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As the labor union-backed Fight for $15 begins yet another nationwide strike on November 29, I have a simple message for the protest organizers and the reporters covering them: I told you so. It brings me no joy to write these words. The push for a $15 starter wage has negatively impacted the career prospects of employees who were just getting started in the workforce while extinguishing the businesses that employed them. I wish it were not so. But it’s important to document these consequences, lest policymakers elsewhere decide that the $15 movement is worth embracing. Watch on Forbes: $15 Minimum Wage, What We Can Expect Let’s start with automation. In 2013, when the Fight for $15 was still in its growth stage, I and others warned that union demands for a much higher minimum wage would force businesses with small profit margins to replace full-service employees with costly investments in self-service alternatives. At the time, labor groups accused business owners of crying wolf. It turns out the wolf was real. Earlier this month, McDonald’s announced the nationwide roll-out of touchscreen self-service kiosks. In a video the company released to showcase the new customer experience, it’s striking to see employees who once would have managed a cash register now reduced to monitoring a customer’s choices at an iPad-style kiosk. It’s not just McDonald’s that has embraced job-replacing technology. Numerous restaurant chains (both quick service and full service) have looked to computer tablets as a solution for rising labor costs that won't adversely impact the customer’s experience. Eatsa, a fully-automated restaurant concept, now has five locations—all in cities or states that have embraced a $15 minimum wage. And in a scene stolen from The Jetsons, the Starship delivery robot is now navigating the streets of San Francisco with groceries and other consumer goods. The company’s founder pointed to a rising minimum wage as a key factor driving the growth of his automated delivery business. Of course, not all businesses have the capital necessary to shift from full-service to self-service. And that brings me to my next correct prediction—that a $15 minimum wage would force many small businesses to lay off staff, seek less-costly locations, or close altogether. Tragically, these stories—in California in particular—are too numerous to cite in detail here. They include a bookstore in Roseville, a pub in Fresno, restaurants and bakeries in San Francisco, a coffee shop in Berkeley, grocery stores in Oakland, a grill in Santa Clara, and apparel manufacturers through the state. In September of this year, nearly one-quarter of restaurant closures in the Bay Area cited labor costs as one of the reasons for shutting down operations. And just this past week, a California-based communications firm announced it was moving 75 call center jobs from San Diego to El Paso, Texas, citing California’s rising minimum as the “deciding factor.” (Dozens of additional stories can be found at the website FacesOf15.com.) Other states are also learning the same basic economic lesson: Customers have a limit to what they will pay for service. Voters in Washington, Colorado, Maine and Arizona voted to raise minimum wages on Election Day, convinced of the policy’s merits after millions of dollars were spent by union advocates. In the immediate aftermath, family-owned restaurants, coffee shops and even childcare providers have struggled to absorb the coming cost increase—with parents paying the cost through steeper childcare bills, and employees paying the cost through reduced shift hours or none at all. The out-of-state labor groups who funded these initiatives aren’t shedding tears over the consequences. Like their Soviet-era predecessors who foolishly thought they could centrally manage prices and business operations to fit an idealistic worldview, economic reality keeps ruining the model of all gain and no pain. This brings me to my last correct prediction, which is that the Fight for $15 was always more a creation of the left-wing Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rather than a legitimate grassroots effort. Reuters reported last year that, based on federal filings, the SEIU had spent anywhere from $24 million to $50 million on the its Fight for $15 campaign, and the number has surely increased since then. This money has bought the union a lot of protesters and media coverage. You can expect more of it on November 29. But the real faces of the Fight for $15 are the young people and small business owners who have had their futures compromised. Those faces are not happy ones. |
Comic book fans are sensitive and demanding when their favorite characters are adapted to screen. Not only have they attached themselves to a long, dramatic arc and the wonderful quirks of a written character, but they’ve already seen him visualized. Big and small screen versions have to translate that character’s essence and make it recognizable while molding it for the new medium. No easy task — and one that’s been particularly difficult for Marvel’s biggest, greenest leading man: The Hulk. Looking back, few fans would argue that the 1977 to 1982 series The Incredible Hulk was a low-fi, yet surprisingly perfect take on the character. Starring Bill Bixby as the reserved Dr. Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno as his verdant alter ego, The Incredible Hulk sparingly used the rage monster, instead focusing on Banner’s quest to help people while attempting to quell his own inner demons. People fell in love with the show — including the filmmakers and actors behind the later incarnations of the character. When director Ang Lee and Eric Bana tackled the 2003 version, Hulk, they returned to the TV show. The movie bombed. Eventually, Marvel seized back the rights and rebooted the series with director Louis Leterrier and new leading man, Edward Norton (2008’s The Incredible Hulk). They famously apologized for the first film at Comic-Con, suggesting that Norton would deliver something closer to Bixby and Ferrigno’s combined performance. That movie too failed to draw mass audiences and jumpstart a franchise. Audiences could tune in week-to-week watching a muscled man run around in green body paint solving small-scale problems, but when it came to a modern interpretation (souped up with a hundred million dollars worth of special effects), interest couldn’t be mustered. Why? Comic book Hulk isn’t limited to saving cats in trees and slamming down doors to rescue citizens trapped in burning buildings — in fact, in recent years, he’s become a character with enough thoughtfulness to lead an entire race to freedom after being banished to another planet. (There’s a live-action movie you will never see.) On a simpler scale, The Hulk is essentially a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde reinterpretation, a story that’s been adapted to screen, TV, and stage hundreds of times. The story and character appear to be intact and mineable. That leaves the execution. For insight, there’s really only one man to turn to: The Hulk himself, Ferrigno. “I know exactly what needed to come out from inside of him,” Ferrigno told Hollywood.com. “[Having done] the TV series, I know how The Hulk thinks and feels.” Having played the character for five years and in a handful of television movies, the bodybuilder-turned-actor understands the human component of Hulk — an aspect lost in the digital versions of cinematic Hulk. Ferrigno is blunt: “CGI can’t compare to the human Hulk.” By having a human Hulk, the TV show had an upper hand when it came to performance. Ferrigno was able to shape his Hulk with the help of his human counterpart. The actor found Hulk evolving even further when Bixby eventually stepped into the role of director on the show. “Bill didn’t want The Hulk to be comical, jumping off buildings. It was a TV series. We didn’t have the special effects like today. And he mainly wanted to focus on the story plots. He was the best one in the business. Whenever I had questions I would ask Bill about The Hulk, how he felt and how we could improve the performance. We worked as a team.” That collaboration helped Ferrigno unlock actual emotion while grunting and growling as the larger-than-life hero. Anger was the inciting emotion, but the key to connecting with an audience was something deeper. “Sensitivity. It came right through the make-up. We relate to him because when you look at the human Hulk, you feel like that kind of person. When you’re angry, when you’re emotionally depressed. The Hulk does it for you. Back in the ’70s and ’80s, that’s what made the show magic.” In this week’s Marvel’s The Avengers, actor Mark Ruffalo will be the first Bruce Banner to also “play” the Hulk, thanks to the wonders of motion capture technology. For the first time on the big screen, Hulk will be receiving the help of a human performer. Much like his predecessors, director Joss Whedon has stated that he hopes to revive the magic of the Bixby/Ferrigno show. With Ruffalo actually portraying The Hulk, that may finally be possible. But not without a little help from Ferrigno, of course. “I did the voice of The Hulk for The Avengers. The growl, everything.” For the actor, that’s the keystone of a live-action Hulk. Filmmakers, actors, and audiences fondly remember the show because that was the definitive, inescapable Hulk — an imprint as powerful as the original source material. “I do conventions and almost every person knows, when I come to the convention, that I’m doing the voice of The Hulk and they get excited. They have the motivation, they want to connect with The Hulk. They know.” With word that Ruffalo has been signed for a six-picture deal, that could see him return as Banner in future Marvel movies and his own stand alone films, it sounds like Marvel may have solved their Hulk problem. You’ll find out for sure when The Avengers hits theaters this weekend. =”font-style:> More: Avengers Assembled: Meet the Cast of Epic Heroes Superhero Battles Gone Mental: Daredevil vs. Aquaman! The Avengers First Look: Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk |
The heavy use of dispersants in the gulf oil spill is unprecedented and troublesome, two top Obama administration officials told a Senate subcommittee on Thursday. But use of the dispersants has been sharply reduced in recent weeks. Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the daily use of dispersants is down 72 percent since May 26, when her agency and the Coast Guard told BP to use dispersant on the gulf’s surface only as a last resort. “Every single thing we have done out at sea comes at some risk,’’ Ms. Jackson told the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. The subcommittee chairwoman, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Democrat of Maryland, said she wanted assurances that dispersants would not become the “Agent Orange of this oil spill,” with “vile consequences.” Agent Orange was a herbicide dropped by American forces during the Vietnam War to kill trees and plants so soldiers could spot enemy guerrillas; studies have found an increased incidence of certain cancers and other diseases among Americans and Vietnamese who were exposed to it. “Dispersants have been used in the Gulf of Mexico for 15 years,” Ms. Jackson said. “But it’s the volume that any average person, whether they have a chemistry degree or not,” would be concerned about, she said. Dispersants are supposed to break up the oil into smaller droplets that naturally occurring microbes can digest, Ms. Jackson said, and “the microbes are thriving.” Should the microbes overproliferate, they could use up the dissolved oxygen in the water, leading to mass fish kills, she said, but so far, levels of dissolved oxygen are acceptable. And if the well is successfully capped, that would mean not only an end to oil flowing into the gulf but also an end to dispersant use, she said. Larry Robinson, the assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, testified that dispersants had not been found in fish or shellfish samples. The dispersants are intended to persist long enough to do their job and then to break down. |
The global arsenal of nuclear warheads stands currently at 16,300, a drop of just under 1,000 from 2013, a Sweden-based peace research institute reported on Monday. Israel's arsenal stands at 80 warheads, the institute said, the same number it reported in 2013. The number of operational weapons at present is approximately 4,000, according to the annual data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. But the number jumps to 16,300 when warheads that are in storage or ready to be dismantled are included. The global nuclear arsenal is dominated by the two nuclear heavyweights - the United States and Russia – which jointly have just over 90 per cent of the world's nuclear arsenal. The US has an estimated 7,300 warheads, while Russia 8,000. Altogether, nine states are believed to possess nuclear weapons: the U.S., Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. The SIPRI researchers said nuclear powers continued to upgrade their nuclear forces and delivery systems during the past year. The US has allocated $350 billion to upgrading and maintaining its nuclear forces in the coming 10-year period, including investing in new submarines and reviewing new ballistic missiles and long-range bombers, the think tank said. Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close Russia, in addition to upgrading its ballistic missiles, was reportedly developing a new type of submarine to be able to launch nuclear weapons at sea. India and Pakistan continued to develop ballistic and cruise missiles and also to produce fissile material for military purposes. India was estimated to have about 90 to 110 nuclear warheads, Pakistan between 100 and 120, while Israel's stock remained at 80, according to SIPRI. China's arsenal numbered 250 warheads, of which 190 were designated for its land-based ballistic missiles and aircraft. North Korea, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, was believed to have 6 to 8 nuclear weapons, SIPRI said. |
His poem, "What Must Be Said," is overtly and boldly political. It is not exactly the prettiest prose in its original German, and the English doesn't read much better. Translating it below, I've tried to untangle some of the needlessly Teutonic constructions where it doesn't undo the deliberately winding and parenthetical tone too much. Even more concise German can sound circuitous to an English ear, but Grass's writing here is an extreme example. The poem is, from a purely communicative standpoint, a relatively inefficient denunciation -- akin to writing up a paragraph of solid reasoning and then cutting it up and sticking little bits in fortune cookies. What Must Be Said Why do I stay silent, conceal for too long What clearly is and has been Practiced in war games, at the end of which we as survivors Are at best footnotes. It is the alleged right to first strike That could annihilate the Iranian people-- Enslaved by a loud-mouth And guided to organized jubilation-- Because in their territory, It is suspected, a bomb is being built. Yet why do I forbid myself To name that other country In which, for years, even if secretly, There has been a growing nuclear potential at hand But beyond control, because no inspection is available? The universal concealment of these facts, To which my silence subordinated itself, I sense as incriminating lies And force--the punishment is promised As soon as it is ignored; The verdict of "anti-Semitism" is familiar. Now, though, because in my country Which from time to time has sought and confronted Its very own crime That is without compare In turn on a purely commercial basis, if also With nimble lips calling it a reparation, declares A further U-boat should be delivered to Israel, Whose specialty consists of guiding all-destroying warheads to where the existence Of a single atomic bomb is unproven, But as a fear wishes to be conclusive, I say what must be said. Why though have I stayed silent until now? Because I thought my origin, Afflicted by a stain never to be expunged Kept the state of Israel, to which I am bound And wish to stay bound, From accepting this fact as pronounced truth. Why do I say only now, Aged and with my last ink, That the nuclear power of Israel endangers The already fragile world peace? Because it must be said What even tomorrow may be too late to say; Also because we--as Germans burdened enough-- Could be the suppliers to a crime That is foreseeable, wherefore our complicity Could not be redeemed through any of the usual excuses. And granted: I am silent no longer Because I am tired of the hypocrisy Of the West; in addition to which it is to be hoped That this will free many from silence, That they may prompt the perpetrator of the recognized danger To renounce violence and Likewise insist That an unhindered and permanent control Of the Israeli nuclear potential And the Iranian nuclear sites Be authorized through an international agency By the governments of both countries. Only this way are all, the Israelis and Palestinians, Even more, all people, that in this Region occupied by mania Live cheek by jowl among enemies, And also us, to be helped. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com. |
PEJ News Coverage Index October 10-16, 2011 The U.S. economy topped the news last week, powered in large part by increasing attention to the Occupy Wall Street protests. At the same time, the narrative about the protests became decidedly partisan and political. From October 10-16, the economy filled 24% of the newshole, up slightly from 22% the previous week, according to the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. This also marked the third consecutive week in which coverage of the protests grew, according to PEJ’s weekly News Coverage Index, which tracks the media agenda, or the attention paid to different topics in the news. Last week, the Occupy Wall Street storyline increased to 10% of the overall newshole compared with 7% the previous week and 2% the week before that. While it is complicated to compare different news events several years apart, the Tea Party protests began with little media notice in February 2009. But they filled 7% of the newshole studied the week they went national with widespread protests on April 15 of that year. Last week, the narrative about the protests focused intently on politics, as Democrats more fervently embraced the demonstrations and Republicans became more pointed in their criticism. Some of that media attention was clearly negative. The subject of the economy got the most attention last week in the radio news sector (43% of the airtime studied), which includes the ideological talk shows dominated by conservatives. Politics was also at the core of the No. 2 story last week, the 2012 presidential election, which filled 19% of the newshole. That is up slightly from 18% the previous weeks and represents the high water mark for coverage of the campaign to date. Last week, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney generated the most coverage. It was a busy week for Romney. He basked in an important endorsement, found his religion under attack and started to see the “I word”—inevitability—show up in some stories. Herman Cain, the one-time long shot who has finished among the frontrunners in recent polls, was also a major newsmaker, thanks in part to rivals training their guns on his “9-9-9” tax plan. The week’s third-biggest story was Iran (13%) after the U.S. publicly alleged that the Islamic Republic was behind an ill-fated attempt to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. on American soil. Some coverage discussed the Keystone Kops element of the alleged plot. Next, at No. 4, (2%) was coverage of the economic problems plaguing Europe as the European Union members tried to come up with a new debt reduction plan. And the fifth-biggest story, also at 2%, involved continuing Mideast unrest, most notably the deaths of about two dozen people that followed the breakup of a protest by Coptic Christians in Egypt. Occupy Wall Street There were other elements to economic coverage last week, including the defeat of President Obama’s jobs bill in the U.S. Senate. And the subject of unemployment and jobs accounted for about one-quarter of the week’s economic news. But the Occupy Wall Street protests were the prominent economic theme. “Responses are following along party lines,” stated an MSNBC report on October 10. “Republicans are slamming the movement [with one] of them calling it a mob aimed at class warfare.” The story also showed House Majority Leader Eric Cantor charging that “we have elected leaders that are inflaming this sense that we ought to be pitting Americans versus Americans.” That same day, the New York Times was reporting on Democrats moving to support the protests as they spread across more cities. “Leading Democratic figures, including party fund-raisers and a top ally of President Obama, are embracing the spread of the anti-Wall Street protests in a clear sign that members of the Democratic establishment see the movement as a way to align disenchanted Americans with their party,” the story stated. Some of the attention to it came from conservative talk radio hosts condemning the movement. One element of that criticism was cultural. On his October 12 radio show, conservative host Sean Hannity said the protests were turning off many Americans who “look and watch people walking around naked, smoking pot, having sex in public…and chanting slogans” about “the evils of capitalism.” He added, “I think the country is looking at this and saying…that’s what leftism is, that’s what socialism is.” One day later, on its nightly newscast, NBC anchor Brian Williams declared that the “center of the [protest] message is increasingly resonating,” a statement followed by news of a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll indicating that 37% of Americans now support the protests, including 40% of those making $75,000 or more a year. The Presidential Campaign The 2012 presidential campaign was the top subject in two sectors last week, newspapers (15% of the front-page coverage studied) and on cable news (32% of the airtime studied). In that coverage, Mitt Romney was the top GOP figure. He registered as the primary newsmaker in about one-third of the stories about the campaign. (In order to register as a primary newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of that story.) Some of that news was welcome, including the landing of a big endorsement. “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorsed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in New Hampshire today, providing the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination with a boost on the verge of tonight’s New Hampshire debate,” the Washington Post reported. “Christie, a favorite of tea party and establishment types alike, has emphasized the need for the GOP to nominate someone not who they agree with on every issue but rather someone who can win.” An old issue, Romney’s Mormon religion, also surfaced after Pastor Robert Jeffress, a Rick Perry supporter, called Mormonism “a cult.” Part of the media discussion focused not only on Romney, but on whether Perry needed to do more to distance himself from those remarks. “I think at some point, Perry has to address it because it becomes about his leadership,” CNN analyst Gloria Borger ventured on October 11. “It becomes about whether he, by not saying anything directly, would endorse any kind of bigotry.” And with recent problems in his campaign knocking Perry out of the top spot in polls, some coverage last week began exploring the idea that this was now Romney’s Republican nomination to lose. A story on the ABC News website led with the headline, “Is Mitt Romney Inevitable?” a theme that Romney aides were quick to quash. “Even the Romney camp itself is trying to temper the ‘sure thing’ label with a senior adviser telling ABC News the end is not near,” the story added. As he has risen in the polls, businessman Herman Cain also began to face some closer scrutiny of his record and ideas, much of the sort that Michelle Bachmann and Perry have experienced in this campaign. It was a sign of a familiar cycle—that as a candidate appears to become more viable, they get more media scrubbing. “Businessman Herman Cain, rising fast in the polls, absorbed several blows from his fellow Republican presidential contenders on Tuesday, as they went on the attack over his 9-9-9 plan,” Fox News reported. “Most aggressive in their criticisms of the plan for a 9 percent sales tax, 9 percent income tax and 9 percent corporate tax were Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who said it will never come to pass.” The Rest of the Week’s News The coverage of the reported Iranian plot against the Saudi ambassador was the third-biggest story last week (13%), generating the most attention (20%) in the cable news sectors. Some of the coverage suggested that the U.S. resident implicated in the plot, Manssor Arbabsiar, was an unlikely and unqualified figure to be given a major role in such a complex and high-stakes plot. An October 12 profile of Arbabsiar on NPR’s All Things Considered offered this portrait from reporter Wade Goodwyn. “Fifty-six-year-old Manssor Arbabsiar was a small business owner for much of his life. Friends say he liked to be called Jack. He enjoyed a good time and didn’t seem religious or political at all. He had some minor brushes with the law. He was arrested for not having a valid drivers license, a charge which was reduced. A check fraud charge was dropped. He was married twice with children. Business associates described Arbabsiar’s organizational skills as marginal.” Continuing attempts to solve the fiscal problems plaguing European countries accounted for 2% of all the coverage last week, while the renewed violence in Egypt fueled attention to the No. 5 story, Mideast turmoil, also at 2%, Newsmakers of the Week President Obama was the top newsmaker from last week. He was a primary newsmaker in 7% of the week’s stories, the same level of coverage as the previous two weeks. The next three most prominent newsmakers were men who hope to take his job next year. Mitt Romney figured prominently in 5% of the week’s stories, Herman Cain in 4% and Rick Perry in 3%. Rounding out the list of top newsmakers (also at 3%) was one of the key figures in the alleged Iranian plot that surfaced last week, Manssor Arbabsiar. About the NCI PEJ’s weekly News Coverage Index examines the news agenda of 52 different outlets from five sectors of the media: print, online, network TV, cable and radio. (See List of Outlets.) The weekly study, which includes some 1,000 stories, is designed to provide news consumers, journalists and researchers with hard data about what stories and topics the media are covering, the trajectories of that media narrative and differences among news platforms. The percentages are based on "newshole," or the space devoted to each subject in print and online and time on radio and TV. (See Our Methodology.) In addition, these reports also include a rundown of the week’s leading newsmakers, a designation given to people who account for at least 50% of a given story. Mark Jurkowitz of PEJ |
Americans may love bellying up to the bar, especially on St. Patrick’s Day. But they’re often clueless when it comes to spelling the names of their favorite alcoholic beverages. That’s the word from Bartrendr, an app that lets users share information about their favorite watering holes. The app’s technical team tracked some 100,000 recent postings and found a plethora of misspellings, even with names that would be seemingly easy to get right. Among the brands most commonly mangled: Jägermeister (it was spelled incorrectly 90% of the time), Budweiser (42%), Jameson (23%), Hennessy (15%) and Jack Daniel’s (6%). The Batrendr team did not consider accent marks when judging spelling, so the mistakes with Jägermeister had nothing to do with the umlaut. If anything, the mistakes were likely related to the fact that although the German spirit is spelled with a “j,” it’s pronounced as if it begins with a “y” (“Yay-ger-mice-ster”), as per the German language. And if you’re wondering how Americans managed to misspell the fourth most-popular beer brand in the country, that’s because they often referred to it as “Budwiser,” according to Bartrendr. Interestingly, some of the most complex brand names — think such single-malt Scotches such as Bruichladdich and Laphroaig — were rarely misspelled, according to Bartrendr. Devon Bergman, a co-founder of the app, attributes that to the fact that drinkers of such beverages tend to be fairly sophisticated and in-the-know. Bergman also says that users’ level of sobriety may play a role in their spelling ability (or lack thereof), but Bartrendr couldn’t determine to what extent. “We’re not a breathalyzer app,” he says. Get a daily roundup of the top reads in personal finance delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Personal Finance Daily newsletter. Sign up here. |
Black Desert Mobile Character Trailers Will Make You Disbelieve that it’s a Smartphone Game Giuseppe Nelva November 23, 2017 5:44:39 PM EST As the name says, Black Desert Mobile is a title for smart devices, but if they told me it was a PC or console game, I would believe them. If there is one thing that Black Desert Online developer Pearl Abyss can do really well is making things look really pretty. With the upcoming mobile game Black Desert Mobile, they seem to have gone above and beyond that. Today the developers have opened pre-registrations in Korea, and to celebrate they released a bunch of trailers, including some dedicated to classes, ranger, warrior, valkyrie, witch, and berserker. We get to take another look at the many looks each character can have thanks to the game’s awesome character creation suite, and a lot of gameplay. While the gameplay perspective has been changed to be a bit farther from the characters to fit the smaller screen of mobile platforms, the game looks better than many mid-tier MMORPGs on PC. It doesn’t get to the level of absolute eyecandy granted by its big brother, but it’s impressively close. You can check out all the trailers below. If you want to see more, you can check out the original teaser trailer, and another showing off the impressive character creation. Black Desert Mobile will soon launch in Korea for iOS and Android, with no release announced for the west, for now. Its big brother Black Desert Online is already available for PC, with an Xbox One release coming in 2018, and a PS4 release teased, but not yet revealed. |
For all practical purposes, the Central Bureau of Investigation Director, Ranjit Sinha, is a lame duck from today (20 November) with the Supreme Court asking him to recuse himself from the 2G spectrum investigations. Not that the lame duck has too many days left to quack; his term ends less than two weeks from now. He had started his two-year tenure on 3 December 2012. The court, which had in the past called the CBI a “caged parrot”, effectively delivered a vote of no-confidence in him today when it observed that "all was not well” with Sinha’s stewardship of the agency and that the allegations against him made by an NGO, the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, had “some credibility”. A key allegation is that he may have been trying to help some of the 2G scam accused. Hence the need for him to recuse himself from one of biggest corruption scandals in Indian history. Sinha has been hitting the headlines regularly, ever since he took charge on 3 December 2012. The BJP had opposed his appointment then because the Lokpal Bill, which called for a collegium to appoint the CBI director, was then in the works. Sinha’s stormy tenure, which was frequently marked by controversy, hit a nadir when the NGO filed a list of visitors that he seemed to be meeting regularly. The report was splashed across the front pages of the media, and Sinha protested that the information had been leaked unfairly. The Supreme Court had at, one time, appeared to sympathise with him and asked the petitioner to disclose the name of the whistleblower. But at today’s hearing, the Supreme Court itself rejected Sinha’s charge that the CBI’s DIG Santosh Rastogi was the mole who leaked information to the petitioner. That he would leave in a cloud of controversy was certain when it was disclosed last September that his doors were open to all kinds of people, including many people that his agency was investigating. In a specific case involving his meetings with executives of the Anil Ambani Group, accused in the 2G scam, Sinha had admitted he met them but said he did not do them any favours. But the huge laundry list of people he met repeatedly in his home told the world that something was not quite right with these meetings. The Indian Express, for example, said in a report on 5 September that all kinds of people toting names like Shiv Pal, Shiv Babu and Mithilesh had visited Sinha at home more than 100 times in a year. Usually, this kind of frequency is limited to close relatives or bosom pals. But, as we had noted at that time, there is nothing wrong if the CBI Director meets anybody in his office, and there are records kept of the conversation, but surely beyond very close friends or relatives, such an open-door policy at home can lead to serious conflicts of interests? Just as judges cannot meet the accused or their relatives at home (they can only do so in court) to avoid accusations of impropriety, prima facie one should consider these visits to the CBI Director’s home as “fishy.” But Ranjit Sinha saw nothing wrong in such interactions. Another Express story, in fact, quoted him as saying that he was going to keep his “gate open and have already given instructions (to that effect)… let us see what the government can do.” But this attitude didn’t stand scrutiny, as the Supreme Court’s observations today indicated. When someone investigating a crime meets those being investigated and also many others so frequently, he is violating a fundamental rule of fairness and objectivity: that one’s actions must be seen to be above reproach. It is true that the CBI Director cannot be assumed to have done favours just because he met lots of people lots of time at home, but the very fact that he was running open house at home rather than the office can seem wrong. Sinha tried to cover his bases by pointing out that he was investigating powerful people, hinting that they must have plotted this disclosure. The Times of India quoted him then as saying this: "I have taken action against powerful people in high-profile cases, including Intelligence Bureau officers in cases like Ishrat Jahan fake encounter, against corporate executives, government departments, banks and other agencies. Has anyone touched people at that level ever before?” There is no denying that many powerful people would want the investigations against them to stop, but this is precisely the reason why Sinha should have been careful who he met and how many times. He compromised his independence by making his actions suspect. These discretions did not immediately cost Sinha his job, but they certainly damaged his public standing. The CBI Director is selected based on a short-list prepared by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), and there are no provisions for his removal before the end of his term. The BJP is said to be planning a change in the law to make it possible to remove a CBI Director for misbehavior, but this law is going to be contested in courts. As Sinha walks into the sunset, he leaves behind an already damaged institution in a further state of despair. The next man had better be someone with the highest credibility. Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button. |
The Mecklenburg district attorney has allowed the NFL and the NFL Players Association to view seven photographs it wanted to see from Greg Hardy’s domestic violence case. What exactly is shown in the seven photographs isn’t made clear in the press release, but the announcement is clear on who won’t be seeing the photos—reporters and the public. Hardy was found guilty of assaulting his then-girlfriend last summer, but he appealed the charges and they were dropped after he gave her money to go away. This seemed to clear his path to return to playing football, except for the league’s newfound get-tough stance on domestic violence, which included a lot of words from Roger Goodell about independent investigations and not relying on law enforcement. This leads us to a moment where Goodell is relying on help from law enforcement—and gets it. Advertisement The NFL, the union, Hardy’s lawyer, and several of their experts will be allowed to see the photographs, but will not be given copies nor be allowed to make copies. Any descriptions of them is “limited the use of their descriptions to any report, discipline letter, arbitration or within the context of an appeal relating to such disciplinary action,” the press release says. It goes on to point that that these photos are not public records, as talks about concerns that making making them public would deter other domestic violence victims from coming forward. While these are valid concerns, what makes the NFL so important and trustworthy that an exception must be made for them and nobody else? From the press release: The DA’s Office allowed the severely limited use of these photographs because the NFL agreed to keep the photographs confidential and demonstrated its need for the photos in a disciplinary hearing based on the same conduct that was the basis of the criminal charges that involved alleged domestic violence. Advertisement The NFL doesn’t really need to see the photos. As Tom Ley already pointed out, “The NFL wants these photos not because it cares about getting Hardy’s punishment right, but because it wants to get the optics of the punishment right.” And all the Cowboys fans wondering if their team just signed a horrific woman beater are being told that they’ll just have to trust the NFL on this one, which requires ignoring the NFL’s history of less-than-stellar investigations. Happen to know anything about this arrangement? Let us know at tips@deadspin.com. Advertisement Image via Associated Press |
Iran has hanged a man found guilty of working as a "spy" for Israeli intelligence service Mossad, state media say. Espionage is punishable by death under Iranian law. ADVERTISING Read more AFP - Iran hanged on Tuesday a man found guilty of working as a "spy" for Israeli intelligence service Mossad, state news agency IRNA reported quoting the Tehran prosecutor's office. Ali Akbar Siadat was hanged on Tuesday in Tehran's Evin prison after having been condemned to death for "working for Mossad," IRNA reported, quoting the prosecutor's office. Siadat was found guilty of having had links with Mossad for six years, IRNA reported. "He had received 60,000 dollars to give classified information to the Zionist regime," IRNA reported. IRNA said Siadat had acknowledged of establishing contacts with one Israeli embassy overseas and that he was transferring information of Iranian military bases to the "enemy." He was also giving information "about missiles belonging to the Revolutionary Guards." IRNA said three years ago Siadat had received a computer and other equipment for his work. Siadat used to meet his contacts from the Israeli intelligence service in Turkey, Thailand and Netherlands in different hotels, IRNA said. He was arrested two years ago with his wife while trying to leave Iran, the report added. |
Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com, The trouble, of course, is that even after the Deep State (a.k.a. “The Swamp”) succeeds in quicksanding President Trump, America will be left with itself — adrift among the cypress stumps, drained of purpose, spirit, hope, credibility, and, worst of all, a collective grasp on reality, lost in the fog of collapse. Here’s what you need to know about what’s going on and where we’re headed. The United States is comprehensively bankrupt. The government is broke and the citizenry is trapped under inescapable debt burdens. We are never again going to generate the kinds and volumes of “growth” associated with techno-industrial expansion. That growth came out of energy flows, mainly fossil fuels, that paid for themselves and furnished a surplus for doing other useful things. It’s over. Shale oil, for instance, doesn’t pay for itself and the companies engaged in it will eventually run out of accounting hocus-pocus for pretending that it does, and they will go out of business. The self-evident absence of growth means the end of borrowing money at all levels. When you can’t pay back old loans, it’s unlikely that you will be able to arrange new loans. The nation could pretend to be able to borrow more, since it can supposedly “create” money (loan it into existence, print it, add keystrokes to computer records), but eventually those tricks fail, too. Either the “non-performing” loans (loans not being paid off) cause money to disappear, or the authorities “create” so much new money from thin air (money not associated with real things of value like land, food, manufactured goods) that the “money” loses its mojo as a medium of exchange (for real things), as a store of value (over time), and as a reliable index of pricing — which is to say all the functions of money. In other words, there are two ways of going broke in this situation : money can become scarce as it disappears so that few people have any; or everybody can have plenty of money that has no value and no credibility. I mention these monetary matters because the system of finance is the unifying link between all the systems we depend on for modern life, and none of them can run without it. So that’s where the real trouble is apt to start. That’s why I write about markets and banks on this blog. The authorities in this nation, including government, business, and academia, routinely lie about our national financial operations for a couple of reasons. One is that they know the situation is hopeless but the consequences are so awful to contemplate that resorting to accounting fraud and pretense is preferable to facing reality. Secondarily, they do it to protect their jobs and reputations — which they will lose anyway as collapse proceeds and their record of feckless dishonesty reveals itself naturally. The underlying issue is the scale of human activity in our time. It has exceeded its limits and we have to tune back a lot of what we do. Anything organized at the giant scale is headed for failure, so it comes down to a choice between outright collapse or severe re-scaling, which you might think of as managed contraction. That goes for government programs, military adventures, corporate enterprise, education, transportation, health care, agriculture, urban design, basically everything. There is an unfortunate human inclination to not reform, revise, or re-scale familiar activities. We’ll use every kind of duct tape and baling wire we can find to keep the current systems operating, and we have, but we’re close to the point where that sort of cob-job maintenance won’t work anymore, especially where money is concerned. Why this is so has been attributed to intrinsic human brain programming that supposedly evolved optimally for short-term planning. But obviously many people and institutions dedicate themselves to long-term thinking. So there must be a big emotional over-ride represented by the fear of letting go of what used to work that tends to disable long-term thinking. It’s hard to accept that our set-up is about to stop working - especially something as marvelous as techno-industrial society. But that’s exactly what’s happening. If you want a chance at keeping on keeping on, you’ll have to get with reality’s program. Start by choosing a place to live that has some prospect of remaining civilized. This probably doesn’t include our big cities. But there are plenty of small cities and small towns out in America that are scaled for the resource realities of the future, waiting to be reinhabited and reactivated. A lot of these lie along the country’s inland waterways — the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri river system, the Great Lakes, the Hudson and St. Lawrence corridors — and they also exist in regions of the country were food can be grown. You’ll have to shift your energies into a trade or vocation that makes you useful to other people. This probably precludes jobs like developing phone apps, day-trading, and teaching gender studies. Think: carpentry, blacksmithing, basic medicine, mule-breeding, simplified small retail, and especially farming, along with the value-added activities entailed in farm production. The entire digital economy is going to fade away like a drug-induced hallucination, so beware the current narcissistic blandishments of computer technology. Keep in mind that being in this world actually entitles you to nothing. One way or another, you’ll have to earn everything worth having, including self-respect and your next meal. Now, just wait a little while. |
NOTE: Slightly nsfw at the beginning. Also, thank you all so much for your reviews! Both Kite and myself enjoy reading your reactions so much, and your thoughts on deeper topics as much as squeeing over fluff and smut. Hope you keep enjoying! CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Anna awoke to the most obnoxious sound in the world coming from Elsa's phone. She tried desperately to ignore it, burying her face into the soft mound she had claimed as a pillow and trying to fall back asleep. However, her semi-awake brain was quick to register the dull, though not unpleasant ache resonating between her thighs and the feeling of bare skin against her own and her brow furrowed slightly in confusion… especially when the pillow against her face moved and a stiff nipple poked her cheek. Wait… pillows don't have… Her eyes shot open, only to reveal that her pillow was, in fact, Elsa's chest. Her face flared up violently at the realization that she had been nuzzling her face into those boobs, perhaps all night. Not that Elsa seemed to care; she only squirmed and reached up to rest a hand against Anna's back, still more or less asleep. It took a few minutes for Anna's heart rate to slow and her face to stop burning but once it did, Anna felt a fluttering in her chest. A grin formed the longer she watched her sister sleep until she could no longer keep to herself. She lay a soft kiss on the soft skin beside her face before kissing up until she had her mouth over Elsa's pulse, sucking softly on it. "Hmmhhh…" The sound flowed out of her sister, and she cleared her throat slightly as her mouth dropped open. "Oooh…" Anna giggled and sighed contentedly before snuggling into Elsa. "Turn off your phone," she murmured against her neck. "I want to sleep with you longer but I can't with that noise." "Hmh? Oh… OH." Then Elsa pushed back from Anna a little, staring down in shock at her sister with wide blue eyes. "A-Anna, what- why am I naked? Did… what did we do last night?" The redhead's pleasant mood turned to slight worry and she bit her lip, unsure of how to answer. Did Elsa really not remember? The very thought of her sister remembering, only to regret everything they did last night, made Anna's heart sink into her stomach but she hid her unease behind a smile. "We showered, remember?" she prodded gently, not wanting to reveal too much right away. "Right, we…" Then she gulped, pushing a hand into her face. "We did a lot more than shower… oh, Anna, I'm sorry — are you alright?" "I-I'm fine," Anna reassured Elsa. "A little sore, but that's normal… a-are you okay?" "Yeah… I guess I am. I mean, I'm not sure that should have happened, but…" After a moment, her lips twitched into a slight smile. "But it was pretty wonderful." Anna beamed, her mood soaring again until she couldn't help but litter Elsa's face in kisses. "It really was wonderful," she cooed. Her adoration for her elder sister and the happiness left over from the night before made Anna feel like she was on cloud nine. "Are you… sore at all?" "W-well, I don't… OOH!" she groaned, screwing her eyes closed when she tried to sit up. "Okay, it's not that bad; I… was just surprised!" "Sorry, I'm usually a little sore for awhile after the act, too." Anna giggled softly as she reached out and hugged Elsa tightly. Elsa hugged back, nestling in against her after a little sigh. Everything felt right in Anna's world with Elsa like this and Anna felt herself starting to drift into a content, comfortable state, humming as she ran her fingers through Elsa's hair and carefully undid any tangles she found. She didn't want to move despite the voice in her brain nagging her to get up and work. "I can't believe we did that," Elsa repeated herself, though she sounded less terrified by it now. "It's… I mean, I suppose looking back, we were heading in this direction, but it's still… I didn't expect to go from a few kisses to full-on sex so fast!" The redhead nodded in agreement. "Yeah… but then life and love is unexpected like that," she laughed softly and kissed the crown of Elsa's head. Elsa was fully blushing already, as shy and inexperienced as ever despite all they tried the night before. It was adorable. "Fun though, right?" "It was," she had to confess. "We… should try that again. Maybe not right away! But… yeah." "I'd like that," Anna cooed and gave Elsa another kiss before yawning. "Hmmm, why can't it be Sunday so we can sleep?" "Because it's Saturday," Elsa chuckled as she stroked over Anna's back. Really, they were lucky at least one of them was clothed or things could have been worse. "Come on. We don't really have time for a shower now, so luckily we took such a long one last night…" Anna snickered, "Not that it matters considering we got dirty again." Shamelessly, she took a peek at Elsa's lower region and gave the fine hairs a light pat. "But yeah, at least the rest of us is clean." "W-we only got dirty in one way," Elsa said with a shaky laugh, automatically twitching her thighs together. "And… and wow, I am still not used to this." The redhead was reluctant but eventually, she got up off of her sister and started walking towards her own bed to start getting ready for the day. She glanced at Elsa, noting the way her bare body seemed to gleam in the pale sunlight streaming through the thin cracks in the blinds and she tried valiantly to ignore the arousal pooling in her belly again. As she stooped to pull her underwear up past her ankles, she caught Anna watching her and smiled a slightly-bashful smile. "Shameless." "Only where you are concerned," Anna teased with a grin, beginning to strip out of her sleepwear and stretching once it was off, her muscles aching in both pleasure and protest. "And you really can't blame me, either." "No, I can't," Elsa breathed, having stopped after finishing the action to gaze at Anna. Seemed it was her turn. Anna let out a relieved sigh and shook her limbs free of the tingling numbness before pulling on a pair of panties and her bra. "Guess I'm not any better." Anna chuckled and shifted through her pack for a top and some shorts; the day was supposed to be one of the warmest of the summer so pants or jeans wasn't an option. She pulled out a cute, blue blouse made of a light, flowy material that hung off her lithe frame in just the right way, a shirt Anna had picked during their shopping trip when she had noticed Elsa's gaze linger on it. "Think I should wear this today? I think it's just cool enough for this weather." Nodding appreciatively, Elsa finished with her own undergarments and moved on to pulling on ankle-socks. "You're going to get some of those pubescent boys watching you a little closer with that, you know. And the counselors doing it for other, less-hormonal reasons." "Think it'll piss off Aurora too much? With my sin-tempting good looks, maybe she'll get mad because she'll find she can't resist me, either." Anna laughed at her own stupid joke before pulling on a pair of shorts, ones just long enough to be appropriate for the camp. "Maybe, maybe." Next for Elsa was a longer pair of shorts and a polo shirt. "But don't tempt fate too much, Anna; I don't want to make this situation any more difficult on you than it already is." "For me?" Anna regarded Elsa in concern. "It's you I'm worried about. I can deal with those kind of comments; girls at my school picked on me for being gay loads of times, so I can handle myself." Shifting a little uncomfortably, Elsa said softly, "It's that, and… and if they drop hints that we're gay, and people start paying too much attention to us, they might figure out that we're… sisters, as well. That worries me just as much." Approaching her with a gentle smile, Anna lay a soft kiss on Elsa's lips, sweet and reassuring. Playing with a stray strand on Elsa's forehead, she stared into Elsa's glacier blue eyes. "Just know that no matter what happens at this point, we have each other, okay?" She ignored the nervous flutter in her own chest and the worry and stress that came with the thought of such a scenario happening, instead focusing on keeping her sister from overanalyzing and potentially freaking out over the same thing. Letting out a slow breath, Elsa nodded, as well. "Okay. Yes, you're right." Another deep breath, and she shook out her arms as she did so. "Ready? Oh, wait - we should probably brush our teeth, at least…" "Yeah, we should. So we don't scare people away with our morning breath. You can take the bathroom first if you want." "Okay." Hesitating on her way there, she looked back to ask, "Do… I really have morning breath?" "It's not that bad," Anna said as she waved her hand dismissively. "Mine is worse." ~ o ~ Thankfully, there were no real events scheduled on Saturdays. Instead, Anna and Elsa found themselves sitting in the shade of a large oak and watching a couple of kids from each age group play. "They wear me out," Elsa breathed as they looked on passively. "But they are sweet, aren't they?" Anna chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, they are a bunch of monsters but at least they're cute monsters." Elsa's weight against her side was comforting and Anna's hand found itself playing with Elsa's braid, her arm around her older sister's shoulders. It was very pleasant and the smile on Anna's face hadn't faded in the slightest since it first formed upon being assigned their group for the day. "Stop," Elsa playfully whispered, though she was smiling just as much. "We really should be a little more discreet." "We should." Anna flicked the braid playfully while she quietly flirted, "But It's so hard because I just want to hold you all day." A low "shhh" issued from Elsa as they watched the children scamper around. After a few minutes, she waited until no one was looking, then left a fleeting peck on Anna's cheek. Anna's cheeks warmed. "You're even worse than me," she teased. "Admit it, you can't keep to yourself any better than I can!" "Better than you," Elsa teased right back with a smirk. "But… not by much. Can you-" "Elsa! Anna!" A cheery voice interrupted Elsa and Anna grunted as a smaller body leaped into her lap and thin arms wrapped themselves tightly around her waist. Dark eyes twinkled merrily up at them and Olaf was grinning toothily from ear to ear. "You did it! You did it!" Anna's ears turned pink as some of the kids closest to them looked over in confusion. Elsa also seemed to be a little taken aback, glancing between his and Anna's faces. "W-What did we do Olaf?" Anna questioned the ecstatic boy, trying to keep her voice down so he would hopefully take the hint. "Miss Elsa and you are glowing! Papa told me only people who are insanely happy with their partners do that! You confessed! You confessed!" The little boy gazed at the two of them adoringly, his expression full of pride. "I knew you guys would eventually!" "Hush now, Olaf," Elsa warned him, glancing around at the other children with her cheeks starting to pinken. This was pretty obvious, as pale as she was. "Haven't we talked to you about this already?" Anna took a quick glance and was relieved to notice that the other kids had decided to dismiss what was going on and return to their play. Olaf simply pouted in Elsa's direction. "But Miss Elsa! You guys are cuddling and look so happy!" "We're very happy," Elsa told him honestly. "Our moods are very good, and we're closer friends now, and we're here at camp with all of you. But that doesn't mean you should keep bringing this up so much; we talked about that. It's very… distracting for the other campers, and could make things difficult for Anna and I. So can't you please try to keep those comments to yourself?" Olaf frowned. "True love should be shouted from the rooftops!" he protested and Anna let out a sigh. She rested her hand on the little boy's head. "Yes Olaf," she said patiently. "But at the same time, sometimes people don't like announcing it for everyone to hear. Me and Elsa… we prefer to keep our love quiet, can you respect that for us?" The boy glanced between Elsa and Anna, looking put out, but he eventually nodded and said a quiet "Okay." Elsa patted him on the shoulder tenderly. "Thank you. Now go on and play with the others." Once he had scampered off, still shooting a look over his shoulders at them on his way, she sighed and pushed a hand into her forehead. "He's going to be the death of us, I just know it." "Yeah, probably." Anna watched Olaf as he joined his brother for a game of catch. "He means well though, so I guess we can't be too angry." Taking Anna's hand between both of her own, she gazed out at them for a little while. "I'm… still a little in shock, to be honest. I think it's helping me be able to simply… be calm about this whole situation, instead of continuing to freak out." "I'm here to help if it gets too overwhelming," Anna reassured, stroking Elsa's hands with her thumbs. "Do you need to get a drink or anything? Give you an excuse to get away?" "I'll be fine until we get back to camp." Sighing, she looked off into the trees. "Too bad those divas stuck us with babysitting duty all day… well, other than a few of the other counselors who aren't part of their scheme. I think I saw Rapunzel still in the camp." "To be fair, this could be much worse. I don't mind watching the scamps over bathroom duty again." "Oh, agreed," she sighed wearily, rubbing her forehead. But after a moment or two, she began to giggle. Anna bumped her head against Elsa's playfully, glad to see her sister's mood improve slightly. "Got you to smile, at least." "No, it's just… well, after what happened the last time we cleaned the bathroom, I would almost think you'd want to do it again." "I'd rather we 'did it' when we didn't smell like disinfectant and bathroom spray," Anna laughed. "There is only so much sexy that can happen in a dirty bathroom like that one." "Not in the bathroom; getting cleaned up afterward. But you're not wrong." She leaned in, as if to kiss Anna, but remembered to stop herself at the last moment. "This, um, is going to take some getting used to!" Anna leaned in to gave Elsa a sisterly peck on the cheek, chaste enough to be mistaken for a friendly gesture just in case some of the kids saw them. "It gets easier, trust me." She grinned. "We're in the honeymoon phase. Just you wait until we can't stand each other anymore." Despite the joke, Anna's stomach twisted at the thought of Elsa and her arguing. "I don't think that could ever happen now." When Anna didn't respond right away, she leaned over to hug her tightly to her side. "Honestly, it was only our mother's poisoning lies that kept us apart before now. Remember what we were like before that?" "We were always so close." Anna returned the side-hug by placing her arm around Elsa's shoulders. "Mom and Dad had to fight really hard to get us to separate for more than ten minutes because we would both argue like crazy with them about it." "Exactly," she sighed pleasantly. "All our other little bickerings were about nothing, and they didn't take long for us to resolve. So… so I think we're going to be just fine, if we can survive camp." "You're right." Anna snuggled and closed her eyes. "When we part ways next week, we won't shut each other out. We'll keep in contact from now until we are together again…" Anna didn't want to voice the worry that gnawed in the back of her mind. How she wondered if Elsa would reject her during their inevitable separation. If their mother's influence would scare Elsa back into shunning the closeness and the love they were sharing now. Would they reunite, only for Elsa to call it off? Say how wrong this was and… would she express disgust, an intent to sever all contact again? Maybe that was foolish after all they had been through, but the thought terrified her. So she tried to focus on the encouraging way Elsa was smiling at her, squeezing her hand. Only time would tell. To Be Continued… |
Battleground Montana A Republican National Committee consultant confirms that the RNC is buying television ads in Montana, which hasn't backed a Democratic presidential nominee since Bill Clinton in 1992. The ads go up Wednesday, the consultant to the RNC's independent arm, Brad Todd, said. Obama's campaign has been active in the state, however, and recent public polls have given the Democrat reasons for hope: Most are in the single digits, and the most recent has Obama ahead. The state also has real Democratic infrastructure: The governor and both senators are Democrats. The RNC's move reflects a map that's as broad as the Obama campaign could have dreamed, and that's forcing the Republicans to spread their limited resources thinner and thinner. CORRECTION: I initially overstated how long it's been since Montana went blue. |
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt — Three Persian Gulf monarchies on Friday pledged a total of $12 billion in aid to Egypt, adding to a total of more than $20 billion already contributed since the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood nearly 20 months ago. The pledges came on the first day of an international investment conference here that the leader of Egypt’s military-backed government, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has made a centerpiece of his economic program. The large sums underscored his government’s continued dependence on the backing of the oil-rich gulf monarchs. Officials representing the monarchies — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait — each pledged $4 billion on Friday. The United Arab Emirates said it would provide $2 billion in deposits to Egypt’s central bank reserves and another $2 billion in other economic assistance. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were less specific. The pledged contributions will bolster Egypt’s balance sheet at a moment when the government has come under renewed pressure. Its international financial reserves fell to $15.5 billion in February, down from $17.3 billion a year earlier and $36 billion before the uprising in 2011, declines that have threatened to undermine the value of its currency. |
Buy Photo A photograph shows the area where the city plans to build a multipurpose arena. It will be built south of the Judson F. Williams Convention Center in the Union Plaza District. (Photo: RUDY GUTIERREZ/EL PASO TIMES FILE)Buy Photo The city’s Historic Landmark Commission on Monday agreed to recommend that the City Council reconsider the Downtown arena site. Commissioners voted unanimously to make the recommendation after trying to determine what if any recommendations or motions could be made. Commissioners William Helm and Don Luciano recused themselves from the vote. Commissioner Daniel Cary-Whalen said the commission can make recommendations to the council, but the council has the final say in its decision-making process. “They can do whatever they want,” Cary-Whalen said. The site for the $180 million Downtown arena to be located south of the convention center has been met with opposition from community members, historic preservation advocates and area lawmakers. The Historic Landmark Commission is an advisory board charged with making recommendations on the designation of historic landmarks and districts in El Paso to the City Council. The nine-member board also has the authority to grant certificates of appropriateness in compliance with historic guidelines. After discussing its options, the commission agreed to make the recommendation that council consider another site. The decision was met with cheers from the more than 20 people attended the meeting. About 12 people spoke during the public comment period to express their concerns and disapproval about the site the City Council approved on Oct. 18. Bernie Sargent, chairman of the El Paso County Historical Commission, said he was concerned about the lack of transparency in the city’s process in choosing the site. Sargent, who serves on the Bond Oversight Advisory Committee, said the city had several opportunities to discuss the possible location in executive session but did not do so. He also said had city officials done that, he could have warned them about the resistance they would be receiving. “I am not really opposed to an arena; it’s just that specific location,” Sargent said. "The impact on the residents and the neighbors far outweigh the importance of this site.” The arena will be built in the Union Plaza District and is bounded by West San Antonio Avenue, South Santa Fe Street, West Paisano Drive and Leon Street. The selection of the site has been met with resistance by some residents of the area and historic preservation advocates. The area contains 42 parcels and includes the Greyhound bus station, some apartment complexes and other buildings. However, the city has identified a total of 22 properties for the arena footprint. Of those parcels, five are vacant or surface lots, seven are commercial, seven are residential and two are city owned, the city said. El Paso County Commissioner David Stout issued a letter to the commission stating he had concerns about how the council approved the arena site. “What concerns my constituents — and me — is the process by which this location was selected and the permanent impact the footprint will have on longtime residents, business owners and the historical significance of the area. I believe the window for public comment and input was too short and that residents, members of the County Historical Commission, and other historic preservation subject matter experts were left out of a decision-making process that I think would have benefited greatly from their participation,” Stout said in the letter. The City Council made the announcement for the designated site Oct. 13. The site was approved by the council five days later. More than 20 members of the community spoke against the designated site. Several pleaded with the council to delay voting on the choice to allow for more public comment. City officials did not delay the decision. City Attorney Sylvia Borunda Firth, City Manager Tommy Gonzalez and other legal staff presented the commission with information about how the city chose the site out of the four identified by HKS Urban Planning, the firm hired by the city to lead the process to acquire the land for the arena and other projects. City officials have said the area does not have buildings with historical designation. Preservation advocates however, have said that in addition to the old Fire Station No. 11 by Trost & Trost and built in 1930, the area’s historical assets include the Mansion built in 1904 and said to be the last standing former brothel in El Paso, as well as various tenements and Victorian-style buildings from the late-19th and early-20th centuries. A 1998 study done by the city for the Sun Metro Transit Authority recommended 18 sites in the Union Plaza area be designated and identified as historical markers. Borunda Firth told the commission she is not sure why the designations were never made following the report. Seven of the 18 properties are within the arena footprint, including the fire station and Mansion building, as well as some residential properties. Stout’s letter also states that while no buildings or structures in the proposed area are currently listed on any historical register, the county is making an effort to determine which should be. “At the county we are in the process of conducting our own historical resources survey, which would include studying the neighborhood you are discussing today. As a public steward, I feel it is important to fully understand the significance of these historic structures before such a permanent decision is made that will forever change the landscape of our community,” Stout said in the letter. The city opted out of conducting a historical and architectural survey of Downtown El Paso last year. The County Commissioners Court in February approved funding for a survey as a first step toward obtaining a National Historic District designation in the Downtown area that could help property owners secure federal and state tax credits to restore historic commercial buildings. City officials have said the arena design will incorporate the area's existing fire stations and Firefighters Memorial Park. The new Fire Station No. 11 and the Police Area Representative station on Leon Street will remain open and operational. Borunda Firth said the city will follow design guidelines for the Union Plaza area and will try to incorporate some of the elements of the buildings into the arena design. Commissioner Donald Sevigny said the buildings are critical pieces to the overall story of El Paso. “Once a big piece of this is blown out, a plaque is a last ditch effort; keeping a façade is a last-ditch effort,” Sevigny said. “I cannot go forward; I cannot support this. There’s just too many questions before anything else needs to be decided.” Sito Negron, read a statement on behalf of state Sen. José Rodríguez, D-El Paso, that reaffirmed the senator does not approve of the site or the way the decision was made. “I appreciate the historic preservation and heritage tourism community for stepping up and protecting residents and history, and for engaging the city government in this vital conversation. Regarding the role of the Historic Landmark Commission, I urge members to not support the arena at this time, at least until a full and detailed survey of the area — which the County is undertaking — can answer the questions that would be directly relevant to your role in preserving, celebrating, and protecting El Paso’s unique architectural heritage,” Rodríguez said in the statement. The arena is the largest project under the $478 million Quality of Life Bond approved by voters in 2012. The city has scheduled its first community meeting regarding the arena plans for 6 p.m. Monday at the vacant fire station located at 331 S. Santa Fe St. Elida S. Perez may be reached at 546-6137; eperez@elpasotimes.com; @ElidaSPerezEPT on Twitter. Read or Share this story: http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/local/el-paso/2016/11/07/historic-landmark-panel-says-rethink-arena-site/93451254/ |
Carey Wedler is an anti-corporatist and anti-war California writer who gained notoriety for burning her Obama t-shirt because he’s a “war criminal”. Now it turns out she’s been censoring her own thoughts the whole time. Gaza has forced her to look into Israel’s history and come out as a “self-hating Jew” in her latest video. Wedler uses the Israeli flag to great effect in the video, and says that because it bore a Star of David, “It was associated with me and that meant it had to be good, because I could not fathom that the Jewish people… could do anything bad, and if they did they must have had a justification for it.” Once she started speaking out about war– I always avoided looking into the Israel-Palestinian conflict because I didn’t want to have to accept that Israel could be doing something wrong. But in light of the recent conflict in Gaza, I had to start looking at the facts and I had to start doing research. And when I came up with questions and started asking Jews and others who support Israel what they thought about what I had researched and all of the facts I presented, I was met with some pretty extreme hostility and the truth is is that I’ve been afraid to say anything because of the giant hostile horrible ferocious backlash that I have gotten from people who oppose what I have to say. But I can’t stop now, because it is my duty to ask questions. As it is everyone’s duty to ask questions. Segregation and discrimination are built into Israeli society. Torture of children is routine. In reviewing Zionist history, she notes the murder of Lord Moyne and the destruction of Palestinian villages and “forced expulsion of innocent people from their land.” She asks a question I love: Why is the Zionist religious claim to the land any more valid than other religious claims throughout history? Thanks to Henry Norr and Scott Roth. |
A New Climate Policy For India? (Big Leak) August 13th, 2015 by Tobias Engelmeier In what was described as a “scoop,” the document came to the notice of journalist Nitin Sethi at the Business Standard. My comments are based on his article. I have not seen the original document. While, of course, such a document would not constitute a final and official position, it seems to reveal a new pliability and readiness to think differently. (The same newspaper had earlier reported that India might, in view of the climate talks, reduce its solar goal downwards again to 20 GW.) Rethinking Everything In the past, India’s negotiation strategy was to firmly deny any responsibility for climate change (based on low per capita and historical emissions), to fight for a comfortable right to emit (“carbon space;” India’s energy mix is dominated by coal, which is also a plentiful resource domestically), to shift attention from mitigation to adaptation and to avoid any binding commitments (although the previous Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, somewhat vaguely declared that India would never emit more on a per capita basis than the developed countries). A tough negotiation position centred around “climate justice” was carried by a wide consensus amongst the Intelligentsia at home. To support it, India had previously sought alliances with “like-minded developing countries,” especially China. The new position document now seems to suggest a radical departure: India should focus on actively reducing its own emissions and should no longer hold on to the segmentation between rich and poor countries. These are positions traditionally advanced by the US and the EU and, according to Subramanian, would help Mr. Modi position himself as a global leader and support India’s claim for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. Also, to fight climate change, India should push the G7 countries to adopt a carbon tax. From Idealism to Pragmatism Reactions in India were largely negative: Is India caving in to the developed world? Is it failing to protect its national interest and right to emit, and thus develop? The leaking of the document to the public was certainly a tactical disaster (a “Climategate”) as you don’t want your bargaining chips revealed ahead of the discussions. (Since so much is at stake, there might conceivably be intention behind the leak.) That being said, there are some good points in Subramanian’s note. First of all: Change in India’s climate position would be a good idea per se. While the past position has been a success in that it avoided any emissions targets being imposed on India, it was a failure in that it contributed substantively to the fact that there is no strong global deal, something which India needs more than many other countries. Subramanian says as much: “India has a greater stake in climate change mitigation than most rich countries, which will likely be less affected and better able to cope with consequences.” For details, refer to this recent climate risk assessment document. Subramanian also believes that getting money or substantial help from developed countries is unlikely and therefore India should stop asking for it. Transferring money from rich to poor countries might by ethically sound, but it just doesn’t happen nearly enough. He writes: “Are the commitments of cash-strapped advanced countries plausible? After all, the US cannot muster the will and ability to contribute a few hundred million dollars (chump change really) to increasing the International Monetary Fund’s resources.” Or, look at the sorry state of the promised $100 billion climate fund. So this could be a new pragmatism, leaving behind ideology and the question of justice to instead look at what needs to be done, trying to achieve substantive results rather than score polemical points. That would be great. (Although is is harmful to communicate such a shift now, as “justice” is India’s strongest bargaining chip.) The Ambiguous Role of Coal Such a shift, of course, would dovetail with the changing global and Indian energy world. While emissions and carbon space remain a concern for India (emissions will rise as the population grows and consumes more) there is a growing understanding among India’s decision-makers that a transition towards a low-carbon energy system is not a “tax” that would delay development and growth, but rather the best and fastest way towards it. For instance, many energy efficiency measures make sense from an economic and energy security point of view as much as from a global climate point of view. Also, local pollution and water usage from coal fired power plants are threatening the health and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of Indians. At the same time, renewables (especially solar power) have become cost competitive in generation terms both at the grid and at the socket (albeit not yet in terms of reliability). What is more, these can be implemented much more quickly than large conventional power plants and they attract significant international investment. However, coal still has a prominent place in the strategy Subramanian outlines. He writes that India should ally itself with coal-producing countries such as Australia or the US and push G7 countries to invest into “clean coal” technologies. These statements, which appear to conflict with the other ideas, reflect the fact that coal still has a very strong lobby in the Indian government. And it is, indeed, difficult to imagine how India can do without coal in the next couple of years. Hopefully, Subramanian’s ideas will be discussed within the Indian government and help create a flexible, engaging and constructive negotiating position, one that allows for the substantive result India needs. |
Regardless of your feelings about bats, you owe them a thank you. Without bats, there would be no tequila. Just as you fuel your night on the agave spirit, bats fuel their night on agave nectar. The wild bat population in Mexico is directly linked to the agave crop that produces tequila, which can only be made in the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas. But thank those bats in northern Mexico now, because the relationship has seen some rough patches and is anything but certain. Here’s everything you need to know about the relationship between bats and tequila. How bats help tequila producers There are 138 species of bats in Mexico, and more than 180 species of agave. Tequila can only be made with the blue agave species, while mezcal can be made with any species. In the wild, bats fly out to the agave plants, drawn to the bugs and nectar. They drink from the agave flowers, simultaneously spreading agave seeds. The bats are the primary pollinators of agave. By feeding from plant to plant, bats promote genetic diversity in new agave plants. It’s not the only way new agave sprouts, though. Agave can also sprout through monocropping, or “bulbillo.” Monocropping is when a single plant is harvested before it blooms. Sprouts grow from the root, and those sprouts, which are genetically identical to the parent agave plant, are replanted. This results in more tequila in the short term because the plants that are chosen to repopulate have more sugar and a larger yield. Monocropping decreases the genetic diversity of agave, however, making it more susceptible to disease. Monocropping also decreases the bat population, since the bats no longer have flowers to feed on. That drives the bats away, making monocropping one of the sole ways agave farmers have to grow more plants. The perilous future of bats and agave Tequila demand doesn’t run on the bats’ schedule, though, which is why many producers turned to monocropping to boost supply. The negative impact that monocropping has on both tequila and bats is most clear in the case of the lesser long-nosed bat in the 1980s and 1990s. Rows and rows of agave plants were planted using monocropping. The lesser long-nosed bat population fell to less than 1,000 in 1988. Then, in the 1990s, a fungus ate through the agave fields, causing a shortage that was exasperated by overproduction and poor land management. But there’s hope. Tequila Ocho and two other tequila makers are focusing on bat-friendly practices. The companies allow at least five percent of the agave plants they own reach full maturity and flower. Practices like Tequila Ocho’s have helped bring the lesser long-nosed bat population up to over 200,000. Soon, the bat will be taken off the endangered species list. As for the tequila-producing agave? Thankfully it’s a little more diverse, which means there’s less of a chance your cup will run dry. |
In a new discovery in space, astronomers took an “exciting” step forward in understanding how planets are formed, after a new giant planet was detected orbiting an infant sun last month. The first of its kind, Canadian Space Agency program scientist Denis Laurin believes that this discovery has debunked knowledge of most hot Jupiters — massive planets whose years are substantially shorter than Earth’s. An illustration of the K2-33b, the youngest hot Jupiter ever detected. ( NASA ) Those planets are thought to “have gone closer to their stars due to gravitation, which takes billions of years, but this young exoplanet was birthed next to a young star,” he said. “This brings our assumption of exoplanets back to zero with this new discovery.” The exoplanet, also known as a hot Jupiter for its similarities in mass and width to our own solar system’s planet Jupiter, is the youngest fully formed planet ever recorded. “This is more than surprising, it is exciting, because it’s a baby planet around a baby star,” Elodie Hébrard, a York post-doctoral fellow and one of the researchers in this discovery, told the Star. “Our discovery reveals that a giant planet can not only form quickly, but also end up extremely close to its sun soon after the star itself is born.” Article Continued Below Astronomers say that the discovery of a new giant planet, orbiting an infant sun will allow them to understand much more about planet formation. ( Mark A. Garlick ) Just bigger than the size of Neptune, the planet named K2-33b whips around the star every five days. Giant planets, like Jupiter, were thought to be unable to form so close to a star due to the lack of suitable material there, she explained. However, K2-33b is showing another side to the case, especially being only two million years old — the equivalent of a week-old human baby. The team used four different instruments mounted on telescopes located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope atop Pic-du-Midi in France, the Télescope Bernard Lyot in the French Pyrénées, and Gemini-North in Hawaii. The giant planet had been found in the first two months of observation, as it orbited around its host star at a distance only one-20th of the distance between the Sun to the Earth. “What’s more, the presence of a close-in giant planet so early in a star’s life is likely to have a profound influence on smaller, terrestrial planets that might form in its vicinity,” Hébrard said. In our own solar system, rockier planets like Earth or Mars are much closer to the sun in comparison to the gas giants like Saturn, which makes this hot Jupiter another mystery, Hébrard explains. “Our discovery reveals that a giant planet can not only form quickly, but also end up extremely close to its sun soon after the star itself is born,” Hébrard said. With this research, Hébrard believes that’ll it will pave the way to understanding more about planetary function. Article Continued Below “It’s pretty exciting to be able to look directly at the planet formation,” she said. “The discovery has made the experience richer.” The CSA is currently developing two instruments for NASA’s James Webb Space telescope coming in 2018. Laurin says that these two key tools will help with understanding the hot Jupiters more closely. The first instrument is a Future Guidance Sensor, which will is “critical for the Webb’s ability to ‘see,’ ” Laurin explains. It will help determine its position, and steer the overall guidance of the telescope. Secondly, the NIRISS, Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph, will have the unique capabilities to find the most distant of objects. “It will be able to peer through the glare of nearby young stars to unveil new Jupiter-like exoplanets,” Laurin says. This will also allow for astronomers to have a better grasp on the chemical makeup of these giant planets — how much oxygen or methane is on the planet, which will overall provide information on signs of life.” |
A leaked correspondence of Prince Charles dating back to over three decades ago shows that the heir apparent to the British throne had blamed the chaos in the Middle East region on the influx of European Jews to the occupied territories. The British Daily Mail newspaper revealed on Sunday that Prince Charles had made an assessment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a letter to his close friend Laurens van der Post in November 1986. The British royal penned down the letter after official visits to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. Prince Charles wrote that during his “fascinating” Persian Gulf tour, he had “learned a lot about the Middle East and Arab outlook.” “Also I now begin to understand better their (Arabs’) point of view about Israel. Never realized they see it as a US colony,” he wrote, adding, “I now appreciate that … it is the influx of foreign, European Jews (especially from Poland, they say) which has helped to cause great problems.” Prince Charles also expressed hope that a US president would “have the courage to stand up and take on the Jewish lobby.” Stephen Pollard, an editor of the Jewish Chronicle weekly, criticized the prince’s use of the term “Jewish lobby” and claimed that his views were “the absolute classic Arab explanation of the problems in the Middle East.” A spokeswoman for Prince Charles said the letter was not reflective of “the Prince’s own views about Arab-Israeli issues but represented the opinions of some of those he met during his visit” an that he was “sharing the arguments ... with a long-standing friend in an attempt to improve his understanding” of the issue. Britain contributed to the creation of the Israeli entity on Palestinian territories. In a document issued in November 1917 by the then British foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour said the UK government “views with favor the establishment in Palestine” of Israel. It set the stage for Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe) in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes by Israel. Earlier this year, Prince Charles was invited to visit Israel to mark the Balfour Declaration centenary. The UK Foreign Office nixed the visit “to avoid upsetting Arab nations in the region who regularly host UK Royals.” Despite invitations, no member of the UK royal family has made an official trip to Israel since 1948. |
SURREY — British Columbia’s minister of public safety says dealers whose fentanyl-laced drugs cause death could face a manslaughter charge. Mike Farnworth, who is also solicitor general, says the NDP government is considering tougher penalties against fentanyl dealers. Speaking at a news conference in Surrey, Farnworth said his ministry believes that anyone dealing fentanyl is, in his words, “dealing death.” A manslaughter charge was laid in Edmonton last year in an opioid death and, since then, the same charge has been laid in several similar cases in Alberta and Ontario. Farnworth says the issue of stiffer penalties in deadly drug cases was raised at a recent meeting of Canada’s public safety ministers. Vancouver police have said the question is complex and convictions would rely on unique sets of circumstances and evidence, but Farnworth says the province is ready to press ahead. “We are working on a package of initiatives to unveil in the weeks and months ahead,” he said Thursday. Figures from the BC Coroners Service reveal the death toll from illicit drug overdoses across the province remains unchecked. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said new data shows 1,013 people died of overdoses between January and the end of August, far ahead of the 982 deaths recorded for all of 2016. More than 80 per cent of the deaths this year have been linked to fentanyl compared with 2012 when fentanyl was detected in just four per cent of overdose deaths. The province declared a state of emergency last year and took a number of steps to try to reduce overdoses, including increasing access to the drug naloxone, which blocks the effects of opioids. |
At the meeting with a gender specialist, her parents had allowed Danielle, who was born Daniel, to make a decision. When Danielle Sheridan got home from an appointment in April, the 7-year-old went straight to her bedroom and threw her boy clothes into garbage bags. But Leah wasn’t convinced of the gravity of the role playing until one night while making dinner. Daniel said “if she has to keep living a lie as a boy ... she doesn’t want to live,” recalled Leah. For two years, Daniel had been dressing as a girl at home, wearing Leah’s clothes and playing dress-up, insisting she was a girl. “We basically gave her a choice,” said Leah Sheridan, a Keswick, Ont., stay-at-home mom. “You can go home and live as Danielle, or you can go home and live as Daniel.” Right now, Danielle plans to take the hormone blockers in a few years and then have sex-reassignment surgery when she’s over 18, the age required for government-funded surgery. While her plans could change, what’s certain is that whatever Danielle decides it will be in a system that is increasingly better prepared to respond to transgender people than it has been in the past. The clinic is part of Ontario’s evolving response to gender dysphoria, the unusual condition when anatomical sex doesn’t match a person’s gender identity. It will focus on prescribing hormone blockers to youth who fit its criteria and want to take the medication to delay puberty. This would give them more time to decide their gender, and an increased ability to pass for the gender they choose as adults. Danielle, now 8, is hoping to be accepted as a patient at a new Transgender Youth Clinic set to open Oct. 11 at The Hospital for Sick Children. Leah was full of angst. She didn’t want to be one of those parents who ignored her child’s pleas only to end up with a kid who turns 16 and says, “ ‘OK, I’m done, I want to die,’ ” said Leah, “I don’t want that.” Vulnerable and helpless, Leah held her child tight in her arms, then she went in search of a specialist. “In a way I’m kind of blessed that she was born when she was, because now there are specialists,” Leah said. There’s been a surge in adults requesting sex-reassignment surgeries since the provincial government reinstated funding five years ago. Demand has gone up each year, according to data released to the Toronto Star by the Ministry of Health. In the financial year beginning in 2008, 21 people were approved for surgery. In 2009, 24 were approved. In 2010, there were 70. In 2011, there were 95 and last year, 105 people were approved at a cost of more than $2.38 million, compared to $22,200 in 2008. The cost is for four types of surgeries: mastectomy, vaginoplasty (male-to-female surgery that constructs a vagina), metoidioplasty (female-to-male surgery that constructs a penis using the clitoris) and phalloplasty (female-to-male surgery that constructs a penis by using donor tissue, likely from the patient’s arm or leg). Cosmetic surgery, including removing an Adam’s apple and electrolysis to get rid of facial hair, isn’t covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). The adult Gender Identity Clinic at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is the only facility in Ontario that can recommend a patient for surgery. It now has its longest wait-list ever, of 16 months, for a first appointment. Dr. Chris McIntosh, the psychiatrist who has run the CAMH clinic since 2011, said funding isn’t the only reason for the surge in patients. “The phenomenon of transgender identity is becoming more well known. As more people know about it, I believe more people are considering it as an option for them,” he said. “It’s a distressing thing to seek help for a very distressing condition and have to be told you have to wait 16 months before you can be seen first.” He has written an open letter to family doctors requesting they start prescribing hormone therapy so patients can begin the process without seeking specialty care. CAMH’s recommendations are based on a psychiatric assessment, diagnosis of gender dysphoria and where people are at in their transition. Surgeons have separate health requirements, including not smoking or being overweight. McIntosh’s clinic is moving beyond its past reputation of sending patients away to test their seriousness about gender reassignment. The clinic has lowered its requirement for patients to live in their new gender role before genital surgery from two years to one, bringing it in line with worldwide standards. One of the most recent changes is the adoption this year of the term gender dysphoria to replace “gender identity disorder,” part of the depathologization of the condition, that emphasizes treating the stress, not the behaviour, McIntosh said. There’s been a push to teach other doctors about gender dysphoria, since funding for surgery was reinstated in 2008 by the Liberal government, a decade after a Conservative government cancelled it. The cut prompted complaints to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which ordered the government to compensate patients who had already begun the process. In 2011, the Rainbow Health Ontario and Sherbourne Health Centre began training primary health-care providers to respond to transgender people, in both hormone prescription and mental health. It has since expanded across the province. Program co-ordinator Jordan Zaitzow said his team has started working with the University of Toronto and Queen’s University medical schools, where transgender health hasn’t traditionally been taught. Zaitzow wants to see more assessment sites besides the lone CAMH clinic. “The bottlenecking is prohibitive and distressing,” he said, noting 70 per cent of trans people in Ontario live outside of Toronto. McIntosh cautions that getting the recommendation for surgery won’t change everything. “The surgery doesn’t magically transform them into a biological person of the gender they wish to present themselves in,” he said. Passing as a woman Sometimes Elizabeth MacDougall, a Toronto Public Health inspector, hears snickering on the street. Or someone will repeatedly call her sir. “Let’s face it. If you’re a male for 30 some odd years, you look male,” said MacDougall, who had sex-reassignment surgery in 1999, and is now 55. “I don’t look like a supermodel. I don’t even pass (as a woman) that well, right?” However, with colleagues and most people she interacts with, her gender is a non-issue. MacDougall was one of the last to qualify for gender-reassignment surgery before government funding was cut. But hers was an arduous journey. MacDougall grew up as Robert MacDougall in Woodstock, Ont. in the 1970s. As Robert, she “always knew something was wrong.” She didn’t feel like a boy but “I didn’t have a word for it, I didn’t have a name for it,” MacDougall said. In high school she heard about Renée Richards, the famous tennis player who was initially denied entry into the U.S. Open in 1976 because she’d had sex-reassignment surgery. “The light bulb went on,” MacDougall said. She wrote to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, hoping experts there would help her understand her options. She got little help in response, but from that point on she knew she wanted surgery to make her body match her mind. Years later, she made her first visit to the CAMH clinic and after a battery of tests was told she wouldn’t benefit from treatment and to come back in five years. She went back to feeling “beaten and driven into conformity.” She was petrified about how her small town would react to her secret and, in a last-ditch effort to live a “normal” life as a man, she married a woman in 1989. But nothing changed. Still trapped, MacDougall had breakdowns and admitted herself to hospital. “I couldn’t cope, I couldn’t function,” she said. MacDougall was honest with her wife, who was supportive and didn’t want a divorce initially, thinking they could make the marriage work. “There was a point where I wanted to cut the damn thing off,” MacDougall said, referring to her penis. Then in 1990, working as an ambulance attendant, MacDougall injured her back. While she recovered she had plenty of time to think and it became clear she had to do something. “I’m married, I hate my life here. I’m getting a divorce, I’m moving to Toronto and I’m going to do something about this even if it kills me.” This time she took matters into her own hands moving to Toronto and finding a hormone-therapy doctor before going back to CAMH and telling them she’d started transitioning by herself. “I basically said, ‘Screw you, I’m going to do this,’” she said. She attended weekly support groups, worked part-time in the office of a courier company and volunteered at a food bank. By the time she enrolled in Ryerson University’s public health program in 1997, she was living full-time as Liz. Two years later she was finally approved for her surgery. Along with the challenge of getting recommended for surgery MacDougall had to save up to pay to have her Adam’s apple removed and undergo other procedures to feminize her face. These procedures done first cost close to $17,000. She also spent five years and about $15,000 on electrolysis to remove her facial hair. It was so painful, she said, that she paid a dentist to have her face frozen before hand. MacDougall says the hormone therapy didn’t change her voice at all which is one of the benefits for youth now considering transitioning at a younger age. Hormone blockers Hormone blockers give youth more time to decide their gender, said Dr. Joey Bonifacio, the pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist who will lead the Transgender Youth Clinic at SickKids when it opens later this month. The clinic will also refer patients to other resources if blockers aren’t right for their case, he said. Use of blockers, an injection given about once a month, is limited in Toronto now because few people prescribe them, said Bonifacio, 34, who has been working on the clinic for more than a year. There are already similar facilities in Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa. He said part of what doctors look for is insistent, consistent and persistent gender identity. “These medications are important because they’re quite timely. They need to be given to youth who are experiencing gender dysphoria or really don’t know what gender they are and just need a little bit more time to figure out what that particular gender is,” he said, adding blockers can be given when puberty starts, so many patients will be around 10 or older. The blockers can stop development of a masculine voice or facial hair, for example, or breasts and a period starting. Those developments would be distressing to a child who doesn’t identify with their body, Bonifacio said. Youth who start taking blockers but decide later they want to keep their biological gender, will have only delayed puberty, and can go off the medications to keep developing, said Bonifacio. For others who want to transition to the other gender, they could begin cross-sex hormone therapy later, and eventually have surgery if they chose to as adults. “The hormone blockers allow the youth to pass better … and reduces the extent of surgeries possibly needed in the future,” said Bonifacio, Not being able to pass creates mental health concerns for many trans people. Close to half of Ontario transgender youth, between 16 and 24, seriously considered suicide and 19 per cent actually attempted suicide, according to a TransPulse study in 2011. The SickKids clinic — including a second adolescent medicine doctor, a pediatric endocrinologist, a nurse practitioner, a nurse and a social worker — will spread awareness as well, Bonifacio said. He’s already had several referrals each week since news of the clinic spread a few months ago. Data from a Dutch surgical clinic, and highlighted by SickKids, suggests the prevalence of transgender persons is about 1 in 11,900 for male-to-female and 1 in 30,400 for female-to-males. But SickKids noted the numbers are likely an underestimate, and increased awareness and acceptance has resulted in more kids identifying as trans at an earlier age. Barb Urman, a co-ordinator of LGBTTQ Services with York Region, is the social worker working with the Sheridan family. Danielle is one of about a dozen children she’s supported, helping parents and co-ordinating school response, and talking to classmates. “I think in York Region, given that we’re just sort of into the beginning of serving this population, this is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said. She said the best thing parents can do is support their kids, whether they identify as boys, girls or neither. “They’re not making the decision,” she said, “they’re simply taking the lead from the child.” In the pink The walls in Danielle Sheridan’s bedroom are pink and plastered with posters of Justin Bieber and a large rainbow flag. Sparkly and bright clothes line the closet. All are new additions since Danielle started living as a girl in April. “I felt like I didn’t want to be living how I was. So I told mom when I was one that I wanted to be a girl,” said Danielle summing up her life so far. Sitting on her bed, with a rainbow headband around her blonde hair, she flicks through a Bieber trivia magazine. She’s growing her hair longer and although her nails are bare on this day, they’re often painted pink. “You were almost 3,” corrects Leah, who also has a 6-year-old son, Carter, who has become one of Danielle’s biggest supporters. Despite Danielle’s insistence that she was a beautiful princess and was going to marry a handsome prince when she grew up, it took some time to really hear what she was saying, says Leah. “We’ve always known there was something there. But what do you do until it’s so obvious and so apparent that you have to do something about it?” She and Danielle’s father are now on board and working with a social worker to understand how best to handle Danielle’s transition. Most family members have been supportive, although there are some who don’t understand, Leah said. She’s sharing the family’s story to try to help other kids and parents. Danielle is adamant she doesn’t want to be a boy right now. “It would ruin everything I’ve done being a girl,” Danielle said. “And I wouldn’t like it at all.” Danielle has stayed close with most of her friends, still going to the park, listening to music and playing with Monster High dolls. She’s uses a gender-neutral bathroom in her small specialized class, which she’s in because of behavioural issues. Going back to the main school in February will be more of a test of kids’ acceptance, Leah said, adding her understanding is that Danielle will be able to use the girls’ bathroom. For now, Danielle seems happier, her mom said. She doesn’t have some of the anger problems she did before. One of the toughest battles, initially, was keeping her shopping demands in check, Leah said. After throwing out her boy clothes, it was tough at first to find girls’ clothes she wanted to wear in the size 14-16 she needed. Then the family discovered her favourite store, Justice. “Oh yeah. I’ll show you what Justice is like,” Danielle said, dashing out of her room and quickly reappearing, in a dress with a glittery green skirt and a grey bodice with the words, “Chase Your Dreams” splashed across the front. |
Avi Buffalo return with At Best Cuckold, the follow up to their 2010 self-titled debut. That's the cover art above. Produced by the band's Avi Zahner-Isenberg, it's out September 9 in North America and September 8 in Europe via Sub Pop. They've shared "So What", which you can listen to below. They'll also embark on a European tour starting in September. Check out the full schedule below. At Best Cuckold: 01 So What 02 Memories of You 03 Can't Be Too Responsible 04 Two Cherished Understandings 05 Overwhelmed With Pride 06 Found Blind 07 She is Seventeen 08 Think It's Gonna Happen Again 09 Oxygen Tank 10 Won't Be Around No More Avi Buffalo: 09-23 Gothenburg, Sweden - Pustervik 09-24 Stockholm, Sweden - Kagelbanan 09-25 Oslo, Norway - John Dee 09-26 Lund, Sweden - Mejeret 09-28 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega / Ideal Bar 09-29 Hamburg, Germany - Prinzenbar 10-01 Paris, France - Le Divan du Monde 10-03 Manchester, England - Deaf Institute 10-05 Dublin, Ireland - Whelan’s 10-06 Glasgow, Scotland - Broadcast 10-08 Bristol, England - Thekla 10-10 London, England - Islington Assembly Hall 10-14 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Tolshuistuin 10-15 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique / Witloof Bar 10-16 Koln, Germany - Luxor 10-17 Berlin, Germany - Privatclub |
9 years ago Joe the Plumber is finished with McCain. Washington (CNN) - He was one of the faces of John McCain's presidential campaign in 2008, but Joe Wurzelbacher - better known to the world as "Joe the Plumber" - is apparently finished with the Arizona senator. "John McCain is no public servant," Wurzelbacher said at a campaign rally Saturday in Pennsylvania for long shot gubernatorial candidate Sam Rohrer. Later, in an interview with Pennsylvania Public Radio, he dismissed the suggestion that he owes his fame to McCain. "I don't owe him sh*t," Wurzelbacher said. "He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it." "McCain was trying to use me," he said. "I happened to be the face of middle Americans. It was a ploy." Wurzelbacher said he's also done with Sarah Palin because she is backing McCain's re-election bid in Arizona. |
Properly supported, the children of migrants, farm laborers and other low-income immigrant workers can thrive in some of the bay area's most challenging academic programs. Five such students at Lennard High School in eastern Hillsborough County are working through a grueling dual enrollment program with Hillsborough Community College. They are shining examples of what can happen when determination meets opportunity. Profiled recently in the Tampa Bay Times, the students are all products of the well-regarded charter school program run by the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, which provides child care and education services for low-income and rural families. The brightest students were encouraged to apply for the Collegiate Academy, a dual enrollment program that allows students to earn college credit while in high school. The students at Lennard have the added challenge of coming from families with migratory or seasonal employment and the ever-present cloud of citizenship issues. Each is having varying degrees of success in the program. All are committed to achieving their goals, which include becoming an astrophysicist and a neurologist. In an era of virulent public discourse about immigrants in the United States, it is affirming to see their children excelling in education. In doing so, they open doors for themselves and their families. This is the American dream in motion, one difficult class at a time for five students who want more. |
9 years ago Democrat Ted Deutch won a special election Tuesday for a Florida congressional seat. (CNN) - Democrat Ted Deutch won a special election Tuesday for a Florida congressional seat in the nation's first federal election since the passage of the Democrats' health care plan. Deutch held a sizable lead over Republican Ed Lynch late Tuesday night in the Palm Beach-area 19th District, prompting Lynch to concede. Deutch had 62 percent of the vote compared to Lynch's 36 percent with 97 percent of the precincts counted, CNN affiliate WFOR reported. The election was to fill the seat of Democrat Robert Wexler, who resigned at the beginning of the year to head up the Center for Middle East Peace "I have never before felt the way that I feel at this moment," Deutch told his supporters, according to WFOR. "This is a victory for the community and it's a victory about issues." "We've heard for months that tonight ... is a referendum on health care, it's a referendum on the (Obama) administration, it's a referendum on what direction this country is going," Deutch said. "Let me tell you something, what we learned today is that in Broward County and Palm Beach County, Florida, the Democratic Party is alive and well." The controversial health care reforms may have played a large role in the election results. Lynch said he wanted to repeal the new law. The 44-year-old contractor made opposition to President Barack Obama's health care legislation a major part of his campaign. Lynch was also critical of the federal stimulus program, and of the president's handling the war in Iraq. Deutch, also 44, supported the new health care law. Deutch will serve the remaining months of Wexler's term and will have to run this November for a full term in office. |
Friday’s newest episode of Continuum, “Power Hour,” explores who we become, whether it’s Dillon’s gig working for Kellog, Julian’s road to becoming Theseus or even Edouard Kagame, who returns in a surprising way. Kellog is front and centre in the episode, throwing his power in the faces of Kiera and Carlos, and pulling the strings behind the scenes with regard to the Future Soldiers’ little project. A warning: not everyone survives “Power Hour.” We spoke to Stephen Lobo this past May about playing Continuum‘s big bad for the past four seasons, and what he’s got lined up next. Are you going to miss this character? Stephen Lobo: I’m going to miss the heck out of this character. Guys like he and Jason are less precious. Kellog isn’t talking about the quantum physics of it all and the time travel. He’s rooted in a relatable reality. It’s been fun. What was your reaction to the Season 4 renewal/last season news? I’ve never been involved in a series where we’ve had the opportunity to finish on our terms. That in and of itself was really something to be grateful for. There was no news about the pickup for so long that at first I was thinking, ‘We’ve got to come back,’ to ‘Maybe we’re not coming back.’ And then there was a letting go process. So when the six episodes came I was like, ‘Wooooo!’ I was really, really grateful. They left me in such a great spot in Season 3, it was great to be able to play it out. In Season 1 and Season 2 he was kind of working in the shadows and now he’s going for it. Everybody is going to be gunning for him and it’s all about survival. Live or die. Kellog immediately distanced himself from the rest of Liber8 back in Season 1. What’s the analysis you’ve put into that move? On the one hand there’s an instinct. He’d seen so much pain and suffering in his time that when he was given a chance it was a natural thing to do. On the other hand, here’s a guy who has been let down by every other thing that he’s lived for. Family, friends, society. Everything in his life has told him he’s worthless, so this is his way of responding to that. There is kind of a god complex going on. It’s the ultimate challenge for him and it’s what’s meant to be in his deluded, corrupt, completely unhealthy mind. What was your reaction to reading the series finale script? I couldn’t stop talking Simon Barry’s ear off. I just kept texting him, ‘Thank you so much, what a wonderful way to do it.’ What he accomplishes in that 45 minutes of television is beautiful and poetic. There were so many surprises and twists … the fans will be blown away. Are you going to be taking anything from the set? I’m going to be taking some suits! [Laughs.] Some fine threads. I’m going to go through my wardrobe! Looking forward, being on a genre show like Continuum means not only the possibility of a crowd-funded feature but also the chance to attend conventions for as long as the fan support is there. Are you into that? I’ve never experienced this kind of connection with fans before. It’s really amazing. You get this in theatre, this immediate reaction from he fans. If this show can receive some other life and there is a calling for that, I would be there 100 per cent. I love this guy and playing Kellog has never been boring. What about developing your own projects? I’ve got the rights to a play and I’ve asked Brian Markinson [Inspector Dillon] to direct and Kyra Zagorsky to be in it. I had never met Kyra, and I asked her to be in the play and then she was cast in this [as Future Soldier Vasquez], which is crazy. John Cassini is involved as well. That’s a play called The Motherfucker with the Hat, a wonderful play out of New York and that will be a blast. Coming off this show and Arctic Air, this is a nice spot to be in. I can breathe a little bit and be a little more choosy with my projects. I’d love to not have to do everything that comes across the table. Continuum airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase. |
Maxine Taylor has a first-floor space, MAXgallery, that has been in operation since 2013. (Algerina Perna, Baltimore Sun video) Maxine Taylor has a first-floor space, MAXgallery, that has been in operation since 2013. (Algerina Perna, Baltimore Sun video) The Open Space artists collective has operated a gallery at 512 W. Franklin Street for three years with a variety of styles of art displayed. (Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun video) The Open Space artists collective has operated a gallery at 512 W. Franklin Street for three years with a variety of styles of art displayed. (Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun video) These lesser-known Baltimore galleries and performance spaces — many of them artist-run — may not be on your radar. It’s time to change that. Pipe Dreamz After Ansar Miller-Abdullah watched the unrest following the death of Freddie Gray in the spring of 2015, he wanted to fill a void he saw for young Baltimoreans. “I felt the need, after witnessing all of that, for a place the youth could feel like they have hopes and dreams absorbed and understood. I opened this place September 2015,” Miller-Abdullah said recently, standing inside the original home of Pipe Dreamz, his boutique clothing shop and gallery. (It has since relocated to a larger space.) Pipe Dreamz began as a store to sell Miller-Abdullah’s clothes of the same name, but it also soon became a gathering spot for young artists, rappers, poets, photographers and more to collaborate, debate and connect with one another. Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun Ansar Miller-Abdullah, aka. A.C., opened Pipe Dreamz as an art gallery and clothing boutique that also hosts open-mics and other events. Here, he's pictured in his former space (he's since moved to a larger location). Ansar Miller-Abdullah, aka. A.C., opened Pipe Dreamz as an art gallery and clothing boutique that also hosts open-mics and other events. Here, he's pictured in his former space (he's since moved to a larger location). (Kenneth K. Lam / Baltimore Sun) Miller-Abdullah — who goes by A.C. because he’s a native of Atlantic City, N.J. — said Baltimore had hangouts for art-school types, but not one that spoke “directly to the streets, which I come from.” “What I wanted to do was fuse the two,” he said. “I wanted the street kid from Pennsylvania Avenue to be able to bond with the young boy from Towson or Parkville.” Through word of mouth, Pipe Dreamz — along with its popular open-mic events known as the Pipeline Series — has grown so popular that Miller-Abdullah needed a bigger building. At the beginning of September, the store and gallery moved to 407 N. Charles St. “It’s kind of bittersweet, but it’s necessary,” he said. “Otherwise, we’re going to end up busting through these floors.” The white walls at his original storefront were filled with more than 4,000 signatures from visitors, ranging from local rap stars like YBS Skola and the late Lor Scoota to the more than 30 artists who’ve hung their work there. Pieces range from brightly colored, surreal cartoons to paintings of rap artists like Kanye West and Travis Scott by Baltimore artist Tyrone Peoples. The new space is about double the size of the original location, Miller-Abdullah said, and it will feature a gallery area, photography studio and a juice bar. He still plans to sell clothing, and will feature new work by artists each month. But a new space won’t change Pipe Dreamz’s ethos. “When you come in here, you’re going to come into a place of comfort, no matter who you are,” he said. “What we want you to understand is that there are places where you can be recognized and understood.” Pipe Dreamz is located at 407 N. Charles St., Mount Vernon. Open Noon-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 443-475-0097; pipe-dreamzllc.com -- Wesley Case Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun MAXGallery owner Maxine Taylor is pictured in her first-floor gallery with fellow artists' work. MAXGallery owner Maxine Taylor is pictured in her first-floor gallery with fellow artists' work. (Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun) MAXGallery Maxine Taylor moved from Sacramento, Calif., to Prince George’s County in 1972 because her ambitions went beyond domesticity. “I knew I wanted to be more than a mother, and I had to get away from my family to do that,” the painter said recently. An artist who first worked with watercolors and then acrylics and mixed media, Taylor desired a different space conducive to her creativity after her children grew up and left home. “I decided I didn’t need a house. I needed a studio,” Taylor said. “It was big. It was open. I wanted a garden. I wanted dirt. I didn’t care if it was in the city or in the country, but it turned out the city was a good place to be.” Tucked away on an unassuming street in Butchers Hill is MAXgallery, Taylor’s live-work space for the past two decades. The first floor features a gallery that, on a recent visit, featured the exhibition “Edges,” with impressive works by artists including LaToya Hobbs, Sondheim Artscape Prize 2017 finalist Mary Anne Arntzen and other local artists. In 2013, Taylor was invited to participate in the Artscape Gallery Network, an annual selection of local galleries organized and promoted by the free festival. Since then, her space has become a place more for others’ art than her own. When it comes to curation, Taylor said she’s motivated to provide a platform for Baltimore artists who lack formal training, just as she does. She’s focusing on the neighborhoods nearby, like McElderry Park and the Caring Active Restoring Efforts community. “I’m not in an arts district, so my aim to set something up here with all the artists in the area,” Taylor said. “It’s ambitious but it doesn’t seem to stop me from trying.” Taylor loves the resiliency she sees in Baltimore artists, who often repurpose various materials for pieces rather than buying new materials. At MAXgallery, there’s an emphasis on strong, confident art by black artists. She wants to continue to provide that platform. “I’m trying to create an opportunity for nonwhite artists to mingle with the general art crowd,” she said. “I don’t know where that came from, but I see and feel the need, so I’m pursuing it.” MAXGallery is located at 126 N. Madeira St., Butchers Hill. Open 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and by appointment. 410-804-7459, maxgallery.us. — Wesley Case Map of galleries Current Space Current Space is a small gallery with a big history. Originally the project of 14 local artists, it’s an experiment in artistic autonomy and a collaboration between local and national creatives. Back in 2004, Current responded to a request for proposals to occupy an abandoned city-owned Charles Street building, rent-free, until its eventual demolition. Five years into what was supposed to have been a six-month stint, the collective left the building, said co-director Andrew Liang. Current spent a year without a home before finding its location at the corner of Howard and West Franklin streets. And after years of uncertainty, Current will be able to carry out its artistic mission for good — the city recently accepted the gallery’s proposal to buy its building plus the abandoned one next door. Michael Ares / Baltimore Sun Michael Benevento, co-director of Current Space, stands inside of the art space's gallery. Michael Benevento, co-director of Current Space, stands inside of the art space's gallery. (Michael Ares / Baltimore Sun) The gallery is co-directed by Liang and Michael Benevento, along with associate director Julianne Hamilton — three of the many artists and volunteers who have been keeping Current Space thriving through all the chaos. They shy away from calling themselves curators, Liang said — rather, they serve as administrators who work with artists to bend Current’s two gallery rooms to the artists’ exact will. “Everything is from the artist’s vision,” Liang said. “They have total freedom to do whatever they want to do within structural limitation.” Current has hosted experimental and avant garde exhibitions that push the boundaries of what art — and galleries — can look like. “Existence and Properties Are Inferred” sent bubbling black orbs spurting up from rocks and asphalt placed around the tile floor. “The Marriages Of Zones Three, Four and Five” transformed Current’s main gallery into a steaming, twisted alien landscape. Even the more tame exhibitions feature curious paintings and sculptures that ignite the imagination. Current has received a $2,500 grant from Santa Fe, N.M.-based arts collective Meow Wolf to fund DIY arts initiatives, and a $500,000 Project C.O.R.E. grant from the state to stabilize blighted areas. Until now, Current had kept the lights on mainly by charging studio space fees, Liang said. With the grant money and the new space, Current can begin to expand to include an indoor-outdoor venue, more studios and residential spaces for artists. “It’ll be a lot of work, but it’s exciting,” Benevento said. Current Space is located at 421 N. Howard St., downtown. Open noon-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. currentspace.com. -- Danielle Ohl Michael Ares / Baltimore Sun Parkville artist Jasmin Manning observes some art during the "Appreciate Black Queens" show hosted by The S.A.N.D. Gallery in Baltimore. Parkville artist Jasmin Manning observes some art during the "Appreciate Black Queens" show hosted by The S.A.N.D. Gallery in Baltimore. (Michael Ares / Baltimore Sun) The S.A.N.D. Gallery Since late 2015, Milly Vanderwood’s downtown gallery has taken on a couple different names — the Incredible Little Art Gallery, Give & Take: An Artistic Experience — but he thinks the latest will stick. Now called the S.A.N.D. Gallery, the acronym stands for “Sell Art Not Drugs.” The West Baltimore native (whose real name is Mark Clarke) believes a strong arts community can lead to “a more positive, more open-minded outlook” for a city like Baltimore, which has plenty of problems but also full of driven people with talent. In his mind, they just need an outlet. “There’s a lot of artists who just don’t get that shot or chance to shine,” Vanderwood said. “That’s what our mission is, in terms of helping the city.” More than 40 artists have pieces hanging on the walls of the S.A.N.D. Gallery, ranging from images of black love to brightly colored works of video game and cartoon characters. Local artists featured include Keva Michelle Richardson and tattoo artist Treehouse Dev. A back room showcases nude paintings. But the gallery is more than a few rooms to hang paintings. It also hosts open-mic nights, where poets and rappers come together, and often leave with plans to collaborate further, Vanderwood said. Andre Hines, the S.A.N.D. Gallery’s creative director, who goes by the nickname Kydd, said Sip and Paint nights are some of his favorite experiences here. At free events like these, visitors can come and learn to paint while socializing over a glass of wine, and perhaps tap into a side of themselves they didn’t realize existed, he said. “To me, that’s fun, when they sit there and realize how therapeutic it is,” said Hines, another West Baltimore native. The S.A.N.D. Gallery also host board game nights with Uno and Twister, and themed events centered on musicians like Erykah Badu and TV shows including “Moesha” and “Martin.” Beyond a gathering space for artists, the S.A.N.D. Gallery offers a safe space “for people to be who they are,” Hines said. “It’s just allowing people to go somewhere other than the club. … It’s a place where you can come and there’s no pressure,” Hines said. “We’re going to have fun.” The S.A.N.D. Gallery is located at 823 E. Baltimore St. (Doors A&B), downtown. Open 6 p.m.-midnight Friday; 2 p.m.-11 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. 410-504-9249, sellartnotdrugs.tumblr.com. — Wesley Case Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun Bridget Z. Sullivan, president and curatorial director of Hamilton Art Collective and Hamilton Art Gallery, in the front room of the gallery. Bridget Z. Sullivan, president and curatorial director of Hamilton Art Collective and Hamilton Art Gallery, in the front room of the gallery. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun) Hamilton Art Gallery Past the intersection painted with sunflowers and the corner store with a giant carrot sticking through its brickwork, you’ll find the Hamilton Art Gallery. A roomy, two-gallery space with a cozy viewing couch and plenty of natural light, Hamilton is a trove of multidisciplinary art. The gallery features works by the Hamilton Arts Collective, a group of about 20 artists who feel like a family, said collective member Ariana Bock. “There’s a lot of talent here,” Bock said. “There’s a symbiosis.” The works featured in the gallery are varied — mixed-media photographs, traditional oil portraits, eclectic assemblages and chain-like metalworks decorated the walls of the front and back room in July — and offer a glimpse of the diverse backgrounds of collective members. The artists all have professional training or experience in the arts, said the collective’s president, Bridget Z. Sullivan, and some bring with them additional experience in web design, museum studies, creative writing and the culinary arts. The collective forms a jury that selects new members and supports the gallery by displaying and selling their works and staffing the space on a rotational basis. Bock, who joined the collective earlier this year, said it’s an opportunity for “anything anyone wants to bring to the table.” Collective members display works in the Hamilton Art Gallery monthly, addressing everything from the environment and human relationships to race and architecture Hamilton hosts a new exhibition 10 months out of the year, Sullivan said, with a reception on the first Friday of each month. A typical show might feature a collection by a guest artist or the collective’s interpretation on a central theme. Guests artists are often local, residing within 60 miles of the Hamilton Avenue space, Sullivan said. But the gallery is “flexible” and has shown work from international artists as well. In September, Hamilton featured pieces from Dona Grant, a woman who photographs the hidden beauty in the Hamilton-Lauraville neighborhood, while in 2012, Hamilton participated in a work exchange with a group of artists from Hyderabad, India. Annually, the Hamilton Gallery selects and displays work from local students in kindergarten through 12th grade, a “big deal” to the community, Sullivan said. Members also host workshops and sometimes invite musical acts to play in the space. Overall, Sullivan said, the Hamilton Gallery is a resource for local artists. “We want to serve each other in that way,” she said. “We want to provide an exhibit space and also a community.” Hamilton Art Gallery is located at 5502 Harford Road, Hamilton Hills. Open 4 p.m.–8 p.m. Friday, noon–8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.–3 p.m Sunday. 410-598-9277, hamiltonarts.org. — Danielle Ohl Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun "Counselor" Marian Glebes inside SpaceCamp, an art gallery on North Avenue. "Counselor" Marian Glebes inside SpaceCamp, an art gallery on North Avenue. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun) SpaceCamp Walking into SpaceCamp feels a little like entering another frontier. The 5,000-square-foot Charles North gallery space is stark and vast, with discoveries awaiting on every wall. The product of volunteer efforts from five “camp counselors,” SpaceCamp seeks to give agency to Baltimore artists who might otherwise not be able to stage their own shows, said Marian Glebes, one of the counselors. The name reflects their embracing of an exploratory, DIY spirit, Glebes said. “We decided to found SpaceCamp as a central project,” she said, “that creates, essentially, campsites,” or temporary spaces for art and culture to flourish. |
Prep for All Your Holiday Cooking with Amazing Deals at BuyDig + Incredibly $250 Value Giveaway Can you believe it’s almost time to start thinking about holiday cooking already? It seems like just two months ago I was taking down the Christmas lights from the front porch! Oh, wait, it was. Yeah, I’m one of THOSE people, that forgets random Christmas stuff for like 7 months. Anyway, here we are in October already! Halloween is flying up on us. Once that hits, there’s no break between holidays before the new year! I love kitchen gadgets. I get it from my grandmother. She was the kitchen gadget queen! When BuyDig told me to pick out a few things for review and for this giveaway, I immediately went to the kitchen section to poke around. I came up with a few must-have kitchen items that I think will help make all my holiday baking so much easier. As most of you know, the holidays are the only time I really do any sort of cooking or baking! Holiday Cooking Kitchen Gear You Seriously Need Whether you’re a novice chef like me or a total pro, you definitely need a good set of knives. These Cuisinart Knives with stainless steel blades aren’t just fantastic at cutting everything under the sun, they’re now the absolute prettiest thing in my kitchen. I actually look for opportunities to slice and dice! My favorite is the little orange one. I believe it’s called a paring knife. I do not know how to “pare” things, but I use it every single day for slicing up fruits and veggies for my guinea pigs. I also used it for slicing up apples to make nummy apples & peanut butter! This set comes with: 8″ Chef Knife 8″ Slicing Knife 8″ Serrated Bread Knife 7″ Santoku Knife 6.5″ Utility Knife 3.5″ Paring Knife They each have their own blade cover, so I don’t slice my fingers off when reaching into the drawer for them. The non-stock color coating isn’t just super beautiful, it helps you remember which knife you used for which purpose, so you avoid cross-contamination. These are a MUST for Thanksgiving! I’ve been wanting a stick blender for a while now. I make a ton of cookies during the holidays and the big mixer is just too much for me to deal with. I don’t understand all the buttons. When I saw the Cuisinart CSB-80, I was drawn to all the extra features that came with it. I was originally looking at a plain stick blender that basically just blended, but this one had attachments and choppers and cups and oh-my-goodness stuff galore! Plus it has a powerful 400-watt motor. This beauty doesn’t just blend, it’s whisks and chops! It takes the place of my mom’s big mixer with the confusing buttons AND the handheld mixer that I keep losing the beaters too AND the chopper. It comes with: Stainless steel blending shaft New, large 4-cup food processor attachment with feed tube Chopper Blade Slicing/Shredding disc Chef’s whisk attachment 16-oz. mixing cup Limited 3-Year Warranty The AirFryer is another item that’s been high on my kitchen gadget wish-list for a while now. I love the idea of eating fried foods without the fried calories. I also love anything that cuts back on the work I have to do to get real food on the table. Example: Jake and I both love sweet potato fries, but I don’t really love the whole process of emptying the random trays out of the oven, preheating, baking, cleaning it all up, etc. With the AirFryer, I can dump the fries into the try, turn a knob to set the heat, a knob to set the timer and actually have my fries in like 10 minutes. Plus they taste better! The Philips AirFryer isn’t just for making french fries! You can make all sorts of things in it! I’m still experimenting. I wanted to make fried apple chips, but I didn’t quite master those yet. I did, however, make the perfect grilled cheese! Seriously, it was amazing! Crisp bread on the outside, melted cheese on the inside. It took about two minutes to prep and 6 minutes in the AirFryer. I was free to do other things while my lunch was cooking! I can see using this during the holidays for all sorts of appetizers! You can even bake in it, although I haven’t tried that yet. To make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich: just butter all sides of two slices of bread, place a slice of cheese in between the two slices, lay it flat in the basket of the fryer, then turn it to 390 degrees for 6 minutes. With these three fabulous kitchen gadgets from BuyDig, I’ll be able to whip up more delicious cookies and baked goods, save oodles of time making dinners and appetizers, and precisely slice, dice and chop until my heart’s content! All of this and so much more is waiting for you at BuyDig! Check them out on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with news. Need a little help deciding what to get? Follow on Instagram and Pinterest to see their latest and greatest offerings! BuyDig Kitchen Must-Haves Giveaway Guess what? One of YOU will also be able to AirFry, blend, mix, slice, dice and chop until YOUR heart’s content! BuyDig is giving away a prize package containing all three items reviewed above. The AirFryer model may differ depending on availability, but it will be at least of equal value (and be able to do all the same things). So you’ll win: Total value is around $250! Giveaway is open to US residents age 18+ and ends on October 27th. Good luck! BuyDig Giveaway |
President Barack Obama's decision to normalize U.S. diplomatic and economic relations with Cuba, which had been strained until recently since 1961, has started showing results. Under Obama's administration, new Cuban policy regulations, approved by the Treasury and Commerce departments, have helped the U.S. telecommunications industry gain initial exemptions from the existing embargo to invest in Cuba. Recently, U.S. telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC) removed Cuba from its exclusion list enabling U.S.-based telecom operators to provide telephone and Internet services to Cuba without the need of a separate approval from the FCC. The newly developed truce between the two countries will allow U.S. telecom carriers to export telecom equipment and products to Cuba. The operators will also be able to establish the necessary infrastructure in Cuba to offer various telecom services including the Internet. The export of communications devices, related software, applications, hardware, and other items to upgrade the systems will enable Cuban citizens to communicate freely with the U.S. and the rest of the world. In Mar 2015, U.S.-based IDT Corp. formed a joint venture with Cuba's Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba SA to provide direct international long-distance service. In Apr 2015, Sprint Corp.'s S prepaid service division - Boost Mobile - launched an unlimited voice call and text message service plan to boost connectivity between the U.S. and Cuba. In Sep 2015, Verizon Communications Inc. VZ became the first U.S. telecom operator to offer roaming wireless services in Cuba. More recently, low-cost online streaming service providers Netflix Inc. NFLX started offering video services in the country. We believe AT&T Inc. T , which is at present significantly expanding in Mexico, may also turn toward Cuba in the future. However, the company is yet to take any decision in this regard. Cuba is a less developed country with a population of around 11 million. At present, only 2 million of the inhabitants have access to global Internet connection through government institutions, high-end hotels and the black market. People in Cuba access the Internet under highly restrictive conditions. The Cuban government strictly monitors global networks, keeps a check on phone connections of anti-government activists and surveys private email accounts through the installation of software in offices. Such stringent measures have significantly escalated the price of telecom gadgets and services in Cuba. Our View We believe that the U.S. telecom operators may not reap any near-term gain from Cuban investments as the country is less developed at present and reels under highly restrictive government regulations. However, in the long-term, Cuba may become a boon for telecom carriers whochoose to operate in the country. An opportunity to sell products and services to 11 million untapped customers is something worth reckoning after all. Moreover, with communism waning and winds of globalization taking over the world, Cuba is poised to become a potential emerging market for the future. Further, Cuba's geographical proximity with respect to the U.S. is a major positive in terms of cost of operations. The U.S. telecom industry is currently witnessing cut-throat pricing competition. At this juncture, an opportunity outside the U.S. may bode well for the industry. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days . Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report |
This doesn’t fit the left’s preferred narrative so you probably won’t see it reported by the media. The Federalist reports: Dartmouth Study Finds Democrats Are The Least Tolerant Students On Campus A new survey of students at Dartmouth College found that those who identified as Democrats are the least tolerant on campus. In the campus-wide field survey, students of all political stripes were asked how comfortable they would be about living with a roommate who holds opposing political views. Of the 432 students surveyed, only 39 percent of students who identified as Democrats said they would feel comfortable living with a Republican, 16 percent said they felt neutral about the proposed arrangement, while 45 percent, a plurality, said they felt uncomfortable. A majority of students who identified as Republicans (69 percent) said they were comfortable living with someone of opposing political views, 19 percent said they felt neutral about it, and only 12 percent said they felt uncomfortable. Among Independent students, 61 percent said they felt comfortable living with someone with opposite views, 22 percent were neutral about it, and 16 percent were uncomfortable. |
From the section Anthony Watson has won 24 caps for England since making his debut in 2014 Anthony Watson has been included in England's 25-man training squad for their Six Nations game against Italy on 26 February. The Bath winger, 22, missed matches against France and Wales after injuring his hamstring in January. Head coach Eddie Jones said on Sunday that he was "confident" Watson would feature against Italy. The defending champions have also retained Northampton Saints prop Paul Hill for the week-long training camp. Forwards: Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Paul Hill (Northampton Saints), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins) , Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints). Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te'o (Worcester Warriors), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers). |
FIRSTLY I wish to thank the Carlton Football Club for my brief time at the club and I wish the team well for the remainder of the season. More generally I want to thank the AFL and the wider football community for allowing me to be part of their game, and for their continued support over the past 40 odd years. I have loved it all, the good and the bad. I wish to thank all the players, coaches, assistants, football staff, presidents, directors, club volunteers, fans and everyone who has helped me and worked with me in my journey in this great game. I particularly thank my most recent team which has had to endure more than necessary in this difficult recent time. It has been a varied career which has taken me the breadth of this great country and I believe the game, and I, have matured greatly during the past decades. This concludes my coaching journey but I will enjoy viewing the game from afar and its progress. I particularly want to thank my family who have been resilient and loyal beyond the call of duty at all times. I look forward to enjoying some of the spare time I now have as a family more than ever before. To the media I wish you well - despite our constant battlefield......you might even miss me! I bear no grudges and I have no regrets. I have achieved some amazing football highs with some wonderful people and endured tough times with great support. |
Sanders Statement on Government Funding Deal Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement after voting for the agreement to fund the federal government: "While I have concerns about aspects of this bill, I will vote for it because I cannot turn my back on the two million federal employees and private contract workers who would be forced, again, to work without pay. For these federal employees and their families going without pay again would be an act of extreme cruelty which I cannot support. I am also concerned about the millions of people who would be denied access to government services. "At the same time, it is clear to me that there is not a ‘national emergency’ with regard to the southern border. What President Trump is doing is unlawful and must be opposed vigorously in the courts and legislatively." |
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Halloween is Bad For Kids, says Mother Teaching Children How Horse Racing Odds Work Brodie B Evans Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 31, 2016 Melbourne mother, Erika Collins, doesn’t like Halloween and wants you to know about it. “Halloween is American consumerist rubbish!” Melbourne mother of 2, Erika Collins, warns that letting your children celebrate Halloween by trick-or-treating will indoctrinate them into an unhealthy relationship with risk and reward. Halloween falls on the eve of Melbourne Cup this year, and is equal parts hallo-brated and hallo-hated in Australia. “It’s commercialised crap. It teaches kids that they can get something for nothing. It has no place in Australian culture!” Erika says, while cutting out the names of the horses from a newspaper for a family betting sweeps at tomorrows Cup Day BBQ. Children dressed as Americans. Halloween, which originated from an ancient Celtic harvest festival called Samhain, or possibly from American Satan-worshipers looking for fresh converts (depends on who you ask and how many Jesus related bumper stickers are on their car) is celebrated around the world on October 31st. With a sordid history in Australia — long associated with unsavory and un-Australian conduct like allowing kids to dress too imaginatively, trusting strangers, hooliganism and — worse of all — opportunistic crossdressing. “Kids need to learn that the media has an agenda, and wants them to become part of a system of state-sanctum oppression. They need to learn to think for themselves.” Erika says, motioning towards the TV, showing the odds for tomorrows favourite to win, with a panel of racing experts explaining how to get in on the action. Melbournian kids learning how to break a horses spirit instead of celebrating American traditions. “Trick-or-treating is so American. Only the US would create a tradition where you have to send out your kids to beg neighbours for food. What’s next? Get them to dress like a vampire and crowdfund my home mortgage? Humiliating.” Local builder, Garrett, shares this sentiment — though not quite so eloquently. “Oar yeah, Halloween is fucked, ay.” Garrett says, ironing out his green,VB embezzled tie for the big race tomorrow. “Who fucking cares about that overseas shit.”, he continues. “Oym just looking forward to a big day tomorrow with moi kids at the Cup — drinking piss, checking out the shit-faced birds and watching the ponies. Now that’s a ‘strayan tradition! Beat the fuck out of a horse until it pays out.” Garrett says, not making reference to the Mexican tradition of piñatas. Australians say Halloween costumes are silly. At the time of writing, Erika was explaining how a trifecta works to her 12 year old for his first flutter tomorrow, and preparing a heavily-vodka laced fruit punch for the family gathering. Garrett disappeared into the night before we could complete the interview, heading towards the pub, chanting the lyrics to Horses by Daryl Braithwaite. |
In the last three years, investors have added over $800 billion to Vanguard funds—vs. $97 billion to the other 4000 US mutual fund companies combined—a staggering number both in terms of magnitude and sheer conquest. Vanguard now runs assets of $4.2 trillion, up from $2 trillion just three years ago. A great deal of the inflows have been driven by the recent cyclical outperformance of passive vs active investing approaches. However, one should not underestimate that the primary contributing factor to Vanguard’s AUM inflow is their low fee model. Unlike its peers, Vanguard is owned by its funds, with their structure returning profits to fund shareholders in the form of lower expenses. Indeed, one of Vanguard’s organizing principles is trying to reduce expense ratios instead of trying to beat the market. The resulting virtuous circle is that as Vanguard brings in more assets the company lowers its expense ratios, which helps attract even more assets. According to a New York Times article last week, since 1976, fees on Vanguard funds have fallen to about 0.12 percent from about 0.70 percent. The well-observed residual fact is that fees are continuing to march down in active management as well. According to the data from the Investment Company Institute and Lipper, from 2000 to 2015, the average expense ratio of index equity funds fell 16 basis points, similar to the decline of 22 basis points in the expenses of actively managed equity funds. See chart below. Additionally, shareholders tend to invest with funds with below-average expense ratios. According to the Investment Company Institute, at year-end 2015, equity funds with expense ratios in the lowest quartile held 74 percent of equity funds’ total net assets, while those with expense ratios in the upper three quartiles held only 26 percent. This pattern holds for actively managed equity funds, index equity funds, and target date funds (funds that adjust their portfolios, typically toward fixed income). Client aligned fees are essential for optimal investing results. The "virtuous circle" that Vanguard has created is but one example. Is Vanguard unstoppable? |
Neil Clark is a journalist, writer, broadcaster and blogger. He has written for many newspapers and magazines in the UK and other countries including The Guardian, Morning Star, Daily and Sunday Express, Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman, The Spectator, The Week, and The American Conservative. He is a regular pundit on RT and has also appeared on BBC TV and radio, Sky News, Press TV and the Voice of Russia. He is the co-founder of the Campaign For Public Ownership @PublicOwnership. His award winning blog can be found at www.neilclark66.blogspot.com. He tweets on politics and world affairs @NeilClark66 Terrorist attacks on Turkish soil won’t stop until the country’s Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, gives up on his support of rebel forces in Syria, British broadcaster, Neil Clark, told RT. Turkish police have fired tear gas at protesters in a town near the Syrian border, which was the scene of a deadly double car bombing a week ago. Demonstrators are angry over Ankara's support for the Syrian rebels, which they say is putting Turkey in the firing line. World affairs journalist and broadcaster, Neil Clark, believes Erdogan must reconsider his policies and stop accusing the Syrian government of targeting the Hatay province, as it would’ve been an “absolutely absurd” move from Damascus. RT: Tension and discontent on the Turkish-Syrian border is now escalating - what ramifications could this have? Neil Clark: I think if I were Turkish I would be protesting too, because Mr Erdogan has made colossal blunder here because in August 2011 he took the line he’s going to play a leading role in trying to topple the Syrian government. He allowed rebels to be based in the country. His government gave arms to them and equipment. And now it’s sort of a blowback time. We had some terrible bombings in Turkey this week and this will only continue, until Turkey changes course in relation to Syria. RT: Turkey maintains Syria was responsible for last weekend's bombing of a Turkish town that left more than 50 dead, but why would Damascus orchestrate a cross-border attack? NC: It’ll be absolutely suicidal for Syrian president [Bashar] Assad to order an attack on Turkey, knowing that very powerful countries in the West are just itching for an excuse to militarily attack the country, to bomb the country. So the last thing would be doing is trying to bomb Turkey. It’s absolutely absurd. I don’t know who was responsible for these bombings, but it’s clear that what Erdogan has done has actually involved Turkey in this war. He’s brought the war to Turkey. And understandable the Turkish citizens – not just those on the border with Syria, but throughout the country – are getting increasingly angry and they demand that he changes his course. RT: Turkey has made it clear it doesn't want to get directly involved in Syria, but has pledged to respond to the bombings. What action could we see? NC: We haven’t got any evidence as to who’s responsible for these bombings. And I think Erdogan has to seriously reconsider his entire policies, because all he’s doing is increasing the tension here by backing the rebels. He took a gamble in August 2011 believing that the Syrian government would fall very shortly and that there’ll be a very nice Islamist government in power in Damascus that’ll be very friendly to Turkey. It backfired. It hasn’t happened. And I think that the position, Turkey is in, is getting worse and worse. I hope I’m wrong, but we’re going to see more bombings, I’m afraid. Because the war has been brought to Turkey and, of course, the rebels themselves are fighting among themselves – the radical Islamists, the not so radical Islamists. It’s all happening in Turkey. RT: An international conference on Syria – endorsed by Russia and the US – is expected soon. What results can we expect? NC: It all depends on the stance of the US and its allies. Because if they’re still going to carry on with this rhetoric, this Assad must go, we’re not going to get any progress, are we? The people, who are pouring the petrol on the fire, the countries like the US and Turkey, have got to change their position. It’s no use that they’re having a conference, if they’re still going to back the rebels. They’re still saying that the Syrian people could decide the government they want as long as Assad goes. That’s not democracy, is it? It’s up to the Syrian people alone. It’s up to US, Qatar, Turkey to stop interfering in Syria. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT. |
If there is one thing we don’t seem to be able to get enough of, it is emotional YouTube videos showcasing the moment someone’s life changed for the better. Just over a month ago, we shared with you the moment a legally blind woman saw her baby for the first time thanks to a pair of innovative electronic glasses. Now, after being fitted with a “bionic eye,” a blind man has been able to see his wife again for the first time in a decade, and they are both pretty overwhelmed, to say the least: The man in the clip, 68-year-old Allen Zderad from Minnesota, suffers a rare, degenerative eye disease known as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Those with this inherited condition suffer a loss of cells, called photoreceptors, in the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye known as the retina. Although some may only experience a severe impairment in night vision, others can become completely blind. Zderad’s vision began seriously deteriorating around 20 years ago until reaching a point when he was effectively rendered blind. As he could only see extremely bright light, but not objects, people or features, he was forced to quit his professional career as a chemist. In spite of this, he managed to teach himself to continue woodworking by relying on his sense of touch and spatial relationships. Although RP is incurable and existing treatments are ineffective, hope was offered to Zderad after Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist Dr. Raymond Iezzi heard of his situation. Iezzi became interested and requested to see him because, conveniently, Iezzi was heading a clinical trial of a bionic eye that is intended to help restore some visual perception in blind individuals. Zderad signed himself up and later became Iezzi’s first patient to be fitted with the prosthesis, which is made by Second Sight. As Iezzi explains in the video below, although RP causes a degeneration of photoreceptor cells in the retina, the rest of the tissue is relatively healthy and the cells which form the optic nerve are viable. The idea of the prosthesis is therefore to replace the function of the photoreceptors by sending signals directly to the optic nerve, bypassing the damaged retina. To do this, a multi-electrode chip with 60 points of contact is first surgically inserted into the eye and placed on the retina before fitting an electronics package around the outside of the eye. The recipient then wears a pair of glasses equipped with a camera that sends footage to a small patient-worn computer. This then analyzes and translates the images into light signals that are then beamed to the implant. Finally, the electrodes send a series of impulses to the optic nerve, which are ultimately interpreted as vision by the brain. In order to make full use of the prosthesis, the device needs further adjustment alongside some physical therapy. However, according to ABC News, Zderad can already see things like human forms and outlines of objects in intermittent flashes, and is even able to see his own reflection as a silhouette. He will probably never be able to see the details of faces, but he will be able to navigate his way around without a cane, which is a big boost to his quality of life. [Via Second Sight, Mayo Clinic, Live Science, ABC News and The Telegraph] |
He also worked with famed writer-director Melvin Frank on 'The Prisoner of Second Avenue,' 'A Touch of Class' and 'The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox.' Bill Butler, the British-born film editor who received an Oscar nomination for his work on Stanley Kubrick's 1971 classic A Clockwork Orange, has died. He was 83. Butler died June 4 at a hospital in Sherman Oaks, his son Stephen Butler told The Hollywood Reporter. Butler earned his first film editor credit when he collaborated with Melvin Frank on the romantic comedy Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968), starring Gina Lollobrigida, and he also edited A Touch of Class (1973), The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976) and Lost and Found (1979) — all three starring George Segal — for the famed writer-director. The London native also cut movies including One More Time (1970), directed by Jerry Lewis and starring Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford, and A Little Sex (1982), helmed by Bruce Paltrow. Butler was introduced to Kubrick by a fellow editor, Ray Lovejoy (who would later edit The Shining), and joined A Clockwork Orange two weeks before the end of shooting. Hunched over a Steenbeck and two Moviolas, he then worked alongside the notoriously perfectionist filmmaker in Kubrick's garage seven days a week, 14 hours a day, for nearly a year. "I thought that I was going to be left alone to put it together, which is a normal procedure," Butler said in a 2001 interview. "The director shoots it, the editor assembles it. Then you have your first cut, you get input notes from the director, you fine cut that, and then you work with the director. "Of course, with Stanley it was a different story, it didn't happen. I would say there should be a close-up here and a long shot there, and it would materialize maybe weeks down the road — but not right away, no way. My understanding was that he was like that with all the departments." Born in 1933, Butler and his family survived the Battle of Britain, and he spent many days as a youth playing amid mounds of rubble scattered throughout London. He sometimes found random streams of 35mm film. After World War II, Butler regularly visited the guards at Gainsborough Studios in Islington, pestering them for bits of film. He noticed the minuscule progression from box to box and became hooked on reading books about developing film and manipulating negatives. His brother found him a job at a local studio, and Butler got a chance to work briefly with prominent British editor Jack Harris on The Crimson Pirate (1952), starring Burt Lancaster, before he went off to serve as a member of the Royal Army Ordinance Corps. In the mid-1950s, Butler began as an assistant to sound editor Leslie Hodgson (Apocalypse Now) and worked on such films as Moby Dick (1956), The Naked Earth (1958), The Unforgiven (1960) and Jack Cardiff's The Lion (1962). Butler was the sound editor on A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) when he first met Frank, who had co-written the picture. The pair also collaborated on 1975's The Prisoner of Second Avenue (he was second editor on the Jack Lemmon comedy) and the 1987 film Walk Like a Man. Butler also worked as a film editor on the acclaimed 1980s NBC series St. Elsewhere and on the 1994 Antonio Banderas film Of Love and Shadows. According to his son, Butler was "always nostalgic for the physical touch of his white gloves, a grease pencil in his hand and gazing into a projection machine of the past." All three of his children — Stephen, Lynne and Les — were inspired by him and now work in the industry. Survivors also include Mary, his wife of 60 years, four grandchildren, a great-grandchild and his sister Jean. A life celebration is planned for Aug. 12. Please contact Stephen Butler at steve@coquisolutions.com for details. |
Russia to axe South Stream pipeline BelfastTelegraph.co.uk President Vladimir Putin says Russia is scrapping the South Stream natural gas pipeline project and may cooperate with Turkey on building a gas hub for southern Europe. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/russia-to-axe-south-stream-pipeline-30788984.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article30788983.ece/4ae5a/AUTOCROP/h342/PANews%20BT_P-efb50907-b1a8-45af-a60b-76dfabd20ed1_I1.jpg Email President Vladimir Putin says Russia is scrapping the South Stream natural gas pipeline project and may cooperate with Turkey on building a gas hub for southern Europe. Mr Putin spoke after talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He said Russia cannot implement the South Stream project because of the European Union's opposition to it. The project would have involved running a pipeline under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further on to southern Europe. Mr Putin said Moscow would boost gas supplies to Turkey and may cooperate with it in creating a hub for natural gas supplies on the border with Greece. |
Most people kick back on Friday nights and either watch television or hit the town. Not me. Sadly, I stayed up this past Friday night into the wee hours of Saturday morning playing with a phone from 2010. I spent three hours fiddling with my Nexus One handset and before going to sleep, I had Android(s goog) 4.4.2, or KitKat, running on the very first Nexus device. Advertisement Why even bother? Great question! Part of it is just to see how the newest Android software runs on what’s now a four-year old device. I also had something else in mind. I’ve wanted to keep an eye on Mozilla’s Firefox OS — the company is adding tablet support for it — but I’m not sure I need to drop the $80 or so for a dedicated Firefox OS phone. I figured perhaps I can repurpose the Nexus One as a Firefox OS device but before doing that I thought to reacquaint myself with the Nexus One and some new software. Of course, I could run the Firefox OS Simulator on a computer to meet my needs, but where’s the fun in that? I’ve installed dozens of custom ROM software on the Nexus One as well as many other Android devices, but this was a particular challenge. First, there’s no official KitKat support from Google for the Nexus One. That ended with Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) about two years ago. Second, to fit KitKat on an older device with a limited amount of ROM, I had to repartition the internal memory to give the operating system more space. I found that out the hard way when trying to flash Android 4.4.2 on the device. All the steps and software I used can be found in these links if you’re up for breathing new life into an old Nexus One: While the software works — it looks and behaves just like any other phone running Android 4.4.2, it’s asking a lot from the Nexus One hardware. Tapping from app to app can produce small lags as the hardware tries to catch up with what the software is asking it to do. That’s not terribly surprising, but the fact that it can even run the newest version of Android is a testament to the versatility of the very first Nexus handset. I’ll likely play around with some other recent ROMs to see if they run any better on the Nexus One. It could create a nice backup phone — I can pop the SIM from my Moto X in there, for example — in an emergency. And the effort will help re-educate me in how install custom software; something I’ve gotten away from recently due to how well the Moto X serves as an Android phone. Next up, my hope is to either find a Firefox OS build or try to port one myself, which could give the versatile Nexus One a whole new look and feel while also seeing how well the Mozilla folks are progressing on their latest mobile project. Meanwhile, I’ll start looking for less geeky things to do on a Friday night! |
Rumors have indicated Siri integration will be one of the key features coming in OS X 10.12, and new screenshots of a Siri menu bar and Siri app icon suggest Apple is indeed working on bringing Siri to the Mac in its 2016 operating system update. The screenshots were shared with MacRumors by a source who has provided us with reliable information about Apple's software plans in the past.In the menu bar, there's a simple Siri black and white icon that features the word "Siri" surrounded by a box, while the full dock icon is more colorful and features a colorful Siri waveform in the style of other built-in app icons. Clicking on either of the icons brings up a Siri waveform to give users a visual cue that the virtual assistant is listening for commands, much like on iOS devices when the Home button is held down.In addition to accessing Siri through these two buttons, a hands-free "Hey Siri" activation command is also supported. "Hey Siri" is an option that's disabled by default at the current time, but it can be turned on in the Preferences menu.Siri integration in the Mac is still in the early stages of development, but the assistant will presumably be able to answer many of the same queries and perform many of the same tasks it can on iOS devices - opening apps, conducting web searches, controlling HomeKit, sending text messages, reading emails, setting calendar events, and more.Because work on Siri is far from complete, there's a chance these icons could be tweaked between now and when the feature is introduced as part of OS X 10.12 at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. The Menu Bar icon in particular looks like it could be a placeholder icon, with a finalized design, perhaps depicting a microphone or waveform, to come in the future. Apple has also been known to shelve expected features at the last minute if work is not complete and up to the company's standards.WWDC is set to take place from June 13 to June 17, with a keynote event scheduled for Monday, June 13, which is where we'll see our first glimpse of OS X 10.12 and iOS 10. |
Following the bombing at the Boston Marathon last year, Glenn Beck went on a personal crusade to prove that the Obama administration was engaged in a massive cover-up of the role that an al Qaeda operative played in the attack and was doing so for the benefit of the Saudi Arabian government. Beck infamously gave the US government three days to come clean about the cover-up before he exposed it on his network. When those three days passed, Beck launched into a full-scale campaign to prove that Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, who was injured in the bombing, was actually an al Qaeda “control agent” and the “money man” who financed the operation and recruited the Tsarnaev brothers to carry it out. Beck’s theory rested on the fact that Alharbi had once been considered a “person of interest” during the investigation but was quickly cleared. Beck’s network received information during the investigation that Alharbi “was set to be deported under section 212 3B” for “terrorist activities” and it was upon that piece of information that Beck built his entire campaign, as he spent days hammering away, challenging everyone to disprove his theory and warning that they would only discredit themselves if they tried to do so. Eventually, Beck’s crusade came to a grinding halt when he brought a former INS special agent onto his program to bolster his theory but, instead, watched as Bob Trent blew a hole right through it by pointing out that the 212 3B designation and Beck’s entire timeline “doesn’t make sense.” After that, Beck more or less abandoned the issue, though he continued to personally believe in his original conspiracy and mention it from time to time. And now, nearly one year later, Beck and his company are being sued by Alharbi for defamation and slander: |
Early life Edit Sundberg was born in Phoenix, Arizona and played high school football at North Canyon High School. He played left tackle until his junior season, when the coaches moved him to center. Since the previous long snapper had graduated, his coaches also made him the long snapper that season. It was at this point, that Sundberg began training with Ben Bernard. Ben Bernard was Sundberg's offensive and defensive line coach at North Canyon.[1] Sundberg also trained under him to become a better long snapper. They trained 5–6 days a week including lifting weights after Sundberg's senior season.[2] Under Bernard's tutelage, Nick was able to earn a full scholarship to the University of California Berkeley. Sundberg continues to train with Bernard every off-season in Phoenix and now assists him in the training of younger long snappers.[3] During his senior year, Sundberg was the team's captain and was named All-region honorable mention. Sundberg also participated in wrestling and track and field at North Canyon. College career Edit Sundberg attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he played in 52 consecutive games and served as the long snapper for his entire four-year college career. He won the starting job in preseason as a true freshman and served as the long snapper on field goals and punts in all 13 games all four years at Cal.[4] Sundberg graduated with a degree in legal studies in three-and-a-half years. Professional career Edit Personal life Edit Sundberg resides in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona during the offseason.[18] Sundberg, with the Redskins Charitable Foundation, helped fund and start the Loads of Love program in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. [19] The program aims to boost school attendance by installing washers and dryers in schools and homeless shelters that focus on families with young children. Sundberg was the Redskins nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2017.[20] |
Friday, July 16, 1999 Published at 14:53 GMT 15:53 UK Sci/Tech Car achieves almost 10,000 miles per gallon The event is now in its 23rd year A car driven by a 10-year-old and built at a French school has set a new world record for fuel efficiency. The Microjoule team managed the equivalent of 9,845 miles per gallon while driving for 10 miles around Silverstone race track in the UK. Microjoule also won in 1998 with an average of 8,000 miles (12,800 kilometres) to the gallon. Wacky races The competition looked like the Wacky Races, but was serious stuff. Charles Rhodes reports from Silverstone More than 100 teams competed in the Shell Eco-Marathon. Their one goal was to see how far they can get these amazing machines to travel on a minuscule amount of fuel. The big teams have backing from the car manufacturers While we might be delirious if we managed 40 miles (64 kilometres) to the gallon (4.5 litres) pottering about town in our super minis, these people are not happy until they have seen the mileometer click through the thousands. BBC News' Richard Bilton: last year's winner managed over 8,000 miles to the gallon The teams have a choice of petrol or diesel, with solar assistance permitted for the first time this year. A car is allowed three 40-minute runs. It must average at least 15 mph (24 kph) after which the stewards at the meeting calculate the machine's fuel efficiency. The vehicles get three 40 minute runs "The top fuel teams do about 10 miles, which is six laps on the club circuit at Silverstone," says the event's fuel manager Geoff Houlbrook. "They do that on less than 10 millilitres which is just two teaspoons of fuel." The entries come from all over Europe. Some teams use advanced materials like titanium and carbon fibre. Some of the machines built by schoolchildren are made from parts of old sewing and washing machines. "It's fun but it's also science," says BBC Top Gear presenter and racing driver Tiff Needell. "It's like an experiment with people learning how to save energy." Contestants have a day of practice before the event Stewards measure the fuel to prevent cheating The marathon draws all age groups Solar assistance is allowed for the first time Advanced options | Search tips Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage | © |
shygazing Joined: Oct 2010 Posts: 3 OfflineJoined: Oct 2010Posts: 3 fake-smile said: *Each of the nine Blu-ray and DVD volumes scheduled for release through February 24, 2017, will contain the mini anime.* *The first Blu-ray and DVD volume, which is scheduled to go on sale on June 24, will contain the first two episodes of the series.* i don't get it, when the blu-rays & DvD will release? 24 Feb or June ? *Each of the nine Blu-ray and DVD volumes scheduled for release through February 24, 2017, will contain the mini anime.**The first Blu-ray and DVD volume, which is scheduled to go on sale on June 24, will contain the first two episodes of the series.*i don't get it, when the blu-rays & DvD will release? 24 Feb or June ? 9 Blurays starting June, I guess one per month and final one comes in February 2017 9 Blurays starting June, I guess one per month and final one comes in February 2017 BBCode |
A more than four decade old interview with Helen Mirren has resurfaced online and proves she is a B-O-S-S. In the clip, a 30-year-old Mirren casually spars with British talk show host Michael Parkinson. Not only did he introduce the famed actress by quoting a number of sexist descriptions such as: “sex queen”. RELATED: Helen Mirren Reminds Us Why She Is A Role Model But he also riddled his questions with innuendos and remarks that could easily get shows plugged in 2016. At one point Parkinson addressed Mirren by stating: “You are in quotes a serious actress.” To which the Oscar-winner snapped back: “In quotes? What do you mean ‘in quotes?’ How dare you?” At the time of the interview, Mirren was performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared on “Parkinson” to discuss her new role as Lady Macbeth. Another cringe-worthy moment saw the host ask Mirren if her “equipment” hindered her success. Mirren’s response: “Because serious actresses can’t have big bosoms, is that what you mean?” RELATED: Renee Zellweger Asked If ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ Has ‘Slut-Shaming’ Elements When Parkinson chuckled that her body may be distracting, Mirren took off: “I can’t think that can necessarily be true. I mean what a crummy performance if people are obsessed with the size of your bosoms more than anything else. I would hope that the performance and the play and the living relationship between all the people on the stage and all the people in the audience overcome such boring questions.” Watch the full two-part video below. |
Editor’s Note This is the third part of a three-part article on Paul Romer and charter cities. Read the first part here,, and the second part here. Honduras created special development zones once before. More than a century ago, the United Fruit Company and its twin subsidiaries, the Tela Railroad Company and the Trujillo Railroad Company, ran vast banana plantations from private enclaves in Tela Nueva and La Lima known as the Zona Americana–the American Zones. These were your classic company towns, complete with golf courses, hospitals and schools–a few of which are still around. advertisement advertisement “They’re some of the best in the country,” insisted Daniel Facussé, president of the Honduran Maquila Association, the trade group for the tax-free textile factories that employed 133,000 Hondurans prior to the financial chaos of the coup. He drew a straight line for me from the zonas to the REDs. “Yes, it’s true that all of them were made by the companies,” he said, “but they were physically set up in a small town. At the time, they also had their own rules and regulations.” “There was also a change of culture,” he added with a note of admiration. “A culture of saying the company is not only responsible for the benefits of their workers, but also for the benefits of their families…[and for] society itself.” To say the fruit companies played by their own rules would be an understatement. Honduras was the original “banana republic,” molded by United Fruit and its competitors in their own competing interests. Successive Honduran presidents ceded huge tracts of land for infrastructure that stopped at the plantations’ edges. (To this day, Tegucigalpa lacks a train station.) At one point, United Fruit’s fiercest competitor–and later, its controlling shareholder–sponsored a successful coup to overturn a rival’s concessions. The United States intervened seven times between the turn of the century and 1925; the fruit companies continued to back local military governments until the 1980s. The real coup is the privatizations they have planned. Opponents of President Porfirio Lobo’s government see similar parallels between the zonas and the REDs, with the latter a tool to finish the job started by the coup. When Manuel Zelaya was elected president in 2006, he appeared to be the latest in a long line of entrenched elites to hold office, dedicated to preserving the status quo. But by their standards he turned out to be a reformer, lowering school fees while increasing the minimum wage (which didn’t extend to the maquilas). He cut a deal with Venezuela for oil at below market prices in exchange for closer ties to its president, Hugo Chavez. He also hindered the privatization of the telecommunications industry, which eventually proved to be a massive success. And most alarming of all, in 2008 he called for a referendum to rewrite the constitution drafted under the generals. Zelaya’s enemies (and by then there were many) labeled this a power grab. The first thing to be erased, they charged, would be his term limit. As a compromise, he pushed for a non-binding national referendum in June 2009, on what would turn out to be the day of the coup. Explanations for his ouster tend to pivot on the referendum and his relationship with Chavez, although some activists insist the real reason was his tepid support for privatizing state-owned utilities. Dragging his feet on selling off the water, power and telecom industries brought him into direct conflict with the handful of families controlling large swaths of the economy, they say. advertisement “Zelaya was stopping that stuff; they were looking for a pretext,” says Dana Frank, a professor of Latin American history at University of California, Santa Cruz who has lobbied on Capitol Hill to suspend all U.S. military and police aid to Honduras. (The 2013 Obama budget would more than double it.) “The real coup is the privatizations they have planned.” As an example, Frank points to the law passed in March 2011 passing control of the national education system to the municipalities, which are now free to fund for-profit charters. Simultaneously, Zelaya’s predecessor will lead a program dramatically curtailing the pay of new hires in the public system. Unsurprisingly, the law’s passage prompted a nationwide teachers strike, which was met with teargas in Tegucigalpa and the threat of mass suspensions. Land reform is another sticking point. Fallow banana plantations in the northeast were converted to palm oil cooperatives in the 1960s and 1970s, until a law passed in 1992 permitted wealthy landowners to buy the struggling co-ops. Today, one of the largest plantations belongs to Corporation Dinant, which in turn is controlled by Miguel Facussé, the uncle of former president Roberto Flores. Following the coup, thousands of campesinos occupied Dinant farmland they claimed had been stolen from them, leading to clashes with soldiers, police and Dinant’s private security forces, resulting in the deaths and disappearances of dozens–including five campesinos acknowledged to have been killed by Dinant employees. In April, several thousand campesinos briefly occupied 30,000 acres of private farmland around the country before being dispersed–in some cases peacefully, in others with the use of force. Miguel Facusse described the occupation as horrorosa (appalling) to the newspaper El Tiempo. You see here the problems of impunity. “You see here the problems of impunity,” Antonio Maldonado told me in Tegucigalpa. Maldonado was appointed as the United Nations’ human rights advisor to Honduras in 2010 and has been frustrated in the role ever since. “We don’t know of one important case which has been duly investigated”–not one, he emphasized. The problem wasn’t a lack of resources, no matter what the government claimed, nor could it be solved by outsiders setting a good example. (“You can bring in the best trainers in the world and keep the same behaviors,” he said.) The problem, simply put, was institutional rot (“Prosecutors, judges and police officers don’t do their work!”), and it was slowly corroding democracy in Honduras. He described the REDs’ vow of judicial integrity as a “promise that is impossible to keep.” This corrosion is visible in the annual Latinobarómetro poll. Less than half of Hondurans presently believe democracy is preferable to any other type of government, while more than a quarter admit an authoritarian regime is occasionally preferable. Proportionately more Hondurans felt this way than residents of any other nation in Latin America. “The danger is the hollowing out of the rule of law,” said Kevin Casas-Zamora, a Latin America expert at the Brookings Institution and a former vice president of Costa Rica. “People are just willing to put up with the encroachment on their civil liberties for the sake of fighting crime. They’re terrified.” advertisement Market-ready Reform In Why Nations Fail, James Robinson and his co-author, MIT economist Daron Acemoglu, stress the difference between “inclusive” and “extractive” economic institutions. Inclusive institutions such as property rights, contracts, education and competitive markets embody rules designed to maximize opportunities for everyone; extractive institutions such as monopolies and conglomerates consolidate wealth in the hands of a few, squelching growth and innovation. This dichotomy explains the development gap between Sierra Leone and South Korea–the same gap Romer is trying to close in Honduras through the REDs. But telling President Lobo and Congress which rules to adopt will never work, the authors argue. Failing states “get it wrong not by mistake or ignorance, but on purpose.” The reason we can’t simply transplant inclusive rules from one state to another has to do with a second set of institutions–political ones–and whether they manage to balance power between elites, the people and the state. Successful nations do this well, begetting the economic rules Romer cherishes. Failing states produce dictatorships, kleptocracies, and banana republics–or in Honduras’ case, all of the above. It’s clear that Romer envisions charter cities as a new kind of inclusive institution, engineered to cram centuries of socioeconomic evolution into decades. What’s less clear is whether Honduras’ entrenched elites are invested in reforming themselves. Is it true that “the politicians recognized they themselves were the biggest obstacle,” as Mauro De Lorenzo, the deputy director at the Urbanization Project, told me in Tegucigalpa? Can an extractive regime spin off inclusive institutions? Robinson is firm in his answer: no. Close observers of the region agree. “They control the game,” said Casas-Zamora, “and they will find a way to benefit from this.” They control the game, and they will find a way to benefit from this. If Romer has any qualms about his partners, he isn’t saying–he declined multiple requests for interviews–but Peter Henry leapt to his defense. “It’s a fallacy, in some sense, to think the markets are the enemy of the poor,” Henry told me, dismissing the charge that charter cities amount to neoliberal neocolonialism. “If you look at the last 35 years of human history,” he said, “there is overwhelming evidence that markets are helping people out of poverty.” For mayors across the developing world who are already swamped by the leading edge of the world’s final, epic migration–Solly Angel predicts urban populations will double in 40 years while the built environment triples in size–there may not be time to create a better option. Regardless whether the REDs work as Romer intended, they may still prove to be the template for privatizing urbanization. The size of the market dwarfs even Henry’s optimistic projections–a recent study by Booz & Company estimates the cost of building, running and maintaining the world’s cities at an astounding $350 trillion over the next 30 years. A land rush is underway in more ways than one. advertisement “The success or failure of the Urbanization Project doesn’t hinge on the success or failure of the Honduras experiment,” said Henry, who is already looking ahead to the opening of NYU Shanghai in 2013. “The story in emerging markets is cities.” With twin campuses in both the Middle East and China, perhaps no business school is better positioned to lead the charge than Stern, with Romer in the vanguard chartering new ones. If the REDs are really a tool for imagining an urban future, then the one thing everyone involved wants to see–or fears–are dollar signs. This article was first published in Next American City. |
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