowly replenishes while R.O.B. is on the ground. Be careful if you find yourself in the air a lot it won’t refill there. Wario: Wario Waft When Wario’s bursting at the seams with gas, he’ll glow. Getting KO’d won’t release any gas, either there’s only one way to let it out… Mii Brawler: Onslaught A flurry of kicks, followed by a powerful uppercut. This move hits opponents quite some distance and might even KO them if it connects in midair! Mii Brawler: Shot Put Throws a metal ball diagonally upward, just like the real shot-put event. It’s effective at blocking opponents’ attempts at recovery. Mii Brawler: Soaring Axe Kick A leap up with a somersault kick, and then a swift heel-kick drop. If that falling kick connects, it delivers a powerful meteor effect. Mii Brawler: Burning Dropkick This move combines a big forward leap with a drop kick. Also it’s on fire. Charge it up for some serious power, distance, and speed. Mii Swordfighter: Blade Counter This move counters an enemy attack. The attack has slightly greater launching power than a normal attack. Mii Swordfighter: Chakram Throws a ring-shaped projectile. If it hits the stage, it’ll stick there. You can adjust the angle of the throw by pressing up or down. Mii Swordfighter: Chakram Perform this move like a smash attack to throw stronger and farther. If you perform it normally, the chakram will hover and hit multiple times. Mii Swordfighter: Gale Strike A large swing of the sword that summons a damaging tornado. The tornado’s path sinks slightly just after it appears. Mii Swordfighter: Stone Scabbard A rising upward slice followed by a plummeting stab down. The falling stab has a meteor effect. Mii Swordfighter: Stone Scabbard At the end of this move, the sword sticks right through the ground. You can use it to attack unsuspecting enemies below the platform. Mii Swordfighter: Hero’s Spin A spinning sword slice that attacks enemies on both sides. When used in midair it makes you rise upward, so you can use it for recovery. Mii Swordfighter: Hero’s Spin When using this move on the ground, you can hold down the button to charge it up. It’s also stronger in general on the ground than in the air. Mii Swordfighter: Shuriken of Light The farther the shurikens travel, the more damage they deal. Throwing them at nearby foes won’t even make them flinch. Mii Swordfighter: Slash Launcher A swift dash forward ending in a decisive slash, with the sword held in a reverse grip. The longer you charge it, the farther it will travel. Mii Gunner: Arm Rocket This move fires a rocket jet from your arm cannon, carrying you upward. You can adjust the direction by pressing left or right just before liftoff. Mii Gunner: Absorbing Vortex A barrier that absorbs energy-based projectiles. When you deactivate the barrier, it will push nearby enemies back a bit. Mii Gunner: Cannon Uppercut Fires a blast downward, using the recoil to power an uppercut. If you’re up close, you can hit your foe with both the uppercut and the blast! Mii Gunner: Bomb Drop This move rolls a bomb forward that will blow up after a set period of time or when it hits a foe. Drop one on an opponent trying to recover! Mii Gunner: Grenade Launch These grenades fly in an arc, exploding after a set time or when they hit an opponent. Hold down the button to throw them farther. Mii Gunner: Stealth Burst Fires a stealth explosive forward that detonates when you release the button. Hold the button down to get more distance and power. Mii Gunner: Gunner Missile Use this move normally to fire a missile that homes in on opponents. Deliver it like a smash attack to fire a stronger missile that flies straight. Mii Gunner: Laser Blaze This move fires a beam from your arm cannon. It won’t make enemies flinch, but it can be fired repeatedly to build up damage. Mii Gunner: Echo Reflector This move creates a Reflector that sends projectiles back the way they came. They’ll be stronger than they were before too! Mr. Game & Watch: Fire A pair of firemen launch Mr. Game & Watch high into the air. Nearby opponents will also be pushed back a bit. Kirby: Inhale In addition to enemies, Kirby can inhale some items. You’ll recover a little damage this way, but sucking in explosives will hurt! Ganondorf: Warlock Punch After pressing the attack button, quickly turn around to make Ganondorf unleash an even more powerful attack as he turns. Shulk: Monado Arts Jump mode increases your jumping ability. You’ll be able to move more quickly in the air, but you’ll also take more damage from attacks. Zero Suit Samus: Flip Jump Press the attack button during this move to launch a kick. This kick deals a lot of damage and has a powerful meteor effect too. Duck Hunt: Clay Shooting Press the button once to throw a clay pigeon forward, and then press again to shoot. The third shot will hit, breaking the clay and hurting foes. Duck Hunt: Trick Shot This move kicks an exploding can toward your enemies. Keep pressing the button to fire shots and lead it toward its target. Palutena: Counter This move raises Palutena’s shield, preparing to counter an enemy attack. The counterattack itself covers a surprisingly wide range. Palutena: Jump Glide After leaping upward, Palutena glides down slowly. You can make use of this glide to cover a lot of distance in the air. Palutena: Celestial Firework This move shoots fireworks upward to attack. Besides the obvious anti-air applications, it can also be used to hit downed opponents. Palutena: Explosive Flame This move causes an explosion a short distance away from Palutena. It deals multiple hits to any opponents in its vicinity and then sends them flying. Pit: Power of Flight Pit’s wings glow and then send him flying in the direction you choose. This move travels a long way, making it an excellent recovery move. Jigglypuff: Rest This move is hard to hit with but can really send opponents flying! You’ll need to get very close or use it right when your opponent tries to attack. Jigglypuff: Pound A simple punch that travels horizontally. You can use it repeatedly in midair combine it with jumps to stay aloft for a very long time. Yoshi: Egg Lay This move grabs opponents with Yoshi’s tongue and traps them in an egg. They’ll take less damage while trapped, but you can hit them all you like! Robin: Thunder A red glow means that Thunder has charged into Arcthunder! A current with very high launching power will appear when this move connects. Robin: Thunder When Thunder is fully charged, it becomes Thoron! The high-speed beam can deal damage to multiple opponents at once. Rosalina: Luma Shot This sends Luma hurtling forward with a high chance of launching opponents. Charge up this move to send Luma flying farther. R.O.B.: Robo Burner R.O.B. will use his burner to fly up. Don’t jump just press the special-move button repeatedly to save fuel and let yourself fly longer. Mii Brawler: Ultimate Uppercut This fierce uppercut can be charged. When fully charged, it’s super strong and has an extra-long super-armor effect at the start. Mii Brawler: Exploding Side Kick Input in the opposite direction right after pressing the button to turn around and deliver this kick the other way! It’ll also deal more damage. Mii Brawler: Foot Flurry On the ground, this flurry of kicks will move forward, ending with an upward kick. In the air, you’ll hover in place and kick downward. Mii Swordfighter: Power Thrust This dashing thrust will travel sideways on the ground but diagonally down in the air. The sword’s tip is especially powerful. Mii Swordfighter: Skyward Slash Dash Slash repeatedly while dashing in the direction you’ve pressed. Use it in the air to ambush opponents waiting below! Mii Swordfighter: Gale Strike The tornado will become weaker as time passes, but the force of the wind will still push opponents even after it stops dealing damage. Donkey Kong: Giant Punch When this move is fully charged, steam will come out of Donkey Kong’s head. It deals a powerful blow, but your foes will see it coming. Mario: Cape This move has the effect of turning your opponents around. This can really mess them up if they’re trying to get back onto the stage! Mario: Cape Use this in midair to slow down Mario’s falling speed for a moment. In particular, the first time you use it, he’ll float up a bit great for dodging! Luigi: Luigi Cyclone Press the button repeatedly while using this attack to move upward. This effect is stronger in midair, so use it to chase people or for recovery. Olimar: Red Pikmin Red Pikmin perform attacks that deal 1.2 times the standard damage. They’re also immune to fire attacks, but their throw is weak. Olimar: Purple Pikmin Attacks performed using Purple Pikmin deal 1.4 times the standard damage and launch foes farther too! They’re lacking in reach and speed, however. Olimar: Yellow Pikmin Yellow Pikmin attacks have 1.25 times the reach of the other colors, but they do less damage. The Pikmin can’t be killed by electric attacks. Olimar: Blue Pikmin Throws performed with Blue Pikmin deal 1.6 times the standard damage. The rest of their abilities are average, with no real weaknesses. Olimar: White Pikmin When attacking a grabbed opponent, White Pikmin deal twice the normal damage. They’re also speedy and can jump very high. Wii Fit Trainer: Deep Breathing If you use this move repeatedly, it’ll take much longer to charge. It leaves you open to attack, so think carefully about when to use it. Ness: PK Thunder Ness can hit himself with the ball of electricity to launch himself like a missile. If you’re good with the angle, it can be used for recovery. Villager: Timber If the felled tree hits an opponent, it deals some serious damage. The pieces of wood that pop out as it falls can be thrown as projectiles, too. Robin: Regenerating Tomes and Swords If you’ve used up a tome or your Levin Sword, try KO’ing some opponents. That’ll shorten the time you have to wait to use them again. Robin: Reaching Nosferatu’s Limits Nosferatu is a useful technique that can recover health, but it can only be used four times in a row and takes up to 40 seconds to recharge. Duck Hunt: Wild Gunman This move summons a pixelated gunman who shoots straight ahead. The gunman selected is random, and each one works a little differently. Robin: Reaching Arcfire’s Limits Arcfire can be used up to six times in a row. Once it’s used up, it’ll be about 12 seconds before you can use the move again. Robin: Reaching the Levin Sword’s Limits After eight uses of the Levin Sword, you’ll throw it away and be unable to use it for 10 seconds. It reverts to the Bronze Sword after holding it for 8 seconds. Robin: Reaching Thunder’s Limits Thunder can be used up to 20 times in a row, but stronger tomes use it up faster. Elthunder counts as 3 uses, Arcthunder as 5, and Thoron as 8. Robin: Reaching Elwind’s Limits Elwind can be used 18 times, after which you can’t use this move at all for eight seconds. This seriously affects your recovery, so beware! Lucina: Strong Up Attack Lucina cuts an arc through the air with her sword. This does the most damage at the back, so try using it on foes standing close behind you! Dr. Mario: Super Sheet This move doesn’t have as much horizontal range as Mario’s Cape, but it has more range vertically, so lure your foes in and then strike! Toon Link: Midair Hookshot Land with the Hookshot out, and you’ll put it away quickly. It’s handy as a feint use it just before landing, and then surprise ’em with a different attack. Toon Link: Boomerang The boomerang is able to go through enemies as it returns. It flies to wherever you are, so move up or down after you throw it to hit more opponents! Toon Link: Hero’s Bow If you don’t charge the attack, the arrow won’t fly very far and will drop toward the ground. Do this close to an edge to attack enemies below! Toon Link: Hero’s Bow Unlike Link, if Toon Link fires his bow in midair, he puts it away almost immediately when he lands. This makes it easy to use a quick follow-up. Toon Link: Standard Air Attack Swings his sword in front and behind. The attack doesn’t have much power, but it’s quick enough to use repeatedly in a short time frame. Toon Link: Midair Hookshot Using the grab button will fire the Hookshot even in midair, but you can’t grab opponents with it. You can, however, use it to attack or grab edges. Dr. Mario: Dr. Tornado Press the button repeatedly midattack to rise into the air. However, after it ends you are vulnerable, so be careful using it to recover. Kirby: Lucario Copy Ability Kirby gains the ability to use Aura Sphere from Lucario. No matter how high his damage gets, though, the attack won’t get any stronger. Kirby: Rosalina & Luma Copy Ability Kirby gets a Luma of his very own after inhaling Rosalina! It doesn’t stay long enough to team up with him, though it flies forward and then vanishes. Fox: Reflector Using Reflector in midair slows down Fox’s fall back to the ground. Using this when an enemy is about to attack from below can throw off their timing. Fox: Front Air Attack Try timing the fifth strike to hit your opponent just before you hit the ground. When your opponent bounces, that’s your chance for a follow-up attack. Pikachu: Quick Attack Pikachu is vulnerable before landing after using Quick Attack in midair. However, if you direct the attack at the ground, the recovery time shortens a little. Pikachu: Thunder Hit yourself with Thunder to cause a discharge that damages nearby foes. The lightning bolt can also pass through platforms close to the cloud. Pikachu: Skull Bash Execute this move like a smash attack, and it’ll start off slightly charged already. This way, fully charging it doesn’t take as long. Pikachu: Standard Attack Press and hold the button to attack repeatedly. Be careful, though, because Pikachu shifts slightly as it attacks. You’ll eventually end up out of attack range! Luigi: Fireball Luigi’s green fireballs don’t travel as far as his brother’s, but they don’t lose power the farther they move away from Luigi. Pikachu: Volt Tackle The smaller of the two lightning balls moves in front of the large one, so watch the small one to make it easier to control and hit other fighters. Luigi: Super Jump Punch Get close to your enemy before using this. Hit them right at the start of the uppercut for maximum damage and launching power. Luigi: Luigi Cyclone If you land during Luigi Cyclone after using it in midair, you can slide left or right, leaving you much less vulnerable to attack. Luigi: Standard Air Attack This attack launches opponents almost straight upward. Since you know which way they’re going, it’s easy to move in and attack again. Luigi: Shield When shielding against powerful attacks, such as smash attacks, Luigi will slide backward. This makes him harder to hit multiple times. Luigi: Up Smash Attack Hit an enemy in front to launch them backward. Hit an enemy behind you to launch them forward. The green guy’s kooky like that! Captain Falcon: Falcon Dive Press left or right the moment Captain Falcon crouches to adjust the angle of the attack. If you were already facing that way, you can even grab opponents. Captain Falcon: Falcon Kick The attack is at its most powerful right after pressing the button and loses power as it goes. However, it’s a little stronger when used in the air. Captain Falcon: Raptor Boost Used in midair, his hand has a meteor effect on the downswing. The trick is to hit the foe when they’re below Captain Falcon. Captain Falcon: Strong Up Attack If Falcon’s heel hits an airborne enemy during this attack, it will dunk them. Try using it on an opponent after they’ve pulled themselves up from an edge. Captain Falcon: Blue Falcon Depending on if he used it in the air or on the ground, Falcon’s pose after striking will change. Of course, he won’t be happy if he didn’t hit anyone… Ness: PK Flash The power and radius of the charge grow as you hold down the button. It can do up to 37% damage, but it’ll disappear when it touches the ground. Ness: PK Thunder Since you can move the attack yourself, you can stop enemies from recovering by moving it near an edge and waiting for them to climb up. Ness: PK Thunder The lightning won’t disappear if an enemy hits its tail. It’s also invulnerable for a very brief moment after Ness initially fires it. Ness: Backward Throw Enemies with a higher damage percentage are much easier to launch with this. You can knock them out completely if they’re damaged enough! Ness: Pursuing off the Stage When an enemy is trying to get back on the stage, you can ruin their day with your side or down air attack. But try not to self-destruct! Peach: Peach Parasol Peach can’t grab the ledge if she’s facing away from it and her parasol is open. Tap down to close it, though, and she’ll grab on safely. Peach: Vegetable Of the eight types, the wrinkle-faced vegetable is the strongest. If you throw it while tapping in a direction, it can do over 30% damage! Peach: Vegetable Rarely, Peach will pull up a Bob-omb or Mr. Saturn. How rarely? Well, you have a 1/250 chance of a Bob-omb and a 1/166 chance of a Mr. Saturn! Bowser: Fire Breath You can change the angle of Bowser’s flame. Try aiming slightly above the enemy to make it harder for them to escape! Bowser’s not above dirty tricks. Bowser: Fire Breath Once Bowser’s used up his fire once, he needs time to recharge. Give him 10 seconds, and he’ll be ready to roast! Bowser: Whirling Fortress Try using this right after shielding an enemy attack. Cancel the shield and whirl toward the enemy to counterattack! Bowser: Bowser Bomb You can grab on to an edge while bombing, but only if you’re really close to it. It’s a quick albeit risky way to descend quickly. Bowser: Bowser Bomb If you land this on a shielding enemy, you can break their shield in one hit. Just make sure you capitalize afterward with a dropkick! Bowser: Flying Slam Bowser’s target has a bit of control over their direction in the air, too. The lower their damage, the more influence they have (but still not much). Zelda: Farore’s Wind Hold a direction before disappearing to warp that way. Zelda will follow the direction of any platforms she encounters during the warp, as well. Zelda: Farore’s Wind If you direct the move downward while standing on the ground, you’ll reappear in the same place. It can really throw your opponent for a loop! Zelda: Phantom Slash If the Phantom takes 13% damage or more, he’ll be destroyed. After that, you’ll have to wait six seconds before summoning him again. Zelda: Din’s Fire You can adjust the flame’s path while the button is pressed. The flame will explode if it hits the stage, too much time passes, or you let go of the button. Sheik: Light Arrow The arrow will penetrate enemies and platforms, but it gets weaker with every person it hits. The farther away the foe, the less damage done. Sheik: Needle Storm You can start charging this attack in the air. The more charged it is, the more needles are fired, but they lose power the farther they get from Sheik. Sheik: Bouncing Fish Press the button again to make Sheik use the axe kick faster. Use it again right after the first kick hits, and you won’t freeze up when you land. Sheik: Bouncing Fish Hold left or right to greatly affect the range of the attack. In this way, you can use the attack as a feint or really surprise an opponent! Sheik: Burst Grenade Hold the special-move button to throw the grenade farther. It doesn’t move much once it lands, but it can travel three times as far in the air. Sheik: Up Smash Attack On an enemy with low damage, this attack can hit multiple times. On an enemy with high damage, the first hit can launch the enemy pretty far. Sheik: Strong Side Attack This attack is fast and can lift the enemy up a short distance, making it easier to strike the enemy multiple times in a combo. Marth: Dancing Blade Use Dancing Blade midjump to make Marth rise slightly in the air. Even during low jumps, you’ll be able to use the attack multiple times with this method. Mr. Game & Watch: Chef You can change the timing of the flying food by varying the length of time you hold the button. Push it repeatedly to throw more food more quickly. Mr. Game & Watch: Fire You can launch enemies sideways by hitting them on your ascent. This is a good way to turn the tables on someone waiting for you to pop up from a ledge. Mr. Game & Watch: Oil Panic Absorbing a particularly powerful energy blast can fill the gauge in one go. However, even the weakest of attacks will always fill it by one segment. Mr. Game & Watch: Oil Panic You can use this to absorb explosions from Link’s bombs or from Bob-ombs. Don’t try it with the Bob-ombs that fall during Sudden Death, though. Mr. Game & Watch: Oil Panic The gauge doesn’t reset when Mr. Game & Watch is KO’d. Try surprising enemies with a bucket full of boiling-hot oil as soon as you respawn! Ganondorf: Warlock Punch This attack is much more powerful when used in the air. However, you’ll have to use a Bunny Hood or high platforms to find enough time to pull it off. Ganondorf: Flame Choke An enemy hit by this in the air will be slammed to the ground and can’t recover quickly. It’s also slightly more powerful than when used on the ground. Ganondorf: Flame Choke You can use this to grab an enemy and drag them offstage with you. However, the point will go to the last person to strike that enemy before your grab. Ganondorf: Strong Up Attack It’s a slow attack, but it can do more damage than a smash attack. Even if defended against, the attack can break all but a perfect shield. Falco: Fire Bird Inertia makes this move slower than Fox’s Fire Fox. If you use it while moving horizontally in midair, you’ll slide along in midair for a moment. Falco: Reflector The energy shield can also knock down enemies, so it can be used to slow an opponent down in addition to reflecting projectiles. Falco: Low Air Phantasm You can use Falco Phantasm at low altitude by jumping while running and immediately pressing the special-move button. I hear he prefers the air, anyway. Falco: Standard Air Attack If you land just before the final attack in Falco’s midair combo, you can move straight into a standard combo on the ground. Falco: Strong Down Attack This move can launch an enemy off the stage with one hit if their damage is high enough. You’re not left vulnerable, so it’s a low-risk way to KO foes. Wario: Wario Waft Fully charged, it will rocket Wario into the air, launching nearby foes and totally grossing them out. This can be very handy while recovering. Wario: Wario Bike Press up to do a wheelie and then down to lower the wheel again. Any enemy hit by that front wheel has a good chance of getting launched. Wario: Dash Attack Even if you don’t land a direct hit with this, just hitting an enemy at the tail end of the attack can send them flying! WAHAHA! Kirby: Copy Copying Kirby can steal a copy ability from another Kirby who’s already copied someone else’s ability. Confused yet? Meta Knight: Shuttle Loop This powerful attack is useful for pursuing enemies directly above you. However, you’re vulnerable during the postmove descent. Meta Knight: Shuttle Loop You can use the attack slightly more quickly in the air. However, the first strike is more powerful when executed from the ground. Meta Knight: Dimensional Cape While Meta Knight is invisible, he’ll move in the direction you input. He won’t move if you don’t input a direction, which is useful as a feint. Meta Knight: Drill Rush If you direct Meta Knight toward the ground, he’ll cancel the move and do a little hop. Use that to avoid an enemy who is about to counter you. Meta Knight: Downward Throw Your enemy will fly diagonally upward after this, so that’s a good time to use a combo. If their damage is low, try a dash attack and then a front air attack. Pit: Palutena Bow The arrow fires automatically once it’s fully charged, but it won’t fire while Pit’s changing his aim. You can delay firing that way. Pit: Power of Flight This move travels very far, making it great for recovering. However, what goes up must come down, so use it wisely. Pit: Guardian Orbitars If the shields take too much damage, they’ll break. When that happens, it’ll be 10 seconds before they can be used again. Kirby: Inhale When Kirby copies a Mii Fighter, he’ll wear a mask that looks like the Mii Fighter’s face. Only the face itself is taken, though headgear not included. Zero Suit Samus: Plasma Whip If you try to grab in midair, you’ll attack with the Plasma Whip instead. If the whip reaches an edge, you’ll grab on to it. Handy! Zero Suit Samus: Gunship Samus jumps into her Gunship and opens fire on her opponents. She’ll jump back out after five blasts or 15 seconds. Olimar: Pikmin Flowers After being plucked, it takes some time for the flower on a Pikmin’s head to bloom. The flower doesn’t really affect its abilities, though… Olimar: Pikmin Order If they’re separated from Olimar for any length of time, the Pikmin will flicker and then disappear. If that happens, call them back with Pikmin Order. Olimar: Down Smash Attack If there are at least two Pikmin with Olimar, they’ll attack on both sides of him. If there’s only one, it’ll attack in front of him. Olimar: Smash Attack All three of Olimar’s smash attacks count as projectiles, which can be reflected by moves like Reflector. Olimar: End of Day When Olimar jumps into the S.S. Dolphin, nearby enemies will be buried. If the ship hits anyone while it’s airborne, they’ll be slammed to the ground. Olimar: End of Day You can adjust the trajectory of the S.S. Dolphin as it comes back down. If you aim it well enough, you can even get it under floating platforms. Diddy Kong: Peanut Popgun The peanuts you fire can be caught by enemies if they time it right. Charge the move to make the peanuts harder to catch. Diddy Kong: Rocketbarrel Boost You can also move horizontally. You’ll go right through enemies even if they’re shielding, but if you go over the edge, you’re done for! Diddy Kong: Rocketbarrel Boost If you fly up through a platform and land on it, the Rocketbarrel Pack will explode on contact with the platform, blasting nearby enemies. Diddy Kong: Banana Peel If you’re holding an item when you throw the peel, you’ll throw both at the same time. However, if it’s a two-handed item, you won’t throw it. Diddy Kong: Monkey Flip You can use this move again in the air after jumping off the first enemy you attack. Useful for when you’re fighting a lot of enemies… Diddy Kong: Monkey Flip If you don’t jump when you’re finished attacking, you can use another move immediately. That’s a good time to escape with Rocketbarrel Boost. King Dedede: Jet Hammer If King Dedede’s damage goes over 100%, he can keep charging this move past maximum without taking damage. King Dedede: Gordo Throw Gordos will stick to any walls they hit. Try doing this on walls close to edges to cause serious trouble to enemies trying to climb up. King Dedede: Gordo Throw With the right timing, an opponent can hit a Gordo back at you. You can then hit it back again, quickly turning a fierce battle into a game of Gordo tennis. Ike: Quick Draw You’ll be left defenseless after using this move in midair, but you’ll be good to go if you use it right before you hit the ground. Ike: Down Smash Attack The backward strike of Ike’s down smash deals more damage and launches farther than the forward strike. Ike: Back Air Attack This is the quickest of all Ike’s air attacks, and one of the most damaging too. A valuable weapon for a fighter whose attacks tend to be slow. Lucario: Aura Sphere Aura Sphere can damage opponents while it’s charging. Try dropping onto a foe from above while charging it! Lucario: Extreme Speed The end of this move launches nearby foes. With enough Aura, you can dash in and attack from far away, but try not to zoom right off the screen! Lucario: Grab Attack If Lucario has taken a lot of damage, it can pull off this move quickly and do a lot of damage thanks to Aura. Lucario: Aura Lucario’s Aura power increases as it takes damage. At 190%, Lucario’s attacks are 2.5 times normal strength, but it’s possible to grow even stronger… R.O.B.: Color Variations R.O.B.’s red-and-white second color is based on the Japan version of R.O.B. In fact, it’s even his default color in the Japanese version of this game! R.O.B.: Robo Beam You can’t fire a beam if you don’t have any energy charged, but the sparks will still harm enemies right in front of you! R.O.B.: Robo Beam The beam will constantly charge while it’s not in use, reaching three levels of power. R.O.B. starts each battle at the second charge level. R.O.B.: Robo Beam If the beam is fired at a low angle toward the terrain, it’ll bounce once. If fired at a more extreme angle, the beam will disappear. R.O.B.: Robo Burner The Robo Burner won’t recharge while R.O.B. is hanging from an edge. You’ll need to spend some time on the ground to make sure you’re fueled! R.O.B.: Robo Burner Even if you stop midflight or attack, you can still use Robo Burner as long as it has fuel. Good for chasing foes off the edge to finish them! Toon Link: Down Air Attack Unlike Link’s down air attack, Toon Link’s doesn’t bounce up when it hits a foe. If you try to dunk someone with it, you’re gonna have a bad time. Toon Link: Hero’s Shield Toon Link’s shield blocks lower down than Link’s and can better cover his smaller body. However, he can’t guard while moving faster than a walk. Charizard: Midair Jump Charizard can perform two successive midair jumps. The second one doesn’t get as much height as the first, though. Charizard: Mega Evolution Mega Charizard X takes less damage than usual and won’t flinch from attacks. However, taking damage reduces the time it can stay transformed. Sonic: Spring Jump Even after a Spring Jump, Sonic can still attack and dodge in the air. However, he can’t perform a midair jump or use any more special moves. Sonic: Spin Charge Jump while charging a Spin Charge to do a Spin Jump. After a midair jump, you won’t be able to Spin Jump until you hit the ground. Sonic: Spin Dash You can jump and move left and right in the air while charging this move. It’s a good way to evade attacks while charging! Sonic: Spin Dash If this move isn’t fully charged yet, you can cancel the charge by pressing the shield button. Use this to fake out your opponents. Sonic: Down Air Attack If you jump, Spring Jump, and then use this attack in quick succession, it will end right before you land, which means no landing delay! Jigglypuff: Rollout When you hit a foe with this, you’ll bounce up and then be unable to do anything until you land. Try to avoid hitting foes with it if you’re trying to recover! Jigglypuff: Rollout While rolling on the ground, press in the opposite direction to make a quick turn. It won’t work if you’re airborne, but it’ll slow you down. Jigglypuff: Pound This move can lay waste to opponents’ shields. You can adjust the direction slightly by inputting up or down in the air right before attacking. Jigglypuff: Down Smash Attack This move attacks in front of you and behind you at the same time, and your legs are invincible as they kick. It launches foes perfectly horizontally. Dr. Mario: Capsules The capsules bounce higher than Mario’s fireballs. Also, since they’re physical projectiles, energy- absorbing specials won’t work on them. Dr. Mario: Capsules The capsules Dr. Mario throws are selected at random from nine different combinations of red, blue, and yellow. The difference is only cosmetic. Dr. Mario: Front Air Attack Unlike Mario’s similar move, this will never have a meteor effect regardless of your timing, but it is strongest when his fist is directly in front of him. Dr. Mario: Downward Throw Unlike Mario’s down throw, Dr. Mario’s always sends the foe bouncing upward, so you can follow it up more easily with an air attack. Lucina vs. Marth Marth’s sword deals more damage at the tip, but Lucina’s is the same all the way along. That aside, their moves are fundamentally pretty similar. Lucina: Critical Hit Lucina dashes forward and launches any foes in her path. It goes quite far if nothing gets in its way, so swing your sword before you go off-screen! Dark Pit: Silver Bow Compared to those from Pit’s Palutena Bow, these arrows disappear more quickly and can’t be steered as much. But they deal more damage in return. Dark Pit: Dark Pit Staff This Final Smash shoots in a straight line, going through foes and terrain. If it hits more than one opponent, the closer foes will take more damage. Rosalina & Luma: Luma Shot Luma keeps going for a bit after it hits a foe, but it slows down and deals less damage. Charge this move fully, and it’ll be invincible as it flies! Rosalina & Luma: Launch Star If you input backward just before Rosalina takes off, she’ll fly straight up. Useful when you need as much height as possible. Rosalina & Luma: Gravitational Pull This move pulls in projectiles from a wide area around Rosalina. Use it to pull Ness’s PK Thunder off course when he’s trying to recover! Rosalina & Luma: Standard Attack If Rosalina hits a foe with a standard attack while up close, Luma will slip past them. Then use a strong down attack to hit ’em from both sides! Rosalina & Luma: Side Smash Attack When Luma is behind Rosalina, this attack won’t send him charging as far forward as usual. Better keep that in mind while aiming! Rosalina & Luma: Standard Air Attack When Luma is next to Rosalina, if you perform a standard air attack right before landing and then go straight into a dash, Luma will attack while dashing. Rosalina & Luma: Luma’s Reactions When Luma is next to Rosalina, it starts dancing if she grabs an opponent. When she gets hurt, you can see it flailing its little arms in panic! Rosalina & Luma: Rebound When it’s on the way back after Luma Shot, Luma can attack as normal. Use this to surprise fighters heading for Rosalina or as a diversion. Rosalina & Luma: Luma’s Color Lumas come in various colors, but their abilities are identical. The six colors you can get are yellow, red, green, blue, cream, and Polari. Rosalina & Luma: Power Star This Final Smash creates a gigantic Power Star, which fires shooting stars and then explodes. Throw foes into the explosion for big damage! Wii Fit Trainer: Super Hoop Press the button repeatedly to float up higher, making recovery easier. If foes are trying to stop you getting back to the stage, just fly out of reach! Wii Fit Trainer: Header The ball’s trajectory depends on when you press the button again. You can also attack with the headbutt directly, which has a meteor effect. Wii Fit Trainer: Strong Side Attack It’s not just the front arm thrust that deals damage the leg raised up behind is also a powerful attack that launches foes straight up. Little Mac: Straight Lunge This attack gives you super armor while charging up and while dashing forward. This is especially prominent when it’s fully charged. Little Mac: Jolt Haymaker Press the button during the jump, and you can deliver the punch more quickly. You won’t move as far, though, so consider that before using it. Little Mac: Unique Traits At high damage levels, bruises and a bandage appear on Little Mac’s face. Also, since he’s a boxer, he never attacks using his legs. Little Mac: Giga Mac As Giga Mac, Little Mac has more power and speed than usual. He also won’t flinch from attacks, but he’ll still take damage as normal. Villager: Pocket Projectiles and items you put in your pocket will disappear after 30 seconds or so. Take them out every so often to keep them longer. Villager: Timber The Villager can move sideways while using the watering can. It’s also possible to water and chop down trees planted by other Villagers. Villager: Side Smash Attack If you stand next to a cliff above your opponent, you can use this smash attack to drop a bowling ball on them from above like a projectile. Palutena: Autoreticle This move locks on to an opponent in front and fires three shots. However, it won’t lock on to a foe who’s currently invincible due to dodging. Robin: Down Air Attack This attack doesn’t have a meteor effect with the Bronze Sword, but it does with the Levin Sword. Robin: Levin Sword When you’ve used up the Levin Sword, perform smash attacks with the Bronze Sword to reduce the time until you can use the Levin Sword again. Robin: Tome and Levin Sword When Robin discards tomes and Levin Swords after using them up, they can hurt opponents they hit. They can even be grabbed and thrown! Robin: Tome and Levin Sword As a general rule, the remaining uses of tomes and Levin Swords won’t reset until they’re all used up or Robin gets KO’d. Robin: Tome The third strike of Robin’s standard attack combo uses the same tome as Arcfire. When you run out of one attack, you also run out of the other. Robin: Tome Robin’s flurry attack uses the same tome as Elwind. If you use it up with the flurry attack, you won’t be able to use Elwind for recovery! Robin: Pair Up If Chrom’s attack connects and you perform this successfully, all of Robin’s tomes and the Levin Sword will be fully recovered afterward. Duck Hunt: Trick Shot If the Duck Hunt dog and duck are near the can when it’s shot, the duo will crouch down and cover their ears, leaving them vulnerable for a moment. Duck Hunt: Trick Shot Even while grabbing opponents, being grabbed, or using Duck Jump, you can keep shooting the can. Duck Hunt: Clay Shooting If the clay pigeon from this move and the can from Trick Shot are on-screen at the same time, the shooter will aim for the clay pigeon. Duck Hunt: Wild Gunman The gunmen can be defeated if they take enough damage. For a surprise, hit the one in a black suit near the top or hit the lanky one near the bottom! Duck Hunt: Wild Gunman The gunmen’s order is random, but all five will take a turn before cycling. Remember the first four, and you can predict the last one! Duck Hunt: Wild Gunman The gunmen’s firepower, from best to worst: the sombrero guy, the cool leader, the guy in a suit, and then a tie between the lanky and beardy ones. Duck Hunt: Wild Gunman The lanky gunman has a longer range than any of the others, and the one in the sombrero has the shortest range. The others are pretty much equal. Duck Hunt: Wild Gunman The gunmen from fastest to slowest: the cool leader (earning that title!), the one in a suit, the one in a sombrero, the lanky one, and then the beardy one. Bowser Jr.: Abandon Ship After leaping out of the Junior Clown Car, Bowser Jr. can swing a hammer with the standard attack button. This attack is great for launching. Bowser Jr.: Mechakoopa After taking out a Mechakoopa, Bowser Jr. can pick it back up himself. It’s a versatile tool that can be used in a variety of ways to corner foes. Bowser Jr.: Clown Kart Dash Input a jump while performing this, and you’ll cancel the dash. This can be handy for recovery, as a lead-in to other moves, or as a feint. Shulk: Monado Arts Shulk can switch between Monado Arts even while being launched. If you get launched off a cliff, switching to Jump mode might save you! Shulk: Monado Arts In Jump mode, it’s not just Shulk’s standard jump and midair jump that go higher his Air Slash move gives him more height than usual, too. Shulk: Monado Arts You can’t use a Monado Art immediately after it’s run out. If you wait about 10 seconds, it will become available for use again. Shulk: Monado Arts To cancel the current Monado Art, press the special button quickly three times in a row or hold the button for about a second. Shulk: Air Slash Press the standard attack button while using an Air Slash to perform another slash forward and rise a little farther. It won’t work after you start falling. Shulk: Vision Shulk’s Vision is a powerful counter move, but its activation timing becomes stricter when used repeatedly. It recovers slowly while not in use. Shulk: Vision Input toward your foe when you pull off a counter, and you’ll swing around them to attack from the other side. This launches farther but won’t work in the air. Shulk: Chain Attack There are two variations on this attack, depending on whether Shulk calls for Dunban or Riki. They don’t change anything but the lines spoken, though. Shulk: Chain Attack Shulk’s Monado Arts even affect his Final Smash. If you select Buster, destroying the Smash Ball will be easier and the attack will do more damage. Greninja: Water Shuriken The longer this attack is charged, the shorter its range is. The uncharged version can be more useful for keeping a foe from approaching. Greninja: Substitute After successfully countering with this, input a direction and you’ll reappear in that direction and attack. PAC-MAN: Pac-Jump Anyone can use the trampoline from PAC-MAN’s up special, but it breaks on the fourth use. The one who broke it will fall helplessly to the ground. PAC-MAN: Fire Hydrant The water that sprays from the hydrant will even push PAC-MAN himself. You can use this to sneak up on a foe while charging an attack! PAC-MAN: Fire Hydrant If you drop a hydrant on a steep slope, it’ll go tumbling down. The tumbling hydrant can deal damage to enemies it hits. PAC-MAN: Power Pellet If an opponent attacks the Power Pellet, this attack will be canceled. It’s a useful move for recovery, but be careful when foes are around! Mega Man: Metal Blade The Metal Blade will deal more damage if you let it get stuck in a wall and then pick it up and use it as an item. Your foes can pick it up too, though! Mega Man: Rush Coil When Rush is standing there after you use this move, he’ll bounce you higher than when you first use it. Other players can jump on him too! Mega Man: Leaf Shield You can’t use other specials while the Leaf Shield is up, so if you’re offstage and need to use your up special, better get rid of this first! Mega Man: Strong Up Attack The start of this attack strongly launches foes straight upward. It leaves you quite open if you miss, but a clean hit can really turn things around! Mega Man: Down Air Attack After Mega Man’s fist flies a little way from his body, it has a meteor effect. To send foes flying down, you’ll want to leave a little distance. Mega Man: Mega Legends The Black Hole Bomb will explode when it hits a foe, or you can blow it up by pressing the special button. Use that method to draw in nearby foes. Mii Brawler: Soaring Axe Kick When recovering with this move, it often goes past the edge, leaving you open to attack. Try waiting until exactly the right height to grab on to the edge. Mii Brawler: Head-On Assault If you’re facing an edge, you can grab it in the middle of this move but it won’t work if you’re facing away from the edge. Careful, kiddo. Mii Swordfighter: Blade Counter You can use this move in midair to slow your fall. This can be useful for throwing off the timing of a foe waiting below you to attack. Mario: F.L.U.D.D. F.L.U.D.D.’s water is great for stopping fighters like Ness and Ike from recovering with their up specials. Try to keep it charged and ready! Mario: F.L.U.D.D. F.L.U.D.D. isn’t just for pushing fighters it can also push some items, like capsules and crates, and even deflect incoming Bob-ombs. Donkey Kong: Shield Break Donkey Kong can use his side special Headbutt and his down special Hand Slap to damage or even shatter his foes’ shields…and spirits. Link: Triforce Slash If a foe has gotten in close to try and avoid your Final Smash, double-tap them with your standard attack to push them back to the ideal range. Link: Bomb While holding a bomb, press the grab button just before landing to drop it at your feet without it going off. Leave this present for your foes! Link: Standard Attack Opponents struck by the full three-hit combo will get launched, or you can combine the first two hits with up or down smash attacks to keep things fresh. Link: Midair Clawshot When you fire the Clawshot by using a grab in midair, it extends a long way, making it useful against tall foes or those approaching from below. Samus: Midair Grapple Beam Hop backward with a small jump, and then fire the Grapple Beam by using a grab in midair. Retreat while keeping your foes at bay! Samus: Screw Attack When recovering with the Screw Attack, you can’t grab edges behind you until you’ve finished rising. Make sure to face the right way when you use it! Samus: Standard Attack Foes can often put up their shields in between the first and second hits of this combo. It’s safer to just hit with the first attack and then flee. Yoshi: Egg Throw You can throw the egg straight up by inputting the direction Yoshi’s facing away from just before throwing. Fake out your foes with this technique. Yoshi: Egg Throw Unlike other fighters, Yoshi doesn’t have a vertical move used mainly for recovering. However, Yoshi will flutter a little bit if this move is used in midair. Yoshi: Yoshi Bomb Yoshi Bomb is great for breaking shields. Start off with multiple standard attacks, and then use Yoshi Bomb to finish that shield off. Yoshi: Down Air Attack This attack is very powerful if the foe is directly beneath Yoshi. On heavier fighters, you can deal over 30% damage. Yoshi: Midair Jump Yoshi’s midair jump won’t stop if a foe attacks him in the middle of it. This is key to recovering for him, since his up special doesn’t travel far. Kirby: Hammer Flip When Hammer Flip is fully charged and used on the ground, Kirby is invincible for a brief moment at the start of his swing. Pit vs. Dark Pit Pit and Dark Pit are similar in some ways, but they both summon different weapons and both celebrate victory to a different tune. Donkey Kong: Konga Beat Donkey Kong’s pose at the end of his bongo solo will change depending on if you missed any of the beats. Captain Falcon: Falcon Punch If you input in the opposite direction right after the attack begins, Captain Falcon will turn around and deal a stronger punch. This works in midair, too!* Mushroom Kingdom U If Nabbit catches you, he’ll put you in his sack. Wriggle about to escape before he carries you off the screen! Mushroom Kingdom U Kamek’s magic totally transforms the stage. This can result in platforms sinking beneath your feet, so be careful you don’t fall! Mushroom Kingdom U If one of the giant icicles hits you when it falls, you’ll be frozen. If you notice any drops of water falling from above, get out from under them fast! Wily Castle The Yellow Devil explodes when defeated, which counts as your attack if you defeated it. Use this to KO other fighters! Mushroom Kingdom U A spray of water from below is the sign that a pillar of water is about to erupt. If there’s an Urchin on one, don’t touch it or you’ll get hurt! Jungle Hijinxs There are platforms in the foreground and the background. Use the Barrel Cannons to travel back and forth between them! Jungle Hijinxs When the ground starts to quake, it’s about to fall out from underneath you. Jump in a Barrel Cannon to flee before it’s too late! Jungle Hijinxs After being fired out of a Barrel Cannon, you’ll smolder for a bit. Don’t use another one until you stop…unless you think you’d like exploding! (You won’t.) The Great Cave Offensive When treasure chests appear on this stage, break them to get items! Some chests explode, though, so it might be safer to use projectiles. The Great Cave Offensive The burning red Danger Zones are as dangerous as their name implies. Touch them with more than 100% damage, and you’ll be instantly KO’d. The Great Cave Offensive On this stage, mine carts will sometimes appear. They start moving when someone gets inside or on their own after a while. Try not to get run over! PAC-LAND Unlike in other stages, you can’t float at all in the water here. You’ll fall through it like it’s not even there, so be careful not to belly flop to a KO! PAC-LAND You can’t grab any of the edges on this stage. There aren’t many holes, but if you do fall into one, try to recover with plenty of room to spare. Pokémon Stadium 2 When the stage is in its Ice form, the floors are slippery. Changing direction will be more difficult, and you won’t be able to attack while skidding. Pokémon Stadium 2 When the stage is in its Ground form, a small mountain appears just left of the stage’s center. Mountains are great for stopping projectiles. Temple When your damage is high, try to fight in the cave around the middle of the stage. It’s easy to break your fall against the walls and stay in the game. 75 m If you touch the enemies that move around on the platforms and ladders, you’ll be launched. Try throwing your opponents into them! 75 m Watch out when Donkey Kong steps forward. Jacks will come flying from the left, which can hit multiple times and launch you off the screen. Bridge of Eldin When King Bulblin is flinching after being attacked, fighters he rams into won’t get hurt. Bridge of Eldin Sometimes a Bulblin will appear, following along after King Bulblin. It won’t really do much, but you can attack it and defeat it. You meanie. Bridge of Eldin When the ground shakes, King Bulblin will come riding in from the left or right. The explosive he drops on the bridge is strong enough to blow it up. Smashville Different residents appear randomly in the background of this stage. You’ll see as many as 34 different ones, depending on the time of day. Smashville The background changes based on what time it is in real life. Play on Saturday night at any time from 8:00 to 11:59 to see K.K. Slider perform! Jungle Hijinxs When the Barrel Cannons start flashing, it means they’re about to vanish off-screen. You can’t use them once they’re pointing straight up, so hurry! Pokémon Stadium 2 This stage randomly shifts into four elemental forms: Electric, Flying, Ice, and Ground. The Pokémon in the background match each theme. Pokémon Stadium 2 This stage’s Electric form has conveyor belts on both sides. They’ll carry you right off the edge; be careful where you stand when you’re taunting. Pokémon Stadium 2 This stage’s Flying form has a constant updraft, making fighters fall more slowly. It extends past the edges of the stage, so it’s useful for recovering. Skyloft On the small island with a waterfall, you’ll want to be careful of falling. That swift current can easily prevent you from recovering. Wii Fit Studio This stage’s background demonstrates seven different poses, and the Wii Balance Board platforms can appear in 125 different ways! Luigi’s Mansion Each pillar supports a part of the building that collapses when that pillar is destroyed. A first- floor pillar can’t be destroyed before a second. Luigi’s Mansion Wait a little while after the whole mansion is destroyed, and with a mighty rumble, it will rise up from the ground, good as new! Mario Circuit (Brawl) The karts on this stage do more damage than the ones in the new Mario Circuit. The helpful map in the background always shows where they are! Onett St |
President Trump and Paul Ryan tried to improve Obamacare. They failed. Trump then tweeted, "ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!" But I do worry. Trump is right when he says that Obamacare will explode. The law mandates benefits and offers subsidies to more people. Insurers must cover things like: Birth control. Alcohol counseling. Depression screening. Diet counseling. Tobacco use screening. Breastfeeding counseling. Some people want those things, but mandating them for everyone drives up costs. It was folly to pretend it wouldn't. Insisting that lots of things be paid for by someone else is a recipe for financial explosion. Medicare works that way, too. When I first qualified for it, I was amazed to find that no one even mentioned cost. It was just, "Have this test!" "See this doctor!" I liked it. It's great not to think about costs. But that's why Medicare will explode, too. There's no way that, in its current form, it will be around to fund younger people's care. Someone else paying changes our behavior. We don't shop around. We don't ask, "Do I really need that test?" "Is there a place where it's cheaper?" Hospitals and doctors don't try very hard to do things cheaply. Imagine if you had "grocery insurance." You'd buy expensive foods; supermarkets would never have sales. Everyone would spend more. Insurance coverage -- third-party payment -- is revered by the media and socialists (redundant?) but is a terrible way to pay for things. Today, 7 in 8 health care dollars are paid by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance companies. Because there's no real health care market, costs rose 467 percent over the last three decades. By contrast, prices fell in the few medical areas not covered by insurance, like plastic surgery and LASIK eye care. Patients shop around, forcing health providers to compete. The National Center for Policy Analysis found that from 1999 to 2011 the price of traditional LASIK eye surgery dropped from over $2,100 to about $1,700. |
Homemade Naan Total Recipe cost: $1.27 Servings Per Recipe: 8 pieces Cost per serving: $0.16 each Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 25 min. Rise Time: 45 min. Total: 1.5 hrs. INGREDIENTS COST 2 tsp dry active yeast $0.19 1 tsp sugar $0.02 1/2 cup water $0.00 2.5-3 cups flour $0.18 1/2 tsp salt $0.05 1/4 cup vegetable oil $0.15 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt $0.56 1 large egg $0.12 TOTAL $1.27 Step By Step Photos And now for the much anticipated Naan recipe!If you're unfamiliar with naan, it is basically just an Indian style flat bread. Okay, maybe it's not "just" flat bread. This stuff is AMAZING. It is soft, pillowy, full of lovely bubbles and so extremely versatile. You can eat this along side of a meal to sop up gravies and juices, you can make flat bread sandwiches with it, top it with tomato sauce and cheese for a quick personal pizza, use it in place of tortillas for quesadillas... the possibilities are endless!!This recipe is so quick, easy and delicious that it is most definitely my new favorite yeast bread recipe. I can't quite get enough of it. My favorite way to eat it so far is to use it for my breakfast quesadillas or to just melt some mozzarella in it with a slight sprinkle of garlic powder... oh, it's divine!Big props to The Novice Chef blog for posting the original recipe . I looked at so many recipes before making naan and this was the simplest, most delicious looking recipe that required me to buy the fewest number of ingredients (just the yogurt!).In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. I ended up using about 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface (see photos below). Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Serve plain or brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs!For the most bubbles, don't roll out the ball of dough until just before it is ready to be placed in the skillet. I experimented with different skillet temperatures and found that a medium heat produces the most bubbles in the dough and does not burn the surface.The small 8 oz. container of greek yogurt that I bought still hase 2/3 cup left in it which means that I can make two more batches of naan! Because yogurt is a cultured milk product, it has a long refrigerator life so I WON'T be letting it go to waste :)Every time I go to make bread (of any kind) I remember that I want to buy a dough scraper ... yet I forget every time I'm at the store! Ugh! Labels: bread, easy, Indian |
Ex-Newsnight host and comedian to co-present broadcaster’s coverage of general election, which includes special edition of Gogglebox Jeremy Paxman and David Mitchell will anchor Channel 4’s coverage of the night of the general election, including a special election edition of Gogglebox. Paxman, who interviewed David Cameron and Ed Miliband in a joint Channel 4 and Sky News programme kicking off the series of party leader TV events, said: “Elections matter. But that doesn’t mean the coverage has to be dull. I hope there’ll be room for both insight and laughter.” The former Newsnight presenter, who was signed up by Channel 4 earlier this year, will host a night of comedy, entertainment and comment on what is expected to be the tightest election in decades on Channel 4’s Alternative Election Night on 7 May. Paxman pulls in more than 3 million for Cameron and Miliband grilling Read more Mitchell was one of the presenters of Channel 4’s election coverage in 2010, which also featured Jimmy Carr, Charlie Brooker and Lauren Laverne and beat ITV in the ratings. The pair will be joined by Cathy Newman and Gary Gibbon from Channel 4 News and guests including Last Leg presenter Adam Hills, Pointless host Richard Osman “providing his interpretation of events”, and Fonejacker star Kayvan Novak. The Channel 4 News team “will be on the ground in key electoral battlegrounds, reporting right through the night and bringing the latest news and results”, with Gibbon and Newman “providing hard-edged commentary on the political story”, said the broadcaster. The night of programmes will also include an election edition of Gogglebox, Channel 4’s award-winning “real-life Royle family” show which has become its biggest returning hit with 4 million viewers on Friday night. In the run-up to polling day Channel 4 will broadcast a new topical comedy, Ballot Monkeys, from Andy Hamilton and Guy Perkins, the creators of Drop the Dead Donkey and Outnumbered, with a cast featuring Ben Miller, Hugh Dennis and Sarah Hadland. On the night of the election, More 4 will also be broadcasting The Vote, a play dramatising the final 90 minutes before the polls close, live from London’s Donmar Warehouse theatre. Ed Havard, head of Channel 4’s TV events, said: “This is an unpredictable election and we’ve got a genuinely unpredictable and exciting line-up for our take on election night. It promises to be very different, and a lot of fun. Plus we’re on all night so you won’t miss a thing.” The coverage will be jointly produced by Big Brother maker Endemol and ITN, maker of Channel 4 News. Mitchell said: “Our aim is to keep people watching much later than they intended and we will be judged by the dip in the nation’s productivity on Friday May 8.” |
Seoul, South Korea - On a warm spring Sunday morning, the rows of pews inside Seoul Anglican Cathedral were nearly full with congregants singing a traditional hymn accompanied by a blaring organ. Among the attendees was Park Hyun-jung, a simply dressed woman in her early 30s, currently taking time away from her career to raise her children, aged two and six. Park comes from a devout Anglican family and attended church regularly while growing up in Seoul. As she entered adulthood and the challenges of completing university, finding a job and marrying came to dominate her schedule, she started going to church less often. She now only goes two or three times a year. "I'm so busy trying to raise kids and manage our household. I can't find time to do everything," Park said. Her trajectory of straying from religion in early adulthood is increasingly common among South Koreans, and is reflective of a national trend towards increasing secularism, particularly among young people. Experts say that young South Koreans are too wrapped up in a demanding education system and job market to spend much time on religious activities. In many South Korean cities, there are more churches than convenience stores. Around 20 percent of South Koreans identify as Protestant, the largest group in the country, followed by 15 percent who identify as Buddhists, and nearly eight percent as Catholics. The abundance of churches is a legacy of how people turned to organised religion, mostly brought by US missionaries, for structure and guidance after the 1950-53 Korean War devastated the country and tore apart families. But according to Statistics Korea, a government body, the percentage of South Koreans identifying as having no religion rose from 47 percent in 2005 to 56 percent in 2015. This falling religiosity is especially pronounced among young adults: a poll the same year by Gallup Korea found 31 percent of South Koreans in their 20s identifying as religious, down from 46 percent 10 years earlier. READ MORE: South Korea's first black model Updating styles of worship When Park does attend service, she goes to Seoul Cathedral, a 126-year-old Anglican church located on a leafy property in the centre of Seoul. Seoul Anglican Cathedral is one of a few houses of worship that, facing down the possibility of a slide into irrelevance, are making efforts to retain their young congregants, updating teachings and holding events modelled on typical TV talk shows, where instead of just discussing scripture, young people can speak openly about personal or spiritual matters and seek support from peers and church leaders. At Young Nak Presbyterian Church, also located in central Seoul, to help retain congregants, church officials took inspiration from a TV panel discussion show called "Yoo Hee-yeol's Sketchbook". Religious leaders now host informal conversation events with churchgoers, allowing them to discuss personal or theological questions. Some have pointed to smartphones as one thing distracting young South Koreans from religious observance. With this in mind, some young South Koreans last year organised a joint prayer event they called "Uprising", which aimed to get young people off their phones and into an in-person prayer gathering. Other churches have accepted the primacy of smartphones in how young people access information. SaRang Church, one of South Korea's biggest, developed a smartphone app with a searchable Bible. Reverend Nak-hyon Joseph Joo, 49, vice dean at Seoul Anglican Cathedral, organises programmes for young congregants. The church has roughly 3,000 members, roughly half of whom regularly attend mass. Joo says the church is constantly working to update its teachings to be relevant for young people, and to hold gatherings specifically geared to them. Joo argues that as many long-time members age and become less active in church activities; for the church to remain vibrant, it must continuously be attracting new and younger congregants. READ MORE: Who is Moon Jae-in, South Korea's new president? Dismantling hierarchy Joo drew inspiration from Theology on Tap, a practice founded in the United States, whereby churches hold lectures and discussions in informal settings, usually restaurants or bars (the "tap" in the name comes from the lever used to pour draught beer). On the evening of the third Thursday of every month, Joo organises a gathering at a coffee shop, where anyone is welcome, from church congregants and their friends to curious atheists, to discuss not just theology, but personal concerns, as well as social and political issues. Usually, around 20 people attend and participate in spirited conversations, or remain quiet with their beverage, if that is what they prefer. The church also holds a 13-week educational programme on the basics of the Christian tradition and the church's mission for new members, roughly two-thirds of whom are in their 20s and 30s, Joo says. On the last Sunday of every month, he holds a special mass only for young people, where he invites the participants up to the altar, the most sacred space in the church, to receive the Eucharist. During that service, Joo gives a sermon without a lectern. He says he does this to undermine any sense of hierarchy within the church. "I choose to let the younger generation into this most holy place because they are the most important people for the future of our church," Joo said. He says that these efforts have made it possible for his church to buck the trend of falling numbers of young congregants. Francis Jae-ryong Song, a professor at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, has conducted research into the phenomenon of churches attempting to retain young congregants, and argues that churches, like so much else in South Korea, are a competitive ecosystem. Similar to how businesses compete for customers, churches compete to attract congregants, and larger numbers of worshippers are taken as indicators of health in a church. Song says that so far, efforts to retain young churchgoers have not been highly successful, as they have not addressed core issues that many young Koreans find unappealing. "Many Korean churches have authoritarian structures and there is no interactive or democratic communication structure. This prevents young people from participating actively in the church decision-making process," Song said. Song adds that the types of live conversation events some churches are using are vital in allowing young members to express themselves in a language they are comfortable using. In his research, Song described a "mismatch of language of faith between generations" where church leaders still used old-fashioned manners of speech which alienate young people. WATCH - 101 East: South Korea's Gender Wars (24:59) Unemployment and scepticism Experts say rising youth unemployment, which OECD data shows is now at its highest point in South Korea since 2000, and young people feeling beset by problems to which religion does not provide any direct solutions, are major factors in the falling numbers of young people who identify as religious. South Korea has a time-consuming process for young job seekers. Applicants often need to sit for tests and fill out elaborate forms. According to data from the Korea Employment Information Service, South Koreans in their 20s spend an average of 111 days looking before finding a job. "Young people nowadays are caught in this long cycle of studying hard to get into university, then having to get a good job. They also have technology and many options for leisure activities. All these things have brought young people away from churches," said Andrew Eungi Kim, a professor at Korea University in Seoul. Kim argues that South Koreans are becoming less trusting of hierarchical institutions and that turning away from religion is part of this. "Young South Koreans are far better educated than their parents and are more likely to be sceptical of the claims religious leaders make," Kim said. Furthermore, as unemployment can carry a heavy social stigma in South Korea, unemployed young people might avoid social settings, such as the church, where they are expected to mingle. Joo says he regularly counsels young church members, many of whom are anxious about their careers or finances. "I don't tell them what is wrong or what is right in their life, I just listen to them and try to educate them about Christian tradition," he said. Nevertheless, more South Koreans are feeling like churches, and religion generally, don't provide answers to their most pressing needs. "We can't offer practical assistance when it comes to jobs or financial hardships. All we can do is provide emotional consolation and try to encourage harmony," Joo added. Kim Hyun-ah, 27, took time away from her own search for a job at a large conglomerate to attend the Sunday service at Seoul Anglican Cathedral. "I just come here because it's an open-minded church. I like the atmosphere," she said. Kim says she finds occasional church attendance a boost to her spirits during a challenging time. After the service she said she was planning to move to a nearby coffee shop to resume her online job search, saying: "It's good to come here sometimes, but finding a job is my real occupation. And going to church won't help me with that." |
Air Force Researchers Plant Rootkit In A PLC Rogue code and malicious activity could go undetected in many of today's programmable logic controllers Researchers with the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) have created a prototype rootkit that can sit undetected in the firmware of a programmable logic controller (PLC) device and corrupt utility and plant floor operations. PLCs -- which run various industrial processes, from spinning centrifuges of uranium to operating amusement park rides -- traditionally have not been built with security in mind, and little, if any, technology exists to track or detect rogue code running in them. "We wanted to demonstrate the feasibility" of malicious firmware in a PLC, says Jonathan Butts, research director for AFIT's Center for Cyberspace Research. Butts and AFIT research assistant Stephen Dunlap presented their rootkit research earlier this month at the S4x14 ICS/SCADA conference in Miami. The researchers were able to modify the firmware for rootkits in various PLCs, but only went public with details on the Allen Bradley 1756-L61 (ControlLogix family) PLC. The Rockwell Automation firm is the only PLC vendor thus far that responded to the research with a fix: in this case, digital signature technology for the PLC to thwart rootkit infections. Among AFIT's goals was to provide sample malware that could be used against these critical ICS/SCADA devices to further test for these types of threats and attacks. A PLC could be infected with the rootkit via a malicious firmware update, for example, or via a rigged or infected USB stick on a laptop connected to a PLC in a substation, the researchers say. "We didn't find bugs. There were no bugs you could exploit: We just used methods to code the system up where you take advantage of and embed your own malicious software to run on top of the firmware," Butts says. An attacker could then allow the PLC to operate normally, or to do its bidding via "trigger" functions, he says. The AFIT researchers created two payloads for the PLC rootkit that could be triggered with a time bomb in the firmware, for example, as well as with remote commands. One payload was a "soft" denial-of-service (DoS), where the attacker compromises the PLC's operations, but it can be reset to its normal state. "A fault happens, [the operators] reset the PLC, and the [attacker]" disrupts the PLC again, but in such a way that the operator is unable to diagnose that it was done maliciously, according to Dunlap. A persistent DoS "turns the PLC into a brick, and you aren't able to operate it without the manufacturer replacing it," for example, he says. The rootkit didn't require major resources to develop, either: It took an AFIT graduate student less than four months to reverse-engineer a PLC and write the prototype rootkit, and cost about $2,000 overall to develop. The logic bomb trigger created by the Air Force researchers impressed Dale Peterson, founder and CEO of Digital Bond, an ICS/SCADA consultancy that hosts the S4 Conference. "The tying of the logic bomb to moving the switch from 'run' to 'program' mode was very slick. The technician or engineer is likely to think the failure was due to the new PLC code he was trying to load into the PLC was the problem, at least for a while," Peterson says. PLCs are at risk of attack because there are no tools to detect malicious code running on them today, the researchers say. "What's lacking in the security field is the capability to analyze the device that has failed," Dunlap told S4 attendees. Vendors can help prevent PLC rootkits by adding digital signatures and trusted computing module (TPM) to their PLC products, as well as secure coding practices, the AFIT researchers say. ICS/SCADA operators can tighten up their configuration management and add deep packet inspection and situational awareness to their security arsenal. "The final part of this three-legged stool are the integrators. They are the often forgotten part of ICS," Butts says. "They have the configuration for most of these devices for their customers" and should ensure the source of software and updates before installing the systems, he says. A PLC attack could be perpetrated via a corrupted supply chain or a contractor. "Electric substations at some point in time get serviced by legitimate authorized people, engineers, and guess what? They are using mobile computers to service it," says Ralph Langner, founder of Langner Communications. "We are talking about small companies who are in charge of these tasks that most of the time don't have any clue of cybersecurity. So [an attacker targeting a site] could spearphish some of those employees in those companies" to get to the ultimate target, he says. Butts says the good news is now there are test cases of firmware rootkits. "We have a test bank for malicious rootkits to test mitigation efforts," Butts says. PLCs were also the target of abuse by another researcher at S4, Digital Bond's Stephen Hilt, who rigged a PLC with a low-cost hacking tool that can shut down a process control network with a text message. The so-called PLCpwn tool uses existing Metasploit attack modules that previously had been created by Digital Bond. [A researcher has rigged a programmable logic controller (PLC) with a low-cost hacking tool that can shut down a process control network with a text message. See The PLC As An ICS/SCADA Hacking Tool .] Have a comment on this story? Please click "Add Your Comment" below. If you'd like to contact Dark Reading's editors directly, send us a message. Kelly Jackson Higgins is Executive Editor at DarkReading.com. She is an award-winning veteran technology and business journalist with more than two decades of experience in reporting and editing for various publications, including Network Computing, Secure Enterprise ... View Full Bio |
NORTH DARTMOUTH — Inmate No. 174594, formerly No. 81 in your Patriots program, exercises alone in an 8-foot-by-12-foot padlocked cage in the courtyard of the Bristol County House of Correction. For one hour a day, Aaron Hernandez gets to breathe fresh air and maybe get some sunshine amidst the chain-link fencing, roof, and razor wire. He does sit-ups, knee bends, and push-ups on the concrete floor, according to prison authorities. Hernandez, charged in the first-degree murder of Odin Lloyd, is not just in prison, but confined to a “special management unit.” He is kept away from other inmates because of his high profile. He started off in the medical unit, where doctors evaluated his mental health and the gang intelligence unit inspected his numerous tattoos for affiliations that could spark jailhouse violence. Advertisement Hernandez has denied any gang allegiance, but he is still not ready to mix with the jail’s general population, according to Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson. Get Sports Headlines in your inbox: The most recent sports headlines delivered to your inbox every morning. Sign Up Thank you for signing up! Sign up for more newsletters here “We have to be very careful,” said Hodgson, adding that inmates could attack Hernandez “to raise their stature.” For 21 hours per day, Hernandez is locked in a 7-foot-by-10-foot single cell. There is no air conditioning, no television, no coffee, and no weight room. “This is not the Ritz,” said Hodgson. According to the no-nonsense sheriff, Hernandez has been a model prisoner. “He’s been nothing but perfect,” said Hodgson. “I met with him when he first came in to lay the rules out. I said, ‘Here’s the deal. You won’t be treated any better or worse or get any special privileges here. If you have any issues or problems, tell command.’ He was very polite and very respectful. He didn’t seem nervous, he seemed very comfortable.” Advertisement Hodgson recently conducted a tour of the jail, excluding the double-tiered unit where Hernandez is kept along with seven other inmates. By interviewing other correction officers and inmates, it was possible to piece together Hernandez’s new daily life in jail. When the thick cellblock doors clang shut, the sound is more jarring than the muskets fired after every Patriots score at Gillette Stadium. “Every Sunday he went into a stadium where thousands of people cheered him and revered him,’’ said Hodgson. “In an instant he walks through our door, gets a new uniform, a longer number, and nobody’s cheering for him.” Here, adoring fans are hard to come by. It’s clear from the comments of his fellow inmates, many in their early 20s, that there isn’t a lot of sympathy for Hernandez. “He’s a punk,” says one young inmate wearing the tan uniform of the convicted. “He’s a bum,” says another. “I don’t care about him,’’ says a third inmate. “I’m worried about myself.” Advertisement Hodgson has warned staff not to ask for autographs, take pictures, or go out of their way to engage Hernandez. The luxuries of Hernandez’s $1.3 million home have been replaced by an austere cell. Standard issue is a metal double bunk bed with an inch-thick mattress that is more like a workout mat. He is also issued a pillow, sheet, and blanket. It is unlikely his 6-foot-1-inch frame fits without his feet touching the bed frame. There’s a metal toilet-sink combination — the toilet seat does not lift — and a tiny metal desk with an attached metal stool inside. Morning jolt Hernandez’s day begins at 6 a.m. when a slot in the door is opened and his breakfast tray arrives. “He’ll get an egg — one egg, and a portion of grits,’’ said Hodgson. “He’d likely get a small muffin square and a choice between milk or juice. We actually serve Tang now to cut costs. But believe it or not, it actually has a higher nutritional value than orange juice and it’s cheaper.’’ When Hernandez initially arrived, he asked about quenching his thirst. Officers pointed to the sink. Hernandez has to clean his cell by 8, when officers inspect it for “proper decorum.” “He has to make his bed, clean up, and make sure everything is neat,” said Hodgson. The bed must remain made all day. Nothing is allowed on the walls. His window is divided into three narrow sections and faces the barbed-wire fencing and the woods. He has got a so-called mirror on the wall that is made of plastic. He addresses his jailers as “sir.” STAN GROSSFELD/GLOBE STAFF This is similar to the so-called mirror, made of plastic, Aaron Hernandez has in his cell. “His cell is in perfect decorum,” said Hodgson. “He keeps a very neat cell.” Hernandez is allowed to read up to two books at a time and write letters. There are no video cameras in his cell. The lights are turned off each night at 11. “I know he likes to read,” says Hodgson. “We sent him down a copy of ‘Tuesdays With Morrie.’ I recommended he read it.” The former Patriot is allowed to leave his cell three times per day, for an hour each time. In the morning, he can make collect calls and take a hot shower in a narrow stall. Hernandez can also stretch his legs and walk 30 yards in the unit. Seven other inmates can see him through the thick window in the metal cell door and possibly communicate with him, but he is not allowed to stop and converse with them. Sometimes he waves. His uniform is now dark green, the color of pretrial prisoners. They look like New York Jets colors. “Yeah, pretty close, but no white, all green,” said Hodgson. His pricy Pumas are gone, as is his lucrative endorsement contract. He now wears standard-issue prison tennis shoes. In the afternoon, he gets out for an hour and is again allowed to make collect calls. At 5 p.m., he gets his exercise hour in one of three cages, though Hodgson refuses to call them that. “It’s a pen, all chain linked around with a chain-linked top,” he says. Hernandez exercises alone under the supervision of a prison officer who sits in a small booth during inclement weather. “It’s strictly for fresh air and sit-ups and push-ups,” said Hodgson. “In his unit only one inmate can be out at a time. So he’s not intermingling with people face to face.” Close quarters The American Civil Liberties Union has complained that Hernandez is locked in a cell “the size of a parking spot.” Some have described his status as “solitary confinement,” and call it akin to torture. Hodgson dismisses such talk. “In solitary confinement you don’t get an hour of visits, you don’t get access to the commissary, you don’t get three hours out of your cell.’’ Hodgson says he is responsible for Hernandez’s safety and the safety of the other inmates. Besides attorney visits, Hernandez is allowed one hour a week visitation from a list of five people he submits in advance so background checks can be completed. Hodgson declined to say whether Hernandez’s fiancée or any former teammates have come to visit him. Hodgson has met with Hernandez twice. Once on arrival and again after he was denied bail. “He said, ‘I’m fine,’ ’’ said Hodgson. “He’s basically adapting.” He said Hernandez told him how the untimely death of his father, a former football player at Connecticut who died because of complications from a hernia operation in 2006, left him devastated. The sheriff acknowledged Hernandez “presents well.” But said it gets him no special privileges here. Hernandez has never complained about his treatment and has eaten all his meals. He has made only one special request, asking for more protein in his diet. That request was denied, according to Bernie Sullivan, a Bristol County spokesman. Lunch on a recent day was a cheese burrito, served with two slices of bread and rice. A typical supper is a beef burger, rice and beans, green beans, fruit, fortified juice, and water. Hernandez’s $40 million contract buys him next to nothing here. The maximum allowed in his commissary account is $80 a week to buy an assortment of dried soups, breakfast bars, and assorted toiletries in limited quantities. Quiet times The media circus is gone now, and so are the fans — although four women from Texas recently volunteered to send Hernandez money. But here, dollars can’t buy you space or freedom. “He came from a 7,100-square-foot home and he’s living in a cell that’s probably smaller than most of the bathrooms in his house,’’ said Hodgson. Hernandez goes from the playbook of coach Bill Belichick to the rulebook of the Bristol County sheriff, who says he has been called Attila the Hun by liberals. Hodgson has been on the job since 1997 to the delight of taxpayers who don’t want pampered prisoners. Hodgson is controversial. In 1999, he started a voluntary unpaid chain gang work unit and received a fax from China condemning it as a human rights violation. The irony makes him smile. Sheriff Hodgson sees a silver lining in all the media attention. “I actually see media coverage as an opportunity for something good to come out of a bad situation,’’ he said. “Young kids particularly get to see what life is like for someone who has celebrity status. This is probably one of the greatest advertisements as to why you don’t ever want to come to jail. He had everything going for him.” Ironically, Hernandez has one member of the Patriot family that supports him. Mac Bledsoe, the father of Patriot Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Bledsoe, is a Bristol County auxiliary sheriff. His “Parenting With Dignity” program has been presented in the jail for the last 15 years. Hernandez, 23, has an infant daughter, Avielle Janelle, born last November. If asked, Bledsoe would love to help mentor Hernandez. “I’m just never ready to convict somebody by what I read in the papers,” Bledsoe said in a telephone interview. “He is innocent until proven guilty.” Stan Grossfeld can be reached at grossfeld@globe.com |
Ward Elementary School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina has found the formula for effective — and healthy — learning. Five years ago, the school began their ingenious Read and Ride program where one classroom in the school was filled up with donated exercise bikes for the students to use while they read… Turns out that this has been the catalyst for some real changes in how the students measure up academically. Image via Winston-Salem Journal While many schools are currently cutting recess or opting for longer school days, Ward Elementary is paving the way for a more active lifestyle in their curriculum. More and more studies have come to the conclusion that sitting for extended periods of time has a direct (and negative) effect on a person’s health. Continuous sitting can lead to chronic pain, obesity, decreased productivity, poor posture and other various health issues. This combination leads to such terribly ineffective work day that many offices have opted to provide standing desks. When tested in classes, students using standing desks burned more calories, had an increase in energy, gained a longer attention span and were more concentrated. Image via Winston-Salem Journal Movement is the key to staying alert and maintaining focus, according to several studies. The elementary found that their students who spent more time in the Read and Ride program achieved 83% proficiency in reading while students who spent the least amount of time in the program had significantly lower scores, with only 41% proficiency. Image via Winston-Salem Journal Many teachers at the school use time on the bike as a reward. It’s turned into a fun way to engage students in learning and exercising. Students can often feel self-conscious and embarrassed when weighed against other students’ progress in gym class. Students in the biking classrooms can move at their own pace without any judgment and enjoy reading at the same time. A little physical activity while learning has proven to keep students awake and concentrated on their studies. The program has spread to 30 other schools in the country, amazing progress in just five years! Image via Muck Girl |
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