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The Chicago White Sox currently hold third place in the AL Central, 10 games behind the Cleveland Indians with a record of 51-55, and have lost five of their past six games. Despite those struggles, Ken “Hawk” Harrelson is happy these days. At least with the recent White Sox game broadcasts on CSN Chicago and WGN. Hawk told the Chicago Sun-Times Daryl Van Schouwen that he’s “rejuvenated” these days, largely because of a reduced schedule in which he’s mostly only calling road games, while Jason Benetti has taken over the home half of the schedule for the White Sox telecasts. But more importantly, Harrelson and analyst Steve Stone recently had a “clearing of the air” that appears to have improved the mood and banter significantly in the broadcast booth. “There was a clearing of the air discussion that, I don’t know, maybe needs to happen every few years,” Stone told Van Schouwen. “The end result is there is a much better feeling in the booth, much more cooperation and he’s much more likely to make an observation that I can elaborate on. I’m much more apt to direct an observation at him that can tap into his expertise.” For anyone that has never been forced to listen to Hawk Harrelson. Be so very thankful. pic.twitter.com/EeJQ3T3WxM — Patrick Whelan (@PdiddyWay) August 3, 2016 What was the deal between Harrelson and Stone? Why did they seem to have zero chemistry in the booth, both acting as if they’d prefer to be on other sides of the press box from each other during ballgames? According to the two of them, it’s because they weren’t on the same page, resulting in little interaction between them while calling the game. So the pair had a discussion and addressed the friction that was affecting the telecasts. “When things don’t come easy, and there is a little friction, if you don’t solve it, it will fester,” said Harrelson. “I’ve always been a guy, if there is a problem, I’m going to solve it one way or another.’’ Communication is the key in any relationship, yes? Whether it’s between co-workers, in an actual marriage, or an on-air marriage between broadcasters. Apparently, there were some issues between Harrelson and Stone that were festering and resulting tension and grumpiness made it onto the air (or didn’t make it on air, if the two weren’t engaging with one another). But for now, all appears to be better. No one gone! Though Stone admits it’s only been a few days. Maybe this, other than Chris Sale’s continuing tensions with the White Sox front office, will be the most interesting storyline to follow surrounding the team for the rest of the season. [Chicago Sun-Times] |
This week’s task of the lecture “Programmieren in Rust” (German) is to build a tic-tac-toe game. After implementing the required features, I tried to use the borrow checker and strong typing to avoid some bugs at compile time – with partial success. 🔑 Key takeaways strong typing avoids runtime bugs with Rust’s linear type system (“move semantics”), we can build types with the semantics of a key that can be used only once using the borrow checker, we can ensure that some properties of a variable remain valid In tic-tac-toe (“TTT” from now on) you have a simple 3x3 grid where each cell can be empty or contain either a cross or a circle. To denote a cell, I’ll be using the same notation used to denote a square on a chessboard, e.g. [a3] . Standard TTT board with row and column labels Basic Program Structure Before we get to the juicy parts, I have to show you the base structure of the program (if you’re feeling adventurous, you can skip ahead). To describe a TTT-board, we will create custom types that perfectly meet our requirements, instead of using already existing types which can take on nonsensical values in our context. We want to make good use of Rust’s strong type system! # [ derive ( Clone , Copy )] enum Cell { Empty , Circle , Cross , } # [ derive ( Clone , Copy )] struct CellId { /// This row-major index will always /// be between 0 and 8 (inclusive). index : u8 , } Our board will be stored as [Cell; 9] in the type GameState . To index the board and get the value of a cell, we use CellId (see above). This means f indexing will never fail, because CellId always represents a valid cell on the board. The task requires multiple different player types, including a human player (reading input from the terminal) and a random player (choosing a valid move at random). To abstract over different players, we will use a trait Player . Right now, we are only interested in this part: trait Player { /// Given the current state of the game, return the ID of /// the cell in which the next marker should be set. fn next_move ( & mut self , state : & GameState ) -> CellId ; } This is a pretty straightforward solution: it works fine and is pretty type safe, too. But I was not quite satisfied with this solution and had been looking for an excuse to play with the borrow checker for some time already. I also recently found this repository which implements “sound unchecked indexing” in Rust; the borrow checker is abused to assure that an array index is valid at the point of indexing. I only skimmed over the implementation without gaining a deeper understanding, so now I wanted to try something similar for my TTT implementation! A type representing a valid move In short, I want next_move() to return a ValidMove instead of a CellId . The latter could reference a cell that is already filled: this would be an illegal move. In the solution so far, the code calling next_move() has to check whether or not the CellId is a valid move and exit the game in case it’s not. So how can we achieve this? First, we create a new type ValidMove which holds a CellId . The first good idea is to make it impossible for outsiders to create an instance of ValidMove . Instead, the only way to obtain a ValidMove is through a GameState which can verify the move before declaring it as valid. Let’s try it: // The field is private: no one outside of this module can // create a `ValidMove` instance. struct ValidMove ( CellId ); impl ValidMove { pub fn id ( & self ) -> CellId { self . 0 } } impl GameState { // Public method: this is the only way to obtain a // `ValidMove` from the outside. pub fn verify_move ( & self , id : CellId ) -> Option < ValidMove > { if /* is the cell at [id] empty? */ { Some ( ValidMove { id : id }) } else { None } } pub fn set_cell ( & mut self , m : ValidMove , value : Cell ) { // We don't need to verify `m`. We know it's valid! … } } In the code calling next_move() we don’t have to check the cell-id anymore, because we know it was verified before! let valid_move = player .next_move (); game_state .set_cell ( valid_move , Cell :: Cross ); Nice! We can’t even use a ValidMove twice, because it doesn’t implement Clone and set_cell() takes it by value (moving it into the function). It makes sense to define ValidMove as a “use only once“-type, because after using it it’s definitely not a valid move anymore! But wait… what if the board is modified after the ValidMove was verified and created? At this point, we can still break the code. We could call next_move() twice, which would give us two ValidMove objects, which could possibly reference the same cell. And only then (after obtaining two objects), we could use one object to modify the game state. This would possibly invalidate the second move! Darn! Using the borrow checker to keep our move valid Luckily, we can now use the full power of the borrow checker. We want to disallow modifications to the game state while a ValidMove exists, because every modification could invalidate the move. Our second good idea is: what if ValidMove held an immutable reference to the game state? Great idea! The borrow checker would know that the game state is borrowed and would disallow modifications to it. And the best thing: we don’t even have to use a real reference – we can fake it. Let’s see how: struct ValidMove < 'gs > { id : CellId , _phantom : PhantomData <& 'gs () > , } Woah, not so fast! What is going on here? We declare a lifetime 'gs on the type which tells the compiler: this type is borrowing something. on the type which tells the compiler: this type is borrowing something. We introduce a new field of type PhantomData . Now what is that good for? Well… just try to compile without it: the compiler will print an error saying that the lifetime 'gs is declared but not used. To trick the compiler, we are using PhantomData , a sink for all of our unused type parameters. . Now what is that good for? Well… just try to compile without it: the compiler will print an error saying that the lifetime is declared but not used. To trick the compiler, we are using , a sink for all of our unused type parameters. Wait! “type parameters”? Yes, unfortunately PhantomData only accepts a type parameter and not a lifetime parameter. Fortunately, we can simply integrate our lifetime parameter into a type ( &'gs () ) which we can then pass to PhantomData . Next, we have to adjust some lifetime parameters on the methods using ValidMove . impl GameState { fn verify_move < 'a > ( & 'a self , id : CellId ) -> ValidMove < 'a > { … } } Here, we explicitly say that ValidMove borrows from self . That’s an important little detail which is sometimes overlooked. Assigning the same lifetime parameter to one argument and the return type doesn’t only mean that the return type may live as long as the argument, but that the return type borrows from the argument. This makes perfect sense, it’s just not immediately clear at first glance! In the case of verify_move() we can (and thus should) remove the explicit lifetime parameter, because our use case is covered by the third lifetime elision rule. However, in the case of next_move() we can’t avoid manual lifetime parameters: trait Player { fn next_move < 'a > ( & mut self , state : & 'a GameState ) -> ValidMove < 'a > ; } With that done, we finally did it! Now the borrow checker will make sure that our game state is not modified while there is still a ValidMove referencing it. There is only one problem: we can’t use the set_cell() method anymore: game_state .set_cell ( valid_move , Cell :: Cross ); Here, we will first attempt to borrow game_state mutably before doing anything else (in particular, before dropping the valid move). This is the very thing we wanted to prevent. And indeed, the Rust compiler refuses to compile. The only way to make it work is to extract the CellId from ValidMove and drop the ValidMove before attempting to borrow the game state mutably. By dropping the ValidMove the GameState is not in a borrowed state anymore and the borrow checker allows modifications again. But now we have to be able to mutate the game state with a simple CellId : disappointing. Having thought a bit about this problem, I’m fairly certain there isn’t any nice way to make it work without making it possible for everyone to modify the game state with a CellId (which defeats the whole purpose of our adventure). The best I could come up with is using a macro to hide the gory details. In summary, this little experiment sadly doesn’t have that much practical value in my application. Using the borrow checker for stuff it wasn’t exactly built to do is a very fun exercise though! |
The IOC announced on Friday that golf would be one of the sports included in the 2024 Olympics. Golf had initially only been guaranteed a spot in the Olympics in 2016 and 2020. The 2024 Olympics will take place in either Paris or Los Angeles, with both cities vying for the opportunity to host. Golf’s return to the Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro after a century-long absence was at first plagued with publicity problems–and troubled by players who did not want to make the trip to Brazil for the games, many citing the threat of the Zika virus. In the end, the event was successful at raising golf’s profile on the global stage, and it made for good television, too. Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose battled for the men’s gold medal, and Inbee Park nabbed an unexpected victory in the women’s competition. Golf will next appear in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. |
Piše: dr. sc. Danica Ramljak Poštovana gospođo Grabar Kitarović, s obzirom da sutra dolazite u moj rodni grad Sinj gdje sam i ja upravo stigla koristim priliku zaželjeti Vam dobrodošlicu i javno Vas pitati 10 pitanja koja itekako zanimaju mene kao hrvatsko-američku državljanku, moje prijatelje iz Hrvatske koji žive i rade u SAD-u, a sigurna sam i sve građane Sinja, Dalmacije i cijele Hrvatske. Ljubazno Vas molim da nam pružite priliku čuti Vaše izravne odgovore. U Americi je sasvim normalno da političari odgovaraju na ovakva pitanja i očekujem da će i za Vas ovo biti samo dio rutine. Vaši kolege veleposlanici koji su prije Vas radili u Washingtonu od 1991 godine rješavali su krupna pitanja za Hrvatsku u SAD-u. Prvo je bilo američko priznanje, pa zaustavljanje rata i potpisivanje mirovnog sporazuma u Daytonu, primanje Hrvatske u NATO, pa američka potpora ulasku Hrvatske u EU. Što je značajno obilježilo Vaš mandat u Washingtonu i po čemu ćete Vi ostati zapamćena? Koliko ste puta održali radne sastanke u Senatu, Kongresu ili State Departmentu i koji je najznačajniji rezultat tih sastanaka za Hrvatsku? Kad ste stigli u Washington kao hrvatska veleposlanica svi smo Vam zaželjeli toplu dobrodošlicu i zanimalo nas je kako ce proći Vaš mandat i što ćete ostvariti za hrvatsko-američke odnose. Hrvatska Vas je poslala i plaćala u diplomaciji da zastupate njene interese i ostvarite rezultate, te doprinesete poboljšanju odnosa dviju zemalja. O NATO-u Vas neću pitati iako sam Vas imala priliku sresti u Vašem uredu u Brussels jer ste još uvijek njihova zaposlenica, a ja nisam ekspert za područje NATO djelovanja. Ali kao netko tko jako dobro poznaje američke i hrvatske prilike, nakon što sam pola života proživjela u SAD i netko tko posjeduje putovnicu SAD i Hrvatske itekao sam meritorna pitati Vas što ste u svom mandatu u Washingtonu učinili da približite dvije zemlje koje meni osobno puno znače. Moje nedoumice dijele mnogi, stoga Vas ljubazno molim da hrvatskoj javnosti omogućite saznati slijedeće odgovore: 1. Koliko je američkih investicija ušlo u Hrvatsku u Vašem mandatu? Oprostite ali neće me zadovoljiti kao odgovor broj vizitki koje posjedujete jer ja ih imam možda i više od Vas. To je ionako irelevantan podatak za nečiju sposobnost da doprinese poboljšanju gospodarske situacije u Hrvatskoj s mjesta na koje pretendirate. 2. Koliko je hrvatskih tvrtki ušlo na američko trzište u Vašem mandatu veleposlanice i koliko ste puta Vi i Vaši zaposlenici u veleposlanstvu izravno pomogli tim tvrtkama u tom procesu? Nabrojite nam par primjera. 3. Koliko je američkih turista posjetilo Damaciju i Hrvatsku u Vašem mandatu i usporedite to sa svojim kolegama prethodnicima i nasljednicima u veleposlanstvu. Opišite nam koja je bila aktivnost veleposlanstva na području promocije hrvatkog turizma u Vašem mandatu i koji ste rezultat polučili? Smatrate li da je primjereno dok Vas vlastita zemlja plaća da odrađujete diplomatski posao Vi sebi osiguravate privatno odlazak u NATO bez znanja službenog Zagreba. I da li je to praksa u drugim zemljama? Vi naime niste otišli u NATO iz Grobnika već s pozije koje Vam je omogućio hrvatski narod i njegove službene institucije su morale znati Vaše dogovore zar ne? Kako ovo komentirate? 4. Koliko ste događanja organizirali i na koji način, te kako često ste upoznali američke investitore o Hrvatskoj kao zemlji vrijednoj ulaganja te koji je bio konkretan polučeni rezultat Vaših aktivnosti? 5. Koliko ste događanja organizirali na kojima ste promovirali hrvatsku kulturu i znanost u svom mandatu i kada i gdje? Koliko ste rezultata polučili u tim područjima u mandate veleposlanice? 6. Vaši kolege veleposlanici koji su prije Vas radili u Washingtonu od 1991 godine rješavali su krupna pitanja za Hrvatsku u SAD-u. Prvo je bilo američko priznanje, pa zaustavljanje rata i potpisivanje mirovnog sporazuma u Daytonu, primanje Hrvatske u NATO, pa američka potpora ulasku Hrvatske u EU. Što je značajno obilježilo Vaš mandat u Washingtonu i po čemu ćete Vi ostati zapamćena? Koliko ste puta održali radne sastanke u Senatu, Kongresu ili State Departmentu i koji je najznačajniji rezultat tih sastanaka za Hrvatsku? 7. S obzirom da niste rješili problem duplog oporezivanja između Hrvatske i SADa dobra je prilika da pojasnite zašto. Naime, to itekako spriječava ozbiljne američke investicije u Hrvatsku. 8. Dok je Vaša kolegica tadašnja hrvatska veleposlanica u Kanadi Vesela Mrđen Korač diplomatski uspješno odradila da Kanada koja je bila čak rigoroznija od SAD po tom pitanju ukine vize za gradjane RH u 2009 godini, Vama to nije uspjelo u istom periodu u SAD-u. Zašto? 9. Koliko zna cijela Hrvatska osigurali ste sebi visoku poziciju u NATO dok ste jos bili u veleposlanstvu u Washingtonu. Tadašnja hrvatska premijerka gđa Kosor i njena Vlada o tome nisu imali pojma i saznali su vise kad ste već sve ispregovarali s NATO-om. Napustili ste veleposlanstvo u Washingtonu ne osvrćući se na hrvatske potrebe u tom trenutku prije isteka mandata i to je uzrokovalo da 9 mjeseci Hrvatska nije imala veleposlanika u najvažnijoj zemlji u svijetu. Smatrate li da je to primjereno dok Vas vlastita zemlja plaća da odrađujete diplomatski posao Vi sebi osiguravate privatno odlazak u NATO bez znanja službenog Zagreba. I da li je to praksa u drugim zemljama? Vi naime niste otišli u NATO iz Grobnika već s pozije koje Vam je omogućio hrvatski narod i njegove službene institucije su morale znati Vaše dogovore zar ne? Kako ovo komentirate? 10. Znali ste da ćete biti kandidatkinja za predsjednicu Hrvatske još ovo ljeto. Došli ste u Sinj na Alku početkom kolovoza i bilo je jasno da ste kandidatkinja. Zašto ste ipak poslali svoju djecu ponovo na školovanje u inozemstvo nakon ljeta? Zar hrvatske škole nisu dobre za njih ili je to bio dio plana B zbog kojeg ste nam prešutili da ste zamrznuli poziciju u NATO-u? Nadam se da ovo sudjelovanje u predsjedničkoj kampanji nije samo Vaš izlet prije povratka u NATO ili neku novu poziciju u inozemstvu? Jer rekli ste nam da dolazite pomoći Hrvatskoj iz velike ljubavi. |
A long touted express link between Toronto’s two largest transport hubs will open to the public June 6, Premier Kathleen Wynne revealed Wednesday. The announcement came in advance of Thursday’s provincial budget, when the premier is expected to clarify plans for billions of dollars in announced infrastructure spending. The Union Pearson Express links Union Station in downtown Toronto with Pearson International Airport. A test ride with the premier aboard Wednesday took slightly less than the listed 25 minute platform to platform time. Speaking to reporters at the airport, Wynne called the express train the kind of investment “that used to be more common in Ontario.” She later vowed that the “days of underspending on infrastructure” in Ontario are over.” The province claims the Union Pearson Express will take 1.2 million car trips off the road in its first year of operation. The train will operate every 15 minutes for 19.5 hours a day. It is expected to carry 2.35 million passengers a year by 2018. A full adult fare from Union to Pearson or vice versa will cost $27.50, with discounts available for students, seniors, families and Presto card holders. |
Please enable Javascript to watch this video WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A new strain of canine influenza has made its way to North Carolina, and two areas in the Triad are being monitored as hot spots. H3N2 is the new strain of the dog flu, and although there is a vaccine for the old strain – H3N8 – officials don’t know that it will work for H3N2. As of Thursday, there are about 200 unconfirmed cases of H3N2 in North Carolina. Three cases have been confirmed – two in Asheville, and one in Winston-Salem. The confirmed case in Winston-Salem is that of a 10-year-old Shepherd, belonging to Dr. Sandra McAvoy of Abri Veterinary Hospital. "On Saturday, my shepherd had some diarrhea when I was walking her,” McAvoy said. Dr. McAvoy had recently taken in a puppy from the Humane Society, which she believes transmitted the virus to her Shepherd. "When she first got sick, she had a lot of vomiting and she wasn't keeping food down when I could get her to eat, she was not keeping the water well,” McAvoy said. “I had to put her on IV fluid just because she was getting that sick." Dr. McAvoy sent in samples from her Shepherd for testing, and that’s when she found out her dog had H3N2. Experts say the mortality rate is low for the virus, and in many cases, dogs may only show minor signs. “They’d probably be like that puppy that I took home, it's just doing what's called a reverse sneeze, just, he's doing snorting noises,” McAvoy said. "Right now, every dog is susceptible. But those [that] have immune problems - are older or younger - will be more susceptible to it." State officials are saying there will be hotspots where the virus pops up. Currently, they have named three - Asheville and Winston-Salem, where there have been confirmed cases – and Greensboro, where there has been a cluster of unconfirmed cases. Those officials want to make sure people know three key details; the virus cannot be spread to humans, it is not the bird flu, and there is no reason to panic. However, experts say that humans can help in the spread of the virus, either on their clothing or skin. Nationwide, there are no concrete statistics showing the amount of confirmed cases. H3N2 is not a required reportable disease, although the state is requesting that veterinarians report new cases as they come in. Dr. McAvoy says there has been at least one case where a cat caught the virus, and guinea pigs and ferrets can also contract it. Dogs can also spread the virus weeks after they stop showing signs. The state has created a website with more information - www.NCAGR.gov/vet/awf/canineflu - which is updated daily. |
Last week, Republicans unveiled a framework for their plan to cut taxes. And despite repeatedly claiming they would provide a “middle-class tax cut,” it was clear from the meager details provided that this plan offered nothing of the sort. Instead, as we long suspected would be the case, an analysis by the Tax Policy Center (TPC) confirms that the Republican tax plan amounts to nothing but an enormous tax cut for rich people—just like every single Republican plan before it. TPC found that by 2027, the Republican tax cut would deliver 80 percent of its benefits to the top 1 percent, households that currently have incomes of roughly $730,000 or more. The top 1 percent of tax filers would receive a $207,060 average tax cut. In comparison, the bottom 20 percent of earners will receive only a $50 average tax cut. And hidden behind the crumbs thrown toward the middle-class is significant variation. If you’re middle-class, maybe you’ll get a small tax cut—the middle 20 percent of tax filers will receive a $420 average tax cut. Or maybe you’re part of the 30 percent of taxpayers making between about $50,000 and $150,000 that TPC found would see your taxes increase. Any claim that Republicans were ever genuinely planning a “middle-class tax cut” should be thoroughly dismissed. Far from it, Republicans appear dead-set on cutting taxes for the ultra-rich. |
MG has released the first teaser image of the 2015 MG6. Set to go on sale in the United Kingdom next month, the facelifted model will have revised styling and an upgraded interior with a "state-of-the-art navigation system" as well as "one of the best intelligent infotainment systems of any car in its class." The company is keeping details under wraps but confirmed the model will be offered with an improved 1.9-liter DTi-TECH diesel engine which is more fuel efficient and emits less carbon dioxide than its predecessor. In a statement, MG’s Head of Marketing, Matthew Cheyne, said "... the new MG6 is a big leap forward from the original car." He added, it will feature a "... host of new technologies and major advances in every area." |
It was, at times, puzzling — a three-ring circus without the tent — for players wearing the Double Blue in 2016. For some members of the Toronto Argos, the puzzles turned into chaos early in 2017. First, GM Jim Barker was shoved out the door on Jan. 24. Three days later, head coach Scott Milanovich quit to become the quarterbacks coach with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. With plenty of moving parts and not much certainty in either the football ops department or in the coaching staff, potential free agents lined up to get out the door. Three Argos – defensive back A.J. Jefferson, along with receivers Kenny Shaw and Diontae Spencer — landed with the Ottawa Redblacks. “I would have loved to stay in Toronto, but our coach left, our GM left … I didn’t know what was going on,” explained Jefferson on Thursday. “I decided I should see what was going on in free agency. It was one of those things where it was just time for a change.” It was a weird 2016 season for the Argos. In early October, after a 38-11 thumping at the hands of the Montreal Alouettes, the Argos dumped their three best receivers – Kevin Elliott, Vidal Hazelton and Tori Gurley. A couple of weeks before that, the Argos dealt for quarterback Drew Willy – but they paid dearly, giving up popular defensive back T.J. Heath along with first- and third-round draft picks. “We lost some guys during the season, that was kind of upsetting to me,” said Jefferson. “It was surprising. It was the last thing I would have expected them to do. When they traded T.J., everybody was kind of, ‘It’s OK, they have a plan, they have a plan.’ In the end, I just wondered, ‘Where is this all going?’ ” So when it came time to test the free-agent waters, on Feb. 14, Jefferson got a good feeling about the Redblacks after talking to the team’s coaches. He signed a one-year contract and is excited to be part of RNation. “They play my kind of football,” he said. “I wanted to go to the best place where I could have success. I think I excel in man (to man pass coverage) and press man, we kind of got away from that last year in Toronto. My first year, that’s pretty much all I did. (The Redblacks) said they would give me an opportunity to showcase my talent.” It’s been a learning curve for Jefferson since he joined the Argos in 2015 after spending time on the NFL rosters of the Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. In his two CFL seasons, the 28-year-old from Bakersfield, Calif. has 91 tackles, five sacks and six interceptions. One of those interceptions came last July 31 (in a 23-20 Argos win over Ottawa) on a gimmick play by the Redblacks, who initially lined up for a field goal attempt, but instead had quarterback Henry Burris run up behind centre Jon Gott and lob a pass intended for Zack Evans. Even with a defensive lineman as the intended target, the Argos weren’t tricked. “They lined up in a field goal formation, then everybody split,” said Jefferson. “So they left me on the backside. I knew I had to watch the guy. But it was kind of 2-on-1. My teammate and I had the guy dealt with. He went out for a pass, it wasn’t a nice pass. It was fairly easy to get underneath it.” A multi-sport athlete – soccer, basketball, running track, football and T-ball (“I think I played it one year — I was bored, kicking the grass”) – Jefferson said he puts plenty of work into improving what he does. “Football was one of those things that kind of translated over from every other sport I played – catch the ball and run with it,” he said. “I look at my film from last year. Typically, I watch the games I don’t think I played well in – try to see what I can improve on. Everybody’s different. People learn differently. The things I do well, I don’t tend to work on those. The things I don’t do well, I want to get to the point where I can do everything pretty good. Then I can start working on things that I’m really good at. I’m like my own biggest critic. So I’d rather see what I’m doing wrong and correct it.” He believes his arrow is still pointing up as he drives himself to get better. “I’ve always been wanting to be the best at whatever I’m doing,” said Jefferson. “It’s kind of the way I grew up around my family and friends – being very competitive. Being a professional, it’s one of those things you have to do to keep your job. Redblacks could be done spending While there’s still a pretty impressive list of CFL free agents looking for work, it’s possible, maybe even likely, that the Ottawa Redblacks have closed their wallet. Free-agent season, for them, may already be over. Defensive linemen like Alan-Michael Cash, Bryan Hall, Justin Hickman, Euclid Cummings and both Moton Hopkins and Cleyon Laing from Ottawa’s Grey Cup team of 2016 are still looking for work. Another former Redblack, offensive lineman J’Michael Deane, is still a free agent. Then there are defensive backs like Patrick Watkins, John Ojo and Cauchy Muamba. Some of the players mentioned are looking for an NFL opportunity, for others it’ll be a matter of time. But when asked if Ottawa might get back into the free-agent fray, Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins said: “I don’t anticipate us doing anything.” As they say, it is what it is. |
Story highlights Victims were two students, a staff member and a contract worker, sheriff says Suspect fled and was shot to death by campus police Attacker was a male student at University of California, Merced (CNN) A male student at University of California, Merced, stabbed four people as classes began Wednesday morning before campus police fatally shot him, a school spokesman said. Two of those stabbed were transported for treatment via helicopter, the school said on Twitter, while the two others were treated on campus. "All conscious," the university tweeted about the victims. The attacker was a California resident who was living on campus, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said. The victims were identified as two students, a staff member and a contract employee at the school. Authorities have not released a motive and it's not known what relationship, if any, existed between the assailant and the victims, said James Leonard, a school spokesman. Read More |
Throughout history, Humanity has often searched for the elixir of immortality, the Tree of life, the Holy Grail…etc. Our ancestors wished for immortality. We still search for it today. We still wish for it and strive for it somehow and in some way. How many ads do we see everyday that talk about products that make us look younger, supplements that make you “feel” younger, exercise methods, strength boosters, and diet pills to keep “healthy”? We are obsessed with youth. For most of us, death is a frightening phenomenon. Ceasing to exist so suddenly makes our lives seem fleeting and meaningless. We ask ourselves what will happen after death? What is death? Why must we die? Will our existence only end completely? I often hear: “If only I was younger” or “if only I had a little more time” or “if only I hadn’t done this in my life” more times than I can count. Many of us want “more time” or to extend our seemingly short lives to do what we wish. Although we have not achieved immortality, scientific development and technological progress brings us closer and closer to the answer. If such a thing became reality in the near future, then perhaps we should now ask ourselves what it means to be immortal. How would it affect us? How would humanity handle such a fulfillment? HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY AND VALUES: One approach I often use is remembering the time before I had any concept or notion of death. As a child, I never knew that people could die. Death was an alien concept. I could not understand why people would appear to be “asleep” and never wake up again. No movement, no breath, no sound, just silence. I did not do things just to “save time” as a kid, but rather did things because I wanted to at that time and in that moment. In that sense, time for me was quite steady and slow. It was only later when I grew older that my concept of time began to shape into what it is now: precious, fleeting moments, minutes, hours, days, years… Perhaps the idea of “wasting time” would be something strange for an immortal being since (for an immortal) time will be so abundant and seemingly limitless like the very air we breathe. Would we be so impatient as we are now if time was infinite for us? If achieved, immortality most likely would affect us on a very deep, psychological level. Our values and priorities would be rearranged. Would some of us feel threatened by immortality for inner change it brings? Some would say that life would only become boring if we lived forever, but I would say that change is the only thing that is constant in life. If we had all the time in the world, wouldn’t we strive to become more creative beings? Wouldn’t immortality lead us to have a great desire to become more creative if death is no longer a force of change? Or is death a limiting factor? Is death making us rush living life? We live our lives thinking of Death. Our lives revolve around Death and we define our lives with the idea that our time is limited. If we eliminate death, then what makes us human? RELIGION: As said before, Mankind has always sought for immortality. Although there are some people truly and deeply believe an a religion, I find that most people aren’t truly religious folks. Most would only turn to religion for the promise of everlasting life. Of course there are probably many other reasons why people believe in religion, but transcending death is a theme that many religions seem to follow. If most people only turn to religion just for the promise of everlasting life, then what purpose will it have if human beings are already immortal? Would immortal beings still turn do the same? Would immortal beings need religion? Immortality could have the power to render religion obsolete. So, religion and immortality might not be compatible with one another. Could these two things co-exist? SOCIAL/ECONOMIC CHANGE: To be honest, I have no clue what will happen to this aspect of our lives in the future. The changes that may occur will probably be things that we can’t even imagine in regards to social and economic aspects human civilization. All I know is that it would all be profound. Perhaps we might pass laws against certain things. Perhaps immortality will be banned or there will be some who are immortal and some who are not. This part is quite open ended. I would like to know what you guys think. Advertisements |
The car drives through the crowd at the 15-minute mark of this video, which shows a chaotic scene immediately afterward. The driver was arrested about a block away after he initially refused to stop for officers, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Accounts of what led to the confrontation vary. The police said in a statement that the driver tried to drive around the protesters before they surrounded the car and hit it with their hands and a flagpole, according to The Post-Dispatch. The statement said the three protesters were injured when they jumped on to the car and fell off as it drove away. But activists said the driver initiated the confrontation. On Facebook, Keith Rose said the driver was “giving the middle finger” after he stopped just short of hitting protesters. “He then began to drive forward, slowly hitting people,” the Facebook post read. “It was only once he was already hitting people and increasing his speed that people began to hit his car. He continued to drive faster, deeper into the crowd, turning to his left as he went.” |
The venerated US television program “60 Minutes” reported on the crisis in Yemen on Sunday, pointing out if “you keep going like you’re going, there’s not going to be anybody left, all the children are going to be dead.” The CBS program, however, left out the fact that the US is providing crucial material support for Saudi Arabia’s atrocities in Yemen. In addition to failing to highlight that Saudi Arabia is a firm US ally, “60 Minutes” also never mentioned that the US House of Representatives recently passed a measure to continue refueling Saudi warplanes mid-flight. The bill, H.R. 599, passed despite evidence that Saudi warplanes have intentionally bombed civilians and even funeral proceedings. © REUTERS / Khaled Abdullah US to Continue Refueling Saudi Warplanes During Yemen Attacks Congressional office holders Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) introduced a measure in late September requiring the government to obtain Congressional permission before participating in war operations in Yemen, but it didn’t move out of the House. David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, exclaimed in the November 19 show, “you keep going like you’re going, there’s not going to be anybody left, all the children are going to be dead.” The organization has said 150,000 kids will die over the next few months if Western support for Riyadh’s war remains unchanged. The Intercept reports that “per 60 Minutes’ framing of the conflict, the crisis in Yemen is a random tragedy happening on the other side of the world – manmade, but outside US control.” In addition to US and UK participation in Saudi air operations over Yemen, the Western nations have supplied the Kingdom with billions of dollars’ worth of bombs. US warships have also helped enforce a blockade on Yemeni ports, effectively helping to starve the nation’s people, who rely on imports for 90 percent of their food supplies, which “60 Minutes” also paints as a dire situation in which the US has no involvement. The UN has warned against maintaining the blockade, stating that the 7.3 million Yemenis already living in famine-like conditions would be among “millions of victims” caused by a lack of food. © AP Photo / Hani Mohammed Food Stocks in Yemen to Run Out in Approximately 100 Days The tragedy continues despite the fact that “if tonight the United States of America and the United Kingdom tonight told [Saudi] King Salman, ‘this war has to end,’ it would end tomorrow because the Royal Saudi Air Force cannot operate without American and British support,” Bruce Riedel, former CIA officer and fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote in April 2016. “Congress and the American people know too little about the role we are playing in a war that is causing suffering for millions of people and is a genuine threat to our national security,” Rep. Khanna told Foreign Policy over email September 29. Thanks to programs like CBS’ 60 Minutes, lack of public knowledge about US involvement in the Yemen crisis will likely continue unabated. |
Immortal beings with incredibly long lifespans are old news in science fiction and fantasy. From Dracula to Connor MacLeod to the Doctor to Lazarus Long, people who have seen centuries, even eons of history are as common in speculative fiction as robots and ray guns. But what about beings who have lived forever, but not always in human (or humanoid) form? What if a life form, a person, had also lived once as nebula, an atom, and even a dinosaur? In Italo Calvino’s collection of linked stories Cosmicomics, the non-human and yet all-too-human narrator named Qfwfq has done it all. First published in 1965 in Italian, Le Cosmicomiche was translated to English in 1968. Though it won the National Book Award in 1969 in the translation category, I’m not sure it was on the collective radar of science fiction people of the time. If I were to describe the basic premise of who Qfwfq is and what he’s claimed to experience, he’d sound like an alien guest star on the 1960’s Star Trek. In the story “At Daybreak,” the narrator paints a bizarre and beautiful portrait of the nebular beginnings of the solar system. As with all the stories, an actual scientific fact precedes the narration, which Qfwfq then brings new insights to. The formation of the solar system is described less like a stellar event and more like a family gathering, which slowly breaks up. When Qfwfq describes his sister leaving and his grandmother complaining, it’s hard to picture these “people” as the formless masses of swirling dust and particles, but that mental exercise is part of the pleasure of reading the book. At no point do you get a totally clear picture of the cosmos, but Calvino does convey a specific feeling about these big cosmic events he’s pseudo-personifying. What helps this weird conceit hang together is Calvino’s humor. Science fiction collides with wordplay on these pages while a madman’s wit keeps the course steady. The most laugh-out-loud story in the collection is called “All At One Point” which attempts to describe what it was like when all matter in the universe was contained in a single space. From the story: I say “packed like sardines,” using a literary image: in reality there wasn’t even a space to pack us into. Every point of each of us coincided with every point of each of the others in a single point, which was where we all were. In fact, we didn’t even bother one another, except for personality differences… Stuff like “personality differences” and later references to “the cleaning lady” hit you like a stand-up comedian’s one-liners. If anyone could have turned the origins of the universe and the pre-history of Earth into a routine, I’m fairly certain it would be Calvino. If Kant and Kundera were to occupy the prose of Woody Allen, I feel like they would produce a story like “All at One Point.” But it’s not all metaphysical and astronomical word games. There’s a dose of tragedy closely connected to the concept of the narrator’s identity or lack thereof. In “The Dinosaurs,” Qfwfq describes his time living as the last dinosaur in time, when the “New Ones” have become the new masters of the planet. These beings seem to be some kind of proto-mammals, while Qfwfq is some sort of generic dinosaur. The New Ones have no actual memory of what dinosaurs look like, causing myths and legends to pervade the new social consciousness. Because of this information gap, Qfwfq is accidentally accepted into a tribe and labeled as “the ugly one.” At times he worries constantly about being discovered, while other times he’s interested in gaining the affections of Fern-flower, a girl who constantly dreams of a sad, lonely dinosaur. Calvino uses “dinosaur” as a way of exploring who we think we are versus who we really are in a setting in which anyone could feel like a sad, lonely (and undercover) dinosaur. After Fern-flower reveals one of her dreams, Qfwfq reflects on his perception of himself and the perceptions everyone else must have of him. “But the Dinosaur they imagined was too different from the Dinosaur I was, and this thought made me even more different and timid.” Later he thinks about these notions again, worrying about not only his own identify, but his safety. “A general argument began. The strange thing was that the possibility of my being a Dinosaur never occurred to anyone, the sin I was accused of was being Different, a Foreigner, and therefore Untrustworthy; and the argument was over how much my presence increased the danger of the Dinosaurs’ ever coming back.” For me, the magic of the book all comes together here. Being lost in a crowd as a secret dinosaur becomes no different than being confused as to one’s own shape when your body is a nebula. If we all occupy the same space, are we any different and if we are, how can we tell? Ultimately, by placing these meditations about our human identity into odd non-human structures, Calvino has written a kind of book-length sci-fi version of “I am the Walrus.” Qfwfq is an atom as I am a nebula and you are a dinosaur and we are all together! Flying pigs from a gun and Edgar Allan Poe aren’t mentioned, but I think you get the idea. The biggest achievement of this special short story collection is that it’s not pretentious. Calvino’s humor makes these stories like dark matter: you can’t really see the mass, but there is a disguised heaviness to these pieces. He doesn’t try to answer the big questions the stories set up, but instead, makes jokes about the moon, wonders how to draw a sign in space, and makes you cry for the dinosaurs. If you want to read something that will make you sadly giggle about your place in the grand scheme of the space-time continuum, this book will definitely do the trick. Ryan Britt is a staff writer for Tor.com. Ryan is the dinosaur, goo goo g’joob. |
QWERTY — so-called because the letters at the top-left corner of the keyboard begin with QWERTY — is the most common keyboard layout. But some people think alternative keyboard layouts like Dvorak and Colemak are faster and more efficient. You can switch keyboard layouts by changing your operating system’s keyboard layout setting, although the letters printed on your keyboard won’t match the new layout. You can also get keyboards designed for Dvorak or Colemak, if you like. QWERTY Began With Typewriters in the 1800’s QWERTY is old. It became popular with the Remington No. 2 typewriter, released in 1878. The original layout for the typewriter used keys arranged in alphabetical order. Whenever you pressed a key, the bar the key was attached to would hit the piece of paper, printing the letter on the paper. In the four-row arrangement, these bars were arranged on the outside of a circular ring. Whenever you pressed a key, the appropriate bar would swing from the edge of the ring and hit the paper in the center. There was a problem here. If you pressed keys next to each other in quick succession, the bars would collide with each other and the keys would jam. The letters on the keyboard had to be rearranged so you’d be pressing keys far apart from each other when you typed, minimizing the frequency of typewriter jams. The layout that they came up with is basically the same as the QWERTY layout we use today. QWERTY is a layout designed so the keys you use while typing are far apart from each other. Why QWERTY Is Still Used Today This layout is still used today because it became the standard. People learned the QWERTY layout and could maintain their muscle memory as they switched between different typewriters. When computer keyboards were created, it was only logical to use the same key layout everyone already used. The keyboard had a similar function to the typewriter, and people could use their typewriter skills on these newfangled devices. In other words, QWERTY is common thanks to the network effect. Most people use QWERTY, so people making typewriters, computer keyboards, laptops, and touch keyboard on tablets and smartphones continue to use QWERTY. It’s the de-facto standard. There are alternatives to QWERTY, but most people tend not to see them as vastly superior. Even if someone thinks an alternative layout could potentially be more efficient, the reality of having to relearn the layout or make other people relearn the layout discourages us from changing. Dvorak and Colemak The “Dvorak Simplified Keyboard” was patented in 1936 by Dr. August Dvorak. The layout places the most commonly used letters in the home row, where they’re easy to reach, and the least commonly used letters on the bottom row, where they’re hardest to reach. While QWERTY results in most of the typing being performed with the left hand, Dvorak results in most letters being performed with the right hand. Whereas QWERTY was designed so keyboards didn’t jam, Dvorak was designed by taking a look at QWERTY and trying to come up with a faster and more efficient layout. People who prefer the Dvorak keyboard argue that it’s more efficient, can increase typing speed, and even offers better ergonomics. Colemak is more similar to the QWERTY layout, so it’s easier to switch to from a standard QWERTY keyboard. There are only 17 changes made from the QWERTY layout. Like Dvorak, it’s designed so the home row of keys is used more frequently and to reduce how far your fingers need to move while typing. There are other alternative keyboard layouts, but these are the most popular two. Are Dvorak and Colemak Actually Faster? You definitely won’t be typing faster right after switching. You’ll have to spend some time — probably at least a few months — relearning the keyboard layout and getting back up to the typing speed you can achieve with QWERTY. But after you get back up to speed, will you be able to type even faster? This is very controversial. Perform some web searches and you’ll find people who claim they can type significantly faster with Dvorak or Colemak and people who claim they tried switching and can’t type any faster. If these layouts really were better than QWERTY, we’d probably have clear studies showing their benefit. The studies would show that users who used these layouts could type faster. We don’t have these studies. Most studies seem not to show a difference between these keyboard layouts. If there is a measurable difference in the study, it’s generally very small. This is one of the reasons why QWERTY is still used — there isn’t a clear alternative that’s much better. How to Use Dvorak or Colemak Dvorak is a standardized keyboard layout, and it’s even included in Windows. You can switch your operating system to use this keyboard layout and try using it today. Bear in mind that keys will work differently from how they appear on the keyboard — when you press your QWERTY keyboards Q key, the ‘ character will appear if you’re using the Dvorak layout. You’ll probably want to print out a layout so you can actually check what your keys do. To enable Dvorak on Windows 7, open the Region and Language window from the Control Panel, click the Keyboards and Languages tab, and click the change Keyboards button. Click Add, expand the English (United States) section, and add a Dvorak layout. You can then switch your active keyboard layout. Use the Language options to change your keyboard layout on Windows 8. You can also buy keyboards designed for Dvorak or Colemak. These keyboards have the appropriate keys printed on them, so they’re easier to use. However, they’re less common — you’ll have trouble if you want a laptop with a built-in Dvorak keyboard! You can buy overlays for some keyboards so you can view the Dvorak layout without actually replacing your keyboard’s hardware. Switching to these keyboard layouts will also be rough if you have a lifetime’s experience with QWERTY. You’ll need months — maybe even as much as a year — to get back up to your current speed. When you use someone else’s computer, you’ll have to use the QWERTY layout — so all your Dvorak muscle memory will only hurt you. iPads and iPhones only support the QWERTY layout for their touch-screen keyboards, so you can’t rearrange the software keyboard’s layout to match your Dvorak layout. So, do we recommend switching away from QWERTY? Not at all — the benefits haven’t been proven by studies and switching to a new keyboard layout takes a lot of time and effort. If you’re interested, feel free to give it a try — but bear in mind you’ll have months of unlearning QWERTY and learning a new layout before you can even decide whether your new layout is better. |
Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard has been getting worldwide attention for a recent video of her withering takedown of Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott in that country's Parliament. The Opposition was discussing the conduct of Speaker of the House Peter Slipper, who is currently embroiled in a scandal over some inappropriate and sexist text messages. Gillard would have none of it and called out Abbott on his horrible women's rights record in a 15-minute barrage. "I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man," she began. "If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia he doesn't need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror," she said. Gillard would go on to cite a number of sexist comments that Abbott has made to the media and in public. "What if men are, by physiology or temperament, more adapted to exercise authority or give commands," she quoted. Gillard also cited a comment Abbott made when he was the minister of health about how "abortion was the easy way out" and brought up instances of Abbott cat-calling her and making comments about her unmarried status. "I was offended when the Leader of the Opposition went outside in the front of Parliament and stood next to a sign that said 'ditch the witch.' I was offended when the Leader of the Opposition, stood next to a sign that called me a 'man's bitch.'" she said. Gillard's inspired performance has gotten her attention outside of Australia. "This was some long overdue brazenness on her part, no doubt prompted in part by last week's portrayal of Abbott as a 'feminist.' And yes, it's quite something to see the most powerful woman in the country say what so many of us have been thinking, pulling no punches as she does so," wrote Chloe Angyal in The Guardian. "Watching a female Prime Minister tear apart the male leader of the Opposition with such aplomb, composure — but most importantly armed with a brilliantly impressive set of insults — backed up with dates and times of when each shocking comment was said — was the best card Gillard, ever the political animal, could have played in such a situation," wrote Emma Barnett in the U.K.'s Telegraph. Even Gawker paid attention to Gillard's speech. "Parliamentary politics is so awesome," they wrote. Of course, Twitter users wasted no time praising Gillard (more reactions below). "Somewhere in Hollywood Meryl Streep is standing in front of a mirror practicing Julia Gillard's accent," wrote Australian radio show host Ant Simpson. What do you think of the speech? |
Now that Deadpool has become a monster hit, there are a billion articles about how ground-breaking this R-rated, raunchy, fourth-wall-smashing superhero movie really is. And no mistake, Deadpool is hilarious. But there’s one film, starring an insane hero in a red suit, that never gets enough credit for how far it pushed the superhero genre: Super, written and directed by James Gunn. $8 Super 24 bought by readers GMG may get a commission Buy now Advertisement Actually, as I pointed out in my review of Deadpool, there have been plenty of over-the-top, R-rated comic-book movies in the past decade. Deadpool owes a lot, stylistically and otherwise, to films like Wanted, Kick-Ass and Kingsman. One of the main ways that Deadpool feels so fresh is because it takes the stylized violence and insane humor of those other films, and puts them into the X-Men universe. Which is, to be sure, a big deal. But James Gunn himself took to Facebook yesterday to rant, after an unnamed Hollywood executive said Deadpool’s self-deprecating tone had “never been done before.” And that Marvel would “rather stab themselves” than make fun of themselves in a movie. Gunn responded, “Let’s ignore Guardians [of the Galaxy] for a moment, a movie that survives from moment to moment building itself up and cutting itself down—God knows I’m biased about that one. But what do you think Favreau and Downey did in Iron Man? What the fuck was Ant-Man??!” Advertisement And of course, Gunn (who directed Guardians) is right. I don’t even know where this perception that Marvel is humorless, or some kind of dull assembly line, comes from. But my main reaction to Gunn’s comments was to wonder why he didn’t bring up Super—a film which actually does lay a ton of groundwork for movies like Deadpool. Sure, Super was not a huge box office megahit or anything, and it probably slid so far under the radar that it traveled through the Earth’s crust. But if you wanna talk about movies that push the superhero genre past its limits, then Super ought to be your touchstone. Advertisement Super is an incredibly fucked up movie—guaranteed to offend pretty much everyone—which digs deep into the contradictions and hypocrisies of the superhero genre that Deadpool only pokes a teeny bit of fun at. The whole “hero” concept, the notion that one person can go out and fight evil, the delusion that violence can be pure and wonderful, and the whole power fantasy that causes you to put on a costume and fight “evil.” Rewatching bits of Super today, it’s even more messed-up and insane than I remember. Rainn Wilson (from The Office) plays Frank Darbo, a regular guy who works as a short-order cook. After his wife Sarah (Liv Tyler) leaves him to go live with her scummy drug dealer (Kevin Bacon), Frank decides to become a superhero—so he puts on a costume and calls himself the Crimson Bolt. But he attracts a sidekick, the unstable Libby (Ellen Page). On one level, Super is sort of pushing the limits of the vigilante/sociopath divide—at one point, the Crimson Bolt bashes two people’s heads in for cutting in line at a movie theater, and Libby nearly kills someone for allegedly keying her friend’s new car. The Crimson Bolt has an exaggerated sense of right and wrong, and absolutely no sense of proportion, and his catchphrase (“Shut up, crime!”) seems more like the sort of thing a crazy person would yell on the street. Advertisement But part of the genius of Super is that Frank is such a compelling character that you can’t help but root for him and empathize with him, and Kevin Bacon is such a scumbag, you desperately want him to get what’s coming to him. I remember thinking that Kevin Bacon played two comic-book villains in the same year (the other one was in X-Men: First Class) but his villain in Super is by far the more memorable and hateful of the two. Even if Frank’s crusade is off the rails before it even starts, you want him to save his wife. But meanwhile, Super is funny as shit—and a lot of its funniest stuff is digging into the ways that the superhero genre makes no sense whatsoever. The whole thing of dressing up in a brightly colored costume so you can beat someone up, the self-righteousness of the self-proclaimed hero, and the whole delusional fetishistic mess. No mainstream superhero movie could afford to be 1/10 as irreverent as Super manages to be, because Super gleefully saws away at the very foundations of the genre. Advertisement And in terms of super-stylized comic-book violence, this movie is still fascinatingly unique, thanks to a mixture of 1960s Batman-style “effects” on the screen, other weird graphics, and uncomfortably real blood and brains. And it all leads up to an ending that’s unexpectedly powerful and moving, in which Frank’s childlike monstrosity actually gets a surprising resolution, and you’re left with a sense that you’ve witnessed a real character journey. Advertisement I’m not saying that Deadpool was influenced by Super, although I would not be at all surprised if the makers had at least seen it. Nor am I suggesting that Hollywood should try to copy Super in any way, shape or form—unless someone really does want to hasten the destruction of the superhero genre, in which case go for it. But if you wanna talk about insanely inappropriate, crazily violent, deeply offensive movies that explore the furthest extremes of how far you can go with superheroes on screen, I’d argue that Super has already staked out that territory. Any other splattery, obnoxious, wrong-as-fuck superhero flick is going to be exploring a land in which Super has already claimed the furthest outpost. Charlie Jane Anders is the author of All The Birds in the Sky, which is available now. Here’s what people have been saying about it. Follow her on Twitter, and email her. |
If you could see inside the cars on a freight train, you'd know more about which parts of the economy are up -- or down. - Todd Warshaw//Pool/Getty Images Listen To The Story Marketplace Embed Code <iframe src="https://www.marketplace.org/2015/03/20/business/freight-rail-king-us/popout" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="240px"></iframe> Railways carry more than 40 percent of the freight shipped between U.S. cities. The U.S. freight rail system is uniquely profitable, and it's been attracting international attention. Europe, Russia, Brazil and Australia have all sent representatives here. “There have been dozens of delegations just over the last couple of years,” says Patricia Reilly, senior vice president for communications at the Association of American Railroads, a trade group for freight rail companies. Reilly has met with some of the international visitors. They want to know everything, down to what stone is used for rail beds. Some come with interpreters, but Reilly says they speak a common tongue. “They might not speak our language, but they love railroads," she says. "They love the sound of a whistle.” Garrick Francis loves the sound of a whistle, too. He’s a lobbyist with the freight rail company CSX Transportation. He’s also met with the international delegations. He says they’re curious about a huge difference between the U.S. and the rest of the world. The American freight rail system is run entirely by private companies. Francis says he gets lots of questions about investment. “So how do we have private investors," he says. "How is this a business that attracts investment from major funds or major shareholders on Wall Street and in other places?” But Francis gets harder questions, too, about rail congestion in places like Chicago. Freight trains have to share track with passenger trains, adding to the congestion. The international delegations also want to know about new safety technology freight railways have developed. Freight rail’s safety record has improved, with the accident rate down by 42 percent since 2000. Still, accidents do happen. “Some of these accidents with the crude oil trains have been drastic reminders that there’s still a long way to go,” says Pasi Lautala, director of the rail transportation program at Michigan Technological University. Lautala says, in some ways, freight rail in the U.S. is a victim of its own success, making money and growing enough to attract admirers from around the world — but still facing expensive challenges. |
Flamengo fans turned out to see their side. A new club competition in Brazil got underway on Wednesday (the Sul-Minas-Rio Cup) and the stand out performance on opening night was from Paolo Guerrero, the Peruvian centre-forward of Rio giants Flamengo. An expensive signing who came with huge expectations last year, Guerrero had hit a dry streak before he emphatically broke it as he scored both goals in his side's 2-0 win away to Atletico Mineiro, who had looked impressive in preseason friendlies. But for this debutant competition, the action on the field is less important than the political context. Indeed, current events have the potential to make Wednesday night a significant landmark not only for Guerrero, but for the development of Brazilian football. It has become increasingly clear in recent years that the Brazilian game is not equipped to compete on a global scale in its current state. Part of the explanation for this lies in the calendar. The national championship starts in May and runs all the way through to early December. Before then, the State Championships are played -- one for each of the 27 states that make up this giant country. In a land of Brazil's size, the State Championships were once useful and important. That, however, no longer applies. Nowhere else in the world are giant clubs with millions of supporters forced to spend four months playing on a league basis against opponents who in many cases barely count as professional. In addition to throwing the Brazilian calendar out of kilter with the rest of the world, the State Championships make it impossible for the big clubs to fulfil their potential and compete for the best players. They are not interested in financial or sporting terms. It is surprising that it has taken so long for the big clubs to do anything about it, but now they've woken up. Twelve clubs from five different states have united to form their own competition, lasting from Wednesday night until the end of March. Two of the Rio giants (Flamengo and Fluminense) are involved; plus the big two from Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais (Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro); the much smaller but traditional America; the big two from Porto Alegre in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul (Gremio and Internacional); and five other clubs from another couple of states in the south. They call themselves the "Primeira Liga" (first league) and the competition, reflecting the location of the teams, is being referred to as the Sul(South)-Minas-Rio Cup. It might all seem unwieldy, and, in its embryonic stage it probably is. But it is also highly significant. Because the competition is a direct challenge to the power structure of the Brazilian game, which is based on the State Federations. These Federations jealously guard their own State Championships. As we have seen, these competitions are no longer of interest to big clubs, and it is hard to see how they are of much interest to the small clubs, many of whom are only in activity for four months of the year. But the State Championships are of vital importance to the Federations. In effect they are their only source of prestige and revenue. However, the 12 clubs of the Primeira Liga have voted with their feet. They came to the conclusion that since there was nothing worthwhile for them to do in the first few months of the year, they should invent something. Behind the scenes, then, there is a battle going on. The Rio Federation is apoplectic that two teams from its jurisdiction have jumped ship, and is considering all kinds of sanctions against them. The truth of the matter, though, is that the Federations have lost power. They used to have a comfortable majority in the voting procedure of Brazil's football association (CBF), but the government has recently forced through a change, giving a vote to all of the clubs in the top two national divisions. The clubs now have 40 votes against 27 federations. The big issue, then, is whether the clubs can unite. This is a big "if." There has been a fair bit of squabbling just between some of the 12 clubs and nationally the situation is much more complex because of the case of Sao Paulo. It is Brazil's richest state, and the one place where the State Championship retains some viability. The question is: are the big Sao Paulo clubs prepared to give up their own local competition and instead pitch in with clubs from the rest of the country? Or, happy with what they have, will they prove an obstacle to change? There is, of course, another group with a vote of their own: the fans. On Wednesday night more than 30,000 of them voted with their feet and their wallets to attend the Atletico Mineiro vs. Flamengo game -- a far higher figure than would be expected for a run of the mill State Championship match between one of them and a tiny local rival. Tim Vickery covers South American football for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @Tim_Vickery. |
I would like to thank my beta, Kuilin. Chapter 47. Space Travel, Part IV: Biases of the Phoenix 9:48 am, July 21st, 1993 "I have already asked Fawkes, and he has agreed to take this mission - thank Atlantis, Fawkes wasn't locked up in Time together with Headmaster Dumbledore." Harry petted the bird of fire perching on the armrest of his couch, and said to wide-eyed Draco, Severus, and Mad-Eye. Severus slowly nodded: "I will go to Kazakhstan, then. Hopefully, Baikonur Cosmodrome is as badly managed as the rest of the former Soviet Union is. More importantly, I think I should be the one to go up to the Moon, instead of Miss Granger." -Well, this is indeed a proposal that is entirely in character with Severus, self-sacrifice, and things like that. But, how should I phrase "I don't trust you enough for this mission"? Before Harry could respond, Hermione said: "Professor Snape, as you already know, I am quite hard to kill, and I am probably blessed with a lot of luck." "No, Miss Granger, we can't risk your life. Grindelwald and other top wizards in the world may not attack you, and a lot of them would even go as far as to personally protect you from harm, for they do not want the world to end by the retribution from the Universe. However, I am afraid that the vacuum, extreme temperature, meteoroids, and other things up there may not be as reasonable as the top wizards." Severus rebutted reasonably. Mad-Eye also spoke up: "I agree with Severus on this. It is way too risky to let the lass go up there. However, I think I should be the one." He gave Severus and Draco a pointed look. It seemed that Severus wanted to scoff, but that black-haired man checked his tongue as he had previously promised Harry that he would. Severus said instead: "I think there is a rather practical reason for me to go: I can understand or semi-understand written materials in fourteen different languages. I know this number is quite unimpressive when comparing to the records of the top wizards in the world, or even that of Crouch Sr., but this is the largest number among us. I think Minerva knows seven or eight, and how many do you know?" Severus politely glanced at Mad-Eye, as if it was an entirely innocent question. Mad-Eye sent Severus an embarrassed and angry look, but he checked his tongue, and mumbled: "Four." Harry remembered some of the notes he got from Albus and the Line of Merlin Unbroken. Those notes seemed like complete gibberish and doodlings to him. He couldn't even tell if the notes were written in English, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, or whatever languages - although Harry knew the letters of some of the possible languages looked quite different from that of English or Latin, he literally couldn't tell the difference from the notes. -This is a very reasonable concern. We can't pre-select what notes to send up, so many of them might be written in languages that Hermione can't understand. If this can bypass the Interdict of Merlin, eventually, we have to send someone else up. For all I know, a lot of languages use Latin or Cyrillic alphabet, and it would be hard for someone without proper knowledge to tell the difference. Geez, I've heard that the current top wizards all speak hundreds of languages, do they even have time for anything else? Is this the reason that the development of magical society is so slow? Is it because all the clever people spend most of their time studying languages? Harry wondered if he could trust Severus on such a mission, and he needed to buy some time before he figured out what to say. Therefore, Harry said instead: "Professor Snape, you must have realized, err, it is very dangerous up there, and, err -" -For the sake of Atlantis, how should I properly phrase "you can't tell your best friend what you find up there, even if his brain depends on it"? "Of course, Mr. Potter. The consecutive disasters with the Apollo 1 and the Soyuz 1 are considered to be the reason why neither the Soviets nor the Americans tried to send any wizards up to the space again. I suppose, it is much better to be the third wizard to die in a space mission than to die by the hands of You-Know-Who." Severus replied with a white face and a straight back, as if he was going to die the next moment. Harry had to admit that Severus had his points. Harry suppose, getting killed by Voldemort would be a long and painful process, while death in a failed space mission would be much quicker, and it would involve much less pain. Moreover, to sacrifice your life in the mission to explore the Universe indeed carried much more meaning for the entire human race than getting yourself killed in some pathetic war among wizards. Harry did a quick mental re-check on the information he just glanced over this morning: The failure of Soyuz 1 mission in April, 1967 sounded really like a series of electronic malfunctions caused by magic: the solar panel failed first, the orientation detectors followed, then stabilization system was gone, the parachute didn't unfold, and finally, the reserved parachute got entangled. As for how the Apollo 1 failed, err, I need to look it up. -However, Severus probably has some misconceptions about the danger involved in space traveling. Well, according to information available to Severus, the two previous trials to send wizards up to the space both failed with disastrous results, so he expects himself to die as well. What he hasn't realized is that, in this mission, we do not rely on Muggle electronics, so it is much safer... Hermione's head turned quickly toward the large window in Harry's office first, and then followed by Mad-Eye's magical eye. "What the f-" The old Auror murmured. The unfinished F-word from Mad-Eye pretty much expressed the same feeling Harry was experiencing, because he saw some red-golden fire appeared besides the sun, and it was dashing toward the window. -A phoenix?! The black-haired man also seemed to be stunned by this unexpected development. He stood there like a statue for a whole second, before he dashed toward the window to remove the anti-phoenix charms placed there. -Ahh, the phoenix doesn't want to take Severus to the Moon immediately, does it? For that would mean instant death for sure. Harry wanted to warn Severus, but he couldn't, for the same reason that Albus Dumbledore couldn't tell Harry before he made the decision to refuse his phoenix. Severus opened the window, and gazed at coming fire. The golden phoenix entered, letting out a piercing cry. COME! The bird of light and fire said, and everyone in the room understood. The black-haired man stared at his phoenix, opened his mouth, and closed it again. Harry dearly hoped that the bird wouldn't fly away when it heard some completely reasonable statement such as "I need to get a spacesuit and a space capsule first". Severus took in a deep breath, and said: "Let's go to Baikonur Cosmodrome and get start with the preparation." The phoenix grabbed Severus' shoulder, and they both disappeared in flames. All parts of Harry was screaming: What? That's unfair! I only asked my phoenix to wait for six months, and it left! Did I just need to say that "let's get a preparation that may last six month going" to retain my bird? -And by the way, why was there no bird coming to Hermione before she went to Azkaban? I didn't even tell her that she had a horcrux back then! Is it just because she knew she had unicorn blood in her, and she was less likely to die? Or is it because I turned down my bird for the same mission? Is there a one phoenix per mission thing? Judging from Hermione's expression, she was probably thinking along the same line. In the semi-interposed space of Lady Rowena Ravenclaw's chamber, amongst mountains and mountains of trash, at the back of the Mirror of Noitlov, Lord Salazar Slytherin had a wide grin on his face. -Yes, phoenixes are indeed from the Mirror. And as for my two guesses - one, the Atlanteans have a preference for people to explore other stars; or two, you have to believe you have a more than seventy-five percent of chances to die - either one of them, or both of them, must be true. Too bad that I can't test these two separately this time. |
Elections have consequences. Understandably, it is seldom easy to accept a high level of uncertainty in the face of highly charged emotions. It is important to question everything, and equally important to keep an open mind. Contrary to the apocalypse some people are predicting with the Trump administration, I am quite optimistic for the fate of cryptocurrency under President Trump. President Trump has not commented publicly on cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, but he did appoint early Bitcoin adopter and South Carolina Congressman Mick Mulvaney as Budget Director. There are many in the cryptocurrency community who are skeptical of government in all its form, so it’s not surprising to see many of them battling against the idea that government might have a role to play in the digital currency realm. Many die-hard crypto supporters remain resistant to government regulation, opposed to even reasonable AML/KYC protections, and express hostility toward any partnerships between government bodies and the digital currency industry. The fact is that government and its massive resources do have a role to play, and it is one that we should welcome. Isn’t it more beneficial to have those resources actively engaged to help protect your wealth, rather that promoting mutual animosity which is counterproductive to both sides? After all, governments exist to protect the rights of their citizens. Fair and well thought out regulation will help protect everyone in the industry, as long as it takes into account our basic rights and does not stifle development. If we look at the auto industry prior to World War 2, it's apparent that the government contract for a General Purpose Vehicle drove competing automakers to innovate at a faster pace in order to meet specific requirements laid out by the Army. Promises of a large government contract pushed automakers to construct a more rugged, powerful, and lighter General Purpose Vehicle, which later became widely known as the Jeep. Government investment has also played large roles in the development of other innovative products, such as ARPANET, a predecessor to the internet, and host to the first ever emails. Thanks to bright minds overcoming unthinkable challenges step by step, and well placed government funding, the internet we know today came to fruition. While involved in computer and software development in the early 1990's, the author of Improve Your Odds – The Four Pillars of Business Success and DNotes cryptocurrency co-founder Alan Yong's company Dauphin Technology, won two large government contracts with the US Department of Treasury and a second contract to supply the Pentagon with laptop computers. This led to the development of Dauphin DTR, a mini handheld computer in competition with Apple Newton, the first generation of Iphone as we know it today. There will undoubtedly be many contracts for people who specialize in blockchain, as it could be used for anything from securing emails to securing nuclear weapons from cyber attack. If you ever want an opportunity to secure these government contracts, it's best to work with them as opposed to against them, and you had better make sure the people you work with feel the same way. Being anti government can have serious repercussions which will probably limit your future success. The world will always need rebels to resist tyranny, but there comes a time when you need to put your keyboards, megaphones, and guns away for the sake of working toward a mutually beneficial partnership, and a better future for us all. I am very hopeful that if the cryptocurrency industry is willing to work with President Trump and his administration, we will all prosper. |
Labour MPs should be given a free vote on Trident, rather than whipped to follow a party line, according to LabourList readers. A Commons vote on Trident could happen within a matter of weeks, with the party facing a conundrum – while supporting renewal is official party policy, a line the majority of the Shadow Cabinet and Parliamentary Labour Party agree with, the leader, Shadow Chancellor and Shadow International Development Secretary are all opposed. 72% of those who took part in this week’s survey said that all Labour MPs should be able to vote how they want on the issue, with only 21% saying that they should have to follow a party line one way or another. Jeremy Corbyn asserted his authority at Shadow Cabinet earlier this week, where he made clear that he expected to be supported in his row with armed forced chief General Houghton. Corbyn says it was inappropriate for Houghton to make comments on the Marr Show about Trident last weekend, while other frontbenchers have publicly disagreed. LabourList readers overwhelmingly back Corbyn on the issue, with 82% saying it was not appropriate for General Houghton to act in the way he did. Just 16% believe he was within his rights to air his concerns. Two-third of readers said they believed the Scottish Nationalist Party ran on a more left wing platform than Labour in May’s General Election. 62% of those surveyed said they think the SNP were to Labour’s left, double the 31% who disagreed. With polls for next year’s Scottish election consistently showing an SNP lead of around 30 points, pinpointing what has made them so successful is key to Scottish Labour’s long-term recovery. The notion that the SNP’s victory is rooted in left wing populism is clearly widely believed. 2,354 voted in this week’s survey. Thanks to everyone who took part. |
Chang Wei-shan addresses a cross-Straits youth forum held on June 18 in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province. Photo: Courtesy of Chang Wei-shan For most of her life, Chang Wei-shan, born in central Taiwan, had believed that people on the Chinese mainland were the enemy and Taiwan should be independent. But her views changed after entering college, when she became a firm supporter and activist of the island's reunification with the mainland. Despite suffering obstacles, verbal abuse and even alienation from her family and friends due to her change of heart, the 26-year-old has never had doubts about her transition, instead devoting herself to preparing Taiwan for unification. "I think I'm doing something that I ought to do. It's just like I'm saving a guy who has fallen into the water. The only thing in my mind is how to rescue him, rather than being distracted or thinking of giving up," Chang told the Global Times on Tuesday. Cross-Straits relations have been strained since Tsai Ing-wen and her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party took office in Taiwan in 2016 and refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus that endorses the One China principle. "The clamor for independence has grown since Tsai took office. The environment for those who are pro-unification is deteriorating," Chang said. "Those who do not reject unification have become silenced." The editor of Yuan Wang, a monthly magazine founded in 1987 on the island to promote unification, Chang has been active on social media, TV programs and meetings, battling against pro-independence forces. Following in the footsteps of Sao Tome and Principe, Panama recently severed ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with the Chinese mainland. However, the Tsai administration is reportedly continuing with its desinicization campaign and drafting further revisions to school textbooks. Chang believes the revisions have greatly weakened young Taiwan people's affection for the mainland, and sees herself as a victim. New thinking She said she was taught to be hostile to the mainland and worship Japan. "Our education convinced us that Chinese mainlanders are our enemies who want to annex us," she said. But things started to change after she was admitted to the Department of Political Science at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei. When first asked by a teacher why she supported independence, she found herself unable to answer. She then started to read books about Chinese history, political thought and culture. In her previous education, people in the Chinese mainland were described as conservative, bad, and had no freedom or human rights. "But after reading, I found that mainlanders' thought, instead of being useless, was much more wise and profound than that of the West," she said. "I felt that being Chinese was something to be proud of." In 2015, on her first trip to the mainland, she went to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where she got to know that the mainland was not as bad or ugly as it was portrayed in Taiwan. In a documentary made by ifeng.com in 2015, she openly told the story of her change of view and announced her support for reunification, which drew widespread criticism from pro-independence groups in Taiwan. A legislator on the island even openly commented that she, then a new media worker in the "Executive Yuan," the Taiwan government in Taipei, should be "killed." In February 2016, she quit her job in the government. "The officer asked me to be discreet in word and deed. Besides, the Kuomintang had already lost the upper hand at that time. I didn't want to work for a pro-independence government," she said. Left in the cold Some netizens in Taiwan attacked her on social media, asking her to "get out and go back to China." She fought back. "Taiwan is part of China…You who don't recognize China should get out. Get out of Chinese territory and back to your motherland Japan," she posted on her social media account. Many of her relatives and friends also turned against her, too. Some friends blocked her on social media and cut her from their contact lists. Some of her relatives even said she had become radical or crazy. "It's a pity that several aunts who had treated me well now keep their distance from me," she said. Her parents also worried about her. Chang laments that less than one 10th of Taiwan residents support fast unification and young people there grew up to worship Western values. At a cross-Straits youth forum on new media held recently in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, Chang called on young reunification supporters in Taiwan to make good use of the new media to fight against secessionist forces. In 2016, she and her team started to make videos attempting to correct the views of the Taiwan people about the mainland. In one eight-minute video published online in July that year, they explained China's historical sovereignty over the South China Sea and criticized the Tsai administration's inaction and betrayal of compatriots, which gained nationwide praise. But their efforts have been met with obstacles. Their account on Youtube was blocked within 48 hours after they uploaded a video about the February 28 Incident, an uprising in Taiwan in 1947 that protested against the Kuomintang government's suffocating rule. The reason was unclear, but she believes it was linked to pressure from pro-independence groups. In her eyes, supporting independence means choosing to stand with the US and Japan, which is immoral. "Taiwan people are always inferior citizens in the eyes of the US and Japanese imperialists," she said, "The countries care about their own hegemonic interests and don't want to see Chinese rejuvenation." Now, the difficulty for reunification supporters in Taiwan is an acute lack of personnel and resources, Chang said. "I always ponder the fact that even if all residents in Taiwan back independence, we would still have 1.3 billion people behind us," she said. But due to geographical barriers, the majority of residents on the mainland can hardly offer them help, she admitted. Despite the challenges, she said she will do whatever she can to promote reunification and national rejuvenation. "If I can, I will try to give birth to a bunch of children who can bear the rise and fall of the world as their own responsibilities." Some people, including her sister, have already been influenced by her and support her, she said. |
Judge Says OK to Marriage Equality in Oklahoma The winds of marriage equality have come sweeping down the plain in Oklahoma, although the ruling is on hold pending appeal. The victories keep coming, from unexpected places: A federal judge in Oklahoma today ruled that the state’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Judge Terence Kern’s ruling is on hold pending appeal, so same-sex couples in Oklahoma will not be able to marry immediately, reports the Human Rights Campaign. Nonetheless, the national LGBT rights group welcomed Kern’s decision with a statement issued by its president, Chad Griffin. “Judge Kern has come to the conclusion that so many have before him — that the fundamental equality of lesbian and gay couples is guaranteed by the United States Constitution,” Griffin said. “With last year’s historic victories at the Supreme Court guiding the way, it is clear that we are on a path to full and equal citizenship for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. Equality is not just for the coasts anymore, and today’s news from Oklahoma shows that time has come for fairness and dignity to reach every American in all 50 states.” Two couples — Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin, and Gay Phillips and Susan Barton — filed the case, Bishop v. Oklahoma, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma in November 2004, the same year the largely conservative state adopted the antigay amendment. Their legal team is led by Don Holladay and James Warner of the Oklahoma City law firm Holladay and Chilton. With this decision, 19 states and the District of Columbia have approved marriage equality either through legislative action or court decision. This number includes two states with rulings on hold — Utah and Oklahoma — and one state, Illinois, whose law has yet to go into effect. The Illinois marriage equality law is effective June 1, although couples in which at least one partner has a serious illness can apply to receive a marriage license earlier. |
As we have continually noted over the last few years, the Religious Right is in the process of an attempt to radically redefine the term “religious liberty” to encompass not just the right to live out one’s own faith but also the right to cite one’s faith as justification for infringing on the rights of others, whether by denying service to gay people in public accommodations, kicking people out of housing because of their sexual orientation, or preventing your employees from accessing affordable birth control even if you don’t pay for it. So it was startling last week to hear Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, in an address on religious liberty to the Family Research Council, claim that it is in fact progressives who have redefined the term “religious liberty” in order to persecute people of faith, making believers, in Lankford’s words, the targets of a new “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. “We have an undercurrent of conversations happening in the country, where there’s become a redefinition of the term ‘religious liberty,’” Lankford said. “ Is this a term that has the same meaning as we use it out in the common vernacular? And I would tell you, across the country and multiple places that I’ve visited, no is the correct answer. This term is attempting to be redefined by our culture to say if you’re for religious liberty, then you’re hatred [sic] towards other people, you’re exclusive, you’re divisive, you’re a person who needs to be isolated because you’re for religious liberty.” “I would say to you, people of faith in the workplace and in public settings have become the new individuals that are targeted towards ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” he added. “If you have faith, don’t tell anyone and don’t ask anyone if you have faith, and if you have it don’t live it out publicly because people don’t want to see it.” Lankford, for the record, has said that he would oppose workplace protections for LGBT people because “ homosexuality is a choice.” |
Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. What does the Korean free trade agreement have to do with abortion? You got me. But Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) plans to offer an amendment in today’s markup of a handful of trade bills in the Senate Finance Committee that would bar Medicaid funding for abortions. The amendment is described as seeking “to close the loophole that sends taxpayer dollars to fund operational costs for abortions.” It would block Medicaid dollars from being used at “any entity that performs abortions or maintains or operates a facility where abortions are performed.” It’s hard to begin on how bad this would be. Basically, any facility that offered abortion for any reason—even a hospital providing it as life-saving emergency care for a woman—would not be able to accept Medicaid payment. The effect would be that hospitals and clinics that currently offer abortion would likely stop doing so in order to be able to continue accepting Medicaid money, and the low-income women who rely on Medicaid would be effectively denied abortion coverage entirely. Of course, if it did pass (which it probably won’t), it could conflict with other laws that bar discrimination among health care providers. When Indiana tried to block Medicaid funds from being used at Planned Parenthood last month, it was blocked by the feds because it’s illegal to discriminate among health care providers. The state is appealing the court injunction that blocks it from taking effect, but it’s not likely that the law is going to hold up. Rather ironically, the Republican communication staff for the Finance committee, on which Hatch sits as the ranking Minority member, sent out a press release today criticizing the committee Democrats for “including unrelated and highly-controversial provisions” in today’s markup by adding a domestic spending program to the list of measures to be considered. Hatch’s office declared that move “partisan” and an “abuse” of the trade authority of the committee. At least that provision had something to do with trade. |
The Print Version Download in one of two print formats. 2013 RSL Music Guide (20 page 8.5×11 booklet format) 2013 RSL Music Guide (40 page 8.5×11 consecutive format) [YES, it may look weird on your MAC, like it did on mine, but it printed correctly! Print a page to see!] Printing Configurations Depending on your printer, these may print in various ways and on various sides of the paper. There are too many options for me to list here, but if you have helpful instructions on how to duplex print for your home inkjet and/or laser printer, please post instructions in the comments to help your fellow Burners. The Guide on the Playa Pick up a printed guide on playa at BMIR radio, 5:45 & Esplanade, while supplies last. Thank you, Paul Sardoch, graphic designer extraordinaire, designing the 2013 guide! The Mobile App Version Time to Burn in the Apple store Time to Burn in the Android Marketplace I’ve collaborated with fellow Burner and iOS app developer, Terry Grossman & Android app developer, Christopher Cilley (WOOT! Drink!) to combine my music guide information with all of the playa events to create an epic Burner tool for YOU! Use it like a travel guide, to plan adventures and build antici…pation. The app allows you to browse, sort and search in a variety of ways, even without a network or Internet connection! Favorite events, make not-to-miss lists and send those lists to friends! Enjoy all those dust beats and I’ll see you back Home! |
Just outside Epping tube station, commuters might have noticed an old tube train rusting away, and thought little of it, but this locomotive is the remains of a very odd development in tube history. This is Locomotive L11, and it’s a hybrid of two engines glued together from a time when tube trains needed large engines at each end to pull them along. The earliest underground trains were naturally, steam powered, but when electric locomotives were developed, they were electrically similar to steam engines, a separate unit pulling the train. Today all the engines and electrics are hidden underneath the carriage — but in the 1920s, there was an intermediate stage. London Underground developed the “standard stock”, where only the front half the front carriage was the engine, which allowed for the back half to be used for passenger seating. Although the first of the modern style tube trains were developed in the 1930s, these standard stock trains (where nothing was made to standard), lasted right up to the mid 1960s. Which brings us to Epping, and the Locomotive L11. In 1964, two locomotives were cut in half, and the two engines stuck back together to form a rather unique shunting locomotive to use in the depots. With two engines in use, it was more than powerful enough for its job shifting tube trains around. There is a bit of a space between the two engine units, which is the remains of the old passenger compartment. If you were to look closely, the bogies for the wheels came from two different railway companies, so this weird hybrid machine could well be made up from more than three different machines. If it were a car, it’s be one of those dodgy garage insurance jobs. But it’s a train engine, and especially designed to be like this. The old door in the front of the train also had a new window cut in at the bottom so that the driver could see the couplers and make sure they had connected correctly to whatever was about to be shunted. Otherwise, the interior was left untouched. The same wooden flooring, the same olde-world driver controls, the padded seat fraying away, grease and oil everywhere. Today, it’s a seemingly abandoned locomotive rusting away on the sidings by Epping station. Actually, it’s not rusting, that’s a red anti-rust paint that’s been put on to conserve the metal work while wider restoration is carried out. It’s looked after by Cravens Heritage Trains, who are also restoring the Epping Signal Cabin next door, so two separate pieces of railway heritage will eventually form a single visitor attraction. It arrived just over a decade ago, in April 2004, and although not much was done for some years, it is now under active restoration. It’ll never return to the railways, but the aim is to renovate it to the point where people can go into the drivers cab, walk though the old passenger section and out the other end. A chance to see a very odd bit of tube history. In the meantime, the restoration team are always on the look out for volunteers to help, or cash to be donated, and you can read more here. There’s also a limited edition number of models being made, which you can read about here. Addendum, I think this was one of the days when I must have flicked the wrong switch on my camera, the photos all came out dark and slightly blurry. Sorry. A range of better photos is here. |
In April 1968, five years after he resigned from the government and retired from politics, the 82-year-old David Ben-Gurion was visited at his Sde Boker home in the Negev by a British-Israeli film crew producing a documentary on his life. The interviewer, whom Ben-Gurion picked himself, was Clinton Bailey, a PhD candidate in Oriental Studies, who was teaching at a Jewish school. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter This interview, that took 48 years to see the light of day, was conducted in English over three meetings, each lasting two hours. In these conversations, which are rare in their candid nature, Ben-Gurion speaks freely about his relationship with his father, the dilemma he faced between the German reparations and the Holocaust survivors, his interest in Buddhism, his regret over the euphoria he felt after the 1956 Suez Crisis, and his relationship with his wife Paula, who died four months before the interview. He even expressed his fear over the future of the Zionist enterprise. David Ben-Gurion in his home office during the filming of the documentary. The excerpts from the interview published below are at the center of Yariv Mozer and Yael Perlov's documentary film "Ben-Gurion: Epilogue," which was screened at the Jerusalem Film Festival and will be broadcast in the coming months on Israeli television (Channel 8, HOT). A right to this country Mr. Ben-Gurion, what do you do with your time nowadays? “I left the government, in 1963, for a single purpose: To write the history of the remaking of the Jewish State. Which I regard began not in May 1948, but in 1870.” How long will that take you? “Another six or eight years.” Do you have faith that you will be able to do it? “It's possible, but I'm not certain. Tomorrow there may be some accident, and I am finished. Almost every day I hear there is an accident. People are being killed.” But, in general, you don't fear death? “Will it help me if I do fear? Why should I fear? It will not change anything.” What did you expect when you came to—what shall we call it, Palestine or The Land? “Eretz Israel … There was complete anarchy in the country. One village was fighting with the other. My ideal was to work on the land. I saw every day, thousands of Arab workers, coming and going straight to work. A Jew must stand near the synagogue. The farmer came and looked at their muscles and he chose one worker. And it took me ten days until I got (my) first day of work. But, then I got malaria. At night it was terrible. I couldn't work, I couldn't eat. I wrote every week, two, three letters to my father, describing the country, so he thought I am happy. But there were many people from my town, and they were going (to Erez Israel) and coming back and they told my father how I am (really) living. When he heard that he sent me a letter: ‘Come back!’... I sent him a letter, ‘Abba...’, Abba means Father... ‘You know I will not leave this country.’” So it strikes me that in those early years of yours you were a rebel, you were not ready to accept the normal life, the conformist life, you were against it... “What is normal life? The normal life was abnormal life... We wanted to create a new life. Not (live) the life which exists. I believed that we had a right to this country—not taking (it) away from others, but recreating it. So when did I reach the ideal to create everything from the beginning? Only fourteen years ago. “I once came back from Eilat (on the southern border of Israel), and suddenly I see there are some young people, a few huts. So I left my car and I went down, I said: ‘What are you doing here?’ They told me, ‘We were fighting the War of Independence in this place.’ Here I saw that that dream can become a fact. And I decided, although I was then prime minister and minister of defense, I decided to join them, to start building up, in the desert, where there is no soil, no water, no grass, no rain... “I want to live in a place when I know that my friends, and myself—we did it. Everything. It's our creation. You see the trees which I see—I know we have planted it. The trees then speak to me in another language. I know it can be created by man. Words which are not connected with deeds are absolutely nothing. “In our kibbutz I told them my name is David, not Ben-Gurion. So every morning I came to see what David has to do, and I went to do the work. This is what our prophets said, (that we should) serve as an example to other people. One of the greatest prophets in my view is Jeremiah. I have the feeling that what he was saying is true. And when he said: ‘God said to me,’ he heard it in his heart. He didn't talk with God, nobody can talk with God. But this was his deep feeling. And he was a great statesman. He understood politics more than the kings. But he was unpopular. A statesman who is not considering the things which ought to be done, whether it is popular or not, then he is a dangerous man.” Ben-Gurion (R) with interviewer Clinton Bailey But you've had many decisions to make which were unpopular. At the time you decided to accept German reparations, for example. That was very unpopular. “Of course it was unpopular. First of all, I thought that the attitude to all Germans as to Nazis is wrong. It's unjust. That's all.” It was a very emotional problem. People had lost relatives, they'd lost family. “Therefore with people, who were living in Auschwitz, I don't discuss this question. I know I cannot explain (this to) them. I don't expect them to understand it so with them I don't discuss it. I discuss it only with people who didn't suffer themselves. But by reason. It is not reasonable, it is unjust, it is not Jewish. “Those who are criminals, they will suffer, but not their children. And not the fathers for their children, and this is right. Although in history it is not so. America is suffering now from the crimes of their forefathers: They brought slaves from Africa and they are paying now for it.” Mr. Ben-Gurion... “But this is immoral. History is not moral.” Do you think that before the Nazi era we could have saved more Jews? “You cannot save people who don't know what is their fate. Those who accuse the Jews that didn't defend themselves, I think it's wrong. They were powerless. Well, a million children were killed, what could the children do? More than a million mothers were killed, what could they do? They were undressed, called to stay here, and then they were killed.” Could Winston Churchill have prevented it? “I doubt it. You see, I can't accuse him. Churchill had one task: to defeat Hitler. Churchill was a good friend of Zionism, but he was right in thinking that the main task (at the time was) to defeat Hitler. But they could have saved many Jews. They were asked to bomb Auschwitz, Treblinka, they could do it. They didn't do it.” Many Jews think of Israel as a place of refuge for unfortunate Jews. Why should the Jews come back to Zion? “We had a great Jew. It's about 3,300 years ago. He was the greatest Jew we ever had. His name was Moshe. He said: You are the smallest of the nations and you must be an Am Segula.” 'Am Sgula' could be translated as 'a nation of higher virtues'? “This is one of the meanings. The virtues which we were asked by our prophets, was to be just, truthful, helping all those who need help, and love other men like yourself.” Do you think Israel is carrying out that mission? “Not yet.” When you were head of the movement and were prime minister of this country, did you also tell the people, or try to, tell the people to be an 'Am Sgula'? “As long as the (1948) war was going on, I thought security is our main business. When the war was over, at the beginning of January 1949, I called together our best men... Buber... (philosopher) Hugo Bergmann... and others. And I said to them: While until now, we had to fight, which is against our belief and our faith, but destiny imposed it on us. And unless we keep increasing spiritual superiority, I doubt whether we will be able to achieve what we ought to achieve. And therefore we need you.” Everything for security At this point of the interview, the questions become more personal, and Ben-Gurion candidly talks about life after losing the love of his life. Your life must have changed considerably since your wife passed away. Yet you go on working, you're not a crushed man. “A crushed man? No. Why should I be crushed?” Many people are crushed by loss. “I don't feel now what I felt even four months ago, but I can't help it. I didn't expect that, I was certain that I will die before her. But fate decided otherwise. This cannot be changed.” I read many of the letters that you wrote to Paula in the early years of your marriage, they reveal a great love, a great tenderness. “She was a remarkable woman. She was not a Zionist, she had very little Jewish feeling, she was an American, she was an anarchist. At that time, all the progressive youth were anarchists. And her hero was an anarchist woman, (Emma) Goldman. This was the greatest (person) she knew. She had no interest in Israel, she didn't know what for. ‘America is better, why do we need the land of Israel?’ But when we decided to marry each other I told her, ‘you will have to go to Israel,’ and I told her what Israel is, then. And she agreed. And so in November 1919 she came to Israel with the child. “Then, suddenly, 15 years ago, I told her: ‘I'm going to the desert.’ She thought I am mad that I am resigning (from) the government and going to live in the desert, but she followed me. Not many women would do that. So she was very much devoted, and this is a great thing. And now I am alone but I can't help it. I'm now a half-man but I must do what I can.” David Ben-Gurion, left, with wife Paula (Photo: Yehuda Aizenshtark, courtesy of the IDF Archive in the Defense Ministry) The prophets in the Bible had a vision for the future, and they connected that vision with the faith in God. They needed strength and they turned to God. Do you also turn to God when you need strength? “Are you sure that they turned to God? What do you mean by saying turning to God? Does God live in some place and you turn to him?” They could pray to God... “God is everywhere. Turning to God is thinking deeply about something. They turn to God..? They take his address and go there? Well, the Rambam said: ‘God doesn't talk.’ He's not a human being.” Do you think there is a lot of room in Judaism for meditation? Is meditation a theme in Judaism? “Well, I'm afraid now you use the word meditation in the Buddhistic sense. Meditation is not that meaning which you now apply to it.” Do you find that meditation is helpful? “No... Well, there is meditation and there is thinking. Thinking I think is helpful.” Buddha also believed in the non-self, Anatta. “His teaching was a teaching of love, human love. He said: Hatred doesn't cease through hatred, only by love. This is in Dhammapada, they said. And this was said 500 years before Christ. And this also what you find in the Torah. Very deep, old human morality. ‘You shall love your fellow man as yourself.’ “So (the way) the German teachers of the Bible interpret it, it (applies) only (to) Jews. But they forgot that in the same chapter, Chapter 19 (in) Leviticus, it said a little later: ‘If a stranger will live among you … he should be to you like a citizen and you should love him like yourself because you were strangers in Egypt.’ So it doesn't mean only Jews.” Do you think Israel is going to have to fight the Arabs again? And if so, can we win? “Maybe they (would) have to fight again. Even several times, but I wouldn't say that they must fight again. For instance, take the prophecy: ‘Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor learn war any more.’ They shouldn't learn war any more. They shouldn't spend their money and their time and their people, their young men, preparing for war. But if a country has to defend itself, as in the War of Independence? “I think this is the unique case in the history of the world, certainly in our time, that a new state, in the same day when it was proclaimed, when it became a state, was attacked by all the neighbors. I don't know of any other case. Of course this compelled us to give our best youth, and our best brains, for security.” There were those, the United States for example, which counseled a delay of the declaration of independence, yet you went ahead with it. And when a person has to make big decisions involving countries, lives, there must always be the fear of making mistakes. How do you get over the fear? “You can never know if you are not making a mistake. Because if you know you are making a mistake, you don't make it. You do something because you think it's right. And I never assumed that, no, I can't make a mistake. But from what I could understand, I thought it ought to be done. But there were several things, which the government didn't accept, and the majority is ruling. But most occasions they accepted it.” You know that most of the countries that have been established since WWII have failed at democracy. Can Israel's democracy survive? “I hope it will. And sometimes democracy can make mistakes, but it's better to make a mistake in democracy, than (adopt another perception).” When you are here, do you miss some of the people that you've been associated with for many years who are now politically alienated from you? “Well, who?” Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir... Do you miss them? People that you were accustomed to see. “I don't miss them, I am sorry that they are not doing the right thing. They are very nice (people), I like them. And I am sorry they are doing certain things which they shouldn't have done. But all right, perhaps everybody... I'm afraid I also did certain things which I shouldn't have done. I know one speech which I have made in the Parliament, now I wouldn't make it.” You wouldn't make it? “No. Immediately after the war... the (1956) Sinai Campaign was over. I was so... In seven days they took the whole Sinai. I thought it's impossible. The area of Sinai is at least five times as big as the whole of Israel. So I got a little drunk with that victory and I said a little too much which I wouldn't say now. I went too far. Some of the government thought that I want to have Sinai as a part of Israel. And I was asked this question: ‘Will you annex Sinai if you (capture) it?’ I said: ‘No. Our intention is to go to Sinai to ensure freedom of navigation in Eilat.’ Let us not forget what happened this last year, the Six-Day War.” Yariv Mozer and Yael Perlov, the creators of 'Ben-Gurion: Epilogue' When you think of your own contribution to the fulfillment of the reestablishment of the state, what are the main areas of your contribution? “If I would be alone, I would be able to do nothing.” Pardon me? “I alone wouldn't (have been) able to do anything. It's such a matter which doesn't depend on a single person. This is the mistake in general. There are many historians which say: Oh, this was done by that leader and by that leader... I don't believe it. “There are things which been done by a single man, for instance, the theory of relativity. This was created by Einstein. Although when I spoke with Einstein, I read in his biography that Einstein was the only scientist which from pure thinking came to certain new ideas about science. I asked him: ‘Is it true?’ He said: ‘It's partly true.’ I myself didn't (do) all (of) those experiments, but I knew the experiment(s) which others (have done), and I drew from them certain conclusions. But without those experiments I wouldn't be able to reach my theory. “But in history, I don't believe that a single person can change things. Unless it is done by the people or by a part of the people, it can't be done. And if we (didn’t) have the pioneers of the first generation, we wouldn't (have been) able to do that.” But you can't deny that you had a role? “Of course, I was appointed prime minister, so I had to do something.” And you've guided Israel well? “I didn't guide Israel, I guided myself. I never guided Israel.” Do you fear for your country? |
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption US markets are wary of any imminent rise to interest rates and thus cheered the news US markets rose sharply after minutes from the September meeting of the Federal Reserve were released. The transcript indicated that US central bankers were wary of raising rates too soon. Officials were worried markets were too focused on a rate rise happening during a specific period of time. The minutes reveal an eagerness to assure observers that a rate rise would be linked solely to positive economic data. The Fed has kept its benchmark federal funds rate - which determines other short-term interest rates in the US economy, from car loans to mortgages - at 0% since the end of 2008, when the financial crisis hit. Now that the central bank has announced an end to its extraordinary stimulus measures - which included buying bonds to keep long-term interest rates low - focus has shifted to when it will raise the short term rate. "A number of participants noted that changes to the forward guidance might be misinterpreted as a signal of a fundamental shift in the stance of policy that could result in an unintended tightening of financial conditions," read the minutes, indicating that members of the central bank's rate setting committee worried that markets would sell off if the language of when a rate rise would happen were to change. Markets happy US markets have benefitted from low interest rates, as investors have poured money into stocks in an effort to make a profit. Investors have been skittish about a rate rise, viewing it as an end to so-called "easy money", so any indication that it is still some time away is viewed as welcome news. Economists at investment banking firm Jefferies wrote in a note to clients that the minutes were even more dovish - that is, leaning towards keeping rates low - than even the Fed's statement at the end of its September meeting. "No, the rate lift-off is not yet on the radar screen. Do not even think about it!" they wrote. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 200 points in the wake of the news, with both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rising as well. Fed chair Janet Yellen has sought to reassure markets that any rate rise will be data dependent - noting that it will happen only when measures of US economic growth and employment improve substantially so that the Fed's help is no longer deemed necessary. IMF damper The minutes also show that the Fed cut their growth forecasts due to the rising value of the dollar and concerns over weakness in the global economy. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut its forecast for global growth. It is now forecasting 3.3% growth this year, down from its forecast in July of 3.4%, and it warned of a "weak and uneven" recovery globally. However, the IMF did upgrade its growth forecasts for the US, to 2.2% this year. |
Main navigation Home Projects All Species & Projects Hummingbirds Monarch Butterflies Robins Tulip Test Gardens Sunlight & Seasons Weather and Songbirds Livecam Mystery Class Symbolic Monarch Migration News Maps Sightings Educators Registration Donate Bald Eagle Home Facts Map Livecam Resources Kids About Bald Eagle Nests Contributed by Laura Erickson See: Reading and Writing Connections >> Airy Aeries Of all birds in the world, Bald Eagles hold the record for the biggest nest ever built. One nest in Florida was 6.1 meters deep, 2.9 meters wide, and weighed 2,722 kg (almost 3 tons). Could a Bald Eagle nest this size fit in your classroom? Also: Visit an Eagle Nest With Peter Nye >> How can a pair of Bald Eagles possibly build that huge nest and still have time to lay eggs, incubate them, and raise the babies in a single breeding season? The answer is, they don't! Throughout the season, and sometimes even during fall and winter, eagles keep adding sticks to the nest, and they reuse nests, continuing to build on to them, for many years. That huge record-breaking nest in Florida was the largest nest ever found, and it was very old. The average eagle nest is only 1.5-1.8 meters in diameter and 0.7-1.2 meters tall, and the first year a nest is built, it may be much smaller than that. In most regions, a pair of eagles starts working on their nest from 1 to 3 months before the female lays the first egg. However, in the northern regions they can't delay this long. For example, according to Birds of North America, "In Saskatchewan, adults build or repair nests in September prior to migration and build or repair nests in April upon return from wintering grounds." First Things First When a young pair of Bald Eagles needs to build a brand new nest, their first job is to find a place for it. They probably prefer a territory close to water, where they can catch fish for their babies without wasting time flying back and forth a long distance, but in some areas may nest several miles from fishing areas. In parts of Alaska and northern Canada where trees are scarce and short, eagles often nest on the ground. In forested areas, they usually select one of the tallest trees in the area. If this is a "super-canopy" tree (one sticking up above nearby trees) the eagles can see all around, and also can fly into the nest without bonking their huge wings into branches. In Canada and the northern and western states, eagles almost always select a coniferous tree-usually a pine, spruce, or fir. In the eastern states, where large conifers may not be available in otherwise good habitat, eagles are more likely to nest in an oak, hickory, cottonwood, or other large leafy tree. Building for the Future Pairs usually start a new nest in a living tree, though there are often dead trees ("snags") nearby where they have a view all around when they're resting near the nest. The healthier the tree, the better. Eagles use and keep adding sticks to their nests for years and years. One well-studied Ohio nest was used for 34 years, until the tree finally blew down. Sometimes a tree with an eagle nest dies after many years. If the tree remains standing, the eagles often remain there as long as their nest is secure. But the healthier the tree is to start with, the longer it will last. Going to the Lumber Store Where do eagles get the sticks for their nest? They pick up broken sticks from the ground, and sometimes break branches off trees. They naturally take as many sticks as they can find close to the nest, but may lug some branches as far as a mile, carrying them in their talons. They usually start building in the top quarter of the tree, below the crown, near the trunk, where branches are thick and strong enough to support the heavy nest. They interweave the sticks, and fill in spaces with grasses, mosses, cornstalks, Spanish moss, and other fibers. Looking at an eagle's nest, it's hard to understand why eggs don't get cracked or babies don't get poked by the sharp sticks. To soften the bottom, parents line it with their own feathers. Interior Decorating Eagles, along with several other hawks, add sprigs of greenery to their nests throughout the spring and summer. No one knows why they do this, but scientists have some ideas. Before reading on, name as many reasons as you can think of why eagles might put greenery in their nests. Answer: Some scientists think the greenery : may serve as an insect repellent may be a clear signal to other eagles that this nest is well-tended so they better keep away may provide a bit of camouflage may help keep inside of nest clean |
It’s like a terrible nightmare that Augusta can’t escape. The chaos that occurred this week down at the Augusta Commission regarding the proposal of a new arena at the former Regency Mall location would be laughable if it wasn’t such a serious decision that could cost taxpayers more than $120 million. Let’s first explain that, in the end, the Augusta Commission voted 7-1 to reject Cardinal Management’s current proposal that would allow the construction of the new arena on the Regency Mall location. But don’t take a deep sigh of relief yet, folks. This battle is far from over. If it had not been for the confusion of one commissioner, Ben Hasan, and his request for reconsideration of an original vote, Augusta would be sitting down at the table preparing to negotiate with Cardinal Management. Confused? You’re not alone. Here is what happened: Despite very vocal concerns made by several Augusta commissioners last week who felt that continuing to negotiate with the owners of the former Regency Mall site was like talking to a brick wall, five commissioners apparently decided to continue to bash their heads into that very same wall. To the complete and utter disbelief of many residents throughout Richmond County, the Augusta Commission initially voted 5-5, with Mayor Hardie Davis breaking the tie, to approve the former Regency Mall location as the site for the new $120 million arena. Augusta commissioners Marion Williams, Andrew Jefferson, Bill Fennoy, Sammie Sias and Ben Hasan supported the motion. Commissioners Mary Davis, Dennis Williams, Sean Frantom, Grady Smith and Wayne Guilfoyle voted against the location. However, there was a mistake in the vote. Hasan insists he did not intend to vote for motion. “I made a serious mistake, and I didn’t realize it until 30 minutes later,” Hasan said. “I didn’t intend to vote in support of that motion. But I got turned around.” When Hasan realized his mistake, he knew he must correct it. “The mayor tried to shut down the meeting when we asked for reconsideration, but enough commissioners stayed and the mayor pro tem (Mary Davis) was going to conduct the meeting,” Hasan said. “With that, the mayor came back and he got a ruling from the attorney. The attorney said the majority of the commission could reconsider the motion. Then, the mayor did another sidebar because he was stalling. He didn’t want us to reconsider. But we voted to reconsider and then we voted to reject the offer and we came back 7-1. So we rejected the offer.” Needless to say, that wasn’t the ending Mayor Davis was hoping to have on Tuesday, Nov. 5, which happened to be his birthday. Davis was so close to getting his birthday wish of an arena at the Regency Mall site, but he was denied the prize at the end of the day. Maybe karma played a role considering the mayor had no qualms undermining the entire selection process by the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority over the past few months and used a political coup to try to get his way. And he almost achieved his goal. Almost. Earlier in the day, commissioners voted to allow 45 calendar days to determine a funding source for the project and establish a committee to oversee negotiations with the mall’s owners. The Regency Mall site was so close to being a gift wrapped in a big red bow for the mayor’s birthday, but Hasan spoiled his party. However, many people don’t believe this is the end of the story. Several commissioners will likely still try to bring back this deal. We’ll see how far it gets. “This has been a very, I won’t say tough, but contentious issue since this process has been in motion,” Augusta Commissioner Sammie Sias said. “There are several things that concern me about this process itself.” Sias said he was willing to still consider the Regency Mall site if Cardinal Management would present a fair deal. “For me, this was not about showcasing. This was not about grandstanding. This was about what’s best for Augusta, and we are all continuing to look forward to development in south Augusta,” Sias said. “I don’t have any political fears about doing the right thing.” Whatever comes before the commission, Sias said he is committed to doing what is best for the entire city. “This deal that is presently on the table is not a good deal. It is not a good deal for the city of Augusta,” Sias said. “I was very excited about the opportunity of something coming to south Augusta. I represent Augusta and I live in south Augusta and I am a proud Augustan.” However, Sias said he couldn’t accept the current offer on the table from Cardinal Management. Mayor Pro Tem Mary Davis said the development of the new arena was an important decision that should be based on facts, not emotion. “The whole community is looking to see where we are going to move today, and I know we’ve gone back to the table — not we as the commission — but the negotiations have,” Davis said. “Personally, I don’t have faith that the negotiations will move in a positive way for the city as it pertains to the arena (at Regency Mall). That’s my personal opinion.” Mary Davis said she wants south Augusta and the Regency Mall site to succeed, but she doesn’t believe the new $120 million arena should be built at that location. “We all want something to be developed in a positive fashion there,” she said, referring to the Regency Mall site. “Personally, I just don’t believe that it’s taking the arena from one place and putting it in that location.” |
The University of Mumbai has lost about 4 acres of land, worth Rs480 crore, at the plush BKC Complex behind Kalina campus, to encroachers. Though the land belongs to the varsity, it falls outside the boundary of the Kalina campus and across the road. Though there’s a board proclaiming the university ownership of the land, it is unguarded since 2004-05. All these have made the property an easy grab for the slum mafia in Bharat Nagar. Now, there are hundreds of shanties, inhabiting 5,000-6,000 people, spread over the land. Sources say a big builder is eyeing the property. Realty experts say 1 acre of land in BKC area could be worth Rs 100-120 crore. University officials have not only failed to save the land but are keeping mum over the years. Sources say the university security staff used to man this land. The security was reportedly withdrawn in 2004-05, helping for slum lords. “The varisty woke up around 2007 and approached the collector and Mumbai Police seeking help to reclaim the land,” a source told dna. “The day of the demolition was November 26, 2008, the day terrorist attacks happened in Mumbai. Everything changed that night, which included priorities of the collector and police... Taking benefit of the situation, slum lords established shanties again.” Some own up to 40 rooms. Sanjay Vairal, who raised the issue in the Senate in October, says, “It is surprising that the university is not doing anything to save this precious land, rather indirectly supporting land mafia.” Spokesperson of the University and Pro-Vice Chancellor Naresh Chandra offered a lame excuse. “There was not a single encroachment in the last three and a half years,” claimed Chandra, indirectly referring to the tenure of Vice Chancellor Rajan Welukar. Asked about steps the varsity has taken to reclaim the land, Chandra said, “The VC has written to the collector for demolition.” Asked about the date of the letter and also the collector’s response, Chandra sought a day’s time. Usurping varsity land: An acre of land, say real-estate experts in the upmarket Bandra-Kurla Complex locality could be pegged around Rs 100crore-120 crore. The issue of the encroachment had been raised at the university’s senate meeting in October. The land has been unguarded since 2004. |
Australian researchers who investigated the link between holding a saltwater croc and risky gambling behaviour have been recognised in the Ig Nobel prizes, a parody of the world's greatest scientific honour. Key points - Ignobel Key points: Australian researchers awarded Ig Nobel Prize in Economics for work on gambling risk Ig Nobels celebrate quirky science findings that inspire wonder and scientific thought Other 2017 winners include research on didgeridoo as a treatment for sleep apnoea and whether our ears get bigger as we age The Ig Nobels are awarded annually at Harvard University to scientific research that "first makes people laugh, and then makes them think." Professor Matthew Rockloff and Nancy Greer from Central Queensland University received this year's Economics Prize for their 2010 study, which looked at how people tweaked their gambling habits before or after holding a one-metre long saltwater crocodile. "The crocodile study was really about trying to get a sneaky way of arousing people before they gambled so they wouldn't recognise their own emotional state, that they're physiologically aroused," Professor Rockloff said. In the research, visitors to Queensland's Koorana Saltwater Crocodile Farm were asked to gamble money on a simulated poker machine immediately after they held a saltwater crocodile. The team wanted to look at how the emotional state of the gambler changed things like the speed of their bet, the size of their bet, and the final payout. Share Stay away from these if the idea of holding a crocodile turns you on. They found problem gamblers who felt excited about holding the crocodile made larger bets and felt more "lucky," while those who felt negative about the croc handling were more cautious with their gambling. "There's this connection now, found for the first time in this study, between emotional states and your actual gambling behaviour," Professor Rockloff said. "Excitement, if it's interpreted in a positive way, can cause you to gamble in a more risky fashion." And why crocodiles? "I was casting around in Central Queensland for things that were exciting. There's not a lot exciting in Central Queensland," Professor Rockloff said. "But my wife came up with a brilliant suggestion — she said: 'We have crocodiles in Central Queensland and those are kind of exciting.'" There was always an inkling the study might catch the eye of the Ig Nobel decision-makers, Professor Rockloff said. "I had this vague feeling, even when I was doing the study, I said 'Well gee — this might be a really good one for the Ig Nobels.' I certainly realised how quirky the study was," he said. "But it also has serious science behind it, and that's often what the Ig Nobels celebrate." Sleep apnoea and the didgeridoo Meanwhile, Australian technology — although no Australians — featured in the Ig Nobel Peace Prize study examining the effectiveness of playing the didgeridoo as a treatment for sleep apnoea. In this study, a group of Swiss snorers took didgeridoo lessons and maintained a daily practice of the instrument for four months. The aim? Training the upper airways to breathe more effectively through the techniques needed to master the didgeridoo, like circular breathing. Share Learning didgeridoo trains the upper airways, and can prove a viable alternative to other medical interventions Alex Suarez, the first patient to use this method, was the inspiration for the study and instructed other study participants on how to play. "I had snoring and sleep apnoea diagnosed in 2000 and couldn't sleep with the continuous positive airway pressure mask (a common treatment for sleep apnoea)," Mr Suarez said. But after spotting someone playing the didgeridoo in Switzerland — and noticing how important the throat was to the instrument — he decided to give it a go himself. "I developed my own didgeridoo playing technique specially for snoring and sleep apnoea," he said. "Then I was measured before and after in the sleep lab using my didgeridoo technique and was cured of sleep apnoea and snoring. "After my personal success, the University Hospital of Zurich contacted me to ask if I would be ready to lead and instruct patients, with the same sleep apnoea and snoring issues with my didgeridoo playing technique and training structure." And it worked. People who received daily training were less sleepy during the day, and disturbed their partners less during sleep than snorers allocated to a second group that had no training. The researchers think the training improves the strength of the upper airways, preventing the walls of the throat from collapsing during sleep. "Regular didgeridoo playing is an effective treatment alternative well accepted by patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome," the study concluded. Cheese and the science of disgust Did you know that more people are disgusted by cheese than by other types of food? That's one of the findings made by a French team that are this year's winners of the Ig Nobel Medicine Prize. In the study, 30 French people (half of whom liked cheese, and half of whom hated it) were exposed to the odour and image of different types of cheese, as well as a range of other foods. Share Does this image inspire desire or disgust? At the same time, their brains were scanned to see what parts were activated when exposed to these stimuli. The study found that when participants experienced the cheese smells or images, those who hated cheese had parts of the reward circuitry of the brain (including the globus pallidus and substantia nigra) activated, just like those who liked it. It suggests the same parts of your brain that create a reward response may also create a disgust response in some people — causing some French to avoid one of their country's most famous products. If you are a cheese lover — the cheeses used in the study were blue cheese, goat's cheese, parmesan, gruyere, cheddar and tomme. Why do old people have big ears? It was 24 years ago that British general practitioner Dr James Heathcote set out to discover whether it was really true that our ears get bigger as we age. More than 200 patients, the oldest of them 93, had their ears measured when they visited the doctor and his colleagues. Share Your ears grow a miniscule amount each year And Dr Heathcote indeed found that people's ears get bigger over time — at the tiny rate of 0.22 millimetres per year. His work's seen him recognised with the Ig Nobel prize for Anatomy. "No patients refused to participate, and all the researchers were surprised by how interested (if amused) patients were by the project," Dr Heathcote reported in the study at the time. Other studies to win prizes at this year's Ig Nobel Prizes included: Can a cat be both a liquid and a solid? ( Physics ) ) Female penis, male vagina and their correlated evolution in a cave insect ( Biology ) ) A study on the coffee spilling phenomena in the low impulse regime ( Fluid Dynamics ) ) What's for dinner? First report of human blood in the diet of the hairy-legged vampire bat ( Nutrition ) ) Is that me or my twin? Lack of self-face recognition advantage in identical twins ( Cognition ) ) Fetal facial expression in response to intravaginal music emission (Obstetrics) Recipients are handed their awards by real Nobel laureates, then given just 60 seconds to explain their research before the assembled crowd. Previous Australian Ig Nobel laureates include Professor Colin Raston from Flinders University for creating a device that can unboil an egg, researchers who looked at how holding onto your urine can affect your mental processes, and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, who won an Ig Nobel in 2002 for his work on belly button fluff. |
Dutch Government Realizes That Non-Original Works Don't Deserve Copyright from the about-time dept The modernization of copyright law in the Netherlands will be done in two ways. Firstly, modern copyright will only serve to protect creative performances. Since ‘geschriftenbescherming’ does not cover any creative performance, this will now be removed. Secondly, the Dutch government believes copyright should not inadvertently preclude the creative reuse of existing material or the innovative use of information and easy exchange thereof. The protection of non-original works is often invoked to regulate parallel import instead of merely protecting the publisher’s or printer’s investment. By removing the additional protection under copyright law, the exchange and re-use of these works may be simplified. Also this could remove a legal barrier to the use of open data. For many years, we've discussed how Europe allows for a "database right" on collections of works, while the US forbids it. The US considers a database right improper, since copyright is not supposed to apply to facts and isn't supposed to be given out solely based on the "sweat of the brow," but rather to incentivize. The Europeans, on the other hand, argued that the labor of putting together a database needed to be protected to create the necessary incentives for a thriving information/database industry. In many ways, this has created a useful natural experiment concerning copyright law and whether or not it actually creates incentives. The data has been overwhelming. Without a database right, the database industry in the US has thrived , while the same market in the EU has stagnated.And yet, many in Europe (and some in the US) still see good things in such a government granted monopoly. We were just talking about how clinging to this outdated and clearly failed concept was now threatening important moves towards open data.Thankfully, it appears that at least one European country has realized how damaging such rights are, and is moving in the other direction. The Dutch government, which has a number of politicians who really seem to get this stuff, is apparently trying to "modernize" its copyright law by removing protection for any "non-original" works such as databases. The link from the Future of Copyright site notes that the database right -- called "geschriftenbescherming" -- is being removed, as officials are noting that copyright should be focused on creativity, not merely protecting the upfront investments of publishers and printers:As noted in that last sentence, this story is almost the polar opposite to the one we just had about this same concept being used to hold back open data. This would be a nice step forward for the Dutch, and hopefully other European countries will quickly get with the program as well.: In the comments someone points out that this is related to the EU Court of Justice ruling we wrote about last year, which noted that copyright rights need to include an element of creativity and that you can't just copyright facts.: More information from the comments, which argues that, despite great similarities between the database right and geschriftenbescherming, this only impacts the latter not the former. The specific issue appears to be that geschriftenbescherming falls under copyright law andlaw requires creativity (as noted in the story from last year). Yet database rights, fall under the database directive, andrequire any creativity (which is silly, for reasons we explained earlier). We apologize for any confusion and would like to thank the commenter for adding further details. Filed Under: copyright, creativity, database rights, netherlands, non-creative works |
Ron Paul: Ready to be commander in chief Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who is running for the presidency once again at age 75, said on Sunday he's "pretty well-equipped" to be commander in chief despite what critics might say. "I don't want to run people's lives around the world, I don't want to run the economy. My qualifications are a little bit different," the libertarian Paul said on "Fox News Sunday." "But compared to others' he went on, "I'm pretty well-equipped, I have a fair amount of experience. I've been in the military. I was in the military five years, that gives me a little bit of experience. I would say I'm pretty well equipped. But to brag that I can run things, I don't do that because that's not what a president is supposed to do." Paul, who's seeking the Republican presidential nomination, made clear that he believes in far more limited government than any of his rivals or President Barack Obama. Asked by host Chris Wallace if he would support federal aid for victims of the Mississippi flooding disaster, Paul said he would not. "The principle of ultimate insurance by government is a moral hazard because people do things they shouldn't do," Paul declared. "I have opposed flood insurance since I went into Congress for 30 years, since 1976. I have a coastal district, so I don't support FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency]. I get a lot more complaints about FEMA than I get support... FEMA is a problem." Paul rejected the premise of a question by Wallace that government should "enforce social norms and to protect people." Paul, for instance, has refused to condemn drug use. "If you accept that ... that justifies all the economic intervention [by the federal government], that justifies the intervention in freedom of speech, interference in religious values," Paul said. "To take my philosophy of freedom and the Constitution, property rights and contracts, turn into a cliche and say, 'You're for legalizing marijuana,' that is so grossly distorting my views. I want to legalize freedom of choice, I want to enforce states' rights, I don't like prohibitions." |
…He’s an improvement. A big one. They’re both presumptive second-line centers in UFA status, but George McPhee upgraded big-time when he signed Mikhail Grabovski to take over Mike Ribeiro‘s spot. “Grabovski is not as good as Ribeiro as a point-producer or set-up man for his wingers”, said Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, “but he is a better two-way player.” That’s technically correct, but it overestimates Mike Ribeiro’s impact on production and underestimates how Grabovski makes his teammates better. Because that’s what matters. A good linemate, particularly a good center, relieves pressure from his team’s zone and drives the pucks towards the opponent’s net (i.e. puck possession or “tilting the ice”). A good linemate also tries to help his line score more goals than they would without him. So I’ll look at both possession and goals. I went to stats.hockeyanalysis.com and grabbed last season’s even-strength data for both players. I used a WOWY (with or without you) comparison to establish how much better or worse teammates did when they played at the same time as Ribs and Grabo. I excluded goalies and any teammates who shared the ice with Grabo or Ribs for less than twenty minutes. I did a really simple calculation: How many teammates did better with each player? How many did worse? Teammates By Possession Better Worse Ribeiro 4 16 Grabovski 12 7 This tables displays the number of teammates who saw a better or worse share of shot attempts (Corsi For %) when sharing the ice with the player. As measured by shot attempts, nearly everyone Ribeiro played with did worse when they were together, as an average of 4.74% of shot attempts went in the wrong direction. The four players who got better were Troy Brouwer, John Erskine, Jack Hillen, and Martin Erat. Grabovski, meanwhile, improved the ice tilt for 12 of teammates by an average of 2.31%– and that was despite some pretty crummy circumstances, which I’ll explain below. If possession were truly everything, everyone would just acknowledge that Grabo is a stud. Then he’d never have been bought out by Toronto, and the Caps wouldn’t have been able to gobble him up at a discount. So we should be grateful that Toronto deployed Grabovski in his own zone a ton and didn’t account for the miserable luck he suffered there. Teammates By Goals Better Worse Ribeiro 11 9 Grabovski 4 15 This tables displays the number of teammates who saw better or worse Goal % when sharing the ice with the player. It’s nearly a reversal of the first table, which seems odd at first, but there are reasons to consider. First, Grabovski was a de facto grinder in Toronto last season, where he shared the ice with some of the Leafs’ least successful shooters. When on the ice with Grabo at 5v5, Toronto scored on 8.45% of their shots. Compare that to Ribeiro’s above-average 9.03%. Second, goalies behind Grabovski saved less than goalies behind Ribeiro. Toronto’s save percentage while Grabovski was on ice was .904. Ribeiro was treated to a Lundqvistian .922 in the same circumstances. There’s no reason to think that either of those percentages will persist next year. (Not to mention: Grabovski took many more non-neutral faceoffs in his own zone than Ribeiro: 36.7% to 50.8%. Grabo was deployed as a defensive fourth liner with vastly fewer opportunities to score.) So GMGM had to choose between a terrific player who looked bad last season and got bought out by his team– and a mediocre player who looked good last year and earned a king’s ransom in free agency. The Caps have a better forward in Mikhail Grabovski at a better price. Unlike Randy Carlyle, Adam Oates is likely to play Grabovski in the offensive zone as a real second-line center. Grabo will turn the Caps’ second line into a real threat for the first time in years, and he will improve the game of pretty much everyone lucky to share the ice with him. The presence of a viable second line center (and the sudden bounty of three terrific centers on the depth chart) gives Oates all kinds of flexibility in deployment and match-ups — and it gives George McPhee latitude to make more roster moves to improve the team with increased specificity. Mike Ribeiro is a fine player, but he’s in decline. He did best last year on the power play, where he’s least likely to sustain that performance. He committed more penalties than he drew. And worst of all: he didn’t create shot attempts. Grabovski is an improvement in all respects at 60% the cost. So next time someone calls Grabo a replacement, assume they are referring to the seminal 80s rock band and consider it a compliment. And now, because the Internet is great, here is video of every Grabo goal from 2011-12. I’ve shared the Google Doc of my original data. Advertisements Share this story: Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Pinterest |
The idea had been growing in my brain for some time: TRUE force. All the queen's men cannot put it back together again”. That little quote from a famous movie is the rephrase of the simple lines from a nursery rhyme. A Prime Minister who has been humiliated over and over again by others yesterday had to face the ultimate insult from his own party member. Two terms wasted in overlooking so many scams and so much corruption had to end in dishonour. The mindless ordinance attempting to overturn the SC ruling on convicted legislators was the last straw for the public. There were wild guesses that even the President would send it back for reconsideration. We can forget all that now. A long time ago I wrote the post “Rahul Gandhi’s silly utterances on corruption and black money. In a burst of stupidity the same RahulG not only re-established his clownish tendencies, he also reduced the PM, the Cabinet and the entire media to nothing but a bunch of clowns. ”. That little quote from a famous movie is the rephrase of the simple lines from a nursery rhyme. A Prime Minister who has been humiliated over and over again by others yesterday had to face the ultimate insult from his own party member. Two terms wasted in overlooking so many scams and so much corruption had to end in dishonour. The mindless ordinance attempting to overturn the SC ruling on convicted legislators was the last straw for the public. There were wild guesses that even the President would send it back for reconsideration. We can forget all that now. A long time ago I wrote the post “ The tears of a clown prince ”; that post was about’s silly utterances on corruption and black money. In a burst of stupidity the same RahulG not only re-established his clownish tendencies, he also reduced the PM, the Cabinet and the entire media to nothing but a bunch of clowns. In the afternoon of September 27, 2013 RahulG walked into the Press Club where the Congress spokie was defending the Ordinance. RG was kind enough to give a warning to Ajay Maken that he was “arriving”. He first called Maken and then at the dais made Maken look absolutely dumbfounded with what he uttered. I quote the priceless gems from RG: “ I am not going to get into a long drawn press conference. I will make some of my opinions heard and then I'll go back to work. I called up Makenji and he said he was meeting the press, speaking about the ordinance. He gave me the political line that everyone will give you . My personal opinion about the ordinance on lawmakers is that it is complete nonsense; it should be torn and thrown away. Everyone does this and there is a time to stop this nonsense - and I really feel this is time political parties stop making such compromises. When we make small compromises we compromise everything. If we actually want to stop corruption then we cannot make these compromises. I am not interested in what the Opposition is saying; I am only interested in what our government is doing. What our government has done as far as this ordinance is concerned is wrong ”. Complete nonsense ? The guy does love tearing things, doesn’t he? He tore that SP manifesto last year. He watched the Lokpal Bill of his party being torn in clever drama. Now he wants to tear the Ordinance. The tears of a …. Oh never mind! And all this while the PM is away in the US! Not knowing how to respond MMS just said he was aware of RG’s statement and that RG had written to him about his opinions too. Really? So even after receiving a letter from RG the PM went ahead with the ordinance? That’s quite unbelievable. As that bomb exploded our media clowns didn’t know what to do. All these years of sucking up to MMS and RG had come undone in one single stroke. They didn’t know what to do. Even RG’s “evoluter” Barkha Dutt dropped everything else early morning in Washington DC and stuck to politics back home. The free junket wasted! Here are initial responses from some of the media clowns: Now RG will steer the party? Well Barkha, that depends if you consider he has completely evolved or if he’s work-in-progress. The Category5Moron gleefully jumps to point at some minister in the Gujarat govt under Modi. Well, to Numero Unee it doesn’t occur that the two people most affected by RG “tearing” the Ordinance are Rasheed Masood of Congress, and, of course, Lalu ‘fodder’ Prasad. The entire Cabinet which approved the Ordinance were running around like headless chickens trying to figure out to say. The man who has a “happy-tongue” and blabbers about a lot of things also explained how he was wise not to comment on the Ordinance. Of course, he doesn’t tell us why he didn’t object earlier as part of the Cabinet. Meet Shashi Tharoor, the flip-flop man again: The ministers and other members, sycophants that they are, crawled behind RG and kept saying PM wasn’t “snubbed” by his stupid outburst. All through last evening TimesNow, NDTV, CNN-IBN and other channels somehow tried to pin the Ordinance tragedy on BJP by twisting the chaos into some imaginary role of BJP supporting it by seeking the parliamentary route. Nonsense! Only yesterday the BJP leaders met the President to reject the Ordinance. The Congress members and spokies, even side-kicks like Sanjay Jha, were totally caught with pants and skirts down. The ministers tried to hide in the nearest hole possible. The last few days and even till RG’s presser all the Congis and some crooks in the media were defending the Ordinance. RG’s order was clear: “send in the clowns”. And I quite like the way this theme expresses it (video 2.49 mins): The Congis and media make quite a pair. One in mid-air one on the ground. One who keeps tearing around, one who can’t move… Where are the clowns? Making an entrance at a presser with his usual flair. Sure of his lines. Don’t you love farce? The clowns were right there at the press club. Isn’t it rich? Isn’t it queer? Losing the timing this late, in their careers? Where are the clowns? Well, maybe next year ! Narendra Modi has been running away with the political agenda with his block-buster rallies. In contrast, the Congress heir RahulG has had nothing to show but usual blabber about poverty being lack of self-confidence or a state of mind. RG’s rallies have drawn poor responses. The Congress is even scared to allow media to live-cast his speeches. He is that blooper-prone and his nonsensical utterances a delight for cartoonists and the butt of jokes. Terrorism in J&K even as PM goes abroad and wants to hold talks with Pak PM. The SC made mincemeat of the bogus Aadhar card scheme. And public opinion against the Ordinance protecting convicted legislators was abundantly evident. A What the media doesn’t tell you is the awful truth that for the last few monthshas been running away with the political agenda with his block-buster rallies. In contrast, the Congress heir RahulG has had nothing to show but usual blabber about poverty being lack of self-confidence or a state of mind. RG’s rallies have drawn poor responses.. He is that blooper-prone and his nonsensical utterances a delight for cartoonists and the butt of jokes. Terrorism in J&K even as PM goes abroad and wants to hold talks with Pak PM. The SC made mincemeat of the boguscard scheme. And public opinion against the Ordinance protecting convicted legislators was abundantly evident. A caller from Hyderabad on Times Now, on September 26, spanked Sanjay Jha severely and the latter still kept defending the Ordinance, as did other Ministers and spokies. They have to realise they’ve been made to look like idiots. But here’s the dangerous part. Even if all the sycophants line up behind RahulG and MMS is made a scapegoat and many are now demanding the resignation of the PM they miss something. Imagine, when Modi was nominated PM candidate the same clowns were asking if it wasn’t a snub to a senior statesman like LK Advani. Now the same clowns are suggesting RG’s silly outburst is not a snub to MMS. Sanjay Baru, former media advisor to PM, was harsh enough to immediately seek his resignation and slammed RG for not following the Indian culture of respecting elders and insubordination. Funny, isn't that? If your junior commits insubordination you sack him or you yourself resign? Where do Baru and Rajdeep get their wisdom? The truth they won’t acknowledge is that RahulG doesn’t respect anyone or anything. He thinks people are fools and he can go around making silly statements and be a hero. RG has a wrong set of advisors. The other awful truth is nobody has any sympathy for MMS either. He has lost the halo of “honesty” and people see him as a man who condoned scams and corruption right through the last 9 years. Nobody will weep for him over his political death. MMS may even go down as the worst PM India ever had. And the real danger is that anyone who can barge into a presser when he normally never speaks to media and makes tall claims and makes a damaging outburst against his own party member who is PM is seriously psychologically damaged. Neither RG’s language nor his cruel dismissal of his PM and entire cabinet in public reflect any diplomatic skills. Such a man is really unfit for any senior position in any govt. Far from having reacted to public sentiment or trying to prove he is a leader or outspoken, RG only gave proof he is a bigger clown than we so far imagined. He dunked the Congress into a deeper hole than they already were. This is a man heavily drunk with power without the slightest bit of responsibility. With a man like this you can never know what he might utter anywhere, including on economic issues or matters of foreign affairs. Imagine the man suddenly having a fit at the UN or a G-20 summit. The media who clowned around all along and many still believe RG’s act was a brave one or heroic need to have their head examined. These are the clowns they sent in. |
Anyone who vomits in a taxicab in B.C. could now be charged a $75 cleanup fee, along with the cost of the trip. The province's Passenger Transportation Board has made changes to its standard rules for taxis to allow companies and cab drivers to charge passengers who make a mess. "Passengers who soil or damage the interior of a vehicle with bodily fluids or solids may be required by driver or taxi company to pay a cleanup fee of $75 in addition to the meter rate or any other rate," says the new rule. Carolyn Bauer, president of the Vancouver Taxi Association, says it’s a particular problem for drivers picking up fare downtown. "It does happen a fair amount on Friday and Saturday evenings from the downtown district." She says it can take two hours to get a taxi cleaned and back on the road, so the standardized charge will benefit everyone. "If an accident happens, at least the consumer knows what the charge will be right off the bat, rather than a driver guessing, 'Well, you now owe $90, you owe me $100," said Bauer. ' The so-called vomit fee is also charged by taxis in other parts of North America, including Calgary, which has a $100 fee. |
From John Lohman A hedge fund manager/friend of mine recently described forces driving the market as “barely manned scrip cannons.” Unfortunately, I believe it’s a fairly accurate description of the HFT-ETF-Algo driven cluster that used to be a market for financial assets. Individual investors have lost confidence, voted with their feet, and left us with a single asset. It comes with a put option underwritten by the federal government and its value fluctuates in response to barely manned scrip cannons. For perspective on how this is impacting macro markets, consider the chart below. It plots the average one year rolling correlation of various markets with the S&P 500 Index. In short, a currency = a yield = a commodity index = a unicorn, etc. Completely different assets with completely different cash flow streams and terminal values are apparently fungible. This phenomenon can also be seen within the equity market. Zero Hedge has pointed out the absurdity of the level of implied correlations several times. This chart from Barclays provides some context. As shown, the trailing one month cross-sectional correlation for the largest 1,000 stocks averaged roughly 20% for the last half of the 20th century. The remaining variance in prices would be explained by the fundamental factors within each sector, industry, and firm. But in today’s environment, idiosyncratic risk doesn’t exist. As implied correlations asymptotically approach 100%, energy = healthcare = technology = a rat’s ass, etc. This is the unfortunate result of markets where governments and central banks try to truncate risk and algos determine marginal prices based on short-term patterns. In the real economy, price signals have become distorted, thus causing capital to be inefficiently allocated. In the financial economy, the environment has become riskier than ever. The farther prices are pushed away from their true underlying value, the greater the adjustment will be. And one thing the algos don’t do - adjust slowly. |
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs put on such a basketball show they sent the loyal Golden State fans to a rare early exit. What a strange sight at Oracle Arena for opening night and Kevin Durant's long-awaited Warriors debut. Leonard scored a career-high 35 points and the Spurs emphatically spoiled KD's first game for Golden State in a 129-100 rout Tuesday that the Warriors could hardly believe had just happened. "We got punched in the mouth," Draymond Green said. "I don't know if it was quite a bad thing for us." Durant had 27 points and 10 rebounds, but little looked in sync for MVP Stephen Curry and the reigning Western Conference champions in a forgettable first game — and quite a different one after the Warriors dominated at home and came out of the blocks last season with a record 24-0 start. Leonard scored 31 points by the end of the third, LaMarcus Aldridge added 26 points and 14 rebounds and Gregg Popovich thoroughly outdid a couple of his close friends on the opposite bench in reigning NBA Coach of the Year Steve Kerr and top assistant Mike Brown. Yes, San Antonio sent quite a message to the West. "If there was an outcome I wasn't expecting, it was this one," San Antonio's Manu Ginobili said. "A 29-point lead against a team like them? I truly didn't expect it." Curry, last season's first unanimous MVP, scored 26 points but was just 3 for 10 from 3-point range. Green had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while Klay Thompson was limited to 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting. The star-studded Warriors were sloppy, committing 16 turnovers, and got outrebounded 55-35. They are clearly still finding themselves just as Kerr expected — though maybe not quite like this while. "No, I didn't see losing by 29 points," Kerr said. "It's going to be an ugly tape to watch. ... I think our guys were embarrassed tonight. I know I was." San Antonio exhibited smooth, crisp ball movement and looked polished in a game that had a playoff feel on Day 1. Two-time Defensive Player of the Year Leonard shot 10 for 21 and made all 15 of his free throws. Jonathon Simmons came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points, including a 3 to beat the halftime buzzer for a 64-46 advantage. His status had been in doubt for the opener because of a calf injury. Green dunked off a pass from Curry early in the third to get Golden State within 10, only to pound his chest and yell before being hit with a technical. The Warriors had flurries of greatness trying to get back in it. San Antonio answered each time — like when Golden State pulled within 50-42 in the second quarter before the Spurs closed the half on a 14-4 run. "It's a nice little slap in the face," Curry said. "First game you want to come out and protect your home court and have the energy of the home opener live throughout the game. We didn't do anything to let that happen." Durant made a 14-footer 65 seconds into the game and hit his first four shots. But he didn't have much help early. San Antonio led 31-20 after the first, when the Warriors shot 7 for 20 with four baskets by Durant. Golden State's other players were 3 for 15, and the Warriors got outrebounded 17-9. Durant, whose former Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, wants to make sure this result doesn't start a trend. "What we can't do is let these games pile up," he said. "We can't panic. It's Game 1 of 82." TIP-INS Spurs: Pau Gasol had two points in 18-plus minutes of his debut for San Antonio. ... The Spurs won at Oracle Arena for the first time since a 113-110 victory on Nov. 11, 2014. ... Leonard's previous career high was 33 on April 2 at Toronto. Warriors: Durant has scored 20 or more points in 65 straight games. ... C Zaza Pachulia scored two points in his Warriors debut. ... Golden State's three-game home winning streak against the Spurs was snapped along with its run of four straight victories in season openers. NO DUNCAN You bet it was strange for Popovich to play the first real game without Duncan. It's the first time since Popovich's initial season as head coach of the Spurs in 1996-97 to be exact. "He was like a security blanket for everybody. Even if things went awry," Popovich said. "He was like the center of the universe and everybody knew how to act around that. With that pivotal guy gone, we'll have to wait and see who accepts that role." SAGER STRONG A special giveaway T-shirt with Craig Sager's likeness hung on every seat for the sellout crowd to honor the eccentric, beloved TNT sideline reporter as he fights leukemia. Warriors coach Steve Kerr wore a different colorful version earlier, then a wild tie for the game. Popovich offered a caring thought after Curry sent his best over the mic. "He's just an iconic and weird and wonderful guy all at the same time, and I mean that lovingly," he said. UP NEXT Spurs: They visit Sacramento on Thursday as the Kings open their new arena, Golden 1 Center. Warriors: Golden State plays at New Orleans on Friday to begin a stretch of three straight on the road and four of five away from Oracle. My spurs be doing work #GoSpursGo — Jamie Barrientos † (@barrientosjamie) October 26, 2016 Raise your hand if you just reached a new career-high in scoring pic.twitter.com/lqY98szOKB — San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 26, 2016 Have yourself a day, J Simms. pic.twitter.com/ChWdX9gi0x — San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 26, 2016 |
In 2009, Chassaniol spoke at CCC's annual conference in Jackson, Mississippi, where she was introduced by the group's field director, a man who has been criticized for referring to Martin Luther King, Jr. as "Martin Luther coon." During her speech, Chassaniol stated that the government wants to "take from those who have and give to those who don't work for it. She praised members of CCC, calling them "lone voices crying in the wilderness" and ended by saying, "Seeing all of you here today gives me hope." At least one of her opponents in the race has denounced her affiliation with CCC. Democrat Georgio Proctor stated that he was "deeply disturbed" to learn of Chassaniol's support of CCC and has called for the state senator to denounce her beliefs. "If she believes that many of her constituents are sub-human, then voters must question whether she is actually committed to representing all of her constituents." Chassaniol faces Proctor in Tuesday's election, as well as Independent Donny Ryals. She's received more than $40,000 in donations, five times more than both opponents. Her donations are coming mostly from businesses and PACs. Chassaniol's district is 27 percent African-American, twice the national population average of 13.2 percent. Both the Conservative Political Action Committee and the Republican National Committee have barred the group and called it racist. Currently, CCC's website includes a link titled "New Prospects for Eugenics" leading to an article advocating for eugenics and asserting an inherent lack of intelligence in blacks. Many articles on the site focus on how white people are inherently superior to black people, using questionable references to prove racial difference, such as a study on fingerprints. And, as Dylann Roof apparently discovered, CCC's website focuses heavily on black-on-white violence, in their continued attempt to "prove" that blacks are inherently more dangerous than whites. Unsurprisingly, the group also opposes immigration in virtually all forms, gay marriage, gun control, "multiculturalist or Afrocentric" curricula, and all non-Christian religions, including Judaism. Chassaniol declined to respond to a request for comment regarding her membership in CCC. Meanwhile, Chassaniol has been described as "one of the most visible Republicans in the state." She chairs the Mississippi Senate Tourism Committee, where she "arguably wields more power than any other legislator to shape how Mississippi is perceived by non-residents." She is also vice-chair of the state's committee on corrections. In an era where mass incarceration has disproportionately affected black people, it is particularly concerning that an avowed member of a white supremacist group has so much power over Mississippi's correctional system. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mississippi has the third highest incarceration rate in the nation, incarcerating more people than China and Russia combined. According to the Clarion Ledger, "Over the past three decades, the number of Mississippians put behind bars exploded, growing 300 percent — more than 17 times the population growth." Almost three-fourths of Mississippi inmates are incarcerated for non-violent crimes. And nearly three-fourths of inmates are suffering from addiction—to drugs, alcohol, or both. And, according to the Sentencing Project there's an alarming racial disparity in the state's jails and prisons. Mississippi is 60 percent white and 37.5 percent black. Yet, there are almost four times as many blacks incarcerated in the state than whites. The state is also crawling with private prisons— 40 percent of the incarcerated population is housed in a private facility. These facilities have to spend 10 percent less than state facilities on incarceration, and inmates often suffer from lack of basic provisions, including food, health care, and safety. In June a federal judge ruled that Mississippi had violated the inmates' constitutional rights by failing to provide them with "reasonably safe living conditions." Because these prisons are focused on revenue, inmates' rights are often sacrificed for more cash. A recent study showed that Mississippi private prisons were keeping prisoners incarcerated past the end of their sentences in order to increase corporate profit. Chassaniol is a friend to big corporations. She's received campaign donations from Monsanto, the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, and many other businesses, business interest groups, and PACs. Both the Mississippi National Federation of Independent Business and the Business & Industry Political Education Committee have given Chassaniol a 100 percent rating. The horror of Mississippi corrections is unsurprising, then, considering the committee's vice-chair is a member of a white supremacy group and a friend to corporations. Six years ago State Senator Chassaniol confirmed her membership, stating that she "does not consider herself a racist" and that "a person's membership in any organization is a private matter." But since then she has stayed quiet on the subject. Chassaniol's refusal to disavow her membership in CCC is disturbing. Proctor called the group "radical extremists, whose hateful beliefs do not represent the majority of Mississippians." Chassaniol's district is highly conservative—in the 2008 presidential election, voters chose McCain 2 to 1. Still, hopefully her constituents find her membership in CCC more than simply a "private matter." While this is relatively small statewide race, the implications of her potential victory radiate much further. This is about more than party affiliation. Such degrading and disturbing racism has no place in Mississippi leadership. |
Sponsored by the animal rights advocacy nonprofit Compassion Over Killing, US VegWeek, like Esther the Wonder Pig, started small. Back in 2009, Maryland Senator Jamie Raskin, pledged to go meatless for a week to help the environment. Raskin’s kept his meatless pledge long beyond a week. He’s now another of US VegWeek’s celebs calling on people to pledge to go veg for US VegWeek. “That one-week pledge led to this commitment. It started a celebration,” recalls Compassion Over Killing director Erica Meier. Though weighing considerably less than Esther, Raskin “really is supporting this full throttle,” Meier says. “He is really touting the benefits of a meatless diet — he feels so much more energetic and healthier and active. His support is bringing other folks on board.” Take the pledge to go veg for US VegWeek and score freebies galore including plant-based recipes, restaurant discounts and coupons for vegan delectables. You’ll receive daily cheering and check-ins from Compassion Over Killing throughout US VegWeek and beyond, so they can gauge “how your one-week pledge may have impacted dietary choices further down the line.” Big things could come of it. Meier’s a case in point. She grew up eating meat. No surprise — her family had a meat-packing business. But once Meier made the connection between what she ate and the animals she loved, “it all came together for me in one day.” She becomes an instant vegetarian and an impassioned animal advocate, enough so that her father “embraced it.” Now a vegan ice cream fanatic, “he was very open-minded to my interests to help animals.” Since becoming the nonprofit’s executive director in 2005, Meier’s convinced many others to do the same. Seven thousand people pledged to go meatless for US Veg Week in 2014 and armed with the support of Raskin, Carter, Esther and others, Meier’s hoping to make that number closer to 10,000 this year. “I was very optimistic when I started, but I feel so much more optimism right now,” she says. “There’s a lot of energy in seeing other people become part of the animal protection movement, in seeing a growing interest in audiences interested in learning more about how they too, can shift to a more plant-based diet.” Senator Raskin’s not the only person on Capitol Hill to cheer about the positive impacts of a plant-based diet. Maybe it takes a politico to convince you to pledge to go veg for US VegWeek. Maybe it’s a pro athlete. Or a pig. “We want to reach people where they’re at,” says Meier. “We’re in this for the animals, to make the world a better, kinder place.” This big change starts with one small, doable act. “We can make a difference every day by leaving animals off our plates.” Just ask Esther. |
DH 108 "Swallow" The first DH 108 built – TG283. The torpedo-shaped objects on the wingtips are containers for anti-spin parachutes. Role experimental Manufacturer de Havilland Designer John Frost First flight 15 May 1946 Introduction Experimental programme only Status Cancelled Primary user Royal Aircraft Establishment Produced 1946–1947 Number built 3 The de Havilland DH 108 "Swallow" was a British experimental aircraft designed by John Carver Meadows Frost in October 1945. The DH 108 featured a tailless, swept wing with a single vertical stabilizer, similar to the layout of the wartime German Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket-powered point-defence interceptor. Initially designed to evaluate swept wing handling characteristics at low and high subsonic speeds for the proposed early tailless design of the Comet airliner, three examples of the DH 108 were built to Air Ministry specifications E.1/45 and E.11/45. With the adoption of a conventional tail for the Comet, the aircraft were used instead to investigate swept wing handling up to supersonic speeds. All three prototypes were lost in fatal crashes. Design and development [ edit ] Employing the main fuselage section and engine of the de Havilland Vampire mated to a longer fuselage with a single tailfin and swept wings, the de Havilland DH 108 was proposed in 1944 as a test "mule" for the DH 106 Comet which had initially been considered a tailless, swept-wing concept.[1] Despite the Comet design taking on more conventional features, the value of testing the unique configuration to provide basic data for the DH.110 [2] spurred de Havilland to continue development of the DH 108. Selecting two airframes from the English Electric Vampire F 1 production line, the new aircraft had unmistakable similarities to its fighter origins, especially in the original forward fuselage which retained the nose, cockpit and other components of the Vampire. The Ministry of Supply named the DH 108 the "Swallow", a name that was never officially adopted by the company.[3] The new metal wing incorporating a 43˚ sweepback was approximately 15% greater in area than the standard Vampire wing.[2] Control was based on the conventional rudder in combination with elevons that were part elevator and ailerons, fitted outboard of the split trailing edge flaps.[2] Although the Vampire fuselage was retained, as development continued, a revised nose and streamlined, reinforced canopy were incorporated.[4] Testing [ edit ] The first DH 108 prototype, serial number TG283, utilising the Vampire fuselage and a 43° swept wing, flew on 15 May 1946 at RAF Woodbridge. Designed to investigate low-speed handling, it was capable of only 280 mph (450 km/h). The de Havilland Chief Test Pilot Geoffrey de Havilland Jr., son of de Havilland company owner-designer Geoffrey de Havilland, gave a display flight in the DH 108 during the 1946 Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) airshow at Radlett.[5] In later low-speed testing designed to clear the rear fuselage at high angles of attack, the first prototype was fitted with longer Sea Vampire landing gear.[6] The second, high-speed prototype, TG306, with a 45° swept wing incorporating automatic leading-edge Handley Page slats and powered by a de Havilland Goblin 3 turbojet, flew soon after in June 1946. Modifications to the design included a more streamlined, longer nose and a smaller canopy (framed by a strengthened metal fairing) facilitated by lowering the pilot's seat.[4] While being used to evaluate handling characteristics at high speed, on 27 September 1946 TG306 suffered a catastrophic structural failure that occurred in a dive from 10,000 ft (3,050 m) at Mach 0.9 and crashed in the Thames Estuary. The pilot, Geoffrey de Havilland Jr., was killed in the accident. Early wind tunnel testing had pointed to potentially dangerous flight behaviours, but pitch oscillation at high speed had been unexpected. The subsequent accident investigation centred on a structural failure that occurred as air built up at Mach 0.9, pitching the aircraft into a shock stall that placed tremendous loads on the fuselage and wings. The main spar cracked at the roots causing the wings to immediately fold backwards.[7] VW120 in flight, about 1949 in flight, about 1949 After the loss of the second prototype, VW120 became the third and final prototype based on the newer Vampire F.5 fighter built at Hatfield. It differed from the first test aircraft in that it featured an even more streamlined pointed nose and smaller reinforced canopy (lowering the pilot's seat allowed for a more aerodynamic canopy shape to be employed). Power-boosted elevators had been specified as a means to control the pitch oscillations at the root of the earlier disaster. A more powerful Goblin 4 of 3,738 lbf (16.67 kN) thrust had the potential to push the DH 108 into the supersonic range. VW120 first flew on 24 July 1947 flown by John Cunningham, the wartime nightfighter ace. Considered an important testbed for high-speed flight, VW120 was readied for an attempt at the World Speed Record then held by a Gloster Meteor at 616 mph (991 km/h). The second prototype, TG306, was a "backup" for the attempt before it fatally crashed.[7] On 12 April 1948, VW120 established a new World Air Speed Record of 604.98 mph (974.02 km/h) on a 62-mile (100 km) circuit. Then, on 6 September 1948, John Derry is thought to have probably exceeded the speed of sound in a shallow dive from 40,000 ft (12,195 m) to 30,000 ft (9,145 m). The test pilot Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown, who escaped a crash in 1949, described the DH 108 as "a killer".[8] In 1949, VW120 put on an aerial display at Farnborough and scored third place in the Society of British Aircraft Constructors Challenge Trophy Air Race before being turned over to the Ministry of Supply and test flown at RAE Farnborough.[9] It was destroyed on 15 February 1950 in a crash near Brickhill, Buckinghamshire, killing its test pilot, Squadron Leader Stuart Muller-Rowland. The accident investigation pointed to a faulty oxygen system that incapacitated the pilot.[9] A coroner's report published in the local newspaper one month later confirmed that the pilot died from a broken neck. The failure of the left wing as the plane dived, occurred just above the garage at Brickhill. This failure was presumed to be the source of a "bang" described by witnesses at Brickhill. Swishing sounds which were reported came from the aircraft spinning at a high rate due to it having only one wing. It came down in the woods after glancing off an oak tree; the traces of the impact were still visible 50 years later. The airframe and right wing were dismantled by the military, and removed very quickly. The left wing was also recovered from the fields just north of Brickhill. A nearby German field worker ran over to the crash site and was met by the mechanic from Brickhill garage who had rushed to the crash site in his car to offer assistance. The pilot was already dead. A search for the crash site in 2001 by a local using a metal detector was successful. He found some of the mounting bolts "cone shaped" that were removed when the remains had been dismantled on site. The tree that the DH 108 had hit was also found, with the scar still visible. The earlier theory that a faulty oxygen system was the cause was ruled out by the coroner in his later report.[citation needed] Finally, on 1 May 1950, during low-speed sideslip and stall tests, the first prototype, TG283, was lost in a crash at Hartley Wintney killing the pilot, Sqn Ldr George E.C. Genders AFC DFM. After abandoning the aircraft at low altitude in an inverted spin, his parachute failed to open in time. In all, 480 flights had been made by the three Swallows.[10] Legacy [ edit ] The DH108 established a number of "firsts" for a British aircraft: it was the first British swept-winged jet aircraft and the first British tailless jet aircraft. Operators [ edit ] Specifications (DH 108 VW120: third prototype) [ edit ] De Havilland DH.108 Swallow General characteristics Length: 29 ft 9.5 in (9.081 m) 29 ft 9.5 in (9.081 m) Wingspan: 39 ft (12 m) 39 ft (12 m) Wing area: 327.86 sq ft (30.459 m 2 ) 327.86 sq ft (30.459 m ) Empty weight: 8,940 lb (4,055 kg) 8,940 lb (4,055 kg) Powerplant: 1 × de Havilland Goblin 4 centrifugal compressor jet engine, 3,738 lbf (16.63 kN) thrust Performance Maximum speed: 677 mph (1,090 km/h; 588 kn) 677 mph (1,090 km/h; 588 kn) Range: 730 mi (634 nmi; 1,175 km) 730 mi (634 nmi; 1,175 km) Service ceiling: 35,425 ft (10,798 m) 35,425 ft (10,798 m) Wing loading: 27 lb/sq ft (130 kg/m 2 ) 27 lb/sq ft (130 kg/m ) Thrust/weight: 0.42 See also [ edit ] Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era References [ edit ] Notes [ edit ] |
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) were new targets of a recent breach. Hackers attempted to compromise the system which held the database that tracks athletes for drug testing but were unsuccessful in obtaining access credentials from either organization. WADA Hack Attempt WADA spokesperson said it learned of the hacking event during the Olympics week, though it cannot be pinpointed exactly when the hackers deployed the attacks. Maggie Durand, communications coordinator, stated that the nonprofit agency was notified through a YouTube video by hackers which claimed that WADA’s website had been breached. It was shown in the video how the WADA server was hacked. Analysis of the attacks uncovers that the hackers executed an SQL injection flaw along with SQL Injection Automation SQLMap. Thousands of unique email accounts, hashed passwords, as well as personal details of the site’s authors and its contributors formed part of the leak. WADA acknowledged the hack, but Durand clarified that WADA’s ADAMS doping results database is intact. She tells how they quickly determined that their website was not compromised by hackers through an immediate investigation, and they are continuing to monitor activity. What strategy did hackers use this time? Phishing emails were sent to WADA database users, with hackers disguised as the official WADA communications asking the recipients for their login credentials. WADA has not revealed the number on how many users were targeted and whether athletes were likewise targeted by the emails or their plan of action in case the credentials really had been leaked. What’s certain is that all database users have been notified by WADA about this incident, and has posted a warning on its website in regards to the phishing attempt by hackers. Athletes primarily utilize the database to enter their obligatory “whereabouts” information. This was gathered for the purpose of making themselves available outside competitions for drug testing. Say hackers got a hold of the athlete’s credentials. They would be empowered to change that information which would then send testers heading out to the wrong location. In turn, the unknowing athlete can be wrongly blamed for missed drug test. CAS Hack Attempt CAS is a Lausanne-based independent institution involved in resolving sports-related legal disputes through arbitration and mediation. The organization’s jurisdiction is recognized across all Olympic and non-Olympic sports federations, with over 400 cases registered each year. Matthieu Reeb, CAS secretary general, tells of an attempt done by hackers on the CAS website. This incident is not the first time they’ve fallen under hackers’ crosshairs, and they are pretty much aware that it won’t be the last. Though it’s confirmed that the hackers were apparently unsuccessful in the attempted breach, investigations are ongoing to make certain that CAS has not suffered any form of damage. Reeb adds that information found on the CAS website is not confidential, rather intended for the public. Similar to WADA, CAS got the alert through a YouTube video by a user apparently representing Polish hackers. The CAS website displayed a quoted message followed by “Please forgive us.” It appeared that the CAS website was doctored to display it. On a Thursday night, The CAS website was inaccessible as it had been taken down by a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack and was back up and running the next day. Both WADA and CAS organizations have been making the headlines lately regarding their handling of doping cases, particularly the banning of Russian athletes from the 2016 games following the doping scandals in the country. The Russian government previously criticized WADA after Russian state manipulation of doping control process has been confirmed in an independent investigation. Targeting the anti-doping agency during the peak of Rio Olympics says a lot on the massive doping controversy, but none of the Russian hackers claimed responsibility. The hacker behind the WADA and CAS attempted breaches did not state any reason or motive, but it’s apparent they’ve been targeting random platforms. This speculation is based on their Twitter account which claims affiliation with the hacktivist group Anonymous Poland. The organizations do not blame and attribute hackers to any particular individual, group, or country for the attacks. |
President Obama introduces his jobs plan in October 2012 in Delray, Fla., one month before he was re-elected. (AP File Photo) (CNSNews.com) - The number of Americans 16 and older who did not participate in the labor force climbed to a record high of 92,120,000 in June, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This means that there were 92,120,000 Americans 16 and older who not only did not have a job, but did not actively seek one in the last four weeks. That is up 111,000 from the 92,009,000 Americans who were not participating in the labor force in April. In June, according to BLS, the labor force participation rate for Americans was 62.8 percent, matching a 36-year low. The participation rate is the percentage of the population that either has a job or actively sought one in the last four weeks. In December, April, May, and now June, the labor force participation rate has been 62.8 percent. Before December, the last time the labor force participation rate sank as low as 62.8 percent was in February 1978, when it was also 62.8 percent. At that time, Jimmy Carter was president. At no time during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, did such a small percentage of the civilian non-institutional population either hold a job or at least actively seek one. While the number of Americans not in the labor force increased, the unemployment rate dropped -- from 6.3 percent in April to 6.1 percent in June. |
The San Antonio Spurs won their tenth game in a row against the Denver Nuggets, picking up a lead in the second quarter and finishing strong to remain undefeated in seventeen games this season at home. Nikola Jokic took a game-high 19 field goal attempts, and finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists, continuing his strong play of late off the bench for Michael Malone. The Nuggets started the game well, trading free throws and baskets with the Spurs as they took a 14-12 lead. That caused Gregg Popovich to call a full timeout, where he brought in some bench players and they sparked an 8-0 run. Patty Mills got open twice on the perimeter and made the Nuggets pay. Nikola Jokic came in the game and started rebounding everything, helping the Nuggets claw back to end the quarter down by two points, 22-20. The bench mobs took over in the second quarter, but the Spurs out-Serbian'd the Nuggets, with Boban Marjanovic the giant overpowering Nikola Jokic. Jokic isn't a small human being, but Marjanovic looks like the character Jaws from the James Bond films had a love child with a polar bear. Boban drew three quick fouls on Darrell Arthur, who didn't stand a chance against him in the post, and swatted a shot during a Spurs game. Tony Parker decided to take the Nuggets point guards to church, school, the woodshed, town, wherever he wanted. He was stealing passes, knocking down midrange jumpers, and just playing excellent basketball in the Spurs system. That stretch of champion basketball helped power a run that gave the Spurs a 56-42 lead at the half. Plus/minus is a stat with a few weaknesses, but is was telling to see that Faried (-18 in 18 minutes) and Lauvergne (-16 in 16 minutes) are at a serious disadvantage against LaMarcus Aldridge and David West. The Nuggets attempted five free throws and five 3-point attempts in the half, with the Spurs allowing the Nuggets to run pick and roll, but keeping them out of the paint. The Nuggets made just one 3-pointer, and it came from King Joffrey. The Nuggets are getting shots in the paint when they run plays, but the shots aren't falling for them tonight. The Spurs made their shots in the paint, and had seven offensive rebounds to help pad their lead. The Spurs came out of the locker room with cruel intentions, bearing down on defense and stretching their lead to 22 points after a LaMarcus Aldridge jumper. Will Barton and Nikola Jokic teamed up to help close the gap for the Nuggets, getting the score to 76-65 at the end of the third quarter. Barton had a nice slam dunk off of a pass from Jokic on a cut to the rim, with the Serbian rookie showing off his passing touch, threading the ball over Barton's defender. The Spurs and Nuggets reserves played out the fourth quarter. San Antonio only had an 11 point lead to start the quarter, but Boris Diaw put an end to that tomfoolery with nine points in the first minutes of the quarter on three possessions. The Spurs and Nuggets traded some Serbian-on-Serbian violence with Boban and Jokic doing battle, with the Nuggets forward stretching the floor while Boban demoralized the Nuggets with his physicality. Barton had a nice jam after Jokic threaded a pass over the defense after a cut into the paint, but the Spurs defense did enough to keep the Nuggets at bay. The Nuggets showed hustle throughout the game, and their defense was good for a majority of the game. The Spurs took advantage of a series of mistakes, played matchups, and made good decisions. They're a dynasty for a reason, and the standard for the rest of the league. The Nuggets would like an actual win, but there were positives to draw from this game. Three Thoughts: Nikola Jokic for ROTY. The Nuggets already have a 6MOTY candidate in Will Barton, who had 16 points off the bench and leads the league in points off the bench, but they should also have a Rookie of the Year contender in Jokic. Kenneth Faried had a beautiful -24 in 24 minutes, and the argument for playing Faried with the second unit is beginning to make more sense. If the season goes downhill for the Nuggets, Malone ought to consider playing Jokic and Nurkic together in the frontcourt in the starting lineup, with Lauvergne and Faried coming off the bench at the four and five with the second unit. Jokic is putting up 17 and 10 per 36, and his play has been one of the bright spots as of late. Malone's system can work. The Nuggets started the game with a strong defensive effort, but they don't have the personnel to be great on that end for 48 minutes. You have to respect Kostas Papanikolaou for trying, but let's not pretend here. The fact that Malone's system is able to work for bursts now speaks volumes, in my opinion. I have visions of wiry defenders on the wing, quick guards patrolling on the perimeter, and stout bigs in the paint guarding the rim in the future. There's a method to the madness, and it's just a matter of time. I hate waiting. I miss Emmanuel Mudiay. Jameer Nelson is valiant in his efforts to be the next man up, but I want to see Emmanuel Mudiay play. Mudiay has the tools to be a great defender for his position, has the vision to help elevate his teammates' performance on offense, and represents a brighter future for the Nuggets. This season has had plenty of peaks and valleys, and it's nice to watch Barton and Jokic play well. Call me greedy, but I want to see Emmanuel Mudiay out there driving to the rim, throwing ridiculous passes to open shooters on the perimeter, and swiping passes to create transition opportunities. I watched 30 minutes of Mudiay highlights today, and my heart pined for the young point guard to return. Let's get Mudiay back on the court, Nuggets trainers, KTHXBYE. BOX SCORE |
Last Updated: 25 Jan 2016 With last week’s election already fading into distant, uncomfortable-for-some memory, attention has turned to the new Conservative government’s policies. One that has been a particular bugbear for business in the previous five years is the Tories’ failed pledge to bring down migration to the ‘tens of thousands’. But it could be about to get a whole lot more frustrating, as the limit on skilled non-EU migrants is about to be hit. The yearly cap of 20,700 Tier 2 visas, introduced in April 2011, was almost filled between April 2014 and March, according to data pulled from Freedom of Information requests made by the Oxford Migration Observatory. For the first two years of the system, companies applied to sponsor less than half of the available visas. Credit: Oxford Migration Observatory But as the economy has kicked into gear, applications have unsurprisingly increased. And if the trend continues, the cap – which the Tories committed in their manifesto to keeping - will be breached, ‘perhaps substantially,’ the Observatory said. In April, the monthly limit was already increased by 825, meaning there are 75 fewer visas a month available for the year of the financial year. Credit: Oxford Migration Observatory ‘That will mean the government will start refusing visas to certain employers,’ Observatory director Madeleine Sumption told the FT. Low salary jobs will be the first to be hit under the points system, the Oxford University group said. That could hit young people applying for entry-level positions and nurses. Tier 2 nursing applicants have a median salary of £25,000, compared to £35,000 for software developers and £51,000 for ‘medical practioners’. For companies struggling to fill positions with skilled British or EU staff that could cause plenty of headaches in the coming years. The Government, meanwhile, looks stubbornly determined to press on with the misguided policy. |
The idea of giving the European Commission the role of “watchdog” is simply “chutzpah”, believes Dutch political scientist Alfred Pijpers writing in De Volkskrant. In early March, Germany, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands proposed that the EU be given new instruments to combat democratic drift as in Hungary. Debated on April 22 at the Council by the foreign ministers of the 27 meeting in Luxembourg, the proposal won majority backing. ”With the exception of the Czech minister, who expressed his reluctance, all the ministers asked the European Commission to work up the idea in the short term,” noted the paper on April 24. Tools to steer weak democracies onto the right path are currently lacking, explains De Volkskrant – The only weapon that the European Commission disposes of at present is the ultimate weapon: the suspension of the right to vote [in the Council] and the suspension of the flow of money to the state in question. As this 'nuclear option' is rejected throughout the Union, [the states] support less extensive measures [such as] recommendations of sanctions backed by progressive fines. The political scientist believes that the crisis in the Eurozone is being abused to transfer more powers to the European level and a better step would be to contemplate expelling failing democracies from the EU. |
She just wanted her bag. On Monday, Sept. 21, Azealia Banks had a meltdown while trying to deplane after a Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles. In the TMZ clip, Banks, 24, appears to be trying to pry her bag out of a flight attendant’s hands. PHOTOS: Biggest celebrity feuds “Give me my bag!” she screams over and over. Finally one of the plane’s pilots gets involved and asks Banks what happened. She mocks him for calling her “ma’am” and proceeds to claim that a French male passenger stopped her from getting off the plane to allow another woman to exit before her. PHOTOS: Recent celebrity scandals “I’m trying to go home!” she declares. “Everybody wants to go home,” the pilot calmly says. She continues to shout “give me my bag!” before yelling “f—king f——t” at the attendant. Here's me on a plane waiting for another bitch ass flight attendant to try me. #AzealiaBanks #Brokewithexpensivetaste pic.twitter.com/CHF2JGJcK6 — AZEALIABANKS (@AZEALIABANKS) September 22, 2015 PHOTOS: Stars fight back on social An eyewitness told TMZ that prior to the part of the incident that was caught on film, Banks "spit in the [French] man's face, punched him in the face, and clawed his shirt" before the flight attendant got involved. Police were called and Banks allegedly ran before being found at baggage claim, but the French couple chose not to press charges. Following the incident, Banks took to Twitter to give her side of the story. PHOTOS: Celebrity airplane outbursts “I am bisexual. my brother is trans. My employees are all gay men. Nothing else to say,” she tweeted. But she continued retweeting her supporters, later writing, “Cause yall KNOW, that they would've politely handed a white woman her bags and a spritzer. #whatever.” Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox! Want stories like these delivered straight to your phone? Download the Us Weekly iPhone app now! |
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