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While millions of tourists flock each year to the boardwalks and casinos of Atlantic City, a dark question looms over this glittery city: Who murdered four women and dumped their bodies in a drainage ditch on the outskirts of town nearly seven years ago? No arrests have ever been made, but authorities tell FoxNews.com they are quietly and aggressively working the case – contacting police in Florida, Missouri and Alaska in recent months for possible connections to killings there. On Nov. 20, 2006, two women stumbled upon the body of 35-year-old Kim Raffo – lying face-down in run-off water filled with fecal matter and chemical waste about 50 yards behind the Golden Key Motel in West Atlantic City. The call to police that followed uncovered a ghastly scene: the bodies of three other women, also in the ditch – their remains separated by no more than 50 yards. “This fits the FBI definition of a serial killer,” Atlantic County Prosecutor James P. McClain said in an interview last week. “From the facts gathered during the investigation, it could have been a local person or it could have been a transient.” Raffo, Tracy Ann Roberts, 23, Barbara Breidor, 42, and Molly Dilts, 19, all worked as prostitutes in the area. The women were also mothers who had fled dysfunctional lives and found themselves walking the streets of Atlantic City and booking clients to make money and, in some cases, feed drug addictions. Dilts, who was killed a month prior to being found, was so badly decomposed that a cause of death could not be determined. The same was true for Breidor. Roberts was asphyxiated, authorities determined, and Raffo – the most recent victim – was strangled with a rope or cord. The women were barefoot, but fully clothed – their heads facing East toward the lights of the casinos. The medical examiner detected high levels of a recreational drug in three of the bodies. Police have never named a suspect in the case. But McClain said authorities have identified “more than one” person of interest, though he declined to provide names. Terry Oleson, a 41-year-old handyman from Alloway, N.J., was of great interest to police from the beginning. Oleson, who said he is innocent, was living in the Golden Key Motel – a seedy lodging notorious for drugs and prostitution – at the time of the murders. Oleson told FoxNews.com that he was repairing a friend’s porch in the area and needed a place to stay nearby because his home in Alloway was some 60 miles away. Oleson lived in a room at the Golden Key for free in exchange for doing occasional repairs on the motel’s sinks and toilets. After watching news of the murders on television, Oleson’s then-girlfriend called police and implicated him in the crimes. Oleson said the two were in a domestic dispute and on the verge of breaking up, calling her actions vindictive. Oleson said he was interrogated by police without a lawyer for up to eight hours – during which he claims police said, “We know you did it.” When detectives arrived at Oleson’s home in Alloway, they discovered hidden video cameras that only heightened their interest. One camera, inside the home, captured the teenage daughter of Oleson’s girlfriend in various stages of undress, according to investigators. Oleson said he was not aware of such images at the time, and later pleaded guilty to an "invasion of privacy" charge. Oleson submitted DNA samples to authorities, but no forensic match has been made between Oleson and the victims, according to his attorney, James Leonard. “To date, we’ve never heard what the results are but I think you can draw those conclusions,” said Leonard, who, with Oleson, spoke to Fox News in a sit-down interview. “We wouldn’t be sitting here today if Mr. Oleson’s DNA linked him in any way, shape or form to any of these women.” “I think he [Oleson] presented an easy target to them,” Leonard said. Adding to the mystery, self-described sex worker, Denise Hill, identified another individual as the killer – a man named Eldred Raymond Burchell, who called himself the “River Man,” an apparent reference to Washington state’s “Green River Killer,” who murdered at least 71 women – many prostitutes – during the 1980s and 1990s. Hill told FoxNews.com that Burchell, a drifter, spent time with her in Atlantic City around the time of the murders and confessed to killing people. Burchell, whose whereabouts is unknown, could not be reached for comment. McClain said a common myth about serial killers is that they cannot stop of their own volition – a mistruth that has some convinced the killer is either incarcerated or dead. “It is not unknown or even rare for serial killers to engage in a series of killings, which qualify as serial murders, and they do stop – either because they have no more opportunity or because they deal with the root cause of why they kill in a different way,” McClain said. He also addressed common perceptions that police agencies care little about the disappearances and deaths of those who work in the sex trade. “No one should ever think that because someone works as a prostitute or works in the sex trade that they’re not going to get law enforcement’s best efforts. Everybody counts. Every person’s a child of God. We are never going to give up on it until we charge and convict someone,” said McClain, the third prosecutor to take office since the 2006 murders. “I have great hope in justice. I’ll never give up on that.” Kate D’Adamo, spokeswoman for the New Your-based Sex Workers Outreach Project, said it’s likely other women encountered the killer but did not report it to police for fear of a prostitution arrest. D’Adamo said that, despite societal opinion, sex workers “span every different identity that you could ever imagine” – and that their decision to enter the trade is almost always an economic one. “I think we should strive to live in a society where we don’t qualify the victims and decide based on our moral judgments whether or not they should have access to justice,” she said. Anyone with information on these murders is urged to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the prosecutor’s office website at http://www.acpo.org/tips.html and provide information by filling out the form anonymously on the "Submit a Tip" page. Individuals can also call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS). Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic City. E-mail this reporter with news tips at cristina.corbin@foxnews.com. |
Here in Stratio we use Scala massively; we enjoy doing so and the most important thing is: we try to improve our functional-skills every single day. If you really want to learn and soak up every bit of Scala’s powerful functional features try not to learn them all at once, pick one and try to think of parts of your current code where this feature might fit in. From Java to Scala Like many people, before programming in Scala I was a Java guy with quite the experience. In my first professional project with the new language we built a brand new web content delivery platform from scratch for a German publisher based in London. Within that project I did pair programming which helped me out a lot in grasping the basic concepts of the language. Then I moved to Madrid and started working for Stratio where I’ve been involved in four quite different Scala projects: in the first one we built an ad-hoc fraud detection system for a Spanish Bank, in the second one we created a lightweight API to provide an interface to connect to the powerful open-source Stratio Streaming CEP engine, then I worked in a very interesting Big Data project for a Saudi Arabian telecom company using Apache Spark and currently I am working in Stratio Datavis, a data visualization tool which is being built using the Play framework and will easily allow the user to create dashboards and reports with multiple widgets (pie-charts, bars, line-charts, time-lines…), filtering data on-the-fly and querying multiple datasources, such as mongoDB, Cassandra, Spark SQL, and ElasticSearch among others (we are about to launch the beta version of the product so…keep an eye on this one guys!). Ok, let’s stop talking about myself and start with the interesting stuff… As you know, Scala is not a purely functional language. This feature might be a double-edged sword because when you struggle to write code in a “functional way” you might give up and wind up writing your Scala code in a java-like fashion, please, try to not do this. If you really want to learn about Scala, spend some time understanding the awesome pattern matching, play with the amazing Scala API collections, use Scala’s Try or Either to change the way you are currently handling exceptions, do not return and handle nulls; change your mind and start using Options, find out the infinite uses of the for-comprehension and the most important stuff: try not using mutable variables anymore! Writing Scala Code without mutable variables When I am writing Scala code I strongly avoid using mutable variables. Why? Well the most important reason for me is because it is FUN. Yes, it is fun, because it forces you to change your mind and start thinking in a proper, functional way. It’s fun because each piece of code or method that you write becomes a small challenge. Sometimes you might think: “Shit! I cannot implement this stuff without using a mutable var” but believe me: you can. Let’s see some code to show it. Last week while I was working on the Stratio Datavis module I faced a pretty simple problem. We needed to find String duplicates within a list of objects and if we found some duplicates we needed to append a sequential id to the string. For instance the following List: List(DataResult(“myId”, 0), DataResult(“yourId”, 1), DataResult(“myId”,2)) Should be turned into this one: List(DataResult(“myId[1]”, 0), DataResult(“yourId”, 1), DataResult(“myId[2]”,2)) How would we resolve this in Java? I guess we would need to create some auxiliar mutable structures to find out the DataResult objects with a duplicated value, then we might loop through the list again, we should look for duplicated elements for each element in our auxiliar structure, keeping one mutable count variable for each duplicated element, appending it to the string id and incrementing that variable, mmmm….it doesn’t seem like a neat solution, does it? Let’s see how I solved this puzzle in Scala. First of all I took advantage of the API collections to find out duplicated elements, see following the method: something def getDuplicatedElements[A](listOfElements: List[(String, A)]): Map[String, List[Int]] = listOfElements .groupBy(_._1) .mapValues(_.size) .filter(_._2 > 1) .map(nameAndNumber => (nameAndNumber._1, (1 to nameAndNumber._2).toList)) 1 2 3 4 5 6 def getDuplicatedElements [ A ] ( listOfElements : List [ ( String , A ) ] ) : Map [ String , List [ Int ] ] = listOfElements . groupBy ( _ . _1 ) . mapValues ( _ . size ) . filter ( _ . _2 & gt ; 1 ) . map ( nameAndNumber =& gt ; ( nameAndNumber . _1 , ( 1 to nameAndNumber . _2 ) . toList ) ) The operations over a Scala collection can be put together so first I group the elements by its first element (the id), this way I get tuples of ids and an iterator with its repeated elements, then I get the size of the iterator using the mapValues method after that I filter the elements with more than one repetead element and finally, for convenience, I transform the number of elements into a list containing elements from 1 to the number of elements (for instance 3 would be transformed into List(1,2,3)). This kind of one-liners might seem intimidating at first but when you get used to the API collections, you discover infinite options that allow you to perform very powerful operations in a simple way which IMHO leads you to write code that is both easy to read and to understand. The next step in this small “challenge” was to append the sequential ids to the strings. I asked myself, how would I do that without using mutable vars? Let’s take advantage of another FP tool and implement a recursive method: something private def assignSequentialIds[A](repeatedValues: Map[String, List[Int]], listOfElements: List[(String, A)]): List[(String, A)] = { listOfElements match { case Nil => List.empty case head :: tail if (isDuplicate(head._1, repeatedValues)) => { (appendSequentialId(head._1, repeatedValues), head._2) :: assignSequentialIds(removeElementFromList(repeatedValues, head._1), tail) } case head :: tail => head :: assignSequentialIds(repeatedValues, tail) } } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 private def assignSequentialIds [ A ] ( repeatedValues : Map [ String , List [ Int ] ] , listOfElements : List [ ( String , A ) ] ) : List [ ( String , A ) ] = { listOfElements match { case Nil =& gt ; List . empty case head :: tail if ( isDuplicate ( head . _1 , repeatedValues ) ) =& gt ; { ( appendSequentialId ( head . _1 , repeatedValues ) , head . _2 ) :: assignSequentialIds ( removeElementFromList ( repeatedValues , head . _1 ) , tail ) } case head :: tail =& gt ; head :: assignSequentialIds ( repeatedValues , tail ) } } In Scala this type of recursive methods over a collection are pretty common. Scala lists allow us to apply pattern matching over them and take its head and tail using the :: operator. The first case of the matching is the “exit” case: if the list is empty we return an empty List. The second case takes care of lists with head and tail and check whether the first element of the list is a duplicated element (exists within the repeatedValues map worked out previously) if so we assign the sequential id using the list calculated in the first step and call the recursive method again getting rid of the sequential id that we have just used and also removing the head of the list. Finally the third case of the pattern matching handles not repeated elements for which we need to do nothing but append to the head of the list the result of calling the recursive method using the list’s tail. This is a pretty simple example but I think it shows quite well how you can take advantage of Scala’s FP features to change your mind and start writing your code in a different and IMHO neater way. If you want to go into details about FP in Scala, have a look at the following presentation I gave at Stratio: FP in Scala To conclude, if you are a passionate developer and would like to take your programming skills to the next level writing great functional code…join us! We are hiring and…we love Scala 😉 |
Huawei has been doing well over the past couple of years, taking the top spot as the biggest Chinese smartphone manufacturer. And its success just keeps growing as the company showed of some amazing sales number at a recent presentation. First off, the company has successfully sold over 5 million units of its Mate 9 flagship in just four months since the device’s release. Originally released back in November 2016, the Mate 9 sold over 5 million units by the end of March 2017, a 36% growth compared to the device’s predecessor the Mate 8. The company has also already sold 12 million units of its P9 flagship which is a 152% growth compared to the previous flagship the P8 and is the first of the company’s flagships to reach 12 million sales. RELATED: Huawei P10 Sales Hit 100 Million Yuan ($14.5M) In Just A Minute On JD.com In China But Huawei isn’t satisfied with that yet as they’re already preparing to beat that number with its latest flagship the P10, which has already shipped over 10 million units for its release this month. (source) |
The European Commission has revealed a new logo for items that include radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, to keep them compliant with EU data protection rules. The scheme is voluntary, but technology trade organizations like Germany’s BITKOM have signed up to promote its use. RFID tags, used in everything from travel smartcards and keychains to consumer goods, are trackable at close range but also tiny and generally hidden. By bringing in the RFID logo, the idea is to make people aware when items they’re carrying can be tracked, and help them decide whether or not they want to buy items with smart chips inside them. Advertisement An awful lot of items use or will use RFID, because it’s very cheap to include, it allows for more efficient stock management and it helps fight stock theft. In that sense, the new standardized logo is also intended to help retailers – and healthcare and banking operations — avoid being in a legal “gray zone” around the technology. According to outgoing EU digital chief Neelie Kroes: This isn’t just about the logo — indeed, the recommendations announced on Wednesday have been eight years in the making. The Commission also wants retailers to deactivate stock-control RFID tags at the point of sale by default and for free, and said any company or public authority using smart chips should make it very clear what information is encoded in them and how it will be used. Such companies and authorities should also conduct privacy and data protection assessments before deploying the chips. This article was updated at 5.45am PT to state that the scheme is voluntary (something that wasn’t clear from the Commission’s statement) and add further details about who has agreed to use the logo. |
Thirty years ago, most people in the area of Grand Rapids, Michigan, steered clear of its desolate downtown. Back then, residents lived in the outlying residential neighborhoods, a suburban sprawl supported by endless strip malls and IHOPs. But downtown Grand Rapids has become home to a daily local food market, stellar pubs (including the world-renowned Hopcat beer bar), in addition to dozens of incredible hotels, restaurants, and retail stores. And at the center of what’s now known to many as “Beer City, USA” is Founders Brewing Company, a community hub pouring award-winning beer and hosting live music four days a week. Founders has contributed to the economy of Grand Rapids for sure–but it has almost singlehandedly established its culture, arguably saving the town from Midwestern anonymity. In 1994, back when the US was anything but ready for craft beer, college friends and fellow home-brewers Dave Engbers and Mike Stevens committed to building a brewery together. At the time, the two understood as much about business as the investors did about beer. “Some of these [investor] guys would just ask you immediately, ‘What’s my ROI?’ And we were like ‘What’s an ROI?’” Engbers recalls. Ethan Fixell Dave Engbers (left) and Mike Stevens (right), the two founders of Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. According to these two Grand Rapids natives, the city was always pretty quiet. Says Stevens, “I can recall when one of the busiest streets in Grand Rapids, 28th Street, was farmland for quite a ways … There were no bars, no arts or entertainment, no restaurants. There was no development.” Not that Grand Rapids was lacking for industry: Beer City, USA, was once quite literally known as “Furniture City,” the top furniture-manufacturing hub in the US from the 1870s through the 1960s. But the decades that followed saw a suburban flight, according to Janet Korn, senior vice president of Experience Grand Rapids. Korn says that as shopping malls opened in the suburbs, families followed, as happened all around America. It seems that residents didn’t even think about venturing downtown again until 1994, when Fifth Third Ballpark (originally Old Kent Park) was built to host the West Michigan Whitecaps, a minor league baseball team. The success of the park led to the 1996 installment of the Van Andel Arena, which hosts sporting events and concerts. The construction of these two venues was a catalyst for the revival of Grand Rapids, convincing more entrepreneurs to take a chance downtown. But none of that ever mattered to Engbers and Stevens—there was never any doubt that they’d open their dream brewery in their own hometown. As Engbers points out, “Grand Rapids is the second largest city in the state, and Kalamazoo already had Bell’s,” which had already proven success in a much smaller town. “Why can’t there be a brewery in Grand Rapids?” They opened the doors to Founders Brewing Co. in 1997, on North Monroe Avenue in the Brass Works Building, a former warehouse converted to a mixed-use commercial space. Despite being popular with locals, the business was anything but an instant financial success. Former manager and part-owner of the building, John Green—who now serves as executive chairman at Founders–recalls that he “threatened to evict the business many times.” By 2005, Founders had gotten current with its payables, but the business was still not bankable. Green and his Locus Development partner Andy Winkel thought they could take things to the next level when Engbers and Stevens decided to leave their old, cramped space. “It was very small, and it was in an emerging part of town,” says Green. “I think there was a lot of potential…[but] it limited production, and there was no opportunity to expand the retail side of the business.” In 2006, the brewery moved to its current location by utilizing a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan that, in Green’s opinion, “is one of the greatest success stories of that program … There is no way a bank would have loaned [us] the money that we needed without the federal government guarantee that comes with an SBA loan.” In addition, government-issued brownfield incentives provided partial offsets to the cost of building in an urban environment where contamination is prevalent. And the new site—the former Preston Truck Depot—was contaminated, indeed: though the property was technically “vacant” when purchased, it housed squatters, pigeons, mattresses, and even a lone, detached toilet bowl. Once settled in their new, much larger space, Founders maintained its values. “We refuse to take shortcuts,” Engbers explains, defending the decision to consistently sacrifice on volume and therefore profit in order to leave time for more experimentation. As Stevens puts it, “From early on, we’ve chosen to live on the pioneering side … creating trends and not following them.” No single beer ever has defined Founders—the brand has consistently innovated new styles, whether in bottling bourbon barrel aged beers, or more or less inventing the Session India Pale Ale (IPA). Luckily for Founders, in the years that followed their move, craft beer began picking up steam on a national level. Many Americans started eating better, slowly rejecting mass-produced junk food. With this national trend gaining momentum, Founders helped inspire a homegrown “eat and drink local” movement throughout Grand Rapids. A new breed of businesses began opening, including the beloved sandwich café Marie Catrib’s in 2005, and roaster/retailer MadCap Coffee in 2008. Founders’ success, and its bottom line, still ultimately comes down to the beer. The brewery holds a 97% rating at BeerAdvocate.com, arguably the most reputable user-driven beer review resource. Their most famous beers—including their Breakfast, Kentucky Breakfast, and Canadian Breakfast stouts—hold some of the site’s highest ratings. The fact that their beers are of such high quality has brought attention to the city in which they are brewed. “Being a product-driven company put us at the forefront of the industry, which put a spotlight on us, and on Grand Rapids,” says Stevens. Stevens notes that the worldwide acknowledgement the company’s beers have gotten has encouraged the beer industry to flourish in Grand Rapids. “Now we have all these breweries that are doing a great job,” he says. This growing community entices beer fans from all over the world who not only make the pilgrimage to visit Founders, but the other breweries in town, too. Engbers points out that beer enthusiasts “are vocal, they travel, and they spend money not just at breweries.” These are tourists who build cities. The company hasn’t stopped being active in the local community, though. With water being the single most important ingredient in beer, Founders has decided to partner with Grand Rapids Whitewater, a river restoration project. Employees regularly volunteer to clean the Grand River, raise money, and organize events to heal the neglected stream. The brewery is also a large sponsor of ArtPrize, the city’s annual international competition that awards the world’s largest art prize (currently $560,000). And of course, it employs a lot of people—nearly 300. “Founders is a good corporate citizen,” Korn vouches. “They’re not just making beer to make money.” Additionally, Founders collaborates with other businesses, which contributes to Grand Rapids’s economy as a whole. Perhaps the best example of this is BLiS, a small company producing barrel-aged products such as fish sauce and soy sauce. BLiS provides Founders with the maple-syrup bourbon barrels used to make Canadian Breakfast Stout. BLiS then retrieves these barrels to age a hot pepper sauce they call Blast, after which those same barrels are given back to Founders to make BLiS Blast All Day IPA (stay with us, here). Finally, BLiS uses those same barrels to make more hot sauce. BLiS owner Steve Stallard, a Grand Rapids resident since 1985, recognizes the rarity and significance of this ideally symbiotic relationship. “I think there’s a core group of individuals that are committed to developing this community,” Stallard says with gratitude. Meanwhile, a restaurant called Grove—arguably the best place to dine in Grand Rapids—serves Founders beer and uses BLiS products in their cooking. “That’s how the momentum starts,” Stevens explains of the synergy. “You can turn around within 10 years and have a really kickass town because of a couple of really cool places that might have opened with some great spirit and soul.” The thriving suburban neighborhoods of Grand Rapids have long been thought of as nice, safe places to grow up. And while the city’s downtown was built up in part by a few key developers, developers aren’t the ones who can make a place cool. Founders played the pioneering role in shifting Grand Rapids’ culture, vibe, and values. Beer managed to convert a town once content with chain stores into a creative, culinary-savvy, artistic hub. Beer—beer!—is what made downtown Grand Rapids into an international travel destination, and a place to call home. This article is part of Quartz Ideas, our home for bold arguments and big thinkers. |
The Globe and Mail | May 16, 2017 The organization that was the loudest voice in calling for a public investigation of why so many Indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing in Canada says the inquiry launched to determine the societal causes of the tragedy has, so far, been a dismal failure. The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) will issue its second report card on the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women on Tuesday, a copy of which was obtained in advance by The Globe and Mail. The discouraging appraisal follows repeated complaints by advocates, family members and others that the process announced in late 2015 is falling far behind its intended pace and that communications to those who are most anxious for its findings have been insufficient or non-existent. “This many months into the inquiry, we cannot afford to be nice any more,” said Francyne Joe, NWAC’s interim president. “Families are upset, they’re getting discouraged and we need to see action on the part of the commissioners to ensure that this inquiry is going to be family-first and is going to be respectful to the missing and murdered women.” On Monday, families of victims, Indigenous leaders and advocates for those who have lost loved ones wrote an open letter to chief commissioner Marion Buller saying they fear the $53.8-million inquiry is in “serious trouble” for many reasons but, primarily “a lack of communication that is causing frustration, confusion and disappointment in this long-awaited process.” The commission did not respond to that letter by deadline on Monday. But the report from NWAC echoes its complaints. On 10 out of 15 measures – from structure to communications to transparency to respect for the families of victims – the inquiry was given failing marks. In three areas it received cautions. In two others, NWAC said there was not enough information to make an assessment. It was given no passing grades. The report says, among other things, that the inquiry has failed to announce its timelines or issue regular progress reports and has left families and the media in the dark. The commissioners, it says, have created a sense of “desperation and urgency” by not making themselves available and not communicating regularly, and the money spent to date has not been best used to allow families to engage in the process. NWAC charges that the inquiry is not being set up to take into account the trauma suffered by victims’ loved ones, and that it has failed in its mandates to promote reconciliation, contribute to public awareness and to allow families and community members to share their experiences and views. Communication has been the biggest failure, Ms. Joe said. The media, not the commission, she said, informed NWAC last week that the lone opportunity for families to testify this spring will be at the end of May, and the remainder of family testimony, which had been expected to continue throughout the summer, would not be scheduled until fall. “My biggest fear at this point is that this is not going to be a family-first inquiry, that families are going to come third,” Ms. Joe said. “There’s a lot of discussions around the technical side of things, there’s a lot of discussions around the legal side of things. But there’s not enough discussions as to how families are going to be part of this. And they have been the ones fighting for this inquiry for decades.” A spokeswoman for Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said on Monday that, despite the concerns being raised, the minister believes enough time and resources have been made available for the inquiry to do its work. A 2014 report by the RCMP said the force had identified nearly 1,200 Indigenous women and girls who disappeared or were slain in recent decades, and some critics suggest the Mounties’ list is far from complete. Families and advocates want to know why Indigenous women and girls are victims of violence far more often than other women in Canada. The letter from families and others, which was posted on Monday to the website of Indigenous artist Christi Belcourt – a long-time advocate for the environment and Indigenous people – says people across the country are loudly raising alarms. The letter’s signatories, which include more than 50 people and organizations, say it is clear that the approach of the inquiry must be “fundamentally shifted” and asks the chief commissioner to respond by May 22. Ms. Belcourt said in a telephone interview that the letter came together in about a week and it was easy to obtain signatures. In fact, she said, more families and Indigenous leaders stepped forward in support of it on Monday after it was made public. People wanted to give the inquiry time to work, Ms. Belcourt said, “but it’s simply got to the point where it’s become very obvious that it’s unravelling, and that it’s not functioning all.” [SOURCE] |
(STMW) — A man who had an ISIS flag waving from his vehicle is facing several charges after he threatened police with a bomb Wednesday morning when he was pulled over on the Southwest Side. Emad Karakrah, 49, was charged with felony counts of disorderly conduct and aggravated fleeing; and a misdemeanor count of driving on a never-issued license, according to Chicago police. He was also issued three traffic citations. Someone called police after seeing a “suspicious person” driving a silver Pontiac southbound in the 7700 block of South Kedzie at 9:18 a.m. with an ISIS flag waving out the window, according to a police report. Officers attempted to pull over the vehicle, but the driver took off, according to the report. The officers called for assistance, and another officer pulled the vehicle over after it went through several red lights. The man told police during his arrest that there was a bomb in the car and he would detonate it if they searched the vehicle, according to the report. A bomb squad, the FBI and Homeland Security responded to the scene and searched the vehicle, but no bomb was found, authorities said. Judge Laura Sullivan ordered Karakrah held on a $55,000 bond Thursday. He is next scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 3. (Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.) |
Toxic Relationships Four Lessons Every Guy Should Learn From Being In A Toxic Relationship Toxic is certainly a buzzword that’s blazing through conversations surrounding health and wellness these days. They could be in your mattress or your non-organic fruit. Maybe toxins are lurking in your shampoo and you never even thought of it. So much thought and energy now goes into identifying and eliminating sources of toxicity to prevent it from entering your body. But what about toxins that enter your soul? Toxic people can have an arguably far worse impact on your overall being. They bring you down, inhibit your growth, and force you to be a lesser version of yourself. It’s important to identify potentially toxic friendships in your life and especially not engage in a more significant relationship that might have those same qualities. My marriage was toxic. I hardly even realized how much so until it was over. It’s kind of like the "frog getting boiled in the water" example. If you put Kermit in boiling water, he’ll jump out immediately. However if you put him in some lukewarm H2O and gradually turn up the burners under his green ass, he’ll keep chilling in the hot tub until he croaks. That’s what I was exposed to. Slow and steady toxicity infiltrating my life and by the end, there wasn’t much positive left of me. I was a depressed, defeated, and weak version of my former self. Now after truly getting over my ex, I’m in a much better place having spent time redefining what I’m all about as an individual. I’m here to lay out some of the key areas that you need to keep an eye out for, to make sure you don’t go down the same path as me. 1. Beware The Narcissist Identifying a narcissist is sometimes tough to do, but it’s important to keep it on your radar, because being married to one is even tougher. By definition a narcissist will be completely self-centered and lack empathy. In terms of a relationship, this is a complete disaster. Relationships are back and forth, they are a merging of souls, schedules, and lives. If one person is in it just for themselves, it will be a slow and painful life. They can be manipulative and deceptive. Keep an eye out for warning signs that who your with may embody some of these qualities. 2. The Friends & Family Test If she doesn’t vibe relatively well with the people you're closest to, it’s probably a bad sign. People who have known you the longest most likely get you. They know what you need in a perfect counterpart for life. If you’re getting bad vibes from the way she interacts with your close circle of friends and family, it’s probably best to give them the benefit of the doubt and severely question the longevity of this relationship. 3. People Rarely, If Ever, Change Part of the reason I stayed in my relationship for as long as I did is that I have a bit of a savior complex. I truly thought that I could change her and change our relationship to be better. I didn’t want to give up. I knew that I could make it better. That was naïve. People truly don’t change at the core. They are brought and learn a series of beliefs, principles, and a certain approach to life. Aspects of that can adjust if they are dedicated to positive personal growth, but more likely than not, they won’t do a complete 180 from what they have been up until now. 4. You Should Feel Empowered If your significant other is constantly bringing you down, not providing you with support when needed, and causing you to form insecurities… run. A true relationship should be based on being completely autonomous as individuals but, when together, you amplify each other's awesomeness. Complete support. Someone who gets you, what makes you tick, and what it takes to encourage and empower you to be amazing. RELATED READING: Why Your Breakup Might Be The Best Thing That Ever Happened To You I hope that some of these lessons will be helpful as you navigate the dating world. I can’t impress the importance enough to read prospective partners very closely for some of these red flags and warning signs. Overall, go with your gut. If it doesn’t feel right and she doesn’t seem like she would make you a much better person, then she probably won’t. Don’t end up with someone who brings you down. Hold off, never settle, never try to save someone (like I did), and I assure you that someone amazing will come along that won’t add to the plaguing toxicity in your world. |
It may not seem like it, but 2010 has tied 2005 as the warmest year since people have been keeping records, according to data from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. The two years differed by less than 0.018 degrees Fahrenheit. That difference is so small that it puts them in a statistical tie. In the new analysis, the next warmest years are 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007, which are statistically tied for third warmest year. The GISS records begin in 1880. To measure climate change, scientists look at long-term trends, and in this case used a 30-year period. Generally, to establish a change in climate, 30-year periods are used to check if one or more years is a fluke. This analysis found 2010 approximately 1.34 degrees warmer than the average global surface temperature from 1951 to 1980. The temperature trend, including data from 2010, shows the climate has warmed by approximately 0.36 F per decade since the late 1970s. If the warming trend continues, as is expected, if greenhouse gases continue to increase, the 2010 record will not stand for long, said James Hansen, the director of GISS in a statement. The analysis produced at GISS is compiled from weather data from more than 1,000 meteorological stations around the world, satellite observations of sea surface temperature and Antarctic research station measurements. A computer program uses the data to calculate temperature anomalies -- the difference between surface temperature in a given month and the average temperature for the same period during 1951 to 1980. This three-decade period acts as a baseline for the analysis. The resulting temperature record closely matches others independently produced by the Met Office Hadley Centre in the United Kingdom and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center. The record temperature in 2010 is also noteworthy because in the last half of the year there was a move to La Niña conditions, which bring cool sea surface temperatures to the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Global temperature is rising as fast in the past decade as in the prior two decades, despite year-to-year fluctuations associated with the El Niño-La Niña cycle of tropical ocean temperature, Hansen and colleagues reported in the Dec. 14 issue of Reviews of Geophysics. A chilly spell also struck this winter across northern Europe. That may have been linked to the decline of Arctic sea ice because of warming temperatures at higher latitudes. Arctic sea ice acts like a blanket, insulating the atmosphere from the ocean's heat. When it melts or never forms in the first place, the heat can escape into the atmosphere, increasing local surface temperatures. Regions in northeast Canada were more than 18 degrees warmer than normal in December. The loss of sea ice may also be driving Arctic air into the middle latitudes. Winter weather patterns are notoriously chaotic, and the GISS analysis finds seven of the last 10 European winters warmer than the average from 1951 to 1980. The unusual cold in the past two winters has made scientists speculate about a potential connection to sea ice changes. One possibility is that the heat source due to open water in Hudson Bay affected Arctic wind patterns, with a seesaw pattern that has Arctic air downstream pouring into Europe, Hansen said. |
Ecuador’s Quito City Council has awarded a $1.5bn contract to a consortium of Spain’s Acciona Infrastructure and Brazil’s Construtora Norberto Odebrecht to build the second phase of Quito Metro Line 1. Scope of work under the contract will include the construction of a 22km-long tunnel, 13 new stations, carriage sheds and workshops, and railway facilities required for commissioning. Formed in equal parts by Acciona and Odebrecht, the consortium won the contract as it submitted the lowest-priced bid. "The new metro line is intended to ease traffic congestion in Quito and its suburbs and improve the efficiency of public transport." According to Acciona, rolling stock was not included within the scope of the contract. However, equipment and system integration, as well as commissioning, will be coordinated between the contractor and the supplier of the rolling stock. The first phase of the project, which covers construction of La Magdalena and El Labrador stations, was awarded in 2012 to Acciona, which has already completed the civil works for these stations. Last May, Quito Metro started tendering for a contract to supply 18 six-car trains and four maintenance vehicles. The first Quito metro line will run from the Quitumbe bus terminal in the city’s south to El Labrador station in the north, developed on the site of an old airport. Work under the deal is expected to be completed in three years, with an additional six months for systems integration and commissioning. The metro line will have stations at Quitumbe, Morán Valverde, Solanda, El Calzado, El Recreo, La Magdalena, San Francisco, La Alameda, El Ejido, Universidad Central, La Pradera, La Carolina, Iñaquito, Jipijapa and El Labrador. The Municipality of Quito and the Ecuadorian Government are providing the majority of the funding for the project, along with the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, and the European Investment Bank (EIB). In December 2012, EIB has provided a €200m loan for the construction of the Quito metro line project. Expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2016, the new metro line is intended to ease traffic congestion in Quito and its suburbs and improve the efficiency of public transport. Operations on the new line are scheduled to begin in early 2017. |
If Google and Facebook rely on opaque algorithms, what does that mean for democracy? Updated We can confidently say we are living in the age of the algorithm. Some of the most influential organisations of our day use secret algorithms that steer us towards what we should read and watch, recommend restaurants and holiday destinations, as well as provide relationship guidance. But what about how we vote? The innovation of algorithms means even our political leanings are being analysed and potentially also manipulated. Cambridge Analytica is an artificial intelligence data mining organisation that reportedly helped Donald Trump to the White House and assisted the Brexit campaign (though the company denies that). It may sound extreme, but the organisation has been described as establishing "weaponised artificial intelligence" to manipulate opinions and behaviour with the purpose of advancing specific political agendas. In fact, Jonathan Albright, from Elon University, told The Guardian we were seeing the emergence of "… a propaganda machine … targeting people individually to recruit them … capturing people and then keeping them on an emotional leash and never letting them go". In some ways, this all seems very familiar. It is not far off Frank Underwood's presidential bid in Season 4 of House of Cards, with big data and algorithms used to determine people's political preferences. But just how powerful is this algorithm? Originally developed by a Cambridge psychology professor, the algorithm works by correlating an individual's Facebook Likes with their OCEAN scores to identify their gender, sexuality, political beliefs, personality traits and even political leanings. (OCEAN refers to someone's big five personality traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism and is a standard-bearing personality questionnaire used by psychologists.) According to Das Magazine, the algorithm showed incredible accuracy when tested. By analysing just 10 Facebook Likes, it could evaluate a person's character better than an average co-worker. It escalates from there: with 70 likes, better than friends; with 150 likes, better than their parents; and, with 300 likes, better than their partner. As a cultural researcher, I'm interested in the way we engage with our citizenship. Such algorithms concern me as I do not think our democracy is prepared for these innovations. According to a Scout report, our data can be harvested to not only predict our behaviour, but ultimately even modify it. That has to have an impact on our democracy. As Tamsin Shaw from New York University notes: "The capacity for this science to be used to manipulate emotions is very well established. This is military-funded technology that has been harnessed by a global plutocracy and is being used to sway elections in ways that people can't even see [and] don't even realise is happening to them." So, what can be done with this information? Think about the influence of fake news during the last US presidential election. While many voters were staunchly anti-Trump, information sent to them was never pro-Republican. Rather, news articles, both real and fake, were sent to anti-Trump supporters that fostered doubt about the integrity of Hillary Clinton — therefore increasing the odds that they would stay away from the polling booths. They may never vote for Trump but they became less likely to vote for Clinton. More so, this is adaptive: if they drive something at you and you ignore it, something else is delivered to you until you take the (click) bait. It then knows your triggers and continues to deliver more of the same. In a democracy, we assume that we understand where the information comes from, but this is no longer the case. The sources we have come to rely on for gathering information are themselves reliant on algorithms that can be gamed. This became clear when Google's search engine was manipulated by extreme right-wing groups working with conspiracy theorists to deny the Holocaust ever happened. It meant that, until Google fixed the problem, the highest rated sites to pop up after a search on Nazi death camps were those denying their existence. The effects could be profound. As the writer Carole Cadwalladr notes: "Google is not 'just' a platform. It frames, shapes and distorts how we see the world." If we combine the manipulation of the news we receive with the gaming of the world's most powerful search engines, suddenly our democratic free-will seems vulnerable. Such developments are now impacting our everyday lives and we may not even realise. An increasing number of organisations — be they government or private businesses — are now relying on artificial intelligence or machine-learning systems to make decisions. This is an exciting development. New learning systems mean that educational organisations can identify at-risk students and suggest additional study resources. Likewise, we can use data to identify health risks of specific populations. Both these applications have incredible potential to assist some of the most vulnerable populations. But we should also be aware of the downside. Increased reliance on artificial intelligence means that the human element is diminished in decision-making. While the aim is to limit bias, if the algorithm learns from systems that are themselves biased, then we perpetuate discrimination. In the United States, a risk-scoring system used to assist in the sentencing of criminals actually discriminated against the black population, according to an investigation by ProPublica. China will reportedly soon be using an algorithm to assign each person a "citizen score". This will determine the conditions by which they can get a loan, the type of work they can do, and even their ability to travel. The machine decides. Who can argue with that? Will our democracy survive? Just how serious is this? These issues have meant that some of the world's leading universities have now developed programs on both the ethics and safety in AI. My own, Western Sydney University, is developing a data ethics project. As noted, one of the things that drive our democracy is knowing where the information comes from. But when that information appears on Google or in our Facebook feed, the source is never identified as propaganda — it seems to be free and independent and, as such, we are susceptible. A recent report by the London School of Economics investigating the impacts of AI on democracy noted that UK's electoral laws were "weak and helpless" in the face of new forms of digital campaigning. The laws that have always underpinned Britain's electoral system could not keep up and needed "urgent review by parliament". According to Professor David Miller at Bath University, "it should be clear to voters where information is coming from, and if it's not transparent or open where it's coming from, it raises the question of whether we are actually living in a democracy or not." There is no doubt that the bringing together of artificial intelligence and big data has the potential to be incredibly positive. It can assist in our decision-making as well as provide us with insights into our behaviour to help understand who we are. But like any technological advancement, it is a double-edged sword, and we have to decide just how exactly to deal with it. Professor James Arvanitakis is a researcher at the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University. Topics: robots-and-artificial-intelligence, science-and-technology, government-and-politics, internet-culture, information-and-communication, social-media, australia First posted |
Amalickiah conspires to be king—Moroni raises the title of liberty—He rallies the people to defend their religion—True believers are called Christians—A remnant of Joseph will be preserved—Amalickiah and the dissenters flee to the land of Nephi—Those who will not support the cause of freedom are put to death. About 73–72 B.C. 1 And it came to pass that as many as would not hearken to the of Helaman and his brethren were gathered together against their brethren. 2 And now behold, they were exceedingly wroth, insomuch that they were determined to slay them. 3 Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong man; and his name was . 4 And Amalickiah was desirous to be a ; and those people who were wroth were also desirous that he should be their king; and they were the greater part of them the lower of the land, and they were seeking for power. 5 And they had been led by the of Amalickiah, that if they would support him and establish him to be their king that he would make them rulers over the people. 6 Thus they were led away by Amalickiah to dissensions, notwithstanding the preaching of Helaman and his brethren, yea, notwithstanding their exceedingly great care over the church, for they were over the church. 7 And there were many in the church who believed in the words of Amalickiah, therefore they even from the church; and thus were the affairs of the people of Nephi exceedingly precarious and dangerous, notwithstanding their great which they had had over the Lamanites, and their great rejoicings which they had had because of their by the hand of the Lord. 8 Thus we see how the children of men do the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do , and to be led away by the evil one. 9 Yea, and we also see the great one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men. 10 Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to the church of God, and to destroy the foundation of which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the sake. 11 And now it came to pass that when Moroni, who was the commander of the armies of the Nephites, had heard of these dissensions, he was angry with Amalickiah. 12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it— memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole. 13 And he fastened on his head-plate, and his , and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the ) and he himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of remain to possess the land— 14 For thus were all the true believers of Christ, who belonged to the church of God, called by those who did not belong to the church. 15 And those who did belong to the church were ; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ them, gladly, the name of Christ, or as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come. 16 And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the of the land might be favored. 17 And it came to pass that when he had poured out his soul to God, he named all the land which was of the land , yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the and on the south—A chosen land, and the land of . 18 And he said: Surely God shall not that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own . 19 And when Moroni had said these words, he went forth among the people, waving the part of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying with a loud voice, saying: 20 Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and into a covenant that they will their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them. 21 And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running with their armor girded about their loins, their garments in token, or as a , that they would not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words, if they should transgress the commandments of God, or fall into transgression, and be to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them even as they had rent their garments. 22 Now this was the covenant which they made, and they their garments at the feet of Moroni, saying: We with our God, that we shall be destroyed, even as our brethren in the land northward, if we shall fall into transgression; yea, he may cast us at the feet of our enemies, even as we have cast our garments at thy feet to be trodden under foot, if we shall fall into transgression. 23 Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of , whose was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain. 24 Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a of Joseph; yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw that a of the of the coat of Joseph was and had not decayed. And he said—Even as this remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a of the seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself, while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of his garment. 25 Now behold, this giveth my soul sorrow; nevertheless, my soul hath joy in my son, because of that part of his seed which shall be taken unto God. 26 Now behold, this was the language of Jacob. 27 And now who knoweth but what the remnant of the seed of Joseph, which shall perish as his garment, are those who have dissented from us? Yea, and even it shall be ourselves if we do not stand fast in the faith of Christ. 28 And now it came to pass that when Moroni had said these words he went forth, and also sent forth in all the parts of the land where there were dissensions, and gathered together all the people who were desirous to maintain their liberty, to stand against Amalickiah and those who had dissented, who were called Amalickiahites. 29 And it came to pass that when Amalickiah saw that the people of Moroni were more numerous than the Amalickiahites—and he also saw that his people were concerning the justice of the cause in which they had undertaken—therefore, fearing that he should not gain the point, he took those of his people who would and departed into the . 30 Now Moroni thought it was not expedient that the Lamanites should have any more ; therefore he thought to cut off the people of Amalickiah, or to take them and bring them back, and put Amalickiah to death; yea, for he knew that he would stir up the Lamanites to anger against them, and cause them to come to battle against them; and this he knew that Amalickiah would do that he might obtain his purposes. 31 Therefore Moroni thought it was expedient that he should take his armies, who had gathered themselves together, and armed themselves, and entered into a covenant to keep the peace—and it came to pass that he took his army and marched out with his tents into the wilderness, to cut off the course of Amalickiah in the wilderness. 32 And it came to pass that he did according to his desires, and marched forth into the wilderness, and headed the armies of Amalickiah. 33 And it came to pass that Amalickiah with a small number of his men, and the remainder were delivered up into the hands of Moroni and were taken back into the land of Zarahemla. 34 Now, Moroni being a man who was by the chief judges and the voice of the people, therefore he had power according to his will with the armies of the Nephites, to establish and to exercise authority over them. 35 And it came to pass that whomsoever of the Amalickiahites that would not enter into a covenant to support the of freedom, that they might maintain a free , he caused to be put to death; and there were but few who denied the covenant of freedom. 36 And it came to pass also, that he caused the to be hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land, which was possessed by the Nephites; and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the Nephites. 37 And they began to have peace again in the land; and thus they did maintain peace in the land until nearly the end of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges. 38 And Helaman and the did also maintain order in the church; yea, even for the space of four years did they have much peace and rejoicing in the church. 39 And it came to pass that there were many who died, firmly that their souls were redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ; thus they went out of the world rejoicing. 40 And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land—but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of , to which men were subject by the nature of the climate— 41 But there were many who died with age; and those who died in the faith of Christ are in him, as we must needs suppose. |
Nude Armor nicotine base uses our same tried-and-true formulation for our standard nicotine base. However, Nude Armor is packaged and sealed for long term storage and frequent use! Patented technology (not ours - we'd be millionaires if so) for the inlet seal allows a luer-slip syringe tip to be inserted through the septum into the bottle and draw large quantities of solution, even 100% VG solutions. We have tested this with 1, 5, and 10mL luer slip syringes, all with great success. The largest bottle size, however, we were able to utilize without vacuum issues and internal volume problems was the 500mL size (unfortunately no 1L variation yet). The 1L size started to crack under the vacuum pressure in a few tests, even with the thick and sturdy glass bottle. Please understand our limiting to the 500mL maximum aliquot size for safety in handling concerns :) Simply insert the included 1mL or 10mL luer slip syringe into the opening, turn the bottle upside down, then draw the required amount into the syringe! The adapter will self-seal immediately upon removal of the syringe tip. Thus Nude Armor v2.0 will be packaged in single 120mL, 250mL, and 500mL amber glass aliquots with the self-sealing luer-lock adapter affixed under the hermetically-sealed cap. When shipped, no argon will be necessary to purge the empty volume inside the bottle as a vacuum system in the laboratory will remove all atmospheric content (vacuum) prior to shipment. In addition, a 1 and 10mL luer-slip syringe will be included with your shipment for use to extract solution. Click here to view our most recent certificate of analysis : ) Our Nude Armor v2.0 base is perfect for the consumer looking to store their nicotine base for extended periods of time with a need to frequent access to a single bottle at a mixing station, all while being keen to ensure their nicotine base is in its purest state, free of oxidation products or degradation from storage. Ensure your nicotine is of the finest quality, and kept in a cGMP laboratory-approved storage solution! Choose Nude Armor v2.0! |
Every day, people are flushing away precious resources by pooping in their drinking water. This wastes scarce water supplies (around 10 gallons per person each day), energy (to pump water and treat sewage), hard-earned money, and loads upon loads of fertile feces. That’s right—our poo is precious. When dropped in a composting toilet (CT), these rich deposits break down to form a safe and nutritious soil amendment. Voilà! Our wastes become food again, and our water stays sparkly fresh. Amazing, we know. So, then why the heck aren’t we all composting our poo?! Well, it seems our bad potty habits are hard to break. While there are some CT pioneers out there leading the charge, what we really need is a full-on humanure revolution! And that begins with teaching our kids about composting early on, before talking about poo becomes taboo... Poo to Peaches is a colorful and engaging book that teaches children about composting toilets and the nutrient cycle. Kids learn the basics of proper CT use to transform poo into compost, which gets added to the soil to grow more peaches! Written in a fun, rhyming style, this book is perfect for preschoolers and kindergarteners. We worked with a talented artist, Kim Afinowich, who has created beautiful hand-drawn illustrations that bring the story to life. The finished 20-page, softcover book will be professionally printed in full color and bound in an attractive 11x8.5 landscape format. We’ve found an awesome sustainable manufacturer to print Poo to Peaches according to Green Press Initiative standards on post-consumer recycled paper. An eco-audit page will be included in the book to inform readers of the resources and energy saved by using environmentally-friendly materials. We created Poo to Peaches as an educational resource for both kids and parents. Each page in the children’s story will have a complementary page for adults with information on using and maintaining composting toilets. Think of it as “sustainable potty training” for all ages! The children’s section of Poo to Peaches is already completed. You can download an early draft of the book now to share with your family. We need your help to finish and publish the book so we can get kids (and adults) everywhere excited about composting! We’ll also be presenting educational programs using Poo to Peaches in schools and libraries throughout the Tucson and Phoenix communities. Composting toilets can have a huge beneficial impact on the environment. By not flushing the toilet, a family of 3 in Tucson saves: 10,950 gallons of water per year (much of it sourced from the Colorado River via the Central Arizona Project) 13 kWh per year & 30 lbs CO2 per year (in sourcing potable water) 29-83 kWh per year & 65-186 lbs CO2 per year for treating resulting wastewater The average person produces 13 gallons of feces each year. If properly composted, this brown gold could fertilize 15-30 sq. ft of crops AND save up to 621 lbs CO2 per year from not importing soil amendments! Some of WMG's staff enjoying poo-fertilized peaches! Watershed Management Group (WMG) is a nonprofit organization based in Tucson, Arizona that works to connect people with their environment. Water conservation is a key issue for us here in the desert Southwest. We are big proponents of composting toilets to conserve water while reducing energy demand, enriching our soil—and saving money! Working with designs developed by CT guru David Omick, WMG has installed several site-built barrel composting toilets in Tucson. These affordable, easy-to-construct systems have been permitted under a pilot project with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. So far, we've been getting great results! Samples from the finished compost have been tested by the University of Arizona and graded as “Class A” soil amendment, safe for landscape and agricultural use. We’re making some exciting progress in opening the eyes, and minds, of government officials and regular folks to the benefits of composting toilets. But to achieve a broad shift in public perception to make composting human waste a more accepted and “normal” idea, we need to get kids excited about it. Poo to Peaches will be a powerful tool to help make this happen! |
Photo by: Heather Coit/The News-Gazette Illinois students come out in force to vote at polling locations, like McKinley Presbyterian Church & Foundation, seen here, across UI campus in Champaign on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. We've known all along that college-age voters love Bernie Sanders, and last Tuesday's voting in Champaign-Urbana confirmed it. But it wasn't as well known that they — or at least the students at the University of Illinois — don't seem to think much of Donald Trump. In last week's voting in the nine student-dominated precincts in Champaign-Urbana, Sanders got 4,065 votes to 463 for Hillary Clinton. Clinton's numbers were pretty good compared with those going to the four Republicans who were still campaigning at the time of Tuesday's voting (Marco Rubio dropped out of the race that evening): 294 for John Kasich, 250 for Rubio, 233 for Ted Cruz and 194 for Trump. Other nuggets from primary election voting in Champaign-Urbana: — More Democratic ballots were drawn in every one of Urbana's 23 precincts and in all but two of Champaign's 39 precincts. City of Champaign 32 (which votes at the Free Methodist Church on South Mattis Avenue) had one more GOP than Democratic ballot, and City of Champaign 33 (which votes at the Meadowbrook Community Church on Duncan Road) had 23 more Republican ballots. Ted Cruz won both precincts. — Sanders won 22 of 23 precincts in Urbana and 34 of 39 precincts in Champaign. Among Republicans in Urbana, Kasich and Cruz each won nine precincts, Rubio took two, Trump won one, and Trump and Cruz tied in two. Among Republicans in Champaign, Cruz won 18 precincts, Kasich took 13, Trump won four, Rubio won one, and Trump and Cruz tied in three. — Sanders was a huge winner overall, not just in the student precincts. He got 15,831 votes (9,412 in Champaign and 6,419 in Urbana) to 6,064 for Clinton (3,702 in Champaign and 2,362 in Urbana). Cruz was the top vote-getter among Republicans with 3,223 (2,407 in Champaign and 816 in Urbana), followed by Kasich (1,839 Champaign and 612 Urbana), then Trump (1,794 Champaign and 602 Urbana) and Rubio (1,046 Champaign and 382 Urbana). — The biggest voter turnout was in Cunningham 10 (which votes at the Urbana Free Library and is generally the Carle Park neighborhood) with a spectacular 72.21 percent turnout. There Democrats outnumbered Republicans more than 9-to-1. Four years ago its turnout was only 41 percent. — The best turnout in Champaign was in City of Champaign 7 (voting at Skelton Place) with 68.95 percent. Democrats there outnumbered Republicans 4-to-1. Four years ago its turnout was just 4 percent. — Voting in student precincts was remarkable this year, with turnouts averaging 54.95 percent, with a high of 70.45 percent in Cunningham 2. Four years ago none of the precincts got out of single digits. — The overall turnout in Champaign County — 48.22 percent — may have been the best in Illinois. It was the best of all the area counties, although Douglas was close with 46.87 percent. Even Sangamon County (home of state government) had only a 43.21 percent turnout. The 57,598 people who voted in Tuesday's primary are more than twice the 26,212 who voted in the 2012 presidential primary or the 26,192 who voted in 2004. — Both parties set local records for turnout on Tuesday: 31,313 Democratic ballots pulled and 26,226 Republican ballots. Finally, all of these numbers are unofficial and they're likely to change with a retabulation and/or the counting of late absentee ballots. But the record will survive. Congratulations, voters, especially the hundreds of students we encountered on campus at 7 p.m. Tuesday who said they were determined to stay in line until they got to vote, even though they faced a wait of 45 to 60 minutes. Not only that, they weren't complaining. Tom Kacich is a News-Gazette reporter and columnist. His column appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. He can be reached at 351-5221 or at kacich@news-gazette.com. |
I think it’s hilarious that we were basically strung along for weeks in anticipation of the unveiling of the new Browns logo and after all this time we get a brown facemask, a slightly more saturated orange, and a new Dawg Pound logo which looks like an adorable looney tunes puppy. Honestly I wasn’t surprised they didn’t change much. The Browns have such a classic look that despite all of Nike’s bluster about the big changes incoming, I don’t see much changing. The Browns have used the same basic look for their entire history, I can’t see Nike doing much more than small color changes and maybe some slightly new design elements to the uniform. I assume the new orange will be on the uniform, and I assume the brown facemask (which I like) will also be incorporated. I’m guessing the uniform will still be Brown, with orange and white stripes on the shoulders. If Nike does anything fancy it’s going to be done to the pants. Maybe weird stripes or something goofy like the things on the Seahawks pants. I actually think the Browns uniforms will end up good, they have a solid color base to work on, a solid basic design in place, and I doubt a place as proud of their team history as Cleveland is going to allow anything too radical. Unless maybe Haslam has truly lost his mind. We’ll see the new uniforms on April 14th if the source I read was correct, and I’m actually pretty interested. Nike is hit or miss for me with their changes, and so far I like the Browns minor changes so we’ll see. |
A stunning image dubbed the Pillars of Creation is possibly the most famous and iconic ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Now the European Space Agency has taken the same target and turned up the wow factor with a new image produced by two other observatories in space. Those pillars, looking like ET’s outstretched fingers in the sky, were just part of a cloud of gas and dust that astronomers term the Eagle Nebula. Lying 6,500 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens, it is just one of many clouds throughout our Milky Way galaxy where new stars are being born. Hubble could not actually see the newly hatching stars because dust blocked the view inside their clumpy incubators, known rather fittingly as EGGs for “evaporating gaseous globules”. But telescopes watching in different light, further along the spectrum from the visible, have been able to peer directly through the same dust to identify the hatchlings. One of the telescopes responsible for the new picture was ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory, which Skymania’s Paul Sutherland visited in Friedrichshafen, Germany, as it was being assembled for its flight into space. This probe, which is able to see with infrared eyes, captured a wide-field view with the famous pillars, each many light-years long, showing at its centre. The Herschel data was combined with an X-ray view from ESA’s orbiting XMM-Newton telescope, revealing the hot young stars that carved out the pillars. This view is only visible from space because X-rays get absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere. The results from the two space telescopes were merged with pictures taken in the near-infrared by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal, and in visible light from Max Planck Gesellschaft 2.2meter diameter telescope at La Silla, both high observatory sites in Chile operated by the European Southern Observatory. Together they have produced a powerful new picture of a cosmic maternity ward that not only inspires the general public but contains data that helps professional scientists understand more about how starbirth actually happens. ESA notes that in visible wavelengths, the nebula shines mainly due to reflected starlight and hot gas filling the giant cavity, covering the surfaces of the pillars and other dusty structures. This gives the famous Hubble photo an almost 3D quality, which Skymania News heard one professional astronomer offer as a reason for the photo’s iconic nature at a meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society last week. However, at near-infrared wavelengths, the dust becomes almost transparent and the pillars virtually vanish from view. They reappear in the far-infrared picture obtained by Herschel as it detects this cold dust and sees the pillars glowing in their own light. Herschel recorded intricate, shining tendrils of dust and gas which give astronomers clues about how it interacts with strong ultraviolet light from the hot stars seen by XMM-Newton. Those famous pillars no longer exist, it seems. The Eagle Nebula contains a young hot star cluster, NGC6611, which is easily seen in amateur astronomers’ telescopes. Professional astronomers believe that one of the stars in the cluster exploded in a supernova 6,000 years ago, producing a shockwave that destroyed the pillars. If so, we will not witness this act of wanton destruction for hundreds of years yet because the Eagle Nebula is so far away. Read ESA’s special release about the new image and how it was produced. Related: Pillars of Creation toppled |
Published by Breanne L It may seem counter-intuitive, but snacking after a workout is essential to your recovery–boosting your protein intake and replacing valuable minerals lost during workouts helps you get the best out of it. These recipes–from classic shakes and bars to simple things you can keep in the pantry–are perfect for post-workout snacking. Musclefood has an incredible range of bits and bars – and you can use our exclusive £5 off Musclefood promo code. Bites and Bars Forget store-bought; this selection of make-at-home bites and bars are the perfect portable post-workout snacks, and you can have full control over what you put in them. They’re great to have on hand for times when you’re in a rush. Nuts, coconut or almond flour, coconut milk and protein powder, along with freeze-dried strawberries make these tasty bars live up to their name. They contain no gluten or refined sugar and can easily be made vegan, so they’re a very diet-friendly bar indeed! A truly decadent post-workout snack, these protein bites use coconut or peanut flour along with protein powder and nut butter to achieve their impressive protein content and their delicious flavour. Butter extract gives them all of the flavour of butter without any of the fat! If you want to feel just like a little kid again (or you’re looking for more kid-friendly protein bars), these are the post-workout snack for you! Decorated with colourful sprinkles, these cake-batter flavoured bars contain cashew butter, oat flour, and vanilla protein to aid your recovery. They might taste just like a brownie, but these bites are tiny, protein-packed balls of power. They’re gluten-free, grain-free and vegan, and contain no oil or refined sugar, so you won’t have to feel guilty about them for a moment. This recipe uses oats, oat bran, protein powder and Nutella (homemade or store bought) to make a single-serve batch of protein balls for breakfast, or split it up for a smaller snack. No one could say no to these, so they’ll please even the fussiest eater. If peanut butter is your jam, these protein bars will be perfect for you. Packed with high-protein peanut butter, coconut flour, protein powder and almond milk as the only ingredients, it’s no wonder they’re as high-protein as they are. When you really need a post-workout boost, reach for one of these. These simple no-bake bars come together quickly, and with the flavours of almond and chocolate and the fudgy texture of these bars, wolfing them down after a workout won’t be a hardship! Oats and almonds give them their protein content. Oats, cashews, walnuts and protein powder come together in these gingerbread bites to make the perfect post-workout snack. Just blend, roll into balls, and enjoy once you’re done with all the hard work. These delectable little bites might taste like they’re going to undo all your hard work, but with coconut flour, cashew milk and soy protein, they’ll give you the protein hit you need without the calories. These exotic-tasting bars combine the flavour of green tea with all the protein benefits of almond butter, rice protein powder, and oat flour. With the drizzle of chocolate over the top, healthy treats never tasted so good! These vegan bars are made with a base of high-protein black beans, which give extra depth to the chocolatey flavour. Combined with peanut butter, this is just like eating a Reese’s cup, only guilt-free and good for you! Not only are these bites adorable, but they let you have your morning cinnamon roll without all the empty carbs and refined sugar. They’re much easier to make than they look, and the protein powder and coconut flour content means that one serving (3 bites) packs a big protein hit. Get your post-workout pumpkin pie spice hit with these delicious little bites! This recipe has two versions–one with protein powder, and one without–so you can decide how you want to make them. Both versions come together in the blender in seconds. The flavours of lemon and coconut come together in these bars, bolstered in the protein stakes by chia seeds, almond meal, eggs and coconut flour. They’re easy to whip up and even easier to eat. These little bites only use a handful of common ingredients, and get their protein content from the yogurt and slivered almonds in them. They’re stored in the freezer and will keep for a long time, so you can keep them on hand all the time for a protein hit. Not strictly either a bar or a bite, these protein cookies still get the job done with their luscious strawberry lemonade flavour, fudgy texture, and in addition to being high-protein thanks to the coconut flour and protein powder, they’re also gluten-free! Who needs coffee for a pick-me-up when you can have these maple-vanilla-latte flavoured bites? Made from ground nuts, the nut butter of your choice, and vanilla protein powder, they’ll leave you looking forward to your workout even on the worst days! Packed with seeds and nuts, these crunchy protein bars are gluten-free, vegan, and very easy to make. Even people who hate baking should have no trouble making these simple bars, and the small effort is more than worth the big protein hit per bar. These super-easy no-bake bars keep well in the fridge–or freeze indefinitely–so they’re a good standby to have on hand. Made with protein powder, cashews, oats and almond milk, they’re soft, chewy, and taste just like a cinnamon roll! These bites pack a punch, with just four of them coming in at a whopping 9 grams of protein. This is a simple recipe made of oats, protein powder and water, so they’re also super low-fat and they don’t contain any cane sugar. They may not sound appetising, but the black beans in these bites just make the chocolate taste all the richer–and all without any flour or added sugar! High-protein black beans are combined with oats and coconut oil to make a gorgeous baked slice that can be cut up and used as a post-workout snack when you need a chocolate hit. No protein powder? No problem! These delicious little bite-sized snacks get all of their protein content from dry-roasted edamame, which is super healthy in lots of ways, including being high-protein (and tasty!). Shakes and Smoothies The humble shake is a post-workout classic for a reason–they’re easy to get down after a hard workout, which can sometimes be difficult with other snacks. But forget the boring powdered shakes–these versions will have you looking forward to every workout. Go retro with this comforting, delicious smoothie packed with protein. Add a banana, some sugar-free, fat-free pudding mix and some delicious whipped cream to your protein powder for this sumptuous shake. We’ve all looked at a jar of Nutella and thought about just eating it with a spoon. This protein-packed recipe allows you to do practically that, while still getting the post-workout boost you need and without any refined sugar! Peanut butter, apple and chocolate protein powder come together in this quick-and-easy post-workout shake. It takes seconds to prepare and can be iced for hot days. Myprotein have excellent value whey impact protein, you’ll find it on our MyProtein discount codes page. This smoothie tastes like a liquid cinnamon roll, and is packed with yogurt and oats for protein. The recipe makes enough for two, so you can share this one with a workout buddy if you want to make your popularity skyrocket. For a taste of the tropics, whip up this coconut-flavoured shake, made simply from protein powder, almond milk and pineapple, with a little coconut and rum extract added to make it taste just like a cocktail–but one you can happily drink before noon! This drink combines the goodness of flax and chia with the protein content of peanut butter and the potassium from a banana to make a perfectly balanced workout recovery snack. The fact that it’s chocolate-flavoured is the cherry on the top! This shake uses vanilla protein powder for the protein content, and apples, spices, and even a graham cracker for the flavour. If you’re craving a slice of apple pie, this is the perfect high-protein alternative. Put this smoothie in the fridge the night before and it’ll be ready to go when you’re finished with your workout! Containing oats, chia seeds, and the nut butter of your choice, it’s a chocolatey, filling snack, especially perfect for morning workouts. This shake comes together in the blender quickly and tastes just like a blueberry cheesecake! With high-protein kefir and cottage cheese, this shake doesn’t use any protein powder at all to achieve its protein content, which is perfect if you’re looking to change things up. Packing a whopping 36g of protein per serve, this shake is the closest thing you’ll get to a true meal replacement that you can drink with a straw. Using cottage cheese, cream cheese and protein powder, this is one protein hit that’ll really get you back on your feet after a workout. If you’ve ever thought you’d like to drink a birthday cake, this is the post-workout smoothie for you. Bolstered with protein powder, this smoothie gets its flavour from fat-free, sugar-free vanilla pudding mix, and a handful of sprinkles on the top. Just three ingredients make this shake–vanilla soymilk, frozen blueberries, and vanilla protein powder. It’s fresh-tasting and fruity, but with minimal sugar from the berries and plenty of protein, making it the perfect post-workout snack if you’re tired of cake and chocolate flavoured ones! Forget the pumpkin spice latte–replace it with this shake, which harvests the protein power of pumpkin puree, alongside protein powder and bananas, to make a satisfying shake with all the flavours of the Fall. Not only does this decadent smoothie have a good dose of protein, it also contains a full serve of leafy greens! This is a great balanced smoothie for your post-workout pick-me-up, and you won’t even know it’s healthy when you taste it. This simple shake makes use of chai tea bags, steeped overnight in the milk of your choice, and then blended with vanilla protein powder to make a quick and easy post-workout treat. Much better for you than a chai latte! All the rich deliciousness of a caramel mocha frappuccino without any of the guilt! This caramel mocha shake includes a shot of coffee–bought from your favourite coffee shop or brewed at home–and cottage cheese and protein powder to make it a healthy snack for your recovery time. Just like sitting down to dessert, only better! This shake uses cottage cheese and protein powder for that all-important protein boost, and comes out tasting just like a banana split! There’s luxury for you. Relive your childhood with this much healthier version of the classic Orange Julius! With the protein content boosted to 20g per serving by your favourite protein powder, this is one previously-unhealthy treat you can now afford to have on a daily basis! This Christmassy shake is sure to get you into the holiday spirit! Made with chocolate protein powder and a banana for texture, it’s rich, chocolatey and festive–the perfect thing to help you stay in shape over the Christmas season. Here’s one for those of you who aren’t getting enough leafy greens in your diet. This refreshing smoothie incorporates spinach for a full serve of vegetables, and also has chia seeds and protein powder, making it ultra-healthy, but still delicious! This minty shake would make a perfect St. Patrick’s day celebration, though there’s no reason you couldn’t drink it the rest of the year as well. Packed with cream cheese and protein powder, it may not grant you a silver tongue, but it’ll definitely help you recover from a workout! This shake is designed to mask the taste of protein powder, using raspberries and chocolate to do the job without adding too many calories to the total. If you’re not a huge fan of the taste of powdered shakes, this recipe might make your life a little easier. Get all the flavour and coffee benefits of a peppermint mocha frappuccino with the added protein of greek yogurt and protein powder in this delicious post-workout drink that tastes just like a fancy coffee from your favourite chain store. Fruit-Based Snacks Keep it simple and get one of your daily serves of fruit with these post-workout snacks that have fruit as their main component. These are especially good for replacing minerals lost due to sweating, and they’re naturally low in refined sugar, as well as mostly gluten-free, and often vegan. Many of them are also very low-effort–as little as one ingredient and one step! Go bananas for these delicious post-workout treats! The chocolate coating incorporates coconut oil and protein powder, so you get a good protein hit. The bananas are frozen, so this is a great option for a hot day. This recipe is super simple to make, and you can keep it in the freezer so you’ll always have a post-workout snack on hand when you need it. Just four simple ingredients make this fancy-looking bark, and you can always choose your own favourite fruits! There’s nothing easier than this recipe. Simply make up a spread using fat-free Greek yogurt and your preferred protein powder–chocolate or vanilla, depending on your preference–and serve it on rice cakes topped with whatever fruit you have on hand. The name alone should be enough to get you interested in this unusual post-workout snack. The flavours of basil and blackberry go together beautifully, and the cheese adds plenty of protein–you can top it off with the meat of your choice, if you so desire, for truly gourmet nachos! Fruit-filled serves of oatmeal make a great post-workout snack that you can put in the fridge the night before, ready to go when you need it most. The oats and greek yogurt are a great source of protein, the fruit provides vitamins and minerals, and if you really want to kick it up a notch, feel free to add a scoop or two of protein powder to the mix. This post-workout snack requires almost no effort–simply mix the high-protein, three-ingredient dip, and pick out some favourite fruits to eat it with! Bananas and apples are both great options, but you can have whatever you like. If you don’t want to drink your smoothie, try this ultra-healthy smoothie bowl instead. Packed with protein from the kefir and a ton of yummy fruit (as well as a healthy serving of spinach), this snack will make you feel good. These tempting quesadillas replace the traditional cheese with a high-protein hit of peanut butter, and you might never go back to the traditional version after you’ve tried them. Same great gooey texture, filled with delicious fruit, they make a great post-workout snack when you want something warm and comforting. One ingredient, one step. What more could you want from a post-workout snack? Pick a favorite fruity (or not!) yogurt, drop dollops onto a baking tray, and freeze. Couldn’t be simpler, and you can always have them on hand to cool down after a hard workout. These may look a little odd, but they’re a great way to make a high-protein but low-carb post-workout snack. Cut an apple into slices, put your favourite nut butter between them for protein, and enjoy. Make this simple snack directly in a single-serve yogurt pot of your choice for on-the-go high-protein eating. So easy it doesn’t even need directions! You’d be forgiven for not believing this was good for you, but this high-protein dip, combined with your favourite fruits and nuts, is the perfect post-workout recovery snack. It uses cultured coconut milk, coconut flour, and protein powder to make a creamy, moreish dip you won’t have any trouble finishing off. These take a little effort to make, but they’re more than worth it for the result! Delicious bites of strawberry and banana get added protein from Greek yogurt and slivered almonds, making these little bites of joy perfect when you’ve finished your workout. This section wouldn’t be complete without a pumpkin-themed dip, and this one combines all your favourite pumpkin pie flavours into a delicious high-protein dip, thanks to the yogurt, peanut butter, and the pumpkin itself. You could even get away with serving this at Halloween. This is as simple as sprinkling some chocolate protein powder on a bowl of blueberries, hence giving them an instant protein boost. Try vanilla protein as well for a different flavour, or raspberries when they’re in season! Make up this frozen yogurt in a big batch and keep it on hand for your post-workout ice cream cravings! The yogurt makes this an ideal high-protein snack, and the peaches make it delicious. This chocolate pudding combines protein powder, flax seeds, and almonds, along with blueberries and bananas, for the ultimate in easy-to-eat recovery snack. Blend it before your workout, refrigerate it during, and consume after! These rolled snacks make clever use of high-protein wraps, as well as peanut butter, to achieve their high protein content. As delicious as they are good for you, they come together in seconds and travel well, so they’re perfect to take with you, too! Savoury Options Maybe you don’t like sweet treats after your workout–if so, these are the snacks for you. Still high-protein, still delicious, but with savoury flavours instead of the sweet ones more common in post-workout snacks. This recipe makes a big batch that you can pick at for a while, and the high-protein chickpeas are perfectly portable in a ziplock bag or small container, so you can take this snack with you if you’re heading straight to work after you hit the gym. You’d be forgiven for thinking these were more of an indulgent treat than a healthy snack, but these mushroom-based pizzas, topped off with high-protein cheese, would make a perfect post-workout snack and only take minutes to prepare. Lean ground turkey lends its protein content to this healthy dish, which cleverly takes the high-carb corn chips out of nachos! They make an excellent, tasty snack to keep you going after a workout. A single ingredient makes these snacks–cheese! Did you know hard cheeses contain almost as much protein as chicken? These crispy snacks take advantage of that, and if you know how to sprinkle cheese onto a tray, you’ll have no trouble making them. This is not your father’s trail mix. Instead, it’s a protein-packed, tasty blend that would make a perfect post-workout snack, especially if you’re on the go straight after your workout. Packed with protein-rich nuts, peanut butter filled pretzels, pepperoni sticks and beef jerky chunks, it’s both delicious and nutritious! There’s no simpler recipe than this–simply take a pack of sliced pepperoni and microwave it until crisp to make delicious, high-protein pepperoni chips. Use turkey pepperoni for an extra-healthy version, and this portable snack will keep you going after you’ve finished your workout! This quick and easy dip makes a great standby for post-workout snacking! Made with high-protein cottage cheese, you can keep it in the fridge ready to eat anytime with your favourite veggies (or those cheese snacks above!) Good fats, high protein, and delicious–what more could you want in a post-workout snack? These simple snacks come together quickly and combine all the goodness of avocados with the protein and flavour hit of bacon for an unusual but amazing snack. High-protein quinoa, spiced with pizza flavourings and bound with an egg, comes together to make these delicious little bites that can be dipped in tomato sauce for a pizza-inspired experience any time of the day. The recipe makes two serves, so make it up once and benefit twice. Omelettes are quick, easy, and naturally protein-packed, but this one takes it up a notch by adding a Greek salad with feta cheese, which melts just a little as the eggs finish cooking. It’s the perfect thing to whip up right after your morning workout. These cute little bites are high-protein thanks to the cottage cheese and egg whites used to bind them, and they’re delicious thanks to everything else in them! They’ll keep well in the fridge, so make them ahead and reheat (or eat cold!) as desired. Try these simple glazed turkey sausages for a high-protein, low-fat post-workout snack that comes together in minutes the moment you get back into the kitchen. Turkey is a great alternative to beef or pork if you’re worried about fat content, and it’s still delicious! If you’d rather snack casually after a workout, this smoky hummus is an ideal thing to sit down with. Combining the protein power of chickpeas and sweet potato, you can keep it in the fridge, ready to dip your favourite snacks in at leisure. Is there anything cauliflower can’t do? This recipe uses cauliflower ‘bread’ instead of the regular kind to make a tasty–but healthy!–grilled cheese sandwich that’s sure to hit the spot after an exhausting workout. There’s cheese in both the crust and the filling, so this is definitely one for cheese lovers! These little mushroom bites look adorable, taste great, and will give you the protein hit you really need after a workout. Walnuts and hummus make these a truly high-protein snack that you can prepare before you go out and bake when you come back for near-instant gratification. If you want something that will really make your workout seem worthwhile, look no further than these little bites of joy. Again, prepare them before you go out and simply put them under the grill for a few minutes when you come back for a warm, tasty post-workout snack that’ll give you the energy to keep going on with your day. Another highly portable snack, this popcorn-style edamame is high-protein and delicious. Once it’s baked it can easily be taken in containers to wherever you’re going, so your post-workout snack can go with you to wherever you’re headed. These simple mini quesadillas are packed with protein and healthy fats, making them the ideal recovery snack. They’re quick and simple to make, too, so you’ll only ever be minutes away from this tasty treat. Quick and delicious, these rolled-up post-workout snacks are also very portable, so there’s no reason you can’t take them with you. Turkey and cheese are both high-protein, and make this recipe zero-carb, too. Parmesan, eggs and panko bread crumbs lend their protein content to this lean, easy, snackable recipe that you can take anywhere. They’re very easy to eat all at once–but when they’re this healthy, it doesn’t matter! Categorised in: Protein Recipes This post was written by Breanne L |
NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi plans to set up two manufacturing plants in India and launch more devices this year as it ramps up its presence in the world's fastest growing market amid a cooling in its home market.Bin Lin, billionaire co-founder and president at Xiaomi, told ET that he will be spending a lot more time in India, underlining the South Asian nation’s importance amid challenges in its biggest market, China The India plan includes manufacturing of handset peripherals and components, he said."We believe it (China) will be a flat market, if not, even decline,” said 48-year-old Lin, worth nearly $1.1 billion (Rs7,480 crore) as per the Forbes list of billionaires.Conversely, Lin expects India, already the world’s fastest growing smartphone market, to further gain steam, selling around 140 million devices in 2016, compared with about a 100 million last year.“Also, people buying smartphones from ecommerce are also going to grow very rapidly, and we're a big part of that,” said Lin, a former Microsoft and Google executive.He said the intense competition in the Indian market - mirroring the cutthroat competition seen in China some years ago – wasn’t sustainable. He expects Xiaomi to be at the top of the list when market share is consolidated.Meanwhile, Xiaomi India head Manu Jain said that single-brand retail licence was an exciting opportunity for the company, but didn’t specify if the smartphone maker had already applied for one. However, a company ?spokesperson separately said that Xiaomi has applied for a licence?, joining Apple as among the top foreign brands opting for a direct presence in India, which eased foreign direct investment rules for single-brand retailing in November.Xiaomi entered India in July 2014, and started local manufacturing just over a year later. It has partnered with the world’s largest contract manufacturer, Foxconn, which now makes 75% of the company’s phones at its plant in Andhra Pradesh. Xiaomi sells well over 1 million phones a quarter."We talked to Foxconn about opening two new factories, they're in discussions with some of the provinces (states)," Lin said. Jain said the company is pushing to get “at least one of them up and running within this year”.The company will also take advantage of the Union Budget recommendations, which made local manufacturing of batteries, chargers and other mobile phone accessories cheaper. "We've already started working on bringing some of those local sourcing suppliers to India," Lin said.In India, Xiaomi will launch Mi 5 – its latest flagship unveiled at the recent Mobile World Congress in February in Barcelona - in April, and two more devices this year - one next quarter and another in the second half. It also plans to enter new product categories in 2016.While the Mi 5 will not be made in India initially , Lin indicated the price of the phones could be between Rs 20,000 and Rs 27,000, based on China prices.Besides investing in Indian startups, the company, last valued at $45 billion, is also actively talking to content owners and makers to curate content for Indian buyers which will find its way onto Mi devices sometime this year, Lin said.The company’s aggressive manufacturing based expansion comes on the back of a weak 2015, when it dropped out of the top five, launching only two devices of note. Lin said the company was beefing up local operations in terms of R&D for India-specific products and after sales services. A direct result of that was Redmi Note 3, which went on sale last week with over 30,000 units, all sold within two seconds.Having beaten competition, including Samsung and Apple, in its home market, Xiaomi now intends to repeat the feat in India, which Lin felt, was passing through the same extreme competitive times as China a few years ago.“There were 150 brands in China, now only 30 are left where six of us control 60% of the market. In India, there are 170 brands and its going up… it will drop to 30 here too because it’s not sustainable,” he said.Although the battlefield lines are drawn, Lin is confident of taking on rivals and eventually leading in India.The company has thrived in open markets like China and India, which together are the top two markets by unique number of smartphone users. US is No 3 in this respect, but is still second largest after China in terms of annual smartphone shipments.“We've been competing with them head-to-head in China and we have an upper hand already, so it’s proof that our model is very powerful,” Lin said, adding that he will take several learnings from the India manufacturing process to China for improving efficiency.Its presence in carrier-led markets such as the US, France, Germany and the UK will continue on an experimental basis – the company sells only its accessories there. “The carrier share in the US is about 30-40%... for us to enter at least half the market should be open.” |
(CNN) -- In an effort to shed $1.8 billion in debt, popular theme-park chain Six Flags announced Saturday that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Six Flags operates 20 theme parks in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The filing will not affect the operation of the company's 20 parks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, said spokeswoman Sandra Daniels. "This restructuring will have no impact on families who come out to our parks. They will not see an inch of difference," Daniels said. In an online letter to employees, President and CEO Mark Shapiro said Six Flags inherited a $2.4 billion debt load that "cannot be refinanced in these financial markets." "This process is strictly a financial restructuring of our debt and that's how you should view it and speak about it," Shapiro said in the message posted on the Six Flags Web site. He said Six Flags was seeking expedited approval from the for the District of Delaware of a pre-negotiated plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. He said the company actually performed well in 2008, attracting 25 million visitors and making $275 million. But it could not keep up with its debt obligations. See interactive map of Six Flags locations » "That's a balancing act you just can't risk year in and year out," he said. "Today, we are moving to rectify our balance sheet once and for all. Believe me when I say we will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive than ever." Read Shapiro's online letter to employees The restructuring would reduce the company's debt to $600 million. Shapiro told employees that the company was on "solid ground" and the bankruptcy decision was "difficult." He assured them their paychecks and jobs were safe. |
35 Pages Posted: 8 Jul 2014 Date Written: July 7, 2014 Abstract Differential fertility is frequently overlooked as a meaningful force in longitudinal public opinion change. We examine the effect of fertility on abortion attitudes, a useful case study due to their strong correlation with family size and high parent-child correlation. We test the hypothesis that the comparatively high fertility of pro-life individuals has led to a more pro-life population using 34 years of GSS data (1977-2010). We find evidence that the abortion attitudes have lagged behind a liberalizing trend of other correlated attitudes, and consistent evidence that differential fertility between pro-life and pro-choice individuals has had a significant effect on this pattern. Future studies should account for differential fertility as a meaningful force of cohort replacement in studies of public opinion where parents and children are likely to share the same attitude. |
The Dell in Milton Road, Southampton, Hampshire, England was the home ground of Southampton F.C. between 1898 and 2001. New stadium [ edit ] Since 1896, Southampton had been tenants of Hampshire County Cricket Club at the County Ground, having vacated the Antelope Ground in the summer of 1896. The rent payable to the cricket club (£200 p.a.) was putting a strain on the football club's finances and, in an attempt to reduce this burden, the club had considered a merger with the Freemantle club and a move to their ground in Shirley. The merger proposals had fallen through, but at the Extraordinary general meeting in June 1897, the members were informed that "the committee had a ground in view".[2] At a shareholders' meeting on 11 November 1897, the chairman stated: . . . that all being well, by next season the company would be in possession of its own ground which was at the present time in the hands of George Thomas Esq. who was devoting his time to its early completion.[3] Although the minutes do not record the location of the new ground, it was common knowledge within the town that the new ground was situated . . . in the dell that is not far from the County Ground, and nearer West Station and the town, and at the present time it is a narrow valley with a stone culvert running along the bottom. It will not be a large ground, but the natural banks on all sides will be a great help in arranging for the convenience of the spectators.[4] The site on which the ground was built was described in Philip Brannon's Picture of Southampton, published in 1850, as "a lovely dell with a gurgling stream and lofty aspens";[5] the stream is the Rollsbrook which flows out of Southampton Common, running parallel to Hill Lane before now disappearing under Commercial Road and the Central Station, from where it is conduited under Southampton Docks into Southampton Water. The land had been purchased in the 1880s by the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway to enable them to continue their line from Winchester via Twyford, Chandlers Ford, a tunnel at Chilworth and Shirley where it was to pass to the North East of what is now St James' Park, Southampton and St. James' Church. From here the line would have travelled south across Hill Lane to run through the dell and onto an embankment leading to a viaduct over Commercial Road and the London and South Western Railway line before terminating on the Western Esplanade North of the Royal Pier.,[6][7] The dell was stripped of vegetation and the stream channelled into a conduit with work started on the embankment, which survives behind property to the North of Commercial Road but was never used, and the viaduct which was part built but later demolished. The project was abandoned at this point and agreement reached to connected to the London and South Western Railway at Shawford Junction with running rights into Southampton. Construction [ edit ] George Thomas, a fish merchant who had been appointed as a director of the limited company when it was formed in the summer of 1896, who lived in Shirley, saw the potential of the cleared site and purchased the land from the D.N.S.R. By the beginning of the 1898–99 season, Thomas had incurred expenditure of between £7,500 and £9,000 on acquiring and clearing the site, and erecting the new stands and had agreed an initial three-year lease to the football club at a rental of £250 p.a. The dell had been drained with 13,000 ft of pipe being laid, all draining into the central culvert formed from the Rollsbrook stream. The playing field had to be levelled and the ground made up and turfed ready for the opening of the new season. On completion, the stadium was described in the Southampton Observer: . . . the rising staging on the north side of the ground will hold 5,500 spectators, who have of course to stand up; the covered east and west stands will seat 4,000 spectators comfortably, and the staging and sloping bank on the south side will hold 15,000 spectators. This totals up to 24,500.[8] At this stage, the new ground did not have an official name, with various names suggested including the "Fitzhugh Dell", the "Archer's Ground" and "Milton Park" but gradually the ground became known by default as "the Dell".[8] Early days [ edit ] The stadium was opened in September 1898, with the inaugural match on 3 September being against Brighton United. The first goal at the stadium was scored by Watty Keay, with the others from Abe Hartley, Jim McKenzie and Tom Smith, as Southampton won 4–1.[9] It hosted an international match in 1901, as England defeated Ireland 3–0 in the 1900–01 British Home Championship.[10] Redevelopment [ edit ] In 1927, the original West Stand was demolished (together with the club secretary's house) and the new West Stand was built. This was designed by Archibald Leitch, one of the greatest football stand designers of the day, who had also designed stands at Fratton Park, Roker Park and at Goodison Park. A year later, on the last day of the 1928–29 season a dropped cigarette caused a fire which destroyed the East Stand. A replacement stand was built which mirrored the West Stand, increasing the ground capacity to approximately 30,000. Wartime incidents [ edit ] On 30 November 1940, a German bomb fell on the stadium during the Blitz, creating an 18-foot crater in the Milton Road penalty area.[11][12] While the pitch was being restored, Southampton had to play their remaining fixtures in 1940–41 away, although in February 1941, they played a "home" War Cup tie with Brentford at Fratton Park, Portsmouth. In March 1941, an explosion of munitions stored at the ground caused a major fire in the West Stand although this was rebuilt soon afterwards. At the start of the 1941–42 season they played their home games at Dew Lane, Eastleigh, before the Dell was re-opened in October 1941. Inside the Dell (Southampton draw 0–0 against Leicester City, March 1997) In 1950, the Dell became the first ground in England to have permanent floodlighting installed. The first game played under the lights was on 31 October 1950, in a friendly against Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, followed a year later by the first "official" match under floodlights, a Football Combination (Reserve team) match against Tottenham Hotspur on 1 October 1951. During the post-war years, huge crowds packed into the Dell. The attendance record was broken on 8 October 1969, when 31,044 watched Southampton lose 3–0 to a Manchester United team which included George Best and Bobby Charlton. The stadium hosted First Division football for the first time in the 1966-67 season, and would do so for all but four of the 35 seasons leading up to its closure. During this time, Southampton won the FA Cup in 1976, and achieved their highest league finish of second place in 1984. Further redevelopment [ edit ] In the 1980s, there were several changes at the ground, with the makeshift chocolate boxes at the Milton Road end being replaced by a new stand used for family ticket holders a two level concrete structure. The standing areas under the East and West stands being fitted with bench seats, before the Dell became an all-seater stadium in the early 1990s in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989, which obliged all clubs in the top two English divisions had all-seater stadiums. New stands were erected at both ends of the stadium, but by the 1993–94 season the stadium now had a capacity of just over 15,000, the smallest in the top level of English football. The Milton Road Stand was notable for its wedge-like appearance. Final days [ edit ] By this time, Southampton were looking for a new home. By the mid-1990s it seemed as if the search was over as the club announced plans to move to a new stadium at Monks Brook playing fields near the village of North Stoneham, Eastleigh.[13] However, the club fell into a dispute with the local council about the lack of community facilities. Many people in Eastleigh were also unhappy with having another town's football club in their area. The dispute was resolved when the chairman, Rupert Lowe, declared new plans for the club to move to a new 32,000-seat stadium, for a cost of £32 million, on Brittania Road on the banks of the River Itchen. The move was confirmed at the end of the 1998–99 season (when Southampton achieved a late escape from relegation for the sixth time in eight seasons) and work began soon afterwards. The new St Mary's Stadium was ready for the 2001–02 season. On 19 May 2001, midfielder Matthew Le Tissier (who retired from playing a year later) said goodbye to the stadium that had been host to his entire professional career by scoring a volley in the final minutes of the final league game securing a 3–2 win against Arsenal. Le Tissier thus has the distinction of scoring the last competitive goal at The Dell.[14] On 26 May, the club's fans said goodbye to the Dell by stripping all of its seats, the pitch and even an advertising board after Southampton's last game at the stadium, a 1-0 victory in a friendly against Brighton and Hove Albion, the first and last opponents at the stadium. The last goal ever scored at the Dell was by Uwe Rösler.[15][16] The last confirmed hat-trick scored at the Dell was by Bryn Thomas on the 4th of May 2001 when the dell hosted the first 'Football Aid' charity event involving ex-Southampton players. During its 103-year life, the Dell had been home to Southampton during some of its finest moments – most of all during the 1976 FA Cup run, which finished with a win at Wembley. The Dell was demolished later, completed on Friday 13 July 2001 by Portsmouth-based demolition company, Hughes & Salvidge.[17] A housing estate was later built on the site by Barratt Homes.[17][18] The apartment blocks on the site bear the names of former Southampton players: Stokes Court Bates Court Le Tissier Court Wallace Court Channon Court |
There are no more interfaces within the film to analyse. But before moving on to the grades, some final (and brief – I promise) discussion about cyberpunk and virtual reality. Read all Johnny Mnemonic reviews in chronological order. Cyberpunk Love As stated at the beginning, Johnny Mnemonic is a cyberpunk film, with the screenplay written by noted cyberpunk author William Gibson, loosely based on one of his short stories of the same name. Why would user interface designers care? Because the cyberpunk authors were the first to write extensively about personal computing technologies, world wide networks, 2D/3D GUIs, and AI. Cyberspace, both the idea and the word itself, comes from cyberpunk fiction. Just as Star Trek inspired NASA engineers and astronauts, the cyberspace depicted by the authors inspired virtual reality programmers and designers. In the first virtual reality wave of the mid to late 1990s, it seemed that everybody working in the field had read Neuromancer. If you’ve never read any cyberpunk and are now curious, Neuromancer by William Gibson is still the classic work. For a visual interpretation, the most cyberpunk of all films, in style and tone rather than plot, is Blade Runner. Cyberpunk founder Bruce Sterling, who wrote the foreword for “Make It So”, often writes about design; and sometimes cyberpunk author Neal Stephenson has also written interesting and thought provoking non-fiction about computers and user experience. It’s beyond the scope of this post to outline all their ideas for you, but if you are interested start with: Bruce Sterling on Tumblr In the Beginning was the Command Line VR Love Johnny Mnemonic also includes scenes set in virtual reality, a trend that began with Tron (although that particular film did not use the term). These virtual reality scenes with their colorful graphics were most likely included to make computer systems less boring and more comprehensible to a general audience. However, these films from Tron onwards have never been successful. (If you work around computer people you’ll hear otherwise from plenty of fans, but computer geeks are not a representative sample.) In the more recent Iron Man films, Tony Stark in his workshop uses a gestural interface, voice commands, and large volumetric projections. This could easily have been depicted as a VR system, but wasn’t. Could there be a usability problem when virtual reality interfaces are used in film? The most common reason given for not using VR is that such sequences remind the audience that they’re watching an artificial experience, thus breaking suspension of disbelief. Evidence for this is the one financially successful VR film, The Matrix, which very carefully made its virtual reality identical to the real world. The lesson is that in film, just like most fields, user interfaces should not draw too much attention to themselves. Sci: B (3 of 4) How believable are the interfaces? Johnny Mnemonic is a near-future film that takes itself seriously, comparable in intention if not result to Blade Runner. The title also identified it as a cyberpunk film, implying a background setting and technology for the tiny proportion of the audience who’d actually read anything by William Gibson. For those who hadn’t, the film opened with a lengthy crawl, typeset in dense caps/small caps text with red and white color shifting, which probably didn’t help. The everyday electronics in Johnny Mnemonic include the hotel wall screen and remote, the image grabber, the fax machine. They’re all believable (we’ll pass judgement on those unmarked buttons later!) within the world depicted. The more specialised interfaces such as the motion detector, door bomb, and binoculars likewise fit the design aesthetic and style of technology used. The airport security scanner without human staff present wasn’t very believable even in the more relaxed era of 1995, but for how it is used rather than what it does. As a scanner and projector it’s fine. The most important interfaces in the film are the phone system, brain technology, and cyberspace. Of these the phone system is almost always awesome, with visible cameras and familiar controls. The photorealistic puppet avatar used by Takahashi is a little beyond today’s capabilities, but not greatly so. And it’s nicely foreshadowed by the stylized image filter that Strike uses in the bulletin board conversation. Johnny hacking a phone booth with a swipe card is the one glaring exception to believability, but even here the only effect is that Johnny can talk to someone he otherwise would have trouble reaching. I would have been happier if he’d flipped up a panel to reveal a diagnostic port to hack, but it’s not a major problem. The cyberspace sequence was awesome in 1995 and holds up well today. The datagloves look dated to someone like me who follows virtual reality technology, but I doubt they bother anyone else. The Johnny Mnemonic cyberspace has a lot of “flashy graphics” but these don’t seem to interfere with getting work done. At the time of writing Swiss Modern minimalism is the preferred style for user interfaces, but more playful and colorful graphics have been used in the past and no doubt will be again in the future. Lastly we have the brain technology, which starts well. The MemDoubler and Johnny’s uploading kit both look like consumer electronic devices designed for a single function. Spider and the hospital have bigger and clunkier medical gear, but this fits with their need for scavenged and multifunction technology. Johnny Mnemonic fails when we meet Jones the cyborg dolphin and the neural interface that Johnny uses to “hack his own brain.” Now, I found these believable when I saw the original release, and when I re-watched it on DVD, but that’s because I had read all the books. It’s only when I started writing this report card that I noticed there is absolutely no indication that such interfaces are even possible before this point in the film. Contrast this with Blade Runner, which as well as replicants was careful to show us an artificial owl, a forensic analyst who could identify an artificial snake scale, and a workshop where artificial eyes were designed. If neither the evil megacorporation nor the consumer electronics industry can build a neural interface in the world of Johnny Mnemonic, it’s hard to believe the LoTeks could get their hands on one. For believability Johnny Mnemonic is mostly awesome, but let down by the neural interfaces. I’m therefore giving it a B. Fi: D (1 of 4) How well do the interfaces inform the narrative of the story? The interfaces in Johnny Mnemonic have varied roles within the story. I’ll start with those that support the story by working as advertised. The video phone system, from the first hotel room call on, has the narrative function of allowing characters to communicate expressively with voice and facial expressions rather than, say, email. The phones works flawlessly without getting in the way. The early brain technology devices also support the story. The MemDoubler explains what it does and its operation is clear. The data upload kit clearly shows the original data disk and the start, progress, and end of the upload process. The image grabber and fax machine, like the video phones, work without distracting the characters or audience. The door bomb allows Johnny to escape from heavily armed thugs, using brains and technology rather than brute force. It fits well with his character. The cyberspace search sequence serves two purposes. It shows Johnny being clever and figuring out where to go next, and it shows the audience that this is really a cyberpunk film with advanced computer technology. The interface performs both functions beautifully. Meanwhile the Pharmakom tracker who is also in cyberspace is performing the equivalent of “tracing the phone call” in a current day action film. His standing interface visually distinguishes him from Johnny. However, the bulletin board conversation in cyberspace is not so good. Strike doesn’t have any useful information to give Johnny, and then he gets wiped out by a virus attack for no apparent reason as the Yakuza have already located where Johnny and Jane are. The airport security scanner and the LoTek binoculars have the narrative function of telling us something about the characters being viewed rather than providing information to be acted on. The airport scanner and the first use of the LoTek binoculars remind us that Johnny has an implant which is important to the plot. These help the audience since said implant is otherwise invisible and rarely causes him any difficulty. The second use of the LoTek binoculars is to tell us that Street Preacher is dangerous, which we can already figure out from the trail of bodies he leaves behind him. The motion detector is the first of the interfaces which support the narrative by not working. If it had given the alarm, the access codes might have been saved and the scientists might escape or defend themselves. The scene is structured so that only Johnny gets away because he is in the bathroom, but it could just as easily have played out with the same results if the motion detector had been missing altogether. The brain scanners at Spider’s place and then the hospital don’t work either. The intent is presumably to emphasise how difficult it is to retrieve “the data” and increase the tension as Johnny’s time runs out. The problem is that both scanners are very obviously cobbled together from ancient junk. Instead of impressing us with how fiendishly difficult it is to crack the encryption, these instead suggest that Johnny would be much better off getting help from someone else. And lastly, the LoTek bug dropper again functions by being a terrible interface. Nearly killing the lead characters gives Johnny an excuse for an epic rant, and a reason for tension in the subsequent debate between Johnny and the LoTeks over the download. However, again I have to wonder why Johnny didn’t immediately head back into town. These people are meant to be the only hope against the evil corporate overlords? Seriously? Overall, the interfaces in Johnny Mnemonic are a mixed bag when it comes to the narrative, from awesome to awful. I’m giving it a D. Interfaces: A (4 of 4) How well do the interfaces equip the characters to achieve their goals? While the interfaces in Johnny Mnemonic aren’t always good for story telling, they are mostly good models for real world design. I’ll go from worst to best for an upbeat ending. Worst The undisputed worst interface in the film is the LoTek bug dropper. Don’t do this. The LoTek brain scanner and decryption hardware is clunky and difficult to use. So difficult in fact that it appears only Jones the cyborg dolphin can operate it successfully. Not at all ideal for a movement devoted to making information free and available to all. But as cryptography is not my field, I’m willing to accept that perhaps there is no better interface. (If the codebreaking division of the NSA is notorious for marine odours leaking into the air conditioning and suspiciously high levels of tuna consumption, please let us know via the comments.) The motion detector has a simple interface, but the too quiet audio alarm makes it dangerously ineffective. Easily improved, but only if someone survives and is able to post a review. The watch triggered bomb is a useful starting point for thinking about controllers for real world devices. Numerous electronic gadgets in Johnny Mnemonic have grids of unmarked buttons, which is horrible design for consumer electronics. Fortunately they are only briefly used and not important to the plot. That said, the image grabber used as part of the upload process, with labels added, would be great for writing SciFiInterfaces reviews. The two different brain scanners used by Spider are difficult to judge, since they’re apparently designed for specialists rather than consumers. But like the MemDoubler and uploader we saw earlier, Spider can quickly perform a diagnostic and interpret the results. The airport security scanner appears better suited to being used by actual human beings rather than by itself. The scanner is impressive, but suppose it did detect that Johnny was carrying an illegal weapon or device? If Johnny keeps walking, there’s no evidence that it could actually stop him. The MemDoubler is a neat piece of electronics that does one job easily and efficiently. It’s a bit chatty for something that is possibly illegal and probably meant for covert use, but it was Johnny who decided that a hotel lift was the appropriate place to use it. The New Darwin hotel room wall screen and remote are not intrusive, simple to use, and don’t require the guest to be fully attentive. Later the Beijing hotel wall screen is equally easy to use, and the bathroom shows off context awareness. The data uploader, once assembled, has better labels than the consumer electronics. The controls are simple and allow a novice user to carry out the upload and access code generation without problems. The LoTek binoculars are an excellent design for a group that needs to keep an eye on who is wandering around the neighbourhood. The various video phones, from wall screen to portable, all Just Work. The various characters use them so effortlessly that it’s easy to overlook that this is in fact awesome. Best And finally the cyberspace interface was and remains my favourite, and an excellent model for any real world designers. (OK, the second layer of security that requires reshaping a pyramid could use a little work, but even that is not a bad interface.) There are enough good designs here to outweigh the few disasters, so my rating is A. Final Grade: B- (8 of 12) Related lessons from the book Zoomrects in the LoTek binoculars and the continuous perspective streaming of imagery during the data upload are both examples of using motion to create meaning (page 64) Bright colors are used during the data upload and download, even for the presentation of scientific research and data, because Sci-Fi glows (page 40) The data uploader gives off a regular chirping sound in addition to a numeric counter, conveying ambient system state with ambient sound (page 112) The LoTek binoculars, and to a lesser extent the Yakuza binoculars too, place a visual signal in the user’s path (page 210) by directly overlaying text onto the image rather than having a separate display Although the film does not use this excessively, the airport scanner and the brain scanner screens are mostly blue (page 42) Surprisingly, the phone system mostly relies on numbers rather than names, even though the goal is to contact a person, not use an interface (page 207). Only Takahashi contacts someone by name Takahashi is an example in the book of an interface that can handle emotional inputs (page 214), and we can add Johnny’s threatening gesture and Strike’s “retreat” during the bulletin board conversation Takahashi is also an example of letting users alter their appearance (page 221), and we can add Jones the dolphin with a custom avatar in cyberspace In the cyberspace of Johnny Mnemonic various areas and individual buildings have their own visual style, because the visual design is a fundamental part of the interface (page 31) and creative combinations of even common stylistic choices create a unique appearance (page 73) Navigation within the three-dimensional cyberspace simulates physically flying to make use of users’ spatial memory (page 62), but allows “teleporting” directly to a desired location because being useful is more important than looking impressive (page 264) The cyberspace interface for the hotel and copyshop both use gesture for simple, physical manipulations and use language for abstractions (page 104) New lesson Not everything in virtual reality needs to be three-dimensional The cyberspace sequence shows windows, usually in full screen mode, with two dimensional spreadsheet interfaces for tabular data. There’s no need to represent these in 3D. This rule is a combination of build on what users already know (page 19) and don’t get caught up in the new for its own sake (page 25). Share this: Reddit Twitter Facebook |
Liz Butterfield Online News Editor Three VCU men’s soccer players are facing felony charges and suspension after being arrested for capturing a nonconsenting minor in the nude on camera in November. Donovan Arias, Finnlay Wyatt and Bobby Hopper, all freshmen, are facing class six felony charges for an incident that occurred on Nov. 2, 2013. The three were formally charged by a Richmond Grand Jury earlier this month. Their scheduled arraignment on Feb. 7 was continued until a later date, according to court records. “While the cases work their way through the criminal justice system, VCU is pursuing internal investigations from both a student code of conduct standpoint and through federal Title IX avenues,” said university spokesperson Anne Buckley in a statement. “Because of the ongoing internal investigation and court proceedings, we cannot comment further on this matter until it is adjudicated, except to say that VCU remains committed to an environment free of intimidation, harassment and discrimination.” |
Don and Bridget Cardigan's upper middle class lifestyle is threatened since Don, who has been out of work for a year, seems to have given up looking for a job, and housewife Bridget has been out of the workforce for most of her life. They are close to $300,000 in debt. Finding out this information, Bridget comes to the conclusion that she needs to get a job - any job - that at least provides them with some benefits. She reluctantly takes a job as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Almost immediately, Bridget is enthralled with all the old worn out money that is being shredded. She comes up with a plan to get her old lifestyle back by stealing much of that money, which she believes is an easy job since the locks used on the money carts are standard equipment and as she notices that no one ever checks the garbage as she goes about her work. Her plan needs the cooperation of one person who works the shredder and one person who pushes the carts of money. The two people ... Written by Huggo |
For years, Achilla Orru stood inside the yellow dots on the weathered TTC floor and played the lokembe the way a teenager texts, his thumbs swiftly plucking the metal spokes, the gentle, warm sounds drifting across the subway platform into the ears of commuters. Just as he had a way of playing that made people forget the Ugandan thumb piano was considered lowly and simple, he had a way of living that made people forget he could not see. Blind since a boyhood bout with measles, he recognized people by the timbre of their voices, and the way they gripped his hands in greeting. Achilla Orru poses in 2008 with his grandfather's thumb piano. Orru came to Canada as a refugee from Uganda in 1989. ( MICHAEL STUPARYK / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO ) The lokembe, also known as a kalimba, sanza, or akogo in various parts of Africa, is a simple instrument, but in the hands of a master like Achilla Orru can produce a magical, gentle sound. ( JOHN GODDARD / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO ) “Say we’re sharing a meal, I’m bringing a plate to him, he would just reach out, like a sighted person, hands at the right place, and I’d think to myself, ‘Is this guy really blind?” said Godfrey Sekijoba, who played bass guitar in Baana Afrique, Orru’s band. The celebrated musician was found dead in his apartment near Dawes Rd. on Feb. 4. Friends say the cause of death was heart disease, complicated by diabetes and high blood pressure. He was 53. When he was a boy, Orru was accepted at a school for blind children, where he studied many instruments, including the lokembe. The instrument has flat steel spokes of different lengths mounted on a wooden resonator; it is known in other parts of Africa as a kalimba, sanza, or akogo. Article Continued Below “There was nobody in the world who played this instrument like Achilla Orru,” said Nadine McNulty, a longtime friend and artistic director of the Batuki music society. “He was a great lyricist, he was a poet. He was truly the real thing.” Orru came to Canada as a refugee in 1989. He studied international development at Dalhousie University and created Baana Afrique while there. When he moved to Toronto in the 1990s after graduation, he started the band anew with local musicians. On stage, he was known as King Achilla Orru Apaa-Idomo. He wore colourful clothing and a feathered hat. During performances, his bandmates gave visual feedback — letting Orru know whether the audience was dancing, or bored. Offstage, he talked politics and world events. He loved CNN. With Baana Afrique, he toured Canada and the world. Independently, he was a Juno nominee, a soloist with the Royal Dutch Wind Ensemble, and a Toronto fixture as a licensed TTC musician — one of the most popular and well-known, often playing at Bloor-Yonge. He played the lokembe at charity events and once played at a backyard barbecue hosted by George Smitherman. He was a very particular musician. “He always had an idea in his mind as to how he would like something to sound, and he tried to convey that to you,” Sekijoba said. Orru’s longtime goal was to see the lokembe become a prominent instrument. McNulty said the simple instrument is considered “lowly in some ways,” but Orru raised it to a new level. “He was definitely instrumental in developing a new method in the way it would be heard and played,” she said. Article Continued Below He added different tuning pegs and notes and paired it with unlikely bedfellows such as flute and the trumpet. He wrote lyrics that told of his journey to Canada, his long-distance love in Uganda, and other people’s stories. The sound was “traditional and rootsy” with threads of Congolese and South African music, which he loved, McNulty said. “When I sing with it, when I hear it, there is part of me that becomes one with the world around me,” he told the Star in 2003. He had been working on research to have the instrument introduced into the Ugandan school system. On one of his many trips to Uganda, he met his wife, Rose. They married in 2004. The two have three sons younger than 6, in addition to a son Orru had after moving to Canada. Lately, he had been concentrating on bringing his family to Canada. Davies Bagambiire, a friend and lawyer who met Orru when he first came to Halifax, had been helping Orru with the paperwork and immigration details. At the beginning of February, Bagambiire got a call from Rose. She hadn’t heard from him. It wasn’t like him not to return a call. Bagambiire went to Orru’s apartment building, where other residents told him they hadn’t seen their cheery neighbour for a while. He called police to before entering Orru’s home, and when the officers remained silent for several minutes after they went in, he knew the news was bad. Bagambiire is helping to plan his friend’s funeral and raise money to bring Orru’s distraught family to Canada. Those details are still being arranged. Mourned by Toronto’s African music community, Orru will also be missed in the underground world of the TTC, where he won’t return again to his yellow-dotted home in the heart of the subway, McNulty said. “He was the soul of Bloor and Yonge.” |
Earlier today, we informed you about Google Chrome Frame, a Google plug-in for Internet Explorer that "seamlessly brings Google Chrome’s open web technologies and speedy JavaScript engine to Internet Explorer." It seemed logical, but we wondered what would motivate IE users to install it. Google has a plan for that as well, it seems. Their ace in the hole? None other than Google Wave, the highly anticipated real-time communication platform that will launch to the public next week. Today, on the Google Wave Developer Blog, the company essentially said this: if you want to use Google Wave, Install the Chrome Frame or drop Microsoft's browser. The reason is actually one the company alluded to when they first announced their new communication tool: IE6 doesn't have JavaScript and HTML5 support to handle Google Wave. Apparently the team tried but is going to give up on providing support for the rival browser. In their words: "Google Wave depends on strong JS and DOM rendering performance to provide a desktop-like experience in the browser. HTML5's offline storage and web workers will enable us to add great features without having to compromise on performance. Unfortunately, Internet Explorer, still used by the majority of the Web's users, has not kept up with such fairly recent developments in Web technology. Compared with other browsers, the JavaScript performance is many times slower and HTML5 support is still far behind. Likewise, the many different versions of IE still in use — each with its own set of CSS quirks and layout limitations — further complicates building rich Web applications. In the past, the Google Wave team has spent countless hours solely on improving the experience of running Google Wave in Internet Explorer. We could continue in this fashion, but using Google Chrome Frame instead lets us invest all that engineering time in more features for all our users, without leaving Internet Explorer users behind." It looks like Google Wave is the reason that Google decided to launch the Chrome Frame. It makes sense for furthering adoption of Chrome while also keeping the Wave as feature-rich as possible. In short: Wave is Google's newest weapon in the browser wars. |
"We have a tax code that allows groups to use their political operations within the tax code, under the guise of a charity, to use undisclosed millions of dollars to do political campaigns." The fallout from the Internal Revenue Service’s tougher scrutiny of tea party groups continues with former IRS officials testifying that they never tried to mislead Congress about IRS practices. Republican senators like Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, were openly skeptical. "You lied by omission," Hatch said. President Barack Obama and Democrats have criticized the excesses of the IRS. But some would like to shift the focus to the legal ambiguity that allows some tax-exempt groups to engage in politics without revealing their donors, as formal campaign organizations must do. The chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Xavier Becerra of California, promoted that line during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press. "We have a tax code that allows groups to use their political operations within the tax code, under the guise of a charity, to use undisclosed millions of dollars to do political campaigns," Becerra said. We checked whether charities actually can engage in politics and the experts we reached were quite clear. If by charities, you mean groups with 501(c)(3) status, the law says they can’t. "If Rep. Becerra had used the term ‘tax-exempt organizations’ rather than the word ‘charities,’ his statement would be correct," said Brett Kappel, counsel at the Washington law firm Arent Fox. Kappel represented the Ron Paul 2012 campaign. "Charities are 501(c)(3) organizations and cannot engage in any partisan political activities," Kappel continued. "501(c)(4) social welfare organizations are tax exempt, but they are not charities. They can engage in partisan political activities as long as they are not the organization's primary activity." Becerra said his target was 501(c)(4) groups and notes that the tax code spells out that for such groups, their net income should be "devoted exclusively to charitable, educational, or recreational purposes." "Charitable is another form of the word charity," Becerra told PolitiFact. "I used that word because Americans understand it and they associate it with something good, not groups that are in the business to do politics. If I had said 501(c)(4), they would have understood everything except that term." There are thousands of tax-exempt organizations that have the legal right to try to shape the course of legislative votes and elections. They could be a chamber of commerce, a child welfare organization that presses for certain legislation, or powerful political players like Crossroads GPS, founded by Republican strategist Karl Rove. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Crossroads GPS spent $70 million on television ads and other media in the last election. For the curious, here’s how the rules breakdown for the different groups: • Charities - 501(c)(3): Donations are tax deductible; donors go unreported; no political activity allowed • Social Welfare - 501(c)(4): Donations are not tax deductible; donors go unreported; some political activity allowed. • Super PAC - 527 groups: Donations are not tax deductible; donors are reported; political activity allowed. Social Welfare Organizations IRS regulations define a social welfare organization as one that is "primarily engaged in promoting in some way the common good and general welfare of the people of the community, i.e., primarily for the purpose of bringing about civic betterment and social improvements." Since civic betterment is in the eye of the beholder, a group can form around virtually any cause. It can raise money to support its activities, and ever since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case, it has a relatively free hand to try to shape the outcomes of elections. Kenneth Gross is a former lawyer for the Federal Elections Commission and now heads the political law practice at the Washington firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom. Gross says the Citizens United decision gave 501(c)(4) groups considerable leeway. "They can run ads that say don't vote for some candidate," Gross said. "They can go very strong, so long as they can say they are predominantly a social welfare organization." Gross noted that spending on campaign ads triggers the need to report the expenditures to the FEC, and to that extent, disclosure is part of the picture. Brad Smith, law professor at Capital University School of Law in Columbus, Ohio, says Becerra is wrong to ignore the FEC reporting. "We know how much (c)(4)’s spent, we know what they spent it on and what candidates they supported or opposed," Smith said. "All we don't know are the names of individual donors." But that Bercerra told us, was his point. Disclosure of donors, their names and the amounts they gave, is never required. This goes back to a 1958 Supreme Court ruling involving the NAACP. In that decision, the court said keeping membership lists private is essential to protecting the constitutional right to assemble. Becerra made his comments in the middle of a discussion about whether the public should know the backers of groups that intervene in politics. If a candidate, political party, an ordinary political action committee or a Super PAC raises money, it must report its donors. But not a 501(c)(4). So long as the group can argue that most of their other activities are aimed at nonpolitical social welfare goals, it can engage in hardcore political work. "This controversy is 100 percent about disclosure," Gross said. How much is too much The crunch point in the debate over 501(c)(4) organizations is the fuzziness over what percentage of their effort goes toward engaging in bare knuckles politics. IRS rules say such groups must be organized exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, but in terms of how much political work they do, the rules limit that only in a relative sense. The political effort can not be their "primary activity." The IRS does not define its terms. "Some lawyers say, so long as it’s 49.99 percent, it’s okay," said Gross. "But there is no percentage in the regulations." Allison Hayward, an attorney and a board member of the House Office of Congressional Ethics, says the IRS decides whether a group is following the rules based on a test that evaluates "facts and circumstances." "It is a test that doesn’t offer a lot of clarity," Hayward said. Our ruling Becerra said the tax code allows charities to spend undisclosed millions to do political campaigns. Becerra might have used the word "charities" too broadly to describe the tax-exempt organizations that rely on this wrinkle of the tax code. Becerra said he was trying to use language that most people would understand instead of the tax code’s technical term of a 501(c)(4) group. He’s right that these organizations can raise millions to engage in politics, and they need not reveal their donors. We rate this statement Mostly True. |
By Dan Pompei Before the second half of the Bears' game in Pittsburgh on Sunday night, NBC's Cris Collinsworth noted that Bears coach Marc Trestman has taught Jay Cutler to hold the ball higher. Then he used the telestrator to show how Cutler's throwing motion has been compacted for a quicker release. But if Collinsworth really wanted to explain how the Bears quarterback is changing, he would have circled his head. It is the way Cutler is thinking that could be taking the player to a place he never has been. At 30, it is time. Some boys become men before they sprout their first patch of peach fuzz. Others make the transition when they cross a line, like going from school to work. For some, the process moves only slightly quicker than continental drift. Cutler has been a Peter Pan of a quarterback, usually hearing but not always listening to the wisdom elders tried to impart on him. But with the quarterback whisperer over his shoulder, Cutler is listening and, it appears, growing. For Cutler, becoming a man at the position has nothing to do with lowering his throwing shoulder into a safety. That's what he did Sunday night, as the Bears ran their record to 3-0, pounding Robert Golden after gaining three more yards than he needed for a first down. Of all the intangibles Cutler may have been deficient in, toughness never has been one of them -- despite what you may have read on Twitter after Cutler made an early exit from the 2011 NFC championship game against with a knee injury. Judgment, now that has been an issue -- and it still is, to an extent. Trestman acknowledged he didn't like to see his quarterback try to blow up a defender. Maybe after a few quiet, reasoned visits with his head coach this week, Cutler will think twice about doing it again. Trestman doesn't talk with Cutler much on the sidelines, in front of the eyes of the world. Their conversations take place in secluded corners in the bowels of the stadium before the game, and all week long, whenever, wherever. Trestman, along with tough, veteran quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh, is in every quarterback meeting. And then there are the text messages. "We're texting constantly during the day," Trestman said. Trestman knows Cutler has a baby and a new wife, and he tries to be sensitive, but … "Do you like the game plan?" "Did you get the scripts?" "Anything I can do to help you?" And the texts keep coming. They communicate easily, Trestman and Cutler. Those who have observed them say they clearly are dialed into one another. "We are able to talk quickly in sound bytes, so to speak, so we don't have to spend a lot of time," Trestman said. "We can say a couple words and we both know what we mean so we can move onto the next issue." "When I hear them talking about the game plan or protections, it's way over my head," wide receiver Brandon Marshall said. Their conversations usually are about football, sometimes family. But they can stray into territory usually unheard of in locker rooms. Recently, the discussion in the quarterback room was about string theory and physics. Really. That they live about one mile from one another is symbolic. Trestman is a 57-year old coach getting his first chance to run an NFL team. And his livelihood may be dependent on him reaching a player who has been difficult, if not impossible, to reach. But Trestman has an interest in Cutler that is completely selfless. Trestman, who has helped bring out the best in quarterbacks such as Rich Gannon and Steve Young, is convinced he became the head coach of the Bears to help everyone around him self-actualize while expecting nothing in return. "It's Marc's desire to have a real relationship with Jay, and the football is kind of ancillary," Bears backup quarterback Josh McCown said. "When you have that authentic relationship, the football is enhanced and improved." Trestman, McCown and Marshall were among the guests who attended Cutler's June wedding to reality television star Kristin Cavallari in Nashville. Related Articles Mandatory Monday: The NFC Yeesh The 2-1 Cowboys are the least-worst team in what was once a great division, but which this season has managed to… More» A Humbler Harbaugh Following a pair of blowout losses, Jim Harbaugh is no longer football's golden boy. His San Francisco team has… More» Adrian Peterson: a man among boys When the Minnesota Vikings host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, little will be reminiscent of a similar matchup 50… More» "I was very, very impressed with the humility of the entire affair," Trestman said of the ceremony, which took place at Woodmont Christian Church, and the reception at Houston Station. "It was a very unpretentious environment of people who really liked each other. It wasn't over the top. Very simple. It was a loving environment. I probably said too much already. I was appreciative of being there and getting to know some of the people in his life." It seems clear marriage and fatherhood -- Jay and Kristin are parents of 1-year-old Camden Jack Cutler -- have been factors in Cutler's growth. The same face that cameras have captured sneering at teammates recently has been caught making baby faces. Yes, teammates have observed Cutler cooing at Camden via FaceTime at Halas Hall. He also has been observed reading parenting books, and books on marriage. "Spending as much time as I do with him, sharing meals at his house, watching him be a dad, I think it's really cool," McCown said. "When a man embraces leading his home and that area of his life, I think other areas of his life should fall into place. You are starting to see that with him." On and off the field, Marc Trestman and Jay Cutler are in constant communication. (USA TODAY Sports) So even though Cutler is in the final year of his contract and playing for his future, he never has appeared more settled. He has not been rattled by defensive pressure, nor has he unraveled at points during games when he has in the past. In most cases, Cutler has made smart, and even conservative decisions even when the world has come crashing in on him. "Jay has grown as far as understanding there are going to be so many opportunities in a game or in a season, so he knows he doesn't have to worry about one mistake or one bad play," Marshall said. "I do see him growing in that area." Physically, Cutler is gifted almost beyond reason. A popular YouTube video of him as a high school phenomenon shows as much. But before this year, Cutler won only four of 25 games in which he threw two or more interceptions. That was a reflection, in part, of how he was coming unglued when things weren't going well. Is that changing? Against the Vikings in Week 2, he made amends for his second interception of the game with an incredible throw for a 16-yard touchdown to tight end Martellus Bennett with 16 seconds left to win the game. Bears rookie guard Kyle Long recently called Cutler "reptilian," and he meant it as a compliment. There is a long list of people who have worked with Cutler who are joyful that they no longer work with him. He has worn out coaches, hurt teammates and frustrated front office staff. But being cold-blooded has its benefits. In three chances this season Cutler has led two game-winning, fourth-quarter drives, and then he led a drive that put away another game in the fourth. Marshall has taken to calling him "Mr. Fourth Quarter." Prior to this season, Cutler had a fourth-quarter passer rating of 81.4. This year, it's 108.2. He has hit new highs in passer rating -- 94.2 after a previous career rating of 84) and completion percentage -- 67.3 after a previous career percentage of 60.8. Smokin' Jay Cutler indeed. Some of this, as Trestman suggests, may be the result of Cutler being surrounded with better players, including four new offensive linemen who have allowed only three sacks. Some of this may be the result of Cutler preparing with more diligence than he has in the past. McCown said Cutler has been putting in more hours than he did the previous two years. But much of Cutler's improvement traces to the coach who wears glasses, a ball cap, and no pretense. "No doubt, it's Marc's influence," McCown said. "Marc has had an influence on his will to learn." It might have been understandable if Cutler had been less than enthusiastic about learning the fifth NFL offense of his eight-year career. To his credit, he opened his mind, liked what he heard and committed. "What people don't understand is Jay is really smart and when b.s. is thrown his way, it's really hard for him to deal with it," Marshall said. "Jay respects everything coach Trestman is doing." Bears teammates probably are following Cutler's lead more than ever. This never was going to be Cutler's team as long as Brian Urlacher was around. The 6-4, 258-pound linebacker was as big a presence in the locker room as he was in the middle of the field. Cutler probably never will be as revered by teammates as Urlacher was, but he has more clout in the locker room than ever. "When I got here, it was a very well-established locker room with great guys and a bunch of great leaders," Cutler recently told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It wasn't a situation where you could just come in and be vocal and be an immediate leader. You had to work yourself into it." Cutler, with a little help, is doing that. And if he continues to listen to the good advice of a well-intentioned coach, the boy finally might become the man. * * * Dan Pompei has covered more than 500 NFL games, including 26 Super Bowls. He is one of 44 members on Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors board and one of nine members on the seniors committee. He was given the 2013 Dick McCann Award by the Pro Football Writers of America for long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football. Follow him on Twitter @danpompei. |
Editor’s note: One very important aspect of a free society is charity. Organizations that do good and people who need help rely on the giving of others to sustain themselves. Since we at TOL advocate for a free society, we also advocate for giving, particularly around the holiday season. With that spirit in mind, we are going to spend this week telling you about our favorite charitable organizations to help guide some of your end-of-the-year giving. Check out Rachel’s recommendations! If you’re hankering for more giving, check out the rest of our giving series! Oh thank heavens. Last Monday, a judge ruled that the NSA’s surveillance of domestic phone records is unconstitutional. The fight isn’t over yet though—this case will likely crawl its way up to the Supreme Court. If the Fourth Amendment means anything to you and you want to make a donation this holiday season, please consider donating to these two not-for-profits. Electronic Frontier Foundation The Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF, is the first line of defense against mass surveillance. Their goal as an organization is to defend Constitutional Rights as they come under fire from emerging technologies. They focus on “cutting-edge issues defending free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights today.” EFF claims to be involved in “every critical battle affecting digital rights.” Some might ask, what has EFF done this year? The short answer is a lot. They’ve prevented the Washington State government from interrupting Internet Service Providers because of sex trafficking allegations. They’ve evaluated major technology companies’ privacy policies and willingness to fight for technological freedom (Twitter was a big winner by the way). They have also helped start the charge against international surveillance through the United Nations. And, beyond protecting “gaymers,” they have been the pivotal actor in Jewel v NSA. Earlier this year, I urged readers to donate, and I will continue to do so until we stop inventing new technologies that the government wants to get its hands on. Donate TechFreedom TechFreedom is less lawyer-y, more policy. The think tank aims to make entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment easier through education and advocacy. They also highlight how government overreach affects how much consumers spend when buying a new technology. You better believe TechFreedom is all over how America is moving its economy into the future. This past year has been a raging success for TechFreedom as well, though instead of lawsuits, their success has been getting the word out to the public. TechFreedom’s writers have been published in The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, and RedState, along with countless other publications. They’ve also testified countless times before Congress and have filed and joined lawsuits to help protect civil liberties in the United States. ‘Tis the season to give give give, and TechFreedom certainly deserves more than just pennies. Unfortunately, TechFreedom’s application for 501(c)3 status is still being processed, so they can’t accept donations at this time. However, they are actively seeking support for their successful petitions, so sign on board with the easiest gift you can give: your signature and support. |
Manuel Pellegrini has played Willy Caballero for two gamesJoe Hart: I want to play every game – that’s my natureManager says new contract for Hart not a pressing priority Joe Hart has signalled his discontent at not playing every match at Manchester City, saying it is “hard to see any positives” after Manuel Pellegrini left him out of the two most recent matches. The Chilean manager also said, on the eve of the club’s Champions League game against Roma, that a new deal for the goalkeeper is not a pressing priority. While Pellegrini has said Hart will be reinstated for Tuesday evening’s game, the manager preferred Willy Caballero for City’s 7-0 hiding of Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup and Saturday’s 4-2 win at Hull City. Hart, asked about being stood down when sitting alongside his manager on Monday, said: “Of course I want to play every game. That’s my nature, my professionalism. I always want to play but I’m not the manager, I’m just a player. I live by the decisions of our manager. I think he knows that I’d love to play but he has to make decisions.” The 27-year-old had enjoyed a run of 123 consecutive league appearances over four years before Pellegrini dropped him last autumn for two months. With Caballero, Pellegrini’s No1 when in charge at Málaga, providing serious competition, Hart does not find any positives in being left out. “It’s hard for me to see it that way,” he said. “I’m sure that when I retire from football in many years to come I’ll see them but right now I’m not going to see positives.” Pellegrini countered by saying that leaving out Hart had not been a difficult decision. The Chilean said: “It was a very easy decision because we have to play around 60 games in the whole year and Joe has played eight games in 32 days, which is a lot of games for a goalkeeper or any player. For Willy it was good to play two games in a row. There is no problem. Joe is a very good professional and every player wants to play. Any player who doesn’t want to play is no good for Manchester City but he understands without a problem.” Hart did concede that having a rival vying for the jersey can bring out the best in him. “We have always had good goalkeepers – David James, [Andreas] Isaksson, Kasper [Schmeichel], [Costel] Pantilimon. It has always been a fight for me to keep my place and that will continue but I have always had high standards that I will keep to, whether there is one goalkeeper or 20. I love the challenge,” he said. Despite Vincent Kompany, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko, David Silva, Aleksandar Kolarov and Sergio Agüero recently signing fresh terms, Hart, who is inside the final two years of his deal, is yet to do so. Pellegrini said: “Me and Joe know what’s happening with that issue. I think it’s important we know how to manage it but it’s not the most important thing at this moment. We are thinking about Roma and how to continue winning and getting points in the Premier League.” Pressed on this, Hart said: “The same.” After losing 1-0 at Bayern Munich 1-0 in the opening Group E tie, City will want to beat Roma if they are to achieve their stated aim of finishing top. “It is obviously a big game after a disappointing start in Munich,” Hart said. “We are aware it is the league and not knockout phase but especially at home we are going in trying to win the game.” Pellegrini is insistent that, despite the win at Hull being the first league victory this month, the side is performing how it should. “I think we are playing well,” he said. “Maybe in the beginning of the season we didn’t score so many goals here at home, especially against Chelsea and Stoke. We scored only one goal in those two games but after that the team returned to their normal performance. In this moment I trust a lot in the team because I think we are in a good moment.” With Agüero having scored four in seven appearances, Pellegrini also believes the Argentineian can challenge Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the title of the world’s finest footballer. “Agüero is among the best players in the world,” he told Champions magazine. “Now it is up to him to make it and fight for the Ballon d’Or as best player because he has all the qualities you can ask of a football player. He is technically very strong, he is fast and has a lot of power. He is very intelligent, able to play in his position in between midfield and attack. “We hope we will see Sergio back in the form he demonstrated in the Premier League [last season] before his injuries hit him. I believe he will make a difference this season.” |
In this sunken hell, the idea of an area being “secured” is relative, but I’ve cleared out the lobby, the stairs, the shops on the level above and dealt with that crazy son of a bitch who was throwing around Molotovs. Some joker had even set up an automated turret in the toilet. Around here, a guy can’t take a piss without risking his life. This particular corner of hell is mine now and so I set about resupplying from the wrecked remains of the shops and my enemies. Everything is broken here. The walls, the floors, the plumbing, the power supply, the people. All broken. I put the butt of my weapon through the glass front of a cabinet, wincing at the crash that advertises my presence. It’s necessary, the ammunition inside is vital to me if I want to continue. And I do want to continue. Shit. From directly above comes the hulking great thwack-thomp of enormous footsteps. My eyes lift upward to watch little rains of dust that dance back and forth across the ceiling, marking the steps. Their path leads directly to the stairs. The stairs lead directly to me. Shit. As they descend she natters at him, high-pitched and sing-song nonsense he almost certainly doesn’t understand. All she gets in reply is his great creaking yawn, more like a house about to collapse than any language. The voice of a child is violently out of place here. They reach the ground floor facing away from me; she in a tattered pink dress and he in one of those massive old diving suits they all wear. All thick metal and tough leather. Just like the others, the lower half of his right arm has been replaced with a huge drill bit. I see flecks of my brain and flesh sprayed across the walls, punctuated by shards of white skull. Nauseous. They have to go left or right. If they go right, I can use the stairway for cover, slip upstairs behind them. No trouble. Left leads straight to me. Go right. Go right! He turns right and takes a lumbering step. She goes left. He follows her. Shit. He sees me before she does and goes defensive. Makes a noise like a whole herd of threatened buffalo. Stands ready. She slips back behind him and the whole scene reaches that moment at the top of the rollercoaster right before the drop. Silence. Weightlessness. Equilibrium. But something has to give, like the pressure rising in the rusting pipes all over this underwater city. I inch right, keeping a respectful distance, looking to get the stairway between me and that drill. If he snaps and comes at me, it’s game over. For all that bulk they accelerate at a hell of a rate and once they’re going they’re like a freight train, nothing I could do to stop that. Just stand there and die. Messily. Back to the wall, I make my way around the room. I have to remind myself to breath. I don’t blink. Once I’m past the next corner I’m moving away from them, he likes that. Easy boy, good boy. I keep my weapon pointing down, wouldn’t do a bit of good anyway. Good boy. Finally, the foot of the stairs and I can’t help it, I break into a run and take them three at a time just to get me to the top. When I turn, they haven’t followed. Fine. Fine. Safe for a moment. But here’s the rub. I’m going to take my last four grenades and drop them on his head and up here we’re going to fight. I’ll use every last bullet in this machine gun and then fire from the flamethrower and at the end I’ll throw electric bolts from my very hands. Up here it’s all walkways and no cover. In a straight line he’s got me every time but up here I can circle around corners and never get trapped. In the end he’ll fall, gradually, like an oak tree. A little wisp of smoke rising from his corpse. Then I’ll turn to the girl and I’ll have to decide what to do with her, because she’s got something I want. Something I need. Or… I polish off the Molotov guy with a shotgun to the face and then set about looting the area. As I grab some ammo from a glass cabinet I hear a Big Daddy moving around upstairs. I head up, pop a couple of heat-seekers his way to get his attention and then switch to grenades to whittle his health down. On the way down the stairs he catches me with a charge and my own health takes a hit, but nothing to worry about since I’ve peppered the whole damn downstairs with proximity mines. That does it and I stop to loot the corpse before turning my attention to the girl. I select X to save her; I’m going for the best ending. – Once, my housemate strolled in and sat down to watch whilst I was playing BioShock. He saw me take on Splicers and traverse Rapture without much in the way of comment, but when he saw me eyeing up a Big Daddy with some degree of caution he spoke. “Oh they’re not so bad, go for it!” he said. He’d been surprised, he explained, by how easy they were to bring down, given all the build-up. After a prolonged and ammunition-expensive battle the Big Daddy fell. “How the hell are your weapons doing so little damage? And how were his doing so much?” We quickly came to the answer: I was playing on Hard Mode. He’d played on the game’s default Normal Mode. I’ve been playing and enjoying First-Person Shooters for a sizeable portion of my life to date and, false modesty aside, I’m pretty good at them. Above average at least. Certainly I am annoyed with myself when I fall outside the top 5 players on a Battlefield server, which happens pretty regularly, but I’m still annoyed. (In our flat, Losing-at-Battlefield-Jim is accepted as a separate but not entirely welcome 4th member of the household.) Many modern games give a little advice with their difficulty modes, usually related to the player’s previous experience and familiarity with the genre. So, as someone experienced in and familiar with the FPS, when it comes to the single player portion I will often select one of the higher difficulties. The point, I guess, from a design perspective, is to give a similar level of challenge to each set of players, from the brand newbies through to the FPS veteran. The point from my perspective is to create an experience I engage with, take notice of, without gliding through half asleep. A game that’s too easy might as well be one long cutscene, gradually revealing the plot, since nothing requiring any player agency is going to break up the progression of the experience. Becky Chambers approached a similar topic last week on The Mary Sue, writing primarily on the subject of flow. Like me, Chambers finds a certain dissatisfaction with the experience of a too-easy game. I couldn’t agree more when she writes, “Easy games are forgettable. The moments that stick with us are the ones that were hard won, things that required experimentation and patience.” This is a view we find taken to extremes with all sorts of self-entitled fury on various websites and forums, where people sound off over the dumbing down of mainstream gaming. In the quest for inclusiveness, games have become too easy and too casual, apparently, and therefore pointless. Whenever I hear such complaints I find myself wanting to hook the individual by their nostrils and scream in their face, “There’s a hard mode, you reprobate, did you select it? WHY NOT?!” It’s all relative, of course. Perhaps my Hard Mode play through would be impossible for you, particularly if you’re not familiar with the hallmarks of First Person Shooters. Previous experience means that I start the game with some idea of what the gameplay is going to involve, perhaps you lack that prior knowledge. Similarly, I wouldn’t skip straight to the hardest setting for an RTS or RPG because I’m not confident in my ability to take on those systems at that level. Perhaps you would be, and if so, more power to you, buddy. Games are a two-way experience, developed through the existing product and your interaction with it. Likewise, what we’re talking about here is challenge, which is produced through the interaction of your capabilities with the difficulty mode you select. Different strokes for different folks. Game developers have the unenviable job of attempting to cater for an increasingly experienced and skilled core set of gamers whilst also making their games accessible to those who’ve never picked up a controller before. This is reflected in the gradual inclusion of extra settings on which to play, variations on Easy, Easier Easiest, Hard, Harder, Hardest. Every now and again we’ll even get a Don’t Even Bother To Select This Mode! Games are easier than they used to be, but players are involved in the creation of the gaming experience and must therefore take some degree of responsibility for that experience by doing a bit of self assessment before selecting the context in which they will play. Why, then, in the vast majority of cases, do experienced gamers approach a new game on Normal Mode, or the local equivalent? Sometimes, of course, the Hard Mode is locked behind a Normal Mode play through. Finish the game to prove yourself capable of taking on such a challenge, and all that. Like many aspects of game design, this is a leftover from the days of arcades, where every game fought to hold your interest and offer profitable replayability. And like other such arcade leftovers, gradually that type of design is disappearing. And then there is the problem that you often need to select the difficulty before you’ve even played the game which, when you think about it, is pretty bloody stupid. How am I supposed to know which mode suits me? The Hard Mode of Battlefield 3 is significantly harder (and more broken) than that of BioShock, so what’s it going to be like on this brand new game I’ve just bought? Both of these factors, the locking of Hard Modes and their mysteriousness before a play through, work to railroad the player away from selecting them. Even the language involved is telling. The word “Normal” invokes not just a sense of being between Easy and Hard, but also of being the standard or preferred mode. It appeals by identifying itself as the “correct” way to play. But have another look at those stories above. In one, I experience and use the game world, assess the risks, note the terrain, identify with my character, engage with the atmosphere. In the other, I blast through what could be any old FPS. BioShock’s primary failure (and, while great, it does have some failings) is that what is supposed to be a meaningful decision – what to do with the Little Sisters – actually lacks the intended ethical punch because the “Rescue” or “Harvest” choices lack proper repercussions. Harvesting gives you a small advantage, but not a game changing one, and certainly not one required by even a semi-experienced FPS player to progress. On its harder modes, (Hard or Survivor) with ammo, money and healing items scarcer, repercussions are magnified. Taking on a Big Daddy becomes a risk; Little Sisters pose a viable moral question. On Easy, even Normal, one plays a meta-game, often going for a particular ending, without identifying with BioShock’s internal world. Likewise, Uncharted’s Hard Mode somewhat alleviates an infamous negative quality of the game. The horrific phrase “ludonarrative dissonance” is often leveled as a charge against Uncharted, the ugliness of the phrase perhaps hoping to take the shine off the game’s pristine beauty. Essentially, what this dreadful grouping of words seeks to represent is a mismatch of narrative and gameplay, in this case pointing out that Cutscene Nathan Drake’s charm and light-hearted wit is completely at odds with Gameplay Nathan Drake, who is, essentially, a mass-murderer. This is somewhat (only somewhat, mind you) alleviated when the player finds Drake genuinely at risk in Hard Mode. Ploughing through an area with headshot after headshot is less involved than a steadier paced duck-and-shoot route in which being hit by bullets actually matters. The gunplay becomes more a case of self-defence on the way to one’s goal, something you feel you and Drake would avoid if possible. And to give one final example, moving through God of War on God Mode requires you to learn, as Kratos, your enemies’ weaknesses and tells. No longer can you walk into a room and start slashing at random, you take a moment to count and identify your enemies, considering who needs to be eliminated first. You cannot mash buttons until everything is dead; instead, you time your attacks and learn when to block, when to roll away, when to take to the air. You learn that in thinning out your enemies’ ranks by killing off the many undead soldiers first, you can minimize the number of simultaneous attacks that come at you, and thus the combos you use on the bigger enemies are less likely to be interrupted. As your expertise grows you might allow yourself a wry smile, mirroring Kratos’ own, because you understand just how challenging this next room is going to be. You learn to understand and appreciate the brutal recipes the designers create, using various enemies as ingredients. – What quickly becomes clear when we run through gaming experiences like this is that Hard Mode offers the purest form of the game you’ve bought. On Hard Mode, the enemies will attack and defend more intelligently and realistically, and you will have to learn and adapt to progress. On Hard Mode, your game isn’t just an interactive storybook where you progress from cutscene to cutscene. Rather, you’re as immersed in the world, vulnerable to its dangers and invested in its progression, as any other character in it. On Hard Mode, you track your prey, defend your base, build your character’s skills, gamble with your time and their life. You watch your corners and identify exits, subconsciously strategize and memorize the previous couple of areas you were in. On Hard Mode, you find the challenges that force you to evolve. So, if you don’t as a rule, give it a try sometime. You’ll probably be frustrated, scared, tense and annoyed. Hell, you might lose or give up. But success on Hard Mode is unlike success in any other mode. It’s well-earned. |
WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump tapped Linda McMahon to serve in his cabinet as Administrator of the Small Business Administration. McMahon, known for co-founding and developing, with her husband Vince, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, formerly WWF until 2002) into a successful franchise between 1980 and 2009, ran as the Republican candidate for Senate in Connecticut in 2010 against then-State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. “My America First agenda is going to bring back our jobs and roll back the burdensome regulations that are hurting our middle class workers and small businesses. To help push our agenda forward, I am pleased to nominate Linda McMahon as the head of the Small Business Administration,” said President-elect Trump of McMahon. “Linda has a tremendous background and is widely recognized as one of the country’s top female executives advising businesses around the globe. She helped grow WWE from a modest 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 800 employees in offices worldwide. Linda is going to be a phenomenal leader and champion for small businesses and unleash America’s entrepreneurial spirit all across the country,” he said. “Our small businesses are the largest source of job creation in our country,” said McMahon. “I am honored to join the incredibly impressive economic team that President-elect Trump has assembled to ensure that we promote our country’s small businesses and help them grow and thrive.” The SBA assists Americans to begin, build and develop businesses through the agency’s network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. McMahon presently advises global businesses as part of APCO Worldwide’s International Advisory Council and is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Women’s Leadership LIVE, LLC, a company that uses live events and ongoing mentorships to educate and inspire women to launch and expand their own businesses, advance their careers toward executive roles, and pursue opportunities for leadership in public service. McMahon’s nomination will go to the Senate where one of her biggest former foes, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, will be waiting to vote on her confirmation. The race between McMahon and Blumenthal became intense at one point during a debate between the two when McMahon called out Blumenthal over claims he made about serving in Vietnam. Blumenthal now wants every Trump nominees to be required to have a recorded vote as opposed to a voice vote that many of Barack Obama nominees received when he first took office on January 20, 2009. “I wasn’t here when Obama took office. I think there’s a need for recorded votes so that we know how we stand on members in the cabinet who are going to have very serious and significant responsibilities,” Blumenthal said. Follow Kerry on Twitter |
As we have concluded earlier, there are quite a few single-board micro computers out there today to choose from. Some of them offer better performance and more memory than others, some of them have a great variety of connectors while others only have the necessary minimum. A part of these devices can connect to custom hardware through general purpose input-output pins, while others are more integrated and less customizable. Most of them are based on the ARM architecture, which restricts their use to operating systems like Linux, Android, etc, but a few surprise us with an x86 design and can even run Windows. Although they are generally small, there still are significant differences between them in size. Some of them target home users while others are built for hackers and computer experts. And last, but not least, the price of these micro computers can differ a lot. So in order to get a feel of what is on the market today, let’s have an overview of the most famous micro PCs and compare them in different categories. Raspberry Pi Designed and marketed by the non-profit Raspberry Pi Foundation, manufactured by Sony UK and sold by Farnell / Element14, the Raspberry Pi is, without a doubt, the most famous small computer (single-board micro PC) today. Its creation revolves around a noble cause, The Raspberry Pi Foundation aims to give the world, especially children, a very cheap computer which they can use to learn programming and to put their creativity to work in general. Released in early 2012, the Raspberry Pi combines some very appealing hardware characteristics, like fairly good performance (the 700 Mhz ARM CPU can be overclocked to 1GHz; 256 MB memory for model A and 512 MB memory for model B), extremely low power consumption (1.5 W max for model A and 3.5 W max for model B), which makes it suitable for battery-powered independent projects, and custom connectivity to special hardware through programmable GPIO pins. Combine all this with a very low price (25$ for model A and 35$ for model B) and a large, helping community and you definitely have a winner if you want to choose a fairly good small computer which can run Linux for example (or Android, RISC OS, etc.) and which needs to run all kinds of applications that don’t need a lot of resources (for home use, for a small server or as part of a custom hardware system). It is probably the best choice also in case you want to take the easy road into the world of micro computers because of its popularity, which translates to a huge number of Raspberry Pi owners who can and will probably help you with any questions or problems that you may encounter. Specifications: Olimex A13 OLinuXino The Olimex boards come in many flavors. There is the iMX233-OLinuXino-MAXI, the iMX233-OLinuXino-MICRO, the iMX233-OLinuXino-MINI or the iMX233-OLinuXino-WiFi. But the sweetest of them all is the A13-OLinuXino (available also i the A13-OLinuXino-MICRO and A13-OLinuXino-WIFI variants). Based on an AllWinner A13 Cortex-A8 processor running at 1GHz and a 3D Mali-400 GPU, equipped with 512 MB of RAM, a GPIO connector with 68/74 pins, 3 USB ports, a VGA connector and providing an SD card slot, this board is very similar to the Raspberry Pi. Just like it, it is based on an ARM architecture and can commonly run several Linux distributions or Android. It too can connect to custom hardware through GPIO. Both the performance and the price (45 Euros) are somewhat higher compared to the Raspberry Pi. This board does not have an HDMI connector. but it has a VGA one instead. OLinuXino is completely open source, hardware and software. You can download the design files for it free of charge and build your own. The software that runs on it (typically Linux) is also free. In contrast with the Raspberry Pi, it is specifically designed to work in industrial environments, having a 6-16 VDC input connector, a noise immune design and a working temperature range of -25 to +85 Celsius degrees. Specifications: A13 Cortex-A8 processor at 1GHz, 3D Mali-400 GPU 512 MB RAM (2 x 256Mbit x 8) 6-16VDC input power supply, noise immune design 3 + 1 USB hosts, 3 available for users, 1 leads to onboard pinout 1 USB OTG which can power the board SD-card connector for booting optional Linux image VGA video output Battery option and connector LCD signals available on connector so you still can use LCD if you diasble VGA/HDMI Audio output Microphone input 4 Mount holes RTC PCF8536 on board for real time clock and alarms 5 Keys on board for android navigation UEXT connector for connecting addtional UEXT modules like Zigbee, Bluetooth, Relays, etc. GPIO connector with 68/74 pins and these signals: 17 for adding NAND flash; 22 for connecting LCDs; 20+4 including 8 GPIOs which can be input, output, interrupt sources; 3x I2C; 2x UARTs; SDIO2 for connectinf SDcards and modules; 5 system pins: +5V, +3.3V, GND, RESET, NMI Dimensions: 120 x 120 mm (4.7×4.7”) ODROID-X2 When it comes to performance, the Korean company that produces and sells ODROID-X2 really means business! Launched in late 2012, this single-board micro computer is the successor of the previous ODROID-X and is available for buying at www.hardkernel.com. The new version packs a 1.7 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor and 2 GB of memory. With such resources on board, Android flies on it and a full-blown Linux system such as Ubuntu also runs smoothly. Good looking 3D games pose no problem to the board, as the Mali-400 quad-core GPU clocked at 440MHz can deal with them easily. ODORID-X2 is all about performance, which it delivers in massive amounts, making it comparable to very low-end conventional computers. However it is still based on the ARM architecture, so don’t get your hopes high about running Windows on it (theoretically it is possible, but Windows is not free and that poses problems). ODROID-X2 is probably one of the most serious rivals of the Raspberry Pi. It clearly beats the Pi to dust from a purely performance oriented point of view, but this naturally means a considerably higher price, 135$ to be exact. That’s still not so bad considering what it is capable of. The video output is through a micro HDMI connector (1080p). It has a standard 3.5 mm audio jack, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet connector, no less than 6 USB ports and even GPIO connectors. Specifications: CPU: Samsung Exynos4412 Cortex-A9 Quad Core 1.7Ghz with 1MB L2 cache GPU: Mali-400 Quad Core 440MHz Memory: 2GB LP-DDR2 880Mega data rate Video: micro HDMI connector (supports 1080p via HDMI cable (H.264 + AAC based MP4 container format)) Audio: HDMI and standard 3.5 mm jack (+ microphone jack) LAN: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet with RJ-45 Jack (Auto-MDIX support) USB: 6x standard high speed connectors Storage: micro-USB card slot, full size SDHC slot, eMMC module socket Power supply: 5V, 2A Size: 9 * 9.4 cm ODROID-U2 ODROID-U2 is the little brother of ODROID-X2. It is ultra-compact, only 4.8 * 5.2 cm in size, about half the size of a credit card. The fact that it is so small does not mean, however, that it is less muscular than the big brother. It has the same CPU, GPU and the same amount of memory, so performance is equally high, but the price is considerably lower: 89$. HDMI video output is kept, the same Ethernet connector remains, but there’s room for only 2 out of the 6 USB ports. The standard size SD card slot is also gone, but the micro-SD slot remains. There’s no default GPIO port on the ODROID-U2 because of its compact design, but a USB expansion card is available, which add GPIO pins. The default supported operating systems are, of course, the same: Android and Ubuntu, but it could probably easily run other Linux distributions and possibly some other operating systems too. Specifications: CPU: Samsung Exynos4412 Cortex-A9 Quad Core 1.7Ghz with 1MB L2 cache GPU: Mali-400 Quad Core at 440MHz Memory: 2GB LP-DDR2 880Mega data rate Video: micro HDMI connector (supports 1080p via HDMI cable (H.264 + AAC based MP4 container format)) Audio: HDMI and standard 3.5 mm jack (+ microphone jack) LAN: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet with RJ-45 Jack (Auto-MDIX support) USB: 2x standard high speed connectors Storage: micro-USB card slot, eMMC module socket Power supply: 5V, 2A Size: 4.8 * 5.2 cm BeagleBone A micro computer that looks very similar to the Raspberry Pi is the BeagleBone. Announced in the last quarter of 2011, it is a lower cost successor of the BeagleBoard-xM. Equipped with a Sitara ARM Cortex-A8 processor running at 720 MHz, a 3D graphics accelerator, 256 MB of RAM, an Ethernet connector, a single USB port, a micro-SD card slot and two 46-pin expansion connectors (wow, that’s a lot of GPIO pins!) the BeagleBone delivers performance comparable with that of the Raspberry Pi model B, but at a considerably higher price (89$). The encouraged operating systems for it are Angstrom, Android 4.0 and Ubuntu. It also has several expansion boards called “capes”. Specifications: Processor 720 MHz super-scalar ARM Cortex-A8 (armv7a) 3D graphics accelerator ARM Cortex-M3 for power management 2x Programmable Realtime Unit 32-bit RISC CPUs RAM: 256 MB Connectivity USB client: power, debug and device USB host Ethernet 2x 46 pin headers 2x I 2 C, 5x UART, I 2 S, SPI, CAN, 66x 3.3V GPIO, 7x ADC Cubieboard A development board type micro computer strikingly similar to the BeagleBone and to the Raspberry Pi is the Cubieboard. It has an ARM Cortex-A8 (NEON, VFPv3, 256KB L2 cache) processor running at 1 GHz, a Mali-400 GPU (OpenGL ES) and 1GB of DDR3 memory clocked at 480 MHz. In addition it brings to the table 4GB of built-in NAND Flash memory for storage purposes, but it also has a micro-SD card slot and one SATA connector for external storage. The rest of the stuff is also pretty much what the standard is today: 2 conventional USB ports, an Ethernet port and an HDMI video output. The Cubieboard also supports IR connectivity. As a development board, it too offers a multitude of GPIO pins: 96 of them! That certainly is a big advantage. Supported operating systems are Android and Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, etc.). Compared to what this board offers the price is quite fair: 49$. The Cubieboard can be thought of as a Raspberry Pi with a little better performance, more memory, integrated storage and way more GPIO pins, at a slightly higher price. But the community and the support around it is a lot thinner for now, which can be a serious disadvantage if you need some help working with it. Specifications: CPU: 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8, NEON, VFPv3, 256KB L2 cache GPU: Mali-400, OpenGL ES RAM: 1 GB DDR3 @480MHz HDMI 1080p Output 10/100M Ethernet On-board storage: 4Gb NAND Flash 2x USB Host, 1 micro SD slot, 1 SATA, 1 IR 96 extend pin including I2C, SPI, RGB/LVDS, CSI/TS, FM-IN, ADC, CVBS, VGA, SPDIF-OUT, R-TP, … Gooseberry Board A direct rival of the Raspberry Pi and very similar to BeagleBone and Cubieboard is the Gooseberry Board. It was released in mid 2012 in the form of a limited supply of 500 boards which were sold almost immediately, even with the restriction that a person could only buy one board. Later in 2012 another batch of Gooseberry Boards became available in the store but they too have sold out quickly. According to the manufacturer’s claims, this board can deliver three times the performance of the Raspberry Pi with 256 MB or memory. It certainly has a faster CPU based on a newer ARM technology, an Allwinner A10 processor running at 1 GHz, which can theoretically be overclocked to 1.5 GHz, but in practice Android was unstable above 1.2 GHz. Thanks to its better CPU it can also run Ubuntu, which isn’t really supported on the Rasbpery Pi. It also has a quite good GPU, a Mali-400, and 512 MB of RAM. Just like the Cubieboard, it possesses 4GB of built-in storage. IT does not have an Ethernet port but it compensates with built-in WiFi. Analog video is also not supported, but that can be overcome by using the HDMI video output. The standard 3.5 mm audio jack is present, but instead of standard USB ports a single mini-USB connector is available. For external storage there is a micro-SD slot. There are no GPIO pins on the board, which might be a major downside for those who wish to work with custom hardware devices. It seems that the performance delivered by the Gooseberry Board is indeed higher than that of the Raspberry Pi. However this is reflected in the price too (62$ vs 25/35$). Unlike the Raspberry Pi, which is sold in massive quantities, this board is available in very limited batches and only from time to time. Specifications: CPU: Allwinner A10 1 GHz, overclockable to 1.5 GHz (1.2 GHz highest stable overclock on Android) GPU: Mali 400 MHz Onboard Storage: 4GB External storage: micro-SD memory card – 32GB max Connectivity: WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), AC jack, 1x 3.5mm earphone jack, 1x mini-USB, 1x HDMI Out Hackberry Board Another rival of the Raspberry Pi, in many aspects also similar to the BeagleBone, Cubieboard and Gooseberry Board, is the Hackberry Board. Powered by an Allwinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 processor running at 1.2 GHz and having 1GB of RAM, this micro computer seems to be able to deliver quite good performance. Its GPU is the commonly used Mali-400. Similarly to the Cubieboard and Gooseberry Board, it has 4GB of built in storage and it also has built in WiFi. As for connectivity, the board offers an HDMI video and audio output, a 3.5 mm microphone jack, 2 standard USB ports, an Ethernet port and a serial port, but no GPIO pins (again, a possible major downside for those who want to connect custom hardware to it). Extrenal storage is achieved through an SDHC card slot. Supported operating systems are Android, and Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Gentoo, etc.). The Hackberry Board is sold at a price of 65$, which seems to be a fair one considering the offered performance. Specifications: CPU: 1.2GHz Allwinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 GPU: Mali400 with hardware 3D acceleration and hardware video decoding Serial port: 3.3v TTL 4-pin header Audio input: 3.5mm microphone jack Audio output: Audio over HDMI USB: 2 x USB A 2.0 ports Internal storage: 4GB NAND storage, 1.5GB available in user partition in Android External storage: SDHC card slot supporting up to 32GB Networking: 10/100 Ethernet, Realtek 802.11n WiFi Memory: DDR3 512MB / 1GB, ~100MB is reserved for the GPU Boot: Boot from SD card and internal storage via u-boot OS: Android 4.0 ICS, Linux support Digital video output: HDMI up to 1080p (cable not included) Analog video output: 3.5mm composite AV, 3.5mm component Y/Pb/Pr (cables not included) Power: NEMA 2-pin power adapter included Input AC 100-240 V – 0.4 A 50/60 Hz Output DC 5V Chumby Hacker Board v1.0 This board is quite different from the others. It does not focus on offering high performance, it is rather a low-end but still usable single-board micro computer, which is meant to be incorporated into all kinds of custom (“hack”) projects. At the heart of it is a Freescale iMX.233 processor running at 454 MHz and the available amount of memory is quite modest: 64 MB. It has no fancy graphics accelerator either and instead of the commonly used HDMI video output it uses composite video (3.5mm A/V output jack with stereo audio and NTSC/PAL composite video) to connect to a TV, for example. Clearly, not a system focused on performance. And yet it can run Linux, in fact it comes with a 100 MB Linux distribution on its micro-SD card, ready to go. What this board excels at is the variety of possibilities of integration into custom hardware projects. It offers a great deal of connectivity and interaction options, starting with more standard ones like the 3 SUB ports or the microphone input, but also providing unusual ones like the LCD controller, the speaker amplifier, the onboard joystick and accelerometer or the integrated Li-Ion/Polymer battery charger for independent off-grid projects. Obviously a multitude of GPIO pins (including PWM pins) and a serial port are not missing either. The Chumby Hacker Board is primarily for people who already have experience with similar systems, or at least with some basic micro-controller projects and with Linux, of course. The price of this gadget is 89$. Specifications: Freescale iMX.233 processor running at 454 MHZ 64 MB onboard RAM Comes with 512MB uSD card with 100 MB Linux installation all ready to go Dimensions are 3.9″ (100mm) x 2.4″ (60mm) x 0.75″ (20mm) 3.3V I/O pins can talk to most sensors, motor drivers, etc. No struggling with 1.8V levels. Low power, fanless CPU draws only 200 mA at 5V Built-in Lithium Ion/Polymer battery charger and 5V boost converter for portable projects Three USB ports! 1.9W mono speaker amplifier into 4ohm (0.1″ JST onboard connector) Microphone input (0.05″ JST onboard connector) LCD controller with 2mm output port 3.5mm A/V output jack with stereo audio and NTSC/PAL composite video Quadrature encoder connections onboard 5-way joystick on-board MMA7455 3-axis +-2G to +-8G accelerometer on-board 3.3V TTL serial port for easy shell access Full GCC toolchain is ready for you to download and get crackin’! Schematics, Gerbers and original layout files are available at the Wiki FOXG20 The FOXG20 is a low-end micro computer from a performance-oriented point of view, it is meant to be embedded into custom hardware or it can run web servers, as it supports the Debian Linux OS. According to its purpose, the FOXG20 exposes two headers of 40 general purpose extension pins, so that it can be connected to all kinds of devices. The price of such a board is 184$, quite high, considering that similar devices, like the Raspberry Pi, for example, offer similar capabilities and higher performance. Specifications: CPU: Atmel ARM9 @ 400 Mhz RAM: 64 MB Internal storage: 256KB of flash memory for the bootloader Extrenal storage: micro-SD card slot Connectors: 2x USB 2.0 ports (12 Mbits) Ethernet 10/100 port USB device port (12 Mbits) Debug serial port (3.3 V) 2x serial ports (3.3 V) Serial port for 4DSystems oLed displays GPIO lines (3.3 V) 4 A/D converter lines, I2C bus, SPI bus Power: 5 VDC power supply input Real Time Clock with on-board backup battery Average power consumption: 80 mA @ 5V (0.4 W) without micro-SD, Ethernet link, USB devices or other peripherals. Pandaboard ES Pandaboard ES successor of the Pandaboard, is also a single-board micro computer, a community supported development platform available since late 2011 at the price of 182$, a price quite high in comparison to how much the other similar single-board computers cost. It does offer nice performance, delivered by a Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU with Symmetric Multiprocessing at 1.2 GHz each and by the Imagination Technologies’ POWERVR SGX540 graphics core. It is equipped with 1GB of DDR2 memory. The connectivity options offered by the Pandaboard are similar to those seen on the competition, with the exception of a few extras. For video output (1080p full-HD by the way): HDMI connector and(!) DVI-D connector, also LCD expansion header. It also has 3.5 mm stereo audio output (and audio through HDMI), Ethernet, WiFi and BlueTooth for network connections, 2 USB ports and a camera expansion header. The main supported operating systems are Linux, Android and RISC OS. Specifications: CPU: Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore with Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) at 1.2 GHz each. GPU: Full HD (1080p) multi-standard video encode/decode Imagination Technologies’ POWERVR SGX540 graphics core supporting all major API’s including OpenGL® ES v2.0, OpenGL ES v1.1, OpenVG v1.1 and EGL v1.3 Memory: 1 GB low power DDR2 Display: HDMI v1.3 Connector (Type A) to drive HD displays DVI-D Connector (can drive a 2nd display, simultaneous display; requires HDMI to DVI-D adapter) LCD expansion header DSI Support Audio 3.5″ Audio in/out HDMI Audio out Sterio audio input support Extrenal storage: Full size SD/MMC card cage with support for High-Speed & High-Capacity SD cards Connectivity: Onboard 10/100 Ethernet Wireless Connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n (based on WiLink 6.0) Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR (based on WiLink™ 6.0) Expansion ports: 1x USB 2.0 High-Speed On-the-go port 2x USB 2.0 High-Speed host ports General purpose expansion header (I2C, GPMC, USB, MMC, DSS, ETM) Camera expansion header LCD signal expansion using a single set of resistor banks Debug JTAG UART/RS-232 2 status LEDs (configurable) 1 GPIO Button Sysboot switch available on board Dimensions Height: 4.5″ (114.3 mm) Width: 4.0″ (101.6 mm) Weight: 2.88 oz (81.5 grams) Snowball Board Snowball Board is a small single-board computer which is meant to be used by hobbyists and designers in embedded systems. Built around ST Ericcson’s Nova A9500 SoC, it features a dual Cortex-A9 ARM processor clocked at 1 GHz and a Mali-400 GPU. It is equipped with 1GB of DDR2 RAM and an unusually high amount of built-in eMMC memory: 8 GB, which can be extended using the available micro-SD slot. Connectors include HDMI, composite-video, audio, Ethernet, and GPIO pins. It also has built-in WiFi and BlueTooth. The board runs Linux and Android and is available for around 247$. Specifications: CPU: ARM Dual Cortex-A9 @ 1GHz GPU: Mali-400 RAM: 1GB DDR2 Internal storage: 8 GB eMMC External storage: micro-SD card slot Connectivity: Ethernet IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wireless LAN Bluetooth BT4.0/ BLE. (ex Antenna) GPS (Ex. Antenna) 3x Expansion Connectors (FSMC,HSI, Audio, MiPi CSI / Camera, LCD,MiPi DSI, UART, SPI, I2C, GPIO) Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.5 cm Nitrogen6X The Nitrogen6X is a high-end development board, with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor running at 1GHz and 1 GB of DDR3. It seems to put high emphasis on video output, as it has 3 display ports: RGB, LVDS and HDMI. The extrenal storage on card is also not neglected, as provedn by the Nitrogen6X‘s dual SD/SDXC card slots. Other connectors include 2 USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet, SATA, headphone and microphone jacks, PCIe, two camera ports and, of course, GPIO pins. The Nitrogen6X sells for a higher price, 199$, but this price includes a 4GB memory card with Linux (but it can also run Android and Windows CE), a serial cable and a power cord. Specifications: Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A9 processor at 1 GHz 1 GB of 64-bit wide DDR3 @ 532 MHz 2MB Serial Flash Three display ports (PRGB, LVDS, HDMI) Parallel camera port with OV5642 Interface Multi-stream-capable HD video engine delivering 1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode and 3-D video playback in HD Superior 3-D graphics performance with quad shaders for up to 200 Mt/s Separate 2-D and/or Vertex acceleration engines for an optimal user interface experience Serial ATA (SATA) Dual SDHC card slots PCI express port Analog (headphone/mic) Audio 10/100/1G Ethernet with Power over Ethernet support 2 RS-232 Serial ports 10-pin JTAG interface I2C/GPIO/SPI 3 High speed USB ports (2x Host, 1x OTG) CAN port TiWi 802.11 b/g/n WiFi+BT optional Supports Android 4, Embedded Linux, and WinCE7.0 Operating Systems Industrial Temperature Versions Available Custom Versions Available Dimensions: 11.4 * 7.6 cm Sabre Lite Sabre Lite is a development board extremely similar to the Nitrogen6X (they are both produced by Boundary Devices). It has the same price of 199$, but it is smaller (7.6 x 7.6 cm). They both have the same CPU and memory, the connectors are also pretty much the same, the biggest difference being that Sabre Lite does not have WiFi. Specifications: Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A9 processor at 1 GHz 1 GB of 64-bit wide DDR3 @ 532 MHz Three display ports (RGB, LVDS, and HDMI 1.4a) Two camera ports (1xParallel, 1x MIPI CSI-2) Multi-stream-capable HD video engine delivering H.264 1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode and 3-D video playback in HD Triple Play Graphics system consisting of a Quad-shader 3D unit capable of 200MT/s, and a separate 2-D and separate OpenVG Vertex acceleration engine for superior 3D, 2D and user interface acceleration Serial ATA 2.5 (SATA) at 3 Gbps Dual SD 3.0/SDXC card slots PCIe port (1 lane) Analog (headphone/mic) and Digital (HDMI) audio 10/100/Gb IEEE1588 Ethernet 10-pin JTAG interface 3 High speed USB ports (2xHost, 1xOTG) 1xCAN2 port I2C GPIOs Dimensions: 7.6 x 7.6 cm IGEPv2 The IGEPv2 single-board computer, developed by ISEE, is meant to be an “industrial processor board”. Powered by an ARM Cortex-A8 processor running at 1 GHz and havin 512 MB of RAM, it offers more than decent performance. It also has 512 MB of built-in flash memory for storage, which can be extended via a micro-SD card. It can connect to a newtrok through built-in WiFi, Ethernet or BlueTooth and it outputs video through an HDMI port. It also has several other connectors, like 2x USB, 3x UART, audio stereo in and out and, of course, GPIO. Available for 188$, it runs Linux and Android and has a size of 9.5 by 6.5 cm. Specifications: DM3730 Texas Instruments processor ARM Cortex-A8 1 GHz C64+ DSP 800 MHz 3D Accelerator SGX530 @ 200 MHz Camera ISP 512 Megabytes RAM / 512 Megabytes FLASH Ethernet 10/100 Mb BaseT Wifi 802.11 b/g Bluetooth BC4 – Class 2.0 Video: DVI-D (HDMI Connector) programmable panel size 2 x USB MicroSD card reader 3 x UART Stereo audio in/out Expansion connectors Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 cm VIA APC This product from VIA, the APC, is a gadget that is meant to be a rival of the Raspberry Pi. If the name didn’t give it away already, the APC is an Android PC and is meant to run an older version of Android, 2.3, but surely people will find ways to run newer version of Android and even Linux on it. It is a Neo-ITX board, a fairly small (17 x 8.5 cm) PC, but nearly as small as the Raspberry Pi. But their is another dimension in which the VIA APC falls very close to its rival: the price. Selling for 49$, it offers somewhat better performance, with a VIA WonderMedia 8750 800 MHz ARM11 processor, 512MB of DDR3 memory, and 2GB of built-in NAND flash storage, something that the Pi does not possess. The chip supports 1080p HD video playback, H.264 video encoding, and OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics, but the video output of the device is not 1080p, only 720p. There is something, though which is a lot better on the VIA APC than on the Raspberry Pi: it offers a much wider range of connectors. It has a VGA and an HDMI port, 4 USB 2.0 ports, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a headphone and a microphone jack, and a micro-SD card slot for external storage. On the other hand it has no GPIO pins and its power consumption in incomparably higher than the Pi’s: 4W in idle mode and up to 14 W under load. Specifications: CPU: VIA WonderMedia 8750 ARM11 @ 800 MHz GPU: 1080p HD video playback, H.264 video encoding, OpenGL ES 2.0 Memory: 512 MB DDR3 Internal storage: 2GB NAND flash Extrenal storage: micro-SD card slot Connectors: HDMI VGA 4x USB 2.0 10/100 Ethernet 3.5 mm headphone + microphone jacks Dimensions: 17 x 8.5 cm (Neo-ITX) Arndale Board Although not quite as small as the other single-board computers presented here, Samsung‘s Arndale Board is quite an interesting piece of hardware that is certainly worth being mentioned. The 36 by 24 centimeters large board is available for 249$, which is significantly higher than the price of many other single-board computers, but the Arndale Board really does offer a lot for that money. First of all theres a lot of horse power packed under its hood. Built around Samsung‘s Exynos 5 SoC, ‘the Arndale Board is powered by a Cortex-A15 dual-core CPU running at 1.7 GHz and a Mali T604 GPU, which offers high graphics performance. In fact, Google’s Nexus 10 tablet has the same CPU and GPU at its heart. The Arndale Board comes with 2 GB of RAM and 4 GB of internal storage memory but external storage can be added through the micro-SD card slot, through SATA or even USB. There are two USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 ports available on the board, HDMI, Ethernet, Serial R232C and JTAG connectors. What really differentiates this board from the rest is the possibility to easily connect different add-on modules to it, a touch display, camera or NFC board for example. It also has some neat built-in modules like the GPS module, compass gyroscope and accelerometer. As the Arndale Board too is based on the ARM architecture, the operating systems that are best fit for it are Android and Linux. Specifications: CPU: Cortex-A15 @ 1.7 GHz dual core subsystem with 64/128 bit SIMD NEON 32 KB (instruction) / 32 KB (DATA) L1 cache and 1 MB L2 cache GPU: Mali T604 Memory: 32-bit 800 Mhz DDR3 (L) /DDR3 1 GB x 2 Built-in storage: 4 GB Connectivity: 100 Mbps Ethernet WiFi Bluetooth External storage: micro-SD card slot SATA 1.0/2.0/3.0 interface One channel eMMC 4.5 One channel SDIO 3.0 Two channel SD 2.0 Interfaces: Sensor Accelerator : Invensence MPU-6050 Gyro : Invensence MPU-6050 e-Compass : AKM -AK8963C GPS module ITU 601 camera Interface HDMI 1.4 interfaces with on-chip PHY One channel eDP output Single WQXGA MIPI DSI Standard Specification V1.01r11 MIPI CSI Standard Specification V1.0 Two ports USB 3.0 Host or Device 1-channel that supports SS (5Gbps) with on-chip PHY USB 2.0 Host or Device 1-channel that supports LS/FS/HS with on-chip PHY USB HSIC 2-channel that supports 480Mbps with on-chip PHY Four channel high-speed UART (up to 3Mbps data rate for Bluetooth 2.0 EDR and IrDA 1.0SIR) Three channel high-speed SPI Three channel 24-bit I2S audio interface Four channel I2C interface support , up to 400kbps Four channel HS-I2C up to 3.1Mps Dimensions: 36 x 24 cm Origen Board Not so much different from the Arndale Board is the Origen Board. Also a product of Samsung, it is based on the Exynos 4 SoC (the previous generation) and it’s CPU is a Cortex-A9 running at a slightly lower frequency, 1.4 GHz, but it is quad-core, not dual-core. It is the same processor found in the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone. The GPU is the popular Mali-400. The Origen Board has 1GB of DDR3 RAM and no built-in storage memory. External storage is available via an SD card slot. Other than that it features two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, one UART connector, one HDMI connector and some interfaces to connect external modules like an LCD, a camera, a WiFi module and sensors (GPS for example). Selling for 199$, Origen Board is meant to run Android and Linux primarily. Specifications: CPU Board CPU : Samsung Exynos 4 Quad Cortex-A9 core 1.4 GHz DRAM : 1GB (POP Type) PMIC : S5M8767A GPU: Mali-400 Base Board SDcard, Serial, USB 2.0 Host x 2, USB 2.0 Device JTAG , Ethernet (10/100 Mbps), HDMI support Connector support (Sub Boards) External I/F MIPI CSI/DSI , Parallel, C2C LCD & Touch Package LCD : 7″ LCD (1024 x 600) Touch : Capacitive sensing Touch screen 7″ I/O Board : Connector module for LCD & Touch Accessories Package AC Adapter(5V 2~3A) SD Card(4G Bytes) HDMI, Serial, USB Cable Sub Boards Sound Board AsahiKASEI : AK4678 Connectivity Board MediaTeK : MT6620 4 in 1 Dimensions: 11.9 x 11.9 cm Toradex Topaz Single Board Computer and Xiilun The Toradex Topaz Single Board Computer is a system that tries to stand out in several ways from the crowd of existing single-board micro computers. Announced in early 2011, the Topaz is built upon the x86 architecture and is powered by an Intel Atom E6xx processor running at up to 1.6 Ghz (with hyper-threading and virtualization technology), which can deliver unusually high performance for a board of this size (8.4 x 5.5 x 1.27 cm). The x86 architecture also has the advantage of being able to work with all major operating systems (including Windows). The graphics processor is an Intel GMA600 clocked at 400 MHz, supporting two independent displays (through the HDMI and DVI-D connectors), OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenVG, and DirectX 9.0, and of course full HD resolution. The Topaz system can have 1 or 2 GB of DDR2 memory attached. In spite of its high performance this board is said to consume very little current. The processor itself uses a maximum of 3.9 W according to Intel. The low power consumption is obviously a huge advantage because if such a high performance board can be used in battery-powered applications, that means a whole new world of possibilities. And there really is nothing stopping the Topaz from being part of such custom systems, as it offers a 50-pin expansion header (which can be utilized, among other things for SATA and PCIe connections too). Together with the Topaz single-board computer was announced Xiilun, which is basically a Topaz board in a robust aluminium case, only slightly larger than the board itself: 8.9 x 6.0 x 1.6 cm. In fact, it was marketed as the world’s smallest single-board computer. That may already not be true today, but it certainly is a small box full of power. The aluminium case helps dissipate the produced heat and allows for fan-less operation. Specifications: CPU: Intel Atom E6xx (up to 1.6GHz) with Intel® IOH EG20T chipset: Intel Hyper Threading Intel Virtualization Technology Memory: 1GB – 2GB DDR2 RAM (32Bit, 800MT) GPU: Intel GMA600 (400 MHz): Resolution: Up to Full HD (1920×1080) Dual Independent Display OpenGL ES 2.0 OpenVGTM DirectX 9.0c Video encoding: MPEG4, H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, VC1, WMV9, H.264 Connectors: 1x DVI-D (on HDMI connector) 4x high-speed USB 2.0 Interfaces on Expansion Connectors : 1x LVDS Single Channel 2x PCIe 2x High-Speed USB 2.0 2x SATA 1x Intel® High Definition Audio 1x SDIO (4bit) 1x LPC 1x SMB 1x I2C 4x GPIO 2x UART (RS232) 1x CAN External storage: micro-SD card slot (SDHC) Power Supply: 5 VDC Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.4 x 1.27 cm VIA EPIA-P910 Another micro computer that does not joke around when it comes to performance is the VIA EPIA-910 Pico-ITX board. Equipped with a VIA quad-core E-series x86 processor, with all 4 cores running at 1 GHz and offering the possibility to install up to 8 GB of laptop-size DDR3 memory into it, this system is a powerhouse. Its Chromotion 640 video processor (VIA VX11H media system processor) is also very muscular, having no problems with 3D applications, 1080p movie playback or anything else for the matter. Gamers will happily note that is DirectX 11 compatible. The fact that the system is built on the x86 architecture, not ARM, has the huge advantage of being able to run virtually any OS: Linux, Android, OS X, Windows, you name it. It offers so much in such a tiny package: the Pico-ITX standard dictates its size of only 10 x 7.2 cm. unfortunately there is something that is not tiny at all: the price. VIA EPIA-910 sells for no less than 359$. But hey, if you want heavy performance packed in a tiny computer, you’ll have to pay for it. At list some essentials are included in the price: a power supply and SATA data and power cables. As for the connectivity options, this board delivers video through HDMI and VGA. It also has 2 standard USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet port and two SATA connectors for extended storage. It has no GPIO pins but that it not so surprising since it’s not really meant to be a development board, it’s meant to be a powerful tiny computer. An optional expansion board adds PS/2 ports, 6 more USB 2.0 ports, 2 more USB 3.0 ports, and audio jacks. A big aluminium heat sink can sit on the top of the board and even a fan can be installed on it, but that kind of spoils all the fun of having a small and noiseless computer. Specifications: CPU: VIA quad-core E-series x86 processor @ 1 GHz GPU: Chromotion 640 video processor (VIA VX11H media system processor) DirectX 11 compatible 1080p full HD video playback Memory: up to 8GB DD3, up to 1333 MHz Connectors: HDMI VGA 2x USB 3.0 2x SATA Ethernet Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 cm (Pico-ITX) Intel NUC Intel’s response to the micro computer craze is the NUC (Next Unit of Computing), which might not be as small as the rest of the boards (it’s 10 x 10 cm), but than again it’s not that large either and it’s packed in a very elegant case and… it boils with performance. Unsurprisingly this small computer too is x86-based, being able to run most any OS (including Windows). In the beginning NUC is being sold in two flavors: DC3217IYE and DC3217BY, both based on dual-core Core i3-3217U microprocessor (1.8GHz, 3MB cache, 17W TDP) with Intel HD Graphics 4000 graphics core and QS77 core-logic, but there might be other variations in the future, as it can accept any Intel Core i3 or i5 CPUs. The current models can be equipped with two DDR3 SO-DIMMs, an mSATA solid-state drive and a mini PCIe Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module. The DC3217IYE has 2 HDMI ports and an 1 Gb Ethernet port, the DC3217BY has just one HDMI output, one Thunderbolt port, but lacks the 1 Gb Ethernet port. None of the two models has analog audio connectors. The NUC clearly packs a lot of power inside its elegant case. Unfortunately its price is also impressive, somewhere around 300-320$ for the board itself, the CPU, the case and a 65 W power supply (so, yes, it consumes considerably more power than the other micro computers). Add the price of the memory, that of the SSD and that of a WiFi card and you’re probably looking at almost 500$. It is probably the most powerful solution in this size class today and we must admit, it looks really good, but as all good things, it comes at a high price. Also, a heat sink and a fan cannot be avoided for such a powerful micro computer. Specifications: CPU: Intel Core i3 or i5 (current models have i3-3217U @ 1.8 GHz with 3 MB cache) GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000 Memory: 2x DDR3 SO-DIMM (sold separately) Storage: mSATA SSD (sold separately) Connectivity: 1Gb Ethernet or mini PCIe WiFi module Video/audio output: 1x or 2x HDMI ports Other connectors: USB 3.0, Thunderbolt Dimensions: 10 x 10 cm. UG802 An interesting class of devices emerged recently. They are what we might call HDMI Android sticks. A good example of such a device is the UG802, which is essentially a very small micro PC, packaged in the form very similar to a USB pen drive. The impressively tiny (8.9 x 3.3 x 1.6 cm) gadget has an HDMI connector on one end, which you can connect directly to a TV, for example. It also has USB ports and a micro-SD card slot for external storage, but the UG802 already includes 4 GB of built-in storage. It is powered by a Rockchip RK3066 ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core processor clocked at 1.6 GHz and it has 1GB of RAM. Its video processor is the popular Mali-400. Built-in WiFi allows for easy networking. The UG802 is meant to offer comfortable usage. You just plug it into some HMDI-capable screen, attach a keyboard and mouse and use it. It runs Android 4.0 out of the box but several Linux distributions have also been ported to work on it. If you wish to have a tiny, well packaged device to use for common multimedia purposes (movies, games, etc.), the UG802 is a good choice and you can get it for as little as 69$. It is not suitable for custom hardware projects, simply because it has no general purpose connectors on it, but it never was meant to be used in such way. Specifications: CPU: Rockchip RK3066 ARM Cortex-A9 dual core processor @ 1.6 GHz GPU: Mali-400 Memory: 1GB Internal storage: 4GB External storage: micro-SD card slot Ports and connections: USB, HDMI, built-in Wi-Fi Dimensions: 8.9 x 3.3 x 1.6 cm MK802 Another HDMI Android stick, strikingly similar to the UG802 is the MK802. This one has a single-core 1.5 GHz AllWinner A10 Cortex-A8 ARM processor, 512MB of DDR3 memory, the same Mali-400 GPU, the same 4 GB flash memory storage and the same micro-SD card slot. The other connectors are also pretty much the same: 2 USB ports and built-in WiFi connectivity. The MK802 sells for 74$ and, just as the UG802, it runs Android 4.0 and several Linux distributions. Specifications: CPU: AllWinner A10 Cortex-A8 ARM (single-core, 1.5 GHz) GPU: Mali-400 Memory: 512 MB Internal storage: 4GB External storage: micro-SD card slot Ports and connections: USB, HDMI, built-in Wi-Fi 8.79 x 3.5 x 1.34 cm Cotton Candy One of the first HDMI Android sticks to be announced was the Cotton Candy. Just like the UG802 or MK802, it’s essentially a micro PC in the form of a pen drive, having an HDMI connector on one and and a USB port on the other. The specs of the Cotton Candy are pretty much the same as those of the UG802 and MK802 (1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 1 GB of RAM, quad-core Mali-400 MP GPU, no built-in storage flash memory, built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB 2.0, micro-SD slot), and yet its price is magnitudes higher compared to the other two: 199$! Just like the other tow gadgets, it runs Android and Linux. Specifications: CPU: AllWinner Cortex-A9 ARM (dual-core, 1.2 GHz) GPU: Mali-400 MP (quad-core) Memory: 1 GB Internal storage: none External storage: micro-SD card slot Ports and connections: USB, HDMI, built-in Wi-Fi 8 x 2.5 cm Mele A1000 The Mele A1000 comes in a different package compared to the other micro computers presented. It is not without a case, like the Raspberry Pi, for example, nor is it in a pen drive form like the UG802, MK802 or the Cotton Candy. It is packaged and thought of as a multimedia TV box. Available for 70$, the Mele A1000 is equipped with a 1 GHz Allwinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 processor, a Mali-400 GPU, 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB internal NAND flash memory. It includes WiFi but also has an Ethernet connector. Video output is through HDMI, VGA and composite video. It also has 2 USB ports and a SD card slot. External hard drives can be connected through the SATA interface. The Mele A1000 runs Android 2.3 by default, but it is possible to make it work with Linux too. Specifications: CPU: AllWinner A10 Cortex-A8 ARM @ 1 GHz GPU: Mali-400 Memory: 512 MB Internal storage: 4 GB NAND flash External storage: SD card slot, sata interface Video: HDMI, VGA, composite video Network: Built-in WiFi, Ethernet connector Other ports: 2x USB Cubox Just like the name suggests, CuBox is a very small computer that has the form of a cube. It is a very small cube (5.1 x 5.1 x 5.1 cm) packed with hardware goodies. Based on the Marvell Armada 510 (88AP510) SoC, with an ARM v6/v7-compliant processor (800 MHz dual issue ARM PJ4 processor), a Vivante GC600 2D and 3D capable hardware accelerated graphic engine and having 1 GB of 800 MHz DDR3 RAM, the CuBox is quite a powerful little box and yet it runs happily on less than 3 W of power (and less than 1 W in stand-by). It has full HD HDMI output, Gigabit Ethernet and 2 USB 2.0 ports. But this small box offers a few less conventional connectors too, like SPDIF, 3 Gbps eSATA or the infrared receiver. It also has a micro-USB console and a micro-SD (SDXC) card slot for external storage. An amazingly vast palette of operating systems are supported (documented) by CuBox: Linux ArchLinux Ångström CRUX Fedora GeeXboX Gentoo Mer openSUSE Xilka Debian Ubuntu Android Android 2.2 Whether it’s used as a low-power desktop computer, as a server or as a media box, the CuBox offers a lot. Unfortunately the price reflects this and is quite high: you can buy this gadget for 140$. Specifications: CPU: 800 MHz dual issue ARM PJ4 processor GPU: Vivante GC600 2D and 3D capable hardware accelerated graphic engine OpenGL ES 2.0 OpenVG 1.1 X11 / EXA DirectFB 1.4 EGL 1.4 Memory: 1 GB DDR3 @ 800 MHz Connectors: HDMI 2x USB 2.0 Gigabit Ethernet SPDIF eSATA I/II Standard IrDA Infra-red receiver for 38KHz based IR controllers MicroUSB USB Device / Console for flashing Extrenal storage: micro-SD (SDXC) card slot Dimensions: 5.1 x 5.1 x 5.1 cm Weight: 91 g An extremely detailed list of the CuBox’s hardware specifications can be found here. Mini Xplus Mini Xplus is a small PC meant to be a TV box and is packaged as such. Powered by an AllWinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 processor running at 1 GHz and a Mali-400 GPU, it has 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of NAND flash for internal storage. External storage is possible via micro-SD cards. The device has two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port and, obviously, built-in WiFi. It sells for 69$ or more and runs Android or Linux. Specifications: CPU: AllWinner A10 ARM Cortex-A8 @ 1 GHz GPU: Mali-400 RAM: 1GB Internal storage: 4GB NAND flash External storage: micro-SD card slot Connectivity: built-in WiFi. Connectors: 1x HDMI 2x USB 2.0 Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 1.0 cm SheevaPlug As the name suggests, the SheevaPlug is a plug-type micro computer designed to run server applications. Its two successors, the the GuruPlug and DreamPlug, are similar to it, with slightly different specs. While SheevaPlug runs Ubuntu 9.04, GuruPlug and DreamPlug work with Debian Linux. The SheevaPlug sells for around 159$. Specifications: CPU: 1.2 GHz ARM Marvell Kirkwood 88F6281 (ARM9E) Memory: 512 MB Internal storage: 512 MB flash External storage: external HDD, SDIO card, SD card Network: Gigabit Ethernet Other connectors: USB 2.0 Dimensions: 11 x 6.95 x 4.85 cm Comparison Now that we’ve seen so many single-board micro computers, let us compare their different attributes and characteristics using charts and tables. Name Architecture Supported OS VIA Pico-ITX Epia-P910 x86 Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, etc. VIA APC ARM Android, Linux UG802 ARM Android, Linux Toradex Topaz SBC x86 Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, etc. Snowball Board ARM Android, Linux, etc. SheevaPlug ARM Linux SABRE Lite ARM Linux, Android, Windows CE Raspberry Pi Model B ARM Linux (Raspbian), RISC OS, Android Raspberry Pi Model A ARM Linux (Raspbian), RISC OS, Android PandaBoard ES ARM Linux, Android, RISC OS Origen Board ARM Android, Linux Olimex A13 OLinuXino ARM Linux, Android ODROID-U2 ARM Android, Linux ODROID-X2 ARM Android, Linux Nitrogen6X ARM Linux, Android, Windows CE MK802 ARM Android, Linux Mele A1000 ARM Android, Linux Intel NUC x86 Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, etc. IGEPv2 ARM Linux, Android Hackberry Board ARM Android, Linux Gooseberry Board ARM Android, Linux FoxG20 ARM Linux CuBox ARM Linux, Android Cubieboard ARM Linux, Android Cotton Candy ARM Android, Linux Chumby Hacker Board ? Linux Beaglebone ARM Linux (Angstrom, Uubuntu), Android Arndale Board ARM Android, Linux Name Size 1 (cm) Size 2 (cm) Thickness (cm) VIA Pico-ITX Epia-P910 10 7.2 ? VIA APC 17 8.5 ? UG802 8.9 3.3 1.6 Toradex Topaz SBC 5.5 8.4 1.27 Snowball Board 8.5 8.5 ? SheevaPlug 11 6.95 4.85 SABRE Lite 8.25 8.25 ? Raspberry Pi Model B 8.56 5.6 2.1 Raspberry Pi Model A 8.56 5.6 2.1 PandaBoard ES 11.4 10.2 ? Origen Board 13.9 11.9 ? Olimex A13 OLinuXino 12 12 1.65 ODROID-U2 4.8 5.2 ? ODROID-X2 9 9.4 ? Nitrogen6X 11.4 7.6 ? MK802 8.79 3.5 1.34 Mele A1000 ? ? ? Intel NUC 10 10 ? IGEPv2 9.3 6.5 ? Hackberry Board 8.56 5.4 0 Gooseberry Board ? ? ? FoxG20 ? ? ? CuBox 5.1 5.1 5.1 Cubieboard 10 6 2 Cotton Candy 8 2.5 ? Chumby Hacker Board 10 6 1 Beaglebone 8.64 5.33 ? Arndale Board 36 24 7 Name Onboard Storage (MB) Extrenal Storage VIA Pico-ITX Epia-P910 0 SATA, USB VIA APC 2048 microSD, USB UG802 4096 microSD, TF, USB Toradex Topaz SBC 0 microSD, SATA, USB Snowball Board 8192 microSD SheevaPlug 512 SD, USB SABRE Lite 0 dual SD / SDXC Raspberry Pi Model B 0 SDHC, USB Raspberry Pi Model A 0 SDHC, USB PandaBoard ES 0 SD, MMC, USB Origen Board 0 SD, USB Olimex A13 OLinuXino 0 SD, USB ODROID-U2 0 microSD, USB ODROID-X2 0 SDHC, eMMC, USB Nitrogen6X 0 dual SDHC MK802 4096 microSD, USB Mele A1000 0 SD, SATA, USB Intel NUC 0 SATA, USB IGEPv2 512 microSD Hackberry Board 4096 SDHC, USB Gooseberry Board 4096 microSD FoxG20 0.25 microSD CuBox 0 microSD Cubieboard 4096 microSD, SATA, USB Cotton Candy 0 microSD, USB Chumby Hacker Board 0 microSD, USB Beaglebone 0 microSD, USB Arndale Board 0 microSD, SATA, USB Name HDMI Port VGA Port VIA Pico-ITX Epia-P910 Yes Yes VIA APC Yes Yes UG802 Yes No Toradex Topaz SBC Yes No Snowball Board Yes No SheevaPlug No No SABRE Lite Yes No Raspberry Pi Model B Yes No Raspberry Pi Model A Yes No PandaBoard ES Yes No Origen Board Yes Yes Olimex A13 OLinuXino Yes Yes ODROID-U2 Yes No ODROID-X2 Yes No Nitrogen6X Yes No MK802 Yes No Mele A1000 Yes Yes Intel NUC Yes No IGEPv2 Yes No Hackberry Board Yes No Gooseberry Board Yes No FoxG20 No No CuBox Yes No Cubieboard Yes No Cotton Candy Yes No Chumby Hacker Board No No Beaglebone No No Arndale Board Yes Yes Name Ethernet Port Built-in WiFi VIA Pico-ITX Epia-P910 Yes No VIA APC Yes No UG802 No Yes Toradex Topaz SBC No No Snowball Board Yes Yes SheevaPlug Yes No SABRE Lite Yes No Raspberry Pi Model B Yes No Raspberry Pi Model A No No PandaBoard ES Yes Yes Origen Board Yes No Olimex A13 OLinuXino No No ODROID-U2 Yes No ODROID-X2 Yes No Nitrogen6X Yes No MK802 No Yes Mele A1000 Yes No Intel NUC Yes Yes IGEPv2 Yes Yes Hackberry Board Yes Yes Gooseberry Board No Yes FoxG20 Yes No CuBox Yes No Cubieboard Yes No Cotton Candy No Yes Chumby Hacker Board No No Beaglebone Yes No Arndale Board Yes No Name Standard USB (2.0/3.0) Ports GPIO Pins VIA Pico-ITX Epia-P910 2 YES VIA APC 4 No UG802 1 No Toradex Topaz SBC 4 Yes Snowball Board 0 YES SheevaPlug 1 No SABRE Lite 2 Yes Raspberry Pi Model B 2 Yes Raspberry Pi Model A 1 Yes PandaBoard ES 2 Yes Origen Board 2 No Olimex A13 OLinuXino 3 Yes ODROID-U2 2 No ODROID-X2 6 Yes Nitrogen6X 2 Yes MK802 2 No Mele A1000 2 No Intel NUC 3 No IGEPv2 2 Yes Hackberry Board 2 No Gooseberry Board 0 no FoxG20 2 Yes CuBox 2 No Cubieboard 2 Yes Cotton Candy 1 No Chumby Hacker Board 3 Yes Beaglebone 1 Yes Arndale Board 3 Yes Conclusions Looking at the above charts, we can immediately draw some obvious conclusions: ODROID-X2 and ODROID-U2 offer the most CPU power and the most RAM Other high-end boards are: Origen Board, Arndale Board, Nitrogen6X, Sabre Lite and Via Epia-P910 The low-end boards are: Chumby Hacker Board and FoxG20 The smallest devices are: Cotton Candy, UG802, CuBox and ODROID-U2 The largest devices are: Arndale Board, Origen Board, VIA APC and Olimex A13 OLinuXino The cheapest single-board micro computer is the Raspberry Pi (both model A and B) The most expensive devices are the VIA Epia-P910, the Intel NUC, the Arndale Board and the Snowball Board The best performance/cost ratio comes from ODROID-U2, ODROID-X2, Raspberry Pi, UG802, MK802, Cubieboard, VIA APC and HAckberry Board. The best RAM/cost ratio can be found in ODROID-U2, HAckberry Board and Raspberry Pi model B. But there are some other, less obvious facts that need to be taken into consideration when choosing one of the presented devices. First of all, one must consider the purpose for which the device will be used. The architecture of the board (x86 or ARM) plays a crucial role here, as some operating systems (like Windows) are less likely to run smoothly on ARM devices, while others, like Linux or Android work perfectly on them. Also, it is very important to consider the available types of connectors on the boards and maybe even their quantity (especially for USB). Video output type and quality may be one of the most important ones (HDMI, VGA or other), but network connectivity (WiFi, Ethernet, BlueTooth) also plays an important role. The presence of GPIO pins on the boards may matter if they will be used in custom hardware projects. Last, but not least, it is important to consider how stable a device is when running a certain OS and how large the community and how good the support is around it. The Raspberry Pi, being the most famous of these micro computers, enjoys the best support from its community so if you run into some problems, you are likely to get help fast. This may not be true with some other devices. Final note Although I’ve done my best to gather and structure the information about the presented single-board micro computers as accurately as possible, it may happen that there are errors or missing/wrong data. If you find such a mistake, feel free to leave a comment containing the correction. This article has been created in collaboration with: |
All right, I wrote up a post about “Raising the Barn” last night, then deleted it after watching the entire Steven Bomb 8 and reflecting a bit, because I realized there was more I wanted to say (and differently). Long, rambling, spoilery post ahead. Taken as a whole, “Dewey Wins” through “Party Kevin” discusses the complex nature of selfishness. In many stories, especially ones aimed at children, being selfish is inherently bad. Selfish people care only about themselves and nothing about the feelings, needs, and wants of others. They take without giving. They act only in their own best interest. And they never, ever share. Kevin is this concept taken to comical extremes. He’s so far gone he sees all relationships as status symbols and can’t even imagine what friendship looks like. Kevin is a disaster. Don’t be Kevin. In these same stories, the positive opposites to characters like Kevin are ones that are noble, self-sacrificing, and put their loved ones’ needs, happiness, and safety before their own. Much like Steven, Sadie, and Peridot have been doing up until recently. This is where “Steven Universe” as a show veers from more typical narratives about selfishness. Steven sacrificing himself to protect Connie may have been selfless from one perspective, but it was self-serving in another. Prioritizing his own well-being – or at least treating it as equal to everyone’s elses – would’ve been less selfish than treating himself as disposal garbage. Newsflash kiddo; taking care of yourself is part and parcel of taking care of others. Sadie devoting herself to Lars’s happiness and keeping The Big Donut running in his absence was noble, but she was also using it to avoid her own issues and the risk of building new friendships and passions. Being so selflessly hardworking and responsible and helpful in that job was never, ever going to benefit or reward Saide in the long run. And Peridot….. oh boy, Peridot. As I said in my original post; I’ve been in Peridot’s exact position and that’s why I’m putting her on the hook for this. Look, if you care about your friends and loved one’s feelings, then you’re gonna worry about how your words affect them. There’s no way around this. Emotional honesty is hard, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s going to be scary, even when you trust your friends not to purposefully hurt you. Healthy communication means finding ways to share without dismissing, disrespecting, or attacking each other. It doesn’t mean creating a cotton stuffed bubble where no one ever feels bad or upset.** Peridot tried to do that. Peridot selflessly put Lapis’s feelings above her own so Lapis would always feel safe and comfortable, but she was also selfishly assuming what was best for Lapis without Lapis’s input. Much like Steven with Connie in “Full Disclosure” and Sadie with Lars in “Island Adventure”, and Connie with Steven in “By the Sword”, and the Crystal Gems with Steven in “Political Power” — it’s a reoccurring theme in the show, it what I’m saying. Lapis’s reaction shows she would’ve much rather have had unpleasant honesty than been mislead in the name of protecting her fragile psyche. So again, a complex approach to the concept of selfishness. Traditional narratives claim that selflessness is always right and the true sign of caring for others, but selfishness has its place. There are times where you have to put yourself first and neglecting your own well-being for the sake of your loved ones hurts you all more than it helps. It’s been awesome seeing “Steven Universe” explore this so compassionately and thoroughly. ** The difference between the fear of voicing your feelings to an abuser who has conditioned you into seeing your emotions as unacceptable, hurtful, or an attack on them AND the fear of voicing your feelings to a friend you don’t want to upset because you care about them is beyond the scope of this particular post. Suffice to say, I’m talking about the latter, not the former. |
This article is about the 1969 parody novel of Lord of the Rings. For other uses, see Bored of the Rings (disambiguation) The parody generally follows the outline of The Lord of the Rings, including the preface, the prologue, poetry, and songs, while making light of what Tolkien made serious (e.g., "He would have finished him off then and there, but pity stayed his hand. It's a pity I've run out of bullets, he thought, as he went back up the tunnel..."). Names and words in the various languages are parodied with brand names that mimic their sounds (for example, Moxie and Pepsi replace Merry and Pippin). There are many topical references, including once-popular brand names. It has the distinction for a parody of having been continuously in print since it was first published.[citation needed] Aside from the text itself, the book includes five elements that parody common features of mass-market books:[citation needed] A laudatory back cover review, written at Harvard, possibly by the authors themselves. Inside cover reviews which are entirely contrived, concluding with a quote by someone affiliated with the publication Our Loosely Enforced Libel Laws . . A list of other books in the "series", none of which exists. A double page map which has almost nothing to do with the events in the text. The first text a browsing reader is liable to see purports to be a salacious sample from the book, but the episode never happens in the main text, nor does anything else of that tone: the book has no explicit sexual content. The Signet first edition cover, a parody of the 1965 Ballantine paperback cover by Barbara Remington,[1] was drawn by Muppets designer Michael K. Frith.[2][3] Current publications have different artwork by Douglas Carrel,[4] since the paperback cover art[5] for Lord of the Rings prevalent in the 1960s, then famous, is now obscure.[6] William S. Donnell drew the "parody map"[7] of Lower Middle Earth.[8][9] |
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is continuing to push criminal justice reform in both Kentucky and on the federal level. In an op-ed for Courier-Journal Sen. Paul commended Kentucky’s General Assembly for putting forth criminal justice reform bills in the past year and vowed to continue pushing for reform, even when many Republicans are not willing to do it. “The unfortunate consequence of this type of system is an entire group of people facing almost insurmountable odds of ever rejoining society. The injustices within our system are potentially sentencing an entire generation of those who committed youthful mistakes to a future without the opportunity for rehabilitation,” Paul wrote. Paul has been critical of the criminal justice system and the War on Drugs since 2013, following a disastrous speech at Howard University. He has slammed the justice system as being unfair and for trapping people in poverty. He has introduced several bills on the federal level aimed at reform such as the REDEEM Act which “would restrict the use of juvenile solitary confinement, seal the federal criminal records of non-violent adult offenders, and allow for the expungement and sealing of criminal records of non-violent juveniles under certain circumstances.” Criminal justice reform is one of the few areas of bipartisan cooperation in Congress. Paul and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) have both worked with Democrats in introducing bills; Lee is currently involved in a fight for one such bill in the Senate which would reduce mandatory minimum sentencing and result in lower levels of prison inmates. Paul made criminal justice reform a main platform of both his presidential and senate campaigns. He has introduced bills which would give certain non-violent felons their voting rights back and end mandatory minimum sentencing. “We need to continue to push for these reforms if we want to make a difference in our communities and start solving problems at the source. In the end, it is my hope, that these – along with other reforms – will leave all of us with a brighter future for our commonwealth and our country,” Paul concluded. Before ending his presidential campaign, Paul called for an end to the war on drugs. |
SeatGeek is announcing a deal to acquire TopTix for $56 million. While SeatGeek has made acquisitions before, this is its biggest, and the company funded the deal by raising a $57 million Series D led by Glynn Capital. (Previous investors Accel, Causeway Media Partners, Haystack Partners, Mousse Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures also participated.) “We really weren’t thinking money,” SeatGeek’s Jack Groetzinger told me. (He’s pictured above with his co-founder, Russell d’Souza.) “We were in a pretty strong position, with cash on the balance sheet, but it felt like [this acquisition] was too good to pass up.” He suggested that SeatGeek and TopTix make for a particularly good match because while his company has focused on building the best consumer experience for finding events and buying tickets, TopTix works on the back end, creating the tools that allow venues to accept tickets — in fact, TopTix currently processes 80 million tickets a year for customers, including the Royal Dutch Football Association, Buckingham Palace and the Ravinia Festival. TopTix customers will become SeatGeek customers, and TopTix co-founder Eli Dagan will continue to lead the company’s engineering team in Israel. “By marrying those two things together, we’re creating a very powerful full stack that’s miles ahead of the legacy ticketing companies,” Groetzinger said. SeatGeek and TopTix were already working together on the launch of SeatGeek Open, a platform allowing sports teams and venues to sell tickets directly, so the acquisition is supposed to help the company expand Open more aggressively. (SeatGeek, which launched at the TechCrunch50 conference, previously focused on resale tickets.) Supposedly, the Open platform helped its first customer, Major League Soccer team Sporting Kansas City, increase online sales by 61 percent from the previous season. While working with TopTix on the Sporting Kansas City deal, Groetzinger said he got a good look at the technology, and he liked what he saw. “Usually when you get under-the-hood with something like this, you uncover unpleasantness,” he said. “This was quite the opposite — we were even more impressed.” |
For the past half-century, the US economy has consistently grown faster under Democratic presidents than under Republican ones. And in a new study, two economists ask whether there's a reason for that — or if it's all just a coincidence. The numbers are pretty clear on this. Between 1947 and 2012, the US economy grew at an average real annual rate of 4.35 percent during Democratic administrations and just 2.54 percent during Republican ones. And the gap persists even if you play around with the numbers a bit — say, by giving presidents less credit for the period immediately after taking office or by removing the extreme outlier years (like the financial crisis at the end of George W. Bush's second term) or by fiddling with the dating of recessions: So what's going on? It's easy to tell stories about individual presidencies, but are there any broader patterns at work here? Perhaps Democratic policies are better for economic growth. Or, alternatively, perhaps Republican policies are actually superior — but they take a long while to have an impact, so Democrats end up benefitting. 'Democrats would like to attribute the gap to better macroeconomic policies, but the data do not support such a claim' There's also a third possibility: Perhaps Democratic presidents have just had better economic luck. Policy might play some role, but less than most politicians like to think. Economists Alan Blinder and Mark Watson tend to favor this third explanation — and they've assembled the evidence in their newly revised working paper, "Presidents and the US Economy: An Econometric Explanation." (It's an update of this previous paper on the topic.) The two authors are skeptical that differences in macroeconomic policies — taxes or spending or monetary policy — are a major reason for the overall gap in growth rates. "Democrats would no doubt like to attribute the large D-R growth gap to macroeconomic policy choices, but the data do not support such a claim," they argue. (Blinder worked as an adviser in the Clinton White House, Watson is an econometrician not affiliated with either party.) Instead, they find, roughly half of the difference in growth rates can be chalked up to just three or four factors: Democratic presidents have historically been hurt less by oil shocks, and have benefited more from productivity booms, favorable international conditions, and possibly higher consumer confidence. That's not all pure coincidence — the economists note that a president's foreign policy choices, for instance, can affect oil shocks. But they call a lot of it "luck." So here's an overview of their paper: 4 reasons the economy has done better under Democratic presidents Blinder and Watson find that "slightly more than half" of the gap in economic growth rates under Democratic and Republican presidents comes down to four factors: Oil shocks and productivity booms are two major factors 1) Oil shocks have hit Republicans harder: The paper notes that Republican presidencies have seen more oil shocks — sharp rises in the price of crude oil that can put a crimp in consumer spending and restrain growth. Previous work by James Hamilton of the University of California, San Diego, has suggested that oil shocks can have a negative impact on growth. Based off these calculations, Blinder and Watson suggest that oil shocks could account for a big chunk (possibly around one-fifth to one-fourth) of the partisan gap in growth. It's worth noting, however, that oil shocks aren't totally independent of policy. The authors note that both invasions of Iraq by George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush helped push up the price of oil. Still, these shocks also aren't always within the president's control — the massive rise in oil prices during the second Bush administration was extremely harmful, but a lot of that was driven by demand growth in China, India, and Brazil. 2) Democrats benefit more from productivity booms: Historically, total factor productivity has grown faster under Democratic presidents than Republican ones. The numbers are particularly driven by a big boom in productivity under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, combined with a sharp slowdown during Ronald Reagan's first term and George W. Bush's second term. Here, too, the authors note that "government decisions can presumably influence productivity" — so this might well be partly dependent on policy. But it's hard to pinpoint specific factors here. How much credit does Bill Clinton deserve for the tech boom of the 1990s? 3) International growth might benefit Democrats: Another possibility is that Democrats happen to come to office when the rest of the global economy is booming. That might count as "luck." And there's some evidence that Democratic presidents do indeed benefit from stronger growth abroad during the terms. The problem is that this is a difficult factor to isolate — is the rest of the world helping US growth or is US growth pulling up the rest of the world? How much of this is dependent on oil prices? And so forth. 4) Consumer confidence: Consumer expectations about the future seem to be higher during the first year of Democratic presidential terms, the authors note. It's not clear whether this is a coincidence or not — but a big part of the difference in growth rates is due to a leap in consumer spending and business fixed investment during the first term of Democratic presidencies. As mentioned, it can be difficult to tease out how much each of these factors matter — given that so many things are going on during this time period and there are different ways of measuring each of these factors. But the economists' calculations suggest that these four factors explain around half the gap. And 6 factors that don't seem to matter as much Blinder and Watson also consider — and reject — a bunch of other explanations for the difference in economic performance between Democratic and Republican presidents. These things can affect the economy, but there doesn't seem to be any broader identifiable pattern that would account for the partisan gap in growth: If anything, monetary and fiscal policy have helped Republicans 1) Deficits and budget policy. Very broadly speaking, there hasn't been a massive difference in fiscal policies between the two parties since 1947. The structural federal budget deficit has been 1.5 percent under Democratic presidents and 2.2 percent under Republicans — which is "far from statistically significant," the authors write. 2) Military spending. The authors do find a big difference in military spending — real defense spending has grown 5.9 percent under Democratic presidents and just 0.8 percent under Republican ones. But they don't think this is enough to drive the historical difference in growth rates: "[O]n average, federal defense spending accounts for just 8% of GDP over the postwar period. It would be hard for a tail that small to wag such a big dog." (The one exception here is the big buildup in the Korean War — but even if you exclude that, the partisan growth gap remains large.) 3) Congress. Party control of Congress doesn't seem to have much impact on the economy one way or the other — or at least there are no obvious patterns here. 4) Federal Reserve. Federal Reserve chairmen appointed by Democrats tend to outperform Fed chiefs appointed by Republicans. But this doesn't necessarily benefit Democratic presidents. Indeed, the Fed, on average, tends to lower interest rates during Republican presidencies and hike them during Democratic ones. (This might simply be a function of the fact that the economy does better under Democrats, however.) 5) Inherited economies. The authors don't give much credence to the idea that Democratic presidents inherit stronger economies. In fact, the opposite may be true: "Democrats inherit growth rates of 1.9% from the final year of the previous term, while Republicans inherit a growth rate of 4.3% — a clear advantage to Republicans." Yet Democratic presidents have still done better, on average, in their first terms since 1947. 6) Global patterns. There doesn't seem to be any global pattern here. Canada shows the same partisan gap in growth rates as the United States, with the economy expanding faster under Liberal governments than during Conservative governments. But there's no partisan pattern found in the United Kingdom, France or Germany. But the study still leaves plenty of questions For one, the authors note that their four preferred factors — oil shocks, productivity growth, international conditions, and consumer expectations — still only explain about half the difference in growth rates. The 4 preferred factors only explain half of the growth gap "The rest remains, for now, a mystery of the still mostly-unexplored continent," Blinder and Watson write. "The word 'research,' taken literally, means search again. We invite other researchers to do so." As noted above, it's also not clear how much policy can influence the factors they call "luck" — things like oil shocks or productivity growth or consumer expectations. Perhaps these are things that presidents can have a lot of influence over. Or perhaps these are factors they can only affect at the margins. Figuring that out wouldn't just be worthwhile for purposes of bragging rights — it'd be useful to know if there are policies that really can produce such a consistent and large boost to economic growth. Further reading: |
Delta Air Lines is launching a frequent flier program partnership with ride-hailing service Lyft, allowing travelers to earn miles for Lyft rides. Through the partnership starting Wednesday with Delta’s SkyMiles program, travelers can also get bonus miles for rides to and from the airport where Lyft operates. To earn the miles, Delta frequent fliers must link their Lyft account with their SkyMiles account through a website. The partnership allows SkyMiles members to earn 1 mile per dollar spent on Lyft rides and 3 miles per dollar spent on Lyft airport rides. New Lyft users who sign up through the Delta partnership can also get a $20 ride credit. The deal with Lyft comes after Delta struck a SkyMiles partnership with Airbnb and an alliance with Clear for expedited security screening. “Ride-sharing was an area we were clearly missing,” said Sandeep Dube, vice president of customer engagement and loyalty for Delta. He said customer research “indicated that our customers wanted us to partner in that space.” Other airlines have already partnered with ride-hailing giant Uber. United Airlines in 2014 struck a partnership to offer Uber rides through United’s mobile app, and American Airlines last year struck a partnership to integrate a “Remind me to Uber” option for customers who book flights. Dube said Delta opted to strike an exclusive partnership with Lyft because Lyft “could provide a lot more value back to our customers.” While discussions on a partnership had started before recent news about problems Uber is facing and a #deleteUber campaign, “we obviously look at the cultural fit and Lyft is very customer-focused and very, very employee-centric,” Dube said. The Lyft partnership also comes as Delta CEO Ed Bastian seeks to focus on catering to millennials. “We have to appeal to the needs of a new generation,” Bastian said last year as he stepped into the CEO position, also noting that half of Delta’s employees will be millennials by the end of this decade. “There’s no other loyalty program that can cater to the needs of the millennials as much as SkyMiles with Airbnb, with Lyft, with Clear,” Dube said. MYAJC.COM: REAL JOURNALISM. REAL LOCAL IMPACT. AJC Business reporter Kelly Yamanouchi keeps you updated on the latest news about Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Delta Air Lines and the airline industry in metro Atlanta and beyond. You'll find more on myAJC.com, including these stories: Never miss a minute of what's happening in local business news. Subscribe to myAJC.com. In other Business news: |
Another month, another all time high in Americans' confidence in the US economy. In its latest, January report, Gallup found that Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy averaged +11, the highest monthly average in Gallup's nine-year trend. Some of January's three-day averages also marked new highs in Gallup's tracking since 2008. The index peaked at +19 for the Jan. 21-23 three-day average after President Donald Trump's inauguration and shortly before the Dow Jones industrial average hit a new high. January's +11 score marks the third consecutive month the index has been in positive territory. This is a new feat for an index that has had mostly negative monthly measures since its inception, except for January and February 2015. Gallup's U.S. Economic Confidence Index is the average of two components: how Americans rate current economic conditions and whether they feel the economy is improving or getting worse. The index has a theoretical maximum of +100 if all Americans were to say the economy is doing well and improving, and a theoretical minimum of -100 if all Americans were to say the economy is doing poorly and getting worse. In January, 31% of Americans rated the economy as "excellent" or "good," while 21% said it was "poor," resulting in a current conditions score of +10 -- marking the highest monthly reading for this component since 2008. The economic outlook component also reached a new high score of +11 in January. This score was the result of 52% of Americans saying economic conditions in the country were "getting better," while 41% said they were "getting worse." Not surprisingly, the sentiment - as everything else about the US these days - broke down by party lines, with Republicans' confidence soaring by double-digit January. Specifically, Gallup found an immediate improvement in Republicans' confidence in the economy after the November presidential election, and their confidence has only grown since Trump took office. In January, the index rating among Republicans was +27, up 11 points from December's score of +16. Independents' +5 index score in January remained steady from their +3 reading in December. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Democrats' confidence has fallen each month since October, with their index score now at +4 -- their lowest since the aftermath of the federal government shutdown in October 2013. Overall, confidence remains higher than it was before the 2016 election. While Republicans' January +27 score matches Democrats' October 2016 score, Democrats today are much more positive about the economy than Republicans were before the election. Independents are also significantly more positive now than they were before the election. * * * However, despite the largely Republican-driven euphoria, the honeymoon may be starting to fade, and the index's high point has note lasted. The three-day averages have since dipped to smaller single-digit scores, including a +8 average for Feb. 3-Feb. 5. Gallup's bottom line: Republicans' improved confidence in the economy upon Trump taking office was perhaps expected, as Democrats enjoyed similar levels of confidence during President Barack Obama's tenure. But with the inauguration confetti now settled, Americans of all political stripes will need to see results of an improving economy to maintain this high degree of confidence, which already appears to be slipping in early February's three-day rolling averages. The promising jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics could be the strong footing Trump needs to maintain this elevated level of economic confidence. Americans may also feel bolstered by the robust Dow Jones industrial average, which hasn't yet lost its recent gains. And then there is the other observation we made yesterday, namely that when it comes to the capital markets, the correlation between the S&P and yields with Trump's approval rating is almost 1. In short, while for now the market and consumer confidence still remain euphoric, the first sign that Trump will be unable to deliver, and the divergenve between hope and reality is noted, is when traders can expect the next market correction. |
19th- and 20th-century global social movement This article is about the social movement. For the blues rock band, see The Temperance Movement (band) The Drunkard's Progress (1846) by (1846) by Nathaniel Currier warns that moderate drinking leads step-by-step to total disaster The temperance movement is a social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote complete abstinence (teetotalism), with leaders emphasizing alcohol's negative effects on health, personality, and family life. Typically the movement promotes alcohol education as well as demands new laws against the selling of alcohols, or those regulating the availability of alcohol, or those completely prohibiting it. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the temperance movement became prominent in many countries, particularly English-speaking and Scandinavian ones, and it led to Prohibition in the United States from 1920 to 1933. Context [ edit ] In the late-seventeenth century, alcohol was a vital part of colonial life as a beverage, medicine, and commodity for men, women, and children. Drinking was widely accepted and completely integrated in society; however, drunkenness was not. Despite that, drunkenness was common and not often seen as a social problem.[1]:5 The attitudes towards alcohol began to change in the late eighteenth century. One of the reasons for the shifting attitudes was the necessity for sober laborers to operate heavy machinery that had been developed as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Anthony Benezet suggested abstinence from alcohol in 1775.[1]:4[2]:36–37 As early as the 1790s, physician Benjamin Rush researched the danger that drinking alcohol could lead to disease that leads to a lack of self-control and he cited abstinence as the only treatment option.[3]:109 Rush saw benefits in fermented drinks, but condemned the use of distilled spirits.[2]:37 As well as addiction, Rush noticed the correlation that drunkenness had with disease, death, suicide and crime. After the American Revolution, Rush called upon ministers of various churches to act in preaching the messages of temperance.[4]:23 However, abstinence messages were largely ignored by Americans until the 1820s.[2]:37 History [ edit ] Origins (pre-1820) [ edit ] In the eighteenth century, there was a "Gin Craze" in the Kingdom of Great Britain. The bourgeoisie became increasingly critical of the widespread drunkenness among the lower classes. Motivated by the bourgeoisie's desire for order, and amplified by the population growth in the cities, the drinking of gin became the subject of critical national debate.[5] In the early nineteenth-century United States, alcohol was still regarded as a necessary part of the American diet for both practical and social reasons. On the one hand, water supplies were often polluted, milk was not always available, and coffee and tea was expensive. On the other hand, social construct of the time made it impolite for people (particularly men) to refuse alcohol.[2]:37 Drunkenness was not a problem, because people would only drink small amounts of alcohol throughout the day, but at the turn of the nineteenth-century, overindulgence and subsequent intoxication became an issue that led to the disintegration of the family.[2]:37 Early temperance societies often associated with churches were located in upstate New York and New England, but only lasted a few years. These early temperance societies called for moderate drinking, but had little influence outside of their geographical areas. In 1743, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Churches, proclaimed "that buying, selling, and drinking of liquor, unless absolutely necessary, were evils to be avoided".[6] In 1810, Calvinist ministers met with a seminary in Massachusetts to write articles about abstinence from alcohol to use in preaching to their congregations.[2]:38 The Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intemperance (MSSI) was formed in 1813.[7] The organization only accepted men of high social standing and encouraged moderation in alcohol consumption. Its peak of influence was in 1818, but the MSSI ended in 1820 and made no significant mark on the future of the temperance movement.[8][2]:38 Other small temperance societies appear in the 1810s, but had little impact outside their immediate regions and they disbanded soon after. Their methods had little effect in implementing temperance, and drinking actually increased until after 1830; however, their methods of public pledges and meetings, as well as handing out of pamphlets, were implemented by more lasting temperance societies such as the American Temperance Society.[2]:38 Promoting moderation (1820s–'30s) [ edit ] This is the songbook used at the Women's Temperance Organization from Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania The temperance movement began at a national level in the 1820s, having been popularized by evangelical temperance reformers and among the middle classes.[3]:109[9][2]:38[note 1] There was a concentration on advice against hard spirits rather than on abstinence from all alcohol and on moral reform rather than legal measures against alcohol.[11][note 2] An early temperance movement began during the American Revolution in Connecticut, Virginia and New York state, with farmers forming associations to ban whiskey distilling. The movement spread to eight states, advocating temperance rather than abstinence and taking positions on religious issues such as observance of the Sabbath.[1] After the American Revolution there was a new emphasis on good citizenship for the new republic.[10] With the Evangelical Protestant religious revival of the 1820s and '30s, called the Second Great Awakening, social movements began aiming for a perfect society. This included abolitionism and temperance.[10][9][2]:23 The Awakening brought with it an optimism about moral reform, achieved through volunteer organizations.[13]:6 Although the temperance movement was nonsectarian in principle, the movement consisted mostly of church-goers.[10] The temperance movement promoted temperance and emphasized the moral, economical and medical effects of overindulgence.[12] Connecticut born minister Lyman Beecher published a book in 1826 called Six Sermons on...Intemperance. Beecher described inebriation as a "national sin" as well as suggesting legislation to prohibit the sales of alcohol.[2]:24–25 He believed that it was only possible for drinkers to reform in the early stages of addiction, because anyone in advanced stages of addiction, according to Beecher, had damaged their morality and could not be saved.[3]:110 Early temperance reformers often viewed drunkards as warnings rather than as victims of a disease, leaving the state to take care of them and their conduct.[3]:110 In the same year, the American Temperance Society (ATS) was formed in Boston, Massachusetts, within 12 years claiming more than 8,000 local groups and over 1,250,000 members.[14][15]:93Presbyterian preacher Charles Grandison Finney, taught abstinence from ardent spirits. In the Rochester, New York revival of 1831, individuals were required to sign a temperance pledge in order to receive salvation. Finney believed and taught that the body represented the "temple of God" and anything that would harm the "temple" including alcohol, must be avoided.[2]:24 By 1833, several thousand groups similar to the ATS were formed in most states. In some of the large communities, temperance almanacs were released which gave information about planting and harvesting as well as current information about the temperance issues.[2]:39 Temperance societies were being organized in England about the same time, many inspired by a Belfast professor of theology, and Presbyterian Church of Ireland Minister John Edgar,[16] who poured his stock of whiskey out of his window in 1829. He mainly concentrated his fire on the elimination of spirits rather than wine and beer.[11][17][18] On August 14, 1829 he wrote a letter in the Belfast Telegraph publicizing his views on temperance. He also formed the Ulster Temperance Movement with other Presbyterian clergy, initially enduring ridicule from members of his community.[19] The 1830s saw a tremendous growth in temperance groups, not just in England and the United States, but also in British colonies, especially New Zealand[20] and Australia.[21] Out of the religious revival and reform appeared Mormonism and Seventh-day Adventism, new Christian denominations that established criteria for healthy living as a part of their religious teachings, namely temperance.[2]:23 Latter Day Saints [ edit ] The Word of Wisdom is a health code followed by the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Latter Day Saint denominations which advises how to maintain good health: what one should do and what one should abstain from. One of the most prominent items in the Word of Wisdom is the complete abstinence from alcohol.[22] When the Word of Wisdom was written, the Latter Day Saints were residing in Kirtland, Ohio and the Kirtland Temperance Society was organized on October 6, 1830 with 239 members.[23] According to some scholars, the Word of Wisdom was influenced by the temperance movement. In June 1830, the Millenial Harbinger quoted from a book "The Simplicity of Health" which strongly condemned the use of alcohol, tobacco, and the untempered consumption of meat, similar to the provisions in the Word of Wisdom revealed three years later. This gave publicity to the movement and Temperance Societies began to form.[24][25] On February 1, 1833, a few weeks before the Word of Wisdom came forth, all distilleries in the Kirtland area were shut down.[23] During the early history of the Word of Wisdom, temperance and other items in the health code were seen more as wise recommendations than commandments.[26]:132 Although he advocated for temperance, Joseph Smith did not preach complete abstinence from alcohol. According to Paul H. Peterson and Ronald W. Walker, Joseph Smith did not enforce abstinence from alcohol because he believed it would threaten individual choice and agency as well as that forcing the Latter Day Saints to comply would cause separation in the Church.[27]:33 In Harry M. Beardsley's book Joseph Smith and his Mormon Empire, Beardsley argues that some Mormon historians attempted to portray Joseph Smith as a teetotaler, but according to the testimonies of his contemporaries, Joseph Smith often drank alcohol in his own home or the homes of his friends in Kirtland. In Nauvoo, Illinois Smith was far less discreet with his drinking habits.[25][28] However, at the end of the nineteenth century, second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Brigham Young said that the Saints could no longer justify disobeying the Word of Wisdom because of the way that it was originally presented.[29] In 1921, Heber J. Grant, then president of the LDS church, officially called on the Latter-day Saints to strictly adhere to the Word of Wisdom, including complete abstinence from alcohol.[14] Millerites and Seventh-day Adventists [ edit ] Founder of the Millerites, William Miller claimed that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would be in 1843 and that anyone who drank alcohol would be unprepared for the Second Coming.[2]:29 After the Great Disappointment in 1843, the Seventh-day Adventist denomination was formed by Ellen G. White and her husband, a preacher, James Springer White who did not use alcohol or tobacco.[2]:29 Ellen preached healthful living to her followers, without specifying abstinence from alcohol, as most of her followers were temperance followers, and that would have been implied.[2]:30 Teetotalism (1830s) [ edit ] As a response to rising social problems in urbanized areas, a stricter form of temperance emerged called teetotalism, which promoted the complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages, this time including wine and beer, not just ardent spirits.[2]:39[30]:602 The name "teetotaler" came from the capital "T"s that were written next to the names of people who pledged complete abstinence from alcohol.[14] People were instructed to only drink pure water and the teetotalists were known as the "pure-water army".[2]:40[31] In the US, the American Temperance Union advocated the total abstinence of distilled and fermented liquors. By 1835, they had gained 1.5 million members. This created conflict between the teetotalists and the more moderate members of the ATS.[2]:40[12] Even though there were temperance societies in the South, as the movement became more closely tied with the abolitionist movement, people in the South created their own teetotal societies. Considering drinking was an important part of their cultures, German and Irish immigrants resisted the movement.[2]:40 In the UK, teetotalism originated in Preston, in 1833.[32][33] The Catholic temperance movement started in 1838 when the Irish priest Theobald Mathew established the Teetotal Abstinence Society in 1838.[34] In 1838, the mass working class movement for universal suffrage for men, Chartism, included a current called "temperance chartism".[35][36] Faced with the refusal of the Parliament of the time to give the right to vote to working people, the temperance chartists saw the campaign against alcohol as a way of proving to the elites that working-class people were responsible enough to be granted the vote.[37] In short, the 1830s was mostly characterized by moral persuasion of workers.[38]:25 Growing radicalism and influence (1840s–'50s) [ edit ] The Washingtonian movement [ edit ] In 1840, a group of artisans in Baltimore, Maryland created their own temperance society that could appeal to hard-drinking men like themselves. Calling themselves the Washingtonians, they pledged complete abstinence, attempting to persuade others through their own experience with alcohol rather than relying on preaching and religious lectures. They argued that sympathy was an overlooked method for helping people with alcohol addictions, citing coercion as an ineffective method. For that reason, they did not support prohibitive legislation of alcohol.[3]:110 They were suspicious of the divisiveness of denominational religion and did not use religion in their discussions, emphasizing personal abstinence. They never set up national organizations, believing that concentration of power and distance from citizens causes corruption. Meetings were public and they encouraged equal participation, appealing to both men and women and northerners and southerners.[3]:111 Unlike early temperance reformers, the Washingtonians did not believe that intemperance destroyed a drinker's morality.[3]:112 They worked on the platform that abstinence communities could be created through sympathizing with drunkards rather than ostracizing them through the belief that they are sinners or diseased.[3]:113 On February 22, 1842 in Springfield, Illinois, while a member of the Illinois Legislature, Abraham Lincoln gave an address to the Springfield Washington Temperance Society on the 110th anniversary of the birth of George Washington. In the speech, Lincoln criticized early methods of the temperance movement as overly forceful and advocated reason as the solution to the problem of intemperance, praising the current temperance movement methods of the Washingtonian movement.[39] By 1845, the Washingtonian movement was no longer as prominent for three reasons. Firstly, the evangelist reformers attacked them for refusing to admit alcoholism was a sin. Secondly, the movement was criticized as unsuccessful due to the number of men who would go back to drinking. Finally, the movement was internally divided by differing views on prohibition legislation.[3]:113 Temperance fraternal societies such as the Sons of Temperance and the Good Samaritans took the place of the Washingtonian movement with largely similar views relating to helping alcoholics by way of sympathy and philanthropy. They, however, differed from the Washingtonians through their closed rather than public meetings, fines, and membership qualifications, believing their methods would be more effective in curbing men's alcohol addictions.[3]:113 After the 1850s, the temperance movement was characterized more by prevention by means of prohibitions laws, than remedial efforts to facilitate the recovery of alcoholics.[3]:113 Gospel temperance [ edit ] By the mid-1850s, the United States was divided from differing views of slavery and prohibition laws and economic depression. This influenced the Third Great Awakening in the United States. The prayer meeting largely characterized this religious revival. Prayer meetings were devotional meetings run by laypeople rather than clergy and consisted of prayed and testimony by attendees. The meetings were held frequently and pledges of temperance were confessed. Prayer meetings and pledges characterized the post-Civil war "gospel" temperance movement. This movement was similar to early temperance movements in that drunkenness was seen as a sin; however, public testimony was used to convert others and convince them to sign the pledge.[3]:114 New and revitalized organizations emerged including the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and the early Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). The movement relied on the reformed individuals using local evangelical resources to create institutions to reform drunk men. Reformed men in Massachusetts and Maine formed "ribbon" clubs to support men who were interested in stopping drinking. Ribbon reformers traveled throughout the Midwest forming clubs and sharing their experiences with others. Gospel rescue missions or inebriate homes were created that allowed homeless drunkards a safe place to reform and learn to practice total abstinence while receiving food and shelter.[3]:115 These movements emphasized sympathy over coercion, yet unlike the Washingtonian movements, emphasized helplessness as well with relief from their addictions as a result from seeking the grace of God.[3]:116 As an expression of moralism,[40] the membership of the temperance movement overlapped with that of the abolitionist movement and women's suffrage movement.[41][42][43] During the Victorian period, the temperance movement became more political, advocating the legal prohibition of all alcohol, rather than only calling for moderation. Proponents of temperance, teetotalism and prohibition came to be known as the "drys".[9] There was still a focus on the working class, but also their children. The Band of Hope was founded in 1847 in Leeds, UK, by the Reverend Jabez Tunnicliff. It aimed to save working class children from the drinking parents by teaching them the importance and principles of sobriety and teetotalism. In 1855, a national organisation was formed amidst an explosion of Band of Hope work. Meetings were held in churches throughout the UK and included Christian teaching. The group campaigned politically for the curtailment of the influence of pubs and brewers. The organization became quite radical, organizing rallies, demonstrations and marches to influence as many people as possible to sign the pledge of allegiance to the society and to resolve to abstain "from all liquors of an intoxicating quality, whether ale, porter, wine or spirits, except as medicine."[44] In this period there was local success at restricting or banning the sale of alcohol in many parts of the United States. In 1838, Massachusetts banned certain sales of spirits. The law was repealed two years later, but it set a precedent.[9] In 1845, Michigan allowed its municipalities to decide whether they were going to prohibit.[45] In 1846, a law was passed in Maine which was a full-fledged prohibition, and this was followed by bans in several other states in the next two decades.[9] The movement became more effective, with alcohol consumption in the US being decreased by half between 1830 and 1840. During this time, prohibition laws came into effect in twelve US states, such as Maine. Maine Law was passed in 1851 by the efforts of Neal Dow.[46] Organized opposition caused five of these states to eliminate or weaken the laws.[12] Transition to a mass movement (1860s–1900s) [ edit ] The Temperance movement was a significant mass movement at this time and encouraged a general abstinence from the consumption of alcohol. A general movement to build alternatives to replace the functions of public bars existed, so the Independent Order of Rechabites was formed in England, with a branch later opening in America as a friendly society that did not hold meetings in public bars. There was also a movement to introduce temperance fountains across the United States—to provide people with reliably safe drinking water rather than saloon alcohol.[47] The National Prohibition Party led by John Russell gradually became more popular, gaining more votes, as they felt that the existing Democrat and Republican parties did not do enough for the temperance cause.[30]:602 The party was associated with the Independent Order of Good Templars, which entertained a universalist orientation, being more open to blacks and repentant alcoholics than most other organizations.[13]:5–6, 152 Reflecting the teaching on alcohol of their founder John Wesley,[6] Methodist Churches were aligned with the temperance movement.[48] Methodists believed that despite the supposed economic benefits of liquor traffic because of job creation and taxes, the harm that it causes society through its contribution to murder, gambling, prostitution, crime, and political corruption outweiged the economic benefits.[49]:7 In Great Britain, both Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists championed the cause of temperance;[50] the Methodist Board of Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Morals was later established in the United States to further the movement.[51] In 1864, the Salvation Army, another denomination in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition, was founded in London with a heavy emphasis on both abstinence from alcohol and ministering to the working class, which led publicans to fund a Skeleton Army to disrupt their meetings. The Salvation Army quickly spread internationally, maintaining an emphasis on abstinence.[52][53] Many of the most important prohibitionist groups, such as the avowedly prohibitionist United Kingdom Alliance (1853) and the US-based (but international)[54] Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU; 1873), began in the latter half of the nineteenth century,[55] the latter of which was the one of the largest women societies in the world at the time.[30]:602[56]:1 But the largest and most radical international temperance organization was the Good Templars.[13]:5 In 1862, the Soldiers Total Abstinence Association was founded in British India by Joseph Gelson Gregson, a Baptist missionary.[57] In 1898, the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association was formed by James Cullen, an Irish Catholic, which spread to other English-speaking Catholic communities.[58] In 1870, physicians created the American Association of the Cure of Inebrity (AACI) to treat alcohol addiction. The two goals of the organization were to convince the skeptical medical community of the existence and seriousness of the disease of alcoholism and to prove the efficacy of asylum treatments of alcoholics.[3]:116 They argued for more genetic causes of alcohol addictions. Treatment often included restraint of the patient while they reformed both physically and morally.[3]:117 The Anti-Saloon League was an organization that began in 1893 in Ohio. Reacting to urban growth, it was driven by evangelical Protestantism.[9][45] Furthermore, the League was strongly supported by the WCTU: in some US states alcoholism had become epidemic and domestic violence rates were high. At the time, Americans drank about three times much as they did in the 2010s.[59] The League campaigned for suffrage and temperance simultaneously, with leader Susan B. Anthony stating that "The only hope of the Anti-Saloon League's success lies in putting the ballot into the hands of women", i.e. it was expected that the first act that women were to take upon themselves after having obtained the right to vote, was to vote for an alcohol ban.[45] Actions of the temperance movement were organizing sobriety lectures and setting up reform clubs for men and children. Some proponents also opened special temperance hotels and lunch wagons, and lobbied for banning liquor during prominent events. The Scientific Temperance Instruction Movement published textbooks, promoted alcohol education and held many lectures.[30]:602[60] Political action included lobbying local legislators and creating petition campaigns.[56]:5 This new trend of temperance movement would be the last but also prove the most effective.[61]:163 Scholars have estimated that by 1900, one in ten Americans had signed a pledge to abstain from drinking,[62] as the temperance movement became the most well-organized lobby group of the time.[63] International conferences were held, in which temperance advocacy methods and policies were discussed.[38]:23–24 By the turn of the century, temperance societies became commonplace in the US.[9] During this time, there was also a growth in non-religious temperance groups linked to left-wing movements, such as the Scottish Prohibition Party. Founded in 1901, it went on to defeat Winston Churchill in Dundee in the 1922 general election.[64] Legislative successes and failures (1910s) [ edit ] An 1871 American advertisement promoting temperance, styled as a fictitious railroad advertisement A favorite goal of the British Temperance movement was sharply to reduce heavy drinking by closing as many pubs as possible. Advocates were Protestant nonconformists who played a major role in the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party adopted temperance platforms focused on local option.[65] In 1908, Prime Minister H.H. Asquith—although a heavy drinker himself[66]—took the lead by proposing to close about a third of the 100,000 pubs in England and Wales, with the owners compensated through a new tax on surviving pubs.[67] The brewers controlled the pubs and organized a stiff resistance, supported by the Conservatives, who repeatedly defeated the proposal in the House of Lords. However, the People's Tax of 1910 included a stiff tax on pubs.[68][69] The movement gained further traction during the First World War, with President Wilson issuing sharp restrictions on the sale of alcohol in many combatant countries. This was done to preserve grain for food production.[9] During this time, prohibitionists used anti-German sentiment related to the war to rally against alcohol sales, since many brewers were of German-American descent.[45][note 3] According to alcohol researcher Johan Edman, the first country to issue an alcohol prohibition was Russia, as part of war mobilization policies.[38]:27 This followed after Russia had made significant losses in the war against the sober Japanese in 1905.[38]:35 In the UK, the Liberal government passed the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 when pub hours were licensed, beer was watered down and was subject to a penny a pint extra tax,[71] and in 1916 a State Management Scheme meant that breweries and pubs in certain areas of Britain were nationalized, especially in places where armaments were made.[72] In 1913, the ASL began its efforts for national prohibition.[4]:118 Wayne Wheeler, a member of the Anti-Saloon League was integral in the prohibition movement in the United States. He used hard political persuasion called "Wheelerism" in the 1920s of legislative bodies. Rather than ask directly for a vote, which Wheeler viewed as weak, Wheeler would cover the desks of legislators in telegrams. He was also accomplished in rallying supporters; the Cincinnati Enquirer called Wheeler "the strongest political force of his day".[4]:113–114 His efforts specifically influenced the passing of the eighteenth-amendment.[4]:114 And in 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment was successfully passed in the United States, introducing prohibition of the manufacture, sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. The amendment, also called "the noble experiment", was preceded by the National Prohibition Act, which stipulated how the federal government should enforce the amendment.[9] National prohibition was proposed several times in New Zealand as well, and nearly successful.[note 4] On a similar note, Australian states and New Zealand introduced restrictive early closing times for bars during and immediately after the First World War.[75] In Canada, in 1916 the Ontario Temperance Act was passed, prohibiting the sales of alcoholic beverages with more than 2.5% alcohol.[76] In the 1920s imports of alcohol were cut off by provincial referendums.[77] Norway introduced partial prohibition in 1917, which became full prohibition through a referendum in 1919, although this was overturned in 1926.[78] Similarly, Finland introduced prohibition in 1919, but repealed it in 1932 after an upsurge in violent crime associated with criminal opportunism and the illegal liquor trade.[79] Iceland introduced prohibition in 1915, but liberalized consumption of spirits in 1933, although beer was still illegal until 1989.[80][81] In the 1910s, half of the countries in the world had introduced some form of alcohol control in their laws or policies.[38]:28 Decline (1920s–'60s) [ edit ] The temperance movement started to wane in the 1930s, with prohibition being criticised as creating unhealthy drinking habits,[75] encouraging criminals and discouraging economic activity. Prohibition would not last long: the legislative tide largely moved away from prohibition when the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on December 5, 1933, repealing nationwide prohibition. The gradual relaxation of licensing laws went on throughout the 20th century, with Mississippi being the last state to end prohibition in 1966.[9] In Australia, early hotel closing times were reverted in the 1950s and 1960s.[note 5] Initially, prohibition had some positive effects in some states, with Ford reporting that absenteeism in his companies had decreased by half.[45] Alcohol consumption decreased dramatically. Also, statistical analysis has shown that the temperance movement during this time had a positive, though moderate, effect on later adult educational outcomes through providing a healthy pre-natal environment.[61]:162,165[30]:157 However, prohibition had negative effects on the American economy, with thousands of jobs being lost, the catering and entertainment industries losing huge profits. The US and other countries with prohibition saw their tax revenues decrease dramatically, with some estimating this at a loss of 11 billion dollars for the US.[9][76][note 6] Furthermore, enforcement of the alcohol ban was an expensive undertaking for the government. Because the Eighteenth Amendment did not prohibit consumption, but only manufacture, distribution and sale, illegal consumption became commonplace. Illegal production of alcohol rose, and a thousand people per year died of alcohol that was illegally produced with little quality control. Bootlegging was a profitable activity, and crime increased rather than decreased as expected and advocated by proponents.[9] The temperance movement itself was in decline as well: fundamentalist and nativist groups had become dominant in the movement, which led moderate members to leave the movement.[9] During this time, in former colonies (such as Gujarat in India, Sri Lanka and Egypt), the temperance movement was associated with anti-colonialism or religious revival.[53]:310[82][83] The temperance movement still exists in many parts of the world, although it is generally less politically influential than it was in the early 20th century. Its efforts today include disseminating research regarding alcohol and health, in addition to its effects on society and the family unit.[84] The addition of warning labels on alcoholic beverages is supported by organizations of the temperance movement, such as the WCTU.[85] Prominent temperance organizations active today include the World Woman's Christian Temperance Union, International Blue Cross, Independent Order of Rechabites, and International Organisation of Good Templars.[86] The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and Salvation Army, for example, are Christian Churches that continue to require that their members refrain from drinking alcohol as well as smoking, taking illegal drugs, and gambling.[87][88] In youth culture in the 1990s, temperance was an important part of the straight edge scene, which also stressed abstinence from other drugs.[89] Fitzpatrick's Herbal Health in Lancashire, England, is thought to be the last original Temperance Bar.[90] Beliefs, principles and culture [ edit ] Temperance proponents saw the alcohol problem as the most crucial problem of Western civilization.[38]:21 Alcoholism was seen to cause poverty,[59] and all types of social problems: alcohol was the enemy of everything good that modernity and science had to offer.[38]:23 They believed that abstinence would help decrease crime, make families stronger, and improve society as a whole.[9] Although the temperance movement was non-denominational in principle, the movement consisted mostly of church-goers.[10] Temperance advocates tended to use scientific arguments to back up their views, although at the core the temperance philosophy was moral-religious in nature.[38]:38 The alcohol problem was connected with a sense of purpose and modernity of the western nation, and was largely international in nature, in keeping with the international optimism typical for the period preceding the First World War.[38]:41 Historical analysis of conference documents helps create an image of what the temperance movement stood for. The movement believed that alcohol abuse was a threat to scientific progress, as it was believed citizens had to be strong and sober to be ready for the modern age. Progressive themes and causes such as abolition, natural self-determination, worker's rights, and the importance of women in rearing children to be good citizens were key themes of this citizenship ideology.[38]:25–26 The movement put itself at service of the state, but was also critical of it. In that sense, it was a radical movement with liberal and socialist aspects, although in some parts of the world, notably the US, allied with conservatism.[38]:40–41 Alcohol was often associated with oppression: not only oppression in the West, but also in colonies.[38]:35 Temperance advocates saw alcohol as a product that "... enables a few to become rich while it impoverishes the very many". Temperance advocates worked closely with the labor movement, as well as the women suffrage movement, partly because there was mutual support and benefit, and the causes were seen as connected.[38]:41 Prevention, treatment and restriction [ edit ] Temperance proponents used a variety of means to prevent and treat alcohol abuse and restrict its consumption.[38]:24 At the end of the nineteenth century, medically-oriented treatment of alcohol abuse became more common.[38]:26 In a trend that was preceded by Rush's writings, alcoholism came to be seen as an illness which could be medically treated. Scientists who were temperance proponents attempted to find the underlying causes of alcohol abuse. At the same time, criticism rose toward use of alcohol in medical care.[38]:39–40 The notion of alcohol abuse as a disease would only become widely accepted much later, however, until after the Second World War.[38]:38–39 Nevertheless, restriction of consumption was most emphasized in the movement, though ideas on how to accomplish this were varied and conflicting.[38]:26 Apart from the prohibition by law, there were also ideas to establish state monopoly on all alcohol sales,[38]:27 or through law reform remove profit from the alcohol industry.[38]:28 During the 1900s decade, the ideal of strong citizens was further developed into the hygienism ideology.[38]:30 Through the influence of scientific theories on heredity, temperance proponents came to believe that alcohol problems were not just a personal concern, but would cause later generations of people to "degenerate" as well.[38]:32 Public hygiene and improving the population through personal lifestyle were therefore promoted.[38]:30–31 A variety of temperance halls and coffee palaces were established as replacements for bars. Numerous periodicals devoted to temperance were published[note 7] and temperance theatre, which had started in the 1820s, became an important part of the American cultural landscape at this time.[91] The temperance movement generated its own popular culture. Popular songwriters such as Susan McFarland Parkhurst, George Frederick Root, Henry Clay Work and Stephen C. Foster composed a number of these songs.[92] At temperance inns puppet plays, minstrel acts, parades and other shows were held.[30]:602 Role of women [ edit ] Much of the temperance movement was based on organized religion, which saw women as responsible for edifying their children to be abstaining citizens.[10][38]:23 Nevertheless, temperance was tied in with both religious renewal and progressive politics, particularly female suffrage[9] Furthermore, temperance activists were able to promote suffrage more effectively than suffrage activists themselves, because of their wide-ranging experience as activists, and because they argued for a concrete aim of safety at home, rather than an abstract aim of justice as the suffragists did.[56]:5–6 By 1831, there were over 24 women's organizations dedicated to the temperance movement. Women were specifically drawn to the temperance movement, because it represented a fight to end a practice that greatly affected women's quality of life. Temperance was seen as a feminine, religious and moral duty, and when achieved, it was seen as a way to gain familial and domestic security as well as salvation in a religious sense.[2]:47 Indeed, scholar Ruth Bordin stated that the temperance movement was "the foremost example of American feminism."[93] Prominent women such as Amelia Bloomer, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony were active in temperance and abolitionist movements in the 1840s.[2]:47 A myriad of factors contributed to women's interest in the temperance movement. One of the initial contributions was the frequency in which women were victims of alcohol abuse. In a Chicago meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Susan B. Anthony stated that women suffer the most from drunkenness. The inability for women to control wages, vote, or own property added to a woman's vulnerability.[94]:7 Another contribution was related to the role of women in the home in the nineteenth century which was largely to preside over the spiritual and physical needs of the home and the family. Because of this, women believed it was their duty to protect their families from the danger of alcohol and to convert their family members to the ideas of abstinence. This new found calling to temperance, however, did not change the widely held viewpoint at the time that women were only responsible for matters regarding their homes.[94]:8 Consequently, women had what Ruth Bordin referred to as the "maternal struggle" which was the internal contradiction women felt with the new power to make change they had discovered, but in still believing in their nurturing and domestic roles and they did not yet understand how to use their power.[94]:8–9 June Sochen called women who joined movements such as women's temperance organizations "pragmatic feminists", because they took action to solve their grievances, but were not interested in altering traditional sex roles.[95] The missionary organizations of many Protestant denominations gave women avenue to work from; there were already all-female missionary societies that were easily changed into women's temperance organizations.[94]:9–10 In the 1870s and 1880s, the number of women in the middle and upper classes was large enough to support women participation in the temperance movement. Higher class women did not need to work and could rely on their husbands to support their families and consequently had more leisure time to engage in organizations and associations related to the temperance movement.[94]:10 The influx of Irish immigrants filled in the servant jobs left by freed African-Americans after the American Civil War, leaving upper and middle class women with even more time to participate in the community with domestic jobs being taken care of. Moreover, the birth rate had fallen, leaving women with an average of four children in 1880 as compared to seven children at the beginning of the nineteenth-century.[96][94]:11–12 The gathering of people in urban areas and the extra leisure time for women contributed to the mass female temperance movement.[94]:11–12 The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) grew out of a spontaneous crusade against saloons and liquor stores that began Ohio and spread throughout the Midwestern United States during the winter of 1873-1874. The crusade consisted of over 32,000 women storming into saloons and liquor stores to disrupt business and stop the sales of alcohol.[97][94]:15 The WCTU was officially organized in late November 1874 in Cleveland, Ohio.[98] Frances Willard, the organization's second president, helped grow the organization into the largest women's religious organization in the 19th century. Willard was interested in suffrage and women's rights as well as temperance, believing that temperance could improve the quality of life on a family and a community level. The WCTU trained women in skills such as public speaking, leadership, and political thinking, using temperance as a springboard to achieve a higher quality of life for women on many levels. In 1881, the WCTU began to lobby for the mandation of instruction of temperance in public schools. In 1901, schools were required to instruct students on temperance ideas, but were accused of perpetuating misinformation, fear mongering, and racist stereotypes. Carrie Nation was one of the most extremist temperance movement workers and was arrested 30 times for the destruction of property at bars, saloons, and even pharmacies, believing that even alcohol used for medicine was unjustified. At the approach of the 20th century, the temperance movement became more interested in legislative reform as the pressure from the Anti-Saloon League increased. Women, having not yet achieved suffrage became less central to the movement in the early 1900s.[99] Other causes [ edit ] Prohibition agendas also became popular among factory owners, who strove for more efficiency during a period of increased industrialization.[9] For this reason, industrial leaders such as Henry Ford and S.S. Kresge supported Prohibition.[45] The cause of the sober factory worker was related to the cause of women temperance leaders: concerned mothers protested against the enslavement of factory workers, as well as the temptation saloons offered to these workers.[30]:602 Efficiency was also an important argument for the government, because they wanted their soldiers to be sober.[38]:35 At the end of the nineteenth century, temperance movement opponents started to criticize the slave trade in Africa. This came during the last period of rapid colonial expansion. Slavery and alcohol trade in colonies were seen as two closely related problems, described as "the twin oppressors of the people". Again, this subject tied in with the ideas of civilization and effectiveness: temperance advocates raised the issue that the "natives" could not be properly "civilized" and put to work, if they were provided with the vice of alcohol.[38]:35–36 See also [ edit ] Notes [ edit ] References [ edit ] Bibliography [ edit ] |
UK Election in the Wake of Three Terrorist Attacks Jun 8, 2017 Tara is a British YouTuber, host of the Reality Calls podcast, and co-host of Virtue of the West. Tara returns to Red Ice to discuss the 2017 UK general election, current events, and the many problems plaguing Britain. We begin by talking about the election. Tara tells us about the various parties and politicians, and explains why UKIP has been floundering since Brexit. We then consider Islamic terrorism – a timely topic, considering the recent London Bridge attack. Tara explains that Theresa May’s response has been to propose internet censorship, effectively stripping the rights from innocent citizens rather than dealing with the elephant in the room: Muslim immigration. This leads to a discussion on nationalism, including the various ways in which it is superior to multiculturalism. Our show concludes with a discussion on the Alt-Right, trolling, and the need for less bickering within the movement. |
FINAL FANTASY XIV Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXXIII has aired today, revealing the upcoming patch 3.5, titled as The Far Edge of Fate. The patch 3.5 Part 1 will be coming in mid-January and Part 2 in March. They will be developing the story towards Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood expansion which is releasing in Early Summer 2017 for PC and PlayStation 4. Final Fantasy XIV Patch 3.5 contains following content: Main Scenario Warring Triad Side Quests (Scholasticate, Hildibrand’s Heavensward Adventures, Anima Weapon) Dungeons (Baelsar’s Wall, Sohm Al (Hard) Alliance 24-man Raid (Dun Scaith) Trial (Containment Bay Z1T9, Containment Bay Z1T9 (Extreme) Zhloe Aliapoh: Players can gain access to new content by raising the satisfaction level of specific NPCs. This is achieved by gathering / crafting items the NPCs request. 3.5 and 3.55 will focus on Zhloe Aliapoh, with other NPCs scheduled to be added in the future. This content will also have glamour elements added to it. Exploratory Missions: Pre-existing exploratory missions have been heavily updated, including hunting and gathering mission. Players will earn equipment by completing duty requirements. Gatherers can complete duties by gathering. The missions also include boss battles requiring four parties. Cross World Party Finder: Now you will be able to recruit players from other worlds on the same data center. Players will also be able to view others, limit their recruitment to one world and chat with each other regardless their world in the data center. Cross World Party Finder is only available for content that uses Duty or Raid Finder. Due to increasing amount of recruiting parties, a party finder filter will be added. Grand Company Requirements No Longer Needed for Frontlines: Players will have the option of being matched without Grand Company requirements in Frontlines. At the same time, you can still choose to be part of Adders, Flames or Maelstrom if you want to! Dueling: Gear level can be now item synced to 150ilv or host’s item level. Abilities will also restart from now on. Feast: New maps will be added, including a preview map located in Gridania. Chat will be disabled during battles, but the team is adding targeting commands and new auto-translate options. These commands will be implemented as PvP actions and can be added to hotbars. Chocobo Companion: Duty Finder can be used while your chocobo companion is present. Starting at 3.5, it will be appearing in the party list in the same way as summoner’s pets. This means that a full party can now contain eight players and eight chocobos, making it easier to handle those fate and relic grinding or hunting farm parties in Party Finder! Players have to target other players’ chocobos to see their HP. Summoner Egi Glamours: The outwards appearance of Garuda, Titan and Ifrit-egi can now be altered by completing the relevant quest that unlocks this feature. Egi’s appearance can be changed by using text commands and others will see the new look as well. Starting at 3.5, players can change their egi into red Carbuncle. More glamours will be added in later patches. The Novice Network: Players will be now asked to confirm if they want to join in Novice Network. Supporting Returning Players: After 45 days of inactivity, the returning players can set their online status to “Returning Player”, use Novice Network and gain extra EXP by forming a party with a mentor. You can now preview item colors on the equipment screen. FINAL FANTASY XIV: THE FAR EDGE OF FATE PART 1 WILL BE OUT IN MID-JANUARY AND PART 2 IN MARCH. |
Webster’s dictionary defines disinformation as: “false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth.” For a fascinating example of disinformation, mainstream-media style, consider this story in Politico Magazine, How the CIA Came to Doubt the Official Story of JFK’s Murder by Philip Shenon and Larry J. Sabato. At face value the headline sounds quite intriguing. It promises great new revelations. But skeptics will look at it differently: they believe that, since CIA operatives had a great deal to do with setting up Oswald in the first place, then of course they knew the official story was false from the beginning. They helped invent it. Those familiar with the circumstances surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are aware that the official story pronounced by the Warren Commission — the first official government investigation into Kennedy’s murder — was that lone-wolf Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year old ex-Marine with a curious past, shot the president from the 6th floor window of the Texas Schoolbook Depository building in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963. Although in the 1970s a second government investigation — the House Select Committee on Assassinations — concluded that the murder was the result of a probable conspiracy, the official line out of Washington, D.C., and nearly every mainstream news organization since that day in November, has been to parrot the Warren Commission. Oswald acted alone — although the idea of involvement of Castro and Russia is often hinted at. But this narrative has been questioned from Day One, not the least by many of the witnesses who were there that day. Many of them reported hearing a shot or shots from behind a small hill — infamously known as the “grassy knoll” — to the front right of Kennedy’s car. Others saw or smelled smoke from that direction. Add to that the Zapruder film of the the assassination, showing Kennedy’s head rocketing backward; reports from nearly all of the closest witnesses on the number and timing of shots which contradict the official story; and about a hundred other discrepancies ignored by the Warren Commission. Still, Politico’s ultimate conclusion is that none of those things matter: None of the files released last week undermines the Warren Commission’s finding that Oswald killed Kennedy with shots fired from his perch on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas’ Dealey Plaza — a conclusion supported by 21st century forensic analysis — and that there was no credible evidence of a second gunman. The files referred to are the first batch of JFK assassination records — just released by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) — previously withheld from the public, as well as files that were previously released but with redactions. As for the “conclusion supported by 21st century forensic analysis,” such “analyses” have been exposed as pseudo-science. For more information on this, please go here and scroll down to “Bogus Testing,” or here, here, and here. NARA has until October 26 to release the remaining documents. Researchers are still examining the 3,300-plus documents to understand their significance and to locate previously redacted portions. At least one major revelation has been found, and the hard work of piecing together cryptograms and data points to complete the puzzle has only just begun. For Politico to continue to make such statements is pretty astounding. It illustrates the stubborn resistance of the establishment to what almost everyone accepts by now: that the Warren Commission was in no way a true investigation. The preponderance of evidence uncovered by researchers has cut very much in the opposite direction: the assassin was not alone — and was not Lee Harvey Oswald. But the article’s headline does still worse, by promising to explore a kind of conspiracy — the CIA “doubting” the official story — when it only bolsters the Warren Commission’s lone-nut theory. The authors say that some CIA officers during the 70s worried amongst themselves that the agency had not adequately followed up on Oswald’s supposed contacts with Cuban and Soviet diplomats and spies during his trip to Mexico City, several months before the assassination. The authors are careful to preclude the possibility that anyone other than Oswald could have shot the president, while leaving the door open to the possibility that the Russians and/or Cubans were involved. Forgetting the fact that Oswald’s Mexico City visit is plagued with problems (see Peter Dale Scott’s article below), this is not the first time that allegations of Soviet or Cuban involvement were postulated. Chief Justice Earl Warren, who chaired the commission named after him, later admitted that when President Lyndon Johnson asked him to head the committee, he used the possibility of a nuclear holocaust with the Soviets — resulting from “a little incident” in Mexico City — as persuasive leverage. More important, the article does not deal with, or even recognize, a single evidenced-based argument against the lone-gunman theory. Which is especially curious, since polling indicates that 59% of Americans believe that multiple people were involved in a conspiracy to kill the president. And Now for the Nonfiction Story on Lee Harvey Oswald 。 The nonfiction story on Oswald is much more interesting — and rather startling. Below are the well-documented findings of Dr. Peter Dale Scott, a former Canadian diplomat and English Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, a poet, writer, and researcher. He’s written numerous books on US foreign policy, the CIA, and the “Deep State.” This is the first of six parts excerpted from Chapter 2 of his book, Dallas ’63: The First Deep State Revolt Against the White House (Open Road Media, September, 2015). When John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, the United States lost more than its president. It lost its innocence. The subsequent investigations into the young president’s killing raised more questions than they answered — and caused Americans to lose faith in their government. Indeed, for many people in the US and across the world, the assassination marked the point at which their fundamental perceptions changed. Just after the Warren Commission released its report on the assassination, the level of public trust in government was at 77 percent. A decade later it had plummeted to less than half that (36 percent). Kennedy’s death and the circumstances surrounding it gave birth to a movement. This movement, composed of all kinds of people, is dedicated to investigating the story behind the story, to exposing the power networks hidden beneath surface events. These machinations have been dubbed “Deep Politics.” Those who study it believe there is much more to national and world events than what the public is told by government officials and evening newscasters — and, as you will see, Peter Dale Scott proves it. WhoWhatWhy is pleased to present excerpts from Chapter 2 of Scott’s latest work – Dallas ’63: The First Deep State Revolt Against the White House by Peter Dale Scott (Open Road Media, September, 2015). For Part 2, please go here; Part 3 go here; Part 4 go here; Part 5 go here; Part 6 go here. Overview: The Mexican CIA-Mob Nexus Those who have spent years trying to assess the role of the Kennedy assassination in US history are accustomed to the debate between structuralists and conspiratorialists. In the first camp are those who argue, that the history of a major power is determined by large social forces; thus the accident of an assassination, even if conspiratorial, is not an event altering history. At the other end of the spectrum are those who talk of an Invisible Government or Secret Team, who believe that surface events and institutions are continuously manipulated by unseen forces. For these people the assassination exemplifies the operation of fundamental historical forces, not a disruption of them. For years I have attempted to formulate a third or middle position. To do so I have relied on distinctions formulated partly in neologisms or invented terms. Over forty years ago I postulated that our overt political processes were at times seriously contaminated by manipulative covert politics or parapolitics, which I then defined as “a system or practice of politics in which accountability is consciously diminished.”[1] In Deep Politics and the Death of JFK, I moved towards a less conspiratorial middle alternative. I discussed instead the interactions of what I called deep political processes, emanating from plural power sources and all only occasionally visible, all usually repressed rather than recognized. In contrast to parapolitical processes, those of deep politics are open-ended, not securely within anyone’s power or intentions. “… one of the important sources of covert agencies’ power is their ability to falsify their own records, without fear of outside correction. Does this ability to rewrite their own history empower them to affect, if not control, the history of the rest of society?” In 1995 I brought out Deep Politics II (since reissued as Oswald, Mexico, and Deep Politics) [2], which I thought of at the time as a case study in deep politics: how secret US government reports on Oswald in Mexico became a reason to cover up the facts about the assassination of JFK. But it was also a specialized study, since in this case most of the repressed records of events, now declassified, occurred within the workings of the CIA, FBI, military intelligence, or their zones of influence. It was hence largely a study in parapolitics. It verged into true deep politics only near the end, when it described how a collaborating Mexican agency, the DFS (Dirección Federal de Seguridad) was deeply involved in the international drug traffic. Deep Politics, in contrast, looked continuously at the interaction between government and other social forces, such as the drug traffic. Both books represented an alternative kind of history, or what I call deep history. Deep history differs from history in two respects. First, it is an account of suppressed events, at odds with the publicly accepted history of this country. (One might say that history is the record of politics; deep history, the record of deep politics.) Second, deep history is often restored from records which were themselves once repressed. In short, deep history is a reconstructed account of events denied by the public records from which history is normally composed.[3] A key example concerns a tape of someone calling himself “Lee Oswald,” discussing in a phone call to the Soviet Embassy about having met a consul there by the name of Kostikov, a KGB agent. As we shall see, this tape should have been preserved and investigated as a prime piece of evidence to frame Oswald as an assassin. We have documentary evidence, initially suppressed, that one day after the President’s murder this tape was listened to by FBI agents in Dallas, who determined that the speaker was in fact not Lee Harvey Oswald. Yet almost immediately this event was denied by other reports, including cables claiming — falsely — that the tape had already been destroyed before the assassination. A brief but important digression here about history. Most people assume that “history” simply refers to what has happened but is now gone. In fact the dictionary reminds us that the first meaning of the word (cognate to the word “story”) is to a narrative or record of events, and only after that to “the events forming the subject matter of history.”[4] What of events whose records are destroyed or falsified? These dictionary definitions seem to assume that what is true is also what is recorded. There is thus a latent bias in the evolution of the word “history” that is related to the structuralist, rationalist assumptions referred to in my first paragraph. History (or at least what I like to call archival history) has always been the way a culture chooses to record and remember itself; and it tends to treat official records with a respect they do not always deserve. It is reasonable to talk about the CIA records in this book as suppressed, as so many of them were never allowed to reach even the Warren Commission, let alone the public, until up to three decades later with the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB). Thus neither the Commission nor the American public were allowed to hear about allegations that Oswald had had sexual relations with two employees of the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City, that at least one of these liaisons (with Silvia Durán) had been part of an international Communist plot against Kennedy, and that Durán had admitted this (albeit under torture) in response to questions from the Mexican DFS or secret police. More importantly, the CIA and FBI suppressed a major clue to the existence of a pre-assassination conspiracy. This was that an unknown person had falsely presented himself as Lee Oswald in a phone call to the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City. The FBI initially reported that the person making the recorded call “was not Lee Harvey Oswald.”[5] Later the FBI and CIA conspired, swiftly and clumsily, to conceal both the falsity of the impersonation and the fact that FBI agents had exposed the falsehood by listening to the tape. The Warren Commission learned nothing about these two facts. There now exists abundant documentation that, at least since World War II, the US government has exploited the drug traffic to finance and staff covert operations abroad. Perhaps the most conspicuous example is the massive paramilitary army organized and equipped by the CIA in Laos in the 1960s, for which drugs were the chief source of support. This alliance between the CIA and drug-financed forces has since been repeated in Afghanistan (1979), Central America (1982-87), and most recently Kosovo (1998). It is important to understand that this suppression was entirely consistent with intelligence priorities of the period. This important clue had been planted in the midst of one of the most sensitive CIA operations in the 1960s: its largest intercept operation against the telephones of an important Soviet base. One can assume that this clue was planted by conspirators who knew that the CIA response, possibly approved by higher authority, would be to suppress the truth. The CIA was protecting its sources and methods (in accordance with the responsibilities enumerated in its enabling statute). The result was obstruction of justice in a crime of the highest political significance. As we shall see in the following pages, one of the important sources of covert agencies’ power is their ability to falsify their own records, without fear of outside correction. Does this ability to rewrite their own history empower them to affect, if not control, the history of the rest of society? I believe the evidence in this book will justify a limited answer to this question: covert agencies, and the CIA in particular, were powerful enough to control and defuse a possible crisis in US political legitimacy. They did so by reinforcing an unsustainable claim: Oswald killed the President, and he acted alone. The CIA and the International Drug Traffic But the power of the CIA to influence history became even greater when, as we shall see, they acted in concert with forces allied to the powerful international drug traffic. Most people are unaware of the size of this unrecorded drug economy. In 2008 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated the profits from the global drug trade to be $352 billion; and reported that the funds from laundering illicit drugs, now often estimated to be third largest commodity in international trade, “became an important factor” in preventing a number of major banks from collapsing during the 2008 economic meltdown.[6] While estimates of the unrecorded drug traffic remain questionable, it is obvious that this traffic is large enough to be a major factor in both the economic and political considerations of government, even while it does not form part of recorded economic statistics. The unrecorded, illicit, but nonetheless important shadow economy is so large, and so powerful, that often governments have no choice but to plan to manage it, even before attempting to suppress it.[7] There is a third factor contributing to the invisible alliance of the CIA, the independently wealthy, and the banks that cater to them. Informed observers of American politics have more than once commented to me that most of the hundred wealthiest people in the US know each other, and in addition often have connections to both the CIA and to organized crime. There is no shortage of anecdotal examples: James Angleton of CIA Counterintelligence delivering the sole eulogy at the small private funeral of Howard Hughes, or Joseph Kennedy Sr. being a point-holder in the same casino (the Cal-Neva) as Chicago mob figure Sam Giancana.[8] Perhaps more relevant to the milieu of the JFK assassination is the example of Clint Murchison, Sr. Murchison paid for the horse-racing holidays of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover at the same time as he sold stakes in his investments to mob figures like Jerry Catena, and enjoyed political influence in Mexico.[9] These connections are no accident. More often than not, as we shall see in examining the career of William Pawley, the extremely wealthy acquired their resources by ignoring or bending the rules of society, not by observing them. In corrupting politicians, or in bypassing them to secure unauthorized foreign intercessions, both the mob and the CIA can be useful allies. In addition drug profits need to be laundered, and banks can derive a significant percentage of their profits by laundering them, or otherwise bending or breaking the rules of their host countries.[10] Citibank came under Congressional investigation after having secretly moved $80 million to $100 million for Raul Salinas de Gortari, brother of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas.[11] As a rule the power of the biggest drug traffickers is not autonomous, but depends on their government connections; and the top trafficker in any country is usually the one with the best government connections. This means not just that the government is protecting certain drug traffickers, but also that these drug traffickers will have an interest in protecting the government. I believe that an example of this is the collaboration we shall examine in Mexico, between the CIA and the corrupt DFS, to influence history by presenting false stories about Oswald. But it would be very wrong to think of the CIA-DFS collaboration as a simple alliance. One of the most crime-ridden CIA assets we know of is the Mexican DFS, which the US helped to create. From its foundation in the 1940s, the DFS, like other intelligence agencies in Latin America, was deeply involved with international drug-traffickers.[12] By the 1980s possession of a DFS card was recognized by DEA agents as a “license to traffic;” DFS agents rode security for drug truck convoys, and used their police radios to check of signs of American police surveillance.[13] Eventually the DFS became so identified with the criminal drug-trafficking organizations it managed and protected, that in the 1980s the DFS was (at least officially) closed down.[14] Thus the CIA-DFS alliance was at best an uneasy one, with conflicting goals. The CIA’s concern was to manage and limit the drug traffic, while the DFS sought to manage and expand it. Management of the drug traffic takes a variety of forms: from denial of this important power source to competing powers (the first and most vital priority), to exploitation of it to strengthen the existing state. There now exists abundant documentation that, at least since World War II, the US government has exploited the drug traffic to finance and staff covert operations abroad. Perhaps the most conspicuous example is the massive paramilitary army organized and equipped by the CIA in Laos in the 1960s, for which drugs were the chief source of support. This alliance between the CIA and drug-financed forces has since been repeated in Afghanistan (1979), Central America (1982-87), and most recently Kosovo (1998). It is now fairly common, even in mainstream books, to describe this CIA exploitation of the drug world as collaboration against a common enemy. For example Elaine Shannon, in a book written with DEA assistance, speaks as follows of the CIA-DFS alliance: DFS officials worked closely with the Mexico City station of the US Central Intelligence Agency and the attaché of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The DFS passed along photographs and wiretapped conversations of suspected intelligence officers and provocateurs stationed in the large Soviet and Cuban missions in Mexico City…. The DFS also helped the CIA track Central American leftists who passed through the Mexican capital.[15] But it is important to remember that such alliances were often first formed in order to deny drug assets to the enemy. In Mexico as in Asia, just as in the US “Operation Underworld” on the docks of New York City, the US government first began its drug collaborations out of fear that drug networks, if not given USG protection, would fall under that of some other foreign power. “Operation Underworld,” like its Mexican equivalent, began after signs that the Sicilian Mafia in New York, like the Latin drug networks of Central and South America, were being exploited by Axis intelligence services. The crash program of assistance to Kuomintang (KMT) drug networks in post-war Southeast Asia was motivated in part by a similar fear, that these networks would come under the sphere of mainland Chinese influence. Thus it would be wrong to portray the CIA-drug alliance, particularly in Mexico, as one between like-minded allies. The cooperation was grounded in an original, deeper suspicion; and, especially because dealing with criminals, the fear of betrayal was never absent. This was particularly true of the DFS when guided by Luis Echeverría, a nationalist who in the late 1960s (despite being a CIA asset, with the cryptonym LITEMPO-8) developed stronger relations between Mexico and Cuba. Some have questioned whether the increased Cuban-Mexican relations under his presidency (1970-76) were grounded partly in the drug traffic, overseen by his brother-in-law.[16] Even in 1963 the fear of offending Mexico’s (and Echeverría’s) sensibilities led the CIA to cancel physical surveillance of a Soviet suspect (Valeriy Kostikov); the CIA feared detection by the DFS, who also had Kostikov under surveillance.[17] By the 1970s there were allegations that the CIA and/or FBI were using the drug traffic to introduce guns into Mexico, in order to destabilize the left-leaning Echeverría government.[18] This is perhaps the moment to point out another special feature of the US-DFS relationship in Mexico. Both the CIA and FBI (as Shannon noted, and as we shall see) had their separate connections to the DFS and its intercept program. The US effort to wrest the drug traffic from the Nazi competition dated back to World War II, when the FBI still had responsibility for foreign intelligence operations in Latin America. Winston Scott, the CIA Station Chief in Mexico City, was a veteran of this wartime overseas FBI network; and he may still have had an allegiance to Hoover while nominally working for the CIA.[19] We shall see that on a key policy matter, the proposed torture of Oswald’s contact Silvia Durán, Scott allied himself with the FBI Legal Attache and the Ambassador, against the expressed disapproval of CIA Headquarters. What is particularly arresting about this CIA-mob nexus that produced false Oswald stories, is its suggestive overlay with those responsible for CIA-mob assassination plots. Key figures in the latter group, such as William Harvey and David Morales, did not conceal their passionate hatred for the Kennedys. It is time to focus on the CIA-mob connection in Mexico as a milieu which will help explain, not just the assassination cover-up, but the assassination itself. The Exemption of the CIA from the Rule of Law From other sources, we learn more about the autonomy of the CIA. It was almost by accident that the public learned of a secret agreement, in violation of a Congressional statute, whereby the CIA was exempted from reporting crimes of which it was aware to the Justice Department. This agreement was so secret that for almost two decades successive Attorneys General were unaware of it.[20] (My understanding is that the agreement arose from a “flap” in Thailand, where a CIA/OSO officer who was about to report on the local drug traffic was murdered by another from the OPC, who was working with it.)[21] Although this agreement was temporarily ended under the Ford Administration, a new secret Memo of Understanding under Reagan again lifted the obligation to report the criminal acts of CIA assets who were drug-traffickers. I have argued elsewhere that these covert agreements have been significant factors in augmenting the flows of heroin and cocaine into this country. Obviously a memo from the Reagan Administration is of little relevance to the Kennedy assassination. But it is of extreme relevance that a prior agreement was in force from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, exempting the CIA from a statutory requirement to report any criminal activity by any of its employees or assets. This agreement, drawn up under Eisenhower and eventually rescinded under Gerald Ford, was so secret that the Attorneys General under JFK and LBJ (including Robert Kennedy) were never informed of it.[22] We can assume however that the agreement was known to those CIA officers who suppressed an important clue that would have led to their Soviet intercept program, and thereby obstructed a proper investigation of President Kennedy’s murder. This exemption from a statutory obligation might be considered anomalous, except that in one form or another the CIA has enjoyed such exemptions for most of its history. Next: Part 2. For Part 3, please go here; Part 4 go here; Part 5 go here; Part 6 go here. References [1] Peter Dale Scott, The War Conspiracy: JFK, 9/11, And The Deep Politics Of War (New York: Skyhorse, 2013), 171. [2] Peter Dale Scott, Oswald, Mexico, and Deep Politics (New York: Skyhorse, 2013). [3] There are previous examples where the actual events of American history are at odds with the public record. Allen Dulles represented the conventional view of John Wilkes Booth when he represented Booth to the Warren Commission as a loner, ignoring both the facts of the case and what is known now of Booth’s secret links to the Confederate Secret Service (Scott, Deep Politics, 295; cf. Tidwell, William A., with James O. Hall and David Winfred Gaddy, Come Retribution: the Confederate Secret Service and the Assassination of Lincoln. [Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1988]). [4] American Heritage Dictionary, s.v. “history;” emphases added. [5] House Select Committee on Assassinations, Report, 249-50 (henceforward AR 249-50). [6] Rajeev Syal, “Drug Money Saved Banks in Global Crisis, Claims UN Advisor,” Observer, December 13, 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2009/dec/13/drug-money-banks-saved-un-cfief-claims; discussion in Peter Dale Scott, American War Machine: Deep Politics, the CIA Global Drug Connection, and the Road to Afghanistan (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010), 228-29. [7] For a candid account of how KMT China was torn between management and suppression of the opium traffic, see Alan Baumler, “Opium Control versus Opium Suppression: The Origins of the 1935 Six-Year Plan to Eliminate Opium and Drugs,” in Opium Regimes: China, Britain, and Japan, 1839-1952, ed. Timothy Brook and Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000), 270-91. Baumler notes how “The opium trade was a vital source of income and power for most of the colonial and national states of East and Southeast Asia” (270). I believe this state of affairs is less restricted, and has changed less, than his choice of terms implies. [8] These and other examples in Sally Denton and Roger Morris, The Money and the Power: The Rise and Reign of Las Vegas and Its Hold on America, 1947-2000 (New York: Knopf, 2001), 185,290, etc. [9] Peter Dale Scott, Deep Politics and the Death of JFK (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press), 1966), 207, 218-19. [10] For an instructive example involving Citicorp, America’s largest bank, see Robert A. Hutchison, Off the Books (New York: William Morrow, 1986). This Citicorp scandal (one involving double bookkeeping and tax evasion rather than drugs) was richly documented by first the SEC staff and then a Congressional Hearing, yet it was successfully suppressed through political influence. [11] New York Times, 11/11/99: A Senate Committee “subpoenaed Citibank for transcripts of conversations among its private bankers on March 1, 1995, the day after Mr. Salinas had been arrested for murder. He has been convicted and is in prison in Mexico. In one conversation, the head of Citibank Private Bank, Hubertus Rukavina, asked whether Mr. Salinas’s money could be moved from trust accounts in London to Switzerland, which has strict secrecy laws, according to the transcript.” [12] Scott, American War Machine, 43-62. [13] Peter Dale Scott and Jonathan Marshall, Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), 39. [14] Peter Dale Scott, Deep Politics and the Death of JFK, 104-05. [15] Elaine Shannon, Desperados: Latin Drug Lords, US Lawmen, And The War America Can’t Win (New York: Viking, 1988), 180. [16] Cf. James Mills, Underground Empire: Where Crime and Governments Embrace (New York: Dell, 1986), 840-43, 550. [17] CIA Cable MEXI 7041, 24 November 1963; NARA #104-10015-10070. [18] Mills, Underground Empire, 549-50; cf. Henrik Krüger, The Great Heroin Coup: Drugs, Intelligence & International Fascism (Boston,: South End Press, 1980), 178-79. [19] Cf. Scott, Deep Politics and the Death of JFK, 107-08. [20] Dorothy J. Samuels and James A. Goodman, “How Justice Shielded the CIA,” Inquiry (October 18, 1978), 10-11. Discussion in Peter Dale Scott, Drugs, Contras and the CIA: Government Policies and the Cocaine Economy. An Analysis of Media and Government Response to the Gary Webb Stories in the San Jose Mercury News (1996-2000) (Los Angeles: From the Wilderness Publications, 2000), pp. 39-40. Samuels and Goodman summarize a little-noticed Report from the House Committee on Government Operations that I (even with the help of university librarians) have so far been unable to locate in Congressional Research Service indices. I have however located a second, follow-up report: US Cong., House, Committee on Government Operations, Justice Department Handling of Cases Involving Classified Data and Claims of National Security. 96th Cong., 1st Sess.; H. Rept. No. 96-280. Washington: GPO, 1979. [21] I know of no adequate published account of this murder and cover-up. There is a veiled account of the “flap” in John Ranelagh, The Agency: the Rise and Decline of the CIA (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986), 221. [22] Scott, Drugs, Contras and the CIA, 2, 12, 39-40. Related front page panorama photo credit:Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from JFK grave (Klinton Smith / Flickr – CC BY-NC 2.0). Where else do you see journalism of this quality and value? Please help us do more. Make a tax-deductible contribution now. Our Comment Policy Keep it civilized, keep it relevant, keep it clear, keep it short. Please do not post links or promotional material. We reserve the right to edit and to delete comments where necessary. 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I am oddly at peace already even though it's only been about 24 hours since them getting eliminated. — Fernando Gonzalez (@Jerzyiroc) November 7, 2016 Something interesting happened on Monday. In less than 24 hours after the New York Red Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs, I realized that despite yet another Cupless season, I wasn’t heartbroken. I didn’t need consoling. I wasn’t raging on the various social media outlets that Red Bull and Metro fans typically go to commiserate. The end of the 2015 season felt like a dagger right through the heart. It may very well have been the biggest heartbreak of all the many heartbreaks as a fan of this club. This year though, probably just a stubbed toe. Sure, it hurts like hell at first and you basically want to kill and curse everyone in sight, but you quickly accept that you’re not dead and you’ll be OK. That’s how I ended the 2016 season. But I’ve also never been so hopeful and excited for the next season to start. I have to be honest here. I’m not really surprised that this year ended again without a Cup. I am a bit surprised that it was Montreal who took RBNY out, though. Although I knew Montreal’s strengths played very well against New York's worst weakness, I still felt like the team would pull it off only to lose in typical Metro fashion in some wild and crazy, unimaginable way yet again in the Eastern Conference Finals. I honestly didn’t think they would just lose. No great drama. Just outplayed home and away, and bounced out of the playoffs at the earliest opportunity. Maybe a plain and simple knock-out of the playoffs is an easy path to the least painful heartbreak. Or, maybe I was already mentally prepared for it. Maybe I was already looking forward to next year before the playoffs even started. Let me explain. More: John Oliver went to Red Bull Arena and blew up 2016 This season was a complete roller coaster. Before the season even started, there were some serious concerns about the team within the fan base. RBNY's 2015 center back duo - Damien Perrinelle and Mike Miazga - was done for: Perrinelle would not be available for at least the entire first half of the season due to a knee injury he suffered during the Eastern Conference Finals against DC United, an injury that played a big part in the derailed 2015 playoff run; Miazga decided to pursue his career in Europe, despite being offered a DP contract to stay with New York. There were some positives though. Newly signed CB Gideon Baah seemed to be fitting in pretty well with the team and had a productive preseason. Even though Miazga left, a large portion of the roster was retained, which in itself was nearly a miracle for this organization. Preparations for 2016 - as judged by performances in preseason friendlies - were encouraging. Gonzalo Veron, who finished 2015 on a pretty quiet note despite his crucial game winning assist against DC United in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, was finally clicking with the system and looked very dangerous in his new role as a second striker. On the subject of a new role, the anticipated new formation with Veron and Bradley Wright-Phillips paired up top in a 4-2-2-2 seemed to be working very well, even if there were some noticeable issues with it. The team was poised to finally add that level of sophistication that was desperately needed in last year’s playoffs. Bradley was firing on all cylinders, netting goals during the preseason. Sacha Kljestan seemed to be getting even more comfortable in his play-making role. Then, before it had really started, the season began to fall apart. In perhaps the most "Metro" way to end a successful preseason, Veron injured his hamstring only minutes after netting his third goal of a hat trick against Jacksonville Armada. New York started the season looking completely different than the strong team during preseason. After going 0-2, things briefly started looking up. Veron was back from his injury and was ready to carry his offseason success into the regular season. Then, it happened again; in what turns out to be one of the wildest games ever in Red Bull Arena, not only did Veron re-injure his hamstring, but Baah and Zubar also limped out with injuries. In one game, the starting lineup was shredded: attack and defense gutted just three matches into the new season. New York would go on to lose its next four matches. Bradley Wright-Phillips was scoreless in the first seven games. Injuries plagued the team. The starting back four changed from game to game; the ambition of a solid CB pairing had to be put to one side as the roster simply ran out of healthy, specialist center backs. Despite dominating virtually every important statistical metric game after game, RBNY kept losing. Eventually New York would pull off one of the craftiest, if not bizarre, MLS trades in a long time: picking up Aurelien Collin for nothing more than a fourth-round SuperDraft pick - with Orlando City still covering about half of his salary. The season did a complete turnaround. RBNY would go on to one of the best and most productive second half seasons in MLS history. Between the historic Red Wedding - the 7-0 thrashing of NYCFC - and eventually ending the season on a 20-game unbeaten run across all competitions (16 of those being MLS matches) many thought this was going to be the year: the year the Red Bulls won MLS Cup. But there was a problem, a very big one. They got complacent. Why change anything? You can probably put the blame on the horrible 1-6 start: it tilted the whole season, making almost every subsequent game count toward the goal of securing a good league position. You can probably put the blame on the team finding success by going back to exactly what it did last year. You can absolutely blame it on the 20-game unbeaten run. You can blame it on whatever you want, really, but the fact remains that the Red Bulls absolutely got complacent. That complacency is what ultimately lead to their early exit. While virtually every soccer pundit was talking up their form, and fans were gloating about the unbeaten streak, the Red Bulls started to develop a concerning pattern. They kept blowing leads. Despite these blown leads, nothing changed. Marsch and the players seemed to be completely miffed at how they could be blowing so many two-goal leads on the road as often as they were - Yet, still, nothing changed. The team kept with the same tactics it had favored since the start of 2015: control the center midfield and do whatever needs to get done to get Sacha the ball and eventually Bradley. It was a formula that was clearly working with BWP leading the Golden Boot and Sacha chasing the MLS single-season assist record. Why change anything? That mentality is what eventually lead to RBNY's playoff failure. Mike Grella saw a drastic regression in the second half of the season: only scoring once and getting three assists in the last 19 MLS games. The great footwork that earned him the nickname Grelladhino and made him such a strong threat on the wings - it nearly disappeared; he started getting dispossessed more often than not. Alex Muyl - who has got arguably the most impressive work rate of anyone in MLS - is fantastic defensively, but seriously lacks attacking abilities. This meant the threat on the wings was virtually nonexistent. During this time, Veron was for some inexplicable reason cast to the side, with Muyl as the preferred starting winger, even after Lloyd Sam was shockingly traded to rival DC United. What was once highly positive talk from Marsch about Veron’s great integration with the system, now changed to questioning how to fit Veron into the system. Despite some very positive appearances by Veron, he still could not break into the starting XI. As the season progressed and the unbeaten streak continued, one thing became very clear to me, and it was terrifying the closer we got to the playoffs: the tactics developed over the preseason designed to add sophistication had all but been abandoned. You saw the formation changes once in a while. Any time Omer Damari was on the field, which was barely over 100 minutes across all competitions, you saw the 4-2-2-2. But for the most part, it was a forgotten formation and set of tactics from the distant preseason. Daniel Royer came to the club and instantly showed that not only did he understand the system, but he integrated very well. After only a few appearances it was pretty clear that he had some great talent. Unfortunately, he got hurt and missed four games. So the team simply moved on to the post-season with the tried-and-true tactics that had delivered a 20-game unbeaten streak. Why change anything? How could this happen again? What followed was something that left many completely shocked, including the players. But for some of us who during this unbeaten streak were practically screaming over the countless issues that never seemed to get fixed, it was almost expected. The Red Bulls were easily eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals, ending another season without a trophy. No US Open Cup, Supporters' Shield, or MLS Cup. How could this happen again? How could this team finish the season as one of the best goal-scoring teams in the league but only be able to pull together a single goal in two playoff games? When things got tough, the team fell back to what was easy, familiar, and comfortable and completely tossed away all the tactics it had developed earlier in the year. The unbeaten streak was the single worst thing to happen all season. Worse than the bad start, and worse than the countless hamstring injuries that plagued the team all year. It allowed the team to completely ignore its many flaws: that Grella was horribly ineffective for the entire second half of the season; that Muyl offered no attacking abilities; that the team was consistently giving up the wings in exchange for super-defensive ability, chalking it down to "balance"; that there were multiple reasons for the blown leads, and that those reasons were never adequately addressed. This is not to slight Grella or Muyl. I’m not even saying that they shouldn’t have been starting. But Marsch preached squad depth and rotation; he preached tactical variation and complexity: we never saw it. In games where teams would sit back and the team could have used a more attacking threat on the wings, Veron sat. In games where Sacha clearly looked neutralized, Sean Davis sat - even after he more than earned a more prominent role in the team by filling in for Dax McCarty. Montreal came into the playoff series with a very simple, but risky plan. L'Impact knew RBNY had no Plan B. The Red Bulls' plan was the same as it had been since the beginning of the 2015 season. To beat that plan, all Montreal had to do was sit back, do its best to absorb the centralized pressure, contain Sacha and the midfield, and take the chance to counter whenever possible. It was a risky strategy. New York absolutely had some big chances. RBNY could have easily scored quite a few goals and come out on top. However, Montreal knew New York wasn’t a threat in the playoffs. As Ignacio Piatti boldly said in his post-game interview, New York is a strong regular season team but a weak playoff team. Montreal took a calculated risk, and it paid off. L'Impact won the playoff series without ever being drawn out of its Plan A because it could rely on RBNY not having a Plan B. What could New York have done differently? Well, what about that Plan B that Dax complained about not existing last year; the plan that they seemingly completely abandoned early in the season? After the first game in Montreal, it was very clear what New York needed to do. When Veron and Damari were both on the field towards the end of the first leg, they disjointed and surprised Montreal’s defenders. The Red Bulls needed to spread the ball around and infuse some attacking threat on at least one wing. Unfortunately, even with a strong attacking presence from the start, and eventually later in the game when Royer came in, they could not shake off their normal play. They continued to play centrally and didn’t use the wings as a threat. Just look at the passing and positional chart below. Despite having Veron and eventually Royer on the wings, the attack was still very much centralized down the middle. Some of the heat maps do show that they were on the wings a bit during the game, but being on the wings and attacking from the wings are a bit different. Veron did have about four or five solid crosses from the wings, but the positioning of the players in the center just wasn’t there to get the goal. In the end Red Bulls simply didn’t show that they were in sync enough for using the wings more in the attack. The Red Bulls' complacency during the season forced them to continue with the same style and tactics, denying them the chance to truly learn and fully integrate their Plan B. By being as complacent as they were with the unbeaten streak, they were never forced to think and act differently when their primary plan didn’t work. The difference between Montreal and RBNY in the 2016 playoff series between the team was their respective attitude to risk. L'Impact took a big gamble. Sitting back and countering is Montreal's strength, but doing that against New York and hoping for the best is extremely risky: it is inviting a very good, very confident scoring team to take the ball and run with it. But Montreal understands that to win the Cup, you have to take risks. You have to be bold. New York was not primed for risk-taking, not inclined to make the bold decision - at least, not until things got desperate, and by then it was too late. This season was an absolute failure. The future is absolutely bright. RBNY failed in the playoffs, and that has seen some call the season a complete failure. I can’t say I blame them. Finishing the season with no trophies, an early USOC exit again at the hands of the Union, no Supporters' Shield because of countless blown leads, and an early exit from the playoffs because of an eerily similar unproductive attack from last year: you can call that failure. However, you can still find some very positive signs in this frustrating year, especially if you’re in tune with Red Bull Global's activities. RBNY started the year 1-6, had an unusual blight of serious injuries to important players, limited tactics to the usual one-dimensional plan, didn’t use squad rotation as Marsch once promised, didn’t use one of the squad's best attacking players in the new system (didn't much use the new system at all) - and yet still managed to advance in CCL, finish another season at the top of the East, and came close to contending for the Shield again. That is pretty impressive. In the end, for me, it all comes down to patience. I know that’s not something anyone wants to hear, especially if you’ve been a fan since the MetroStars days. We want a Cup, period. We’ve been patient enough. But I think that mindset is going to lead to more disappointment. This organization is finally trying to put something together that’s real, lasting, tangible, and worth being very excited about. If you’re in tune with the Red Bull Global system, you know this is only the beginning. Yes, this club is heading toward its 22nd season and still has never lifted MLS Cup. But this is only the end of the second year of this completely new system, a system that’s going to require time and patience to be fully realized. Despite Marsch denying any kind of mandate for the system RBNY deploys, there are countless signs pointing to New York shifting closer and closer to the style played by Leipzig, Salzburg, and even NYRB II. It may be a surprise to some, but NYRB II plays a lot closer to the style of the other Red Bull clubs than the MLS team. That’s no accident, it’s very intentional. If you follow and learn how the Leipzig and Salzburg clubs are put together and play, you’ll notice that they are younger teams playing a higher tempo than we see here in New York. It’s no coincidence that for a second offseason in a row RBNY is planning to send some young players over to train with Leipzig or Salzburg. All Marsch said was that there was no mandate: no policy demanding RBNY play a certain way. It would seem obvious, therefore, that RBNY has chosen to play a certain way - and there is still a distance to travel toward perfecting that style and fully validating the decision. The 4-2-2-2 formation that was lauded during the last preseason is the same formation that Leipzig and Salzburg play. From what I’ve seen though, Salzburg seems to be more varied in their formations, which shows flexibility in the overall system. I’ve seen a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, and even a 4-1-3-2 formation. Granted, formations are just loose guidelines that become fluid as the game goes, but a team's basic shape does have a significant role in the way a particular match flows or a specific opponent is confronted. It’s no coincidence that RBNY got Veron in 2015 and insisted he was a signing for 2016, even if that meant he was virtually abandoned for most of his debut season. The point was for him to be integrated as a second striker in the 4-2-2-2 formation. Depending on how future signings go, he can even be used behind the two strikers - similar to Emil Forsberg's role at Leipzig. It’s also no coincidence that the Red Bulls went and picked up a player like Royer, who very much fits the Red Bull Global player blueprint. Indeed, Veron, Baah, and Royer are all players that fit the Red Bull Global template - and we can expect to see more players like them in due course. It’s tough to figure out why exactly the club was so willing to abandon its Plan B. Perhaps it was the aforementioned complacency. Or perhaps it was simply felt the plan couldn’t go forward with the current roster, or in light of the injuries that blighted the squad during the season. Leipzig and Salzburg still have notably different player types from RBNY - but this season makes me pretty confident the New York club's plan is to continue to make itself ever more like its European cousins, even if it means some big roster changes. If you listened to Ali and Marsch during their end-of-season press, it was made very clear that the club has every intention of continuing to follow the path it laid out for itself in 2015. I predict some big changes in the next two years, because there will have to be for the club to continue to move towards the Leipzig and Salzburg models. And as someone who has been following those two clubs very closely, I can say I have never been this excited about the future of this club. I have no doubt we will see out first Cup with a New York Red Bulls roster that is built to facilitate a full-on Leipzig/Salzburg style of play. And I have no doubt we will many Cups in the near future. So, while this season was an absolute failure, stay positive. The future is absolutely bright. |
Shannon Szabados says she wants to have fun and play hockey, not engage in a war of words through the media with her former coach. After the Canadian goalie was released Monday by the Peoria Rivermen, just two games into the Southern Professional Hockey League season, head coach Jean-Guy Trudel told CBC Sports that he only signed the 30-year-old as a "package deal" in order to get defenceman Carl Nielsen, a friend of Szabados, and that their relationship was "cancerous" within the dressing room. Trudel said he noticed a drastic change in team morale shortly after the pair joined the men's team in September — on the initiative of Szabados' agent, Russ King — saying cliques began to form that turned a close-knit group into one that had become quiet and unproductive on the ice. "They were always together and it became kind of weird," said Trudel of Szabados and Nielsen, a native of Lorain, Ohio. "Seeing the [other] players in the locker room, I just saw the situation being heavy on everyone. It was cancerous toward the team. I coach 18 players here so I need to make 18 players happy, not just two." "The story's already out there and I don't want to fuel the fire," Szabados told CBC Sports on Thursday. "My focus is signing with a new team. There's a lot more to [the Peoria release] and misleading information but I don't want to put [Trudel] in a bad spot, or the team. "I don't know why he said some of those things," Szabados said, noting she had a good player-coach relationship with Trudel. "It was a very strange situation." Thanks to everyone for the support!<br>Just over here wanting to have fun playing a silly game called hockey! Thats all :) <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/itsjustagame?src=hash">#itsjustagame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/calm?src=hash">#calm</a> —@ShannonSzabados If anyone needs me i'm just here chillin'. Reading funny articles. Love ya'll <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ELE?src=hash">#ELE</a> ❤️ —@ShannonSzabados Trudel, the reigning SPHL coach of the year, reluctantly accepted the package deal because he wanted to upgrade the Rivermen blue-line with the six-foot-four, 225-pound Nielsen, a former captain with Orlando of the ECHL who had two stints in the American Hockey League with Syracuse. But getting Trudel meant also taking Szabados, whom he said "was fourth on the depth chart after camp." The two had been inseparable since meeting at a hockey camp in Denver this past off-season and wished to be teammates in Peoria so King brokered the "unique signing." Trudel had tabbed Szabados, an Edmonton native, for a backup role behind rookie Storm Phaneuf after she posted a 20-20-6 record the past two seasons with the SPHL's Columbus Cottonmouths, including a .910 save percentage last season. The first female to appear in the SPHL when she debuted with Columbus in the spring of 2014, Szabados relieved Phaneuf early in the second period of the Rivermen's season-opening 6-1 loss on Oct. 21 and allowed two goals on 15 shots to the visiting Huntsville (Ala.) Havoc. The next night, Trudel pulled Szabados from her first start after a pair of Huntsville goals in the first four minutes five seconds of the second period in an eventual 5-1 defeat. By Monday of this week, Trudel had seen enough — on and off the ice — and sent Szabados and Phaneuf of Gatineau, Que., packing while the team placed Nielsen, 28, on indefinite suspension and retain his SPHL rights. Trudel tried to talk Nielsen into staying without Szabados but he chose to join the latter in leaving the club. "I tried to do something to get this great defenceman that plays 25 minutes a game, and it didn't work out," Trudel told CBC Sports. "It's the first time I've dealt with a package deal and I won't deal with it again. I think it's wrong for the game of hockey. Maybe I'm old-school but I like to coach players who deserve to be here." It feels like a lot of weight has been lifted off everybody's shoulders. It's back to being a team. - Peoria coach Jean-Guy Trudel on the departures of goalie Shannon Szabados and good friend Carl Nielsen Trudel said the Szabados-Nielsen deal is the "most different situation" he's been involved with in all his years coaching and 13 seasons playing mostly at the minor pro level. "I'm paid to make sure my ownership is happy, that we win a lot of games, so I gotta do what I gotta do to make sure my team is in a good state of mind to win hockey games," said Trudel, who hails from Sudbury, Ont. "The last two days of practice have been phenomenal. It feels like a lot of weight has been lifted off everybody's shoulders. It's back to being a team." In less than a month, Szabados went from being the first female to appear in a game in the Rivermen's 35-year history to the first to be cut, departing Illinois with a 6.10 goals-against average and .792 save percentage. Stronger league A better calibre of play in the SPHL and Szabados' small stature seemed to catch up to the five-foot-nine netminder, whose butterfly style is more exposed in the men's game. "Down low, she's very strong, very fast, but hard shots up high were kind of tough for her," said Trudel. "You could see in practice she was struggling and the top of the net was open a lot. At this level, guys know how to pick corners." King, a NHLPA certified agent and president of Kingdom Player Management in Stouffville, Ont., acknowledged in an email to CBC Sports that the SPHL has become a stronger league over the past two seasons "because NHL teams have utilized developing their players at the ECHL level, forcing good non-contracted players to the SPHL." Szabados is still in the United States with Nielsen hoping to soon land a job with one of the SPHL's 10 teams. While she said "a few" have expressed an interest to King, Szabados said a deal is not imminent. "Not a lot of teams are going to cut goalies after one weekend, so I would assume I'd have to wait a week or two before there's an injury or someone is consistently not playing good," said Szabados, whose preference is to play men's hockey. "I'm pretty comfortable in the [SPHL]. I know players on pretty much every team and I've heard a lot of good things about almost every team in the league. Szabados off Four Nations Cup roster "I just want to play somewhere and have fun," continued Szabados. "I'm 30 so who knows how long I'll be playing for." Contrary to some belief, Szabados will not play for Canada at the Four Nations Cup from Nov. 1-5 in Vierumäki, Finland. Canada's two-year title reign ended last year with a 3-2 loss to the United States in Sweden. "Shannon is focused on future opportunities in the men's game," Melody Davidson, Hockey Canada's general manager of national women's teams program, said in a statement. "The lines of communication remain open, and if Shannon would like to be considered for any other events throughout the 2016-17 season, we will have those discussions at that time." Trudel said he harbours no ill feelings toward Szabados and Nielsen, noting he had a good coach-player relationship with the goalie. "Shannon's a great person, she loves the game of hockey and she's a good leader on the ice," he said. "Maybe … if she had come [to Peoria] by herself, gave it her all and focused on the team, maybe [the outcome] would have been different." |
by Blake Crist , Eric Pakurar , February 22, 2016 The mainstream holiday season may be over, but both retailers and CPG brands could be missing out on valuable opportunities to engage shoppers and drive loyalty with new “Hallmark Holidays.” If you logged onto Facebook in recent weeks, you may have seen holidays being celebrated that you never even knew existed, such as Friends Day on Feb. 4 – a day to celebrate a friend or the anniversary of Facebook’s founding, depending on how sentimental you are towards the social media giant. Last week, friends, co-workers and colleagues found every reason to purchase bottles or glasses of wine to celebrate National Wine Day. Building a shopping occasion around what is essentially a made up day does represent a significant opportunity to bring shoppers into the store. And while it may be tempting to get carried away, the following points will help to get you thinking about how to best take advantage of these opportunities in the most strategic way. advertisement advertisement Make it worthwhile for shoppers Holidays that are the product of marketing are nothing new. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Valentine’s Day are just a handful that are commonly associated as “Hallmark Holidays” created by the famous greeting card company. While it’s easy for brands to hop on the bandwagon and post a tweet or Instagram, making the day mean something to shoppers is much harder – in the end, more valuable. For instance, National Wine Day would have been a perfect opportunity for Barefoot Wine to run a one-day special in-store promotion. Not only would this bring value for the retailer in the form of larger baskets, which could be even greater if other CPG partners were to get involved, but it would also help drive loyalty for the retailer. Whether emotional (a reason to get together with friends) or monetary (discount off of their purchase), if the benefit for shoppers is clear, then they'll be more likely to overlook the blatant consumerism. Be strategically selective or run the risk of over-saturation You don’t have to look hard for new holidays to latch onto – a quick Google search will yield an occasion most days of the year. However, if every day becomes a holiday for your brand, then you run the risk of no days standing out as special. The key to evaluating and deciding on which social holidays to latch onto is to first recognize your brand’s voice and then align opportunities to that voice. It would not make much sense for a brand like Kleenex to align with National Pirate Day. But Facebook’s Friend Day would be the perfect opportunity to promote the brand's shareable tissue packs. What better way to tell a friend you care than by sharing relief for their runny nose? There’s a fine line between being obscure and random vs. on-brand, but expected. The sweet spot lies somewhere in the middle and finding that middle ground will result in an occasion that is relevant, but also surprising enough to get the attention of shoppers. Powerful partnerships are key Instead of treating social media as an afterthought or just another channel to blast out a message, it’s better to treat the platforms as being central to your activation idea. After all, it’s social platforms like Facebook that have been responsible for the proliferation of many of these new "holidays" gaining recognition. Leaning into these platforms and treating them as partners instead of a simple branded page could result in powerful engagement. At the core of Facebook’s Friend Day was the ability to create a montage of all the best moments that you have shared with your closest friends. Brands should tap into that existing behavior and, at a minimum, be delivering digital coupons. And by creating a digital experience that is exciting, shareable, and branded will take your brand even one step further. While by definition these partnerships would take place outside of a physical store, the movement that they would help create could carry over to in-store foot traffic followed by sales if the entire path to purchase is carefully considered and connected. The best part about these new "Hallmark Holidays" is that they are very much a product of the social age in which they were conceived. This means, for better or worse, they are fleeting. They don’t require the same marathon of marketing that traditional holidays do or the sensitivity that religious-turned-consumerist holidays do. Activations around these days can be low risk, high reward, but that doesn’t mean it is always easy. Take your time, consider your options and keep the shopper in the center of the plan. Who knows, you may just have found your next big, special day. |
President Donald Trump's new budget proposal makes deep cuts to community programs like Meals on Wheels, but finds money to begin construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The new budget proposal eliminates $3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant, which supports a wide range of projects in cities and towns around the country, including funding assistance for programs like Meals on Wheels. "We are depending on this money to survive," said Fran Forman, director of the Community Action Commission in Santa Maria, California, which provides meals to 200 seniors, according to the American Progress in 2013 -- the grant was facing decreased funding then, as well. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website While programs like Meals on Wheels will likely see drastic cuts, Trump's budget proposal sets aside $4.1 billion for the construction of a southern border wall. But the $4.1 billion is believed to be only a "down payment" for the wall, according to NBC News, as it falls short of the expected $22 billion price tag for the controversial project. Trump also wants more funding for increased border protection, including 1,700 more border patrol officers and an increase in prosecutors and judges for illegal immigration courts. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website According to USA Today, Trump wants $80 million to hire 75 new immigration judges to handle deportation cases, 60 more border enforcement prosecutors, and 40 new deputy U.S. marshals. And in order to make sure the federal government has rights to the land along the southwest border, Trump wants to hire 20 new attorneys to litigate future cases involving land rights in that area. While Trump seeks increased funding to fight illegal immigration, he also wants to make deep cuts in several federal agencies. The hardest hit will be the Environmental Protection Agency, which could see its budget shrunk by 31 percent, according to The New York Times. Mick Mulvaney, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the proposed budget reflects Trump's campaign promises. "We wrote it using the president’s own words," Mulvaney said, according to Politico. "We went through his speeches, we went through articles that have been written about his policies ... and we turned those policies into numbers." Trump is expected to face resistance to his budget from Democrats, but he could also see some Republicans who oppose increased spending on things like the construction of a border wall. "Billions of dollars on a wall is not the right way to proceed," said Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, according to Politico. "We shouldn't just build a wall and add billions of dollars because that's what somebody said should be done," said Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma. "We can't pay for it out of thin air," he added. Sources: Politico, The New York Times, USA Today, American Progress / Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr |
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns new defensive coordinator Ray Horton made it clear Thursday during a radio interview that he plans to run a 3-4 defense here instead of the 4-3 Dick Jauron ran for the past two years. "It'll be a 3-4 defense, the same defense we ran (in Arizona),'' Horton told 910 AM in Arizona. "It won't be a hybrid unless you're playing golf.'' He also said his scheme will mirror that of the Steelers, where he worked from 2004-10 under defensive genius Dick LeBeau, who runs an attack-minded 3-4. Chudzinski re-iterated Thursday night at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards that the Browns will run both the 3-4 and 4-3, more of a hybrid of the two fronts. The reason it's an issue is become some key players, such as defensive end Jabaal Sheard and tackle Ahtyba Rubin, are more suited to the 4-3. Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson has also excelled in the 4-3. But even owner Jimmy Haslam acknowledged "probably we’ll switch to the 3-4 defense'' under Horton. "I think it’ll be an attacking defense. He told me in Phoenix with the Arizona Cardinals that he blitzed more than anybody in the league except for the Houston Texans. So I think it’ll be exciting and fun to watch. He’s really excited about the players we have here. We need to add one or two to really round out the team. But I think you’ll like him as a person and like him as a coach. Of course, we knew him from the Steelers and when we interviewed him for this job, [he was] fired up, intense. I think he’ll relate extremely well to players.'' The day he was introduced Chudzinski did say the defensive scheme would "tie in more with the coordinator that I’ll hire, and I think we have the versatility of going either way.” |
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