text stringlengths 0 100k |
|---|
Dates of birth, home addresses, phone numbers, grade point averages, and other personal information of 160,000 Metropolitan State University (Minnesota) students have been exposed in a data breach after a hacker broke into the database. Dating back 18 or 19 years, the data includes current and former students, as well as people who contacted the school but never enrolled. The breach was first disclosed in January and the investigation concluded this week, finding that 11,000 students also had parts of their Social Security numbers leaked. There has been no evidence yet as to whether this personal information has been misused, but the compromise has highlighted Metropolitan’s lack of effective cybersecurity procedures. This week Auburn University (Alabama) announced a breach, affecting 370,000 Social Security numbers of students and other people who had applied to the university. Universities deal with large and complex networks and systems, so implementing effective security controls is a massive undertaking. ISO 27001, the information security management system standard, simplifies the requirements of diverse laws and regulations (e.g. FERPA, HIPAA, PII, PCI) into a single management system. This streamlines much of the work of adhering to complex requirements that often overlap significantly. For universities looking to secure their systems with an internationally recognized standard, there are a number of ISO 27001 fixed-price packaged solutions that offer different degrees of tools, resources, and support depending on your organization’s needs. |
The notion of taking an offensive tackle with the 15th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft isn't extinguished quite yet. It may just be a burning ember, but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, along with offensive line coach Mike Munchak, were in Ann Arbor, Mich., this week to watch the Wolverines' pro day, which included top 15 prospect Taylor Lewan. Lewan had a fantastic Combine, eliminating any questions about his athleticism - initially there were some concerns, but Lewan did enough to establish himself firmly as a top half of the first round pick. Lewan may not be available at 15 (probably won't be, judging by most projections) but it's worth the Steelers doing their due diligence anyway. Considering the kind of zone running Munchak has employed in the past, both he and Tomlin have to love his strength and quickness. The Steelers got solid production over the second half of the season from left tackle Kelvin Beachum and right tackle Marcus Gilbert - who is in a contract year. Tackle isn't expected to be a priority early in the draft. |
Illustration by Todd Ryan White In the summer of 1981, a young and unknown 20-year-old punk from Washington, DC, named Henry Garfield jumped up onstage to sing an encore with Black Flag at a show in New York City. It so happened that the band was looking for a new singer. A couple days later, they tracked down Henry and asked him to come back to New York for a proper audition. They met him at the Odessa diner on Avenue A by Tompkins Square Park and took him to a nearby rehearsal space, where they ran through a set together. Afterward, the band went outside to talk it over. As Henry later recounted in his tour diary, Get in the Van, guitarist Greg Ginn and bassist Chuck Dukowski returned a few minutes later and Dukowski asked, “Well? Are you going to join or not?” Henry, of course, was in. He immediately quit his job as the manager of a Häagen-Dazs, left behind an abusive family situation, and went on the road with his favorite band. Shortly thereafter, he changed his last name to Rollins and moved to Los Angeles. Within six months, the band recorded Damaged, a record that is widely credited with inventing American hardcore. Back when I was a Black Flag-obsessed teenager longing to escape my own dead-end hometown in south Florida, the story about Henry’s complete reversal of fortune captured my imagination. In 1989, after Black Flag had already split up, I read an interview with Greg Ginn in which he lamented how hard it was to find dedicated, hardworking musicians. Being an idealistic 16-year-old, I called SST Records and left a message on their answering machine, offering to drop what I was doing and hitchhike to Los Angeles to play bass in his band. Ginn, unfortunately, never called back. Still, Black Flag’s uncompromising DIY ethic continued to inspire me, and eventually, I left home, worked hard, and carved out a fulfilling life for myself as a writer and musician. I still sometimes think about how exciting it must have been to just walk away from a life you didn’t like, as Henry did, and start over completely. One gloomy, late night last winter I found myself sitting at the Odessa diner, ruminating over a lukewarm cup of coffee. I was sick, rent was due, my new book was going nowhere, and a snowstorm was raging outside. I thought of Henry, sitting so long ago at the same counter. Later that week, to everyone’s surprise, members of Black Flag announced that they were reforming. In fact, there were two reunions: one led by founder and principal songwriter Greg Ginn—claiming the official moniker of Black Flag—and the other by former bass player Dukowski and Keith Morris, the band’s first singer, which would simply be going by Flag. While fans debated feverishly which of these lineups was the true Black Flag, I was captivated by one tiny detail from the flood of news stories announcing the dual reunions: Ginn said that he would be playing both guitar and bass on the new, as-yet-untitled album. It dawned on me: Black Flag did not have a bass player. I could be that bass player! I decided right then and there to find out where Ginn was living, hitchhike across the country, and persuade him to let me try out—just as I had attempted to do at 16. I knew all the old songs, and I figured that thumbing it instead of flying or taking a bus would prove to Ginn that I had dedication. Ginn, I knew, had for the past few years been based in a small town called Taylor, just outside Austin, Texas. That morning’s New York Post told me that the weather in Austin was presently a rejuvenating and springlike 70 degrees. There was no reason not to go. A few days later I found myself standing on the side of Interstate 81 with my thumb out. A light snow fell around me, melting the Sharpie on the cardboard sign on which I had scrawled texas. Ginn’s trademark clear Plexiglas Dan Armstrong guitar lay on the ground, sporting two rusty strings. What it means to be Black Flag is precisely the question that the two newly formed incarnations pose: Is Black Flag a much-loved set of classic hardcore songs, or is Black Flag the contrarian experimentation and ceaseless work ethic that originally produced said songs? Dukowski’s Flag, a powerhouse lineup that features some of the finest musicians in punk history, will be playing the hits. “We just want to make sure the music is played correctly and with conviction,” guitarist Dez Cadena told me. Dukowski echoed Dez’s sentiment: “I want to have a great time with my friends, and I want the audience to come out of our shows sweating and thinking, That was righteous!” While members of Flag say that “having fun” is the primary objective of their reformation, I’m not sure fun is the first word that comes to mind when considering a band whose hits include the songs “Depression” and “Life of Pain.” Indeed, many of Ginn’s best-known songs, like “Six Pack” and “TV Party,” pointedly mock people who are having a good time. Ginn was the notorious slave driver of the band, demanding eight-hour rehearsals and epic six-month tours. For Ginn, Black Flag was a concept. When the members no longer meshed with his concept, he replaced them. After Damaged, Ginn jettisoned many of the band’s early classics and confounded punk purists with an ongoing series of lineup changes, instrumental and spoken-word tracks, and postpunk records that were each heavier, darker, and artier than the last. Since the mid-90s, he has virtually abandoned traditional rock music completely, while touring and recording extensively in various experimental electronic and improvisational bands. Perhaps Flag can best be seen as a sort of long-deserved victory lap in which the inventors of hardcore get to bask in the limelight while enjoying some of the most enduring songs in the canon. Yet, just as Flag and fans settled in to eagerly await their highly anticipated shows, Ginn shocked fans and music journalists by announcing that he was ten steps ahead and in the midst of putting the finishing touches on a new Black Flag record, the first since 1985’s In My Head. On the road hitchhiking south from New York on I-81, under light snowfall. In truth, if you’ve heard one cross-country hitchhiking story, you’ve heard them all. My trip to Texas was no different, except that I was carrying a bass and manically practicing Black Flag songs at truck stops and punk houses along the way. After six days, I made it to Taylor, Texas. It was noon, and I walked up the deserted Main Street, looking for Ginn. I passed a bank, some vacant storefronts, and an old two-screen theater. Taylor was quiet. Dead quiet. The only sound was the wind whistling across the long, flat plains. I peered in store windows and scanned passing motorists, looking for the 6'5" frame of Greg Ginn. In my vision, we’d come face-to-face, pause, and size each other up. I’d look him in the eye and simply say, “I’ve come to play bass.” I was walking past what seemed to be an abandoned furniture store on Highway 79 when, to my surprise, I heard a band playing inside. I couldn’t see anything through the dusty windows, but the music—bluesy drums and bass rolling steadily like an endless two-lane blacktop into the Texas horizon, enveloped by a screeching guitar playing doughnut-like solos—was unmistakably the work of Ginn. I got goose bumps; I’d waited 23 years and traveled 1,700 miles to meet with fate. I stood there on the sidewalk and listened to Ginn’s solos squeal in and out of tune with the whistles of the freight trains from the nearby Union Pacific train yard. I even dutifully held my iPhone to the door and recorded a bit of the jam, feeling like Alan Lomax. After an hour, the music stopped. The door opened, and out walked Ginn. Ginn looked at me and then noticed my bass. As we shook hands, I stared him straight in the eye—well, into his sunglasses—and delivered the line I’d rehearsed in my mind many times: “I’ve come here to play bass.” Ginn remained silent, as he is wont to do. My confidence warbled and I added, “Uh, unless you’ve already got somebody! I mean! That is!” Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Ginn looked down the street at nothing in particular. He asked where I’d come from. I said that I’d hitchhiked from New York City. He nodded and then glanced at his watch and gazed down the street some more. Finally, he said, “Well, I’ve got some stuff I have to do right now. But I could play some with you at four. Can you meet me here then?” Yes, of course I could. Ginn told me of a nearby sandwich shop where I could wait. Was this my Odessa diner? I thought with excitement. Before I could come to grips with how easy it had all been, a trim and wiry middle-aged man walked over to me, nodding at my bass. He was unshaven and wearing a one-piece mechanic’s jumpsuit. “You must be the hitchhiker!” he said and introduced himself as the new drummer of Black Flag. His name was also Greg, but he said that Ginn and the others simply called him Drummer. I looked down at his feet; he wasn’t wearing shoes. “I’ve been barefoot for over 20 years,” he explained. “Going barefoot was the best thing that ever happened to me. Know how you just want to really feel the earth sometimes?” He asked how I’d found out that they needed a bassist. I said I’d just read between the lines: even if Ginn were handling bass duties on the record, he’d still need a bassist for the tour. Drummer seemed shocked. “So, wait,” he said. “You didn’t even see the ad?” Now it was my turn to be shocked: the greatest hardcore band of all time had put an ad for a bass player on Craigslist! A funny tingling feeling permeated my gut. I realized that, either serendipitously or intuitively, I had arrived in Taylor at the perfect moment. They had been trying out bass players for weeks and were hoping to choose someone in the next couple of days. I asked Drummer how the auditions had been going. “Well, it’s going,” he said, wearily shaking his head. The main trouble they’d been having, he added, was finding someone who was willing to move to Taylor. Black Flag’s practice space and home looks like an abandoned furniture store. Taylor, Texas. An hour later, I was inside the old empty furniture store alongside Ginn and Drummer. I’ve been playing guitar and drums for 20 years, but I’ve never actually played bass in a band. I felt like I was about to have a nervous breakdown. We tuned. I was about to ask, “So, what song do you guys want to start out with?” when Ginn dropped into his trademark stance, legs set shoulder width apart, and started playing a funky riff in the key of A. Drummer fell right into rhythm. There were no songs, I quickly discovered; the audition would be completely improvised. A couple minutes in, we locked into a tight groove. Ginn played with his eyes closed, his head swiveling around in a trancelike headbang. Anytime I’d try to play a fill on the bass, one of Ginn’s eyes would snap open and glare at me. At first, I thought he was signaling me to stop. Then I realized he was just paying attention to see where I might be trying to take the song. When he suddenly blasted off on a series of guitar solos, I finally realized, Holy shit! I’m playing with GREG GINN, and his solos are melting my mind! The wordless communication of forming the songs on the spot together was fascinating, and for the first time, I understood the appeal of improvised music. I had been playing with Ginn for less than an hour, and I had already learned something important. After two 15-minute jams, Ginn stopped and spoke for both him and Drummer. “We like playing with you. Do you want to stay over and play some more tomorrow?” G inn and Drummer took me to the SST warehouse in Taylor. When Black Flag recorded Damaged at Unicorn Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood in 1981, the band was living on the floor of a windowless studio—specifically under the desks at SST, Ginn’s record label, where they practiced and recorded. Here I was, over 30 years later, standing in what was basically the same place. Guitars and microphones were scattered around, including what appeared to be Ginn’s trademark clear Plexiglas Dan Armstrong guitar, which lay on the ground and sported two rusty strings. A CD with black flag rough mix no vocals scribbled on it in marker sat atop of a pile of CDs, and old newspapers were stacked atop a mixing board. While Ginn lived a couple blocks away, the rest of the band resided here, just like in the old days. Drummer had a little sleeping spot in one corner—a piece of foam on the ground, walled off for privacy. Ginn’s recording engineer, Mike Shear, slept on a makeshift mattress across the room. Drummer motioned to a mat in the center of the room. This was to be my new home. Things were happening fast. Maybe too fast. Ginn loaded weed into his vaporizer, and Drummer popped open a Lone Star. They peppered me with questions: Could I relocate to Texas? If so, how soon? Did I have friends over in Austin I could live with in the short-term? Did I usually hitchhike everywhere? Did I smoke weed? As Ginn hustled out the door to pick up his kids from school and take them to a show in Austin, he leaned over me and said, quietly and shyly, “I really liked playing with you.” I remembered my teenage phone call to SST. His compliment had traveled nearly a lifetime to get to me. I just sat there grinning. Drummer laid out the situation for me. They were looking for a bass player for not one, but two bands. Ginn, Drummer, and the bassist-to-be would back singer Ron Reyes in the new Black Flag, while also playing in a new band, Good for You, fronted by pro skater Mike Vallely. SST had released the debut Good for You LP, Life Is Too Short to Not Hold a Grudge, earlier that week, and the tour would commence in a little over a month. After that tour, the band would return to Taylor, and then both Black Flag and Good for You would tour together for months. It was classic Ginn. He’d play two sets a night, just like he had on the last Black Flag tour in 1986. While I tried to take it all in, Mike Shear said, “You live in Brooklyn. You ever hear of the Northside Festival?” Uh, had I? It was one of the biggest NYC rock events of the summer. “We’re headlining this year,” he said. “Just confirmed last week.” “So how long is the tour?” I asked. “Would we do about four months?” “Well, that’s the thing,” Drummer said. “It’s not just a reunion tour. Greg wants to restart Black Flag. We want someone who can move here indefinitely and keep on playing past these tours.” I went out for a walk around the streets of Taylor to get some air and mull things over. Like Henry Rollins did so many years ago, the new bass player would have to leave his old life entirely behind. And like him, I could suddenly and literally see my life changing before my eyes, or at least, the potential of what would happen if I continued down this path: the nearly 2,000-mile hitchhike, the jam with Ginn, and then the triumphant return to New York, standing in front of thousands of people on that stage in Williamsburg, playing in Black Flag. It felt like my 16-year-old dream was tantalizingly close to coming true. But I was 39 now, and I wasn’t expecting to have to face a commitment like this when I first decided to come down to Taylor. What would I do? I didn’t have long to make a decision. Walking aimlessly in one direction, I arrived outside a Walmart at the edge of town. I went in and bought a jug of orange juice and a jar of peanut butter and sat outside the doorway, eating the Peter Pan with a plastic spoon. Some customers stared at me as they exited. Were they satisfied in Taylor? Or did they always regret some opportunity they had missed, or something they had not followed through on that could’ve changed their lives? I walked the entire length of town, back to where Main Street hit the railroad tracks, and sat for a long time on the bridge overlooking the train yard. I wondered where Black Flag would be playing later this year on my 40th birthday. If I joined, I would no longer have to worry about next month’s rent or how my band was going to record our next album. I would no longer have to agonize line by line over my next book or worry about selling stories. And, given his track record, no one could doubt that Ginn was dead serious in his convictions and discipline. We would wake up every day and play his music. Ginn, Drummer, and Mike seemed to me to be utterly free people—fearless, dedicated, highly competent, and on a mission. I envied them for it, but did their mission align with mine? Would I be joining Black Flag or “Black Flag”? The band who had once battled the LAPD in riots at The Whiskey and Baces Hall was now prepping to headline enormous music festivals. Its members had fought and won a brutal battle with the larger culture. I admired Ginn for not wanting to repeat the past or look back but was unsure whether his ceaseless experimentation would bring future victories—or even spark any more meaningful battles. There was no way to know except time, and it was now completely up to me how close I wanted to be to whatever happened. A canopy of stars twinkled across the massive, dark Texas sky. I saw a shooting star trail brightly over town, from east to west, and realized I had absolutely no idea what I wanted anymore. I went back to my mat at SST and passed out. Sunrise over a Pilot Travel Center, just outside Little Rock, Arkansas. T he following morning’s jam went even better and lasted longer. For many stretches, I felt total satisfaction as Drummer and I locked into a groove that anchored Ginn’s explosive solos. After nearly two hours of playing, we all headed back to the SST office. Drummer—grinning, barefoot, and skipping down the street—walked on one side of me. “Man, we sounded good today, buddy!” he said. “That was really fun!” Ginn was to my other side—deadpan, inscrutable, and squinting behind his sunglasses. He probed me with questions like “Is it that you’re worried about your situation in Brooklyn or something?” and “Do you need to go back and deal with your stuff?” Shortly after our walk, Ginn asked if I wanted to stay the night again and play some more the next day. When I interviewed Dez, he had said that Black Flag had been his favorite band as a kid. Then Ginn and Dukowski approached him and said they’d seen him singing along at their shows. They told him they wanted him to be the band’s new singer. “I felt like I was being drafted,” Dez said. “It was like they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” I think I knew how he’d felt. There was something about Ginn that made me feel like I would rather do anything than let him down. The couple of people I had told about the tryout had been texting me all morning, telling me I had to drop everything and join Black Flag. If I didn’t, they said, I would regret it for the rest of my life. The pressure was sudden and unimaginable, which seems almost absurd when the matter at hand is whether or not to join a band. But this wasn’t just a band; this was Black Flag. Then it happened. Doubt had seeped in, and a decision was on the horizon. My response to Ginn came out in such a heated rush that it surprised even me. “I really don’t know if I can stay,” I told him. “I have my own bands. I write books. My bands are not as famous as Black Flag, but they’re mine. I need to put effort into building my thing up. It would be amazing to play with you and get to travel around with the band, but I need to be figuring out how to do that on my own and not as part of someone else’s trip.” Ginn nodded thoughtfully and rubbed his chin but said nothing. We returned to SST, and I told him I needed to go out for a walk and think about it before making my final decision. Later that day, Ginn approached me to talk it over. “I’m concerned that if you did move here to do this, you just wouldn’t be happy,” he said. “You seem like a free spirit, just hitchhiking down here, and we need someone like that in the band. But if you’ve got other projects that you are going to wish later on that you could be doing, this isn’t for you.” Almost unbelievably, I had no choice but to agree with him. Joining Black Flag turned out to be a job for my 16-year-old self, not the person I am now. Ginn told me there was an Amtrak that went back to Austin in a couple hours. I repeated that if they needed someone just for a tour I was interested. “We’ll call you,” he said. Ginn thanked me for coming and shook my hand with a warm smile. Drummer gave me a big hug, and I left SST for the last time. Just then my phone rang. It was Keith Morris, Black Flag’s first singer and singer for the rival reunion band, Flag. I was also supposed to be reporting on the dueling Black Flag reunions. In a split second, I’d gone from being a prospective member of Black Flag back to my old life—just another reporter writing about the band. As Keith and I wrapped up the interview, I asked him what he thought about what I referred to as a “hypothetical” trip to Texas that I was pondering. “I’m thinking the angle for the piece is that I’m going to hitchhike to Texas with only a bass and see if Ginn will let me try out for the new Black Flag,” I told him as I looked across the street at SST, where I’d slept on a mat the night before. “Got any advice?” I asked. “That sounds like a great rock ’n’ roll adventure!” Keith replied. “I could tell you Greg Ginn is the coolest guy on Earth, or I could tell you he’s the biggest prick on Earth. But you’ll never know until you go down there and find out for yourself.” Our discussion of the reunions continued for a few minutes, and I could tell that the famous dreadlocked frontman was warming up to the idea even more. “You should do it! Follow the horizon! Live your dreams! That’s what this is all about. You could make a book out of this. They might make a movie about you. Who knows? You might even end up being the next bass player for Black Flag.” All words and Photos by Erick Lyle. More from VICE about Black Flag: Cute Kids Moshing to Black Flag A Black Flag Kid Wrote a Book of Poems Chuck Dukowski from Black Flag Has a New Band with Eugene Robinson |
XAVIER Ellis has called time on his AFL career after making an announcement on his Instagram account. The West Coast utility and 2008 Hawthorn premiership player suffered another soft tissue injury playing in the WAFL on Saturday and announced in an Instagram post that he was calling time on his 120-game AFL career. "I'm done!! Thank you all involved at (Hawthorn) and (West Coast) for the 11 tremendous years," Ellis posted. "Amazing highs and a few (too) many lows, but was well worth the work. These legs need a rest now." • Who's hanging up the boots? Keep track of 2016's retirements and delistings Ellis played 86 games with Hawthorn after he was recruited with pick no.3 in the 2005 NAB AFL draft. He played in the 2008 premiership win with the Hawks. He also played in the 2012 Grand Final but badly damaged his calf in the loss to the Sydney Swans and would play just two more games for the Hawks in 2013. Ellis joined West Coast as an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2013 and played 34 matches with the Eagles including last year's Grand Final against Hawthorn. But soft tissue injuries continued to plague him. He partially tore his Achilles in round one this season and played just one more game in round 12 before succumbing to yet another injury on Saturday. He said it was clear his time was up after the latest setback and he was relieved to finish his career after 11 seasons. "I realised then and there, literally five minutes into the WAFL game, that my time was done and I started to reflect on how lucky I was," he told 6PR on Tuesday night. "I didn't even bother scanning it. There's obviously the physically side but also the mental side of it. "I've absolutely loved my time at West Coast but it got to the stage where I couldn't trust myself getting through a game. I hate letting people down. "For me when you get injured early in a game you go one short you let down 21 of your best mates. For me it was a pretty easy one." The 28-year-old said he hoped to move into coaching now that his playing career was over. "Footy is me. I absolutely love it. I've almost knocked over my sports management degree but even that I don't think is for me," he said. "I've done all my courses with coaching and I'm really excited about the next chapter. I think coaching is probably the path I wish to go down." |
“The Word of Wisdom,” Revelations in Context (2016) “The Word of Wisdom,” Revelations in Context Like many other revelations in the early Church, Doctrine and Covenants 89, also known today as the Word of Wisdom, came in response to a problem. In Kirtland, many men in the Church were called to preach in various parts of the United States. They were to cry repentance unto the people and gather in the Lord’s elect. To prepare these recent converts for their important labors, Joseph Smith started a training school called the School of the Prophets, which opened in Kirtland on the second floor of the Newel K. Whitney mercantile store in January 1833.1 Every morning after breakfast, the men met in the school to hear instruction from Joseph Smith. The room was very small, and about 25 elders packed the space.2 The first thing they did, after sitting down, was “light a pipe and begin to talk about the great things of the kingdom and puff away,” Brigham Young recounted. The clouds of smoke were so thick the men could hardly even see Joseph through the haze. Once the pipes were smoked out, they would then “put in a chew on one side and perhaps on both sides and then it was all over the floor.”3 In this dingy setting, Joseph Smith attempted to teach the men how they and their converts could become holy, “without spot,” and worthy of the presence of God.4 Tobacco This episode in the Whitney store occurred in the middle of a massive transformation within western culture. In 1750, personal cleanliness and hygiene were infrequent, haphazard practices, mostly the concern of the wealthy and aristocratic. By 1900, regular bathing had become routine for a large portion of the population, especially the middle classes, who had adopted gentility as an ideal.5 Tobacco spitting shifted from being a publicly acceptable practice among most segments of the population to becoming seen as a filthy habit beneath the dignity of polite society. In the midst of this cultural shift, at the very moment when everyday people started to concern themselves with their own cleanliness and bodily health, the Word of Wisdom arrived to light the way. The scene in the School of the Prophets would have been enough to give any non-tobacco user like Joseph Smith cause for concern.6 Joseph’s wife, Emma, told him that the environment concerned her. He and Emma lived in the Whitney store, and the task of scrubbing the spittle from the hardwood fell upon her. She may have complained of being asked to perform this thankless task, but there was also a more practical consideration: “She could not make the floor look decent,” Brigham Young recalled.7 The stains were impossible to get out. The whole situation seemed less than ideal for those who were called of God as these elders were, especially when we remember that the room with the filthy floor was Joseph’s “translation room,” the same place where he received revelations in the name of God. Joseph began inquiring of the Lord about what could be done, and on February 27, scarcely a month after the school started, he received the revelation later canonized as Doctrine and Covenants 89. The answer was unequivocal: “Tobacco is not for man but is for bruises & all sick cattle; to be used with judgement & skill.”8 Strong Drinks Tobacco was just one of a host of substances pertaining to bodily health and cleanliness whose merits were hotly debated on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean at the time the Word of Wisdom was received. Discussion was so frequent because abuse was so widespread. Frances Trollope, a British novelist, reported disdainfully in 1832 that in all her recent travels in the United States, she hardly ever met a man who was not either a “tobacco chewer or a whisky drinker.”9 Drinking, like tobacco chewing, had clearly gotten out of hand. For centuries nearly all Americans had consumed large quantities of alcoholic beverages, much like their European counterparts. The Puritans called alcohol the “Good Creature of God,” a blessing from heaven to be imbibed in moderation. Alcohol was consumed at virtually every meal, in part because the unpurified water of the time was so unhealthy. Home-brewed beer was a favorite, and after 1700, British-American colonists drank fermented peach juice, hard apple cider, and rum either imported from the West Indies or distilled from molasses made there. By 1770, per capita consumption of distilled spirits alone—to say nothing of beer or cider—stood at 3.7 gallons per year.10 The American Revolution only exacerbated this reliance on alcohol. After molasses imports were cut off, Americans sought a substitute for rum by turning to whiskey. Grain farmers in western Pennsylvania and Tennessee found it cheaper to manufacture whiskey than to ship and sell perishable grains. As a consequence, the number of distilleries grew rapidly after 1780, boosted by settlement of the corn belt in Kentucky and Ohio and the vast distances to eastern markets. To the astonishment of observers like Trollope, Americans everywhere—men, women, and children—drank whiskey all day long. American consumption of distilled spirits climbed precipitously, from two and a half gallons a person in 1790 to seven gallons in 1830, the highest amount of any time in American history and a figure three times today’s consumption rate.11 This elevated alcohol consumption offended religious sensibilities. As early as 1784, both Quakers and Methodists were advising their members to abstain from all hard liquor and to avoid participation in its sale and manufacture.12 A more aggressive temperance movement took hold among the churches in the early decades of the 19th century. Alcohol became viewed more as a dangerous tempter and less as a gift from God. In 1812, the Congregational and Presbyterian churches in Connecticut recommended strict licensing laws limiting the distribution of alcohol. Lyman Beecher, a leader in this reform movement, advocated even more extreme measures, endorsing full abstinence from alcoholic beverages. The idea soon became a central plank of the American Temperance Society (ATS), organized in Boston in 1826. Members of the organization were encouraged to sign a temperance pledge not just to moderate their alcohol intake but to abstain altogether. A capital “T” was written next to the names of those who did so, and from this the word “teetotaler” was derived. By the mid-1830s, the ATS had grown to well over a million members, many of them teetotalers.13 Encouraged by the ATS, local temperance societies popped up by the thousands across the U.S. countryside. Kirtland had its own temperance society, as did many small towns.14 Precisely because alcohol reform was so often discussed and debated, the Saints needed a way of adjudicating which opinions were right. Besides rejecting the use of tobacco, the Word of Wisdom also came down against alcoholic beverages: “Inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or Strong drink among you behold it is not good, neither mete in the sight of your Father.”15 Nevertheless, it required time to wind down practices that were so deeply ingrained in family tradition and culture, especially when fermented beverages of all kinds were frequently used for medicinal purposes. The term “strong drink” certainly included distilled spirits such as whiskey, which thereafter the Latter-day Saints generally shunned. They took a more moderate approach to milder alcoholic beverages like beer and “pure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.”16 For the next two generations, Latter-day Saint leaders taught the Word of Wisdom as a command from God, but they tolerated a variety of viewpoints on how strictly the commandment should be observed. This incubation period gave the Saints time to develop their own tradition of abstinence from habit-forming substances. By the early 20th century, when scientific medicines were more widely available and temple attendance had become a more regular feature of Latter-day Saint worship, the Church was ready to accept a more exacting standard of observance that would eliminate problems like alcoholism from among the obedient. In 1921, the Lord inspired President Heber J. Grant to call on all Saints to live the Word of Wisdom to the letter by completely abstaining from all alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco. Today Church members are expected to live this higher standard.17 Hot Drinks American temperance reformers succeeded in the 1830s in no small part by identifying a substitute for alcohol: coffee. In the 18th century, coffee was considered a luxury item, and British-manufactured tea was much preferred. After the Revolution, tea drinking came to be seen as unpatriotic and largely fell out of favor—the way was open for a rival stimulant to emerge. In 1830, reformers persuaded the U.S. Congress to remove the import duty on coffee. The strategy worked. Coffee fell to 10 cents a pound, making a cup of coffee the same price as a cup of whiskey, marking whiskey’s decline. By 1833, coffee had entered “largely into the daily consumption of almost every family, rich and poor.” The Baltimore American called it “among the necessaries of life.”18 Although coffee enjoyed wide approval by the mid-1830s, including within the medical community, a few radical reformers such as Sylvester Graham and William A. Alcott preached against the use of any stimulants whatsoever, including coffee and tea.19 The Word of Wisdom rejected the idea of a substitute for alcohol. “Hot drinks”—which Latter-day Saints understood to mean coffee and tea20—“are not for the body or belly,” the revelation explained.21 Instead, the revelation encouraged the consumption of basic staples of the kind that had sustained life for millennia. The revelation praised “all wholesome herbs” and explained that “all grain is for the use of man & of beasts to be the staff of life … as also the fruit of the vine that which beareth fruit whether in the ground or above ground.” In keeping with an earlier revelation endorsing the eating of meat, the Word of Wisdom reminded the Saints that the flesh of beasts and fowls was given “for the use of man with thanksgiving,” but added the caution that meat was “to be used sparingly” and not to excess.22 |
For many years, Swansea have been rightly held aloft as a model club, sticking resolutely to their principles as modern football descended into madness. Player recruitment was done swiftly and quietly, managerial appointments were made in line with a strong philosophy and the club’s finances were handled with great care. Fast forward to the current day, and they find themselves sleepwalking towards relegation, having picked up 12 points from their first eighteen games. Two managers have tried unsuccessfully to end the pain, and now Huw Jenkins and his fellow board members will be searching for their fourth permanent manager in little over 12 months. The last year or so has seen a sizeable chasm open up between a once unfailingly loyal fanbase and the Swansea board that now includes two American majority shareholders. The sacking of Garry Monk felt like a necessary, heavy-hearted decision that needed to be made to save the Premier League future of the club. It felt as though the phrase #InHuwWeTrust would be a long-held mantra. Comparatively, Bob Bradley’s axing is arguably the only recent decision to see full agreement between board and fans. The next few weeks offers Huw Jenkins, Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan a chance to make a fresh start; an opportunity to regain public trust and unite in what will be a tough fight for premiership survival. Now is not the time for a fix-it man, the next manager must be someone that can unite a discontented fanbase, a manager with solid credentials and a clear philosophy. If there is to be positive change in South West Wales, the new man must be backed in the transfer window to update a stale playing staff, and given the power to restore Swansea City as safe picks for Premiership survival. Advertisements |
The Ireland international left-back has signed for the Championship side on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent move. He will make his debut at Birmingham tomorrow. Ward replaces Wayne Bridge at the AMEX Stadium after the Manchester City full-back signed for Reading on a permanent basis this summer following a season-long loan at Brighton. The second of the four transfer-listed players to leave after Karl Henry, Ward becomes the 14th signed player to leave Wolves since the end of last season, and 17th in all if departed loans are included. The 28-year-old, who was earning £13,000-a-week at Molineux, had made 245 appearances for Wolves since signing from Bohemians for £100,000 in January 2007. He helped the club to the play-offs in 2006-07 then to the Championship title in 2008-09 and played three seasons in the Premier League. Meanwhile, head coach Kenny Jackett today stressed Barcelona 'B' midfielder Albert Torras, 17, remains on trial. "There are three trialists – one lad from Barcelona (Torras) and two Portuguese lads," said Jackett. "They are below the first team and looking to come into the under-21 group. "If you take the 20 players in the first-team group, there will be a lot of them who were last year's under-21s, so there is space to be taken up." |
The contractor in question is Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, of Glen Burnie, MD according to authorities. He was charged (PDF) on August 29th with theft of government property and unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials by a government employee or contractor. If convicted, he faces up to 11 years in federal prison. Authorities raided Martin's house back in August, shortly before arresting him and discovered both physical documents and digital files containing highly classified information. Officials also recovered materials from his car and a pair of storage sheds located on his property. There's no word yet on what source code, exactly was stolen but the fact that the Shadow Broker story dropped right around the same time that the FBI began investigating Martin is an interesting coincidence, while the Wall Street Journal indicated this arrest stems from a probe into that incident. Lazy: This guy and @Snowden both worked at @BoozAllen, so they are the same. Not lazy: Booz must have a unique contract. Let's investigate. — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) October 5, 2016 Another interesting coincidence is that both Edward Snowden, who famously disclosed the government's foreign and domestic spying programs to the US media before fleeing to Russia, and Martin were contracted to the NSA through the Booz Allen Hamilton consulting firm. Booz Allen Hamilton consulting had the following statement. When Booz Allen learned of the arrest of one of its employees by the FBI, we immediately reached out to the authorities to offer our total cooperation in their investigation, and we fired the employee. We continue to cooperate fully with the government on its investigation into this serious matter. Booz Allen is a 102-year-old company, and the alleged conduct does not reflect our core values. Our employees continue to support critical client missions with dedication and excellence each day. Their professionalism, values and ethics are what define our firm. Either way, this is not a good look for the NSA, which has now been burgled by its own contractors twice in three years. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Norfolk Police said the driver had been "extremely irresponsible" A man who drove through deep flood water and posted video footage on YouTube has been condemned by police. The video, shot from a Land Rover being driven along a flooded stretch of road at Welney, Norfolk, shows water flowing over the vehicle's bonnet. Norfolk Police said the driver's actions had been "extremely irresponsible and dangerous". When contacted by the BBC, the driver declined to comment. The five-minute video, entitled "Ross's Defender Wading Welney", was shot on Tuesday and shows the Land Rover negotiating the A1101 Wash Road, between Delph Bridge and Suspension Bridge. The road was closed after the River Ouse flooded during recent heavy rains, with water in the area reaching a depth of 1.35m (4.5ft) in places. Prosecution warning Traffic between Littleport and Wisbech has had to take either a 25-mile diversion via Downham Market or a 35-mile detour via Chatteris. At one point in the video, a tractor and trailer pass in the opposite direction, causing a wave of water to surge over the Land Rover's bonnet. Water can also be seen seeping into the vehicle. A Norfolk Police spokesman said: "Such action is extremely irresponsible and dangerous. "We'd urge drivers not to continue down any road when confronted by flood waters of this magnitude. "It is behaviour like this that puts the driver and passengers in danger and also could necessitate a call from the emergency services to retrieve you if you get into difficulty. "You could also sustain serious damage to the vehicle." This week Cambridgeshire Police warned drivers who ignored flood warning signs and got stuck in deep water could be prosecuted. |
Thirteen flight attendants will fly again after United Airlines reinstated their jobs, ending a 20-month saga after the group was sacked for refusing to fly on a Hong Kong-bound plane with a “threatening” message graffitied on its auxiliary engine. Both parties announced a resolution after the cabin crew lodged a complaint with the United States government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In July 2014, the words “Bye Bye” and two faces, one smiling and the other described as “devilish”, were found finger-drawn in oil grime under the auxiliary engine of a Boeing 747 at San Francisco International Airport. The flight attendants, all with 18 or more years of experience, said the airline refused to deplane the passengers and conduct a security inspection. The group said they disobeyed orders to work, believing the lives of more than 300 passengers and crew on the jumbo jet could be endangered. After a delay, the flight was eventually cancelled. United accused the flight attendants of insubordination and fired them all, according to the complaint. We respect the right of our employees to raise concerns in good faith about the safety or security of our operations, and encourage them to do so. United Airlines senior vice-president of inflight services Sam Risoli As a result of the settlement, announced on Tuesday, the flight attendants’ jobs have been reinstated, and they have withdrawn the OSHA filing. “The safety of our employees and customers is paramount. We respect the right of our employees to raise concerns in good faith about the safety or security of our operations, and encourage them to do so,” said Sam Risoli, United’s senior vice-president of inflight services. “We welcome these flight attendants back to our team,” he said. David J. Marshall, who led the legal team representing the flight attendants before OSHA, stated that his clients were happy to have their jobs back. “The protections that federal law provides to airline workers are essential to the safety of passenger airline operations,” Marshall said. |
Updated on December 9, 2015, 6:14 PM PST (UTC -8): We have edited this entry to include more technical details on the incident, including another infection chain. As of this writing, the blog portion of the site is now redirecting all users to the main site. A spokesperson for The Independent has stated that “an advert appearing on that blogsite may have included malware.” They have also added that the the affected site was a “legacy” system that was rarely visited. Updated on December 8, 2015, 7:15 PM PST (UTC -8): We have edited this entry to reflect the current status of communications with The Independent and the current threat. As of this writing, the site is still compromised and serving various malware threats to users. The blog page of one of the leading media sites in the United Kingdom, The Independent has been compromised, which may put its readers‘s systems at risk of getting infected with ransomware. We have already informed The Independent about this security incident. However, the site is still currently compromised and users are still at risk. It should be noted that only the blog part of the website–which uses WordPress–is impacted; the rest of The Independent’s online presence seem unaffected. WordPress is a very popular blogging platform that has seen more than its fair share of attacks and compromises from threat actors and cybercriminals looking to infect users. Other security researchers have noted that this is part of a larger campaign involving compromised WordPress sites. I stumbled upon this while monitoring the activity of Angler Exploit Kit. Based on my investigation, since at least November 21, the compromised blog page redirected users to pages hosting the said exploit kit. If a user does not have an updated Adobe Flash Player, the vulnerable system will download the Cryptesla 2.2.0 ransomware (detected by Trend Micro as RANSOM_CRYPTESLA.YYSIX). Figure 1. Infection diagram The malware then changes the extension of encrypted files to “.vvv”. The vulnerability involved in this particular instance is discovered to be CVE-2015-7645. This is also the latest vulnerability we detect to be added to Angler’s repertoire. Figure 2. Our analysis showing the compromised blog page of The Independent Figure 3. Screenshot of the ransom note Angler Exploit Kit is the most active exploit kit to date that integrated Abobe Flash zero-day vulnerabilities related to the Hacking Team leak. In our 3Q threat roundup report, we observed a spike in the number of Angler-hosting links from May to September 2015. We also tracked the number of hits to the TDS between compromised sites leading to Angler EK (not just The Independent blog) and have seen as many as 4,000 hits a day. The real number could be bigger. Figure 4. Number of users redirected from compromised sites leading to Angler EK Continuous monitoring of this incident has revealed another infection chain. Rather than immediately downloading TeslaCrypt ransomware to the affected system, the exploit kit first downloads BEDEP malware. First spotted in 2014, BEDEP became more prominent early this year due to its in use in exploit kit attacks. We even noted that it was the final payload for an attack involving the Angler Exploit Kit at the start of the year. In our BEDEP Security Brief, we pointed out that “BEDEP and its strains are known to skirt detection because of its heavy encryption. It also comes manipulated Microsoft file properties to make it appear legitimate upon inspection.” In this particular infection chain, the BEDEP variant arrives via fileless infection in an effort to avoid detection. BEDEP malware is known to download other malware—a routine demonstrated in this particular incident. The BEDEP variant downloads ransomware into the affected system. But instead of TeslaCrypt, it downloads another notorious ransomware, CryptoLocker. This malware demands that the user pay a fee of US$499 for decryption; the fee increases after a certain period has lapsed. It’s hard to determine the exact reason behind adding BEDEP to the infection chain but it’s highly possible that the cybercriminals wanted to take advantage of the different features of the malware, which include information theft and backdoor capabilities. We at Trend Micro have provided protection to user systems by blocking all known related malicious websites and detecting the final payload. Additional insights and analysis by Feike Hacquebord, Brooks Li, David Agni, and Anthony Melgarejo. Hat tip to Jérôme Segura of MalwareBytes for his research on the compromised WordPress sites campaign. |
In its research, the bank claims that an additional £1.24 billion ($1.87 billion) investment into robotics could give as much as a £60.5 billion economic lift to the U.K. by 2025. Consequently, this investment could push growth in the country's manufacturing sector further to £191 billion in the next decade. While job cuts in the sector are anticipated, the investment could help "soften" and potentially even mitigate further cuts within the manufacturing workplace and safeguard up to 73,500 employees. In terms of the overall economy, Barclays stated that around 105,800 jobs across the U.K. could be preserved by this investment. The report comes as concerns over a struggling manufacturing sector appear only to worsen in the U.K. In November, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed expectations for the U.K.'s manufacturing output was likely to fall in the coming months; while preliminary estimates from the Office of National Statistics in late October showed that the U.K.'s gross domestic product missed expectations in the third quarter of 2015. |
Calling all horror fans! TNT is adding to its library of loathsome literature and wants your spine-tingling tales. Inspired by Halloween, TNT is seeking original horror stories that will frighten even the most steel-nerved Hollywood producers. Don't get bogged down in genres: monsters, madness, ghosts and axe murderers, we want them all. Just make sure your story will leave us sleeping with the lights on. In order to submit your frightful fantasies, be sure to tag them with #TNTHorrorContest, so your peers can cower in the unsettling brilliance of your nefarious mind. A jury will review the stories (please no scripts) and will select the lucky few to be voted on by the Wattpad community. Ten finalists will receive $2,000 and have their story optioned by TNT, and at least one lucky winner will receive $20,000 and have their story purchased by the network! Wouldn't mama be proud? Oh and don't go over 10,000 words, or there will be dire consequences. You have 31 days... GUIDELINES: 1. The Story must be in English; 2. The Story must BE BETWEEN 1,000 AND 10,000 WORDS 3. The story must be based in the Horror genre 4. Entrants must be a legal resident of the United States, and at least 18 years of age at time of entry 5. The Story must be entirely created by the entrant, and the rights to publish and distribute must be held by that entrant 6. The Story shall be tagged on the Wattpad platform by the entrant with the tag #TNTHorrorContest Timeframe: Story Submission Phase Start: Oct 28, 2016 (at 12:01 AM GMT) End: Nov 27, 2016 (at 11:59 PM GMT) Top 100 Stories Posted to Contest Website On or about Dec 2 , 2016 Story Voting Phase Start: Dec 2, 2016 (at 12:01 AM GMT) End: Dec 6, 2016 (at 11:59 PM GMT) Top 35 Stories Posted to Contest Website On or about Dec 8 , 2016 Top 35 Stories Judging Phase Start: Dec 8, 2016 (at 12:01 AM GMT) End: Dec 19, 2016 (at 11:59 PM GMT) Top 10 Stories Posted to Contest Website On or about Dec 20 , 2016 Grand Prize Winner Announced on Contest Website On or about Jan 18, 2017 Keep reading to see official rules and regulations, and be sure to follow this profile for all updates on the contest! |
FILE – New York Financial Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File) The New York Department of Financial Service on Monday hit PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the biggest names in financial consulting, with a $25 million fine and two-year suspension for watering down a report on the money laundering failures at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ. The settlement with the company is part of a broader investigation into the consulting industry’s relationship with Wall Street. Consultants are supposed to work at the behest of regulators to provide objective assessments of a firm’s problems. But lawmakers and regulators have raised doubts about the independence of consultants handpicked by financial firms accused of wrongdoing. “We are continuing to find examples of improper influence and misconduct in the bank consulting industry,” said Benjamin M. Lawsky, who heads the New York department. “When bank executives pressure a consultant to whitewash a supposedly ‘objective’ report to regulators – and the consultant goes along with it – that can strike at the very heart of our system of prudential oversight.” In the case of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the department initiated an investigation last summer into the firm’s review of foreign transactions processed by the Bank of Tokyo from 2002 to 2007. Around that time, the Japanese bank agreed to pay $250 million to settle New York charges that it cleared some 28,000 transactions totaling $100 billion for countries facing U.S. sanctions, including Iran, Sudan and Burma. PricewaterhouseCoopers was hired by the Bank of Tokyo in 2007 to review transactions the bank processed for Iran and other countries under U.S. sanctions. An initial draft of a report on the transactions detailed how the Japanese banking giant stripped out the names of Iranian clients to avoid detection. PwC also complained that its review was limited because of the late discovery that bank executives instituted a policy to remove information that would have triggered alerts, according to the agreement. But when a final report was released two weeks later, the consulting firm, acquiescing to bank demands, changed its tune and said the policy would have had no impact on its findings, according to the settlement. The firm also deleted sections of the draft report that discussed the wire-stripping policy, including the bank acknowledging doing business with “enemy countries” of the U.S. PricewaterhouseCoopers stands by its work. Miles Everson, head of the firm’s U.S. advisory services, said in a statement that the report “identified relevant transactions that were self-reported to regulators” by the bank. He added that the review “disclosed the relevant facts” that the company “learned subsequent to its search process.” The firm has said all along that it was not working at the behest of regulators, but was hired by the bank to conduct a voluntary review that was subject to edits. The report it produced, the firm has said, was the cornerstone of the New York investigation. Under the terms of the settlement, PricewaterhouseCoopers has agreed not to take any new engagements for 24 months that would require the New York regular to sign off on its advisory unit as an independent consultant. A similar agreement was struck with Deloitte LLP’s financial advisory unit in June 2013, when the firm agreed to pay a $10 million fine and refrain for one year from new business with New York-regulated banks. That agreement was rooted in allegations that the firm watered down a report on money laundering controls at Standard Chartered Bank. Prior to the deal, the British bank agreed to hand $340 million to the New York regulators over processing transactions for Iran and other countries under sanctions. New York’s top financial regulator is also looking into the work that Washington’s prominent consulting firm Promontory completed for Standard Chartered. Promontory determined that the British bank had illicitly funneled about $14 million to Iran, after the bank asked the firm to conduct a review for evidence of money laundering. The sum fell well short of the assessment by the New York financial regulator, which accused the bank of processing at least $250 billion in illicit transactions. Officials at Promontory declined to comment for this article. But in an interview last year with The Washington Post, Promontory chief executive Eugene Ludwig said the transactions in question were closer to the finding of the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, which identified about $24 million in illegal transactions to Iran. Ludwig said Promontory was specifically looking for violations of Treasury standards, whereas regulators in New York had broader jurisdiction over the bank’s records. Consultants have been engulfed in a firestorm over their alliances on Wall Street and influence in Washington. The surge in enforcement actions and new regulation since the financial crisis has at once propelled and disrupted the consulting business. Troubles came to a head last fall when reports surfaced that PricewaterhouseCoopers, Promontory and other firms were paid nearly $2 billion by banks to examine shoddy mortgage files. The banks were supposed to pay out millions of dollars to borrowers for flawed foreclosure practices. In spite of the consultants’ hefty payday, not a single penny of relief reached the homeowners. The revelation prompted congressional hearings and led federal regulators to review the use of consultants. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates big banks, has developed more stringent guidelines for independent consultants used in enforcement actions. |
Another Catholic priest, presiding over St. Thomas Catholic Church, Onilekere, Lagos was yesterday shot by unknown gunmen, posing as worshippers, inside the church premises. Confirming the shooting, spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, Olarinde Famous-Cole, said: “Today about 6:30am, during early morning Mass at St. Thomas Catholic Church, Onilekere/Cement B/Stop, Ikeja, some unknown hoodlums posing as worshippers, who also took part in the morning Mass after the prayers about 8:30am, requested to have a dialogue with Rev. Father Daniel Nwankwo, who heads the parish. “The Rev. Father, who unsuspectingly granted the hoodlums audience outside the church auditorium, for a yet to be determined reason, was shot by one of the hoodlums with a locally made pistol. “After the incident, the Rev Father raised alarm, while the hoodlums jumped the fence and escaped towards an adjoining canal. “The Rev. Father was immediately taken to LASUTH for medical attention, where he is currently being treated. He is under stable condition.” According to him: “The Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, was at the scene and spoke with a witness, who confirmed that three assailants, who were not known to be members of the church, were seen having a conversation with the Rev. Father before he was shot. “The CP has also visited the Rev. Father Daniel Nwankwo and spoke with him and confirmed that the Rev. Father is being given adequate medical care. He is recuperating fast. “The CP also immediately ordered a crack team of detectives and operational officers from the command dispatched to the scene and area leading to the canal, where an eyewitness confirmed the hoodlums ran towards. “Five suspects were arrested in connection with this act and they are currently being diligently interrogated for vital information to aid the Police investigation. “The commissioner is advising Lagosians to be vigilant and security conscious at this time. Lagosians should identify and report any strange faces and suspicious movement. “He has also ordered the deployment of static Police guard and instructed the Area Commanders and DPOs to provide static Police guard on 24-hrs bases in all churches and mosques across the state, instead of only on Fridays and Sundays.” |
The key to Google Music's growing adoption is its deep integration with Android. It's hard to complain about a storage locker that'll let you store 20,000 songs for free, but there's a simple bug that's basically hamstringing it. Advertisement The bug goes like this: -you pick an artist or album that you want to play -you hit play, and it starts playing as you'd expect -after the first track, it just stops. -from there you have to start playing the album again, and then skip the first track, and then the rest of the album will usually play all right. Sound like a minor gripe? Not if you're driving it isn't. It means five minutes after you've pulled away from the curb you've either got to pull over to restart your music or drive in stony, merciless silence. Even if you're not driving, it's just really annoying that you have to deal with it. It doesn't happen every single time, but it happens more often than not. There are user reports of it happening all over the internet, including in Google's own forums, but Google has yet to respond. Advertisement Google Music is primed to go very big considering it's the default music player in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (Honeycomb too, but who cares?), but it definitely still needs some work. Have you been experiencing this problem or others? Tell us about them in the comments, and maybe we can make a list of fixes for the big G. |
EA Unsure If Need for Speed Will Be Annualized Again While there’s a new Need for Speed game coming out later this year, that doesn’t mean we ‘ll see a new one in 2016 and see it come back as an annual franchise. In an interview, EA COO Peter Moore admits that they want to see how this Need for Speed reboot does first before committing to a new one next year. I don’t know if it will be, it’s an interesting question. We will see how this game goes. You can only bring it out annually if you can come up with real fresh ideas. It is the same thing we’ve been going through with golf. It is golf… is there enough innovation and creativity that you can go in there with and do something different every year? This year’s Need for Speed reboot of the franchise is being handled by Ghost Games and will be out in November for the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. You can check out how the game looks in this trailer. [Source: MCV via Videogamer] |
Every human being, rationalist or not, has a reservoir in their brain where disbelief is suspended. If too much disbelief flows into that reservoir too quickly, it will burst and the brain will scramble to recreate its picture of reality from scratch. This is why, for example, a secret evil overlord who should already be the target of suspicion should not orchestrate plots that immediately appear absurd; dazzling absurd plots are only for situations where it is certain that they could not point back at oneself even vaguely. (See also: the Hogwarts third-floor corridor, 1992-06-13.) However, the reservoir may also be burst gradually, not by rapid addition of unbelievable things in succession, but by slow addition of them, over the course of a year or a lifetime. In late March, 1993, that was happening to Ginevra Weasley; the tipping point was probably when, following Professor Sprout's untimely and horrific demise, Ginny felt strangely unwholesome, on top of simply feeling un-whole. The strange damage to Ginny – she seemed to feel it in her soul – was slowly healing, but she decided that to simply ignore and it let it heal would be malignantly stupid, so she opted to uncache some thoughts, beginning with I should speak more with Hermione instead of giving into my Ugh Curses and avoiding her. She opted to meet with Hermione after breakfast one Saturday. Hermione didn't make nearly so much of a pretense of being busy as Harry did. "I just wanted to talk to you about the odd things that have been going on this year," said Ginny. "There have certainly been a lot of them," said Hermione. "Harry hasn't been bothering you, has he?" "Well..." said Ginny. "He got kind of aggressive about the whole religion thing for a couple of months, but he started to get quieter and more distant several weeks ago, and since the attack on the greenhouse, he's just been entirely withdrawn. He's even been missing meetings and having Blaise fill in for him, and it's just not the same? Blaise even read Harry's eulogy for Lesath. But mostly I wonder what Harry's up to." "I've noticed that, too," said Hermione. "I have to be honest, I know some confidential details about what he's doing, and I can't tell you about them. But I don't even know what's been occupying him lately. He does still talk to me, but he absolutely refuses to discuss how he's spending most of his time, now. He says he'll probably tell me in a few months. I've seen some strange orders he's been filling. Odd business at the Hospital. I don't know what any of it is, though. But even if I did, I couldn't tell you." "Huh," said Ginny. That was quite something. "That is fascinating. And probably very good news. The last couple of times Harry was up to something strange, it destroyed Azkaban and established the Peverell Family Hospital." "The difference is that I was heavily involved in both of those things," said Hermione. "I have no idea what this is." "All of that isn't actually what I wanted to talk to you about," said Ginny. "Oh," said Hermione. "What is it, then? Your Patronus?" "Oh, um, I don't have one," said Ginny. "Gave it my best shot but I guess I didn't figure out the riddle." Hermione smiled, perhaps inviting Ginny to proceed as though she hadn't asked the question. "Everything just seems wrong, lately, Hermione. To me personally, as if I'm missing something big. Not something big about the problem everyone's facing, but about the problems I'm facing, personally. Can I tell you something really secret and can you promise not to tell anyone?" "Sure?" said Hermione, and as Hermione was thinking wait, what if it's a security concern?, Ginny was thinking what, what if she feels she has to tell people anyway because it's a security concern? "Um, never mind," said Ginny. "What should I do if I suspect I'm being regularly Obliviated? I feel like I have big holes in my memory and my thought processes get clogged up with clouds of fog that I don't think originate from my own faulty brain." "Oh!" said Hermione. "Harry actually taught me a pretty neat trick for this. Turns out it's useless for me because of my Sparkly Unicorn Princess powers but it should work just fine for you. If you suspect you're going to be Obliviated soon, covertly bite the inside of your lip really hard; so hard that you'll leave scar tissue for a long time. Commit to memory a long, long time in advance that if you've bitten the inside of your lip like that and don't remember doing it, you've been Obliviated. Occasionally it'll give a false positive, because humans do occasionally bite their lips in their sleep or something like that, but it should at least grant you a degree of protection." "Brilliant," was all Ginny could say. "It's very worrisome if you suspect you're being Obliviated, though, Ginny," said Hermione. "That's very worrisome for anyone – particularly a young girl. And that's on top of all of the other strange things that have been going on. You were one of the suspects after Professor Sprout was killed, weren't you?" "Yes, but I was cleared," said Ginny. "I was just in the bathroom." The truth was that she had woken up in the bathroom, with a vague recollection that she had fallen asleep there, but she had realized long ago that telling anyone this would be simply disastrous. "Alright," said Hermione, just as worried as she had been seconds ago, if not moreso. "Also, if possible – which it likely won't be – try to leave some record of what you expect to be Obliviated of, somewhere where you expect to find it." "That's actually very convenient," said Ginny. "Thanks for pointing it out." "No problem," said Hermione. "But if you don't mind, could you give me more specifics on why you're suspicious of your perceptions?" "I do mind," said Ginny. "It's very private." "Private means a lot less in times like this," said Hermione. "People are dying, anywhere and without warning." "Didn't you read Harry's first Method of December?" said Ginny. "'On Civil Liberties and Terrorism'?" "Yes, I did, as a matter of fact," said Hermione, "and Harry was speaking of cases like Lesath Lestrange, who were investigated and hurt without anything even mistakable for evidence. Not saying that people should hold back in finding the actual offender. This is no time or context for fooling around; what did you notice?" "It's just some cached thoughts I need to attend to," said Ginny. "Cached thoughts can kill people, Ginevra," said Hermione. "What kind of cached thoughts are they?" "Well, talking to you, for one," said Ginny. "I realized a long time ago that talking to you was a good idea because of how wise and conscientious and so on you are. But I kept putting it off because I was jealous of you." Hermione seemed to assume this was flattery, and looked distinctly unimpressed. "And also, Draco." "Draco Malfoy?" said Hermione. "He's courting you, isn't he?" "Yes," said Ginny. "And frankly, it all seems too good to be true. I've been meaning to test him for love potions; all I've gotten round to yet is Amortentia, because that one's such an easy test because its effects are so extreme." "He likes you too much?" said Hermione. Ginny nodded. "Ginny, that's stupid; you're hiding something, and poorly." "Um, no?" said Ginny. "I'm not?" The truth was that Ginny absolutely was hiding something, but that didn't mean she was exaggerating about Draco. "He really is acting weird; I tolerate it because I like it, but that doesn't mean it isn't weird. Out-of-character, even." "Anything else?" said Hermione. "Nothing of importance," said Ginny. "Anything else?" said Hermione, much more pointedly. "Just that I've more or less forgotten entirely about a lot of the predictions Luna's made and told me about," said Ginny. "Oh," said Hermione, "you can probably ignore that. Divination is a bunch of pseudomagic, it's barely any more effective than the Muggle kind that amounts to random number generators and con art. Rarely ever rationally actionable because the source of magic is so intent on playing tricks on people." "Technically, it's against my religion," said Ginny, "but the liberalized interpretation is that that only refers to the Muggle kind, since it's dishonest. A scam instead of a science." "Wizard Divination isn't a science, either," said Hermione. "Luna's variety least of all." "Maybe," said Ginny. At the scheduled time, Ginny arrived at Draco's room, and entered using the knock Draco had shown her. "Ginny!" said Draco. "What are those?" He was obviously looking at a small medicine bottle Ginny was holding; he snapped his fingers and Dobby disappeared from the room. "Some pills I got from Madam Pomfrey," said Ginny. "I'm testing you." Draco was taken aback. "Testing me for what, exactly?" said Draco. "Love potions," said Ginny. "This again?" said Draco. "Yes, this again," said Ginny. "It's like Luna said. If the world around you seems too good to be true, then you're still in the mirror. And you seem too good to be true, so I'm trying to figure out which mirror I'm still in." "Luna's rubbing off on you," said Draco. Ginny half-sneezed, and passed nine large pills – three light blue, three dark blue, and three yellow – to Draco, each of which radiated nausea. "Here goes," said Draco. "If this is what it takes to prove it to you." "You don't have to prove anything to me, Draco," said Ginny. "I'm proving things to myself." One by one, Draco swallowed the pills, and within minutes, they reappeared in Ginny's hand, each with a horizontal green line on them. "Alright..." said Ginny. "Good, good, good... good... You're clean. There's still of course the possibility of Legilimency or an Imperius or simply evil plotting to explain your behavior..." "Might I ask why you're so suspicious of my behavior all of a sudden?" said Draco. "Oh, Draco," said Ginny. "I feel that something's very, very wrong with my life, and I have no idea what that is. So I'm approaching the problem systematically. Burning every possibility at the roots." "A grim metaphor, considering the circumstances," said Draco. "Have you considered that the problem might be Harry? He's been acting odder and odder lately." "Well... I have," said Ginny. "Probably not enough, but I have. But what would I do about that? Harry is absolutely impenetrable, Draco. He's unapproachable, especially when he wants to be. If he's keeping secrets from me, I am absolutely not going to figure them out until he wants me to. I trust he has my best interests at heart." "But you don't trust that I do?" said Draco. "Well, let's face it," said Ginny. "I think I love you, but I have no idea what your motivation is. What drives you? What's your goal in this story?" "Well, first, to survive," said Draco. "That's harder than it should be at Hogwarts lately. The Monster could be anywhere at any time, and no one really knows what's going on." "Exactly," said Ginny. "Second, to forget," said Draco. "I want to put the past behind me." "But why?" said Ginny. "Who would ever want to forget anything?" "Well, I mean metaphorically forget," said Draco. "What does that even mean?" said Ginny, raising her voice in the tradition of the Great Interrobang of Oz. Draco stopped, and put his hand over his mouth contemplatively, before speaking. "It means I want to have something happier to think about instead," said Draco. "A place or person to escape to." "I'm so sorry," said Ginny. "I wasn't really considering your perspective sufficiently. Or anyone's, really. Paranoia-" "Third – and this should really have been second. So, first and a half," said Draco, "I want to protect as many people as possible from whatever it is that's going on at Hogwarts lately. I had a feeling this would be a bad year before the threats were even issued. That's why Professor Lockhart is employed here." Ginny nodded. "What?" asked Ginny. "That's why he's employed here?" said Draco. "Because I contacted him to protect us? I've told you this before, I'm sure." "I don't believe so," said Ginny. Draco appeared troubled by this. "Tim told me that Gilderoy Lockhart could protect us from the trouble brewing at Hogwarts," said Draco. "I'm not sure if I trust Tim," said Ginny. "Has he ever possessed you?" "You've asked me this before," said Draco. Ginny was growing impatient. Not with Draco specifically; more with whatever force was making a riddle out of her life. "And what did you say then?" asked Ginny. "I let Tim possess me so he could speak to Lockhart, to persuade him to come to Hogwarts," said Draco. "That sounds bad," said Ginny. "Very, very bad." "But I did it to protect you," said Draco. "You and everyone. And you've got to admit that he's the best replacement for Monroe we could get." "It just... it doesn't make sense, Draco!" said Ginny. "Something isn't right." But Ginny was already beginning to calm down, because her mind's model of Tim was telling her that she should appreciate the present more, because she never knew when everything might change. She didn't know if she'd remember this moment in years or even days, so, she figured, she should make the most of it. "Maybe..." said Draco. "Let's talk about something else," said Ginny. When Luna was permitted to leave the Infirmary (not long after she was admitted), she was crying. But soon, Ginny appeared, which helped to soak up some of her tears – literally, of course; Luna cried directly into Ginny's robes. Ginny tried to calm Luna down, and finally began asking questions. "Luna, thank God you're alright," said Ginny. "I've heard a lot of conflicting stories; what happened?" "I was having – tea," started Luna. "With Marietta Edgecombe." "Go on," said Ginny. "Tell me everything." "Impossible," said Luna. "But anyway, I was baking those fortune cookies I showed you a few months ago." "They don't work very well," said Ginny, and she immediately wondered why she'd said it. An attempt to lighten the mood? What an awful attempt. "Yes, they do!" said Luna. "I opened mine, and the fortune was 'Run.' So I did, and I told Marietta to run too, but she must have thought I was just having a fit or something. But I could hear something coming, so I hid, and I could feel the Basilisk drawing near, and Marietta couldn't get away, and she was petrified." "Reversibly?" said Ginny. "Of course, but it's still awful," said Luna. "Not to mention that I think they're covering something up about the Potions of Reanimation. I think it's going to be longer than they're saying before the people can be restored. I didn't finish my story. I'm crouched in an uncomfortable position in the cabinet, hoping that the Basilisk will go away, when I hear a human voice, and it's unrecognizable because it's been deepened. And it says 'Petrificus Totalus'. And I can't move. For hours. Then we're both found, and I'm unfrozen and made to answer questions about what happened to her, and I tell them pretty much what I just told you, and then they let me go but half the school is probably going to think it's me, now! I was getting my worst marks in Herbology, and I saw Colin as a bit of a rival, and... and..." "It's not you, Luna," said Ginny. "I have a strong feeling that the person behind all of this is going to be caught very soon, and be stopped. This is all almost over." "How can you say that?" Luna asked, through tears. "You're not a Seer." But what Luna didn't know was that the interior of Ginny's mouth had a deep gash in it. By Ginny's bedside, furthermore, was a speck that explained in Parseltongue that she was about to take Tim to investigate the Chamber. And best of all, Ginny had firmly decided, about thirty minutes ago, never to take Tim out of his box to speak to him again. |
From behind her vegetable stand at the St. Paul Farmers’ Market, Michelle Gagliardi doesn’t hesitate when asked what’s eating at her bottom line. “Parking,” said Gagliardi, who has been selling produce at the St. Paul market for more than 30 years. The number of visitors passing by her stand at the Farmers’ Market on weekends has dropped about 30 percent the past few years. Lowertown construction and parking changes are regular targets of blame. But with hundreds of parking spots a block south, Jenessa Payano Stark of Glacial Ridge Growers isn’t convinced the parking problems are as bad as some let on. Development has removed some options, but loyal buyers adjust to new routines, she said. “There’s a lot of parking out here,” said Stark. “People just need to be more aware of it.” The Farmers’ Market has been a tradition in St. Paul dating back 160 years. Located in several downtown spots over the decades, the market moved to its current home in Lowertown in 1982. In the years since, Lowertown has seen many of its old buildings remodeled and filled with residences and businesses. And landmarks such as the Union Depot have gotten a new life. It has also seen heavy construction with the new light-rail Green Line and a 7,000-seat ballpark. Standing over two tables of spring rolls, egg rolls and fresh vegetables on a recent weekend, longtime vendor Lillian Hang called the month-old light rail a step up for the city, but not a cure for parking concerns. “People like it. I really like it,” she said. “(But) parking is a pain. Parking is really, really hard.” And she says that’s because of the baseball field. Being built next to the Farmers’ Market, the Lowertown ballpark is partly located on a lot that provided at least 250 free parking stalls for shoppers. “That’s where over 50 percent of our customers parked,” said Jack Gerten, market manager for the St. Paul Growers Association, which oversees the Farmers’ Market. He’s been encouraging customers to park at roughly 750 parking spots that have opened at the Union Depot’s three lots on Kellogg Boulevard, with mixed success. But Union Depot’s open-air surface lots east of Broadway Street, once free, now charge $1 to cover recent improvements, he said. The city has made designated parking meters free to use for Farmers’ Market customers for two hours on Saturdays, but many visitors still appear unaware of that benefit. FALLING NUMBERS The St. Paul Farmers’ Market remains the largest, if not the only, major draw to Lowertown on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Headcounts of customers, however, show the number of visitors has been sliding. As many as 12,000 customers would shop at the Farmers’ Market on a Saturday or Sunday morning as recently as five or six years ago, Gerten said. A headcount this past May shows “7,600-8,000, is where we are now,” Gerten said. Most of the drop “has come since they began construction on the (light) rail.” Three counts are conducted annually, and it won’t be until a third count is done in the fall that a clearer picture will emerge. Gerten acknowledges that parking problems probably aren’t the only factor affecting the Lowertown location. Farmers’ markets of all sizes have sprung up across the metro area, fueling competition. The growers association runs about 20 of the 160 farmers’ markets in the Twin Cities metro, “and if you talk to any retailer, sometimes their loss is somebody else’s gain,” Gerten said. “There’s a lot of farmers’ markets, and if people have trouble parking, they’ll stick to markets closer to their own community.” SOUL SEARCHING Lowertown’s growing popularity has forced some soul searching for the Farmers’ Market and has inspired discussions with Union Depot managers about possibly relocating there in years to come. A decision may be well in the future. “The subject has come up the last few years,” Gerten said. “We want to wait and see how it all ties in with the Saints, and the light rail. If it ends up being a bottleneck, then maybe.” Discussions are moving forward with the minor-league baseball team, which will occupy the city’s new $63 million ballpark in 2015. Annie Huidekoper, vice president of community partnerships for the Saints, emphasized that the team sees the Farmers’ Market as an asset and an added draw for ballpark visitors. “We love the fact that they’re going to be our neighbors … and are going to adjust our schedule to be respectful of their long tradition,” she said. As a counterpoint to parking concerns, St. Paul officials point to the new Green Line option, which can carry hundreds of visitors to the ballpark or Farmers’ Market without filling a single parking stall. And there are more than 7,000 parking spaces in Lowertown, not including contract lots, says Brad Meyer, a spokesman for St. Paul Parks and Recreation. And on Sundays, downtown St. Paul’s 1,600 street meters are free. “There is more than enough available parking in Lowertown to meet the current and future needs of the neighborhood,” Meyer said. “The Union Depot has been beautifully restored and would complement the Farmers’ Market if they decide to move.” FINDING A NEW HOME Ray Sell has reservations about moving the market. A fourth-generation grower from Farmington, he pointed to the existing location’s covered sheds between Fourth and Fifth streets. “I like the sheds,” Sell said. “I don’t want to bring tents. Tents blow away, and it rains.” City council member Dave Thune said he has no desire to see the Farmers’ Market relocate. Instead, he’d like to see the market add a permanent stand for bicycle taxis. “I like it where it is,” Thune said of the market. “There are solutions. We need to act on them, though.” Gerten said that over the years he’s experimented with trolley-style buses and shuttle buses. Last year, bicycle taxis operated on donations from passengers and a subsidy from the growers association. None of those efforts seemed to pay off. “They didn’t move enough volume of people,” Gerten said. “You can’t get the numbers high enough to make it worth it.” Gagliardi, who farms in Harris, Minn., and grew up selling vegetables in St. Paul with her grandfather, said she’d welcome the move to Union Depot, as her sales have declined at her existing location. “When people do find a spot to park, they get a ticket, because they’re parked in the wrong spot or the wrong lot,” she said. “People come back and say they’ve gone to a market closer to their home.” LIGHT-RAIL EFFECTS It’s unclear how the new light-rail line from downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul will factor into the future of the Farmers’ Market. For now, officials are urging residents to give up the car once or twice a month and use the rail, Gerten said. But he worries that many customers may hesitate carrying multiple bags of produce on the trains at once. “You’re not going to be able to take it carrying a bushel of tomatoes or a couple big hanging baskets,” Gerten said. “The rail’s not really practical for that.” With three generations of family in tow, Sylvia Hill of Burnsville took the Blue Line and Green Line to the Farmers’ Market on a recent Saturday. The trip from the 28th Avenue station near the Mall of America in Bloomington took 90 minutes. “It’s not an efficient way to get down here,” she said. Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo. Correction: Due to incorrect provided information, the number of parking stalls at the Union Depot on Kellogg Boulevard was inaccurate in some versions of this story. The depot has 750 parking stalls. |
Sen. Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyOvernight Health Care: Drug execs set for grilling | Washington state to sue over Trump rule targeting Planned Parenthood | Wyoming moves closer to Medicaid work requirements Senate reignites blue slip war over Trump court picks Lower refunds amplify calls to restore key tax deduction MORE (R-Iowa) took to Twitter Sunday to issue oversight demands to the Trump administration over a deal with Australia to accept some refugees. The deal, cut during the Obama administration, would require the U.S. to vet as many as 1,250 refugees who attempted to reach Australia but are now held by the country in island detention centers. President Trump has criticized the deal on Twitter and in a phone call with Australia's prime minister, but Grassley's tweet suggests that the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman isn't happy with the administration's handling of the agreement's details. “Secret agreement between Obama&Australia 4US to take Aussie refugees shld b declassified/If can't be tell me why/WH:ANSWER MY LETTER,” Grassley wrote on Twitter Sunday. Grassley sent a letter earlier this month to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asking him to declassify the deal. ADVERTISEMENT "As I said before, the American people have a right to be fully aware of the actions of their government regarding foreign nationals who may be admitted to the United States," Grassley wrote in the letter. Grassley is known for the use of his Twitter account, where he has frequently mentioned encounters with deer in Iowa. “Fred and I hit a deer on hiway 136 south of Dyersville. After I pulled fender rubbing on tire we continued to farm. Assume deer dead,” he wrote in 2012. |
(Newser) – Jon Stewart's attempt to tweak Fox News earlier this week has the Catholic League threatening to organize a boycott of his Daily Show. Leaders are furious about a bit that aired Monday that strategically placed a Nativity scene over a naked woman's private parts. It was part of segment taking on Fox News for scoffing at a "war on women" even though it made much of a "war on Christmas" last year. “What can women do to generate the same sense of outrage from Fox as the removal of decorative slightly poisonous holiday plants?" asked Stewart. "Perhaps they could play into" the Christmas theme. Stewart suggested women could protect their reproductive organs from unwanted medical intrusions with "vagina mangers." The funnyman "not only made a vulgar attack on Christians, he objectified women,” complained a statement from the Catholic League. "This unprecedented vulgar assault on Christians cannot stand." The religious organization is demanding an apology, reports the New York Daily News. If one isn't forthcoming, "we will mobilize Protestants, Jews, Mormons, and Muslims to join us in a boycott of his sponsors," warned the statement. "Moreover, we will not stop with a boycott. There are other things that can be done to register our outrage," the league added ominously. No word yet from Stewart. (Read more Catholic League stories.) |
Research Article 1Simmaron Research, 948 Incline Way, Incline Village, NV 89451, USA 2Griffith Health Institute, School of Medial Sciences, National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases, Griffith University, Parklands, QLD 4222, Australia Received 17 December 2014; Revised 11 February 2015; Accepted 26 February 2015 Academic Editor: Sandra Helena Penha Oliveira Copyright © 2015 D. Peterson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Objectives. Previous research has provided evidence for dysregulation in peripheral cytokines in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). To date only one study has examined cytokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of CFS/ME patients. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the role of cytokines in CSF of CFS/ME patients. Methods. CSF was collected from 18 CFS/ME patients and 5 healthy controls. The CSF samples were examined for the expression of 27 cytokines (interleukin- (IL-) 1β, IL-1ra, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, basic FGF, eotaxin, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IP-10, MCP-1 (MCAF), MIP-1α, MIP-1β, PDGF-BB, RANTES, TNF-α, and VEGF) using the Bio-Plex Human Cytokine 27-plex Assay. Results. Of the 27 cytokines examined, only IL-10 was significantly reduced in the CFS/ME patients in comparison to the controls. Conclusions. This preliminary investigation suggests that perturbations in inflammatory cytokines in the CSF of CFS/ME patients may contribute to the neurological discrepancies observed in CFS/ME. 1. Introduction Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is a disorder with an uncertain prognosis due to limited interventions for management and the lack of successful treatments. Additionally, CFS/ME is known to involve impairments of various physiological systems including the immune and neurological systems [1–4]. These may manifest as cognitive impairments, including reduced memory and concentration, pain, exertional fatigue, and other symptoms [2, 5–7]. Immunological dysregulation has been proposed as a significant component of the CFS/ME pathomechanism. Reductions in natural killer (NK) cytotoxic activity and elevations in regulatory T cells (Tregs) are the most consistent findings associated with CFS/ME [8–10]. While cytokines have been investigated in CFS/ME patients, the cyclical nature of cytokine secretion makes it difficult to determine the specific cytokine(s) implicated in the pathomechanism of CFS/ME. Additionally, the results are frequently inconsistent; for example, elevations in interleukin- (IL-) 8 [5, 11] and decreases in IL-8 have both been reported [12]. In CFS/ME, cytokines such as IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) α, and interferon- (IFN-) γ have been observed to be equivocally expressed in the serum and plasma samples and following mitogenic or inflammatory stimulation of lymphocytes [12–15]. The CNS is usually regarded as an immune privileged site; hence compromise of the normal balance of cytokines, cells, and neurotransmitters in the CNS may have serious consequences [16–19]. Cells of the CNS such as microglial cells are known to secrete cytokines under certain conditions and abnormal levels of cytokines in the CNS are usually attributed to injury, infection, or other insults to the CNS [20, 21]. As CFS/ME patients have been shown to present with a number of neuroimmune abnormalities, examining the cytokine profile of the CNS may be important. Hence, the purpose of this pilot study is to examine the role of 27 cytokines in CFS/ME patients. 2. Methods 2.1. Participants An expedited review was obtained from the Griffith University Ethical Committee (MSC/02/13/HREC) prior to the commencement of this study. The study comprised 18 CFS/ME patients and 5 healthy controls. CFS/ME patients were defined using the 1994 Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Criteria (1994 CDC) for CFS/ME. CSF samples were collected from patients in the USA at the time of diagnosis via lumbar puncture. All samples had 0-1 red blood cells on tube number 1. All samples with blood contamination were excluded. Samples were collected according to local protocols and stored at −80 degrees prior to being shipped to the National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED) for cytokine analysis. For the purpose of this project, a total volume of 200 μL of CSF was used for the cytokine analysis. 2.2. Multiplex Cytokine Analysis The following cytokines and chemokines, IL-1β, IL-1ra, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, basic FGF, eotaxin, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), IFN-γ, interferon gamma-induced protein-10 (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein 1 (MIP-1)α, MIP-1β, platelet-derived growth factor- (PDGF-) BB, regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), TNF-α, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), were simultaneously examined in all CSF samples from all participants via the Bio-Plex Pro Human Cytokine 27-plex Assay (Bio-Rad) as per manufacturer’s instructions. Briefly 50 μL of CSF samples and various concentrations of the assay standards were added in duplicates to a 96-well plate containing magnetic beads. The plate was incubated for 30 minutes following which a wash step was applied; the plate was subsequently coated with biotinylated detection antibody solution and incubated for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes incubation, the plate was washed and streptavidin-conjugated phycoerythrin was added to the 96-well plates and incubated for 10 minutes. The plate was washed after this final incubation and assay buffer was added to each well. Data was acquired using the Bio-Plex Array Reader system 2200 (Bio-Rad) [22]. A standard curve was derived using the different concentrations of the assay standards. All CSF samples from participants were assayed on the same plate at the same time in duplicates. Intra-assay variability was represented as the coefficient of variation as per manufacturer’s instructions. 2.3. Statistical Analysis Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism and SPSS. All data are presented as mean ± standard error of the mean. The Mann-Whitney nonparametric test was used to determine differences in the groups while spearman coefficient was used to examine the presence of correlations among the cytokines examined. Data was considered significant where value was <0.05. 3. Results Significant reductions in the concentration of cytokine IL-10 were observed in the CFS/ME patients compared with controls (Figure 1). There were no significant differences in the levels of IL-1rα, IL-2, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-15, IL-17, basic FGF, eotaxin, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IP-10, MCP-1, RANTES, TNF-α, and PDGF-BB between the CFS/ME group and the control group (data not shown). IL-4, IL-1β, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, and IL-5 were below the limit of detection. Figure 1: Concentration levels of IL-10 in CFS/ME patients in comparison to controls. IL-10 was the only cytokine significantly decreased in the CSF samples of the CFS/ME patients. The black bars represent data from the CFS/ME patients and the white bars represent data from the control patients. Data is represented as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM). 4. Discussion In the CNS, microglial cells have the capacity to secrete cytokines, act as antigen presenting cells, and induce phagocytosis [20, 23–25]. These cells may have either protective or pathological effects on the CNS function. The cytokines produced by the microglial cells include IL-4, IL-10, IL-6, IL-13, and IFN-γ [21]. The present pilot study has shown that cytokine IL-10 was significantly decreased in the CFS/ME patients. IL-10 is secreted by almost all cells of innate and adaptive immune system and it protects autoreactive and inflammatory reactions by dampening Th1 immune related responses. IL-10, previously described as a cytokine synthesis inhibitory factor, displays immunoregulatory as well as immunostimulatory activities, prevents autoreactivity [26] and T cell proliferation, and protects against autoimmunity [27]. Additionally IL-10 reduces B7-2 and CD28 signalling, inhibits nitric oxide secretion, degrades cytokine related mRNAs, and decreases the expression of MHC II molecules [28–30]. Importantly, IL-10 has positive and negative effects on several signalling pathways that are related to the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription; hence, modulations in IL-10 may affect inflammatory signals and cellular process in the CNS [31]. Antigen presenting cells particularly macrophages and dendritic cells produce IL-10; this is important during inflammatory response to sepsis and infection [32]. Myeloid derived IL-10 regulates the function of T cells and the production of IL-10 by antigen presenting cells [32]. Hence, reduced levels of IL-10 may suggest compromises to the function and regulation of these cells. Microglia are the predominant myeloid cells in the brain and are known to produce IL-10 [33]. Compromises to these cells may contribute to the low levels of IL-10 observed in this pilot study. A reduction in IL-10 may increase inflammation in the CNS as it may suggest increases in c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) which is a known inducer of helper T cell differentiation and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines [34]. As hippocampal related IL-10 is known to suppress JNK, reduced levels of IL-10 may have significant implications on the inflammatory processes in the CNS. IL-10 therefore has a major anti-inflammatory role in the CNS which is required for CNS homeostasis and normal functioning. Survival of glial and neuronal cells is to some extent dependent on IL-10 as it augments neurotrophic factors [35]. Reduced levels of IL-10 may imply an increase in the synthesis of certain cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-8, IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-α [36]. However, we did not observe a substantial increase in the levels of these cytokines in the CNS; hence, other mechanisms may be acting to compensate for the reduced levels of IL-10. Only one study has reported changes in IL-10 in the CSF of CFS/ME patients, and these were increased [37]. This finding is in contrast to our present findings and this may be due to the heterogeneity of the disease, different analytical methods, and the presence of divergent patient subgroups. Nonetheless, a decrease in CNS IL-10 may be related to symptoms of fever reported in the CFS/ME cases [38] and this may be important for future investigations. Whether or not the profile of cytokines in the CNS is similar to that in the periphery remains to be determined. Further studies are therefore required with larger samples to determine the role of CNS cytokines in CFS/ME. Conflict of Interests The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. |
Romney also lags among Latinos, voters under 35, and women. Poll: 0 percent of blacks for Romney President Barack Obama continues to beat Mitt Romney among African American voters with a staggering 94 percent to 0 percent lead, according to a poll released Tuesday. The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll — which gives Obama and Vice President Joe Biden a small lead over Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan — shows Obama has a massive lead over his Republican rival in the key political base of African-American voters, NBCNews.com reported. Story Continued Below Obama also beats Romney among Latinos, voters under 35 and women, while Romney does better than Obama with whites, rural voters and seniors. The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters Aug. 16-20. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. |
Attacks reveal PKK prepared for war during peace talks: Analyst Uğur Ergan - ANKARA DHA photo Recent attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which have killed more than 50 Turkish security forces have revealed that the group installed improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on roads while peace talks were continuing, a security analyst has told daily Hürriyet.In the deadliest attack since a cease-fire ended in July, eight soldiers were killed in the southeastern province of Siirt on Aug. 19.PKK militants remotely detonated a bomb placed on the road linking Siirt to its district of Pervari during the passing of a military patrolling convoy, according to the Turkish General Staff.The attacked prompted questions in Ankara about how and when the bomb was planted beforehand on the road and detonated remotely by PKK militants.“It is a reality that security measures were relaxed during the peace process. Terrorists then planted explosives in key points of bridges and tunnels,” the analyst told Hürriyet.PKK militants used 700-1,000 kilograms of explosives to mine the road and left only unlinked cable ends on the surface, according to the analyst who stressed that it was extremely difficult to detect such IEDs. Because the bombs were planted months ago as the Turkish government ostensibly pursued talks to solve the Kurdish issue, many roads have repeatedly been covered with fresh layers of asphalt.“Now they come back to the road and just link the cable ends, which allows them to detonate the bomb remotely with a cellphone,” the analyst added.Freezing the peace process that aimed to find a final settlement to end the PKK’s three-decade-long insurgency, clashes started after Turkey was hit on July 20 by one of its deadliest attacks in recent years when 33 pro-Kurdish activists were killed in a suicide bombing on the Syrian border blamed on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).The attack prompted a furious reaction from the PKK, who shot dead two police in their sleep, accusing them of collusion with ISIL.The PKK has long said Ankara has effectively supported the jihadists in Syria and Iraq.Ankara on July 24 launched its first air strikes against ISIL in Syria and then also began attacking targets of the PKK in northern Iraq, in a dual “war on terror.”But so far the campaign against ISIL is very much on ice – for coordination purposes, according to U.S. and Turkish officials – while the strikes against the PKK have been relentless.According to the latest figures published by the state-run Anatolia news agency, 440 PKK militants have been killed in the campaign, including 390 in air strikes on southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.The Marxist-Leninist-inspired PKK first formally took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984, launching an insurgency that has since claimed tens of thousands of lives.Initially it demanded full-scale independence for Turkey’s Kurds in the southeast, although now the focus is on autonomy and greater rights.Its leader, Abdullah Öcalan, held on a Turkish island since his extraordinary arrest by Turkish special forces in Kenya 1999, in 2013 declared a cease-fire which has been left in tatters by the current violence.“The peace process is in great difficulty,” a Turkish government official recently told Agence France-Presse.“As long as the PKK refrains from giving a concrete timetable for disarmament, the operations will continue,” the official added.Quite how peace negotiations can restart is unclear, with Öcalan deprived of visits and cut off from the process. |
MP on child porn charges now named Updated A statutory suppression has expired, allowing for a South Australian MP charged with child pornography to be named. Bernard Finnigan, 39, who is no longer a Labor Party MP but remains in Parliament, can be named under South Australian law for the first time after a magistrate found there was a case for him to answer on six aggravated charges. Finnigan pleaded not guilty in Adelaide Magistrates Court to obtaining child pornography and five counts of taking steps to obtain access to child pornography between August 2010 and March 2011. Prosecutors dropped the remaining eight charges, which had been laid as alternatives to the major indictable charges. Magistrate Simon Smart ruled Bernard Finnigan does have a case to answer. "I am satisfied that a jury properly instructed could be satisfied of each of the elements of the offence beyond reasonable doubt taking the crown case at its highest. I therefore find a case to answer," Magistrate Smart said. Finnigan's lawyer Michael Abbott QC is seeking a judicial review of that ruling. He applied for a new suppression order on Finnigan's identity but was unsuccessful. Finnigan will face the District Court for an arraignment hearing next month. I have today entered a plea of not guilty. I will vigorously defend these charges Bernard Finnigan "I have today entered a plea of not guilty. I will vigorously defend these charges in the proper place and that is a court of law," the MP said outside the hearing. "Like any citizen, I am presumed innocent. I will be making no further comment while the matter of a judicial review is being considered." Finnigan declined to answer questions about his political future. Urged to resign Bernard Finnigan was promoted to the Labor front bench in February last year by then premier Mike Rann. He announced his resignation in April, the day after media reports that a state MP had been charged with child pornography offences. He has been sitting as an independent since. South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says he is shocked a former colleague has been charged with such awful crimes, and he has called for Finnigan to resign. "The criminal court process provides for a presumption of innocence," he said. "A separate set of considerations apply to his public office. "Given the nature of these crimes and his public association with them, it's my judgement that he could not effectively discharge that office and that is why I'm calling upon him to resign." Political commentator Clem Macintyre, from the University of Adelaide, says Finnigan's case will not be a significant factor for Labor in South Australia. "Inevitably he's seen to be associated with the Labor Party originally and there will be some repercussions there but I don't expect they will be significant," he said. "We've got to remember that Bernard Finnigan was not appointed to a ministry by the current Premier. Jay Weatherill's come in well after Bernard Finnigan stepped away from the Labor Party. "It's something that the Labor Party won't be happy about. It is the nearest we've got to a scandal really, in the time that Labor's been in office in South Australia since 2002. "But I don't think it will be a significant factor when we go to the polls in March of 2014." A date for Finnigan's judicial review is yet to be allocated. Topics: courts-and-trials, crime, law-crime-and-justice, states-and-territories, sa, adelaide-5000, australia First posted |
"How to get rid of acne." "Are zombies real?" "How to craft." "What is Tinder?" This is just a sampling of some of the weird and wonderful stuff people in America Googled this year. Compiled by Estately using data from Google Trends, the map shows what each state really liked to Google in 2014. According to Estately, "these are NOT the top searches for each state, they are the searches each state made more of than any other state." Let's look at a few of our favorite states and make fun of the weird shit we looked up online this year! ARIZONA: Mexico-United States Border / "Wilfred" (cancelled TV show) What I deduce from this is that everyone living in Arizona is related to Elijah Wood. CALIFORNIA: FIFA 2014 World Cup / Malaysian Airlines / Kim Kardashian / Iggy Azalea (recording artist) / Donald Sterling (former NBA owner) / Renee Zellweger (actress) / Tom Perkins (businessman) / Joe the Plumber (political plumber) / Jamie Dornan (actor) / Steve McQueen (director) / Charles Manson (criminal) / James McAvoy (actor) / Ellen Page (actress) / James Franco Instagram / How to get rid of acne? / What is BB cream? / How to minimize pores? / How to shape eyebrows? / Nexus 6 / iPad 3 / Bitcoin / Kate Middleton butt / Chia seed / Uber Advertisement People in California want to have very nice looking eyebrows and good skin while they oggle Kate Middleton's butt. DELAWARE: (nothing) Poor, poor Delaware. KANSAS: (nothing) Quit trying to be like Delaware, Kansas. TEXAS: Flappy Bird download / Johnny Manziel (NFL player) / Join I.S.I.S. / Carrie Underwood baby / How to get rid of stretch marks? / James Avery (actor) / Are zombies real? / "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (film) Advertisement Of course in Texas we're asking "are zombies real?" Of course that shit is happening. I guarantee you that was a heated debate in a lot of West Texas homes on Christmas this year. I have a cousin who has a full fledged contingency plan for how to escape should zombies invade Dallas. In Texas, life basically comes down to "fight zombies" or "join ISIS." VERMONT: Lena Dunham (actress/director)) / Seth Rogen (actor) / Pete Seeger (folk singer)/ Feminism / kale / 2014 Winter Games / climate change / "The Colbert Report" (TV show) / "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (film) / Amy Schumer (comedian) / Benedict Cumberbatch (actor) Vermont's Google history is like a Wes Anderson film come to life. "Feminism." "Kale." "Climate change." Vermont is like that pretentious vegan guy you met in your yoga class who keeps asking you to come to his Norwegian flute recital or try his home brewed cider. You know what I think? I think Vermont is completely full of shit. I think Vermont secretly Googles "Real Housewives of Atlanta" and "Michael Bay movies" just like that guy from your yoga classes secretly listens to Maroon 5 and eats Big Macs. VIRGINIA: Tucker Carlson (conservative commentator) / Boko Haram (terrorist scumbags) / White House security / upskirt pics Advertisement This list starts to paint a picture and then you get to the last thing and all the pieces finally come together and you start to slowly back the fuck away from the picture while still trying to remember what the picture looked like so you can describe it to the police later. WISCONSIN: What is Tinder? / Pabst Blue Ribbon See, everyone pretends to be Vermont but they secretly just want to be Wisconsin. "What is Tinder?" Beer. Wisconsin is having a damn good time. Advertisement Wisconsin. Keeping it real since 1848. Check out what weird things your state Googled here. |
Understanding JavaScript types and reliable type checking Type checking in JavaScript can often be a pain, especially for new JS developers. I want to show you how to reliably check types in JS and understand them a little more. This post digs through Objects, Primitives, shadow objects/coercion, the typeof operator and how we can reliably get a “real” JavaScript type. Objects versus Primitives “Everything in JavaScript is an Object”. Remember it, then forget it. It’s not true. JavaScript makes the subject very difficult to understand though - it presents everything as some form of “object” if we dive into their Prototypes (later). For now, let’s look at types. To understand JavaScript types, we need a top level view of them: Number String Boolean Object Null Undefined We have Number , String , Boolean - these are Primitives (not Objects!). This means their values are unable to be changed because they are merely values, they have no properties. The Primitive types are wrapped by their Object counterparts when called, JavaScript will dive between the Number/String/Boolean to an Object when needed (coercion). Underneath, it will infact construct an Object, use it, then return the result (all the instance will be shipped out for garbage collection). For example using 'someString'.trim(); will spin up an Object underneath and call the .trim() method on it. Null and undefined are weird (both Primitives too), and distinguish between no value or an unknown value ( null is unknown value, undefined is totally not known or even declared). There is also an Error object. Object’s however are a different story. You’ll notice I’ve not mentioned Array or RegExp , these are types of Object, let’s investigate. Under the Object tree we have: Object Function Array Date RegExp Having broken it down, things seem a little simpler, we have Objects versus Primitives. That’s it, right? No, JavaScript decided it wanted to complicate everything you’d assume logical from above. Typeof operator From MDN: “The typeof operator returns a string indicating the type of the unevaluated operand”. Based on our newly acquired knowledge from the above, you wouldn’t expect this to happen: typeof []; // object typeof {}; // object typeof '' ; // string typeof new Date () // object typeof 1 ; // number typeof function () {}; // function typeof /test/i ; // object typeof true ; // boolean typeof null ; // object typeof undefined ; // undefined Whyyyyyy?! Function is an Object, but tells us it’s a function , Array is an Object and says it is. null is an Object, and so is our RegExp . What happened? The typeof operator is a bit strange. Unless you know how to really use it, simply avoid it to avoid headaches. We wouldn’t want something like this to happen: // EXPECTATION var person = { getName : function () { return 'Todd' ; }; }; if ( typeof person === 'object' ) { person . getName (); } // THIS GETS LET THROUGH... // because I stupidly refactored some code changing the names // but the `if` still lets through `person` var person = []; var myPerson = { getName : function () { return 'Todd' ; } }; if ( typeof person === 'object' ) { person . getName (); // Uncaught TypeError: undefined is not a function } typeof let us down here, what we really wanted to know was that person was a plain Object. True Object types There’s a really simple way, though to look at it looks like a hack: Object . prototype . toString . call (); The .toString() method is accessed using Object.prototype because every object descending from Object prototypically inherits it. By default, we get [object Object] when calling {}.toString() (an Object ). We can use .call() to change the this context (as it converts its argument to a value of type) and, for example, if we use .call(/test/i) (a Regular Expression) then [object Object] becomes [object RegExp] . Which means if we run our test again using all JS types: Object . prototype . toString . call ([]); // [object Array] Object . prototype . toString . call ({}); // [object Object] Object . prototype . toString . call ( '' ); // [object String] Object . prototype . toString . call ( new Date ()); // [object Date] Object . prototype . toString . call ( 1 ); // [object Number] Object . prototype . toString . call ( function () {}); // [object Function] Object . prototype . toString . call ( /test/i ); // [object RegExp] Object . prototype . toString . call ( true ); // [object Boolean] Object . prototype . toString . call ( null ); // [object Null] Object . prototype . toString . call (); // [object Undefined] We can then push this into a function and more reliably validate our previous function: var getType = function ( elem ) { return Object . prototype . toString . call ( elem ); }; if ( getType ( person ) === '[object Object]' ) { person . getName (); } To keep things DRY and save writing === '[object Object]' or whatever out each time, we can create methods to simply reference. I’ve used .slice(8, -1); inside the getType function to remove the unnecessary [object and ] parts of the String: var getType = function ( elem ) { return Object . prototype . toString . call ( elem ). slice ( 8 , - 1 ); }; var isObject = function ( elem ) { return getType ( elem ) === 'Object' ; }; if ( isObject ( person )) { person . getName (); } Snazzy. I put together all the above methods into a micro-library called Axis.js which you can use: axis . isArray ([]); // true axis . isObject ({}); // true axis . isString ( '' ); // true axis . isDate ( new Date ()); // true axis . isRegExp ( /test/i ); // true axis . isFunction ( function () {}); // true axis . isBoolean ( true ); // true axis . isNumber ( 1 ); // true axis . isNull ( null ); // true axis . isUndefined (); // true The code powering that does some cool stuff for those interested: |
At the request of The New York Times, the Westchester County clerk’s office uncovered the case files from the foreclosure in a warehouse in Elmsford. They show that the Gehrigs missed a semiannual payment of $255 on May 9, 1937. The failure to pay set off a clause in the mortgage that allowed the List children, as executors of their father’s will, to call in the balance (about $8,800). Christina Gehrig did not pay what was owed and did not appear for the hearing at the Supreme Court in Westchester County, the records show. The house was then awarded to the List children in foreclosure. There is no explanation of why the Gehrigs did not pay and what role, if any, their son played in the case. In 1937, Gehrig’s last season as a formidable player, he made $31,000, according to the Baseball Reference website. That was a substantial amount of money back then, and presumably Gehrig would have been able to pay his parents’ mortgage while also taking care of his own expenses. Jonathan Eig, the author of “Luckiest Man,” the well-regarded 2005 biography of Gehrig, said he had not been aware of the foreclosure. He said Gehrig “was extremely careful with money,” but also pointed to the well-known tensions between Gehrig’s wife and his mother as a possible explanation for what occurred. |
Power lines and water vapors being released from a chimney are seen at the We Energies power plant in Oak Creek. The company’s parent company is buying Wisconsin Public Service’s parent company for $9.1 billion. Credit: Mike De Sisti By of the Wisconsin Energy Corp. will buy Integrys Energy Group in a $9.1 billion deal, creating a four-state utility with 4.3 million customers, the utilities announced Monday. A major acquisition that caught industry observers by surprise, the transaction has particular implications for Wisconsin. It combines the state's largest utility with the parent company of Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corp., which provides gas and electricity across northeastern Wisconsin. Beyond the state's borders, the deal expands Wisconsin Energy's footprint, adding a natural gas utility business that serves greater Chicago and parts of Michigan and Minnesota. The combined utility holds majority ownership of Pewaukee-based American Transmission Co., which owns area power lines, and would have a market capitalization of $15 billion. One more wrinkle: The transaction may mean that downtown Milwaukee will lose a longtime corporate headquarters. In statements released Monday, Wisconsin Energy pointedly said the headquarters for the expanded company, to be called WEC Energy Group, will be "in the metro Milwaukee area." "Operating headquarters will be in Chicago, Milwaukee and Green Bay," the firm said. Asked about the language, spokesman Brian Manthey said the corporate headquarters location is "an open question." Aside from regulatory approvals, Manthey said, the company must analyze future staffing and space needs and decide whether its offices at 231 W. Michigan St. would be sufficient. He said a decision probably won't be known for about a year. In buying Chicago-based Integrys, Wisconsin Energy would pay $5.8 billion in cash and stock, and take on $3.3 billion in debt. The transaction would be amongthe largest involving a Wisconsin company in years. Bucyrus, a South Milwaukee mining equipment manufacturer, was acquired by Caterpillar Inc. in 2011 for $8.8 billion, including assumed debt. That same year, BMO Harris bought Marshall & Ilsley Corp. for $4.1 billion and paid off another $1.7 billion M&I owed the federal government. The timing of the Integrys deal has a lot to do with what's going on, more broadly, in the utilities industry, said Gale Klappa, chairman and CEO of Wisconsin Energy. "We are, without a doubt, in a consolidating industry," Klappa said in an interview. Going forward, successful utilities will be broad in scope and large enough to handle the capital investments needed to maintain and improve the electric power grid and natural gas distribution system, according to Klappa. "We are going to be a company of 4.3 million customers when this combination takes place, and that should really bode well for our customers because it will help us be as efficient and price-competitive as we can be," he said. Regulatory OK needed But industry observers and customers already were casting a wary eye on the proposed combination, which will require multiple regulatory approvals. The Citizens Utility Board, a consumer watchdog group, voiced concerns and said it "will fight to ensure that customers' interests remain paramount." "If approved, aggressive controls must be put in place to protect customer interests and ensure value to them," the group said in a statement. Also watching closely are big energy users such as Wisconsin's paper mills. "We're going to be concerned with how our future energy prices will be," said Jeffrey Landin, president of the Wisconsin Paper Council. "Will this benefit us? Will it not? Obviously it's too early to tell that. But we're going to have to follow it closely." The stakes are high. Energy — both gas and electricity combined — can represent 20% or more of a paper mill's costs, Landin said. "It's fairly common for (mills) to pay bills each month in seven figures — over a million dollars a month in their costs for energy," he said. Regulatory review likely will take months, and Wisconsin Energy said it expects to complete the transaction next summer. The deal will require approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the state commissions in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. It is state commissions that have taken the lead in watching out for customer interests in such deals, said Robert E. Burns, retired research specialist with the National Regulatory Research Institute at Ohio State University. "The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been given by Congress the primary role of approving mergers and acquisitions, but they almost never say no," he said. "The state commissions usually don't say no either," he added, "but the state commissions have been far more aggressive on trying to (place conditions on) the mergers and acquisitions." Such conditions are meant to keep a greatly expanded utility from gaining too much market clout. That possibility will be a concern in Wisconsin, and should be, Burns said. Burns said one way to offset increased market power for a utility is to require more transmission going out of the affected area — in this case eastern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. That, as it happens, could actually benefit the expanded Wisconsin Energy because of what would be its majority ownership of American Transmission Co. "They've got a win-win," Burns said. Another major bid to consolidate utility assets — Wisconsin Energy's proposed merger with Minnesota-based Northern States Power Co. — collapsed in the '90s over concerns the combined company would have an unfair advantage in the regional electric market. But today's utility world is different, Klappa said. Since the failed merger, he said, the industry has added a mechanism known as an independent system operator, which ensures all parties have equal access to power. The $71.47 for each Integrys share is 17% above the firm's closing price on Friday. Integrys stock jumped 12.1% Monday, while Wisconsin Energy stock fell 3.5%. Klappa to lead company Klappa will serve as chairman and CEO of the combined company, which will keep Wisconsin Energy's stock ticker, WEC. Charlie Schrock, chairman and chief executive officer of Integrys, will retire upon completion of the merger. Integrys was created in 2007 when Wisconsin Public Service's parent company bought Peoples Energy Corp. and moved its headquarters from Green Bay to Chicago. In a statement, Gov. Scott Walker praised Monday's deal. "Today's announcement is good news for two great Wisconsin companies," he said. "This purchase will strengthen Wisconsin Energy overall and result in better service for their local ratepayers." Under the deal, Integrys will divest its nonregulated energy marketing business that competes in states that have opened themselves up to competition. It is that unregulated subsidiary, Integrys Energy Services, that became the electricity supplier last year to We Energies' largest customer — the operator of two iron-ore mines in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Wisconsin Energy's pursuit of a company with significant natural gas interests comes at a time when utilities across the country are seeing little or no growth in electricity sales. Integrys diversified aggressively into the natural gas distribution business in recent years. Executives of both companies said the deal would benefit shareholders because the combined company would have a bigger long-term earnings growth rate than either firm has today. The combined company would have about 9,300 employees. Wisconsin Energy said it's not planning layoffs. "Except for certain senior leadership positions, no positions are being eliminated at this time and all labor contracts will be honored," the utility said in a regulatory filing. "Over the next few years, as the new organization begins to realize efficiencies from the combination of the two companies and the coordination of the utilities, we'll evaluate structure and staffing." Wisconsin Energy's "strong preference" has been to cut jobs through attrition, retirements and voluntary severance programs, the filing said. Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report. |
Of course, the last thing you want is a jumble of fractured faces cluttering up your clever capture - and the smart thing to do is think about how someone will view the photo. If you don’t want half of your photo to be full of wall, your best bet is to take it from the centre of the room. If you’ve got someone to operate the camera - rather than a time-lapse turner - put them in the middle and position your models around them. A bit like the mannequin challenge, you can have some fun with the depth element of VR. And if you're standing and everyone else is sitting, make sure you stay low to avoid getting a row of heads at the bottom of your photo. The most important thing of all? They need to stand really, really still. Once Cardboard Camera has captured your festive snap, it’ll do a bit of stitching and, although it's relatively reliable, you don’t want jumpy, garbled features scaring your grandma. |
Maybe that is it? I feel twitterers around me, r there any twitterers in 5 n diner wit me, say somethin Doing my best to look tall. Thanks for slouching, Shaq. Sean and the big Shaq-tus. To all twitterers , if u c me n public come say hi, we r not the same we r from twitteronia, we connect Diesel, 5 n diner has great chili and milkshakes but i know you're on a diet so you had a salad!! Twitter accounts for: Sean and Jesse . Feel free to follow us. Sean informed me a few days ago that he had been following " The Real Shaq " on twitter."You realize that 'The Real Shaq' is probably a 5'4 White, 14 year old emo kid who's getting his jolly's from the attention, right?" I asked him."I don't know. I think it's really him"Today Sean and I were discussing rumored trade situations over IM, and the possibility of Shaq being traded to Cleveland."Well, I just got a twitter from The Real Shaq, and he's at 5 & Diner right now," Sean informed me."Let's go then" I said, assuming that I'd finally put this "Real Shaq" crap to rest.Twenty minutes later we were pulling up to the restaurant and looking for the big black truck that he's rumored to drive around town. "Maybe that's it" Sean said, pointing at an older, but nice Van and laughing. As we pulled up I saw the Superman symbol on the grill.We went in, and to my surprise the MDE(Most Dominant Ever) was sitting in the corner booth by himself. We gave the man a nod and "Hey" as we walked to our table and were soon whispering back and forth like 12 year old girls at the 7th grade dance."You go talk to him" I said, while tugging nervously on my dress."No, you go talk to him" Sean replied while flipping his hair.We placed our order, and spent 10 minutes trying to work up the sack to go say something."Should I tell him I'm glad he's sticking around?""Go tell him you're his twitter buddy""Should I ask for a picture?"Given another 2-3 years, I'm sure we would have worked up the nerve to go talk to him, but before that could happen Sean's iPhone buzzed with a "tweet" from Shaq."Hey" Sean said, with a slight bit of confidence.Returning to our hushed whispers I asked Sean, "Should we go talk to him now?""I don't know, should we?""Yes, you should" a very deep voice entered our conversation from 2 booths over.We quickly hopped up and rushed over like like two eight year olds who had just heard the ice cream truck pass by."I know it's dorky man, but can I get a pic with you?" I asked, slightly intimidated."Of course" he said, "Pull up a seat" The behemoth slid over and patted the booth next to him. As I pulled out my phone to take a picture he snatched it out of my hand and inspected it."What's this got? Windows Mobile?""Um... yeah"He gave it the once over before handing it back and showing off his Google Phone. We talked for a bit, and snapped a photo for both Sean and me before shaking hands and returning to our table. I almost got the feeling he wanted us to hang out, but we didn't really want to push our luck."Make sure you put that on your web page" he said as we walked away.After he'd left, our young waiter came over. We asked if Shaq had actually eaten anything since his table was empty when we'd gone over."He ordered like 20 dollars worth of food" the kid stammered out, obviously thrilled to be talking about it, "And he left me a 160 dollar tip. Then he asked for a Sprite and gave me forty bucks for it."We got back to the office, and saw that Shaq's last twitter was basically calling us a bunch of panzies:Not to be outdone " The Real Nash " wrote: |
Authored by Barack Obama, Op-Ed at BloombergView.com, As president, my top priority is to grow our economy and strengthen the middle class. When I took office, America was in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression -- but thanks to the hard work and resilience of the American people, our businesses have created 13.5 million jobs over the past 68 months, the longest streak of private-sector job creation in history. The unemployment rate has been cut nearly in half -- lower than it’s been in more than seven years. We have come back further and faster from recession than nearly every other advanced nation on Earth. That’s real progress. But as any middle-class family will tell you, we have more to do. That’s why I believe the Trans-Pacific Partnership is so important. It’s a trade deal that helps working families get ahead. At a time when 95 percent of our potential customers live outside our borders, this agreement will open up new markets to made-in-America goods and services. Today, exports support 11.7 million American jobs. Companies that sell their goods around the world tend to grow faster, hire more employees and pay higher salaries than companies that don’t. On average, export-supported jobs pay up to 18 percent more than other jobs. These are good jobs -- and this agreement will lead to even more of them. It would eliminate more than 18,000 taxes that various countries put on made-in-America products. For instance, last year, we exported $89 billion in automotive products alone to TPP countries, many of which have soaring tariffs -- more than 70 percent in some cases -- on made-in-America products. Our farmers and ranchers, whose exports account for roughly 20 percent of all farm income, face similarly high tariffs. Thanks to the TPP, those taxes will drop drastically, most of them to zero. That means more U.S. exports supporting more higher-paying American jobs. At a time when our workers too often face an unfair playing field, this agreement also includes the highest labor standards of any trade deal in history. Provisions protecting worker safety and prohibiting child labor make sure that businesses abroad play by the same kinds of rules we have here at home. Provisions protecting the environment and combating wildlife trafficking make sure that economic growth doesn’t come at the expense of the only planet we call home. And these commitments are enforceable -- meaning we can hold other countries accountable through trade sanctions if they don’t follow through. So, these tough new rules level the playing field, and when American workers have a fair chance to compete, I believe they’ll win every time. I’ve said many times that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is the right thing for our economy, for working Americans and for our middle class. But I’m not asking you to take my word for it. Instead, I’ve posted the agreement online. If you build cars in places such as Detroit, you can see for yourself how your products will have a better shot of hitting the road in places such as Japan. If you’re a farmer or rancher, you’ll see how your products will face fewer barriers abroad. If you’re a small-business owner, you’ll see how this agreement will mean less paperwork and less red tape. Along with the text of the agreement, we've posted detailed materials to help explain it. It’s an unprecedented degree of transparency -- and it’s the right thing to do. Not every American will support this deal, and neither will every member of Congress. But I believe that in the end, the American people will see that it is a win for our workers, our businesses and our middle class. And I expect that, after the American people and Congress have an opportunity for months of careful review and consultation, Congress will approve it, and I’ll have the chance to sign it into law. Together, we’ve overcome enormous obstacles over the past seven years. We’ve taken an economy that was in free fall and returned it to steady growth and job creation. And we’ve put ourselves in a position to restore America’s promise not only now, but for decades to come. That’s what I believe this agreement will help us do. * * * And in the other corner.. Chris Hedges explains why ObamaTrade is "The most brazen corporate power grab in American history" |
Posted Fri May 22, 2015 1:28 AM OK, so it turns out that after 25+ years someone (me!) finally realized that Solomon's Key on Automation CD 25 was, in fact, broken. Not really a problem, as SHW patched it for falcon many years ago... except.. this is where I sourced the binary for the Jaguar port... Anyway, rather than rain on SHW's parade and use his (Plus, I looked at his version and... WTF DID YOU DO PHIL?? I CAN'T SEE BOLLOCKS!!) I grabbed a fresh STX and did it all again. Also, I noticed if you got a high score you couldn't enter a name because the keyboard is missing on the Jaguar (Stoopid Atari - how can you 'do the math' without a keyboard??) So, have at you with a fixx0red version, not that you asked. But when you do, here it is. Solomon.rom 2MB 216 downloads |
- Dallas County Community Supervision and Corrections, also known as Adult Probation, is adding hundreds of officers to the field this year by training current officers with desk jobs to conduct field work on their own cases. Dallas County tracks about 25,000 people on probation. Three-thousand are considered high-risk for crimes like repeat DWIs and Sex Offenses. By the end of 2016, all 337 probation officers in the department will be required visit probationers at home in addition to regular check-ins at the office. Previously, only 22 field officers handled all home visits for the entire department. Javed Syed is the executive director of Adult Probation. Syed acknowledges his new directive has created serious concerns about safety. “Actually we're getting a lot of push back from the staff because they're scared about going into the field,” Syed said. Probation officers don't carry firearms. Starting this year, they will conduct field visits in pairs and carry large flashlights and pepper spray. To bolster those resources, the department is also putting every officer through a week-long training program, consisting of classroom training and self-defense tactics. The curriculum, developed by the Community Corrections Institute, teaches probation officers how to avoid and diffuse dangers in the field. In February’s training session observed by Fox 4, an instructor showed officers several field tactics, including how to strike back if attacked and how to avoid a choke hold. “The palm of your hand is a much more effective thing to strike an assailant with rather than a fist," said the instructor. “Let him know what you want him to do: ‘Get back, get back!’" Teri Garza, a probation officer for 20 years, used to only work behind her desk. Garza said repetition helps her make the training second nature and thinks the program will help her in the field. “I think it’s going to be good to see our clients in their element rather an in our office,” Garza said. Syed said that is the most important reason behind his ambitious plan. “Many of us [leading the department] believe when an officer makes field visit on his own person, he is much more productive then somebody else doing it for them,” Syed said. “It's much more valuable." With the same officers visiting their own clients each time, Syed is confident the department as a whole can better track progress or spot potential problems. For example, an officer can see if a DWI offender has alcohol in the home. Or, for sex offenders who have been court ordered to stay away from children, officers can also look out for children in their home or signs of children, like toys. In situations where an offender is in need of food or other assistance, an officer can help link them up with community resources or counseling. In addition to officers’ safety, there are also concerns about some officers’ ability to conduct field work. For example, veteran probation officer David McClure is 75 years old and suffers from wrist pain. He knows he not be able to handle the physical challenges, but is still embracing the change. “I did [field work] before and I really enjoy it,” McClure said. Syed said employees with a documented medical condition can opt out for different duties. “So what I will do is I will trade with you,” Syed explained. “I'll do your field work and you'll do something in return." Fox 4 went along for a ride in February, to observe two field visits. Officer Theron Gregory and his partner Officer John Messenger visited two repeat DWI offenders who each have three or more convictions on their record. At each location, Gregory knocked on the door and talked to the probationer, while Messenger stood back with his hands visible in front of his body, a defensive tactic he learned in training. Gregory asked the probationer several questions. “Definitely no alcohol use?” he inquired. "Your old peers you're staying away from them?” “Oh yes sir," the probationer replied. The second probationer told Fox 4 “bad friends and a whole bunch of downward spirals” led to him “falling into the wrong path.” He said seeing Gregory in the field helps build trust. “We just connect,” he said. “I tell [Gregory] basically everything that's going on in my everyday life." Probation officers in Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Houston are all required to conduct field visits. As of February 2016, 62 Dallas officers have been trained and by the end of 2016, all will be working in the field. |
'This Census-Taker' Is A Quiet Book With A Murderous Heart This Census-Taker by China Miéville Hardcover, 210 pages | purchase close overlay Buy Featured Book Your purchase helps support NPR programming. How? China Miéville is a magician. He's the Keyser Soze of the New Weird because you never know who he's going to be. He can do noir, do steampunk, do aliens and magic caterpillars. He's a shape-shifter. An incredibly prolific Dungeons & Dragons loving geek golem who can both blow your mind with ideas as big as the universe and break your heart with language so precise and polished, it's like he's writing with diamonds. His new book is a novella that stretches the envelope of the description — called This Census-Taker — about a man looking back on the traumas of his boyhood, a prisoner whose captors call him "guest," and the fallibility of memory. It's a fairy tale, this one, or at least it follows those beats. There are two poor hillside villages connected by a bridge over a plunging gorge. The boy lives with his parents in an isolated house, high up on one of the hills, above the town and far from its meager civilization. His mother works in the garden and barters for supplies in the town. His father cuts keys that can do magical things — change the weather, bring love, make broken-down machines work again. And everything begins with the boy running, screaming down his hill into the town below because he has just seen his mother kill his father. Or his father kill his mother. Or someone doing something terrible to somebody because this is a fairy tale, and no fairy tale gets truly started until there's blood on someone's floor. This is a fairy tale, and no fairy tale gets truly started until there's blood on someone's floor. The killing is the mystery that threads through the story — which careens through it, bumping up against other mysteries, other oddities, which, in turn, reveal small, spare details of the setting as the boy (isolated, alone) is forced to confront a world he is only beginning to understand. One of Miéville's greatest strengths is his ability to see his imaginary worlds through the eyes of his characters, not of his readers. The boy is young. He understands things as a child does — which is to say not really at all. There is a post-apocalyptic cast to his town, the bridge, the streets scattered with broken machines and the feral, orphan children who squat in abandoned buildings and become his friends. But these are simply the things of the boy's world. Its furniture. There has been a war. The boy knows only that people talk about it sometimes and that it happened somewhere else, nothing more. His mother tries to tell him about the town where she grew up and, maddeningly, the boy doesn't really care, so ignores her and her voice fades into the background. The magic that his father works in his downstairs workshop? Never discussed. Never explained. It's just his father's job. No, the boy is far more concerned with the animals his father kills for no reason — beating them to death with his hands, then throwing their bodies into a bottomless pit not far from their house. The boy is pretty sure his father has killed people, too. And then his mother. The local police don't believe him. The law says he is his father's property, so after his shrieking run down the hill, he is returned to the man, the silent house, the cold attic where he plays, the fog-shrouded hill. The boy escapes, is caught, escapes again, is caught again. His friends, the orphans, hatch a plan to help him but it goes wrong. Writing as a much older man, the narrator is sure only of his boyhood terror. His conviction that, sooner or later, his father would kill him, too. That is, until the arrival of the census-taker — the odd man with the glasses and the tie, the books of figures and a gun, who has come to ask questions. To find certain people and record them. To talk, in this case, with the boy's father. This Census Taker is a small, quiet and gentle book with murder at its center. It's a beautiful chocolate that you bite into and find filled with blood. It is Miéville at his most sparse, his most controlled and restrained — giving us a world defined by a broken carburetor, the sound of a walk being swept, a pantry full of mushrooms and spiders, the distant flickering of neon. And while the blind spots of the boy at its heart — the things he does not know, the questions he does not ask — may drive you crazy, the questions that Miéville leaves itching in your brain at the turn of the final page are almost as interesting as the (few) truths that have been uncovered. Jason Sheehan is an ex-chef, a former restaurant critic and the current food editor of Philadelphia magazine. But when no one is looking, he spends his time writing books about spaceships, aliens, giant robots and ray guns. Tales From the Radiation Age is his latest book. |
A UCF student pulled a handgun and fought off burglars that forced their way into her Village of Alafaya Club apartment on Tuesday, according to deputies. At approximately 4:51 p.m. Tuesday night, two black males in their early 20’s forced their way into the apartment of two UCF students, male and female, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. According to deputies, one of the suspects held a handgun to the male victim’s head and ordered him to the ground. The female victim then ran into her bedroom and got her handgun. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for updates on this major storyThe female UCF student then pointed the gun at the suspects. That caused both the suspects to run away and for one suspect to drop his gun, according to deputies. It turned out the suspect’s handgun was actually a pellet gun, according to deputies. Both students were unharmed. A perimeter search involving a K-9 unit and air search did not locate the suspects, according to authorities. RELATED: – Bill Allowing Guns on Florida College Campuses Could Have Shot At Passing – UCF Allowing Students to Store Guns on Campus in Locked Cars After Judge’s Ruling |
Please enable Javascript to watch this video OAK FOREST, Ill. -- Three family members were found dead in their Oak Forest home in an apparent murder-suicide, according to police. The bodies of David Joost, 54, Margaret O'Leary Joost, 55, and Daniel Joost, 18, were found in a house in the 6600 block of Courtney Avenue at about 8 p.m. Monday. Police were making a well-being check when they found the bodies Monday night. The husband, David, is believed to have killed his wife and son, who had autism, before taking his own life. Police say they found O'Leary-Joost and Daniel Joost unresponsive in their beds. David Joost was found in the garage with his wrists cuts and a car left running. There is still no time frame of when the murders may have happened. The causes of their deaths have not officially been determined, police said. The couple also had an older daughter, 20, in college and she has been notified of their deaths. An autopsy is expected to be done on the bodies. |
Share. It was always a "maybe". It was always a "maybe". The studio head of Project Cars developer Slightly Mad Studios has released a statement addressing criticisms about the Wii U version of the game. Speaking to Nintendo Life, Ian Bell explained that a Wii U version was never guaranteed, and the team would much rather wait for Nintendo's next console rather than compromise on their vision and deliver a product that doesn't live up to expectations. Exit Theatre Mode "Project Cars/Weapons of Mass Development opened funding initially as a free-to-play PC only racing game," Bell explained. "This is when the bulk of the funding arrived. Funding was closed late 2013. By vote of the members, it changed to a boxed product PC/Xbox 360/PS3 and 'maybe Wii U' game. It was always 'maybe' as we had no knowledge of the system. "It was again changed, by vote of the members, to a PC/Xbox One/PS4 next-gen game with still 'maybe Wii U' and Steam OS. The funding, as I said above, was closed long before this. We still haven't given up on Wii U 100 per cent but if we can't make it work we will move to the next Nintendo machine." Earlier this week, Bell admitted the developer is struggling with the Wii U version, before saying it may instead come to the next generation Nintendo console the company announced in March. Released May 12 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, IGN gave Project Cars an 8.9, calling it deep and demanding but incredibly user friendly. Luke Karmali is IGN's UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter. |
The politics of organisation matter. A lot. Labour is to carry out a review of what went right and wrong at the election. It’s vital we do this in order that our new leader, whoever she or he is, can set our policy objectives for the next decade. I’m seeking the deputy leadership to do one thing: write and execute the election battle plan so that our new leader will be Prime Minister. I’m not underestimating the scale of the task but our ambition should be to win back power in 2020 and we only have 1819 days to do it. The politics of organisation are central to the existential debate that’s now taking place in the party. It’s hard being a political veteran at the age of 48. Yet in recent months, as I visited 109 constituencies in the run up to polling day, it’s what I reluctantly concluded that I’ve become. My hair is going grey, my feet ache more after canvassing, I look forward to bed straight after Newsnight. During the election, I had more early nights in more Premier Inns than Lenny Henry. And though I know it’s the most dangerous emotion in politics, I get nostalgic. I found time to remember my first general election in February 1974. I collected numbers on a pink reading pads at the polling station at Franche First school, Kidderminster. At only 7 years old, some may describe this task as an act of parental neglect, but in those days, politics was more civil. The kindly lady in the blue rosette looked after me while the young women and men wearing red ferried voters to and from the school. And on the campaign trail, seeing thousands of Labour party members at open air rallies, fundraisers and on the doorsteps took me back to the excitement of the mid-nineties, under the leadership of Tony Blair. I shared an office with Phil Wilson, who told me about the “Sedgefield barbeque” model of membership recruitment. 1800 people in a pilot scheme of discounted membership (a pound if I recall) based around social, not just political events. We spent hours and hours bouncing ideas around, in a creative process which understood that change under Blair knew few borders. Before Tony’s election, under John Smith and Neil Kinnock, I helped rebuild the party’s youth section – Young Labour. It took painful hours of internal meetings to convince a leadership scarred by the memory of the Labour Party Young Socialists that this was an essential component in our future success. A group of young activists produced their own colour magazine, “Re:generation”, but we didn’t have the budget to send it to young members. So I sneaked enveloped copies of the magazine into all the office out-trays of our Walworth Road HQ, twice a day, for weeks on end, until all 16,000 young members had received a copy. Some of the early members of Young Labour now sit in the Shadow Cabinet. You see what I mean about being a veteran? And now the next but one generation of Labour Cabinet Ministers need to be engaged as never before. My point? The politics of organisation matter. A lot. That’s the bit of the election post-mortem I’m most interested in. Our leadership candidates will set out their stalls, explain how they will appeal to the country, and offer an assessment of what went right and wrong with policy. I want to make sure we don’t lose what went wrong with our campaigns and election organisation. It’s too early to get the whole picture but I know where it begins – with our losing candidates, especially in key seats. I met nearly all of them during the campaign and I’m going to meet them again over the coming weeks. Why is this important? MPs talk a lot about what voters tell them on the doorstep. A single key seat candidate has talked to more voters on more doorsteps than every member of the shadow cabinet combined. They have to be the starting point of our post-election analysis. There are some fundamental questions I want to ask them. Did the five million conversations work? I want to understand if we significantly distinguished between ‘contact’ and ‘engagement’. When I visited Redcar I was struck by how many of our council candidates were new to the party, and had a strong relationship with Anna Turley our successful candidate. They led their communities – from Redcar in bloom to neighbourhood watch. Relationships matter. And we needed better relationships with the working people of Britain last Thursday. We would have seen this defeat coming if we’d had them. More fundamental is the difference between mobilisation and organisation. Did we get into the weave of our communities? I have read ‘All politics is local’ by Tip O’Neil 50 times over. During the last Parliament, the Tories allowed 2000 bus routes to be cut. I couldn’t understand where all the local campaigns to save the number 57 were. Labour pledged to give local authorities new powers like they have in London which dictates to operators where and when the busses will run. Were our key seat campaigns decentralised enough? Were our organisers empowered to take decisions on message, were they given the encouragement to fight on issues unique to the circumstances in their area? In this respect, were our councillors, most of whom really know what’s going on in their communities, given sufficient involvement in the campaign planning process? I have a hunch it was a mixed picture. One thing is for certain, though – local government is where we have to start to rebuild our base. We need Labour councillors more than we have ever done before. Our councillors are not just foot soldiers. They deserve our greatest respect. They see first hand how policies should be constructed to work effectively for local communities so they should be integral to policy development. Labour councillors must also be the very best trained community organisers in the country. The party machine must see itself as working for them, not as it often appears, them working for the party machine. While I’m still in nostalgic mood, let me take you back to 1987. I remember standing on the steps of Walworth Road the day after we lost the general election. That was the last time we were supposed to have run the best election campaign but lost the actual election. You can see me holding back the tears, standing next to Neil Kinnock in this video clip. I don’t want to be holding back the tears again. I hate losing elections and I want you to win. With 41 years since working in my first general election, I have some ideas about what it takes. I’m very clear. A new leader will need a campaigning deputy more than ever. If you want to help me – please sign up here. Tom Watson is the Labour MP for West Bromwich East |
Stepdad on rape charges A MAN from Central Trinidad has been charged by the police with raping his three stepdaughters. The charges were laid yesterday at the Gran Couva Police Station, against the 30-year-old man, who will today appear in the Couva Magistrates’ Court where the charges would be read to him. The charges alleged that the man, a labourer, who lived with his common law wife and her three daughters, raped the girls aged 12, 14 and 18, on numerous occasions spanning a two- year period. For assaulting his 12 and 14-year-old stepdaughters, the man was charged with having sex with a minor under the age of 14. Sexual intercourse with a person under 14 is commonly referred to as Statutory rape, because according to the Sexual Offence Act, a female under 14 is not of age to give consent. A person who commits an act of sexual indecency against a girl of that age, cannot plead consent was given. Police officers described the arrest of the man and all of the charges laid, as perhaps the first case of rape in Trinidad and Tobago in which three sisters in one family, were raped and sexually abused by one predator. Regarding the assault on the eldest sister, the stepfather was charged with rape. According to a report, the 12, 14 and 18-year-old girls lived in a one-bedroom house in Central Trinidad together with their 51-year-old mother and the stepfather. The elder stepdaughter celebrated her 18th birthday in July. A police report stated that the 18-year-old visited the Gran Couva Police Station on Friday morning last. There, she spoke to female police officers about the two years of rapes she and her sisters endured at the hands of their stepfather. According to the police report, the stepfather would often have sex with the minors at night while his common law wife slept. Police sources added while he was able to coerce the younger sisters into having sex with him, the man had to force himself on the eldest stepdaughter who at times fought with him. Police sources added only two weeks ago, the eldest stepdaughter was raped by the man. Police sources added when coercion did not work with the younger sisters, the man used threats to cow them into submission. Two years of abuse ended, police said, when the 18-year- old left home and went to live at a friend’s house. It was there the 18-year-old confided to her friend what had been taking place. The friend advised the teen to report the matter to the police saying that apart from sexual assault, the very lives of her (the teen victim) two other sisters who were still staying in the house with their stepfather were affected. On Saturday last at about 11 am, a party of police officers which included Cpl Lalbeharry, WPC Alicia Soodeen and PCs Husband and Boodoo swooped down on the house and after questioning the 12 and 14-year-old girls, arrested the stepfather. The three sisters were taken from the house to a medical institution where they were medically examined by Dr Babu Reddy who later submitted a report to police. Police sources said the man was formally charged with several counts of having unlawful sex with a minor under the age of 14 and rape. Charges were laid by WPC Soodeen. Officers of the Police Service’s Victims’ Support Unit are planning to hold counselling sessions with the victims. The man is now a prisoner at the Gran Couva Police Station. Police officers told Newsday yesterday that no charges have been laid against anyone else but added investigations are continuing. Officers added that if investigations warrant it, charges of failing to report a crime could be laid. |
#RememberThatCub: Rick Sutcliffe Alex Patt Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jun 18, 2017 In sports, trades are won and trades are lost by teams. Why is that relevant? Because the Chicago Cubs surely won a trade in 1984 with the Cleveland Indians bringing over the next #RememberThatCub feature, Rick Sutcliffe. The 6–7, 215 pound Sutcliffe was struggling to begin 1984 with Cleveland putting up a 4–5 record with a 5.15 ERA. On June 13th the Cubs brought him over in a trade in which they also got George Frazier, and Ron Hassey with Joe Carter, Mel Hall, Don Schulze and Darryle Banks going to the Indians. Through the rest of 1984 Rick Sutcliffe put together a Cy Young-winning season going 16–1 with a 2.69 ERA. The 1984 Cubs would win the NL East and return to the postseason for the first time since 1945. He dazzled in game 1 of the NLCS pitching seven shutout innings and even hitting a home run onto Sheffield Avenue. Sadly the Cubs would lose that series to the Padres but it was memorable nonetheless. In the offseason Sutcliffe resigned with the Cubs and spent seven more seasons on the northside. He was an allstar in 1987 and 1989 and finished second in Cy Young voting in 1987. His overall tenure with the Cubs he posted a 82–65 record with a 3.74 ERA, two allstar honors, and a Cy Young honor. Throughout that time he had some other distinctive moments. While it was unofficial due to a rain out, Sutcliffe threw out the first ever pitch under the lights at Wrigley Field on August 8th, 1988. He was also the first ever Cubs pitcher to throw a pitch in an NLCS game seeing as the Cubs last trip to the postseason was 1945 and there was just the World Series in October. He finished his career in 1994 with the Cardinals which completed an 18 year career which he played with the Dodgers, Indians, Cubs, Orioles and Cardinals. Do you #RememberThatCub? Alex Patt is a writer for Wrigley Rapport and you can follow him on twitter @chifanpatt1 |
Let me tell you how agencies work. Agencies, by and large, sell hours. Unless they find a way to productise or build a clever piece of proprietary technology, agency businesses scale by adding staff as they add clients. Win a client, hire people. Lose a client, fire people. Agency owners and executives make money by consolidating with or selling to larger agencies or networks. When founders or shareholders exit they leave their organisation without its key creative or strategic leadership, often with catastrophic implications. The cycle repeats itself over and over again with relentless predictability. Somewhere between starting and selling an agency you realise that the ways to make better than average margins when billing hours is to exploit staff, or manipulate clients. If you're a nice person, this is troublesome. Having had zero agency experience and limited business acumen when I started Cerebra, this realisation came as a bit of a shock to me. Today, we interview people who go to great pains to tell us they're not eight-to-fivers, not afraid of hard work, not shy of high levels of stress. This is, after all, #AgencyLife.This is a thing. It's a meme. It's widely accepted that working at an agency means killing yourself for the 'cause'. If our staff has to slave away from 7 am to 11 pm all week and come in on weekends scrambling to finish work there are only two possible explanations: They're lazy and don't get their allotted work done in office hours, or (more likely) we run a crappy business. Overworked employees are not the only messy byproduct of broken agency business models. The fundamentally unhealthy nature of many agency client relationships is a far deadlier. Last year, we terminated our relationship with a major brand on the back of what we believed to be a better opportunity for shared value with one of their competitors. We were well within our contractual rights to do so. "Agencies don't fire clients. Clients fire agencies!" The last three pitches Cerebra attended were all rigged to shoe a specific agency partner in to a client, not to genuinely evaluate the respective skills and experience of the short-listed candidates. We dance around like monkeys in a cage begging for a banana from a kindly onlooker - it's shameful. Staff gets so amped and motivated by new business briefs and pitches and so devastated when we aren't chosen. Every single mutually beneficial and valuable client relationship Cerebra has ever had begun with an open discussion. Pitches are broken and breed broken results. They are like The bachelorette for business.Because many agencies are deeply insecure about their ability to show tangible results, awards become their primary differentiator. This fuels the unhealthy dynamic between clients and agencies even more. Work is done because it wins awards, not because it achieves business objectives. Choosing an agency primarily on its awards is like choosing an intimate partner based on the car they drive. Craig and I have no immediate plans to exit from Cerebra. Having said that, if we are still "just an agency" when we do leave one day, we will consider our tenure in leadership as a failure. We are wholeheartedly determined to find better, more sustainable ways to run our company that diminish or eradicate some of the broken dynamics I've alluded to in this post. This starts with ensuring that our colleagues have healthy working lives. It means that they work passionately and constructively in their contracted hours. It means they leave us happier, smarter and wealthier than when they joined us. Over 25 per cent of all people that have left Cerebra have gone on to start their own successful businesses. We think that's rock ' n roll. It also means agency leadership taking more responsibility and accountability for the health of their businesses. The author is Mike Stopforth, CEO, Cerebra. Reprinted with permission.Link: http://www.mikestopforth.com/2015/02/26/agencylife-big-agency-lie/ |
This is the hilarious moment a wedding singer spat out his false teeth during a performance but an audience member passed them back and he carried on. Kevin Owens was entertaining the merry crowd at Ballycotton Bayview Hotel in Cork, Ireland when he suffered the ultimate embarrassment. He was mid way through a cheery number called Westmeath Bachelor when he sang so hard his teeth fell out. He thought he would get away with it and carried on singing, only for one cheeky audience member to pick up the dentures from the floor and show the whole hysterical crowd. The kind guest then popped them back in the singer's mouth, who carried on as if nothing had happened. Kevin Owens was entertaining the merry crowd at Ballycotton Bayview Hotel in Cork, Ireland when he suffered the ultimate embarrassment The cameraman posted the video on YouTube commenting: 'I was at a friends wedding inn Ballycotton Bayview Hotel in Cork and Kevin Owens was asked up by the musician to sing a song called the Westmeath Bachelor. 'While he was singing this song, I started videoing it on my phone and in the middle of the song his false teeth fell out. I picked them up showing them to the crowd who were in convulsions laughing and then handed them back to him. 'He managed to put them back in without interrupting his singing and carried on and finished the song. What can go wrong on Friday the 13th?' He was mid way through a cheery number called Westmeath Bachelor when he sang so hard his teeth fell out |
Paul Ryan made a smart decision when he declared he would not accept the Republican party nomination for president this summer, no matter how desperate the party may be to avoid choosing Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. “Let me be clear: I do not want nor will I accept the nomination of our party,” Ryan said after weeks of speculation that he might be parachuted in to save the GOP from itself at its nominating convention in July. It was his most definitive refusal to date, following on several previous indications that he was disinclined to play saviour to a party that has manoeuvred itself into a choice between two of the most unattractive candidates ever put forward by a major U.S. party. It’s tempting to say it’s the smartest decision of Ryan’s life, except that he’s made several previous choices that could also contend for that distinction. And there’s a commonality to them: by declining to push himself forward, Ryan has succeeded in becoming the candidate everyone wants. Well, maybe not everyone – the no-prisoners wing of the party hasn’t finished playing Russian roulette yet, and may not be satisfied until there’s nothing left of the organization but a smoking ruin. But lots of other people want him. When Ryan was selected as running mate to Mitt Romney in 2012, he was viewed as the “true” conservative needed to shore up Romney’s reputation as dangerously moderate. While Romney went down to defeat, Ryan – playing second fiddle — emerged with his reputation enhanced as a solid campaigner and innovative thinker. He similarly added to his allure when he refused to accept the Speakership – the most powerful position within the House of Representatives – after John Boehner stepped down in disgust at the antics of the tea party and its adherents. “While I am grateful for the encouragement I’ve received, I will not be a candidate,” Ryan insisted when he was repeatedly proposed as a replacement to Boehner. Only after weeks of pressure, in which he was touted as the only man capable of uniting the divided party, did he agree, letting everyone know he was still reluctant, but willing to take the job for the sake of the party. By declining to push himself forward, Ryan has succeeded in becoming the candidate everyone wants Now he’s the favoured replacement for Cruz or Trump, whichever of the two emerges from the convention in Cleveland as the party nominee. His announcement last week was intended to derail persistent talk that he might be recruited as a compromise candidate should neither Cruz or Trump secure the nomination on the first few ballots. Once again, Ryan is using a show of reluctance in a way that can only enhance his popularity. It would have been plain foolishness to allow his name to stand as a deadlock-breaker in Cleveland. If he’d lost, he’d have badly damaged his reputation, opening himself to accusations of disloyalty and overweening ambition. If he had succeeded in wresting the nomination, he would have alienated the significant number of Republicans who support Cruz and Trump despite their flaws, and handed the Democrats even more ammunition to use against the GOP in the presidential contest. Hillary Clinton, the likely Democrat nominee, could have endlessly mocked her opponent as a man who didn’t even run for the nomination, skipped all the primaries, and was chosen only because his party couldn’t stand its own candidates. [np_storybar title=”Read & Debate” link=””] Find Full Comment on Facebook [/np_storybar] By removing himself from contention, on the other hand, Ryan positions himself as the obvious favourite when the party looks for a nominee in 2020. If Trump or Cruz goes down to an ignominious defeat in November — as polls and many political veterans predict — there is every chance the party will once again turn to him to unite its warring factions, as it did in handing him the Speakership. His popularity is an indication of how far the party has shifted since the advent of the tea party — or perhaps how desperate it has become. Once a favourite of the extreme right, he’s now viewed as a consensus candidate who can sell himself as a tax-cutting fiscal hawk, while appealing to moderates who see him as more reasonable and pragmatic than the party’s phalanx of hardliners. It’s a long way to 2020, of course. But if he’s demonstrated anything, Ryan has shown an ability to manoeuvre skillfully in a party that does a good impression of a political minefield. National Post KellyMcParland< |
When it comes to food, people eventually make their way back to basics. Heritage vegetables, free-range meats, artisanal cheeses — they’re all examples of what I mean. No matter how modern and convenient our food system has become, it has a hard time delivering a close enough connection to the land for many of us. This dynamic is probably why backyard chicken husbandry is on the rise and, of course, this means an interest in backyard chicken houses of the kind I want to show you here. We’ve kept chickens at our island home since 2002, and there’s one housing idea that we keep coming back to: modularity. A handful of smaller, semi-portable coops is better than one large, permanently anchored house. This is especially true when you’re dealing with a city or suburban backyard. Permanent coops don’t make much sense in places like these, yet the serious drawbacks aren’t obvious until it’s too late. That’s why people keep building the wrong kind of chicken house, only to have to stick to it because they’ve invested so much in the structure. Permanent chicken houses are almost always troublesome and expensive to build. Lack of flexibility means they offer no chance to reduce or expand flock size. Keeping chickens in one place all the time will turn that area of your lawn into a dusty, vegetation-free wasteland. Permanent coops are also difficult to heat with winter sun — an issue that really matters here in Canada. So what’s the solution? Something I designed call a modular coop “community”. One or more smaller, semi-portable backyard chicken barns that can be mixed and matched in different ways. Raise some day-old chicks in one, and use another as a production house for adult birds. Add a third house if you want to separate some birds. The modular coops are solid and surprisingly warm in winter because of the clear, solar roof, yet easily ventilated in summer. Simple to build, this design can be moved to new locations when needed. Individual modules can be pulled out of production for a time to break pest cycles, and they’re easy to clean without standing in poop. My coop design sits on legs that raise the structure off the ground, keeping the wood of the coop well and truly dry and away from the soil. Nothing can rot because of soil contact, as it often does with other coops. Raising the height of a chicken house like this also makes it perfect for winter use in areas that get snow. Although this design looks fancy, it’s really only a 5/8-inch plywood box. Nothing this substantial could be easier to build. The opportunity to collect eggs without opening the chicken door is another advantage of the hinged roof. Simply swivel the top upwards, reach down into whatever nesting box you’re using, then retrieve the eggs. You can also replenish feed and water this way, too. Although hens can get in an out of a very small door, having a large door makes it easier to move feed and water in from the side if you want, and move out manure when it’s time to clean the houses. In my design, nearly one whole side swings outwards, with no lip above the floor level. Manure and bedding is easy to scrape out. There are more details here than I have space for, but you can download free plans for my chicken barn at BaileyLineRoad.com/chickens. As practical as it is to keep backyard chickens, the real attraction is also because these birds are great fun to watch. In a world with too many screens in front of us, it’s refreshing to be entertained by something non-digital for a change. Try it and you’ll understand what they mean by “chicken TV”. Steve Maxwell blends digital and outdoor rural life with his family on Manitoulin Island. Visit him at BaileyLineRoad.com to learn and be entertained. |
SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns' benevolent reputation continues to be cemented as the state is on an 11-year streak of having the most volunteer hours. Those in the state volunteered more service hours than any other state in the nation for the eleventh year in a row, according to the Corporation for National & Community Service. Utah was also named the ‘most charitable state’ by WalletHub for the third straight year. Utah had a 43 percent volunteerism rate, the national and community service corporation said, which was 18 percent higher than the national average of 25 percent. The monetary value of these service hours was estimated to be $3.8 billion, a hefty amount of money saved thanks to Utah residents' generosity. “It is an honor for Utah to once again be recognized as the No. 1 state for volunteerism,” Gov. Gary Herbert said. “The work of our exceptional volunteers reaffirms the greater sense of cooperation and charity that makes our communities strong and saves costs that would otherwise be absorbed by government of the taxpayer.” It is an honor for Utah to once again be recognized as the top state for volunteerism. https://t.co/88qVimxJ9d#utpol — Gov. Gary Herbert (@GovHerbert) November 18, 2016 As perhaps expected, the majority of volunteer hours were donated to religious organizations, while other volunteer hours were directed towards educational purposes and other social or community services. The majority of the service hours were dedicated to tutoring and teaching as well as mentoring youth. Utah - Main Organization Powered by Socrata WalletHub also named Utah the 'most charitable state' for the third year in a row by comparing all 50 states across 13 key metrics and two key dimensions including "Volunteering & Service" and "Charitable Giving". "Our data set ranges from 'volunteer rate' to 'percentage of income donated' to 'percentage of sheltered homeless,'" WalletHub said. Utah averaged a total score of 68.62, over 7 points higher than the second 'most charitable state,' Minnesota. Utah also ranked first overall in "Highest Volunteer Rate," "Highest Percent of Donated Income," Highest Percent of Population Who Claim to Have Donated Time," and "Highest Percent of Population Who Claim to Have Donated Money." It did not, however, break the top five of states with a "Highest Percent of Population Collecting/Distributing Food" and "Most Number of Charities per Capita." Based on their analysis, WalletHub also determined red states to be more charitable than blue states (while states were designated red or blue based on how they voted in the 2016 presidential election), with Utah significantly contributing to this analysis. Last year, Gov. Herbert challenged Utahns to volunteer 10 hours of volunteer work during the next year to boost the volunteer rate from 46 percent to 50 percent. Though Utah continues to be ranked the most charitable state in the nation, this year's ranking showed a drop in volunteers and volunteer hours. "I'm proud of our people and the successes they're having in contributing to this volunteer effort. I'm proud of the fact that we have a culture that lends itself to helping your neighbor," Herbert said last year. "Let's see if we can't lengthen our strides and do better." |
How to make the best meal of the week even better. Editor's note: Each Saturday we bring you a Sunday Brunch recipe. Why on Saturday? So you have time to shop and prepare for tomorrow. Get the Recipe Egg With Sausage-Stuffed Peppers More Eggs Buying tips, techniques, and recipes, no matter how you like them. A quick brunch based on the classic combination of salty sausage and sweet peppers, topped off with a gooey, soft egg yolk. If you're planning a brunch for a group you can prepare the sausage and roast off the peppers the day before, then simply break the egg over them and put them in a preheated oven when your guests arrive. Get the Recipe Egg With Sausage-Stuffed Peppers View Recipe » This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy. |
(Fortune Magazine) -- In October 2003, as the computer world buzzed about what cool new gadget he would introduce next, Apple CEO Steve Jobs - then presiding over the most dramatic corporate turnaround in the history of Silicon Valley - found himself confronting a life-and-death decision. During a routine abdominal scan, doctors had discovered a tumor growing in his pancreas. While a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is often tantamount to a swiftly executed death sentence, a biopsy revealed that Jobs had a rare - and treatable - form of the disease. If the tumor were surgically removed, Jobs' prognosis would be promising: The vast majority of those who underwent the operation survived at least ten years. Yet to the horror of the tiny circle of intimates in whom he'd confided, Jobs was considering not having the surgery at all. A Buddhist and vegetarian, the Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) CEO was skeptical of mainstream medicine. Jobs decided to employ alternative methods to treat his pancreatic cancer, hoping to avoid the operation through a special diet - a course of action that hasn't been disclosed until now. For nine months Jobs pursued this approach, as Apple's board of directors and executive team secretly agonized over the situation - and whether the company needed to disclose anything about its CEO's health to investors. Jobs, after all, was widely viewed as Apple's irreplaceable leader, personally responsible for everything from the creation of the iPod to the selection of the chef in the company cafeteria. News of his illness, especially with an uncertain outcome, would surely send the company's stock reeling. The board decided to say nothing, after seeking advice on its obligations from two outside lawyers, who agreed it could remain silent. In the end, Jobs had the surgery, on Saturday, July 31, 2004, at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, near his home. The revelation of his brush with death remained - like everything involving Jobs and Apple - a tightly controlled affair. In fact, nary a word got out until Jobs' tumor had been removed. The next day, in an upbeat e-mail to employees later released to the press, he announced that he had faced a life-threatening illness and was "cured." Jobs assured everyone that he'd be back on the job in September. When trading resumed a day after the announcement, Apple shares fell just 2.4%. Apple entertained no further questions about Jobs' health, citing the CEO's need for privacy. No one learned just how long Jobs had been sick - or that he had contemplated not having the surgery at all. "It was very traumatic for all of us," recalls one of those in whom Jobs confided, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the topic's sensitivity. "We all really care about Steve, and it was a serious risk for the company as well. It was a very emotional and very difficult time. This was one page in the adventure." *** The Steve Jobs adventure: By now it's one of the most remarkable stories in business. When Jobs returned in 1997 to Apple - then facing its own near-death experience - he arrived with a tarnished legend. He was, of course, the charismatic boy wonder who at age 21 had co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in his parents' garage back in 1976. He was worth $200 million by 25, made the cover of Time magazine at 26, and was thrown out of the company at age 30, in 1985. What he's accomplished in the past decade has not just restored Jobs to the Silicon Valley pantheon but elevated him to the status of superstar. On the brink of bankruptcy when he returned, Apple now has a market value of $108 billion - more than Merck, McDonald's, or Goldman Sachs; $1,000 invested in Apple shares on the day Jobs took over is worth about $36,000 today. And it isn't just Apple and its investors that have benefited from Jobs' executive skill. Pixar, where he served simultaneously as CEO, has come to dominate the animation business, churning out megahits like "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles" that prompted Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) to buy the company in 2006 for $7.5 billion. (Jobs now owns 7.3% of Disney, worth $4.6 billion, in addition to Apple stock worth $682 million.) No less an authority than Jack Welch has called Jobs "the most successful CEO today." Jobs, at age 53, has even become a global cultural guru, shaping what entertainment we watch, how we listen to music, and what sort of objects we use to work and play. He has changed the game for entire industries. Jobs is also among the most controversial figures in business. He oozes smug superiority, lacing his public comments with ridicule of Apple's rivals, which he casts as mediocre, evil, and - worst of all - lacking taste. No CEO is more willful, or more brazen, at making his own rules, in ways both good and bad. And no CEO is more personally identified with - and controlling of - the day-to-day affairs of his business. Even now, Jobs views himself less as a mogul than as an artist, Apple's creator-in-chief. He has listed himself as "co-inventor" on 103 separate Apple patents, everything from the user interface for the iPod to the support system for the glass staircase used in Apple's dazzling retail stores. Jobs' product introductions are semiannual events, complete with packed houses, breathless blog dispatches, and celebrity appearances - two hours of marketing performance art. Who else could have the nation panting in anticipation of a cellphone? After watching Jobs unveil the iPhone, Alan Kay, a personal computer pioneer who has worked with him, put it this way: "Steve understands desire." Jobs' personal abuses are also legend: He parks his Mercedes in handicapped spaces, periodically reduces subordinates to tears, and fires employees in angry tantrums. Yet many of his top deputies at Apple have worked with him for years, and even some of those who have departed say that although it's often brutal and Jobs hogs the credit, they've never done better work. How Jobs pulls all this off - how this bundle of conflicting behaviors can coexist, to spectacular effect, in a single human being - remains a puzzle, even though more than a dozen books have been written about him. Jobs is notoriously secretive and controlling when it comes to his relationship with the press, and he tries to stifle stories that haven't received his blessing with threats and cajolery. This story is one of them. While Jobs agreed to be interviewed by my colleague Betsy Morris on the subject of Apple's selection as America's Most Admired Company (see What Makes Apple Golden), he refused to comment for this story, which had been in the works for months. Dozens of people who work or have worked with Jobs did agree to extensive interviews, most insisting on not being named (even if praising him) for fear of incurring his anger. History, of course, is littered with tales of combustible geniuses. What's astounding is how well Jobs has performed atop a large public company - by its nature a collaborative enterprise. Pondering this issue, Stanford management science professor Robert Sutton discussed Jobs in his bestselling 2007 book, "The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't." "As soon as people heard I was writing a book on assholes, they would come up to me and start telling a Steve Jobs story," says Sutton. "The degree to which people in Silicon Valley are afraid of Jobs is unbelievable. He made people feel terrible; he made people cry. But he was almost always right, and even when he was wrong, it was so creative it was still amazing." Says Palo Alto venture capitalist Jean-Louis Gasse, a former Apple executive who once worked with Jobs: "Democracies don't make great products. You need a competent tyrant." Fair enough. But it is also important to understand the ways in which Jobs' attempts to manipulate his world pose risks for Apple - and thus its investors. They are evident in his difficult partnerships with music and television companies, which chafe at his insistence on setting uniform prices for their songs and videos on iTunes; in the real story of his battle with cancer; and in his deployment of stock options at Apple and Pixar, which exposed both companies to backdating scandals. Jobs himself judges the world in binary terms. Products, in his view, are "insanely great" or "shit." One is facing death from cancer or "cured." Subordinates are geniuses or "bozos," indispensable or no longer relevant. People in his orbit regularly flip, at a second's notice, from one category to another, in what early Apple colleagues came to call his "hero-shithead roller coaster." Jobs' own story is far more complex. And in the 26 years that Fortune has been ranking America's Most Admired Companies, never has the corporation at the head of the list so closely resembled a one-man show. Last year Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster opined that if Jobs were forced out as a result of the backdating scandal, Apple's shares would drop 20% overnight. At the company's current market cap, that would make him Apple's $22 billion man. "Steve Jobs running the company from jail would be better for the stock price than Steve Jobs not being CEO," muses Sutton. Jobs is hardly likely to be forced out, as we shall see. On the contrary, he's likely to continue taking Apple - and its customers, competitors, and investors - on a wild ride to places they couldn't have imagined. It may be instructive, then, to consider what drives the Steve Jobs adventure. |
These are emails between me, Rhiannon Fionn, and Jeff Brooks, a PR person for Duke Energy; copied and pasted without editing. If you are in the N.C. media and were aware of this press conference, were told there would be future events for N.C. media, etc. please let me know. Thank you. (messages in reverse order, as you would read them in your inbox) ***** Which other reporters have you told about tomorrow’s tour in Charlotte and Raleigh? Some of the reporters you’ve invited to this “local” media day are more than 50 percent further away from the plant than both Charlotte and Raleigh are – which would make those N.C. cities more “local” than the others. Help me understand. I would like to tour every plant in the state, but especially Dan River, Riverbend, Allen, and Marshall. Let me know what we need to do to make that happen. Thank you for the offer, Jeff. Rhiannon Fionn 704-577-0817 —–Original Message—– From: Brooks, Jeff (Corp Comm) [mailto:JeffCorpComm.Brooks@duke-energy.com] Sent: Monday, September 21, 2015 1:25 PM To: Rhiannon Fionn <rhi@coalashchronicles.com> Subject: RE: Media invitation - Dan River coal ash site media tour and update - MEDIA ONLY Hey Rhiannon, Thanks for the response. I appreciate your interest in the site and will certainly work to find a way to get you out there in the next few weeks. But this tour was intended to be for local news media in the Eden and Danville markets to make them aware of the upcoming work at the site, so plant neighbors will be aware that it is starting. That was why we sent the invitation to local media only (am guessing someone forwarded it to you?). That being said, I have had a couple other outlets in the Raleigh and Charlotte areas ask about a tour and I am happy to arrange one in the next 2-3 weeks. But I am a little resource constrained for tomorrow (vehicles, staff, etc), and have a full local group coming. I’ve already told some of the outside-of-region outlets (Charlotte and Raleigh - who cover us on lots of other issues too) they will need to wait for the later tour. So I can’t really make an exception if I have told them to wait. Really sorry for the inconvenience, but again, that was why we just went with inviting local media markets this time. That is also consistent with how I have done previous tours of our work sites around the plant. Am very happy to work something out with you in the next 2-3 weeks (early October) and have you join our super-regional tour. And if you would rather tour a site closer to Charlotte, we might be able to work that out. I am happy to check for you. Thanks and have a great week! Jeff —–Original Message—– From: Rhiannon Fionn [mailto:rhi@coalashchronicles.com] Sent: Monday, September 21, 2015 1:08 PM To: Brooks, Jeff (Corp Comm) Subject: RE: Media invitation - Dan River coal ash site media tour and update - MEDIA ONLY *** Exercise caution. This is an EXTERNAL email. DO NOT open attachments or click links from unknown senders or unexpected email. *** Presently, I’m working on a documentary film, yes, for which the Dan River spill is an important part. I’m also currently working on a cover story about coal ash for Creative Loafing (Charlotte). Are you saying that I’m not welcomed to join this tour? That there will be another tour for Charlotte media (sounds a little iffy)? If so, I wonder if it’ll be in time for the story I’m working on for CL … which I believe is important since Duke Energy is headquartered in Charlotte, the state’s largest city, etc. Please let me know, because I’ve rearranged my schedule to be in Eden tomorrow. Thanks, Rhiannon Fionn 704-577-0817 —–Original Message—– From: Brooks, Jeff (Corp Comm) [mailto:JeffCorpComm.Brooks@duke-energy.com] Sent: Monday, September 21, 2015 8:46 AM To: Rhiannon Fionn <rhi@coalashchronicles.com> Subject: RE: Media invitation - Dan River coal ash site media tour and update - MEDIA ONLY Hi Rhiannon, Hope you are doing well and had a nice weekend. Thanks for the reply. Forgive my asking, but remind me again which local media outlet you are representing. It’s been a bit since I have done anything with the local Dan River media and my memory is a bit crowded these days! :) I know you are working on your documentary, but couldn’t recall your local media affiliation. I have to limit this tour for capacity reasons and availability of my experts this week to one tour for TV and print media from the Dan River Basin area. Unfortunately, I was not able to offer this one, or a second tour the same day to Charlotte and Triangle media, but may do so in coming weeks. Really just trying to get the word out to plant neighbors this week about work beginning at the site. So if you are representing a local outlet, that is perfect! Just wanted to check given the limited size of this tour and my need to prioritize for local media this time. Thanks so much! Jeff —–Original Message—– From: Rhiannon Fionn [mailto:rhi@coalashchronicles.com] Sent: Friday, September 18, 2015 1:39 PM To: Brooks, Jeff (Corp Comm) Subject: FW: Media invitation - Dan River coal ash site media tour and update - MEDIA ONLY *** Exercise caution. This is an EXTERNAL email. DO NOT open attachments or click links from unknown senders or unexpected email. *** Thank you for the invitation, Jeff. I’ll be there. Rhiannon Fionn (704) 577-0817 rhi@coalashchronicles.com —–Original Message—– From: Brooks, Jeff (Corp Comm) [JeffCorpComm.Brooks@duke-energy.com] Sent: Friday, September 18, 2015 12:28 PM Subject: Media invitation - Dan River coal ash site media tour and update - MEDIA ONLY Invitation for media only - RSVP required Media invitation What: Tour of Dan River coal ash operations and excavation plans Where: Dan River Steam Station - 524 S. Edgewood Rd., Eden, N.C. When: Tuesday, Sept. 22 | 1 p.m. Media Contact: Jeff Brooks | jeff.brooks2@duke.energy.com<mailto:jeff.brooks2@duke.energy.com> | 919-219-9215 Details: Duke Energy would like to invite a representative of your media outlet to tour coal ash operations at the Dan River Steam Station next Tuesday, Sept. 22. The tour will provide visuals and discussion of ash basins on site, Dan River plant (currently being demolished), excavation operations on site, rail spur and rail loading stations for coal ash transport to the Maplewood Landfill in Amelia County, VA, dust control practices, and construction plans for a fully lined landfill on plant property. Duke Energy Carolinas and contractor Waste Management are expected to begin work in coming weeks to excavate and transport coal ash by rail to the Maplewood Landfill in Amelia County, VA.. This transport is phase one of operations to permanently store coal ash from the Dan River Station ash basins in fully lined solutions. As transport of ash is being conducted, Duke Energy Carolinas will also be constructing a fully lined landfill on the Dan River plant property to store remaining ash. That project is still in the planning phase, but the tour will illustrate where that landfill will be constructed. I hope that you will consider joining us for the media tour on Tuesday at 1 p.m. I expect the tour will last about 90 minutes, depending on questions. I (Jeff Brooks) will be available to do interviews, and we will have experts on hand to provide background information on the project. PLEASE RSVP to me if you plan to attend the tour. I will need to know names of both reporter and camera person if possible for our security list. When you arrive at the plant, please check in with the security guard and they will direct you where to park. I will meet you in the parking area. IMPORTANT - This is an active work site. For safety reasons, you must wear proper attire to attend the tour. Please wear closed-toe shoes (steel-toed is ideal, but closed toe required) and long pants (no shorts). We will be shuttling you around the site, and if you are not properly attired you may have to remain in the van. Hope you can join us for the tour on Tuesday. Thanks, Jeff ***** UPDATE: Heard from a well-known environmental journalist in Charlotte who also covers coal ash; they weren’t aware of this media event. Answering some follow up questions, the same journalist wrote: No strong thoughts. These are photo opps intended to show Duke taking action on coal ash, so I don’t feel particularly insulted about not being invited to Eden. UPDATE 2: Hearing from environmental groups that they were also not invited – not locals, not state orgs, not nationals. (Some laughter about Duke Energy being “a little resource constrained.”) UPDATE 3: (emphasis added; messages in order sent/ received) —–Original Message—– From: Brooks, Jeff (Corp Comm) [mailto:JeffCorpComm.Brooks@duke-energy.com] Sent: Monday, September 21, 2015 2:56 PM To: Rhiannon Fionn <rhi@coalashchronicles.com> Subject: RE: Media invitation - Dan River coal ash site media tour and update - MEDIA ONLY I did not invite any Charlotte or Raleigh media, or trade media on this particular tour. Only media that broadcast into the Eden and Danville markets. I typically divide my tours into “local” media, which for this plant are Greensboro, Danville, Eden and Lynchburg in one group, and then super-regional media who regularly cover us. Their interests are different, and quite honestly, my intent is to make sure the people who live closest to the plant get the opportunity to have a dedicated time with our experts. A professional courtesy that we also extend around our other plants, when appropriate. Not sure who forwarded the invitation to you, or where you are specifically referencing, but if they were outside of that radius they did not receive the invitation from me. Again, apologies if this is inconvenient for you. But my intent is fairness to the many media outlets we work with on a regular basis. Thanks! Jeff —–Original Message—– From: Rhiannon Fionn [mailto:rhi@coalashchronicles.com] Sent: Monday, September 21, 2015 3:50 PM To: ‘Brooks, Jeff (Corp Comm)’ <JeffCorpComm.Brooks@duke-energy.com> Subject: RE: Media invitation - Dan River coal ash site media tour and update - MEDIA ONLY It’s not about inconvenience, Jeff. Dan River is the only one of your plants that has experienced the country’s third-largest coal-ash spill. It’s well-known that I am working on a documentary film about coal ash in America. Duke Energy won’t sit down for an interview with me for the film, and now it appears that the company doesn’t want me on follow-up media tours of that same plant. Why is that? What’s the harm in letting me attend a photo op? (And the journalist who invited me, who received one of your invites, works for a newspaper 150 miles from Eden, N.C.) You had mentioned that you had heard from reporters in other N.C. cities about coal-ash tours, so I’m wondering who that was – I’m asking journalists In Charlotte if they knew anything about this event at your Dan River plant and they’re saying they hadn’t heard about it, and you’re now saying you didn’t invite them. Did you mean that they’re asking for tours of plants near their cities? P.S. They don’t care if I attend the Dan River media event without them, so says them. I would definitely like to participate in future coal-ash media events at any and all plants in North Carolina. You offered, I’m saying yes; please let me know what the next steps are. Thanks. Rhiannon Fionn 704-577-0817 —–Original Message—– From: Brooks, Jeff (Corp Comm) [mailto:JeffCorpComm.Brooks@duke-energy.com] Sent: Monday, September 21, 2015 7:21 PM To: Rhiannon Fionn <rhi@coalashchronicles.com> Subject: RE: Media invitation - Dan River coal ash site media tour and update - MEDIA ONLY Appreciate all your questions, Rhiannon, but please don’t read more into this than is the case. I had one time available to do tours tomorrow and limited resources to conduct the tour. The intention of this particular tour, as I said before, was to give local media that serve Eden and Danville an opportunity to come tour the site first since our plant neighbors receive their news from those outlets and because they are the “hometown” news outlets for those communities. That’s all. We have worked very hard to provide opportunities for local news media to tour plant sites in their markets and share the progress we are making to close ash basins across our system with their viewers. Sometimes, as is the case with plants like Dan River, we may have interest outside the local market to visit the site as well. When possible, we try to offer access for those groups, often in a separate tour because they often want to talk about other sites and topics in their respective markets as well (which usually require additional subject matter experts and resources) or sometimes just because combining them with the local groups makes the tour unmanageable and is subsequently not as helpful for the media who attend. Those were the reasons we arranged the tour as we did. I might also add that we typically only grant media tours to actual news media, but have sometimes made exceptions and allowed documentarians to visit a site, as was the case when we hosted you at the site soon after the release at Dan River. Now, as I have mentioned before, I have had casual interest expressed to me in recent months by a few reporters around the state to visit the site if we were offering a tour. Usually these are folks that have covered coal ash topics or other topics in their respective markets. I will gauge that interest with those reporters and work to arrange another opportunity for those regional media outlets to visit the site. I can let you know when that tour will be and you can join them if your schedule permits. Most likely 2-3 weeks from now. For now, thanks for your interest in visiting our plant, and I will be in touch very soon once we have a date locked in. Thanks, Jeff —–Original Message—– From: Rhiannon Fionn [mailto:rhi@coalashchronicles.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2015 7:11 AM To: 'Brooks, Jeff (Corp Comm)’ <JeffCorpComm.Brooks@duke-energy.com> Subject: RE: Media invitation - Dan River coal ash site media tour and update - MEDIA ONLY “ … we typically only grant media tours to actual news media … ” I’m an award-winning journalist who is a member of multiple media organizations. Just this month I was a speaker at the Greater Charlotte Society of Professional Journalists, a group that I helped found. I’m also a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists. And on and on and on. I will expect those invitations, not as a favor from you or Duke Energy but because I am part of the actual news media who has been covering coal ash waste for more than six years. Rhiannon Fionn 704-577-0817 |
Hollywood celebrities took to Twitter Thursday to weigh in on the airstrikes in Syria authorized by U.S. President Donald Trump in retaliation for an earlier chemical weapon attack by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. While many of those celebrities who reacted to the strikes condemned the president and called him a “hypocrite,” a number of stars reacted with both shock and sadness. Actress Kerry Washington wrote simply that she was “heartbroken,” while actress Lena Dunham turned to prayer. Below is a sampling of Hollywood’s reaction to the American airstrikes in Syria. 🚽Bombing Syria Will,🙏🏻 Stop Assad Gassing His Ppl,BUT🚽Has NO Strategy,Or,Diplomacy‼️ TURKEY & RUSSIA WINNERS‼️🚽IN HORNETS NEST,OVER HIS👨 — Cher (@cher) April 7, 2017 These two damaged creeps are committing mass murder and they shouldn't even be allowed to own fish as pets. pic.twitter.com/BZFGCNxXNh — Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) April 7, 2017 Hadnt seen the news. The only thing to tweet right now is a prayer for peace and safety. — Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) April 7, 2017 If you support bombing Syria because they were attacked with Chemical Weapons, but u supported banning Syrian refugees ur a fuckin hypocrite — DL Hughley (@RealDLHughley) April 7, 2017 It's sad that politicians can't find money for education, clean water or healthcare but they can spend millions to "send a message to Syria" — Trevor Noah (@Trevornoah) April 7, 2017 Trump on Syria: "No child of God should suffer such horror." BUT NO WAY, NOPE. THEY CAN'T COME HERE. — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 7, 2017 Moved enough by innocent casualties to excuse bombing them, but not enough to accept refugees. War is a game of hypocrisy & greed #Syria — Lauren Jauregui (@LaurenJauregui) April 7, 2017 I just wish I could trust that this President is competent — Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) April 7, 2017 he thinks he is on the apprentice – with his fake set in florida – like qvc – like palin had in alaska – a taped message w/bad audio – WTHF — ROSIE (@Rosie) April 7, 2017 Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.