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Turkey has summoned the German charge d'affaires in Ankara to explain restrictions imposed by the authorities in Germany on a pro-President Erdogan protest in Cologne. Read more The event in the western German city drew thousands of people, who defended Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policies following a failed coup attempt. Turkey’s Western allies criticize an ongoing crackdown on supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is suspected by Turkey of masterminding the deadly coup. Several Turkish officials attended the Cologne rally. The organizers wanted to live stream an address by Erdogan on a big screen, but local authorities prohibited it, citing security concerns. Turkey's deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmuş, said the ban on Erdogan's speech was "unacceptable" and a "double standard." The German charge d'affaires was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Monday to discuss the ban placed on a live-stream address, the German Foreign Ministry confirmed. Berlin downplayed the development, saying the summoning was “nothing extraordinary.” "I don't think it is meant as a reprimand," Martin Schaefer, spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry told journalists. He added that Ambassador Martin Erdmann, who heads the German diplomatic mission in Turkey, is currently on holiday, correcting earlier reports that he had been summoned by the Turks. Relations between Turkey and Germany remain strained after the German parliament, the Bundestag, passed a resolution last month acknowledging the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman republic in 1915-16 as genocide of Armenian people. Ambassador Erdmann has reportedly been given the cold shoulder since the vote and been obstructed by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and other branches of the government. READ MORE: Erdogan dismisses 1,400 army staff, announces sweeping overhaul of Turkish military "We have had phases in the past that were bumpy and other phases when things went extraordinarily well. Now we have a bit of a bumpy phase," Schaefer said, adding that the two countries will manage to overcome their differences. Turkey’s cooperation is crucial for the EU’s plan to tackle the refugee crisis, which hit Europe last year. The unprecedented inflow of refugees, predominantly from Syria and Afghanistan, fueled sympathies for right-wing parties throughout the EU. The refugee deal, under which Turkey agreed to take back irregular asylum seekers from Greece in exchange for visa-free travel, political preferences and financial aid, has been slow in implementation. Ankara threatens to withdraw from the agreement, unless the EU delivers on the visa promise by October. Brussels is reluctant due to harsh anti-terrorism laws in Turkey, which Ankara will not amend. |
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt announced a criminal investigation on Saturday against deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, with prosecutors saying they were examining complaints of spying, inciting violence and ruining the economy. Egypt’s first freely elected leader has been held at an undisclosed location since the army removed him from power on July 3, but has not yet been charged with any crime. In recent days, Washington has called for him to be freed and for the authorities to stop arresting leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood. The public prosecutor’s office said in a statement it had received complaints against Mursi, eight other named Islamist figures including the Brotherhood’s leader, Mohamed Badie, and others it did not identify. The military says it deposed Mursi in a justified response to popular demand after millions of people demonstrated against him. The Brotherhood says it was a coup that reversed democracy. Turmoil in the most populous Arab state has alarmed the United States and other Western donors. Egypt straddles the Suez Canal and signed a U.S.-brokered peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Complaints such as those against Mursi are a first step in the criminal process, allowing prosecutors to begin an investigation that can lead to charges. Announcing the step was unusual: typically prosecutors wait until charges are filed. The prosecutors did not say who had made the complaints. Egyptian law allows them to investigate complaints from police or any member of the public. Badie and several other Brotherhood officials already face charges for inciting violence that were announced earlier this week, but few of them have been arrested. Asked about the announcement of criminal investigations against Mursi, Badie and others, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “I can’t speak to the specifics of this investigation, but generally speaking, we have made clear the need to follow due process, respect the rule of law, and avoid politicized arrests and investigations.” BROTHERHOOD REJECTS CHARGES A senior army official told Reuters the authorities were allowing the Brotherhood figures to remain at large in part so that they could monitor their activities and collect evidence against them to ensure that any case was watertight. “We will leave them to do their talking and protests and we are sure at the end everything will be resolved smoothly and legally,” said the official, who asked not to be identified. Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said the charges were absurd and that it was the authorities themselves who were responsible for inciting violence. “They execute the crime themselves and then they slap it on their opponents. As long as you have a criminal police force and a complicit judiciary, the evidence will appear and the judge will be satisfied. And the media will sell it to the public.” Mursi’s Brotherhood called on Saturday for more mass demonstrations after large protests broke up peacefully before dawn, ending a week in which at least 90 people were killed. The Brotherhood, which has maintained a vigil near a Cairo mosque since before the army removed Mursi on July 3, has said it will not leave the streets until he is restored to power. Israeli Arab men take part in a demonstration in support of the deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi in the northern village of Kafar Kana July 13, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad Tens of thousands turned out on Friday for what the Brotherhood called a “day of marching on”. Large crowds of supporters dispersed early on Saturday, although a few hundred marched again after nightfall towards the defense ministry. Mursi’s opponents say these demonstrations are still much smaller than the ones that brought him down. However, the Brotherhood has shown its organizational muscle by keeping its vigil running into a third week and bringing in coachloads of supporters from the provinces during the Ramadan fasting month. Senior Brotherhood figure Essam el-Erian, one of those who faces arrest, called on his Facebook page for more demonstrations on Monday. “Egypt decides through the ballot box, through protests, mass marches and peaceful sit-ins,” he said. BLOODY WEEK Friday’s demonstration passed off peacefully, in contrast to a week earlier when 35 people were killed in battles between pro- and anti-Mursi demonstrators. On Monday, 57 people were killed in clashes between the army and Mursi supporters near a Cairo barracks. The army said it was responding to an attack; the Brotherhood called it a massacre. Egypt’s interim authorities have set out a “road map” to restore full civilian rule, with plans for a new constitution and parliamentary elections in about six months, followed by a presidential vote. A judge has been named interim president and liberal economist Hazem el-Beblawi appointed prime minister. He is trying to form a Cabinet likely to be made up mainly of technocrats and liberals, without offending a large ultra-orthodox Islamist group that broke with the Brotherhood to accept the military takeover. By the end of Saturday, candidates for many of the key ministries had been identified, although they had yet to accept them and the decisions were not final. Two senior interim government sources said Beblawi planned to offer the finance portfolio to Hany Kadri, a Christian who has overseen stalled loan talks with the International Monetary Fund, and the supplies ministry to Godah Abdel Khalik, a leftist politician who held the position briefly in 2011. Another Christian, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, a liberal who previously served as tourism minister, will be invited to head the investment ministry. A former ambassador to Washington, Nabil Fahmy, will be offered the foreign ministry, while General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who carried out the overthrow of Mursi, will retain the defence portfolio as expected. The United States refuses to say whether it considers the army takeover a “coup”, which under U.S. law would require it to cut off aid including $1.3 billion a year in military support. In recent days it has described Mursi’s rule as undemocratic because of the vast popular protests against him, but also urged the authorities to release him and stop detaining his followers. Its wavering position has infuriated both sides. Turmoil since a popular uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 has wrecked Egypt’s economy, scaring away tourists and investors, draining hard currency reserves and making it difficult to import food and fuel, which the government distributes at heavily subsidised prices. Rich Gulf Arab states Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, happy at the overthrow of the Brotherhood, have offered Egypt $12 billion in cash, loans and fuel. Slideshow (4 Images) State news agency MENA said a shipment of 70,000 tonnes of diesel arrived in Alexandria on Saturday from Turkey and Sweden. Egypt’s crisis has raised fears over security in the lawless Sinai peninsula bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, where militants attack security forces checkpoints almost daily. |
Today, Jeb Bush became the fourth GOP presidential candidate — after Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and Chris Christie — to unveil a detailed tax reform proposal. It's the most tempered plan to date, mostly including cuts that the Republican establishment has backed for years, like eliminating the estate tax. But it also serves as a compromise between two competing factions in the Republican Party who've been fighting for years about how best to cut taxes. The basics: taxes for workers and families Under the plan, there would be three individual tax brackets: 10 percent, 25 percent, and 28 percent. Compared with the current top rate of 39.6 percent, that's a drop of nearly a third. Bush would "nearly double" the standard deduction and expand the earned income tax credit; Bush claims 15 million more Americans wouldn't have to pay income taxes under this plan. Bush would eliminate employer-side payroll taxes on workers over 67 as part of his plan to boost economic growth by having people work more. Like almost every GOP tax plan, Bush's would eliminate the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax; it also claims to "eliminate the marriage penalty," though it's unclear how, and removing the tax penalty for dual-earner households is easier said than done. The plan would cap deductions other than the charitable deduction for high earners. Bush has not yet specified how the cap would work; President Obama has proposed something similar. Bush would eliminate the "carried-interest" loophole under which hedge fund and private equity managers pay lower, capital gains tax rates on income they get from their jobs. This is a reversal from past Republican candidates, who've mostly defended the loophole as legitimate. The basics: taxes on corporations Bush would cut the corporate tax rate — currently at 35 percent for companies with profits over $18.3 million — to 20 percent. Bush would adopt "territorial" taxation, where US companies don't pay taxes here on profits made overseas. He'd adopt a "repatriation holiday," where companies could bring profits parked overseas back to the US and only pay an 8.75 percent tax (which they could pay over 10 years), rather than the normal 35 percent tax. He'd let companies immediately deduct investments. Currently, if a company buys equipment, it must deduct the equipment's cost as it's used, over a number of years, rather than claiming the whole deduction in the year of purchase. So office furniture, for example, must be depreciated over seven years. Bush would end that. How much would it cost? Who would it help? As of Tuesday night, the plan is much too vague to be scored by the Congressional Budget Office, or even a think tank like the Tax Policy Center, so it's hard to estimate its budgetary impact. That said, slashing individual and corporate tax rates; eliminating the estate tax, alternative minimum tax, and taxation of foreign business income; increasing the standard deduction; and making it easier for businesses to deduct investments are all changes that'll cost money. Bush claims, "Taken together, these policies will unleash increased investment, higher wages and sustained 4% economic growth, while reducing the deficit." This is difficult to believe. It's hard to imagine him cobbling together enough limits on deductions for high earners to offset the cost of the rest of the plan. That leaves effects on economic growth as the only way this could reduce, rather than increase, the deficit, and in practice income tax rates don't appear to matter much for long-term growth, and certainly not enough for big tax cuts to pay for themselves. The distributional impact of the plan is also hard to judge. The cut to the top rate means that the rich will almost certainly pay considerably less, and the increase in the standard deduction and increase in the EITC suggest that low-income taxpayers will pay less as well. But it's unclear if people in the middle will gain from the rate cuts on average, especially because as of this writing, Bush hasn't specified the thresholds for his different rates. If someone currently in the 15 percent bracket were thrown by Bush into a 25 percent bracket, she could very well wind up worse off. What Jeb is trying to say with this plan You can understand Jeb's proposal as an attempt to negotiate a disagreement within the Republican Party about how best to cut taxes. On one side are the supply-siders, represented by conservative commentators like the Heritage Foundation's Stephen Moore, former GOP presidential candidate Steve Forbes, and CNBC's Larry Kudlow, who argue that cuts in marginal tax rates are the most important policy change for stimulating economic growth. (Bush, tellingly, consulted Moore, Forbes and Kudlow on the plan.) In Congress, this group is most vocally represented by House Ways and Means Chair Paul Ryan, whose budgets have called for a top rate of 25 percent. They also tend to like flat tax proposals, like those floated by Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson (though Paul's is a bit of a weird variant on the flat tax). On the other side are "reform conservatives" like economist Robert Stein and Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT), who think that the focus on rate cutting made sense when the top rate was 70 percent, as it was when Reagan took office, but that we're at a point of diminishing marginal returns from further cuts. Rubio and Lee's tax plan has a top rate of 35 percent — lower, but not as low as Ryan or the flat-taxers would like. Instead, Rubio and Lee enact or expand a number of tax breaks meant to help middle- and low-income families. They would create a new, mostly refundable child tax credit on top of the existing one They also turn the personal exemption into a credit and increase it substantially, which is a cut targeted to help poor and middle-class families, who get less out of deductions and exemptions since their tax rates are low. The "reformocons" think an agenda focused on middle-class tax cuts is more politically viable than one focused on cutting the top rate, but they also genuinely think it's important for the future of the economy. They believe that social programs for the elderly like Social Security and Medicare reduce parents' need for support from their children, and thus reduce the incentive to have children, and thus threaten to reduce the number of future workers around to keep the programs running. The new child tax credit is supposed to correct for this alleged disincentive. But the supply-siders think this is heresy, that the child tax credit is just another redistribution program that takes from the rich to help the poor, and that focusing on growth must mean focusing on cutting the top rate. Bush would increase the dread "47 percent" So Bush splits the difference. He has a large, real cut in the top rate to appease the supply-siders. But he also offers cuts for low-income and middle-class workers in the form of a bigger standard deduction and an expanded earned income tax credit. He doesn't include reformocons' signature child tax credit proposal, but these cuts feel reformocon-influenced. These provisions are particularly notable because they — by Bush's own admission — would grow the "47 percent" of Americans who don't pay federal income tax (the real number for 2015 is more like 40.4 percent). While many in the conservative base sympathized with Mitt Romney's argument that low income tax burdens on the poor and middle class remove too many people from responsibility for funding the government, reformocons generally cringed at Romney's comments, and argued that growing the number of people who don't have to pay income taxes can be a good thing. By promising to spare 15 million more households from income taxes, Bush would increase the share of Americans not paying income tax in 2018 from 38.3 percent to 47.6 percent, according to the Tax Policy Center's figures. Jeb's corporate tax cut plan is mostly de rigueur for Republicans, but the immediate expensing of investments provision is notable. It effectively turns the corporate tax into a kind of consumption tax, which economists tend to think is better for economic growth. But there are some major implementation challenges with such a plan, which Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) faced when formulating a similar proposal in Congress in 2013. |
Few aspects of our economy are as poorly understood among politicians and the general public as our monetary system. This becomes particularly obvious – and dangerous – during general election campaigns. Last night Theresa May responded to a nurse’s concerns over pay in the NHS by saying “there is no magic money tree” to provide “everything that people want”. Other Conservative politicians have used the same line to attack Labour’s plans to increase public spending. It’s an old trope. The argument goes like this: the UK has lived beyond its means for too long. The national debt now stands at an eye watering £1.7 trillion, meaning that we have saddled future generations with unsustainable debt and interest payments. We simply can’t go on spending money that we don’t have. Money doesn’t grow on trees – duh! The only responsible course of action, the story goes, is to rein in spending and make “difficult choices”. Free school meals? Not anymore. Those new homes that we were promised? Forget about them. Investing in the technologies of the future? Don’t be so irresponsible. Upgrading creaking infrastructure? Come off it. This narrative is incredibly powerful, as it chimes with peoples’ experience of managing a household budget. But in the context of a national government, it is almost entirely wrong. It is true that the national debt stands at £1.7 trillion, or around 87% of GDP. But this is not particularly high by historical standards – after the Second World War the national debt stood at 243%. Imagine if Clement Attlee had listened to those who insisted that this meant Britain had to cut back public services. There would be no NHS, and no welfare state. Britain would be a very different place. But despite its ominous reputation, the national debt is not all that it seems. The national debt is simply the sum total of all the government’s IOUs – the promises it has made to pay money back in future, plus an agreed amount of interest. Unlike a household, the UK government has its own central bank and its own sovereign currency. This means that the government borrows and spends in a currency that it controls. Here’s where things get interesting. Since 2009 the Bank of England has purchased £453 billion of government debt from the private sector through a process called ‘quantitative easing’ (QE). Put simply, QE is the technical name for what happens when a central bank creates new electronic money and uses it to purchase assets from financial institutions. Yes, that’s right – newly created money. Alas, the magic money tree does exist! As a result, over a quarter of the total national debt is now owed to the Bank of England. But hold on, who owns the Bank of England? Well, the UK government does. To put it another way, the UK government owes £453 billion to itself. This raises the obvious question of whether it really exists at all. As Jim Leaviss, a bond investor for M&G Investments recently remarked to the Financial Times: “Is there any difference in it being in a musty old drawer in the Bank of England, or saying it doesn’t really exist?” Confused? Bear with me – things get a little more confusing yet. When a government borrows money it has to repay the principal amount that it borrowed plus interest. In the UK, around £50 billion of the annual government budget currently goes towards interest payments. Because of QE, the government has to pay interest to the Bank of England on the £453 billion of government bonds that it holds. But in late 2012 George Osborne announced that the interest payments that the Bank of England receives from the government will be remitted back to HM Treasury to help pay off the national debt. Since then the Bank of England has transferred £62 billion – money that it received as interest on bonds purchased with newly created money – back to the government. So thanks to QE, the government isn’t paying any interest at all on over a quarter of the national debt. Talk about funny money! The result is that today the government spends less on interest payments than at any point in history. The national debt has never been so affordable. You may have noticed that issues of “affordability” never arise when the proposed spending relates to activities like going to war or bailing out the banks. That’s because for a country like the UK which has its own central bank and borrows in its own currency, financing government spending is never a problem. The “magic money tree” attack is simply a convenient way to mask an ideological crusade to shrink the state. This does not mean that governments can spend without limit, or that governments should spend money unwisely. Government spending has consequences for inflation, employment, capital formation and many other things. Sustained over-spending can have serious consequences. But right now the UK economy is crying out for public investment. From addressing climate and demographic change, to tackling inequality and the housing crisis, the UK’s long-term prosperity depends on having a government that is willing to direct investment into the areas of the economy most in need. Don’t let politicians tell you otherwise. |
DALLAS - Three children were kept in a hotel bathroom for about a year and were “horribly emaciated’’ when police found them earlier this month, authorities said. One said she had been repeatedly sexually assaulted. The children were so emaciated that they threw up when child protective workers first tried to feed them. The children’s lips were dry, swollen, and cracked, their ribs were protruding. The children’s mother, 30-year-old Abneris Santiago, is charged with injury to a child. Her 37-year-old live-in boyfriend, Alfred Santiago, is charged with aggravated sexual assault and continuous sexual abuse. According to an arrest affidavit, Abneris Santiago called police on July 2 and asked for help getting her children and belongings from the hotel. Officers found a healthy 1-year-old girl - the child of the Santiagos, Jamison said - in a crib. Inside the bathroom, they found an 11-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy, and a 5-year-old boy - Abneris Santiago’s children from other relationships, Jamison said. It was apparent they suffered from “serious physical, emotional, and mental neglect,’’ according to the affidavit. © Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. |
Virgin Galactic has been making steady progress flight testing its new SpaceShipTwo, the VSS Unity. The Unity has now conducted six air-launched glide tests after being dropped from the larger mothership, WhiteKnightTwo, from about 50,000 feet. This week, Virgin Galactic President Mike Moses said at the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight that he hopes "to be in space by the end of this year," as reported byAviation Week. Powered flight tests in the atmosphere will come first, which involve firing up the VSS Unity's rocket engine for the first time. A last round of flight testing beyond the atmosphere is expected to proceed the launch of commercial tourism and research flights to suborbital space. The VSS Unity is the second SpaceShipTwo craft in a planned fleet of suborbital spaceplanes. The first spaceship, the VSS Enterprise built by Scaled Composites, was destroyed in a fatal crash on October 31, 2014 before ever making it to outer space. The VSS Unity was under construction at the time of the incident, and in response to the crash, the second ship was reinforced with a more robust structure and outfitted with more instrumentation, making the VSS Unity heavier than the Enterprise. As a result, the Unity will not fly above the internationally recognized border of space—the 100 km (62 mi) Karaman line—but rather will fly above 80 km (50 mi), which the U.S. Air Force recognizes as the border of outer space. "We've added a lot more structure, a lot more instrumentation...we're going to aim for the 80-km U.S. definition of space." "We didn't finish the test program [with Enterprise], so now Unity is our test vehicle," Moses said at the symposium. "We've added a lot more structure, a lot more instrumentation because you don't know the margins. You don't know the actual environment you're going to fly in. We had to be on the conservative side. We'll be able to pull that weight back out after we've done it, but initially we won't be going all the way to the Karman line. We're going to aim for the 80-km U.S. definition of space." Moses described the glide test program for Unity thus far as "amazingly successful," including tests of the "feather" system that rotates the tail of the plane up over the craft so it tips over like a badminton birdy for reentry into the atmosphere. The crash of the VSS Enterprise was caused by a premature release of the feather locking system during the craft's fourth powered flight, an error that was ultimately attributed to design flaw. Moses says the feather system is operating more smoothly on the Unity thanks to adjustments made to two redundant actuators on the system that "kind of fight with each other" when they are not properly balanced. Two more SpaceShipTwo craft are also under construction by The Spaceship Company, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Scaled Composites. "Next up is to start assembling the wings and the fuselages and then bring those parts together," said Moses. Before the VSS Unity can fly above the atmosphere, Virgin Galactic will conduct powered flight tests to collect data on acceleration through supersonic speeds and external heating on the craft, as well as simulated atmospheric reentry, which will be fully tested on the first flight to space. A date for the first powered flight test of the VSS Unity has not been set, but Moses said there would be "a couple" more glide tests before Virgin fires up the rocket engine. Virgin Galactic has taken its time returning to flight after the mishap in 2014, but hopefully the aerospace company's reusable spaceplane will make its first trip above the atmosphere before the end of the year—and then you can finally join the waiting list for a ride in a rocket-powered spaceplane. Source: Aviation Week |
Channel 10/screenshot A Belarusian-Israeli man was arrested as he attempted to join the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria, after expressing support for the group over the past year and a half, according to an indictment filed against him on Wednesday. The suspect, Valentin Vladmir Mazlevski, was arrested in a joint operation by police and the Shin Bet security service earlier this month, though details of the case were kept under a court-issued gag order until the charges were filed. As he was brought into the courtroom, Mazlevski told reporters in poor, heavily accented Arabic that "God will vindicate me." According to the indictment, he purchased a one-way ticket to Turkey in January, with the goal of crossing the border into Syria and joining the terrorist group. He is from the Arab Israeli town of Shibli-Umm al-Ghanam, his wife's hometown. The 39-year-old father of five moved to Israel from Belarus in 1996 at age 18 and converted to Islam four years later, while he was serving in the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet said. "The investigation revealed that Mazlevski, who was active in IS-supporting groups on the internet, shared details of his intentions to travel to Syria and even coordinated his arrival with [the groups]," the Shin Bet said. Mazlevski allegedly used a number of methods to communicate with fellow Islamic State supporters, including the Telegram encrypted messaging application. According to police, the suspect was in contact with Sheikh Assad al-Tawhid, also known as Abu Huthaifah, who previously fought in Syria. Police were aware of Mazlevski's support for the Islamic State since at least July 2016. That month he was brought in for a "debriefing, in which it was clarified to him that the Islamic State is an illegal organization and that he has been ordered to stop his security activities." A video released by the Islamic State-affiliated Amaq news agency, said to be in Palmyra on December 11, purports to show IS fighters in front of silos on fire and said to have been taken over by them. Reuters via Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Despite the police warning, Mazlevski began looking into joining the fighting in Syria in October 2016. He contacted a purported Islamic State fighter in Syria who identified himself as "Abu Abdullah." But before he could set out, Abu Abdullah broke off contact and scuttled Mazlevski's plans, according to police. A month later, he reached out to an alleged Islamic State member in the Sinai Peninsula and considered joining the fight against Egyptian troops there, police said. Apparently undeterred, Mazlevski contacted a Russian-born IS fighter in Syria in January and began making preparations to travel there through Turkey, according to the indictment. He purchased his plane ticket to Turkey and saved NIS 3,650 ($1,000) ahead of his trip. Mazlevski never told his family of his plans to travel to Syria, according to police. On January 16, 2017, he went to Ben Gurion International Airport to catch his flight to Turkey, but was stopped at the gate and prevented from traveling. The Shin Bet said it had received advanced intelligence about Mazlevski's plans. He was interrogated, but not arrested, at the airport. In the days that followed, Mazlevski attempted to remove any trace of Islamic State support from his cellphone, deleting accounts and conversations, according to the indictment. Mazlevski was arrested on February 7. During his interrogation, he admitted to investigators that he had planned to join the Islamic State in order to "fulfill the commandment placed on every true Muslim to live under an Islamic State and hold fast to his belief," police said. The Shin Bet estimates that approximately 50 Arab citizens of Israel have traveled to Syria or Iraq to join the group in recent years. "The Shin Bet sees the phenomenon of Israelis traveling to Syria and Iraq as most dangerous," the agency said. The security service said many of those people were lured to the Islamic State with lies and promises of "religious and military adventure," but have been deeply disappointed by the reality. "Interrogations of Israelis who returned from Syria and Iraq paint the opposite picture, of harsh living conditions and life under constant threat," the Shin Bet said. On Wednesday, Mazlevski was charged in the Nazareth District Court with contacting a foreign agent, attempting to travel to an enemy nation and obstruction of justice, for deleting the information from his phone. The state prosecutor requested Mazlevski be kept in police custody until the end of his trial. |
CHICAGO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said he challenged Republicans to try to repeal his landmark healthcare reform in private budget talks last week, taunting his opponents with a question: “You think we’re stupid?” In one of three political fund-raisers for his re-election campaign on Thursday night, Obama spoke candidly to supporters about the closed-door White House conversations that led to a deal that barely avoided a shutdown of the U.S. government. He said he warned Republicans he would veto any legislation passed by Congress that sought to defund his 2010 healthcare overhaul. Republicans, who took control of the U.S. House of Representatives later that year, had vowed to kill the law. A two-thirds majority of Congress is required to override a presidential veto. “If you think you can overturn my veto, try it,’” Obama said in describing an exchange with Republicans. He said he was told by a staffer for House Speaker John Boehner that Republicans wanted a concession on the healthcare issue in the budget talks. Obama said he firmly rejected the attempts to repeal parts of the healthcare law, his signature domestic accomplishment, in the budget bill. “And I said to them, let me tell you something: ‘I spent a year and a half getting healthcare passed. I had to take that issue across the country and I paid significant political costs to get it done,” he said. “The notion that I’m going to let you guys undo that in a six-month spending bill?’ I said, ‘You want to repeal healthcare? Go at it. We’ll have that debate. You’re not going to be able to do that by nickel-and-diming me in the budget. You think we’re stupid?’” His remarks in Chicago came after the White House press pool had been escorted from the room. Unbeknownst to Obama, the comments were accidentally piped back to the White House and recorded by CBS News and ABC News. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama was “not at all” embarrassed that the remarks were made public. “OVERTURN MY VETO” Obama predicted the same strategy from Republicans would reappear in negotiations over raising the U.S. debt limit. “This is going to be the strategy going forward - trying to do things they can do legislatively under the guise of cutting spending,” he said. Obama, who publicly praised Republicans after a budget deal was reached last Friday, also spoke harshly of their efforts to use the budget legislation to defund the Planned Parenthood family planning group because it also provided abortions. Obama said he told Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell that they should not try to “sneak this through.” “‘You guys want to have this debate? We’re happy to have that debate. We will have the debate on the floor of the Senate or the floor of the House. Put it in a separate bill. We’ll call it up. And if you think you can overturn my veto, try it,’” he said. Asked for reaction, Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said: “The speaker believes his private conversations with the president should remain private. Obviously, if the president chooses to share a self-serving version with campaign donors, that is his prerogative.” When asked for reaction, McConnell’s office said McConnell was not present at that meeting. Obama also had tough words for Republican Representative Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee. Ryan has offered a deficit-cutting plan that would sharply reduce government spending and has drawn Obama’s ire. “This is the same guy that voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my healthcare bill - but wasn’t paid for. So it’s not on the level. And we’ve got to keep on you know, keep on shining a light on that,” he said. |
AP Convicted murderer Claude Jones in family snapshots taken at the visitors' room of Texas' death row the day before he was was executed for murder in late 2000 Related Gallery of the Exonerated For over two decades, the hair was stored in a plastic evidence bag in the courthouse in Coldspring, Texas, cataloged as belonging to Claude Jones, who was convicted of murder in 1990 and executed 10 years later. Now, it can be relabeled: a court-ordered DNA test found Thursday that the hair actually belonged to the murder victim Allen Hilzendager. The result casts significant doubt on the validity of Jones' conviction and his execution. That single 1-in. (2.5 cm) strand of hair was the key to Jones' original conviction. A truck carrying Jones and Danny Dixon did pull up in front of Hilzendager's liquor store that night. One man got out, went inside and gunned Hilzendager down, according to two eyewitnesses across the highway (neither could see the murderer's face). Both Jones and Dixon were certainly capable of the crime both were on parole after serving time for murder. But there was little other firm evidence of which one had done it. Dixon accused Jones, and Jones accused Dixon. The prosecution's star witness against Jones was a friend of Dixon's who later said that prosecutors had coerced him into testifying. (See pictures of America's wrongfully incarcerated.) And from the beginning, the evidence was handled questionably. The hair expert at the Texas crime lab originally thought the small sample was "unsuitable for comparison" using the microscopy technology available at the time, but eventually changed his mind and decided to test it after all. Using that outdated technology which essentially has two hairs examined side by side under a microscope the expert then determined that the hair belonged to Jones and not Dixon. That dubious determination went on to haunt all of Jones' failed appeals as well. Time and again, lawyers and judges pointed to the physical evidence against Jones as a damning factor. Except, in the end, it wasn't. The fact that the hair was actually Hilzendager's doesn't mean that Jones was necessarily innocent, but it does mean that the jury convicted him and did so quickly based largely on false evidence. "What's crucial to understand is that the hair was critical evidence in the case," says Barry Scheck, whose Innocence Project, along with the Texas Observer, led the lawsuit demanding that the hair be subjected to DNA testing. "I have no doubt the conviction would've been reversed with these results." Scheck points out the most poignant aspect of the story: Jones came very close to having a chance for that reversal just before he was executed. At the time, then Governor George W. Bush was on record stating that he would delay executions if there were relevant new DNA tests that could be performed. Jones' case seemed to fit that bill mitochondrial DNA testing was not available during his trial but was in wide use before his final appeals in 2000. Jones' attorney at the time warned the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles that without Bush's intervention, "the state of Texas runs the risk of executing a man despite the availability of modern technology that might exonerate him." The four-page memo that Bush received from his legal advisers on Dec. 7, 2000, however, made no mention of a possible new DNA test. It ended with the assertion that Jones "has had full and fair access to judicial review of his case." Bush denied clemency, and Jones was executed that evening. "What I'm really hoping is that when President Bush gets an opportunity to look at this," says Scheck, "that he would acknowledge that he was blindsided and that an error was made." The new DNA results come during a rough patch for capital punishment in Texas. After 18 years in prison 12 of those on death row Anthony Graves was exonerated and walked free in October based on the opinion of a special independent prosecutor who found in favor of a 2006 reversal (stemming from a lack of evidence) of his conviction. That case, in which Graves was convicted of slaughtering a family he didn't know based on the testimony of informants and co-defendants, had one striking similarity with the Jones case: the original prosecutors fought fiercely against any suggestions that the convictions might be invalid. As doubts over the evidence that had convicted Graves swirled in 2009, prosecutor Charles Sebesta took out full-page ads in local papers calling Graves "cold-blooded." In Jones' case, prosecutor Bill Burnett fought hard to destroy the hair before it could be tested, and he took his fight all the way to his grave. The pastor at his funeral in June assailed TIME's coverage of the Jones case, in which I had argued in favor of testing, and lauded Burnett for being someone who "took a stand against some powerful people." (Read TIME's coverage of the case.) After the evidence findings were revealed Thursday, Hilzendager's brother Joe told the Associated Press that he still thinks Jones was the shooter, staying true to what he had told me in his living room almost a year ago, as he argued against testing the hair: "There's no doubt they executed the right person." But Jones' son Duane has always believed his father was wrongfully convicted. He says the results aren't a relief and that it's just "disappointing" to see the missed opportunities for justice. "It saddens me because you know they spend all the taxpayers' money fighting DNA tests," he says. "If you're so confident in your convictions, do the testing. You might find out something new." See TIME's Pictures of the Week. |
Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. Quechua woman and child, Peru: quinet via Wikimedia Commons Biologists estimate annual loss of species at 1,000 times (or greater) of historic rates. Linguists predict that 50–90% of the world’s languages will disappear by the end of this century. A new paper in PNAS finds that 70 percent of the world’s languages are found within Earth’s most biologically diverse regions. Earlier studies suggested there was probably a lot of overlap between areas of high biological diversity and areas of high linguistic diversity. But data were limited. In the new study, the authors used recently compiled global data showing the geographic locations of more than 6,900 languages compiled for geographic information system (GIS) applications by Global Mapping International. They used the locations of biodiversity hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas compiled by Conservation International. Their findings: The languages in biodiverse hotspots are frequently unique to their particular regions Many of these endemic languages also face extinction Biodiversity hotspots map: L. J. Gorenflo, et al. PNAS. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1117511109 The researchers examined 35 biodiversity hotspots—locations with an exceptionally high number of endemic species, which have lost 70 percent or more of their habitat (top map, above). These hotspots comprise only 2.3 percent of the Earth’s surface, yet contain more than half the world’s vascular plants and 43 percent of its terrestrial vertebrate species. They also contain people speaking 3,202 languages—nearly half of all languages spoken on Earth (bottom map, above). “In the past, it was hard to get biologists to look at people,” says Gorenflo . “ That’s really changed dramatically in the past few years. One thing that a lot of biologists and ecologists are now seeing is that people are part of these ecosystems .” The team also examined linguistic diversity in five high biodiversity wilderness areas—places whose remaining habitat covers ~6.1 percent of Earth’s surface and contains about 17 percent of the vascular plants and 6 percent of the terrestrial vertebrate species. These biodiversity wilderness areas are also home to people speaking another 1,622 languages. “In many cases it appears that conditions that wipe out species wipe out languages,” says lead author Larry Gorenflo at Penn State Department of Landscape Architecture, and affiliated with Penn’s Institutes of Energy and Environment. “I think it argues for concerted conservation efforts that are integrated and try to maintain biodiversity and cultural diversity.” From the paper: Given the capacity of humans to dominate, and in many cases eradicate, other species on our planet, the importance of the relationship between people and the natural environments they inhabit cannot be overstated for biodiversity conservation. Unfortunately, the opportunity to enlist speakers of particular languages in biodiversity conservation is rapidly disappearing as languages are lost at an alarming rate. Although linguists have attempted to identify languages in danger of disappearance, no system of language ranking in terms of risk can claim the broad attention and authority enjoyed by the IUCN Red List, the main means of evaluating the conditions of species. As for why the coexistence between areas with high concentrations of endangered species and endangered languages, the researchers aren’t sure. But possibly because indigenous cultures, supported by their languages, create conditions optimum to maintaining species and keeping ecosystems intact and working. The open-access paper: |
(CNN) Zhang Qiuli is a pedicurist. Zhao Dan has a room barely wider than a single bed. Zhang Hao has left his one-year-old son thousands of miles away to "make it" in China's capital. Together they are members of what the Chinese press unkindly refer to as the "rat tribe" -- people who live underground in a warren of basements and air raid shelters in Beijing. Usually migrant workers, they can't afford private housing and, without the official resident permit known as the "hukou" they have no access to low-cost government housing, so they find themselves living underground. Estimates suggest there may be more than one million people living underneath the Chinese capital. Photographer Sim Chi Yin has been documenting their lives for the past five years. "I had a hunch that they were just normal people," she says. "They are actually pretty funky people, most of them are kind of young and all of them have aspirations to move up the social mobility ladder." Sim said subterranean living is not as squalid as it might sound. Some use dehumidifiers in summer to take away the damp and in Beijing's freezing winter months it's warmer than above ground homes. "The living space might seem pretty pathetic to us and maybe I went in with this pitying attitude as well, but what I found was the people make the best of their lives down there." Underground city Annette Kim, a professor at the University of Southern California, has mapped Beijing's underground city by studying more than 7,000 online rental ads. She found the median size was 9.75 square meters, or 105 square feet, and the mean rent was $70 a month -- although she believes the rentals she studied were at the higher end of what's available. The orange dots show underground housing in Beijing. The blue dots are affordable housing. Kim says it's hard to know exactly how many people live in this type of informal housing. Estimates vary from 200,000 to 2 million. She says 1 million is a reasonable estimate. All buildings constructed in Beijing are required to have basements -- initially a national defense policy that began in the 1950s -- and until 2010 it was perfectly legal to live in these spaces as long as they met building codes. However, the official policy is now to evict people, but it's not being implemented evenly, Kim says. The number of rental ads for underground housing increased during her year researching the phenomena in 2013. Alternative low-cost options include living in "urban villages" on Beijing's outskirts. But Kim says: "They would rather live underground than commute for a long time. It means that sometimes they could have two jobs." Kim found the "rat tribe" had little interaction with those living above them. "The people above ground preferred to be as separate as possible and that built up fear of who these people are." Moving up Zhang Qiuli, the pedicurist, was the first person Sim befriended and photographed. After years spent living beneath a posh condominium in east Beijing, she has since moved "above ground." "She is one of the success stories," says Sim. "I think for some people there is true upward mobility but for many people the hukou system, whereby migrants can't actually buy homes and settle down, is still a huge barrier to them building lives and families here." "Most think they will eventually go home and maybe set up a shop and raise their families." |
Tierro Davis, 24, of Amsterdam, is charged with second-degree robbery. (Albany Police photo) Tierro Davis, 24, of Amsterdam, is charged with second-degree robbery. (Albany Police photo) Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Bar posse corners suspected thief 1 / 1 Back to Gallery ALBANY -- The staff of Bombers Burrito Bar works hard for its tips, so when a would-be thief allegedly bolted late Wednesday night with $140 stuffed into a tip can he tucked inside his backpack, they chased after him, joined by loyal patrons of the Lark Street establishment. After a four-block foot chase through Center Square, the winded crew snatched the backpack as the 24-year-old man climbed a fence to elude capture, only to be met on the others side by others who went around, cut him off and held him until police arrived. The man allegedly tried to talk his way out of the jam by claiming he was merely pulling a prank. Tierro Davis, of 201 Virginia Lane in Amsterdam, was charged with second-degree robbery. "We're like a family here and I'm proud of how my staff and our patrons reacted," said Jimmy Vann, vice president of Bombers. He was working at the time of the alleged theft, but did not witness the commotion. Davis had spent several hours seated at the end of the bar by the window, watched an NBA playoff game, paid for his drinks and exchanged pleasantries with the staff and bartender, Vann said. But shortly before midnight, a female server noticed the tip can was missing and Davis allegedly was shouldering a backpack and beginning to make a hasty exit. She confronted him near the door, reached for the backpack and was thrown down the stairs when the 6-foot-2, 190-pound man roughly yanked it back and shoved her before running out the door and turning down Jay Street. The woman suffered minor injuries, police said. Davis was apprehended near the corner of Hamilton and Dove streets. Staffers carried the book bag back to Bombers, where the tip can with $140 inside was recovered, Vann said. "It's not our policy to run after anyone for any reason, but the workers were standing up for their own money that they earned," Vann said. He added it was the first time anyone could recall of an attempted tip jacking in 15 years of operation. Reach Grondahl at 454-5623 or pgrondahl@timesunion.com. |
Here is the second chapter! Thank you guys for the review. If you read Polarized then you saw this one coming, if not I still recommand that you give it a quick read to understand this more since the stories are related. I'll still explain stuff at the end of the chapter. The second time fate cut thread was on the 7th of October. Max woke up from a terrifying nightmare. There was a storm, and a tornado. The last thing she remembered was the lighthouse falling on her. It felt too real, and she felt pained and saddened, and she didn't understand how a dream could make her feel this way. She was sure she didn't even fall asleep. Mr. Jefferson would have scolded her if she did. Then what was that? She couldn't focus on the boring lecture, so she took a selfie instead, which of course caught everyone's attention. What was she thinking? She really needs to keep her selfie needs in check. She was startled when Jefferson said her name after his rambling about selfie expression. "Now, Max. Since you captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation. Can you please tell us the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?" He asked and waited for an answer while all eyes were focused on her. Great, just great. She scolded herself and tried to avoid all eyes. "Uh… you're asking me?" "You either know this or not!" She jumped slightly when his palm hit the desk. She was still scared from what she was and he was certainly not helping. She ignored Victoria's comments and sighed in relief when the bell rang. The ringing made her heart pound even more. She just wanted to take a minute to relax before her anxiety gets the best of her. She was about to leave but the teacher stopped her. She really did not feel like hearing his lectures right now, even if he was her favorite teacher. "I'd never let one of photography's future stars avoid handing in her picture." Jefferson started, much to her dismay (and Victoria's annoyance but who cares?). "I didn't have any time. Too much homework." She said. "Max, you're a better photographer than a liar. Now I know it's a drag to hear some old dude lecture you. But life won't wait for you to play catch up…" That was when she lost all her focus on the conversation. Life won't wait for you to play catch up. Why did she feel as if she was about to suffocate upon hearing that sentence? Thankfully, he didn't press on the matter so she left the classroom quickly. She stared at the student walking in the hallway, and being surrounded by so many people made her feel dizzy. She put on her earbuds and played her favorite song, hoping to decrease the anxiety building up. She took a deep breath and made her way to the bathroom. She walked into the bathroom, put away the earbuds, and washed her face. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked pale and tired and scared. This wasn't the face of a great photographer. This was the face of a loser. She looked at her photo for the everyday hero contest. "Stop torturing yourself. You have a gift." She said before looking back at her reflection. "Fuck it." She tore the photo. Then a butterfly flew in through the window. She could've sworn she saw it somewhere. She didn't know she saw it another timeline, in a stormy day. But she knew that something about the blue butterfly drew her to it. Something familiar. She pulled out her camera and took a photo of it but when she did, someone walked into the bathroom. She took a peak and saw Nathan Prescott talking to himself. She didn't know him personally, but she had a feeling that he was trouble. And trouble indeed started once a blue haired girl walked in. She heard them arguing about money and drugs, but there was something distracting in there. She knew the girl's voice and it was way too familiar. Her heart almost stopped when she saw him pointing the gun at her. Her whole body and mind and everything was screaming at her telling her that something was wrong and it wasn't the fact that he was threatening someone with a gun but it was more than that. She couldn't let him shoot that girl, and her body moved on its own. "NO!" She heard the gunshot and she felt an intense pain in her chest. Nathan looked horrified by what he did while the girl looked at her shock. She clutched her chest and fell on the dirty floor. She could heard Nathan freaking out and running. "Holy shit! Max Caulfield?" SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!" She heard the girl's panicked voice. She felt an arm pulled her up and a hand pressed against hers, trying to put pressure on the wound. "Max can you hear me? It's me, Chloe." Her eyes widened at her words. This was Chloe, her best friend that she left behind for five years. Her best friend who was having a terrible time and she didn't bother to help. Her best friend that… she just happened to save. She saved Chloe. She would have laughed if it wasn't the fact that she had trouble breathing, and that she was scared shitless. She got shot, and she was probably going to die. She couldn't even freak out. "Don't you fucking die! Not when you finally came back!" She felt warm tears against her skin. "Please Max…" She lifted her hand slowly to touch Chloe's face. She rested her palm against her wet cheek and focused on her clear blue eyes. If Chloe's face was going to be the last thing she was going to see… then let it be. But knowing her best friend, she would be pissed off if she died. Would she be sad? Or would she move one quickly? She did abandon her after all. Max knew how much she messed up, and how much of a failure she was. The world would be better off without her, right? The thread was cut. Max Caulfield is dead. If you read polarized then you already know this, but here we go: The reason why Max's first rewind is different because when she came out of hiding she got shot, the rewind was a bit like the photo jump, her mind rewinds back to her previous state, while the Max her is the version she left behind. Chloe's death was only a 'vision'(from the universe in part one, the one she's supposed to avoid in the new timelines) she saw while rewinding because she sees vision of things she needed to stop, and Chloe being alive is important to the whole mystery. Now this is the scene written in the nightmare in Polarized, just a bit more detailed since this is the first max's pov instead of last max seeing her first (or second) death. Next time we have... you know what, I'm not going to say which version of Max next :D No spoilers! Have a nice day! |
A woman was killed this morning after being hit by her own car following an accident. It happened just before 2:30am in the 200 block of the 610 North Loop East westbound just before Interstate 45. According to police, the woman lost control of her gray Chevrolet Impala and slammed into a concrete barrier. "Our witness said she was just driving along and lost control, so we don't know what the cause of the initial accident actually was," HPD Sgt. J.R. Roberts said. After the crash, the woman got out to assess the damage and was walking the main lanes of the North Loop. As a witness was reportedly yelling at the woman to get out of the roadway and back into her car, a black Kia sedan crashed into the disabled vehicle. The Impala then hit the woman, who was thrown into the air and pronounced dead at the scene. Her name has not been released. Police are awaiting toxicology reports to determine if she was in any way impaired before she crashed. Police identified the driver of the Kia as Richard Arroyo, 24. He was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Charges are pending. Find Simon on Facebook at ABC13SimonGutierrez or on Twitter at @sggutierrez Take ABC13 with you! Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices |
Climate activist Tim DeChristopher, who was locked up for 15 months for disrupting an auction of oil and gas leases on public land, is now out of prison and trying to put his life back together. As part of that effort, DeChristopher secured a job at a First Unitarian Church — that is, until the Federal Bureau of Prisons stepped in. DeChristopher wasn’t seeking a job in oil leasing or even environmental activism — fields related to his “crime.” But the feds, in their infinite wisdom, put their feet down. “You know what, we’ve been too easy on these hippies and their subversive jobs at churches.” From the Deseret News: DeChristopher had been offered a job with the church’s social justice ministry, which would include working with cases of race discrimination, sex discrimination or other injustices that fall contrary to Unitarian beliefs. “The Bureau of Prisons official who interviewed Tim indicated he would not be allowed to work at the Unitarian church because it involved social justice and that was what part of what his crime was,” [DeChristopher’s attorney Patrick] Shea said. Ken Sanders, proprietor of a downtown rare books store, instead offered DeChristopher a job as a clerk. That employment has been deemed “safe,” Shea confirmed. Oh god, but what’s in the books? Science, economics, politics? What’s in the books??? |
UPDATE: The “Veronica Mars—the Movie” Kickstarter campaign has now reached its fundraising goal of $2 million. A long time ago, we used to be friends, but I haven’t thought of you lately at all… For some, that’s the opening line to a tune by The Dandy Warhols. For others, that’s the beginning to the theme song of a cult classic TV show that has never left their thoughts: Veronica Mars, the sophisticated teen drama/mystery serial starring Kristen Bell (Showtime’s House of Lies) as a strong and spirited new-model Nancy Drew whose adventures explored and exposed the rotten, complex injustice in her seaside town of Neptune, Calif. Ever since The CW canceled the series in 2007 after three seasons (the first two on UPN), can’t-let-go fans have pined for a movie. So have Bell and Mars creator Rob Thomas. “I have never fallen so deeply in love with a character,” Bell tells Entertainment Weekly. “ We all became so close, and the cancellation of the show left a huge hole in my heart. I would have put on Veronica Mars: The Circus to bring it back.” Now, in a way, she is. In the spring of next year, the Veronica Mars faithful could be watching their beloved heroine (plus her pals Wallace and Mac, bad-boy ex Logan, proud P.I. pops Keith, and more) on the big screen — as long as they kick in a few bucks right now to get things started. Today, Thomas and Bell are launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a low-budget Mars movie that would be shot this summer. The goal: $2 million in 30 days. If they reach it, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution has agreed to put the movie into production and pick up the tab for marketing, promotion, and distribution. (The film would be released in the first quarter of 2014 for a limited-time theatrical run, before moving to VOD, iTunes, and other digital platforms.) If they don’t reach the goal: No movie. Thomas tells Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive joint interview this week (click here to buy the issue) with Bell that the Kickstarter strategy represents the only way a Veronica Mars movie was ever going to get made: Warner Bros. had previously determined that a film with a bigger budget and a conventional marketing plan was too expensive and not viable for the studio. Thomas and Bell are confident that fans of the show will rally to the cause — especially since they’re offering an array of rewards packages for pledges as low as $10 (updates during production and a copy of the script on the day of release) and as high as $10,000 (a part in the movie). Thomas says he has such high hopes for how much they can raise, “I’m afraid to say it out loud.” “I’ll say it,” says Bell. “$100 million!” (She’s joking.) (Maybe.) Thomas and Bell have even more to say about their Veronica Mars dreams and schemes in a video they shot for the campaign’s Kickstarter page. The witty short features donuts, a puppet show, several familiar faces (brace yourself for the return of a certain broody someone’s smoldering gaze), and… well, you don’t need any more description, because you can watch it right now, right here: Fun Fact! That puppet-show theater was built by Bell’s fiancé, actor Dax Shepard. Another Fun Fact? That video was actually shot in February of last year. Yep: The plan to revive Veronica Mars has been in the works for quite awhile, and you can get all the details from Bell and Thomas about how their plan came together in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands and tablets this Thursday. You’ll also get some scoop on the plot of the movie, which involves mystery, murder, and yes, a high school reunion. Twitter: @EWDocJensen |
We understand your desire for property details. We desire them, too, and continue to actively seek them out. We have simply come to comprehend that the property owners or management companies often need to consult their architect or another party to provide accurate information. As you are finalizing your RFPs, please keep the below sentiment in mind, which can be found in the ‘Most Asked Questions’ section on the website Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to receiving your innovative Project ideas to Pop Up: Downtown! Property details are still not readily available, how am I to customize my RFP to a location? We continue to actively seek out accurate property details. That relayed, we do not require, nor ask, that you customize your RFP to a specific space. You are welcome to provide your property preference. However, it will be your innovative concept that the curatorial committee will be assessing. If you are selected as a program participant by the committee, the Project Pop Up: Downtown project team will be matching each concept with its best-suited space and you will readily have all property details available to you to prepare your finalist presentation. — Just a quick note to relay we are actively seeking out property details, we will be posting them on the ‘Property List – subject to change’ page as we get them this week, and we encourage you to check the website daily for updates. Also, a quick reminder that we absolutely welcome your property preference(s). However, it truly will be your innovative concept that the curatorial committee will be reviewing. Then the project team will determine which property best suits each finalist’s proposed activation. Thanks for your patience and happy RFPing! |
It’s been one year since I started serializing issues of Skullkickers online so it’s an ideal time to see how the site has done so far in terms of traffic and talk about online outreach as a whole. If you’ve never read Skullkickers before, let me give you a quick introduction… Skullkickers is a sword & sorcery buddy-adventure comic about monster mashing mercenaries on the hunt for fame and fortune. It’s The Hobbit meets The Hangover. Skullkickers is published by Image Comics and serialized online via Keenspot. Skullkickers online has garnered just over 5.8 million pageviews and been visited by 272,000+ people over the past 12 months. More than 90 times the number of people who buy our monthly issues have checked out Skullickers online so far. Each month an average of 22,600+ new people come on board the story and the site generates almost 486,000 pageviews. I don’t know how it compares to other webcomics (though I’m sure it’s far lower than a lot of the long running and financially self sufficient sites) but it’s reaching 7-8 times our floppy comic print run worth of new readers every month, building up awareness of the title day by day using content we already had archived and ready to go. In comic book shops my competition for your hard-earned dollars are worldwide icons like Batman and Spider-Man or massive media hits like The Walking Dead and Scott Pilgrim. Needless to say, standing out with that competition can be tough. Skullkickers’ single issue sales hover just off the bottom of Diamond’s Top 300 titles on any particular month while SK’s trade paperback sales are pretty good. As we move ahead with our master plan for 36 issues divided into six story arcs (which will end up in print as 6 softcovers or a trilogy of hardcovers) I have to make sure people have an easy way to start at the beginning to get hooked. Online serialization of older content is proving to be a convenient and valuable way to do just that. Fantasy comics have always struggled in the North American direct comic market. The Venn diagram of people who are reading superhero titles definitely includes fantasy fans, but not all comic shops carry creator-owned titles and not all comic shop regulars are fantasy readers, so our title is trying to appeal to a demographic inside a demographic inside a demographic. Online we’re available to anyone with an internet connection- obviously a much, much larger pool of fantasy fans who could become Skullkickers fans. Even better, people who might not normally read sword & sorcery at all can still sample the series and be drawn in too. It’s global, it’s convenient and it’s available 24/7. We’re not excluding anyone at any time unless the server goes down. Without any barriers to entry, new online readers can discover Skullkickers risk-free, reading along as a weekday ritual as I add pages, slowly growing more attached to the characters and their story. Getting these readers to sample is as simple as passing the URL to a friend, posting it on a social networking site or sending a tweet. Readers who wouldn’t have given my title a second glance at a bookstore can explore and enjoy at their own pace. It’s Free Comic Book Day every day at Skullkickers Online. Okay, it’s all well and good to talk about outreach and an online readership, but the value of amazing comic retailers and print readers comes from their financial commitment to the series. Retailers are the bedrock of our financial viability through Image and our print readers keep us afloat. Our whole creative team works hard to ensure every issue is worth its $3.50 cover price with a fun story, great artwork and enjoyable bonus content. I know a lot of retailers and fans would assume that serializing the older issues online for free would hurt sales, but it hasn’t been the case. As I mentioned in my post over the summer about convention sales, print and digital are working together pretty harmoniously. Our print numbers aren’t hurting because of online serialization and some of our online readers are becoming print buyers, especially the collected trade paperbacks and deluxe hardcover ‘Treasure Trove’ edition. Retailers who stock the series are benefiting from our online outreach, not hurting from it. When readers become really attached to the series online they’re willing to buy a print copy, both for their own enjoyment and as a measure of support for our hard work. Sure, the majority of people will casually read it online for free but, by casting such a wide net to potential new readers, I’m able to expand book sales overall, reaching more and more people each month long after individual print issues have sold out. The hard-to-find early issues are absolutely crucial because they’re the entry point for new readers. Thanks to the online site they’re always available. You can start reading Skullkickers right now, right here. I make it clear that if you’re enjoying the pages you’re reading on the site now , you can read even more of the story any time you want by making a purchase. By serializing older issues I’ve been able to jumpstart print and digital comic sales a bit too. People can catch up to the ‘current’ story any time they want via their local comic shop, Amazon, other book outlets, comiXology, Graphicly or iVerse. We’re banking on the quality of the work to convince people to pay to catch up, collect or own one of our collected editions and it seems to be working. In 2012 I had record-breaking book sales at 5 conventions and even my worst convention was nearly equal to the best shows I had in 2011. I kept asking people how they’d heard about Skullkickers and a ridiculously high number were through good word of mouth and reading the archives online for free. I wasn’t kidding when I said “Everybody wins”. Serializing Skullkickers online has helped keep us viable and broadened our appeal to much larger audience. Online serialization works with print, works with conventions and even works with other digital platforms. It isn’t an instant fix and doesn’t solve the financial pitfalls of creator-owned comics all by itself, but it’s definitely an important tool more creators should be looking into as they work to create a readership for their work. I’m a storyteller with a small creator-owned comic trying to build a readership from scratch. There’s absolutely no reason for me to narrow the delivery model for my story. The more channels I can make my content available through, the better. |
Few things are more stressful than trying to catch a flight when you’re running late. But what lengths would you go to make it to the gate? One passenger pushed the limits while trying to catch a Ryanair flight on Friday to the Canary Islands from Madrid-Barajas Airport in Spain. As seen in the below video, recorded by airport employees, the passenger, with two carry-on bags in tow, jumps off the already-detached jetway onto the tarmac, then bolts down the runway toward a plane. “The passenger had reached the gate with his boarding pass after clearing security,” an airport spokesman The Guardian. “He broke through a fire escape, the doors opened and he got out that way.” In a symbolic win for late people everywhere, the man eventually caught his plane and was actually allowed on board, despite the fact that he set off airport alarms, which alerted the airport’s Civil Guard, after breaking through the fire escape. The video of his chase was uploaded to the CC.OO. Ryanair and Lesma Handling Facebook page, which reportedly represents the Madrid Airport Workers Union, according to CNN. “This particular passenger was missing a Ryanair’s flight and, unbelievably, skipped several security protocols,” the translated Facebook post reads. “We’re talking about level 4 security protocols!” The passenger was was detained by authorities once the plane landed on the island of Gran Canaria, CNN reported. A spokesman for Ryanair told The Associated Press that the incident is a case of airport security breach and, as such, is the responsibility of the Madrid airport police. A spokesman for the Madrid airport said that the man had “no terrorist motivations” and “was never suspected of being a terrorist.” Although local police would not release the passenger’s identity to the AP, they said he would likely face fines for his stunt. Authorities released the man after questioning him at Gran Canaria, but a spokeswoman for the airport’s Civil Guard said he would still face punishment. |
Corporations have more to lose than to gain by getting involved in politics — but many of them have clear political identities in the public eye anyway, according to a new survey by a Democratic consulting firm. And a company's political identity can be shaped less by executives' statements and campaigns than by its place in the broader culture, according to the Global Strategy Group survey of 806 American adults. Whole Foods Markets, whose CEO campaigned against ObamaCare, remains perceived as one of the most Democratic companies in the country. The survey found that more than half of Americans think it is wrong for corporations to meddle in politics that do not have much to do with their core business, and large majorities say they do not want companies taking positions on social issues like abortion and marriage, or encouraging workers to vote for a specific candidate. The survey, conducted through an online panel of the sort increasingly used in market research, did find a few exceptions to the general rule about avoiding politics, in particular when a corporation can please one group while flying under its enemies' radar. "If a statement is targeted in the right way and in tune with the right constituency, this can have a positive impact on a corporation's reputation," the report suggests. "Of all the corporate stances tested, Nordstrom reaped the greatest benefit with 42% of the public perceiving the corporation more favorably as a result of its stance on benefits for same-sex partners (compared to just 24% who viewed it less favorably)." People surveyed also have little problem with corporations pushing directly for their own interests. A full 83% of the poll's respondent's, for instance, said that Coca-Cola's opposition to the ban on the sale of large sodas in New York City (couched in the language of "choice") was "appropriate." The survey also suggests — though it's a bit hard to disentangle correlation and causation here — that the companies viewed as most political are also the least favorably viewed, as they've made themselves a group of enemies, as well as passionate admirers. News Corp., which owns Fox News, seems to find itself in that category; however, other companies the survey finds are unpopular are probably suffering for other reasons — Wells Fargo for its role in the mortgage crisis, for instance. |
A demonstration held on the visit of President Barack Obama in Berlin, Germany, June 19. (Photo: Mike Herbst) With computer technician Edward Snowden’s bombshell revelations about the extent of state snooping — coupled with the ongoing court martial of Private Bradley Manning — 2013 is the year of the whistleblower. These ongoing cases also highlight the perennial plight of the whistleblower along with the state’s enduring efforts to prosecute them as a means to reinforce rank and file obedience. Information has always been a battleground. But, in an age of networked communication, the whistleblowing game is changing what information is leaked and who has the opportunity to leak it. What has changed little are the consequences for those who dare to become whistleblowers. Few aspects of our lives remain unaffected by the ascent of the information society. Equally, the NSA leaks suggest there are few aspects of our digital lives which are not subject to mass surveillance of some kind. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange recently and accurately quipped that Facebook was “the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented.” The information hungry security-state cannot (yet) be run by computers alone. Its vast networks require architects, admins, analysts, auditors, developers, engineers and others. These high tech trades do not work exclusively for the government. Instead, many are brought into the fold in a neoliberal partnership where work is contracted out to multimillion dollar consulting companies and private security firms. Nowhere is the scale of the security state more apparent than the vast numbers of people authorised to access classified information. For example, while the U.S. government will not confirm numbers, the BBC has conservatively estimated that “2.5 million U.S. military and civilian personnel” can access SIPRNET, the source of the Cablegate diplomatic cables. Thus Manning’s SIPRNET access — along with at least 2.5 million fellow security-cleared individuals — is not exceptional but typical of military work in the network society. Whistleblowing is no longer the sole domain of key-holding, Harvard-educated elites at the top of the information food chain. Both Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden held low-level positions relative to their chain of command and security clearance. In a vast system where millions of government and contracted personnel have access to troves of data, leaking is an opportunity available to anyone with clearance, opportunity and motive. In the age of Whistleblowing 2.0, not only are the whistleblowers different; the data is different too. Digital information is promiscuous. In the bygone days of analog leaking, paper memos or photograph negatives could be incinerated, leaving little evidence of their existence. While leaks can still come in the form of detailed secret reports, the may also appear as unwieldy datasets requiring specialised computer and analytical skills to unpack and interpret them. As the Snowden case attests, leaks can also be as banal as a PowerPoint presentation. Yet, as Slavoj Žižek has argued, the value in such disclosures isn’t necessarily in their actual content — how surprising is it, really? — but in pushing the public to a point where it can no longer pretend not to know. Aware of this fact, in 2008 the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Center penned a classified report on WikiLeaks — eventually, in turn, released by WikiLeaks — which stated: “Web sites such as Wikileaks.org use trust as a center of gravity by protecting the anonymity and identity of the insiders, leakers, or whistleblowers. The identification, exposure, or termination of employment of or legal actions against current or former insiders, leakers, or whistleblowers could damage or destroy this center of gravity and deter others from using Wikileaks.org to make such information public.” In short: If you can’t denigrate the message, denigrate the messenger. Indeed, there has been no shortage of malicious misgiving lobbed at WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange; Vice President Joe Biden once likened Assange to a “high tech terrorist.” State efforts to defame the messenger are nothing new, and there are striking parallels with Daniel Ellsberg’s 1971 unauthorised leak of the Pentagon Papers. Like Manning and likely Snowden to come, Daniel Ellsberg was charged under the 1917 Espionage Act. White House tapes released in April 2001 reveal that President Richard Nixon was keen to seek retribution in the Pentagon Papers case stating, on June 15, 1971: “Goddamn it. … Somebody has got to go to jail [pounding desk]. Somebody’s got to go to jail, that’s all there is to it. Our people here can’t just [unclear] anything about the war. … You’ve got to fight it.” President Nixon also wanted to go beyond the criminal courts and try Daniel Ellsberg in the media, as an extract of a conversation between President Nixon, Henry Kissinger and U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell makes clear. “We’ve got to get him,” Nixon said of Ellsberg. “Don’t worry about his trial. Just get everything out. Try him in the press. Try him in the press. Everything, John, that there is on the investigation, get it out, leak it out. We want to destroy him in the press. Press. Is that clear?” Kissinger and Mitchell agreed. Nixon knew the information could not be discredited, so he had to discredit the messenger. At minimum, character assassination must also be anticipated. (In Assange’s case, his physical assassination was actually called for.) State power, especially for government workers, is premised on obedience. Thus Nixon wanted to send a clear message to any possible whistleblowers that they could expect the full force of the law if they followed their conscience instead of government codes of conduct. In the midst of the unfolding leaks making headline news we must not lose sight of symbolism laden in the public shaming and punishment of whistleblowers. Manning’s prosecution in the public eye, and the yet-to-be-determined government response to Edward Snowden, will no doubt be constructed to visibly convey the seriousness of betraying state secrets. It is not only Bradley Manning who is on trial but the very act of leaking and whistleblowing. While the U.S. government is not seeking the death penalty in its charge of “aiding the enemy,” the thinly veiled public torture of Manning during his pre-trial detention, and his stalled and extended prosecution, are intended to make a brutal example out of him. The Manning case must also be seen as symptomatic of the bigger crackdown by the Obama administration on the unauthorized leaking of information. His administration has charged an unprecedented six whistleblowers under the Espionage Act, double that of all past presidents combined. Moreover, the recent activities of the Department of Justice subpoenaing phone records from the Associated Press and the personal emails of journalists provide further evidence of the current administration’s stance towards leaking. The fates of Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden remain to be determined. The one certainty in the Snowden case is that the Obama administration will not take his brazen act of leaking lightly. If anything, Snowden could put even more pressure on the court martial of Manning, a leaker whom the government at least has in custody. Manning faces a military court concerned only with the act of leaking and not the motivations behind it. And while a military judge will ultimately pass judgment on him, history will be another judge. Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight and having the fog of war lifted, Manning will be seen as following in the footsteps of the likes of Daniel Ellsberg, who has been one of Manning’s most high-profile public supporters. Unlike Manning, Snowden purposefully stepped into the spotlight to take responsibility for leaking information with the public good in mind. Those who have watched the full interview between Snowden and Glen Greenwald will have no doubt noticed the preemptive line of questioning designed to refute any future charge of aiding the enemy. Moreover, it clearly establishes Snowden as a textbook whistleblower. The outpouring of public support for him has indeed been encouraging. As technology changes, the means, forms and faces of whistleblowers change, even while their value to a democratic society is clear. Being a whistleblower often comes with harsh consequences, yet what is even more dangerous is a society whose citizens are afraid to speak truth to power. From the Pentagon Papers to the PRISM leak, whistleblowers continue to play a vital role in keeping power in check. Long live the whistleblower. |
I was lucky enough to snag an interview with one of drag’s biggest stars – our very own Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame. Find out what Alaska has to say about who she is, where she came from, and where she is going! She even drops in some Marshall McLuhan for good measure. I am a huge fan of drag for many reasons; first and foremost being that it is an extremely important form of performance art. Drag uses humor as means of relaying a message, and because humor tends to get overlooked as a valid way to communicate through art, drag tends to get pigeonholed into being something “less than” when you think about it in terms what you’d see at a museum. I can’t think of almost anything more artistically redeeming than a huge museum full of drag queens, but maybe that’s just me. TC: Who is Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, and how different is she from Justin Honard? Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 is a princess from the distant planet Glamtr0n. She was banished by her evil twin sister to the most abysmal place in the universe, Earth, and stripped of all her wealth and power. Ever since, she has been on a quest to gain enough Twitter followers to get her space ship up and running again, and to return to her home planet to fulfill her destiny. As a visitor to Earth, Alaska has very basic knowledge of human customs and culture. Alaska is sometimes lewd and often inappropriate– but we love her anyway. Justin Andrew Honard is a mild-mannered artist who currently resides in Los Angeles. TC: Would you say there is a message behind Alaska Thunderfuck 5000? The medium is the message. But I also think there’s an element of Alaska’s tenacity at making glamour happen with very little (ie: gowns from garbage bags, trash into treasure, etc.) that speaks to making the best out of your situation, whatever it may be. TC: You’ve performed several times with Trannyshack (a group of drag superstars based in San Francisco). What are some of the differences between working with the Trannyshack queens and working with your co-stars from RuPaul’s Drag Race? Trannyshack is the reason I started doing drag. The queens of Trannyshack make drag seem so dangerous and fun and they tell a story with the time they have onstage. They also make it look easy, which is inspiring to a young baby drag queen. As a result I definitely carry those Trannyshack elements with me wherever I go. I don’t see much of a difference in performing with Trannyshack or performing with my RuPaul’s Drag Race sisters– we’re all trying to put on the best show possible and entertain the children of the world. TC: Trannyshack performances tend to focus on both “the look” and “the act,” rather than just one or the other – if you had to pick, which element of drag would you say is more important and why? If I had to pick I’d say 100% of the time the act is more important. I’ve seen some of the most breathtaking looks in the world fall completely flat onstage due to lack of stage presence on the part of the performer. And I’ve seen some of the most rotted, heinous looks win over an entire audience because of the power the performer brings to the stage. However, the look is also important– you can get away with a lot more onstage when you’re pretty. TC: Is there a difference between performance art and a drag show? Drag is performance art… but with better hair and makeup. The beauty and the glamour and the sparkles get people to pay attention, which opens their minds to the message you’re sending as an artist. For instance, RuPaul’s Drag Race, on the surface, is a frivolous contest about men dressing up like ladies. But there are actually really deep, meaningful life lessons that RuPaul is sharing through this medium. And it is reaching people who only tuned in because of the sparkles. TC: How has the increased exposure of drag culture to the mass public via TV shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race helped the push for equal rights for LGBTQ people? I hope that the more exposure the world of drag receives, the more people understand that gender and sexuality and really all of humanity are much more confusing and convoluted than the mainstream media has time to demonstrate. Any art form that shines light on the broad, expansive spectrum of human identity is a good thing. TC: What about drag queens and drag culture in general do you think is so polarizing? It is confusing at first. But the more you look at it, the more sense it makes. Sort of like an episode of “30 Something.” TC: What is the scariest experience you’ve had while doing drag? Some men (drunk) were cat-calling myself and my two sisters (drunk) while in full Jem & the Holograms drag… One thing led to another (because we were all drunk) and a wooden street divider was thrown, a fight erupted, and my sister Veruca got badly beaten up by these men. Don’t drink and drag, children. TC: Tell me as much as you can about the term “Tranimal,” and how it influenced the evolution of Alaska Thunderfuck 5000. What I love about the Tranimal movement is that it is the creation of huge lines and concepts but in a very short amount of time. I automatically think of Fade-Dra who can put together an entire head-to-toe look and storyline in mere moments. TC: Very few people know who Leigh Bowery is, but everyone knows RuPaul. Why do you think that is? I don’t know that that’s necessarily true. We have the internet now– Children of the world: Google everything. TC: If being a drag queen hadn’t worked out as a way for you to make a living, what else would you have considered? I’d still be performing in one way or another. I’d still be doing what I’m doing– singing, acting, writing, and creating. TC: Who is your favorite drag queen of all time? Impossible question. But… Divine is definitely up there. Glenn Milstead was an actor first and foremost, and Divine was his divine creation. TC: Can you name some “mainstream” entertainers that have ahem “borrowed” from drag culture? Anywhere there is sparkle and fantasy and gasping for air because of beauty and glamour, there is drag. So anytime you see a concert, whether it is Madonna or Taylor Swift or Alice Cooper, you are seeing drag. I don’t consider it stealing or borrowing… I call it inspiration. And I personally love inspiring young artists! TC: What do you see in the future for Alaska Thunderfuck 5000? The play. The movie. The book. But first… Twitter followers. |
What do pharmaceutical trials have in common with designing websites and mobile apps? A lot, as it turns out. When we want to test out a new drug, we conduct an experiment to see whether a test group that’s been given the drug outperforms a control group. And when we want to test changes to our website at scale, we conduct A/B tests to see if our changes end up improving conversion rates. In a drug trial, the worst-case scenario is a false positive: our experiment makes it seem like the drug is effective, but in reality, it’s no better than (or even worse than) a placebo. This means an ineffective or even harmful drug gets released to the public. When you conduct A/B tests on your website, there are similar concerns. If you’re not disciplined about how you run and evaluate A/B test experiments, you’ll get false positives that do nothing to improve your website. In fact, it’s even possible that improper A/B testing suggests changes that decrease your conversion rates. How does this happen? By stopping your tests too early. In drug trials, false positives happen when we’re not disciplined about stopping a trial. There are strict “stopping rules” to prevent false positives. The same statistical logic applies when running A/B tests, but we often ignore these rules (or don’t even know about them altogether!). When running an A/B test through a service like Optimizely, it’s easy to check the results while the test is still running. Instead of letting the test run all the way through, many people (especially startups!) save time and money by stopping a test as soon as it has reached statistical significance. Doing this will cause the rate of false positives to skyrocket. I’ll illustrate how this can happen with an example. At Heap, we ran a simple A/B test a few months ago between two different headlines on our homepage: “No code required” and “Capture everything.” We decided to run an A/B test for 1000 users each. So far, so good. But a few hours after we deployed the test, we saw that the “No code required” variation was winning by a statistically significant margin. We selected that as the new headline without letting the experiment run all the way through. This is where we went wrong. As it turned out, we left the A/B test running on a portion of our userbase by accident. When looking at the results 4 days later after a few thousand visitors, it turned out that the two headlines had no difference in conversion rate. If we had let the experiment run all the way through, the early randomness would have evened out and neither variation would have won. By checking in on the experiment before it finished, we had a false positive result. In many experiments, we set the significance threshold to be 5% (or a p-value threshold of 0.05). This means that we’ll accept that Variation A is better than Variation B if A beats B by a margin large enough that a false positive would only happen 5% of the time. Phrased another way, this means that Variation A needs to do a lot better than Variation B to be considered the “winner” of the A/B test; if it’s only a little bit better, then it might just be random chance. This helps us be confident that our experiments are improving conversion rates, and not just making random, useless (or even detrimental) changes to our product. But if we stop the experiment before it’s over, then this has the effect of relaxing the 5% constraint, sometimes by a huge amount. The more often we check the experiment (with the intent of stopping it if it shows significance), the more we undermine the power of A/B testing. I ran some simulated A/B tests to see what would happen if we check our experiments while they’re still running. The simulation was as follows: We have two variations of our product, A and B, and we want to see which converts better. I set up the simulation so that the conversion rate for both variations was exactly 10%. So if an A/B test experiment reported that one variation converted better than the other, then that would be a false positive. I ran both variations against 1000 simulated visitors each, measured the final conversion rate for each variation, and calculated the p-value based on the difference in conversion rates. I set the p-value threshold to 0.05, so that we expect a false positive rate of 5%. Sure enough, when I ran several A/B test simulations, about 5% of them resulted in a false positive. Then I simulated what would happen if we checked for statistical significance midway through, after just 500 visitors had seen each variation (as well as once more at the end). Now what percentage led to false positives? This time, I saw a false positive rate of around 8.4% (out of 100,000 simulations, 8,426 of them were false positives). Even just one check mid-way through increased our false positive rate significantly (from 5% to 8.4%). Now I decided to see what would happen if we checked even more often. What if I had checked my Optimizely dashboard every 100 visitors (10 total checks throughout the 1000 visitors), and stopped the A/B test if I saw statistical significance at any one of those checks? What about every 50 visitors? What about every visitor, i.e. we stop the test as soon as we hit statistical significance at all? Here are the results: Number of checks Simulated False Positive Rate 1, at the end (like we’re supposed to) 5.0% 2 (every 500 visitors) 8.4% 5 (every 200 visitors) 14.3% 10 (every 100 visitors) 19.5% 20 (every 50 visitors) 25.5% 100 (every 10 visitors) 40.1% 1000 (every visitor) 63.5% This means that if we’re monitoring our A/B test and stopping it as soon as we hit significance, the false positive rate will be over 60%. That’s worse than useless! In cases like this, even a worse variation has a decent chance of winning. The fix to this problem is simple: don’t stop your A/B tests part-way through! Let them run their course, and then determine whether the results are significant. It is possible to design an A/B test experiment such that it’s okay to stop it before completion, or even just let it run indefinitely until it hits significance. However, the statistics involved are a lot more complicated than the two-tailed test we use in traditional A/B testing. |
How do whales hear music? They listen to orca -stras! I told that joke to a lizard and got crickets. It made me wonder the same thing as Eid Muhammad Afridi, who asked Saturday's Weird Animal Question of the Week , "Do animals laugh?" Going Ape So far, apes and rats are the only known animals to get the giggles. Koko , the western lowland gorilla famous for her facility with sign language, "thinks that me being clumsy is funny," and will make laughing noises, says Penny Patterson , president of the California-based Gorilla Foundation. The great ape also has a special "ho ho" laugh for visitors she especially likes, Patterson says. (Related: " Conversations with a Gorilla " in National Geographic magazine.) In 2009 Marina Davila Ross , a psychologist at the U.K.'s University of Portsmouth, conducted experiments in which she tickled infant and juvenile primates —such as orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees. The apes responded by laughing—technically called "tickle-induced vocalizations." Ross, who studies the evolution of laughter, suggests we inherited our own ability to laugh from humans and great apes' last common ancestor , which lived 10 to 16 million years ago. Now her latest study, published this week in PLOS ONE , goes a step further, showing that chimpanzees display "laugh faces"—smiling, with teeth bared—with or without actual laughter. This indicates "that chimpanzees can communicate in more explicit and thus versatile ways" than we thought, she says. It's similar to how people may smile silently, while talking, or while laughing—each of which conveys a separate emotion. Tickled Pink Rats have also gotten the tickle treatment. Jaak Panskepp , a psychologist and neuroscientist at Washington State University in Pullman, has found that tickled rats make happy noises. (Also see " Rats Remember Who's Nice to Them—and Return the Favo r.") When scientists tickled the rodents, the animals made the same chirping sounds that they use during play, according to a study published in 2000 . (The noises are above the range of human hearing.) Some of the lab rats liked being tickled so much they followed the hand that tickled them. View Images A captive brown rat makes an angry display. Ongoing research shows that rats communicate a variety of emotions, including a sound that may be similar to laughter. Photograph by Vincent J. Musi, Nat Geo Image Collection Since then, Panskepp and colleagues have shown studying play is serious business—for instance, he's found that brain circuits responsible for laughter in rats can be used to study human emotion. He's also identified seven basic emotional systems housed in the same areas of mammal brains. His research has even helped combat depression in people. One antidepressant in clinical trials, called GLYX-13 , has its roots in the study of rat laughter. (Also see " Is Laughter the Best Medicine ?") It's an example "of what can be achieved by taking the emotional feelings of animals seriously as targets for psychiatric medicinal development," he says. Play Leads to Laughter We think of rats and apes as smart, but intelligence isn't a requirement for laughter, Panksepp adds. "Maybe one should look at [it] the the other way around," he says, since it's possible "that play in any species can increase social intelligence." So identifying other animals that laugh, he says, may be a matter of listening to the sounds they make while having fun. Who knows? One day we may discover an actual silly goose. |
Pentagon Asks 'Armed Citizens' Not To Stand Guard At Recruiting Centers Enlarge this image toggle caption Kevin Burbach/AP Kevin Burbach/AP Updated at 1:10 p.m. ET The Defense Department, reacting to armed citizens appearing in front of military recruiting offices around the country since last week's fatal shootings of five U.S. servicemen in Chattanooga, Tenn., has asked that "individuals not stand guard" on federal property. "We take the safety of our service members, our DoD civilians, and the families who support them very seriously, and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is currently reviewing recommendations from the services for making our installations and facilities safer — including our recruiting stations," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement. "While we greatly appreciate the outpouring of support for our recruiters from the American public, we ask that individuals not stand guard at recruiting offices as it could adversely impact our mission, and potentially create unintended security risks," Cook said. "We continue to partner with and rely on first responders for the safety of the communities where our service members live and work." The self-appointed armed guards began appearing in front of recruiting centers shortly after the July 16 shooting rampage by lone gunman Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez at Tennessee military sites that killed four U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy sailor. As we reported on Thursday, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command had issued a policy letter warning its soldiers to avoid vigilante guards and to report them to local law enforcement and the command. Some of the self-appointed guards – who have appeared outside recruiting centers in Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee, Idaho, Washington, Texas, South Dakota and elsewhere — are affiliated with militia groups, according to Stars and Stripes. The Columbus Dispatch reports that armed guards in front of a multi-branch military recruiting center in Lancaster, Ohio, were asked to leave after one accidentally discharged his rifle on Thursday. |
Sisi’s Islam Since the June 2013 military takeover, the Egyptian state has outlawed protests, disbanded thousands of NGOs, and tightened its grip on the press, all in the name of combating terrorism. But in the background, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been fighting a more subtle battle — the battle for Egypt’s mosques. Before the takeover, the Egyptian state directly controlled roughly half of the mosques in the country. In Sisi’s view, it was in the unsupervised half that the Muslim Brotherhood — his sworn enemies — had been allowed to thrive for 90 years, and it was high time for a change. Egypt’s mosques, he determined, were the place to start eradicating the Brotherhood once and for all — but his crusade against extremism may already be backfiring. Abdurrahman, age 35, runs a men’s barber shop on a crowded market street near Cairo’s center. For 10 years, he attended the Rahman Mosque next door. Though he could have opted to walk a block down the street to the spacious, well-decorated Rahma Mosque, he preferred the teachings of the little hovel. “The imam was a simple guy,” Abdurrahman said, “but excellent, really excellent. He’s gone now though. I don’t know where.” In February, the imam vanished and a sign appeared on the mosque door, reading “Friday prayers will now be held at the big mosque. This mosque will be closed except for daily prayer times.” Effective immediately, the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments decreed that all mosques measuring less than 80 square meters would no longer be allowed to operate except as daily prayer rooms: no more preaching; no more soliciting alms for the poor. Just like that, Rahman and 27,000 other mosques like it were shuttered. Although these decrees have only just begun to take effect, the state has been working toward this end for over a year. In January 2014, the interim government announced that for the first time in decades, the Ministry of Religious Endowments would begin enforcing a Nasser-era law making it illegal for any non-certified imams to preach, firing 12,000 in the process. Officials have also standardized Friday sermons, requiring all imams to preach on a predetermined topic each week. Before, aspiring imams had a number of options for how they could receive their certification. They could study at the ancient and prestigious Al-Azhar University, take a course administered by the Ministry of Religious Endowments, or undergo training by a licensed NGO, such as the popular religious group El Gameya El Shareya. These NGOs were supervised by the Ministry of Religious Endowments but were allowed to train their imams as they pleased. In March, however, the Ministry of Religious Endowments announced that, beginning next academic year, it would run all religious training centers itself. All certification exams will be administered solely by the Ministry and Al-Azhar. The Egyptian state is thereby further folding Al-Azhar — an institution that formerly took pride in its independence — into its web of ministries and administrations. Since its founding over 1,000 years ago, Al-Azhar has served as the main pillar of moderate Islamic study, not only for Egypt but for the entire Sunni world. As a result, every Egyptian ruler since Mohammed Ali has vied for control over the institution and its message. While President Nasser managed to bring Al-Azhar under the umbrella of the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments in 1961, a healthy tension remained between the university and the state over its ability to teach and train as it pleased. But since the country’s brief encounter with Muslim Brotherhood rule, Al-Azhar has become the state’s greatest ally in eradicating unwanted strands of Islam. Under the new leadership of Grand Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb, Al-Azhar has narrowed its teachings to the confines of a doctrine called Sufi-Ashari — a moderate strand of Islam that fits within the current regime’s vision of a modern Muslim state. “[Before], Al-Azhar didn’t enforce a single identity for itself,” said Georges Fahmi, a research fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center. “That left a playground for the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood […] so now Tayeb wants to make Al-Azhar more focused.” If it is enforced, the law that all imams must be trained by Al-Azhar or the Ministry of Religious Endowments will ensure that Al-Azhar succeeds in uniting Egypt under a single Azhari identity, and that the state succeeds in eliminating voices of political opposition. “The Ministry is now trying to enforce full control over all religious training centers, not just supervising, but full control,” said Fahmi. “You didn’t used to have to take the tests. You would go through the NGO’s training and then you would be hired to preach in that NGO’s mosques. Then the Ministry of Endowments started trying to control all the mosques and all the imams and this includes the formation of imams.” Once these laws come into full effect, the Egyptian state will have total control over who is allowed to preach, where they are allowed to preach, and what they are allowed to say. As the epicenter of Sunni teaching in the Islamic world, this will have ramifications far beyond Egypt’s borders. This is all happening under the pretext of combating religious extremism and terrorism — a campaign that has earned Sisi high accolades within the international community, with some even talking of a Nobel Peace Prize. However, it also allows the president to further stifle the Muslim Brotherhood, his most dangerous opponent. In the Giza neighborhood of Kom el-Akhdar, the unassuming al-Iman Mosque served as a community gathering point for 15 years before the Ministry of Religious Endowments shut it down two months ago. Walid, a convenience store owner from down the street, had attended the mosque since the day it was founded, drawn to its communal atmosphere and accessible teaching. In the mosque’s early days, community members took turns leading prayers and preaching the Friday sermons, but they eventually settled on one man to serve as their religious leader: Sheikh Mostafa. When the Ministry of Religious Endowments shut down the mosque, they also banned Sheikh Mostafa from preaching and warned him that if he continued to do so, he could be arrested. Mostafa refused to bow, however. He left Kom el-Akhdar and resumed preaching — in secret — at a mosque on the other side of Giza that had not yet been shut down. “I feel like churches have more freedom now than mosques,” Walid said. “National security agents can’t go into churches, but they can go into any mosque and arrest people.” He now attends Friday prayers at the Tawhid Wa Nour mosque a few blocks away. There, he sits on a mat outside and listens to the sermon over a loudspeaker. He said that the members of his community feel like they’ve had something taken away from them. “People feel like their religious expression has been restricted,” Walid said. “Under Sisi, it’s the strictest it’s ever been.” While the laws governing religion in Egypt haven’t changed in decades, there has been a marked change in their interpretation and enforcement since Sisi came to power, said Amr Ezzat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Egyptian law is intentionally ambiguous on the subject of religious pluralism, making it possible to use legislation to fit the political agenda of the time, Ezzat said. “Egyptian law does not protect religious pluralism when it comes to Islam,” said Ezzat. “It refers to imams as a single group and gives the state the right to oversee their religious projects. This is so that they can push them in a single direction.” The problem, according to Fahmi, the Carnegie researcher, is that such laws are difficult to enforce. “Even under Nasser, when the state was much stronger than it is now, they couldn’t do it,” he said. “So imagine now. The rules exist, but it’s always a matter of enforcement.” Case in point: El Doaa mosque in the Giza neighborhood of Dokki. El Doaa is a windowless room the size of a garage wedged between two apartment buildings. It delivers the call to prayer from a loudspeaker tied to a telephone pole across the street. The mosque falls far below the minimum 80 square meters requirement and its imam, Sheikh Anwar, has zero religious training, Azhari or otherwise. In fact, when he isn’t delivering the Friday sermon or leading prayers, the quiet, young man with the pointy beard works as a delivery man for a nearby pizza shop. Despite this, Anwar said he continues to serve as the mosque’s imam and the mosque continues to operate. “I heard about the Ministry’s decision,” he said. “They make decisions like these sometimes, but they don’t actually make them happen.” It is not only nearly impossible for the state to enforce its new regulations — the attempt to do so may have dangerous consequences. “This is going to lead to a parallel market,” Fahmi said. “You will have a parallel religious sphere where people don’t go to the mosques because they think the mosques only tell us what the state would like us to hear, so they go to private meetings.” Fahmi’s current research focuses on combating youth extremism — and these restrictions, ostensibly to eradicate extremist thinking, will only serve as fertilizer to help it grow, he said. “Once you have this parallel market, radical ideas can spread much more quickly, because you have no control. Not only from the state but from the parents of the people, you don’t know where your kids are going. That’s the real danger.” Like most items on the Sisi agenda, the motivation for controlling the mosques is to limit Muslim Brotherhood influence, but even in that, the state is likely to be unsuccessful, Ezzat said. “In reality, for the Brotherhood and those around them, the mosque is not the center of their activity,” Ezzat said. “Rather they use universities, schools, unions, and charitable organizations. They hold their meetings in private homes or in universities because mosques have long been supervised by the state.” The state should be doing exactly the opposite, Fahmi argued. “If you’d like to face the Brotherhood or the Salafists, then you should strengthen the role of the mosque in the neighborhood: free it up to do activities, hold religious classes.” As Sisi tightens his grip, Fahmi fears that “legitimate Islam” is being turned “into a mouthpiece of the state.” Photo credit: MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images |
Visiting Po Fook Hill, the 10,000 Buddha Monastery, and the hills around Pai Tau Village Sha Tin is not only great for immature puns (I Sha Tin your shoe), it also has some worthwhile attractions. You can check out the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, or the the oldest walled village Tai Wai, there’s also the horse racing track, the well maintained Sha Tin Park with its gardens and grandstand, and there are plenty of villages that have a charm that you won’t get in the densely populated downtown. One of these is Pai Tau village. Pai Tau is very easy to get to. Just take the MTR East Rail Line up to Sha Tin Station, and there will be an exit that leads you right into Pai Tau Village. Immediately to your left you’ll see a small laid-back square with children playing and trucks ice-creaming. Along one side of the square is a row of houses (number 5A, 5B, 5C and 6). These were built in the 1920s, and they’re protected by the Hong Kong Antiquities Advisory Board. Head northwest along the main road (Pai Tau street). At the first intersection, you’ll be facing Grand Central Plaza, which has an Ikea if you’re in desperate need of meatballs. Turn left and walk along the soccer pitch. The road will lead to a nicely manicured garden with a turtle pond. This is the beginning of Po Fook Hill. Po Fook Hill The structures built on these terraced levels are filled with dead people. It’s a columbarium – don’t worry I had to look the word up too. A columbarium is used to store urns, so it’s basically a mausoleum for cremated remains. There’s actually an office on the hill that you can go into to make arrangements for yourself or your loved ones, but expect to pay tens of thousands of dollars for, what one might refer to as, a drawer. All this may seem a little bleak, but the hill is a very interesting place to visit and it offers some great views of the more natural side of Hong Kong. You should take the funicular up part of the way because it’s free, and of course fun (that’s why they call it a funicular, right?). There’s also a series of escalators that go up even further, but the stairs will let you see more. Perhaps, if you dislike exercise, you could take the escalator to the top and the stairs back down. A lot of the remains are in three-walled structures that have one end open to the outside, but make sure you pop into one of the buildings. They’re quietly haunting. There is also a pagoda onsite, as well as some statues, and you might even see a monkey in the trees. If so, shake your fist at it for me. While exploring Po Fook Hill, you may notice another temple further up the hill that is blocked off by trees and a fence. This is your next stop, but unfortunately you have to go all the way back down to get there. 10,000 Buddha Monastery From outside of the parking lot for Po Fook Hill, go to the right of the fence – there should be a sign for the 10,000 Buddha Monastery. You’ll turn left and start your way up a ton of stairs that are lined with more than a ton of statues. The monastery, which isn’t actually a monastery, took 8 years to build. After that, it was another 10 years to put all the statues in. As you climb the steps, don’t start counting the statues – these aren’t the droids Buddhas you are looking for. The 10,000 Buddhas (actually 12,800) are in a temple at the top of the hill, but the statues that line the path are suppose to be various followers of Buddhism. It’s a quirky set of people. Nice beard Not sure what he’s up to, but I like his hat. Wears lipstick Why the long face? Get over yourself I’m cool with this guy. Mr. Fantastic?! When you get to the top, you can head right to see the pagoda, a turtle pond, and the remains of Yuet Kai, the man who built the temple. The main temple is on the left though. It’s impressive to look into, but really only needs a few minutes of your time. If you’re hungry, there’s a place to grab lunch right there. It’s reasonably priced and you can watch people as they light incense and worship. When you’re ready to head back down, take the steps down from the main courtyard (they’re on the right when you’re back is at the main temple). These will eventually take you back to the MTR station, but the hills have lots of opportunities for exploring. There are a bunch of houses that are only accessible by about 3 billion concrete stairs. Beer runs would suck balls. Watch for a sign pointing out Wing Wo Bee Farm. You can pop-in here to buy honey from one of Hong Kong’s first ever bee keepers, Mr Yip who started the farm in 1983. Their honey is a hot commodity. Apparently, the Hyatt Regency uses it on their desserts. Whether you want honey or not, it’s worth taking the short detour just to see the little houses. You can go further, up the stairs next to the house, and explore even more but eventually you’ll have to come back down the original path. Watch for abandoned buildings that are crumbling, but have a calming surrealness to them. I didn’t explore every nook, but I imagine there are many paths that lead to many different homes. What I can’t imagine though, is how the houses came to be there, and what it’s like living there. At some point, you’ll cross a small stream that runs past a couple of small temples. At the bottom of the hill, the path will dump you out back in the Pai Tau square. In total, I spent about 3 hours in Pai Tau, but I easily could have explored further. My favorite part of it was walking the cracked steps in the hills, between houses, turning corners to find locals sipping tea on the doorsteps to their small but special homes. I’ve read that there are a lot of squatters in these hill houses, but the people I saw seemed like they belonged. This is a special part of Hong Kong that’s definitely worth visiting. |
Scientists predict sea level rise caused by climate change will submerge coastal areas of the United States — yet somehow, this could be an economic boon to Texas. That's according to a new study in the peer-reviewed journal Nature that examines how forced migration due to rising waters could change where Americans live. If oceans rise three to six feet in the next 80 years, South Florida stands to lose more than 2.5 million residents by 2100, while coastal Louisiana would also lose more than half a million residents. Texas, by contrast, stands to capture many of these climate refugees. According Mathew E. Hauer, the study's author, Austin could receive more displaced Americans — some 800,000 — than any other U.S. city. Houston could see more than 250,000, as could Atlanta and Orlando, Florida. |
I suggested a few weeks ago that successful advertising “focuses on creating culture — moving your world to the product, not the other way around.” If we want to move that world, we must first wrap our heads around the nature and number of interlocking, overlapping cultures that define it. This is a story about how advertising shapes our identity. This is not an easy story to tell. The complexities and paradoxes of ‘culturology’ seem to demand that we fall through the looking glass. It can drive you mad. Let’s keep it simple and sane. First, if marooned on a tropical island, author and dear readers, we would start with sharing — telling jokes and stories, playing games. But, with time, this would soon lead to creating — forming inside jokes, inventing games, and creating new stories. This is the fabric of culture, what we share together and what we make together; the totality of shared experiences. The same forces shape the culture of all groups—including Gen X, Bostonians and Trekkies, who share the experience of the Berlin Wall crumbling, the heartbreak and triumph of World Series games and all 120 hours of Patrick Stewart in spandex. Second, media determines how groups form. Marshal McLuhan argued that any technology which influences patterns of human interaction is technically a form of media. Light bulbs, trains, and airplanes all fundamentally changed culture by altering the quantity and quality of possible “shared experiences”, expanding the size of our natural “island.” In colonial America, culture was bound by location — the distance a horse could take you in a day. Add trains and airplanes, radio and television, and the number of shared experiences explodes beyond the limitations of geography (and time). With the advent of the digital world the totality of subcultures that exist borders on mind boggling.* This matters because the cultures we are part of impact how we talk and think, and most importantly, how we conceptualize our identity. And identity, that’s big business. Brands have become cornerstones of many different (sub)cultures by ingraining themselves into the fabric of shared experiences. In turn, people have come to prefer brands that are more closely linked with their respective cultures. These companies become linked with how we establish and express those identities. We speak a language of brands, and we use it to both project and interpret a complex set of beliefs, values and ideas. Think about the instant visual signals that brands send out. Take someone wearing a Red Sox hat, Converse shoes, North Face jacket, and holding Starbucks coffee — add or subtract any element here, and their map of associations changes, and so does your understanding of who they are and what they’re about; the brand is the communication and the communication is also the brand. Further, the culture of some communities are grounded in brands themselves! Shared experiences with the brand serves as the glue that holds the group together; I drive a BMW, I use Apple Products, I belong to Red Sox Nation. As a result, some facet of identity itself are rooted in synthetic culture. In this way, advertising creates culture on many levels, ranging from the pop culture popularity of “I’m on a horse” to the cult-like following of Kinder Surprise. On all these levels, in some way, brands have an impact on our identity. “Is a brand for someone like me” is always a question that advertising researchers like me ask. After all, that is the focus of adland. So, when looked at in this context, moving the world to your product doesn’t seem so daunting, does it? |
Good morning, friends! I hope you’re reading this from under your favorite blanket with your coffee close by (wishful thinking? Maybe just the coffee..?) I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with a few long-time Middletown residents last week and man am I excited to share what they had to say. I have two interviews to share – one that focuses mainly on what Middletown used to be, the other with someone who has a pretty good idea of where Middletown is going. I thought of combining the interviews – sort of a ‘Middletown isn’t what it used to be but we cannot separate the past from the present’ run-on-sentence rally cry. But, as I began to plan out the combined post, I got completely overwhelmed by all that our city has been and will be so I think I’m going to keep them separate and we can all process through time together at whatever pace feels the most comfortable. Everyone okay with that? Great! Since I started the Goodness Collective, I’ve gotten tips and leads as to where to go, who to talk to, what to talk about, and much of that information has been about what Middletown used to be like. I must admit, I’ve been captivated by the sweet whispers of Middletown yesterdays – and I want them to be shared. What is warmer than a deep sigh of gratitude for what has been? What is sweeter than memories that stuck, good memories, that we can share with our friends who weren’t in those barefoot summer evenings? I am so grateful to hear these memories and share them with you – but I want to be careful not to get stuck here. Goodness Collective is a place to celebrate all of Middletown – the past, present, future, all of it. So it is with caution and joy that I bring you my conversation with a friend who has lived in Middletown all of his life. My friend grew up right around the corner from where my husband and I live – directly across the street from Sunset Park. We love our neighborhood, we love Sunset Park, we love the big trees and that there are families of all ages and circumstances around us. Naturally, I loved hearing about the kids riding their bikes up and down our street and playing baseball all summer long. He asked what house we lived in, I told him the one-story house with the driveway on the right side. He told me that he thinks the man who lived in our house – or maybe our next-door neighbor’s – had a pet alligator (the man definitely had an alligator, the question is what house they lived in). He recalled all his neighbors – families, most of which were led by unbroken marriages and mothers at home. In the summer time, he and all the other kids would leave home around 8 or 9 in the morning, stop home for lunch, go back outside, and would come home again for dinner. Each park, he said, had a box – a wooden box that measured roughly 3’x4’x5′, the Sunset box was at the corner of Milton and Bellemonte. Inside the box, there were baseballs, bats, toys, etc. Each park had its own baseball team (Sunset Park, he said, was best). There was a merry-go-round and swings (still there!), tons of kids, and no fear of being unsafe while they were unsupervised. He remembered walking home from Barnitz Field alone at night – something I haven’t seen many kids (or adults for that matter) doing recently. Parents looked out for everyone else’s children as much as their own. He and his friends would ride the steaming hot bus downtown to Gallagher’s or Ortman’s (5 & dimes, soda fountains – they were real!). The big businesses were generous to the community, the small businesses were the first places you’d shop. There was really no reason to leave Middletown except to go to a Reds game. With tears in his eyes, my friend remembered the magic of Middletown. My heart fell into my stomach and I wanted to grab all of Middletown by the hand and run as fast as I could back to that place, those summers, that feeling of safety and security. And then I remembered – I love Middletown today, right now, as is, and I am not alone. Friends, Middletown is a different place than it was, and that is okay. Do you believe that? I’ll say it again. It is okay that Middletown is different. It is good that Middletown is different. We don’t want a city that is an unchanging robot, do we? Well, I don’t. Here are some things I love about Middletown today: that we can see the entire socioeconomic spectrum in a single neighborhood; that there is a knitting club that meets at Java Johnny’s; that there are people who truly love going to places that the outside world has deemed “too dangerous”; that Marsh always smells a little funny; that guy who does Parkour in Governor’s Square – among other things. We are in a season of change, of growth, of being honest as an entire community and that is so beautiful, you guys. We are in the midst of something incredible. Let’s not be blinded by what used to be. Jump on board, friends. Later this week, I’ll be sharing a conversation I had with Mayor Larry Mulligan, in which we discussed what is happening in Middletown today – real life stuff. Until then, let’s be grateful for the Middletown we’ve had, the Middletown we live in right now, and be hopeful together for Middletown’s tomorrows. I love this city. Advertisements |
Rachel Quon made her debut for Canada on March 5th, 2014 at the Cyprus Cup versus Finland. She was subbed on during the 79th minute, replacing veteran defender Rhian Wilkinson. Canada won 3-0. She’s had quite a journey to get to this point. It all began when she was called to camp last summer. She couldn’t suit up in Toronto for the June 2nd friendly versus the USA because FIFA had not yet cleared her to play for Canada. In the fall, she battled an injury. That’s in the past and the 22-year-old is now a capped member of the red and white. During a recent media call, head coach John Herdman described the defender as “an energetic, passionate player”. Contributor Sandra Prusina had a quick chat with Rachel, after she wrapped up her day with the team in Larnaca. How are things going for you as a member of the Canadian team? It’s gone well. It’s great to be with the team and just getting to know everybody, including the staff. Then it’s just about getting on the field and playing with everyone. I’m learning a lot, which is great. Has there been a learning curve for you, getting used to Canada’s formation and what John Herdman is trying to apply on the field? Definitely. John is constantly teaching, which is awesome. I’m learning not only each player’s style of play, but overall the key style of the team. I’m also learning what he wants out of the team. There are a lot of different personalities on the Canadian team. What’s it been like assimilating and becoming a part of this squad? I love all of the different personalities and I’m just enjoying joining in. It’s always so much fun to watch them interact with each other because they’ve known each other for such a long time. They’ve played together for so many years. Including the staff, the team has been very welcoming and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been great getting to know everyone. I’m sure the last year has been an interesting one for you. What’s it been like for you getting clearance from FIFA and finally getting on the field? The CSA has done everything they can and they’ve been so helpful to getting me cleared. Honestly, I’ve been focusing on just the soccer part and I knew everything else would take care of itself. It’s great that everything has worked out. Honored to have earned my first cap and win today over Finland with #CanWNT! Thanks for everyone's… http://t.co/IPIuk47xpF — Rachel Quon (@rmquon) March 5, 2014 You’re playing for the Chicago Red Stars of the NWSL. There will be four Canadian players (Adriana Leon, Karina LeBlanc and Melissa Tancredi), including yourself, on the team this year, which will be a first. It’s basically a “Little Canada” in Chicago. How are you feeling about that? It’s great! We talk about that all the time. I think each player will really play a huge part on the Chicago team. We’re really looking forward to playing with one another and getting to know each other, especially with Melissa and Karina, who will play key roles. I played with Dri last season a little bit. It’s going to be great to have all of those personalities, both on and off the field. For the Canadian fans who might not be familiar with you, how would you describe your style of play? I’d like to think that I’m an attacking outside right back, who likes to keep possession. I like to have an offensive part of the game too, but always doing my job defensively with the backline. Is there anything else you wanted the Canadian fans to know about you that they might not know? I’m just really excited and I’m glad I have this opportunity. I want to take advantage of it and help the team in anyway I can. About the author: Sandra Prusina is a journalist and broadcaster based out of Calgary, Canada. She has covered women’s soccer since 2010. She’s also a segment reporter for Olympic Broadcast Services, traveling to Vancouver, London and Sochi to work for the host broadcaster. Advertisements |
Scientology -- Is This a Religion? Stephen A. Kent <skent@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca> Department of Sociology University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA T6G 2H4 This is a revised and corrected version of a shorter presentation given at the 27th Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag, June 20, 1997, Leipzig, Germany. June 30, 1997 Scientology -- Is This a Religion? Rarely, if ever, in the post-war period have diplomats from the superpowers troubled themselves over questions about the alleged religious nature of a transnational organization. Consequently, the current debate between Germany and the United States over the alleged religious nature of Scientology is remarkable, and probably unique in recent history. The fact that German officials, institutions, and citizens are seeking additional information about this organization is commendable, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share insights that may help to clarify the issues in this debate. For the record, I did not have any contact with German parliamentary officials as I was preparing my talk. For about ten minutes I spoke by telephone with one German professor who is involved with the current discussion about the organization, but we only touched briefly on issues related to Scientology. The German Kirchentag paid my air fare and my hotel in Leipzig, and Berliner Dialog is covering some of my expenses, but they are not paying me a fee or honorarium. I prepared my talk while in Canada, and did not consult with anyone in Germany or elsewhere about its content. I had complete freedom to write whatever I wanted around the general topic of the debate about Scientology's religious claims. As a person trained in religious studies, I find the debate about Scientology's alleged religious nature to be an interesting and important one. It should not be, however, the only issue over which we evaluate the German-American debate over Scientology's religious claims. Intimately related to the religious question are human rights questions. Some people assume that religious practice is a guaranteed human right, but even a superficial examination of world events shows that many atrocities occur in the name of God or religion. Universally, therefore, religious belief must receive absolute protection, but religious practice stemming from that belief must receive protection only until it begins to violate the rights of its members or nonmembers. Following from this last point, I argue that even if Scientology contains a theology and cosmology that some members interpret religiously, its organizational actions and behaviours raise serious human rights questions. Without wanting to review the pronouncements from all German officials about the organization, I conclude that the German government has good reason to investigate Scientology's activities in this country. It also has compelling reasons to inquire about the well-being of German citizens in Scientology facilities in the United States and elsewhere. I will share just a few of the documents that led me to these conclusions, and some of them are available in numerous world wide web sites on the "internet." For a number of my social scientific colleagues around the world, the debate between Germany and the U.S. revolves around the question of Scientology's religious claims. Many of my social scientific colleagues have examined some Scientology documents and possibly participated in some Scientology events, and they have concluded that the organization is religious in nature. Bryan R. Wilson (b. 1926), for example, who is a respected British sociologist of religion, concluded "that Scientology must indeed be regarded as a religion" (Wilson, 1990: 288). He reached this conclusion after comparing Scientology's belief system with twenty characteristics usually found within what he called "known religions" (Wilson, 1990: 279). Significantly for the current debate in this country, he dismissed historical information from the early 1950s about Dianetics presenting itself as "a mental therapy and Scientology a science." Specifically with these early self-representations in mind, Wilson insisted that "even if it could be conclusively shown that Scientology took the title of 'church' specifically to secure at law as a religion, that would say nothing about the status of the belief-system, and it is with the belief system that we are specifically concerned" (Wilson, 1990: 282-283).[1] Footnote: [1] Undoubtedly because of this interpretation, Wilson has become a champion of Scientology's religious claims (see also Wilson, n.d.: 35) and the organization alludes to him ("[t]he foremost sociologist in the world") as an academic who concluded "that Scientology was setting the trend for the 21st century for all religions -- as it offers practical solutions for people's problems in the real world" (International Association of Scientologists, 1995: [10]). Scientology also employs his opinion in arguing before an American court that the organization has the right to keep secret its upper level materials (Wilson, 1994: 11). In fact, I have made precisely the argument that Wilson dismisses. In a study that Berliner Dialog (Heft 1-97) translated into German, and in another study that I hope to publish soon, I show that L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology's founder) claimed that Scientology was a religion because he saw the claim as a marketing device to make money and avoid taxes (Kent, 1997b: 25ff; Miller, 1987: 199-203, 220) as well as a way "to reduce the likelihood of governmental interventions against it for allegedly practising medicine without a license" (Kent, 1996: 30). Moreover, Scientology denies its reputedly religious nature if it is attempting to enter a country that might react adversely to religious proselytization (such as Japan or Greece [Kent, 1997a: 18-19]). Nevertheless, the historical reasons behind Scientology's religious claims, as well as the organization's selectivity in making the claims, do not diminish the probability that many Scientologists view their commitment as a religious one. From a social scientific perspective, and probably from a legal one as well, the objective "truth" of an ideology is not the determinant of a group's "religious" designation. Mere belief in supernatural beings or forces may be enough to get an ideology designated as religious, even if the origins or doctrines of the belief system are highly suspect. Along these lines, the inspirational figure in the sociology of religion, Max Weber, refused to exclude charlatans from his identification of charismatic figures, since the devotion of followers was a far more salient fact than authenticity. After mentioning two types of charismatic figures, Weber added that "[a]nother type is represented by Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonisn, who may have been a very sophisticated swindler (although this cannot be definitely established)" (Weber, 1968: 242). Similarly, from a social scientific perspective, a belief system is religious if it contains supposedly supernatural elements, regardless of the accuracy of those elements. Perhaps unlike Joseph Smith, Hubbard's sophisticated swindle has been definitely exposed by a number of critics (for example, Atack, 1990; Kent, 1996; Miller, 1987) who have shown that his religious alignment was purely expedient, but now many of his followers see their lives in the context of the doctrines that he developed. Even if we grant the point that Scientology cosmology and soteriology have supernatural elements that classify the belief-system as religious (regardless of these elements' suspect history), neither government officials nor society at large should necessarily grant Scientology religious status for purposes of receiving societal benefits. Rather than struggling over whether or not to label Scientology as a religion, I find it far more helpful to view it as a multifaceted transnational, only one element of which is religious. Coinciding with supernatural claims are equally important secular dimensions relating to political aspirations, business operations, cultural productions, pseudo-medical practice, pseudo-psychiatric practice, social services (some of which are of dubious quality), and alternative family structures. A few examples of each dimension will suffice, but countless examples of each one exist throughout both Scientology's literature and the social behaviour of its members. The most salient aspect of Scientology, however, is the totalitarian, some would say fascistic, use of power that holds the organization together. I will speak about some of these totalitarian uses of power, and in doing so it will be very clear that the German government has taken the only appropriate avenue open to it. Scientology's political aspirations have surfaced at various times throughout its nearly fifty year history, with the organization involving itself with politicians or political structures in Rhodesian (in 1966), Greece (in 1968 to 1969), Morocco (in 1972), and in the Russian city of Perm (where it was training city officials in Hubbard Management ideology). Observers wonder about the fate of Scientology training to Albanian government officials after the recent popular uprisings and social collapse (see Kent, 1997a: 17-18). At times related to its political aspirations (as in Perm) are Scientology's programs designed to train business executives and professionals often in medically related areas. Through an organization named WISE (World Institute of Scientology Enterprises), Scientology offers a business consultancy and management program. A recent publication claims that "WISE [m]embers form a network of highly trained consultants in Hubbard Management Technology who can provide you with tailor-made training programs to suit your company's needs" (WISE International, 1994b). WISE programs target various clients through numerous companies, and in Germany and other parts of Europe the best known WISE company is U-Man (see, for example, WISE International, 1994a). For all practical purposes, this dimension of Scientology is secular, regardless of how the organization portrays it. Culturally, Scientology has an entire industry devoted to the production and dissemination of Hubbard's writings and ideological material to both members and outsiders. The Scientology owned and operated (and now tax exempt) Bridge Publications, for example, produced a volume solely dedicated to The Fiction of L. Ron Hubbard (Widder, 1994), which discusses his writings of Westerns, adventure stories, mystery and detective stories, romance, fantasy, science fiction, plays, and screenplays (among others), and makes little if any mention of his supposedly "religious" writings. The actor and Scientology public relations officer, John Travolta (Anderson, 1980: 3; Church of Scientology International, 1994), is working on a movie version of Hubbard's science fiction work, Battlefield Earth, while a team of Hollywood producers is developing a film version of the Hubbard pulp novel, To the Stars (Reuters, 1997). As these current film productions suggest, Scientology is eager to be involved with projects that disseminate its ideology to nonmembers through high profile cultural undertakings. One vital aspect of this dissemination effort involves cultivating the conversion and support of society's cultural celebrities. Beginning in 1955, Hubbard's "Project Celebrity" targeted what he called "prime communicators" with the hope that they would "mention" Scientology "now and again" ([Hubbard], 1955). By 1992, thirteen "celebrity centres" existed around the world (Church of Scientology International, 1992: 353), and their purpose was "[t]o fully utilize opinion leaders and Scientologists to permeate society and get all the different publics utilizing LRH's Technology in every aspect..." (Jentzsch and Foster, 1977: 1). This organizational push to get everyone using Hubbard's so-called technology has dramatic secular implications for such issues of how to organize an office, how to generate and handle money, and how to measure office growth. It presumably also may have implications for people's supernatural belief systems, but it is understandable that critics see Scientology celebrities as participating in the dissemination of secular Scientology goals. In addition to free publicity for Scientology, celebrities also give large financial contributions back to the organization. Had Scientologist Chick Corea, for example, received money from the Baden-Wurttemberg state culture ministry for performing at state-sponsored events, then some of that income may have become part of his contributions to the International Association of Scientologists. The avowed purpose of this organization is "[t]o unite, advance, support and protect the Scientology religion and Scientologists in all parts of the world, so as to achieve the Aims of Scientology as originated by L. Ron Hubbard" (International Association of Scientologists, 1995: [back cover]). In one of the Association's 1995 magazines, both he and actress Kirstie Alley each appeared as having contributed US$100,000 (Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International, 1995: 8; International Association of Scientologists Administration, 1995: 49, see 60). By comparison, the $2,000 contribution that John Travolta made seems small (Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International, 1996: 8; see International Association of Scientologists Administration, 1995: 60). What Germans will want to know, however, is that this organization provided grants to the Church of Scientology International in order to fund the series of anti-Germany ads in the New York Times and the Washington Post (both beginning, I believe, on September 15, 1994). Utilizing cultural productions and prominent cultural figures, therefore, to disseminate all aspects of Hubbard's so-called tech is an intimate aspect of the organization's overall public relations and (it would seem) financial strategies. A glimpse into Scientology's pseudo-medical practices -- in this case one that also relates to a social service effort of dubious effectiveness -- is its Narconon program. This program purports to rid the body of drug and radiation residues, and a 1996 Scientology publication told a story about an American Gulf War veteran suffering from Gulf War Syndrome who "arrived to do the detoxification program... complain[ing] of disorientation, dizziness, memory loss and muscle and joint pain. He finished the program and has no more dizziness, memory loss OR muscle and joint pain -- ALL his symptoms have been handled TOTALLY" (Church of Scientology International, 1996: 68 [original emphasis). You may have read recently that Scientologists applied the Narconon program to children suffering from radiation-related illnesses in Chernobyl (Bev, 1997). Regardless of how Scientology portrays these claims, they are medical ones that purport to offer a social service, but one about which experts remain highly critical. In the American state of Oklahoma, for example, a 1991 mental health board examined a Narconon program and concluded that "there is substantial credible evidence, as found by the Board, that the Narconon Program is unsafe and ineffective" (Mental Health Board, 1991; reproduced in Lobsinger, 1991: 58). Another dimension of pseudo-medical claims are pseudo-psychiatric ones. Scientology's hatred of psychiatry is worthy of a study in itself, and some of its own documents very clearly indicate that Scientology's primary social purpose is the destruction of psychiatry and its replacement with Scientology techniques. In, for example, a confidential document written for Scientology's intelligence branch (then known as the Guardian Office), the unidentified author, who most certainly was Hubbard himself, had a section entitled "The War." The text in this section stated that "[o]ur war has been forced to become 'To take over absolutely the field of mental healing on this planet in all forms.'" The next sentences have significant implications for the current religious debate. "That was not the original purpose. The original purpose was to clear Earth. The battles suffered developed the data that we had an enemy who would have to be gotten out of the way and this meant we were at war" ([Hubbard], 1969: [5]). The central target in Scientology's efforts to "take over the field of mental healing" is psychiatry. Indeed, several Scientology organizations, including the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, the International Association of Scientologists, and Freedom magazine are working diligently in attempting to achieve the goal of "Eradicating Psychiatry" (Weiland, 1990: 21). One aspect of Scientology's efforts to eradicate psychiatry and replace it with its own techniques is that members can take a course (called a rundown) that claims to teach members how to cure psychosis. Called the "Introspection Rundown Auditor Course," this course supposedly "factually handles the last of the 'unsolvable' conditions which can trap a person -- the psychotic break. And end forever the 'reason' psychs were kept around with their icepicks and shock machines" (Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, 1992: [2]). This course is based upon what Hubbard described as "a technical breakthrough which possibly ranks with the major discoveries of the Twentieth Century." The consequence of this alleged breakthrough was that "THIS MEANS THE LAST REASON TO HAVE PSYCHIATRY AROUND IS GONE" (Hubbard, 1974: 346). The self-proclaimed "breakthrough" involved isolating the person having the psychotic breakdown while not speaking to the person, giving the person particular vitamins and minerals, determining what incident triggered the illness, then putting the person through a long and complex series of Scientology "counselling" sessions (called auditing) that focus on the triggering incident Hubbard, 1974: 353). Currently this course is at the centre of controversy involving the December 5, 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson in Clearwater, Florida. After a minor car accident, McPherson exhibited bizarre behaviour -- publicly undressing, speaking in monotone with a fixed stare, exhibiting forgetfulness and confusion, and crying. Against medical advice, she signed herself out of a hospital and into the care of visiting Scientology "friends" who took her to the organization's Fort Harrison Hotel. Seventeen days later, Scientologists took her back to a somewhat distant hospital where a doctor was working who was a Scientologist, and he pronounced her dead. A police investigation continues over her death, but McPherson's estate launched a lawsuit that accused Scientology "of allowing McPherson to languish in a coma without nutrition and liquids while she was in isolation as part of an Introspection Rundown" (Tobin, 1997: 12A). In this context, a Scientology lawyer acknowledged "that the Introspection Rundown remains 'part of church services'" (Tobin, 1997: 12A). Undoubtedly, therefore, Scientology practices pseudo-psychiatry, and the lawsuit over McPherson's death may establish the extent to which at least one of these practices can have potentially fatal consequences. Finally, Scientology is an alternative family structure, at least as it is lived by its most devoted followers who are members of a Scientology organization called Sea Org[anization]. Scientology portrays the Sea Org as "a fraternal organization existing within the formalized structure of the Churches of Scientology. It consists of highly dedicated members of the Church [who] take vows of service" (Church of Scientology of California, 1978: 205). (The organization downplays the fact that these people sign billion year contracts.) Many indicators point to the fact that Scientology structures the Sea Org in a manner that damages parent-child relations if not the well-being of children in general. In essence, Sea Org becomes one's new family, often at the expense of spouses and children. Indication of organizationally influenced damage caused by Sea Org parents to their children formed the basis of a critical article that appeared in a major newspaper of the Florida city near to where the Scientology organization called Flag is based. In November, 1991, the St. Petersburg Times ran a long article entitled, "Scientology's Children," and it contained an excerpt about a German mother and her son: Eva Kleinberg moved from Germany to Clearwater with her 9-year old son, Mark, in 1986. She had joined a group of Scientology staff members called the 'Sea Org.' Eva was told she would have two hours a day for family time. But with her travel time from work, she said she actually had only one hour with her son. Because of the 12-hour workdays, she couldn't always stay awake for the full hour. 'I would compromise with my son,' she said. After eating, she and her son would divide the remaining half-hour of their family time. 'I would play a game with him for 15 minutes, and I would go to lay down for 15 minutes and sleep.' While Eva worked, Mark cleaned up around the motel or played with friends. About a year later, Eva and Mark left the church. Asked what he thinks of Scientology, Mark, now 14, said, 'I don't think it's good 'cause the people... they don't get to spend time with their family and it's real expensive.' Church spokesman Richard Haworth said staff Scientologists actually spend three or four hours a day with their children, which he said is more than the average family (Krueger, 1991: 12A). I believe the Kleinbergs' account rather than the one by the Scientology spokesperson because I had heard the same scenario (about parents having little time to spend with children) during an interview with a former Sea Org member that I conducted in December, 1987. At Flag in Florida during the late 1970s and early 1980s, infants stayed in a Scientology-run nursery during the day when parents worked, and usually parents would return from work at about 6:00 in the evening and spend about an hour-and-a-half with their children before taking them back to the nursery at 7:30 for bed. Parents then caught a bus back to the Sea Org, and finally did not leave for the night until 10:30 or later. In the morning, they would pick up their children from the nursery, have them dressed and in the dining room by 7:30 AM, drop them back at the nursery, and be on the bus going to work by ten minutes past 8. This informant added, however, that "there'd be some people who had kids who didn't go home for two or three days in a row. They'd be working all night" (Kent interview with Fern, 1987: 44, see 43). The Kleinbergs' account about limited family time also rings true because of a series of internal memos (of which I have copies) from Scientology's Pacific Area Command (in Los Angeles, California) beginning in early November, 1989. These memos centre around an Executive Directive that the commanding officer issued which abolished the one hour nightly family time. He cited two reasons for doing so. First, he claimed, "[a] thorough research [sic] revealed that there is no LRH [L. Ron Hubbard] reference covering Sea Org members taking 1 hour family time per day. Also to have such break in schedules in the middle of production has been found to be detrimental to production...." Instead he wanted people to work the extra hour a day in order to build up their production output so that they would receive a "liberty day" (Gouessan, 1989) once every two weeks (Shapiro, 1989). Several parents objected, and their objections were revealing. One person asked rhetorically, "[h]ow can one keep track of one's child without even an hour a day with the child? I HAVE seen staff distracted by NOT caring for their children and this time could be well utilized for this" (Swartz, 1989). Another person cited the text of a Hubbard tape where Scientology's founder complained about a condition that he had seen (and which he said had existed in the Pacific Area Command): "I wish somebody would tell me why we consistently had to ORDER parents to see their children when they hadn't seen them for weeks" (Hubbard, Transcript of LRH Taped Briefing to CS-& and Pers Comm 22 Sept 73; attached to Shapiro, 1989). This same person acknowledged in his letter of protest that "[i]n the 19 years I have been in the Sea Org in PAC this condition (parental neglect, etc.) has several times been the source of major upset and enturbulation [agitation] on Church lines" (Shapiro, 1989 [round brackets in original]). Taken together, the interview material, media accounts, internal policy directive, and responses point to the fact that parents' time with their children is severely constrained and sometimes eliminated because of the organizational pressure and job demands under which Sea Org members work. It seems that Scientology, in its Sea Org manifestation, becomes something akin to an alternative or "fictive" family structure to its members (see Cartwright and Kent, 1992: 348-349), receiving more time and commitment than their own children. On a related point, the new Sea Org family to which adults devote their lives may at times place children in medically detrimental situations. This fictive family may not always be a medically responsible one. The informant whom I interviewed in 1978, for example, complained to me that "the nursery conditions were terrible." She complained that, in one nursery room, "there were, I think, sixteen babies in the room, all under a year old, and throughout the whole day, there were three nannies who did shifts in that room, looking after sixteen babies all under a year old" (Kent interview with Fern, 1987: 48). Under these conditions, children developed medical problems (according to my informant, Fern), because the facility did not have an isolation nursery. Consequently, common childhood illnesses (such as ear infections) spread rapidly among the children and remained in the nursery population for a long time. To support her assertion, this informant showed me medical records that she kept of her child's visits to doctors while the child was under nursery care, and compared them with similar records from after the time that she and her child left Sea Org and the nursery arrangement. The child made seventeen visits to the doctor's office during an eight month period while in the nursery, then only four visits in the twenty-nine months following the family's departure from the organization (Kent interview with Fern, 1987: 49-50). Researchers always must be cautious in accepting as fact the account of a single person, but I heard similar stories about the condition of children's facilities in Scientology's child care program on the other side of the American continent -- Los Angeles, California. The person who related the account had occasion to visit the children's facility (called the Cadet Org) in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and she saw an infant who was the child of a man she knew. This child, she stated: was very, very ill and she was laying in a urine soaked crib and she was -- she just had her diaper on.... She had lots of like little fruit flies and gnats on her body and she had been so ill that she had tremendous amounts of mucous plugging her nose and her eyes were, like, welded shut with mucous and I, I just snapped in my head (Kent Interview with Pat, 1997: 34). After this incident of allegedly witnessing severe child neglect, the person began plotting how she would leave the organization. The final example of alleged child neglect is documented in a report filed by the commanding officer of the Cadet Estates Organization in late October, 1989, concerning the hygiene of three children -- ages 4, 8, and 10 or 11. Two of the children had lice, and for one of them it was a recurring problem. A guardian was in charge of them, but she "is herself on mission quite often." [That is to say, the organization frequently sent her away on assignments.] The report continued by stating that, "[w]hile the guardian was on a mission, the kids were picked up at night by another staff member that [sic: who] lives next door, and the little one would be brought in in the morning while the other two older once [sic: ones] would walk to the Cadet Org by themself [sic]. The children would dress themself [sic] and we have no data who does the laundry or room hygiene for the children" (Gabriele, 1989: 1). We must be careful when interpreting this data on possible child neglect or endangerment, since none of it is current. Sufficient indicators exist, however, that investigative officials in the United States and elsewhere should examine Scientology's treatment of Sea Org children. Because the attitude among some Sea Org leadership appears to be that children hinder adults from performing their vital assignments, researchers should not be surprised to learn of pressures that Sea Org women felt to either abort pregnancies or give-up children for adoption. My 1987 informant told me that when Sea Org operated on ships during the mid 1970s, women knew that they were not allowed to raise children on the vessels. Consequently, they experienced pressure to have abortions. She told me that, "on the ship, I know of a lot of people that [sic: who] had abortions, because they didn't want to leave the ship. It wasn't like anybody said 'You have got to get an abortion.' It was more an implied thing. If you don't you're going to leave" (Kent interview with Fern, 1989: 41-42). Years later I saw the same pressures described in a 1994 legal declaration by Mary Tabayoyon, who became a Scientologist in 1967, joined Sea Org in 1971, and stayed in it until her departure in 1992. She stated that in 1986, while on the Scientology base in Hemet, California, "members of the Sea Org were forbidden to have any more children if they were to stay on post[,] and the Hubbard technology was applied to coercively persuade us to have abortions so that we could remain on post" (M. Tabayoyon, 1994: 2). The pressure came partly through what Scientology called "ethics handling," which involved the organization pressing people to conform to Hubbard's policies and the organization's directives. Tabayoyon herself "gave up my child due to my greatly misguided obligation and dedication to the Sea Org" (M. Tabayoyon, 1994: 4). She relinquished her child after being "indoctrinated to believe that I should never put my own personal desires ahead of the accomplishment of the purpose of the Sea Org" (M. Tabayoyon, 1994: 5). Taken together, the interviews, legal declarations, media accounts, and internal documents present troubling glimpses into the lives of Scientology's most committed members. Sea Org obligations override many personal and family obligations and responsibilities, and devotion to the Scientology cause often appears to take priority over the needs of children. Equally disturbing, however, are accounts that some older children and teenagers have had to endure, along with Sea Org adults, the abuses of Scientology's forced labour and reindoctrination programs. Although several labour and intensive instruction programs have operated within the Scientology organization over the years, among the most intense ones is the Rehabilitation Project Force -- usually just called the RPF. When Sea Org members commit what the organization considers to be serious deviations (such as dramatic e-meter readings, unsatisfactory job performance, or job disruption [including challenges to senior officials]), then they likely wind up in the RPF. Even discussing the policies and techniques that Hubbard wrote by using ideas other than his own was called "verbal tech" and apparently was a punishable act (see Hubbard, 1976: 546). Begun in early 1974 while Hubbard and his crew still were at sea, it now operates in several locations around the world. Currently RPFs are running at the Cedars of Lebanon building in Los Angeles; on the Scientology property near Hemet, California; in the facilities in Clearwater, Florida; and in the British headquarters at East Grinstead, Sussex. I cannot confirm the existence of RPFs in or near Copenhagen (Denmark), Johannesburg (South Africa), Sydney (Australia), and several other American locations. In a phrase, the RPF program places Scientology's most committed members in forced labour and re-education camps. The operation of these camps raises serious human rights questions, and their continuation reflects badly on nations that allow them to operate unchecked. Particular blame must be placed on American state and federal authorities, since at least three RPF programs have operated for years on American soil. Moreover, the American Internal Revenue Service granted Scientology tax exemption despite what almost certainly are illegal conditions under which RPF inmates must work, study, and live. Extensive material about RPFs in the United States has existed for years in various court cases, and now most of this information is readily available on the World Wide Web. German government officials know about the RPF, and almost certainly this knowledge played a major role in the government's continued opposition to the Scientology organization. Getting assigned to the RPF is a traumatic event for most people. Procedurally, what is supposed to happen is that leaders call a hearing, known as a "Committee of Evidence," to evaluate a person's performance or attitude. A former member described this body as "a Scientology trial, where the Committee [members] act as prosecutors, judges and jury rolled into one" (Atack, 1990: 306). Committees sometimes obtain evidence against the person from security checks (called sec checks [see Kent interview with Young, 1994: 49]), which the organization portrays as "Integrity Processing" or "Confessional Auditing," but which is really a form of interrogation (Atack, 1990: 147). In fact, in 1960, Hubbard wrote a policy called "Interrogation" about how to use the device known as an e-meter as an interrogation device rather than merely as a spiritual aide in counselling or auditing sessions as the organization represents it to the outside world (Hubbard, 1960). Hubbard had used security checks on his followers since 1959, but the most notorious sec check probably was the "Johannesburg Security Check," published April 7, 1961. It consisted of over one hundred questions, almost all of which inquire about previous or current participation in a wide range of deviant and criminal acts including spying, kidnapping, murder, drugs, sex, and Communism. The most revealing ones, however, involved people's thoughts about Hubbard and his wife, Mary Sue Hubbard. The sec check specifically asked, "Have you ever had any unkind thoughts about LRH?," and "Have you ever had any unkind thoughts about Mary Sue?" Not only, therefore, were people forced to reveal personal information about serious transgressions, but also they were forced to reveal the existence of any negative thoughts about the leader or his wife. One former member-turned critic, Robert Vaughn Young, reported that he was sec-checked for several hours a day for about two weeks (Kent Interview with Young, 1994: 50). An even more severe form of sec check was the "gang bang sec check," a process that presumably takes its name from group rape (a slang term for which is gang bang). Gang bang sec checks involve two or more interrogators rapidly firing questions and verbal abuse at a victim who is hooked up to or holding an e-meter. A brief description of this practice occurs in a legal declaration (sworn under oath) by former member Stacy Young. She declared that her repeated protests about the way that (the now-current head of Scientology) David Miscavige treated staff led Miscavige to send her to the RPF in September, 1982 (S. Young, 1994: 8, 65). The specific incident that triggered her assignment was that Miscavige learned that Young had reacted to his (alleged) screaming fits by telling someone that he was "a brutal, tyrannical bully" (S. Young, 1994: 65). In response, Miscavige: ordered me to submit to what was known as a 'gang bang sec check.' Two very large, strong men... locked me in a room and interrogated me for hours. During the interrogation, they screamed and swore at me. They accused me of crimes against Scientology. They demanded that I confess to being an enemy agent (S. Young, 1994: 66). Soon Young found herself in the RPF's 'Running Program," which involved "running around an orange pole for 12 hours a day" (S. Young, 1994: 66). When Committees of Evidence find Sea Org members guilty of serious crimes, then they send many of them to RPF programs. Inmates are not sentenced to the programs for specific lengths time. Instead, they remain in until they complete a rigorous program of hard physical labour, constant verbal abuse from immediate superiors, social isolation, intense co-auditing and sec checking, and study of Hubbard policies and techniques. A series of policies about the RPF began appearing in January, 1974 when Hubbard was aboard ship, and a few revised versions of them have leaked out of the organization. One of these early documents revealed the totalistic nature of the program when it said that "[a] member of the RPF is a member of the RPF and of nothing outside of it, till released" (Walker and Webb, 1977: 3). Part of the program consisted of hard physical labour -- building structures, cleaning, renovating, garbage disposal, and moving furniture. Typically work projects of this nature took about ten hours a day, since people were supposed to get "around 7 hours sleep, 5 hours study or auditing, 30 minutes for each meal, and 30 minutes personal hygiene, per day" (Walker and Webb, 1977: 4). They were dark worksuits and were prohibited from speaking (unless necessary) with persons outside the RPF, and they ate and slept separate from other Sea Org members (Walker and Webb, 1977: 10). They had to run everywhere they went, and often they had to run extra distances for punishment. On a ship, running punishments usually meant laps around the deck (Pignotti, 1997: 18-19). On land, running punishments sometimes meant running around a pole for hours at a time, often in hot sun (see Kent Interview with Pignotti, 1997: 22; S. Young, 1994: 66). Severe restrictions were placed upon visitation rights with spouses or children (Walker and Webb, 1977: 10). Accounts from former inmates indicate that RPF life can be extremely harsh, degrading, and abusive. Certainly experiences varied somewhat according to year and location, but Hanna Whitfield's description of RPF at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida in 1978 captures many common elements from other accounts that I have heard and read: Some of us slept on thin mattresses on the bare cement floor. Some had crude bunk beds. There was no place for clothes, so we lived out of suitcases and bags which were kept on bare floors. Some privacy was maintained by hanging sheets up between bunk beds and between floor mattresses. The women and men had separate bathrooms and toilets but they were small. We were not allowed to shower longer than 30 seconds. We had only to run through the shower and out the other end. There was no spare time for talk or relaxation. We awoke at 6:30 A.M. or earlier at times, did hard labor and heavy construction work and cleaning until late afternoon. After [a] quick shower and change of clothing, we had to audit each other and 'rehabilitate' ourselves until 10:30 P.M. or later each evening. There were no days off, four weeks a month. We ate our meals in the garage or at times in the dining rooms AFTER normal meals had ended. Our food consisted of leftovers from staff. On occasions which seemed like Christmas, we were able to prepare ourselves fresh meals if leftovers were insufficient (Whitfield, 1989: 7-8). A similar, but more passionate, description exists of the Fort Harrison RPF in the account written by a woman using the pseudonym Nefertiti (1997), who in turn reproduces excerpts from ten other former Scientologists who related RPF experiences aboard two Scientology ships, FLAG at Clearwater, Florida, Pacific Area Command in Los Angeles, and Happy Valley near Hemet, California. Certainly the amount of work that RPF members performed varied according to era and circumstances, but in some instances conditions became unbelievably bad. For example, In a California RPF, former inmate Pat reported that her RPF crew "worked shifts of thirty hours at a time" (Kent Interview with Pat, 1997: 25). Her RPF team would "start working in the morning and we would work all night into the next morning and then we worked through the next day until we got our thirty hours and then we'd go to sleep" (Kent Interview with Pat, 199: 25). The most extensive description of the RPF at Scientology's facility near Hemet, California appears in a sworn declaration by former Sea Org member Andre Tabayoyon (1994). From comments that Bavaria's Minister of the Interior, Dr. Gunther Beckstein, made in a January 15, 1997 press release, it is clear that he is familiar with this declaration. Tabayoyon stated that he spent approximately six years in the RPF during his 21 years in the organization (A. Tabayoyon, 1994: 7, 8). In the RPF program that he was on beneath Scientology's Cedars Sinai Hospital building in Los Angeles, he allegedly slept on "a slab inside the vault of the morgue." In the RPF in the property near Hemet, he stayed in "the chicken coop dormitory... which still smelled of chicken coup droppings [sic]" (A. Tabayoyon, 1994: 18; see Kent Interview with Young, 1994: 20). While nearly all RPF accounts speak of guards who were posted to prevent people from escaping the program, Tabayoyon reported that the guards at the Gilman Hot Springs facility (where Sea Org staff lived and an RPF operated) were armed (A. Tabayoyon, 1994: 25). Indeed, he helped to construct the facility's security system, which included "the perimeter fence, the ultra razor barriers, the lighting of the perimeter fence, the electronic monitors, the concealed microphones, the ground sensors, the motion sensors and hidden cameras...." He also said that he trained guards in the use of force, including the use of weapons, many of which had been purchased with "Church" money and not registered (A. Tabayoyon, 1994: 15, 16). This facility (which sometimes is called "Gold" and other times "Hemet" in various documents) is less than a two hour drive from Los Angeles and Hollywood, and on its property apparently are a number of facilities that Scientology's celebrities use. Part of the labour used to build an apartment for Scientologist and actor Tom Cruise allegedly was from the RPF (A. Tabayoyon, 1994: 53). As Tabayoyon himself stated, "[u]sing RPFers to renovate and reconstruct Tom Cruise's personal and exclusive apartment at the Scientology Gold base is equivalent to the use of slave labor for Tom Cruise's benefit" (A. Tabayoyon, 1994: 53). In one instance, when Cruise's apartment was damaged by a mud slide, "prison [i.e., RPF] slave labor" were "worked almost around the clock" to repair it (A. Tabayoyon, 1994: 53). More extreme than the RPF is the RPF's RPF, an institution even described in one of Scientology's own dictionaries. According to the dictionary definition, the first inmate sent to the RPF's RPF was because the person "considered their [sic] RPF assignment amusing" (Hubbard, 1976: 451). Various accounts, however, also suggest that people who did not perform according to acceptable RPF standards ended up in this extreme program. Hubbard succinctly outlined the ten restrictions under which inmates on the RPF's RPF operated. Six of the ten were: segregated from other RPF members with regard to work, messing, berthing, musters and any other common activity. no pay. no training. no auditing. may only work on mud boxes in the E/R [engine room]. May not work with RPF members. [Elsewhere Hubbard identified mud boxes as "those areas in the bilge which collect the mud out of the bilge water" (Hubbard, 1976: 341)]. six hours sleep maximum (Hubbard, 1976: 451). Andre Tabayoyon, who spent 19 days on the RPF's RPF, summed up the program by saying that it "is designed to totally destroy any individual determinism to not want to do the RPF" (A. Tabayoyon, 1994: 9). Accounts both about people who were on the program, and from inmates of the program itself, are chilling, and they reinforce Tabayoyon's summation. Monica Pignotti, for example, spoke to me about her five days in the RPF's RPF in 1975. She related that: [A]t that point I was in a horrible depression and I was crying almost all the time all day long and I'm sure I was in a state where I probably would have been hospitalized if... any mental health profession had seen me then 'cuz I was severely depressed. But they sent me to the RPF's RPF and I was made to go down and clean muck from the bilges. That was my job all day long was to do that, getting up at four in the morning and -- it was all day long. And then I was allowed a short meal break to eat by myself and then I had to go right back down there and I had to clean all this sludge out and then paint, paint it.... [The person in charge of the RPF's RPF] would make the prisoners write these essays until they got it right, until they were saying what the group wanted them to say. So that was where I really snapped -- where I went into this state of complete -- where I didn't feel anything any more after that. I was completely numbed out and I'd do whatever they said and I didn't rebel any more after my experience on the RPF. I stopped rebelling for a while (Kent Interview with Pignotti, 1997: 26; see Pignotti, 1989: 28-29). Nefertiti reported speaking with a woman in her 'thirties on the RPF's RPF whose ankles were chained together while she was performing a "nasty" job in the basement of the Fort Harrison Hotel in Florida (Nefertiti, 1997: 3). Finally, Dennis Erlich reported that, for the first day or two of his time on the program in the basement at the Fort Harrison, he was locked in a wire cage and had a guard outside the room (Kent Interview with Erlich, 1997: 8). A final word must be said about the RPF, the RPF's RPF, and children. Some evidence exists that children may be subject to these programs. Monica Pignotti, for example, reported to me that she was an RPF inmate along with a twelve year old girl (Kent Interview with Pignotti, 1997: 30), and a posting in the <alt.religion.scientology> news group by Steve Jebson stated that "I have seen children on both the RPF and the RPF's RPF" (Jebson, 1997: 1). Finally, a poorly reproduced document from Scientology's Pacific Area Command (circa 1989) spoke about the "need to re-institute the Children's RPF" (Cohee, n.d.). One hardly has to point out that the RPF and the RPF's RPF are brainwashing programs. Scientology operates them to break the wills of, and correct deviations of, its most committed members, and then to reformulate them into persons whose personalities directly mimic the organizational mould. That mould is itself a reflection of Hubbard's troubled personality. I am fully aware that many of my social scientific colleagues insist that researchers should restrict using the controversial brainwashing term only to situations where there is incarceration and physical maltreatment (Anthony, 1990 : 304). The RPF and the RPF's RPF meet these criteria. These two programs also used forced confessions, physical fatigue, intense indoctrination through extended study of the leader's policies and teachings, humiliation, and fear. Persons familiar, however, with the early history of Scientology are not surprised to see that Hubbard sanctioned a brainwashing program for his followers, since he almost certainly is the author of a brainwashing manual that Scientology printed and distributed for years beginning in 1955. The manual that Scientology distributed was entitled, Brain-Washing[:] A Synthesis of the Russian Textbooks on Psychopolitics ([Hubbard?], 1955). Purported to be an address by the noted Soviet spy, Lavrenti Beria, it was exposed as a fake in 1970 by debunker Morris Kominsky (1970). As Kominsky noted, much of the book was "a vicious attack against the sciences and professions of psychology and psychiatry, as well as against the entire legitimate mental health movement" (Kominsky, 1970: 538). Attacks of this nature remain a central element in Scientology's secular activities, and one former member-turned-critic was almost certainly correct when he stated that the brainwashing book or manual "[w]as secretly authored by L. Ron Hubbard in 1955...." The former member also was absolutely correct about the importance of the brainwashing manual when he concluded that Hubbard "incorporated its methods into his organization in the mid 1960s and beyond" (Corydon, 1996: 107). One thinks automatically of the RPF, but we know for certain that Hubbard had the manual as required reading for members of the Guardian Office (Anonymous, 1974). One chapter of the brainwashing book is especially pertinent to understanding Scientology's contemporary tactics against Germany and its officials. The organization's attacks on the national character of the country; its continual attempts to paint current events in the context of 1930s Nazism (for example, Freedom Magazine, [1996?]); its efforts to discredit current German government officials by linking them to Nazism through (so I was told) their older relatives; and charges that German churches campaign against Scientology for fear of losing members to it (Church of Scientology International, 1997: 101); all seem to have general parallels with tactics advocated in the brainwashing manual. I will read the relevant passages, but I will do so making similar substitutions of words in the text that Kevin Anderson made in his 1965 report to the Australian Parliament (Anderson, 1965: 198-199). By doing so, Anderson dramatically illustrated his claim that "a great part of the manual is almost a blue print for the propagation of [S]cientology" (Anderson, 1965: 84). Whenever the manual says "psychopolitics" or "psychopolitical," I will say "Scientology." I replace "psychopolitician" with "Scientologist," and I replace "Communist Party Members" with "Sea Org members." With these substitutions in mind, I now quote excerpts form Chapter VIII entitled, "Degradation, Shock and Endurance:" Defamation is the best and foremost weapon of [Scientologists] on the broad field. Continual and constant degradation of national leaders, national institutions, national practices, and national heros must be systematically carried out, but this is the chief function of [Sea Org Members] in general, not the Scientologist ([Hubbard?], 1955: 41). .... The officials of government, students, readers, partakers of entertainment, must all be indoctrinated, by whatever means, into the complete belief that the restless, the ambitious, the natural leaders, are suffering from environmental maladjustments, which can only be healed by recourse to [Scientology] operatives in the guise of mental healers. By thus degrading the general belief in the status of Man, it is relatively simple, with co-operation from economic salients being driven into the country, to drive citizens apart, one from another, to bring about a question of the wisdom of their own government, and to cause them to actively beg for enslavement. .... As it seems in foreign nations that the church is the most ennobling influence, each and every branch and activity of each and every church must, one way or another, be discredited.... Thus, there must be no standing belief in the church, and the power of the church must be denied at every hand. The [Scientology] operative, in his programme of degradation, should at all times bring into question any family which is deeply religious, and should any neurosis or insanity be occasioned in that family, to blame and hold responsible their religious connections for the neurotic or psychotic condition. Religious must be made synonymous with neurosis and psychosis. People who are deeply religious would be less and less held responsible for their own sanity, and should more and more be relegated to the ministrations of [Scientology] operatives. By perverting the institutions of a nation and bringing about a general degradation, by interfering with the economics of a nation to the degree that privation and depression come about, only minor shocks will be necessary to produce, on the populace as a whole, an obedient reaction or an hysteria ([Hubbard?], 1955: 43-44). With only a little imagination, one can see that the brainwashing manual seems to provide an outline for Scientology's battle plan against Germany. Through, for example, innumerable publications such as Freedom magazine, Sea Org members and other Scientologists produce a barrage of material that denigrates the nation and its leaders. German Scientologists are now able to label its political leaders as violators of human rights, thanks in part to criticism that the United States Department of State levelled against the country's attempts to curb the organization and boycott films starring American Scientologists (Lippman, 1997). On the economic front, critics might see events in the Hamburg real estate market as evidence of Scientologists' attempt to cause what the brainwashing manual called "privation and depression" among apartment renters. Reportedly Scientologists bought rental properties and turned them overnight into cooperatives. The chairperson of the Hamburg branch of the German real estate agents association, Peter Landmann, told the New York Times that these Scientologists were "'using disreputable methods to frighten and coerce the renters into buying them back at high prices'" (Whitney, 1994: A12). Finally, of course, Scientology continues to blast psychiatry, attempting to link it with both Nazism and current German efforts against it. Hubbard, or whomever wrote the brainwashing manual's instructions about how to degrade a country, undoubtedly would be proud of his followers' public relations successes thus far. Indeed, from a public relations perspective, Scientology may be winning the battle, at least back in North America. When, for example, the prestigious New York Review of Books published an article on "Germany vrs. Scientology," the German reporter (who writes for the Suddeutsche Zeitung) strongly implied that government officials were scapegoating Scientology. His argument seems to be that attacks against the group have become part of a moral panic, when in fact other social issues, such as double-digit unemployment, declining state generosity, tensions over European union, and problems with national identity, should be the real areas of concern (Joffe, 1997: 20). This argument, however, as well as the American State Department human rights criticisms, shows a profound and increasingly inexcusable ignorance of disturbing if not dangerous abuses that occur as routine Scientology policy against many of its members. Even to concede that Scientology may be a religion to many of its adherents, the basis for German governmental opposition to it has nothing to do with what people believe. It has everything to do with what German government officials know that the organization does. Consequently, this presentation concentrated heavily on the organization's social-psychological assaults on many of its most committed members, and I barely mentioned Scientology's ideological system. The assaults that I described are ones that German government officials seem to know about, and with that knowledge they have no choice other than to see Scientology as a threat to the democratic state. Were officials to grant Scientology religious status, then even more citizens than already now do, would increase their involvement to the point of becoming Sea Org members, and then at least some of them would be subject to the brutal conditions and programs that I described. With Germany's unique experiences with both National Socialism and Communism, it is unthinkable that responsible officials would facilitate the operation of a totalitarian organization that throws its members into forced labour and reeducation camps. One of the tragedies in this debate is that normal Scientologists will feel persecuted and threatened. These people likely know nothing about RPF conditions, and they genuinely feel that Scientology involvement has benefitted them. The organization to which they belong, however, appears to be committing serious human rights abuses. Consequently, I conclude my presentation by highlighting areas of concern raised by examining the United Nations' 1948 resolution entitled The International Bill of Human Rights (United Nations, 1996b), and the 1996 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (United Nations, 1996a). First, Scientology's procedures involving committees of evidence, sec checking, gang bang sec checking, and the two RPF programs almost certainly violate Articles 9 and 10 of the Bill. Article 9 protects people against "arbitrary arrest, detention or exile" while article 10 guarantees "a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his [sic] rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him" (United Nations, 1996: 23). Second, Scientology's punishment of members for merely discussing the merits of Hubbard's teachings, as well as its invasive probing into people's thoughts though sec checking, almost certainly violate Articles 18 and 19 of the Bill that deal with both "the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" and "the right to freedom of opinion and expression" (United Nations, 1996: 25). Third, the various Scientology practices and procedures that I discussed may violate Article 17 of the Bill, which states that "[n]o one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation" (United Nations, 1996: 49). Fourth, the conditions of the RPF and the RPF's RPF almost certainly violate Article 7 of the Covenant, which discusses "the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work..." (United Nations, 1996a: 38). The article specifically identifies fair wages, "[a] decent living for themselves and their families..., [s]afe and healthy working conditions..., and [r]est, leisure, and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay...." (United Nations, 1996a: 38). Indeed, many Sea Org jobs themselves may not meet these reasonable standards of propriety, safety, and fairness. Fifth and finally, the extreme social psychological assaults and forced confessions that RPF and RPF's RPF inmates suffer almost certainly violate Article 12 of the Covenant, which recognizes "the right of everyone to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health" (United Nations, 1996a: 18). These and probably other serious human rights issues swirl around Scientology programs that have tax exemption and operate within the boundaries of the United States. With these serious issues in mind, the American human rights criticism of Germany's opposition to Scientology is the height diplomatic arrogance. By granting Scientology tax exemption, the United States government is cooperating with an organization that appears to put citizens from around the world at significant mental health and perhaps medical risk. While in no way do I want my remarks today to be taken as a blanket endorsement of the German government's rhetoric or tactics, on the battle with Scientology the government has the high moral ground. |
Last night's game may have been a Thursday Night Poopfest, but it was a poopfest that clinched the NFC West for your Seattle Seahawks, and it snapped the three-game losing streak to the Jeff Fisher-less Los Angeles Rams. That means it's time for Enemy Reaction. Believe it or not, this is the first time in 5 years I've done an Enemy Reaction for a Seahawks win over the Rams. Reasons for the lack of them for the Rams are varied. In 2012, I had just moved cross-country and didn't have the proper tools necessary for an Enemy Reaction. The 2013 MNF win on the road was too much of a shitshow for me to even bother with it. Lack of game thread comments on Turf Show Times presumably led me to spare the Rams for the home wins in 2013 and 2014. This year, I don't give a shit. They don't even get to "enjoy" 7-9 bullshit. Instead their best hope is 6-10 cesspool. TST only had about 550 comments for the entire game. Who cares? Let's get right to the nitty-gritty of the mostly shitty football that was played last night. This was initially ruled short of the 1st down (0-0) Michael Thomas drops a wide open (likely) touchdown pass (0-0) Todd Gurley stopped on 4th and 1 following successful Seattle challenge (0-0) Seahawks fail on 4th and 1, but Rams commit a penalty, then Russell Wilson throws a touchdown to Luke Willson (7-0 SEA) Johnny Hekker's fake punt pass falls harmlessly incomplete, Seattle kicks a FG (10-0 SEA) Russell Wilson nearly picked off by Bryce Hagar in the end zone, but call on the field stands (10-3 SEA) Doug Baldwin takes Troy Hill's ankles and throws them in the trash can (17-3 SEA) Tyler Lockett scorches Trumaine Johnson for his 1st receiving touchdown of the season (24-3 SEA) Jon Ryan's very successful fake punt run ends very badly for Jon Ryan (24-3 SEA) Extra Post-Game Saltiness Post-Game: It'll take more than firing the coach and changing QBs to fix the Rams What, you thought getting rid of Jeff Fisher was suddenly going to transform the Rams into the '85 Bears? Not that kind of party folks. The makeover will begin after the New Year. There is a new coach to hire. A fresh vision and culture to usher in. The offensive line needs to be rebuilt. The receiving corp needs to be overhauled. That takes time. Could be years, even. No matter how bad it had gotten under Fisher, no matter how much everyone wished the hopeful voice of interim coach John Fassel would be the catalyst to a Rams renaissance, that was unrealistic. Three days after letting Fisher go, the Rams were the same old Rams in a 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks Thursday night under a dark, cloudless Pacific Northwest sky that offered a cold, uncaring shoulder to a fragile team reeling from unmet expectations, another season gone sideways and the sudden dismissal of a coach for whom fondness never translated into consistent winning. It all looked so familiar. - Vincent Bonsignore, LA Daily News Post-Game: What's wrong with Jared Goff? Goff has been bad in the sense that we don't know how good he actually is. During his college years, he knew how to shine. His time in Los Angeles has been nothing short of a different story. With the loss, the Rams lose their fifth consecutive game. The team also falls to 4-10 on the season, with two home games remaining — both against division rivals. While the road ahead doesn't look wonderful for the Rams, it's the opposite for their opponent. Seattle has now clinched the NFC West division title, as the Cardinals won't keep up even if they win out. It helps shape the playoff picture, but the state of the team is still unknown. In all irony, not having Jeff Fisher around to blame anymore might be a harder place to be. Whoever steps up next won't make a serious impact until next season, though. So let's let this be our learning curve for Goff — it's only fair. - Keith Rivas, LA Sports Hub Post-Game Video: Los Angeles Rams fans react to 24-3 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks Enemy Preaction: Arizona Cardinals (Revenge of the Birds) --- With Seattle sitting at 9-4-1, all they need to do is win against Arizona and San Francisco, combined with the Lions losing 1 of their 3 games against the Giants/Cowboys/Packers gauntlet, and the #2 seed is theirs. For the extremely unrealistic greedy, if Seattle wins out, the Cowboys lose out, and the Lions lose to the Giants or Packers, then Seattle wins the #1 seed. Whether it's the 1 or 2 seed, I'll take a first-round bye, noting the importance of getting CJ Prosise back for Divisional Round weekend. Up next are the Cardinals, who will likely be mathematically eliminated from postseason play by the end of this weekend. As it turned out, those who believed the 6-6 tie benefited the Seahawks more then Arizona were 100% correct. At 6-7, Arizona would have a fleeting chance at a wild card berth, but at 5-7-1, they're just about toast. The tie also helps the Seahawks in the #2 seed race with the Lions, as Detroit holds the tiebreaker over Seattle based on superior conference record. I think a fully-fleged beatdown of Arizona next Saturday would serve as a great Christmas gift, and it would confirm a 5th straight 10+ win season for the Seahawks, who'd previously never had consecutive 10+ win seasons prior to 2012. Thanks for reading and go 'Hawks! Previously on Enemy Reaction 2016 |
Image copyright PA Image caption The 76m (250ft) Mark I telescope was the largest steerable dish in the world when it was completed in 1957 Jodrell Bank Observatory has been selected as the latest UK candidate for World Heritage status. The site, in Cheshire, is home to the famous Lovell Telescope, which was complete in 1957. If the bid is successful, it would join the likes of Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal on the Unesco list of "globally important" landmarks. Prof Teresa Anderson, director of the observatory's Discovery Centre, said it has a "rich scientific heritage". In pictures: Where are the UK's world heritage sites? How does a place become a world heritage site? Thirteen stunning Unesco heritage sites around the world She described the telescope, which was the largest of its kind when it was built, as "an icon for science". More than 1,000 places around the world have been granted Unesco World Heritage status. Currently, 31 sites in the UK and its overseas territories have been awarded the accolade. Image copyright PA Image caption Professor Bernard Lovell (right) with structural engineer Charles Husband, who designed and constructed the Lovell Radio Telescope The site was first used for radio astronomy in 1945 by Sir Bernard Lovell and his team and since then, its astronomers have tracked Sputnik and discovered quasars. Prof Anderson said her team have been preparing the case for years, "so it's absolutely fantastic to reach this milestone". Director of the Centre for Astrophysics, Prof Michael Garrett, said: "Jodrell Bank has played a leading role in radio astronomy for over seventy years, work which is reflected in the landscape of the site." What is radio astronomy? Radio astronomy is the observation of radio waves that are emitted from celestial bodies, such as distant galaxies or stars Many strong sources of radio waves are invisible in normal light, so looking at radio waves reveals a completely different picture of the universe Radio waves are better at travelling long distances than shorter wavelengths, so can provide a clearer "view" of very distant objects than can be gathered using normal light Though the information gathered by radio telescopes is not in a visible form, it can be processed by computers to create images Source: BBC Science |
Alex Salmond's disclosure of when he wants to hold the referendum was unexpected but his preferred date was less so So Alex Salmond has named the day he wants to see Scotland vote for divorce; well, if not the day, then the season. The referendum on Scottish independence will be staged in autumn 2014, he suddenly declared on Tuesday night. His announcement, while long-awaited, was still unexpectedly sudden. Many suspect the disclosure was forced on the first minister. Salmond was desperate to check-mate David Cameron's government in London, just as it warned in the Commons that a Holyrood-run referendum would be illegal without explicit powers from Westminster. Why autumn 2014? Salmond insists it is the date which allows all sides the time to deliver the strongest campaigns, both for and against. As Wednesday's splash headline in the Scotsman loosely has it, this means "1,000 days to decide our future". But 2014 has been very deliberately chosen: it is a year with considerable significance and resonance. Scotland will be the focus of several major global sporting and cultural events, including the Commonwealth games in Glasgow, the Ryder cup at Gleneagles and – an event with particular resonance for nationalists – the second "Year of Homecoming", a lengthy festival of Scottish cultural and artistic history. And, of particular resonance for hardline nationalists, 2014 is also the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314, when Robert the Bruce vanquished an English army led by Edward II; it was the decisive battle in the "first war of independence". As the ecstatic reaction in many Scottish cinemas to Braveheart, Mel Gibson's testosterone-charged epic about Bruce's predecessor, William Wallace, showed, many Scots – men in particular – relish the idea of the heroic nation battling against an arrogant enemy. That date will help embolden many nationalist activists, but the marketing-savvy Scottish National party knows Bannockburn is actually a very difficult date: it is potentially toxic to their claim that Salmond's Scotland is an all-embracing country, open to all regardless of ethnicity, including the English. It also leaves the SNP mired in accusations that it is a party polluted by centuries-old grievances and romantic mythology. Hence the mischievous suggestion peddled by anti-nationalists such as the Tory peer and arch-Thatcherite ex Scottish secretary, Michael Forsyth, that Salmond wanted to hold the referendum on that anniversary. But Salmond wants to build up the idea that Scotland's divorce from England will be gentle and conciliatory; that Scotland wants to remain close friends and remain part of the British family. Some SNP strategists even suggest Scotland and England might continue to share services, such as embassies overseas and military bases. That's why he reacted so vigorously to dismiss Forsyth's claim on Tuesday, as "stuff and nonsense". Yet Salmond himself is partly to blame. In May 2010, when he confirmed that the Scottish government would stage a "Year of Homecoming" in 2014, he explicitly linked it to Bannockburn. He had no idea then he would have a landslide election victory last May, giving him the majority to deliver a referendum in the same year. So the SNP will focus deliberately on the much more positive, optimistic and all-inclusive messages built into 2014's sports and cultural events. The homecoming festival will be a pageant of Scottishness, and is likely to feature another great clan "gathering" for the vast and vocal Scottish diaspora, which features a mass "clan march" through the Old Town of Edinburgh. The Gathering 2009 – a two-day event celebrating Scottish culture – was a financial disaster, and less popular than its organisers hoped; but the homecoming festival in the same year, tied then to the 250th anniversary of the birth of Rabbie Burns, in all brought in 95,000 extra visitors to Scotland, generated £150m worth of publicity and saw 300 cultural and arts events held around Scotland. And from 23 July to 4 August, Glasgow will host the 2014 Commonwealth games, when 53 nationalities will crowd into the city, a multiethnic extravaganza Salmond is certain to exploit. In September, Scotland's greatest sporting export – golf – will be celebrated at the Ryder cup contest between the USA and Europe at Gleneagles, another icon of Scottish tourism. Tied in with both events are major campaigns engineered by the tourism agency VisitScotland, which has a marketing onslaught already underway, and the arts agency Creative Scotland, which is running a multimillion pound three-year long "year of creative Scotland" to tie in the 2012 London Olympics to the 2014 Commonwealth games. All this may help explain why Cameron was extremely keen to press Salmond into choosing 2013 for the referendum. Apparently, not much is happening that year. 3pm update: The Scottish government has pointed out that the "Year of Culture Scotland" title only refers to 2012, and is the launchpad for the three-year culture campaign linking this year with the Commonwealth games in 2014. The new campaign was launched today. |
Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to meet Donald Trump at the billionaire's 2013 Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow because he admired him, according to a report. But when the meeting fell through after Mr Trump arrived in Russia later than expected for the event, Mr Putin instead sent Mr Trump a gift and a note to New York City. The revelations come after Mr Trump insisted this week he did not know and had never met Mr Putin amid the Kremlin's denials Russia hacked Democratic Party emails and Mr Trump's calls for the country to break into Hillary Clinton's server. Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) tried to meet US presidential candidate Donald Trump (right) when the American brought his Miss Universe Pageant to Moscow in 2013 because he admired him, according to NBC Mr Trump (left) with Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo (centre) and Aras Agalarov (right) onstage at the 2013 Miss USA pageant earlier in 2013 before the event in Moscow NBC reported that a source connected to the Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov said Mr Putin asked his Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, to call Trump before the Miss Universe show in the Russian capital to set up a meeting between the two men. The show was held at Crocus City Hall, a venue owned by Mr Agalarov, who also was presented with an Order of Honor by Mr Putin later that year Mr Agalarov was also photographed at the earlier Miss USA event in Las Vegas with Mr Trump. The source reportedly said Mr Peskov expressed Putin's admiration for Mr Trump and an interest in a meeting between the two. But the meeting never happened when Mr Trump arrived late into Moscow and Mr Putin's schedule also changed. NBC said the source said Mr Peskov was willing to reschedule a meeting. But Mr Putin is said to have instead sent a gift and note to Trump, delivered by Argalov's daughter to Miss Universe headquarters in New York City. Trump also helped Mr Agalarov's singer son Emin - a performer at the Miss Universe event - making a cameo in a music video featuring Miss Universe contestants from that year in which Trump delivered his 'you're fired' line from his television career. Russian President Vladimir Putin and billionaire Aras Agalarov attend an awards ceremony at the Kremlin October 29, 2013 in Moscow. Mr Agalarov was awarded an Order of Honor at the ceremony Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday Mr Trump shakes hands with Republican Party supporters during the campaign rally |
Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss. Rumours about the existence of a Halo 2 Anniversary edition refuse to go away. The game is said to be coming out for Xbox One later this year, and now Microsoft exec Phil Spencer has spoken about what he thinks the most important feature of the game--if it exists--would have to be: multiplayer. "In this fictitious world where that game existed," said Spencer in an interview with IGN, "it’s an easy answer: it has to be just the multiplayer experience that we all found in that first Halo 2 game." Halo 2 launched in 2004 and, due to its beloved multiplayer mode, became the poster boy for Microsoft's fledgling Xbox Live service. The multiplayer mode featured map playlists, peer-to-peer matchmaking, and a ranking system, which were all seen as pretty revolutionary at the time. "If you think about what happened in the franchise," continued Spencer, "and what were the hallmark moments--when did duel wielding come in, when did another playable character that wasn’t Master Chief come in?" "All the things that you and I know about the evolution of the franchise, if you’re going to say one thing about Halo 2, you’re going to talk about real multiplayer. I think you just have to nail that in just such a fundamentally core way. Frankly [we'd have to do it] probably better than we did with Halo 1 Anniversary." "I thought the multiplayer in Halo 1 Anniversary was good, but Halo 1 never had multiplayer in the truest sense, so it always was going to be something different." "If there were something called Halo 2 Anniversary," says Spencer, "I think the multiplayer would have to be fantastic." Microsoft has told GameSpot that it will publish a new Halo game this year. But will it be Halo 2 Anniversary? |
Threats to kill and assaults are included in reports of racist incidents which have increased “significantly”. Threats to kill and assaults are included in reports of racist incidents which have increased “significantly”. Irish children left with burns after being sprayed with bleach in racist incident The Irish wing of the European Network Against Racism [ENAR] has warned that unless national action is taken Ireland faces “sleepwalking into an Irish Trump or Brexit scenario”. The group’s online system offers people a chance to log racist incidents, an increase of reports may suggest people are reporting more often, as opposed to an increase in incidents overall. In one of the incidents reported via iReport, a woman described being accosted by a man on her way to work: “I was on my way to work when a man swing a folded newspaper at me hitting me and called me a 'f***ing black woman'. I was in shock,” one woman reported. In another a woman’s next door neighbours “came onto my property shouting that his partner was going to kill me, he was going to kill me, calling me a ‘foreign b*stard’ and a ‘dirty foreign b*tch'. Children were also included in these worrying incidents including one 10-year-old boy who was told by another boy he was “going to be shot”. Other children had been sprayed with bleach. A total of 150 incidents were reported to iReport between January and June of this year, 22 of these were assaults. Read More: Schoolboys film themselves hurling racist abuse and throwing stones at woman Verbal abuse was reported in 79 cases. In one instance a Traveller alleged a councillor was among those who abused him and his family as they requested a housing transfer. “He said to me ‘I’m telling you straight to your face, I have 220 people waiting to be houses and if I was a housing officer you wouldn’t get a house [in this area]. Bringing in the likes of dirt like you and I have 220 people waiting to be housed. Why would I help you?’,” the report reads. The report also notes the presence of alcohol and drugs when incidents took place. One report stated that a person “approached a girl of Arab descent shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’. A drunken man in an upmarket Dun Laoghaire restaurant also reportedly abused a man by asking: “Here comes the Muzzy did he order batteries to blow the place up”. The man, who was not Muslim, was very upset by the incident according to his girlfriend but they did not take further action. Racial discrimination by people in state jobs has also increased in this round of reporting. In one instance a black man alleged he was ordered out of his car by a garda who accused him of being an illegal taxi driver as he drove with his white friends. Five cases reported to ENAR alleged racial profiling on behalf of the gardai. “There’s nothing happening at a policy level. It is worrying, that level of complacency is worrying. We are potentially sleepwalking into an Irish Trump or Brexit scenario where one of the consequences of inaction is we are creating an opportunity for friction between communities. “We need policies to address racism so we don’t end up in a situation so we don’t end up in a situation like we have in the US, UK and across Europe,” ENAR Ireland Director Shane O’Curry told Independent.ie Online Editors |
How Legal Pot Benefits Society Although more time and research is needed, legalized marijuana seems to be having some undeniably positive effects on our entire society. | August 4, 2015 When contemplating the evolving consequences of marijuana legalization, it’s helpful to think about tradeoffs. Now that this “social experiment” is almost two years old, we’re starting to see signs that the influx of legal pot in Colorado and elsewhere may actually be helping remedy some far more serious societal problems than weed could ever cause. One indication of this emerged last month, when scholars at the National Bureau of Economic Research outlined a study showing that states where medical marijuana has been legalized have seen their citizens’ opioid use drop by almost 25 percent. A primary selling point of medical marijuana is its ability to act as a substitute for narcotic painkillers and muscle relaxers. Our nation’s addiction to these pharmaceuticals is well documented and has contributed mightily to an alarming spike in heroin abuse and overdose deaths in the past few years. (The number of people who have died from a marijuana overdose remains zero.) (Read about the short, happy life of one marijuana plant) Even though keeping marijuana away from kids remains a top priority, scare-stories about legal weed’s influence over them tend to be overblown, especially when compared to the risks children face from any number of everyday household products. Another area where the pot tradeoff is encouraging is in traffic fatalities. Among the lowest totals of fatal vehicle crashes in Colorado for each calendar month, 11 of the 12 have occurred since medical marijuana moved into the mainstream in 2010. (Scroll down.) The highest totals for each month all occurred in 2005 or earlier. The opioid and highway fatality numbers are worth monitoring at any time, and we should always be looking for ways to improve these statistics by any reasonable social, economic, scientific, or political means. But so far the numbers could be indicating that the more people choose marijuana, the less they’re opting for alcohol or prescription drugs. If this trend continues, that’s an obvious net win for Colorado and everyone else, and it suggests that those who are striving to undermine legalization would better serve society by focusing their energy and efforts on more dire and pressing problems. Advertisement (LUCID Act Should Help Clarify Stoned Driving Regs) Follow 5280 editor-at-large Luc Hatlestad on Twitter at @LucHatlestad, |
AP and KSNW - KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas thrill ride billed as the world's tallest waterslide remained off-limits Monday as authorities pressed to figure out how a state lawmaker's 10-year-old son was killed on a day the park honored elected officials and their families. Details remained murky about how Caleb Thomas Schwab died Sunday on the 168-foot-tall "Verruckt" - German for "insane" - that since its debut two years ago has been the top draw at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas. Copyright by KSNW - All rights reserved This June 2016 photo provided by David Strickland shows Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of Scott Schwab, a Kansas state lawmaker from Olathe. Copyright by KSNW - All rights reserved This June 2016 photo provided by David Strickland shows Caleb Thomas Schwab, the son of Scott Schwab, a Kansas state lawmaker from Olathe. In a statement Monday afternoon, Schlitterbahn said it was "deeply and intensely saddened for the Schwab family and all who were impacted by the tragic accident." The park was tentatively scheduled to reopen Wednesday, but "Verruckt is closed," according to the statement. Officer Cameron Morgan, a police spokesman, said no police report about the incident was available. He said investigators were treating Caleb's death as a "civil matter" rather than a criminal one and referred additional questions to the park. Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio declined interview requests Monday but told reporters a day earlier that Caleb had been at the park with family members, adding that "we honestly don't know what's happened." It wasn't immediately clear whether results of an autopsy Monday on Caleb would be publicly released or, if so, how soon, said Margaret Studyvin with the Wyandotte County coroner's office. Leslie Castaneda, who was at Schlitterbahn on Sunday, told The Kansas City Star that she saw Caleb's crumpled shorts or bathing suit at the bottom of the ride, along with blood on the slide's white descending flume. "I'm really having a tough time with it. I really am," said Castaneda, of Kansas City, Kansas. "I saw his (Caleb's) brother. He was screaming." On the waterslide certified by Guinness World Records as the world's tallest, riders sit in multi-person rafts during "the ultimate in water slide thrills," subjecting "adventure seekers" to a "jaw dropping" 17-story drop, the park's website says. Passengers then are "blasted back up a second massive hill and then sent down yet another gut wrenching 50 foot drop," the website adds. Copyright by KSNW - All rights reserved This June 2016 photo provided by David Strickland shows Caleb Thomas Schwab posing with his father Scott Schwab, a Kansas state lawmaker from Olathe. Caleb died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016, while riding the Verruckt, a water slide that's billed as the world's largest, at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kan. (David Strickland/David Strickland via AP) Copyright by KSNW - All rights reserved This June 2016 photo provided by David Strickland shows Caleb Thomas Schwab posing with his father Scott Schwab, a Kansas state lawmaker from Olathe. Caleb died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016, while riding the Verruckt, a water slide that's billed as the world's largest, at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kan. (David Strickland/David Strickland via AP) Each rider must be at least 54 inches tall, and the group's weight is limited to a total of 400 to 550 pounds. Authorities didn't release information about Caleb's height or the combined weight of his group of riders. Caleb's parents - Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele - have requested privacy as the family grieves, saying in a statement Sunday that "since the day he was born, (Caleb) brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with." "As we try to mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in our Savior Jesus, and they are forever together now. We will see him another day," the statement added. The tragedy happened on day the park offered lawmakers and other elected officials a buffet lunch, hot dogs and hamburgers. Authorities initially said the victim was 12 years old, but Clint Sprague, a pastor acting as the family's spokesman, said Caleb was 10 and is among the couple's four sons. According to rules sent to the media in 2014, riders had to be at least 14 years old, but that requirement is no longer listed on the park's website. Verruckt's 2014 opening repeatedly was delayed, though the operators didn't explain why. Two media sneak preview days in 2014 were canceled because of problems with a conveyor system that hauls 100-pound rafts to the top of the slide. In a news article linked to the news release announcing a 2014 delay, Schlitterbahn co-owner Jeff Henry told USA Today that he and senior designer John Schooley had based their calculations when designing the slide on roller coasters, but that didn't translate well to a waterslide like Verruckt. In early tests, rafts carrying sandbags flew off the slide, prompting engineers to tear down half of the ride and reconfigure some angles at a cost of $1 million, Henry said. A promotional video about building the slide includes footage of two men riding a raft down a half-size test model and going slightly airborne as it crests the top of the first big hill. The Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County said it does not inspect the operations of such rides and is responsible only for ensuring they've adhered to local building codes. Without specifically mentioning water slides, Kansas statutes define an "amusement ride" as any mechanical or electrical conveyance "for the purpose of giving its passengers amusement, pleasure, thrills or excitement." Such rides, by statute, commonly are Ferris wheels, carousels, parachute towers, bungee jumps and roller coasters. State law leaves it to the Kansas Department of Labor to adopt rules and regulations relating to certification and inspection of rides, adding that a permanent amusement ride must be scrutinized by "a qualified inspector" at least every 12 months. Kansas' Labor Department didn't return messages Monday. Prosapio said Sunday the park's rides are inspected daily and by an "outside party" before the start of each season. Kansas state Sen. Greg Smith, an Overland Park Republican, said that although state law doesn't specifically address waterslides, it's clear they "would fall into that category." He called any potential legislative response to Sunday's tragedy premature, saying the investigation should be given time to play out. "Michele and I want to thank the Olathe and Kansas City, Kansas communities and all of our friends and family for their outpouring of support and compassion as it relates to the sudden loss of our son, Caleb Thomas Schwab," said Schwab. "Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with. As we try to mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in our Savior Jesus, and they are forever together now. We will see him another day. Your continued prayers are welcome and appreciated. We appreciate your understanding of our family's need for privacy during this difficult time of grieving." |
NEW YORK -- Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal wants to be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season and many more after. He'd like to get there with the Hurricanes. That's where things get tricky for him. Staal is in the final season of a seven-year, $57.25 million contract and said he and his agent have not had any negotiations on a new contract with general manager Ron Francis. The Hurricanes are 8-11-4 and seven points out of a playoff spot heading into their game against the New York Rangers on Monday (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, MSG). The lack of contract negotiations between a veteran player and a team that isn't currently trending toward a playoff berth makes it reasonable to suggest the likelihood of a trade is growing by the day. However, the Raleigh News & Observer reported last week that Staal's agent, Rick Curran, could meet with Francis early in December. Eric Staal Center - CAR GOALS: 4 | ASST: 10 | PTS: 14 SOG: 51 | +/-: 5 The 2016 NHL Trade Deadline is Feb. 29. More immediately, there is a freeze on roster moves from Dec. 19-27. Staal has a no-trade clause so he does maintain some control in the process. But he said he won't utilize his veto power if it's clear to him that the Hurricanes don't want him any longer. He hopes he never has to consider it. "I've been here my whole career and I've expressed interest to stay," Staal said. "But if they want to go in a different direction then, hey man, that's life, and you move forward and you go from there. But you have to come to an agreement and we haven't even discussed anything like that yet. "We haven't really talked about anything, to be honest." Staal's heart undoubtedly is with the Hurricanes. He said he believes in what Francis is doing in trying to build the team. He's excited about the organizational depth on defense, led by 23-year-old Justin Faulk, Noah Hanifin (18) and Brett Pesce (21). He said he thinks the Hurricanes have played well at times this season, but admitted they have a lot to learn, such as how to hold onto a lead or build on one. None of that is news to Staal, who knew growing pains were to be expected. "I've been through a lot with this team and this organization for a lot of years and some trying times, doing everything I can, and I feel like we're taking steps forward," Staal said. "We've got some real good young players if you look at our roster, the ages and some of our defensemen. There are a lot of things that are hopefully cultivating toward wins and playoffs again regularly." But Staal also sees the other side: the fact that he's 31 years old and hasn't been to the playoffs since 2009. He's desperate to get back. "I think it would mean more being with the same team," Staal said. "Not a lot of guys play with the same team their whole careers and that's something I definitely have thought about." Staal, though, said he also has to think about himself, his future and his wants, goals and desires. "There are other factors that go into it, other decisions you think about," Staal said. Such as a factor most players in Staal's position never have to weigh: His brother. Jordan Staal signed a 10-year contract with the Hurricanes on July 1, 2012, in part because he thought he'd try to win the Stanley Cup with Eric. He's signed through the 2022-23 season. Now Eric, the older brother, has to consider Jordan in the equation that eventually will solve his immediate future. "As I have to make decisions moving forward, playing with him will definitely be a decision that will be thought about," Staal said. "He knows that. I know that. Both of our families know that. If and when I have to make some decisions moving forward, I'm sure we'll talk." Staal is holding out hope that those conversations will be about how they can together get the Hurricanes back to being a consistent playoff contender year after year. He's also realistic that they might be of a very different nature, including good-bye and good luck. "We've got a young group here that's got some players that are wanting to take steps forward and continue to get better," Staal said. "I think I can be a good part of that as we move forward. Whether they want that, I don't know. We'll see." --- |
WHAT IS THIS FILM ABOUT? So yes, we're going to bike the whole country of Taiwan in 2 weeks and that is going to be awesome, but this film is about more than that. We want to explore ideas. How do people learn to know themselves? Where do we begin and where we end as finite beings? This is the story of a physically challenging journey cycling through hundreds of miles, paired with the emotional challenges of navigating two wildly different cultures and a variety of languages. This is a cross cultural exchange. This documentary takes two individuals from the US to Taiwan, decontextualizing Western individualism and holding in contrast Eastern collectivism and the ideas that accompany such a vastly different worldview. But with the help of a guide that has spent her life stuck in the middle of these two cultures trying to figure that out. This is a twist on a coming of age story many are familiar with- a trip abroad, learning and exploring, sleeping in hostels, but instead of backpacks in Europe, this is bicycles in Taiwan. Europe was the old world, but Asia is the new world where everything is turning. We filmed this demo in Nashville in 2 hours with no money, my friend Sean here filled in on the bicycle, and we only had one camera-SueAnn did the voice over. We want to and know we can do more, do better than this, and if you back us today, you get to be a part of making this small pixel of our vision into a reality. ------------------------------------------------------------ WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING? Kickstarter Money Our goal is $8,000- out of that we lose about 10% to processing fees and the cut that Kickstarter takes. Then, we are going to use about $2,000 of it to fulfill the awesome rewards (making and shipping postcards, DVDs, maps, and photographs) that we want to give to you guys, our backers. The rest of the money is going to go to the cost of making the documentary. We will be renting and buying equipment-- hard drives, lenses, cameras, batteries, mobile audio recorders, and microphones. There will also be transportation costs for us and our equipment- planes, trains, and bicycles, as well as, the cost of food and housing while we're in Taiwan on the trip. After we finish filming the trip, we will be immersing ourselves in the post production process of editing. If we paid people to do this, it would probably cost us about $10,000+ alone just to get it edited, but we are planning on doing it all ourselves. We aren't really paying ourselves at the point we are in the budget, we just need enough money to get by (paying the rent on our home studio and keeping the lights on) so that we can afford to turn down other work we would be getting if we weren't working on this project. Anne & SueAnn will be doing all the video editing, SueAnn will be mixing the audio, as well as, supervising/producing the soundtrack with the help of Julia. This is in no way a get rich scheme, and we won't be making profits off of this Kickstarter. We are doing this project with the mindset that we probably won't make any money from it. In fact, we probably won't even break even. We want to see this movie made on principal alone, but the reality is that this film won't be made if we can't get your support. If we reach $10,000, every backer will get a free download of our film's soundtrack, which we won't be able to create unless we raise another 2K to bring Julia with on the trip. She and SueAnn are going to work together while they're in Taiwan to record people from Taiwan to make an album with the same principals, a fusion and experiment with forms of Eastern and Western music. As professional musicians, SueAnn and Julia look at this as an opportunity to combine parts of the skills of their day jobs with the project, as well as, their intense passion for ethnomusicology (the anthropological study of people through their music). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEivlEBfYio **** and a special thanks to Charlie Murphey/Commitment Bells for providing an awesome track (Jimmy Stewart for all those wondering) for our Kickstarter video. Join the conversation- Like us on FB & Follow @huandaodoc on Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr! |
ABOUT ShaveHUD The Vision The Quality [github.com] The Disclaimer ShaveHUD isn't an actual mod but a collection of mods for BLT. Besides BLT, which is basically what gets things up and running, ShaveHUD includes over 60 mods made by ~30 different modders. And they all work properly together (as far as we can tell).Our goal is to improve and build upon the vanilla experience, with a focus on "Quality of Life" mods and fixes for certain bugs or other annoyances. You can toggle any of these mods on or off ingame - we aim to empower the player and leave you a choice rather than shoving a bunch of features down your throat you might not even want or need.No game files are overwritten, modified or corrupted in any way. You will neither get banned nor will you be flagged as a cheater. Your savegames should also be fine because none of the mods mess with anything that could corrupt them, but when modding games you should always back up your saves no matter what anyone tells you.You can also visit us on github if you want to check out the package before downloading or want to get minor updates asap (this group only announces the stable releases).I didn't create most of these mods, although I've updated a few of them by now (while still crediting the original authors). I picked them and recommend using them.The "credits.txt" includes links to all the mods used, and they're listed here . If you'd rather see a summary of all features, go here instead. |
What happened Generic-drug manufacturer Endo International (NASDAQ:ENDP) took a nosedive shortly after 2 p.m. EDT today, when news broke that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was probing over one dozen such companies. Shares ended the day down 19.5%. So what Any company with major generic-drug manufacturing operations was feeling the heat today. That includes major players such as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Mylan, which both disclosed subpoenas, and lesser-known manufacturers such as Akorn (also falling on earnings) and Endo International. The DOJ probe began two years ago, includes over 12 companies, and involves about two dozen drugs. Specifically, the department is trying to determine if companies colluded on drug pricing, and could dole out fines by the end of 2016. The good news is that many of these companies, including Endo International, sell many different drugs. That makes it unlikely that all of a single company's business would be significantly impacted if the DOJ probe singles out specific drugs. Forthcoming fines will hit cash balances, but investors don't know the details yet, so it's impossible to know which companies will bear the brunt of Lady Justice's wrath. The bad news is that extra scrutiny over drug prices will drag down the entire industry. Worse, it looks increasingly likely that tougher regulations are about to be handed down. That's what investors seem to be factoring in today for generic-drug manufacturers, which could continue to head lower over the coming weeks and months. It could take significant momentum away from smaller companies with better growth potential, like Akorn and Endo International. Now what There really isn't much for investors to do except wait for the DOJ to release its findings. Given the number of companies and drugs being investigated, it seems likely that at least some companies will be affected immediately. If regulations get tougher on drug pricing and the rates of drug-price increases over the long term -- which, again, seems likely -- then the entire industry could take a hit. Investors may learn more when Endo International announces third-quarter 2016 earnings on Nov. 8. |
National security adviser Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster makes a statement outside the White House on Monday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) This article has been updated. After The Post reported that President Trump had revealed classified information in a private meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — and as other outlets confirmed it — the White House organized its response. In each case, administration officials offered carefully worded statements that often seemed to talk around what The Post had actually reported. In light of that, we’ve compiled those statements and broken out their components. But before we get to those, it’s worth setting the context of what our story said. The Post’s story Trump went on to discuss aspects of the threat that the United States learned only through the espionage capabilities of a key partnera. He did not reveal the specific intelligence-gathering methodb, but he described how the Islamic State was pursuing elements of a specific plot and how much harm such an attack could cause under varying circumstances. Most alarmingly, officials said, Trump revealed the city in the Islamic State’s territory where the U.S. intelligence partner detected the threatc. … The identification of the location was seen as particularly problematic, officials said, because Russia could use that detail to help identify the U.S. ally or intelligence capability involvedd. Officials said the capability could be useful for other purposes, possibly providing intelligence on Russia’s presence in Syria. Moscow would be keenly interested in identifying that source and perhaps disrupting it. … Trump also described measures the United States has taken or is contemplating to counter the threate, including military operations in Iraq and Syria, as well as other steps to tighten security, officials said. Let’s run through those highlighted sections. (I’ll note here that I’m not privy to The Post’s sourcing on the story, so I know as much about the details as you do.) a. This is an important point. The intelligence came from a partner country and was not Trump’s to reveal. b. Note here that our report specifically indicates that the method of how the intelligence was collected wasn’t discussed. c. This is a key point: The most significant revelation was the name of the city … d. … since that name could be used to allow Russia to determine the intelligence asset being used or the ally that revealed it. e. We note that Trump discussed measures being taken to counter the threat, but don’t indicate that this is classified information. Here is how the administration responded, starting with national security adviser H.R. McMaster, whose initial response was included in the story. During a May 10 meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, Trump began describing details about an Islamic State terror threat, according to current and former U.S. officials. (The Washington Post) H.R. McMaster “The president and the foreign minister1 reviewed common threats from terrorist organizations2 to include threats to aviation3. At no time were any intelligence sources or methods discussed4 and no military operations were disclosed that were not already known publicly5.” 1. McMaster skips over another person who visited the Oval Office with Lavrov: Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, who is suspected to also be a significant agent in Russia’s intelligence apparatus. 2. “Common threats” meaning common to the two countries in this case, just to be clear. 3. McMaster’s isolation of the threat to aviation suggests that this relates to the specific plot in The Post story. Reporting indicates that the subject of discussion was a plot to plant bombs in laptop computers. 4. This phrase will crop up a lot. McMaster is not at odds with The Post’s story, as noted above. The sources and methods were instead put at risk thanks to the revelation of details that might allow Russia to figure out who they are. To dramatically oversimplify, it’s the difference between saying “the culprit is John Smith” and saying “the culprit lives on Mulberry Street.” 5. The “already known publicly” line is interesting. In a conversation with CNN’s Chris Cuomo that aired shortly after the news broke, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi explained the problem. “The fact is that anyone who has anything to do with intelligence, the one thing you always say is, I cannot confirm or deny that that is true,” she said. “So the president could be saying something that’s in the public domain, but confirming it to the Russians in a way that is very dangerous.” In other words, Trump may have confirmed a rumor that was already out there. After the story broke other members of the administration who were in the room during the meeting weighed in. Rex Tillerson, secretary of state “During President Trump’s meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov6 a broad range of subjects were discussed among which were common efforts and threats regarding counterterrorism. During that exchange the nature of specific threats were discussed7, but they did not discuss sources, methods or military operations8.” 6. Again, omitting Kislyak. 7. Tillerson confirms that the meeting included discussion of a specific plot. 8. He also offers the same non-denial as McMaster — but also says no military operations were discussed. That contradicts McMaster, as in the fifth highlight above. Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser for strategy “This story is false9. The president only discussed the common threats that both countries faced10.” 9. This is the first explicit denial of the story. 10. This is a narrower interpretation than either McMaster or Tillerson presented. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster spoke at the White House on May 15 and denied recent reporting that President Trump revealed classified information in a meeting with Russian officials. (Reuters) As the story continued to expand on Monday evening, the White House held a brief news conference during which McMaster offered a brief statement. McMaster “There’s nothing that the president takes more seriously than the security of the American people. The story that came out tonight as reported is false11. The president and the foreign minister reviewed a range of common threats to our two countries, including threats to civil aviation12. At no time — at no time — were intelligence sources or methods discussed, and the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known13. Two other senior officials who were present, including the secretary of state, remember the meeting the same way and have said so. Their on-the-record accounts should outweigh those anonymous sources14. I was in the room; it didn’t happen15.” 11. This is McMaster’s first description of the story as false, but he modifies it with the phrase “as reported.” That leaves a lot of wiggle room: Is it false as reported because a minor detail was wrong? Or were major details incorrect? 12. This is an echo of his earlier statement. 13. As is this. 14. This is a point that has been seized upon in defense of Trump. If the secretary of state and national security adviser look into a camera and say it didn’t happen, why should we believe someone unwilling to be identified? The general response to a question like that, of course, is that those seeking to provide information anonymously often have a very good reason for doing so, such as seeking defense from retribution. In this specific case, there’s also the fact that — save points 9 and 11, above — the White House’s story and The Post’s story aren’t in strong conflict. 15. This is perhaps the strongest rejection of the story offered by the White House. It also appears to have been off-the-cuff, and not part of McMaster’s prepared statement. On Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted. The White House and lawmakers reacted May 15 to Washington Post revelations that President Trump disclosed classified information during a meeting with Russian officials. (Bastien Inzaurralde,Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post) Trump “As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting)16 which I have the absolute right to do17, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety18. Humanitarian reasons19, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism20.” 16. This is an interesting little rhetorical trick. The meeting was publicly scheduled — in the sense that the meeting was announced to the media. But it was not a public meeting that the media could attend; in fact, no American media was allowed to even photograph Lavrov and Trump together. It’s only because of a photographer who works with the Russian state news agency TASS that we have photos of the meeting — and how we learned that Kislyak was also in attendance. 17. Trump can share any non-classified information he wants to and, as president, can generally also share classified information, if he wishes. In this case, though, there are two questions: Did he mean to share a detail that revealed high-level intelligence? And, in doing so, how might Trump have betrayed the partner who gave the U.S. that intelligence? 18. Trump seems to confirm that the plot dealt with a threat to aviation. 19. Trump, a master of spin, seems to be implying that he shared this information to protect innocent civilians — for humanitarian reasons. 20. He also claims that this was, in some way, an effort to put pressure on the Russians. A lot of analysis of Trump’s tweets suggests that he’s contradicting McMaster’s statement. Nothing in the tweets contradicts McMaster’s initial comments (in 1-5 above); the question is whether McMaster’s forceful denial (number 15) is at odds with Trump’s apparent acknowledgment of The Post’s story. The hinge here is in our number 17 — Trump’s assertion that he has an “absolute right” to share with Russia — a defense that only makes sense in the context of classified information. No one disputes his right to share non-classified information with them. For what it’s worth, Trump’s team denies that he copped to revealing classified information. WH/NSC spokesman Mike Anton emphatically denies that Pres Trump's tweets today confirm disclosure of classified material to Russia. — Mark Knoller (@markknoller) May 16, 2017 We’ll just have to see if that comports with Trump’s next tweet. Update: On Tuesday morning, McMaster gave another briefing to the press. Portions are included and analyzed below. What I’m saying is really the premise of that article is false, that in any way the president had a conversation that was inappropriate or that resulted in any kind of lapse in national security21. And so I think the real issue, and I think what I’d like to see really debated more, is that our national security has been put at risk by those violating confidentiality, and those releasing information to the press that could be used, connected with other information available, to make American citizens and others more vulnerable. … So, what I — what we don’t do is discuss what is and what isn’t classified. What I will tell you, is in the context of that discussion, what the president discussed with the foreign minister was wholly appropriate to that conversation22 and is consistent with the routine sharing of information23 between the president and any leaders with whom he’s engaged. … Well, as — as you know, the president — it is wholly appropriate for the president to share whatever information he thinks is necessary to advance the security of the American people24. That’s what he did. … He made the decision in the context of the conversation25, which was wholly appropriate. So, let’s just — I think it’s worth recapping one thing here. The president was meeting with — with the foreign minister about the terrorist threat. He’d also raised some difficult issues: what we expected in terms of different behavior from Russia in key areas like Ukraine, and as in Syria. But then the president was emphasizing, “Hey, we have some common interests here. We have to work together in some critical areas.” And we have an area of cooperation with transnational terrorist organizations, ISIS in particular, an organization that had already taken down a Russian airliner and murdered over 200 people in October of 2015. … OK, so, all of you are very familiar with the threat from ISIS. All of you are very familiar with the territory it controls. If you were to say, “Hey, from where do you think a threat might come from territory that ISIS controls?,” you would probably be able to name a few cities, I would think26. And so it was nothing that you would not know from open source reporting27 in terms of a source of concern. And it had all to do with operations that are already ongoing, had been made public for months. … As I mentioned already, we don’t say what’s classified, what’s not classified. What I will tell you again is that what the president shared was wholly appropriate. The story combined what was leaked with other information and then insinuated about sources and methods. So I wanted to make clear to everybody that the president in no way compromised any sources or methods in the course of this conversation28. … He shared information in a way that is wholly appropriate. And I should just make maybe the statement here that the president wasn’t even aware, you know, where this information came from. He wasn’t briefed on the source or method of the information either.29 21. McMaster slightly amends his comment from Monday evening, saying that the premise of The Post’s article was wrong — that there was any sort of security lapse. 22. McMaster repeats the “wholly appropriate” phrase several times, apparently alluding to the idea that the president can discuss what he wants as he sees fit, in line with our number 17, above. 23. As noted at the blog Just Security, declassification is not routinely done mid-conversation by the president. 24. As in number 22, but here McMaster suggests that Trump’s decision to provide this information to the Russians was a function of protecting the American people. 25. That decision, McMaster says in response to a question, was made by Trump in the moment, not as a function of a decision made in advance of the meeting. 26. Here McMaster seeks to downplay the importance of the city Trump named — which, by itself, appears to be a tacit admission that the name of the city was, as we reported, a contentious issue. CNN later reported that it had been cautioned in March not to reveal the name of the city as it might “get people killed.” The Trump administration reportedly revealed information to Russians that CNN was asked not to report https://t.co/FPq6finPDa pic.twitter.com/mGmRMOUqgr — The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) May 16, 2017 27. See number 5, above. 28. This, like 21, is a revision of McMaster’s previous comments, but the strongest yet. The assertion that Trump “in no way compromised any sources or methods” is significant, the first unnuanced rejection of The Post’s thesis that Trump offered intelligence that might have tipped off the Russians. 29. This is a particularly interesting comment that was left unaddressed by McMaster. Trump wasn’t informed of the source of the information, he said, or on how it was gathered — implying that Trump therefore couldn’t have revealed anything he shouldn’t have to the Russians. But this brings us all the way back to number 4 on our list: That was not what The Post reported. |
This is the last post on hummingbirds. I promise! You can tell the sun is not hitting the top of this hummer's head or maybe the angle isn't right because here it looks dark, but in other photos of the same bird, it flashes brilliant yellow. The ends of the wings however, lack structural color as I've never seen iridescence shown in them. They are always dark, indicating a lot of melanin. I love the flash of green and yellow shown here. If you look on her back and on the top of her head, there is no iridescence--either from lack of light or the wrong angle, so it looks dark. Flashes of iridescence among the shadows. It doesn't even look like the same bird in the first photo. Beak Bit In addition to color, the pigment melanin has another use in feathers...it makes them stronger. A clip from Cornell's “All about Birds” Website "Feathers that contain melanin are stronger and more resistant to wear than feathers without melanin. Feathers without any pigmentation are the weakest of all. Many otherwise all white birds have black feathers on their wings or black wingtips. These flight feathers are the ones most subject to wear and tear. The melanin causing the tips to appear black also provides extra strength." In addition to color, the pigment melanin has another use in feathers...it makes them stronger. Adescribes the strengthening characteristics of melanin best: It makes sense the wings and tail feathers of hummers would be black and have a lot of melanin. They really get a work out! Although I read a lot of articles about structural color, I used the " National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America," edited by Mel Baughman as my main reference, along with Cornell's " All About Birds ". As I’ve been watching our hummers over the past couple of weeks, I’ve wondered what produces that amazing flash of iridescence in their feathers. In school we learned blue birds don’t have blue pigment in their feathers. Instead, they have structural components that reflect and refract light to produce the blue color (structural color), so I assumed it might have something to do with that, but hummingbirds flash iridescent green, blue, yellow and red when the light hits them just right, so what’s up? I found a lot of info explaining the phenomenon from highly scientific studies to overly simple explanations, so opted for the middle road. Iridescence comes from a combination of pigment and structure. In hummingbirds, melanin granules (dark pigment) stack up in the barbules of each feather. The granules are called platelets, and each is filled with microscopic air bubbles that become tiny reflectors. Light reflects and refracts as it passes through these stacks. The color you see is determined by the angle of your eye as you view the feathers. So unlike pigment, structural color can change. That is why the beautiful ruby-red throat or emerald-green back of a hummingbird can look almost black when the sun isn’t striking it or you’re not looking at the feathers at the right angle. |
Note from Mamita Mala : Maegan E. Ortiz Last night, Sonia requested I post her statement on my blog so that she could share it. In solidarity and support of her I have done so. Statement My name is Sonia Guinansaca and I am a migrant queer poet activist and organizer. I was invited to speak at TEDxCUNY talk whose theme is borders and belonging. I was one out of a few migrant speakers, formerly undocumented and queer. I was excited for this opportunity to share the resistance, resilience, and creative work of my migrant community. Problematic, oppressive, racist, misogynistic behaviors and lack of professionalism has forced me to out of this opportunity. I was contacted about this event on very short notice and followed all protocol to ensure this talk went smoothly. My goal was to center undocumented, migrant, Trans, Black and people of color with humanizing depth. From the very first rehearsal, on the date of November 6th I performed my poem and read my suggested script. The TEDxCUNY committee was very supportive and enthusiastic, stating that I made good points. No other concerns were stated. My script was again shared in a document with the committee with no feedback received. On the second rehearsal which happened on Tuesday, Nov. 17 just three days shy of the event, I was only met by one person, a man of color, from the staff who once again approved my content and structure. An email was sent to me later that night by a white cis man who had not been present at the rehearsal, and previously touted that he was “from the suburbs,” in regards to the content of my talk and how it no longer aligned with TEDx structure. In this email, he stated the following: After this email exchange, I made it clear that I had every intention to continue with my talk without revisions, and confirmed my presence for the dress rehearsal taking place on Thursday Nov.19 that evening. I also pointed out that there were larger concerns regarding professionalism, tone, and privilege. Throughout this whole encounter as a queer woman of color migrant, primarily a cis white man did the email exchange, which was uncomfortable and triggering. In spite of having a predominant staff of color and women, the primary contact person was a tactless white cis man. Throughout this whole endeavor, I continued to give them the benefit of the doubt only to be met by hostility, which escalated at the dress rehearsal. The dress rehearsal ran late. As soon as I got up on stage, I was met with disinterest and defensiveness from the team, which made me feel cornered and targeted. It was apparent they had no interest in hearing my talk. As soon as I finished doing one run through, the same white cis man and his team in the presence of other speakers berated me. He continued to talk at me for over 10 minutes regarding palatability of structure for TEDx audiences. He repeatedly stated that my talk was worth “1 sentence”, that there was no need to give me 15-20 minutes on stage. He described my talk as not being “innovative”, that “no one wants to hear a list about migrant artists”, that people want to hear a “heroic” story. I stated it was important and simply responded “Can any of you name ten migrant undocumented artists?” The room was uncomfortably silent. I was open to feedback but it was clear that the goal was not to uplift my speech or my talk, but rather shame and belittle my efforts, my content and the voices I wanted to center. After this excruciating exchange, where the interrogating white cis man rushed out, I was approached by one of the guest hosts, a woman of color, who acknowledged the abrasiveness of the room, stating, “Your poetry is so amazing, it would be just a loss to lose you.” What they continued to ask of me was a bootstrapped, singular narrative that just isn’t the reality nor lived experiences of migrant communities. My intention was to center Black and people of color, Queer, Trans, migrant artists’ voices. I feel that the structure of my talk was something that highlights the work of collectiveness, demonstrates the work of undocumented and migrant qtpoc that doesn’t operate in a vacuum. I named collaborators, engaged more than one heroic story that showed a lineage of work. In an individualistic society we are taught to be ashamed of our collective, and our collaborations. Supposedly, we’re magically to escape our connections with the right accomplishments, respectability, & assimilation of our success. I’m not invested in this divisive model of scarcity and the harmful white racism disguised as diversity sessions. I was asked to either cut the entirety of my talk or to minimize my time to poetic contributions. This devalues the time I spent on this project and speaks to the larger issue of how we treat artists in society. The only options given to me were to cut a bulk of my talk or simply perform two poems. In doing so, the integrity of my work is reduced as supplemental art or as an accessory. What is striking is that at an event housed under the concept of borders, one of the few migrant and formerly undocumented women of color would be limited in time and directed to move forward with neither her version of the story or her own strategy of self-determination that centers her community. Instead given no other option but initiatives that do not represent her work and her choices. I wanted to make this interaction and my experience transparent and public. I would like to hold accountable the parties that are responsible and again highlight the labor of queer women of color and the total disregard of agency of migrant speakers in a migrant-themed space. The goal is not to sell an idea; the goal is to tell our stories. Our lives are not ideas that you can edit, minimize, and recycle for your social appeasement and entertainment. Our stories are not a competition but a disruption of the rampant violence we face. This entire situation has again emphasized that my community’s perspective is central to my work and that the experiences of migrant and undocumented lives must come from the community within. I was affirmed yet again of the fragility of white american masculinity and the ongoing commodification of migrant stories in a particular, comfortable and sellable package that does not disrupt privilege, white supremacy, and misogyny. This ordeal was a razor-sharp example of this. White masculinity righteousness directed at queer femme women of color and setting examples of migrant lives is not considered brilliance or noteworthy unless we’re a heroic exception or specimens to squander & minimize. It was communicated to me that “The way that it is, the talk is just not working.” I was lectured that TEDxCUNY is “not interested in stories, but ideas.” If one wanted to say, innovate ideas, to actually transform humanity, how innovative would be to actually hold a queer women of color migrant with dignity & respect as opposed to succumbing to flagrant racist and misogynist tropes already perpetuated by American society? What about uplifting her by honoring the trauma & strategy it takes in multiple fold to give a speech such as this? What about trusting people with the experience to be the strategists & pioneers of their own embodied savvy? Do you know what’s not new? Demeaning & pummeling (verbally, spiritually, or physically) someone living in multiple struggles as a blanket of good white intentions that’s supposedly for our benefit. Many migrant, undocumented, queer, transgender, Black, and femme community face deplorable and aggressive racism by fragile whiteness systemically and individually on a day-to-day basis. What an opportunity this could have been for TedxCUNY to rise up, set an example, and demonstrate that they could actually embrace diversity not with the obsolete single-issue approach of shame and dehumanization, but rather an honest wholeness of experience that invigorates their talks? This would be a raw mirror, one that echoes the need for collective & endeavors multiple migrant lives in wholeness, a model well deserved for our own society at large. It is not uplifting to erase the stories and agency of undocumented and migrant people of color. Who exactly does this benefit and at what cost? |
Trump is getting help from the Russians. Shocker, I know. The only people who aren't completely disposable to Donald Trump are his kids. Everyone else might as well have a "sell by" date on their foreheads. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not complaining. It doesn't require all that much research to learn how Trump makes allies then stabs them in the back. Just ask his myriad subcontractors who thought they were entering into the deal of a lifetime only to be summarily dicked out of being paid. Not for nothing, but Trump has confessed to stiffing his people, which raises an important question: why do people still agree to work for him? Who the hell knows. Brush with celebrity, maybe? Trump's west wing staffers are rapidly discovering -- too late -- the style for which their boss has been famous since the 1980s. Again, you shouldn't feel sorry for any of them. They're adults with internet access and they should've known they were welcoming legal jeopardy and career suicide by joining the Trump team. Notice, too, all of the prospective nominees who've declined the White House's offers to serve. They're clearly much smarter than the others who've permanently attached their names to, hands down, the worst president in American history -- a traitor and global laughing stock whose only supporters are poorly-educated cultists who've been systematically brainwashed by the conservative entertainment complex. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website So far, Sean Spicer, Reince Priebus and Anthony Scaramucci, to name a few, have willingly stepped face-first into the Trump propeller. Jeff Sessions just barely escaped being julienned, simply because he refused to accept Trump's mandate to squelch the Trump-Russia investigation. And then there are Trump's generals. The word is that they had no choice but to obey the orders from their commander-in-chief. We're talking about Secretary Mattis, chief of staff John Kelly and H.R. McMaster. It's unclear whether they possessed the latitude to decline Trump's employment offers, but if they were compelled to take up their current gigs in the Trump administration, perhaps some sympathy is in order. Or not. Either way, it looks like H.R. McMaster, Trump's National Security Adviser, is next on the chopping block. Not surprising, of course. Word is that Trump is unhappy with McMaster regarding Afghanistan, as well as the firing of Ezra Cohen-Watnick, and who knows what else. So, the White House is engaged in a not-so-quiet effort to push McMaster out by engaging in a nefarious smear campaign, which will likely be followed by his resignation. CNN reports: Some right-wing media outlets this week began a sustained attack on McMaster after he removed a top intelligence adviser, seen as a continuation of his effort to purge acolytes of his predecessor, Gen. Michael Flynn, from the National Security Council. Some conservatives also raised objections to his decision earlier this year to extend a security clearance for Susan Rice, President Barack Obama's final national security adviser who has been accused by some conservatives of mishandling classified information involving Trump campaign associates. A senior administration official said Thursday that McMaster has written letters to all past national security advisers -- including Rice -- extending their security clearances. The official characterized the letters as a pro-forma move that allows the former advisers to participate in administration discussions about national security matters that originated under their tenure. Meanwhile, the alt-right has joined the smear campaign. “MCMASTER PURGES NSC STAFFER FOR WARNING OF ISLAMIST-LEFTIST THREAT,” conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich tweeted on Wednesday, before proceeding on a tirade about the national security adviser. Cernovich subsequently claimed that McMaster had “been leaking information to David Petraeus” and “had direct contact with George Soros.” Those claims, plus at least a dozen more, were all published on McMasterleaks.com, a website Cernovich created. The site features an anti-Semitic illustration of Soros and McMaster by right-wing cartoonist Ben Garrison, according to Newsweek. So, yeah. They're linking McMaster to two longtime enemies: Susan Rice and George Soros. Clever... and original. On top of all that, it looks like Trump is getting the 2016 band back together on this front. Yes, Trump is getting help from the Russians. Shocker, I know. It seems the alleged criminal conspiracy between the Trump White House and Russia appears to be continuing in earnest. It turns out that a watchdog group has discovered a high level of anti-McMaster chatter from Russian trolls and bots on social media. A group called The Alliance for Securing Democracy has been tracking bots and trolls linked to the Kremlin, and guess which Trump administration official is popping up among trending topics? (Larger version here.) Once again, whatever Trump happens to be talking about at any given moment somehow ends up being repeated by thousands of trolls and bots linked to Vladimir Putin and Russian intelligence. Sure, it could be that the Russians really love Trump and are busily and innocently debating his rallies and stupid, stupid tweets. Or it could be that the conspiracy to hijack American democracy continues today, as forecasted by James Comey, James Clapper and other intelligence community officials. If McMaster survives through Labor Day, it'll only be because Trump got bored with smearing him and has instead turned his attention to stabbing another administration official in the back. With Putin's help, apparently. (h/t to Ryan Sargent) |
Protesters seeking to overthrow Thailand’s government have taken control of state television headquarters in Bangkok. They have already occupied parts of government ministries in recent days in efforts to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. In this latest assault, demonstrators are apparently demanding control over broadcasts. For some observers, it has moved this political crisis one step closer to an attempted coup. Police fired teargas near Government House on Sunday, after a chaotic night of street fighting. Military back-up was brought in to protect government buildings after the clashes between opponents and supporters of Yingluck. Protesters claim she is a puppet for her brother Thaksin, Thailand’s exiled former leader, ousted in a military coup seven years ago. Yingluck has invoked special security powers but her opponents have designated today a decisive day in their efforts to remove her. After an attempt to storm a police compound where she had been this morning, she left hastily for an undisclosed location. Overnight clashes between pro-and anti-government demonstrators have left at least two people dead and dozens more wounded. In political violence three years ago in Thailand, more than 90 people were killed. |
Creature Comforts Brewery is up and running, and while you won’t be able to see their beers on store shelves until September, the curious can take a tour of their brewery and sample their offerings. After sitting down with brewers David Stein, Adam Beauchamp and Blake Tyers to discuss—and taste—their creations, I highly recommend you take a few hours and join a tour. You won’t be disappointed. The brewery currently offers four core beers: Tropicalia, a highly expressive India Pale Ale; Reclaimed Rye, an amber with serious depth of character; Athena, a tart and delightful Berliner Weisse; and Bibo, their pilsner that shows the true potential of a style that macro brewers like Budweiser and MillerCoors have been loading with cheap adjuncts for decades. Speaking of the Bibo (5.5% alcohol by volume, 25 international bittering units), the late arrival of their pilsner is the reason why Flagpole is running a review of Creature Comforts in July rather than April, when the brewery first opened. The first batch of Bibo was unsatisfactory due to a bad batch of Czech Saaz hops. Instead of delivering the earthy, herbal aroma that is key to the pilsner style, the first commercial batch of Bibo had distinct aromas of horseradish and onion—definitely not what the brewers had envisioned. “It turns out that hops produce these flavors when fighting off insects,” Beauchamp says. “We chose not to sell it. We want to make sure every beer we sell is top quality,” Stein adds. While local beer enthusiasts may have been disappointed to hear that they would be waiting an additional month to try Athens’ newest pilsner, the decision to pour the beer down the drain is actually quite encouraging. It shows that Creature Comforts has a serious commitment to quality in its brews. And Bibo is a seriously delicious pilsner—subtle and nuanced, enhanced with a slight fruit aroma from the addition of Motueka hops from New Zealand. While it belongs to the same family as Heineken, Budweiser and Coors, the Bibo has fuller flavor and showcases what a good pilsner ought to be—crisp and light, with a distinct body from true pilsner malt with a deft hop presence that ties the whole package together. You could split a six-pack of this brew with your cousin who only drinks Bud Light, and you’d both be satisfied. On the other end of the beer-color spectrum is the Reclaimed Rye (5.5% ABV, 25 IBU), an amber that seeks to defy the bland maltiness that afflicts many craft ambers. The addition of rye malt (rye composes about 25 percent of the total malt bill) adds subtle spiciness to the brew, and aging the beer with French oak for a week provides depth and balance that many ambers lack. “It’s really good,” Stein says, “and the flavors really open up as it warms.” I have to agree. On paper, this beer looks like it would trend toward a muddled flavor, uncertain of its identity, thanks to the wide variety of ingredients, but they actually work in harmony. The oak provides balance for rye and enhances the flavor. Simultaneously, the creamy mouthfeel could be overpowering, but the bright effervescence of the beverage keeps the beer from becoming too thick on the palate. “In a sense, with this beer we’re trying to reclaim American brewing history, in addition to paying homage to our brewing facility, as all of the wood here [in the brewery] was reclaimed during the renovation from Snow Tire,” Beauchamp says. The end result? An invigorating and inspired amber beer that showcases what malts can do (beyond adding simple sweetness) when every step of the process is carefully weighed and balanced. Tropicalia, the IPA, is also remarkable, but not for its high alcohol content or high IBU count (6.5% ABV and 65 IBU, both mid-level figures for the style). This beer is remarkable for its expressive hop character, which goes beyond the simple bitterness that many people associate with IPAs. The judicious use of Citra hops provides a punchy citrus aroma. The addition of Centennial hops—the true workhorse of the beer and the same primary hop that Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale includes, according to Beauchamp—and a small contingent of Galaxy hops provide Tropicalia with a unique funkiness. The brewers are going for a more complex hop profile, and the finished product has characteristics closer to juicy, ripe tropical fruits than lip-puckering bitterness. "It's a personal pet peeve of mine when people say that hops equals bitterness," Tyers says. "Hops are an integral part of every beer, and we want to challenge people's perceptions of what hops can do in an IPA." Consider the mission accomplished with Tropicalia, a beer designed to please both IPA fans and those who typically eschew the style. Beyond the expressive nature of the hop profile, Tropicalia has a dry finish that doesn’t coat the drinker’s mouth with resinous hop oils—something that all-too-many American IPAs do. The final of the four beers, Athena, (4.5% ABV) is a member of the Berliner Weisse family, lighter beers brewed with wheat and specific strains of bacteria to provide a tart flavor unique to the style. The brewers describe this beer as a “bookender,” one that appeals to beer geeks looking for flavorful oddities as well as cider and sauvignon blanc wine drinkers who enjoy the tartness provided by an acidic beverage. Athena is a unique member of the style, as Beauchamp, Stein and Tyers had a microbiologist in New England develop a unique strain of lactobacillus for their beer. The beer blends well with flavor syrups. We sampled the Athena Paradiso, a variety blended with passionfruit and guava syrup, which was delicious without undermining the flavor of the base beer. Creature Comforts has an open invitation to local chefs to provide flavoring syrups for the Athena, and new varieties and interpretations will be available at the brewery. Creature Comforts has a great lineup; each beer is crafted with a specific goal in mind, and each beer is damn tasty. |
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