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In the future solar power plants will be as plentiful as personal computers or cell phones are today and they will generate energy on demand. Today I have witnessed the future of energy: a solar power plant capable of generating solar electricity around the clock. Located in the Spanish province of Andalucia, Torresol Energy’s Gemasolar is the world’s first utility-scale commercial baseload solar power plant. Torresol Energy, the company that built Gemasolar is a joint venture between Spanish infrastructure giant Sener and Masdar – Abu Dhabi’s Future Energy Company. During my visit to Gemasolar I met with Santiago Arias, Torresol’s Chief Infrastructure Officer and one of the co-founders of the company. Solar Salt Batteries Gemasolar, which officially launched last month (May 2011), is a 19.9-MW plant with a 15-hour ‘battery’. Gemasolar’s expected production is 110,000 MWh per year—or about enough to fully power 25,000 households. Because it can store energy, this 19.9 MW generates the equivalent of a 50 MW solar power plant without storage, according to Mr. Arias. Gemasolar’s battery consists of two tanks of molten salt thermal energy storage that allows the solar plant to generate on-demand electricity: during the evening, during cloud cover or rain, or even days or weeks later. Molten salt energy storage (MSES) or ‘solar salt’ batteries are thermal not chemistry-based batteries like Lithium-ion which power electric vehicles like Tesla’s (Nasdaq: TSLA) Roadsters. MSES uses a combination 60% potassium nitrate and 40% sodium nitrate which retains 99% of the heat for up to 24 hours. Another way to put this number: this battery loses just 1% of the heat energy per day.(1) Potassium nitrate happens to be environmentally safer and cheaper than most chemical-based battery alternatives. In the Middle Ages, this ingredient was used to preserve food and it is still used in the production of corned beef.(2) Potassium nitrate is also used in toothpaste (for sensitive teeth) as well as in garden fertilizers. MSES capital costs are also relatively low, clocking in at $50 to $100 per kWh, compared to about ten times that for a Li-on battery that powers a personal computer or electric vehicle. Gemasolar is not the world’s first commercial solar plant with MSES. If I had driven another 300 Km (186 miles) due south-east on Andalucia’s A94 highway I would have seen Andasol-1, a 50 MW CSP plant that has been operating with a 7.5-hour battery since July 2009. Gemasolar basically doubled the battery availability to 15 hours. Torresol’s Arias expects Gemasolar to produce electricity about 6,400 hours per year - a capacity factor of 75%. For comparison, the Hoover Dam has a capacity factor of just about 23% while China’s Three Gorges hydro-electric power plant has a capacity factor of about 50%.(3) According to a 2003 study by Clemson University Prof Michael Maloney in 2003 the capacity factor of nuclear reactors in Japan, France, and the US were in the 65% to 72% range and the worldwide load factor was 69.4 percent.(4) Solar Power Tower When most people think about solar power, they think of photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof of a house or building. PV converts photons directly into electricity. Gemasolar belongs to a category called Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) which use the sun’s energy to heat a fluid (water, synthetic oil or molten salt) to generate steam which then drives a turbine to generate electricity. If you’ve ever used a magnifying glass or better yet a concave mirror to focus sunlight and burn a hole in a piece of paper, you get the idea. Use thousands (or millions) of square meters of mirrors (not PV panels) to reflect that same sunlight on a single point (actually small area), and you can heat a fluid flowing past it up to several hundred degrees Celsius and use that superheated fluid to drive an industrial-scale turbine. Each heliostat has reflective mirror surface about 110 square meters (1,184 square feet) and follows the sun using two motors with built-in pogrammable logic controllers (PLC) that recalculate and readjust the heliostat’s position 15 times per minute. As I walked under the heliostats I could hear the slight hissing sound of the motors moving the heliostats every 4 seconds. I went up to a heliostat to touch the reflective surface mirror and sure enough it was a mirror, not metal. When I asked Mr Arias about it, he said that these are slightly better mirrors than what I would have in my house. Energy Storage changes everything Santiago Arias, Torresol’s Chief Infrastructure Officer, started building power plants 38 years ago. He converses about the electricity market and gets excited about the impact of a solar power plant that can operate around the clock. “The maximum demand for electricity takes place during the evening on the hottest days of the year,” says Mr Arias. The market pays a premium price for electricity during those peak hours. A solar power plant generates the most energy precisely during those hot sunny days. “The ability to store energy when the sun it at its peak and deliver it when the market demand is at its peak changes everything in the power market. My fuel cost is zero. Natural gas can simply not compete with us.” Sources: (1) “Solar Trillions – 7 Market and Investment Opportunities in the Emerging Clean-Energy Economy”, Tony Seba, January 2010, Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Trillions-Investment-Opportunities-Clean-Energy/dp/0615335616 (2) Potassium Nitrate, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_nitrate , retrieved June 20, 2011 (3) Capacity Factor, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacity_factor, retrieved June 20, 2011 (4) Michael T. Maloney, “Analysis of Load Factors at Nuclear Power Plants”, http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=michael_t_maloney , as of June 20, 2011 |
DMCA takedown notices are sent in large numbers to dozens of organizations on the Internet every month. The ChillingEffects clearing house has been receiving copies of these from some of the Internet's biggest players including Google, Yahoo, Digg and more recently Twitter. It will come as no surprise that the music and movie industries are some of the biggest complainers, but there are also some unexpected entrants. Thanks to the folks maintaining the ChillingEffects database, issues surrounding many DMCA takedown requests can be properly researched in what can otherwise be a black hole of copyright complaints. Earlier this year, the homepage of BitTorrent meta search engine BTJunkie suddenly disappeared from Google searches, but since the search giant submits the DMCA takedown requests it receives to ChillingEffects, we were able to discover at least some background to the complaint. But this was just one URL in a single complaint out of the many thousands sent to ChillingEffects by the likes of Google, Yahoo, Digg and Twitter in the last 12 months. In total, the clearing house received copies of more than 12,000 cease and desist notices, some containing a single URL and some (such as those relating to The Pirate Bay) containing hundreds. So who made the biggest noise with DMCA takedown notices in 2010? It will come as no surprise that according to ChillingEffects stats, the international music industry, represented by IFPI, issued the most DMCA takedown notices to submitters during the last 12 months, 1272 in total. This may not sound like a huge number, but many of them contain lists of URLs which take a considerable time to simply scroll through. In second place one might expect to find other representatives from the entertainment industry, but this position is taken with 303 complaints by Clube do Hardware, the largest site in South America to publish tutorials, articles and news on computer hardware. Twentieth Century Fox secures the third spot with 299 cease and desists. Magnolia Pictures, a holding of the Mark Cuban owned 2929 Entertainment, takes fourth spot with 257 complaints. Porn aside, no further movie companies make the top 20. Brazil’s Associação Anti Pirataria de Cinema e Musica, the anti-piracy group which caused so much trouble for popular fansubbing sites such as Legendas.TV, also makes a significant appearance in the ChillingEffects chart. APCM, which represents the interests of companies such as Universal, Warner, SonyBMG, Disney, Paramount, and Fox, was hacked in 2009 but made its comeback to take 5th position. Operating in the adult entertainment market, RemoveYourContent came in 6th with 221 DMCA takedowns. With claims of a 99.3% success rate for removal of infringing content, the company has made enemies even within its own community, as demonstrated by various ‘hate‘ sites and critics. In 2009, RemoveYourContent was even blamed for having The Pirate Bay’s homepage delisted by Google. The RIAA has to settle for a lowly 7th place with 203 DMCA takedowns. Sony/Epic/Estate of Michael Jackson slide in at 11th spot, followed by Stones Throw Records at 12th and Chappell & Co at 13th. There are no more music companies listed in the top 20. Folkert Knieper, a producer of recipe photographs, is one of the more unusual entries at 9th position with 158 takedowns followed at 17th by Deckers Outdoor Corporation, the rightsholder for pictures of UGG boots. Adult video company Vivid Entertainment Group sits at 18th position with 82 DMCA takedown requests. Interestingly, some of the biggest copyright litigators of 2010, such as the United States Copyright Group and ACS:Law, appear nowhere in the top 20 list which perhaps suggests that having content removed is not their biggest concern, but generating profit from its existence is. So which industry makes the most noise overall when it comes to DMCA complaints? “While the mix changes over time, the most frequent senders of DMCA takedown notices remain the music industry, whose institutional members have sent a combined total averaging roughly 5 takedowns a day,” says ChillingEffects’ Wendy Seltzer. The full list, which also lists famous copyright ‘agents’ such as the Web Sheriff, can be found here. |
(From How To Read In Indian, a collection of literary journalism to be published by HarperCollins in 2013.) MOTHER TONGUE, OTHER TONGUES There was a brief period of my life, between the ages of roughly 6 and 13, when I read in only one language, English. My family had moved from Calcutta to Delhi, and Bengali was left behind in the transition; Hindi was an awkward space, a cold waiting room rather than another home. Until then, I had listened and spoken, like most Indians, in two languages, switching seamlessly between Bengali and English, but leaning more and more strongly towards the latter since it was the language of the school, the playground and the markets. Most Indians are—or were—bilingual; as Ramachandra Guha warns, the danger for many of the present generations is that they will be monolingual, or have only functional fluency in any of the languages they occupy, like tenants in rented houses, never completely at ease. Recent Census figures indicate a massive shift: English is now the fastest growing of all the Indian languages, overtaking languages like Bengali or Malayalam or Tamil as the most widely spoken second language across the country. The English in wide circulation today is a grubby version, like a much-used currency note, of immense functionality and limited fluency—it has not yet been taken over and annexed in creative terms by Indians. But even for those Indians who are most comfortable in just one language, reading in translation is a reflex, like living in cities with two or three languages on the street signs. (Cross-translations in Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada and Tamil, to name just a few Indian languages, used to be thriving business—Bengal’s pulp fiction bestsellers used to do a brisk trade in crude translations of Alistair Maclean and James Hadley Chase, and sold Bengali Harry Potter translations by the sackful more recently.) Penguin India and Rupa & Co, pioneers among the large English-language trade publishers in India, always published translations from other Indian languages—even though it was accepted knowledge that “translations didn’t sell”. The writer who broke this tradition was Shankar, whose Chowringhee, translated by Arunava Sinha, sold thousands of copies. This thrilled everybody—the publishers, the critics, the readers—and baffled Shankar and his Bengali publishers, who weren’t used to his books selling in the mere thousands, but in lakhs. The success of this and Blaft’s Tamil Pulp Fiction anthologies led some to predict a translation boom, but in terms of actual sales, very little changed. Translations continued to be read, as they always had been throughout the history of English language publishing in India, but off to one side, as again, sadly, had always been the case. As for me, Bengali returned when I was 14, living in Calcutta; a friend handed me Pather Panchali, assuming I could read it. For the first few days, I struggled with a script once familiar and now completely alien, stumbling like a child of three, spelling out letters, slowing down my reading speed to a degree that was actually physically painful. And then, slowly, the words began to form in whole blocks: “Nischindipur”, and “gram” and “Apu”, and behind them, Bibhutibhushan’s story began to take shape in my mind, fuelled by the memory of watching Ray’s iconic film. It happened between one inscrutable page, where I had to wade through the spiky script in the same measured pace that you take to walk through a flooded paddy field, and the next, where I had fallen back into Bengali. Once the door had been unlocked, stepping across the threshold was easy. My spoken and written Bengali remain rusty from lack of use, but when I read in Bengali today, it is always like coming back home. Favourite Indian Writers in Translation (A note: This is only a partial list, and a very personal one—my apologies for any and all omissions. The classics—the Ramayana, the Rajatarangini, the Mahabharata, the Cilapattikaram etc—would have required a separate list, but those interested should look for the Murthy Library classics.) Ambai: In A Forest, A Deer (translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom) Short stories drawing on mythology, feminism and the lives of ordinary women Ashapoorna Devi: The First Promise (Pratham Pratisruti) (translated by Indira Chowdhury) One of the few novels by the prolific and highly regarded author available in translation, this follows the evolution of Satyabati, a child bride who grows up to demand much more of her new life in a changing but still hidebound Calcutta. Bama: Karukku (translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom) Bama’s account of growing up untouchable, a dalit in modern India, has become a classic. ‘Karukku’ is the word for palmyra leaves, with their sharp, swordlike edges—Holmstrom points out that it can also mean seed or embryo. Bhisham Sahni: Tamas (translated by Jai Ratan—CHECK) The iconic novel about Partition; Sahni drew from his memories of working in the refugee camps to write the story of Nathu, the sweeper who sparks a riot with the inadvertent killing of a pig, Jarnail and many others. The power of his prose, angry and clinical, goes well beyond the televised version of the book. Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay: Pather Panchali (The Song of the Road), Aparajito (translated by TW Clark and Tarapada Mukherjee) These classic, much-loved novels formed the basis for Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy as Bibhutibhushan followed his protagonist from the little village of Nischindipur to the demands and temptations of the city. Fakir Mohan Senapati: Six Acres and a Third (translated by Rabi Shankar Mishra, Satya P Mohanty, Jatindra K Nayak and Paul St-Pierre) Senapati’s wickedly funny tale of colonial India might be one of the best novels about property and possession ever told. A greedy zamindar attempts to annexe six acres and a third of land, and as his plotting goes wildly astray, Senapati ambles across the terrain of the novel, taking aim at everything from the British administrators to Hindu village politics and venal priests. Girish Karnad: Collected Plays (translated by AB Dharwadker) From one of India’s most intelligent and engaged writers, plays that sweep through history and myth to address today’s audience. The first volume includes Tughlaq—which used to be performed, most memorably, on the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi—Hayavana, Bali and Naga-Mandala. Gopinath Mohanty: Paraja (translated by Bikram K Das) This 1930s novel explores the slow decline of a tribal stripped of his lands by the state, turning first to the forest that he knows so well and then to alcoholism. Gogu Shyamala: Father May Be An Elephant, and Mother Only A Small Basket, But… Gogu Shyamala, Dalit feminist and scholar, is also a fierce listener. This unusual collection of stories has a political core, and nothing is simple about either the lives of the Madigas or the complex world of the Telengana village she describes. But alongside the violence that she never flinches from opening up to the reader, there are also moments and images of sharp, indelible beauty. Harivansh Rai Bachchan: In the Afternoon of Time (translated by Rupert Snell) The great poet’s honest, moving recollections of his life, from the hardships of growing up in the provinces to the success of Madhushala, and the superstardom of his son, the actor Amitabh. The English translation was a very successful abridgement of the four-volume original. Jibananda Das: Selected Poems and Collected Short Stories (translated by Chidananda Dasgupta) Jibananda’s layered, often revolutionary poems spawned a host of terrifyingly bad imitations, but few had the accuracy of his vision. His short stories are less well-known, but for a generation of Bengalis, he offered an escape from the gentle tyranny of Tagore. Kamleshwar: Partitions (translated by Ameena Kazi Ansari) Searing, anguished and questioning, one of the finest explorations of the scars of Partition in Indian literature. The original, Kitne Pakistan?, has been retitled for an English readership, losing some of Kamleshwar’s bluntness. But Ansari’s translation stays faithful to the rest of his story. Kiran Nagarkar: Saat Sakkam Trechalis (Seven Sixes Are Forty-Three, translated by Shubha Slee) Nagarkar’s first novel was about Kushank Pundare, an unpublished writer living in a chawl. The Marathi literary world was not amused by Pundare’s sublime blend of nihilism and broad humour, but Nagarkar’s readers continue to be entertained. Krishna Sobti: Mitro Marjani, Ei Ladki (translated as To Hell With You, Mitro bu Gita Rajan and Raji Narasimhan and Listen, Girl) Sobti’s richly comic, sometimes dark explorations of sexuality and the need for freedom. M Mukundan: On the Banks of the Mayyazhi (translated by Gita Krishankutty) Father Alphonse, Dasan the freedom fighter, Chitralekha the dancer and the villagers of Mahe come together in this unforgettable classic. As Mahe/ Mayyazhi leaves its French colonial days behind, the changes it experiences will touch all of its citizens. In the companion novel, God’s Mischief (translated by Prema Jayakumar), Mukundan explored the contrasting worlds of the Gulf and Mayyazhi through the Dubai diaspora. Mahasweta Devi: Titu Mir, Rudali, Breast Stories, Mother of 1084 (translated by Rimi B Chatterjee, Anjum Katyal, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Samik Bandopadhyay) It’s hard to pick just a few from Mahasweta Devi’s corpus of writing, but try not to miss her wrenching, engaging perspective on history. Titu Mir was a Bengali peasant who led one of the first revolts against the zamindars and the British; Rudali explored the life and private heartbreak of a professional mourner in Rajasthan. Breast Stories, along with Old Women, collects some of Mahasweta Debi’s shattering short fiction—the story of Draupadi reimagined, Dopdi Mejhen, has a terrible resonance in an age when Soni Sori can be tortured by a rogue state. Mother of 1084 was written just after the Naxal years, but the corpse of prisoner no 1084 stands in for all those missing, or buried in unmarked graves across India. Mahesh Elkunchwar: City Plays (translated by Shanta Gokhale and Manjula Padmanabhan) Elkunchwar may be best known for plays that made the transition to cinema—Holi, Party, Virasat—but his City Plays will probably endure the longest. He is brilliant at locating crisis points—in relationships, in families, or in the wider social structure—and chronicling the ways in which people react, or crack, under pressure. This collection, along with the Wada Trilogy, is perhaps the best introduction to the subtleties of his brand of theatre. M T Vasudevan Nair: Naalukettu (translated by Gita Krishankutty) Literally “the house around the courtyard”, Naalukettu draws on MT Vasudevan Nair’s own memories to recreate the atmosphere of a village in South India, and the struggles of a young boy to find his way through a maze of tradition. Nabaneeta Deb Sen: Defying Winter (in Five Novellas by Women) translated by Tutun Mukherjee, A Nabaneeta Reader OUP’s Nabaneeta Reader, if you can find it, is the best introduction to the wide range of this writer’s work, which roams from children’s fiction to travelogue to literary criticism and mainstream fiction. Defying Winter is a wry and warm novella set in an old-age home. Naiyer Masud: The Essence of Camphor (translated by Muhammad Umar Memon) Translated from Urdu, these stories retain something of the perfume of that language—delicate, precise and melancholy, especially the title story and ‘Sheesha Ghat’. “I’ve had some dreams that are complete, coherent stories,” Masud once said in an interview, “and I’ve had some very long dreams.” Namdeo Dhasal: Poet of the Underworld (translated by Dilip Chitre) Many disagree with Dhasal’s politics, while retaining the right to admire his fierce, bitterly angry poetry. The late Dilip Chitre, a poet in his own right, did a beautiful translation of this Dalit poet’s work. As he explained, Dhasal sometimes “hurls his poetry like stones”; Chitre preserved the roughness and the darkness that ran through Dhasal’s lines. Nirmal Verma: Selected Stories; The Last Wilderness (translated by Pratik Kanjilal) The pioneer of the “Nayi Kahani” movement, Verma wrote with depth and passion, and a quiet sensibility matched by few. In ‘The Last Wilderness’, Pratik Kanjilal’s sensitive translation captures Verma’s story, set in the hills, narrated by the secretary-companion to Mehra Sahib, a retired civil servant. Verma uses the landscape to convey a sense of menace and possibility; one of his finest novels. O V Vijayan: Legends of Khasak (translated by the author) Vijayan made Khasak as much of a “real” place as Marquez’s Macondo, and it has something of the same richness. Ravi travels to the quiet backwaters of Khasak, to become the first teacher at the local school; but he is not the protagonist as much as the place and the time are. Khasak, like Malgudi, or Rushdie’s Alifbay, is one of the greatest fictional places on India’s literary map. Premchand: Shatranj ke Khiladi (The Chess Players); The Oxford India Premchand (translators; David Rubin, Alok Rai and Christopher King). His other novels and short stories may carry more literary weight, but Shatranj remains a personal favourite, for its evocation of a friendship tested in the sunset hours of a dying empire. Of the OUP India Premchand, by far the best translation is Alok Rai’s deceptively easy rendering of Nirmala. Premendra Mitra: Mosquito and other stories (translated by Amlan Datta) “Ghanada”, teller of exceptionally tall tales, is one of those great literary characters known only to the Bengalis; this collection brings out some of the wit and bizarre fluidity of Mitra’s imagination. Qurratulain Hyder: Aag Ki Dariya (River of Fire, translated by the author); Exiles (translated by Nadeem Aslam, foreword by Aamer Hussain) This monumental novel takes on two-and-a-half millennia of Indian history, linked by four characters who wander through the ages, bearing witness to the shifting times. Hyder’s magnum opus towers above most Indian classics. The Exiles, a collection of short stories, is hard to find—but worth locating for the sensitive translation by the novelist Nadeem Aslam and the foreword by writer Aamer Hussain. Rabindranath Tagore: Selected Short Stories (try to get the OUP edition, translated by Sukanta Chaudhuri and others), The Home and the World, Chokher Bali It’s hard to choose only a few from Tagore’s overflowing bookshelf, but his short stories are perhaps the best introduction to his work. Many of his novels, including Ghare-Baire (The Home, the World), and Nashto Neer (The Broken Nest, filmed as Charulata) inspired Ray’s films. Of special interest and charm are the stories where Bengal’s landscape takes over his work, rivers and ghats forming the backdrop to many of his sensitive, understanding tales of tormented or lost women. Rahi Masoom Reza: A Village Divided (translated by Gillian Wright) Reza’s account of the feuds between rival families in Gangauli is pointed, sharp and very, very funny. He drew on his own memories of living in a village on the borders of the old princely state of Awadh, to write about Partition from the perspective of Indian Muslims in a chiefly Hindu village. Salma: The Hour Past Midnight (translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom) Women writers like Mridula Garg, the poet Kutty Revathi and Salma have had to weather attacks from the (chiefly male) literary establishment in their respective states, for their “bold” writing. What makes them so problematic is not that they write about sexuality per se, or desire; it’s that they write about these subjects and more from an uncompromising, independent perspective. Salma’s women, trapped in the cloistered world of a small town in Southern India, do not always find redemption or escape; but she gives Rabia, Firdaus, Wahida and others the voice that they are denied in the real world. Saadat Hasan Manto: the collected short stories (translated by Aatish Taseer) Manto framed Partition and the riots with brutal humour—in his stories, inmates of a lunatic asylum must make sense of the new borders, a man finds he has no taste for cold meat, a child sees jelly in a pool of blood. Sankar: Chowringhee (translated by Arunava Sinha) In this skilful translation by Arunava Sinha, Sankar’s immensely popular novel about the inside stories of a grand hotel in Calcutta comes alive. He gets it all—the gossip, the melodrama, the sordidness and the occasional tragedies—from the point of view of the hotel staff. Sharatchandra: Debdas, Srikanta, Pather Dabi (translated by Sreejata Guha and others) One of Bengal’s most popular novelists, Sharatchandra’s characters remain alive in the public imagination thanks to Bollywood—though many readers have forgotten his reputation for sarcasm and his trenchant criticism of the social norms of his times. Shivram Karanth: Ten Faces of a Crazy Mind (translated by HY Sharada Prasad) “I do not desire to be killed by others’ pens. I shall take my own life.” Karanth was one of the greats of Kannada literature, and his autobiography is as unorthodox as was his life. Shrilal Shukla: Raag Darbari (translated by Gillian Wright) This classic satire of small-town India takes a close look at the rotting body politic without needing to hold its nose. The fictional town of Shivpalganj is the backdrop for local power struggles and a clinical dissection of the very Indian practice of corruption as a kind of fine art in itself. Sunil Gangopadhyay: Sei Samay (Those Days), Pratham Alo (First Light) (translated by Aruna Chakravarty) Historical fiction that treads a fine line between gossip and accurate chronicle of the life and times of Bengal’s finest—two of the prolific Gangopadhyay’s better-known works. Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai: Chemmeen (translated by Anita Nair) One of the late Thakazhi’s most popular works, this set star-crossed lovers down in a fishing community in rural Kerala. Nair’s skills as a novelist and her familiarity with Thakhazhi’s work make her a wonderfully intuitive translator. Instead of the often clumsy translations of the title, for instance—The Prawn, The Anger of the Sea Goddess—she elects to stay with the original, and has a sensitive ear for the rhythms of Thakhazhi’s prose. U R Ananthamurthy: Samskara (translated by AK Ramanujan) The funeral of a Brahmin who had turned his back on the community is at the centre of Samskara, U R Anathamurthy’s challenging and, for its times, revolutionary novel. Vaidehi: Gulabi Talkies (translated by Tejaswini Niranjana, Mrinalini Sebastian, Bageshree S., Nayana Kashyap) Short stories translated from Kannada; Vaidehi’s trademark style is best captured in the title story, where a town deals with the loss of its midwife, Lillibai, when she decides instead to run the only-for-women cinema, Gulabi Talkies. These sharp, contemporary stories slice up the world as seen through the perspective of women, and claim very wide ground. Vaikom Muhammad Basheer: My Granddad Had An Elephant, Walls (translated by R.E. Asher and Achamma Coilparampil Chandrasekaran) Basheer—freedom fighter, wanderer, writer—had a knack for capturing the absurd, the comic and the tragic in a few bare paragraphs. My Granddad Had An Elephant is a collection of short stories verging on memoir; Walls follows two prisoners who may not, eventually, want to leave for “the larger jail outside”. V K Madhavan Kutty: The Village Before Time (translated by Gita Krishankutty) One of my favourite books—a brief excerpt: “When water collected in the ditch on the left of the path, we always gathered to watch the little fast-moving insects called ezhuthachan chaathis that looked as if they were writing on the water. They wrote amazing stories in languages that looked sometimes like Malayalam and sometimes like Tamil.” Vijaydan Detha: A Straw Epic and other stories (translated by Christi Anne Merrill) The Rajasthani folk tales that Vijaydan Detha used as the foundation for his stories don’t translate well, but this collection offers a hint of the flavour of the original. Especially in ‘Duvidha’, the classic story of a triangle between a bride, her husband and the ghost that assumes the form of the husband for a brief while. Vilas Sarang: The Women in the Cages (short stories) Many of the stories here were originally written in Marathi and then rewritten in English by the bilingual Sarang. His Bombay is a surreal city, where Ganesha’s idol might run away from his own procession, where a man might get into trouble for warming his hands on a cold day at a funeral pyre. Vijay Tendulkar: Ghashiram Kotwal, Sakharam Binder or The Collected Plays if you can get it (translated by Samik Bandopadhyay) Tendulkar’s fearless and ferocious plays are staples of any self-respecting Indian theatre group—few playwrights have used contemporary events and stinging satire quite as well. Sakharam Binder was at the centre of a landmark free speech case, where the courts pointed out that artistic freedom was protected by the Constitution—even if it had the potential to cause offence. Yashpal: Jhoota Sach (translated as This Is Not That Dawn by Anand): Yashpal’s epic Partition novel comes in at a near-War-and-Peace length, its thousand-plus pages allowing him the space he needed to create—and then destroy—the Lahore mohalla of Bholapande Galli. He wrote it in the ten years after Partition; its impact on the Hindi language landscape has been deep and lasting. |
A social gathering for backers of Star Citizen's Australian Community. PubCitizen, where we will meet/chat/drink and eat a variety of light snacks, Drinks will be available from the bar at standard bar prices. If you have questions or queries please let us know by contacting the JJ2078. FAQs: Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event? Brick City Bar is a licenced premises. Minors are permitted but must supervised by an adult. What are my transport/parking options for getting to and from the event? Brick City Bar is on Grenfell St in the central CBD and there are many options for public trasport. What can I bring into the event? Yourself, a camera, sense of humour but you cannot bring food and drink into the bar. How can I contact the organiser with any questions? Contact: JJ2078 at jaymac@musician.org or post questions into the PubCitizen Australia discord or Facebook group. What's the refund policy? We are not offerring a refund on purchased tickets (they're free, after all). |
Ever since the WWE brought back Albert/A-Train who is now known to WWE fans as Lord Tensai, I figured it would be fun to look at the current state of the wrestling world and wonder what other former WWE stars should be re-signed by the company for a 2nd chance/run with the WWE. Let’s face it; no matter how well A-Train did in Japan as “The Great Bernard” I don’t think many fans thought that the WWE would eventually bring him back. It’s just not in the DNA of the WWE to give a former talent a second chance with that amount of years between their last WWE run and the present time. Lord Tensai/A-Train appears to be the exception and thank god for that because for a big ma he is a tremendous worker & has greatly improved since his last WWE run. But rather then being an exception maybe Lord Tensai has now become a pioneer in giving former WWE stars a 2nd chance especially if they have perfected their craft on the independent circuit or outside the United States. With that being said here is a list of five former WWE stars that need to be re-signed by the WWE: 5. Colt Cabana I have always felt that the WWE completely missed the boat with Colt Cabana a.k.a. Scotty Goldman. A lot of fans seem to really enjoy the gimmick Santino Marella has had the last couple of years where has been that comedic guy with good in-ring ability and I completely believe that Colt Cabana would have done that role so much better then Santino currently is. Not only does Cabana have a great personality but the guy is a tremendous in-ring worker. Cabana is hilarious to all age groups and wrestles a tremendous British style of wrestling that entertains the wrestling fan. The WWE knows how popular he is with fans and I still don’t understand why he hasn’t been signed. We have seen how popular cult (no pun intended) like fan followings have been with guys like Zack Ryder and someone like Colt Cabana would receive the same popularity. It’s a shame that the WWE hasn’t brought him back as they really could’ve capitalized last summer when they had their chance with CM Punk gaining so much popularity. 4. Matt Hardy This name might come as a surprise to many people but let’s face it internet fans, Matt Hardy has paid his personal dues to society, he has stayed out of trouble, by all accounts he has cleaned up his act, and we need to respect him for that, there’s no need to continue to kick a man while he’s down or on his way back up. I for one were one of those fans that were really hacked off by the actions of Matt Hardy during his dark period and bashed him a lot for it but you have got to give credit where credit is due & it looks like he is back on track with his life which is something we should be extremely happy to see. With the dark period of his life in the past Matt Hardy can return to doing what he does best and that is in-ring storytelling. Before all the drama Matt Hardy brought onto his life he was most remembered for being one of the “internet fans favorite wrestlers to watch.” He had great in-ring psychology, told a great story inside & outside the ring and had a passion for the business you just cannot duplicate. Matt Hardy, to me, could very well be in that same position Christian is in right now if brought back to the WWE roster, a veteran who can work well with any talent in any high profile feud. Now with everything cleared up in his life I believe the highest mountain I’d love to see Matt Hardy climb is a return to the WWE and to continue to prove all his detractors wrong. 3. Carlito Carlito was one of those talents that you’d just get really frustrated over because he was being underutilized or he’d (admittedly) get in trouble behind the curtain of the WWE thanks to his attitude or mouth. Back when Carlito debuted he was a guy that you could’ve easily penciled in as being a World Champion at some point by 2012. If you go back to his debut and remember how much the WWE pushed him it will remind you a lot of Alberto Del Rio; a guy that had the personality, in-ring work and charisma to be a top star in the next 2-3 years. Carlito never lived up to those standards and since his release from the WWE he hasn’t been able to regain the same mainstream attention in the United States that used to have and that’s a damn shame. Carlito can talk on the mic, tell a story in the ring and is a pretty good worker, that’s typically the makeup to develop a top WWE star. Now that a couple years have passed and Carlito appears to have matured from that last run I think now would be a great opportunity to bring back a star that the WWE fans really seemed to enjoy during his run with the company. 2. Shelton Benjamin I don’t think there is any more fundamentally sound wrestler the WWE has ever released then Shelton Benjamin was. His matches with Shawn Michaels on Monday Night RAW’s are some of the great RAW matches we have ever seen in the history of the show. He was one of the most gifted athletes to ever grace a WWE ring and he was still released by the company because he lacked the ability to cut a good promo. You always hear the phrase “5 tool prospect” when it comes to professional wrestling and Shelton Benjamin was just that except he lacked the important tool in today’s WWE standards by cutting a promo. The WWE never paired him up with a mouth piece (sorry Shelton’s “mother” didn’t cut it for a manager) so he was destined to fail. Despite all of that he is still tearing it up in Ring of Honor wrestling and is still one of the best pound for pound wrestlers not signed by the WWE today. Envision matches between Shelton Benjamin and Daniel Bryan or CM Punk, they would be a wrestling clinic. He still has the tools and the WWE could use pound for pound wrestlers so a 2nd chance into the WWE could be in Shelton’s cards if the WWE knows better. 1. Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP): This blog was originally inspired by the return of Lord Tensai into the WWE after years of being in Japan. Who better to return to the WWE then a guy who has been in Japan making his craft even better? That’s where MVP comes in. At one time this was a guy who was looked at as the future of the WWE. A guy who carry a good match, hold onto the ball given to him by the WWE whether he was a heel or face and run with it. He already has the crafts & tools to be a top WWE star and the fact that he left the WWE to pursue a career over in Japan to make his game even better is worth another crack at the WWE spotlight. He truly has all the right things to make him into a top WWE star again. His in-ring work is tremendous, he has charisma, he has personality, he is good on the microphone and he is getting better because he is over in Japan right now perfecting his wrestling abilities. We all remember how good MVP was during his first WWE run and a return to the WWE would really surprise fans with how much better he has already gotten thanks to his time in Japan. I don’t know what the WWE is waiting for but it’s time to bring a guy like MVP back to the WWE roster. For more on this topic join us for the Thursday June 7th edition of “The Still Real to Us Show” and download the show at www.wheelhouseradio.com or www.wrestlechat.net. If you would like to subscribe to “The Wheelhouse” on iTunes simply subscribe for free at iTunes by typing in “Wheelhouse Radio!” You can follow “The Champ Jeff Peck” on Twitter at www.twitter.com/therealjeffpeck you can also follow Wheelhouse Radio on twitter at www.twitter.com/thewheelhouse and you can e-mail them @ [email protected] [amazon_link id=”B0084136BC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]WWE Brock Lesnar Carnage T-Shirt[/amazon_link] [amazon_link id=”B007I1Q4PY” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]WWE: Falls Count Anywhere: The Greatest Street Fights and other Out of Control Matches [/amazon_link] Grab discounted WWE DVDs, merchandise, t -shirts, figures, and more from the WWE Shop on Amazon.com (Visited 27 times, 1 visits today) Eric G. Eric is the owner and editor-in-chief of the Camel Clutch Blog. Eric has worked in the pro wrestling industry since 1995 as a ring announcer in ECW and a commentator/host on television, PPV, and home video. Eric also hosted Pro Wrestling Radio on terrestrial radio from 1998-2009. Check out some of Eric's work on his IMDB bio and Wikipedia. Eric has an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business. More Posts - Website Follow Me: |
Understanding the Trump/Sanders Constituencies: Inequality Is Something the Elites Did John Judis has an interesting piece in Vox on the success so far of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. They have garnered the support of large numbers of voters who are disaffected with the agenda pushed by the mainstream in both parties. Judis argues that this agenda, which he alternatively describes as “neo-liberal” or “free market,” has been responsible for the rising economic insecurity of the white middle class. This insecurity has led Republicans to embrace Trump’s nationalistic and often racist agenda as well as Sanders’ openly left-wing agenda of a radically expanded welfare state. There is an important point that Judis leaves out of his story. The policies that have led to so much upward redistribution were not simply “free market,” they were policies that were designed to redistribute income upward. Starting with trade, the agreements pushed by presidents from both parties did not subject all areas equally to international competition. They quite explicitly put less-educated workers in direct competition with low-paid workers in the developing world by making it as easy as possible to set up factories in Mexico, China, and elsewhere and ship the products without barriers back to the United States. The predicted and actual effect of this sort of trade is to reduce the number of jobs and wages for manufacturing workers. And, by denying workers opportunities in manufacturing, this also puts downward pressure on the wages in the service sectors where former manufacturing workers then looked for jobs. Real free trade agreements would have made it easier for people in India, China, and elsewhere to train to U.S. standards and then work as doctors, dentists, lawyers and in other highly paid professions in the United States. Instead, the barriers in these professions were largely left in place or even increased. Driving down the wages of these high-end professionals would have reduced the cost of health care, dental care, and legal services. This raises the real wages of other workers. If the wages of doctors in the United States were reduced to the level of doctors in Europe, it would reduce what we pay our doctors by roughly $100 billion a year. This would be sufficient to add almost $1,000 a year to the paycheck of every worker in the bottom 70 percent of the workforce. In the same vein, these trade deals, along with domestic legislation, strengthened and lengthened copyright and patent protection. As a result, we pay more for everything from recorded movies and video games to smartphones and fertilizer. The biggest impact is on prescription drugs, where we spend over $400 billion a year. This figure would probably be close to $40 billion annually without patent and related protections. The difference of $360 billion a year comes to more than $2,500 a year for every worker in the country. Without patent protection we would have to find an alternative mechanism to finance research, but we could almost certainly replace existing research and still have plenty of money left over to put in workers’ pockets. A third area in which the upward redistribution had nothing to do with free market policies was the decision by the Federal Reserve Board to maintain higher unemployment rates in the decades since 1980. This was done in order to reduce the bargaining power of workers. This put a check on wage increases, which was an insurance policy against inflation. In my book with Jared Bernstein, Getting Back to Full Employment: A Better Bargain for Working People, we show that higher rates of unemployment have disproportionately hurt those at the middle and bottom of the income distribution. In these and other cases, policies that had nothing to do with the free market were put in place by elites to redistribute income upward. (A fuller story can be found here.) This matters because our elites were not simply following some grand principle like free market economics, they were crafting policies to give themselves more money at the expense of ordinary workers. Does this matter to the angry throngs backing Trump and Sanders? Well, many of these people believe that something was actively done to screw them and they are right, even if some of them adhere to nutty conspiracy theories that have nothing to do with the real world. The elites would prefer to have people believe that inequality was just something that happened, “the evolution of the world economy” as the Washington Post put it last week. The Post even tells us they feel really badly about it. But the reality is that inequality is not something that just happened, it was about the elites rigging the deck. And before we can have effective political action, we must have a clear understanding of what is going on here. |
Image copyright EPA Image caption A blanket of freezing fog swept across London on Friday Dozens of flights have been cancelled or delayed in and out of UK airports after fog hit parts of the country. Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Southampton and Cardiff airports all warned passengers to check with their airlines before travelling. The Met Office expects the fog to clear by New Year's Day, when rain is expected to sweep south across England. Meanwhile, Public Health England (PHE) warned that temperatures could plummet as low as -5C on New Year's Day. Keep up to date with traffic and weather news on the BBC: There has also been widespread disruption on the railways as a fresh strike by Southern Rail affects travellers. Parent firm Govia Thameslink (GTR) has urged people to check travel information because some New Year's Eve services will finish early. Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said Friday's freezing fog had lingered overnight and while much of it had lifted by Saturday afternoon, some patches could persist into the evening, "but not as widespread or as dense". The Met has issued north-west Scotland with a "yellow" weather warning, with heavy rain and gale-force winds expected to bring difficult driving conditions ahead of Hogmanay celebrations. 'Very heavy fog' A spokeswoman for Gatwick Airport, which cancelled 140 flights flights on Friday, said: "Unfortunately we are still experiencing very heavy fog across the south east." She said a number of crew members had been displaced by Friday's cancellations, which may be contributing to the further delays. More than a dozen easyJet flights were delayed for over an hour on Saturday morning, she added. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Some 45 flights were cancelled at Heathrow on Saturday Though Gatwick is not experiencing any further cancellations, the airport "strongly advises" people to contact their airline before travelling. A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said 45 flights had been cancelled on Saturday after being displaced by Friday's fog. He said there were no further cancellations due to Saturday's weather conditions but warned there might be some delays. London City Airport also warned Friday's fog had led to a number of cancellations and diversions on Saturday, telling travellers on Twitter to check the status of their flights. Southampton Airport in Hampshire and Cardiff Airport also reported disruption due to fog on Saturday morning and advised passengers to check their flights. 'Explosive' frustration Image copyright PA British Airways passenger Alexander McNabb and his wife Sarah's flight from Belfast to Heathrow has been delayed by more than 24 hours. Mr McNabb, who is due to spend New Year's Eve with family before flying home to Dubai, told the BBC his frustration was "explosive". He said: "Our flight was cancelled and we were given an awful handwritten note with the wrong contact number on it, and a £5 compensation voucher." After exhausting every customer helpline with no luck, Mr McNabb finally got a response from BA through Twitter. "They told us to come back to the airport at 6am, so we got up early. We checked in. Then it turns out there's a plane but no crew... And we've been delayed until 5.30pm. "They gave us another £5 voucher for breakfast... We're checked in and trapped in." A spokesman for BA apologised for Mr McNabb's delay, blaming Friday's fog for putting crews and aircraft out of position. Meanwhile, Highways England said the foggy conditions of recent days underlined the importance of driving to the conditions. Seventeen people were injured on Friday after a coach veered off a motorway slip road and overturned in heavy fog in Oxfordshire. A spokesman for Highways England said: "Fog can come very quickly so it's important to leave plenty of space. "The thing that's really important to remember is when it's wet it does take twice as long to stop." |
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) - Gov. Roy Cooper announced Friday he vetoed two bills - House Bill 239 and Senate Bill 68. HB239 would reduce the number of judges on the Court of Appeals from 15 to 12. READ HOUSE BILL 239 "Having three fewer judges will increase the court's workload and delay timely appeals. Just as bad is the real motivation of Republican legislators, which is to stack the court with judges of their own party," Cooper said. SB68 would combine the elections and ethics boards. READ SENATE BILL 68 "This is the same unconstitutional legislation in another package, and it's an attempt to make it harder for people to register and vote," Cooper said. "Changing the State Board of Elections to a 4-4 partisan split and local county board of elections to a 2-2 partisan split will result in deadlocked votes. "I urge legislators to set the right priorities for North Carolina and stop electoral manipulation, which, like gerrymandering, is what's wrong with politics." CBS North Carolina will update this story as it develops. |
Starbucks Corp. aims to double sales from its food business in the U.S. over the next five years and become more of an evening food-and-wine destination as it continues its push to be more than just a coffee chain. The Seattle-based chain known for its java in recent years has removed the word “coffee” from its logo and expanded food beyond its traditional breakfast pastries. During an investor conference on Thursday in which the company is expected to lay out its growth strategies for the next five years, Starbucks plans to announce a target for annual revenue from food in the U.S. market to double to more than $4 billion by fiscal 2019. The nationwide rollout of La Boulange baked goods and sandwiches, completed earlier this year, has helped fuel sales growth and the company plans to expand its offerings at lunch to attract more customers at a slower time of day. “We now understand better than ever before how to develop a larger food business in our stores in the morning and increasingly at lunch,” Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Troy Alstead said in an interview. Starbucks SBUX, -1.14% also plans to dramatically expand its evening food-and-alcoholic beverages program. It now has 32 cafes with such offerings, and plans to increase that over the next five years to more than 2,700--equal to nearly a quarter of its more than 11,000 current U.S. stores. Some Starbucks cafes in Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Los Angeles offer small plates of cheese, vegetables and flatbread pizza, along with desserts, wine and beer after 4 p.m. “The opportunity is much bigger than we thought it would be,” Alstead said. The increased focus on food comes at a time when Starbucks and other mature restaurant brands have been trying to figure out how to juice sales in the U.S., where growth from opening new restaurants is limited. Some chains have added entirely new meal times while others have added new choices across the day. An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com. |
Mark Dreyfus says Labor will scrutinise bill that would protect against misleading information, fraud, bribery and intimidation Any bid to “fix” the postal survey on same-sex marriage by applying electoral laws to the process may undermine the high court challenge to the vote, Labor and the constitutional law expert George Williams have warned. The shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, raised the concern in an interview on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday in which he suggested the challenge had a 50-50 chance of success and recommitted Labor to pursue marriage equality even if the postal survey returned a “no” vote. On Friday the Turnbull government first floated the possibility of an urgent bill to apply normal electoral laws to the survey to apply protections against misleading information, fraud, bribery and intimidation. Most people in Tony Abbott's electorate back marriage equality, poll shows Read more Labor and the Greens have said they will consider the plan but have still not been provided details of what the government proposes and whether it could extend as far as attempting to prevent hate speech in the debate. Legislation would have to be brought this week, a sitting week in which the lower house is considering a law to impose new hurdles on aspiring citizens. Labor will also move to refer the postal survey to a Senate committee. On Sunday Dreyfus said the government, despite saying there would be no hurtful or misleading material “and that they trusted the Australian community and the no campaign to engage in respectful debate, now says it wants to legislate in some way”. “You might say [the government] should have thought of that before they foisted this ridiculous postal survey on Australians.” Dreyfus said Labor would “look at whatever the government puts forward” but noted “it might have some consequences for the court case that’s being brought”. The high court case has listed the challenge to the postal survey for 5 and 6 September, just a week before ballots are due to be mailed out on 12 September. Williams told Guardian Australia that Dreyfus was “certainly right [because] a key part of the case is that the executive doesn’t have parliamentary support [for the postal vote]”. Marriage equality: 'The only thing worse than having this postal vote ... is losing it' Read more “If new legislation expressly or impliedly provided support [for the vote] it could take the wind out of the sails of the challenge,” he said. “[Labor and the Greens] have rejected legislation for the [compulsory] plebiscite. If they want to maintain the strength of the high court challenge, they should exercise caution with whatever legislation might be seen to support the postal vote.” Asked what Labor would do if the postal survey returned a no vote, Dreyfus said it was “clear Labor policy” that “marriage equality should happen in Australia”. “We don’t want to be the last country in the developed world to have marriage equality. And we’ll bring it to the parliament after the next election if we’re successful.” Dreyfus said the high court challenge to the postal survey was backed by “strong arguments” that there was no legislative authority to spend $122m and it was beyond the power of the Australian Bureau of Statistics to conduct the poll. Asked to estimate its chance of success, he replied: “I’m not going to give legal advice on national TV. Let’s say 50-50.” Dreyfus suggested the high court could give its verdict immediately after the hearing, preventing any ballot papers ever being mailed out, and supply its reasons later. The shadow attorney general called on the government to explain which bill for same-sex marriage it would pass if the plebiscite succeeded. On Saturday the Australian reported that cabinet ministers would “run dead” in the same-sex marriage debate, limiting their activities to stating their position, responding to media questions and encouraging people to vote. The education minister, Simon Birmingham, however, said he would be doing “everything I possibly can to encourage Australians to vote yes, to support love over fear, to show respect over intolerance”. “I will be doing everything I can, without distracting from my ministerial duties, to get a yes vote out there,” he said. The defence industry minister and leader of the House, Christopher Pyne, told Guardian Australia he would “be advocating a yes vote and, assuming I can use my communications budget, [be] writing to my electorate explaining my stance and urging them to vote yes”. On Sunday the energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, told Sky News he supports same-sex marriage and would encourage people in his electorate to vote yes in the postal survey. But he said that, when it came to broader campaigning, he had “bigger fish to fry” and energy policy would be his priority in coming weeks and months. The executive director of the Equality Campaign, Tiernan Brady, said the yes campaign would reach out to 1,300 community organisations, faith groups, unions and corporations to help turn out the vote and fight the campaign. The Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary, Sally McManus, tweeted on Saturday that the union movement “had the backs” of gay and lesbian Australians and would not be “bystanders to hate”. Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) Gay & lesbian Australians need to know that @unionsaustralia have their back. We stand up to bullies everyday, we wont be bystanders to hate A spokeswoman for the acting special minister of state, Mathias Cormann, said the government was still “exploring in good faith how we can complement existing legal protections under current laws” to further ensure a fair process for the survey. “At the appropriate time all relevant stakeholders will be consulted before we put any proposed bill to the parliament,” she said. |
Conceptual artist Fausto De Martini (Transformers: Age of Extinction, RoboCop) has shared unused concept art of H.E.R.B.I.E. and Fantasticar that he created very early on in the pre-production process for Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot. Entertainment Weekly reported last month, director Josh Trank wanted to add a comic-relief robot and the squad's flying car, but Fox's president of production Emma Watts rejected those and other geek-friendly ideas. Thanks to Fausto's concept art we can now see what Trank had in mind. The two H.E.R.B.I.E. designs feature a spherical base like the BB-8 droid from J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That's interesting. I wonder if Trank, who was attached to direct a standalone Star Wars anthology film at one time, was privy to the BB-8 and it influenced his H.E.R.B.I.E. design? Then there's, the Fantasticar! They experimented with various makes of automobiles to be transformed into the flying vehicle. Fausto came up with designs that incorporated the exteriors of a van, Check out the concept art in the images below. H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics) is a robot sidekick that debuted in the 1978 animated series and was conceived by Stan Lee and designed by Jack Kirby. H.E.R.B.I.E. replaced Johnny Storm/The Human Torch as the fourth team member. At the time, The Human Torch couldn't be used in the cartoon as the character was optioned for an unmade solo film. H.E.R.B.I.E. was introduced in the comics shortly after the cartoon made its premiere. |
How to Import and Export Data in CSV in Laravel 5 Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now. Hii, Web Artists, In today’s AppDividend Tutorial, I have shown the code of How to import and export data in CSV in Laravel 5. This example is simple laravel excel tutorial. If you want to up and running with basic laravel functionality, then go to my other article on this web blog called Laravel 5.4 Crud Example From Scratch. Import & export data in CSV in Laravel 5.4 We will start this tutorial by installing the maatwebsite/excel package. Step: 1 Download the maatwebsite/excel package through composer. composer require maatwebsite/excel maatwebsite/excel is a Laravel specific package, which provides us some methods to import and export our data from our database. Step: 2 Add the service provider to the provider’s array in config/app.php file. Maatwebsite\Excel\ExcelServiceProvider::class, Step: 3 You can use the facade so, add this to your aliases in config/app.php file. 'Excel' => Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel::class, Step: 4 To publish the config settings in Laravel 5.4 use. php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Maatwebsite\Excel\ExcelServiceProvider" Step: 5 Create an items table via migration command. php artisan make:migration create_items_table Step: 6 Define columns in our items table. Go to project folder >> database >> migrations >> items migration file and edit the file. // 2017_06_13_000837_create_items_table.php <?php use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema; use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint; use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration; class CreateItemsTable extends Migration { /** * Run the migrations. * * @return void */ public function up() { Schema::create('items', function (Blueprint $table) { $table->increments('id'); $table->string('item_name'); $table->string('item_code'); $table->string('item_price'); $table->integer('item_qty'); $table->integer('item_tax'); $table->boolean('item_status'); $table->timestamp('created_at'); }); } /** * Reverse the migrations. * * @return void */ public function down() { Schema::dropIfExists('items'); } } Step: 7 Run the migration. php artisan migrate Now the table is created in the database. Next step is to build a view for the table to import the file. Step: 8 Create the items.blade.php file. // items.blade.php <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Import-Export Data</title> <!-- Latest compiled and minified CSS --> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-BVYiiSIFeK1dGmJRAkycuHAHRg32OmUcww7on3RYdg4Va+PmSTsz/K68vbdEjh4u" crossorigin="anonymous" </head> <body> <div class="container"> <br /> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"></div> <div class="col-md-2"> <button class="btn btn-primary">Import</button> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <button class="btn btn-success">Export</button> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html> Step: 9 Create an ItemController file. php artisan make:controller ItemController --resource Step: 10 Register the route for that item view. // web.php Route::get('items', 'ItemController@index'); Step: 11 Write index function in ItemController file. // ItemController.php /** * Display a listing of the resource. * * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response */ public function index() { return view('items'); } Step: 12 Create import form in the view file. <!--items.blade.php --> <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Import-Export Data</title> <!-- Latest compiled and minified CSS --> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-BVYiiSIFeK1dGmJRAkycuHAHRg32OmUcww7on3RYdg4Va+PmSTsz/K68vbdEjh4u" crossorigin="anonymous" </head> <body> <div class="container"> <br /> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4"></div> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="row"> <form action="" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data"> <div class="col-md-6"> <input type="file" name="imported-file"/> </div> <div class="col-md-6"> <button class="btn btn-primary" type="submit">Import</button> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <button class="btn btn-success">Export</button> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html> Step: 13 Create a model for items table php artisan make:model Item so your model will look like this. // Item.php <?php namespace App\Models; use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model; class Item extends Model { protected $fillable = [ 'item_name', 'item_code', 'item_price', 'item_qty', 'item_tax', 'item_status', 'created_at' ]; } Here I have added protected $fillable field to prevent mass assignment exception. // web.php <?php Route::get('/', function () { return view('welcome'); }); Route::get('users', 'UserController@index'); Route::get('items', 'ItemController@index'); Route::post('items/import', 'ItemController@import'); <!-- items.blade.php --> <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Import-Export Data</title> <!-- Latest compiled and minified CSS --> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-BVYiiSIFeK1dGmJRAkycuHAHRg32OmUcww7on3RYdg4Va+PmSTsz/K68vbdEjh4u" crossorigin="anonymous" </head> <body> <div class="container"> <br /> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4"></div> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="row"> <form action="{{url('items/import')}}" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data"> <div class="col-md-6"> {{csrf_field()}} <input type="file" name="imported-file"/> </div> <div class="col-md-6"> <button class="btn btn-primary" type="submit">Import</button> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <button class="btn btn-success">Export</button> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html> I have also added {{csrf_field()}} to prevent token mismatch exception because this form uses POST request. For more details, please visit https://laravel.com/docs/5.4/csrf Step: 16 Write import function in ItemController. // ItemController.php /** * Store a newly created resource in storage. * * @param \Illuminate\Http\Request $request * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response */ public function import(Request $request) { if($request->file('imported-file')) { $path = $request->file('imported-file')->getRealPath(); $data = Excel::load($path, function($reader) { })->get(); if(!empty($data) && $data->count()) { $data = $data->toArray(); for($i=0;$i<count($data);$i++) { $dataImported[] = $data[$i]; } } Item::insert($dataImported); } return back(); } I am uploading that excel file in here. Items Excel File Now you can upload any excel file and import it, and it can easily be imported into your database. The new table with inserted values will look like this. Now, if the database column names and excel sheet headers are different then we can use following code. <!-- ItemController.php --> /** * import a file in storage. * * @param \Illuminate\Http\Request $request * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response */ public function import(Request $request) { if($request->file('imported-file')) { $path = $request->file('imported-file')->getRealPath(); $data = Excel::load($path, function($reader) { })->get(); if(!empty($data) && $data->count()) { foreach ($data->toArray() as $row) { if(!empty($row)) { $dataArray[] = [ 'item_name' => $row['name'], 'item_code' => $row['code'], 'item_price' => $row['price'], 'item_qty' => $row['quantity'], 'item_tax' => $row['tax'], 'item_status' => $row['status'], 'created_at' => $row['created_at'] ]; } } if(!empty($dataArray)) { Item::insert($dataArray); return back(); } } } } Here is the excel file which has header name and database column name different. Different Header file name For CSV it works the same so, you can use this code for CSV implementation. Next step is to Export the files in Excel or CSV format. So first step is to view that table into the items.blade.php Step: 17 Create table in the items.blade.php file. <!-- items.blade.php --> <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Import-Export Data</title> <!-- Latest compiled and minified CSS --> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-BVYiiSIFeK1dGmJRAkycuHAHRg32OmUcww7on3RYdg4Va+PmSTsz/K68vbdEjh4u" crossorigin="anonymous" </head> <body> <div class="container"> <br /> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4"></div> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="row"> <form action="{{url('items/import')}}" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data"> <div class="col-md-6"> {{csrf_field()}} <input type="file" name="imported-file"/> </div> <div class="col-md-6"> <button class="btn btn-primary" type="submit">Import</button> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <form action="{{url('items/export')}}" enctype="multipart/form-data"> <button class="btn btn-success" type="submit">Export</button> </form> </div> </div> <div class="row"> @if(count($items)) <table class="table table-striped"> <thead> <tr> <td>item_name</td> <td>item_code</td> <td>item_price</td> <td>item_qty</td> <td>item_tax</td> <td>item_status</td> </tr> </thead> @foreach($items as $item) <tr> <td>{{$item->item_name}}</td> <td>{{$item->item_code}}</td> <td>{{$item->item_price}}</td> <td>{{$item->item_qty}}</td> <td>{{$item->item_tax}}</td> <td>{{$item->item_status}}</td> </tr> @endforeach </table> @endif </div> </div> </body> </html> Also, I have defined the action in the export button. Now create an action in the web.php file. // web.php <?php Route::get('/', function () { return view('welcome'); }); Route::get('users', 'UserController@index'); Route::get('items', 'ItemController@index'); Route::post('items/import', 'ItemController@import'); Route::get('items/export', 'ItemController@export'); Step: 18 Create an export function in ItemControlller.php file. // ItemController.php /** * export a file in storage. * * @param \Illuminate\Http\Request $request * @return \Illuminate\Http\Response */ public function export(){ $items = Item::all(); Excel::create('items', function($excel) use($items) { $excel->sheet('ExportFile', function($sheet) use($items) { $sheet->fromArray($items); }); })->export('xls'); } Now when you press the export button, one .xls file will be downloaded in your browser. This example demonstrates Laravel import CSV or excel to the database. If you have any doubt in this How to Import and Export Data Laravel 5 tutorial then ask in a comment below, I am happy to help you out. |
CMT’s Southbound Explores Raleigh History, Legends, Art I was as surprised as anyone to get an e-mail from a Production Assistant for a CMT television show called Southbound. The crew travels around the South, with adventures taking them up the highest mountains, down the fastest race tracks, sipping the tastiest sweet tea, and meeting the trendiest artists. Since Candid Slice features a lot of the strangest things our city has to offer–hidden history, ghost stories, and abandoned buildings–the team at CMT had been using this site to come up with some cool ideas for places to film when they came into town. Every writer wants to know their words can somehow impact the world around them. So I was more than happy to show the crew of Southbound around Raleigh’s historic buildings and local haunts. My role? To lure host Allison Demarcus, former pageant star and beauty queen, into either ghostly or urban exploration dreamworlds. Seriously — every adventure is better with a television crew behind you. So while the Southbound team was in Raleigh, I was happy to be a temporary part of their traveling adventures. Here’s where we went: Dos Taquitos Xoco at The Creamery Very little has been written about the paranormal legends at Dos Taquitos on Glenwood South. In fact, many Raleigh-ites aren’t even aware of the stories. However, Dos Taquitos proudly flaunts its supernatural connections–even the decor is specifically reminiscent of Dia de los Muertos. There are skeletons everywhere. I wouldn’t want to be in there alone at night. The workers shared many stories about their personal experiences with unusual knocking on the walls, dishes flying off shelves, and whispered voices. In fact, Debb Kiser, a hostess there who runs a local paranormal investigation group called ASAP Paranormal, said that even visitors often mention hearing their name whispered in their ears while they eat. The women’s restroom, in particular, is known to be especially haunted. I won’t explain too much more — it’s better if you just watch the show! Heck-Andrews House I love a good abandoned house, and this unique 147 year-old home on Blount Street has been closed to the public for more than a decade. Over those years, it’s collected its share of spooky stories, but this downtown gem’s true value is its trove of history. With a colorfully restored exterior, the inside has degraded into waste. I was absolutely stoked to go inside, a television crew following after. The cold January air seemed stale inside the dusty time-capsule. High ceilings rose many feet above our heads, with intricately carved columns climbing the walls. Some walls were completely built of mirrors. Allison and I had to take the staircase one at a time, and stick close to the wall, so our weight wouldn’t cause the creaking wood to bow. As we explored, wide-eyed, I told stories about Gladys Perry, who once lived here with her mother. She became more reclusive after her mother passed away, although many people tell stories of seeing her in Cameron Village, dolled up with white powder foundation and rosy cheeks. Eventually, the state evicted her–for her own safety, as she was too old to care for herself. The house sat empty for years, as the state determined its fate. One state worker on the grounds that day explained to me, “We don’t want to keep it abandoned. But if we restore it and make it another office building, it’ll lose all its charm and history. Ideally, we’ve been hoping a historic society or an individual owner with a passion for restoration and preservation would buy it.” If you want a far greater detail into the unique history of the Heck-Andrews house, you can read more about it at Goodnight Raleigh! It’s been a happy ending for the Heck-Andrews house, as it recently sold to a group that ensures a bright future. Governor McCrory explained to the News & Observer, “Bringing the Heck-Andrews House back to life is a perfect example of Project Phoenix’s mission.” St. Agnes Hospital The ruins of St. Agnes, with towering stone walls, hollowed window sockets, a carpet of ivy, and a ceiling of sky, are like a remnant from another world. It appears like a crumbling castle beside Historic Oakwood Cemetery. But it’s beautiful with the sunset beaming through those vacant windows. The light was fading fast as we waited for security to come unlock the gates. After spending hours in the cold Heck-Andrews, the January wind was sinking into our bones. Allison and I, who could only wear a coat in between takes, turned off the shivers so we could tell the camera crew about this segregated black hospital that was once one of the highest quality in the country. “Welcome to the glamorous life of television,” a crew member told me as I pulled my coat back on and tripped over a vine. I laughed. We climbed around in the wild thicket of ivy and kudzu, exploring strange holes in the ground, and the carving of a face on the second story, where we could never reach it. “Careful not to ruin the ruins!” someone joked as we climbed through holes in the walls. Second Breakfast All cold, all tired, we piled into the CMT jeep to go back to rest and have food. We agreed on Hibernian on Glenwood South. I felt like the Fellowship of the Ring, settling at a heavy log table by a zesty fire. Servers poured wine and we passed around buttery hummus dips and crusty bread. When our stout Irish food arrived, with the fire to warm us, we all discussed the day’s adventure. I am grateful for the crew of Southbound. The entire day, as we explored new things, shared history and tales and lore, shivered in the cold — it felt like a nice step away from a normal day at the office. It was a day for adventure, captured on television. The next day I believe Allison learned how to spray paint and make graffiti art with a local artist named Bersk. Perhaps they tried the Butt-Kicking Machine at Angus Barn. I wish this crew the best of luck on their future adventures! Thank you for letting me be part of the experience. And Raleigh, I hope their episode will make you proud of your city — all of our cool history, weird ghost stories, wild artists, and cozy hangouts. We’re a pretty great place. Thanks for visiting, Southbound! We hope to see you again someday. The episode will air Tuesday, March 15 at 10pm/9 central. Keep tabs on the Southbound website. Photo credit: Tim Hardiman, Heather Leah |
Photo by Teresa Earnest The family finally pays a visit. 4th generation Brew Master of Brasserie Dupont, Olivier Dedeycker, will tour the U.S. this June to promote the launch of Deux Amis Saison, a collaboration beer with California’s Lost Abbey Brewery. This trip marks the first visit to the United States by any family member of the iconic Brasserie Dupont in its 172-year history. Mr. Dedeycker will be traveling from New York to Los Angeles with four-time Great American Beer Festival’s Brewer of the Year,Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey, to speak with brewers and beer aficionados alike. This multi-city tour will provide trade and consumers with the opportunity to meet the brewers to gain insight into the craft of producing classic Belgian farmhouse ales, as well as discover Deux Amis – the limited edition American-Belgian collaboration. For over two decades, Mr. Dedeycker has devoted himself to preserving his family’s traditional brewing techniques. “It’s certainly not the most economic way to work,” noted Dedeycker, speaking about his traditional brewing techniques and brewing equipment. “I mean we could produce beer cheaper, with different materials, but the spirit would be different.” Mr. Dedeycker will be making limited appearances at events in New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco during his stateside visit, June 20-29. ABOUT BRASSERIE DUPONT: Brasserie Dupont was established as a farm brewery in 1844 in Tourpes, Belgium. The brewery is most well known for producing Saison Dupont Vieille Provision. Named the “Best Beer in the World,” Saison Dupont is considered the benchmark of one ofBelgium’s most influential beer styles. ABOUT DEUX AMIS: French for “Two Friends,” Deux Amis brings together two esteemed brewers who have long admired each other’s work – Olivier Dedeycker, the fourth generation Brew Master of world-renowned Dupont Brewery and four time GABF Brewer of the Year,Tomme Arthur of California’s Lost Abbey Brewery. Deux Amis has the trademark flavor of Dupont’s signature peppery yeast accentuated with vibrant notes of tropical fruit all balanced by aromatic hints of clove and pine. It makes the perfect companion to spicy cuisines, stir-fries, fresh fish and bright, citrus-y marinades. For more on Deux Amis: www.DeuxAmisBeer.com. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ashdown worry over Tory ‘closeness’ with Gulf Lord Ashdown has accused the government of failing to put pressure on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states which he said were funding jihadism. The ex-Lib Dem leader said cutting off jihadists' income should be a "crucial part" of the UK's strategy. He claimed the Tories' "closeness" to Gulf interests was hampering this. But he said his party may vote for RAF air strikes in Syria if they were lawful, enjoyed regional support and were part of a broader plan. Follow the latest political updates with BBC Politics Live David Cameron will make the case for military intervention to MPs on Thursday, stating why he believes extending the UK's existing air campaign against Islamist militants from Iraq to Syria is necessary. The statement is a prelude to a vote on whether to authorise military action in Syria expected as early as next week. Assembling coalition Mr Cameron has said he will not call the vote until he is certain he can win, having failed to gain the support of Parliament in 2013 for military action against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Lord Ashdown told BBC Radio 4's Today his party - which has eight MPs - had not ruled out backing intervention if key conditions were met and it was a question of what the prime minister "turns up with" on Thursday. Where Saudi Arabia stands Image copyright AFP Image caption Saudi Arabia has rejected claims it has directly supported Islamic State Regional Sunni power Saudi Arabia is part of US-led military action against IS targets in Syria. Riyadh also agreed to a US request to provide a base to train moderate Syrian rebel forces. The kingdom has been a key supporter of the rebels, including hardline Islamist groups, but it has rejected an Iranian accusation that it has directly supported IS. However, wealthy Saudis have sent donations to the group and some 2,500 Saudi men have travelled to Syria to fight. Where other countries stand in IS fight Asked if the party could support Mr Cameron, he replied "possibly", adding that this was dependent on three factors. "The first is a clear statement of legality - we have got that from the UN Security Council resolution. The second is a wider coalition spanning the Sunni and Shia divide - that is now being assembled at last and not before time. "The third is a broader strategy which includes what happens afterwards." If the international community was serious about tackling violent militant groups such as Islamic State - also known as Isil or Daesh - he said the Gulf states had to play a much larger role in exerting diplomatic and financial pressure as well as military co-operation. "Pressure on the Gulf states to stop funding Sunni Jihadism and pressure on the Gulf states - if we're going to send our aircraft in, to make sure theirs are present too - is a crucial part of the strategy. "Will the prime minister ensure now ensure that in the strategy he presents on Thursday, that is part of the strategy?" Security briefings And he suggested the government's reluctance to launch an inquiry into the funding of jihadism in the UK was potentially politically motivated. "The failure to put pressure on the Gulf States - and especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar - first of all to stop funding the Salafists and Wahabists, and secondly to play a larger part in this campaign... leads me to worry about the closeness between the Conservative Party and rich Arab, Gulf individuals. "Will he launch an inquiry into the funding of jihadism? If not, I think we're entitled to ask some questions about why not." David Cameron has said the UK must use every resource at its disposal to degrade and destroy Islamic State, which he has described as an "evil death cult" which poses a direct threat to national security. The government is briefing undecided Conservative MPs and members of opposition parties about its plans. The DUP's deputy leader Nigel Dodds and Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson are due to meet the prime minister on Wednesday after receiving a briefing from the National Security Council. The party's eight MPs voted against intervention in Syria in 2013, but have indicated they may be ready to back the government. But SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, whose party has 56 MPs, said she remained unconvinced about the basis for any action. "If asked to take a decision on this today I would be against air strikes," she said. "I want to make sure that the action that is taken is going to be effective, that it is going to be part of a plan and makes matters better, not inadvertently makes matters worse." Meanwhile, the Home Office official in charge of counter-terrorism has revealed that 70 British Muslims have been killed after travelling to Syria and Iraq. Charles Farr also told MPs on the Home Affairs Committee he was "completely satisfied" about the weaponry available to British police to respond to a Paris-style attack. |
Vincenzo Nibali made his race-winning move when yellow jersey Chris Froome was stopped with a mechanical in stage 19 of the Tour. LA TOUSSUIRE-LES SYBELLES, France (VN) — Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali butted heads once again Friday, after the Italian of team Astana won the summit finish to La Toussuire. Nibali won stage 19 Friday with an attack on the Croix-de-Fer climb, 59 kilometers from the finish. His attack, though, came at the time that Sky’s captain in the yellow jersey had an issue with his back wheel. He stopped and fixed it, but when the TV cameras switched back to the main group, Nibali was gone. “In my opinion, it’s very unsportsmanlike,” Froome said. “Nibali had the whole time to attack, but he chose the moment when I had a mechanical to make his move. I heard from the other riders that he turned and saw me when he made his attack. “It’s not sportsmanlike, and that’s not what this race is about.” The rider known as ‘The Shark’ by fans in Italy continued solo, passed Frenchman Pierre Rolland (Europcar) and crossed the line 44 seconds ahead of Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and 1:14 ahead of Froome in third. With his move, he now sits fourth in the overall. Froome leads by 2:38 on Quintana, 5:25 on Quintana’s Movistar teammate Alejandro Valverde and 6:44 on Nibali. As soon as Froome crossed the finish line, he found Nibali in the media mixed zone. Froome said, “I told him exactly what I thought of him.” “I don’t deserve the words he said; they are too hard, and not right to say,” Nibali explained later. “I won’t repeat what he said to me. “He was very upset with me and I don’t understand his problem. I didn’t hear any info on race radio. I just kept moving and going for the win. “I didn’t even respond to Froome when he came to me. “I could have stood there and argued, but it wouldn’t have changed anything. Many times, these things happen to me too. That’s cycling.” It is not the first time that Froome became upset with Nibali. After a crash in the first week to Le Havre, Nibali yelled at Froome on the finishing straight and accused him of causing it. Froome rode directly to Astana’s team bus afterward and argued with Nibali, who soon apologized. On Friday, it was a bit of tarmac that provoked the confrontation when it jammed itself between Froome’s rear wheel and his brakes. “I just suddenly felt as if my back wheel locked up,” added Froome. “I had to stop, take the wheel backwards just to get the stone out, unfortunately that was the moment Nibali decided to make his move.” Astana said that it did not radio from the car to tell Nibali to attack in that moment that Froome had his trouble. “We had no idea what was going on on TV,” Astana general manager Alexandre Vinokourov told VeloNews. “He went on his own.” The team argued that it did not make an impact on Froome because Nibali was far down in the overall standings. Froome said otherwise. “I wouldn’t have said it was an attack specifically on the yellow jersey at that moment in the race, but if he attacked, for sure guys like Contador, Valverde, they’re going to start worrying about their podium places,” Froome added. “It’s only normal they had to chase. We saw Valverde was the guy to take it up. He had to start chasing Nibali. There’s that knock-on effect.” The incident soiled moment of celebration in an otherwise black tour for Nibali. After winning the 2014 Tour, he hoped to come back and do so again. However, he suffered during the first week and on the first summit finish, lost many more minutes. “Not all the years are the same,” Nibali said. “We are not machines, we are humans.” |
Hi all, Party Bus here. It’s been a while since I wrote another killer article, but the truth is I was away on vacation and was having a good time. There were no video games on my sabbatical. It was glorious. Now I’m back and facing all sorts of stupid shit, so without further ado… Dead Pixels on Nintendo Switch are the “People’s Problem” So Nintendo launched the Nintendo Switch. I got my hands on it, and it’s a piece of shit. Look for an in-depth review later this week on this. That’s not the issue at play here, however. A couple of these devices went out with dead pixels. Most non video game companies would be working on ways to replace said devices. Not fucking Nintendo. They say it’s not their problem, and that broken ass fucking devices they ship out are “normal” and should not be considered a defect (here is the link if you don’t believe me). That is un-fucking-believable. You have die hard fans fighting for Nintendo every day, and they repay them with this ass-fuckery. Fuck. Them. Sony Doesn’t Give Refunds on Digital Purchases This is a story that really happened. It happened twice actually. Both involved my ass hat kid ordering shit he wasn’t supposed to. In story number one my ass hat kid orders a bunch stupid shit from Amazon’s digital store. I’m pissed since he bought $50 worth of shit, and even more pissed when I find that one of these purchases was this piece of shit. However, I called Amazon and they reimbursed me my money fully after I explained my situation. They were very nice, and the whole thing blew over rather quickly. Now, a similar situation happened but this time with Sony. This time my ass hat kid ordered a year of Playstation Now and Odin Sphere. I called Sony, and they gave me the old circle jerk for an hour. They then told me that they don’t give refunds for digital purchases. I was pissed. Finally after a ton of fighting, they agreed to give me a refund for the PS Now only, and I would have to wait three weeks. Odin Sphere was here to stay (which could have been worse, as the game is actually very good). When I finally got my refund it was in store credit for Sony’s Online store. Moral of the Story Moral of the story, video game companies suck. They have shitty policies, and seem to have a total disregard for their most loyal fans. You got these guys fighting for their consoles and the ones they are fighting for couldn’t give any less of a shit about them. Don’t be an idiot. Don’t spend a dime on Nintendo’s over-priced peripherals. Don’t put up with stringent policies like Sony’s. We should not have to put up with this shit. |
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is not the indestructible mutant he once was in “Logan.” (Twentieth Century Fox). Few superhero performances are as beloved as Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, which helped give birth to this current era of superhero movies back in 2000’s “X-Men.” But Jackman hasn’t had as much luck with his solo outings. It is fitting, however, that in “Logan,” his last film as the most famous X-Man around, Jackman will make fans wish he wasn’t hanging up his six claws for good. That wasn’t the case with “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009), Jackman’s first solo Wolverine movie, which botched the adaptation of Wolverine’s secret origin as a young, sickly and wealthy 19th century Canadian boy named James Howlett who would later mutate into an indestructible force. “Origins” was a failed attempt to build a Wolverine/X-Men inspired movie universe that included other mutants. To put it another way, after “Origins,” no one was asking for more of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, which is hard to believe now as fans anticipate “Deadpool 2.” [Can ‘Deadpool 2’ give birth to an R-rated X-Force franchise?] “The Wolverine” (2013) was an intimate look into Wolverine’s time in Japan, but didn’t leave fans asking for another movie. At first glance “Logan” looks like an attempt to remove Wolverine from his comic book roots and make a more grounded movie to appeal to a general audience, and not just the fanboys who have made it possible for three Wolverine movies to be made. But the core of what makes “Logan” Jackman’s best solo effort was the decision by director James Mangold and Jackman to take inspiration from two very popular Wolverine storylines from the comic books: 2008’s “Old Man Logan” (by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven) and the creation of X-23, a young female clone of Wolverine (created by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost) who first appeared in Marvel’s “NYX” series in 2004. The “old man” approach, in a distant, almost mutant-less future where Wolverine is finally starting to show signs of aging, helps counteract the one thing that always makes Wolverine movies so hard to plot: his near invulnerability from constantly healing. In “Logan,” an older Wolverine doesn’t heal like he used to, which allows Jackman to show a type of pain we’re not accustomed to seeing. Even Wolverine’s claws are betraying him, not always popping completely out on command. Alcohol becomes a new way for Wolverine to heal. [A plan for giving the X-Men movies new life] Jackman’s brilliant last dance as Wolverine is equaled by a scene-stealing performance from young actress Dafne Keen as Laura/X-23. She matches Wolverine’s violence slice for slice with her own set of adamantium claws, but only when forced to. Laura just wants to be a child, but being the genetic copy of Wolverine gives her no such youthful luxuries. It’s arguable that X-23 is the best part of “Logan,” showing Jackman’s devotion to telling the best Wolverine story he could without demanding all the glory be sent his way. The R rating brings something new as well. “Deadpool’s” success with the rating is probably what encouraged the filmmakers to unleash a violent character with R-rated potential who had been trapped in a PG-13 comic book movie world. “Logan” earns its R rating through Wolverine’s claws alone. A link to those “X-Men” movies of the past in “Logan” is Patrick Stewart, who, surprisingly, also benefits from an R rating. Professor Xavier is uncensored in his old age, frustrated from seizures that make him lose control of his powerful telepathic/telekinetic mind, which puts anyone near him in danger. “Logan” gets its compassion from the moments when Wolverine does his best to make Professor X comfortable. Professor X, when he does have control of his mind, scolds Wolverine for wasting his heroic potential and pleads with him to take on parental responsibility for Laura, whom he says Wolverine must see as a daughter, not a genetic mistake. Boyd Holbrook (“Narcos”) is easily the most compelling adversary Jackman has had in a Wolverine movie, via his performance as Pierce, a man on the hunt for X-23. Pierce’s sly southern charm while hunting Wolverine and X-23 on the U.S./Mexican border masks his brutal lack of compassion for a child created to be a weapon. Pierce (Boyd Holbrook, left) is after X-23 (Dafne Keen) and not afraid to go through Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to get her. (Twentieth Century Fox). Whereas Professor X and eventually Logan look at X-23 as a child deserving of some type of normal life, Pierce just sees a puppy who ran away. Being a heavily armed and guarded southern gentleman isn’t enough when tracking not one, but two Wolverines, so Pierce has to bring in a secret weapon to get the job done. It’s a blast from Wolverine’s past, who we won’t reveal, but was really the only person who could attempt to take down Wolverine and his clone, setting up an epic final release of the claws. “Logan” is Jackman as Wolverine at his best in a movie that will leave you wanting more. He gave Twentieth Century Fox the prototype cinematic superhero for years, and in return, the studio finally gave him the right Wolverine movie in the end. Read more: Will ‘Logan’ be the rare superhero film that transcends the ‘comic book movie’ tag? |
Share on Pinterest The RS3 is not a new car and it has been the top of the A3 range for some time now. However, so far the car has not been available on the US market which made many people wonder why. Luckily, though, a few weeks ago the all new 2018 Audi RS3 has been released and there are a lot of good news about it. For starters, the car is now going to be available either as a hatchback or a sedan. The latter will only be available in the US, a first, while the hatch will be sold in Europe exclusively. Even though the two versions will be slightly different in appearance, at least on a performance level the two are going to be identical. 2018 AUDI RS3 PRICE AND DETAIL Even though the model is all new for the US market, it is not really an entirely new car. The 2018 version is actually just a facelift for the older model. It gets a new look, slight changes on the inside as well as a ton of improvements to its running gear. The RS3 will be sold in the US starting in the Summer of 2017. The European version should become available at roughly the same time. The car’s price hasn’t been released so far. However, considering that the S3 costs over $43,000, it is safe to assume that the RS3 will cost well over $50,000 with some suggesting for as much as $60,000. CHASSIS Just like with the regular A3, or the S3, the 2018 Audi RS3 uses the same MQB modular front-wheel drive platform. However, in order to keep up with the competition, this has been slightly altered in order to accommodate an all-wheel drive system. Audi says that this should now be capable of delivering a lot more torque to the rear wheels than the AWD on the S3. On top of that, they will be offering an option which will replace the regular 235.35.18 tires in the front with 255.30.18 tires. This is quite interesting because not many manufacturers offer wider tires up front. Audi said that this is mostly to reduce as much as possible understeer and make the car a bit more neutral. The brakes are also much larger than on the regular model and even though not official, some pictures showcased by Audi offer a nice view of the front brakes which do seem to be carbon ceramic units. 2018 Audi RS 3 Sedan First Look – 2016 Paris Motor Show DESIGN The RS3 looks on par with any RS model to date. The regular S3 body has been taken and widened slightly. It has new front and rear fenders, the front end has been modified while the back is as subtle as ever, with a much larger exhaust system. Instead of all the chrome found on the S3, the 2018 Audi RS3 gets all black inserts as well as black mirrors which are a first for the model. The grille is slightly more aggressive, the headlights are new while the massive front splitter is there to help with high-speed stability. ENGINE OF 2018 AUDI RS3 The new RS3 has a new engine even though it shares its displacement with the older unit. The 2.5 liter inline 5 turbo is now an all aluminum unit. Audi said that this shaved more than 70 pounds from the front axle. On top of that, it gets a new head, larger injectors, a new turbo as well as a much better cooling system. The end result is 400 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque. This is just as much as the TT-RS which is incredibly fast. The official numbers say that the RS3 will hit 60 MPH in 4.1 seconds with a top speed of as much as 174 MPH. The gearbox is a 7-speed dual clutch unit which should allow for better figures on the right driving surface, especially considering the performance of the older car. 2018 Audi RS3 Sedan – Testing at the Nürburgring |
But Representative Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican, who is chairman of the panel, said the law that gave the F.C.C. the ability to conduct “incentive auctions” of newly available spectrum required “maximizing the proceeds from the auction.” For the F.C.C. to obtain the highest price for the spectrum it sells, it should limit the size of guard bands, Mr. Walden said; he said the six-megahertz minimum size proposed by the F.C.C. was unnecessarily fat. Up to $7 billion of auction proceeds is earmarked to help build a nationwide public safety communications network for first responders. The spectrum for the auctions is supposed to come from television broadcasters who voluntarily give it up or move their position on the airwaves in exchange for some of the auction proceeds. Photo “I support the use of unlicensed spectrum to foster innovation” for relief of congested broadband, Mr. Walden said. “What I cannot support,” he added, “is the unnecessary expansion of unlicensed spectrum in other bands needed for licensed services, especially at the expense of funding for public safety.” The F.C.C.’s five commissioners, who all testified before the subcommittee on Wednesday, are split 3-2 along party lines over the issue of unlicensed spectrum. Commissioner Robert M. McDowell, a Republican, said it would be premature for the commission to reserve newly available airwaves for unlicensed use. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Instead, the commission should set aside the “white spaces” between broadcast television channels for unlicensed use, he said. White spaces are similar, but smaller, guard bands in the part of the spectrum dedicated to broadcast television that are intended to minimize interference between stations. “At this early stage in the incentive auction process,” Mr. McDowell said, “it is not apparent that we should stop the progress well under way in the TV white spaces arena to create a solution for a problem — an alleged shortage of unlicensed spectrum in lower spectrum bands — that may never exist.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The F.C.C.’s plans for unlicensed spectrum received support from Democrats on the subcommittee, including Representative Henry A. Waxman of California. Mr. Waxman said the way unlicensed spectrum would be set aside and used were settled in negotiations on the Public Safety and Spectrum Act, which was enacted this year. “I am troubled by attempts by some to relitigate issues that were resolved earlier this year, when the bill passed Congress with widespread support,” Mr. Waxman said. Republicans on the subcommittee also sparred with Mr. Genachowski over whether the F.C.C. should limit the amount of spectrum any one company could own. That would limit the potential buyers of some spectrum to be auctioned. Supporters of restrictions say they are one of a few ways to give smaller cellphone companies the ability to build nationwide networks. Separately, the F.C.C. said late Wednesday that it had agreed to allow Dish, the satellite television company, to use spectrum that it controled for mobile broadband; previously, the airwaves were to be used only for satellite transmissions. The change, which was expected, greatly expands the value of the spectrum and could allow Dish to enter a mobile broadband partnership with another wireless company. |
Last night, just days after appearing before what seemed to be an actual heap of heap of trash, Donald Trump compared the effects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on America to rape. The TPP, he explained, is "...pushed by special interests who want to rape our country, just a continuing rape of our country — that's what it is too, it's a harsh word." In case listeners didn’t get it the first time, he continued, “It's a rape of our country." Trump used similar language in May when he said “we can’t continue to allow China to rape our country.” Using rape to describe competition and defeat is common, but ubiquity doesn’t make the metaphor any less repugnant or harmful. The meaning of the word and the impact of the human rights violation it represents are lost when “rape” is abstracted like this. The violence and damage are erased in favor of sloppy sexism and, almost inevitably, racism. Using the word the way Trump does, in an environment already saturated with rape myths and misunderstandings, does real damage to victims and a disservice to public understanding. That a man with a track record of objectifying and harassing women, and described in a 1992 biography as violently sexually assaulting his wife, falls back on this word to describe imbalances in power is hardly surprising. It is apparently virtually impossible for him to think of domination in anything but gendered ways. There are better words than rape to describe a trade agreement. Trump’s unimaginative parroting of the tired trope says more about him than about rape or the TPP. Trump's use illustrates an abiding cultural understanding of “rape” as victory and an act of male supremacy. The rape metaphor almost always sheds light on how speakers think about gender, since it is commonly understood that to rape is an act of masculine strength, while to be raped is feminizing weakness. The word is casually interchanged with words such as “beat,” “crush,” “slam,” or “destroy,” not only to express conquest or domination, but, for the "rapist," glory and triumph. Rape is, for example, commonly used to describe the utter annihilation of opponents in sports. In this estimation, rape is sex and sex is war; rapists are winners, the raped are losers. Shame, according to Trump’s use, is reserved for the raped, not the rapist. Additionally, when used metaphorically, rape often goes hand in hand with female objectification. While English isn’t as gendered as some languages, everyday discourse is filled with semantic sexism and that sexism includes the default of objects as female and agents as male. Men as actors, women as acted upon. Countries, for example, are “female” and their conquerors are male. Ships are “female,” their captains male. Cars are "shes," their owners and drivers are men. Gendered differences in talking about power, nationalism, global expansion, world domination and immigration are baked into the syntax and cadence of English speech and thought. Given that Trump routinely describes women as objects, talks about sex in terms of conquest and prizewinning, and sees political power through a lens of sexual submission, it’s not much of a stretch for him. In yesterday’s case, he depicted the country the way he would a woman being forced into submission, as humiliation. Again, Trump is hardly an outlier. He is, actually, pretty typical in terms of conforming to a script. Sexual symbolism, and sexual violence, in language tied to nationalism, globalization and colonization has a long history, well-analyzed in feminist thought. Patriotic manhood in particular is essential to ideologies of nationalism like Trump's, as is the idea of foreigners sexually polluting an idealized "motherland." (It goes without saying, although Trump himself does, that his mother was the "ideal woman.") His ideas are directly linked to monoracial and ethnic preferences and the preservation of heterosexual norms in state institutions. Even Trump's ridiculous assertion that Mexican immigrants are rapists is a textbook example of nationalism expressed, in the words of scholar Joane Nagel, through the "construction of simultaneously over-sexed and under-sexed ‘enemy’ men (rapists and wimps)." Yesterday was just one more display of ignorance, stereotyping and sexism. People can stop themselves from using rape as a metaphor. Trump, however, is not among those that would. His own history, demonstrating the close relationship between racism and sexism, intimacy and violence, attests to how rooted in his sense of self these ideas about gender, status, and power are. Demonstrably contemptuous of women, “weak” people and “losers,” he is not inclined to see think about these problems—with rape either as crime of inequality or a damaging metaphor—at all. Metaphors might actually seem comforting at the moment. Last week, a woman known only by Jane Doe filed a federal lawsuit against Trump, accusing him of non-metaphorically raping her in 1994, when she was a 13-year-old girl. For the most part, repeating well-understood mistakes of the past, media have largely ignored this lawsuit. Nineteen ninety-four was the year after Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump, detailing his “violent assault” of then wife Ivana Trump, was published and two years after Trump was quoted in a New York magazine article explaining, "You have to treat [women] like shit.” |
Prince performing at the Hollywood Palladium (Photo courtesy of Prince & NPG) Nobody does it quite like Prince. The rock god played an epic four-hour set at a secret show at the Hollywood Palladium Saturday night—complete with five encores and some secret guests. And yes, he was sporting a purple velvet suit and matched it with a turtleneck, huge gold-chained necklace and a black hat sitting atop of his mini-Afro. The concert was supposed to start at 8 p.m., but it seemed like everyone who worked at the venue had something different to say about when they thought he'd get on stage. Friday was the first night in a two-night string of secret shows at the Palladium with his protégé Liv Warfield and NPG Horns on the bill. Bartenders and doormen said he had gotten on stage the night before at midnight after all the other performances, but many pointed out that Saturday night was his night, his time to rock out. But nobody was prepared for his four-hour dance party that they would soon experience. To get the crowd psyched, Doug E. Fresh was the warm-up act, spinning old-school hip-hop tracks from the likes of Notorious B.I.G. and Sugar Hill Gang. And Prince didn't get on stage until two hours later at around 10:15 p.m. (which actually surprised us that he got on that early—come on, it's Prince!). Joining him on stage looked like an army of people—rounding out to nearly 20 folks packed like sardines with all their instruments. He had his all-girl band 3RDEYEGIRL as well as all the brass instrument players you could ever imagine (his New Power Generation). Shelby J belted out tracks with Prince with her impressive vocal styling and Prince even brought on stage Janelle Monae and Doug E. Fresh for some freestyling. Prince and NPG performing at the Hollywood Palladium (Photo courtesy of Prince & NPG) There was a get-down-and-get-funky energy beaming throughout the night. Prince sang in front of a stand featuring his large, golden signature symbol, dubbed the Glyph, the Love Symbol... whatever you call it. Most of the night, though, he didn't even touch his guitar, as much as we were dying to watch this guitar legend shred. (Though, he did give us a sweet taste of his piano-playing for some tracks including "Mama Feelgood" and "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?") A good amount of the time Prince worked on hyping up the crowd and his band. He kicked the show off with "Big City" and when he performed "1999" early in his set, the crowd erupted in excitement and it set a standard for the rest of the night that he would be playing some of his most beloved tracks, including "Purple Rain," "Raspberry Beret," "Diamonds and Pearls" and "When Doves Cry." Prince even reached beyond his own typical songs to do a beautiful version of the song he wrote that was made famous by Sinéad O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U," and an energized cover of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." Doug E. Fresh rapped over "If I Was Your Girlfriend." In between songs, Prince would get the crowd to cheer out "Hollywood" (almost to the point where it got a little too repetitive) and seemed to be giving orders to the man working the lights. He'd yell out "Lights off!" or "Lights on!" or "Shine him with your light!" At one point, he even tried to sing out in a funktified way, "Put your phone down. You can't get down with technology in your hand!" It was true to Prince form and his strong stance against fans taking photos or video of his performances. (Remember how he recently tried to sue some fans for posting bootlegged videos of his concerts online?) There were signs everywhere that read, "NO PHOTOS. PATRONS TAKING PHOTOS ARE SUBJECT TO EJECTION." And indeed, we saw security guards out in the crowds ejecting people for taking videos. Guess he wasn't kidding! Still, the Palladium served as a backdrop for what seemed like a world where Prince could do whatever he wanted. He finally plucked his guitar at the end of the night for "Let's Go Crazy." What can't be argued is how his stage presence is unparalleled. His voice was on point, hitting all those high notes, and he danced up a storm with his crew. Saxophone solos reigned over the night and enjoyably so. We can't help but bow down to this rock legend. |
Liquid X - RIoT Rich .mp3 got a cowboy hat, with a black trenchcoat to match aint got no friends, but i still try (I still try) won't leave my room, til it's damn near june (like may 23rd) I love to play, my counterstrike (counterstrike) crack RSA, while watchin anime (those anime flicks) system.print, god damn i'm nice (don't forget the semi colon too) my motherboards, run on 24's (24 ghz processors) I'm CS rich, dah dah...... my baseball bat stays hitting a mac pcs unplugged like they're taking a nap I got my, very own linux distro turned down jobs from sun and cisco processor working, like an engine revving whole damn crew's 1-3-3-7 taking over IRC, with only four bots dvd burners that I use for door stops got a RAID 5 hard drive array go ahead, leech a petabyte of anime bought 3 sun servers tonight yo [CPUs/all processors] iced out with liquid nitro stay up til 6 AM, nocturnal talk about my day in my online journal friends say I need a girl in my world? (yo...) I'd rather just recompile my kernel... Payless boots, with the pimped out goodwill suits (with the good will suits) ain't got no style, but I'm still fly (i'm still fly) spent every cent, that my parents sent (god damnit mom and dad!) they'll send some more, overnight (better hurry up with the dough) got a quarter pound of dro, better smoke a bowl (right before I go to class) I'm high as fuck, but I'm alright (I don't really work anyway) don't gotta go to class, I'm still gon pass (school's easy as fuck) art major rich, dah dah dah....... got a new tackle box and a photoshop server hair cut lookin like rainbow sherbert I wear, sandals in the winter (it's true) I don't buy books, just glitter and glue have second year standing til I'm 24 raise a family at the art house, second floor out of all programs, yeah, art's the hardest I'm not lazy, I'm a starving artist even if you think my art is garbage you'll love how dope my shopping cart is drop art? maybe when I'm not retarded my portfolio's still hot regardless friends hit the weed til they choke and they faint all I need? dry macaroni and spray paint drawing every day, wow, I'm amazin probably co-op in the tunnels, working on a painting complain all night, there's no social life (no social life) but watch TV all the time...(don't forget videogames) 4 quarters and half, no girls in class (wow that sucks) that's played as hell, but I'm alright (fuck it, I'll spit a cliche) got a pair of wings taped, to the back of your cape (what the fuck is wrong with you kids) your mom and dad, should end your life (really end it all on the real) you'd transfer schools, but you're lazy fools (where the fuck is the forms) R.I.T. rich, dah dah dah dah... for most guys the ratio's not an issue you're scared of girls, got a lotta tissues if you make a joke about bricks, or chicks, or gracies "YOU"RE CORNY AS FUCK", so don't make me pull cards, [bitch], I'm fed up too scared on the quarter mile to even lift your heads up someone else used your mouse, you're prone to heads to the courts with your pc and get a divorce, uh ...it's a dry school...that's why y'all drink til you dry heave and everybody's gotta have ID we got a homecoming dance...but no football game I know, it's lame, be ashamed of your school, and the fact, that you're spending your cash on a new gym that you'll never use, what a kick, in the ass at last, when you get your degree you're gonna promise yourself, that you're "never coming back" Payless boots, with the pimped out goodwill suits (with the good will suits) ain't got no style, but I'm still fly (i'm still fly) Yo X let's go hit up ellingson and get some play from the deaf chicks Yo they gotta be blind, not deaf and... the awesomly true song stolen from "da hub" |
With the international community pondering a retaliatory strike against Syria as retribution for its reported use of chemical weapons, the opposition is smitten with joy. For more than two years, it has unsuccessfully tried to drag the world powers from their spectators’ seats into the arena. But though America and its allies appear ready to strike, the Syrian opposition will not benefit. For in the cauldron of chaos that Syria has become, it is the jihadists who control the strongest brigades. Militants from the Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) kidnap Westerners and fighters from other brigades with impunity. They kill leaders from the rebel-led Free Syrian Army (FSA) without the slightest fear of retribution. ISIS controls key roads, dams, and grain silos, with checkpoints everywhere. In the northern provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, and al-Raqqa, the organization is either the most or second-most powerful brigade. ISIS is an A-Team force among FSA units composed of squabbling Gomer Pyles. ISIS’s success in Syria is nothing new. In every conflict in which jihadists participate, they quickly become the most dominant fighting force. Several factors account for their supremacy in Syria. Experience from other conflicts—including Chechnya, Iraq, and Mali—provides them with an institutional knowledge of fighting that local combatants often lack. They are frequently the most courageous warriors on the battlefield. Their martial spirit attracts the admiration of locals who seek to join their elite band of brothers. Today, American intelligence agencies believe more than 6,000 foreigners are fighting in Syria. Unlike indigenous rebels, whose dedication to the cause is as fickle as a teenager’s first crush, jihadists fight for ideological reasons. They believe they are performing a sacred deed by engaging in a jihad, or holy war. The concept is much maligned and misunderstood in the West as a fanatical religious war. A much more nuanced characterization is provided by the Prophet Muhammad’s statement that one should fight “in order that the word of Allah reigns supreme.” Such an exertion can range from bringing Muslims closer to the faith to fostering social cohesion. In Syria, ISIS is active on all these fronts. It runs a 15-day Introduction to Islam course in northern Syria, according to people who say they’ve attended the workshop. There, a Syrian population largely denied religious instruction by the ruling secular Baath Party learns the basic tenets of their faith. ISIS sponsors summer camps for youth. Such programs show Syrians the group’s gentler side that is often lost in the Western media’s focus on its more belligerent activities. ISIS provides social services such as conflict mediation as well. Because foreign fighters have no link to Syria, they can play the role of neutral outsiders. With the war having destroyed the judicial system, Syrians seek out members of ISIS to adjudicate disputes. In one case, the jihadists jailed a mechanic for a substandard repair job, according to a prisoner who shared a cell with him. Jihadists in other countries have done the same. In Yemen, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has filled the void created by a decrepit justice system. This is not a new phenomenon in Islamic lands. Historically, the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad played this role. By solving everyday dilemmas, ISIS is winning over Syrians’ hearts and minds. Syrians are equally impressed by the group’s squeaky-clean image. In contrast to other brigades, whose motto is “fight by day, plunder by night,” ISIS is a dedicated combat force. FSA forces steal everything from grain to air conditioners. Aleppo units, such as Ahrar Suriyya, Asifa al-Shamal, and Ghuraba al-Sham, have drawn the ire of a population increasingly viewing the revolution as mere cover for replacing a repressive regime with fiefdoms controlled by warlord bandits. Though some FSA brigades must dabble in criminal activities to stay afloat and pay their fighters, ISIS is not strapped for cash. A steady stream of financiers from wealthy Persian Gulf nations arrives at Turkish border towns such as Reyhanli. They spend a week in Syria visiting ISIS units, returning to their native countries to submit their assessments and reappearing with suitcases full of cash. Such a well-greased machine ensures that ISIS can focus all its efforts on fighting the Syrian regime rather than beseeching patron nations for funding. As Washington contemplates striking Syria, it should not be fooled into believing that an air offensive will tip the battle in the FSA’s favor. Instead, the bombs America will drop will be manna for ISIS. For Syria is slowly becoming the jihadist haven al Qaeda has historically sought in the heart of the Arab world. And nothing short of a sustained campaign that Washington has no stomach for can prevent this prophecy from materializing. |
Few notice the “spotter car” from Manny Sousa’s repo company as it scours Massachusetts parking lots, looking for vehicles whose owners have defaulted on their loans. Sousa’s unmarked car is part of a technological revolution that goes well beyond the repossession business, transforming any industry that wants to check on the whereabouts of ordinary people. An automated reader attached to the spotter car takes a picture of every license plate it passes and sends it to a company in Texas that already has more than 1.8 billion plate scans from vehicles across the country. These scans mean big money for Sousa — typically $200 to $400 every time the spotter finds a vehicle that’s stolen or in default — so he runs his spotter around the clock, typically adding 8,000 plate scans to the database in Texas each day. “Honestly, we’ve found random apartment complexes and shopping plazas that are sweet spots” where the company can impound multiple vehicles, explains Sousa, the president of New England Associates Inc. in Bridgewater. But the most significant impact of Sousa’s business is far bigger than locating cars whose owners have defaulted on loans: It is the growing database of snapshots showing where Americans were at specific times, information that everyone from private detectives to insurers are willing to pay for. While public debate about the license reading technology has centered on how police should use it, business has eagerly adopted the $10,000 to $17,000 scanners with remarkably few limits. At least 10 repossession companies in Massachusetts say they mount the scanners on spotter cars or tow trucks, and Digital Recognition Network of Fort Worth, Texas, claims to collect plate scans of 40 percent of all US vehicles annually. Today, a legislative committee in Boston is scheduled to hold a hearing on a bill that would ban most uses of license plate readers, including the vehicle repossession business, making exceptions only for law enforcement, toll collection, and parking regulation. “We have technology rapidly moving ahead in terms of its ability to gather information about people,” said state Representative Jonathan Hecht, a Watertown Democrat who filed the bill along with state Senator Cynthia Creem of Newton, Brookline and Wellesley. “We need to have a conversation about how to balance legitimate uses of this technology with protecting people’s legitimate expectation of privacy.” But Digital Recognition and other so-called “data brokers” who collect plate scans are fighting Hecht and Creem’s bill, arguing that repo agents are not invading privacy when they scan a license plate, which is available for all to see. The data brokers do not disclose the owner of the plates, they point out, though customers such as banks, insurers, and private investigators have ready access to that information. Brian Shockley — vice president of marketing at Vigilant, corporate parent of Digital Recognition — plans to warn legislators that Massachusetts risks getting left behind in the use of a new tool that helps fight crime. “I fear that the proposed legislation would essentially create a safe haven in the Commonwealth for certain types of criminals, it would reduce the safety of our officers, and it could ultimately result in lives lost,” Shockley is scheduled to say in testimony prepared for the hearing before the Joint Transportation Committee. License plate scanning technology has been around for decades — the British police originally adopted it in the 1970s to track the Irish Republican Army members — but it only came into wide use in the last decade as cheaper but highly effective models became available. These scanners use high-speed cameras and optical character recognition technology to capture up to 1,800 plates per minute, even at high rates of speed and in difficult driving conditions. The scanner also records the date, time, and GPS location of each scan. Since 2008, more than 60 Massachusetts police departments have started using scanners to track down drivers with unpaid tickets, no insurance, or driving stolen vehicles, but the trend has raised concern about potential privacy invasions. In December, Boston police suspended their use of plate scanners altogether after a Globe investigation reported questionable data management, including the accidental public release of more than 69,000 license plate numbers that had been scanned over six months. Meanwhile, private companies were quietly and rapidly finding ways to profit from much larger databases with little public discussion. Digital Recognition Network, with the help of about 400 repossession companies across the United States, has increased the number of license scans in its database tenfold since September 2010, and the firm continues to add another 70 million scans per month, according to company disclosures. Digital Recognition’s top rival, Illinois-based MVTRAC, has not disclosed the size of its database, but claimed in a 2012 Wall Street Journal interview to have scans of “a large majority” of vehicles registered in the United States. Unlike law enforcement agencies, which often have policies to purge their computers of license records after a certain period of time, the data brokers are under no such obligation, meaning their databases grow and gain value over time as a way to track individuals’ movements and whereabouts. Massachusetts private investigator Jay Groob said he uses the license plate database kept by a third data broker, TLOxp, paying $25 for a comprehensive report from the Florida-based company’s “very impressive” database of a billion-plus scans. “It helps generate other leads,” said Groob, president of American Investigative Services in Brookline. “If a vehicle has been missing, or you need to locate a person, this gives us another locus to investigate.” Groob said he would use the database to track a missing person or conduct background investigations for child custody or marital infidelity litigation. Groob said he “absolutely” foresees vehicle location data becoming part of private investigators’ standard toolkit. Chris Metaxas, chief executive of Digital Recognition, has promoted his database as a useful tool for anyone else who has to confirm a person’s real address “because most of the time people are near where their cars are.” He told the Globe that his database is already helping the auto insurance industry cut down on fraud in which where applicants falsely claim to live in a place where insurance rates are lower. “Some people have a condo in Florida but actually live in New York ten months out of year,” said Metaxas. “Insurers need help to keep this kind of fraud under control.” But the main commercial use of license plate scanners remains the auto finance and auto repossession industries, two professions that work closely together to track down people who default on their loans. Digital Recognition lists Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., HSBC Holdings, and Citibank among its clients, while MVTRAC boasts that it serves 70 percent of the auto finance industry. Liran Cohen — owner of Massachusetts Recovery Bureau, a repossession company in Lynn — said most banks he works with now require repossession contractors to use license plate readers because it is so much easier to find vehicles eligible for repossession. “The banks want it,” said Cohen, who mounted his license scanner on an unmarked tow truck. “All of them make a big deal out of it, since it gives them so much value.” But the use of scanners has grown so fast that there has been little discussion of what limits, if any, to place on repossession agents as they trawl for vehicles to impound. A number of such companies contacted by the Globe confirmed that they often send their spotter cars to commercial lots, such as shopping mall parking lots, because those tend to be hotspots for vehicles to repossess. In fact, on its website Digital Recognition described what it calls good “target environments” for repossession agents, including “malls, movie theaters, sporting events, and numerous other locations.” In marketing materials, the firm has indicated that it suggests routes for repossession companies that focus on workplaces and commercial lots during the day and apartment complexes and residential areas at night. However, several commercial property owners contacted by the Globe said they had no idea repossession agents could be in their parking lots, scanning license plates and feeding them into a national database. Some said they would consider the practice trespassing. “We’re unaware that this is happening, and we’re reaching out to our security teams and law enforcement contacts to get a better handle on it,” said Les Morris, spokesman for Simon Property Group, which owns Copley Place mall in Boston and South Shore Plaza in Braintree. “If we saw scanning like this being done, we would throw them out,” said Issie Shait, senior vice president of property management at New England Development, which owns the CambridgeSide Galleria and Bunker Hill Mall District. Also: White House in no mood to debate big data and privacy at MIT Two repossession companies also told BetaBoston that they focus on low-income housing developments, since a significant number of residents are delinquent on their car payments. “This is just another example of stereotyping,” responded Cambridge Housing Authority deputy executive director Michael Johnston, who had never heard of plate scanners before. “But our lots are open, and we don’t have any gated communities in our system, so I don’t know how to prevent it.” But the national database companies claim they have no say in where their affiliates scan plates, whether on private property or along public streets. They said repossession agents and tow truck companies are all private contractors who make their own decisions. “We have nothing to do with the actual data collection process,” Digital Recognition’s Metaxas said in an interview. “We provide technology to repossession professionals.” The burgeoning private databases of license plates may ultimately be a boon to law, as well, giving them access to a trove of license plates that many are not allowed to keep themselves, because of data-purging requirements. Hecht and Creem’s bill would require law enforcement statewide to purge its license plate data after 48 hours. Digital Recognition already provides its entire data pool to more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide, free of charge for most searches. The Massachusetts State Police is a registered subscriber, as are the Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, and Quincy police departments. Even Boston College and Brandeis police have access to the firm’s entire scan database. License plate reader companies have defeated proposals similar to the one before the Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee, and they sued the state of Utah after it enacted a ban on commercial use of license plate scanning. In its filing, Digital Recognitionasserts that its field agents have a First Amendment right to collect pictures of license plates in public places. But privacy advocates say the databases are far more intrusive than the data brokers admit, arguing that private businesses can easily translate anonymous-sounding license plate numbers into owners’ names just by obtaining information from states’ motor vehicle registries. In Massachusetts, for example, private investigators can get access to the Registry of Motor Vehicles directly, and insurance companies and banks may already know the plate number for a given individual. “Right now, it’s the wild West in terms of how companies can collect, process, and sell this kind of data,” says Kade Crockford of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. “The best legal minds, best public policy thinkers, and ordinary people whose lives are affected need to sit down and think of meaningful ways we can regulate it.” Shawn Musgrave is the editor of MuckRock, an independent investigative news and open records startup based in the Boston Globe Media Lab. Shawn can be reached at shawn@ muckrock.com. |
HOUSTON - The front door to Barbara Thomas' home in Cashmere Gardens was damaged and her outdoor garden lights outside were crushed into tiny pieces. Inside her home several items were broken and knocked off the walls. Thomas said it was a result of Houston police officers who came to her door to search for drugs. The problem is they were at the wrong house. "They told me to get down," Thomas said. "There were guns everywhere. I mean, the long guns with lights on them. I was crying hysterically." Thomas said she didn't understand why Houston Police Department narcotics officers were in her home. She lives there with her son, who is autistic, and said they were both forced to sit still in the living room. "I know at least three (officers) were right there because they had guns directly at me and my son, and the rest I know were going through the house." Thomas said the officers went through her bedroom, her closets and her kitchen looking for drugs. "He said, 'Something isn't right here. This is a mistake,'" she said. HPD said they're not able to say much about the case because Thomas has filed a complaint against the department. However, a spokesperson told Local 2 there was a mix-up. Officers were looking for a 5818 address. Thomas lives at 5816. The spokesperson said officers didn't enter the home. She said they realized it was the wrong address, apologized and left. Thomas tells a much different story. "They did try to fix the door and stuff, and pick up the little stuff they threw around, but that was it," Thomas said. Thomas contacted community activist Quannel X to help her with the complaint against HPD. "They have not apologized to her or her autistic son," Quannel X said. "They have not come and said, 'Let us repair your door since we took it off the hinges.' She doesn't have the money to repair that. She's living on a fixed income, barely making ends meet, but yet she has to pay for their damages?" Thomas said she isn't asking for much. She said she would like an apology and help making repairs to the items that were broken. She also said she wants to be reassured that a mix-up like this won't happen again. "I mean, I thought they were going to kill us," she said. "I'm very nervous. (It's) very scary, thinking my life could have ended." Copyright 2014 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
Like a loyal warrior fighting the good fight, Nissan’s mid-sized Frontier pickup soldiers on into 2018 mechanically unchanged, though new standard equipment is coming to its base model. At the cheap end of the price structure, customers will find the Frontier S in King Cab form, powering its rear wheels with an inline-four and a manual transmission, priced at an appealing $18,990. Topping the range at nearly double the base-model price is an SL Crew Cab 4×4, powered by a V6 and priced at $36,150. All prices listed here do not include destination. Full pricing for all trims and powertrains is listed at the bottom of this post. READ MORE: There Will Be a New Nissan Frontier and It Will Be Built In Canton, Mississippi That leaves the Frontier at a starting price about $2,000 less than the 2018 Chevy Colorado’s base price of $20,995, also without destination charges included. Thanks to Nissan’s glacier-like design cycle, next year’s Frontier looks pretty much the same. Inside, however, enhancements for the 2018 model year include the addition of standard RearView Monitor across all models and updated base grade content. New gear includes standard air conditioning, cruise control, a Bluetooth system, and a 5.0-inch color audio display. Given that last year’s base Frontier didn’t even have a radio, this is large news. All that equipment arrives for a premium of just $600 over base 2017 Frontier, which sold for $18,390. Later in the model year, a Midnight Edition will become available which will feature all-black everything including a gloss-black grille, black mirrors and door handles, and 18-inch gloss-black rims. The front and rear bumpers will be body-color. For the Midnight Edition, Nissan will dip the badges in black paint, too. This edition will be offered in Crew Cab SV 4×2 and 4×4 models with the automatic transmission and in a choice of Magnetic Black, Gun Metallic and Glacier White. In between the two extremes of the base S King Cab 4×2 and top-tier SL Crew Cab 4×4 are the familiar trim levels we’ve come to expect from Nissan, including the bread-n-butter SV, macho PRO-4X, and 4×2-only Desert Runner. READ MORE: Nissan Titan XD Pro-4X Project Basecamp Unveiled for Overland Expo Frontier 4×4 models are available with 4-wheel limited-slip system, which helps transfer power to the drive wheels with more grip on low traction surfaces. The available Hill Descent Control feature allows slow hill descent without the constant application of the brake pedal. Like last year’s model, all key underbody hardware is tucked up to the frame rails for a minimum 8.9 inches (4×4) or 8.6 inches (4×2) of running ground clearance on V6-equipped S, SV, SL and PRO-4X models. Engines remain a choice of two powerplants: a 4.0-liter DOHC V6 engine rated at 261hp and 281 lb-ft of torque or a 152hp/171 lb.ft torque 2.5-liter four-banger engine. The four angry squirrels are only available in King Cab trucks. Its maximum towing capacity (when properly equipped) is a not unreasonable 6,690lbs. The 2018 Nissan Frontier is on sale now at Nissan dealers nationwide. |
This is post is part of the ‘one threex a day’ challenge. This challenge is to publish every day one game extension for three.js! One per day, every day and that for 2month! In this post, we gonna talk about threex.md2character. threex.md2character is a three.js game extension which provides a model of a monster. His name is ‘ratmahatta’ and is from quake era. It is animated, can hold a weapon, skin may be changed. Pretty sweet. you got 12 weapons to choose from, 5 different skins and 16 distinct animations. Pretty complete! It is easy to include in your game, maybe in a cave or a dungeon :) It is from webgl_morphtargets_md2.html three.js example. The model is make by Brian Collins and converted by @oosmoxiecode’s MD2 converter. To see the other posts about one threex a day and forget our moto! “A THREEx extension a day, gets your game on its way!” Show Don’t Tell examples/select.html [view source] : It shows all the possibilities for the skins, the weapons and the animations. examples/ratmahattaplayer.html [view source] : It shows how to controls the mesh as if it was a player in a game with input in the keyboard wasd or arrows keys. How To Install It You can install it via script tag 1 <script src= 'threex.md2character.js' ></script> Or you can install with bower, as you wish. 1 bower install threex.md2character How To Use It threex.md2characterratmahatta.js You typically create a ratamahatta like this 1 2 var ratamahatta = new THREEx.MD2CharacterRatmahatta () scene.add ( ratamahatta.character.object3d ) Don’t forget to update it when you render with ratamahatta.update(delta) .Internally, it create a character and a controls. You can use them directly. * ratamahatta.character instance of THREEx.MD2Character * ratamahatta.controls instance of THREEx.MD2CharacterControls It has simple functions to set the skin, weapon and animations. ratamahatta.skinNames is the names of available skins. It has 5 different skins ["ratamahatta", "ctf_b", "ctf_r", "dead", "gearwhore"] is the names of available skins. It has 5 different skins ratamahatta.setSkinName(skinName) set the skin based on its name set the skin based on its name ratamahatta.weaponsNames is the names of available weapons. It has 12 animation ["none", "weapon", "w_bfg", "w_blaster", "w_chaingun", "w_glauncher", "w_hyperblaster", "w_machinegun", "w_railgun", "w_rlauncher", "w_shotgun", "w_sshotgun"] is the names of available weapons. It has 12 animation ratamahatta.setWeaponName(weaponName) set the weapon based on its name set the weapon based on its name ratamahatta.animationNames is the names of available animation. It has 16 animations ["stand", "run", "attack", "pain", "jump", "flip", "salute", "taunt", "wave", "point", "crstand", "crwalk", "crattack", "crpain", "crdeath", "death"] is the names of available animation. It has 16 animations ratamahatta.setAnimationName(animationName) set the animation based on its name threex.md2charactercontrols.js First you create controls for your character like this 1 var controls = new THREEx.MD2CharacterControls ( character.object3d ) Dont forget to update it when you render with controls.update(delta, now) . The character is controlled by controls.inputs properties. You just have to set them to fit your need. control.inputs.right is true if the character must go right is true if the character must go right control.inputs.left is true if the character must go left is true if the character must go left control.inputs.up is true if the character must go forward is true if the character must go forward control.inputs.down is true if the character must go backward threex.md2character.js It provide the base to play with the model. It is a modified version of MD2Character.js from this webgl_morphtargets_md2.html three.js example. First you create it. 1 var character = new THREEx.MD2Character () Dont forget to update it at every frame with a character.update(delta) |
With one in two Canadians having an unfavourable opinion of Stephen Harper, the New Democrats and Conservatives are now tied in the latest national poll. But the leaderless Liberals have suffered the most, dropping to their lowest level of support since immediately after the May 2011 election debacle. A new survey released by Abacus Data, conducted between September 14-18 and interviewing 1,208 online panelists, found the Tories and the NDP tied at 35 per cent support. The Liberals slipped three points since Abacus’ last survey from mid-August to only 17 per cent. The Bloc Québécois and the Greens had seven and six per cent, respectively, in the nationwide poll. STORY CONTINUES BELOW SLIDESHOW Photo gallery Twitter On Harper's Disapproval Numbers See Gallery Harper Disapproval Hits 50 Per Cent In New Poll 1 / 16 Twitter On Harper's Disapproval Numbers 1 / 16 For the New Democrats and the Conservatives, these numbers are generally where the parties have been since the spring. But this is a particularly low number for the Liberals, though perhaps it is unsurprising considering their minimal visibility over the summer. However, other recent surveys gave the Liberals higher numbers, suggesting their support is softer than that of the other two parties. The Liberals had their best result in Ontario, where the party was pegged at 23 per cent support. The province is the electoral lynchpin for the Conservatives and they led with 41 per cent to 30 per cent for the New Democrats in the seat-rich battleground. Those numbers have hardly budged over the last month. The Conservatives also held a wide lead in Alberta, though with the NDP at 29 per cent the race is far closer than is usually the case. For their part, the New Democrats held a statistically significant lead in Atlantic Canada with 47 per cent to 28 per cent for the Tories. The New Democrats also held the edge in British Columbia (39 to 34 per cent), the Prairies (43 to 40 per cent) and Quebec, where the NDP had 39 per cent to 30 per cent for the Bloc Québécois. Again, these are generally the sort of numbers that we have seen for months. Thomas Mulcair does have the potential to increase his party’s support even more, at least according to his own favourability ratings. He had the best result of the three main leaders, including Liberal interim leader Bob Rae, with 36 per cent of Canadians saying they have a favourable opinion of him. That compares to 35 per cent for Harper and 27 per cent for Rae. But whereas Harper is only marginally behind on favourability, his unfavourability is considerably higher: 50 per cent, to only 22 per cent for Mulcair. With only 13 per cent saying they have a neutral opinion of the Prime Minister and two per cent unsure, Harper’s numbers are going to be difficult to move. Mulcair, on the other hand, has 12 per cent of Canadians who are unsure of what they think of him and 31 per cent who have a neutral opinion. If the Liberals choose Justin Trudeau as their next leader, there is the potential that things could change dramatically for them. Trudeau has a favourability rating of 39 per cent, with only 23 per cent holding an unfavourable opinion. But the verdict is still out on Marc Garneau, one of the probable chief rivals to Trudeau for the leadership: while he has a 26 to 15 per cent favourable/unfavourable score, 59 per cent of Canadians are either unsure or have a neutral opinion of the former astronaut. Éric Grenier taps The Pulse of federal and regional politics for Huffington Post Canada readers on most Tuesdays and Fridays. Grenier is the author of ThreeHundredEight.com, covering Canadian politics, polls and electoral projections. Also on HuffPost |
Records from an independent regulatory agency that enforces campaign finance law show that Rep. Mia Love tapped her campaign account over seven days in Disney World from early March to early April. Among the $9,727 she spent was $1,655 for lodging and $4,780 for food and beverage, according to Federal Election Commission records. (See the chart below.) Love was at the theme park March 6, 17, 26 and April 5-8, according to the documentation. Love campaign manager Dave Hansen claimed that Love was fundraising. “There were fundraising events down there,” he said. Katie Matheson, chair of the Utah’s CD4 Coalition, pointed out that Love used taxpayer money two years ago concerning flights of $537 and $1,100. “That’s a pattern of behavior,” Matheson said. “That’s pretty miraculous.” The expenditures were for flights Love never used and travel to a White House Correspondents’ Dinner, respectively. Love claimed she reimbursed taxpayers. Utah’s CD4 Coalition is seeking to replace Love with a progressive in the House of Representatives from Utah’s congressional district 4. “I don’t think we can look to her for any kind of moral leadership when we see (actions) like this going on,” Matheson said. “It’s a great indicator of the type of behavior we should expect from her should she be re-elected.” I first called Love Communications Director Rich Piatt before he provided Hansen’s phone number. I immediately called Hansen. There was no answer and the voicemail was full, so I couldn’t leave a message. I called Love’s office back to confirm the number with Piatt before an intern said that Piatt had just gone out of the office, on another call. I then called Hansen’s number again and he answered. According to documents from The Townsend Group, an administrative services consultancy business, Love was at the theme park from April 6-9. But Love was not there on the 9th, according to FEC documents. |
Is a Sega Genesis dishwasher safe? Of course not, but how about the case? A friend of mine was doing some storage space cleaning and found this forgotten gem. He offered it to me as a gift. That bad boy could be a great portal to a segment of video game history. TONS of great games came out during the 90’s for Sega. But in its current condition, this one looks like crap next to my other entertainment center components. Every stylized groove on the case lid is covered in ancient finger spunk. And then there’s the switch…the fuck!? I have washed Sega Genesis Model 1 systems before by hand using hot soapy water. The results are always disappointing. Soaking the components and scrubbing every nook and cranny can be really time consuming. The more time I spend cleaning my systems, means the less time I have to play my systems. So since I received this baby for free, I am going to use it as a test subject. First, we need to disassemble the system, so that we can protect and clean the circuit board separately. Next, we need to unscrew the circuit board from the bottom of the case. Click the photos for a close up of screw placement The board is sandwiched between 2 EMI(Electromagnetic interference) plates. These are supposed to prevent the Sega from interfering with other electrical devices. The EMI plates will occasionally have a little rusting, but can usually be simply wiped down to remove any debris or dust. Many people ask if the plates are necessary. It is really a matter of preference. If your goal is to keep your systems with stock components you absolutely want to re-install these plates, but if you are modding or tinkering, the system will operate just fine without them. Just know that nearby electrical components could, theoretically, have interference issues. And if you are not going to reinstall the plates, I always recommend holding onto them, putting them on ebay, or giving them to a collector. Remember, once a device is no longer in production it will one day become rare and by default valuable. Once all of the corner screws are removed the board will still be anchored to the case with the 2 black screws that go through the cartridge connector. After the board has been removed take special note of the little “M” clip. It is now time to disassemble the case lid. Click the photos for close-up action Looking for a quick and easy mod? Now is a great time to swap out that LED with whatever color fits your fancy. Pick a color that goes with the room you will be keeping the system in. Ladies love that kind of shit. Err..I mean, it will be bad ass. Bathtime! I had to use a spoon and a shot glass to weigh down the flappy door and LED cover. Yeah, I know the flappy door piece feels fragile, but this is an experiment. If it comes apart, that will be info to use for next time. The dishwasher is a standard model. Kind of a crapper actually, but it gets the job done. I have some other plastic storage containers on the top shelf to clean at the same time. Might as well not run an empty load, but I would probably not use many food containers because, I don’t know about that gunk. Kind of nasty… As I mentioned before, you can save yourself some time by cleaning up the circuit board as the washer runs. When the dishwasher is done running you can take the pieces out and hand dry them. Do not reassemble any part of the system while still drying. Take the time to get every last drip of water. The Results: As you can see, the dishwasher was a great success. I have never gotten such quality results by hand cleaning, even after a long soak. Obviously, they are left looking a bit dull. Fortunately, the solution is simple. A little bit of Pledge goes a long way. Just spray a little bit of pledge onto a dry paper towel and evenly rub down the system. Using too much can give a greasy feel, so start off light. Take as much time as you’d like on this step. It all depends on the final product you are trying to create. Now reassembly is basically the reverse process we went through above. Just a few things to note. Don’t go Hulk on the screws. Just a light twist of the screw driver is important to maintain the integrity of the case mounting holes. It is easy to strip out holes on a dinosaur system like this. Just start them off softly and let the threads of the screw find their way into the threaded hole. And don’t forget to tighten down the 2 black cartridge connector screws. I would say those 2 screws are the most important. Also, when reconnecting the LED the longer prong (the anode) goes with the red wire. An LED will not work if connected backwards. |
Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. “DO YOU mind if I smoke?” rasps Kaoru Yosano, 72, a survivor of throat cancer. Mr Yosano is no quitter. At an age when, even in Japan, many politicians bow out, on January 14th he performed a flying trapeze act by joining the government of Naoto Kan, whose Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) he has derided for years. A year ago, when the DPJ's Yukio Hatoyama was prime minister, Mr Yosano wrote a book called “The DPJ Destroys Japan's Economy”. But that was before Mr Kan took over with the (for Japan) radical promise of launching debate on raising the consumption (ie, sales) tax, which at 5% is the lowest in the rich world. The promise nearly sank Mr Kan, but it endeared him to Mr Yosano. Now the former finance minister (and grandson of two famous pre-war poets) has become Mr Kan's man on tax and pension reform. It is a gamble. Mr Yosano's appointment offended many in the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) that gave him a seat in 2009 out of loyalty (ironically, he had lost his Tokyo constituency to the DPJ's Banri Kaieda, whose job in the cabinet he has just taken). Some LDP members may try to blackball Mr Yosano in the Diet (parliament). He has few natural allies in the DPJ, and does not disguise his differences. At heart he believes, perhaps hopes, the LDP can return to power, if only it reforms itself. Yet Mr Yosano's appointment is bold, too. Even his critics acknowledge that, in taking the job at his age, he is driven more by principle than glory. He believes in urgent tax reform if fading Japan is to shore up pensions, health-care and child-support systems. Mr Kan, whose party lacks a majority in the upper house, needs more such opposition politicians. Mr Yosano may be a good model. The new minister is still coy about how much the consumption tax should be raised. Like Mr Kan, he appears to think doubling it would be a start. Opponents say that would derail a fragile recovery. But Mr Yosano says that, on the contrary it would give people confidence about the solvency of the pensions system, which would encourage them to spend. He also believes the markets need reassurance about the health of all public finances, which he describes as “far worse than in a few of the worst European countries” (gross debt is twice the size of GDP). On the timing of a tax rise, opinions in government vary. Koichiro Gemba, Mr Kan's main policy adviser, says a rise in the consumption tax should not be before the next general election, though cross-party talks should start within the next five months, with a tax increase decided by March 2012. Mr Yosano remains non-committal. In Japan the media and the opposition seize on such differences as evidence of disarray. Yet, with a reshuffled cabinet, the government at last appears to have settled on a message of reform, including of trade and agriculture, that appears refreshingly non-partisan. Among other things, Mr Kan wants a decision by June on whether Japan should begin trade talks, including with America, under the aegis of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade block. For now, squabbling or even gridlock will mark the Diet at least until the spring. The opposition looks determined to try to block Mr Kan's budget, believing the tactic will score points in prefectural and municipal elections in April. But if Mr Kan can ride that out, with public opinion on his side he may yet persuade opponents to support policies that start dealing with the country's troubled finances. Japan's economy, Mr Yosano once wrote, was infected with a grave cancer. The inveterate smoker is now Mr Kan's chief ally in cutting it out. |
Steve Kerr tipped the Warriors hand when he came out last week and called “disgusting” the police shootings of unarmed black men, a narrative that stained the summer with tragedy and outrage. Kerr then reaffirmed the right of Colin Kapernick, who began the protest/athlete movement in August. Although Kerr was non-committal about his players protesting- he didn’t do as Jim Harbaugh (U. of Michigan) and Dab Sweeney (Clemson) or Mike Ditka and verbal punish those protesting- Kerr saw both sides, the need to make a stand about a serious issue and the pride of patriotism. Kerr’s players then took the torch and ran with it. The Warriors play the first preseason game on the NBA schedule. They will play the Raptors in Vancouver on Saturday night. And protest is definitely on the table. “There is a 100% chance there will be a conversation” Steph Curry said. That may include a kneel for the anthem, a gesture of solidarity, an apparel slogan. Curry went on to say how much he respects the flag and the national anthem and on many occasions has worked with the military. Patriotism and pride has meaning within his family. “But there will be a conversation with my teammates, whether we find a way to have a unified gesture or stance, maybe not during the national anthem but something.” Unbeknownst to Colin Kapernick when he began his lone protest almost two months ago, the sentiment of despair and change has quickly spread from coast to coast despite the misinformation and resistance, the threats of lynching the protesters, the fan backlash. High school and college athletes, as well as professional athletes, have felt the need to voice their solidarity in marking this very important line in the sand. Andre Iguodala, a Kapernick supporter as most of the Warriors are, said his son wore Kapernick’s jersey to school. “He understands what Kapernick is trying to say. The problem is no one wants to accept what he is saying. They want to be blind to the fact that we are treated this way.” Though controversial and non-conformist, it’s hard to imagine any kind of Warriors backlash if they do indeed protest. The Warriors are the most popular team in the league with Curry as the face of this modern space the floor three point shot nirvana. Furthermore, the Warriors play in heavily African American populated Oakland who had their own high profile police shooting on New Years Day 2009 when Oscar Grant was killed by Bart policeman Johannes Mehserle. Grant was on the ground, handcuffed when Mehserle shot him. Grant died. Oakland began protesting. After the trial, Mehserle was sentenced for a measly two years, more protesting followed. So what is new to the country is not new to Oakland. But what about the rest of the league? Will NBA players have to face what the University of Nebraska players faced when they protested this past Saturday? Michael Rose-Ivey, Moahmmed Berry and DaiShon Neal were threatened with lynching and murder by their own fans because they took a knee. Warriors newcomer David West said, “I don’t think anyone should feel compelled (to protest) one way or the other. Particularly don’t feel pressure to do it because other guys are doing it. Be personally convicted. “We’ve got to look at ourselves and ask whether folks are capable of treating other people like human beings. That’s a fundamental question we have to ask before we get to the color of your skin. Do people have the capability to recognize humanity in other people? When you shoot someone with their hands up, you should feel that. When you’re choking someone to death and you have your arm around their neck and they say “I can’t breathe” you should be able to feel that s____. And if you can’t feel that s____, I’m wondering if you have the capacity to recognize humanity.” Adding another layer besides the obvious racial denouement, Steph Curry grew up in Charlotte, the latest city to be torn apart by police aggression when police de-escalation could have served the greater community. For Curry, it’s hard watching the city he loves come apart and there is pride in watching the city he loves come back together, connected by a common cause. Draymond Green was particularly insightful when he said, “But my question is ‘What’s next? Where do people take action?’ Now the conversation is started.” On Saturday, the Warriors will have their turn. photo via llananba |
When the housing bubble burst, the resulting foreclosure crisis was a disaster for black and Latino families, who lost 53 percent and 66 percent of their median household wealth, respectively, between 2005 and 2009. As a result, the racial wealth gap is widening, with white households enjoying 18 times as much wealth as their Latino counterparts, and 20 times more than African-American households. There is every indication that the bursting of the student debt bubble, like the housing bubble before it, is imminent. And when it happens, it will send shockwaves throughout the financial markets. People of color will be especially vulnerable. Although education is widely viewed as a way up and a way out for poor, working-and middle-class students, the prohibitive cost of college tuition has created a virtual debtors’ prison for many. Loan defaults and delinquencies are on the rise in America, and are only expected to worsen. A recent report from Moody’s Analytics says that tuition has doubled since 2000 — that’s a 10 percent increase every year — causing student debt to accelerate during the recession. In contrast, other types of consumer debt such as mortgages, credit cards and auto loans have decreased sharply. Outstanding student loans have increased 25 percent since 2008. Student debt now exceeds total credit card debt, and is likely to reach $1 trillion this year, with the average debt for a bachelor’s degree at $24,000. To add to the problem, unemployment is high and there are no jobs for recent graduates. And in the lucrative for-profit college industry where students of color predominate at 54 percent, graduation rates are lower than traditional institutions of higher learning. So, students leave without the benefit of a degree, but with the debt burden just the same. For blacks and Latinos — who suffer from lower pay and double the unemployment, and must assume larger debt loads to pay for school — the deck is stacked against them. According to a Georgetown University study, blacks and Latinos earn less than whites, even with advanced degrees. Moreover, members of these groups who have earned a master’s degree earn less than whites with a bachelor’s. It is no wonder that their default rates are higher. In a 2007 survey, black students had a default rate five times higher than whites and nine times higher than Asians, with the Latino rate double that of whites and quadruple that of Asians. This talk of student default goes far beyond dollars and statistics. These are human beings who are thrown into hopeless life situations because the tuition is too damn high. Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing the new film Default: The Student Loan Documentary. I appreciate the film’s clarity in spelling out the nature of this American crisis and its impact on ordinary people. Borrowers break down and cry in front of the camera as they reveal the amount of money they owe in student loans. Some were brought to financial ruin as the result of prohibitively high monthly loan payments, compounded by illness or some other setback. Others are unable to get married and start a family because their loan payments prohibit it. One has to take a step back and ask if this is really what America has become. “The private loan industry, they don’t care about people,” said Carmen Berkley, who appeared in the film. Carmen, who is African-American, has $80,000 in student loan debt, in addition to $5,000 in credit card debt and thousands in medical debt due to an illness. “I told them, ‘Look I don’t make that much money. I make $34,000 a year. There’s no way I can spend 600 or 900 dollars a month just for loans.’ And they said, ‘Well there’s nothing we can do about it.'” Default touches on far more than the inability of college graduates to afford to repay their loans, and the financial ruin they face as they must choose between paying their rent, eating or paying off their mortgage-sized school debt. Although that heart-wrenching part of the story by itself is enough to warrant a documentary, the problem is even deeper, as the movie points out. Ultimately, the student debt crisis is a product of the union of greed and corruption — the banking industry and the politicians they have purchased for the purpose of carrying their water. Colleges and universities do their part by hiking up tuition far in excess of inflation. Meanwhile, private lenders exploit financial realities where students can no longer work to pay their way through college, and federal loans no longer pay for most or all of a college education. Moreover, these lenders benefit from loan defaults, as the fees and penalties that rack up can double or triple the amount of the original loan. Much of this new financial crisis really speaks to the power of the lenders, who receive their money’s worth from their investment in Congress. There is a reason why student loans are the only type of debt that cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy. The banks paid for the laws that exempt such loans from fundamental consumer protections. Even gambling debts can be discharged in a bankruptcy, as is mentioned in Default. And in the irony of all ironies, the banking institutions that were “too big to fail” enjoy their federal bailout funds. This, as they continue to extract additional profit from human suffering, whether by exploiting homeowners with predatory mortgages, or bilking students with predatory school loans. These bailout recipients are making everyday people suffer, yet where is the bailout for the students? David Love |
While HTC had showcased its new wireless controllers for its HTC Vive headset for the better half of last week at San Diego Comic-Con 2015, these headsets and controllers are only developer units. For its final, finished, consumer-ready Vive VR product, HTC executive director of marketing Jeffrey Gattis said, "We are targeting mid-October, but have not yet finalized the event details, venue, etc." While this indicates that the final consumer product is pretty locked and ready, Gattis only revealed, "Our hardware development, for the consumer versions of both the HMD and wireless controllers, remain on schedule for the end of 2015." Beating everyone else to the VR punch While he said that he couldn't give any specifications for the final build, he explained that being HTC, the finished product would be "more refined from a design standpoint." That is essentially to say that it will be more stylish, less bulky and lighter. As for an actual release date, we'll only have to wait a handful of months more, as HTC wants the Vive to be ready for the holidays. "We remain committed to what we said at our keynote in Barcelona back in March, that is, the first consumer units will be on sale and in the hands of customers before the end of this year," Gattis said. Until then, you can try to catch the HTC tour van, which will be touring around the US and Europe over the next few months. |
Wow, Shrewsbury, what a weekend. The course was great, as were the crowds. And on Sunday at least, even the weather was perfect. The racing was also excellent, the Senior men’s and women’s events were the closest fought for years, with a very high quality field for both. For outright depth of mud you definitely have to win some sort of prize. It’s not really stopped raining in the UK since November and that, combined with the feet of all those people, created a proper boot sucking mess. Thanks to everyone who helped put the event on, and congratulations to all the riders. I will aim to have a full gallery on Facebook later in the week so that you can spot yourselves. These are now posted on the Facebook page, and can be found HERE, have at it. Thanks for looking. British National Cyclocross Championships 2016 Share Cyclocross Handbook Tweet Share on Tumblr |
Prince Hans from Disney's film "Frozen" might have ruined his chance at happily ever after, but the man who supplied Hans' voice, Santino Fontana, just found his. The singer and Tony Award nominee married 29-year-old actress Jessica Hershberg on Sept. 5, according to an article on The New York Times website. The couple met while performing at the Birdland jazz club in New York. "I don’t think I’ve ever had a friendship or relationship that’s been so instantaneously easy," Fontana told The New York Times. Over the course of one year, Fontana performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir three times. He made his debut with the choir during the 2014 Pioneer Day concert, returned for the choir's 2014 Christmas concert and then performed with the choir at the American Choral Directors Association concert in 2015. Read more about Fontana and Hershberg's wedding at nytimes.com. Alex Johnson writes for the Faith and Family sections of DeseretNews.com. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @axelrad_ |
Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? In the spring of 1942, Gen. Francisco Aguilar González, the Mexican ambassador to the Vichy government, left France to return to Mexico with his wife, Maria. The couple traveled through newly Fascist Spain to Lisbon, where she boarded a steamer bound for New York, with twenty trunks of their belongings, while the general made his way back across Spain, through France and then to London, eventually flying to New York for their rendezvous. In New York they boarded a passenger train with their belongings and traveled across the United States and Mexico before finally arriving at their home in Mexico City. Tucked away in one of the trunks and kept hidden for nearly seventy years were three small cardboard boxes given to Aguilar for safekeeping. They contained an archive of 4,500 negatives of photographs of the Spanish Civil War taken by three extraordinary photojournalists: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and David Seymour (known as Chim). Ad Policy Though Capa’s negatives had been missing for decades, rumors that a cache of them had been secreted away persisted. In 1979 Capa’s brother, Cornell, the founder of the International Center of Photography (ICP), in New York City, began a search for the lost images. He published an appeal in a well-known photography journal, and over time he managed to recover a number of lost works by Capa, Chim and Taro—but not the fabled negatives. They remained in Mexico, passing from Aguilar to his daughter, who gave them to her cousin, a filmmaker named Benjamin Tarver. In 1995, at an exhibition of Spanish Civil War photography in Mexico City, Tarver told the curator, a Queens College professor named Jerald Green, that he possessed images of similar scenes, which he believed were taken by Capa. Green relayed the information to curators at the ICP, but letters to the mysterious Tarver went unanswered, and the tantalizing lead vanished. In 2007, on behalf of the ICP, Trisha Ziff, a Mexico City–based documentary filmmaker, established contact with Tarver, and he agreed to meet her at a coffee shop. At a subsequent meeting he showed her three contact sheets with stunning images of Republican soldiers in battle and a woman dressed in black walking alongside a tank on a snowy battlefield. Ziff soon realized that these were the long lost negatives that Cornell Capa, who would die less than a year later, had been trying to locate. What had come to be called the Mexican Suitcase had finally been found. Related Article Slide Show: A Secret Archive: Images From the Mexican Suitcase The Nation The negatives in the Suitcase span the duration of the war, beginning with Chim’s foreboding photographs of marching Republican dignitaries in April 1936, three months before the conflict broke out, and ending with Capa’s stark portraits of Republican refugees in concentration camps in Southern France in March 1939. The distribution of the negatives among the photographers divides the war roughly into thirds, with Chim’s coverage heaviest at the beginning, Taro’s in the middle and Capa’s toward the end. A small number of the negatives correspond to previously published works—the Suitcase contains a famous 1936 photograph by Chim of a woman breastfeeding a baby at a rally for land reform—but the vast majority have never been seen by the public. A selection of the negatives is on display at the ICP through May 8. All 4,500 images, including a few touching shots of Capa and Taro in a Parisian cafe by a fourth photographer, the German-Jewish exile Fred Stein, are reproduced in an exemplary two-volume exhibition catalog published by the museum. In an introductory essay to the catalog, the ICP’s chief curator, Brian Wallis, writes, “With their dramatic coverage of the Spanish Civil War, Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and Chim invented modern war photography.” Remarkable as that achievement is, the newly discovered negatives do more than deepen our understanding of the origins of photojournalism or flesh out the biographies of three photographers, all of whom were killed on assignment. (Taro was crushed by a tank in Spain in 1937, Capa stepped on a land mine in Indochina in 1954 and Chim was shot by an Egyptian sniper days after the end of the Suez War in 1956.) The images convey the war’s complexities and offer a visual counternarrative to the revisionist view that the Republic was a monolithic Soviet satellite. Some photographs feature female soldiers and pro-Republican clergy. Others depict fleeing refugees, Communist generals, volunteers from the International Brigades, portraits of Federico García Lorca and La Pasionaria, and Republican guards protecting artistic treasures that belonged to the Francoist duke of Alba. Taken together, the images in the Mexican Suitcase portray a besieged country’s fight for its survival and its soul amid a Nazi-backed Fascist revolt. “The culture of the Spanish Republic,” Ziff said recently from her home in Mexico City, “was preserved in the Suitcase.” * * * Chim, a Polish Jew whose given name was Dawid Szymin, was the most established of the three photographers. In 1932 he relocated to Paris from Leipzig, where he had been studying graphic arts, to pursue a degree in chemistry and physics at the Sorbonne. Amid rising anti-Semitism in Poland his father’s Yiddish publishing business struggled, and Chim was forced to work in order to continue his studies. He picked up a camera and began shooting street photography, focusing on portraits of the working class and unemployed of Paris. Within a year he was selling photos to Regards, which billed itself as “the illustrated newspaper of the Popular Front,” and later to Ce Soir, a Communist evening paper edited by the poet Louis Aragon. By all accounts Chim was a gentle, quiet man. Henri Cartier-Bresson, who later founded the Magnum photo agency with Chim and Capa, described him as “a philosopher, a chess player.” Perhaps it was this equipoise that enabled Chim to photograph unexpected moments of tranquillity amid chaos. A 1937 series of two boys playing in the ruins of Gijón after its destruction by Fascist bombers and naval artillery is one of the many revelations of the lost negatives. Before the discovery of the Mexican Suitcase, Chim’s work in Spain was little known. He began covering the Republic in the spring of 1936, when Regards sent him to photograph the aftermath of the electoral victory by the center-left Popular Front coalition. Even then, with little experience as a photographer, Chim quickly mastered the captioned photographic essay, a narrative format favored by immensely popular new photo journals like Regards, Life and the British Picture Post. These essays typically featured some half-dozen photographs in an artful layout and told a story mainly with images. Often, Chim appeared to shoot with this format in mind: narrative sequences are found throughout his rolls. Besides their formal achievement, several of Chim’s essays open a pictorial window onto still-contentious aspects of the war. In October 1936 Chim shot four rolls of film of Moroccan prisoners held by Republicans in a Madrid barracks. The pictures (none of which were published) show the prisoners eating, smoking cigarettes offered by Republican guards and smiling and laughing with their captors. Though the images showcase the Republic’s humane treatment of its captives, Chim’s extremely sympathetic portrayal of the Moroccans, especially a series of tender close-ups of three men in the final roll, is still surprising, given the reputation they earned for brutality. To augment the nearly 100,000 professional soldiers sent by Hitler and Mussolini to aid his revolt, Franco relied heavily on the Moroccans. They were his shock troops, dying at a rate of 1,000 a month in the long siege of Madrid. As the military historian Antony Beevor noted, they were also called on to inflict terror on the population. In Seville, in July 1936, Antonio Bahamonde, the press officer for the Fascist Gen. Queipo de Llano, an architect of the revolt, described watching the Moroccans throwing grenades into the windows of small houses in working-class neighborhoods, indiscriminately killing women and children. “The Moors took the opportunity to loot and rape at will,” he added. “Queipo de Llano, in his night-time talks…urged on his troops to rape women.” Though the Moroccans, or Regulares Indigenas, held no particular allegiance to Fascism, they were desperately poor and easily recruited; the promise of a regular salary and food was especially enticing because the conflict in Spain followed a severe famine and drought in Morocco. “They took us as if we were cows. We knew nothing,” one veteran recalled in The Moroccan Labyrinth, a recent Spanish documentary about the Regulares. Another characterized his enlistment this way: “When you are hungry, you can’t see.” The Fascists further induced them by presenting their cause in religious terms, as a jihad against a godless enemy. While most of the clergy in Catholic Spain also cast the war in religious terms, and overwhelmingly sided with the Fascists (the Primate of Spain, Cardinal Isidro Gomá, claimed the Republic was “controlled by the Semite International”), the Basque clerics, who shared their compatriots’ desire for greater autonomy, were a notable exception. In January 1937, in the Amorebieta Cloister, southeast of Bilbao, Chim shot a remarkable series showing Basque monks opening their refuge to Republican soldiers. The series includes several images of daily life inside the cloister: a monk conferring pleasantly with four Republican militiamen in the courtyard, soldiers setting up a radio transmitter and practicing formations and, most beautiful, a solitary monk studying a book in a small room with sunlight flooding through the window. Chim’s work photographing the Basque clergy’s peaceful existence within the Republic was meant to counter the widespread belief that the government was inherently anticlerical. In the early months of the war, irregular militias killed several thousand clergy in the Republican zone (though few of these killings occurred in the Basque region). The Republican executions were a brutal and indiscriminate response to the church’s centuries-long alliance with the monarchy, its close fraternity with the estate owners in Spain’s semifeudal agricultural system and its fierce opposition to constitutional efforts to limit its power and role in civil society. These extrajudicial killings, however, contravened the government’s policy and were publicly condemned by the Socialist leader Indalecio Prieto. Republican President Manuel Azaña and Prime Minister José Giral reorganized the judicial system, establishing popular tribunals in an effort to stop the killings. By October 1936, they had subsided. The church hierarchy’s unequivocal support for the Fascist rebellion was articulated in a pastoral letter written by the Bishop of Salamanca and published in September 1936. The letter described Franco’s adversaries as “sons of Cain” and the civil war as a “crusade in defense of religion, the Fatherland, and Christian civilization.” A year later, in response to the Nazi bombing of Guernica, which killed and wounded thousands of civilians and shocked many Catholics, Cardinal Gomá released an open letter to bishops around the world intended to shore up any wavering of Catholic support for Franco. The letter, signed by two cardinals, six archbishops and thirty-five bishops, characterized the Fascist revolt as the only recourse for “maintaining order and peace.” Soon after Chim photographed the Amorebieta Cloister, he traveled to a remote mountainous area near the Basque village of Lekeitio and shot an even more confounding scene: a Basque priest saying an elaborate Mass to several dozen Republican soldiers before they went off to fight. Chim photographed the scene from four different angles, but the most arresting image, published prominently in Regards, is photographed from above. The camera looks down on a priest behind a makeshift altar leading Republican Catholic soldiers though the sacrament with a pastoral setting as his backdrop. Despite mitigating factors like Azaña and Giral’s efforts and the loyalty of the Basque Catholics to the Republic, let alone the question of whether the destruction of cities like Guernica by aerial bombardment was justifiable to “maintain peace” in Catholic theology, the Vatican staunchly supported the Fascist insurgency. In August 1937 Rome accepted Franco’s diplomatic emissary, granting the insurgency de facto recognition. Following the Republic’s defeat, Pope Pius XII, who was later accused of remaining silent while millions of European Jews were deported to Auschwitz and other extermination camps, gave a radio address describing his “immense joy” with the Fascist triumph. While the Pope’s radio address emphasized the Republican killing of Catholic clergy, he failed to note a different crime against the church. In October 1936 Fascist forces executed by firing squad sixteen Basque priests. The Pope’s address also made no mention of the 500 Basque clergy driven into exile by Franco and his accomplices. For them, the loyalty of the Basque Catholics was an international embarrassment that needed to be punished severely. Neither the Vatican nor the Spanish clerical establishment publicly condemned the murder of the Basque priests. Remarkably, that silence continues today. Three years ago, Pope Benedict beatified 498 priests, nuns and other religious Catholics killed during the civil war, but none of the Basque priests were among them. As El País and the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory, a Spanish human rights group, have documented, the list included clergy who were openly supportive of the Fascist uprising and in some cases aided it. * * * The photos by Gerda Taro in the Suitcase reveal a passionate, fearless photographer whose wide-ranging coverage—trench warfare, peasants harvesting wheat, an international writers conference in Valencia—gives a sweeping picture of life inside the Republic. Taro, whose given name was Gerta Pohorylle, and was the daughter of Polish Jews, fled her native Germany in 1933, after being arrested during a Nazi raid. She moved to Paris, a refuge for many Eastern European émigrés; she met Capa in the fall of the following year, and the two fell in love. During a summer holiday in the South of France, with Capa’s encouragement and tutelage, she began shooting photographs. When the pair returned to Paris they shared an apartment and formed a loose-knit creative partnership. Taro, who also worked as an editor at a photo agency, acted as Capa’s manager, and the two developed various projects for collaboration. Their most ambitious, and last, would be covering the civil war. Capa and Taro first traveled to Spain in August 1936, as freelancers without an assignment (Taro had yet to be published). Their appearance in the Suitcase begins picking up in February 1937, with a detailed look at the Republican defense of Madrid. Taro focused on the neighborhood around the university, and her attention to granular details—sandbag barricades, men positioning themselves in makeshift trenches—conveys both the anxiousness of the moment and the city’s bleak ambience. (She also captured a surreal image of a large brown bear sitting above a trench as two Republican soldiers talk obliviously.) At the beginning of her brief professional career her work was often uncredited. Later, she and Capa shared a credit, and three months before she died Taro began using only her name for some assignments. Mainly for this reason it has been difficult to determine the authorship of some of her works, but by piecing together her travel itinerary, among other clues, Taro scholars and ICP curators have done a painstaking job of establishing her contribution. Shortly after photographing the university district, Capa and Taro photographed a nearby area newly decimated by German and Italian bombers. Taro’s images of what had been a densely populated neighborhood include a young woman collecting firewood among the rubble and two horses grazing in a street of ruins. Mainly her photos show the effects of the bombings on the faltering buildings. Three months later, in Valencia, Taro photographed the human casualties of Fascist air raids. She begins with a small crowd of desperate faces pressed up against the metal gate of the city morgue. She then moves inside the morgue and, in images that evoke Goya, lays bare the human face of saturation bombing: a middle-aged man, his head and face bleeding, lies unattended on a marble slab; a child lies on the floor, her summer dress splattered with blood; and most haunting, a man lies on the floor, partly covered in a blood-soaked white sheet, with a yearning expression frozen on his face. The war’s fateful role as a precursor to World War II is vividly captured in Taro’s account of the Valencia morgue. It was confirmed during the Nuremberg trials when Hermann Göring, the Reich commissioner for aviation, testified that he urged Hitler to give Franco military support partly “to test my young Luftwaffe at this opportunity in this or that technical respect.” Göring’s “technical” experiments would take the form of the first use of carpet-bombing on civilian populations. The Fascists targeted dense cities like Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia in order to inflict the maximum amount of terror and civilian casualties. That the Nazis were simply preparing themselves for the next war was something lost on few. The headline in Regards over Taro’s Valencia pictures read “Dress Rehearsal for Total War.” Two months later, covering the Battle of Brunete, outside Madrid, Taro was run over by an out-of-control Republican tank in a chaotic retreat. She died hours later. Her spare, elegant tombstone, designed by Alberto Giacometti, read “Gerda Taro, 1911 [sic]–1937, photojournalist for Ce Soir, killed July 25, 1937 on the Brunete front, Spain, in the line of duty.” In 1942, during the Nazi occupation, the inscription was replaced with a concrete block noting only her name and date of birth and death. She was the first female photojournalist to die on assignment. In the exhibition catalog, Brian Wallis describes the controversy over Robert Capa’s most iconic photograph of the Spanish Civil War, Falling Soldier, as the primary motive behind the search for the lost negatives. The picture shows a solitary Republican soldier at the moment of getting shot and falling to his death on a hillside. Since the 1970s a fierce debate has raged as to whether the picture was staged. “It was in an effort to answer such charges—or at least understand that photograph more fully—that Capa scholar Richard Whelan and I set out in 2006 to try to find the picture’s missing negative,” Wallis writes. The curators did not find the lost negative to Falling Soldier in the Suitcase, but breathtaking images of Catalan orphans, the battles of Teruel and Ebro and especially of the Spanish exiles in concentration camps in France suggest that the emphasis placed by Capa’s defenders and accusers alike on a single image’s provenance has overshadowed the groundbreaking and courageous aspects of his work. Capa left Spain in July 1937, shortly before Taro’s death. Heartbroken by the loss, he returned in late December, covering the battle of Teruel, a last-ditch Republican counteroffensive that briefly recaptured this provincial capital from Franco. The many rolls of film devoted to the battle show Ernest Hemingway smoking with Republican officers, a group of soldiers on a stairwell of a bombed-out building and two old women, one with a cane, dressed in black and walking arm in arm along a mountain pass. There is a photo of a dead Republican watchman in a tree, apparently electrocuted and caught among wires and branches fifteen feet in the air. Capa took the picture from a low angle, a favorite position of his, against an open expanse of sky. His compassion is most palpable in his widely published portrait of a man with an extinguished cigarette in his mouth, carrying his son, whose leg is wrapped in a bloodstained white cloth, to safety. Among the images in the Teruel rolls are many pictures of Republican refugees, who app ear frequently in all three photographers’ work, from the beginning of the war until the end. All three seemed to have a special feeling for them, but Capa’s pictures of the refugees are more frequent and profound. When he was 17, Capa was briefly arrested and beaten by the Hungarian secret police for his leftist activities. Two months later he fled Hungary and settled for a short time in Berlin. While there, he took to photography as a way to try to make a living. After the Reichstag fire he fled again, eventually settling in Paris. Like Chim and Taro, Capa changed his name (he was born Endre Friedmann) partly to conceal his émigré past. In the beginning of 1939, with the Republic’s defeat inevitable, thousands of Republican exiles, fearing Franco’s retribution, began fleeing the country. Most of them traveled to France, where they were interned in concentration camps near the Spanish border. Remedios Oliva Berenguer, now 92, was 20 when she left her home outside Barcelona with her family. “We left at 11 pm and got to Figueres at 6 pm,” she said recently from her home in France. There were bombers overhead and the road was full, full, full with people, with cars, with animals. We didn’t want to leave because the bomber planes were overhead. There was also a castle in Figueres, and it was being bombed nonstop…. We didn’t want to go to France. We wanted to go to the countryside, to stay with farmers in the Spanish countryside…. Trucks came for the women and children, but the trucks would arrive already full. People were so afraid they would jump on the trucks anyway and just hang from the sides. We crossed into France on February 7. It was about 6 pm that day. We all slept in the truck. We woke up the following day. We were about twenty-five kilometers from the border. It was sunny. The road was filled with people, filled with police, and they stopped us. We couldn’t go through. There was nothing there for us at the Argelès camp. No bathrooms, nothing. They did not expect us. Nothing was prepared, no planning. We then saw a truck arrive with bread. People just flocked to it. There was no organization. So they just tossed the bread out like we were dogs. They threw it on the ground and we picked it up. Then other trucks came with rolls of barbed wire, and we didn’t know why. We were thousands standing about, thousands. In the beginning, at the Argelès camp, there were about 75,000 of us. It was just the sand and sea. We were at the edge of the sea. So they constructed a barbed-wire fence along the side of the road to pen us in. The fences were at least two meters high. We knew we were among the first to arrive, but by the end we knew we numbered at least half a million people. In March 1939 Capa journeyed to Argelès-sur-Mer, the camp where Oliva Berenguer and her family were interned, to document the fate of the exiles. His negatives show refugees living in threadbare tents under the open sky and men crouched on the ground eating meager rations. At the nearby camp at Le Barcarès, Capa photographed several men trapped behind a barbed-wire fence speaking to a passer-by on the other side. Later, he shifts his attention to a dozen men lying on the ground, huddled together for warmth near the camp’s outer fence. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II the male prisoners were allowed to leave the camps to join the Foreign Legion or enlist in work brigades. Still others escaped. During the war, thousands of Republican exiles continued their fight, with the French Resistance and the Free French Forces. In all, an estimated 15,000 Spanish exiles died at the camps in France and 10,000 more died after they were deported from France to Mauthausen and other Nazi camps. As the civil war scholar Paul Preston notes, Franco encouraged Hitler to deport the Republican refugees to the German camps. A significant percentage of the refugees emigrated to Mexico, the only country besides the Soviet Union to aid the Republic. During the war the Mexican government, though poor, sent arms to Spain as well as food and other humanitarian aid. “It’s not for no reason that the Suitcase was in Mexico,” Ziff told me. After Franco’s victory, Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas agreed to accept an unlimited number of refugees provided their transport and accommodation were paid for. Republican relief organizations worked together with Mexican officials to bring them. Some 25,000 Spanish exiles eventually resettled in Mexico, their presence, like the negatives, preserving a fragment of the Spanish Republic. After describing her journey, Oliva Berenguer recalled some of those who weren’t fortunate enough to make it to Mexico or survive the French camps. “There were mass graves filled with people who disappeared from the countryside,” she told me. “We had a neighbor who stayed behind in Spain. We later learned what happened to this man. He was about 58 years old and was a poet and a worker. He had a poet’s soul. Of course he was a Republican. His sons had left to fight. I think he lost two or three sons. And he was executed in the Montjuïc castle in Barcelona. He was killed simply because he was a Republican. He was against Franco and wrote poetry favoring the Republicans. He was just a man, who was 58 years old, and was executed.” |
The SSC MTS Paper 1 2016 (afternoon shift) held on April 30, was cancelled by the commission due to a paper leak on the social media. In a recent report, Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan's picture was found on an SSC MTS admit card. "In apparent prank, admit card with 'name', pic of juniorbachchan appears on official website of SSC for multi-tasking (non-tech) staff exam, " PTI tweeted. In apparent prank,admit card with 'name', pic of @juniorbachchan appears on official website of SSC for multi-tasking (non-tech) staff exam pic.twitter.com/x1nPDKIbRX - Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 3, 2017 However, the SSC has not come out with any clarification or comments on the matter, but as per the reports, an official said it was possibly a prank played by someone who is still to be identified. The Commission is looking into the case, the official said. The exam was scheduled to be held on April 30, May 14, May 28, June 4 and June 11 at various test centres across the nation. But it was cancelled due to paper leak on the social media on April 30. Furthermore, the commission posted the official statement saying the re-examination for only those candidates who appeared in this shift will be held in due course and they would be suitably informed accordingly. The commission will now conduct the exam again, but the exam dates have not been announced yet. Candidates are requested to keep a check on the official website of SSC. The selection of the candidates will be based on their performance in the written examination followed by interview. The selected candidates will be paid between Rs 5200 to Rs 20,200 with the grade pay of Rs 1800. Here's how twitter reacted: @PTI_News @juniorbachchan Bhai ab to yeh hona hi tha....kaam na mile to aisa hi hota hai !!! - Puspak (@puspakpatnaik) May 3, 2017 Read: Here's how schools are helping students to choose right stream after class 10 For more updates, follow India Today Education or you can write to us at education.intoday@gmail.com |
The Atlanta Braves will not wear the controversial batting practice caps with the legacy "Screaming Indian" logo that was rumored to have been this year's design. At the end of December, ESPN broke a story that the new Braves logo caps they would wear during batting practice and Spring Training this year would be adorned with the old Screaming Indian -- a logo that was retired by the Braves organization two decades ago for being too offensive to Native American Indian groups. Instead of the controversial hats, the Braves will wear hats that are solid navy blue with a red script "A" on the front. Braves president John Schuerholz said. "We had a variety of choices that we looked at, some more thoroughly than others. But at the end, we liked this one. The fact that one person somewhere offered his personal opinion about one of our options, that was important to him. "When we made our decisions, we tried to contemplate. We tried to be creative. We tried to carry on the theme of our organization and we think this script A does that. It is part of the continuum of the uniform look we have. We've never had one that looks like this during Spring Training." You know how I like to read into things, and this is a lot of verbal back peddling from Schu. Me thinks they actually did originally choose the Screaming Indian and then had to scramble to change them because of the controversy and bad press that it caused. That reference to "one person somewhere" probably refers to the ESPN writer who wrote that the Braves Screaming Indian caps were a "disappointing" choice. Interestingly, many Braves fans really wanted the Screaming Indian logo caps to return. While controversial to some, the logo was what many Atlantans grew up with as the logo for the team. We'll see if the Braves try again to bring back the logo at some point in the near future. I hope they don't. It's just unnecessary controversy that the team (any team) doesn't need. Let's play baseball and not have to worry about whether the uniform our team is wearing will offend anyone. Pitchers and catchers!!! |
A matador whose anus was completely destroyed by a 1,160lb bull has managed to give a 'thumbs up' from his hospital bed. Matador Antonio Romero was in Mexico City's bull ring when an animal named Caporal punctured him 11 inches deep in his rectal area, last Sunday. He is seen writhing in pain in the hard-to-watch video. Recovering : Matador Antonio Romero gives a 'thumbs up' from his hospital bed after being gored in the anus by a bull during a fight last weekend Antonio Romero says he looks forward to getting back into the ring as soon as possible Zocalo reports Romero was taken to the hospital after the gruesome incident that destroyed his anal sphincter. He needed the entire area stitching back together after the horrific injury. 'I have faith and hope to feel again and show that I want to be someone important in the Fiesta Brava [bullflighting], ' the sidelined matador said to theDaily Star. During the bullfight, Romero angered the bull by taunting it with a red rag. He ended up being sent flying across the bull ring when he was tossed by its horns. It was while he was left laying on the floor, the bull decided to take its chance and gored him. The entire episode happened within a matter of seconds, leaving Romero powerless to defend himself. Matador Antonio Romero was punctured in the rear-end by a bull named Caporal on Sunday Antonio Romero and his injury of a 11 inch laceration in the behind was considered 'severe' Romero only escaped with his life after other bullfighters jumped in to rescue him and managed to distract the animal. A backside bull goring happened to an unnamed man in Spain last year as well. The unfortunate incident happened on the street in Teulada, a small coastal town on Spain's Costa Blanca, during the annual bull-running celebration. |
Stuck in the nosebleed section? While this binocular flask won't help you get a closer glimpse of Kobe Bryant, rest assured you'll be having the most fun! Take any liquor incognito to concerts or sporting events in this imaginative, secret flask. Only you'll know that these barnoculars are really two individual plastic flasks. Holding 16 ounces in two separated 8-ounce barrels, there's plenty of room to store your manly whiskey and her favorite vodka too. Our binocular flask comes complete with an easy fill funnel and 31 plastic carrying strap. Measures 7" tall x 8" wide. Liquor not included. Take any liquor incognito to concerts or sporting events in this imaginative, secret flask Only you'll know that these barnoculars are really two individual plastic flasks Holding 16 ounces in two separated 8-ounce barrels Measures 7" tall x 8" wide |
Cycle. Beat the on-screen pace. Receive free Menabrea beer. All on a system controlled by a Raspberry Pi. Honestly, what’s not to like? Menabrea UK If you’re wondering what it takes to win an ice cold pint at one of our Race to Biella events, this clip will give you more of an idea. It’s no mean feat!! Do you think you have the pedal power? Join us tonight at The Avonbridge Hotel for sunshine, cycling and, of course, a refreshing pint or two. Glasgow-based creative content agency Bright Signals were contacted by Wire with a brief for a pretty tasty project: create something for Menabrea that ties in with the Giro d’Italia cycle race passing close to the brewery in Biella, Northern Italy. Cycle race, was it? Menabrea brewery, you say? The team at Bright Signals came up with the superb idea of a bicycle-powered Menabrea beer dispenser. It must be noted that when I said the words ‘bicycle-powered beer dispenser’ aloud in the Raspberry Pi office, many heads turned and Director of Software Engineering Gordon Hollingworth dropped everything he was doing in order to learn more. The final build took a fortnight to pull together, with Bright Signals working on the Raspberry Pi-controlled machine and Wire in charge of its graphic design. Reuse, reduce, return to the bar “This was probably one of the most enjoyable builds I’ve worked on,” says Bright Signal’s Deputy Managing Director, Grant Gibson. “We had a really clear idea of what we were doing from the start, and we managed to reuse loads of parts from the donor bicycle as we simplified the bike and built the pouring system.” The team integrated the bottle cage of the donor bike into the main dispensing mechanism, and the bike’s brake levers now cradle a pint glass at the perfect angle for pouring. A Raspberry Pi powers the 24″ screen atop the beer dispenser, as well as the buttons, pouring motors, and lights. Giro di Scozia Fancy trying Menabrea’s bicycle-powered beer dispenser for yourself? The final stop of its 4-week tour will be the Beer Cafe in Glasgow this Friday 2nd June. If you make it to the event, be sure to share your photos and video with us in the comments below, or via our social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And if you end up building your own beer-dispensing cycle, definitely write up a tutorial for the project! We know at least one person who is keenly interested… |
Newark mayor Cory Booker is helming a social news startup that he says will give voice to the Millennial generation and democratize how media is shared and consumed. #Waywire will incorporate user-generated video responses alongside original and outside content. The hashtag that is consistently included with the name of the site reinforces what the venture says will be a deep commitment to social sharing and to giving every news consumer a virtual klaxon with which to respond to content. Booker, though, seems to see a greater narrative of liberation from a narrow, orthodox set of views propagated by a media aimed at an older generation. “Traditional media is controlled by a handful of companies with one destination and a specific point of view,” Booker said, “while [Millennials] have come of age expecting social media, user-generated voices, the open web and technology led media.” In addition to the generational rhetoric of the project (Booker himself is 43), there’s a flavor of opinion sharing, an increasingly crowded field of attempts to attract and curate a social graph based on political and moral convictions. #Waywire raised $1.75M in a seed round that reportedly included Google’s Eric Schmidt, Lady Gaga’s manager Troy Carter and television star Oprah Winfrey, a prominent Booker supporter. The project has already received praise in the web and business communities largely on the merit of Booker’s notability, and in light of a widespread perception that news consumption is ripe for a methodological and revenue overhaul. Other commentators have noted that Booker — as well as #waywire CEO Nathan Richardson, a protege of The Gilt Groupe — are working hard to target a precise demographic, without whom it is difficult to imagine the project gaining traction. Does the project aim to attract older users, as well?. It’s not clear, but Booker is leaving the possibility open: It will appeal, he said, to “the product and voice built by and for [Millennials].” The Stanford-educated Booker has nurtured a public image as a justice-hungry outsider, some say in a long-term bid for a higher office. He became mayor of the embattled Jersey city of Newark in 2006 — and in 2009, turned down an a prestigious offer to lead the Obama administration’s Office of Urban Affairs Policy, saying that he felt he could do more good in Newark. Image: #waywire Posted By Jon Christian Jon Christian is a Boston-based reporter and blogger, particularly interested in the intersection of technology, civil rights and culture. At Tech.li, his beat encompasses Google, cloud and ultra-portable computing, haptic/cyberpunk/brain-in-a-tank news, and other cool stuff in the tech world. Tip him off at: Jon.Christian@Tech.li. Follow @Jon_Christian !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Jon Christian is a Boston-based reporter and blogger, particularly interested in the intersection of technology, civil rights and culture. At Tech.li, his beat encompasses Google, cloud and ultra-portable computing, haptic/cyberpunk/brain-in-a-tank news, and other cool stuff in the tech world. Tip him off at: Jon.Christian@Tech.li. Follow @Jon_Christian !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); You might also like |
Pin 18 25 Shares 151 Self Care ideas to increase mindfulness and avoid burnout The best self-care ideas are self-care activities that resonate with you on a personal level. The best way to come up with a complete self care plan is to make a list of all the things you enjoy doing best for self care. However, many of us have forgotten what it is like to take care of yourself first. Impatient to get started on self-care right away? You are your first responsibility. If you were responsible for a baby, you would (hopefully) never neglect the baby, right? Well, it is time to start thinking about yourself the same way! Another important thing to bear in mind with self-care ideas is that there are some elements of self care that are daily activities and maintenance whereas others are ways to take care of yourself that are more fun or decadent. They are equally important. The most important elements of daily self care are discussed here in “How to Take Care of Yourself From the Inside Out”. Who are self-care ideas for? These are self-care ideas for people who are, for the most part, mentally well. Although some of these self-care ideas will work for you if you are suffering from anxiety or depression or some other condition, you may not be ready for these ideas if you are unwell. I have written a depression treatment plan to help people guide themselves through depression (which is definitely not a substitute for seeking help in the form of counselling or a physician). These self-care ideas are necessary because many of us tend to live life at such a frantic pace, overscheduling ourselves. People, perhaps especially those in the behavioural health field, but others as well, can tend to get burnt out. The way to avoid burn out is self-care. However, “self-care activities” has become such an over-used phrase. People say it, and yet many people don’t actually know what it means. Too often, people’s idea of self-care activities involve more self-punishment. For example, exercise is a self-care activity. However, if you hate running and you force yourself to run as a “self-care activity,” it is no longer self-care. (So, what if you hate all exercise? Well, there are many other self-care ideas — 150 others — but, the truth is that I don’t think anyone actually hates ALL exercise. We were all children once and there was a time when moving our bodies in some way was a joy, not a pain… do you remember what that was? Even if you can’t still do that, what can you do that is similar? Can you start off slowly and work up to more?) Self-care ideas are about being good to yourself. They don’t have to take up huge chunks of time. You can practice self-care by taking one minute out of every hour at work to just shut your eyes and breathe deeply (please use common sense — air traffic controllers cannot do this, for example). I once had a mountain of paperwork to complete in a somewhat hostile office environment and I felt very stressed and trapped. I put on headphones and listened to an mp3 of ocean waves crashing up on the shore. I just felt relaxed and “in the zone” all day. That is an example of self-care that was effective, free (it was a free app), and did not take any time except the time to download and install the app. Use the self-care ideas that appeal to you most… That is when you can consult this epic list of self help ideas. Jot down which ones you think might work for you and let the others flutter away from your mind. Some will be perfect for you while others might seem wildly inappropriate for your life and circumstances. Some cost nothing while others are expensive. Some self-care ideas involve a lot of planning. Some self-care ideas are literally as easy as a walk in the park. It is a good idea to keep several self-care journals, which you can have on paper or in electronic format. For example, you could have one journal to log your physical exercise for the week. It serves as an encouragement to show what you have accomplished. Some of these journals could be replaced by apps — whatever you are most comfortable with. Some self-care ideas are fun such as having a massage or going on vacation. However, others may be more difficult like cooking meals regularly, getting enough exercise, taking care of unpleasant tasks, etc. The benefit to doing the unpleasant self-care ideas is that you will feel a sense of freedom as a weight you didn’t even realize was there is lifted from your shoulders. Self-care ideas: put them on index cards in a jar… This is about you. Do what works best for you. Choose your favorite self-care ideas. You can even make it a fun activity by writing down each self care idea on an index card (recipe card) and then folding it over and placing it in a big jar or a box. When you need self-care ideas, just reach into the box and randomly select a self care idea. (Pro tip: If you don’t like the self care idea you selected, you can always try again!) … and a jar for those self-care ideas that require a bit more planning… Take the time to narrow this list to your own self care ideas because that is what is going to make this work for you. You might decide to keep some items on the list aside from the jar and place them in a second jar marked “self care plans”. This is because some of the items require planning and/or saving money such as going to the ballet (if that is your thing) or going on a trip (if that is your thing). Other things are things that you can do at a moment’s notice with no money at all such as looking at cat pictures on the internet, taking a bath (assuming you have a bath — I currently do not), and reading. And now, the actual list of self-care ideas: On to the self-care ideas list: It’s funny how, often we might think of self-care activities as “wasting time,” when actually they are the very activities that keep us going, prevent burnout and make life worth living! Conclusion It is important to take regular time in your day for self-care. Although it may seem decadent at times, it is our self-care activities that protect us from burnout. For example, someone who takes the time to exercise regularly and eat homemade nutritional meals might build up more resilience against stress than, say, someone who never exercises and ony eats fast food. The nice thing about self care is that it not only helps us, but it helps those around us because we are more energized and refreshed and can provide a more positive outlook. Those who have been on airplanes will recall that the flight attendants always tell you that in case of an emergency, if the air mask comes down from the ceiling, you should put your own mask on first, prior to helping your child or another person. They don’t say that just to be kind. They say it because if you don’t, in the event of an emergency, you are liable to pass out before you can put your own mask on. And you might even pass out before you finish helping your child. Taking care of yourself first is essential to navigate the hectic pace of modern life. Building up a well of resilience is your best ally in learning to live a peaceful, productive, and enjoyable life. These self-care ideas can go a long way to helping you to build up your resilience. Feel free to add your comments as well as your favorite self-care activities below. Read more: Mindfulness Matters: The game that uses mindfulness skills to improve coping in everyday life Pin 18 25 Shares |
More states should make like the U.K. and consider an EU exit, says Malloch | Jack Taylor/Getty Images Other EU states should hold In-Out votes, says potential Trump envoy Ally says US president has ‘animus against supranational organizations.’ LONDON — The man mentioned as Donald Trump’s possible pick for ambassador to the European Union wants other EU countries to follow Britain's example and hold votes on their membership of the bloc. Ted Malloch, an economist and former diplomat with ties to the U.S. president’s inner circle, said that while Trump did not have a “formal policy” of speeding the EU’s demise, he wanted to see EU countries to “come to a decision themselves” about their continued membership of the single market, the single currency and the political union. In comments to POLITICO, Malloch voiced his own support for any EU member state that wanted to hold an In-Out referendum modeled on the U.K.’s Brexit vote. “I would like to see referenda put to European people so that they could make their own determination,” he said. “It seems to be that some of the elections that are forthcoming in the next short period of time could lead to that kind of voice in different European countries,” he added, noting the coming elections in France and the Netherlands. "Europe is a collection of different European cultural identities, languages, cuisines, cultures and the European Union has not been able to snuff those out. Last time I checked very few people were speaking Esperanto” — Ted Malloch Although he has not been nominated, Malloch is seen as a candidate to be Trump’s pick for ambassador to the EU. He was interviewed by the president’s team in New York earlier this month. Should he be nominated, he would need Senate confirmation. In recent days Malloch has launched a salvo against the EU’s leaders, telling the BBC he would “short the euro” and predicting that the single currency “could collapse” in the next 18 months. On Thursday, in another BBC appearance, he compared the EU to the Soviet Union, adding that the bloc needed “taming,” and said Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, had been “a very adequate mayor, I think, of some city in Luxembourg and maybe he should go back and do that again.” Malloch, a professor at Henley Business School in the U.K., said Trump wanted to deal with countries on bilateral terms, adding that the president had an “animus against supranational organizations” because they “lead to the demise of sovereign nation states.” Cold War comparison He said the election of Trump, the Brexit vote and changes taking place in other Western democracies represented a “pendulum swing” in world politics on a par with the fall of the Berlin Wall. “In our generation this is the significant pendulum swing, toward a more state-centric, bilateral world,” he said. “Look at Europe,” he added. “It is really a collection of different European cultural identities, languages, cuisines, cultures and the European Union has not been able to snuff those out. Last time I checked very few people were speaking Esperanto.” Trump is “more and more persuaded that NATO is not so obsolete” — Ted Malloch He said that post-war international institutions — with the exception of NATO — needed to be “reinvented.” “Some of them will continue to exist and should, but they need to be reinvented because, frankly, they’re 70 years old and things that are old are like cars that are antiques. They are interesting to look at but not particularly drivable,” he said. The Trump administration is preparing executive orders to reduce the U.S. role at — and funding for — the United Nations, and leading to a review of American participation in multilateral treaties, according to a report in the New York Times earlier this week . “The criticism of those [multilateral] organizations, particularly in Western democracies, has been pronounced for some years,” Malloch said. “Occasionally you have to do what companies do, which is radically restructure,” he added. “Or occasionally you actually go out of business and start a new business. Likewise, in parallel here what you have to do is start some new organizations with a different function, different purpose, fit for the future and not the past.” However, he said he believes Trump was being “more and more persuaded that NATO is not so obsolete”, and that it could be “revived” with a greater focus on counter-terror operations and cybersecurity — a departure from its historic role as a counterbalance to Russia. He said he expected U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May to raise the importance of NATO’s continued role during her visit to Washington. |
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland Municipal Judge Ed Wade died early Monday after a battle with prostate cancer at the age of 69. Wade died about 5:30 a.m. Monday at the Hospice of the Western Reserve. "Judge Wade was a tremendous asset to this bench and to this community," Cleveland Municipal Court Administrative Judge Ronald Adrine said in a statement. "He brought a competence, a temperament and a humor that will be sorely missed and impossible to replace. His colleagues and co-workers already miss him deeply." Cleveland Municipal Court spokesman Ed Ferenc confirmed Wade's death. Gov. John Kasich will appoint a judge to take over Wade's docket. That appointee will be the judge until November 2017, when an election will be held for Wade's seat on the bench for the remainder of his term, which ended in 2021. Wade presided over the court's mental health docket. In 2015, he beat out fellow sitting Judge Pauline Tarver. Ferenc said the other 12 judges had been splitting Wade's docket while he was in the hospital. They will continue to do so until Kasich appoints a new judge. Four bar associations that reviewed the candidacies before the 2015 election gave Wade excellent ratings. He ran for Tarver's seat because he wouldn't be able to run for re-election in 2017 because of Ohio law that prohibits candidates from running for re-election after they turn 70. Wade was a lifelong Cleveland resident and graduated from Glenville High School. He served in the military and fought in the Vietnam War, earning a Vietnam Service Medal and Vietnam Campaign Medal, according to his biography on the court's website. He earned an associates degree from Cuyahoga County Community College, a bachelor's degree from the University of Dayton and graduated from Howard University School of Law in Washington D.C. He was a longtime criminal defense attorney and a Cleveland city prosecutor before running for judge. |
Since leaving office, former President Barack Obama has stayed largely out of the public eye. In May, however, he will be invited back into the spotlight to receive an award for his political service. On Thursday, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation announced that Mr. Obama would be the 2017 recipient of its John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award. Obama is being recognized for a number of principled stances he took as president, including his action on climate change, expansion of health care under the Affordable Care Act, and work to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba. Though it’s unusual for a president to be presented with the award so soon after leaving office, the Kennedy family and the selection committee agreed that Obama was the logical choice for this year, the centenary of President Kennedy’s birth. "President Kennedy called on a new generation of Americans to give their talents to the service of the country," Kennedy's daughter, Caroline Kennedy, said in a statement. "With exceptional dignity and courage, President Obama has carried that torch into our own time, providing young people of all backgrounds with an example they can emulate in their own lives." The John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award has been presented annually since 1989. It is named for the late president’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Profiles in Courage,” which tells the stories of eight US politicians who stood up for their principles even if it meant risking their careers. The award is given to politicians who follow their conscience in making similarly controversial decisions and is typically awarded for a single act. Obama, however, is being celebrated more broadly for "his enduring commitment to democratic ideals and elevating the standard of political courage in a new century," the foundation said. Obama is not the only former president to receive the award. Gerald Ford was selected in 2001 for his controversial decision to pardon Richard Nixon, while George H.W. Bush’s decision to roll back his campaign pledge of “No More Taxes” and work across party lines to reduce the deficit made him the 2014 pick. But why is Obama being recognized so much sooner after leaving office than other presidents? The selection committee was trying to “do something different this year” as a way to honor the centenary of Kennedy’s birth, foundation selection committee chairman Al Hunt, a Bloomberg columnist, told BuzzFeed News. Choosing Obama, whom they see as carrying on Kennedy’s legacy, fit the bill. The selection is, perhaps, not surprising: Obama is already being recognized as a successful president. He enjoyed high approval ratings as his second term drew to an end, and last month debuted at #12 on C-SPAN’s presidential rankings, which rate presidents on leadership qualities ranging from economic management to moral authority. Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Ms. Kennedy, who served as US ambassador to Japan under the Obama administration, and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present the award on May 7 at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. At the ceremony, Obama is expected to give one of his first speeches since leaving office. This report contains material from the Associated Press. |
This steel labyrinth looks like something left behind after the production of a dystopian film, its irregular grid of steel rising and falling onto the concrete surface outside Belgium’s C-mine art center. Designed by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, the maze is an immersive experience in what the artist sees as architecture in its essential form: “a composition of walls that define spaces.” Made of 186 tons of metal, the installation features vertical surfaces towering over 49 feet in the air to properly disorient visitors. Entering the maze, you pass through a series of geometric doorways cut into the steel, including a sphere, a cylinder and a cone. Depending on where you are in the maze, these cut-outs might offer a tiny glimpse of what’s on the other side of a wall, or open to reveal a succession of similar cut-outs passing all the way through the installation. The steel, and how it is cut and arranged, offers a unique architectural visual that changes according to your perspective, shifting from abstract lines into distinct geometries and sometimes creating optical illusions that make you uncertain whether you’re looking at a two-dimensional or three-dimensional surface. A nearby installation of antique mine shafts offers a different way to experience the maze: from above. You can pass through it as an active participant, and then view it as a whole, taking in its complexities from a more detached bird’s eye view. |
As the clock winds down for this year’s Minnesota legislative session, the owners of Minnesota United FC are hopeful that state lawmakers will help clear the way for a new soccer stadium at the western edge of downtown Minneapolis.“We’re optimistic and we’re still hopeful that we’ll be able to get it done this session,” Eric Durkee, spokesman for Minnesota United FC, told Twin Cities Business early Thursday afternoon. “I think we’re still hopeful that we’ll be able to get it done in the next couple of days here.”Durkee declined to speak to the particulars of the latest discussions.Legislative leaders are huddled behind closed doors with Gov. Mark Dayton to hammer out a budget deal. The legislature is scheduled to adjourn on Monday, May 18. The ball in play at the moment: Will the final deal include a provision that could allow an entity such as the city of Minneapolis to provide financial incentives for a new soccer stadium?When Major League Soccer (MLS) Commissioner Don Garber announced in March that the ownership group led by Dr. Bill McGuire had been awarded an expansion franchise for Minnesota , he floated a July deadline for the team to have a stadium deal in place.But Durkee tells Twin Cities Business that’s not a hard and fast deadline.“There’s definitely wiggle room there,” says Durkee, adding that the McGuire group would not lose the franchise if every stadium detail weren’t nailed down by July.McGuire’s group has floated a plan to pay $120 million to build a new 18,500-seat stadium, pay $30 million for the necessary land, and spend $100 million for the MLS expansion fee. The stadium site is next to the Minneapolis Farmers Market. McGuire’s group is well heeled: other investors include Robert Pohlad, Jim Pohlad, Wendy Carlson Nelson and Glen Taylor. McGuire’s group has asked that the privately owned stadium be exempt from property taxes.But amid the stadium fatigue of many political leaders, the stadium project has not found much strong political support. In April, the Minnesota Senate cast a lopsided 61-4 vote to bar any state funding from going to the proposed MLS stadium. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges is on record as opposing a tax break for the new stadium.But Minneapolis City Council Member Jacob Frey and other council members are working behind the scenes to broker a deal that could clear the way for a new pro soccer stadiumFrey declines to discuss specifics of the potential deal on the table, but sounded an optimistic note that the issue could be resolved.“Any action will likely require some authorization from the state. As you know the legislative session is ending next week unless there is some extension. If a deal this year is to be done, the team needs to get something on the docket now,” Frey said. “What they’re asking for is tax relief, not a direct subsidy. …I believe there’s a mechanism where we don’t lose any money from the status quo and can trigger some economic development.”Given that people involved in the discussions aren’t sharing details, it is not clear yet how a prospective deal would be structured. Does Frey think that the legislature will include language to clear a path for a soccer stadium deal?“There could be. I don’t know yet,” says Frey. “That’s what we’re working out.”Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat said that a few weeks ago, he thought that he was close to working out a different deal with McGuire’s group.“I don’t have any idea of what they’re doing. It’s been two-and-a-half weeks since I last met with them,” Opat says of the soccer group. “We were close to having an agreement on something that I would bring to my colleagues.”Opat declined to outline that deal that was being negotiated, but said that public money would not have gone towards the stadium itself, but only for infrastructure and other costs.Frey confirmed that at this juncture, Hennepin County is not a part of the current discussion: “At least as of right now, I think that’s accurate,” says Frey.A representative of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges did not respond to a request for comment on where the issue currently stands.Despite the mayor’s stance, Frey says the soccer stadium has broader support on the Minneapolis City Council.“I think the best strategy is to keep an open negotiation,” says Frey. “I think that most council members are generally open to conversation.” |
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