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Kentucky’s 75-70 loss at Auburn (No. 162 in KenPom.com’s rankings) -- in basketball, not football -- on Saturday confirmed three things. Kareem Canty (26 points) deserves more attention. Kentucky ain’t Kentucky right now. We have more questions than answers in college basketball at this point in the season. A year ago, in Week 10, we knew more. Arizona, led by Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, looked like the top dog in the Pac-12. Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker anchored a Wisconsin team that played like a Final Four squad. We realized that Kentucky’s pursuit of perfection was no longer a fantasy. And Gonzaga, Kansas, Villanova and Duke were all strong. This season, in Week 10, little seems certain. North Carolina overcame a sloppy first half to top NC State on Saturday. But Clemson’s win over Miami -- its third consecutive victory over a ranked team -- and Notre Dame’s victory at Duke made us question Miami’s and Duke’s respective standings in the ACC. Providence lost at home to Seton Hall. And the Kentucky Wildcats lost a basketball game to the same Auburn Tigers who had lost five of their previous six games entering Saturday's matchup. Please save that “Everyone wants to beat Kentucky so they bring their A game” stuff. Maybe that’s true. There was time when everyone couldn’t beat Kentucky even if they brought their A games. Ben Simmons compiled 16 points and 18 rebounds to help LSU ease past Arkansas to 4-1 in the SEC. Derick E. Hingle/USA TODAY Sports We’ll try to sort out the rest of Saturday’s action below: Best performance by a guy who might win the Wooden Award: Buddy Hield scored 17 points (5-for-11, 4-for-8 from the 3-point line), recorded four steals (including a key theft to seal the victory), four rebounds and two blocks in Oklahoma’s 70-68 win over West Virginia. Ben Simmons tallied 16 points and 18 rebounds in LSU’s 76-74 victory over Arkansas. We’ll give the edge to Hield here based on the circumstances and competition. Worst sportsmanship of the night: Less than 24 hours after Monmouth and Iona tussled after their matchup, Northern Illinois’ Travon Baker started a fight when he hammered Western Michigan’s Tucker Haymond on a fast break. It was a dangerous play that the MAC should review. Baker should be suspended. Best game: Oklahoma and West Virginia did not disappoint. Yes, the Mountaineers missed their chance to become the sixth team in college basketball history to defeat the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country in consecutive games. But they were tough on the road against an Oklahoma team that will probably secure the No. 1 ranking Monday. West Virginia’s pressure forced 18 Oklahoma turnovers but also resulted in 32 free throws for the Sooners, who made 27. This was a great game. Another thriller in the Big 12. Best week for a fan base: No, Clemson didn’t win football's national title game Monday, but the young Tigers participated in one of the better championship games in recent history. Meanwhile, Clemson basketball started a run of three consecutive wins over ranked teams, capped by the team’s victory over Miami on Saturday. Louisville, Duke and Miami all fell in Greenville, South Carolina, this week. Clemson fans have had a lot to smile about. Biggest Problem for Elite Teams on Saturday: Foul trouble affected some of the most significant games of the weekend. Brandon Ingram drew his third foul early in the second half of Duke’s home loss to Notre Dame. Kris Dunn fouled out late during Providence’s 81-72 home loss to Seton Hall. And West Virginia committed 27 fouls against Oklahoma. Devin Williams missed a significant portion of the second half due to foul trouble. Most Clutch Performance: Khadeem Lattin's late tip-in to give Oklahoma a 70-68 advantage in the final seconds was a crucial moment for the young talent. But Lester Medford's 3-pointer at the buzzer of Baylor’s 63-60 win over Texas Tech should be considered, too. Best Comeback: North Carolina forward Kennedy Meeks missed seven games with a knee injury and saw limited action against Syracuse last weekend. But he logged 30 quality minutes in the Tar Heels' 67-55 win over NC State on Saturday, while recording 23 points and six rebounds. |
KYIV, Ukraine — Men respect them, women feed them, and all the young ladies want their photos taken with them. They’re Kyiv’s masked and armored “self-defense” forces, and they’re the most popular authority around town. After police and security forces largely withdrew from the capital last week, these volunteer civilians — helmeted heroes to protesters, their erstwhile saviors from sniper fire and police brutality — were left in charge of keeping the peace. Wielding baseball bats and clad in bulletproof vests, they still man the battle-scarred barricades around Independence Square. But now they’re also guarding parliament and other parts of the capital, sometimes in tandem with regular police. Protesters’ deep distrust of law-enforcement agencies means these volunteers have a popular mandate. But with a post-Yanukovych government rushing to restore political order, it remains unclear how long they’ll stay on the streets or what their future will be. Some believe they’re crucial for the effort to bring stability to a city rocked by unprecedented violence and political upheaval, especially while the new interior minister looks to reassert control over a notoriously corrupt police force. “The police force needs a compete overhaul,” says Serhiy Taran, of the International Democracy Institute in Kyiv. “But you can’t do that overnight because there would be chaos.” On the Maidan, as Independence Square is known, they’re far more popular than most of the opposition politicians who helped oust President Viktor Yanukovych. Every day, new recruits are signing up in droves to join one of the estimated 40 companies, some of which are regional detachments from other parts of Ukraine. Meanwhile, new units are popping up across the country and forming joint patrols with police in their regions. Andriy Ben, a deputy company commander in central Kyiv, says he hopes the post-revolutionary government can move swiftly to restore the decimated confidence in the police. Until then, he says, his company — or “sotnya,” loosely translated as “hundred” — will remain on duty. “People won’t accept a new police force quickly, so we have to help it rebuild its authority and plan its new functions.” Part of the mission, he added, is providing protection for police officers themselves. “They’re afraid of facing vigilante justice and need protection,” says Ben, who holds two university degrees. That’s still a very real factor, he says, because “people are still acting on emotions.” While the city has escaped the sort of looting and post-revolutionary violence common in many other uprisings, there’s seething anger at the old guard and its hired thugs who assisted in crackdowns. Members of Yanukovych’s Party of Regions have been harassed, and the leader of Ukraine’s Communist Party, which often allied itself with the Party of Regions, claims his son’s lavish residence outside Kyiv was looted and set ablaze. Meanwhile, a video published Monday shows members of a self-defense unit furiously humiliating a traffic cop into handing over his documents after he allegedly left his post to buy ice cream. “I’m armed — I’m warning you for the final time,” the fighter can be heard yelling. As parliament voted to impeach Yanukovych on Saturday, members of one unit angrily forced a group of suspected marauders — baby-faced young men — onto their knees and made them shout repentance outside the legislature. It’s far from clear when the police will reassert control. On Tuesday, local media reported that the acting interior minister’s recent arrest warrant for Yanukovych never reached law enforcement organs or the state border guards. And while parliament adopted a resolution to send Yanukovych to the International Criminal Court on charges of mass murder, the ousted president’s trail has gone cold. Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst in Kyiv, says there’s little alternative to including some elements of the self-defense forces into a revamped interior ministry, now led by an experienced bureaucrat from the opposition Fatherland Party, or shuffling them into other political positions. “If you leave the self-defense forces as they are, it would amount to parallel power structure and pose a potential risk to the normal functioning of a new government,” he says. Some of the movement’s trusted leaders already have ties to formal political parties, he adds. On Monday, a senior commander was tapped to head the National Bank of Ukraine, and another may have a shot at the Kyiv mayoralty or a cabinet post. Both are current parliamentarians from Fatherland. Further hope of a reigning peace emerged on Tuesday, when the influential radical group Right Sector — which operates under the self-defense forces but has stirred fears about its militancy — condemned any talk of revenge against the family members of formerly pro-regime police officers. “We, the revolution-empowered Ukrainian society, must demonstrate that we’ve taken a step up in moral terms,” it said in a statement. More from GlobalPost: What happens next in Ukraine? (VIDEO) Some are looking to the 2004 Orange Revolution for lessons about what not to do. That movement to overthrow a corrupt administration first led to a democratic breakthrough before ending in infighting among its leaders. Thirty-three-year-old Katya Ivanova, who was visiting a shrine to those killed in the clashes last week, said many back then had assumed politicians would take care of the rest once people left the streets. “They don’t have those illusions anymore,” she said. “People understand very well that they’ll have to do everything themselves, to take responsibility for themselves, for Ukraine, for their own city and streets.” |
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared on Monday's "Larry King Live" to discuss his organization's massive leak of classified logs from the Iraq War. During the interview, King and Assange had a testy exchange about Assange's walking out of a CNN interview over the weekend, with Assange telling King he should be "ashamed" for bringing the incident up. On Saturday, Assange walked out of an interview in London with CNN reporter Atika Shubert after she began asking him about his personal legal issues. Assange is being investigated in Sweden on charges of sexual abuse that were first dropped, and then reopened. Assange took offense with Shubert's line of questioning, calling it "disgusting" and accusing Shubert of not wanting to discuss the issues raised by the documents released by WikiLeaks, and walked out. On Monday, King did discuss those issues with Assange and with Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers. Assange began by talking about some of the details revealed by the documents, including tens of thousands of previously unreported civilian casualties and rampant abuse and torture of detainees. WATCH: Towards the end of the show, however, King brought up the earlier interview, playing the tape of Assange walking out. King appeared to be initially confused by the tape, asking if Assange had walked out of his own show as well. "Well, I didn't walk off, Larry, just then," Assange replied. "But perhaps, I should...those documents cover 109,000 deaths. That's a serious matter and it's extraordinarily disrespectful to those people to start conflating the first revelation of that material with any sort of tabloid journalism." WATCH: King hit back, criticizing Assange for dismissing the questions into his personal life. "She was asking about the deliverer of the information, a question about the deliverer of the information...what was wrong with that?" he asked. "...It is not right to bring in sensational and, in fact, false claims, a relatively trivial matter compared to the deaths of 109,000 people," Assange said. "And it is -- I mean, CNN should be ashamed of doing that. And you, Larry, you actually should be ashamed, as well." |
FOR SALE: The ghost of Les Graham, a man who died in the 1920s, is for sale on TradeMe. The invisible hand of the market is driving up the price of a pair of ghosts for sale on auction website Trademe. Christchurch-based seller Melvin S is selling two vials he says contain spirits exorcised from his house and bottled. So far, bidding had reached $410, and incited hundreds of comments, with advice ranging from how to get rid of the spirits for good, to the ethics of selling someone else's captured immortal essence. Before the exorcism, the seller said he and his partner were plagued by noises, strange "vibes" and the mysterious flicking of switches. After contacting spiritualist churches, they were referred to an exorcist, who put the ghosts in the bottles. Since having their troublesome housemates removed last July, the couple had experienced no further disruptions, he said. The two spirits - an "old man" thought to be Les Graham, who lived in the house during the 1920s, and a powerful and disruptive "little girl", who apparently turned up after the couple experimented with a ouija board - were kept sleeping through holy water in the vials with them. The seller had received, and responded to, a number of comments from sceptics, Christians, and others accusing him of charlatanism. To one poster, who called him "absolutely sick" for selling the spirits of someone's family members, he replied "its no more sick than thinking Jesus watches us from the clouds and will return as the light lol." To another doubter, he said: "all i have to go on is that the activity in my house has stopped now that they are bottled. :)" Melvin S said he had tried to contact family of the old man ghost, but had so far been unsuccessful. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the SPCA, minus the expenses incurred by the exorcist's visit. |
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for “global action” to stop North Korea after the country claimed they successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Tuesday. Tillerson condemned the missile launch in a statement, saying that “testing an ICBM represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world.” “Global action is required to stop a global threat,” Tillerson said. “Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime.” ADVERTISEMENT Tillerson called on all countries to show North Korea that there are “consequences” for their nuclear weapons test and that the U.S. will bring up the actions before the U.N. Security Council and seek harsher measures against the country. “As we, along with other, have made clear, we will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korean,” Tillerson said. The Trump administration has taken a hard line against North Korea in recent months, condemning all missile tests and treating to levy harsher sanctions across the nation. Trump said last week that U.S. “patience is over” with North Korea and called for an international push to end the nation’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. |
Woodberry Forest four-star quarterback Lindell Stone committed to Virginia on Monday. Stone is commit No. 4 for Virginia in 2017. “It was certainly the right fit for me,” Stone told 247Sports. He chose the Cavaliers over offers from the likes of Cincinnati, Indiana, Maryland, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Temple, Wake Forest and West Virginia. “The new coaches and school itself, everything seemed to fall in place really well. I’m real familiar with the school, it’s one of the top schools in the country and playing in the ACC and being close to my second home Woodberry Forest is big. I felt comfortable with the new coaches and they’ll be able to compete in the ACC these upcoming years.” 247Sports ranks the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Stone as the nation’s No. 9 pro-style passer and No. 12 recruit in the state of Virginia. He is commit No. 4 for UVA in the 2017 class. As a junior Stone threw for 3,494 yards and 39 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. He gave new coach Bronco Mendenhall and the staff the good word in the afternoon. “They were really excited,” Stone said. “They were in their staff meeting this morning and I got to talk to Coach Mendenhall and the whole staff and it was exciting to see how pumped up they are to get their first full class started.” Steve Wiltfong is the Director of Recruiting for 247Sports. You can follow him on Twitter here. |
We broke down the early-season American League schedules Saturday; today we unveil Part 2 of our ranking: National League schedules. These are ranked from toughest to easiest, and they reflect how remarkably polarized the NL will be, with a lot of teams expected to be really good and a lot of teams expected to really struggle. 1. Atlanta Braves Home cookin':Nineteen of their first 41 games are at home. Games against teams with a record of .500 or better in 2015: 28 of 41 games. Notable: Atlanta is rebuilding and everybody knows it, but the first nails might be driven into their 2016 season in the first six weeks because of how many great teams they play. Their first nine games are against the Nationals and Cardinals, and by mid-May, they'll also have three series against the World Series combatants, the Mets and Royals, and they also face the Dodgers, Cubs, Pirates and Diamondbacks. If they are buried early, it actually won't be a bad thing for the front office, which can quickly turn its focus to marketing their veterans -- shortstop Erick Aybar, outfielder Ender Inciarte and maybe others -- for more prospects. Last year, they overachieved early, and it probably complicated some of their decision-making. 2. San Diego Padres Home cookin': Twenty-five of their first 44 games are at home. Games against teams with a record of .500 or better in 2015: 28 of their first 44. Notable: They haven't taken it as far as some other teams, though the Padres have formally acknowledged that they're rebuilding; given the structure of their schedule, they'll probably find out who they are on the field either way. Eighteen of San Diego's first 44 games are against the Dodgers or Giants. Eighteen of 44. |
Ever since Pokémon Go was launched in 2016, there have been stories about these virtual creatures popping up in strange places. Sometimes, in places where they really shouldn’t be… at Holocaust museums, or in the uncleared minefields of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Well, now it seems you can also catch pokémon at the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident: the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine. The Bohemian Blog recently published a long report about hunting for pokémon in Chernobyl, with screenshots taken in and around the Exclusion Zone. Apparently there are plenty of playable locations (gyms and pokéstops, for those who speak the language) around the town of Chernobyl itself – a settlement inside the slightly less dangerous ‘30km Zone.’ Today the town has around 700 inhabitants, and Pokémon Go works the same here as it would anywhere else. The local Lenin statue even features as an in-game location. You won’t find any pokémon near the reactors, though. There are no pokéstops, no gyms, and no creatures appearing inside the most dangerous area of Chernobyl. There’s nothing at Reactor 4, and no monsters to catch in the abandoned city of Pripyat either. Check out these pictures to see the places around Chernobyl where pokémon hang out… There are more unusual pokémon locations over at The Bohemian Blog… including the abandoned communist monuments in Bulgaria that now feature as playable locations in Pokémon Go. So what do you think? Is it a good idea to go looking for digital monsters in Chernobyl? Or should the game’s creators be a bit more careful about choosing where the game can and cannot be played? |
George Soros The so-called leaderless Occupy movement has just been caught red-handed operating what appears to be a nerve center staffed by professional agitators deeply tied to groups funded by billionaire activist George Soros. The groups, most prominent among them being the Tides Center, have been involved with Occupy since the anti-Wall Street movement’s inception. The radical connections have been largely missed by the general public. CNN, the only news media outlet to receive exclusive access to Occupy’s alleged headquarters, did not fully identify the activists found running it. Last week, CNN ran a piece titled “Exclusive: Inside the offices of Occupy Wall Street.” Here’s the rundown on Obama’s ties to “communists, socialists and other anti-American extremists” – all in “The Manchurian President” – Autographed! The article and accompanying video purport to depict “a few dozen Occupy Wall Street organizers” who “show up to work every day at an office building in the heart of Manhattan’s Financial District.” CNN surmised “the office space appears to be the movement’s nerve center,” a notion denied by Occupy leaders interviewed by the news network. Continued the piece: “But the volunteers who plan future actions, network with other Occupy protests and deal with logistical issues insisted the location is not Occupy Wall Street’s headquarters.” The news network maintained it visited Occupy’s nerve center. CNN reported the Occupy office boasts a finance committee that manages expenses and donations; a communications group that disseminates information agreed upon by consensus and a housing group to make sleeping arrangements for protesters. CNN quoted activist Han Shan, identifying him only as “a member of Occupy Wall Street’s press relations and direct-action working groups.” “This is just an office space that a handful of people have tried to make a resource for the Occupy Wall Street movement,” Shan stated. “Everybody is looking around trying to figure out where the heck the headquarters is, and the truth of the matter is this movement is bigger than any piece of geography, than any piece of real estate, than any square block.” Shan’s radical resume goes far beyond Occupy. He is the former program director for the Tides Center-funded Ruckus Society and an activist with the Tides-funded Adbusters. Shan was listed as the contact person for protests outside the 2000 Democratic National Convention. Those protests were sponsored by both Adbusters and Ruckus. Shan previously pulled off a stunt at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, where he reportedly climbed to the top of the building and unfurled a 600-square-foot cartoon that depicted the earth falling through a broken shopping bag. The action was aimed at getting mall visitors to ditch their purchases, go home and observe Thanksgiving Friday as “Buy Nothing Day.” Since 1992, “Buy Nothing Day” has been sponsored annually by the Vancouver-based Media Foundation, which publishes Adbusters. Adbusters magazine is reported to have come up with the Occupy Wall Street idea after Arab Spring protests toppled governments in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. The Adbusters website serves as a central hub for Occupy’s planning. Working with the Ruckus Society, Shan was a leader of the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle that turned violent. Ruckus helped to spark those riots. Ruckus is directly tied to Occupy. WND previously reported how official direct-action training resources for recent Occupy events include several manuals from the Ruckus Society, which trains radical activists in “direct action” techniques. Ruckus was also listed as a “friend and partner” of the Occupy Days of Action held last month. Ruckus is funded by the Tides Center, which has been involved in Occupy since the movement’s onset. Another grantee of Tides is the Adbusters magazine. MoveOn.org, which has joined Occupy, is funded by Tides. Tides functions as a money tunnel where major leftist donors provide large sums that are channeled to hundreds of radical groups. One prominent Tides donor is Soros. Besides accepting major donations from Tides, Ruckus is also funded directly by Soros’ own Open Society Institute. Meanwhile, another Occupy staffer loosely identified by CNN is Haywood Carey, who is labeled simply as an Occupy “activist.” As the Heritage Foundation pointed out, Carey was a paid employee of the Change to Win labor federation from 2008 to 2009. The federation is a coalition of four member unions: The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Service Employees International Union; United Farm Workers and the United Food and Commercial Workers. In his book “Beyond the Fields,” labor historian Randy Shaw notes the groundwork for the founding of Change to Win were laid out by SEIU activist Stephen Lerner. Shaw relates: “Lerner’s December 2002 Labor Notes article, ‘Three Steps to Reorganizing and Rebuilding the Labor Movement,’ laid the groundwork for the decision by SEIU and other unions to break away from the AFL-CIO in 2005 and form the new labor federation Change to Win.” As WND was first to report, the tactic of blocking bridges, already used by Occupy Wall Street to hold up the Brooklyn Bridge amid other recent attempts, was institutionalized by Lerner. Meanwhile, another professional radical running Occupy yet not fully identified by the news media is Beth Bogart, who has been widely quoted as helping to run the movement’s press relations department in New York and other cities. Not mentioned in most media accounts is that Bogart, formerly known as Beth Bogart Fenton, is co-founder of Fenton Communications. Fenton is an extremist-led outfit that crafts the public relations strategy of Tides grantees. It came under new scrutiny after WND published a series of exposés tying it to Occupy Wall Street. One of its senior employees represented the anti-Wall Street march past millionaires’ homes in New York in October. After WND’s report, Fenton denied ties to the Occupy movement. Fenton’s Chris Potter denied the firm was working for Occupy, claiming his group was doing a “favor” for a friend in New York by helping with recent publicity. However, with Bogart now serving as an Occupy media strategist, the Fenton links to the movement continue. Fenton Communications has been behind the public relations strategy of a who’s who of far-left causes, organizations and activists, from representing Soros himself to Health Care for America Now to crafting strategies for MoveOn.org and a litany of anti-war groups. Fenton, which works closely with Tides, first made its name representing communist dictatorships in the 1980s. Fenton Communications was founded in 1982 by David Fenton, an activist who served as a photographer for Bill Ayers’ domestic Weather Underground terror group. Fenton used the Tides Center to set up Environmental Media Services in 1994. Tides reportedly originally ran EMS’ daily operations. David Fenton serves on the board of numerous Tides-funded groups, while his firm represents more than 30 Tides Center grantees, as well as Soros himself and the billionaire’s Open Society Institute. Fenton helped to craft Moveon.org’s attacks on Gen. David Petraeus. An example of the close public relations relationship between Fenton and Tides is the Social Venture Network, which was established and operates as a project of the Tides Foundation, while its strategy is represented by Fenton. SVN’s board has included Tides’ founder Drummond Pike as well as Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink. Another group, September Eleventh Families For Peaceful Tomorrows, is an anti-war organization founded by individuals who lost loved ones in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The group’s campaign was coordinated by Fenton while the group was funded by Tides. Also represented by Fenton is the Win Without War group, which was funded by Soros and Tides. WND found more than 30 recent examples of Tides grantees whose strategy was coordinated by Fenton. With research by Brenda J. Elliott |
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - On a tidy campus in his capital of Tripoli, dictator Muammar Gaddafi sponsored one of the world’s leading Muslim missionary networks. It was the smiling face of his Libyan regime, and the world smiled back. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (L) is accompanied by Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo (R) during a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival at Felix Houphouet Boigny airport, outside Abidjan, at the start of a two-day visit to Ivory Coast June 27, 2007. REUTERS/Thierry Gouegnon/Files The World Islamic Call Society (WICS) sent staffers out to build mosques and provide humanitarian relief. It gave poor students a free university education, in religion, finance and computer science. Its missionaries traversed Africa preaching a moderate, Sufi-tinged version of Islam as an alternative to the strict Wahhabism that Saudi Arabia was spreading. The Society won approval in high places. The Vatican counted it among its partners in Christian-Muslim dialogue and both Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict received its secretary general. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the world’s Anglicans, visited the campus in 2009 to deliver a lecture. The following year, the U.S. State Department noted approvingly how the Society had helped Filipino Christian migrant workers start a church in Libya. But the Society had a darker side that occasionally flashed into view. In Africa, rumors abounded for years of Society staffers paying off local politicians or supporting insurgent groups. In 2004, an American Muslim leader was convicted of a plot to assassinate the Saudi crown prince, financed in part by the Society. In 2011, Canada stripped the local Society office of its charity status after it found the director had diverted Society money to a radical group that had attempted a coup in Trinidad and Tobago in 1990 and was linked to a plot to bomb New York’s Kennedy Airport in 2007. Now, with the Gaddafi regime gone, it is possible to piece together a fuller picture of this two-faced group. Interviews with three dozen current and former Society staff and Libyan officials, religious leaders and exiles, as well as analysis of its relations with the West, show how this arm of the Gaddafi regime was able to sustain a decades-long double game. Yet Libya’s new leaders, the same ones who fought bitterly to overthrow Gaddafi and dismantle his 42-year dictatorship, are unanimous in wanting to preserve the WICS. They say they can disentangle its religious work from the dirty tricks it played and retain the Society as a legitimate religious charity - and an instrument of soft power for oil-rich Libya. A committee led by a leading anti-Gaddafi Islamic scholar, Sheikh Al Dokali Mohammed Al Alem, is now investigating the Society’s activities. Their report may take months to appear, but a Reuters investigation has found Libyan officials in Tripoli now say openly what under Gaddafi was taboo - that the religious Society was allied to a huge shadow network, especially in Africa. “There are still some loose ends in the Islamic Call Society in Africa,” said Noman Benotman, a former member of an al-Qaeda-linked Libyan Islamist group who now works on deradicalization of jihadists at the Quilliam Foundation in London. “They still have a lot of money going around through these channels that used to belong to the Islamic Call Society,” he said. “Huge amounts of money are involved. I think we’re talking about one to two billion dollars.” ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Africa to miss Gaddafi’s money, not his meddling link.reuters.com/cyx37s The Gaddafi oil papers link.reuters.com/ned75s BACK CHANNEL In a new book, Gaddafi’s former foreign minister alleges that the dictator used the Society as a back channel to secretly agitate against Christian heads of state in Africa and support Muslim groups seeking power. He accuses the Society’s former secretary general, Mohammad Ahmed Al Sharif, of personally delivering cash to African leaders to finance election campaigns. “From the start, Gaddafi wanted the WICS to be one of the foreign arms affiliated to him personally,” Abdel Rahman Shalgam writes in the Arabic-language book, “Men Around Gaddafi.” “Among the locals, the World Islamic Call Society was known as the World Security Call Society,” says Shalgam, now Libya’s ambassador at the United Nations in New York. The facade of semi-independence from the regime collapsed completely when Libya’s revolution broke out early last year. Sharif turned to Russia and Sri Lanka in failed bids to get them to mediate with the rebels. Shalgam accuses Sharif of using WICS money to rush African mercenaries to Libya to fight for Gaddafi. Defense Minister Osama Al Juweli has alleged that the television studio on the Society campus was used to edit video to make it appear that NATO bombing had hit civilian areas of Tripoli. Sharif told Reuters he can refute the charges against him, but will not speak publicly until an official inquiry is finished. The intriguing question is how the Society escaped Western scrutiny for so long. One likely reason is that it seemed like small fish by Libyan standards. Gaddafi was himself bizarre - President Ronald Reagan called him “the mad dog of the Middle East.” And his role in backing Palestinian fighters, African insurgents, the Irish Republican Army and the Lockerbie bombers was provocative enough to overshadow an NGO of preachers. Its active interest in interfaith dialogue also helped burnish its image. More than that, the moderate version of Islam that WICS preachers spread looked increasingly attractive after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States carried out by mostly Saudi hijackers. Saudi Arabia has exported its strict Wahhabi Islam through its own missionary society, the Muslim World League, since 1962. Gaddafi’s bitter rivalry with Riyadh extended to Islam as well, and the Society competed with the League to build free mosques and schools around the world. This became a strategic asset when Gaddafi patched up relations with the West in 2003 by taking responsibility for the 1998 Lockerbie bombings and abandoning his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Rev Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, delivered a lecture at the Society in January 2011. He says dealing with Gaddafi’s Libya required a delicate balance. “Our faith calls us to speak with everyone,” he said, stressing the WCC did not know any specific allegations against the Society when he visited. “We understand the risk involved and the complexity of situations such as this.” Today, the transitional Libyan government is grappling with what to do about the Society. Its former leader, Sharif, has been sacked and a long official investigation is underway. But most of its staff is still in place. Rather than scrap the Society as a Gaddafi-tainted institution, the government is pursuing a modest purge. “The Society was misused by the Gaddafi regime. It was part of his intelligence (network),” said Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagur. “Clearly, the Society itself has a good mission if it is done right.” During the Libyan dictatorship, few people knew the Society’s real size and influence. It answered only to Gaddafi, and its financial transactions were exempt from all taxes and duties. Massoud Al Wazni, a member of the committee now overseeing it, said the annual budget was about $45 million and the central staff numbered about 900, with about 2,000 Arabic teachers and as many Muslim preachers around the world. Wazni gave no other details of the budget figure. That figure could not account for the large amounts of cash that Shalgam alleges Sharif regularly had delivered to African leaders. Asked about these payments, one Society official said he himself was once ordered to deliver briefcases with $25,000 each to two cabinet ministers while on routine Society work in an African country. When he refused, he was called back to Tripoli and jailed for a short time. LIBYA TOO SMALL FOR GADDAFI When he seized power in 1969 as a 27-year-old army captain, Gaddafi dreamed of succeeding Egypt’s Gamal Abdul Nasser as the new champion of Arab nationalism and Third World revolution. The Palestinian cause was central to his plans. He created a “Jihad Fund” to help finance Palestinian guerrillas and had the Palestinian militants who had been killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics buried as heroes in Tripoli. Gaddafi also created an “Islamic Legion” that fought in the Sahel, Uganda and Lebanon. He supported liberation movements across Africa and shipped huge supplies of arms and money to the Irish Republican Army. Launched in 1972, the Society was presented as the human face of his revolution, building mosques, schools and clinics for needy Muslims around the globe. After the Arabs’ defeat by Israel in the 1967 war, calls for some kind of Islamic government were growing in the Middle East. Creating the Society was a nod in that direction and proved popular with Libya’s religious leadership. The Society was described as independent of the government, but financed from the same Jihad Fund as the Palestinians: a tax of three percent on all individuals and four percent on all companies working in Libya. Benotman, who has studied the Society in detail, said an NGO like that was a classic fig leaf for undercover work. “At the hard core of the structure of the Call Society, there were officers from the intelligence service,” he said. “You can’t give this work to the preachers. You have to trust your intelligence members within the Call Society to carry on this work as field officers.” The WICS’s focus was Africa, especially the large Muslim communities in West Africa and the Sahel region that Gaddafi considered Libya’s back yard. But it also built mosques and Islamic centers in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Malta and the Netherlands. It contributed along with other Arab states to the construction of the huge mosque in Rome and the Central Mosque in London. It was also active in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. “Libya was too small for him,” said former ambassador Saad El Shlmani, now Foreign Ministry spokesman. “He wanted to be the leader of all the Africans, of all the Muslims, of the whole world.” SHOWDOWN WITH THE WEST Insiders say the Society’s back-channel operations developed during the 1980s. “You have to link this with the international political atmosphere,” said Nagi El Hadi El Haraam, a WICS auditor now helping investigate the group’s inner workings. By the 1980s, Gaddafi’s firebrand foreign policy had made him enemies across the West and the Middle East. The United States had listed Libya as a state supporter of terrorism in 1979, closed its embassy the next year and imposed ever tighter embargoes on American trade with Libya. Britain broke off diplomatic relations in 1984 after a London policewoman was killed by gunfire from the Libyan embassy during a protest there. The United States finally lost patience and bombed Libya in 1986, hitting suspected terrorist training centers in Tripoli and Benghazi, including Gaddafi’s compound in the capital. When Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 270, Gaddafi was suspected of ordering the attack to avenge the U.S. bombing. Shortly after Lockerbie, Gaddafi created the World Islamic Popular Leadership (WIPL) as a separate department within the Society, answerable to General Secretary Sharif. The WIPL was to mobilize Islamic leaders around the world to support Muslim militants in Chechnya, Kosovo and Somalia, defend Muslim women wearing headscarves in Europe and encourage black Muslims in the United States. Among the allies Gaddafi won was black nationalist Muslim preacher Louis Farrakhan. The WIPL was “a foreign body embedded into the Call Society,” said Haraam, the Society auditor. With its international network, the Society offered a handy cover to evade bans on financial transactions. As an independent NGO, it was not subject to the U.N. embargo or unilateral bans imposed by the United States. A 1990 American diplomatic cable from Khartoum, revealed by WikiLeaks, describes the WICS as a Libyan “front group” active in propaganda but has no other details about it. The WIPL office at WICS headquarters began to buzz with activity three years later, around the time the United Nations imposed a tight embargo on Libya for not handing over the suspected Lockerbie bombers. Gaddafi “started funneling cash into this office so he would support African countries and ... have some sort of room to move,” auditor Haraam said.”He would not be totally cornered.” It was also in 1989 that the Society revived a dialogue with the Vatican begun in 1976 but lapsed since then. The Catholics weren’t sure why Tripoli wanted to restart talks, but agreed to two colloquia in 1990 and two more meetings in 1993 and 1997. According to a religious source in Tripoli, Gaddafi used the Society’s links to the Vatican in a last-ditch effort to avoid the U.N. sanctions. Just before the U.N. embargo, then-foreign minister Shalgam visited the Vatican looking for help. The Catholic bishop in Tripoli, Giovanni Martinelli, appealed to Western states not to humiliate Gaddafi but seek dialogue with him. After this effort failed, Gaddafi continued to woo the Vatican with promises of better conditions for the tiny Catholic community in Libya. In a propaganda coup for Gaddafi, Vatican Foreign Minister Jean-Louis Tauran visited Libya in 1994. He made the last leg of the journey from southern Tunisia to Tripoli by car because of the embargo on air traffic. Washington watched with concern as the Church’s relations with Tripoli improved, and tried to persuade it not to establish diplomatic relations, but Pope John Paul went ahead and recognized Libya in 1997. Asked why it marched out of step with Western countries, a Vatican spokesman said the Holy See maintained diplomatic relations with states, not governments. “Such relations have the primary aim of favoring the good of the local Church,” he said. The Vatican also felt that ties with Tripoli opened an avenue for a dialogue. FOCUS ON AFRICA In the 1990s, the Society expanded its work in Africa, stepping up its “Islamic convoys” of medicines, clothes and food as far down as southern Africa. It held conferences on education, culture and the links between African and Arab societies on the continent. It also funded Islamic radio stations in Togo, Benin, Chad, Cameroon, Mali and South Africa. African leaders spoke out increasingly loudly against the U.N. embargo. South African President Nelson Mandela visited Tripoli in 1997 to thank Gaddafi for supporting the African National Congress during the apartheid years and to condemn the embargo. He also had to make the final leg of the trip by car. The highlight of Gaddafi’s charm offensive came with a series of so-called “defiance tours” in convoys through West Africa. On the first of these road shows in 1997, the man who billed himself as “the Revolutionary Muslim” led huge prayer sessions in Niami, the capital of Niger, and in Kano in northern Nigeria. On his third swing through the region in 2000, he took in Niger, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Togo, “crossing more than 4,000 km through cities, villages, deserts, jungles, plains and modern towns,” as one Society report put it. WICS staff were drafted in to help organize and support the visits. “When he went to an African country, of course he would use our infrastructure there - if you opposed his will, you knew what would happen,” said Haraam, referring to the local Society offices and the contacts the staff had. Among their tasks was helping Society preachers in the country to mobilize the crowds, and contacting local officials to arrange meetings between Gaddafi and the influential tribal and religious leaders in the region. THE MASK SLIPS The United Nations partially suspended its sanctions, allowing air travel and industrial equipment sales to resume, after Libya handed over the two Libyan suspects in the Lockerbie bombing to a court at The Hague in 1999. The sanctions were fully lifted in September 2003 when Tripoli agreed to pay $2.7 billion in compensation to the 270 families of the Lockerbie victims. Its announcement in December that it was giving up its program of weapons of mass destruction signaled Libya’s willingness to end its pariah period and build better relations with the West. It was around this time that the Society’s mask slipped to reveal what became the best-documented case of its intelligence work. Abdurahman Muhammad Alamoudi, a Yemeni-born U.S. Muslim leader who sometimes advised the State Department on interfaith relations, was arrested in Washington in September 2003 on return from a long trip to Britain, Syria, Egypt and Libya. As his grand jury indictment a month later alleged, Alamoudi had met a Libyan at a London hotel in August who gave him “$340,000 in cash from the Islamic Call Society, a branch of the Government of Libya.” That sum was part of at least $910,000 he had received over eight years from Libya, depositing it in foreign banks and withdrawing small sums to avoid alerting U.S. authorities. In plea negotiations, Alamoudi revealed he had used some of the money to pay two Saudi dissidents to assassinate the then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, Gaddafi’s rival, who is now the Saudi king. He pleaded guilty in 2004 and was sentenced to 23 years in prison, although his expected release date is now 2018. Even after the embargos were lifted, Gaddafi continued showering attention on Africa, partly for propaganda at home. “The WICS people on the ground would organize marches and receptions and take his picture everywhere,” said Shlmani, the former diplomat in Africa. “Back here in Libya, we’d see him on TV presented as a popular man. He was unpopular here and he wanted to show he was popular abroad.” How much these visits cost is not clear. A U.S. diplomatic cable from Mali, revealed by WikiLeaks, quoted an embassy source close to Gaddafi as saying Libya had paid up to $10 million for festivities during the dictator’s visit to Timbuktu in April 2006. The WICS mask slipped again in 2010 when the Canada Revenue Agency audited the Society’s office in London, Ontario, and concluded it got all its funds from Libya and distributed them mostly to Muslim recipients outside Canada. In 1998, it said, the office transferred $216,735.41 to recipients in the United States and Trinidad. The next year, it sent $350,135.60 to the United States, Egypt and Trinidad. The agency found that the Alamoudi plea deal proved the Society and its network were “used as a front to disguise the true origin and destination of funds in an effort to circumvent sanctions against Libya.” Canada revoked the office’s charitable status in March 2011. The transfers to Trinidad, which added up to over $180,000, pointed to another piece in the Society’s double game. They were made to Jamaat al-Muslimeen (“Muslim Community”), whose leader had tried to overthrow the Trinidad and Tobago government in 1990 with Libyan money and arms. UNDER THE WESTERN RADAR If Western religious and political officials suspected anything untoward about the Society, its religious work and its leader’s personal diplomacy apparently dampened their doubts. Vatican officials met their Society counterparts in Rome in 2004, and Pope Benedict received a Society delegation at the Vatican in 2008. A Catholic priest who took part in several dialogue sessions with the Society said the Vatican had heard rumors about its activities in Africa, but was more concerned that it was trying to bribe Africans into converting to Islam than about purported political high jinks. “There were suspicions (of bribery for conversions) but we didn’t find any proof,” he said. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams delivered a lecture on divine revelation to the Islamic Call College during a visit to Tripoli in 2009. His website describes the Society as “the world’s foremost Islamic benevolent organization with members from every corner of the globe.” Aides to the Anglican leader said they had no indications then or since that WICS was anything but a religious NGO interested in interfaith dialogue. A WikiLeaks-revealed cable from the U.S. embassy in Tripoli in 2009 said the Society spread moderate interpretations of Islam in Africa and Asia, countering “the dangers of Islamic fundamentalism (invariably described as ‘Wahhabism’).” The U.S. State Department’s 2010 International Religious Freedom Report noted approvingly the emphasis on religious moderation and interfaith cooperation in the Society, which it described as “the official conduit for the state-approved form of Islam” and “the religious arm of the government’s foreign policy.” Among those who broke bread with the Society was World Council of Churches Secretary General Tveit, who lectured on the shared values of Christians and Muslims in Tripoli just one month before the uprising against Gaddafi broke out in February 2011. He said his organization would not have dealt with the WICS if it had known its dark side. “In this particular situation, the WCC decided to work with the WICS because of its commitment to inter-religious dialogue and willingness to work with the WCC and its partners,” he said. The firebrand U.S. black Muslim preacher Louis Farrakhan never hid his ties with Libya, but the uprising prompted even more disclosure than before. On March 31, 2011, Farrakhan defended “Brother Gaddafi” at a rare news conference and said Libya had lent the Nation of Islam $8 million over the years. At his news conference, Farrakhan, a deputy chairman of the WIPL, said Gaddafi had also helped him take three tours to visit Muslim leaders in over 40 countries. “I’ve been all over the world because of that man,” he said. The WIPL apparently lent a helping hand for Farrakhan’s pro-Gaddafi media blitz. Officials reviewing Society files showed Reuters a recently found confidential memo dated March 15, 2011, indicating the WIPL would pay for U.S. newspaper ads that Farrakhan placed to defend him. The Nation of Islam did not respond to requests for comment. Sharif dropped all pretence of independence once the uprising started. He met Bishop Martinelli in mid-March, urging him to help provide “accurate information” about the situation in Libya. In the months that followed, the Tripoli-based bishop gained notoriety in the West for sharply condemning the NATO bombings. Martinelli declined a request for an interview. The WICS head had less success in May when he tried to convince Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to help mediate between Tripoli and the Benghazi-based rebels. Lavrov told him Libya must obey the U.N. resolution urging it not to attack civilians. Soon after that, the Society office in Colombo asked for help from Sri Lankan Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem, who represented the island’s Muslims during discussions between the government and Tamil rebels to end the civil war. He also turned them down. WHAT TO DO WITH WICS Libya’s new leadership says the challenge now is to purge the Society of its dark side. Officials interviewed in Tripoli blamed the secretive WIPL for the undercover work. Sheikh Dokali, head of the five-man committee now running the Society, singled out WIPL as the main focus of the purge. “Only a very limited number of persons were aware of the activities of the WIPL. It was a total misuse of our office without our knowledge,” he said. “The WIPL is closed now and has been crossed out of our organizational structure completely.” As committee members present it, only Society head Sharif and two WIPL officials - administrator Mahmoud Hussain Reeh and the recently deceased accountant Ahmed Maidan - had an overview of the WIPL’s covert activities. Reeh is believed to be hiding in Tunisia and Sharif is being questioned in Tripoli. Sheikh Saad Falah, head of the missionary department at the Society, said expenses for Gaddafi’s Africa trips organized by the WICS were paid from the secret WIPL budget. “We don’t have any details about how much he spent and where,” Falah said. The fact that many senior WICS officials are still with the Society raises questions about how thorough the purge has been. Benotman doubts the Society could be neatly divided into a good WICS and a bad WIPL; he says his understanding is that intelligence agents were working on both sides. More information about who did what might be found in files at the Society’s headquarters. But they are now under control of Defense Minister Juweli, who seized the headquarters in January to use as his new ministry’s offices, and has been holding them pending a resolution of his dispute with the government over possession of the property. The Society appears to have the money needed to carry on. Falah, the head of the missionary department, says it hasn’t received any financing in two years from the government, since its share of the Jihad Tax was “taken over by one of Gaddafi’s sons.” It does have revenues from some far-sighted investments made decades ago. Two real estate ventures - a five-tower complex on the Tripoli seafront, and an office building in Benghazi - are preferred addresses for oil companies, airlines and other foreign firms. Slideshow (5 Images) The investigation into the WICS will probably take many months before final decisions are taken. The new WICS may look much like the official part of the old Society, possibly with a new name, and serve as one of the new Libya’s open window on the outside world. El Hadi El Ghariani, an adviser to the interim prime minister, suggested the Society could take on promoting dialogue among Islam’s competing sects. Aref Ali Nayed, a Sufi theologian who is now Tripoli’s ambassador in the United Arab Emirates, said it should be turned into a university modeled on Al Azhar, the revered seat of Sunni learning in Cairo. He sees it countering the Saudi brand of Islam - the role it was supposed to play under Gaddafi. “It could be a kind of anti-radicalization think tank,” he said. |
She’s held private meetings with Black Lives Matter activists, she rails against “systemic racism” and “white privilege,” and she’s made police brutality a focus of her campaign — but Hillary Clinton can’t seem to win the votes of the BLM movement. The latest sign of discontent came Wednesday, when two BLM activists crashed a private fundraiser, demanding Mrs. Clinton apologize for comments she made 20 years ago as first lady, backing then-President Clinton’s get-tough crime legislation. “You owe black people an apology,” Ashley Williams, a BLM protester, told Mrs. Clinton, holding a sign with bold, black letters of Mrs. Clinton’s past words: “We have to bring them to heel.” Ms. Williams was escorted out of the event, but the bad blood between her movement and Mrs. Clinton is not so quickly dismissed, as the Democratic presidential campaign turns to South Carolina, which votes this Saturday, with an electorate where more than half of voters will be black. Both Mrs. Clinton and her rival, Vermont Senator Bernard Sanders, are having a difficult time winning over BLM activists, despite their recent pledges to the African-American community. Over the summer Mr. Sanders was forced off a stage in Seattle by BLM activists who were frustrated his focus on economic issues ignored many of their concerns about institutional racism in America. Likewise, Mrs. Clinton was condemned by one activist after holding a closed-door meeting with the group in October for “victim blaming” after she recommended the group suggest specific policy changes rather than focusing on trying to convince white people of the impact racism has on black lives. “Look, I don’t believe you change hearts. I believe you change laws, you change allocation of resources, you change the way systems operate. You’re not going to change every heart. You’re not. But, at the end of the day, we can do a whole lot to change some hearts and change some systems and create more opportunities for people who deserve to have them,” Mrs. Clinton told members of the group in a released video. Tia Oso, an organizer for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and a BLM activist who confronted Mr. Sanders in Seattle, was and still is not happy with that explanation. “I felt like her comments then and her comments last night were very condescending. She’s been touting her record and readiness to lead the nation, yet is looking to us to submit policy proposals,” Ms. Oso said. “Doesn’t that seem imbalanced? I’ve never been a senator, I’ve never been secretary of state, I wasn’t the one advocating for these proposals as first lady. I’m a community member and grass-roots organizer who is suffering. She’s the policy expert that needs to address the issue.” Both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Sanders have stepped up their efforts to woo black voters, sharpening their criticism of racism and promising criminal justice reform. Mrs. Clinton has touted the backing of the Congressional Black Caucus; of Rep. James E. Clyburn, the most senior black member of the House; and of the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner, whose deaths gave rise to the BLM movement. And on Tuesday Mrs. Clinton tweeted: “Recognizing privilege and dismantling systemic racism is on all of us.” Mr. Sanders sharpened his tone as well, saying he would drastically reduce incarceration rates in his first term as president. He said it was “beyond unspeakable” that black men are disproportionately represented in the prison population. Countering Mrs. Clinton’s plethora of endorsements, Mr. Sanders has rapper and activist Killer Mike stumping, and has movie director Spike Lee, who, in a radio advertisement running in South Carolina, calls on voters to “wake up” — a nod to his own civil rights film “Do the Right Thing.” But analysts said the pivot seems disingenuous to black voters, coming only after the candidates spent their time in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada talking about other issues. “There is the overall perception that Hillary Clinton is pandering, and it’s not a good place to start,” said Charles A. Gallagher, a professor of sociology at LaSalle University in Philadelphia. “I believe she does believe what she’s saying, but she waited until she had to say it because she had to win over other groups, like the middle-class educated man. She had to make sure she had a lock on people like me before she could move to the next constituency. “So how do you demonstrate you’re genuine and are authentic on these [BLM] issues when you’ve ignored them for many months?” Mr. Gallagher said. “You’re now finally turning to them, and they realize this. Historically, the black and brown community is often ignored until a race is so close [that] they’re needed.” Her history on criminal justice also leaves her open to attack — particularly backing her husband’s decision to sign the 1994 crime bill. Mr. Clinton last summer admitted that law lengthened prison sentences. “Champion of Mass Incarceration — attempts to undo the damage she caused as 1st Lady. Painfully transparent,” Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky wrote on Twitter Thursday. Ms. Oso, the BLM activist, said Mrs. Clinton’s efforts to cleanse herself aren’t working. “She wants us to trust in her to address these issues, but she doesn’t want us to bring up that she’s responsible for advocating many of them. It’s not fair and is dishonest, and is eroding trust in certain sectors of the black community,” Ms. Oso said. Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. |
The Mate 9 camera Update, 4 November: We've recently updated this page with new camera samples from the Mate 9. The new camera samples are found further down this page - here is a direct link. The Huawei and Leica partnership has brought out the second generation of their joint product. The dual camera now uses a higher resolution monochrome sensor - 20MP, up from 12MP. The color camera stays at 12MP. Between the two and the custom image processor, the phone can do Hybrid Zoom - a 2x digital zoom. The two cameras can be used for depth processing instead to create a bokeh effect. The Mate 9 uses a 27mm aspheric lens with Summarit branding and an f/2.2 aperture. Aspheric lenses avoid several optical aberrations while being simpler and lighter than spherical lenses - good things when you're working on something as tiny as a smartphone. The aperture is darker than most leading flagships, but the monochrome sensor gets a good deal more light - or rather it doesn't lose light to the Bayer filter that other cameras use. Pixel binning helps further reduce noise. Camera interface Dual camera flanked by flash and Laser AF A close-up To the left of the dual camera assembly is the dual LED, dual tone camera flash. To the right is the Laser autofocus system, which is one of one of four AF mechanism - the others being Phase-detection, Contrast plus depth information gathered from the two cameras. You can also see one of the microphones above the camera. The camera assembly itself protrudes from the back, which makes it vulnerable as some LG V20 users have already discovered. The Huawei Mate 9 camera is powered by a custom chip that can pull of photo tricks. You can go back to photos you took and change their focus and even lighting. The chip also powers face recognition. By the way, the 8MP selfie camera features autofocus - you'd be surprised how many selfie cams on current phones are fixed focus. Here are some early camera sample - from both the color and the black & white cameras. The lighting conditions are not perfect. Huawei Mate 9 camera sample: Color Black & White Let's try the zoom. Here's how the color camera does it. Huawei Mate 9 zoom test: color And now the B&W camera. Notice that you get the full 20MP resolution, even after the zoom. The color camera produces only 12MP shots, with or without zoom. Huawei Mate 9 zoom test: black & white The dual cameras can also do bokeh effects. From the interface you can change the virtual aperture, depending on just how soft you want the background. Here are three different levels. Huawei Mate 9 bokeh test iPhone 7 vs. Huawei Mate 9 in low-light Update, 4 November: We've recently updated this page with new camera samples from the Mate 9. They are listed below. iPhone 7 vs. Huawei Mate 9 (12MP and 20MP) in daylight Huawei Mate 9 black&white camera daylight: 20MP vs. 12MP Huawei Mate 9 HDR mode: Off On We finally had a chance to test out the zooming capabilities of the dual camera setup (what they call hybrid zoom) in daylight. The interesting thing about the hybrid zoom is that it uses the full 20MP resolution of the B&W camera to render the shapes and details in the photos while the colors of the objects are derived from an upsized version of the 12MP color camera, which is overlayed on top of the sharper B&W image. Looking from up close, the 3x zoom (or 81mm equivalent) zoom seems to be the sharpest of the three available levels, while the last one - the extended 4x digizoom (108mm equivalent) seems to be the fuzziest. Hybrid Zoom: Off (27mm) 2x zoom (52mm) 3x zoom (81mm) Extended 4x digizoom (108mm) The Huawei Mate 9 is perhaps the first Kirin-based Huawei device to have 4K video recording, but unfortunately, we can't upload those videos to YouTube as they are encoded in H.265 and YouTube doesn't support that codec. Instead, here's a 1080p video below. We still have a 4K video available for direct download (50MB). Even though we did our best, the video footage is far from nicely stabilized. We guess, the on-board optical image stabilization can only do so good on the Mate 9. The 1080p video on YouTube is much better thanks to the digital stabilization, which however is not available in 4K video recording. Huawei Mate 9 performance The Huawei Mate 9 is the first recipient of the Kirin 960 chipset. That makes it the first phone to bring ARM's Cortex-A73 processor core and Mali-G71 graphics core to market. Both are optimized for power and space efficiency (smaller chips = cheaper chips). Also, both types of core are aware of each other and can balance power use and thermals between the two to guarantee optimal performance. In fact, that one of the key advancements in Cortex-A73 - sustained performance. The new chipset addresses a weakness in its predecessors. The Mali-G71 GPU is given 8 cores while previous Kirin chipsets only used 4 cores (with an older core design to boot). That lead to the embarrassing situation where a mid-range phone with Snapdragon 650 would match the flagship Huawei P9 in graphics performance. The Kirin 960 should be much faster in that respect and the G71 GPU is designed with Vulkan and VR in mind. According to Huawei, Vulkan offers a 400% increase in graphics performance, making it essential for VR. Speaking of, we asked about comparability with Google's Daydream VR and Huawei representatives said "The goal is to have Daydream enabled." So, not right off the bat, but perhaps soon. This is our first encounter with the Cortex-A73 core. Alone, they beat the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus and its Kryo cores in the updated Snapdragon 821 chipset (and that's the 2.35GHz version too). For the slower 2.1GHz version of the same core (still Snapdragon 821 chipset), look at the Pixel XL, it's lagging quite a bit. Note: the unit we tested is not running final software, so keep that in mind before continuing. GeekBench 4 (single-core) Higher is better Apple iPhone 7 Plus 3473 Huawei Mate 9 1932 Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 1815 Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon) 1696 LG V20 1590 Google Pixel XL 1507 Apple's approach with two big cores gives it great single-core performance but the A10 chipset is a benchmark for multi-core performance too. It used to be anyway, the Kirin 960 managed to outpace it with a healthy margin. It's well ahead of the Snapdragon 821, its closest competition in the Android world. GeekBench 4 (multi-core) Higher is better Huawei Mate 9 6106 Apple iPhone 7 Plus 5664 Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 4333 Google Pixel XL 4152 Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon) 4128 LG V20 3890 The Mate 9 didn't do so hot with AnTuTu 6. It scored least of the bunch, we even ran the test twice to make sure it wasn't a glitch or something. Because AnTuTu tests many aspects of the phone, the score depends on a number of things: CPU, GPU, storage speeds, and RAM performance. So we can't expect to see the same results as the raw CPU benchmarks like GeekBench. AnTuTu 6 Higher is better Apple iPhone 7 Plus 173110 Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 155185 Google Pixel XL 141186 Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon) 132849 Huawei Mate 9 129984 GFX is a test for all-around graphic intensive loads. The Mate 9 didn't do well, despite Huawei's efforts in improving the GPU performance. Since some other phones have a higher resolutions, we want to look at the "offscreen" result to compare oranges to oranges. Remember this could change once the final software OTA is released for review units. GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen) Higher is better Apple iPhone 7 Plus 39 Google Pixel XL 32 Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon) 32 Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 30 Huawei Mate 9 27 GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen) Higher is better Apple iPhone 7 Plus 42 Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 32 Huawei Mate 9 28 Google Pixel XL 17 Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon) 16 GFX 3.1 Car scene (offscreen) Higher is better Google Pixel XL 19 Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 18 Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon) 18 Huawei Mate 9 13 GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen) Higher is better Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 19 Huawei Mate 9 14 Google Pixel XL 11 Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon) 10 The Mate 9 slayed the other competitiors in the Basemark X test. As this is also a graphics test, and we just saw the Mate 9 not do well in the GFX comparisons, it shows us that not all benchmarks are created equally. Basemark X Higher is better Huawei Mate 9 37716 Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 36062 Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon) 32160 Google Pixel XL 30861 In the Basemark OS 2.0 test, the Mate 9 was able to beat the Snapdragon 820 and 821. However, the iPhone 7 Plus' Fusion 10 chip is still ahead here. Basemark OS 2.0 Higher is better Apple iPhone 7 Plus 3796 Huawei Mate 9 2805 Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 2434 Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (Snapdragon) 2352 Google Pixel XL 2281 Much like the previous test, the Basemark ES 3.1 test fared similarly, the other devices behind the Huawei Mate 9, but the iPhone still beating all others. We will put the Mate 9's Kirin 960 through more tests once the final update is released. Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal Higher is better |
London (CNN) British police have identified two of the three men behind Saturday night's terror attack in London as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane. Updates: Two men shot dead by police following terrorist attack in #LondonBridge #BoroughMarket named https://t.co/prQUaxy2k4 pic.twitter.com/LR4klVhZ64 Butt, 27, was a British citizen who was born in Pakistan, London's Metropolitan Police said. Police and MI5, the UK's counterintelligence and security agency, were familiar with him, but there was no intelligence to suggest the weekend attack was being planned, police said. Butt briefly worked for Transport for London, the entity that oversees the city's public transport system. He was a trainee customer services assistant with London Underground for less than six months, before leaving in October, a Transport for London spokesperson said. Redouane, 30, who also used the name Rachid Elkhdar, had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan. The third attacker has been identified, police said, but his name has not been publicly released. The assailants killed seven people and wounded 48 others by ramming a vehicle into a crowd on London Bridge and then stabbing people in nearby Borough Market. Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Forensic officers work at the scene of a terror attack at London Bridge in London on Sunday, June 4. At least seven people were killed in attacks late Saturday as a van mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge before attackers then stabbed victims at nearby Borough Market. Hide Caption 1 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Counterterrorism officers patrol near the scene of the attack on London Bridge. When speaking to the media on Sunday, British Prime Minister Theresa May did not announce any increase in the UK terror threat level. Hide Caption 2 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack A woman reacts after asking a Police officer to lay flowers near London Bridge as a tribute to the victims of the attack. Hide Caption 3 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack UK police officers on Sunday continue their investigation into the terror attacks on London Bridge and in a nearby restaurant district. The attacks on June 3 came days before a general election and two weeks after 22 people were killed when a suicide bomber targeted an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. Hide Caption 4 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement at 10 Downing Street, following a Cobra security meeting in response to Saturday night's terror attack. Violence must "never be allowed to disrupt the democratic process," May said, adding that Thursday's general election will go ahead. Hide Caption 5 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Abandoned buses line London Bridge as the scene remains under investigation following the attack. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement Sunday that a white van struck pedestrians on London Bridge. Attackers then left the vehicle and "a number of people were stabbed, including an on-duty British Transport Police officer who was responding to the incident at London Bridge," said Rowley. The officer received serious but not life-threatening injuries. Hide Caption 6 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Counter terrorism officers move up an escalator under The Shard, an iconic highrise near the scene of last night's London Bridge attack. Hide Caption 7 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack A group of police forensic officers walks in the street outside Borough Market. Hide Caption 8 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack People lie on the ground after being detained by police at Elizabeth Fry apartments in Barking, east London, which officers raided Sunday, June 4, following Saturday's terror attack at London Bridge and Borough Market. Hide Caption 9 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack A bouquet of flowers left near the police cordon at London Bridge on June 4. Hide Caption 10 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack A view from above shows where a van struck pedestrians on London Bridge -- and then crashed into a barrier. Hide Caption 11 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack This image, from London's Borough Market, shows two of the attackers after they were shot by London police. The attackers drove a white van into pedestrians on London Bridge, leaving bodies lying in the roadway, a witness to the incident told CNN Hide Caption 12 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Armed police patrol near London Bridge on Saturday, June 3. Mayor Sadiq Khan said it was a "deliberate and cowardly attack" on Londoners enjoying Saturday night out. Hide Caption 13 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack The white van used in the attack is seen near London Bridge. Hide Caption 14 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Police carry out a search near empty buses on London Bridge, Saturday, June 3. Hide Caption 15 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack A person is treated for injuries near London Bridge. Hide Caption 16 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Members of the public flee after reports of the incident involving a vehicle and pedestrians. Hide Caption 17 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Police and emergency responders attend to an injured person. Hide Caption 18 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack An armed Police officer gestures after the attack in central London. Hide Caption 19 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Guests from the Premier Inn Bankside Hotel are evacuated following the attacks. Hide Caption 20 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack A woman wearing an emergency blanket talks on her phone at London Bridge train station. London Bridge Tube station was closed and London Bridge was closed in both directions. Hide Caption 21 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Armed police raid The Blue Eyed Maid on Borough High Street. Hide Caption 22 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Debris and abandoned cars remain at the scene of one of the incidents. Hide Caption 23 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack Police sniffer dogs are seen at London Bridge. Hide Caption 24 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack A helicopter flies near London Bridge. Hide Caption 25 of 26 Photos: London Bridge, nearby cafe target of terror attack People are led to safety on Southwark Bridge, away from London Bridge. Hide Caption 26 of 26 Police shot and killed all three attackers, who were wearing suicide belts that turned out to be fakes. Twelve people were arrested after the attack. On Monday, Met Police said all those arrested had been released without charges. Latest developments -- One attacker had a connection to Ireland, a source briefed by an Irish counterterrorism official said. -- British Prime Minister Theresa May faced questions over cutting 20,000 police posts in her time as Home Secretary. -- Britain's most senior police officer Cressida Dick said police resourcing needed to be revised. -- Leader of the main opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, called on for the Prime Minister to resign over cuts. JUST WATCHED See British PM's full remarks on terror attack Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH See British PM's full remarks on terror attack 08:00 British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a barrage of questions Monday on deep cuts made to police numbers in the UK while she was Home Secretary. Authorities also faced scrutiny over what they knew about the alleged perpetrators of the attack. The carnage is the third such terror attack on British soil in three months and the second in London involving the use of vehicles as weapons. In March, 52-year-old British national Khalid Masood rammed a vehicle into a crowd on Westminster Bridge and stabbed a police officer, in an attack that left five people dead. Counterterrorism officers on Sunday near the scene of the attack. Police said there would be "increased physical measures on London's bridges to keep the public safe." On Monday, concrete barricades had been erected to separate pedestrians from vehicles on some of the city's major bridges. May under fire over police cuts Security had already become a battleground issue ahead of Thursday's general election since a Manchester bombing last month, in which 22 people were killed as they left an Ariana Grande concert. Pressure on May intensified Monday, when at a campaign event she faced a volley of journalists' questions over police cuts. May said her record was sound, saying she had introduced a raft of anti-terror legislation as Home Secretary. She also said that funding for counterterrorism efforts had been protected. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Monday that the country needed to rethink police resourcing and strategy. But May defended her government's stance on the issue, saying that her Conservative government had protected police budgets. "The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has said the Met is well resourced, and they are, and that they have very powerful counterterrorism capabilities, and they do. We have protected counterterrorism policing budgets. We have also provided funding for the increase of the number of armed police officers," she said at a campaign event. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, called on May to resign over the issue, saying earlier that "you cannot protect the public on the cheap," and promising to recruit another 10,000 police officers if he is elected into power. Commuters walk across London Bridge on Monday after it partially reopened. Victim identified London terror attack victim Chrissy Archibald. Another 36 men and women are hospitalized, 18 of whom are in a critical condition, according to NHS England. A memorial was held Monday evening in the capital's Potters Field Park, as the city continues to digest its second attack in two months. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Monday the actions of the attackers were perverse and poisonous, adding that they had no place in Islam. "The acts of these three men on Saturday night was cowardly, was evil and I'm angry and furious that these three men are using to justify their actions the faith that I belong to," he said. On Sunday night,, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, although the group provided no evidence for its involvement or details of the attack. JUST WATCHED Witnesses saw bodies 'flipped into the air' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Witnesses saw bodies 'flipped into the air' 01:47 Attacker was once asked to leave East London mosque Butt "infrequently" attended Jabir bin Zayd Islamic Centre in Barking, that mosque said. "We did not know him well, his name was not known to us. It has been brought to our attention that some years ago after interrupting a Friday sermon he was asked to leave the mosque," the statement said. Butt, who also used the name Abdul Zaitun, is believed to have associated with the outlawed radical Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, co-founded by notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary . Al-Muhajiroun has been linked to Michael Adebolajo, one of the men convicted of slaying British soldier Lee Rigby near a military barracks in southeast London in 2013. Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said Butt verbally assaulted him the day after Rigby's death. "Butt called me a 'Murtad,' which means traitor in Arabic, and accused me of being a government stooge when I confronted Anjem (Choudary) about him supporting terrorism and my public campaign against Lee Rigby's murder," Shafiq said in a statement Monday. Shafiq said police arrived, and Choudary, Butt and two other men were escorted away. "It is clear that Anjem (Choudary) and his band of terrorist sympathizers were known to the police for many years," Shafiq said. He added: "I am not surprised that Khuram Butt carried out the terrorist attack and there are serious questions for the authorities." Neighbor saw attacker teaching children to pray Police said they seized a huge amount of forensic material in two early morning raids in east London on Monday, as part of their efforts to determine if the three men who carried out Saturday's attack were part of a wider network. Armed police stand guard in front of floral tributes on Southwark Street near the scene of the attack. Details of the investigation had been kept closely under wraps, in stark contrast to last month's Manchester bombing, when photos and information from the investigation were repeatedly leaked to the US media , triggering a row between the British and American governments. Monday's early morning raids follow raids on a housing complex in Barking east London on Sunday, where a series of arrests were made. CNN's Melissa Bell spoke to residents there who recognized a familiar face among the three dead attackers, identifying him as one of their neighbors and describing him as a family man who kept to himself. JUST WATCHED Attacker's neighbor: He was a family man Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Attacker's neighbor: He was a family man 01:01 Barking resident Erica Gasperri said she went to the police after she saw a man, believed to be the attacker, teaching the local children about Islam. "All of a sudden we saw this individual speaking to the kids ... showing them how to pray," she said. "I could see them from my window." |
I’ve got Nightcrawler too. Kitty Pryde, by Paul Smith. You probably did not realize that the official legal position of Marvel is that contrary to the general thematic content of the Marvel Universe, mutants are not people. A recent Radiolab podcast brings the shocking true story, but it’s easy enough to summarize: Marvel-licensed action figures are generally made abroad and imported into the United States. But “dolls” (which are representations of people) face a higher import duty than “toys” (which are representations of non-humans), so it’s in the interests of Marvel to argue that X-Men action figures should be taxed at the low non-tariff rate. Here’s a sample of litigation: Plaintiff Toy Biz, Inc. (“Toy Biz”) brings this action to challenge the tariff classification by the United States Customs Service (“Customs” or “Defendant”) of various items imported from China and entered at the ports of Seattle and Los Angeles in 1994. The items are action figures from various Marvel Comics series, including the “X-Men,” “Spider-Man,” and the “Fantastic Four,” and an additional item called “Jumpsie,” which is not an action figure. The items are packaged in boxes or blister packs attached to colorful cardboard backing covered with printed illustrations and writing. The packaging of a number of items includes small accessories, such as weapons and other equipment. Customs classified the items as “Dolls representing only human beings and parts and accessories thereof: Dolls whether or not dressed: Other: Not over 33 cm in height,” under subheading 9502.10.40 of the HTSUS (1994), dutiable at 12% ad valorem. Toy Biz contends that the action figures at issue are properly classifiable as “Toys representing animals or other non-human creatures (for example, robots and monsters) and parts and accessories thereof: Other,” under subheading 9503.49.00, HTSUS (1994), dutiable at 6.8% ad valorem. Toy Biz further contends that “Jumpsie” should be classified as a “toy set,” under HTSUS (1994) subheading 9503.70.80, dutiable at 6.8% ad valorem. It’s remarkable, incidentally, the extent to which the politics of “trade deals” have gotten away from the fundamental issues of free trade as seen in an economics textbook. What we have here is a federal 12% sales tax on dolls, but only if the dolls are made in foreign countries, and a different – arbitrarily lower – 6.8% federal sales tax on toys, but again only if the toys are made in foreign countries. There’s no good reason to have special higher sales taxes on toys made in foreign countries, and there’s certainly no good reason to tax dolls and non-doll toys at different rates. It’s nuts and it could and should be addressed by a unilateral acts of congress. The amount of revenue that would be lost to the federal government by repealing these taxes would be tiny, and it’s trivial to think of better ways to raise the money. And yet this core – and quite simple – trade policy issue is a world away from the incredible complexity of the trade deals of the past decade. |
This is my first year participating in Reddit's Secret Santa, and it's been an awesome experience. My Santa shipped out my gifts practically right away, and two of them arrived this weekend! \o/ (According to the tracking numbers I was given, there are still two more on the way! This post will definitely be updated when I receive them.) The first gift arrived stuffed into my mailbox last night (Friday), and I was practically bouncing all the way up to my apartment. I couldn't wait to open it and find out what was inside!!! It's the very first thing I did when I got into my apartment. Inside my package was a very beautifully-wrapped box... that contained a pair of golden bow-and-arrow earrings from my Redditgifts wish list! They're from the shop Compendium, and they are beautiful. :D The postal service had actually attempted to deliver my second gift on Thursday, but I was at work - I've been keeping an eye on my tracking numbers, so I felt bad when I saw the "attempted delivery" notice! It indicated that the parcel was being sent to the post office, and that I'd get a notice in the mail telling me which post office it would be at. (I live in the city itself, so there are four within walking distance of me.) Of course, no notice in the mail yet! But Canada Post's tracking system was able to tell me which post office it wound up at, so today I went for a walk through all the snow to try and pick it up. And the internet was right! It was there for me, and the lovely lady at the counter let me take it even though I didn't have the delivery number. I got it home and opened it up... and inside was a Pumpkin Pasties lip balm and a Pumpkin Pasties candle, both also from my Redditgifts wish list! They're from Bubble & Geek. They both smell AMAZING, and are a perfect way to combine my love of pumpkin-flavoured things and Harry Potter. Thank you to Compendium and Bubble & Geek for the lovely products. And a huge, giant THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to my Secret Santa, whoever you are!!! Alas, both my packages had my Santa's username omitted. Maybe one of the other two packages that are on their way will tell me who my lovely gifter is. If not, Secret Santa, I would love to find out who you are. I want to thank you properly and by name! In the meantime, this post will have to suffice. Thank you again, so much - you've absolutely made my weekend. You're the best! (And, of course, an update on the other two gifts will be added once they arrive! For now, enjoy the ton of pictures I took, because I couldn't help myself. :D ) |
Nicotine levels in many commercially available e-liquids, Sutter said, can be as high as 24 milligrams. Levels in Ponyboy juices range from 18 mg to zero. However, it is what isn't in the juice that makes them different than cigarettes. "A cigarette has over a thousand chemicals in it, including arsenic and an unending list of carcinogens," Sutter said. "The juice for the e-cigarettes has four ingredients. Even the top studies I have seen show it giving off nine chemicals. So you go from a thousand to nine." It was the partners' own experiences with smoking that got them involved with vape culture socially and as a business. "I had a heart condition at 30 years old and I was forced to quit smoking by my doctors," Vickers said. "I had a friend working in a shop like this and he invited me to give it a shot. Within three days I hadn't touched a cigarette. It has been almost two years." Sutter owns a gym in Waterloo called Battleground Athletic Research and Development where he helps people get fit and healthy, yet he smoked for 27 years. "I smoked since I was eight years old," he said. "I tried everything to quit." He said he stopped smoking and started vaping nine months ago. They opened the first Ponyboy Vape shop in Waterloo six months ago and the second in Guelph last month after noticing a significant number of the customers in Waterloo were from Guelph. It is named after Vickers' favourite character, Ponyboy Curtis, from a novel by S.E. Hinton called "The Outsiders" and the 1950s theme is reflective of their rebellious cause. "It's not your regular '50s, with the diner, convertibles, roller skates and poodle skirts," Vickers said. "It's the tattooed, greaser subculture '50s." Despite their youthful outlaw image they don't market to young people. "Our stores, since we opened, legislation or not, are a 19-plus," said Sutter. "You can't see any of our products from the window." Visitors can relax on the couches or sit at the tasting bar and sample a long list of flavoured juices developed specifically for Ponyboy Vapes. Many of the flavours have a '50s theme, such as a navy-cut tobacco flavour called J. Dean, a peach and pear flavour named Monroe, a Hawaiian-themed flavour called Presley, and Chuck Blueberry, which tastes like a blue slushy. Some of their clientele are hobby vapers but most are smokers trying to quit. While Sutter and Vickers are notably short on scientific proof supporting the efficacy of vaping as a smoking cessation tool, they say the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming. "It is so popular because people are seeing results," Sutter said. "They say there are no scientific results but I think the growth of the industry and the number of people who aren't smoking is pretty good results. You don't have to spend a billion dollars on a study to find that out." |
Eye-Ris A short piece of cyberpunkish fiction James Hatton Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jul 3, 2014 It started with a blink. Not when I blinked my eyes. I don’t have that set for anything. I’ve heard that some people have blink bring up the time or some micro-battery meter or something like that, but do you know how many times you blink during a day? Seriously, you blink at the end of each sentence you read. You tried not to right there. Everyone does. Anyway, I realized there was something wrong when the shutter blinked extra. I paid top dollar for my InlineSmoothCarressCamera3. The company is up to the 6th iteration already, but for photogs (or wanna be photogs like myself) the 3 is the one that set the standard. I mean it fits right on top of the pupil with no problem, and the ISCC people have promised to continue to update the applications for the lifespan of this series of EYE-RIS. Given that these things have been lasting a decade each (as well they should with the cost of the damn things) this bad boy should have been golden for at least a few more years. Then the blink. It’s imperceptible. That’s why I don’t think anyone knows about it. ‘But if it’s imperceptible, how could you recognize it?’ Yeah, I know smartass, that’s kind of the point of my story. I’m on my second EYE-RIS. Don’t laugh heartily as you go ‘Oh look at Mistah Moneybags being able to buy TWO top of the line eye-implant smart machines. It isn’t that simple. Ok, so it started when I saved up for my first one. That was probably five or so years ago. The new model had just come out (the one with the little jingle ‘See all you never saw’ .. I was humming it around my apodment for a month while I watched my extra savings account get closer and closer.) So after I had made the scratch to get the attach, I did it. It hurts like hell. I mean, I know that there are a lot of articles about dealing with the pain management of having your optic nerve severed and replaced with a cybernetic implant, but the people that wrote those articles clearly haven’t had it done, because the first two days is screaming… ok, the times that you aren’t on morphee is screaming. The other times you are counting cashmere bunnies that are obviously kneading your genitals. Morphee rules. After the week or two of getting used to it. Learning the eye flickers, the directional arrow, the behind eye field, and the hundreds upon hundreds of syncing and resyncing you have to do to make sure that both eyes are aligned. (I still do some of the exercises to this day, even though I’m well aware I’m at 98% sync) My life got awesome. I mean, the eye didn’t win the lotto or anything for me, but damn is it a convenient piece of tech. Any word spoken that isn’t in the normal common vernacular appears on the left side of your vision. With a preset motion (for me, most of mine involve touching my tongue to my teeth. It was a long time to get the motions right, but it’s pretty sexy, and most people have no idea I’m accessing.) the word pops up and you now seem smarter. If someone mentions a song, you can bookmark it to listen to later. It gives you fun facts about movies you’re watching. And with one good squeeze you can turn it off and it is just a regular old eye. Well, it isn’t, but it acts like one. When I outfitted my unit, I picked the ISCC3. It was the best one I could get for the amount of money I had, and I might have used a little extra on the camera and skinted on the audio. I’ve never been much of an audiophile, so I didn’t feel it was that big of a loss. There are blogs and photostreams dedicated to the clarity of the ISCC3 over all over ocular cameras. Go look them up. The green/red contrast is better than the ISCC4. The clarity is crisper than the ISCC5. The contrast destroys their top competitors. Nobody knows what they did with the 3, but there has been none since that could beat it. The coolest feature of the ISCC is the shutter animation. I know that sounds idiotic, but it is. You see a translucent grey slip of light over your eyes, like someone just waved a piece of sunglasses in front of your face, and you hear a little ‘woosh’ noise in your ear that sounds like one of those old digital cameras with the auto-zoom. Swoop. Woosh. Grey light. Cute sound. That’s it. Every time I double tap my back left molar twice I am taking a 3 photoburst that is immediately sent to my inbox. Swoop Woosh was the last thing I heard before I lost that first EYE-RIS. I got mugged.. but here’s the thing. They wanted my eye. There have been some gangs that are using them as their initiation ritual or some bullshit like that. They wanted my frigging eye. They couldn’t DO anything with it. Once disconnected it isn’t like the tech is even that great on the inside of the EYE part. All the tech is in all that gooey holey mess behind it. That’s where the screaming came from. From the fact that there were sound cuffs grafted to bones in my face so I could hear stupid little noises like ‘woosh’. There are wires digging into my nerve clusters near my jaw so I can tap on a damned bicuspid and see what’s on television later tonight. Gangs don’t change though. At gunpoint, they reached in and ripped it out. They wouldn’t even let me eject it. They wanted to see me in pain and the wires and nerves on fire as biofeedback shot through my entire head. I swear, the scream that came out of me with my hands on my ears to try and block the high pitched squealing and the pain down through my mouth, made the one that came after the original installation sound like a babies whimper. There were people on the scene in seconds trying to comfort me, but I couldn’t hear them over my own screaming and the wooping rushing highpitched wail that was reverberating through my bone into my eardrum. (A flaw they apparently have fixed in more recent installations… thanks assholes.) So that was my first year with the EYE-RIS. Learn it. Love it. Lose it. I spent the next 3 months in intensive rehabilitation while trying to keep my job. I mean, they were really supportive, but I was getting hit with headaches and constant itches and phantom feelings in the hideous socket that remained. It came as a major surprise for me though when they ran the drive for me. That’s really where you are allowed to go ‘Oh poor him..’ because these dozens of people that I work with, and the community pod that I live in all kind of banded together and got enough for me to get a new eye — which was more expensive because first they had to gut everything that was broken, which was more or less everything. They were able to fix some bits here and there, but those monsters ripped the eye and then pulled at the core wire. The nerve bundle. They destroyed the side of my face and made me look like some old cybernetic monster from a science fiction movie. Long story short, I got the new eye. I was back to the road of recovery. I went and got another ICSS3. That’s when I noticed it. The ‘Swoop Woosh’ was wrong. It was no longer ‘Swoop’. It was ‘Swoooop’. You get it? The data transfer to my inbox also took an extra second. I know because after noticing it more and more I installed a transfer widget in my peripheral and would keep an eye on it regularly after I took a photoburst. Is it a second more? Half a second? I don’t know, I never measured it with the first eye, but it definitely is a little longer and a little slower. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled every piece of software in my entire face, but that ‘Swoooop’ is too long. The brief blink of sunglasses over my phototaking eye is too long. I know it is. You are surely asking what I think this means, right? I’m pretty sure it means my photos are going somewhere else. Not sure whether it is all of them or just one of them. I’ve sat in front of my tablet and scanned and worked on where all my pictures are. I’ve tried giving them unique signatures in the file so I can go look for them on the net, but if they’re going to someone else’s private inbox and remaining there, they would never be found again unless someone puts one of them out there online. That brings me to my last, and maybe only realistic piece of evidence. After those scumfucks ripped out my eye, I took a burst. It was the last burst, like I said. When the police said they caught the guy who did it… they said they used my evidence. What evidence, I asked. The last picture I took. Well how the hell would you have a copy of the last picture I took since I never gave it to you, Officer Krupkey? Who the hell gave you access to my private database? He had no answer. One of my doctors tried to tell me that I happily offered it up, but I don’t remember any of that. All I remember is that disgusting guy who dug his fingers into my eyesocket and ripped a piece of me away and now the only thing I ever really earned for myself in this world. This stupid vanity item that I wanted more than anything has been tainted and is sending off images to god knows fucking where. I’m dictating this to my EYE-RIS. I hope you’re listening. I hope you realize that you won. You clearly wanted me to hate this thing and now I do. I can’t stand it. I can’t stand that it’s in my eye or that it is forever tainted with information that is someone else’s. It’s no longer mine. It’s yours. I can’t even get rid of it.. I was told the shock just might fucking kill me, or maybe just render me blind. CAN YOU HEAR ME! [End transmission] |
Millions of Americans who trusted Equifax with sensitive personal and financial data, including social security numbers and credit-card information, are now nervously wondering whether they will be among the unlucky minority of affected customers whose identities are successfully “repurposed” by online criminal groups. One researcher from security firm SecureWorks shared some details about today’s burgeoning marketplace for stolen data with Bloomberg, and the conclusion is clear: It is now easier – and cheaper – for criminals to access and abuse illicit data than ever before. In fact, a high-limit American express card with a high chance of working can be purchased online for less than $20. Criminals can buy files with thousands of low-limit card numbers for pennies on the dollar. According to Bloomberg, “verified” high-limit credit cards from developed countries like the US, Japan, and South Korea are selling on the dark web for the bitcoin equivalent of about $10 to $20. “Verified” means the seller has tested out transactions on the card and found it hasn’t been canceled yet. For scammers on a budget, there’s unverified stolen credit card data, which comes out to pennies a card when bought in bulk. Here’s a screengrab from one dark-web marketplace. Luckily for criminals, cards generally aren’t selling any cheaper on the dark web these days, said Alex Tilley, a researcher at Secureworks. Today’s buyers are more likely to get higher-quality cards, ones with sizable limits that can be used fraudulently with ease. It isn’t as hit-or-miss as it used to be, a welcome change for criminals, chilling news for most of us. Criminals have even set up sophisticated “rating systems” to help value the data. Business cards are preferred, Tilley said, because they don’t have a limit. Those and high-end personal cards—say, a Platinum American Express that has been verified and has an 85 percent rating (judged by the seller to have an 85 percent chance of being successfully used in a fraud)—will go for $15 to $20. A regular Mastercard that doesn’t have a high limit might go for $9. One underground hacker market inexplicably called Trump’s Dumps is selling full identities of individuals just like you for as little as $10 apiece. They’re called fullz, “dossiers that provide enough financial, geographic and biographical information on a victim to facilitate identity theft or other impersonation-based fraud.” Fullz can help a criminal get past those irritating “secret questions” that sites ask to verify your identity. Recently, Secureworks’ researchers have seen more offers of bulk pre-verified card details, along with more identifying information about the owners. In some cases, offers even include the cardholder’s mother’s maiden name. Still, they cost just $10 to $12. Below is a fullz offer with a lot of personal identification on a Korean consumer. In a massive breach like Equifax, hackers can easily walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from selling the data. Meanwhile, the identity thieves who purchased it can reap their own fortune running their scams. Congress, the FTC and Equifax customers – enraged by both the company’s reluctance to initially disclose the breach and its carelessness (some would say tight-fistedness) concerning its cybersecurity defenses – have buried the company in lawsuits and official inquiries. As USA Today revealed yesterday, hackers took advantage of an Equifax security vulnerability two months after an industry group discovered the coding flaw and shared a fix for it, raising questions about why Equifax didn't update its software successfully when the danger became known. We’re looking forward to hearing the whole story from CEO Rick Smith when he testifies before Congress early next month. Whether Smith manages to hang on to his job remains to be seen - calls for his resignation after a 12-year-long scandal-free tenure are mounting. CNBC's Jim Cramer said last night that Smith "should be fired today." But perhaps more worrying for Smith and his C-Suite companions are calls from North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who has demanded a criminal investigation into whether the company's executives - several of whom sold stock during the period between when the company first learned about the hack and when it disclosed it to the public - commited securities fraud. "If that happened, then somebody needs to go to jail," she said. |
By Tseng Ying-yung / Staff reporter Taipei’s Zhongxiao W Road was reopened to traffic yesterday morning after work to tear down an overpass to the Zhongxiao Bridge (忠孝橋) was completed ahead of schedule. However, authorities advised commuters to depart at least 20 minutes earlier or to use public transportation if they are required to pass through the area on their way to work tomorrow morning. Taipei Department of Transportation Commissioner Chung Hui-yu (鍾慧諭), Public Works Department Director Peng Chen-sheng (彭振聲), Traffic Division head Wu Yao-nan (吳耀南) and other officials used a whistle to signal the reopening before traffic resumed at 8am yesterday. Peng said a steel structure is to be built by Nov. 30 to fill in a gap in the bridge after the overpass is demolished, but the Public Works Department is in talks with the construction’s contractor to move the completion date to July. Once the structure is completed, the project is to enter its second phase, in which a bus station used by Kuo-kuang Motor Transportation Co (國光客運) is to be demolished. As Zhongxiao W Road has been reduced from four lanes to three in each direction, people are advised to use public transportation or use the Jhongsing Bridge (中興橋) or Taipei Bridge (台北橋) when commuting to Taipei from New Taipei City, Chung said. If traffic congestion extends to 3km, the department is to allow only large vehicles and motorcycles to directly exit from the Zhongxiao Bridge, while cars are to be directed through the Huanhe (環河) gateway, Chuang said, adding that if traffic backs up for 5km, cars are to be directed to the Jhongsing or Taipei bridges. The department expects traffic in the area to stabilize after a week, she added. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he was satisfied with the demolition work being completed earlier than planned, adding that while work continues on the city’s west area gateway project, the overpass had accomplished its mission and Taipei’s North Gate (北門) is now once again visible, opening a new page in Taipei’s history. “Good preparation is the reason the demolition was successful and ended sooner than planned,” Ko said, adding that the result could not have been accomplished without careful planning and precise execution. He said his administration is following the mantra of “think slowly and act rapidly,” adding that he hopes the government can learn from the success to make the city better. Additional Reporting by I-chia Lee |
Image copyright Reuters Spotify saw revenues reach €1.95bn ($2.2bn; £1.5bn) over the past year, but the Swedish music streaming platform has still not made a profit. Losses deepened at the industry leader, which offers music over the internet for free with advertisements or ad-free for a fixed monthly rate. Revenue increased by 80% over the past year, beating the 45% growth rate of 2014 by a wide margin. Net losses increased by 7% from the previous year to €173m. Spotify's main expenses are royalties paid to artists. It said its revenue from advertisements had nearly doubled while it user base had also grown significantly. It had 89 million active monthly users by the end of 2015, 28 million of which were paying for subscriptions. More competition Spotify, long at the forefront of online music streaming, said it was prioritising investment, as it faces increasing competition. Apple launched its own music streaming service in 2015, while Rhapsody and Deezer are two other companies offering a similar service. As the industry leader, the firm has received a lot of criticism from artists who argue that the royalties they receive from streaming are not fair, and that streaming platforms fail to support new artists. It has led to some big names like Taylor Swift, Adele and Radiohead keeping some or all of their music off the service. |
Obama failed green energy companies list below Update: July 15, 2015: Obama Told America that his Green Investments Would Take The Country Forward but Instead all of them Are Going Belly Up and Taking Jobs And Taxpayer Cash With Them _____________________________________________________________________ • ELECTRIC CAR BATTERY MAKER A123 SYSTEMS HAS FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY AFTER $249 MILLION IN TAXPAYER SUPPORT Today, Taxpayer-Backed A123 Systems, A Maker Of Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries For Electric Cars, Filed For Bankruptcy. “A123 Systems Inc. (AONE), a maker of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, filed for bankruptcy after failing to make a debt payment that was due yesterday. The company listed assets of $459.8 million and debt of $376 million as of Aug. 31 in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Chapter 11 is the section of the Bankruptcy Code used by companies to reorganize.” (Dawn McCarty and Craig Trudell, “Electric Car Battery Maker A123 Systems Files Bankruptcy Papers,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 10/16/12) A123 Systems Has Posted At Least 14 Straight Quarterly Losses With Shares Falling 85 Percent This Year. “A123 has posted at least 14 straight quarterly losses. Its shares have fallen 85 percent this year to 24 cents at yesterday’s close in New York and traded at 16 cents at 8:29 a.m. before the start of regular trading.” (Dawn McCarty and Craig Trudell, “Electric Car Battery Maker A123 Systems Files Bankruptcy Papers,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 10/16/12) (List of Obama Failed Green Energy Companies below) FLASHBACK: In July 2011, President Obama Touted A123 Systems As A Job-Creating Company With Soaring Demand For Its Vehicle Components. OBAMA: “There’s A123, a clean-energy manufacturer in Michigan that just hired its 1,000th worker as demand has soared for its vehicle components. Companies like these are taking root and putting people to work in every corner of the country.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By The President On Fuel Efficiency Standards , Washington, DC, 7/29/11) After A $249.1 Million Federal Grant And Struggling With Costs Of Recalled Batteries, A123 Systems Is Looking To Make A “Deal With Wanxiang Group Corp., China’s Largest Auto-Parts Maker, For Financing In Exchange For A Majority Ownership Stake.” “A123, which received a $249.1 million federal grant in 2009 to build a U.S. factory, needed a financial lifeline after struggling with costs from a recall of batteries supplied to Fisker, the plug-in hybrid luxury carmaker. A123 announced in August that it was working on a deal with Wanxiang Group Corp., China’s largest auto-parts maker, for financing in exchange for a majority ownership stake.” (Dawn McCarty and Craig Trudell, “Electric Car Battery Maker A123 Systems Files Bankruptcy Papers,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 10/16/12) With Wanxiang’s Large Stake, Obama’s “Made In America” Dream Is Unlikely To Come True For Electric Vehicles And Batteries. “President Barack Obama called A123 Chief Executive Officer David Vieau and then-Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm during a September 2010 event celebrating the opening of the plant in Livonia, Michigan, that the company received the U.S. grant to help build. ‘This is about the birth of an entire new industry in America — an industry that’s going to be central to the next generation of cars,” Obama said in the phone call, according to a transcript provided by the White House. “When folks lift up their hoods on the cars of the future, I want them to see engines and batteries that are stamped: Made in America.'” (Dawn McCarty and Craig Trudell, “Electric Car Battery Maker A123 Systems Files Bankruptcy Papers,” ~Bloomberg Businessweek, 10/16/12) A123 Is Saddled With A Costly Recall Due To Faulty Batteries Supplied To Fisker Automotive – Another Obama Green Energy Boondoggle A123 Incurred Heavy Losses Due To A Recall Of Defective Battery Packs It Supplied To Fisker Automotive. “The losses stem from A123’s recall of defective batteries built at its Livonia, Michigan, plant. The flaw came to light earlier this year when a Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid with an A123 battery failed during a test by Consumer Reports magazine. The repairs will cost nearly $67 million and force A123 to rebuild its inventory. A123 makes the battery for the Fisker Karma, the BMW hybrid 3- and 5-Series cars and GM’s all-electric Chevy Spark due in 2013.” (Deepa Seetharaman, “A123 Sees ‘Going Concern’ Risk Due To Steep Losses,” Reuters, 5/30/12) One Of Fisker’s Karmas Broke Down In The Middle Of A Consumer Reports Test, Spawning A Battery Recall. “Earlier this year, one of the Karmas stopped working in the middle of a Consumer Reports road test — an embarrassing breakdown that Fisker later blamed on a faulty battery. The lithium-ion batteries became the subject of a recall, including for a defect that raised the risk of fires.” (Matthew Mosk, “Fisker May Never Build Electric Cars In US,” ABC News, 5/30/12) Consumer Reports Calls Government-Financed, Luxury-Hybrid Fisker Automotive’s Karma An “Ergonomic Disaster” That “Does Not Fare Well Against Most Other Luxury Vehicles” Where “The Karma’s Problems Outweighed The Good.” “An influential consumer magazine said Fisker Automotive’s Karma plug-in hybrid has a variety of flaws, from limited visibility to a poorly designed touch-screen system that amounts to an ‘ergonomic disaster.’ The less-than-glowing report from Consumer Reports magazine is the latest blow for Fisker, which is looking to raise funds after being denied access to more than half of a $529 million government loan that was the cornerstone of its business plan. Consumer Reports tested a $107,850 Karma – the most expensive vehicle the magazine has tested – and said it does not fare well against most other luxury vehicles, due partly to its cramped interior and overly complex controls system. ‘Although we found its ride, handling and braking performance sound and it has first-class interior materials, the Karma’s problems outweighed the good,” said Jake Fisher, director of Consumer Reports’ auto test center.” (Deepa Seetharaman, “Fisker’s Pricey Karma Car Plagued With Flaws’:Consumer Reports,” Reuters, 9/25/12) Fisker Drew Down $193 Million From An Obama Administration Energy Loan Prior To the Funds Being Frozen. “Fisker intends to build the Atlantic at a former General Motors Co. factory in Delaware, he said. The company had cast doubt on the future of the Delaware factory earlier this year after the Obama administration last year suspended payments on a $529 million U.S. Department of Energy loan that was funding the Atlantic project. Fisker drew about $193 million of the loan to engineer its hybrid before the funds were frozen.” (Joseph White, “Fisker Held Funding Talks,” The Wall Street Journal , 10/1/12) • AFTER BILLIONS SPENT ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND BATTERIES, SALES ARE NOWHERE CLOSE TO OBAMA’S GOAL OF 1 MILLION CARS “Electric-Vehicle Sales Since 2011 Totaled Fewer Than 50,000 Through September, Just 5 Percent Of The President’s Target.” “Whether the technology itself is a loser or consumers are merely slow to adapt to new things, car buyers so far haven’t embraced electric vehicles in numbers close to Obama’s goal. Electric-vehicle sales since 2011 totaled fewer than 50,000 through September, just 5 percent of the president’s target.” (Angela Greling Keane, “Obama’s $5 Billion Slow To Charge Electric Car Purchases,” Bloomberg, 10/16/12) Brett Smith, Co-Director At The Center For Automotive Research: “The Reality Is: That Business Model Isn’t There Yet …” “‘The reality is: that business model isn’t there yet,’ said Brett Smith, co-director of manufacturing, engineering and technology at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ‘It isn’t there yet for volume. It isn’t there yet for reaching the mass consumer. And it probably isn’t going to be there for a while.'” (Angela Greling Keane, “Obama’s $5 Billion Slow To Charge Electric Car Purchases,” Bloomberg, 10/16/12) The Washington Post : “The American Taxpayer Has Gotten Precious Little For The Administration’s Investment In Battery-Powered Vehicles, In Terms Of Permanent Jobs Or Lower Carbon Dioxide Emissions.” “No matter how you slice it, the American taxpayer has gotten precious little for the administration’s investment in battery-powered vehicles, in terms of permanent jobs or lower carbon dioxide emissions. There is no market, or not much of one, for vehicles that are less convenient and cost thousands of dollars more than similar-sized gas-powered alternatives – but do not save enough fuel to compensate. The basic theory of the Obama push for electric vehicles – if you build them, customers will come – was a myth. And an expensive one, at that.” (Editorial, “GM’s Vaunted Volt Is On The Road To Nowhere Fast,” The Washington Post , 9/14/12) The Failures Of Subsidized Car Manufacturers Are Dragging U.S. Advanced-Battery Industry Down With Them, Leaving The Battery Companies Vulnerable For Foreign Purchase. “As these companies flail, they are taking the much-ballyhooed U.S. advanced-battery industry down with them. A Chinese company had to buy out distressed A123, to which the Energy Department has committed $263 million in production aid and research money. Ener1, which ran through $55 million of a $118 million federal grant before going bankrupt, sold out to a Russian tycoon.” (Editorial, “GM’s Vaunted Volt Is On The Road To Nowhere Fast,” The Washington Post , 9/14/12) Despite The Commitment Of Millions Of Taxpayer Dollars, It is Increasingly Clear That Obama’s Paltry Campaign Promise To Get 1 Million All-Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles Will Not Hit 2015 Target. “As a candidate for president in 2008, Barack Obama set a goal of getting 1?million all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015. In February 2011, the Obama administration’s Energy Department issued an analysis purporting to show that, with the help of subsidies and tax credits, ‘the goal is achievable.’ This was a paltry claim in the first place, since 1 million cars amount to less than 1?percent of the total U.S. fleet. Yet it is increasingly clear that, despite the commitment of many millions of taxpayer dollars, the United States will not hit Mr. Obama’s target by 2015.” (Editorial, “GM’s Vaunted Volt Is On The Road To Nowhere Fast,” The Washington Post , 9/14/12) “Analysis Suggest That We’ll Be Lucky To Get A Third of The Way There.” “A recent CBS News analysis suggested that we’ll be lucky to get a third of the way there. The Energy Department study assumed that General Motors would produce 120,000 plug-in hybrid Volts in 2012. GM never came close to that and recently suspended Volt production at its Hamtramck, Mich., plant, scene of a presidential photo-op. So far, GM has sold a little more than 21,000 Volts, even with the help of a $7,500 tax credit, recent dealer discounting and U.S. government purchases. When you factor in the $1.2?billion cost of developing the Volt, GM loses tens of thousands of dollars on each model.” (Editorial, “GM’s Vaunted Volt Is On The Road To Nowhere Fast,” The Washington Post , 9/14/12) • EVEN IN BANKRUPTCY, OBAMA’S FAILED INVESTMENTS HAUNT TAXPAYERS Solyndra’s Investors Stand To Make Millions Off Of Tax Benefits The Energy Department Transferred To Them To Avoid Political Embarrassment The Wall Street Journal : “In The Latest Twist, Solyndra’s Investors Could Be Rewarded For Their Failure, Thanks To A Tax Benefit The Administration Handed Out In A Bid To Evade Political Accountability.” “Perhaps you thought the Solyndra scandal amounted to a $535 million government loan that will never be repaid. No such luck. In the latest twist, Solyndra’s investors could be rewarded for their failure, thanks to a tax benefit the Administration handed out in a bid to evade political accountability.” (Editorial, “The Solyndra Memorial Tax Break,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/12) Solyndra’s Investors Are Trying To Take Advantage Of $350 Million In Tax Benefits They Received As Part Of The Company’s Bankruptcy. “Having sold off its manufacturing plant, fired nearly 1,000 workers and proven the non-viability of its business model, Solyndra’s only real assets are what the IRS calls ‘tax attributes.’ These are between $875 million and $975 million in net operating losses that can reduce future taxable income, which the IRS values as high as $350 million. Before it went toes up, Solyndra also accumulated $12 million in solar tax credits that can reduce tax liabilities dollar for dollar.” (Editorial, “The Solyndra Memorial Tax Break,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/12) The Wall Street Journal: “Energy Created The Tax Avoidance Problem In The First Place By Gifting Argonaut And Madrone The Net Operating Losses To Delay The Solyndra Crack-Up That Was Fast Becoming Inevitable.” “But this is little more than an ex post facto double-cross. Energy created the tax avoidance problem in the first place by gifting Argonaut and Madrone the net operating losses to delay the Solyndra crack-up that was fast becoming inevitable. That left taxpayers worse off than if they simply let Solyndra fail.” (Editorial, “The Solyndra Memorial Tax Break,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/12) The Wall Street Journal: “The Larger Problem Is Mr. Obama’s Economic Model That Seeks To Picks Winners And Losers And Misallocates Capital.” “The larger problem is Mr. Obama’s economic model that seeks to picks winners and losers and misallocates capital. That’s bad enough. But does he have to stick it to taxpayers twice for the same failed investment?” (Editorial, “The Solyndra Memorial Tax Break,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/12) • Taxpayers Will Only Recover A Fraction Of The Money Invested In Solyndra Due To The Obama Administration’s Political Calculation In February 2011, The Department Of Energy Agreed To “Waive Its Privilege As First Creditor In The Event Of A Bankruptcy.” “The political brawl over Solyndra, the solar array manufacturer that received $528 million in government aid and then went bankrupt, shifted focus Friday to a decision by the Energy Department that allowed another lender to step in to help rescue the company. That decision in February gave Solyndra a temporary reprieve and a chance to survive, but it also forced the government to waive its privilege as first creditor in the event of a bankruptcy – which then occurred at the end of August. … The Energy Department’s approval was required for Solyndra to borrow any new funds, because if the loan was consummated, the federal government would have to surrender its status as the most senior lender, in favor of the new lender.” (Matthew L. Wald, “Questions Raised Over Letting Another Lender Help A Failing Solar Company,” The New York Times , 9/16/11) As A Result, Obama’s Department Of Energy Allowed Taxpayers To Take A Back Seat To George Kaiser’s Argonaut Investments. “Complicating the politics of the situation for the Obama administration, part of the new loan came from Argonaut, the investment company backed by George Kaiser, an Oklahoma oil billionaire who is an Obama campaign contributor. Argonaut was already heavily invested in Solyndra, and provided another $69 million in cash in exchange for taking over $75 million that Solyndra was owed by its customers.” (Matthew L. Wald, “Questions Raised Over Letting Another Lender Help A Failing Solar Company,” The New York Times , 9/16/11) In 2008, George Kaiser Bundled Between $50,000 And $100,000 For Obama. (Center For Responsive Politics, Accessed 10/16/12) Solyndra’s Private Equity Investors Are Expected To Recoup $70 Million Through The Sale Of Solyndra Assets. “Documents filed Friday evening in a Delaware bankruptcy court say that private-equity firms, including one whose chief has ties to the Obama administration, will get back at least half of the $70 million they put into Solyndra early last year as the company battled for survival.” (Peg Brickley, “Solyndra Outlines Its Bankruptcy Repayment Plans,” Dow Jones Newswires, 7/31/12) “Unsecured Creditors Owed $50 Million To $120 Million Will Recover 2.5 Percent To 6 Percent, According To Solyndra’s Chapter 11 Estimates.” (Peg Brickley, “Solyndra Outlines Its Bankruptcy Repayment Plans,”Dow Jones Newswires, 7/31/12) Taxpayers Are Expected To Recover $24 Million Of The Loan To Solyndra. “Court papers estimate that one piece of the U.S. loan, nearly $143 million, could go unpaid, or it could receive as much as a 17 percent recovery. A second piece, $385 million, is in for a recovery of ‘$0 plus, depending on outcome of liquidation efforts,’ court papers say. … $24 million Amount predicted to be repaid under its Chapter 11 plan” (Peg Brickley, “Solyndra Outlines Its Bankruptcy Repayment Plans,” Dow Jones Newswires, 7/31/12) Failed Green Energy Companies Backed by President Barack Obama Below is a list of failed energy companies backed by President Barack Obama and funded with tax dollars. President Obama has gone to great lengths to support policies to advance so-called green energy technologies but so far has met with utter failure. The President plans to double down on these unproven, expensive failed technologies if he gets a second term. In his acceptance speech at the DNC in Charlotte, President Obama announced his plans to continue support of these same green energy technologies despite the fact that they remain unproven alternatives to gas, coal and oil. Most green energy or “renewable” energy developments currently being tested are years away from being put to a practical use. President Obama has proven himself to be a rigid ideologue who is unwilling to let go of the failed policies that plagued his first term. This has many Americans fearful of the future of the United States. As of now there is no technology or renewable energy on the planet that can lift an airplane off the ground and keep it in the air or propel a cargo ship across the vast ocean-ways. Most Americans are asking, “Can the United States of America REALLY afford FOUR MORE YEARS of President Obama? List Of Failed Green Energy Jobs & Companies – By Obama Update: 7/19/16: The Amonix Solar: FAIL! – manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas, subsidized by more than $20 million in federal tax credits and grants given by Obama Administration, has closed its 214,000 square foot facility a year after it opened. Solar Trust of America: FAIL! – Filed Bankruptcy in Oakland, CA, April 3, 2012 Bright Source: FAIL! – Bright Source warned Obama’s Energy Department officials in March 2011 that delays in approving a $1.6 billion U.S. loan guarantee would embarrass the White House and force the solar-energy company to close. Bright Source lost billions of dollars but is getting more money to keep trying. Can you say, “This isn’t working Mr. President?” Solyndra: FAIL! – Obama gave $500,000,000 (that’s a HALF BILLION!) in taxpayer money to Solyndra who shut its doors and laid off 1100 workers in August 2011 after billions in losses due to failure to make a solar product that works! Barack Obama was not vetted before being elected President and neither was Solyndra before Mr. Obama threw that taxpayer money down the drain of unproven technology. LSP Energy: FAIL! – LSP Energy LP filed bankruptcy protection and a sale of its assets in Feb 2012 Energy Conversion Devices: FAIL! – On February 14, 2012 Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. and its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy Abound Solar: FAIL! – Abound Solar received a $400 million loan guarantee from Barack Obama then announced in June, 2012 that it would file for bankruptcy. Many of these failed corporations, such as Abound, donated MILLIONS and continue to donate to Barack Obama’s campaign. Can you say, “Democrat Slush Fund”? Yes this is illegal. But Democrats are being protected from being prosecuted, for now. SunPower: FAIL! – SunPower stopped producing solar cells in 2011 at near bankruptcy then restructured with the help of, get this, oil giant TOTAL, Inc. who owns 60% stake in SunPower. Irony? The company is still struggling. Beacon Power: FAIL! – Beacon Power Corp filed for bankruptcy protection in October, 2011 just a year after Obama approved a $43 million Government loan guarantee. They remain barely in business, still struggling to make energy that makes sense or that works at all. Ecotality: FAIL! – ECOtality, a San Francisco green-tech company that never earned any money and remains on the verge of bankruptcy after receiving roughly $115 million in two loan guarantees from President Obama, who wants to do some more of this kind of Democrat Slush Fund Guarantees after he is elected to a 2nd term. A123 Solar: FAIL! – A123 Solar received $279 million from taxpayers thanks to President Obama’s Department of Energy loan guarantees even after the Solyndra bankruptcy and is getting another $500M from Obama after a loss of $400M. UniSolar: FAIL! – Uni-Solar filed for Ch 11 bankruptcy in June 20, 2012 after laying off hundreds of workers. UniSolar received even more Obama money after showing now progress, no profits and is still failing… yet they still remain in business with Obama’s help. Azure Dynamics: FAIL! – Azure Dynamics filed for bankruptcy in June , 2012 wasting millions in Obama “Stimulus” money and received abatement on taxes owed and and several tax credits. Azure Dynamics LLC filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the US. Azure laid off 120 of its 160 employees in Oak Park; Boston; Vancouver, British Columbia; and the UK. Evergreen Solar: FAIL! – Evergreen Solar received $527 Million in Taxpayer money from Obama and filed bankruptcy in late 2011. Evergreen, which closed its taxpayer-supported Devens factory in March, 2011 cut more than 1800 jobs. Evergreen’s $450 million factory, turned out to be a colossal “waste” of taxpayer money. Ener1: FAIL! Ener1 Inc. received a $118 million U.S. Energy Department grant from President Obama to make electric-car batteries but filed for bankruptcy protection January 2012 after defaulting on bond debt. Update: In May 2012 Obama visited a dusty, desert town 30 miles outside Las Vegas Wednesday to declare he’s doubling down on failed federal efforts to boost the solar industry which has NEVER proven to produce a single working product. Like Socialism, no evidence ot works, but they just keep doubling down on the failed ideals!. Republicans believe Obama is gambling with taxpayer dollars as he continues to aggressively push alternative forms of energy proven to be more than 20 years off in working effectively and being affordable. After the failure of Solyndra, which resulted in the loss of half a billion dollars in taxpayer dollars President Obama is going to give America more of teh same: FAIL. This is one of those interesting left-wing ideas which works theoretically as long as it’s not real,” Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich charged on the campaign trail Wednesday. “And then you put in a half billion dollars and you go, ‘Oh that didn’t quite work.'” Obama sharply disagrees and used the world’s largest solar power plant of its kind — with one million solar panels dotting the desert here — to assert it is his critics who are out of touch with reality. “some companies will fail, some companies will succeed.”-Pres. Obama But None you have backed have succeeded. Your record is 0 for 300, rather 0 for $6 Tillion in taxpayer debt. And many many more on the horizon… Mar 29, 2012 Washington- At his weekly press briefing today, Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) called on the Obama administration to provide information the House Energy & Commerce Committee has requested pertaining to the $10 billion taxpayer dollars that have been spent on the Energy Department’s failed Solyndra-style Section 1603 ‘stimulus’ loan program. The Congressman has vowed that oversight of the administration’s policies and their impact on job creation will be a major focus for the House this year. Congressman Boehner also highlighted House Republicans’ continuing focus on addressing rising gas prices and creating a better environment for private-sector job creation with the American Energy Initiative. Following are video and excerpts of Congressman Boehner’s remarks: ON REPUBLICANS’ EFFORT TO HOLD THE ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTABLE FOR ITS FAILED DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ‘STIMULUS’ LOAN PROGRAM: “You know, I made clear earlier this year that oversight of the Obama administration’s policies on jobs, on the economy, and its spending taxpayer dollars was going to be a priority. Two weeks ago, Chairman Upton at the Energy & Commerce Committee began looking into the Department of Energy’s Section 1603 grant program, a Solyndra-style ‘stimulus’ program that offers cash payments to renewable energy companies. More than $10 billion – that’s with a ‘b’ – $10 billion has been spent on this, and Secretary Chu said it created ‘tens of thousands of jobs,’ except there’s no evidence to support that. “The Energy & Commerce Committee set a deadline for today for the Energy Department & Treasury Department to produce documents or information about what taxpayers got for their $10 billion. The administration thus far has failed to provide the committee with any information to justify this claim.” “Listen, the American people continue to ask the question ‘Where are the jobs?’ They deserve answers and they deserve the truth.” ON THE NEED FOR BIPARTISAN, COMMON-SENSE SOLUTIONS TO EXPAND AMERICAN ENERGY & ADDRESS SOARING GAS PRICES: “Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on failed ‘stimulus’ programs, we should be working together on common-sense solutions to expand American energy production and address rising gas prices. With or without the Democrats’ cooperation, Republicans here on Capitol will continue to work toward this objective.” ON HOUSE REPUBLICANS TAKING ACTION TO ADDRESS SOARING GAS PRICES WITH THE AMERICA ENERGY INITIATIVE: “One month ago today, during a conversation at the White House, I was encouraged by the president’s willingness to discuss the possibility of working together on some of the bipartisan, House-passed energy bills. Many of these bipartisan proposals have received support from the president’s own jobs council. But gas prices have gotten worse, and the administration has taken absolutely no action. Republicans aren’t going to wait for the Obama administration to act on behalf of families and small businesses. “Yesterday, the HEAT team launched the next phase of the American Energy Initiative focusing on rising gas prices. This phase include bills – for example – to responsibly increase energy production on federal lands and freeze new regulations on refineries that will have a harmful impact on our economy. Our committee chairmen are hard at work on both additional legislation to address this issue.” Read Latest on Obama Green Energy Failure by Newt Gingrich here |
Three days before President Obama seized upon George Zimmerman's acquittal as an opportunity to talk about racial profiling, he offered effusive praise for New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, long a target of criticism for law enforcement practices that discriminate based on skin color and ethnicity. The juxtaposition of these comments suggests Obama would rather attack an easy target than confront issues with much clearer implications for equality under the law. While Zimmerman surely deserves criticism for the rash actions that led to his deadly fight with Trayvon Martin, the evidence that he considered the teenager suspicious because of his complexion is meager. The subject of race was not mentioned during the trial, and a juror interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper last week said it did not come up during deliberations either. She was persuaded that Zimmerman "would have reacted the exact same way" if Martin had been white, Hispanic, or Asian, because "he profiled anybody who came in and acted strange." Yet Obama implicitly portrayed Zimmerman as racist. "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," he said on Friday, recalling his own encounters with fearful motorists, suspicious department store clerks, and nervous, handbag-clutching ladies in elevators who viewed him as a potential criminal based on nothing more than his African ancestry. Such experiences, he explained, "inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida." Perhaps so, but that does not mean the interpretation is accurate. By contrast, there is no mistaking the racially disproportionate impact of the "stop and frisk" tactics championed by Kelly, whom Obama talked up in a Univision interview on Tuesday as a possible secretary of homeland security, calling him "one of the best there is" and "very well qualified for the job." In contrast with Zimmerman, who has never been credibly accused of shooting Martin because of his race, Kelly is named in a federal lawsuit that charges the NYPD with routinely violating the Fourth and 14th Amendments through a program of street stops that target blacks or Hispanics 87 percent of the time. The number of such stops septupled during Kelly's first nine years as Mayor Michael Bloomberg's police commissioner, from fewer than 100,000 in 2002 to almost 700,000 in 2011; last year there were 533,000. Although the stops, most of which involve pat-downs, are supposedly based on "reasonable suspicion" of criminal activity, nine times out of 10 they do not result in an arrest or even a summons. They almost never discover guns, although that is the official goal of the pat-downs. More often the searches find small amounts of marijuana, possession of which is ordinarily a citable offense. But in a tricky maneuver Kelly concedes is illegal, cops will often claim marijuana pulled out of pockets or bags during a stop was possessed "in public view," a misdemeanor that justifies an arrest. Not surprisingly, pot busts have skyrocketed along with street stops, and 87 percent of the arrestees are black or Hispanic, even though surveys indicate whites are at least as likely to smoke marijuana. As Obama noted on Friday, "there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws—everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws." In New York City under Ray Kelly, that history is still being made. While Kelly's defenders argue that the racially skewed impact of "stop and frisk" is a side effect of sending cops where the crime is, the NYPD's program of spying on innocent Muslims in the name of fighting terrorism explicitly discriminated based on religion and national origin. As the Associated Press revealed in 2011, the NYPD "put American citizens under surveillance and scrutinized where they ate, prayed and worked, not because of charges of wrongdoing but because of their ethnicity." Last week Obama declared that "Ray Kelly has obviously done an extraordinary job in New York." That's true enough, but not necessarily in a good way. |
This is my draft proposal for constructing a grassroots egalitarian socio-economic community system. It is in its first draft stage and requires extensive debate in order to: determine the strengths and weaknesses; assess feasibility of implementation; revise according to what people actually want to work on; and so on, to set us up for success. While some seek confrontation with the most powerful institutions of the day, I don’t see the benefit. This proposal is my non-violent anti-confrontational reaction to the sad lack of real community organization that exists in the United States at present. Instead of waiting around for the Glorious Revolution, we must first get to the point where people understand the values necessary to move past tyranny. I believe this is the ticket. Please read the attached document and let me know what you think. This needs to be debated and discussed and, if popular, implemented. All power is illusory, so we have nothing to lose through parallel institutional creation. Let’s escape the narrow path to darkness that we’re always being ushered toward and find our own way. Alternative-Community-Building Advertisements Like this: Like Loading... |
So I’m hard at work on the Brave New World chapter of my multi-star winning series on Civilization 5 achievements. However, I’ve run into a snag – Brave New World has some known bugs! My game crashed to desktop during an especially long attempt at some of the more challenging achievements, and my progress is blocked until they’ve been fixed. In the meantime, I thought I would document the two known crash bugs in Brave New World that I learned about through the 2K forums. Hopefully, with this info, you’ll be able to avoid them. Brave New World Crash Bugs: American Archeology Bug This one’s simple enough. If you’re: Playing as the Americans Research Archeology Dig up an Antiquity Site in neutral (ie, not owned) territory The game tends to crash. So, either don’t play as the Americans, don’t play as the Americans and go crazy with archeological digging, or don’t do so in neutral territory. If you’ve got a save from right before you did this, you might be able to interrupt the Archeologist and move him somewhere else. Brave New World Crash Bugs: Trade Route Razing Bug This one’s a bit easier to trigger, and it’s the one I ran afoul of. Conquer a city that has a trade route Raze the city that has the trade route The game has a chance of getting into a real bad state and probably crashing. There are a couple of symptoms I noticed: The game freezes or crashes to desktop on the Barbarian Turn You can’t open the trade route interface without crashing These two things are pretty good signs that you’ve hit this bug. When I hit this bug, it was the turn after the city had finished razing. I was in the process of razing another city, which I assumed was the one causing the bug. What I did to fix it was load an old autosave and stop the razing of the first city. After a couple of turns, I checked the trade route interface and the trade route had stopped, so I razed it again successfully. I’d say the key takeaway here is to be careful about razing cities, and to keep a save a turn before they’re completely gone. That way, you can back up a turn or two if you run into this bug. Brave New World Crash Bugs: Others? If you’ve got a different bug than the ones I’ve listed here, I’d suggest going to the 2K forums and posting a new thread in the Civilization V support forum. There are some sticky threads there that give you an idea as to how to best submit your issue. I’d suggest grabbing your save file and posting it somewhere for for others to test as well – it’s very helpful for confirming that it’s not just something with your PC. |
With used prices now starting at less than £20,000, the 997 is becoming an affordable option if you dream of owning a Porsche 911. Take a considered approach to buying a 997 and you could land yourself a real bargain, but it is also possible to make an expensive mistake if you don’t know what you are looking for. The Porsche 997 launched in 2004 with a Carrera, complete with a 321bhp 3.6-litre version of the flat-six used in its predecessor the 996, and a Carrera S that boasted a 3.8-litre version of the same engine capable of generating 355bhp. Both were available with a six-speed manual gearbox or a five-speed Tiptronic auto. These early cars have proved reliable and used 997s enjoy a first-time MoT pass rate in excess of 85% (with minor headlight problems the most common cause of failure). As is usual with the Porsche 911, the model range quickly expanded and Carrera 4 and 4S, Turbo and GT3 variants arrived over the next couple of years, along with a 204mph GT2. The 2009 model year saw the launch of the second generation 997, which featured a new engine with direct fuel injection and more power (340bhp in the 3.6 and 380bhp in the 3.8). Other changes included the replacement of the Tiptronic with the PDK twin-clutch auto, improved suspension and a new front bumper design. Prices for the second generation 997, which was manufactured until 2012, remain relatively high and are likely to do so for some time. This is partly due to limited availability, as the financial crash saw the number of new 911s sold dip, which is now having an impact on the used market. Whichever version of the 997 you buy, you should end up with a car that is great to drive and will last for years if well looked after and serviced regularly. However, there are a handful of known issues to be careful of, including some that require specialist equipment and trained staff to investigate. We offer a full Pre-Purchase Inspection at the Revolution Porsche workshop in Brighouse, West Yorkshire that will help you to spot expensive problems before you agree to buy or give you peace of mind that the used Porsche 997 you’ve chosen is in great condition. Early Porsche 997 Carreras can now be bought for less than £20,000. Service history A full service history, preferably accompanied by invoices for any work that has been undertaken, is desirable when buying any used car, but it is particularly important with a Porsche 911. A high-performance car needs to be maintained by experts, following the correct service regime, to remain in top condition. Tread very carefully with any 997 that has been maintained at non-specialist garages, as it is likely to be a sign that the owner has not taken great care of it. Good mechanics who haven’t had Porsche training can easily miss problems on these cars, simply because they don’t know what to look for, so it is much safer to buy a 997 that has been looked after by a specialist. The service history and invoices should also tell you if any repairs have been completed and whether OEM or Porsche parts and fluids were used. The invoice for the last service should be particularly useful, as the list of advisories will give you an idea of what jobs (and costs) are imminent. Over-revving If you have searched any online Porsche forum for information about the 997, you are certain to have seen discussions about over-rev events and how important they are. Some enthusiasts believe they are simply an indication of a sports car being driven ‘enthusiastically’ (something more cautious owners may describe as being ‘thrashed’), but Porsche takes the problem very seriously and over-rev events can invalidate manufacturer warranties. An interrogation of the ECU will tell you how many over-rev events (when the rotational speed of the engine reaches or goes over the rev limiter) there have been and how recently they occurred. Both parts of the result are significant and could raise concerns about the car. Damage caused to the engine by the over-rev event may not become apparent immediately, so you need to be careful of any 997 that has suffered one in the past 50 operating hours. A high volume of over-rev events could be a sign that the engine has been consistently over worked throughout its life. The ECU records the data in six separate ranges and events in ranges 1-3 are not usually considered to be as serious as those in ranges 4-6. But, it is not simple enough for rules of thumb to be of much use and you’ll need an expert to interpret the results. This should only be an issue on manuals, as it should not be possible to push Tiptronic and PDK models past the limiter. However, while over-rev events on autos are rare, they are not entirely unknown and if you are spending £20,000 on the car, it is well worth having the check done. The Revolution Porsche Pre-Purchase Inspection includes Rev Ranges and our trained technicians will flag up any concerns in the final condition report. Checking the Rev Ranges is essential before buying a Porsche 997. IMS bearing failure The notorious and costly IMS bearing failure – which can result in catastrophic engine failure – was an issue with the earliest first generation 997s, but the introduction of a stronger factory-fitted bearing in late 2006 largely solved the problem. You should try not to worry about it if the 997 you are looking at is model year 2007 or later, as the larger bearing is much less likely to fail and cannot be retro-fitted without a full engine strip, but it is worth asking some questions if it is older than that. Find out whether the owner has had the factory-fitted IMS bearing replaced by the highly-effective retrofit solution, in which case you can be confident of avoiding any problems. If not, make sure you have a specialist take a look at the car before you buy it and think carefully about having the retrofit ceramic bearing installed as a precaution. Bore scoring Another issue you are likely to have read about on Porsche forums is bore scoring, which can also lead to engine failure. The extent of the problem has been exaggerated and in reality it has only affected a very small proportion of 997s; although that will be of little consolation to you if it happens to your car and you are left with a repair bill for thousands. Bore scoring isn’t a problem for the direct fuel injection engines of the second generation Porsche 997 or for the first generation Turbos and GT models. With the first generation flat-six engines, it is most likely to occur on the 3.8 but is rare on the 3.6. The key symptoms to look for are a blackened nearside exhaust tip or a tapping noise at idle. If you spot either of these, or even if you don’t and you just want reassurance that a major problem is not imminent, arrange for a borescope inspection before agreeing to buy. Coil packs One of the most off-putting things to encounter on a test drive is a misfiring engine, but it isn’t necessarily a sign of a major problem. If everything else looks ok with the used Porsche 997 you are interested in, arrange for a specialist to inspect the car before making a final decision. The most common reason for misfires is a crack in the coil packs due to them being exposed to high temperatures in their location next to the exhaust. They are likely to need to be replaced several times during the 997’s life, but fortunately it is a simple and relatively inexpensive fix. A misfire during the test drive shouldn’t necessarily deter you from buying a used Porsche 997. Transmission You shouldn’t find too much to trouble you here, as both the manual and auto gearboxes have proved to be highly reliable and clutches have a life expectancy of around 50,000 miles, unless the car has been driven hard. Find out whether the used 997 you are considering buying has had a clutch replacement and, if so, check that the work was completed by a Porsche specialist using genuine/Porsche approved parts. The invoice for the job should contain all the details. One thing to be aware of is that the manual gearshift cable is prone to failure and is likely to require replacing at some point. Brakes As you would expect from Porsche, the brakes on the 997 are excellent. Of course, pads and eventually discs are wear and tear items, so need replacing occasionally. If the current owner has had them changed, check that the work was carried out by a Porsche specialist using genuine or OEM parts. The biggest problem you are likely to encounter is corrosion on the inner disc faces if the 997 has not been used regularly. It is difficult to spot, so it is well worth organising an inspection by a specialist if you are considering buying a low mileage example. Ceramic brakes were available as an option and they do provide exceptional braking performance, making them ideal for track use. However, they cost at least four times as much as standard steel brakes when they need to be replaced, so think carefully before agreeing to pay extra for a 997 with them fitted. Suspension The suspension is another of the Porsche 997’s strong points – particularly in the Carrera S, which has Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) as standard – and is very durable. The lower control arm bushes usually wear out after three or four years; a creaking noise from the front suspension is a sign that they are on the way out. It is a simple and relatively inexpensive job for a Porsche specialist to replace them. Radiators and condensers The coolant radiators and aircon condensers located behind the vents in the nose are prone to leaks, often caused by stone chips or corrosion resulting from leaves and debris being allowed to gather around them. The vents in many Porsche 997s are only cleaned out when they are serviced, as they are difficult to access without removing the bumper, so it is no surprise that the radiators behind them are in poor condition after two or three years. Some owners have opted to fit pieces of mesh behind the intakes to help protect the radiators and condensers. But even if the 997 you are interested in has had that simple modification, it is sensible to get an expert opinion on the condition of the coolant radiators and aircon condensers before buying. Damage to the radiators can lead to overheating and to the condensers, a loss of aircon, and there is no alternative to having them replaced, which can be an expensive job. Damaged radiators are one of the most common problems to look for when buying a Porsche 997. Alternator cable Some early Porsche 997s had issues with short battery life and regularly failing to start. The problem was related to the original factory-fitted alternator cable and solved by replacing it with an upgraded cable; theoretically a simple job, but the routing made it tricky and time consuming even for skilled technicians. It should have been dealt with years ago (probably under warranty), so you are unlikely to find an early 997 with the issue now. Wheels The 997’s wheels, particularly the 19-inch alloys on the Carrera S, are susceptible to kerbing damage and expensive to replace. Check them carefully and if they need replacing or refurbishing, make sure you take that cost into consideration when deciding how much to offer. Condition of the tyres is the second most common reason for a Porsche 997 to fail its MoT, so as with any used car purchase, it is important to check the rubber. N-rated tyres can be expensive, so remember to take the cost of any imminent replacements into account when buying. The most common place for them to wear prematurely (due to incorrect wheel alignment) is on the inside edge. Bodywork As you might expect for a car which carried such a hefty price tag when new, the bodywork on the 997 is of the highest quality and rust is not a problem. Other than stone chips on the nose section (which some owners chose to have resprayed) and small marks or indentations on the bonnet caused by them being pressed down too hard when being closed, the bodywork should be perfect. Any sign of rust, repairs or large areas being resprayed are likely to be evidence that the car has been in an accident. Ask for details of the original damage and to see the invoices for the repairs before taking a view on whether to go ahead with the purchase and how much you want to offer. If in doubt, ask a Porsche specialist to inspect the car and assess the quality of the repairs. If you are planning to purchase a used Porsche 997, Revolution Porsche can help to reduce the risk involved. Book the car you are interested in buying into our Brighouse workshop for a Pre-Purchase Inspection and our experienced Porsche technicians will carry out a full visual and diagnostic check, including Rev Ranges, before compiling a comprehensive car condition report. The inspection costs £150 +VAT, with the additional reassurance of a borescope inspection available from a further £99 +VAT. Call us on 01484 717342 or contact us via the website to find out more or to book a car in. |
ctvmontreal.ca MONTREAL - The Montreal Metropolitan Transit Agency (AMT) is holding five public meetings this month to solicit opinions about how to improve public transit. Montrealers often give public transit good but mixed grades when it comes to shuttling them around town. According to AMT president and CEO Joel Gauthier, part of the problem is the lack of synchronicity between buses, trains, and the metro. He aims to integrate all three methods "to make sure that people, when they're using public transit, it's seamless from one transit system to another." The AMT would like to add more express buses and increase capacity through new subway cars and electric commuter trains, especially to the West Island, where commuters will be affected by the rebuilding of the Turcot Interchange and Highway 20. Commuters at Wednesday night's meeting also expressed an interest in getting updates about service in real time, with several panning the current notification system for train delays as inadequate. "I must admit I think I still have some cynicism," said Tony Frayne, a member of the Transport 2000 Quebec citizen's group "They've had good plans in Montreal before but it doesn't always happen." Four more meetings will take place in April, and the official strategic plan will be unveiled at the end of the summer. Only then will the AMT comment on the price tag. For the schedule of public hearings, click here. |
A month after the Supreme Court struck down bans on same-sex marriages, a new WKYT Herald-Leader Bluegrass Poll finds the majority of likely Kentucky voters disagree with the court’s decision that opened the door to gays and lesbians to marry in all 50 states. The poll — conducted for WKYT-TV, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Louisville Courier-Journal, and WHAS-TV — found 53 percent of those surveyed disagreed with the decision while 38 percent said they agreed with the decision. One in ten people said they are not sure where they stand on the decision. “Fifty-three percent are opposed to what the Supreme Court did. Obviously, these numbers don’t match what we are seeing nationally. But what they do represent I think is more and more change toward a broader acceptance of gay marriage here in Kentucky,” said Herald-Leader political writer Sam Youngman. In May, a Bluegrass Poll found 57 percent of Kentuckians opposed to gay marriage. The poll found opposition to gay marriage was lower than in 2004 when voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. The Kentucky ban was among the four states that prompted the court's historic June 26 decision. The decision meant gay and lesbian couples already can marry in all 50 states, plus Kentucky and the other 13 states with bans must stop enforcing them. The outcome was the culmination of two decades of Supreme Court litigation over marriage and gay rights. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, just as he did in the court's previous three major gay rights cases dating back to 1996. "As the State itself makes marriage all the more precious by the significance it attaches to it, exclusion from that status has the effect of teaching that gays and lesbians are unequal in important respects," Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. Since the decision, some county clerks in Kentucky have refused to issue marriage licenses saying it would violate their religious freedom. “You can continue to have your own personal beliefs, but you’re also taking an oath to fulfill the duties prescribed by law,” Gov. Steve Beshear told the clerks who refuse to issue marriage licenses. “And if you are at that point to where your personal convictions tell you that you simply cannot fulfill your duties that you were elected to do, than obviously an honorable course to take is to resign and let someone else step-in who feels that they can fulfill those duties.” The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, one the clerks who stopped issuing marriage licenses. U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning is expected to make a ruling on the lawsuit next week. About the poll SurveyUSA interviewed 1,000 adults from the state July 22-28. Of the adults, 856 were registered to vote in Kentucky. Of the registered voters, 685 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the November 3 election for Governor. This research was conducted using blended sample, mixed mode. Respondents reachable on a landline telephone (72 percent of likely voters) were interviewed on their home telephone in the recorded voice of a professional announcer. Respondents not reachable on a home telephone (28 percent of likely voters) were shown a questionnaire on their smartphone, tablet or other electronic device. Respondents to this survey were asked both what their party registration is, and what their party affiliation is. Party registration is reported herein as a binary result: 53 percent of likely voters are registered Democrat; 35 percent of likely voters are Republican. Among registered voters, the split is: 51 percent Democrat and 34 percent Republican. Separately, the same likely voters were asked to place themselves on a seven-point continuum, from "Strong Republican" to "Strong Democrat." Those results are also reported herein. In addition, voters were asked to place themselves on a five-point continuum from "Very Conservative" to "Very Liberal." Those results are reported herein. |
Police say the deaths of four family members in Herndon, VA were the result of a murder-suicide. News4's Jackie Bensen spoke to neighbors and the family's pastor. (Published Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012) A family found dead in their Herndon, Va., home Tuesday is believed to have died in a murder-suicide, Fairfax County Police say. Police said Albert Peterson, 57, killed his wife, Kathleen, 52, and their two sons, Christopher and Matthew, before turning the gun on himself. Police were asked to check on the family about 10:30 a.m. after Kathleen failed to show up for work for the second consecutive day. Police entered the home in the 13300 block of Point Rider Lane just after noon Tuesday and found the bodies of the Peterson family. All four died of gunshot wounds to the upper body, according to the Office of the Medical Examiner. Classmates Hold Hands as They Mourn Herndon Family The bodies of a man, woman and their teen sons were discovered in a Herndon home Tuesday. (Published Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012) A candelight vigil will be held Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. at the family's church, Floris United Methodist in Herndon. Classmates of the boys remembered them at their schools Wednesday. Students at Westfield High School, where Matthew, 16, was a 10th grader, held hands in a long chain outside the building during an impromptu gathering. Family of Four Found Dead in Herndon, Va. News4 Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey reports on the death of four members of the same family in Herndon, Va. (Published Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012) Christopher, 13, was an 8th grader at Rachel Carson Middle School. Friends and classmates of both brothers have been sharing their grief and offering stories about the boys on Twitter. One classmate posted a note that read in part, "I cry as I write this because I know I will never get to see your smiling face again." Neighbors placed flowers in front of the Petersons' home. They are in a state of shock. CHOPPER: Four Dead at Herndon Home Chopper video of the scene in Herndon where a family of four was found dead just after noon Tuesday. (Published Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012) “I know a lot of families in this community who are really sad, very grieved and very troubled,” said the Rev. Tom Berlin, a pastor at Floris United Methodist Church. Kathleen was an employee of Blackbird Technologies, a Herndon information technology firm that works with defense, intelligence and law enforcement customers. "Kathie Peterson worked as an integral and well respected member of Blackbird Technologies’ Procurement Team," Blackbird's CEO, Peggy Styer, said in a statement Wednesday. "She will be remembered as a high energy, devoted parent who always had a smile to share. "She often told stories about her sons, their sports and community activities," the statement read. "She is already missed. We have lost a member of our Blackbird family. We are still trying to absorb the shock of this tragedy." None of the family members was at work or school on Monday or Tuesday, giving police an indication of when the family died. One neighbor said that she had been awakened early Sunday morning by a "banging noise," but another person who knew the family told NBC Washington that Christopher Peterson was at a soccer game until 8 p.m. that day. Neighbors said the family had lived in the home in the Borneham Wood subdivision for 28 years and called them a "fixture" in the neighborhood, often outside or on their porch. The boys could frequently be seen playing soccer in the yard, neighbors said. "[Neighbors] have characterized the family as 'The Greeters,'" said a Fairfax County Police spokesperson. "They were out all the time, jovial, waving to neighbors and engaging them in conversation, so they will obviously be missed." Stay with News4 and NBCWashington.com for updates as they become available. |
‘Crush Australia’ trends on Twitter as Indonesians voice their anger over Australian spying and Abbott’s non-apology Ed Wray / Bloomberg / Getty Images Patung Pemuda (the Youth Monument) stands amid congested traffic at night in central Jakarta on May 6, 2013 Deteriorating diplomatic ties have turned to anger in Indonesia as Australia refuses to apologize over claims it tapped the phones of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and other senior politicians. “CrushAustralia” (#GanyangAustralia) was a trending term on Twitter on Wednesday as Yudhoyono held an emergency meeting with his foreign minister and Indonesia’s ambassador to Australia, who was recalled from the country on Monday. “Rather than cracking down on street thugs, better have them trained to be reserve troops and send them to #CrushAustralia,” read one tweet: Daripada sibuk ngurusin dan Merazia Preman. mending dididik supaya jadi tentara cadangan. dan kirim aja buat #GanyangAustralia — cahya nugraha (@cukupcahya) November 20, 2013 Read another: “If Australia keeps snooping, better Indonesia not to have any ties with Australia. Eliminate.” @SindoRCTI klo kelakuan Australia suka nyadap terus mendingan Indonesia jngn ada hubungan lagi dgn Australia eliminasi aja #GanyangAustralia — ram rusdan (@ramrusdan) November 19, 2013 Others said Australia needed a “stern warning,” and that “dignity and sovereignty are not negotiable.” Meanwhile, Indonesian nationalist demonstrators in the city of Yogyakarta burnt an Australian flag in front of the governor’s palace, reported Metro TV. The protestors demanded Australia’s apology and asked the Indonesian President to sever diplomatic ties with Canberra. On Wednesday, Australia’s intelligence agencies promised to stop monitoring Indonesian phones, and said it would not carry out surveillance in the future. But it’s a step that’s unlikely to be enough to appease the Indonesians who want a full apology. In the meantime, the country’s Foreign Minister says Indonesia has begun “downgrading” ties with Australia. Jakarta announced Wednesday it was suspending joint military operations it has with Australia, including programs to stop people-smuggling and terrorism. Indonesian President Yudhoyono sent a series of snarky tweets in English on Tuesday after his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott said that he regrets “any embarrassment recent media reports have caused” but added that Australia should not be expected to apologize for steps it takes to protect its country. “I also regret the statement of Australian Prime Minister that belittled this tapping matter on Indonesia, without any remorse,” Yudhoyono said. He said that Australia had “damaged” its relationship with Indonesia over its “hurtful action”. I also regret the statement of Australian Prime Minister that belittled this tapping matter on Indonesia, without any remorse. *SBY* — S.B. Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) November 19, 2013 In Australia, commentators have told media outlets that relations haven’t been this bad between the two countries since the break off of East Timor from Indonesia or when West Papuan refugees were given asylum in Australia. Australia will be the “most unpopular country in Indonesia for some time,” an Asian politics expert, Greg Fearly, told Fairfax. The Guardian and the ABC published reports that the Australian government attempted to tap the personal phones of President Yudhoyono, his wife and other senior politicians in 2009. —With reporting by Yenni Kwok Australia ternyata bukan tetangga yg baik…sepertinya siluman dunia maya kita akan bertindak tuh.. #ganyangaustralia — dio_ (@dioSEVTIANO) November 19, 2013 “Turns out Australia isn’t a good neighbor… Like a ghost in virtual world, we will take action #CrushAustralia” Sy pikir emang nih negara udh perlu dikasih peringatan keras supaya utk negara seperti ini jgn main2 dengan Indonesia…..#GanyangAustralia — Hermawan (@hermawan_gbs) November 20, 2013 “I think this country needs stern warning so that it won’t play a joke with Indonesia #CrushAustralia” |
Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world Obsessive Pokémon Go fans have been asked to stop playing the game inside the US Holocaust Museum and Auschwitz. The massively popular new smartphone game, which is already a global hit despite only being officially released in three countries, tracks players’ location and allows them to ‘hunt’ for Pokémon in the real world. The game pulls data from Google Maps, which means that Pokemon, gyms and Pokéstops are automatically generated across the entire world as you travel in real life. However, there’s some places that you probably shouldn’t be focused on catching Pokemon – as demonstrated by appeals from the Holocaust Museum and former Auchwitz concentration camp, both of which have been listed as in-game ‘PokéStops’. The two locations, which commemorate the millions of Jewish people who were persecuted alongside other minorities including the disabled and LGBT people, have both put out appeals asking people to stop hunting for Pokémon on their premises. Andrew Hollinger, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s communication’s director, told USA Today that it was inappropriate for the museum to be listed in the game, appealing to developer Niantic to remove it. He said: “Technology can be an important learning tool, but this game falls far outside our educational and memorial mission.” Meanwhile, the memorial at the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp has also asked for people to not play the game. They tweeted to Niantic: “Do not allow playing ‘Pokémon Go’ on the site of our Memorial and similar places. It’s disrespectful to the memory of victims!” |
Photo: Twitter Four Brazillian soccer club players are now out of a job, after a video surfaced in which the men can be seen engaging in a sexual act in a locker room. The 11-second NSFW video quickly went viral after it was uploaded to the Internet, this past weekend. According to reports, the video depicts one player on his knees in front of two other players while a fourth player records. Photo: John Hewat (Wikimedia) The four players, members of Sport Clube Gaúcho, in Passo Fundo, Brazil, had their contracts terminated, shortly after the video first appeared online. The video, once shared on YouTube, has since been taken down, after being reported for violating the site's nudity policy. Club president Gilmar Rosso explained that the men were fired because the acts took place on club property. Speaking to Globo Esporte, he says: “Outside business hours, we have nothing to do with the situation,” he said. “If they want to get drunk, gay or not, that’s their problem. What I have to answer as president is during a trip, office hours. That’s my responsibility.” He added: “The club is not a keeper of morals and good manners. The only thing we have to answer to is them making the video inside the locker room.” Rosso admits he watched the first seconds of the video, but had to turn it off, because he, “found it disgusting." Speaking to UOL Sport, Rosso said: “As far as I know, these three are not gay, but now they would have to prove that they are not gay.” H/T: Queerty |
The Road Trippin’ podcast with Richard Jefferson is one of the most candid and sometimes revealing pods in the game, and the most recent episode featuring Dave McMenamin tiptoed around the idea that Deron Williams did not really enjoy his time with the Cavaliers after being bought out by the Mavericks. Richard Jefferson: “When you ask Deron about golf, his eyes light up. When you ask Deron about MMA, his eyes light up.” Dave McMenamin: “-What about when you talk to him about coming off the bench for the Cavaliers?” Jefferson: “His eyes did not light up, his eyes did not light up.” Chris Geeter: “What about when the Warriors saw him coming off the bench?” *more laughter* Jefferson: “Their eyes lit up” It’s important to note that the gang was laughing and having fun throughout this exchange. Taken out of context, it could look like they were taking a shot at Williams, but it was clearly a lighthearted conversation. With that said, it certainly doesn’t seem like Williams loved his time as a backup with the Cavaliers, which makes sense. The team floundered in the back half of the season after Williams arrival, he played a role he’s never played in his entire life, and completely collapsed during the NBA Finals. Williams had his moments while averaging 7.5 points and 3.6 assists as a Cavalier, but shot 13 percent (!!) from the field against the Warriors while averaging one point per game and 1.2 assists in 12.2 minutes. Also, this admittedly throwaway tidbit from the pod might have indicated why the Cavaliers decided to move on from Williams and didn’t appear to pursue bringing him back this summer, and it’s information we don’t really get from the outside. Sure, there’s a real case that bringing Deron back would’ve been a better basketball fit than Derrick Rose, but if Deron wasn’t interested in coming back or didn’t enjoy his time in Cleveland, than it’s hardly worth trying to convince him to stick around. Regardless, this is the kind of inside look at the Cavaliers that makes Road Trippin’ worth listening to, beyond the entertainment value and general insanity that the show brings. Every now and again, the gang accidentally drops some knowledge. |
A Los Gatos, Calif., startup is developing a wearable that promises to alter state of mind by sending ultrasonic or fine electric currents through the brain, building a consumer product on top of a nascent area of neuroscience. Thync, which has been operating in stealth mode for the last three years, will announce on Wednesday that it has raised $13 million from Khosla Ventures, Sling Media co-founder Blake Krikorian and other undisclosed investors. The company isn't yet providing images or many details about the product itself, which isn't expected to reach the market until next year. But it says its "neurosignaling algorithms" can help people feel calm or energized. More from Re/code: Solar adds financing option Are teens tepid on Apple Watch? After the Alibaba IPO, is cash-gorged Yahoo a buyer—or a seller? "We're not wired to call up our best focus, energy and self control at will, but we know we have them inside us," Chief Executive Isy Goldwasser said in an interview. "The power of neuroscience and neurosignaling is, we can access the pathways and regions that trigger those modes." There is a growing body of scientific literature exploring the possibilities of brain stimulation for improving cognition, treating depression and much more, with some positive results. There's also a budding DIY movement that relies on components from Radio Shack. But some researchers have warned that bigger and better studies are required to understand the mechanisms at play as well as the possible risks. A Wired story on the subject earlier this year pointed out that one study suggested improvements in one area could come at the cost of other cognitive functions. |
Scotland trudged off the sodden Wembley turf on Wednesday beaten but unbowed following the 3-2 defeat by England. Gordon Strachan's troops ran England mighty close and Roy Hodgson was thankful for a second-half comeback and some poor defending to seal victory. The burning question - apart from whether the Auld Enemy should lock horns more often - is: who merits a place in a combined Auld Enemy XI based on Wednesday night's showing? We've watched the game, analysed it, dissected it and watched it all over again to bring you the best combined side to take on the world's finest... Auld Enemy XI : (4-4-2) Goalkeeper: Allan McGregor James Morrison fired Scotland into an early lead with a shot that goalkeeper Joe Hart got a touch to but couldn't prevent finding the net. Hart's opposite number, Allan McGregor, produced a number of cracking saves and was powerless to prevent the two second-half goals that came from England set pieces. On last night's display, Hull City's summer arrival gets the nod over the Manchester City man. Baines swished his left foot to devastating effect against the Scots Defence: Left-back - Leighton Baines (captain) The Everton defender with the Bradley Wiggins-esque sideburns pedalled up and down the flank all night; peppering the Scottish defence with laser-sharp crosses before setting up Rickie Lambert for the winner. Everyone's favourite Fantasy Football pick, Baines earns the left-back berth. Right-back - Alan Hutton Not usually celebrated for his defensive displays, the Aston Villa defender stood firm in the face of continued England raids down the flanks, curbing his natural instincts to bomb forward Usain Bolt-like. Moments after enjoying his half-time slice of orange, he provided Kenny Miller with the pass for the veteran striker to put the visitors 2-1 up. Centre-half - Phil Jagielka Looked by far the more confident of England's central defensive partnership and was able to mop up sporadic Scotland attacks when required. Cut from the same rock as former Everton manager David Moyes and would prove a threat defending and attacking set-pieces. Centre-half - Grant Hanley It was close, but the Blackburn man gets the nod for his warrior-like performance; undeterred by a bloodied head he did his best to keep the English tide at bay in the second half. Gary Cahill misses out on account of Miller's snake-hips movement to lose him for Scotland's second goal; Russell Martin misses out after losing Danny Welbeck for England's second. Midfield: Tom Cleverley The Manchester United midfielder, not unlike Jack Wilshere, struggled to evade Scottish jaws snapping at his heels, but did so long enough to thread a superb pass through to Theo Walcott for England's first equaliser. For that pass alone, he merits his place in the Auld Enemy XI. Theo Walcott Speed merchant Theo Walcott earns a place in the Auld Enemy XI Winding up his legs for another lung-bursting run that wouldn't look out of place in an episode of Heroes, the waspish Arsenal man started England's fightback with a trademark run; cut inside and slot home with his left foot. At home stroking his white cat, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger would've been forgiven a contented smile at the thought of what lies ahead this season. James Morrison Famed for his scoring prowess from midfield at West Brom, Morrison didn't disappoint with a sizzling shot that proved too hot for Joe Hart to handle. Added to his goal, Morrison proved a headache for England before his withdrawal in the second half. Scotland's number 7 earns his place in the starting XI. Scott Brown He may have misplaced one or two passes, but Scott Brown - in full Tasmanian Devil mode - appeared to cover every blade of grass at Wembley. Where an England player had the ball, you could be sure Brown's boots would be galloping up behind to snuff out the danger. Sparked a number of Scotland counter-attacks and will be pleased with his night's efforts, if not the result. Kenny Miller scored a superb goal to put the Scots 2-1 up Forwards: Kenny Miller What can you say about the veteran marksman? He harried, chased, annoyed and disturbed the English rearguard before reaping the fruits of his labour with a wonderful goal just after half-time after selling Gary Cahill an outrageous dummy. Rickie Lambert In true, Hollywood tear-jerker mode, the Southampton man came off the bench to head home the winner with his first touch, on his England debut, with his family watching on from the Wembley stand. The 31-year-old would no doubt score with his first touch on his Auld Enemy XI debut too. Manager: Gordon Strachan earns his place in the dugout by virtue of the first hour at Wembley when it appeared he had outfoxed Roy Hodgson and was on the cusp of a famous victory. Disagree with this line-up? Have your say on who should be in instead... Follow Thomas McGuigan on Twitter |
Get the biggest politics stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email With a doctor for a girlfriend and a gran and grandad who were cared for by hard-pressed hospital staff before their deaths, Russell Howard knows a thing or two about the struggles facing the NHS . And the stand-up comedian fears the Tories will destroy the service with their crippling austerity if they remain in power. He is also furious that in 21st century Britain there is still child poverty while MPs get subsidised food and that we are in the grip of a social housing crisis because callous Tories are blocking moves to make rundown homes fit to live in. But Russell is astonished at how many people have become more obsessed with reality TV stars than the burning issues affecting millions. (Image: ITV) (Image: Getty) Speaking about the health service, the 37-year-old says: “I have seen first hand how hard NHS workers work. My girlfriend is a doctor, four of my cousins are nurses and my nan and granddad died this year. “They were having to do all sorts to look after my gran. There was no glamour, they were just hardworking people. You see how well they were treated by the NHS and you could see the strain and the effort by the doctors and the nurses to care for people. They are all knackered. “It is inevitable it is going to break unless something dramatic happens. Every winter it is getting worse and worse. Instead of austerity it is about pumping money in.” Russell, who is now Britain’s biggest comedian with 1.3million Twitter followers, will address the issue on his new TV show which starts this week. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now Praising the dedication of staff such as his girlfriend, he adds: “As a doctor, how do you tell someone that their relative is going to die or has died? “It is an unbelievable role and there is something peculiar that has happened in the last 20 years where we value someone on Love Island or on Towie more than we do a doctor or a nurse or a midwife. “There are less doctors joining, there are less nurses joining, it is going to crumble. Why wouldn’t you go to Australia or Canada where you get paid more and it isn’t as stressful and people will respect you. “The thing that frustrates me the most is the amount of toxic headlines implying they are doing it because they are lazy or selfish. If you are a doctor you are smart, your memory retention is extraordinary. “You could easily work in the City, you could easily find a career that would leave you absolutely minted and being a doctor isn’t one of them. A lack of respect for doctors is seeping in.” (Image: ITV) (Image: Birmingham Mail) Turning to the social housing crisis, Russell says Tory MPs have been blocking votes to make more rundown housing habitable and build barely any new social housing. He adds: “Once you dig deep into it there’s some extraordinary things happening. The very fact the Queen is getting £369million to do up Buckingham Palace … yet there was a story the other day that if you are single and live in London it will take 46 years to save up and get a mortgage. Rent in this country is the highest in Europe. And then you get into social housing, councils are just not building social housing. It is down 97% since 2010. “ Nick Clegg claims George Osborne and David Cameron said to him, ‘Why do you keep banging on about social housing it will just create more Labour supporters.’ So we have found out some fascinating things… 39% of Tories and 22% of Labour MPs are landlords. “And 309 Tories voted against making housing fit for human habitation. If you look in the dictionary a house is ‘a building for a human’. So you have a situation where the country is on its a**e and the Tories are arguing against language.” Russell tells of his anger at the number of children that suffer malnutrition while the minister behind austerity are allowed generous expenses, including subsidised food and drink. Jamie Oliver will be amongst the guests on his new show to campaign for better food for youngsters, especially those who are poorest. Russell adds: “There are loads of topics in it which I am really interested in trying to make funny and exciting because they are things I give a f*** about. This is the only TV show I could make at the minute. (Image: Newcastle Chronicle) (Image: Getty) “I couldn’t make a frothy show, like getting people from Love Island to eat meringues off each other’s nipples or playing swingball with Little Mix. Because it feels like every one of us is fascinated with the world at the moment so I want to do a show that reflects the woe and wonder of existence. “I was talking to my mates about it saying we are going to make actual reality TV, not just orange people trying to have sex with each other. “This is the reality… one minute there is a terrorist attack, the next minute North Korea are developing nuclear weapons or Trump has said something stupid. “Or there is a Diana memorial in Chesterfield or a woman has got a turd stuck in a window in Bristol. This is what we are all talking about. Not cakes and tanned people.” Russell’s new show is on Sky1, where he says he feels free to express himself unlike on the BBC. The comic reckons Beeb bosses interfered with his hit series Good News and had to ensure the show was politically balanced. He adds: “There is always that thing on the BBC that if you do a joke about the Tories you have to do a joke about Labour. But no one talks like that. (Image: BBC) “Everyone was talking about Farage and we would have to say something about Ed Miliband. “It got quite boring towards the end, having debates with humourless people and then they would look at a script and say, ‘You can’t do that’ and you would do it in front of a live audience and they would laugh or agree and you would be like, ‘See’ and then they were the quickest people to take credit for it.” Despite the huge success of Good News on the BBC, he would not have made the recent talent pay list and says the gender pay gap at the BBC was “obviously ridiculous”, but that he knew it existed across society when he was at school and “nothing has changed”. Asked if he might one day return to the BBC, grinning Russell says: “Maybe. If it all goes bad and I end up on Strictly Come Dancing. That is when you know there is trouble, if you see me there sweating. “They always say, ‘It is the hardest thing I have ever done’ or, ‘The best thing I have ever done.’ God, you must have had a terrible life if that is it. I could never go on Strictly because I can’t dance, I dance like a newborn pony. If I see my mum dancing and she is wiggling away or my dad is dancing and his man boobs are flapping, that is a 10. “It doesn’t matter, there is no right or wrong. Maybe that’s how I go on there, I just dance how I please.” |
WASHINGTON — In case anyone had doubt, the White House wanted it known on Thursday that it was President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia who asked to meet with President Obama, not the other way around. Mr. Putin was not just eager for a meeting, said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, but in fact “desperate” for one. The emphasis on who wanted to meet more underscored the sensitivities and risks of the meeting, which the White House officially announced on Thursday. Mr. Obama has not seen Mr. Putin in nearly a year, and the two have not had a formal sit-down meeting in more than two years, before Russia annexed Crimea and intervened in eastern Ukraine. “It is fair for you to say that based on the repeated requests we’ve seen from the Russians, that they are quite interested in having a conversation with President Obama,” Mr. Earnest said. Ultimately, Mr. Obama decided “that it was worth it at this point to engage with President Putin in a face-to-face meeting to see if the interests of the United States could be advanced.” |
What do you call it when thousands of dark-skinned, slum-dwelling youths conspire on Facebook to suddenly show up at a swank, tony, mostly white shopping mall? Some might call it a party. Others would call it a nightmare. In Brazil, they call it a rolezinho, AKA a “little stroll.” Such little strolls have been an escalating cause of alarm in the past couple months as loud, giddy throngs of teens from Brazil’s notoriously wretched favelas pour out en masse from the dilapidated roach motels they call home and into the gleaming, glittering palaces of consumption typically patronized by the nation’s upper crust. Although in its infancy, the rolezinho phenomenon recalls prior instances of deliberate mass intrusion into public spaces and private establishments such as the lunch-counter sit-ins of the American South in the 1960s, the Occupy Wall Street debacle of a couple years ago, and the randomly violent black flash mobs that have been one of the Obama Administration’s signature achievements. Last summer in Brazil saw widespread street disturbances among the emerging South American superpower’s lumpenproles. Such shenanigans picked up again during the Christmas season, when shopping malls became targets for mass displays of poor people’s public petulance. “Maybe one man’s rudeness is another man’s revolution.” A rolezinho in early December at São Paulo’s Itaquera shopping center attracted an estimated six thousand gleefully disruptive teens that culminated in a police crackdown. Although apologists meekly claim that these teens only seek acceptance and a place to sing, dance, flirt, and share communal joy without being hassled or oppressed or made to feel inferior due to their skin color, video footage from the December event reveals throngs of loud shirtless assholes loping around scratching their nuts and creating near-riot conditions that likely drove away anyone who’d innocently arrived at the mall seeking to buy things. Then again, maybe one man’s rudeness is another man’s revolution. There have been an estimated dozen or so rolezinhos in Brazil since December. On January 4, a rowdy little stroll at Shopping Tucuruvi led to a mall shutdown. A week later, another rolezinho at Shopping Metrô Itaquera resulted in a crackdown involving rubber bullets, tear gas, and Brazil’s famously overeager police whomping partygoers with nightsticks. This led to at least a half-dozen malls in São Paulo obtaining court orders to block such future events, allowing them to station police and security guards outside who could bar entry to unaccompanied minors. This naturally led to cries of racism, discrimination, and accusations that Brazil was an “apartheid” state. Just as America’s civil-rights movement shat upon the idea that business owners should have the freedom to refuse service to whomever they choose, it was deemed a crime against humanity that wealthy mall owners should refuse to open their glass doors to hordes of ghetto rats who may not possibly have the best of intentions. A planned January 17 rolezinho at São Paulo’s super-chic Leblon shopping mall was expected to draw nearly 10,000 party-crashers, but mall owners nipped it in the bud by shutting the place down for the day. Similar preemptive shutdowns have occurred elsewhere. The nation has thus arrived at a temporary and unsustainable standoff”rather than call in the Shock Battalion to beat teenage intruders senseless and possibly set off large-scale social unrest, they will merely retreat and lock their gates…for now. But this can’t last. Sooner or later, something will have to give. Such is always the case when hordes of angry peasants seek acceptance on demand. Pay to Play - Put your money where your mouth is and subscribe for an ad-free experience and to join the world famous Takimag comment board. |
In this guest post Eva Langston from Carve Magazine shares ten of the most common mistakes writers make when submitting their work. 1. Not reading literary magazines This seems obvious, but if you want to get published in a journal, it’s helpful to read the types of pieces they publish. Most literary magazines suggest you read a few back issues first to get a sense of their aesthetic. In an ideal world, you should do this, but chances are you don’t have time to read multiple back issues of every single journal you’re going to submit to. Instead, make it your goal to simply read more literary magazines than you currently do. Subscribe to a few each year. Get your friends to subscribe to different publications and then trade. And of course, take advantage of free online journals, such as Carve. Read a story whenever you have a spare moment, even if it’s on your phone while waiting in line at the grocery store. 2. Not submitting your best work Instead of finishing a story and submitting it immediately, let your piece rest for a few months then go back and revise. Workshop it, or let a trusted writer friend read it and give feedback. Print it out and triple-check for grammatical and spelling errors. Read your piece out loud at least once. Only submit when you think the piece is the best it can possibly be. 3. Not following guidelines Double check all guidelines before submitting to a magazine. Is there a word count requirement? Should your name be removed from the piece? Should your document be in Word, PDF, or rich text format? If it’s an email submission, do they want the document attached, or pasted into the body of the email? Do they accept simultaneous submissions? Don’t risk getting your piece being tossed out because you didn’t follow the rules. 4. Making simultaneous submission goofs Speaking of simultaneous submissions, if a journal says they don’t accept them you should respect that, or risk making an editor annoyed. Fortunately, a lot of magazines do accept simultaneous submissions, and if they don’t say either way, you can safely assume that they do. This is good because it means you can send the same story to multiple journals at the same time and increase your chances of getting an acceptance letter. But if your piece gets picked up by a journal, you must alert the other journals you submitted it to. If a reading committee debates over your story for a long time, decides to accept it, and then finds out it’s been published elsewhere, your name will be mud in the world of literary magazines. 5. Not keeping track of submissions Use a spreadsheet or some other organizational method to keep track of your submissions (what you sent, to which journals, when, and the responses). Not only will this help with simultaneous submissions in case your piece is accepted (see No. 4), but it will also keep you from submitting the same piece to a magazine that has already rejected it, or not yet responded to your last submission. The online submission manager Duotrope offers this type of “tracker” as a feature for their paid subscribers. 6. Making cover letter goofs In general, cover letters to literary magazines should be short and include little more than the name and word count of your piece and a brief bio. There is no need to include a summary of the story or any cutesy “attention grabbers.” If you have an MFA, or have been published in other magazines, you might mention that, but for most editors, it’s your work that’s important, not your C.V. Do be sure to proofread your cover letter carefully, however. If you are copying-and-pasting, make sure you change pertinent information, such as the name of the journal. 7. Not doing enough research There are so many journals out there it can often feel overwhelming to know where to begin. To find new magazines or publications that are actively seeking submissions, check NewPages , The Review Review, the AWP website, Duotrope, and Poets & Writers*. The Poets & Writers “tools for writers” section has a search system for journals, and The Review Review reviews literary journals to help give writers a sense of the types of pieces they publish. For even more submission ideas, Google the Pushcart Rankings and Every Writer’s Resource Rankings. You can also look at short story and poetry collections such as Best American, O’Henry, Pushcart, and Flannery O’Connor; at the front or back of the book they will tell where each piece was first published. And why not tweet at your favorite literary agents and ask them what lit mags they like to read?! As for your genre pieces, research magazines that specialize in horror, sci-fi/fantasy, mystery, romance, LGBT, YA, etc. Dark Markets is a good resource to find horror, mystery, sci-fi/fantasy, and other genre magazines and anthologies. Also, be aware that some literary magazines will NOT accept genre pieces. 8. Ignoring online journals There are more and more excellent online journals publishing high-quality literature. Although most writers still have the desire to see their words on the printed page, there are many benefits to being published online. Your friends, family, and followers can easily find your work via a link instead of having to wait to purchase a copy of a journal. Not only are online journals often more helpful when building your network and platform, but you are more likely to get feedback from readers through blog comments and tweets than you are with a printed journal. 9. Taking rejections too personally and not submitting enough Even the most brilliant stories will get rejected, and as a writer, you have to come to terms with the fact that you will get (many) more no’s than yes’s. Sometimes your story may not be right for a particular issue, or may not connect with a particular editor. Don’t let the rejections get you down. In many ways, this is a numbers game, and the goal is to get the right piece to the right journal at the right time. That’s hard to do, and chances are it’s going to take a lot of submissions before you get an acceptance. Don’t give up, and while you’re at it, check out Carve’s Reject! feature which showcases stories Carve rejected that were accepted in another publication. 10. Not thanking the editor So you finally got an acceptance letter! Congratulations! Don’t forget to thank the editor. Most literary magazine editors are unpaid (or paid very little) for their time and effort. Thank them when your piece is accepted, and thank them again when the piece is published. They love to hear the feedback and know that their hard work is not going unappreciated. This article was first published on the Carve magazine blog; reproduced with permission. Based in Texas, Carve aims to publish outstanding literary fiction and to promote the writers it publishes, helping both new, emerging, and established authors reach a wider literary audience. Unsolicited submissions are considered year-round and entries for the magazine’s annual Raymond Carver Short Story Contest open on 1 April. * For more literary magazines seeking submissions, don’t forget to check our latest news and follow Aerogramme Writers’ Studio on Facebook and Twitter. |
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo security forces have killed 24 people since President Joseph Kabila won a disputed presidential election, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. Riot police dismantle a roadblock in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa December 10, 2011. REUTERS/Emmanuel Braun The rights group said all but four of the victims were killed in the capital Kinshasa, where main opposition rival Etienne Tshisekedi is popular. It said there was evidence security forces had tried to hide the killings. Among the victims, a 21-year-old woman was shot dead and her 8-year-old niece shot in the throat on the day of the election results, as police fired on crowds of opposition supporters in the capital according to HRW, which said its information came from fieldwork, local human rights activists and witnesses. Security forces appear to have tried to hide the killings by quickly removing corpses, the report said, while sections of the military, including the presidential guard, are accused of detaining people in military camps in the capital. “These bloody tactics further undermine the electoral process and leave the impression that the government will do whatever it takes to stay in power,” HRW’s senior Africa researcher Anneke Van Woudenberg said in the statement. A government official was not available to comment. Congo’s opposition has rejected Kabila’s victory in the November 28 poll over allegations of fraud, triggering some street protests. The election process has also drawn wide criticism from international and local observers for irregularities. The election commission issued the results on December 9, giving Kabila 49 percent of the votes cast to Tshisekedi’s 32 percent. These latest death figures follow an earlier report by HRW saying that 18 people had been killed by security forces in the run up to the polls, claims strongly disputed by the government, which launched an inquiry but said there was a lack of evidence. Security has been visibly tight since polling day, particularly in key opposition areas including the Kasai provinces and Kinshasa, where heavily armed police and military have been on patrol since the beginning of the month. On Tuesday heavily equipped riot officers forcibly removed around 40 female protesters who had been staging a sit-in outside the US embassy in Kinshasa, a Reuters witness said. Congo is still recovering from a 1998-2003 war that killed more than five million people, but a flawed election process and the opposition’s refusal to acknowledge the results have led to fears of a protracted political crisis. There are fears that plans by Tshisekedi to hold his own swearing in ceremony on Friday could spark further clashes. |
• Matic says he does not care what reception he gets from Chelsea fans • Midfielder to face club for first time since summer transfer to United Nemanja Matic believes he has nothing to prove when Manchester United travel to his former club Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday. The midfielder left Stamford Bridge for Old Trafford for around £40m in the summer to again play under José Mourinho, who signed him for Chelsea in 2014. He also had an earlier, fringe spell at Chelsea. José Mourinho still has issues with Manchester United fans which don’t exist | Paul Wilson Read more Matic said: “I feel when I played there, I showed them my quality. We won the title twice and also two cups, so I don’t have to prove to them anything. I just have to prove something to my new club.” Of the reaction he may receive, Matic said: “I don’t know. When I played there I always gave 100%. I’m sure they respect that but if not I don’t really care.” The champions’ decision to allow Matic to join United caused surprise. “The only thing I can say is that I am happy to be part of this club,” he said. “I’m happy to be working with Mourinho. That’s all I can say. As I said, when I played at Chelsea I give always my best to help the team but now Manchester United is my club and I will try to win there.” Matic’s 45th-minute shot led to Mile Svilar’s own goal in United’s 2-0 win over Benfica at Old Trafford on Tuesday. The victory gave Mourinho’s team 12 points from four games, and one more point would guarantee qualification for the knockout stages. Chelsea lost 3-0 at Roma but Matic is wary of Antonio Conte’s side. “We know we must respect them,” he said. “They are a good team, they’re champions and it’s going to be a hard game for us, but we also have our own qualities.” United have 23 points, five fewer than the leaders, Manchester City, and Chelsea are four points further back. “The Premier League is difficult,” Matic said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re first with five points, even seven or 10. You lose two games and the other teams are there, so it’s important not to lose points, of course, but there’s a long way to go.” Thibaut Courtois believes Chelsea’s chances of retaining the title rest on defeating United. “This is a must-win game,” the goalkeeper said. “Manchester City are already nine points ahead of us, Manchester United four and Tottenham one. We must win games like these to remain at the top and close to the other ones. We will try to get the three points and will give our lives for it on Sunday.” |
SHARE By , Twitter Inc. is close to announcing deals to stream more live events, from sporting matches to political debates, after experiencing higher-than-expected demand for advertising for National Football League games it plans to air this season. "You'll see other announcements around premium content from us soon," said Kayvon Beykpour, co-founder of Periscope, the live-streaming app that Twitter acquired in 2015 and has now embedded in the micro-blogging platform. Twitter has sold about 50% of its NFL ad inventory and is meeting with clients this week at the Cannes Lions festival in France as it seeks to sell the remainder, according to a spokesman. Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, Nestle SA's DiGornio pizza and Sony Pictures Entertainment have already signed up, he said. Twitter agreed in April to stream 10 NFL games live on Thursday nights for free during the 2016 season. Deals for other live events are close and will be announced within weeks, Beykpour said. Such deals will move Twitter from the periphery to the center of the action during live events, Beykpour said in an interview at the festival on Wednesday. "We've always been a second screen for people to interact with when they are watching TV," Beykpour said. Twitter "should also be a first screen," he said. Revenue at Twitter is growing slower than expected, even as the company adds new products for social media advertising. With content deals and live streaming, the company will be able to tap into advertisers' online video budgets, competing with YouTube and Hulu. Twitter earlier this week extended the time limit for regular users' videos, to 140 seconds, aiming to encourage more video sharing generally. The company also took steps to reduce time restrictions and add advertisements ahead of videos on Vine, its video-only application. Periscope, founded by 27-year-old Beykpour in 2014, is helping Twitter to drive usage among younger users who want more live video and content, and the brands who follow those users. Periscope isn't interested in creating content itself, he said. The company has its marketing message, #GoLive, plastered on its beachfront space at Cannes — underscoring the company's commitment to the effort to land more premium programming. "Tapping into live NFL content on Twitter, along with their influential moviegoing audience, is a natural extension for us and paves the way for many more real-time possibilities," said Elias Plishner, executive vice president of digital marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment, in an e-mail. Brands using Periscope include BMW, which unveiled its I3 automobile and other models on the app, as well as General Electric Co., which screened a drone tour of the company's wind turbines to show how they work. "These aren't ads, but example of businesses that are using Periscope to show a different perspective," Beykpour said. |
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., talks with reporters as he departs the Capitol on Oct. 15. (Photo: Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images) Story Highlights Eric Cantor quoted an attachment from a CMS memo in referring to "limitless" security risks The memo's high-risk findings were referring to parts of the site that would be added after the Oct. 1 launch CMS' Henry Chao claimed the GOP misused his testimony on the memo to exaggerate security concerns Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., distorts the facts when he says an Obama administration official described HealthCare.gov's "security problems" as "limitless" prior to the website's launch." That official actually deemed the security risk "acceptable" in a Sept. 3 memo that authorized the website to operate. Cantor, the majority leader, made his remarks at a House Republican weekly press conference on Dec. 3. Cantor read from prepared remarks. His theme: The administration is hiding the truth from the American people. Cantor, Dec. 3: The administration has tried to hide the security problems that exist with the website that one official called "limitless" prior to the website's launch. Cantor's office tells us the "limitless" quote comes from a Sept. 3 Authorization to Operate (ATO) memo written by Tony Trenkle, who at the time was the chief information officer at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS, which is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, was responsible for building a secure website for the federal health exchange created under the Affordable Care Act. The exchange allows Americans to buy insurance and determine if they are eligible for government subsidies. In his memo, Trenkle deemed the website risk "acceptable" and authorized it to operate through Aug. 31, 2014: Trenkle, Sept. 3: I have determined through a thorough review of the authorization package that the risk to CMS information and information systems resulting from the operation of the FFM information system is acceptable predicated on the completion of the actions described in the attachment. Accordingly, I am issuing an Authorization to Operate (ATO) for the FFM information system to operate in its current environment and configuration until August 31, 2014. (NOTE: The emphasis in the memo was Trenkle's, not ours.) Cantor actually quotes the attachment to Trenkle's memo. The attachment listed six corrective actions that needed to be accomplished by specific dates in 2014 and 2015 in order for CMS to maintain its authorization to operate the website through Aug. 31, 2014. That's what Trenkle meant when he said that his authorization was "predicated on the completion of the actions described in the attachment." The attachment is heavily redacted, but we know that there were two findings of high risk, and one of them says that without corrective action "the threat and risk potential is limitless." Those are the only words not blacked out in the second column under the heading of "finding description." This particular finding of high risk needed to be corrected by May 31, 2014, or CMS would lose its authorization to operate the website, the memo states. So, Trenkle was not talking about security problems with the website that launched on Oct. 1. He was talking about other parts of the website that would be added later and would need to be functioning securely for CMS to continue to operate HealthCare.gov. This was confirmed by Henry Chao, the deputy chief information officer at CMS, at a Nov. 13 oversight committee hearing. Chao told the committee that the findings of high risk referenced in the Sept. 3 memo pertained to parts of the website that did not go live on Oct. 1, so there were no high security risks when it was launched — contrary to a CBS News report that carried the headline, "Memo warned of 'limitless' security risks for HealthCare.gov." Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat and committee member, accused the Republican majority of leaking the Sept. 3 memo and a partial transcript of Chao's closed-door interview with the committee to CBS News, and Chao claimed the Republicans misused his testimony about the memo to exaggerate concerns about the website's security. An exchange between Connolly and Chao at the hearing ended like this: Connolly, Nov. 13: So to just summarize, correct me if I'm wrong, the document leaked to CBS Evening News did, in fact, not relate to parts of the website that were active on October 1. They did not relate to any part of the system that handles personal consumer information. And there, in fact, was no possibility of identity theft, despite the leak [to CBS News]. Chao: Correct. Correct. House Republican leaders have repeatedly questioned the security of personal information that Americans must enter on HealthCare.gov in order to obtain health coverage and receive government subsidies. But they have twisted the facts in overstating their case. At another leadership press conference last month, GOP Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy erroneously claimed that Consumer Reports warned Americans not to use HealthCare.gov "because of the fear of having fraud." Consumer Reports gave no such warning, as we wrote about at the time. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1cWzoVC |
On Monday afternoon I was driving home from work when a friend from college sent me a text message: “You have to come to Cleveland this week.” This made no sense. If you’re not from Cleveland, there’s never a good reason to go to Cleveland. He called a few minutes later, but I missed it. Then he sent an e-mail explaining things. He had two tickets for me: • One to the Indians’ single-game playoff Wednesday night. • One to the shockingly relevant Browns-Bills game on Thursday. So I went to Cleveland this week. Because playoff baseball is great even if you don’t like baseball, because the Browns turnaround is so ridiculous I had to see it in person, and mostly because my editors said yes. Why not? We’ll start with the Indians game. Or the bar before the Indians game. It’s Tribe Time Now The plight of the Cleveland fan has been beaten into us so much that anyone who watches sports could probably list the numerous horrible things that have happened here over the years (the Browns against Elway, Jordan over Ehlo, the ’90s Indians never winning a title, LeBron’s failures, LeBron ditching the entire city on national TV … ). Besides the supernatural levels of sports pain, what’s crazy is that everyone in this city is still obsessed with all these teams. As far as I can tell, 50,000 people cut out of work early Wednesday, threw on some Indians gear, and went down to get drunk and celebrate playoff baseball. By 5 p.m. Wednesday, all of the bars downtown were full in the kind of way that can’t possibly be up to fire code. In the middle of this scene, there were dozens of street vendors hawking various Indians gear, but the best one was the 60-year-old outside our bar, walking around selling Indians beads and deadpanning to every passerby: “It’s Tribe Time now, boys.” Over and over again, never cracking a smile. This is the type of person who appears completely normal for sports fans, but makes it all look 10 times more ridiculous to anyone who doesn’t care about sports. That’s how all of Wednesday afternoon was in downtown Cleveland, where you could yell out “Tribe Time!” anywhere you went and high-five strangers. Our bar shut off the music at one point and the loudspeaker reminded everyone, “It’s 6:42 in the afternoon, and MICHIGAN STILL SUCKS.” It was all perfect. As one guy next to me said, “We got the game tonight, the Brownies are .500, shit’s great!” But then, it’s still Cleveland. I wore my buddy’s Indians jersey for the game. It didn’t have a number on the back. As he explained, “That’s blank because every other time I buy someone’s jersey they get traded.” While we were walking out of the bar, he asked another friend: “What do you think tonight? Probably loss?” “Oh, definitely loss. Definitely.” Welcome to Cleveland Playoff baseball was fun in Cleveland for exactly two innings. In the top of the third Delmon Young led off with a home run and the stadium went silent. The Rays added two more runs in the fourth. And playoff baseball became excruciating. Fans in Cleveland didn’t stop cheering. If there was a sense of doom as soon as Delmon Young hit that home run, that anxious murmur only lasted for a few minutes before the stadium got loud again and everyone went back to shouting through every inning, standing for third strikes and full counts, and everything else that normal, well-adjusted fans do at baseball games. This actually made the rest of the game much worse. Because the Indians were just awful. Over and over again. Fourth Inning: After the Rays jump to a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth, Cleveland loads the bases and looks ready to take back control. The stadium goes nuts. Two minutes later, Asdrubal Cabrera hits into a double play to end the inning. Fifth Inning: Cleveland puts two runners on with nobody out and the top of the order coming up. Result? Three straight outs, culminating with a depressing little dribbler right to the mound from no. 3 hitter Jason Kipnis. I was beginning to recognize the city people have been making fun of for 25 years. Seventh Inning: We all sing along to “Cleveland Rocks” during the seventh-inning stretch. In the bottom of the inning the Indians put two more runners on base, with Nick Swisher, the tying run, coming up to the plate. The Rays bring in a reliever. The entire stadium stands and claps for about three minutes before Swisher’s at-bat. He strikes out swinging. Inning over. Eighth Inning: “Hang On Sloopy” blasts during the middle of the inning, we all chant “O-H-I-O” like they do at every Ohio State game. That top of the eighth ends with another standing ovation, and then ends with Ryan Raburn striking out looking, with a runner on base. Ninth Inning: They play “Dream On” and “In the Air Tonight” to get everyone fired up, fans have their rally caps on, and … the game ends with a lineout to the shortstop and two strikeouts. So this is what these people have been dealing with. Jesus Christ. Earlier in the night I’d made friends with the woman sitting next to me. After the fourth or fifth inning we stopped talking as much, and then she and her husband left in the eighth. On the way out she grabbed her purse, looked over, smiled, and said “Welcome to Cleveland.” We left the stadium looking forward to some good ol’ fashioned sports fan belligerence in the streets, but instead it was pretty much dead silent. No anger — not even depression, really. At this point Cleveland fans are familiar enough with the stages of grief that I think they just skip right to acceptance. We ended the night in a half-empty bar, eating Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese Pizza. I swear to you, that pizza was so amazing at 1 a.m., it rendered any sporting event irrelevant and immediately made the trip worth it. Then came Thursday. The Brownies Are .500 Cleveland honored Jim Brown at halftime Thursday night, but nothing could ever top the naked Jim Brown sign in the parking lot. Really hope that sign is there every week. We got to the tailgating lots around 5 p.m. On the way, we passed a guy selling T-shirts out of his trunk. He held one up as we passed and it read, “Only Bitches Wave Little Yellow Towels.” Perfect. Steelers hate was a perfect gateway to the Browns bandwagon. And this is … a great time to get on the Browns bandwagon? That might be the first time in history anyone’s ever written that, but here we are. Before Thursday night’s game with the Bills, they’d won two straight after giving up on the season when they traded Trent Richardson after two miserable losses. They might actually be a good team now, and they’ve definitely got a ton of young talent for the next few years. They shut down a good Bengals team last week, and as of Thursday afternoon local radio hosts were saying things like, “We don’t know if Brian Hoyer is a championship quarterback, but we don’t know if he’s NOT a championship quarterback.” Hoyer’s the hometown hero here — we drove by his high school, St. Ignatius, on the way to lunch on Thursday — and he’s been at the center of the transformation from awful and hopeless to shockingly decent. The Browns have talent on defense and some sneaky good skill players, and after two miserable weeks that culminated with the team trading its most famous player, it all clicked when Hoyer took over for Brandon Weeden. That gave them the first solid quarterback they’ve had since … Kelly Holcomb? Right? Wasn’t he good that one year? Anyway, Browns fans have reason to be excited for the first time in forever, so the tailgate scene was full of irrationally confident fans drinking and talking trash to Bills interlopers. This is exactly what we needed after the meltdown the night before. So, fast-forward to the game. Things get started with Josh Gordon dropping what might have been a 90-yard touchdown, and then Brian Hoyer throwing the ball 10 yards over Greg Little’s head. Three-and-out. OK. Then the Bills score a touchdown in two plays. OK! Next series: Brian Hoyer hits two passes for 25 yards, and it starts to feel like maybe he’s actually a good quarterback. Then he scrambles for 11 more yards but gets destroyed by Bills rookie Kiko Alonso, and he doesn’t get up. We weren’t even five minutes into the first quarter and the new superstar was already out indefinitely and the Bills were about to go up 10-0. Cleveland. My thoughts during all this: • How is this even possible? Are you serious? • The jokes about God hating Cleveland … they are not jokes. • When do these fans just light themselves on fire? Someone text messaged us later that Hoyer probably has torn ligaments in his knee. He added: “This has turned into the worst week in Cleveland sports history.” But then somehow it got better. When wide receiver Travis Benjamin went back for a punt return, another friend I was sitting with said to all of us, “Pro Bowler Travis Benjamin! He better house this, because our offense isn’t scoring tonight.” He didn’t quite take it all the way back, but he went 57 yards and got the Browns into field goal range to at least get on the scoreboard. This was already an upgrade over the Indians. Later, after a long Browns drive tied the game in the second quarter, the Bills went three-and-out. Time to punt. “Pro Bowler Travis Benjamin! Let’s do this!” And then he went 79 yards on a return where he went across the entire field, 50 yards down the sideline, then cut back across the field again, spun out of a tackle, and finally scored. All with the crowd melting into delirium and the stadium vibrating as it happened. Those 15 seconds were perfect. Long live Pro Bowler Travis Benjamin. Any punt return touchdown is great, but this felt twice as cool because of how desperate everyone was for something good to happen. That’s actually how the whole game felt. Buffalo bounced back with 14 straight points to take the lead, but then Brandon Weeden shocked the entire stadium with a perfect 37-yard touchdown to Josh Gordon, and the Browns never looked back. After two field goals gave the Browns a six-point lead, this was all setting up perfectly for the Bills to drive down the field with two minutes left and score the game-winning touchdown. That would have been perfectly Cleveland. But then the game-winning Bills drive turned into a pick-six that sealed it for Cleveland. Afterward everyone left the stadium high-fiving each other, racing to bars, yelling about Travis Benjamin … it was pretty much the exact opposite of the night before. The Browns are not .500 anymore. They are 3-2 and currently in first place. Believeland Will they stay in first place? Who knows! Probably not. But that’s beside the point. After 48 hours of highs and then violent lows, ending on a high note was awesome enough. I was 100 percent on the Browns bandwagon Thursday night, and I’m not sure I could’ve handled double Cleveland heartbreak in two days. As for actual Cleveland fans? I’m pretty sure they’ll be fine regardless. It’s easy to look at all the history in Cleveland, come here and talk to people, see games like the Indians Wednesday or Hoyer’s injury Thursday, and walk away baffled by how awful sports can be for some fans. But that’s not actually how it feels when you talk to people around here. Losing sucks, but most people in this city have a pretty good sense of humor about it. They can complain about everything, but then laugh about it. And win or lose, sports still give everyone a great excuse to get excited about something, ditch work early, show up, and throw a gigantic party. In the parking lot Thursday, I talked to one fiftysomething Browns fan who tailgates every week — he owns the bus pictured above — and in a few weeks he’s going up to Green Bay. One of his friends has cancer and wanted to check a trip to Lambeau off his bucket list, so he bought hotel rooms and tickets for everyone, and they’re all going up to Wisconsin. The bus is coming, too. The Browns will probably get killed that day, but who really cares? More than anything else, diving into Cleveland sports for two days was just a solid reminder of something I learned a long time ago as a Wizards fan: The worst teams always have the best fans. Losing weeds out all the entitled people, and you’re left with a much better group. People who have a sense of humor, people who get irrationally excited about guys like Travis Benjamin, and people who never stop showing up regardless of what happened last time. In a sports world dominated by stats and market size and expert analysis, the people who don’t give a shit about the odds are probably more fun than anyone. And that’s Cleveland. (Major thanks to Kevin Benacci and Jeff Gleason for hosting me this week.) |
It was ahead of the New York game that Branislav Ivanovic was informed he is the club’s new vice-captain. It is a role undertaken for many years by Frank Lampard with Terry the skipper throughout. Other senior players who at times also stood in wearing the armband such as Didier Drogba and Petr Cech have now left. Ivanovic, as is only to be expected, is honoured to be asked to assume the senior position. ‘I am really so happy,’ the 31-year-old tells the official Chelsea website. ‘I am very proud of that, to be the vice-captain of this team. This is something extra for me, more responsibility, and I will try to do it well for the team. ‘I am doing what I was doing before, trying to do my best. I will try to do that in the future as well but basically not a lot of things change. John Terry is the real captain and leader.’ Jose Mourinho has spoken previously about the benefits of having other leaders on the pitch as well as the captain, and Ivanovic, who is Serbia’s fifth most-capped player with 79 appearances, has skippered his nation for the past three years. ‘Of course this helps me a lot,’ he acknowledges, ‘because I am used to being that part of the team, and it is great. Anybody is proud to be the captain of their country and I hope we will have a good year. ‘The first week of this pre-season was very physically hard and very important for all of us,’ Ivanovic reports, turning to matters immediately at hand. This is the seventh start to a season he has spent at Chelsea. ‘We have done a great job in training. Maybe the first game we didn’t play well because we were a little bit tired, but with the freshness will come more. The pre-season is very good for us.’ He, along with Terry and Cesar Azpilicueta, played the full 90 minutes against Paris St-Germain at the weekend. Kurt Zouma, Oscar and Azpilicueta again were those who started and completed the match against New York Red Bulls. For a full-back, a full game means lot of running during this initial fortnight of pre-season. ‘The first couple of games physically are very difficult but it has to be hard to get you back to normal,’ Ivanovic explains. ‘For our position, it is important to play 90 minutes to have hard games. This makes you fit for the season and for us of course there will be a lot of running in the season, but this is our part in the team.’ One area where a vice-captain can help is with the quick settling of new signings into the wider group. Ivanovic already knew Asmir Begovic from speaking to him on a few occasion when Chelsea played Stoke. ‘I wish him good career in Chelsea and during all the years he was in Stoke he was one of the best in the league, and I hope he can help our team,’ he says, before confirming he is happy to now have Falcao as a team-mate rather than having to defend against the Colombian. ‘Especially when we remember how he good he was when he played against us. He is scoring goals in training and is working hard to be at that level. ‘The new guys are always happy when they arrive at Chelsea. They adapt very quickly and all of the guys help the new ones with this. It shows how good the atmosphere is inside our team.’ On a personal note as we look ahead to competitive action commencing, more of the same from Ivanovic will do very nicely indeed following a league championship win in which he played every league game. When attacking, he was bettered only by Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard in creating assists during last season’s Chelsea matches. ‘I like it when I am the one behind those guys in the list, and I hope this year will be the same mentally and physically so I am ready to do more. ‘Last year was a great year for me, maybe one of the best, and when you do this, you always have to set new targets to break, and go one step better than last year.’ |
Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout. State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. on Monday came out in support of the "bathroom bill," giving Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick a Democratic supporter in his push for the high-profile legislation. At a news conference with Patrick and other supporters of Senate Bill 6, Lucio, who has previously bucked his party on social issues, announced he will vote for the legislation. His announcement kicked off a flurry of activity at the Capitol — both for and against the bill — ahead of its hearing Tuesday in the Senate State Affairs Committee. Lucio's support means there are now 18 senators — including 17 Republicans — on the record in favor of the legislation. Three Republicans are not among those listed as co-authors of the bill as of Monday afternoon — Joan Huffman of Houston, Jane Nelson of Flower Mound and Kel Seliger of Amarillo. The offices of Huffman, Nelson and Seliger didn't immediately respond to requests for comment for this article. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. Senate Bill 6 would require transgender people to use the bathroom in public schools, government buildings and public universities that matches their "biological sex." The legislation would also reverse local nondiscrimination ordinances that let transgender people use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. "Children, youth and parents in these difficult situations deserve compassion, sensitivity and respect without infringing on legitimate concerns about privacy and security from other students and parents," Lucio said at the news conference. Lucio, who is from Brownsville, has previously found himself at odds with the Democratic Party. A devout Catholic, he has supported legislation tightening restrictions on abortion in Texas. Lucio's son, Eddie Lucio III, serves in the House. He issued a statement later Monday saying he respectfully disagrees with his father on the legislation, which he called "nothing more than a political ploy to appease certain narrow-minded constituencies at the expense of some of the most vulnerable and marginalized people in society." "My father preached love and service in my house growing, and although I sincerely believe that his position is not rooted in hate, it is still wrong and will create adversity for many," said Eddie Lucio III, also a Brownsville Democrat. Opponents of the bill, including LGBT advocates and members of the Texas business community, have decried it as discriminatory and have warned that it could have dire consequences on the state's economy. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. At a separate news conference outside the Capitol on Monday, a coalition of Texas business leaders and tourism officials condemned the bathroom bill. Tom Noonan, CEO of the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that 23 organizations had “proactively reached out” to the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau and said “if you pass this bill, we are going to have to leave.” That could result in more than $110 million in economic losses, Noonan added. Phillip Jones, CEO of Visit Dallas, said that billions of dollars are at risk for the state and added that dozens of meeting organizers, including smaller corporate groups, would cancel plans to meet in Texas if this legislation were to pass. At the earlier news conference, Patrick also announced he was launching “Operation 1 Million Voices,” an effort to build support for the bill among Christians in Texas. Organizers said hundreds of pastors are already involved in the project and will hold events over the next two months across the state. Patrick was accompanied at the news conference by North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who pushed through similar legislation in his state’s legislature to much controversy last year. Forest, who called Senate Bill 6 “very similar” to the North Carolina law, urged Texas lawmakers to resist warnings of economic doom if they pass Senate Bill 6. “No businesses left North Carolina,” Forest said. "This is not an economic issue. This is about doing the right thing. There is no price tag you put on a head of a woman or a child in a place of public accommodation.” Alexa Ura and Sanya Mansoor contributed to this report. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. Read more: How does Texas' bathroom bill compare to the North Carolina law on the same issue? Gov. Greg Abbott has harshly criticized the NFL for wading into the bathroom bill debate. |
I’m excited to announce today that we are working with Digilent to offer a bundle deal that grants new members access to the Contextual Electronics (CE) course materials and student pricing on their popular Analog Discovery 2 (AD2) tool! This is the first time that educational pricing has been offered outside of a university setting and I’m so glad they decided to offer this to us! When you make a 3 month commitment to Contextual Electronics, you can buy the AD2 Contextual Electronics Bundle at a reduced price; the bundle also includes a BNC breakout board and probes that plug into those BNC connections. There are two options for future CE members: Instant signal visibility I’m quite excited about this offering for a few reasons: In the world of electronics, nothing is really “visible” to the naked eye. Without visualizing what is going on in a circuit, it can be very difficult to troubleshoot circuits they build. Since CE members are normally beginners, their setup is less equipped than people working in the hobby or industry for a while. Circuits are unlikely to work on the first try and this tool will help diagnose issues. A range of tool availability How did CE work without test equipment? Well, we didn’t. We have a standard list of low cost equipment, including DMMs, power supplies and soldering equipment. But the key missing piece has always been the oscilloscope. The entry level scopes are $400 and above (though these costs continue to drop); add up necessary test equipement, components on hand and having a range of hand tools for building boards and the startup costs can reach past $500 (even without a scope). With the Analog Discovery 2, we not only get 2 channels of oscilloscopes, but also 2 signal generators, logic analyzer capabilities (including protocol analysis), power supplies, DMMs and more. See the full specifications here. Portability Notice I didn’t say a bench tool when talking about the AD2. It’s possible to take this device with you on the road or to your next troubleshooting spot. Anyone who travels and attempts to work on electronics understands the pain of lugging along the required equipment. Software flexibility Though some would consider this a drawback, I’m enamored by the idea of an all-software oscilloscope. This makes the navigation of the charts a bit more cumbersome (using scrollwheels on a 3 button mouse will help), but overall it allows a range of flexibility and multiple views on your data. For the extra ambitious, there is a scripting console in Waveforms 2015 where users can use Javascript to control the various devices on board. Other programmatic interfaces are possible via the API; there are examples in the Waveforms 2015 reference manual. See it in action Though these were not official course videos, I did some live-streaming of explorations of the AD2. As I mentioned in the video above, we’ll be releasing more official videos in the months ahead. Questions? Contextual Electronics has a free and open forum for discussing electronics projects. Use the link below to access the forum thread associated with this post and ask questions about the bundle on offer. |
University With History Of Free Speech Violations Abuses Trademark Law In Clumsy Attempt To Shut Down Critical Blog from the and-exposes-itself-for-the-lousy-caretaker-of-civil-liberties-it-actually-is dept The best thing about IP laws is how they can be abused to stifle criticism. Sure, IP defenders don't play up that aspect when entreating Congress to extend protections to decades past the creator's death or when seeking to force lots of other countries to play by our own effed up rules. But it can't be ignored. IP law is deployed as as an all-purpose censor far too frequently. Even worse, those who use IP law as a silencing weapon tend to be the most inept wielders. Case in point, the recent "DCMA" notice sent by Office Depot's lawyer to address supposed trademark infringement by Reddit, relating to a picture posted at a completely different site (Imgur) seven months earlier. Here we go again. This time its the legal representation of Chicago State University deploying a variety of IP terms in hopes of shutting down a critical blog run and maintained by a handful of CSU faculty members. A blog run by faculty members at Chicago State University (CSU) has been threatened by university lawyers with a cease and desist notice. Since 2009 the blog has posted information critical of CSU's policies and hiring practices. The notice threatened legal action if the site is not disabled by Friday due to violations of 'trade names and marks' without permission and violations of University policies. The blog admin changed the name of the blog in the meanwhile to Crony State University and replaced an image on the page pending legal counsel. Also the blog is currently still active. Moreover, the lack of civility and professionalism expressed on the blog violates the University's values and policies requiring civility and professionalism of all Faculty members. As an educational institution, the University encourages intellectual discourse. Such discourse often includes opposing viewpoints. Thus, high standards of civility and professionalism are central tenants of the University's values and included in the standards of conduct required of faculty members. Last year, Chicago State officials instructed faculty and staff that only authorized university representatives could share information with the media — and that everything from opinion pieces to social media communications could require prior approval. Officials later said the policy was under review. The administrators who received the salary boosts include general counsel Patrick Cage, who got a 17.4 percent increase, to $155,004; Renee Mitchell, the associate vice president of human resources, who got a 21.4 percent increase, to $144,996; and Provost Sandra Westbrooks, who received an 18.8 percent increase, to $208,092. Two executive assistants in Watson's office also received increases of about 20 percent after they were promoted, university spokesman Thomas Wogan said. All of the increases took effect Jan. 1. Tom Wogan, a university spokesman, said the legal notice was unrelated to quarrels between the administration and the school's faculty. "That's not why they got the letter," Wogan said. "It's because they're using the trademark without authorization." Based on the number of hostile and negative articles that Ms. Cohen has written about Chicago State University, its students, faculty and administrators, the University asserts that it would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy to release any of the names of individuals requested by the Tribune. In ruling on the request for legal fees, the judge rejected as “unconvincing” Chicago State’s insistence that the fees should be reduced to reflect that the plaintiffs won only a “minimal” legal victory. In fact, the judge noted, the plaintiffs’ lawyers prevailed on every legal and factual point that mattered, and were entitled to full compensation. Chicago State University fired its senior legal counsel for responding to FOIA requests about the controversial hiring of a new president, the attorney claims in Cook County Court. James Crowley claims the new president, Wayne Watson, threatened his job and ordered him to restrict the flow of information to Tribune reporters and a faculty member, who had requested it, and fired him when he refused to do so... Crowley says that in August 2009, in the midst of gathering the documents, he was called into the president's office. Crowley says Watson tried to persuade him that "only two pages consisting of the moving company bill were responsive," though Crowley insisted that "numerous additional pages related to the residence should be tendered in order to be in compliance with the FOIA request." Watson then grabbed his wrist and told him, "If you read this my way, you are my friend. If you read it the other way, you are my enemy," the complaint states. On Jan. 26 this year, just days before SURS scheduled a hearing for Watson, it "sent follow-up FOIA requests to Patrick Cage requesting copies of the FOIA requests made to CSU and responses which had been prepared by Crowley and noting that Cage had failed to timely respond to prior requests for the materials," the complaint states. "Crowley released all documents responsive to the FOIA request as required by law," according to the complaint. As a result, Crowley says, he was placed on one-week leave and then Watson fired him via letter, disregarding the university's termination procedures. The letter, sent by CSU's general counsel (and vice president), Patrick Cage, dances around for several paragraphs pt. 2 of the letter here ], throwing around a variety of sentences using variations of "trademark," "service marks," "trade name" and other such IP-related terms in hopes of making it sound like thepoint of the letter is to protect CSU's intellectual property -- rather than simply a hamfisted attempt to shut someone up. Of course, there is no trademark claim here. Trademark covers uses, and the critical site is straight up criticism, not any use in commerce. The trademark claim is pretty obviously bogus right up front -- and the school seems to know that, even as it sprinkles unrelated issues into its letter.Considering Patrick Cage is not only the Head Lawyer but also the Vice President of an institute of higher learning, it's a bit distressing to see him craft a paragraph as disingenuous as this -- one that also includes a rather egregious misspelling.In other words, criticizing the university is not civil nor professional. Also: civility and professionalism are behind on the rent.Even if you give Cage and CSU the benefit of the doubt on this one and grant that a highly critical blog might "diminish the brand," you are then faced with the long history both Cage and the university have with stomping out speech they don't like.As the original Chicago Tribune article notes, the university has made attempts in the past to control the narrative Why does the university feel compelled to control the narrative? Probably because its current "leadership" has come under fire for its willingness to grant itself double-digit pay raises while the rest of the staff was either given a 2.25% raise or no raise at all.Tom Wogan is a pretty good yes man. He's also on hand to defend CSU's misguided trademark C&D.Yeah. OK. The real explanation is that Patrick Cage and CSU simply don't get along with free speech. Here's a FOIA ruling from January of last year that springs loose a whole bunch of student data Patrick Cage tried to suppress by claiming it was exempt from the Chicago Tribune's request. The Attorney General found in favor of the paper, ordering the university to release the data to the paper. Perhaps most telling is Cage's justification for refusing to release certain data.That's a pretty novel defense for withholding information. The AG wasn't impressed and the data was released to Cohen and the Tribune, with the behavior of those associated, including Cage himself, presumably portrayed negatively.The university also retaliated against its own campus newspaper for publishing stories that reflected negatively on the administration. The resulting lawsuit (filed in April 2011) concluded with a judge finding the school had violated the First Amendment rights of the paper's editors with its actions. It was ordered to pay $2,500 in damages and over $200,000 in legal fees , the latter of which Cage feebly contested, only to get slapped by the irritated judge.Then there's this 2010 lawsuit filed by a former attorney for the school , who claimed the school's new president retaliated against him for refusing to withhold documents from a FOIA response.Cage allegedly was involved in this attempted burial of information as well.Obviously the school and its lead counsel habitually attempt to stifle criticism. Of course, each attempted shutdown usually results incritical speech. Not only are its actions counterproductive, they're counterintuitive. Rather than let criticism flow by, indistinguishable from the millions of other angry voices flowing across the internet, the school has called attention to this blog, upping its readership and further spreading the negative portrayal of the school and its administration. And it's done it in the clumsiest, most cowardly fashion -- by wielding intellectual property as a weapon. Filed Under: criticism, free speech, patrick cage, stifling, trademark Companies: chicago state university |
WASHINGTON — As declining sea ice and better mapping and technology make the Arctic more accessible, nations with interests there — including the United States — are beginning to stake their claims on the resource-rich region. Russia planted a flag on the seafloor below the North Pole in 2007. Denmark announced this week that it would ask the United Nations to recognize the North Pole as an extension of Greenland, its territory. The U.S. sent a secretary of state to a meeting of eight Arctic nations earlier this month for the first time, a sign that Americans also have their eye on the region's potential resources. "This region matters greatly to us," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after the conference in Nuuk, Greenland. The U.S. is committed to the Arctic Council's mission as well as the challenges the Arctic faces, Clinton said, including possible resource development. Although numerous logistical challenges to oil and gas exploration in the region remain, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that as much of a third of the world's undiscovered gas and 13 percent of its undiscovered oil may be in the offshore Arctic, in relatively shallow water. "The melting of sea ice, for example, will result in more shipping, fishing and tourism, and the possibility to develop newly accessible oil and gas reserves," Clinton said. "We seek to pursue these opportunities in a smart, sustainable way that preserves the Arctic environment and ecosystem." The U.S. has been slow to recognize not just the importance of the Arctic but also the implications of the melting ice and what it means for commercial and economic interests, said John Bellinger III, who was a senior adviser to Condoleezza Rice when she was the secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration. Other nations have been far more focused on the region while the U.S. has been distracted by other events. "Secretary Clinton attending a summit of Arctic Council members at a time when so many other things are going on in the world does demonstrate that the U.S. understands the importance of the Arctic," Bellinger said. Clinton took with her to Greenland Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who's long worked to remind other officeholders that the U.S. is an Arctic nation and its foreign policy should reflect that. Murkowski's presence was also the first time that anyone from Congress had attended such a gathering. "It's been frustrating getting anyone's attention on Arctic issues, but Hillary Clinton is one who I could engage on this topic," Murkowski said. Murkowski said she first got Clinton's attention on Arctic matters long before the former first lady was the secretary of state. Several senators, including Clinton, visited Alaska one summer a few years ago, and Murkowski and her husband hosted them at a salmon barbecue. It was obvious that Clinton's trip to some of Alaska's Arctic regions had inspired her, Murkowski said. Clinton got it, Murkowski said, including the region's strategic importance to the U.S. Since then, the two women have had regular policy discussions about the region. In Greenland, the eight countries — the United States, Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland — signed several accords, including a pact to cooperate on search and rescue missions in a region that has minimal resources for such expeditions. The agreement is recognition that more people will be in the area, whether they're on cruise ships, cargo planes or oil rigs. They also laid the groundwork for a multi-nation task force to address oil and gas development in the Arctic. Since last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, many nations have re-evaluated the safety of offshore drilling, and the U.S. is considering how to proceed in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska's northern coast. Environmental groups such as Oceana have been keeping close tabs on potential oil and gas development in the region, and they think it's crucial for the U.S. to take the lead in Arctic matters. The Arctic is changing rapidly and is more sensitive to the impacts of climate change than other regions are, said Chris Krenz, the lead Arctic project manager for Oceana's office in Juneau, Alaska. "The Arctic is a very spectacular place," Krenz said. "It really captures the imagination of people." Many of those who attended the council meeting, including Clinton, called for the U.S. to ratify the Law of the Sea treaty. The treaty, which governs worldwide navigation rights and resources such as fisheries, also provides a framework for settling territorial claims in the Arctic. Although the United States participated in the negotiations that resulted in the treaty, conservatives, led by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., have blocked Senate ratification since 1994. The U.S. and Canada, which are cooperating on research to develop better maps of the Arctic, have their own disputes over boundaries, Murkowski said. And there are differences between the countries about navigational access through the Northwest Passage, the sea route through the Arctic Ocean along the northern coast of North America. Even non-Arctic nations have an eye on the potentially resource-rich prize. Some non-Arctic nations — such as China — have been exploring the region. No one is quite certain what the Chinese want, Murkowski said. "That concerns me," she said. "If we don't (sign the treaty) ... we have no right to lay claim or to make a case for it." MORE FROM MCCLATCHY Obama pushes for increase in domestic oil production Scientists measure Arctic soot and its role in warming EPA appeals panel is accused of thwarting Arctic drilling |
This year, your real Christmas tree will be more expensive than it needs to be. That’s because the Department of Agriculture is imposing a fee on each fresh-cut tree sold. A few months ago, the federal government created a national marketing program to advertise the virtues of real Christmas trees. It’s funded by a 15-cent surcharge that will be added to the cost of each tree sold. It’s not a tax, Washington insists — merely a fee that you have to pay. “The Christmas tree industry requested this initiative to fund Christmas tree research and marketing, the program will be funded solely by the industry, and the government is not imposing any tax on Christmas trees,” an Agriculture Department spokesman explains. It’s a distinction without a difference. If a fee is imposed on a product by a government, it’s a tax on the consumer. Regulators also defend the new program by noting that other products, including pork (The Other White Meat), beef (It’s What’s For Dinner), and milk (Got Milk?) have advertising campaigns funded by the feds. Well, that simply means consumers have been paying more than we needed to for those products as well. This new tax that’s not a tax was imposed as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. It was first announced in November of 2011, but was put on hold after an Internet firestorm erupted in opposition to it. There seems to be a legitimate problem here. Growers are worried because sales are dropping. The WSJ reports that real tree sales “declined by 6% from 1965 to 2008, while the market share for artificial trees increased by 655% in that same period.” But only the federal government could think it can sell more of a product by making it more expensive. Christmas season is already upon us. Satellite radio is delivering round-the-clock Christmas music, and people are lining up for Black Friday sales: two women in Beaumont, California have been camping out since Nov. 7. Lower prices for gasoline should give Americans more money to spend on gifts. Or more expensive trees. Update: USDA said Monday it is not implementing the tax this year despite a regulation allowing it to do so having gone into effect. |
Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. Oct. 26, 2016, 7:27 PM GMT / Updated Oct. 28, 2016, 4:54 PM GMT By Elizabeth Chuck This Election Day, at a number of voting locations across America, polls will be open — but the schools that house them will not. Public schools, with their ample parking, handicapped-accessible spaces, and capacity to hold large crowds, have always made for popular polling places. And while numerous states or cities have always closed schools on Election Day in past years, the particularly contentious nature of this presidential campaign has brought up more concerns than usual. "Elections are always going to raise a little bit of tension between people, but with the candidates this year, it's obviously a little more heated," said Sara Andriotis, a mother of two who lives in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. "They're expecting more than we've ever had ... Just to err on the side of caution, we decided to close those schools." Her school district in Easton, Pa., decided to cancel classes on Election Day after Andriotis and other parents brought up fears that violence could break out at the schools' polling places. Related: Feds Concerned About Risk of Violence as Election Day Nears There's no official tally of how many schools will be closed nationwide on Nov. 8, according to the National School Boards Association. But in various districts from New Jersey to Nebraska, officials have canceled classes, or moved polling out of schools to other buildings this year. In North Carolina, another battleground state, the Johnson County school board opted to close schools after local election officials warned that turnout would be higher than ever. "They're expecting more than we've ever had," Nathanael Shelton, director of communications for Johnson County schools, told NBC News. "Just to err on the side of caution, we decided to close those schools." The fears stem from a tense election season in which a Hillsborough, North Carolina, GOP campaign office was firebombed and voters have made a habit of holding up posters threatening violence against the candidates. A USATODAY/Suffolk University poll released Wednesday found that 51 percent of likely voters are concerned about the possibility of Election Day violence. Even federal officials have expressed apprehension as Election Day approaches, with one telling NBC News that authorities were particularly worried about the "I'm a patriot and if it comes to it, I'll grab my weapons and defend my flag" Trump supporters. Related: Trump Supporter Brings Clinton Effigy, Noose to Rally But the idea of Election Day school closures isn't new or unique to this election. In New York state, many districts have been closed for years, including those in New York City, the largest school district in the United States with 1.1 million students. Supporters point to student safety as the number one reason for closing schools, citing the high number of outsiders flowing in and out of buildings. Many also believe closing schools helps voter turnout and emphasizes the importance of civic duty to students. "It's important that they have adequate provisions in place to address the issue of increased activity around the school." But detractors believe it unnecessarily forces students to miss out on class time and forces an academic makeup day, and say instead of staying home, students could go about their normal day and simply skip gym or not go in the auditorium if polling were taking place in those parts of their schools. Thomas Hylton, a member of the Pottstown school board, about 35 miles outside of Philadelphia — where schools will be open on Election Day — dismisses any safety concerns. "The risk is so slight as to not even be a concern. People tend to be concerned about things that are very unlikely to happen," Hylton told NBC News. As for whether this election carries a higher risk of violence than past years, Hylton said, "I don't see any difference." Regardless, schools need to adequately prepare for an influx of visitors if they serve as polling places, said Ronald Stephens, the executive director of the National School Safety Center. "The question for schools would be whether their polling place that they use for elections does provide a degree of adequate separation or security so that school can continue to go on safely without disrupting the educational process," Stephens told NBC News. Schools should also expect a high amount of vehicular traffic and be sure pedestrians are safe, he added. "It's important that they have adequate provisions in place to address the issue of increased activity around the school," he said. "It would be important to have additional formal supervision around the school, whether that's campus supervisors or if they have a school resource officer on campus, just monitoring what's there." |
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